That was a week. Lots of stuff going on, some of it actually related to running. I survived.
Weight Check: 162.4, down 2.3 pounds from last week. I outran my diet. Sometimes things go sideways and I respond by eating crap. I’m not always going to be able to make up for it with 40+ miles of running. It’s something I need to work on. (And this is my response after losing over 2 pounds…)
| Day | Scheduled | Total Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 7 miles easy | 7.01 |
| Tuesday | Fartlek: 2 miles easy, 4 x 5 minutes at 10K effort with 2 minutes in between, 2 mile cool down (or until 7 miles) | 7.01 |
| Wednesday | 6 miles easy | 6.01 |
| Friday | 5 miles easy | 5.01 |
| Saturday | 13 miles easy, 3 miles at moderate pace | 16.01 |
Total: 41.05 miles
Monday, the weather was just brutal. My legs were a little tired from my long run on the previous Saturday, but other than a few of the uphills, they weren’t too bad. I struggled a bit on mile 6, but didn’t take any walk breaks, and recovered a little on mile 7. I was a minute faster than last Monday’s 7 miler, which was a pleasant surprise. I’ll take it.
On Tuesday, the weather felt like a sauna. My legs felt OK, or maybe I just didn’t notice them because of the insane heat and humidity.
My intervals went fairly well, and I was able to finish strong. I walked for a little bit in between intervals before switching to a slow jog. After the last interval, I walked for a bit, jogged, took another walk break, then decided to run (slowly) the rest of the way. I went a little over two miles on the “cool down” (there was nothing cool about the weather) to finish with a total of 7 miles.
I do think my walk breaks (especially the second one) after the last interval were more mental than physical fatigue, but at some point, I convinced myself that walking wouldn’t make me feel better, and running would get me out of the heat and humidity sooner, and it worked.
Wednesday, the weather was slightly less miserable. My legs felt surprisingly OK considering Tuesday’s workout. I kept the effort easy. I struggled a little bit on the last mile (maybe that’s where the workout finally hit me), but otherwise, I think it went fairly well.
On Friday morning, it was 57 degrees. That’s not a typo, it really was 57 degrees, and it felt amazing. My legs felt fine. I guess I didn’t know what to do with this cooler weather, because my pace was all over the place. Still, I managed to keep the effort fairly easy.
Saturday was…interesting.
It started out cooler than my recent long runs, although it warmed up pretty quickly with all the sun. My legs felt OK until around mile 12 or so, then I started feeling some fatigue.
I had Gu at around 4, 8, and 12 miles. I stopped for water roughly every mile, although I had one water (and Gu) stop at the beginning of mile 13, and one water stop at the end to get ready for the last 3 miles.
I didn’t stop for water on the last 3 miles, but I took a very brief walk break during the next to last mile, then a couple of walk breaks during the last mile.
When I got done, I was really disappointed. All summer long, I’ve been thinking that I just need to wait until it cools off. Well, it cooled off, and I still felt like I ran out of gas on the last mile.
It took a few hours, but I finally managed to get some perspective late yesterday afternoon. I still ran 15 good miles. Also, it may have been 64 degrees at the start, but with the sun, it warmed up pretty quickly. I didn’t go out way too fast. I still had two really good miles at the end, and the last mile was still decent, even with the two walk breaks. So it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought.
I was hoping for a better run with the cooler weather, but I think up until the last mile, I did OK, and I did end up over 10 minutes faster than last week’s 16 miler, so I guess it turned out all right.
Next week, the break in the weather is over, and I’ve got a 17 miler on the schedule. Also, August will end, but on Friday, so I don’t know if I’ll have my monthly wrap-up done before next Sunday.