Balance Training?

I ran across this article in The New York Times. I haven't had ankle sprains, but I've never had very good balance. I wonder if standing on one foot might help resolve some of my lower leg problems?

I love this word.
pro·pri·o·cep·tion (prō'prē-ō-sĕp'shən)
n. The unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself.
[Latin proprius , one's own + (RE)CEPTION.]

Hottest Morning of the Year

Days Since Last Run Below 80°F: 11 It was 77°F Wednesday morning last week.
Days Since Last Run Below 70°F: 45 (May 21, a pretty nice Spring this year)


41¾ miles for the week of June 29th through July 5th

M – 4 miles, average pace 8:27 mpm (125 bpm), 80°F at 4AM [Dow-]
Tu - 4¾ miles, average pace 6:51 mpm (153 bpm), 80°F at 4AM [Dow]
W – 4¼ miles, 6x400/200, average pace 7:27 mpm (150 bpm), 400s in 84, 85, 85, 83, 82, and 81 (first time on the track since June 10th), 89°F at 7PM [B’Wood]
Th – 4 miles, average pace 8:34 mpm, 80°F at 4AM [Dow-]
F - 7 miles, overall average pace 9:04, 93°F at 3PM [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
Sa – 6¾ miles, with a 4 mile race at average pace 6:25, mile splits were 6:11, 6:34, 6:36, and 6:21, 86°F, start at 7:30AM [LJ Firecracker 4]
Su – 11 miles, average pace of 7:50 mpm, the race motivated me to start this run earlier, 85°F from 6:50AM [SeaC/SSTrail-2x2M/SeaC]

I think I drowned my GPS watch Wednesday evening. I can't coax it back to life.
Saturday's race was tough. The morning low for Clute was 85.3°F and that was from 4 to 5AM. The race started early enough, but Clute had 86.2°F from 7 to 8AM. Farther inland, the airport in Angleton had 84°F with a dew point of 78°F during the race at 7:53AM. That's a heat index of 95°F. I knew this was not my day when I ran a 6:34 second mile. OH well, this race motivated me to get off my rear and start my training runs earlier.

Here are couple of pictures from an article for the local paper:




Here's the topside watch of the USS Ohio enjoying 4th of July fireworks in Pearl Harbor:

More Slow Sweat-Soaked Running

Days Since Last Run Below 80°F: 4 It was 77°F during the run Wednesday morning!
Days Since Last Run Below 70°F: 38 (May 21, a pretty nice Spring this year)

40 miles for the week of June 22nd through June 28th

M – sleep, 82°F at 4AM
Tu - 4¾ miles, average pace 7:04 mpm (151 bpm), 81°F at 4AM [Dow]
W – 4¾ miles, average pace 7:38 mpm (136 bpm), 77°F at 4AM and foggy [Dow]
Th – 5¾ miles, average pace 7:41 mpm (142 bpm), 82°F at 4AM [Dow/BS]
F - 7+ miles, overall average pace 8:47 (130 bpm), 91°F at 11AM [SeaC/SSTrail+/SeaC]
Sa – 7 miles, average pace 7:38 (149 bpm), 88°F at 9AM [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
Su – 10¾ miles, average pace of 8:42 mpm (138 bpm), sunny and hot - crashed coming home, 90°F to 92°F from 9:30AM [SeaC/SSTrail-MacL-2M-BR-SSTrail)/SeaC]

The sea-breeze was cut off Wednesday morning. That allowed it to cool down into the 70s. It was pretty nice, but there aren't that many places in the US where one would consider 77°F and foggy nice. Without the sea-breeze Wednesday, the temperature really shot up with the sun. It got all the way up to 96°F before the "cooler" wind started come in off the Gulf.


I opened a facebook account. I found an electrician from the Kamehameha who had two old pictures of me. From 25 years ago:

Summer Solstice Sweat

Days Since Last Run Below 80°F: 17
Days Since Last Run Below 70°F: 33 (May 21, a pretty nice Spring this year)


36¼ miles for the week of June 14th through June 21st

M – sleep, 82°F at 4AM
Tu - sleep, 83°F at 4AM
W – 5¼ miles, average pace 7:49 mpm (143 bpm), 83°F at 4AM [Dow/Ol]
Th – 4¾ miles, average pace 7:37 mpm (142 bpm), 83°F at 4AM [Dow]
F - 7 miles, overall average pace 8:28 (141 bpm), 87°F at 6PM [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
Sa – 7¾ miles, average pace 8:07 (143 bpm), 89°F at 11AM [SeaC/SSTrail-BR/SeaC]
Su – 11½ miles, average pace of 8:29 mpm, sunny and warm - crashed coming home, 90°F at 11AM [SeaC/SSTrail-BR-MacL-@M-BR-SSTrail)/SeaC]

I really don't like running in the heat.



Celebrating the Summer solstice at local noon, latitude 29 degrees North.

Summer Is Here

Days Since Last Run Below 80°F: 10
Days Since Last Run Below 70°F: 26 (May 21, a pretty nice Spring this year)


39¼ miles for the week of June 7th through June 13th

M – sleep, 81°F at 4AM
Tu – 4¾ miles, average pace 7:08 mpm (155 bpm), 82°F at 4AM [Dow]
W PM – 4¼ miles, 6x400/200, average pace 7:36 mpm (154 bpm), 400s in 83, 82, 86, 86, 88, and 88 (first time on the track since March 25th), 85°F at 7PM [B’Wood]
Th – 4¾ miles, recovery run, average pace 8:30 mpm (129 bpm), 83°F at 4AM [Dow]
F - 8 miles, overall average pace 8:19 (145 bpm), 87°F at 10AM [SeaC/SSTrail-BR-MBT/SeaC]
Sa – 7½ miles, average pace 9:21 (129 bpm), 88°F at Noon after working all night for another pump test [SeaC/SSTrail-MBT/SeaC]
Su – 10 miles, average pace of 8:22 mpm (132 bpm), sunny and warm - embrace the slow, 87°F at 10AM [SeaC/SSTrail-MBTrail - 2M-MBTrail)/SeaC]

Some pretty slow runs this week with Summer coming on strong.

Trying to Come Back Again

My left knee is still causing problems, but I was able to squeak through the Heights 5K this morning. I've never run this race before, but it's a good one. The course is a simple run down one side of tree-lined Heights Boulevard and then return up the other side. Hobby Airport had a decent 76°F, with a dry 65°F dewpoint (nice and dry for a June race) at 7:53 AM.

Shortly after crossing the finish line, both of my calf muscles cramped. After a 5K! I need to start some tempo runs and intervals.

I know it's crazy to drive over 100 miles for a twenty minute race, but I get stale if I just run week after week without racing. I'm always inspired just talking to other runners. Nearly all my Houston running friends were there and I even got to meet some new people.

My little old Queen Anne Cottage in Glen Rose looks like a hovel compared to the grand Victorian mansions in The Heights.



The crushed granite trail down the median of Heights Boulevard.

At Least the New Pump Is Running Well

I was at the power plant most of the day Friday and into Saturday morning getting my new million dollar pump in service. I slept right through Saturday morning's Freeport 5K. It was probably just as well that I did, because my knee was still bothering me when I ran a few miles Saturday afternoon. On Sunday I decided to dump the cautious approach and run fairly hard and fast. I felt great for the first six and a half miles, but in the last mile the left knee started bothering me again. I had to work Monday night to support testing a steam turbine driven pump, so I skipped running until now. I'm thinking about testing the knee again Thursday morning. We'll see.

I stumbled across this Boston Marathon race report from a sub-elite runner (courtesy of GB). I thought it was interesting to hear a Boston story from the elite runner perspective.