...first run as a 27-year-old, that is!
woke up to my alarm at 6 this morning, which is how my morning usually starts. i normally fail at life, hitting snooze for about an hour and a half before glancing at the clock and realizing how late it is, jumping out of bed, brushing my teeth, packing my bag (invariably forgetting SOMETHING important, like breakfast or my helmet) and running out the door with my bike to ride the 8 miles to work. today was different. i got up, brushed my teeth, packed my bag, and rode to work in the chilly, dark fog of the seattle morning with my red light blinking and love songs on my iPod.
having arrived at work with ample time before i actually needed to be there, i decided to knock out my 4 miles before starting my day. i usually shower there anyway (bike commuting!), and i had my running clothes with me so that i could avoid another hill-laden greenwood run...in other words, i had all the necessary components in place. plus, it was in the low 50sF, low-hanging clouds were playing with the light so as to make an amazing sunrise, and the wind was minimally present. furthermore, this would allow me more time after work to celebrate the fact that i survived being 26 years old.
it wasn't my best run, but i did get it done. i think that my preference of night running will need to change if i decide to participate in more half-marathons in the future, which seem to start between 6:30 am and 8 am. because it didn't feel right, because my 4 miles today and yesterday's 3 seemed void of my "smooth" (i love this term, but i can't take credit for it. it was keyed by another running blogger, Slomohusky), i tried to analyze my good days versus my bad and find some key difference.
for the most part, my harder runs happen on weekdays. not in terms of distance, but as overall satisfaction with my performance goes, weekends seem to be where i find my smooth, my rhythm, my stride. what happens during weekdays? yes, i work, but that hadn't been a major factor during my last big running streak. i tend to drink socially on weekends, but from what i've read, that should hinder me rather than help. oh, right. i commute at least 16 miles a day on bicycle every single day during the week. half of those are uphill (greenwood living *grumble*). so, 5 days a week, i'm worn down, my legs are tired, and they feel leaden because they're used as my primary form of transportation.
IT MAKES SENSE!!!
that said, i don't know how triathletes do it.
anyway, another 4 on Friday, then 8 on Saturday. Onward.
1 comment:
wow, 16 miles a day bike commute that is a workout in of itself. I used to bike commute from Kenmore/Bothell to Redmond for a few years. That was 20 mile round trip on the Slough Trail. You do need to rest your body in between runs. With the bike commute, that obviously is a challenge for ya. You are pretty tough and very smart from what I have been reading. I am sure you will come up with a gradual mileage build up to 13.1 that will work.
I am not sure what the Seattle HM course is like. If you have the benefit of it being flat, I would not bother with any hill repeats. Save that for SF HM. :) Most of all have fun. If you feel you cannot make this HM goal in 50 days - there is always another race. Yet, I bet you do it!
Thanks for the shout out. My smooth is weekdays actually. Between 9AM-Noon.
Keep kickin'!
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