I ran out in a different direction today. I got lost, and found a new bike trail in the process. This could be good.
In the dark
My running isn’t quite what it should be. It isn’t for a lack of coaching. It’s all my doing, or NOT doing rather.
Somehow, tonight, I managed to get up and get going at around 7 pm. I grabbed my reflective vest, my not-so-effective head light, and my not-so-young-and-energetic dog. Out we went into the dark of the night.
Lucky, bless his heart, did his best to hang with me for the first mile. After that, he took up the rear of our sidewalk caravan. I tried to stay cheery as I coaxed him to keep moving back to the house. Then, I returned to the streets near our home for the final 1.3 miles of a 3 mile run.
By this time in the week, I *should have* completed my speed workout, but I haven’t. It’s not likely that I will get to a track during tomorrow’s lunch either. I’ve located one that is 1.5 miles from the office but I’m not sure that the local high school wants the community on their track during the school hours.
My problem has been that instead of running a different workout at lunch, I don’t run at all. I keep working and convince myself that I’ll leave early and do it after work. But that never seems to happen.
So…my plan for tomorrow is to run during lunch. Either I will do my speed workout or not – but I plan to run because it is no fun to run in the dark of night.
Alarming
I awoke in a daze, only able to remember parts of it.
It was late morning on race day. I must have BQ’d because I was desperately trying to get to Hopkinton. Tom was sick but alive. He’d moved the car so that we wouldn’t get a ticket, but couldn’t remember where he’d left it.
Everything seemed to be going wrong. I had no GU, and had forgotten to pack my fuelbelt. I was wondering if this would prove dangerous. Would they hand out carbohydrate gels on the course? Would they have enough water? After the fiasco in Chicago, I couldn’t be sure.
I kept trying to reach Jeff and Dianna. We were supposed to ride to the start together. But they weren’t answering their phone. It just beeped and beeped….
Huffin’ & puffin’ like the big, bad wolf
Today, after examining my run assignments for the week, I went out for a run. It would not be the speed workout, which was scheduled for yesterday. It would not be the 6 mile progressive run scheduled for tomorrow. Although today’s workout was an easy 3-4 mile run, it wasn’t that either. What it was to be, I didn’t exactly know. I just knew that it would be to a popular hiking and running location that the locals just rave about. It was time to discover what all the hype was about.
I ran along the streets for 1 mile to reach the entrance. I told the guard at the gate that this was my first time. He reassured me that it was a single loop; I could not get lost. He cited some facts about the distance to the top of the hill, etc. I only absorbed the fact that the total distance from the gate entrance and back would be 3.7 miles. 3.7 miles + 1 mile to and from = 5.7 miles. It wasn’t exactly 3-4 miles and it wasn’t exactly easy. I wondered if I could possibly make it my progressive run. Looking up the steep climb, I thought better of it. I’d just run and see what happened.
I began my trek. I passed many hikers along the way. I huffed and puffed like the big, bad wolf. The only problem was that I was climbing the brick houses of hills. I thought, “Am I that out of shape?” To make matters worse, I young chick whooshed past me and disappeared down the other side of the hill. It was a bit demoralizing.
On the positive side, once I got over my deflated ego, I got to see exactly what all the rage was about. All around me was incredible views of the entire Bay Area. It was breathtaking – literally. *huff – puff*
I can now say that I have “been there and done that.” I have also discovered that I will need a couple of more options for my lunchtime runs. I know that a little hill work will do me good, but I also need confidence going into my next race. I have no idea where my new routes will take me, but I guess I become very familiar with my new surroundings (like it or not) very quickly.
The “M8B” Q & A Session
After struggling through my mid-week runs, I finally had a run where I didn’t feel like I was struggling. While riffling through my workout bag, I thought about my previous considerations in relation to my running…
My working heart rate has returned to the high numbers that I experienced prior to beginning my string of musical blood pressure meds. This has been the case since changing to a new medication in the week before Chicago. Initially, I was glad to see my heart rate move out of the slow zone that was the result of the BETA blocker. My heart rate was too low when I would run and, as a result, my legs felt dead. I knew that I couldn’t get to Boston on one cylinder.
After making the change, I was disappointed that my heart rate was not back in the range that it was when I was taking the first ACE inhibitor. That zone was the perfect zone; that zone was where I noticed that I was hitting my target paces regularly. Instead, it was back to an average heart rate of the high 160s to 170s. I may have been used to that before, but now it is just hard.
Having finally experienced a “good” run is a step in the right direction. But “long run pace” is quite different from “race pace” or that required for my intervals. Thankfully, CIM is a couple of months away. I have a bit of time to figure it out. In the meantime, I have a lot of unanswered questions and no one to consult but the Magic Eight Ball (M8B) that was in my workout bag.
YaYa was still in the bathroom when I found the ball in my bag. It was a freebie that I picked up at my last job.