Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Grindin' Away...

Today is usually my rest day but since I know that I will most definitely NOT run on Thursday, I figured that I better keep grindin' away at the miles today because peak mileage weeks just don't happen by themselves! My goal is to have 40 miles in the bank by the time I board the plane on Friday so I banked another 10.15 miles tonight. This should put me in good shape to crash 'n burn a few miles short while running in the Houston heat and still accomplish my mileage goal for the week!

Tonight was another lonely night in the Bois as nary a tranny was to be seen. This is the second night in a row where I have had zero sightings...perhaps there is a convention in town or something?! My Ipod also died on me tonight, which I did not mind as it gave me a chance to speak to my inner zen self! When I listened really closely I found I really connected with my body today...it told me it was hungry and to get the run over with quickly so we could have some dinner!

The run went as follows:
7:15/7:14/7:17/7:16/7:17/7:15/7:11/7:07/7:05/7:07 min/mile

My hinges are feeling a little tight but I am sure that some sweet, sweet threshold running tomorrow will loosen things up nicely (or that is what I keep telling myself)!

I will leave today with an open-ended question which I was pondering during my run. Suppose for a given distance you have an average incline of x% (x=1,2, or whatever) from beginning to end. Would you run that distance faster if the incline was constant (i.e. steady climb) or if the incline was short and steep, with the rest of the required distance being flat? I guess the one end member here is that you would need a climb a ladder or a flight of stairs for the elevation gain.

While running, I typically turn my legs over 170-190 strides/minute (roughly). I know that I cannot duplicate that kind of turn-over on the stairs, but perhaps I can make up for that with speed on the flat section? Anyhow, another random thought that got me through a few miles today!

We are one day closer to sweaty-ballz running in Houston...good times!

A+

2 comments:

Steven Minken said...

Looks like you are really in to this running stuff! I don't understand most of the stats, but it looks like you are pretty good or at least improving. You going to Houston this weekend? How do you find time to do all this and still work? How do I get a job with your company? And don't tell me I have to go to school for 7 years...

Steeeve said...

I think I'd rather tough out a nasty hill and then run flat as opposed to running on a constant grade. Of course, it's a moot question here in dead-flat Houston.