Day 6 Training



This is one of my cycling buddies - Guy

 Today is Friday and the schedule has me down for a rest day, but as I was just worn out yesterday, and did not get in my 3 mile run, I did that today along with a 22 mile bike ride. I rode my bike this morning with my buddy Guy. We did a 13-14 mph pace into the wind for 11 miles, and finally turned and had the wind at our backs, so we kicked the pace up to 16-17 mph. We even had a bit of fun once we turned onto Durango (flat vs. hilly) and I was able to hit a 30 mph pace. Guy was trailing behind, but he pedaled like a mad man to keep up. Hahaha, sorry Guy, but my Scott bike loves the flats and downhills!
My legs were tired today, but that is to be expected with adding the cycling into the run schedule. It's ok to change up your schedule a little, as long as you are not regularly deleting training runs from your schedule. Listen to your body, and if you are sick or tired, sometimes it's better to adjust a little rather than get bummed out and depressed, and then beat yourself up for not sticking to the schedule. Remember, you're the boss!
Around 6 pm I went out for my 3 mile run. I just love running in the dark for some reason. In the summer when it get's really hot I'll be doing my runs in the early morning when it is cooler; around 5 am. I had a pretty good run, but couldn't get accurate run stats from my Nike +. I've been running with the Nike + for a few years, and it has served me well, but I would love to upgrade to a Garmin. SOON! The Nike + is pretty affordable and the one benefit over the GPS is that it does not have to link to a satellite, so if you run under bridges, through tunnels, or under heavy tree canopy it still records your stats. You can also set the distance you want to run and receive voice feedback on how far into your run you are. So, it has a couple of cool features, and works easily with an iPod Nano. I have a Nathan pod pocket that switches easily to my different running sneakers. Like I said, it has served me well, and I will probably still use it even with a GPS watch, but I am so ready to upgrade. Nike has been awesome, because I fried the sensor pod one time when I ran in the rain and we hit about a foot of water gushing down Twain. They replaced the whole unit for me for free.

iPod with receiver for Nike + and Nathan shoe pod

Overall it was a great first week of training. I am feeling pretty good, and so I've decided to adjust my Sunday long runs a bit. I am adding one extra mile to each long run on Sunday. It just gives me more confidence that on race day I will be able to run strong.