I closed out a great week of running with a gorgeous trail run this morning. Could someone turn off the sunlight? I’ve got a wine headache.
Confession: I’m not even a runner. I just superimpose myself in various places. You fall for it – every single time! See! Look where I was yesterday!
Picture Rock outside of Lyons, Colorado is one of my favorite trails. Today we ran 10 miles, the first 5 gaining about 1,000 feet. So, it’s a steady climb, but not too steep.
That’s one perky breast!
I’ll admit this to you. This was a total “Shut up and run” kind of morning. I did not feel like running up a big hill when I woke up at 6:00 a.m. We went to a dinner party last night and just thinking about all of the weird foods and libations I consumed made me hang my head in shame. Champagne, Swedish Fish (best appetizer ever), peel and eat shrimp, brie and crackers, steak, corn, white wine, red wine, peanut M&Ms, green beans, white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Not even to mention I was short on sleep.
You tell ME how you thought my stomach felt this morning. But, once I had a quick interlude with the pit toilet, I was good to go for a few miles.
My watch beeped the turn around point at 5 miles, but Ken’s Garmin hadn’t reached the 5 mile mark yet so he kept going. Do you ever do that? You are running with someone, the same exact distance, yet your GPS reads differently. So, even though you know you've run the same distance, you HAVE to go until your watch beeps and tells you you’ve gone far enough. I hate it when technology bosses me around.
This was really good practice for me to stay at my target heart rate. Climbing, without rest, for an hour can send your heart rate into psycho mode. I was really disciplined about it, and even though I kept telling Ken to go ahead, he stuck with me. 152 bpms average – success!
This is one of the better running weeks I’ve had in a long time. Why, you ask?
- Easy, quick recovery
- No aches and pains
- Higher mileage
Monday: 6 miles @75% max heart rate (some incline)
Tuesday: 5.5 miles @75% max heart rate (flat)
Wednesday: 5.5 miles (tempo). Warm up 1 mile, 3 miles @85% max heart rate, 1.5 mile cool down (flat)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 5 miles (speed). Warm up 1 mile. 5x800 @95% max heart rate with 200 mile jogs between. Cool down 1 mile. Done on treadmill.
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 10 mile trail run @75% max heart rate
Total: 32 miles
Unlike my typical training plan where I’m doing lots of swimming and biking, I am now just focusing on running. My plan is to run 5 days per week, do hot yoga one day and rest one day. Putting in lots of miles on my feet at manageable heart rates will do something for me. Maybe it will make me crazy. Maybe I will get faster. Maybe I will flush the monitor down the pit toilet at the end of it all. Except that those toilets don’t flush.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that at the party last night (with people I hardly knew), I tripped on the step and fell flat on my ass, spilling my drink everywhere. I wasn’t hurt which gave Ken the freedom to laugh at me for the rest of the night. And, all of today. And, for the rest of my life.
Funniest thing I saw this weekend (aside from myself falling and laying on the concrete) was a couple in their car. They had bikes in their car and were, I think, driving to the start of the Tour de Cure. They both were wearing their helmets in the car. I don’t know why, but it make me laugh, because why would you do that? Maybe they were just being extra, extra careful they wouldn’t get hurt on the way to their ride. I tried to take a picture, but it didn't really work out.
How far and where was your long run today (or yesterday)? What are you training for?
What’s the funniest thing you saw or heard this weekend?
SUAR
