That was Hot!

92F and humid. Mike and I went for a 4 mile run. Wow it was hot.

Mile 1 = 8:10/mi
Mile 2 = 7:44/mi
Mile 3 = 8:16/mi
Mile 4 = 8:37/mi (I was losin' steam)

A final 3 mins at a 8:08/mi pace to finish things off for 4.37 miles in 35:49.

That was hot!

4-Miler Race

After running 18 miles in the afternoon, I didn't know if my plan to enter the 4-miler race was a good idea. I drank more water. Around 70 oz since starting my run. I took a shower then closed my eyes for 20 minutes while watching the Weather Channel. A nice storm would have worked as an excuse, but it was clear.

90 mins to race time. I wonder how a BBQ chicken sub and some more Gatorade would work over the course of 4 miles? I guess I'll find out. I took two Tylenol and wash it down with the remainder of the Gatorade.

With a lack of energy I stood in a long line to get signed up. At the starting line they announced the race would start 15 mins late. I found a spot in the grass to lay down.

2005 was the first time I ran this 4-mile race. I completed it in 32:33 after running 7 miles in the morning. I thought that was an amazing accomplishment. Last year I ran this race in something like 32:40 after running 14-miles in the morning. I thought that was a pretty good accomplishment. As I laid in the grass I was wondering if I could stay under 40 mins.

With a minute to start I told myself to find a steady pace. Don't start too fast or too slowly, but don't wimpy out.

Mile 1 - 7:31
Mile 2 - 7:39 (up the hills)
Mile 3 - 7:26
Mile 4 - 7:35 (tastes like BBQ chicken)

and another .13 miles in 50 seconds.

Finished in 31:03!

22 miles for the day and a PR by 90 seconds for this race.

Sweeter than Sixteen

With the early afternoon temp around 81F, I decided it was time for a long run!

I jumped in my Jeep and headed to the bike trail. I took three 16oz bottles of water. I'm goin' for 16 miles!

I strategically located my Jeep for an out and back to the south and then another out/back to the north with my Jeep as a mid-point for water.

The plan was a SLOW run to build endurance. Most of my summer running has been a bit faster than last year. I haven't worked in as many long runs as I did last July. As I was looking at the calendar I realized the marathon season is approaching quickly. I need long runs!

Did I mention it was hot? I wore a white shirt. I could also use a white (good guy) hat!

In January I sat in on a Jeff Galloway running presentation. He stated that for ever 5 degrees above 60 F a runner should reduce their pace by 30 sec/mi. I calculated that at 81 F I should slow my pace by 2 minutes so a nice 9:00/mi pace would be 11:00/mi in this heat. Hmmm...ok!

Off I went! I was able to keep a 10:10/mi pace for the first 4 miles. I turned around where the path was closed. I was getting hot. The paced seemed about right if I wanted to live.

I refilled my water a the baseball diamond.

I consumed 33 oz of water in the first 8 miles. Stopped at my Jeep for another 16.9 oz bottle. I had the top down on the Jeep so I reached in and unlocked it. This made the alarm go off. I had the key tied to my shoe. Bent over, I pushed the panic button to see if that would stop the horn. Nope! It just made it beep faster. I finally hit the unlock button a few times. With my heart racing like a "looooser" on the loose, off I was went for another 4 miles to the north.

I was out of water again by mile 11. Just as planned I stopped at the other baseball diamond to refill...

The town had REMOVED the water bubbler! Nice new grass was growing in that spot. I looked all around. Nothing. I'm out of water. I'm hot. I'm 3 1/2 miles from my Jeep. I decided it was closer to continue running north to a gas station about a mile more.

With credit card in my shorts I ran a mile north and realized I was still a 1/2 mile from the gas station. Oh that 32 oz Gatorade will be a prize possession! Or maybe some milk. I could eat a hot dog. The dehydrating mind does funny things.

I guzzled half of bottle of "rain" flavored Gatorade. The other half went into my empty water bottle. The thoughts of hot dogs and milk disappeared.

Five long miles back to my Jeep I finished in 3 hours and 17 minutes. The mileage tallied up to 18.2 miles.

It was a hot and long outing, but a really good afternoon!

Note: I'm planning to do a 4 mile race tonight. Starts in 3-hours!

Two Days Gone

A couple of hot late afternoon runs. Yesterday was a nice 5 mile loop on a combination of sidewalk, road and gravel. It was warm yesterday, but it was a nice easy run.

Today was a hill workout with Mike and Bill. It was 82F and humid.

Hill 1 = 69 secs
Hill 2 = 60 secs
Hill 3 = 50 secs (new PR!)
Hill 4 = 66 secs (still recovering)
Hill 5 = 54 secs
Hill 6 = 59 secs

The times are from going up the same hill over and over and over.

Overall we ran 5.5 miles. The hills were a good, but hard workout. I was REALLY out of breath at the top of the hill, but never puked!


...almost looks like my car is on my shoulder. It's not really that small.

5 Mile Fartlek

It was around 84 F with humidity of about 50%.

I did my first real fartlek workout tonight with Bill. We warmed up with an easy mile then alternated between running fast and the slowing down. Fastest overall mile was 7:32/mi. The slowest was 9:43/mi.

Overall ran 5 miles in 43:36 for a 8:42/mi pace

Asics GT-2110

I got a new pair of ASICS GT-2110. It's my 4th pair!

5K

After seeing a old rock 'n' roll show last night and staying up late watching fireworks, I decided to run a 5k race this morning.

Mile 1 = 6:37/mi
Mile 2 = 7:31/mi
Mile 3 = 7:44/mi

Finished in 22:55

2 minutes faster than 2-months ago!

My time was within 10 seconds of my fastest 5k and this wasn't a flat course. The past few months of faster workouts are paying off.

Hills

Had a good hill workout on Thursday with Bill. Did 6 hill repeats. Fastest hill was 53 seconds!

Total distance was 5.4 miles.

Don't Make Me Run

81F with humidity over 70%. It felt hot coming out of A/C all day. I didn't feel like running this evening, but I did anyway.

I set out for a 3 mile out and back. As I completed the first hot and humid mile in 8:20/mi I started thinking about running 4 miles instead. I made the turn for a 4 mile loops instead of an out and back. A bit past 2 miles I started to figure out how to add yet another mile for around 5 miles. I turned toward the path to add a mile.

The whole pace seemed easy, but sweaty. I finished with 4.85 miles in 41:49.

That's Pretty Hot

It was 80 F this afternoon, but the humidity wasn't too bad at around 40%. A nice 10 MPH breeze. It was still hot!

I took the run nice and slow doing my 6.9 mile loop twice. I drank about 35 oz of water during the 2 hours 15 mins.

Though I'd been running for a couple of hours in the heat, I decided at mile 13 to pick up the pace. I was starting to feel fatigued so I gave myself a pep talk for about 30 seconds then dropped to a 8:08/mi pace. Did all of mile 13 at that pace. It's amazing what the mind can do with the body!

I really needed this long run today. It takes me to 49 miles half way through the month.

Saturday Seven

Forgot to post my run yesterday.

It was upper 70s, but low humidity for a mid-afternoon run. Since my "7" mile loops is actually right around 6.9 miles, I decided to extend my 7 miles to an actual 7 miles. What a concept!

I ran easy for the first 6 miles enjoying the weather. I then picked it up to a 7:50/mi pace for the last full mile. Half a mile of the last mile is uphill.

Finished the 7 miles in 1:04:30.

Lower 70's this evening, but humidity was over 90%.

Ran local hills 5x. Did all the runs between 61-63 seconds.

Total run was 4.8 miles in 47 minutes.

I finished off the last .8 mile stretch back to the office at a 7:51/mi pace. Really nice work out!

It was around 86 F early this afternoon when I went for my 7 mile loop. Nice breeze with lower humidity, but it felt hot!

I took it easy the whole way. Drank two bottles of water 16 oz each. Finished in 67:09.

I'd like to mention this blog went over the 14,000 visitor mark! I guess that comes from starting in 2004 and just keepin' at it. Most of you stop by to checkout something related to running, but I still get many folks each month reading older posts. I've had a number of people checking out my post about O'Hagan guitars or downloading one of my songs. It's usually Cool Creek since it was feature in "The Rock Show" on the Podcast Network. AND yes, some of you have even purchased stuff with my face on it. Thanks!

Note: can you see that the corn is getting taller? It's July.

Couple of nice runs this week while on some R&R in Door County. Just casual runs, but I got 3 big hills one day and 2 big hills another day!

Another Tempo

59:19 for my 6.9 mile loop. Lower 70s today, but I ran with the sun high!

Mile 1 = 8:30/mi
Mile 2 = 8:48/mi
Mile 3 = 9:02/mi
Mile 4 = 9:08/mi
Mile 5 = 8:20/mi
Mile 6 = 8:21/mi
Mile 7 = 8:06/mi

I think this counts as another temp run!