Monday, June 14, 2010

Scorcher!!

Happy Monday peeps!  How did it come so fast! *sigh*  Another weekend in the books and I'm pleased to say that I think summer is finally here!  I didn't do anything terribly exciting this weekend.  I stuck close to home, ran and cleaned out a room.  Yeah, I'm hardcore like that :)

Nothing too exciting going on for me on the running front either.  The temps in the Bay Area last week started rising and they didn't stop!  When I left work on Friday around noon, it was already 80 degrees!  Ugh!  And even though I couldn't stand having to run in that, I just couldn't bring myself to go to the gym.  I go through phases like that.  Sometimes the thought of running on the road makes me cringe and all I want to do is hit the dreadmill.  While other times, the thought of running on the dreadmill makes me want to vomit and only the road will satisfy me.  Does that happen to any of you who also use the dreamil?  Do you go through phases where only one will satisfy your running craving?

I headed out the door for a nice run around 1pm - mistake #1.  I knew it was going to be hot but I figured I would just plow through.  Mistake #2 came when I forgot my handheld and I had only realized it at the one mile mark!  So I decided to keep it short and headed home at four miles.  Four is better than none!
4 miles 33:07  8:17/mi pace

My knees have been really causing me trouble lately. They're tight and stiff for the first couple of miles and when I finish they ache like crazy.  I can't seem to pin point the cause.  All of my shoes have relatively low miles on them and my mileage hasn't been crazy, peaking right now right around 40 a week.  I guess I'll just keep icing and stretching.  Any ideas?

Saturday the temps were expected to hit the mid 90's! Wowza!  So my cousin Sarah and I decided to hit the road early to get our run on.  I've said it before, I'm not a morning runner.  But the last few times I have hit the pavement early I have surprised myself in how well I do.  By no means is my pace fast, in fact, I find in the morning as compared to my afternoon/evening runs that my pace in general is always slower.  But I do love that feeling of having my run done!  Right around 4 pm though I always feel like I should be doing something again - like that first run didn't count! LOL!

Right at 6:30 Sarah and I got our run on.  It was already warm out!  We had planned on 8 for the day as she is getting ready for her 2nd half with me in San Francisco next month!  But my stomach was not happy with me.  Between the heat and my tummy, it was a hard run and I was soooo glad to have Sarah there with me!  We called it quits at 7 since it was already in the low 70's!  Although we didn't hit the 8 we wanted, I think it was a quality run since for her, the time we were out running would have almost equaled the time 8 would have taken her had the weather cooperated.
7 miles 1:08:36  9:47/mi pace
Thanks Sarah for getting up with me!  I think we will be tackling that ungodly hour many times this summer!

After I got home and refueled, I wanted to finish out the day with a few more miles.  Even though my tummy was still not happy and the temps were in the 80's, I hit the road for four more miles.  They weren't too terribly bad.  Something about only having to run four miles sure puts a spring in your step!
4 miles 32:44  8:11/mi pace
The rest of Saturday was nursing my poor stomach.  I don't think it likes this heat!

Sunday I got up early again to tackle another medium long run.  But it just wasn't happening.  It felt like it never cooled off from the day before!  So when I was running again at 6:30, the miles felt so heavy!  I wanted to do 12 but I was done at 8.  Again, 8 is better than nothing! 
8 miles  1:06:42  8:20/mi pace

It was a really nice weekend, although HOT!  That seems to be the general theme for all of this weekend!  And although I love the heat when it comes to laying by the pool, it is just painful when you have a run to get on.  I finished the week strong and although I didn't hit all my planned runs (Tuesday's track workout didn't happen) I ended up with 44 miles for the week.  Not too bad.

I know we complain in winter about the rain and cold, and some of you the snow!  I know we complain in the summer about the oppressive heat.  But what else can be do as runners!  I need to find a place to live where it is 65 degrees and sunny every.single.day.  LOL! 

Looks like you were all busy bee's this weekend!  I'm off to catch up! 
Happy Monday and Happy Running peeps!

21 comments:

Katie said...

When you find the place that is 65 and sunny, let me know, and I will be your next-door neighbor. I can't stand the heat+humidity combo we have going on right now. Heat index yesterday was 105. WHAT!

Nice job getting out there anyway, lady!

Jill said...

Boo on those knees. My frist guess would be weak VMO muscles, cuz mine did that once upon a time when those quad muscles were weak and now they're doing it again (and I KNOW they're now weak)...but it could be a number of other things. I'd maybe get to PT and have the perform a muscle test to determine which running muscles are weak, it's alway amazing to me what I learn.

It was SOOO nice to talk to you on Sat, I've missed ya!! Big hugs to you, girl....let's chat this week, ok? I should know more about what I'll do about SF by then.

XOXO
Oh, and btw, you're getting in some great runs and still super speedy!!!

Jill said...

Oh, and I am on my desktop computer with the sucky keyboard where letters constantly stick....sorry for all the typos above :/. The perfectionist I am and all hates that!!

Sarah said...

Thanks for running with me Saturday, SO much better to have someone with me! Hoping I can be up early next weekend for an 8-9 miler but luckily the temps arent supposed to be AS high, so maybe I can sleep in an extra half hour.

Hope your tum is feeling better today! :)

Angela and David said...

I find it hysterical that you think running at 6:30 is an ungodly hour. You would hate my life.

Good job getting the mileage in. You'll adjust to the heat.

Teamarcia said...

Yeah when you find that running utopia climate let me know...maybe it's CO?
Sorry the knees aren't behaving!

Christina said...

Let me know when you find that great running weather too. Heat index was 100+ yesterday and it pretty much stays in the 70s with pretty nasty humidity here in this part of the country. It is a big stinker. I've been hitting the treadmill lately and am about to buy a fan to donate to the local Y because they keep the thermostat at 70 and 71.

Anonymous said...

1:00 PM run? Hello! McFly...

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

Wow you put in lots of miles in that heat! I was a puddle after my measly 3.5.

Jess said...

It's hot here too. So miserable to run in!

ajh said...

I can't get past, It was already warm out at 6:30! Yikes!

Anonymous said...

It's been SO HOT. Great job getting out there getting it done.

Heather said...

Yikes, that's hot! You still managed to get a lot of miles in. :)

MCM Mama said...

I'm so impressed you got up and ran. I almost always choose to roll over and sleep more.

Good job on all the hot miles!

Anonymous said...

It is SO hot here in NJ too (and humid) that I pretty much only workout at 5am and after 6pm!

Have you ever thought about ART (or had it done and I just missed it) for your knees? It works wonders!

Denise said...

the heat is one thing, it's the humidity that kills me. it's been so bad out here. heat index over a 100 already (that won't make for a fun ultra!). the air is so heavy my lungs actually hurt after the long runs. be careful out there in the heat and don't forget that handheld!

Anonymous said...

Oh man, running in the heat is the WORST!!!! Keep on with the early morning runs, you'll get used to 'em

RunToTheFinish said...

i lurv my morning runs...but damn miami for being like 100 at 6am!

Anonymous said...

It was very toasty this weekend! Nice job on getting your runs in depsite the heat! I usually run early on on the weekends, maybe we can meet up since I know having a buddy out there makes it easier to get out of the bed so early on the weekend!

Tara said...

Good luck finding a place that is 65 and sunny every day, if you find it, let me know!

I hate running on the dreadmill and only do it if I absolutely have to. And that means pouring rain or 8 inches of snow, anything else, I try to be outside. I find the mill soooo boring.

Sounds like you've had some great runs lately and it's always fun running with your cuz right?

Still planning on running that half in Colorado in August? I'm getting ready to sign up. Hope you can make it!!! Maybe you should convince Sarah to come out too!!

Kristen said...

You are so hardcore going out twice in one day and in the heat nonetheless - great job!

65 is like my high - I am hating this heat.