This week in running: week 4

This was the week where things started to feel right in my half marathon training. I'm getting used to running at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays (it's still miserably hot, but I know what I'm dealing with) and 7 a.m. (GAH!) on Sunday morning.

Tuesday
 
This was our first night of intervals, and I loved them! I'm not sure if it's because I haven't done them in awhile, I'm crazy or it just broke up the monotony of just running. 

Our coaches split our group into fast runners and the not-so-fast runners. I know this is shocking, but I was in the not-so-fast group. We did an easy run down to an area with a circle sidewalk, and then the intervals started.

The interval site

I think there are fancy ways to write this, but I don't understand it, so I'll write it the only way I know how: we did 5 sets of 1 minute hard/2 minutes recovery, 5 sets of 30 seconds hard/1 minute recovery and 5 sets of 20 seconds hard/40 seconds recovery.   

Overall, it was just 50 minutes of fun. It was a challenge, and I did end up walking some of the recovery times. But, I felt like I pushed hard and got in a great run.   

Distance: 4.2 miles

Thursday  

This week is full of new running things. Today, it was a tempo run. I remember these pesky tempo runs from last training cycle, and I remember not liking them. It's hard to pick a faster pace to maintain for a sustained period of time ... well, it is for me at least.

The plan: run a 10-minute warm up, do a 16-minute tempo run, and then do a 19-minute cool down run. 

As much as I don't like tempo runs, and as bad as I think I am at them, I think this one went pretty fabulously. Granted, my faster time was only about 30 seconds faster than my warm-up time, but it was faster. I'll take it as a starting point. 

Happy after a decent tempo run

Distance: 3.6 miles

Sunday

In my fogginess early on Sunday morning, I thought someone was taking pictures outside. It was only after I threw my clothes on and ran out the door in less than 10 minutes that I realized this was lightning. Morning person I am not. 

Another thing I am not: a lightning person. I'm frightened of this stuff in a serious way. But, since I was already awake, I headed to running group anyway. Being in Florida, a thunderstorm where I live doesn't mean lightning 10 miles away.

But, I didn't think the continued lightning and then the pouring rain on the way there were a good sign. 

I arrived at Fit2Run, our meeting spot, in the rain. I ran inside the store (thank goodness we have it) and found exercise stations set up around the store. We couldn't run due to the lightning (thank goodness the coaches are smart and safe about this), so they set up some stations throughout the store for our workout. We did lunges, push-ups, dips, crunches, squats and climbed stairs for a minute at a time before rotating to the next station. After 20 minutes, the coaches decided it was safe to try and run.

We headed out to tackle a 5-6 mile run (depending on the weather). Unfortunately, it got cut to 2.5 miles. As my running buddy and I were running toward the rest of the crowd, a girl came running back at us saying that rain was coming down in a sheet ahead (and we heard scary thunder rumblings). We promptly turned around and booked it back to the store ... with everyone else on our heels. We then promptly went to breakfast and talked running.

I'm hoping to make up some miles tonight.
Distance: 2.5 miles

How was your week in running? Did you run intervals? A tempo run? What is your favorite? Any thunderstorms that prevented getting a run in?

Stupid lightning forced me into the craptastic gym

I'm really, really, really scared of lightning. As in, sprint and scream like a little girl scared. It's fabulous that I live in the Lightning Capital of the United States.

Since it was lightning last night (and I was screaming like a little girl), I was forced into the craptastic gym (which I'm really scared of, too).

When I walked into the gym, I noticed something I’ve never seen in there before: another person. We stared at each for an awkward number of seconds (probably due to shock of someone else using such a crappy gym). Then, she quickly jumped on a treadmill and hogged the fan. All of the fan. It wasn’t even on rotate. It was just aimed at her. Rude.

The fan was a huge loss, but there are two treadmills, so I wasn’t deterred.

I hopped on and began my planned 45-minute speed workout. I figured I could drip sweat on the other lady or pass out due to heat stroke and maybe she’d feel bad about being a fan jerk.

Things were going well (albeit sweaty) until the 1.6-mile mark. That’s when my treadmill came to a dead stop. I thought I must have pulled emergency stop cord. Nope. I tried starting it again to no avail. I tried pulling the emergency stop cord and restarting. No luck. So, not even halfway through my sweaty, fan-less workout, my treadmill is kaput.

Yet another reason to call this gym craptastic.

It was at this time that I considered joining a real gym. A real gym with a temperature below the surface of the sun. A real gym with an adequate number of fans. A real gym with working equipment.   

But since I was already at the craptastic gym and since I planned on a 45-minute workout and didn’t even get in 20 minutes, I headed over to the weight room. I’m not a fan of weight machines, but I found a stability ball, a medicine ball and some empty floor space to do some squats, lunges, planks, crunches and push-ups. Not the same as what I had planned, but it was something. And less hot since there was a fan with no rude fan hog in site. 

But, I was still sweaty and somewhat ticked.

Forcing a smile

I’ll give running another go tonight. I’m really hoping for no scary lightning because dealing with the craptastic gym two nights in a row is probably more than I can handle (and possibly more frightening than lightning).

In the meantime, I’m going to look at gyms. Real gyms.