For Whom the Dogs Bark

Back to the gym for the 6th spin bike session of the week.  Got 21.95 miles in one hour, previous high was 18.45, so I am starting to get some decent heart rates out of this.  MaxHR this morning was 183.  Depth of sweat puddle under the machine was 1.39 mm, also a PR.  Got my second warning -- they will probably refund my money and kick me out in a week, but I'll be running by then so it won't matter.  Traveling all next week.

85F, 85%, calm and partly cloudy for a 9:00 start.  I am recovering very slowly from my injury, so I decided to run my first mudder as a way of speeding things up, not that my doctor needs to know.  Back didn't feel too good but it seems OK.  A little stiff but not much pain.

The first task was to find the perfect shoes.  I rummaged around in my garage and found of pair of old jogging shoes that I used to run with Crockett through the night in the mud in February.  They were right where I shed them, still caked with East Texas mud.  Perfect.

Picked up Wade at 7:00 and we drove to Humble, about 45 minutes from here.  They had a kids run first, which turned all of the slopes going into the ponds into a slippery nightmare.  The biggest and deepest holes were right at the start/finish, so that all of the spectators could get a good show.  About 1500 runners trying to get through the holes at the start.  Wade got a good line and was considerably down the course before I made it through, not that I would have caught him today.

There were probably about 20 holes on the course, along with some scrambles up banks.  Some of them could be bypassed, many were taking advantage but I held the line for the most part.  About 1 mile in, an 8-year-old was feeling the heat and didn't like how his race was shaping up.  He was telling anybody who would listen that those guys up there were in front because they cheated.  I didn't take water and I ran all the tangents.  Precious seconds.

I never caught Wade, he said I was about a minute behind him, which puts me at about 35 minutes, a 5K PW.  I doubt that I ever got faster than an 8-minute pace, no idea whatsoever about my placing.  Hammed it up for the crowd a little bit in the final 3 holes before the finish line.  We got fire truck showers and my shoes are now clean.

There is going to be another one in September on the same course, I think I will bring my granddaughters.

80F, 96%, S 7 mph.  Got outside for my first morning run in a while.  Ran 3.46 miles in 32:46, 9:29 per mile, 146 bpm.  The high heart rate relates to both lost conditioning and very high temperatures for this early in the summer, basically 8 weeks out from the hottest week.  My back did not feel good, but on the other hand it wasn't getting any worse.  I went to the gym and finished off another 30 minutes on the spin bike, then did weights, came home and stretched.  Off to get an MRI this morning, then the chiro, probably won't tell him about my mud run on Saturday.  Looking for a substitute marathon, but it may be in the fall before I can find a flat cool one at low altitude on a Saturday.  (I only have a few requirements.)   No big deal, though, at this rate I won't be ready for one before then.

79F, 97%, S 6 mph.  My back felt stiff and sore when I woke up, with all of the sessions yesterday, but it held up pretty well during this run, the last mile was 8:03.  Overall 4.11 miles in 34:46, 8:27/mile, 154 bpm, 174 bpm max.  My heart rate behaved like this was a tempo run, and it was far from it.  Partly the heat, as I said yesterday, but that isn't all of it.  I have a "sinking" feeling that I am a couple of stones heavier.  There was a scale in my hotel room in Miami last week, which registered me at 163.  But I blithely attributed that to different equipment, now I'm not so sure.  But at least I am running a little, even though it isn't very comfortable.  Had to stop for about 30 seconds at one point to fix my Garmin, and it was painful to start again.  Another weird thing -- as I was eating breakfast I was watching my heart rate come down.  It paused for about 10 minutes in the 125 bpm range before heading on down, have no idea what that is all about.  Maybe I have the vapors.

76F, 96%, calm and clear.  Didn't run the last two days, was in San Francisco attending the U.S. Open with a client.  I got in very late Tuesday (2 a.m. Wednesday morning) due to thunderstorms in Houston, then an early flight out on Thursday morning.  Was curious how I would do because I felt good the whole time.  Walked the course all day on Wednesday which was helpful.  So this morning I ran 5.07 miles at 8:43/mile, 154 bpm, 168 max.  Heart rate is still very high but I'll deal with that later.  Did a ton of stretching and felt fine afterwards.

75F, 94%, NNE 3 mph, mostly cloudy.  Nice running weather this morning with a hint of a breeze.  7.10 miles in 59:45, 8:25/ mile, 158 bpm, 180 max.  I felt stiff and sore when I got out of bed, but it went away within the first quarter mile, haven't recovered completely but haven't felt this good or run this far in a long time.  I purposely sped up the last mile trying to hit 8:00, got 7:38 instead and it wasn't that difficult.  It's the new loose and limber me I guess.  I got an MRI on Monday but haven't heard results yet, I'll probably get them when I go in on Monday.  I can smell the end of this, hopefully I'm right.

72F, 91%, NE 3 mph.  7.40 miles in 1:05:22, 8:50/mile, 154 bpm, max 166.

7.55 miles in 1:05:16, 8:38/mile, 157 bpm, 176 max

71F, 93%, N 1 mph, clear at sunrise.  Ran 7.00 miles in 1:02:58, 9:00 per mile, right on target, but no heart rate monitor today.  I ran the first two days of this week then didn't feel like running any more.  At the chiro yesterday he dug deep into my piroformis, got my attention real good.  But I felt better.  Ate steak last night so wasn't feeling the greatest this morning, but went out anyway.  I was only going to run 1 mile but I kept going since things didn't seem to be getting worse (or better for that matter).  Eventually decided to go a whole 7 and managed it so I finished right at my doorstep.  I am becoming a little too familiar with the routes in my neighborhood.  When I got back I decided to keep moving, so I took my son's dog out for a walk.  (She is a border collie and has lots of energy.  I might teach her to run, but I don't think my wife wants her to become our dog.  Kind of a complicated parent-child-canine drama going on here.)  Then iced my back and I will do stretching at some point today.

80F, 80%, WNW 3 mph.  3.16 miles in 27:24, 8:40 per mile.  Shortened run was due more to work pressures, although I was also trying to be careful.

78F, 84%, N 2 mph.  7.00 miles in 1:02:52, 8:59/mile, 152 bpm, 164 bpm max.  Went to the chiro and told him I had been rolling my piriformis across a softball, trying to mimic what he did to me on Friday.  The guy is a little competitive I think.  He dug into it even harder, brought tears to my eyes, chuckled and said that is a little different than a softball don't you think?  I said yes sir.

78F, 88% and calm.  Ran 11.00 miles in 1:38:09, 8:55/mile, 157 bpm, 172 bpm max.  This was about all I could do with my current level of conditioning.  The sun came up for the last mile and a half and I melted like a popsicle.  Actually started to get nauseous, which was pretty weak.  My back hurt for the first 0.1 then wasn't much of an issue.  I took water at 4.5 and nothing further.  I have ice on my back now but it is mostly precautionary.  I think I have turned the corner on this thing but I'm trying to be smart about how fast I come back, although going from 7 to 11 doesn't look too smart, I know.

75F, 94%, SE 1mph.  10.00 miles in 1:28:50, 154 bpm, 165 max.  Felt good.  I think I'll do the same thing tomorrow.

75F, 95% and calm.  10.00 miles in 1:28:52, 8:53/mile, 154 bpm, 167 max.  Felt a little better today, but according to heart rate it was the same run as yesterday.  No two runs could be more similar.  Tomorrow is the first Saturday with the possibility of a legitimate long run, still trying to decide how far to go. 

Suspecting that heat and lack of conditioning didn't explain everything, I got on the scales last night, 165; back on this morning before the run, 164; then after the run and after drinking 4-5 pounds of liquid, including one water break during the run, 159.  Apples to apples it appears that I have gained about 5-7 pounds from relative inactivity in the last month, hard to believe I could put it on that fast.  I thought I was watching my calories more closely than that.  That is significant extra weight to be carrying around. 

77F, 94% and calm.  Another day, another 10, 1:30:05, 9:00 per mile, 153 bpm, 165 max.  Wasn't sure what would happen today.  I had designs on a longer run, but last night sitting in a movie theater my disk starting pushing against my nerve, to the point I was limping on the way back to the car.  (It was MIBIII, good movie by the way.)  Stretched it out last night and this morning and I made it through the run, intentionally pacing a little slower.  Tomorrow is a well-timed day off.  So no long run today.  This has been a good week, no sense pushing it.  I am still struggling with the heat in any event.  Better to ease into it over several weeks instead of jumping in the deep end like I had to do this year.

Then I took my son's dog for a walk and wore her out.  At this rate she is going to be my dog.