Random Thoughts Thursday

What will I be doing this weekend, you might be wondering. Surprise surprise, I signed up for another race! Not just any race, the Quarryman Challenge 10 Mile (this race offers a 5k too but I decided it was a "go big or go home" kind of situation when I signed up). The course appears to be pretty intense. There are a lot of turns and some pretty big hills. Living in the super flat state of Illinois, "hill" is a term we use loosely. A highway overpass is a "hill" according to our standards. The slight elevation on Roosevelt Rd. is also known as "Roosevelt Hill" as it comes in the last quarter mile of many large Chicago races (Chicago Marathon elevation map here). Some towns have more hills than others and Lemont is one of those towns. I've heard this course is quite challenging so I'm looking forward to completing it.

I guess the big question is: Will I be racing this? The answer is easy: No. I'm going to run this nice and easy, using it as a training run. Not even a progression run (I did one of those last week). I'm going to wear my compression socks for the first time on an actual run.

I think my calves will appreciate it with the hills I'll be tackling. Do you wear compression? If so, do you prefer to wear it during or after a run?

Last night I did 25 minutes on the rowing machine. I recently realized (after watching Biggest Loser) that I had been incorrectly using the machine. Once I changed the way I was using it, the workouts seemed to have more umph and be more of a challenge. (Which I think is a good thing for obvious reasons.)

I <3 my rowing machine

Tonight will be a speedwork session out on the trail, possibly with a few FN Runners. I don't know the state of my Garmin because I left it in my gym bag in the car. I have a feeling the battery is low/dead. I've debated buying the pro version of Endomondo ($3.99) just for the interval option. I know I can still complete the workout without my Garmin with regular Endomondo, I just won't know my interval splits, only overall miles and time. Talk about a First World Runner Problem! Do you have any alternative suggestions or phone apps on what to do if my Garmin is in fact dead? Ahhh