It happened the way I figured... it's been way too warm for fall. We've had precious few cross-country meets with great weather, very unusual this year. It all added up to exactly what happened - no transition of seasons, just summer to winter. SNAP!
Any of you catch that sleet storm about noon today? Uh-huh. That's what I'm talking about.
It's been bitterly cold the last two days, with the hard wind from the north/northwest. Being outside has been less than... comfortable. Tomorrow looks like it could be worse. On both of the previous days, my girls have finished practice with no clothes to keep warm until their rides arrived. This meant I had to put them in my car. Of course if THEY were in the car, I couldn't be... so I got to stand in the cold wind and wait for their rides. This has not been very fun.
Now if you're lucky enough to run in this, it's perfect running weather. I went out tonight for an 8-miler knowing it wouldn't be tough to run, at least on my lungs anyway. I went ahead and pressed a little bit on the first 4 miles, holding a bit above 7-minute pace. I still didn't feel too badly in the lungs, but my calves were twinging every now and then. Since I've taken mileage and speed up quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, I decided to back off for a bit.
I did console myself with a thought... I was on Hillcrest Circle when I backed off. I would rest, thinks I, until I hit Industrial Park. After that, I would go after the segment up the hill. I was way overdressed, I'm fat, my calf hurt, I'm fat, I'd already pressed the early part, I'm fat... I didn't care. I'd try anyway. What's to lose?
Lester made a tricky segment, because it doesn't end at the top of the hill. It turns north and continues until the next street. You have to remember this when you try, because most people will lay off as soon as they hit Washington Avenue. I was quite aware of the turn, just as I was quite aware my heart was about to explode at the turn. I kept pushing my fat body anyway, and hoped for the best.
That done, I backed off for a little bit again. My breathing came back down in short order, my pace still wasn't too bad, so I decided to go for Miracle Mile (the segment from Haircut Co. to Torphy Insurance). I was still fat, I'd pushed up Industrial, I'm fat, it was late in the run, I'm fat...
It started off better than I thought. The problem would come with my endurance, I knew. The speed was good enough, but was I too tired to top the hill by First Baptist and pick it up again? Apparently not. I hit the same time I hit a couple of weeks ago. I suppose I could be happy with that - I've piled a lot of training up since then. Anyway, it's not important that I have that kind of speed at the moment. I only need to hold 8:02 per mile for the marathon to get my BQ, and I think I can easily make that.
Oh, the Industrial segment? I was 2nd to Lester. He still owns it by 2 seconds. I suppose in the grand scheme of things I'm happy about that one, too. After all, if I DID manage to get it, Troy would have to figure out a way to run fast enough to take it away!
After the run, I went to the gym. It wasn't a lifting day, rather a core day. I was doing some core exercises, some of which I'm sure I'm doing wrong because I don't feel anything. I was a bit crowded into a small space between two fellows doing their thing, and I was crunching down on my abs when I heard a voice behind me:
"You're so damn skinny!"
"What?! You talking to ME?" I asked the guy. He assured me he was. Standard ex-marine, cranking the big weights, good size to him, but some of it was less than complimentary body fat. I think he meant it as a compliment, but I didn't care either way. He followed up with a line I think most of you would find hilarious.
"I bet you don't eat anything!"
Ha! Now THAT is funny! As Greg pointed out, I always super-size my meals. No, VO2 workouts for hours a week give you some leeway about how you eat, even at my age.
I guess I don't have to worry about getting too big just yet...
Any of you catch that sleet storm about noon today? Uh-huh. That's what I'm talking about.
It's been bitterly cold the last two days, with the hard wind from the north/northwest. Being outside has been less than... comfortable. Tomorrow looks like it could be worse. On both of the previous days, my girls have finished practice with no clothes to keep warm until their rides arrived. This meant I had to put them in my car. Of course if THEY were in the car, I couldn't be... so I got to stand in the cold wind and wait for their rides. This has not been very fun.
Now if you're lucky enough to run in this, it's perfect running weather. I went out tonight for an 8-miler knowing it wouldn't be tough to run, at least on my lungs anyway. I went ahead and pressed a little bit on the first 4 miles, holding a bit above 7-minute pace. I still didn't feel too badly in the lungs, but my calves were twinging every now and then. Since I've taken mileage and speed up quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, I decided to back off for a bit.
I did console myself with a thought... I was on Hillcrest Circle when I backed off. I would rest, thinks I, until I hit Industrial Park. After that, I would go after the segment up the hill. I was way overdressed, I'm fat, my calf hurt, I'm fat, I'd already pressed the early part, I'm fat... I didn't care. I'd try anyway. What's to lose?
Lester made a tricky segment, because it doesn't end at the top of the hill. It turns north and continues until the next street. You have to remember this when you try, because most people will lay off as soon as they hit Washington Avenue. I was quite aware of the turn, just as I was quite aware my heart was about to explode at the turn. I kept pushing my fat body anyway, and hoped for the best.
That done, I backed off for a little bit again. My breathing came back down in short order, my pace still wasn't too bad, so I decided to go for Miracle Mile (the segment from Haircut Co. to Torphy Insurance). I was still fat, I'd pushed up Industrial, I'm fat, it was late in the run, I'm fat...
It started off better than I thought. The problem would come with my endurance, I knew. The speed was good enough, but was I too tired to top the hill by First Baptist and pick it up again? Apparently not. I hit the same time I hit a couple of weeks ago. I suppose I could be happy with that - I've piled a lot of training up since then. Anyway, it's not important that I have that kind of speed at the moment. I only need to hold 8:02 per mile for the marathon to get my BQ, and I think I can easily make that.
Oh, the Industrial segment? I was 2nd to Lester. He still owns it by 2 seconds. I suppose in the grand scheme of things I'm happy about that one, too. After all, if I DID manage to get it, Troy would have to figure out a way to run fast enough to take it away!
After the run, I went to the gym. It wasn't a lifting day, rather a core day. I was doing some core exercises, some of which I'm sure I'm doing wrong because I don't feel anything. I was a bit crowded into a small space between two fellows doing their thing, and I was crunching down on my abs when I heard a voice behind me:
"You're so damn skinny!"
"What?! You talking to ME?" I asked the guy. He assured me he was. Standard ex-marine, cranking the big weights, good size to him, but some of it was less than complimentary body fat. I think he meant it as a compliment, but I didn't care either way. He followed up with a line I think most of you would find hilarious.
"I bet you don't eat anything!"
Ha! Now THAT is funny! As Greg pointed out, I always super-size my meals. No, VO2 workouts for hours a week give you some leeway about how you eat, even at my age.
I guess I don't have to worry about getting too big just yet...
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