6 Mile Run

Yesterday was the start of week 5 of my training and we kicked off the week with a 6 mile run. 6 miles… I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would run 6 miles. That means that I have run almost half of my half marathon distance and over half of the Crim (10 miles). My dreams of doing both this year don’t seem as far fetched as they used to.

The run itself was pretty close to perfect. We were on a heat advisory, but it started raining right as I arrived at the meeting place. A light steady rain that was just enough to cool you down without making things harder. The only bad part was my cheap waterproof sunblock was running into my eyes. That will teach me to forget my good sunblock next time.

My group was pretty small this time – just me and my trainer. One of the other members moved up a group and the other didn’t show up. We started out with 45/30s which is 45 seconds of running and 30 seconds of walking, but 30 seconds was a little too short of a recovery time for me so we upped it to 45/45s.

I absolutely love running intervals! I can do so much more and actually end up faster than without them. I also find it funny that even though I am slower than everyone else and do the smaller intervals the other groups don’t end up that farther ahead. We started a few minutes earlier than everyone this time, but it took almost 4.5 miles for all the groups to pass us. And even then they were in our sight line for a long time after they went by.

It is a little depressing to be the slowest in the group – so slow they made a special group just for you. However, I keep telling myself that it isn’t the speed that matters but the mileage. I have plenty of years to focus on getting faster, but this year it is all about finishing!

Here are some stats from the run. The total time includes waiting at several lights so I am guessing my pace was closer to 16:25. Also before I modified the GPS path to be more accurate each mile was about the same pace – which is great!

 

Rebellion

After my 5 mile run on Thursday I felt absolutely wonderful. I was tired, but didn't have any pain anywhere. Nothing. The next morning still nothing. I couldn’t believe it. About 24 hours later I started feeling a little sore, but not much. The shorter intervals and paying attention to my posture must have made a huge difference.

Or so I thought. I had company over the weekend so I did a lot of walking, but nothing strenuous. On Monday, I met with my personal trainer for a strength workout. Before my appointment I did my 25 minute run and a nice easy 20 minute walk. I felt great. Then my personal torturer trainer came in.

My body just stopped working. Some things, like squats, I physically couldn’t do. My legs refused. My upper body also went on strike. Things that I normally do with 12 pound barbells, I had to do with a 3 pound barbell. Even then my muscles quivered like jello and I had to put in extra rests. The worst part – I am STILL sore. Still. After 4 days. You would have thought my trainer went all out and tried to kill me I am so sore.

That of course made my Tuesday run very interesting. I felt every muscle. I considered skipping the workout since I was traveling and so sore, but I figured in the long run I would be worse off if I didn’t keep my muscles working. The strange part was even though I was incredibly sore, I had more stamina and endurance than normal. I did a few 1 minute intervals and a even a few 30 second 6 mph intervals. Considering the fact that the last time I did 6 mph I almost fell off the treadmill, I consider this a huge win. I finished up the day with a short and easy session on the recumbent bike to cool down. I could have done much more (and the hotel gym was great!), but I didn’t want to regret it in the morning.

Today is the beginning of week 4 of my training. Our group run is only three miles tonight and I can’t wait. It is strange to think of three miles being an easy run. I wasn’t that long ago that 3 miles was my goal distance. It will be interesting to see how I do. Even though we are supposed to do these long runs slower than normal I am thinking that since this is “only” three miles we will up the pace some. My goal is to beat my 5k pace – hopefully by 30 sec/m. Since it has been 5-6 weeks since that race I am guessing that goal is very doable.