Weekly Averages ~ Time: 0:54:47 Distance: 6.49 mi. Vertical: 700 ft.
I'm feeling good. Really good. Maybe in part because the sky has been Smurf blue for a couple of days.. Last week's weather was tough. I laid the hammer down on my track workout, this week. Unfortunately, the Garmin 610 threw a fit and didn't save the workout. My fault for not fully charging it. Immediately afterward I felt like the run didn't count. It was crazy sad. It brings me up to a good point, "It's not about the watch." I hear a lot of people at the end of races saying, "My GPS says this course is short/long." or "I kept running for .03, so I would make the scheduled mileage." Really? First off, I'm a big fan of GPS enabled watches. Why? Just because. I enjoy analyzing data, numbers, routes, etc., but to get so caught up in the accuracy of the numbers displayed on a watch is a fruitless adventure. This goes for pedometers, foot-pods (accelerometer), and GPS, by the way. Not to mention training plans based solely on mileage. There are inaccuracies in everything. Technology has flaws. That's why new products keep coming out. The bottom-line, if you want to be truly accurate in your training, train only by time. An hour run is an hour run, regardless of whether you run uphill or downhill, it's still an hour. If you, or a loved one, is GPS/Foot-pod obsessed there's an easy way to get help. Take off the watch, and just go run. Enable yourself to revert back to the anti-establishment movements by taking off the technology once a month. Go run a course you're familiar with sans music, and watches. Trust me, you'll thank me.
Daylight breaking through the clouds:
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Base Run. Started driving toward some flat trails and then got sucked into the ominous fog resting atop Cougar Mtn. There's just something motivating about hidden summits. Took things very easy and had a great run. Hill repeats tomorrow!
Monday, March 19 ~ Time: 0:50:41 Distance: 6.35 mi. Vertical: 1,050 ft.
Hill Repeats. Towards the end I felt like I could probably walk faster. Legs were tired at the start, but loosened up around 5th repeat. The "rest"was basically a race to get down the hill and back to the start within the 2 minutes. Staying on the road allowed for a lot of concentration on form, so I'm happy to have been humbled.
Workout:
1.5mi Warm-up; 8 X 1:30 Hill (10% grade) with 2:00 active recovery; 1.46mi Cool-down.
Tuesday, March 20 ~ Time: 0:18:59 Distance: 2.70 mi. Vertical: 32 ft.
Base Run. Quick descent to work, because car battery is dead. Oh well, I have two feet.
Tuesday, March 20 ~ Time: 0:19:01 Distance: 2.48 mi. Vertical: 31 ft.
Recovery Run. I lead a group run, now, every Tuesday night at my work. Lots of vendors, lots of free gear. If you're in the Renton, WA area Tuesday evenings around 6:00 PM...you might want to join.
Wednesday, March 21 ~ Time: 1:10:00 Distance: 10.50 mi. Vertical: -
Short Interval. Watch battery died as workout was finishing, and for some reason it erased the workout. Workout: 8 X (.875 mi @ 7:10 min./mi. + 1:30 @ 5:30 min./mi.) + 1.5 mi. cool-down. I felt really good. Didn't start until 9 PM, but after I got warm it was a great workout. Too bad it got erased on the watch I love seeing data numbers.
Thursday, March 22 ~ Time: 0:41:52 Distance: 5.84 mi. Vertical: 118 ft.
Recovery Run. Ran an easy road (blah) miles before work. Grabbed the commute running pack and ran to work. Nice to have a glaring sun in the eyes and wear shorts, short sleeves, and gloves. Legs are tired from last night's workout.
Friday, March 23 ~ Time: 1:37:10 Distance: 10.39 mi. Vertical: 866 ft.
Recovery Run. The sky has turned into a giant Smurf, no clouds. The views of the surrounding mountain ranges, Cascades, Issaquah Alps, and Olympics, can make being in the Sound seem claustrophobic, but in a positive way. Friday Recovery Runs with Debbie O., this morning went really well. Legs feel like I worked 'em this week.
Saturday, March 24 ~ Rock-Climbing, no run.
My GPS watch was recently stolen (car break-in) and I haven't replaced it yet, although I do plan to (its a lot of $$$!!). But it has been interesting to observe the shift in my training attitude going by time and to some extent distances estimated by Google Maps, etc. instead of relying on watch data. One big difference is not being able to see progress in real-time and try to make up for it on the fly. It is kind of liberating just going by feel.
ReplyDelete@David, Sorry to read about the loss, but it sounds like you're making the best of the situation. Feeling free from boundaries is one reason I run in the mountains. Keep up the good work.
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