Weekly Wrap-Up: June 18-24

I’m pretty sure I’ve never had a week like that. I can’t say it was a good week. The numbers are avert-your-eyes bad. But somehow, I may have ended the week on a somewhat hopeful note? I don’t understand it either.

Weight Check: 169.9 pounds, up 1.1 from last week. I didn’t eat well this week, either, but miraculously, I stayed below that 170 number that has vexed me most of this year.

This Week’s Runs
Day Scheduled Total Miles
Monday 6 miles easy plus strides 6.01
Tuesday 4 miles easy 4.01
Wednesday 20 minute warm up, 6 x 1 minute hard uphill, 75-90 seconds jog back down/recovery jog, 15 minute cool down (or until 5 miles) 5.02
Friday 4 miles easy 4.01
Saturday 10 miles easy 10.01

Total: 29.02 miles

Monday did not go well.

Miserable weather and dead legs are a really bad combination. I managed to get through the first four miles slowly but steadily, but by mile 5, I had to start taking walk breaks. I didn’t even attempt any strides, because near the end I felt like I wasn’t capable of anything faster than a really slow jog.

On Tuesday, the weather was brutal. My legs felt a little better. I still kept it really slow, due to both the weather and how tired my legs felt on Monday, but I got through it without any walk breaks. I’ll take it.

Wednesday sucked. I’ve said that hill workouts suck at any temperature, so I might as well do them when conditions are miserable. I found out this week that there’s a limit to that theory. 74 degrees with 90% humidity is probably too hot for a hill workout. I did get through all of the repeats (and managed my best pace on the last one), but I had nothing left for the cool down and ended up having to walk most of it.

On Friday, the weather was still brutal. I guess my legs felt OK, but it was hard to tell. I didn’t think it was possible to go that slow without walking (average pace 13:15/mile), and while I hesitate to call what I was doing “running”, it definitely wasn’t walking. It was also really demoralizing.

Somehow, I managed to get back out there on Saturday.

Well, I guess I finally found the right pace. I can’t say that I’m happy that it’s around 13:00/mile, but it made things a lot less miserable.

It was a couple of degrees cooler, and there was a breeze most of the time, so that helped, but mostly, I just did a good job of taking it really, really slow. I only had to take walk breaks when I stopped for water, roughly once per mile. I had Gu just after 5 miles. I had enough left to pick it up to a respectable pace for the last mile. My legs felt OK throughout the run, even near the end.

Overall, it was definitely slower than I had hoped, but I’m OK with it.

Next week, I head to Portland on Tuesday. It’s going to be in the 50s in the mornings. The running will be glorious. I’ll be reducing my mileage, since it was scheduled to be a cutback week anyway, but I’m going to savor each mile that I do run while I’m out there.

Oh, and next week’s wrap-up will be late.

Weekly Wrap-Up: June 11-17

Yeah, I’m late. I had a nice visit with my parents on Father’s Day, but got home late. Then I had stuff going on Monday night, Tuesday night, and Wednesday night.

I waited so long to write it up that my experiences during the current week (June 18 on) have blended in with the stuff from last week, and as I looked back on the numbers, overall last week was not quite as bad as I remembered. Oh, there were a couple of really bad runs, but there were a few bright spots, too.

Weight Check: 168.8, down 2.2 pounds from last week. I was able to do an official weigh-in Sunday morning before I drove up to see my parents. Woohoo! Finally, back under 170 for the first time since January.

This Week’s Runs
Day Scheduled Total Miles
Monday 6 miles easy plus strides 6.07
Tuesday 4 miles easy 4.01
Wednesday 20 minute warm up, 8 x 45 seconds hard uphill, 60-75 seconds jog back down/recovery jog, 15 minute cool down (or until 5 miles) 5.01
Friday 4 miles easy 4.01
Saturday 10 miles easy 10.01

Total: 29.11 miles

Monday was rough. Pretty miserable weather (72 and humid). My legs didn’t feel great. I really struggled on miles 5 and 6, partly due to the heat, partly due to fatigue, so I decided to only do one stride at the end.

On Tuesday, it wasn’t quite as bad. Still humid, but a few degrees cooler, 67, and the wind helped keep things a little more comfortable. My legs felt fine. I kept the effort easy until the last quarter mile. Overall, a pretty good run.

Wednesday was another hill workout. It was warmer and still humid, but with no breeze.My legs felt OK until the last couple of intervals. My pacing on the hill repeats seemed a little inconsistent, although I did push the pace on the last one and it ended up being my fastest. I guess I was going a little faster than I realized on the last mile, but I didn’t feel much worse than I usually would after a hill repeat workout in pretty miserable conditions.

On Friday, it was pretty warm (72) and humid. My legs felt OK, with maybe just a little bit of fatigue on the uphills, but it wasn’t that bad. I kept the effort easy, partly due to the weather and partly due to my upcoming 10 miler. I survived, and my pace, though a little bit slower than some of my recent runs, wasn’t terrible.

Saturday was pretty bad. The weather was pretty miserable, 70 and humid. My legs were OK at first, and then got gradually worse. There was no pain, only fatigue. Things got pretty bad on the last two miles, with a few long walk breaks, although I did manage to rally a little bit at the very end. I stopped for water around once per mile, and had Gu just after 5 miles.

It was a disappointing run overall. I guess on hot days I need to really watch my pace on the early miles.

I wish I could say things get better for the week that’s now half over. Spoiler alert: It’s bad. I’ve got two runs to try to redeem myself. No pressure.

Weekly Wrap-Up: June 4-10

The first part of the week, the weather was nice. At the end of the week, the heat and humidity came back with a vengeance.

Weight Check: 171.0 pounds, down 1.5 from last week. OK, that’s not too bad, especially since I had a decent amount of stress last week with work. We’ll see if I can keep it up, because I’d really, really like to get back down below 170.

This Week’s Runs
Day Scheduled Total Miles
Monday 6 miles easy plus strides 6.78
Tuesday 3 miles easy 3.11
Wednesday 20 minute warm up, 3×30 seconds uphill, 3×45 seconds uphill, 3×60 seconds uphill (jog/walk downhill after each), 20 minute cool down (or until 5 miles) 5.01
Friday 10 miles easy 10.01
Saturday 4 miles easy 4.01

Total: 28.92 miles

I’m getting close to 30 miles.

Monday, I noticed the lower humidity, and between that and an occasional breeze, it felt nicer than 68 degrees. My legs felt OK, I guess. I noticed fatigue here and there, especially if I was going uphill, but it wasn’t terrible. I got through all 6 strides without any walking, just slow jogging in between, and I was able to push it on the last stride, making it my fastest one.

On Tuesday, it was 62(!) degrees, and it felt great. For once, I was disappointed that I only had 3 miles on the schedule. My legs felt mostly OK, although I noticed a tiny amount of fatigue on some of the uphills. My effort actually felt easy this time, although I did pick it up near the end.

Wednesday, the weather was still not too terrible, 63 degrees. My legs felt OK until the last couple of hill intervals.

After the first interval, I kept pretty consistent paces, then really pushed it on the last interval, and it was my fastest interval. I did have to walk a little bit after that, but I was able to jog the rest of the cool down. I ended up with a 20 minute and about 40 second cool down since I wanted to get to 5 miles. It was a tough workout, but I got through it.

Oh, and Wednesday was also Global Running Day. I probably would not have chosen a hill workout to celebrate, but hey, it’s how I get better. I did take a picture after my run to mark the occasion.

Friday, I had to squeeze in my long run, since I was on call for the weekend. And, well, I guess I was overdue for a clunker.

The weather was back to normal (68 and humid, ugh), and I was in my neighborhood, which meant more hills and fewer water fountains (zero). I left a bottle of water outside my house, but was only able to stop there just after mile 5 (when I also had Gu), and just after mile 7.

I think I was too fast on miles 3 through 5, and I paid for it later. I also should have tried to get back to my house for some water at some point in the first 5 miles. I ended up taking several walk breaks late, and walked a good chunk of the last mile, although I did manage to jog slowly for the last quarter mile or so.

My legs were really tired late, but there was no pain, so there’s that.

If there was a benefit to this week’s schedule, I only had to wait one day to try to redeem myself after my not-so-great long run. So on Saturday, I was back out there, but for just 4 miles.

It was better.

The weather was slightly warmer than Friday. My legs were tired at first (which was understandable), but they got better as I ran. I was maybe a little faster than I should have been on mile 2, but on a 4 miler I can get away with that. Also, my run did not get interrupted by work, which is always a good thing.

This week, it’s back to normal, except I’ll have to deal with uncomfortable heat and humidity all week with no break. With Father’s Day next Sunday, my next post might be late, but considering I still haven’t posted my March Wrap-Up, it’s not the end of the world. (Also, I make no promises about the current backlog of monthly recaps and the Teal Diva 5K recap.)

Weekly Wrap-Up: May 28-June 3

My parents are gone, and we had a good visit, but my wrap-up is late.

Now, in addition to my March wrap-up, April wrap-up, and Teal Diva 5K recap, I now have a May wrap-up that’s late. Sigh.

At least my running was fairly decent, even if the weather wasn’t for most of the week.

Weight Check: 172.5, up 1.3 pounds from last week. I love my parents, but I always end up eating more (and drinking more beer) when I’m around them. Once again, I’ll try to buckle down a bit this week.

This Week’s Runs
Day Scheduled Total Miles
Monday 5 miles easy plus strides 5.72
Tuesday 3 miles easy 3.11
Wednesday Progression Run: 2 miles easy, 2 miles moderate effort, last mile comfortably hard, tempo effort 5.01
Friday 3 miles easy 3.11
Saturday 10 miles easy 10.01

Total: 26.96 miles

I really need to start paying better attention to my totals so I don’t end up just a few hundredths of a mile short of the next whole number of miles.

Monday felt like a sauna. My legs were pretty tired. Somehow, I got through it, and even finished all 6 strides. I did need to walk a bit after the 3rd, 4th, and 5th stride, but I still managed to make the last stride my fastest one.

On Tuesday, all I can say is I survived. Miserable weather and tired legs. I did manage to push a little bit at the end, and I guess my legs got a little less tired later on.

Wednesday, the weather was still terrible. My legs felt a little tired at the beginning and they got better as I went on. I did feel a little bit of fatigue on the last mile, but that was understandable. Because the weather makes it difficult to measure easy, moderate, and comfortably hard effort, I just aimed for around 12:00/mile for the first two miles, around 11:00/mile for the next two, and 10:00 for the last one. Other than the first mile being a little slower than I’d like, I was pleased with my paces.

On Friday, it was still humid, but slightly less hot, 68 degrees. I think I got a psychological boost from seeing a temperature below 70. My legs felt OK. It was a pretty good, uneventful run.

Saturday, it was time to finally hit double digits. It was a couple of degrees cooler, but still humid. There was an occasional breeze, and the sun never broke through the clouds, so that helped. My legs felt OK for the most part, maybe just a little tired near the end. I stopped for water about once every mile, and had Gu just after the 5 mile mark. I avoided walking outside of my water/Gu breaks. I had enough left to push it on my last mile. Considering it was my longest run since my half marathon last December (and it was over 30 degrees warmer than on race day), I was pretty happy with it.

Next week, I have a hill workout on Global Running Day on Wednesday. I think that happened last year, too. That which does not kill me makes me stronger, right? I’m also on call for work, so we’ll see how my running schedule works out.