Adirondacks

Two weeks at the cabin in the Adirondacks. I had the pleasure of spending the time with 5 dogs, 4 nieces, 3 sisters, 3 brother in laws, Mom and Dad, and The Most Interesting Man in the World. I can't really say that the trip was all that relaxing - but it was some much needed family time.

Clearly a whole ton of activities: rappelling off the cliffs from the falls, water skiing, swimming, hiking, 4-wheeling, boating, etc... and of course, my running...

Prior to getting up there, my left calf was starting to nag me. Once again, my age old fight with shin splints was on. They seem to go into hibernation, but never just die away. I took 3 days in a row off to chill things out and recover. (Probably much needed given the heat exhaustion/dehydration I've been experiencing in Chicago too). It would be one of my last opportunities to do this for quite some time. In the process, I loaded up on some anti-inflammatories, and started to stretch the hell out of my big toe (more so than ever before). And in the end I was running splint free by mid-week at the cabin. To note: all but 1 of my runs were in racing flats or VFFs.

I logged an 85 mile week and a 76 mile week. The 76 week was cut short because of a day trip to Old Forge. Every single run was on hills. Weather was very accommodating! Mostly in the low 70s for my runs, and only a couple soggy days. Importantly, no major injuries.

Adirondack Training Circuit:

Most was done on the 8 mile Soft Maple stretch between Effely Falls Road and the No. 4 Road (out and backs for 16). I also added a hill run to Stillwater, a tempo down to Croghan... and for the first time I ran the Woodsmen's Field Days 10k.

Croghan to Stillwater is a 2,000 foot climb, net 3,150 elevation change. My typical 16 mile loop is an 1,100 climb, net 2,100 change.

Workouts included:

16 mile progression run MGP (not so easy given the hills!!)

Woodsmen 10K: Hilly and clearly long by about 0.1mi. I went into it planning on doing a workout and going 35-36 depending on the hills. Sub-37 typically wins this thing. After I saw the first several runners bolt out of the gate (2 clearly belonged in front of me) - I stuck to the workout plan. Splits were 5:34, 5:38, 6:18 (hill+long!!), 5:47 (hill), 5:53 (hill), 5:34, 1:27.

11 miles to Croghan w/ 7 at roughly MGP (most of the MGP was rolling, w/o net elevation change).

20 miles w/ 7 at 6:35 on the hills.

The Chicago Steamer

Word on the street is that this summer is the WETTEST in history for Chicago. Combine that with steady 80-90+ degrees on a daily basis, and you get steam.

It's extremely uncomfortable and flat out sucks for training conditions. If by some miracle it's not ultra humid, then it's unbearably hot. It is impossible to run in this shit. It is also impossible to maintain any sort of hydration. At this point, I'm yearning for those frigid 0 degree days.... (though I know I'll regret that statement soon enough).

In spite of the weather, the last couple weeks' tempo runs have gone well. 6 miles for each of them, averaging low 5:40's. Last week wasn't 88 degrees, so I went marginally slower yesterday.

On the other hand, last Wednesday's track workout was a shit show. It was like 99.9999% humidity and 85 degrees. My 16x400's were at a sloppy 76-77 pace. Pathetic compared to what I should be able to run them in, and pathetic compared to the fact I basically ran the 400's at my 800's pace. I'm a whiny bitch... but it's justified because I haven't had a single decent track workout in this round of training. Each of my 5 workouts have been altered due to the weather.

I only have a few more days to deal with this though, as I'm leaving for the cabin on Friday. It'll definitely be cooler up there, though not necessarily less humid. I'll have 2 weeks in the Adirondack Mountains. When I get back, things should be more bearable and I'll be in much better shape to tear it up.