This is a follow up to Coach Petrina’s response to a member of the 2013 XC Team

Friday June 28, 2013

I hope you have enjoyed the end of school and I hope that your academic year ended as you had hoped. At this point you should be done resting your brain and your body after another good spring track season, if not it is time to get going.

All of you were given a pace that you should be running during your 4 mile normal-everyday runs (your average mile race time + 1:10). The following is an example:

Average mile race = 4:50 +1:10 = 6:00 min per mile (24 minutes).

HOWEVER, this is summer and the numbers were calculated with the assumption that you are running under normal conditions. This week has not been normal conditions with the average temperature in the 80’s and the humidity level at 75-85%. These conditions are not in your control and you have to make good decisions by managing what is in your control. To do this you need to have an understanding of what is and isn’t in your control and how to handle each.

First off, planning when and where to run are very much in your control. Also, your effort level while running is in your control. Using this week as an example, you could have chosen to run early in the morning or later in the evening – anything in between would not have been a good decision. Also, it has been said that running in humidity is like running at altitude. With that said, you need to understand that when I assigned a pace to be run, that pace is actually an “Effort Level Pace” to run at. Running in the heat and humidity (or at altitude) is harder, which means that your 6 min pace effort might equal 6:10 or 6:15 actual time. This means you need to run by feel and make your runs easier by running in the shade and/or slowing down.

The following is from my running log this week:

Saturday 6/22:

I ran 4 ½ miles from my house into the Belmont path. I Ran a nice and controlled pace to the bridge (2 1/4). I was able to keep a nice and controlled pace back even though it was getting warmer and was a little more humid that I have been used to.

Sunday 6/23:

Ran a little late in the morning but went to Connetquot to in the woods and to see the condition of the paths before the team runs there next Sunday. Ran 3 ½ mile as if I was running a 5 mile run. This was an easy day because yesterday was a little long for me and it was a little late to run quicker. I feel like this was a smart decision which should help as we are entering a heat wave this week.

Monday 6/24:

I ran 3 miles at 10:30am and it was HOT and HUMID. It was not a good decision to run so late, but it was a good decision to drive to Park Ave and run in the trails. Not easy but I did it.

Tuesday 6/25:

NO RUN – I biked 16 miles which is much easier to do in the heat than run.

Wednesday 6/26:

I got up at 6:30am to run at 7:30, which was a very good decision…BUT…It was extremely hot and humid and I ran the course that ½ is not in the woods. The last mile was in the sun and heat and I felt awful, I was breathing awkwardly and even was grunting as I finished hoping I wasn’t going to pass out. This is when I knew I needed to write this to the team to help them get through the mental and physical battle of running in the extremes, and to remind them to be safe and under control. I posted on facebook “Holy Crap that was a HOT and HUMID run!!! Summer has started in New York.”

Thursday 6/27:

Got up early again, but did not get out the door to run. I was still thinking of yesterday and was convincing myself that it took too much out of me and I needed a break. But after dropping my kids off at the train so they could go to the city and work, I realized that even though it was still hot and humid, it was overcast and not as bad as yesterday and I should stop being a baby and run and I did. However, I drove to Park Ave to run in the woods so I would not have to run into the sun if it came out – which it did – for the last mile. I was very proud of myself for getting out there and was rewarded with a good run.

Friday 6/28: (today)

Got up early again and ran the same course as Wednesday, just 1 hour later than I did Wednesday. The heat and humidity were a little more tolerable today and my pace felt quicker. I also did not struggle in the last mile into the sun like Wednesday.

The moral is that you need to control what you can and manage around what you can’t. If you do this you will be rewarded. Using my last week as an example, most days I controlled where I ran and what pace I was holding but the point is I still ran. If I had taken those extreme days off, then Friday’s run would have been much more difficult because I would have thought that it was extreme. Instead, I did not struggle and I ran smooth. This same effect will happen for you as long as you make sure to run every day, control what you can and continue to increase your total miles run each week.

Please remember to check the team Cross Country Web-Site, www.coachwood.org regularly and sign up to receive updates on twitter by following @SJBTrackInfo.

Thanks for reading all of this and I will see you on Sunday at our first group run of the summer!