Final Run of the Year

It's nice to end the year on an up note. Today was great temperature-wise, with a foray into the low 60s. The wind was a brutal sustained 20 mph with gusts much higher than that. The Wife ran the first couple with me and then I carried on for another six to end up with 8 miles total. Fortunately I was running against the wind mostly downhill. Other than that it wasn't really that bothersome.

The Year in Quick Review
I started running marathons in 2007, and this was the first year since then that I did not get to run one. Starting with the heel problems early in the year to the knee problems in the second half, it was not a great running year. I had my best half-marathon in April, but that was the high point. I'm just glad to still be running and enjoying it. Even though it was frustrating at times, especially since I registered for Memphis and ended up having to halt my training, I think about people who have career-ending injuries or who can't run in the first place. So even with a few setbacks I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to continue lacing up my shoes and getting in my runs three times a week. Let's hope I can return to marathoning in 2012. If not I'll still be content with what I can do.

Fartleks=Speed Play

That's what the word is supposed to mean, anyway. In the spirit of speeding up the workouts a little bit, I ran two miles with The Wife and then did some fartleks over the next three before finishing with a normal-paced final mile. It actually was fun to run faster. I picked arbitrary landmarks, like street lights or fire hydrants, as my target for the speedier parts. My pace during the quicker stretches was right at 8 minutes/mile, which wasn't blazing fast but good enough to make me sweat a little.

The temperature was unseasonably warm in the 50's this afternoon. It was really nice outside at lunch but had clouded over by late afternoon. It was still nice enough to go out in longer pants and a long-sleeved technical shirt with no other layers or head covering. I also went without my iPod since I just wanted to enjoy an untethered run, both musically and my running plan. It worked and I feel nice and relaxed. Definitely a successful run.

Speeding It Up

I thought today was going to be an inside running day, and even said so when The Wife called this morning to ask me about it. She was curious because she was going to run with me. However, when I left work it was sunny and the temperature was in the mid-40's. That fact quickly changed my mindset to the possibility of an outside run.

At home I discovered The Wife laid out on the couch, tired from her day. Now that I was running solo I hurried out the door for a brisk warmup walk and then a run a little quicker than normal. The Wife runs at a more relaxed pace, but I've been thinking I needed to kick it up a notch and vary my running a little bit. I've been "stuck" in the easy run mode for the past few months, but then again I've also been stuck in the recovering-from-an-injury mode during that time.

Tonight I set out at a quicker pace. Surprisingly I saw a number of other people out exercising, which was weird due to the stiff breeze and the cool weather. I finished the 6-mile run with an overall pace of 9:12/minute. Not blistering, but definitely faster than I've been running. It felt relaxed, even against the wind. I wasn't sure how today's run would go since I spent most of the day at work moving around carts and sleeving mail trays due to several people being out on one of our busiest production days. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't affect my run, or at least it didn't affect it to where I noticed.

Christmas Eve Run

Yesterday it was nice enough to get outside for a run. The Wife and I took off after lunch and she went about 2 miles with me. I continued on for another four and took it nice and easy. It was a good run with a decent temperature, warmer than I'd expected. I keep hearing that this winter isn't supposed to be as bad as last winter, but I'll believe it when I see it. We had lots going on with Christmas Eve and all that, but fortunately we were able to fit in the run. A few more outings and it'll be 2012. Hopefully that will turn out to be better for marathon racing than this year was!

On Second Thought

When I left work I thought I was going to run outside today. The sky was partly cloudy, but the temperature didn't seem as low as some of the other times I've run. Plus the wind didn't seem too bad. After I picked up my truck (finally repaired!) I drove home and then took some pictures of it. As I was standing outside I realized it was breezier than I thought. That led to the quick decision to run on the treadmill instead. For some reason I just didn't feel like being cold. And that's the story of how I did 6 miles inside instead of out.

A Storm Missed

The blizzard that struck the Great Plains yesterday was predicted to bring a wintry mix to KC. This morning we were supposed to wake up to icy roads and overlaid by an inch of snow. If the forecast was to be believed it was going to be a slippery ride to work. Once again the forecasters were wrong in a good way. The temperature was just above freezing, so all that precipitation stayed in the form of rain. While that proved excellent for the commute, it also made running inside this afternoon a necessity.

It's getting close to Christmas, but I'm not letting up on the training. 6 miles was in order for today on the treadmill - or three NewsRadio episodes if you're counting at home. One thing I did today that I don't recall doing before was to think of where I would be on my regular 6-mile route at a particular point in time during my stationary run. It helped a little bit. Even though the TV was mostly distracting enough, it still helped to think of the actual progress of a run in relative terms. Let's see if this technique works during the long winter ahead.

Almost Perfect Winter Day for Running

The kids asked me if I was crazy when I headed out the door just after noon today. I responded that it was actually a perfect day for running, at least in winter. The temperature was above freezing but below forty, and the wind was only about 7 mph. The sun was shining brightly and the overnight frost had all disappeared. When it comes to the seasons, this is the best kind of day to run in the coldest of them. And for the first time in who knows how long I ran 8 miles.

Strangely I had some discomfort in The Knee while on the run. But it wasn't enough to slow me down too much. It was weird, though, and a little cause for concern. I tried some high-steps to stretch things out but that seemed to aggravate it a little, and I wasn't sure if that was due to friction with the new tights I previously referenced or with The Knee itself. Also in the strange category: it doesn't hurt when I'm not running.

This was a 20-mile week. It's nice to be back up to that plateau, which hopefully I can hold. As always it depends on The Knee.

Nice Evening

It was a actually a nice evening for running. The temperature was in the 30's, but the wind was almost nonexistent. The Wife wussed out and didn't go with me today, so I ran 6 miles by myself. It's amazing what a little bit of good music will do. I was in a somewhat cranky mood from work, but I pulled up Old 97's on my iPod and listened to them for a good hour. And it was definitely a good hour. I started with their first album and then finished with all of their most recent. I love me some Old 97's.

I dressed in layers again, which is probably why it wasn't so bad as far as the temperature goes. I wore both my ear warmer and stocking cap, gloves, and three layers of shirts. The lined pants again kept my lower half warm. I found some tights yesterday at Target. Once those have been washed I can go back to my more stylish black Reebok pants. Some days, like today, it's not about the fashion. It's about staying comfortable.

Rats

Back to the treadmill today. The cold rain and cooler temperature pretty much forced my hand. I ran 6 miles and three NewsRadio episodes on this one. It'd be nice to get back outside but I'm not sure this is going to be the week for that with more rain in the forecast.

The past two days have not gone well nutrition-wise. I blame the buffets. Yesterday was Godfather's with The Boy and today was the Ameristar lunch buffet with my employees. As much as that one costs you kind of feel like you have to get your money's worth. Which I definitely did. And if I'd run 20 miles today then I might have come out even, but I'm not running that far on the treadmill unless I absolutely have to and have a couple of movies I can watch while doing so.

An Unsure Run

I wasn't quite sure whether or not I wanted to run outside today. The temperature this morning was about 16 degrees. It seemed prudent to wait until after we went and got our Christmas tree, which was an incident that exposed us to the cold quite nicely. That's where I discovered how breezy it was. The temptation to run on the treadmill was certainly on the rise.

The factors in favor of running outdoors was an increasing temperature and bright sunshine. The Wife ran with me again and she completed a full three-miler. I considered running 8 miles, but the longer I was out the less I enjoyed the wind. I decided three runs of 6 miles was plenty for the week and a nice incremental increase over last week's total. My goal is to build up the mileage, not to suddenly spike with a long run. Running with the older shoes certainly seems to be helping, too.

Running and Thoughts on Albert Pujols

Another night much like Tuesday, except this time I was expecting it. Just for variety I ran the first 2.4 miles with The Wife and then continued on by myself to complete a 6-mile run. She apologized that the initial part was slower, but that was okay because I like her. Then I cranked it up to a 9-minute/mile pace for most of the rest of the run. I started feeling like that was a little fast when I'm trying to keep myself from getting injured, so the last mile I slowed down and tried my best to keep it a minute slower than before.

This was one of those crisp evenings where I have to get outside to run even though it's cold. The Wife even said it wasn't so bad, and I agreed that when the temperature is hovering around freezing and the wind stays relatively calm it's actually a good time for running.

The second half of the run when I wasn't talking or being talked at, I pondered how Albert Pujols betrayed a legion of fans by accepting a contract from the Angels. I've come to several conclusions that lead me to use the word "betrayal," and I don't use the word lightly. I'm not a naive person and I certainly understand the economics of the baseball world. First, I classify this as a betrayal because of what the man has been saying the past several years. I'm amazed that a person can invest so much of himself into his community, into probably tens of thousands of people in that community, and into all the personal relationships that come from being in the same place for a decade - and then walk away from all of that in the blink of an eye. In the past he has said too many times the right things, such as wanting to be a Cardinal for life. Or that this is the best place in the world to play baseball. Or this is the team with the best fans. That it's not about the money. All of the things a player who believes in his heart that he has a great deal and is happy where he is. When you say those things and invest in so many people and they invest in you, you don't just walk away. You don't do it unless you're just spouting what you think people want to hear. Plenty of baseball players do so, but when you're the face of a franchise and you keep repeating those things, people tend to believe you. Shame on us for believing.

Don't get me wrong - I would have taken the extra $30 million or so, too. But I wouldn't have spent several years saying I was above the money and that it wasn't the deciding factor. A-Rod still has the biggest baseball contract ever, and everyone knew that was his goal I don't recall him wasting time saying he loved the fans and wanted to do the best by them. It was all about the money. Contrast that with the former Cardinals first baseman, who spent plenty of time giving us all warm fuzzies about his motives but today turned out to be a liar. Which would you rather have? A greedy, money-grubbing jerk who is after the money and is honest about it, or a greedy, money-grubbing jerk who is after the money but who turns out to be completely dishonest about his true motives? Well?

Second, Albert (I call him that because that's how he's known to his former fans) has repeatedly invoked the name of our Lord in his career. He's thankful for the abilities God has given him, as well he should be. And he's said that his career is in God's hands, and I'm sure he and his wife prayed about this and where the Lord was leading them. But isn't it funny how with people like this that the "will" of God always seems to lead them to dollar signs?

Finally, we have a player who has acted different with his alleged motives and his Christianity. In the end, though, he's no different from any other athlete. That's what's disappointing. And sadly, this betrayal is what will make it that much tougher on the next guy who comes along. Albert has his money, an obscene amount of money that makes all of us wonder what is really the difference between $220 million and $254 million? Either way you can't spend it all in this lifetime unless you buy your own country. He said himself in 2009 (I believe) that $3-4 million a year wasn't a big enough difference to go somewhere else. Sadly, in the end it wasn't about the people who believed him, the kids he helped through his foundation who believed the things he said, or the fans who thought this guy was different from the rest. It was always about him. We just didn't recognize it.

To Albert: Thanks for your time as a Cardinal and all the thrills you gave us. I was at plenty of games where you made us jump to our feet and scream like crazy little kids. Good times, but they're over. So go to the Angels. Play your ten years and take your $254 million. And I hope you suck. I don't say that because I'm angry or vindictive. I say it because I say that about any player on any of the other 29 teams. Now you're just a player on one of those teams, not a player on my team. I'm a Cardinals fan. And I'll be a Cardinals fan after you retire, but you won't be a part of it like all the other legends who are darn near worshipped every time they appear at Busch Stadium - Stan, Red, Ozzie, Gibby, and Lou. You'll never have a statue there, either. What a legacy you threw away. How sad.

Crisper

Today definitely felt like winter. It was one of those days I couldn't resist running outside, though. For one thing the sun was out and the clouds had disappeared as I drove home from work. For another, the wind was almost non-existent. Never mind the 28 degree temperature. I have a feeling that days like this will be rare as we move deeper into winter.

I plugged in a new Hardcore History and hit the pavement. I layered up with a long-sleeve tech shirt with a cotton race-t over that topped off with a long-sleeve running jacket. I miss the tights I wear under my running pants and need to solve that issue before we get too deep into the cold season. I had to throw away the old ones due to seam issues. I wore my old running shoes again for the 6 miles. Again I was conscious of my stride as well as my posture. I kept finding that I was unconsciously hunching forward as if to stave off the cold. That wasn't working, but keeping my shoulders back was better for the run. The Knee made its presence known, but not necessarily in a bad way. It was one of those I've-been-hurting-let's-run-with-a-correct-stride type of ways.

In the end, let's just say that once I made it back inside I felt much warmer. Tonight's low is 16 degrees. This is when I start thinking again about moving to a warmer climate.

Long Run Inside

It's rainy and cold today, which is the perfect combination for staying inside to run. I wonder how many times I'd have to run back and forth across the downstairs room to get 6 miles? Let's say it's 30 feet. I don't know if it is or not or if that's over- or underestimating, but we'll go with that. Here's today's math lesson. 6 miles * 5,280 feet/mile = 31,680 feet, divided by 30 feet of room = 1,056 times I'd have to traverse the room. I'm thinking I would lose count really fast. Not to mention die of boredom. I suppose it's a good thing I have a treadmill and some TV shows to watch.

The Knee has been feeling fine the past few days. Running on the treadmill seems to be lower impact than running on concrete. Let's see how having a couple of days off helps.

UPDATE: Can't believe I didn't mention this in the original post, but this was also the day I was supposed to participate in the Memphis Marathon. The weather looked good and I wish I'd been there. I also missed feasting on ribs at the Rendevous after the race. I'll be putting the Memphis race on my schedule again, and by golly I'll be making it there next time.

North Wind

Wow, did it get cold quick around these parts. I was thinking of running on the treadmill again, but I had a conversation yesterday with someone about how this will feel warm in a few months. Yes, it's happened before. A temperature in the mid-40s will feel absolutely balmy in February. We'll be happy about it. But right now it feels extremely cold, especially with the wind out of the north. That was pretty tough on the way back, but I soldiered through it. I ran a pretty good 5.5 miles and at the end it was nice to climb into a steaming hot shower to warm up.

The Knee was not in good shape after Tuesday's run. That night I tossed and turned and every time it was The Knee waking me up and causing some discomfort. The funny thing is that it was good on Wednesday and all day today. And then it felt just fine on the run this evening. This is a strange thing. I'm still not sure what to do. I suppose the textbook thing to do would be to stop. Again. I did try something different today, though. It seems like the knee problems started this summer when I started running in a new set of shoes. So today I went back to the pair I was wearing earlier this year. I did that to a little degree a couple of months ago, but I wasn't consistent with it. This time I'm going to wear the older shoes for the rest of the month and see if that makes a difference.

Dark Running

This has been a crummy few days. Was in an accident on Saturday evening and fortunately no one was hurt, but it's put my truck out of commission. I stopped by the repair shop today to retrieve a few things I forgot on Saturday, and I want my truck back. Then there's the whole having to work after the holiday thing, but that's normal, I suppose. A long-time friend was staying with us for a few weeks and left this morning. So after all that I was more than ready for a run today.

This being winter or close to it, by the time I made it home and out the door it was growing dark. Plus the cold has seemingly moved in for the long haul and the temperature was in the low forties. At least it wasn't windy. I ran 5 miles, and after all the holiday feasting and too many sweets I feel like I should run it again. The Knee is still not 100% and we'll see if it bothers me tonight. But at the moment it feels good enough to keep running.

Wind and NewsRadio

The temperature today isn't horrible other than being colder than it's been the past week, but the wind is blowing something fierce. The gusts are close to 50 mph, and running in that isn't my idea of fun. Instead of heading into the KC tundra, I popped a DVD of NewsRadio into the player and spent an hour on the treadmill. I maintained a reasonable pace and ran 5.5 miles. The Knee feels stiff more than anything else, which is weird. My hope is that if I keep babying it and not doing anything crazy that it will improve. Like I said on Thursday, I can't afford to be without some exercise this holiday season.

Another Turkey Trot

This was probably the best weather ever for a Turkey Trot 5k in Kansas City. I'm still in unbelief about how great it was this morning. The sky was perfectly clear and the wind was almost non-existent, although that changed later in the day. The temperature was in the high 40's. I ran wearing long pants and a long-sleeved technical shirt under a cotton T, and I was way overdressed. I could have worn shorts and the long sleeves and been fine. In fact, I might have been okay with a short-sleeved shirt after warming up, but that would have been on the edge. Still, when we stopped for hot drinks for everyone on the way home afterward it was apparent nobody needed to warm up as in years past. We had a fun time in Parkville and Daughter #2 was the family winner. I ran with Daughter #3 and we ran the whole way except for about 30 seconds when she had a side cramp. Other than that we had a good run and did great.

My knee has been hurting again the past few days. Not a good sign. Right now it feels okay, but on Tuesday night I woke up a few times due to the pain and could definitely feel some discomfort when turning over in bed. Not sure what to do about that. Today was an extremely easy day at a 12-minute/mile or so pace, which means I didn't put a lot of stress on it. I don't want to take off any more time, especially around the holidays when it's easy to get out of shape. What am I going to do?

Getting Cold

Here it is, late November, and I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the weather is getting colder. It's just that it's been a mild autumn so far and I'm not ready for the frigid winter to roll in. In a couple of months I'll be wishing for a day as warm as today's temperature in the mid-40's.

The annual Turkey Trot 5k is two days away and I'm looking forward to running with the family. I think they're ready, too, although my youngest probably won't get her wish to beat the older siblings again this year. And I don't think they want her to do so. Nothing like a little friendly sibling competition.

Today's run involved a stocking cap and mittens to repel the cold. I ran 4.5 miles at a good pace again. I even passed a guy on my return north. He had a brace on his left knee and was running slow (obviously, if I passed him) and I almost felt bad. But not quite bad enough to slow down.

The Wind

Actually ran yesterday but forgot to post since I was busy with other things, including a flat tire on the truck. The wind was blowing at 20+ mph all day, but at least it was fairly warm until late afternoon. Strange thing about the wind - it didn't really bug me a whole lot, and I seem to unconsciously put more effort into things like running against the wind or up a hill. So my overall pace was actually the fastest I've had in a while. I ran 5 miles, which is the longest distance I've gone in quite a while. The pace was about 9:24/mile. My knees still feel all right. I still think there's some strengthening that I need to do for them. I guess that continues to be my research project that I forget unless I'm writing on this blog.

Too Late for the Day

Had a couple of errands to run after work today and by the time I arrived home the sun was already down. It was cold and breezy and I decided I didn't feel like running outside. Even though it's early in the season to keep running inside already, I chose to do so. With several episodes of NewsRadio to keep me company I ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill.

I was afraid on Tuesday night that I'd hurt my knee again. I was sitting on the couch with the youngest kid on my lap, and she was quite squirmy. I shifted positions and it was that feeling of something...well, not tearing, but almost like tearing. It hurt really bad in that moment and I thought oh no, here we go again. Yesterday it felt fine, so maybe it was just a momentary pain. Today's run brought no pain, so I'm hopeful that it was just a moment of weirdness and nothing more.

Continuation

What a beautiful day! It would have been a crime to not get outdoors today. Continuing my trend I ran 4 miles. An old friend is in town and he rode along on his bicycle. It was a good day all around. Not much more to say today other than I'm thankful for great days like this.

Progress

More progress today with a 4.5 mile run. It was super windy, but really once I got about a mile into the run it wasn't that big a deal. That first mile was with the kids since they're training for the Turkey Trot. They ran two miles today and should be fine for the race in a couple of weeks. My little one thinks she's going to beat everyone in the family like she did last year. I'm not sure her older siblings will let that happen.

The Wife wanted me to run with the kids yesterday, but I'm staying strict on this "rehab" thing and not doing more than I should. The total mile for the week was 12 miles, up 1.5 miles from last week's total. I think I'm doing it right since I haven't had any knee pain recurrence. Next week will be an overall increase of another 1.5 miles. I keep feeling like I should be running more so I can be in better shape, but I'm holding back. And that's the right thing to do right now.

Mid-Afternoon Run

Four-day weekend! That gave me the opportunity to get out for a run when the day had warmed up and before dusk fell. Even though the temperature was in the upper 40's, it was windy and that chilled things down quite a bit. I wore a stocking cap and knit mittens for the first time this season. I wasn't real thrilled about it, but it beat running on the treadmill again. Plus it was sunny, so how could I resist?

This was a 4-miler, just like last Saturday's, and it went just as well. I still get the feeling that the muscles around my knees aren't as strong as they used to be. I'm not sure why. Once in a while I get the feeling they're a little shaky, usually at the start of the run. I don't know if that's a thing that will be ongoing or if it will go away as my mileage increases. I've been doing my ankle-weight exercises, but maybe I need to make an addition or a change. This might require some research.

Inside

Oh no, it's begun already. The cooler, wetter weather that is. Today was definitely not a day for outside running. In fact, it's been raining since yesterday afternoon, which is fine since rainfall was sorely needed in our area. I don't mind running in the run, as my imaginary readers well know, but today was a day I would have minded. I hit the treadmill instead and ran 3.5 miles. I was accompanied by the first two episodes of NewsRadio on the TV. Hard to believe that show premiered 16 years ago. Less hard to believe is that it's still funny. Not looking forward to a winter of running on the treadmill, but at least I'll get some laughs out of it.

A Modester Increase

Added another half-mile to the previous run to get to 4 miles for today. It was the same increase, but as a percentage I guess you could say it was modester than the previous increase. I was going to run this morning but it was cold, cloudy, and windy. Plus The Wife wanted to run with me and she was...resistant to going in that kind of weather. Our patience paid off and when we headed out at the halftime of the OU-Texas A&M game, it was still windy but the temperature had risen into the 60's and the sun was out. She ran the first three-quarters of a mile with me and then turned around. She's building up her mileage too, although modester than I am.

The Knee still feels better and the slow entry into running again seems to be working. Today I ran more hills than the previous two outings. I will say that it doesn't feel 100% yet, but it's getting closer. Next week I intend to stay with low mileage. This week's total of 10.5 miles might be my lowest weekly mileage in about five years. That's okay, though, as long as The Knee keeps feeling okay.

A Modest Increase

After feeling no pain in The Knee since Tuesday's run, I continued the road to recovery with another short run. Today I added a half-mile to the previous outing and went 3.5 miles. The day was cool, breezy, and just asking for me to bundle up. I refused. I wore shorts and a long-sleeve technical tee. I could have reeled off six miles quite easily, I think, but it's more important to come back slowly and do this right.

Another thing - the day started with a blah feeling, which I attributed to all the junk I ate yesterday. The Wife found post-Halloween sale candy and brought home several bags on Tuesday, of which I partook way too much on Wednesday. Today I had healthy food (if you count Fritos as healthy) and just two pieces of dark chocolate. Other than that I've determined it's time to get back to eating better. It may not be so, but I think I can attribute part of my overall laziness and poor running results this year to eating horribly. I didn't have a doughnut every day, but most of the time I ate whatever I wanted. Time to stop, just in time for the holidays.

Feels Like the First Time

It's been 20 days since the last run. Talk about cabin fever. It's been killing me to sit still and not get out for a dash around the neighborhood. Especially with the great weather. At least I've had the distraction of the Cardinals' unexpected track through the playoffs to the World Series championship. Now there's a run! We had a blast watching every game and especially the theater of Game 6 and the final victory in the final game. We're pretty happy around here.

Now that that's all behind us and we took a quick trip to the Omaha Zoo, it's time to try running again. I don't recall a time in the last eight years where I've been off this long against my will. The Knee has been pain-free for several days and I planned on this being the day to test it. I ran a 3-miler and I can tell I've been lazy. I wouldn't normally sweat on a short run like this when it's mild and windy, but sweat I did. I don't think it'll take too long to get back into shape, though. I'm a happy runner again, although as we know the true test will be in how The Knee feels tomorrow. Here's hoping.

Walk It Off

The running has ceased for the moment, but I get cabin fever if I go too long without some sort of exercise. Yesterday and today I went walking with The Wife. The weather has been really nice the past couple of days, and it was nice to get out and enjoy some fresh air. Yesterday we went about 4 miles, and today was probably between 4.5-5.

Yesterday I could tell I was already feeling out of shape even though it hasn't been that long since I ran. When I start over again I'm going to have to take it easy. I want to be ready to run our traditional 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. I think I can make that.

My plan is to continue walking this week and then start running next week. The Knee is feeling a lot better although it's not 100% yet. I haven't felt any aches lately but it still gets that "don't hurt me" feeling when one of the kids jumps on me or I'm doing something outside. I've also been exercising regularly with ankle weights and doing the hip, hamstring, and knee exercises, and I think that's been paying off.

Done

This wasn't the easiest decision, but I'm done. As in dropping out the Memphis Marathon, not as in done forever. The Knee just hasn't improved to the point where I can keep running with the confidence that I can get the mileage I want. And throw in the raw spot on my right foot that is getting close to finally healing up and this past week has been a killer for my plans.

I've probably kept the hope alive longer than I should have, but just like a lot of other runners, I'm stubborn. And dropping out of a race I registered for is not in my DNA. But this is the right decision this time around.

I plan to spend the next week still staying off The Knee as far as running goes, and then running some very short distances to get back in the swing of things. Hopefully this down time will resolve the issue so that I can run a race early next year. More to come on that.

One More Time

Today's run was not as good as I'd hoped it would be. I blistered up my right instep nicely on Saturday and it was still raw yesterday. I was also hoping the knee (or maybe I should start calling it The Knee) would be in top shape. Alas.

I stopped once walking down the street before starting to run and another time about a quarter mile in to take off my right shoe and adjust the insert. This was so that my foot didn't get scraped down to the bone. It helped and even though it's a tiny bit painful after getting home it's bearable. It would have been a lot worse if I hadn't stopped.

The Knee also bugged me. I thought it was doing much better, especially after that deal last Friday where it felt better after a big twinge. It felt irritated when I ran although I hadn't noticed any pain at work during the day. As I was running I was thinking, "One more time." As in if this continues and I have one more outing where it's not feeling right I'm going to pack it in for the season. Which I don't want to do.

Of course, I say that now. But in the back of my mind I'm thinking I should really start the run/walk method and see if that helps. I'm definitely considering it for this Saturday's run. If I make it there.

Still Going

Sometimes I stay up too late the night before a long run. This was one of those times. I was up late watching the Cardinals beat the Phillies and kept telling myself "it's 'only' 8 miles." Considering that my running has just started up again after the time off for my knee, I'd say 8 miles was not a trivial distance. And it wasn't it.

The weather was warmer than I expected - not hot, but certainly not autumnal. The knee felt decent and after I did some more exaggerated motions about 3-4 miles into it it seemed to loosen up. Right now, four hours and an OU beatdown of Texas later, it still feels okay.

The latest issue of Runner's World had a page about exercises to strengthen your hips. If the hips are stronger then that helps with knee issues. Yesterday I was doing my dumbbell exercises and thought, okay, one of the items they suggested was lunges. So I did a forward lunge between sets, and then tried a reverse lunge. At that point something twinged in my left knee and I thought about falling into the fetal position. It was one of those blinding flashes of pain. When I stood up, though, it actually felt better. I put it through the full range of motions and all of a sudden everything was fine. There was still a slight dull ache in one area that's obviously been over-irritated, but it hadn't felt that good in a couple of months.

I don't know what happened, but I wish it had happened sooner. Although I don't recommend it as a means of treatment, something popped back into place. I don't know that I'll keep doing lunges, but that one lunge unintentionally did the trick.

Holding Up

Today was the third run this week, and so far the knee is still holding up. I'm relieved. It actually hasn't felt this good in a long time. Even a couple of days ago I felt like I was one little tweak away from making it worse, but today it felt stronger than it has in ages. Each day seems like another test passed. When I can walk around at work and not notice any pain, well...that's progress.

This was another step in the road to recovery and toward Memphis. I ran 6 miles and felt pretty good. The knee was still somewhat achy during the run, but not as bad as Tuesday. I think the exercising, especially for my hips, and the shoe inserts have made a difference. I can now plan on going a little longer on Saturday and continuing the increase every weekend for the next six or seven weeks.

And also, I'm loving this 80-degree weather in October. Rock on.

The Ballad of the Left Knee

Surprisingly, the knee felt great today. Three miles yesterday wasn't a killer, as I suspected it might be. Which leads us to today...

This being early October, I was a bit surprised at the temperature in the mid-80's. But I'll definitely take it. It sure beats the freezing cold, and that feeling shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

The knee actually felt worse while I was running, kind of the opposite from the way it's been in the past. I ran 4 miles on my route to building up to an 8-miler on the weekend, but I definitely felt a soreness in the knee. I tried to concentrate somewhat on my stride, but it just feels like something's out of kilter. Like there's an imbalance somewhere contributing to the problem.

The last mile I exaggerated my stride and kicked up my heels more than usual. I don't know if that was the right thing to do but it did feel like a better alignment at times in my forward motion. I probably looked like a complete idiot, but then that's normal when I run.

As always, the true outcome of the run won't be felt until tomorrow. In the meantime, I suppose I could write a song about my knee. A power ballad? That seems appropriate.

Trial Run

It's been over ten full days since I last ran. The knee is almost pain-free for the first time in weeks. And the race is drawing ever closer. Today was the day for a run to see if there's still hope for December.

Ten days off definitely makes a difference. I can only imagine how tough it would have been if I hadn't been walking a little. I ran only 3 miles today since I didn't want to push the limit too much.

The jury is out until tomorrow. If I'm judging by the run alone, I'm not too hopeful. I felt the ache a little while running but there were no sharp pains or anything that made me think I should stop. My pessimism comes from that dull ache that never really went away. Maybe I'm overreacting. I sure hope so.

If it feels okay tomorrow I'll go for a slightly longer run, maybe 4-5 miles so I can build up to an 8-mile run on Saturday. If it doesn't feel okay, well...it's going to be a long winter.

See Randy Walk

The walking continues. Thursday night I took Daughter #1 with me for a 4-mile walk, and this morning Daughter #2 accompanied me for a 4.5-mile jaunt. The knee is definitely feeling better. I'm encouraged enough to think that I'm planning on a slow, easy run on Monday evening with The Wife, maybe about 3 or 4 miles. It's been enjoyable walking with my kids, but I still prefer running. It just takes too darn long to cover the distance I'm used to running!

At this point it's exactly nine weeks to the Memphis race. And at this point I don't know how I'm going to make it. If I do it's going to be tight and I certainly won't be going for a PR. If ever I was going to do the run/walk method this would be the year. Let's see how things go Monday and we'll plan from there.

Walking

Inactivity. It's not for me. Monday I walked about three miles in St. Louis along the Mississippi River. Tonight I was ready for some activity and wanted to run, but I'm still giving the knee some time. It's feeling better and I'm thinking about running tomorrow, but we'll see. For the present I took the two younger kids on a walk with me and we walked about two miles. They want to run the Turkey Trot in November so this was a good start.

As far as my left knee goes, I've read that the problem with something like this is usually either in the hip or the feet. Today I did some hip exercises at the direction of The Wife, who helped me with the proper way to do it in order to get maximum benefit for the hip abductor. I'm also thinking that if I wear my heel inserts in my running shoes that might help. I wear the inserts in my regular shoes and maybe not doing so in my running shoes might be causing a problem. I used to do it but stopped at some point and for some unknown reason. If I'm going to make it to the race in Memphis I can't afford too much time off, but I also don't want to hurt myself. We'll see how the knee feels in the morning and whether or not I should run after a week off.

Options

Sometimes this log of mine is useful. Mildly useful. For instance, today I looked at it to see how long my knee has been hurting. Some people write these things in a log book, but I etch them into the Web.

Just so my imaginary readers don't have to look for themselves, it's been since September 6th. Or 16 days. As of today it's still achy and hurting. Walking up and down stairs continues to be an exercise in ways to avoid pain while also attempting to avoid looking like a complete idiot.

As I ran 6 miles in the ol' neighborhood this afternoon I contemplated my options. I'm seriously considering shutting down for a couple of weeks or until it gets better, whichever comes first. The drawback to this is that I would likely not have enough time after that to prepare for the Memphis Marathon. That's a serious drawback. But then so is hurting myself even worse than I already am and not being able to run for an extended period of time.

Another option is to shut down the running game but continue to do cross-training, such as biking and walking. I would probably do some of that with the first option, but in this scenario I'd be more serious about it to try and maintain my fitness level with the thought of getting back into running at a higher level and hopefully make the race.

I suppose the final option is to keep doing what I'm doing. The drawback to this one is clear.

I keep saying that we'll see how it feels tomorrow and plan from there, but after 16 days it's time to take a clear path. My plan calls for a 13-miler this weekend. I'm not going to do that one, mainly since I'm traveling on Saturday and Monday and the timing of my weekend activities (i.e., baseball games) actually helps me with the decision. I hate to stop running for any period during this time of year. I persevered through the hot summer and it feels like I should be able to enjoy running in the good weather. Especially since we have so little of it around here. But that's just pity, and that's not the basis for making a good decision.

Nuts.

Better

First, an update on the left knee. It's feeling better and I'm feeling better about it. After Saturday's long run I was a little worried. On Sunday it actually felt the best it's been in weeks and it wasn't until the evening that I felt a little pain. I'm still taking it easy on the stairs since I don't want to tweak anything. I think changing back to my old shoes has helped, which means I'm going to have to more slowly work in the newer ones again once we get home.

Today my Virtual Running Partner and I hit the streets about 10 a.m. for a nice, easy run. The Texas sky was clear and the temperature was in the low seventies with a little breeze from the north. The run was a little tough, but that's probably because we were up until about 1 a.m. watching a movie. And we had a really big dinner yesterday. But we made our 6 miles and that was good enough.

What was really good, though, was the breakfast afterward. If you can still call it breakfast when you're eating at noon. We took some leftovers from last night and had steak, eggs, fried potatoes, and English muffins. One of the finest post-run breakfasts ever. It's a good thing I don't eat like that after every run. But would it be so bad if I did?

Test Run

Today I'm in Texas. The left knee is still sore, but I figured today would be an important test. I didn't do my long run last week but did do all my runs this week. I've kept ice on it every evening too help out, which it does. The plan called for an 11-miler today, and this being a flat part of Texas I knew there wouldn't be much in the way of hills.

Last time I was here the citizenry was in the midst of a long run of hundred degree temperatures. Today was much better, although the humidity was like wearing a wet blanket. The starting temperature was 65 degrees or so and had one up to 74 by the time we finished. Humidity was at 80% the whole time. We kept it slow enough to avoid a meltdown.

Oh yes, by "we" I mean my virtual running partner and me. It was one of our infrequent chances to actually run together. We took a circuitous route through the Craig Ranch area, including the golf course. It's a nice run and pretty scenic. Much like my home route, though, it suffers from a lack of shade. Which wasn't a problem this morning since it was overcast.

The true results of the test aren't in yet and won't be until Monday or so. The knee felt fine during the run, as it usually does. I iced it immediately upon returning since 11 miles was a pretty long test. I iced it again about two hours later and right now it's a dull ache. It certainly hasn't improved but I also don't think it's any worse. I plan on icing it several more times today and generally taking it easy. That shouldn't be hard since the Cards are making a belated run for the wild-card and OU is playing a prime-time game tonight. Boomer Sooner!

The Jury is Still Out

Never end the title of a posting with a preposition. Or so Grandma would say if she'd been here for the blogging years. Which reminds me - Grandpa had a sentence that ended in seven straight prepositions. I need to find that again.

Yesterday my knee felt terrible. I was about to call it right then. Today it felt a lot better and I thought I would be able to run with no issues. The temperature was in the fifties. And yes, it did go much better. The lower temperature means I can run faster without going into cardiac distress. The change in temperature sure does make a big difference. My pace today overall was 9 1/2 minutes per mile. It felt good and even when I stopped my left knee felt fine.

Even after I stopped to walk up the hill it felt okay. It wasn't until a good 90 minutes after the run that I started to notice a little tenderness. I've iced it once already and that helped, and I'll be icing it again before bedtime. Even so it still doesn't seem as bad. Now the guessing game begins.

Was it because I've worn my older shoes for several runs in a row? And my knee is slipping back into the old familiar, non-irritating pattern?

Or was it because I ran at a more comfortable pace and didn't spend the whole run trying to throttle down? Consciously slowing down doesn't go well for me, I've found.

Finally, was it a delayed reaction from taking it easy with the hills and icing the knee for the past week?

I'm heading to Texas for a few days. During that time I'll be getting in 2-3 runs, all non-hilly. This will probably be telling. And I'm taking only the older shoes. If things continue to improve I'll start working in the newer shoes every few runs.

I'm still not sure I'll make it to Memphis. But the chances just improved drastically this afternoon.

Was This a Bad Idea?

The knee was feeling marginally better, or at least marginally the same, today. And today was a speedwork day. Was it a good idea to do the faster running after the past week?

Let's take a few things into account.
#1 - It was cooler today, with temperatures in the 80s instead of hovering around 100 degrees. That factored into my thinking.
#2 - My knee felt just fine during the run. Even when I had to pause and turn around. Or pause and wait for an ignorant driver to look to his left and realize I was standing right beside his car because he was too distracted to see me coming his way. Putz.
#3 - It was breezy, about 15 mph, and that helped keep me cooled down.
#4 - I was wearing my older shoes again. Don't know if that's helping yet.

I've iced my left knee a couple of times again after getting home. Last night it seemed like it was cold for another hour. When The Wife came to bed I thought she'd feel it through her pajama bottoms. Which are courtesy of the Cardinals and her husband. But I digress.

We'll see how it feels tomorrow, which is a non-running day. I expect to keep up the icing. I'm not thrilled with this pattern but it's all I have for now. I feel like I'm hanging on by a thread to this race and getting in the training I need. Definitely not where I want to be right now.

Testing the Knee

My suspicions were confirmed today. My knee was still sore most of the day, but when I took off on a run this evening there was no pain. A couple of times I slowed to a walk to cross a street or turn around and I could feel the pain. Surprisingly it didn't feel that bad when I stopped after 4 miles. All in all I was pleased that the run went so well. I wore my old pair of running shoes to see if that made a difference. After dinner I iced it two separate times and we'll see if that helps as well. It's still over two months from the race, but I have to get back in the swing of things soon or it's going to be a no-go. And I don't want 2011 to be the year I miss running a marathon.

Wanting to Run

The left knee has been killing me since Tuesday's run. Wednesday night it was so painful I kept waking up. I've considered running anyway, but I'm early in my plan and have time to recover. If I hurt it worse then I'm definitely done for the year, and I don't want that.

It feels like a really bad case of runner's knee. I also had pain like this back when I was training for my first marathon. That was because of running too many hills, and that might be the case again here. I put a lot of hill running early in this plan because that's supposed to build strength. Unfortunately I think my lackadaisical training between April and now has come back to bite me in the butt. Or the knee. Wherever.

Yesterday and today I've been icing the knee like crazy - four times each day. It feels a lot better and I thought about attempting a run today but decided to hold off until tomorrow and ease back into it. The Wife and I went on a walk in the neighborhood tonight and that went pretty well. I iced it when we returned home and that seems to have helped. Tomorrow is a big day at work and I'll be looking forward to my evening run. Let's see how the knee does after that.

Blooming Allergies

I skipped the Monday easy run due to a massive allergy flare-up. We had family in town this weekend and went to the lake on Sunday. The wind was blowing and was the trigger for a horrible day and night. Rather than tempt fate the next day, I decided the best course was to lie low and live to fight another day.

All of a sudden it's like autumn has arrived. Last week the temperatures were in the mid-summer range, and today it was about 70 degrees when I went out. The forecast is for the weather to stay mild and not get hot again for the foreseeable future. Weird.

Since I had the day off I went out for a run about 2 p.m. Seven days ago I wouldn't have attempted it due to the heat, but today it was just fine. It was sunny and breezy - all in all a beautiful day for running. Hill repeats was the order of the day, and I did seven of them. I started with a couple of warm-up miles and then did one hill up the middle of the neighborhood to our east. I came down on the backside of the neighborhood and then did six more up my normal hill of repeating. Or something like that. The kids have named a couple of hills in the area, so I suppose I should do the same with this particular hill. They've already taken Killer Hill and Lungdropper Hill. Guess I need to be a little more creative.

Total for the day was 5 miles, which was okay since I was going for distance. I was surprised to find I was doing the repeats at a pace around 7:30/minute, but I guess that's what milder weather brings to the table. As usual, my cooldown run back to the house seemed slow but was actually faster than I've been going lately. That's the benefit of speedwork.

My left knee is hurting somewhat. It feels like the classic runner's knee symptoms. I'm not sure if it's because of too many hills or something else, but I'm going to monitor it. I don't want it to develop into anything that will keep me from racing in December.

Tropical Run

I didn't really intend to write successive posts regarding polar opposites in conditions. It just turned out that way.

I was thinking about the run in Columbia a couple of years ago on this same weekend. The weather was deceptively cool, and the humidity was deceptively humid. That's how today turned out, too. Only without the early fog.

If the run a couple of days ago was like running in the desert, today was like running in a rain forest. And to start off, the weather forecast was dead wrong. Last night it told me there would be cloud cover until about 10 a.m. This morning there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And constant sunlight makes extended running a challenge.

And the humidity was crazy high. When I returned home it was at 60%. That might not seem high, but it is when you're running and the temperature is about 80 degrees. True to form I tried to keep the pace slower. And I kept telling myself that this will pay off in about a month when the weather turns cooler and I've built up strength. Or so I hope.

I still feel like I'm not all the way there as far as recovering long-distance strength after slacking off for much of the summer. My guess is that it's a combination of that as well as the extreme weather taking its toll. Nobody is going to run well in weather like this. Today's 10-miler was a building block for continuing to increase the weekly long run. It didn't have to be a great run, and it wasn't a horrible run, but it was tough. I'm going to take the glass half-full viewpoint and use it as a springboard for upcoming runs, mixed metaphors aside.

Desert Run

The temperature was 101 degrees. The sun was beating down upon me mercilessly. A dry wind blew strongly from the south. It was like running in New Mexico. Except greener. And with more hills, at least within the city limits. Really, climate-wise it felt like the desert.

It was a hill run. Not the best of runs on a scorching day like this, but better than trying to do speedwork. I didn't push it and walked where I needed to. More shade would have been a help, but I know better than to wish for that around here. The run wore me out pretty good, and I really didn't need the 3-entree meal at Panda Express but then again, maybe I did.

Speed Limited

Summer ain't over yet. It was right at 90 degrees this afternoon with abundant sunshine. The plan called for 2-3-4-3-2 fartleks, meaning I needed my trusty Garmin sidekick to tell me when to speed and slow down and such. I left the house with my water bottle and realized halfway down the hill that I'd forgotten said Garmin. I walked back, strapped it on my right wrist and started running once I got off the driveway. With the heat I knew I needed to dial back the "speed" part of the run. Accordingly I tried to keep the intervals at a 9-minute/mile pace. Even so I walked a couple of times, once before the last interval and another as I was in the cooldown. I'll be interested to see how it looks on the heart monitor chart right before I started walking. I was nowhere near close to really overheating or anything, but it did seem like the smart thing to do. And limiting my speed worked out okay, too.

More Aimless Wandering

As I've said before, I can't run anywhere around here without running on hills. Once again I had an idea of the route I was going to take this morning but just like Thursday I changed my mind. Ascending one of the Flintlock hills I realized I didn't want to run back up that street because the way back was worse than the way I was headed. I made an executive decision and continued south past Highway 152. Not only was it a good move because of the hills, but also because there was more shade on that route. The day wasn't horribly hot, but the humidity was way high. Any chance to stay out of the sun mitigated the effect of the humidity somewhat. I also took the 9 miles slow and easy and walked up a couple of the bigger hills on the latter half of the run. I probably could have run them but I wasn't trying to kill myself. We'll save that for later on in the training plan.

Hills

I like walking out the door and not knowing where I'm going to run. I have a general idea, of course, but the exact route doesn't have to be set in stone before I hit the outdoors. Today's plan called for hills, and I originally thought I'd run the same route as last week. As I walked down the front steps I changed my mind and decided that route didn't offer enough shade. The temp was 84 and it felt all of that and maybe a little more. There are hills everywhere around here, meaning that whatever direction I went I would meet the plan. I opted for the long drawn-out hill on the way back, and that worked pretty well. 6 miles in all.

I started listening to a marathon podcast that concludes the Roman history series I've been listening to for, well, about a year or so, I think. It probably seems longer tan that to the guy who put it together. It's fascinating stuff. This episode is over five hours long and should keep me entertained for several more runs.

Stupid/Smart/Stupid

That's how today's run pretty much went. It was 94 degrees outside when I left the house and very sunny, but I had things to do tonight and didn't want to run late. By this time in the year I'm fairly acclimated to the temperature and know enough to take it slow. However, today's schedule called for speedwork in the form of hill repeats. Not an easy task to undertake with a heat index over 100. I'm stupid enough to give it a try, though.

The smart part comes in at this point. I was going to run on my regular hill of horror, a section of what the kids call Lungdropper Hill. There's no shade anywhere in the vicinity of that area and I knew better than to try it. I ran part of my regular route down Shoal Creek and then spent some time doing the repeats in the shady area along the sidewalk. I ran six short repeats. Even though I backed off and walked a couple of times on the way back down the hill it was torture.

The stupid part at the end was the fact that I left myself a 'cooldown' of over a mile to get home. I walked up the big hill right before the traffic circle because hey, I'm stupid but not that stupid. In all I ended up going 5.25 miles and getting in my repeats. The air-conditioned house sure felt good when I got home and saw that the temp was still 93 degrees. Looks like the next day of running should be about ten degrees cooler. We can only hope.

You Call It Rain

Today was a day off work for me and I thought about running this morning. The wiser course seemed to mow the lawn before the rain hit, which is what I did. The thunderstorms lasted the rest of the morning. This afternoon I did my weight exercises and was ready to head out even though the temperature was 91 degrees. But The Wife thought she might run with me, and it seemed we would run after a somewhat early dinner. Well, dinner was late and she didn't want to go out, so I ended up running much later than planned. But the one thing that's constant is change, and we runners have to be flexible that way. Even though I ran late I reaped the benefit of the setting sun and cooler weather. Guess I can't complain too much. The 6 miles was a nice, easy run and I listened to a podcast instead of music for a changeup.

The heading for this post comes from the Old 97's song with this title off their new album. I played it for the kids this weekend and it's a very catchy tune. My youngest got it stuck in her head. Which made me play it even more. So it's in her honor that I title this post.

Wave Runner

Today I actually had another runner wave back and acknowledge me! Okay, I don't really feel the exclamation-point type of caring about this, but after my post on Thursday it seems worth mentioning. I still didn't wave at bikers - er, cyclists, though.

I was pleasantly surprised this morning. First of all I intended to get up earlier, but I was up until midnight. I thought my window for cool weather had already passed, but a few minutes before 8 o'clock it was still only 69 degrees when I walked out on the deck. Plus it was slightly overcast, making it feel just fine. I hurried out the door and ran the first half of my 8 miles in very nice running weather. The sun came out and instantly the humidity shot up. I was thinking on my trek back along 96th Street that I'd have to walk up the hill some in order to keep from overheating and being discovered as an overheated corpse by some other harrier. Right then the slight clouds came back and saved me. I ran the whole 8 miles and am starting to feel a little better and stronger. That's 26 miles for the week. Guess I'm committed now.

Waveless

I noticed this on my last couple of runs but today I remembered to include it in a post. My last three runs I've seen several other runners and walkers out, and I'm the type of guy who gives a courtesy wave or a "Good evening" as I pass by. In all I've probably seen over a dozen people on these outings and maybe one person out of the whole lot has returned the courtesy. And one lady who wheezed out a hello in a startled kind of way, like she was surprised that another human being would acknowledge her existence.

I get it that some people don't like to wave or say hello. Sometimes I get in that mood, too. For instance, I don't acknowledge bikers. Sorry, but you're on the road and I'm on the sidewalk. And I think you look funny in your bright spandex and kooky helmet. You probably think I look hilarious in the throes of my six-mile death shuffle. But we're in different universes. Runners inhabit my world. It just seems weird that all of a sudden every runner I see is Mr. or Mrs. Unfriendly. What are the odds? Is it me?

You can tell I'm in training for real now. Otherwise I would have stayed in or run on the treadmill. Instead I headed out in 91 degree heat to run hills. I made the plan for the next 3+ months and I stacked the front end of it with hill runs. I've read that hills are a good method for building up strength and I certainly need that after messing around since the half-marathon in April. I ran up the back of the neighborhood, which I hadn't run in quite awhile. There are a few new houses but otherwise the hills remain. Then I ran down to 96th Street, over to Flintlock, and past the future library. I walked about three minutes up the biggest hill on the way back, but otherwise I hit the hills pretty good. A big storm was moving in from the north and passing us by to the east, which provided some cloud cover. Not a lot, but enough to make the run bearable. And I was smart enough to have my water bottle ready to go, all frozen-like. The 6 miles seemed longer than it was, but that's just because I hadn't run that route in months. Now that I have a plan I'm serious. At least as serious as a person like me can be.

Back to Speeding

Today I decided to do some fartleks to get back into a frame of mind involving speedwork. It was "only" 85 degrees when I got home, but with the sun out and no clouds I decided to wait until after dinner before running. I'm not sure it made a ton of difference, but it made enough of a difference to allow me to run 6 miles with 1-2-3-2-1 fartleks. I was able to increase my speed from the heat-induced 10:30/minute miles to below 9 minutes/mile during the intervals. It was nice to feel the wind in my hair again - haha, anybody who's seen me knows that's a joke. Anyway, I'm glad to back in that frame of mind. I'm thinking that I should do some hill repeats on Thursday to build up strength. That seems to be the advice for early in a training plan. Which I still need to put together, btw.

Today Plus One I Forgot

Let's backtrack for a moment - I ran Saturday morning, intending to do 8 miles but settling for 6. It wasn't that the temperature was so hot, but that the humidity was so stinking high. It was probably 78 degrees, but the humidity was 77%, and the sky was cloudless so the sun was shining nice and bright. My other (lame) excuse for stopping was that going 6 miles brought my total to 18 for the week, an increase of 8 miles over the week before. The extra couple of miles wouldn't have made that much difference over the long haul.

Plus this week I'm back to running four times a week. I expect the overall mileage to increase by another 8 miles. I know that goes against what the experts say ("increase your mileage by no more than 10% from week to week"). I think I can handle it, though, since I haven't been a complete and total couch potato lately. Just not at the top of my game. Today I would have run even if I wasn't a runner. The temperature was 73 degrees and the sky was overcast, plus there was a slight breeze from the northeast. That has to b e the lowest temperature I've run in since Spring. It was refreshing, and since this was an easy run I kept it slow. Tomorrow I'm hoping to try some speedwork again.

Still Warm

I'm back in the mode of really looking forward to running, a nice change from the laziness of the recent past. Even though it was 85 degrees today when I got home I knew that wasn't bad. It was even better than my Tuesday run. It's funny how things seem so different, relatively speaking. In May 85 degrees was unbearably hot coming out of winter and spring. Now it seems almost cool. I made a couple of mistakes, though. I forgot to put my water bottle in the freezer, and when I was about a mile from home I realized I'd forgotten to put a sports drink in to cool off as well.

So I adapted. I filled my hand-held water bottle with ice cubes and cold water. On my route out of the neighborhood there is some landscaping by the entrance and across from the pool. I knew if I ran the whole route with the bottle in my hands the shaking, jostling, and heat from being in the sun as well as in my hand while holding it would cause the ice to melt too quickly. I stowed it in the big rocks at the neighborhood entrance in the shade behind a bush. That gave me about 1.5 miles without it. Later when I was at about 3.5 miles I hid it in someone's bush by the sidewalk, giving it another ten minutes or so of rest. The ice melted, of course, but I know it lasted a lot longer this way. Next time I'll have to remember to get it in the freezer. In fact I'm going to do so right after I'm done posting this.

As far as sports drink goes, I went old-fashioned and poured it over ice in a tea glass. That worked. I've already put two more in the fridge, though.

Ruminations

This is the worst shape I've been in for several years. I fell off the exercise wagon, but not all the way, the past few months. I could go back and look to make sure, but I've been averaging about two runs a week for the past month, I'm sure. And my other exercise has been about the same or worse. I have several excuses, such as that until recently I'm not training for a specific race, it's been too hot, I've been on vacation, etc. The truth is I've been lazy, and my diet has not been good either. The "fun" is over, though, and it's time to get serious.

Earlier this year I was in the frame of mind to train to qualify for Boston, but at the moment that's fallen by the wayside. Right now I'm more of the mindset to try the Galloway run/walk method and see where that takes me. My original thought was that to get faster I need to train faster, but so many of those plans are very high mileage and I just don't have the desire to do that. That's why I'm leaning toward the run/walk for the Memphis Marathon. This weekend I bought Galloway's book about running and need to spend some studying it to make sure it's the right thing to do.

Today the temperature was 90 degrees when I left the house at 5 p.m., a tad bit cooler than the past month. When I arrived home 6 miles later, it was still 90 degrees. In fact, the heat index was three degrees higher after the run. I took my water bottle and went very slow, over 10:30/mile. It was torture at times to go so slow, but it definitely enabled me to complete the whole run. At about 4.4 miles I walked for four minutes up a hill and in the shade. Hey, I'm just trying to be smart about it. I don't know if we'll see 100 degree temperatures again this year or not, but I'm done using it as an excuse. It's time to get serious on the road to Memphis.

Wet

It just felt...well, wet outside on today's run. We'd gone to the farmer's market and stocked up on some good stuff. When we arrive home late morning it was still cloudy outside and about twenty degrees lower than it has been the past month or more. So I knew this was my big chance to get in a good run and I went for it. Since it had sprinkled on us on the way home I laced up the old pair I've been wearing and left the new shoes in the closet. Even though the temperature was "only" 84 degrees, I took it slow since the humidity was so high. I went 6 miles and still had to walk a couple of times. I blame that on not just the conditions outside, but also my laziness. It's time to really get back into a plan. And I mean it this time.

The Runs on Vacation

I'll admit that I didn't exert a whole lot of effort to run while on vacation. I like to sleep late and it was way too hot to run when I woke up, much less in the evening. I still managed to get in a few, although they were more along the line of guilt runs than anything else.

On Tuesday, July 20th, I ran in the morning before we took off for Tulsa. I think I ran 6 miles, but I'll have to check the Garmin to make sure. It was pretty warm, and I remember thinking it should be cooler than it was for that time of day. That was funny.

Didn't run again until we were in Texas. On Saturday, July 23rd, The Wife and my Virtual Running Partner hit the road for a 4-miler. It was nice and leisurely and mostly shade-free. We ran by some nice big homes in a new development on the outskirts of Frisco. We didn't push too hard and it was a good thing to get out.

We ran again on Monday or Tuesday morning (they all run together when you're on vacation), another 4-miler with the Virtual Running Partner. Again we took it easy and it was worth it.

The biggest running event of the vacation was when we hit the mall to look for clothing for the Virtual Running Partner's Wife's birthday and I found a sale at Nordstrom on Asics. They had the new Gel Nimbus for $89.99 instead of $129.99, and yes, I immediately bought a pair. To find the new model at that price was a miracle. I was pretty pumped and I wore them for the first time tonight on the treadmill. It was 6 miles without hitting the pavement, but I figured it was a good break-in for them. Finding a good pair of running shoes on sale was like Christmas in July.

Early Run

But not early enough. Since I'm off work for a few days I got up early enough to run outside today. I headed out about 6:30 with the sun already climbing into the eastern sky. I felt good starting off, as usual, but the humidity really bore down on me. I took it slow and easy for 4 miles. The temperature was in the low 80's, but as I keep saying it's the wet air that's the killer. I thought there would be more people out and about walking and running. Guess they were smarter than me and went earlier. Since I'm not training for a race right now that was early enough for me. It's a matter of principle, I suppose.

Staying Out of the Sun

Once again I took the route that went nowhere today. I ran another 6 on the treadmill and finished up Office Space. Then I watched a DVD about MLB's greatest rivalries. Even though the first part of it was New York-centric, I will say I can certainly understand how much fun it would have been to be a fan when the Giants and Dodgers were also part of their city. The Cardinals-Cubs rivalry was given a rather bland rendering, especially compared to the interpretation of the East Coast rivalries. Not to take anything away from those, but the Midwest rivalry can be just as bad as the others sometimes. It was a good distraction from the monotony of running inside, though. I don't see the temperature heading south anytime soon, which means it'll be tough to get some runs in as we travel the next few weeks.

Running Out of Season

It was just plain weird to be running on the treadmill in summer. I'm so used to doing so during winter that I expected to look out the window and see snow in the yard. Instead the temperature is so hot that there's no way to run outside unless I waited until late in the evening. I'd rather not. So I set up a fan and a DVD and ran inside for an hour. Since our treadmill is downstairs it was actually that much cooler than running upstairs, much less running outside. I ran 6 miles and it really wasn't too bad. I was watching Office Space, which I haven't seen for several years, and it still kills me. The older I get the more parts of it seem like real life, kind of like Dilbert comic strips. I think that actually bothers me, but I try not to notice. Otherwise I'd cry.

110 In the Shade

Okay, not 110, but 104 heat index. Yesterday when I went out the temperature was 96 degrees with a heat index of 104. But 110 in the shade is a Fogerty song, not 104. The only thing I can say of way of explanation regarding running in that temperature is that it was mostly shade. At times. The sun came out a few times and it was not good. I ran verrrrrry slow and dumped a lot of cold water on my head. That seemed to work and I was able to go 4 miles with no designs on going further. It was crazy and I wouldn't do it on a regular basis, but the clouds were too much of a temptation. I had thought earlier in the day of running on the treadmill with a fan trained on me, but I succumbed to the outdoors. Tomorrow might be another story, though I'm not sure what Fogerty song I could use for running indoors in the summer. This might require a little research.

Level of Effort

I think I've mentioned before that sometimes the effort I put into a run isn't necessarily borne out in the numbers. This was one of those days. The weather forecast said humid, and yes, it was. I had high hopes of running about eight miles, but that was not to be. I ran 5 and the effort felt at least like 8. Actually, I've run eight miles before and not put as much into it as I did on this shorter run. Humidity saps my strength like nothing else during a run. The sun was also shining nice and bright. I headed out about 9 a.m. and even though the temperature was just below 80 degrees it was still a tough day for a run. I took along my water bottle and had it mostly drained during the short outing. I cut my hair pretty short last night and that seemed to help a little bit. Even so I still sweated about 100 gallons. Okay, not that much. The tough thing about running when it's this humid is that the sweat has nowhere to evaporate. Such is the running life in the Midwest during summer.

Rare but Humid

It was a rare day for running in the middle of summer - the sun was not shining. Today was rainy and cloud-covered, which made for somewhat lower temperatures. On the other hand, it was just as humid as ever, if not more so. When I went to work this morning the big faucet in the sky opened up and drenched me in the 10-second run from my truck to the front door. I looked like I'd just taken a shower with my clothes on. This afternoon's run continued the theme. I could have held out a dry washrag and in five minutes it would have been soaked. Even with that, I couldn't resist the opportunity to run without the hot sun slamming down. I ran a full 6 miles. The 12-13 degree drop from my runs earlier this week helped quite a bit, too. In the midst of July this was a good day for running, and I was glad to take advantage of it.

The Road to Recovery

Another run in the heat today on the road to recovery from laziness. I went 4 miles again and sweated about four buckets' worth. The temperature was in the high 80's with humidity to match. But as a bonus today was the release date for the Old 97's new album and so I ran to that. Totally worth it. And now I will go listen to it again as I recover.

Overcoming Laziness

The past week has been one of extreme laziness on my part. I could blame the heat, but that's not entirely true. I could say I was working on home projects, but that's not true, either. I could say I was working lots of overtime, but that would be an outright lie. No, I spent too much just being lazy. And when I had a chance to sleep late on the weekend, I took it. No more, though.

Today I waited until the temperature dropped, even though it wasn't scorching hot in the hundred degree range it was still plenty warm and humid. I also considered this a warmup run after being idle for six days. I ran a route that was the most shaded I could find in the area and tried to keep the pace down. Four miles was my plan and that's all I ran. Hope to do more than that tomorrow, but also trying to be smart and not pile on a bunch of miles this week. I didn't see a whole lot of other people out running on the evening of Independence Day. Guess they got their runs in earlier.

I'd Like to Dedicate This One to the Ladies

I'm not a chauvinist pig. I don't even play one on TV. Yet when I'm out running and there are ladies out walking, running, or biking, I tend to keep running when they're in sight, sometimes even faster. Like, say...tonight.

It was a hot evening, tough to run after a four-day layoff, and there were plenty of times I felt like walking. But every time I'd get that thought, I'd see a couple of women walking. Or one biking. Even saw a couple running. I guess it was ladies' night. I'm not sure if they were good looking or not, due to the exercise-induced brain haze I suffered as I ran up and down the hills. If they did look good, fine. But I'll be darned if I'm going to stop running and walk in front of them.

Am I the only one who acts this way? I know they couldn't have cared less if I had slowed to a walk, unless they thought I was stalking them, but we have too many cops who live around here for that to be a major concern. And rationally speaking, I have nothing to prove. I'm not a Neanderthal out trolling the caves for a mate, especially in this balding, middle-aged body. Totally an irrational response, but so be it. I have plenty of irrational male responses. But tonight I ran the full 6 miles and I have the women around here to thank for it.

Four Runs in Wisconsin

I've been on vacation this week in Wisconsin and have been fortunate enough to run four times. Tomorrow I'll be flying back to KC, so my running time in WI has come to an end. It's been fun and it'll be sad to go back to the regular routes back home. I ran a trail by the river that goes through town, which is everything my regular runs are not - flat, shaded, and dirt. What a treat.

The first run was last Friday morning with The Wife and nephew Zac. We ran only 3 miles since Zac had to be at work within an hour of our start time. It was a nice introduction to the path and a great day for running.

On Saturday I went and ran by myself, intending to go 10 miles. Again it was a great day for running. The sun was intermittent and the temperature was perfect. I momentarily lost the path when I got to a smaller town at the three-mile mark, but doubled back and picked it up again. However, when I reached the four-mile marker things started to change. I saw a sign signifying a wildlife area, which in this case meant a swamp off to the right of the path and no sign of the river on the left. In other words, breeding ground for mosquitoes. I couldn't go two steps without swarming bugs around my head. I quickly grew tired of this, as well as a little frustrated, and turned back. My run topped out at 8 miles due to the bugs. I hate to be defeated by the little critters, but I'll admit it, it's no fun to try and run while being swarmed.

On Monday The Wife and Daughter #1 ran for a couple of miles while Zac and I went a full 6 miles. Once again the weather was overcast but nice. It was a good easy run and Zac did great, especially since he hadn't run that far in a long time.

Today we took everybody - 12 people and a dog. The rain had poured down overnight and the day was humid, moreso than yesterday. Zac and I took off and ran a mile warmup followed by a four-mile tempo run at 8:30 pace. We finished with a mile of cooldown. That was my first speed work in I can't remember how long, and Zac said it was definitely a tougher run than yesterday. It was cool to run with him and he kept up with this old man. Maybe I was even holding him back. That's 23 miles total while I've been here, which is pretty good for a vacation. After today's run I made sure everyone got a bottle of sports drink for their efforts. Tomorrow it's back home to the good ol' hot weather, hills, and no shade. I guess I've been spoiled a little bit this week, but isn't that what vacations are all about?

Footprints

I find it amusing, when I run down a certain sidewalk, that my footprints are visible in the concrete. It always gives me a wry moment of lightness in whatever kind of run I'm having. It's on 96th Street straight across from the pool on the south side of the street. When "they" were pouring the sidewalk I was running east on the existing sidewalk. The section with my prints was the last section to be poured and I had to run on the street for a little ways. However, due to traffic I had to jump onto the freshly poured concrete, which was almost set. But not quite. You can me Asics-prints for about 30 feet of sidewalk. Today when I ran I noted that my stride seems just a bit shorter, which is something I've actually worked on to increase turnover. What can I say? When I see my prints and know that they'll be there for years to come it makes me grin.

Yesterday was Sunday, and even though it was a rest day I was sorely tempted to go for a run. The temperature was perfect and the sky was overcast. It seemed like a waste to not run on a day like that. Fortunately today was more of the same, just windier. I didn't mind too much, though. The temperature was in the mid-70's and the humidity must have been higher than that. I had a good 6-miler and finished at a pace better than 10 minutes/mile and feeling strong. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer but I might be busy after work, so we'll see how it goes.

Post-Farmer's Market Run

This Saturday I was able to sneak in a "long" run, as opposed to last weekend. We dropped off the older girls at church so they could go to a ministry opportunity and then headed to the farmer's market with the younger kids. We've been going every couple of weeks and it's really kind of cool. And as a runner I have an interest in healthier foods. The other thing we've been picking up there is bee pollen. I've been taking it every day for a month now and it seems to be having a good effect. Last weekend I was painting a fence at an outdoor horse arena and a couple of people were weed-eating right outside the fence. In times past that would have absolutely killed me with allergies. Instead it had no effect whatsoever. This morning after I ran I mowed the lawn, another opportunity for allergies to flare, but again, nothing. I'm not totally attributing the change to the bee pollen just yet, but it certainly doesn't seem to be hurting.

That run? Oh yeah, 8 miles. The clouds had been out earlier and stayed intermittently for the first 2/3 or so of the run, then disappeared. Still, for a run starting after 8:30 in the morning during the summer, I can't complain about the lower temperature and shade.

Another Run With the Daughter

This time I dragged Daughter #1 out for another run, and gee, she was just so happy to go. We waited until after 7 p.m. when it had cooled off a little bit outside. We ran slower and that seemed to help since she was able to go a full 2 miles. It was funny because we saw a black Camaro cruising around while we ran. We must have seen it about 7-8 times in the neighborhood and on the main road. No idea what they were doing but apparently it was a good night for a cruise.

I dropped off the daughter at home and then ran another 4 miles. Even though the temperature was cooling off, it was still very humid. Plus there was a nice breeze from the south. Again it was one of those breezes that actually helps since it cooled me off rather than slowed me down. I didn't mind at all. Work has been so draining this week that I wasn't sure I could go a full 6 miles, but I kept thinking of that Five Guys burger last night and figured I should probably run off as much of that as I could.

Really Hot Later

I waited as long as I could before heading out tonight, and that paid off a little bit. The temperature was marginally lower, by maybe 4 or 5 degrees. The sun was on its way down, so the shadows were longer. And it was still breezy, which helped cool the evening down that much more. This all added up to my being able to get in a full 6 miles tonight. It was one of those runs where I never really felt in rhythm, and the more I concentrated on it the worse it got. I was intentionally running slower, but I don't think that was the problem. Up late last night and a full day today had me slightly fatigued, but that wasn't the problem either. Sometimes you just have one of those runs where you get the run in and you feel good that you did it, but you don't feel like everything clicked. Sometimes that's good enough.

Really Hot

It was 96 degrees at running time today, or somewhere around there. The Wife was going to run with me but decided not to due to a hamstring tweak. She walked around the block with me and then I was off to the - well, not the races. I kept it slow and had a bottle of frozen water with me. Still, I maxed out at 4 miles and walked a few minutes in the shade. As always I thought about going a full six but knew that the marginal gain wasn't worth the effort and possible side effects. Tomorrow is supposed to be equally as hot, but I think I'll run later in the evening. Summer time is definitely here.

Running with the Daughter

It was time to get Daughter #1 out on the road again so she can start preparing for a triathlon at the end of July. We dithered about the last time she'd been out for a run, and I think it was probably the 5k in Dallas in December. I let her set the pace, which I figured was too fast, and by golly it was. She lasted 1.6 miles before walking back the rest of the way. The goal was 2 miles, so she got pretty close. The day was very warm and humid, although the overcast sky and breeze helped a little bit. It's a start and we'll keep working on it.

After returning her home I went for another 4 miles. I kept it slow due to the humidity, which as I've stated before really saps my strength. It was nice to run with my girl, wet air and all.

Skipping Spring

Blogger is now working with the new Firefox, thank you very much. I much prefer this to that other browser.

We've apparently gone from a very cool extension of winter straight to summer. Today the temperature was again in the mid-80's with lots of sunlight. Maybe I'm already getting used to it, but I went the full 6 miles today. I varied my route so the shade came in the first 3 miles rather than in the last half of the run, and that seemed to work pretty well. I saw several other people out biking and running and it looks like warmer weather is finally here to stay. After all, tomorrow is the first day of June, so it's time for summer.

I'm contemplating changes to my work schedule that would allow me to go into work a half-hour later. That way I could run in the mornings before work several times a week, and more importantly, before the day heats up. The drawback would be getting to work later and being there later, but also staying at five-day weeks rather than having a day off every two weeks. I'm not sure which way I want to go yet. I like the day off every few weeks. The idea of running earlier also appeals to me. I don't know...I have a few more days before the next pay period starts. Maybe I should make a list of the pros and cons, you know, the old-fashioned way of figuring it out. Sometimes that's the best way to do it.

No More Cool Runnings

Blogger is not working right with the new version of Firefox, so I'm doing this delayed update in Internet Explorer. Yuk.

Saturday the family went to the farmer's market and had a good time. After that I was able to get in my long run for the week, a 9-miler. I realized later that made 27 miles for the week. Which seems kind of excessive for as spotty as my runs have been lately. Nevertheless it felt good and I could have gone further (farther? I don't remember the grammatical rule for that one). The day was in the mid-60's and cloudy, so really it was perfect for a good run. I tracked down the hills of Flintlock, a move I thought about for a while before actually running because I hadn't run that way in a long time. As I said, it felt just fine and I had no regrets for going that way.

Today was Memorial Day and a little bit warmer. I'm beginning to think we're not going to get a real Spring this year. It was a day for smoking ribs, and mission accomplished on that front. The Wife and I ran a couple of miles together and then I took off on my own. I was going to go a full six but was laboring a little too much with the heat. Even though the temperature was in the low 80's it felt worse than that. My theory is that it's relative, kind of like pitching. Last week I watched a Royals pitcher throw a "blazing" 86-mph fastball, but his off-speed pitches were in the mid-60's. So when he actually threw his fastball it did look blazing when compared to a 64-mph changeup. That's how this temperature thing seems to work, too. When there's no transition and you go straight from a run in 62 degree weather on Saturday to a run today in 83 degrees, the higher temperature actually seems hotter in comparison. When I got home I certainly drained a cold Gatorade like I'd been running in 95 degree weather.

That's enough of the dual sports analogies for now. And for those of you who are counting at home I ran 5.25 miles today. I cut it short, but not a whole lot short. Looks like warmer weather is here to stay.

4 With The Wife, 2 Without

Today was gorgeous after the storms of the past week, and what better way to enjoy it than with a beautiful woman? Even though we've decided to pass on this weekend's 10k, she wanted to get out for a good run. We ran together down Shoal Creek as I regaled her with stories from Churchill's WWII memoirs, as well as the usual dose of weirdness from work. Once we returned to the neighborhood she made a left turn and I continued for a couple more miles.

I reflected a bit on how inconsistent I've been with running lately and the need to log some regular miles. With summer coming on I certainly plan on doing so, and darn it, I still need to find a race. I suppose I should put that on my Memorial Day weekend to-do list.

Humid and Warm

I'm not complaining about the weather, since it was nice out today and the breeze actually helped rather than hindered this time. It was the humidity that was in full effect, not the heat. After a mid-day thunderstorm I could feel the moisture in the air. I still prefer it to temperatures hovering near zero. 6 miles overall at what turned out to be a 9:19 pace. I feel out of shape, but that's just because I haven't been logging the miles like usual lately and I was a pig over the weekend. Which is the main reason I ran two days in a row. I guess you could call it a recovery run, but with a definition suited more to recovering from gluttony than to recovering from a long race. It happens to more than just me, I'm sure.

The Spider

The spider hanging from my sunglasses gave me a little bit of energy just when it seemed to be fading. I was about 3.5 miles into my 6-mile run. The heat and the relentless sun beating down on me was causing my pace to slow. I pulled off my sunglasses to wipe my brow and whoa, there was a spider hanging from them by a thread. I shook the glasses and the little bugger held tight. After a few shakes it was clear the guy wasn't going anywhere. I pinched off his thread and cast him to the wind. And even though I'm not scared of spiders my pace picked up and gave me enough nervous energy to keep running. This proved useful in the long run (no pun intended) since I ended up walking up the last big hill on the way back to the neighborhood. I looked down at my heart rate and it was too high. This being an easy run and all it seemed best to take the hill at a pace that allowed my heart to slow.

I haven't run since last Tuesday. It was nice to get out again, and should have done so while my virtual running partner was here. But the schedule of the baseball games didn't allow us much time for running. At least not in the morning with the how late we stayed up. I'm going to look for a race up north next month when we're there on vacation. I don't think I'll be in shape for a half, but maybe I can find a 10k or something like that.

Gorgeous Day

This was one of those days where I wasn't scheduled to run, but when I exited work and saw how beautiful it was in the Great Outdoors I knew today would be a running day. I would seriously kick myself if I didn't. Days like this don't come along very often. I did my dumbbell exercises first (the weights are the dumbbells, not me) and then hit the streets. The run was nice and easy and I didn't check the Garmin a whole lot. By the time I finished I'd done 6 miles at a 9:09 pace. I needed a good, easy run like that. Just what the doctor ordered, if the doctor's name was God.

It's All Relative

Today is May 14th. The temperature was about 50 degrees when I went out for an 8-miler, with pretty strong winds chilling it to about 45 degrees. In mid-May this feels cold. Especially since we had days near 90 degrees this past week. I dressed in long pants, two shirts, and wore mittens. I was not thrilled to go out in this weather.

But let's take this same day and transplant it into January. A day like this would have been warm in comparison to the surrounding days and their respective temperatures. I would have been ecstatic to get out in such luxurious warmth. I even might have worn shorts.

2/3 + 5 + 1

Yesterday The Wife and I went for a run. We walked about 2/3 of a mile to start off, and then 5 miles before she called it quits with some knee pain. That meant a one-mile stroll to get back to the house. The day was hot and humid, moreso than we expected. Nevertheless, it was nice to get out and enjoy her company. I realized as we were talking about her knee pain that it's been over a year since we last bought her some new running shoes, and that's way too long. She doesn't put in the volume of miles that I do, but she's done plenty and we need to keep her outfitted correctly.

The weather today has turned decidely colder and nastier. That's not good for the plans tomorrow as far as running goes. We'll see what happens.

Running in May

I'm a little behind on my entries, so let's catch up, shall we?

My first run this month was last Monday, the 2nd. I went 6 miles and really don't remember much about it. I do know that last week was busy and my goal was to run four times. Sorry to spoil the ending, but I didn't make it out that many times.

I think the reason I ran on Monday and not on Tuesday was because something was going on Tuesday night. But I can't remember what it was. Wow, last week was just a blur.

I got all dressed up to run on Thursday night, but a line of thunderstorms was coming through. They took a lot longer to pass by than I expected, and by the time they did I was ready to eat dinner. I should have headed out, but inertia won.

The family went camping for Mother's Day weekend, so as soon as we got to camp Friday afternoon I ran around the lake. It was a nice evening. I thought the path around the lake was longer, but it ended up being only 3.75 miles. I ran it pretty fast and stopped after one loop. That, combined with the abundant pollen, set off my allergies in a big way. Which proved disastrous for the next day.

On Saturday the 7th I planned on going a couple of times around plus some extra to get 8 miles. I lasted for half that. Allergies, a bad night's sleep, and a temperature in the upper 80s all combined to make me take the easy way out. I was not feeling that great at the end of that big 4-mile run.

Today was another hot day. When I got home from the run the temperature was 87 degrees with a heat index of 90. That was a lovely two-day Spring we had. Anyway, I went 5.34 miles total according to my Garmin, and looking at my totals I probably walked that .34 a little over halfway through the run. I walked a couple of hills in the shade, which was a nice relief. I could tell my heart rate was getting too high - from the heat, not from my closer to 10-minute/mile pace. Not sure if I'm ready for running all summer in the heat, but I'm not going to complain. It's better than the cold wind or spending a month on the treadmill.

Garage Sale Saturday

I won't say that I've expressly forbidden my family from ever having a garage sale again, but I will say that it's pretty close to that. Our neighborhood was having its annual garage sale weekend, and we did not participate. We've done so a couple of times in the time we've lived here, and each time it has been far less than successful. In fact, I remember twice where the weather was cold and windy and very few people were out and about, much less out and about for a garage sale. Today was certainly warmer, and the only reason I mention garage sales at all is because there was more traffic than usual to dodge in the neighborhood. I stay pretty alert for traffic when I run, so it wasn't too bad, but it requires watching out for people who are lost or who make sudden turns. People hardly signal around here anyway, and a day like today doesn't help matters any.

I waited until The Wife got home from her morning outing before I headed out, by which time the temperature was definitely in the 70's. I went 8 miles, not too long a run and yet not too short. I slowed it down a little today and kept the pace in the 9:15/9:20 range. That worked out pretty well. I'm listening again to the Hardcore History podcasts on Rome. Today was the second episode. The fifth in the series recently came out, so I needed to revisit the first few and catch up. This is good historical stuff that is also a really good distraction on a run. I love the story of the Germanic tribes attacking Italy who, as a show of strength, took off all their clothes and snowboarded down a mountain on their shields. Never mind that they eventually lost, but it was a cool story. It's amazing the things you can learn when you're out running.

Forgetting Runs

So I forgot to post a couple of runs. I ran last Saturday as I posted, but I forgot to mention that I ran 5 miles two days before that. It was pretty uneventful, because I clearly forgot about it by Saturday. Even now I'm having trouble remembering what was involved, exactly. At least I remember that I actually ran.

Then on Monday I had another run with The Wife, another 5-miler, and she was pleased with being able to run so far so early in the running season (for her). Again it was cool outside, and we discussed whether or not we'd be running in warmer weather anytime soon. We ran on Monday since Tuesday was The Boy's birthday and we knew we'd be playing laser tag instead of exercising. Although laser tag did feel a little bit like exercise.

Today was a good 6 miles with a little bit of wind coming out of the west. The temperature was 70 degrees, but it felt cooler with the intermittent clouds and the breeze. I had a Garmin burp, or actually a user error. When I set the workout I apparently selected a 5-mile run instead of the one I actually did. At mile 5 I noted the time and figured my overall pace would be 8:50/mile when I finished. A few minutes later I looked down to see my pace and my pace was staying the same, but so was the overall time and distance. Oops. I pressed the button to start it again and when I got to my stopping point I'd lost a half-mile. Not a tragedy in the grand scheme of things, just annoying. You'd think by now I'd know to pay a little better attention when setting up my run, but nooooo.

Finally, new Runner's World in the mail. Unexpectedly early. Sweet!