New Training Cycle Drama

ORN: Tempo run at Carrier Park: 2 miles warm up, 4.5 miles @ 7:53 pace, 2 miles cool down. This was a challenging workout. Kept telling myself, "You want to increase fatigue resistance at 10K pace, you want to increase fatigue resistance at 10K pace...". Still scheduled: 4.5 mile recovery run.

It's kind of weird that my first post after imposing the ORN Rule just so happens to be about my workout. Oh, well. As the name of the post suggests, I'm in the first week of a new training cycle. For the next 4 weeks, my key workouts are designed to increase fatigue resistance at 10K pace. This cycle culminates with a 10K race on Oct. 17.

So now on Tuesdays, instead of doing 400m intervals I'll be doing longer intervals (1200m, 1600m, 2000m) on the track. On Thursdays, a tempo run at 10K pace replaces mile repeats. Asu usual, Saturday is reserved for endurance runs.

I always find it hard to adjust to a new training cycle. The first workouts generally don't go well as I learn the new pacing and distance. I also always notice that I get a better appreciation of the previous training cycle (and I usually want to go back to it!). And this week was no exception.

I did 4 x 1200m @ 5K pace (7:36)on Tuesday. I went out way too fast and paid for it later in the workout. Left the track thinking "that sucked". I got back to my car and found a parking ticket. Perfect.

This morning's workout was even worse than Tuesday, and waaay more dramatic. I went to Carrier Park for the tempo run, since 3.5 laps around the park seems way easier than 18 laps around a track. On my warm up, I got the "Battery Low" notice on my Garmin (pbtn). Then I found out the path I run on was completely underwater in some sections due to the recent heavy rain. Perfect. So I start the tempo run wondering if Garmin will hold out for the workout, and having to run back and forth around the park to avoid the water traps. I headed over to the adjacent park in case it was better. At first it looked good, but then I came up on a huge muddy section I couldn't get around. I started running again when I thought I was clear of the mud, but noooo...there was a deceivingly slick coat of mud around the edges of the real mud. My first step sent my to the ground, on my butt, in the mud.

I eventually finished the 4.5 miles, and just like Tuesday I thought, "that sucked". My post run gift today, however, was to discovwer at the YWCA that I did not have a bra with me. I had to wash my sports bra in the sink, use the swimsuit dryer to get most of the water out, and then try to blow it dry.

I hope I fare better in my recovery run this afternoon.