70 in July

Here it is the last day of July and this morning the temperature was 70 degrees. Wow! It made for a nice run. I thought my 6 miles might be a little faster pace than the recent 11-minute miles, but it was only marginally so. I think until it really cools down and I get used to running fast again that I'll just plod along at my own slow pace. Whatever the case, I can't be too upset about this nice morning run.

Lucky in July

I got up about 7:30 this morning and found the sky overcast and the temperature about 82 degrees. It stayed cloudy the whole way through my 8 miles and I consider myself very lucky that this weather hit on my long-run day. The humidity also wasn't too bad. I was able to run the whole way without any breaks, again a benefit of the weather. For late July in Texas, well, I can't complain too much.

Another Good One

Got up early again this morning, even though it was tougher than a few days ago and the pull of going back to bed was strong, but glad I did it. The morning was marginally more humid than Tuesday but overall still not bad. I went the full 6 miles since the sidewalk was open again near the pond. Also ran the whole way, which is much easier to do when the temperature is 80 degrees as opposed to 100.

Little Humidity

Last week ended up pretty much being a lost week for running since I only got out once, but today was really nice. After a week-plus of 100-degree temperatures, it was only 77 when I set out at 6:20 a.m. The best part was the low humidity. I don't know how low it was, but this was the least I've sweat in a couple of months while running. Usually I'm wiping sweat from my face by the half-mile mark and frequently thereafter. By contrast it feels like I hardly perspired at all today. I went 6 miles along the usual route, and if I'd know it was going to be so nice I might have gone the hill route.

Heat Wave

This week I went to Austin on a business trip. Because of our schedule I chose to not even pack my running gear, which was the right choice. My first run of the week was going to be on Thursday late afternoon when we returned, but the temperature was 111 degrees. I decided to wait until this morning, which was once again the right choice.

It was only 78 degrees when I got out at 6:15 a.m. but plenty humid. I ran the whole way, although the sidewalk was closed near the pond and my turnaround point. I think the official total was 5.64 miles or something similar. In this case I'm rounding up - 6 miles. Close enough.

Lots of People Out

A Saturday morning, sunny weather, and temperature not as high as it was forecast to go. Plenty of runners, walkers, and cyclists out along the paths. Even the McKinney Trail Team guy was out and walking. I decided to go 7 miles and it went pretty well. I walked at miles 5, 6, and up the big hill. Once again thankful for a good breeze at certain points. I spent the rest of the day smoking a pork shoulder, so it was a very profitable Saturday in every regard.

Unintentional Speedwork

I was watching the weather radar this afternoon. At one point I thought my chance to run was past since there was a storm near Greenville heading west on 380 right toward us, with more storms trailing behind it. After about a half-hour of watching it I finally realized I should just get out and run as much as I could. I kept an eye on the clouds to the east, which was weird because that's not usually how storms roll in, and when I got to the 1.5 mile mark considered whether or not to turn back. The air was quite moist after an earlier rainstorm, but I've run through worse. Going to 2 miles out would add another 10 minutes to the run, and I decided I had time.

The way back was a little quicker with the wind at my back. As well as the threat of lightning and thunder. Mostly lightning. Thunder is just loud, lightning can kill. My last mile was probably close to a nine-minute pace, and right as my GPS beeped the 4-mile finish line a big drop hit me on the head. I thought that was perfect timing, but that was it. When I returned home and checked the weather radar again the storm had split and moved around us. Oh, well. At least I had a good, strong run with a faster pace.

Waiting Out the Rain

To be clear, it never actually rained at the house. The storms passed us by to the north and south. I sat on the back patio for a few minutes late in the afternoon, watching the clouds to the south. Plenty of thunder and a few strokes of lightning kept me from going out when I wanted. After about 20 minutes I realized the lightning had stopped, which of course meant so had the thunder. The weather radar showed that the storms were weakening. I hustled upstairs, threw on my running clothes, and out the door I went.

My normal podcast had a short 22 minute episode, and then one that was an update of about two minutes. With the cloud cover and lower temperature I was able to run the whole way, including up the big hill, and didn't feel like I wanted to stop and change my iPod over to some music. I was actually able to enjoy some silence and my own thoughts for more than half of the 6-mile run.

Guess I need to update the iPod. Who wants to run for 40 minutes with only their own thoughts to keep them company?

Ode to a Saturday Morning

Was going to get up at 7 and run, but it ended up that I woke up at 8 and then ran. I don't think there was too much difference with the extra hour since the temperature was about the same and the path was shaded in all the right places. Humidity canceled the benefits of the lower temperature but even so I only walked at mile 2, 4, and up the big hill. All in all my 7-miler was a nice easy run on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning. Now to chill for the rest of the day and enjoy the Texas summer.

Waiting on Thursday

I was going to wake up early to run but did not sleep well last night (some idiot was popping off a firecracker about every 7-8 minutes for an hour or so) so I reset my alarm. It was a risky move since today was the birthday of The Youngest, but it worked out okay. I had time while dinner preparations were taking place. I ran my 6 miles, temperature was 94 degrees, and I did my routine of walking every mile. All told it was a decent run in July.

Early Tuesday

This morning I got out early, as opposed to the evening runs I've been doing lately. The reason for this is our timing for dinner tonight. I actually ran the 6 miles today without stopping, except for the big hill, keeping to the shade by veering off into the neighborhood to the north and using the treeline to ward off the early morning sun. It was definitely more humid than my evening outings, but the temperature of 76 degrees helped - 25 degrees lower than recent runs. I might do the same on Thursday. We'll see.

Late Sunday Run

Yesterday was too busy to get out, with a men's breakfast at church in the morning and a graduation party for The Boy in the late afternoon. I pondered getting up early today but passed because I knew it would be humid. When I ran about 4:30 this afternoon it probably wasn't much lower in the humidity department, unfortunately. I could tell the difference between today and my recent late-afternoon runs when I started sweating on my warm-up walk. I usually don't break a sweat until the half-mile mark of the actual run.

I went 6 miles on my "long" run because I decided that was plenty. It was another case of no marginal benefit for going an extra mile. It was 102 degrees out when I left and 100 when I returned. The great thing today was even though it was humid and hot a bunch of clouds moved through and I copped a lot of extra shade that I normally don't get, even on a late afternoon run.