How To Do a Long Run on a Treadmill

.....watch hot chicks running around the whole run.

But let me back up.
Leading up to this weekend, I knew we were going to be hit by some heat. Being the good little runner that I am, I decided I would sacrifice my precious sleep on Saturday morning to provide me some reprieve from the heat and humidity. I set my alarm for 5am, hoping for a 5:30-5:45 start for my 11 miler. I rolled out of bed and jumped on the computer to check the hourly report for my run. It was already 80 degrees with 95% humidity. Back in to my bed I went.
Extreme heat can only be enjoyed in two ways:
a) In a bikini in water trying not to sweat to death
b) In a heavily air conditioned building, lounging, trying not to sweat to death.

I chose to spend Saturday doing a good mix of both. Megan and I hit the local waterpark to catch some rays and catch up on life. I haven’t seen her since Fargooooooooo and couldn’t believe that was already 2 months ago. Wth? After failing at the “trying not to sweat to death part” we decided to enjoy some A/C and food. Two of my favorite things.

Best part of the meal: Naturally both Megan and I opted to get some dessert to enjoy after our meal. I placed my order for the cheesecake chimichangas (yes just as delicious as they sound) and the waitress started walking away…… Oh no… we’re not sharing lady…. Then Megan proceeded to order the giant chocolate cake. When our desserts came out, we realized why she thought we were sharing. Haha oops.



Sunday I finally decided I could be bothered to get in my long run. I was a genius and timed my run to coincide with the Women’s World Cup championship match to keep me entertained. Damn ESPN failed to tell me that the match wasn’t actually going to start at 1pm, and I would have to run through 45 minutes of pre-match coverage, but whatevs.

Let me tell you, watching hot chicks run around on a soccer field for an hour or so will make your run flyyyyyyyyyy by. I have a minor major crush on Abby Wambach, and not just because she sweats on my level. Seriously. Hot chick. And I had my day made by Kim saying that I reminded her of Alex Morgan (or vice versa)…. Uh… I’ll take that comparison!

I had 11 miles on the schedule with a 3/1 approach. I decided to do the first 8 at my long run pace and then kick up the last 3 to a progression run from slow-end tempo pace to half marathon race pace. It felt…. Really good. Naturally it was much cooler in the gym then what I’ve been dealing with, so my heart rate was crazy low, and the run was pretty effortless.

I did 11 miles in 1:40:56 for a pace of 9:10. Last 3 miles averaged 8:19.

My average heart rate was 149. My heart rate for the 8 miles was actually a bit lower than this, as my last few miles skewed it higher.

To put this in to comparison, last weekend I did 10 miles in 1:41:18. AND I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE OF HEAT STROKE. Eff you summah.

But anyway, on to important things…….. Abby… call me!