Another three-day post. I have to admit, I'd prefer to update everyday, but some days it seems I have to choose between writing a post and going for a run -- most of those days, I feel like the run is the better option.
So I took off Thursday with an ankle pain. It was a tough decision mainly because I couldn't figure out the pain -- for instance, I would never have gone to my high school coach and said, "I don't know; it just hurts" where my ankle is concerned -- but I took the day off, and I've had no problem with it since. Maybe high school two-a-day Jackson could learn something from overweight, adult Jackson who, so far this year has run the same number of days that he has taken off . . . a conundrum.
* * *
Friday, on the other hand, I ran my .4 mile hill repeats. I started off with a mile and a half warm up. In past hill repeats, I've felt myself trying to skip everything preliminary and jump right into the heart of the run. This has often lead me to burn out after three or four repeats. Times: (3:04), (3:11), (3:12), (3:03), (3:03), (2:57), (2:58), (2:59). Average: (3:03). Mean: (3:05) +/-8.
These are my times from December 19, the last time I ran this workout: Times: (2:59), (3:09), (3:11), (3:00), (3:10), (3:00), (3:06), (2:57). Average: (3:02). Mean (3:05) +/-6.
Not quite as good as the last time I ran it in any way, except I like the consistency of the final three repeats. I don't know what happened on the second two repeats: I was extremely tired for today's run. Not physically, nearly so much as there were moments when I am certain, I could have stopped in the middle of my run down the hill and take a nap by the side of the road.
Perhaps I should have had a cup of coffee right before my run. When I was a high school athlete, I would have viewed caffeine as a performance-enhancing drug. These days, when I'm out of gas, I have no objection to it. While I would like to, ultimately, cut back on my daily consumption of caffeine, taking some before a run, I have often found gives me the boost, sometimes the desire, to get a good workout, rather than a slow, slogging, hateful push. When I was first experimenting with caffeine on my runs, I tried soda a couple times . . . that lead to an awesome second mile. When the sugar wore off, all bets wore off with it.
* * *
Saturday, I left the crapradoodle at home and had a very nice maintenance run. I ran my 3.4 mile loop backwards (counterclockwise, that is, not looking over my shoulder). I ran 27:32, which is considerably faster than my regular maintenance loop. I don't know why, entirely, except with the dog, I do often stop for one of us to crap (I'm not pointing fingers). And I was feeling pretty good physically today, such that maybe I pushed harder than I would like.
Running the loop this way allows me to run my Lancaster Hill repeat once at my maintenance speed. I'd never timed it at this pace, but today I ran it in (3:52). I don't know if that's a good relative speed considering my repeats or a bad one. Just thought it might be interesting. The jury's still out on the issue.
A number of things came up yesterday, including the Steelers' 29-23 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos (I'm rarely a sports fan, per se, but I do enjoy watching the Steelers' playoff games), and I did not get out for a run. I've been strongly wanting to get this 10-day loop solid, but I've been struggling -- mostly with finding time. Given the time of year, I know, I should be working towards building a base for some more serious training in the spring and summer.
That being said, I should certainly get out there this afternoon for a tempo run.
Running Tally:
Friday: 7.5
Saturday: 3.4
Previous: 11.4
Year To Date: 22.3 miles.
Running Days: 4
Days off:4
This would make a beautiful chart of some sort!
So I took off Thursday with an ankle pain. It was a tough decision mainly because I couldn't figure out the pain -- for instance, I would never have gone to my high school coach and said, "I don't know; it just hurts" where my ankle is concerned -- but I took the day off, and I've had no problem with it since. Maybe high school two-a-day Jackson could learn something from overweight, adult Jackson who, so far this year has run the same number of days that he has taken off . . . a conundrum.
* * *
Friday, on the other hand, I ran my .4 mile hill repeats. I started off with a mile and a half warm up. In past hill repeats, I've felt myself trying to skip everything preliminary and jump right into the heart of the run. This has often lead me to burn out after three or four repeats. Times: (3:04), (3:11), (3:12), (3:03), (3:03), (2:57), (2:58), (2:59). Average: (3:03). Mean: (3:05) +/-8.
These are my times from December 19, the last time I ran this workout: Times: (2:59), (3:09), (3:11), (3:00), (3:10), (3:00), (3:06), (2:57). Average: (3:02). Mean (3:05) +/-6.
Not quite as good as the last time I ran it in any way, except I like the consistency of the final three repeats. I don't know what happened on the second two repeats: I was extremely tired for today's run. Not physically, nearly so much as there were moments when I am certain, I could have stopped in the middle of my run down the hill and take a nap by the side of the road.
Perhaps I should have had a cup of coffee right before my run. When I was a high school athlete, I would have viewed caffeine as a performance-enhancing drug. These days, when I'm out of gas, I have no objection to it. While I would like to, ultimately, cut back on my daily consumption of caffeine, taking some before a run, I have often found gives me the boost, sometimes the desire, to get a good workout, rather than a slow, slogging, hateful push. When I was first experimenting with caffeine on my runs, I tried soda a couple times . . . that lead to an awesome second mile. When the sugar wore off, all bets wore off with it.
* * *
Saturday, I left the crapradoodle at home and had a very nice maintenance run. I ran my 3.4 mile loop backwards (counterclockwise, that is, not looking over my shoulder). I ran 27:32, which is considerably faster than my regular maintenance loop. I don't know why, entirely, except with the dog, I do often stop for one of us to crap (I'm not pointing fingers). And I was feeling pretty good physically today, such that maybe I pushed harder than I would like.
Running the loop this way allows me to run my Lancaster Hill repeat once at my maintenance speed. I'd never timed it at this pace, but today I ran it in (3:52). I don't know if that's a good relative speed considering my repeats or a bad one. Just thought it might be interesting. The jury's still out on the issue.
A number of things came up yesterday, including the Steelers' 29-23 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos (I'm rarely a sports fan, per se, but I do enjoy watching the Steelers' playoff games), and I did not get out for a run. I've been strongly wanting to get this 10-day loop solid, but I've been struggling -- mostly with finding time. Given the time of year, I know, I should be working towards building a base for some more serious training in the spring and summer.
That being said, I should certainly get out there this afternoon for a tempo run.
Running Tally:
Friday: 7.5
Saturday: 3.4
Previous: 11.4
Year To Date: 22.3 miles.
Running Days: 4
Days off:4
This would make a beautiful chart of some sort!
