Autumn? Where?

OBLIGATORY WEATHER COMPLAINT

Florida obviously did not get the memo that Autumn began last Tuesday.  We continue to melt.

I've dealt with the summer heat very well this year.  I've really taken it, "like a man" (said in my best Rocky voice).  In fact, I think I only made one "cry baby" post this summer which is a major accomplishment considering the fact that the entire Eastern half of the US had record setting heat.

That being said, I'm over it.  I'm tired of our low being 76F with 90% humidity.  Do you have any idea what kind of heat index that translates to at 5AM?  Let alone what it looks like at 11AM when it's time for me to finish a 50 mile bike ride and then run 4 miles?  Yeah... so very over it.

TRAINING UPDATE

On a positive note (because that's what this blog is about)...

I have made huge strides with my running this summer.  Despite the heat, I only took to the treadmill for one run and I was able to increase my mileage to a number I feel I can successfully build upon (hopefully without injury) for marathon prep.

My rewards for doing this:

1.  Mental toughness.  I am kick-butt and have learned that even as a "super sweater" I can run in 95F heat. The hotter it is, the slower I am, but it's all good!

2.  Tough legs.  When I was doing 10 and 11 milers as part of my half-marathon prep in 2009, I used to whine about how much my quads hurt.  These days 10 or 11 milers aren't really all that long anymore and they sure as heck don't produce mincemeat quads.

3.  Faster legs.  Even in the torturous heat, I've watched my pace slowly, but steadily improve.  I began focusing on my running in early June and my average pace across the board has dropped about 45-50 seconds per mile since then.  This amazes me.  Especially in this heat.  I've learned that run training is just like bike training.  If you want to run faster & longer, you've got to go out there and just run.  You've got to put in the mileage.  There is no substitute.

4.  Gained a new best friend.  My foam roller.  I've been diligent with foam rolling every day, twice a day.  With my gradual increase in mileage and a marathon lurking on the horizon, I knew that injury prevention was going to be paramount.

ON THE AGENDA

This upcoming week is an exciting one!  It looks like it's going to be race central the next two weekends!  There is Kona, of course, and a few of my friends will be partaking in some exciting local races up North.  I'll be racing too.  It will be my first 10k race since 2008 and a big honkin' PR is going to drop!  Oh yes!  I'm ready, my legs are ready, my race-prep runs have indicated that a huge PR is attainable... now all I have to do is PACE!   More on this in a later post this week.

One year ago today, I was competing in my very first half-ironman.  While I was walking Koby this morning, I thought a lot about Augusta.  I thought about how differently I would approach the event now-- from pacing to my general attitude.  I sure have grown a lot since then.