It Doesn't End Here

What with the move and my aching knee, it's been ten days since my last run. I was bound and determined to run my regular route one more time before we move, and I got it in this morning. The day was sunny and humid, like so many others I've weathered. Went the full 6 miles, with a few walks to balance the humidity and lack of running recently. Along the way I thought of a few memorable things that happened over the years, things like thinking too much about work and idiot people, running intervals on 96th Street, my footprints in the concrete in front of our neighborhood, the 2x800 runs where I felt like I was going to puke, the stick-thin girl who blew by me on mile 18 of my 20-miler, seeing Miss Soni and talking with her about her races (inspiring!), and the way this part of town has changed in the past ten years. No tears here, but lots of memories.

This is where I trained for eight marathons and probably an equal number of halfs. Thousands of hours of running, music, podcasts, sports drinks, and gel packs. But it doesn't end here. The story will continue in Texas on new routes yet to be mapped. This is the end of an era (kind of) and the beginning of getting back into shape and into some new races. Thanks KC - it's been fun and sweaty.

Clouds and Ice

Yesterday rain was in the morning forecast, so I set the alarm for later rather than getting up and not being able to run. My left knee had been aching for the past few days and it seemed like a good time to rest it anyway. By afternoon I was ready for some physical activity and decided to test out the knee. It was cloudy and humid, just like most of the weather the past few weeks. As I ran east on 96th Street there was a small river running down one portion of the sidewalk. Have I mentioned we've had a lot of rain. Due to humidity and not wanting to push the knee too far, I reined it in at 4 miles.

The ice came later when I was sitting and watching TV with The Wife. My knee ached and so I put an ice pack on it. That helped, and today it's mildly achy but not as bad as the past few days. Another ice pack might be in order. We'll see how it feels later today and I'll decide whether or not to run tomorrow.

Made It - Somehow

This morning was cloudy, warm, and humid. Add those conditions to my sub-par night of sleep and I was looking at a bad run. Well, it was bad, but not the worst run ever. I thought between miles 1 and 2 that I might be best served by stopping at about mile 3 and calling it a day. I walked a little at mile 2 and still felt like I was slogging through thick mud. When I passed my possible cutoff point I kept going, mainly because I'd crossed the street earlier, a subconscious trick I've used before. Then for some reason when I turned south onto Shoal Creek I felt a jolt of sudden energy that kept me going, and going, and going. Yes, I ran the whole 6 miles, but I wouldn't have bet money on that anywhere in the first half.

On a finishing note, I finished up the Hardcore History series on Blueprint for Armageddon, which was the outstanding five-part podcast on WWI. I listened to the last episode my previous four outings after downloading it when I found it was available. Not only are all HH episodes great distractions, but I would have to say podcasts don't get any better than this one. The great thing is that they're very re-listenable, and I will go back and listen to previous episodes and series all the time. Blueprint is one series I plan on revisiting soon and going straight through now that there's no time lag between episodes. So good.

Summer Arrives

Too much going on last week, including rain on Thursday morning and then a trip to Manhattan (of the Kansas variety) for the weekend. Yesterday Dad was here in the morning and I had an 8:30 conference call, which means today was my first run in a week. Also, summer is here. It was warm, sunny, and humid. I went slow for 6 miles and produced a lot of sweat. That's okay, though, since I like the warm weather. Plus it felt good to get out for a run after being off for seven days and also knowing that running over the next few weeks will be sporadic during the move. If I can get through the next month without eating and drinking too much I'll be okay. We haven't even started packing in earnest and I'm ready to be done with it.

Another

It was another night where I woke up in the 4 a.m. range and then took a while to get back to sleep, and another 6-mile run. I felt about as sloggy as I did yesterday. I made it, again with the walk up the hill by the golf course. It was cool, cloudy, and breezy, but not horribly so. I finished up the day with a new house and a new truck. A mediocre run ended well.

New Shoes

I was a little excited about this morning's easy run since it was my first chance to run in my new Asics Gel Nimbus 17 shoes. I tried them on a few days ago when they arrived and it was like tying little cushiony clouds to the bottom of my feet. The run itself today was a little different story, though.

I went 4 miles on my nice easy day, and it was apparent from the early going that the shoes were a little tight at the midpoint on the outsides of both feet. I've had that pinched feeling before and it's not a good one. If my run was for a longer distance I would have turned around and returned home to change shoes. As it was I felt kind of slow and sloggy anyway, and having my feet hurt didn't help. I'll wear the shoes around in non-running situations to break them in better. Hopefully that will help because otherwise the shoes really were nice and soft. Tomorrow, though, I'll wear my old pair.

Cloudy with a Chance of Running

Yesterday we made a day trip to Wamego/Manhattan for Dad's birthday. We made it home by 10 o'clock. When I went to bed about 40 minutes later it forever to fall asleep and I was awake until after 1 a.m. I didn't think that bode well for today's run, but I slept past 8 a.m. Of course it was cloudy when I got up, so I looked at the weather online. A small storm was headed our way, from out of the northwest, of all things, and I waited awhile for it to pass by. I kept waiting and waiting, and finally once the green part of the storm (on radar) was at our position and nothing much happened I went out and got in my 7 miles.

Today is cooler than normal, and I think I probably went out too fast. But it worked out because of the coolness and the breeze. Overall it was humid, but the breeze helped. I went the whole way without walking, a testament to the milder temperature. It looks like we'll be closing on our house a month from today, which means a limited time left to run these routes that are so familiar from the last ten years.

Rain Today

More rain, which means we're probably way over our average for the month. They've been getting a lot in Texas, too, where we're moving. It's a strange season. The sky to the east was clear when I left this morning about 6:30, but to the west there was a big front moving in. You could see the definition in the upper reaches of the cloud cell (look at me, talking like a meteorologist and all). As I turned toward the golf course I decided I should cut my run short, even though I hate to do that. My mileage was in the 3.75 mile neighborhood, and my decision turned out to be the right one. Five minutes after I got home I heard thunder, and five minutes after that it started pouring. I don't mind running in the rain, but when there's lightning, no thanks.

Ran Yesterday

I thought I might have to cut yesterday morning's run short due to incoming storms, but they merely threatened and skipped by without incident. Even though I slept horribly, waking up at 4:30 and then dozing off and on for the next 105 minutes, my run went remarkably well. A nice breeze out of the south helped with the humidity until I turned around and ran with it. I chose to walk up the golf course hill to avoid any cramping issues. Overall a decent run and a good 6-miler.

Skipping

I skipped Saturday's run, although if I'd really tried I could have fit it in somewhere. We had two house showings in the morning and I didn't plan very well. Then I took a nap rather than running, and we got an offer on the house. Nevertheless I probably should have run.

This morning I was determined to get out, even though it's a holiday and very humid. I ran 4 miles, with a walk by the golf course due to the aforementioned humidity. It was a good day, with the offer from Saturday that was rejected being modified again. For now we're on the fence, but we'll see what happens. In the meantime I need to keep running whenever I can and avoid excuses.

Today is Thursday

I did not sleep well and therefore did not expect this morning's run to go well at all. As I woke a few times, or more than a few, during the night I thought about putting off my Thursday run until the afternoon . Fortunately I did not.

I went ahead and got out of bed when the alarm went off at 6:30, and was out the door by 6:45. Due to the low temperature I wore pants and a combo of long sleeves under a t-shirt. I even took a pair of knit gloves with me but never had to pull them out of my pockets. Once again I was pretty much alone out there, and went my 6 miles. I walked by the golf course on the way back, mainly because I didn't want to walk uphill against the wind.

The reason I'm glad I didn't wait is because I had to go to the library whil e we had a house showing, and then I walked back the ~2 miles to the house because our cars were indisposed. At this point in the evening my feet hurt and Saturday's run is in jeopardy. We'll see how it feels in 36 hours or so.

Cool Tuesday

This morning it was nice and cool but the sun was shining. I ran my 6 miles and felt good the whole way, as opposed to last week's Tuesday run. Lots of activity outdoors today, from mowers at the entrance development and over by the golf course, as well as a cop sitting out on 96th Street and stopping speeders. As I passed him by I asked how business was and he said it was pretty good. Judging by my observations over the years I would guess he could knock out his monthly quota in a day or two if he sat up in the same spot.

Another Monday Run

Wow, two weeks in a row with a Monday morning run! This time it was sunny with quite a stiff breeze. That cooled things down a bit, but nothing as bad as the good ol' winter winds. I ran an easy 4 miles, backing off several times to make sure I kept the pace slow. It's funny but the only other people I saw out and about were coming into the neighborhood as I was leaving, which means they were likely finishing up their runs. It seems I run a little later than most others, at least in the morning. That might change once it gets hotter, but for the time being I'm pretty much out there by myself at that time of day. No complaints, though.

Twice More with Humidity

Somehow I didn't get to post on Thursday. I ran 6 miles amid the humidity of the Midwestern spring thunderstorms. I walked by the golf course but at this point I've learned the humidity makes me cramp up, and when I was on my run the calves were definitely on the way. At points I felt really tight, but I pushed through and made it. It was cloudy but not very cool, which as usual contributed to the tightness. I also ran in the afternoon, which made the humidity and moderate heat more direct. I was going to run in the morning but it was raining. The change to a run later in the day probably contributed as well to the mediocre run.

Today I went 7 miles and got in my fourth run of the week. There were a lot of people out today. I varied my route a little to avoid people and avoid feeling like a stalker. I walked three times due to the same tightness I felt on Thursday. Each walking spell did the trick. Once again I'll chalk that up to being older and wiser. Overall I went 23 miles this week. Not bad for some sessions where I'm not training for a race.

Decision Time

I've told people before that the time to decide when you're going for a run is not when your head is on your pillow. Today I almost made that mistake.

When the alarm went off I felt like I needed a lot more sleep and seriously considered resetting the alarm for an hour later. In my mind I thought about how horrible the run was going to be, that it was cool (in the 40s), and that I could just run tomorrow followed by another one on Thursday. I probably considered that for a good two or three minutes before telling myself to get out of bed. I don't know what motivated me to actually do it, but I'm glad I did.

Today's run was far better than yesterday. I ran 6 miles and even though it was cool it was actually nice and sunny. I even put on sunscreen. I felt good and ran the whole way, even by the golf course. It was pretty clear to me early on that it was going to be a good run and I felt justified in my decision. If I'd listened to my lazy self I would have missed out on a really good start to my day. Sometimes you can surprise yourself and my run today certainly surprised me.

A Monday Run

I think I mentioned it before, but I thought it might be a good idea to add another run each week to make up for the lack of cross-training I've been able to do while preparing to move. This morning - a Monday! - I took a nice, easy, 4-mile run. Although it didn't really feel that easy. Maybe it was my body screaming in protest at the odd outing. Whatever it was I still made it through okay, even though it was chillier than I expected and had to go back in and put on a long-sleeved t. I ran without headphones to enjoy a nice not-so-quiet morning populated with people driving like idiots, presumably on their way to work. Kudos to the person who stopped to let me use the crosswalk as intended. That was a nice surprise.

7 on Saturday

I had to wait for a small rain shower to pass by this morning before going out for today's run. I made it the whole 7 miles as planned. After the rain from earlier as well as the last week it was quite humid. I kept it slow and easy and even walked up the golf course hill on the way back. Saw a few people out, but not as many as normal given the clouds and storms in the area. As I said the other day, it's nice to be back on a regular schedule and getting in all my runs every week.

6 in the Morning

I ran a good 6-miler this morning. I was out the door before 7 a.m. and kept up a nice even pace. Hopefully my running streak continues through next week. It's nice to be back in the swing of it, and I can tell a difference in how I feel each day. Unfortunately this time there was no fox to run with me, but I did look for my new friend as I passed by the woods where I saw him the other day. It was cloudy and rained later in the morning, but as far as running goes it was just about perfect.

New Day

This morning it was humid, but not overly so. It's been rainy lately, and added to that later in the day. I decided to run 5 miles, in the hopes of doing a 5-6-7 week. When I made my turn on 96th Street and headed west I crossed the street by the pond up near the Hills of Montclair. Right after that I saw a fox come out of the woods, run down the sidewalk for a bit, and then duck back into the trees when a car buzzed by. It was kind of cool because I've seen foxes only a handful of times. I wonder what would have happened had I been on the other side of the street. I think we both would have been surprised.

Finishing the Week

Even though I ran yesterday I went ahead and got out this morning for a 6-miler. I didn't realize it had rained a little overnight but it was mostly gone by the time I left. It sprinkled on me about a half-mile from home, but not too bad. Because of the rain it was a little humid. I saw a few people out, but not the usual crowd on a weekend morning. Maybe they were put off by the clouds and threat of rain. I kept it pretty slow but felt about medium, probably due to running two days in a row. I was thinking since I can't do my weight training as usual due to trying to sell the house that I might add another day of running until we move. Not a bad idea. We'll see if it takes off or not.