Hot August treadmill

Rain, rain go away

Today's run (treadmill): 5.3 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.4 miles

I'm an early riser and my hope was to get out for a long(ish) run before 7:00 AM. The morning sky was dark gray and I tried to look outside to see if it was raining. It was too dark to see outside, but the steady thrum on the skylight confirmed a downpour. I considered putting on my running windbreaker and going out anyway, but the jacket isn't vented well for humid conditions. Besides that, I really don't like running with soaking shoes.

I considered my options: the elliptical, core and strength training, or the treadmill. I opted for the treadmill but I needed to wait for my wife to finish her run. While that happened, I had another cup of coffee and a small snack to top off my glycogen level. That turned out to be a good strategy and, though the humidity level this morning was off the charts, I experienced no energy drop throughout the run.

I worked from home yesterday, and it turned out to be an extremely busy day. I had to get out early to keep my schedule and I hoped that meant the humidity would be at a minimum. I was fooled by a breeze that, combined with the 73° temperature, made it feel relatively cool. But by the time I reached the half mile point, I could tell that it would be rough going.

I needed to get home in time to shower and prepare for an early call, so I capped my run at 3.3. miles. August humidity has always seemed the worst to me and that was certainly the case on Friday. Considering the oppressive weather, I ended up pacing a little better than expected. If the rain doesn't return in the morning, I'll aim for either a trail run or return to the Bethpage path.

It's good to be putting in more mileage as my weekly volume has dropped 15% since May (when I resumed a commuting job). I don't feel like that's resulted in a loss of fitness, but I need to up my game if I'm going to be ready for fall racing.