Confluence of events

Bad run days happen. It sucks when there are many different factors likely contributing to the problem that you can't figure out how much should be attributed to what factor.

Today, my run was supposed to be 2 miles @ 7:35, 3 miles @ 6:40, 2 miles @ 7:35. Given that I was running in 72F heat and 95% humidity, I knew those paces were NOT going to happen. I know the rule of thumb to adjust for temperature, and was set to do 8:00, 7:00, 8:00 instead.

Alas, that wasn't happening either. While my first two miles were actually slightly under 8:00 each, the next two miles were mostly uphill, and with that humidity, I was fortunate to just keep my 8:00 pace. But my legs were plenty sore from yesterday's double, and by the time I was heading back, given the totality of pace, temp, and humidity (and any factor that COVID-19 might be playing, though I suspect minimal), my HR was sky-high (~190). The last 3.5 miles were done at a walking pace. (Whether I wanted the full mileage or not, I had to do it, since my run took me 4 miles away from my apartment before turning around.)

So, how much of today's poor effort can be attributed to which factor? At the end of the day, obviously, it doesn't really matter. Work on a successful run again tomorrow.

Forced to run in the heat?

So, this just happened this morning...

Sigh. 

Thankfully, the only appreciable symptom I have is a very lightly sore/scratchy throat. No fever, no aches, no cough. Random sneeze, but that's pretty normal for me. Need to stay home from work rest of week (ugh) and should isolate - so, no gym for me.

Luckily, my apartment basically abuts a running trail, so it's easy enough for me to get out to do my runs. Hopefully I can manage to do so when it's on the cooler side of temps, though they are going to be pretty hot. (At least we've broken out 12-day (?) heat wave, finally.) Wish me luck in the heat.

WMM Disappointment

As I've mentioned multiple times this year, I'm aiming to qualify for the 2023 Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Championships. (As of tonight, I am now ranked 81st -- and only the Top 65 in my age group will be invited.) I have one great result, and one mediocre result that I am looking to vastly improve on this fall. If I get a 2nd sub-3 result, I'm fairly confident that would be sufficient to bring be back into the Top 65.

I was hoping that the 2023 Age Championships would be in London, again, given how difficult it is to get in by a non-UK resident via lottery, since I really don't want to go the charity bib route again -- very expensive. And if not London, then getting into Tokyo, both because of the cost of the charity bib as well as the dreadfully painful registration process they have.

Alas, the other night, I got an e-mail from Abbott indicating that the 2023 Age Championships would be held at a U.S. major in the 4th quarter of 2023. That means it will be either Chicago (Oct) or New York City (Nov). I was already planning on registering for both of those, since I have qualifying times for them. 

Despite that, I'll certainly accept the invite, if earned. While I have zero illusion that I will podium in my age group, getting the medal for competing in the championship would be HUGE.

The Mile You're In

While I've not read Ryan Hall's book "Run the Mile You're In," the sentiment very much speaks for itself, I think. 

This morning, I had a tough training run, the bulk of which was running five mile-long sprints at 9.5mph pace. Each of them was quite difficult, and at the beginning of the run, I wasn't sure I was really up to the task today -- just generally tired. But I made it through that first sprint to my two-minute walking rest/recovery. Then the next. And before I knew it, I was actually getting energized during my third sprint, and knew I was going to manage to finish. However, if I thought about the entirety of the set at the beginning, I may well have given up on it and either done a slower pace (and few miles) or shifted entirely over to the elliptical. But breaking the run down one mile at a time, and even within each of those miles, breaking it down even further, was exactly what I needed to finish it off.

Obviously, this also has its applications to other areas of life than just running. If you have a daunting task, break it down into parts and then just focus on the individual part that you're working on. It will make things much more attainable.