This was an indoor week – first because of convenience, then weather, then convenience. It’s really convenient to be able to hit the gym at any time during the day rather than running outside, which can be accomplished only before sunrise at this time of year.

Our program this week was:

• Monday: rest day
• Tuesday: 3 miles
• Wednesday: 6 miles
• Thursday: 3 miles
• Friday: rest day
• Saturday: 12 miles
• Sunday: cross-training

I took my rest day gladly on Monday, as we’d returned from Key West late Sunday night and I had a bit of an upset stomach. I let myself recuperate on Monday.

My 3 miles on Tuesday were at the gym in the late afternoon.  Knocked ‘em out quick and easy.

I started having some foot pain a couple weeks ago that’s been getting worse each week.  It’s ridiculously painful on the outside of my right foot, directly in front of my heel.  From doing my research, it looks like cuboid syndrome. I’m not sure though – I’m pretty good at internet research but I’m definitely no good at being a podiatrist.

Anyway, the pain is really pretty bad but runnable for the first mile or so, and then it goes away. It’s almost always worse after the run.  Tuesday night though, I woke up in the middle of the night and when I put my foot on the floor, I crumbled in pain.  The entire foot was a pile of hurt.  I massaged it until it was walkable, and went back to bed.

The next day, I woke up to run my 6 miles at 5:30 am and just as I was lacing up my shoes, it starts thundering, lightening and pouring down rain.  I checked my radar to see if I could wait it out.

Based on the moving version of this screenshot, the storm was basically sitting right over my house and had been for almost an hour. After a half-hour, I fell back asleep (in all my running gear) and decided to delay it by a day or fit it in at the gym later – which is what I did.

I hit the treadmill for a six mile run.  Something I dreaded until recently, and something that really wasn’t that bad.  I kept my pace slow (10:20ish) and watched Let’s Make a Deal and the Olympics until my miles ticked by.  I even pushed myself the last mile to increase my speed by 10-seconds per mile every tenth of a mile.  Soon enough, it was over.  One more on the books.

The last 3 miler of the week was a quick outdoor morning run on Friday.  Nothing notable, except the oppressive heat of course.  Whew.

Saturday, we got up at butt-crack (5:00 am) and headed out for our dreaded 12 mile run. This is the longest distance we’ve trained to (except for our two half marathons), so we’re about to break new ground.  Next week in fact.  Shit’s getting real.

This 12-mile run was one of the best training runs so far.  The dew point was lower than usual (following storms the day before), which made the air feel cooler.  I took this at our first water stop (around the 5 mile mark), when the sun was starting to come up.  You can see the humidity is ridiculous and the temp isn’t exactly low, but it felt great.

This was also our first run with my new Nathan Speed 2 water belt.  We took a new approach to hydration and nutrition this morning, and I think that helped.  In addition to seriously focusing on carbs and water on the day before, we programmed the coffee maker to make some fresh brew for 5 am.  When we woke up, we downed a cup of coffee and each had a banana.  Caffeine plus sugar seems to have hit the spot.

We filled the bottles in the belt with Gatorade, adding that bit of sugar to our bean intake at mile 5.  I thought the belt would be cumbersome and bouncing around, but it wasn’t at all. In fact, I think I might start taking it along on my 6 and 7 milers mid-week.  It’s so nice to have water when you want it – my stress level was reduced greatly.  It definitely won’t be enough hydration to get through an entire, say, 16 or 20 miles, but it got us through the first long stretch of 8 before we get to the first water fountain.

We finished the run strong, and even pushed a minute off our pace for the last mile.  That never happens considering we finish our runs in 90-degree full sun.  I felt great the rest of the day (not like the usual exhaustion I have) and remembered why I love running.

I needed that.

Week 5 is finished; after this week we’ll be one-third done with our training program.  The next six weeks will be tough.  Really tough.  I’m ready.