hot and humid but good

It is very hot and humid in the Metro DC area.  My morning run didn't get going until 8:30 (slow start and had other things to take care of first), so it was 75deg and humid by the time I got out there. Today's run was to be 6 miles. And oddly enough, despite the heat, it was a good run!

I was only pre-fueled on two small pieces of whole wheat bread with peanut butter and a couple of cups of coffee and until the last hill, I felt pretty good.  I did a gu at around mile 3.5 and that obviously helped.

My route was two 3-mile loops that give me, for each loop, about a 2 mile downhill grade (about a 200ft drop) and then 200ft uphill for the last mile.  That last mile up is always a killer, and today it really was - but I never once stopped running (I wasn't running real fast at the end, but I wasn't walking...!).  And then once I was done, I got my dog and we did a 1-mile walk.

I've been getting into the habit of walking my dogs immediately after running and I think that this has really helped my recovery. Prior to this, I didn't usually just collapse into a chair after running, but I probably was not moving around as much as doing a mile walk with the dogs...  Maybe it's just all in my head.

What was amazing about today's run was that I was clipping along at a pretty nice pace and I wasn't even trying.  I managed to PB my time for this particular route and I seriously was not even thinking about it.  I was just running at a pace that felt good.  After mile 4.5 I knew that I was getting tired and I still had that last mile, all uphill, coming up, so I tried to let up a bit in order to rejuvenate myself some and I still managed to run a sub 8min/mile split (this was all due to the downhill slope). Nevertheless, I did the last mile, all uphill, in 9min - and I'll take that with pride considering the weather and my pre-run fueling.

I was definitely nearing the end of my capacity though, heat and nutrition-wise - I was starting into get that foggy mental state where it's hard to do even simple math (yeah, I do that to pass the time sometimes... calculating times, what if's, splits, paces, etc... square roots...).  I was so hot at the end that instead of walking around a bit before entering my building I went straight inside so that I could get out of the sun.  I carry a small washcloth with me so that I can wipe my face and head, mostly to keep the sweat from getting into my eyes, and it was drenched by the time I was done - so wet that I could wring it out.

I want to get another 6-7 mile run in this week before my long run (12 miles) this weekend, but need to figure out how to finesse them in between various social engagements... Plus I want to have a rest day before the long run.

123 days to the MCM !!!