This Week in Training

Here's a quick note on my training for the week.

M: Rest
T: 8 miles with 10 x 100 meter strides on the dreadmill (~9:30 min/mile pace for the generally
running portion).
W: 4 mile recovery run on the dreadmill (~10 min/mile pace)
R: 9 mile general aerobic-dreadmill again (~9:30 min/mile pace)
F: Rest
S: 4 mile recovery dreadmill run (~10 min/mile pace) + 3 mile dog walk (~20 min/mile pace)
Su: 14 mile long run...outside!!! (8:39 min/mile pace)

So, we had a bit of a cold snap and so I ended up on the treadmill a lot this week. It's certainly better than not running at all, and I get to watch cable at the gym while I do it, but it's just not the same as pounding the pavement. Luckily it warmed up to tolerable levels (13 degrees F, with a windchill of 1 degree F) today for the long run. Actually it was supposed to be even warmer today (low 20s) according to weather forecasts from earlier in the week, but we didn't make it up there.

You may notice that my long run was significantly faster than any of my other runs this week. This probably irks some. Although I don't run my long runs as slow compared to race pace as some suggest, this is still an oddity for me. It's because all of my other runs were on the treadmill. I am always slower on the treadmill unless I'm doing some sort of speedwork. It may have something to do with the calibration of the treadmills at my gym. It also may have to do with the fact that the treadmill bed is a bit cushiony and therefore it is a bit harder than running on pavement. I'm sure this has an effect, although even in the summer when I can run on dirt trails, I am still faster outside. Finally, there is the boredom factor and the fact that I can watch the seconds and hundredths of miles tick (slowly) by on the display. This is probably the biggest problem of all. I do like that I can watch television while running, but I find my mind is constantly drifting to how much time I have left. Oh how I miss the warm, non-icy days of spring, summer and fall!

Happy Running!

Jen