VT Dad’s fight vs. inertia & flab

Last night I went to bed at 10PM, on time or early for me.  Today I had problems waking up.  I am not ready to run this morning, so I am trusting my body and taking the day off.  Tomorrow is fartlek day.  Tomorrow is a new today.  Today I chose rest.  Until tomorrow….

Having postponed my run from the Pre-dawn to the late afternoon because of cold temperature and high winds.  This afternoon the weather was more of the same 26F, -3F, with a wind that was whipping.  I got dressed, did my dynamic stretching, and proceeded to begin my run.  I ran a 1/10th of a mile into the wind, and then turned tail and headed inside.  Once inside I went through my bosu ball/ medicine ball routine, and called it a day.

I am writing this at the time where I would normally be running, in the pre-dawn.  It’s 19F, -7C, and my wind chimes at the house are playing a concerto…. So rather than do my hill run now, I’ve postponed that run until this afternoon, when I’ll be free while my youngest plays tennis.  This means that if I want a weight training/core workout I’ll need to return to the gym after dinner, or modify something at home tonight.  For now I’ll just relax, and hope that the weather improves during the next 10 hours.

Seven years ago on the Monday 18 weeks prior to the Vermont City Marathon I went for my first training run, a 6.1 mile loop, completing it in 1 hour 4 minutes+.  Today is the Monday 18 weeks prior to this years Vermont City Marathon, and I ran that same loop only the second time since October 1st.

I ran as the sun was setting.  The temperature was 17F, -8C, it was cold, clear and calm.  Running in the evening is a different feel.  It seems as if there are more cars out, and they all seem to be in a hurry.  As I started on my run, my cue for running form for the week was causing me miscues.  I couldn’t figure out what the author meant by "Driving the Thy".  It says to "concentrate on driving the thigh of your swing leg forward a little more forcefully than you normally do.  A more forceful forward-upward movement of this leg will create a counterbalancing downward-backward action as it comes into contact with the ground." Well I was confused, and doing too much thinking and not enough running.  About 1&1/2 miles into my run I decided to focus on cues I understood: "Lean Forward" & "Navel to Spine" (keep my abs taught). As I gained clarity of focus, I gained pace and determination in my run.  My last 4&1/2 miles were a thing of beauty, well maybe not exactly, since it was me running, but it felt fabulous.  I finished the run in 57+ minutes ~7 minutes faster than 7 years ago.

After my run I brought my boxer with me for my running drills:  Steep Hill Run& 1 Legged Hops.  The Steep Hill Runs were a blast, we chased each other up a snow filled hill.  With the 1 legged hops, Mookie thought that my free shoe was his chew toy, so I had to try to keep him off my free leg as I hopped back home.

I had a great time playing basketball today.  The gym was packed because of the MLK holiday.  My teams went 4-1, and I was a factor on the defensive side of the ball.  My favorite game was our second of the day.  We had won the first, when we were the better team and prevailed easily.  In the second game I was matched up against someone who was younger, quicker, and more athletic.  Since I’ve lost those 25 pounds I was able to hang with him, and defend him on the court.  With my court savvy, I was also able to leave him to help and recover. So in this second game the two teams were evenly matched, but we played better as a team.  I was able to be a force on the defensive end, and we won decisively.  I had  my kids with me, so after 5 games I felt they had suffered enough, so I left the court victorious and in high spirits.

Last night was the winter ball at our High School.  My eldest, a senior was in attendance.  I stayed up waiting for her to come home.  Finally at 1AM I fired off a text message, and she replied she was up with her girl friends, they were chatting, and she was going to crash there.  Phew, she was ok, but there went my pre-dawn run.  Later today I’m playing ball, and if I feel up to it, I’ll run around dusk.

This week produced a mix bag.  My long run kicked my a**, but I had good fartlek and a quality hill run. My milage for the week was 32.35.   I also had a wonderful day Friday, completing the VT Dad triathlon: run, basketball, ski.  In addition I got worked my core 3X, and had my Wednesday Yoga group.

Next weeks schedule looks as follows:
Monday: 6 mile base run.  Drills- Steep Hill runs 2×20 seconds, one legged hops 2×20 seconds
Tuesday: Hill  Run- 1.5 mile warm-up and cool down 6X2 minute hill repetitions @3K pace.
Wednesday:  Base Run 6 miles
Thursday:  Fartlek Run at home in the AM, or Montpelier in the PM
Friday: Base Run 6 Miles
Saturday: Long Run 11 miles
Proprioceptive cue:  Driving the thigh

Today my long run kicked my a** mentally, more than physically.  It was 22F, -6C with a light wind as I set off on my run.  Dawn was beginning to break, and much of my first 2&1/4 had my running east towards the brilliant colors enveloping Mt. Mansfield and Camel’s Hump.  I tried a new route today because one of my neighbors, who also is training for the marathon, said he always sees wildlife when running on the dirt road as it winds near the Winooski River.  Today I saw nothing, and had to constantly shift my path while trying to avoid icy patches.  At ~1.6 miles I was confronted by a 6/10ths of a mile hill that sapped my legs.  By this time the wind was also picking up some, and was becoming a nuisance.

The next stretch of my run was ~3&1/2 miles that I never run.  I drive it all the time, but don’t know the terrain, nor am I familiar with nuances as a run.  At 6.2 miles I returned to parts of my run that I was familiar with.  I had wanted to run those first 6.2 miles in under an hour, instead I was at ~63 minutes.  As approached the familiar route I saw another runner who I thought I could catch before my next turn.  I kept trying to push my pace a little at a time, but no matter how hard I tried, I didn’t get any closer.

The wind should have been at my back, but I wasn’t feeling any benefit.  I trudged on, tried to concentrate on form, but felt as if I were running in molasses.  I came to the end of the segment, and looked at my watch, thinking I’d run this segment in ~13:00, and my watch showed ~11:00.  I thought there was now a chance that I could average sub 10:00 pace for the run, so I pressed on, trying to up my tempo.  I was on empty.  All I could feel was the wind.  I had no speed left.  I concentrated on holding my form together, and I did alright in that respect, but I couldn’t summon any speed.  The wind got to my psyche, and I started playing my sad song in my head (Boomtown Rats: I don’t like Mondays).  As I approached the last mile, an uphill mile, I knew I couldn’t attain that sub 10:00 pace, so dishearten I mustered a lackluster last mile, battling the wind all the way home.

The third leg of my cardio triathlon today, cross country skiing, was the most fun.  I took my daughter to her Bill Koch practice.  The ski touring center where they normally meet was closed due to lack of snow, so we went to a recreation park a near by town, and played skiing games.  Our group had ~17 kids and 5 adults.  First, we dropped our poles and played follow the leader.  Then we did a mass start and practiced double polling for ~125 yards.  We then practiced turning, and played a chase game similar to duck duck goose.  Next we played rugby on cross country skis, and the group finished with a few games of sharks and minnows.  After most of the people called it a day my daughter and I joined the leader for a ski to the farthest reaches of the athletic fields.  It was great to be playing with kids, just skiing and having fun.

I had a great time playing basketball today.  My team won all but the last game today.  There wasn’t anyone to bang with at the gym today, so I relaxed, didn’t go full speed, and played some point guard. I only had to sit once, and used that time to get on the bosu ball, and worked my core.  I had fun, and stayed out of trouble.  Next on the VT Dad triathlon is cross country skiing with my daughter in about an hour.