Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

62F, SSE 13 mph.  7:53 AP.  Easy down to the track, then a 2x6x20 sec on the grass. That really felt good. I loved flying down the football field. Pretty much just ran goalpost to goalpost; these were not sprints, just vo2 max pace (maybe did 'em a bit fast, hard to tell). So it was very much just an introduction to the pace, a low-stress run. 5 min jog between the 2 sets, and easy run back home.

40F, N 29-45 mph.  8:34 AP.  Really had an internal debate on whether to go out or not.  It wasn't raining, contrary to what was predicted, so I figured I didn't really have an excuse.  Some of the gusts would cause my feet to hit each other and I ran with a nice, big lean on my east-west road, but it's done at least.  I don't know if you can call it running but it was something..

34F, 7:18 AP.  7-mile progression run and 1 cool-down mile.  Started slow and let the pace progress naturally.  Toward the end of mile 7, it no longer felt natural so I jogged the last one home.  Probably could have forced mile 8 down there, but I'm not ready for an "effort" yet; trying to do the whole "listen" thing more.  It'll be 2-3 weeks probably before those paces feel natural again, I guess.  I did well to pull the plug and keep it aerobic.

8:10, 7:51, 7:28, 7:14, 6:53, 6:42, 6:37.  cool down 7:31.

The progression run has kind of fallen off my radar for awhile.  I've also started a trend of positive-splitting most races.  Coincidence?

52F, NNW 17 mph.  no watch....whaaa?

46F, N 13-22 mph.  7:31 AP.  Easy, but with 6 x 8 sec hill sprints after about 2.5 warmup and a few drills that Bam prescribed.  Walking recoveries of about 2 minutes each to get a complete reset before each sprint.  Then 10-ish miles on the cooldown to get in a good run.

The drills definitely set up the sprints well, felt really good.  Actually, the entire run felt great.  Hopefully not too much longer until I've got the legs fully back.

45F with no wind.  6 easy, untimed miles this morning.  There was an angry-mooing battle between cows.  They would take turns giving a growling moo...I could hear them about 3/4 mile away.

My butt is sore from the hill sprints (in a good way).  Reminds me of the last time I did a hill-repeat session - with Mike in Baghdad in late summer of 2010.  My butt isn't quite as sore this time, thankfully.  But maybe I won't wait 2.5 years between sessions from now on.

55F.  Back to the track today for 3 x (6 x 20 sec @ vvo2).  5 min jog between sets.  Felt good again, did them on the football field and it's always nice feeling energized on the way home instead of depleted.  My butt's still a little sore, but couldn't tell while running so I figured I was good to go for the strides.

Plan for the rest of the week is a pretty easy progression on Thursday, and a 5k race on Saturday.

61F, SSE 12 mph.  6 easy miles.

I guess the big news is that we're moving to San Antonio.  I'll start the new job a week from Monday, and the family will join me later in the summer when we've got a house to move into.  Didn't spend much time here in OK, but this job was never going to work out - they paid peanuts, literally.  A handful of peanuts - not honey-roasted, not even shelled or skinned peanuts.  Anyway, hopefully this is a more permanent move (although it's another defense contract...sigh).  Running-wise, looking forward to less wind, but not looking forward to more heat and humidity.  Hopefully summer isn't coming up, I'll have to check a calendar.

65F, 81%.  7:42 AP.  Slight/gentle progression run, had one mile a little faster than MP.  Felt really sluggish today.  Amazing how hot it felt outside too.  I'm going to really suffer in San Antonio at first, until I get acclimated.  Then I'll just kinda suffer.

nothin.  Stayed up too late and imbibed/swigged a little too much.  I was lucky to get to work on time.  Note to self - stop doing this.

58F.  Great 5k weather, almost no wind.  Pretty good race, better than I thought I would run.  I'm in that post-marathon timeframe where you're not quite back yet, so I would have been happy with anything sub-19.

I started out in 10th or so, and moved up to 3rd by the end of mile 1, which I ran in 6:03.  The 2 leaders then starting coming back to be and I passed the 2nd place guy around 1.3 miles, which energized me.  Hit mile 2 in 5:55, putting me even with the leader who is a senior in high school this year.  He beat me last year in the final mile, and did it to me again!  I couldn't hang, and suffered through a 6:07 in mile 3, about 5 sec back.  I could really feel the lack of fitness...it'll come back though.  22 seconds for the last .06 miles, so the course was actually short this year.  I much prefer that to the long course from last year!  So, I won't count a PR, but I was a lot closer than I thought I would be.  Once I start doing workouts and recover the rest of the way from Boston, I should be able to start working on sub-18.  I really think I'll get there this year.

48F.  7:24 AP.  Really enjoyed one of the last great, cool running days remaining before it gets hot.  The second half of this run was at a pretty good clip, but still felt really easy.  Only 4-5 months of heat, I guess I'm ready now....91 degrees tomorrow afternoon.

55F.  6 easy, no watch.

59F.  Easy run, but with 8 x 8 sec hill sprints after the first couple miles.  Did some drills prior to the sprints.  They dropped a bunch of rocks/pebbles/gravel on my good hill, but there is another one close by that worked great.  I'll have to find a good one in San Antonio next week...

68F.  6 easy.  I saw a live armadillo today, which is unusual -- the normal ratio of dead to alive armadillos I see is about 10:1.  But I now know why.  As I was running by him, he didn't scurry away like the rabbits and skunks do, he just froze and stared at me as I ran by.  I don't think that technique works on a pickup truck.

Anyway, I take the live sighting as a good omen that I'm going "home with the armadillos" soon.

60F, 99%.  Headed down to the track for vo2 day.  I did 3 x (6 x 20 sec) @ vvo2 on the grass, with a couple easy laps after each set.  Then picked it up for 800m @ 95%, which I did in 2:36 (79, 77).  I saved a little gas on the 800m effort but was still working pretty hard; probably could have gone another 200m at that pace but that's about it.  It always surprises me how weak I am on middle distance efforts, but I guess it shouldn't...I've never trained for anything like that in my life, just kind of went straight to the marathon.  Well, the next 6+ months will be all about training more to those paces.  Looking forward to shifting gears.

65F, 100%.  easy, sticky miles.

73F, 94%.  No running the last few days...have a ridiculous throat infection of some kind, but am on my 3rd day of antibiotics now.  The past weekend was busy.  I'm in San Antonio now (started new job yesterday), Danielle and the kids are back in Elgin.  Fortunately all the tornadoes were east of them.

Ran from the hotel to a HS track, to find it all fenced in.  I think I found a gap where I can squeeze in if need be, but tomorrow I'll jog to a couple more tracks and see if they are open.  Plan is to run easy for a few days, probably until this weekend when I'll (hopefully) feel better and can pick up where I left off.

67F, 78%.  7:40 AP.  Dewpoint was much lower this morning, made for a nicer run.  Kind of a teaser though, I need summer to just kick in full gear already so I can attempt to get acclimated.

Ran to a different high school and the gate was open.  Don't know if It will be next week when school's out though.  It's about 3.5 miles from my hotel, and you have to run along a busier street.  I'll check out some more tomorrow and maybe scout out a good neighborhood hill.

74F, 95%.  sticky.

69F, 83%.  Short run on my own, then around the block with my 6-year-old.  I'm back in Oklahoma for the long weekend.  Nice to leave the house at 9am and it's still under 70 degrees.  That is the one and only thing I will miss about OK, the cooler weather.  Well, probably running on the isolated country roads too; San Antonio is a bit crowded.

My consistency with running sucks lately.  Partly due to illness, but things are hectic right now and I don't seem to have the make-it-happen mindset that I used to.  Hopefully after we close and move in the new house, some of it will come back if I can get into a routine.

70F, 91%, S 16-25 mph.  7:36 AP.  Did this in Elgin, now about to drive the 7 hours back to San Antonio.  I picked up the pace for a progressive 1.5 miles toward the end.  Huffing and puffing a lot!

AM:  74F, 93%.  Back in SA.  Ran from the hotel through some nearby neighborhoods, about 5 miles.  I think you can call that running.  Close call, anyway.

PM:  90F.  The rental car place won't give you a lift so I dropped off the rental car and ran back to the hotel in the afternoon sun, 3-ish miles.  I got to run through some economically diverse parts of town.

73F, 95%.  Found a pretty good hill leading up to some other hotels and did a few hill sprints.  Then slugged on back.  I think I might try and hit the track on Friday.

75F, 91%.   easy 6.   Felt marginally better, I think.  Hard to tell, I was going pretty slow, but maybe starting to acclimate a little.