Official Last Day of Summer
I’m pretty sure today is the last day of summer. It’s definitely begun to feel like fall. The mornings and nights have been chilly, but thankfully the days have been nice and sunny. The heat and humidity is gone. This is just about my favorite running weather. Unfortunately, it’s dark later in the morning and earlier in the evening.
I was up this morning at 6:30 and it was pretty dark, but by the time I got outside for my run (around 7:10) it was turning into a beautiful morning. It was in the high-50’s and sunny, without any wind. I ran 55 minutes, which in my mind equals about 7.25 miles. These days I estimate that I normally run 7:30-7:40 minute miles for that length of run. I think I probably run slightly faster than that, but I’d rather under-estimate than over-estimate.
It was a good run, but not great. It took my body a while to warm up and wake up and my legs felt pretty heavy. I still ran pretty hard and just as long as I wanted.
The marathon – I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet that I’m running New York for my first time on November 5 – is now just about 6 weeks away. I haven’t run a marathon in 8 years (Marine Corps Marathon in 1998 – more later). Each of the last two years I’ve tried training for marathons (Rock and Roll in San Diego for 2004 and NYC for 2005), but ended up getting injured and couldn’t follow through and withdrew both times. This year, so far I’m feeling great. I’m running pretty fast and generally injury free (there’s something not right in my right foot (more later), but it hasn’t stopped me yet, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I can get through the next 6 weeks). My longest training run so far is 18 miles. I’d like to do 20 this weekend, but I’ll have to see how I feel on Sunday.
I’m hoping to go buy a new pair of running shoes today. This summer I’ve been running in Mizuno Wave Rider 9, size 11. This is my first pair and they’ve been great. They’re lighter than the New Balances I was running in before and have nice cushioning and just the right amount of support for my feet. Now they have a little over 300 miles on them and are beginning to feel flat. I’ve got to get new ones.
Course: West Side Highway to southern tip of Battery Park
Time: 55 minutes
Distances: ~7.25 miles
Average Heart Rate: 156
Conditions: Sunny, 60, no wind