Friday, August 04, 2006
Winding up to what you cannot unwind
After a much needed day off on Monday, I got down to serious business on Tuesday with 4 miles in the AM with Dylan and then 11 hard, hilly miles on Yetman Trail/Speedway with both Chris and Dylan.
The run started at Pima West with a 7:00 mile on the track. This was by far the slowest of the day as the pace dropped drastically throughout the run. For some reason, I always hammer on this course. I think it may have something to do with freshman year of college when Craig Dye and I would head out to Pima West early Saturday morning and run a 14 mile loop on a similar course as hard as we could.
Anyways, On Tuesday, I was not able to run as hard I as would have wanted based on the fact my stomach hurt and it was dark out. Running on trails when dusk is in full swing can not be considered a good idea. Either way, I still managed to run the last 5 or so miles about 6:00 pace.
On Wednesday, the schedule called for a recovery run so Craig, Dylan, and I ran east on the path to Ft. Lowell park to do a few loops on the Salpointe cross country course. Ft. Lowell park certainly has become a hangout for everything that is strange in Tucson. Basically, every time we are at the back part of the course, we see someone doing something unusual--most of the time under the influence of drugs.
Overall, the run went well for a refreshing 8.5 miles.
Yesterday, Dylan and I once again did a morning run on the path for 4 humid miles but that would be the worst weather we encountered all day. When it was time to do the workout for the day, we arrived at Reid Park, stepped out of the car, and realized the weather was absolutely amazing--a brisk 70 degrees.
It was so cold, apparently, that Ben Eid was spotted wearing a long sleeve top and track pants during his run. According to Ben, the extra layers were to slow the pace allowing him to recover more efficiently.
After a 3 mile warmup with Ben, Dylan and I were ready to run a 4 mile tempo on the bike path. We decided that running between 5:20 and 5:30 pace would lead to a good effort but, subconsciously, I knew that I was not going to hit anywhere near 5:30 pace.
5:20 or bust!
So, the first mile felt incredibly easy and we passed the mile mark at 5:19. The next mile came at 5:20.00 according to my watch. My pace setting abilities are just impeccable. Then, at mile 3, I hit 5:19 and immediately began to cramp slightly. This was more than likely due to the fact I have not been putting in solid ab time and my core is a little weak. However, I still battled and ran 5:19 for the last mile (which was probably a little long). So, according to my watch I was at 21:20 for the 4 miles which was quite encouraging as this was my first "real" hard effort in a very long time.
Alrighty, I have made this post far too long so I am done.
Oh, 37 miles in 3 days so far...this is going to be a huge week.
The run started at Pima West with a 7:00 mile on the track. This was by far the slowest of the day as the pace dropped drastically throughout the run. For some reason, I always hammer on this course. I think it may have something to do with freshman year of college when Craig Dye and I would head out to Pima West early Saturday morning and run a 14 mile loop on a similar course as hard as we could.
Anyways, On Tuesday, I was not able to run as hard I as would have wanted based on the fact my stomach hurt and it was dark out. Running on trails when dusk is in full swing can not be considered a good idea. Either way, I still managed to run the last 5 or so miles about 6:00 pace.
On Wednesday, the schedule called for a recovery run so Craig, Dylan, and I ran east on the path to Ft. Lowell park to do a few loops on the Salpointe cross country course. Ft. Lowell park certainly has become a hangout for everything that is strange in Tucson. Basically, every time we are at the back part of the course, we see someone doing something unusual--most of the time under the influence of drugs.
Overall, the run went well for a refreshing 8.5 miles.
Yesterday, Dylan and I once again did a morning run on the path for 4 humid miles but that would be the worst weather we encountered all day. When it was time to do the workout for the day, we arrived at Reid Park, stepped out of the car, and realized the weather was absolutely amazing--a brisk 70 degrees.
It was so cold, apparently, that Ben Eid was spotted wearing a long sleeve top and track pants during his run. According to Ben, the extra layers were to slow the pace allowing him to recover more efficiently.
After a 3 mile warmup with Ben, Dylan and I were ready to run a 4 mile tempo on the bike path. We decided that running between 5:20 and 5:30 pace would lead to a good effort but, subconsciously, I knew that I was not going to hit anywhere near 5:30 pace.
5:20 or bust!
So, the first mile felt incredibly easy and we passed the mile mark at 5:19. The next mile came at 5:20.00 according to my watch. My pace setting abilities are just impeccable. Then, at mile 3, I hit 5:19 and immediately began to cramp slightly. This was more than likely due to the fact I have not been putting in solid ab time and my core is a little weak. However, I still battled and ran 5:19 for the last mile (which was probably a little long). So, according to my watch I was at 21:20 for the 4 miles which was quite encouraging as this was my first "real" hard effort in a very long time.
Alrighty, I have made this post far too long so I am done.
Oh, 37 miles in 3 days so far...this is going to be a huge week.
