Warm-weather Training

Tuesday, July 8:

I think of the Gateway Trail as flat, because it's an old railroad bed, but in fact it isn’t flat. Most of the time it is sloping gently up or down, and in a few places there actually are short, but substantial hills. I decided to watch the Tour de France first this morning, which didn’t end until eleven, then go run ten miles on the Gateway.

The temp was 79 at noon, with a cloudless sky, but happily our part of the Gateway is nestled among tall shade trees for much of its length. A nice crosswind improved the weather too, and my hat brim never did drip today until I finished the run and started my stretches, an indication that the humidity was much lower today than yesterday. No pains of any kind. Warm-weather training at its best.

A fly flew into my mouth at one point, and of course I quickly spit it out. Then I noticed a neat pile of horse manure right next to me on the adjacent horse trail. I considered the possibilities, nay the probabilities, and rinsed out my mouth a couple of times with water from the bottle I was carrying. Uff-da.

My sweeties were on the Gateway too today, and we crossed paths once. That’s always nice.

Splits: 9:44, 9:03, 9:58, 9:35, 9:29, 8:54, 10:33, 9:20, 9:31, 10:59, total 1:37:04, average pace 9:42, same as yesterday’s 8-miler. That’s actually the right pace for a 4:15 marathon. I wonder how much farther I could go at that pace on a cooler morning. A lot, I think. I’ll be finding out soon; the training schedule has some 20-mile runs in it, plus some long races if my rickety old body holds together.

Monday, July 7:

I had intended to run 8 miles yesterday, but that was the right day to measure a race, so today’s goal was 8 miles at any speed. I chose my favorite dirt trail along the railroad track, which worked just fine. 70 degrees, bright sun, and very humid, so I ran slowly. At about mile six I thought I felt a little something in the right hip flexors, so I switched to a walk/run. The soft trail is a little like running up a slight hill, I think, which might put a little extra strain on the hip flexors.

Splits: 9:20, 9:39, 11:02 (1.2 mi), 9:16, then I lost track of mile marks, but the total was 1:19:43 for 8.2 miles, a pace of 9:43. Plenty good considering that my hat brim started to drip after only three miles, an indication of the humidity. And it’s DEX day, which makes it hard for muscles to absorb glucose, so I’m happy with the time.

Sunday, July 6:

I was going to run eight miles today, but measured the Whiz Bang 10k race for certification instead.

Saturday, July 5:

Saturday morning the St Croix Valley runners were at it again, 7:00 am at Stillwater's Northland Tennis Courts, five miles. Only five runners showed up, the rest in bed because of partying the night before, or running in the Afton Trail Race. I had a nice run with Doug at a pace of 8:33, which was a push for both of us. Lovely morning, fifth straight day of running, no pain!

Friday, the Fourth of July:

Marine on St Croix annual fourth of July 4.1-mile race. A wonderful, traditional downhill race for everyone, strollers too. The weather could hardly have been better - 73 degrees, low humidity, clear skies, no wind to speak of. A beautiful morning, and for that matter all of July 4 was exceptional. I ran the 4.1 miles in 32:10, for a pace of 7:57 according to the official results, 7:51 by my calculation if the race really IS 4.1 miles. I have run that race four minutes faster, but today that was not to be. No pains. Excellent fireworks in Stillwater that night too.

Thursday, July 3:

Just three miles on a fairly flat route, third straight day of running. What a beautiful morning, 56 degrees and sunny, and the route offers quite bit of shade. No pains. Splits 9:16, 8:52, 8:22, total 26:30, average pace 8:50.



Monday's breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal, blueberries, mango, organic nectarine, filberts, walnuts, pecans, Dove dark chocolate, nonfat organic milk.




Monday's lunch: Canned wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon with cottage cheese and dill, papaya, organic peas.



Tonight's dinner: Leftover turkey, leftover assorted organic vegetables, organic chard with dried cranberries, chives, and pistachios, cucumber, organic red wine vinegar.