I've coasted along on 4 mile runs for the last few weeks, using the excuse that it is dark in the mornings now (it really is) and I don't feel safe on my normal 5 mile route in the dark (I really don't). But I finally decided I needed to do something about it and Jack and I scouted out a 6 mile route, yesterday. I picked this route because it is well lit, there is a sidewalk the entire way, there is a safe place to park on one end of the route, and it is in a very nice neighborhood (it includes passing the Leewood Police Station and Fire Station). The only down side is the hills, and boy, is it hilly!
The first half mile or so is relatively flat and since the course is an out-an-back, the last half mile is also pretty flat. There is also one other flattish stretch about halfway into the run. Other than that, the course is pretty hilly, with some long slow climbs and some shorter, steeper climbs. The hills are tough and they slow me down a lot, but they are a great workout. It took me an hour and 12 minutes to run the entire 6 miles today (I jogged/ran the whole thing, I did not walk at all). My goal will be to run the entire 6 miles in an hour. I don't know how long it will take me to improve my time by that much. I know I can run 10 minute miles, but the hills make a big difference. My plan is to run this course once a week, run my regular 4 mile course once a week (the 4 mile run has some hills, but not as many as the 6 mile run), and run once on the weekends as part of my weekly brick (if I do this at the lake, it is very flat). The length of the weekend run will vary, depending on the size of my brick that weekend.
In addition to the running, I will ride my bike twice a week, once a week it will be just a bike ride and once a week it will be part of a brick.
I am strength training three times a week. Now I need to add back in the swimming.
After doing a little research we have determined that the closest Total Immersion Swim clinic is in Minneapolis, which is about 6 hours from here. I am going to sign up for the October 19th and 20th weekend clinic. Jack said he would go with me (no, he is not going to swim), so we are going to make a weekend out of it. I will swim once a week before the clinic, but will get serious about my swim training after I have completed the clinic.
Last week I did well with my exercise and worked out for a total of about 8 hours. I got a brick in on Saturday, in spite of the heat, and yesterday I went for a bike ride in the morning and then Jack and I went to the gym in the afternoon for strength training and a little racquetball. For my brick on Saturday, I rode around the lake once with Jack (about 11 miles), then did a flat 4.75 miles on my own before starting my run. For the last 4.75 miles I pushed hard and averaged over 17 miles an hour. That took a lot out of me and made the run difficult. I ended up walking a portion of the approximately 2.5 mile run, though I forced myself to run the first mile and a half or so, to get through the bike/run transition. Yesterday's bike ride wasn't far, I was meeting a friend at the park so I rode there and back, but I pushed it on the way there, too. I only averaged about 15.5 mph, but there were enough stop lights and stop signs that the forced slow downs impacted my average speed. I am spending some time, every time I get on my bike, riding fast so that I can improve my ride speed.
Last week was not so great with the food. I did not keep track of my calories over the weekend...just laziness...no other excuses. I do find myself getting very hungry and craving snacks. Jack and I found some healthy snacks at the store yesterday (kale chips, anyone?) and I am hoping they will help, though I still need to keep an eye on calories. The medication I am taking has caused me to swell up a little, and that is impacting the scale, so I am not happy about that and don't even want to write about it (okay, I was 158.4 this morning - though still below the line on my chart).
I have already put my breakfast calories into my phone this morning and I will be more disciplined about counting every calorie. I am looking forward to being done with the drug regimen so the swelling will go down. I must stay away from sweet snacks, completely. They are my weakness at the moment.
I guess that's it for this Monday morning. Until tomorrow...
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