Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Teusday Intervals

Today is Tuesday and I did bust out some intervals this morning but first I should give some background on the past few days/runs.

Friday morning (before working my 3rd 12 hour day in a row) I got up and ran outside.  I ran one of my standard out and back routes for 3.8 miles.  I used my handy "split" feature on my watch to record my time out the first 1.9 miles and then back.  I felt good on this run but did have some scary thoughts because no one really knew where I was running or that I was out running.  Brian was still unreachable in the Caribbean, my roommate was asleep and usually doesn't get up till after 7am and my parents probably knew I was running but didn't know my route.

I run with all the necessary safety items but there still was a worry in my mind.  Would the guys I work with wonder where I was and would they try to contact someone if I didn't show up to work?  Were there any traces at my apartment of what route I had taken?  In college I used to leave notes on the kitchen counter for my roommates that said "Left for run at 5am, will be back at 5:45, if you get this note and it is past that time I took this route on my run".  Usually Brian knows my routes because I tell him the night before but still its not completely fool proof.  This was just a reminder that I need to be safer!

Saturday morning I woke up exhausted so I waited till Sunday for another run.  I just didn't know where I wanted to run though so I opted for the same old 3.8 mile out and back route from Friday.

I have noticed with all my outdoor winter running that I am slower in the morning.  I think because my core temperature never really warms up because I wake up and am out the door running 10 minutes later.  On Sundays run it took my over 40 minutes to get out the door and I noticed the difference.

Friday vs. Sunday
First 1.9 miles = 15:37 vs. 14:29
Second 1.9 miles = 15:16 vs. 14:13

Basically I dropped two whole minutes on the run and I think that is because I was more awake and my body has been given a chance to "wake/warm up".

Monday I could not drag myself out of bed which really is a first for me.  Usually when my alarm goes off, I am awake and out of bed and into the bathroom.  I just laid in bed until 5:20am and by that time it was too late to go to the gym and still make it to work so I just skipped the cross training I had planned.  I did go to yoga after work though which was really good because we focused on hips.  My legs felt very tired after the hour of yoga.

So that brings us to Tuesday.  Although the temperature outdoors has been in the mid 40s during the day, mornings and nights have still been in the 30s so I went for the treadmill.

11 minutes warm up (because I just didn't feel ready at 10 minutes)
6x1000m at 7:08 pace
0.75 mile cool down

Honestly I didn't really feel like I was pushing the pace during this workout.  I know that I felt good most of the time until the end when my body was feeling the mileage (6.75 total) on the treadmill.  It could be my shoes though which have 348 miles on them.  Running intervals on the treadmill really allows me to zone out and not pay attention.  I look for the key distance markers for starting and stopping each sprint but otherwise I just don't even really think.  Its like auto pilot - my legs are running but my mind is only 10% focused on the treadmill while the other 90% runs off and thinks about who knows what! I can't even remember what I thought about for the 54 minutes I ran!

Well this turned into a very rambling post! Thanks for reading! I am posting this late on Tuesday night so hope everyone has a great Wednesday!!

22 comments:

Pining for Pinterest said...

I hope you have a great Wednesday too! I would think it could be the shoes too :-)

Lisa's Yarns said...

I need to work on being a more 'safe' runner. I live alone and don't really tell people when/where I am going on runs. I don't really have anyone local that I feel like I could tell. I mean, I guess I coudl tell my brother but I just hate feeling like an inconvenience to others. Although I am sure he wouldn't view it as an inconvenience... Anyways, I did buy a roadID for my shoes and that makes me feel a little bit more safe...

Unknown said...

I have these same worries about running and being safe on a run. When my husband is out of town, I call him or my mom before I go out and tell them what time to expect a call back from me. But, I don't run quite that early, so maybe not a good solution for you, especially if you hubby is out of the country. That would be a great idea for a website network kind of thing - a runners check in...

Anonymous said...

i totally agree with the whole "letting the body wake up" thing before running. too bad my weekday schedule doesn't allow it!

great intervals. i think i did this (or something similar) last week. and i doubt i could have told you what i was thinking about during that time either. such is the beauty of the tm run!

Amber said...

I NEVER tell anyone I'm going running. Well, usually I will send Eric a quick text saying "heading out for a run now, call you in X amount of time" but I have SO many different routes that I've run, lots that he doesn't even know where they are, and well he IS 1,000 km away!! So really, what can he do.

Maybe I should start putting a note on my fridge when I head out for a run so that if anything DID happen if they came to my apartment they'd see it.... Hmm

Oh, and I'm totally guilty of not having a road ID *blushes*

Nicole said...

i love TM runs like this!!! I ran a 6er the other day and zoned out for the whole thing! some days though its just harder than others and i've had my fair share of them too! great job on the run!

happy wednesday!

Lisa's Yarns said...

It was good for me to read this post & your comment on my blog this morning. I think sometimes I have this false sense of safety... When I start running outdoors this spring, I am definitely going to talk to my brother about setting up a system so he knows where I am when I run just in case something would ever happen. So thanks for inspiring me/reminding me to do this!!

saundra said...

I have the same problem with morning runs and getting into the groove of things. I've started drinking some juice and eating a cracker or two- just enough for a boost but not more calories than I would burn. It has not totally solved the problem but it seems to have helped.
Happy Wednesday.

Suzy said...

I don't like running in the early morning before the sun comes up - I just don't feel safe. I hope the precautions you take help you feel good about your runs so you can concentrate on your run. Nice TM run!

Marlene said...

Great job on those intervals! I hear you on zoning out on the treadmill... that's why I try to run most of my intervals outside. I feel like it gives me more training when it comes to consistent pacing and maintaining focus.

Anonymous said...

I always worried on my runs if someone would know if I went missing, since I lived alone, so I would email my mom to call me at the time I thought I would be done. Now that I live back home, I do the same thing with notes/routes. I know it is neurotic but it makes me feel safe.

Jeri said...

I often have those same thoughts. How long would it take for someone to discover I'm missing? Eek! Great job on your runs though!

Jamie said...

I worry about that too. Although I'm really bad about telling anyone if the hubby isn't around...
Great job on all those runs!

Anonymous said...

i find that on the dreadmill I drift from side to side..so I hae to worry about my foot catching the side fo the bloody thing..so when I come back from a "zone out" moment, I have to be careful...

Glenn Jones said...

I think one of the things that the news around here in the last couple week (Chelsea King and Amber Dubois) has pointed out is you can *never* be too careful.

Interesting how much difference in your times!

Molly said...

part of the reason why I don't run outside, in the morning, alone, is because I'm scared! I know nothing would happen, because a lot of people are driving by to go to work, but parts of my trail are wooded and I bug myself out thinking someone is out there and going to get me! silly me.

Ms. V. said...

oh yeah. i put a big RUNNING sign on my bedroom door before i go out. i used to print out my route for my kids.

do you have a road id?

Aron said...

i JUST posted a quick safety post... i get myself freaked out sometimes too.

NICE job on the intervals! i have 1000s tonight - eek.

Kim said...

I totally zone out on the treadmill too. I kind of like it... kind of don't.

I always feel better when I run with my phone, but I think I am over-confident. :(

Anonymous said...

Great run! I'm new at intervals, how much time/distance do you allow between intervals?

Runner Leana said...

Really great comments about your thoughts on safety during morning runs. I've thought the same thing too. I think people at work would definitely know to look for me, but I really don't tell people about my workouts, where I'm doing them and when.

And I've noticed the same thing too about my early morning workouts! It just seems to take a bit longer to get the blood moving!

The Laminator said...

Sounds like you had some great runs! And there's definitely a difference between running in early morning vs later in the day. I'm wondering if your intervals are too slow if you can zone out and not even think about them. They should theoretically be done at 85-90% of max HR.