Cool Runnings!

AM - 2 easy miles with Sparky, average pace 8:15/mile. Didn't get to sleep until 10:30 and didn't want to run off only 6 hours of sleep, so I slept in. Will get in another 4 miles this evening. Felt very good this morning, legs felt loose, had some pop to my legs this morning. I hope to be able to have that same pop next Monday morning when I run my race.

PM - 4 more miles outside.  The temperature was phenomenal - we had had several thunderstorms move through the valley today, and it was only 84 degrees at 8:30 PM.  It was wonderful.  As a result, I was kind of over-excited, and ran a little faster than I had planned on.  Average pace for the 4 mile run was 7:30/mile. 

AM - 3 miles on my own, averge pace of 8:08/mile, then 2 miles with Sparky, average pace of 8:39/mile.  The run this morning felt much easier than last night, although last night's run wasn't really hard - it just wasn't easy.  It was a balmy 74 degrees this morning, but the humidity was unreal.  Even at that temperature, I was sweating buckets by the time I came back from my run.

PM - 1 more mile with Joey, in 11:30.  We got to run outside this afternoon - it was only 95 degrees out!  He did a great job, and it felt good to my legs - let them loosen up a little bit.  My calves are still a little tight, and I think a little more scraping and massaging will be in order this evening.

PM - 4 miles on the treadmill, fiddled around with the incline settings, went up as high as 3, then back down to 1 for the last mile.  Last 1/2 mile at MP.  Then another 2 miles outside with Sparky.  Last 1/2 mile with Sparky was right around MP as well.  It was 84 degrees outside this evening when I ran, but today was extremely humid by any standards, and especially for Arizona - 81% humidity - that's crazy humid here.  However, I am glad for the rain.  We have already gotten an inch more rain this monsoon season than we got all last year's monsoon, and we still have a few weeks left, with more storms on the way this weekend.

PM - after having not run at all yesterday, I was not real motivated to run today, especially since a) we were traveling all day, and I was fairly tired and b) I had eaten a large plate of spaghetti with seconds :)  However, reason prevailed on me, and I ended up at least doing 2 easy miles with Lybi.  My stomach complained the entire second mile, and after having planned on doing a few more miles after I dropped Lybi off, I determined that this would not be a good time, and I did not want to puke up my entire dinner, so I called it quits after 2 miles.

PM - this is a pre-emptive blog here in Colorado Springs.  Mike and I are planning on going over the first half of the out-and-back 1/2 marathon I am running on Monday - me on foot, and him on his bike.  I am going to make sure that I take these miles nice and easy - 8:30 pace.  My only desire for this run is to acquaint myself with the 1/2 marathon course other than just via a map so that I know where the turns are and such, and have a better idea of what the elevation will be like.  More detailed blog to follow.

Update: disaster struck!  So I went for a nice easy run with Mike riding his bike alongside me, so that I could get a good idea of the course and better know what to expect.  The first 1/2 of the course was all gravel trail.  Other than a first mile that was a little too fast, I was right on my target pace of 8:30/mile.  However, I think that two days straight of travel, combined with the altitude, ended up doing a number on my calf.  At the 3.5 mile mark, I got a monster cramp in my calf - not a pop, but boy did it hurt!  I ended up walking a bit, and then finished the run at a slower pace.  Needless to say, I was extremely upset and worried I wouldn't be able to run the half on Monday.  After vigorous massage and scraping, it started to feel better on Sunday, but I was still worried.  See race report on Monday for full details.