I had my best run in a very long time last night. Mind was in the right place I guess. I ran 8.12 miles with a bit of haze and visibility about half of normal from the smoke. I was so relaxed.

Morning!  Another 7-8 for me tonight.

Meg, great run!

Mitch, nice runs.  Bella must have been jealous of you going out to run without her.

7.3 miles this morning. One day I'd like to have a dog friend to run with... Not the best time today, I started a bit too fast (competing against another jolly jogger across the street little did she know, and she won, ha!) I  then slowed way down on the way home. Oh well. Tomorrow, spin class.

Happy Tuesday, A

14.4 LR on Wednesday evening, then a 5.25 recovery run this morning. I'm starting night shift tonight, dam I hate nights!

Yesterday I did a 5 miler with easy first and last miles but alternating 1/4 miles easy-hard for middle miles. It was tough, but I think it was a good shake up for me. My paces weren't as even as I'd like, but I think that will come later. We seem to be having a bit of a reprieve from the smoke now (yesterday and today are clear), but now heat is coming. Today's high is 32*C or 90*F. Supposed to be a bit hotter tomorrow. We won't be back to the high 20s until Sunday or Monday. It's a challenging time for me.

MT, as they say, we are all an experiment of one. Love hearing what is working for you. Hope your recovery gets better.

Mitch, that is crazy turnaround. How are you feeling?

7/4 - 10K...goal is run course pb

7/11 - half marathon...goal is pick a split on race day and run steady splits through 11, then 10sec faster for 12 & 13

7/18 - 5 mile race...goal is better last year's time

7/25 - 5 mile race...goal is course pb

 

I'll probably be about 50:50 on those goals...but now that I've written them, the pressure's on. Yikes.

Old Port Half today was hot (as you'd expect in July) -- started at about 68F and climbed to 78F and sunny with no breeze at all, so dialed into a pace which was work, but sustainable.  One of the hottest run day of the year for me so far.  That just is par for the course with this event -- I usually expect to run 10min slower than whatever is my current all-out half fitness.

Wasn't able to run the plan of picking up from 11 in...had to hold steady, but did run fastest split in 12-13, about 10 secs faster than the previous couple splits. Goal somewhat met. I'll take it.

Commentary...

I'd say I'm somewhat experienced with running half marathons -- I think I've run over 40 of them. One of the things I've learned is that if you're a slave to some planned pace early in the race, you can easily run yourself into the ground and be cooked from 10 onward. You must adjust your plan (up or down). Today's weather was about 10F warmer than expected, and this course has a couple hard climbs in the early sections -- at mile 3 and then at 6. Today, climbing at 3, there's a guy next to me who is sweating like mad, breathing like it's a 5K and all the while checking his pace again, and again...saying "Crap, too slow, too slow.." out loud. So I said to him, the seconds you give up now will pay back in minutes from 10 on in.  He said "gotta go". Next time I say him was walking at about mile 6.

In general, I ran 20 sec/mi slower today than I planned I would. But when I crossed the finish, I couldn't have run another mile at that time; my calf were starting to cramp a bit, I had probably lost 3-4 pounds despite taking water at nearly every station. You must adjust to what your body can do that day, at that time. Running a fixed pace when you can't do it is just a recipe for disaster.

..end of commentary.

5k this morning with the stroller in 26:57. I think I should start keeping up with my stroller PR's, lol. I ended the week with just over 43. I feel good, strong and healthy for my upcoming half in Sept. I am trying to do some speed work, but it's so hot out, the paces don't matter as much as the effort. I need to reap the message in MT's commentary and focus on slowing down just a bit. The weather should be cooler in Sept, so things should pan out to a good race.

 

Old Port Half today was hot (as you'd expect in July) -- started at about 68F and climbed to 78F and sunny with no breeze at all, so dialed into a pace which was work, but sustainable.  One of the hottest run day of the year for me so far.  That just is par for the course with this event -- I usually expect to run 10min slower than whatever is my current all-out half fitness.

 

Wasn't able to run the plan of picking up from 11 in...had to hold steady, but did run fastest split in 12-13, about 10 secs faster than the previous couple splits. Goal somewhat met. I'll take it.

 

Commentary...

 

I'd say I'm somewhat experienced with running half marathons -- I think I've run over 40 of them. One of the things I've learned is that if you're a slave to some planned pace early in the race, you can easily run yourself into the ground and be cooked from 10 onward. You must adjust your plan (up or down). Today's weather was about 10F warmer than expected, and this course has a couple hard climbs in the early sections -- at mile 3 and then at 6. Today, climbing at 3, there's a guy next to me who is sweating like mad, breathing like it's a 5K and all the while checking his pace again, and again...saying "Crap, too slow, too slow.." out loud. So I said to him, the seconds you give up now will pay back in minutes from 10 on in.  He said "gotta go". Next time I say him was walking at about mile 6.

 

In general, I ran 20 sec/mi slower today than I planned I would. But when I crossed the finish, I couldn't have run another mile at that time; my calf were starting to cramp a bit, I had probably lost 3-4 pounds despite taking water at nearly every station. You must adjust to what your body can do that day, at that time. Running a fixed pace when you can't do it is just a recipe for disaster.

 

..end of commentary.

Great job on the race.  I laugh because that would be a Winter day for us here. :-D