Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

73F, 82%.  8:10 AP.

72F, 77%.  7:32 AP.  Cooler today, so I did a 4-mile tempo to finish out the run.  Did it in a 6:42 AP (6:55, 6:45, 6:44, 6:25).  The worst-feeling mile was actually the first one.  I think some of my problem is mental.  I'm not used to giving any effort and probably just need to make myself uncomfortable a little more to get used to it again.  Not an great run compared to pre-Boston Slowjoe, but ok for where I'm at now.  I'll come back eventually.

79F, 83%.  In Houston for a busy weekend - Elle's 7-year-old birthday celebrations!  I ran down Allen Parkway and back at dawn.  Very steamy in Houston, sweating like a pig even an hour later.  pace was 8:00-8:10 or so, too lazy to look.

81F, 83%.  7:47 AP.  Ran 4 laps of Memorial park in Houston.  The "feels like" temperature was 88 this morning.  It would be tough to be a runner here (sorry flatlander) when the coolest it gets is a heat index of 88.  Ridiculous.  Good run though, was able to pick up the pace a little each lap.  The nice soft trail felt good too.  Headed back to San Antonio this morning...

75F, 81%.  8:43 AP.

75F, 84%. I did my 200s again today - drove to the track, couple miles warmup, then 3 x (6 x 200 on/off).  I didn't do the last rep on the last set, and actullay kind of phoned in the two prior to that.  I'd even ambitiously planned a 1200m @ vo2 after the 200s, but there was no way....I was toast.  I think I'm running the 200s too fast.  I'm not fit right now, and it's too hot to go my old paces anyway.  I just need to make sure I'm getting in full workouts, even if they are slow, and it'll come back by this fall.

78F, 85%.  8:42 AP.  Just 5 today.  A little tired.  Can't seem to type in full sentences.

79F, 74%.  Slow, but with 8 x 8 sec hill sprints.  Those were not so easy.  Although I had a big ribeye for dinner last night, so nothing was ever going to be easy today.  Not even going...ah, never mind.

will try to do more tomorrow....

79F, 90%.  7:34 AP.  Leon Creek Greenway.  I actually felt good to start off this run, so I decided to pick it up for a 4-mile tempo to finish up the run.  Nope.  Averaged 6:58 for the last 4 miles and it was painful.  One day I will look back and laugh at how hard it was to run 7-minute pace.  Right now, it's not so funny!  Dewpoint around 75 today with a heat index of 85, so yeah, I know, but still...ouch.

81F, 81%.  8:15 AP.  Fort Polk, Louisiana...this was an evening run so that I wouldn't put up a goose egg 3 days in a row.  I'll be here for work until the end of the month.  Planning on putting up some bigger mileage numbers since there is absolutely nothing to do here but work and sleep and eat.  "Planning" is the key word, schedule and laziness permitting.

I ran down to the track on this run, which is only a couple miles away from the hotel.  It's a 400m track alright, but it's a crushed gravel surface.  Crunch, crunch, crunch.

69F, 84%.  Low 8's.  ooh, it's a few degrees cooler here!  I actually didn't feel like quitting after 3 miles.  Probably won't last, but I'll take it where I can get it.

I just ran around post in the wee early morning hours, trying to find the more isolated roads.

68F, 87%.  8:06 AP.  Still clinging to some cooler air, felt really nice.  I ran some running trails I found on base today, but they were really dark.  The forest on either side blocked out what little starlight there was, so every step was like a leap of faith.  I just tried to stay centered between the trees but still stumbled off the trail quite a bit.  I'm sure it's great when there is some sunlight though.

Tomorrow I think I'll be off base so might go longer and take advantage of the unseasonably cool weather.

AM:  68F, 85%.  15 @ 7:28 AP.  Really enjoyed this run (well, most of it).  Obviously another pretty cool morning - I ran west of Fort Polk, but got lost once (this was supposed to be a 14-mile run).  Finished with 6:52, 6:46, with the last mile pretty steadily uphill, and half off-road.  I still think I'll be a bit behind the power curve when it cools off this fall (due to the Summer of Joe), but I almost felt like a runner again today.

PM:  4 on the hotel treadmill, 7mph.

90F.  8:36 AP.  5 miles in the afternoon sun.  That was dumb...I almost stopped and walked toward the end.  Definitely a terrible runner in the heat.

68F, 93%.  7:22 AP.  Still in the 60's this morning, so I ran out 4 miles easy, then planned on doing 2 min on / 1 min off the whole way back.  The effort was about right - didn't kill myself but definitely working hard.  Sadly, the paces were mostly around my old LT runs, 6:10-ish, although it was mostly a gentle uphill on the way back.  The last mile or so, I must have ended up on everyone's favorite shortcut to Fort Polk.  It had a lot of traffic and there was no shoulder, just tall grass that was awkwardly sloped.  So I kind of gave up after having to deal with that for a few minutes.  Still got in 15+ minutes of harder-effort running.

PM:  4 more on the hotel TM, 7mph, with varying inclines to make it more like actual running.

AM:  69F, 93%.  4.5 @ 8:30's or 8:40s, I think.  Just recovery today, I'll go a little longer tomorrow.

PM:  4.2 on the hotel TM.  This time I changed the speed every quarter mile, kind of all over the place (7.0 to 10.5), but it made the run go faster and was slightly less boring.

AM:  74F, 91%.  4.4 @ 8:18 AP.  More recovery today.  Why do today what you can put off 'til tomorrow?  Or something like that.  I just figured since I'm doing more miles this week, I'd take it easy again.  On a possibly related note, my hotel is in a really terrible spot for running.

What is that "in" thing at the bottom of all the entries? 

73F, 93%.  8:14 AP.  Not feeling it...

AM - easy 4

PM - easy 4 on the TM.  Wow, forgot to even enter my AM run until now.  That's how you can tell I'm not really into running right now.  But I think the fire will come back when there are races to train for.

74F, 95%.  7:33 AP.  Felt ok.  There's a pretty nice road west of the hotel that is secluded and has a canopy of tall trees covering it.  Such a thing does not exist in San Antonio, but in this part of the country the pine trees are plentiful.

I was kinda tired by the end, but did what I could.  Still going through the motions at this point, but maybe if I stay in some kind of shape (round is a shape) I can get it back this fall.  Did I mention I'm fat?  I gotta be at least 10 lbs heavy if not more.  If I wasn't shameless, I'd run with a shirt on to hide my dunlap syndrome.  But c'mon, it's hot out there...

  74F, 94%.  8:28 AP.  I wasn't feeling great yesterday so took the day off.  Fortunately, I think I've fought off whatever it was.  Back to the grind...  

73F, 93%.  7:50s, I think.  Running is really a chore right now.  It's just not fun, especially with the hectic traffic around here.  Good news is I probably only have 3 more mornings here.  When I get home, I need to make some kind of build-up schedule and stick to it.  I always do better when I pre-plan everything.

73F, 92%.  8:19 AP.  Going trough the motions.

Might get things wrapped up here, work-wise, by tonight or tomorrow morning, which means I can leave.  Even better is that I will be starting a new job at a bank (headquartered in San Antonio) in a couple weeks.  No more dealing with DoD or contracts, woohoo!  And no more traveling to the armpits of the country for weeks at a time (I hope).

74F, 90%.  8:01 AP.  Just found out last night that I'll be needed here through tonight (until 4am).  Can't wait until I start my 8-5 job....

Finished out August with a couple goose eggs, but I finally slept... 9+ hours.  Instead of running, I played golf with my dad (parents are in SA for a visit).  Definitely the better choice.