Training - Week 10, which is actually week 11...

Well, that was a good week, but apparently I can't count too well...

As I was doing my long run today I started trying to figure out the rest of the training schedule in my head, and I couldn't make it fit. I thought I had a week left over. Now that I'm writing I checked my schedule, sure enough it's week 11 rather than 10. I'll have to go back and see where I lost a week. However, this week coming up is a drop back week which I'm grateful for.

I'll be out of town next week and have to leave this coming Saturday, meaning I'll have to do the long run in a different place and do it outside. I'll be at an airport hotel just south of San Francisco International. There's a nice running path along the water (about a 4 mile loop), it's quiet, and just a little on the cool side in the mornings. I'm looking forward to it.

Yesterday I mentioned I was postponing my long run until today. I finally got it in, and my mantra today was "Who cares?" Not as in 'who cares whether I run this or not?', but as in 'who cares about time, about how many walk breaks I take, what my pace is...'

I decided to give myself the grace of just finishing and not worrying about any other metric that I usually go by. Oddly enough even with more breaks for water, walking, etc., my per-mile pace was only about 5% above what I expect race pace to be. So, pretty darned good.

Oh, and one other thing--I tried my first ice bath today. It's pretty simple--fill the tub with cold water, add ice, jump in, and shiver until your legs are numb. Sounds bad but it helps reduce the swelling, micro-tears, and pain in your muscles after a run. I sat in the tub with a jacket over my shoulders holding a cup of hot coffee, and it OK. It got painfully cold after about 5-10 minutes, but it was just enough to do the trick.

Tomorrow is a rest day, then back at the schedule. And of course, this will be week 12... (C;

P.S.--I plumb forgot to record my mileage for the week...here it is. My ORN, if you will (what's an ORN? See my blog pal Joe's explanation here):

Wednesday - 6 miles (scheduled for 4)
Thursday - 8 miles
Friday - 6 miles (scheduled for 4)
Monday - 16 miles

For a total of 36 miles this week. I also caught up 4 miles on my defecit, so now I'm only 5.5 miles behind schedule.

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