Speeding Up

I skipped Tuesday morning's run since we're going to be out of town for a few days and I decided it was better to run on Wednesday. That way in case I don't get out while in San Antonio the gap between runs will be a day less. I also decided that putting in some speedwork would be a good thing. To that end during today's 6-miler I threw in some uptempo intervals at the 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 marks, for a half-mile each time. My fastest mile was the last of those, at an 8:57 pace. That means I must have been around 8 minutes for the interval portion since the other half of that mile was probably in the high 9's.

As usual, it was nice to stretch it out after such a long time without any speed. We'll see if I can sneak away for a run this weekend.

Post-Super Blood Moon

Last night we had some high clouds, and our view of the Super Blood Moon was not very clear. We could see enough to tell the eclipse was occurring, and caught a hint of red, but it was all blurry. Guess we'll have to wait another 18 years to see it in focus.

This morning I ran 4 miles, listening to the first Hootie and the Blowfish album. That brought back some memories. I often criticize the 90s for being such a crappy decade for music, but at least there was one good album that came out of that decade. Since I was running a short distance I slept a half-hour later than normal and left the house at 6:45 a.m. It was light enough by then and I didn't have to use my light. Tomorrow we will return to our normally scheduled time.

Lovely Saturday Not Racing

As soon as I headed out this morning I noticed a lot of traffic flooding into the high school parking lot across from our neighborhood. What is this? I thought to myself. Turns out it was a race. And not just any race, but a race where the route went completely along my normal route. I decided quickly that it wasn't about to start and I could get way out in front of any speedsters and then take an alternate route home.

Well, by the time I was on the "back" part of the "out and back" I still didn't see any runners, which seemed strange. I started running about 7:40 a.m. and thought for sure I would run into a sea of humanity. The longer it went on the more I wondered about the start time. The people at all the water stations seemed relaxed, so I kept going. It was about 1.5 miles from home that I encountered the first wave, which turned out to be a hundred people or so strung out along the trail. I kept out of their way, even receiving a clap/cheer from one guy who apparently thought I was leading the race and already heading back toward the finish line. I guess they started around 8:45. I was surprised since I thought there'd be more runners. Apparently those were the 10k participants, as I was about to find out.

Once I'd reached Lake Forest and crossed the street I heard starting horns from the school parking lot. I stopped to watch. A large crowd poured out onto the sidewalk, complete with kids, walkers, and running strollers. Those were apparently the 5k participants, and there were several hundred of them. It was nice to see such a large group.

As far as my run, I went 8 miles on a really nice morning. The temperature was around 70, sunny, and just plain nice. Humidity was up slightly but not as bad as last month. All in all it was a good morning with the highlights of seeing a lot of other people out running and having a good time.

Getting Back to It

Last Saturday I didn't run, mainly because of sheer laziness. It also rained, but as it turned out it would have been a great storm in which to run, not too heavy and no lightning. The Wife and I went to the flea market and did some shopping, plus I had other things to do when arriving home, and I just sloughed off the whole running bit.

Monday morning I ran 4 miles, and felt great. It was one of my better runs lately - fresh legs, good temperature, and great attitude.

Which didn't transfer over to Tuesday. I woke up a few times in the early morning hours and decided it was better to sleep an extra 90 minutes that it was to exercise.

Ditto Wednesday, which was actually more laziness (see Saturday) than bad sleep.

Today, however, I sprang out of bed (overdramatic interpretation) and hit the streets as planned. The run was another good one. The temperatures at this time of year are hovering around 70 degrees before the sun comes up, but the most noticeable change is the decreased humidity. That makes a TON of difference in how the run progresses. My average pace is getting better, and I'm even thinking about throwing in some speedwork next week.

Morning Outing

Back to morning running with another 6-mile jaunt. I knew it was going to be humid and wasn't disappointed. Instead of running with my headlamp on my actual head, I carried it in my hand. That seemed to work better, since once it lightened up enough I clipped it over my belt. I ran through several swarms of gnats or some small black bugs, and came home to find a number of dead ones engulfed in  my arm sweat. In spite of that it was a decent run, albeit slow. The overall pace was about 10:50/mile, but I ran it all and didn't walk. I traded speed for endurance, I suppose. Fair enough for today.

Texas Afternoon

After yesterday's debacle of a drive home from KC, I decided it would be best to not run this morning. I just knew that it wouldn't go well and that I needed sleep more than I needed to exercise. The 8 1/2 hour trip took 12 hours due to issues with our vehicle, and 3/4ths of that was stressed-out driving. I was going to run tomorrow morning and then Thursday as well, but today the temperature wasn't too bad because of all the cloud cover. Which means, of course, that when I headed out the door the sun started shining.

I went 6 miles and, due to the heat being in the high 90s along with the sun and humidity, walked every half-mile once I got to the two-mile mark. That worked out just fine and I was able to complete the outing without incident. My calves felt tight but I attribute that to yesterday's stress more than anything else. Now I can get back on schedule for morning runs.

Eight in Smithville

Today was one of those elusive perfect days. Absolutely gorgeous. 70 degrees and sunny, without wind, on our weekend visit to KC. This  morning I went for a run at Smithville Lake. I've run part of this path before, but this time I started from the other end. I went 8 miles and felt good the whole way. The setting was beautiful and I couldn't have asked for a better day to run.

Throwback Thursday

Since we're in Kansas City for a few days I ran my old route, all 6 miles of it. I planned on running in the morning but after our trip yesterday (transmission problems with the van, visit to urgen care for The Wife), the comedy of errors gave me an excuse to sleep a little longer. The temperature was 88 degrees when I started out at 5 p.m. with lots of nice sunshine. I thought several times about walking but since this will probably be my last time to ever run this route I wanted it to be without stopping for a walk. I kept the pace purposefully slow and it paid off. Since I"m using the Nike running app on my iPhone now I was interested in how the GPS would work compared to the Garmin I used to use. It turned out pretty close, telling me my run was over about a block early. That could be because I crossed Shoal Creek to run in the shade, though, so no complaints. For my purposes it's close enough. And for one final time it was nice to run a familiar route. Wonder how many times I actually ran that same route over the years? A few hundred? Since I've logged more than a thousand runs on this unread blog I'm guessing at least three hundred, and if you add in longer runs that included it as part of a longer route the number probably goes up by another hundred.

When I was done running I walked back to the sidewalk on 96th Street and took pictures of my footprints in the concrete. When they first poured that section I was running east on 96th and tried to stay on the road but had to jump onto the not-quite-dry sidewalk to avoid getting run over. My Asics left faint prints behind and I've been meaning to take a picture of the evidence. Today I finally got it.

Headlight

Today was my first day using the head torch (I like that better than head lamp, sounds more dangerous). I found a couple of interesting things about it. First, it was a pain to carry four miles when the light outside was enough for me to take it off after two. Second, when you run through swarms of bugs with a head torch those bugs dive bomb the light, often missing and getting into your eyes. Finally, it probably looked pretty dorky but I don't care because it worked just fine.

All that said, my outing was not a good one, but this was the last day of really high temperatures for the season. I don't know about the humidity in the near future, but today it was way high. I ran the first four and then walked twice the rest of the way. No apologies since it was rough out there. When I took off my technical t-shirt it probably held a half-gallon of sweat. The forecast looks like summer is done. I don't mind the heat, but for running purposes it will be nice if the humidity dries up a little.

Humidity Wins

Went over to the (formerly Virtual) Running Partner's place to go for a Saturday morning run. We headed out a 7 a.m. but that didn't help much against the high humidity. I was going to run at least 6 but ended up with 5. It was one of those days where the extra mile wouldn't have made any difference unless it was in a negative way.

Yesterday I downloaded the Nike app onto my phone so I can track mileage and we'll see if that works in place of a dedicated GPS device. I also need something to help with pace and again, the jury is out on whether or not this is the way to go. More study needed.

Awesome Run

Today was the best run I've had in ages. I went 6 miles, no walking, and felt great at the end. Maybe it was the new shirt I wore. Either way, this was the run I've been working toward. I wore a blinking red light since I was out before sunrise, and the headlamp I ordered should be in by tomorrow so I can start using that next week.

I ran the usual path, and when I reached the turnaround point a guy was coming my way. About a third of a mile later he passed me, and I kept up with his pace for the next ten minutes or so. Saw a few other people out, some of whom I recognize as "regulars" at that time of the morning. The temperature was normal, in the mid-70s, and the humidity was just as bad as it usually is. Regardless, I had a great outing and wish every run felt this good.

Back to Normal

Made it back to 6 miles on a weekday run yesterday. I plan on keeping this going so that returns to my normal outings. I started out a little earlier to get it in before going to work, and I found I was running in the dark. That didn't decrease the humidity any, but it did make for a little bit of startlement when a cat jumped away from me when I was only a couple of steps away on the sidewalk. Since it's not going to get better for about the next six months or so, I ordered a headlamp (or torch, in the UK) today. It might not be the coolest thing to wear, but it'll be dark. And as I run through the park it'll be nice to see where I'm going.

I woke up a couple of times Monday night/Tuesday morning with a twinge in my right calf. I thought it might limit my distance, but after the first half-mile it didn't bother me at all. I felt it again this morning, though, so in my usual unfashionable way I'm wearing a compression sleeve on that calf today. Plus my plantar sock on my left foot. Feels like I'm turning into an old man, or at least dressing like one.