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)!

Collecting my Energy for Sunday Morning

My only hardworking task today: eating.

I had butternut squash soup and potato-and-alfredo pizza for lunch and gnocchi with baked plums and sweet potatoes for dinner. Mmm... carbolicious, I tell you. And I can feel all that energy gearing up to be unleashed on Sunday morning.

I took a long, slow walk this evening (another cool night) to stretch out my tight right hamstring for 2.5 miles. It started feeling a little tight in the middle of the day, and I’m hoping that the muscle-warming walk and easy stretching will make it chill out. But the walk and stretching will be the extent of my activities for the next day and a quarter.

In the meantime, I’ll occupy myself with triathlon focus. Because the Greater Cleveland Triathlon will be my first, I’m wholly uncertain of what to expect of the race, the course and myself. And since I don’t know, my time goals are the following loose guesstimations (sans transitions… or with transitions mixed in?):

• 1/2-mile swim in 30:00
• 12-mile bike in 1:00:00
• 5K/3.1-mile run in 30:00

It may be too much; it may be too little. According to last year’s results, it’s very middle of the road. And I’m all right with that. So, we dive in at 7 a.m. I’d like to be done by 9 a.m.

Now I just need to work on getting some good sleep!