time to rest

wednesday

new york city in 7 weeks

Been knocked out the past couple of days, a combination of fatigue and the heat.  The past couple of weeks of training culminating with last Saturday’s half and subsequent workouts in this current heat wave we’re having along with a busy week at work did me in.  The sore throat was a sign I needed to recover a little, and that’s what I’m doing.  Will play it ear the next couple of days in hopes of being ready for Sunday’s XC race.  A good dress rehearsal for taper time.

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steamy night run

monday

9 miles tonight after waiting out the thunderstorm, got out the door around 9 o’clock, a night run, something I hadn’t done in a couple months.  Since I’m off from work tomorrow, it gave me a chance to do a relaxing run around the neighborhood. It was still steamy out, the storm hadn’t taken all of the humidity away.  Should dry out tomorrow for a more comfortable run. Will be doing a workout on my own again this week, then will join in on some track workouts with a local club later in the summer for some more structure and talent to help keep improving.

father’s day run

sunday

Had a great Sunday, a nice Father’s Day brunch with my son at our favorite restaurant and then what’s become a yearly tradition, a Father’s Day run.  9 miles around Buffalo’s downtown and then to the park and back on a warm sunny day. Hope you had a good one too.

recovery and father’s day

saturday

After a short afternoon nap to catch up on sleep – stayed out late post-race last nite and then had to go in very early this morning to help in the store – 11 slow recovery miles to the park and back.  I like recovery runs after a 5k or a similar distance race because, even if it’s sore and painful, you know that you pushed your body to the limits the previous day; and it’s not going to be the brutal recovery after a marathon where your body is wrecked.  

Looking forward to Father’s Day brunch with my son tomorrow.  Along with remembrance for my late father, he and I weren’t close, but as the years pass by, much of the resentments and recriminations fade and what’s left are people trying to do their best… I think this maybe one of the human species’ survival mechanisms.

in the right direction

friday

Took yesterday off, needed a rest day.

A great time with friends tonight at a popular 5k and a good time in the race.  Though the legs felt heavy during the warm up and the race, came in at 17:24, 10th overall, first master.  Most importantly, it was progress in this season’s 5k times, a 15 second improvement from the previous season best.  9 miles altogether including warm up and cool down.

As a bonus, came in ahead of a friend and a Canadian masters legend who came down to race (caveat: he’s coming back from an injury).  Have lots of respect for him. A good night, a fun night, and making progress in racing, a positive step.

dry run

wednesday

9 easy recovery miles with my son to the park and back on a breezy rain washed afternoon.  A storm front passed by just to the south of us and did the favor of carrying away with it some of the mugginess that’s been lingering around.  The drier air was great for the tired arms and legs recovering from the past 2 days of hard runs.

positive

tuesday

To add to the pain, did yesterday’s workout again tonight, the only difference were the splits (today’s: 3:45, 3:39, 3:35) and the weather – it was it was warmer and more humid today.  Feeling good enough these days to try to ‘go to the well’ for workouts. It was a tough one today in the humidity for sure, but felt great about the workout afterwards. 10 mile in all again.  Feeling kinda positive, I guess, for this summer.

road intervals

monday

To get ready for this Friday’s 5k, did some repeats on the roads: 3 x (approximately) ¾ mile with a 5 minute jog rest in between.  The splits on the ¾’s were 3:44, 3:38, and 3:37. Probably a little shorter than ¾ mile each, they were still definitely a workout.  The last ¼ mile section of the route was uphill to add even more ‘fun’ to the intervals. Luckily the breeze afternoon helped me stay cool.  Ended the run with some striders on the way home. Including the warm up and cool down, 10 miles for the day.