Thursday, April 03, 2008

Taper Week 1: XT and Intervals

Monday I did not run out of "taper paranoia." I had the tiniest soreness after my 20 miler and my life flashed before my eyes! Well, actually, I imagined my previous soreness/injury cycle repeating itself and that worried me a lot. Luckily, this was nothing like that at all, but I took the day off anyway. I've been feeling great again all week even after my intervals. Better safe than sorry, right?!


So here's Monday's cross training:


12.0 miles bike/49:01/14.7 MPH


Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Cycling is so fun. Have I mentioned how excited I am to get a road bike? We are going to start looking right after Boston since I have to start training for that half ironman triathlon right away (it's in August). :O


Tuesday: Swim 500 m crawl. I feel guilty that I haven't been swimming any more than 500 at a time, but it is better than nothing. Speaking of half ironman training, I can't wait to get out in the open water in my wetsuit for longer swims. Man this is going to be a fun summer!!


Finally, some running:

Wednesday 8.0/1:08:24/8:33 average pace


The schedule called for 2 miles worth of intervals. I did something different this time because the 4 x 800 was getting a little boring and I realized I could REALLY use some hill training (ya, it's to late to make a big difference but what the hell). Here is how my workout went:


2 miles warm up in 18:06 (9:03 average)


4 x 400m HILL repeats.. 100 feet of elevation gain over the quarter mile. It was very hard! I ran my fastest, but of course the hill slowed me down:

1:54, 2:00, 2:04, 1:56 (1:59 average- 7:58 pace)

I did quarter mile recovery jogs to get back down the hill.


Then, since I had a mile of interval work left (and I wasn't about to run up that hill 4 more times!) I did:


2 x 800m.. flat loop around a park (the kids probably thought I was crazy) It was hard but I hammered 'em out:

3:22, 3:22 (6:44 pace)


Then 2.5 miles of cool down in 22:45 (9:06 pace)


Whew! I got home and drank some gatorade and promptly dunked my legs in my old buddy the ice bucket (preventative measure):



No soreness emerged today, so that is great news. I have two more big runs left this week which I am ready for- 10 miles tomorrow, possibly at Goal Pace (which is ... who knows.. 8:15-8:25 ish?), Then my last long run- 16 miles which I"m going to do on a nice hilly course.
.
.
Was just emailing with my buddy Steve from the Phedippidations podcast (hehe, is that like blogger name dropping?) and he's preparing for his Boston by running most of the course this coming weekend. He's putting out a few podcasts on various Boston topics so check out his show on his website or on iTunes!
.
.
Also, HUGE Congrats to my friend Sarah for her big PR and Boston Qualifying marathon at National last weekend. Check out her race report- it's awesome. She's awesome!

10 comments:

Donald said...

Wow, it's getting close! Way to bang out another interval workout, especially with hills.

Judi said...

Yea! I am doing a half IM in Aug too. :) Fun fun fun!! Lucky you to be able to swim in the ocean though, that's awesome.

Hey, the ice bucket, is that for your ankles? My friend is having some major issues with her ankle swelling up and she can't run. You think the ice buckets would help?

Steve Stenzel said...

Nothin' like a good mini-ice bath for those sorest parts! Nice week of training!!

TJ said...

Half Ironman?!?!?
That's awesome!

Meredith Brooks said...

Congrats on reaching your taper period! I know you are going to do great in Boston. I am really looking forward to the Boston-related Fdip episodes this month. That's so sad about your Jetta - I'm tempted to never let my husband drive my new car!

ShirleyPerly said...

I want to see a picture of this new bike of yours! I've been thinking of possibly getting a road bike. Tri bikes are not often welcome at group rides :-(

jahowie said...

Nice job on the intervals. I still don't know how you can handle the ice bucket!! BTW...yes, we can still be friends even though you like Dolly. ;-)

Michele said...

bike shopping is fun, can't wait to see what you get.
half iron??? look forward to following your journey.

jen said...

judi- The ice bucket would be perfect for ankle swelling/soreness. I use it because my lower shins and calves are my problem area, and it's so much easier than a full-on ice bath. I recommend it!

shirleyperly- I'm looking forward to bike shopping- I'll defintely post a lot of pictures when I get it I'm sure! I thought about getting a tri bike but I'm such a beginner- it might be too much. Eventually I'd like to own about 10 bikes! :P

Emily said...

Hey toots - I can't wait to hear how Boston goes. You are going to rock it. Question about the ice bath on the feet - I tried this a few times and my feet became unbearably cold and really hurt. I think I was giving myself frostbite if that is possible. Anywho - let me know your formula and I'll try it. God knows I'll need to when I go for my first big 3-miler after months off!

Talk to you soon!
Emily