Faster – Thursday – July 8, 2021

How am I feeling today?

Tired. I painted on a ladder yesterday (doing the garage peak) and somehow got exposed to some Browntail Moth crap and have a several spots on my rights side that itch like hell. Not fun and is a lot like poison ivy, but with the infestation so bad up in this area, I am surprised that I haven’t been affected more it than I have. However, it is not helping with the gotta get going idea.

Planned Workout Description: 

Type: 

• Easy Run
• Strides

Per Stryd: “Strides” are defined as short bursts of faster running to get your body used to running at a higher intensity. Your goal for strides should be to start a bit above your Stryd Auto-Calculated Critical Power and practice running at a fast speed without straining. After a brief warm up, you will run :30s repeats with an easy 1:00 recovery. After you have completed the number of repetitions, cool down with an easy segment of running.

Today’s Running Focus

• Just Do It.

Why am I doing this run?

If I don’t do the strides in the middle of a workout, I tend to not do them when it is time at the end. So Stryd’s plan to put them in the middle of the run works better, this way I do the actual work I need to do and don’t put it off to another day. Yes, I do need to work on running faster, even if it is for shorter distances. The legs do not turnover like they used to and if I simply rely on my “natural” speed, well that doesn’t work so well anymore. Those days are long gone and I need to keep stretching the legs and mind with the idea that running faster is a good thing.

What I Actually Did Today: 

Davis Drive O/B 50:00 minutes

• 19:00 minutes at a good pace, not easy
• 8 x :30 seconds hard with 1:00 minute recoveries
• 19:00 minutes easy 

A little extra to get back to the house and a hard push to the finish

Did the workout go as planned?

I really wasn’t into running this morning and almost bagged the workout, but with the weather being almost perfect for a good run, I decided that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get out the door and forced myself to get going. It meant no warm-up or anything, but I got going.

As usual I ran too fast going out according to Stryd, but I was running comfortably and it didn’t seem to effect the 8 strides any, so that was good. I did have to jump in the woods for a quick pit stop by the old dump (fitting). 

I chuckled because the first stride went up a small hill, but that is something that I do like about the running by time vs distance/pace is that when I do these workouts on the road. I am not sure where the faster stuff will start/finish and it makes me get used to surging the pace on uphill’s, downhills, corners and other places that I wouldn’t normally surge the pace. It is great practice for racing (if I ever do some).

Coming back I just ran easy and when I got back to the house I did pick it up to do a fast finish. Which is something I like to do at the end of most run, even if I am tired, you never know when you are going to have to run hard at the end of a race.

It was one of those runs where you don’t want to get going, but once you do, it turned into a decent run.

Injuries/Niggles: The left Achilles didn’t start to grumble much until I was coming back up Stevens Hill, so that was good and even then it wasn’t anything like it used to be, so it is still making progress. I do find that the legs don’t seem to bother as much if I don’t do the eccentric calf drops before the run. Although I when started, I could tell that I had been on the ladder for a couple of hours yesterday, they woke up after the first mile or so and felt pretty good.

Weather: Light rain, 62°F, Feels like 60°F, Humidity 82%, Wind 6mph from NNE. Just about perfect for running.

Shoes: Reebok Floatride RunFast v1 – No issues, they were comfortable, let me pick up the pace when I wanted to, had good grip on the wet tar and dirt road. 

Other Stuff

Worked for 1.5 hours moving brush to the brush pile in the afternoon, so by the time we got done there I was pretty much done and decided to take my one day a week off from the mobilization exercises that night. 

I measured my feet with a tape measure and figured out the real length of my feet for a change and then got looking at the Carbon X and other shoes that I have and figured out that I the best fit for me is JPN 26.0, which seems more consistent to what my feet are than U.S. or European sizing across the different brands I have in house. Although is a bit shorter than I have been wearing lately. As long as the toe box is wider, I don’t mind at all.

Also, I found a helluva deal on a pair of Red Hoka Carbon X2s ($44.95) on eBay and if they come with the box, I know what Bennie is getting me for my birthday next month.