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July 31, 2005
what a slacker
During every run this week I've composed blog entry after blog entry in my head. They were all witty and sparkling and wise, and they captured perfectly what it's like to be an average joe running mid-80s mileage with nothing to show for it. Of course I didn't post any of it and I forgot all the witty and sparkling stuff since then, so all we have now is a somewhat dry and self-pitying account of the past training week.
Sunday I ran 6 miles at 9:50 pace after working all night. Well, it wasn't exactly all night; I was babysitting a process that required me to get up every hour or two to check on it. Anyway, I just puttered around the neighborhood thinking pollyanna-ish thoughts: so what if I have to work overnight two weekends a month - at least I have time to run.
Monday was another recovery day. I ran 6 miles in the morning and 4 in the evening, and there's nothing else to say about that.
I was dreading Tuesday's workout: 11 miles with 5 at 6:40 - 6:55 pace. I really did an excellent job convincing myself I couldn't do it. I ran 2.5 at 6:51 pace, then jogged 400m, then ran 2.5 at 6:47 pace. Excellent, excellent example of the power of negative thinking.
On Wednesday I ran 15 including about 4 miles of little hills. I really tried to hammer the uphills and float the downhills.
Thursday was 10 more miles of recovery. I ran a little over 6 in the morning, then ran just under 4 just ahead of a violent, yellow-sky thunderstorm.
Friday's run was sponsored by the word CADENCE, and was a study in how to get up a hill quickly without killing yourself. Somewhere early in that 12 miles I got my legs going at a pretty good clip, and decided to see how long I could hold it. It turned out to be a lot longer than I thought, and the longer I ran, the faster I ran. This was probably the high point of the week.
Saturday was a joke the running gods played on me for 22 miles. I wasn't sore or even very tired, but I could not get moving. I finally ran some high 8s the last 2 or 3 miles. My average pace for the whole thing was 9:28, and it took nearly 3 1/2 hours.
The coming week is 81 miles, including a six-mile tempo run to talk myself out of and a 16-miler with 12 at marathon pace. I'm on call this week too, so sleep may be hard to come by. Oh well, so what if I work 7 days a week - my husband takes care of the house and the bills, so I don't really have to do anything but work, sleep, and run.
Posted by joe positive at July 31, 2005 2:59 PM
Comments
That sounds like some tough training!
Posted by: Alison at July 31, 2005 5:11 PM
Welcome back!! thought you were on vacation. I agree with Alison, no slacking there!!
Posted by: Dawn at July 31, 2005 8:14 PM