LSD on Saturday ~ Speed on Monday

We had a nice, relaxing Memorial Weekend. On Friday around noon, hubby (aka BuD) came home and we departed for the coast to see his family. The kiddos are great travelers and we were able to drive the entire 5 hours without stopping! :) We arrived just before 6 p.m. After a quick dinner (my father-in-law bought fried chicken & potato salad from Albertsons - not my top choice by any means, but BuD likes it), BuD and a friend went out to the marsh in Eastside to fly model airplanes. Shortly before he returned home, his brother and his family arrived from Yreka. Unfortunately, the 3 boys get together only a few times a year - this weekend was one of them. :)

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed a filling breakfast of ham and homestyle hashbrowns - my FIL is a great cook! An hour later, I went out for my long run. I'm supposed to do these at a slow, relaxed pace but lately, I can't help but push myself. I brought my training parter along with me and together we enjoyed the challenge of a hilly course. I ran along Virginia to Ash Street (where we used to live - it's fun to peak at our home and see how the new owners have or have not maintained it) and then on to Empire Lakes. I circled the lakes 3 times (twice around the big loop and once around the smaller, inner loop) before I headed back along Newmark. I've always estimated this route to be about 9 miles in length. The loops around the lake are difficult to map on the web as so much of the course is under tree cover. I ran up the neighbor's driveway (a steep 40 degree incline - my training partner shows that last bit a gain of 50 ft in just 2 tenths of a mile) bringing the days total to exactly 10.0 miles. Sweet!

Total Distance 10.00 miles
Total Time 1:35:03
Avg Pace 9:30
Avg Speed 6.3 mph
Max Speed 9.0 mph
Total Calories 1001
Total Ascent 1962 ft
Total Descent 1996 ft

Later that afternoon, I was a bit sore between the right calf/shin despite the fact that I had sat in an cold bath immediately afterwards. I know I should have stretched more. My right heel also hurt - just as it had done when I was aggravated with faciitis. I therefore took a few ibuprofen and elected to take Sunday off.

In the evening, everyone got together for dinner. My FIL made his traditional Prime Rib and mashed potatoes. Chris brought a cooler full of freshly caught Dungeness Crab which the boys and I eagerly cracked for everyone. Yummy! Nothing better than fresh Oregon crab. :)

We drove home on Sunday and stopped in Cottage Grove to have lunch with my dad and grandma. It was nice to see them even though the visit was short. I shared with them the slideshow I made of the scrapbook pages I've done of our family history. The text on the pages isn't legible on the television screen so I am now strongly thinking of having a book made for them of all the pages (via Shutterfly). Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures of my dad's two brothers and their families so the book would be kind of one-sided. As it would be bound, it would not be possible to add more pages later. I don't know. Many things to consider yet - and I still have several pages yet to finish.

On Monday, BuD was home from work & the pool was closed for the holiday (no swimming). So, that afternoon I went out for a run while he accompanied me on the bike with the kiddos in tow. I had intended to take it easy but as I got underway, things felt good and I figured since I didn't have to push the stroller today, I might as well take advantage and do my speed workout. I wouldn't likely get a stroller-free day later this week.

I did a 1 mile warmup and then I did a little speed-play or fartlek workout. 400m at 7.00-7.30 pace then a 400m recovery at 9.0. I did this for 2 miles and then a 1 mile cooldown. The temps were high (about 75 degrees) so I was breathing pretty hard. This was my first run with a heartrate monitor so it is cool to see the results.

Total Distance 4.01 miles
Total Time 34:55
Avg Pace 8:42
Avg Speed 6.9 mph
Max Speed 10.1 mph
Total Calories 393
Avg Heart Rate 163 bpm
Max Heart Rate 179 bpm
Total Ascent 457 ft
Total Descent 469 ft

These numbers still leave me perplexed. I'm not sure what total ascent and total descent means... was the total change in elevation for the entire course on Monday just 12 ft? That can't be correct because that would mean Saturday's total would have been just 34 ft and I know it was much greater than that. I wish I could export the little graphs that the Training Center shows. Obviously, I still have a lot to learn about my partner. :)