I got up earlier than I did last week and began running at 7:19 am MDT. The shade temperature when I left home was 70 (F), and I had a great run. I finished in 2:41, my fastest 13-miler to date. When I arrived back home, the shade temperature was 89 (F). The cooler temperature and the extra liquid (four 20-oz bottles) that I drank made the difference, and I was able to set a new PB for my long run.
There were lots and lots of people on the Jordan River Parkway this morning. Just before I got to my turnaround point, I came upon two kids manning a water table for a 5K race. I asked them how many runners were in the race, but they didn't know. They had about 20 paper cups of ice water on their table. I didn't see any of the runners, because they were coming from the other direction. That was a difficult route for a 5K, because the turnaround point for the race was at the bottom of a big hill, and the racers had to run the hill from both directions.
I mentioned in my Thursday post an article in Runner's World that has a table giving the amount of fluid we should drink during a run to replace the fluid lost through sweat. The data in the table are based on scientific studies of sweat rates as well as tests made by the RW staff. For my run today, the table says I should have drunk 75 oz of liquid. I drank two swallows less than 80 oz. So, my use of four bottles today was just about right. I sweat a lot, and the table data seems to be close to my needs. I could tell that I did feel better because of the extra liquid I drank -- the heat didn't bother me at all. The cooler temperature helped, too.
After I had returned home, I forgot to check the color of my urine as a check on the amount of water I drank during the run. When I was only drinking 40 oz of water & Gatorade, my urine after a run was a dark color, indicating I needed more fluid during the run. I'll probably be drinking 80 oz again next week, and I'll check the color of my urine when I return home.
In past posts I've mentioned a big hill that is on the north side of the detour that goes through a residential neighborhood. I've been walking up the hill, but on Wednesday I ran all the way up the hill, and I did the same today. So, I am getting stronger. I'm glad to have some hills on my long run, because the GSL race will have a couple of small hills near mile 11. The big hill that I've mentioned is probably the largest hill during my run. There is another big hill just before my turnaround point (the hill mentioned above relative to the 5K race). My turnaround is on top of that hill, so I only climb the hill one time. There are a few small hills here and there during the run. Oh yes, the detour through the residential neighborhood has a downhill slope to the south, so I have to run it uphill on my return. It isn't a big change of elevation, but it lasts for about 1/2 mile. All of these hills are giving me some good resistance training.
If any of you are local to the Salt Lake valley and would like a map of the detour, go to mapmyrun.com and search on jordan river parkway. Then select the link for Jordan River Parkway: South Jordan/Riverton Detour.
There are four phases to running hills. First, you can't run the hill and you walk it. Second, you run the hill at a very slow jog. Third, you run the hill at a faster pace but slower than your normal pace. Fourth, you run the hill at your normal pace. I'm in phase 2 for the big hill at the north end of the residential area.
Next Saturday will be my last 13-mile long run. I will taper for two weeks, and then run the Great Salt Lake Half Marathon on Saturday, August 19, 6:30 am in Clearfield, Utah. The race will be across the causeway to Antelope Island. I'm hoping to complete the race in 2:30 or less. To do that, I will have to reduce my pace by 1 minute per mile, compared to my time today.
My wakeup HR was 50 this morning.
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