Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:22
Pace: 9:20 min/mi

Comments: Up early again. With the heat promising no letup in the foreseeable future, it looks like this is my new routine. Which, to be honest, isn't all that bad (outside of the wakeup part of it). It's nice to be out there before all the stupidity gets a chance to get going.

I was a little creaky and sore getting started but that's somewhat understandable. It took a good mile or so to warm up but, when I did, the rest of the run went very smoothly. I felt in control the whole way with this one and increased my pace each lap.

Long Run

Distance: 9.07 miles
Time: 1:30:15
Pace: 9:57 min/mi

Comments: Since the heat has started early this year, I'm having to start early as well. I got up a little after 5 a.m. and was running about an hour later. I decided to do White Rock Lake partially because if I ran it clockwise, I'd have shade from the trees on the second half when the sun was up.

This worked exactly as I planned. And my effort to acclimatize to the warmer weather seems to have worked as well. There is just one drawback to this approach -- humidity. It was formidable and I was sweating heavily by the end of mile one. Still, that's better than trying these kind of miles in the heat of the day.

I didn't look at my pace at all on this one so the sub-10 minute/mile overall effort was a nice surprise. That probably would have been my goal had I chosen to set one. I have to say, I'm pretty happy with this run and this week overall.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:47
Pace: 9:41 min/mi

Comments: It's hot. It's humid. And we're only looking at things getting worse on both fronts. I didn't get out the door until mid-morning and that was really too late. This run was a battle against fatigue the whole damn way.

So, hopefully, I'm making progress in terms of acclimating to the heat. I'm hydrating as much as I can but it's almost to the point where carrying liquids might become necessary. I've been a little surprised to keep the paces up on these but that's likely to erode as temps climb higher.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:10
Pace: 9:32 min/mi

Comments: Not gonna lie, this one was brutal. I didn't get out there until it was pretty warm partly by design. Temperatures are gonna get pretty uncomfortable this weekend. I want to be 100% acclimated before that happens. At which time I'll retreat back to early morning runs.

The first two miles were a challenge and, since I didn't eat yesterday, my energy levels were pretty low. I felt positive at the turnaround but things got progressively harder from there. The final mile turned into a practice bout with fatigue. Always a delightful adventure.

But, I got the four miles in.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:34
Pace: 9:37 min/mi

Comments: So I've now got a two-day streak going. Progress!

I considered getting out slightly earlier and taking advantage of the temperatures but I was making progress on work and I do need to work on acclimating to these temperatures. So it was on the warm side and very humid when I got out there.

The run went really well, though. I got into a nice groove and just tried to maintain it. I deliberately was trying to avoid pushing things in order to get the distance and build on yesterday's progress. Still, I am happy with the overall pace and effort.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:38
Pace: 9:24 min/mi

Comments: I had the best intentions yesterday but the weather had other ideas. It rained with lightening all morning and I got busy with a ton of stuff by afternoon. I justified all this with a resolution to stick with the plan this week. And that starts today.

This run went fine. It was a bit warm and humid but not brutal as some of the other recent efforts. Hopefully that's acclimation kicking in a bit. I deliberately avoided looking at the GPS until the finish. The effort turned out to be sufficently quick but I didn't want to overdo it here at the start of the week.

Fitness Run

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 46:56
Pace: 9:23 min/mi

Comments: After the unfinished effort yesterday I wanted to 1) get out the door early enough to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and 2) get the extra mile back if I could. I was up pretty early and able to get to the course by about 6:30 a.m. so that part worked out.

It was actually nice temperature-wise but the humidity was formidable. I was drenched with sweat by the halfway point but the fatigue wasn't as bad. I got the five miles and, although I made it a point to ignore the pace entirely, that worked out pretty well too.

Fitness Run

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 27:32
Pace: 9:10 min/mi

Comments: So work engagements and other weirdness conspired to disrupt my running plan. I got out today but later than I wanted and I paid the price. It was as hot as any run I've done this year. So, despite good intentions, I ended up cutting this one short as well.

In retrospect, I probably went out too fast given the conditions but I probably underestimated things due to the relatively low humidity. By the end of mile two I could feel the heat taking its toll and as the end of mile three I decided pushing it would not be the best idea.

No. I'm not happy about it.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:20
Pace:9:34 min/mi

Comments: The Sunday run really did a number on me. Between the pollen and sunscreen in my eyes, my whole face swelled up. The sunburn on my chest got unbearable. And, best of all, I felt like a sinus infection was coming on.

Tuesday was better but work commitments and inclement weather overwhelmed my day. I didn't get back out there till today and it was as humid and awful as I expected.

Given the situation, my goals were modest. I got my four miles and the pace wasn't horrific. Still, I need to get acclimated to the heat and start producing decent runs soon.

Fitness Run

Distance: 7 miles
Time: 1:10:34
Pace: 10:04 min/mi

Comments: The good news is I was able to get my weekly goal done plus a little bit extra. The bad news is I couldn't get my goal of eight miles, much less the hoped for ten. The culprit: heat and humidity.

Realistically, the weather wasn't all that bad. Certainly not as bad as it's gonna get. But I am very much behind the curve when it comes to acclimation to the summer conditions. Hopefully, today is a strong first step to getting there.

I started off better than I expected but I had a lot of soreness over the course of the effort. The week of walking around Walt Disney World still is making itself known. And the sunburn too, of course.