(Heat + asphalt fumes) + (4*800m @ 6:23 ) = (vomit) + (glow)

Patient care is slow during July and August, which means I can do more work from home. I was done with work at noon today and off running at 1pm. My schedule called for 4*800 @ 6:23 pace, which I turned into an 8 miler, consistent with my plan of increasing my overall weekly mileage.

I ran 4 easy miles to warm up (8:23) and was happy to see that there were a couple of runners at the highschool track were I do my repeats. Hurray for company. There were also a few HS kids playing ball in the football field. I stretched a bit, picked a fast song, and started my first repeat. Nice, fast, and consistent for a 6:23 pace. I walked 200m, and started my second one, which went well, too, for a 6:20 pace. It was very hot, though, and I started to smell the asphalt fumes of the track. Yuck! I also realized that the fountain at the track was not working, and I was already out of my Nuun and one of the 8oz bottles of water. Yikes! But, 2 more repeats and I can run the 2 easy miles back home. I started the 3rd repeat. Legs felt heavy but pace was consistent. My stomach was turning and I started to feel nauseous. By the end of the 3rd repeat I tasted it - the vomit. Thank God for the last water bottle. Pace for the 3rd repeat, a bit too fast, 6:18. Last repeat was a breeze - for some reason the last repeat always is, probably because it is the last, pace 6:20 in spite of jumping over the football that one of the kids threw a bit too far, into the track lanes. And, no vomit! I had planned to do some plyometrics at the track (ala Kara), but I was out of water and so I dragged my thirsty self home chugging along for 2 miles @ 9:06 average pace.

So, aside from the vomit part and the heat, I really love track workouts. They are short and they make me feel so good. 800meters are my favorites, long enough to feel the burn, but not too long to feel like death is imminent. Interestingly, my heartrate does not go up (as far as I can tell, without a HR monitor) and I am not out of breath during these repeats. However, my stomach is always complaining and I sometimes feel nauseous until I eat some solid food later on. I am going to keep doing some of the runs in the heat, even though they are more difficult, because 1) if I come home earlier, I'd rather be done with the run than wait until the afternoon for it and 2) I think it will serve me well to be adjusted to heat - you never know how the weather will be in October. Plus, can you tell I like a challenge? And vomit? (just kidding!!!!!!)

On a different note, my long run last week was surprisingly tough, probably because 1) the tough 20 mile bikeride I had taken the day before left my legs tired, and 2) it was v hot (my shorts were soaked after the run). I thought 13 miles @ 8:30 would be a breeze, but it was not. I did the ran alone, listening to some interesting podcasts (NPR's "On Point" had a great episode on "food addiction") and had some hilly terrain on the way, but nothing terrible. I ended up running at average 8:24, with last 6.5 miles progressively faster. This is good overall, however, because training is supposed to be challenging!