Garminless

This fool forgot to plug in his Garmin after yesterday's run, so it was dead today. The bad thing is that it's still dead, even though I've plugged it in and left it for a couple of hours. This could be a problem.

Today's run was 6 miles, and I know the distance markers for that. I ran 1 mile as a warmup, then 4 miles at 'marathon pace,' and then another mile for a cooldown. That 4 miles is in quotes because it was darn windy today. How is it that the wind that's blowing against you so strong when you're heading into it seems to be nothing but a slight breeze when it's at your back? Honestly, that wind should have been pushing me along like a leaf. About 4.5 miles into the run I was absolutely worn out from heading into the wind for so long that I had to walk about 200 yards. The crappy night of sleep I had certainly didn't help either. It was a tough run but I made it through, and that counts for something in the long run.

And Just Like That.

...the grass is turning green, the sun is shining, people are mowing their lawns, and it's spring! It's amazing the difference a day makes. As I started my run this afternoon a couple of guys were mowing their lawns, and they were green under all the winter scrum (I don't know if that's an accurate term, but it sure seems like the right way to describe it). I was surprised at how warm the temperature was, almost 70 degrees. Going from cool weather to that was almost like running in summer. Well, not really, but close. I think it slowed me down some, and since I this was an easy running day I tried to keep it slow anyway. I ran 5 miles and saw a lot of people out doing the same. The wind was from the southwest and a little stiff, but nothing like it's supposed to be the next few days, from what I hear. I'm just glad it's spring. Now all that's missing is baseball.

Back to the Midwest

Spring is definitely not here yet in the good ol' Midwest. The temperature today is in the low 40's and rain has made it a better day to run inside than out. At least I enjoyed a few runs outdoors this week in Austin. Watched two more first season episodes of BSG while running 9 miles on the treadmill today. I guess this is the way I'll work my way through the series again unless the weather improves. Fortunately the forecast shows temps closer to 70 degrees this coming week.

At this point I'm definitely shooting for a half-marathon on May 16th in Leavenworth. Since I didn't get any speedwork in this past week I need to concentrate on that in the coming weeks. I won't say I've been lazy as far as other exercises go lately, but the truth is I've averaged about once a week with my dumbbells routine. I need to improve that, too. As I've learned over the years just those simple routines I do make quite a difference come race day.

Austin Runs

Spent the week in Austin for business, and was fortunate enough to stay at a hotel right by the river. All I had to do was walk across the street and I was on the system of paths along Town Lake. The first run was Monday afternoon after flying in that day. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and a lot of people were out to enjoy it. A multitude of folks was exercising themselves and their dogs. I ran 5 miles on the south side of the river from Congress Avenue west. I really enjoy the system they have in Austin, although there are a few places where you can make a wrong turn and end up on a dead-end. I just played follow the people and seemed to do okay.

My second run this week was on Wednesday afternoon, and the weather was much different. It was cloudy, rainy, and a little cooler. I still ran in shorts and a t-shirt, though, just as I had on Monday, and since I actually enjoy running in the rain it turned out just fine. That day I ran 6 miles, following the same path as Monday until I crossed over to the north side of the river and ran that path past Congress (where the bats dwell on the underside of the bridge) and then doubling back to Congress in order to get in the distance. That run was tougher than I expected, and I think the reason was that I had stood for the whole afternoon. Thursday was nice also, and I intended to run, but I ended up meeting some guys for dinner and decided to forego the run. Then I was going to get up and run before flying out today, but my right knee was sore and I did what you should never do - make the decision on whether or not to go for a run while I was still lying in bed. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, as well as some strong wind, so my plans will have to be flexible. All in all it was a good trip and I totally enjoy running in Austin. This particular traveler is grateful for such great trails and wonderful scenery, and if I lived there I would certainly be a regular.

Celebrating Spring!

Today was the first day of spring, and here in Kansas City we celebrated with about four inches of snow and strong winds. Yes, lots of snide comments all over the place both here and in the region. I was surprised at how quickly the roads and sidewalks became covered since it had been in the mid-60's yesterday. All this to say it was back to the treadmill, where I ran 8 miles. That's not much of a long run, but I didn't think I could stand much more since I was suffering from a bad case of cabin fever. It's off to Austin this week, where I should be able to run outside as much as I want.

A Jump in Temperature

It was in the low-60's today and I could tell the difference. My plan was to run 1 mile, then 4 at marathon pace, and then cool down for a mile. I stopped the marathon pace after 3 miles and then cooled down for 2, still maintaining a total of 6 miles. I'm not really sure if it was the temperature being that much warmer or if several nights of not sleeping well that did me in. Whatever the case my legs felt a little tired and I tend to blame it on the accumulation of a busy week.

The plan I made for the half-marathon training pretty much took my marathon plan and decreased the mileage on the long run. Today's would have called for an 8-mile run, so I've already decided I need to decrease some of the mileage during the week, too. That's supposed to be part of the appeal of running a half instead of a full, right? Even though half of the run turned out to be at a 'slower' speed, I noticed most of the time I was running 9 minutes/mile or so on the 'slow' speed. Overall the run took 52 minutes, which Garmin tells me averages out to 8:38/minute. All in all, even with a higher temperature, that's not too bad.

Hills at (Relatively) High Speed

I definitely ran the hills tonight. 7 miles total at a pace of 9 minutes/mile. Felt good the whole way. It was colder than I thought it would be, and once again I almost didn't take a vital piece of clothing - my ear warmers. But I stuffed it in my pocket and before I made it off the front step I put it on. The wind was very chilling out of the northwest, but once I started it wasn't too bad.

This marks the start of my training plan for a mid-May half-marathon. I think my previous best was 1:49 or 1:48 or something like that, so if I could lower that to 1:40 I'd be pretty darn happy. I'm not sure what pace that is. Guess I'll figure that out later. I have time.

Fun Inside Again

Just didn't feel like heading out the door today, especially after working on the evening shift last night. I slept until 10 this morning, which might seem lazy, but I went to bed at about 1:30 a.m. With half the family sick I wanted to get some good sleep. And then I didn't want to go out in the cool, breezy and semi-rainy weather and get myself sick. I ran 9 miles on the treadmill and watched not one, but two episodes of BSG. What a great show. And what a good run.

Cool but Still Runnable

The temperature was in the mid-40's with a breeze from the southwest, but I went for it anyway since it wasn't raining. For the first time this year I did a planned tempo run, warming up for 2 miles and then running faster for 15 minutes. I definitely ran too fast, with my tempo coming in around and under 8 minutes/mile. Lots of sick people in my house and I don't want to fall prey to whatever they have. During part of the tempo I felt queasy in my stomach, but of course I'm not smart enough to slow down. I did cut the run a whole quarter-mile short, though, and finished with 5.75 miles under my belt. I felt a little better after slowing down on the run and the hot shower afterward felt really good. I think I also overdressed some and overheated a little bit, too, I think, since the outdoors looked colder than it actually was. Oh well, no matter how it turns out, running outside is better than running inside!

Rain

Rain kept me inside for today's run, which doesn't seem so bad since I fixed the treadmill. I can actually run at a pretty fast pace and hear the television. So I ran 6 miles and watched a first-season episode of Battlestar Galactica. This worked for me in two ways, by satisfying both my need for exercise as well as my need to be a total geek. I love it when a plan comes together.

Almost Like Spring

Went on a 10-miler this afternoon and it was great! The sky was overcast and there was a little bit of a breeze, but overall it felt good. The temperature was in the upper 50's, right around 60 degrees. Once again I probably ran too fast, clocking a pace around 9 minutes/mile, but once again I just went with what felt right. To top it all off, I wore shorts! I stayed with a long-sleeve technical shirt, though, but I think this was the first time I've worn shorts on a run since sometime in October or so. I'm not ready to call this the beginning of spring because usually we have at least one more freeze, if not a full-blown snowstorm. For one day, at least, I enjoyed a nice run in good weather.

A Better Run in the Capital

Today was much nicer - sunny, warmer, and a different direction from Tuesday's run. I ran west instead of east and encountered less shade as well as a nice little bridge over a creek. Also bamboo stands, which I can't believe that the state really wants to keep around. And to top it off a brush trimmer who was slowly working on trimming branches back from the trail. Almost forgot the used condom in the parking lot, which went into a trash can with the use of a twig to pick it up and deposit it in the receptacle. Always makes me realize how classy people can be when I see things like that. As far as the running goes, I went 6 miles again and felt good. The high for Saturday is supposed to be in the 50's. I wonder what that feels like?

Running in the State Capital

It was actually quite unremarkable today. I'm in Jefferson City for the week with honorable daughter #1 for a field trip. She's at the Capitol while I went for a run, some lunch at Chipotle, and cruising around far too long looking for a library or someplace with wi-fi. Later I have a conference call to attend even though I'm on "vacation."

Being that Jeff City is on the Missouri River and the Katy Trail runs alongside the river at this point, I thought I'd run along the river this morning. I was wrong. The trail meanders through the low-lying countryside but the river is a good distance away. I found a parking lot and ran three miles out and back. The weather was a lot cooler than I was expecting, but I was prepared. The trail is pretty much level, and even though the experience wasn't anything to write home about I was glad to be running outdoors and on dirt instead of concrete or asphalt. The one thing I did miss was a good shower since the facility at the camp where we're staying is just what you would expect from a site with several cabins and a central bath house - low pressure, hard to adjust controls for getting the right temperature, and...well, let's just say I'm looking forward to being home again.