Saturday Morning Run

Lovely run today with the lovely wife. I went 10, she went 5, and we listened to Dave Ramsey on our respective iPods. She was a couple seconds ahead of me on the audio and when she'd laugh I knew a good one was coming up soon on my own iPod.

Today was the first time I wore the belt she got me for my birthday (way back in February!) that has holsters for four water bottles. I really didn't like it at first and considered running back to the house and ditching it, but became more accustomed to it as we went along. And by the time I finished I was very glad I had it. I don't think those four bottles will do it for an entire 20-mile run, but for today and maybe runs a little bit longer it was fine.

Catching Up

Time to catch up on the runs from the last week. Spent the first half of the week in Chicago, so that's why I'm a little behind in posting.

First of all, last weekend was a bust. I was supposed to run 12 miles on Saturday but didn't due to rain in the morning and then spending the rest of the day at an air show (which was a daylong dose of flying goodness). I was going to run the next morning, but at about 5 a.m. I woke up and thought my legs were hurting from so much standing and walking around the day before. This proves the dictum that you should never make decisions about whether to get up or sleep late while your head is lying on a pillow and you're nice and comfortable under the comforter. What can I say about the weekend? I was lame.

After going to Chicago, though, things improved. Flew in on Monday, and the day was so nice I went out for a 5-mile run on Lake Shore Drive. Went south from Chicago Avenue all the way to the aquarium and natural history museum. It was a perfect day for a run.

Stayed out way too late on Tuesday night and thought about sleeping in again, but when I woke up about 5:30 I took the weekend's lesson to heart and got my lazy butt out of bed. This time I went north along the lake and actually enjoyed this route a little better. Hundreds of people were out in the early morning and the perfect weather running, biking, walking, and roller blading. I was getting passed by quite a few people until I got into a 12-minute tempo run, at which point I started smoking all the women who'd been passing me. Yeah, that's right, women. I'm not proud.

Tonight I got back on schedule and completed a 5-mile run with 2-3-4-3-2 fartleks. The temperature was 93 this afternoon, so I'm REALLY glad I waited until the evening. I wouldn't normally do speedwork on back-to-back days, but by doing it tonight I can run with my lovely wife on Saturday, which is the point of doing the same race together in October. Now that I'm back on track I'm feeling better. And the nice runs in Chicago didn't hurt, either. As much as I enjoyed the Windy City, I still hate the Cubs. Good pizza, non-lovable baseball team.

Hotter than Expected

The weather page on the web said 80 degrees, but by the time I was going and doing some speed work it seemed warmer than that. I went 5 miles and did 2-3-3-3-2 fartleks, and it was okay but just a little warm. I'm not going to complain, though, since by the time I run the full marathon in November I'll probably be yearning for warmer days like today.

An Easy Run That Was...Easy

The breeze was nice without being too strong on today's 4-miler, and I took it nice and easy up to Pleasant Valley Baptist Church and back. Starting yesterday afternoon I had a horrible pain in the back of my neck that went right up to the base of my skull. It bothered me all day today, but it seems as though the run helped me loosen up somewhat. Normally on Mondays I do some light barbell work that keeps the muscles in my back from barking at me, but today I skipped that part of the workout in favor of just running. Is this what getting old feels like?

Different Running Styles

Ran 9 miles today, the first couple being with the wife. A week on from her triathlon she's getting ready to start training for our October half-marathon. Have I mentioned that she totally rocks?

I've read before about how people treat their runs, with some going for rock 'em-sock 'em music to motivate, others for total silence, some for the company of running with another person, and then those who do it just because. Well, I discovered that today my awesome wife is one of the camaraderie type runners who likes to keep up a dialogue the whole way. Me, I can go 26.2 miles without music or talking to anyone. Just another way we're different, I suppose. And if we're going to go 13.1 together I guess we'll both have to adapt.

The Sun Came Out

Well, thank God the sun came out! Those temperatures in the mid-70's were just a little too cold. About halfway through tonight's 5-mile run and right when I began the first part of my 2-3-3-3-2 fartleks, the clouds skidded past and opened up the way for the sunlight to shine forth. Somehow I heroically persevered - okay, I struggled through the last half like a gold prospector in Death Valley with the vultures circling overhead - and arrived home to a rejuvenating sports drink and lovely dinner served by my even lovelier and rejuvenating wife. All the sarcasm might be a little much, though. After all, it is still August.

Running with Don

Today was much better since I ran in the evening after the heat of the day. Plus there was a little shade from the setting sun, which definitely helps! I went 5.5 plus 8x100, and felt very well at the end. This was definitely a good running day.

I'd heard a single on the radio a couple of days ago from Don Henley's classic The End of the Innocence, so that's what I queued up on the iPod for today's run. I realized as I was going along that this album came out almost 20 years ago. At that point I was 22 years old, a year away from college graduation, dealing with a girlfriend who drove me crazy, and living a life without much plan beyond getting a degree. Some of the lines from this album are more true than ever, such as the phrase "we're a nation of noses pressed up against the glass," and our celebrity-saturated culture makes 1989 seem quaint. Almost twenty years on I have a wife who totally rawks, four awesome kids, and a job I like. Times have changed, and I don't know if Don's life is any better, but as far as I'm concerned mine sure is

More Heat

It wasn't so much the heat as it was the sun beating down relentlessly. I'd planned to go 8 and ended up going 7.5 miles, but that included a couple of 4-5 minute walks up the big hills. I thought since the temp was only in the 80's and there was a slight breeze that it wouldn't be so bad, but I was wrong. I was worn out at the end of this one. I could have pushed it, but this early in the training plan it's not worth it. Plus I'd like to have an easy run tomorrow, and using all my energy today would have left me in bad shape for more than a day. We need some shade around here. God, could you please make these trees grow a little faster? Please?

Run in the Dark

The wife wanted to run about a mile last night in her last training session before Saturday's triathlon, so I started out with her and then continued on my own for a total of 5.5 miles. It was after 9 o'clock by the time I finished, but at least the temperature wasn't bad. I ran across some road construction and through a new neighborhood where the road has been finished but there's not much else to speak of yet. Once again the musical selection for the evening was Old 97's, which continues to be just darn good running music. At some point you'd think I'd get tired of them but so far that hasn't happened.

With the triathlon tomorrow I'm planning on doing my long run on Sunday morning before church. I'm proud of the little woman and all the hard work she's put in during the past several months. We have to get up at 5 a.m. to head to the lake, but since I've made the family get up early for my races I don't think I have a whole lot of room to complain. She's awesome!

Don't Start Training in August

Even though today was about six or seven degrees cooler than yesterday it was still hot. As I was running I was thinking that starting a marathon training program in August probably wasn't the smartest idea. I ran five miles, which included 4x100 strides.

An annoying thing happened halfway through the run. My Nano stopped playing music at that point and when I pressed buttons I couldn't see anything. I continued the run without music, and a half mile later the nice iPod lady came on and said I had two miles to go. I was surprised to hear from her since I'd tried rebooting the thing, but apparently that was unsuccessful. After that she was silent, and when I returned home I threw it on the bed. A couple of minutes later I picked it up so I could plug it in to the computer and see what the problem was, and found that it was still recording my distance and time! I ended the workout at that point and it was only about a tenth of a mile off, which was the distance of my cooldown walk. Weird. I don't know what happened, but the best word I can use to describe it is...weird.

Easy, Late Run

Spent the latter part of the evening on an easy run (for me) with my lovely bride. She's gearing up for her triathlon this Saturday. We churned out 3.5 miles in temperatures that were much cooler than those over the weekend. The weather report on the Internet says the temp right now is 90 and feels like 94, but I don't think it's anywhere near that warm. Or maybe it's just that the slightest of breezes makes it feel like less. Or maybe it's all relative. Yeah, that must be it.

I'm due for some new shoes soon since these lasted me through April's half-marathon and beyond. By the time I get a new pair as budgeted in September they'll have over 400 miles on them. The new ones should carry me through October's half and November's full, at which point I'll be ready for another new pair sometime during winter. Ever since switching to the Asics Gel Cumulus 9 I know that I've found what works for me, so why try something else?

A Whole Lot of Sweat

Whew, what a day yesterday was. The wife practiced for her triathlon in the morning, and by the time we returned home it was warming up quite nicely. I determined that it wasn't going to get any cooler, so I headed out for a 7-mile run. By the time I got home the temperature was 91 with a heat index of 102. Ouch! And it kicked my tail, too. I finished a very tough 5.5 mile run with a lot of walking and stops in what little shade I could find. Later in the afternoon the heat index rose to 113.

Our neighborhood and surrounding areas are so new that trees are scarce. And what trees you can find are new and don't provide much shade. My iced-down Gatorade bottle ran out before I was finished. Next time I need to load up the bottles on the belt the wife gave me for my birthday so that I have enough.

At least I was entertained by Dave Ramsey on the run. Not as motivating as a power trio, but definitely a different kind of motivation. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter than yesterday, so Monday's easy run will no doubt take place much later in the day.