For Whom the Dogs Bark

46F, calm and clear, full moon setting.  A perfect morning for running.  Ran 10.17 in 1:34:41, average pace 9:21 per mile, flat shoes.  Ran the first 4 at 12:33, 11:32, 10:54 and 10:41, all low heart rate.  Started mile 5 at the same pace, then the thought of a whole week at Friday night's speed was more depressing than my fear of injury, so I sped up to 10K pace after about 100 meters.  Splits for the rest of the run were 8:09 (including jogging the first 100), 7:50, 7:57, 8:00, 7:51, 7:48 (178 bpm), average pace for the six fast miles was 7:54, or 48:59 for a 10K, about the same speed as I raced my 5K a few weeks ago.  Then I jogged in the stub split at 11:39 pace.  Not a very disciplined run, but it felt good to air it out for a few miles this morning. 

56F and cloudy, wind SSE 3 mph.  Good running conditions -- this morning the air was heavy and moist, it will be summer running conditions before long.  I ran 9.40 in 1:45:46, average pace 11:15 per mile, low heart rate and regular shoes.  Had to cut it a little bit short due to my daughter's school schedule.

I didn't run yesterday for a couple of reasons.  After Monday morning's hard run I felt fine, then developed something in my left knee as the day wore on, to the point I was limping around.  I felt better yesterday morning, but had to be at work at 6 and didn't get home until 9:30 last night.  I could have gone out then, but I still had some residual knee aches and pains and I knew I would be running this morning, decided not to push it.  So I missed a day.  The knee felt fine this morning, nothing at all.  This is probably a good week to cut back on miles a little bit anyway.  My two granddaughters are visiting for the weekend starting tomorrow, and they are going to want plenty of grandpa time -- grandpa too.  Their parents are hoping to buy a home in Temple, Texas, where my son-in-law will be doing his residency for the next six years.

60F, cloudy with wind S 13 mph, good morning to run.  Felt comfortable at first then hot.  Ran 10.14 miles in 1:44:00, average pace 10:15, regular shoes.  First three at low heart rate, average pace low 11s, then 10x400 with equal recovery intervals in between.  400 splits, corrected to mile pace, were 7:17 (155 bpm), 6:49 (160), 6:22 (168), 7:00 (167), 6:29 (167), 6:31 (169), 6:50 (171), 7:04 (172), 6:59 (170), 7:15 (172), then cool down for 2.25 miles at about 10:30s.  Progress, liked the 6:22 but not the 7:15.  On the last lap I tried to run butter smooth and it turned out smooth and slow, lots to work on form-wise.  I was happy to be able to run a second hard workout this week.

67F, wind SSE 10 mph, gusts to 21 mph, cloudy and getting ready to rain.  A great morning for running.  Ran 10.09 in 1:49:40, average pace 10:52 per mile, low heart rate and flat shoes.  Best low heart rate pace so far if my memory is correct. 

My granddaughters are in town from Utah, and my wife left with their parents this morning to go look for a house in Temple, Texas, where they are moving in a couple of months.  They took the younger one with them, but Kate and I are duking it out here alone for a couple of days.  So far she is winning.  I have painted her nails (sad but true) and raced her grocery cart on the back porch.  I lost that race but was able to get 0.01 VO2 max miles in.  Here is the winner with her groceries.  I think she needs to work on her sportsmanship.

66F, wind SW 3 mph and foggy.  Great morning for running.  Got up very early in order to get back before my granddaughter woke up.  Ran 18.56 miles in 3:05:07, average pace 9:58 per mile.  Did a 3-mile pickup at mile 12 at marathon pace, 8:48, 8:31 and 8:37, then 0.28 at the end at 8:25 pace, it was as fast as I could go at that point on wooden legs.

By the time I got back to the house my granddaughter was up, two hours ahead of schedule, eating cereal, ready with her to-do list.  That took the rest of the day, so I am late blogging.  She's gone now, not sure what I will do with myself today.