not bad for mile 25
Altair - Way to hang in there and get a 9 mile run done. The Oak Tree Half looks lovely; it'll be worth the work.
Art in AZ and -2MN - I've got to stop complaining about my weather. I don't have 110F, I don't have smoke. Occasional rain, and really, last winter was brutal, but for the most part, things are good here. I mentioned my HR during yesterday's intervals, but I'll add the graphical version here. Maybe my Garmin was wonky. Maybe my heart was wonky. Which would be preferable?
MTA: My previous graph, a couple of pages back, is more like what one would expect. Whatever.
Runs in the rain
Art - Sometimes a little running is the cure for the blahs, sorry it didn't work for you Monday. The Thunderstorm may have cleaned up the air but, I gather the heat built up again during Tuesday's run. Wednesday you got caught in the rain which can be nice on a hot run, you might have been disappointed it stopped before the last half mile. Take it easy in the extreme heat!
Rich - I guess you get buzzed by several flies at a time, your conditions are worse than mine, As far as I can recall it is just a single fly that circles around me and might land to take a painful bite, very annoying! Usually I can brush it off, but if it lands between my shoulder blades I can't get it. You can't outrun them, but I will make a quick burst of speed so the fly will lose track of where I am. Sometimes it works! You sure enjoy quite a variety of animals on that trail.
Led - I see you are enjoying the rain and cooler temperatures on your runs! Next time dry that dog with an old towel before letting it get in bed! Cicadas are harmless, but are hard and heavy enough to hurt when they fly into us. The heart rate decrease is strange. Maybe as you warmed up during exercise you went into a more efficient mode that lowered the rate. Wait, you just posted a graph. Why did your rate peak above 170 at the end of your warmup mile? Comparing to the earlier graph the first several intervals look typical with the HR going just above 160, but end looks wrong. Perhaps if the heart rate part of the graph was placed a bit more to the right it would match better with the pace. My Garmin will give crazy HR readings sometimes if that strap is not tight.
az - The fire is scary, and then you also have risks of floods in your area if you get heavy rains, talk about being between a rock and a hard place! You must worry when you are away at another home. It is bad when you can't run outside due to smoke. Last week I heard there was smoke in the air here due to a fire in Canada, but I did not notice it at all. Congratulations to your DH on his upcoming retirement!
As expected my legs are a bit sore so I am walking slowly this morning. No run planned, but I might do some more mowing of the grass. As for my race training, the race is 5 weeks away and the last week would be the taper, which leaves just 4 weeks to improve. Ideally I would like to do a 15 mile run a week before the race. Yesterday's run was just about 9, so my long run needs to increase by 6 miles in 4 weeks, an average of a mile and a half each week.
A little more about the Strava, I have only used it for a few months, so I am still learning. Yesterday I created a "segment", part of my running course that will now be timed and compared to other runners. There are segments created by different local runners as well. I seem to be the slowest on them right now. but I may also be the oldest runner. I intend to make more segments along my courses along parts when I run my fastest.
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Wednesday, 7/24...except walking the golf course yesterday carrying the bag for 9 nine holes, I took the day off.
Thursday, 7/25... 54 degrees this morning when I left the house to run the railtrail. I extended today's run to 8 miles and ran mile 7 as a fartlek run to get in a little speed work. Very happy, down for 3 months with an injury and back running again only 3 weeks ago, I'm gaining. My heel afflicted with Plantar Fasciitis is complaining just a little, but I'm applying heat now and will ride the bike tomorrow. Early morning when there's a chill in the air is the time to run, no bugs!
Led... odd heart rate during your intervals, eh? I guess for me, I'd prefer a wonky Garmin... Lol
az... DH must be fired up! Congrats. to him on his upcoming retirement! And good luck to you getting back into training again, the fire must be big from everything you're saying...
Altair5... like Art says, there's still time to get ready for your September half marathon, but reading your post was an eye opener for me, I'm also trying to get ready to run a HM in September. I need to check the exact date, but I can register on race morning so getting in isn't an issue. Anyway, congrats. on the almost 9 miler, you're progressing nicely. And yes, I get buzzed by multiple deerflies at a time. What's really frustrating is their ability to bite right through your clothing! And yes to the variety of animals on the trail, this morning it was a quick glimpse of a mother turkey and her brood before they disappeared into the underbrush...
Art... I can see how you and other runners would take advantage of the rain, definitely would have a cooling effect in your heat. Congrats. on the 5.2 miler...
Rich - Glad you are progressing as well. Doesn't it feel great to do 8 miles again! Plus you added the Farklet! If the morning chill takes away the deer flies that is the way to go! I know if I was swarmed by them I would be too annoyed to run outside.
Did 5 miles before breakfast just to avoid the heat. Most likely I will not run on the weekend, but may fit in a bike ride or walk.
Thursday morning was a semi rest day. Walked 2.7 miles going to the park to get my set of pull-ups and chin-ups in. Some clouds so it wasn't always bright sun. But it was still warm out.
Friday morning did 6.3 miles. Sunny and hot out with humidity so I was soaked at the end. Had to take a couple of walk breaks because of the heat. I could really feel the sun beating down on me.
Led - I imagine my morning runs in this heat would be similar to you running in the afternoon there. And yes, when the temps hit that high it is just blessed hot out. Not much to do but try to stay cool if outside or just stay in. I think the Garmin was a little wonky.
Altair - We take the good runs with the bad. On those bad days I just think tomorrow is another day. Adding a mile and a half each week is doable. I would just take it easy and hope for cool weather when you run.
Rich - Nice running weather you had there. And a bonus of no bugs. I'm debating a bike ride this weekend. I wanted to do some work on the car outside but think it will be too hot for that. Upper temp for the paint I have is 90 degrees using the medium reducer I have. I could get a slow reducer but would have to wait for it to be delivered. I'll just wait for the temps to drop some. Nice you were able to speed up at the end.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Friday, 7/26... 10.5 mile mtn bike trail ride today. I think I've mentioned I don't push the pace on these rides, the goal is for increased circulation in my legs to help with recovery. I felt yesterday's sprints in my legs before I rode, but the soreness was pretty much gone by the time I'd finished. Now we'll we see what tomorrow brings...
Altair5... yes, it felt great to be back on legs that want to run...Lol I checked the date for the HM I want to run and it's also Sept. 1st, so I need to buckle down and get serious. The rolling hills in that course from miles 7 thru 10 caught up with me last year, so running hills will be a priority as well whatever I can add in for speedwork on other runs. Good deal on the 5 miler before the heat arrived...
Art... you had a couple of nice workouts the last few days, eh? Seems like a bike ride would be a more comfortable option than a run in your heat. And I'm with you, I'd wait for the weather to cool before I paint too. If you take the bike out, good luck with your ride...
Happy Friday
Well, my plan to run on the dreadmill didn't happen ........ kinda a 'good thing' for me (don't like TM running) but not for my training. Oh well.
I had to get some work done and time flew by. The fire was around 15% contained last night. Less smokey in our area and clouds rolled in.
Yesterday (Thurs): Finished 6.6 miles on the trails near home. It was a really good run, with all the days of rest, I pushed myself, over the hills and technical areas of the trail, and a few sprints thrown in the last couple of miles ........ because I could, LOL!! It was in the evening with a cloud cover so it was cool and muggy tho (for our area). After about 30 minutes getting home, it started to sprinkle!! YAY!! The smoke was away from our area so it wasn't bad at all running outside. I took a couple of photos of the smoke over the mountains. The residents near the fire area are piling sand bags around their property with the monsoon season now.
Today: I didn't see much smoke when I got up early this morning and decided on a short 3-4 miler but after getting out of the house, you can see smoke hanging over the neighborhood. Hmmmm ....... decided against running. Breathing will be compromised, right? Hope to get in a long run tomorrow. Not sure if I will run with the group tomorrow morning. The trailhead is about 30 miles from the smokey areas, will need to carpool...... but they are planning on around 8 miles. I need to get another 8 ..........maybe I'll run the extra 8-10 miles when I get back with the carpool.
Altair: nice going with the extra distance. I totally get the time necessary to take breaks in the heat and humidity. The Sept race looks pretty scenic. Have you run this before? How far is it from your place? You take care of yourself.
Art: wow!! The monsoon did a number in the valley there!! Been watching the local news about the rain there and the fire status here. Those cool sprinkles and showers are a welcome I'm sure. DH wants to move back to MN so he'll be spending more time there while I live here and will be traveling back and forth like I was before. His father (lives in ND) is not in the best of health and DH needs to be near. My dad is not that great either but my mom needs help with him. My siblings are very helpful but I need to be near as well. DH's siblings are not helpful at all. We'll see how all that works out. I know that we all deal with that within in our families. I'm not a 'midwestern' kind of gal. I miss my mountains, rivers, and canyons and trails.
NH: hey, good to hear that you are on your training schedule after 3 months of waiting for the PF to calm down. Even with the bit of 'humidity' from the rain here, I had bugs sticking to me on my run yesterday! The sweat keeps them stuck to my skin and shirt, HA!!
At least they aren't the biting ones, ewww!
Led: I'm ok with the 'hot' temps here in northern AZ, but Art is two hours away in the Phoenix area and I would be complaining constantly about the triple digits scorching temps if I lived there. I did my share of whining when I lived in hot and muggy northern MN. I have a Garmin but I don't keep track of my progress like you do. It tells me all that afterwards but I don't download the results after each run. I know that when I run on the TM during the winter months, it could tell me what my HR was. Although I'm not sure how accurate they are.
What happened to Brilliant? Oh, NH, it was Chantilly who gave your tryke a name?
Saturday, 7/27... out ahead of the heat this morning for a 6 mile road run, I wanted to see if running on pavement would aggravate my P.F.'d heel, but everything went fine. Ran the course that includes a covered bridge and mildly difficult 1/4 mile hill before turning back to run the same course going the other way. I'm running ok, but lack of fitness is really obvious. Today's covered bridge
az... nice run Thursday and good luck getting in today's long run. And be thankful your bugs just stick to you in the heat, ours list you as "Today's Special" on their menu...Lol
az - I have run the Oak Tree races many times. The 5K race runs past the end of my street, 1/3 a mile away from my home. The half runs down Main St. which is about 3/4 a mile away. The start line is like a mile and a half away. So it is very near. Many of my runs take me over parts of the course, for example a little over a mile of Friday's 5 mile run was on the race course, it took me past the High School track where the finish line is. Some of my longer practice runs cover a lot more of the HM course. If you scroll to to top of this page and click on "MAPS" you will see the race course, although it no longer shows the starting point since the maps were changed. Checking my records I ran the 5K in 2011 and 2012. In 2013 I had an injury and then sickness and I ran no races. Since 2014 I have run the half 5 times now! The course is very scenic, it runs to Main St. Geneseo and around the bear fountain : The fountain was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, who also designed mansions for the Vanderbilts and the base for the Statue of Liberty. The course then runs back the other way, past the High School and then fields with large oak trees. It turns onto a dirt road and there are nice views of the valley, loops back around to finish at the track. I have shared with you many photos I have taken along this course, here again is one taken in spring showing the trees:
I just searched Facebook for photos of the Oak Tree and found these images of myself! Quite a surprise! Note these two pictures and my avatar picture must be from different years since the bib number is changed, but I am still wearing my lucky shirt! As you can see Altair is not my real name, but we already have one Art. The first photo comes with the goal I listed in my entry form:
and winning a random drawing for a loaf of bread baked in a local monastery!
I got my long run done today, two miles with the dog, then 12.4 solo. I/we ran on the MoPac, a nice rails-to-trails that is maybe 50% shaded. It's a good place encounter lots of friendly runners (sometimes friends), bikers, birds, dogs, and (earlier in the summer), mulberries. Today the temp ranged from 75F to 84F, but it wasn't muggy, so it was a pretty nice run. I was still pretty wiped for a few hours after, though.
NH - I wouldn't mind having more hills and covered bridges around here. Looks nice! Glad your heel is hanging in there. I have chronic but manageable posterior tibial tendonitis. I'm actually not sure the tendon is bad any more, but there are occasional shooting pains that might just be residual neuropathy. It seems fine to just ignore it and run.
Altair - Thanks for the description and pics of your race! That looks great! Good job, Mister Bear, keeping the town square lit! So...a loaf of bread as the race prize seems to thrill you, or I'm misreading the picture.
Sunday, 7/28... 5 mile railtrail run this morning on legs that weren't interested. Forced 'em to do 6 X 100 strides in the 4th mile they weren't interested in either, now I'll cross train for a day or two and hope the training takes.
Altair5... enjoyed the pictures and really like the bear fountain, nice!
Led... along with the covered bridge in the picture I posted, there's also two railroad covered bridges within 6 miles of where I start my trail run. The claim is they're 2 of only 5 such bridges still in existence in the U.S., how accurate that is, is anyone's guess...Lol "Itis' indicates inflammation, something not easy to get rid of once it becomes chronic. We runners have our "challenges", don't we? Lol I seem to be more challenged, the older I get...Lol Anyway, good luck dealing with posterior tibial tendonitis, there's so little circulation in our feet, you're doing well to keep it at bay...
Goes with your avatar, doesn't it?
Art - az mentions fires near where you live, hope it doesn't effect you much! Good to do some cross training by walking to the park for pull and chin ups! With plus 90 degree heat and humidity you showed determination in running over 6 miles. Sometimes you need walk breaks. Yeah, we have both good and bad days, it's overall progress that counts.
Rich - The long bike ride will certainly increase circulation, hope it helped with your recovery and I agree that a bike ride is better than a run in the heat. The covered railroad bridge is very scenic, I did not know they were so rare. Those 5 and 6 miles runs are good, particularly if you are doing strides, but both of us have to work on increasing distance if we are running our halfs Sept. 1st.
az - I see you are still dealing with the fire, but good that you were able to run nearby trails. Do people wear masks for the smoke? I guess it would be uncomfortable to run wearing one. I can understand that your DH would like to be closer to his father and you would like to spend more time where you are in the mountains. It sounds hard for you if you will have to travel back and forth all the time.
Led - great 12.4 long run after the dog run! The MoPac sounds like a nice place to run, good to have shade in the summer! Do you run with friends there? I guess all of us deal with some form of pain when we run, particularly as we get older. I'm glad yours is manageable. As for the photo of me reaching out for the bread here is the caption they posted for it: "September 3, 2018 · Head cross country coach Chris Morens, part of our race committee, helps with the award ceremony, on-site facilities logistics, and the kids races." I guess they chose to use the picture because I look so comically eager. The bread is made locally in a monastery and they are a race sponsor. This is not a race with big rewards, I think the 1st place overall gets like $100. Top finishers get an oak leaf crown and are given a live oak tree to plant. Other winners of AG categories may just get a loaf of bread as their prize, but I got bread in a random drawing. I think they feel sorry for the old guy because I always seem to get something. In 2014 I got a $100 gift certificate from ASICS, they said I needed to replace my old shoes. I wear my running shoes until they are totally worn out and I guess they felt pity and fixed it so I could win the certificate and get new shoes. I got ASICS "GEL FLUX' with the certificate and additionally bought two pair of New Balance 840s and all of those are my current running shoes! Since they are all 5 years old I think I need to get new ones this year!
I have been looking at photos on the race Facebook page and getting excited to run this half marathon again! I will post some of those when I have time since you all seem to like looking at them. I have to go into Rochester and then go to work, so I might not have time to run today, but I have Tuesday and Wednesday off!
UPDATE! I did not go into Rochester but did a 3.87 mile run! 88 degrees and partly cloudy, a few welcome breezes.It took about 51 minutes, a 12 minute increase in speed from when I ran this same course 19 days ago!
Led – your run along the MoPac trail sounds like a great place to run. I love shaded trails.
Altair – those photos are fun! Do you wear your lucky shirt for all races?
Rich – sorry about the PF. I need to put “run under covered bridges” on my bucket list. I have some friends that did the Covered Bridges HM and loved it. I tried to get another friend to register for it with me after we got their fun race report, but no luck, and it’s not the type of thing I’d do solo.
AZ, sorry about the smoke you’re getting. Did you get your trail run/long run done this weekend?
Ray – I’m glad you’re a fan of the Revel races! I’m still not sure if I am...I just have not been able to put together all the advice about downhill training, posture, cadence, “do more squats than miles” for quad strength, etc to make downhill racing a pleasant experience. We have a road nearby that has a looong downhill that my husband has dropped me at the top of to run back home occasionally. I should really ask him to do that once a week for the next 3 months until Revel Big Bear to get that practice in.
Art – glad you are getting some workouts done despite the heat.
So I’ve been away from the computer for almost a week now but was able to sneak a few runs in during this busy time. My son graduated from Marine boot camp on Friday! So we had to travel for that, and then had company staying with us, and a big party etc etc etc. It has been a very physically and emotionally draining few days. But in a good way.