I like to think that I'm supportive and encouraging of all people to run/exercise, but... this Retired Racewalkers Group that seems to meet at 6 am on Saturdays at the Caltech track.... hmmmm, this could start to be a problem for me.
It's just that, after a lot of experimentation, I've determined that the ideal structure of my 5 day training week goes like this:
Sunday - Long
Monday - Off, shots
Tuesday - Mountain
Wednesday - Short, easy
Thursday - Medium, progression run or fartlek
Friday - Off, shots
Saturday - Tempo
Also, that if I don't wake up at 6 am to do my run, there's a high probability that running time will just get mowed over by work time or something else time. So technically, it would be better... if there wasn't a conflict for the Saturday morning slot.
I'm used to there being joggers or walkers, there usually are, even at odd hours... but this is actually more like a zoo. There are just SO many of them, and the instructor person has a whistle and a bull horn. Some of them are chatting incessantly, others are huffing and puffing furiously, and the rest are old and seem oblivious of things that are happening around them. Then, there's the problem of when the huffing ones need to pass the chatting ones, which is kind of like when two trucks have to pass each other on the I-5 North around where the tumbleweeds are.
It happened multiple times that I had to swing out to the THIRD lane to pass this situation in progress yesterday. Between that, and then weaving between lanes 1 and 2 to dodge the other traffic (most walk in lane 1, some walk in lane 2, then one lady was walking exactly on the line between lane 1 and 2..., also an awkward passing situation) I would be hesitant to call this an optimal setting for a tempo run.
I know I need to be more flexible about my training settings... the time of day, the temperature, the surroundings, etc... but dammit, I like my early mornings with their peace and quiet and cool temperatures!
Sunday 09/28: 1:04:05, Huntington up Los Robles. About 4 miles too short for a long run... but let's just pretend that this is because I'm taking good care of my L ankle and calves that have been complaining above averagely loudly the past few days, and not because I'm a lazy sack o' crap who slept in and then had to clean and move until I ran out of time and daylight for a proper long run. Let's just pretend....
Felt really worn out all day, legs felt dull and heavy in a strange way, which I think mostly stems from the climbing and squatting and stretching and lifting that comes with cleaning and moving. Got a pretty slow start as a result, but still managed 8:30's, so that means I must have been going a good pace towards the end. Breathing remained easy and tranquil throughout, which was encouraging. Also, the lawn-mowers of Pasadena must be on strike, because there was the most fantastic, soft and cushy grass I've ever seen growing on the Sierra Madre and Huntington medians! Maybe its because my shoes are starting to get pretty worn down, but this was the most comfortable, amazing grass I've ever run on--like running on pillows! (which, is actually I guess not really conducive to speed... but I wasn't super worried about that today)
I'm a little worried about my L ankle, a little peeved that I didn't do an actual long run, and a little freaked out that my legs are suddenly feeling not so good... but all in all, you do what you can. For a while today it was kind of looking like I wasn't going to be able to run at all, so this is definitely not the worst case scenario.
Monday 09/29: Off, shots. Work bad. No sleep. Legs feeling tired continues. Bleh. But I think this may be my second to last twice a week shots (?).
Tuesday 09/30: 1:23:36, Bailey to Connector... 29:55 to camp, 49:55 to sign... ohhhhh bollocks. I suppose a down week is in order... Didn't feel bad or anything, HR still probably majority around 180 - 185. Just legs felt tired from the start and wouldn't go, ended up super super slow. Also it was this weird, nasty lukewarm temperature from the start today, and 80+ by 8 am... and there are still people who don't believe in global warming--unbelievable. Third week in a row with slower times, I guess it may have been over ambitious to start up the once a week mountain runs again. On the upside, noticed that low HR mountain runs completely avoid all soreness.
Wednesday 10/01: 47:33, Monterrey Recovery Loop. Felt vaguely more tired than usual, but wasn't that slow, surprisingly. Saw Ian and the Oxy gang in the Arroyo--apparently they also have the easy Wednesdays in the Arroyo thing scheduled pretty regularly. To be honest, I can't remember too much about this run other than it was that nasty lukewarm, humid temperature out, and that I felt groggier and bit more tired in that accumulated fatigue sort of way than usual.
Thursday 10/02: 1:15:17, RB perimeter starting from California. I still don't know what on earth caused me to believe this morning that waking up after 4 hours of sleep to go run 8 miles would make me feel better than sleeping an extra 2 hours... but I did. Did I mention I don't really know why?
Woke up feeling headachey, barfy and with this strange tight, crampiness in my L hamstring. Nevertheless, I woke with a very strong belief that the answer to these problems was to go run, so run I did. I can't imagine that I was going any faster than a post-race recovery jog in the beginning, but I just kept plugging along, waiting to feel better... and I think I was waiting for a very long time. Finally after about 40 minutes, I started to feel a little bit better, but my hamstring didn't loosen up until closer to the 1 hour mark. Then, the last 20 minutes or so felt fine. Strange thing, this running....
Friday 10/03: Off, shots. Traveling. Ugh, what a horrible day this was. Things started to look better after I made my flight with about 5 whole minutes to spare... but not before I'd consumed about 5,000 calories of greasy chinese food, completely blew 2 deadlines, spent $52 on airport parking and almost had a nervous breakdown. Thank goodness I didn't have a run to fit in there too... given how awful me and my legs have been feeling lately. Between that and sleep deprivation, I very possibly would have keeled right over.
Saturday 10/04: 48:55, 2.X laps of Washington Park in Denver near Peter's new place. After sleeping fitfully, I woke up determined to feel better. As it turns out the park is (literally, as I later found) 200m from the house. This was actually the first Colorado run that didn't feel entirely like crap. Felt pretty light on my feet, and the breathing wasn't ragged either, especially given that I had selected a "moderate" instead of an "extremely easy" pace. I figured that's the least I could do, since for a non down week Saturday, I'd have some sort of a tempo on the plate.
Did 2 laps, but it didn't add up to 50 minutes, so I ran around a little bit more until I thought I'd covered about 5 miles and jogged home. Turns out that was unnecessary... again this may be another historical first that I was pleasantly surprised by a gmaps pedometer mapping. The trail perimeter of the park is actually 2.6 miles, vs. what I had pessimistically estimated at between 2 and 2.5 miles. Lap splits were 21:15 and 20:50, which puts me just above 8 minute miles! I think that's the fastest I've run at altitude so far. I wonder if there's a long term adjustment factor, even if the exposure is 2-3 day intervals separated by 2-4 weeks.
Training this week: 5:19:26 (a decent down week)
Goals: Not to die, Part the First (met, but just barely)
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