At this point, I have just begun Week 4 out of 6 in training for the 8k. I can say I am starting to feel a difference. Here's what's happened in the last week.
Tuesday, Feb 20
3.55 miles on the elliptical on 30 minutes
Wednesday, Feb 21
Interval run. Ran 3.2 miles in 32 minutes, though 12 minutes were done at around 8 mph. I felt the inside of my right foot really start to blister, so I change out the foot supports in my sneakers. Even though the fit is a little tight, I can certainly feel the extra support on my insteps.
Friday, Feb 23
The longest run yet. 6.1 miles in 52 minutes. That's about 8:31 per mile. Ideally, I would like to run it in about 7:45, but this run was more about endurance than speed.
Saturday, Feb 24
3.12 miles in 23:45. This was designed to be an easy run, but I ran it at 7:37 mile, almost a minute faster than the long run. Felt pretty good through the run,a side from a stitch in the right side of my rib cage.
Sunday, Feb 25
It was a cross training day or a day of rest. I've rested enough. 40 minutes on the elliptical, 4.87 miles covered. Compared to my last elliptical workout, I worked ten extra minutes and my average pace was 15 seconds faster per mile.
Monday, Feb 26
Back to the power runs. It was a 40 minute tempo run, including a 10 minute warm up and cool down. I started at 7.1 mph and worked up to 7.8. I felt good after 40 minutes so I gave it just one more minute. 5.05 miles in 41 minutes, 8:07 per mile. Knowing that I can finish five miles in right around 40 minutes gives me some optimism. The next seven days are the most intense in the training process, leading up to a 7 mile run next Monday.
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Monday, February 19, 2018
Training problems
So I'm beginning Week 3 of 6 for my 8k race in Virginia Beach on March 17. This training has been incredibly challenging, one of the toughest I have ever attempted. Now I've run two 8ks before. But my health has really struggled.
I'd been running casually for a couple of weeks leading up to my six week training regimen. When I say casually, it is to say I did not have a strict schedule, but I would go 25 or 30 minutes at a time. It wasn't casual jogging, I was going pretty hard. For this race, I had a pre-fuel supplement to give me some extra endurance, I really believed I was getting into good shape. I felt pretty ready.
At the beginning of Week 1, I tore a layer of skin off of the instep of my right foot. Immediately, I knew I was going to have to run through discomfort. I could always put on a blister bandage for a little bit of extra support, but it was only going to help so much. I may wind up investing in athletic supports.
I was able to endure, running five times between Feb 3 and Feb 10. On my first run, I was able to hit five miles in just under 40 minutes, so I knew I was starting from a good place. But then the blister slowed me down.
The on Sunday February 12, the flu hit me and it would wipe out a week of my training. I tried jogging on Wednesday, but my mouth was so dry and swallowing hurt so much, that I felt I needed to recover. Maybe I should have been tougher or something by running through the illness, but I chose not to. The one good thing about my illness is my foot has had a chance to heal up.
Unfortunately, my conditioning is not in a good place right now. I tried to get back into my workouts tonight with a 20 minute tempo run. I ran 10 minutes at 7.3 mph and then I tried 20 minutes at 7.8. I could not get through it. I actually stopped at the 13 minute mark and powerwalked for three minutes before completing the workout. It took me 31 minutes to run four miles. That may not sound that bad, but for the last five minutes, it was a struggle to keep going. Twice I grabbed onto the hand rail for extra help. And I never ever do that.
I definitely want to finish this race in under 40 minutes. I've done a race of this distance in under 37 minutes on two occasions. I don't know what I'll be able to do. I think I need to work on getting my endurance back. Then whatever speed I can get back, I get back.
Tomorrow I have cross training and I am definitely going to put in at least 40 minutes on the elliptical. Then Wednesday is an interval run, which is one of the toughest workouts in the program. Thursday I can take a day off before running Friday and Saturday.
It's a big week for me to re-establish my endurance. Today was not an easy one. But I do have time to make the best of it.
I'd been running casually for a couple of weeks leading up to my six week training regimen. When I say casually, it is to say I did not have a strict schedule, but I would go 25 or 30 minutes at a time. It wasn't casual jogging, I was going pretty hard. For this race, I had a pre-fuel supplement to give me some extra endurance, I really believed I was getting into good shape. I felt pretty ready.
At the beginning of Week 1, I tore a layer of skin off of the instep of my right foot. Immediately, I knew I was going to have to run through discomfort. I could always put on a blister bandage for a little bit of extra support, but it was only going to help so much. I may wind up investing in athletic supports.
I was able to endure, running five times between Feb 3 and Feb 10. On my first run, I was able to hit five miles in just under 40 minutes, so I knew I was starting from a good place. But then the blister slowed me down.
The on Sunday February 12, the flu hit me and it would wipe out a week of my training. I tried jogging on Wednesday, but my mouth was so dry and swallowing hurt so much, that I felt I needed to recover. Maybe I should have been tougher or something by running through the illness, but I chose not to. The one good thing about my illness is my foot has had a chance to heal up.
Unfortunately, my conditioning is not in a good place right now. I tried to get back into my workouts tonight with a 20 minute tempo run. I ran 10 minutes at 7.3 mph and then I tried 20 minutes at 7.8. I could not get through it. I actually stopped at the 13 minute mark and powerwalked for three minutes before completing the workout. It took me 31 minutes to run four miles. That may not sound that bad, but for the last five minutes, it was a struggle to keep going. Twice I grabbed onto the hand rail for extra help. And I never ever do that.
I definitely want to finish this race in under 40 minutes. I've done a race of this distance in under 37 minutes on two occasions. I don't know what I'll be able to do. I think I need to work on getting my endurance back. Then whatever speed I can get back, I get back.
Tomorrow I have cross training and I am definitely going to put in at least 40 minutes on the elliptical. Then Wednesday is an interval run, which is one of the toughest workouts in the program. Thursday I can take a day off before running Friday and Saturday.
It's a big week for me to re-establish my endurance. Today was not an easy one. But I do have time to make the best of it.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Social media etiquette
If I compared how much of my interactions are texts and social media compared to voice to voice, I'd probably be alarmed. I've blown my gasket a couple of times and faced a consequences on rare occasion. But I have a few philosophies on how to handle social media conversations at this stage.
1) If I give you the last words in a disagreement that you start, it's not because I'm stumped. It's because I choose to let it go. But if it boosts your ego, well, guess there's nothing else to say.
2) If I disagree with you, that's fine. But if you say something so outrageously stupid or ignorant, I'm going to call you out.
3) If you tag me in a post, I don't have to read it. Especially if I happened to get under your skin.
4) If we're in a relationship, that doesn't mean I'm going to brag about it on social media. Those posts can often be obnoxious.
1) If I give you the last words in a disagreement that you start, it's not because I'm stumped. It's because I choose to let it go. But if it boosts your ego, well, guess there's nothing else to say.
2) If I disagree with you, that's fine. But if you say something so outrageously stupid or ignorant, I'm going to call you out.
3) If you tag me in a post, I don't have to read it. Especially if I happened to get under your skin.
4) If we're in a relationship, that doesn't mean I'm going to brag about it on social media. Those posts can often be obnoxious.
Friday, February 09, 2018
A day in the life of a pen
So here's my creative writing prompt number two. What does a pen go through each day? If the pen could talk to a user, what would it say?
This was my biggest issue in figuring out how to approach this writing exercise. Would a pen actually want to get used? On one hand, it has a function, purpose, a job. But the more it gets used, the closer it is to meeting its demise. But how could it even know it's getting closer to the end?
Here's my attempt to verbalize the voiceless pen.
You know I've been wanting to say a few things for a while now...
I know that there's a billion of us in the world. So I get that you toss me around like I'm dispensable. Someone else will come along soon enough and you won't even remember me. I can handle that, because I know I'm important to you while you have me.
It hurts when I'm clicked so hard. I don't mind your clicking, just don't push it in so hard, ok?
When you stand me up, and you put me back in the cup, it's a little awkward. I recognize most of them, some of them look exactly like me. And then there's always a few foreigners that we haven't seen before. But we all get to socialize. The scary thing is once one of us gets pulled out we don't know if he's ever going to come back!
What is your fascination of putting me in your mouth? Exactly what do I taste like?
And furthermore, how do you decide which one of us you're going to pull out?
Are you looking for the one with the full cap, the old reliable Bic, or do you need the clicker?
My blue brother feels totally ignored. He knows he's your absolute last option.
Chances are you'd rather actually try to remember crap rather than write with him.
By the way, when one of us explodes, that's us puking.
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