June 7th- 5 mile Run

I wanted to run at about 4:30 in the morning. The trouble is when 4 am arrives and my wife feels good in my arms, the tendency is to stay down rather than rise up.

But I have to rise up. The fact that I didn’t put me on the course at 8 am and the temperature here in Cedar Falls had already shot up to the low 70’s. Not a cloud in the sky and no breeze. The sun felt uncomfortable and, once again, I began to sweat profusely as you can see from the post-run selfie.

You may have gathered I talk a lot about weather on here. For those of you reading who’ve had no experience in the Upper Midwest, I wanted to relay something told to me by Prof. Bob Dise of the University of Northern Iowa, where I mistakenly went back to school for a degree I can’t really use now.

Dise came from Southern California. Was it southern enough to qualify for San Diego weather? I can’t remember. Anyway, he wound up at UNI here in Cedar Falls and soon his relatives and friends back in his native turf. They notice he began to take on the midwestern habit of talking about the weather.

One of these people finally asked him “Why do you midwesterners talk about weather so much?”

Dise responded. “Becaue 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week, we have something that can kill you.”

Oppressive humidity. 100+ degree temperatures. Severe thunderstorms. Tornadoes. Massive flooding. Ice storms. Blizzards. Polar vortexes.

And so on.

Simply puts I will go out and train in almost any condition because I am uncertain what conditions will be awaiting in Des Moines on Oct. 20th.

The five mile run was accomplished on the Cedar Prairie Trail heading north towards Cedar Falls Utlities. Finished in 48:10. Average pace was 9:38. It’s the first time I was on that trail in about a week. A wet week about a week and a half ago resulted in some standing water and some mud on the underpasses (particularly the Seerley Bridge). The City got it cleaned up very nicely.

Next run will be tomorrow. 3.1 miles. Normally I do not care to run back-to- back. But I needed to rearrange some things because I will be running the Sturgis Falls Half-Marathom later this month. I’ll probably explain more later.

June 5th Recovery Run

Got down to The Runner’s Flat in Cedar Falls to pick up my pair of Hoka One One shoes. My wife and my running partner went down to The Runner’s Flat because they have a treadmill and take video of you running to determine the best shoes for how you run. Of all the shoes that the guy gave me, the Hoka One One’s (Maori for “to fly”) which were very cushioned.

This turned out to be the first day I would use them. After Monday morning’s 7 mile long-run, my training guide “The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer” moved into Week 4 of the 16 week cycle. So far, the guide calls for short three-mile runs at the beginning of each week. I arose at four in the morning to fit the quick run before I went to work. I was getting ready to brew some coffee for my post-run cup and breakfast when I saw the familiar flash of lightning outside our kitchen window.

Since the IMT Des Moines Marathon is in mid-October, I resolved to train in nearly any kind of weather. Iowa weather is very unpredictable. We could be running in an early snowfall. It could still be 80 degrees. But I won’t run in lightening.

I went back to bed for a while and then worked my shift at the Cedar Falls Menards. After work I went to The Runners Flat to get my Hoka One One’s. The sales associate said since I was an easy recovery run then it would be a great time to break in the shoes.

I took off from our house about 2 p.m. 83 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. I didn’t go on my usual “fast course,” a 3.2 mile neighborhood course I designed using Plot A Route. There is enough shield from the sun, which was very warm this day. Instead, I hopped over to the Cedar Prairie Trail and headed south.

At the advice of my friend Fitmess Mom, I downloaded the Nike Run Club App for my new smartphone. One of the features has Coach Chris Bennett doing a guided run. I’ve used his 5K and 10K guided runs and they are very positive and comforting. I used the 5K guided run to help power me through recent runs.

Even though I opted for the shadier route, I started to perspire about the 1/4th of a mile mark. Usually it takes about a mile before I start feeling sweat drops. From there it just kept coming. Running in the heat isn’t a pleasant experience. And since Iowa summer’s can get aggressively humid, it’s only going to get worse.

I completed my recovery run in 29:13 which works out to a 9:25 split. As you can, this was one of the sweatiest runs I’ve done so far.

Next run is slated for Friday morning. A 5 miler.