It's Still Summer

Well, we're back in New York now (from vacation in Michigan). And I'll fully admit that marathon training hit a bit of a hitch this week. Meaning it was non-existent until now. I think it'll be mostly okay though, since this was a step-back week anyway. Although I'm not really stepping back. Oh well.

Of course, I waited a bit too long today to hit the streets for my run. Something about not having to get up for any particular thing means that I really like to sleep in. I think I'm more of a night owl naturally and while I can get up early, it's not my natural sleeping rhythm. Of course, I knew that getting out and actually running today would be a big step in the right direction, unlike yesterday, where I just sat around all morning and then had a picnic lunch with Drew in Central Park!

Even though the computer says that it's only 77 degrees out, it's still really sunny and frankly, quite hot! I decided to run along the Westside Path before I realized the sun situation and there isn't a lot of shade or relief from the sun. I did find lots of drinking fountains I didn't know about before, mainly because I tended to run on the road part where it's really for bikes instead of the pedestrian part for runners and walkers. Turns out that the drinking fountains are "freeze-proof", which means that you have to hold down the button for a while before anything comes out. I hope that means that they're on in the winter too?

I definitely had to do some walking today. I'm not especially proud of that fact, but I was determined to go the distance I had mapped out ahead of time and if walking was going to get me to the end, so be it. I'm trying not to get too down on myself about the walking. I'm chalking it up to the heat and being slightly under prepared.

I had to buy myself a Gatorade on the way home. I'm not sure what I was thinking and why I didn't take my Fuel Belt along with me now that I've spent money and invested in it. The whole time I was carrying the Gatorade in one hand and running, I was thinking how dumb it was to (a) carry something like that and (b) spend $3 on Gatorade.

This week's total for miles is 21. So that means that after today, I still have 12.6 to go. Saturday we're doing this fun/crazy NYC Scavenger Hunt, so that will involve a lot of walking. I'm planning on another long run on Sunday, but I don't think I'll do all 12.6 remaining. I just can't do every mile every week. That's just not how my life seems to work. I'm just trying my best to make sure I do the "long runs" each week and if I come up short on some of the shorter runs, so be it. This marathon training is a process and it's my first time, so it's all on a huge learning curve.

Running
Time: 1:34:02
Distance: 8.40 miles
Pace: 11:11/mile