This was supposed to be another racing week – with a XC race on Tuesday and a mile race on Saturday.
The mile race ended up getting postponed due to a forecast of heavy lightning in the area. And the XC race was quite hot and humid, resulting in a less than stellar performance on my part.
But at least Wednesday’s workout was good. So there’s something.
And here’s the recap for the week.
The Weekly Plan
Originally, I planned on a race on Tuesday evening, a workout Wednesday evening, and then a couple easy days leading up to a race on Saturday. I was going to do five in the morning on Saturday (warming up and racing) and another five in the evening for an easy double. Once the race got canceled, I decided to combine those.
- Sunday: 15 miles easy
- Monday: 4 trail in the morning, 5 on the treadmill in the evening
- Tuesday: 6 trail in the morning, 6 at the XC race in the evening
- Wednesday: 6 trail in the morning, 6 at the track workout in the evening
- Thursday: 6 on the trails
- Friday: 6 easy
- Saturday: 10 easy
And here’s how things worked out.
Sunday: Struggling Through an Outdoor Long Run
For the past two weeks, I’ve done my long runs inside. This heat wave has just hung around, and against my better judgement I decided to give it a go outside.
I strapped on my hydration pack, full of ice water, and hit the road. The overnight low was above 80, and it was in the low 80’s throughout the run. The only saving grace was that the humidity had dropped a little bit, so the dew point was only in the mid to high 60’s. It was also pretty cloudy, so the sun wasn’t an issue.
The first few miles felt fine. I started off slow, knowing that I’d need to pace myself through this run. I eased into it and got progressively faster. The downhill on the way out probably helped, but I got down to ~8:30/mi for miles 5/6.
Then, it was time to turn around and come back. I still felt ok – although I was starting to show signs of fatigue. The hills didn’t help. The next three miles, the pace drifted up to ~9:00/mi.
When I got back to level ground at the Reservoir, I had to take a short walking break. This should have been my sign to take it easy and/or cut things short. Instead, I continued out of the Reservoir and finished the last few miles on a hilly portion of roads near my house.
Big mistake. I had to take a couple more walking breaks. I had initially planned on doing 16 miles – but by the time I hit 15, I was already up to 2:21. Typically, a decent 16 miler takes me 2:10 to 2:15.
So … yeah. That was slow, especially at the end. I called it quits at 15, walked home the last couple blocks, rehydrated, and slept it off. It was definitely not my finest long run – but it was a good reminder of how killer that heat can be when you’re out for 2+ hours.
I also noticed during this morning’s run that my right knee felt a little off. It went away after I warmed up, but just a mental note to keep up with my strength and mobility stuff.
Monday: Taking It Easy
After Sunday’s long run, we went to a friends house for a cookout. I had one too many of his coconut rum punch … and I was definitely a little hungover Monday morning.
On top of that, it was still hot – in the 80’s with a dew point above 70. I was not looking forward to a full eight miles on the trails.
So I did a little mental haggling with myself, and I decided I’d just cut today’s run in two. Four miles on the trail in the morning and five on the treadmill in the evening.
The four miles on the trails went pretty well. It was slow and sluggish at first, but I loosened up by the end. When I woke up hungover, I always feel better after an easy run – and today was no different.
I felt great when I got home. Showered, breakfast, and on with my day.
In the evening, I hopped on the treadmill after work. Five solid miles, and I felt great. Not too stiff or sore from the weekend’s long run. A good sign, given the fact that I had a XC race coming up the next day.
Tuesday: Racing Through the Heat
I woke up Tuesday and did an easy six miles on the trails. It was – yet again – quite warm. I took things slow and easy, knowing that I had a race in the evening.
After work, I drove down to Highland Park for the XC race. The forecast had been threatening rain, but it held off. It probably would have helped if it did rain, because then the humidity might have dropped a bit.
There was some cloud cover and a light wind, which helped things feel a little better. But when the race started at 7pm, it was around 90 degrees with a dew point in the mid 70’s. Eugh, eugh, and more eugh.
I’d taken the first two races in this series easy, and I had planned on taking this one a little harder. So when the race started, I took off with the lead runners. The first few guys were clearly going out too fast for me, but I settled in around 10th or so.
For most of the first mile, I felt ok. Breathing was under control. Legs felt good. I didn’t check my watch, but I was keeping pace with the guys in front of me and I even picked off one or two guys.
Somewhere between the mile marker and the end of the first loop, I could feel things starting to slip away. It was that familiar feeling of having gone out too fast and just watching the life drain out of my legs.
I finished up the first lap (~1.6 miles), and I was still chugging along – albeit slower than before. I grabbed a cup of water and swallowed as much as I could. I passed a guy who had stopped to walk, and I thought about how much I wished that could be me. But nope, gotta keep pushing.
I kept slowing down, and as I neared the end of the second mile I heard footsteps behind me. Before long, those footsteps came up on my shoulder. It was a friend of mine, and he went on ahead. I pushed through the end of the second mile, and then I eased up a bit – not walking or jogging, but definitely taking my foot off the gas.
There was one more hill, so my plan was to get through that hill, catch my breath, and then push towards the end. Somewhere around here, a second guy passed me. But I eventually made it over the last hill and back to level ground.
Over the last 3/4 of a mile, I did manage to pick up the pace a bit. But I never really got back on pace, and a third guy passed me in the final straight away with less than half a mile to go. I was pushing it through the last left turn into the finishing chute, and I looked behind me to make sure there was no one there. The closest guy was pretty far back, so I eased up as I crossed the finish line. No sense killing myself now.
Official time: A disappointing 22:05. My worst time of all three weeks.
I placed 12, which was slightly better than the previous race (14). So I guess everybody had a bad night with the weather. But still, I know I could have done better if I had paced myself better.
My splits were 6:36, 6:57, 7:20, and 6:46/mi pace for the last bit. If I had taken that first mile a bit easier, I probably would have held it together through the third mile.
Wednesday: Seeking Redemption at the Track Workout
I was on the fence about attending Wednesday night’s team track workout. With a race Tuesday night, I wasn’t sure how I’d be feeling on Wednesday.
Perhaps because I bombed so hard in the heat, though, I felt pretty good. I woke up and ran my usual easy six on the trails. My body felt good after the usual warmup. My overall pace was halfway decent – 57:54 with 8:58 on the final mile.
Nothing to write home about – but faster than I’d expect the day after a race.
In the evening, I drove over to the track for the workout. My wife met me there, and she did her walk / jog routine around the track while we worked out. I warmed up with the guys, we did some drills, and then we started the workout.
The workout was 5x200m @ 3k-5k pace, with 30 second rest in between reps. After the set, take a 3 minute rest, then rinse and repeat for 3-4 total sets. Coach said we’d normally do 5 sets, but given the heat we should call it quits when we felt done.
I wasn’t sure how my legs were going to hold up after the race, so I fell back a bit and didn’t run the usual group of guys up front. I thought the first couple reps were slow, but they were ~42-43s which is actually about what I should have targeted. The last couple reps in that first set, I hit just under 40s.
With the short rest, it really catches up to you. When I read the workout, I figured 200s would be easy. But by the last one in the set, it was getting tough.
After the three minute rest, the second set was pretty good. I was warmed up, and I hit them all in 41-42s. I didn’t actually look at the stats until the end of the workout, but the pace “felt” right.
Another three minute rest, and on to the third. Things didn’t feel so good. I was slowing down – and I hit most of these around 45s. That’s still 6:00/mi, which is more or less 5k pace. But it just felt slow – maybe because I had done the previous ones so fast.
Some of the guys called it quits here, and I was thinking of doing the same. But a couple people braved the fourth set, so I figured what the hell. I needed a little extra mileage anyway, and in a way it felt mentally easier to struggle through these reps than jog around the track three or four times.
I wasn’t quite as wrecked as I thought, and after the three minute rest I felt ok. I hit all these reps again in ~45s.
I jogged the last lap to hit my mileage goal (6 miles) for the workout. Then I did some yoga and chit chatted with the guys for a few minutes. I joined my wife for a final lap around the track – walking this time – and then we headed home for salad and pizza.
The workout actually went much better than I had expected it to, and I’m glad that I went.
Thursday: Easy Recovery on the Trail
With Tuesday and Wednesday behind me, the hard part of the week was over. Thursday and Friday were just easy recovery days, leading into Saturday’s race.
So I woke up Thursday and hit the trails for an easy six miles. It had rained over night, and the trails showed it. I was a little slow and stiff, but that’s to be expected after two days with doubles and with hard efforts.
My overall time was 59:33 – so quite a bit slower than Wednesday morning, but still not the slowest I’ve run.
Friday: An Easy Morning in Brooklyn
Thursday night, we went into the city to see the NY Liberty play the Chicago Sky. It was a good game, and we enjoyed the night out.
We stayed in the city at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge. It was pretty convenient – right by a subway stop and also within ~20 minutes walking of the Barclays Center.
I woke up Friday and headed north from the hotel. It was raining lightly, which was actually a nice reprieve from the summer heat. Otherwise, it would have been another warm, humid morning.
About a mile in, I hit the river, and I turned west. I ran along the river and up and down the piers until I hit three miles. Despite the crappy weather, there were quite a few other runners out. It’s always one of the highlights of being in the city – seeing other runners in the wild.
I got to my turnaround point and I headed back. The rain let up, and it was just cloudy towards the end. I wasn’t paying attention, and I missed my right turn to head back towards the hotel. Luckily, it didn’t take long before I noticed.
I flipped over to the navigation screen on my Garmin, and confirmed that I’d gone a couple blocks past where I was supposed to be. I got back on course and eventually made it back to the hotel, although I’d gone an extra third of a mile or so.
Any time I’m out of town, running through unfamiliar streets, I’m happy that my Garmin has navigation capabilities.
Saturday: An Easy Run in the Rain and the Heat
I woke up Saturday morning with ten miles to go in the week. Friday afternoon, we were notified that the race that had been scheduled for Saturday morning was postponed due to expected lightning. Since I wasn’t in a rush, I didn’t set an alarm and I ended up sleeping in until 8:30.
So instead of the 5/5 split I was planning on doing, I combined them into one ten mile run. I woke up, and it was still raining. By the time I got outside, the rain was letting up – but it still drizzled a bit for the first half of the run.
The rain felt nice. Again, it cooled me off a bit and helped an otherwise hot and humid day feel bearable. But about halfway through, the rain was done and the clouds started to burn off.
After I hit Verona Park and turned for home, the weather had fully changed – and it felt every bit as hot and humid as it was.
Luckily, I was prepared with water and I’d been sipping it throughout. By the time the sun came beaming down, I only had three or four miles to go. They got progressively harder, but I still finished up in a respectable 1:26. It was slower than a typical ten miler, but not painfully slow.
This was a good reminder, though, to do my long run tomorrow indoors. I finished ten miles, but I wasn’t going to be able to finish much more. I’d rather have a decent long run on the treadmill than suffer through a long run out in this heat.
Some day, it’ll cool off.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
I’m a little disappointed that the Big Bang Mile was postponed. But maybe it was for the best. The weather wasn’t going to be great, so I probably wouldn’t have done that well. It’s not in mid-August, and maybe by then we’ll be back to “regular” summer heat.
I’m also a little disappointed in my performance at the XC race. I could have and should have done better. But I looked through the results and realized that one of the guys finishing towards the front – around 19:30 each week – finished around 18:00 at the Lager Run 5k in early June. So clearly, the extreme heat is taking a toll on everyone, and I should cut myself a little slack.
Looking ahead, the forecast for the final XC race is looking like it’ll be similar – ~90F. But it’s still a little far away, so we’ll see. Either way, I’m going to be a little more conservative in my pacing this time. I’d rather go too slow in the first mile and kill myself in the end than burn out again in the first mile.
Otherwise, that basically brings the racing season to a close.
I’m going to take the rest of this week easy – other than the team track workout on Wednesday – and next week marks 12 weeks to Chicago. So I’ll reorient a little bit towards a longer Sunday long run and a longer midweek long run.
But more on those plans at the end of this week.