Objective: easy, finishing with 5 strides Weather: 50sF, steady rain and light wind (Bf. 2-3) 20 min core & weights The rain was not as heavy as yesterday, but plenty of it. I wore the new tights and scarcely noticed getting wet legs until I came in. With the higher temperature, the challenge was the upper body. If I had been doing any kind of speedwork my cycling jacket would have been too hot. It has nice vents -- if you are on a bike. For running, they are not positioned very well. Today's run felt great. I got a good night's sleep -- what a difference that makes! I did not want to come in at 5 miles, but I must do my long run on Saturday this weekend (traveling Sunday) so this was a compromise between taking a rest day and having my normal Friday mileage. I received "Spirit of the Marathon" from Netflix yesterday, and watched about 30 minutes of it before I had to take myself off to bed. So far, I am enjoying most of it. The part where Deena Kastor almost breaks her foot bone sent chills up my spine. I experienced my usual annoyance at the recommendation of 20 mile max long runs. Maybe some of you can straighten me out on this issue. I have never stopped at twenty miles, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. But the 20 mile max rule is so universal and I just don't see how it can work for people. Here are 12:00 minute pace runners who are going to have over an hour more running when they get to the 20 mile marker. I did my first marathons using Galloway method, on which I ran up to 27 miles for one race. I'm not saying that's what everyone should do. It never made me faster, but I always knew I could cover the distance. I currently try to go up to 23 or 24 miles. I also notice how many people train up to 20 miles - once! One twenty mile run. It just sounds like a 26.2 mile recipe for crashing to me. I do hope I haven't offended anyone, and I welcome instructive comments and other points of view. :) Another little eyebrow-raiser in the movie was a moment when a coach is talking to the runners in a training group who are about to do a long run. Maybe I need my ears cleaned, but I think she told them to take "6-8 ounces of water every 15 minutes." Really? The word "hyponatremia" comes to mind. Also, "honey-bucket." Favorite moments from the movie so far: watching the elites run. Oh so beautiful. Most of them are so graceful. They make it look so easy.
| 