Out for More

Followed up yesterday's outing with a 5-miler today. The temperature was 45 degrees but the breeze was a little lighter. I felt like my legs were a heavy about 1.5 miles in but was determined to tough it out. So I did, and the only concession was walking a mile up the big hill. Other than that I'm holding strong (two days' worth!) to my commitment. Actually, running in the cold is fine if you're dressed correctly. Especially after last winter when I couldn't run at all. It's nice to get some mileage in before the heat and humidity return. And they will.

Becoming a Wuss

The weather has been pretty cool, and for Texas, cold. However, I feel like I'm becoming a wuss. I finally got out and ran today, but it was far from optimal. The temperature was 44 degrees with a wind chill of 36. What I find sad is that when I lived in Kansas City there are many days, weeks, and even months where I would have killed for a day like this. It would have felt balmy. So enough blaming the weather. Time to get out and keep running. I went 4 miles today and even though the GPS messed up a little bit I know my markers. Hoping to run tomorrow as well to get back into the routine.

Running With a Nephew

Was in Georgia this week to see my brother, and on Monday I ran with my nephew. He's been doing cross country but hadn't run in a month. My dad had mapped out a course on their property, which is probably five acres or so. They said the route was a half-mile, but on my GPS it came out at .37 the first two times, .40 the third, and .39 the last. My nephew took off fast and later told me his motivation was to stay in front of me. Overall we ran a little over 1.5 miles, with a break after the first two laps. It was a cool day and I probably should have worn my mittens as it grew close to sundown. That was the only day we ran since he didn't want to on Tuesday. Something about being tired from the day before...

Sun and Breeze

There was a nice stiff breeze from the north today but at least the sun was shining. I ran my usual route and went 6 miles. It was a nice outing, and surprisingly not as many people out as I would have guessed. My pace was in the mid 9's, which is not bad for as inconsistent as my running has been lately.

Tuesday Outing

I went 5 miles on Tuesday and forgot to add an entry for it. I thought about going my usual distance but decided I'm still on the path to recovery. On Thursday it was raining and cold, so I skipped a day.

Missing the Snow

Yes, it actually snowed in Texas yesterday. Not enough to really matter other then inspiring a bunch of silly Facebook posts. However, it was still cold and windy throughout the day, and so I decided to wait until today for a run. I still exercised, though, doing strength and flexibility. Today was sunny and in the 50s with a breeze out of the southwest. I went 6 miles and felt good throughout. I did get passed twice in the first quarter of my run, but that doesn't bug me when I'm just trying to get out and do some recovery.

Better Than It Looks

The day was cloudy and looked breezy and cool, but in reality it was way better than that. The temperature was in the mid-60s and the wind wasn't that bad. Plus it was mildly humid - not summertime humid, but a little damp for this time of year. Probably because some scattered showers came through earlier. My right knee was a little sore yesterday, but I still did the strength and flexibility exercise. It felt fine today and so I went out and did a 5-miler. Overall it felt good, and as of this evening it's still okay. Plus I had Torchy's Tacos for dinner, and that doesn't suck.

Another Four

Hit the strength and core exercises pretty good yesterday, and even went for a walk with The Wife. It was nice outside, and today was even better. I blazed out at 4:20 (see what I did there) and ran 4 miles. Good sunshine, light breeze, and feeling up to it. Once again I wore my old shoes, and once again we'll see how everything feels tomorrow. So far, so good.

O.R.T. (Old Running Trick)

My knees have had that little bit of soreness that runners get. Over the last week I've tried some exercises for enhancing flexibility as well as muscle strength. I finally realized on Thursday night that I was missing an Old Running Trick that I've used before.

Pretty much anytime I've had knee issues it's because of shoes. My last couple of pairs from Asics have not been as consistent with what I've worn in the past. The previous pair has been too tight around the mid and fore foot, even with loosening several times, and the pair before that caused me some problems as well (too lazy to go back and look at older posts) So I used the O.R.T. and laced up this morning in an older pair. Muuuuch older. They've been my walking shoes whenever I need comfortable tennis shoes, and are probably 2-3 years old. The left one has a hole in the mesh just this side of the toes. My experience in the past has been that old shoes get me back into my natural gait. Today I went 3 miles and my knees felt just fine. The test will be in how they feel tomorrow.

2019 in Review:
In a word: inconsistent. Too many injuries kept me from races. Abdominal strain left over from 2018 to start the year, bruised ribs in April, bad back late in the year, and finally knee soreness to close out the calendar. I'm hoping to be smarter and avoid doing things where I could hurt myself this year (like riding a scooter on a wet street), and that needs to include strength and flexibility exercises beyond running. As I get older those are areas to focus on that I hope will lead to a better 2020 and beyond.