Funkadelic Happening

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Stretch the calf and the foot, and you should be ok.  I get little bouts with PF once in a while and as long as you stretch (and try to remember to stretch) you can pretty much keep it at bay. And yes, the hills probably were the cause.

Thanks, Miche1e, very much.

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I'm staying off of it today.  Yesterday's hill workout was cancelled because of some frisky thunderstorms that blew through (NE to SW) during a record heat evening where the mercury rose to 106 degrees.  It's odd to me that storms were occurring when temps were over 100.

It has been doing much better.  The hill workout will occur next Tuesday, instead of the first week of track running.  Tomorrow will be another tempo run at Memorial Park, weather permitting, as we have another set of storms about 70 miles north of Houston, as I type.  The High pressure system has moved west, allowing moisture to move into East Texas and head south towards us.

And now, Biff with Sports.  Take it away, Biff!

Sounds like a well-timed storm. Still, 100+ and rain must be quite a combination. Hope it cooled things down a bit. Well, hopefully, a lot.

Mark B wrote:Sounds like a well-timed storm. Still, 100+ and rain must be quite a combination. Hope it cooled things down a bit. Well, hopefully, a lot.

It was, however I was packed for 100 degree hydration requirements.  The outflow boundaries from the storms cooled things quite a bit to about 80 degrees.  Some places got 2 inches and some places got 0.2 inches.

Weird weather for sure.  It was only 69F here for the high (and it was 64F this morning), but it is supposed to go down to 51F(!) tonight but be close to 90F on Friday.  Just when I get used to the heat, it gets cold.  Of course, the humidity has not quit and even at 64F this morning, I was drenched after 12 miles in the 88% humidity.

Boy you have had the weather haven't you!  Stay safe out there and be careful on those hills...I agree they may be the cause of your heel trouble.

Thanks, y'all.  Yeah, it's been some odd weather, but the past two days have been below 100 with the forecast for the next week to be a slow slide to around 94 degrees.  95 is seasonal in August and we're in a 34 day streak of 95+ degree weather.  42 days is the record.  I'd rather have this heat than a have a hurricane.

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Last night was a tempo run of 30 minutes in 90 degree heat (not quite sure what the heat index temp was).  I didn't do well, as I'm not quite acclimated to 90 degrees in the sunshine.  I even forgot my watch and metronome. 

I didn't run this morning.  I'm going to have to change the long run day from Friday to Monday.  Then, I'll find out how that works with the Tuesday evening track workouts, but since last Tuesday's hill workout was cancelled due to lightning and rain, we're doing it this coming Tuesday.  The day after Monday's long run. 

On another topic, I've cleared a major hurdle regarding my LLC.  So I have to work on the website, then pull the trigger.

I'm of the opinion that my running has suffered because of running in the heat and daylight of August in Houston.  However, it's just a matter of time to adjust.  I think this situation of tempo AND hills in the same week has caused the injury.  In past years, I would do 1 on alternating weeks, not both in the same week.

I'm sure it's something to what my body will adjust.

I'll probably run 8 or 9 on Monday.  I'd run 10, but I have hills on Tuesday evening.

Hot 'n' sunny can definitely put a damper on running, that's for sure. It's been a complicating factor in my summer slump, and we don't even have to deal with suffocating humidity!

But doubling up on intensity? Yeah, that tends to put a big stress on the body. Alternating weeks is a good way to start. You might be able to do speed and hills in the same week at some point, but building up to it reduces the risk of a big blow up.

Two quality runs per week would be tough in any situation but especially in those conditions.  Stay safe out there and don't be afraid to listen to you body and skip one of those tough sessions if necessary.

Your early morning, long, easy runs may be the best option most days.  You've done well with them in the past.

Mark B wrote:Hot 'n' sunny can definitely put a damper on running, that's for sure. It's been a complicating factor in my summer slump, and we don't even have to deal with suffocating humidity!

But doubling up on intensity? Yeah, that tends to put a big stress on the body. Alternating weeks is a good way to start. You might be able to do speed and hills in the same week at some point, but building up to it reduces the risk of a big blow up.

The tempo run will probably be relegated to another run.  My bunch is faster than I, so it's no big loss.  Thanks, Mark.

nkrichards wrote:Two quality runs per week would be tough in any situation but especially in those conditions.  Stay safe out there and don't be afraid to listen to you body and skip one of those tough sessions if necessary.

Your early morning, long, easy runs may be the best option most days.  You've done well with them in the past.

Friday long runs will not be part of the equation until the Thursday run focus changes.  I'm not joining their Saturday long runs until the 20-somethinged of September.

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I ran 8 miles as my first Monday long run of the season.  It was 73 degrees with 100% humidity.  It wasn't too bad, as it's cooler than usual (78) and than in Corpus.  My heel was barely tight, when I got out of bed, and quickly loosened up.  Target cadence was 168 and this was a classic long run where I'll try to maintain a lowish BPM...in the low 140's

8 miles, 1:48:58, 13:37 pace, 144 avg bpm, 155 max bpm during mile 6, 167 avg cadence, 0.71 m avg stride length, 1st half pace 13:27, 2nd half pace 13:47.

1.  13:37, 137 bpm, 168 spm, 71 sl
2:  13:23, 141 bpm, 168 spm, 72 sl
3.  13:09, 142 bpm, 168 spm, 73 sl
4.  13:39, 143 bpm, 168 spm, 70 sl
5.  13:58, 142 bpm, 165 spm, 70 sl
6.  13:44, 146 bpm, 166 spm, 71 sl
7.  13:33, 149 bpm, 166 spm, 72 sl
8.  13:58, 148 bpm, 165 spm, 70 sl

For the first time all summer, this run felt like a training run for a marathon.  I had the disgruntle feeling for being so slow, the OMG feeling of how am I going to run 20 miles in December, and sweating a bunch.  In other words, it's August in Houston and everything is fine.

The heel is producing some minor grumbling, but having that TENS unit around is really helpful.  Thanks, Aetna!

And the new blog will start this week.  Thanks for stopping by.

Yay on the run! It's nice to get that old familiar feeling -- even if it's grousing about pace and worrying about endurance.

Hope the weather changes/improves as you transition into your new blog...

Mark B wrote:Yay on the run! It's nice to get that old familiar feeling -- even if it's grousing about pace and worrying about endurance.

Yes, it IS!  It's all part of the process of getting things in order.

nkrichards wrote:Hope the weather changes/improves as you transition into your new blog...

It has changed, even for last night's hill run.  It was kinda cloudy and a very nice 10 mph breeze was blowing.  It really helped after the run.  And the blog will probably start tomorrow, as I have turned the website on just a few minutes ago.  The LLC is a service company, not a product company.  More on that later in the new blog.

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I overdid the hill run again.  My own motivation did nothing to keep me safe.  This was a snake-like course that produced produced ups and downs at various paces.  I was doing fine up to the 25th minute of 30, when my left calf started whining.  It was in the center of the muscle.  My HR during the last of the run was at 90%.  That's when I started backing down.  The heel was bugging me, too.

I haven't learned with people enough to let my watch dictate pace, rather than the person in front of me.  My warm up  pace had me in the low twelves.  Jeez.

Well, when I got home, I immediately grabbed the frozen peas and the TENS.  Cranked it up for 30 minutes, showered, and went to bed.  This morning, it was much better.

Ah, yes. Peer pressure. Happens to the best of us.

Looking forward to seeing the new blog and website. Onward!