Hope To Run Again Before End Of The Year

Today Justin had his 5th birthday party.  Tomorrow will actually be his birthday though.  He had a pool party and several family members and friends of his were able to attend.  Even though it was kinda hectic to get it all setup I think it went great.  Though I need to give my wife credit for doing all the pre-party arrangements.  All the kids had fun I hope.

Left the house about 7:30pm for a run.  I really wanted to go at least 8.  Ended up with 8.24.  This officially becomes my longest run since high school.  I hope there are many more of these and even longer runs in my future.

First half mile had a dog come out of its yard and into the road barking at me.  But it stopped after a few steps.  At 4 miles I could hear a dog at a house I was coming up on barking.  I thought oh great.  Then suddenly five deer in single file bolted across the street less than 10 yards away from me.  I did not even hear them unitl they hit the street.  At 7 miles I startled two dogs laying next to the road in the edge of a yard.  They jumped up and barked.  Only one came towards me and into the road.  I yelled a lot at the dogs and at the house where they came from.  I know one of the dogs lives there.  I had complained just last week to the animal control officer it had been loose and going through other people's trash.  This time I will call them personally.  If their attitude is good I will let it go, if not they I will get a warrant.  Finally three more deer crossed in front of me in the last half mile.  They were about 30 yards away this time.

I felt pretty good running.  But after six miles my legs were getting tired.  I really want to make an effort to get in more running miles this week.  If the legs can take it then I will do it.  I also want to get some pool time in as well.

Run - 8.24 miles

Mile 1 - 8:22	Mile 6 - 8:26
Mile 2 - 8:29	Mile 7 - 8:21
Mile 3 - 8:25	Mile 8 - 8:00
Mile 4 - 8:17	.24 - 1:52
Mile 5 - 8:20	Total - 1:08:36   (8:19 avg.)

The weatherman said it was going to be around 88ºf this afternoon.  I had hoped I would run then.  But decided to go in the cooler morning temperatures instead.  My legs were sore and tired from last night.  Ran the first two comforatably.  Tried to pick it up on the next two.  Then was in recovery/survival mode the last mile.  It probably would have helped if I had gotten to bed earlier last night.  Also the leg is achy today.  I hoped it is just muscle soreness.

Run - 5 miles - 8:31, 8:14, 7:47, 7:36, 8:25, 1:08 - 41:44 (8:06 avg.)

afternoon - I only had 30 minutes to do a workout.  Would have taken to long to drive to and from the pool.  I would have had to stop just after I started.  So I got the bike out.  The weatherman was wrong by the way...it's 93ºf out, not 88ºf.  It was also a little breezy.  I just rode several circuits around the streets in my neighborhood.  My legs were really tired from the get go.  Quads burned and had little power.  Not that they had much to begin with.   Also noticed left knee was hurting about an hour after this morning's run.  Feels like tendonitis.  I took ibuprofen and will not have time to ice it until after work tonight.

Bike - 9.26 miles - 30:55

Heat Miser

He got me today !  I left the house to run to the pool.  It was 89ºf  and I figured if I ran slow it would not be too bad.  But my quads are so sore and painful.  I think it is from the run on Sunday.  Every step on a downhill grade is bad.  Uphill is not as bad.  Once at the pool I kept it short and easy.  On the run home I had planned to go a little further.  But the heat hit hard.  So I just came straight home.  Checked the thermometer when done and it was up to 95ºf.  I feel lousy now. 

I am not sure if I should rest a day or two to relieve the soreness or just run through it.

Run - 2.11 miles - 8:24, 7:55, :50 - 17:09 (8:08 avg.)

Swim - 1000 yards - 19:28 - alternate free and breast evry 100 yards

Run - 2.18 miles - 8:06, 7:44, 1:27 - 17:19 (7:55 avg.)

Went swimming around lunchtime.  Felt good, but noticed the times are slower by a few seconds over where they were a month ago.  More running has equaled less swimming.  Therefore lower performance.  I am ok with that as long as the running keeps getting better.  But I do not want to let it go completely.  I worked hard the last four months to let all that pool time go to waste.

Waited until dark to run so I could have lower temperatures.  And I was hoping moving around all day would help loosen up those sore muscles.   It worked for the most part.  Legs only hurt on the steeper downhill grades.  Not that we have any hills that would compare to what the bloggers out West have.  Ours out here would be looked at as speedbumps I imagine.

I could tell I was running faster on my first mile than my other runs this week.  First split was 8 minutes flat.  I decided to see if I could run the next 4 miles at 8 or under.  But I was willing to listen to my body and not press anything just to whoop up on the 8:00 guy.  In the end I got him with 34 seconds to spare. 

While I was running a little harder than I have been it did not feel too bad.  When I was done I felt tired, but good. Not beat up and dead tired like I have on some other runs.

Swim - 2000 yards - 34:55

Run - 5.15 miles - 8:00, 7:57, 7:46, 7:54, 7:48, 1:08 - 40:35 (7:52 avg.)

Logo Idea:  I am just putting something out there.  I purposely left out colors and fancy fonts.  I am hoping someone more creative and artsy than me can make something out of this.  I was thinking about the circle with the arrows pointing in the direction of the slogan.  Anything or nothing could go in the middle.  My apologies to Sasha, but I could not think of anything else for the center part right now.  Feel free to laugh, cry, clap, or boo when you see this.  I will not be offended.  Anything anyone wants to add to, remove, or modify is ok with me.  This is just a rough "sketch" of an idea.

I had planned all day to run in the evening when the temperatures were a little cooler.  But once it was time to go, I had lost all desire.  I almost skipped but remembered  excuse #2 on Sasha's Top Ten Excuse List For Missing A Run.  So I ran slower.  I figured I would run slower and shorter than planned.  But after 3 miles I felt ok and decided to go a little more.  Funny how running slower can make it better in the end after all.

And honey, I know you will read this later.  You mentioned it would be ok to take a break tonight since I did not feel like running.  But sometimes I need a little push to get out the door.  So every once in awhile remind me of that.  Unless I really need a break, then I will let you know.  love you.

Run - 5.78 - 9:00, 8:53, 8:45, 8:31, 8:14, 6:03 - 49:29 (8:33 avg.)

Got off from work and ran 2.11 miles to the pool.  Swam  1000 yards.  Then ran 5 miles.

Legs got a little sore over last 1.5 miles or so.  I think I may have to admit to myself I am feeling a little more than just muscle soreness in my left leg.  This is my 6th running day in a row.  I will not run tomorrow and see how things feels.  Of course it will take a lot longer than just one day to heal any damage.  Took 4 months last time and that may prove not to have been enough.

Run - 2.11 - 7:59, 7:51, :53 - 16:43 (7:55 avg.)

Swim - 1000 - 17:46

Run - 5 - 7:56, 7:48, 7:52, 7:43, 7:48 - 39:07 (7:49 avg.)