Training recap week #35

On Tuesday I did a core workout with Maya. I felt it in my upper abs on Wednesday, so that's good. My Q2 training on Wednesday was also a tough one. After a 2-mile warmup, I did pyramids as follows : 5 min Tpace, 1 min recovery, 10 min Tpace, 2 min rec, 15 min Tpace, 3 min recovery, 10 min Tpace, 2 min recovery. I then did a 1-mile cooldown. I did at total of 9 miles in that workout. Thursday I felt a little tightness in my calves so I did a run up and down the mountain. I concentrated on maintaining my form and pace on both the uphil and the downhill segments. My calves felt better afterward.

I was ready to go for my long run Saturday morning but thought the better of it after seeing the torrential downpour outside. Instead I spent the better part of the morning fiddling around with a "new" VCR/DVD burner. I had bought it at a discount electronics liquidator on my way home from work the day before and it just wasn't working. The VHS worked fine but DVD part kept spitting the disc back out. After speaking to the manufacturer customer help line in India - without any success, I decided to pack it up and return it to the store. It is a 30-minute drive so I made sure to fit in a few other errands at the same time. At the store, I told them the problem and they promptly raplaced the unit with another one. A fellow behind me said he had the same problem as me. I know this wasn't a great product - or place to buy electronics - but the price was right. When I got home, I plugged it in (I was much faster at this the second time around) and tossed in a VHS tape. It swallowed it up and - nothing. The unit simply froze with a cryptic message "PLS WAIT" flashing on the little screen. I tried the reset procedure the help desk suggested the first time around and nothing happened. I called the India help line again and after they finally understood that the tape was stuck inside the machine, they said to bring it back to the store. Ugh! Another half-hour drive. At the store, I was told I was the only person ever to have problems with the machine - yeah right! I said I wanted my casstte back and of course the technician doesn't work on weekends...The owner tried taking it out, without any luck. I told him I was not coming back a third time and I wanted another (better) model. He let me take the upgraded model without a fuss and I tested it right there on the spot. He said he would send me my tape when they got it out. Off I went back home again, plugged it in and everything worked fine. It was still raining but I had lost over 2 hours of my precious weekend, nonetheless.

Sunday I did my long run ; 15 miles in 2.5 hours. It was a beautiful fall morning. I spent most of that time ruminating business ideas and the upcoming Hudson Harrier Race. There seemed to be more runners on the road than usual this particular morning.

Total Weekly mileage : 49 km