Adarq.org

also i'm stuck in 'merica for another week because the UK government, in its wisdom, decided to make the visa application process a gigantic and unpredictable pain in the ass. in its defense, all countries do that. on the other hand, fuck borders.

that beach is beyond solid for me. it's got 30+ years of memories tied up in it. on friday morning we had a little ceremony to scatter some of my brother's ashes there. it was one of two places he requested that we do that, about a year before he actually died (the other being our parents' house).

back in maryland now.

- run 10.01 km in 53:01
first 4.5 km with gf, picked it up in the back half to get under 5:30 overall pace. she had the brilliant idea to drive down to the park nearby and then run along the creek, rather than just around the neighborhood. it's flat and so much less draining for her that she did an extra kilometer.

- stretch

checking in from the beach. did a bit of running -- one decently long run (11-12 km) and some shorter ones -- in california last week, along with some hiking in big sur. at the beach been playing tennis every day and swimming. good stuff. it's beautiful here. watched a turtle nest hatch last night, 102 little loggerheads bursting out of the sand all at once and making a beeline for the ocean. absolutely incredible sight.

- run 9.45 km in 58:15
first 3.5 km with gf, who was really struggling. we took a couple walking breaks. last km included an ~800m steep continuous climb, which sucked.

- stretch

might play tennis with my brother later as well.

EDIT:

- tennis x an hour

- stretch

super fun, plenty of rust after two years (!) of not playing, but less than i feared. bro is more skilled than i am now (he's been playing a fair amount over the last couple years) but i'm much better shape and once he ran out of steam it was all over.

good idea to stop the treadmill runs.

After getting a headache 2km into my intended 3km test today I got frustrated. My result, 2km in 7:46, translates to a 20:30 5k by pace, which means essentially zero improvement over the last year. I haven't been the most consistent with training but I haven't been a complete slouch, either. Zero improvement would be depressing. So I did a bit of research about running the heat. Turns out, humidity is worse than heat because it impedes sweating. That makes sense. It has been super humid here this summer.

Humidity is measured by % or by dew point. This article - https://runnersconnect.net/dew-point-effect-running/ - from Runners Connect showing the dew point effect on running. Forgive the fucked up formatting, hopefully it's legible at least.

Dew Point in °F (°C)                 Performance Adjustment   Easy Running   Hard Running
<55 °F (12°C)                         0%                                   Unaffected           Unaffected
55°F (13°C) to 60 °F (15°C)      1%                                   Unaffected           Slightly difficult
60°F (16°C) to 65 °F (18°C)      2-3%                                Slightly difficult   Difficult
65°F (18°C) to 70°F (21°C)      3-5%                                 Difficult           Very difficult
70°F (21°C) to 75°F (23°C)      5-8%                                 Difficult           Very difficult
75°F (23°C) to 80°F (25°C)      12-15%                             Very difficult   Not recommended
Above 80°F (25°C)                      Just run                         Not recommended  Not recommended

Anyway the dew point here today is 75 degrees, and air temp 90. According to the chart that means easy running should be difficult and hard running very difficult, edging into not recommended. Calculators should always be taken with a grain of salt but it's a bit of a relief to see how much of an impact the dew point is expected to have.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't wait to run in cooler and less humid weather. Only one way to find out how true this all is.

Also, adarq, for the love of god: Get yourself to some autumn races where it's cool and dry. Like go as far north as North Carolina at least, in October or November. I'm tryna see you run 16:20.

Some other stuff I found in my researches:

cool multi-output estimator: https://fellrnr.com/wiki/Running_Calculator
dew point calculator: http://www.dpcalc.org/
race time estimator: https://www.chicagoendurancesports.com/racepredict.htm

- 3km 2km test: warm up x 3km plus a bit of walking; begin 3 km sub-12 test, cut off at 2 km because of headache; cool down x 4.32km
did 2 km in 7:46, one mile in ~6:12. felt sick earlier in the day but seemed okay by the time i started. realized partway through tonight that this is the third time i've tested myself this year and 2/3 times i've felt sick on the day. dumb. total distance ~9.8 km including some walking while watch was paused.

- stretch

32/90 degrees and 60% humidity (latter feels worse actually).

that's funny, we're moving on the same day, although gf and i won't finish our move until we find a place in london in early september. this is the first time i've had to use professional movers, always just used a combination of self and parents/friends before. when i moved from the states to pakistan it was just two boxes sent via fedex and a couple of suitcases. but my gf and i have managed to accumulate several substantial pieces of furniture that we want to hold onto, a couple hundred books (how did i let that happen?! i finally bought a kindle before i moved out here specifically to avoid getting more books!), and a bunch of art. so movers it is.