Short Run

Afternoon

After several hours of homework, it was time for a short run around Conshohocken. Being a short run, I opted to wear the Vibrams. It was about 35 degrees outside and I quickly wished I had worn some socks underneath. At the beginning of the run, I had planned on testing my max pullups on a bar in Sutcliffe Park, but after 3 I knew I wasn't going to hit anywhere near the 16 I was hoping for. The bar here was freezing cold, slippery, and much wider than what I have been practicing on. Then there was the little factor that my back was feeling very tired and sore for some reason, maybe due to the clean and front squats that piled up during the previous few days. I figured I was test again after a few days of rest without weights and see what happens.

The run was about 4.2 miles along this route. I added in some strides along the 1.5 mile flat that runs adjacent to the SRT. The trail has been covered with ice/snow/slush for weeks now, but the road next to it is in pretty good condition and very little traffic uses it, since it dead ends about 3/4 of the way down. I do get a good reminder of rowing in college, since this is the road where our temporary boat house was during my sophomore year. Some colleges and high schools still take advantage of the upper Schuylkill and as I ran past I noticed several boats still covered in snow. Before SJU received much of the funding during my time there, there were several boats that would probably have fallen in the category of "not worth the time to haul inside". Namely, the Rashford and the Teti. Ironically, these boats were once the trophies of the SJU fleet, but time and innovation converted them into the tanks of the river.

I wanted to build up several month of Tabatta intervals and strides using the Vibrams since they are relatively short and should serve to strengthen lesser used muscle groups. Historically, they have demolished my calves, but I attribute this not to the imperfect design of the shoe, but rather the imperfect design of my stride. I followed the strides with a cruise interval up North Lane starting at Hector Street. From the bottom to the top is about 0.29 miles, but the grade is pretty significant and I'll have to look that up later. I finished up with an easy jog home.

3 Strides
North Lane: 2:16
Total: 4.2 miles in 38 minutes.