As was the consensus yesterday, Geronimo and I said goodbye to Chewy today. (Well, I said goodbye. I didn’t tell Geronimo what I was doing.) Adios, Chewy! You were a good friend.
Chewy meets his stinky grave, the trash can. Stop looking at me like that, Chewy! It's for your own good!
On to happier note, lets’ talk about running! You know that training is in full swing when you complete your first long run of the cycle. Which is exactly what I did yesterday! I was only running 6 miles, so I didn’t anticipate it being too difficult or tiring. Apparently I tire easily. And I difficult easily. (Yes, difficult is now a verb.)
I took y’all up on your suggestions and hydrated with Gatorade this go around. It was very purple tasting. I actually really liked how it tasted when it was cold. Too bad it didn’t stay cold for long. In the heat it tasted kind of like hot medicine. I could feel myself making a bitter beer face every time I took a swig. Perhaps a different flavor would yield better results.
purple-licious
Geronimo kept me company for the first 2.1 miles. (Only 1 mile shy of a 5k! Speaking of which, I’m so tempted to sign up for the Roof Dog Run, but I don’t know if Geronimo could run that far in only two more weeks. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions!)
G-mo cooling off on the tile post-run
For the second half of my run, I ran a two mile out and back. There was a surprising breeze that was a nice treat. (I would have liked some sprinkler action, too. Dang water restriction!) My legs felt tired and achy! You know that feeling you get when you do the last few reps of your last set during weight lifting? My legs felt that way the entire run. I don’t know if it’s because my legs are a little out of practice following my week off last week or for some other reason. (Dang legs!)
- 6 mile finish time: 1 hour, 10 minutes, 45 seconds
- average pace: 11:47/mile
Yucky. I don’t know why this run was so painful or so slow (for me). I wouldn’t mind my slow pace if I felt good (mentally, physically) during the run, but I felt so blah. Maybe I still haven’t beaten the burnout blues. I have been training for race after race after race since January of last year. I’ve also decided that training in the heat must be similar to training after an injury. Your expectations have to change and what use to feel easy suddenly feels hard hard hard. (PS I’m so sick of talking about the heat. Can I get an Amen?)
In the positive category: I was able to meet all my training goals this week except for one. I did my strength training, I did all my runs, I hydrated like a champ. The only thing I didn’t do was cross train. (Maybe that’s why I felt so sluggish on this run. Thoughts?)
The Tyler Rose Half Marathon is a mere 7 weeks away. No time to dwell. Only time to do. This week I’m hoping to meet all my training goals (cross training included) and to (hopefully) have a more successful long run.
What sports drinks/sports drink flavors do you love? Is two weeks too few to prepare Geronimo for his first 5k? How do you beat running burnout? (I usually take time off, which I already did, or I sign up for a race, which I already did.)*
