speedwork!

Yesterday: 3 miles and some resistance exercises.
Today: 5.5ish miles.  My husband and I left a very disappointed dog behind and hit the track.  The workout was 5-6 sets of 2 X 200M + 1 400M, but we decided to do just 4 sets because it's been a while since either of us has done speed work.  And four sets were enough!

It was sunny and warm, maybe 22C, and the track on post was a yard sale.  This was my very first time using this track and I didn't know what to expect.  We pulled up to an empty track; there were a couple of cars there and once that group had all arrived, they did some exercises and then took lanes 1 and 2 to do intervals while we were doing our warm up on the outside lanes.  That was fine. we had marks for 200M on our lanes, and though we didn't quite figure out 400M, we got close enough.  It didn't help that we had to keep changing lanes, though that wasn't the fault of the group.

A lady and her three kids pulled up, two of the kids on bikes and one in a cart, and at first they took 7 and 8.  Ok, so we switched to 5 and 6.  They didn't stick to 7 and 8 though!  Mom whipped out her phone and  became Mombie and she and her kids weaved all over the place.  I tried my best to turn my ire into speed.  Maybe they come to the track every day, and at least they're out, plus it's a somewhat snotty army post, a bit too much "well, my husband is such-and-such a rank" and I'm just trying to keep a very low profile (and mostly off post, lol).  So we adjusted.

Then a young couple came and did a circuit workout of sorts and they were having the same issues as us.  Mombie +3 were all over the track.  We ended up getting into each other's way a bit but it was ok.

Then the husband of Mombie showed up, plunked himself in track 6 and/or 5/4/3, and did a few short reps amid resistance exercises, collapsing histrionically after each rep.   It wasn't just a few seconds bent over to catch his breath: he laid himself out in full despairing "I coughed up a lung but missed Olympic gold by a hair and even as I speak, people in my home country are tearing my picture off walls and fridges and vehicles, especially the kids, oh, the kids who looked up to me" style.  I understand perfectly how much track work can stir things up--thank goodness there was a bathroom right beside the track!!!--but I try to step off the track to do my biz.

Lanes 1 and 2 opened up because the group finished, and the former was quickly claimed by a fast guy doing intervals, and a slow woman.  I saw her move out of the way a few times for him, which was nice, but I'm not sure why she just didn't stick to lane 2.

Meanwhile, the couple had finished, and Mombie's brood was tired of the track and her husband was too so he was minding the kids; she unMombiefied and did a couple of reps in lane 1 finally, and I felt some sympathy for her: she couldn't do her stuff for the longest time.   Her husband showed up after she'd been there 15-20 min or whatever but he went right to flopping on the track without giving her a bit of a break.

Two guys showed up that looked semi-official.  I think they had something to do with track maintenance because they were talking and examining the track while standing on some of the middle lanes.  My husband and I were alternating between 5 and 6, 6 and 7, and 7 and 8 by this point, but we still had to switch lanes in mid-rep for each 400M.  The 200M intervals were easier to plot.

Hopefully next time we'll get there earlier!

I can't remember what my times were last time I did 200-400 repeats, eons ago.   This time, 41-43 s per 200M, and 1:32-139 per 400M, not counting 1:18 or whatever when I stopped at the wrong mark.

The planned post-run Zwow workout was jettisoned.  I was beat!  But I did enjoy the post run warmth.  It felt good to have pushed myself.

Long run...next weekend?

Our long run today was thwarted by the heat.  We ran for about a minute then decided to enjoy a nice hike instead.  Ten minutes later, we found some trails in the woods on post that we'll definitely revisit.  I'm not sure how many miles of trails there are, but even three miles would be superb.   We had heard of these trails before, but hadn't tried them out until today.  They are nicer, and considerably closer, than the trails we walked yesterday afternoon.

Then I came home and jogged on the treadmill for an hour and then did Zwow 15: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dyaGe-MUhs

Admittedly, my 180 burpees were just regular burpees, and they withered further on the 5th and final round to plain old pushups.  At least I stayed off my knees.  Also, on the 5th round, I did the single leg squats without the dumbbell because I was a bit too wobbly with it.   This was the 2nd time I did this workout and it definitely flowed better even though I used 10 lb dumbbells this time instead of 5 lb ones.

But, wait, this blog is about running.

My run was better today than yesterday, and marginally faster: 4.9 *ph.  Maybe it is mph, but I'm still not quite accepting of that!  At any rate, it remained an easy run throughout, even when I pushed it up to 5.2 for the last ten minutes, and for a minute or two here and there, I managed to reduce extraneous wobbling enough to feel my spine straight(ish) and suspended in space.  This is a delightful efficient feeling.  My legs simply have to hit the ground and lift up; they are relieved of the burden of the rest of my body.  I become a flesh-and-blood, and much more graceful, l'homme `a planchette.  http://www.strumhollow.com/dancing-man.htm (in the process of googling, I found out that these are called jig dolls in other parts of the world).

Tomorrow will be an easy day!

Long Run....Monday?

Hopefully we'll both be game for it.  Instead, I jogged for an hour on the treadmill this morning.  It was warm inside but hot outside (34 C now and still rising) and I needed something flat.

I settled into a nice place and zone very quickly; I'm still sore from Friday's workout, but it did not affect running.  It was a bit disconcerting to see that my pace was only 4.6-4.7 mph, and part of me wants to calibrate the treadmill (mark the belt, time, measure, etc) but the other part of me, which I'm trying to emphasize, is thrilled that I had an hour-long easy run.   My breathing stayed easy and my legs stayed pretty loose.

There were a few glitches due to a hastily-burned CD that might have been defective to begin with.  It choked through the fifth track and then gave up.  I was amazed at how much this affected me.  The music has been so conducive to treadmill running and I was pushed and pulled in a haze of endorphins and then, blip, blip, I was back on this planet and in the midst of exertion.

Today is Race Weekend back home and I'm a bit sad that I'm not participating.   I like watching the races and running the races and going to the race expo, and generally being surrounded by other people who also practice my hobby.  It's essentially a convention.

However, I am pumped by a change in running log.  This year, I decided to use a free Garmin program I'd downloaded, and I gave it a fair go for five months, but it doesn't suit me as much as an Excel file.  I lost my 2nd Excel running log with my last laptop death but now have a 3rd one set up with pretty colours, one for each week, and space enough to input whatever the heck I like, and the freedom to omit whatever I wish.  The Garmin program is too strict and narrow, I suppose.

lazy Saturday

My husband and I both attempted Z's latest workout yesterday, ZWOW 19, and we were both sore today.  Hey, maybe I should provide urls for these:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Reku3SknC-4 (with apologies for the ad).

I cannot do pistol squats yet.  Even going down just halfway is a strain.  Nevertheless, I did not quite my absolute best, and made it through the 5 sets.  Today, certain isolated parts of my butt are sore, mainly one point on the right side.  This is a muscle that has never felt sore before.  I suppose it has spent the last 30-odd years basking in inactivity; I hope to rudely awaken it more often.

We were content to walk around town this morning and check out a few shops that we hadn't visited before.   It was an outing that got out of hand: a quick trip to the farmers' market turned into a multi-hour exploration in search of a chair I'd painted for a local fundraiser.  We didn't find it, but we found other things instead.  

Even if my butt had been more cooperative, I would not have run outside today because it was too hot.  Summer has been coming and going for a while, but perhaps it's here in earnest.

Yesterday, I jogged for 20 minutes on the treadmill marginally faster than I'd jogged on Thursday.  It felt better too.  Tomorrow's plan is a longer run, hopefully 9ish miles.  We'll see how hot it is.

My running motivation is not at an all time low, but it's hovering just above the silt-choked bottom.   The heat has coated it with stringy brown algae.  It's not super hot, and we've already had a bunch of 30+C days, but I'll feel better about them once we're in June.  May still seems like it should be spring-like.

The strange thing is, I'm actually not too put out by the heat.  I finally managed to enjoy summer running last year (not having colitis really helped!), and I did a marathon in 30-32C without any problems beyond the usual marathon issues (except that I had to stop eating gels after an hour and a bit, but I was jogging easily enough to not require food).   And I've gotten used to the heat here; I have been sweating copiously even while walking, but it's ok.   Rather, I have seized upon the heat as an excuse.  Oh, it's too hot to run!

I hope this post isn't too disjointed.  Today has been intellectually and artistically lazy, not just physically so.

a run!

I jogged for 20 minutes on the treadmill and it felt horrible at first.  I kept the speed slow and my breathing remained easy, but my legs remained sore throughout.  By the end, it felt a bit better.  That was my goal.

1.5ish miles in 20 min.  I'm not sure if the calibration is off, or what...could I really be that slow?  I've had my share of pain-wracked recovery jogs, and they have been pretty slow at times, but not that slow.   The treadmill is at a slight incline, but too slight to slow me down that much.  

But I scrutinize it too closely!  It is a cheap treadmill that I got out of an attic for free, but it serves the purpose of letting me jog easy in this place of many hills.  And, at this point, I'm still sort of sleep deprived, still recovering from the 1/2 marathon, and a cold, and probably my ferritin levels are low again.  Hey, at least I ran today!  It wasn't going to be pretty, no matter what.  Afterward, my legs felt very warm.  hopefully that is a sign of rejuvenation.

Afterward, I tried one of MarC's workouts, a yoga-based workout, but my muscles were still sore so I ended up doing some gentle yoga instead.  I used to do this in the morning but have been too sleepy recently.  Perhaps if I do gentle yoga after runs and workouts, I'll recover more quickly.  It definitely felt good.

My nap today, and yesterday, wasn't ideal: I woke up in the middle of it.  Not because of the bells, though!  That is an improvement.  Knock wood, they have become insignificant.

no run yet

My calves are still tender, I'm still tired, and I slept in a bit because my throat has been feeling sore for the past day.

However, I needed to prime today's nap with a bit of fatigue especially since I slept in, and I was also a bit disgusted at the thought of going to Thursday without a single workout.  I did one of Z's routines.  It was a rather intense ten minutes.

Although my running has gone down the tubes, I was gratified to see that the demands of work have made me fitter in other ways: I kept pace with Z during the competition burpees.  With these, you lower yourself completely until you're lying full on the ground, and I found it much much easier to push up from this pose this time--in fact, I'm not sure if I've ever managed to do this type of burpee at all before.   Plus I kept pace with her.  Usually I cannot; truthfully, in order to follow her workouts, I usually end up dropping a burpee or two.  Not this time!

Admittedly, I used lighter weights than her, but they were enough.  It was a solid workout.

success!

At times, a partial success is nevertheless overpoweringly full.

I have not managed to run or work out yesterday or today, but I slept through that bell!   For the past two weeks and a bit, I've been using a soundscape application, Relax Melodies, and various combos of rain, river, ocean, etc noises; these work during the night but were proving inadequate against the bell.  Then I considered that, since the overtones of the bell actually seem to be the most disturbing part because they buzz against my teeth and skull much more acutely than the base sound, perhaps I needed something to counter these more closely.   Something musical.  Something with a vampiric pitch.

Relax Melodies, even the free version I have, has a few melodies along with the rain and wind and so forth noises.  A few of these seem very unsoporific, especially "Wind Chimes" and "Medieval", but "Zen" and "Melody" seemed promising, so I tried them.  Together.  I also tossed in "River" just to smooth things out a little.  The melodies are very repetitive and so the resulting discordances are rhythmic as well as actually pleasing.  I have been listening to a lot of electronic music recently so this sort of thing is comfortable anyway.

This is the winning triad!

Yesterday, I tried it and I woke up at the bell, but barely, and I went back to sleep.  Today, I woke up halfway through the nap, but this was before the bell had even started.  I went back to sleep quickly and the bell did not wake me up at all.  Now I feel refreshed and optimistic.

I still have to recover and ground my schedule a bit more; this week will be easy.  Maybe I'll run sometime, maybe I'll take more time off.  The most important thing is to become consistent with the naps and with my night sleep.