Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 3.97mi @ 7:42
Average Heart Rate: 152bpm

I’m still on Jury Duty and these runs are very therapeutic.

Anyway, I was doing fine until I saw a guy in the distance and decided I needed to catch him. Stupid.

Planned: 5mi @ 8:00
Actual: 5mi @ 7:30
Average Heart Rate: 163bpm

I wrestled over the title. But it’s true. There is pain, and it’s happening in my nether-region.

Let me just get this out of the way: the problem is short shorts, okay? No funny business.

Short shorts, while comfortable for most of the run, become less so when they rub against your inner thigh leaving in their wake a friction-based rash. I kicked the last mile in, not because I was feeling good (I wasn’t) or because I felt like I needed the extra challenge (I don’t), but because I was near tears and wanted to get the dang run over with. The stinging continued for the next hour and I’m sure I looked comical walking in giant steps in an attempt to keep my new injuries from getting any worse.

The worst thing is that I actually have a product that’s supposed to protect from this, and it was in the car while I was running. I just forgot to put it on — like I always do. I can’t remember the name. “Glide”-something-or-other.

Anyway, aside from the nether-drama, this wasn’t a fantastic run. It was fast, yes. And it was a respectable distance. But I’m not trying to go fast. In fact, I set out to go slow. So here we are again. I have theories why this is happening, but I’ve written too much already. It’s time to shower…carefully.

Planned: 5mi @ 8:00
Actual: 6.02mi @ 7:38
Average Heart Rate: 161bpm

This one felt great. I tried really hard to use my core to keep things efficient and I think it worked for the most part.

The only bummer was that about a half a mile from the finish, I had to stop and give a Middle Eastern trucker some directions. His English was a little broken and his accent was so thick I had a hard time understanding the simplest of sentences. But we got through it.

Unfortunately, I think I pressed the wrong buttons on my watch and so the last bit of the run looks funky. Whatever. It was so nice in every other respect: cool, consistent, challenging. If it wasn’t supposed to rain today, I’d totally try to get out there again. Maybe tomorrow.

Planned: 3mi @ 8:00 or over
Actual: 3.02mi @ 7:50
Average Heart Rate: 161bpm

Last Saturday I woke up with the sense that something was wrong. And it was. My sinuses were gunked up. And I was supposed to help out on a shoot that day.

Two hours later, I felt terrible. But I was on set and determined to keep my word. I was handed a Sudafed 24. This is a god among medicines. Seriously. I don’t care if you can make speed out of it.

This whole week was spent waiting for my little sinus problem to turn into a big sinus problem — one that required antibiotics. It happens every time. I start with a head cold and end up lying on the couch for a week or more. It doesn’t matter what I do.

I bought my own Sudafed 24 (and signed for it). I drank fluids. I shot nasal steroids (leftover from a previous infection) into my sinus cavity. I waited for the inevitable.

It never came.

Friday was the first time I felt comfortable pushing my body. I told myself to take it easy. Keep it short. One out of two ain’t bad.

It seems as though writing two sentences and clicking “Publish” wouldn’t take much effort. Or much time. Or much will. But it does. Oh, yes. It does.

Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t feel like I’m working toward anything, having avoided choosing a race or a training schedule for the past three weeks. Maybe it’s Jury Duty which has unmercifully come back to bite me just over a year since my last service. Maybe I am lazy. We’ll never know.

I didn’t get a chance to run until 4:30pm today even though I was off work. And this is a prime example of why I hate running in the afternoon: It’s hot, it interrupts digestion and digestion fights back, and gnats — they’re everywhere including my mouth. For the first time since I started running again, I had to walk. And it’s not like I was setting any distance or time records. This was a simple 5mi run. Slow. Ish. With music.

I did, however, forget to wear my sunglasses, but somehow I don’t think that contributed.

So here are the last several runs in chronological order without further comment. I know you’ve been waiting, like, forever for these. I’d say it won’t happen again, but we both know that’s a lie.

March 15, 2008
Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.6mi @ 7:45
Average Heart Rate: 161bpm

March 18, 2008
Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.07mi @ 7:45
Average Heart Rate: 160bpm

March 20, 2008
Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.13mi @ 7:30
Average Heart Rate: 160bpm

March 21, 2008
Planned: 5mi @ 8:00
Actual: 5.06mi @ 8:38
Average Heart Rate: 150bpm

Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.32mi @ 8:07
Average Heart Rate: 155bpm

So, yeah. Ouch.

This was another city run and therefore there were many stops intended to save me from a squashing. I don’t think the 8:07 number takes that into account. It’s from the desktop app that Garmin makes which, for Mac OS X, is kind of dumb (of course the Windows version is fine). MotionBased.com, Garmin’s online community, is much smarter. But, due to circumstances beyond my laziness, I am unable to check how this run was interpreted by the web app.

I’m okay with that.

Planned: I Have No Idea
Actual: 4.57mi @ 8:19
Average Heart Rate: 155bpm

Oh, yeah. All I do is run after work now. Part of it was along Chandler. It was nice.

Whatever.

Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.07mi @ 7:57
Average Heart Rate: 160bpm

This whole heart rate above 160bpm thing is really bumming me out. I looked back at a similar run from July and my average was 147. Not only that, I ran faster. And it was probably really hot. Nuts.

I haven’t officially started training for a race yet. But I need to.

It was freeezing at the outset, and the clouds were looking ominous. But the chill actually helped cool me down once the run was over. I tried to run farther and faster than last week. And I did. Just barely. Go me.

I really need a plan. And less rain would be nice, thank you.

Planned: >3mi
Actual: 3.84mi @ 7:51
Average Heart Rate: 167bpm

I know I shouldn’t expect to be getting better if I’m only going to run once a week (tough week, by the way), but I think I may be getting worse. I think less people out meant less time concentrating on looking unwinded. And with no distractions, I started to notice all the little aches and pains a lot earlier.

The Garmin says my peak heart rate was something like 216 but I’m pretty sure that’s an error with the equipment. At no point was I trying that hard.

I’m going to take a nap or something. I’m exhausted already.

Planned: 3mi @ Whatever
Actual: 3.84mi @ 7:49
Average Heart Rate: 168bpm

I ran a little further than expected and felt every extra tenth of a mile. A good indicator of how out of shape I am is my average and maximum heart rates which were 168bpm and 186bpm respectively. Theoretically, I should only hit 180bpm when I’m at an all out sprint and I was not doing an all out sprint today. So that’s not good.

I joined a group of runners with the intention of doing a group run at least once a month. I figured it would be a good idea to break out of the solitary mold every once in a while. Problem is, the one guy I know in the group doesn’t blink at the thought of running 15 miles on an easy day. So it’ll be a couple of weeks/months before I can even think about such insanity. EW and JAE, by the way, you guys are welcome to join if you’d like. Just let me know and I’ll make it happen.

Also, I’m tentatively looking at running the San Francisco Marathon in August since I can’t run San Diego this year (wedding). That gives me enough time to actually train for the full 18 weeks that every program seems to endorse. I’m still trying to decide what program to try. It might be Nike since I’ve never used them before. Don’t know.

That is all.