I’ve been training for four weeks for the Virginia Beach Half-Marathon. The good news: My swimming feels fabulous, and I’m actually motivated to head to the pool for this often-dreaded form of cross-training. The bad news: I had a small setback running-wise when I re-twisted my gimpy ankle last week, so I don’t feel like I’ve made much progress as far as actual running is concerned. And I’m told I won’t be able to swim the half-marathon.
My one saving grace, running-wise: My decision to wake up early this morning and squeeze in my long run for the week, a 10-miler I decided to start slooow. See, I’ve been falling apart in the final miles of my long runs, and I needed an ego-booster this morning more than I needed to hit any certain pace. So I jogged about five miles from home, then turned around and ran back. The amazing thing: I still averaged roughly 9:30-minute miles, about the pace I’ve averaged in my other long runs.
Saturday (July 24): Lift, hard, for 30 minutes
Sunday: Long swim (sub for the long run I would have done if not for the ankle trouble): 4,500 meters, a post-wrist-surgery distance PR!
Monday: Swim 3,000 meters: 1,000 warmup, alternate 100 free, 100 back; 1X1,800 pyramid set; 4X50 butterfly, sprint
Tuesday: Run 3.7 miles in 32:09, or 8:41-minute miles. Elevation gain of about 200 feet. Felt good, but kept it short to baby my recently re-twisted ankle.
Wednesday: Randomly big cross-training day. I had an eye doctor appointment early Wednesday morning, at which the doc dilated my pupils. I felt a little too blurry to drive at the end of the appointment. My gym was within walking distance, so I just lengthened my workout: 1.5 hours of lifting, including about 30 minutes on the Dara Torres core workout in Shape magazine. Stationary bike 30 minutes later in day.
Thursday: Off. Abs, quads sore to the touch.
Friday: Run 10 miles! Ankle felt fine with the help of some KT Tape. Post-run nutrition note: I rewarded my exhausted muscles with a Starbucks Vivanno immediately post-run. It has four simple ingredients: a banana, bittersweet cocoa, skim milk and protein powder (I get a shot of espresso, too). With 270 calories, 18 grams of protein and 48 grams of carbs, it serves as a pretty decent protein recovery drink when you’re in a rush.
In other news: My “I’m a Runner” interview with outgoing OMB Director Peter Orszag went live on Runner’s World’s website today! A sneak preview: “Being in a job like this is very similar to running a marathon,” he says. “If you focused on how far you have to go, it would be so stultifying and demoralizing, you would never actually do it.”
Amy Reinink 
Wow–how cool is that? Peter Orzag?
I know! Thanks for appreciating the coolness of it. He was totally delightful to talk to—funny and self-deprecating and seemingly grateful to talk about running for 30 minutes rather than, you know, the finer points of the stimulus bill. 🙂
you’re amazing, lady! your swim workouts make me feel slow and lazy. 🙂