Positive Running

Ran 10.1 miles in 74:30.  Ran the first 6.1 miles in 45:00 with Steve along the north side of the Arkansas River on a partly cloudy morning with temperatures in the low-70's and the dew point of 66 degrees.  Averaged 7:13 per mile from mile 2 through mile 5, with mile 5 being the fastest at 7:07.  After running with Steve, went to the gym, put on a pair of dry running shoes and ran 4 more miles on the TM in 29:30.

Ran 10

miles on the Maumelle (west) side of Two Rivers before it started to rain.  This was an easy run at an average 8:15 pace on a warm 82 degree morning with high humidity.  There were a lot of bikers this morning. The Two Rivers Park trail is getting crowded on the weekends.

Ran 6.1 miles with Steve on the north side of the Arkansas River at an average pace of 7:23 per mile.  It was a very muggy morning with temps in the mid-70s, 92% humidity, and a dew point of 72 degrees. My energy level this morning seemed lower than usual due to the weather and problems with low vitamin B-12 levels due to my diabetic medication. 

Ran a one mile warm-up in 7:45 on the TM at the hotel in The Woodlands.  Then drove to a track and met some runners and a colleague from work to run 6 800-meter intervals.  At the track, ran a 2-mile warm-up at 8:45 and 8:23.  Then ran 6 800-meter intervals at between 3:14 and 3:21, with 2 minutes cool-down periods.  Finished  by running a cool-down mile in 7:44. 

After road biking on Monday and Tuesday night for 15 miles each evening in 104 and 102 degree weather, and a couple of tempo runs on Monday and Tuesday morning, I was ready for an easy run.  I started with a 0.7 mile warm-up on the TM, then a colleague from work and I ran 6.0 miles at an average 8:46 pace for a very easy run on an 81 degree muggy morning in The Woodlands.  Started at the park on Lake Woodlands just east of Grogans Mill Road, ran to the Waterway, then from Woodloch Forest ran south to Tamarac Park, then east on Tamarac Trail to Grogan's Mill, then north on Grogans Mill to complete the loop.

Ran 7.3 miles on the TM at a fairly easy pace.  6.5 miles at 7:53 per mile and 0.8 miles at 8:27 per mile.

A.M. Ran 6.1 miles with Steve north of the river on a warm morning.  Ran the 1st and 6th miles at an average pace of 7:50 per mile, and ran miles 2 through 5 at an average pace of 7:12 per mle.  The overall average pace was 7:24 per mile.

P.M. Ran 4.3 miles on the TM.  3.8 miles at an average 7:35 pace and 0.5 miles at an 8:27 pace.

Ran 9.6 miles with Wesley on the north side of the Arkansas River Trail on an 83 degree morning with a dew point of 73 degrees.  It was very muggy and we both consumed a lot of sports drinks and water.  Ran the 9.6 miles at a 7:58 per mile pace, but averaged approximately a 7:35 pace in the first 5 miles. 

I stopped at 9.6 miles, but Wesley continued to run at least a couple more miles.  Wesley wanted to get in as many miles as possible since his opportunities to run are limited for the next week.  With a newborn son and relatives in town from out of state, finding time to run has been a challenge for Wesley, but he still managed to be near to top of the mileage board last week.  Awesome!

Ran 6 miles on the river trail with Steve at a slow 7:34 per mile pace on a warm and muggy August morning.  The temperature was about 78 degrees and the dew point was at 72 degrees.  We ran mile 3 in 7:10, but primarily ran in the 7:20's except for the first and sixth miles (over the Broadway Bridge).  Steve's lower back is hurting from moving boxes (he's moving into a new house later this week).  My legs are sore, especially my shins and hamstrings, from all the fast running I've done this summer. 

Ran 5.4 miles with Steve on a beautiful 73 degree morning with a 5 mph wind.  Ran the first 4 miles at an average pace of 7:03 per mile.  Then felt my right hamstring strain like a bad cramp and ran the 5th mile in 8:01 and the last 0.4 miles at an 8:40 pace before walking the last 0.7 miles.  My right hamstring is still tight and sore.

Met Wesley and ran miles 16 through 31 with him at an average pace of 7:48 per mile.  I had only run 5 miles in the previous 2 weeks, and started to have calf cramps at the 15 mile point.  So, a decided to walk while Wesley ran another 9 miles.  I need to change up the electrolyte capsules that I'm taking, and run 50+ miles per week to overcome the calf cramps.  I hope be up to 20 miles for long runs in two weeks.