Nice weather: Please come back soon!

It’s still very hot and humid. Since I can’t entirely avoid running in these conditions, am better off acclimating to it. I just get out and survive this weather to the best of my abilities. On October 10th, when the marathon comes, it’s either going to be in equally horrible weather in which case I’ll be damned glad I spent time acclimating, or it’ll be in much nicer conditions in which case I will feel like a million bucks due to my preparation.
I am in the second week of intensive training for Chicago, so far am surviving the weather. My speed is not where I want it to be but I can feel the effort every time I run a quality workout so my speed should come back when the weather gets better. I ran 49 miles last week. I did 16 miles on Saturday. It was raining and then became very humid. I met four random guys while running mile 1. They invited me to join their group and I did it. It was nice to run more than half of my long run with those guys. I put together a very nice run, running with other people invites me to test my limits and run faster. I felt great for the most part of the run. I struggled a bit in the last 2 miles mainly because I didn’t hydrate well and my muscles became tired.
This week has been good too. I ran 8 and 6 miles on Mo and Tu respectively. Yesterday (Wednesday) I did a tempo run: 7x5 minutes with 1 min rest in between for a total of 8.5 miles. The weather got the best of me and my times got worse by the minute. I am really looking forward to running in nice conditions. Today, am going out with Scott for an easy 8 miler. It’s hot but not humid… It should be fine. My right knee keeps bothering me a bit and I hope it gets better soon.
When am struggling in the heat, I visualize myself running fresh in the corner of Ashland Ave. and 18th Street in Chicago (yeah, in Pilsen). That’s where the 19th mile marker is…and that’s where am planning to push the pace to the high 6’s or low 7’s for the first time in the marathon. In other words, that’s where am going to push my pace up and attack until mile 26. The key is to stay focused and believe that I can run my fastest marathon in less than three months.

Hot and Humid Summer

Travel and work prevented me from blogging in the last month. The recovery period after running in Traverse City was longer than expected but I already have four and a half weeks of decent training under my belt. I also lacked motivation and took it very easy for the first 3 weeks after the marathon. I then had four weeks of easy training, to build base. In that period I had an unexpected trip to Irapuato where I took advantage of some altitude training. On July 4^th, I ran the Leon-Comanja half-marathon and am pleased with the result. I ran the most of it in the mid 7’s, not bad considering it’s uphill all the way. We went from 5,500 to 7,020 feet of altitude. The course is very difficult but nothing beats the views and the pleasure of running in direct contact with nature. I then had two more weeks of training in Irapuato. I ran 45 and 43 miles respectively.

This is my first serious week of training for the Chicago Marathon. I have done three runs in very hot and humid conditions. I usually hate these conditions because I get very sluggish. However, this hasn’t been the case this time around so am actually enjoying the heat. My legs are fresh and am not really feeling the humidity that much.  I know that training in this weather could help me a lot in the long run. I ran the first LTR this morning: 12 minutes warm-up, 4x10 minutes (@ 7:04, 09, 12, 14 ) with 2 mins. recovery and a very easy cool down. I felt strong but not as fast as I wanted. I will settle for 51-53 miles this week. I feel much better than expected and ready to continue training.

Hot and Humid Summer