Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

48F; sunny, with clouds starting to move in; very windy (20 mph, gusts to 33), felt mostly in open spaces.  Recovery run. 

I'm always glad when I finish a recovery run; they certainly help loosen everything up.  

If you read my post from yesterday, you know that we got a pull up bar, and that I cannot do even one pull-up.  But I can do something like a pull-stayinonespot.  One must start somewhere.  Well, I just have to say, today I am sore in a spot that has never, ever been sore in my whole life that I can recall.  A latissimus dorsi is born? 

38F, cloudy but dry, calm. Easy run.  20 min. strength work.

A little sluggish today.  Lingering effects of Saturday's workout. Lack of zing. Lack of verbs.  :)  

38F, occasional light drizzle. Easy run w/ a wee fast finish: .4 @ 8:51.  20 min. strength

I must say, the ad for high heeled Crocs that's popping up on my screen right now is totally cracking me up.  There's just something really funny about that to me.   

The little monkeys that have been hanging on to my legs since Saturday's run fell off this morning around mile 5.  Farewell until next time, my little friends!  I hadn't really planned to do the faster running at the end, but it seemed like it would be fun, and harmless.

I can do 2 sets of 8 "assisted" pull-ups - Thank you for the tip, Dale!  

Food Corner... I listened to a very nice podcast this morning, which was an interview with Rachel Matesz (scroll down to listen), one of the authors of my favorite cookbook, Garden of Eating. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned the book on my blog before.  I highly recommend this podcast; it's encouraging and inspiring for eating a cleaner diet, and I found it very enjoyable to listen to. 

38F; occasional light drizzle and light wind (~10 mph).  Tempo run: 4 mile w.u., 4 x 1 mile at 10K pace w/ 30 sec. recovery b/t.  (8:39, 8:48, 8:28, 8:39), 2.7 cool down, last mile on TM. 

"...at 10K pace..." Hahahahahahaha! That' me cracking up at the thought that I actually know my 10K pace, seeing as how I haven't run a 10K since August of 08.  Pick a number! OK, how about 8:40?  

Actually, during the first mile I just went by feel, getting the speed to a pace where I could think to myself, "I could do this for nearly an hour, but it would be hard," and sticking with that pace.  Second mile was a little hillier than the other miles, hence a bit slower. Third mile was definitely too fast (pant-o-meter too high).  I'm flabbergasted that two of the miles were identical; it's not like me to be so consistent.  ;)

The 30 second breaks were a great idea, if I do say so myself. I have had psychological issues with tempo workouts since last summer, to the point where I'll either worry about the workout so much that I don't sleep at night, or compromise my plan because the thought of how hard it will be is almost paralyzing.  Breaking it up even just a little worked beautifully, and I still worked hard enough to have my legs feel like jello for about 10 minutes after the tempo miles were done. 

Nevertheless, when I ran out of time and had to go home, I still felt like running a bit more.  A mile on the dreadmill cured me of that.  lol   I just love seeing the number 10 on one of my weekday logs.   

Product recommendation...  Thermos Intak Steel Hydro bottle.   (from Target)  My friend has been carrying one around for over a year and recommending it to me. But I almost didn't buy one, because dang! $20 for a water bottle?!?  Worth. Every. Penny.   I adore this thing.  I'd say I'm drinking almost twice as much water now.  Convenient, spill proof, easy care, water stays cool, fits in car cup holder, ergonomic to hold & to sip from.  

34F; snow!!!  Snow falling on about 3/8" of snow and slush (some parts of neighborhood bare), changing to rain mixed with snow and sleet. (Ended up with about an inch at my house.) Short, easy run. 20 min. strength work. 

I knew something was wrong when I got up in the dark and the faint light coming in around the edge of the curtain was oddly bright.  Snow? SNOW?!?  I actually put on Yaktrax. It's April, and I wore Yaktrax!   

So, what was to be a short run got even shorter.  It took me a while to get myself ready, and then I cut the miles short because the slushy surface was causing ice cold water to enter my shoes.  Fun-o-meter dangerously low.  All my shoes are very low profile and light  now that I only wear racers.  In a situation like today's the water just flows right in. 

We watched a documentary about 9/11 the other night that really shook me up.  I keep thinking about it. You can see the trailer here, but the full movie is truly astounding and worth watching.  (If you have Netflix, it's a "play now" movie.)  I would be very interested to hear what others think of this film.  

Crazy cold this morning.  32 on the Ridge and 28F down in the valley. Finished up on the Ridge at 38F.  Light wind from the north; sunny & somewhat overcast.  Objectives: endurance run, club run, exploration, and Leg Builder Hill. 

Awesome run! So pleasant and so enjoyable.  I started with my usual trip down the Parkway into old Snoqualmie.  No one at the club in my pace, so I ran with my imaginary friends. They are always such good company. ;)

Most of the club runners were going over to the Snoq. Valley Trail, so I headed over too.  The small groups of faster runners all glided ahead of me, but then one by one they started to turn back.  It seemed I always had someone in my sight.  After I thought I'd seen the last of them, I turned around too.

For some reason, I just felt really bored by the SVT today, and I always dislike the gravel. So I took a turn off the trail in North Bend and spend a very nice half hour or so exploring the back roads of NB, under the towering shadow of Mt.Si.  This is my favorite kind of run, where there is lots to see and new places to find.  

Eventually I came back around to Snoqualmie, via Hwy 202 for a short stretch (not too bad) and Meadowbrook Farm. Successful gravel minimization. :)  I hit the LB Hill (Snoqualmie Parkway) from miles 15.8 to 17.8. For new folks, I used to call this hill the Spirit Crusher but that seemed overly negative. Now it's the Leg Builder. Not quite as bad today as it has been the past two climbs.  Finished with a few miles around the Ridge.  

Food corner... yes, I ran these 21 miles with no carbs and yes, I felt strong to the end.  Gluconeogenesis  rocks, once you get the hang of it.   Brunch after run = organic turkey sausages, a pile of veggies, and my secret recipe almond-coconut pancakes.  (It's a secret because I haven't written it down yet.  I will definitely share when I have perfected it!)

Good luck to Dale and Running Donkey on tomorrow's Mt Si Relay and Ultraruns.  I really hope you get the kind of weather I had today.