A Normal Run

I went this morning when the temperature was 85 degrees, as opposed to this afternoon and 95 degrees. A nice breeze from the south helped on my 4-mile out and back. Not as much shade in the late morning as I'd hoped, and the lack of clouds didn't help in that regard. Still, it was a good run with walks at the mile markers. Overall, felt good although the heart got a little bit high the last few miles. As I've said before, I'm not sure the reading is entirely accurate since I usually don't feel ill effects. I think the additional bpm in this case are due to the allergies I've been battling since last week. Yesterday I felt very lethargic in the afternoon and evening. Today is a little better and exercise usually helps in that regard. I'd give just about anything to not have allergies. In lieu of a Faustian bargain, the suffering continues.

Slipping Out

I slipped out at lunch today for a run instead of waiting until later afternoon. Why? Because it was 72 degrees this morning and overcast with a breeze. Our high today is only mid-80s, which is nice in and of itself. However, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to get out when it was even nicer. In honor of the nice weather, I ran 4 miles without the usual walk breaks at the mile markers. The sun did come out a bit during the last mile, so it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns. Still, can't complain about a day like this in August in Texas. The breeze was a nice touch, almost autumn-like. Not sure if this weather pattern will stick, but at least for a day it was nice.

Motivators

When I left the house this morning for a 4-miler, the temperature was a lovely 73 degrees. Humid, of course, but I'll take that kind of temp in August any time. It's funny how things go sometimes since today I ran into a couple of guys who shouted out some motivational help. To be clear, that doesn't usually happen. The first was a guy I've seen before who walks a handful of beautiful huskies. "Looking good, finish strong!" he said. I didn't respond that I still had 1.5 miles to go, but thanks for the pick-me-up. The other guy was walking along the sidewalk about a hundred yards from my finish and said, "Keep it up, brother!" It's nice to have fans along the running route lol. Anyway, it was a good run on a nice Saturday morning. Time now for some coffee and relaxation.

Conspiracy

Some weeks I feel like there's a conspiracy to keep me from running. Tuesday, for the second week in a row, we had a big thunderstorm right at the time I would've gone out. Additionally, allergies hit me midday on Tuesday and lasted through yesterday. Today I feel human again, but I'll say this: if you don't have allergies, count yourself lucky. It feels like having the flu without the benefits of losing all the contents of your stomach through both ends. Seriously, it's debilitating and if you've never experienced it, good for you. Anyway, today was a chance to get out in the morning and shake off some the allergy effects. I only went 2 miles and walked most of the second half of that, but I have to say I felt much better afterward. In fact, I got that dopamine rush a little bit and just getting out for even that short of a time improved my mood quite a bit. It's amazing what a little sunlight and exercise can do for a person.

Sometimes You Walk

I did get out early, as planned, before the heat sets in. It was a run of varied success. The first half went well, but in the second half my heart rate kept jumping up into the mid-150s, which I felt was too high for what I wanted to accomplish. What was that? Getting out and running at a slow pace. I got in 4 miles overall, with more walking than I wanted, but sometimes you just have to walk. Seemed like plenty of people out walking, running, and cycling. I took the route through Creekview that provides the most amount of shade, but wow, when I'm on the return route that area that goes around the pond is a section where the breeze kind of dies. That probably didn't help with the heart rate. I'm glad I got out and who knows? Maybe I'll walk tomorrow morning just because I can.

Rain and Stuff

Was preparing to go out Tuesday afternoon and we got an unexpected thunderstorm that lasted an hour and a half, dumping a ton of rain on us. Wednesday's schedule was not good, and yesterday I deferred my usual outing since Honorable Youngest Daughter came over. Today I decided to walk, and I did. 2.25 miles. My main goal was to sweat a little, so mission accomplished. I have a bit of soreness low down on the right side of my ribcage, which kind of feels like when I bruised my ribs a few years ago. It's not as bad as that, but it makes me wonder what I did to cause the little bit of weird feeling. I have no idea. I guess that's one of the interesting things about getting old: you hurt yourself and you don't remember how. Oh, well. My plan is to run tomorrow morning before it gets hot, which is another reason I walked today instead of running.

An Early Four

Today's going to be a hot one. With that in mind, I made it out the door at 7:30 a.m. while the temperature still hovered around 80 degrees. Turned out to be a nice morning for a run and I took the route with the maximum amount of shade. I ran 4 miles, with walk breaks every mile. Not sure I really needed them, but I don't regret taking them. I was talking with a friend yesterday about running and I remarked how slow my pace is during the summer months. It's true. I keep it slow, about eleven minutes or even slower. Once the weather cools down in a month or two, my pace will pick up again. Until then? Just doing what I can to survive the heat while still getting in some exercise.

Three Again

Today was quite warm, in the upper 90s. I managed 3 miles again, with a little extra walking at the mile markers. I wasn't sure how it would when I set out and thought I might end up walking more, but I kept it slow and steady. I only saw a couple of other guys out, which means there are more crazy people than me around here. I also mowed the lawn when I got home, which meant plenty of sweating for a nice Thursday. No rain in the forecast, just heat. Gotta love Texas summers. Not much else to say about the run, other than I was thinking through ideas for a new book. Nothing concrete yet, just bits and pieces. I have a concept, but need a compelling conflict. Maybe I can get more inspiration on my next run.

Good Stuff

Today was a good day to run with a little bit of humidity remaining after the rains came through Sunday and early Monday. The stream I run over (via a bridge - I can't run on water) had one branch with a little water and the other mostly dry. I felt pretty good overall and got in a little sweating along the way. It was a 3-miler today and hope it's the beginning of the path back to higher mileage. Summer can't last forever, after all. We're forecast for temperatures close to the century mark for at least the next ten days. We'll see. Might be a road trip in the near future as well, which plays havoc with my running schedule. I'm trying to prioritize my running days and hope to keep it going.

Travel Week

This past week I had to go to Austin for work. I didn't even take my running stuff since I knew I wouldn't have time to do anything besides work and evening outings with the team. This morning was a chance to get back into the swing of things with a temperature in the mid-70s with the usual addition of humidity. I ran 3 miles, which turned out to be the right distance for the first actual run in over a week. I'm optimistic, as always, that I can get back into the routine. I suppose I dodged a bullet these last few days since the thermometer climbed to the century mark a couple of times. We'll see how it goes, but we are most definitely in the dog days of summer here in Texas.