Running OK

Got out to the B-Ball game last night. Crowd was kind of small, so we played 4 on 4 with no subs. Needless to say, I was beat at the end of 3 full court games. It actually felt good to stretch the legs out a bit, but I sure was sore when I got up this morning.

Got up in time to get to the Y for a quick workout. I hit the stretch machine and then the pool. Did 3 X 200M freestyle. Form was okay, but I really need to work on my torso rotation. I can’t get comfortable turning to my offside. Maybe I should try breathing every 3 strokes (alternate sides) vs. my current pattern of every 2 strokes (same side). I have been trying to blow bubbles on my offside to help get me turning more, but that is just getting in the way. Anyone out there (yeah right) with any suggestions, feel free to shoot them my way.

On another note, we received a very nice double bike trailer from some friends whose kids had outgrown it. Can’t wait to get out there and try it out.

So B-Ball was canceled Tues night, so Carrie and I did Baby and Me pilates.  Or should I say attempted to.  We didn’t have a lot of time before G&A’s bedtime, so we decided to do one session for us, and the baby massage section for the kiddos.  (I know, lucky them, right?)  So we (Carrie) chose the session that targets the belly.  Wow, it was intense.  Much balancing of babies on your legs while doing poses.  I think we both were panting and rolling in pain before the 15 minute session was over.

Then I felt the need to get a little run in, even though I was supposed to do some track work.  So I headed out w/ the dog for 3.2 miles.  Nothing special, but didn’t really feel any pains in the hammy.  Good signs.

Wed. AM got up to hit the Y and the cycle.  Did 30 min. and got 9.10 miles.  Slowly, but surely making in-roads on speed.   Stretched and finished with 2X 250M freestyle in the pool. Felt good and smooth, even though I was lapped after 15 laps by the guy next to me.

This AM I decided to do part of the RLRF plan and see how the hammy reacted.  Was supposed to be 5 miles at mid tempo (8:25/mi.).  Decided to do one mile warm-up followed by 4 miles at mid-tempo.  Warm-up went well, and the running was fine, except for the wind.  The first tempo mile was into a headwind of 20+ mph with gusts in the 30+ range.  The rest of the tempo was with a cross wind.  Ended up cutting the tempo and run a little short.  Finished 3.5mi. at tempo and kept them around 8:20/mi.  Total run was 4.75 mi.  Was feeling a bit of pain in the hammy, but nothing too strong.  Stretched it out and it was feeling better.

We’ll see how it goes for the 1/2 on Sunday.  I’m thinking 1:45 as a goal is not too far off from a possibility.  I think I’ll set the Garmin to pace for that and see how it goes.

So I decided to sleep in Saturday and give the hammy an extra day’s rest before putting in a long run.  Good idea as I slept so well and woke up refreshed Saturday, but bad in that supper club went late Saturday night and I woke up Sunday with a sore throat and sore ears.  Oh well.  Got to feeling better later in the day, and it was fairly nice outside, so took G&A out for a run.  It was very nice in the sun, so long as you were guarded from the gusting winds.  But it was nice to be out in shorts and long sleeves.  Ended up running 7 miles in 1:05.  Not too shabby for pushing the wind break on wheels (double jog stroller).  Only problem was around 4.5 miles the hammy started letting me know it was there.  The last push north (into the wind) of about a .5 mile was fairly rough.  Before the run, I was thinking about going for another bit after I dropped the kiddos off.  That idea was 86’d.  We’ll see how the 1/2 goes next weekend.  Don’t know if I’ll be doing speed work this week.

Mon. am got back on the bike.  30 min 9.05 miles.  Then on the the stretch machine and into the pool.  Swam 2 X 250M.  Felt pretty good, fairly effortless and a little fluid.

Was going to run some this am, but we were baking bread until 10:45 last night, followed by feeding the kiddos.  Which resulted in not getting to sleep until after midnight.  Factor in another feeding at 4:30 am, and 6am was not happening.  So it will be basketball tonight.

Got back into the swing of the Run Less/Run Faster plan on Tuesday with an early morning track workout.  The Y has an indoor track (10 laps=1mile), so I hit it for track work.  Roughly figured out how many laps for the plan.  Tues was warm-up followed by 3 X 1600M (1 min rest b/t), with a cool down to finish.  The 1600M were to be at 7:35 pace.  Warm-up of .5 mile and then took off.  The first 1600M were strong all the way through.  But I did take about 2 min (2 laps) rest b/t 1600M.  The second 1600M was a bit of a struggle, but was able to keep it fairly even.  Third 1600M was rough.  I began to feel it at about the second lap, and kind of tapered off from there, but was able to finish strong and kept the time under 8 min.

Having a time figuring out how to time the repeats.  This time I used the timer on the wall and tried to start at near the top of a minute.  Worked fairly well, and was able to gauge my progress without fiddling with a watch, but not the most accurate.

Didn’t hit the pool as it was raining/lightening when I left the house and didn’t pack accordingly, but the pool was open by the time I was done.

This am I hit the bike.  Did 8.95miles in 30 min.  Tried to keep the rpm in the 100 range.  Really felt the burn, but was able to keep them there for the whole effort.   Then I used this cool stretching contraption that has a seat and kneepad with hand holds, and you use your body weight to push back from the hand holds to stretch back, legs etc.  Really good stretches.   Then hit the pool for 2 x 250M.  Nothing spectacular, but not poor either.  Lots of swimmers this am, so lots of waves in the pool.