Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:00
Pace: 8:44 min/mi

Comments: Long night last night so getting up and out the door really wasn't an option. But the weather is rather Lima-esque -- meaning pretty much any time would be good to run today. Unless it was pouring down, of course. But that wasn't forecast until later in the afternoon.

This one turned into a nice payoff for the work earlier this week. Running it I didn't feel it was an overly special effort or that I was even close to the top of my game conditioning-wise. But it was a solid workmanlike effort that came in with every split comfortably under the 9 minute mark.

Conditions:
Hour: noon
Surface: concrete
Weather: overcast/drizzle
Temperature: 59 degrees
Humidity: 100%
Wind: calm
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: A slight soreness in my right achilles tendon after the first mile.

Easy Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:02
Pace: 9:15 min/mi

Comments: And that was a lot better.

The Tuesday run was not only brutal, it wiped me out for a good 24 hours. It was tough getting up the next day and it wasn't till mid-afternoon that I seemed to finally catch up with the exhaustion. So when I woke up this morning and my legs felt a little tired, I considered adding another rest day to be on the safe side.

At 6 a.m. I changed my mind and headed out. The big reason being I really want to get back into the running routine. Even a shortened run would be important for that.

Starting out, I didn't have a bit of the soreness like Tuesday and by the end of the first lap around the block I felt warmed up and rather good. I still didn't push myself out of caution (thus missing my training run threshold) but the last lap around the block felt as good as any run as I've done this year.

Conditions:
Hour: 6:15 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: light rain
Temperature: 60 degrees
Humidity: 100%
Wind: calm
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: nada

Recovery Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:36
Pace: 9:39 min/mi

Comments: And that was a thousand flavors of awful.

I was rather achy after Sunday's run and actually intended to go out this morning but had to get the oil changed in the car. A real shame because the sunrise today was spectacular.

I was noticeably sore in my quads all day but, after getting home and starting dinner, I decided to put the four mile in. The first step was deeply unpleasant and it got worse from there. I spent the first half mile just gritting my teeth to get through it and the next half mile warming up enough that my pace didn't suggest I had a sharp stone in my shoe.

The whole run was a real struggle. I surprised myself and actually stuck it out the whole distance I intended. That's a real victory at this stage in my return to the routine.

Conditions:
Hour: 7 p.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 76 degrees
Humidity: 72%
Wind: calm
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: nada

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:39
Pace: 8:54 min/mi

Comments: Between the move to a new apartment, the winter weather and the usual work weirdness, running pretty much came to a full stop in February. Some of this was legitimate. I pulled something in my upper right calf during the move and had to walk with a limp for a week and a half.

Most of it was not, though.

So I've completed the move, gotten things pretty much in order and the temperatures are just about ideal. At some point the excuses have to give way to get'er done. I went out today with no greater intention than grabbing four miles no matter how awful it got. It wasn't pleasant but went far better than I expected. I even kept it under the 9 min/mi threshold.

Conditions:
Hour: noon
Surface: concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 60 degrees
Humidity: 86 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: nada