Note the Difference

Certain gadgets never fail to amaze me: my mp3 player magically came to live again. I love self-healing technology.

Tuesday saw a return of the hill workout that had me seriously hampered for 4 days last week. Apparently I'm not alone in the suffering. Mike commented how his calves had been almost comically sore after that workout (a long time ago), the main difference being that he returned for more punishment twice that week, while I chickened out of any further hill repeats up to now. I chose the same driveway again, but I'm pretty sure nobody saw me this time. I still want to get that issue resolved though - I don't run past any houses, but personally I would like to know if someone ran up and down my driveway four times in the early morning hours. Since I had to cut the workout short last week I gave myself 10 extra minutes, and proceeded to run up the hill four times, each repeat taking about 3:45 minutes. I tried to concentrate on various aspects, like lifting the knees, leaning slightly forward (otherwise I ran on the spot), lifting the knees, taking off and landing on the toes, lifting those damn knees ... the quads just about killed me, but I survived. I don't quite understand how the calves got so sore last weeks, because during the workout it's definitely the quads that are screaming for mercy. I was a bit stumped when I checked my average HR after the workout, a measly 142. That's 8 beats lower than last time, despite spending more time on the hill. True, I took it seriously easy on the warm up and cool down, but that low reading had me very surprised. I definitely worked as hard as 7 days ago.

I came home to a scene of moderate chaos. Cian had prepared his own breakfast, but decided to substitute the boring milk with the much more exciting sugar. Unfortunately the sugar bag had been nearly full. There was sugar on the table, sugar on the chair, sugar in his glass (up to the rim), sugar on the floor and plenty of sugar on the boy himself. He knew exactly how naughty he had been, and surveyed the scene with a very smug grin on his face.

It’s funny how sometimes things repeat themselves. Last week Lola woke me at 4am in the night after my hill workout. Back then I could hardly walk because my calves were so sore. Last night Lola woke me again at the same time, but this times my calves were nearly fine, there was just a little bit of tenderness. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to fall asleep again for the next 2 hours, and when I finally drifted off again I was soon woken again by the alarm.

Today’s workout was the confirmation that my calves were in much better shape than last week. The difference is like day and night. They did feel a bit stiff, but in comparison to last time it just doesn’t register. I tried to work at a decent clip, but found it tough going during the first few miles. At one point I felt like working hard, but when I checked the HR it was a measly 142. I guess I should be pleased, a low heart rate is a good sign as far as fitness is concerned. The second half of the run went a lot better than the first one, not only did I manage about 7:30 pace without even trying hard, I completely managed to Zen out again. The legs ran on their own and my mind was miles away. This went on until half a mile from home when a passing car got me out of my trance. I love it when I get into that zone. I happens all to rarely.

Niamh isn’t really one for Valentine’s Day. Instead of spending a romantic evening with her husband she’s off to the theatre with an equally unromantic friend, leaving me home alone to look after the unruly kids. If that entry has a disjointed read to it, that’s because it took me over 2 hours to write it with various children bouncing in and out of the room calling for my attention. It’s story time now, I’d better finish.

13 Feb: 7.5 miles (est.), 1:09. 4 hill repeats of 3:45 each, avg. HR 142
14 Feb: 8 miles, 1:01:23, 7:40 pace, avg. HR 146