Wamego Run

Hanging with the parents this week in Wamego, and today was an odd day. It started off cool, maybe even sub-50s, and stayed pretty cool until about 2 p.m. The sun finally came out and the temperature soared to 80 degrees. I went for my 4-mile run about 4 o'clock and it wasn't too bad out with a breeze and not much humidity. There's a park near here that I ran around 3 1/2 times before heading back to the house. The park is interesting, a couple of nicely manicured baseball parks and some soccer fields, all with signs that say practice on these fields is forbidden. At least they look nice.

Weekly Run

Today was likely my only run of the week, due to work on Tuesday and driving to Kansas on Saturday. The temperature was a lovely 85 degrees this afternoon, and I ran my 4 miles without stopping. It was a nice run and the humidity was relatively low, making the temp not seem as bad as it could have. I'll be taking my running gear to KS and hope to get in three runs next week.

Evening McKinney Run

Today The Wife and I took a LTC class and then spent some time on the range. When we exited the building it was a beautiful day. I quickly changed when we reached home and headed out the door. We have new neighbors moving in across the street and I stopped by to say hello, then headed out for 6 miles. The neighborhood by the path was holding a gathering complete with bouncy houses and a train, which required a little dodging around on the way out as well as the return trip. At the dog park a stage was set up by the pond and some semi-annoying music blasted over the water. A few families were out riding bikes, as well as an older couple walking their dog, but for the most part the path was clear.

I ran the whole way, and felt a little better than the run a couple of days ago. Hopefully it's a good week before I head north to Kansas for a few days.

Evening Austin Run

Spent the week in Austin. I should have run last Saturday or Sunday but just didn't, and then was busy all week with work. I finally caught a break on Thursday evening and got out for 4 miles. My legs felt pretty dead at points, but I made it through. I hadn't run in that part of town before, and I had to dodge cars coming out of side streets and almost had to pause for a train crossing the road. By the time I got back it was getting dark and the wind had picked up. Regardless, it was good to get out and do something healthy, which doesn't always happen on a work trip.

Pleasant Outing

I took time out of the day this morning to run 5 miles, and it was a really nice day. The weather was cool, about 60 degrees, with a nice breeze from the north. Almost perfect weather for running. I kept a pace around 10 minutes/mile, with a nice sprint at the end. Too bad not every day is like this, but if it was then everyone would want to live here.

Tuesday Afternoon

My schedule was so packed on Tuesday even though I worked from home, and I didn't get to run until after 4:30 p.m. The temperature was just above 80 degrees, and humid of course. I ran 4 miles and only walked briefly up the hill. It was a good follow-up to Sunday's race and I was glad to find the time to at least get out and sweat a little bit.

Impromptu 5k

One of my friends from church told me about a 5k scheduled for Sunday. Since the registration was only $25 I thought I would go for it and help support a worthy cause - 100% of the fees go to families who are battling cancer. Plus the start was at the high school right across from our neighborhood, and the route was along my usual path.

The temperature was right at 50 degrees when I left the house to walk over to the school. It was a pretty good sized crowd of several hundred, a high percentage of them being students. I registered and then waited with my friends for the start. I left the line pretty slow, which wasn't surprising since I've been running ten-minute-plus miles for the greater part of the year. The bad thing was I felt like I was running fast, which is never a good sign. Nevertheless I kept the pace in the mid-nines.

After the turnaround I added on to my pace and felt good about it. I passed my friend and did my usual negative split, picking off people all the way to the finish line. When I turned the last corner in the school parking I cranked into a higher gear and left the people around me in the dust. It was a good feeling.

By my watch I finished in 27:15. Not blazing fast, but not bad for a guy pushing 50 and who hasn't done any serious speed work in a long time. The results haven't been posted yet so no idea how I fared in my age group. Still, it was fun to run a race pretty much on a whim.

Saturday Route

Yesterday morning I ran a different route than usual, looking to break things up and try a run I've only done a couple of times. I ran south on Lake Forest to Eldorado ,then west to Ridge, and up Ridge to the golf course, where I cut back over to Lake Forest. I don't like all the traffic and noise that came along with it, but it was good to try something different. The final tally was 6.23 miles. It was a beautiful morning and perfect for a nice outing. Plenty of people were out walking, running, and cycling. I guess I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the nice weather.

Late Morning Run

Once again I chose to sleep longer and run more toward the middle of the day - one of the benefits of working from home. I ran my 4 miles in pretty humid conditions, cloudy and breezy. The wind out of the south helped, and I learned something along the way. If I run up to the high school parking lot at the bottom of the big hill, and then cut through the left turn lane, I tend to run the whole hill rather than walking. Probably because by the time I get to the sidewalk on the west side of the street I've already run half the hill. I even did it today against the wind.

On another note, my sister was diagnosed today with a stress fracture in her hip. She's taken up running in the past year and talked about doing a marathon next year. Instead she's going to be laid up for 4-6 weeks. She's bummed that this will reset her training base back to ground zero, but also says she'll be able to someday say she ran a marathon after suffering a stress fracture. That will be an awesome day!

Evening Run

Because of my averseness to getting up early these days, I ran after going into the office. It was about 80 degrees and a little humid, but not as bad as the mornings even a month ago. I ran 4 miles with a stiff breeze out of the south, which actually felt good. I walked up the big hill since it was going into the wind.

Been feeling fat lately, and when I weighed on Monday morning I was at 175 lbs. That's too much on my frame, and I need to trim down. I've been feeling that way for several weeks (okay, months). I feel like I've been doing pretty good at eating less, although there are meals where I'm not doing so well. Hopefully the return to running as well as the added punching bag workouts will help.

Just Nice

The weather is absolutely perfect, and today's run was close to it. I ran 6 miles in lower temperatures and humidity, in Texas terms, and it was nice. The knee felt good still. The only time I had to walk was when I came off the path in the neighborhood north of here, and just for a couple of blocks. I attribute that more to the week off than anything else. A lot of people out walking dogs, running and pushing strollers, biking, etc. A day that restores your faith in...well, nice days.