Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

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.

AM:  72F, 92%.  8 @ 7:50 AP.  Relatively cool morning.  Included 5 x 2 minutes around 6-minute pace, or a little under.

The trail I always run on is the Leon Creek Greenway.  Leon Creek cuts through the west side of town.  Actually, I'd compare it to how the Colorado river cuts through the Grand Canyon - probably equal in its majesty, although I've never been to the Grand Canyon to do a direct comparison.  That being said, we obviously have scenic overlooks - here's proof:

And now, drumroll....here is the vista:

One day, when I'm ready, I WILL bag that peak, which towers nearly 50 feet above the surrounding terrain.

PM:  85F, 67% (H/I 92F).  4 @ 8:38 AP.

We got some rain yesterday, so the creek had some water in it today.  Here's a view from a bridge I run across a lot.  I just had to stop and take in the beauty.

Did you even know such vivid colors could exist in nature?  Probably not.

AM:  69F, 90%.  6 @ 8:45 AP.  A sub-70 degree morning in July is crazy.  If I hadn't signed up for a 4th of July race, I would've taken advantage with a long tempo or something, but instead I just plodded around for rest.  Still enjoyed it though.  Probably going to skip the PM run today.

One of the problems with the greenway is the overpopulated deer, which aren't afraid of humans.  I came running up on this one and she was obviously in no hurry to get out of the way.

I petitioned city council to import some Bengal tigers to help eradicate the deer, but they won't even bring the issue up for a vote.

Here's another shot of the beautiful scenery.   The telephone poles just seem to continue infinitely off into the distance.

Stunning.  Sometimes I wonder just how far they really go.

Maybe forever, SlowJoe.

Maybe forever.

AM:  75F, 95%.  5 @ 8:05 AP.  Took the mutt along - he hasn't gone on a run in awhile and was dragging behind at the end.  That's probably it for today - race tomorrow!  Taking the kids to sea world / aquatica later today.

Here's what the creek looks like most of the time (dry):

So use your imagination - close your eyes and picture the brown rainwater flowing gently under the bridge.  Listen to the sound of the trash and litter clinking gently against the concrete pillars as it flows along...heaven.

Here's another incredible sidewalk pic for Allie:

2 words:  RAVE RUN.

On the other side of that construction, I managed to capture a picture of what your run-of-the-mill, average chainsaw looks like in Texas:

You actually can't pass 5th grade here until you learn how to use it.

AM1:  77F, 90% (DP 74F).  First race in quite awhile, but I basically met my expectations.  I'm pretty awful when the dew point creeps into the mid-70s, so I only expected between 24 and 25 minutes, which is right where I was.

The race started at a big soccer complex, so I got a nice warmup on the grass.  This is one of San Antonio's most well-attended races next to the Rock & Roll, so it's actually pretty competetive (the guy that won beat me by ~5 minutes...in a 4-miler - ouch!).

Race started and I just hovered around 6-minute pace at first to see how doable it was.  We hit some kind of uphill ramp to nowhere and then turned around and came back down - first mile was 6:05.  Mile 2 was the XC mile, which kind of surprised me.  It had 2 sections that went through some tall grass (nothing like the nice short soccer field grass) and you kind of had to high-step a little.  I'd say between the 2 sections, there was only half a mile total in the high grass - that mile ended up being a 6:09.  Mile 3 I found myself alone - guys in front were too far up and no one pushing me from behind.  Fortunately it was all flat concrete and I ran it in 6:03.  Last mile, I was hot, hurting and unmotivated, and it was a 6:11.  14 bonus seconds and 0.05 miles later I was done, mission accomplished.

The main reason I entered the race, other than for the fun of racing, was to get in a good, hard effort that I wouldn't have otherwise pushed myself to undertake in the heat/humidity.  So, to that end, I was successful.  3rd in AG as a bonus (we hobby joggers love to measure ourselves against similarly decrepit runners).

AM2:  1 mile run with Elle.