Thursday, May 10, 2012

Random Thoughts Thursday

What will I be doing this weekend, you might be wondering. Surprise surprise, I signed up for another race! Not just any race, the Quarryman Challenge 10 Mile (this race offers a 5k too but I decided it was a "go big or go home" kind of situation when I signed up). The course appears to be pretty intense. There are a lot of turns and some pretty big hills. Living in the super flat state of Illinois, "hill" is a term we use loosely. A highway overpass is a "hill" according to our standards. The slight elevation on Roosevelt Rd. is also known as "Roosevelt Hill" as it comes in the last quarter mile of many large Chicago races (Chicago Marathon elevation map here). Some towns have more hills than others and Lemont is one of those towns. I've heard this course is quite challenging so I'm looking forward to completing it.

I guess the big question is: Will I be racing this? The answer is easy: No. I'm going to run this nice and easy, using it as a training run. Not even a progression run (I did one of those last week). I'm going to wear my compression socks for the first time on an actual run.
I think my calves will appreciate it with the hills I'll be tackling. Do you wear compression? If so, do you prefer to wear it during or after a run?

Last night I did 25 minutes on the rowing machine. I recently realized (after watching Biggest Loser) that I had been incorrectly using the machine. Once I changed the way I was using it, the workouts seemed to have more umph and be more of a challenge. (Which I think is a good thing for obvious reasons.)
I <3 my rowing machine

Tonight will be a speedwork session out on the trail, possibly with a few FN Runners. I don't know the state of my Garmin because I left it in my gym bag in the car. I have a feeling the battery is low/dead. I've debated buying the pro version of Endomondo ($3.99) just for the interval option. I know I can still complete the workout without my Garmin with regular Endomondo, I just won't know my interval splits, only overall miles and time. Talk about a First World Runner Problem! Do you have any alternative suggestions or phone apps on what to do if my Garmin is in fact dead? Ahhh

10 comments:

  1. Even as hot as the pig was, i still wore compression socks! (i'm glad i did too!) Can you just run and use the stats from someone else's garmin tonight? Sometimes i do that when my decides to fail during a run.

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  2. I hope I win your raffle! I (always) need more compression socks! :) I'll see if anyone else has a garmin and is doing the speed workout with me. TBD!

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  3. Britt @ Chicago Runner GirlMay 10, 2012 at 1:01 PM

    I won't be too concerned if your watch is dead since it's an effort based workout. Just sayin...I know that it's hard sometimes to let go of knowing paces.

    Love Pro Compression socks! I actually just posted a discount code for 20% off all orders on my blog if you're looking to order more pairs.

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  4. My ankle was swollen last week (yay falling down the stairs...) so I wore compression socks! It helped!

    I suggest using the timer function on your phone and just going by feel! Or get someone to run with you. :)

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  5. Boo for falling down the stairs but yayyyy for compression helping!

    I didn't think of the timer function! PERFECT! :)

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  6. I think that's why I'm trying not to overstress about it... a workout by feel will be fun. :)

    Thanks! I just saw that! I'm going to hold out to see if I win one of the pairs Run Gingerfoxxx Run is raffling off before making a purchase. If I don't win, I'll probably buy 1 (or 5) because that discount code is a good deal! :)

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  7. I have no idea what Endomondo is. Looks like I'll be googling that in a minute.

    Have fun at your race. Ten miles is the perfect race distance to me. And just because you said you aren't racing, you will probably win.:)

    Love the socks! Are those blue or purple?

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  8. Good luck this weekend! Sounds like a challenging race. I love my CEP compression socks- and my aspaeris pivot compression shorts. I think they work- unless its all in my head :)

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  9. Endomondo is an app I use on my phone that help tracks my runs that I resort to if my Garmin battery is dead. It is better than nothing. :)

    The socks are purple. I loooove them. I already have my outfit all laid out for Saturday! I'm excited to see how the socks feel while running.

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  10. I have CEP calf sleeves that I like to wear after a long run... And I also have CEP compression shorts that I won from a blogger raffle and love them. I haven't worn them while running yet as I don't like how long they are. If I ever run another marathon again though, I'll definitely give it a try.

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