A week of ups and downs

Okay, there have maybe not been ups and downs this week, but more 'up' and 'down.'  Here's the breakdown:

Up - treadmill running.  Ran 3 miles yesterday like it was nothing.  No need to walk or anything.  Sweet!  I suspect the gym temperature is more amenable than last summer.

Down - running that takes place outside. 

I decided to modify this week's schedule since I am traveling on Saturday and have to be at the airport relatively early -- too early for me to be motivated to get up and run.  So this week is 5-3-5-3x1, running from Tuesday to Friday.  Tomorrow I have to do the treadmill due to other obligations, but for 3M x 1 that won't be bad at all.  On Sunday, I have my long run, which will be in Philly and I get to run up the Rocky steps.  For real.  It pays to know runners in other cities who can let you know about the best routes!

Back to Tampa: there was some good news about the outside runs that were ick.  Both were 5 miles and both required some walking.  During the first one, I ran into Stephanie, who is famous from my previous blog because I would randomly run into her (Random Stephanie Encounter or RSE).  I'm not sure if our meeting on Tuesday constitutes random since she does live in that neighborhood and takes a walk with her baby in the mornings.  But it was relatively random.  Certainly it was not planned.  Anyway, I used my RSE to walk for a bit, then stood and talked to Stephanie and her husband.  Also, I got to see their dogs, yay!  But anyway, you might think that standing around and talking was ill-advised because it would get too hot, except that while we were standing there, it got much cloudier.  The overcast made a big difference to finish the run.  Sure, there was ominous thunder in the distance, but no bad weather while I was out.

Yesterday, for various reasons, I chose the treadmill.  In part, this was due to the fact that I had scheduled a yoga class for 11am.  The other part is that I can be lazy in the mornings.

This morning I had high hopes since the weather looked somewhat more manageable than most days.  But around the half-way point, I felt the urge to walk, then got super annoyed and tried to figure out why.  The answer came to me when I reached the water fountain at around 4.25 miles, drank about a sports bottle's worth of water, filled my bottle, and managed to finish it during the last 0.75 of my run.  In short, I don't think I'm hydrating enough.  I'm going to try and be better by drinking more water during the day and am currently having a debate with myself as to whether I should try Gatorade again.  Gatorade used to upset my stomach, but I figure if I have it on a semi-regular basis, I should be okay.  I can think this over while I'm running up the Rocky steps in Philly.

Tired legs

Yesterday, I did my first yoga class in a good long while, and I have to say that while it wasn't overly challenging, it was somewhat challenging, and I am definitely feeling tired in different places than normal today.  I thought that this would lead to a good night's sleep, but unfortunately I woke up at around 4am very thirsty.

Note to self: do not forget water when running on treadmills, then attending yoga classes.  Water is your friend.

I was hoping to get up bright and early today to do half of a 5-mile run, but unfortunately, my 4am wake-up did not help things.  Instead, I wound up getting out of bed closer to 10am (this was after being up for a while after 4am), which is too late to actually run.  Also, there are still storms circling around in deceptive ways.  For instance, earlier today it was sunny and seemingly nice, when I heard ominous thunder.  Right now it is raining.  Again.  You might be noticing a pattern here.

I did get myself to the gym and I tried the weird treadmill that I described yesterday, the Woodway Curve.  The jury is still out on this one.  It supposedly goes as fast as you are running, but I found it considerably more challenging to get a regular pace than on a conventional treadmill (or just plain running outside).  It feels very heavy and I was running about 0.5 mph slower than I was yesterday on the normal treadmill.  I got through about 1.2 miles with a couple of walk breaks; it was considerably warmer and more humid today than yesterday, and I got pretty sweaty even just doing that. 

My gym recently acquired some rowing machines, like real Concept 2 rowing machines as opposed to those 'replicating water' ones that are actually toys.  I decided to do two 500m intervals with a 1-minute rests in between.  Considering that my legs were already tired from yoga, treadmill running, and wacky treadmill running, I think I did okay.  By the standards of actually erging on the machine, I did not do all that great.

I forgot that this week is a semi-taper week and my long run tomorrow is only 6 miles, instead of upping from the 7 miles last week.  So I think it's okay to skip the second half of my run this afternoon, especially since I am feeling tired.  Tomorrow, I will set the alarm and get half of the 6 miles out of the way early, then do the rest later (possibly on a treadmill, depending on storms).  Next week I should be able to get back on track with the schedule.  I do have to say that I've been more excited about things than I am for next week's 8-mile run.  Time to stock up on healthy Gatorade and caffeinated runner's jellybeans.