I really miss Portland weather. (I never did get around to writing a post about my trip there, though.) So, yeah, it’s been really hot this week. Really, all I can say is that I survived.
I noticed that this is going to be post #100 on this blog. Cool.
Weight Check: 165.5, down 3.3 pounds from last week. Holy crap! There’s two reasons I lost weight. The first, which I had no control over, was the heat. Running 13.1 miles when it’s 75 degrees with over 80% humidity is going to cause a little bit of weight loss. The other, which I had complete control over, was *gasp* I cut back on Mountain Dew. I had 2 cans for the entire week, instead of multiple 20 ounce bottles per day. I actually drank more water this week, so I’m pleased with the results. I still have another pound and a half to go before I’m not overweight, but this is progress, and I’ll take it.
| Day | Scheduled | Total Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 6 miles easy | 6.01 |
| Wednesday | 2.5 mile warm up, 6 x 90 seconds uphill hard with a jog back down in between, 2 mile cool down (until I reach 6 miles)* | 6.01 |
| Friday | 5 miles easy | 5.01 |
| Saturday | 13 mile long run (include hills if possible) | 13.11 |
Total: 30.14 miles
It’s weird only seeing 4 runs. Also, I’ll explain the asterisk for Wednesday in a bit.
First, there was Tuesday. My first run after Portland. The weather was absolutely terrible, 75 and humid. I was definitely back in North Carolina. My legs felt a little bit tired from my trip, but they somehow felt a little better in the second half of my run. I kept the effort “easy”, and I survived.
On Wednesday, I, uh, chose the wrong hill. I ended up having to change this workout a little bit. I found out the hard way that the hill I picked only takes 60 seconds to run. I realized that 9 x 60 seconds would have me running uphill for the same amount of time, so I did that instead. The temperature was a couple of degrees cooler than Tuesday, and while it was still uncomfortable, it could have been worse. My legs felt a little tired during the warm up, and they were pretty worn out after the hills.
Friday was hot. It was bad, but I was expecting it to feel worse. My left calf was a little sore at the beginning, but I guess running stretched it out and it was fine by around the halfway point. Other than that, my legs felt OK. I kept the effort “easy” except for the last quarter mile or so.
So, Saturday. I needed to run my longest distance since March, my first true long run since July 4, after running slightly lower mileage over the past 3 weeks, and I’d be running in 75 degree weather with 80% humidity. Oh, and I was supposed to include hills. What could possibly go wrong?
I survived. That’s pretty much all I can say. It was rough. I even had to take a couple of walk breaks outside of stopping at water fountains over the last few miles. I still managed to find enough energy to speed up at the very end, and I made it to 13.1 miles. I did get a couple of uphill climbs in during the first half or so, then later I felt like I was in survival mode and wanted things as flat as possible. I got through it, though. It was mildly disappointing, but given everything else (and looking back at my two 13.1 mile training runs last year), I think I did OK.
Next week, it’s finally back to a “normal” schedule, and allegedly the temperature is supposed to drop a couple of degrees. I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve got a workout involving Marathon Pace, and a 14 mile long run. Yes, a 14 mile run. That’s why I said it was “normal.”