It’s October now, and the weather should be in the upper 60s, and today’s high was over 90 degrees. So, like it was in the summer, we got up early to beat the heat. We ran our 15 miles on a Sunday instead of Saturday. Let’s just say I had “one little drink” on Friday night (a 46 oz margarita) 
on an empty stomach, and when I got up early Saturday morning to run, it didn’t turn out too well, so we waited until the next day. Lindsey wasn’t feeling well either, but hers was stress-induced. The runners were late starters, too. The Saturday morning runners are on the go before we even get there usually, but on Sundays, they must sleep in a little bit, because there was a surge of runners about 5 miles into our run.
The run at Forest Park today was running almost to the 2-mile marker, then turning around and running the entire park twice. I had added/deleted some of the music in my MP3 player, which helped me tremendously on this run. After all this time, I was finally able to figure out the shuffle mode DUH. One of the tracks I liked today was Alcazar’s “This Is The World We Live In“, which for some reason gave me goosebumps. And running with goosebumps is a strange feeling…it’s like you can feel your skeleton separate from your skin. Anybody’s who’s been through it knows what I’m saying…
The run was really good for me. At first the humidity was tough, sweating a lot during the first 4 miles, but then once I got in the groove, it was steady. My 20/2 pacing has been going great for almost every run. (That’s 20 minutes of running, 2 minutes of walking). That puts me at 2 miles per break. Even when running these long runs, I’m able to keep it up, so I think my training will continue to go well and I’ll most likely run the marathon at that pacing.
I ran out of water about 2 miles towards the end, but that was ok. Even though it was getting warm fast, I was able to finish without stopping for a fountain. I kept thinking of my big Fruit Punch Gatorade chilling in the back of my Explorer the whole time.
At the end of the run, I stopped abruptly and as I started to walk back towards the Visitor’s Center, I almost got nailed by a bicyclist. Everyone escaped uninjured, but it was close. I think it was both our faults. I should have looked back before crossing and I know I was a little out of it having run 15, but they should know that people tend to stop at the 0 mile marker, and they didn’t yell “LEFT” before passing.
Once I walked in the Visitor’s Center, I went straight into the bathrooms and doused my face with water and drank right from the sink. Then I came out and saw Lindsey eating her banana at the table. I drank my Gatorade and changed my soaked shirt, then after looking around at some of the visitors center, we went back home and took a nice shower.
We treated ourselves to Red Robin, and We avoided napping at all costs (since that’s a bad thing after a big run), and we’re now blogging.
Conditions: 78-84 degrees, humid at first.
Results: today: 15 miles; time: 2:36:57; pace: 10:27
Thoughts: The longer I run, the more comfortable I am with the 20/2 pacing.
What I’ll remember the most: Drinking that 64-oz bottle of Gatorade.
I wanted to run yesterday (because I run Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays), but this heat is keeping me from getting motivated. It was muggy and hot and I figured I’d wait until tomorrow to run. I got in my car to head home after work today, and was shocked to see a temperature of 112 degrees on my thermometer. I snapped a photo from my cell phone. 
It ranged between 110 and 115 on the way home. Just insane. How can I train in that kind of weather? That’s a pretty good indication I’m running after dark, when the temp gets down into the lower 90s. Around 9:15pm, the temps were about 91, so I headed out to run my 4-miler. I went to Fenton Park like I always do during the week, and decided to run 4.2 miles, which is 3 laps around. The humidity was low, and it felt pretty nice out. There were some ball games still going on at the time, but by the time I went around my third lap, they were turning off the lights! One interesting note about running at night is that with each lap, the stars looked like they were in a different position…and I guess that’s right…it was about 15 minutes a lap for me tonight.
While running, the mind wanders, and today I was just imagining what it would be like to run down the streets of Vegas and have all the lights and casinos passing by. Pretty cool scene. I can’t wait to run it. I felt good about today’s run, since I ran it non stop. I had a good stretch afterwards and I didn’t experience any side pains like I had been in the past. I was getting pains within the first half-mile, but now I don’t have any pain at all.
Conditions: 91 degrees, less humid, clear starry skies.
Results: today: 4 miles; total: 39 miles; time: 46:50; pace: 11:09
Thoughts: I enjoy the night running. There are parts of the park where there’s hardly any light, but I like the lack of sun every now and then, especially when the official high was 105 today!
What I’ll remember the most: The stars.
Since it’s so hot this week, I decided to wait until sunset to do my running. I just can’t do the treadmill thing anymore. The temps were around 90 degrees, so it was much cooler than earlier in the day. The evening brought a lot of humidity, but I like that. I’ve always enjoyed working in humid conditions instead of sunny conditions.
My calves hurt earlier this morning, still recovering from the 8-miler on Saturday, but by the time I ran, they felt great. The 3-miler in Fenton Park was cool tonight, because the park’s baseball fields, tennis courts and basketball courts are all lit up. The park doesn’t close until 11:00pm, so I think I’ll enjoy coming here in the evening to do my runs. And there’s plenty of people around, so it’s interesting people watching.
I purchased a new mp3 player and used it for the first time tonight. It’s the Creative MuVo V100. It’s a 2GB player/USB port.
I’ve always liked Creative’s products, and this one is no exception. I bought a Zen Vision a while back, and was strapping it on my arm when I ran, but that mp3 player has a hard drive in it, which constantly spins, whereas this one is flash based, so there’s no moving parts. Plus this one’s the size of a domino, where as the other one is a big larger than a deck of cards. I liked having this in my pocket while I ran. I enjoyed the freedom of not having anything velcroed to my arm!
Anyways, back to the run….I ran the whole 3 miles non-stop and came in under 30 minutes, which is an improvement. I also spent a lot of time stretching, which I don’t normally do. I watched this video on YouTube, and it helped with my stretching after the run.
My left big toe still hurts from last Saturday, and it’s gonna be that way the whole training period, since it’s bruised under the nail. Well, that’s what they say…runners lose nails…here we go. Oh well.
The temps are expected to be at 103 tomorrow, so I may wait until past sunset to do my run. I’m excited again though! Can’t wait to lose some weight!
Filed under: Cheat Meal, Long Runs, bugs, hills, hot, patrick, toenail, video, water bottle
Lindsey and I are getting better at waking up early on Saturdays for our long runs. I’m sure knowing the heat is coming really helps, because by about 10:30, it really gets hot! The high temps this past week have been in the 100s! After getting up, having some breakfast and driving about 30 minutes to the course, we arrived around 7:30.
Lindsey picked out the place to run, since I drove to Southern Illinois this weekend. We were going to run around Murphysboro Lake, which is about 4 miles around, and since this is a 7-miler, we will run around the park almost twice, saving the last mile for a good walk/warm down. Little did I know that the location was FULL of hills!
The trail was beautiful and peaceful. The road was wide and covered with tall trees most of the way. There were a few people fishing with their boats, and a couple walkers. We weren’t sure how the trail would go, other than it was the road around the park, so we just kept on the main road, and did fine. My GPS unit worked until about a mile, then all the trees around caused me to lose connection with the satellite.
When Lindsey and I ran together, we had a few “interruptions” with bugs, specifically small horseflies. They really buzzed around us when there was shade, and I killed one on Lindsey’s butt while running. The hills came upon us so quickly, and they were pretty steep in a couple places. We tackled them pretty hard and were successful. It felt like the hills never ended. Right before the end of the first 4 miles, we ran across a small dam/bridge, and looking over at the lake was gorgeous. In my mind, I felt like I was in one of those professional posters where the guy is running across the lake and there’s some big saying about motivation or serenity…but really I knew all it looked like was a big fat guy sweating his ass off trying to just be done with it.
Lindsey arrived at the end of the first lap, and as I was coming down the hill, she handed me my water bottle that was placed under the” Smokey The Bear” sign. Here we go again, but this time, we ran the course in reverse. I carried my water bottle with me the whole second lap. The horseflies were really expecting us now, and miles 5 & 6 were bad…I was bit by one enough to really feel the pain, and it stung for a good mile before I was able to ignore it.
On the second lap, I just couldn’t handle the hills. I would start, but then end up taking my walk about halfway. These were the steepest hills I’ve ever trained on. And on the flipside, on the downhill slopes, I had to gradually pick up speed to take them on, otherwise I would have fell forward. I could feel my hamstrings kicking in on the downhills. I think my legs really got a workout today.
I had made a mental mark on where Mile 7 was, but it wasn’t a clear mark, and so when I passed it, I wasn’t sure it was really the right place. And Lindsey was about 4 minutes ahead of me, so I lost track of her mostly through the second lap. I just kept running as best as I could, and then suddenly the “Smokey The Bear” sign showed up, and BAM! I ran 8 miles, not 7!
I was so proud of Lindsey, she did very well, beating my time by 4 minutes. She was so energized from the run, she was saying she could run another lap. I was whipped, but felt great. And knowing the next couple big weekend runs will be smaller feels good. I can’t wait to run 7 again, and next time I’m hoping it will be easy. I did bruise underneath my big toe on my left foot. Going down the hills made my toenail squish against the front of the shoe, and it bruised it pretty bad. I think I’ll lose that nail in a couple months. It’s a throbbing pain right now, and it’s starting to turn blue (fun, huh?)
Happy Birthday, baby! Can’t wait to eat Fujiyama Steakhouse tonight!
Conditions: 78 degrees, cooler, shady, clear skies.
Results: today: 8 miles; total: 32 miles; time: 1:38:14; pace: 12:16
Thoughts: I need to stick to a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday schedule during the week. It really helps. I can’t wait for the weather to be cooler, so I can do all my runs outside.
What I’ll remember the most: Those damn hills.
I didn’t want to write after training on Wednesday because I gave up. The heat index was 106 degrees and I only ran a mile and a half. I felt like the humidity was choking me. I had even placed my water bottle on a park bench and would drink it whenever I did a lap. But it wasn’t enough. I felt like a total failure. And because of the drought and hot weather, many of the leaves were brown and all over the ground. It looked a bit like fall– only hotter.
Then, on Thursday, I decided to drive to SIUC and run around Campus Lake. I was so glad I did. I finally ran the entire 3 miles and I did it in exactly 30 minutes! Because the course was mostly shaded and the breeze felt cool coming off the water, I didn’t feel as hot. This is exactly what I needed to get in gear for my weekend big run!
I didn’t want this day to be another treadmill day, so I went home and waited until close to sunset before I ran. But, today I was not looking forward to running. I was to run Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I wasn’t on my schedule this week, and I wasn’t eating right, either. I went home after work today, ate 4 small burritos and a bag of Potato Skin chips, and was mentally talking myself out of running. But I knew that I couldn’t live with missing a day of training because I “didn’t feel like it” or because “I ate bad food”. So with a belly fully of crappy munchies , I faced the heat and ran around Fenton Park twice for my 3 miles. It was 94 degrees and hella hot, and surpringly, I ran very well! I felt in shape and I ran it non-stop. There was a lot of activity in the park (ball games, walkers, runners, bikers), which makes it more interesting.
Conditions: 94 degrees and humid.
Results: today: 3 miles; total: 24 miles; time: 30:16; pace: 10:05
Thoughts: Life is a constant battle. The temptation to not do the right things is ALWAYS there. It’s something I have to overcome and be strong about my goals.
What I’ll remember the most: The great non-stop run, despite the burrito belly!
It was extremely difficult to run today. I had to stay more than an extra hour at work, and didn’t start running until 3:00. Even Patrick said it was dangerous to run today. Although the temperature was only 96 degrees when I began, meteorologists reported it feeling like 102 degrees. The humidity in the Mid-West makes running very hard.
I had to do a combination of running and walking. It took me more than 40 minutes to run three miles. I found a water fountain that sprayed water really far and I took a couple breaks to drench myself. I wasn’t able to get half way around the pond before all the water dried up. Plus, my MP3 player’s battery went dead just as I was finishing up my first half mile. Although so much went wrong, I finished the course.
I also saw a guy on the course wearing gloves. I was confused about why he would be wearing those. I was hoping he wasn’t some serial killer who wanted to conceal his fingerprints. I probably shouldn’t be thinking about that sort of thing while I’m running.
I had a sunburn on my face when I was finished. I hope tomorrow is cooler.
We hit the alarm only once this morning, because we knew it was going to be hot. We ate some breakfast, then drove into the city to run Forest Park. The park is 5.65 miles around, so we backtracked a 1:45 in the beginning. The runners at 8:00am we so nice and encouraging when we started, but as the morning went on, people were less friendly. I started the run with the 15/2 pace (run 15 minutes, rest 2) but towards the end, I was running when I could, then walked for a bit. I finally caught up with Lindsey at Mile 5, where we hi-fived each other, knowing there was only a mile left. But that was a mistake. We celebrated too early, and that last mile seemed to have taken forever to do. Lucky the last mile was under some shady trees. We didn’t have any water during the run, so by the time we got back to the car, we were relieved and refreshed…of course I did waste some…
Conditions: 85 degrees and hazy.
Results: today: 6 miles; total: 15 miles; time: 1:07:58; pace: 11:16
Thoughts: Feels great to be running Forest Park again. This is my home base.
What I’ll remember the most: The smell of those horses from the St. Louis Mounted Police. Blech.
I had a half-day at work today because I had worked a 17-hour day on Wednesday (yeah, I know that doesn’t even out, but oh well), so I slept in and ran around noon today. I must say it was HOT. I almost thought about not running today, since I was so far off balance this week. I got a day early start in training last Sunday, then I ran Monday, but didn’t run on Thursday like I was supposed to, and here it is Friday. I’m telling myself that I will not miss a run in this schedule, so that was my motivation. There was a small problem, though. I left my gym bag with my clothes, shoes and watch at work. So I had to pull out my backup gear. I threaded my old marathon shoes, and didn’t wear a watch at all.
Well, let’s just say it was nice not constantly looking at a watch. I decided to run at my own pace and just feel it out for when I wanted to take my 2-minute walk breaks. But I had such a great run, I didn’t stop at all! It was probably my best run so far, but I didn’t need the watch to tell me that. After the run, I did feel the exhaustion and heat, and even after I showered at home and went to work, I was still sweating pretty bad.
GREAT RUN! For the first time, I could sense what it would be like running with 35 pounds less weight and being in strong shape for the marathon. The first lap (1.4 miles) felt like a warm up and the second was harder only because the heat was intense. This was a tough week to keep on track, and I ate horribly, but once again, I’m picking myself up and not letting it get to me. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s 6-miler. This will be the farthest Lindsey has run, and she is quite nervous about it. I can’t wait until it’s over, so she will feel more confident about running, and I can get serious about getting back in shape.
Oops! Almost midnight! Gotta get up at 6am to beat the heat!
Conditions: 91 degrees, hot.
Results: today: 3 miles; total: 3 miles; time: n/a; pace: n/a
Thoughts: I can feel my runner within. I just need to get into a work/run/sleep pattern that will help me train all week.
What I’ll remember the most: Running that first lap as if it was a warmup.
Filed under: hot
I ran another 3 miles today, and this time it was back where I did a lot of my training for the Alaska Marathon in 2005. Forest Park is the largest park in the metro St. Louis area, and lucky for me, it’s a 3-minute walk across an overpass to get there from work. They have mile markers on the trail, and I knew it so well anyway, so I ran 1.5 miles, then turned around and ran back for my 3 total miles. It was hot today, and I felt the heat pretty good. The park was resurfaced since the last time I was there. I pushed myself like I always do at that park, and I remembered the technique of looking more at the pavement when running up hills, that way the top of the hill doesn’t look so far away. All in all, I was exhausted, but glad to be back.
Conditions: 94 degrees, humid.
Results: today: 3 miles; total: 3 miles; time: 34:45; pace: 11:35/mile
Thoughts: Getting out on time to run is going to be hard to do, but I need to do it. Luckily I won’t burn at this time of day.
What I’ll remember the most: The awful smell of the horses from the mounted police station in the park. Blech.
