12K

Today I was to do 12K. My hamstrings felt mostly recovered from Thursday & Friday after resting yesterday, but I was still nervous that this might be a tough workout. It actually turned out fine, so my fears were for naught.

I really concentrated on doing what Erin suggested and squeezing my glutes as I walked. I think it really helped! Plus I tried to focus on standing up straighter, as leaning forward even a little does stress the hamstrings. I had to concentrated pretty hard on my form for the 12K to make this happen, but I think it worked. We'll find out for sure tomorrow & Tuesday how my hamstrings fared, but it's a pretty good incentive to not want your hamstrings to hurt horribly, and so the concentrated effort will hopefully be worth it.

The first 6K I did the rather hilly route around SugarHouse Park. I love it, but it does take a bit out of you, and I knew that was risky with this being my first 12K in a month or so. Still, I did a 6:27/km pace for that 6K. Good! And then I kept the pace; I did the next 4K at a 6:22/km pace, not hard because it was mostly downhill & flat. Then the last 2K (uphill slightly) I managed a 6:37/km, which I think was pretty good for the terrain, and finished in 1:17:33 for 6:27/km overall. I'm quite happy with this workout. It was a good day. My ave HR of 150 does show that I was working reasonably hard.

I stretched well after the workout and so far my legs feel pretty good. The tale will be told in the next few days, but I'm optimistic.

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In another note, I'm feeling ready to improve my eating habits again :). I did gain about 2 lb on vacation (1 kg) but considering that I wasn't all THAT careful, and I couldn't exercise as much as I would have liked (coach's orders), it's not so bad. As of this morning I was at 150.0 again, maybe 1 lb above where I was pre-vacation. I had a very good week this week, food-wise, and am ready to make it even better. It was very motivating to talk with Erin about weight stuff - we had both read some of the same articles about each pound really counting over distance, and since we both plan to do the 50K in January (or February, or whenever it is), it matters! I know in my heart of hearts that I still eat too much sugary crap after dinner, and that's OK sometimes, but I do it too often. I need to stop the compulsive eating behaviors, because I don't like feeling controlled by food. That's one of the reasons I joined Weight Watchers and lost 100+ lbs is that I felt powerless over my addiction. Now, don't worry that I'm 1) going anorexic or 2) going to lose muscle or excessive weight because I'm not. I doubt I could be anorexic if I tried - I enjoy food way too much for that! And as for losing muscle, I only plan to lose a few pounds (5? 7-8?) and will keep weight training like a madwoman. I like to be toned and strong. Finally, I will lose VERY slowly because I don't want to underfuel my training. We'll see if I can actually do this. I may be at a natural set point for my body and it may be difficult; however, like I said, I know that I do eat too much stuff that I shouldn't. If I decrease the amount of that stuff that I eat, the weight will come off naturally and without disrupting my training.