I'd Like to Dedicate This One to the Ladies

I'm not a chauvinist pig. I don't even play one on TV. Yet when I'm out running and there are ladies out walking, running, or biking, I tend to keep running when they're in sight, sometimes even faster. Like, say...tonight.

It was a hot evening, tough to run after a four-day layoff, and there were plenty of times I felt like walking. But every time I'd get that thought, I'd see a couple of women walking. Or one biking. Even saw a couple running. I guess it was ladies' night. I'm not sure if they were good looking or not, due to the exercise-induced brain haze I suffered as I ran up and down the hills. If they did look good, fine. But I'll be darned if I'm going to stop running and walk in front of them.

Am I the only one who acts this way? I know they couldn't have cared less if I had slowed to a walk, unless they thought I was stalking them, but we have too many cops who live around here for that to be a major concern. And rationally speaking, I have nothing to prove. I'm not a Neanderthal out trolling the caves for a mate, especially in this balding, middle-aged body. Totally an irrational response, but so be it. I have plenty of irrational male responses. But tonight I ran the full 6 miles and I have the women around here to thank for it.

Four Runs in Wisconsin

I've been on vacation this week in Wisconsin and have been fortunate enough to run four times. Tomorrow I'll be flying back to KC, so my running time in WI has come to an end. It's been fun and it'll be sad to go back to the regular routes back home. I ran a trail by the river that goes through town, which is everything my regular runs are not - flat, shaded, and dirt. What a treat.

The first run was last Friday morning with The Wife and nephew Zac. We ran only 3 miles since Zac had to be at work within an hour of our start time. It was a nice introduction to the path and a great day for running.

On Saturday I went and ran by myself, intending to go 10 miles. Again it was a great day for running. The sun was intermittent and the temperature was perfect. I momentarily lost the path when I got to a smaller town at the three-mile mark, but doubled back and picked it up again. However, when I reached the four-mile marker things started to change. I saw a sign signifying a wildlife area, which in this case meant a swamp off to the right of the path and no sign of the river on the left. In other words, breeding ground for mosquitoes. I couldn't go two steps without swarming bugs around my head. I quickly grew tired of this, as well as a little frustrated, and turned back. My run topped out at 8 miles due to the bugs. I hate to be defeated by the little critters, but I'll admit it, it's no fun to try and run while being swarmed.

On Monday The Wife and Daughter #1 ran for a couple of miles while Zac and I went a full 6 miles. Once again the weather was overcast but nice. It was a good easy run and Zac did great, especially since he hadn't run that far in a long time.

Today we took everybody - 12 people and a dog. The rain had poured down overnight and the day was humid, moreso than yesterday. Zac and I took off and ran a mile warmup followed by a four-mile tempo run at 8:30 pace. We finished with a mile of cooldown. That was my first speed work in I can't remember how long, and Zac said it was definitely a tougher run than yesterday. It was cool to run with him and he kept up with this old man. Maybe I was even holding him back. That's 23 miles total while I've been here, which is pretty good for a vacation. After today's run I made sure everyone got a bottle of sports drink for their efforts. Tomorrow it's back home to the good ol' hot weather, hills, and no shade. I guess I've been spoiled a little bit this week, but isn't that what vacations are all about?

Footprints

I find it amusing, when I run down a certain sidewalk, that my footprints are visible in the concrete. It always gives me a wry moment of lightness in whatever kind of run I'm having. It's on 96th Street straight across from the pool on the south side of the street. When "they" were pouring the sidewalk I was running east on the existing sidewalk. The section with my prints was the last section to be poured and I had to run on the street for a little ways. However, due to traffic I had to jump onto the freshly poured concrete, which was almost set. But not quite. You can me Asics-prints for about 30 feet of sidewalk. Today when I ran I noted that my stride seems just a bit shorter, which is something I've actually worked on to increase turnover. What can I say? When I see my prints and know that they'll be there for years to come it makes me grin.

Yesterday was Sunday, and even though it was a rest day I was sorely tempted to go for a run. The temperature was perfect and the sky was overcast. It seemed like a waste to not run on a day like that. Fortunately today was more of the same, just windier. I didn't mind too much, though. The temperature was in the mid-70's and the humidity must have been higher than that. I had a good 6-miler and finished at a pace better than 10 minutes/mile and feeling strong. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer but I might be busy after work, so we'll see how it goes.

Post-Farmer's Market Run

This Saturday I was able to sneak in a "long" run, as opposed to last weekend. We dropped off the older girls at church so they could go to a ministry opportunity and then headed to the farmer's market with the younger kids. We've been going every couple of weeks and it's really kind of cool. And as a runner I have an interest in healthier foods. The other thing we've been picking up there is bee pollen. I've been taking it every day for a month now and it seems to be having a good effect. Last weekend I was painting a fence at an outdoor horse arena and a couple of people were weed-eating right outside the fence. In times past that would have absolutely killed me with allergies. Instead it had no effect whatsoever. This morning after I ran I mowed the lawn, another opportunity for allergies to flare, but again, nothing. I'm not totally attributing the change to the bee pollen just yet, but it certainly doesn't seem to be hurting.

That run? Oh yeah, 8 miles. The clouds had been out earlier and stayed intermittently for the first 2/3 or so of the run, then disappeared. Still, for a run starting after 8:30 in the morning during the summer, I can't complain about the lower temperature and shade.

Another Run With the Daughter

This time I dragged Daughter #1 out for another run, and gee, she was just so happy to go. We waited until after 7 p.m. when it had cooled off a little bit outside. We ran slower and that seemed to help since she was able to go a full 2 miles. It was funny because we saw a black Camaro cruising around while we ran. We must have seen it about 7-8 times in the neighborhood and on the main road. No idea what they were doing but apparently it was a good night for a cruise.

I dropped off the daughter at home and then ran another 4 miles. Even though the temperature was cooling off, it was still very humid. Plus there was a nice breeze from the south. Again it was one of those breezes that actually helps since it cooled me off rather than slowed me down. I didn't mind at all. Work has been so draining this week that I wasn't sure I could go a full 6 miles, but I kept thinking of that Five Guys burger last night and figured I should probably run off as much of that as I could.

Really Hot Later

I waited as long as I could before heading out tonight, and that paid off a little bit. The temperature was marginally lower, by maybe 4 or 5 degrees. The sun was on its way down, so the shadows were longer. And it was still breezy, which helped cool the evening down that much more. This all added up to my being able to get in a full 6 miles tonight. It was one of those runs where I never really felt in rhythm, and the more I concentrated on it the worse it got. I was intentionally running slower, but I don't think that was the problem. Up late last night and a full day today had me slightly fatigued, but that wasn't the problem either. Sometimes you just have one of those runs where you get the run in and you feel good that you did it, but you don't feel like everything clicked. Sometimes that's good enough.

Really Hot

It was 96 degrees at running time today, or somewhere around there. The Wife was going to run with me but decided not to due to a hamstring tweak. She walked around the block with me and then I was off to the - well, not the races. I kept it slow and had a bottle of frozen water with me. Still, I maxed out at 4 miles and walked a few minutes in the shade. As always I thought about going a full six but knew that the marginal gain wasn't worth the effort and possible side effects. Tomorrow is supposed to be equally as hot, but I think I'll run later in the evening. Summer time is definitely here.

Running with the Daughter

It was time to get Daughter #1 out on the road again so she can start preparing for a triathlon at the end of July. We dithered about the last time she'd been out for a run, and I think it was probably the 5k in Dallas in December. I let her set the pace, which I figured was too fast, and by golly it was. She lasted 1.6 miles before walking back the rest of the way. The goal was 2 miles, so she got pretty close. The day was very warm and humid, although the overcast sky and breeze helped a little bit. It's a start and we'll keep working on it.

After returning her home I went for another 4 miles. I kept it slow due to the humidity, which as I've stated before really saps my strength. It was nice to run with my girl, wet air and all.