M'kay

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 road & trail miles in 1:19:11, 9:53/mi, HR 153, elevation gain 825', & stretching.

Sunny and hot (77F).  Ran with my large bladder camelback pack and was sweating from the time I stepped out the door.  Managed to run for 8 miles but that was the limit, and I was taking walking breaks.  This past week did me no favors with my fitness.  Perhaps some cooler weather ahead will help.  I did weigh the pack on my return home....8 lbs, so probably closer to 10-12 when filled.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10.42 miles in 1:21:06, 7:47/mi, HR 161, w/ 3 mile warmup, 3 x 1 mile @ 5K effort in 5:52 (down), 6:18 (rolling), 6:30 (up), 3 x 1 min on/1 min off (5:46/mi - up, 5:41/mi - up, 5:27/mi - up), 3 mile cooldown.  PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Cloudy and cool (63F).  Ah, a reprieve from the oppressive heat.  Felt a bit chilly at the start....perfect.  Now for the run....considering how my training consistency has been circling the drain over the past few weeks, it went remarkably well.   Which is to say my legs felt weak, my HR was high, my lungs raw from the effort and my speed slower than desired.  But I felt some of the speed return during the 1 minute repeats and by the end of the workout, I felt some remnants of fitness rising to the surface.  We shall see how I feel tomorrow.  Perhaps all is not lost and I won't be left to the wolves at White River before I even hit the second climb :)

LM warmup (10 reps), 14.08 miles in 1:47:15, 7:37/mi, HR 160, 1260' elevation gain, with middle 5 miles MP+ effort and the remaining 5 miles Moderate  Stretching.

Partly cloudy and pleasant (63F).  Tired to start out this morning and the first few miles were a bit rough.  Pushed the middle 5 miles (2.5 uphill, 2.5 dowhill) which actually felt better.  Backed off a little for the last 5 miles but still kept the effort up and finished feeling tired but good.  I imagine I'll be very tired tomorrow. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 6.11 miles in 48:24, 7:55/mi, HR 159 & stretching.

Sunny and toasty (74F).  Run interrupted.  First interruption was the sheriff looking for an address and an individual.  Second interruption was the tree service that showed up about 30 minutes early to cut up a large stump and some wood that's been lying around for literally years now (my little 18" Poulan Pro chainsaw worked long and hard at taking care of it with little progress to show for it; hence calling in the professionals).  Fortunately, I was running back by the house on the way to hit the last 2 miles and noticed they were already there.  Ah well.   My legs were stiff, tired, and complaining loudly for the first 3 miles today, so a short day probably isn't a bad thing. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 10.01 miles in 1:19:54, 7:59/mi, HR 162, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Drills, 4 x Strides, 2 x 15 min Tempo w/ 4 minute rest (6:59/mi avg both sections, both rolling with overall uphill), 2+ mile cooldown, PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Sunny and way too hot (78F in the shade).  Legs felt tired and a bit jello like on the warmup and by the time I hit the drills, I was already feeling dehydrated.  Put back some water and tried to stick to the shade during the tempo sections with mixed success.  Actually not 15 uninterrupted minutes....wound up taking a couple of 5-6 second breaks during each just for survival.  HR was in the 180+ range which is usually hard to get to for anything other than very short intervals.  The cooldown was just as brutal...definitely dehydrated by now and reduced to taking walk breaks with the HR at a 9 min/mi pace in the 165-170 range....ouch.  Cut it short by about a mile.  Hot weather is definitely my kryptonite.  I really hope WR50 is on a cloudy and cool day!

LM warmup (10 reps), 6.5 miles in 50:58, 7:50/mi, HR 149, & stretching.

Sunny and warm (67F).  Ran late in the day, so the heat of the day had passed.  Uneventful, aside from a mid-run bathroom break.

LM warmup (10 reps), 22.05 mostly trail miles in 3:30:10, 9:31/mi, HR 149, 3600' elevation gain, & stretching.

Started with cloudy and cool but quickly became sunny and hot (67F).  Shady parts weren't too bad but the sun got pretty brutal, and the humidity was up.  Tackled a bunch of trails and fire-roads in the UW Pack Forest and tried to get as much vertical as possible.  Kinda disappointing to see it was only about 3600'.  Fortunately, I found a place to get water about halfway through, having tried to ration both bottles but really needing to rehydrate.  Got pretty hungry during the run....GUs just aren't doing it for me and I just really don't like the taste all that much.  I was dreaming of pretzels and boiled potatoes....maybe I should just look for a nice running sack to carry some along. 

So last long run before WR50.  At this point, I just want to finish under the 13 hours cutoff.