Monday, January 14, 2008

I used to work in Chicago....

Well not really, but if there are any rugby players out there, they may recognize the beginning of a song...

But it is VERY windy here today.  And there was even blue sky.  Amazing.  

I got the program from Coach this evening and it called for a tempo run tomorrow.  However, I am going with Sonja to a movie gala for high school student movie projects tomorrow evening, so I wouldn't be able to fit the tempo in.  That meant that it was me and treadmill tonight.  

I ran up to the gym and finished my warm up on the treadmill.  The workout called for 12k at 3:40/km pace, which works out to 44:00 minutes.  Last week's 10k at 3:45/km didn't go so hot, so I was unsure of what to expect tonight.  I ran long yesterday and did strength in the afternoon, so I was carrying some fatigue but I reminded myself about the ENDURrun and how I would have to run hard on tired legs.  I also tried to remain positive about my other workouts last week that went better than I had hoped.  It was in this mindset that I pressed the increase speed button until it read 10.2 miles/hr.  

I settled into the pace and listened to a couple of podcasts.  Time definitely moves slower on a treadmill and I began to lose focus, with some negative self-talk creeping into my mind.  Nothing terrible, but just wondering about if I could do the whole workout, wondering about why I was tired, wondering if everyone else felt this slow on a treadmill.  Usually, 3:40's are comfortably quick for me, but I felt as though I was having to run fast to keep up.  Podcasts finished and started and my heart rate kept creeping up, from 165 to 175.  It was at 36 minutes that I finally pulled the plug and ran my cool down home in the cold windy night.

Not a bad workout, but I am not pleased that I wasn't able to complete it.  I can look at the reasons (long run yesterday, tired legs, not the greatest nutrition today), and the I ran faster and longer than last week, but still, you know how it is.  I could have physically done it, but it would have been hard and I wasn't mentally ready to go there.  Oh well, at least the training is in the bank now.



 

2 comments:

Michael said...

Give yourself some credit, the w/o was good. That said, and if you don’t’ have much experience running fast on a mill, try mixing it up (if the gym allows), e.g. why not 10’ on the mill, 20’ on the road at perceived effort, and then 10’ back on the mill to nail down the pace… just an idea. Personally, I have a very difficult time running fast and long on a treadmill and hate the negative self-talk.

Good luck with the training!

Unknown said...

That makes sense - I will try it sometime. However, the reason I am using the tready is to avoid the nasty weather that would make running a hard tempo difficult. Man, I cannot wait to get back outside and running well. But this officially signals that I am a Vancouverite wimp.