Last Friday

So last Friday was our first planned marathon simulation deal. Dennis always has me practice the pre-race routine on these days....getting up 4 hours before we begin, eating what I will be eating on race morning, sipping water and my secret electrolyte beverage, etc. The run was scheduled to begin at 10am in order to get in some traning in warmer temps and higher humidity. I underestimated both of these. Also, Lundo ran the first 2 of the planned 4 - 3.5 mile loops which was outstanding. But my workout didn't please me.

I already was kinda dealing with some stomach issues this week and that morning was no exception - I blame some of this on the previous evening's pesto. Normally I have a stomach of steel and can eat anything, but I had some trouble during the run and especially after. I could have been a little dehydrated also, but I feel like I get in a crapload of water and electrolyte beverage so who knows.

Warmed up for 3 miles easy. After about a mile of the scheduled 14 miler I wasn't feeling like myself. I only made it 10.5 and shut it down, which is disappointing yet at the same time a pretty good call. The plan for this workout was not to run 5 min pace or anything faster, but to just get a nice sustained run in at what was supposed to feel like a solid pace. Mile one was 5:14, two 5:19, and then a bunch of 5:10-5:12s with a last mile of 5:08. Pretty lousy 3 mile cool down after.

After evaluating everything about this workout, I would say my fitness is very high. The pace of this run was very, very comfortable. I think it's a matter of maybe being a bit more hydrated, getting used to the heat and humidity (it was nearly 80 with a pretty muggy feel to the air), and just letting the body adapt to all the miles in the legs from the past few weeks.

Saturday I felt great on the country roads of Belmond, IA and put in a solid 16 miler so that is a good sign. 6min-6:10 pace the last half was clicking off nicely. The surfaces out there were absolutely perfect. Sometimes you can get huge chunks of gravel which is annoying, but the roads were pretty packed down and the footing was nice.

This week will be a hard effort on Monday and probably Thursday. I'm a counselor at Carrie's camp and look forward to seeing the kids and trying to squeeze in 130 miles. The weather looks to be nice and warm and humid. Good stuff.

On a social note, the weekend 4th of July festivities were out of control in Belmond. I had a blast and it was so good to see old friends and family. I came back to Minneapolis with some great stories that will only be discussed on runs with the boys. Smiling just thinking about some stuff.

Take advantage of the week ahead.