Sierra

Sierra
Sierra

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Thursday, 05/13/10 Allergic to treadmills and pavement.

Seriously, I hate them both.  Sure pavement is great for getting around in the car or on the road bike and I guess a treadmill is a necessity if you have kids and can't leave the house, but other than that, I have trouble wrapping my head around the concept of clomping along, each step being identical to the last.

I went down to the Bolder Boulder office this morning to run my 2 miles on the mill and finally get my qualifier out of the way.  I was hoping to get into the A wave so I could at least toe the line with all my friends, but after I did the math, I knew I would have to actually put in a few training runs on the track, pavement or treadmill to accomplish this.  Oh well, an AA qualifier with no effort in my mind is way better than actually training in a manner that I don't like to get an A. 

Going into the office, I felt ready to put in a good effort and accept whatever happened, but still harbored illusions of running two 5:43 miles with no specific training.  I have done it before on the track, but for some reason can't seem to keep up with my legs on the mill.  Not to mention I never feel motivated while staring at a wall indoors.  I warmed up for a bit, testing a few different paces and cross checking with my HRM.  5:43 pace at first seemed tolerably fast, but I just knew that there was no way I could hold that.  After my warm up, the lady checked my time/distance and I was off (at 1% grade to account for wind resistance).

I started off around 6:00 pace and immidiately took it down to 5:43.  It felt fast, but my HR was hovering a bit below 170 which was reasonable.  In just over a minute though, a mucus plug of phlegm built up in the back of my throat.  I hacked and ugggghhhmmmed!!!!! a bunch of times, but it was like breathing through a fun straw.  I struggled with it for a bit and then remembered the GZ/Team Snot trick and started casually hacking a clam and then acting as though I was wiping my nose and would deposit it into my shirt.  Though it seemed like 40 minutes, I bailed off the 5:43 pace after only a few minutes and conceded that I just didn't give a shit about the A wave.  Even at a pace in the low 6's (comfortable for me on a track with no training), my HR was slowly creeping up and I was very uncomfortable, mainly because I was on a treadmill and had a hack clam lodged in my throat.

FINALLY, I crossed my imaginary two mile finish line in 12:13, a far cry from the 11:26 I needed, but enough under the 12:25 I needed for AA.  That really sucked.  Afterwards, I was feeling itchy and tingly which only added to my theory that I am truly allergic.

I headed over to Flagstaff, where I changed into clean/dry clothes and ran up SuperFlag.  I figured the treadmill work would make for a good warmup, but if anything, it threw me off just enough that I felt as though I just could only plod up the road.  I started off easy and attempted to ratchet up the pace/intensity, but it just was not my day.  I just figured I would cut my losses and run it easy, then enjoy the snow over to the summit of Green.

I topped out in a disappointing (but not surprising) 45:30 and then got on the W. Ridge trail to Green where there were only one set of hiking boot footprints.  Though I was not moving fast in the fresh and slippery snow, I felt infinitely better mentally at least and felt like myself for a short while.  At the 4-way, I passed a familiar face (turned out to be Jim P who was standing there waiting for a hiking buddy).  We spent a few minutes on the summit chatting, then I carefully jogged my way down, trying to not twist anything in the very slippery snow.  Below the Ranger Cottage, the snow had turned to ankle deep slush and I just had a blast sloshing through it (although for some reason, I hopped the creek).

2 miles on the mill in 12:13
Run up SuperFlag in 45:31 (avg HR 161(173 max))
W. Ridge 20:34 (avg HR 157(174 max))
Down Ranger/Gregory 28:40 (avg HR 132(159 max))

5 comments:

  1. Good effort, I've put 20 miles in on the past two days. It just takes a few times to get used to it...and a TV in front.

    ReplyDelete
  2. let's call this your first speed workout. Keep at it and you will kill shit this summer.

    Still laughing at the hack clam.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You must poach a local 5k then! Otherwise, you start next to me! But I haven't registered.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good seeing you on Thursday. I'd never hiked Green before - only run it. Couldn't believe how long it took...and the snow/slush didn't help. The ride down Green/Saddle/Amphi was pretty crappy.

    JRP

    ReplyDelete