Halfway Through The Year: Week In Review

Monday

I ran a mile out on the Douglas Springs Trail; it was already pretty warm and breezeless and I didn't feel like slogging up the steep vertical section, so I turned on Carillo, ran to the 'T' intersection where I turned around to make it about a 3-mile out-n-back.

After that, the wind picked up so I decided to do a short tide out to the Rita Ranch area. Strong headwinds heading out; I was just noodling along, enjoying the breeze which was now making it feel much cooler. I went east on Valencia Road to check out the new pavement (I'd seen the black river of asphalt crossing the Pantano from Tanque Verde Ridge a week earlier). Had to turn around at the bridge as that is still under construction.

Wednesday

Passing the halfway point of the year. Just something like 555 running miles in 2020 to date due to my nagging heel issue, but I've finally felt like major progress has been made: for instance, on Tuesday night I'd gone on a long walk with Boo-Boo and it felt totally normal. So hopefully I can double that figure in the remaining six months. My plan for July is to build up the mileage and also mix in a small amount (maybe 10%) of speed-work.

But that morning I felt like getting in some trail "vert" that I'd skipped on Monday. I planned a route that would get about three miles before the hills began. Unfortunately I'd forgotten how many sections of stairs there are in those three miles and I just couldn't get the running rhythm going and I knew it would be hot by the time I got through it. So I ended up just feeling frustrated at my stupidity, lack of fitness, etc, and ended up turning around and walking back.

Later that day, clouds rolled in, marking the first real shift in the weather to the monsoon pattern. As evening approached, I headed out on the bike towards the Rincon Valley, where the clouds were the darkest. Sure enough, the winds started picking up, then some light rain, and finally, some good brief downpours. Lots of dirt coming off the roads—my bike is filthy.

Thursday

This was to be my first entirely on-road run in a while. I knew it would feel tough for that reason (and in road running, it almost never feels like your speed is commensurate with the effort) plus my lack of fitness and the humidity from the day before. And it was tough; I stopped to walk a few times. But I made a good effort up the shorter side of the big hill at Saguaro East and my heel felt fine once I warmed up. So with 6.5 miles in the heat (but with lingering cloud cover), I figured it was good progress.

Friday

My re-configured weekly plan calls for running six days per week (up from five the last time I was seriously training) with Fridays being a short mileage day. I decided to re-do Thursday's workout. But I didn't feel quite as good for whatever reason, so just did the "Picnic Loop" for 3.4 miles.

Saturday

The plan was for some longer easy distance, with a goal of about ten miles; I planned a loop run in the Civano / Sierra Morado area. Like most days lately I had a lot of trouble warming up and trying to get to the point where things were pain-free. But I kept it slow—very slow—and the first few miles felt okay. But it was starting to get hot and my legs were tightening up. I felt a little sick and walked about a mile. But then my heels would hurt every time I tried to run, so I ended up walking nearly all the way back (cutting it short), with about nine miles in total.

Back home, I iced my heel as it was hurting non-stop now, and re-hydrated. I felt pretty despondent about my lack of fitness, the prognosis for ever being able to train for anything, etc. However, after doing leg stretches and squats that afternoon, the legs felt totally fine once again!

So, although it felt like a complete debacle at the time, a day later I'm looking on the bright side a) after 2.5 hours in the hot sun, I didn't actually overheat and b) I don't think I made things worse with the heel situation.

Sunday, 05 July

Decided to sleep in and gamble on the chance that it might cloud up later on in the day... it didn't.