Saturday, June 13, 2009

The breakthrough I have been looking for...

FINALLY!!!

This is a recovery week for me but that doesn't mean you sit on the couch!! This morning's schedule was for a 90 minute run and a swim. The run got done early while the swim got done at the hottest part of the day.

I met up with the Team in Training Marathon Team this morning at the West Orange Trail. Since I have a long bike scheduled and I didn't want to do it alone, we flip flopped workouts so Beth (who is the coach of the Marathon Team) could ride with me tomorrow. Today was focused on a good solid run.

And that is finally what I had!!

It didn't start off that way. For the first time in weeks, I needed my inhaler as I could feel my chest starting to wheeze. I took one shot of the inhaler and headed down the road. Hector's descriptions of my workouts always amuse me. He wrote" High Cadence and Pretty Form". REALLY!! Has this man actually seen me run?? There is nothing PRETTY about it...but by golly I get it done.

The first three miles were strained. I did 10/1's (10 minutes running...1 minute walking) and did the fastest 5K I have ever done. I got to the turnaround point and thought "Wow...I did that faster than I thought". Mile 4 is what really surprised me. For the first time EVER ... in all the time I have been running, I had two miles where I felt like I could go on forever....and I did...all the way into Winter Garden. It was a 5 mile run instead of a 6 because I stopped at my favorite running/triathlon store: Tri n Run right there on the trail to hear the end of a nutrition talk that Jane (their resident guru and SUPER Ironman) was giving!! I got some good advice, some water and walked the last mile through the beautiful town of Winter Garden.

But its those two miles that stick in my head. Effortless. Good form. Good solid speed (for me at least). Oh my!!! Could this really be happening??? Am I actually IMPROVING on the run!! As always...Ill keep you posted!!

1 comment:

Kendra said...

Woohoo! Concrete evidence of improving the run is always a great motivator. You're doing great. Keep up the great work.