Week 5's training schedule:
Monday - 4 easy miles
Tuesday - 5 lassos + 1-2 mi WU/CD
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 4.5 mi tempo run + 1-2 mi WU/CD
Friday - 60 min cross train
Saturday - 11 miles long
Sunday - Rest or 60 min cross train
This week was infinitely better than the two previous weeks. After suffering through nearly 2 weeks of being sick, I was finally able to get back on track and complete all my workouts this week on their scheduled days.
I even tried to get crafty this week and tried to do some yoga on Friday. I was feeling pretty sore after having already run 21.5 miles between Monday and Thursday and since I'm still a really bad stretcher I thought maybe some yoga might help to loosen my tight hamstrings. So I perused OnDemand until I found a video called Yoga for Runners. I thought, perfect, this is exactly what I need.
I started the video (which was only 17 minutes long) and began with some deep breathing followed by a flow that had me going up and down and up and down. Problem was, my legs were so tight and tired that I just wanted to hold the stretching positions forever and not move. But I forced myself to keep going, trying to keep up with the annoying man in the video. When the 17 minutes were over, I was more frustrated than calm and just as tight as I was before. So I decided to try a different video that was geared more toward yoga beginners. I turned it on and... it was the same guy. Annoyed, I ditched the yoga and decided to just focus on stretching for while. I really need to start stretching more after I finish my workouts.
Saturday's long run was the best I've felt in weeks. We had a short clinic beforehand where our coaches introduced us to gels, goos, gummies, beans - a whole plethora of "food" items meant to give your body necessary electrolytes and carbs it needs for running long distances. I've used the Gu brand gels before and find that, while they don't taste bad, the texture can be hard to swallow while you're running. I had some gummies with me to try during the run that day. Our coaches explained to us that for someone who has been training for a marathon, the body can go about 18 miles or so without fuel. If you're running a marathon though, there's still 8.2 miles you need to cover and if you're trying to do that on an empty tank it probably won't go well. Gatorade and these energy supplements can help cover the gaps and get you through to the end. I'll definitely need to start trying more of these products to see which one I like the best and will want to use for race day.
It was fairly cold for our team run, and it had snowed just about an inch on Thursday so many people decided that wasn't worth shoveling. This was a pain in the butt though since running over the snow allows it to accumulate on the bottom of your sneakers and throws off your gait. To top it off, my iPhone decided it was too cold to function and stopped working about half an hour into my run. Thankfully, my coach Sarah caught up with me and we chatted about the Serial podcasts for a while (we both finished them, we both needed something new to listen to).
I had extra motivation to finish this run a bit quicker than normal as Jack and I had tickets to the Patriots vs Ravens playoff game that afternoon. I spontaneously decided to bid on a pair of tickets on eBay earlier in the week and surprisingly had won. I was pretty excited and I thought Jack was going to pee his pants he was so happy. I pushed through the run and finished at 11:00, exactly when I thought I would. I stretched briefly (I know, I should stretch more) and hightailed it out of Wellesley to Ashland to meet up with Jack. My phone unfroze about halfway to his house thankfully and I was able to let him know I was coming. I got to his place and immediately jumped in the shower (which was great, because my clothes were so sweaty I was freeeeezing). The forecast called for temperatures in the twenties dropping down to the teens so I had come prepared with as many layers as I thought I could fit on my body. I started with a pair of long underwear bottoms and a turtle neck base-layer running shirt. Added a pair of fuzzy running spandex and a long sleeve shirt. I took the rest of my layers with me and decided to bundle up in the car so I would't sweat on the way there. We made it to Foxboro in great time since we took all backroads. We spent a ridiculous amount of money on parking (which ended up being okay in the end since we got out faster than if we were in one of the Pats big lots) and loaded up with the rest of our layers. I added a pair of fuzzy sweatpants and a pair of windbreaker pants, a fleece sweatshirt and my winter jacket. 3 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of gloves, 2 scarves, a hat, and a whole lot of hand warmers later we trekked off to Lot 10 to meet up with Jack's friends from high school for a tailgate party. After devouring the sandwich Jack got for me, we enjoyed hanging out with his friends for a while before eventually making our way to the stadium for the game. Our seats were not that bad - top level, but row 12 (rather than the last row where we sat in 2012), and on the 35 yard line visitors side. It was such a great game to be at one that people keep saying will go down in Pats history. I managed to make it through without freezing and we only had to wait about 45 minutes from the time we got to the car to the time we left the lot.
All in all a great week with 32.5 out of a possible 32.5 miles completed.
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