Believe in yourself, and you just never know...

A touch cooler this morning, but still mid-70s and high humidity.  However, I felt pretty good.  The heart rate was also slightly down from last week.  I ran most of the first 6 miles on my own, but then ran the next 4 miles with Hank and Mike.  Ended up running the last 4 miles with Kevin and Farshid...well until Farshid kicked it into a different gear with two to go. Average pace was around 8:10.  While I wish it had been a little faster, I felt in control so all in all a good end to the running week! 

Easy run this morning.  Woke up a little late...it was HOT.  However, wanted to get a couple of miles in.  Legs felt good.  Maybe those compression socks do what they say hehe.

Epic workout today.  Warm up followed by drills and then core fun.  Normal enough I hear you say...well then add an hour of handball, and a cool down for a THREE hour workout.  I think I'm more tired than after my long run on Saturday hehe.  Didn't finish until 10am...it was very hot...but it was good to do something a bit different.  Now two easy days before the 2400m all out on Thursday!

Good workout this morning.  Felt a little cooler, maybe a slight breeze, but not exactly ideal either.  Started off with a ¾ mile jaunt to the annex.  Then a warm up with the group followed by drills.  Next up was 2400 meters all out.  Not sure if it was exactly 2400 meters, but I ran 8:51, which is probably my best time this year…that would be around 5:55 mile pace.  I felt good, and was able to speed up a little in the last couple of hundred meters.  We had a 5 minute break, and then we did relays.  Roughly 400 meters then a tag your partner, jog across the field as recovery and then go again.  We did 10 relay legs each.  Then we jogged back to the annex, and then I meandered back to the gym to shower, and then head to work.  9.8 mile total.  The legs are ttired, but the heart was warmed by the run today!

Needed to switch my short & long runs this weekend.

Note to self..do not start long runs at 7:30am in the summer.  Yes, I paid the price for starting a bit late this morning.  By the end it was brutally hot.  As such the pace was very slow, but I felt in control, and I didn't get heat stroke etc.  There will be other runs to pick up the speed!

Core workout today.  Jumping, medicine balls and other fun followed by handball, and then the long way back to RunTex and then onto the gym. 

Nice and humid this morning….just the way I don’t like it ;o).  Fartlek was the order of business today.  Warm up then 10 x 2 minutes fast, 1 minute easy.  Average pace for the fast part was 6:34.  Felt good. 

Its Texas, its summer...it was warm ;o).  The run was almost exclusively on the trail today except for a short stretch along the sidewalk.  Felt good despite the conditions.  Average pace was 8:01 so moving in the right direction pace wise.  Hopefully the forthcoming hill and speed work will help knock a few more seconds off too.

Didn't get going until 9am so it was nice & toasty.  As such I just did 3 laps of the Hancock Golf Course and then headed home.  Biggest excitement of the run was nearly being hit by a golf ball...so it keeps you on your toes hehe.

Didn't sleep well so couldn't face the 5am alarm call.  Hills was on the agenda on Tuesday so didn't want to do overdo it afterwork so just managed 4 easy miles on the treadmill.

Hill workout today.  2 mile warm up then lots of hills fun, then 2 mile cool down to RunTex and then onto the gym.  Pretty done in now so just as well I took it asy yestertday!

Easy run today.

Its days like this that I seriously think about quitting running.  A truly awful run.  I was passed my so many groups that I felt very low by the end of the run.  I paid the price for poor prep work the day before,  I had a friend in town and I had BBQ for lunch, not much a dinner, a couple of beers and not enough water.  Fortunately I made it back in one piece, no injuries, but this one will live long in the memory.  I don’t want to feel like that again….ever!!!!

Had a late night last night as we went to a concert so need to run later in the day.  Started around 5:30pm when it was a toasty 98 degrees.  However, it actually didn’t feel too bad as it a very dry heat.  Not sure if I prefer the morning (cooler, but humid) or evening (dry heat), but both are tough in different ways.  Not sure what the pace was as I didn’t have my running watch.  However, I’d guess around 8:45 pace as I was taking it slow and easy to avoid overheating.  I was pleased that I was able to keep it going.

After the run yesterday afternoon I couldn’t face the 5am alarm call.  Therefore, I decided to join the afternoon group.  It was over 100 degrees when we started and it was a hill workout….yikes.  However, again it was a very dry heat and so I didn’t feel too bad.  However, I didn’t try and set any records.  We did 5 x 600 meters up hill, followed by 3 x 200 meters backwards, and then 3 sprints followed by a jog back to RunTex.   Feet were a little sore as I somehow forgot my insoles….what a Muppet.  My wife picked me up, and we headed to Barton Springs (spring fed outdoor pool)…which helped bring my body temperature back down. 

This morning was supposed to be a temp run, but I wasn't able to get going.  Fortunately the last mile was a little better, but not a great day at the office.  Oh well there is always another run around the corner ;o).

Easy run.

Brutal conditions this morning.  I ran the first 9 miles alone.  They were slow, mentally draining and just not that much fun really.  Fortunately I bumped into a fellow runner who had started after me and was turning around.  The next 7 miles were much much better.  I felt more relaxed, the pace picked up, the humidity dropped.  It really was a big contrast.  Average pace for the whole run was 8:15, which is nothing to write home about, but given the first 9 miles that is much better than I'd expected.  He doesn't have a blog here, but thank you Kevin for turning my run around!!!!!

Interesting run this morning.  Met up with a friend to do a trail run.  We got a little lost, and then bumped into a group who were about to start a 5 mile train run.  "Sounds good" we say.  We didn't realize how technical it would be, how many stops we'd need to take, and how long we'd be on our feet.  The run took almost an hour and a half, and by the end we were pretty dehydrated.  Fortunately we had supplies back at the car.

 It was good to do something a little different for a change and to work some muscles that don't get used on the roads.