Training Week 54
This is the week of the Run Rock Roll for a Drug Free Community 5K. My next race is the Clear Water Outdoor’s 6th Annual Turkey Trot: 10K on November 20.
Day 372 | October 25, 2010: 5 m tempo run + strength
It’s dark now when I get home from work (6:00), which means I have to run around my neighborhood because the forest preserves are closed. Wah.
Safety first though! I make sure to wear a reflective belt. And I always only listen to music in one ear when I am running (if I bring my MP3 player at all).
So reflective!
It had actually been awhile since I ran around our neighborhood, and it was kind of fun that it was dark, because I got to see everyone’s lit-up Halloween decorations! The people in our neighborhood are pretty festive. I liked these cat eyes the best:
See the cat eyes in the second story windows?
This run turned in to a tempo run. I started out fast (for me) and kept it up for four miles, then ran a slow recovery mile. The air was a nice temperature with a slight breeze and I felt really good. I did have to play a little mental game to keep myself pushing it, but it worked.
I always forget though – when I run “fast” my stomach is sometimes unhappy afterward. I had a weird stomach cramp most of the night.
And does anyone else feel really weird when they stop running fast to do the recovery mile? During that last mile, I felt like my legs weren’t moving at all. It kind of makes me wonder if I should have been running faster all summer. Probably not. I bet that would just have resulted in another injury!
And one more thing – I like the dark weather means I cannot see the garmin! I locked the bezel and just ran.
Distance: 5.0 | Start Temp: 68° | End Temp: 65° | Time: 48:05 | Avg Pace: 9:36 | 1: 9:27 | 2: 9:11 | 3: 8:59 | 4: 8:57 | 5: 11:27
Strength + Stretch (done during my lunch break):
| 1 Rope Pushdowns 3 x 15 @ 30 lb | 5 Arm Curl: 3 x 15 @ 25 lb |
| 2 Shoulder Press 3 x 15 @ 20 lb | 6 Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb |
| 3 Lat Pulldowns: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb | 7 Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb |
| 4 Pectoral Fly: 2 x 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 60 lb | 8 Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 90 lb, 15 @ 110 lb, 15 @ 130 lb |
Like I mentioned on Monday, I was in such good spirits during my lunch workout that it felt super easy! Maybe I should up the weights!
Day 373 | October 26, 2010: cross
Recumbent Bike Time: 40:00 | Distance: 6.40 | Average Speed: 9.6 mph | Set on “Forest Ride”
Day 374 | October 27, 2010: 2 m run
The forecast for Wednesday’s run – windy, with a chance of windy:
Yay. Chicago had a little windstorm this week. Winds at 30-40 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph. Fun times. It was especially fun when it was combined with rain and it was coming at me from all directions as I walked to work.
Anyway. On Tuesday I found out my brother wanted to run a 5K with me on Saturday, so I decided to shorten this planned four mile run to two. Steven and I ran together, and did our best not to get blown all over the sidewalk.
Beside the wind, this was an easy run. One strange thing though – the temperature dropped about 5 degrees in a span of 20 minutes. I think that is a sign that cold weather is on its way!
Distance: 2.0 | Start Temp: 55° | End Temp: 50° | Time: 20:24 | Avg Pace: 10:11 | 1: 10:13 | 2: 10:08
Day 375 | October 28, 2010: rest
Day 376 | October 29, 2010: 12 m run
When I woke up to go running on Friday morning it was only 22°F outside! I was having a hard time remembering what to wear when it was that chilly, so I went through my “Running + Training” archive – guess the blog is actually good for something! I ended up wearing tights, shorts, an Under Armour long-sleeved Cold Gear top, a zip up hoodie, gloves and a headband. It was perfect. I didn’t take my gloves off until the eleventh mile, and never got too hot (even though the temperature rose to 35°F).
As the temperatures change, do you sort of “forget” how to dress for running?
I was in Cedar Falls, Iowa for this run, so I decided to check out the Cedar Prairie Trail (a paved trail). Sad fact – I lived in that area of Iowa for 18 years and didn’t realize there were so many trails there. Apparently now there are 80 miles of trails. Guess I have a lot of exploring to do.
The Cedar Prairie Trail is 17.1 miles long – I just explored 6 miles of it. The area where I started my run went right by the highway and was quite open, but eventually it went in to a more wooded area. I really liked that part of the trail. And it was fun to run on it, because I actually went by a lot of areas I knew, like a soccer field I used to play on in high school.
There was no one on the trail though! I was the only one except for one guy who happened to be standing on the trail by Target doing some surveying. I thought it was weird that the trail was empty – they never are in Chicago!
I really enjoyed this 12-miler. The weather was nice and chilly, and I just zoned out to my podcasts. I did feel like I was losing energy a bit at mile 8 when I got hungry, hit a big hill, and felt a twinge in my left knee – but it went away!
Run stats: I wore the Asics Cumulus 12s. I drank about 14 ounces of water during the run and had a Lemon Sublime GU at mile 6. I stopped to take a few pictures, and to cross a few streets.
Distance: 12.0 | Start Temp: 22° | End Temp: 35° | Time: 2:02:43 | Avg Pace: 10:13 | 1: 10:21 | 2: 10:21 | 3: 10:15 | 4: 10:11 | 5: 10:27 | 6: 10:25 | 7: 10:16 | 8: 10:12 | 9: 10:22 | 10: 10:19 | 11: 10:07 | 12: 9:19
Day 377 | October 30, 2010: 2.9 m run
I ran the Run Walk and Roll for a Drug Free Community 5K with my brother Nick.
Day 378 | October 31, 2010: rest
Week Summary: 21.9 miles
This was a fun week, running-wise… but I kind of slacked one everything else. Never-ending story, right? Maybe I need to go back to pre-writing out my workouts each week, to hold myself accountable. Because as much as I find yoga boring, it really does help keep me flexible. I tried to touch my feet this morning and it didn’t happen! My legs were too tight.
Themocracy
I know what you mean about forgetting about dressing for the weather – how is it we forget in just a few months? Beautiful train in Cedar Falls, but didn’t you feel a bit creeped out running all by yourself?
I love running by myself, actually! I had a phone with me. And my kung fo moves!
I don’t like yoga either…until right after I do it. I have tried to like it and I just can’t. Every time I am done I feel good so I feel like I should like it, but I just don’t.
It’s just SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO boring, imo. And I suck at it. I bet if I did it every day I would really start to like it. Oh, if I had a few extra hours every day 😉
Empty trails? That NEVER happens here either. That is one of my favorite things about running in Chicago and in Indy: I’m never out there alone!
How are the shoes working? I notice you are not sounding bothered by pain other than the brief knee twinge.
They are working well! I did notice the back outside of the right one is already wearing down though 🙁 And my right ankle is a bit sore every now and then. Nothing serious though.
Your trails are closed? No!!!! Lucky me, I found out that they plow our trails all winter long.
They don’t close them throughout the winter, they just don’t plow them 😉 And they do close at sunset each day.
That trail looks beautiful! I am so jealous of all your nearby trails for running.
And, yes, I totally forget how to dress for the first few runs of “cold weather.” Then it actually gets cold, and I remember. Ohhhh, I am not looking forward to 10º.