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Week 164
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Greetings 50+'ers. We've had the full gamut of weather this week. From hot and steamy to unseasonably cool and now it'll be stormy all day. Found it hard to get into much of a rhythm, but still managed to get in six days (five running, one elliptical), for about 30 miles (counting the elliptical)
Sun: 5.3 easy
Mon: 33 minutes on the elliptical (avg HR 142, so I'll call it 4 miles)
Tues: 4.2 treadmill miles with “hills” (intervals)
Wed: 6.5 w/2x4laps, 1x2laps, 2x1lap (5:42,5:51,2:55,76,76) 4laps=1500m
Thur: 4.1 easy
Fri: off
Sat: 5.9 w/ 5K@19:32 (6:11,6:31,6:18,32)
It was so hot and humid Monday and Tuesday, I took it indoors; it reminded me how much I hate running on the treadmill. I was even a bit sore afterwards, I guess my technique isn’t so hot. Wednesdays track workout was supposed to be 4x4laps@5k pace, 2x1lap hard, 2 lap jog between each. Couldn’t make it through the third (started too fast on the first.) Conditioning and heat did me in. Still managed to come back and do the two hard quarters (Note: to convert to 400m track, it’d be 6:05,6:14,3:07,81,81)…not my best effort, but OK.
I ran a 5K on Saturday, but truthfully, my heart wasn’t really into racing yesterday. I mostly ran it to support the cause (a long-term drug-and-alcohol rehab facility), but I tried to give a decent effort, nonetheless. The race was run on the historic Keeneland horse track facility (where next year’s Breeder’s Cup will be held)—it’s a beautiful and pastoral setting. The race started with an uphill climb to the gatehouse. We zigged past the gatehouse and back down a long winding hill. We weaved through a pasture on a paved pathway to reach the mile in 6:11 (the handful of fast kids were well clear). The second mile took us out the main road and back up around one of the feature venue barns up on a hill. More up than down made for a slower mile-2 (6:31), even though I felt my effort was pretty steady. By this point, the order was pretty fixed, I seesawed back and forth with one kid before finally putting him away on mile-3, which took us back towards the starting line on a downward slope before veering us one more time up that initial hill (this time up the steep part). It was easy to kick it in hard and fast though, as the last 5-600m was on a steady downhill slope (the one from the start of the race). The winning time was in the mid-17's. Not sure if the distance is entirely accurate, but it really doesn’t matter, as I really was just trying for a hard effort and not a race effort. I reran most of the course as a cooldown.
OK, that’s all I got for the week. I think the trajectory is good, even if the performances are still not there. Time to start thinking about adding some strength training (cautiously and judiciously, of course) back into my routine.
How are things in your neck of the woods? Any races to report?
Cheers!