One More Break

Storms rolled through this morning and made this afternoon very, very humid. Once again I caught a break and clouds kept the temperature down to the high 80s. I practiced my walk/run method again and it worked great. I was dripping with sweat like a wet sponge when I got home, but once more I wasn't worn out like I used to be on these hot runs. I went the full 6 miles and with the walking my pace was 10:30/mile. The success of this new method thus far makes me wonder why I didn't think of it years ago. Too stubborn and wanted to get in every bit of the distance running, I suppose.

Walks Allowed

This morning was not a major sleep-in day for a change. I woke up by 8 o'clock and knew I needed to get out the door before the heat ramped up. Once again the humidity was high and the shade sporadic. My goal was to get 7 miles in and I was able to do so with a few walks. I've certainly evolved on this position over the years but it seems to be paying off. If I'd tried to push for running that far without breaks I don't know that I would have made it. I walked four times (I think), timing the cooldowns to the big hills on the route, or at least most of them. It worked and I think it's better for me to go into a run with the attitude that I will probably be walking since otherwise I beat myself up about it afterward.

Also kind of funny today was the number of people I saw running who were dressed similarly to me. I wore black shorts and a blue sleeveless technical shirt - we called them muscle shirts back in the day but that seems like a misnomer now. I passed one guy whose shirt was even the same shade as mine and sleeveless as well. He was walking while his wife had run ahead. Later on they met up and he started running again and they passed me. We might have the same fashion designer but he was faster. Anyway, it was just kind of funny to see so many people wearing the same color scheme. Glad everyone got the memo.

No Break Today

Well, the break from the weather...broke today. It was 93 degrees out there this afternoon, sun shining, and a good stiff breeze. Oh, and it was humid. The Wife questioned me when I was dressing for the run, asking me if I'd been outside. I went out with a plan again, and once again it worked. After the first nine minutes I walked one. Then I went to eight minutes running followed by two walking. I followed that for the most part except for the hills near the golf course, where I variously spaced the runs to match the big hills. I was pretty wiped out when I got home, but not nearly as bad as if I'd tried to run the whole thing and ended up in even worse shape. I think I can continue this pattern as the summer progresses, although on some of the future runs I'll need to take a water bottle with me. I don't usually weigh myself post-run, but after sweating so much I jumped on the scale and it read 159.2. I then drank half a bottle of sports drink, which was about 16 oz., and then weighed again. Strangely enough it read 160.2. How about that? Can't remember if I've talked about weight on here or not, but the low 160s seems to be the weight that I gravitate to if I'm in decent shape. Much more than that and I can tell. Like a lot of people my weight fluctuates but I don't worry about it a lot, going mostly by the way I feel. Vacations are bad for that, but at least so far in this life I can get back to a certain level fairly easy. In this weight-obsessed culture I give as much thought to my weight as I do to "celebrities" or reality shows.

Another Good Day

Once again I lucked into some cloud cover and still mild temperature for today's run. A big storm system passed by on the west side of the city and it kept the sun at bay. I thought for a bit that it might head our way but it stayed away. The humidity was still high, and after the first mile I walked for a minute. When I continued and kept the pace reasonable I realized I wouldn't need to do the run/walk thing like I did last week. I kept a good run going for the full 6 miles and finished with a 9:45 pace, even with that minute of walking. I'm enjoying the off and on rain over the last few weeks, especially since I haven't had to water the lawn yet.

Wandering

Caught another break today with some high clouds and a temperature in the low 80s for the morning run. Rather than pick a route beforehand I figured I would run between 7-8 miles and go where my feet took me. I ran up to 291, then back down Flintlock, took a left to go up to Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, then back to Flintlock and Target before setting my sights on getting home. The morning was quite humid and I kept the pace deliberately slow, especially on all those hills where I tend to speed up. I walked the big hill on Flintlock on the way back for almost four minutes, but I knew I needed to rather than killing myself on it. It was a smart move. Overall I went 7-1/3 miles, which is an odd number, but basically I just ran until I got back to where I normally end. I could have added a little more to get to 7.5, but why?

Yesterday I was looking at a map of the area online and noticed a "Ancient Family Cemetery" in a very odd place just off Flintlock. There are some newer apartments on the west side of the road just south of where the new library is going in. When I reached that area I walked into a small grove of trees on a little hill and sure enough, there was an old white marble marker. It was about three feet tall, rectangular, with names on each of the four sides. The oldest was someone born in 1784 (I think) who died in 1829 (or 1789-1824, can't remember which since I was in the middle of working out). The others were from a similar timeframe. I had no idea it was there until yesterday and I've driven and run by that area hundreds of times. It was a nice surprise and very cool that whoever has built up that area left it untouched, kind of like a hidden treasure in the shade of the trees.

Catching a Break

Today's conditions were a gift from God after Tuesday's inferno. It was cloudy and the temperature was about 83 degrees, a nice break from two days ago. I was prepared to walk several times but I kept my pace slow enough (about 9:40/mile) that I didn't overheat and was able to run the whole 6 miles. I felt good the whole time and several times backed off a faster pace, knowing the humidity and still-warm temperatures could cause me to crater easily.

I pulled a muscle in my back yesterday on the left side. It was causing some pain late yesterday and early this morning. I have no idea how I pulled it. It's somewhat better now since I've been babying it. From past experience going on a run doesn't do anything to aggravate pulled muscles like this unless it's really bad. In fact I think it does the opposite since a run relives stress and loosens up most of muscle groups. I'm sure chiropractors might have a different opinion, but that's what works for me.

Suddenly Summer

After work the temperature on my truck readout showed 97 degrees but was down to 95 when I got home. After my run it was 92. I planned ahead to play it smart today. I ran slow with a walk break every ten minutes. My first break was a one-minute walk, then up to 90 seconds for the next two breaks. Then I went to two-minute breaks the rest of the time and that worked perfectly, keeping my core temperature down and not overdoing it on the hottest day of the year so far. I went the whole 6 miles and was able to keep from feeling completely worn out by the end. Let's hope I can keep this in mind as the summer goes along.

Pleasant Saturday

I laid around far longer than I should have this morning and decided it would be best to eat breakfast before going out for a run. I finally exited the house about 11 a.m. The temperature was pleasant enough in the low 70s with a nice southerly breeze. I ran all the way up to Highway 291 and did a loop on a few side streets before doing the rest of my regular route. I felt much better today than I had on the previous runs this week. My goal was to go 7 miles and that's exactly what I did. I walked a few minutes by the golf course as the temperature was getting warmer by that time and I felt the need to cool down. I feel better about today's run and hopefully next week's outings will continue the upswing.

More Humidity?

Another so-so run today that I thought would go better. The temperature was 73 degrees but I still never felt great. I thought it might be humidity again but upon further review it wasn't hat bad. Maybe I'm just having a tough time getting things going again after being on vacation. I felt the urge to walk at one point but finished the 6 miles without doing so. The clouds were out for part of the run as well so don't know what the problem was today. We'll see how Saturday's run goes and if it's any better.

Pumping Up the Humidity

My suspicions while on today's run were confirmed when I arrived home and pulled up a weather web site. The temperature was 73 degrees, but the heat index (if you believe in such things) was 80 degrees. I knew it was a good day for a run, but it rained earlier and with all the wet stuff we've been getting lately it combined to drive up the humidity. That made what should have been an easy run in a moderate temperature into a little more difficult run with lots of sweat. I went the whole 6 miles without walking and kept throttling back my pace. I still finished at 9:40 per mile, which was probably too fast but hey, I made it and felt okay at the end. If rating today's run I'd say it was average - not good, not bad, just a run with no pains or major complaints.

Three Runs and a Fall

I've been on vacation this past week and very remiss in logging my runs. I will gladly refund a prorated portion of the subscription price for anyone who wants it.

Last Saturday the Virtual Running Partner and I went out for a 6-miler. We thought about doing 7 miles but it was humid and very sunny, with the temperature around 80 degrees. We walked a few times since he's not used to running on hills like we have in the area. Not a horrible run, and not a great run. Sometimes the runs are just...there.

On Wednesday we suited up for a 4-miler. This one was better, mainly because it was shorter. Strangely enough there were plenty of people out at noon on the mid-week day. This was a run where we probably could have gone longer, but there was no need to since we're not training for anything at this point.

Today was back to solo running, and I went 6 miles. It was a good run, although my last few miles were a little slower, and here's why. I was running north on Shoal Creek after making my turnaround. On the way south I'd noticed a city worker on the grass in the wide center median walking around and taking notes. As I came even with him on the return trip I ran across a cross street and wouldn't you know, my left foot kicked into one of the loops on my right shoelaces and down I went. This is the first time I've fallen in a couple of years, at least, and a lovely reminder that I need to monitor my shoelaces better. Anyway, I put out my hands and did a roll onto my right hip. I scraped my right knee a little, but not too bad, and my hands were barely scraped. I jumped up and kept running. I looked over at the guy in the median, who was talking on the phone, and he signaled to see if I was all right. I gave him the thumbs up and kept going. A half-mile later I slowed to walk up the hill by the golf course and did a better survey of my injuries. Even now my hip is a little stiff, but otherwise I came out of it okay. Some days you're just a klutz, I suppose.