Monthly Archives: April 2013

The Salt Capital of the Confederacy

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The 4 mile tempo run I had planned for today didn’t happen. I ended up having a long day at work and got home as the sun was setting. I prefer not to run in the dark around here (there are no street lights), plus I’m scared of the dark anyway. So I did a level 3 30 day shred workout. I will just push all my runs by one day, and do my tempo run tomorrow. Sometimes work really gets in the way of my running.

Photo from the Run the Edge Facebook page, which I found through Deb Runs

Today I worked in the lovely town of Saltville, the “Salt Capital of the Confederacy” as the sign will have you know:

Here’s a view of the town from the mountain overlook you pass on your way into town:

That area on the left with the water is a park area that has a bunch of paved paths. You can’t quite tell, but it’s kind of green-tinted because the water is really briney there. Every time I drive through Saltville I want to stop and go for a run at this park. That really wouldn’t work out, though, since I usually either wear flats or steel toe boots for work. Neither of those are exactly ideal for running.

Hopefully someday I’ll get a chance to run there, though. Every time I see a trail when I’m out driving or traveling I always want to go run on it. If there’s no sign saying what park it is, I find a nearby intersection and use Google maps to figure out where the trail starts. Just last week when I drove to NorfolkI saw the High Bridge State Park Trail that ran parallel to Route 460. I was tempted to stop on my way home last Wednesday to do a run on this trail, but I ended up leaving Norfolktoo late in the afternoon.

Do you run in the dark? If so do you use a head lamp? Do you ever go for a run by yourself in the dark (early morning or night)?

Do you seek out trails when you see them from the road while driving? Does seeing a trail/bike path make you want to go for a run?
 
 
 

Washing workout clothes

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It’s starting to look like spring! The birds are out and the flowers are starting to bloom. Maybe I can put my running tights away for the year?? *knock on wood* Now that I say it looks like spring, we’ll get another snow storm…. This pretty much sums up Virginia weather:

Borrowed from Real Food for Fuel

This evening after work I went for a 3 mile run. I did an out and back on the roads around our house at a comfortably hard pace, which ended up being 9:32/mile pace. I actually didn’t have any dog incidents! I got barked at by at least 8 dogs, but they were all either fenced in, tied out in the yard, or had an invisible fence. That last one I wasn’t so sure of, but then he stopped about 5 feet from the road. My legs, particularly my hamstrings and glutes, were sore today. I guess I worked hard during yesterday’s 30 day shred workout!

I noticed when I put on my long sleeve shirt, which was washed on Saturday afternoon, that it still kind of smelled. It definitely didn’t smell like dirty laundry, but it had a faint “I’ve been sweat in” smell. I don’t do anything special for my workout clothes, they just get washed like everything else. But apparently the normal wash cycle/normal detergent isn’t cutting it. I think I may need to consider other options, though.

And just for fun, this is what happens when a dog this size (72 pounds):

And a dog this size (125 pounds):

Go after the same toy that is in the back of this crate:

Right after I snapped this picture the bigger dog, Hank, panicked because he realized he couldn’t turn around. But then he did turn around and got out. Crisis averted.

Are you having some warmer springtime weather?

Do you do anything special to wash your workout clothes?

 

The long run and your weekend

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This morning I started my day with a level 2 30 Day Shred workout. Next week I plan to go back up to level 3, and then will probably continue to do the level 3 workout in the future.

As I was driving during work today, I got to thinking about my weekend. I had a really enjoyable weekend and I was trying to pinpoint why that was. Barry and I enjoyed a low-key weekend at home, both of us were off work, and it was very relaxing. While those are all great things, I still didn’t feel like that was the main reason. And then I thought of Saturday’s long run.

The run went really well, I felt great, and I loved being back at an old trail. I think this definitely contributed to the enjoyable weekend. Which got me thinking. Does my long run dictate my weekend? I’m not talking about a time commitment, because we all know we’ve based our weekend plans on when we’ll get our long run done.  I’m talking about the quality of my long run dictating how the rest of my weekend will go.

Happy Runner

Sad Runner

I haven’t paid attention to it in the past, but I’m pretty sure there have been bad weekends that started off with a tough or less-than-ideal long run. Is it possible that I allow one two hour chunk of my Saturday morning affect the rest of my weekend? Absolutely. That Saturday morning long run is kind of the kick off to my weekend, so I think this makes sense. It sets the tone.

The strange thing is I don’t think races have the same negative effect on my weekend. Sure, when I run a PR it bolsters the excitement of the weekend (especially if Barry also PR’s!). And if I’m on pace to run a PR and then the race comes up short (ahem.. 2012 Drumstick Dash 5K that was 2.88 miles. I’m still bitter…) I’m not happy and I will continue to talk about it months later.

But if I have a bad race, I just kind of move on with a “you’ll get ’em next time” attitude. I may feel down about the race, but I usually keep that to myself, and still enjoy the rest of my weekend.

Smiling, despite having just run a PW.
Partly because I’m happy to be with friends.

I’m not sure why I don’t have the same approach when it comes to my long run, but it definitely has a strong effect on the rest of my weekend.

Does your long run dictate your mood for the weekend?

What day do you typically do your long run?

How do you handle a race that doesn’t go as planned?