Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

AM:  64F, 94%.  8 @ 7:51 AP.  Drier air this week -- lower dew points, higher highs and lower lows, which is good for running...probably hit the track tomorrow.

Managed to barely tally 300 miles this month, with 7 missed days of running.  A pretty good sign, I think.  If I can keep my bad months around 300 and my good months 350+ then that'll give me a much better summer base than I've ever put down.  So here's to a good June, hopefully.

PM:  84F, 50%.  4 @ 7:55 AP.  2 x 1 min @ 5k pace.  With the dew point still down in the 60s it felt downright pleasant out there.

AM:  67F, 98%.  10 miles.  I went to the track today...I think for the first time in 2015?  Workout was 6 x 800, (400m rec).  Goal going in was only 5k pace (2:52) since I wasn't sure where I'd be -- other than strides, I haven't run 5k pace since November.  It went well though, probably owing to the ~1000 miles I've run in the past 3 months.  I averaged 2:46 (2:51, 2:46, 2:47, 2:44, 2:48, 2:40).  So probably closer to 3k pace which seems more appropriate for that workout.  I definitely won't be hitting the track as much this summer, but it's good to know the mileage is keeping me in decent track/race shape.

AM2:  83F, 54% (HI 85F).  4 @ 7:57 AP.  Nothing like a nice recovery run in racing flats.

AM:  71F, 95%.  14 @ 7:50 AP.  had a large gnat in my eye for ten of those miles.

PM:  84F, 54% (HI 86F).  4 @ 8:17 AP.

AM:  67F, 97%.  6 @ 8:41 AP.

PM:  85F, 52% (HI 87F).  4 @ 8:24 AP.

If San Antonio is any kind of beacon for the latest fitness trends (hahaha), then rollerblading is making a comeback.

AM:  72F, 94%.  7 @ 8:03 AP.  Long strides.

PM:  85F, 51% (HI 87F).  4 @ 8:26 AP.

AM:  68F/98% -> 74F/90%.  20 @ 7:33 AP.  2 weekends in a row!  Although last weekend, I debated whether to keep going because I felt so good.  Today, by contrast, I was happy just to be done.  Still had a decent dew point today - it was on the rise but only topped out at 71.

Going to see the Spazmatics tonight!

AM:  72F, 92%.  8 @ 8:01 AP.

PM:  86F, 51% (HI 88F).  6 @ 8:15 AP.  Extended the normal lunch run a bit to see if the creek levels receded enough to let me start at the other trailhead in the morning.  Looked fine.  It's the little things...

AM:  70F, 94%.  10 @ 7:40 AP.  Short stride routine in the last 3 miles.  I don't know how long the DP is going to keep hanging out in the upper 60s, but I'm loving it.  Delay the pain!

PM:  87F, 49% (HI 89F).  4 @ 8:23 AP.

AM:  71F, 84%.  14 @ 7:13 AP.  6-mile warmup, followed by 8 @ AT.  Averaged 6:40/mile (6:41, 6:39, 6:44, 6:40, 6:33, 6:41, 6:42, 6:36).  Always tough to feel out the correct effort this time of year, but I think I was right on this morning, given that the last couple miles felt pretty rough.

Right now, I'm targeting 1 workout a week from a rotation of 4 different paces (5k, 10k, LT, AT) to try stay in good general shape.

PM:  no time

AM:  75F, 90%.  6 @ 8:35 AP.

PM:  89F, 50% (HI 93F).  5 @ 8:16 AP.

AM:  76F, 89%.  9 @ 8:08 AP.  I kinda miss when fast running blog had people on it.

PM:  5 more on the TM, with my long stride routine.

AM:  77F, 93%.  16 @ 8:00 AP.  There's that summer weather - dew point nestled snugly in the mid-70s...

I did pull off an impressive comeback against the 8-minute guy though.  Punk jumped out to a huge lead but I clipped him by a couple seconds on the home stretch.

AM:  74F, 95%.  7 @ 8:30 AP.

PM:  85F, 61% (HI 90F).  5 @ 8:29 AP.  Got out right after lunch before it got too hot.  Maximum misery seems to be occurring around 5pm so I'm getting ahead of that by a solid 4-5 hours.

AM:  75F, 89%.  10 @ 8:03 AP.  Legs are feeling tired and mushy lately but I'm still doing a workout tomorrow - I think the ol' girls have been in this state before, where they feel cruddy but will still respond.  Usually comes after lots of consistent mileage.  Might do it on the TM though...will probably decide after I see the dew point in the morning.

PM:  81F, 75%, raining.  4 @ 8:20 AP.  All my workout places will probably be underwater tomorrow morning, so it's looking like a TM workout.  I'm thinking 1200s at 10k pace, +/- depending on leg mushiness.

AM:  10 on the TM:  4 warmup, then 0.75 mile repeats, jogging a quarter mile inbetween.  I decided to start at 9.8 mph for the first rep, and increase it by 0.1 each rep until I couldn't do anymore.  I envisioned making it through 7 or 8, but made it through 5 (10.2). Then did some strides in the cool down...win some, lose some...

PM:  88F, 57% (HI 94F).  5 @ 7:58 AP.  Took my business outside - we barely got any rain from Bill, so my creek trail was fine.

AM:  73F, 93%.  7 @ 8:22 AP.

PM:  83F, 73% (HI 89F).  5 @ 8:41 AP.  Really suffered the last couple miles.  I probably would've stopped and walked if I wasn't worried about making it back for a meeting.  Diet is worse than usual and the hours of sleep have not been there, which is why I think my legs have been dead this week.  I'll give it a few more days and then consider some relative rest.

AM: 74F, 96%, raining.  6 @ 8:29 AP.  Usually a good downpour livens me up but I was still feeling weak and tired.  So the plan is to take the afternoon off (from running), try not to have too many beers tonight, take Saturday off and then attempt a LR on Sunday.  I'll do it as a double out and back so I can pull the plug if I'm still mush.

I was hoping to keep the volume up until our vacation starts on the 5th, but there comes a time when running on tired legs is no longer beneficial and I think I'm just about there.

AM:  76F, 96%.  4 @ 8:33 AP.  Decided to rest the legs this weekend...probably a down week to soak up the recent mileage.

AM:  76F, 93%.  6 @ 8:00 AP.  Been under the weather...legs feel good now but the rest of the body needs to catch up.

PM:  85F, 62% (HI 90F).  4 @ 8:03 AP.

AM:  75F, 93%.  7 @ 7:52 AP.  In the last mile I picked it up for 0.5 in 2:47...definitely not quite ready for all that, so back to slogging around until maybe Sunday.  I am kinda thinking about a July 4th race though (4-miler).

PM:  89F, 52% (H/I 94F).  5 @ 8:16 AP.

AM:  76F, 94%.  9 @ 7:44 AP.  

PM:  89F, 55% (H/I 95F).  5 @ 8:15 AP.

AM:  75F, 94%.  6 @ 7:55 AP.  Some large, loose neighborhood dogs started following me after a tenth of a mile or so, until we came upon a lady walking her tiny dog, at which point they left me to harass them...so I went to help.  Then the lady was pretty angry at "my" loose dogs and it was very little consolation when I said they weren't mine.  So, like the pied piper, I led them to the unpopulated side of the neighborhood where they're still building streets, and they got tired over there.

71F, 97% -> 76F, 94%.  20 @ 7:39 AP.  Weird morning, usually the DP isn't so volatile but it climbed from 70 to 75 in just ~3 hrs.  Really felt sloggy/tired by the end of the run around 9am.  I guess I'll wait and see what the damage is and then adjust the week as necessary - I meant to run at a much easier effort today but the first half of the run was much cooler.  My first race in 4 months is coming up on Saturday so I'd like a decent showing.

AM:  75F, 92%.  6 @ 8:41 AP.

PM:  89F, 53% (H/I 94F).  4 @ 8:30 AP.

AM:  77F, 88%.  10 @ 8:06 AP.

PM:  86F, 59% (H/I 91F).  4 @ 8:15 AP.  mini sharpening workout tomorrow and then dial it down the rest of the week.

Since Jake and Andrea are always posting majestic scenery from their runs/hikes, I thought I'd counterpunch with some of the beautiful scenery from MY backyard.  So this whole week, I'll be posting pictures of where I run in NW San Antonio.

This serene pond greets me in mile 1.  Sometimes I can just picture Wordsworth in a place like this, writing about the beauty of nature.

I mean, yeah, you don't want your skin to contact the water, but you enjoy nature's beauty with your eyes...not by touching it.