Friday, June 25, 2010

Thursday Workout

Last night was clinic night at the Running Room, 2nd week of this session, and we started Tempo work. Since my setback in early March I have not done any speed work so I wasn’t sure how tonight was going to go, especially since I was at a Client site all day and did 4 hours total of driving, so needless to say I was a little tired. The plan was for us to do a 2.5k warm up to the beginning of where we would start our 3k Tempo run and then do a 2.5k cool down back to the store. Some people stop to reset their watches after the 2.5k but most people just continue into the Temp without a break. I stopped a 100 meters or so before the starting point and walked to give my legs a break. I find that my shins are always a little tight when I start out on a run but when I take a short walk break and then continue everything is great. Anyways I was the only one that did this, leave it to me to rebel. As soon as I started I felt great and gained momentum quite quickly. I definitely started the 1k a little too fast but boy did it feel great.

Breakdown of the 3k Tempo Run:
1k: 5:01/km
2k: 5:15/km
3k: 5:04/km

Our instructor provided Tempo time ranges before we started based on our best times using the MacMillan calculator. So when I plug in my best ½ marathon time from this year, I get the following (when I do my best marathon time, the times are slower).

Endurance Workouts Pace/K

Recovery Jogs                   6:44 to 7:03
Long Runs                        6:07 to 6:44
Easy Runs                         6:07 to 6:26

Stamina Workouts Pace/K
Steady-State Runs             5:30 to 5:40
Tempo Runs                      5:17 to 5:30
Tempo Intervals                 5:12 to 5:23

I definitely did yesterday’s workout way too fast but I needed that ego boost given the set back I experienced in the past few months. So based on the calculator results above, my Tempo run average should be between 5:17 and 5:30. Next week I will certainly give it a try and stay within that zone and see how I feel.

Marlene I couldn’t help but think of you during this Tempo run for the last time we did these runs, my goal was always to stay on your tail. There is no hope in hell that I would be able to do this now given the incredible progress you have made but one can only hope. I hope you have a great Marathon experience tomorrow in Seattle!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Morning Runs

This morning I have set the record for the number of consecutive days and the # of times I have gotten up in the morning to do a workout EVER, which is 2!!! Yes, I know quite an amazing feat - lol. So the last two mornings I have been out the door at 5.00 am for a run. Yesterday I ran 7.5k and this morning I ran 8.15k. Usually I play a lot of mind games with myself and try to negotiate some more sleep which ends up leaving no time for any early morning workout but this week it was actually a smooth transition from the bed to my running shoes once the alarm went off.


It helps to hear the birds chirping away and knowing that the running conditions are far more favourable at this time of day then in the evening, 18 degrees versus mid twenties + humidity. Although I wore my Garmin to track the distance I tried not to look at my pace or even the elapsed time, for I really wanted to tune into my body and let it dictate the pace. In the end of both runs I went a lot slower than normal and although that does bug me a bit for I don't want to fall into a comfort zone, the runs were quite enjoyable. Part of the enjoyment stems from the fact that hardly anyone else was out at this time, besides the birds, the squirrels, and the occassional paper delivery person, and the absence of the usual hustle and bustle of a neighbourhood provides an undescribable state of being at ease within the body and the mind. After these two days there is definitely something alluring in running at this time when the rest of everyone is asleep so I am confident that a pattern has begun and I actually now look forward to my next morning run.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

I did it!

After countless failed attempts of getting up early to go for a run, today I did it! I set the alarm for 5.00 am so I could get up and fit in an 8k run before 6.00 am. I started to hear the birds come alive around 4.00 am and when the alarm finally went off at 5.00 am, I snoozed it via my husband. The alarm is on his side of the bed and he unconsciously snoozed it on my behalf based on my past practice. For the next 10 minutes I dozed on and off and debated with some internal force was winning in the fight to stay in bed. It is quite amusing when I look back at how the mind has an internal struggle or battle with itself on what part is going to win out in either getting the body out of bed or staying and sleeping for another hour.

Well, I don't remember exactly what put me over the edge for getting out of bed but I did it. I was able to get everything on and ready in 5 minutes flat, including brushing the teeth and was out the door by 5.15 am. I was determined to get at least 7k in regardless so off I went. Since the birds were so alive this morning, I decided I would try listening to them this morning and in the end had a great 7.5k run. I was back just after 6 am and quickly got into my usual morning routine of getting myself and the girls ready for the day. When I got back just after 6 much to my surprise, my husband greeted me already showered and fully dressed to go to work. This would mean he got up just after me; which is not like him. I asked why he got up early and he said that he heard the garage door open (I didn't want to leave the front door open, so I put the house keys in the garage) and he thought that maybe I was closing it after it being open all night. Let's just say he has a bad habit of forgetting to close the garage door. Anyway, he felt guilty enough to arouse him from his slumbar and figured he might as well start his day early. Hopefully he is not cursing me tonight for getting him up so early. I was hoping that running in the morning would free me up tonight to take the girls to the park but now it is raining and it will be an indoors evening. Oh well, can't control everything.