long weekend part II
I got home early Sunday afternoon and had just enough time to unpack & hit the gym before it was BBQ (beer) time. I decided to try some real speedwork - as opposed to the walk/run interval training I've been doing all month - to check off a goal for May. 5x400 at (picks pace from air) 8:00 pace sounds good to me! I walked 2 minutes, ran 5 at 9:30 pace, walked 2, and was off.
1. 1:53 - life is amazing! I can fly!
2. 1:56 - this feels great! Wow, I'm really sweating. Also I have to pee. I know! I'll use the 1 minute recovery to pause the TM, race to the bathroom, and hop back on instead of walking. Good call.
3. 1:59 - yikes, probably should've walked instead of zipping around the gym.
4. 2:04 - whose bright idea was this, anyway?
5. 1:57 - just.get.to.the.end.don't.vomit.in.sports.bra.
In the last 3-5 seconds, my IT band fired a pretty strong warning shot across the bow (whatever the fuck you're doing, STOP IT NOW), so I walked a cool-down instead of doing another 5 minute jog.
Speedwork Total: 1.25/9:49/avg. pace 7:51
Total: 2.4/25:00/avg. pace 10:25
This kind of workout makes me feel like I am training for the tiniest race ever. It's speedwork in miniature, like the Cadbury Mini Eggs of training. I'm still glad to be running, but I'd love to get the walking out of the equation without the IT band kicking up.
Zipped back home to ice, shower, and make taco amazing, my summer staple! Here it is before I cover it with cheese:
Oh, taco amazing, you are everyone's boyfriend.
We headed up to Baltimore for the BBQ, which was fun, especially when I finished my 4th beer and realized that the only thing I'd had to eat all day was a Luna bar and a vitamin. Those stairs down to the bathroom are TOUGH. I hamburgered myself happy and might have had a brownie...or two. Egads!
On Memorial Day, I got up early with plans to knock out the gym and some bike shopping, but instead ended up ransacking my house to help save some pups. Once I got to the gym, I did a long leg lifting workout, incorporating a lot of my exciting new exercises, and then sat on the spin bike for a while. The last few times on a bike, my right knee has been sore and cranky, right on/under the kneecap. I'm hoping it's because I banged it on the table (highly likely), not because something else is acting up.
After the gym, I made the rounds of a few local bike shops. My first stop was Spokes in Alexandria, which turned out to be the best place I went all day. I tried out 2 bikes (both slightly more than I wanted to pay, of course) and discovered that yes, it has been 15 years since I've been on a bike. I wobbled around the first block and back, but by the time I was heading back on the second bike, I felt great. It felt SO good to be using my muscles to move me through the universe, instead of sitting on a machine going nowhere. Also, the guy that spent time with me was awesome. +1 charisma for Spokes.
I headed to REI next, because I had a 20% off coupon and they were having their big Memorial Day sale (15% off most bikes). I had picked out one in particular that I wanted to try online, and within 2 minutes of walking in the store, I had found it - on the floor, and it looked like the right size for me. I spent the next 30-45 minutes trying to get a salesperson to unlock it. I want to buy things please! I ended up leaving after I couldn't find anyone. I guess I'll take my shiny credit card somewhere else. I went to Dick's, but they don't have road bikes, but the guy there was really helpful and sent me down the street to Performance, where I had another stand-around-for-40-minutes-and-not-get-helped experience. So a big fat zero on the bike shopping, except for Spokes, which is where I'll go buy my bike as soon as I'm done hyperventilating about how much it costs. But after test-riding a few bikes, I'm in love. I can't wait. I need puffy butt shorts (because my ass needs to look larger). Any recommendations?