July 19th

I woke up early this morning and decided to do the run before work as opposed to afterwards. The sun wasn't out and temps were not quite at the 80's. I started w/2 water bottles & 6 salt tablets. I did my best to start off easy so I could pick up the pace later in the run. After about 6 miles, the sun came out along with the humidity. It had rained earlier, making any sun that much worse. The temps were only in the upper 70s, but it felt much warmer. A little while later, I passed a water fountain where I was able to refill my bottles. I took some salt, which really helped. I haven't been doing that lately and I think that it really has been hurting me on some of the longer runs.

I ran out towards Towanda Barnes Rd, a route I hadn't done in almost a year(I missed it!). Now that I lived a little further away, the 12 mile route was now 18.

Anyways, my legs felt a little sore around mile 9, but nothing too bad. I took some salt around 11 miles and kept moving. I was sweating a considerable amount and whenever I was near water, i kept dumping water all over myself.

To my surprise, I peed dark brown around mile 14. I thought I had been drinking plenty of water and felt hydrated, but I guess not. I couldn't really drink more because I could feel a stomach cramp approaching.

I ran last 4 miles fairly strong, the last 2 miles were tough, and the last mile was a straight shot, making it that much more difficult. I lost it a little bit mentally, but I was so close that I was able to finish alright. I iced my knees and stretched, which really helped recovery, but the biggest thing was drinking water. I drank a ton and still peed dark yellow. I must have been really dehydrated.

Total Distance: 18 miles

Weekly Total: 55 miles.

I was supposed to do 60 this week, but i can't complain about 55. This is the most I've run in a week in 2008 which is pretty sad, but I guess that improvement is improvement. Can't argue with that. I really think that Chicago will be a good race, but I think that next year I will have a lot to look forward to. I'm not so sure about 2:45 anymore, but I know that I can definitely do 2:50. In about a month, I will be able to tell what I can go for. Til next time. . .