+1.  I ran a 10K last Saturday on the Des Plaines River Trail (I think you're a fellow Illinois guy) and suffered miserably.  I'm gearing up for Chicago in October and just hoping it isn't a repeat of Boston relative to normal temperatures and humidity.  I'm finding my shoes make an annoying squishing sound after ten miles or so due to all the sweat that pours down my body, ultimately collecting in my shoes.  Yep, that's super.  3 X 1600 tonight at 5K pace (~5:20) so naturally, it is another 80% humidity day today outside Chicago.

 

Gearing up for Chicago, huh?  Given how your running has been going this year, you're going to be a force to reckon with at Chicago.  You're already at almost 2k miles for the year.  I'll be there too.  Assuming that you are starting corral placement will be the "A" corral?  If so, I'll probably see you at the start and then watch you slowly drift ahead of me.  52 days remaining and counting!  Nice work on the 3 x 1600 workout last night.  I did a fartlek run ( 2 mi, 1 mi, 800, 400, 200 w/ half as recovery in between) last night and a 5:40 pace felt hard.  I'm hoping that it's a combo of heat/humidity effect and tired legs.

A quick check of the calendar tells me that my half is only 3 weeks from Sunday.  I just have no idea how this is going to go as I haven't raced in over 5 years and this heat has kept me from running much in the way of workouts.  Mileage has been consistent if nothing else and I've been getting out for at least an hour and a half once a week since late June.

Since this is sort of a running rebirth I thought that a good goal would be to beat my first ever half marathon time (1:47:57 in 2004, age 41). I am probably close to as fit as I was then, albeit 12 years older.  I just don't have any indicators.  We are supposed to get a break in this heat and humidity next week.  I am going to try a 30 minute tempo and see what is what.

Assuming that I can get a benchmark in the ballpark, I am hoping to catch a nice cool morning so all of the running that I have done in this miserable heat pays off.

The break in temps were sure nice this weekend.  Let us know how the fitness benchmark goes.

30 minute tempo done. Managed just under 3.5 miles. Yikes. It didn't kill me but now I realize how much I am not in race shape. I've been running plenty of miles but nothing at any pace. I looked at my log and that's the first workout of any type that I've done since February 2012. So while finishing the half will be easy, a decent time may be difficult. And I can't really blame the heat. It was 80 but dew point was in the mid 50s. Gonna try to get one more of these in before the race.

It it did feel good to get out there and do something besides just slog along.

The half is in a couple of hours and at 4 AM the temperature is 79 and the dew point is 72. WTF? I may just jog this one and try to pick it up at the end.

Good news is that there will be a bunch of runner chicks from the LLR there, most I've never met IRL. So there's that.

The half is in a couple of hours and at 4 AM the temperature is 79 and the dew point is 72. WTF? I may just jog this one and try to pick it up at the end.

 

Good news is that there will be a bunch of runner chicks from the LLR there, most I've never met IRL. So there's that.

2:03:04.  It is what it is.  They were calling for a front to go through overnight and I was hoping that it would happen before the race.  As it turned out, it happened during the race.  It was really muggy at the start and it lasted for the first third or so of the race.  I was drenched in sweat a half hour in.  Then a nice breeze picked up and my body was able to purge some heat.  It was quite pleasant at the finish area after the race.

I went without a watch because I really wanted to settle on an effort level that I could maintain.  This worked out really well as I passed a bunch of people the last third of the race and was actually able to pick the pace up.  For not having raced in probably 6 years I was pleased that I raced this one pretty smart and all things considered got what I could out of it.

I met a handful of ladies from the LLR there, including Pam.  That was nice.  All in all it was a good morning.  I can't complain.

Finn, after all of your trials over the years, I think that's a stellar result.

Thanks.  Probably the hardest thing for me is letting go of the old standard.  It made me think, why bother racing.  I think that this helped with that. Now that there is a target out there I may start racing a few times a year.  It helps keep me motivated.  I would definitely not have ran as much as I did in the heat these last couple of months if I didn't have this race.

 

Thanks.  Probably the hardest thing for me is letting go of the old standard.  It made me think, why bother racing.  I think that this helped with that. Now that there is a target out there I may start racing a few times a year.  It helps keep me motivated.  I would definitely not have ran as much as I did in the heat these last couple of months if I didn't have this race.

Brother.  This, I can totally identify with.  Just a couple years ago PaulyGram paced me to only my second marathon victory in a very moderate time, only able to keep up for a couple portions of it, and today I look at his long run and think damn, I couldn't RACE that.

I blame a lot of things, but it's all in my head.  The reset button is a big factor.