Heat & Humidity vs. Snow & Ice

As many of you know, I lived in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA for over 20 years, and I ran pretty much most of those years (except for a few months after my daughter was born - she was a preemie, it was hot, and I needed the break), and I ran 99% of those miles outside.  Today, I'm so wondering how I did it.  Now, I've never really considered myself to be a great "hot weather runner" but I survived Boston, 2003 (80F), Mad City Marathon, May, 2006 (78F), Inaugural ING Georgia Marathon, March, 2007 (76F) and of course, Boston , 2012 (89F) and I survived without too much stress.  But man oh man, these last few days have been simply unbearable and it isn't even the actual temperatures, it is the humidity and dewpoint.  I'm drenched by step 10 and simply dripping (and looking like I went swimming rather than running) by mile 3.  I know I need to acclimate, but I'm shocked at how long it seems to be taking this year.  Maybe it's the fact that I really did goof off a bit in May, but I didn't think I'd lost that much fitness, maybe it's that middle age, menopausal change in body chemistry, or maybe it's just me not giving it enough time.  But then again, I look back at previous training logs, and it seems like it is just taking much longer than in the past.

So what advice do I have for hot, humid running - advice that I didn't follow myself this past weekend since I think I'm so acclimated.  After all, I did live in Georgia for over 20 yrs.  Well, here it is:

     1) Run early.  Yes, it might be more humid, but the temperature will feel  
         cooler (since it is) and the sun won't be beating down so hard.
     2) Choose a shaded route - maybe even try trails or a golf course (ours 
         here is hilly but shaded along the perimeter and the early bird golfers 
         here don't seem to mind.
     3) Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.  But be smart about that hydration.
         Imbibing a bit too much in alcohol with friends that you have not seen 
         in a year is not the correct plan.  And make sure that you carry plenty of
         water/electrolyte drink.
     4) Don't experiment with something new.  Why did I try those Hammer 
         Electrolytes when I'm used to S-caps?  It might be in my head, but I 
         know that S-caps have worked for me.
     5) Watch your nutrition.  Remember those friends and those cocktails - 
         well, don't forget to eat.  Better yet, eat well and drink water!
     6) Listen to your body.  It will tell you if you are overheating, etc.  At  
         least I did that, and my running buds helped there too.
     7) Remember next week will be better.

The good news is that I'm back in Chautauqua which is by far one of the most beautiful (and hilly) places on earth to run.  I can also say that I'm getting in all my altitude training (we are at 1300-1600' here above the lake - 1300' is lake level and I normally train at 550-650') so that is definitely the reason I feel so sluggish and compromised - right????  It is hard to believe though that anywhere could be as quiet on the back roads - you might see a cyclist, other runner, an Amish family in a buggy or unfortunately a dog - as cars are pretty much delegated to the local county highway, but don't venture much into the backroads as this is a vacation area (lakes tend to do that and we are 1.5 hrs from Buffalo, NY, 2.5 hrs from Cleveland, OH, and 3 hrs from Pittsburgh, PA) that is generally quite rural.  It is so pleasant to simply enjoy the countryside and the country running.

And some running friends......

In spite of the heat, humidity, and hills (a motto used by Big Peach Running Co in Atlanta), it is a wonderful place.  I did get in 35 miles which is the most I've done in a week for a while and I did finish June with 125 miles.  It is a long way until the NYC marathon and by then, I might be acclimated.

And as a reminder, so I just stop bitchin......

They get something like 300" of snow here too.

Until then, miles of smiles.

Getting My Mojo Back

As many of you might know, I've been in sort of a funk since Boston.  With Jerry's death, the hardwork for Boston, the great race, the after race, and then the impending summer weather, I just wasn't feeling up to it. I was running, but it really wasn't doing it for me.  I knew that I needed to keep it up, but my mileage in May suffered with travel to Boston, illness, travel, etc.  Well, since June has arrived, I re-committed to getting back at it and getting back at it happily.  I've re-committed to the gym as well and have had some good sessions already and hope to maintain/add to the strides I've made in the strength area over the last few months.  After all who says you can't be strong after 50.

The good news is that in spite of the heat, my runs have felt good, and some have even felt great.  The 2nd Sole group has ramped up with a fall marathon plan and it is good to have that direction.  Even though I'll be off to western NY and Chautauqua this week, I'll still be virtually connected and it is incentive to stay on track for the summer.  Of course, today is our first 90F day with dewpoints around 70 which means that our workout tonight might be a bit toasty.  No worries as it will just bring me back to running in Hotlanta. I know I'm not quite used to it yet, but at least I have memories of it.

Back to my running for the past week.  The actual runs went very well and included a very fun "fartlek" run on Thursday with the 2nd Sole group. Thursday's run was also memorable as my twin, Amanda, showed up to run as well.  Amanda is trying to get her mojo back too, so this was fun.

The Saucony rep arrived so we got to try out some new shoes, and new shoes always make things great.  I have not run in Saucony shoes since wearing the "Dixon" in the early 1980s when Rod Dixon won the NY marathon and had a shoe named for him.  So it has been a few years.  I tried the Mirage and i really liked the lightness and firm ride of the shoe.  It was very similar to my beloved Adidas Bostons, so if the new Boston isn't for me, I know that this shoe could be a good choice.   The workout consisted of a 1.5 mile warm up followed by 5 x 90sec fartleks at 7:40 or so pace followed by a 1.5 mile warm down.  I had done a fartlek workout the day before, so I was cautious, but it fet good, and I ended up leading the group.  I realized that I still have a great deal of residual fitness, and I have not lost quite as much as I thought.  Of course, Saturday's long run was a bit different as I definitely felt the miles (only 11) at the end of the 100 min.  It was even cooler, but I still need to keep it slow and steady as I ramp it all back up.

Mileage recap:

Mon - Day off
Tues - 5.4 miles easy which was a bit tough in the humidity, Weights & core work with Jake
Wed - 6.3 miles done with 8 - 1 min on/1 min off segments.
Thurs - 5.7 miles done with 5 x 90 sec fartleks.  Didn't realize that this was the group workout, but felt ok even good
Fri - Weights & core with Jake
Sat - 11 miles easy
Sun - 4 miles easy.  Ran at noon as I slept in after a night out with the girls.

WTD: 32.4 miles  

YTD: 813 miles still ahead of last year even with 3 marathons by now in 2013.

Happy Birthday, Bug!

Before getting into my week, I want to again wish a very Happy 21st Birthday to my daughter!  Hard to believe you are both 21 and legal!  How time flies.  You are a very special girl and I love you very much, Bug.

Enjoying the Beautiful Weather in London

Celebrating with a Guinness in Dublin.

Enjoying A Boat ride on Father's Day on Lake Chautauqua!

RIP Jerry and Flora Mini Marathon Recap

First and foremost, my friend, Jerry, passed on Monday evening and was laid to rest on Thursday in what seems to amount to a beautiful ceremony in his adopted parish, St. Brigid's in Duluth, GA.  Jerry was a converted Catholic who embraced his faith at a late age, but really, truly embraced it.  Jerry made peace with his fate and his fate has caused all of us to rethink and regroup.

You will always be a winner, Jerry - you might have been the first to cross this finish line, but you were a presence and an awesome guy and such an inspiration through it all.  Your spirit never faltered even when ours did. You made an impression on many as shown by the posts and following on your FB page.  The humor, jokes, stories, etc. that were shared painted a wonderful picture of you and showed how much you were loved. May you never wear out those running shoes again and may you run many a mile with all of us whilst cheering us on from the heavens. I'll never forget the day we ran at the river and how you made me laugh when you said that I'd killed you running that fast!  That would never have brought you down as you loved every minute of my trying to get you going.  We've always got your back and we will miss you. RIP, Jerry.  I'm one of the fortunate ones that got to share some time on earth with you. 

Secondly, my Flora Mini Marathon Recap.  This race used to be a real "10K race".  One where elites were invited and paid, but alas, like many races over the years it has evolved into one of participation and has become an incredibly large (over 40,000 participants) event designed to raise money for over 25 different charities all over Ireland.  Women came in buses and matching t-shirts supporting their causes and a great deal of Euros were raised for these causes.  In that respect, I'm glad that I wore my "Jerry" bib for the race as I felt like I was supporting a cause (and because we all had run (myself virtually) a 10K "Go Gray in May" for brain tumor research too.  I'm cursing myself though as I really didn't have a great time during the race. 

I didn't realize that it had really become a charity race and I expected that since I had to submit a time that the front corals would be for running.  Well, they were to an extent.  The logistics were just not meant for a "race" unless you were in the "elite" (sub-45 min coral).  I should have figured all of this out when I saw a) that the race started at 2 PM, b) you had to be in your coral by 1:15 PM; c) there was no race shirt.  The course was also changed from previous years and the first water stop which should have been around 3K, was actually placed on the wrong (old course) street.  The day had started off in the high 50s with rain showers, but it had warmed up to 65F by race time with humidity around 77% - so it was warm (to me) and I needed water by 3K!  I felt like I just could not get into rhythm so around 2 miles in as we were climbing the first of many long, but not real steep inclines that I was just going for the sub-50 time.  I dialed it back, dropped the heart rate to a hard effort, and just hung on to finish.  At the finish, there was a clock (the only one on the course) and they gave you a pretty nice medal - but there were only small cups of water and no food at all.  I later saw many of the participants at various pubs and fast food restaurants in the city as this was a happening!

Results showed that I came in 264th overall out of over 40,000 participants, but who knows what that really means as stats are not kept for age groups, etc.  I do know that I was the fastest "Keane" in the event.  

I felt bad afterwards that I was so discouraged with the event as I thought it was more of a race especially since I found out later than Jerry passed that afternoon.  Maybe that was why it was such a struggle for me - who knows.