Now that I signed up for a marathon in July, I have to get used to the heat. I need to figure out how to not lose anything from where I'm at right now. My improvement needs to be equal or better than what I'll lose from running in the heat.
I looked at the weather report today. Since I didn't work, running before lunch would've been perfect. The rain had finally cleared. However, I have to get used to the heat and the temperature was supposed to rise like crazy in just a few hours. The high was supposed to get into the 70s. That was a 20 degree increase from what we've been seeing lately.
I headed out to the Nor-Bath Trail late in the afternoon, to run in the heat. I wore a singlet with my shorts. Not only did I want to run in the heat, but I wanted to do it fast. I wanted to run goal paced miles anyway. I didn't think that that would be too difficult. The plan was to try to get in 10 of them.
I started off kind of slow, using the first mile as sort of a warmup. It ended up being quite fast though at 7:18. I was cruising by the end of it. The trail was dry, but there was ponding water all along it. It was funny because in this first stretch, I could hear frogs making noise. They must've been in the water.
I guess I was moving quite quick when the second mile started. I had to stop for a few seconds at the road crossing. That was annoying, when I was trying to hit a pace. I was working quite hard to stay under 7 minutes for this mile. I was able to do it though, with a 6:55.
I guess I was pushing pretty hard. I was struggling a lot with the heat by now. I couldn't breathe that well. I kept going though. I wanted to at least get to mile 3 and turn around. I did that with a 6:48 mile. I ended up turning around right before crossing Airport Road. That was perfect.
Going back got easier, but only slightly. I had some wind in my face, which made for a nice cooling effect. By now, I had been struggling though and the legs felt like they were going off a bit. So that I didn't have a chafing problem, I took my shirt off.
A guy came by in the other direction. He was moving pretty quick. A lot of people were out on the trail today. I kept up the speed and mile 4 was a 6:44.
My watch definitely lost its signal in the beginning of this 5th mile. At .15 miles into it, it said the pace was 5:30. The good thing is that it was impossible for me not to go under 7 minutes for this mile.
I was moving pretty good and I think I ran this mile under 7 minutes anyway, despite the watch being messed up. I fell off toward the end and it read 6:33. Maybe I could've pushed another mile or two, but I was very beat and didn't want to overdo it. The goal was to push myself in uncomfortable territory with the heat. I did that. The first 5 miles were at a 6:52 pace. That was perfect.
I had a mile to run back to the car. I wanted to add a 7th mile as well. These would both be easy. I cruised along and enjoyed the run back. Mile 6 was a 7:40.
I might've gone out the other direction, but I had just passed a cute girl. Therefore, I headed the same way I had just come from. She did look pretty good. I went out a bit farther than I needed to. I wanted to briefly walk back to the car. I did that and quickly hydrated. The final mile was a 7:31.
I wanted some more running today. Therefore, I ate, showered and headed out again. It was probably only about 2.5 hours since the first run. I certainly wasn't fully recovered.
I headed to Freemansburg to run the D&L. I was hoping for 8 easy miles to get to 15 for the day. I had to see what my body would allow.
I put on a short sleeve shirt and shorts. It was slightly cooler, but still quite hot. I was soaked again by the end of this one.
It was cool to see the water so high. I saw a group of people kayaking on the water and then the got out as I headed toward Easton. I thought I'd got out 2 miles in each direction. That's why I parked at this point. I wanted a soft trail, to save my legs.
I brought a handheld with me. I cruised along and felt decent. The legs were kind of sore, but not too bad. I was a bit slow in the beginning, until they loosened up. That first mile was over 9 minutes, but every one after that got much faster.
It was a peaceful night and beautiful scenery along the river. I might've enjoyed it more if I didn't end up eating bugs. I couldn't even take my sunglasses off, because they were getting in my eyes.
I got to mile 1 and then mile 2 rather quickly. Since I was feeling good, I thought I might as well go out to 2.5 miles. A lot of people were out biking, running or especially walking their dogs. I saw a very cute young lady sitting on a blanket next to the river with her dog.
I got to 2.5 miles near some dogs, so I kept going to mile 3. By mile 3, I had just passed some more dogs. I also saw the Route 33 Bridge nearby. I was surprised that I was that close to it. I turned around and headed back.
Running back was almost perfect. The water was rushing by and the setting sun was right in front of me. I tried to soak it all in, but still focused on my own running. It seemed like awhile until I got miles 4 and 5.
I focused simply on getting back to my car and mile 6. Then, I'd go out the other way. It was great to finally be there. The canal near Freemansburg was busy with fisherman.
The legs were starting to feel a little sore and my back was bothering me slightly too. I had to get out a mile and turn around. I cruised there. It started getting dark and I felt a few drops. I figured that if it got bad, I'd turn around.
I made it out to mile 7 with a sub 8 minute mile. The overall pace had been at 8:30, not too long ago. Now, it was dipping well below that. I pushed it a little on my way back. I finished up right as the rain started to pick up. The last mile was also under 8 minutes.
Both runs were solid runs today. It was good to have a productive day. The second run ended up being an unintended progression run. I'm now at 50 miles for the week.
Tomorrow, I'm going camping. I wouldn't mind a morning run before I leave. We'll see how the legs feel. I will be doing a lot of running when we get to the park. I'm hoping to at least run back to back 20 mile days again. I'd really like to make it back to back 25 mile days. It will all depend on how much the body can handle.
Afternoon Run 7 miles - 49:31 (7:04 pace)
Evening Run 8 miles - 1:06:16 (8:17 pace)
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