Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Objective: Endurance + bit of MP

Weather: Started out in the 30's with some fog, very frosty.  After the sun came up the wind turned and became quite strong (Bf. 6-7), warm and cool pockets in the neighborhood.

I felt very sluggish today, so yay for me on running the miles I intended to run.  My intention to run about 10 of them at MP was quickly dashed by my tiredness, but I did get the 3 at least.  Things got really slow towards the end when I was all tuckered out from the wind, but I'm so proud of myself for staying out and finishing the job. 

That wind! Wow.  It was so strong up in Deer Park that when I was running into it I felt like I was on a treadmill.  Running, running, and going nowhere.  But in the interest of positive thinking, I shall list 5 things that were good about today's jaunt in the wind: 1) it felt playful at times, 2) it wasn't raining, 3) I didn't have to handle it in the dark today & the sight of the fall colors in motion was a visual treat, 4) when the sun came out the wind kept me cool, 5) I believe it makes me stronger, physically and mentally.

Thoughts about calendars:  1) In my personal, paper running log, I always count my weekly mileage starting on Monday. That way I get the long run included in a one-a-week fashion,  whether I do it on Saturday or Sunday.  According to that reckoning, I ran a little over 56 miles this week. Not bad for week 3 after a marathon! 2) I see I've got 6 weeks until CIM.  I hope I can get some intensity packed into the next 2-4 weeks.  But I am determined not to stress out too much over this race.  I am shooting for a happy day above all else. 

And finally, here is your random tidbit about wind, trees and autumn.  Just skip this if you already know all about the botany of trees; I like to think about this stuff on days like today.  The strong winds of autumn actually help a tree in its task of moving vital nutrients from the leaves down into the roots for winter storage.  When triggered by shorter days, cooler temps and other atmospheric changes, the tree sends hormone-like chemicals to the leaves to signal "time to store up."  One side effect of this chemical is the autumn color that appears in the leaves.  As the wind bends the branches, the slow progress of nutrients to the roots is assisted.  And in spring, the winds will help nutrients return to the top for new growth.  "To every thing, turn, turn, turn..."

Objective: recovery run

Weather: Mid 40's F, clear starry sky, breezy (Beaufort 2-3)

15 min. core & weights

A nice run.  It's great to have an excuse for my slow pace sometimes.  I was surprised that my legs felt as good as they did this morning.  Last night I felt kind of bashed up.  Sleep is amazing.

Objective: Moderate pace + strides and pushing pace on hills

Weather: Low 40's F, mostly clear, starry sky, weird pockets of warm air about

20 min. core & weights

Tis the season for scariness, and I had my share this morning.  Around 5 AM I was headed out Carmichael in very dark, deserted conditions when I heard a bunch of coyotes howling nearby.  There is a green belt along that road, and they were off in those woods, howling their heads off.  I am sure braver country folk will scoff at this,  but it absolutely made the hairs on my neck stand up.  I kept hearing them off and on as I navigated The Heights neighborhood, trying to stay as far away from the wooded area as I could.  I know they are pretty harmless and frightened around humans, but all alone out there in the dark it felt threatening.  Coming back down from that neighborhood I had to pass the wooded area again when I saw.... (cue scary music) two sets of eyes! glowing in the reflection of my headlamp.  SO. Scary.  I feel pretty stupid now. I actually waved my arms at them, like Omar Sharif did to the wolves in Dr. Zhivago.  What a dork.  They turned out to be two small deer, probably out on the edge of the wood trying to stay away from the coyotes.  After that I could at least laugh at myself.  But soon afterwards I passed a couple walking their dog and asked them "did you guys hear those coyotes?"  They replied "yes! Wasn't that scary?"  So,  I'm not alone in my little primeval fear.

Aside from coyote induced adrenaline, I did feel very strong and energetic today. The stars were gorgeous and I had a nice run.  After about 5:45 there were a ton of runners out today. Many more than usual.  Hope they last; it's nice to have company but this good weather will not hold for long.

Objective: Easy run, finishing with 8 hill sprints.

Weather: Mid 40's F, Cloudy, breeze (Bf. 2)

15 min. core & weights

Pleasantly uneventful run.  I think I am ready for a steeper hill for those hill sprints.  Furthermore, I went back and looked through Brad Hudson's book ("Run Faster"), which is where I learned about hill sprints and compared his instructions to the advice that Sasha gave me last week.  I concluded that the two approaches are not using hill sprints in the same way.  In particular, Sasha recommends timing the sprints and ceasing when the runner begins to slow down.  Hudson, on the other hand, seems to view them more like strength/resistance training for the legs.  For the latter approach, one certainly would not cease when the sprints get slower, any  more than one would put down the dumbbell when biceps curls get hard to do.  Quite the contrary, as it is those last reps that build strength.  I don't think I am slowing down much at all during my hill sprints, but I was just thinking about the two different points of view.

A friend and I have been talking about the influence of body weight on performance.  I am in the top quarter of "normal" range on the Met Life Weight Charts and I think I will try to move down to the lower end.  As a runner, I really should not have extra weight, but I think I've been telling myself that at my age (dreadful words, eh?) I cannot be thinner.  Well, that might not be true.  I have not been unhappy with my weight from an aesthetic point of view, but my friend and I were discussing how much weight affects performance and whether losing a little weight makes a difference.  The thing is, training programs and running books have very little to say about this.  With all the media coverage about eating disorders, I think people might be afraid to talk about being thin.  Thin is Dangerous. "You'll be underfueled," "you'll risk Amenorrhea," "you're health will suffer."  Pardon the rant, but why is it ok to come out and criticize a reduction of body fat when it is so clearly taboo to say "gee, you have really put on weight! Don't you realize how bad that is for your health?"

P.S. Could someone tell me more about the Shoe Manager.  I entered my shoes yesterday, but I'm not sure how the updating works.  Do you have to add up each addition to the mileage separately? It doesn't seem automated, but I think I've missed something. Thanks.

Objective: Tempo workout.  2.25 mi w.u. + 9 x (3 min @LT w/ 2 min walk/jog b/t) + 1 mi c.d. 

Weather: Mid 40's F, cloudy, calm

First of all, thank you Carolyn for explaining the shoe thing.  There it was in front of my face and I didn't even see it.  I was hung up on the little "update" button I saw on the Shoe Manager page. Still not sure what that one does.  I'm so happy it's an easy entry!

Great workout today, especially considering how sluggish I felt at first.  I actually only meant to run 8 repeats. The ninth came about because I misunderstood the beep on my Garmin and thought I had one more to do.  If you select "manual cooldown," it really should start that immediately after the last rep, but instead it gives you another "rest" period, then beeps for the cooldown.  That was just too illogical for my brain at that hour and I thought "oh, I've got one more."  Then it seemed to be going on a bit too long and I figured it out.  So my ninth rep was actually near 5 minutes.  Better workouts through stupidity. ;)

Objective: easy, but with highest leg turnover w/out stressing

Weather: Upper 50's (weird!), some light rain, occasional light wind (Bf. 2)

15 core & weights

Whoa. Where did all this warm air come from?  Good thing I had some raindrops available for cooling. 

Fun workout.  Now October running is finished and I see I've done pretty well at my goal of recovering quickly and getting my mileage back up by the end of the month.  I have a very short time now to sharpen whatever can be sharpened before CIM. I will follow Dale's example and try an abbreviated taper.

Did anyone see the article on Constantina Dita in Running Times? My issue just arrived yesterday.  It was very interesting.  Happy Halloween;  stay safe. :)