Yet Another Easy Run Tuesday

As noted above, today is time for an Easy Run. Especially since I skipped my Sunday Easy Run, even though I had already met my mileage quota for last week.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Easy Run. Dist: (6.31) mi. Pace-avg: (16:33). Speed-avg: (3.6)mph. Speed-max: (5.1)mph. Burned: (698) Calories.

Plan: Run (3) mi. @ a (17:33) pace, for a total time of (52:40)min.
Actual: Jog/Walk (3) mi. @ (15:16) pace, for total time of (45:47.26)min. Bracketed by warm-up and cool-down miles.
Fuel: Pre-run: Gu Roctane, Vanilla-Orange. (Meh.) Mid-run: Sport Beans, Orange. Post-run: Tall glass of OJ, a banana (little greenish, still) then Dinner!

Tonight's run was OK. Once I started the three (3) mile Jog phase, I felt like I was smothering in the humidity. My weather widget indicates it is (34)% (23)% humidity right now, might have been more humid earlier during the run; I didn't check beforehand. It feels like it was a mistake to take two (2) whole rest days after the 10K. I should have at least gone for a bike ride as a bit of cross-training, but I did not. I think I napped off and on most of Sunday, and went to the movies on Monday. I saw "Friends With Benefits" with Mila Kunis and some dude named Justin Timberlake; never heard of him. Mila was the real attraction. She was awesome and I really enjoyed the movie. If you haven't seen it yet, go before it is gone. I'm sure it will be just as funny if you rent it later, but some movies I just want to see on the big screen.

Tech Nerd: My brand new KnuckleLights(tm) arrived Friday, and I wasted no time opening the package and checking out the contents. I took my KnuckleLights(tm) out with me on tonight's "run," since I was leaving the house so late and I knew the sun would be down long before I got back.  
Quick impressions: They work as advertised. I did not have to blip my flashlight to let people know I was on the path, so please don't run into me, or run me down on your bike. In the dark sections of the park these were terrific. Once I got back on surface streets, the KnuckleLights(tm) were only useful in the long stretches between street lights, though I am sure drivers would have had no trouble seeing them (and me), but I saw no drivers going the other way.

KnuckleLights off.

KnuckleLights on. SureFire 6P for scale (5-in.).

KnuckleLights on, room lights off.

KnuckleLights on, room lights off.

The (4) LEDs per unit provide a diffuse light that is good for slow jogging and walking. At some point I will test these at a faster pace in full dark, during the coming fall and winter, if not sooner. The back and forth swinging of my arms may have contributed to a bit of unsteadiness on my feet with the lights moving back and forth. Since this was the first time I used them on a run I will be sure to make more observations about this on future training runs. I was actually still a bit sore from the 10K this past Saturday, so that may have also been a factor. Also, I was detecting a bad chemical taste in my mouth during my run. It may have been from my sunscreen running onto my water-bottle and the cap during my sweaty, slobbery run on Saturday. I hope that is the source, because then I can just scrub my bottle inside and out and there should be no more issues the rest of this training week.

Other News: I spoke to a couple people at a local career college this afternoon and will be signing up for at least one (1) IT Certification Prep class. I need the structure because my previous, um, "efforts" at self-study with my IT books has been less than successful. I am expecting to try and boot-strap myself along some self-guided self-study on top of taking the class (different subjects).

-Lancer!!