catching up
saturday morning i met up with dana for a long run. temps and humidity combined to make for rather miserable conditions but having some company helped. we initially headed east for 4.5 miles then doubled back on our course to end up back at our cars in about 75 minutes which translated to about 8:20 average pace.
we each downed a salt tablet and hydrated a bit before heading out on the next bit of the run. the second leg of the effort took us southbound and honestly it was during this outbound stretch that i really began to feel it. even with carrying a water bottle and starting the run over-hydrated i still was overheating and quite honestly sweating like a pig. we stopped at a park to grab more water a little short of 12 miles and noticed the approaching dark clouds of a storm. doubling back along our route we had the pleasure of being buzzed by a group of cyclists who didn’t feel they needed to share the parkway.
i had to throw up the white flag to stop and walk twice on the way back to our cars. we eventually settled on running until our watch read 2:00:00 which translated to about 14.25 miles when all was said and done. to be honest, i felt miserable and really questioned why it was that i was putting myself through the effort.
after a 2 hour nap, i was still feeling rather lousy through saturday evening. it was enjoyable to watch the mens marathon on television, except for the numerous references to how tough it is for thirtysomething runners to run competitively like they used to. i’m sure many folks wouldn’t have taken it personally but that’s where i was that evening.
i took sunday off from running. we ended up taking the girls on a nature hike at the nature center near our house. when our youngest went down for a nap i took our oldest two to go see the new star wars movie…which was fun.
this morning i got myself out of bed and geared up for a constitutional. temperatures were much more reasonable and i rolled down comanche then east on the glacial drumlin. i then took the fox river trail southbound and made my turn around at 4.5 miles. i doubled back and made it home about 2 minutes faster than my effort on the way out. overall, i mustered just a bit under 8:20 pace for 9 miles which is a few ticks short of 1:15.
MTD – 183.25 miles
YTD – 1,308 miles
Odometer – 27,646 miles
a short-term goal for me will be to get at least 230 miles in for the month of August. here’s an update of my weekly mileage breakdown in preparation for marathon #20…
wk 1 – 52 miles
wk 2 – 50 miles
wk 3 – 46.5 miles
wk 4 – 54 miles
wk 5 – 57 miles
wk 6 – 56.25 miles
less than 6 weeks until the lakefront marathon.
doh, a deer
thursday i opted to reset my alarm clock and went back to sleep.
today i geared up and rolled myself down comanche to the drumlin trail. i opted to head east towards town and could hear the horn from the train that ran on the tracks parallel to the trail. as i approached the bridge that crosses the fox river, i could see something moving in the trees ahead of me – which turned out to be a deer. it bolted for the woods before i got too close and i continued on my way.
honestly, it was awful humid this morning and i was rather lackadaisical in my effort. i made my turnaround at bethesda park and headed back home along the same route. as i headed west on the glacial drumlin, i saw two more deer along the trail. this time they turned tail and ran away much quicker. eventually i made it back into my subdivision and ended up stopping my watch with 7 miles completed in 59:30 which translates to 8:30 miles on average.
a bit foggy this morning
8 miles in 1:09:11 (8:39 avg per mile)
MTD – 153 miles
YTD – 1,278 miles
Odometer – 27,616 miles
some random thoughts on running…
- usain bolt is incredible…if only he had run through the finish line in the 100M
- i’m really hoping ryan hall can medal in the men’s marathon
- the trailbreaker marathon will be back in 2009 thanks to the city park/rec dept
- yet another marathon for WI to be held at the pettit center in january 2009 – no word as of yet if it would serve as a BOSTON qualifier – http://indoormarathon.blogspot.com/
- as it stands right now, my only tune-up for the lakefront marathon will be al’s run as a member of the instep/hillrunner team
ten for tuesday
10 miles in 1:24:45 (8:29 per mile average)
good monday morning
9 miles in 1:18:40 – 8:44 per mile avg pace
MTD – 135 miles
YTD – 1,260 miles
Odometer – 27,598 miles