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April 30, 2005

46:56/157

Today I didn't plan to run far, just down to the track in Pontcharra and back. I wanted to practice 5 km at race pace (1:42/400 m; 21:20/5 km) at the track. In rereading Hal Higdon's book about marathon training, I notice he has the experts do training at race pace to memorize the feel. Definitely something I need to work at. I'm not good at estimating my speed.

Nothing felt right. My head hurt. I was overheating. My legs were having to work. My breathing was too hard for the pace. My pulse rose to 170. So after only 8 laps I gave up and practiced a 2-minute/400 m pace instead for the next three laps, then ended with 600 m at race pace.

When I rounded the corner coming home from the track, I saw the thermometer at Monsieur Bricolage registering 31 C (88 F). It was about 5 pm. Their thermometer seems to sit in the sun, but even our thermometer at home said 27 C (81 F). So the heat, the headache, and all the time I spent mowing the lawn was probably getting to me.

I'll try to get out early tomorrow for a long run. Metcheck.com predicts 13 C (55 F) at 7 am, rising to 18 C (64) at 10 am. And I'll take plenty to drink.

Posted by Mark at April 30, 2005 06:22 PM