The weather has been pretty wild here the past couple of days. We have had rain and wind in amounts and speeds to equal past records, and even though it was supposed to be a bit brighter today, I knew The Captain would not want to go for a walk or a run. One of the young guys from the marina maintenance crew came by this morning to let us know that he would be changing the cleats on the dock finger between us and our neighbor boat. They just put new metal cleats on 2 years ago, but have had lots of complaints about them so they are removing them, and installing new wooden ones, the full length of the dock... which is great, but The Captain would never leave the boat while someone is working so close to it with power tools!
So, we whiled away the morning, and then we had lunch... and I started to get antsy. The better the weather got, the edgier I got. The sky was a gorgeous blue, with barely a cloud, and I knew I had to get outside for a run... so I told The Captain I was going to go, and quickly dressed and headed out, making sure to wear my Road ID, which I always do when I go alone.
I wanted to try to get in a few faster intervals today. So, I did a 9/1 run/walk routine, and during the 9th minute of each run interval, I turned it up a notch and ran just fast enough so that I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it up for more than a couple of minutes.... not all out, but fast enough to notice. That made me feel like I had really earned the one-minute walk, and allowed me to catch my breath for the next run interval.
I completed my 5.8 km route in 44 minutes using that routine and that is a decent time for me.
I also did a bit of experimenting with my breathing. I am learning to breathe deeper into my belly, hoping that will give me more oxygen per breath.
And I am also experimenting with my stride length. When I start to feel like I am getting a bit winded, instead of slowing down, I am working on keeping the same cadence but taking shorter steps. I am hoping that will have the same effect.
Any thoughts you care to share about that? I am so open to all your advice!
I did my stretches on shore today near the marina laundry room so that I didn't get in the way of production on our dock.
W3 R44 @10/1 W 4
stretch 5 minutes
When I came inside I ate a banana slathered with Nutella. Mmmm... I think that was a great recovery snack!
I haven't picked up my dumbbells this week yet, but plan to do some work with them while I am watching the 2-hour Biggest Loser special about past contestants later tonight.
Are you taking part in the Pile on the Miles Challenge or the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge?
Are they motivating you to keep moving?
I did sign up for both of them and I know they are in the back of my mind when I am having a 'feeling lazy' moment!
Striders are a great interval workout I learned in High School. You start your workout with ten striders. Take 100 yards of road. Sprint the 100 yards while progressively lengthening your stride till the end. Turn and job half way back to the start and then walk the second half back. Repeat 10 times.I do them before most shorter workouts.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I didn't know about the grapefruit. I'm buying them asap. Happy Thanksgiving!
That grapefruit looks delicious! i love ruby reds.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the workout. I think you are doing good keeping your stride short and working on your breathing. I have been reading Chi running, or trying too but I keep picking up more interesting books and not getting very far into Chi running. But anyway I think you are on the right track. Didn't you read that book too or was it the walking one? Same principles probably.
happy turkey day!
I know nothing about strides... i have been trying to figure it out myself. That as well as not heel striking have been my two main areas of research. Since I can't run right now I can at least try to figure out how to do it efficiently when I get back at it! Keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteBanana and nutella is the best combo ever!
9/1 run/walk with a final fast minute sounds like a really good idea. I'm considering some type of run/walk strategy to help me build up stamina without chickening out :) But think I'll need to balance it with continuous runs too.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
I am doing HBBC too!
ReplyDeleteThose grapefruits looks AMAZING!
I notice that if I take smaller strides when I start to get tired, it helps me, actually. I don't feel like I need to stop and walk - it makes me feel like I can keep going with less energy, but I am still running and when I remember to do that - I do keep going!
I don't know much about strides and cadence yet, but I think you are definitely on the right track with something from what I have heard! :)