Sometimes you have to change it up

If we don't change, we don't grow.  If we don't grow, we aren't really living. - Gail Sheehy

A very thought provoking quote.  Living things grow that's what they do.  If something is not growing most often it's dead or at least unproductive.

As you know, I have been back & forth about where to go next with my training.  Sometimes options open up that help with your decision.  It did for me.

Some friends of mine invited me to go with them to run Pike's Peak.  Being the psychopath that I am, I said yes.  There are several of us planning to go, rent a house, stay the week and run the 14,115ft mountain race.  Being my first trip, I'll just do the Ascent.  That's a half marathon to the top.  Some of the others are doing the full marathon which includes the Decent back to the bottom.  Registration opens on March 1st.  I just have to hope that I can get a spot.

Now I need to start looking for some hills & trails.  And trails with hills.  It has been suggested that I run with a weighted vest.  Let's make sure that I get in first.

MONDAY means it’s a new week!  I took a nice little out and back. I didn’t intend to run negative splits, but I’ll take it. 9:16, 9:09, 8:49. 

It seems like a lot of my Monday runs end up being negative splits. 

THURSDAY and it's XT day again.  I've taken a few extra days off this week.  I've been having some pain in the arch of my right foot.  I've been rolling it with the touchpoint ball & hitting it with the impact massager.  This morning it feels better.  So, I guess I have no excuse not to do the workout this week.  I mean I did win another prize last week.  I could recuse myself to let someone else have a chance.  That wouldn't be any fun.  Besides its just a little 3 mile run. Oh and 20 burpees every half mile!  I'm going to feel real empowered after this one.

I put on my USA ASICS.  They’re a little more stiff in the arch. No issues during the workout. Maybe these shoes aren’t so bad after all. 

The workout was tough, but I felt stronger than I thought I would. I’m sure the people passing by though that I was insane. I did manage to keep all of the running sections under 10min/mile. I can remember last year not being able to do 5 burpees without being completely out of breath. If it’s hard just keep doing what you can & eventually you’ll get better & stronger. 

SATURDAY it's time for something a little different. Trail running.  I wanted to spend some time on the Squircle this year. That begins today.  What's a Squircle?  It's a squared loop. Not a square & not a circle.  A Squircle.

So I arrive at Erwin Park & there are tons of mountain bikers everywhere.  I quickly find a parking spot & head out toward the park entrance to begin the Squircle.  It's about a half mile to the gate.  Going left out of the park, it's a short run to the first turn onto gravel.  After another mile starts a pretty decent uphill.  Honestly, I can't remember a whole lot about the course except that there were several rolling hills.  I was trying to make sure I didn't miss a turn.  It was my first time & I was alone.  One section had some new homes & land being developed.  The rest was just like being out on Miller Creek Road in Arkansas.  It felt almost like being back home, passing farms & livestock..  The last thing I remember is the gradual uphill back to the park entrance.  I make the final left turn & finish the half mile back to the car.  There was definitely an added degree of difficulty.  The Nike Pegasus Trail 2 made for a nice run as well.  Ended up with just over 5 miles on my first trip around the Squircle.

It's SUNDAY and I'm back at Erwin Park for more.  I haven't ran a long run this week.  So I decide on a double Squircle.  One loop to the left like yesterday & one loop in the opposite direction.  I won't bore you with too much repeating the course report from yesterday, but I'll tell you this.  The Right Squircle is definitely tougher than the Left Squircle.  About 2 miles after starting the Right Squircle there is a massive hill.  In the opposite direction obviously it's a nice downhill. So I didn't notice it.  Yesterday I saw once person.  Today there were probably 8-10 other people on on the Squircle.  Looking at my final pace, I could tell that it was tougher today.  Nonetheless, I got it done.  Final tally was 9.5 miles.

Running for fun? Are you sure?

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. - Henry Ford

I saw this quote a few weeks ago and saved it.  It's hitting home with me lately.  I kind feel like I'm wandering.  The races that I was training for are done.  The FRC plan is pretty much done.  Mentally, I told myself that I would rest after these races.  Honestly, I'm not sure that I can. I thought about working some weights into my routine, but then I wonder, am I getting to greedy?  Am I looking for the next thing?  What I am doing is working & it's not making me too miserable. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?

I was talking to someone recently that was saying that they had tried running.  They decided that it sucked & it was painful. I tried to explain that I agreed completely.  Running is not like laying by the pool.  It takes physical exertion.  Even when it's an easy run there is an element of uncomfortableness.  At least I know it is that way for me.  So why do I run?  I run for the feeling of accomplishment.  When I finish running I feel good about what I have done.  When I finish one of our tough XT workouts & I can say I just did 80 or 100 burpees, I feel like a badass, like I can accomplish anything.

Back to the topic at hand, without a goal, what's next?  I'm going to stay the course.  Keep running with by friends.  Throw in some old track & hill workouts like last year.  A couple of the guys have marathons coming up very soon so I'll have plenty of miles to log.  And just like that I have another goal!  In the FRC XT challenge I won a free entry to the Texas Big Star Half Marathon in April.  Now I have 3 months to get 34 seconds faster & go sub 2:00

TUESDAY was an attempt at an easy run after resting on Monday.  My legs were still a little tired from the race.  I ran by this tree & I saw a little bird's nest.  So I thought that would be a neat photo for the blog.  Ends up it was not.  So I propped my phone up on a fire hydrant & got this one.  I thought it was perfect for the status of my legs.

Also a friend of mine in KC was having a real good time with my finish line photo from the race.  So, of course, I had to share.

Enjoy!

WEDNESDAY we run long runs.  People think that we're insane, and we may be a little.  Before moving to Texas I had a rule of no more than 5 miles on week day.  Well, we have smashed that many time as you may have noticed.

Anyway, last night was one of those nights where I just couldn't sleep.  I kept waking up.  Finally about 2am it was over.  My workload for the day started running through my head.  I tossed & turned until 3am and finally just got up.  I was setup to run with The Turtles at 5am, I thought well, I'll just get up and go run now since I can't sleep.  It was raining.  Blah.  So I decided to eat some ramen (my pre-long run meal), drink some coffee, & just wait till run time.

The rain had passed by the time I went to meet the guys.  We took off on another 10-miler.  We decided on a nice easy pace.  With 2 of our squad training for full marathons the pace would generally need to be a little slower.  It was a real good time; a lot of talking.  We haven't been able to do that much lately with the intervals & quicker paces. With the exception of nearly being mauled by Chupacabra that was lurching around in the woods along the trail, it was a nice run.  

XT THURSDAY is here again!  Another empowering workout from the mind of our cross training coach!  Not a whole lot to say about it.  4 rounds of the workout listed below.  I did start to dry heave during round 3, but I finished it up in less than 30 minutes.  

It's SATURDAY!  That means we're going long!  There had been talk of 15 miles today. While I wasn't really looking forward to 15, I was down to support my friends.  So I was in.  I've been trying out some new nutrition & I have it all prepped & ready go.  

• Body Glide to prevent chaffing.
• Salt Stick capsules to replace electrolytes during the run.
• Karbolyn Fuel in the Maurten bottle for gradual carb intake during the run.
• Huma energy gels for a boost every now and again.

It was raining again and it was really windy.  I mean really really windy. Like I mentioned earlier, we're a little crazy.  With a little reservation we press on with the plan to meet at the store.  Once on the way I realize that the wind is blowing a lot harder than I thought.  The weather is saying 35-40 mph gusts.  We get out of our cars & can barely stand up to the gusts.  For our safety we decided to postpone until later in the day.  One brave Turtle, Donatello, who had plans for the day actually went out an hour earlier & logged 8 miles. See... crazy...

Being Saturday, I jump back in bed & nap for a bit.  About 9am I get back up & head out for my solo run. It's still windy, but it's died down to about 14mph,  With no particular route in mind, I just wing it.  I think the most I've ever ran in my neighborhood is 7-8 miles.  I feel like I want to do at least 10.  

Off I go!  I try to go to the farthest points in the neighborhood that I can think of.  Out to Hwy 1385 on the East, up around the clubhouse, past the school & up to the stoplight by the DollarGentral on Hwy 380.  I zig zag through a couple of streets & back on a common route around by Rowdy's house.  Instead of going back home now, I keep going down to the roundabout & up past The Kitch.  There apparently having a 5k or something.  A lot of people are stagger starting as I run by the start line I'm just over Mile 4.  I go through the 2nd roundabout by the flagpoles all the way up to the 7-Eleven that's also on Hwy 380. Here I have to turnaround. I take the other side of the street & loop back by The Kitch on the other side, down around the lake & up through the outside loop.  

About Mile 8 or so, I touching Hwy 1385 again, & I start to get tired mentally.  I turn back North toward the house at Mile 9 & I am welcomed by the 14mph headwind.  Yea!  Nonetheless I slog on back to village, around the block & we're done.  10 miles on the money.  Honesty it felt like 13 or more.

Sometimes it's easy to under estimate the power of running in groups.  One of the main things that attracted to running was the relationships.  Runners are one of the most inclusive group of people that I have met.  Whether you're the fastest, the lowest, or somewhere in between you are cheered for & cheered on.  I've seen it in multiple states.  

I'll leave you with this.  You don't have to be lonely.  You don't have to exercise alone.  Whether you run a 6 minute mile or 20 minute mile, reach out to a local running group.  I'll wager dollars to donuts that you'll be welcomed with open arms.

Consistency = PRs! (plus a race recap)

Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.” - E. James Rohn

Consistency.  That's what I believe in.  You don't have to be perfect.  You just have to be consistent.  That goes for anything in life.  For running, I believe that you will get better & faster the more consistently that you do it. Yes, cross training & speedwork helps increase that development.  But if you go out & run 3 times a week every week for, let's say a year, you will get better & faster.  I have no doubt.  Give it a try & let me know how it goes.

TUESDAY

It’s race week!  Just three 3-milers planned prior to Saturday.  Today I took an old out & back route to Union Park for lunch. I passed some guys putting in work just like me.  Well not quite like me but, we were both working.  

WEDNESDAY

I traded the usual 5am 10-miler for another lunch run.  I thought that might have been a bad choice.  It rained most of the morning.  I figured that I would be running in the rain.  I actually like running in the rain. So I wasn’t too worried about it.  The lunch bell rang & off I went.  Just a light mist, but a lot of puddles.  I took a frequented route through the neighborhood. I had to stop for a couple of minutes for a work phone call that I had to take. Back to the run. Needing to burn off a little steam I decide this is the perfect time to go into a progression run.  

What’s a progression run you ask... It’s running each mile faster than the previous.  Also called negative splits. Let’s do this. On this familiar route I pass by my buddy, Rowdy again.  No picture this time.  

Final pace numbers - 9:07, 8:49, 8:12.  A solid progression run!

THURSDAY

After a nice progressive run yesterday I decided I would take it fairly easy today.  This would be the last run before race day.  Work was pretty busy today. I couldn’t make it out for a lunch run. I knew I needed to get my run in, so a supper run it is. 

Early evening runs are my least favorite. I’m usually hangry & it ends up being bedtime before I can get in my wind down time. I take off with no route in mind. About a quarter mile in I check my pace.  8:45!  What the heck?!? Slow down, mister!  I venture past a boy on a scooter.  I give out a “what’s up dude”. He returns the gesture exactly & lets out a little “what’s up dude”.  I love those little moments on a run.  There are a lot of people on the trail at supper time.  Should these people be eating... supper??

Not too long later I come up on a mom with a small girl parked behind her in an Escalade power wheel.  As I whip around she floors it & hear that familiar spinning sound accompanied by the whir of the electric motor screaming away.  With all these pleasant interactions I continue to struggle slowing down.  Maybe that’s why the Brooks slogan is Run Happy... I run past the ballers at the ball court, around the clubhouse, down through the heart of Savannah, and around the neighborhood elementary. I meet couples walking, couples walking dogs, & other runners.  I head back to the house through some streets I haven’t ran on before.  Another 5k in the books just in time for sunset.  

SATURDAY 

RACE DAY!!!

It's misting rain & in the upper 40s.  Sounds like perfect running weather to me!  I meet up with my friends in the parking lot at Town Lake Park in McKinney.  The site of the Frisco Running Co Half Marathon & 5k . Getting out of the car I realize it feels a little colder than I thought it would be.  Nonetheless, we're going with it; shorts, short sleeve short, & gloves.  There are a lot of Covid protocols in place.  So our first stop is the medical tent to get our temperature checked.  A quick scan & beep, we're good to go.  Now for a few laps around the parking lot to get warmed up.  

The announcer urges everyone to the starting corral.  They have us setup in socially distanced waves.  The 5k & half runners are intermingled.  This is one of my favorite parts of races.  The anticipation of the start.  The music is playing. People are bouncing & stretching.  Last minute checks of your race gear.  For me, I'm just taking it all in. Race Day playlist cued up & ready.  A Warrior's Call by Volbeat is my go to jam for getting pumped up for  run.  A quick review of the Drader-designed race plan to get me focused.  I scribbled it on my bib.  It's broken out by 5k segments.  Every segment I'll evaluate how I feel & either speed up or maintain my pace.

• 1-3.1 - 9:25
• 3.1-6.2 - 9:15
• 6.2-9.3 - 9:05
• 9.3-12.4 - 8:55
• 12.4-finish - wheels off!

And we're off!  The wet weather has made the paved trail & sidewalks a little slick.  Not to mention the mud.  Several spots along the course have mud on the path making it even more slick.  Not even to the first mile & I can feel mud slinging up and hitting the back of my ankles.  A lot of the course is standard sidewalk so its a bit crowded in the beginning.  It winds through the park, in & out of the woods, and beside ponds/lakes.  We have several club members working aid stations.  It makes it nice to hear someone cheering you on by name or yelling out "Ninja Turtles!". To add to the excitement, these signs were posted along along the path.  I will say I was a little nervous when I saw them.  Especially since there was more than one.  Hopefully the cooler weather will keep us safe...

Don & Raph are running a quicker pace than I want, so I let them go.  After navigating through the race traffic Leo pulls up beside me.  Shortly after mile 2 I hear some guy behind us yelling about the sidewalk.  Next thing I know this Santa Claus looking fellow comes whizzing by.  It's about this time that I realize he was yelling at us.  We were side-by-side taking up most of the narrow sidewalk.  I yell back a friendly, "I guess you should have started in the front!"  That gives Leo a little chuckle. Shortly after, as we expected, Santa exits for the 5k finish.

As we loop the lake we hit 3.1 and I'm feeling good.  I've been spot checking my pace & I feel like I'm right in the pocket at 9:20. In actuality, 9:20, 9:08, 9:10.  In retrospect I think the slow downs from the muddy spots caused me to overcorrect my pace pushing me over my targets.  I give myself the green light to speed up. Now we're on the out & back portion of the race.  It sends us through a disc golf course & a couple of other parks.  This segment goes by pretty fast.  Next thing I know, we're at 6.2 & I'm meeting people on their way back.  System check.  Feeling good.  Increase pace a planned.  By this time I realize that I'm a little ahead of my targets, but I'm thinking, "just keep going".  If I get tired & I'll be able to afford to dial back and rest for a bit.

This segment should be 9:05s, but I start encouraging the runners that I meet. "Good job!  Nice work!"  I'm even more excited when I see our club mates!  Shortly after mile 7 we hit the turnaround point. Other than that I don't remember much about the next few miles. We'll chalk it up to the runner's high.  Miles 6-9 were all sub-9 minute miles.  It was starting to get tough, but this what we trained for, pain.  We had logged runs well over 13 miles during training.  We taught ourselves that we could endure.  So, I just kept on pushing.    Mile 10 I look at my watch.  Overall time 1hr 30mins!  What?!?!  I could actually hit 2hrs!  I'm hurting now, &  slow down a bit.  As long as I don't sink to 10min miles I'll make it.  Mile 12 & 13 are nothing but guts.  The gradual uphill at 12 is punishing me.  Where the hell did this hill come from?!?  I start the self-talk.  You got this! Don't walk! Stay above 10min miles! Explicative, Explicative!  

Finally, I can hear the announcer.  We're getting close now!  My watch beeps for 13 miles.  1:59.  I can see the finish line.  I give it everything I have.  I end up running that last tenth at a 7:27 pace.  Completely missing the last aid station that was giving out whiskey shots.  Finish time 2:00:32!  Wow!  I'm a little disappointed that I didn't hit the sub 2:00 mark, but I just ran my fastest half of all time!  Albeit by 21secs, its a PR nonetheless!  My previous PR was from 2014.  Not to mention besting my last 2 half times in Nov & Dec by a full 10mins!  I typically don’t like race pictures where I don’t look strong, but today I realized that this is a picture of me looking strong. This is me being strong. This is why we run.

We're tired & we're getting cold, but we did it!  We were consistent & we saw results.  All 4 of us set half marathon PRs today!  I'd say without a doubt we have pushed each other to be better. That's Turtle Power, baby!  I don't think I'll have any issue breaking that 2:00:00 barrier this year!

Consistency is key, my friends.  Consistency is key.

Progress not Perfection

To have striven, to have made the effort, to have been true to certain ideals - this alone is worth the struggle. ~ William Penn

Well, I seem to have failed in my 3rd resolution. I could say work had got in the way. While partly true. I chose to sleep in & it cost me. At the end of the day I didn’t want to workout. Soon have finished this week with one XT workout. While it was a doozy, it was 2 short of my target.

If you thought you were reading the blog of a guy that’s always successful now you know different. As I say, I am just an average guy trying to get better. This isn’t one of those fake, life is always perfect blogs. This is my journey. A real training journey.

The important thing is this. I will not beat myself up. I’ll take it in stride & keep doing my best. I will get better. I will run more, run farther, & have fun. 

TUESDAY

After our extra long run on Saturday, I took off Sunday & Monday. After the rest I had a fleeting run on Tuesday, a reverse lap on my neighborhood route. It was rather uneventful. Between conference calls I ventured out for a lunch run. Around mile 2 I ran past a guy repairing his fence I gave a friendly wave & journeyed on. I passed by the neighborhood school. On lunch runs the kids are usually out at recess I always imagine that they’re wondering why I’m running so slow. Luckily I have my 90s rock blasting in my headphones & can’t hear if they are actually heckling me. I’m sure they’re not. To add to my being out of sync, I forget to take a post run picture...

WEDNESDAY

I woke up at 3:45. A full 15mins before my alarm. Might as well get up & start my long run routine. We are scheduled for another, as we call it, a 2 by 2 by 2 by run. You’ll recall it’s 2 (2E, 2E), 2E. 10 miles with thresholds.

Another trip around a familiar route. It starts up Legacy swinging by the Track Tuesday track. We make the three sides of the block, down through a neighborhood & onto the trail. I’m always lost at this point. I’m pleasantly surprised when we’re closer to the end than expected. Into the 2nd set of threshold miles & I’m sucking wind as usual. At this point I’m alone. Leo & Don have turned on the afterburners & are out of sight. I can just barely see Raph. The last couple of easy miles we gather back up and finish together. I am happy to learn that I have ran my fastest paced 10-miler in years, averaging 9:32 per mile.

THURSDAY

XT day doesn’t disappoint. The club has initiated a 4-week XT challenge. A prescribed workout to be performed once between Thursday & Sunday. Participants have the chance to win prizes.

Race entry to Big Star Half, Race entry to Bluebonnet Half, plus shirts & hats from Big Star & the FRC store. So naturally I’m in.

This first workout is tough. 3 rounds for time. It starts out with an 800m run (1/2 mile). Then you start an 8 min AMRAP (as many rounds as possible).

The rounds are as follows: 8 burpees, 12 alternating lunges, & 18 sit-ups.

You repeat the 3 exercise routine for 8 mins. Once you complete the 8 mins you take a 1 min rest & start over with the 800m run. You repeat this process 3 times.

This was extremely difficult for me. Round two brought on the dry heaves. I’m not in nearly as good of shape as I thought. Nonetheless I kept going & finished the workout. To put it lightly, I’m completely trashed when it’s over. Total time 41 mins 17 secs.

FRIDAY

REST DAY!

In the past I’ve felt like I’ve been running out of gas on the long runs. I use Huma energy gels throughout the run, but still get gassed. Leo uses Karbolyn, a carbohydrate complex that fuels you in endurance workouts. He always seems to be strong at the end so I thought but was worth a shot. It came in today! I’m excited to give it a try on Saturday. I’ll put a scoop in my water bottles & hope that it fuels me at the end of the long run. Stay tuned.






SATURDAY 

Today we’re looking at 2E, 2(2T, 3min rest), 3E. It’s 31 degrees, but it feels colder. We set out on one of our old routes in reverse. We head up Main passing the FC Dallas soccer stadium. After 2 miles we we start the first threshold section. We make a left just before the Dude Perfect building. We’re pushing the pace pretty good. I look down & we’re right at an 8:30 pace. I’m thinking that I feel pretty good. So I keep pushing forward. 4 miles down & we’ve made it to the 3 min rest. Thank the Lord! I was breathing pretty hard. After walking for the shortest 3 mins in history we start the second threshold section. I’m really not looking forward to it, Back up to 8:30 we go. About a half mile in we run by the speed work track. Now starts a slightly downhill & this is the part where Leo takes off. I’m still holding an 8:30 & he’s walking away from us. Finally we finish the thresholds & start the rest minutes. We walk 2 mins & start the last leg of easy miles back to the store. We cut through Cottonwood trail & snap a pic by the pond. With about a mile to go we realize we’re running a pretty quick, 9:10 pace! In typical Leo fashion, he says let’s finish it out! Engage the afterburners! I don’t know how fast we were going I didn’t want to know. Nonetheless we ended up averaging about 8:45 for the last mile. After Wednesday’s run I mentioned running my fastest pace 10-miler. Well, we bested that today by 12 secs per mile with a 9:20 average pace!

I feel like the Karbolyn helped. It could have been the placebo effect. We'll see. I'll keep testing and report back soon.

SUNDAY

It’s an off day, but I feel like going outside. So I take a walk around the neighborhood. I take some time to think about the coming work week & the race on Saturday. In the process I make up another 5k route to run on another day.

That’s a wrap!

2021 - Whatcha gonna do?!?

“In life, the first thing you must do is decide what you really want. Weigh the costs and the results. Are the results worthy of the costs? Then make up your mind completely and go after your goal with all your might.” — Alfred A. Montapert 

We all need goals to keep us focused and on a specific path.  So, what are my goals for 2021?

Put simply: run more, run faster, have fun. 

Specifically:

• Run 100 miles per month all year
• Run a sub 2:00 half marathon
• This one came late, but cross train at least 3 times per week.

Run Streak - running at least one mile everyday for an amount of time.  I've tried run streaks before, and haven't done well.  I didn't plan to streak, but for 2021 day 3 I’m on a streak.  I've ran everyday this year!  We'll see how long I can keep it going.  I have a friend in KC that has been on a streak for over 6 years.  Yes, I said 6 YEARS of running at least 1 mile per day.

Also, on day 3 I added the aforementioned goal #3.  Cross train at least 3 times per week.  This is the workout that I plan to do on those training sessions.  I decided to lock in the workout so I could measure my progress.  It was definitely a challenging workout.   This will be the totals for the workout.

100 pushups

100 sit-ups

100 squats

200 jump ropes

1 mile run

The exercises are the important part.  I run a lot of miles.  So the run portion may or may not stay in there.  It's a work in progress.  The main goal right now is to do more than the one day per week that I did last year. If I’m getting tired I’ll rest. The last thing I want to do is burn out. 

MONDAY

Continuing the streak, the plan calls for 3 easy miles.  Then I'll add the XT workout.  That will be a different experience.  Running & then doing a full workout afterward.

I started out to run one of my old standard out & back courses.  About a half mile in I encountered some traffic on the trail.  I was coming up behind a guy with a dog & there was another guy coming our way.  So I just ducked off into the next side street. I still planned to out & back.  I looped around the neighborhood elementary school & headed down some streets that I had not been down before.

At one point I came up on 3 or 4 kids playing on the sidewalk.  A small one, maybe 1 or 2 years old saw me & started wobbling toward me with his arms out.  I think he even said dada. It didn't take but a few steps before he realized I wasn't dada. Then he turned around like that baby in the gif. 

Have a look > Baby GIF

Anyway, while in that section of the neighborhood I made a wrong turn & ended up on a dead end street.  Our neighborhood is pretty big. About 6,800 residents.  So I headed back, looped around the opposite side of the school, & back to the house.  Next I went straight to the garage for the XT.  Less than 15mins & I was done. 

If you think that you don't have time to exercise.  You'd be surprised at what you can do in a short amount of time. I used no equipment; just a jump rope.  If you don't have a rope, you can hop in place like you do.  If you think the workout is too much, cut it in half.  I did that many times when I started cross training last year.  They say that the hardest part is starting. 100% true.

TUESDAY

Another easy 3 scheduled for today.  I did a reverse loop of one of my favorite loops for the first time.  Another wrong turn... geez!  Luckily this one isn't a dead end.  I followed it one block and was back on track. This is the loop that takes me by Rowdy's house.  You know the Cowboys mascot...  Just about a mile in I pass his house & the van is parked in the drive.  I didn't take a picture this time, but here's one from last year. I had a little less facial hair as well. 

I kept going around the neighborhood.  I always run by this playground & dog park on this route.  So I decided this would be a good place for my run photo.  I'm sure you're are getting tired of seeing me in front of my house.  A quick pic, a police drive-by and I'm off again.  I jump back on Magnolia & zigzag back to the house.  Now for some more conference calls & then the daily XT after work.

WEDNESDAY

Here we are back for another Hump Day.  I don't know if you're as happy as I, but we don't seem to get a lot of Wednesdays with less than 10 miles.  This week were looking at 2E, 2T, 2E = 6 miles.  Man that barely seems worth getting out of bed for...  Just kidding.  In typical Mother Nature fashion, she decided to up the difficulty level with wind again.  15-20 mph.

We carefully planned out route hoping to minimize having a headwind.  As I usually do I started us out too fast.  The first 2 were 9:30ish.  That told Don that the next 2 should be 8:45.  Off he went like a rocket.  About 2.5 we turned into the wind & it was literally like I had a parachute on.  We pressed on fighting for every step.  We tried to make some East/West zigzags.  Nonetheless, we held on pretty good.  The second 2 miles were around 9:10.  Then thankfully the last 2 were actually easier at about 9:50.  It was a short, mostly uneventful run today.  When all was said & done we averaged 9:30 per mile.  I'll take that all day at 6 miles.

SATURDAY

Okay.  So the run streak didn't last.  It's just not my thing.  Some people enjoy the challenge of how long they can go.  It makes me feel pressured & then I'm not having fun (part 3 of my goals).  Nonetheless, I'm still gonna kick ass this year!  Looking ahead in the schedule & noticed that we had 16 miles scheduled for today.  So I took a couple of rest days.  

29 degrees is a little chilly for Texas, but that’s not stopping our long run. Leaving from the store we made our way to The Star. Winding through some neighborhoods & back onto Legacy hit the hill from hell between miles 3 and 4. I will say it was a little easier than mile 6 and 7 when we ran this section this summer.  It wasn’t 90 degrees either. We make it to The Star at 5.5 miles & take a moment to snap some pics. One of our club coaches had recently put out a challenge for more group pics to use on our Facebook cover. We were happy to oblige. 

After our photo session we continue on. This run will take us farther South than I have been on a run from the store. I won’t pretend to know the route. I’m just following along so I don’t get lost. Eventually we’re basically running parallel to Hwy 121 in The Colony. We make it to the southern most point of our trip at Mile 10, Hawaiian Falls water park. Leo did a good job planning the route. From here we’ll jump on a trail that’s nearly a straight shot back to Frisco. 

I felt pretty good most of the run. Around mile 13 I looked down and we were at 2:06. Nice!  Another solid half marathon time!  Shortly after that we made a wrong turn. After another incline somewhere around mile 14 I started getting pretty tired. At the top of that hill is where we realized that we were off course & we were going to go over 16 miles. We keep pressing on. I ran out of fuel & water. I’ve mentioned before that water is a crutch for me. So that made the last little bit more difficult for me mentally. We finally make it back to the store and ended up with 17.44 miles (17.43 on Strava). My longest run of all time!  

So I’m nailing my 2021 goals. Run more, run faster, & have fun!

Now I’m asking you. Whatcha gonna do?!?