Mileage Reporting 12th Week of 2013
- Thread starter BFwillie_g
- Start date
Tuesday afternoon
5 mi / 8 km
22 F / -5.5 C
4 F / -15.6 C windchill
Kind of cold today, nonetheless the late winter sun's advancing height in the sky had begun to melt yesterday's 4-5 inches of snow from our street, so I was hopeful I'd encounter my fairgrounds back-n-forth street in decent condition. I did better than that. As I drove up to it I discovered it was almost completely dry! And what little moisture did exist had already frozen. So I took off my Vapor Gloves in the car and decided to see how long I could run bare in the mildly nasty windchill. The wind really gusts up on that street, which embraces a high point in the area and is quite exposed. I surprised myself by being able to run bare the whole way. My feet numbed down, to be sure, but the brave little soles never tapped out. I wonder if the asphalt was radiating heat. It was cloudy during my run but had been sunny for most of the day. The wind also died down a bit for the last mile or two, which seemed to halt the progressive numb-plunge.
At the beginning of the run, I wanted to get the feet warmed up as quick as possible, so I headed out at a good clip, and then surprised myself when I found I was able to sustain what must have been something like a 9mm pace. I had forgotten my Garmin, so I can't be sure of the pace, but it felt pretty good. I wouldn't be surprised if it were sub-9mm pace, actually, but I know the tendency is for me to overestimate my velocity. Still, I looked over at my sideways shadow on the snow bank, and he seemed to be doing alright.
Anyway, after two unsatisfying runs--last Thursday's with heavy legs and Sunday's with sinews out-of-kilter--I knew I was due for a good run, but I didn't expect it to be so easy. I didn't really begin to tire until about the fifth .9-mile repeat, a bit before the four-mile mark. I probably slowed to something like a 9:30-10mm pace after that, and only ran another mile or so. I thought about tagging another few miles onto the run, for aerobic conditioning, but it was getting late and I was anxious to get home and hang out with the wife and kids. Overall, it was a very satisfying run. I know from prior experience that bad workouts are often precursors to mild breakthroughs, so perhaps that was the case today. If the legs feel up for it, I may try another tempo run on tomorrow's run too.
The third and final surprise was that after the first quarter mile or so, when I looked down at my feet to see what kind of meter I was running in at this, my tempo pace, I discovered I had locked into a perfect five-count rhythm: 1-2-3-1-2. That's three steps inhale, two steps exhale. Felt perfectly natural. And then Jethro Tull's 5/4 "Living in the Past" immediately popped into my head. Or did it bubble up from a subconscious grade-school biorhythm of some sort? Actually I often hear that song when I'm running well, and now it all makes sense, thanks to Barefoot Gentile's recent thread on rhythmic running. Can Tantric sex be far behind?
5 mi / 8 km
22 F / -5.5 C
4 F / -15.6 C windchill
Kind of cold today, nonetheless the late winter sun's advancing height in the sky had begun to melt yesterday's 4-5 inches of snow from our street, so I was hopeful I'd encounter my fairgrounds back-n-forth street in decent condition. I did better than that. As I drove up to it I discovered it was almost completely dry! And what little moisture did exist had already frozen. So I took off my Vapor Gloves in the car and decided to see how long I could run bare in the mildly nasty windchill. The wind really gusts up on that street, which embraces a high point in the area and is quite exposed. I surprised myself by being able to run bare the whole way. My feet numbed down, to be sure, but the brave little soles never tapped out. I wonder if the asphalt was radiating heat. It was cloudy during my run but had been sunny for most of the day. The wind also died down a bit for the last mile or two, which seemed to halt the progressive numb-plunge.
At the beginning of the run, I wanted to get the feet warmed up as quick as possible, so I headed out at a good clip, and then surprised myself when I found I was able to sustain what must have been something like a 9mm pace. I had forgotten my Garmin, so I can't be sure of the pace, but it felt pretty good. I wouldn't be surprised if it were sub-9mm pace, actually, but I know the tendency is for me to overestimate my velocity. Still, I looked over at my sideways shadow on the snow bank, and he seemed to be doing alright.
Anyway, after two unsatisfying runs--last Thursday's with heavy legs and Sunday's with sinews out-of-kilter--I knew I was due for a good run, but I didn't expect it to be so easy. I didn't really begin to tire until about the fifth .9-mile repeat, a bit before the four-mile mark. I probably slowed to something like a 9:30-10mm pace after that, and only ran another mile or so. I thought about tagging another few miles onto the run, for aerobic conditioning, but it was getting late and I was anxious to get home and hang out with the wife and kids. Overall, it was a very satisfying run. I know from prior experience that bad workouts are often precursors to mild breakthroughs, so perhaps that was the case today. If the legs feel up for it, I may try another tempo run on tomorrow's run too.
The third and final surprise was that after the first quarter mile or so, when I looked down at my feet to see what kind of meter I was running in at this, my tempo pace, I discovered I had locked into a perfect five-count rhythm: 1-2-3-1-2. That's three steps inhale, two steps exhale. Felt perfectly natural. And then Jethro Tull's 5/4 "Living in the Past" immediately popped into my head. Or did it bubble up from a subconscious grade-school biorhythm of some sort? Actually I often hear that song when I'm running well, and now it all makes sense, thanks to Barefoot Gentile's recent thread on rhythmic running. Can Tantric sex be far behind?
2.5 this morning. saw two swans on the lake, in the not frozen parts. assumed they were ice chunks in the darkness. spring where are you?? i'm cool with this week if this is the last week like this, k? be reasonable, spring, eh?
Great! I'm wondering what happens when you run a slower pace. 1,2,3,4,1,2,3?
7/4 time... Beefheart territory lol.
Had to bring my wife's insurance card to the doctor today and decided to run the 6k into town and back. Was feeling quite peppy, think the Sunday adventure had some training value even if the run itself was a disaster.
So I pushed the pace a little. And sometime during the run in, decided that I'd run the return trip faster. Averaged a 5:40 pace out and 5:20 back, including hills and long stretches of thick muck (all that snow melted). Felt great to stretch the legs!
Got in a lot of barefoot time, and also kept Leni on the leash, just to practice.
Right. Pink Floyd's 7/4 "Money" might be easier to remember . . . but then the 4/4 solo section might screw you up . . .
And for even faster paces, you gotta do a speedy waltz: 1-2-1.
All's I remember from Captain Beefheart is:
Bat chain puller
Puller, puller
In any case, I'm only going to think of meter if it comes naturally. But I do enjoy the idea that the five-count breath cycle comes naturally for me right around the pace where my gait starts to feel really smooth and effortless, and also where my cadence starts to approach 180. Hopefully, I'm not too far out from when 9mm will be my aerobic pace, and I can run like that or faster all the time.
3.5 miles today, longest barefoot run yet
YAAAAYYYY!!! keep them coming, slowly and carefully of course.
Isn't that funny, how some runs everything comes together, while others just don't feel right. I can't find rhyme or reason in mine (maybe that's why i can't figure out cadence or breathing either!
)Some days I'm low on sleep, sore from other workouts, sick with a cold, but my legs feel fantastic once I get going, and everything falls into place. Some days I'm careful and took a day off, planned a distance, rolled my calves, gotten enough rest, and I feel like lead weights are attached to me in uncomfortable ways. Some days it is the converse.
Ain't that the truth sister. Some days I can push it, some days I feel dead, most days I'm just coasting. Even when I'm dog tired, though, or really busy, I try to a little of something--a few light reps or a run around the block--so as not to break the daily rhythm. If I can exercise every day, preferably an hour or so each day, running or strength-training, I know I can then sit back and let the gains come to me. It took me a while to figure out that this strict lackadaisical approach works for running as well as weights, but I think I'm good with it now.Isn't that funny, how some runs everything comes together, while others just don't feel right. I can't find rhyme or reason in mine (maybe that's why i can't figure out cadence or breathing either!
Some days I'm low on sleep, sore from other workouts, sick with a cold, but my legs feel fantastic once I get going, and everything falls into place. Some days I'm careful and took a day off, planned a distance, rolled my calves, gotten enough rest, and I feel like lead weights are attached to me in uncomfortable ways. Some days it is the converse.
4 miles this morning. About to start my training schedule for my 2nd Half!
Yesterday, 1 hour of various water exercises. Today, 2.75 miles in huaraches - having a final cold snap here. Numb feet and chipseal roads don't go well together. I decided to get some dextrose injections in my hips last week to strengthen up some of the ligaments. I got the ASIS, quadratus lumborum and SI joint worked on. And then, I actually waited the full 4 days before resuming exercise, in order to give my body's natural inflammatory response time to do it's job. It actually seems to have made a huge difference. I should try following my doctor's directions more often.
NickW
Guest
What cold snap? 40-60 is not a cold snap in my mind. Maybe a rainy snap, but not cold.
Five and two quarters...indoor track
It was so funny, there was this litlle girl like 4/5 yo "running" with her daddy that of the people running on the trac she chose me as her competition.
Everytime I approached her she picked up the pace and I would slow down and told her about how fast she was and that I needed to pick up my own pace and...other stuff and she semmed to like my comments.
She was so cute and made my boring track run fun.
It was so funny, there was this litlle girl like 4/5 yo "running" with her daddy that of the people running on the trac she chose me as her competition.
Everytime I approached her she picked up the pace and I would slow down and told her about how fast she was and that I needed to pick up my own pace and...other stuff and she semmed to like my comments.
She was so cute and made my boring track run fun.
~35 min at the pool, oh, we will say 30 min actual swimming activities, and 5 or so min of chit chat with the lifeguards. An instructor was in one of the lap lanes with a college or hs age student. the instructor would swim across the pool just to meet the student at the other end and discuss fine points. I timed him once and it took him <13 seconds to do the length, and he wasn't out of breath when he got to the wall, just resumed talking. That's fast. Whew. At that speed, he could wear whatever he wanted, which happened to be a block paneled multicolored 60s drapery pattern type teeeeeeeeny weeeeeny speedo.
5 miles yesterday, and 3 miles today. Still cold here, -12C air with wind chills in -22C range. Oops pushed the post button to quick. So, for the last 3 runs I started out with the nose breathing thing. I seem to only go about 2 blocks before I have to go back to mouth breathing. The interesting thing that I have noticed is that my HR is down about 15 BPM then what was normal for the pace I was running at. Must be doing something for me so I will keep trying to get the hang of the nasal breathing for a while.
5 miles yesterday, and 3 miles today. Still cold here, -12C air with wind chills in -22C range. Oops pushed the post button to quick. So, for the last 3 runs I started out with the nose breathing thing. I seem to only go about 2 blocks before I have to go back to mouth breathing. The interesting thing that I have noticed is that my HR is down about 15 BPM then what was normal for the pace I was running at. Must be doing something for me so I will keep trying to get the hang of the nasal breathing for a while.
Isn't wonderful, soon you'll be running faster than ever..better than MAF(oops) don't you think?
I can only dream about being as fast as you Dama.
Just keep up with the breathing and you'll get there...promise!
