Surprise 10k

The blog streak continues (as does the regular streak). Today was my midweek long run day, which is currently 8 miles, up from 6 the first week. I wasn't particularly looking forward to it because I'm not a huge fan of long weeknight runs. But this morning, I thought back to the 5k I ran two weeks ago and the organization that puts it on, nycruns.com. I visited the website and was reminded of the fact that they were holding their usual every-other-week run and, conveniently for me, it was a 10k rather than a 5k this week. This got me excited for a few of reasons.

1. It's in Riverside Park, which is also where quidditch practice is held (albeit at the same time)
2. It would give me company for 6.2 of the 8 miles I needed to run
3. It only cost $10

So I signed up. It was a good race. Not only did I have company, I also ran faster than I would have by myself. Not to mention the fact that Riverside Park is fantastic for hill training. I'd say a good mile of the 5k course (there were two loops) was hills. All hills, just one after the other. I counted five in that portion of the race alone. My time was okay, but not great. I think the clock read somewhere between 55 and 56 minutes when I crossed, giving me a little over 9:10 minutes per mile. I guess it wasn't so bad considering all the hills but I wish it had been better. I then stopped by quidditch practice, which had unfortunately just ended. It's getting a little harder to do that sort of thing now that it gets darker earlier.

After sticking around and talking to the team for a bit, I ran home to cover the rest of the mileage. The run home was about 2.86 miles, so I actually did 9 today! Who doesn't appreciate a bonus mile here and there? Once I got home, I drank a delicious reGen. It's good stuff. Give it a try. If you're in the area, I'd be happy to give you some, just let me know.

Next up: my first Ironman training session with Jared was on Monday! Even though it was more of an evaluation, I was still uber sore after. My right tricep hasn't been the same since (he had me do assisted dips, among other things). I warmed up on the rowing machine and then did a bunch of strength stuff, including, but not limited to, testing how many situps, pushups and squats I was able to do in two minutes. I think all three were in the 20's, which seemed low to me for situps. Ah, well. I guess there's plenty of time to improve. Another thing he had me do was swim on the floor. Or at least, go through the motions. He said that the Natural Movement (MovNat) group leader has mentioned ways to improve swimming form that way and that he'd look into it. Definitely something to look forward to since I swim super slow.

Alright, now I'm getting sleepy. Good night, all!

PS - Please vote in my poll!