Today was a nice day for a long run. I drove down to run by the lake again. The forecast was calling for some cloud cover so I didn't bother with sunscreen. It started out kind of cloudy but the clouds quickly disppeared. The plan calls for 18 miles today. My split times were pretty good. Slightly faster than I usually do but the cool weather was keeping my HR down so I maintained the pace. It was only towards the end when the temperature was rising that my HR was passing 160 which caused me to slow down slightly.
One thing I worked on today was my turnover rate. The general rule is that one should try and maintain a cadence of 180 steps per minute or having your right (or left) foot hit the ground 90 times per minute. I can usually do this at my tempo pace, but it gets difficult for me to do this at long run pace. I'm usually at around 80 to 82 which is too slow. Today I tried to get it up to 85 and I think it was partially responsible for my increased speed at a lower effort.
I used Gu's again and i think the taste is growing on me. I find them a bit more "cohesive" than Power Gels, meaning I can squeeze them into my mouth and it tends to stay together which is then easily swallowed with a bit of water. Power gels immedily start to break up in your mouth especially when you start drinking which sometimes means you get stuff stuck in the corners of your mouth. While taking a Gu at a water fountain, a guy on a bike started asking me about the gels and I ended up talking with him for 5 minutes about nutritional stuff.
Now my beef of the day. Yesterday was the Caribana parade by the lakeshore and it was a complete garbage dump around certain sections of the trail. There were styrofoam boxes, uneaten beef paties and just a general mess of garbage everywhere. I don't understand why tourists just think they can drop there garbage anywhere they want. Do these people do this at home?
Week 7 complete. About 51 miles. Tomorrow's a holiday. I'm going to try and get to the pool to do some cross-training (finally).
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4 comments:
Good job.. so how do you count your cadence.. i think i'd lose track if i were to count for a minute while trying to run..
and on the garbage, i hear you. but i realize that we have been trained in toronto to hold on to our garbage an recyclables for as long as it takes until we find a garbage can... programed, some would say..
I usually don't actually count up to 80, but rather just do it by 10's. By the time i get up to a minute, I know that I'm usually over 80, but less than 90, so whatever the count is (1, 2, 3, etc.), I'll know that it's 81, 82, or 83, etc.) You can also count for 30s, but if you get caught between steps, it tends to over (or under) exaggerate your count.
After a while, you do get a feel for the counting such that you'll know just by counting a few steps whether you're too fast or too slow which should come in handy during race day.
Great job on the 18. I'm impressed that your counting steps. I'm not that into the detail.
Regarding when you should fly over. Keep in mind Chicago is the busiest airport in the world and delays do happen. I think you're fine to fly over Sat morning as long as you leave early morning, especially since you gain an hour heading West.
Nice work on 18mi! and counting the entire time? cool.
About flights. I was originally going to go on Wednesday but Bosslady said "No way, i can't plan that far ahead in your absence." But that is a whole other rant.
Now I think I'm going either Thurs after work, or first thing Friday, just to be in the city and not have to worry.
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