Run Then Walk

It was an outing that started off with good intentions. I wanted to do a four-miler with hills, you know, something a little different. When I started running, my legs felt strangely unhappy. Not weak, not wobbly, just kind of like I'd already run and wanted to take them out for another spin. The farther I went, the more both calf muscles tightened up, like the E-string on a violin. Barely a quarter-mile in, I started walking. After several hundred yards the tightness seemed to relax a little, and I considered my options. Given the 90-degree heat, I decided to walk for today's exercise. I ended up going a little over 2 miles. I won't say it was super-satisfying, but at least I sweated a little. Somewhat disappointing with the plans I had, but at least I didn't turn around and go back home.

A Lovely Four

What a nice couple of days! This morning it was in the 60s when I ran between work meetings. Sunny, a bit of a breeze from the south, and shade in spots. I ran 4 miles without breaks and without music. I thought I'd charged my iPod, but when I picked it off the charger it had minimal juice. So, I ran au natural. Well, at least regarding music. Anyway, since I could hear my footfalls I worked at several points on keeping them even. I won't say the cadence was off, but a couple of times I felt like it should have been steadier. Maybe it's worth leaving the iPod at home again sometime. It's not fall yet in north Texas, but we're heading that way.

Waiting on the Rain

I didn't run Thursday due to a couple of factors. One, the most important, was that allergies kicked my butt again. I found out yesterday that ragweed is very high right now, along with mold and dust and dander. The trifecta. Also, The Wife and I made a day trip to a local lake where we could sit on a beach and put our feet in the water. This morning I woke up with the intent to run right away, but I had to wait for the rain to move through. It wasn't very heavy, but would have eventually soaked me pretty good. I'm glad I went since it was in the low 60s this morning, almost too cool compared to yesterday with a high in the upper 90s. Since it was so nice, I ran 6 miles without stopping. Well, I did have to walk briefly on the out-and-back where the water floods the sidewalk under Hardin. Better to walk than splash through and slip. It was a good run and I feel much better, thank you, with the rain having washed all the junk out of the air. I'm sure it'll be back.

Four and Mow

I should've run this morning but got caught up in publishing a book. I know, just a normal day, right? This morning was lower 70s and overcast, which would've been nice. Instead, I decided to make breakfast and drink coffee; otherwise, I would've eaten at about 10 a.m. The day warmed up and depending on which readings you trust, it was either 84 degrees or in the lower 90s. Regardless, it was humid after rain the past few days and therefore I ended up walking a good portion of the second half on the 4-mile run. Part of that was the heart rate climbing too high, especially the last mile. When I started walking in the last half-mile, my Apple watch said my rate was 160. As before, take that with a grain of salt. But it didn't get down to 140 until I reached the point where I normally stop running and start walking for a cooldown. At least I got out again today, which was the goal. And then I mowed the lawn after I got home. Definitely just a normal day.

Monday Three

We received the quite the deluge on Saturday and I didn't run. Plus, I was smoking pork and ribs and sausage, all under a canopy to protect the smoker from the rain. It rained yesterday as well, and therefore I pushed the weekend run to today, a holiday. I only went 3 miles since I'm planning on running again tomorrow. It was a bit humid after all that rain, but overall a good run in mid-70s temperature. I did it without walking, as befits a nice day. I thought about sprinting the last bit but decided to save myself for the rest of the week. Strangely, not a ton of people out where everyone had the day off. Not a bad run, though, and it was nice to get out before we got another bout of rain this afternoon.

A Normal Run

I went this morning when the temperature was 85 degrees, as opposed to this afternoon and 95 degrees. A nice breeze from the south helped on my 4-mile out and back. Not as much shade in the late morning as I'd hoped, and the lack of clouds didn't help in that regard. Still, it was a good run with walks at the mile markers. Overall, felt good although the heart got a little bit high the last few miles. As I've said before, I'm not sure the reading is entirely accurate since I usually don't feel ill effects. I think the additional bpm in this case are due to the allergies I've been battling since last week. Yesterday I felt very lethargic in the afternoon and evening. Today is a little better and exercise usually helps in that regard. I'd give just about anything to not have allergies. In lieu of a Faustian bargain, the suffering continues.

Slipping Out

I slipped out at lunch today for a run instead of waiting until later afternoon. Why? Because it was 72 degrees this morning and overcast with a breeze. Our high today is only mid-80s, which is nice in and of itself. However, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to get out when it was even nicer. In honor of the nice weather, I ran 4 miles without the usual walk breaks at the mile markers. The sun did come out a bit during the last mile, so it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns. Still, can't complain about a day like this in August in Texas. The breeze was a nice touch, almost autumn-like. Not sure if this weather pattern will stick, but at least for a day it was nice.

Motivators

When I left the house this morning for a 4-miler, the temperature was a lovely 73 degrees. Humid, of course, but I'll take that kind of temp in August any time. It's funny how things go sometimes since today I ran into a couple of guys who shouted out some motivational help. To be clear, that doesn't usually happen. The first was a guy I've seen before who walks a handful of beautiful huskies. "Looking good, finish strong!" he said. I didn't respond that I still had 1.5 miles to go, but thanks for the pick-me-up. The other guy was walking along the sidewalk about a hundred yards from my finish and said, "Keep it up, brother!" It's nice to have fans along the running route lol. Anyway, it was a good run on a nice Saturday morning. Time now for some coffee and relaxation.

Conspiracy

Some weeks I feel like there's a conspiracy to keep me from running. Tuesday, for the second week in a row, we had a big thunderstorm right at the time I would've gone out. Additionally, allergies hit me midday on Tuesday and lasted through yesterday. Today I feel human again, but I'll say this: if you don't have allergies, count yourself lucky. It feels like having the flu without the benefits of losing all the contents of your stomach through both ends. Seriously, it's debilitating and if you've never experienced it, good for you. Anyway, today was a chance to get out in the morning and shake off some the allergy effects. I only went 2 miles and walked most of the second half of that, but I have to say I felt much better afterward. In fact, I got that dopamine rush a little bit and just getting out for even that short of a time improved my mood quite a bit. It's amazing what a little sunlight and exercise can do for a person.

Sometimes You Walk

I did get out early, as planned, before the heat sets in. It was a run of varied success. The first half went well, but in the second half my heart rate kept jumping up into the mid-150s, which I felt was too high for what I wanted to accomplish. What was that? Getting out and running at a slow pace. I got in 4 miles overall, with more walking than I wanted, but sometimes you just have to walk. Seemed like plenty of people out walking, running, and cycling. I took the route through Creekview that provides the most amount of shade, but wow, when I'm on the return route that area that goes around the pond is a section where the breeze kind of dies. That probably didn't help with the heart rate. I'm glad I got out and who knows? Maybe I'll walk tomorrow morning just because I can.

Rain and Stuff

Was preparing to go out Tuesday afternoon and we got an unexpected thunderstorm that lasted an hour and a half, dumping a ton of rain on us. Wednesday's schedule was not good, and yesterday I deferred my usual outing since Honorable Youngest Daughter came over. Today I decided to walk, and I did. 2.25 miles. My main goal was to sweat a little, so mission accomplished. I have a bit of soreness low down on the right side of my ribcage, which kind of feels like when I bruised my ribs a few years ago. It's not as bad as that, but it makes me wonder what I did to cause the little bit of weird feeling. I have no idea. I guess that's one of the interesting things about getting old: you hurt yourself and you don't remember how. Oh, well. My plan is to run tomorrow morning before it gets hot, which is another reason I walked today instead of running.

An Early Four

Today's going to be a hot one. With that in mind, I made it out the door at 7:30 a.m. while the temperature still hovered around 80 degrees. Turned out to be a nice morning for a run and I took the route with the maximum amount of shade. I ran 4 miles, with walk breaks every mile. Not sure I really needed them, but I don't regret taking them. I was talking with a friend yesterday about running and I remarked how slow my pace is during the summer months. It's true. I keep it slow, about eleven minutes or even slower. Once the weather cools down in a month or two, my pace will pick up again. Until then? Just doing what I can to survive the heat while still getting in some exercise.

Three Again

Today was quite warm, in the upper 90s. I managed 3 miles again, with a little extra walking at the mile markers. I wasn't sure how it would when I set out and thought I might end up walking more, but I kept it slow and steady. I only saw a couple of other guys out, which means there are more crazy people than me around here. I also mowed the lawn when I got home, which meant plenty of sweating for a nice Thursday. No rain in the forecast, just heat. Gotta love Texas summers. Not much else to say about the run, other than I was thinking through ideas for a new book. Nothing concrete yet, just bits and pieces. I have a concept, but need a compelling conflict. Maybe I can get more inspiration on my next run.

Good Stuff

Today was a good day to run with a little bit of humidity remaining after the rains came through Sunday and early Monday. The stream I run over (via a bridge - I can't run on water) had one branch with a little water and the other mostly dry. I felt pretty good overall and got in a little sweating along the way. It was a 3-miler today and hope it's the beginning of the path back to higher mileage. Summer can't last forever, after all. We're forecast for temperatures close to the century mark for at least the next ten days. We'll see. Might be a road trip in the near future as well, which plays havoc with my running schedule. I'm trying to prioritize my running days and hope to keep it going.

Travel Week

This past week I had to go to Austin for work. I didn't even take my running stuff since I knew I wouldn't have time to do anything besides work and evening outings with the team. This morning was a chance to get back into the swing of things with a temperature in the mid-70s with the usual addition of humidity. I ran 3 miles, which turned out to be the right distance for the first actual run in over a week. I'm optimistic, as always, that I can get back into the routine. I suppose I dodged a bullet these last few days since the thermometer climbed to the century mark a couple of times. We'll see how it goes, but we are most definitely in the dog days of summer here in Texas.

Just to Sweat

Today I walked 2 miles, no running. My goal was just to get out and sweat a little bit. Yesterday was a smoking day - pork, ribs, sausage, and jalapeno poppers. My goal for this session was to sweat out a little of the food and drink. With a temperature of 94 degrees and heat index of 104, I'd say it ended up being successful. Strangely enough, at four in the afternoon nobody else seemed to be out exercising. Huh. The one guy I saw walking got picked up by someone. Anway, I made my goal, even if it was pretty lame.

Four in the 80s

Ran 4 miles today and temperature had only risen to the low 80s by 8:15 when I headed out the door. It really wasn't too bad, with some shade in spots. I walked a minute per mile at the mile markers, as I do, and that helped. The three-minute walk at mile three was really nice when I turned the corner to head south and the breeze hit me full-on. That felt good. Lots of sweating. Then I came home and trimmed and mowed the lawn. Even more sweating. All good, though, and it felt good to get the running and chores out of the way before it got up to 99 degrees this afternoon. We're in the dog days of July and I'm going to take any chance I can to get out early.

Hell is Coming

The temperatures are on the rise and it looks like hell is on its way to north Texas. Today actually wasn't horrible, topping out at 98 degrees. When I ran this morning it was twelve degrees cooler, which now seems like a wise decision. We're supposed to hit the 100-degree mark next week for several days in a row. I did a nice, relaxed 3-miler today and overall felt good even though I didn't sleep well last night. Took too long to fall asleep and I started waking up off and on a little after five. Not my favorite way to spend a night, but to my surprise, it didn't affect my run as negatively as I expected. Hopefully I can get out again in the morning hours on Thursday. Don't know about Saturday, though, as I'm planning on a smoking day: pork, ribs, and sausage. If I start waking up early again I might hit the path; otherwise, I could push it to Sunday. We'll see how the weekend goes.

Out Early

I got up about seven this morning and quickly headed out for a run. It actually felt pleasant since some high clouds covered the sun for the first mile or so. And only 77 degrees on its way to 95 today. Seemed prudent to run early rather than wasting a few hours and getting caught in higher temperatures and humidity. I ran 4 miles and only walked two minutes at the halfway point. Lots of people out with their dogs today as well as some other runners and cyclists. I ran along the path by the big pond on the way out and then took the route back through the neighborhood for some variety and shade. 90 minutes afterward I've had my breakfast and am sitting on the patio with coffee and a morning cigar. Very relaxing and a feeling of accomplishment to start the day. Plus, I wrote over a thousand words in the book I'm working on. Not a bad way to begin a pleasant Saturday morning.

Long Game

Today was hot and humid. Looks like the typical Texas summer has arrived. 94 degrees with 104 heat index, and the forecast shows we'll get to 100 degrees air temperature next week. I didn't get out today until late afternoon and decided to ease into it. I went 2 miles total, with the first mile running and the second mostly walking with a brief interlude of running. I need to acclimate a little and this was the start. Not that the past few months have been cool, but running in July and August needs to be more thoughtful. Plus, I needed to mow the lawn and no use totally wearing myself out. I could have run more, but I'm playing the long game here.