Running From Responsibility

73F, 94%, 7mph. 2.43 in 21:45, splits 8:37 9:09 9:13 for an average of 8:57.

Back at it again this morning after about a month of no running, mostly due to 3 1/2 straight weeks of exams. Now that finals are over, I will be studying 12-14 hrs/day for my boards in June, and so I am hoping to run each morning for some added study benefit during the day. Day 1 was a success, but man that alarm came early and my body was fighting it, as evidenced by the numbers.

68F, 73%, 12mph. 2.36 in 21:56 for a 9:16 pace and splits 9:44, 8:57, 9:10. Predictable for a 2nd run after taking a month off, given how my legs usually react to new soreness/fatigue.

Our puppy Snooki is 4 months old now, and outside of the fact that she just got spayed Saturday and has restricted exercise and playtime, she normally gets a few short periods of intense cardio each day interspersed with long periods in which she is confined to her kennel while we are gone.

This is relevant because yesterday was the first of my summer study plan for my boards June 19. I ran in the morning and then put 12 hours of study time in (minus a 1-hour afternoon library nap and another hour to go get lunch.) I started to feel a little of what Snooki must feel, running hard followed by consignation to a small space for an inordinate number of hours.

Maybe I will come out of this summer a more empathetic dog owner, if not a better doctor.

68F, 88%, 9mph. 2.43 in 21:13 for an 8:43 pace, splits 8:54, 8:49, 8:06.

13-hour study day yesterday, minus a 40-min library nap and 20 mins for lunch! No burnout yet.

70F, 68%, 7mph. 2.37 in 20:54, avg 8:47, splits 8:57, 8:38, 8:48. Felt cooler than the numbers show, probably the lower humidity.

66F, 88%, 8mph. 2.43 in 20:52 for an 8:33 pace, splits 8:37, 8:41, 8:08. Getting a little faster it seems! Also my body is not fighting it as much, though the early alarm is a different story.

My wife said it rained all night, but I didn't hear a thing. It wasn't raining at 10:30 when I went to bed or at 6am when I went out to run, but I did find the world wet, the bayou level really high and the river raging!

70F, 83%, 7mph. 2.40 in 20:11 for an 8:24 pace, splits 8:32, 8:30, 7:53.

Back at it after 3 off days. I missed both Saturday and Monday runs due to getting to bed way later than planned, and then needing to start studying once I woke up, rather than run and extend the morning later and later.

Snooki hit her 7-day post-surgery mark and was rewarded with removal of the big plastic cone around her head. Apparently she shed tears of joy, but I wasn't there to witness. She is a much happier dog these days, and we no longer feel like animal torturers.

I witnessed a very brief, very heavy cloudburst last night around 7 or 8pm here from my window in the Rice library. On my way out just before 9, I found myself making my way through hordes of June bugs. Getting off the train near my apartment, it was worms and ants all over the sidewalk. This morning on my run, it was cobwebs that I had the privilege of first breaching. All these things have made me realize that I still don't understand why rain brings the insect world to life (except for mosquitoes; I'm a Houston boy and understand that perfectly.) Does everything just live in the soil, and then is somehow unable to breathe when it gets wet? Whatever. Kind of grosses me out just thinking about it, so maybe I'm content to remain ignorant.

72F, 88%, "calm" winds. 2.37 in 20:51 for an 8:46 pace, splits 8:52, 8:51, 8:15. Dragging this morning due to a headache.

The studying continues to move right along here at the Rice library. My biggest adventures each day occur with the campus wildlife. At lunch, squirrells smell their way to my food, right at about the 3/4 point on my sandwich, like clockwork. They are morbidly obese, and they just sit there and beg for me to throw food to them. No dignity whatsoever. I threw a stick the other day to convey my diplomacy, and the squrrel let it hit him and then stooped down to smell it to see if it was edible. Even a little bird landed like 2 feet away from me to try and eat.

Coming home each night I wade through swarms of June bugs. One thing I have realized as a result, I now know why they are called June bugs, which had never occurred to me before.

Last and strangest: while fast-striding my way to the train station the other night just before 9pm, I felt something hit the back part of the top of my head. Best way I can describe it is a water-polo ball, about that size and weight, (and there was a small squeak) or someone slapping it with something. I turned around immediately, and the campus is still deserted, no one around but me and the crickets. I realized it must have been a squirrell JUMPING ON MY HEAD from one of the oak trees overhanging the path. That's the only thing that could have gotten away quicker than I could turn around, and without me hearing it owing to the headphones in my ears. What are the odds? I was in shock the rest of the night, and extra-careful to not touch my head without washing my hands. I shampooed my hair before bed as well. The animals here at Rice are just wrong in multiple ways.

72F, 83%, 9mph. 2.4 in 19:50 for an 8:14 average, splits 8:14, 8:12, 8:15. Consistency today.

73F, 83%, 12mph. Weather hasn't changed much but this morning was the first of the year that I thought was just flat-out hot. My watch battery died sometime in the last couple days so I have no speed data.

75F, 89%, 7mph. 2.39 in 20:43 for an 8:39 pace. Splits 8:37, 8:38, 8:48. Lots of meat and overeating in general to run off from the weekend, and I felt it.