4.00 miles

Shoes: Saucony ProGrid Omni Ultimate
Resting HR: n/a
Time: 45:00 min, plus 8 min warm-up, 10 min cool-down, then 15 min stretching
Pace: 11:15
Training HR: n/a
Miles: 4.00 miles
Miles this week: 7.93 miles
Weather: Mostly sunny, cool, moderate humidity (~40%), ~64 F.
X-Training: None.
Weight: 120.5 lbs.

I'm getting in my pace, ratcheting up to 11:15 today. Still a full minute lower than my easy pace six years ago, but not bad considering that I'm six years older and, up until a month or so ago, haven't been training consistently. Still, I want to make sure I don't overdo things and go out too fast, too soon. I've kept the 45-minute runs during the week and will likely not increase the time anytime in the next year, preferring instead to increase my long runs on Saturdays.

I think I know why I have a hard time getting a full breath of late. It's not the humidity, which I had originally pinpointed as the culprit, but rather the allergies trying to force their way into a full blown attack. I've always known that running -- or any vigorous exercise -- tends to suppress the immune system temporarily, and hence any allergic reactions, but I guess it can't do it completely. I always feel as if one of my nostrils (usually the left one) is slightly backed up, so I end up sniffing my way through a run and trying to create a completely open air passage. Am not having much luck, though, so I'm grateful that it doesn't handicap me. I also occasionally cough, but I've always done that while I'm running. I suspect it's partly the allergies, too, but fortunately it's not serious. I wonder, sometimes, though, if pedestrians I pass on the street are thinking, Stop running if it makes you cough, you idiot!

As if it were that easy.

Pre-run snack: 1 large banana.
Breakfast: 2 toasted brown sugar and cinnamon Pop-Tarts; 1 glass chocolate milk.

Monday:
Mid-morning snack: Luna Bar.
Lunch: PB&J on whole wheat toast.
Snack: 1 cup yoghurt with 1 tsp agave nectar, 1/2 T wheat germ, and sliced nectarine.
Dinner: 1 cup black beans and rice mix, 1 boiled ear of corn.