Run Redux.

I've had some trouble readjusting to the East Coast. Let's leave it at that. I had an amazing trip, got in way more training than I expected, and also was able to pretty much hit every workout this past weekend while painfully trying to cure my jet lag.

Most Tuesdays I have a tempo/lactate threshold interval run. They hurt, in a good way. I like them because I have seen progress, been able to learn about HR and pace and hills and wind. But I also I dread them. Like I said, they hurt.

So I set my alarm to do the run Tuesday morning (warm up + drills, 2x15 minute LT intervals with 5 minutes active rest, warm down). I finally caved and took something to help me sleep on Monday evening. When I woke up, thinking my alarm had gone off, I convinced myself with every reason available that I should keep sleeping and do the run in the afternoon. When I picked up my phone to reset my alarm, it was actually 4am and my alarm had, in fact, never gone off.
Fail #1.

Skip to Tuesday evening. I rushed home, the weather was great, my stomach felt fine, and I had a quick snack. I headed out about 6pm. After the first 15 minutes and a quick stop at McDonalds (that is roughly .25 mile from my house) it was very clear that my stomach wasn't going to agree with this run, and mentally I just wasn't there either. So after completing warm up and some drills, I decided to simply listen to my body and enjoy the weather. 50 minutes and 4 miles of walking/jogging/running later I was feeling defeated and down on myself.  So I made a mental deal with myself: I would not look at this run as a failure, I was being honest and listening to my body, and I would try one more time, Wednesday morning, to get the run done.
Fail #2.

Fortunately, it seems the jet lag has finally passed. I was able to fall asleep at a roughly normal time last night. [I did however, have a dream that when I woke up, it had snowed and I couldn't find my Yax Trax, so I clearly couldn't do the run.]  I woke up, only snoozed once, and was out the door by 6:45am. From the get go, it was clear there was no pep in my legs, but I mentally committed to the run. Whatever the HR was I was going to complete the 15 minute intervals - and I wasn't going to look at pace until I got home. So I did it. Yes it was sort of awful and I couldn't get my heart rate over 150, but it is done. The pace and HR aren't even close to what they were for the same run 3 weeks ago, but mentally, this was a win.

In the past 4 weeks, I have learned that you can't take Ironman training workout-by-workout. You will slowly go insane and have no confidence and doubt every step (or stroke) you take. Traveling has taken a toll. My body has been confused and screaming at times - but I've gotten the work done. Sure, there was a week when I felt like I hadn't swam in YEARS, and yes, this morning's run I couldn't get my HR out of the 140s during 'tempo' - but I am focusing on the big picture:

• In the last 30 days - between 2 international trips, moving, and managing a huge project that kicks off tomorrow (fingers crossed), I have run almost 100 miles.
• Despite the random off day, swimming feels the best it has in years and I am completing sets and holding intervals that make me really happy and REALLY excited for this year.
• I am still 4 months from my race.

Focusing on the big picture is the only way I am going to stay sane right now. And after 1 more flight this weekend, my feet will be FIRMLY planted on the ground through August.

Now, for some random musings:
1. Why are all the squirrels near the airport black? Had anyone else noticed this?

2. Ducking into holly bushes to avoid bike commuters riding 3 abreast on a narrow trail - not recommended. I have scratches on my face to prove I didn't win.

3.  I really want to start bike commuting, but I'm weirdly scared about it for some reason. This makes no sense. I live 10 miles from work, I can ride 9 of those 10 miles on trails. It takes roughly 45 minutes to drive to work in the mornings - riding should be a no brainer.

Crystal Run 5k

 After a few 'getting to know you' months with my coach, we are currently into a build phase working on stressing and improving my threshold and strength. Following the half in march, I have very quickly started to incorporate lots of sub-threshold and threshold intervals on both the bike and the run. So a low-key, flat, friendly 5k seemed a perfect check-in on my progress, as well as a way to get out a race, no pressure, no start corrals, no expo, etc.

I didn't really base my goal of sub-7 pace on anything concrete. In fact, I haven't seen a 6:-- in training or racing in well over a year. But I wanted the goal to be to make it hurt, then make it hurt some more, then hold on until the end. Mission accomplished.

21:37 (6:58 pace)

I ran from home to the start which is exactly 2 miles, and was happy to get a nice long warm up in. My body wasn't feeling as good as it had earlier in the week, but things loosened up during warm up. Being the type-A person that I am, I got to the start a good 45-50 minutes before the 6:30pm start, so I tried to keep moving, but didn't want to put too many more miles on my legs. I jogged away from the start, visited a clean hotel bathroom, did some drills away from the crowds to get my heart rate up and muscles twitching, and still had a good 15 minutes until the start. I ran into Victoria and her bf, and stood around trying to stretch and keep moving. Despite all this warm up and moving, I still found myself on the starting line with a HR well under 100. Not ideal.


I lined myself up front and center (well, about 3 super skinny guys back) - right next to the girl in aviators and a backpack. Gun went off (actaully, there was no gun, there was a simple 'ready, set, GO!') and I tried to settle into a uncomfortably-hard pace. There were a few girls right around that I latched myself onto and tried to zone out. I stayed with the small group I found for about 2ish miles, when they started to pull away. I had lapped my watch at mile 1 and wish I hadn't looked at the split (a quick glace had revealed a 6:3-). I focused on keeping close to the girls around me, but they slowly pulled away. I knew I was slowing down, but focused on turnover and strength in my legs. Strong push offs and leaning forward. Don't sit into my hips, use your arms.

Mile 2 - Thanks Victoria! Focusing on my form and sticking to that girl. I didn't

There was some wind and some minor ups and downs in the last 2 miles. I mentally fought to keep my HR up and not dial in the pace, which I have a tendency to do. I tried to look forward and choose someone to catch up to - focused on finding the Mile 3 marker. I was relieved after the mile 3 split to see it had stayed consistent with Mile 2. There wasn't really any girls in front of me coming into the finish, but I heard someone cheer 'let's go girls, finish strong', so I knew there must be a girl behind. I really focused on accelerating into the finish line and not getting passed, although my Garmin pace does not reflect that at all. I am going to tell myself that my pace got caught up in the buildings the last .08-.1 of the race, bc my HR was high and for sure didn't slow down.

Splits:
(I took splits vs. autolap, which is why the miles are a bit long and the splits vs. pace are a bit off).

This is from Garmin - Official results 21:37.

Overall, I am SUPER happy with the results. Sure, I wish all my mile splits were actually sub-7, but I am proud that miles 2 and 3 were so consistent.  The HR data is very interesting, as it really is only a few beats higher than my average from the half a few weeks ago - I am not really sure what that means. I didn't feel stressed or out of breath at my half marathon HR, but this HR was definitely a 'I wanna puke' at the end type of effort. I do wish I could run this course again, but due to travel and weddings and life, this was the only race of the series I can do.

This will probably be the last running race until the fall, so I'm glad to get a PR and some good mental momentum as I slow down and start logging miles and miles of Z2.

The 5k.

Turns out, since I started running in 2005 [as a bored, trying-to-lose weight, broke grad student] I have only run (or at least logged) 2 stand along 5ks. Both were the same course, both a hilly trail route in the Bronx in NYC. Both races were within :12 seconds of each other, and my current PR stands at 22:46 (7:20 pace) from 2009.

Tomorrow night, I am running the Crystal Run 5k. I'm using it as a benchmark RPE/HR test, and also to see how much I have learned to HURT while running in the past 3 weeks. My instructions are simple:


Go hard from the get-go.  Seek out the pain.  Even if a part of you is already begging to stop, aim to increase your pace a bit on every kilometer.

I'm aiming for a sub-7 pace. I think it's a very aggressive goal for right now, but I'm going to put it out there. The watch will be set on total time, and will not autolap [OK, maybe it will....], but again, the goal is not to let numbers on a watch define how fast I can run.It's been a good week so far. My body is responding to training, the aches and pains are getting fewer and farther between, and my head is in a good place. So let's see....

Learning Curve.

Things I have learned in the past 7 days:

1. Ants suck. 
2. Living in a house is strange and going to take some getting used to.
3. Moving can put stress on even the most solid of relationships.
4. Moving = strength training.
5. 5x10 minute swims are the perfect Sunday evening swim to zone out and relax. No counting, no pacing, just go.
6. I am a huge bitch when hungry. I apologize Chipotle register-man. 
7. If I have a ride longer than 3 hours, I need to plan ahead. 'Just going' isn't going to cut it.
8. I really really want to have a good/easy/enjoyable long run. In the near future.
9. My old 4.5 mile loop is now 5.5 miles and includes two MONSTER hills. This makes me happy.
10. I am really indecisive when it comes to buying furniture.
11. Related, I have outgrown Ikea furniture. 
12. BUT I still love me some Ikea...everything else.
13. I'm really really tired.