Sunday, December 18, 2011

I Was "One Of Them" This Morning - 5K

When I moved up here, I used to quietly watch and respect the runners that ran along the city provided trails in fog, rain and bitter cold weather.

There is a running trail not far from my home, and today I had this crazy spontaneous call to action when I was out front calibrating my shoe pod to my Garmin sports watch. A shoe pod tracks your stride/pace on a treadmill and to set it you need to run a small jaunt outdoors with the GPS activated. But, the next thing I knew, I was running all the way out of my neighborhood, past some watersheds and onto the city trail taking me up high over the 205 Freeway. I think I will blame it on my having watched the Tough Mudder promo video twice before I went outside.

I wasn't prepared for this much of a run!!!

• I had on thin shorts and it was COLD (37 degrees) and WET out under a thick mist, not quite a fog.

• Under my thin windbreaker was just a sports bra.

• I had no gloves on.

• I hadn't ate breakfast or hydrated properly for a run like this.

Still, my times were comparable to my official race times.

IN FACT: My time this morning on a much harder course, was faster than my November 5K's and just 24 seconds slower than my December 4th run and that is including stopping to jog in place at stop lights TWICE! HA!!

I will prepare next Sunday (Christmas morning) and try it again and see if I can't get out of the slow 39 minute 5K's.

But beyond all the numbers and stats - it was beautiful. I felt so proud jogging along without stopping in the chilly and damp morning air. I had the path to myself in both directions. Even when I felt weak, I felt strong remembering a post someone else posted recently:

"I MAY BE SLOW, BUT I AM STILL LAPPING EVERYONE AT HOME!"

Here is another reason for such slow times. This is the elevation graph - note the last half plus (2 miles) was mostly all UP HILL.


Yeah. I was slow. But I did it.

1 comment:

  1. At the recommendation of a friend (who is training for the Tough Mudder), I did some research on Fasted Training. There are studies, even one in Times Magazine, that state fasted training (running with little to no food prior to the run) improves metabolic performance and helps maintain muscle after endurance exercise, and, as long as you eat soon after, can jibe with intense sprint work.

    I eat immediately after a run even though I have no desire to. So, this works for me. Like today, even before the stretches began while I was walking it out, I downed some pure coconut milk/water with a touch of added pineapple juice. PURE potassium and happy carbs.

    I stretched a bit, then ate a third of a banana and a slice of colby cheese.

    I finished my stretches then had a half of a whole grain bagel with peanut butter and more of that banana on it.

    How did I feel an hour after the run? AMAZING. As if I could go again.

    My next race is at the gosh awful unholy hour of 8am. I decided after today's run that I will hydrate well, but I won't consume a meal prior.

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