Running: The Week in Review

Hot town summer in the city back of my neck feeling. . . Disgusting. Disgusting with a capital "D." In typical Mid-Atlantic fashion it's gone from the cool 70s to heat-warning 90s with terrible humidity. The transition to the warm weather has been hard for me and I'm trying to remember how many layers I wore over the winter as I search for the lightest-weight clothing I can find. Hydration, never a concern of mine, has been on my mind too as I struggle to drink enough to keep me going on these days.

My schedule since Broad Street has been haphazard. Taking Tom's advice, I basically decide what I'm going to do that day depending on how I feel. Interestingly, I've been gravitating towards the longer miles. These are the runs I most look forward to unless it's 95 degrees outside. I've been doing them mid-week with a babysitter's help which takes some of the stress off of our already crazy weekends.

My average daily run has been 5 miles usually around a 10 minute pace. This isn't a tough one for me--just enough to get my heart going some. I've noticed my body is pretty consistent regarding when I start to settle into the run and when I start to fatigue. I religiously look at the time around 23 minutes. This is when I wonder how far I've gone and when my breath will settle down. Without fail, at 24 minutes, I breathe much easier. Good to know for race warm ups. I look again at about 50 minutes. This is usually when I get kind of tired and wonder if I'm close to finishing. On my longer runs this is where I push through that feeling and slow down a bit and try to relax.

I got in a 9 miler last night that was a challenge. It was really soupy out and I'm not sure if I was dehydrated or it was the air or what but I dealt with sidestickers almost the entire time. I almost stopped but sidestickers never killed anyone so I decided to push through it. Along the way I passed our favorite beer distributor who's sign said "You deserve a beer." I really did.

I also got in a fast 5 on Saturday morning with Danskin lady from the 5K last week. I was excited to run with her and maybe a little intimidated. She's pretty fast and has tons more experience. I wasn't sure what to expect. We started fast which is not my style at all. I wasn't sure why we started so fast but maybe that's her style. I hung on and while a little gaspy managed a good review of Sex and the City which I had seen the night before. Of course it didn't help me that I was slightly hung over. . .

Interestingly, Danskin lady starts fast but then really peeters mid-way through which is when I hit my stride. The conversation flowed (as it usually does between 2 moms) and we did 5 in 45:00. Sunday I went out early and was miserably drenched by 6:45. It was so quiet--all I could hear was the whir of the air conditioners. I fantasized about breaking in and sticking my head in front of one of them. It was a hard 4.5 and I was not a happy runner.

This week is the Jenkintown 5K and I'm pretty excited for it. I'm hoping some course familiarity will knock a little time off of last week's 5K. But at mile 2 there's a really nice hill that could slow me down. I'm going to keep Danskin lady and my neighbor in sight and hope to go for maybe a low 25. BUT, it's still supposed to be a stinker on Wednesday so I'm not sure what to expect with the heat, especially by the end of the day with the kids sucking all the life out of me.

Hope everyone stays cool!