38K logged on the track at the Owen Sound Y yesterday. I was on an 8 day running streak that started at the Y Mon Dec 7 logging 33K on the track. Working mids last week I logged 7 runs , 5k, 5k, 5k, 7K, 8K 12K and finally 16K on Monday morning. I didn't sleep Monday after finishing up Mids at 08:00 am and was in bed by 10pm having a pretty decent 8+ hour sleep....I was exhausted! I find this strategy the best way to turn back around instantly. I was planning on a 11am start at the Y on Tues however coffee in the hot tub took a little too long and I had some errands to run so I didn't make it to the Y until noon. Had all kinds of little techy troubles at the start of my run. First my Heart Rate Monitor wasn't working. I had just washed the strap like I had done many times before and was suspicious that something happened to it however it could just be the battery. I noticed that the HRM wasn't registering as quick as it normally does ... next up a new battery. Next up was trouble with the music.... first off my favourite streaming site Okemos Brewing has gone down due to having to pay much larger royalty $$. Plan B was "She Radio" a south Fla claasic rock station ... not bad but not Okemos! Last time out I was able top leave my iPhone at my aid station and my Blue Tooth Ear buds performed more of less flawlessly. that day we were running counter clock wise and the radio in my left ear was facing in. On Tues it was clockwise so the radio was out and my skull was getting between the iPhone and Blue Tooth dropping out!!!!!! Plan B ... had my " 10K" belt with me and stuffed my MiFi ( Internet Connection ) and iPhone in....... no problem had tunes. All this messing around meant I didn't get a start until nearly 12:30. I was aiming to do a 6:00 pace but it seemed a little bit tough heading out. I really struggled settling into for the first 10K and it just seemed like allot of work and no joy. Its not uncommon the feel this way for the first hour. I figured that the speed workouts I did and finishing mids with the cold turkey turn around probably had something to do with it. At 10K I took a 1K walking break downing my first 0.5L bottle of water and taking an S Cap ... it was going to be a long day. At this point I also started taking in a bit of water more or less every K stopping momentarily at my aid station. I continued to struggle to maintain the 6:00 pace but was pretty close through 25K....still wasn't feeling the Love! At the 25K mark I did another 1K walking break this time taking in a Gel. I also finished off my second and 3rd 0.5 L of water for a total of 1.5L in 2hrs55min. Past 26K things finally started to kick in and I was really starting to enjoy the run. The gel was a miracle putting some pop in my legs and I had no problem maintaining the 6:00 pace through 36K. The goal was a 38K outing so I pulled the plug on the run at 36K opting to walk the last 2K in the interest of a decent cool down.
Garmin data tells the story in spite of not having the HRM
Running 129 km in 9 consecutive runs with the 12 and 16 km speed workouts leading to yesterday LSD was probably not the best strategy. Last nights sleep was restless and was probably a result of the runs and turning around off Mids.
I appreciate when its tough going I see it as a training opportunity... the tougher it is it makes me more determined to carry on and find a way to turn it around and thats more or less what I did at the Y yesterday.
Grabbed a slice of Pizza and a pop on my way home at 5pm. At 6pm I ate again downing some Chinese. Next up was a couple of hours in the Hot Tub and of course an ample quantity of Beer!
