5 Days in a Row

I figured my legs would hurt more after running 5 days with no rest.  I don't remember the last time I ran 5 days in row, but it has been awhile.  Maybe years.  Maybe even dating back to high school when that's just what we did.  We usually ran 6 or 7 days a week.

Today's workout started out as a sauna again, but it clouded up and that made it a little easier.  We ran a 4.25 mile fartlek alternating between 2 minutes hard and 1 minute jogging.  Coach said to run 30 minutes.  It took me 35:17 to cover the course.  I actually walked on a few of the jogging sections just because of the heat.  I didn't feel like I was pushing myself too hard as far as speed was concerned.  It just felt like my head was going to boil over and pop.  There was only a small portion of the course that was covered by trees and by the time I got there, the clouds had already started forming above us and it didn't make a difference.

Once I finished up, the entire group got to drink free Mix1 drinks.  There were a couple girls passing them out to our group, guys playing rugby, and people on the basketball courts.  I've only tried them once and did not like it at all.  I don't remember what flavor it was.  This time I tried a Acai-Pomegranate and it was decent.  It's a small drink that has 10 grams of protein, 10 grams of carbohydrates and a smidge over 1 gram of fat.  They do leave a little powdery residue in your mouth, so I chased it with water.  It definitely helped pick me up a little.

I laid down on the bleachers and rested for about 5 minutes and then decided that I wanted to do a little more work.  I did a few form striders.  I ran 100 meters each and jogged back to the start for a recovery and each run concentrated on different types of strides.  The first one was high knees, the second was butt kicks and the last one was skipping.  Now, my legs were tired.  By this time, you could tell that I only had about 20-25 minutes before the rain was coming, so I jogged 1 kilometer to get the tightness out of my thighs.

Great workout and I am really glad that I have made it 5 days in a row!  Looks like rain is scheduled all day tomorrow.  We really need it.  It is time to turn this sauna into a steam room.

Mile Repeats or Should I Say Mile ReHeats

Started today's speedwork with 1.75 miles as a warmup and 4 x 100m striders.  Felt great so far considering how hot it was.  How hot?  As someone mentioned today, "It feels like a hair dryer out there."  Yeah, exactly like that.  The wind was blowing a little and it was hot air.  It was around 95 degrees on the track.  I wonder how hot it was directly in the sun.  I would guess in the range of 100-105.

The workout:  3 x 1 mile repeats.  Thank goodness we got a little cloud cover after the second repeat.  It was still hot, but it was almost like being in the shade.

I ran 7:05, 7:19, and 7:20.  My goal was to run 7:00 miles.  I didn't really push myself too hard.  I wanted to make my times, but I was really concentrating on my stride and overall form.  Getting a good toe off and knee drive.  Relaxing my arms and not worrying about keeping them at a 90 degree angle.  I was good about that part, but I did have to remind myself a couple times during each repeat that I needed to have a forward lean, which improved my speed immediately (if only short lived).

I wish I was better at labeling my posts.  I wanted to look up my past mile repeat workouts and compare my times.  I only used "mile repeats" once in labels.  I did a search, too, and that didn't find anything.  I can't believe I haven't blogged any of those workouts.  I have to do a better job of not skipping my posts.

Today's Goal: Just Be A Runner

Some days you go running to work on your speed by running fast.  Some days you work on your endurance by running for a long time.  Today's goal was to run just to be a runner.  No distance in mind; no speed in mind.

The only thing that I kept thinking about was my form.  I went over to A Quest for Running Perfection the other night and Danny posted a video about running economy.  No, it doesn't have anything to do with finance.  It has a lot to do with form.

I watched the video about Shalane Flanagan and then when it finished, the same company had a video about Chris Solinsky.  They think with their techniques, they could put these runners at the top of the world and not just the United States.

The microfibers they are talking about in the videos is called muscle fibrosis.  Yes, I googled it and read a few articles.  Very interesting stuff.  It appears to be cutting edge techniques in physical therapy and of course, they aren't going to tell you how to go about curing this condition on your own.  Not even a clue.

I don't know how to cure muscle fibrosis, but I can work on my form.  I only ran 2.5 miles this afternoon, but I kept reminding myself not to slack off and jog the whole thing.  My brain had to keep reminding my body to lean forward, lift my knees, push off and try not to bounce much.  It was a short run that I finished in just under 20 minutes, but it felt really good.  I felt very efficient.  Economic, if you will.

Running after the Rain

We had a wicked storm roll through this afternoon. I was with friends at Flagler Beach today. For dog owners out there, this is the closest beach to Orlando that you can take your dog. That's how I found it. Dogs are allowed in Flagler County and that is the first exit on 95 once you pass the county line.

So as we are finishing up ice cream cones, a tornado warning comes over the radio waves. We look inland and North and the sky is twisting around and turning black. We head to 95 and just get out of there. We cruise pretty fast southbound to I-4 to outrace the storm and get back home to Orlando. Once home, I had time to stop by 7 Eleven to drop off a redbox rental and go to Publix for some dinner supplies.

We get home and the storm hits. I waited till after dinner and for the rain to stop to get out on my run. I haven't run in a week... maybe more.

Either way, my legs were fresh. A little burnt, but fresh.

I didn't waste too much time to open up my stride, but I felt like I wasn't getting good turnover. My knee lift on the front end was weak and my kick was too low.

I had to get in motion. I started pushing off and really trying to feel my buttocks with each stride. I started moving forward a little better. I didn't change my turnover rate, just my form. After about 30 seconds of that, I added some knee lift to the front of my strides and just a little kick and I started moving faster... probably in the 7 to 8 minute range without a whole lot of effort.

Proper form does so much.

I couldn't help myself from quickening my turnover. Ruins me every time. After I got about a mile into my 2.5 mile run, I was going all out. It felt great, though, because the rain had just stopped and it was cool. About 78 degrees. That's cool for Orlando right now. We've been up in the mid 90's lately.

So yeah, I only got a quarter mile covered going all out. It felt like the speed that I used to run the mile in high school which is good, except it was only a quarter mile. I walked a little due to the cramping in my back. I've got to figure that spot out. Why do I keep cramping in my mid back on the sides?

Anyway. I went back and forth between all out running and walking until I got home and finished my 2.5 miles.

I am going to feel this tomorrow morning... along with some sunburn. Ouch!