Week 14/17 HM Training - Run #1 11.5K

This pic is what I found under images for "casual, relaxed" ... ?!?!?!!? There were other equally bizarre images, but at least this weird one gave me an excuse to post an image of a dog.

In direct contrast to weather predictions of rain, rain, rain for the week, this morning was sunny, gorgeous, and just the right temperature. :) Thank goodness I had a run scheduled because it would have been very difficult to have a rest day!

The run started out well. Same old, same old. :) A friend drove by me on the bridge and honked at the 2K mark. :) By the 3 km mark, I saw another friend ahead of me with her dog so the three of us stopped to chat and sniff with them (for the record, I chatted only!) as we walked a short distance together. After making arrangements to meet up later in the week, we were off again.

I usually have trouble resuming running after stopping, and today was no exception. The next few km were a little tough to get my legs going again. I so admire people who can run, stop for awhile, and then start running again because I just don't seem to be able to do this 'well.' However, I was farther away from home than not and running at this point was also a mode on transportation to return home in time so off we went ... I had to suck it up. :)

Once again, there wasn't really anything of consequence to report in this post. It was, in general, a sweet, casual, relaxed run (hence the image search that produced a dog in people clothing). :) I was happy to take it easy because I have a speed workout scheduled for tomorrow, and I think last week's enthusiastic and faster 11.5K run tired me out a little too much for the following day's speed assignment.

Of note is the fact that I ran up my nemesis hill once again without stopping, and it made me realize that I have been doing this quite regularly for awhile - should I really be calling it nemesis hill anymore? "Thrill Hill" still fits as an ironic name because there is nothing thrilling about this hill at all. :( But I guess I can now say that I am 'thrilled' that this hill no longer poses an overwhelming challenge to me, that it has slowly over the course of this running season become a 'norm' to run several times per week. :)

*****

Schedule change. :) I have a 10K race in Stratford this coming Sunday - the Festival City Run. :) This is one of the easiest weeks to adjust/switch to accommodate a race in my training schedule. I will run my LSD of 16K on Friday (instead of Sunday), and consider my 10K race on Sunday the equivalent of my speed workout scheduled for Friday. Check this out ... my speed workout is 3 x 2 miles @21:22 so in order to 'meet expectations', I will run need to run 10K (6.2 miles) on Sunday in 1:06:14 (it was a little bit of an effort to figure that one out exactly!). This is not factoring in the two steep hills on the course versus the flat track ideal conditions, but I will mull it over and consider in my race prediction post this coming Saturday evening. :)

Week 9/17 HM Training - Run #1 11.5K (& Phase II Begins)

Let's hear it for the end of eight weeks of Phase I: Road Work - woooooo hoooooo! It has not been the easiest eight weeks - there were lots of 'hits' and lots of 'misses.' I'll cover all that in a separate, analysis post. For now, I'll just let out out a wooooo and a hoooooooo to celebrate!

And now, cue the trumpets ... TA DA! I am officially entering Phase II: Strength Work. I have to say that I really like how this training program breaks the training up into three different phases. Similar to the way I split up my long run the other day into three, shorter separate runs 'psychologically,' I find it more enjoyable to have my HM training split into separate, focused parts.

For an overview on what is involved, see my separate post on Phase II: Strength Work.

As for my run this morning ... :) It was a gorgeous, sunny morning - warm without being too crazy warm, no humidity and a slight breeze. Sweet! I enjoyed being out there and found myself zoning out into my thoughts. Usually this is a good thing, but today I forgot to turn around in the park earlier (my usual 11.5K route) and instead turned later, which is my 13K route. As a result, while I was running up Riverside Hill today, I reached 11.5K at its midpoint. Rather than stopping on a hill, I kept going and ran a short recovery at the top to make it an even 12K. I am really pleased to see how much easier this is hill is for me to run up these days from beginning to end. :) Angus was dragging near the end of it (starting at around 9K). It was just a touch too warm for him to be running this distance, but he is such a trooper!

Hill work tomorrow. :P

*****

On a sad note, the death of a student at Niagara Falls has been in the news lately. For me, it was such a huge, special thrill to finish my half marathon right at the Horseshoe Falls. I love the photo of me with my medal with the Falls in the background (it's at the foot of my blog and keep in mind that I had just run for hours so it's the background that looks great, not me!). This was such a stupid, preventable death. :(

Week 2/17 HM Training - Run #3 12K

12K @1:26:24

Avg. Pace 7:13/km

Moving Pace 7:06/km

Boo yah! I'll substitute my usual Woo hoo! for a Boo yah! just to add a bit of variety. :)

I am using my jumping with joy cartoon girl because I ran 12K solid and steadily this morning, including my nemesis Riverside Drive hill ... this after the last three days worth of runs and fitness classes so not only am I happy, but somewhat surprised! :)

I slept solidly last night. I headed to bed extra early because I was so exhausted. :( It felt good to wake up this morning and realize that my sleep was so deep. I felt rested and better prepared for this run, and fortunately, my muscles weren't as sore as I expected them to be, but just a little stiff.

I was scheduled for 7 miles/11.5K. Wallace, Angus and I headed out together in the cooler, early morning weather. I really noticed today how perfectly in sync the three of us run together now. The dogs have learned very well how to run with me, and it's not uncommon for me to even forget that they are even there because the leashes are slack / not tugging at my waist (I'm still using my old water belt as part of this doggie ensemble) and they are at heel instead of running ahead excitedly. They have become better at ignoring other dogs along the way, too. :)

I held my speed back a bit and tried my best to keep this an eas"ier" workout because of my desire to run the full 12K (rounding up these darn .5s!), and after my success making it up the full hill last Thursday, I felt somewhat pressured to do it again today. :)

Today the bottom of the hill started at the end of my 10th km and the top was partially through my 11th km. Check this out:

10 km - 7:25/km (includes a stop and walk at the traffic lights)

11 km - 7:06

Smiles, everyone, smiles! This is great!

And then to finish this achievement, it makes me happy to see that I just completed 12K as a training, regular every day run, and not as an LSD.

And I have to add this - it did not feel half as long as that 15K from last Sunday felt!

No fitness club today. I'm taking a break. Just the run. :)

Tomorrow I have a rest day. We are having a BBQ/guests Saturday night so I may switch my Sunday 15K with my Saturday 7K instead to make sure that, in case we have a very good time :), I will be minimally affected. :)

WEEK 2/17 HM Training - Run #1 10K

10.04 km @1:12:59

Avg Pace 7:17/km

Avg. Moving Pace 7:05/km

For me, today's run ended up being a very interesting one. :)

Angus, Wallace and I headed out extra early in an effort to avoid the heat and humidity predicted for the day. It still ended up being very muggy, and I was wet from sweating when I arrived home (it truly is summer now!). Today was my last 6 mile/10K on a Tuesday. As of next week, my training schedule turns all Tuesday runs into 7 mile/11.5K - it is the one day on my schedule that will remain consistently the same distance until the end of October/my training schedule.

Today is also "Thrill Hill Tuesday." I committed myself to running up a hill I have usually avoided so I forced myself (yes, literally forced myself!) to head toward it at the end of my run today.

Initially, I was expecting my run to be sluggish, not only because of the weather/mugginess, but because of the fitness class I attended last night. I tried a "Body Sculpt" class for the first time at my fitness club. I am really going to try to make it to these type of classes more often in an effort to boost my metabolism/strength/fitness for the next seven weeks. By doing this, I am sure that my runs may suffer somewhat in the short term (sluggish legs, a little more tired). However, in the long term, I think this will benefit my running (more muscle, less fat = go faster!), and that this is the time to do it ... when my training program is focused solely on road work/mileage.

This class caught me a little off guard because I have never had to line up in a long line before. When I walked into the club early, there was already a line-up of women waiting for the instructor to arrive. Wow! Clearly a very popular class, and I soon learned why. It was 45 minutes of excellent arm work and leg work with a barbell, free weights, and tension rope. I really enjoyed it. I purposely kept my selection of weights lighter and ended up thankful that I did because the instructor makes us do quite a few repetitions! There was plenty of squats and lunges, and this is why I am discussing this class more in depth than usual - I knew that I would be feeling it the next morning!

To my surprise, my legs and arms felt great this morning - just a little stiff when I was expecting to be a little sore:

1 km - 7:10

But this is what surprised me when I looked at my results later:

2 km - 6:35

Wow! I ran this during my warm-up when I usually feel a little sluggish? :) And then, look! It shows up again:

3 km - 7:12

4 km - 6:31

Sweet! And then this is when I am running up the hill behind Storybook Gardens:

5 km - 7:07

6 km - 6:53

And then, woo hoo! Three times the charm!

7 km - 6:39

But by now, I am feeling my tiredness and the mugginess ...

8 km - 6:42

And this is when I stop to walk a steep incline from the path up to Wonderland Road, and for a short distance along the bridge ... and then I am stopped at the traffic lights at Riverside Drive ...

9 km - 9:18

Finally, this is when I can start running again and I run 3/4 of the way up my nemesis Riverside hill before needing to stop to walk to the crest, and slowly running to my 10K finish:

10 km - 8:28

So! A nice surprise for me to see some faster times, especially when it didn't "feel" like I running a 6:30-ish pace. I am not expecting the same results tomorrow because right now I can really feel the after-effects of last night's class combined with a 10K run! :( And even though I want to excuse myself, I am heading back to the gym with Ben tonight to try another class, "Rock Bottom," so I can determine which one will suit my goals best. :)

An 8K is schedule for tomorrow. Expect a slow and sluggish run report! :)

WEEK 1/17 HM Training - Run #1 10K

The first day of summer ... the first day of official PR half marathon training ... and it was my worst run of 2011. I am not bothering with posting my time. I'd rather forget it. :(

Before this became my worst run of the year, I had decided to make a slight change to my training program. Tuesdays are no longer going to be "Tuneless Tuesdays." Instead, every Tuesday's run (soon to be 6 miles/11.5K on a regular basis) will be about running up Riverside Hill ... from the difficult side. :) With my last training program, I did hill workouts for three weeks during Phase II: Strength Training. At the time, it made me think about how I always avoid going up this hill. I usually run down it at the 1.5-2K mark of my runs, and then take the flatter route home, thus avoiding the incline back. I don't have scheduled hill workouts for the next 8 weeks, but I am thinking that it would be ego-boosting if, by the time I reach this training point, if I were able to run up Riverside Hill without walking/stopping. Therefore, I plan to attempt it every Tuesday for the next 8 weeks.

And this is probably why I feel even more disappointed in my run today ... because I wanted to start with a bang. I could start to list all the possible reasons why today's run went so poorly, but instead, I am just going to say, "it is what it is." Not every run is going to be great, and I'm lucky that most of my runs go well. I have had some stellar training weeks and I have also established several new PRs in the last 5 months so I am not going to beat myself up too much for needing to walk/run a 10K today.

How ironic to say in this particular post that it can only go "up" from here. :)

To finish, I did manage to run from the base of the hill to the lower entrance of Braemar Crescent before stopping to walk up the hill the rest of the way. Next week, my minimum goal is to run up the hill as far as the upper entrance to Braemar Crescent.

A new-to-me "Rock Bottom" class at the gym focusing on the glutes and leg muscles is on the agenda for tonight and an 8K is scheduled for tomorrow.