It's been a long time since I've updated this thing.
Last Thursday I did my last key workout for the 5k I'd been training for. 1mi at 5k goal pace with a warmup and cool down. I ran the mile at 7:50 pace, but it felt hard, and my stomach did not feel great. I think it was partly because I was getting used to the altitude again after being in SF and partly because I tried Nuun for the first time and mixed it in warm water. Yuck. The Camelbak electrolyte tablets are much better. Those 10 calories of sweetness goes a long way.
So anyway, I took Friday off, had an easy run on a slightly different course Saturday, and woke up Sunday morning to do an easy run before the 5k that evening. Unfortunately my right hamstring cramped up over night, and I couldn't even run a mile that morning. It was not a "this seems like it will go away once I've warmed up" kind of pain, but an "I need to stop because I can't extend my right knee all the way" pain. I hopped on the elliptical for an hour but still held out some hope that I would do the race later. Well, we were invited by some friends to go see the Batman movie and go out to dinner so I scrapped the race completely and enjoyed the afternoon in a different way. In some ways I'm really dissapointed that I didn't run this race. I'd been training for it. I probably could have done it. Now I have a cute t-shirt that I'd feel guilty wearing because I didn't actually run. But in some ways it seems like it just wasn't meant to be. There'll be other 5ks.
Yesterday I was back on the training wagon, starting the first week of 1/2 marathon training. I'm using the Runners World "Your Ultimate 1/2 Marathon Training Plan Intermediate" but modified to add extra miles. I did the first workout on the treadmill: 1200 at goal pace (I did this by going 2min at 6.8, 2 at 6.9, 2 at 6.8 and 1 at 7.0), then 2x 800 (2min at 7.2 and a little more than 2min at 7.3), and finally 4x200 at 7.7. I did the workout on the treadmill in case my hamstring started bothering me I could just jump on an elliptical. I'd say the most noteworthy thing about this workout is that I didn't have any anxiety going into it. In fact, I really wanted to move through my warmup quickly so I could get started on the speed part.
Today was just an easy run of 7mi. I'm also thinking about some strength training/ yoga goals that I'd like to work on for the end of the year to help keep myself motivated. I think I'm going to post those on one of the side bars.
