Snow was spitting this afternoon and I did not want to deal with it. I got on the mill with the objective of getting a tempo run in. After a 4 mile warm up (7:30, 7:17, 7:08, 6:32 - strides in the last to get used to the faster paces to come), I moved into a four mile tempo (5:50, 5:55, 5:35, 5:37). I closed up with a 3 mile cool down (20:20). (all told 11 miles, just under 73 minutes).
The treadmill is an interesting device. Mentally, there are days that I find it ... challenging. You are not outright physically sufferring but you are working, and, umm ... not going anywhere. And you keep seeing the clock. And the miles. Tick. Tick. Physically, I think in some regards it is easier because - as TG has often said to me - you just need to keep up with the thing. But you sweat like you are in a sauna. Obviously, nothing is as good as getting out there and getting after it - but there are days, like today that the control of the mill is the better of the alternatives (freezing your tootsy off in the snow).
Today was a workout that went, well, okay. I find that I don't walk away from the treadmill thinking, "YEAH, I killed that S**T!" I get decent workouts, but it is not over the top. My HR gets up, I sweat a lot, I get something accomplished, but it is more a workout of mental focus versus physical. Quarters on the track are probably at the other end of the spectrum. You don't need to think too hard - they are only one lap each! But physically, they sap you after two thirds into the workout.
I had a conversation with TWK about nutrition 
today. He is prepping for a two hour run and was considering what to take on the run. We discussed a bit how Lucho was in my kitchen last week about being in shorts and only having a sixteen ounce water bottle. I hardly profess to have the hydration and the nutrition thing down but I think I am trying to work in this direction: for runs on cooler days, I probably won't take anything if the run is less than ninety minutes. For efforts longer than that, and on hotter days, I will look to adjust accordingly. This will also probably be true of gel consumption but I want to talk to some folks about this. The LetsRun crowd scoffs at triathletes and ultrarunners - which is plain stupid. The folks know the nutrition - hydration thing where typical runners don't (and don't need to if you are running a 10k or shorter under 50 minutes). I am also aiming to get a gallon of water in me a day. I am increasingly convinced that I am chronically dehydrated. Even when I get hydrated, two hours later I am looking at a yellow stream. And hell, I don't want a kidney stone. Oh yeah, I do also like to eat a little something on the morning of long runs ... but it does mean I get up earlier than 20 minutes before the run. I like to have a piece of toast, cup of coffee ... maybe a bananna. Again - I hardly have this nutrition thing figured out. And as long as I am talking in a paragraph with no clear direction, I will also look to play with some sort of electrolyte tab, like s-caps, on some of my longer runs.
today. He is prepping for a two hour run and was considering what to take on the run. We discussed a bit how Lucho was in my kitchen last week about being in shorts and only having a sixteen ounce water bottle. I hardly profess to have the hydration and the nutrition thing down but I think I am trying to work in this direction: for runs on cooler days, I probably won't take anything if the run is less than ninety minutes. For efforts longer than that, and on hotter days, I will look to adjust accordingly. This will also probably be true of gel consumption but I want to talk to some folks about this. The LetsRun crowd scoffs at triathletes and ultrarunners - which is plain stupid. The folks know the nutrition - hydration thing where typical runners don't (and don't need to if you are running a 10k or shorter under 50 minutes). I am also aiming to get a gallon of water in me a day. I am increasingly convinced that I am chronically dehydrated. Even when I get hydrated, two hours later I am looking at a yellow stream. And hell, I don't want a kidney stone. Oh yeah, I do also like to eat a little something on the morning of long runs ... but it does mean I get up earlier than 20 minutes before the run. I like to have a piece of toast, cup of coffee ... maybe a bananna. Again - I hardly have this nutrition thing figured out. And as long as I am talking in a paragraph with no clear direction, I will also look to play with some sort of electrolyte tab, like s-caps, on some of my longer runs. Feedback always welcome.