Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

51F.  Easy miles on the creek trail again.  I got into some ankle-deep water so I went around it and found myself in knee-deep water.  whoops.  5k tomorrow...

63F, little breeze.  Today was the annual fun run at work.  All employees, plus their families (high school cross country kids included..) were invited.  I started a little fast, and even so had 10-15 people in front of me after half a mile.  Then started the gradual move up.  Mile 1 in 5:58.  I passed a shorty-shorts guy around halfway to move into 4th.  Yellow singlet was up ahead but I already felt maxed out.  Mile 2 in 6:05.  I was content to coast, because I was pretty wasted already, but Yellow singlet was coming back to me...ugh.  I made the pass and ran scared the rest of the way, as he sounded pretty close.  Agonizing uphill the last half of mile 3, which ended up as another 6:04.  After I heard mile 3 beep, the finish line was still a ways off, and I knew the course was long.  I knew ahead of time it wouldn't be certified or anything, but why not make it a tenth short instead of a tenth long?  Last 0.18 in 1:05 (5:57 pace).  Ended up beating the yellow guy by 10 seconds to get 1st in my AG (actually the results had me first overall since the top 2 must not have had a chip).  So I'm glad I fought for that last spot.

Anyway, that's about the pace I thought I'd run overall - would have eked in below 19:00 had the distance been right.  In addition to doing my workouts, I need to get the mileage up to 60+ to get back in shape, I think.  I've been languishing around 40-50/week and I don't think I can get my endurance back at those levels.  Overall, a good solid race for me at this point.

44F.  7:04 AP.  Beautiful running weather this morning - I did an 8+8 today (8 easy, last 8 @ MP) on the creek trail which is nice and flat.  I knew after the first MP mile that it was going to be a good run.  I decided to hold myself to 6:40's the first 5 miles, then told myself I could let it fly after that.

Last 8 - 6:34 AP (6:44, 6:42, 6:41, 6:41, 6:40, 6:31, 6:24, 6:08).

Pretty much just toying with the 6:40 guy until I gave myself permission to drop him.  Anyway, after a so-so result on the 5k yesterday, which I definitely ran 100% all-out, I don't want to read too much into the results here, but I did feel pretty close to the old SlowJoe.  Things are going in the right direction, at least.

62F.  8:40s.  Recovery - a little hip/ groin soreness from this weekend, actually.  Not too bad though.

67F, 97%.  7:51 AP.  Shirtless mornings again.  Felt ok, not spectacular.  Workout will probably be Thursday or Friday this week.

71F, 94%.  7:52 AP.  Sticky again, but the cold front is hitting today.  You know your blog is boring when you've resorted to talking about weather patterns...

workout tomorrow - 3k pace!

49F.  Had an early morning commitment so I didn't have time for the track.  Tomorrow...

52F.  Finally got in my track workout: 5 x 800m @ 3k pace, 90 sec rest.  The rest was a walk/jog combo, the first time I haven't done active recoveries.  Since I had a recent 5k, I guesstimated 3k pace from that and tried to hit 2:52 per repeat.

Results: 2:52, 2:52, 2:52, 2:52, 2:49.

Probably picked the perfect pace to run, then executed exactly like I wanted.  I was a little worried after the first one, but the walking rest really helps you reset, even though it's relatively short.  Good lung burn, just the kind of workout I need to help get that 5k time down.

63F, 81%.  I botched my alarm clock setting and realized I didn't have enough time for what I planned on the way to the trail, so I turned toward the track to do a shorter run there.  I ended up doing 1, 1.5, 1.5 @ HMP, with 1 recovery lap between each.  During the first repeat it was clear I would have to hit the bushes, so I finished the mile, did my business, and came back for the rest.  Times were:

6:27 (3:15, 3:12)

9:44 (3:13, 3:15, 3:16)

9:19 (3:15, 3:08, 2:56)

Kind of an undisciplined workout, but I guess it worked fine.  I didn't need to kill myself in a workout a week before a HM race (even though it's not a "target race"), so this somewhat met the intent.  I decided to do the last 1.5 as a progressive effort, but probably would have been better served just doing an extra repeat at true HMP, which I think is around 6:30 right now.  Maybe even a few seconds slower given the hills on the course, and if next Sunday is sticky like today was.

61F, 8:36 AP.

58F, 7:17 AP.  Did a brisk 10-miler this morning.  The cold front is hitting this afternoon but unfortunately won't last until the HM on Sunday.  I'm not in PR shape anyway, so I'm planning on a nice, conservative, negative-split type effort.  This race will be less business, more fun.

39F, 8:05 AP.  I'm glad to see San Antonio at least gets this kind of weather a few days a year... Couldn't find matching gloves in my morning stupor though, so I had 1 glove and 1 mitten.

32F, 7:33 AP.  Brisk but easy run in the strangely cold Texas air.  I did half a mile @ HMP toward the end - felt great.  Too bad it'll be 35-40 degrees warmer by Sunday morning.  

50F.  No watch.  My shoes felt weird, but I found out after the run that they were shoes that I retired a long time ago.  That's what happens when you're always running around in the dark I guess.

looking at the forecast for Sunday....69 degrees with 97% humidity.  Fun combo!

72F, 95%.  6:50 AP.  I spent the first 2 miles getting hot, and the last 11 miles wishing I hadn't signed up for this race.  All in all, 13.1 miles at pretty close to marathon pace, with a dewpoint in the 70s, is ok with me.  I've run in the soup enough to know what it does to me, and this was a decent effort.

1-5 - 6:37, 6:40, 6:45, 6:46, 6:44.  These were all pretty flat miles.  They still felt bad.

6-10 - 7:08, 7:08, 6:51, 6:48, 6:48.  Mile 6 and 7 were just cruel - they could have figured out a different route around those hills.

11-13.1 - 7:04, 7:09, 6:38, 0:47 for 0.15 (5:15 pace).  I was content to cruise it in, but then saw I might not even break 1:30, so I made a run for it at the end.  Plus I'd gotten passed by a dude with nothing but bunhuggers on.  Gross, dude.  Those are for girls, not you.  Gross.  Anyway, I squeaked in below 90 min...

62F, 8:37 AP

58F.  No watch.  I stepped on my gym bag and heard a crunch...now my garmin is no more.  A few words:

It was a good watch.  At almost 4 years old, most garmins its age do not function well, but this one was awesome.  About 2 years ago, the rubber strap broke and I replaced it with a soft one that felt a lot better but absorbed all the dirt and sweat it touched.  You had to be careful not to touch it after showering, because then your hand would stink all day.  You will be missed, stinky garmin.  R.I.P.

58F.  Still no watch; I came home with a forerunner 10 last night because I'm all about simplicity.  I think this went a little too far though...at least for what I need.  So I'm going to swap it out with a 110 today - it's nice having an REI across the street from work.

72F, 94%.  Every time I think I've had my last shirtless morning run....

 Still no watch today, I forgot the charger  to the FR10 yesterday, which I'm guessing I would need to get a refund.  I think the XC team from UTSA was out in force today.  Every once and awhile there will randomly be 20 extra college-aged kids out on the trail; usually it's just me and a few others I recognize.

55F, N 20 mph.  I ran just as the cold front started blowing through.

I didn't have time yesterday to exchange the garmin so no watch again this morning.  Amazing how I made a whole week's worth of entries talking about not having a watch, and barely mentioning anything about running.

43F.  8:11 AP.  Tested out  the new Garmin (210).  Should be just fine.

40F, NE 15 mph, raining.  7:40 AP.  Really miserable by the end, I was soaked.  Numb extremities, etc..  It's done though, longest run since April, I think.

35 degrees and heavy rain.  The 35 part is ok, but I learned yesterday that I don't like being soaking wet at that temperature.  Maybe a run this afternoon...

37F.  Easy 5...forgot to bring that nice new watch.

37F, 7:28 AP.  Picked up the pace as I ran - the cool air feels great.  Last mile in 6:32.  I think I will hit the track in the morning for some 400s before we head to Houston.

31F.  Good, short, speed workout at the track today - 8 x 400m, off 90 sec rest.  Fewer reps and longer-than-usual rest meant they had to be fast, around 1-mile pace.  They averaged 1:18.1, so pretty close, if not a little fast (1-mile pace is a complete guess anyway).  Decently tight grouping too, slowest rep was 79.1, fastest was 76.9.  Off to Houston for the holiday weekend, happy Thanksgiving all!

43F.  I got to run with Danielle on her LR today, with my mom as babysitter.   12 ez at memorial park in Houston.

44F, 7:14 AP.  Ran from my parents' house to downtown and back via the bayou trail. Legs felt great this morning - I had an accidental 6:46 in there on the way back; it has been awhile since that's happened.  I dialed it back several times, since I am planning on some 10k-paced work tomorrow morning before we head back to San Antonio.

Including my nap yesterday, I got over 10 hours of sleep last night/yesterday afternoon.  Amazing how much that sleep helps.  Too bad I could never get that on a regular basis.