last hill, maybe....and....HOLY cow

The guys did quarter repeats tonight. It was pretty standard for the most part. They time themselves and were pushing pretty good. Not many slacked off. That is good, they are basically self-efficient, I'll be offering more once we get farther into the season. I felt bad for not running with them, but glad I saved it for my own workout later.

Tonight is basically my last hill workout. I was supposed to be up to fourteen by now, but only made it up to six, so I was hoping for 10. Ran three miles and there wasn't much snap in the legs. That usually changes once I run a nice hill. So I started the workout, hoping to do 6 back to back, then run some more and do the rest. A slight twinge in the right ham, under the knee to be more precise, almost convinced me to quit the hills after two. But on three it was non existent and seemed to just disappear. That was nice, it let me know I could still get in some quality work. So up and up again, jogging down for full aerobic recovery. By 5 I was feeling it by the top of the hill and had a hard time sprinting to the mailbox I had chosen up there as the finish mark.

It was already late and the sun was beginning to set, so I did the rest. Each time I breathed a little heavier, especially 3/4 of the way up where I was taking full deep quick breaths just to stay alive. The legs felt great using their power, especially at the start of hill since it is steeper than the rest. I could really feel the toes pushing off using the strength in my calves. The rest of the hill was pretty much just maintaining. I'd like to find an even steeper one, (the one I ran during my long run, haha) and use that instead. It goes up higher and is very steep the whole way. The huge hill is steep, slightly levels, then is slightly steep. I like that though, because when it levels I carry the form from running uphill into the "flat" part. So I finished up and ran another two miles just for good measure, plus I haven't ran a good 10 in a while.

Tonight was my last scheduled hill, but I'd like to do at least one more before the race. Maybe even two, with one being fast sprinting, and the other being medium sprinting focusing on building the quads. Next week is sprint work. I'll probably be able to work that in at practice with the guys. It is hard because the guys are training for short fast racing, and I'm doing long/basically slow training (in comparison). I'll catch up to them soon enough though. The thing I'm hoping is that I won't be running into the dark anymore. I usually get back by 5:30, and that gives me less than an hour (if I need to get ready to go out) to run before sunset. God has given the gift of extra light later thankfully or this wouldn't be an option. I shiver in disgust at the sun setting at 5:15- but hey what better time to build a base.

Thurs. 10(10.75)miles. 35 degrees. GM 293

Holy Cow! it's been a million days since I posted a blog. I guess it's been a busy week. There is still a lot to do.

Wed. 8(8.75)miles. 32 degrees. GM 283
All that happened was a dog came at me at the end of my run, and basically re-pulled my ham again. Stupid dogs. Snow was getting in my eyes making it difficult to see during the run. Forgot shorts to run with the guys.
Tue. 1 mile. Freezing. GM 275
Ran a warm up with the guys. Got home and fell asleep on the couch. It was a miserably cold day and not good at work as well.
Mon 8(8.75)miles. 54 degrees beautiful. GM 274
Thought I was going a lot faster on this one than I was, trying to do better than Saturday.