Another week, another training log.

Monday 7/18/16: Rest day! Boy did I need it after all the weekend’s hiking. Also it was about 200% humidity with a scary afternoon thunderstorm that took down multiple trees.

Tuesday 7/19/16: After work I met up with a new running club friend for a “trail circuit” in the park (about 4 miles), and bookended it with a few loops of the hilly Mount Prospect Park for a total of 7 hilly miles (avg. pace 10:46).

Wednesday 7/20/16: Tonight was race number 5 of the summer Wednesday night 5k series. It was great to see a bunch of friends and I ran around a 26:30 – still waiting for official results. Second fastest 5k for me! Since I had 6 miles on tap, I ran 3 miles home . . . 3 very hard miles. My left knee was hurting at the end, which is a new and unsettling thing.

Thursday 7/21/16: Rest day!

Friday 7/22/16: I went out for 5 miles in the morning (first and last easy, middle 3 at marathon goal pace) but only made it to 3 before my knee started hurting again in the same spot. Dang it! Did I twist or yank something on trails Tuesday or at the 5k Wednesday? Walked home, iced knee sadly, went to work.

Saturday 7/23/16: This was the first of a few long training runs that New York Road Runners organizes in the months leading up to the NYC marathon – they’re not races but they’re fully supported with fluid/gel stations, medical crews, pace groups, etc. I decided to go and just see how my knee felt. I ran with the 11:26 pace group and felt fine until mile 5.5, then started getting some angry messages from my knee. The pain wasn’t as bad as Friday, but I called it a morning at mile 6, “borrowed” some ice from the medical tent, and headed home. The run itself felt great, despite the blaring heat, but I’m proud of myself for not pushing once the pain started. Back in Brooklyn, I biked 16 miles’ worth of loops in Prospect Park. Hot hot hot.

Sunday 7/24/16: Early morning bouldering session at the climbing gym, plus 5 bike miles to/from, then a mid-morning 5-mile run to a food court in Sunset Park with some running club buddies. The heat made this run really hard, but I didn’t feel any knee pain (maybe because the heat kept me from going too fast?). My phone’s weather app was giving a heat index of 100 by mid-afternoon.

Totals: 27.5 miles running, 22.3 miles biking, 45 minutes climbing.