Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Friday, July 24, 2009

Back in the Netherlands

I'm back in the Netherlands and enjoying the running weather. It's been raining a lot since my arrival a couple days ago. I don't mind it though because I'll take the rain and mid-70 degree weather over the 90+ degree temps I was running in on Guam. I must say though that the last 2 weeks of running in Guam has improved my fitness, evidence of today's workout.

I wasted no time getting back into training after a DNR (did not run) due to travel. Yesterday morning I did 11 miles at a steady easy pace. That afternoon I did 5 easy miles. Today, I ran another easy 5 miles in the morning and a workout, 13 miles with 3 x 2M @ ~10k pace + 4 x 200m, in the evening. My legs and body felt surprisingly good in tonights workout. The initial plan was to run the 3 x 2M at half-marathon pace. However, when I came across mile 1 of the first 2M in 5:30 and feeling comfortable I decided to run according to how I felt. I ran each 2-miler faster. Splits were

10:55 (5:30, 5:25)
10:43 (5:21, 5:22)
10:41 (5:23, 5:18).

I also added 4 x 200 meters, all in 32 seconds. It was a good workout and a sign of improved fitness.

Today: AM - 5M @ 7:12 pace; PM - 13M including 3x2M (10:55, 10:43, 10:41) + 4x200m;
Thur: AM - 11M @ 6:53 pace; PM - 5M @ 7:10 pace

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Not enjoying my runs

My travel back home was flawless.....okay, that was a joke. I was delayed an hour in Brussels, two hours in London, and missed my flight to Guam from Japan. The two things that went right were: I arrived safely (which is all that matters) and my luggage was not lost.

I'm enjoying every bit of my stay back home, except for the running part. Words that best describe every run so far include: disappointing, horrible, drenched, bonked, no energy, cancelled workout....I think you get the point. The humidity has been sucking my energy dry in every run. The temperature itself hasn't been too bad, high-70s to low-80s, but with the combination of about 77-80% humidity the realfeel temperature is about low to mid-90s. It may not sound too bad compared to many areas stateside. I think the problem is that my body is still accustomed to the Holland weather, which is excellent running conditions even in the Summer.

In my morning run today, I attempted a fartlek workout of 3 x 3-2-1 at approximately 5k effort. I threw in the towel after my first set. There was no possible way of completing the workout as I was breathing like I was running an all-out 800m. And I wasn't running that fast. My percentage of max HR almost reached 100%. Even when running very easy my HR is consistently at about 75-85%. I learned from my first run back on the island that is almost impossible to run for 60-70 minutes without taking in any fluids. Today, I took some money along with me and bought a gatorade at a gas station on my run back home. It definitely helped and prevented me from feeling like I bonked. I think for the time-being I'm just going to do easy running to put in the mileage. Hopefully the body will get used to the conditions very soon.

Thur: AM - 12M @ 7:15 pace; PM - 7M @ 6:57 pace
Wed: 11M @ 7:10 pace