Friday, May 2, 2008

Wind, heat, and Speed Work

Yesterday was hot, (90 degrees),and windy, (20-25 mph), and looming ahead of me was my second weekly speed workout. I was wondering if I would have time to get out there, as I had a late meeting with a student, and was pushing it timewise before having to pick up my better half from work.

I quickly changed clothes and ran a mile for a warmup, although sometimes it seems better not to warm up too much on a hot day, but when I got out there at Redbud, I saw the clouds coming up, and the breeze was fairly nice, even if it was blowing too hard. So, I began my 800 meter intervals, and felt so strong that I was way under my planned pace on all of my splits. I was, of course, 10-14 seconds slower going against the wind, as I was going the other direction. The stiff breeze did come up and keep me cooler than I realized, and the workout was a great success. I did a one mile cool down and sprinted for the car and arrived about 10 minutes early to pick up Beth. I was pleased with the workout, and I think I am getting faster, which is key this training period.

Today, I am going to do some light work on the treadmill, and lift weights for upper body. I am leaving this afternoon for Odessa to get a Yellow Fever vaccination for my Visa to Africa, so I will spend the night there and run on the trails outside of town. It is a great place to run long runs...I will do a 14 mile run in the morning. The last time I ran that trail, I saw about 5 Coyotes running along the path I was on. They didn't bother me, and I certainly didn't try to bother them, but it was an interesting experience. Hopefully, I will have a great long run in the morning.

Jerry

2 comments:

KcandyP said...

Jerry,

Sounds like a good workout, I'm glad the wind and heat didn't bother you too much. How was your run in Odessa? I am also wondering if you do anything special to keep your knees from hurting?

I hope your run in pretty old Odessa went well :)

Unknown said...

My knees do hurt on and off, but one thing I have learned over the years, is that a lot of times, knees hurt because the quads are not strong enough. So, sometimes, some weight lifting for the legs is necessary. I personally find that hill training is enough for me to build the quads. When I do get some knee pain,I ice them down real well and they are usually fine afterward.

I had a great time in Odessa. What a craphole, though. I hate that city. The trail I ran on was really cool, though. At least it was different.