Probably Should Have Waited

This morning the wife ran a 10k, quite well I might add, and when we got home I dithered about running my 18 miles for several hours. It was partly cloudy outside and the wind was blowing, which caused my indecision. My other option was to wait until Sunday morning and get up real early to get in the workout before church. Finally I decided to go for it, and sure enough I should've waited. Not only did I get wind on the run, but also a little bit of blowing rain at times. My 18 miles turned into 12 by the time I stopped.

Weird post-run, too. I felt blah the rest of the afternoon, and when the kids put in a movie they waned me to see I actually I dozed off for a few minutes. When I got home I drank a little sports drink but that was about it. I didn't start feeling better until I started snacking while I was prepping steaks for the grill. Guess I should have eaten something, too, when I arrived home. My training plan for the marathon in December continues to evolve, and not positively so far.

Running Before Flying

Today I had the rare chance to run on a weekday morning, and it was very...nippy. Yes, that's the word, nippy. The temperature was in the mid-40's and if I was a saner person i would have realized that and dressed appropriately. The first bit was in the shade since the sun was still coming up, but about a half mile in I reached the sunlight. After that it wasn't bad at all and I ran my Yasso 800s. For the most part they went well, although I felt like I was dragging on the last of the five intervals. I completed the 6 miles though without feeling too bad.

My reason for running this morning is a mid-day flight to D.C. for a meeting tomorrow morning. I usually like to run there but this is such a quick trip that I didn't want to pack my running gear and worry about trying to get out this evening when I have to go to dinner with my co-workers for a pre-meeting meeting. Oh well, it's not like I'm flying to India for a week or anything like that.

Great Pace Run

When I arrived home after work I'd already been passed by a couple of cars going 55-60 mph in a 45 mph zone. When I stretched out on the bedroom floor I almost, well actually I did, drift off to sleep for a couple of minutes. When I ran, I started off feeling sluggish and then had one of the best pace runs of my running life.

After yesterday's slow run I was ready to nail the accelerator, and I first started running my legs and hips and entire body just felt tired. But when I looked at the Garmin after a couple of minutes my pace was under 9:30/minute. This is supposed to be a warm-up, I thought. When I hit the main drag and looked again, the pace was under 9 minutes/mile, but I just attributed that to the blonde in the convertible who'd just passed me. For some reason that cause me to run faster. My plan called for 8-minute miles after a mile of easing into it, and initially my pace was about 8:30, but that was going uphill. After I made the turn and the slope was downward I got in the groove. I tried to stay loose and to stay in good form with both legs and arms. By the time I was just past two miles my pace was under 8 minutes/mile, and even though I kept trying to slow down it stayed there. I finished the entire run at under 50 minutes for 6 miles, meaning my overall pace was under 8:20/mile. Dang, that's almost race pace for a half marathon!

Let's just say the cool weather helped out and that I am motivated these days to have quality runs. For the first time this year I have a full marathon I'm working toward and even though I'm not looking to set a PR I want to do well and not end up in traction after I'm finished. And by the way, nobody passed me on this run. There was no speed limit.

The Wife Perseveres

Went on another 6-miler with the wife as she trains for next weekend's 10k race. She had a bad headache before we left and said she wasn't feeling 100%, but I have to hand it to her, she made it the whole distance and within her goal time. It wasn't always pretty and she said afterward it wasn't fun, but I told her she proved that she can run the distance even when she doesn't feel good.

She commented to me after dinner that I made it look like it was easy. A couple of comments about that: first of all, 6 miles is about the shortest distance I run during training, and as distance runners know, that's a very short run compared to a long run of 18 or 20 miles. Second, her pace is slower than mine, so that definitely makes it an easy run for me. But beyond all that, I know it's not easy for her and for a lot of people, and I remember struggling to break the 3-4 mile barrier myself. Running that distance is a big deal. There are plenty of people in this country who are in no shape to run that far, so I tip my hat to my little wife for persevering even when she didn't feel good.

Oops

Forgot to post yesterday after my long run since we were involved with so many other activities. I ran 15 miles and it went great. The weather was phenomenal. When I left the house the temperature was about 48 degrees, but I'm resisting the need to pull out the warmer clothes as long as I can. Once I started running the temp was not an issue and felt pretty darn good, actually. I ran one lap of the neighborhood and then stopped at the house to get the drink belt and iPod. Since last time I ran two laps and then actually stopped I decided I wasn't going to tempt fate this time, and my plan worked. I ran south across Highway 152, which I don't usually do, but to get in the mileage I thought it was time for some variety. I'll probably do so the next couple of weekends as well.

In the afternoon we took part in a 5k walk for a fundraiser inspired by some of our neighbors. Their kids have OI, or osteogenesis imperfecta, aka brittle bone disease. I walked most of it, probably getting in a little over 2 miles of walking in addition to my morning tally. I remember running a 4-mile race at the zoo several years ago and then spending the rest of the day walking around with the family. I could barely walk the next day. That seems a little bit funny now, especially in light of yesterday's distances.

In other news, today I pulled the trigger and registered for the White Rock Marathon in Dallas. December 5th is my target date. According to their web site they've changed location for this year to the State Fair site, which was also the start and end of the disastrously windy Big D Marathon early last year. I certainly hope for nicer weather this time. And talk about an expensive race - the entry fee is $125. For that much money they darn well better provide good weather!

At Last, Good Speedwork

Seems like forever since I've had a speedwork day where things went well. Today was that day. I ran Yasso 800s x 5, with a 1.5 mile warmup and 1 mile cooldown for a total of 6 miles. My target during the 800s was 7 minutes/mile. In these intervals the goal is to take your marathon goal, in this case 3:30, and run the 800 meters at that speed in minutes and seconds. Since my Garmin doesn't like to mix standard and metric measurements I programmed it as a .5 mile interval at a 7-minute pace (3:30 x 2) and then a .25 mile recovery, as opposed to 800 and 400 meters, respectively.

The first two intervals were mostly at a 7:30 pace, and then the last three I hit my stride and hovered right around the 7:00 mark. It seems like the last few times I tried to do some speedwork the temperature was too high or I had some other excuse. Not today. It probably helped knowing that I have the day off tomorrow. I'll take it and hope for several more training days like this.

The Hills of Kansas City

Today's plan called for 7 miles of hills, so that's what I ran. I still think I should have something on my plan that says 7 miles of not hills - that would be more of a challenge. Anytime I go out for a run I can't avoid hills, although today I ran around the back end of the neighborhood before hitting the main roads. That initial detour added some good hills.

I started off feeling sluggish, but at just past the 2-mile mark I began feeling better. I made a point to download the new release from Old 97's and put it on the iPod before heading out, so maybe that had something to do with getting into a good mood and rhythm. The temperatures are still in the mild range and look to be so for the near future. I'm looking forward to as much of this as possible and hope it stays constant into November and maybe even beyond.

Columbus Day Run

This was a day for an easy run according to the schedule, and since The Wife needed to run 6 miles I figured this would be a good day to run with her again. She's running a 10k in less than two weeks and wanted to run a 6-miler well before then. Since I have the nominal function as her coach and advisor this was a good opportunity to hang with her and encourage her. She made it the whole way without walking and I am so proud of her. Tomorrow I will resume my regularly scheduled program.

Running in Austin and Points Farther North

Spent most of the week in Austin, TX, for business, and wanted to stay for the weather. Talk about perfect - the temperatures were in the 70's and I saw very few clouds. Ended the week with today's run back home in KC, but we'll get to that.

Monday I ran 6 miles easy, although easy ended up being closer to 9 minutes/mile due to the great weather and just generally being excited to be in one of my favorite running places again. I was in Austin with a co-worker, who doesn't run, and our hotel was downtown on 5th Street. For anyone who knows Austin that means it's a block south of all the restaurants and fun and just a few blocks north of the trails along Town Lake. I got out about 3:30 and the paths were pretty crowded with the usual runners, walkers, bikers, and dogs.

Tuesday I was supposed to meet up with an old friend for dinner, but I didn't hear anything from her so I went out for a run about 5:30. Come to find out Facebook was not delivering messages so we ended up not being able to get together, which was a total bummer. The run was okay although it seemed a little warmer than the previous day. I ran another 6 miles, with about 2.5 of that being at 8 minutes/mile. I was planning on going four miles at the faster pace but the heat got to me so I backed off and finished at a little slower pace. Since my dinner plans fell through and my co-worker had already eaten I walked all the way down Sixth Street by myself and ended up at Opal Divine's, one of my favorite places, for dinner. I was a little bit tired by the time I got back due to the run and the walk, but it was a good tired.

Our flight on Thursday left late morning, which meant I had time to run before leaving town. And I took advantage of the opportunity. I went another 6 miles on the trails, and discovered that the morning crowd is a mere fraction of all the people who are out in the afternoon. Guess everybody goes to work and then plays in Austin. I headed out at about 7:30 and once again the weather was outstanding. I'll be back in Austin in about a month, but only for a day, so doubt I'll have time to run while I'm there.

Today I ended up cutting my long run short, from 15 miles to 8.5. The Wife had a 5k she wanted to run this morning, and we all went and supported her. Unfortunately it started at 8 a.m. and I didn't have time to get in the run beforehand, meaning I had to start late morning by the time we got away and made it home. I was running in full sunlight (still no shade around here) and the temperature was about 80 degrees. I probably could have toughed it out but I'm a wuss, so there. And it was great to see The Wife do such a great job at her race. About 2-3 years ago this same event was her first 5k ever and she completed it but had a very slow pace. Today she improved on her time by over 10 minutes! I'm very proud of her and she's looking forward to her first 10k race in two weeks.

One other item of note from today: my virtual running partner called and registration for the Memphis Marathon has already been closed. No Memphis this year, darn it. We quickly decided to go for Plan B, which is the White Rock Marathon in Dallas the same weekend. I'll take the whole family and we'll stay with them and race in Texas. I thought we registered fairly late last year for Memphis, but guess not this late. Hopefully this will be a good consolation prize and the weather will cooperate. As long as the wind isn't as bad as the April 2009 Big D Texas Marathon I think we'll be fine.

Running with the Wife

The wife was heading out the door to run 5 miles the same time I was leaving for a 12-miler. Now normally we don't run together because she tends to run at a slower pace than I do. Not that I'm a speedster, but I'm usually 1-2 minutes/mile faster than her speed. But today we ran for the first 15 minutes, which was nice. She's come a long way for a woman who used to be upset at the kids for making her run to another room when someone would hurt themselves. Seriously, when I started this whole running thing about seven years ago she wished me luck and said she'd never do it. And now she's planning on running a 10k in three weeks. This must be one of those instances of 'never say never.'

After I peeled off onto my own route, I stopped by the house on my way out of the neighborhood to fuel up and then saw her running by the main road on the south side of the development. I caught up with her and we ran together again for another 10 minutes or so. I'm proud of her for continuing to increase her runs and for running on a regular basis. She did four triathlons in the space of six weeks this summer, which included running, of course. With the closing of the neighborhood pool and the weather turning cooler, she's planning on biking from time to time but keeping up with the running. She's not as hardcore as I am when it comes to running outside in bad weather, which means she'll be putting in some treadmill time. This was the second time she's run 5 miles and is looking to increase it next week so she can get in the distance before her race.

As for me, my run was fine. But that's not as noteworthy as my wife's run. Maybe she should start a blog, too!

Surprisingly Good Run

Long day at work today, with a couple of interviews late in the day. Which means I was ready for a run to get out and stretch out and leave the cares of the day in the dust. Ye olde training planne called for 6 miles of hills, and that's what I did. I was a little afraid that my legs would be tired but I think the pent-up energy of the day translated into a really good run. By the time I was two miles in I was running 9-minute miles, and kept up that pace for most of the run. The air was cooler and the sun was going down, factors which no doubt contributed to a little bit faster tempo.

Since I was thinking about what I ate for lunch Monday and how that run went, I should note that today I had both chili and pasta. At work we had a chili contest, and I was one of the judges. Of course after that I had to partake of the winner of the spicy category. I had also brought a small bowl of leftovers from last night, which was a pasta dish with tomato sauce and turkey sausage. I probably ate too much, but it was all so tasty. Add in a jalapeno cornbread muffin and an apple and it seems downright gluttonous. I'm just going to say I got in my carbs and protein and leave it at that. It's not like I do that every day.

Monday in Autumn

Is it officially autumn yet? I could look it up but the only research I do for this blog involves running. It felt like the beginning of autumn today. That sun has the lower in the sky feel, I felt a little chill when the sun went behind a cloud, and a bee got underneath my shirt. Wait, what? Yes, I was wearing a sleeveless top and a bee flew into the left arm hole and was walking across my chest. I felt it more than saw it fly in, and then when I felt to see if there was something there, there was. Naturally I reached up and pinched it, killing the intruder quickly, and fumbled with it to get it out of my shirt. When it fell on the sidewalk I realized it was a bee, and just because I'm this way, I stepped on it out of spite to ensure its demise.

That was the extent of the excitement. Unless you count having to stop and wait for six cars to pass so I could use the crosswalk. Because after all, crosswalks don't mean anything these days. The whole 6 miles went easily and I felt okay but not great. The legs were a little leaden but not overly. Lack of something in my diet? I don't know, I had leftover smoked ribs, beans, and chili cheese Fritos for lunch. Maybe it was just the joy of work bleeding over into my running. Sad to say I'm not expecting a great week at work, but I am expecting a great week of running. Hopefully I'm wrong on one of those - the former would be my choice.

Back in the Saddle

After a bunch of stuff going on this past week and not a single run, I was able to get in a long run today. Between baseball games and people in town for meetings I figured it would be less stressful if I didn't try to squeeze in running, too. And after last week's debacle and race entry postponement, it was actually nice to have a week off. Ask me right now and I think it's good to have some time off once in a while, but ask me in the middle of training and I'll disagree, especially when racing is at hand.

I definitely felt fresher today when I started running, as if my legs had been replaced with newer versions. I ran 10 miles, and the other great thing was the mental part of it. I never felt like stopping to walk like I have most of the more recent runs. The weather was certainly a help as the temperature was in the 60's and the humidity was lower. This is what I've been waiting for.

I need to retool the training plan in order to hit the Memphis date. I thought for a brief second about just doing a couple more half-marathons this year and calling it good, but then realized I've run a full every year starting with 2007 and I don't want to break the string. Not that it's a long string at this point, but I'd like to keep it going. Really, I don't want to get to be 80 years old and say that I've run at least one marathon every year for the past 40 except for that darn year in 2010 where I was a pansy and decided not to run one. I have over two months of cooler weather in which to train, so I think it's a good idea to keep going. Besides, it's Memphis - a great cause, ribs, music, etc. Who wants to miss that?

The Virtual Running Club Decides

Today was supposed to be a major step toward the marathon in about five weeks, an 18-miler. I woke up very early and once again ran the first half in dark and the beginning dawn. And then for some reason it all fell to pieces. Well, the main reason that I'm blaming is the humidity. Once again I could tell before a mile was under my shoes that the humidity was way up, and it was about 85%. The temperature wasn't bad, but humidity kills. When I'm brushing sweat out of my hair in the first mile I know it's going to be tough. I hydrated pretty well, I thought, following the same plan as last week. Unfortunately that just wasn't good enough. As added insult I ended up with a few nice blisters, including a big one on the underside of my right pinky toe. That happens so rarely that it just bugs me that much worse when it does.

The Boy had a practice game today, so on my way home I called my Virtual Running Club members. Well, the other member. He said his run had not gone well, either, and that he had topped out at 13 miles. I laughed and told him I'd won, then, because I ran 13.1. Yes, my goal once I decided to quit early was to get in a half-marathon, and that's what I did. As we talked neither of us felt good about our training thus far and what's still to come before the Des Moines Marathon. I remarked that maybe the day both of us had bad runs was maybe not the day to make a decision, but after some more discussion we decided to regroup and focus on the Memphis Marathon in December. I'm going to revise our training plan and hope that things get better as autumn kicks into gear. I think I'll put the Kansas City Half Marathon into the plan, especially since that's the weekend I would have gone to Des Moines.

I'll admit I'm a little disappointed, but also a little relieved. The stress of trying to fit in quality runs, especially in the next 2-3 weeks, was going to be a bit much. Plus the other member of the Virtual Running Club has an international business trip to India in the next month, and you know that would be tough to get in good workouts. It stinks to run only one full marathon this year after finishing four last year. But I'm just not feeling it at the moment, and I do feel better about gunning for December instead.

The Virtual Running Club Meets

This week the Virtual Running Club held a meeting in St. Louis. The occasion was reputedly for Alan's birthday, but in reality it was to run. The running itself actually went about as well as the Cardinals' games we attended. Swept by the Cubs? Depressing. As the Cubs supporter sitting to my right at the ballpark was leaving last night he said good-bye and I said, "Now I know what a Cubs fan feels like." He had been only semi-obnoxious but he was definitely mostly-drunk, and so of course he didn't realize I'd just burned him, and not for the first time during the evening. I can be subtle when it's called for. Beats the last time I went to a game when the Cubs were in town and I was yelling at the hecklers a few rows in front of us that they should drink up, because if I was a Cubs fan I'd be an alcoholic, too. But enough about that subject.

We ran alongside the Mississippi on Tuesday morning, and as I alluded to, the run was not a good one. The plan was to run 8 miles with six of those at marathon pace. The day turned out to be not only hotter than we'd been led to expect, but it was also quite humid. Being the experienced runners we are, we quickly adapted our plan. First we slowed the pace a little, and then we cut the run shorter, finishing with 5.5 miles as the total. Of course, I could also blame the evening before and the not-so-good sleep we got, but I think we could have toughed out a few more miles if the weather hadn't been so hot.

Today's run back home went better, but it's still too warm to do the speedwork according to plan. I ran a mile warmup, and then started in on a tempo run. I got 1.5 miles into that before realizing I should slow down if I expected to finish. That's what I did, and was able to finish. Again, not a great run, but some of that is probably still self-inflicted. Now that the fun and games are past and the Cardinals are going to miss the postseason, it's time to buckle down and get in some good training. Cooler weather will help, too. The next meeting of the Virtual Running Club is planned for the Des Moines Marathon in October. Until then, we'll be running together apart.

The Best Long Run Since Forever

At last, a long run I feel good about! Sometimes there are benefits in getting out of bed at 5 a.m. and starting a run before the rest of the world has awaken. Today was definitely one of those days. I ran 15 miles, and ran at a faster pace the last 1.5 miles to finish strong. I also managed the run better. After the first four miles I stopped by the house and ate a gel thingie (don't know what else to call it) and had a drink. Then at eight miles I downed a couple gel thingies and strapped on the drink belt for the rest of the outing. The temperature was around 60 degrees - just about perfect. Even after the sun came out I managed to stay in the shade on my route, which I changed in order to take advantage of that shade.

After a rough several months it was really nice to have a good run, especially with all the aborted and scaled-back runs during all the heat of summer. The race is just over a month away, and this was a key run in getting to 26.2 miles. This week I'll be in St. Louis and plan to keep it going so that next Saturday's 18-miler will be another good one. Seriously, I was beginning to wonder if I'd get to the point of being able to run a marathon in a month. If this one had gone poorly I would have reevaluated if a marathon was still a possibility. But no need. Now I feel it's certainly possible, and if my speedwork will fall into line and I have some good outings on those a good race is a strong possibility. We'll see how it goes.

Impeccable Timing

So I get home from work, and it's cloudy outside and has been raining during the afternoon hours. I lie down on the living room floor, doze for about ten minutes, and then get up and dress for a run. At which point the sun comes out, shining quite brightly, and the air becomes more humid than a sauna in the rain forest. I was going to run some Yasso 800s, but went kaput after two of them, and saying I ran two is actually kind of generous. In total I ran a whopping 3.25 miles and probably sweated 3.25 gallons.

To add to the misery, while we were preparing dinner the clouds came back and it cooled down a little bit. So much for hitting the right window.

This weekend the wife and oldest daughter are on the other side of the state to take part in a triathlon. The report I got from them this evening is that the course is much more hilly than was described online. Seems like I've experienced that before. At least they're having fun together, and that's what really counts.

Marathon Pace

Stress at work can be a great motivator. In my case, I had a lot of frustration to burn off, and even when I felt like cutting back my speed or ending early I thought about work and was inspired to run harder all over again.

Today's run was a 7-miler, with a 5-mile marathon pace run sandwiched between a 1-mile warmup and similar length cooldown. I was shooting for 8 minutes/mile and stayed fairly close to that. The temperature was up near 80 degrees and the sun came out just in time for my run. A nice breeze helped keep things cool.

I should have run yesterday. I got all dressed up and took the boy to baseball practice, but when the coach said it would be a quick one I decided to stick around and run either later or the next day. Practice lasted an hour and a half, which would have been plenty of time to get in my run. Yeah, I should have known better. The weather was perfect and I had plenty of energy. After all the conflict at work today plus having to interview five people, my energy level was down today and allergies were playing games with my sinuses. Nevertheless, it was good to get out and run and burn off a lot of stuff.

I have to realize that I'm in the middle of training and that the race itself will likely be cooler, but I felt today like there's no way I could keep up that pace for 26.2 miles. That's what I have to do, though, to get under the 3:30 mark. I wonder if that's a realistic goal? Plenty of guys my age can do it. I don't know, this might be the year for completing a couple more marathons and then adding to my training plan in order to reach that goal next year. I have a feeling it's going to take more mileage and dedication than I can offer this fall. As always, that feeling is subject to change tomorrow.

Labor Day Run

Normally I wouldn't run the day after a long run, but I have to get on track for this race next month. I took it easy on a windy 6-miler, and even walked for several minutes when I ran into a couple of neighbors walking back toward the neighborhood. The wind was gusting pretty good out of the south, but I'm not going to complain. After the high temps and the impending coldness of winter, I'll take what I can get.

I neglected to mention that yesterday was the first long run where I used the newer pair of shoes. Until now I've only used them for shorter runs, and everything went well yesterday. Used them again today, and I think I've transitioned enough to where they're now my main pair. They're what I'll take to St. Louis next week for the couple of runs I'll do there. I was quite the fashion designer's nightmare today: blue shorts, red shirt with black panels on the side, and running shoes of black and yellow. Clearly I'm not too worried what people think of how I'm dressed while running.

TMI

Finally, a long run. I ran 12 miles this morning after not logging any major miles last weekend, and I was unsure if I'd get any this time around. If I'm going to run this marathon in Des Moines it's going to be 12, 15, 18 & 20 for my long runs starting with this week.

Actually, it was supposed to start yesterday. However, Friday night I stayed up late and then BAM! - I was up the rest of the night with very little sleep. My plan was to awake at about 6:30 on Saturday morning and enjoy a long run in the coolness of the 50's. I ended up on the couch for most of the night going crazy with an allergy attack, and when I woke up I moved back to bed and stayed there until after 10:30. Not one of my better days. This was one of those attacks where not only was I enjoying the bountiful snot and drainage in nose and throat, respectively, but also my whole body was achy and it felt like microbes had invaded my entire being. I pretty much did nothing on Saturday and did my best to avoid the outdoors. My plan worked since by bedtime I was feeling better.

This morning I did get up at 6:30 after waking up only a couple of times during the night, and I was out the door before 7 a.m. I made two errors in this morning's run: not putting on sunscreen and not going #2 before heading out.

First, the sun started rising about 15 minutes into the run, so I spent the majority of the run trying to take advantage of as much shade as I could find around here. Most of the outing went pretty well, fortunately, but by mile 11 I was feeling sluggish. The good thing is that at that point training takes over and I was still cruising at a sub-9:30 pace. I did get my gel bites in earlier this time around as well as a little bit of sports drink. I think next weekend I will be wearing the drink belt so I don't have to keep stopping by the house.

And second - now for the portion of our show where we get into too much information (TMI) - but hey, this is a running log where there are no off-limit subjects. Normally before a long run I hit the head and empty out everything, but today I neglected to do so. Oops. At about mile 9 I was feeling uncomfortable, and by mile 11. 5 I was ready to crap my pants. The walk up the hill after finishing the run was one of the worst I've ever had. It's a good thing I've had over 40 years of training since the last time I messed my pants. Before a race some runners have nervous bowels, but I've never had that problem because I usually take care of business beforehand. Now I know what they feel like. Sorry, not the most delicate of subjects to discuss, but it's part of running. I've heard of people, particularly women, who will pee down their leg in the middle of a race. And there are famous instances of elite runners having to relieve themselves mid-race. God bless them all - as un-fun as it is to ponder, we're all human and we all have to do the same things every day. Sometimes it just hits at the wrong time. I'll keep that in mind before heading out on my next long run.

Stupid Lightning

So this is the first day in months - months I tell you! - where the temperature right after work was conducive to exercise. And of course a thunderstorm comes through and I had to cut short my intended 6-miler. If all you imaginary readers take a look back through my postings you'll know that I actually enjoy running in the rain. However, I'm allergic to lightning and don't mess around with the stuff. What a shame, because today the temp was just under 70 degrees. With the wind blowing it felt even cooler than that.

I ended up going a whole 3.5 miles. I was supposed to do 5 Yasso 800s and ended up doing three with no real cooldown at the end other than my walk up the hill to the house. I was shooting for a 7-minute/mile pace on all of them. The first one felt good, the second all right, but the third was tough. I think it was because of the storm and the fact I was running partly uphill against the wind. Dang it, I was hoping to get to 30 miles this week but I'll be a few short. Well, as I build up toward a 20-mile run in a few weeks I suppose it's okay to be a couple miles on the downside, particularly if I avoid the lightning.

Canned Heat

One more night of heat and humidity at least, and as it turns out not a good night to try a marathon-pace training run. When I started out the temperature was still in the low 90's. I ran a 1-mile warmup and then picked up the pace. My plan called for 8-minute miles, but I knew I shouldn't try that with the current climate. I aimed for 9-minute miles or a little slower, and I kept that going for 2.7 miles. At which point I walked for a tenth of a mile. Then I continued at the faster pace for another mile. That's when I finally realized this wasn't the best weather conditions for speed work. Enthusiasm sometimes trumps common sense.

One thing I keep telling myself is that the level of effort I put into my outings in weather like this will pay off in the end. I certainly didn't get to the pace I wanted for the distance I wanted, but overall I got in my 6 miles. And 2.7 miles of faster running in 90-degree heat has to be somewhat equivalent to 4 miles in cooler weather. It seems like I've felt less beat up after doing a similar run in a different season. Maybe it's just rationalization. It sure doesn't seem like laziness, though, because I've felt enough of that recently. The temperature is supposed to head south by a little bit in the next few days, so maybe I'll get to test my theory soon.

Monday Night Run

It's been crazy trying to fit in a run these past few weeks. And I haven't done any strength training in 2 1/2 weeks. Bleh. Tonight The Boy had a baseball game and I took him, leaving the girls at home. We finally got home at 8, so I quickly changed into running attire and hit the streets. This is the first time in a while where I've felt like I was running loose and relaxed. I went a full 6 miles in the dark on a humid night with the temperature still in the mid-80's. I went back to BSG for the soundtrack, starting with the first season. Nothing like returning to your roots to get you motivated.

Running in Thin Air

I spent the last four days in Denver, intending to run at least twice while there. It didn't quite work out that way, and the only thing I can blame is my own laziness. On Monday I went for a run at home before heading to the airport. I got in my 6 miles and felt pretty good about taking care of that so I could run the next day.

I stayed up too late on Monday night and therefore was in shape to get up early Tuesday before my meetings started. Tuesday after the conference I headed to Coors Field with a group of guys to take in the Rockies and Braves, so no time to run that evening. I didn't stay up especially late that night, but laziness persisted when the alarm went off the next morning. I finally was motivated enough for a run to take the lunch break for a 5-mile run. The hotel was in Broomfield, a suburb of Denver, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The sky was clear and even though the temp was a little warm, I finally felt good in getting out. I realized about a mile into the run I was laboring more than expected. Of course I'd gone out too fast, not blazingly so, but just enough to make it tougher in the thin mountain air. I enjoyed the run over the rolling hills and showered and made it back for the start of the afternoon sessions just in time. The less said the better about Wednesday night and my chances of getting up early this morning.

Instead I ran during The Boy's baseball practice, once again at Penguin Park. This was my first go-around this training plan with Yasso 800's, and it went reasonably well. With the temperature in the mid-80's I knew I wouldn't be hitting my goal (7 minutes/mile), but running fast would be good enough. Looking back over my times on the Garmin, I did get progressively faster on the intervals, from 8:10 average pace on the first one to 7:46 on the fourth and last. That's encouraging.

I really need to get my diet under control. I've had too much eating whatever I want, and that's just not good. I had more cookies this past week than I've probably had the rest of the year combined. Bad Randy!

So Much Humidity You Could See It

This was a jacked-up week, and next week promises to be more of the same. But more on that in a minute. I didn't run on Thursday since I was at The Boy's baseball practice until after 8 o'clock. I was playing infield while the kids batted and got in plenty of sweating and exercise, so I figured I was good. Plus I just felt worn out and thought I could use an off-day. Friday we took the family to Worlds of Fun, and I knew I wouldn't be running the day after walking around in mid-90 temperatures all day.

Which brings us to Sunday morning. I awoke at 5 a.m. and headed out the door by 5:20. My intent was to run as much as possible before the sun came up. However, I knew I was in trouble by the end of the first mile when I was already shaking sweat off my head. I ran toward the pool and then turned around to head back up Tullis to the park. About halfway up the hill I must have passed through a thermal layer or something meteorologically related because I went from humid cool air to humid extremely warm air. That produced an audible grunt from this runner. I planned on a 12-mile run and went 10 miles. I think the lesson I'm learning is that I need to hydrate earlier on my long runs. I waited until 8 miles in before grabbing my sports drink from the house and that was probably a tactical error. I also tried some new energy bursts since Target no longer carries sports gels. They were okay but a little more work than a gel. Because you know, chewing requires such effort. I have a half-pack left so I'll give them another shot before deciding if that's what I want to continue using.

On the last part of my run I started listening to Steven Wright's recent comedy album. Several lines made me smile and even laugh out loud. My favorite one so far: One of my friends has a trophy wife but it wasn't first place.

This week I'm at a conference in Denver, and I plan on running a couple of times there. I think I'll run Monday morning before heading to the airport, and then if things work out I'll run Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I'm looking forward to seeing some mountains!

Changing it Up

Tonight the plan called for hill repeats. The weather called for something else. The temperature was in the mid-70's and overcast, while the forecast for Thursday looks like a return to the upper-90's. And Thursday's plan was for a tempo run at marathon pace. I gauged the possibilities and knew that I wouldn't be able to run fast in the higher temps, while I can probably run hill repeats later in the evening. Once again the boy had baseball practice, and I took the opportunity to run at Penguin Park. It was tough, and I think there's something about running short laps like that (about a mile and a quarter) that makes it more difficult.

I ended up at 5.5 miles out of a planned 6. I started with a mile warm-up in the new shoes, then cranked it up to try and run at an 8-minute/mile pace. That lasted about 2.2 miles, and I felt like I was running tight. I walked about two-tenths of a mile and then ran at pace for another mile. After another tenth of a mile walk I finished slower. Lots of people on the trail today, including a guy who asked me how far around the trail was. He said he was walking and hoped to work up to running, and I told him if I can do it anyone can. The other memorable moment was a guy sitting on the bank of the pond fishing with some butt cleavage looking for attention. Fortunately I caught it from the corner of my eye and avoided a full-on eyeful. Look away! Look away!

Monday Running

Oops, looks like I missed logging my run from Saturday. I ran over half of the 12 miles before the sun came up, and the last part of it was a struggle. I don't know why, really. The temperature wasn't too bad and it wasn't extremely humid like it's been lately. Maybe it was just that last week was a stressful one at work and all the mental fatigue caught up with me. That makes more sense than anything, and heading into the new week I don't think I'm fully recovered. And this week's going to be just as busy, if not more.

The knees were a little tender today, and this is something I expected with the new shoes. I wore the new ones twice last week, and not on the long run. Today I wore the old ones again, and will probably wear them one more time on this week's long run. Tonight the weather was great, especially after the last few weeks. I ran 6 miles easy, as I'm prone to do on Mondays. Next week I'm traveling on Monday, so don't know if I'll get to run or not. I want to keep the weekly mile totals up if I can, though, so I'm going to try and run as much as I can while I'm in Colorado. It's only two months until the Des Moines Marathon - no time for slacking off.

Running at Penguin Park

I ran three loops today around Penguin Park, a local landmark in the Kansas City northland. The total damage in the 110-degree heat index was 4.5 miles, and it felt like 15 miles of running in the mid-50's. This is a path I used to run when I first moved to KC back in 2003. I rented an apartment at a complex right next to the park when I was tired of living in a hotel, and I remember walking across the parking lot and running around the park one to one-and-a-half times. Those were the days when I struggled to run three miles. I also recall trying to run in the cold and ice and wind of that winter. I wasn't real fond of that apartment, and it's funny that today is a Thursday. On most Thursdays the girl upstairs would have people over and I would be kept awake to the sound of chairs scraping above the ceiling and people talking and laughing past 3 a.m. No, I don't miss that apartment at all. On the upside, it looks like they painted the buildings so they look a little better.

I've determined that it doesn't matter how much shade there is, because running when it's this hot and humid just sucks the life out of you. I was going to run 6 miles, and most of the path was under the cover of trees. But three times around was plenty. At first I thought it might go a little better than my outing at Happy Rock Park a couple of weeks ago, but hot is hot. I hate winter so much that I'm not going to complain, though.

Dang Cramps

Another night time run today, and I planned to go 6 miles and ended up at 5.2. I spent one and a half hours sweating at The Boy's first baseball practice and then didn't hydrate between that and the run. That appears to have been a miscalculation on my part. I ran hills today and was feeling good, but right as I got back to our neighborhood I felt the twinges. After I crossed the street and felt another round of twinges I decided to pack it in. Pretty stupid on my part overall, but another lesson learned, I suppose.

Tonight's accompaniment was The Derek Trucks Band. It seemed perfect for a hot, balmy night for some reason.

Black and Gold

It was time for a new set of shoes, so yesterday I took advantage of the tax-free weekend here in Missouri and bought a new pair of Asics Gel Nimbus. Fortunately they were on sale since the cutoff for clothing items to remain tax free is $100. Beat it by five cents. I've been wearing size 9 1/2 for several years, but I was beginning to think my toes were getting a little crowded. The store I went to didn't have any of that size on the sale table, but the did have a couple pairs in a size 10. I tried them on and they felt pretty good. I went out on the sidewalk and ran back and forth a couple of times, breaking a nice sweat in the 100+ degree afternoon. The shoes seemed a tad bit loose and I laced them up tighter. They felt good with no slippage in the toe box. Guess I'm a big boy now since I graduated to double-digits in shoe size.

I compared them to the previous pair when I returned home and they're really not that much different. I can tell the front of the shoe is slightly wider, but I'm not sure if that's because the previous pair is broken in and conformed to my foot or if there really is a difference. I wore them on tonight's 6-mile easy run and they felt good. I can tell I might have a little knee soreness, which seems to happen to me with new shoes. For reference, see a couple of years ago when I changed shoes a few weeks before a race and finally realized the extra millimeter or so of rubber on the soles of my new shoes altered my stride enough to irritate my knee. I'll break these in slowly and wait a couple of weeks before wearing them on a long run. Yep, that's the voice of experience talking right there.

Pre-Dawn Run

The wife got up early, very early, to head out for another triathlon this morning. I took the opportunity, if you want to call it that, to get most of my run in before the sun rose. It was nice to run in relative coolness. Overall I went 10 miles and felt pretty good, for the most part. It's been a while since I ran this far, and I definitely felt some stiffness and soreness, mostly in my left hip. Even though I then drove to Wichita and back today, seven hours in the car didn't affect me, which is a mild surprise. I also totalled 28 miles for the week, or double what I ran the previous week. I know that goes against all the common wisdom. We'll see how I feel tomorrow and if that much mileage was a bad thing or not.

6 in the Sun

The temperature was down about ten degrees today, so I went ahead and ran after work rather than waiting until the sun went down. Amazing how the upper 80's actually felt cooler. When I returned home and checked, the heat index was 'only' 88 degrees. I kept the whole 6 miles slow and easy, closer to 11 minutes/mile than anything faster. It paid off since I was able to make it the whole way. The only time I walked was when I switched from a podcast to Dwight Yoakam on the iPod.

A strange thing happened on the way back into the neighborhood. As I ran by the pool, which sits at the 5.75 mile mark on my usual 6-mile course, I could smell the water. I thought maybe it was just the chlorine. After my run and I was walking up the hill on my cooldown, one of the neighbors had a sprinkler going and I smelled the water again. I'm guessing my body was craving a drink something fierce. I don't recall that ever happening before. Sometimes the human body is a strange thing.

Yes, It's Still Summer

91 degrees at the end of the run today, and the end came at 9:10 p.m. Strangely enough it was probably a little hotter today but felt better because there was more of a breeze. Today's plan called for 6 miles of hills, and that's exactly what I did. I must be getting pretty good at my routes since I headed toward Pleasant Valley Baptist Church but turned before the top of the hill, then ran down Flintlock toward Target and turned before I got there, and managed to hit 6 miles exactly at my usual stopping point. I was pretty impressed with myself, even if a little bit of dumb luck was involved.

Tomorrow is an off day for running, and I would enjoy the break from the heat except for the fact that I need to mow the lawn. The wife is heading north to a triathlon on Saturday and I have to take the nephews south to get back to their parents, so I'm planning on a very early run that day. That leaves Thursday, which I suppose will be an evening run again. But the high is supposed to be only 90 degrees that day. Guess I'll take it when I can get it.

More Heat

A couple of runs to catch up - first one was on Friday. It was my early day, and I knew with the wife's triathlon on Saturday and having to drive all day Sunday to pick up the boy I wouldn't have time to run on the weekend. SO I went to Happy Rock Park in Gladstone to run in the shade. The plan called for 10 miles. The first four went okay, but the next couple just totally sapped me. I finished at 6 miles and called it good. I was totally worn out.

Today I ran 6 miles again, but this time i didn't even start until 8 p.m. A couple of nephews ran the first half with me, and then I dropped them off at the house and continued. I was pretty done in again by the end, because even though the sun wasn't shining the temperature was in the mid-90's and humidity was high. This week is going to be a challenge, but I have to do it. Hopefully when the sun is down so I can avoid some heat stroke.

Trust the Plan

That was the mantra from the running podcast today - trust the plan! When you're in the middle of training for a race and you don't feel at the top of your game, or it's a grind, or you just don't feel like you're getting to where you want to be, that's the time you need to trust the plan you put together at the beginning. I hope I can remember that in a few weeks.

The other thing I remember from this podcast (RunRunLive!) was that you can't improve yourself without challenging yourself and changing your comfort level. I think that's true, which is why I'm gunning for a 3:30 time in the Memphis marathon this year. I'm going to get my virtual running buddy under four hours in Des Moines and then I'm trying to get to the 3:30 level about six weeks later. The conventional wisdom (i.e., the charts in Runner's World) say that I'm not a good candidate to run that fast based on my previous times. Sounds like a challenge to me.

Looks like I forgot to post my run from Saturday. There wasn't much to post about anyway. I got out the door a little later than I planned for an 8-miler that ended up being 5 miles. I blamed the heat and humidity, but really I just wussed out. Let's just put that one behind us and move on, shall we?

Today's was much better. The temperature and humidity were off the charts again, but I waited until almost 8 o'clock to get out the door. I ran 6 miles with the sun going down in the west and it went much better. I saw about a dozen people running this morning as I drove through the neighborhood on my way to work, a stark contrast to the two other people I saw this evening. Anyway, I kept the pace at about 10 minutes/mile and survived. I don't like running this late in the evening, but 'tis the season. The wife and oldest daughter have a triathlon this weekend and I have to go to Tulsa to pick up the boy from my parents, so getting in my planned 10-miler will be a challenge. But it's all a challenge, isn't it?

Catching a Break

Thunderstorms pounded the KC metro area this afternoon and threatened today's run. The temperature was right, but as I've stated before, I'm not a big fan of lightning. After dinner I was in the kitchen talking to the wife and I said, "I'm wondering if I should head out for a run right about now." And as soon as I said it, a bright stroke of lightning flashed outside with a loud clap of thunder immediately following. We laughed because I'd received my answer.

I kept an eye on the doppler radar on the web site of one of the local TV stations and when the storms slipped south of us I hit the streets. I ran 5 miles, which was supposed to be an easy run. Instead I ran the last couple of miles at a pace under nine minutes/mile. Part of my motivation was the bank of dark clouds to my south. They generated a nice bolt of lightning as I was nearing my turnaround point, and even though the storm was a good 3-4 miles away I decided it was time to go home at a slightly accelerated pace. As I got back into the neighborhood another dark patch was to the north and threatening to turn my way. A few minutes after I arrived I went onto the deck to secure the grill cover and it was sprinkling. I'd say I caught the break in the storms just right.

Dithering

Sleeping late seemed more important than getting up early, and I was all set to skip this week's long run. I ate breakfast, lounged, and kept looking outside at the overcast sky, wondering if I should just get out and do it. I kept thinking I should since this week the temperatures are supposed to be in the 90's. When I finally made the decision, I was out the door in under ten minutes, telling the wife and kids I was going to run anywhere from 6 to 10 miles, depending on how much sun there was.

Naturally the sun came out one-third of a mile into my run. It came and went but mostly stayed. At the end I'd gone 7 miles and I was kicking myself for not getting out the door earlier. I'm usually not so indecisive about running. By the time I got home the temperature was 84 degrees with a heat index of 93. Not as bad as some of the other days this past week, but still wore me out plenty. I'm working on a training plan for the Des Moines Marathon in October. The plan includes being flexible the next few weeks because of the heat and then stepping it up with hills and speedwork. I was looking at the July issue of Runner's World last night and there's a plan for breaking four hours I was trying to adapt to finish in 3:30. Still needs a little bit of work, and as I was looking it seemed like there's not enough time to get in all the things I want. Hard to believe with 13 weeks left, but true story.

Summer Running

Today was a typical summer day in KC - pretty hot (low 90's) and humid. The heat index when I ran was about 97 degrees. Again I took my water bottle filled with icy, refreshing goodness. As I've said before, the biggest problem around here isn't necessarily the heat, but it's the lack of shade. I ran 4 miles before I encountered any real shade. At that point I walked for about five minutes before finishing my 5-mile run. I probably could have gone a full 6 miles like most of my easy runs, but I keep thinking it's better to not keel over from heat stroke than it is to get in an extra mile.

One other comment on the podcast I listened to during the run - it was an episode of RunRunLive!, which I normally enjoy, but in this particular episode there was a full ten minutes of the host washing his dog. To his credit he admitted afterward that it was lame and he needs to shake up the podcast. Guess I shouldn't complain too much since I'm a dog person and it's free and all, but that was just a little too much. Thank God it wasn't a cat. Although that probably would have been shorter, louder, and more entertaining.

Dang

Hot. In the low 90's. Ran slow. Took water bottle. Poured more over head than drank. Ran 4 miles. Slow. Humid. Tired. Time to sleep.

The Short and the Long of It

This is a tale of two runs. I actually got up early on Sunday morning so I could get in a long run and ended up having one of the shortest long runs of my running career. And today, as the makeup run, I ran under cloudy skies and sweltering humidity.

First, on Sunday I ran a total of 2 miles. As I headed out at 7:30 a.m. everything looked fine with some gray clouds off to the northwest. I ran toward the back part of the neighborhood and as I ran up the hill I thought I saw a flash high up in the clouds. I continued to watch as I looped back toward the southwest and saw some noticeably closer lightning, no doubt about it. I certainly enjoy running in the rain, but I don't take any chances with the electrical stuff. There was a lady running ahead of me and she had stopped at the top of the hill as if pondering whether or not to continue. Or maybe she was just winded. As I got closer she took off again, but I peeled off quickly down the hill and back to the house. I really hadn't worked up much of a sweat and I set to making some eggs, bacon, and English muffins. Within about fifteen minutes the loud flash-bangs started going off and pretty soon we were getting some serious rain. One of my neighbors estimated two inches in a half-hour by his rain gauge. We had a river running through our back yard. Literally. I could see the current and it was moving fast. Glad I didn't get caught out somewhere in that storm.

Today was a different story with a relatively tame easy run of 6 miles. The humidity was high and all that, which is normal for a KC summer. The temperature was only in the low 80's, and I'm thankful for that. The bad news is that the motor has apparently gone out on our a/c and the temperature inside is still in the low 80's. I'm not real happy with the company that supposedly just fixed the unit and replaced the compressor. The attic fan is on and I'm hoping it cools down in here. Glad the wife and kids aren't here, too - they're up north for a few days. I might have to get in my car and drive around with the a/c cranked up just so I can cool down.

Mild Days

More decent weather, if a bit rainy and cloudy, but at this time of year I'll take it. The temperature was in the 70's today and I felt a few raindrops on the run but not much more than that. At least today I remember to bring the Garmin and ice the Gatorade. I ran 6 miles,, doing the same workout as last Thursday with a 3-mile tempo in there after a 2-mile warmup. With the lower temperatures I tried to keep the tempo pace at around 9 minutes/mile but had trouble finding a steady pace for some reason. I was probably four miles into the run before I felt like I was keeping a normal rhythm going. Still very humid but again, I'm not going to complain.

Vacation Runs

No, I didn't get the runs on vacation. But it is time to catch up on the runs I've done in the last week or so since I haven't kept up with my logging on here. The first three were with Alan, my virtual running club member, since he and his family were here on vacation.

Our first run was a 6-miler on Monday, 28 June. We took a couple of walk breaks in there somewhere since Alan was so freakin' out of shape. I actually own him now and will run his butt into the ground with training plan I'm developing to get him under 4 hours at our next race. This particular run was an easy run to get him into the swing of things.

Our second run was another 6-miler on Wednesday, 30 June. We warmed up for two miles and then ran three at a faster tempo pace. The weather wasn't brutally hot but it was plenty warm and humid, so I kept our tempo at about 9:30/minute. After that we walked for a few minutes, but he did pretty well on the hills and we didn't push too much.

I kept telling him he was going to be running 12 miles with me for our long run, and he believed me and even bought a couple of gel packs for the run. I intended the run to be only 8 miles, and that's what we did on Friday, 2 July. We had about three walk breaks on our out and back route down Shoal Creek Parkway to I-435. It was a good week with a total of 20 miles, about right for 'easing' back into a training pattern.

Today our guests left and I ran an easy 6-miler while the temps weren't too high. Humidity was over 80%, though, and I sweated buckets. I was down the street before I realized I'd forgotten both my Garmin and to put a bottle of Gatorade in the freezer to chill. Nevertheless, I survived and it was a good run to cap off my vacation time. Now it's back to afternoon or evening runs. And work. Ugh.

Sans Garmin

Guess I left the Garmin on after Sunday's run and the battery was low. Tonight's run was au natural as far as that goes. I ran my regular 6-mile route after waiting until almost 7:45 to start. The temperature today was in the 90's and the sun was brutal. Waiting seemed like the prudent thing to do. I almost stopped during my prep a couple of times and thought about just staying home, but after some drama at work I decided I needed to get out and burn off the stress of the day. Another prudent move. Now maybe tomorrow I'll be a little calmer and clear-headed. Or maybe I'll just need to go for another run.

Ten for Father's Day

Continuing the practice of putting numbers in my post titles, I ran 10 miles on Father's Day. I was VERY tempted to stay in bed and sleep late, but as I've always said, you shouldn't make a decision about whether or not to run while you're half-asleep in frog pajamas. Yes, that's a Tom Robbins reference for you. Anyway, I had planned on getting up at seven, and that's what I did. It was tough, but I'm so glad I did. I drove about 550 miles to Tulsa and back yesterday to drop off Daughter #1 at church camp, and today I added another 10 miles to the overall weekend total. I knew if I didn't get up and run early it wasn't going to happen since the temperature was forecast to climb into the nineties during the day. It worked out well as clouds rolled in from the north and I spent most of the run under overcast skies. I felt good and was happy to get in such good mileage on an early summer morning.

During today's run I finished up the last part of the Hardcore History series on the Eastern Front of WWII. All I can say is wow. How have we not heard more about this? I'm convinced the war was won there after listening to these podcasts. In America we talk about D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge and those epic events, yet the tide of the war was actually turned in eastern Europe. I've read plenty on D-Day and I know the Allied troops who gave their lives and those who punched through the beaches are heroes. But the absolute carnage and scale of the war in Russia dwarfs what happened in western Europe. I've already put a book on hold at the library to learn more about this, and sadly enough the literature on this part of the war is scarce compared to western Europe and the Pacific. It's an odd scenario in trying to root for one side or the other since Hitler and Stalin butchered millions of people and both were evil to the core. Yet if Stalin's troops hadn't won their part of the war the world would be a far different place. I still recommend the series and think there's a lot worth pondering from the history of the war in eastern Europe.

Hot Six

Not as hot as it's gonna be this summer, but still pretty warm at 91 degrees after 7 p.m. I waited until later to run to avoid the direct sun and still caught plenty anyway. So I kept it slow and easy and sweated a lot but didn't overheat during my 6 miles. That was the aim and I was successful. I generally don't like running later in the evening. However, since I'm not actively training for a specific event, I also don't feel the need to kill myself in the high heat. I'd prefer to keep running as enjoyable as possible without injury. Too bad I go into work so early. I'm routinely jealous of the people I see running in the morning as I drive by them on my way to work. Maybe someday that can be me. Many years from now, after I retire...

6 in 81

6 miles today in 81 degree temperatures. It was an easy run with a finishing average pace of 10 minutes per mile, and I was happy with that. I continued with Part III of the Hardcore History series on the eastern front of World War II. It was an excellent distraction from the heat and the sweat on this run in ways that music wouldn't be. Since I didn't sweat enough on the run I went ahead and worked on sanding the deck in preparation for some new stain. Fortunately for everyone in the household I'm done sweating for the night.

A Plan Comes Together

A disturbingly close crack of lightning awoke the household at 6:30 this morning and also heralded the fact that I wouldn't be running anytime soon. The wife and oldest daughter went for a bike ride a little later and were going to run, but then the rain really started. I kept hoping the rain would finally end, and sure enough, about 1:30 the storm finally moved past. The wife and I had gone to the grocery store in the meantime, so when I saw the blue sky beyond the line of clouds to the west I hustled into running clothes and scooted out the door for an 8-miler. It was humid but my plan was to get the run completed before the sun came out, or at least mostly complete. Success!

I'm at that point where I don't have a specific race scheduled but know that I'll be running in the fall. I need to figure out what's next. Also at this point is the question on whether I should take a little time off. My thought is that for the most part I feel pretty good, and it's probably best to keep running three times a week without speedwork at this point, and maintain my base. That way once I pick the next race I can determine my workout schedule without starting from scratch. Plus I need to work on some strength training and core work this summer. I exercised twice this week with dumbbells and ankle weights and feel pretty good with that. Maybe when Alan is here in a couple of weeks we can pick our next outing. Or maybe I'll just pick one before then and tell him what he's going to do. Yeah, I like the sound of that better.

Running with the Daughter

Today was hot and humid. Seems like Daughter #1 learned a lesson since at the end of the run today she decided she would prefer to run in the early-morning hours. It was nice to run with her, though. I ran 4 miles by myself to start, and it was a very slooooow 4 miles due to the weather conditions. I stopped by the house and picked up Daughter #1, who is training for a triathlon, and we ran 2 miles together. Her training schedule said today was supposed to be a run/walk day, but we ran the whole way. I was proud of her for doing so with minimal complaining. At one point I joked she must have misread the schedule and decided it was a run/talk day instead. I thought about waiting longer to run after the race last Saturday, but the race really didn't do me in too bad and after all I've eaten the past couple of days I figured I needed it. My plan for the next several weeks is to run 6 miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays with an 8-10 miler on Saturday. Guess I need to pick my next race and work backward on the calendar so I know when to start doing speedwork again. But as long as I get to run with my girl I'll be fine.

The other thing I did today that was running-related was to buy a new pair of running shoes for the wife, who is also participating in the triathlon. Her old shoes were worn out. We went to a specialty store and she tried on a half-dozen pairs. She settled on a pair of Asics Cumulus, which is the same model I first bought from Asics. She didn't have a moment of epiphany like I did, but she seemed pleased with the purchase. Plus they look pretty spiffy on her.

Hospital Hill Run

In the last half mile of today's race, I looked over at Alan and told him this was one of those races it was good to run but I don't feel the need to ever run it again. That pretty much sums up my feelings about this course. It was hot, but not terribly so due to an overcast sky early on, and terribly humid. And hilly. Yeah, a race with the word 'hill' in the name should be a clue.

Alan claimed at various times that he's out of shape and hasn't been training enough and certainly hasn't been training on hills, as well as stating that the humidity and/or heat was brutal. Okay, I'm giving him a little grief, but I have to agree on several of those counts. Much like the race in Leavenworth a couple of weeks ago, the course was tough. Leavenworth was a little tougher, but not by much. After mile 10 one of the guys running near us shouted out, 'This hill is stupid!' We had to laugh and agree.

None of this is to reflect on the race organization or anything like that. It was very well organized and other than the torture of the hills an enjoyable event. Lots of good volunteers, aid stations, and after-race activities. The one bummer is that we left our IDs in the car and therefore couldn't get the necessary bracelet for free beer afterward. Very scenic course.

The official time was 2:17:42, which included lots of walking. As I figured earlier this week, this wasn't going to be the course or the weather for setting a PR, and I was right, so I hung with Alan and had a good time. I don't want to do this race every year, but it was a good experience.

And One More

Just had to get in one more run since I didn't want to have three empty days before the race. I ran 4.5 easy miles in low-80's temperature. No snakes in the road today, just a guy running with a dog. At this point I still don't feel like I'll be gunning for a PR on Saturday morning, but we'll see how I feel on race day. And how the weather shapes up. The overnight low on Friday is supposed to be 71 degrees, which means temps will probably be in the mid-70's by 8 a.m. at race time. That's not a good recipe for a really fast race, so maybe I'll just pace this one with Alan and see if we can get him in under the two-hour mark.

90 Degrees

That was the temperature today when I set out for my run. And maybe I still am getting smarter, since rather than totally run my brains out I did my speedwork at a decidedly slower pace. I ran 6 miles and did the 2x800 intervals, and my second interval was at an average 9:03/pace. If I go that slow in a race I'm in trouble, but today it was the wise move. I thought about waiting until later in the day but decided that if the temperature is up on Saturday morning that I should acclimate to the warmer weather as much as possible.

Bonus: in the road at about mile one was a black snake - alive! A squirrel had come out to look at him and the squirrel almost got nailed by a small SUV. But the snake kept slithering along. When I ran by the spot after turning around up the road he was nowhere to be seen. I kept a careful eye on the grass, though, 'cause even though he probably wasn't poisonous who wants a snake leaping out at them? Well, not really leaping, but you get the idea.

A Week to Go

One week from today is the Hospital Hill Run here in KC, and I think I'm ready. This morning I ran 10 miles in temps around 70 degrees. If it's the same next week that won't be too bad, but might be a little too warm to try for a PR. We'll see how it feels. Again today I tried to keep the pace slower, and came in at just under 10 minutes/mile average.

Listened to the new Drive-By Truckers and enjoyed it, and then most of a Hardcore History interview, which I didn't enjoy as much as some of the others. This guy had some direct observations about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not sure when in the past 17 months or so this was recorded, but turns out he was pretty much wrong in his opinions. Gee, I hate when that happens. Anyway, this week I think I'll do one more speed exercise on Tuesday and maybe a recovery run on Wednesday, and then it's off to the races.

Getting Smarter?

This was one of those runs where I think maybe I'm learning how to run smarter. Then of course I'll do something stupid next week, but for now I'm going towards smarter. The temperature was in the mid-80's when I set out for a 6-miler with some 2x800 speedwork. I kept it nice and slow during my two warmup miles, and then didn't go all out on the first interval. Normally I would try to get to 7:30/mile or better, but today I just went with what felt right. That happened to be in the low 8's, and I didn't wear myself out. On the second interval I did the same and actually finished the whole thing without walking at all. Don't get me wrong, I was tempted, but I resisted. I guzzled a bottle of Gatorade when I got home, but I never felt absolutely horrible. Some would say maybe that's what I should be feeling, but I'm running for the long-term, not to puke my guts out every run.

On the iPod side, I finished the podcast of Part III of the Punic Wars on Hardcore History and then listened to another, which was an interview with Victor Davis Hanson. I really enjoyed that one since I've seen Mr. Hanson quoted extensively on several current event blogs I follow, and it was nice that the interview matched my earlier impressions. I'm really enjoying this podcast and am thinking about ordering the older episodes. Not only is it a good distraction during a run but it's just plain cool. Recommended.

More Humidity

Ran 6 miles today and the humidity is picking up toward summertime levels. Not horrible yet, but on its way. I ran two mile repeats, with 1.5 miles in between them. That was my concession to the heat and humidity. I thought about waiting until later to run after the temperature dropped a little, but today was such a rotten day at work that I needed to run for de-stressing purposes. Good grief, Tuesdays suck. These days I'd rather go to work on a Monday than a Tuesday.

Remembering

Now I remember why I get up early on a Saturday to run. It's the heat, stupid. Today's not unbearably hot, topping at 82 degrees so far, but it's a lot warmer than it has been. Plus the wind is pretty strong. I was planning on going 10 miles but ended up going 8. That's probably as much a fault of my eating and drinking habits this week as it is the weather. Guess I'll go 10 next Saturday in my final long run before the race, which is two weeks from today.

I listened to some more Hardcore History, finishing the second part of the Punic Wars and most of the third part. Let me just say there's a lot of things I didn't know about that part of history and I'm really enjoying it. I don't remember covering any of this in school. It's certainly worth listening to and the parallel to some of the twentieth-century situations after WWI is frightening.

End of the Layoff

My three-day layoff after the race is now over. I walked a few miles with the wife on Tuesday afternoon, and today I ran an easy 6 miles accompanied by a few sprinkles of rain. I thought about taking off longer, but last night I signed up for the Hospital Hill Run here in KC. That race is on June 5th, or just over two weeks. And that means no time to take a week off. Alan should be coming up for this one, so we'll see how I feel as the race gets closer and I decide whether to take it easy or go for a PR again. I hear this is a pretty fast downhill race, so we'll see how it works out.

Consistency

It's been over 18 months since I ran my PR in a half-marathon here in KC, and today I was trying to beat that. This morning I ran the inaugural Five Trails Half Marathon in Leavenworth, KS, along with 265 other finishers. Rain threatened to make it even more interesting than it was, yet it somehow stayed away until I was almost to the finish line.

By the numbers, I missed beating my PR by two seconds. In October 2008 I finished in 1:48:11. In May 2010 my official time was 1:48:13. I suppose you could say I was consistent. This event wasn't chip timed, and according to my Garmin I finished in 1:48:05 from the actual starting line to the somewhat ambiguous finish line. It was weird because they had a chute at the end but no marked finish line that I could see. By the time I hit stop on my timer I was 2/3 of the way down the chute. But I'm going by official time, so the PR remains to be broken. I finished 8th of 20 in my age group, and 53rd of 266 overall. For those who are counting, I slipped just inside the top 20%. Yeah me!

I knew there would be some big hills, but mentally I was thinking that would be it and the rest of it would be mostly level or downhill. Wrong. The uphills were tough but nowhere near as bad as the uphill everyone, including the winners, had to walk in Columbia last year. And after the hill they call "Pike's Peak," the downhill was so steep I just let it fly with the help of gravity and had probably my fastest mile ever in competition. For several minutes I was hitting a 6:30/mile pace. Yeah, I know, elites hit that without going downhill. Whatever.

I suppose the big takeaway for me in all this is that 19 months later I came up with the same overall time on a much tougher course. The KC Half has some uphills, but it's nowhere near as rolling as this one was. Also, the conditions that day were durn near perfect, whereas today the humidity was pretty high. If I learned anything from the Heart of America Marathon, it's that humidity is a killer for runners. So all in all I feel really good about my time. Even though I went into it not feeling like I was in prime shape, I don't think I would have had this time on this course in October 2008. I suppose experience and continued hard work pays off.

One thing I was thinking and then talked about with Alan was that a half-marathon is a whole lot different from a full. Duh. Nevertheless, after running this race I didn't feel the rest of the day like I was half-dead and going to throw up at some point. Recovery from this should be pretty quick and maybe in a month or so I can run another. My thought is that in training for a full you break your body several times on long runs as well as in the race, whereas in a half you push some limits as far as speed goes but it doesn't break you down like running 26.2 miles does. That's probably why the half is the most popular distance these days.

For a first running, the organizers did a great job. Plenty of volunteers, in fact almost too many, from packet pick-up to course monitors to finish line to the refreshment area. I was talking to Alan on the phone afterward and told him I thought about picking up his packet, but what's the point? He wouldn't be able to wear the shirt anyway since he didn't run the race. Anyway, he asked me if I would run it again and I said yes, absolutely I would. Great organization and a big thanks to the people who volunteered and made it come off so well.

It seems weird to run my first race so late in the year, but let's just call it the beginning. Time to plan for the next one, wherever it may be. As for today, I had a good nap and then a nice T-bone for dinner. Tradition!

Ready to Race

I ran 4 easy miles today, up to Pleasant Valley Baptist Church and back, and deliberately kept the pace slow. My average pace was 9:49/mile, pretty close to what I wanted. I just wanted to stretch out a little and not go four days between my last run and the race.

I printed off some stuff from the half-marathon web site today, which makes me feel a little more prepared for Sunday. Talked to Alan and chances for his appearance here have all but vanished. Oh well, time to do some research for another race. The weather forecast for Sunday includes some rain, but no telling yet if that's in the morning or later on. I don't mind the rain as long as there's no lightning. I think since I have to head out early that the family will be skipping this one, and that's okay. I'll be leaving about 6 a.m. for an 8 o'clock race. I don't blame them one bit. I'm already looking forward to a Sunday afternoon nap followed by a celebratory steak dinner with a nice glass of wine. To top it off, I'm off work Monday, so I can sleep late. I just have to get through the 13.1 miles first!

Last Real Run

Today was my last real run before the race on Sunday. I ran 6 miles, doing the fast 2x800 thing again. The weather was gorgeous this afternoon after some big rain yesterday. This run makes me feel like crap, but it's astounding to me to run at what feels like a snail's pace during the cool-down part of it and realize I'm running at a sub-9 minute pace. This is speedwork that I definitely feel pays off for the race. I'll do one more easy run of 4 miles or so tomorrow or Thursday, depending on the weather, and then take it easy until the race.

Alan left me a voicemail that he's holding out slim hope of making it here for the race. Don't tease me.

I started listening to a new podcast on my run Saturday and continued today. It's called Hardcore History and I'm really enjoying it so far. The first one I listened to was an interview, and the second was about the Apaches. What was cool was that he talked about the area where I grew up, and before he even listed the locale and was talking about the names of some of the major players in the history of the Apache I was thinking to myself this sounded really familiar. This podcast was recommended to me by my neighbor Shawn, who said that the best ones were the episodes regarding the eastern front in WWII. I'm taking the episodes in order, so I'll get there eventually. Who knew you could combine running and history? Good stuff.

8 miles and going camping, no time to write more

Weirdness

So tonight I'm running 6 miles with 2x800m all-out sprints, one of my favorite speed workouts. During the 2-mile warmup I run past this guy who's walking toward me. He's aboiut 6'3", reasonably tan, mid-30's, wearing white shorts, no shirt, toned upper body, and blond. And the way he's walking he's obviously proud of himself. As I continue on my way I think to myself, okay, weird. Hopefully he turns off into a neighborhood and I don't have to see him again. Wrong.

During my first 800m sprint I pass him at about the 650m mark. He's still walking, and seems to be out for nothing much more than for all the commuters to enjoy the display. Still weird. And we weren't done.

After 15 minutes of recovery and the second 800m sprint, I see him ahead as I'm getting close to finishing the 800m and just as I'm about to die from running under 6 minutes/mile. I slow down to recover and he just keeps walking, almost like a big blond robot. After this I was just thankful I didn't see him again. Almost felt like the dude was stalking me!

In other news, Alan called today and told me he's 99% sure he won't be able to make the half-marathon next weekend. That totally stinks, and I'm keeping that muted since this is a family blog. He told me to got set a PR, and I was doing computations in my head during today's run on how fast I'd have to run per mile in order to get there, and boy, it's going to be tough. As I was running today in the 6-minute/mile range I realized how tough it would be to keep that pace for more than 800m, and yeah, I'm not there yet - if ever. Sad for my buddy that he can't make it and we don't get to hang out for a few days. Guess we'll have to come up with Plan B. (evil laugh) And maybe that will involve a baseball outing. You never know.

Today's Excuse

Today's excuse for a bad run: I'm an idiot. The temperature was 79 degrees and the wind was blowing from the south at 20 mph constant. So of course I tried to run 8-minute miles. What a maroon. At least I ran into the wind to start off with so that I wasn't doing so during the latter part of the run, but that didn't really help. I should have kept my 'marathon pace' to a 9-9:30 pace. I walked from 3.8 to 4 miles and that helped me get through the rest of it. I did complete my 6 miles but it wasn't pretty. I don't think running two days in a row really hurt me - rather it's just the aforementioned idiot thing.

Added Easy Run

I had two reasons to run today:

#1 - Saturday's long run wasn't so good
#2 - It was a really nice day and to not run would be a crime

So I ran 6 miles, sans iPod, and I had a good time. I tried my best to keep it 9:30-10:00/mile and was largely successful. Was talking to my virtual running partner tonight and he wondered if I was going to try for 1:30 or faster in the half. I don't know if that can happen in any version of reality, so my actual goal is to set a new PR. If I'm not mistaken that would be something faster than 1:49. My actual goal is to manage the race a little better than I've done in the past. If I can go out and average 8:30/mile or better rather than starting off at 10:00/mile and making it up later in the race I think I'll feel better about everything.

I've been thinking about the 'dead legs' feeling I've had lately on several runs, and I think it has a lot to do with my diet, or lack thereof. In the past four months I've probably eaten more cake and doughnuts and drank more coke than I have in the past four years combined. I think that's contributed a lot to my malaise ($10 word for something that's not really in the malaise class but proves that I paid attention in high school). I'm trying to do better these last two weeks and I am definitely laying off the sweets. After an easy run today we'll see how the speed work goes tomorrow and if that thinking actually pays off.

12 Miles

This morning would have been a perfect time to go running - the temperature was in the 50's, the breeze was very slight, the sky was covered with cloud - as I said, perfect. So of course I didn't go running.

The Boy had a birthday party this morning until after lunch, and I didn't have time to run for a couple of hours beforehand. By the time we got home and I was ready to run, the sun had come out and the temperature shot up to about 70 degrees. Still not bad, but I think it took a toil on me because that 12 miles sure felt a lot tougher than it should have. I thought several times about cutting it short, but I toughed it out, especially in light of my abbreviated run from Thursday. So now I guess I need to register for the race, which is in two weeks. And here's hoping my legs get a little more life in them by then.

Windy...and Windy

It was just a little windy today. Combine that with dead-feeling legs and I only went 4 miles. I hate cutting a run short and coming up with excuses, but I could tell today wasn't going anywhere. And my knees aren't feeling good. Yeah, I know, more excuses. Just not one of my better runs, but one where I think I cut my losses. I'd like to think I'm a smarter runner than I used to be in stopping and avoiding grinding out the last two miles just to add the miles to my weekly total, but sometimes I wonder. Clearly I can finish a half-marathon, but the question is how well will I finish? And how will today's run figure into how it works out?

Mile Intervals

Ran 6 miles with 3x1 mile intervals. It was another beautiful day, with a great temperature and minimal wind. I felt good and it was a great day for a run.

For the first time in 18 years I'm wearing contact lenses again. I got the pair yesterday and wore them for too long today. I felt like a free man without glasses. Guess I just couldn't help wearing them on my run. They're a new type of lens for people with astigmatism, with a hard lens in the middle with what they call a 'skirt' around it made up of a soft lens. I don't remember the last time my eyesight was this good. However, the side effect is that the hard lenses reshape my eyeballs, so when I took the lenses out after the run I couldn't see a thing when I put on my glasses. Even now, over three hours later, my right eye is totally fuzzy and I'm basically working off the left eye, which is strangely clear for not having glasses on right now. Guess I'll be wearing them until bedtime on a regular basis.

Today I branched out with another podcast called How Stuff Works. The one I listened to was regarding lotteries, and even though I knew most of what they talked about and why I don't play the lottery, it was still entertaining. Also, don't remember if I've mentioned this or not, but I'm no fan of rap, hip-hop, or any combo of the two. However, I've been starting my runs with the Beastie Boys' 'Sabotage,' which makes for a great kick-off to my runs. Guess sometimes something different catches you at a moment where you actually end up liking something you would normally pass by. At least that's the explanation I'm going with on this one.

More Rain

When I left the house this morning I thought I'd be able to get a good run in before the rain came. I was wrong. At least today the temperature wasn't horrible. I ran two loops of the neighborhood, and about a mile into the first lap a light sprinkle was coming down. By the time I got to 96th Street and headed west the wind was at my back and didn't seem too bad. As I neared the end of that first lap I thought about heading up the hill and back to the house to finish on the treadmill, but inertia is a powerful force and I kept going. The rain picked up a little bit on the second lap, although it never really got heavy, and even though the east wind was brisk it never seemed like I was struggling. For the last bit of my run I did a mile out and back to complete the 9-miler. In fact, I felt so good that for the last .8 mile I ran faster at an 8-minute/mile pace.

I'm glad I stayed outside for the whole run. I like running in the rain, and even though this was a little cooler than a summer shower, it still felt good. Strangely enough I didn't see any other runners out today. Are they afraid they're going to melt or something?

I'm also trying to figure out this half-marathon thing in May. The race I'd like to do is on a Sunday, and if Alan comes for the race we'll clearly be enjoying our triumph that evening and staying up late. However, the following two days at work are a disaster recovery exercise where authority for the agency devolves to us and I suppose I have to be there. I was looking for something else in late May that we could run, but the only possibility so far is a race in Oklahoma City on Memorial Day weekend, and I'd really rather not travel then if I can avoid it. Guess I'll need to figure this out and get registered for something pretty quick. Ah, the joys of a busy life.

Too Cold in the Rain

The temperature was right on that border of being nice, but with a cool drizzle it was a little too cold for an outdoor run. And I like running in the rain, but today was too much. So I ran 6 miles on the treadmill with a 30-minute tempo run while listening to another podcast. They had a parody of 'Friends in Low Places' concerning parts of your body that tend to be rubbed raw on a run if you neglect something to ease the friction. That's the second time I've listened to one of these parodies on a run where I actually laughed out loud. This time it was the verse about the guy whose nipples were bleeding and then got in the shower. Yes, there was screaming. And it was probably funnier since I've experienced something similar, although not quite as serious as that. Funny stuff.

What a Day

Days like this are rare - mild temperature, no wind, enough cloud cover to keep the sun from shining too bright - wow, this kind of weather is rare in KC. Today's 6-miler include 3x1-mile intervals, and it felt great all the way. Even if today hadn't been a running day I would have made it one.

The allergies are still killing me. Last night was the best night of sleep I've had in three weeks, but I still woke up a few minutes early with a runny nose. It's funny, because when I went to bed last night I felt like it was going to be a bad night. Shows how much I know. I also know that going out for a run when my allergies are like this isn't good for them, but at this point I don't care. Who knows what will set them off? Yesterday at work I was totally fine until I opened my former secretary's office to go through some old notebooks and as soon as I did the sneezing started and lasted until I fell asleep. If I curtailed all activities and didn't do anything until allergy season was over the only thing I'd do would be to lie in bed with the covers pulled over my head. And really that's no fun. At least it's no fun alone. So I suffer through the season and wait for the pollen counts to descend again. And wait. And wait.

Snot Factory

I'm sure I was such a lovely sight on this morning's long run, what with snot rockets and hawking up loogies the whole time. But I decided a long while back that I wasn't going to let allergies ruin my life, and if I have to suffer a little bit for the activities I like to do, then so be it. I didn't see as many other runners out today as I expected, which I suppose is a good thing given all the snot flying every where.

I ran 10 miles, a couple miles shorter than planned. I suppose I'm still in that half-marathon training mode where I can do a little less mileage and still be okay come race day. At least I think that's what it is, because surely it can't be laziness. I suppose I should register for the darn thing, seeing as it's only a month away now.

I listened to two more podcasts from RunRunLive and enjoyed them both. The first was an interview with Hal Higdon. He was the keynote speaker at the Heart of America Marathon last year, a fact he mentions in his interview. He was promoting a novel he'd written about the weekend of a large-city marathon, and it sound intriguing enough for me to want to check it out. The second podcast was an interview with the race director of the Boston Marathon, and that was also interesting to listen to. I've enjoyed the podcasts, enough so that when they were done and I still had a couple of miles to go I think that contributed to my finishing earlier than planned. I find it interesting to hear someone else's take on running, especially someone who puts in so many miles, as the host of the podcast does. I also really enjoyed the parody of George Thorogood's "I Drink Alone," which came out as "I Run Alone" on the podcast. The bit about a lady who smiles at him and gets the finger in return made me laugh out loud - yes, a real lol! This seems like a podcast I'll keep listening to and probably going back in time so I can catch up on the previous two years' worth of material.

Spring in the Midwest

Spring in the Midwest is much like spring in the greater part of the country - lots of allergens and wind. There's a nice layer of yellow pollen on all the vehicles now, and a number of people at work I talked with today are hoping for some rain in the next couple of days to clear the air. I suppose maybe I'm getting too used to the wind since today I didn't really notice it.

I ran 6 miles total, which included 3 mile repeats with 1/4 mile slowdowns. Overall it felt pretty good until I was chicked with about one mile to go. But hey, I was in my cooldown phase, so I don't feel too bad. And it's not like it doesn't happen a lot in the races I've been in.

I tried something new today on my run. Rather than listening to music, I downloaded a couple of podcasts and tried one of them out. This one was called RunRunLive and I enjoyed it. The host was taking an ice bath after running an 18-miler in freezing rain on New Year's Eve. Heh, what a maroon! Sounds like something stupid I would do. The guest (not in the bath room with the host, fortunately) was the co-writer of a book about how exercise affects your body and actually keeps you younger as you age. His claim is that 30% of our aging is determined for us by genetics, but the other 70% is what we can influence by our habits, with the main contributor being the amount of exercise we get. I don't know, I kind of liked being distracted by something different for a change, so I'm thinking I'll try another podcast or two on my long run this Saturday. It's always good to shake things up once in a while.

Pollen and Me

Today was the first time I'd run in ten days. I went to Atlanta last week and took along my running gear. However, a thick layer of pollen blanketed the city and threw me for a loop. I had enough clothing to run at least three days during my stay there, and I never unpacked the stuff. I kept thinking I should, but then determined that might actually kill me as bad as I felt. I even told my brother I would probably regret it, but now that I'm back home I don't, really. One night I went to a game at beautiful Turner Field (hate the team, love the stadium), and when my group got to our section we could see the nice yellow pollen covering all the seats.

Today I was itching to run. After an afternoon meeting at work that really ticked me off I needed to burn off some energy. I was supposed to run a marathon pace session but decided I should probably just make it an easy run since it's been so long since my last run. That was a good choice since it was quite windy with gusts above 30 mph and the temperature was near 80 degrees. I went 6 miles and was more tense than usual due to thinking about the aforementioned work issue. At one point I felt a tightening in my mid-back on the right side and wondered if I should walk a little, but then a song came on my iPod that has a good running rhythm and I realized I was tensed up and that was affecting my posture. I breathed deep and tried to stay looser the rest of the run, with varying degrees of success. The allergies for me here are bad, but not nearly as bad as they were in Georgia. I guess the old familiar has its advantages.

The Hero Takes a Fall

Today's long run was later in the day than normal on the weekend, but mission accomplished. The weather was gorgeous today, and if we hadn't had a birthday party in the morning I would have been out earlier. Even with all that motivation there were a few times where I contemplated cutting the run short, but I stuck with it. I was wearing a shirt from the '07 KC Marathon that has the word 'FINISHER' in big block letters on the back. I kept thinking of that during the last half of my 11-mile run and it helped me get 'er done. Too many thoughts of hey, it's only a half-marathon you're training for, so go ahead and cut it short. You only need to do long runs of 8 or 9 miles, so no big deal. Too bad, I want to keep my training level fairly high for a marathon later in the year, and I'm a finisher.

The gratuitous Bangles reference in the title for this post has to do with, you guessed it, a fall. I can't remember the last time, if ever, that I've fallen while running. It happened before I'd even run a full mile. I passed a lady getting into her SUV in the back part of the neighborhood, and I knew she'd be coming up behind me. She did, and as I turned the corner onto another street I was concentrating on staying close to the curb. Just as she passed me my right foot caught in the one of the shoelace loops of my left foot and I went down. Not too hard, and I hit with my right knee and did a roll and hopped right up, continuing almost without missing a stride. Not sure if she saw me go down, but she certainly didn't even tap the brakes so I have my doubts. I wasn't hurt and clearly kept running to finish out the day.

I just plugged in the Garmin to see if the fall registered on the graph it produces, and sure enough there's a little spike in the pace line at that spot in the run. The wife thinks it's kind of funny, and I have to agree.

Speaking of the Garmin, it's still working great. My thought is that its memory was full. I'm not sure how much memory is in these things, but thinking of all the runs where I've used it in the past year brings to mind how much data must have been stored on it. All the waypoints for every run where the GPS was tracking, my custom workouts, the pace, the elevation, etc., were stored, and I can only imagine how much space that takes up. Thank God for the Internet since otherwise I would have most likely considered it completely dead. Seems appropriate that my Garmin was resurrected during Easter week!

The Garmin Rises

I thought my GPS had gone to Garmin heaven. It wouldn't turn on and even when I put it on the cradle it wouldn't charge or connect to the computer. Fortunately this is the 21st century and we have the Internet. I binged 'Garmin Forerunner 305 dead' and came up with a link that told me how to reboot the thing. I tried the soft reboot first and nothing happened. Then I tried a hard reboot by pressing the power and mode buttons at the same time and it beeped and sprung to life! The device asked me if I wanted to erase all the data on it and I said no, which turned out to be the wrong answer. It shut down again and I couldn't turn it on again.

At that point I thought maybe I'd killed it. I tried the hard reboot again and it didn't work. I set it down for a few minutes and then tried once more, and it worked. This time I answered 'Yes' to delete the data and from then on it's been good. I transferred today's workout as well as Saturday's to it, and it asked me if I wanted to copy the profile from my computer to replace the one on the Garmin. I said yes, because the one on the Garmin was a default. Today's run seemed to go without a hitch, at least as far as my GPS goes.

The run itself was not good, though. I started out running into the wind, which was a good choice, but I'm still not 100%. Too many nights of interrupted sleep and a case of allergies is wearing me down. I did two and a half mile repeats, finishing at 4.5 miles. Work is wearing me out as well, and I can't seem to get ahead. Plus I'll be out of town next week, so there's a lot to do in the next several days. I felt relaxed on the repeats, particularly into the wind, but it just sapped what little strength I had too quickly. This wind reminds me of the Big D marathon last year in Dallas, and it makes me glad I'm not running it this year. Ugh, that was a killer.