Objective: endurance w/ MP miles. Planned: 20 miles total
with 5 easy (10:30-12:00), 5 x alternating 1 mile MP (8:55), 1 mile
easy 10:30-11:30), 4 moderate (10:00 to 10:30), 1 mile easy
(10:30-11:30) Splits:
Miles 1-5 11:01 10:39 10:25 11:16 10:27
Miles 6-15 8:36 10:44 8:36 10:32 8:43 10:36 8.33 10:37 8:59 12:17 (walked some)
Miles 16-20.17 10:19 10:50 10:15 10:33 10:13 (10:16 last .17) Conditions in Seattle: 38F going up to low 40s, mostly cloudy becoming mostly sunny, light wind ~10 mph. It's been kind of a hectic weekend, and I was already a little cranky about DLS time starting,
but the 2-3 inches of snow on the ground this morning was the last
straw. I have already missed 2 important long run workouts in February
due to illness, and though I knew that I could do the 20 miles in the
snow, there was no way I was going to get the MP. After my little
emotional breakdown, my sweet, level headed husband said, "why don't
you go to Seattle?" It's a 45 minute drive each way, but I decided
that it would be worth it to save my workout. Seattle's weather is much milder than ours.
Have you ever gone back to your old elementary school? Running
laps around Green Lake in Seattle was a little like that. It seemed
smaller. I used to run there back when I lived nearby and was a
beginner; so much has changed since then - in me, that is. I remember
the day I made it around the lake two times! and thought I would
collapse.
It's a lovely spot, with two paths around it: a dirt trail on
the outer perimeter (about 3.2 miles) and an asphalt trail closer to
the lake (about 2.7 miles). I did a little of each today, but the outer
trail was quite muddy and uneven, with large puddles to navigate. But
the inner trail had its challenges too. I forgot how crowded Green
Lake can get on a sunny weekend day. There were literally hundreds of
walkers, runners, bikers and skaters going around. At times, I had to
weave in and out of what seemed like a 20-body-thick clump of
humanity. But it is mostly flat, with the exception of a few mild,
short inclines, which is a luxury for me. And there is no traffic to
cross. By switching directions and paths, I could make the laps fairly
interesting, enjoy the use of my car as a base for hydration and fuel,
and have a rare glimpse of what my pace truly is when not measured in
my hilly home turf.
I had a little trouble with side stitches -- very unusual for
me. Mile 12 (the 4th rep of 5) should probably not even be counted in
the workout because I stopped the clock and had to walk around until
the stitch subsided. It came back in a different spot in mile 15,
making me walk a bit more. I rarely get a stitch. ??
My biggest concern about this workout is how difficult it was
for me to control my pace. Unless I stare at the dang Garmin every
moment, I can't seem to tell how fast I'm going. Those first 4 reps
were way faster than I intended (perhaps causing the side stitches?). They
tired me out so badly that on #5, when I thought I had blown it because
I was feeling so pooped by then, I finally hit the pace for which I was
aiming all along. Report card: "needs improvement" on pace control,
A+ on mileage... Oh, and a big D minus on temper control. Around mile 17 I got hit by a dog and kind of lost it. Yes, hit by a dog. You
can see the pace drop there when I stopped to yell my head off at this
guy. He had an extendable leash (they should be illegal), and the dog
was way over on my side of the path, looking behind him. As I scooted
off to the outer edge to get by, the nitwit pulled the leash back in,
which brought the dog's head back around to the front and wham! into my
thigh. (And the poor dog got walloped too.) After that, I had a hard
time controlling myself with other extendable leash owners, yelling as
I went along. "Pull that in!" "Too long!" and the like. My
intolerance for crowded conditions, my tiredness, and the continuing
pain in my leg brought out my warrior persona (not pretty), but
fortunately I was almost done. Sorry for such a long post. I
seem to do that a lot. Fast typing skills meet girl who loves to go on
and on about her running. Have a great week, everyone.
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