So I bought a gym pass this week because of how hot it has been so I can run on the treadmill. It’s been hot and I feel like I can’t run. I overheat real quick. Since I have a lot more mass it’s harder for the body to release heat which in turn makes the body work harder to get rid of the heat. Put simply, the smaller you are the better the body is at staying cooler. Running in an air conditioned room helps take care of one of the factors hindering my training.

Secondly, running on a treadmill is less impactful than running on concrete. The harsh impact on concrete can actually lead to more injuries so i advise to run on soft surfaces more than harder surfaces. Soft surfaces include: tracks, grass, dirt, trails, sand, etc.

Following last week’s de-load, this week’s mileage got bumped up. The first run was a 2 mile warm-up, followed by 8×800 meter run with a 2 minute walk in between. This run was followed by a 5 mile easy, which was then followed by a 2 mile warm-up, 2 miles marathon pace, 2 miles at 5k pace, and finishing with a 2 mile cool down.

The biggest run of the week, the one that made me shake in the knees, was the big 18 miler! Ive never EVER run that far in my life. Last night, I was contemplating all the things that could go wrong. Like what if I get tired and hurt myself? What if I trip off the curb, or what if just can’t keep running? What if I don’t drink enough water or don’t bring enough chews to run with? All these thoughts poured into my mind as I tried to go to sleep at 9:30 to wake up at 5:50 to drive to the beach! I was so nervous that even thought about the scenerio where I crashed my car before getting there.

So what actually happened? I got up, put all my stuff in the car, got to the beach safe, and started running. I felt good, running relatively smooth. I did trip once though, while walking of all things. but I chose a two mile path to run from one end to the other so that way I can round about to my car to refuel and rehydrate. Each lap was 4 miles. That strategy worked out for me in the long haul. Breaking it up into 4 mile intervals was just enough to push me and get over the idea of running 18 miles. That is until mile 12-14. That was when my legs were hurting from running on the concrete. My legs felt so heavy and I had to mentally push myself to keep running. I had the energy, it was just the pain that had me slow down. But I did it. And I’m so happy about it that I celebrated with some donuts! (They are necessary if you are a runner)

Overall this week left me feeling accomplished and ready to push myself next week which ups the mileage yet again to 20 miles. This will actually take place in Hawaii so look forward to the next blog! Thanks for reading. God bless!