Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Summer Speed

Sunday on the boat, one of our friends asked me what kind of times I've been running during training. Diplomatically, I answered that it's not about the speed and times right now; it's about the distance and finishing. Summer training requires summer speeds.

What's encouraging is I feel strong this week on hot runs. I ran after work yesterday (4.5 flat miles in downtown Chattanooga) and today (5.5 miles in Radnor Lake). The temperatures were 95 and 93, respectively. Both runs went well enough to say I enjoyed them even in the conditions. Yesterday's pace was 9:11 per mile, though I believe my GPS watch wasn't very accurate because of all the downtown buildings. Today's pace was 10:09/mile, which was fine because I tackled one of the steepest hills in the city.

The Team In Training crew received an e-mail today with advice about the upcoming hot weekend. Problem is, our coach hasn't looked at the weather forecast. We have a cold front heading to Tennessee faster than a unionized Michigan business. Saturday morning, it's supposed to be 62 and dry in August! That makes us running kids very happy (visualize cheering, singing and confetti).

My sister and I owe our obsessive awareness of the weather to our Dad. I do enjoy learning about it. According to Myers-Briggs, I'm a planner, so it's only natural I've bookmarked seven weather Web sites. I did say obsessive, didn't I?

The marathoners are going to run 16 miles Saturday, while the half marathoners are going 7. I'm thinking of running 12, but we'll see what courses our coaches have mapped out. I'm excited about the run to see what kind of pace I can hold in better conditions.

1 comment:

PJ said...

Hey, I'm also a weather buff, although I only have 2 sites bookmarked. I bet you also like geography. My boyfriend in high school was obsessed with weather (and fires). He actually became a meteorologist. Here's to cool running ...