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: 4.02 miles
Time: 41:51
Pace: 10:24 min/mi

Comments: I have gotten so far out of sync with my running schedule despite the best of intentions. I skipped the long run yesterday and really had to make myself get out there this morning. I don't want to slide into break in the routine so I better clamp down on this shit now.

Today's run went better than expected. Getting out late meant it was warmer but the relatively low humidity still played in my favor. I got a pretty good pace although I made it a point of not overdoing it. The extra days off seem to have helped get my legs rested, if nothing else.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.54 miles
Time: 46:52
Pace: 10:19 min/mi

Comments: Up pretty early but got busy with bread prep. I was a bit concerned about dealing with other runners/walkers/dogs so I took a slightly different route. Downside? More traffic but it's early enough in the morning that wasn't completely terrifying.

Slow and steady effort. I focused more on keeping consistent on the uphills which were pretty much constant on the second half of this effort. I never got into Zone 5 heart rate so that suggests I had it under control. Pace wasn't earth-shattering but that wasn't the point anyway.

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: 4.05 miles
Time: 41:20
Pace: 10:13 min/mi

Comments: After the abysmal effort on Sunday, I decided it made sense to give myself an extra day off. I have run a lot of miles this year and I would prefer not overdoing it. There have been a number of low-level issues -- soreness, lethargy, lack of motivation -- which I don't want to blossom into something major.

The timing was ideal as a cold front pushed through making this morning's weather rather pleasant again. I made it a point to focus on cadence and keeping the exertion level very manageable. Still got a quicker overall pace than I was expecting though. Almost the whole run was in the Zone 4 heart rate so that's about what I wanted.

Fitness Run

Distance: 3.56 miles
Time: 40:05
Pace: 11:15 min/mi

Comments: This did not go well at all. I got up early and out the door in good order. I felt OK and figured all I needed was to warm up and get to it.  But, starting out, my legs felt completely KAPUT.

I struggled through the first mile and it was clear nothing was improving. It was a bit warmer and  more humid than I expected and I didn't see how I would survive the later portions of the run in the full sun. So I cut it short.

I don't know if this was the conditions today or something more substantial. I'll keep tabs on it over the off day.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 42:10
Pace: 10:24 min/mi

Comments: Got decent sleep and ate reasonably well yesterday and it made a difference. I didn't have the empty legs or vague discomfort on this one which I have been feeling a lot recently. I also wasn't a total sweaty mess finishing up.

Which isn't to say I wasn't sweaty and messy. It was plenty warm and humid (although the latter could have been a LOT worse). The goal was a solid but not brutal effort in advance of tomorrow's long run.

Pretty much checked all the boxes and finished feeling solid, not worn down.

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: 41:35
Pace: 10:18 min/mi

Comments: So it turns out today is Global Running Day. Which makes it nice that I had a run scheduled. I guess.

My legs felt pretty tired the first half mile and again on the last half mile. The latter probably due to the hills. The rest went reasonably well despite the warmer conditions.

Effort-wise this was pretty much in the same range of most of my recent runs.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 44:12
Pace: 10:53 min/mi

Comments: After a rough Monday it felt good to get back into the routine. I was a bit stiff getting started (and took an early stop to clear back a persistent shrubbery) but warmed up pretty quickly.

So the first mile was overslow and the second one probably overfast. The last two were pretty much in line when you factor in the hills involved. The humidity wasn't fun but it wasn't awful either. Probably as nice as it's gonna be for awhile.