Is This November?

For being the last day of a normally cold month it sure was nice today. I worked about five hours to replace some rotted-out wood on the railing in front of the house, and thought about not running since I'd been on my feet for so long. But it was just too beautiful outside and I couldn't resist. I ran 6 miles although I'd originally come into the weekend planning to run more. It was 55 degrees and not breezy at all, with the sun shining brightly. I thought I'd take it slow and easy but it didn't work out that way. I felt good and had more spring in my legs than expected. I finished with an 8:48 pace, a lot faster than I would have predicted. I felt good the whole way and even though I tried to throttle down a few times my body decided otherwise. I'm glad I didn't wait until tomorrow because you never know what will happen with the weather. Take advantage of it when you can!

Trotting

This morning four of us ran the Parkville Turkey Trot. I don't know how many times I've run this particular event but today might have been the slowest outing yet. The older girls ran on their own, although we caught up with the oldest a few hundred yards from the finish. I stayed with The Boy, who had problems and had to walk not even a mile into it. We were way back in the pack and not running fast to begin with, but that's okay. Even though it was tough for me to have to walk, it was more about spending time together than trying to set a PR. I think we accomplished that, and managed to have a good time together. Next year we'll try to have the kids trained better, but I have to hand it to The Boy. He ran the last 1.2 miles or so without stopping even though it was painful. That was a good accomplishment.

Short

I took The Boy out for a run again today, and when he was done so was I. It was absolutely nasty out with an awesome wind out of the north. We went 2.5 miles and that was enough. I had a tiny bit of desire to go back out and get in my six but none of the willpower to accompany the desire. The Turkey Trot is on Thursday and we'll be ready. And hopefully the weather won't be as bad.

Fall

Yesterday was an odd running day. The temperature was below freezing, with a nice little wind out of the north. The kids needed to run in order to be ready for the Turkey Trot this week, but they weren't ready to go when I was. I took off and ran 6 miles and then stopped by the house to pick them up. We started running right away due to the cold and made the turn south. The Boy was crowding us a little bit so I told him to back off. I told them the story of how their cousin did that to his mom (my sister) and caused her to fall and she ended up needing knee surgery. As I was telling the story my youngest tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and fell. She hurt her leg and knee a little bit, but she was done running for the day. We walked her back to the house, and The Boy and I finished up the rest of the 2 miles they were supposed to do. I went 8 miles total, a little disjointed to be sure. On Thursday I skipped the run since it was downright nasty outside and I didn't want to run on the treadmill. yet this winter. Not a good reason, really, but I think it's too early to start on the treadmill and get cabin fever.

Dark

It's getting dark early again, which is not my favorite time of the year. I took The Boy and the youngest daughter out with me for 1.5 miles, and it wasn't too bad starting off. The sun was still out and even though it was a bit breezy the temperature was still good enough for the kids to wear short sleeves. After dropping them off I ran the rest of my 6-miler. I kept a pretty good pace, mostly below 9 minutes/mile, at least when I checked. My overall time was under 10 minutes/mile, which means I must have been running at a pretty good pace by myself since the run with The Kids was more of the 12 minute pace variety. Regardless, I felt good even though I'm not a fan of early darkness. But what can you do? Another month or so and the days will start the cycle of getting longer again.

Oops, Forgot a Title for This One

Yesterday's Saturday run was definitely a windy one. The first 1.6 miles were with The Boy, who had a tough time and we had to walk twice because he was having pains in his side. Once I delivered him back to the house I went out to finish the remainder of an 8-miler. The wind didn't really bother me too much, although I got tired of it. It was coming out of the SSW at a steady pace of 18-20 mph or so, with gusts up to 40 mph. I kept it loose and relaxed, and walked up the hill by the golf course since there was no sense in killing myself running against the wind. I was certainly windblown by the time I arrived home and it was nice to spend the rest of the day out of the wind.

Complainers

I ran the first 1.1 of my 6 miles today with a couple of little complainers. They're young and made it clear they weren't happy to be running in the lead-up to the Turkey Trot in a couple of weeks. I made it clear I wasn't interested in hearing about their aches and pains and that complaining is not what our family does. They made it without walking, even ascending a hill to get back to the house, and they made it without any ill effects. The training will increase over the coming fourteen days, and there will be joy in our house. They may complain, but I know it's better for them than sitting in front of a computer or TV screen.

Mid-Afternoon

The weather here has turned markedly colder. Last night it got down to 16 degrees, a quick plummet to well below freezing. Today the high was 36 degrees, and since I had the day off I waited until it warmed up that far before running. The breeze was very slight and therefore it wasn't too bad. I don't usually run that time in the mid-afternoon, but the wait was worth it. I ran the usual 6 miles and kept it pretty free and easy. My overall pace was 9:12, which surprised me somewhat since I didn't think I was going that fast. One of the kids said something when I got home about running so early, but when I pointed out I was running when the sun was up they understood.

Disappointment

I had high hopes for today's run. I planned to run 9 miles and keep improving my fitness even though I don't have a race planned anytime soon. It was a beautiful morning with lots of sunshine and mild temperatures.

Instead, I had trouble sleeping and woke up about 5:30 a.m. I know from past experience that a bad night's sleep means a sub-par run, and that pattern held again. About 9:30 I went out for my run and struggled to make it 6 miles. The congestion I've had in my sinuses and throat the past few days didn't help, and I felt foggy brained the whole time. I was listening to a history podcast and there were a few times where I had trouble following the story. I probably should have listened to music instead. Even though it wasn't a good run I still did something. I hope by next weekend all this will be behind me and I can have that good run I planned.

Clear

Today the sky was totally clear, a marked difference from Tuesday when I ran in the rain. I wore pants and a long-sleeved technical t-shirt, which seemed not quite enough as I walked down the street. A little bit into the run it was fine, though. Overall I ran the 6 miles at a comfortable 9:20 pace. I was going to say that it was quite unremarkable, and then thought about how remarkable that is. No knee pain, no foot pain, nothing out of the ordinary. It was a just a plain ol' run, no frills and no bumps in the road. Considering some of the minor aches and pains of the past few years it actually feels good knowing that I went on a run and it was...regular.

Rain

Before I left work it looked like there would be a nice long break between storms. Actually, I didn't plan on running because I felt kind of crummy and thought maybe today would be a better day for weights than being outdoors. The temperature was about 60 degrees, though, and I talked myself into a run. A few drops fell on me as I walked to the end of the street and I thought about turning back but it wasn't bad enough to do so. I modified my route and ran by the golf course. On my way back it started sprinkling and then picked up into a full-on rain about 3/4 of a mile away from home.  By the time I got to the neighborhood I was soaked and feeling good. I ended up going 4.25 miles and I'm glad I did. It seemed like the rain gave me extra energy and made me feel a lot better than when I started. When I got back to the house The Boy was walking a friend home and he asked if I had a good run in the rain. I yelled and gave him a high-five. Yes, I did have a good run in the rain.

Breezy Autumn

Today the temperature was definitely autumnal, and the accompanying breeze made the day even more so. I ran 7 miles total at a 9:13 pace. The breeze came out of the west/northwest, making certain parts of the run nice and cool while the opposite was true when running with the wind. For the first time I dug out my stocking cap to combat the cooler temperature. Overall it was a good run. I originally planned to go a full 8 miles but adjusted when I decided I was not enjoying the coolness very much and besides, I'm not training for anything at the moment. Next week I should be able to get in all three of my planned runs and I might shoot for 9 miles next Saturday, depending on the weather of course.