Monday, January 24, 2011

Keeping it weak

The week started off really freakin' weak, as in I did nothing on Monday.  No run, no yoga, I don't think I even cooked dinner ...no nothing.  I talked myself out of any pre-work activity and by the time I arrived home that evening, was spent.  Work was nothing out of the ordinary but all I felt like was sitting on my ass and feeling sorry for myself.   I wasn't sore or sick or especially tired, I was just weak sauce.

By the next day I was sure I'd screwed the pooch, we were cursed with nasty frozen rain that pooled around existing snow and created even more opportunities to perfect one's long jump while commuting to work.  It was gross and kept alternating between ice and rain, however by the time I left the office it had mostly stopped and the temp had worked it's way above freezing leaving me a great running opportunity.  Redemption!  It was also one of the seldom occasions were I wore capris; capris in general don't really fit into my apparel selection.   If it's 40 or above I'm likely wearing shorts, below there and I've got tights on.   However with the right combination of elements capris feel right ...those being warmer but a little damp with an outside change of rain.   Pulling full tights off your legs when soaking wet is what I imagine it feels like to get out of a wet suit and sporting extra red legs b/c of cold and wet don't make for an easy cool down.   My half-covered legs and I enjoyed a spectacular evening of running with a side of puddle jumping & rat dodging (they were out in full force after the ice/rain).

Wednesday provided another warmer day that I took advantage of by running to and from the yoga studio, before we dipped back to chilly again.  Thursday was a TM tempo run, uh what ...I hate the TM!  For those not in the know, I don't run on it but maybe once or twice a year, it's not that I have any profound beliefs as to why a TM should or should not be run on but rather that I hate it.  It makes me crazy, I run differently on it, I like being outside in all weather conditions and it makes me crazy.  However, fueled by fear of an upcoming HM, I felt it might be a good idea if I were to dial back into my tempo pace so I might be able to run a few miles of it in said HM. It turned out OK but I'm gunning for the track to be cleared for a similar workout this week.  By Friday I was in the exact same state as Monday.  Weaker than ever and bailing on any running or other activity.  Oh wait, I did cook dinner that night, a gourmet dish of grilled peanut butter and jelly, idea courtesy of Shelby.   Friday weak < Monday weak.

By the weekend I'd pulled my head out and focused on getting some good miles logged and my act together w/regard to some organization stuffs around the apartment.   The colder temps didn't bother me a bit, layered up and hit the park for most of 18 miles on Saturday and then the WSH for a bit over 9 miles on Sunday.  While I don't think the wind was much worse on Sunday, I was running right into it by being along the Hudson and not the semi-guarded CP.    For what should have been a 60+ mile weak, I waddled in with a whopping 49.1 mi (sarcasm intended):

Monday - nada
Tuesday - 9 mi ez, finished w/6x strides
Wednesday - 6.35 mi around 90 mins. yoga
Thursday - 6.43 mi w/3 x 5 mins @tempo
Friday - nada
Saturday - 18 mi
Sunday - 9.35 mi ez

Total = 49.13 mi

Fails for the week:  Monday and Friday
High-fives for the week:  Return of both strides and tempo and a really fun long run

2 comments:

Runnin-From-The-Law said...

Sometimes you need to make it weak, to keep it strong. Ya know?

solarpowered said...

What RFTL said!

Oh, and I totally agree about the TM -- nothing wrong with it if you need to use it for some runs, but I HATE it and only use it once or twice or so a year. Love getting the fresh air instead, even in the rain and other elements.