Testing

Today's 10-miler was sort of a test. The temperature was 63 degrees at the start, a marked difference from last Saturday's run. I used the run/walk timer on my GPS, deciding to run at whatever felt comfortable. I thought a test like this on a "shorter" run on a day that might be more like race day would be a good thing. It turned out pretty well.

The first mile was slow, but as opposed to more recent runs with higher humidity I didn't start sweating until the one-mile mark. Usually it's a half-mile in when that happens. After that my miles, including the one-minute walk, averaged 10 minutes/mile or even 9:45/mile. At the end of it all my average was right at 10 minutes/mile. I never felt like I was going too fast during the intervals. The question will be whether or not this is sustainable over a full 26.2 miles.

Once again there was a race along my normal route. I saw some people at a couple of the turns, including a water station at the turn-around for what looked like a 5k. I never saw any runners, and thought the volunteers were setting up. Either the race already took place and I was coming in at the very end, or it all occurred during my out-and-back. At the water station they gave me a cup of water, where I asked if I was winning. They assured me I was. No idea what race it was, but on my back all traces of it were gone. Maybe it was just an elaborate prank.

Cooldown

This morning the temperature was about 68 degrees, a nice cooldown from Tuesday's run. It climbed a little higher as the day went on, but only by about 10 degrees, which means our days in the 90s are probably over. Plus I wanted to run while it was cooler since I did 4 of my 6 miles at a tempo pace. It started somewhat slow, at about 9:30/minute, and by the end of the fourth mile I was closer to 8 minutes/mile. Typical. Fortunately this weekend is "only" a 10-miler and I get a little bit of a respite before cranking it up over the following three weeks: 16, 18, and 20 before tapering.

Texas Hill Runs

Not sure that I've actually done hill repeats since we moved to Texas. In KC it was pretty simple to figure out where to run these since there was a hill the nephews name Lungdropper Hill where I would run repeats. Here there are a couple of places, but both are along busy streets and not necessarily at good places on the respective route.

Since today is probably the last day - or close to it - in the 90s, I thought I would run a mile and see how it went. If it was not good, I would just try and maintain enough to get in my 6 miles. If a little better than good, I could do repeats right after mile two and then have a cooldown on the way home. The latter is where I ended up.

Without going into too much detail, I ran almost exactly the right distance out - within .01 of a a mile - to where my seven hill repeats up the curve at Hardin ended up where I wanted at the finish. My on-the-fly calculations aside, the repeats went well, I felt pretty strong, and even though I walked once+the big hill on the way back since it was over 90 degrees, it was a good workout.

Recovery Running

I decided I needed to add a little more mileage to my weeks, and so today I ran a 4-miler at lunch. It was a nice recovery run, with a few clouds to blot out the sun and the 90 degree temperature. I ran without music but everything else was normal, including all the sweat. I plan on doing this for the next six weeks or so. It doesn't seem so necessary when my long runs are less than ten miles, but beyond that it's nice to have an easy day with no expectations other than stretching out a little.

Let's Run Far

This was the longest run in a while. I planned my route this time along with some nutrition, and let me just say that it turned out way better than last week where I meandered and hit the wall. Today's 15-miler was a totally different story than 13 miles a week ago. I was going to get up at 6:15 and hit the trial, but I started waking up before 6 and ended up heading out the door shortly after 6:30. That was actually a good thing. It was still dark but that didn't matter for long. I ran a loop around the western portion of McKinney, which I had found on the USATF site. The last leg was supposed to head east on Eldorado and north up Hardin, but by the time I got to Eldorado I had enough mileage to know that I would be way over if I continued. So I ran about a half-mile on Eldorado and turned around to run up Lake Forest. That actually put me at 14.91 at my usual stopping point, and I walked the last .09 to complete the route.

The run/walk seems to be working well, and at this temperature and humidity I like it. Hopefully as the the weather cools off over the next several weeks my intervals will be faster, but at the moment I don't feel like I'm losing a whole lot - about 3 minutes every hour at the most. The only calf cramp I felt was right after mile 14 where I made an awkward move to turn walked for about 15 seconds to let it work out. Other than that it was all good.

Still Hot

Here it is in late September and the high today was 96 degrees. I love Texas! I worked late last night and honestly ate too much food - a bunch of meat from Rudy's in Austin - so that I decided to run after my flight home today. I headed out at 5:30 p.m., at which point the temperature was in the low 90s. Fortunately there was a good breeze from the south and most of the run was in the shade. I also walked a minute at every mile mark as well as up the big hill. The strategy worked and I got in my 6 miles. Felt pretty tired at the start but that worked its way out as I went along. I saw signs for a race on Saturday along the path, which means I'll probably need to plan an alternate route for Saturday's long run.

Quarry Lake

Tuesday morning I got up nice and early in Austin to get in my run. I set out from the hotel about 6:45 and headed north. My plan was to run around Quarry Lake, which I'd never visited, and lap it enough times to get in my mileage. It was still a few minutes from first light when I arrived and found the lake and path surrounded by a fence. Surprise! I tried one of the gates and no luck. I ran around a few buildings and then a path, where I found another gate. This one opened. I'm guessing they must have been on timers and set to unlatch at 7 a.m. Anyway, I was the first one on the path and ended up doing five laps (I think), a couple of which were at a faster pace.

It was a humid morning, and as I ran more people showed up on the path. A few were walking dogs, one guy sat down on a bench and read, and one shirtless older guy (like probably the same age as me) sprinted by me going the opposite way a few times. I saw him walking a lap later, so I guess the humidity got to him, too. I made it back to the hotel at about the 5.7 mile mark and that was close enough to my usual tally so I called it good.

Wandering

I'm interested in seeing how the map looks for today's 13-mile run. I was originally going to run a couple of miles over to the church and back and then my normal route for the rest. Instead I ended up momentarily thinking I would run hills (since I was lazy and skipped my Thursday run), but ended up taking a left instead. I turned right at the YMCA building on Ridge and then around the lake at Adriatica. I headed south on Stonebridge and then west on Coronado. I made it over to Custer and then wound my way back along neighborhood streets and then down to Eldorado, up Lake Forest and then back to Ridge where I eventually hooked back up with my route at the YMCA.

I did make a mistake, though. I left a sports drink and gel in the back of my truck, figuring I'd get those before heading out for the bulk of my run. Instead, my exploring meant I went the whole distance without any mid-run nutrition. By mile 11.5 I was feeling it pretty hard, so I walked a little bit and then ran the last mile. Not my best decision. Next weekend I will plan my route better so that wanderlust doesn't get the best of me.

Some Speed

After the drudgery of just getting out and running all summer long without much variety - it's not a good idea to do speedwork with temperatures in the 90s - today the plan called for fartleks, and that's what I did. I forget how much fun it is to run faster. It really is a feeling that takes me back to being a kid. I ran a mile, then started the 2-4-6-4-2 pattern. The temp today was in the low 80s with a nice breeze from the north, and that helped a lot. Several times during the speed intervals my pace dipped into the 7s, which I wouldn't have thought possible. Nevertheless, I felt loose and strong today and the run was a much-needed release after a couple of totally busy days at work. The intervals worked out perfectly since I was able to cool down in the last mile of the 6 total. Looking forward to the next bout of speedwork!

Glitch at the Start

This morning before I ran I reset the GPS to alert me for run/walk intervals. Then I started out on my run and after two minutes it chirped at me. The screen had some weird display of time and distance, and it had stopped. I ended it without saving, and then restarted. That worked. I have no idea what happened other than it was confused because it hadn't found satellites yet when I started. Anyway, I adjusted my run a little bit but decided it wasn't worth it to do the math and an extra quarter-mile wouldn't kill me. I ended up with 11.25 miles as the grand total.

Early on the temperature was very mild, and I felt like the walk breaks were almost cheating. By the last several miles I was looking forward to them as the day grew warmer. No telling yet if this is the right mix (9 minutes run/1 minute walk) but at least I can experiment over the next several weeks. For today I think it was okay, and probably only added about four minutes overall to the total time. If I can get through a full marathon without calf cramps it will be worth a few extra minutes.

Pounding the Hills

I decided today would be a hill day. Mostly because that's what my schedule said, but also because the temperature wasn't bad and there was a good breeze out of the southeast. Believe it or not, I actually like running uphill against the wind, to a certain extent, because it keeps me cooled off. I ran my 6-mile route over to Stonebridge. I usually don't see many others out running, which is a shame because the path that winds through and behind one of the neighborhoods is actually pretty nice. The thermometer on my return in front of our church said 88 degrees. That's mild enough that I ran the entire way, even up the big hills. Good run.

Dinner Run

Had work calls all day until after 5 o'clock, but that worked out well since the temperature cooled off a little. Along with a nice breeze from the north it made the 6 miles feel pretty easy, especially compared to my last run. It wasn't a fast run, although I could have kicked it up slightly I think. Nevertheless it was probably a better decision to let my body dictate the pace without trying to match a clock.

Full Tank

The title of this post refers to the state of our vehicles. Even as of late yesterday there were still long lines at the gas stations and people waiting for hours. Today we fueled all three of our cars with waits of less than five minutes each. Patience, people.

This morning it seemed like the longer I ran the more humid it became. Or maybe it was the sun rising higher. I went 9 miles. The first six went fine, and then I walked a minute. At mile seven it was a couple of minutes. And at mile eight it was probably three. Plus a walk up the hill. My shirt was drenched, but I made it the whole way. It was one of those runs that wasn't pretty but I still got to the end in one piece. That counts for something, right?