March 31, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Marine layer fog. Finished March with 12 runs and 80 miles on the road. Hit the trail this morning to heavy fog and temps hovering around 60 degrees. Not a trace of wind. Entered at the Boyd portal and headed South down the western boundary of campus, past the Lloyd Noble Center, over to Jenkins and back North to the shack. Finished the 5.25 mile campus loop in 50:01 for a 9:32 min/mile pace. Looking forward to April, as the RedBud 10K is scheduled for April 12th and the OKC Memorial Marathon will be on the 26th. (I will run the half-marathon.) Good times. Mahalo.

March 29, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Sunday Long Run. Hit the trail in the pre-dawn darkness for a ten-miler. The temperature was a cool 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) with a moderate South wind. Absolutely perfect conditions. Headed North to the Robinson boundary, down the Legacy trail to Jenkins, onward past Highway 9 and then looped back North through the campus. Slow pace from start to finish, per Hal Higdon's training wisdom. Completed the 10.09 miles (16 kilometers) in 1:47:34 for a sub-sonic 10:40 min/mile pace. H2O stop at Reeves Park is open for business. Cadence, mechanics and system maintenance all received prominent placement. Cheers.

March 26, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Cold front arrived last night and brought strong North winds and a serious drop in temps. Awoke to a coolish 40-degrees Fahrenheit (4 Celsius) and a strong North wind that made it feel more like 34 degrees (1 Celsius). Broke out the heavier long-sleeves and gloves for this one. Such is the life of a runner during March and April in these parts. In three months I will be fantasizing about mornings like this one. Finished the 6.0 mile campus loop in 57:35 for a 9:35 min/mile pace. Absolutely no complaints. Mahalo.

March 24, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Temps in the mid-50s with a decent South wind. Long-sleeves and shorts, although I could have worn short-sleeves and been just fine. Another 6.06 mile campus loop finished in 55:46 for a 9:12 min/mile pace, which, according to Runkeeper is the 61st fastest time that I've run this route. The weather is absolutely phenomenal. Waiting for the heat and humidity to build. Mahalo.

March 21, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Awoke to a windless 48 degrees Fahrenheit (9 Celsius) and fog. Pushed my planned ten-miles to next weekend due to work commitments, but managed to get a short fun-run in for shits and giggles. Long-sleeves, shorts and gloves. Another great morning for running. Completed the 4.27 mile campus loop in 40:11 for a 9:25 min/mile pace. Finished strong. Mahalo.

March 19, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Marine Layer Fog and brief moments of drizzle to start the day. Out the door after two-days off. Torrential downpour kept me indoors yesterday. Shorts and long-sleeves for excellent running weather: 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) and calm winds. Completed the 6.03 mile campus loop in 56:39 for a faster-than-usual 9:24 min/mile pace. Faster is obviously used in the relative sense. A day to recuperate prior to Saturday's planned ten-miler. Mahalo.

March 16, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Felt good to get out on the trail after a planned five-day respite. Finished last week with a Monday-Tuesday back-to-back for a total of eleven miles. Took the rest of the week off. The weather is definitely changing. Not ready to give up the long-sleeves just yet, but I left the gloves and soft cap at the shack. Temp was 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 Celsius) with a slight breeze. Finished the uneventful 6.04 mile campus loop in 57:39. The average pace was 9:33; it was, according to Run Keeper, the 139th fastest time I have clocked for this route. Proud. Hitting the road without music has been a nice change of pace. Mahalo.

March 10, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Rare mid-week back-to-back. Awoke to cool temps (45 degrees Fahrenheit and 7 Celsius), marine layer fog and cold drizzle. A perfect morning for lacing up the New Balance kicks and hitting the trail. The Runkeeper app clocked my first mile at 7:20, which is not in the realm of possibilities, and the second mile a bit slower. Obviously having serious synch issues, I blew off the auto-tracking and went on about my business. I ran the same route as yesterday and simply used that data for this morning's run. It should not too far off. Completed the 5.47 mile campus loop in 54:07 for a 9:54 min/mile pace. Mahalo.

March 9, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Awoke to 44 degrees Fahrenheit (7 Celsius) and a negligible breeze from the West. The drizzle and fog from start to finish in no way diminished the joy felt running in these relatively "balmy" conditions. The tail end of Winter feels good. Spring looms, although there will inevitably be set-backs, false starts and dashed hopes. And rain. A lot of rain. Started at the Boyd Street portal for a change of pace. Finished the campus loop with a fly-by of the SAE house and the media circus. Completed the 5.47 mile run (9k) in 54:07 for a 9:54 min/mile average pace. Mahalo.

March 7, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Saturday Long Run. With temps right at freezing (32 F, 0 C) and no wind, it felt like a Spring day out on the trail. Layered up and waited until the sunlight hit the olive oil before heading out. Extended the loop North to Robinson and the Legacy trail and then pushed the Southern boundary past Highway 9 and the Oliver Stone Wildlife Preserve. Completed the 9.40 mile loop (15.12 km) in 1:32:08 for a 9:48 min/mile pace. Ditched the ear buds yet again and will continue to run sans music for a bit. It's a nice change and lets me focus on breathing, cadence and mechanics. Day Light Savings time arrives tomorrow, which will give me a good excuse to tweak the routes for shits and giggles. Finished the week with 21.61 miles.

March 4, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Awoke to freezing temps (27 degrees Fahrenheit or -3 degrees Celsius) and a brutal 20 mph wind out of the north. Started cold, but it was definitely manageable. The discomfort level increased exponentially when I hit the 1.5 mile mark and the sleet started. Finished the last three miles fighting the sleet and wind hitting me in the face. Relentlessly. Ended the run soaked to the bone and super cold. Completed the 6.16 mile campus loop in a frigid 1:00:56 for a 9:54 min/mile pace. I'm ready for Spring and a change of weather patterns. Ditched the earbuds and focused on cadence, mechanics and the wind-driven sleet. Mahalo.

March 2, 2015

Dawn Patrol. Saturday and Sunday were a wash: the snow and ice were too much. Three days of downtime ensued. Finished the last week of February with 20.42 miles. Hit the trail this morning to inaugurate the month of March. Temps registered at 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 Celsius) with a slight breeze. Nothing heavy. Completed the 6.05 mile campus loop in 58:47 for a subsonic 9:43 min/mile pace. Random mixture of tunes on the box. Mahalo.