standard 4 mile

Good PT this morning; went out and did exactly four miles in CP afterwards. I know, because for the first time ever, I planned a route, all measured out, with the gmaps pedometer. did an out and back. Felt pretty good; even though no albuterol in my system. Wonder how good it'll feel when I do have sme albuterol!

On my way into the park, I got stopped by an elderly gentlmen, a tourist from England. He asked many questions about running in the park, and I gave him the rundown - so to speak - of what he needed to know. Advised him to avoid the hilly north end, a tip he seemed to appreciate more than the others.

that was cool.

The Five Senses

I know it's going to be a difficult run when I can see the air.

Went for 7 today; got in 7.75 - a little far, but better underestimate the route initially than over. Good for the stones.

There are many things to be experienced on a long run, and my senses were alive this morning, noticing the little things, like air so humid it hangs as a haze over the park and in between the buildings.

The dripping leaves so green that when the sun came out briefly, the green hurt my eyes. The girl who was a good runner, but who had to drop to a walk a few times as the humidity fought her, her shirt a pale lavender, darkened in two broad bands across her back with sweat, her capri-cut sweats soaked from the waist to the knee. Her, I pitied. I didn't have it easy; but she was really working.

The bright orange cones stacked on the guy's cart as he trolled by picking them up, stacked signs saying "Bicycle Race This Morning" sharing space. The group of runners, maybe 15 of them, startling me as I crested the big hill, hanging out getting organized for....?

It's so quiet on Sunday mornings. Truck rumbles I wouldn't usually hear a block away, are now apparent six blocks away. Voices carry further, and now everybody pants and grunts when they run, not just me. The pad-pad-pad of my feet on pavement is still alone though; I don't hear other people's footsteps. Squirrels chattering at me as I pass their trees, parents talking to their kids as they set up the barbecue grills in optimistic defiance of the weather forecast. My coughing. It sounds to me like it echos from the pavement and the trees and rocks. Surely, everyone must hear my coughing.

Hot, humid weather creates many smells, many of which gag me as I pass through them. Decaying organic matter in the gutters, horse smell on the bridal path. Fresh, clean air blown across the park while on the big hill, something slightly briny, too. Warm smoky smell from the grills, whether from yesterday's fires or the beginnings of today's, I don't know. Coffee. My own odor in the last few miles, coming from my shoulders.

I can't wait for winter, when all the smells are cold-suppressed save one: the pine trees on the west end of the park. They will spread their scent for a half mile - I can smell them before I see them.

I start out this morning in a light rain; it pelts my forehead as I make my way through Carroll Gardens and let's up as I head uphill towards the park. Mostly I feel my lungs today; every bronchiol, every alveoli begs me to slow down; I promise them I'll double up on my antibiotics for a while and maybe call my doctor on Monday. My feet feel great, my heart, my legs feel great, my knee tendons aren't so happy; they throb at first, as I warm-up, like a pulsing yellow traffic light, warning me to go slow. I feel them stretch slowly and stop complaining. My arms are wet, slick. Other days, I end up grainy from sweated salt after a run; not today. My bottle is also slick, from my own sweat, not condensation. The iron railing at home is rough under my hand as I stretch out and cool down; I leave a patch of wet railing wherever I touch.

Most significant today was what I could taste. Humidity has a way of magnifying the tastes of things, particularly the taste of odors. Sweat. Horse. Sweat. Garbage truck. Sweat. Bagels. Sweat. Sweat on my upper lip. Salty taste on the nipple of my bottle as I tug on it with my teeth; snapping it closed with my hand leaves salt behind. My powergel tastes thick, almost repulsive, even in my favorite flavor, the HEED is more palatable. I've mixed it just right today; it is neither too weak, nor too strong; it tastes just right and is not gritty.

It has been a good run; I am overwhelmed. I am wet. I had to work hard at this run, just to keep going, but I was able to run faster and faster, finally achieving a decent long-run pace, rather than the slow survival shuffle I started with. The miles didn't feel too long, the hills didn't feel too steep.

The shower felt g-r-e-a-t.

Got a plan of action

Today's run was good - four solid miles. I had some difficulty with my breathing in the last mile, but that may have been mostly the heat/humidity. I'm sure it didn't help that I didn't bring hydration this time.

I took the park loop in the reverse direction; I was surprised how difficult it was, I usually consider that the "easy" direction!

After taking another blogger to task for not having a written training schedule, I have created one for myself to get ready for the Staten Island Emerald Nuts Half-Marathon.

this is a test

This is nothing but a test to see if this will post from the Mac OSX DashBlog Dashboard Widget, which, if it works, will save me much clicky-clicky just getting to the "new post" page online.

Oh, and I'm not running today, even though the weather's beautiful. Maybe I should, then I could skip tomorrow. Or maybe I'll get the bicycle out and go to Prospect Park.

well I'll be damned. short AGAIN.

I didn't think I could screw up twice. But apparently my "three mile loop"....ain't. I began to suspect my loop was short and took my GPS with me. What I thought was four miles turned out to be 3.5. Not as grievious an error as my previous miscalculation, but still. Well, that was Monday. I did, however, discover new territory on that run and I think my apartment-hunting will now include Red Hook - a nice industrial, small, somewhat-scary, subway-inaccessible neighborhood.

Today, I ran after getting home from PT. For the first day in several, my tendons didn't hurt. It was a pretty good run, overall. I really enjoyed the five-mile loop and even added an extra block laterally on my way up and back from the park. The weather was just about perfect, and even my lungs were cooperating. My speed was marathon-pace, I guess - legs ached a bit, particularly in the shins, so I was slow, but I didn't mind.

I'd like to point out a great page for measuring distance online: http://www.sueandpaul.com/gmapPedometer/
Neat stuff.

Great Runs Through Recent History

Greetings, runners!

Another week, another lifetime's worth of shoes, miles, injuries, and achievements. But where to begin? What to focus on?

Several marathons around the country were run this week, including the Pike's Peak Marathon, the ING Edmonton Marathon, Humpy's Classic in Anchorage, and the Silver State Marathon. Here's a nifty entry about running Pike's Peak. And here's another long description of the torture from TexasRunner. And Citizen Frank runs his first marathon. But in general, the blogging community seems a little skittish about posting big events this week.

So let's concentrate on something positive: The Great Runs. The Best. Runs. EVAR! We've all had one, right? We know what they feel like. Reading about other people's fantastic runs is energizing, enlightening, and edifying.

Danny begins his long-haul of training and discovers the glories of a great run. Scott gives us his very funny run-down of his best here. Sue, a plucky beginner, let's us in on the astonishment of actually having a good run. And Holly let's us in on her Apprehension and how she deals with it.

More experienced runners weighed in, too, with stories of outstanding runs: Danielle tries to describe fartlek speed training and takes us along for the ride. Personally, I got in my own version of fartlek and just jammed. In the meantime, Jennifer in Canada posts her Best. Race. Ever. Nosebleed also had a great interval run.

Some Great Run entries were a little off the beaten path and quite entertaining. Brian expresses every single runner's hopes notches up a solid at the same time. For grins, this one made me laugh out loud.

In not quite blogging-land, an unusual event on the horizon, as Brian raises diabetes awareness by swimming handcuffed. And for you suffering hard-cores in Denver, the good news is you're getting a real marathon! .

Finally, in New We All Can Use, nice-guys Sue and Paul give us a great new online tool, pointed out to me by Danny, who is training for his first 26.2 By the way, folks, don't forget to nominate your best entries or the entries you've run across on other people's blogs by submitting them to derek. And if you leave comments on people's blogs, don't forget to tell them about the Carnival!

'Til next time,
Brooklyn

Short a mile. Huh.

OK, this entry is two reports in one.

First, Friday's run came about mid-day, after I finally had a PT appointment, for the first time in four weeks. My legs felt better than they have in a week when I left SportsCare and Friday's run was pretty good. I did my standard five-mile run up to Prospect Park, around the loop, then home. It wasn't bad. I wasn't running at the pace I would have liked, but I have to keep reminding myself that five miles is not three. Pace must change. I wonder if I'd had more energy if I'd taken some HEED instead of water?

Today's run was the weekly "long" run and I took it up to six miles, or intended to. Since I didn't go into Manhattan and do the Central Park loop, I figured I'd try the external circle of Prospect Park. The Prospect Park website claims that the Prospect regular loop, inside the park, is 3.35 miles and that's all I've ever run. It also states that running the sidewalks AROUND the park's fences is 3.75. Unfortuantely, I didn't realize this 'til I got home... I thought the distance was closer to five. Well.... I guess I got in a longish five miler. I've always figured my regular five mile loop at about 5 1/4 miles, since it's a mile up to my regular park entrance. So maybe I did five and a half today.

It wasn't easy, though. Though the temperature is down, the humidity is up and it felt like I had asthma going on the entire time. In fact, between that and some achy muscles, I walked a few blocks of the run.

Running the outside of the park makes the hills easier. It's just one long downslope, across, then one long - but gentler - upslope, and aross again. And - bonus - the sidewalks are clean, wide, and level. Well, next week I'll do a seven or eight mile long run, partly dependent on humidity. I've got to start getting the long runs up into the ten mile range!

Found this: "You might be a runner if..." on the Prospect Park Track Club's website. Very funny.

short day

I saw Dr. Maharam this morning; he was not happy with the condition of my knees. I knew he wouldn't be. These last few weeks without PT have not been good. We decided that insurance or not, I will go back into PT. It's expensive, at $50 a visit, but perhaps my insurance will catch up and get me back to the $12 copay. It's important, though, to keep working on reducing my condition to the point where when I start getting into the half-marathon range for long weekend runs, that those go smoothly and without pain.

It is vitally important that I keep running.

But it is also vitally important that, in order to maintain my interest in running, that the variety of distances and circumstances be present, that I can continue to run by myself, or run races, or whatnot. It is probably time to add some team training into the mix, as well, particularly speed work. But so much of that depends on my confidence in the state of my knees. I'm not afraid of pain, I'm afraid of long-term damage that might keep me from running entirely.

That said, I kept my run short, going only my three-mile route. I should be at a 4-5-4-6 week, but I just couldn't justify doing 4 on the pain I've been feeling the last few days. It was, however, a good run. I didn't go fast, I went at, perhaps, a half-marathon pace and found it to be easy - almost ridiculously so. It was nice to find that I was mentally classifying this run as a warm-up/cool-down run rather than an actual workout. Did I miss a workout? No. Do I feel like I did? Yes.

Well, Friday morning will be an early one. I want to get in five miles and a shower before 6:30, when I have to get on the train to make an early-morning PT appointment. PT is going to feel so good this time!

The wild runner.

a'right. let's do this; let's run. why? i dunno. I ran last night, I shouldn't have to run today. But my subconscious would rather run Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, than Tuesdays and Thursdays. what a bitch.

So there I am again, headed out for a four-miler. I'm following my five-mile route, but keep telling myself I'll just WALK down the hill from the park once I've completed the loop.

It was a good run. The stress of going uphill seems to be lessening. The powersnot and HEED really do their stuff. I should take note of that. Doing TKEs before the run seems to help, too.

The main bizarreness of this run was that everybody was passing me. And there were a lot of people out tonight, too! I don't blame them... they were taking advantage of the 76 degrees and easy humidity just like I was.

At first, I got passed by a duo obviously in training. No sweat. Then I got passed by little-pink-outfit-missy-thing and that was strange, because she was taking fewer steps than me. huh.

Now... picture, if you will, a Forrest Gump type. Only twice in the movies have I ever seen Tom Hanks with the long hair and big, bushy beard look, and in Castaway he looked pretty much like Forrest Gump on a desert island.

So picture a man, a primeval man, who has let his hair grow because he is focused on other, more important things. Now picture this man about my height 5'6". And picture his eyes just about glowing in the dusk evening light. Now picture that spectre coming up on you from behind.

This is what I got passed by going down the south slope of the park. I heard soft footsteps and turned, expecting to see someone running the parallel trail - and there he was! This wild phantasm almost disappearing into the trees, running at about twice my speed - ! He's fast! I've seen fast runners before, but they're usually track people in training. This wasn't one. He'd obviously been out a while - his grey shirt was soaked - and he was about my age, I guess, not a high schooler.

Time goes on. I reach the bottom of the slope and get passed AGAIN by this guy, this time on his way up the hill. OK, cool, I think, he's doing a hill workout.

Time goes on. I pass around the lake, get passed by a few more duos, fine, fine. Then I get passed by a grey whirlwind topped by a mass of dark hair: it's that guy! He soon disappears ahead of me.

Time goes on. I'm starting up the big hill when he passes me a fourth time, going the other way. This is getting bizarre. I also get passed - get this - by a guy on a 4' unicycle.

Time goes on. I'm getting paranoid. What's next? Getting overtaken by a kindergartner on a Big Wheel? Nope! It's Forrest again - for the fifth time - powering past me at the top of the big hill as if he were going over a speedbump.

Time goes on. I'm halfway across the top of the park - and nearly done with the run - when I spy the guy coming towards me AGAIN. "Hey!" I called "What's your name?"

He seems surprised, but answers, "Neil!"

"I'm Cris!" I respond as we pass each other. Someday I will ask Neil what kind of crazy workout he was doing.

I walk down the Slope to my house, relaxing and really enjoying how I feel. 4 solid miles the day after a 5 mile run and my knees aren't yet killing me. Sweet. And now I won't be passed by any more people.

Time goes on. I'm two blocks from home when I spy movement on the opposite sidewalk. Would you believe it? It's Neil again, running downhill and off into the dark! My sanity surrenders.

5 miles post-rainstorm

What a sweet fuckin' run.

I most emphatically did NOT want to run today. I had a lazy Sunday, avoiding the sweltering heat outside and praying that the heat might break near dark, as if I wanted to stick to schedule. I was sorely tempted to just say fuck it and put in the five miles tomorrow morning instead.

But I'd spent the last couple hours doing all my stretching and TKE's and foam roller. So when the thunderstorm hit, I looked on the web and figured the rain wouldn't last and maybe it would be cooler afterward. So I put down HEED and powergoop and waited half an hour.

When I set out, the trees were still dripping. The temperature had managed to drop to just above 80, but the humidity was as near 100 as I've yet run in. Unbelievably, I set out on a good pace, uphill. I ran my standard 5.3 mile loop up to the park, around, and back home, all at a really amazing (for me) clip. I actually passed two of the other three runners in the park, though there was one I couldn't catch. It's not that I was trying, exactly, it just happened. And I say this is unbelievable, because if I hadn't DONE it, I don't think I could have predicted it. The humidity was just too much and I was not as motivated tonight as I like to be.

But dark has a way of helping me to run faster and perhaps the thought of getting home for a good meal and the Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson motivated me. All I know is, despite the heat and humidity, I had a great run. Solid, steady, continuous, even pleasant.

I like my route, too. It's like coming back to an old friend. There aren't any surprises, but it's got varied enough terrain to keep the boredom off, not to mention that it ends with a "dessert mile," or rather half a mile, of easy downhill.

Shower felt good. Food tastes good. Icepacks feels good. Sleep's gonna be good. Oh, and it's pouring again already.

one of those "to the point" kinda runs

short and sweet; 3 miles exactly. chose an out-and-back route, so that I could begin to check out Sunset Park, where a few friends of mine live and where rents are cheaper. (maybe I'll be moving soon) I ran up to 5th ave, over to 41st st, down to 4th ave, and back home. 3 miles exactly.

I got up too late to run today, meaning the sun was up and the temp was already over 80 and rising. Forget it. I'm learning fast that acclimation or not, anything above 80 is a real challenge for me. I waited tonight until 8:00 and the temps had cooled significantly, though humidity's a bitch. Rain is expected later tonight. Air quality not so hot; real hazy today.

Shins need work, gotta ask my therapist about that next time I see her. Lungs didn't close up too much, but weren't wide open either. They worked OK. by the last half mile of my run, I was really warmed up, pouring sweat, and my breathing - much to my surprise - had fallen into a 2-2 pattern, instead of my usual 3-2 pattern. I've never had my respiration going that fast for that amount of time and not been in particular distress. Perhaps this is more adaptation and I can look forward to better oxygenation during my runs?

Gotta get in a full five miles sometime this weekend; hopefully a six in Central Park. All depends on time, weather, and ...um... more weather. I'm gonna be glad when fall comes, believe you me!

hill workout wanna come kill me holy jeebus

up down up down up down up down. And I'm not talking about my feet. I'm talking about the quality of my runs. Two runs ago, down. Last run, really up. This run, down. Not BAD mind you, but certainly not the stellar run of Monday evening.

up down up down. This was my workout for the day. A bit pressed for time, I put off a five-miler in favor of a four-mile hill workout. Two complete laps up to the 15th street Prospect Park entrance and back equals four miles.

The hill up to Prospect Park is quite a workout. I often use it as my warm-up jog so that I'm really moving once I get to the park, but it is a good routine on its own. And the body needs some retraining on hill running, that's for sure. Not only are uphills a heart-pounding session, but the downhill runs provide opportunity to focus on form, control, and proper downhill running without injury. Downhills are a lot of people's weakness, me included.

Fortunately, there's enough lateral distance across the hill to make for some running rests, which are very helpful in reducing the strain of a hill workout.

So; it was a hard one today, mostly because of the route, but also because my lungs were at perhaps B+ level and little pains were springing up, none I couldn't ignore or that jeopardized the plan. It was pleasant, though, to see how many people were out enjoying the sunshine on this mid-80's day.

One thing that I should change: I took a bottle of water with me, but I probably should have mixed in some HEED with it. I need the electrolytes, of course, but I also had a hard time absorbing the water by itself. I'm such a dummy some days.

After the run, on the train into town, I listened to one of the Running Injury Free podcasts, this one about warming up and why its necessary. Perhaps I should add a little more warmup into my routine and not be so afire to get to the running each time.

Fantastic, amazing run!!

With relief, I post this entry. I should have known better than to fret over the last run, which was so very very bad. I should have known that all things achieve balance and that I was due a great run. And was this one ever!

I didn't run in the morning, preferring the soft comfortableness of another hour's sleep in my fresh sheets and pleasantly cool bedroom. I had a good morning putting together a light plot for the Fringe Festival and a decent afternoon drafting at Insight. Woo-hoo!

On the train home, I hunted through my iPod for THOSE songs -- you know the ones: they set your feet tapping and conjur images of pounding, rhythmic activity. The songs that evoke images of hyper-focused athletes toeing the start line as the rising sun breaks the grey dawn into a salmon-and-black chiaroscuro. The bass lines and percussion rhythms that get your nerves twitching, your legs already pumping in time, in your mind's eye. I have a list of songs specifically to help motivate me to run, but this time I didn't need the songs to want to run after work, they just got me all the more hyped up.

The second I got home, I chugged a large shot of power-snot, gulped down eight ounces or so of water and started getting ready for the run. I even did the foam roller before running this time! I pulled my running clothes out of the clean-laundry pile and slipped them on - after a day in a heavy t-shirt and khakis, the running clothes felt like they were made of air. I slipped on my running shoes and stepped out the door.

And stopped.

It was raining -- or beginning to, at any rate. Eyes narrowing in determination, I contemplated the upcoming run only for a moment, then shrugged it off. If it was going to rain, it was going to rain; nothing I could do about it. And I was NOT going to put off this run! I was PUMPED.

I've never run in the rain before - not voluntarily. It rained in the last half of the Scotland 10K, but that was what it was. Now though, I was actually starting out in the rain. Ten steps out, I zipped past my neighbor returning home; I wondered if he thought I'm crazy?

I started out at a good pace - a REALLY good pace! It was about the pace I pushed in the last 5K and IT. FELT. GREAT! I was having to lean in as I rounded corners. That's a new one! The light rain continued unabated as I sped into Carroll Gardens. Turning away from the Smith-9th subway station and heading up Smith street, I really put the pedal to the metal, a good solid gear higher and just ran right up the street. I concentrated on keeping my feet more-or-less in a line, instead of a zig-zag, and pumping my arms, and lifting my heels. Before I knew it, I was at 2nd place. I blipped over to 1st and turned left, toward the BQE. I slowed down to my starting-out pace for a small stretch, then picked it up again for five or six blocks 'til I got to the pedestrian overpass at the BQE.

Up-and-over, down and around, then out into Redhook. I took several turns away from Hamilton so that I wouldn't return home too soon. I really extended this normally 3-mile route; probably came close to four miles, at least. I kept pounding away, refusing to slow down to below 5K pace. After crossing several busy streets and Ft. Hamilton, I pounded up and over the Gowanus and then notched it up for a third and final push, which I kept up 'til I hit the mailbox at the corner of my block, where I customarily slow to a walk to cool down before I get to my apartment.

I remember glancing at the clock before my stretching and foam rolling and it had said 8:11. After some post-run stretching and admiring my neighbor's skill with his RC car on the rain-slick streets (yep, still raining!), I headed inside for a shower. The clock read 8:57. WTF? Did I enter a time warp, or was I really moving?!? Fantastic!

I feel great; I FELT great. Even with the rising humidity as the rain came down, the temperature was good and I'm getting adapted to the warmer weather FINALLY. My lungs cooperated and even my knees kept their yappy little mouths shut. Just all-in-all, this had to have been the best run I've had in weeks, if not months!

More please!

a bad run and abject disappointment

Today's run just kept going downhill, starting with a choice not to go to Central Park this morning and do 6 mi with the marathon trainees. Instead, since the temperature was predicted to be only mid-80's today, I opted for a 5 miler in Prospect Park. That didn't go so well, either. To be honest, it was the worst run I've had in a couple of months.

Starting up the hill was much harder than it should have been and the temperature wasn't even 80 degrees yet. The run was OK going down the south hill and headed east, but then as I got around the lake and started up hill again, it just got bad.

My runner's knees are coming back. I haven't been to PT in a week, since we've got to work it out with insurance, and it's showing. Sure, I could be doing more TKE's and foam rolls, but I'm really missing the stretches Amy can put on me and the stim. So my knees were slightly achy even setting out and slowly got worse; my hips were joining the chorus too.

More importantly, though, and the reason I had to slow to a walk, was that my lungs simply wouldn't cooperate. My coughing wouldn't stop and I ended up with dry heaves at the top of run uphill towards the park. That should have been a big clue, but I pressed on, going into the park and even the downhill took extra effort today. I kept slowing my pace as I rounded the lake, trying to get my lungs to catch up with me, but I was forced to slow to a walk and even then I could hardly catch my breath. I got another half-mile of jogging in before I had to call it quits. I walked the rest of the 5 mile route.

I stopped and stretched a long time exiting the park and reflected on my body as a whole. Yes, I know I'm reaching my mid-30's, and that any newcomer to running (and I don't kid myself -- I'm still a complete newbie at this) is going to have ups and downs and experience many of the problems I've had at my age. The Cystic Fibrosis and crappy foot mechanics add to the mix, too, but it just seems some days that my body is falling apart. Knees, ankles, hips, lungs, abdomen -- hell, even my right clavicle hurt today, what the fuck's up with THAT??

I think the running helps - it has to. Excercise won't make me any younger, but it can slow aging considerably and strengthen weak systems. My heart is at a lower resting heart rate than its been in a decade or more, and my lungs (when not suffering asthma attack or infection) have better capacity than in the last two or three years. This is all very positive. But the long-term isn't what I focus on when I'm out running. I'm considerably zoomed in on the here-and-now. Getting THIS run done, ignoring THESE little pains, etc. Some days, it just all adds up to too much.

This entry isn't so much a complaint, as an honest appraisal of my state of fitness and a self pep-talk. I know that bad runs will happen - they're balanced by the surprisingly good ones. I know that I'm not going to be an elite runner, like Derek or Chelle - my goals are tailored for what my body can do. I know that this frustration and today's bodily civil war is temporary.

On a related note, I listened to Jerry Cahill's most recent podcast and was pleasantly surprised to hear him interview another Cystic who runs, Tom Grotta! Grotta has done up to a half-marathon, IIRC, and of course highly recommends running and drinking lots of water to help keep CF under control. It turns out that until his mid- to late-30's, Cahill himself ran extensively too, and even ran a few marathons! It's VERY comforting to know that other Cystics have done this before and continue to do so. I really must email Jerry sometime and perhaps meet him.

damn.

Missed my run this morning. This is the first time in weeks that I haven't made my planned run. This would have been a five-miler this morning. 'Til now, I've had the discipline to get up as early as need be to get the run in before the rest of my crazy day, but not this morning. I made the decision last night that what my health and sanity needed more than a run was 90 extra minutes of sleep. But now I feel guilty. So. Tomorrow, hopefully, 3 miles. Then Saturday probably do a 6-miler in Central Park with the marathon tune-up thing. We'll see.

Short 3 miles

This morning's run was a short 3 miles. It didn't feel like the 5K from Saturday in length, but then the 5K didn't feel like a 5K, either. And my route has a lot of turns and I paused several times. I didn't run it fast, just jogged along at a steady marathon pace. Even so, I had minor pains in both knees. I'm not going in for therapy this morning; don't have another appointment 'til Wednesday, and I don't have time to ice my knees this morning, either. Temperature was fine, humidity a little high. Had a chance to reflect on the nature of running and I will write about that at a later time.