Maria's Running Blog

One of the less enjoyable runs - had to go on the treadmill in my muggy basement. Still better than outside where heat index is up to 110F and unbearable no matter what time of day. I put fan next to the treadmill, but it was too weak, I could barely feel it. I took it easy, 1:17:10 (9:38 pace).

The heat wave finally abated, but at the price of severe thunderstorms. I ran on the treadmill again, but hopefully tomorrow I can venture outside after the cold front passes overnight. I was sweating buckets again in my stuffy basement, and my HRM was playing games with me - it was showing steady 164-170, while I ran only 9:40 pace for most of the run. Only at the very end it showed 143 which I think was the only correct reading. 5 miles, 48 minutes.

A lot cooler tonight, although it was still 80F. But it felt cool after the last 3 days. More importantly, it was not as humid, dew point "only" 66. I felt slow on the warmup, and was disappointed that I can't run faster in cooler weather, but when I sped up to my "booster pace" (supposed to be ~1 min. slower than 5K race pace), I could finally see the difference on my watch. My perceived effort was the same as Monday, and I ran the same exact course, but my time for 2.9mi was 22:27 today (7:44 pace) vs. 23:31 on Monday (8:06 pace). That is quite a difference! I found this very useful article today through letsrun.com by Tinman: Summer Running Did 4x100m strides after - 24:01, 19.7, 19.2, 18.7. On the first stride just as I was accelerating, a motorcycle appeared in my way blinding me with his headlight, so I decided to slow down and stay safe, that's why such a slow time.

Long and very hot run. I had to run at noon, because before that I had to clean up the house for a showing at 12:30PM, and then we had our London send-off party with friends, so running was out of the question at night. It was dry, but very hot in direct sun. I struggled in the last 4 miles, made 3 water stops, but they only helped a little. Time was 1:48:00 (9:18 pace). Also, my quads were sore, and I wondered why - until I remembered that I did strides yesterday, and I haven't done strides in 3 weeks, so that's likely what caused soreness.

A lot cooler tonight, really a nice night for a run. Ran middle 3.86mi in 29:56 (7:45 pace). Felt good after 2 days off!

This week is a wash. It's my last week of work, combined with the upcoming weekend of camping. Could only run twice the whole week. Not good, but all the extra rest is giving me extra energy. I ran 3.9mi today in 29:28 (7:33 pace).

Back from camping and sporadic running last week, I did not feel all that great today. I was supposed to run 8 miles, but miscalculated a bit and came up 0.2 mi. short according to gmap-pedometer. I took it easy, and ran middle 4.6mi in 37:51 (8:13 pace) - actually pretty close to marathon pace.

This week is going to be a nightmare, with movers coming on Friday, and still tons of things to sort out. I spent all day shredding old documents and cleaning up drawers.

I survived a week from hell, and was able to get out for a run for the first time. As expected, I felt horrible, and heat and himidity didn't help either. Dewpoint was 70 this morning. I wanted to turn around after 3.5 miles, but when I got there I felt half way decent (=not entirely dead) so I pressed on to 4.2 mi. turn around point. Perhaps it was a mistake as I really slowed down to a crawl at the end, but I wanted to put at least 16 mi. for the week. Definitely feel some lost fitness, but hopefully I can get it back this week before I have to fly over to London next Saturday. I'll be staying one block away from Hyde Park initially, so I'm looking to run in Hyde Park and Kensigton Gardens. Total time today was 1:16:41, 9:07 pace.

Another tough run, but at least I ran 4.1mi in 32:39 (7:57 pace). After that I had to crawl home again. Not sure why I feel so spent, but I'll just get back to my schedule and hope I feel better soon!

Easy recovery run today, 53:02 (8:33 pace). I tried to keep the pace easy, but I still ran too fast for recovery run. My recovery pace shouldn't be faster than 9:00-9:15, but it didn't happen today. By the end I was tired again, which was totally opposite to the purpose of this run. I'll try to run slower tomorrow on my medium-long run.

Did 4x100m strides after the run: 21.1 19.4 18.1 17.3.

I was supposed to run this yesterday and take today off, but I swapped the days due to my schedule. Ran 9.5mi today, making sure I ran really easy, and it came to 1:24:01 (8:50 pace). Still, I was tired at the end. But maybe it's normal as I am trying to build my mileage. My biggest challenge will be to stay consistent in the coming weeks after I move, and my routine will go out the door. My husband (who is already in London and started his new job) is telling me it rains every day approximately every 4 hours with various intensity - and it's only August :). I can wear waterproof clothing, but what do I do with the shoes?? I'll have to ask London runners what they do in the winter - maybe there are some waterproof socks or something... Running in water clogged shoes is very annoying and a sure way to get monster blisters.

First run in London. 1 loop of Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens + 1 loop of Hyde Park. We now live 0.3mi from Hyde Park. The weather is awesome, cool and dry. I ran at an easy pace, but it didn't feel easy. Time was 1:02. I walk a lot here, so that may contribute to general fatigue feeling.

Two loops of Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens. I walked hours again hunting for apartment, so was really tired and didn't feel like running at all. Time was 1:20. These parks are not completely flat either, tiny but long inclines are getting to me.