4.26.09

The run today was cut a bit short due to the heat. I had plenty of water, but still had to take a break at the Walgreens so I could continue running properly. My HR was up around 175, and when I went up the hills it got up to 180 and I was running as easy as I could other than jogging. After running in this I'm kind of glad the Knoxville Marathon weather was a little cooler. The run started off well enough, but right away I could tell the heat was making a big difference. I felt myself slowing around a half hour and by forty minutes I was really wanting to stop and take a breather. I had wanted to run for about an hour and half, but just based on how I was feeling I decided it was best to just turn around and head back to the park.

So I stopped for a few minutes in air-conditioned Walgreens, let my HR drop a bit, got a good drink of water and headed out. After this break I felt good again and it was no problem to run normally. It also helped that after a little incline there was a bit of downhill leading down to the park. I ran a few laps around the soccer field where there was a game going on. I like when there is something happening at the park, it gives me something to look at and makes the run a little less lonely. I decided to just run my normal 9 miles and call it because I had already started feeling the pace fall off a bit.

So I guess the lesson for today was that I may have to start taking breaks for these next few weeks, especially on longer runs. Or maybe I'll go back to split runs in the morning/afternoon again. The thing about running in the heat is that I really like it. It's harder to push and I really feel like I'm getting a good workout in. I mean if I can run well in the heat, then I know that at cooler temps I'm going to be just that much better. We'll see what happens in this next month. Last year the temps were in the 60's for the 10k, so I'm expecting the same (although thinking back I remember that felt really hot). We'll see what happens, it's just interesting to me how much weather can effect running. Actually I really think climate has a lot to do with the African success in running (that combined with altitude, running 12 miles a day to school, training attitude, and the fact that if they win they provide for their entire family for years, haha)

final note is that i kept my HR monitor going through my water/walk breaks, otherwise the average would have probably been much higher.

The CARICATURE CONTEST was won by @disneyrunner on twitter. Gordon has a podcast called "Run to Disney" where he talks about his running and well, all things Disney. He lives in Florida and is a good guy. I already sort of "owe" him an art video that I'm getting around to making, and now I'm going to draw a nice caricature for him. I'm actually excited to do the caricature, I love not having to worry about things and just have fun with my drawing. So congrats to Gordon, good guessing! He actually won by .4 seconds :) If you want to check his blog and podcast, I have a link to his site in the running blogs area.

3:16pm. home. 87°Sunny 27%H 10mph wind from S (Hot and stifling)
1:12:20(10.98), bf 1319
160AHR/181MHR

4.25.09

Easy run today. Found that my car had been towed from our community lot. It's actually my old car that I don't drive because the turn signals were broken. We hadn't renewed the plates on it because we never drove it, and apparently it is against the law? I dunno we couldn't drive it so I didn't see the point in paying something for nothing. The lot is for community parking which we are obviously a part of, because we live in the community. Also I should note we aren't allowed to park the car in our yard, or along the road as it will be towed, so it was the only place to park and actually was there for over a year and a half, why now? Anyway we are yet again contacting the homeowners association because not only does it have to be gotten out of the Lot, but towed back to the exact same place it came from, the community lot, because in addition to the turn signals the battery has gone dead from not driving it, and we couldn't drive it without new tags anyway. haha, didn't see that situation coming.

So that kind of abruptly ended my run, as I run right by that lot everyday and see my old car there everyday. But after a few phone calls I was right back out there running.

It was very WARM today, basically hot and windy. Kind of nice to have the wind, but it did make things go a lot slower than needed. So the effort was more medium than easy, but I kind of like that. I really need to start pushing things so it was good. Nice to have warmth again, I like running in the heat, I'm just not quite used to it yet. Hopefully this weather sticks around so I can do that.

The CONTEST I made is basically still going. I didn't find the results until I got home from the cookout I went to last night. So I couldn't announce a winner until I knew the results myself. Next time I'll have another contest with better rules and just have a link here to the blog with all the details. I'll also be sure to give a few more days before the race to entry, maybe like a week or something I dunno. I wanted to with this one, but I wasn't sure if people would be interested, then at the last minute just decided to go for it. So I think I know who won, but there is sort of a tie. I said closest, but if you play by "The Price is Right" rules, you can't go over. I never really liked that rule, so I'm going for closest above or below and will stick with that rule.

4:30pm. home. Sunny 85° 31%H 16mph wind from SSW (very warm)
42:24(6.2), gf 674
AHR164/MHR178

4.24.09

So for those of you who read this blog and follow me on twitter, this is for you! I'm going to draw a quick black and white caricature of whoever guesses (not finds) my finish time from last nights race. If there is a tie I will take whoever posted it first in an @ reply in twitter. Please don't leave your guess in the blog because I want to easily compare the times and posting here it could get confusing. So guess away. You've got till 12 noon Saturday April 24th, sorry if you are finding out about this later than that.

Oh if you would like me to draw someone else instead that is fine, either way please give me a GOOD quality photo to work with. I'm not sure exactly how far I will take the exaggeration, it depends on the face, muhahaha..err hehe.

So I will save the race report for tomorrow and not give any clues away. Good luck :)