Running From Responsibility

61F, 42%, 20mph wind. Ran this one with the wife, BAREFOOT! I have wanted to try that for some time now, and it was fun. Forces you to run more on the ball of your foot or your heels will start killing you. Only one pile of broken glass to avoid. The only issue is that I probably wouldn't try this in the dark, when I usually run. Forgot to unpause the watch again after an intersection, so I don't have good pace data but I think overall it was about a 10min pace. Happy Saturday!

61F, 94%, 8mph. 2.46mi in 20:01 for an 8:08 pace. Splits were 8:06, 8:12, 8:05. First run in a while. Hoping I can stay disciplined and get to bed early enough that I can keep up at least a couple of these a week. Ideally every day, but probably not realistic for me right now.

A funny thing: I have felt more energized since springing forward. First time in my life. Maybe I should wait a day or two to trumpet this, but I got up yesterday pretty easily and this morning at 6am on 6 1/2 hours. This also could be attributable to the newest edition to our family, Snooki. She's a 9-week-old pug/chihuahua mix. We don't think she looks like either of those dogs really, and we're suspicious there may be some terrier in there. Wish I could post pictures, but I have no idea how to do that on here. She's a cute little thing but has no idea that she is not supposed to "eliminate" indoors. She goes outside too, just can't tell the difference. Hopefully that comes with time and effort.

70F, 94%, 6mph. 2.32mi in 20:28 for an 8:48 pace, splits 8:30, 8:59, 9:09. I was happy to get out there a second day in a row; that hasn't happened in months. I was clearly feeling the day-after effects of an out-of-shape runner though. I felt normal energy before the run, while taking the dog out to do her thing, but then my body just didn't respond when I started jogging. Still progress though, just like our housetraining right now.

68F, 100%, 9mph. 2.30mi in 20:16 for an 8:47 pace; splits 8:51, 8:47, 8:43. Still sluggish from the rapid-fire workouts after being so inconsistent for so long. Today I localized the problem to my hamstrings. They didnt hurt or feel sore. Didn't really feel like anything, and I think that was the issue. No power. It will come back, but it's pretty interesting to see such a drop in 2 subsequent runs after a fast first one, and my body has felt more or less the same in each one.

The run today was even earlier. I was up at 5. The puppy was whining and I didn't feel tired enough to go back to sleep, so I just started the day. I wish I felt like that every day.

70F, 94%, 7mph. 2.32 in 19:47 for an 8:50 pace, splits 8:35, 9:02, 9:03. I'm writing this Friday and this morning I broke my running streak. Took a 4-hour exam yesterday with 184 "story problems" and realized upon finishing that my week caught up to me and passed me, so I stayed up late last night catching up on reading for classes and got up early this morning as well. DaughterInLawofaFlatlander was kind enough to take the puppy out this morning so that I could start my work. Happy weekend!

72F, 88%, 14mph, overcast. 2.4 in 20:12 (That should be my mantra for the year, since that's what I do every time. "2.4 in 2012.") for an average pace of 8:24 and splits of 8:04, 8:33, and 8:54. I felt like I was sucking wind all morning, and breathing really hard at the end. But it felt so slow that I was worried about ending up with three 9min+ splits. It's amazing how the body self-regulates. All last week (after the Monday run) I felt like I was really pushing the pace, yet my hamstring fatigue kept me in the high 8s and some low 9s. Today every part of me was protesting the run and the first mile was almost 8 flat. So strange.

The puppy is mostly house-trained by now, though we still can't let her wander free more than about 2 and a half hours without taking her out or putting her in the kennel. Next steps, to get her to obey voice commands and to scratch at the door when she wants to "eliminate," as the professional dog trainers call it. Her new favorite activity is to run lightning-fast wind sprints around all the family room furniture and end up back at your feet in the kitchen each lap. It's amazing how much coordination she developed between 9 and 10 weeks. She went from tripping and falling all over herself at the rescue center to high-velocity hairpin turns around the coffee table.

66F 88% 5mph. 2.37 in 20:36 for a 8:40 pace, splits 8:17, 8:55, 9:03. 

68F, 100%, 5mph. 2.31 in 19:21 for an 8:21 pace, splits 8:08, 8:38, 8:20. Nothing unique about this one!