Kerry's Running Blog

I felt a few aches and pains on Sunday morning as I was getting ready for my early morning meetings, but they were all gone this morning. I woke up about 3:30 thinking it was about time to get up and had a bit of a hard time getting back to sleep. Other than feeling a little extra tired starting out, it was a beautiful early morning  with the full moon and stars (the temperature was in the high 60's or low 70's). For the most part I ran  at a nice even pace for the most part, but picked it up as I got closer to home, particularly when I spotted another runner up ahead (who turned on to Cedar Hills Drive before I could catch him). Lloyd came around the corner about then and I ran into PN walking along the path and my neighbor Doug just as I was finishing.

Woke up just a little earlier than usual this morning. It was nice to just sit on the front steps and look at the stars before heading out. I felt very discouraged this morning as I found out last night that registration was closed for the Hobble Creek Half. I'd held on registering until it was close to my birthday (as an early present) just because I'd been spending so much on running and we had some other large expenses to consider. It has been one of my favorite races and I was really looking forward to it as I was moving into a new age group (and even had a chance to place for a change). I'll just have to find another challenge. Anyway, today's run went well. Eight miles a day is getting easier. 

Fairly good run this morning, even with a little less sleep that usual. Temperatures were in the low 70's or high 60's with some high clouds partially obscuring a nearly full moon. No hint of a breeze. My legs felt good, but I was a little concerned about some pain in my left ankle that  would come and go. There were times when I thought that I should cut the run short, but then the soreness would disappear. I finished feel strong and walked up to the house with my faithful home teacher who was also just finishing up with a run.

Slept in a bit this morning because I needed to take the day off to take our SUV in for repairs (we went to a movie last night and it wouldn't start when we came out). It was very warm and humid starting out, but over all I was feeling pretty good. Average pace for the run was 7:45. First mile (warm-up) was 8:25 and the other seven miles were 7:54, 7:34, 7:50, 7:47, 7:30, 7:15 and 7:42. Total ascent for the extended Kohler's loop is 682 feet and total descent is the same.

Warm, humid morning with temperatures in the high 60's to low 70's. Mostly cloudy with an occasional breeze. I took it real easy starting out, as my ankle and achilles tendon were quite sore. Within a couple of minutes, it didn't bother me at all. I'd had some issues with my ankle on Wednesday, but didn't have any problems at all on Thursday. After a good warmup I picked the pace up, but didn't want to push it quite as hard as yesterday. When I cross my lactate threshold (which equates to a HR of about 164), not only does my breathing get a little more labored (exhales are a little more forceful), but I find that I'm thinking only running. If I'm lost in thought about something else, it's almost always an indication that I'm below that threshold. When I go above 90 percent of my maximum HR, my muscles start sending a lot of hate mail to my brain and I usually have to repeat some mantra to block it out and keep myself going.

Ran with Laureen on our usual Saturday morning loop. We passed 49 runners and bikers along the way and found exactly 60 cents in change. A nice morning all in all.