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| Ahhh ... light snow falling on the bare tree limbs on August 24th ... phsych. |
But, even though the conditions were simply stifling ... drum roll please ... I MURDERED THAT FRIGGIN' LONG RUN!!! 8 miles at 6:59 ... yeaaaaah boyeeee!!! It was so good to have a positive long run after last week's bomb. I've been working pretty hard and really needed a little confidence booster. This morning's run did just that!
I started pretty slow and warmed up for a few miles before getting progressively faster for the first 8 miles. After that, I pressed that pace at a 6:59 average for the next 8. And then just ran 4 cool down/recovery miles to finish up. Here are the splits ...
Miles 1-8 ... 8:18, 7:55, 7:50, 7:38, 7:32, 7:31, 7:23, 7:24 (good controlled progression)
Miles 9-16 ... 7:13, 7:00, 7:00, 6:55, 6:55, 6:59, 6:58, 6:57 (8 mile average pace@6:59)
Miles 17-20 ... 7:55, 7:57, 8:30, 8:38 (cool down/recovery)
I took 2 salt tablets and two gels, one each at miles 8 and 16. They both really seemed to help today. I also drank about 10oz of beet juice about 2 hours before I started. I didn't really notice any discernible difference in my performance. But I think it's going to be really tough to ever really quantify the results of the beet juice. The good news is that it had absolutely no effect on my stomach - so I'll probably try it again.
Today's run capped a 70 mile "recovery week". Yeah, the mileage is up there - but "recovery" in the sense that I didn't do any Speed or Tempo workouts. Just three midweek runs on the slower side, which my legs and body kinda needed. But this week it's back to the grindstone with a couple of faster-paced workouts. Today's run is still not where I need to be for the Chicago Marathon - but it was a good step in the right direction. Hope your training's going well - have a great weekend!
... be great today!
Great run, Jim!
ReplyDeleteDid I miss something about beet juice? Is this a new thing for runners? You have me curious.
Raina, see the post before this one - I'm just experimenting with it.
DeleteI'm going to try beet juice for sure. Your post about it is the second thing I've seen touting it. And (score) I actually *like* beets.
ReplyDeleteGreat long run! Your training is definitely going better than mine. Chicago is going to be an interesting adventure.
70 miles.......that's a lot. That would be a good biking week!
ReplyDeleteSo, your recovery week is more miles than I've ever run in a week.
ReplyDeleteNice long run! Specially with this heat and humidity. A 70 mile week is impressive too.
ReplyDeleteGreat 20 miler. Mine wasn't as hot as yours, but I dreamt of snow during today's run. It was hot enough.
ReplyDeleteThere's a bit of a different tone in this post to last week's. I'm so glad you got your good long run finally. It makes all those tough ones worth it.
ReplyDeleteWow, 70 miles is a recovery week? You are a badass!!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome run in the heat, well done! I think the salt tabs and the gels together helps to keep a better balance in the body between sweet and salt. I've never felt nauseous from gels or other sweet things if I take some salt tabs during a run as well.
ReplyDeleteYou took the salt and the gu together? How did that work out? I usually try to separate the two in case of stomach issues.
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