Week three of training for Richmond is in the books. This marked the first week where I almost hit my milage targets, though I wasn’t able to hit my target paces in the key workouts.

I fell short on Tuesday’s speed work. The workout called for five 1000m repeats, but I fell off the target pace by about 20-30 seconds and cut the cool-down short. In my defense it was 97 degrees, humid, and I needed to pick up the kids.

The tempo run went better; I didn’t have to stop and walk and kept a reasonable pace. My long run today went less well. I chose to run 12 miles on the bridle trails at Umstead, and on the return trip through the hills I slowed and had to walk the last major one. My last mile was about on target, but it was also all downhill.

The humidity and heat continue to be a challenge for me. I’m soaked through on each run and have to take in a steady stream of electrolytes during the day. As a result, every run is a grind despite the fact I have been taking my recovery runs seriously and sticking to a slower pace.

While I can’t control the weather, two things I can work on are sleep and strength/stretching. I don’t track it, but my sleep has suffered recently. I just can’t help staying up to watch the Olympics, but I have also been getting up earlier to fit in my runs. When I finally hit the pillow I am out, but my body needs more to repair itself.

I also need to start working in strength work and stretching. I haven’t been as good about those as I should, and if I don’t start working it in to the routine now it will only get harder to add later. Maybe now that the Olympics are over I can work it in to my evenings.

Ten weeks to go…