Running From Responsibility

42F w/ wind chill, 40%, 11 mph w/ 19 mph gusts. 2.59 miles in 21:19, for an 8:14 pace. Splits were 8:00, 8:21, 8:28. Didn't feel like I was getting slower, but apparently I was. First run again in about 2 weeks; we have been in houses full of people for most of the holidays; Cypress with my family through Christmas and Puerto Rico with my wife's family for the week between Christmas and New Years. Her uncle works for the FBI down there. It's not so much the new place that makes it harder to run, but the lack of any kind of consistent sleep schedule.

Ready to start my last semester of classroom-style school tomorrow and get it over with! Hope everyone had happy holidays.

33F, 48%, 2.34 miles in 20:02 for an 8:32 pace, splits 8:35, 8:35, and 8:14. For once no wild fluctuations in my splits! I have been fighting my schedule lately and this morning I victoriously got out of bed at 5:30 on one of the coldest days of the season so far. I love running early when everything is dark and quiet, and traffic along my route is low.

School is back in full swing. This semester I am balancing studying for classes with studying for Step 1 of the boards, which I take June 19th. This is the test that determines what specialties we are able to do, the last big test of my life.

68F, 94%, a fine mist the whole time. It's been a long time since I've run in weather as crazy as this morning. 2.29 miles in 19:09 for an 8:20 pace and splits of 8:27, 8:13, 8:17.

59F, 59%, 10.4mph. 2.28 in 18:51, splits: 8:13, 8:14, 8:25. Lots of traffic out early this morning.

52F, 82%, 8mph. 2.32 in 19:44 for an 8:29 pace (8:34, 8:35, 7:56). Felt really tired and sluggish this morning. Still getting into shape after a period of leaving really long intervals between runs.

50F, 82%, 11.5mph. 2.35 in 20:25 for an 8:41 pace. Splits were 8:46, 8:35, 8:49.

It was good to finally get back out after about 2 weeks of not getting to bed on time. Hopefully I can take advantage of these last few months of cooler weather!

59, 100%, 8.1mph. Ran about a half-mile without unpausing my watch after waiting at an intersection, so no good data today. I think it was about an 8:30 pace. In other news, a jackrabbit and I startled each other. That's the first one I've seen in this part of the city. This area doesn't seem like the most ideal habitat for rabbits...

57F, 100%, 7mph, 0 jackrabbits. The wind felt stronger than 7mph this morning; it felt like a steady headwind both ways. Again, forgot to unpause my watch after one of the intersections so I don't have a total time or splits, but the pace was about 7:54, so significantly faster than the last one.

I realized about half a mile in that I felt stronger than I normally do pre-6am, so I decided to push it a little bit. The strength started fading before I was even a mile in, so the rest of the run was pretty miserable, but I wanted to get under an 8 min pace. My breathing rate when I finished reminded me of finishing those nasty 400s at high school track meets; sucking air as fast and hard as you can and still not getting enough.

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!

72F, 100% 9mph. 19:44 for a 8:30 pace, splits 8:18, 8:31, 9:04. Body was fighting the run again this morning - felt really out of shape and sluggish. I think it's because I haven't been eating very well the last week or so. Glad to be out though; rain started coming down hard less than an hour after I finished.

64F, 73%, 13mph. Felt great outside early this morning. 2.33 in 19:58, avg 8:34 pace, splits 8:16, 8:48, 8:43. Took the puppy for a brisk 15-min walk afterwards. She is getting more exercise these days since we're not walking in the heat, and it's improving behavior and obedience around the house.

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.

73F, 73%, 13mph. 2.36 in 20:26 for an 8:38 pace, splits 8:38, 8:35, 8:42

Up at 5:10 this morning to try to get an earlier start. I am turning into an (my) old man. The difference in traffic at 5:25 vs. 5:45 is amazing.

Watched a heavy storm yesterday from my big window here at Rice, though it didn't last long; just long enough to cool things off, relatively. This morning while walking here it was almost chilly. Welcome, June!

75F, 100%, calm winds. 2.31 in 20:11, splits 8:22, 8:52, 9:23. Palpably hotter/tougher conditions this morning, as my splits illustrate. Before my watch beeped the 2nd mile reading, I thought I had sped up from the first mile. Same with the last 0.3. I think a great indicator that you're out of shape/overmatched/not feeling it is when you steadily slow down despite feeling like you're speeding up. Thought for the day.

73F, 83%. Felt just as humid as the 100% on Tuesday. 1.99 in 17:50 for an 8:57 pace. Slow, dragging morning. Right about 1.95 I stepped weird on my left foot and couldn't run any more, so I walked about 0.2, then ran the last 0.2 again because the pain vanished as quick as it came. Didn't start my watch again for fear of confusing the satellites and messing up my data.