Am I Getting Faster???

My alarm went off bright and early this morning. I was tired still, but knew I needed to get up for a run. Partly because I wanted to, partly because I feasted on Kernel's double caramel popcorn last night, haha. I walked over to the window and slowly opened the blinds.

What I saw was an absolutely breathtaking view. Sunshine, blue skies, white fluffy clouds and in the distance, snow covered mountains....aaaaaah. It was all I needed to get my 'junk in the trunk' going.

I met up with the running gang down at the cafe. It was the first time I'd gone there since IMC. It was great seeing everyone - there were at least 20 of us! Leslie, Paddy, Kerry and I headed out together towards 'Wine Glass Ranch'.

My legs felt really good. We had a pretty good pace going, Leslie and I seem to have a faster pace than we used to. I think I'm going to bring out my Garmin next time so I can actually see my pace rather than going by feel.

We went through the trails along the river then made our way up one of the more challenging hills here. I thought it would be nice to hit our one minute walk break on the hill - but there was noooo way the running gods and godesses were going to let that happen, haha. Not a biggie though, I'm a hill girl.

We got up the hill and starting along the road that took us past a series of farms. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, the horses up there will be along the fence. If they are I always stop to pet them and say hello. Today though there were only a few cows. They tend not to be as friendly and in need of petting, haha. Snobs!

The view along this road is incredible. You can see a huge stretch of the Rockies. It's just stunning! I was amazed at how much snow they got last night. It was raining, and snowing just a teeny bit last night, so I guess that's why they are covered.

I ran with Leslie for about 50 minutes, then turned around. She's training for a marathon in December so had a longer run. I hope to go for long runs with her again soon, but am still building back up to it. I headed back on my own, savouring the view and listening to the crunching of the gravel under my feet.

My pace felt really comfortable, even though my heart rate was up a little bit. I'm going to have to ask coach about that. I'd like to push myself a bit this year, in both the run and bike. I'm not sure if I should have a really low heart rate for endurance runs, or if it should be moderate till my body gets used to it, then it will drop again????? So much to learn in this sport! No wonder I love it!

Anyways, I got back to the cafe in 1:34 hours. Hmm, a negative split? Not bad considering by the end of the run I was feeling that now massive knot in my calve. Urgh! It didn't slow me down too much...so I must be doing ok with my running... I devoured a savoury bowl of morrocan veggie soup and treated myself to a hot chocolate. It was great hanging with the gang and chit chatting. A typical Saturday tradition for many of us around here.

After my run I headed to the gym. I wanted to get an upper body workout in. My upper back isn't very strong these days and my shoulders have been hurting a bit. The nigglies started before IMC, but I knew I'd have to deal with it after. So now it's time to get strong. I did 3 sets of 12 to 15. My workout today was all supersets. Ball bench press/pullups, incline bench press/rows, bosu ball lateral raises/rocker board pushups, and internal/external rotator.

I felt pretty good on most of the exercises...but I can tell where my weak spots are. The front of my shoulders are strong from swimming, but the back bits are really weak. This is causing me some pain, so I'm trying hard to strengthen them. The rotator exercises are for that, but I could barely do 6 reps by the 3 set. Very sad. My pushups aren't as good as they used to be either. All things to work on....and work on them I shall. Hopefully my mobility will increase too so the clicking in my shoulder stops when I do a full bench press....yeow!!! Hmmm...wonder if I will be able to lift a cuppa tomorrow morning...

1:34 hour run...45 minutes of weights....hopefully that takes care of the popcorn feast, haha.