For Whom the Dogs Bark

60F, 80% humidity, wind NE 5 mph.  Very nice morning out there; the wind was a lot more than 5 mph but I didn't mind.  I am already acclimated to the heat to the point that my hands were actually cold at 60F.  (I know it opens me to all kinds of ridicule for saying it, but this is a bare-your-soul blog and the truth must be told.)  

So yesterday I finally threw away my old heart rate strap in disgust and got out a new one that came with the replacement Garmin I ordered last year.  It never worked before, which is why I had been using the old one.  Against my very nature, I surreptitiously pulled out the directions.  Even though every Y chromosome was clanging the alarm, I perservered.  In between looking over my shoulder to make sure nobody was seeing me cheat, within three minutes I found the magical word "sync", and I was on my way, the new strap is perfectly fine.  Of course I have a yet-newer one on its way from Amazon.com.  In my typical ready, fire, aim MO, I ordered the new one before sitting down to figure out the problem with the mothballed one.  So pretty soon I am going to be long on heart rate straps and CR 2032 batteries, in case anybody needs either.

Oh yes, I ran today.  I got up early for about 6.5 at low heart rate, then did the seminary run and came back to finish the run run.  I warmed up for about a mile and a half, taking care to do it very gradually unlike last week, then eased into 4 GMP miles, 7:37 (153), 7:30 (157), 7:37 (160) and 7:28 (166).  Looks like I eased into them a little too gradually, but close enough.  Would have preferred the 166 to be 156, but OK for now.  I am hoping that this will be a sustainable workout for the next few weeks, maybe even up the GMP miles to 6 or 7 if things are going well.  Did a cool-down mile at about 8:44, overall 13.08 miles in 1:57:12, average 8:58 per mile.

Hope everybody has a nice week.

63F, 71% humidity, wind ENE 6 mph.  Good running weather, not quite as cool as yesterday but not bad at all.  Same routine, ran 6 before the seminary run then came back and went out again.  My right foot was acting up a little, so I did two transition miles instead of 1 or 1.5.  The MP miles were 7:23 (152), 7:30 (155), 7:30 (159) and 7:29 (163), so I got 3 of them under 160 today.  The slow miles were also good, averaged 9:33 and even got a 9:14.  Overall, 13.00 miles in 1:54:17, average pace 8:48 per mile, flat shoes.  Good run, keeping an eye on my foot though, it didn't recover quite enough overnight.  If it persists I may have to switch back to regular-weight shoes for a few days, which I hate to do.  It throws off my form and the slower speeds put me in a funk.  But it is hard doing flat shoes every day, too many years of civilization, takes a while to make the switch.

54F, 83% humidity, wind N 7-10 mph.  Wind felt heavier than that, but at this temperature I was in a forgiving mood.  By Saturday it will be hot again.  Feet didn't feel too bad when I got up this morning, so strapped on the flats again and it worked out OK.  Ran 6.37 miles in exactly 1 hour at low heart rate, including a 9:08 third mile, and an average of 9:28, both my best so far.  It would be way cool to get down to BQ pace at LHR, that is probably still at least a year away though, if it happens at all.  Did the seminary run and went back out again (hard for me to go back out, I need to suck it up and just do it), two warmup miles then 4 at GMP accelerating to tempo speed:  7:44 (151), 7:23 (157), 7:14 (163) and 7:04 (170), then an active cooldown mile at 8:27.

46F, 90% humidity, wind NNE 3 mph, clear and crisp.  Excellent running weather this morning, undoubtedly the best we will have until fall.  Same routine, I am right on the edge of cutting back or switching over to regular shoes, but went with the flats again today.  It was OK until I went out for the second half, literally 1.5 miles before heel/Achilles pain went away, it is hard on injury zones to stop and then re-start the run.  But it did go away finally, so I was able to speed up and do my fast splits on schedule, 7:37 (151), 7:27 (156), 7:31 (159) and 7:15 (165).  Would really like to up these to 6 or 7 a day, but I am afraid right now I can't sustain that -- everything works fine except for my right foot, would be great to be able to figure that one out.  Why that foot and not the other one?  Actually, I think I know, it is where I still have the numbness from my herniated disc three years ago and somehow the nerve damage translates into joint/tendon/ligament damage -- either that or my gait changes to compensate and puts more stress on that foot.  One way or the other it is related; golf is a dangerous sport when you have a swing like mine.  LHR miles were also good, average pace 9:32, overall 13.08 miles in 1:55:01, average 8:49 per mile. 

60F, 90% humidity, calm then freshening ESE wind, foggy.  Pretty good running weather.  Did it backwards today, 2 mile warmup then 4 miles at GMP:  7:29 (152), 7:17 (157), 7:23 (163) and 7:09 (167), active cooldown for 1 mile then did the seminary delivery.  45-minute break altogether.  Then the thought on the second run was to compare LHR pace to earlier in the week.  Turns out it was about 20-25 seconds per mile slower than doing the same miles on the front end.  After a couple of miles my legs were warmed up again and I felt pretty good, even got a 9:29, had extra time so I kept going for a few extra miles.  Toward the end my LHR pace slowed into the 10:20 range.  Overall 16.06 miles in 2:29:17, average pace 9:14 per mile, flat shoes.  Right achilles is sore now, but no worse than yesterday.  Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow, kind of day-to-day right now.

68F, 94%, ESE 5 mph to start, 70F, 88% and calm at the end.  Nice summer running temperatures.  Ran 21.34 miles in 3:22:29, average pace 9:28 per mile, flat shoes.  Left the house at 4:30 and ran to Wade's house, met him there and we continued to the Y, all at low heart rate pace, managed to hold LHR through 8 or 9 miles.  Met the group at the Y just as they were leaving and we ran with them for 4 or 5 miles then ran back to Wade's house where I re-filled my water.  Then continued on my own, accelerating into 3 MP miles, 7:57 (154), 7:36 (167) and 7:30 (173).  Very difficult for me this morning in the heat and at the end of the run, thought I could do 4 but couldn't.  But I know what I have to do on long runs now, the end is where the secret sauce is.  Ran a couple of recovery miles, came home, ate breakfast, iced my Achilles and took a nap.  Almost mobile again this afternoon, but very glad tomorrow is a rest day.  Headed to Temple to see my granddaughters and watch my daughter in a piano concert tonight, then to San Marcos tomorrow to visit my other daughter and then to San Antonio for an off-site Monday and Tuesday, so I will have to figure out new running trails while I am there.  Happy weekend all.