Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

47F, N 10 mph.  It was supposed to be in the mid-60s all day but stayed 15-20 degrees below the forecast - weird, never seen them screw it up that bad.  I actually ran just after lunch.  Maybe a little too soon after lunch:  fajita burps all the way.  Leftover fajita burps.

8:27 AP

43F, foggy.  More weird weather for Abilene.  7:42 AP.  Such a nice, flowing, easy, gliding run - you know, just the sweetest feeling kind - until about 5 miles from home.  Then I had...issues.  My bowels were paying for a weekend of total gluttony.  Somehow I made it home with clean underwear and no pit stops -- it took a few short bouts of walking to contain things.  But the joy of running through the refreshing cool mist was gone, gone, gone.

46F.  8:09 AP.  Leaving for Houston today...sometime.

56F, N 10 mph.  Houston.  8:25 AP.  I forgot to bring any running shoes - what kind of runner am I?  I did this run in some old beaters and there will probably be a shiny new pair of racers in my very near future.

54F, ENE 8 mph.

Stunk it up today - I hate the 10K.  Basically went out forcing the pace I wanted for the first half and it was way too fast for me today.  Miles 4 and 5 were into the wind but I can't in good conscience use that as an excuse, the wind speed was not too bad.  I was just mush after the 5K and gave a pretty poor effort for the last 3 miles.  I'm trying not to read in too much as far as what kind of shape that I'm in, hoping it was just a bad day, but I expected a lot better on a flat course with close to perfect conditions.  Sub-3 needs to be shelved for sure.  Gotta focus on 3:05, because I probably still have work to do to get there.  Don't you hate it when you realize you're slower than you thought you were?  Anyway, here's the carnage:

6:18, 6:21, 6:21, 6:40, 6:47, 6:50, 1:38 for 0.29 (5:38 pace).

Danielle and I both measured the course about a tenth of a mile long, not that it really mattered for me, given my crappy running.  The last .29 would've been slower but (another) girl was passing me and I picked it up to finish ahead.  Actually, it was really easy to pick up the pace, which kind of lets me know I dogged it way too much once I knew it would not be a good race.  Lazy bum.  Ah well, back to the grind.  Happy Thanksgiving all.

56F.  7:41/mile - Started out thinking it would be mostly recovery today but my legs quickly told me they didn't need it.  Still in Houston, but I was feeling more like my normal self today; maybe I just needed a couple days to acclimate to the wetter climate and humidity?  I don't know, but it might be worth arrving in Houston a few days early for the marathon to adjust, just in case I'm not crazy.

68F, 94%, drizzly.  Had a great run with Flatlander, in not-so-great conditions.  I think last time we ran together it was around 80 and muggy, so I guess this was nice by comparison at least.  We did 4 loops of Houston Memorial park, then ran to downtown and back along the bayou trail.  Nice to have good company for a slog-it-out kind of run.  Ended up with 8:26/mile which was a good workout given the heat and muddy conditions.