Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Ready to Run

Clearly, mother nature got the memo that today is the first day of summer.  Hot. as. Heck. out there.  It's supposed to be 95 today and tomorrow...wowzas.  And, of course, as everyone says "Today is the longest day of the year!" Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but they all have 24 hours (well, and negligible seconds that we round off every 4 years yada yada yada leap year.
But if this is gonna be the longest day...hopefully all that extra time comes in after 5pm. 
Ya with me? :-P
Today screams....Popsicles. 
Watermelon. 
Sprinklers.
Running.
Oh yeah, I went there.  I went running today!  75 meter repeats, to be specific.
Hold your horses.  NO yelling, please.  Check out my "track":

Yeah.  Water running, baby.  Cause who wants to run outside on a 95 degree day?  (okay, fine, I do.  But I'm trying to do the whole glass half full thing here).
So, it seems that the whole world is either hot or injured, because water running seems to be really popular all of a sudden. 
* USAT just did an article detailing the benefits of shelving the pavement pounding every once in awhile in favor of non impact running.  They included a few ideas for "water workouts" that mimic speed/tempo work.
I might just have to try the "ladder" workout!
* One of my favorite running blogs, "Shut up and Run" did a segment on water running and it's benefits, with a video included to show proper form, along with water running tips and tricks.  Did you know your heartbeat is 10 bpm slower in water than on land at same intensity?  Kinda neat!
(as a side note, check out her post on "How to survive injury without being a B*&^tch" for some perspective, if you've ever been sidelined from running (or anything you love).  Such a truthful post.)
* Lastly, this gem:  A 9 week water running plan.  Wow.  I had no idea these even existed!  And while I'm not out to water run 5 days a week (we're gonna try for 2)-the workouts were interesting and varied, which should be helpful when you're basically looking at a long track treadmill with no entertainment (TV, scenery).
Armed with these resources, I went for a run today.
In the pool.
I've done water running a few times, but never with any purpose, so I tried a good, solid 45 minute effort:
Warm up 10 minutes easy
1 minute all out, 2 minutes recovery (x5)
1 minute high knees, 1 minute recover (x5)
10 minute cool down
The easy parts were easy...the hard parts were hard!!  (How's that for deep thinking?) And while I don't feel like I do after a run (spent, accomplished and endorphin high)...my legs know I got a good workout.  Sweet.  I rigged up my goggles and did the sprint portion based on song chorus repeats (which was pretty close to the minute each time) so I didn't want to kill myself (I think I would have without music).  Did I look like a crazy person?  Probably.  Most people don't run in my pool (DFC, yo!)  Did I care?  Nah.  Best part?  I could splash some water on my face whenever I got hot...or...I could even dunk if I wanted to :-P
Not bad for a 95 degree day.  Yay Aqua!
Have you ever aqua run?  What do you think?  Tips or tricks to share?

1 comment:

  1. Pool running is super awesome with a buddy. Oh, also, read this blog:

    http://wellimtryingtorun.blogspot.com/

    She is all about the pool running, especially for recovery. Also she is a badass.

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