Funkadelic Happening

nkrichards wrote:Enjoy your Friday morning run on your home turf and have a great 4th.

Hey, Nancy.  Yes, ma'am, I shall.

-30-

Monday evening didn't go as planned, which cascaded into not running this morning.  And I SO wanted to run when it was 82 degrees at 4 a.m.

So unless I have some sort of physical ailment today, I'll be running tomorrow morning.  I did find a good use for the heat, while at work.  My shoes are soaked after a run, so I set the shoes on the car when I get to work and they are mostly dry by lunch.  The shorts take 24 hours hanging in the window at the hotel (my window looks out over a corn field).

This morning, I ran about 4 miles before stopping due to a lack of get up and go.  I had been off the LC/HF for about a week, which tells you how long it takes to affect the running.  But, mommmmmmm, I just wanted to see what would happen!  Okay, I know.

I'll try to run in the morning again.

Lord of mercy (pronounced Law-da muh-cee), it was 72 degrees out there, this morning.  Durn near felt like a Blue Norther done rolled through and I didn't pack my 4 layers of winter clothes, nor the silver & red octopus balaclava, neither!http://www.buffusa.com/sports/collections/balaclava-microfiber-buff-reg/styles/balaclava-microfiber-buff-octo
(I really do have one of these.)

I muddled through the run.  Every now and then a slight north breeze came through during the 8 miles.  I was a little more determined to run 8, this morning, plus the weather was a bonus.  Corpus had an inch of rain yesterday, followed by a southwest breeze which probably dried out the air a bit after getting wrung out by the rain.  Usually, Corpus gets a southeast breeze off the Gulf.

I was pretty much doing 13:50 splits, but I do remember the average for the run was 13:46 with HR in the low 140's.  I also tweaked the route some, so I could lessen the amount of running on the service road with the cars approaching from behind.  That worked.

Driving home after work, today.  Traffic should be heavier heading southeast to Corpus, with the 4th coming up.  I'll be heading northwest.  I might even get to town before dark.

Thanks for stopping by.

I did make it home before dark on Thursday.  However, I was yawning with an hour remaining in the drive.  So, I'm not sure that I want to try driving home again after work.  After all, I left at 4 p.m. and I probably wouldn't leave before 5:30 on a non-holiday weekend.  I could make it work, especially if I wasn't on a full scholarship on this project.  This project ends at the end of the month, then I do a little more work to my website and I should be ready to flip the switch on the LLC.

I ran Friday morning, but my dreams were greater than my reality on the distance.  I managed 7.5 miles out of the 9 (or 10 or 12) miles I envisioned.  But that's water under the bridge, now.

I hope y'all had a good Fourth.

I signed up for the 'winter' edition of Houston Fit, the TeamFit version, which cost $20 more than the standard $140 USAFit version.  The extra $20 gets me two during-the-week coached sessions per week beginning next week, I think.  The standard version for during the week is on the honor system.  So even though I won't be able to join in for the Saturday long runs until late September, I should be able to do the coached sessions, once August rolls around.  That should be worth $20.

It doesn't look like it's a very intense schedule for either the standard or Team Fit version during the week.  Workouts are expressed in minutes, not miles.  The minimum running requirement is "...a long run of 6-8 miles and the ability to run an additional 2-3 days a week (20-30 minutes/day) prior to the start of the season."  Check.

I just might not have to come up with a running plan, this year.  This will be part of the new blog that's coming in August.  Running will be a good relaxant.

No running this morning.  I chickened out, quite frankly.  81 degrees again.  And when saw the morning news, it was 81 degrees with a dewpoint of 78 degrees, but the heat index was 89 with no sun.  There was 12 mph breeze, however.

It's supposed to really heat up next week, as Mark and Nancy's heat settles in down here in Texas and we heat up to between 96-98 (if there's a noticeable difference).  Out in the Tropics, the area is void of activity as a lot of dust from the Sahara Desert has made its way to Texas, which creates a hazy sky and inhibits formation of tropical systems from here to Africa.

Ooops! I missed a bunch of posts. Let's see if I can get caught up.

I think you in a TeamFit program ought to be really interesting.

Ounce: "But Coach, I know if I change this one variable by a factor of .32%, it'll improve the potential outcome by .023%!"

Coach:

Actually, I think you'd be a good candidate for coaching. You'll ask insightful questions while getting new ideas and challenges. Nifty.

They say the weather may start to cool off a bit here late this week (so glad we got that window a/c unit when we did) but not after at least tying a record for the number of uninterrupted 90-degree days. It's possible we could extend that record by a day or two. (Did I mention the window a/c unit? Yeah, so glad. But not as glad as my family.) We set that earlier record during a late July and early August, when it's usually hot.

Cooling here may mean hotter there, so sorry about that. Maybe it'll be a drier heat?

I was amazed to read about African dust making it hazy in Texas, but I shouldn't be. We've had smoke from Siberian wildfires around these parts, not to mention who knows how many byproducts of coal burning in China. And then there's the whole Blob (Alaska sized zone of warmer sea water -- ~5° warmer, to a depth of 100 feet, that nobody can explain) out there in the North Pacific to keep scientists puzzled. Yay?

Mark B wrote:Ooops! I missed a bunch of posts. Let's see if I can get caught up.

I think you in a TeamFit program ought to be really interesting.

Ounce: "But Coach, I know if I change this one variable by a factor of .32%, it'll improve the potential outcome by .023%!"

Coach:

Actually, I think you'd be a good candidate for coaching. You'll ask insightful questions while getting new ideas and challenges. Nifty.

They say the weather may start to cool off a bit here late this week (so glad we got that window a/c unit when we did) but not after at least tying a record for the number of uninterrupted 90-degree days. It's possible we could extend that record by a day or two. (Did I mention the window a/c unit? Yeah, so glad. But not as glad as my family.) We set that earlier record during a late July and early August, when it's usually hot.

Cooling here may mean hotter there, so sorry about that. Maybe it'll be a drier heat?

I was amazed to read about African dust making it hazy in Texas, but I shouldn't be. We've had smoke from Siberian wildfires around these parts, not to mention who knows how many byproducts of coal burning in China. And then there's the whole Blob (Alaska sized zone of warmer sea water -- ~5° warmer, to a depth of 100 feet, that nobody can explain) out there in the North Pacific to keep scientists puzzled. Yay?

When I first read the part about coaching, I thought you were meaning that I would be a good coach.  I was like, "Ain't no frickin' way someone would let me coach them.  ROFL"  Now, I understand what you mean.  I pity the coach that let's me ask question after question after question.  Not to mention the question from the coach, "What is that damn beeping!?"  (my metronome)

Now that y'all have an A/C unit, make sure to remind Alec that in 25 years (don't feel old yet), he can tell his kids..."You snot-nosed kids don't understand how rough I had it.  In addition to walking in the snow to school, we didn't have an air conditioner until 2015!!!!!  But my dad was really dedicated to his running.  Why, when we couldn't afford shoes, he would run barefoot!"  (Now, you can feel old.)

As you know, y'alls heat doesn't come here.  Our heat comes from the Bermuda High that slides to the west.  And it won't be dry.  78-80 degrees will be the morning low until Labor Day or until the highs become in the low 90's.

The wind has been a sustained 28 mph with gusts to 37 in Corpus, today and should be tomorrow.

You should take a look at the latest composite of the El Nino models.  It's supposed to be in place until January, which gives us no hurricanes, a cooler and wetter winter.

The warmer temps in the water up there gives the scientist something to do.  Tonight, I saw on PBS Newshour about a U of Washington oceanography thing about attaching measuring devices to an undersea volcano.  It was really cool.

Thanks for catching up.

This morning, I ran 8 miles with a 79 degree temp and minimum 10 mph wind.  The dewpoint was probably around 77, but the breeze did help.  Pace was 13:38 with a 13:20 first half and a 13:56 second half.  I'm tweaking my route by running down some side streets that might have 1 or 2 vehicles driving on them.  These are 2 lane roads with no shoulder, but it does have a ditch to roll down.  I have just about figured out how to delete that 1/2 mile stretch (1 mile total) with my back to the traffic.

It wasn't a very easy run, but I finished it.

Because of a swim meet being held in Corpus next week, I won't be staying at the same hotel.  I've located another hotel, but I think that I'll go by and make sure that I'm going to get the room because I usually don't arrive in Corpus until after 10 p.m.  One of the benefits of staying at the same hotel for 7 consecutive weeks is that I'm checking in with the same employee.  He told me that the hotel is overbooked, which is why I'm going to the other hotel to 'ensure' that my room won't be snatched away.

Yeesh. Seven weeks in a motel. Hope it's a decent one, at least.. with laundry facilities.

Bermuda High... are you sure that's not some illicit (at least in Texas) variety of wacky tabaccy?

Mark B wrote:Yeesh. Seven weeks in a motel. Hope it's a decent one, at least.. with laundry facilities.

Bermuda High... are you sure that's not some illicit (at least in Texas) variety of wacky tabaccy?

It's one of these suite hotels with a full kitchen with pots and pans, a 2 eye stove, and a regular sized refrigerator.  So, I've been able to cook pretty much my usual diet.  It's worked out well.  I don't use the laundry facilities.  No point in doing them here, when I'll have some more to do when I drive home.  3 more weeks in Corpus.

You might be on to something about this other Bermuda High.  Maybe I'll have to check out this tabaccy.

Not sure I'd enjoy 7 weeks in a motel even if it was a nice one with a kitchen.  I'm sure you're glad the end is in sight...and so are we so we can find out what the mystery business venture is.

Hope you keep us posted on the TeamFit experience.  I've often thought it would be fun to have a real coach but time and money are a bit of a problem.

Safe running.

nkrichards wrote:Not sure I'd enjoy 7 weeks in a motel even if it was a nice one with a kitchen.  I'm sure you're glad the end is in sight...and so are we so we can find out what the mystery business venture is.

Hope you keep us posted on the TeamFit experience.  I've often thought it would be fun to have a real coach but time and money are a bit of a problem.

Safe running.

Hey Nancy!  I've been kept busy, so it hasn't been as bad as I was expecting, plus I like to cook and I like to drive, so there's nothing wrong with that.  I've been putting about 700 miles a week on whichever car I drive, which gets me around $400.  It's all providing a cash cushion this accountant adores, especially when the LLC is the sole means of income.

Of course I shall relay the hopeful benefits of TeamFit.  It was difficult to peel the $160 from my grubby paws, but I think the coaching piece tipped the scales of value.

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At 79 degrees, I went out to run this morning.  It was going to be a fartlek type of event, but my quads were especially tight this morning.  I don't know why, but rather than tempting fate at such a slow (14 minute) pace out of the gate, I stopped and walked back after running just over a mile.  There's always tomorrow.

The downside of living in a hotel is that my running clothes are slow to dry inside the room.  So yesterday, I brought my shoes to work, tied the laces of both shoes together and hung them on the outside rearview mirror.  Between the 20 mph wind and the sun, the shoes were dry in 2 hours.

Y'all have a good day.

HoustonFIT posted the times for the Tuesday and Thursday runs.  For the early weeks, regular HoustonFit and TeamFit will do the same workouts and probably at the same starting location.

Weekday runs:

• Tuesday morning (hills/speed) - 5:30am, location will vary depending on the workout
  
• Tuesday evening (hills/speed)- 6:30pm, location will vary depending on the workout
  
• Thursday morning (tempo) - 5:30am, Memorial Park, TBD
  
• Thursday evening (tempo) - 6:30pm, Memorial Park Living Bridge
  

As you can see, they run one in the morning and one in the evening.  Their plan runs you 3-4 times a week, including the long run.  So, these are 2 of the 3-4 times a week.  Therefore, it's not a mileage dense program.

Two questions.
1.  Is there a problem with me executing both sessions?  The sessions start at 30 minutes, then work up to 45 and then maybe an hour as the weeks roll by.
2.  If I just do the morning or evening session, is it a problem for me to easy run it to the Memorial Park meeting place (3 miles to and fro)?

My bias on #1 would be that it depends on the session and whatever other running I'll be doing that week.
My bias on #2 would be that it's not a problem, if I'm otherwise doing fine.

Thanks.

Friday's run went well.  I ran 8 miles in 79 degrees with the lightest wind of the whole week.  I tweaked the route and succeeded in eliminating the stretch where I'm running with traffic on a freeway feeder, however sparse it had been at 5 a.m.  Legs did well.

It was an overall pace of 13:46 with 13:40 on the first half and 13:52 on the 2nd.

I don't think that I'll be running on the streets, next week, as I'm staying at a different hotel.  I went by there yesterday to confirm that I wouldn't have a problem checking in on Sunday night.  It seems a state high school swimming meet is occurring next week in Corpus and most hotels are booked and many are overbooked.  The area around of the hotel is populated and I haven't done enough reconnaissance to see what's safe.

Y'all have a good weekend and please look at the preceding post, as I desire your opinions.

And I'd say you are right on with either approach as long as you listen to your body (which you already do), I think you will be just fine with the 2 a days or the to/from runs as you are already used to that kind of mileage.

I also think that No. 2 would be fine, as long as you listen to your body.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:And I'd say you are right on with either approach as long as you listen to your body (which you already do), I think you will be just fine with the 2 a days or the to/from runs as you are already used to that kind of mileage.

Mark B wrote:I also think that No. 2 would be fine, as long as you listen to your body.

Thanks, y'all, very much.  The evening session will be interesting for August and September, since the temps at 6:30 p.m. will still be in the 90's.  I don't think that I would be doing the easy run up to Memorial park in the evening because rush hour traffic is worse on runners than regular Houston traffic.  Come to think about it, it wouldn't be charming in the morning, either.  I'll just have to see how it shakes out.

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No running this morning, as I checked in around 10:30, last night.  I'll be going to the grocery store after work to buy the food needed for the week.  I also need to check out the exercise room at the hotel to see what it has.  A treadmill will be my only way to run, this week.  Y'all have a good week.

Last night, I checked out the 'fitness center' at the motel.  I wasn't dressed to work out.  3 machines...a sitting bike machine, a treadmill, and an 'all in 1' style weight machine in a room big enough to squeeze 3 treadmills in...maybe 4.  I turned on the treadmill and it did work, but was whiny as the belt turned without me on it.  So, YES, they can check the box that says they have a fitness center.

But I didn't run on it this morning.  Maybe tomorrow morning.  As a replacement, I am doing lots of core related exercises in my room.  The TeamFit coach has detailed quite a lot of core exercises to be done.  I did them all, last night, then I noted at the top of the page it said "Do 3 sets of the below with a minute or two break between sets."  3 sets?  I'll work up to that.  I was surprised that I did 3-40 second planks on the first try.

I also confirmed this part of town is not the part of town where running is done for fitness.  Very glad I drove the older, nondescript car.

I lived in a hotel a few times in my life, and all of those times I was lucky enough to have a kitchen and a place to run.  I was part of a project in Dover, DE all the way back in the summer of 1984 and was able to run on some awesome and quiet country roads - lived there for 6 mos, then I lived in York, PA for another project for three months while training for my Boston PR in 1986.  Then both times I've moved to/from Atlanta to Cleveland, I lived in a hotel - once with my hubby and dog and once with my daughter and dog.  Fun times!

Enjoy your fun times!

The treadmill sounds almost as dangerous as the streets...stay safe.

If nothing else you'll have the strongest core you've ever had before!

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:I lived in a hotel a few times in my life, and all of those times I was lucky enough to have a kitchen and a place to run.  I was part of a project in Dover, DE all the way back in the summer of 1984 and was able to run on some awesome and quiet country roads - lived there for 6 mos, then I lived in York, PA for another project for three months while training for my Boston PR in 1986.  Then both times I've moved to/from Atlanta to Cleveland, I lived in a hotel - once with my hubby and dog and once with my daughter and dog.  Fun times!

Enjoy your fun times!

nkrichards wrote:The treadmill sounds almost as dangerous as the streets...stay safe.

If nothing else you'll have the strongest core you've ever had before!

Oh, I am enjoying myself, Miche1e.  I'm on a 'full scholarship' during this project, nobody is questioning the expense reports, I'm socking away the mileage money (around 700 miles/week = ~$400/week) for future car maintenance on both cars, I absolutely love the driving (especially in the sports car), checking out little mom 'n pop BBQ joints, found a take out only seafood place where I can get a dozen fried shrimp for $11.25 (a great price & their the 16-20/lb size), and I'll have around 150,000 Hilton Honors points and Gold status (starting from zero), which I can redeem at 20K-40K points a night, when I go somewhere.  Plus, a printing company in Corpus is doing all the business cards, letterhead, and envelopes for the LLC.

I still need to go to a Corpus Christi Hooks minor league baseball game.  They're the AA team for the Astros.  And a sushi restaurant that's supposed to be good.

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Yes, Nancy, I'm not thrilled doing that treadmill and decided not to do it this morning, but did 30-45 minutes of core work, instead.  Aside from the basic functioning of the treadmill, I've never run on a treadmill while doing the ChiRunning-style, so that'll be interesting.

I'll do more core work, this evening.

Thanks for stopping by, you two.

I jumped on that flimsy treadmill, this morning.  I was on there for about 3 minutes and I didn't think it was safe enough to continue.  I was able to get into cadence, but it just didn't seem like it would last 30 minutes.  Then (and this is the sadly funny part), I got on the garden variety bike machine.  The pedals were oriented in a 6 o'clock/5 o'clock way, instead of a traditional noon/6 o'clock orientation.

Good thing that I'm checking out, tomorrow.

Oh, one other thing to report.  I haven't eaten breakfast all week, just lunch and dinner.  I haven't minded it too badly, but come noon I am ready for lunch.  I imagine it'll be a bit tougher to go without breakfast next week, when I start running again at the hotel I've been at for 7 weeks.

Good job on adapting to the new environment. I think you're going to have some great core workouts, considering the "fitness room" and outdoor amenities. Good for the "full scholarship" aspect, as well. I hope you're using an air miles card as a little extra compensation for your troubles. You could rack up some flights pretty quickly, if you're in to that sort of thing.

Mark B wrote:Good job on adapting to the new environment. I think you're going to have some great core workouts, considering the "fitness room" and outdoor amenities. Good for the "full scholarship" aspect, as well. I hope you're using an air miles card as a little extra compensation for your troubles. You could rack up some flights pretty quickly, if you're in to that sort of thing.

I should copy the core workouts to here.  None of them involve additional weights, but 3 reps will be a goal for later in the year.

I could really whine about the hotel, but I don't have any cheese.     On paper, this place and the Hilton are very comparable, even price, but it's like buying a used car...some are in good shape and some are 'work cars.'

Yes, I'm using the Hilton points for when I actually do go somewhere.  Depending on location and luxury of the hotel, it costs between 20,000 - 40,000 points a night.  I'll have around 150,000 points by the end of July.

In the morning, I'll be picking up the business cards and stationery.  That'll be nice and a little weird because it'll be another sign that this LLC is really going to happen.  I activated the email addresses, this morning.  One for me and one for the website for when someone has questions.  The website is about 60% done.