Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

69F, 78%.  7:19 AP.  Approaching record lows in San Antonio - this is awesome!  Don't want to jinx us, but I gotta say it seems like it's been a pretty mild summer overall.  I kept a good aerobic effort and ran the last 6 progressively, ending up with a couple miles around MP.

AM:  75F, 68%.  7.3 @ 8:34 AP.  Felt really nice out again.  I went to the non-competitive side of the greenway again and discovered some more nice back trails.  I'm really enjoying them for these recovery runs.  I got lost a couple times, but one wrong turn fortuitously took me to a trailhead I hadn't seen before, and it had a portopotty.  So I ducked in, grabbed a handful of TP and headed back out.  We trail runners don't poop in a box.

AM2:  4.7 on the TM, 7 x 1-min strides, mostly @ 5k.  I have an actual 5k this weekend.  I wasn't paying attention and figured it was a Saturday morning race when I signed up, but it's actually Friday evening.  Heat index is forecasted to be 96 for the 7pm start.  My race selection lately has been pretty stupid.

74F, 78%.  13 @ 7:09 AP.  Another dry/mild morning helped me out today - 5 w/up, then right into 8 mi aerobic tempo.  I averaged 6:39 for the 8 miles (6:54, 6:41, 6:39, 6:39, 6:29, 6:41, 6:39, 6:28).  After a cruddy-feeling warmup, I was surprised the legs were nice and springy when the tempo started.  After the first 4, I threw in a half mile @ LT, which took the spring right back out of my step...never felt like I cleared out the lactic acid and it made the rest of the run tough, but it was probably good for me.  Felt really good about this one.

AM:  75F, 78%.  5.2 @ 8:49 AP.  More trails, but I hit some tougher ones today.  Turned around once I couldn't really run upright (ducking limbs and whatnot) and got whipped enough by branches and thorns.  Win some, lose some...

AM2:  4 on the TM, + more 5k pickups.

AM:  78F, 82%.  6 @ 8:11 AP.  Easy until tomorrow evening's race, not that rested legs will help when it's a hundred degrees.  Here's my prediction for splits:  5:50, 6:10, 8:30*

*includes 1 minute of crying in the bushes.

PM: 30 min on the TM w/ 5k strides

AM:  77F, 82%.  5 @ 8:11 AP.  Looks like a heat index of 102 @ 7pm, should be a fun race.

PM:  100F, 5.5 mi total.  5k race.  I'm an idiot.  I signed up for this race thinking it was Saturday morning....that was mistake #1.  With the late knowledge that it was Friday evening, @ 100 degrees, I figured ok, let's make this a tactical race and try to place well.  I did that beautifully until mistake #2...

The race started and I worked my way up to 5th place by mile 1, a 6:04.  I got really hot after a quarter mile, sooner than I thought...  Slowly through mile 2, I worked my way past a couple dudes and caught up to the 2nd place guy.  I sat behind this guy for awhile, trying to get a sense of what he had left.  Mile 2 was a 6:23, we were all getting crushed by ridiculous temperatures, obviously.  I felt like I had a little in the tank as I sat behind the 2nd place guy, biding my time for an attack.  He slowed a little going up a hill with a half mile to go and I made my move, shooting past.  I kept the gas pedal down even though my legs felt done after a few seconds of surging.  It worked though, I had the guy beat; he didn't even try to come with me.  Mile 3 was a 6:11, thanks to my surge.  Then I made mistake #2 and missed the turnoff from the main trail.  It was a really stupid mistake as the race was pretty much over; the turn was around 3 miles into the race and you'd have to be an idiot to miss it.  I ran for awhile and the realization hit me like a ton of bricks.  I looked at my watch and it already said 3.1, but it was like a ghost town, no one was around.  Wow.  Turned around and had no legs left.  I saw who I believe was the 4th place guy coming the opposite direction.  He saw me coming from the wrong direction and put on a nice surge to stay ahead.

So I think I was 5th, but I was too pissed at myself to stay around for the awards because I'm a sore loser.  In the end I ran 3.31 miles, an extra 0.2.  It's not like there was a lot on the line, so whatever.  Good heat training though!