Final Doom

This is the last time I'll be running the Never Ending Hill Of Doom for a while. The Hill doesn't intimidate me as much as it used to and I'll still work it into my training from time to time, but I think I'll take a break from it after today.

I won't be running any hill repeats next week so this is my last hill-centric workout before the race. Even though I'm running The Hill, I'm cutting back as part of my taper so I only ran up it twice today.

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Maybe it was because I knew I only had to do it twice, but I seemed to have an easier time attacking The Hill today. I pushed myself more than I have the last couple of times I ran here and I still felt pretty comfortable. (As comfortable as you can running up a long, steep hill.)

Maybe all of this hill work is paying off and I'll be ready to face the hills on race day!

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 3.97 Miles.
Time: 31:14. 7:52 Avg. (7:00, 7:18, 8:42, 8:12*).
Route: 2 x Never Ending Hill Of Doom.
Conditions: 70 degrees. 7:28AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: The temperature has been creeping up every morning this week and Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be in the mid-90's. I hope there's another cool-down on the way after that. Gulp!

Daily Miles: 3.97 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 397.08 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 8,250 meters.

The Peak Of My Hills

I'm just over two weeks from the Hospital Hill Half Marathon and this week is the peak of my condensed training for the race.

The past couple of days involved running hill repeats... a lot of hill repeats.

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I saved Tuesday's workout for after work because of Monday night's track work. I went over to Top Notch while Liz did one of her prenatal workout videos. I sprinted my little segment of the hill 8 times and the physical exertion was complicated by the fact that the house at the top of the hill where I turn to jog back down was having some roofing work done. Whatever chemicals the roofers were using smelled strong enough that I was a little worried about getting a contact high. Every time I got to the top of the hill, I was gasping in lungs full of the stuff. I got through the workout fine, but I might now have cancer.

I took Wednesday off completely. I'm trying to work in a few more rest days so I can recover from the over-training I've been doing in time for the race.

Thursday was a surprising day at The Never Ending Hill Of Doom. I ran up The Hill 4 times. As is the custom on The Hill, I use the term 'ran' loosely. But I felt a lot better on my third and fourth summits than I thought I would. Maybe it was Wednesday's rest. Maybe the hill work as a whole is paying off. Or maybe it was just a good morning. Whatever it was, The Hill didn't feel as deadly and intimidating as it usually does.

So I plan to do a very brief speedwork session tomorrow in my FiveFingers and then run 10-12 miles on Sunday. After that, I'll have two solid weeks of tapering. I'll cut back on my workouts and mileage and hopefully start feeling more rested by the time the race comes around.

Tuesday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 4.08 Miles.
Time: 37:40. 9:14 Avg. (8:46, 8:44, 9:43, 9:41, 0:44*).
Route: 8 x Top Notch.
Conditions: 80 degrees. 5:57PM.
Run Details On Garmin

Wednesday
Goal For The Day: Rest.
Distance: 0.00 Miles.

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 5.19 Miles.
Time: 46:37. 8:59 Avg. (8:12, 7:49, 9:11, 9:43, 9:56, 1:43*).
Route: 4 x Never Ending Hill Of Doom.
Conditions: 52 degrees. 7:19AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: The temperature has been all over the place so far this month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Race Day is has one of the cooler mornings.

Daily Miles: 9.27 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 372.87 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 8,250 meters.

Jekyll And Hyde

Running can be like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Sometimes, going for a run involves all of the healthy, refreshing, peaceful benefits that I've come to Love. Sometimes, there just isn't much about it that's fun and I spend most of the run looking forward to when I get to stop. I think the latter type of run is more likely to happen when I'm training for something instead of just running for fun.

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Today was a Mr. Hyde kind of day. I ran 3 x The Never Ending Hill Of Doom and I can't really say I was enjoying myself. I wasn't in horrible pain. I wasn't completely exhausted. But I also didn't feel any real joy by running up a really long, really steep hill over and over. This is the kind of day to just put your head down and work your way through it.

The great thing about running is, even when it isn't a pleasant Dr. Jekyll kind of experience, it comes with a sense of satisfaction. The Mr. Hyde days aren't fun during the run, but I sure feel good after. Not just because I got to stop at the end, but because I feel like I accomplished something. I exerted a little willpower and chose to do something difficult. And, most importantly, I made myself better prepared and more likely to really have some fun when I want to challenge myself.

Sometimes, running is about the journey and not the destination... those are the fun days when running is something I Love right then... while I'm out there doing it.

Sometimes, running is about the destination and not the journey... those are the days that are true 'workouts' and I only enjoy them because of what they do to help me when it comes time to race.

Today was a day to focus on the destination because the journey involved a long, repetitive hill.

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 4.51 Miles.
Time: 37:52. 8:23 Avg. (7:32, 7:32, 8:39, 9:45, 4:22*).
Route: 3 x Never Ending Hill Of Doom.
Conditions: 54 degrees. 7:52AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: A late start today. I should be getting out the door earlier. That probably contributed to my preoccupation with getting the run over with. I knew I was pressed for time.

Daily Miles: 4.51 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 344.14 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 8, 250 meters.

Registered For Route 66

It's official! I'll be running the Williams Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma on November 18, 2012!!!

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I registered today and beat the price increase by a few days. This is the only marathon I'm running this year and it isn't until mid-November so I have plenty of time to get ready for it. So far, that means I'm registered to run the Hospital Hill Half in exactly one month and Route 66 in six months. The rest of the races on my wish list will depend on scheduling and available funds. After all, we're going to have an extra mouth to feed soon!

As for Hospital Hill preparations, I went ahead and ran a second consecutive day of hills this morning. I was feeling a little sluggish and only ran The Never Ending Hill Of Doom twice, but I plan to step it up to three climbs next week. I didn't sleep very well last night and my legs still felt heavy from yesterday's run but I made it to the top twice and got my day off to a productive start.

Tomorrow... Five Fingers!

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 3.94 Miles.
Time: 32:19. 8:12 Avg. (7:37, 7:51, 8:36, 8:14*).
Route: 2 x Never Ending Hill Of Doom.
Conditions: 70 degrees. 7:25AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: The Hill was almost all shade even at 7:30 so the heat wasn't too bad. I'm sure the kids waiting at the bus stops think I'm insane as I slog my way up The Hill. The map from my Garmin readout looks like it shorted me a little by starting late and finishing early. Silly technology.

Daily Miles: 3.94 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 316.67 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 7,450 meters.

So Many Options

Yesterday, I received an email from Missouri Running Co. about their upcoming track sessions. They are offering organized track workouts at University City High School every Monday evening for ten weeks. The sessions are free and they offer a couple of different options for the workouts depending on your fitness level.

That email reminded me that the St. Louis Track Club's Track Series should be coming up soon too. I hopped on their website and they have five track races coming up on Tuesday nights.

So now I have several options to weigh.

Missouri Running Co. track sessions:
http://www.morunco.com/
I like the idea of having people to run some speedwork with. Having other people to help with pacing and motivation during intervals would be awesome. Plus, I was hoping to focus on speedwork after Hospital Hill and this would be a great way to kickstart that transition. And it's free! But U City High is a bit of a drive and I could do my own workouts two miles from home. And it would mean moving our Monday nights at the Rec Center to another night (or missing the weekly swim with Liz).

St. Louis Track Club Track Series:
http://stlouistrackclub.com/
This is a fun series of races. It's the only time I get to race distances this short and on the track. And a series is always fun because of the added competition involved with tracking points across several races. But the Series is at Clayton High School which is basically as far away as U City High. And the Series is $45 which isn't as nice as free.

Other considerations:
Next Wednesday is my final day of teaching classes for the semester. That means I'll only be working late on Thursdays for the rest of the summer. I'm finally getting another night free and I'm already considering using one or two nights for running and races. And, depending on which event I run, we'll have to either move our gym night or our weekly dinner with friends.

I doubt anyone reading all of this really cares about all of the things that go into my decision-making process. It just helps me to get it all in writing to organize my thoughts.

As for today's training, I ran The Never Ending Hill Of Doom again today. I ran the Hill twice just like last week. I didn't feel as bad on the Hill itself as I did last week but the run as a whole felt pretty slow. I certainly wasn't running for speed and I think I was running/jogging slower because I knew the Hill was coming up. On the way home, a good-sized hill was hardly noticeable though so the Hill must be doing its job.

If I keep this up, I won't fear the hills in K.C.

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 4.01 Miles.
Time: 33:53. 8:27 Avg. (7:59, 7:44, 9:24, 8:39, 0:05*).
Route: 2 x Never Ending Hill Of Doom
Conditions: 68 degrees. 7:23AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: Today felt slow and sure enough, when I checked the Garmin page, last week's run was in 31:31 and today was 33:53. Same course, two-and-a-half minutes slower. They can't all be fast days.

Daily Miles: 4.01 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 291.47 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 7,450 meters.

Sympathizing With Sisyphus

Sisyphus was a king in Greek mythology whose punishment was to push a boulder up a hill only to watch it roll back down and repeat that process for eternity.

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I didn't have a boulder to push, but today I made a visit to the Never Ending Hill Of Doom and felt Sisyphus' pain.

Just getting to the Never Ending Hill Of Doom involves over two miles of hilly running. Then I planned to run up the Hill itself twice before heading home. But some days, things just don't feel quite right and I never got past that 'morning run' awkward feeling on today's run.

I'm sure a lot of it was mental... I already had it in my head that today was going to be tough, so it was. I definitely wasn't attacking the hill, and passively lifting your feet and 'catching a hill' as it comes at you always makes it harder. Halfway up the Hill, I decided that one time up was enough for today. I could run it twice next week. By the time I neared the top, I was only running by the loosest definition of the word. It was actually one of those jogs that is so slow you could easily walk as fast (or faster).

When I topped the Hill, I was tired, panting, and ready to run home. But for some reason, I made a quick decision, turned around, and ran back down the Hill. I had plenty of time on the jog back to the bottom to second-guess my decision to run the Hill twice. But every step I took on the way down was another step I would have to take back up, so it wasn't long before I figured I might as well run the whole thing and go home feeling good about sticking to my original plan.

Surprisingly, the second time up the Hill wasn't any worse than the first but it wasn't any better either. I ran/jogged to the top and then shuffled my way down the other side. By that point, I really needed to get home so I could get ready for work so I took a little shortcut on the way back.

Today was one of those runs that you only feel good about in retrospect. I felt awkward and less than my best the entire run. I felt weak and out of shape on the Hill. But I feel good about how much this morning's run will help me on the hills in Kansas City in June.

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Hill Work.
Distance: 4.03 Miles.
Time: 31:31. 7:49 Avg. (7:12, 7:06, 8:38, 8:19, 0:13).
Route: 2 x Never Ending Hill Of Doom.
Conditions: 55 degrees. 7:30AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: I'm sure some of the hills in K.C. will be longer than this, but I doubt they will be steeper. Hopefully, a few weeks of this will let me cruise over the hills in the half marathon like they aren't there.

Daily Miles: 4.03 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 268.37 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 6,550 Miles.