Humid Morning in Austin

Yesterday morning I got up early and went for a run with the FVRP along the river in downtown Austin. It was pretty mild as far as temperature goes in August, but the humidity made up for it. We went 4 miles at a very slow pace. Now that I'm back home I'm thinking about a regular run later this afternoon, but I'm also tired from staying up really late to catch the Spazmatics. We'll see.

And 5 on Monday

Traveling tomorrow and won't get in my normal Tuesday outing, so I decided to run this afternoon. It was 96 degrees and plenty humid, but at this point in the year I'm pretty well used to it. I went 5 miles, walked every mile as usual, and had a pretty good run.

I suited up with my phone so I could listen to my sister's first podcasts, and heard about 1 1/2 of them. It was really good, geared toward military spouses but with some life lessons that go beyond being married to someone in the service. I would have to give it, oh, five stars I suppose. 😏

8 on a Saturday

Lots of people out this morning, and plenty of dogs, too. Even the Cub Scouts enjoyed an outing along the path by the pond and up to Hardin. I decided 8 miles was a good round number and ran the whole way, with the exception of the big hill. The south breeze was nice when I was running in that direction, but beyond that it was a bit humid. The temperature was not horrible, about 80 degrees. I had thought about running an extra mile, but at the end the distance was just right. I followed up the run with mowing the lawn; emptying, defrosting, and refilling the freezer; laundry; and smoking some ribs. No wonder I'm tired. Time to crack an ice cold beer and lounge about the rest of the day.

Galveston Interlude and Bad Night's Sleep

Missed Tuesday's run since the family and I were in Galveston at the beach for a couple of days. Then I set my alarm for 6 a.m. this morning to run while the temperature was about 70 degrees. At about 2 a.m. I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep for about 90 minutes. After an hour of that nonsense I changed the alarm and decided to run later in the day, which is what I did. It was about 4:45 p.m. before I got out in 95 degrees and very humid air to run my 6 miles. I did the walk every mile routine, which worked pretty well. At the end of the evening I'm pretty wrung out, though, between the bad night's sleep and a hot run.

Humid but Good

For my Saturday morning run I determined to go 7-8 miles (I ended up with 7) because the temperature would be somewhat okay but the humidity...not so much. I was right. A reasonable number of people out but not a ton. My pace was around 11 minutes/mile, without walking until the Big Hill, but that worked to my benefit. My focus was running in the shade, and even though I felt like walking a few times I waited. A decent run overall and somewhat draining, but also what I would expect in August in Texas.

6, 97, 104

I decided to wait until later in the day to run given that the humidity early was going to be off the charts. I traded that for temperature. I ran 6 miles, the temperature was 97 degrees, and the heat index was 104. Honestly it didn't feel that bad. I had shade on probably half the route, and walked every mile. As usual I managed my run so that it turned out pretty well. I actually felt pretty good at the end, if a little bit sweaty. Okay, a lot sweaty.

Post-Rain

It's rained most of the past few days and finally broke today. I was smart enough to sleep late and run after work. The temperature was about 80 degrees and plenty humid, but a breeze out of the south helped. I ran my usual 6-mile route and saw a few people but not as many as usual. I went the whole route without walking and pace was just over 10 minutes/mile. A good solid run on a gray day.

Addicted to Running

It rained all morning and into the afternoon, and when I looked at the radar map and realized it wasn't lightning and thundering I figured I could get in a run today after all. I hit a seam in the storms and was sprinkled on only briefly just past a mile in. Other than that the 7 miles were humid but not too bad from the temperature perspective. Either everyone else ran in the rain this morning (riiiiight) or decided to forego the opportunity today. I only saw two other runners, both guys going around the pond in the neighborhood to the north, so I figure they were residents of that subdivision getting out while they could. The first guy gave me a big thumbs up, which was pretty cool. One of those runner things where we can appreciate the other guy's addiction and getting out on a day where nobody else does.

Kicking My Butt

This morning my alarm went off at 6, I got up to do what needed to be done to get ready for a run, and decided an hour-plus of sleep would serve me better. As I've said before, not really the time to make that decision. So I slept until 7:30 and ran 6 miles at 4:45 p.m. when the temperature was 99 degrees. I walked a minute after every mile until mile four, at which point I had a couple more walks of longer duration. Plus up the big hill. I estimate I walked a half-mile out of the last two, but I made it.

And then after I cooled off I mowed the lawn. Quite a busy afternoon that could have been much better if I'd just bucked up and run when the alarm first sounded.

Dog Day

Yesterday morning, a Saturday, was a dog day of summer. Not because it was overly hot (it didn't even crack the century mark) but because lots of people were out walking their pooches. One poor guy had a big dog that was barking at everything that went by and straining at the leash, but for the most part all the other dogs I encountered were well behaved. Which is why we don't take our dogs out like that - they would be the crazy barking dog. I went 7 miles on a day that was a little more humid than the past couple of weeks. It was a good start and I spent the rest of the day smoking a pork shoulder, bologna ring, and bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers.

Had some restful slumber last night but a good run early this morning. Once again it was "cool", about 71 degrees when I set out on the road for a 6-miler. Once again I thought the weather played toward a faster run, but as before, I was not really running any faster. At mile 3 I decided to up the pace a little bit, and at the next mile marker I checked in at 9:42. That was a full minute faster than the previous one. I settled back down to the normal pace for the rest of the run. I guess we'll consider that a mile-long fartlek.

70 in July

Here it is the last day of July and this morning the temperature was 70 degrees. Wow! It made for a nice run. I thought my 6 miles might be a little faster pace than the recent 11-minute miles, but it was only marginally so. I think until it really cools down and I get used to running fast again that I'll just plod along at my own slow pace. Whatever the case, I can't be too upset about this nice morning run.

Lucky in July

I got up about 7:30 this morning and found the sky overcast and the temperature about 82 degrees. It stayed cloudy the whole way through my 8 miles and I consider myself very lucky that this weather hit on my long-run day. The humidity also wasn't too bad. I was able to run the whole way without any breaks, again a benefit of the weather. For late July in Texas, well, I can't complain too much.

Another Good One

Got up early again this morning, even though it was tougher than a few days ago and the pull of going back to bed was strong, but glad I did it. The morning was marginally more humid than Tuesday but overall still not bad. I went the full 6 miles since the sidewalk was open again near the pond. Also ran the whole way, which is much easier to do when the temperature is 80 degrees as opposed to 100.

Little Humidity

Last week ended up pretty much being a lost week for running since I only got out once, but today was really nice. After a week-plus of 100-degree temperatures, it was only 77 when I set out at 6:20 a.m. The best part was the low humidity. I don't know how low it was, but this was the least I've sweat in a couple of months while running. Usually I'm wiping sweat from my face by the half-mile mark and frequently thereafter. By contrast it feels like I hardly perspired at all today. I went 6 miles along the usual route, and if I'd know it was going to be so nice I might have gone the hill route.

Heat Wave

This week I went to Austin on a business trip. Because of our schedule I chose to not even pack my running gear, which was the right choice. My first run of the week was going to be on Thursday late afternoon when we returned, but the temperature was 111 degrees. I decided to wait until this morning, which was once again the right choice.

It was only 78 degrees when I got out at 6:15 a.m. but plenty humid. I ran the whole way, although the sidewalk was closed near the pond and my turnaround point. I think the official total was 5.64 miles or something similar. In this case I'm rounding up - 6 miles. Close enough.

Lots of People Out

A Saturday morning, sunny weather, and temperature not as high as it was forecast to go. Plenty of runners, walkers, and cyclists out along the paths. Even the McKinney Trail Team guy was out and walking. I decided to go 7 miles and it went pretty well. I walked at miles 5, 6, and up the big hill. Once again thankful for a good breeze at certain points. I spent the rest of the day smoking a pork shoulder, so it was a very profitable Saturday in every regard.

Unintentional Speedwork

I was watching the weather radar this afternoon. At one point I thought my chance to run was past since there was a storm near Greenville heading west on 380 right toward us, with more storms trailing behind it. After about a half-hour of watching it I finally realized I should just get out and run as much as I could. I kept an eye on the clouds to the east, which was weird because that's not usually how storms roll in, and when I got to the 1.5 mile mark considered whether or not to turn back. The air was quite moist after an earlier rainstorm, but I've run through worse. Going to 2 miles out would add another 10 minutes to the run, and I decided I had time.

The way back was a little quicker with the wind at my back. As well as the threat of lightning and thunder. Mostly lightning. Thunder is just loud, lightning can kill. My last mile was probably close to a nine-minute pace, and right as my GPS beeped the 4-mile finish line a big drop hit me on the head. I thought that was perfect timing, but that was it. When I returned home and checked the weather radar again the storm had split and moved around us. Oh, well. At least I had a good, strong run with a faster pace.

Waiting Out the Rain

To be clear, it never actually rained at the house. The storms passed us by to the north and south. I sat on the back patio for a few minutes late in the afternoon, watching the clouds to the south. Plenty of thunder and a few strokes of lightning kept me from going out when I wanted. After about 20 minutes I realized the lightning had stopped, which of course meant so had the thunder. The weather radar showed that the storms were weakening. I hustled upstairs, threw on my running clothes, and out the door I went.

My normal podcast had a short 22 minute episode, and then one that was an update of about two minutes. With the cloud cover and lower temperature I was able to run the whole way, including up the big hill, and didn't feel like I wanted to stop and change my iPod over to some music. I was actually able to enjoy some silence and my own thoughts for more than half of the 6-mile run.

Guess I need to update the iPod. Who wants to run for 40 minutes with only their own thoughts to keep them company?

Ode to a Saturday Morning

Was going to get up at 7 and run, but it ended up that I woke up at 8 and then ran. I don't think there was too much difference with the extra hour since the temperature was about the same and the path was shaded in all the right places. Humidity canceled the benefits of the lower temperature but even so I only walked at mile 2, 4, and up the big hill. All in all my 7-miler was a nice easy run on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning. Now to chill for the rest of the day and enjoy the Texas summer.