Sweet Relief From Heat

Temp showed 66 degrees when I left the house this a.m. at 5:30. I was really looking forward to a great run. Our course was flat and only 10 miles.

We're continuing to have a great turnout and there's lots of other runners and cyclists on the trail. We had a pretty uneventful training run, Becky, Janet and I talked more about our schedule for the KC Marathon.

Our fantastic run leader, Jason, was in a 50 mile run last w/e and said it was the hardest he had ever done, it was so hot and he was drenched with sweat. He's doing another 50 mile tonight but he still showed up to cheer us on and stayed until we were done. I could tell it was killing him to not run with us, especially with the weather being so cool, but that was a good call to rest before tonight. Thanks for being there Jason!

When I got in my car to go home, it was only 8:20 a.m., it was super to get home so early.

Solo Hill Training

I missed hill training last week and I didn't want to miss another one. The thought of running in this 100+ was sickening so I waited until 8:30 tonight and ran up a hill in my neighborhood. It wasn't the same steep climb as 11th and Riverside but I did do it 8 times and it felt good. It was so dark on the way back that I took a wrong turn in my neighborhood (on foot) and got a little disoriented. But I'm really glad I ran the hill. Now...to get up at 4:45 and run again...and that same hill is on my route.

I drank 6 oz of orange juice before I ran and I think that really helped. Unfortunately my Garmin did that "laps database full" trick again so I didn't record my run.

Many Hands at Poker Run

Saturday was another one of Runners World's fun poker runs. We end up with 7 cards by getting one at the start and getting one every mile, then getting one at the finish. At the end, you turn in your cards and, based on your hand, you get to pick out a prize from the items from the Runners World stash. The prizes range from a free pair of shoes, gift certificates, entries to races, running jacket, shirts or shorts, lots of socks and lots of shirts left over from previous races. It is a lot of fun and great of Runners World to give away merchandise and we hang out for awhile and get to visit.

What a hot day! The marathoners started early, at 6:00, and put in 4 miles before we started the 5 mile Poker Run. There were lots of people besides us out running, Fleet Feet training groups and other runners. It is refreshing to see people out here taking good care of themselves, in spite of the heat. I went a little hard for the 4 miles with Becky and Janet and then we took it slower for the 5 miles. The last mile of the 5 was very tiring, I've got to get more acclimated to this heat. We ended up averaging about 10:00 min. miles which was closer to a steady state than an easy run. I did feel pretty tired the rest of the day but had a fun time at a baby shower.


I think I've decided on a fall marathon, the Kansas City one on Oct. 17 http://www.waddellandreedkcmarathon.org/. It is a little bit hillier than the OKC one but I've been told that with the hill training we're doing this summer, I shouldn't have any trouble with the race.


With this heat, I don't want to do the hill training at 11th & Riverside. It's too long of a drive from work and it is too hot. I'm thinking that I will do my hill work in my neighborhood at 8:30 in the evening. We have a good elevation increase just east of my house.


Last week, I tried some new socks. They are by injinji http://www.rei.com/product/728371 and they look like this on my feet:

I ran in them for 8 miles and they felt fine. I can feel a little seam on the big toe so I'll reserve saying they're really good until I take them on a 20 mile. I got them at Backwoods, another one of my favorite stores for outdoor gear.