Jogging With Jenna

AM: 15 mins. core
7 miles
2x20 water pump extensions=80
PM: 25 mins. ellip.

With the day off from work and only a small amount of homework on the docket, I was looking forward to a relaxing Friday. Meeting Jenna for an easy run seemed like the best way to start it off, so we headed out to McAlpine just after 8 to get our wog on. Though still sore, I felt markedly better than yesterday, so hopefully I didn't hold her back too much with my pedestrian pace. The air was still damp and windy but we actually detected a few rays of sunshine for the first time in days, which meant that being outdoors was finally enjoyable. After the run it was time to curl up with a cup of coffee and my slippies and enjoy a relaxing day at home.

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Waterworld

AM: 6-6.5 miles
PM: Chiro
25 mins. pool

Well. I'm in a world of hurt today. My calves, my adductors, my quads, even my abs for heaven's sake--all of these areas and more are sufficiently rocked from yesterday's workout. I suppose I had it coming. As a result, I decided to ditch the watch this morning and embark on 6 of the slowest miles Freedom Park has ever seen. I simply didn't want to feel pressured to run faster than my feeble body would allow. So, I didn't.


...and the water continues to rise.

That's not to say this run ended up being barrels of fun. The weather is still horrible--this is day 3, mind you--and running past downed tree branches while the wind and rain howled around me was very surreal, almost like I was smack in the middle of a natural disaster. They tell me it's supposed to clear up by the weekend, but I wouldn't be surprised if Charlotte floats away by then.

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12x400? Really??

AM: 30 mins. ellip.
PM: 2.5 mile w/u + strides
12x400
2 mile c/d
Total: 7.5 miles

Oh, workout, how do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways. For starters, it's hard to get motivated to rip off some hard intervals when it's been pouring rain and gusting 30 mph winds for the past 36 hours. Damn you, Hurricane Ida! Throughout the day as I stared dubiously at the tropical storm-esque conditions outside, I maintained hope that Coach Simmons would come to his senses and postpone the workout until tomorrow. I was wrong.

Come 4:20pm (thanks for being late, Edgar), the entire group of us loaded up and headed out for...Uptown? Apparently there's a small gravel trail running through a neighborhood just past Uptown that Simmons had scouted out for us to use. The trail itself is only about 800m long, but it has a few offshoots that meander around behind a neighboring park; thus, you could complete at least a 2 mile warmup without covering the same territory a dozen times. The reason Simmons chose the trail was for it's consistent grade throughout; basically, no matter which end you started the interval on, the 400m stretch consisted of a steady downhill for 200 meters followed by an equal uphill for the next 200 meters. A bit unconventional for speed intervals, but seeing that the course in Evansville isn't flat we might as well get used to the undulating terrain.

By the time everyone had warmed up, stretched, strided and donned the neon glowstick bracelets that Simmons provided (just in case we wanted to go to a rave afterward), the sky was growing increasingly dark. Obviously the rain had a bit to do with that, but it was also already past 5pm. With the only lights coming from the adjacent neighborhood, we would soon be running in near-pitch darkness. Starting off the workout, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of pace or feel. I'd hoped to sort of just tuck in behind Jess, Holly and Maraya and lock in to their pace. After clocking a 77 for the first interval, I knew that was just not realistic for me. My lungs and legs were already burning, and the 2:30 interval meant we had just over a minute's rest between each go. By the third one I knew I was unequivocally in over my head. Survival became my only goal, and I literally had to coach myself on each interval to just make it to the next one. Had I allowed myself to focus on the entirety of the remaining intervals, things would've gotten pretty bleak.

As far as pace goes, I'm not sure what I ran. Jenna was standing at the halfway point shouting out splits--mine consistently ranged from 37 to 39, but obviously that's on the downhill section--but the increasing darkness and the fact that I was wearing gloves made stopping and starting my watch impractical. Oh, and the wind and rain didn't help either. Not that it matters anyway; for me this was completely about effort. The final few intervals I was all the way in the hurt tank and felt like I was crawling on the uphill, but I managed to stick it out and complete the workout. Though I finished several of them with Holly, I never caught Maraya or Jess, but thankfully was never caught by anyone else either.

Overall, I suppose I'd consider this workout a success despite how terrible I felt. To say this was tougher than Saturday's race would be a gross understatement. However, I shouldn't have expected anything grand given that I haven't done this type of workout in forever. Not only have I been injured for two months, but even before that I'd stopped doing workouts since before my half-marathon in June. In fact, a quick glance at the blog shows the last time I did 12, 16, 20 or 25x400 was in March. Had I considered that before today's outing I would've probably had more realistic expectations about how this would turn out. Though I wouldn't say this workout was fun, I'm positive it will provide me with some tangible fitness gains come Nationals.

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Taking a Break

AM: 45 mins. ellip.
PM: 20 mins. ellip.
15 mins. core
2x20 water pump extensions=80

After 9 (!!!) consecutive days of running, I decided to make an executive decision and take the day off. I've got a 400 workout on tap for tomorrow and I want to be as recovered as possible before I destroy myself again. The good news is the hip is still being cooperative and seems to be gaining strength every day. Things are most certainly looking up.

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Jordan is an Idiot

AM: 30 mins. ellip.
PM: 55 mins. (7.5 miles)
2x20 water pump extensions=80

Wow. My legs were absolutely, positively trashed on today's run. I can only assume this is some cruel punishment for attempting to run somewhat fast on Saturday. Despite the gorgeous weather and scintillating compay from Jordan and Jenna, I found myself completely unable to fall into a rhythm despite my best efforts. The last few miles I was all the way in the hurt tank, to the point where despite my compulsive tendencies I was uninterested in tacking on a few minutes at the end to bring this to an even 8. Oh well.

Oh, and just like the title says, Jordan is an idiot.

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Week in Review

41 miles
2 hours 50 mins. ellip.
20 mins. pool
2 teams bound for Nationals
5 AFDs

Almost a real runner again!

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Enjoying the Sunshine

AM: 6.5 miles
2x20 water pump extensions=80
20 mins. pool

I slept amazingly last night and woke up eager to see how my body felt after yesterday's shenanigans. To my surprise, the hip felt fine and the rest of me only exhibited a little bit of soreness. With the green light from Simmons to attempt an easy run, I hit Tanya up to meet me and Jordan at McAlpine.

By the time we all arrived it was late morning and the park was packed. For good reason too, as the weather was absolutely spectacular. The three of us set off from Old Bell together, each with different mileage goals but content to jog with each other for a few miles. Though my hip felt decent, my legs were a bit more dead than I originally thought, and our blazing 7:35 first mile felt just as tough as the first mile of the race yesterday. After reaching 4 miles right around 29 minutes, I was content to shut it down for my solo jog back to the parking lot.

I had only made it a few minutes down the main trail when a familiar face popped out from Boyce. Pezz and I crossed paths a few steps later, and I was happy to turn around and keep pace with her for a few minutes to catch up. Turns out she's been struggling with injury too--stemming from a freak steeplechase accident she suffered a few years ago--and was trying to finish up a "big" 35-mile week. It was hard not to laugh at our similarities, especially considering that one of the last workouts I did pre-injury was out here with her. At any rate, it was great to catch up with her for a few minutes and see that she's back on her feet.

The rest of the jog back to Old Bell was uneventful, and the weather was so nice that I didn't mind waiting around for Jordan to finish up. Definitely a great way to cap off the week.

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