10/17/2006 Strength, Tempo Run & Thanksgiving Race Thoughts

Strength Training

Elliptical = 15 minutes on Fat Burning
JC Bands Lunges with rows, Grey Bands - 12 each side.
Wall sit w/20 lb. wts.
2 sets bicep curls = 60 seconds each
2 sets shoulder press = 60 seconds each
Walking lunges = width of court/back doing lat raises with 15lb. wts
Hip adductor=2 sets/12 reps 100 lbs.
Hip abductor=2 sets/12 reps 100 lbs.
Clamshell crunch w/overhead 8lb ball 2x25

Tempo Run

It was feeling like a tempo run type of day today. It doesn't feel right to start off the running week with intervals, although I guess there is no reason that I couldn't do that. It just feels good to ease into the week with some tempo running, crank it up with some intervals, and bring it on home with the long run at the end of the week. I am totally a creature of habit. It runs in the family...thanks dad. I decided I'd run 4 miles today and do a couple at near race pace. I decided to do it on the tread mill since it was pouring down rain and I was at the gym anyway. There were some treadmills that I'd never tried before, so I decided to give them a whirl, and they turned out to be very cool. They had a nice display with an oval "track" to show distance, some good information and two little fans to keep a little cool. That is my biggest complaint about the hamster wheel workout, dead air. ugh. Anyway I started out at a nice easy 9:30 pace and eased it up a little bit at a time until I reached a 7:00 pace at the 1 1/2 mile mark. I held that pace until mile 3 and brought it back down to the 9:30 pace to finish it out. I didn't give myself quite enough time, so I ended running around 3 3/4 miles with the cool down. I was happy though with the effort, and let it go at that.

I've settle on a training schedule that will take me through the Run Like Hell 5K at the end of October and to the Thanksgiving Day 10K Race at the end of November. It's going to be the advance training schedule listed on the race site. It's the three workouts I listed above each week: tempo, interval, distance mixed with strength training and some cycling. I already know I can do the distance I just want to improve on my speed a bit, but not overdue the running. I don't want to burnout or injure myself before the race. I still wonder just how much running my knees will take before something starts to give. At some point this winter I'm going to have to figure out how I'm going to work in some swimming into my schedule. Who needs sleep really?