Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Partner In Crime

Wasn't feeling in the mood for a run this morning. Almost stayed in bed. But I dragged ass out of bed and put myself in front of some coffee. My son finally got out of bed and said he wanted to ride his bike while I went for my run. So I hung out until he finished his breakfast then we headed out the door.

The run itself was fairly pleasant. The weather was a little cooler. The bugs weren't around. And the wind was nice. Oh, and I had some company to keep me entertained along the way.

Video:
Here's yesterday's 360 VLOG.


Weather:
Temps were about 75F. Sun was out with a few clouds. Wind was moderate. Humidity was light.

Fluids and Fuel:
Coffee before the run. Plain water during the run. Ran out with half a mile to go because I had to share with my partner. Recovery was two English muffins, two eggs, two pieces of pork roast, and coffee.

Aches and Pains:
None.

Gear:
Wore shorts and a t-shirt.

Today's Motivation:
Didn't have much to start with. Once I got out of bed and my son said he'd join me, then he was my crutch the rest of the time I was out there.

Naughty Neil:
Weigh-in was a day late but I'm down to 231 pounds. Despite eating so many evening snacks. But I'm doing better at curbing it before I even start.

Splits:
Loop 1 - 18:00
Loop 2 - 18:34
Finish - 36:34

Thursday, July 14, 2016

16 Year Anniversary

Today's run was nearly cut short. Repeatedly. It was blazing hot, I missed a few days, and I just wasn't feeling the mood. Not to mention the horse flies were aggressive. I got a quarter mile into the run and just felt blah about everything. Then my dad walked out to the end of his driveway to start his morning walk so I just hung with him and put in a good mile-plus shooting the breeze and shooing horseflies.

After he peeled off when his walk was done I kept going and finished my run. And while I was tempted to quit early, I only had a short quarter mile through enemy territory so I just hustled my butt through the flies and finished.

Weather:
Temps were 80F. Humidity was high. Sky was partly cloudy. No wind.

Fluids and Fuel:
Nothing before the run. Plain water during the run. Recovery was coffee, two slices of toast, two eggs, and two sausage patties.

Aches and Pains:
Right knee has been hurting some but it didn't hurt during the run. Only ranks a 1 or 2 on the pain scale.

Gear:
Shorts and t-shirt.

Today's Motivation:
None. I took a few days off to recover from some hard work earlier in the week and I seem to still be mentally recovering.

Naughty Neil:
Haven't been eating well the past few days. I'm sure stress has something to do with it. Donuts, fried food, and beef.

Splits:
Loop 1 - 26:29
Loop 2 - 20:30
Finish - 47:00

Saturday, July 09, 2016

Just Tri To Be Sweaty

Got up this morning feeling awake but tired. Felt like I didn't sleep at all last night despite going to bed earlier than normal. Maybe I should have stayed up late instead.

After getting up butt-crack early, Yvonne, William, and I headed down to Colonial Beach for their sprint triathlon. We were manning the table at the swim exit and run start. There were a few hectic minutes there were the last of the swimmers were coming out of the water while the first of the runners were starting. But I'm confident we didn't leave anyone wanting for water. There were some stressful moments (several actually) where we weren't sure if we'd get water in time but it arrived with just enough time to put it in cups and serve it. But it was close.

After that, it was time to come home and run. So while Yvonne was eating her donut, I went out for a very hot 4 miles. And it was hot indeed. I saw Mrs. Boyer out walking (quite fast as usual). Saw my former classmate cutting grass, another neighbor cutting grass, and another, and, well, a few more cutting grass. Waved to a few people. Had Gavin's mom's dogs chase me for a few steps (they turned around and my pace quickened a bit). And that was about it. Despite the heat, saw a lot of people outside. Guess it's Saturday.

Photos:




Weather:
Temps were about 80F when I started but quickly rose to 85F or 90F. Humidity was moderate. Wind started off moderate but lessened as things went along. Sky was mostly clear with a few wispy clouds.

Fluids and Fuel:
Breakfast was coffee, a banana, and pop tarts. Plain water during the run. Recovery was a shower, a nap, and then three waffles, two eggs, and three slices of bacon.

Aches and Pains:
Heels started to hurt a bit towards the end. I'm guessing it was rocks and sand from the beach this morning. Also had some searing lungs int he heat but that was expected.

Gear:
Wore shorts and a t-shirt.

Today's Motivation:
Wasn't sure if I'd get my run done today or not but it worked out nearly perfectly. We came back from the race, I ran, it felt good. Not much motivation beyond that.

Naughty Neil:
Those pop tarts were gross. But necessary. Didn't really have the time to eat a "normal" meal and knew I needed something before the race started. So I guess it was either pop tarts or McDonalds.

Splits:
Loop 1 - 17:45
Loop 2 - 18:44
Circle - 12:16
Finish - 48:45

Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Gas Tank Nest

Slow day today. Slow run too.

Since my daughter couldn't swim this morning, and because the bug guy was running late, she rode her bike alongside as I did my mileage. Most of my mileage. I bailed at 2.75 miles of my planed 3 miles because it was so hot.

Aside from the heat and humidity, the run was pretty decent. It's always nice to sit back and trot along as I got some small talk time in my kid. That's always a great way to start the day.

Photos:
Found this bird nest today.


Video:
Today's vlog.



Weather:
Temps were about 85F. Humidity was high. Sky was clear with only a few clouds. Not much wind.

Fluids and Fuel:
Breakfast was two egg whites, two slices of toast, and coffee. Plain water during the run. Lunch was leftover spaghetti with hamburger.

Aches and Pains:
Things felt fine. Except for the heat.

Gear:
Wore shorts and a t-shirt.

Today's Motivation:
Felt kind of blergh-like but still felt semi-motivated to get my run done.

Naughty Neil:
I had three hamburgers for dinner. Ouch.

Splits:
Loop - 17:35
Lollipop - 15:17
Finish - 32:52

Sunday, July 03, 2016

Glide-ey

4 miles done. The warm-up today, and I rarely do a warmup, was some shovel work at the pool. So dad and I scooped out old rocks and dirt and dropped some new stone down. All told, a couple of hours of work.

The run was pretty decent. Felt nice and easy, but hard, and more ..... glide-ey ..... than normal. I hope that's a work. Just felt like I was moving along smoothly. More so than normal. Anyway, after the sun came out and the weather warmed up, I went out for my run. Did a loop, then another loop, then a circle. Along the way, one neighbor was digging a trench, my dad was smoking a cigar, another neighbor was smoking, my wife was talking on the phone, and plenty of squirrels were seen cavorting in the grass.

And that was it. Another run done.



Photos:




Weather:
Temps were about 85F. Humidity was moderate. Wind was light to medium. Sky was clear with a few clouds.

Fluids and Fuel:
Breakfast was two egg whites and two slices of toast. And coffee. Hammer Fizz (grape) during the run. Recovery was a light lunch of crackers and hummus.

Aches and Pains:
None really.

Gear:
Wore shorts and a t-shirt.

Today's Motivation:
Didn't really have any this morning. Felt like I needed to work on the stone at the pool instead. So when I finished and things presented themselves in the right way, I took a shot and came out on top with a run.

Naughty Neil:
Had a giant serving of seafood tonight. After having waffle fries. Not a great choice but tasty.

Splits:
Loop 1 - 17:35
Loop 2 - 18:15
Circle - 11:57
Finish - 47:47