Week 1 - Day 7

45-50 Min Run - Easy Pace

I made up my mind a few days ago that anytime there was a range on the minutes I'd always take the higher range. It might not seem like much but an extra 5 minutes on every run, 10 weeks of running, 4 runs a week is 200 minutes in total which is better than 3 hour long runs.

I got up this morning after a lovely UFC event (and a crappy night of eating) to discover that my cold had partially re-emerged. I decided to fight through in, drank some water and got my ass over to the gym. Once I got going everything was good. I kept my heart rate down decently well (should be better, but that will come with time, I haven't done this much cardio in a while and it shows). I finished just over 50 minutes and was close on 5 miles.

After that I was throughly drenched and headed home for a Gatorade, some chicken and sweet potatoes. Anyone I know who's an athletic eater considers sweet potatoes a secret weapon. They are packed with nutrients, low-glycemic and very tasty. I cut a full potato into cubes, toss them in a bag, dump some olive oil in and then I have a spice ironically called "vegetable spice" that I apply. Throw them in the oven for 20 mins or so and it is a delicious yet healthy alternative to potatoes/French fries. When I'm cooking chicken I'll usually have a bag of frozen chicken breasts on hand from Costco. They are by far the highest quality frozen chicken breasts I have been able to find. Typically I'll toss them in the microwave on defrost for 7 minutes, cut into strips and then cook them with cooking spray on fairly high temperature pan. I have loads of spices that I'll use on any given day and it doesn't really matter which one I use but I do think spice is a lot better than sauce in the nutritional department.

I think in order to do this blog justice I also need to explain why I'm doing this race. Quite frankly, last year I ran the Tely 10 for the second time, and I sucked. I can honestly say I was ashamed of my performance. I ran it somewhere around 95 minutes but spent the majority of the second half in pain and switching between walking and running. It was actually a slightly better time than my first try at it but my goal the first time was to cross the finish line. I didn't know if I could run 10 miles. The second time, I wanted to do well. I think I tricked myself into thinking I was in better shape than I was. I did several long runs before the race, much longer than I did before the race in 05', but I think they clouded my judgment. I wasn't in much better shape but due to my illusion of false preparation I had a goal of running it in under 90 minutes. When the race started I was watching the clock for the first few miles and keeping pace with my goal, even trying to better it. This landed me in a world of hurt after bout 5 miles. At the end I pretty much decided I wouldn't do the race again if I was going to be unprepared.

This fall I was considering some different vacations and the idea of running the "Bloomsday 12k" crossed my mind. I have several family members in Edmonton who have run it before and had a great time. It would be a nice little trip and give me a solid goal for getting in shape during the winter. I also figured this would put me in a much better place for the Tely 10. We'll see.