Team Fall-dippides - November Challenge (Page 10)

sparco - 2009-11-09 9:32 AM

Global - 2009-11-09 9:27 AM Morning everyone.  As I mentioned before due to injury I will be taking this week off.  I plan to get about the same amount of time I would have spent running in on the trainer this week. 

My calf is feeling significantly better.  I was limping around on sat night but it feels great today.  I know better then to try and start running again this week though.  I've had this injury before and it will go on me again if I don't take a few weeks to ease back into things. 

Take it easy.  We totally understand if you need to adjust your goals due to injury.  A challenge is not worth aggravating your injury.

Then there are people like me, who are totally capable of meeting their goals, but skip long workouts anyways...

Saturday was way too beautiful (65 and sunny).  I skipped my long run (11 miles of hillwork) to go biking with my wife...

  Sparco -- You're such a Slacker!  

Although -- I confess, I'd have been tempted to do EXACTLY the same thing.

sparco - 2009-11-09 2:22 PM 4.5 mile KILLER hill workout (hill repeats, up to 15% grade)...HR got up to 170 bpm...it's been a while since I've suffered like this...

Better to suffer during the off-season than during the tri season, right?

Was that the hill I'm thinking off???  You know that one  -- over on 160th??   That is Killer...  But you love pain! 

Way to go team   -- Everyone is doing Awesome and we're in First Place!   Whoo HOO

Me -- Big run today..  Four of Four scheduled miles.   But what makes it a big run is that I managed to do my best pace over that distance in a long time.

I'm so excited that the weight is coming off (those who know me know how the slow movement of weight has driven me nuts) and the pace is getting faster.   Don't know if I'll ever be able to get back to my "PRIME" condition of 7:45-8:00 minute 10k's --- but I'm certainly going to try....

Overall, pleased with the progress.. Got to keep at it though.

GO TEAM 

BigEasy6 - 2009-11-09 2:58 PM

sparco - 2009-11-09 2:22 PM 4.5 mile KILLER hill workout (hill repeats, up to 15% grade)...HR got up to 170 bpm...it's been a while since I've suffered like this...

Better to suffer during the off-season than during the tri season, right?

There are hills in Minnesota? Next you'll tell me that Favre is the Vikings QB! Just kidding...my hill work is tomorrow. No 15% grades though. Great job!

YUP, believe it or not -- LOTS of Hills in MN.  Used to live there.  Didn't think much of it, until I went back this past summer for Lifetime Fitness Tri.   Whew -- I'd forgotten how hilly that place is.    It was nuts!

I thought I had it hilly in my neighborhood in Ft Worth..... NOT!

Ran 40 mins today  and felt Ok , my legs are still tender  from sunday .

Followed that with 7:30 mins in the pretty cold pool  (55F) .

It's interesting to see what running 10 miles  will do to average runners during the race .And surely this can  happen  to oneself too.    

Many will slow their pace and even though you were running back and forth with them through miles 3 to 9   they now drop off behind you.  The signs of fading are at first  subtle but there .   The form droops  , the walk at the water station is progressively longer , they don't run  the shortest  path through a series of curves  and choose instead to run longer distance on the softer dirt ,  their  foot pick up becomes more of shuffle with an audible scraping of the shoes  along the ground and 10 minutes later the inevitable happens . They suddenly  trip & fall down  on a prefectly smooth trail . And yes they get back up again unarmed  but probably  defeated and humbled.   Perhaps .  At that point you realized the distance has consumed them ......

Imagine  Raul Merino, the winner,  was not out there for the win, his goal was to do a moderate pace training run, and to go for a PR next month in Sacramento. But with less than five to go he sees the leaders are fading. He throttles back and blows by with four miles to go. How many opportunities does one get to win a quality marathon? The motorcycle cop with the leaders later observed that he had to significantly increase his speed to stay with the new leader. ..