Tuesday, April 26, 2011

April 19th & 25th - Weight Training & 2.94 Mile Run


The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

This is going to be a *very* low mileage month. I’ll be doing well if I can it in over 30 miles this month and that’s just terrible. I can’t remember the last time that happened.

The weather hasn’t been great and I am getting over a terrible rattling cough but I won’t make any excuses for myself. I could have done better, I just didn’t.

Last Tuesday, I did some weight training. That’s never a good time for me because weight training is my least favorite form of exercise. But I was so glad to get that workout in. I need to do more of it because my next race is a Mud Run at a Naval Base. I’m less worried about the distance and more interested in getting strong enough to pull myself over 6-ft walls and over various hurdles while I’m wet to the skin.

I’m not sure what I’m going to wear but I’m thinking I’ll wear my 5-fingers and as few clothes as possible. When I was on WipeOut, I learned how heavy mud and muck can be.

2.94 Mile Run – This was a fine run. The weather was just beautiful. I decided to run it in my 5-fingers because being barefoot and running on a Spring day’s gotta be pretty close to Heaven.

So I set out. I knew I was still a little under the weather, so I was ready to be satisfied with a short workout. What I hadn’t considered is how unwise it is to run in your 5-fingers when your body is extra prone to fatigue.

By the 2.5 mile point, I was tired and having trouble keeping my carriage up and good form is essential when you’re running in your 5-fingers. The last half mile was a little sloppier than I’d hoped. Not only that, at the last traffic light, when I had made a deal with myself to take it easy for the rest of the run, two 20-something college chicks who were out on a run stopped at the corner too.

Now, I have no problem with 20-something college chicks. I think 20-something college chicks are wonderful!!! Who doesn’t?! Beautiful without even trying. With their iPods and ponytails and sweet dispositions. Smart. Athletic. Forward thinking. With the whole world of life and opportunity before them.

But I’ll be damned if I’m going to get smoked by two 20-something college chicks who are out for an evening jog that they don’t even need, in my own neighborhood! If they were serious runners, they’d be on campus, on some trail or I would have seen them before, as often as I run these streets. Clearly, they were trying to work off some Spring Break / Easter noshing.

They were young. They were cute. They were quick. But they weren’t fast enough. The light changed and the three of us took off! I wasn’t sure how far they were running (or had run) but I was only about a half mile from home. I had messed up my pace standing at this traffic light, but I figured if I could keep up a 8.5-minute pace, I could pull away from them quickly, make a left turn into my neighborhood and pass out on the neighbor’s lawn if I had to.

So I did it. Left those pretty young things in the dust and cruised on home.... and a 10-minute pace was sufficient. Sure, it was petty.Yes, I should be ashamed of myself. Of course, I’ll feel it in the morning.... but that’s nothing compared to the way I feel right now.

HaHaHa!!!! I wouldn’t be 20 again to save my Mama’s life!

What's this funny face Jayda's making? Happy Spring Everyone!

4 comments:

  1. I would recommend against the minimal footwear for the Mud Run. First, if you've never had to run across rocks while wearing them, then you are in for a rude awakening. Mud runs tend to involve off road segments that will not be fun if you have bruised feet. Second, you will be dealing with obstacles meant to be dealt with in heavy, reinforced, military-issue boots, not bare feet. One accidental kick into a metal pole, cement block, or wooden plank, and you might find yourself with a fractured toe. Third, people bunch up on obstacles, meaning an increased chance of another runner stomping your feet.

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  2. Good to know! Thank you!!
    That last thing I want to do is hurt myself.
    I'll change my plan and figure out something else.

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  3. I've done all sorts of runs in 5 fingers one would never dream of even running, but I've run them many times before, so I know what was coming... and I want racing. So unless you have run the Mud run a number of times before you don't want to be racing over ground that is new to you.

    So if you have to run in them, check out the course before so you know how to run it..

    Good luck

    PS i wouldn't want to run through MUD in those pretty pink toes...

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  4. Hey Coach! Many of my running friends have already told me that I'd have to be crazy to run this route in my 5-Fingers. You all know better than me so I will happily submit.

    I want to do that best I can. I'll let you know how it goes.

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