The Heat is On (A Sufficient Explanation?)

This surely falls within the category – be careful what you wish for, because you might get it! Through April and into May, I was nearly desperate. I need warmer weather! Enough of the multiple layers upon layers on Saturday mornings! Enough of my aching IT-band, which seems to suffer especially in cool weather! I was ready to be caressed by the sultry breezes of summer….

Or so I thought. Ugh. It’s certainly warmer here the past couple of weeks than it had been. Highs in the 90s and humidity in line with what we expect in summertime. And boy did I feel it on my Tempo run about a week and a half ago! (Or perhaps it was the fact that I’d been awake since 2:30a – that could have been a factor….) So far for this training – now a full three weeks aged! – that Thursday morning was my most difficult and least satisfying run. I’m not sure why Tempo runs challenge me so, but I’ve found this to be true for every training I’ve completed (I’ve used a similar approach for two other marathons to this point). Ironic – my target Long Tempo time is around 9:30, a time that I’d met on previous long runs without over-exertion.

It’s frustrating but true: I’m too easily discouraged by such runs. It should have been a simple thing for me to haul myself out of bed on Saturday morning and get in my long miles, but alas I blew off not only that run but also the Tempo run the following Thursday. I did, however, have an absolutely fabulous Speed run on Wednesday morning (part of the reason I blew off the run on Thursday). It was one of those mornings that catches you short, and you hardly know what to do with yourself. We’d had storms the previous evening around 10:00p, and the morning after benefited from the cooler, drier air pushed from the storms a few hours earlier. I didn’t check the temp, but it felt like a comfortable mid-60s. Fantastic!

Then last Saturday proved more like a couple Thursdays previous. It was quite humid – water pouring off my face in the first (easy) mile – and plenty warm for pre-dawn hours. But I had hydrated well that morning and had a full fuel belt with me, and the miles clicked off easily and (dare I say?) relatively comfortably. Since I was leading the intermediate group, I needed only 13 miles to assure my targeted 17 for the day. And I felt well enough as I ran through Piedmont Park that I picked up the pace a bit. In general my pace wavered – Atlanta is hilly after all – but I completed the first 13 at just over 9:30 pace (target was about 9:45). I then joined the intermediate runners, and we completed a nice turn up to Atlantic Station and back down Peachtree. It was FANTASTIC! Typically, anything over 15 miles, especially during my training runs, puts me at the edge of my comfort. But with company this time, I was able to finish the last half mile or so in close to 8:00 min/mi pace. Thanks John and Bill!! I need to get you guys out with me in the middle of the week for my Tempo runs!

A couple of random thoughts about training: in the course of this entry, I’ve managed to convince myself that the weather had nothing to do with either my poor Tempo performance or my lack of motivation the past couple of weeks. Instead, what I’m realizing is that the stress of a new work role, entirely too little sleep (worst ever that I’ve experienced), and insufficient hydration have played much more of a role than the weather in and of itself. I’m working toward working more efficiently (better not harder!!) and continuing to develop relaxation techniques to quiet myself sufficiently at night to get good rest. Maui will be here before I know it, and while work is and will remain important to me I’m unwilling to tip the balance so completely in work’s direction that I risk injury or illness. In the long run, I will work better (and more efficiently!) if I’m well-rested and fit!