Third Time is a Charm

I made it through the third run of the week, a 6-miler that seems like a small victory these days. Even thought it's kind of sad compared to the past mileage and workouts, but everyone goes through seasons of life and I'm in one right now where opportunities to run don't always pop up on a regular basis. I ate a big breakfast and then went to Target to get a shirt for work. When I went out a little more than an hour after eating The Wife commented on how soon I was going for my run. I responded that it was okay, it was more than an hour and I didn't expect any cramps.

The day was overcast and somewhat cool, but not too bad. As soon as I headed out the door I came back in and checked the weather to make sure a big storm wasn't imminent. Some foreboding clouds hovered low on the western horizon. The weather radar looked okay and I went out the door again. Between miles 2.5 and 3 it started to rain a little, never getting much more than a heavy mist or light drizzle, depending on your perspective. It was enough to cover the sidewalk and make me take off my sunglasses. That was the worst it got, though, and tapered off by the time I made the turn at mile 4. Fifteen minutes after I returned home it rained for real, what I would call a nice soaking rain that went on for over half an hour. That was nice, and really wouldn't have been too bad to run in since there was no accompanying thunder.

Five More

Running more than once in a week is almost a novelty these days. This morning I made it out for 5 miles on another cool start to the day. Wore the long pants and shirt again. I guess we're still on the journey to warmer weather, but I'm not going to complain since it's a nice day. Since The Boy broke his wrist a couple of days ago I also spent my lunchtime mowing the lawn. It made for an active day in spite of work, which is just fine with me. Work is almost done and it'll be time to grill in a bit. That's a good day as far as I'm concerned.

Back at It

Getting the house ready to sell last week after I got back in town knocked me off the running trail. It went on the market late Thursday night. I probably could have run Saturday but I was so worn out it would have been a horrible run and an invitation to injury. Plus I cracked my right knee really good (bad?) on the vacuum cleaner. I mean hard. I almost fell down. But enough of that.

This morning I got up and ran in low 40s temps. I went 4 miles and thought I might have problems with the knee but never felt a twinge. It was good running weather. I wore long sleeves and long pants, which was a good choice considering the breeze out of the west. We had to leave before dinner for a house showing and the day ended with The Boy breaking his wrist at karate this evening. Definitely more eventful than originally planned.

Pre-Move Run

Ran about 4.5 miles this morning in Dallas, which is where we'll be moving. Ran with the Virtual Running Partner, who will soon lose the Virtual part of that title. He's coming back from a shin injury and ran a couple while I continued for a little more. Nice cloudy morning with just a hint of mist. Fun seeing all the kids riding bikes to school down the path.

Fit Run

The company I work for gives every employee a fitbit. I got mine Friday and wore it all day yesterday (Saturday), which was a little enlightening. I ran 6 miles on a beautiful morning. Given that I've been running sporadically it felt good and I never had to walk. Lots of people out for runs and walks. The fitbit buzzed before I got back to the neighborhood that I'd reached the daily goal of 10,000 steps.  Then I came home and went to work on the house, which seems almost like a full-time job as we get ready to put it on the market.

At the end of the day I checked what the fitbit recorded and it said I'd gone over 25k steps and 12.59 miles, burning approximately 3,200 calories in the process. That all seems right except the calories. Normally I think these devices overestimate that measure, but in this case I think it was low. A lot of the steps I took in the afternoon involved carrying things, like boxes, bags of mulch, stones, etc.

All that to say at the end of the day I was wiped out.

Morning Runner

This was my second day on the new job, and since it starts a little later I've decided to become a morning runner. We'll see how this goes. I got up at 6:15 and was out the door by 6:30. I went 5 miles, saving the extra mile for next time around. It's been raining lightly the past day or so, and was still cloudy this morning, and therefore the humidity was up a little. Not too bad but noticeable.

On my way back through the traffic circle I saw a guy driving past. He was wearing a shirt and tie. Poor schmuck. I like my new commute a lot better. And I have a feeling I'll like morning running better, too, especially when the weather turns hotter. And even more so once we move to Texas.

Circumstances

Sad to say that circumstances rather than any physical issues have kept me from running for the past ten days or so. Of course we've been working on the house, and this past week was the Easter program. The only day I had off from rehearsals and performances was  Daughter #2's birthday. This morning was my first real chance to run in what seemed like forever.

It was a nice day, and cooler than it looked. The thermometer said 36 degrees when I was ready to go out at 9 a.m., but the sun was out and when I stepped onto the deck it seemed warmer. I went ahead and wore a long-sleeved t under my regular shirt over shorts, and that turned out to be a good decision. The wind out of the south cooled things off quite a bit, but I surprised myself by running a full 6 miles. On my iPod I listened to some excellent old Smothers Brothers albums, and LOL'd a few times. When I was a kid we had the 'Think Ethnic' album, which I now have in my record collection. It's still funny. I bought a few more from amazon a few weekends ago in digital format, and that's what made me laugh today. Amazing how stuff over 50 years old is so timeless and funny without being profane.