We have a tropical system meandering through the area this weekend, so things are a bit windy and rainy. It looks like this one is going to pass south of us before heading out to sea. Right now, we are just getting effects from the outer bands of circulation, which means there are a lot of breaks in the rain. I took advantage of one of those breaks to head out for my Saturday run. I went 10.01 miles at an average pace of 10:20/mile, making it my fastest 10-miler so far. The run was mostly rain-free except for a 15-minute shower at around mile 8. Temperatures were in the upper 50s. It was the first time I ran in long sleeves (plus a rain jacket) since probably last spring. As I had expected, my Vibram V-Runs and toe socks got pretty waterlogged. In spite of that, my watch reported my average cadence at 189 SPM. I’m not sure I buy that, but if it’s accurate, I’ll take it. However, my toes were beginning to get cold at the end of the run, and likely would have gotten uncomfortably cold and/or numb had it been any cooler out. I’m likely going to have to reconsider my footwear choices in these cases. I’m hoping my new pair of Xero HFS, plus wool socks, will be warmer than the Vibrams in dry weather, but I doubt they will keep my feet dry if it’s raining. I’m sure my waterproof Altra Lone Peaks would do the job, but they’re a bit on the heavy side.
Category: Running
Run notes
I took my first run in 4 days today. I am in Minneapolis for the week, and if everything works out, I hope to take a run on Thursday as well. Today, I ran north from my hotel about a mile to the Mississippi River, where there are numerous walking/running and biking paths. I ran just over 10K, crossing the river twice, before stopping to do some geocaching. The caching involved probably about a mile of walking, and I finished up by running another mile back to the hotel. I obviously love running, and I also love caching while traveling, but I hate stopping during runs, which often puts the two activities at odds. Today worked out great — I ran an uninterrupted 10K, then backtracked a bit and found caches along the route I just ran. I ran back to the hotel mainly to save time, so I wouldn’t be late to my first conference session. By then, I had cooled off considerably, and as a result, I felt a little bit sluggish. It did get me a little bit of extra running distance, though. I really like the trails around the river here (and there are more caches to be found), so I’ll likely run here again on Thursday.
Run Notes
Beautiful, fall-like morning today, with temperatures in the high 50s and low humidity. I skipped my morning run yesterday in favor of paddling, and won’t have another opportunity until Monday at the earliest, so I headed out this morning in lieu of my usual Friday climbing. Not only was the weather nice, but Howard County schools were out as well, so things were quieter than usual in the neighborhood. I went 10.16 miles, besting my personal best distance by about a tenth of a mile. It was only my 4th run over 10 miles, and it was my fastest, at 10:53/mile, which is almost 30 seconds faster per mile than my second fastest of 11:22. It’s kind of ironic that most of my speed PRs, today included, came when I was not consciously trying to go fast. I was just trying to maintain a comfortable pace with a high cadence, and it worked out great, with a definite assist from the weather. If I do try to go fast, it seems like I start out going too fast and then poop out early, ending up with a slower average pace overall. The run was pretty good comfort-wise, with just some fatigue in my feet towards the end. I suspect that will abate somewhat as I my feet get more acclimated to running these distances.
Y.A.S.R.
Yet another sweaty run this morning. We got ¾” of much-needed rain overnight, but one of the storms woke me up at 4:00am, and I was awake for about an hour. As a result, I slept late (for me) and didn’t get out the door for my run until around 9:00. It was humid (as usual) and by then, the sun was up, making the first half of the run feel kind of oppressive. The second half was better, as breeze and a low cloud deck had rolled in. I ran 9 miles, and was out of water by about mile 7.5, underscoring my need for greater water-carrying capacity if I’m going to be taking longer runs in these conditions. I also need to invest in some moisture-wicking short sleeved running shirts that fit me a little bit better than the ones I currently have. Most of my athletic tops are rather loose fitting, which works well for certain activities, but in these conditions, they get really heavy with perspiration and start to chafe after a while. I guess I have some ideas for my Christmas list. The good news is that I seem to have figured the lower half out — I’ve been wearing moisture-wicking running tights over boxer briefs for all of my runs, and have not had any issues with chafing or heat rash “down there” for the entire summer. My favorites are my two pairs of REI Swiftland shorts, but I have a pair of Rabbit shorts that I like as well.
Morning notes
Summer 2023 continues to go out like a lion, with another mid-90s day with high humidity on tap. Should be a good afternoon for a swim, but after several bone-dry days, thunderstorms are finally back in the forecast, so I’ll need to keep an eye on the weather. I managed to run 10K this morning, but once again, it was rather sweaty. Can’t wait until fall!!
I brewed cup #2 with my latest bag of coffee beans today, with a little bit finer grind, and it was a better cup than yesterday’s. The finer grind seems to have brought out some extra flavors that weren’t there yesterday, without making it bitter. It will be interesting to see how it goes with the next few cups.
Morning Notes
We are in the midst of the most intense and prolonged early-September Mid-Atlantic heat wave that I can remember. It’s fairly common to have days in September that top 90°F, but the past two days have pushed 100°, and the heat is expected to last until Thursday. The saving grace is that the dewpoints have been a little bit below what is typical for mid-summer, making things slightly more tolerable, and there’s less daylight and lower sun angles this time of year. I did manage to get out for a run this morning. I left the house at 7:10 and ran 5 miles. I hope to get out for a swim later this afternoon.
I’m down to the last cup of the coffee beans I’ve been brewing for the past week or so. After several near-perfect pourovers, my last couple of cups have been a little bit on the bitter side. Not quite sure why that is, but I may try making the grind a little bit coarser for my final cup. Then, depending on how that turns out, I’ll decide on an initial recipe to try with my next bag of medium roast beans. I only have one half-pound bag of beans left, so it’s going to be time to buy a bag or two soon. I’ll likely go back to one-pound bags, and may check out a local roaster like Zeke’s Coffee, which the grocery store down the street from me carries.
Just a quick update: I brewed the last of the beans this evening after dinner. Exact same recipe, except I had 19 grams of beans left (so the cup was a little bit stronger) and I ground them slightly coarser at 2 turns on the JX, or grind setting 20. This turned out great, without any hint of bitterness. Once again, a small adjustment to the grind made a big difference. Curious how things will go with my next bag.
Saturday Morning Update
Here’s what I brewed this morning:
- Beans: “Angel Albino Corzo-Chiapa” medium roast (Mexico) from Amity Coffee Roasters in Greenwood, DE
- 18g coffee / 250g water (1:14)
- JX: 2 rotations less 6 clicks (18 on the grind chart / 54 total clicks) Note: subsequent cups at this setting tasted bitter — better at 2 rotations / grind setting 20 / 60 total clicks
- Water at 95°C
- Recipe: A Better 1 Cup V60 Technique (see below)
- 0:00: Pour 60g of water to bloom
- 0:10 – 0:15: Gently Swirl
- 0:45 – 1:00: Pour up to 100g total (40% total weight)
- 1:10 – 1:20: Pour up to 150g total (60% total weight)
- 1:30 – 1:40: Pour up to 200g total (80% total weight)
- 1:50 – 2:00: Pour up to 250g total (100% total weight)
- 2:00 – 2:05: Gently swirl
- Drawdown should finish around 3:00
This turned out just about perfect to my taste. I just have to make sure to remove the spent grounds immediately after the drawdown finishes to avoid the slight bitterness I alluded to yesterday. I have enough beans left for 4 more cups, and I don’t think I need to tweak this recipe any further (although I’m slightly curious to try the beans in the French press, just to compare). I’ll likely use this recipe as a starting point for my next bag, which is also a medium roast.
This morning was beautiful, with temperatures in the upper 50s/low 60s and low humidity. With a heat wave looming, I seized the opportunity and got out just before 8 and ran 10 miles. I am hoping to get myself conditioned to run 10 miles once a week over the cooler months, and after a few more of these, I should be ready to tackle my short-term goal of running the entire BWI Trail loop, which (according to gmap-pedometer.com) is about 10.7 miles.
Brew and Run
Got a bunch of medium roast coffee beans to use up before I resupply. Here was this morning’s attempt:
- Beans: “Angel Albino Corzo-Chiapa” medium roast (Mexico)
- Grind: Fine – 1.5 turns on the JX minus 6 clicks (13 on the grind chart, or 39 total clicks)
- 95°C water
- 16-17 grams coffee / 200 grams water (around 1:12)
- One new paper filter (dry)
- James Hoffmann’s Ultimate Aeropress Recipe (20 second pour, 2 minute steep, swirl, wait 30 seconds, press 30 seconds)
This is essentially the same thing I brewed about six weeks ago, with slightly hotter water and a little bit more coffee. The result was similar to last time: just fine flavor-wise, but lacking in body. I guess I could try grinding even finer, or I could try my go-to inverted recipe again, although that attempt also yielded a thin-bodied cup. Maybe I’d get better results with pourover or French press. I’ll figure it out one way or another.
I left the house at 7:10 this morning and ran a little over 7.5 miles. It was not a bad run on yet another damp, overcast, humid morning. Similar to yesterday’s bike commute, I wanted to get a sense for how the bell schedules for all of the local schools will affect my route. Verdict: unless I wait until after 9:15, I’m going to be dodging kids in one place or another. 7:10 worked out OK, but there may be another window between 8:00 and 8:20ish that may work out. I may try leaving around then on Thursday.
This and that
My dream of running 10+ miles on Saturday mornings is going to have to wait at least another week, as it’s still oppressively humid out there. Today, I settled for 10K, and probably sweated out about 30% of my body weight. If I’m able to consistently run longer distances through fall, winter, and next spring, then I’ll figure out what I need to do to keep it up this time of year. At a minimum, I’ll need a way to carry 1.5 to 2 liters of water, as well as a strategy to replenish electrolytes lost through sweating.
On the pool front, after malfunctioning twice so far this season, my SWG temperature sensor has been working correctly for the past several days, but I now have a tri-sensor simulator that I can use to troubleshoot it the next time it acts up. For now, though, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I just ordered a new Skimlite R16C leaf rake to replace my old one that I bought in 2007. That’s right — the old one lasted 16 years as my only leaf net. It had a few holes in the mesh, but was still usable. Recently, though, the frame has started flopping back and forth, which is inconvenient enough that I finally took the plunge and ordered a new one. They are not cheap ($70 in 2007; $100 in 2023) but they are made to last, and when you consider that the cheaper nets only last a season or two, the Skimlite basically pays for itself over time. I expect that this will be the last one I ever need to buy.
Running/Climbing
After a hot and humid day yesterday, this morning saw a cold front sweep through and take a lot of the humidity with it. I got out for my run at about 8:30, which is later than I typically like in August, but it worked out in my favor today, as the dewpoint had dropped considerably by then. I ran a very typical weekday distance of 7 miles at a very typical pace of 10:30.
Last week’s tweaked foot nerve seems to have mostly resolved. I had no issues climbing last night. I climbed somewhere around 6-7 routes, about half on lead and half on top rope. Instead of my usual Scarpa Force V shoes, I wore my La Sportiva Solutions for all of my climbs. Although they are less comfortable than the Scarpas overall, they put less weight on the balls of my feet (because the soles have a downturned shape), which seems to help with nerve issues. Running did not aggravate the nerve at all last week, but I did feel it after 45 minutes or so on my treadmill desk.