Sunday, May 31, 2020

Weekly Sweats: Hits, Runs, and Errors

Let's start this week's post with a progression that gave me a bit of a chuckle this week.  On the left, my neighborhood park in early April.  On the right, my neighborhood park now.  Don't worry, there are plenty of other signs in the park, but it's a good example of things not going to plan.  Speaking of which...

My plan for this week: drop my mileage and hit speed training with a vengeance.

The reality for this week: Holy Heatwave Batman!  I dropped my mileage like a bad habit and that's a fact.  Here are the hits, runs, and errors that went down for 23 miles of running

I'm linking up with the Weekly Run Down, please head over to Kim and Deborah to check it out. 

Three Things That Happened This Week:

1. First heat wave of the year.   I've done more than my share of cold weather complaining recently and I got my comeuppance.  I can't say how hot is too hot for me, but I feel like my temperature max is much lower than the average bear's.  I'm sensitive to heat, I'm sensitive to humidity, and I'm sensitive to sun so I had to drop it down.  I was very set on May being a no treadmill month and I made it but barely.  The forecast for this summer is weekday runs outside/weekend long runs inside.

2. I fell in a freak dog walking accident and skinned the living daylights out of my knee.  This didn't affect running (thank God) but my knee is too banged up to put weight on it so I used this an excuse to skip weight training this week apart from some pushups here and there.

3.  I got new running shoes and I'm not sure if I like them.  My grand plan to celebrate my state's reopening was to trek down to my local running shoe store and try on All Of The Brooks.  I've been happily running in Launch for a while BUT I've heard that it's good to have more than one kind of shoe. Launch is an "energy returning shoe" meaning that it's a bit firmer, and sometimes my feet do feel a bit beat up so I was in the market for something a bit softer for easy days.  In particular I've been hearing a lot of raves about Ghost, so much so that I was convinced that I didn't need to look further but I tried on a pair of Glycerin just for kicks...and ooh the Ghost never stood a chance after that (actually both shoes felt very similar, it's just that the Glycerin had a little more toe room).

I gleefully took the Glycerin out for an easy 3 miler and was quite happy, so I took them out for my long run and oh things took a turn.  After the 3 mile mark I really started to feel it in my hips and thighs and I don't mean in a good way.  I was stunned at the difference.  I'll use the Glycerin for the short easy stuff and I cannot wait to put my Launch back on.

This Week's Sweats
 
Monday: 4.25 miles.  I knew from the forecast that the weather was going to be 🔥🔥🔥 and I used the "if I don't look at the temperature it won't affect me" approach.  Ignorance was not bliss.  I was very determined to do my normal Monday workout of 4 easy miles with strides and I did but I should have shut things down at 3 miles.  Nothing good happens after 3 miles in hot weather for me.

Tuesday: I would have loved to bust out some mile repeats...and I also learned my lesson from the previous day and took the weather into account.  3.25 miles easy, it wasn't too bad until the end.  Also worth noting is that I took a salt tablet before the run.  I can't say from one use if it made a difference but it sure didn't hurt anything.

Wednesday: off

Thursday: The "yay" workout of the week.  You cannot judge the weather by anything except going outside and being in it.  According to the internet it was 2 degrees cooler than the previous days but it was a world of difference.  There was cloud cover and it was raining and it was absolutely delightful.

My planned workout was 4 x 400 @ <9:30 pace on a flat walking trail.  The rain made the trail a no-go so I rerouted to a cul-de-sac.  My first interval was way slow and I shrugged it off and let the Garmin beep away in protest.  If today was not my day then so be it.  I was halfway through the second interval when it dawned on me that my watch wasn't beeping, could it be that I was on pace?  Yes, yes I was.  And stayed there for the rest of the workout.  I ended up with 5.25 miles and made myself stop and rest on my laurels even though I kind of wanted to keep going.

Friday: the heat returned with a vengeance, I shrugged and said "no big, I'll just do 3.25 easy" and I did.  This was my first run with the Glycerin.

Saturday: was just not my day.  The temps were in the mid 50s so in theory it should have been perfect, but it was too humid/sunny/whatever the heck it is that makes summer running so miserable.  I was already struggling at 3 miles and that's when I realized that the wheels on the bus (my new shoes) were different and not in a good way.  Plan A was 8 miles and I knew that I would be cutting it short, so I negotiated 6 and then I thought that I would do 6.55 (half of a half) and then it made sense to just keep going and get 7.  Runner's logic my friends.  Fun fact, Smashrun tells me that this was only the 6th time that I've run 7 miles (BTW, if you're on Strava you know that they've really cut back on the free features and are pushing their paid subscriptions like nobody's business...no offense to Strava but this kind of makes me want to check out Smashrun's pro features).

Race News?
I think racing is coming back in my state.  A local race company sent out an email about summer 5ks.  The race closest to me has the disclaimer that it's limited to 250 people.  I'm not rushing to sign up for the same reason that I wouldn't be racing in a normal summer: heat.

Boston folded but my local marathon insists that the race is going on unless something very bad happens.  They say that they are working with the city and have a plan to make it happen on the scheduled race date in September.  On the one hand I don't believe them but on the other hand I kind of believe them???

What I can tell you for sure is that gyms and non-contact sports resumed this week and I never thought that I would be so happy to see kids on a baseball field.

25 comments:

  1. Really gyms are open?? Here they can only open for one on one training. I think we still have awhile. I'd love it if volleyball would be allowed for my daughter's sake. I so feel you on the heat/humidity. It is a beast that often stops me in my tracks. Don't let it discourage you though. Sorry about the dog-walk accident!

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    1. Yes, gyms came back this week. I know there are limits on capacity,etc. TBH I haven't really researched it since I'm 100% home gym.

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  2. The heat and humidity are not my friend either! Ouch on the dog walking fall. Hey having one Yay workout of the week is always good! Thanks for linking and have a great week ahead

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  3. I love your Thursday "Yay"-workout. 4 x 400 @ <9:30 pace is great - even if the first one didn't work out. I need someone to set a good example and do these intervals so I can be inspired. I actually got to the track this week but my performance was limp at best. Next week I want to do a serious attempt.

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    1. Catrina, I seriously doubt that your performance was limp. You run a half marathon every week! Let's trade, I'll give you some track mojo in exchange for some of your long run mojo!

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  4. The first really hot run of the summer is always so awful, especially when it's very humid! I'm actually a fan of winter running so I just try to suck it up in the summer and always look forward to the Fall, lol.

    Great job on Saturday's run. Even though it was tough, you still completed a good majority of the distance. Those are awesome character building runs!

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    1. ha ha my character must really need the work;-)

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  5. You are not alone with the heat/humidity thing. I'm not in the same boat (as you know LOL), but I'm in the 1% (or less) that LOVES the heat. As for the shoes...I'm a die-hard Adrenaline (Brooks), but at an expo the Brooks peeps told me the Ravenna was a good possibility for me as well. I bought a pair and do love them, but they aren't quite as supportive as the Adrenalines, so I don't wear them for anything longer than 4-5 miles. All of our feet are different, so it's such a trial and error thing to figure out what works and what REALLY works LOL. Sounds like you already have some insight on that ;-)

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  6. Oh, I hope your knee is feeling better from your dog walking accident. Those things happen so quickly!

    Sports haven't resumed here yet and gyms can only operate by training people outside.

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    1. It's all good, as I keep telling the boys it's "just a flesh wound". It's really interesting to hear how different things are around the country.

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  7. Racing? I forgot what that was. Lucky you. Nothing yet here.

    We had a heat wave too but it's cool today.

    It's so hard to find he right shoe. I'm still debating between Hokas and Mizunos. Right now I'm wearing one for short and one for long.

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    1. Hmm I don't remember what racing is either. Oh wait I think we both have some blog posts on that...it was something that we wrote recaps on;-)

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  8. I don't like running in the heat and humidity. At all. Like you yesterday, it was cooler and I struggled! WTH was that all about?

    I'm so over Strava. I keep logging my miles because they do have good challenges. But I refuse to pay for it. I don't race the segments--I never even knew what a segment was until Strava--and I have Garmin Connect to keep track of my miles. After that guy figured out who I was via Strava last week, I'm pretty close to giving it up.

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    1. Yeah, if I had to give up an app it w/b Strava. There just aren't that many people that I'm comfortable sharing my location with, you know?

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  9. I love my Brooks Ravennas! I have also run in Launch before, but not Ghost, but my sister loves her Ghosts. Overall I just like Brooks! I do wear a Hoka for a recovery shoe, just to switch things up. Glad you seem to have found the right fit!

    Heat/humidity are so tough!

    Exciting that your marathon might be on this year!

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    1. Brooks for the win! I haven't tried the Ravennas yet.

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  10. That's a bummer about your shoes. I took my son to get new shoes and was disappointed with the experience. It was a week before the other stores opened, and they were locked down a bit more. Anyhow, there were signs that said "don't touch the shoes" all over the store! Come on... I want to touch ALL THE SHOES. I would have a looked at a new pair for myself, but not like that. boo. I'll just have to wait a bit longer.

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    1. What...that's the whole reason why we go to the store instead of buying shoes online! Not sure why a shoe store has different rules of engagement than the grocery store.

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  11. I'm sorry that the Glycerin's didn't feel great after running in them for awhile! Maybe you will get used to them. I love mine! I also wear the Levitates which are less cushioned but I still think they are really comfortable to run in.

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    1. I'll definitely use them for short runs to mix it up. I haven't tried Levitate but they're on my list. I think they're supposed to be one step up from the Launch. It's just so interesting that a different shoe put so much more stress on my legs and hips.

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  12. Interesting. We had a race go off on Saturday and there is another one this upcoming weekend. They are small events, but still. It feels weird.

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    1. It's a start! I'm very interested to see how racing unfolds.

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  13. Your Saturday run. I know what you mean. I had to "convince" myself to complete a run that I was struggling too. Bummer about the shoes. It's been years since I've run in the Glycerin. Right now I am running in the Levitate 1 and have a few pairs of the Ghost 12 and various versions of the Launch. My watch would vibrate if I wasn't running the required pace. It was annoying so I don't have that anymore. I don't understand Strava. I have a Garmin and like what they offer.

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  14. My hubby is a Brooks guy. He likes them so much, I decided to give a pair a try. After wearing Nike Air Pegasus for years, the Brooks felt like I had big old wooden boxes strapped to my feet. I usually put 500 miles on a pair of shoes, but I just couldn't. I donated them after about 100 miles.

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