Thursday, September 13, 2007

Food (and Rest) it Up!

Last night’s 7-miler concluded my training for the week (I moved Thursday’s run to Wednesday to get an extra day of rest before Saturday’s race… even if it is just a super sprint), so now it’s time to rest and eat. Ahh, two of my preferred activities!

But I have to admit that my brain wasn’t functioning properly again yesterday. I started my after-work run and my watch, stopped it to cross a street and never switched it on again. So, I just set the world record in the 3.5-miler: 2:22. Woo hoo! I realized the error after about a mile and just tried to keep up a 9-9:30/mile pace through the first half of the run. And I think I'm finally getting a mental feel for my pace. In other words, I'm getting a pacing clue!

Since I also forgot to check my workout before I took off, I was lucky to correctly guess my plan: 6-7 miles, including 4 x 2:00 aerobic intervals and 6 gentle pickups.

It was nice to get in some of these higher intensity spurts on rolling hills. I swear if I move from this area one of the few things I’ll miss (other than the cupcake shop) will be the rolling hills. While it’s not as great on miles for my already-fuel-efficient car, it really puts some extra kick into a workout. But it also puts an extra kick into my achy left calf.

I came home from the run around 6:45 p.m., ate dinner and then iced my calf for about 30 minutes. Some non-medical advice I received recommended before/after stretching and after icing… so I’m giving it a try. Plus, I’m getting back to my morning yoga in hopes that the addition stretching might aid some of my achy problems. If nothing else, it’s a nice workout that wakes me up when an alarm just won’t.

And now it’s all about resting (I have my feet kicked up as I type) and eating foods that will power me to the finish on Saturday. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve decided not to compete in Sunday’s sprint tri at Portage Lakes. But my half marathon plan calls for 10 miles on Sunday—my first 10-miler since my June 17 injury. I’m coming back, baby (knock on wood)!

2 comments:

Joe said...

The 10 miles will be a good milestone. Good luck with the comeback, Kid!

B Bop said...

Good to hear the mileage is building up again. I've been running for a couple years now, and after many calf strains learned that speedwork and increasing distance/mileage don't go together for me.....at least not yet.

Good Luck @ Portage Lakes!!!