Sometimes, All You Need is a Little Bit*

This morning, my 5 a.m. alarm sounded way too early, which was surprising, considering I actually got into bed at just after 9, and I turned off the lights and put down this month's issue of Outside magazine by 9:30. Still...I barely crawled out of bed by 6:45, which meant my plan of 4-5 miles (approx. 48 minutes) of tempo run were foiled. I contemplated skipping the run, but something in me was not having it--it's like my Asics** were calling me, begging me to to take them out for a run. So, I got ready and headed out the door for what I had planned on as a hard, 30-minute tempo run.

Well...I got a bit ahead of myself, and as I ran hard towards Browne's Addition, I realized that my pace would absolutely not be maintained for the full 30, so I turned my run into an unstructured interval run. I pushed the pace hard for as long as I could sustain it, and then slowed it up (to a walk at some points), and repeated until I was back home. The reward: the sense of accomplishment that you feel after a completed run, about 300 calories burned, a bit more speed work (which I need), and leftover blueberry-oatmeal pancakes with Adams Crunchy Peanut Butter and a blackberry fruit spread.

*As I wrote the title of this post, all I could think about was the 50 Cent song, but I couldn't bring my self to write "Lil Bit."

**I currently rotate two pairs of shoes (well, 3, but more on that later) for running. The Asics are the Gel Kayano 14's, acquired at Runners Soul. These are by far my best looking running shoes--with a bronze/platinum metallic pattern. Whatever it takes to get you on the trail.

Maybe you shouldn't always trust your gut? (Runs 30 & 31)

Last Saturday (June 21) marked the end of my sixth week of training, so I am approximately one-fourth of the way done with training. Saturday was another team run, and I seem to always do really well on those. I ran just over 6 miles early Saturday morning.

I tried out an interval-type training run for excelling at long runs, which has been suggested by our coaches. It consists of intervals of running and jogging or running and walking. The intervals vary based on your ability and/or desired pace. The idea is to maintain a better overall pace by giving your legs and lungs a little break every x number of minutes. Interval training is not new, but it seems counterintuitive to go from running to a slow jog or walk to increase your overall pace. But, intuition is not always right (like when my gut said that big bangs and a perm were a good idea)...

I did some ten-minute intervals of running with 45 seconds to 1 minute of very slow jogging and/or walking for Saturday's team run. As a result, I was able to run at an overall faster pace, and I was not exhausted after my 6+ mile run. My pace dropped about 45 seconds per mile faster than it was without the intervals. I'm going to continue to play with the intervals from here out.

Unlike last week, I stretched really well after the long run, and I made sure that I hydrated. I attended a birthday party for my second oldest sister, Shirley, on Sunday, and I skipped the cake (as sugar has become my enemy--I love it, but it wreaks havoc on my GI-tract during runs), so I could complete my recovery run Sunday night.*

*I almost skipped the recovery run out of laziness, but I had been watching Olympic diving trials on DVR, and after watching 18-30 year-olds with 3-5% body fat and super-defined legs, I figured I'd better get off the couch and get in some cardio.