Tulsa Run and Hills

Yesterday I ran in Tulsa along the new and improved Riverparks path. Wow, I wish it had been that nice when we lived there. The city has vastly improved the park. There are two paths, one for bikes and the other for foot traffic. In some narrow spots the paths merge briefly, but they're clearly marked and it's nice to be away from the bike crowd. It was 90 degrees and Daughter #1 ran the first mile with me before she wussed out. I ran the section from 21st Street down to 51st and back. The park has a lot of wide spots with benches, a play area for kids, and several sculptures. Along several stretches there was also a single-wide dirt path alongside the running track, and that was way cool. It allowed me to get off the asphalt for a little bit. What a great idea.

Today it was back to KC and a hill run. I went west on 96th Street all the way to 435, and then up the road to the elementary school and then around through the neighborhood. I felt really tight when I first started and it took about a mile to loosen up. I got in my 6 miles, though. The temperature was up from last week, but with the sun headed to the horizon earlier in the evening it wasn't too bad. Plus the humidity is down and that helps as well.

Better Long Run

Last week's long run was tough. It was the first time in several years I'd run that far. This week was a little longer, and it was actually a little easier, if that's possible. I ran 16 today, getting out about 7 o'clock this morning. It was a different type of run, looping around the neighborhood twice before concluding the final 9.25 out and about. With the Garmin still in the repair shop I mapped out a way to run the distance. I haven't run that circuit in a while, maybe as long as running this far. The neighborhood has built up and today was also a garage sale day. I hate those. I considered just running five loops since it was a nice way to get in the miles, but decided I didn't want to deal with the garage salers. After the first loop I stopped by the house for my sunglasses, and after the second I stopped by to refuel. That was my only gel and sports drink for the run, which probably wasn't smart. I felt good the entire run, and maybe could have run some more. With Wednesday's extended run in DC I had enough weekly mileage without going crazy, and stopped when prudent.After last week's tough run I feel much better after getting through today's without much trouble.

Theodore Roosevelt Island

Yesterday I flew into DC for a meeting this morning, and got in early enough for a run. I was staying in Crystal City, which usually means I run the Mt. Vernon Trail toward the 14th Street Bridge. I know it's probably called something else, but I'm too lazy to look it up. Regardless, I usually run across the bridge to the Jefferson Memorial. Yesterday I stayed on the trail and kept going toward the Key Bridge (see, that one I know). My goal was Theodore Roosevelt Island, even though it meant a longer run than would be normal for a weekday. In fact, I ended up at 9 miles but it was well worth it.

First of all, I passed the Merchant Marine Memorial, which is a beautiful sculpture on the south bank of the Potomac, and rarely visited. It sits right beside a busy road and is not close to any other monuments or memorials. Still, I found it a nice treasure hidden in plain sight.

Then I got to the Island. Having read the recent three-volume bio of the man who could be considered the first "modern" president, I was excited to see the memorial to a man who had a whole island named after him. Access to the island is across a foot bridge, and the area is completely covered by trees. A trail runs around the perimeter of the island, which I did not take since I already had enough mileage. I checked the sign at the foot of the bridge on the island side and discovered the quickest way to the memorial. Sure enough, a short walk later I emerged from the trees into the wide-open area where stood a definitively larger-than-life statue of the man who was the same. A brick plaza led the way to the statue, and it was flanked behind by four monuments with Teddy's sayings. The fountains were drained, which was disappointing. Not sure if they were prepped already for colder weather or if that's the natural state. It certainly didn't look like they'd held water any time recently. I was the only person there and enjoyed the solitude for a few minutes. Then I returned the way I came and beat the rain by a few minutes. I get the feeling the island isn't visited a whole lot, since people have to walk across the bridge and it's not right by the more popular attractions on the National Mall. I think I'll go back, though, as it already jumped up close to the top of my favorites.

Seven Hill Repeats

I ran hill repeats today up Lungdropper Hill. I originally thought about doing six, then realized eight would be optimal to match with mileage, and settled on seven as a happy medium. Since my GPS is on the fritz (the replacement battery came today!) I estimated the overall mileage and came up at 6 miles, or close enough. There was cloud cover while I was out, which helped immensely. I haven't run that hill in a long time and now there are houses and a sidewalk all the way up. It was pretty tough and I slowed my ascents as I went along, but I pumped it up for the last one and feel good about the run.

Recovery

It was a beautiful day, almost Autumn-like. And since today is the first day of Autumn, I guess that holds true. When I started my run it was slow and I could still feel the effects of Saturday's 14 miles. I took it easy all the way through my 6 miles, trying to stretch where I could. This is part of lengthening my weekend outings in preparation for the November marathon, but I have to admit it doesn't always feel good. That's why I do runs like these, though. It's a good thing to get in the weekly mileage, and it's also good to have recovery runs like this.

Deja Humidity

This morning I got up way earlier than I wanted, but had to out of necessity for the rest of the day's schedule. I guess I'd say this was a tale of two runs. They both covered my normal route. The first was 7.25 miles that brought me back to the house for a gel pack and a little bit of sports drink. Most of that part was in the dark since I started at 6 a.m. Even though the sun wasn't up yet the humidity still made its presence known. There was a slight breeze but it helped less than I hoped. For the first leg I ran without iPod since I enjoy the early morning quiet just fine.

The second part was 6.75 miles to get me to a total of 14 for the day. One reason I stopped by the house was because I know the distances just fine and my Garmin is out of commission until I get a new battery. I ordered one this week and it doesn't look too difficult to replace. Until then I'm stuck with my normal routes or mapping out things beforehand. My inherent laziness keeps me at the default. This part of the run was tougher. I listened to a couple of podcasts to keep me going and it helped. By the time I got to the 10-11 mile mark I was just going on autopilot. I wasn't hurting or anything but it was a reminder I haven't run this far in a while. I walked a little bit by the golf course but other than that it was a constant run, slow and easy. I stayed with a pace that was comfortable. Tonight I'm a little stiff, especially in the right hip, but not too bad, especially after spending the rest of the day helping spread mulch at church for a few hours and then fixing the garage door opener. I've taken it appropriately easy tonight.

Finally, Fartleks

Another overcast and cooler day today, and the plan called for hills. I've run enough hills in the past few months and decided to get in some of my missing speedwork. I went with fartleks of the 2-4-6-4-2 variety over the course of 6 miles. I felt a little slow when I first set out on my run, but once warmed up it went pretty well. I was at about an 8:30 pace on the speedy sections, a couple of which were uphill. I held the effort rather than trying to keep up a certain pace.

The Garmin has gotten to the point where it won't keep a charge for even 45 minutes, and it crapped out on me during the last fart (I'm going with that as the term for a subdivided fartlek). Guess I need to figure out how to get a new batter or something.

Finally, A Tempo Run

Yesterday I ran in the morning and it was nice. Still a little humid here in KC, but the temperature was a lovely 70 degrees and it was a good, easy 6 miles. It's nice to be home again.

Today was sunny, but of the autumnal version. And the temperature was mild, which allowed me to get in my first real speedwork in this round of training. The plan called for 4 miles of tempo at an 8-minute/mile pace. I was closer to 9 minutes for most of that, but I call that a victory, especially after all the starts and stops of running in the heat this summer. I went the full 6 miles without stopping and felt good about it. Now that the weather is cooling down I feel like I want to run every day and not waste any good days, but I also know better when it comes to sticking to the plan.

Fort Yargo Park

I had such great plans for this morning's long run. I got up at 6 a.m., ate a protein bar, hopped in my brother's truck, and headed for a lakeside park with a 7-mile trail. I had it all mapped out and everything looked good to go. I made all the right turns, stopped by a convenience store to grab a couple of sports drinks, and tooled down the road to the park. Some idiot was riding my tail in the pre-dawn approach and I missed the park entrance. I took the next left and found a turnout to change direction. Unbeknown to me, the spot was on a downhill slant and my brother's truck had little tread on the tires. I was barely off the road but the slant was too much for the truck, and let's just say it got worse the more I tried. I had to call him and between the two of us we finally got it back on the road. By that time I was an hour past when I wanted to start and the sun was coming up.

The trail itself wasn't too bad, although there were a few spots where it could have been better marked. I made one circuit around the lake, got something to drink and ate a gel pack, and went about another mile before turning back. I probably got in a 9-mile run (my GPS died after the break) and spent an hour and a half outside. I thought about running more but the humidity was just too much. The temperature wasn't too bad, probably in the low 70s, but the moisture was about 95%. Humidity - the silent killer. I didn't get in the mileage I wanted and there was a lot of walking, but the effort was more than the mileage shows. When I return home I'll see how I feel about the upcoming schedule and whether or not I need to modify it.

Counting It As 6

Today our class ended about 5 o'clock and some of us decided to meet at 7 p.m. to go out for a classmate's birthday. I had to walk back to the hotel and made it out the door by 5:30 for my hill run. This was my last run around Chastain Park and it was a pretty good one. I decided to run 27 minutes out and planned for 33 minutes back since the hills are worse in that direction. It worked out to 26 out and 25 back for a total of 5 miles. I'm counting it as 6 miles, though, since I walked a half-mile each way to the training site and back. Plus another half-mile to meet everyone for the evening outing. And another quarter-mile or so each way to lunch and back. That makes an easy 7 miles total for the day. With the heat around 90 degrees and humidity high I'm counting it all. I have the next few days off before the long run, and have to admit I'm looking forward to it. Three days in a row is a lot.

Occasional Speedwork

Today's run in Buckhead/Atlanta was not exactly what I planned, but as I've learned, you have to be flexible when it's hot outside. The thermometer was in the mid-80s and of course the humidity was up as well. I chose to run a route through a business area and then through a neighborhood, kind of along a route I ran last time I was here. The nice thing about it was that with lots of road crossings there were several stops at intersections that allowed me to catch my breath. The bad part was that it included a lot of hills, but I'm not sure how I can get away from that around here. Kind of like being at home. I ended up at 5 miles. That will impact my weekly total slightly, but I don't care since I'm running three days in a row and it seemed more prudent to cut it just a little short on the middle day. I was supposed to run 2-4-6-4-2 fartleks but that didn't happen. I did have three instances of speeding up on some downhills for about two minutes at a time, but that was all I could manage. Maybe next week when I'm back home it'll go better. Depending on the temperature, of course.

Back in Atlanta

Back in Atlanta this week for my final week of training, and it's warm and humid still. I ran to Chastain Park to get in my 6 miles. This time I ran up by the amphitheater just to see what it was all about. Looks like a nice place to see a concert. The rest of the run I did pretty well, especially with the hills. It's nice to see the difference between now and four weeks ago when I first ran here. That time I did a lot of walking, and today I walked only a little on the big hill coming up from the park. Not bad for a warm day. More running to come this week.

Stretching It Out

Yesterday (Saturday) I got up early and headed out before the dawn's early light. Not because it was going to be hot, but because I needed to get my run in before having to play taxi driver for the kids. I ran 11 miles and have to say I'm pretty proud of myself because I didn't walk at all. Which was kind of a big deal because I ran some big hills. The temperature was around 60 degrees and about as nice as you could want for a long run. There were a lot of people out and about after the sun came up, and it even looked like one neighborhood was doing a group run, kids and strollers included. This was a nice step on the road to ever-lengthening runs. Now it's time to go run in Atlanta for the week.

Final Hot Run?

This afternoon it was 94 degrees outside. I had a choice to make about whether or not to run today. Tomorrow is supposed to be markedly cooler and I could wait until tomorrow. However, I'm supposed to run 11 miles on Saturday, and I'd prefer to do that in the morning. Running on Friday afternoon and then again on Saturday morning is not a recipe for success. I can't put off the long run until Sunday because of church and flying out at noon. I could have skipped today's run altogether and just run the 11 on Saturday, but I'd like to keep the weekly mileage total up, and skipping a run doesn't help the total.

After considering all those things I went for it this afternoon in spite of the heat. I ran up the hills a little more than normal in such high temps, but trust me, there was plenty of walking. I took my water bottle and by the time I was done the little bit of water left was lukewarm. In spite of that I got in my 6 miles. According to the weather forecast this is the last day in the near future with the mercury passing the 90 degree mark. Maybe I'll be able to actually get in some speed work. I'll be in Atlanta next week and the weather there will be in the 80s all week. Guess I won't get to enjoy lower temperatures for a while yet.

Speed in the Heat

The temperature was lower today, in the upper 80s, and I resolved to do what speed work I could. The plan called for 3 miles of 8:30 tempo during the 6-miler. Because of the heat I ran nine minutes and walked one for the first three miles. After the first two I upped the pace, but I wasn't targeting 8:30, just faster than the 10+ minute pace I've been running this summer. I ended up most of the time being close to 9 minutes (when I wasn't walking) and that turned out okay. With fall weather on the way I'm hopeful I can start getting in some regular speedwork. I don't want it to all be in the last part of my training plan.

Pleasant

This morning it was 68 degrees outside, making it one of the most pleasant runs I've had in a while. Today is a holiday and I thought the streets would be empty, and for the most part they were. However a number of other runners were out and about, enjoying the same weather. It was a little bit humid, but a nice breeze from the south kept it from becoming too bad. I ran 6 easy miles and never had to walk. I haven't been able to do speed work yet because of the heat. Oh, and yesterday I registered for the marathon in November. Definitely committed now.