7 Again

Yesterday morning was cool and a little breezy, but at least the sun was out. When I ran at about 8:30 the temperature was about 40 degrees. It got warmer later in the day, but I went to Ft. Worth for a basketball game with some friends. I went 7 miles again and overall did pretty well, although my right knee felt a little "puffy." It feels okay today but it did cause me to walk for about 45 seconds when I was near mile six. A couple of days off before the next run will help.

Worst Day Ever

It rained for about four days straight and I didn't even try to run on Tuesday. And then came the day I'd been dreading. The day my little brother died. He fought stomach cancer for six months and early yesterday it won. I won't go into all my thoughts and memories here, but in summary, it's been tough.

I had a bad night on Wednesday, clearly, and went down for a nap early afternoon on Thursday. When I woke up the sun was shining, surprisingly, and even though it was cold I went out for a 6-mile run. There was no catharsis, clarity, closure, or anything close to that. It was just a few moments to get out and burn off some energy. That was enough.

Enjoyable

Today it was in the upper 50s when I ran before lunch and breezy from the southwest-ish. I went 7 miles and felt good all the way, including up the big hill. Plenty of people were out but not as many as I would have thought, especially around the lake by the dog park. Nevertheless it was nice and I feel good, including the knees. I think it was the weighted blanket that caused the issues over the past couple of months. I wore my newer shoes all three runs this week and with no knee soreness I think I can eliminate them as the problem.

This Is How I Roll Now

Yes, it was another cold and breezy day. True to my word I went out for a 6-miler and remembered why it's not necessarily a bad thing to run in the cold. As before I was trying to find patches of sunlight to get that incremental bit of warmth, but it was late in the day and those patches disappeared into shadow. By the time I got home the sun was almost down. The hot shower felt pretty darn good.

Back to the Cold

Again, it's all relative when it comes to cold. But 45 degrees and a blustery north wind certainly does qualify here in Texas. I decided to wear my newer shoes again since I've come up with a theory on why my knees have been sore the past few weeks/months - I think maybe it's the weighted blanket we use during winter. For some reason I've noticed that soreness more when I get up in the morning and at times during the evening, so the past few nights I've been sleeping under regular covers. We'll see if my theory is true or not.

Anyway, I went 5 miles in the cold today and it was a pretty good run. Just like I said last week, I'm not going to let bad weather keep me from running.

This is the Type of Day I Expect in Texas

Today was so nice and sunny - 75 degrees. Yesterday would have been nice to run as well with a temperature about 10 degrees lower, but I was focused on smoking a brisket all day. The wait paid off and it was beautiful out there. This is typical Texas weather in February. I went 6 miles and enjoyed it all. I'm not foolish enough to believe that Spring is here to stay but I'll enjoy it whenever it shows its face.

Out for More

Followed up yesterday's outing with a 5-miler today. The temperature was 45 degrees but the breeze was a little lighter. I felt like my legs were a heavy about 1.5 miles in but was determined to tough it out. So I did, and the only concession was walking a mile up the big hill. Other than that I'm holding strong (two days' worth!) to my commitment. Actually, running in the cold is fine if you're dressed correctly. Especially after last winter when I couldn't run at all. It's nice to get some mileage in before the heat and humidity return. And they will.

Becoming a Wuss

The weather has been pretty cool, and for Texas, cold. However, I feel like I'm becoming a wuss. I finally got out and ran today, but it was far from optimal. The temperature was 44 degrees with a wind chill of 36. What I find sad is that when I lived in Kansas City there are many days, weeks, and even months where I would have killed for a day like this. It would have felt balmy. So enough blaming the weather. Time to get out and keep running. I went 4 miles today and even though the GPS messed up a little bit I know my markers. Hoping to run tomorrow as well to get back into the routine.

Running With a Nephew

Was in Georgia this week to see my brother, and on Monday I ran with my nephew. He's been doing cross country but hadn't run in a month. My dad had mapped out a course on their property, which is probably five acres or so. They said the route was a half-mile, but on my GPS it came out at .37 the first two times, .40 the third, and .39 the last. My nephew took off fast and later told me his motivation was to stay in front of me. Overall we ran a little over 1.5 miles, with a break after the first two laps. It was a cool day and I probably should have worn my mittens as it grew close to sundown. That was the only day we ran since he didn't want to on Tuesday. Something about being tired from the day before...

Sun and Breeze

There was a nice stiff breeze from the north today but at least the sun was shining. I ran my usual route and went 6 miles. It was a nice outing, and surprisingly not as many people out as I would have guessed. My pace was in the mid 9's, which is not bad for as inconsistent as my running has been lately.

Tuesday Outing

I went 5 miles on Tuesday and forgot to add an entry for it. I thought about going my usual distance but decided I'm still on the path to recovery. On Thursday it was raining and cold, so I skipped a day.

Missing the Snow

Yes, it actually snowed in Texas yesterday. Not enough to really matter other then inspiring a bunch of silly Facebook posts. However, it was still cold and windy throughout the day, and so I decided to wait until today for a run. I still exercised, though, doing strength and flexibility. Today was sunny and in the 50s with a breeze out of the southwest. I went 6 miles and felt good throughout. I did get passed twice in the first quarter of my run, but that doesn't bug me when I'm just trying to get out and do some recovery.

Better Than It Looks

The day was cloudy and looked breezy and cool, but in reality it was way better than that. The temperature was in the mid-60s and the wind wasn't that bad. Plus it was mildly humid - not summertime humid, but a little damp for this time of year. Probably because some scattered showers came through earlier. My right knee was a little sore yesterday, but I still did the strength and flexibility exercise. It felt fine today and so I went out and did a 5-miler. Overall it felt good, and as of this evening it's still okay. Plus I had Torchy's Tacos for dinner, and that doesn't suck.

Another Four

Hit the strength and core exercises pretty good yesterday, and even went for a walk with The Wife. It was nice outside, and today was even better. I blazed out at 4:20 (see what I did there) and ran 4 miles. Good sunshine, light breeze, and feeling up to it. Once again I wore my old shoes, and once again we'll see how everything feels tomorrow. So far, so good.

O.R.T. (Old Running Trick)

My knees have had that little bit of soreness that runners get. Over the last week I've tried some exercises for enhancing flexibility as well as muscle strength. I finally realized on Thursday night that I was missing an Old Running Trick that I've used before.

Pretty much anytime I've had knee issues it's because of shoes. My last couple of pairs from Asics have not been as consistent with what I've worn in the past. The previous pair has been too tight around the mid and fore foot, even with loosening several times, and the pair before that caused me some problems as well (too lazy to go back and look at older posts) So I used the O.R.T. and laced up this morning in an older pair. Muuuuch older. They've been my walking shoes whenever I need comfortable tennis shoes, and are probably 2-3 years old. The left one has a hole in the mesh just this side of the toes. My experience in the past has been that old shoes get me back into my natural gait. Today I went 3 miles and my knees felt just fine. The test will be in how they feel tomorrow.

2019 in Review:
In a word: inconsistent. Too many injuries kept me from races. Abdominal strain left over from 2018 to start the year, bruised ribs in April, bad back late in the year, and finally knee soreness to close out the calendar. I'm hoping to be smarter and avoid doing things where I could hurt myself this year (like riding a scooter on a wet street), and that needs to include strength and flexibility exercises beyond running. As I get older those are areas to focus on that I hope will lead to a better 2020 and beyond.

Mildness

It's been a nice week in Texas. Today's high was in the mid-60s, with some high clouds rolling in this afternoon. I see rain in the forecast for the weekend, but for now it's good. I did some leg exercises yesterday, and today felt good with both knees. I went 4 miles, trying to ratchet the mileage up slowly. Plus I really needed to get out and exercise after the relative gluttony of the past several days. I didn't gorge on tamales yesterday - but I could have. I think they're some of the best we've ever made.

Knee Skip

Skipped the Saturday run since I had some pain on the outside of my right knee Friday and Saturday. I went out today since it felt better but stayed at 3 miles. It felt okay but not 100% during the first mile, and my left knee also felt weak. I think I'm at that point where I need to get back to the leg strengthening exercises. I iced the right one afterward as a preventative measure and as of this evening it's not barking at me.

We did our Christmas celebration today since Daughter #2 has to work tomorrow. Got a new pair of running shorts, socks, and two short-sleeve shirts. Most of my running shirts are dark. These are white and lime-green which will help keep me cooler, or at least as much as possible here in Texas when summer rolls around again. Also got a new pair of sunglasses, and they are feather-light, fit nicely, and worked great on a sunny Christmas Eve.

Account Blow-Up

Went out this afternoon to pound the pavement after a work call on an account that was blowing up. It was about 50 degrees or slightly above, but chilly with a south wind. I went my 6 miles and the quickest pace was about 9:30/mile. Felt pretty good, and it was nice to get the run in before coming back to a full inbox and more conference calls.

December Chill

The cold has definitely seeped its way south and into Texas. We've been below freezing the past couple of nights and this one will be no different. It was in the upper 40s when I ran this afternoon, and at least the sun was out. I ran my 6 miles, and stayed to the eastern path on the way back so I could catch a little more sunlight. A little bit of a breeze from the north kept it nice and chilly for this December run.

Kidnapped

My run yesterday was sabotaged. My daughter and friends kidnapped me, under the pretext of going to brunch, and we ended up in New Braunfels instead at a Todd Snider concert. Plus some barbecue in Lockhart beforehand. What a day! By the time we got back this afternoon at 3:30 or so I was thinking I wouldn't get in a run. Instead, I decided that it was a nice enough day and with all the food I've eaten recently, including breakfast at Denny's at 12:30 a.m. after the concert, I needed it. So I ran 6 miles and it was actually a good run. Probably due to the carb loading from the midnight pancakes.