Outside Again

The snow has mostly melted and the sidewalks were clear again today. On top of that it was 62 degrees when I left work, sunny, and with very little wind. Again, one of those nice days where if I'd tried to not run then I probably would have hurt myself with the effort. At least this time I recalled my previous too-fast runs and went out at a better pace. Overall I finished with about a 9:35 pace for the 6 miles, which is fine with me. I looked at the Garmin a few times but mostly ran by feel. It paid off and I had a great run. Hopefully the snow is gone for good.

Reality is Cold

Back from my trip and back in the Midwest. Today's forecast was for rain and snow, with an accumulation between 4 to 8 inches. The rain was supposed to start at 4 p.m. and transition to snow at about 9 in the evening. The snow actually started right away a little after 4, so I'm guessing the pile of snow outside will be closer to 8" than 4". That said, I didn't much feel like running outside and being cold today. I stayed indoors on the treadmill and did my 6 miles while watching the very first Star Trek movie with the younger kids. Apparently they (the producers, not the kids) were very proud of their special effects. That movie seemed to try and split the difference between 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars and not being successful in either direction. The kids' reaction: weird. And they're right.

San Francisco

Went to San Francisco this week for work and was able to fit in a couple of runs. Which I have to say I was a little more excited about than the work, but I tend to be that way. Running is fun, and work...well, work is work. My hotel was about a mile from the Moscone Center, and I quickly remembered how hilly SF is. The walk back each day was about three blocks of steep uphill walking. The weather was decent, although a bit cool in the evenings. More about that later.

On Monday I set out for the beach. I took the Muni to Ocean Beach, and that in itself was an experience. I figured the Muni was like a subway, stopping at each station along the way, but no, it wasn't. The train functioned more like a bus, dropping off passengers whenever they signalled for a stop. There weren't that many people on the train, but after every stop the "Request Stop" light lit up immediately again. I thought we'd never get there. I suppose you get used to it if you ride every day.

Upon arriving at the last stop I disembarked and walked across the highway to the beach. It was an overcast day with a nice breeze. Ocean Beach was pretty much uninhabited except for a few brave souls. I'm fascinated with the ocean and large bodies of water, having grown up in the desert Southwest where we had neither. Dang, the ocean is big. I love the sound of the crashing waves and the sizzle as the foam sinks into the sand. The vastness of the water is impressive to see in scale with people standing at the water's edge. The path north started on the beach and then onto the promenade paralleling the sand. Lots of sea gulls but still not many people. I stopped numerous times to take pictures, and this particular run was more a mixture of stopping, walking, and jogging than a straight run. I walked up the incline to the Cliff House and stopped again to take pictures of the rocks just off the beach. Then I took a path to the Sutro Baths. The deck there had great views and the first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge towers. Then it was into the woods along Land's End and the trails leading east. The paths were up and down and definitely not made for bikes, with plenty of rocks and roots and stairs.

I finally came out on El Camino Del Mar and through a very nice neighborhood. I'm sure these homes are very pricey, especially given the location. Down some steps onto Baker Beach, where I went down closer to the waves and got some sea-level pictures. Then it was onto the Battery to Bluffs Trail, which is very rugged. By the time I was getting close to the end of it I'd already topped 6 miles on my GPS and felt every bit of it. I did a fair bit of walking on this part of the trail since it was so up-and-down and had lots of stairs. I took one wrong path at one of the batteries but quickly backtracked to make it down where I could cross under the bridge. Once on the east side of the bridge I turned down another dirt road that would have ultimately taken me to the path I wanted, but I turned back and found a quicker way. At that point the rest of the run was flat. I finally stopped running for good at the 9-mile mark and walked the rest of the way to the cable car stop. That was another experience in itself as I had to wait 45 minutes and the wonderful crews were clearly in no hurry. I realize now that it's not a good idea to count on the cable cars as reliable or timely transportation since they're made for tourists. As it was I stood in the darkening evening and the nice breeze and became progressively colder. The hot shower when I finally made it back to the hotel felt awesome.

Wednesday I took the aforementioned unreliable cable car to Fisherman's Wharf and headed west along the same route I'd finished with on Monday. This is the Bay Trail, part of which runs along the northern perimeter of the San Francisco peninsula. On this particular day it was misty and somewhat foggy. The rain never seemed to pick up much during the day so I ventured out, and lo and behold it actually stopped a couple of miles into it. This route skirts the yacht club, another fascinating sight that we didn't have in the desert. This time I navigated my way up to the Golden Gate Bridge and ran along the east sidewalk, stopping at regular intervals to take pictures. I discovered the buoy in the harbor below the bridge sounds off exactly every twenty seconds, and the effect was pretty cool in the partial fog. The tops of the bridge towers were shrouded in mist. Overall it was a damp outing that I totally enjoyed. I hoped to see some of the big cargo ships pass under the bridge while I was there but none did, maybe allowing to the fog. I ran back along the same path and ended up at 7.58 miles for the run. Then I went a few extra blocks to Fisherman's Wharf, where I grabbed clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, a bottle of water, and an Anchor Steam. All tasted great. Instead of going to the cable car nearest the wharf I went inland a couple of blocks and got onto one with a smaller waiting line. Again, the crew wasn't in a hurry but at least I had to wait only 15 minutes or so. Again, the hot shower felt great.

I totally enjoyed my outings in SF. It's a gorgeous area and the run across the bridge should be on every runner's list of things to do. The area west of there along the beach and the bluffs is now one of my favorite scenic runs ever. It's one of those things I wouldn't have done unless I was a runner. Getting out and seeing the sights is one of the benefits of running. Exploring a new area is fun, and unless I was a runner I likely wouldn't do so much of it. The work part of the trip wasn't so bad, but the running part was truly outstanding. Maybe next time I'll be able to share it with someone.

Garmin Mistake

Today was 6 miles in colder, windier weather than it has been this past week. I muddled through and found that I was still running too fast. My overall pace was 9:10/mile, way too fast for a long run. For some reason I've been having trouble slowing down these last two runs. It wasn't as bad today, but I consciously had to keep applying the brakes.

But that's not what today's main point was. After I got home I was going to charge my Garmin before the upcoming trip. When I put it in its cradle and plugged it in the screen didn't display the usual message saying charging is in progress. I tried a few different outlets with the same result. I decided to look up online how to reset the device, which I've done before but it's been awhile. I pressed the buttons as told and it asked me if I wanted to delete all data. I went ahead and said yes, which I had done the previous time. In retrospect I should have thought about it a little more. I haven't been downloading data for quite a long time because the program on the computer crashes any time it starts. Well, come to find out they had an update that solved that issue. I installed the update and sure enough the program started up with no problem. Unfortunately the last run it had downloaded from my Garmin was November of 2011. So I lost all the data for well over a year's worth of runs. Darn it. At least I have the record of all those on this blog, but it would have been nice to have a little more info in a different form. I'm not going to cry too much, though. At least my GPS still works and helps me out during my runs, which is the main purpose I like about it. Maybe I could have saved the data, maybe not. Chalk it up as just another lesson learned.

Mistake

I was just too excited for yesterday's run. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the mid-60's. It was one of those gorgeous days where the wind was breezy rather than overwhelming, the kind that's rare around these parts. I started thinking about this run the night before, and even left work early in order to fully enjoy it. So of course I started out too fast and had trouble slowing down the whole time. It wasn't until 4.5 miles into it that I finally slowed down where I wanted to be, and that was only because i had run too fast for too long and couldn't do it any longer. I finished the 6 miles without walking, though. When I slowed down to a 9:15 pace it felt like I was crawling, and even more so when I got to a 10-minute pace.

I saw a lot of people out, mostly women, as well as a few bike riders. Apparently everyone had Spring fever and needed to get outdoors. Next week I'll be in California and I'm looking forward to several runs there.

Wind

Today was quite windy, which in turn made it quite cool. On my way home from work I thought it would be okay to run without head covering or gloves, but I was wrong. In fact, by the time I headed out snow flurries were falling from the sky. It didn't last long, petering out within the first mile, but it was kind of cool to run in it for a few minutes without suffering a major snowfall. Because of the cold I ran pretty fast, finishing the 6 miles at a 9:11 overall pace. However, that included two minutes of walking up a steep hill against the wind. That means my actual running pace was just under 9 minutes. It felt pretty effortless, except of course when I was going against the wind. I felt kind of blah all day at work and thought about skipping a run, but it was also one of those days where I knew I needed to do it and kick some endorphins into my system. Overall it was a good run and the musical accompaniment from Mark Knopfler was top-drawer.

Run Before Rain

Today's forecast called for rain, which I mostly avoided. It sprinkled on me a little while I was out this morning, but not too bad. I was going to go 8 miles but stopped at 6 because I felt like it. Sometimes that's just the way it is. I dug into some past podcasts for my accompaniment today and it was enjoyable. I saw several other people out running and biking even though the weather wasn't that great. I think they were trying to get their routine done before it started raining steadily in the afternoon. In fact, when I went out late in the afternoon I did see a couple of people running in the drizzle. Guess they didn't have the chance to run in the morning, and I know what that's like. God bless 'em for persevering.

The Melt Show

The snow has been melting slowly as the week goes by, and chances are looking good for even further melting over the next two days as the temperature climbs into the 50s. I considered running on the treadmill but decided I would rather be outside. It was sunny and a little breezy. Snow gummed up the sidewalks at times but I was able to run or walk around it. At one point I felt like I was running some intervals because I ran in the street until a car showed up in order to get past snowy sidewalks. I found enough dry concrete to run a full 6 miles. Hopefully on Saturday I can run outside without having to trudge through snow. One other good thing was that I kept the uppers dry on my shoes. I was afraid I'd end up running with cold, squishy footwear but managed to avoid that. Along with some good news toward the end of the work day I had a pretty good day.

Snow Remains

I ran 7 miles on the treadmill today because there are big piles of white stuff still infesting the city. Seriously, it's going to be a long time before it goes away. If not for the treadmill I'd be stuck doing nothing and losing what level of fitness I have. The TV also helps. Eventually I'll get cabin fever and go running outside before I should, but for now I'm okay. Pay no attention to that twitch.

Change Up

It was another run on the treadmill today since that darned snow is still piled high all over the city. Rather than just go for a straight run I decided to change it up and make it a fartlek run. I did a 2:30-3-4-3-2:30 pattern and pumped up the pace from 6 miles/hour to 7.5 miles/hour. In the measurements used by everybody but the people who make treadmills, it was from a 10 minutes/mile pace to 8:30 minutes/miles. Overall I went 6 miles and felt good the whole way.

So why do treadmill manufacturers make their equipment with the measurements that way? It makes us have to do math, but that can't be the reason. Maybe it's for the more casual users. Or maybe the common man (and woman) is more easily capable of figuring out that type of system as opposed to those of us who live and die with pace and trying to hit a certain number. It's annoying, but it's what I would call a 21st-century First World problem. Kind of like the person who complains how when they use the remote start on their car and the seat warmers don't come on. Yeah, it's not really a problem.

Snow Again

I was right. We were blasted with snow last night to top off the snow that fell last week while away. It was enough to make deep piles on all the sidewalks and roads. Which means I ran on the treadmill for 5 miles. Sigh.

Last Run Outside

One more run in Texas in nice weather before returning to the snowy Midwest. Today we ran another 4 miles in sunny, reasonably warm temperatures. I knew as we went that it could be a couple of weeks, at the least, before I get to run outside again. The KC area got a foot of snow a couple of days ago and now the prediction is for another 8-10 inches (at this point) for Monday. I thought I'd missed the big snow of the season but apparently not completely. Darn it. I need to live someplace where it doesn't snow.

Texas Again

Another good run today in Texas. Yesterday it was cold and rainy, and today it turned nice again. It was 52 degrees with no wind, or at most a little breeze from the south. I ran 4 miles again with the Virtual Running Partner and his ankle continues to improve. I'm especially grateful to be running in Texas since today snow hit Kansas City in what the weather sites refer to as a blizzard. Ha! I am so glad I missed that.

More Texas

Another run in Texas this morning, this time for 4 miles. It was a new route near Brad's house, through a nice neighborhood and even nicer lake area. The weather was a little cooler but that's okay, because it still wasn't as bad as home. The rest of the day was spent at the record store and playing penny can. It was a good day.

Texas Run

Today we're in Texas and the weather is outstanding. It's vacation time and normally I'd slack off, but I don't want to lose the training I've developed recently. I'm feeling good about my running and don't want to go back to ground zero, so I brought my stuff and plan to run four times this week. The wind was out of the south today but I didn't mind. All I brought to wear for running and shorts and short-sleeved Ts, which means it better stay nice. I went a full 8 miles today and finished with an overall 9:23 pace. Not bad for a long run the day after driving nine hours. I could get used to weather like this.

Valentine's Day Run

Meant to post this yesterday but got involved making dinner and such. The weather was quiet breezy from the north, probably in the 15-20 mph range. That made the last couple of miles tough and I slowed down a little, but still finished with an overall 9:05 pace or so. Not as fast as Tuesday's run but still not bad. On that run I was adjusting the volume on the podcast I was listening to and accidentally hit the skip button, which took it back to the beginning of the podcast. I couldn't find my place again but was able to finish it on yesterday's outing. I've mentioned Hardcore History here before, I think, but I'll say they're really good for a break from music. This was a 5-part series on Genghis Khan and the Mongols. Fascinating stuff, which I knew very little about. In fact, prior to this if you'd asked me what timeframe he and his descendants lived, I wouldn't have had a clue. Hint: it was in the years prior to 1260, at which point the unified Mongol alignment is generally believed by historians to have ended. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. It's a good break from music sometimes, and besides that it's just cool. Very much recommended.

Quick

I knew today was going to be a good run and I was looking forward to it from the time I woke up this morning. The forecast was for a temperature above freezing with little to no wind. For once, the forecast was right. The temp was about 42 degrees and the wind nonexistent. Right before I left work my running time was compressed due to having to pick up a kid at about 6 p.m. I started out quick and kept up a good pace for the entire 6 miles. My one hiccup was when I attempted to adjust the volume on the podcast I was listening to and accidentally started it over. I walked for about two minutes trying to get it back to the point where I'd left off and finally gave up. Overall I finished the distance in 52 minutes, which if I'm doing my math correctly works out to an 8:40 pace. It felt good the whole way.

Some runs are worth waiting for.

Fierce Wind

I should have run yesterday, but allergies kicked my butt and I thought the better decision was to take a nap. Today I had time after church, and I paid for the 24-hour delay. Yesterday was nice and calm, while today is very windy with some fierce gusts. My plan was to run 8. Instead I ran 6 and called it good. It was back to that whole level of effort thing. I actually walked a couple of times up some hills because the wind was just too much. There was one point where I even felt like I was going backward. Nevertheless I'm glad I did it. The sun was out and I put on some sunscreen even though it's early February. I suppose I should be glad the temperature was nice enough for an outdoor run, and I am. I thought about a treadmill run but chose the outdoors instead. Even with the wind it was a better choice.

Suitable

Last night and this morning it rained, but by the time I was off work the sky had mostly cleared. The sidewalks were dry excepting a few spots where mud had run onto the concrete. The temperature was in the mid-40s with a nice, stiff breeze out of the north. It was just suitable enough to run, and so I did. I was feeling blah all day at work, the result of that first feeling of allergies from yesterday, I'm sure. Oh, good. I was hoping that would start early this year. In my ongoing battle to never give in I ran 6 miles and it made me feel better, albeit colder. That hot shower afterward removed the chill from my bones.

I know my pace was about 9 minutes/mile even though I didn't have my Garmin. And how do I know? Because when I started to run I was listening to a podcast that had 57:28 to go, and when I finished it still had at least two and probably three minutes to go. I'm giving myself the benefit of the doubt because the last couple of miles was against the wind and the effort was definitely there. And to top it all off, I'm glad tomorrow is Friday, because I'm tired.

Weathercasting

The weatherman was wrong today. Again.

The forecast high was about 45 degrees. When I was on my way home from work the temperature readout on my truck said 56 and never wavered. I'd say the forecast was wrong.

The sun was shining and with a minimal breeze it was another great day to run. I'd felt congested in the afternoon and if today had been nasty I would have skipped the exercise. As it turned out, I couldn't not run (double negative intended). I ran 6 miles at a pretty good clip, probably in the 8:30 range for most of it. I'm guessing since once again I left the Garmin at home. Beautiful day, nice run.