Each Day Is a Gift

Temp was 19F, heavy smog, it was pea soup out there.  I'd have to wear an O2 mask to run outside with my asthma, haha! so back on the dreadmill I go at incline 2.

1 mile warm up @12 pace

4 x 1 mile repeat @ 10 pace (up pace slightly to 9:50/9:40 during commercials)

3 min. recovery in between mile repeats @ 12 pace, pause briefly for 30 sec. to blow my nose.

1 mile cool down @11:06 to 12:00 pace

7 miles total time 1:14:10.  AP: 10:36

My treadmill is over 12 years old and not calibrated so the pace is not accurate.  I also feel that it is less effort to run on the treadmill.  But given the poor air quality and my residual head cold, dreadmill is healthier for me for now.

The smog has accumulated overnight into fog.  This morning the mountains are not visible and the sky is gray.  The fog's condensation/moisture became frozen overnight with the dropping temp forming an icy sheet on the pavement.  So, not only was it unhealthy to breathe the air, it was unsafe to run outside.  So, back on the dreadmill @ incline 2 again.

Combination workout:

1 mile warm up

Set 1 - 1 x 30 min @11:00 pace (or as close to marathon pace as possible)

Set 2 - 4 x 200 m in 1:08 with 2 min recovery between

Here's how it went down this morning -

1 mile WU @12:00 pace

30 min @10:54 pace

5x200m repeats @ 8:57 pace (which feels more like 9:05 road pace in effort) with 2 min. recovery between @ 12:00 pace

10 min cool down (5 min @ 10:00 pace, 5 min @ 10:54 pace)

6 miles total in 1:04:50.  AP: 10:48

Today's workout calls for 11 miles @ 11:00 pace (marathon pace or as close to marathon pace as possible) with 0.5 mile warm up and 0.5 mile cool down.  Cannot imagine doing this on the treadmill again even though the smog is still horrible outside.

1st mile warm up east to MCT in 11:57.  Then the rest of the run was miserable.  Stopped at Mitch Hollow Park bathroom (mile 3) to refill my water bottle and shed the jacket.  There was a 10mph WNW wind.  So everytime I turned north or uphill, my breathing would become labored.  Turned back at halfway (6.5 miles) heading west.  Stopped at Lone Peak Parkway bathroom to refill water bottle, used the facility and ate a Gu.  By mile 8, the wind has picked up and got very cold with snow flurries which made my asthma flared up.  Had to slow down and walk and cough.  Fingers and toes were frozen numb.  Walked a lot the last 5K when the headwind and snow flurries got nasty.  The splits reflect the miserably slow run: 11:57, 10:50, 12:05, 11:13, 11:33, 11:10, 11:04, 11:41, 11:41, 11:58, 12:46, 12:33, 14:32, 11:52.

* Coach Green made one and only remark on my Vdot2 app on this workout:  "GREAT jog! "   What a slap on the face!!! It was NOT a jog, but a miserable walk/run!  May be it's a typo and he meant to say Great Job! Haha!!!  Well, what does he know!  He's over there in Houston TX, never met me, has no idea I'm an overweight, out of shape, old lady who's pretending to be a runner! Sigh! :-/