102

Today's temperature topped the century mark. I'm still liking this thing of running in the late afternoon when there's a little bit of shade and a nice breeze, even though it's 102 degrees outside. I stayed true to my pattern and walked every mile along the 6-mile route, and up the big hill. I don't know that it felt much hotter than the upper 90s of the last few runs, but it was definitely a hot one. I've become acclimated to it over the last few weeks, and I think that is why I didn't see any other runners out and very few cyclists. It takes time and hopefully the people who are usually evening runners are waiting longer or getting out earlier.

Another Day, Another Hot Run

Today's 6-miler was late in the afternoon - well, okay, it was actually at dinnertime. I got out after 5:30 p.m. and returned a little before 6:45. The temperature was 98 degrees with a heat index of 105, but once again it wasn't so bad when you factor in shade and walking every mile. I thought about running a different route, but that would involve more hills and at this point in the summer I'm just trying to maintain. My new shoes came in today (they were scheduled for tomorrow) and that was a nice treat. They felt good.

Steamy Saturday

I probably should have run earlier today when there was cloud cover and temperature in the 70s, but The Wife and Daughter #3 flew in this morning from a week in El Salvador. So I waited until later in the day. It wasn't horrible. Temperature 95 degrees, heat index 108. Just like the last run it didn't feel that hot, even though I sweated more because of the higher humidity. The wind was a little stronger from the south, and that helped in certain spots. I decided 7 miles was plenty for a long run. I'd thought about going an extra mile, but on a day like today there's not really any marginal benefit to it.

Thermometer Was Wrong

When I returned home from today's run at about 6:15 p.m. the weather app read 101 degrees. There's no way it was that hot. The humidity was way down, which was surprising after yesterday's rain episodes. The reason I say the thermometer was wrong is because this was the least I've sweat on a run in a few months. I know what you're thinking - when you overheat you stop sweating and that's a bad sign. Well that's not the case here. I walked at every mile marker, and I know what it feels like to overheat. This was not one of those days. Maybe it was just the lower humidity and a run that was half in the shade.

My GPS also malfunctioned somewhat, which has happened before. At a little over 8 minutes into the run my watch beeped that I'd finished the first mile, and I was still at least two-tenths away from the actual marker. I've run this route enough to know where that is. Plus, I wasn't running an 8-minute mile. I recharged the GPS yesterday, so I need to see if that's the pattern when this happens. To compensate I ran to the markers I know for the whole 6 miles and walked at each mile. For a hot day it was actually a good run, thermometer and GPS notwithstanding.

Rain and Lower Heat

Today was mostly cloudy - until I went out for my run. I was delayed a few minutes by a brief shower, and then I found that it was moderately humid and the temp was only about 80 degrees. I ran the whole way, other than about a minute up the big hill. My pace was in the upper 10s range, which was about the same as if I'd walked every mile. A nice breeze from the south helped along the way. I felt my right calf cramping a few times, even in the first mile, but it was just barking at me and not seizing up like it does in races. I'm pretty glad about that.

Foot Pain

When I ran on Thursday my shoe insert was apparently not set correctly into my shoe. I felt it late in the run pounding into the middle of my right foot on the ball and to the right, and the past couple of days it's been sore. I adjusted the insert a little bit before today's run, but 1.5 miles into it I felt like the ball of my foot was bruised and getting worse. At that point I decided I either needed to fix it or turn around and walk all the way back home. With the temperature at 97 degrees the second choice wasn't looking too bad.

I stopped on the path, and because I'm walking at every mile marker and not worried about time it wasn't a big deal. I moved the insert substantially to the right, the opposite of where I'd adjusted it before the run, and when I started running again I felt instant relief and knew I could complete the run.

Once again I ran late in the day in higher temperature but marginally lower humidity, and with the minute walk every mile made it the whole 7 miles. I accomplished my 5-6-7 plan for the week and feel like I'm doing pretty well in the summer highs. Time to pick out a race for the fall.

98

I waited until late in the day to run and got out about 5 p.m. Even though the temperature was 98 degrees when I finished a little over an hour later it was worth it since probably half the route was shaded and the humidity was lower. I went back up to 6 miles on this one, as planned. I've been doing this long enough that when I reached mile 1 I knew it was best to walk for a minute, even though I felt good and that I could probably go another mile or two before a break. As usual it paid off and I made it through the whole run with a walk at every mile and up the big hill. Lots of sweat but a good run overall.

A Little More

I went out today about lunch time, after a couple of work calls were canceled or rescheduled, which was nice. This being Texas in June it was hot and humid, no matter the time of day. I wanted to get out earlier because the sky was somewhat overcast, and combined with the other two conditions it can make a difference whether or not the sun is shining. For most of the run it was good. I ran 5 miles and decided right at the halfway mark to turn around and do a 5-6-7 cadence this week. Hopefully that will pan out on the next two runs.

Back in the U.S.A.

Returned from Europe yesterday and to the house about 6 p.m. I figured today would be somewhat of a recovery day since I haven't run since the 30th of May, and I was right. Plus it's back to the high heat and humidity and I need a few runs to transition. Not that Europe was much cooler. Most of the time I was there the temperatures were in the low 90s and I felt like I spent most of each day sweating.

My plan today was to run 6 miles and then ratchet up a little bit next weekend. As I drew closer to the 2-mile mark I heard the PA at the middle school on Hardin and realized there was a race going on today. The only question was whether it was in progress or not. The answer was mixed. When I got to Hardin a row of cones blocked the path (which I could have ignored) and a few people were pushing strollers. I decided that 4 miles would be plenty and turned around, deciding to avoid the crowds. It was a wise decision, I think, since about a minute after I turned around I heard the horn to start the race and a big cheer. I walked at each mile marker but did run up the big hill. It was a decent first run back from vacation. I'm glad I didn't plan on running in Europe since I got in plenty of walking and there wasn't really time to do so. We'll work on increasing mileage while still dealing with the heat in the coming weeks.