Friday, July 16, 2010

Another Day, Another Run

Distance: 2.78 mi.
Time: 33:44 min.
Pace: 12:08 m/mi.
Time of Day: 6:15 a.m.
Weather: 74°F Humid, yellow air day


Thursday's scheduled run was postponed till Friday. The heat index Thursday at 5:30 a.m. was already 87°F. Too hot for me to run in, especially since the weather guy was predicting cooler temps on Friday. For once he was correct.


I am reading a new book on running, Running Well.This book was highlighted in a weekly email from Borders and since I have this chronic sore left hamstring, I thought I would get this book. It focuses mainly on the mechanics of running and how to prevent injuries. I'm only on chapter 3, but so far I am finding it helpful. 


I used the warm-up sequence the authors offer. I'll give it a few more tries to see if it is more beneficial than the series of stretches I usually do. More importantly I used their stretching routine for after running. I think it was much better than what I usually do, which is the same stretches I use to warm up. All in all, I think the book is going to be a helpful resource in my library of running books, now totaling 3. 

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Changing Shoes

Tuesday, July 13
Distance: 3.04 mi.
Time: 37:36 min.
Pace: 12:22 m/mi.
Time of Day: 6:20 a.m.
Weather: 75°F, even more humid (Can it get any more humid?)


By the time I closed the front door behind me on my way out, I was drenched. But off I went and despite the sweat dripping from nose and running down my face I had a great run. (Yes, I had a sweat headband on.) I felt strong. My legs felt strong. The breathing was working well. 


I attribute the feeling better to changing my shoes. Sunday I ran in my New Balance shoes and felt better physically so I have decided to do my short runs in the NB shoe. Since this is a step back week I will be running in the NB shoes all this week and into next week. I will be out of town Monday-Thursday next week. I'm hoping to get to Fleet Feet on Friday, 07/23. Saturday, the 24th, I have a 6 mile run on the schedule and I probably will run in my NB shoes for that. Then start breaking in the new shoes the following week. 


The bottom line seems to be that I have retired my first pair of running-specific shoes. A Moment of Silence please.

Simple Pleasures

Sunday, July 11
Distance: 2.15 mi.
Time: 26:16 min.
Pace: 12:13 m/mi.
Time of Day: 7:45 am
Weather: Hot, Humid


I ran on the school track while The Love walked. It was hot. It was humid. I was sweaty. 


Near the end of my run a mini-van pulled into the parking lot and out tumbled a dad with his 3 sons. The boys were young, maybe 5-8. They headed to the ball diamond and "played" ball. 


It was Miles', the youngest, birthday. And because of that he got to bat first. It was so cute. After a couple of strikes he did hit the ball--right back to Dad who was pitching. But being a great dad, he let the ball bounce so Miles could run. "Run Miles. Run!", was the chant from the other 2 brothers. Miles, of course, scored a home run! 


As I stretched I watched the game. The Love and I cheered when the boys each got a hit. It was a great moment. I was so happy that I was runner. If I hadn't started running I would have missed this. 

Oh Man!

Saturday, July 10
Distance: 8.0 mi.
Time: 2:03:50
Pace: 15:29 m/mi
Time of Day: 9:30 a.m.
Weather: 81°F at start, 96°F at end. Again, very humid


A later start, no breakfast, and not enough water combined to knock me on my ass Saturday morning. It was bad. I started feeling depleted at about 3.5 miles. I considered turning around then, but heck, it was only 1/2 mile more to my 4.0 mile turnaround point. By the 5.0 mile mark I had pretty much stopped sweating and began to feel woozy. 


There is a highway overpass that provides a large shady area at about 2.25 miles from the start (5.75 for my run). I made it to that point and sat down at the picnic table. A cool breeze was an added bonus. My water bottle was empty, but a water fountain in about another mile would allow me to fill it up. I rested about 15 minutes and took off. I was able to run only another 1/2 mile or so before I was in trouble again. So I walked the remaining distance. 


A bad outing for sure, but I wasn't going to push myself beyond reasonable limits. I was wiped out the rest of the day. For the remainder of the summer I will set my alarm to run early on my Saturday long runs. 

Cut It With a Knife-The Air That Is

Thursday, July 8
Distance: 3.12 mi.
Time: 38:18 min.
Pace: 12:17 m/mi
Time of Day: 6 a.m.
Weather: 78°F, humid 


Samo, samo. Man was it hot & humid. A typical summer day here. 


I think my shoes are worn out. My ankles ached when I finished my run and the bottoms of the shoes are looking really worn. I will be able to get new shoes in a couple of weeks but I think I will switch to my New Balance shoes for short runs in the meantime. 

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

No Rest For Me

No running today, but I did do an upper body strength workout and my ab routine. Yeah for me!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I Don't Want To Run But I Will

Distance: 3.98 mi.
Time: 51:02 min.
Pace: 12:49 m/mi.
Time of Day: 6:15 a.m.
Weather: 76°F humid and cloudy


It was overcast this morning, but humid. A breeze from the south helped cool me all the way back. 


When my alarm went off this morning I was still so tired I slept an extra 30 min. At 6 a.m. when I usually go run, I was still feeling tired so The Love said, "Well, go lay back down," and promptly left for his morning walk. I thought about it for a few minutes and decided to nap on the couch. That lasted about 5 minutes before the guilt set in. I finally realized that I would feel better if I just went ahead and ran. So I did and yes, I did feel so much better afterwards. 


I think my shoes are beginning to wear out. I have logged 347.88 miles on them. Can you believe it? I can't. And they are not even 6 months old yet. (OK in 4 days they will be 6 months old.) Anyway, back to the wearing out issue. My big toe on the right foot is kind of sore and I can't think of any reason except worn out shoes as the cause. Plus, I'm down to literally the last layer of sole on my left heel. (There are 4 layers of rubber.) I wonder if my sore left leg has anything to do with the weird wearing pattern of my left shoe. I will have shoe money in  a couple of weeks. I'm excited to be purchasing my 2nd pair of running shoes! 

Hot & Humid, But Not Slow

Sunday, July 4th
Happy 4th of July America! I am proud to be an American and I love my Country!


Distance: 2.24 mi.
Time: 25:57 min.
Pace: 11:35 m/mi.
Time of day: 8:00 a.m.
Weather: 81°F with high humidity


Yuck! The humidity has returned in full force. 


I ran on the track while The Love walked. (He's doing great BTW.) At the end of my run I was hot, really, really sweaty and smelly. But mainly I was surprised at my pace. I felt like I was really struggling with the heat, but maybe it was just I was running so fast. (Well, fast for me!) 


I'm pleased that I'm not sore from my long run yesterday. Could be those Advil's I took. 

A Goal Achieved

Saturday, July 3
Distance: 7.91 mi. (I think it was a full 8 mi.)
Time: 1:47:11
Pace: 13:33 m/mi.
Time of day: 7:30 a.m.
Weather: 70°F at start, 81° at finish. Typical summer humidity.


Today I ran end to end of the Grant's Farm Trail! This has been a goal of mine for a while and even though I was scheduled to run 7 mi., I set my sites on the entire trail. The Love was so sweet to drop me off at the start and pick me up at the end. Isn't he the greatest? 


I did actually walk/run for about 1/2 mile around the 6.5 mark. But I was able to get back into run-mode, hung in there and finished pretty strong. I'm pleased with my average pace. It was a great run!

Catching Up Again

I got off track about blogging when I went out of town on business back on June 23rd. I was gone for 5 days and only missed 1 run. It was my long run that I missed though. But I'm back on track with my schedule now. 


The humidity had been just a little lower the last week to 10 days. It returned in force Monday. See the post about today's run.