Monday, 73 minutes, 7.70 miles (1.61 miles walking)
I felt excited to get back at the longer, regular run after a slight cut back last week. Of course, I sweat a tremendous amount, the usual for this time of year for me. We also had someone shout at us as they turned left onto the street we crossed. “Did you see me turning?” Um. No and…pedestrians have the right of way. Throughout the run, I paid careful attention to my heart rate and walked when I needed to but still managed fairly decent mile splits.
Tuesday, 73 minutes, 7.98 miles (1.75 miles walking)
I don’t run well in the heat and humidity. I have known that for years yet stubbornly persisted and burned out. Since I want to get in all the miles, I have started to slow down a lot during the runs, taking walks when my heart rate gets too high. This run felt great despite the ridiculous temps.
Wednesday, 25 minutes, 3.11 miles
I decided to take the day off from academic work – yes, teachers work in the summer – and slept a little longer in the morning. When I got out I took this run easy but still felt more tired than I expected. I have a feeling that the tiredness I have felt recently has to do with interrupted sleep. I haven’t struggled with sleep but I have woken up during the night at least once the past few nights. I want to work on prioritizing this for sure.
Strength training went well. We got in just one round since Mom had to get home by a certain point. Since we had not done strength training for a couple weeks, we needed just one round.
Thursday, 73 minutes, 7.61 miles (2.13 miles walking)
I took this run quite slowly as seems the new normal for me. As I processed the overwhelming complaints from fellow educators on Facebook about upcoming changes that will inevitably occur while starting my run, I realized that just like some of the upcoming changes, I cannot change the summer weather which I do not run well in, so instead of complaining, I can figure out how to make it work. That means slowing down, which I did and made it through.
Friday, 73 minutes, 8.06 miles, (2.26 miles walking)
I felt so much better on this run. If you looked just at my pace you probably would not guess that, perhaps. I got to run with Mom. (Schedules hadn’t allowed that since Monday this week.) We talked (okay, I talked) for most of the miles on the first half which made that pass so quickly I was almost taken aback. Prior to starting the run, I made sure to hydrate as much as possible which I know made a big difference. I finished the run feeling great and ready for more.
Saturday, long run, 13.15 miles (2.11 miles walking)
From the outset this run felt so much better than the past couple long runs. Mom and I started our walks each mile at mile 2 and that worked so well. We also benefited from temperatures about five or so degrees cooler than before. That definitely made a big difference. We felt fairly good throughout. I did decide to stick with 12 miles instead of adding on an additional mile. My shins have been a little sore lately so I need to listen to my body and recover well.
Sunday, mile for the streak, 1.50 miles ( miles walking)
I headed out in the morning, not quite first thing but close, for a mile to keep up my streak. I expected to feel awful but didn’t. My legs felt a bit tired of course but much fresher than expected. This mile was filled with the unexpected as I ran past a woman kneeling on the ground speaking loudly in some sort of prayer. As I ran past she said something about asking God to help her refrain from cutting someone’s head off. Um. Okay. About a tenth of a mile later I finished the first half of my mile so I crossed the street to run back. She had started walking again but as soon as she saw me she dropped to her knees again and “prayed” so loudly I could hear her swear at me from across the street, not a small feat for this four lane road. This definitely took my mind off the tiredness in my legs and focused it on praying that she would get the help she needs.