Good day for a run and a great day for a party

Morning scene, before the fun and frenzy

Today's run (street): 3.7 miles

Happy summer! School is done and both kids are kicking off vacation this week with pool parties. Wednesday, my son had his soon-to-be 9th grade buddies to the house. That one was easy. No decorations, basic snacks and no structured activities. My daughter is hosting a bunch of 15 year-old girls today and the planning has been far more intense. To be fair, it's also a birthday celebration for her. My duties were to set up the music downstairs and to get the pizza later. My wife is taking care of everything else, which means it will probably go very well. Sounds like it is.

Yesterday was a difficult day for me. My coughing reached an apex (I'm hoping) and I spent most of the day on calls. I'd decided early on that I didn't have time to run. With the way I felt, it seemed a better idea to skip my workout. I just looked at it as a recovery day. I was hoping later that my cough was receding, but it was back in full force overnight. It does seem better today.

Although I probably spent two hours trying to get to sleep last night, I felt well enough this morning to get outside. The weather was sunny and not yet hot, so I set off in the hope that my lack of sleep wouldn't affect my running performance. I don't think I set any personal records today, but I didn't feel bogged down either. I even extended my distance a little, figuring that I should get in more mileage since I had the time.

It's been a busy week for business, but I covered most of today's interactions before lunch. People rarely schedule meetings on Friday afternoons in the summer. The exceptions are my business colleagues in LA, SF and Seattle who have three more hours of morning than I do. So far, it's been quiet, except for all the yelling and splashing by the pool.

I'm a little more than a week away from the Marcie Mazzola 5K and haven't done much to prepare, besides following my normal running schedule. I figure I can just turn up the jets on race day and get through it since it's only 3.1 miles. That assumes, of course, that I can live with my worst 5K time ever.