Training Log - Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Finally, the whole running gang together again...well, sort of...at least for the first 500 yards at which point Richard had to turn around to make a run for another "target". Poor guy, first his ankle, then his stomach. Well, most of us together again, at least. James, Mike and I opted for a half mile warmup before starting to track the 7 mile tempo run at sub 8 minute pace. I should have know better than to let James lead. The so-called "warmup" was faster than the actual tempo run. Anyway, we headed for Rainbow Mountain around 6 AM and we figured that would be early enough to avoid the heat. It was early enough for the heat as temps were only in the 70s, but it was definitely too late for the humidity as it had already reached 90%. So much for an easy tempo run. However, when I compared this run with Monday's tempo run, I noticed that my heart rate average was one beat lower and we actually went significantly faster than I did on my own Monday. Another sign that I prefer running with the guys over running by myself. It helps to be able to push each other just a little bit. However, it was much more quiet today compared to our other training runs. Everyone was pretty much focussed on breathing after about 4 miles into the run. The friendly "good morning" and "hello" to passers by had turned into slight nods, maybe a wink with the wrist or an exhausted exhale that was supposed to sound like a greeting but really was more of a grunt. When we finished the run, we were soaked. A towel has definitely become standard equipment in the trunk of my car. At the end of the day we managed 7 miles in under 55 minutes, not bad at all. I do have slight shin splints from yesterday's speed workout. I haven't had that in a long time. Hopefully, it will loosen up by tomorrow, when I attempt to "walk" 5 miles at sub 13 minute pace.