It was cloudy and 88 degrees when I walked out the door. Just as I was about to hit the "start" button on my watch, there was a rumble of thunder in the distance. I thought that I needed to hurry or get wet, but even if I hurried I would probably get wet any way.
I completed the first mile of my 4 mile run in 8:34. I tried to push Mile 2, but the pace of Mile 1 was catching up to me, and I finished it in 8:48. Not too bad, for me.
The nagging question of "Why are the 4 and 5 mile runs becoming more difficult?", came to mind in Mile 3. I feel so tired this week for some reason, but still I've ran 4 and 5's for weeks now. I was comfortable running them, even a little cocky, I guess. As I would be heading out the door, my wife would ask, "How many are you running today?" I would say, "Five", like it was a walk in the park. Maybe the karma of cockiness is teaching me a lesson.
Miles 3 and 4 also dropped - 9:31 and 10:14. A total time 37:07 for a 9:17 pace. I have had 4 miles over 10:00 minutes in my last 2 runs. Three of Wednesday's 5 miles (10:00, 10:35, and 11:00) and today's 4 miler had one (10:14). My runs are not only getting tougher, but slower. I don't know what is going on.
Even though I ran an 8:34 mile 1 and struggled most of the rest of the way, my max heart rate only reached 182. I guess maybe I could have pushed harder, but whole body felt tired, especially my legs. My average HR was 166. My recovery was only 170 to 160.
My worry of the threat of rain was mute. It did thunder a few more times, but about half way through the run, the sun came out! I think this was one of the muggiest and sweatiest runs I've ever done!
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