Flooded Paths

We got a lot of rain this past holiday weekend, and in fact when I drove around on Saturday morning a number of parks were flooded. The path where I normally run was under a lot of water by the bridge on Hardin. In several places the water was rushing through quite fast. The "crossroads" on the path south of Virginia Parkway was totally under water, as were the soccer fields adjacent to the path a little further down. Today I went exploring, thinking since it's been a few days the water should be gone for the most part. It was, but it left behind a lot of mud and debris. I expected I wouldn't get my full run in, and in fact was lucky to make it to 4.5 total. In several spots I had to walk in order to keep from slipping in the thick mud, and veered off the path a few times to avoid the muddy sidewalk. When I came back across the bridge I tried the other spur of the path, which was actually a little bit worse. I'm hoping by the time I get back in town it's cleared off, and it helps there's no more rain in the forecast.

Solo Turkey Trot

The local turkey trots were too expensive this year, and so I went on my own this morning. I was waffling on whether or not to go for a run, but when I stepped outside and the temperature was in the 60s I knew I couldn't pass up a day like this. Since it's a holiday I also figured the traffic wouldn't be too bad and so I tried a different route. Rather than running on the trail toward the dog park I stuck to the surface streets, and I was right - the traffic coming out of the side streets was minimal.

I ran south on Lake Forest, west on Eldorado, north on Ridge, and then east on Virginia back to the neighborhood. The wind came out of the southeast and actually felt good since the humidity is up a little. It was a nice exploratory outing that ended up about 6.2 miles. I cut corners on both ends of Ridge, which probably would have made it just a tiny bit longer. I also walked about a minute on Virginia. All in all it was a nice outing and I'm glad I got off my butt to do it.

Tuesday Afternoon

I intended to get up early and run before work. Even laid out my long pants and long-sleeved shirt since the temperature was supposed to be in the 40s. Unfortunately my laziness took over once again and I reset the alarm clock. The good news is that it worked out fine because this afternoon I had time to run before the sun went down. The day was overcast and a little breezy, but otherwise fine since the temp was in the low 60s. I ran my usual 6 miles and it went well. Not too many people out, surprisingly, but since school is out for the week maybe they're all getting their exercise done earlier in the day.

The Wind in Texas

The FVRP came over this morning and we ran 6 miles in a blustery wind. It reminded us of the Big D Marathon several years ago when we endured similar temperatures (in the 40s) and high winds. That was not one of our favorites, btw. This time we took it quite slow, and especially for the FVRP since it was his first six-miler in quite awhile. Overall we felt good, and it was nice to have the wind at our backs up the big hill on Lake Forest. I need to keep up the running as holiday season approaches. And beyond.

Better Run

Today I was going to run at lunch again for the second day in a row, but a series of late-scheduled calls postponed my outing until late afternoon. That was fine because it was a beautiful day, sunny and 65 degrees. It was breezy but not too bad. Today's run went much better than yesterday. My Nike app is behaving oddly and not playing music when I start, so I just went with it and went with silence for the first half, thinking music would motivate me during the latter part of the run. I was right. When the music kicked in at after mile three it helped get me through the doldrums, such as they were. Not sure if running 6 miles two days in a row was the best idea, but at least it was a good run.

Lunch Run

The past couple of days have been rather wet, but that's all pushed off the east now and the sky is blue. However, it was quite chilly this morning, and I decided to wait until midday for my run. I went 6 miles and let's just say it wasn't my best run ever. I walked three times, one of which was up the big hill on Lake Forest, but I went an extra .13 miles so I think I made up for it a little bit. Nevertheless, my legs felt sluggish and for whatever reason I didn't feel 100%. I'm planning on running again tomorrow, my normally scheduled day, and I think it will be lunch or later again.

Yesterday

Ran 6 miles on Saturday, along with the FVRP who ran 5. It was nice, overcast but with a great temperature for running. Plenty of people out by the time we hit the trail at 9:30 or so. I still need to rein in the diet and get my weight down.

Another Interlude

My running pattern seems to be full of gaps since moving to Texas, but hopefully this is the last one for a while. This time it was definitely planned. Spent the weekend on a guys' getaway in SE Oklahoma and had a great time. I could have run on Tuesday after returning home Monday, but decided I needed sleep more than exercise. And I was right since I slept nine hours Monday night.

I set out today with fresh legs into sunshine and mild temperatures. And by set out, I mean I set out too fast. I knew it and kept trying to rein it in, but it took until the fourth mile to get my pace under control. The first mile was 9:20, and then I went 9:38, 9:29 (still too fast), and finally 9:51, 9:54, and 10:07. I much prefer negative splits, but in this case I'm happy with getting slower. It really was a gorgeous day, though, and I didn't feel horrible at the end. I suppose that's something.

Light Again

Thanks to our idiot government overlords we had a time change again this weekend, which had the effect of making the day lighter when I go out for a morning run. I left at 6:15 and it was almost light. Of course that won't last long, and I don't like the early evening darkness. For 6 miles this morning it was okay, though. The run felt fine and a decent number of people were out enjoying the mild weather. Good for them, and good for me.

Buddy Run

The Formerly Virtual Running Partner (FVRP) came over this morning at 10 and we went 6 miles on an overcast Saturday. He went 5 or so, with some bits of walking thrown in as he's building his back up. It was quite humid because of the rain the past few days.

Apparently there was a race somewhere along the route because we saw a couple of groups of girls monitoring, and on our way back one group was packing up and gave us their last two bottles of water.

We also passed a group of 7-8 women running with a tall guy, and as we passed they saw the FVRP's shirt, which was a tech t from last year's marathon in Tulsa. They told us that's what they're training for and this was their last long run. I didn't tell them about how I had a great 20 miles at that race - no use bringing them down. I wished them a good time in Tulsa when I passed by again on the way back from the turnaround.

This was also my first time using the arm strap for my iPhone. Not sure how I like it yet. It didn't irritate me in any way, but it did mist up a little inside due to the humidity and a slight bit of mist during part of the run. Also, The Wife called about 1.5 miles into the run and I wasn't sure if it had paused my run because the music stopped playing. It was a little awkward fumbling with the phone to get the run going again. It was probably because I had the phone locked. I'm sure it would have been just as much of a pain taking the phone out of my waist holder. I went to the arm strap because the belt holds my shorts in place and seems to cause chafing I didn't experience before, even with Body Glide. Hopefully next time is a little better. I certainly don't expect a call at 7 a.m. on my next run.

Lunch Run

I planned to skip the early morning run today and go out at midday since my schedule worked out favorably. The Formerly Virtual Running Partner wanted to go out to lunch, so I said let's run and then go out. And we did. He's still recovering from plantar and some shin issues, so we ran 3 miles and called it good. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sun shining and pleasant temperatures. If Texas was like this all year you wouldn't have enough room for all the people who would live here.

Dark Run

I ran yesterday morning, the usual 6 miles, but forgot to post about it. Since I went out at 6:15 a.m. it was pretty dark, other than the illumination from the full moon. It was nice and peaceful. By the time I finished it was still dark, but had lightened just enough so I could stop using my hand-light (it's not a head light any more). BTW, that thing has been useful - I used it for grilling brats and sausages last night at about 7:30, which was again in the dark.

Back to the run - it was nice and I felt good afterward. I should have gone running on Saturday. We had rain in the area but it wasn't thundering and there were enough gaps where I could have gone. Instead I spent most of the day cleaning out the garage. Then on Sunday we went geocaching, which was our first experience with that activity. I stepped on the scale this morning, which I rarely do, and I'm up to almost 170. That's a clear sign I need to stop being lazy and get back to running and exercising regularly.

Before the Rain

Rain is forecast for the next four days or so, which was enough to motivate me out the door this morning. Without that push I might not have made it. I'm hoping the time change in another week will help, but this is the first time I've ever run regularly in the mornings, and it's been tough. I hope I can keep it going all winter long.

This morning I ran my usual 6 miles. From the start I noted it was more humid as the storm front pushes in from the west. For the most part I kept my speed reined in so as not to poop out later in the run. I ran a couple of intervals at miles 2.5 and 3.5, and I started the last at 4.5 but ended up slowing down. Still, that mile was only seven seconds slower than the previous one. I walked up the big hill on Lake Forest, but overall I feel pretty good about the outing. We'll see how it goes on Saturday and whether or not I can get out for a nice enjoyable run in the rain.

Lazy

The past week was not a good one for my exercise habits. I'd like to blame it on getting ready for Mom's birthday party and other factors, but the truth is that as the sun rises later each morning I'm having trouble getting myself out of bed. In summer there's plenty of motivation to get up and out before the day gets hot, but not so much on the mornings where it's still dark and getting cooler. At least this morning I broke the string and made it for a 6-miler. It was a decent run, not my fastest, and I kept away from speedwork this time. Here's to getting back in the groove.

More Speeding

This morning I thought I was going to have to turn around before I even made it one mile. On Sunday afternoon I played ball and frisbee with the kids. The baseball was mainly playing catch, and then throwing some BP to The Boy with a moderate amount of fielding. Apparently those movements, at my age, can wreak havoc on knees. I felt it a little yesterday when I did my leg exercises, and again today when it felt like my whole left side, knee and hip, was out of whack. I walked for a few steps, then picked it back up again. A few minutes later I felt the same thing, and this time I sped up a little. It seems when your body takes over with muscle memory that you stop thinking so much about the details - and it worked.

The rest of the 6 miles went according to plan, except when I dropped my head lamp at the turnaround and the batteries popped out. Nevertheless I was able to get it put back together and made it home with speedups at 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5. Once I got past the initial issues it was a fine run. Almost too cool, and I wondered why I hadn't put on a long-sleeved shirt before I left. No need, though, since it warmed up by the time I was finished.

Five Good Miles. Too Bad I Went Eight

I knew as I was running that my pace was a little too fast, and I kept trying to rein it in. Through five miles I was at about 9:15/mile. I wasn't sucking wind or anything, but it was enough to make me walk a little bit at 5 1/2 miles, and again at 6 1/2, and finally up the big hill on Lake Forest. At least the first part was good. It's a beautiful day, with moderate temperatures and the trace of a breeze. And lots of sun. Plenty of people were out enjoying the morning, and I can't say I blame them. I wish it could be this nice all fall and winter.

Another Good One

Today I kicked up the speed for a tempo run, from miles 2 to 5. According to the Nike app my fastest portion was miles 4-5 at an 8:50 pace. The overall pace was 9:37, which is not bad considering three of those miles were at a comfortable pace. With the lower temperatures I suppose I can get back to some faster running. It was a little humid today, but not horrible. Also, last night was the first night I can remember in a long time where I slept straight through until the alarm clock rang. Usually I'll wake up at some point, whether briefly or for an extended period. When this happens I have to make sure I note it - it's rare.

More Speed

I ended up not running in San Antonio. We were in a pretty industrial part of the city and there wasn't any place close by to run. I did get in a lot of walking though, around Lackland and in downtown San Antonio. So much walking on the base that I don't think I missed out on much by not running.

Yesterday was back to normal. I was going to run Monday morning but ended up awake during the night for a couple of hours, so I cancelled the alarm. Tuesday was better, and the temperature was almost perfect, in the mid-50s. It was great! I did the same workout as last week with three intervals, and recorded my fastest mile yet, according to the Nike app. It was something like 8:42/mile, which is kind of sad and funny at the same time. Sad because I've run much faster than that in the past, and funny because I only ran fast during half of that mile. Guess that leaves room for improvement.

Speeding Up

I skipped Tuesday morning's run since we're going to be out of town for a few days and I decided it was better to run on Wednesday. That way in case I don't get out while in San Antonio the gap between runs will be a day less. I also decided that putting in some speedwork would be a good thing. To that end during today's 6-miler I threw in some uptempo intervals at the 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 marks, for a half-mile each time. My fastest mile was the last of those, at an 8:57 pace. That means I must have been around 8 minutes for the interval portion since the other half of that mile was probably in the high 9's.

As usual, it was nice to stretch it out after such a long time without any speed. We'll see if I can sneak away for a run this weekend.

Post-Super Blood Moon

Last night we had some high clouds, and our view of the Super Blood Moon was not very clear. We could see enough to tell the eclipse was occurring, and caught a hint of red, but it was all blurry. Guess we'll have to wait another 18 years to see it in focus.

This morning I ran 4 miles, listening to the first Hootie and the Blowfish album. That brought back some memories. I often criticize the 90s for being such a crappy decade for music, but at least there was one good album that came out of that decade. Since I was running a short distance I slept a half-hour later than normal and left the house at 6:45 a.m. It was light enough by then and I didn't have to use my light. Tomorrow we will return to our normally scheduled time.