Chasing the Moon

Despite another ghastly hot week here in Hog Heaven, I managed to get in a decent week of training.  The best day was Thursday, and I took advantage by rising at 3:45 and getting in a 24-mile long run before the worst of the heat.  On Saturday evening, I toed the line at the Moonlight Chase, a local 4-miler that starts at 9:00 p.m.  The late start didn't protect us from the heat though as it was still 83 degrees at the start with plenty of humidity.  Despite the conditions, a record 2100+ turned out.  I managed a third place finish in my age group and another trophy.  I've raced four times this year and captured age group awards in all four: two firsts, a second, and a third.  I have four more races scheduled this year: Quad-City Times Bix 7 (July 28), Pikes Peak Ascent (August 18), Run with Carl 5K (September 3), and the North Face Endurance Challenge (September 15).  For the Pikes Peak Ascent and the Endurance Challenge, my goal isn't more hardware.  It's simply to finish! 

This week promises to be hot and humid again with daytime highs in the mid- to upper-90s.  My schedule calls for another 40-mile week: a hill workout, a couple of maintenance runs, and an 18-mile long run.  Looks like another week of 0 Dark Thirty wake-ups ahead. 

If you're still looking for a reason to start running, take a look at the findings of Paul Williams, a a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who runs the world's largest study of runners' health, known as the National Runners' Health Study.   For example, after studying over 100,000 runners for over 20 years, Williams reports that "One of the things that pleases me is how broad-spectrum the results are. Nobody in our cohort really gets sick at all until they're about 60."  For more see here:  http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Scientist-has-only-good-things-to-say-about-3700504.php  

I'm not a big fan of the 1500 meters, but I am a fan of Jenny Simpson.  And, Jenny runs the 1500.  So, I was watching the Olympics Trials 1500 at Eugene, Ore. and will be watching at London.  Morgan Uceny won the 1500 at the Trials with Shannon Rowbury and Simpson neck-and-neck in second and third.  If you didn't catch the race at Eugene, here's an account:  http://running.competitor.com/2012/07/news/morgan-uceny-leo-manzano-win-1500m-finals_54917

I'm also not a fan of beer, but I know that lots of runners are.  So, here are the results of a study that shows that moderate--key word here--beer consumption is good for runners:  http://news.runnersworld.com/2012/07/09/benefits-of-moderate-beer-consumption/