Strong 13 and I’m Wiped Out
May 23, 2010
Ok, perhaps I exaggerate – I’m surprisingly not wiped out. I’m realizing, though, how much I am dependent on caffeine. I started my coffee-free week with the idea that I was relying on it far too much to get me through the day, but also to get me through my runs, but I’m also discovering how much I was using it as a mood enhancer. Eep! If that doesn’t have chemical dependency written all over it, I don’t know what does.
So after stalling pretty much all day, and being distracted by a certain BF who is supposed to be training for a triathlon himself, I finally got out and hit the roads for a long run that was intended to be twelve to fourteen miles. I’m using my new shoes, which have this killer electric green on them, but the coolness factor aside, I’ve also forgotten what it’s like to wear the Asics GTs. Now I have a bit of a blister on my arc, and I imagine it will stay there until I get used to the shoes. Regardless, the first 6 were a bit of a labor, especially the last half, since it was pretty much all uphill. The last seven miles (I ended up doing 13, obviously) were all on the track, a tactic I picked up in the fall, which I think I might stick to, for the benefit of keeping pace. As it turned out, my over all pace was about a 7:27, with water breaks about every 3-4 miles. I’m going to try to eliminate those by convincing said BF to provide water support while training on his bicycle.
Supposedly I have a 10K coming up in a couple weeks, the Olympic Medical Center 10K, one of the distances that is part of the North Olympic Discovery Marathon. I’m actually a bit torn about this race, because I would rather be doing the half marathon that’s going on at the same time, but they are sold out. That’s never really stopped me before, and I might actually end up doing that, but there would be definite pros to running the 10K. For one, when I’m out running a race, I’ll be temped to PR regardless of the condition. Well, that is to say, I’d feel much better if I could try to PR. Of course, my fitness level isn’t at the level it needs to be to run sub-1:30 in two weeks, but I might be fit enough to try for a solid sub-42 in a 10k (I will admit, though, that I’ve never raced a 10k). The shorter distance would also help me get speed work (and, ostensibly, strenght) back into my regiment. The half, though, is of interest because I would be taking care of my long run this way, and I hear it is a gorgeous run. Add to that the fact that there were over 1000 runners in previous years in the half, as compared to less than 200 in the 10k, and it makes the decision hard. Looking at past years’ results in the 10K, too, it would seem that there weren’t very many people running under 45 minutes, which would mean that I would be running alone, or with very few people. So, despite that length of rambling, I don’t know what to do.
Something I have decided to do, though, it to try to incorporate lifting into my workouts to get my strength back. My good friend David Nutt reminded me that just 20 minutes a couple times a week could have a significant impact, so I will try that the next time I am in the gym.
