Weekend Recap, Goals and Shoes

(Above photo courtesy of a fall day in Portland.)

I have a lot to say right now so I apologize for the long post.

Reflections on Friday's time trial...
After having more time to think about the TT I feel much better about things. I actually feel more motivated to get my ass in gear and improve. Shawn re-calibrated my HR zones and accompanying paces and now I have a more detailed training guide. I am super excited to see where the next three months take me and think we're on course to bust through previous results.

Sunday's run...
Sunday's run started out horribly. I got all geared up and went outside to 'find my satellites' only to find that the Garmin was not properly charged. Pissed, I went back to my apt and waited for 45 minutes for it to charge. After that I was off and running. Everything went really smoothly for this 7-miler. My task was to run in "zone 2" or aerobic endurance zone. This translates to 77-82% max HR (151-160 bpm) and a pace of 9:30-10:43 min/mile.

I went just over 7 miles, starting and finishing at home. This adds a bit of elevation but since I am starting and finishing from the same point it should cancel itself out. I did Springwater, weather was a little windy but perfect running weather otherwise. It didn't rain at all, which made me happy. Feel-wise the run was great. I am a little sore from my track workout the other day, but this eased and stretched my muscles and my legs feel better now. I did have a couple of moments where my stomach was not so great feeling but that is totally typical for me and doesn't really even bother me anymore. Ok, so the BPM and pace ended up being a little higher than prescribed: Avg HR = 166 and pace of 8:44 min/mile. The HR falls within the middle of my "zone 3" and the pace is in just at the beginning of "zone 4"....and I was supposed to do zone 2.

Overall it was a non-eventful run and felt just fine. After taking Saturday off completely it felt good to get out on fresh-ish legs. I was disappointed that I didn't see these three ladies out there, but maybe next time our paths will cross!

It should be noted that my morning meal was leftover vanilla latte (about 8 oz), lots of water (36 oz?) and a piece of toast with PB on it. I really wasn't hungry for the toast, but I knew that I needed some sort of fuel, so made myself do it.

After the run I took a shower and made myself an Anti-Oxidantosa: apple/blueberry/grape/pomegranate juice with champagne. Muy bueno.

New shoes...
I walked down to Fit Right Northwest, a great running store on NW23rd. I had never been before, but went on Coach SB's recommendation and it totally lived up to expectations. Andrew helped me find the perfect shoe. We started w/the treadmill/gait analysis and checked out my stride in slow-mo. (Kind of weird to watch yourself run from behind.) He does not think that I pronate enough to need a shoe that corrects/stabilizes. The shoes I've been running in (Asics GT-2120) do have the correction built in for a little pronation - they have the gray rubber in the sole so you can see where the extra stability is built in. Anyway, he had me test out several shoes - Saucony, Asics, etc. We did it with and without inserts and found the best feel

We decided to go with the Asics Landreth in the wider model. These shoes do not have as much support as I am used to, so I am going to have to pay attention in the first 30 days to the feel. Andrew also demanded (!) that I do a lot of stretching and follow Shawn's strength plan (Trigger Point - to be discussed in the future). I promised I would and he promised me that these shoes would take me to the next level! The best part about FRNW is that they let you return your shoes if they don't work out within 30 days. I am expecting these shoes to feel lighter than my previous pair and excited to break them in.

Last week's goals...
I basically met most of my goals last week, here are the results:

• 1. Complete my Coach Shawn workout plan. (Including time trials at the track!) DONE!
• 2. Go to "crazy weights" at 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning. (DONE!)
• 3. Continue to wake up at the same time as last week (become a morning person?) (As of Wed I'm 3 outta 3) 11/9 update - this was really hard but I did manage to wake up relatively early... Once I really get into my running I am going to make an effort to wake up at 6 a.m. and get my runs done before work. There is really no reason not to. Especially since I will have guests and visitors over the next month that will require my time and attention.
• 4. Go to yoga (I'll say once, but go for twice) 11/9 update - I did go once, so this is DONE!
• 5. Cross training (spin, hike, swim, etc.) 11/9 update - this did not happen.
• 6. Moderation! 11/9 update - I think this worked out beautifully this week, even through celebration dinners nothing was completely overdone (except maybe my time trial).

This week's goals...
So far I really don't have much. I will probably add to this as the day goes on:

• 1. Follow my training program.
• 2. Moderation
• 3. Yoga
  

Ok, I'm sick of myself now. Have a great day.

eed