Another Two

Motivation. As in what's next. Do I shoot for a single marathon in 2011 like I did this year, or do I go for more?

A podcast I was listening to on Tuesday and today provided a little motivation. I'm usually not big on external motivators like this, but the past few days I've felt like I received some good kicks in the butt from what others achieved and how they did it. Today's podcast mentioned living life on the edge and going for it when you can. Another one from Tuesday had a person talking about what it meant to her to be a runner. Good stuff except for the part where she poo-pooed religion and replaced it with running. Nevertheless, it was all motivating. Which is where Boston comes in.

I talked with the Virtual Running Partner last weekend and told him he has two choices. One is to qualify for the 2012 Boston Marathon this year or to train over the course of two years for the 2013 Boston Marathon. Either way, we're going to train for Boston. He chose the latter, which is probably the wiser since he has to knock over half an hour off his best time so far and I have to get faster by 20 minutes. This is the time to do it since we're both about to enter into the bottom of the next age bracket. More to come as we figure out how to train and what races we're going to run in the coming year.

Tuesday's run was great - great weather, relatively fast, and felt strong. Today's was even better even though it was windy and gusty. 6 miles each day and I'm feeling good. Not a bad way to close out the year.

Two More Times

Thursday I was off work, and a monumental wave of laziness settled in for the four-day holiday weekend. Plus the day was cold and windy, so the lack of external motivation was almost overwhelming. I managed to get it together for a run on the treadmill. I ran 35 minutes out of a planned 60 minutes, which probably covered somewhere between 3.5 to 4 miles. Clearly the wave of apathy had me in a strong grip.

My plan for Saturday was to enjoy a nice 8-mile Christmas run, but again I resisted and decided to put it off a day. Besides, my sister showed up and I didn't want to miss any time with her or the family. My delay turned out to be a good decision since today was much nicer than yesterday. Christmas was cloudy, windy, and bitterly cold. Today was the same without the wind, and the sun even came out (after my run, of course). The whole distance felt good and it was nice to get in a 'long' run before heading back to work on Monday. My thought is that if the weather is even close to not windy, I don't care because it's an opportunity to not run on the treadmill. Those opportunities will likely be fewer over the next couple of months.

Back Out

A second day in a row of running, and it felt good. This time I went 6 miles, but not the usual route I run for that distance. I ran down Shoal Creek and then west on the new 96th Street almost to I-435 before turning toward home. I ran at a fairly quick sub-9:30 pace for an easy run, at times against a stiff breeze from the north. Toward the end I also ran a quarter-mile pickup and stretched out a little.

My hips still feel tight, and I think it's time to try out that yoga DVD. And to get back to my exercising. Some of it can be chalked up to the layoff, I'm sure, but I think some of the tightness still lingers from the race and the training that preceded it.

A Pleasant Winter Run

Hit the today for the first time in two weeks. And a day. It was a whole new world out there. My running partner was my 15-year old, who went along grudgingly three days post-birthday. I retooled with a fresh pair of Asics Gel Nimbus. And the route was brand new, as the main street to the highway that's been closed for the better part of the year finally reopened with more lanes and actual sidewalks. It almost sounds more eventful than it actually was.

The weather was nice, especially the day before the shortest day of the year (no, it's still 24 hours - as I told my daughter, that refers to sunlight). I put on my thin mittens about ten minutes into the journey just because I don't like having cold hands.

At this point I'm running to maintain, with no specific future race in mind. I'd like to run something in early spring, but I'm hobbled by the fact that I won't have any time off from February to May, so that means any race I enter pretty much has to be local. There's time to search, though, and if I can keep my long runs in the 10-12 mile range for a while I'll be fine.

White Rock Marathon

When we hit the 20-mile mark we still had a chance to make the finish line in under four hours. It was a remote chance and it was going to be close, but we still had a chance. That hope quickly faded as we headed away from White Rock Lake into the home stretch.

The beginning of the race was, in a word, cold. We bypassed a lot of the traffic backed up on I-30 and got to Fair Park in Dallas in plenty of time. We whiled away some time by watching the pilot of Big Bang Theory on my virtual running partner's iPhone. I almost made a totally stupid mistake, although I'm not sure it would have been fatal. The race used the timing chips that are plastic strips, which you thread into one of your shoe's laces and it forms a loop. They're disposable and you don't have to return them. There are two parts to these, one of which has the instructions. I looped that part through my left shoelaces and was trying to find the print that said "This side up." I couldn't find it and figured, oh well. When we were climbing out of the truck to head for the starting line, I looked down on the cab floor and realized the one I actually needed was lying on the carpet there. I suppose if we'd made it to the start and I realized my error I would have just run without it since there was no way I was going to walk all the back to the parking lot to retrieve it.

We stood in the bathroom line for a good half hour or so. By the time we got into our corral I was experiencing some intermittent shivering. The temperature was about 34 degrees with a 10-mile an hour breeze making it colder than the air temp. Once the elites took off it was another 24 minutes before our corral was allowed to take off. The only thing that I didn't like about the race was the distance from the start/finish back to the parking lot.

With about 25,000 people running and lots of spectators, we were never alone. As usual, the first several miles rolled by quickly. The course took us toward downtown, then a little north and finally east to White Rock Lake. The half marathoners peeled off from us at the 8.5 mile mark, and strangely enough, their path never took them to the lake. We reached the lake about mile 11 and circled it until about mile 21. There was one point about mile 18 or so where the route had us running toward downtown, which was hazy in the distance. We commented on how crazy it was that we'd run that far and still had plenty to go.

Our goal was to finish under four hours, and I had high hopes we could make it. Alan experienced some back spasms in the latter half, and we had to walk through those. Then his right knee started really bothering him, and our goal quickly went away in the breeze. We finished in a time of 4:10. That's okay - we'll try again next time. For me personally, I need to get some good calf stretching exercises. If I'd been running faster I could tell my calves would have cramped up worse than they did, which was bad enough. Having endured this for the last couple of races I think it's time to figure out a solution. My hips were also hurting the rest of the day and into today. No surprise there, but again, a good stretching exercise seems to be in order.

As compared to the Big D we ran last year, at least these guys were organized enough to still have food and drink for us at the finish line party. Unfortunately it wasn't real varied, with an unripe banana, oranges, and some Quaker Oats bars as the choices. We weren't interested at all in the MGD 64 they had, either. The race was plenty organized, but the biggest complaint we had was the long walk back to the truck. That was pure torture after the pain of the race, and it was actually more of a hobble than a walk. We saw shuttles running, but they apparently weren't running to our parking lot. Once we got there we never saw any shuttles, so I don't know who and where they were shuttling to and from.

I guess it's time to shut down the running for a couple of weeks and let my body have some rest time to heal. I'm sure I'll be itching to hit the road before Christmas. And I did get in a marathon in 2010. During my down time I can determine a strategy for next year, including how much to run and where. At times this year running only one marathon didn't seem like enough, but then there were times where it seemed like too much. It's certainly clear why the half is a more popular race since it doesn't put anywhere near the same wear and tear on a person's body. But there's time to ponder all this in the coming days. For now, I'm glad this one is over. It was a good, tough run, and I think it's given me some things to improve upon. Marathon #7 is in the books.

Falling Behind

Blustery wind has been the name of the game since Monday. I've fallen behind this week in my logging, so let's catch up real quick, shall we?

The Wife and I went out for a run on Monday like we usually do, and let's just say that didn't go well. We completed 2.5 miles in a strong wind from the NNW that was over 20 miles an hour. I think my lips were about to freeze off and she wasn't real interested in helping me keep them warm at that point in time. So we cut short the run and headed to Granite City for dinner and a nice relaxing evening. I was glad we did.

Tuesday night was more of the same, except I was running solo. It was my last planned speedwork before the race. I ran 5.5 miles in the exact same gusting wind and cold temps. What was left of my lips was definitely frozen at that point.

Tonight was a short 4-miler, and for a change the wind wasn't blowing as bad. The temperature was still freezing, but that lack of wind makes a big difference. This was my last run before Sunday's race since we'll be traveling the next couple of days.

Last night I was talking with my virtual running partner and he's feeling like this is the best he's ever felt before a race. Which is good, since we're gunning to get him to the tape in under four hours. I, on the other hand, don't feel quite as good. My diet hasn't been as good as it should be, and I also don't feel like I've hit my stride with the speedwork. The long runs went okay, but my left shin and calf are giving me a little trouble. In other words, I feel like I've been training for a marathon. I'm looking forward to the race, but this time I think I'm looking forward to the rest period after the race even more. It's been a stressful year and I think my body needs a bit of a break. So onward to Dallas and then some downtime!

Turkey Trot and Long Run

First I have to talk about Thursday's run. The whole family ran the Parkville 5k Turkey Trail Trot this year, the first time we've all been able to run it. My youngest, who is 8 years old, was particularly excited. I told her I would run with her and the older two girls could run with their cousin. The Wife and The Boy brought up the rear since they tend to run a little slower, and they did, coming in about three minutes after we did. The young one had never run more than 2.5 miles before, so I told her she could run or walk or whatever she wanted to do and I would stay with her. I soon found out how competitive she is.

We were a little behind her older sisters the first loop of the park, and then we kept passing and being passed by them on the second loop. When we made the final turn and had a straight shot at the finish line, I told her she could run fast if she wanted, and she took off like a shot. At the turn we were about ten yards ahead of her competitors (aka sisters), and they briefly tried to catch up but she wasn't about to be beaten by them. After my initial shock wore off I caught up to her and said, "Don't let them beat you!" I can only imagine the feelings of the people she passed, most of them over thirty years old and being beaten by an 8-year old. She won the family crown this year with a finishing time of 34:30. Let's just say she was proud of herself, and so was I. Maybe this is the beginning of something, huh?

Today's run was a little warmer than the below-freezing temperature of Thursday. It was almost 50 degrees when I finished, the sun was shining, and there was hardly a breeze. This was my final "long run," a 10-miler as I head into the final week before the race. I felt good all the way through. Just past nine miles the running podcast I was listening to played a short song to close out the podcast and said if you're running, you can do a quick pickup. So I did, and had no problems doing so. I think with a few days of keeping loose on the running and then three days off before the race I'll be fine. The goal is to get my virtual running partner at the finish line in under four hours. I'm hoping with my Garmin and a pace group we can measure by that we'll be able to make it.

It Gets Cold When the Sun Goes Down

Yesterday and today were very similar in temperature and the time I went for a run. On Monday the wife and I ran together, and strangely enough it got really cold after the sun went down. She was having some pain in her right leg so we actually stopped running at right about the 5-mile mark. I still counted 6 miles for the total, though, since it was so bitterly cold and we walked fast for the last mile.

This afternoon was another 6-mile run, except this time I threw in 4 miles at a tempo pace. My left knee and calf were barking at me before setting out. It took about half a mile to loosen them up a bit and they behaved the rest of the way. The tempo went pretty well, and I tried to keep it about 8 minutes/mile or less. I guess the layering, the ear warmer, and the mittens are here to stay.

At the Turkey Trot on Thursday the weather is supposed to be around freezing with a 14-mile/hour wind driving the wind chill down to about 11 degrees. I told that to the kids tonight and they were really excited, haha. I guess if you want the t-shirt you have to suffer a little first.

Falling Again!

This marked my second time falling on a run, an indignity which fortunately was witnessed by few, if any, people around me. I was running up the sidewalk toward Pleasant Valley Baptist Church when my left foot caught in the loop of my right shoelace. Down I went, rolled, and came back up running. Apparently I'm getting good at this. I'm not sure that's a good thing. A car came up the street behind me a few seconds later, and I don't know if they were in viewing range or not. I was wearing thin cloth gloves, saving the palms of my hands from a quality rash. As of this evening I don't feel any ill effects from the fall. I almost fell a few more times in the next couple of miles before realizing how badly my right shoe was tied. I stopped and knotted it three more times and was fine the rest of the run. It looks like I need to be sure my shoes are properly configured before heading out.

Today was the last really long run of this training cycle. I ran the 15 miles in temperatures below 40 degrees, with a nice strong breeze from the SSE. I've run in worse. For some reason it was a tough run, but I made it through without walking or wanting to quit. Well, I wanted to quit, but knew that really wasn't an option two weeks before the race. And the taper continues.

Could Have Been Better

Cold night, dead legs. As my imaginary readers know, one of my favorite speed workouts that I do before a race is a 2x800, with the two intervals being all-out sprints. It's usually fun to stretch it out and run like the wind, or as far as I'm concerned, at least a gentle breeze. This has been a draining week at work, as usual, and when I went out and warmed up for two miles, I could tell my legs were on the tired side. The interval went pretty well, in the sub-7:00 area, but I felt like I could have had a better quality workout. The temperature was around 40 degrees and the wind chill close to freezing. I have another of these workouts scheduled for next week, so I hope to feel better about it at that point.

My knees have been a tad bit sore the past few days, a combination of higher mileage and not doing my strength workouts consistently. Tomorrow is Friday and I need to make sure I get in those workouts. I know this in my heart but too many times my brain tells me I'm tired and need to rest and take it easy. Stupid brain!

Again, Chilly

Same conditions as last night, but a slightly faster tempo. I finished 7 miles in exactly one hour. That distance included 5 miles at tempo pace, which I endeavored to keep at an 8-minute pace. I ran part of the route I ran on Saturday before I lost my drink top, hoping in vain to find it. Alas, it is gone forever. I guess I'll have to find another way to replace it, which is what the Inter World Wide Nets is for, I hope.

Chilly

The Wife and I went for a 6-miler (easy run for me, long run for her), and took a route where I could look for my lost water bottle cap. Didn't find it, but had an enjoyable run anyway. Other than the fact that the temperature was in the forties and my hands were quite cold. I should have worn mittens and another shirt. I also wore shorts, which in hindsight seems a bit irresponsible. In my defense, however, the sun was out and the afternoon was nice when we left the house. I think tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same, weather-wise, and I will dress appropriately.

20 Miles and More

I'll be honest, I didn't expect today's 20-miler to go very well. First off, I knew the weather was going to be less than desirable. The forecast called for a temperature near freezing along with winds from the NNW at about 17 mph. Not my favorite kind of weather to spend 3 1/2 hours outside. Second, I didn't get a good night's sleep, which isn't really new before a long run, but is still a wee bit discouraging. Finally, in the first 4 miles I just didn't feel that great. I didn't feel bad, but I didn't feel like I was bursting with strength, either. With the wind howling against me on the latter part of my first lap around the neighborhood I tried to relax and not take it too fast. That strategy worked since after that I felt okay. The second lap I felt even more relaxed, and then when I headed out of the neighborhood for the final 11 miles I knew I could make it. Whew. Glad that's over.

This weather made me pull out the full complement of cold-weather gear. I had the ear-warmer going, the gloves (which I switched for mittens after the first lap), and three layers of shirts. I thought about shedding the warmup jacket after the first lap, but running into the wind nixed that idea. I'm glad I kept it.

I also had a bummer moment during the run. I was wearing my drink belt and had stopped to turn it around so the pocket with my cell phone in it was in the front just in case one of the kids needed me. About three miles later I grabbed a bottle and found that the top was missing. I was understandably upset but found the top rolled up in the bottom of my warmup jacket. Dodged a bullet there. Then I checked the other three bottles and found another one missing. Dang it! And this one was nowhere around, either in my clothing or on the ground. I have no idea where it landed. I'll be keeping my eyes open for it on upcoming runs, but I'm not real hopeful.

Also, I forgot to log Thursday's run. I went 7 miles, which included a 5-mile tempo run at about 8 minutes/mile. I ran in the morning since I had the day off. In addition, I was trying to get in the run before weather turned bad later in the day. Mission accomplished.

One more note: The Wife and my oldest daughter ran a 10k this morning, and I am very proud of them. I know firsthand how bad the weather was with the wind and cold temps, and they persevered and ran it anyway. Awesome! Guess we're officially a family of distance runners now. Woo hoo!

Like a Child

I experienced one of those rare moments during tonight's run where I felt for just a few seconds like a kid - running without boundaries, running for fun, running without a care, and running just...because. I was just over three miles into the run when it happened. I was on my third Yasso 800, on an uphill no less, and when I accelerated it just hit me. It was a few moments of abandon and of feeling like I was ten years old again. What a great feeling.

Alas, it didn't last near long enough. I finished my 6-miler feeling pretty good about the whole thing, and glad that for a brief moment I had a rare glimpse into the past. It's a feeling I wish I had more often.

Back to Pleasantville

The temperature today was back up in the 60's, but it sure gets dark early after the end of daylight savings time this weekend. When the wife and I went out for our Monday evening 6-miler the evening was very pleasant, albeit breezy. I enjoy these slower runs with her, especially after the pavement-chewing miles of the past weekend. Less than two miles into the run she remarked the sky would be dark by the time we got home, and I replied the sun would be down by the time we reached mile 3. I was pretty close to correct on that one.

I should note that my virtual running partner completed his 20-miler this past weekend since he's on his way to India this week. It would be difficult to get in a run like that in a very unfamiliar place. As long as he can still do some speed work on the treadmill he'll be fine for the race.

Catching Up

Took a quick trip to Austin again this week, which put a hitch in my logging online. So let's recap this week's runs, shall we?

My Monday evening run with the wife was sabotaged by having to work past 7 p.m., so we ran Tuesday night instead. She wasn't feeling the best and managed 5 miles while I did a couple of strides to end up at 5.4 miles. Guess we should get used to running in the dark. The Wife is running a 10k next weekend and I enjoy encouraging her by running together once a week. The Monday (or Tuesday in this case) is perfect since it's supposed to be an easy recovery run for me and a long run for her.

Wednesday I flew to Austin with co-workers. I'd checked the forecast on Tuesday and it proclaimed sunny and in the mid-60's for Wednesday. I was a little surprised when we landed since light rain was falling, the wind was pretty breezy, and the sun was nowhere to be found. It wasn't horrible, though, and since I'd packed my running gear I headed out. Normally at mid-afternoon there are thousands of people out on the trails, but this time maybe a hundred or so was all I saw. I ran 6 miles, with a 4-mile tempo run at 7:30/pace sandwiched between a mile warmup and mile cooldown. The weather in Kansas City was actually better than in Texas that day. Weird, but I still got in my run. And I still like running in Austin.

Today's run was the longest in ages, at least to my memory. Seems like I keep getting up to 15 miles and then dropping back, so today's 18-miler was key. I finished strong, even though I did feel a little bit of a letdown between 15 and 16. I think that was part of 'the wall' I needed to break through to make sure I'm ready for the race next month. The only barrier I have left is next week's 20-miler. All in all today's run went well. I thought I'd messed up since I didn't have any gel or other energy packs, but I found a package in the pantry of energy shot blocks. Guess they were either bought by The Wife or came from one of her races since I haven't bought anything like them before. They were okay but dang, they seem like they're big enough for a horse. I'm guessing other people probably take them in bites.

Today was also the first day I had to wear the cold weather running gear. The temperature when I left was exactly 32 degrees, so I wore long pants, mittens, a long technical shirt with a cotton race t-shirt over it, and my headband. The first mile I thought I probably should have worn my tights but after that it was okay, so probably just as well I hadn't thrown them on under my pants. Thankfully the breeze was non-existent today. In fact, the weather seemed to be much like the Memphis race last year, both temperature and breeze-wise. If these were the conditions for next month's race I'd be happy with that. Once again I strapped on the drink belt, this time at mile 9, along with the iPod. My calves are a little sore and tightened up some during the second half of the run, but nothing like the Columbia and Memphis races last year. I've read some articles stating that this could be one of the coldest winters we've had in a while due to La Nina (El Nino's colder sister), but if possible I'd like to request that plunging temperatures hold off until after the race. I know that's selfish, but sometime that's just how it is when you're a runner and the weather is involved.

Chicked at Mile 13

At mile 13 of today's 15-mile run a pencil-thin lady passed me by. I thought I was running at a decent clip since I was trying to finish strong. When I checked my trusty Garmin I was at a pace of about 8:45/mile and I thought not bad, not bad, although she's probably closer to 8-minute miles. As the lady receded in the distance I worked at not feeling too bad because I was pretty sure she hadn't already run 13 miles.

This was the first time I had to wear a long-sleeve shirt and my mittens, even though I resisted for a few weeks. The temperature was around 40 degrees when I left the house at 7 a.m. and didn't warm up a whole lot while I was out, but it was absolutely gorgeous autumn weather for running. Also, I think I actually figured out the trick to Daylight Savings Time. I always get it backward when the time changes twice a year, and I'll be able to test my theory next weekend. I'm not a big fan of DST, but as I pondered the larger questions of life I think I was able to make sense of it all. Next week I'll move on to something else, like why do people have to suffer or why the sky is blue.

Some More Marathon Pace

Today was windy, although not as windy as in some other places, apparently. Today was also extremely busy and draining at work. I didn't feel in the best of shape when I took off, but I knew I needed a run more than I needed not to run. I looked at my plan, which said '1-mi. warmup, 5 mi. marathon pace (8:00/mi), 1 mi. coolodwn.' And I said, 'Who put this stupid plan together?' The Wife didn't have an answer for that one since we both knew who authored it.

All things considered, the run went pretty well. I ended up shortening the 5 mi. to 4 mi., mainly because I knew there was a lot going on tonight and I needed to get home. Sometimes the pressures of life override that extra mile, and tonight was one of those nights. Nevertheless I'm happy with the run and hope that it's not so bad come Thursday.

Windy

Ran with The Wife again tonight and enjoyed another 6-miler. This time it was pretty windy, but the gusts were coming from the south, meaning we were running against them when going downhill. She did very well, especially considering she ran a 10k on Saturday. She has tenacity, I'll give her that. Heck, she has to in order to stick with me this long.

Probably Should Have Waited

This morning the wife ran a 10k, quite well I might add, and when we got home I dithered about running my 18 miles for several hours. It was partly cloudy outside and the wind was blowing, which caused my indecision. My other option was to wait until Sunday morning and get up real early to get in the workout before church. Finally I decided to go for it, and sure enough I should've waited. Not only did I get wind on the run, but also a little bit of blowing rain at times. My 18 miles turned into 12 by the time I stopped.

Weird post-run, too. I felt blah the rest of the afternoon, and when the kids put in a movie they waned me to see I actually I dozed off for a few minutes. When I got home I drank a little sports drink but that was about it. I didn't start feeling better until I started snacking while I was prepping steaks for the grill. Guess I should have eaten something, too, when I arrived home. My training plan for the marathon in December continues to evolve, and not positively so far.

Running Before Flying

Today I had the rare chance to run on a weekday morning, and it was very...nippy. Yes, that's the word, nippy. The temperature was in the mid-40's and if I was a saner person i would have realized that and dressed appropriately. The first bit was in the shade since the sun was still coming up, but about a half mile in I reached the sunlight. After that it wasn't bad at all and I ran my Yasso 800s. For the most part they went well, although I felt like I was dragging on the last of the five intervals. I completed the 6 miles though without feeling too bad.

My reason for running this morning is a mid-day flight to D.C. for a meeting tomorrow morning. I usually like to run there but this is such a quick trip that I didn't want to pack my running gear and worry about trying to get out this evening when I have to go to dinner with my co-workers for a pre-meeting meeting. Oh well, it's not like I'm flying to India for a week or anything like that.

Great Pace Run

When I arrived home after work I'd already been passed by a couple of cars going 55-60 mph in a 45 mph zone. When I stretched out on the bedroom floor I almost, well actually I did, drift off to sleep for a couple of minutes. When I ran, I started off feeling sluggish and then had one of the best pace runs of my running life.

After yesterday's slow run I was ready to nail the accelerator, and I first started running my legs and hips and entire body just felt tired. But when I looked at the Garmin after a couple of minutes my pace was under 9:30/minute. This is supposed to be a warm-up, I thought. When I hit the main drag and looked again, the pace was under 9 minutes/mile, but I just attributed that to the blonde in the convertible who'd just passed me. For some reason that cause me to run faster. My plan called for 8-minute miles after a mile of easing into it, and initially my pace was about 8:30, but that was going uphill. After I made the turn and the slope was downward I got in the groove. I tried to stay loose and to stay in good form with both legs and arms. By the time I was just past two miles my pace was under 8 minutes/mile, and even though I kept trying to slow down it stayed there. I finished the entire run at under 50 minutes for 6 miles, meaning my overall pace was under 8:20/mile. Dang, that's almost race pace for a half marathon!

Let's just say the cool weather helped out and that I am motivated these days to have quality runs. For the first time this year I have a full marathon I'm working toward and even though I'm not looking to set a PR I want to do well and not end up in traction after I'm finished. And by the way, nobody passed me on this run. There was no speed limit.

The Wife Perseveres

Went on another 6-miler with the wife as she trains for next weekend's 10k race. She had a bad headache before we left and said she wasn't feeling 100%, but I have to hand it to her, she made it the whole distance and within her goal time. It wasn't always pretty and she said afterward it wasn't fun, but I told her she proved that she can run the distance even when she doesn't feel good.

She commented to me after dinner that I made it look like it was easy. A couple of comments about that: first of all, 6 miles is about the shortest distance I run during training, and as distance runners know, that's a very short run compared to a long run of 18 or 20 miles. Second, her pace is slower than mine, so that definitely makes it an easy run for me. But beyond all that, I know it's not easy for her and for a lot of people, and I remember struggling to break the 3-4 mile barrier myself. Running that distance is a big deal. There are plenty of people in this country who are in no shape to run that far, so I tip my hat to my little wife for persevering even when she didn't feel good.

Oops

Forgot to post yesterday after my long run since we were involved with so many other activities. I ran 15 miles and it went great. The weather was phenomenal. When I left the house the temperature was about 48 degrees, but I'm resisting the need to pull out the warmer clothes as long as I can. Once I started running the temp was not an issue and felt pretty darn good, actually. I ran one lap of the neighborhood and then stopped at the house to get the drink belt and iPod. Since last time I ran two laps and then actually stopped I decided I wasn't going to tempt fate this time, and my plan worked. I ran south across Highway 152, which I don't usually do, but to get in the mileage I thought it was time for some variety. I'll probably do so the next couple of weekends as well.

In the afternoon we took part in a 5k walk for a fundraiser inspired by some of our neighbors. Their kids have OI, or osteogenesis imperfecta, aka brittle bone disease. I walked most of it, probably getting in a little over 2 miles of walking in addition to my morning tally. I remember running a 4-mile race at the zoo several years ago and then spending the rest of the day walking around with the family. I could barely walk the next day. That seems a little bit funny now, especially in light of yesterday's distances.

In other news, today I pulled the trigger and registered for the White Rock Marathon in Dallas. December 5th is my target date. According to their web site they've changed location for this year to the State Fair site, which was also the start and end of the disastrously windy Big D Marathon early last year. I certainly hope for nicer weather this time. And talk about an expensive race - the entry fee is $125. For that much money they darn well better provide good weather!

At Last, Good Speedwork

Seems like forever since I've had a speedwork day where things went well. Today was that day. I ran Yasso 800s x 5, with a 1.5 mile warmup and 1 mile cooldown for a total of 6 miles. My target during the 800s was 7 minutes/mile. In these intervals the goal is to take your marathon goal, in this case 3:30, and run the 800 meters at that speed in minutes and seconds. Since my Garmin doesn't like to mix standard and metric measurements I programmed it as a .5 mile interval at a 7-minute pace (3:30 x 2) and then a .25 mile recovery, as opposed to 800 and 400 meters, respectively.

The first two intervals were mostly at a 7:30 pace, and then the last three I hit my stride and hovered right around the 7:00 mark. It seems like the last few times I tried to do some speedwork the temperature was too high or I had some other excuse. Not today. It probably helped knowing that I have the day off tomorrow. I'll take it and hope for several more training days like this.

The Hills of Kansas City

Today's plan called for 7 miles of hills, so that's what I ran. I still think I should have something on my plan that says 7 miles of not hills - that would be more of a challenge. Anytime I go out for a run I can't avoid hills, although today I ran around the back end of the neighborhood before hitting the main roads. That initial detour added some good hills.

I started off feeling sluggish, but at just past the 2-mile mark I began feeling better. I made a point to download the new release from Old 97's and put it on the iPod before heading out, so maybe that had something to do with getting into a good mood and rhythm. The temperatures are still in the mild range and look to be so for the near future. I'm looking forward to as much of this as possible and hope it stays constant into November and maybe even beyond.

Columbus Day Run

This was a day for an easy run according to the schedule, and since The Wife needed to run 6 miles I figured this would be a good day to run with her again. She's running a 10k in less than two weeks and wanted to run a 6-miler well before then. Since I have the nominal function as her coach and advisor this was a good opportunity to hang with her and encourage her. She made it the whole way without walking and I am so proud of her. Tomorrow I will resume my regularly scheduled program.

Running in Austin and Points Farther North

Spent most of the week in Austin, TX, for business, and wanted to stay for the weather. Talk about perfect - the temperatures were in the 70's and I saw very few clouds. Ended the week with today's run back home in KC, but we'll get to that.

Monday I ran 6 miles easy, although easy ended up being closer to 9 minutes/mile due to the great weather and just generally being excited to be in one of my favorite running places again. I was in Austin with a co-worker, who doesn't run, and our hotel was downtown on 5th Street. For anyone who knows Austin that means it's a block south of all the restaurants and fun and just a few blocks north of the trails along Town Lake. I got out about 3:30 and the paths were pretty crowded with the usual runners, walkers, bikers, and dogs.

Tuesday I was supposed to meet up with an old friend for dinner, but I didn't hear anything from her so I went out for a run about 5:30. Come to find out Facebook was not delivering messages so we ended up not being able to get together, which was a total bummer. The run was okay although it seemed a little warmer than the previous day. I ran another 6 miles, with about 2.5 of that being at 8 minutes/mile. I was planning on going four miles at the faster pace but the heat got to me so I backed off and finished at a little slower pace. Since my dinner plans fell through and my co-worker had already eaten I walked all the way down Sixth Street by myself and ended up at Opal Divine's, one of my favorite places, for dinner. I was a little bit tired by the time I got back due to the run and the walk, but it was a good tired.

Our flight on Thursday left late morning, which meant I had time to run before leaving town. And I took advantage of the opportunity. I went another 6 miles on the trails, and discovered that the morning crowd is a mere fraction of all the people who are out in the afternoon. Guess everybody goes to work and then plays in Austin. I headed out at about 7:30 and once again the weather was outstanding. I'll be back in Austin in about a month, but only for a day, so doubt I'll have time to run while I'm there.

Today I ended up cutting my long run short, from 15 miles to 8.5. The Wife had a 5k she wanted to run this morning, and we all went and supported her. Unfortunately it started at 8 a.m. and I didn't have time to get in the run beforehand, meaning I had to start late morning by the time we got away and made it home. I was running in full sunlight (still no shade around here) and the temperature was about 80 degrees. I probably could have toughed it out but I'm a wuss, so there. And it was great to see The Wife do such a great job at her race. About 2-3 years ago this same event was her first 5k ever and she completed it but had a very slow pace. Today she improved on her time by over 10 minutes! I'm very proud of her and she's looking forward to her first 10k race in two weeks.

One other item of note from today: my virtual running partner called and registration for the Memphis Marathon has already been closed. No Memphis this year, darn it. We quickly decided to go for Plan B, which is the White Rock Marathon in Dallas the same weekend. I'll take the whole family and we'll stay with them and race in Texas. I thought we registered fairly late last year for Memphis, but guess not this late. Hopefully this will be a good consolation prize and the weather will cooperate. As long as the wind isn't as bad as the April 2009 Big D Texas Marathon I think we'll be fine.

Running with the Wife

The wife was heading out the door to run 5 miles the same time I was leaving for a 12-miler. Now normally we don't run together because she tends to run at a slower pace than I do. Not that I'm a speedster, but I'm usually 1-2 minutes/mile faster than her speed. But today we ran for the first 15 minutes, which was nice. She's come a long way for a woman who used to be upset at the kids for making her run to another room when someone would hurt themselves. Seriously, when I started this whole running thing about seven years ago she wished me luck and said she'd never do it. And now she's planning on running a 10k in three weeks. This must be one of those instances of 'never say never.'

After I peeled off onto my own route, I stopped by the house on my way out of the neighborhood to fuel up and then saw her running by the main road on the south side of the development. I caught up with her and we ran together again for another 10 minutes or so. I'm proud of her for continuing to increase her runs and for running on a regular basis. She did four triathlons in the space of six weeks this summer, which included running, of course. With the closing of the neighborhood pool and the weather turning cooler, she's planning on biking from time to time but keeping up with the running. She's not as hardcore as I am when it comes to running outside in bad weather, which means she'll be putting in some treadmill time. This was the second time she's run 5 miles and is looking to increase it next week so she can get in the distance before her race.

As for me, my run was fine. But that's not as noteworthy as my wife's run. Maybe she should start a blog, too!

Surprisingly Good Run

Long day at work today, with a couple of interviews late in the day. Which means I was ready for a run to get out and stretch out and leave the cares of the day in the dust. Ye olde training planne called for 6 miles of hills, and that's what I did. I was a little afraid that my legs would be tired but I think the pent-up energy of the day translated into a really good run. By the time I was two miles in I was running 9-minute miles, and kept up that pace for most of the run. The air was cooler and the sun was going down, factors which no doubt contributed to a little bit faster tempo.

Since I was thinking about what I ate for lunch Monday and how that run went, I should note that today I had both chili and pasta. At work we had a chili contest, and I was one of the judges. Of course after that I had to partake of the winner of the spicy category. I had also brought a small bowl of leftovers from last night, which was a pasta dish with tomato sauce and turkey sausage. I probably ate too much, but it was all so tasty. Add in a jalapeno cornbread muffin and an apple and it seems downright gluttonous. I'm just going to say I got in my carbs and protein and leave it at that. It's not like I do that every day.

Monday in Autumn

Is it officially autumn yet? I could look it up but the only research I do for this blog involves running. It felt like the beginning of autumn today. That sun has the lower in the sky feel, I felt a little chill when the sun went behind a cloud, and a bee got underneath my shirt. Wait, what? Yes, I was wearing a sleeveless top and a bee flew into the left arm hole and was walking across my chest. I felt it more than saw it fly in, and then when I felt to see if there was something there, there was. Naturally I reached up and pinched it, killing the intruder quickly, and fumbled with it to get it out of my shirt. When it fell on the sidewalk I realized it was a bee, and just because I'm this way, I stepped on it out of spite to ensure its demise.

That was the extent of the excitement. Unless you count having to stop and wait for six cars to pass so I could use the crosswalk. Because after all, crosswalks don't mean anything these days. The whole 6 miles went easily and I felt okay but not great. The legs were a little leaden but not overly. Lack of something in my diet? I don't know, I had leftover smoked ribs, beans, and chili cheese Fritos for lunch. Maybe it was just the joy of work bleeding over into my running. Sad to say I'm not expecting a great week at work, but I am expecting a great week of running. Hopefully I'm wrong on one of those - the former would be my choice.

Back in the Saddle

After a bunch of stuff going on this past week and not a single run, I was able to get in a long run today. Between baseball games and people in town for meetings I figured it would be less stressful if I didn't try to squeeze in running, too. And after last week's debacle and race entry postponement, it was actually nice to have a week off. Ask me right now and I think it's good to have some time off once in a while, but ask me in the middle of training and I'll disagree, especially when racing is at hand.

I definitely felt fresher today when I started running, as if my legs had been replaced with newer versions. I ran 10 miles, and the other great thing was the mental part of it. I never felt like stopping to walk like I have most of the more recent runs. The weather was certainly a help as the temperature was in the 60's and the humidity was lower. This is what I've been waiting for.

I need to retool the training plan in order to hit the Memphis date. I thought for a brief second about just doing a couple more half-marathons this year and calling it good, but then realized I've run a full every year starting with 2007 and I don't want to break the string. Not that it's a long string at this point, but I'd like to keep it going. Really, I don't want to get to be 80 years old and say that I've run at least one marathon every year for the past 40 except for that darn year in 2010 where I was a pansy and decided not to run one. I have over two months of cooler weather in which to train, so I think it's a good idea to keep going. Besides, it's Memphis - a great cause, ribs, music, etc. Who wants to miss that?

The Virtual Running Club Decides

Today was supposed to be a major step toward the marathon in about five weeks, an 18-miler. I woke up very early and once again ran the first half in dark and the beginning dawn. And then for some reason it all fell to pieces. Well, the main reason that I'm blaming is the humidity. Once again I could tell before a mile was under my shoes that the humidity was way up, and it was about 85%. The temperature wasn't bad, but humidity kills. When I'm brushing sweat out of my hair in the first mile I know it's going to be tough. I hydrated pretty well, I thought, following the same plan as last week. Unfortunately that just wasn't good enough. As added insult I ended up with a few nice blisters, including a big one on the underside of my right pinky toe. That happens so rarely that it just bugs me that much worse when it does.

The Boy had a practice game today, so on my way home I called my Virtual Running Club members. Well, the other member. He said his run had not gone well, either, and that he had topped out at 13 miles. I laughed and told him I'd won, then, because I ran 13.1. Yes, my goal once I decided to quit early was to get in a half-marathon, and that's what I did. As we talked neither of us felt good about our training thus far and what's still to come before the Des Moines Marathon. I remarked that maybe the day both of us had bad runs was maybe not the day to make a decision, but after some more discussion we decided to regroup and focus on the Memphis Marathon in December. I'm going to revise our training plan and hope that things get better as autumn kicks into gear. I think I'll put the Kansas City Half Marathon into the plan, especially since that's the weekend I would have gone to Des Moines.

I'll admit I'm a little disappointed, but also a little relieved. The stress of trying to fit in quality runs, especially in the next 2-3 weeks, was going to be a bit much. Plus the other member of the Virtual Running Club has an international business trip to India in the next month, and you know that would be tough to get in good workouts. It stinks to run only one full marathon this year after finishing four last year. But I'm just not feeling it at the moment, and I do feel better about gunning for December instead.

The Virtual Running Club Meets

This week the Virtual Running Club held a meeting in St. Louis. The occasion was reputedly for Alan's birthday, but in reality it was to run. The running itself actually went about as well as the Cardinals' games we attended. Swept by the Cubs? Depressing. As the Cubs supporter sitting to my right at the ballpark was leaving last night he said good-bye and I said, "Now I know what a Cubs fan feels like." He had been only semi-obnoxious but he was definitely mostly-drunk, and so of course he didn't realize I'd just burned him, and not for the first time during the evening. I can be subtle when it's called for. Beats the last time I went to a game when the Cubs were in town and I was yelling at the hecklers a few rows in front of us that they should drink up, because if I was a Cubs fan I'd be an alcoholic, too. But enough about that subject.

We ran alongside the Mississippi on Tuesday morning, and as I alluded to, the run was not a good one. The plan was to run 8 miles with six of those at marathon pace. The day turned out to be not only hotter than we'd been led to expect, but it was also quite humid. Being the experienced runners we are, we quickly adapted our plan. First we slowed the pace a little, and then we cut the run shorter, finishing with 5.5 miles as the total. Of course, I could also blame the evening before and the not-so-good sleep we got, but I think we could have toughed out a few more miles if the weather hadn't been so hot.

Today's run back home went better, but it's still too warm to do the speedwork according to plan. I ran a mile warmup, and then started in on a tempo run. I got 1.5 miles into that before realizing I should slow down if I expected to finish. That's what I did, and was able to finish. Again, not a great run, but some of that is probably still self-inflicted. Now that the fun and games are past and the Cardinals are going to miss the postseason, it's time to buckle down and get in some good training. Cooler weather will help, too. The next meeting of the Virtual Running Club is planned for the Des Moines Marathon in October. Until then, we'll be running together apart.

The Best Long Run Since Forever

At last, a long run I feel good about! Sometimes there are benefits in getting out of bed at 5 a.m. and starting a run before the rest of the world has awaken. Today was definitely one of those days. I ran 15 miles, and ran at a faster pace the last 1.5 miles to finish strong. I also managed the run better. After the first four miles I stopped by the house and ate a gel thingie (don't know what else to call it) and had a drink. Then at eight miles I downed a couple gel thingies and strapped on the drink belt for the rest of the outing. The temperature was around 60 degrees - just about perfect. Even after the sun came out I managed to stay in the shade on my route, which I changed in order to take advantage of that shade.

After a rough several months it was really nice to have a good run, especially with all the aborted and scaled-back runs during all the heat of summer. The race is just over a month away, and this was a key run in getting to 26.2 miles. This week I'll be in St. Louis and plan to keep it going so that next Saturday's 18-miler will be another good one. Seriously, I was beginning to wonder if I'd get to the point of being able to run a marathon in a month. If this one had gone poorly I would have reevaluated if a marathon was still a possibility. But no need. Now I feel it's certainly possible, and if my speedwork will fall into line and I have some good outings on those a good race is a strong possibility. We'll see how it goes.

Impeccable Timing

So I get home from work, and it's cloudy outside and has been raining during the afternoon hours. I lie down on the living room floor, doze for about ten minutes, and then get up and dress for a run. At which point the sun comes out, shining quite brightly, and the air becomes more humid than a sauna in the rain forest. I was going to run some Yasso 800s, but went kaput after two of them, and saying I ran two is actually kind of generous. In total I ran a whopping 3.25 miles and probably sweated 3.25 gallons.

To add to the misery, while we were preparing dinner the clouds came back and it cooled down a little bit. So much for hitting the right window.

This weekend the wife and oldest daughter are on the other side of the state to take part in a triathlon. The report I got from them this evening is that the course is much more hilly than was described online. Seems like I've experienced that before. At least they're having fun together, and that's what really counts.

Marathon Pace

Stress at work can be a great motivator. In my case, I had a lot of frustration to burn off, and even when I felt like cutting back my speed or ending early I thought about work and was inspired to run harder all over again.

Today's run was a 7-miler, with a 5-mile marathon pace run sandwiched between a 1-mile warmup and similar length cooldown. I was shooting for 8 minutes/mile and stayed fairly close to that. The temperature was up near 80 degrees and the sun came out just in time for my run. A nice breeze helped keep things cool.

I should have run yesterday. I got all dressed up and took the boy to baseball practice, but when the coach said it would be a quick one I decided to stick around and run either later or the next day. Practice lasted an hour and a half, which would have been plenty of time to get in my run. Yeah, I should have known better. The weather was perfect and I had plenty of energy. After all the conflict at work today plus having to interview five people, my energy level was down today and allergies were playing games with my sinuses. Nevertheless, it was good to get out and run and burn off a lot of stuff.

I have to realize that I'm in the middle of training and that the race itself will likely be cooler, but I felt today like there's no way I could keep up that pace for 26.2 miles. That's what I have to do, though, to get under the 3:30 mark. I wonder if that's a realistic goal? Plenty of guys my age can do it. I don't know, this might be the year for completing a couple more marathons and then adding to my training plan in order to reach that goal next year. I have a feeling it's going to take more mileage and dedication than I can offer this fall. As always, that feeling is subject to change tomorrow.

Labor Day Run

Normally I wouldn't run the day after a long run, but I have to get on track for this race next month. I took it easy on a windy 6-miler, and even walked for several minutes when I ran into a couple of neighbors walking back toward the neighborhood. The wind was gusting pretty good out of the south, but I'm not going to complain. After the high temps and the impending coldness of winter, I'll take what I can get.

I neglected to mention that yesterday was the first long run where I used the newer pair of shoes. Until now I've only used them for shorter runs, and everything went well yesterday. Used them again today, and I think I've transitioned enough to where they're now my main pair. They're what I'll take to St. Louis next week for the couple of runs I'll do there. I was quite the fashion designer's nightmare today: blue shorts, red shirt with black panels on the side, and running shoes of black and yellow. Clearly I'm not too worried what people think of how I'm dressed while running.

TMI

Finally, a long run. I ran 12 miles this morning after not logging any major miles last weekend, and I was unsure if I'd get any this time around. If I'm going to run this marathon in Des Moines it's going to be 12, 15, 18 & 20 for my long runs starting with this week.

Actually, it was supposed to start yesterday. However, Friday night I stayed up late and then BAM! - I was up the rest of the night with very little sleep. My plan was to awake at about 6:30 on Saturday morning and enjoy a long run in the coolness of the 50's. I ended up on the couch for most of the night going crazy with an allergy attack, and when I woke up I moved back to bed and stayed there until after 10:30. Not one of my better days. This was one of those attacks where not only was I enjoying the bountiful snot and drainage in nose and throat, respectively, but also my whole body was achy and it felt like microbes had invaded my entire being. I pretty much did nothing on Saturday and did my best to avoid the outdoors. My plan worked since by bedtime I was feeling better.

This morning I did get up at 6:30 after waking up only a couple of times during the night, and I was out the door before 7 a.m. I made two errors in this morning's run: not putting on sunscreen and not going #2 before heading out.

First, the sun started rising about 15 minutes into the run, so I spent the majority of the run trying to take advantage of as much shade as I could find around here. Most of the outing went pretty well, fortunately, but by mile 11 I was feeling sluggish. The good thing is that at that point training takes over and I was still cruising at a sub-9:30 pace. I did get my gel bites in earlier this time around as well as a little bit of sports drink. I think next weekend I will be wearing the drink belt so I don't have to keep stopping by the house.

And second - now for the portion of our show where we get into too much information (TMI) - but hey, this is a running log where there are no off-limit subjects. Normally before a long run I hit the head and empty out everything, but today I neglected to do so. Oops. At about mile 9 I was feeling uncomfortable, and by mile 11. 5 I was ready to crap my pants. The walk up the hill after finishing the run was one of the worst I've ever had. It's a good thing I've had over 40 years of training since the last time I messed my pants. Before a race some runners have nervous bowels, but I've never had that problem because I usually take care of business beforehand. Now I know what they feel like. Sorry, not the most delicate of subjects to discuss, but it's part of running. I've heard of people, particularly women, who will pee down their leg in the middle of a race. And there are famous instances of elite runners having to relieve themselves mid-race. God bless them all - as un-fun as it is to ponder, we're all human and we all have to do the same things every day. Sometimes it just hits at the wrong time. I'll keep that in mind before heading out on my next long run.

Stupid Lightning

So this is the first day in months - months I tell you! - where the temperature right after work was conducive to exercise. And of course a thunderstorm comes through and I had to cut short my intended 6-miler. If all you imaginary readers take a look back through my postings you'll know that I actually enjoy running in the rain. However, I'm allergic to lightning and don't mess around with the stuff. What a shame, because today the temp was just under 70 degrees. With the wind blowing it felt even cooler than that.

I ended up going a whole 3.5 miles. I was supposed to do 5 Yasso 800s and ended up doing three with no real cooldown at the end other than my walk up the hill to the house. I was shooting for a 7-minute/mile pace on all of them. The first one felt good, the second all right, but the third was tough. I think it was because of the storm and the fact I was running partly uphill against the wind. Dang it, I was hoping to get to 30 miles this week but I'll be a few short. Well, as I build up toward a 20-mile run in a few weeks I suppose it's okay to be a couple miles on the downside, particularly if I avoid the lightning.

Canned Heat

One more night of heat and humidity at least, and as it turns out not a good night to try a marathon-pace training run. When I started out the temperature was still in the low 90's. I ran a 1-mile warmup and then picked up the pace. My plan called for 8-minute miles, but I knew I shouldn't try that with the current climate. I aimed for 9-minute miles or a little slower, and I kept that going for 2.7 miles. At which point I walked for a tenth of a mile. Then I continued at the faster pace for another mile. That's when I finally realized this wasn't the best weather conditions for speed work. Enthusiasm sometimes trumps common sense.

One thing I keep telling myself is that the level of effort I put into my outings in weather like this will pay off in the end. I certainly didn't get to the pace I wanted for the distance I wanted, but overall I got in my 6 miles. And 2.7 miles of faster running in 90-degree heat has to be somewhat equivalent to 4 miles in cooler weather. It seems like I've felt less beat up after doing a similar run in a different season. Maybe it's just rationalization. It sure doesn't seem like laziness, though, because I've felt enough of that recently. The temperature is supposed to head south by a little bit in the next few days, so maybe I'll get to test my theory soon.

Monday Night Run

It's been crazy trying to fit in a run these past few weeks. And I haven't done any strength training in 2 1/2 weeks. Bleh. Tonight The Boy had a baseball game and I took him, leaving the girls at home. We finally got home at 8, so I quickly changed into running attire and hit the streets. This is the first time in a while where I've felt like I was running loose and relaxed. I went a full 6 miles in the dark on a humid night with the temperature still in the mid-80's. I went back to BSG for the soundtrack, starting with the first season. Nothing like returning to your roots to get you motivated.

Running in Thin Air

I spent the last four days in Denver, intending to run at least twice while there. It didn't quite work out that way, and the only thing I can blame is my own laziness. On Monday I went for a run at home before heading to the airport. I got in my 6 miles and felt pretty good about taking care of that so I could run the next day.

I stayed up too late on Monday night and therefore was in shape to get up early Tuesday before my meetings started. Tuesday after the conference I headed to Coors Field with a group of guys to take in the Rockies and Braves, so no time to run that evening. I didn't stay up especially late that night, but laziness persisted when the alarm went off the next morning. I finally was motivated enough for a run to take the lunch break for a 5-mile run. The hotel was in Broomfield, a suburb of Denver, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The sky was clear and even though the temp was a little warm, I finally felt good in getting out. I realized about a mile into the run I was laboring more than expected. Of course I'd gone out too fast, not blazingly so, but just enough to make it tougher in the thin mountain air. I enjoyed the run over the rolling hills and showered and made it back for the start of the afternoon sessions just in time. The less said the better about Wednesday night and my chances of getting up early this morning.

Instead I ran during The Boy's baseball practice, once again at Penguin Park. This was my first go-around this training plan with Yasso 800's, and it went reasonably well. With the temperature in the mid-80's I knew I wouldn't be hitting my goal (7 minutes/mile), but running fast would be good enough. Looking back over my times on the Garmin, I did get progressively faster on the intervals, from 8:10 average pace on the first one to 7:46 on the fourth and last. That's encouraging.

I really need to get my diet under control. I've had too much eating whatever I want, and that's just not good. I had more cookies this past week than I've probably had the rest of the year combined. Bad Randy!

So Much Humidity You Could See It

This was a jacked-up week, and next week promises to be more of the same. But more on that in a minute. I didn't run on Thursday since I was at The Boy's baseball practice until after 8 o'clock. I was playing infield while the kids batted and got in plenty of sweating and exercise, so I figured I was good. Plus I just felt worn out and thought I could use an off-day. Friday we took the family to Worlds of Fun, and I knew I wouldn't be running the day after walking around in mid-90 temperatures all day.

Which brings us to Sunday morning. I awoke at 5 a.m. and headed out the door by 5:20. My intent was to run as much as possible before the sun came up. However, I knew I was in trouble by the end of the first mile when I was already shaking sweat off my head. I ran toward the pool and then turned around to head back up Tullis to the park. About halfway up the hill I must have passed through a thermal layer or something meteorologically related because I went from humid cool air to humid extremely warm air. That produced an audible grunt from this runner. I planned on a 12-mile run and went 10 miles. I think the lesson I'm learning is that I need to hydrate earlier on my long runs. I waited until 8 miles in before grabbing my sports drink from the house and that was probably a tactical error. I also tried some new energy bursts since Target no longer carries sports gels. They were okay but a little more work than a gel. Because you know, chewing requires such effort. I have a half-pack left so I'll give them another shot before deciding if that's what I want to continue using.

On the last part of my run I started listening to Steven Wright's recent comedy album. Several lines made me smile and even laugh out loud. My favorite one so far: One of my friends has a trophy wife but it wasn't first place.

This week I'm at a conference in Denver, and I plan on running a couple of times there. I think I'll run Monday morning before heading to the airport, and then if things work out I'll run Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I'm looking forward to seeing some mountains!

Changing it Up

Tonight the plan called for hill repeats. The weather called for something else. The temperature was in the mid-70's and overcast, while the forecast for Thursday looks like a return to the upper-90's. And Thursday's plan was for a tempo run at marathon pace. I gauged the possibilities and knew that I wouldn't be able to run fast in the higher temps, while I can probably run hill repeats later in the evening. Once again the boy had baseball practice, and I took the opportunity to run at Penguin Park. It was tough, and I think there's something about running short laps like that (about a mile and a quarter) that makes it more difficult.

I ended up at 5.5 miles out of a planned 6. I started with a mile warm-up in the new shoes, then cranked it up to try and run at an 8-minute/mile pace. That lasted about 2.2 miles, and I felt like I was running tight. I walked about two-tenths of a mile and then ran at pace for another mile. After another tenth of a mile walk I finished slower. Lots of people on the trail today, including a guy who asked me how far around the trail was. He said he was walking and hoped to work up to running, and I told him if I can do it anyone can. The other memorable moment was a guy sitting on the bank of the pond fishing with some butt cleavage looking for attention. Fortunately I caught it from the corner of my eye and avoided a full-on eyeful. Look away! Look away!

Monday Running

Oops, looks like I missed logging my run from Saturday. I ran over half of the 12 miles before the sun came up, and the last part of it was a struggle. I don't know why, really. The temperature wasn't too bad and it wasn't extremely humid like it's been lately. Maybe it was just that last week was a stressful one at work and all the mental fatigue caught up with me. That makes more sense than anything, and heading into the new week I don't think I'm fully recovered. And this week's going to be just as busy, if not more.

The knees were a little tender today, and this is something I expected with the new shoes. I wore the new ones twice last week, and not on the long run. Today I wore the old ones again, and will probably wear them one more time on this week's long run. Tonight the weather was great, especially after the last few weeks. I ran 6 miles easy, as I'm prone to do on Mondays. Next week I'm traveling on Monday, so don't know if I'll get to run or not. I want to keep the weekly mile totals up if I can, though, so I'm going to try and run as much as I can while I'm in Colorado. It's only two months until the Des Moines Marathon - no time for slacking off.

Running at Penguin Park

I ran three loops today around Penguin Park, a local landmark in the Kansas City northland. The total damage in the 110-degree heat index was 4.5 miles, and it felt like 15 miles of running in the mid-50's. This is a path I used to run when I first moved to KC back in 2003. I rented an apartment at a complex right next to the park when I was tired of living in a hotel, and I remember walking across the parking lot and running around the park one to one-and-a-half times. Those were the days when I struggled to run three miles. I also recall trying to run in the cold and ice and wind of that winter. I wasn't real fond of that apartment, and it's funny that today is a Thursday. On most Thursdays the girl upstairs would have people over and I would be kept awake to the sound of chairs scraping above the ceiling and people talking and laughing past 3 a.m. No, I don't miss that apartment at all. On the upside, it looks like they painted the buildings so they look a little better.

I've determined that it doesn't matter how much shade there is, because running when it's this hot and humid just sucks the life out of you. I was going to run 6 miles, and most of the path was under the cover of trees. But three times around was plenty. At first I thought it might go a little better than my outing at Happy Rock Park a couple of weeks ago, but hot is hot. I hate winter so much that I'm not going to complain, though.

Dang Cramps

Another night time run today, and I planned to go 6 miles and ended up at 5.2. I spent one and a half hours sweating at The Boy's first baseball practice and then didn't hydrate between that and the run. That appears to have been a miscalculation on my part. I ran hills today and was feeling good, but right as I got back to our neighborhood I felt the twinges. After I crossed the street and felt another round of twinges I decided to pack it in. Pretty stupid on my part overall, but another lesson learned, I suppose.

Tonight's accompaniment was The Derek Trucks Band. It seemed perfect for a hot, balmy night for some reason.

Black and Gold

It was time for a new set of shoes, so yesterday I took advantage of the tax-free weekend here in Missouri and bought a new pair of Asics Gel Nimbus. Fortunately they were on sale since the cutoff for clothing items to remain tax free is $100. Beat it by five cents. I've been wearing size 9 1/2 for several years, but I was beginning to think my toes were getting a little crowded. The store I went to didn't have any of that size on the sale table, but the did have a couple pairs in a size 10. I tried them on and they felt pretty good. I went out on the sidewalk and ran back and forth a couple of times, breaking a nice sweat in the 100+ degree afternoon. The shoes seemed a tad bit loose and I laced them up tighter. They felt good with no slippage in the toe box. Guess I'm a big boy now since I graduated to double-digits in shoe size.

I compared them to the previous pair when I returned home and they're really not that much different. I can tell the front of the shoe is slightly wider, but I'm not sure if that's because the previous pair is broken in and conformed to my foot or if there really is a difference. I wore them on tonight's 6-mile easy run and they felt good. I can tell I might have a little knee soreness, which seems to happen to me with new shoes. For reference, see a couple of years ago when I changed shoes a few weeks before a race and finally realized the extra millimeter or so of rubber on the soles of my new shoes altered my stride enough to irritate my knee. I'll break these in slowly and wait a couple of weeks before wearing them on a long run. Yep, that's the voice of experience talking right there.

Pre-Dawn Run

The wife got up early, very early, to head out for another triathlon this morning. I took the opportunity, if you want to call it that, to get most of my run in before the sun rose. It was nice to run in relative coolness. Overall I went 10 miles and felt pretty good, for the most part. It's been a while since I ran this far, and I definitely felt some stiffness and soreness, mostly in my left hip. Even though I then drove to Wichita and back today, seven hours in the car didn't affect me, which is a mild surprise. I also totalled 28 miles for the week, or double what I ran the previous week. I know that goes against all the common wisdom. We'll see how I feel tomorrow and if that much mileage was a bad thing or not.

6 in the Sun

The temperature was down about ten degrees today, so I went ahead and ran after work rather than waiting until the sun went down. Amazing how the upper 80's actually felt cooler. When I returned home and checked, the heat index was 'only' 88 degrees. I kept the whole 6 miles slow and easy, closer to 11 minutes/mile than anything faster. It paid off since I was able to make it the whole way. The only time I walked was when I switched from a podcast to Dwight Yoakam on the iPod.

A strange thing happened on the way back into the neighborhood. As I ran by the pool, which sits at the 5.75 mile mark on my usual 6-mile course, I could smell the water. I thought maybe it was just the chlorine. After my run and I was walking up the hill on my cooldown, one of the neighbors had a sprinkler going and I smelled the water again. I'm guessing my body was craving a drink something fierce. I don't recall that ever happening before. Sometimes the human body is a strange thing.

Yes, It's Still Summer

91 degrees at the end of the run today, and the end came at 9:10 p.m. Strangely enough it was probably a little hotter today but felt better because there was more of a breeze. Today's plan called for 6 miles of hills, and that's exactly what I did. I must be getting pretty good at my routes since I headed toward Pleasant Valley Baptist Church but turned before the top of the hill, then ran down Flintlock toward Target and turned before I got there, and managed to hit 6 miles exactly at my usual stopping point. I was pretty impressed with myself, even if a little bit of dumb luck was involved.

Tomorrow is an off day for running, and I would enjoy the break from the heat except for the fact that I need to mow the lawn. The wife is heading north to a triathlon on Saturday and I have to take the nephews south to get back to their parents, so I'm planning on a very early run that day. That leaves Thursday, which I suppose will be an evening run again. But the high is supposed to be only 90 degrees that day. Guess I'll take it when I can get it.

More Heat

A couple of runs to catch up - first one was on Friday. It was my early day, and I knew with the wife's triathlon on Saturday and having to drive all day Sunday to pick up the boy I wouldn't have time to run on the weekend. SO I went to Happy Rock Park in Gladstone to run in the shade. The plan called for 10 miles. The first four went okay, but the next couple just totally sapped me. I finished at 6 miles and called it good. I was totally worn out.

Today I ran 6 miles again, but this time i didn't even start until 8 p.m. A couple of nephews ran the first half with me, and then I dropped them off at the house and continued. I was pretty done in again by the end, because even though the sun wasn't shining the temperature was in the mid-90's and humidity was high. This week is going to be a challenge, but I have to do it. Hopefully when the sun is down so I can avoid some heat stroke.

Trust the Plan

That was the mantra from the running podcast today - trust the plan! When you're in the middle of training for a race and you don't feel at the top of your game, or it's a grind, or you just don't feel like you're getting to where you want to be, that's the time you need to trust the plan you put together at the beginning. I hope I can remember that in a few weeks.

The other thing I remember from this podcast (RunRunLive!) was that you can't improve yourself without challenging yourself and changing your comfort level. I think that's true, which is why I'm gunning for a 3:30 time in the Memphis marathon this year. I'm going to get my virtual running buddy under four hours in Des Moines and then I'm trying to get to the 3:30 level about six weeks later. The conventional wisdom (i.e., the charts in Runner's World) say that I'm not a good candidate to run that fast based on my previous times. Sounds like a challenge to me.

Looks like I forgot to post my run from Saturday. There wasn't much to post about anyway. I got out the door a little later than I planned for an 8-miler that ended up being 5 miles. I blamed the heat and humidity, but really I just wussed out. Let's just put that one behind us and move on, shall we?

Today's was much better. The temperature and humidity were off the charts again, but I waited until almost 8 o'clock to get out the door. I ran 6 miles with the sun going down in the west and it went much better. I saw about a dozen people running this morning as I drove through the neighborhood on my way to work, a stark contrast to the two other people I saw this evening. Anyway, I kept the pace at about 10 minutes/mile and survived. I don't like running this late in the evening, but 'tis the season. The wife and oldest daughter have a triathlon this weekend and I have to go to Tulsa to pick up the boy from my parents, so getting in my planned 10-miler will be a challenge. But it's all a challenge, isn't it?

Catching a Break

Thunderstorms pounded the KC metro area this afternoon and threatened today's run. The temperature was right, but as I've stated before, I'm not a big fan of lightning. After dinner I was in the kitchen talking to the wife and I said, "I'm wondering if I should head out for a run right about now." And as soon as I said it, a bright stroke of lightning flashed outside with a loud clap of thunder immediately following. We laughed because I'd received my answer.

I kept an eye on the doppler radar on the web site of one of the local TV stations and when the storms slipped south of us I hit the streets. I ran 5 miles, which was supposed to be an easy run. Instead I ran the last couple of miles at a pace under nine minutes/mile. Part of my motivation was the bank of dark clouds to my south. They generated a nice bolt of lightning as I was nearing my turnaround point, and even though the storm was a good 3-4 miles away I decided it was time to go home at a slightly accelerated pace. As I got back into the neighborhood another dark patch was to the north and threatening to turn my way. A few minutes after I arrived I went onto the deck to secure the grill cover and it was sprinkling. I'd say I caught the break in the storms just right.

Dithering

Sleeping late seemed more important than getting up early, and I was all set to skip this week's long run. I ate breakfast, lounged, and kept looking outside at the overcast sky, wondering if I should just get out and do it. I kept thinking I should since this week the temperatures are supposed to be in the 90's. When I finally made the decision, I was out the door in under ten minutes, telling the wife and kids I was going to run anywhere from 6 to 10 miles, depending on how much sun there was.

Naturally the sun came out one-third of a mile into my run. It came and went but mostly stayed. At the end I'd gone 7 miles and I was kicking myself for not getting out the door earlier. I'm usually not so indecisive about running. By the time I got home the temperature was 84 degrees with a heat index of 93. Not as bad as some of the other days this past week, but still wore me out plenty. I'm working on a training plan for the Des Moines Marathon in October. The plan includes being flexible the next few weeks because of the heat and then stepping it up with hills and speedwork. I was looking at the July issue of Runner's World last night and there's a plan for breaking four hours I was trying to adapt to finish in 3:30. Still needs a little bit of work, and as I was looking it seemed like there's not enough time to get in all the things I want. Hard to believe with 13 weeks left, but true story.

Summer Running

Today was a typical summer day in KC - pretty hot (low 90's) and humid. The heat index when I ran was about 97 degrees. Again I took my water bottle filled with icy, refreshing goodness. As I've said before, the biggest problem around here isn't necessarily the heat, but it's the lack of shade. I ran 4 miles before I encountered any real shade. At that point I walked for about five minutes before finishing my 5-mile run. I probably could have gone a full 6 miles like most of my easy runs, but I keep thinking it's better to not keel over from heat stroke than it is to get in an extra mile.

One other comment on the podcast I listened to during the run - it was an episode of RunRunLive!, which I normally enjoy, but in this particular episode there was a full ten minutes of the host washing his dog. To his credit he admitted afterward that it was lame and he needs to shake up the podcast. Guess I shouldn't complain too much since I'm a dog person and it's free and all, but that was just a little too much. Thank God it wasn't a cat. Although that probably would have been shorter, louder, and more entertaining.

Dang

Hot. In the low 90's. Ran slow. Took water bottle. Poured more over head than drank. Ran 4 miles. Slow. Humid. Tired. Time to sleep.

The Short and the Long of It

This is a tale of two runs. I actually got up early on Sunday morning so I could get in a long run and ended up having one of the shortest long runs of my running career. And today, as the makeup run, I ran under cloudy skies and sweltering humidity.

First, on Sunday I ran a total of 2 miles. As I headed out at 7:30 a.m. everything looked fine with some gray clouds off to the northwest. I ran toward the back part of the neighborhood and as I ran up the hill I thought I saw a flash high up in the clouds. I continued to watch as I looped back toward the southwest and saw some noticeably closer lightning, no doubt about it. I certainly enjoy running in the rain, but I don't take any chances with the electrical stuff. There was a lady running ahead of me and she had stopped at the top of the hill as if pondering whether or not to continue. Or maybe she was just winded. As I got closer she took off again, but I peeled off quickly down the hill and back to the house. I really hadn't worked up much of a sweat and I set to making some eggs, bacon, and English muffins. Within about fifteen minutes the loud flash-bangs started going off and pretty soon we were getting some serious rain. One of my neighbors estimated two inches in a half-hour by his rain gauge. We had a river running through our back yard. Literally. I could see the current and it was moving fast. Glad I didn't get caught out somewhere in that storm.

Today was a different story with a relatively tame easy run of 6 miles. The humidity was high and all that, which is normal for a KC summer. The temperature was only in the low 80's, and I'm thankful for that. The bad news is that the motor has apparently gone out on our a/c and the temperature inside is still in the low 80's. I'm not real happy with the company that supposedly just fixed the unit and replaced the compressor. The attic fan is on and I'm hoping it cools down in here. Glad the wife and kids aren't here, too - they're up north for a few days. I might have to get in my car and drive around with the a/c cranked up just so I can cool down.

Mild Days

More decent weather, if a bit rainy and cloudy, but at this time of year I'll take it. The temperature was in the 70's today and I felt a few raindrops on the run but not much more than that. At least today I remember to bring the Garmin and ice the Gatorade. I ran 6 miles,, doing the same workout as last Thursday with a 3-mile tempo in there after a 2-mile warmup. With the lower temperatures I tried to keep the tempo pace at around 9 minutes/mile but had trouble finding a steady pace for some reason. I was probably four miles into the run before I felt like I was keeping a normal rhythm going. Still very humid but again, I'm not going to complain.

Vacation Runs

No, I didn't get the runs on vacation. But it is time to catch up on the runs I've done in the last week or so since I haven't kept up with my logging on here. The first three were with Alan, my virtual running club member, since he and his family were here on vacation.

Our first run was a 6-miler on Monday, 28 June. We took a couple of walk breaks in there somewhere since Alan was so freakin' out of shape. I actually own him now and will run his butt into the ground with training plan I'm developing to get him under 4 hours at our next race. This particular run was an easy run to get him into the swing of things.

Our second run was another 6-miler on Wednesday, 30 June. We warmed up for two miles and then ran three at a faster tempo pace. The weather wasn't brutally hot but it was plenty warm and humid, so I kept our tempo at about 9:30/minute. After that we walked for a few minutes, but he did pretty well on the hills and we didn't push too much.

I kept telling him he was going to be running 12 miles with me for our long run, and he believed me and even bought a couple of gel packs for the run. I intended the run to be only 8 miles, and that's what we did on Friday, 2 July. We had about three walk breaks on our out and back route down Shoal Creek Parkway to I-435. It was a good week with a total of 20 miles, about right for 'easing' back into a training pattern.

Today our guests left and I ran an easy 6-miler while the temps weren't too high. Humidity was over 80%, though, and I sweated buckets. I was down the street before I realized I'd forgotten both my Garmin and to put a bottle of Gatorade in the freezer to chill. Nevertheless, I survived and it was a good run to cap off my vacation time. Now it's back to afternoon or evening runs. And work. Ugh.

Sans Garmin

Guess I left the Garmin on after Sunday's run and the battery was low. Tonight's run was au natural as far as that goes. I ran my regular 6-mile route after waiting until almost 7:45 to start. The temperature today was in the 90's and the sun was brutal. Waiting seemed like the prudent thing to do. I almost stopped during my prep a couple of times and thought about just staying home, but after some drama at work I decided I needed to get out and burn off the stress of the day. Another prudent move. Now maybe tomorrow I'll be a little calmer and clear-headed. Or maybe I'll just need to go for another run.

Ten for Father's Day

Continuing the practice of putting numbers in my post titles, I ran 10 miles on Father's Day. I was VERY tempted to stay in bed and sleep late, but as I've always said, you shouldn't make a decision about whether or not to run while you're half-asleep in frog pajamas. Yes, that's a Tom Robbins reference for you. Anyway, I had planned on getting up at seven, and that's what I did. It was tough, but I'm so glad I did. I drove about 550 miles to Tulsa and back yesterday to drop off Daughter #1 at church camp, and today I added another 10 miles to the overall weekend total. I knew if I didn't get up and run early it wasn't going to happen since the temperature was forecast to climb into the nineties during the day. It worked out well as clouds rolled in from the north and I spent most of the run under overcast skies. I felt good and was happy to get in such good mileage on an early summer morning.

During today's run I finished up the last part of the Hardcore History series on the Eastern Front of WWII. All I can say is wow. How have we not heard more about this? I'm convinced the war was won there after listening to these podcasts. In America we talk about D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge and those epic events, yet the tide of the war was actually turned in eastern Europe. I've read plenty on D-Day and I know the Allied troops who gave their lives and those who punched through the beaches are heroes. But the absolute carnage and scale of the war in Russia dwarfs what happened in western Europe. I've already put a book on hold at the library to learn more about this, and sadly enough the literature on this part of the war is scarce compared to western Europe and the Pacific. It's an odd scenario in trying to root for one side or the other since Hitler and Stalin butchered millions of people and both were evil to the core. Yet if Stalin's troops hadn't won their part of the war the world would be a far different place. I still recommend the series and think there's a lot worth pondering from the history of the war in eastern Europe.

Hot Six

Not as hot as it's gonna be this summer, but still pretty warm at 91 degrees after 7 p.m. I waited until later to run to avoid the direct sun and still caught plenty anyway. So I kept it slow and easy and sweated a lot but didn't overheat during my 6 miles. That was the aim and I was successful. I generally don't like running later in the evening. However, since I'm not actively training for a specific event, I also don't feel the need to kill myself in the high heat. I'd prefer to keep running as enjoyable as possible without injury. Too bad I go into work so early. I'm routinely jealous of the people I see running in the morning as I drive by them on my way to work. Maybe someday that can be me. Many years from now, after I retire...

6 in 81

6 miles today in 81 degree temperatures. It was an easy run with a finishing average pace of 10 minutes per mile, and I was happy with that. I continued with Part III of the Hardcore History series on the eastern front of World War II. It was an excellent distraction from the heat and the sweat on this run in ways that music wouldn't be. Since I didn't sweat enough on the run I went ahead and worked on sanding the deck in preparation for some new stain. Fortunately for everyone in the household I'm done sweating for the night.

A Plan Comes Together

A disturbingly close crack of lightning awoke the household at 6:30 this morning and also heralded the fact that I wouldn't be running anytime soon. The wife and oldest daughter went for a bike ride a little later and were going to run, but then the rain really started. I kept hoping the rain would finally end, and sure enough, about 1:30 the storm finally moved past. The wife and I had gone to the grocery store in the meantime, so when I saw the blue sky beyond the line of clouds to the west I hustled into running clothes and scooted out the door for an 8-miler. It was humid but my plan was to get the run completed before the sun came out, or at least mostly complete. Success!

I'm at that point where I don't have a specific race scheduled but know that I'll be running in the fall. I need to figure out what's next. Also at this point is the question on whether I should take a little time off. My thought is that for the most part I feel pretty good, and it's probably best to keep running three times a week without speedwork at this point, and maintain my base. That way once I pick the next race I can determine my workout schedule without starting from scratch. Plus I need to work on some strength training and core work this summer. I exercised twice this week with dumbbells and ankle weights and feel pretty good with that. Maybe when Alan is here in a couple of weeks we can pick our next outing. Or maybe I'll just pick one before then and tell him what he's going to do. Yeah, I like the sound of that better.

Running with the Daughter

Today was hot and humid. Seems like Daughter #1 learned a lesson since at the end of the run today she decided she would prefer to run in the early-morning hours. It was nice to run with her, though. I ran 4 miles by myself to start, and it was a very slooooow 4 miles due to the weather conditions. I stopped by the house and picked up Daughter #1, who is training for a triathlon, and we ran 2 miles together. Her training schedule said today was supposed to be a run/walk day, but we ran the whole way. I was proud of her for doing so with minimal complaining. At one point I joked she must have misread the schedule and decided it was a run/talk day instead. I thought about waiting longer to run after the race last Saturday, but the race really didn't do me in too bad and after all I've eaten the past couple of days I figured I needed it. My plan for the next several weeks is to run 6 miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays with an 8-10 miler on Saturday. Guess I need to pick my next race and work backward on the calendar so I know when to start doing speedwork again. But as long as I get to run with my girl I'll be fine.

The other thing I did today that was running-related was to buy a new pair of running shoes for the wife, who is also participating in the triathlon. Her old shoes were worn out. We went to a specialty store and she tried on a half-dozen pairs. She settled on a pair of Asics Cumulus, which is the same model I first bought from Asics. She didn't have a moment of epiphany like I did, but she seemed pleased with the purchase. Plus they look pretty spiffy on her.

Hospital Hill Run

In the last half mile of today's race, I looked over at Alan and told him this was one of those races it was good to run but I don't feel the need to ever run it again. That pretty much sums up my feelings about this course. It was hot, but not terribly so due to an overcast sky early on, and terribly humid. And hilly. Yeah, a race with the word 'hill' in the name should be a clue.

Alan claimed at various times that he's out of shape and hasn't been training enough and certainly hasn't been training on hills, as well as stating that the humidity and/or heat was brutal. Okay, I'm giving him a little grief, but I have to agree on several of those counts. Much like the race in Leavenworth a couple of weeks ago, the course was tough. Leavenworth was a little tougher, but not by much. After mile 10 one of the guys running near us shouted out, 'This hill is stupid!' We had to laugh and agree.

None of this is to reflect on the race organization or anything like that. It was very well organized and other than the torture of the hills an enjoyable event. Lots of good volunteers, aid stations, and after-race activities. The one bummer is that we left our IDs in the car and therefore couldn't get the necessary bracelet for free beer afterward. Very scenic course.

The official time was 2:17:42, which included lots of walking. As I figured earlier this week, this wasn't going to be the course or the weather for setting a PR, and I was right, so I hung with Alan and had a good time. I don't want to do this race every year, but it was a good experience.

And One More

Just had to get in one more run since I didn't want to have three empty days before the race. I ran 4.5 easy miles in low-80's temperature. No snakes in the road today, just a guy running with a dog. At this point I still don't feel like I'll be gunning for a PR on Saturday morning, but we'll see how I feel on race day. And how the weather shapes up. The overnight low on Friday is supposed to be 71 degrees, which means temps will probably be in the mid-70's by 8 a.m. at race time. That's not a good recipe for a really fast race, so maybe I'll just pace this one with Alan and see if we can get him in under the two-hour mark.

90 Degrees

That was the temperature today when I set out for my run. And maybe I still am getting smarter, since rather than totally run my brains out I did my speedwork at a decidedly slower pace. I ran 6 miles and did the 2x800 intervals, and my second interval was at an average 9:03/pace. If I go that slow in a race I'm in trouble, but today it was the wise move. I thought about waiting until later in the day but decided that if the temperature is up on Saturday morning that I should acclimate to the warmer weather as much as possible.

Bonus: in the road at about mile one was a black snake - alive! A squirrel had come out to look at him and the squirrel almost got nailed by a small SUV. But the snake kept slithering along. When I ran by the spot after turning around up the road he was nowhere to be seen. I kept a careful eye on the grass, though, 'cause even though he probably wasn't poisonous who wants a snake leaping out at them? Well, not really leaping, but you get the idea.

A Week to Go

One week from today is the Hospital Hill Run here in KC, and I think I'm ready. This morning I ran 10 miles in temps around 70 degrees. If it's the same next week that won't be too bad, but might be a little too warm to try for a PR. We'll see how it feels. Again today I tried to keep the pace slower, and came in at just under 10 minutes/mile average.

Listened to the new Drive-By Truckers and enjoyed it, and then most of a Hardcore History interview, which I didn't enjoy as much as some of the others. This guy had some direct observations about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not sure when in the past 17 months or so this was recorded, but turns out he was pretty much wrong in his opinions. Gee, I hate when that happens. Anyway, this week I think I'll do one more speed exercise on Tuesday and maybe a recovery run on Wednesday, and then it's off to the races.

Getting Smarter?

This was one of those runs where I think maybe I'm learning how to run smarter. Then of course I'll do something stupid next week, but for now I'm going towards smarter. The temperature was in the mid-80's when I set out for a 6-miler with some 2x800 speedwork. I kept it nice and slow during my two warmup miles, and then didn't go all out on the first interval. Normally I would try to get to 7:30/mile or better, but today I just went with what felt right. That happened to be in the low 8's, and I didn't wear myself out. On the second interval I did the same and actually finished the whole thing without walking at all. Don't get me wrong, I was tempted, but I resisted. I guzzled a bottle of Gatorade when I got home, but I never felt absolutely horrible. Some would say maybe that's what I should be feeling, but I'm running for the long-term, not to puke my guts out every run.

On the iPod side, I finished the podcast of Part III of the Punic Wars on Hardcore History and then listened to another, which was an interview with Victor Davis Hanson. I really enjoyed that one since I've seen Mr. Hanson quoted extensively on several current event blogs I follow, and it was nice that the interview matched my earlier impressions. I'm really enjoying this podcast and am thinking about ordering the older episodes. Not only is it a good distraction during a run but it's just plain cool. Recommended.

More Humidity

Ran 6 miles today and the humidity is picking up toward summertime levels. Not horrible yet, but on its way. I ran two mile repeats, with 1.5 miles in between them. That was my concession to the heat and humidity. I thought about waiting until later to run after the temperature dropped a little, but today was such a rotten day at work that I needed to run for de-stressing purposes. Good grief, Tuesdays suck. These days I'd rather go to work on a Monday than a Tuesday.

Remembering

Now I remember why I get up early on a Saturday to run. It's the heat, stupid. Today's not unbearably hot, topping at 82 degrees so far, but it's a lot warmer than it has been. Plus the wind is pretty strong. I was planning on going 10 miles but ended up going 8. That's probably as much a fault of my eating and drinking habits this week as it is the weather. Guess I'll go 10 next Saturday in my final long run before the race, which is two weeks from today.

I listened to some more Hardcore History, finishing the second part of the Punic Wars and most of the third part. Let me just say there's a lot of things I didn't know about that part of history and I'm really enjoying it. I don't remember covering any of this in school. It's certainly worth listening to and the parallel to some of the twentieth-century situations after WWI is frightening.