work, heat, ugh.

work and heat are really making it hard to run lately. i still can't run on my lunch break because it is so hot. i was going to run last night after work at the clinic. however, i didn't get through at work until after dark and was on call and just thought better of it. so i was going to get that run in after work today. i didn't get home until 7:15pm tonight. i thought to myself, if i don't run in the dark i will never be ready for this marathon and i can't just keep pushing my runs back. so i went and parked on a road (had 4 miles scheduled) that has a good shoulder, not much traffic, decent lighting (especially with a full moon and no clouds), and was about 2 miles long. the one good or bad thing about this road is that it is very hilly. for some reason, running in the dark makes it hard to gauge my pace and i started off much faster than normal. then i just kept that pace and i was doing pretty good...until...on the way back the hills got me. from miles 2.5 to 3.5 there are 2 steep hills and one long gradual hill. the first hill was pretty tough, the second, much tougher. i kept telling myself instead of thinking this is a steep hill, think of it as a short hill. and on the gradual hill i thought of it as unsteep. that made it easier, but still pretty tough. my hamstrings really got a good workout. the bad thing was i was a little thirsty when i started and i did not have my hydration belt. i also forgot to take a drink for after the run. luckily it was only about 3 miles from the house.

here are my splits:

.5= 4:44 155
1.0= 9:33 4:49 167
1.5= 14:08 4:34 169
2.0= 18:57 4:49 171
2.5= 23:42 4:45 174
3.0= 28:57 5:14 180 (hills=slower times and increased heart rate)
3.5= 34:18 5:21 177
4.0= 39:03 4:45 177

my pace was about 9:45 and i think without those big hills i could have been a good bit faster. i know they will help me in the long run. this is really the hardest i have pushed myself on a run all year. i feel good now, hope i don't have any injuries that show themselves tomorrow.

thought of the day: this is more of a question. i know if i had been pushing myself this hard all summer i would be much faster now, but would i been in more pain and not able to finish as many of my runs as i have. i guess there is a line between just finishing the runs and not getting much faster or pushing yourself to get faster and risking injuries. after doing some reading this summer i have kept to just finishing the runs at a slow, even pace. however, i like to run fast too. i think i may be getting to old for that, until i see my brother's times.