Rain/Laziness + Travel

I did not run last week. Early in the week it was cool and raining, and Thursday we went out of town for a few days. Also, that first thing included just general laziness, weather-induced to some degree.

Today I was back at it. I ran 5 miles. It was one of those outings where I felt strong and like I was killing it, but the pace didn't reflect that. It's okay, I wasn't out for speed. It was cool, probably just a tad too cool for my shorts and t-shirt, and the breeze didn't help. Still, I felt good and it's nice to be in the groove again.

Cold Start

This morning started off cold, right at freezing, and I waited until 11 to run. The wind wasn't as bad as the other day, but there was still a breeze. I ran 6, all the way, and powered up the big hill again. That's becoming a habit really quick. Overall it was a good outing, and not as many people out on a Saturday with the cold and wind. I wore shorts but long sleeves, mittens, and a stocking cap. Hey, it's not about style. It's about works for me on a given day.

Head Wind

Today was one of those days where it would have been easy to tap out. Wind out of the north at a steady 20 mph. 

I've been here before.

I donned long-sleeve technical with a regular t-shirt over it, and shorts. For the most part I was plenty warm, and the only tough part was a few times into the wind. 

Fortunately, in the last mile I had a tailwind. When I drew close to the big hill (still needing a name) I crossed over the street in front of someone and decided to keep running rather than walking 50 feet in front of them. Since I probably should have run hills at some point this week it turned out okay. 

In the end, despite the environment, it was actually a good run.

Clear and Cool

A bit chillier than I thought it would be when I left, but still not horrible. I went my 5 miles and felt really good the whole way. Lots of pairs of people out today, all thinking that the whole sidewalk was theirs. Come on people, don't be stupid on purpose.

Crisp and Clean

Today was definitely on the cold side, with a temp of 40 degrees when I headed out about 10:30 a.m. Fortunately the breeze was minimal, but I still bundled up. Overall I went 6 miles. Other than a walk at 4.5 miles or so for a brief minute, I felt good. I might have been a little overheated at that point but I felt my heart rate was up too high. At the next mile marker I was passed by a guy in shorts running a lot faster than me. He said hey and commented that I was a 'tough guy to catch'. I don't know about that. My pace at the finish was 9:45/mile, and that's with the aforementioned walk as well as the walk up the big hill. Not a bad pace, but certainly not blazing like he was. That got me to 20 miles this week, which is the first time I've hit that in a long while. Feels good.

Somebody Turned on the AC

It got cold here in north Texas the past couple of days. Okay, it's all relative since it's only in the 40s. But the wind is coming out of the north and really chilling when you're running into it. I was looking forward to running and wasn't going to let the cold stop me, especially since I've run in worse over the years. I went the usual 5 miles and am feeling good. Hoping on Saturday to add another mile to that and get to 20 for the week.

Good Start

Today's run added to the good start from Sunday. I went 5 miles on an almost-perfect running day and felt great. 60 degrees when I finished with the sun just about all the way down, and no complaints. I'm hoping to keep up this nice beginning to the year.

Another First

Yesterday was another first - my first run of 2021. I spent Saturday doing some projects around the house. It was a really nice day but I just didn't have a chance to get out. Fortunately yesterday was just as nice, if not nicer. Since I'm going to be running four times this week I decided that 4 miles would be plenty to kickstart the year. It seemed about right, and I am looking forward to another year of running. Hoping that I can have more consistency and enter some races this year. Wouldn't that be a nice treat after the stupid year that just ended?