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.