For Whom the Dogs Bark

47F, 95%, ENE 4 mph.  Good running weather this morning.  I intended to do 5 fast, hopefully at about a 6:40 pace, but couldn't hold it.  Warmed up 3 miles at 9:00 average then 3 at 5K pace:  6:46 (172), 6:46 (178) and 6:54 (180).  Was going to run 6 more but my left foot was starting to complain so I quit early, trying to be mature.  My mileage is bad but that's how it goes.  Total 8.23 miles in 1:08:39, average pace 8:20 per mile.  One good thing, I could feel more speed in my legs than usual, I think the weights are helping a little bit.  Just need to sustain it, so I am OK with today now that I think about it, so long as my foot holds up.

54F, 100%, N 5 mph.  Really good running weather today.  My right achilles and my left foot were hurting to some extent when I left, mostly stiffness though.  I committed to stop if they got worse but they improved during the warmup and the pain didn't return until after I was done.  I warmed up 3 miles (9:59, 8:40, 8:20) then did intervals:  3 x 2 minutes, 3 sets, with 2 x 5 minutes in between the 2-minute sets, mostly in the 6:50 to 7:00 range.  Each cooldown was 2 minutes.  This is a pretty challenging workout.  If I did it 10 seconds faster I would be seeing ghosts in my side vision.  I'll probably try it just a little faster next week to see what happens, but I had all I could handle today.  The splits were as follows:  2:03 (7:00)(156 bpm); 2:00 (6:59)(159); 2:02(6:59)(162); 5:02 (6:59)(167); 4:00 (6:56)(166)(my math skills started to deteriorate and I only ran 4 minutes); 2:00 (6:52)(168); 2:02 (6:55)(168); 2:01 (6:46)(168); 5:00 (7:01)(173); 5:09 (6:57)(177); 2:02 (6:42)(174)(this one was fast for some reason; didn't feel any different and the heart rate for the split doesn't show extra speed -- maybe the Garmin was off); 2:03 (7:04)(174)(oops); and 2:09 (6:56)(173).  1 mile cooldown  Overall 12.03 miles in 1:38:50, average pace 8:13 per mile, HR max 182 bpm.  I liked this workout, which I made up myself (grin).  It is a good alternative to running 1K splits, although I like those too.  Both of them make me seem faster than I really am.  Strange that my 2-minute intervals were not much faster than the 5-minute splits.  I probably need to be more disciplined to run the shorter ones faster, but frankly I am not dying to run fast right now -- stuff starts to happen to my tendons and joints when I go too fast.

67F, 95%, SW 14-22.  Ran very early and finished before the seminary run, trying to minimize the split runs as I tend to get injured when I go back out the second time.  10.87 miles in 1:37:34, average 8:57 per mile.  My lower abdominal muscles are very, very sore.  I went out the door yesterday morning, ran to the end of my cul de sac and crept back into the house and curled up in a ball.  I was genuinely concerned about tearing a muscle if I hadn't already.  Felt somewhat better today, but not sure when all of this happened.  My left foot injury may have changed my form and might be causing a cascading effect.  My daughter thinks it is from running fast earlier in the week.  It is true that my core suffers when I run fast, so maybe that is it.

57F, 45%, N 19-29 mph.  Blustery, dry morning.  Got out late becasue we went to the symphony last night.  Despite the heavy wind, I ran better than yesterday.  10.17 miles in 1:29:26, average pace 8:48, heart rate about 143-144 average for the run.  Yesterday's heart rate was about 147 for an 8:57 pace, so I ran faster today at a lower heart rate.  Maybe the difference was the temperature, but my ab muscles felt better as well.  Seems like it is something every week, but at least it never lasts -- not yet.  I quit a little early to avoid cannibalizing tomorrow's run, hoping for a fast-finish long run.  We are going to Temple to see the grandkids.  We'll probably say hi to my daughter and son-in-law as well; she is finding a loop for me, in addition to delivering grandchild number 3 (boy #1) in June.

The symphony featured Beethoven's Fifth.  I have never actually been to a live performance of this symphony, it was memorable.  I told my wife afterward that I don't think any other musician compares to him.  The program led off with a very nice Brahams overture, and I would consider Brahams a top-five classical composer.  But it's like crayons compared to Beethoven.  I think he would have been a good runner -- he had no life and he loved misery.

29F, 75%, calm and clear.  Ran in Temple this morning, visiting my daughter and her family.  I slept in a little because there was no rush to beat the heat, and there isn't a good place to run here that is well-lit.  So I drove to Lyon Park (where I ran a 10K about a year and a half ago) and started running a little after daylight.  There are a couple of unavoidable hills but they aren't too bad.  Was worried about running in the country and meeting too many canine varieties, but they were all behind fences, miraculously -- they wanted a piece of me, though, the dog chorus was deafening.  The goal was to do a fast finish long run (12 + 6 + 2) but I didn't quite nail it.  Warmed up for 0.57 off the long-run clock.  I thought I could do 8:15, then 7:15, then 6:50 for the last two.  I ran 12 miles at 8:13, but when I dropped it to 7:15 it was quite a shock, felt more like a 10K speed.  I held on for 5 miles out of a planned 8:  7:19 (167), 7:14 (172), 7:18 (174), 7:12 (179) and 7:05 (181).  Did a short cool-down but didn't really have enough strength left to finish off 20 at any speed, and didn't see a point to it.  Not too bad of a run, but less than I thought I could do.  So excluding the wu and cd, total of 17 miles in 2:14:49, average 7:56 per mile.  Maybe I'll get it next time, I have two more of these before my next race.  Walking around today like I ran a marathon.