Week ten was great fun training while on vacation (finally) in Badlands National Park, SD (love)! Just check out the photos from my runs!
Monday
Run: Tempo.
First training run in Badlands National Park, SD. Tempo run at 5:00 PM started off hot (but relatively dry), then a nice cloud cover came in.
Thought the hardest thing would be running at this altitude (~ 2300 ft v 33 ft NYC), but didn’t really notice it at all. Bigger challenge was contending with headwind coming off the Great Plains! That’s no joke.
Ran along beautiful stretch of flat highway (RT 377) – with Badlands formations on one side and prairie on the other – into the town of Interior (population: 67). Looped around Interior and back to the park.
PS – not a single other runner spotted; about 1 car passed every 10 minutes or so. Talk about change of pace from NYC.
Conditions: Sun/Clouds – 81F – felt like 82F – 54% humidity – 8 mph wind
Fuel: Protein-enhanced Chocolate UCAN (1 packet)
Shoe: Saucony Kinvara 3
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 20 min wu; 4 mi @ 7:30-7:20; 10 min cd
- Actual = 7.7 mi – 59:00 – 7:39 min/mi avg pace
- Splits =
- (wu) 2.5 mi – 20:00 – 8:00 min/mi avg pace (think slightly downhill and tail wind)
- (1) 7:18
- (2) 7:20
- (3) 7:15
- (4) 7:15
- (cd) 1.2 mi – 10:00 – 8:10 min/mi avg pace
Tuesday
Run: N/A
Schedule called for one-hour easy. However, a severe storm warning quickly blew in over the Badlands. I don’t typically shy away from running in inclement weather. But, unfamiliar territory and firm Park Ranger warnings made me decide to skip the run.
It took a matter of minutes for the sky to go dark, the temperature to drop by at least 10 degrees, and the rain to hit. Looked like this:
Conditions: Dark & Stormy
Fuel: N/A
Shoe: N/A
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 60 min @ 8:20-8:35
- Actual = N/A
Wednesday
Double workout day: Run + Hike
Run: Easy.
Took this easy run up a hilly route that eventually leveled off to breathtaking views!
Ran on two easy trails (Window Trail & Door Trail), plus along Scenic RT 240. Mile 6 was a huge downhill with narrow shoulder, so had to frequently step off-road and pause for oncoming cars. Hence, dip in pace.
The cool temps were also fantastic!
Conditions: Sun – 63F – felt like 63F – 94% humidity – 4 mph wind
Fuel: Protein-enhanced Chocolate UCAN (1 packet)
Shoe: Saucony Kinvara 3
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 60min easy @ 8:20-8:35
- Actual = 7.25 mi – 1:00 – 8:16 min/mi avg pace
- Splits = (1) 8:29; (2)7:58; (3) 8:08; (4) 8:02; (5) 8:18; (6) 8:49; (7) 8:15
Hike: Notch Trail
Hiked along Notch Trail. Then proceeded to go off-trail and climb up some rocky drainage ravines to a nice view.
Fuel: Protein-enhanced Chocolate UCAN (1 packet)
Actual:
- Actual = 1.64 mi – 2:40:55 (fossil hunting).
Thursday
Run: Mile Repeats.
Started later than planned because of fog. Ran RT 377 again under a grey sky. Again, appreciated the cool temperature!
Was thankful for the 2:00 rest intervals between repeats. Finally felt the air sucked out of me – altitude meets humidity. Also cut cool down short by a few minutes.
Conditions: Cloudy – 63F – felt like 63F – 83% humidity – 10 mph wind
Fuel: Protein-enhanced Chocolate UCAN (1 packet)
Shoe: Saucony Kinvara 3
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 20 min wu; 2 x 1mi @ 6:45-6:50 (2 min walking RI); 20 min cd
- Actual = 6.53mi – 52:29 – 8:02 min/mi avg pace
- Splits =
- (wu) – 2.43 mi – 20:01 – 8:14 min/mi
- (1) – 6:43
- (2) – 6:39
- (cd) – 1.86 mi – 15:05 – 8:05 min/mi
Friday
Rest Day.
This scheduled rest day was meant to be my travel day back to NYC. Cue a delayed flight due to thick fog. Flight was eventually canceled due to mechanical problems. How about that. Later, a failed standby attempt meant I was stuck in the outskirts of Rapid City, SD overnight.
Exhausting.
Saturday
Had intended to be home in time to run long. But, that travel snafu meant flying home Saturday. A delayed flight (at 6:20 AM due to crew arriving late) meant a missed connection in Denver. Finally caught later flight home. 30+ hours after leaving for the airport on Friday, I made it home.
More exhausting.
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 2hr 30 min at 8:20-8:35 pace
- Actual = N/A
Sunday
Run: Long.
Maybe it was sheer joy of not being stuck in an airport or on an airplane that fed this run.
After two days of trying to return to NYC, expected this to feel like a depleted slog.
Instead, it felt AWESOME. Just pure awesome.
The Badlands hills made the CP ones feel like little sidewalk ramps. Did 8+ miles in Central Park, then down along the Hudson and back up to the park. Pace felt comfortable, and finished feeling like I could’ve done several more miles easily.
Conditions: Cloudy – 70F – felt like 70F – 73% humidity – 3 mph wind
Fuel: Protein-enhanced Vanilla UCAN (2 packets), mixed with almond milk and almond butter.
Shoe: Saucony Kinvara 4
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 2hr 30 min at 8:20-8:35 pace
- Actual = 18.00 mi – 2:29:25 – 8:18 min/mi avg pace
- Splits = (1) 8:24; (2) 8:21; (3) 8:26; (4) 8:22; (5) 8:15; (6) 8:16; (7) 8:25; (8) 8:22; (9) 8:15; (10) 8:19; (11) 8:18; (12) 8:12; (13) 8:18; (14) 8:11; (15) 8:12; (16) 8:12; (17) 8:14; (18) 8:23
Weekly Totals
- 8 hrs 01 mins (Includes hike; Running = 5 hrs 20 min)
- 39.48 miles running
See all weekly workout recaps here.
