Long, Slow Run: 6 miles in 1:09:03 - pace 11:30 min/mi

My run today began at 9:07 am. I usually do NOT head out that late in the Summer. Now you may ask "How is October 3rd the summer?" Well, it isn't but here in Texas, it might as well be. Yesterday's high was in the 90s and so was the day before. The lows have been in mid 70s. Not really fall-like!

A front came through very, very early this morning and dropped the dew point and the temperature. It was 66 deg F when I left the house. It was 73 deg F by the time I got home. The air felt cool but the sun was warm. I stuck to the shade whenever possible. Although my run was not very fast and I did walk on more occasions than I care for, it was not the heat that made this run difficult. There were moments of ease. Moments when I felt I was in the groove and the distance ticked away easily; but, most of the run was hard.

This was the first time since Ft. Lauderdale in July that I went 6 miles so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that I am tired and drained post run. Long runs usually leave me a bit tired. I wish I could keep running far all year long. Not dropping back in milage. I miss my strong legs. The ones I developed last fall. I know I will get them back again, but jeez, it is hard.

The cold hard facts. I burned at least 600 Calories though. This app  undercounts my Calories burned. When I wear a heart rate monitor, I consistently burn at least 100 C/mi.

My route

My mile splits. The 5th mile was my best. I was in the groove that mile.

As evidenced by this figure, I walked quite a bit.

I tried a new recovery drink. I made a peanut butter banana smoothie with greek yogurt (from Chiquita Banana):

It was very good. There are several others I would like to try soon including this variation (from Kraft) on the peanut butter banana one:

Here is another peanut butter banana smoothie (from www.fitnessblender.com). This one is 433 Calories in a 14 oz serving.

What I typically do with recipes is mix and match ingredients and amounts until I get the right combination for me. Often it means that I take a bit from this recipe and a bit from that one. In the end, I am usually very pleased with the outcome.

For a Strawberry and PB Smoothie I thought I would try this one, also from www.fitnessblender.com. It is 432 Calories in one 14 oz serving.

I also thought I would give a blueberry banana smoothie a try. I found this one on Yummly. The best thing about this one is that it is PURPLE!! My favorite color :)

Just Run

When I am really tired on a run or I have found an excuse to not run or a reason to slow down during a run when I really want to maintain my pace or I'm stressed about something, my mantra of "Just Run" helps me considerably. Get out there and JUST RUN. JUST RUN to the next ____. Just Run, don't think, just run.

Early Run, September 30, 2014: 4 miles in 40:45 - pace 10:10 min/mi

I managed to drag myself out of bed on time this morning. Alarm sounded at 4:40 am and I got up, got dressed, fed the dogs, let them out, let them in, and set out on my run. The plan was to go at least three miles. It is only 15 weeks until the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. I need to be increasing my miles steadily but I felt so bad on my run last Friday that I cut my long run in half going only three miles. In TKD class on Saturday I also felt unusually tired and found what is usually fairly easy to manage to be very hard and rather painful. As a result, I decided that perhaps my late nights, my thyroid, and perhaps something else was affecting me and that perhaps I needed a rest so I skipped my Sunday run. I decided on my run this morning that if I wasn't feeling badly, if I was feeling better, I would go four miles instead of just three. When I hit the 1.5 mile mark, I was feeling good enough that I carried on until I reached two miles then I turned around.

The route that I take in the dark morning hours is along the main road in and out of my neighborhood. The advantage is that I can use the headlights to see (except when they blind me!) and the proximity of awake people to give me a sense of security. Honestly, I am more afraid of running into a coyote (our neighborhood is on the edge of development) than I am of being attacked by a person. The traffic makes both scenarios less likely.

Along my route is an elementary school. The pavement there is well lit and it is approximately one quarter mile between the road before the elementary school and the road after the school. I make a point of running faster between these two roads. This morning I hit a pace of 8:22/mile on the way out and 7:56 on the way back along that stretch. Not to bad! I felt like dying at the end by I did it.

My route

The cold hard facts. Calories are a bit low though (400 Cal)

Not too bad! Miles 2 and three are my target pace.

Working on not walking at all.

I am looking forward to cooler weather. It was in the lower seventies and nearly 100% humidity this morning. I was drenched by the time I got home. The weather report for Friday morning, my long run day, looks more favorable but SATURDAY morning looks even better: 59 deg F vs. 68 deg F! I look forward to every day being below 70 deg F in the morning. Unfortunately I have to work at a TKD tournament beginning early on Saturday so there isn't enough time to get in a 6 mile run before I have to leave at 7:30 am unless I get up REALLY early. I may be able to run fairly far but I am not very fast.