Running away from August! Onward into September!

[yellow]

So, here in the SLC, we've had two months in a row with record high average temps. This is the overall average for the month, including nighttime: 86.2 F for July and 82.7 F for August. I am sooooooo ready to have fewer than 27 days over 90 F.

That said, I had a lovely run this September morning on some beautiful trails that had been dampened (but not muddied) by a little rain last night. It was 57 F when I started. It was awesome, so awesome that I didn't mind the humidity. The rain also resulted in awakening the smells of the forest and good tracking surfaces (I do a lot of tracking and general naturalizing when I run).

Bring on the autumn weather pattern!

[skhill]

And in KY, after a hot and humid holiday weekend, it was a beautiful morning, low 60s with low humidity. My hurt calf is feeling much better, but I'm not pushing it. Just 4.5 miles this morning and it seems a lot of people in this part of town took advantage of holiday furniture sales, there were a lot of old couches and easy chairs sitting at the curb on this our garbage day. Also saw a rabbit darting out from a community garden.

Yes, bring on autumn! My favorite season (except for the raking).

[rocknrollgirl]

Not very nice here today, hot and humid. I had to run in the afternoon because we are back in school. It always takes me a good 4-6 weeks to adjust to afternoon workouts once school starts. So on that hot and humid afternoon note, I was a bit of a trudge, but I got it done.

[OakLeaf]

While we were in NJ taking care of my very infirm FIL I managed to get in two of the best runs I've ever had there, including one in the rain. (Also a nice yoga class at the studio around the corner.) I guess everyone was at the Shore for the long weekend, because there was hardly any traffic.

I'm exhausted. All yesterday in airports, TSA destroyed my hardshell suitcase, home last night, spent all day today marking roads for our upcoming bike tour, definitely need to run in the morning.

[yellow]

I was a bit of a trudge, but I got it done.

I should have trudged but ate cookies instead. I need to NOT buy boxes of cookies.

[rocknrollgirl]

Yellow, that may become a new quote hanging in my classroom. " I should have trudged, but at cookies instead"

[GLC1968]

We were scheduled to go backpacking this weekend, so I was kind of looking forward to a break from the long run this week. Now it looks like weather may thwart us, so I may be mapping out a 9 mile run anyway. Poo.

I did just officially sign up for another half in December, so it looks like this will be the winter of running for me.

[rocknrollgirl]

Trudge Day 2

Although I felt like poo during yesterday's run, it was slightly less of a trudge than Tuesday. I at least got in 10 sets of striders at the end. Tomorrow will be our long run on the trails. I hope I get some snap back. OY.

[skhill]

I took a roundabout route to the track today, and went past the private college's still-under-construction track complex on the way. It's looking beautiful. When it's done, there will be 8 full sized, less than 5 yr old running tracks in town, none of them open to the public. But the fence at this one looks like it will be climbable, don't know what security will be like though. Did my intervals on the short track at the old school closed at integration. It's better than nothing...

[yellow]

skhill, they built a beautiful track at the University of Utah here and I did run on it once this summer. It is HUGE! They have a few posted public hours but they are scarce. I'll probably just stick to the the local HS whenever I get back to doing track intervals (which I actually kind of like, in a sick sort of way).

I trudged up in the mountains after work today and while I was up there, it got really windy down in the valley (which is only 5-6 miles down canyon). I drove down the canyon into a giant dust bank. It was disgussssssting. I could smell the lake, too (the Great Salt Lake; it has a unique aroma that wafts over the city when we get those west winds). The run was just OK. My legs hurt this week. I had to walk a couple of the hills that I ran without problem last week.

As I was finishing my run, the front runners of the Wasatch Front 100 were coming up the same canyon. It was pretty hot today, and they looked a bit fried (this is about 60 miles in to the race). I gave a few friendly beeps as I drove past going down canyon. They will still be running when I go to bed tonight.

RnR, please note my new signature!

[rocknrollgirl]

Yellow......HA! How about we boldly trudge AND eat cookies!

We did our long run today. Less of a trudge than this week. The weather was perfection. We went to a local park and did loops. This time of year we do not dare set foot in the woods the chiggers and ticks are SO bad. So our local park ( which has some really nice trails), is a winter running spot. There is a 3 mile loop, mostly flat that is very wide that we can manage safely this time of year if we spray. So we did loops on that. We set up a "water stop" and hit that to fuel at the end of every loop.

We got in four loops. I ran the whole time, no walking. Happy with that. Our race is in three weeks so we will probably start to step it down after this.

[OakLeaf]

Mmmmmmm, cookies.

I did heart rate intervals today. Haven't really been doing much speedwork, but it felt good. I'm pretty well mentally exhausted and over-taxed, so I wanted a compressed workout.

I'm signed up for Columbus half in October, not as a goal race but just for the heck of it, but I'd like to at least not embarrass myself. It's not too late to get in a couple of longer runs before then ... I haven't been running much over 9.5 consistently.

[lph]

I don't usually post here because I'm not that much of a runner, though I'm gradually trying to get there.

But today I got myself a new mental prop. Running is pretty hard work to me, and I like using mental images and music to keep me focussed. And struggling up one of the small, steep hills on my semi-commute run I started thinking how these tough little hills where I feel slow and unfit are the ones that are actually making me strong, not the easy stretches where I just fly. And I got the image of loading a spring, like winding up something. Loading a spring is hard work, and you have to put in a steady effort rather than a short burst. But once it's loaded you can release all that energy later.

Works for me :-)

[GLC1968]

LPH, I like that image!

I did my 9 mile run on Saturday. Funny thing was, it felt better (and was faster) than my 8 mile run last week so I am definitely making progress. My DH just broke down and signed up for the half I'm doing in December. This is HUGE for him as 1) he is not a runner, 2) the longest he's ever run was 6 miles with me two years ago and 3) he is terrible at sticking to commitments to race or train. I sent him my training plan after modifying it a bit for him and hopefully, he'll stick with it.

Next weekend, I'll be in FL for my 10 mile run. I'm torn. I like the trail i'm planning to run on and the general flatness of the area...but I'm not looking forward to the heat and humidity.

[OakLeaf]

Be careful with that heat, GLC. Don't know what the temperatures have been up by you, but most of FL is still getting heat indexes in the mid to high 90s. Glad you have a nice place to run though ... IME what Florida lacks in brutal 20% grades, it more than makes up for in boring.

I just did a weetie little recovery run yesterday. My lack of speedwork was, ahem, apparent the next day. . Yoga today, going for 11-ish tomorrow.