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Last run of 2010!!! Tempo!

I was more sore than yesterday; I noticed this last week too. Perhaps I need more time to recover from the speedwork/weights combo on Wednesday. An additional factor this week was gluten: I am recovering from recent 'cross-contamination', but I've had night sweats the past few nights, including last night, so things are still not quite right.

I could move my tempo run to Saturday, the day before the long run. This has worked well in the past. However, my long run is more tiring for me these days, so I think I'll keep the old schedule a week longer to see if there's any improvement.

Anyway, I had heavy legs today.

2 X 15 min: 8:11/mile (1.83 miles) and 7:53/mile(1.90 miles)

The first interval was more daunting, nearly doubling my previous tempo interval (1 mile), so I took it kind of easy, I guess. The second interval was back-to-the-barn-faster, and it felt biomechanically better. And once it started, I could feel that there was more than just one interval in me, which was reassuring. I guess that was my main concern!

It was kind of silly. When I resumed running this fall, my foot didn't permit jogging--all of my running was at about 'tempo' pace and my longest runs were 20 minutes and then 10 more after a five minute walk. So 2X 15 with a five minute walk in between shouldn't have been a big deal.

But I goofed. I thought I had only 2 minutes. It felt ok but probably scared me a little.

Next week, I'll give myself the full 5 minutes (and try to mentally veil the lengthening of the tempo intervals to 20 minutes each). And I'm going to remind myself that that pace used to be fine, used to be the only option. I think I'm more tired now because I've run 6X a week the past two weeks instead of 3-4X. But I like running more more!

I have drifted off the Daniels' plan onto my run club's schedule, even though I'm running with the club just once a week. It's nice to be able to do the club workouts again. And it's nice to be wearing the Garmin again. I didn't miss it much until recently but it feels right and fresh to wear it now.

Accordingly, I have just deleted all my saved runs. No more baggage!

2011 will be a good year. I woke up thinking that this morning for some reason. It feels a lot more positive than the dawn of 2010 did. We have some major changes in store, mainly another move, but when and to where? but I'm still feeling considerably more optimistic than I was about 2010.

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35 minute jog with the dog. Surprisingly, I was not sore from yesterday's speedwork and resistance exercises.

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I checked the date I stopped eating wheat: Jan 23, 2010. Therefore, it's been about 330ish days mostly wheat-free.

The Christmas holiday meals and so forth were largely successful in terms of eating wheat, but after a week of dinners and guests, I'm feeling kind of zombie-like. Crumbs left in the butter, the serving ladle for the stuffing put in the potatoes, that kind of thing. I could be more vigilant, but I figure that enjoying the holidays without increasing stress on everybody is worth a bit of fatigue.

I pushed my sluggish slightly bloated self through speedwork this evening:

5X 800M

3:27, 3:29, 3:28, 3:29, 3:25. I felt great for the first three then had to dig for the last two. The pace was faster than expected; I still have some speed to regain but I'm happy. If I can keep this pace up for the next two weeks (1000M and 1200M repeats), I'll be thrilled.

Afterward, I did strides and resistance exercises.

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I've been running but not typing.

Today was about -12C/-19C windchill. I wanted to take the dog for a while, but set my hopes low because I wasn't sure how he'd manage the cold. Fortunately, he has a coat and the pavement was mostly bare so his paws weren't subjected to much salty slush.

We ended up jogging for 2 hrs, including about 10 minutes of dog-related breaks: bathroom breaks and then one slightly longer break nosing and digging about in dried thickets. I figured he'd earned it.

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1/2 hour recovery jog today. The snow is still slippery. I was going so slowly!

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Thurs: no running, about an hour of x-country skiing.
Today: morning walk with the dog, a very slow morning walk. He had to wear his booties and he wasn't happy about that. Evening run, 3 X 1 mile tempo, plus strides. The snow underfoot was greasy and it slowed me down, but it's the effort that counts. Each mile was about 9 min. Total run: 52 min. Then I did some exercises.

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Tonight was still cold but I'm getting used to it.
Tonight was speedwork! 5X 5 min with 2ish min recovery--I have no idea what the pace was. I just kept going. Then I jogged a bit and did some strides. Total run time including warm up and drills: 1:25. Then I did resistance exercises.

And now I am fatigued!

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Morning: 20 min with the dog. He wore his new coat, no booties, no issues.
Afternoon: 40 min jog, 30-40 min x-country skiing attempt. My mitt liners got wet and my hands got cold.

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1/2 hour recovery run with the dog. It worked out really well. I was stiff and sore in a good way: I'd trashed myself yesterday with the run and the weights and resistance exercises afterward. This was very different than the other kind of soreness I had felt for too long: inflammation, swollen lymph nodes, edema, etc, making each run a recovery run while withholding the good runs, the energetic runs, the lifting the ceiling runs.

But yesterday's run was a true lifting the ceiling run, followed by a good honest burn from the exercises.

I think it has been a long time since I've had a true recovery run; feeling the discomfort of progress actually made the run pleasant.

Another good surprise was the dog. He's been having issues with his paws and booties; we missed a couple of runs last week because of this. I was worried that it would be too cold for him, -9C/ -16C windchill, but there was a light dusting of fresh snow and no fresh salt; I didn't put the booties on him, and he was fine! victory!

? rain

Lots of icy rain and procrastination and indecision.
I jogged to the coffee shop, met up with Gaz, and ran for an hour with her while the sun went down and the rain began to freeze. It ended up being a really good run. My total run was 1.5 hrs. I ended up completely wet except for my butt. It was protected somewhat by my jacket even though it wasn't waterproof.

I did resistance exercises after the run.

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Thurs: struggle with dog struggling with booties.
Fri: struggle with dog struggling with booties.
Saturday: 1/2 hour jog with dog without booties.

We are still sorting out this bootie issue.

speedwork!

I was going to jog this morning, but it was time to reintroduce the dog to winter booties. The windchill was about -19. He didn't appreciate the booties and wasn't moving very fast.

So I changed out of my running stuff, and back into it umpteen hours later for speedwork with run club! We did 4 minute repeats; I did 4 of them. I'm not quite sure how fast I was going; I wasn't wearing a Garmin. Instead, I concentrated on form and socializing.

The total time (warm ups, repeats, strides, repeats) was 52 minutes. I did situps and resistance exercises after that.

Day?

We jogged for 20 minutes this morning, that's all...it was a good intro to real winter.

The cold was almost past my dog's range of comfort, and it will get colder, and so the challenge begins. It ends in March when I bring him to the vet for shots and flea meds and admonishments: "he's overweight." The challenge is to not bring a 70+ pound dog there for the third year in a row. He should be closer to 60 pounds.

Meanwhile, I have to get used to the cold too.

I have to write a final exam this afternoon; I'm feeling a little not normal now; I just signed up for the Hypothermic Half. I'm not sure if that counts as a distraction, or procrastination; it's some sort of coping reflex. Anyway, the course is still not confirmed but will likely be loops or out-and-back repeats, both of which I like, and the loot is a tote bag and a hat. We have a similar tote bag which gets used a lot, and the hat is a very emotionally laden item: my old Hypo 1/2 hat was stolen, possibly by a army base rent-a-cop. I want a new hat and I have time to do a couple more longer runs and I'm in much better shape than I was before my last half. Just have to stay healthy!

day ?

Thursday, 3 X 10 min with strides, and then resistance training
Friday, walking
Saturday, 35 minute jog
Sunday, 30 minute jog. Well, more like 110 minutes (probably about 100 minus lights).

I woke up around 8 and decided to run soon after, but the -14C windchill set off an accumulation of excuses. A couple of hours later, my husband proposed having breakfast at Jean-Albert's; I changed into normal clothes and my run turned into a delicious omelet and a bit of grits. And then errands interceded, and then it was only a few hours until a family dinner. There was barely enough time to run and relax, and relaxation was taking precedence because I wasn't feeling that energetic and was already content with Saturday's 35 minute run. I'd earned a rest day.

However, my dog needed some sort of exercise. A half-hour of jogging, plus strides...this was the workout I was supposed to do, the workout I had successfully postponed for six hours by that point. It's amazing how quickly a half-hour jog has become a boring prospect. I live near a good path, I go out for 15 minutes and turn around and come back. Same-same.

The dog shared my enthusiasm: he lagged right from the beginning. He was going ridiculously slow and I was worried that the pace would aggravate my foot. Finally, after about five minutes of constant urging, he picked up the effort and we jogged for another ten minutes and turned around. The path was quite empty, the skies grey, a few tentative snowflakes drifting around but not collecting, not brightening the drabness.

About five minutes after that, a vision in white! (and purple, and other colours, I believe, but it was the white jacket that caught my attention)

Gaz?

It had been a while. It was fate. We had to catch up, and this required heading back out with her. I figured that we'd turn around at Bank street, but there was still more to discuss, even to Bronson. And I haven't gone past Bronson in ages and couldn't pass up running by the lake (didn't think that would happen until next year!), and then I figured that turning back at Preston would be fine, but then Gaz pointed to the distant green of the Arboretum and this was exciting, and we still had much to talk about.

My limit was long blown; I had jogged the furthest I have since August. Things had turned into one of those delightful circumstances of "well, since I've gone/done/eaten/drank/spent/etc so much already..."

We went through the Arboretum and then Gaz mentioned going through the Experimental Farm.

And then we went where I had never run before. We ran through the farm and I had no clue where we were. I recognized the street name, Fisher, but I wasn't quite sure where it went. Another reason to stick with Gaz for a few more minutes!

I was then nearly ninety minutes into my run, and I felt fine, but I was running out of time, and Gaz was nearly home, and I a few miles away from it. Time to split!

The dog and I dashed back up Wellington and I regained awareness of the weather: starting to turn a little foul. There was more snow. I felt great, my clothes were wet but I was warm and not sore. The dog started having issues with one of his feet near the end, but I brushed the snow out of it every couple of blocks and we made it home in about 1:50.

Total run: 10.8 miles. We lost 5-10 minutes due to lights and a few stops.

Many thanks to Gaz, and apologies to the running plan! I needed to be hauled out of it temporarily. This was a good workout physically, but more beneficial in terms of enthusiasm.

What I really enjoy about running is coasting for about 8-10 miles. That is the best sort of run, enough new scenery, enough endorphins, and not too much fatigue. I needed such a run!

Now that I know I can run for 10-ish miles, that changes things a little. I will still continue to follow the schedule I've been following, and I will move up to the Red Level next week and start tempo intervals as planned, and perhaps rejoin the Wednesday workouts with the run club. However, I will be extending my long run a bit longer than the schedule dictates. I think my next long run is supposed to be 40 minutes. Seems a touch conservative now.

december

I think that means my gluten-free count is up to about 330 days.

Monday was a rest day, just walking and a fair bit of cross training. I was trying out some new exercises and perhaps overdid things a little.

Tuesday, we ran 3 X 10 minutes with 5 strides in between. I felt kind of dull.
Today, we jogged for 20 minutes. It was short because I'm hoping to run tomorrow, too, which will be the first 3 days in a row I've run in a while. I felt kind of dull this morning as well.

Will see what tomorrow feels like. I will attempt 3X 10 min with the strides again, and then a half hour continuous run on Saturday.