No flat tire, no rain, no warrior goose today on my ride to work. Where did all the fun stuff go?!? It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so...
I did my first workout in a while. Warm up 2.5miles, strides 5x100m w/ 100m jog and then 5x1k and 2.5miles cool down.
Then weights (only legs because it was already almost 9:30pm. And pool for few minutes to loosen up. Felt great but I did not feel secure because it was already dark and I was alone there.
I was not that great. I do not know what's going on. I used to love these workouts. If you had asked me 1 or 2 months ago, I would not have minded doing it twice every week.
It seems I can not pick up speed and get moving. I am at a particular pace and can't pick up.
I was supposed to do them at 5k pace, but I am not sure what that pace is for me now. Probably not very fast...I decided to do it at 95sec for 400m, which gives 3:57ish for 1k. I did first one in 3:50, way too fast. I had to slow down. then I did 3:56. It was not hard, but I was just struggling. 3rd felt better. As if my legs finally woke up from hibernation. I did 3:53, 3:54, 3:54. Last three felt much better. Not hard but still did not feel that great.
When I compare this to a workout I did 2months ago...it is horrible! I ran much faster and felt much better.
I wonder what causes this. Here are my thoughts (order does not matter):
No/little running past 2 months (since April 15th).
All this crazy stuff that has been going on lately. Moving, tons of paperwork, new job, place etc. But I should be accustomed to that by now.
Climate. I C-A-N N-O-T B-R-E-A-T-H! I am not a fish, I don't have any gills. I can't separate oxygen from water. What can I do to get used to this humidity?
Different running time. I used to do my workouts at 2pm before. Now I run around 7-8pm. I am not used to running in the evening.
Different running surface. We did not have turf in France. I do not know the work in English, but it is an old stuff, all tracks used to be like this couple years ago. (I am sure that the Americans have no idea what I am talking about). Now here it is turf, so I assume it is little bit softer and therefore also slower, right?
And few less sophisticated reasons:
Undigested afternoon snack. I ate way too late and definitely felt it during a run.
Easy run that was not that easy one day before a workout. I ran little bit too fast yesterday.
Extra 5-6 pounds.
I am under pressure. I have been running whatever for past 2ish years. I did not tell anyone what my running goes were, I was fully responsible for my running. I did what I felt like doing that day. When I had a crappy workout, I would be disappointed but I got over it. Now, when I have a coach, my goals are revealed and I feel under pressure. Because if I mess up, it is now not only me. There is someone who puts her time and energy into this! It feels weird. I need to get used to this.
GET READY FOR SOME SOCCER! Too bad all matches are while I am at work...it seems that I am always in wrong time zone for these things...
My First Stroller 5K
2 weeks ago
humidity is HUGE and probably worth 5-10 seconds per km. i agree running too fast the day before, while it feels good at the time, always comes back to bite you in the butt. easy days easy so the hard days can be hard. this is something i am working on myself. try this - do a longer warm-up before your intervals even if it means blowing the mileage "budget" I gave you, add an extra mile or more, this may cause your legs to come out of hibernation sooner. however this work-out was faster than your race, i think it is a good sign. you are right, you are going through a lot of adjustments, i think you'll feel like a whole new woman in about 3-4 weeks. hang in there, you're on the right track (bad bad bad horrible pun). patience little grasshopper!!
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