After putting a couple tough weeks in a row, this is finally a cutback week. My body definitely deserves much less mileage. My schedule also won't have a lot of time later in the week for more miles. Since Monday is normally some type of speedwork, I thought I'd go with hill repeats. They are tougher, so the mileage is usually much shorter than a standard session.
The plan was to go up to Schoeneck Avenue in Nazareth and run part of the big hill. I ran repeats there last summer, but haven't done so this year. I wanted to start at 8:30 in the morning, but when I woke up, it was raining. I had left Kelley a message overnight in case she wanted to join me. I kept my phone on in case I got a message as I went back to sleep. I was relieved to never receive one.
By the time I got going, it was after 11 AM. The rain might've cooled things off, but it was still very humid when I arrived. I put on my socks and shoes and it felt like they could end up rubbing my blistered feet again. Luckily, I didn't feel anything as I ran.
I started off with a short warmup. There is a flat little circle neighborhood right around where I start up the hill. It was a perfect half mile loop to begin with. I got startled by a dog there, but other than that, it was uneventful.
That wasn't much of a warmup and my legs are never strong after a day off. The first repeat was tough. I can't remember what I did last year, other than it was 5 or 6 reps. I seemed to think they were 3 minutes long, but I could be wrong. If that was the case, it was definitely tough and maybe I was stronger last year.
I had no true plan other than wanting to run 5 or 6 reps fairly hard. Originally, I was thinking .25 miles for each would be good. That first rep was just too difficult though and I ended up just going .20 miles. At this point, I figured that I would go with 5 reps.
One thing that makes this tough is that it uphill the whole way, but the slope gets even steeper at the top of the hill. Each repeat doesn't actually last long, but it seems like it goes on forever. I had some dogs barking at me from nearby housing and that was annoying too.
After the first repeat, I jogged slowly back down the hill. I think last year when I did these, I walked to recover. I prefer an active recovery though, so this worked out better.
The pace kept decreasing as I went along. That first rep was a solid 7:07 pace, but the next one was 7:13. Still a decent pace for going uphill though. After the second rep, I didn't feel good. I think going downhill was bothering me. I let it go though and went on to the third rep.
My legs were definitely feeling it by this third repeat. I slowed significantly and didn't feel like I could push hard anymore. The sun was beating down on me and the humidity was killing me. I slowed so much that this rep didn't feel all that bad.
Going downhill again, I didn't feel good. This time it got so bad that I had to just quit at the bottom of the hill. I was just happy that I didn't have an accident. It forced me to end my workout early, 2 repeats shy of where I wanted to. I also didn't even get to cool down, so the total running was just 1.75 miles. I considering running a couple more miles later, but then thought that would be pointless.
This is a short week anyway, so it is isn't that big of a deal. I just was hoping to get more out of this workout. The other issue was that I sat down right afterward and never did get to stretch. The inside of my left leg bothered me again, as did my left groin. I am just so beat up now with nagging little issues. They almost all seem to be on my left side too, expect for my right hamstring.
It was definitely a disappointing day, but I need to shake it off. As long as I'm strong for my key workout on Wednesday, I'll be happy. I'm planning on an easy day tomorrow. I'm thinking I might add a hill element to it again and run at Trexler. I haven't been there since the Quadzilla. I need to get back to hills a little more frequently. I'm thinking that I can do an easy 4 or 5 miles at Trexler. I'd like to have my total mileage this week to down around 32 miles. The long run will drop to 8 or 9 miles, depending on how the rest of the week plays out.
1.75 miles - 15:09 (8:41 pace)
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