It was 85 degrees outside at noon. Too hot to run. But I really wanted to get back out there and see what I could do. I finally dragged myself out there by about 1:00, and it was scorching. It was 88 here on the coast and about 93 just a few miles inland from here (and right where I was heading on my run). I drank a bunch of water before starting, but I still ran both my water bottles empty by the time I hit the 3 mile mark. It wasn’t just hot, it was dry.

There are two schools of thought when running in extreme heat. One says try to walk when you can’t be in the shade, so you don’t over do it. The other says walk when you’re in the shade to achieve maximum cooling. I think I subscribed to both schools of thought today, because I was always walking and almost never running. Did I mention it was hot? Oh yeah, and I was really sore from that run two days ago. I didn’t feel like I pushed hard or anything, but I was really sore out there today.

It seems like I’m always out of town. I’ve been to San Jose, CA almost every Friday-Sunday lately, and we just got back from a 10-day diving trip to La Paz, BCS. You can’t really run (or exert yourself other ways) when you’re diving multiple times each day because it increases the risks of DCI. I’m not complaining, of course. The diving was incredible and I highly recommend it to everyone, but it does force you to take time off of running and biking.

So today was my first day back and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just sort of took it easy and tried to maintain my pace. I hit a few red lights, but I didn’t let them phase me. I wound up running almost the first 5 miles, which was pretty good for me. I noticed my cadence started falling apart at the end of mile 4 and my quick little steps turned into big tired clomps as I went through mile 5. I gave myself permission to walk home after that, but did manage to jog a little at the very end.

I wondered if there was still some residual nitrogen left in my muscles, but I think that was just me trying to come up with a good “reason” why I was so tired. I just need to get out there more often. Hopefully I will.

I had a rough start today. I wasn’t really convinced that I wanted to get out and run today. My legs were still a bit sore from the activities of the previous two days. But it wasn’t hot today, and I needed to take advantage of that. So I headed out. I skipped my normal downhill start and just cut through on the pedestrian path up to Carmel Country Road. I thought I may be able to make it up and over that first big hill without breaking down into a walk (since I had skipped the first section of the initial hill). No. I broke down mentally and let myself walk about halfway up the hill. Then I just continued walking along the top and down through the entire second mile. I was sweating like crazy and my legs were hurting a lot. I was even starting to convince myself that I should just turn around and head back.

But then I found a little bit of backbone. I said to myself, no, I’m going the full 6 miles even if I walk the whole thing. The run had been completely pathetic up to that point, quite possibly my worst first two miles ever. But committing to going the full distance changed something in me. I started to jog, then suddenly I was running. I was going pretty fast. It was slightly downhill, so it should be fast, and it was. I finished mile 3 under 9 minutes. I walked for a bit while I got my first drink of water (and poured a bunch on my head and back), then got right back to running. I ran almost another 2 miles.

I might have continued running all the way back, but as I got to the bottom of Palacio Del Mar, the road was closed. Not just the road, but the bike path (that I was on) too. They were resurfacing everything. There was hot oil and fresh tar. It didn’t look good. I saw a path down the main road (a private street that I’m normally not allowed to use) and convinced the road crew to let me jump their blockades and run to the end of the road and up onto the concrete sidewalk at the end so I wouldn’t have to re-route back up (which would have added an extra 2 miles to my trip). They agreed and I took off before they could change their minds.

But I lost my rhythm. The truth is that I was probably going to lose my rhythm anyway because the run changes from slightly downhill to very much uphill right after that, but I’m still blaming the construction, since that’s what ripped me out of the great breathing/running pattern I had going.

So I walked a lot of that final hill home, but I managed to pull out an almost acceptable average pace for the whole run.

Here is my scale for grading each mile and my overall average pace.

under 8 minutes (hasn’t happened in real life, only once on the treadmill): Smokin’ Fast
8 to 9 minute mile: Fast
9 to 10 minute mile: Good
10 to 11 minute mile: Acceptable
11 to 12 minute mile: Slow
over 12 minutes (still happening way too often): Walking

My running has really gone downhill. I can barely run more than a mile at a time without breaking down and walking. Today I once again proved that I can run, and that my body is still in control of my mind. I need to get back to sucking it up and just running.

My one “fast” mile (the only mile I actually ran) came while losing elevation. And you thought I was kidding when I said my running has really gone downhill.

I added some lunges to my warm-up routine today. I saw some running coach suggesting them on Youtube. I don’t think it helped my performance, but I think it probably helped me avoid injury and that’s every bit as good.

I walked a whole lot today, but I did manage to get one fast mile in there. It was mostly down hill, so it should have been fast, but I’ll take it.

I need to get back into my routine of running, biking, and swimming. I haven’t been in the pool or on my bike forever.

I twisted me right knee during a lazy flip-turn while swimming on Friday, so I rested it all weekend. It wasn’t hurting much today, so I seized the opportunity to go for a run. I started off strong for the first 3 miles, but I started walking before I even hit the turn-around spot at 3.2 miles.

My first three miles:
9:27
9:17
9:58

And yet I didn’t hit the 5k mark until 30:13, which means that last 0.1 mile took more than a full minute. That’s some slow walking. I splashed some water in my face and over my head and started jogging again.

I jogged most the way home, but I took it easy on the big hill and walked up most of it. I started jogging again just before I hit the top and then jogged the rest of the way back, except for the red light to cross Carmel Country Road. I don’t think it’s possible to hit that light green.

My knee wasn’t feeling great by the time I made it back, so I may have to take it easy tomorrow.

It’s not particularly hot outside, but that didn’t stop me from melting down on my run today. I work with the window next to my desk wide open most days. There is usually no wind, but we’ve had a nice cool breeze coming in off the ocean the past couple days. In fact, I’ve gone so far as to wish it was a little warmer outside. I had no such wish today.

As soon as I stepped out onto the parking lot I felt it. The sun was beating down on me much harder than I had anticipated. I almost decided to scrap the run and go swimming instead. But I was already suited up, etc. so I just went for it. I thought about all sorts of alternative routes to keep things short, but then I decided the distance is more important than the speed. So I was going to do my normal 10k route. And that’s what I did.

Well, I may have gone that route, but almost all of it was walking. I ran for about 1 3/4 miles, but then I just broke down and walked the rest of the way. I think I wound up getting my worst 10k time ever, but at least I went the distance.

I didn’t run yesterday. I knew my new running shorts were coming, but they didn’t show up till the end of the day. That’s not the only reason I didn’t run (or do anything else), but let’s pretend it is. The reality is that I wasn’t feeling well. My nose was running like crazy all day. It was getting really tender from all the wiping and blowing. I wasn’t a happy camper. But I went to bed early and felt great when I woke up this morning.

I didn’t know what size shorts to buy. This is my first pair of running shorts ever. I decided to get the ASICS Men’s 2-in-1 Shorts. I didn’t try them on till today. I should have known this before, but it’s pretty obvious to me now: I’m not built like the typical runner. I got the XL size, which has plenty of extra room at the waist (and a nice draw-string to take up the slack), but it’s pretty tight across my thighs. I guess my quads are bigger than the guy they built the shorts for. It’s not too tight, so I decided to cut the tag and keep them.

I really like them. I may have to get another pair.

I got a side ache a few times as I was getting going today. I was about to the top of the first hill and I had to stop and walk a bit, holding the right side of my abdomen with both hands. I hit the light green to cross Del Mar Heights Road at the top of the hill, but it wasn’t long till I had another side ache, so I walked some more. I ran down the steep hill on Lansdale Dr, but then walked up the other side.

I finally used my water bottle to spray water on my face. Suddenly I felt a lot better and got into a decent rhythm all the way to the turn-around at the 5k mark. I didn’t stop long, but I did splash my face again. I was jogging at what I consider my “forever pace” which is about 11:00/mile. I kept going until I was most the way up the big hill. I walked a bit then ran down the other side all the way home. I felt like I still had a lot of gas in the tank when I got back, but I have a lot of things going on today, so I couldn’t extend it. Maybe next time.

I did manage to get a new PR for my 10k.