Speedwork and Hills

The Ironmen are tapering so tonight's track workout was a short one.  We warmed up by running over to a neighborhood where we have a 3/10 mile steep uphill climb.  We did that three times; normally, we do it 6-8 times.  Then, it was back to the track to do 3 400s with a 400 recovery between repeats.  I don't know what came over me, my 400s came in at 1:44, 1:43, and 1:40.  Those times equal 6:41, 6:35, and 6:20 pace.  I didn't even think I could run that fast!!  I know I wouldn't have done that very many more times.
It was nice to be done with the workout and be home shortly after 8 pm!

I read online today that it was 10 years ago when there was a huge power outage from the East coast to Michigan.  I remember that day!  I was at my niece's to help her get ready to go on vacation.  She had just put a load of laundry in the dryer and started another load in the washer when the power went out.  I remember that we went outside and some other people were out there and told us that the power was going out all over the state and all over the east coast.  We got into my car and turned on the radio to WJR, the big talk radio station in Detroit.  I decided that my daughter and I should head home since there were no traffic lights and all lights will be treated as 4 way stops.  It was afternoon and would soon be rush hour but with the power outage it was possible that people would be leaving work.  Our power at home came on soon after we got home; I guess we got lucky in this area.  Something I didn't know at the time that I read today is that Detroit was right on the edge of the power outages and we are about 1.5 hour WEST of Detroit so we were spared the worst of it.  I called my niece and told her that we had power so her and my nephew got the laundry out of the dryer and pulled the clothes out of the water in the washer and brought them and the rest of their laundry here.  She had clothes in my dryer and washer and a load in her Mother's washer and in my Mother-in-law's (her Grandmother) washer. She got all her laundry done and they stayed overnight at her parents' house and went back to pack the next day when it was light and then they were off on their vacation.  When the power was back on in her area, I went to her apartment and drained the washing machine that was sitting there full of water.  I remember that it smelled bad so I had to run the washer empty after I drained it.  I also did some cleaning since she wasn't able to finish it once the power went out. 
I saw some pictures online, today, of that day.  They were pictures of a dark new york city skyline against the setting sun and streets with cars with lights on against the backdrop of dark buildings.   There were pictures of the bridges with solid people walking across; I assume that they weren't able to ride the subway so they were walking home.  I don't recall seeing pictures like that back in 2003.  It's hard to believe that 10 years have passed since that day. 

Runner Nerd
ran fast 400s

Spirit of the Marathon 2

I went to see Spirit of the Marathon 2 this evening.  I didn't dislike it but I like the first one a lot more.  The stories were good but it was harder to follow because I did not understand the language of some of the featured people.  I prefer to just watch a movie and not have to read the translation of what they are saying in another language.  Several times I missed something because I was looking at something on the screen that caught my eye and then the words were gone.  Also, the other way around; I'm reading the words and missing out on what's going on.  Maybe it's just me.  Last night I re-watched the first Spirit of the Marathon on Netflix; maybe that was a mistake!  In spite of being a bit disappointed with having to read so many translations, I am more excited than ever to get going with Chicago training! 

In order to go to the movie this evening, I had to miss the group track workout.  Today was hills!  Earlier in the day, I went to the usual high school track and ran a mile warm up on the paved trail that is right by the school then on over to the street where the big hill is.  I did 8 loops all by myself.  The climb up the hill is .3 mile and then we turn on another street which loops around and comes out close to where we start each hill repeat.  The complete loop is .6 mile: .3 uphill and .3 downhill.  This takes place in a neighborhood with little traffic.  When I was there at 1pm there was no traffic.  I never saw a car on the street until my last loop.  There is more traffic at 6:30 pm when people are home from work.  There were two houses where a lawn service was there mowing and working in the yards and I think I provided some entertainment to those people!!  I know they stared each time I passed by!  My total run was 7.1 miles.  It was tough but I felt good afterward! 
After the movie, I gave in to temptation and drove over to a place that I should stay far away from!!  It's a good thing that this place is not very close by and I'm in the area infrequently!  I went to Sugar Berry Frozen Yogurt; it's a self serve frozen yogurt place.  Oh my!!  I made sure to completely fill the bowl with several different flavors such as red velvet, cheesecake, vanilla, and birthday cake!  I topped it off with white chocolate and caramel!  I hope we do one of our longer routes tomorrow night at group run! 

Runner Nerd
ran, went to movie, ate frozen yogurt, had a great day

Every Hill is an Opportunity

I ran cross country and track in high school and college (the first time, right after graduating from high school).  Don't be too impressed, it was a teeny tiny Christian college, not MSU or U of M!!  I've heard all the sayings, such as:  "no pain, no gain", "every hill is an opportunity", etc etc.  "Every hill is an opportunity" was a favorite of my cross country coaches in both high school and college.   I guess I had all kinds of opportunities this afternoon!   Hills were on the agenda today instead of a track workout for the triathlon group I work out with on Wednesdays.  My total mileage for this workout was 8.2 miles.  1 mile easy on the paved trail then about another half mile to the street where we confused many residents by running back and forth over and over like a bunch of weirdos!  This street is a complete hill from one end to the other so we would run fast uphill to the highest point and then slow downhill, turn around and run fast up the hill and slow downhill, if that makes any sense.  We did 5 times so we ended up at the other end of the street and then jogged over to a park with a HUGE sledding hill and proceeded to entertain even more people by picking the steepest place on the hill and running up and down 5 times!  It was a beautiful afternoon, sunny and 80 degrees so there were a lot of people at the park.  There was even 2 other people running up and down the hill at a place where it wasn't quite as steep!  After the sledding hill fun, we returned to the street we came from and did 5 more laps.  My legs were spent!  It was a very slow jog back to our cars, approx. 1/2 mile.  We had a group of 5 tonight.  One guy was always way out ahead of the rest of us but I wasn't always the last one to the top of the hill! (most of the time but not every time)  I did not fall as far behind the others like I did last summer; I was only a few seconds behind!  The sledding hill was ridiculous and my pace for those repeats were in the 10s and 11s but for the repeats on the street, I was doing them in the 8:50 - 9:20 range and I'm super happy with that!!
This is from Garmin Connect:

Lots of hills/opportunities

 The green line is elevation.  The first set of repeats is messed up because I was hitting the start/stop button instead of the lap button so only the uphills were recorded.  I got it right after that. 
This crazy workout took about an hour and a half'; it was after 8pm when we finished.  It was 8:30 pm when I got home and I was starving! 
I'm working toward a decent 5K time on May 18th at the Detroit Race for the Cure.  I know I won't PR but, hopefully, I will PR for 5Ks in my 50s!  The 5K I'm running is the race where my current PR was run.   I'm convinced that it's the flattest 5K course in the world!  If pain = gain then I should have made some major gains this evening!!! 
Well, I am exhausted! (gee, I wonder why!)  I'm sore and I even used my foam roller.  My right foot is just a bit sore so I will wear my splint tonight.  (that's the plantar fasciitis foot from last year)

Runner Nerd
runs up many hills because every one is an opportunity

Have you ever met a long, steep hill?

run up the hill
run down the hill
run up the hill
run down the hill
run up the hill
run down the hill
etc etc etc...
This was not your average hill.  A quarter mile of upward sloping road growing steeper the farther up you go.
10 times up, 10 times down.
Is there anything more fun in this world??
And to think that some (most?) people went home from work and sat in front of the television in their air-conditioned houses. 
Oh, did I mention that it was 90 degrees??????  Yeah, 90 degrees.
One good thing is that it was a shady neighborhood street.  (shady as in trees on both sides that blocked the sun) 
I absolutely LOVE hot weather, especially when it gets in the 90s, but like anyone else, I don't run as well.  I am slow to begin with these days and I was the slowest one in the group running uphill.  They all waited for me to get to the top before we went back down.  How nice of them!!  They got to rest but I didn't!  (I just bragged about how many more calories I was burning!!) (I don't know if I really was or not but it sounds good!) 
It sure feels good when you are done!  It's torture during but it's always a great feeling afterward.  Running is strange that way! 
Week 2 of marathon training is underway.
Grand Rapids, here I come!!!!!!

Runner Nerd
who is excited that tomorrow is Thursday and that means RUNNING GROUP!!!!!!!!!!!