A Tad Warm Here

We have had some very hot weather in our area lately, along with some high humidity. Our investment this summer in both air conditioning and the cheap/ugly pool above seem to have been wise moves.

The heat has not been too kind on my running. I had tough long run on Sunday, scheduled for 16 miles. Arriving in downtown Fredericton, I started my Garmin, only to see that the battery was on the brink of death. I must have left it on the previous day. So, I did my run without a watch of any kind, and estimated my mileage (it ended up being 17.3, according to MayMyRun). Forty-five minutes into it my ipod also died, so I had no podcasts to listen to either. However, what really added to the misery of the run (I think) was the heat and the humidity. I didn't start the run until close to 9 AM, and by the time I finished it was after 11:30, with temperatures exceeding 30° C (high eighties farenheit). I don't know what level the humidity was, but it felt to be fairly high. I was dragging my butt through the last few miles, stopping a few times to walk. It felt harder than the last few miles of my 20 mile run a week earlier.

My next run after that long run was two days later, on Tuesday morning before work. It was supposed to include a few miles at my lactate threshold, and I gave it a shot. Again, it turned out to be discouraging. Again, I tried to lay the blame on the heat. However, it was only 21° C (72° F), which should be reasonable, but the humidity was 82%.

Last night was better - eight miles inlcuding a few 800 meter intervals at a 5k pace. They felt tough, but overall I had a much better attitude at the end of that run.

We're off to Toronto tomorrow for a week. The trip will include my longest race to date - the 30k race of A Midsummer Night's Run. I don't plan to really race it, but treat it more as a training run. Perhaps I'll shoot to maintain a 9 min/mile pace. The run begins at 5:30 in the evening, and I'm hoping the temperature will be reasonable. I'll try to get in my other miles while we're there also.

See some pics below for where I typically do my long runs through Fredericton, when the trails aren't covered by three feet of snow. It's a great area to run - lots of shade, pretty flat and good scenery. See the story here from our local fishwrap about how Outpost Magazine called it "Canada's secret running gem."

So long until we return from Toronto!