Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:15
Pace: 8:48 min/mi

Comments: Damn strong run. And that was despite pretty brutal heat and humidity. I know I should only be focusing on completing the distance and ignoring the pace but it felt good to finally go out and get that sub-9 min/mi run in.

I knew getting started that hitting that mark was possible so, instead of trying to push the pace, I really worked on concentrating on the run itself. Keeping idle thoughts at a minimum and being hyper aware of my form, my stride and my breathing.

As a result, every mile was under the 9 min/mi mark (although the first mile made it by just two seconds) and the last mile was 20 seconds faster than the first. Since I'd like to get a bit longer run in tomorrow, I'm going to have to throw speed completely out the window for that one.

Conditions
Hour: 6:20 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 77 degrees
Humidity: 82 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Asics Gel-Kayano 21

Injury update: right heel was sore at one point.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 36:16
Pace: 9:04 min/mi

Comments: Ugh. Back to the sweltering hell runs. After a week of almost crisp mornings, the heat and humidity have returned in full force. After feeling almost human when I'm done, I'm back to the miserable sweat monster.

Still, my legs felt very strong today. I was a little worried getting started that I was going to slog this the whole way but, after about a half mile, I got warmed up and it went pretty smooth.

Very smooth, to be honest. My splits varied by just three seconds over the whole run. That's a crazy level of consistency for me.

Conditions
Hour: 6 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 75 degrees
Humidity: 85 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Asics Gel-Kayano 21

Injury update: nada

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 36:23
Pace: 9:05 min/mi

Comments: Strongest run I've had in awhile. The time doesn't really reflect it because I played it very conservative given this is my third day straight out there. I was pretty wary getting started due to that but warmed up well and held a pretty constant pace the whole way. As much as I'd love to have a run like this again tomorrow, I best give myself some rest before I screw something up.

Conditions
Hour: 5:50 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 67 degrees
Humidity: 75 percent
Wind: 5 mph
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Asics Gel-Kayano 21

Injury update: nada

Fitness Run

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

Comments: I'm starting the week with some consistency, if nothing else. This was an unremarkable four miles. The biggest plus was that I didn't have to suffer through it due to the continued cooler conditions.

I knew I'd be a bit achy from Sunday's run and I was but it didn't last longer than the first mile or so. I slowed down each mile of the run until the last one which was about the same speed as the first one.

I don't know if I am going to try for a run tomorrow or take a day off. It really depends on how my legs feel for the rest of today, I think.

Conditions
Hour: 5:45 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 68 degrees
Humidity: 69 percent
Wind: 5 mph
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Asics Gel-Kayano 21

Injury update: Tight everywhere getting started but warmed up. Still a bit of an issue with the right calf.

Fitness Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 56:29
Pace: 9:24 min/mi

Comments: While not an earth-shattering performance, this was the least uncomfortable run I've had in awhile. After the maximum-mileage week I ended up doing just one run in the last seven days. That's probably a good thing given the little aches that had surfaced but it's not doing my conditioning any favors.

A cold front finally broke the sweltering conditions, though. The temperatures were somewhat cooler but the humidity was dramatically less. And that made the effort that much more productive on this run. I kept pretty close to 9:20 pace except for the last mile when I lagged significantly. Overall, a very promising performance.

Conditions
Hour: 7 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 70 degrees
Humidity: 57 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Asics Gel-Kayano 21

Injury update: Still getting the stiffness in the right calf.