An Equatorial Environment, For Now

Since my last post I've managed to heal and mend my blistered heels, creaky voice, and broken tooth. Last week was a good exercise in appreciating that "nothing lasts forever," including this nasty heat wave. 

Last week I was able to string together some solid easy training runs (including running in some fun rain!) and a short hill workout. My hill of choice was Broadway St. (of Ann Arbor Running Company's famous Run Broadway event held on the first Saturday in February) on the north side of Ann Arbor. It climbs about a 4-5% grade for almost a kilometer. I only had 6x1 minute on the hill-- it looks easier on paper. One of my hardest workouts last fall was 6x3 minutes up this hill, which was super tough. This workout went ok, but the heat had an adverse effect on my perceived effort and pace. I always like to think of myself as a strong climber which helps when the workout feels harder than it should be. 

I ended the week with 55 miles, including a double run on Wednesday and an easy 12 mile long run on dirt roads on Friday. 

So far, training this week has felt harder than usual with the heat and humidity taxing my body at a higher rate. But that's summer in Michigan. My hill workout this week was also much tougher, an Arb special. I did 1x1 min up/down, 2x2 min up/down, 3x3 min/up, and down, the full 1km Arb hill, and then 4x30 second strides with 2 minute jog in between to finish it out. It was 75 degrees and over 90% humidity when I started before 8 a.m. Once again, I had to think about how the pace is not what matters, but the effort. I felt slow and sluggish in the warm air, and my legs were absolutely destroyed before going into the strides. My first two strides were slower than my half marathon pace, as my turnover could not recover from almost 11 minutes of hard climbing. The second two strides were closer to what I would expect after a session like that, at around 6-minute pace. I've ran the full Arb hill nearly 55 times (according to Strava) and it is always humbling in any conditions. 

When you get to this part of the Arb hill, you have less than 300m to go. 

I'll be topping out at over 60 miles this week for the first time since April, where I ran my last big week before the Glass City Half Marathon. I'm looking forward to a long run on Friday that will be below 70 degrees and will include some surges to keep it spicy. 

Summer is short. I need to keep reminding myself that the heat won't last forever and to stay positive when I feel slow and super sweaty. In fall, I'll be back to my favorite training and racing conditions of 40-50 degrees and cashing in on all of this summer fitness.