Mon 7/2 - Hersey Run extended (1:20) - last 5 miles with Woho (6:20, 6:05, 5:37, 5:34, 5:22). Very humid this morning and felt a bit heavy from late run last night and late night in general with fireworks at Lakeside Fest. Tough run. Woho helped a lot. (12.5 miles)
Tue 7/3 - 7 mile run to Twin Lakes (+ 2 loops) and back steady. 1.5 miles worth of core circuit with team. 4 mile cool down afterward. (12.5 miles)
Wed 7/4 - Decided at last minute (night before) to race on the 4th. Figured it would be a good way to beat the heat early, see what kind of shape I'm actually in, and start finally racing in order to add some purpose to my running. Went back and forth with race in Barrington, St. Charles, or Elmhurst. Chose Elmhurst as I knew it would be the most competitive.
Race was at 7:15am. On my drive in the temp was already low 80's at 5:30 in the morning. Not sure what it was at race time, but it felt really warm during warm-up. (Ended up being a record heat day in Chicago - 102 degrees tying record from 1911) Did minimal warm-up..maybe jogging 10-12 min, easy drills, and 3-4 strides. Ended up 6th overall (20:39 - 4:57/10:00/15:16) Went somewhat conservative early, as I knew all the high school kids in front of me at 1 mile would fade. Tried to keep top guys in site, but wasn't confident I was ready to mix it up in the front. During mile 2 I moved up well into about 6th-7th, and was near top 3-4 early in the 3rd mile, but definitely started hurting good toward the later half of the 3rd mile. Last mile was tough. Passed by on guy mid-mile, let him go too easily, and nearly closed back to pass the last stretch. (20:38 to 20:39) (Winner - Kyle Brady ran 20:04...he ran 19:31 in 2011)
Glad I went. Really need to race more. Probably the last time I raced hard in the summer was this same race in 2006 (where I coincidentally ran 20:40). To race well you need to race with some sort of frequency. I need to find more races and relearn how the challenge myself and deal with the discomfort and the mental challenge of competing. Good start, excited to do it again.
Went on 30+ min cool-down with Derks afterward on Prairie Path. (10 miles)
Thur 7/5 - Hodge-podge of easy broken running in AM as I had to measure course for No Frills while girls worked out at Hamilton (8.5 miles)
Ran some during No Frills in evening. Hot - 90's and humid. (4.5 miles) (13 miles for day)
Fri 7/6 - Easy run with Quick out to Alemars and back. Very warm again. Legs sore, tired, and heavy. Awaiting new shoes. (7.5 miles)
Sat 7/7 - Easy run of 50 minutes in Palatine. Hot and humid. Took it easy. 1st run in Lunarglide 4's...so far so good. (5.5 miles)
Sun 7/8 - Went for run at 7:30 in evening. Had to go shortly after eating dinner....not advised. Good steady run. Great weather for a change. 59 min. (9.5 miles)
Mile for week = 70.5 First time over 70 miles in a while. Tough week as well with the weather and racing for first time in a while. Plan to be over 70 again this week. Feeling strong and more fit. Need to stretch more consistently and add more core work.
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