They Lied

Today was supposed to be nice, or at the least not rainy. The weatherman lied. Again. This morning it was cool and misty/sprinkly with a cool breeze from the north. I took The Boy to breakfast for his birthday and saw several people running, thinking to myself I was going to wait a good long while before joining them. As it was, the precipitation mostly stopped by 10 a.m. I put on my long pants and a long-sleeved T, which seemed somewhat lacking as I saw other people more bundled up during my 6 mile run. I was fine, though, which is what matters. Overall the run was pretty good and I finished at a 9:06 pace without feeling like I was pushing it too fast. I felt more relaxed than I have the past few weeks, and that's probably because I don't have to be in the office for a week. Amazing how that helps.

Back to Spring

After a final dose of wintry-like weather today we were back to a gorgeous day. I went out at lunch to run some errands and was excited all afternoon about getting out for a run after work. I was not disappointed. The temperature was in the mid-60s with a light breeze and plenty of sun. Just the cure for the wintertime blues. After ditching Tuesday's run because of the cold and rain I was glad to run my usual 6-mile course. Lots of other people were out running, walking, and biking, which was no surprise. At about the halfway mark I felt a little weirdness in my gut, kind of low down center/left, almost like a stitch but not quite. I walked up the hill by the golf course on the way back for a minute or so but it didn't really help any. I don't feel any lasting effects but I suppose it's something to keep an eye on in the future. If every day was as nice as today this would be a great place to live.

Sunny Saturday

It seems Winter still wants to hang around a little bit more, but Saturday was a nice day. I could have waited until later in the day to get a little more warmth, but it seemed best to get the day going. I ran 6 miles and overall felt pretty good. The twinge in my left knee from a few days before was gone, which was encouraging. I managed to avoid the neighborhood garage and the usual accompanying bad drivers. I also mowed once I returned home, so I definitely got in my exercise for the day. It looks like more bad, or at least cold, weather is on the way this week. What a weird year for weather.

Winter Is Still Here

I thought winter was gone, but that's not the case. Today's high was about 40 degrees and windy. On my way home I knew there was no way I was going to run outside. I ran 5 miles on the treadmill and the heater was running in the house. Crazy.

Yesterday afternoon and into the evening I felt a twinge in my left knee. It's the usual soreness that happens when I get new shoes, whether running or work. I felt it a couple of times when I woke up during the night and decided I should wear my old dress shoes to work today. I did that and everything is fine. I've had my new dress/work shoes for about a month and that's all I can point to as the problem since my running shoes haven't changed. We'll see how it goes over the next week or so, but as necessary I might mix in the old ones. I do need new running shoes as well but that's a topic for another day.

Getting Warmer

We had a cold spell this week, regressing into a little bit of winter, and I chose to refrain from running on Thursday rather than going out in the cold. Today was better as we ascend toward real Springtime temperatures. I stuck with a 6-miler even though I could have gone further, but decided there was no point in going a couple of extra miles after missing a session. When I was out earlier running an errand with The Wife we saw a lot of people running, walking and biking. By the time I went out about an hour later I saw two people on bikes and one runner. Guess everybody was trying to get in their exercise early in the day. I'm just glad that Winter seems to be behind us and we're headed toward warmer weather for good.

A Slower Form of Variety

Went the variety route again today for 6 miles, albeit a little slower this time. A pretty strong wind was coming out of the south but it mostly worked in my favor, helping me up some long hills. It was also quite humid, and the part where I wasn't running against the wind was very sweaty since there was no breeze to cool me from the front. Not a bad run overall, and not a great one. My pace was about 9:35 overall, but I ran the whole way and feel good several hours afterward. I guess that should count as a successful run.

More Variety

Today I continued the trend I started Thursday and ran 7 miles over a course I haven't run in a while. The temperature was nice enough but there was a strong wind out of the south. I also seem to be doing some unintentional hill training with the choices of the last few outing. I hit the top of one hill while going south on Flintlock and about got blown back down the hill. It was good, though, and I felt strong the whole way.

Last night I made the mistake of looking at my weight, which was pretty stupid considering it was the end of the day and I hadn't exactly been the model of moderation yesterday. Even so, I was appalled. Looks like I need to stop snacking so much and doing a better job of meal management.

Variety

Today I decided it was time to shake things up. I have a normal 6-mile route that I've traversed for several years. Yesterday I was thinking ahead to today's run and a little spark flared up, telling me I should go for a little variety. The problem with that thought is that the new path is much hillier than my regular run, as if that's possible. Even when I was out in today's gorgeous weather I thought about taking the path of least resistance, as it were. But no, I stayed on the north side of the street and veered right when I should have turned left at Albuquerque. Yes, the hills were as bad as I remembered them, but I took them slow. Even so I finished below a 9:30 pace. With a day as nice as this any bad thoughts just didn't matter. I enjoyed the change of scenery, even the amusement of a cyclist coming up the hill behind me as he talked on his cell phone. Looks like I should shoot for more variety in my runs. I was thinking my body is probably so used to the ups and downs and all the little quirks of my usual run that it needs to be shaken out of its stupor. Not that my body is stuporific, but hey, it looks like variety is a good thing.

Past the Rain

I suited up to run on Saturday morning in the midst of Easter week craziness. The first time I got to the front porch it was sprinkling. I decided to wait, not wanting to get caught in a cool, almost cold, Spring rain. After about an hour I figured the time was right and was getting ready to go again when I looked out at the deck and noticed it was sprinkling again. I decided that was enough since we had things to do and took the day off.

Today was another story. I was worn out from work - again - but knew I needed to run. Tuesdays seem to grind me down, for some reason. Anyway, the temperature was about 50 degrees with a cool breeze from the north. I donned shorts and a long-sleeved technical T and hit the streets. Overall my time for 6 miles was just under a 9:15 pace, no doubt aided by the cooler temp and my desire to get back inside.

I suppose it's time to pick a race in order to have a goal this year. I was trying to remember the date of my last marathon. If I have that much trouble remembering when it was then it's definitely time to run another.