Week 5: The Mist on the Water

Training has not been spectacular. I began the week with a stretch & strengthen session. A heat wave this week made it difficult to exercise. On Tuesday, I did a 40 min run at a conversational pace - I truly felt that I was running in slow motion, at the rate of a fast walk. Even with very generous walk breaks to avoid the hills near my home, I ran about 12 mins/mile. This should be my long run pace. My knee felt a bit sore at the end of the run and my thigh muscles felt a bit sore that night, probably because of the previous day's stretch and strengthen.

Cycling is easier in the heat because it creates a breeze and there's the feeling of propelling oneself through the air. I went out longer than I should have, but in the middle of the ride, I got one of my foot cramps in my left foot with waves of pain, so I stopped to walk it off in a nearby neighborhood. My legs were sore afterward, especially around the right knee.

Thursday, my knees felt sore after sitting for a long time at work, and I didn't like the way my knees were talking to me, so I took the day off of running and used the time to study. The lesson learned this week is to back off and not overtrain; otherwise, I'll never make it to race day.

Right now is the countdown before my distance learning class begins. It was suggested that we read three books--one about employment law, marketing, and financial statements--prior to starting the class, so I'm trying to get through these. Then, the plan is to go back and read and take notes on any chapters I missed in the other books. I also need to schedule a regular time to review the flash cards, perhaps during breakfast, tutor time, and the last hour before bed when I'm tired and falling asleep while reading.

Friday night I ran at one of my favorite haunts, and I like going back to the park periodically so I can see the ecosystem as it goes through seasonal changes. The one thing that I'm going right is that I'm running slowly at a conversational pace, taking generous walk breaks, and kinesthetically establishing a long run pace. This makes running very easy. Still, at the end of the run, my legs felt sore.

I wanted to keep my weekend schedule the same, so I got up an ran on Saturday morning. Once again, I ran slowly at a conversational pace and took walk breaks. Even so, my time is only a minute slower at 12 min/mile. At the end of this run, my right knee was sore. I hope I didn't overdo.

I went earlier trying to beat the heat, but it was a cool summer day that made me think of the coming fall season. The lake was like glass. Sunlight was shinning on the mist on the water. As time went on, the mist largely disappeared, but when I left, I could see traces of the mist that I've seen before. At first, I thought the mist was due to the different air/water temperatures, but now I think that maybe there's mist was on the lake every morning -- it's a reward for getting up early for a run.