More Shade

I went out for today's run a little after 1 p.m., trying to get some stuff done later in the day. I found more shade than I expected along the route. Probably because of overhanging trees along the lake path and for which I'm grateful. I only went 3 miles but it felt good and the temperature at the time hovered around 90 degrees. I walked a minute at the mile markers but probably could have run it all without the walks. That's okay, better safe than sorry. I'll be doing some hiking over the next week or so and will decide if that's worth posting about or if it's best to just wait until I get another run in again. When we went to Ireland in 2022 I should've posted about our walks there since we averaged from 7-9 miles a day. That probably won't be the case in what's coming up, but we'll see. If I can't run at least I can get in some exercise.

Bleh

This morning I went 6 miles but have to see it was a bleh kind of run. The first three miles went fine, but the second half was rough. Once again, I think it was a combo of heat, humidity, and lack of breeze on the trail that did me in. I kept an eye on my heart rate and decided to walk a few times when it rose to what I considered too high. I didn't get to my max heart rate but reached well over 90% several times. No need to push it, especially in the heat of a summer Texas sun. Not the best outing I've ever had, but also not the worst. Could've been better, I suppose. Still, it's good to get out for some exercise and a little sweat. 

Alone

I saw only one other person out today, a guy walking his dog. Which is odd, since the temperature is several degrees lower than earlier this week. Not that it's cooled off THAT much, since it was 98 and heat index 105 while I ran 4 miles. Anyway, I think it turned out to be a good run. As usual, I walked at the mile markers. The third mile was the toughest since I ran with the breeze at my back, although I think the hollow around the lake tends to throttle any wind. I considered walking a few times since it felt a little stifling but kept the pace down and made it.

Also today, I hate to admit this, I finally changed the display on my Apple Watch to show Current Pace instead of Average Pace. I'd done it before but for some reason it switched back shortly after and I've never gone back to change it. I do have to say Apple doesn't make it easy to figure out how to modify the display, but after searching the Internets for a few minutes I finally found what I was looking for. Much better to see that on my run and make sure I'm not going too fast in the heat. Yeah, like that's possible.

102/112

The weatherman lied! Yesterday the temperature topped out at 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Today's temp was supposed to "cooler" than yesterday, only making it to 99 degrees. That's where the lie comes in. I ran this afternoon and it was 102 degrees with a 112 heat index. Those three degrees might not mean much to you, but they sure did to me. Anyway, I kept it at 3 miles today. I have to admit, I almost didn't go. I felt low energy all day and thought about just kicking back and doing nothing for the rest of the day. But I also know that when I feel that lack of energy the only thing that builds it back up is expending energy on something like a run. As usual in these situations, I'm now glad I went. I feel much better and feel like I've earned some time to relax.

Sunday Stretch

Today's goal was simple: get out and sweat. The humidity is really high today and certainly helped me reach my goal in short order. I only went 2.5 miles total. After smoking pork, ribs, jalapeno poppers, and sausage all day yesterday, I just needed to sweat out some of the residue. Out of the 2.5 miles, I ran about 2.25 of that. My right knee felt fine and no other ailments made an appearance. We're supposed to be up to 106 degrees tomorrow, and 98 on Tuesday, my next planned running day. Seems like summer is gvinig us the finger one more time before it departs.

Just a Walk

Tuesday I skipped running. I didn't sleep well at all the night before and felt blah all day. Knowing this was a recipe for a crappy run, I decided to skip it. Plus, I have a little tenderness on the outside of my right knee. Today I knew I needed to sweat, so I went out for a 2.5 mile walk. I do have to say it was nice to get out, even with the temperature over 100 degrees. At least some big clouds blocked the sun for a part of the walk. I'm hoping the knee continues to feel better, but it'll probably be Sunday before I get out again since Saturday is a smoking day.

Another Missed Thursday

I enjoy running in the heat and rarely do this, but Thursday I decided to let the heat win one. The air temp rose to 103 (I think) and heat index to 112. Sometimes you just have to relax and realize missing a day isn't going to be the end of the world. This morning when I went out the thermometer read a cool 74 degrees. I ran 4 miles with the intention of running more but decided not to push it too far today. Plus, I hadn't eaten yet or had my coffee and that always factors into how I feel about a longer run. Looks like temperatures will continue to hover around 100 degrees over the next week and that's fine with me.

4 in 100

The thermometer hit the century mark today, although the humidity was down a bit from where it soared to last month. That meant even though the air temp was 100, the heat index topped out at 105. As opposed to about four weeks ago where the air temp hit only 96 or 97 but heat index went all the way up to 111 or more. I'll take today, thank you. I went 4 miles and did the one-minute per mile walk thing, plus an extra 30 seconds on account of the 100-degree heat. That meant at mile three I walked 3 1/2 minutes. At the end of the first mile I thought maybe I didn't need the extra half-minute but as usual, I'm glad I did from the beginning since it paid off later. Of course, then I came home and mowed for a little additional exercise. Smart? I don't know about that.

Scum

Got out this morning by 7:30 to avoid the heat and also because I'm smoking pork today. I went 5 miles and ran the whole way since the temperature was below 80 degrees. It was a nice outing and I felt pretty good about it. I kept the pace slow and enjoyed the morning sun glistening off the scum on top of the lake as I ran by it. Plenty of people out and about and I even got passed by another runner. I plan on spending the rest of the day relaxing on the back patio and already got started with coffee and a cigar. The temp should hit the century mark today and seems like a good day to do a whole lot of nothing.