Tag Archives: running in heat

DetroitFP Marathon Training: Weeks 7/8

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I’ve decided to modify how I post about my running. Inspired by Aron.

Week 7

This was a step-back week in my training plan. I wasn’t able to get a recovery run in on Sunday because of mountain climbing.

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Monday
3 mile run @ 12:13 avg

Very hot run beginning at the river loop, but moved on to the park where there was more shade and water fountains.

Tuesday, Wednesday
Rest

Thursday
4 mile run – untimed (Garmin was dead)

It was pouring rain and I couldn’t seem to keep my glasses cleared off enough to see very well. The rain kept things cool, though, and was much appreciated.

Friday
Rest

Saturday
7 mile run – 10:09 avg

Oh my gosh—hot. humid. couldn’t breathe. Came home drenched in sweat from head-to-toe. So happy to finish with this run.

Sunday
Climbed Mount Fuji from 5th station to 9th station

See more here.

Week 8

Was supposed to be just a regular training week, but ended up taking a day off.

Monday
Climbed Mount Fuji from 9th station to Summit, then back down to 5th station

Tuesday, Wednesday
Rest

Legs were very sore from climbing Fuji, especially my calves. Rested to avoid pushing myself into an injury. Went for a 1 mile walk on Wednesday evening.

Thursday
3 mile run – 10:30 avg

Three easy laps of the river loop.

Friday
Rest

Saturday
10 miles – 10:44 avg

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Finally was able to drag myself out of bed early enough to not battle the heat and humidity—as my luck would have it, the weather was cool and perfect for running. Ran to Shuzenji. Tried to keep the pace easy and fun. The miles went quickly and I savored each one. A perfect long run, if you ask me. Hip was a little achy in the last few miles, but felt fine after.

I ran with my Nathan water bottle instead of the Camelbak, and I think I’m beginning to prefer that. Just a pain to stop and refill.

Friday
Rest

You may notice a definite lack of strength training and yoga the last few weeks—my body has, too. I’m making THAT my biggest priority for the rest of marathon training because I know my body well enough to realize I can’t dodge ST/yoga for too long before I start breaking down. Luckily, I have Tina’s bootcamp beginning tomorrow!

Running in a sauna

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Whew! 3 miles done this morning in 95% humidity.

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They weren’t pretty miles, but man did it feel GREAT to get outside and run after a few days of rest. I’m pretty sure running in a sauna would feel very similar to this morning’s run.

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I’ve only got a few more runs left while we are in Japan, so I intend on enjoying those fully.

 

In other news, now that I’ve got the spare time I’ve pulled my DSLR out of the closet to play around with it this week. It’s been too long since I’ve really shot anything. You might find some food photos on the blog tomorrow.

BLOG UPDATE: Anonymous comments are now turned off. If you have something to say, please do so—and stand by your opinion/comment with your name. I encourage (and enjoy) debate, discussion, and thoughtful commentary, but rude comments for the sake of rude comments will be deleted.

9 miles in the heat

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Well… despite my best efforts last night at preparing for a kick-ass long run this morning, my run sucked.

Yes, I did the 9 miles on my training plan. Yes, I completed the run. But damn it was HOT and my body was NOT feeling it at all.

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It took me 1:37 (I know the watch says 1:36, but it was 1:36:50—that’s clearly closer to 1:37) to finish the run and I was so glad for it to be over.

The biggest problem is that I woke up later than planned and didn’t get out the door until after 7:30 this morning. By that time the sun was starting to climb in the sky and it was humid, too. Please add to this the fact that I was stupid and ran along the river path which has NO SHADE. What was I thinking on that one?

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So yeah… not a great run. In fact, after finishing I was definitely second guessing my desire to run another marathon. But I know that comes along with bad runs and next week when I have a great run I will feel like I can conquer those 26.2 miles no problem.

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Despite having a less-that-stellar run, there were some positives that cannot be overlooked:

1. I kept a good attitude! One of the worst things about my first marathon was how defeated I felt by the half-marathon point—and it was my own fault for having a bad attitude. I’m carrying this with me throughout the training for my second marathon and challenging myself to stay positive and keep my thoughts and self-talk productive. I did it this morning! When I felt like this run was just impossible I’d remind myself, “Yes, it’s hot, but you are going to finish. You will not give up. At least you CAN run this morning.”

2. I’m upping the ante on my mental toughness. This kinda goes along with the first point, but it’s also kind of different. During the week I do not run with music, mostly to keep it “special” for weekend long runs. Today I ran the first 3 miles music-free to prepare myself for race day. I mean, what if my headphones stop working? What if my iPod breaks? I like running with music, but I never want it to be a crutch. But dang… felt so good to finally have some music after those first three miles.

 

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3. I had some awesome orange juice. Okay, kinda lame… but true. After those 9 miles nothing sounded more amazing than orange juice. So I popped my smelly self into a Mini Mart and grabbed a 500ml carton. Mmmmm.

A few mistakes I want to work on correcting:

- I didn’t mix anything with my water this AM because I couldn’t stomach the thought of Nuun again (I don’t like my current flavors). In hindsight, this was dumb because it was hot, I was sweating, and my body would have appreciated the extra help.

- I didn’t carefully plan my route based on the weather. Shoulda took to the shade and spared myself.

- I didn’t wear sunscreen. Dumb.