How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

Woke at 5:15am, walked the dog for 25 minutes with Rachel, then we rode our bikes 70 minutes to Homer Lake. Hiked for 1 hour, where I may have gotten poison ivy on my legs, then we ate a few snacks next to the lake. Rode our bikes 70 minutes back to town. I refueled at home and then ran 16 miles, finishing off the run at 2:00pm at Bombay Grill, where I met Rachel for Indian lunch buffet. After eating 3 plates of food, I walked 2.5 miles home in a very light rain. The rain stopped soon after I arrived home, so I read a bit of Lore of Running in the hammock underneath the towering fir trees in the yard. I dragged my tired body off the hammock and rode my bike to Busey Woods and hiked around for an hour. I then sat on a bench in Friendship Grove and my mind started wandering as I stared at the now blue sky. I rode my bike home, then decided to get back on my bike and rode to First Wok and got some fried rice. I stopped at Walgreens and bought a grape juice, the clerk asked if I wanted to add some chocolate M & M's to my purchase. I laughed, and realized my mind was getting loopy. I walked to a nearby park and ate fried rice and drank grape juice. I rode my bike home and played the guitar on the front steps, the sun starting to set. When I finished my sunset raga Rachel and I walked the dog, and now I am indoors, ready to sleep.

Rachel told me there was a heat advisory this afternoon, so I put on my running shoes and hit the trails. I got a late start, so was unable to take full advantage of overhead sun, but the temp. at 5:00pm was 91, with high humidity.

After yesterday's exercise binge I was unsure how I would feel, but my legs felt normal, and my energy level was above average. I decided to run to the arboretum and slog up and down the hill. 

The first 30 minutes were the toughest because my body was trying to find a way to keep its temperature in an acceptable range. Eventually I got into a running groove and was able to pace myself with a somewhat normal stride. I was unsure how long I was going to last, but as the minutes slipped by I was getting stronger, so I kept it going.

After finishing a cliff bar I threw the wrapper next to my water bottle at the base of a jack pine. As I passed the tree a while later I saw a squirrel with the wrapper in its mouth - that made me laugh out loud :)

A few brave souls were doing hard sprints up the hill, but they lasted 5 or less reps before being crushed by the heat - pick your poison, hard/short, or moderate/long, both have their benefits.

I watched the sun start to set in the west, and felt the temp drop a few degrees. I checked the stopwatch and saw that I had been going for 2 hours. I decided to keep running, the elusive grail of 3 hour hill repeats within reach.

I kept on striding up and down the hill, feeling great. At the 2:45 mark I decided to put an end to the session. I was close to 3 hours, there to be taken, but it would have been forced, beyond what my body wanted to do. 2:45 seemed right for the day, so I stopped, feeling a perfect mixture of exhaustion and blissful strength pulsing through my veins. 20 years ago I did workouts like this, and the same feelings surfaced today. 43 years old, and I'm still kickin' it, it seems unbelievable that I can still put in workouts like this.

ROCK ON!

Legs feel good, but I needed an easy day because tomorrow I am planning to run with 2nd Wind at the track. 

Lots of fun today. The day was hot, 91 degrees and humid, so another opportunity for my body to adapt to hot weather training. 

I was feeling energetic, and in the mood for a challenging workout, so I decided to test my ability to run long with a bit of hard running in the middle of the session. 

I ran to the arboretum in my Nike Waffles, then ran 3 grass loops barefoot. After soaking myself at the laundromat, I did some strength exercises and stretching.

I then ran to the track and met up with the 2nd Winders and did 4 x 1200m. I went much easier than when I was training for a 5k last year. First 1200m was 60% effort, 2nd 70%, 3rd 75%, and 4th 80%. Times were 5:15, 5:02, 4:58, and 4:45. I never felt overextended or tired, so I knew I was hitting the right effort levels. All of those levels were sub 7:00 pace, so faster than what I will be running in the ultras.

One advantage of running a track session at a moderate level is I still had a lot left in the tank, so I decided to do a South Farms loop minus the Busey Woods segment. I recovered nicely after leaving the track, and found a nice rhythm as the sun was going down. The heat dropped a few degrees, but I never felt too hot during the whole session, so my body has already adapted to this type of heat/humidity. 

My cruising pace was faster than normal, so the few speed sessions I have done are already paying off. A peculiar effect I experienced today was the majority of the run had the illusion of being on a slight downhill, which must have been an effect of running almost 3 hours of hills on Monday. With the continuous ups, the flats now seem like constant downs.

Unlike last year when a track session left me feeling beat up, as I type this I feel a pleasant sense of fatigue, as if I could go back out and run another 10 miles - a good place to be!

Legs were good today, quads a little stiff when stretching, but no muscle soreness. I felt like running more than 5 miles, but decided against it.  I am planning to do a 16-20 miler on Saturday, so rest is good for the next 2 days. 

Ran 3 miles, went to Brookens for 10 sets of strength exercises, then foam rolled my legs.

Started late in the morning, temp. was a bit cooler than the past few days, about 85 with not as much humidity. Was not sure how far I was going to go, but I knew I was ready for a solid effort.

Quickly got into trance running mode and finished off 5 miles without much thought or effort. I got onto the South Farms and felt good, blue skies with big summer clouds leading me onwards. Finished the 12 mile loop with no troubles, so stopped at home and refueled.

Out on the trail again to Busey Woods, the day was getting hotter, and the humidity was rising. In the woods there was a short section that had curtains of heat I had to wade through. It was a delicious experience, the heat was tactile and heavy.

Back on the South Farms dirt road for the second time, I was baking, the heat was back in the 90's, there was no shade, and the next water pit was 3 miles away at MBK. I started thinking about the Western States 100 going on today, and was inspired knowing there were runners out west suffering and working much more than me. I desired to be one of them, slugging it out on mountain tops and in hot valleys. Instead, I took what was at hand - flat roads, dirt trails, intense heat, and lots of solitude.

When I finished the 2nd loop I decided to keep going, so back to Busey Woods for one more trail loop, and finally, finished! I started at 11:00am, and walked inside my house a little past 6:00. Along the way I had stopped to do some strength exercises, had 3 refueling stops, along with plenty of water breaks. With the heat as it was I had no choice but to take it slow and easy. It was a great run, the gentle pace should allow my legs to quickly recover from this tough session.