More Crop Circles

Okay, maybe not crop circles, but the same routine as Tuesday where I circled the park five times. It was again nice and cool, but this time I ran my 6 miles at midday. Sunny and a slight breeze from the west kept it nice. Enjoyed running in Kansas once again, with one more outing teed up for Saturday.

Running in Circles

I'm in Wamego for the week and yesterday (Tuesday) was a nice day for a run. Temperature was in the 60s and it wasn't too windy. I set out around the park to the south of Mom and Dad's house, but the construction crews are building a water park and there was too much activity. So I ran up to the ball fields and did five laps. It actually wasn't as bad as it sounds since I'm continuing my journey through the British History podcasts. I got in my 6 miles and it felt good, especially after eating too much on this trip, as usual.

Floody Run

It rained quite a bit yesterday, and our electricity went out for five hours last night. Not sure if it was due to the rain, but I'm sure it didn't help.

I found a hole in the storm and went out late morning today. The bridge over the stream on Lake Forest provided vantage to a very swollen creek below, which had been higher overnight judging by the grass lying down. When I got to the neighborhood up Lake Forest with the pond I found the normal way blocked by an overgrown pond. Then I ran through the neighborhood to the other side and found that way also underwater. On my way back out I encountered a woman who warned me about copperheads. I kept my eye on the sidewalks and grass the rest of the way.

Getting back to Lake Forest I headed south all the way to Eldorado and back. It didn't start raining on me until the last mile. No thunder, for which I was glad. Overall I ended up at 7.75 miles. I'm just glad I was able to get out on an otherwise very rainy day.

Buggy Run

Got up early this morning to run and it was dark. Ugh. Took my light with me and managed to avoid to running into the McKinney Boyd runners on the trail. Also glad that I run with my mouth closed since I apparently ran into insect clouds at several points along the way. Probably got hit in the face over a half-dozen times during the 6 miles. Temperature was in the low 70s but humidity was very high. We're almost out of the high temps in the 90s and I don't mind running later, but it was nice to actually get it done early today for a change.

Some Shade

It was in the upper 80s today with heat index in the mid to upper 90s, and of course...humid. I had clouds the first couple of miles, which was a big help. I didn't walk until I got to mile 3, and then each mile thereafter plus the big hill. It actually wasn't too bad, and I'm glad I walked since it meant I wasn't completely worn out at the end.

Considering a half-marathon in early November. I think I'll see how this Saturday's long run goes before pulling the trigger on registering for it.

Social Run

Ran over to the church today for a running/walking group, walked about 45 minutes, and then ran back. The running total was 2 miles but I got in lots of sweat. The temperature wasn't too bad but at least the humidity was high.

Gooey Run

The clouds started clearing out today after about a week and left plenty of humidity behind. Youngest Daughter asked me how the run was when I returned and I said, "Gooey." She objected to the term, but she didn't just run 6 miles. I walked every mile and about half of the big hill since the temp was in the upper 80s and heat index was in the high 90s. Seemed like the prudent thing to do.

Some Hills

The rain cleared out this morning although it remained cloudy into the evening. Before I walked out the door I had resolved to run hills if it wasn't too humid, and by golly it wasn't. So I changed my route for the first time in quite awhile and headed west instead of east for my 6-miler. It actually felt good to run a varied route. I was able to run the whole way, and my mile up the biggest hills was faster than some of the flat miles I've been running in the heat and humidity. Oh, did I mention it was below 80 degrees? That helped, too.

Skipped Saturday

It rained all day yesterday, and I thought a couple of times about going out anyway since there was no lightning involved. I ended up cleaning up the garage and decided that was enough exertion for the day, and it also looked like Sunday morning would be pretty nice for a run. And it was.

I ran 8 miles and saw a fair amount of people out on the paths. I wanted to see how the creek looked, which was pretty high but not as bad as I'd thought, and was a little surprised that there was only one part of the path blocked by water and mud. Temperature just below 70 degrees and plenty humid, but I ran the whole without walking (other than through the mud). The long-range forecast looks like we've broken out of the 90s and highs will be in the upper 80s this week. Better running weather but I do enjoy the heat.

Rain in the Distance

Lots of black clouds to the south, and a little lightning at one point, but I was able to get in my run. It was the usual path of 6 miles. Very humid with the recent rain and the clouds. I walked at miles 1, 2, 3, and 4, but ran the rest of the way to get in before any storms hit.

They didn't.

Butt Sprain

File this one in the annals - no pun intended - of getting old. Last night we took the family out for a round of bowling, and toward the end I felt like I strained a muscle in my butt. I could sugarcoat it and be medically correct, but that's the truth. And it's not like I even bowl that well. Anyway, it was sore the rest of the evening and most of the day. I figured I'd have to give up today's run.

Seems like I've had this happen before, though. And it felt mostly better by late afternoon. So I decided to give it a try with the knowledge that if it was not going to work I'd know that pretty soon after starting.

Funny thing is it never even gave me a twinge. This is what I remember from before, that it was probably good to get out and stretch it. I went my usual 6 miles. Even though the temperature was marginally lower, in the upper 80s, the humidity made up for it and it was a sweat-a-thon. Glad that I didn't miss any running time from my bowling injury.

Tough One

I felt progressively worse on Thursday, like the late night and drive home were catching up to me, so I chose to not run. Hence no post for that day.

This morning I decided to run 9 miles, and for the first part it went well. On the way past the dog pond I began to encounter racers, pretty much all women, and soon passed a water station. I kept going past the cricket field and by the time I turned around the first ones were heading for the finish in the parking lot. I started to feel the heat and humidity at the 6-mile mark and so I walked a minute. Then at the next mile marker I walked two minutes. And when I hit 8 miles I probably walked three minutes or so. Not the best finish to a run but I made it. On a hot Texas morning in September I was able to get in a decent run. Now it's time to relax for the rest of the weekend.