A week of celebrations and bad running

Just a bunch of pomp and circumstances

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.2 miles
Last Sunday's run (track): 3.6 miles
Last Saturday's run (street): 4 miles

It's the end of the academic year and my kids have finished all their classes. My daughter just completed her freshman year at college and my son graduated high school Wednesday night. Last Saturday we hosted my son's graduation party and that was loud and fun. Mrs. ER and I had a table adjacent to the party space and the wait staff kept bringing us food. And then they brought cake.

Track be nimble, fog be thick

I definitely exceeded my calorie and sugar budget and hoped that I'd at least get some running benefits from all that carb loading. I didn't. I ran around my neighborhood on Friday and Saturday with mixed success and decided to run at the track on Sunday. Conditions were very foggy (according to Garmin humidity was 100%) so I knew what I was in for.

In celebration of my son's graduation and my daughter's birthday, I took a couple of vacation days this week. I've been fighting a sore throat since Tuesday and worked from home on Tuesday and Wednesday. That would normally prompt me to get a couple of extra runs in during the week, but I wasn't feeling up to it.

Even though Wednesday night went late due to graduation and post graduation festivities, I managed to get myself out the door for a run the next morning. I slept longer than on a work day, but was still tired when I got dressed for my run. Things didn't get any better once I hit the road despite another night of carb loading. Every time I have a run like this I start to worry that I've gone over the edge and will never run well again.

Thursday was more celebrating with food, this time for my daughter. I told myself that despite the gluttony, residual head cold symptoms and my less than impressive running, I would go out with a good attitude this morning. It was very humid when I stepped outside so I didn't overdo it. I ran far better than yesterday and felt encouraged that I've broken my streak of lethargic workouts.

Today was a vacation day from work but not from life and we all put attention to things that needed to get done. I spent a few hours replacing our home networking system which always brings joy and frustration in equal parts. But I got it done. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to post today.

I'm not sure what the weather will be this weekend but I hope things cool off. If I can follow through with it, I'll get out very early tomorrow to beat the hot morning sun. By 7:30 this morning things were barely bearable.

20th anniversary run and fun

Getting the scoop (or the schmear) at Bagel Boss

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

I took the day off from work today because it was my 20th anniversary. Besides enjoying the luxury of sleeping until 5:30 AM and not driving 35 miles and back today, I got in a nice morning run. The weather is currently monsoon-like, but just before 8:00 AM it was cool and overcast with nary a drop of humidity. I like to start my weekday runs at 8:00 because that gives me about 40 minutes between the caravan of high school and middle school buses and the secondary wave of elementary school buses and kid drop-offs.

The buses don't bother me that much because I can hear or see them coming at a safe distance. I always hop onto the sidewalk in those cases. Parents dropping off their kids are a different story. They're typically aggressive speeders who don't even pretend to slow down for stop signs. I stay hyper aware at all times.

This morning I saw a car that was going at least 10 MPH faster than the speed limit almost collide with a car coming around a blind corner from the opposite direction. Besides that, I ran past a house as a car started backing out of the driveway without looking. I anticipated that and she heard my yell loudly and clearly.

The rest of the day was spent doing various anniversary-like things, including having lunch at our favorite Thai restaurant and going to Home Dept twice. We also walked into a location shoot that the local news station was broadcasting from a neighborhood shopping center. I have no idea what they were talking about, but it appeared to be bagel-related.

Tomorrow it's back to work, which doesn't seem fair as today felt so much like a Friday. Still, I did get in my run and I'm looking to do the same on Friday morning. We have family staying part of the weekend so I have to remember to grab my Saturday running gear out of the guest room before they arrive.

Triple celebration after a sweltering start

Today's run (street): 5.4 miles

Today was a triple celebration day: Father's Day, my daughter's birthday and the first day of summer. Since we celebrated Father's Day yesterday, there wasn't much going on related to that. Celebrating summer is a passive thing unless you are a Druid, so today was really about my daughter. Except for the kids spending time in the pool midday, most of our celebrating happened indoors or out at places. A good idea considering the August-like humidity.

Loopy

The day did not start in a promising way. The torrential rains and heavy thunderstorms predicted by the weather services turned out to be less intense than expected. However, it was enough to discourage the Runsketeers from going out early as we'd planned. My friends switched the run to later in the afternoon, but I couldn't join them due to birthday stuff. I'm truly sorry to miss that, but the 90° heat and 90% humidity would not have been too enjoyable. I'm curious to hear how that went.

I thought I'd be doing today's workout on the treadmill and had considered doing a faux brick (30 min treadmill, 30 minute elliptical) to minimize my treadmill time. By 8:30 AM, the rain stopped and I went outside to run. My plan was to run loops around the neighborhood that would keep me close to home in case the skies opened up again.

Although it was overcast when I started my run, I thought to wear my sunglasses and that turned out to be a good decision. Over the course of my 50+ minute workout, the sun broke through the clouds and made for a sweltering experience. I kept my effort below anaerobic threshold to keep things tolerable. After three 1.2 mile loops, I expanded my route to ensure that I would cover at least five miles. That course turned out more circuitous than expected and I ended up adding another .4 mile to that total.

It was definitely 5 miles the hard way, and though I felt depleted and dehydrated, I was happy that I got out this morning. My motivation before my last three runs was very low, but each time I rebounded during the run. I'm almost as proud of myself for getting myself out there as I am for getting my runs done.

So happy summer, happy birthday and happy Father's Day. With the 13 miles I've covered over the past three days, I think I worked hard enough to justify the birthday cake we'll be having tonight.

Rest and celebration on a hot summer's day

It's been quite a week off between vacation, Father's Day, and my daughter's middle school graduation. On top of that, today is my daughter's 14th birthday, so the celebration continues. In between all that, I've already run 19 miles this week. That should help push me past 80 miles for the month.

This morning my daughter received an award for achievement at her school. The ceremony started at 8:00 AM so I decided to take a rest from running today. I have the whole weekend to get in more miles. It's brutally hot and very humid right now and I am hoping that conditions will be better by tomorrow. Most of today's activities will be held indoors, except for some fun and games by the pool.