Week 3: "Fast-Twitch No More!"

It's been a busy week! On Wednesday I relocated from DC to WI. I'll be living here with my step-mom for the next several weeks while I finish up some schoolwork and take a summer course. And log lots of miles, of course. Fortunately her house is right near a great system of running paths that intersect with some great trails - so it'll be a great place to run. Looking forward to it.

Had some fun yesterday running a local 10K. It was a teeny tiny event (at least for someone like me who is used to big city races!) Even compared to events in Duluth, this was tiny. There was a 5K and a 10K and there were 170 total racers. I was a bit hesitant going in - 5Ks and 10Ks HURT. Because you run them FAST. Yes, this perhaps sounds silly coming from me, the former 100 meter dash specialist. (As my friend Kei punned on my Facebook page when I whined about the difficulty of short, fast racing: "Fast twitch no more!") But I've been logging lots of really slow, low-HR miles lately. I knew what that burn was going to feel like. And did it burn. It was tough!

Before the Race

I went out WAY too fast and completely died. I was toast by the third mile. I thought I could hold a faster pace because I ran an 8K in early March...so I was using that as a gauge. Well, a lot has happened since early March. My body was just not in the same place. It HURT. It was a major exercise in mental toughness, though, which Wendy LOVES (because I am a wuss and I don't like pain) so I was proud that I hung on and toughed it out.

The best part of finishing, other than finally being able to stop the madness, was having my step-mom and grandma there cheering me in. My step-mom had the cowbell that she and my dad used to ring to let us all know when it was time for dinner when we were kids. (Yes, I am serious, there were 7 kids and we lived in a really big 3-story house.) Since I live away from where most of my family lives, I rarely have "fans" at races. So this was a total treat. 

Finishing the race - totally spent!

Today I ran a 10-miler and it was definitely a challenge running on my tired legs from the 10K yesterday. But it's great to be getting up in mileage as well. On short runs you can't get into the same groove and mental space you can when you're out there for more than an hour or so. So though I was tired, I really enjoyed being back in the saddle of real distance training.



Training Mileage Summary
Week One: 30 miles
Week Two: 31 miles
Week Three: 36.2 miles (the 0.2 from the 10K, of course!)