Maria's Running Blog

Long hot run, 85F, but at least not humid. I felt good until heat got to me, felt tired after that. 3 water stops, no carbs. 2:05:25 (8:49 pace).

Stride workout 14x100m with a jog back to the start. Another hot day, 88F. I did warmup and cooldown on treadmill, that only left me about 20 min. outside, not too bad. Times:

20.69 20.09 18.84 1:25.66(forgot to hit the split) 17.79 17.94 17.99 18.13 17.72 17.75 18.25 17.83 18.87 17.56

hot and humid (86F), miserable run in 56:27 (8:49 pace). Stopped for water half way through, but it was still too hot.

easy run in 1:03:43 (8:58 pace). I felt like I was running faster than 9 min/mile. The weather was humid, but cool, only 75F, so no excuse there. I'm often amazed how my perception of effort doesn't correspond to the actual pace. Right ankle was sore on the inside, but got better towards the end. Did 4x100m strides afterwards (21.6, 20.1, 19.2, 18.3).

Tempo intervals - 3x3000m with 2' jog recovery, on track. Today was the first time I was able to complete the entire workout, even if I fell off the pace on the third interval. I still consider it a success, with a lot of room for improvement. Times: 13:54, 13:54, 14:16.

very easy run, 38:54, plus 4x100m strides (18.9, 17.7, 17.8, 16.7). On the last stride, I really focused on bringing my knees up, and I immediately ran a second faster. In fact, this is my fastest recorded 100m since I started doing strides.

Trying to rest up for a 5K tomorrow. Unfortunately, we got invited to a friend's birthday party tonight. I'll have to stay away from alcohol and overeating (sometimes, both can be a challenge at Russian parties!), and I need to make sure we get home not too late, so I can get enough sleep. I still want to try and break 22 min.

YMCA 5K. I ran the worst time of the season, although not by much (22:24). I got 3rd in F35-39, but it didn't mask my disappointment. I was doing well the first 2 miles (7:03, 7:10) and then I died a horrible death on a short steep hill that just knocked the wind out of me. I couldn't recover, both my cardio and muscular systems going at once. My legs felt like they were full of lead, and my breathing was out of control as well. Last 1.1mi was 8:11, which means I ran third mile in about 7:25-7:30! Not sure why I hit the wall so hard. The weather was nasty (77F with 80% humidity), but I should be acclimated to it by now, it's typical for this time of year. Really not happy with this race.

I have one more 5K left next Saturday, and then I'll probably go back to base building, it has worked for me better than anything else so far.

Progression run,1:25 easy and last 1.2mi in 9:26 (7:51 pace). Total time 1:34:51. I felt pretty good today, despite the humidity. It's gotten a bit cooler while I was running and around 8 miles I got into a really good rhythm on a slight downhill. It gave me an illusion that I can run at this pace forever. I didn't have that feeling for a long time, so it was nice.

easy run on the treadmill due to tornado watch in my area. It wasn't too bad because I found "So you think you can dance" show on Fox, which kept me distracted enough not to get bored. 4x20 sec. strides after the run. Continious run 7.1 mi in 1:07:11 (9:27 pace), the rest is stride mileage. Felt good today.

Felt great today! It was a late run, I started after 9PM and it was somewhat cool and breezy, although weather.com was reporting 73F and dewpoint of 66, hardly comfortable combo. But somehow it never bothered me. I warmed up and slowly accelerated to a comfortable high-end aerobic pace. I started at about 8:10 pace, but gradually I must have dropped it, because in the end, I did 5.65 mi in 44:56 (7:57 pace). I think I felt so good because I didn't try to always run the same pace regardless of the terrain. I think I have a tendency to push too hard on these runs, and I'm more tired by the end that I should be. Today I kind of went with the flow and tried to run the same effort, rather than the same pace, and the result was more relaxed (but not slower!) run. Total run time 1:11:10.

very easy run on the treadmill. My last 5K race of the season is less than 12 hours away. Tomorrow is supposed to be the beginning of the heat wave here, so I'm not hoping for a good time. This is an unusual race in that it is run entirely on the airport runway at Teterboro Airport, the main executive airport in NYC area. There is a lead plane instead of a lead car. For me, it's a special race, because I used to fly out of TEB in my student pilot days. It's a different feeling running on the same runway that you used to see only from the cockpit, either accelerating for takeoff or rushing at you from below on landing! So, needless to say, it is a completely flat course, but it's not fast, because in July the weather is just too hot. Of course there is no shade and you're running directly under the sun on the pavement.

So I show up at the airport at 7:30AM and it's already 75F and humid, with dewpoint of 69. On my warmup, I met couple of people from my club, who asked why I'm running, I should just walk. It was very hot when the sun would come out, and the race turned into another sweat bath. Interestingly, I saw several Kenyans and 2 Ethiopian women jogging in full warmup suits (the ladies had suits of Ethiopian national team), long pants and long sleeve jackets. That was quite amazing to see in such conditions.

Anyway, at that point it was clear to me that I will not break 22 min. today and I decided not to kill myself, run an easier first mile and focus on getting the most points for this race in the Grand Prix circuit.

I ran pretty relaxed, and there was minor congestion in the first 0.3 mi. with one runner going down right in fron of me, so I had to do an evasive maneuver in order to not fall myself. I hit first mile in 7:20 and I felt good. I kept the same pace on the second mile, which included 180 turn on the runway, and hit it in 7:09. I felt myself getting a little tighter and slowing down somewhat in the third mile, but I felt much better than in the last week's race and generally I was running strong. It was very hot under the blazing sun, and I kept catching up to and passing people, which was encouraging to me, that meant that others were slowing down and suffering at least no less than I was! No one passed me in the last 2 miles, and I must have passed about 10 people. I kicked in the last 0.2 mi and tried to pass one more guy, but he heard my breathing (it was loud :)) and sped up away from me. I ended up finishing in 22:38, the worst time of the year. Apparently, I slowed down more than I thought, but given the conditions, I think it's okay. Afterwards, I couldn't stop sweating for a good 40 min, it was incredibly humid. I made a mistake of getting back my bag right after I finished, because I needed a towel, but then I couldn't check it back in, or leave it unattended, so I couldn't run my cool down. I also couldn't put it back in my car, because due to very tight security (they required 2 forms of ID, one with picture, to enter the grounds), once you leave the race, you can't come back.

easy run in 47:31 (9:08 pace). Still very hot and humid out, even at 9PM. It was 100F today. Good thing I only had to run 5 miles. I'm going to do couple of easy running weeks and then start another base buildup.

I felt great today despite the heat. I can't explain why. It was very hot and sticky evening, but my breathing was easy and I maintained a pretty good pace - 53:50 (8:40 pace).

it was much cooler tonight, only in the 70s, but I did't feel as good as last night. Maybe Jonas is right about hydration, although I don't remember drinking a lot yesterday. 46:34 (8:57 pace).

just a regular run, nothing notable about it. It was very humid again. Time was 54:26 (8:46 pace).

ran on my treadmill today due to thunderstorms, lightning and hail outside. Today was unbelievably humid, 93% humidity all day long. My basement has no a/c and wasn't much better. I did 5.6mi in 53:00 (9:27 pace) and then did 4x20 sec. strides at 9.3 mph (6:27 pace). I felt good except for humidity. Watched CNN while I ran, which only made me more worried. I have relatives near Tel Aviv and friends in Haifa. They are all okay so far, but I still worry. One of my relatives may be recalled by IDF now... I hope he'll be spared because he has two small children.

incredibly humid again today. I was trying to beat the weather, but it caught up to me in the last 25 min. of my run - pounding rain and wind. Total run time was 1:40:15 (8:38 pace). I felt good, except for the humidity. The air was thick and I had a feeling like I can't take a full breath.

Cool evenning for a change! I actually felt the breeze. Easy run on my regular route - 47:03 (9:02 pace).

Today I was hungry and thirsty on my run and it showed. Felt heavy and it was an effort to just pick up my legs. 56:38. Crazy day at work, 3 meetings, no time for afternoon snack or drink. Oh well, I got my miles in. Consistency is more important than anything else now. But I'll try to have a better fueling routine tomorrow.

Felt a lot better today. Made sure I drank at least 24 oz. before I left work (~3 hours before my run). Hydration is key in this hot and muggy weather, more important than food. Time was 1:03:18 (8:54 pace).

Felt great today despite sauna conditions. There was lightning and thunder all around me the entire run, but it never rained, for a change! Lucky me, I was fully expecting to get soaked, again. Time was 44:47 (8:36 pace). Probably a bit too fast for an easy run, but I felt good, so I went with the flow.

very hot and humid. It was 88F by the time I finished, in 1:50:36 (8:59 pace). 2 water stops, no carbs. I didn't care about time today, just tried to find shade by weaving from one side of the road to another if it looked like I could get more shade on the other side.

easy recovery in 38:45 (9:13 pace). Already hot and humid at 10AM. All next week is supposed to be upper 90s-100s. I REALLY have to shift my runs to early mornings, because I need to start pushing the pace a little on some runs, and it's just going to be so miserable out there in evenings.

Still very hot at 9PM (morning run didn't materialize due to going to bed at 1:30AM). Felt a little sluggish. Total time was 55:14 with middle 2.9mi in 23:31 (8:06 pace). That's right about my marathon pace now, so I'm pretty happy with it, especially considering the heat.