Training Archive: iamsinhtIn the 7 days ending 2008-03-29:
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Saturday Mar 29 | ||
| Cross Country Skiing 3:00:00 [3] 15 km (12:00 / km) | |
| *Went to Waterville Valley, NH to cross-country ski with Lori. We left a little later than planned and then got lost along the way, so we got to Waterville Valley about an hour later than we wanted to. It had snowed about 8 inches the day before we got there, so the snow was really nice. We were planning on doing a longer loop, but my pole broke, so we decided to turn back a bit early.
*The source for this entry was the 29 March 2008 training log of attackpoint user Lori. | ||
Tuesday Mar 25 | ||
| Road running 34:00 [3] 6.88 km (4:57 / km) | |
| shoes: NB ABZORB EX 11.5 | ||
| After 36 hours of respite, I resumed my regimen with a brisk morning run (ambient temperature 27 F, -3 C). I planned a staple route: a 7 km loop around the Esplanade, but running counterclockwise - opposite to my usual method. I really need to diversify my running routes, with emphasis on running in parks with maps and similar orienteeringesque terrain, but time constraints make this a logical choice.
My target pace was 8.5 - 9 minutes per mile (I still think of pace comfortably in english units), [5:15 - 5:30 per km], but unsurprisingly, I pushed harder than I planned. I think this was exacerbated by a stiff headwind (15-20 kph) while running along the river; I didn't want to give up. I was encouraged by some poor kids in crew shells rowing along the river preparing to face the agony of drills - as they faced their challenge, so should I. I pushed my breathing rate to a steady 3 steps/breath about a third of the way through the route, leading me to believe that my breathing rate strongly influences my pace. The running pace given by four steps per breath feels slow, but that's probably near my training objective of a steady 9 minute mile. I felt strong throughout the run; my muscles felt good albeit tight, stamina was solid, and breathing was consistent - if more labored as I pushed the pace near the finish. I am far from ready for the blue on Sunday, but at least I'm reacquainted with the challenges I face as a runner. My original plan was to run a long midweek, but as I ran a longer route than planned on Sunday, my goal is to run 6-8k for the next three days, then take Saturday off for the meet on Sunday. As skiing plans for Saturday solidify, I may take Friday off instead. | ||
Sunday Mar 23 | ||
| Road running 1:20:00 [2] 13.5 km (5:56 / km) | |
| shoes: NB ABZORB EX 11.5 | ||
| I have very infrequently seen the coast of Massachusetts, despite that I've lived within ten miles of it for almost five years now. So, I ran to Fort Independence Park - a nearby location overlooking Boston Harbor - via Summer St. It was a good run - I alternated between three and four breaths per step, and felt generally good throughout the run. The pace was much gentler than my miserable reintroduction to running and pain yesterday. I paused for a few minutes at Fort Independence to take in the sight (which although obscured by some islands, was serene and charming) and read the South Boston Korean War memorial.
In the vein of the memorial, I adamantly believe that there are some things worth fighting for, and that at times war is a reasonable recourse. However, the Civil War General Sherman - a master of warfare - aptly put it when he said "War is hell." To some extent, especially in the United States, war has been sterilized - war is a push of a button, a list of names in the newspaper, an article about bombs going off and people lives somewhere far away. Even the Iraq war, while it has brought personal loss and economic hardship at home, and calamity and chaos to Iraq, when compared with World War II abroad and the American Civil War domestically, has brought only a fraction of the misery and death. How much of this hardship is a direct consequence of avoidable factors? How much does our own stubbornness, stupidity, and unwillingness to acknowledge other groups and ideas as meaningful contribute to the steady grinding of resources, men, and values into oblivion? While there are things worth fighting for, how much cause for war do we ourselves create? Anyway, I listened to a sermon on Colossians 3 and the Enchanted soundtrack. Ran in my black running suit. I carried an orange from my start, and ate it at Fort Independence. It was satisfying. Afterwards, I had a slurpee. It was magnificent. | ||