I Did A Workout!

The abbreviated 5K training plan I am following called for 3x2 mile w/ 2 min recovery or 6xMile w/ 1 min recovery. In actuality I ran 2x2 mile, 1xMile. Owing to this being the first real workout of the season (last Friday was mostly for sanity) and considering that I'm starting the plan on week 22 of 24 and it assumes you ran the first 22 weeks, I don't feel bad about cutting it a little short.

The goal was to run these at T pace (close to half marathon pace), which for me is 5:28/mile based on current race results. Without really knowing what to expect I dove in headfirst!

Summary: Warm up-2 mile-2 min-2mile-2 min-Mile-cool down
15 min jogging, drills, strides
10:52/10:50/5:20 = 27:02 5 miles, 5:24 average
15 min jogging, stretching, showering.

I was pretty happy with how everything felt. I decided to cut it short when I started to feel some sharp pain in my left hamstring, figuring that discretion is the better part of valor. Opening up in 5:20 really didn't feel that challenging, even with fairly windy conditions. Forgot just how good it feels to run hard and steady like this. The feeling after is like nothing else in running!

Miles: 9 for the day/19 for the week
Pullups: 18 for the day/60 for the week

Less Class, More Pullups

Somehow I missed the memo that we didn't have Microbiology lab until week 5. I think it is baby related. Anyway, I ended up with less class than anticipated which is always nice.

Today I ran a solo 6 miles around Glendoveer in 40 min even, did 18 pullups, and broke a watch strap. It was a great day for running being all coolish and cloudy. Tomorrow my 3 week buildup to the BAC 5k begins!

Miles: 6 for the day/10 for the week
Pullups: 18 for the day/42 for the week

One Pullup per Mile

So my new challenge to myself is going to include performing at least one pullup for every mile I run that day. Now I know what y'all are thinking, "4 pullups is not all that hard!" and y'all are right, 4 pullups are not all that hard. In fact, I can do 6 of them! What's going to make it hard is trying to keep ahead of the game as my mileage starts increasing. I figure it'll be a fun way to incorporate some upper body strength into my pretty dull routine of looping Glendoveer with Otto and sitting in class. Which is exactly what I did today.

4 miles, 24 pullups for the day. I did more to make up for not running Sat/Sun.
4 miles, 24 pullups for the week.

Beer Mile!

July 8th marked the Annual Cascadia Beer Mile Championships at an unnamed location. What is significant about this event is that it was my debut Beer Mile. Given the fact that I successfully completed the Bicentennial (100 beers/100 miles) in 6 days, some running friends were curious as to my beer mile potential. Well, I have a dirty little secret.....I can't chug to save my life. Though lack of a gag reflex and cast iron stomach did come through to help me in a big way.

My beer of choice was 1 PBR and 3 Copper Bell Lagers (Whole Foods brand, cheap). The catch here is that I don't know if they comply with official Kingston Rules (http://www.beermile.com/faq.beer#rules) as I don't know what the %ABV of my beers was, officially speaking. I think the PBR does, though I can't find official note of that. Anyway, I was doing this for the experience. Next time I will have beers that do comply.

My time was 7:48, with a 66s last lap, which is a pretty solid debut. Like I said, I can run with damn near anything sloshing around in my stomach but I can't chug. Obviously, I lost the most time chugging, but would pass people running who had passed me chugging. With a little more practice, I feel like I could challenge the 7:00 barrier.

Quite an experience. I encourage everyone to either witness or participate in one at some point because they are pretty unique experiences!

Shake, Shake, Shake It Up!

Technically I'm supposed to have a 2-hr break between Microbiology lecture and Soft Tissue lab on Fridays. However, I think I'll be skipping the 1-hr Micro lecture in favor of doing a tempo run in the morning.

Anyway, today I rolled out solo and did just a tune-up type workout. The goal was to run quickly, comfortably, and get used to turning over again. I settled on 8x400 w/ 2 min recoveries and aimed to run no slower than my first one. It all went pretty well, mostly owing to the cool temps and general lack of strong wind that usually possesses the track at Portland Christian School. I ran no slower than 69s, which was my first one, so I met my arbitrary goal!

Summary:
15 min warm up, drills, and 4 strides
69.1/67.4/67.0/67.6/67.5/66.4/67.4/65.1 average = 67.2, really pleased with how relaxed this felt!
15 min cool down, stretching, coolish shower

6/18

Found My Legs

Today was not nearly as bad as the other two days of running, most likely owing to the fact that I am getting used to running again. The run consisted of an easy 4 miles w/ Otto around Glendoveer in 27:30 again, this time I added strides and some pullups, so that was fun. No arms/abs today though.

Get used to the Glendoveer loops w/ Otto, they'll be a mainstay of my easy days I'm sure.

4/12

Four And Done

Owing to the fact that I only have 4 hours of class today (8:30-12:30), I think Wednesdays will become my interval workout days. It'll be glorious to work out in the middle of the day when it's warm out. Hopefully the wind won't be too much of an issue. Though Lincoln HS in downtown Portland won't be the shit show it is during the spring track season.

Today I just ran another easy 4 miles w/ Otto around Glendoveer in 27:30. Did arms/abs but no strides, which was probably just fine.

4/8