Sunday Long Run 2019 03

Sunday Long Run season is in full swing. It may be brutally hot but it is time to get ready for our fall marathons.

Sunday Long Run number three is in the books!

I missed Sunday Long Run two because I was away visiting relatives in Maine. I’m told that it was hot, humid and miserable last week. This week didn’t feel great either!

The Sunday Long Run

Because it has been so hot the past three weeks, a group of runners has been going out early. The club run begins at 8:00 AM, but these early birds leave sometime after 7:00 AM. That hour can make a big difference in the temperature when you finish.

When I arrived this week only a few people were going out early so I waited for the 8AM crew.

We had about 20 runners with an additional dozen or so early runners.

The course was pretty strait forward and flat. We ran from Bruegger’s on Main Street in Melrose out to Lake Quannapowitt, loop around the lake and head back. The official distance was 10.7 miles for the long run.

A lot of people ran shorter distances for various reasons including the heat.

Within the first mile I started running with Bobby Taylor. He’s fairly new to the club and is a solid runner.

Bobby made a good call early on and moved to the right side of the road to get into as much shade as possible.

The first mile clicked off in no time. I was surprised how quickly it seemed to go by. Our pace was 9:02, so no land speed records were being set!

We settled into a comfortable pace around 9 minutes and it seemed to work.

Soon enough we got to our water stop at Nick’s pizza in Wakefield. The shade was nice and so was the cold water!

Jim Carson is away so Gail Severt and Courtney Koschei managed our water stop. Angels!

It ain’t Death Valley

We were sweating pretty good by this point, which is a good thing. I took two cups of cold water and nothing else.

I’m trying to teach my body to burn fatty acids for fuel instead of carbohydrates. I’ve been doing this for a while on long runs but I’m not sure it is doing anything. I probably need to dial this in a bit more to make it work.

Running through Wakefield Center the heat seemed to build. We also had less shade. We popped across the street to be on the lake side of the road.

I had hoped for a breeze off of the lake, but it was fairly minimal. Any breeze felt good though.

As we ran around the lake we encountered a lot of people out for their Sunday morning walk. It’s great to see people being active, but it does make for a crowded side walk.

I had hoped for a water stop in the Comverse parking lot, but not this week.

Instead of looping the parking lot behind their building we stayed on the side walk. I wasn’t sure how much the loop would add but by this point neither Bobby or I felt like pushing it.

There is some shade on the North Avenue side of the lake, but not much.

The heat was beginning to take it’s toll on us. North Ave has a small hill after the hotel and I told Bobby we should slow down a bit. Our average pace was 9:01 and I hoped to drop it down to 9:05 by the time we hit the top of the hill. We hit 9:03 when the hill leveled off.

As we turned onto Church Street I mentioned to Bobby that there was a water fountain. We stopped for a rest and Bobby used the fountain. I still had plenty of water in my bottles so I just enjoyed the break.

I love it that Wakefield has a water fountain at both ends of the lake. I’ve used them several times.

As we turned onto Common Street we hit mile 7 at a 9:34 pace. It felt like we were working a lot harder than that.

At the intersection in Wakefield Center I was ready to cross the street even without a walk light. I was roasting and the sun was killing my sunburn from Saturday. But, there was a cop at the light so I pushed the walk light button which I am always loath to do.

The water stop was now only about half a mile away. I couldn’t wait to get there!

The ladies had cold water and bags of ice! Courtney filled my water bottle with ice and it was awesome.

Bobby said he was going to slow down for the last few miles. We started out together but I pulled ahead a bit.

I ended up reaching Bruegger’s shortly before he did. I ran around the building to get 10.8 miles.

Inside the gang was hanging out, enjoying the AC, cold drinks and some food. I got a large iced tea and hung out for 20 minutes or so.

I’m off to Orlando on Monday so I had to get home and pack. Nothing worse than forgetting your shoes or hot weather casual shirts.

After Kayaking for five and a half hours on Saturday and running almost eleven miles on Sunday, I’m spent.

My bags are packed and this blog post is written. It’s time to veg-out in front of the TV!

Run well my Friends!

Andy

2018 Summer Marathon Training Week 7

Summer marathon training can be a hot sweaty mess. I’m lucky to have a club running program to help!

Sunday Long Run Seven

Sunday Long Run Seven in the summer marathon training program was this weekend. I still haven’t signed up for a Fall New England marathon, but I do have three halfs on the schedule. If you’re still looking for a Fall marathon check out my link. Fall is a busy marathon season in New England!

We had a good sized group of about 30 people run this week.

This week probably a dozen or so of us ran the 14.6 mile course, or some semblance of it! There are a lot of turns for the week seven run, but I know these roads by heart. Early in the run we made a loop around Ell Pond across from Melrose High School.

I always enjoy this loop because we only run it a few times a year and there are some amazing homes in this neighborhood.

Sunday Long Run Seven, summer marathon training

I ended up running most of the course by my self. The long run group made the loop of Ell Pond and the short run folks did not. So as we ran up the Fellsway Hills I caught up to several people and had some running conversation with them.

Even though I haven’t run a lot this summer I felt strong pushing up the hills. I kept telling my self that I was running longer than a half marathon so I should be a little bit conservative. But I’m not a very good conservative so I ran at a comfortable pace that was a bit faster than I probably should have.

Miles four and five were up the hills and I managed a 9:43 and a 9:40 mile while gaining 159 feet over the two miles and loosing 120 feet of elevation. After the charge up the hills I never had a sub 9 minute mile the rest of the day. But that was okay.

I managed a 13.93 mile run at an average pace of 9:23. This was 23 seconds/mile faster than last week when I ran 14.02 miles and had less elevation gain.

If I hadn’t pushed the hills maybe I could have run the full 14.6 mile course. Distance is important but I was able to push my pace on a fairly challenging course and I ran longer than the distance I’m training for, the half marathon. So over all, I think it was a good run.

I’m still adjusting to a new editor called Gutenberg from WordPress. It’s supposed to be wonderful, but so far I find it difficult to use. I know it takes time to adjust to and learn new things so I’m sticking with it for now.

It does dampen my enthusiasm to sit down and write since I have to spend more time trying to figure out how to do things. I’m also finding that I can’t do things I could before and I can’t do things that Gutenberg is supposed to do.

So if things look clunky for a while and I don’t write as often, you know why.

Run well my Friends and enjoy the rest of this summer!

Andy

Summer Running Advice

Summer Running Season is finally here.

We endure freezing cold winters and soggy springs to get to this beautiful weather. Ideal running conditions are temps in the 50’s, low humidity and maybe overcast skis and a light breeze. Sometimes we get perfection, but usually we do not.

Running takes up a lot of our spare time, often that spare time is not the best time for running. It is best to run in the morning or the evening and avoid the heat, strong sun and high UV index. Air quality is often better with fewer cars on the road also.

So what to do when the only time you have to run is in the middle of the day in blistering heat? It takes time for our bodies to acclimate. Give your self some time to build up your distance running in high temps. If you usually run 10K for a training run, cut back to a 5K on the first hot runs.There is more to training than just racking up the miles. If your body has time to adjust to the heat, you will perform better at races and during training runs.

Hydration is key

If you don’t normally carry a bottle, you may want to start. The best idea is to have a re-usable bottle that you can toss in the freezer for a bit to chill your water. I think cold water tastes better, and cold water will stay cool longer out in the heat. You may even want to use a sports drink even for your 5K run. You will be sweating more than usual so the electrolytes in these drinks could make your run more comfortable.

If you run in an urban area, you may want to map out water sources. You may find public drinking fountains in a park or along a walking path. Some stores will have fountains just inside the door. Tucking a $5 in your pocket is another idea, as you can pop into a store and buy an ice-cold bottle of water should you need it.

Clothing

heat stroke, heat, summer running — Dress for the heat

Light colors are best when running in the heat and sun. They do not absorb as much heat from the sun and they make you feel cooler also. A hat or visor will help protect your eyes from the sun’s UV rays, reduce glare and shade your face. Now is the time to wear your singlets and tech running shirts.

Select your Route Carefully

During the 2012 Boston Marathon, I made a great effort to run on the shaded side of the road. I wasted energy crossing the road to get into the shade, but I feel it made a difference. A shaded area can be 10 degrees cooler than a sunny area. If you can run on trails or in a park with a lot of coverage, it may be your best choice.

If you can run along a river, stream or a lake or ocean shore that could be ideal. You may be more exposed to the sun, but you will have the cooling effect of the water and possibly a breeze off of the water.

Warning signs of Heat Stroke

If you are out running in the heat and feel confused, (more than normal), are not sweating, have a rapid and weak pulse or have cramps or seizures, you could have heat stroke. Early signs of heat stroke are profuse sweating, fatigue, thirst and cramps. Many of us experience these symptoms all the time. If you are running on a hot day be sure to pay closer attention to these symptoms.

If you notice that you are no longer sweating, feel confused or don’t know where you are, seek help immediately. You need to get to a cool place, lie down if possible and drink something. If possible raise your feet about 12 inches.

The NIH has additional information that you may want to take a quick look at. It could save your life, or someone you know.

Run well my friends,

Andy

Sunday Long Run

Casual Sunday Long Runs

Just about every week, my running club organizes a Sunday Long Run. These are highly organized in the period leading up to The Boston Marathon. The SLRs start-up again in the late summer to help people prepare for their fall marathons such as the Bay State Marathon and New York Marathon.

After Boston and through the summer the long runs are more like a pick up game of basketball: who ever shows up gets to play. Some weeks we have over twenty runners and other weeks we may have half-a-dozen hearty souls. Regardless, we are always on our own.

These “pickup runs” are generally over 12 miles so we try to stash water, Gatorade and gels around town or park someone’s car on our route. Last week was a little odd as we had shopping bags in the bushes of a bank parking lot. After Boston it was odd leaving things in the bushes at a bank.

About half of our group ran 12.5 and the other half ran 15 miles. I ran 12.5 as I’m training for a half marathon next weekend and didn’t want to push it.

Does anyone taper for a half-marathon? I really don’t but it occurred to me today that it may be something to consider. I never do a long run the day before a half but I may run 5k or 10k.

The course we ran today was very hilly. Thanks Dan! I tried not to push up the hills too hard but I did test my self to see how ready I am for the hills of Gloucester and Cape Ann next weekend. If I play my cards right and the stars are aligned I think I can PR next weekend.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and got in a good long run.

Run well my friends!