I decided to run 2 x 1.5 mile cruise intervals on Monday evening before the weather got crappy and cold. By the time I got home the only thing this practice had going for it was that it wasn't cold yet.
When I stepped outside to do my warm-up I was clad in tights, a long sleeve technical shirt (Go Halfwits!), a fleece vest, headband and gloves. The temp was 48 with a wind chill of 39 due to the wind blowing out of the South at a 28 mph clip that would gust to 40 mph just for grins. At least there was only 45% humidity.
I ran a mile warm-up in 8:10 and took three minutes to ditch the vest and stretch my back. My intent was to run my intervals at 9:48 (6:32 pace) but with the first interval heading in a generally southerly direction I amended my goal to anything under 10:00 for the first one.
I hit the first 400 in 1:40 after running straight into the teeth of the wind and didn't look at my watch again until I hit 1200 right around 5:00. I caught a bit of a windbreak as I entered an older neighborhood with big trees and tightly packed houses and was surprised to see that I hit my mile split in 6:31.66. I ran the last half mile in 3:17.42 and completed my first interval in 9:49.08.
I took a two minute break during which I tucked my headband and gloves into the waistband of my tights. I decided to retrace my steps and head back to my house instead of finishing up my second interval a mile from my house and warm clothes.
I was at the 1.5 mile mark of my 4 mile course. In warmer weather I would have continued on to the 3 mile mark, taken a breather and ran the last mile back to my house as a cooldown.
I started interval two with the wind to my back for the first 800. I had hoped to be able to run relaxed and still hit my times for another 9:48 showing but passed the half mile mark in 3:02.71. I really had no control over my pace and was merely holding on for dear life. I hit enough of a crosswind the last mile to slow me down to 6:24.37 and a total time of 9:27.08. Talk about running negative splits.
After gasping for breath, hacking up a lung and donning my headband, gloves and vest I staggered back into the street for a much more sedate cooldown mile of 8:45.
It hurt.
Last night I used my Total Gym and did the Starter Program, which is a total body workout of sorts. I like it, I bought it on eBay at the Total Gym scratch-and-dent store. I actually ordered the Total Gym 2000 but was upgraded to the Total Gym XLS because they didn't have the 2000 OR the Total Gym 3000 in stock. I think I came out ahead on that deal.
Tonight I ran an easy 5 in 40:47. I had a cinder stuck in the heel of my right shoe the whole run that I couldn't get out. I don't mean that the cinder was under my heel and I was landing on it. I mean that it was rubbing against my Achilles the whole damn run. It was too cold to stop and fish it out (20 degrees, SE 2 mph) and I wanted to get home before it got colder and darker.
Tomorrow they're calling for about 6 inches of snow so that might put a damper on my easy 4 miles I'd planned on.
Friday night is the SRRC Monster Mash which is our annual awards ceremony. Your's truly will be crowned the Male 25-29 age group Points Series Champion. It is a good thing that it isn't a co-ed age group because the Bionic Woman would have handed me my ass. She beat me SIX of the NINE times we raced this season and actually owns a 9-3 record against me. That means I am 3-9 against her.
My defeats to the Bionic Woman, this season, range from a nine minute and 57 second thrashing at the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon to a 12 second defeat at the Steamboat Classic 4 mile run.
My wins, such as they are, amount to a 3.22 second edging at the Sizzling Mile, a 13 second triumph at the Parade Run 2 mile and a sound 25 second whupping I laid on her at the Polka Pace Race. Between my Parade Run and PPR wins she dropped me by 50 seconds at Abe's Amble (10k) and she didn't even feel good that day.
When she felt good on a fast 10k course in November she dropped a 39:02. Needless to say, she went undefeated in the Women's competition and probably would have placed in the top-10 in the Men's Points Series.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Congrats on the division championsihp.
I ran about 60 miles in January. Also rode about 120.
Yesterday, I found out that one member of my class is the Mississippi state 2A record holder in the girls 1600. She then went on to Princeton and ran there. She's not in the shape that she once was, but she told me that she thinks she could step on the track and run a 5:15 today. I'm tempted to challenge her to a race, but I fear that my luck would be worse than you've had against the Bionic Woman.
The Bionic Woman was an All-Stater in CC our senior year. She actually beat Mary Ellen Hill, but alot of girls did that year. She was also a three time all stater in the 3200 and brought home All State honors in the 1600 one year. She was All-MVC in track once or twice when she ran at SIUC and I don't really feel too bad about the beatings she inflicts upon me. If I can start beating her in distances longer than 5k this season I might have a chance of evening my record by the end of the year.
I'd be afraid to challenge your classmate to a race, I think you'd both beat me.
I ran a touch over 90 miles in January but we haven't really had biking weather. . . especially now that we have a fresh 3 inches of snow on the ground with another 3-5 expected.
90 miles in snowy IL January is great. Winter running is a heckuva' lot easier down here.
Chatham ended up with 11.5 inches of the powdery white crap after our storm last night and it was all in my driveway.
I got a nice core workout shoveling it twice last night and once this morning before heading to work.
11.5 inches is a lot of snow. I'd guess that we've had about 15 inches total in the 7 years that I've lived down here, and most of that came in one 8-10 inch snow.
I hate snow.
Post a Comment