So last week was kind of a wash. I got the miles in that I had scheduled, but for the most part they weren't high quality. I never realized how much difference there can be between treadmills until I ran on the ones in my hotel. They were just uncomfortable. The other problem with the hotel gym was that there were only three treadmills and one elliptical. That doesn't seem like enough equipment to me (for a 12 story hotel), especially since every morning that I was working out, there were people waiting to use the machines. Fortunately, I somehow managed to come in and grab the last treadmill more than once! And forget about the one elliptical, it was always in use. This meant that my normal cross-training on Tuesday turned into an easy run. By the time I got to Wednesday's planned tempo run, I wasn't up for it. It was my third day in a row running (which I normally try to avoid) and was tired from long hours at the office. So I went with another easy run. When the person using the elliptical finished and I was mid-way through my run, I hopped off the treadmill and finished my workout with some cross-training.
If was definitely a struggle to get through the workouts last week, but I think in the end it was worth it. I know I would have regretted taking several extra days off. Although I may not have made any forward progress, I didn't lose ground either. And that's probably all that I could really ask for given my schedule.
I'm looking forward to getting back to quality workouts this week and having a strong race on Saturday. Things are already off to a good start after last night's workout at the track. It was my longest track session to date, 2 x 2 miles. It was a really tough workout for me, mentally and physically. Immediately after I finished I was a bit disappointed that my individual mile times weren't faster. After some reflection, I realized that I was right where I hoped to be and clearly shouldn't be comparing the splits to the mile repeats I did a few weeks ago. Besides, had you told me a few months (or even weeks) ago that I would have been running these kind of splits, I probably would have told you that you were crazy! Obviously I am my own worst critic and need to occasionally stop and remember how much progress I've made in a short time.
I also still need to figure out how to eat for evening running. I know what works for me in the mornings, but at night I am lost. I had a Luna bar before and I know I didn't really eat enough afterwards. Certainly I didn't eat as much as I normally would for dinner and, if anything, I probably should have had a bit more. But I wasn't all that hungry right away and exhaustion won out and I went to bed before fully regaining my appetite. Any suggestions?
4 comments:
oh man, i really struggle with eating for evening workouts! i've ended up rotating my second breakfast into my late afternoon snack, and then a granola bar about an hour out. but still, it's a mess! and i never have an appetite after but try and stuff some calories down so i don't feel awful in the morning.
if anything this past week will be great motivation for your runs this week! randomly, i have never in my life run on a treadmill. ha! 2x2 sounds awful but at least you pushed through it. my advice on running in the evenings is to eat a decent snack 1-2 hours before to tide you over until you can eat dinner after. and if you fall asleep early, that just means a big breakfast in the morning : )
Yeah...they don't call it the dreadmill for no reason! I hate being relegated to it!
Ugh, that is why I can't do the evening, I'm stressed about eating all day and usually wind up eating too little. PLUS, I'm jacked up afterwards and can't get to sleep.
Yeah, those 2X2 milers won't be anywhere near mile pace, great job, that's a tough workout!
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