What a Day

It was beautiful today, in the low 60s and sunny with just enough breeze to make it feel a little cooler. I went my usual 6 miles today, actually the first time I've run that route in a number of weeks. It felt good, and even though my left knee feels a little sore I think that means it's time to get a new pair of shoes heading into the new year. A very enjoyable day today.

More Texas Autumn

It's almost the end of November and the temperature today was in the mid 70s with sunshine. I love Texas. I was going to get up early and run but decided to wait until later, and I'm glad I did. 5 miles and felt good.

Renewed Running

I've spent the last 13 days not running, and also trying to not eat too much over the Thanksgiving holiday. I was successful on both points, and actually started this morning a couple of pounds lighter than on race day. Today was a nice autumn Texas day and (grumble grumble) would have been perfect for a race. I took them as they come, though, and enjoyed my 4-mile recovery run. It was nice to get back into the swing of running. I thought there would be more people out, at least walking, but not so much. Also, my GPS didn't chime at the mile markers, which means I messed it up somehow after the race when I changed a few settings. I'll look at that before my next time out.

As far as recovery from the race goes, it was a little odd. The day after, a Monday, wasn't too bad, but I clearly sat too long at the desk working. On that Tuesday I had stiff and cramping calves all day, and even some into Wednesday. Later in the week it dissipated, but clearly I should have gone out for a walk on that first day. Lesson learned for next time.

Fort Worth Marathon

It was a humid day, and the one or two people who ever read this blog will know this is not a good thing for me. I was sweating within the first mile, and there were a few sprinkles in the first four miles that did nothing to help assuage the humidity. I followed the run/walk 9/1 pattern, which felt weird at first when I walked before the first mile marker, but which I think helped me in the long run, no pun intended.

My overall time was 4:37, not great and definitely in the middle of the pack. For the first 20 miles or so I was following a 10-minute/mile pace, but fell off in the last six miles. Maybe because my iPod died at mile 20 in the middle of a Lyle Lovett song, darn it. I actually made it to mile 24 before the calf cramps took over, and I believe it would have happened a lot earlier if I hadn't done the run/walk routine. I walked the last two miles, and once I hit the mile marker at 26 I tried to run the last bit but quickly experienced the worst cramp of the day in my left calf. At that point it was enough to hobble to the finish line and get my medal, which is cool because it doubles as a belt buckle. Gotta love Texas.

I'd love to try this method again on a drier day. Humidity was 93% at start time, and went down to about 86% or so during the race. Post-race I feel pretty good other than the mild flare-ups of some cramps. Strangely enough, I'm usually not very hungry after a race and had just a few bites of waffles and fried chicken. This race had food trucks instead of the tables where everyone pigs out and leaves nothing, so I appreciated that. I didn't feel like a beer at that point, also strange for anyone who knows me. We stayed at a downtown hotel and I was able to go back and take a nice long, hot shower due to a built-in late checkout time, and I'm grateful for that. Then on the way home we got nice greasy burgers at Five Guys, and I felt much better.

The route was a very nice, flat course along the Clear Fork of the Trinity River. Not much help along the way in regards to people pointing the directions out, but really there wasn't much of that needed. The water stops were fantastic and the people all so friendly. Other than the humidity there's nothing I can complain about. I'd run this race again, hoping for less humidity next time. I'm glad it's over and that tonight I can go to bed early and spend a few days recuperating.

Bay Run

This morning was the final tempo run before Sunday's race. I'm still in SF and ran south out of downtown along the Bay Trail. In all it was 5 miles, taking me beyond AT&T Park and back. The temperature was 51 degrees, very nice for the three miles of tempo at a sub-8 pace.

All that's left now is an easy run on Thursday and the trip home so I can relax a little before hitting the trail for 26.2 on Sunday.

Tapering

An easy 4-miler in San Francisco this morning. I took my hand light with me but never needed it due to the time change this past weekend. Once I got past all the stop lights in downtown and ran along the bay toward the ballpark it was a nice run. Plenty of people out and a nice view of the sun coming up over the water.

Not Really a Racer

I blundered into a half-marathon today but decided to just roll with it. It looked like the same one I ran earlier this year, identical course, and it actually felt almost the same weather-wise: moist. I'm not sure I could have run a full on a day like this. Here's hoping next Sunday will be cooler and drier.

I ran over to the church, around the parking lot, and then through the neighborhood a bit before stopping at the house to take a drink a gel pack. Then it was off to the normal route, where I saw the signs and refreshment tables long before I saw runners. I adjusted my route a little once the runners came my way. I ran the sidewalk up past the dog park on my way back, and around the pond twice. I also backtracked .12 miles after I broke away from the race route and ran that section twice so I could end with a total of 12 miles.

I probably overdid it afterward. Went to the store and got some supplies to stain the fence, and then proceeded to stain three sections. I decided to stop after that, which now seems wise. A trip to SF this week and then a couple of rest days before the race. The taper is almost complete.

Abbreviated Intervals

This was the day for one of my favorite runs, the 2x800 sprint intervals. I woke up this morning in Austin with a little congestion, and when I got home late morning I thought a good run would help clear it up somewhat. The bad news was that the temperature was much warmer today. I ran the first interval at about a 6:30 pace, but a little over a mile later I started the second one feeling the effects of the sun. I ran 400 meters and decided that was plenty. I walked a couple of times over the rest of the outing but still got in my 6 miles. A little disappointing, and all I've wanted to do since then was to go to bed. Just a little longer...