Saturday, June 24, 2006

Feelin' Groovy

This was one of those days where things just sort of came together on my long run.

I have not done an actual long slow distance (LSD) run in a very long time. In fact, the whole "running" thing has been taking a pretty big back seat lately as I've been trying to really get this "swimming" thing down.

My running club started marathon training on June 12th for our October 1st Twin Cities Marathon .

I've had some recent struggles with the way my running club. We have a new director and, although most people just think that the director is the greatest thing since dri-wick, we seem to have some personality clashes.

I may struggle with the director, but I love running with my friends at the club. They pull me through the rough spots, make me laugh during the fun spots and inspire me every single time we are out there.

I promised my running coach (who is a very good friend of mine) that I would not let my jaded opinion seep in to any of the workouts that we perform.

My goal is to suit up, shut up and train.

Today was a great example of keeping my goal and having a great day.

Our LSD called for running 10 miles. I started out with three of my regular partners and one other new person in our group. We got in to our rhythm pretty easily -- doing a run of 9 minutes with a walk break of 1 minute.

The day was humid but we had cloud cover, which helped us keep a little cooler. By the time we hit Lake of the Isles and were veering over to Lake Calhoun, the sky opened up a bit and shared a little cooling rain with us. It felt wonderful.

It was a great run and I really felt able to keep the pace and the rhythm up for the entire run. That is always a great feeling.

My friends and I went to breakfast after the run and our coach joined us. She would like us to change up the run/walk ratio. Her idea is that we should run fewer minutes (like 6 max) and then take a walk break.

I am not so sure that I like that advice. My concern is that if I train that way, I won't be ready to run with the Cliff Bar Pace Team .

I ran with a pacer at Grandma's in 2004, who did a 9/1 run/walk. That was awesome.

I'm worried that if I train doing fewer minutes running that I won't be able to add minutes during race day. I've sent in a email to the pacer that will be heading the TCM team to see what her plan is. I'll see what her response is and then go from there.

However, today, I kept my promise to my coach/friend. I neither endorsed or pooh-poohed her idea. I just kept chewing my bagel and drinking my coffee, feeling proud that I passed my first "test".

My next "test" starts tomorrow. It is peak-week for my Olympic event training. Tomorrow is a 25 mile bike ride; my swim yardage calls for 1,250 and 1,500 yards respectively; my runs will reach 6 miles.

Naturally, being the good "overacheiver" that I am, I am going to do the 25 miles, but will actually try to do 1,600 yards or more in both swims. I just want to KNOW that I can do the distance.

I have a sprint tri on Saturday for my practice event. Hubby and Fireball(stepson) are leaving on Tuesday for their game convention so I'll be at the tri on my own this time around. Sort of scary to do it all on my own (I really like someone being able to actually see me get out of the water...). I'll probably find some kindhearted spectator at the event to help keep an eye out for me.

On that note, I'm going to hit the hay while I'm rested, relaxed and still feelin' groovy.

4 comments:

Mrs. Snark said...

It sounds like your training is going really well -- very helpful to read through your blog for a newbie like me! I can't even IMAGINE running 10 miles right now! :)

Look forward to your race reports!

Anonymous said...

Forward me the reply you get from the pacer of the TCM team. You know I'm interested in running strong with the pace group on Oct 1st.

It's so nice to run with you again, Amy! Saturday was a strong run for us. Good luck on the tri this weekend. I know you'll do great and it is certain to boost your confidence for the LIfetime Fitness Triathlon.

Keep up the great workouts!

Mrs. Snark said...

Amy, email me at thebigzoo@hotmail.com and I'll email you back the code I use to do the "workout boxes" you asked about. It's just an html table with a colored background.

Mrs. Snark said...

By the way, good luck on your Tri tomorrow!!!!