One Week

Yes, it's been a week since I last ran. On Thursday I flaked out. I should have run but the weather was just bad enough to convince my lazy self to blow it off. Saturday I was in Manhattan and had my running gear with me but again distracted myself with other things. Today it was back to running. In fact, the weather was probably worse today than last Thursday and yet I went for it. The big reason for the difference is that today the new album from Old 97's dropped and I wanted to run with it blasting in my earbuds. I listened to it last week about five times through streaming and I already knew it rocks. Today it kept me going 6 miles at a 9:12 pace. Good job guys.

Perfect Spring Day, New Route

About 70 degrees today, although it felt a little warmer. I've been thinking about trying a new route, and so I did. Instead of heading east I went west and into the Shoal Creek area. I was worried that this course wouldn't be 6 miles, but it actually ended up being a little more than that. Part of the run was on trails and gravel, which was kind of a nice change. There were a few big uphill portions, and that caught up to me in the last couple of miles, which was the same as my usual last two miles. I walked up the hill at the golf course, partly due to the hills and also because the temperature was higher than the latter days. The sun was shining the whole way, which also played a part. At least maybe I've found a route more shaded and a little easier during Summer.

Stealing Miles

I have this little thing I do to steal a mile here and there. It's kind of a mental game, but it works out to some extra mileage and that's what matters. For instance, today (and several "long" runs recently), I run a block into a couple of neighborhoods and right back out. And then on my way back on the old out-and-back course I retrace the route. Those little forays into a neighborhood net me about .12 miles each. But when I do the out-and-back it comes out to a quarter-mile. And doing it twice adds up to a half-mile. I also add in a little extra to the "out" portion of the run and and suddenly I've tagged an extra mile onto my run. Today I ran 7 miles total and it was completely my 6-mile course plus these extras. I've done this before with brief sojourns into a neighborhood, and it works because it's barely noticeable on the run but it adds up in the end. Recommended.

Another Cool One

This week is the Easter program at church, so I'm taking off work a half-hour early each day in order to get in my exercise and not feel rushed to get to church on time. Today I ran my usual 6 miles, and once again it was cooler than normal. I wore long pants, a long-sleeved technical t-shirt, and a race cotton t-shirt over that. I took along mittens just in case but I ended up not needing them. Again it's one of those things that's relative. The temperature is about 50 degrees, yet it feels cold compared to the warmer temperatures we've already experienced. In winter this would have been absolutely balmy. Oh well, it helps me run a little faster than I would at this point in the spring, and I'm not complaining. Before too long it'll be in the 90s and I'll be searching for shade.

Spring Cool Run

Today was cool but it was almost perfect for running. A nice breeze blew from the south but not too bad. I ran my 6 miles today without the Garmin again, which means I can't tell exactly what my pace was. I slept really well last night which translated to a good run today. That seems timely given an article about the importance of sleep in that running magazine that all the runners read. I'm guessing my pace was in the 9-minute range. I felt good all the way through. It's amazing what a good night's sleep will do for a person.

I'm Counting It

Today my goal was 8 miles. I ran (with a couple of walks up the big hills) 7.6 in total. But with my pre-run walk and post-run cooldown I went over 8 miles, and that's what I'm counting so I get to 20 miles this week. I talked yesterday with a co-worker about the effort that goes into a run against the wind and that was definitely the case today The air blew from the south in a big way today and that affected my run up some big hills. Even though my GPS said 7.6 the actual effort was well over 8. And so it goes.

Pleasant Run

Another nice 6-miler, which was almost exactly the same as Tuesday's run. The wind blew out of the NE and I ran without GPS. And all of that was fine with me. Wore the previous set of shoes again and trying to figure out when to work in the new ones. I wore them a couple of times out and about to break them in and will probably do so a little more before running in them again.

In the Groove

Today was a normal run, on a normal day, and felt pretty normal. I'm back into the routine, and ran the usual 6 miles. The wind was blustery and made it a little cool given the temperature, but all in all it was a nice easy run. I went without the GPS this time and I'm guessing my pace was somewhere in the 9:30/mile range. My goal for now is to keep up the routine and log approximately 20 miles a week until I figure out a race to run.

7 Up

Today was one of those rare and gorgeous days in MO. Sunny, temperate, and very little wind. It's one of those days where I like to say even if I wasn't a runner I'd still run. Today's schedule kept me tied up until about 2 p.m. but that was okay. I ran 7 miles this afternoon, nice and easy, and enjoyed it. I ran my normal 6-mile route and added in some side streets and a quarter-mile extension early on that kept me from having to figure out any other math. I wore the shoes from my previous race and I think that helped. My right heel has been hurting the past couple of days and I don't know why, but after today's run it seems okay, for now. In the meantime the off-race training shall continue.

Easy Thursday

I swear the wind changed direction while I was out running today. Several times. Nevertheless, I ran 6 miles at a nice, easy pace and overall felt pretty good. When I returned home and went to put my shoes away I found that I had made a mistake with my shoes. I didn't want to wear the new pair again, so I grabbed what I thought was the pair I'd used for the race - in other words, the pair before my new ones. Instead I picked up the shoes previous to that one, which I actually wear sometimes as sneakers. Oh well, no harm I suppose. It was just funny that I didn't notice until the run was long over.

Return to Running

First run since the race, and hey, I got new shoes. I put them on and went out for a 5-miler. I probably should have broken them in a little first since they were kind of tight. It was nice to get out for a run after over a week. The weather was cooler than normal but not horrible, with a slight breeze from the northeast. My plan is to run 6 on Thursday and 7 on Saturday to get back into the swing of things without losing my modest level of training so far this year.