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Sunday, June 1, 2014

Charleston x 2


Tuesday, May 13:
Zombies at the park.  5.2 in 43:36, 8:22 ave.  Mouth felt dry in the last few laps.  Almost got caught in the 3rd zombie chase.

Wednesday, May 14:
Sister visited.  Before embarking on our pie-making adventure, I got in a quick run.  6.0 in 49:29, 8:13 ave, of Zombies.

Thursday – Drove to Charleston.  Didn’t make time to work out on Friday, but I had plans to run the next day.

Saturday, May 17:
Decided to take it easy, and not do zombies.  6.6 in 58:07, 8:48 ave.  Legs felt like they were going recovery speed, in the first 2.2-mi lap.  Splits> 21:12, 19:18, 17:36.

Sunday, May 18:
The wedding day, for two childhood friends!  Got in a quick run before getting dressed and heading out.  4.4 in 34:58, 7:56 ave.  Legs felt surprisingly sharp, even after a run day that was at recovery pace.  Drove back go GVL, arriving at 1am.  The wedding was a great time, where I got to reunite with HS friends and teachers.



Tuesday, May 20:
55 min body-weight strength session.  4th time of doing it with an elevation mask.  Felt like no big deal this time… maybe I’m adapting to it, or just getting used to the feeling.

Wednesday, May 21:
Would’ve biked at the gym, but it was still being renovated, after weeks.  Rather than run outside in the dark on the streets and pound my legs and/or potentially trip over stuff, I did the level 2 Jillian Michaels Hardbody DVD.  I love how diverse and new-to-me the exercises are.  You do an arrangement of sets of circuits, twice, for a total of 45 min.  In the first round, my form was sloppy, as I tried to learn the movements.  It only improved somewhat in the second round.  Lots of squatting.

Thursday, May 22:
Barely made it out the door.  I was so tired, and my legs felt used/swollen from the squats.  Wasn’t sure it was even safe to run without risking overdoing it.  Tore myself out of a 30 min nap, drove sleepily to the park.  No zombies for me – just podcast.  4.5 in 39:26, 8:46 ave.

Friday – decided to surprise my mom by visiting my parents again this weekend.

Saturday, May 24:
I was hoping for a quality workout this weekend, to help get me ready for the Battlefrog obstacle course race in June.  I waited all day for the clouds to come, to limit sun exposure.  Finally, I got my chance.  I had considered a LR, but when the sun persisted, I decided on intervals on the treadmill.  Once the sun went down, though, I decided that I would go out to the track.  It would be a waste not to take advantage of such a beautiful track, so closeby.  I love nice tracks, with the mondo surface.  It feels special, just being there.  I wanted to earn my right to be on that track, so I ventured out to do the pyramid workout, for the first time in maybe a year-and-a-half. 


The workout:
0.5 mi warmup, 4x[100] with 100 jogs after each rep, 3x[200] with 200 jogs after each rep, 2x[400] with 400 jogs after each rep, 1x[800] with 400 jog after each rep, and back down (2x4, 3x2, 4x1).  You always doubt whether you’ll finish, but as you get to the halfway mark, it’s only a bit more to get through the 400s, and once you’re through the 400s, you can push through the 300s, and then, you’re home free.

I love this workout, since you ease into it with the uphill of the pyramid, gradually extending your speed to longer and longer distances.  You get the VO2max benefits of the interval sessions where you jog.  And on the downhill part of the pyramid, your legs are tired, and you promote more muscle fiber recruitment as you call on all available resources to help you speed through the rest.  It’s a sizeable workout overall, too, so you get endurance.  5.7 in 42:37, 7:29 ave.

Sunday, May 25:
Biked 45 min at the gym, while listening to podcasts (didn’t bring my running magazines).  Then, arm strength.

Also went to a nearby beach, which supposedly had its water mysteriously turn clear blue.  Nobody was sure why.  It ended up being only slightly greener and clearer than what I remembered from the past.  It was fun to spend time with my parents, in any case.



Monday, May 26:
Drove back to Greenville.  Right bursa was inflamed again, for some reason.  The run felt physically and cardiovascularly harder than it should’ve been.  5.2 in 43:24, 8:16 average.  Might’ve rolled my right ankle without remembering, since it was tender afterwards.

Tuesday-Wednesday, resting up for a hoped-for long run on Thursday.

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