Yesterday I did my first long run in 2 weeks. It was fairly boring because we had a home football game, and the crowds kept me from running pretty much anywhere besides the Lakeshore Path. Which is pretty- but less the 4th time than the 1st. Anyway, I finished 12 miles in 1:50:48 (9:12 min/mile average pace). I slowed down a bit at the end- I think part of it was due to boredom- but I didn't run any miles with an average pace slower than 9:15, so I was pretty happy with that. I need to start doing some real speed training this week rather than the easy fartlek stuff I've been doing so far. I'll probably also try to extend the length of my treadmill tempo run by 1/4 mile. I'd like to try to bring it up to 3mi by the end of Nov. and then start working on adding speed. I think a 3mi tempo run once a week through the winter will have me in a good place for marathon training to start in Jan.
D and I went to The Chocolate Shoppe for ice cream last night. I had a double scoup with Chocolate Galaxy and Caramel Apple Pie, and D tried Yippee Skippee and Heaps of Love (I think). We were sitting, eating our pint-sized bowls of ice cream, when a commercial for the Wendy's Baconator came on the radio. I said, "Ewww. Who would eat that? It's so unhealth... Oh, wait, what am I saying?" As if a giant bowl of ice cream was somehow any healthier than a giant bacon burger. I guess how you view the "badness" of a food depends a lot on how much you enjoy it.
I did find a new, healthier love yesterday in Yin Yoga. Inner Fire Yoga, a local yoga studio, held an open house yesterday so people in the community could try classes for free. D tried a Bikram's class, which he said was "hot" and "hard", and I tried Yin Yoga . I absolutely loved my class. We only did about 10 poses total- none of which were strength oriented- for about 5 minutes apiece. Holding each pose for a long time allows you to really feel where you are holding tension, and allows gravity to slowly relax and lengthen your muscles. When we first started star pose (seated, knees out to the side, feet together) my head was probably 8 inches above my feet. But I gradually felt my back and hips and neck relax, and by the end of the pose, the full weight of my head was on my feet. I enjoyed it because it eliminated all the elements of yoga I generally find frustrating (basically not being able to do the poses at all), but because the stretching was really intense, I still felt like I was doing something. I could actually feel different muscles "let go" of tension and relax. Even today I feel much less sore after my long run and my hips and back feel more relaxed than normal. D and I decided to do their special offer of unlimited classes for 2 weeks for $10, but afterward I would like to try to find a CD or something so I can keep up with it. The stretching and meditative relaxation are totally addictive.
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Workout- Saturday
12mi run in 1:50:49, Yin Yoga
Workout- Sunday
Swim lesson???
