Objective: VO2 and leg strength: 2+ mi w.u., 4x .25 mi hill (5%) @9-9:15 w/ jog down, then moved to flatter area, 4x .3 mi @ 7:50-8:10 w/ 3 min jog between reps. 38F, cloudy, wet streets but no rain, calm. 20 min. abs, upper body, stretches & Stick
Nice morning for running! I'm trying to appreciate that light in the last 15 minutes of my runs these days, as it will be taken away from me again this Sunday. :(
I am very pleased with this run, for several reasons. It was my own idea to split the workout between hill reps and flat reps, and that provided some nice variety. Challenging but still enjoyable. I also got in the planned miles, which doesn't seen to happen very often. Between getting out of the house a couple of minutes late, stopping for a bathroom, and just general slowness (underestimating the time it will take?), I usually cover a bit less than I intend to. The plan goes like this: Sun 18-20+, Mon 5-7 (depending on Sun), Tue & Thu 9, Wed 7, Fri 8. I rarely hit those numbers, but it's a work in progress, right? Ever since I got this cadence thing worked out (see last Friday's post), I've been thinking more about the other elements of faster paces. Today I had a feeling that maybe I've spent too much time working on my cadence. I've done form drills too, but I am afraid the cadence drills have made my stride a little choppy. Or maybe it always was. Today I tried to really focus on leg power and arm swing. But when the reps got really hard, when I asked myself, "what is your worst barrier to running farther or faster at this moment," the answer was, "lungs." I'm sure it all ties together; I guess my over-active brain wants to understand what lies between me and my goal.
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