Long Run Sunday

Plan: Start around 6:30, don't look at the watch, practice the hills.
After the run, Sunday weights and Sunday abs.
 

Route: I call this the "Thank God the Roads Are All Open" Route.  I run it usually at least once before the 10 miler.  It includes parts of the course including that hill up to Franklin Ave and the enter into St Paul.

Weather: 50's to start, sunny, not much wind.

Wardrobe: Nike shorts; tank top, hat, injinji socks and Skora shoes.

Execution: Well, I haven't looked at my splits or anything yet.  Since the run was 'don't look at the watch' I want to gauge this how I felt.

• I am a little freaked out by that big orange strip on the heart rate zone graph, though I do think it matches my effort.  I'm just a little what have I done to myself?
• I did well on the up hills.  I focused on keeping my shoulder blades relaxed and 'down my back' and keeping relaxed. 
• I went hard, but stayed 'loose'.  And then I had this thought of 'this is what marathon training is going to be like' 
• I focused on what I do well, including having a good cadence. 
• I both fought 'till the end and tried to take the last mile easy. 

Nutrition: I had another fat bomb before heading out.  This one didn't upset my stomach nearly as much.  I had some water along the way but not a ton.
From today, I learned: Stay positive; focus on the process and focus on what I do well.  For hills, I've lifted a lot of weights so I'm strong, I have a good posture and I can stay relaxed.  For flats, I have good cadence.  For down hills, just have hella fun.

Bonus: I'll have a separate Before and After post from this run.  It's how I entertain myself sometimes. Also, this was a really thing that happened today.  At least they're not as mean as geese.

Long Run Sunday - Fun Run!

Plan: Running should be fun.  This should be fun.  Have fun.  PS - don't look at the watch.  Warm up, run at least 10 miles, cool down.

Route: This is my "thank god the roads are all open again" route from last year.  (Maybe I should really name it that?)  Ironically one side of Franklin Ave bridge was in fact closed to pedestrians, so I had to use the north side today, but it was early enough that crossing the streets was no big deal.

Weather: Low 60s and humid.  There was no wind to start but it kicked up out of the southeast around mile 4 or 5.  That was fine with me.

Wardrobe: NikePro shorts, reflective shirt, visor, compression socks and Green Silence shoes.  I'm realizing now exactly how many races I've run in these shoes.  They are getting to the end of their mileage.

Execution: This was a really solid run.  There was a moment where I realized that I was going harder than I normally go, but I wasn't hurting.  And I hung onto that feeling as much as I could in the run.   Hard but not hurting.  I can keep going at this pace. I practiced 'belly breathing' up the hills, and I did run up all the hills including the Sabo bridge at the end. I also practiced what I'm going to say to myself on race day while I'm climbing.  'Pick up your knees' because that seems to be what gives me the best form up the hill.

Nutrition: Little bit of a failure on this one.  I had half an avocado, salted, before I left the house. I know now that this will not be my race day food.  Because it felt like I had rocks in my stomach 'till about mile 4.  No, um, distress.  It just didn't feel good.  I had a couple bites or Larabar and a couple sips of water along the way, but not much.

Bonus: Like last time, I'm writing all this before I've seen my paces and other stats for the run, so I'm feeling good.  I'll go look in a second, so I can pull some screen shots in for pictures on this blog.  For 'hard but not too hard' this looks good and I'll take it.
#2 - I'm about 40 pages into Mind Gym and was trying to apply some of the principles he talks about to this run.  Mostly focusing on the positive and what I want to do versus all the stuff that could go wrong.
#3 - I had a brief lifting session after this run, not my full 'Sunday' workout by any means.  I decided I'd just do the arm stuff plus single leg deadlifts for balance.  And then I had a nice stretch.

Long Run Sunday - welcome back W River Pkwy and Franklin Ave Bridge

Plan: Get up when the alarm goes off.  I thought if that happened, everything else would be fine.

Route: Celebrate W River Parkway reopening after two years of being closed, and Franklin Ave bridge reopening after being closed all freaking summer.

Weather: Low 60s and slightly humid to start.  Mid 60s to finish.  I saw a girl wearing a long sleeve shirt when I was running, and I thought, I'd be okay with that.  It was glorious.

Execution:  The main point of this run was to check out the early parts of the 10 mile course and get some practice on the hill up to Franklin Ave.  Makes sense when you see the elevation profile right?  I was really pleased with this run.  Heart rate was low until I needed to, um, stop for a moment. After that I just wanted to be done.  That was the last 1.5 miles so it was cool.  The run was a mile or two shorter than I wanted, route options being what they were.  So when I got back to the gym, I did a few sets of kettle bell lifts, and even practiced squatting with that big fat bar.

Nutrition: I had a few sips of water.  I had chews at miles 4 and 7. Only a couple chews each time.  Note to me for race day - don't drink or eat too much.  This is how you get bloated and sick.

Bonus: The rest of the day I did all of the things, including cooking

• Homemade tomato soup
• Homemade muesli
• Lentil and couscous salad
• Summer Squash Salad
• Laundry
• Dusted/cleaned living room
• Dusted/cleaned bedroom
• Cleaned the kitchen - this almost deserves its own post
• Cleaned the bathroom
• Dinner at the Lowbrow with friends. 
• Watched US Open - Nadal WTF?!?; Monfis - way to go; Sock - shocked you won that set, way to go also