For Whom the Dogs Bark

48F, 10.25 miles in 2:05:38, 12:15 pace, low heart rate. 

I had to start work early this morning, so I didn't get my run in until the lunch hour -- took my phone and blackberry with me but didn't have to use them.  Just like Mack's experience, running later in the day slows things down considerably for me, today it was about 45 seconds per mile.  I drove out to a bayou I used to run a lot last year.  Sure enough, same old speed.  Actually, this was a speed I would have welcomed only a couple of months ago for low heart rate running, so I'm not really complaining.  Got in some good base miles and my mood improved considerably as a result.  Didn't hurt that by noon it had warmed up a lot from this morning's 22F low.  No more cold mornings for a while at least, back to the old routine.  It was fun while it lasted.

30F, clear, calm and dry.  Also daylight.  10.63 miles in 2:04:39, average pace 11:43, low heart rate.  I finished up a work project at 2 a.m. and slept in a little before heading out.  It was pretty nice running in the bright sunlight without any heat.  My pace dropped quite a bit from yesterday as well.  Who needs sleep?  My legs are tired, though, should know in a day or two if I am ramping up the miles too quickly. 

33F, calm, wind E 4 mph, 91% humidity.  10.03 miles in 1:54:36, average pace 11:26 minutes per mile, low heart rate.  Finally back in the groove today.  As I was running I noticed the air traffic coming in low -- I live about 15 miles west of the airport and when the winds shift to the east we are in the glide path.  That's how I know the weather is changing, even though we are still 10 degrees below normal for these parts.  Much better to run here right now than in the Utah temperature inversion.  Y'all will get your revenge in a few months.

48F, light rain at start, steady rain at end.  10:03 miles in approximately 1:56, 11:34 average.  My Garmin went on the blink again, so I ran exactly the same route as yesterday and used the clock on my cell phone to get a time for the complete run.  I tried to keep it at low heart rate, so if my heart performed the same as yesterday I probably got it about right.  It actually felt a little harder for whatever reason, so I may have run too fast.  (I know that sounds funny at these turtle speeds, but I'm trying to stick with a program here.)

I will be running in Denver tomorrow, but it doesn't look like their temperature forecast for tomorrow is any colder than ours were over the weekend and early this week.  They expect 30F overnight, which for January must be warm for them.  Altitude is a different story, it always makes me work harder, and my wife has nixed turning the master suite into a hypobaric chamber.

26F, 21 wind chill, 8.54 miles in about 1:24:40, average pace 9:48 per mile.  (The Garmin lap counter got full about halfway through, I got an accurate distance but some of the timing is messed up on it.)  I ran in downtown Denver this morning, out the hotel door on Grant, down 19th to Sherman, then Sherman to a building that looked like the Capitol (?), then swung out on Lincoln a little less than a mile to a river and turned upstream for about 2.5 miles, then back the same way.  I ran past a golf course that said DCC, which I assume means Denver Country Club, then through an upscale shopping district and into an office park type area before turning around.  I was happy to find a good open route with not too many street crossings and in a safe area.  I had to get back early for a breakfaast meeting so couldn't go a full 10, but it was a good run anyway.  Felt strong, but I wasn't pushing myself very hard, still it is nice to have one of these every once in a while.  My left knee, an old friend, was hurting yesterday on the plane and I worried about it.  Still worried some, but it felt fine this morning.  Seems to feel better when I go faster for some reason, probably a difference in my stride.

48F, windy and rainy, wind chill 41F, out the door very early to run 20.23 in 3:31:29, a 10:27 overall pace.  It did this run a little differently.  I ran 5 miles at low heart rate, then thought I would try running 10 or 12 at a little faster than Boston pace, which is 8:35 per mile for me and faster than my last marathon pace by about a minute.  I kept up the pace for a while, but had to stop after 6.  Those splits and heart rates were 8:26 (157), 8:23 (166), 8:29 (171), 8:31 (172), 9:03 (172), 8:32 (173), for an average pace of 8:37, so I almost made it.  It was that 5th split that tanked my overall pace, and also the point where I knew this boy was not doing 10 of these today, much less 12.  I'll probably try it again in a week and go for 8 or 10, working up to this milestone a little more gradually.  Then maybe try for this pace for a entire half marathon which I am running in two weeks.  Whether I make it or not in the short term, I have enough time to get my time down this year.

So after bailing on the fast run at mile 11, I still had 9 to go.  Uh oh.  Death march to the end, starting out in the high 11s and ending up in the high 9s.  I'm not sure how much good I got out of those last miles, it was more a matter of principle.  I finished in just enough time to make some stake meetings at 9:00, but it was weird sitting in a suit and tie with quads still burning and a couple of sweat beads sliding down my back.  (Fully showered and hygenic, of course.)

P.S.  My son has a plan to get ready for the half marathon in Phoenix in two weeks.  Very simple, 8 miles today and 10 miles next Saturday.  His original plan was 8, 10 and 12, but last Saturday he got busy with a video game and then his friends called, so he revised his plan.  Disgusting, especially since it will probably work.  Last night he came home late under questionable circumstances, but I held back, something I am getting used to.  Instead I ran his 8 with him, it was actually 7.95 but close enough.  He thinks I am certifiable, but he was the one struggling.  We started out in the low 10s and ended up in the high 10s.  It wasn't like I was feeling good, but I could have held that pace for longer and he collapsed on the lawn.  Anyway, the point is that it was the thing to do, at his age parents don't get many chances to engage in memorable activities, and he won't soon forget this one.