Hills, Rain, but no Dogs

Ran that long run (21km) near the cottage this morning to finish off my highest mileage week in nearly two years at a paltry 48km (~30 miles). Oh well... Baby steps.

I did NOT get attacked by dogs (GOOD), I DID get soaked with rain and experienced nipple chafe (BAD), and I had a very slow and tougher than expected run all told (MEH). I was trying to keep my average heart rate under 143bpm, and did succeed with a 141bpm final tally.

The hills are out to prove just how out of shape I am:

It's not "mountain running", but it's not exactly flat either. I almost got lost as well, so it's a good thing I was carrying my phone with me as I was quickly able to dial up the maps app and get back on track. Whew!

Summer Forecast: Hills and Dogs

I spent the weekend at the cottage and, as will hopefully be the norm for the Summer, ran my Sunday 12km on the rural roads. My biggest worry is strange dogs running out at me as I run past, and getting lost. One of these things I can plan for, the other I might have to buy some sort of repellent spray and carry it with me. (Luckily, the only canine I had to contend with was rather loud and scary, but remained within the limits of his property's boundary despite the lack of fencing. Whew!)

But the other thing I will definitely have to contend with is the HILLS! We acquired this little shack/hovel last Fall and it sits on a lake at the top of a hill. It's high enough that my ears always pop when we drive up there, but I recognize it's not actually that high up. Nevertheless, for the injury prone runner who is used to relatively flat terrain the hills around this lake are a bit of a challenge.

Case in point, as I ran my easy 12km run in the beautiful countryside I stumbled upon a major decline that I easily traversed, but recognized that I would have to get back up on the way home. I wasn't carrying anything with me, preferring to run with no extraneous contraptions (i.e. no water bottles, no iPods, no fuel belts, no cell phone, etc.). In this instance it didn't matter, but in the future I might have to carry some of the above. Had I done it this time I would have snapped a photo of the hill as it really did surprise me how long and steep it was, but alas, all I have is the elevation profile from Garmin Connect:

When looking at the above I am aware that it simply doesn't do the hill justice. That or I am really out of shape. Perhaps a bit from each of column A and B?

Anyway, it was surprisingly a good run, though my heart rate went higher than I'd have liked due to both the hill(s) and the weather (which was rather warm, sunny and humid). With this being the shortest (or one of the shortest) Sunday runs I will do all Summer it means that I will likely encounter more than just one of these types of hills on my long runs. I look forward to the challenge, discovering new territory, and hopefully getting stronger, all the while keeping a keen eye on that heart rate to ensure that I am not over stressing my pathetic "system". Next week I hope to see just how things will pan out as I have a 21km run on the schedule.

Here's to not getting lost or bitten!

Back Road Intervals

Went out for another run along the country roads of the County, this time attempting some interval type training. I decided to run up and down the gravel road that leads to the cottage we are borrowing since that would mean no dog encounters (or so I figured).

I ran 2k to warm up and then started into my planned 800m intervals with 500m easy jogging in between. I wanted to do five sets and then have another 2k of cool down at the end to complete the intended 10k run. My goal was to run the 800s at 4:00/km pace, so 3:15-ish for each rep or so. The hills along the road, as well as the loose gravel under foot, made this even more challenging. Also, the two ladies that came and stopped on the side of the road with their two big dogs meant that I had to go out onto the main road for the last two reps (no leashes, so no Vava). The stats went like this:

1. 3:20 (4:10/km)
2. 3:09 (3:55/km)
3. 3:15 (4:02/km)
4. 3:11 (3:57/km)
5. 3:09 (3:55/km)

Other than the first split I think it went as planned. I was a bit tight and relatively tired when heading out before breakfast, still yawning occasionally during the warm up. That, and the hills I encountered along the gravelly road, perhaps explains the miss on that first 800m.

Next up is another tempo run on Friday. These I find the toughest to get up for, mentally speaking.

Garmin don't lie.

First Run in Prince Edward County

The IPhone tethering is working, though the network here at the cottage is slow as molasses. As a result, this is more of a test than a real post and will be short.

After a day of hanging out at the beach with the boys I took off before dinner for my regular recovery 5k along the country roads of Prince Edward County. I've never run along roads like these and everything went fine with one exception. As I was running along one of the main roads I passed by what looked like a perfectly nice sideroad and decided to run in that direction. All good, except for the two dogs that came out at me in two different spots! One was about the size of my shoe, so that was OK. The other was a big German Shepherd, and it scared the crap out of me. I dreaded running back along the same road on my out-and-back, let me tell you, but there was no repeat occurrence.

The run was 5km completed in 29:33 for an average pace of 5:54/km (9:30/mile). That's it...

Garmin don't lie.