Thursday, August 19, 2010

Mid-week update

Lesson learned: Hills are not my forte, and I need some serious practice if I plan to survive the marathon.

You can see the elevation chart here: http://www.thebaltimoremarathon.com/Assets/Marathon+Elevation+2009.pdf

The increase in elevation is gradual, and I hear that last leg is almost completely downhill. I'm sure it'll be fine, but uphill running is about as fun as a root canal.

On Tuesday, I purposely planned a route that would force me to run up a few hills. The first mile and a half was almost entirely uphill -- which I didn't realize. (It's funny how I can choose to ignore elevation on gmap-pedometer.) Running that distance uphill certainly wasn't terrible, but I definitely had to pump myself up to make sure that I kept going. The second, third, and fourth hills were a little more of a struggle. The inclines weren't steep, but I'm really bad at maintaining form when running uphill. Developing strongle muscles might be a start, but I the internet tells me that the strategy for running uphill just involves shortening one's stride and lifting one's knees.

I made the decision to skip my run on Wednesday in preparation for my week to host lady pod. (Lady pod involves cooking a delicious dinner for my lady friends in DC, telling stories, and plotting adventures. I went Tex-Mex this week with fish tacos, peach salsa, appropriate fixings, and fresh guacamole. I honestly thought that I would have enough time to run after work and cook dinner, but let's just say that I'm glad I didn't attempt to run.) My training schedule has been readjusted to make up for the miles that I didn't do on Wednesday. Tuesday ended up being five miles because I'm still directionally challenged, today I ran 5.5 miles, and I will run 5 miles on Sunday. The long run for the week is still 10 miles; the key here will be to plan a new route that is a.) different from my usual long run routes and b.) includes a few hills to keep things interesting. Suggestions?

1 comment:

  1. As someone who's had a root canal, I must digress. I'll take hills on top of other hills any day.

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