Pink leg day

My run this morning was very wet. My shirts weighed quite a bit when I got home. The temperature was in the 40's but it felt like in the 30's. My legs were pink when I finished. Not due to any special support for #breastcancer, (I do support #breastcancer) today was purely from the weather conditions. With my return to a work schedule, I need to figure out how to get back to running regularly. It was easy to do three days a week with the time schedule all of my own making. Now, with winter approaching, it is dark early, dark late, and colder. No fun there, just complications. I just need to juggle my priorities and make time for running.

In memory only

I choose a different six mile route to run today. I had called this the MelDivas 6 as it used to start downtown at the MelDivas Coffeeshop but it has been closed for almost 2 years now. Fortunately, Cafe Dolce has opened right across the street so the route mileages still apply. So MelDivas is in memory only. It was raining as I started and raining a little as I finished but most of the run was without the rain.

300 miles this year!

The heat has broken finally. The remains of Tropical Storm/Depression Danny left behind plenty of liquid and now we have a cool spell coming. Just in time to get some good runs in. I had gotten to the track Friday for the first time in awhile. I did some easy strides up and down steps in increments of 100 meters (100-200-300-400-400-300-200-100). It felt good to stretch the legs out. It was also good to feel pleasantly tired for the remainder of the day. I ran 5 this morning choosing a good rolling course. I ran slower than I thought I might although considering I did the track on Friday and this was the first long run since the beginning of the month, it was a decent one. Turned out to be a milestone in that I ran my 300th mile this year during the run this morning. The return to conditioning is well underway. With some New England autumn weather to look forward to, I should be able to get some good runs in.

Don't like the humidity

Yes, humidity is very high on my running "Don't like" listing. Actually, the only thing higher on the listing is not running at all. So I do. Under duress. With appropriate clothing appropriate hydration a shortened or shaded route earlier in the day (or even later in the dark) and it is not that bad after all. A good workout is going to generate some sweat anyway. Running in humidity just means you get wetter sooner. But as some said, you only get wet once. Just two easy miles for the log today. I didn't run last Thu or Sun. I really have missed my last two long Sunday runs due to the heat/humidity and quite hopeful that this weekend, I'll be able to get a good run in. What do you do to run in the heat?

6 miles today

6 miles completed juice and coffee at Cafe Dolce will pick me up for the walk ho, originally uploaded by shersteve. I did a 6 mile run today and rendezvoused with Dolores and her walk to met at Cafe Dolce. The juice and coffee will pick me up for the walk home together. Note: these flowers were in the hanging basket outside Cafe Dolce

the summer breeze feels so good

the summer breeze feels so good, originally uploaded by shersteve. Altered my route today due to the high humidity. I shortened the length and changed to one where there was lots of tree cover. I was hoping the shade would help and it did. The course change did add a big element of more hills but that was the price to pay today. I took a couple of stretch and water breaks, lengthening one to Twitter about the hope for rain. It turned out to be a passing cloud, nothing more than that. I added a stop at the Dunkin Donuts on the last stretch to enjoy a nice coolatta but alas their machine was down and nothing of that sort was available. I passed on the coffee as it was already too hot. Walking the final stretch home by Spruce Pond, I enjoyed the breeze. You can see evidence of it in the ripples on the water surface. Weighing myself I found I lost about 7 pounds of water weight. I have been hydrating myself all afternoon and am not quite back to normal yet. Good excuse for a second beer today! What is the lesson from running in the heat? Adjust to the conditions. I ran slower, took a shadier course, and carried water. All things that Amby Burfoot covers in his recent Runner's World article on running in the heat. It is good advice to follow. May the roads and trails be kind to you!

Misty day

Sunday, Father's Day, out for a good run to ultimately rendezvous with Dolores at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and walk the last bit home together. She went her way to meet at time certain. I went mine. She walked. I ran. Would the calculations work out correctly? I spent too much time worrying about that on the run. It was distracting me from focusing on the stride, keeping a good pace, working the up slopes and cruising down slopes, letting gravity provide the extra boost. It did work out. We arrived within a couple of minutes of each other. The mist timed itself to make a bigger appearance as we left with coffee in hand to walk the home stretch. Enough to coat my glasses making it harder to see. This is one of the reasons I run without my glasses. I carry them in a glasses case with a hook and tucked into the band of my shorts. Light enough not to bother me on the run. Handy enough if they are needed to really see what's happening around me. I hope your run today was a good one!

there be days

When you just don't feel like running (last Sunday) When you feel like running forever (today) When the hills don't matter (today) When the hills do seem insurmountable (last Sunday) When you reach a good milestone (today, 202 miles year to date) When you achieve a milestone (everyday)

Parmenter 5K results

Not a bad run for starting out too quickly. When I hit the first mile in about 7:00, I knew I was going to be in trouble. That normally would be a good pace, but I knew I had not done the work to keep that pace going. I slacked off to about 9:00 and then came on stronger in the 3rd mile. It helped that the course was all through my neighborhood. I knew the streets well. I come up Peck or Wachusetts to King to finish all runs anyway. Coming up Peck to King was an advantage mentally and I caught a couple of places there. The final turn on Wachusetts coming into the front of the Parmenter School was a nice down slope so I could stretch it out and leverage gravity. I needed it by that point. I did finish about 40 seconds better than the 5K at the St Patrick's Race in Providence. A good improvement for the amount of work I have done to date. I need longer runs on Sat/Sun and some good track work to continue to work on building the pace strength. The pace is there, the strength is not (yet). The official results are available at Cool Running

Parmenter 5K Run/Walk 5/31/09

The web site for the Parmenter 5K Run/Walk can be found here On the web site you'll find links to the course map, a registration form to print out and other race details.