Last Day of August 2010

I cannot believe it. August is over. SOB! I love summer Im a summer person Im a warm weather person and WINTER IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.

Ok I know we still have fall to go through and I love fall, I really do.  It's just...not summer anymore. Fall means work and I KNOW its all that cold weather coming right around the corner.  We have had a great weather summer and it's been hot and awesome and fall likely will too and we will have some awesome running weather.  The mornings will cool off and the humidity will drop and it will be nice for running some good times, rather than struggling to draw in this wet air ;) BUT IT ISN'T SUMMER!

So I had a nice run this morning.  I could not remember exactly what sort of run the program called for but I knew it was about 4 miles and I suspected it was a Tempo run which is really hard on my hilly runs...  I decided Fartleks were the way to go since my 8 km route is hilly.  8 km? Yeah I was like 7.7 away from going over 200 km for the month so I planned for 8 km.  What difference does it make LOL. 
Feeling really great after Sunday's run (as long as it's not stairs SIGH) and it was nice to get out and stretch after a rest day yesterday.  A little tired but really, good to be out.  I decided to do Fartleks with no real goal except finishing 8 km in under 48 minutes.  That was all I planned.  And despite the last mile being all up hill, I finished 8 km in 47:50 minutes.  :):):):) GOAL!  lol.  8.3 complete in 50:26, feeling good at the top of the hill and off to get ready for work :) 

So finished August with a tad over 200 km for the month and put my year total over 1100 so far for the year.  Good month!
I have a feeling it's going to be way hot tomorrow morning.  Im supposed to do hills (9 repeats...that's not going to happen.  Im thinking MAYBE 6, considering I've been skipping them til last week).  Im not sure how Im going to manage these hills since Scott won't be home and the kids will.  I do not like driving away to run and leaving them asleep. But if I go super early, they will sleep through. 
But that would depend on getting into bed at a decent time tonight.  THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ;)

Long Run again

This week we repeated 29 kms and it went really well; We went the same route but ran it backwards, and I liked it a lot better last week ;) started a little earlier, still had the same breakfast and had a trail mix bar at 115 and 230 hours in, drank lots of watered down gatorade, and got to the end feeling really good. Granted we walked a bit in the last hour and our time was closer to 320 this week for a couple of reasons :) but Im not concerned about the time, more so about feeling at the end of the 29 km that I could have totally kept going and that makes me happy :)
Points of concern? Head ache about half way through; hips aching, and funny pull on the outside of my knee at various points.  But I think for the most part Im feeling pretty confident right now about this full marathon!  (that might change if I have a bad run ;))
I think it's funny that at the end of a 10 km run I feel just as tired as I do at the end of 29 km. Almost.

Midweek longish

I really thought this would be a longer run ;) I hadnt mapped it but remembered it being longer...But I ran up Valleydale and College and Old Courthouse and still had to do some Greenfield to come up to 10 km this morning. Humidity - over 80% and warm!  bit like swimming, really.  Tough to breath, legs heavy. Come on fall weather, Im working so you might as well come! LOL

trying out some hill repeats

If Ive had to miss a run in the last few weeks, the hill run seems to be the easiest to miss; mostly because it requires specifics like a hill to repeat, and I haven`t gone looking for a hill.  LOL Yesterday I did manage a hill repeat run; it`s been so long since I did them, I only repeated 4 times; the hill was a little short, but I did a version.  And it was SO hot and muggy it was grossly hot so after 4 I just ran home for a total of 8 km in 51:18 minutes.

Longest of the Long Runs to date

was this week; 29 km on the schedule. I was intimidated.  I was also wrong.

I mapped out 29 km and M and I planned to go early on Sunday morning but not too early because of the night before being Saturday night and there was some company and some knitty fun going on; mainly blocking my Exhibition entries :)

29 km on a map of town looks like a reallllly long way. It kind of goes everywhere.

It is likely better if you can map it out without looking at it if you are at all intimidated. That rarely works tho.  So I had to look and it looked like we were going everywhere ;)

Some of it was new and I reallllly enjoyed it. And some of the roads I knew I hated, I still hated LOL.

BUT thank god for company.  I don't know about doing these long runs alone; its so long and boring and intimidating and just knowing someone is beside you makes it shorter and more enjoyable and less intimidating.
OMG I said long runs were boring. Does that mean Im not a real runner?  Im not just IN THE MOMENT of the run?  SIGH.  It's still boring lol.

Anyway we got out about 730 am and it was pleasant temperature but promising to get super hot.  We had a quick stop at Tim's to pee, and then I went once more on a back road with a nice spot LOL nice enough to go back. Darned morning coffee....could pee a lot.  But then once you are good and sweaty the need for pee becomes less.  M was somewhat dehydrated and felt kinda crappy and VERY thirsty for a lot of the second part of the run. 

There are some hilly sections on this run which I simply could not avoid no matter how much I tried :( and I really tried but should not since Hills are our Friends.  It's just a really long way to go.  We were actually doing realy well time wise and walk break-wise, stopping fairly regularly to drink and have little snacks.  I was hoping to finish the 29 km in less than 3.5 hours.  Considering heat and time. 

We foolishly passed a store and had to stop a few km up at a farm to fill our water bottles with almost cool water from a hose lol  but that was good water. 

We ended up stopping at another store and buying water (loads of water omg) which was cold and the best water I ever tasted hehehe And despite all that water I didnt need to pee until later in the afternoon LOL 

Finished the 29 km (longest run so far ever) in about 3:19 almost.  So well under the time.  Pace wasnt great but it was hot and we were tired.  I think in cooler weather we would have knocked a lot of time off. 

And I felt really good.  I think things Im doing right: Oatmeal Breakfast, snack bar on the run (Quaker usually), Gatorade in the water bottle seems to be the biggest change for the better.  Bananas help too.  Need to be hydrated and keep electrolytes on those really super long runs.

I was really happy with the run. And the Omelet and Smoothie breakfast Scott served up when we were finished :):):)

Can't wait til next weeks' repeat of 29 km. Hehe. 

PEI Run

Went away for an overnighter with the kids to PEI.  It was Scott who suggested I take the running stuff and actually do a run there; but I jumped because I was a run short of the week and needed another day before the long run :) Glad to go, thank you Scott ;)

We went to Summerside and a beach before landing at Rodd Mill River where there is a golf course that Scott Moaned about because he WAS NOT on it Lol and there was other stuff to do there as well.  All we did manage was to go to the pool.  And then supper and sleep. No one complained; everyone was tired.

It was kind of hot when I started out and it only got warmer as I went.  The run through the Resort was pretty nice but out on the road it was more boring LOL just...roads.  PEI is where I am doing my marathon in October and all I could think was...this road is SO boring!  LOL Sheesh. It was shadier on one side so I ran on one side with an Ipod (so against rules) and did an out and back.  Roads were rolling but nothing bad.  Time was pretty good (dont really remember what it was LOL).

Resort Road

Looking so forward to PEI ;)

11 km longish

The family picked me up part way up the hill so I got in 11.25 km in 1:12 which isnt a great time but i'll take it, being tired and somewhatcranky, and very hungry ;)