Beyond McKay Hollow

Assessing where I am.

McKay Hollow was canceled last Saturday. I had used McKay as an excuse to not run fast. I was content to run hills instead of pushing my pace. I do regret the race being canceled. I did show up and received a great shirt, but I am a little reluctant to wear it. This is the kind of shirt that you earn by finishing. Some people did run it the next day unofficially. I was unable to run it Sunday and it was not convenient to run it later in the week. Some like Eric ran it that day and Dana ran it Monday. Check out their posts. My hat is off to those individuals. By now the markers are gone and I might run the risk of getting lost. Take a look at Trent's post about getting turned around.

With McKay behind me I have started to force myself to run faster and harder. My motivation has been hard to summon for several weeks. Even running seems to be hard for me to find motivation. I would have to promise myself an easy run and I would throw some hills in to make me feel like I was really getting in a useful workout.

This week I turned a small corner on the way back. I worked on a quicker cadence, shortening my stride, and breathing. I have had some really good runs this week. Next week I will continue to work on being more consistent in the areas of cadence, stride and breathing. If I have a good week I may run the River City 10K on Saturday.

I have been working on my swimming . Because I am a drowner I swim like the sharks are nipping at my toes. Just get me across the pool as fast as possible. I realize now that I can swim slower without getting panicky. I have started swimming the last 200 to 500 yards at a slower relaxed pace. This will give me more confidence in the fact that I can slow down and rest and not drown.

My weight has been edging up for the last 6 months. I really would like to lose 7 to 8 pounds before summer. My metabolism has slowed down a little and I think I will need to compensate for that. Eating everything I see has not helped. Holidays and family birthdays are over and it is time to get focused on the food I consume.

So next week I will be focusing on completing some solid runs and improving my swimming. Hopefully I will feel strong enough to enter the River City 10K..

Last week by the numbers:

4/03/2011 2:30 PM, Cross training on the infernal spin bike (52 min)

4/2/2011, Took the day off to go to a math tournament with my daughter

4/01/2011 8:10 AM, Long run, 15.02 miles, 1 hr 57 min 23 secs, pace: 7:49 min/miles
8:10, 7:59,7:47, 7:45, 7:44, 7:53, 7:53, 7:46, 7:43, 7:42, 7:46, 7:52, 7:49, 7:46, 7:33, :09,

3/31/2011 7:45 AM, Swim (Pool), 1.42 miles, 54 min 42 secs, pace: 38:31 min/miles

3/30/2011 11:40 AM, Hill tempo, 8.08 miles, 57 min 32 secs, pace: 7:07 min/miles
7:14, 7:03, 7:08, 6:55, 7:05, 7:15, 7:14, 7:05, 423'=6:13,

3/29/2011 7:50 AM, Swim (Pool), 1.36 miles, 52 min 52 secs
Average pace: 38:52 min/miles

3/28/2011 5:30 AM, Tempo run, 7.4 miles, 52 min 26 secs, pace: 7:05 min/miles
6:57, 7:11, 7:01, 7:02, 7:01, 7:05, 7:00, .49=6:21