(Meet Spike - my new friend, Spike, the 2012 Boston Marathoner)
July 2, Monday:
Went to my parents' house in Charleston on Saturday. I'd work from home Monday and Tuesday. Monday, at 6:15am, I did 3 loops around the neighborhood. 6.7 in 56:14, 8:33 ave. It was cloudy, and even almost sprinkling at first. Perfect. 75 degrees manageable. Progressively more effort, with a bit more speed.
July 3, Tuesday:
Free after work! 9pm, did a relaxing bike session while reading a magazine. I had wanted to exercise, but my legs hadn't been quite ready to run yet. The resistance was higher than I was used to, but it was good. This bike was smooth.
July 5, Thursday:
Treadmill hill workout. 1 mi warmup in 8:11 @ 1 degree. Then, 2x [1/2mi @ 5 degrees, 1/4mi @ 1 degree, 1/4mi @ 10 degrees (equivalent to 6:02/mi effort), 1/4mi @ 1 degree] @ 7.5mph. It totaled 3.5 mi, 28:04 min, 8:01 ave. Afterwards, it felt like it had been really short, even though that last rep of the 1/4 @ 10 degrees was quite a challenge. Afterwards, I had tried to/wanted to run a bit more to round it out, but I was in no mood, so I stopped there. It was a good workout, though, and felt like a nice "snack". I was on a runner's high on the bike ride back home. I had wanted cardio that was ez on the muscles, and this hit the spot.
Today, I felt like I was acclimatized to the heat for the first time, at least psychologically. I wouldn't have minded running out in the heat at all. Good stuff.
July 7, Saturday:
It's kind of the day for LRs, but the sun rose so quickly, even though I set off at 6am, before sunrise. I managed 3 progressive laps, at 8:34, 8:15, then 7:52 pace. It was humid!!! and 76 degrees. It was a pre-breakfast run, too. To shake things up and train the body to burn fat more efficiently and to train psychologically and physicologically for running on fumes. That was another reason I didn't keep going. I could've eaten something and gone on, but this workout had a different goal. 6.7 in 55:35, 8:18 ave. Better than Monday's identical route/run, even though it was slightly hotter/humider, and even though I was running before breakfast. Oh yeah, I was wearing lighter shoes, the Kinvaras... so that helped.
July 8, Sunday:
Treadmill, 1 degree. 11.0 in 1:28:17, 8:02 ave. I was hoping in the back of my mind that I could get in a LR after all this week. I set off on marathon pace, hoping to get my body used to going at that pace with no problem. It went really well and felt surprisingly easy. Splits> 8:15, 06, 06, 06, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 7:55, 51. Drank about half a bottle of water, at miles 7.5 and 8.5. I think it was easier because I was wearing the Kinvaras, and maybe because my body is acclimatized, but I was running indoors, with a big fan on me. Good confidence builder.
CBS had a show about a guy running the Pony Express route, from Sacramento, CA to St. Paul, MN. Perfect. I watched it while dynamic stretching and while re-fueling afterwards. Great to see running coverage on antenna TV.
Wednesday - Sunday, lots of naps, TV, etc... doing nothing (a couple hrs of work while on vacation, but not bad). It was GREAT. Just what I needed.
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