Showing posts with label picture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label picture. Show all posts

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Distance and dehydration

I should have bought water at the farm stand
Today's run (street): 5.75 miles

I managed to get out a little earlier this morning than I did on Saturday and it felt cooler and less humid. That was a good thing, because I ended up doing my longest run of 2015. I didn't really have a distance target, but I knew I would be spending time on  roads east of my neighborhood that would easily get me to 5 miles.

I'd originally thought that I'd cut through the area I call neighborhood #3 to get to the northern point of the Bethpage bike trail in Woodbury. I changed my mind during the run, opting instead to head for the business park to run the main loop. I did one rotation before making my way to neighborhood #3 and then followed Woodbury Road to my usual turnaround spot at Piquets Lane. I tagged the pole and took a selfie in front of a local farm.

By that time, I had passed the 40 minute mark. The heat and sun made me regret that I hadn't brought water with me. I was pretty dehydrated and a little hungry. A gel would have been nice at that moment. I often bring a bottle on my long training runs at Bethpage, but I rarely do that when I'm running on local roads. With temperatures in the 80's, I need to get in the habit of bringing water every time I run.

Today's rambling route
I took it a little easier on my way back and had to be careful to avoid some slippery patches of mud on the sidewalk on Woodbury Road. I was surprised how quickly I made my way back home from there. I saw that I was approaching six miles, which would have been a good distance target. I didn't make six, but I did come close.

I ended up covering 14 miles running this week, and also did a 30 minute elliptical session. It wasn't the 18 miles I've averaged through the years, but I'm gaining distance every week. Next week I'll look to go even longer. The Runsketeers are doing our June run next weekend. It's always easier to cover long miles with my buddies.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Hot and soggy but not too sloggy

Mush!
Today's run (street): 4.7 miles

The needle on my motivation meter was firmly in the off position this morning. I watched the  temperature rise as the minutes ticked by. I couldn't decide where to run and no option was particularly appealing. I went upstairs to change into running clothes, hoping I'd find some inspiration through that experience. I didn't want to spend a lot of time on local roads so I headed over to neighborhood #2 for a slight change of scenery.

I'd watched the local weather report before my run and they made a big deal out of the low humidity. LIARS! The temperature was in the low 80's making the soggy atmosphere feel like hot soup. There were many people packing up their SUVs with beachy gear as I ran by. They had the right idea. I compromised on my pace and floated my way south to the other neighborhood.

I followed an extended loop and stayed on the shady side of the street when possible. My easy pace kept it from being a slog but I regretted waiting so long to go out today. I ended up covering more distance than I'd originally planned and it turned out to be a decent workout.

When I looked at the map of my run, I thought (after rotating the map 90°) that it looked like a person driving a dog sled. I may have created a new category of artwork - design by GPS.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Cool run on a very hot day

Seconds off the line
Today's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles

I'm not sure how high the temperature got today, but the weather report predicted that we would reach 103° by afternoon. I had trouble getting outside early this morning, which was my plan to beat the heat. Not that 80° at 6:30 AM was that much better. By the time I was ready to go outside, the idea of a neighborhood or Bethpage run had lost all appeal.

I decided to go the weather-controlled route by doing a treadmill run. Between the air conditioning, floor fan and shelter from the sun, I knew I'd be more comfortable inside. In fact, it was a pretty good experience and I got to watch Meet the Press while I ran. I only did about three miles today, but that got me to my weekly target of 20. Later in the day we kept ourselves cool in the pool. It was the only thing that would get me outside today.

It's been a week since I ran the Marcie Mazzola 5K. A fellow runner/blogger, The Petite Pacer, has been battling some calf issues that are interfering with her usually active race schedule. On Sunday, she attended the race, not as a participant, but as a photographer. She took some great shots of the start and the end, capturing virtually every runner who finished under 60 minutes. Check out her post with the link to her pictures. The one at the top shows me and the pack about to take the right onto Woodhull Rd. With a half mile of hill to climb, I'm glad it wasn't 103 degrees that day!
 

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