For Whom the Dogs Bark

35F, 78% humidity, wind NE 1 mph.  Clear and cold, almost too cold but pretty good running weather.  I ran in regular shoes without a heart rate monitor.  Two warmup miles then 10 at goal MP.  Very difficult run, partly because of the heavier shoes and partly because I ran hard on Saturday.  Almost bagged it a couple of times and maybe should have.  I finally got it, though, but more difficult than it should have been.  This goal MP might be a bit too much for me at this point.  For MP miles I got 8:10, 8:08, 7:55, 7:45, 8:03, 7:49, 7:58, 8:01, 8:05, 7:55, basically all over the place but manage an average of 7:59.  Overall 12.22 miles in 1:44:24, average pace 8:22 per mile.  I have some right calf pain, that one is new, we'll see how it does today.  I could feel my heart rate monitor wrapped around my chest for the whole run, even though it was sitting in my closet.  Not sure whether to see a cardiologist or a psychiatrist for that one.

30F, 90% humidity, calm.  Very pretty morning, even colder than yesterday but for some reason didn't feel as cold.  Got up late after working late, ran 6, took my daughter to school then went out for 8 more, all slow pace in flat shoes.  No serious residual effects from running too hard yesterday, so probably a little lucky there.  I ran 14.06 miles in 2:20:33, exactly 10:00 per mile.  The first 6 were at 9:48, couldn't get as much speed the second time out but my monitor was acting up by then.  Probably related to the cold weather, but that might have been part of my inability to dial in to the right speed/heart rate combination.  Bottom line, I felt fine and this was the right run to do today. 

44F, 94% humidity, wind NE 12 mph, gusting to 18.  Very refreshing morning to run.  Went 10.03 miles in 1:21:13, overall pace 8:06 per mile, flat shoes.  2 warmup, then ran 6 MP miles at average pace of 7:50, then tried to run 2 more at 10K pace, couldn't make it.  They came in at 7:29 and 7:23 -- I think my true 10K pace is in the 7:05 - 7:10 range right now.  I seem to be having a difficult time getting my heart rate high at the end of a run where I have been running hard at a sustained pace.  Legs don't want to go fast at the end of a run like that, but according to my heart rate I'm not really all that tired.  On this run I never broke 171, which is only 88% of the max I recorded on the Thanksgiving Day race.  On the other hand, it was great that my heart rate stayed mostly below 160 for the 6 MP miles, that is an improvement.  I just need to get better at finishing the runs off, I think it is mental but still working this one out.

This entry is on Thursday night, no running today due to work pressures, up most of the night then back to work early this morning, going home now to sleep, so today is going to be a clean miss.  Back at it in the morning. 

40F, 100% humidity, calm and foggy, then clear.  Absolutely beautiful running weather out there.  I did a repeat of Saturday's run on a smaller scale, slow then fast then all out.  Finally made 10K pace the last 2 miles after missing it on Wednesday, albeit the slow end of the band.  I ran 14:09 miles in 2:08:36, average overall pace of 9:08 per mile.  A little too cold at the start for my heart rate monitor to work, but I ran the first 8 miles in the 10:00 to 10:30 range so I'm sure I kept it in the fat-burning zone.  As soon as I sped up to marathon pace I worked up enough sweat to kick the monitor back into gear.  I stayed under 160 bpm for 4 miles, average pace 7:56.  Then ran the last two at 7:13 and 7:07 before a short jog-in.  That was hard.  Good run, legs felt pretty fresh after taking an involuntary day off yesterday.  Tomorrow is going to be 15-20 degrees warmer, should be a very different long run.

57F, 100% humidity, wind calm.  Ran dark and early, then well into the daylight, to the point that it was starting to warm up a little, but heat was never much of a factor.  Went 25.22 miles in 4:23:26, average pace 10:27 per mile, regular shoes, which felt heavy after running all week in flats.  Despite the unusually slow pace, can't describe this run as anything but difficult.  The fatigue was bone-deep by the time I finished.  I ran it hungry, and there is definitely a fat-burning speed at which you can run forever to the extent your legs can hold up, but it is not a comfortable feeling for me, at least yet.  My legs were the limiting factor this morning, especially the left leg front top, don't know what it is called but it is the muscle you use to lift your leg when you are putting on shoes or taking off socks.  Coincidentally, you also use it to lift your leg when you run, and it has been bothering me off and on all week.  I almost quit early this morning but it subsided for a while so I kept going.

I ran from my house down to the Y, about 7 miles, found a miraculously open bathroom and had just enough time to catch the 5:50 group out of the gate.  Because of my leg I intended to peel off about halfway back on the return and go back home, leaving me with about 15 for the day.  But no, I kept going.  We started talking about teenagers, runners love black humor I guess.  The funnier the jokes, the slower we went.  Didn't want to miss any of it so I ran all the way back to the Y with the group, 10 for them, which left me about 8 to get home via a longer but safer route, now that traffic was out.

Then I was on my own to get home.  I toyed with going a full marathon but decided that wouldn't be a mature decision, and we all know I am a very mature, just check out my age group sometime.  So because of my maturity I decided to stop one mile short, which left me running around my cul de sac a couple of times like a donkey to get exactly 25.22.

Just talked to my daughter.  She ran a 5K in Temple this morning and won her age group, she is almost as fast as me already and improving very quickly, won't be long before she breaks 20 minutes, which is a serious 5K time.  Also, my granddaughter completed her first 1K.  She had to be carried a few steps, but then saw Santa and wanted to make sure he saw her running, so she passed him, gave him a high five and powered it in.  I'm certain she won her age group too.