This Is The Standard

For all you Johns Hopkins faithful, it's about goddamn time.

Johns Hopkins defeated Duke (who had the absolutely most lethal attack I have ever seen in Division I) 9-8 to win the national championship today for the first time since 1987.

Oh, yeah, it's in the only team sport I follow. That would be lacrosse.

Whatever other collateral activities (football, basketball, baseball) are out there I quota out at 30 minutes a year. Any watching above those amounts for those other three incidental sports is too much.

As a diehard JHU lacrosse fan for 16 years, it's nice to know they finally followed up.

The importance of the lacrosse championship is not to be overestimated in the cultural identity of The Johns Hopkins University. As a high school student touring the Hopkins campus in 1989, there was still a relatively pristine copy of Lacrosse (the journal of what at the time was the Lacrosse Foundation, before it morphed into USLacrosse) that featured Hopkins' win over Cornell in the Division I final. That issue of Lacrosse was two years old at the time.

7.53mi, 63:04

The Reputation, "Some Senseless Day"
Corrosion of Conformity, "What(?)"
Michael Kamen, Band of Brothers Suite 2
Randy Edelman, "Armistead and Hancock Are Hit" from Gettysburg: Commemorative Edition Soundtrack

WX at 0800: 69 (21), DP 57 (14), BP 30.00 (1015), NNE 9, light rain, RH 66%

Odometer 3: 28.5mi

Z3 slow start, with tempo run finish
Resting heart rate before start = no reading this morning.

I so did not feel like going for a run. I'm not sure if it's because of walking around at the Pope AFB Air Show most of Saturday afternoon getting dehydrated or if it was a more generalized case of "I don't give a fuck."

However, there was a very marked acceleration near the end, and it was a good tempo run at finish. It did take me the better part of 35 minues to warm up. Not so good in that department, but the finish was very efficient and worked well.

Today being Memorial day, I was reminded of one particular piece of movie footage, and that was the waving American flag briefly displayed as Union infantry launched deadly accurate grazing fire into MG George E. Pickett's division (during what is popularly known as Pickett's Charge) as depicted in the film Gettysburg.

I found out yesterday that a warrant officer I had known in passing when I was in the 82d Airborne Division's cavalry squadron died when his OH-58D helicopter was shot down. I held no illusions as to the permanence of my companions in the profession of arms, but the war has brought that home in sharper contrast than I had expected when I was commissioned.

Splits
2.51 21:28 21:28 08:33
0.98 29:50 08:22 08:32
4.04 63:04 33:14 08:14 08:23

5.0mi, 43:25

For Against, "Outside A Heart"
Fear, "I Don't Care About You (Fuck You)"
Slayer, "Memories of Tomorrow" (cover of the Suicidal Tendencies song)
Circle Jerks, "Beat Me Senseless"

WX at 0700: 64 (18), DP 59 (15), BP 29.91 (1012), SW 6, RH 82%

Odometer 3: 21mi

Z2.
Resting heart rate before start = 61 (143/94)

Today was steady state, shitty-mood, no effort recovery running.

I couldn't sleep last night for a variety of reasons, and I didn't feel like medicating to the tune of Red Hook ESB Amber Ale (the last soft suds left in the house). There's a 750ml bottle of Passion Fruit rum punch I scored in Sint Maarten on the Disney Fat Boy Cruise, but the title of that would be so intensely dichotomous to life lately that I'd be better off just getting the $25 bottle of Pernod I've been meaning to get lately.

My legs are tired, as they were feeling even today's sluglike pace. Whatever.

Splits
2.5 21:42 21:42 08:41
2.5 43:25 21:43 08:41 08:35

A topic near and dear to my heart

As some will note, I have a link to the Dead Runners Society on this blog. One of the more elite (and I don't use that word facetiously) guys on the list is a 2:30 marathoner who broke his back a few years before he started running excessively fast marathons.

While Erik (from what I can tell on his blog profile) fesses up to be a Christian (and takes it pretty seriously at that), he's not (from what I can tell in his discourse) one of the excessively preachy Xtians who believe in legislating morality...

So, with that leadin, here's Erik's take on legislating morality.

Also cited in Erik's blog entry is another piece from another Xtian who builds the 'legislating morality is not sound practice in a democracy' (as opposed to a theocracy).

If I find out the US turned into a theocracy, it's time to resign my commission and go move somewhere else. Of course, what the hell do you do if you're a professional soldier and you want to move somewhere else?

7.6mi, 63:44

For Against, "Outside A Heart"
Hybrid, "Finished Symphony"

WX at 0700: 57 (14), DP 48 (9), BP 29.87 (1011), NW 6, RH 71%

Odometer 3: 16mi

Z3 easy.
Resting heart rate before start = 51(136/90)

The weather is uncharacteristically pleasant for late May in scenic Fayetteville. I wonder when it'll break and get shitty-hot again.

Positive splits today weren't a big deal. I was being deliberately unambitious.

My knees are starting to hurt. Bad sign.

Today was intended as a recovery run, and I think it did that (primarily to metabolize lactic acid from Tuesday's death run). However, if I'm starting to feel some small sharp pains in my right knee, this is not a good development.

Fortunately, I have 500mg horse pills of naproxen sodium (commercially sold as Aleve) to tide me over. When in doubt, medicate, and drink.

Oh, I need beer.

Splits
1.5 12:33 12:33 08:22
2.1 30:24 17:51 08:30
1.5 42:59 12:35 08:23
2.5 63:44 20:45 08:18 08:22

Are you one of the digerati?

Egad, what a shitty neologism. Literati, yes. Digerati, ugh.

Still...

10.1mi, 77:43

The Reputation, "Let It Rest"
For Against, "Daylight"
mewithoutYou, "January 1979"
Housewife, "Channel Noir"

WX at 0700: 60 (16), DP 55 (13), BP 29.59 (1002), W 5, RH 82%

Odometer R1: estimate 30mi

Z3 threshold to Z4 hard.
Resting heart rate before start = no reading.

The 82d Airborne Division is currently doing its "All-American Week," its alumni homecoming week/intramural sports competition week. The entire division (for the most part) stands down and marches in parades, entertains former veterans (as my once unit did yesterday when I visited), and plays sports. One of the events is a 10-mile road race. I ran it during two of the four All-American Weeks I was in the 82d when I was physically able (my first year I didn't, and my second year I couldn't since I had a broken leg).

It occurred to me yesterday that I did no taper whatsoever. That was just plain dumb. 3.8 the day prior and 8.5 on trails was not the way to prepare for this race. I'll be running the Fort Bragg Army Birthday 10-Miler on 10 June. Rest assured I'll be doing a legitimate taper for that one.

I did get my haircut. Man, was it nice to be able to freely radiate heat off the sides of my head. Seriously. It makes a difference.

I had to show up at 4:30am for a start time of 6:30am. Those wacky 82d guys, very funny. The only required prerequisite was showing up for the safety brief. That was given at 6:15am. Paratroopers. They're wacky.

Fast start, faster than I would've liked, compounded by the fact that I started warming up too early. Oops.

There was virtually no water available on the course. This was bad-- and totally preventable. There were two folks at each water stop, which was probably not smart given the field of several HUNDRED runners. Oops.

Water stop 1 (at 2 miles): ONE cup available. I pass it up thinking there'll be more. Dumb move. It's painfully evident the unit that was running the race wasn't prepared for the massive onslaught of runners.

Water stop 2 (at 4 miles): stop and drink from 5-gallon jug held over head. Bad, bad, bad. To add insult to injury, I'm trying to suck down a power gel with no water. Fun.

Water stop 3 (at 6 miles): now I'm getting the ass. I stop and wait for a cup. This costs me probably about 45 seconds of waiting. Bad, bad, bad.

Water stop 4 (at 8 miles): I finally get a cup of water, but the damage is done. Not getting enough water at the front end is going to cost me, and it does as I hit the wall about 1000 meters from the finish, going uphill. Believe me, it's heartbreaking to see 7 or 8 folks burn by you at the finish and you're too fucking smoked to challenge.

In spite of it all, I achieved my goal of running under 80 minutes, and with a proper taper (and over a much easier course, combined with far better race administration) by 10 June, I expect to break 75 given my current training state. I think that's achievable.

Splits
1.0 7:22 7:22 7:22
5.0 38:00 -:-- 7:36
7.0 54:24 7:29 7:46
10.1 77:43 7:29 7:42

Insouciant fury

I was meaning to run the 82d Airborne Division intramural 10-mile race.

I'm still intent on running the race.

Report time is 4:30am tomorrow morning.

I can't believe how fucking dumb this might be, but I can't say no to a free race against competition.

Besides, I'll have an opportunity to get my propaganda on, as I was once a member of the 82d Imperial Airborne Division in a former life...

3.8mi, 32:05

theme to Episode 1, Mission 1, of the computer game Doom

WX at 0700: 62 (17), DP 60 (16), BP 29.66 (1004), SSW 3

Odometer 1: 487.5mi

Z2 trash to Z3 easy.
Resting heart rate before start = 52 (129/92)

Nothing hard, nothing ambitious, just recovery miles.

It rained this morning early so this morning was a misty run. I need a haircut since all sorts of heat was being trapped in my hair this morning. It's been a week and a half since my last.

I passed by an old friend this morning and he and I talked for a while, so I decided not to go for 5.1, electing to split off for the 3.8 loop. It helped that his house is right at the decision point to go 3.8 or 5.1, too.

Splits
1.5 12:39 12:39 08:26
2.3 32:05 19:26 08:27 08:32

8.5mi, 70:57

Dan Latarski and Kim Nagel, title music to the 1990 computer game Stellar 7

WX at 0800: 57 (14), DP 51 (11), BP 29.93 (1013), W 7, RH 82%

Odometer 3: 8.5mi

Z3 hard to anaerobic threshold.
Resting heart rate before start = 42 (130/88)

The resting heart rate is pretty promising. The blood pressure that comes with the resting heart rate is somewhat troubling.

New shoes today. These are Asics GT-2080s, which are actually the model prior to the GT-2090s I was logging on odometer 1. These are kind of stiff, but they are new. I'll reserve judgment on them before I think they're too stiff, although the shoe that is stiffer than any other I ever had was the Adidas Torsion 9000. Even the Torsion 7000, which was targeted towards supinators and had the softest sole, was still hard as hell. Their saving grace was the fact that they had virtually indestructible outsoles. The Asics shoes I ran in (and mind you, this is 1988-1990 I'm discussing here) couldn't hold a candle. Then again, those Asics shoes didn't ride as hard as the Adidas shoes did.

Today was noticeably faster than prior runs on this course, and I'm not completely sure it was because of new shoes. I might actually be getting stronger...

Splits
1.70 14:09 14:09 08:19
2.32 33:43 19:34 08:26
2.72 57:16 23:33 08:39
1.70 70:57 13:41 08:03 08:24

5.0mi, 41:43

Rachel Loy, "Love Me Too Much"
mewithoutYou, "January 1979"

WX at 0700: 68 (20), DP 62 (17), BP 29.86 (1011), SW 8, light rain showers

Odometer 1: 483.5mi

Z3 steady state.
Resting heart rate before start = 60 (129/91)

Today was going to be 7.6. I started slow and never quite got in the groove. My legs were tired, and I might look at going towards a 1 day hard/2 days easy approach to see if I can get better sustained work.

Today would've been a good day since it started raining during the middle of the run. I guess I'm glad I didn't decide to try to go to the jump today which undoubtedly was cancelled.

I thought about going for another pass (which would have made it 7.59mi) but I elected not to since my parents are supposed to be showing up this afternoon and I had to police parts of the house before they showed up.

Splits
2.5 20:42 20:42 08:17
2.5 41:43 21:01 08:24 08:15

Only A Sith Thinks In Absolutes

Unintentional parallels of life and art?

You decide.

So it goes

My sometimes-running partner was buried in work today. Assholes and elbows kind of buried.

I'm glad I ran 5 this morning.

My unit has a jump going tomorrow, but there's this thing called work that keeps getting in the way.

Plan is for 7.6 tomorrow morning.

5.0mi, 40:04

Dan Latarski and Kim Nagel, title music to the 1990 computer game Stellar 7
Tommy Keene, "Highwire Days"

WX at 0700: 59 (15), DP 55 (13), BP 30.05 (1017), NNE 3, RH 87%

Odometer 1: 478.5mi

Z3 easy.
Resting heart rate before start = nor eading today.

I'm supposed to squeeze in another run later today, so today was recovery work only. The second run should be substantially slower.

Weather was nice. There were more people out running this morning, although the curvy-people quotient is nothing compared to what I saw along the banks of the Potomac last August.

Splits
2.5 19:55 19:55 07:58
2.5 40:04 20:09 08:04 07:55

7.6mi, 60:18

R.E.M., "Driver 8"
John Williams, "Duel of the Fates" from Star Wars: Episode I
"Sergeant Flynn" and "Garryowen" (two traditional songs of the 7th U.S. Cavalry)
The Reputation, "Let It Rest"

WX at 0700: 53 (12), DP 53 (12), BP 30.09 (1018), Calm, mist, RH 100%

Odometer 1: 473.5mi

Z3 steady state to hard.
Resting heart rate before start = 51 (135/90)

Mostly negative splits after two days of unintentional rest. I had a slow start, or at least, something that felt slow since I'd trimmed off sleep in the last few days and it was starting to catch up. The three second difference from pacing in the first 1.5 and the usually much slower 2.1 was encouraging, and it just went from there. For a course that's generally hilly, this should be a good sign.

I think I'm going to try to run the 82d Airborne Division intramural 10-miler as a bandit, as a training run. That should be a good litmus test to see where I actually stand when I'm in competition, as I always seem to run faster in competition than I do in training.

This begs getting a running partner of equivalent speed, but I don't see too many who are either not too fast for me or too slow.

Interestingly, my knees don't hurt so bad today, in spite of running on shoes that really warrant replacement. Their replacements are already in the mail, though. Could be because of the two days of unintentional rest.

Splits
1.5 12:10 12:10 08:07
2.1 29:18 17:08 08:10
1.5 41:05 11:47 07:51
2.5 60:18 19:13 07:41 07:55

Jump 66, Ste Mere Eglise DZ, A/NT

Richard Rodgers, "Theme of the Fast Carriers" from Victory at Sea

Drop altitude 1500 feet AGL, time of drop 0905

KFBG 161256Z 36011G15KT 7SM BKN045 BKN200 19/12 A2995 RMK SLP143
Conditions at: KFBG observed 1256 UTC 16 May 2005
Temperature: 19.0°C (66°F)
Dewpoint: 12.0°C (54°F) [RH = 64%]
Pressure (altimeter): 29.95 inches Hg (1014.3 mb)
[Sea-level pressure: 1014.3 mb]
Winds: from the N (360 degrees) at 13 MPH (11 knots; 5.7 m/s)
gusting to 17 MPH (15 knots; 7.8 m/s)
Visibility: 7 miles (11 km)
Ceiling: 4500 feet AGL
Clouds: broken clouds at 4500 feet AGL
broken clouds at 20000 feet AGL
Weather: no significant weather observed at this time

First jump in a month and a half almost didn't happen. It was raining this morning, so we had to depart from a different airfield and jump onto Ste Mere Eglise DZ.

Winds gusted over 13 knots on our approach and we ended up having to racetrack for about 20 minutes before we actually exited. I had a smooth exit, assumed a good body position, but had some of the worst twists I've ever had in a MC-1 series parachute. I looked up to see that I was still spinning and started pulling the risers apart to snap out of the twists. At the same time I realized that I was absolutely hauling ass at altitude due to fast winds at altitude. As I dropped below 500 feet, the winds shifted significantly, but my desire to avoid landing on the flight landing strip led to an extended walk back. My parachute landing fall was uneventful and I had a clean recovery. It was good to exit early, and land, though!

The cognitive dissonance Richard Rodgers music comes from pulling out a tape I recorded some 19 years ago and playing it in the tape player on the way here. An instrumental about aircraft carriers in the Pacific doesn't fit for an Army parachute jump, though...

8.5mi, 74:17

The Reputation, "Let It Rest"
Philip Glass, end credits to Hamburger Hill
John Williams, end credits to Star Wars: Episode IV

WX at 0900: 71.1 (21.7), DP 62.1 (16.7), BP 29.93 (1013), W 9, RH 73%

Odometer 1: 466mi

Z3 steady state.
Resting heart rate before start = 43 (132/90)

Today was the first run in three days. I'm wondering if my trail running is resulting in some delayed toughening; today's run started slow and painful. That was compounded by running generally positive splits until the last mile and a half which turned into a gigantic negative split speedup.

I chickened out yesterday since I didn't want to wake up at 4:00am to run before what turned into a long day at the brother-in-law's.

The day prior I think I pussied out because I was feeling weenielike.

Thursday's run was almost a nonstarter. I know I want to use the Tuesday and Thursday runs as easy days, but I have to figure out how to kick my running partner in the ass more effectively so he can stay tough. The murderous (comparatively speaking) heat index on Thursday didn't help either.

Splits
1.70 15:04 15:04 08:52
2.32 35:33 20:29 08:50
2.72 60:10 24:37 09:03
1.70 74:17 14:07 08:18 08:48

5.68mi, 56:51

iThink was dry today.

WX at 1200: 84 (29), DP 59 (15), BP 30.11 (1019), Variable 7, haze, RH 43%

Odometer 2: 376mi

Z1 start, Z3 finish.
Resting heart rate before start = no reading.

Heat index today ended up being 94. Fun, fun, fun.

My running partner is seriously hurting for mileage base as he was out of gas by about the 3 mile point. I broke contact and finished at Z3 hard since I had a meeting I had to attend and I was running out of time before the meeting started.

Sand, trails, hills, hard course.

Splits
None of any accuracy today.

7.6mi, 61:54

The Bats, "Courage"
George Sanger, defend mission background music from the games Wing Commander and Wing Commander 2

WX at 0700: 60 (16), DP 57 (14), BP 30.04 (1017), S 3, RH 87%

Odometer 1: 457.5mi

Z3 hard-Z4.
Resting heart rate before start = 53 (132/84)

Fuck me.
I stretch, I properly hydrate, I concentrate on mechanics, I bust my ass, and all I get is a fucking 61:54? Fuck.
To add insult to injury, a positive split and an over 20-minute 2.5 leg? Fuck.

More objectively speaking, the last few days of running trails on sand are probably catching up and I'm not sure if yesterday's walk-a-thon was actually a useful recovery day.

It's probably time to replace this pair of shoes, also. I usually don't keep track of individual shoe mileage, but it's a rare occurrence for me to go over 500 miles in a pair of shoes. They're good for about 6 months...and it's been more than that since I got them.

I was totally fucking spent by the time I hit the last uphill of the 2.5 leg.

Splits
1.5 11:51 11:51 07:54
2.1 29:30 17:39 08:24
1.5 41:37 12:07 08:05
2.5 61:54 20:17 08:07 08:07

5mi, time indeterminate

nothing in the iThink, running partner conversation instead.

WX at 1300: 78 (26), DP 55 (13), BP 30.02 (1016), winds ESE 8, RH 44%

Odometer 2: 370mi

Z1 to walk.
Resting heart rate before start = no reading.

Slow run that turned into a walk at the return leg. I wrote it off as a recovery day so I can run hard tomorrow. No problem. Can't do more than one or two of these, though.

Splits
None.

5.84mi, 47:30

Rachel Loy, "Love Me Too Much"
Chris Stamey, "14 Shades of Green"

WX at 1300: 79.0 (26.1), DP 39.9 (4.4), BP 30.02 (1016), NE 10, RH 24%

Odometer 1: 448mi

Z2 to Z3 suck.
Resting heart rate before start = no reading.

I came back from the in-laws' yesterday since Household6 wanted to go see her youngest brother and his two kids. Yawn. I didn't get back until 10pm last night and after a few hours of hard driving, I felt like ass when I woke up.

There's a certain threshold beyond which you pay for enforced caffeination. There are ways to get around it (more caffeine, nicotine, other stuff) but when you're actively attempting to stay awake after ingesting more than, say, 120mg of caffeine, you're taking a risk by digging that deep.

I woke up this morning and felt like the consummate weenie, so I slept in. And it felt good. Nonetheless, I still felt like I needed to get a run today, and I started at 1:00pm. What a fucking colossal mistake! Five minutes after starting the run I realized I hadn't drank enough water beforehand.

The distinctive sensation of skin peeling off your lips is a telltale indicator that you were a fucking retard and didn't properly prepare for the run. In spite of it, I realized that if I turned back, I'd pussy out for good, so I decided not to turn back and drink up.

Today, consequently, was supposed to be a hard day. It wasn't particularly fast, it wasn't particularly productive, but it was particularly hard.

These distances are approximate since I haven't digitally mapped the route I did today in exactitude.

Splits
2.92 24:14 24:14 24:14
2.92 47:30 23:16 23:30 08:08

5.1mi, 41:06

Cruiserweight, "Goodbye Daily Sadness"
Juliana Hatfield, "Perfection"

WX at 0600: 57.9 (14.4), DP 46.0 (7.8), BP 29.95 (1014), Calm, RH 64%

Odometer 2: 365mi

Z3 easy-to-hard.
Resting heart rate before start = 49 (126/90)

I've been alternating day on-nothing for the last week or so, although I need to get back on the wagon and start running more consistently.

I may have picked up a training partner for my easy days at work. This has some value in that he's slower than me, so my easy runs turn into his hard runs. It will force me to run slowly on days that I should.

Stretching beforehand led to a relaxed longer stride this morning, which paid off in relative effort for speed. Not hard, but not easy either this morning.

Nice weather this morning also.

Splits
1.5 12:09 12:09 08:06
2.1 29:26 17:17 08:14
1.5 41:06 11:40 07:47 07:59

7.76mi, 65:07

The Lemonheads, "Tenderfoot"
2 Unlimited, "Are You Ready For This?"

WX at 1700: 53 (12), DP 44 (7), BP 30.08 (1018), N 10 gusts, overcast, RH 71%

Odometer 1: 442mi

Z3 moderate.
No RHR(BP) reading.

I chickened out the last two days for a number of reasons, most of which was last night's torrential downpour, so I waited until the end of the workday to get my run in. Damn, that was therapeutic!

Progressive negative splits. The first 0.93 was offset by the fact that I had to stop because I'm so fucking out of shape. Or something like that. Of course, running 100 meters of a 60 degree uphill on dirt probably has something to do with that also.

The 2 Unlimited attack is due to watching something that was entertaining, yet so, so wrong, today at work. When I see some guy in in battle dress and a high-and-tight haircut doing mime of jumpmaster duties and actions on the ground to the tune of "Are You Ready for This?" then it means I need to buy beer. Unfortunately, I'm WINCHESTER (Army aviator-speak for out of ammunition) on suds. Bad, bad, bad.

Splits
0.99 08:50 08:50 08:55
0.93 17:46 08:56 09:36
1.99 33:24 15:38 07:51
1.99 49:11 15:47 07:56
0.93 57:24 08:13 08:50
0.99 65:07 07:43 07:48 08:20

5.0mi, 40:10

Puffy Ami Yumi, theme to Teen Titans
W.A. Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in g minor, KV 550, Andante
W.G. Snuffy Walden, opening credits to My So-Called Life
FEAR, "I Don't Care About You"
A*Teens, "It's You"
Cooler Kids, "E Is For Everybody"

WX at 0700: 46.9 (8.3), DP 44.1 (6.7), BP 30.21 (1023), winds NNE 5, RH 89%

Odometer 1: 434mi

Z2-3.
Resting heart rate before start = 53 (126/87)

Time to start looking for replacement shoes. I didn't go very hard and my knees hurt. With the amount of mileage on these, it's about high time I started looking at new ones. In the past, I've gotten about 300-400mi from a pair, with a little longer when I alternate shoes. It works better when both shoes are the same type for that method, but the two I use aren't that much different.

Recovery run this morning. Mozart was sparked by realizing that 20 years ago, I was in the University of Virginia's Summer Enrichment Program in a morning or two actually not that dissimilar to this one, and that summer of 1985, I listened to a lot of classical. As a 13 year old. Really.

I have Glenn McDonald's commentary on Puffy to cite for the Teen Titans song, on MSCL for the W.G. Snuffy Walden, as well as his discussion of the Corrs sounding like "a less-lithe A*Teens covering Stretch Princess songs with only the most token Celtic touches." It's actually a shame that the Corrs don't enjoy more airplay in the US, even if their album In Blue sounded so much like a Shania Twain album (Mutt Jones produced it, after all) that I wanted to gag every once in a while.

The Cooler Kids song follows since the first A*Teens song that comes to mind is from the Kim Possible soundtrack.

I have no idea why I was thinking of a song as antisocial as FEAR's "I Don't Care About You" since the line that immediately follows it in the refrain to the song is "Fuck You."

Splits
2.5 20:25 20:25 08:10
2.5 40:10 19:45 07:54 07:56

5.1mi, 39:23

The dB's, "We Gold"
The dB's, "Barometers, Thermometers"

WX at 0700: 46.9 (8.3), DP 36.0 (2.2), BP 30.12 (1019), winds NNE 7, RH 65%

Odometer 2: 360mi

Z3 hard-Z4, Z4 hard finish.
Resting heart rate before start = 61 (135/92)

Unexpectedly fast. I wasn't feeling like I'd run an initial 11:20 split; while I was feeling faster, I didn't feel that much faster than usual. Based on the first mile estimate of 6:47 (which is partly due to a considerable downhill during that first mile), I decided to go hard for the remainder, and clocked my fastest time in a while. Not bad for no training, although my enforced break last week might actually have been a contributing factor.

Why this morning turned into the run of Peter Holsapple, I don't know.

Splits
1.5 11:20 11:20 07:33
2.1 27:59 16:39 07:56
1.5 39:23 11:24 07:36 07:39

7.53mi, 60:35

The Laziest Men on Mars, "Invasion of the Gabber Robots"
The Reputation, "Let It Rest"

WX at 0800: 66 (19), DP 62 (17), BP 29.92 (1013), winds W 6, light rain, RH 88%

Odometer 1: 429mi

Z3 hard.
No RHR(BP) reading this morning.

First run since Wednesday morning. I've had the kids since Household6 is in Massachusetts on work-related business. She returns Monday. Since I can't leave either the Princess or the Sledgehammer alone in the house, let alone both (for obvious reasons) my running has ground to a halt. I did do some Hindu Squats on Thursday morning after, but nothing since.

I thought for a bit that I was going for 9-something, but I forgot the loop that would've added it. By the time I was headed back, I wasn't about to add it. Whatever.

Splits:
2.51 19:59 19:59 07:58
0.98 28:01 08:02 08:12
4.04 60:35 32:34 08:04 08:03