Fitness Run

Distance: 4.17 miles
Time: 43:24
Pace: 10:24 min/mi

Comments: Another early run. It ain't easy but it makes the rest of the day a lot easier. Hopefully I'm building a strong routine for the rest of the summer.

Legs felt kind of blah today, start to finish. It didn't really affect my effort but it was not pleasant. I'm guessing it's weather related since I ate and slept worth a damn yesterday. For a change.

I'm still getting used to the new gear and analysis. The heart rate seems to suggest most of this was at long run pace even though it's a bit faster than my training plan calls for. 

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.2 miles
Time: 43:00 (approx)
Pace: 10:14 min/mi

Comments: I almost certainly ran this one significantly slower but GPS went haywire on me. It claimed I did almost five miles and my fastest split was 5:26 min/mi pace. Not likely.

Basically this was a normal weekday run. My legs were a little bit weary at the start but warmed up pretty good. Got out earlier so it was mostly other runners and a minimum of amateur hour stupidity.

It's humid again. I missed the (relatively) cool window of weather. Just gotta  get up earlier.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.17 miles

Time: 42:40
Pace: 10:14 min/mi

Comments: Ran this one with an exaggerated cadence to account for my recent injury issue (see below). So, effort-wise, this was not as exhaustive as one might expect for the relatively robust overall pace. My first two miles were probably a little overfast but my whole focus was not screwing up the big hills on the final mile.

In the wake of the the unexpected three-day rest, my legs felt pretty strong. It also helped that the temperature and humidity are relatively nice for this time of year. On the downside, there was a surfeit of Karens out on the course this morning. 

Fitness Run

Distance: 2.14 miles
Time: 22:12
Pace: 10:21 min/mi

Comments: This wasn't pleasant at all. I didn't feel great to start with. I got out the door later than necessary so it was uncomfortably hot and muggy. And then there was a ton of people out and about. So I decided to cut it in half. I still was a soggy mess at the end. Better luck tomorrow.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 40:57
Pace: 10:10 min/mi

Comments: The end of the first three-days-in-a-row this week. I got up pretty early and the temperature/humidity wasn't completely awful so that was helpful.

Overall, this was a weird little run. I didn't plan on focusing on cadence but it kind of happened by accident. I did want to keep from overdoing it on the effort and kept pretty much the whole run in Zone 4 heart rate (none in Zone 5).

But it got a little tough on the final hills and I never really felt I hit a groove.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.56 miles
Time: 49:00
Pace: 10:45 min/mi

Comments: It's  definitely hotter and more humid now. Even heading out early didn't help much. Probably made it a little worse since the humidity drops a bit when the temperature rises in the morning.

So this one felt like a bit of a slog and I was drenched in sweat by the halfway mark. The mile or so with no shade weren't fun either. Still, none of this was in the Zone 5 heart rate so I'm not doing anything too stupid.

I hope.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 43:39
Pace: 10:46 min/mi

Comments: Up reasonably early and out the door. Weather is as good as it can get this late in the year. Which means more morons out there to deal with as I try to get my miles in. In that respect, I am ready for the swealtering heat.

A bit stiff to start but warmed up pretty quickly. I was aiming for a solid effort but nothing extreme. Pretty much the whole run was in Zone 3 heart rate so that's about as on the nose as one can get.

No real issues outside of that. Felt in control the whole way and never like I was straining.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 39:44
Pace: 9:52 min/mi

Comments: Last of the mid-week runs so I wanted to put a bit more into it. After a solid warm up mile, I decided to try and get the pace under 10 min/mi. Mission accomplished.

The other thing I decided to do was push it up the long hill on the fourth mile. This is .37 mile with a 4% grade so it ends up being an 80 foot climb overall. The 3:22 effort was my best on the segment (but now Strava put the history behind paywall, I got no idea what my old PR was).

Anyhow, it was a good effort.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.04 miles
Time: 42:24
Pace: 10:30 min/mi

Comments: Had some business to deal with this morning and got out later than usual. It was a little bit warmer but the humidity wasn't too bad. The bigger issue was my legs just felt leaden and tired. Not sure exactly why.

As a result, I had no plans for this effort and my cadence shows it. Despite that, I ended up going a little faster than expected. Only a bit of the run was in Zone 5 heart rate. Eighty percent of the effort was in Zone 3 and Zone 4. Not sure what that means.

Looking forward to the rest day.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 43:43
Pace: 10:47 min/mi

Comments: The last of a three day stretch of runs and I was really feeling exhausted at the end. As a result, this one was slooooooow and felt it. From the start I just tried to crank it out. Zero style points today.

Despite feeling like I was just hanging in there, my heart rate stayed right in the super long run mode (Zone 3) and none of it at the highest level. I can't decide if that's progress or not. I really just need to see how I recover on this next off day and come back for the long run.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.04 miles
Time: 39:53
Pace: 9:52 min/mi

Comments: Meant to run before work. Didn't happen. Wanted to get out before noon. Nope. After work on a Friday is a non-starter. So a post-lunch effort in the heat was the only other option. Wonderful.

The heat has started to climb a bit and it was very noticeable with the sun out today. The humidity was less brutal than it is going to be in a month or so but it was not a pushover either. I was sweating pretty good at the end.

According to the heart rate, I had to work a bit harder on this one but I wasn't pegged in the high range the whole way either.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.04 miles
Time: 37:55
Pace: 9:24 min/mi

Comments: Had the time to get the run in this morning but chose to get some personal finance shit done instead. It was in the mid-70s and rather humid by the time I got back to the house to get this effort completed.

The weather made it feel like a bit of a slog but my heart rate was positively chipper the whole way. only a fraction of the time was in Zone 5 and a good third of it was in Zone 3. Not sure if that's due to the rest day or what.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.04 miles
Time: 38:00
Pace: 9:25 min/mi

Comments: A little less chilly but I still decided to make it a lunch run and avoid the worst of it. Turned out to be a pretty gorgeous day so I'm rather glad I did. Everything else is going to hell so at least I've got that.

A bit tough to start and I did try and slow it down some. Cadence increased the whole way up to when the hills started. The heart rate was much better as well. Less than 20% of the run in Zone 5. At the end I felt pretty good overall.

Training Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 37:57
Pace: 9:23 min/mi

Comments: Dunno if it was the intensity of the long run Sunday or what but I have been exhausted and sore ever since. In truth, I was feeling pretty run down since Friday but, man, getting out of bed Monday was harsh.

So I was a little surprised to feel pretty good for most of this effort. Did a lot of focusing on the cadence rather than pace. That held pretty strong the whole way. About a quarter of the run was in the Zone 5 heart rate, probably hill related.

Training Run

Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 38:52
Pace: 9:34 min/mi

Comments: The rain went away but the winds came back. It wasn't particularly cold this morning but it felt chilly due to the constant winds. On the plus side, they turned out to be a lot less of an issue for the run itself than I expected.

This run went pretty well, actually. The effort was constant, my heart rate was controlled and I had the cadence up nicely along the middle mile. The splits were within 20 seconds so that was good to see as well. Hopefully, I can repeat the performance tomorrow.

The Cowtown Half Marathon

Race: The Cowtown Half-Marathon
Watch Time: 1:57:52
Official Time: 1:57:48
Pace: 8:56 min/mi

Comments: I really wasn't looking forward to this race, if I am being completely honest. I have been running much more regularly since the Walt Disney World races last month but I certainly haven't been training for anything specifically. The promise of a chilly start didn't stoke my enthusiasm much either.

But it's the fifth time for me on this course so I felt a little obligated to put in the effort. So I was up early and (sorta) ready to go with the starter gun at 7:00 a.m. this morning.

The plan was to tackle it pretty much how I did the Dallas Half Marathon, keep it slow over the first half and up the pace on the second half depending on how my legs felt. The complicating factor being the big-ass hill on mile nine and the other, smaller, climbs through the end of the course.

As usual, I found myself wanting to surge forward at the start and needed to make a conscious effort to hold it slow and steady as we got going. I might have overdone it on mile two but, for the most part, I kept it above the 9-minute-mile mark through the halfway point. Mostly I ignored the Garmin and focused on cadence; short, shallow steps with high rate of turnover.

After the Stockyards I let myself start to pass folks some but still didn't open it up for real. I noted that I hit the 10K mark at just over one hour (1:00:38) so I knew a sub-two-hour effort was in the cards.

Then it was time for the hill on mile nine and I was in no mood to brook any sass from it today. I really focused on beating its ass today. I turned in the fastest mile to that point in the race, so I consider my effort pretty successful.

From there on out, I tried to stride the downhills and focus on reeling people in on the flats and elevations. At the end I felt I had run a strong race but didn't feel totally wiped out and exhausted like in years past. Could I have done it faster? Possibly. But running it in control like this was really what I hoped to accomplish.

Training Run

Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1:19:47
Pace: 9:58 min/mi

Comments: I actually planned on doing this run tomorrow morning. But with a few hours left in the afternoon I couldn't think of any reason not to just get it done. The temperatures were cool, my legs were as rested as they would be and I wouldn't have to battle freezing temperatures.

This is the first time I did the double circuit of the golf course loop despite that being the best intention quite a few times. Doubling up on the hills sucked but, overall, it went pretty well. My pace turned out fine but my heart rate was higher than I'm really happy with. Hopefully that just ongoing recovery from the races.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 42:07
Pace: 10:31 min/mi

Comments: Took two days off after the race to recover a bit. Felt pretty good on day three so took off for a very easy four mile run. Weather was a little chilly at the start but warmed up very nicely over the course of the effort.

The run went well. I started a little stiff but loosened up quickly and felt good the rest of the way. Yes, I was going super slow and easy but that's not bad for doing 40 miles the weekend prior. I will take tomorrow off and try and get another one of these in on Friday.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:46
Pace: 9:40 min/mi

Comments: Not bad for the first run of the year. I haven't put on my running shoes since Christmas Day and, in that context, this run went better than I could have expected. But I'm not feeling in peak condition as raceday rapidly approaches.

It was cold all day so I wasn't in any hurry to get out there. As the afternoon drew on, it kept getting darker and colder so I finally had to bite the bullet and get it done. It was very unpleasant at the start and I never really fell into a groove.

That said, it was not a bad overall effort. I wasn't comfortable but I wasn't having a horrible time of it either. The next effort probably will be a better barometer of how my legs are really doing.

Training Run

Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1:18:43
Pace: 9:50 min/mi

Comments: The intention of doing 12 miles was well enough but didn't come to pass. I think I could have done it well enough but the route I was on really had me anxious. It was a tight winding road with cars going way too fast. I got four miles out and decided I had taken enough chances for one day and turned around.

I felt pretty good actually. Ran a little fast due to the temperature and anxiety about traffic though and you could tell by the heart rate measure. Still, my legs felt good even with the six miles yesterday.