Thursday, September 30, 2010

4 Mile Wednesday and Hill Workout on Thursday

Woke up Wednesday feeling pretty groggy but good otherwise. It was nice not to take the headlamp when I headed out the door. I started my run with the thought of only doing 3 miles because I am going to rack up the miles quickly this week. Besides the hill workout on Thursday I had planned to do a recovery on Friday, 10 on Saturday and then up to 20 on Sunday which would give me around 60 miles. A cool thought, but maybe a little more than my body can handle right now. We will see. But I digress...

I went towards Converse in what has now become a half loop to Holliday Park. My right ITB was a little troublesome at the start of the run which is something I hadn't felt in awhile. It did go away though as soon as the muscles had warmed up so that really pleased me because I have been spending quite a bit of time stretching. There weren't as many geese hanging out along the path and I wondered where they all went. The question was answered by my third lap while I went close to the lake to do a lap...they were all hanging out there. I like seeing the bird just waddle around without a thought in the world. It really gives me some inner peace.

My pacing through the whole run was solid with 3 of the 4 miles under marathon pace. Another run that helps my attitude towards trying to break 4:00 at NYC.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51002531

This morning I did not want to get out of bed. Had kind of a late night and I have not slept well this week. I even debated doing the workout after work...but then I remembered just how warm it has been in the afternoon and I didn't want any part of that so I got up and got going.

I headed towards East High School thinking I would give the hill by Okie Blanchard Stadium a shot for my hill workout. It is about 1.5 miles from my place so that is a nice warmup before a difficult workout. I set the Garmin on .25 laps and found the distance needed. It worked out just about perfectly. The grade is about 3% but it is very steady and I feel like it helps me keep a consistent effort all the way up.

The first 2 times up the hill weren't too bad. I hadn't done a hill workout for a few weeks and was a little concerned about 7 repeats which is what Mr. Higdon had in mind for this workout. By the 3rd time up I was starting to feel it. My breath was getting faster and the soreness was starting to kick into my hammies. By the 5th time up, my form was starting to slip, but I was aware of it so I really focused to try to stabilize. 6 and 7 were very tough, but I gave 7 everything I had and turned in my fasted repeat of the set. I then took off home at a good clip and powered my way up the hill in front of Carey J.H. and then home.

Hills are probably my least favorite workout, but few runs feel so good mentally after they have been completed. Another solid run in the bank. Thanks for reading!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51118934

Run home:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51118937

1 comment:

  1. Nice running, especially the hill repeats! A 60-mile week would be a huge mileage PR for you, I assume... Be careful piling on too much mileage too quickly. What's the rule of thumb -- no more than 10%-15% increases in mileage week-over-week? Have fun with Dave at the half on Sunday.

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