This is my training journal. I'm bad at titles. (Comments welcome!)

[WillRunForPizza]

And only because this horse hasn't been beaten to death yet, for the second week in a row I'm in the office all alone. It was vitality important to get us back here to "improve collaboration" and "stop having so many virtual meetings," but not important enough to actually, you know, coordinate scheduling. This continues to be an excellent use of both my time and mental health capacity.

So...how likely is it that anyone would notice if you just didn't show up and worked from home when you're supposed to be in the office? (jk jk (but actually not))

 

[striker1064]

So...how likely is it that anyone would notice if you just didn't show up and worked from home when you're supposed to be in the office? (jk jk (but actually not))

I appreciate and have already explored this line of thinking! Alas, they were ahead of me on this - we have to code our time cards differently for days we're in the office, and time card fraud is the one sure-fire way of being shown the door in rapid fashion.

 

[striker1064]

More easy training this week, everything was EA (10:22) or EB (9:41).

Monday: 5 Miles @ EA, T+D: 78+72 = 150
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 5 Miles @ EA, T+D: 78+70 = 148
Thursday: 6 Miles @ EB + Strides, T+D: 81+72 = 153
Friday: 5 Miles @ EA, T+D: 81+68 = 149
Saturday: 6 Miles @ EB + Strides, T+D: 83+68 = 151
Sunday: Rest

I had to reorganize my running schedule a bit this week, as something unforeseen came up for Sunday that would make running tough. And not that I was complaining initially; Sunday is forecast to be our hottest day in years. We have a pretty good chance at hitting 100 degrees today. Although ironically enough, the T+D was a few points lower than yesterday when I got up this morning. Go figure.

Also this week featured the first days running in at least 80F that I can remember in some time. My Thursday run started very slowly despite being the quicker EB pace as that heat slapped me right in the face from the beginning. We're in the middle of an unrelenting heat wave. It may finally break on Tuesday; fingers crossed!

I've also been testing some new shoes, the Altra Rivera 2. Ordinarily I run in cushioned stability shoes; Rivera 2 notably are neutral with a lower stack height (less cushioning). So far so good. The New Balance 860v12s were starting to cause me ball joint/toe pain, so it was time to find something else. I really love my Topo Ultrafly 3, so something with a wide toe box would fit the bill. Altra and Topo are really the only shoe manufacturers I'm aware of with that wide toe box. Altra's sizing is all over the place between different models; I had a heck of a time trying to find something that fit. Their stability models - Paradigm and Provision - swallowed my foot, which is atypical since I have wide feet. Hopefully, these Rivera 2 will stay good for me. I've also been eyeballing the Nike Alphafly 2 and the Saucony speed shoes (Speed/Endorphin/Pro). This year's models are supposedly wider and Saucony will be offering one in a wide size (not sure which one yet), so I'm looking forward to trying those out once they're more widely available.

One last week of easy running follows, then marathon training starts in earnest August 1. I'll be shifting my schedule around again this coming week, as I have to head to the office Wednesday and I may also not be able to run Saturday, so I'll likely rest those days. And I cap the week with a 9.5 mile long run on Sunday. Hopefully the weather cooperates!

 

[HangWithMerida]

We've reached the point of summer where outside is unfit for human life.

Or as I tell my husband, it’s too hot to live…

Re: WFH. I have a job where WFH isn’t possible (seeing patients in a clinic) but I totally see the benefits. Living in Houston where 1.5-2 hour commutes one way are not unusual, I hear a lot of complaining about returning to office. If I were in that position, I would be right there with them. I don’t think showing my face in an office demonstrates more dedication to work but it seems like some older management does. I can be dedicated and at home at the same time. I think it’s more about work-life balance. As I have gotten older I realize that time>money once basic needs are met and I think a lot of other people came to that same realization during the pandemic. There’s also the introvert/extrovert factor. Some people just function better without the additional pressure of being “on” all day. For all the corporate speak about mental health, they often seem to ignore the most practical approaches. Also, I wish employers would think on a broader level. Beyond worker satisfaction, there are environmental benefits to eliminating huge office buildings and having fewer cars on the road and cost of living benefits to workers commuting less. And can we discuss how much housing can be created in the place of those mega high-rises littering downtown areas? I am a borderline gen x/millennial (1980) for demographic purposes.

 

[striker1064]

Well I thought this would be an unusual/off schedule week, but everything was able to proceed as planned. My supervisor was out of the office, so I was covering for her. I decided to work from home all week. No one noticed. My life is average.

Saturday also featured the return of one of my favorite events here in the DC area, SAAM Arcade. Once a year, video games from every era pack the Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery. There are so many games, one could spend the entire day there (ask me how I know). SAAM Arcade didn't happen in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, but it was back this year! A friend and I happily checked it out. There were far fewer games this year, which admittedly was a bit of a bummer, but they seemed to be trying to space things out. We got to chat with a few developers showing off their indie games, always an event highlight. Then we wandered around the Portrait Gallery for a bit. A fun day!

Monday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 81+70 = 151
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 77+69 = 146
Thursday: 6 Miles EB (9:41) + Strides; T+D: 80+71 = 151
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 5 Miles EB (9:41) + Strides; T+D: 75+67 = 142
Sunday: 9.5 Miles LR (9:25); Starting T+D: 75+64 = 139, Ending T+D: 80+64 = 144

I spent most of this week continuing to acclimate to my new easy paces and trying not to die in the heat. Sunday was my first long run at my new LR pace, so it's worth breaking that down a bit.

From the onset, I was dealing with soreness in my right calf. I have no idea what's going on there - I didn't sleep great last night because it was bothering me. The only thing I can figure was I spent a lot of time at SAAM Arcade yesterday standing around while playing games, which I don't typically do. Or, it could be a manifestation of some mental health challenges - always a possibility with me, frankly. Right off the bat, the calf was bothering me during the run. I always remember the advice I got from my PT back when I was being treated for plantar fasciitis - if your pain level is ever above a 4 out of 10, stop running. I was probably solidly at a 4 this morning. I figured I wouldn't focus too much on pacing and just see if I could shake it out. For the most part while I was running it wasn't too bad, but stopping at an intersection and starting again gave me some trouble. Finally, by around mile 4, it improved quite a bit.

Today I did a loop from home, going north, then west to Rock Creek Trail, and back down again via the Wharf. I like to begin and end my runs at home rather than traveling somewhere to start, so I don't often get to see a lot of the city unless it's a long run. Today convinced me I should really do more of the many trails here!

I also used a Egel for the first time today, around the 48 minute mark (because I knew this would take longer than 90 minutes). Watermelon flavored - yum! A big improvement in taste and consistency over Gu gels, and they are better, to boot.

Splits today: 9:33, 10:17, 11:06, 11:06, 10:05, 9:25, 9:55, 9:33, 10:19, 9:24 (0.5)

Looking at those splits reminds me I need to be much better about pressing the lap button when I'm stopped at an intersection. While in between training plans, I never bothered since I was running to run, but it takes increasing importance to know my actual moving pace now. Those two miles over 11 minutes featured quite a bit of stoppage, although I didn't mind as I kept trying to shake out my calf.

Tomorrow starts week 1, day 1 of marathon training. This week looks plenty manageable, although a progression run on Thursday will pose a challenge. I enjoyed Block runs during my last plan, which were a similar concept of progressively faster paces with short rest intervals, but that was working from the easy paces and ending at LT. This starts much faster and ends at Daniels R (6:57). One of the things I love about running is getting myself into a workout I'm not so sure I can handle and finding what my body is truly capable of. The remainder of the week is split between EA and EB running, with a shorter LR on Sunday.

 

[striker1064]

Monday: 4.5 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 75+67 = 142

• Splits: 10:30, 10:31, 10:32, 10:31, 10:21

For today's run I was mostly concerned about how my calf would respond after 9.5 miles yesterday, and I'm happy to report it was totally fine and hasn't given me any issues since. When I was younger my mom always told me playing too many video games was bad for me. Turns out she was right! Go figure. I'm not going to tell her that, though.

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 6 Miles EB (9:41); T+D: 78+64 = 142

• Splits: 10:04, 9:51, 9:51, 9:58, 9:42, 9:42

I've been working hard on ensuring I don't overrun my EB days. I'm not sure why that's so easy for me to do, but it happens often. As evidenced by my Monday run, I've got EA pretty down pat. And today went really well. I started off slow on purpose to get my mind right, and I nailed my pacing. Not much left to say about this one.

Thursday: Crescendo: 1 Mile WU (11:08) + 2 sets [3 min CV (7:53) w/ 3 min RI + 2 min 5k (7:36) w 2 min RI + 1 min I (7:20) w/ 1 min RI + 30 sec R (6:57) w/ 2 min RI] + 1 Mile CD (11:08); T+D: 80+74 = 154

• Splits: WU 11:34, CD 11:42
• CV: 8:01, 7:55
• 5k: 7:38, 7:45
• I: 7:34, 7:52
• R: 7:04, 7:41

Lots to unpack on this one. At first glance, this reminded me of a Block workout, which I've done a few times previously and I've really enjoyed. Block is a progression run, but with longer, slower paces and shorter rest intervals. The ones I've completed have been EA -> EB -> LR -> M -> HM -> LT. I figured this would be a similar level of effort, as although the paces are much faster, the intervals are also a lot shorter. This is also my first exposure to the CV pace. It was included on my Princess HM plan, but none of my workouts used it. After a bit of research, CV stands for Critical Velocity and represents a 30-40 minute effort that produces a similar stimulus to LT. Neat!

Well anyway, famous last works and all that. With the T+D well over 150, it was hot and I felt every degree of it. I wanted to try to hit these paces since they were such short intervals. It's hard to say for sure how accurate the paces are with a short interval. The CV is probably reasonably close, but I'm gauging the others on level of effort. I got through the first set without too much trouble although it was tough, but the second CV interval felt quite a bit more difficult. As a first effort I'm ok with this, but I have a 3 set Crescendo workout this Thursday so I'd like to run this one a tad better.

Friday: 4.5 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 76+71 = 147

• Splits: 10:42, 10:37, 10:31, 10:50, 10:30

A weekend trip to New York City means I'm resting Saturday (not really, since I approached 20,000 steps that day) and run an easy run on Friday. I don't remember anything noteworthy except it was hot.

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: 6 Miles LR (9:25); T+D: 89+71 = 160, Actually completed 5.11 miles.

• Splits: 10:20, 9:37, 9:53, 10:32, 9:51

I brought my running gear on our trip and had planned to get up early and run before our train back home, except that I woke up 2 hours before our train departed and we still had to pack and get breakfast. Whoops. That means this was an late afternoon/evening run, which I never do and also makes it my hottest run by far. I took the first mile intentionally slowly because I didn't want any concerns about the heat. Miles 2 and 3 were fine. Mile 4 I took a steep uphill too fast and I had to slow way down and walk the rest of it, but I was able to start running again soon after. This run was all about trying to hold it together in the heat and not overdo things. I think I did reasonably okay.

I had to cut this off just after 5 miles because of some... lets just call it discomfort. The positive is it had nothing to do with my output, the heat, fatigue, or anything like that. My pacing was all over the place and I can do a lot better on uphills, but I'm simply not used to running in that high of T+D. This will get better.

We were privileged enough to catch 3 Broadway shows in NYC this weekend - The Music Man, Come From Away, and Into the Woods. These were all firsts for us, and outside of a general idea of what they were about I otherwise knew nothing about these shows. Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster have amazing chemistry and make The Music Man a must-see show. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. It's an old-school Broadway musical with big dance numbers and elaborate choreography, but Jackman/Sutton are so charming and funny, they definitely make the show. Come From Away is closing next month, and it's such a sweet, touching, and funny show - glad we caught it. And finally, Into the Woods - I can't even begin to talk about this one. The cast is star-studded (Phillipa Soo, Sara Bareillis, Gavin Creel, Bryan D'Arcy James, Patina Miller just to name a few). I know Into the Woods is on Disney+, but I hadn't watched it yet. And wow, this show is just total nonsense, in the best kind of way. My stomach hurt from laughing in Act 1. I absolutely loved this from start to finish and I'm already trying to figure out if I can get back to see it again before the cast departs September 4 - it's that good.

Next week will be much of the same as this week, except most runs will have an extra mile and the Crescendo workout is 3 sets instead of 2. Hoping to nail the Crescendo in particular!

 

[NYC_MW]

When I was younger my mom always told me playing too many video games was bad for me. Turns out she was right! Go figure. I'm not going to tell her that, though.

And finally, Into the Woods - I can't even begin to talk about this one. The cast is star-studded (Phillipa Soo, Sara Bareillis, Gavin Creel, Bryan D'Arcy James, Patina Miller just to name a few). I know Into the Woods is on Disney+, but I hadn't watched it yet. And wow, this show is just total nonsense, in the best kind of way. My stomach hurt from laughing in Act 1. I absolutely loved this from start to finish and I'm already trying to figure out if I can get back to see it again before the cast departs September 4 - it's that good.

It is one of the best musicals, and the cast is amazing (though I caught the earlier one at Encores before they switched to Broadway). Personal take, but the movie version cannot compare. That cow also stole the show.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

That cow also stole the show.

He’s the best cow!

 

[striker1064]

Monday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 80+73 = 153

• Splits: 10:27, 10:27, 10:35, 11:05, 12:03, 11:25

This was a much more difficult run than I anticipated. It's very likely a combination of accumulated fatigue from my Sunday evening long run (it had only been about 12 hours) plus the heat. I had to do some run/walk intervals in the second half of this run, with the worst being mile 5. But I was at least able to finish.

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 82+74 = 156

• Splits: 10:24, 10:29, 10:30, 10:27, 10:22, 10:28

Despite even higher heat than Monday, this was a much better effort and workout. Nothing in particular to note from this.

Thursday: Crescendo: 1 Mile WU (11:08) + 3 sets [3 min CV (7:53) w/ 3 min RI + 2 min 5k (7:36) w 2 min RI + 1 min I (7:20) w/ 1 min RI + 30 sec R (6:57) w/ 2 min RI] + 1 Mile CD (11:08); T+D: 76+71 = 147

• WU 11:06, CD 11:06 (Wow, I'm... impressed!)
• CV: 8:10, 8:01, 7:57
• 5k: 7:47, 7:43, 7:53
• I: 7:38, 7:35, 7:39
• R: 7:09, 7:18, 5:54

I got lucky with a slight reprieve from the weather. It was still quite humid, but at least the T+D was under 150. Plus, it was cloudy and there was a slight cool-ish breeze.

I made a concerted effort to do better on this workout than the Crescendo run last week, and I'm very happy overall with my effort. The CV paces gradually got faster. The 5k, I, and R fluctuated a bit, but considering these are set time (rather than distance), the pace fluctuations are the result of +/- 0.01-0.02 miles. I got through the first 2 sets much better than the entire workout last week. I did have to walk some of the rest intervals here - namely, part of the second 2:00 RI at the end of the second set, and about half of the 3:00 RI after the 3rd CV segment - but overall I'm pleased with how this turned out. I tended to judge past interval/tempo workouts on my CD. If my CD was a lot slower than my WU, that was a sign it was a particularly tough workout. This week, my CD was the same pace as my WU, showing I handled it pretty well.

Friday: Rest

Another show - on Friday we caught Hamilton at the Kennedy Center. We've been fortunate to see it a few times, although this was the first touring production. It really never gets old.

Saturday: 5 Miles EB (9:41) + Strides; T+D: 70+56 = 122

• Splits: 9:44, 9:38, 9:38, 9:36, 9:15

On Friday, we got something very unusual for August in DC - a cold front. Dew points plunged into the 50s and have remained that way most of the weekend. It is truly bizarre and it won't last, but I'm gonna take it. And it made for a relatively easy and pleasant Saturday morning run despite me dealing with a particularly nasty bout of insomnia the night before. I was running on very limited sleep, but a nice cool gentle breeze helped pushed me along. It's amazing how a T+D of 122 - which is still high enough to affect running performance - feels like a cool fall day when you get it in August! Not to mention, each mile was faster than the last, and the final mile was much faster (makes sense because of the strides).

Sunday: 7 Miles LR (9:25); T+D: 74+61 = 135

• Splits: 9:21, 9:14, 9:22, 9:26, 9:25, 9:33, 9:34

Noticeably warmer than Saturday, but still a nice cool breeze with lower dew points for August. I slept in more than usual today thanks to friends coming over last night and getting up to drinking and shenanigans, so that's part of the higher temps. I overran the first 2 miles a bit and I think that accounts for the slightly slower final 2 miles, but all in all I felt good this whole workout.

Looking ahead, we have several more pleasant days before the heat returns at the end of the week. Running-wise, my plans ramps up a bit this coming week. I'll run my first Valley workout, which is very similar to the Crescendo workout but with shorter rest intervals. Additionally, the Sunday long run goes 11 miles - my favorite type of run! I picked up a 5 oz Hammer bottle, so I intend to practice with a high-dose Tailwind, which will be part of my fueling strategy for the marathon.

 

[striker1064]

I continue to be annoyed while trying to find a racing shoe that will work for me. I had some hope the new Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 and Speed 3 would be decent as they're both on wider platforms (I couldn't even get my foot into previous versions), but alas, my toes are are all scrunched up in both pairs. An additional half size up alleviates toe pressure, but then my feet slide around in the shoes - creating an entirely new problem. Do I just have a wide-honkin forefoot? Or do people actually run with their toes piled on top of one another in these shoes? I mean geez. The Alphafly 2 is out, so I'm gonna give those a try. The original Alphafly actually fit me ok because of the very stretchy mesh, but the insole rubbed blood blisters on my arches (apparently a common problem). I also ordered the Altra Vanish Carbon. Nike and Altra at least have very generous return policies

I had this problem looking for regular shoes. I wore Brooks Adrenaline for years, but the toebox continued to narrow until even the 2E of the 2022 was still too small for me and I had to switch to Topo and Altra. I marvel at all of you pointy-toed runners!

In other news, I had been considering weight lifting again for some time. I used to do Strong Lifts, which I know a lot of serious weightlifters think is dumb, but I enjoyed it and did it for over a year once upon a time. I went to the gym Thursday after my workout and did the first Strong Lifts workout - squats, bench press, barbell row - using the bar only (so 45 pounds). What a dumb idea that turned out to be. I forgot how little DOMS affected me when I was only a 3-day-per-week runner. On my easy run this morning, my HR kept going up from my sore hamstrings. I'd like to keep up the cross-training, but not at the expense of training.

Also, it's hot again.

In conclusion - my feet aren't pointy enough, powerlifting is bad, and summer is dumb. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

 

[striker1064]

I just realized I haven't been putting in the date ranges in my posts. Whoops. One day I'll probably wish I had.

August 15 - 21

Monday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 69+65 = 134

• Splits: 10:36, 10:23, 10:31, 10:30, 10:24, 10:22

The heat was coming back, but I'll take a 65 dew point in August any day.

Tuesday: Rest

DW had her second foot surgery today, so most of the rest of my week has been trying to take care of her and make sure she's as comfortable as possible.

Wednesday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 69+63 = 132

• Splits: 10:31, 10:13, 10:35, 10:33, 10:23, 10:35

63 is lower than 65! And it's still August!

Thursday: Valley: 2 Mile WU (11:03) + 3 sets [1 min I (7:20) w/ 30 sec RI + 2 min CV (7:53) w/ 30 sec RI + 3 min HMT (8:17) w/ 30 sec RI + 2 min CD (7:53) w/ 30 sec RI + 1 min I (7:20) w/ 3 min RI] + 1 Mile CD (11:03); T+D 67+60 = 127

• WU: 11:18, 10:59; CD: 11:38
• 3 Sets:
  • Set 1 - I 7:38, CV 7:57, HMT 8:21, CV 7:57, 7:19
  • Set 2 - I 7:42, CV 7:49, HMT 8:10, CV 8:00, 7:35
  • Set 3 - I 7:39, CV 7:50, HMT 8:10, CV 7:52, 7:53

In my Strava notes I wrote "Pleasant temps, tough workout." That about sums it up. I was very thankful for what was probably the coolest morning of the summer on my hardest workout so far. The Valley workout is repeating sets of shorter, faster intervals, leading to a longer, slower interval, and back to the shorter, faster intervals, all with a short recovery time. 1 and even 2 minutes can be tough for a watch-based GPS to properly grab, so my goal was to run those on effort and try to nail the 3 3-min HM tempo segments (why yes, I did confirm my splits before I wrote that). I slightly overran the second and third HMT intervals, but in reality that just means I covered a bit more ground - only 0.01 mi, as it turns out.

Despite this workout feeling pretty tough, I managed to get through it up until that last CV interval. At that point I had to walk a bit of my 30 second RI. The last I segment bears that out, as I consistently ran 0.13 mi up until the last one (only 0.12 mi). These short interval speed workouts are tough, because the temptation is to sprint since they're not long enough to settle into a pace.

Also on Thursday, I started up Strong Lifts again, with 5 sets of 5 squats, bench presses, and barbell rows with the empty bar (45 lbs). I figured one full rest day would be enough to recover. That was a pretty dumb notion, it turns out.

Friday: rest

Saturday: 6 Miles EB (9:41) + Strides; T+D: 76+69 = 145

To say this run went poorly would be an understatement. It was hot again - yay - and my hamstrings were still unexpectedly quite sore. Additionally, coming back to DW's surgery, I haven't been sleeping particularly well this week, and it all hit on Saturday. I ran just under 5 miles and got a couple strides at the end, but this was otherwise a run to forget. My HR shot into zone 4 almost immediately when starting out, and the only way I could get it back down was by walking. It seemed like there wasn't a single good running pace I could find to keep it low.

Stupid heat, stupid weights. What was I thinking? I'd like to keep lifting, but this is obviously not something that can continue. I know the soreness will get better with time and more workouts, but my focus is the marathon. I guess I should probably table this until after November.

Sunday: 11 Miles LR (9:25)

• Starting T+D: 73+70 = 143
• Ending T+D: 74+72 = 146
• Pre-run: Liquid IV, Gu, water
• During-run: Concentrated Tailwind (1 scoop Mandarin orange dissolved in 5oz Hammer bottle with water), water

I got out of bed, checked the temperature, and groaned. Yeah, I'm gonna keep complaining about it. This was also my first time using concentrated Tailwind - I'd used it once before mixed with 16oz water (as recommended), but part of my race day strategy will involve 2-3 scoops concentrated Tailwind, so I wanted to start practicing now. It was sweet - quite sweet - and Mandarin orange is maybe not the best flavor for this, but it was tolerable.

My legs are still sore too, but thankfully better than yesterday.

• Splits: (1) 9:49, (2) 9:40, (3) 9:27, (4) 9:31, (5) 9:53, (6) 10:15, (7) 10:06, (8) 9:48, (9) 9:51, (10) 10:17, (11) 10:23

My main goal, considering the soreness and humidity, was to simply get through this even if it meant some slow jogging. All in all I think it turned out ok - it's a little slower than I'd like, but there's been a lot going on. Mile 5 included a steeper-than-expected uphill, which accounts for my slower mile 6. Everything else, man I was drenched. It was so humid this morning, even my socks were wet. Yeah, that's gross. I also didn't look at my HR at all during the run, as my watch was primarily on the turn-by-turn map since I was taking a new route. Strava says my HR was pretty high for this, which is interesting because I didn't really notice any issues. But I guess I should also not be too concerned about moving a bit slower than I wanted, as my body was getting a good workout either way.

For the first time, I went down the Mount Vernon Trail and ran around National Airport. I had no idea the trail crossed by DCA, but the more I think about it, yeah of course it does. I cut over to Crystal City, ran past Pentagon City mall, and around the Pentagon itself before heading back home. Having lots of running routes certainly helps these long runs especially when they're tough like today.

More shoe talk: The Altra Rivera 2 have been serving me very well as all-rounders and have handled just about every workout... until today. My feet were not loving these by mile 8ish. They don't have a ton of cushioning so that's not too surprising. I might be better off relegating these to tempo/easy days, and (ugh) finding something new that can handle long run after long run.

This upcoming week I get a reprieve on daily mileage, with the exception of a 90 minute Crescendo workout on Thursday that I can already tell is gonna suck. Actually, I'm a little surprised it's not marked for practicing nutrition since it exceeds 90 minutes. I might bring some anyway.

 

[striker1064]

Nike, you're breaking my heart. Whatever they did to change the upper on the Alphafly 2, it's more stiff and less forgiving than the mesh from the first Alphafly. I have a much harder time getting my foot in the 2, and I'm noticing immediate pain and pressure on all sides of my midfoot and part of my forefoot. I had such high hopes for the 2! I PR'ed a 5k in the original Alphafly. Even despite the pain I'm bouncing around the apartment in these things (I bet our neighbors below us are thrilled) and man, I can just feel the spring and return in these things. I don't need feet after I run the marathon, right? They just need to hold out 26.2(ish) miles.

Ugh. On a scale from one to even, I can't. My last hope is Altra. No one has ever written those words and believed anything good would come of them.

 

[striker1064]

August 22 - 28

This week has been all about trying to survive the relentless heat. The breath of fresh air we got a couple weeks ago feels like a Mandela-effect memory, as it was a true False Fall in every sense of the word. We are now in our longest uninterrupted streak of 90-degree days all year long, and peeking ahead we won't "cool down" to the high-80s until later in the week. Questioning a lot of life choices these days.

Additionally, the Altra Vanish Carbon were a no-go. They actually fit my feet - a nice surprise - but the upper is one of the most uncomfortable I've ever experienced on a shoe. Many reviews mentioned this but I figured it couldn't be that bad. It was. I had irritation after a short test run; there's no way I could tolerate these on a full race. But it feels like Altra has something here, and I hope they improve the upper for version 2, whenever that is.

I've now gone through all of the carbon-plated racers as far as I know, so I'm moving on to find something that's a bit lighter but can still sustain my feet for a race. The Saucony Tempus is an interesting new revision of the Hurricane - it's a traditional stability shoe but uses the same lightweight foam found in the Endorphin line. I'm actually pretty hopeful for these. Also, my research yesterday turned up the Topo Specter, which is new and I somehow completely missed. The idea of an up-tempo shoe - even if it is more meant as a trainer - on Topo's wide platform and generous toe box is certainly intriguing, to say the least.

Monday: 4.5 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 75+72 = 147

• Splits: 10:51, 10:25, 10:36, 10:21, 10:34

Nothing particularly remarkable about this run except for the humidity - a dew point of 72 is borderline offensive. It was at least a bit cloudy and shielded from full Sun, but all in all not a terribly pleasant easy day.

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 73+63 = 136

• Splits: 10:47, 10:27, 10:25, 10:24, 10:26, 10:42

Again, nothing remarkable here except that a T+D of 136 was far and away the coolest day of the week.

Thursday: Crescendo: 1 Mile WU (11:03) + 3 sets [4 min T (8:02) w/ 4 min RI + 3 min CV (7:53) w/ 3 min RI + 2 min 5k (7:36) w 2 min RI + 1 min I (7:20) w/ 1 min RI + 30 sec R (6:57) w/ 2 min RI] + 1 Mile CD (11:03); T+D: 79+68 = 147

• WU 11:10, CD 11:13
• 3 sets:
  • Set 1 - T 8:13, CV 8:34, 5k 7:48, I 7:40, R 7:24
  • Set 2 - T 8:08, CV 8:01, 5k 8:10, I 7:41, R 7:16
  • Set 3 - T 8:03, CV 8:02, 5k 7:53, I 7:44, R 7:29

Even though this workout did not call for nutrition, it was going to take near or slightly over 90 minutes, so I added 1 scoop concentrated Tailwind dissolved in 5oz water, plus brought my water bottle.

When I initially eyeballed this workout, I knew it would be pretty tough. Adding in 4 minutes at T - lactate threshold - at the beginning of each set is quite the effort. My goal was to focus well on the T segments, and do my best from there, again especially considering the heat. And I'm not gonna lie, all in all this was a slog and I definitely walked most of the RIs in the last set. My goal with these interval workouts has been to walk less of the RIs each week and I had been mostly successful until this one.

The T intervals turned out ok. I intentionally started a little slow because I knew the difficulty would really ramp up. The first CV was a little too slow, but I got closer to goal in the other 2 sets. My 5k bounced all over the place for reasons I'm not sure - it was definitely tough and my legs were feeling it after 7 total minutes of hard effort in each set to that point. I is remarkably consistent although a little slow, but I'm not too concerned about that. And although R is pretty well below goal pace, my main focus at the end of the sets was not to sprint and run on effort. So I ended up faster than all my other paces without sprinting even though I was a bit short of the R pace.

I'm largely ok with how this turned out, but Crescendo runs continue to build in difficulty and they are quite tough.

Friday: Rest

In a slight change of plans, my sister was in town for one night, so we went out and had a nice time. Ordinarily I wouldn't mention this, except...

Saturday: 6 Miles EB (9:41) + Strides; T+D: 77+68 = 145

• Splits: 9:58, 9:48, 9:54, 9:52, 10:01, 9:33

Try as I might, I simply could not will my legs into moving during this workout. They felt like lead from beginning to end.

What I'm saying is, a couple Old Fashioneds plus too much pizza is not going to make an effective carb-loading strategy.

Sunday: 7 Miles LR (9:25); T+D 79+72 = 151

• Splits: 9:44, 9:38, 9:36, 9:52, 9:30, 9:45, 9:38

It has certainly been quite the week - moderate mileage (32.2 miles total over 5h25m), heat, and well below average sleeping, including last night. It all caught up to me today. This was the kind of run that I just wanted to be over. I got through it, but that T+D was brutal, and I felt every degree of it. It was another day of finishing a workout completely soaked from head to toe. I keep hearing about the fall breakthrough, when the cool air finally comes in and every feels like they've made huge gains after barely holding it together during the summer. That's more or less how I felt on this run. I really don't know how I got through 11 miles last Sunday, and I've got 12 next Sunday. This is more or less the point most summers where I would tap out until the fall - but that's not an option this time, so I'll keep plowing ahead and look forward to cooler days.

At least I get a bit of a workout reprieve next week. It's an up-mileage week (40 miles total over ~6h30m), but the quality day on Thursday is an HM Tempo workout to prepare me for the half marathon, I feel like I can handle 5x 1 mile HMT intervals. I hope. I'm just going to ignore the weather for now.

 

[striker1064]

I will follow up with my full journal in a bit, but DW asked me how my run this morning (12 mi LR) went and the first words out of my mouth were "I am never running a fall marathon again." I don't know what the summertime version of seasonal affective disorder is or if it even exists, but I have that. And I know this will mostly sound like a whine/vent post, but I think it's important to monitor not just the physical but also the mental side of things, and I am definitely suffering right now. My running is closely tied to my mental health, so when I'm struggling mentally it makes running very difficult. I have had to push myself even to go out and meet with friends, and running - which I normally love - is feeling like a chore as I go out miserable day after day.

I have completely had it with summer, with the heat and humidity. All of you that thrive in the summer, in the Sun and heat, we are a different species. It doesn't matter whether I run 4.5 miles at recovery pace, a hard interval pace, or a double-digit long run pace, the result is always the same - I am drenched head-to-toe. It's like when I was being put together, someone forgot the heat dissipation valve. It just goes in and it sinks. I do find the T+D pace adjustment charts to be interesting, but I've tried that and there's not a single non-walking pace that doesn't feel like a high level of effort and doesn't push my HR to Z4. We did have a very weak trough pass during the week that dropped the dew points below 60 and that was nice, but our highs remained in the 90s. You can't fool me, weather broadcasters - that's still hot.

I'm starting to get particularly concerned about the DC Half Marathon in 2 weeks, as there has been no end in sight to this heat and I'm going to either be nowhere near my goal pace, or I'm going to be close to my goal but expend enough energy to affect my training. I have to be prepared for another T+D in the 140s for 2 hours sustained plus however long I'm standing around waiting for the race to start. I figured by now I would at least have a modicum of heat adaption but it's just not there and I don't really know what to do about it.

 

[striker1064]

August 29 - September 4

Total Miles: 40.0
Total Time: 6h40m

Monday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 77+74 = 151. Full Sun

• Splits: 10:35, 10:24, 10:32, 10:26, 10:28, 10:24

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 6 Miles EA (10:22); T+D: 70+63 = 137

• Splits: 10:51, 10:31, 10:28, 10:26, 10:27, 10:22

Thursday: HM Tempo: 1 Mile WU (11:03) + 5x 1 Mile HMT (8:17) w/ 0.5 RI + 1 Mile CD (11:03); T+D 77+59 = 136

• Pre-run: Liquid IV, Gu, Water
• In-run: Gu, Water
• WU: 11:08, CD 11:26
• 5 repeats 8:17, 11:03
  • Set 1: 8:57, 10:56
  • Set 2: 8:28, 12:24
  • Set 3: 8:30, 11:50
  • Set 4: 8:26, 12:00
  • Set 5: 8:35 (no RI)

This was the first of my pre-HM key workouts. 5 miles at HMT represents right around max effort for an interval run. That being said, I wasn't too concerned about this. I'm not quite in HM race shape yet, but very soon I'll have to string together 13.1 HMT intervals after all, right? Additionally, this workout didn't call for nutrition as it was under 90 minutes, but I wanted to try to simulate race day by using nutrition and water at HM speed.

I intentionally slow-rolled the first set since I haven't done any sustained HMT to this point, hence the 8:57. Everything else I was running at effort, and I was not too far off my pace, so I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I'll repeat the workout again this Thursday, so I feel this is a very good baseline for me to see some improvement the next time around. It was a hard workout, but it wasn't unbearable by any means.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 7 Miles EB (9:41) + Strides; T+D: 73+67 = 140

• Splits: 10:06, 9:48, 9:49, 9:48, 9:56, 9:49, 9:33

Yeah, we got all of 2 days worth of pleasant dew points (albeit accompanied by 90-degree high temps).

Sunday: 12 Miles LR (9:25)

• Starting T+D: 72+67 = 139
• Ending T+D 77+70 = 147
• Pre-run: Liquid IV, Gu, water (lots of it)
• In-run: Water, Gu @ 45:00 and 90:00
• Total moving time: 1:56:22

It's hot. See my previous post.

• Splits: (1) 9:40, (2): 10:14, (3) 9:33, (4) 9:33, (5) 9:31, (96) 9:57, (7) 9:48, (8) 9:38, (9) 9:50, (10) 10:14, (11): 9:53, (12) 9:40

If I'm looking for any positives here, those splits are not bad relative to my LR pace. I ran all of it with the exception of a few walking breaks to take nutrition and water - intentional, as I try to simulate racing and water stations. Two weeks ago I ran a very pleasant new route down the Mt Vernon Trail and through northern VA, so I did more or less the same route today but in reverse and with a bit more mileage added in the middle. Unfortunately, today was a full Sun, no breeze, miserable run. But I survived, and await the next one.

 

[HangWithMerida]

I don't know what the summertime version of seasonal affective disorder is or if it even exists, but I have that.

This is the perfect description. I used to like the summer. Maybe even love it. Now, it is a never-ending pit of misery. I am over it, too. I honestly can not imaging being in the middle of marathon training right now. I did a HM plan through most of the summer and that was plenty hard. You’ve been putting in some big runs and hard workouts in rough conditions. I really think you’ll see the dividends of all that hard work as we come into fall. Hang in there!

 

[striker1064]

I used to like the summer. Maybe even love it.

Haha, I do have to say this was never me. I grew up in the deep south and I hated summer year after year - and because it was so far south, 90-degree days spanned from March to November. You'd think I'd get used to it, but nope.

Maybe I should move to Alaska. Or Maine. Or Nunavut.

 

[azrivest]

I am never running a fall marathon again.

This is one of the reasons why I'm so upset that my training has been derailed. I don't feel like I would ever wanna do this again. Fall marathon training is hard because of summer, and spring marathon training is hard because of end of winter. I don't see how people manage to train successfully in good weather.

 

[SheHulk]

Of course you must know I agree with you, I've been complaining all over these boards. I remember in March I kept thinking, Ok, this is my last below-freezing long run, surely. And then the next weekend would be below freezing too. This is the same thing but with T+Ds over 145 in the morning. Eventually the cold ended in March/April, and this will too. The good news is that your marathon is in November and we are almost guaranteed to have cool weather by then.*

*I did run a half marathon in November 2020 in nearby Bucks County that strangely got into the 70s and I even got a sunburn. But that was extremely unusual!

 

[striker1064]

The good news is that your marathon is in November and we are almost guaranteed to have cool weather by then.

I specifically picked Philly because of the history of favorable weather, so I just might turn around and go home if it's unusually hot!

I remember in March I kept thinking, Ok, this is my last below-freezing long run, surely. And then the next weekend would be below freezing too.

This is going to sound totally insane, but God I loved every single below-freezing run I did leading up to Princess. I remember during my longest workout, a 15-miler, my water bottles froze and my Gu turned slightly solid (sidenote: not an improvement), and I just laughed at the absurdity of it all. And I was still a sweaty mess! I miss winter.