Day 34/Olympic conclusion

What a hockey game! That was my main workout of the day.

I warmed up with a long run, duration 1:35, including a few breaks at lights (I didn't stop my timer). I don't know how far it was, but I was going pretty slowly due to residual stiffness from yesterday's dietary mishap, plus a few miles were in/on snow. I've been getting kind of tired of going up and down the Canal, so I tried going by the river for a bit. They don't clear those paths during the winter. It wasn't too bad: it was pretty deep in places but only a few inches of snow were loose. I was wearing the light/soft shoes I'd sawn into earlier, so they weren't waterproof at all, but it was so warm outside, a few degrees above freezing, that I felt fine with wet feet.

I was tired, but it was an enjoyable run. We ended up on firm asphalt again by 1:20, so I decided to push for the last ten minutes (I was going for 1:30 originally). The dog dragged, so I had to urge him on, but it was great to feel so aligned, so strong. Then I felt that I needed a few minutes to cool down, hence 1:35. Then I did a couple of sprints. Those went far better than my last set on Friday, probably since I wasn't on snow anymore.

It was a good run. I'll be happy to stay in the 1:30-ish range for the next while--I think it will be good to continue doing and increasing the fast finish, too. Running back to the barn feels automatic; it's an easy way to sneak in some (relative) speed. I just have to build it up. Eventually, I'd like to do some Daniel's type runs, tempo portions before and/or after easy running, totaling about 9-15 miles or so, 4+ tempo.

This won't be for a while. a true tempo effort is still beyond me, but I can start with minute or so increments once the asphalt totally clears. If all goes well, I'll probably do 2 5K races early this summer: Ottawa race weekend in late May and Emilie's Run in mid-June; perhaps also the Hintonburg 5K in mid-July.

I've never trained specifically for a 5K before; I figure concentrating on that type of effort and stamina, instead of uber-long runs, will put some badly needed ping back into my step. That's coming back a bit, though! slowly, slowly.

Meanwhile, I'll continue stretching (just got out of pigeon pose) and start missing watching the Olympics. I've really enjoyed them this winter.

It was mucky today, at any rate. I had to give the dog a shower afterward.