Houston Marathon Training: Week 2 of 18

Days since last run less than 70°F: 150 (April 27th)
I can't complain too much about the weather. We had more cool and drier air with the temperature and dewpoints closer to 70°F again this week. Running in air with a dewpoint of 70°F feels so much better than when the dewpoint is near 80°F.

69 miles for the week

M – 5¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:32 mpm, 75°F at 4AM [Dow/B-S]
Tu – 8 miles general aerobic fairly hard, average pace 6:50 mpm, 79.9°F at 4AM a few clouds [2xDow-]
W AM - 6¾ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:35 mpm, 79°F at 4AM [S-B/Dow/B-S]
W PM – 7¼ miles general aerobic, average pace 6:57 mpm, 83°F at 7PM sun to stars [B’Wood track]
Th – 5¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:22 mpm, 75°F at 4AM [Dow/B-S]
F - 11 miles general aerobic, average pace 7:28 mpm, 83°F at 9:30AM, sun with a beautiful blue sky [SeaC/NTrail-2x2M/SeaC]
Sa – 6½ miles recovery run, average pace 8:15 mpm, 90°F at 4:30PM, sun [Houston MemDrive Trail]
Su – 18 miles Long Run, 7:25 mpm pretty steady pace the whole way, clear blue sky and a little drier air, 85°F to 86°F starting at 10:40AM with the dewpoint near 70°F [SeaC/NTrail-2x2M/SeaC//SeaC/NTrail/SeaC]


I stayed pretty close to the Pfitz 18/70+ schedule again this week. I had to split Wednesdays 13 mile Medium Long Run into a morning run and an evening run, but I was pretty happy with the pace. I didn't start Sunday's long run until 10:40 and it was heating up quickly under a blazing sun. I started out pretty slow, worried the run would turn into an 18 mile death march. But the drier air really helped and I was able to pick up the pace through the run.

I wasn't able to get on a team for the HARRA Cross Country Relay Saturday. Instead I directed traffic just after the foot bridge near the bayou. That can be a confusing spot on the course because many runners tend to follow the paved path. I had a good time watching the race develop. The only bad part was I only got one small cup of St. Arnold's before the last keg floated.