Hill Training and Progressive Run – 17 January 2012

Route: BA > LG > Carcosa > Bird Park > Planetarium > National Mosque > LG + 1 lap around LG

Distance: 10.28km

Timing: 54:50 for 5:20 min/km pace

Oh so, the plan was to take it easy after Sunday’s race. It did not happen, maybe except in the first km. Even threw in the hills in a futile effort to slow down didn’t help. In fact, the hills made the shin splints worse and am now bowed over with stomach cramps. Yeah, the oddity that is me…oh hi hi cramps, it’s been a while since you appeared. Now, while I think you’re amazing because you’re the by-product of good-awesome-workouts, it’s totally not happening to pop up on a work day! Or any other day for that matter. Now, let’s make a deal – just what is it you want on the table? Fuel? Nutrition? Hydration? You mean the bazillion calories, salt, potassium, H2O that I’ve been feeding you since 7:20 this morning is not enough?!?!?! Are you some sort of a black hole???

BA > LG (1.026km; 5:46min)

Warm up.

Slow down. Oy, slow down, this is supposed to be a recovery run! You’re supposed to be doing a 6min/km pace. Didn’t you read the script last night???

LG > Carcosa > Bird Park > Planetarium > National Mosque > LG (6.976km; 37:14min)

Hills. More hills. Repeat 985,635,721 times.

Crap. Why do I do this to myself? Who in their RIGHT MIND picks or tags on Carcosa to an already challenging route? Oh me.

<insert dry heaving and puffing on the climbs> That would be at Carcosa, Planetarium, school and Bird Park. Basically 80% of the section. And then the shins decided they wanted in on the party and started to hurt in the last 2km.

1 lap around LG (2.275km; 11:44min)

Let’s just get this over and done with. Shins hurting but at least the lungs held up. Surprisingly, the 1km splits were evenly split – 5:09min/km.