Week 7
Monday
I was supposed to run 2 miles easy. I ran 2.5 miles at 10:22 pace. Just 4 seconds faster than I was supposed to run.
Wednesday
This was supposed to be a 6 mile run with a 4 mile tempo tucked inside. I knew that was not going to happen. I had limited time and no way to measure my distance or speed other than effort and guess. I even thought that the run would not happen at all. Since I did not sleep much on Tuesday night because of being at camp and being eaten alive by mosquitoes, I was up early on Wednesday and could get a run in. I ran 4.66 miles at a medium pace.
Friday
This was not a scheduled run, but I was up and had the time. It helped me get my thoughts together for the preaching that morning at camp. I ran 2.32 miles.
Saturday/Sunday
I pushed my long run from Saturday to Sunday this week. I actually have more free time on Sunday mornings than I do on Saturdays right now. Only about 45 minutes more, but it makes a difference.
I woke up at 5:00 and was able to have a good breakfast and get everything ready to go by 5:45. Actually I had two breakfasts. Since I woke up at 2:00 in the morning, I figured it would be a good time to start with an early fueling. I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for first and second breakfast.
I ran my 4 mile loop with a water bottle. Then I swung by the house to start my 8 mile loop and grab the CamelBak filled with Gatorade. I carried 2 gel packs which I ate at miles 6 and 11. I then dropped off the pack and picked up the water bottle again at mile 12 to finish off with a second running of my 4 mile loop. While making the second exchange of the pack/bottle, I took the time to change into a fresh pair of socks and powder my feet.
Somewhere between miles 7 and 8 I started getting emotional with the thought that I am just a few weeks away from being a marathoner. It is quite exciting, or insane, I am still undecided.
You find out in the evening after a 16 mile run about all the body parts that needed lubrication that you missed.
Biking
I only rode one day this week and it was a big one. I rode on Saturday for just over 19 miles. I started out the ride with a big goal of going into some villages that I had only driven through before. I knew they were far apart, but was not sure at the start that I wanted to try it. Because I did not know any distances, I did not really know what the point of no return would be. I knew at some point it would be faster to get back home by going on with the loop as opposed to turning around. After I had been riding for what seemed like close to 30 minutes, I looked at my watch to find that I had only gone 10 minutes down the road. But I had covered a lot of ground. That gave me the encouragement to press forward with the big loop. It was not until I got home that I found out that somehow I had hit the lap timer on my watch and had really been gone 22 minutes when I believed I was only 10 minutes into my run. Had I known that, I probably would not have tried for the longer distance. It was a mistake that worked in my favor.
Week 8
Monday: 6 miles easy, 10:22 pace.
Wednesday: 6 miles easy, 10:22 pace.
Saturday: 5 miles easy, 10:22 pace.
Week 8 is a cut back week. It comes at a great time. We are packing everything up this week and getting ready to move back to the US the following week.
David,
That’s a lot of fluids. Is it pretty hot and humid down there? Where do you call home in the States?
I think I sweat a bit more than a normal human. I drank 7 lbs of liquid and still netted a loss of 4 lbs during my run. That works out to 58 oz of water lost an hour, or about 11 oz per mile. I did not figure in the 2 gel packs. That is a bit lower than my sweat rate on a previous test which was a hard run of 1 hour in which I lost 92 oz.
Yes, it is very humid. It was 78.8 degrees at 100% humidity when I started at 5:45 and was 82.4 at 94% humidity when I finished 3 hours later.
We will be settling in Pensacola when we are home. That is where my parents live now and we have lots of friends who live there. That is where my wife and I went to school. But home is Odessa, Texas.
Wow! I guess that makes a lot of sense why you take in so much fluids. I can’t imagine losing 11lbs of water weight during a run. Keep up the good work and look forward to some nicer weather in Florida!!
Yes, I am looking forward to being back in the cooler weather of Florida. Actually, we will be storing our stuff in Florida, but will be traveling for a year all over the eastern US. There will be plenty of opportunities for me to complain about the cold.