Two in a Row

Yeah! Two days in a row. Of course I didn't feel up to running today and kept telling myself that I ran yesterday and it's okay, no need to do it again today. That's the type of laziness that's kept me from developing a routine. Plus, it was a beautiful day with temperature of 70 degrees and sunshine and no wind. I took the hill route and went 4 miles. It felt good and as usual, I'm glad I ran.

More Winter

I thought we were done with winter but no such luck. Last week another storm rolled in with sub-freezing temperatures and precipitation. In fact, we got sleet/freezing rain that made the roads and surfaces slick until late in the week. I keep thinking that's gotta be the last of it. Maybe I'm right this time.

In spite of that, I did better last week with less food and drink. Today's 3-mile run didn't feel nearly as much of a struggle as last week's. My plan is to run again tomorrow and keep up the routine. As we all know, that hasn't been the actual execution of the plan lately, but I'm going to keep trying until it sticks.

Slug

I've been a slug lately. Most of it was the run-up to my birthday and just generally not doing much beyond work. That's over and now it's time for some colder weather again. I got out today for 3 miles, and it was not a good 3 miles. My lack of doing anything really paid off in a crappy run. Tim to stop being a slug.

Another Texas Beauty

It was another beautiful Texas day. Sunny, temperature in the 70s, a light breeze - it was all great. I ran 4 miles, as I've been doing lately. A hot air balloon was out and gradually receded to the northeast as I made my way along the usual path. If every day was like this then everyone would live here. Good thing it gets hot in a few months to keep away the riffraff.

Winter Storm 2022

If I'm counting correctly, this is our seventh winter in Texas. In the first five it snowed exactly one time that I recall, and that was only a dusting that melted right away. Last year, of course, was Snowpocalypse 2021, which knocked out our electricity for several days and where temperatures reached zero. By last year's standards, this year was almost a nothingburger. Last Wednesday it rained and turned into freezing rain overnight. We didn't actually get snow until mid-morning on Thursday, and that ended about 1 p.m. after dumping a few inches. Power stayed on the whole time and the only bad thing was a big limb off the tree in our front yard that collapsed. I got out the chainsaw and took care of that on Saturday after things warmed back up and the sun came out.

Today the sun is out and the temperature in the mid-60s, a far cry from late last week. I ran 4 miles, part of it against a stiff breeze out of the south. No complaints, though. Felt pretty good and hopefully last week was all the winter we have to deal with this year.

Before the Storm

The usual accurate weathermen (that was sarcasm) are predicting rain starting tomorrow evening and then snow overnight into Thursday, with several days of freezing temperatures to follow. I'll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, today was 70 degrees and mild. I made sure to get out for one more run before the weather turns cold and went 4 miles. It was a little more of a slog than I expected, mainly because I felt like I was running against the wind for the entire first half. I also stopped along the way to examine the bloody tracks I saw last weekend, figuring they'll be gone after the upcoming storm. I'm not a tracker by any means, but pretty sure the victim didn't survive that episode.

Even Nicer

It's getting better before it gets worse, weather-wise. Snow is in the forecast for later next week. In the meantime, today it's 66 degrees. I ran at mid-day, sun shining and a nice breeze from the north. Felt good and ran all 5 miles, except for the big hill, of course. Several families out pushing strollers, and plenty of dog walkers, too. I hadn't been on the other side of Hardin for a few weeks, at least that I remember, and was sad to see one of the trees along the path had been cut down. There was another also down in Creekview, but that one had been damaged in a storm and blown over, so it made sense. Maybe that's what happened to the other one. In another interesting twist, a splash of blood on the sidewalk past the bridge caught my eye. On the way back, I saw it again and then bloody footprints leading up to it. Looked like a raccoon. My thought is it was attacked on the near side, ran across the bridge, and then met its final end where the bigger amount of blood ended up. And so it goes.

49 Degrees

I remember a time when we lived in KC that a 49-degree day in January would have been outstanding. Here in Texas, it's still a bit on the cold side. In reality, it's actually a good temperature for running, no matter where you are.

I ran 4 miles and tried to follow a path in the sunlight. I ran on the north side of the Creekside neighborhood. In the last mile on my way back the sun was blocked by a cloud bank. In the heat of August the shade would have been welcome. On a day like today, not so much. 

Monday Outing

It was a busy weekend, and today I really felt the need to get out for a run. I was unsure of how far to go, thinking three miles would be okay, but ended up going 4. Mainly because at my turnaround for three I would have seemed like a creeper to the lady who just ran by me going the opposite direction, as well as the couple with the dog. Another mile didn't kill me, and actually was a good choice. The weather looks to be mild over the next week or so. I need to keep reminding myself to get out regularly before it heats up again in a couple of months, not that I mind running in the hot Texas sun that much. I certainly sweat more in that part of the year.

Overcoming Laziness

Maybe I've used that title before. Regardless, I felt lazy today. Yesterday the wind blew hard and the temperature was cold. Late afternoon the temp was about 26 degrees and wind chill about 15. Today was much nicer. The sun is shining and it got up to 51 degrees with only a slight breeze. I sat out in the hammock for quite awhile, enjoying the sunshine. I'd put on my running clothes earlier, which turned out to be a good motivation since I seriously considered not going. I guess I can't smoke cigars and drink beer all day every day. By the time I was in about a mile I was glad I went. I went the regular 4-mile route and overall felt fine. The Wife has been sick the last few days but looks like I avoided it. I needed the exercise and the fresh air.

Beautiful Spring Day...in January

72 degrees was the high today, and it was really nice out. Work threatened to carry over late but I made it a priority to get out the door for a run. It was worth it. I went 4 miles with a sprint at the end. Lots of bicycles out today, and a handful of runners. Many more bikes than people on foot, including a couple of families. Nice to see people enjoying the beautiful day.

First of the Year

I'm going to stop talking about how I have to get consistent. Every time I mention it I go a length of time without running. Today was actually my first run of the year, ten days into 2022. I should feel bad, and I kind of do. Plenty of excuses, bad weather, truck issues that I worked on all weekend, etc. The truth of it is that I finally got my butt out the door today and ran 3 miles. Temperature was in the low 50s, but sunny and not windy. A nice day, and a good first one to kick off the running season again.

The 5k I was supposed to run on New Year's Day in Kansas was postponed due to extremely cold temps (single digits, wind chill in the negative numbers). My nephew and I did our packet pick-up anyway, and ended up with coffee mugs. I called it the most expensive mug I've ever bought. It was disappointing to not get to run it with him, but at least we had one outing at the park a few days before the end of the year. Next time we'll have to pick a race with less chance of bad weather, if that's even possible.

Canceled Race

The Nephew and I ran 1.5 miles today, our shot at training before Saturday's race. The problem is that snow and freezing cold is landing here Friday night, and after our training run I got an email saying the 5k race was pushed out to the following Saturday. So much for starting out 2022 with a race. At least we got in a run today, and maybe another tomorrow before the weather goes bad. After lunch I took him driving since he has his permit and needs some instruction to get going. He didn't hit anything other than imaginary parked cars in the high school parking lot. No harm done.

'Twas the Day After Christmas

Thought about running yesterday on Christmas but never got around to it. The Christmas Day temperature was 81 degrees. Gotta love holidays in Texas.

Today is a few degrees cooler, but not by much. There's a breeze and the sun is covered by clouds, but it still wasn't horrible. I ran 4 miles. Trying to keep up enough endurance for next Saturday's 5k. This morning I looked at the forecast for Kansas and it's supposed to snow an inch on race day. We'll see about that. I figure it goes one of two ways: 1) the chance of snow completely disappears, or 2) we get a blizzard. I vote for the first.

Solstice Day Run

Today is the "shortest" day of the year, and it turned out to be pretty nice. Especially for a day in December. 62 degrees, sunny, and just a hint of a breeze. I ran 4 miles, once again without the GPS. I saw a hot air balloon a little to the south as I was re-entering the neighborhood, and a few minutes later it flew low over our house. Yes, I'm still a kid and enjoy that kind of thing.

One thing I forgot to mention the other day: I was having somewhat achy knees for several weeks, or maybe more. I kept trying to figure out what was wrong: too much salt the night before, too much beer the night before, bad shoes, not enough exercise, etc. It finally hit me. As I've said before, sometimes it takes awhile for me to figure out something that should be obvious. I realized the problem started after I got a standing desk, at which I stand from time to time. Sometimes too long. Once I made the connection I started sitting more. They say sitting is worse for you, but not at the expense of my knees. So, I'm going to work standing back into my routine, but for short bursts of time. We'll see how it goes. 

Events

Events conspired against me this past week for running. On Monday I ended up planning a last-minute trip to Austin for a holiday party on Tuesday. So I drove down I-35 (my favorite, not) on Tuesday and back on Wednesday. On Thursday Honorable Daughter #1 stopped on her way through town for a grand total of six hours, in which we celebrated her birthday (which was Friday) and Christmas. Plus, I smoked ribs that afternoon for dinner. Friday was Friday, yesterday was cool and extremely windy, and today I finally made it out for a run.

The temperature was 47 degrees, with a slight breeze out of the north. It was actually a good day to run, mostly sunny with a few high clouds. I ran 4 miles and strangely enough, didn't see anybody else out at all. Guess everybody's doing their final Christmas shopping. I need to keep up the routine since I'm running a 5k on New Year's Day. Don't want to lose what little fitness I have going these days.

A Chill Wind

Yesterday the temperature was in the mid-70s, but today was only in the mid-40s. What a difference. The wind blew out of the north and chilled things quite nicely, and at least the sun was out. I ran 5 miles total, with a stop of about 15 minutes in there as I ran into a guy I know from the pub. Hadn't seen him in a couple of months so we caught up and then I continued on my way. Overall it was a good run, with a pick-up at the end to round out the session. I'm running a 5k on New Year's Day with my nephew, so gotta keep in shape for that.

Pleasantness

Today's 4-miler was a late morning outing, mainly because I had a gap of several hours in my work schedule. It's been cooler this week until today, which is supposed to end up in the 80s. It was really nice out. I have a holiday dinner for work later on, so it was nice to get out earlier and make sure I ran. Have been feeling lazy again this week but as before, I noticed my energy level dropping. That's a sure sign it's time to get out and exercise.

Walk + Run

Today's total was 6 miles, which included a mile of walking with The Wife before I went out on my own for a 5-mile run. The temperature was nice and the sky was cloudy. The humidity was up a bit since it felt like maybe it should be misting, but there's no precipitation in the forecast until tomorrow. Regardless, it wasn't bad at all compared to the summertime humidity. I made it out for three runs this week, and even though one was abbreviated due to allergies I still count it as a victory to get back into my regular schedule.

That's Better

That allergy attack lasted through yesterday. Tuesday was horrible, Wednesday was mildly better, and today was the first day I didn't feel like hammered sh!t. In fact, I was feeling so much better I ran 4 miles. The weather was great, 74 degrees in December, and I wasn't a sneezing wheezing loon. Seems like my allergy attacks this year have been more intense, and that's not a trend I enjoy. At least I felt well enough to run today.