The Loop

I know, I know. I've been slacking since my weekly update. However, good thing for me I have only been slacking on my blogging and not on my actual training. Unfortunately for you, that meant that over these past two days you have had to find something else to occupy your time during work hours bathroom breaks.

I started off Monday with a short, easy 4 miler. Something I like to call the usual, or also, the loop. If you are a runner/walker/jogger (with a soft "j") of any kind, even the shortest distances, then you will know what I'm talking about. This is your old stand-by. This is the loop that you run/walk/jog (soft "j"!) without even thinking about it. When you don't really have a route picked out and you're not even really sure how long you want to go for, this is the run that your feet automatically take you on. You don't have to think - your legs know exactly where the turns are, exactly where the hills are, exactly where the pot holes are. It's a run you go on when you don't want to think - or a run you go on when you just need to go out to think. Either way, it's your loop.

Here's what my loop looks like:

It's a relatively easy course. That huge "hill" is actually only about 50 feet long and takes me roughly five seconds to get up - and that about sums up the elevation. I'm not gonna lie - it's an easy run, but if it was difficult, I probably wouldn't want it to be my loop. I mean, really - if you're gonna pick something to run over and over again when you don't really want to think that much, are you going to pick a route that has massive elevation changes? Sure, I guess if you live in the Rockies and you have no choice - but if you lived in the Rockies you have the added bonus of running and training at elevation and that just makes me jealous.

So Monday I did the loop, and then last night I hit the track - so I guess I did lots of loops. I had repeats on the menu - 5 x 1600s and then 4 x 800s. Ugh. I can't wait until these 1600s are over. They really are the worst.

Tangent: SJ played hookey from school because she wasn't feeling well so she came with me because she wanted to get outside in the fresh air. I realize that most normal sick people just want to stay at home on the couch - but remember, we have the world's smallest couches and they actually aren't that great to sleep on all day. I've tried. I also have sat on them multiple times with my swamp-ass shorts after long runs, so they probably have some kind of bacteria breading on them as well. Yum!

So off we went to the track in the early evening - I wanted to bang these repeats out before I lost the light, and the heat. Because apparently there was a frost advisory in the weather forecast for the evening (really!). I only did a mile warm-up because I was both conscious of the fact that SJ wasn't feeling well and was walking around the track and I had to hurry to get everything in before I lost the light.

Apparently I was in so much of a hurry that my warm-up mile split was a 7:44. Oops.

Here's the breakdown:

Mile 1: 6:44.6
Mile 2: 6:51.7
Mile 3: 6:55.6
Mile 4: 6:50.6
Mile 5: 6:39.3 <-- That one hurt.

I only had enough time to get two 800s in - by the time I finished my 1600s the sun was fading fast and my fingers felt like they might fall off. And I have also taken to wearing short shorts while running because they are comfortable (I know, crazy right?!) and I didn't get the memo about the frost advisory until after I ran.

Here's how they broke down:

1. 3:08.2
2. 3:03.4

Sooooo, those were way under the 3:30 time they needed to be in order to be true Yasso 800s, but it still felt good to know I could bang out a couple of sub-3:10 800 splits, even if it was just two of them. Makes me wish I had kept going and did those other two I was supposed. But my wifely duties called and I needed to get SJ home for some grilled cheese and tomato soup - the perfect dinner when you're under the weather!

Today I had a super busy day - training in the morning, then my own workout, then fire department training all night (more on that another time). I did manage to get a great bike ride in, however. Seeing as how I do have a race this upcoming Sunday, it's probably important to at least ride my bike once or twice this week. So count today as once. I went out to Asharoken and then did part of the bike course for the race this weekend. It's got some short, steep climbs that are going to be some leg burners, but it's fairly short at only 9.8 miles so it will (hopefully) be a quick ride. The roads are a little beat up and there are a few technical turns that will be problematic depending on the number of riders on the course but I'll manage.

I don't work until later tomorrow so I'm hoping to (gasp) swim tomorrow before work. I know, I can't believe it myself. Quick run in the morning and then off to the pool for my first swim since the Nation's Tri. Grueling.

Happy training for those of you gearing up for the Cow Harbor 10k this weekend!