July 4, 2011

There are some things in life that you cannot beat.  Two of them are Mother Nature and the Sunken Meadow’s 5K.  Since you know they cannot be beaten, you must learn to respect them.

Today I was scheduled to run an easy – kickout – 3 mile run and that is what I set out to do.  However, today was the first day of the 4 H’s of summer, Hot – Hazy – Humid and Hell.  Although my run was at an easy pace, the run was by no means easy.  I understand that you must respect this weather if you want to survive so I made sure to listen to my body and ran a little easier than I originally was going to.

How to handle these tough summer days: there are many things you can do to survive; you just have to learn to respect the conditions.  The two easiest things to do are to run early or run late but even then the conditions can be tough.  If this is the case, do not be so pigheaded and have to run at a certain pace or have to complete a certain distance.  You may be able to accomplish the pace and/or the distance BUT you may have harmed the rest of your training days by overdoing it.  Just relax, listen to your body, maybe even take a break or two and you will do fine.  Just be willing to adjust your training to whatever conditions you are presented with and relax.

Remember, the summer is about building your base and getting your body ready for the real training that is coming.  If you are smart and respect the weather and your body, you will be able to handle the tough training ahead.

Enjoy your summer, train smart and be positive about what’s to come!

Coach David Wood

SJB