May 11th, 2010
I’m racing a 5K on the 30th and hope to get close to last year’s PR of 20:25, but have no expectations to exceed it. Sub-20 is definitely on the radar this year and I’m confident it’ll be mine but not till Fall.
In the meantime, I had a speed session today, same as last week (8 x .25mi w/1mi recoveries) which was by design, since last week’s paces were all over the place and I wanted a basis for comparison. Plus, it takes me a week or two to get used to faster running and this workout is a “no big deal” way to do that.
My splits, while not perfectly consistent, were eons better than last time:
1:37,1:35,1:39,1:35,1:37,1:38,1:38,1:38 (avg pace 6:28)
Three things helped:
1. The temperature was a lovely 60 degrees. Interesting factoid: when it’s warm (last week was 75) my heart rate caps out low though the effort feels much harder. Weird that, since you’d think the HR would be higher.
2. I did strides beforehand. I know I should do this before every quality session, it gets your HR up and your body prepared for running faster. I will from now on, it really made a difference.
3. Confidence. Last week, for all the crappy pacing and even though it was only 400s, that last fast one gave me an inkling that speed is indeed returning. I needed that like nectar to a hummingbird.
Next two weeks I’ll do 6 x 800 w/ 90sec rec’s. and then my Half cycle begins! Nice to be priming the pump before the heavy-duty work starts. Though I must say, I’m pretty much doing what I’d do in a regular cycle anyway but it seems so casual and fun now, almost vacation-like. Maybe it’s the weather.
Pill Popping
I’m not a huge pill-popper by nature, though I’ve been taking glucosamine and MSM since the IT band crap last summer. This week I cut my glucosamine by half, so one pill instead of two. So far, I’m not noticing anything different. As for my MSM capsule, I’ll continue to take that daily but am open to seeing what’s what without these things.
I don’t think I mentioned that I started taking an Iron supplement a couple months ago. I had my ferritin levels checked back in August which came out normal, but my mileage hadn’t reached the level it’s at now. Also, I was still living with Nick at the time and ate red meat quite often. I love red meat, so don’t think I’ve gone all veggie on you, but I’ve probably had it 3 times in the last 6 months. I do eat a lot of fresh spinach but surprisingly, if you eat a whole bag of the stuff, it’s still only 30% of your daily requirement. So anyway, I take an 18mg capsule daily.
Calcium is my other supplement – Viactiv chews, twice daily. I wrote a whole blog piece two years ago on the different types of calcium and how this type (calcium carbonate) used to stop me up. But now I eat so much more fiber and drink more liquids, I’m a great pooper.
Core Work Continued
I was doing those Runners World exercises for a couple weeks which are great, but I’ve started switching it up with one of my favorite exercise DVDs: Mari Winsor’s 20-minute Slimming Pilates. It’s basically a fast-paced core workout that I love because she doesn’t chatter on, it goes boom boom boom, from one exercise to the next.
Group Thoughts
Today was a slow day on my running path, I only waved to about 7 people I knew. Seriously. I love my park because there are probably 35-40 regulars with whom I wave and exchange a couple words. When we see each other in races or on the street, it’s a fun shot of recognition.
I was thinking about the whole “running with others” thing and while I enjoyed the outing, I’ll always be a lone runner at heart. I’ll try to make the hill workout this Thursday because I like the idea of sharing a hard workout, but I guess I wanted to explain that while I’m out there on my own day-to-day, I’m surrounded by camaraderie every time I run. So we’ll see how much running club action I get. Maybe I need to work on my bar-hopping skills instead.
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great speed session! youll totally go sub-20. i’m going to watch what you do and then copy it though so i can hopefully do the same thing this fall. so don’t screw me up
glad that youre feeling so great about your running. having fun is a must and makes training so much more enjoyable. (duh to that sentence. karyn = cpt obvious! haha)
Hah! It’ll be fun to have you as a partner in crime. Won’t it be cool to have a PR starting with a 1?
Well at least we cleared up the most important question…..”Is Flo A Great Pooper”. Well if I have some issues in the future I will be sure to contact you. :-)
Oh and see our running group spends about the same amount of time beer hoping as we do running. Maybe they just need some influence. Seriously though the speed stuff is where is really is nice. Chris like the long runs on his own too.
I think you’ll like to group hill work outs, they really do make it more tolerable.
So glad for the poop status update, Flo!
Lol Stevi and Jim, I like to keep you all in the loop. That would be the Poop Loop.
Doggie, I’m thinking you’re right, will try it out and see.
Remember to keep your back straight Flo. Don’t stoop on the poop loop.
With running groups, there are different styles of groups out there — find one that matches your style. I can see the pluses of solo training too — running the workouts you enjoy and that help you improve. A PR in the teens does have a good ring to it
Your title made me think I was going to be reading about something else lol. It’s also good to know you are a great pooper lmao
I’m just happy that it’s “Speed, Pills” and not “Speed Pills,” haha, laughing at my own grammar joke. Definitely curious what you notice about weaning off the glucosamine/MSM. I’ve tried both out of desperation (and read a decent bit of literature on glucosamine and chondroitin for a research paper at one point) and it seems very iffy as to whether supplementation makes a difference for joint pain. But I’d say at least half of my female teammmates have had to do the iron supplementation thing at one point or another.
Kristin, I’m convinced it works from my friends who’ve used it for joint chronic problems. Also, I haven’t had knee pain since I’ve started using it, which I used to have occasionally. But when I hurt, it’s usually more soft tissue or tendon stuff, not so much joint (though that could be because I’ve been taking it, lol) so I’m thinking it might not make a big diff if I go off it. I’ll keep you posted.
It’s great to run with others when you can do it on your terms and not feel compelled to do more than you want to.
In addition to strides, if you’re on a track, perhaps do some drills first. I know I should do them, but the only time I really do is before a track workout. And I would guess that last week’s 400s were affected by your Boston effort.
No track near me. I did drills once and it messed up my heel bursitis really badly (bounding) so I’m gun-shy, though I know they’re worthy. Maybe with the hill group I can do some less hurty ones without looking like a lunatic in the park.
Nah, last weeks workout had nothing to do with Boston and everything to do with not having done speedwork in weeks and dealing with the heat. Otherwise, they’d have deteriorated as happened after Philly, not improved with each subsequent one.
We’ve been discussing this in the Sub 3 thread, but do you take pill or liquid iron? I assume pill from your post, but just wanted to double check. After a blood test, I am taking one pill a day and I swear it is making me feel so sick to my stomach! Thoughts?
I’m so glad you are liking the group running, too. You will blow 20 out of the water quite soon.:)
Hey girl, I take a capsule and it doesn’t give me any problems. Do you take yours with food? Should do. Also, maybe it’s the type, I get mine at Whole Foods and it’s “Chelated” Iron. Says “Gentle and easy to absorb”. So look for chelated if yours isn’t.
You’re cooking on all your runs these days. It’s nice to see. Just remember to take your calcium opposite to the time of day you take your iron, as the former will inhibit the absorption of the latter. Even better if you can take vitamin C with the iron, as that helps your body absorb it.