Well, its starting to get hot out there.
This past week we had our first string of days with a heat index of over 100, and in fact on today's lunch run, the actual temp was 100 in downtown Raleigh. Limited the run to 4 miles in 40 minutes. Was planning on doing 5.3 miles to bring my yearly total up to an even 700, but by mile 3.5 I had already finished my water bottle and decided to take a short cut back to the office.
A look back over this weeks lunch runs tell the tale of how heat can change your running pace.
Monday was a normal run for early summer. Not too hot, just good and sunny. I got in 4.8 miles at a 10:16 pace. I usually try to keep Mondays fairly comfortable, and that run was as normal as could be. Tuesday was a great day to run, cooler outside, and the legs felt real good. I got in a full 10K during lunch at a 9:40 pace, pushed it a little bit, but not too much. Wednesday was an off day for running. Then yesterday the heat came out in earnest. I thought briefly about doing another 10K, but changed my mind around mile 4, and wound up stopping just short of 5.6 miles. Pace was a bit slower than Tuesday at 9:50. It still felt good,. I could tell it was starting to heat up, but it just felt good and hot, not uncomfortable. Today, it was starting to get a bit more that just good and hot. So, a bit shorter and slower than planned.
Overall, a good month. I was able to get in 3 10 miles runs, and one 12 mile run. Next month the long runs should go up a bit more.
Till then, see you on the road.
