Conditions good, gear low

Gateway to the Middle school (literally)

Today's run (street): 3.25 miles

I've been both run and workout free since last Sunday and only have myself to blame for it. I should be doing runs or an elliptical session before I leave for work. I often think about running a few miles after I get home. For the most part I've done neither, so most weeks I end up cramming it all in between Friday and Sunday.

On Fridays I usually feel pressure to get out early. I work from home on those days and I need to be fully focused on business by 7:30 or 8:00 AM. My company was closed today for Independence Day and our holiday extends through Monday. That took away the pressure of an early run and triggered my tendency to procrastinate before getting outside. I managed to stall until almost 10:00 this morning. Fortunately, the temperature and humidity were still very comfortable.

I usually keep my Friday runs between 3-4 miles to save time. Today I had more flexibility. Despite that, I ended up doing a short run. I started well, but soon had difficulty with my stride. I couldn't get out of second gear and the effort felt very hard. There are some runs that are so enjoyable that we resent the practical need to end them. This wasn't one of those runs.

It wasn't all bad. The streets were empty, probably due to my late start and the fact that the school year is over and the buses are no longer running. Although I didn't feel I ran well, I was happy that I got out on such a beautiful day. I've changed my route lately to finish through the middle school and that loop provides the opportunity to add another quarter mile to my regular course.

The weather on Saturday looks to be cloudy (my favorite running conditions). Humidity levels seem lowest between 8:00 and 9:00, although I'd like to get out earlier. I'm thinking that a visit to Stillwell Woods might be just the thing to get me into another gear.

Stalling for time, but getting it done

Well, I did finally run

Today's run (Street): 3.9 miles

For no good reason, I just couldn't get myself out the door this morning. I finally did, but it wasn't for lack of stalling. I knew that every minute I spent taking care of "just one more thing", it was getting warmer outside. And yet I found plenty of distractions that kept me from starting my run before 11:00 AM.

We had a family dinner last night and got home late, but I still got up fairly early. I got right into  work and that delayed me from focusing on my run plan. I usually prepare my gear while my wife starts her treadmill run, and get back home around the time she's finishing up. I knew I was in trouble when I heard the treadmill's motor slowing for her cool-down while I wasted more time. At that point, I considered taking a rest day. Somehow, I found myself getting dressed for a run.

The run itself felt a little harder than yesterday's, and I wondered if I should allow myself a break with an easy recovery run. But I was committed to the tougher option, so I focused once again on my speed. I mixed up my route and even added an extra half mile to get closer to four miles today. In the end, I did good, but not great. The important thing is that I ended up getting the run in. Even if it took a while to get out the door.

Hesitation forces a Plan B run

The soggy price of procrastination

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

All of today's business related activities could be managed by emails, calls or virtual meeting rooms, so I didn't need to go into the city. Knowing that, I took my time getting ready for my planned outside run. The weather was cold and the skies were overcast, but the local news channel was saying we'd see no rain until noon. I waited until both kids had gone off to school and headed upstairs to change.

The reported temperature was 43 degrees, but it felt colder than that. I put on two long sleeved shirts and a pair of medium weight running pants. I took my time getting dressed, including HRM strap, GPS watch, RoadID and SPIbelt. I was just about to head outdoors when I heard my wife call from upstairs, "Do you know it's raining!?" I looked outside and saw the water coating the back deck. Ugh. I headed back upstairs to implement Plan B.

Some people don't mind running in the rain, but I really dislike it. Besides the visibility issues that come from wearing glasses, the experience is worsened by soaking wet pants, jerseys and socks. Plan B is usually the treadmill, unless I feel like a change and use the elliptical. Today I wanted to run, so after a quick change into running shorts, I was on the treadmill once again.

There's never much to say about a treadmill workout unless something unusual happens, and today nothing did. If I had spent less time on my laptop this morning, and instead, headed out by 7:00, I would have enjoyed a refreshing outdoor experience in dry conditions. And if that was the case, I'd probably have something more interesting to write about today.