Sunday workout: 16 miles, 10:14 average, Pace Gloves
GUYS. BIG NEWS: I have a new power jam. And another mini-power jam. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that girl from Camp Rock (which is a surprisingly entertaining movie, by the way) would sing my power jam.
Anyway, I've been looking for a new power jam for what seems like ages. Years, even. Okay, that's an exaggeration. Let's say a few months. The problem now is that I can't let myself over-listen to it. I've decided I'm only going to listen to it at the end of a long run so it'll still be fresh for my marathon and I can listen to it on repeat for 4+ hours (you think I'm kidding). Unfortunately, I'm failing miserably; I'm listening to it right now. I'm already panicking because I need this to remain my power jam until June 23.
Let's play a fun game called "Figure out when Jeano started listening to her new power jam." Have I said "power jam" enough yet? Impossible!
Hint: it was mile 11.
I started today by taking my dumb dog to a local school so she could run out some of her excess energy. The weather had done a complete 360 from yesterday and it was already a perfect day.
I'm still trying to figure out how that ball is attached to her mouth.
After our walk, I spent a couple of hours moving heavy things and tiring my legs to the point where I had to just sit on my ass for a solid half hour before I felt sufficiently recovered to go do my long run. Consequently, I wasn't expecting to break any world records, or even finish my 16 miles.
"Moving heavy things" must be a good warm-up, though, because I killed it. I've got my power jam(s) to thank for those last miles, but the first ten were all me.
Because I'm a masochist, I decided I had to make an effort to run up some hills even though I wasn't even sure I'd be able to run 16 flat miles. That totally makes sense. I finished with almost 650 feet of gain, which is pretty solid for me.
Last week, moose prevented me from exploring new trails. This week, I made it! I'm happy to report I've now covered every mile of the Coastal Trail. The CT's southern terminus is at Kincaid Park, and it looks like a whole other world over there. It was tripping me out. I felt like I was at the reservoir in Lafayette, California (I assume you all have grandparents who live in Lafayette and so know the reservoir intimately), which is very dry and desert-y. It was cool to explore some new ground!
This does not look like Lafayette.
There were still moose around, though. I was able to keep my distance so it wasn't a big deal, but seeing other people interact with them made me realize that Anchorage has its fair share of dimwits. If you leave them alone, moose are typically harmless. But if you're taking pictures of them from four feet away with nothing between you and the moose, your odds of getting trampled increase exponentially. It blew my mind to see so many people doing just that today. Moose are unpredictable, and they can kill people. Just ask my brother, who got kicked in the face by a moose once (in the moose's defense, my brother and his friends were shooting the moose with paintballs. He was fine; it didn't hit him straight on).
The other exciting thing that happened on my run was getting smiled at by my fellow Sunday LR-er. I've run by this girl every Sunday for the past month and usually she scowls at me. But today I got a smile! We're best friends now, right?
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Post-run I hit up Target for some lotion, but really for what turned out to be a very disappointing soft pretzel and some chocolate milk. Then I planted myself in the sun to attempt to even out my ridiculous leg tan (the bottom half of my legs would put creepy diamond-shining Edward Cullen to shame). Bailey made this more than a little difficult. I had bought her a plastic tube/rope combo dog toy to keep her occupied, but in true Bailey fashion she managed to rip it to blue plastic shreds in approximately eighteen minutes.
Okay, I need to finish this STAT because Game of Thrones is starting. GAME OF THRONES IS SERIOUS BUSINESS.
Weekly roundup:
Monday: 7 miles, easy
Tuesday: 9 miles with 3x2 miles (9:34 pace)
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 11 miles with 9 tempo (9:25 pace)
Friday: 6 miles, easy
Saturday: 6 miles, easy
Sunday: 16 miles
Total: 55 miles
A new weekly mileage PR!! This week was fantastic. I felt really great and didn't experience any little aches or pains. I think part of that can be attributed to my Pace Gloves, but the Hansons deserve most of the credit. This was my second to last "really hard week" before my marathon in five weeks (eek!), so I think I'm in a really good place right now. Let's hope it continues!
Okay, the GoT theme song is just finishing so I'm done. Tell me something interesting about your weekend!
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Woo, GOT! Last night's episode was pretty good. Poor Tyrion and Sansa, though. I have the same problem with music--if I listen to the songs that get me pumped up too much, they're not really effective anymore. I have a playlist with songs for races and only listen to those songs during races. So glad your training is going well and that you're running injury free (lucky you!).
ReplyDeleteI've read all the books (nerd!) so I knew it was coming, but it was still sad to see that Sansa's revolted by Tyrion. He's the only person who's nice to her! Also, Joffrey. UGH. Just ugh.
DeleteYou must have a LOT of self control to not listen to certain songs unless you're racing! I... don't.
I can't believe your marathon is 5 weeks away! Hots damn. It's crazy to see your progress from when I started reading your blog (such a dark time for me) to now-- you handle this training like a true bad ass.
ReplyDeleteUm, I am heading to iTunes to pick up your power jam. That is some good stuff! I admittedly bought a Selena Gomez song for my half marathon (don't tell my husband that I used his iTunes gift card on a Selena Gomez song. He might cry or leave me) so Demi SHOULD have been on my radar. Good choice, good choice!
YES! It really is a good song. Gomez's is also a pretty good tune, although I'm really confused about the "Indian thing"-she's hispanic! And she's been walking around with a bindi on her forehead like a damn fool! I'm all for sharing cultures, but to me that turns something culturally significant into a fashion accessory. I guess that happens with plenty of other things, but she generally annoys me (what's this Justin Bieber business?) so I'm going to rag on her about it. But whatever, the song's catchy!
DeleteI love GoT...I'm watching Sunday's episode in approximately 26 minutes when I finish watching Mad Men.
ReplyDeleteI am also not confident on how Bailey is holding that ball, either.
Way to rock your long run and avoid the moose. I've seen a few moose in Colorado, but the elk are definitely more prevalent. I don't usually see them where I run, though..just innocent little deer.
I'm really bummed you had a bad soft pretzel, that's so disappointing.
Yeah, I figured Target would be good for some junk food (I WANTED two huge slices of pizza), but all it had was small, gross, old-looking Pizza Hut "personal pizzas" and these pretzels (also, confusingly, sold by Pizza Hut). The pretzels actually looked really good but nooooo. I should have stuck to my tried and true (Subway).
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