Liftoff

Functional running today.

AM: 3 miles, 2 with Elise on her bike, and 1 with Anna.

PM: 12 miles. Drove to Publix, parked, ran around. Came home, dropped car off at mechanic. Ran home.

1 mile. Mostly because I was too busy, but a little because I was too lazy.

We spent the day at car dealerships. Allison and I agreed to hold off car shopping until the New Year. I assumed that meant February or March, but I was wrong.

We got a minivan. Previously, we each had a Civic- I fear a minivan is another rung down the ladder of cool. We've somehow made it work up to now with our carpool, but that would have ben impossible next year.

One dealership had a 2005 Civic on display with over 425,000 miles. I'm at 127k on mine and fully intend to see 250.

AM: 18 miles with the group, averaged 7:36. I felt out of shape but enjoyed the run much more than usual today, in large part because we got a cool front through.

AM: 10 miles.

PM: 8 miles at lunch with Quint.

AM: 6 miles, very slow.

PM: 10 miles at track. 4 x 1 mile with 400 recovery. Quint paced me through some of it. 5:49, 5:48, 5:45, 5:25. It's a start. Better effort and focus, even if the result doesn't show it yet.

AM: 6 slow miles.

PM: 8 miles, not feeling like The Blob out for a slither, for a change.

AM: 6 miles.

PM: 8 miles at lunch with Quint.

AM: 10.5 miles. Met Christina and Mike G at the pool. I planned to warmup with them, then run my own tempo. Their goal was ~6:30. By the end of warmup, I knew I wasn't good for a whole lot more than that, so we started out together, first three miles were 6:40, 6:29, 6:27. Mike and I dropped the pace for 2 more miles: 6:10, 6:02. Part of me thought I should have pushed harder this morning, but my intuition told me to be patient. There will be plenty of time for harder running once I have a better foundation.

PM: 6.5 miles at lunch with Quint.

AM: 8 miles, then went with the family to botanical gardens & Heritage Village in Seminole. I'd taken the girls there a couple years ago, they appreciated it more this time. Then Indian buffet- the girls can eat a meal's worth of naan.

Planned to get them out for run biking this afternoon but we have a thunderstorm.

AM: 17 miles, avg 6:50. Probably the best long run in the last couple months, but it didn't come easy. I planned 18, but my right calf started freaking out around 16.5. Nothing serious.

PM: 2 miles with Elise on her bike, 1 with Anna.

AM: 6 miles.

PM: 8 miles at lunch.

After running in the humidity all summer, there is a time each year, usually in November, when a couple of cool weeks leads to some great runs and workouts.

I felt that out there today (in January)! In my case, I'm not rounding into top form, which can't help but feel like an opportunity missed.

I am glad to be running in cool weather and not hurt for the first time in awhile.

AM: 6 miles.

PM: 8 miles at track. Descending ladder with Quint, Anthony and Lee. Nothing amazing, but a little progress.

Workout: 1200, 800, 400, 200, EACH WITH 200 REST, 2 SETS WITH 400 REST BETWEEN THE SETS.

Splits:
4:20.2, 2:50.5, 1:18.5, :34.3
4:07.8, 2:42.3, 1:13.4, :32.9

Chilly night, upbeat crowd at track. Something that seems so Floridian: two of the best races in Pinellas County are happening this weekend. At one point the race directors locked horns and now make it an annual tradition to schedule their events on top of each other. Plenty of racing options for runners this weekend, anyhow.

Just plain lazy.

Lazy, part 2. Also, we have our company Holiday Party tonight. It's a little late this year, but two years ago it was held in May.

For bedtime reading, I've been tackling The Hobbit with my seven year old . This is kind of a big deal, since we spent the first 5 or 6 years of her life reading indestructible cardboard books about colors, shapes and dogs.

Assuming anyone who cares has already read the book... we are near the end when Bilbo confronts Smaug. Elise was sure Bilbo would somehow defeat the dragon, which is what the narrative structure leads you to expect. The story is told in 3rd person, almost entirely following Bilbo around.

Tolkien's way of handling the dragon is kind of quirky, though. After his second conversation with Bilbo, Smaug flies off in a rage, torches the secret entrance the dwarves & hobbit found, then flies off (to Laketown it turns out). Bilbo and the dwarves are left hiding in the mountain for a couple days wondering where the dragon went. They eventually loot the treasure and walk out the front gate.

In the next chapter, the narrator basically says: "Well, I bet you wanted to know what happened to the dragon, right? Here goes...."

It's a neat chapter and beautifully written, but the fact that Smaug meets his demise far from Bilbo and the dwarves, and then the jump back in time to tell the story, add up to a pretty jarring resolution of one of the major questions in the book.

It stuck out because as an adult reading it, I kind of just plowed over those issues and followed the plot and didn't think much of it. But my daughter was kind of scandalized.

8 miles at lunch with Quint. The best part of the run was when he climbed a fence like Spiderman to avoid a huge puddle in the middle of the bike path, thought he was clear, then jumped in the middle of it.

No run this morning. Woke up to a drizzle that turned into a downpour as a storm moved in from the gulf. Not that I would have run anyway, having been out late at the company dinner party.

We had a good last year, so they took us to an expensive restaurant and ordered a ridiculous amount of food and drink. On one hand it was fun, but I found it impossible to tune out the sheer excess. It reminds me of being a kid at Christmas, and of course I loved the toys, but I also felt a lot of shame when I saw all the presents, and knew the situation of kids elsewhere in the world.

Maybe it's just the weather, but it seems that the default human condition is to take care of yourself and your family, then maybe your immediate social circles. People seem to fall into three categories in this regard. The first group doesn't care about the massive inequality that exists, and if anything enjoys explaining why others are less fortunate. The second group is just as bad, people like me, who don't like the way the world is but don't translate their feelings into actions. Then there's a minority who volunteer their time, money, or choose careers like teaching or social work where you forego lavish dinners and higher salaries in exchange for directly helping other people.

At some point I want to move into the third category. I already regret living most of my life too selfishly thus far.

1 mile with Anna on her bike, 2 with Elise.

I think that's it for the day. I'm going to run the Clearwater 1/2 tomorrow. Plenty of reasons not to: we're heading to Orlando for a wedding after lunch, and won't be home until 10 or 11. It's a tough course with 4 serious bridge crossings. And it's going to be raining. For some reason, when I add that all up it makes me want to go.

I'm not going to bring a watch- just run however I feel tomorrow morning, maybe with a friend, maybe just watching the race unfold. If I caught lightning in a bottle I might be able to run 1:18, but I doubt I have the willpower to put myself through the grinder to run 5 minutes over my PR.

I was sad to read about Ryan Hall's retirement yesterday, but it did seem inevitable. You could argue he received a disproportionate amount of attention vs. other American runners, although some of it was due to his unique ability to inspire others. He could be frustrating to cheer for with his flakiness, but I'm from CA and can relate to flakehood firsthand. It was easy to believe he'd hit his homerun and win a major marathon. I think all his fans and detractors were hoping that would happen.

About 9pm Saturday night, the race director sent out the message that due to projected heavy rain, lightning and wind, Sunday's races would be moved back an hour, with more delay possible. Around 2am a massive storm rolled through, shaking the house, lightning. It was blown out by 3, and I expected we'd have good conditions in the morning. It rained a bit more on the drive up to Clearwater, but by the time I showed up the clouds were starting to clear.

My goal was to run a steady effort. I didn't bring a watch, and the race director had made it known that the mile markers wouldn't be in place. He was worried they could turn into dangerous projectiles in the case of high winds.

As we lined up, he asked everyone to listen carefully to an announcement. He got straight to the point- the accompanying marathon and 50k were being cancelled since that part of the course was submerged. A couple people booed, and he was clearly stung. "Really?? People are booing me?" he asked. "Just one person!" someone near me shouted. The wind was really starting to pick up, giving the moment a chaotic and exciting feeling.

We started out with a quick half mile through downtown Clearwater, then turned onto the ramp of the bridge. It's a 75 foot climb that is normally pretty easy at the start of the race, but this time it was directly into the wind. The gusts were from 30-40 mph - I've never run into wind so strong. I picked out a 6'3" guy ahead of me and drafted off him mericlessly. He didn't seem too pleased, but I could tell scruples would be of no use today.

At the top of the bridge, I moved up and drafted where I could on the way down. At this point the course runs a couple miles on a short causeway to Clearwater Beach, a little strip of land jutting out into the gulf. I fell into place behind a guy going about my speed, and suggested we take turns breaking the wind. He was amenable, and we took turns leading out to the Sand Key, which is roughly perpendicular to the last bridge. The Sand Key Bridge is about the same height, but this time the wind was behind us and I went up it like a rocket. On the way down, I was a little worried about face-planting into the pavement.

The next section of the course is a bummer - you get routed into the parking lot for Sand Key and pick up about a mile running the perimeter. Two other guys caught up, and we now had a nice little pack. Wind wasn't much of an issue at this point, and we got a nice clip going. One of the guys looked strong and I worried he might pull away, but I resolved to stay with him as long as I could. Exiting the parking lot, the furthest point of the course lies ahead - running toward the tip of Clearwater Beach. It's a long stretch through a canyon of high-rise condos. The wind occasionally smacked us around, but for the most part it was at our backs.

Our pack fell apart on this stretch, and the one who stayed with me was a young guy I hadn't really noticed before. He had a strange shuffling gait, and his arms were swinging around a lot. He stuck directly behind me and kicked my heel at least a dozen times over the next few miles. It wasn't all his fault - at times a gust would blast us head-on, and my speed would drop dramatically. I didn't mind him drafting, and felt pretty steady. I was grateful for the company.

At the end of Condo Canyonland, we turned around and were now returning into the terrible wind. We had about a two mile slog back to the base of the Sand Key Bridge, grim and slow. But it was nothing compared to climbing that bridge. The wind that had sent me down like a rocket slowed my pace to a near walk. I have no information, but if I was running faster than 10 minute pace up that bridge I would be shocked. I somehow dropped the kid behind me, temporarily. I was going so slow I have to guess that he did actually walk.

Then it was back through the touristy section of Clearwater Beach, slowly turning out of the wind. The kid reappeared, and was starting to lose my good graces. He was doing a fair bit of unintelligble muttering during the race. It may have been my imagination, but it sounded like he was saying: "Not yet...not yet...wait til later..." Sand particles from the beach were flying at us, so I ran with my head turned to keep it out of my eyes. My companion passed me and ran into a section of the road submerged in water. He sent huge splashes over both of us - I had a vague sense it might be an intimidation tactic, but he also seemed a little off - who knows. Whatever the case, I had spent most of the run in the yellow, running steady and keeping my last gear in reserve. Now we turned on the approach to the Clearwater Bridge, with the wind fully at our backs with about two miles to go. I started running hard, and with the massive tailwind it had to be sub 5:20 pace. My friend disappeared and I didn't see him again.

As I got to the base of the Clearwater Bridge, I started getting a side stitch, probably from running too hard, but it stayed in the background. My friend Sean was coming back to me, but I didn't have enough runway to catch him. Going up the bridge in this direction was easy, and halfway down there is a corkscrew pedestrian path you get routed down. Then it's a short hop to the finish line, where my wife and daughters were waiting for me. My girls charged me in the finish area, which never gets old.

I had lost all sense of time out there, but I figured my finish time was going to be 1:25-1:27. I was pleasantly surprised to finish in 1:22:06. That time would not normally qualify as a pleasant surprise, but given the way everything has shaken out lately, and the day's conditions, I was happy with it.

I knew I had run on a day that would go down in the local running community's lore. The stories I heard from friends were hilarious - the sheer absurdity of the conditions made this feel more like some survival exercise than a road race. I guess I can see the appeal of the crazy trail ultras my sister does better now. This is one of my favorite races ever.

8 miles with Quint at lunch.

AM: 4 miles.

PM: 8 miles at track, Florida cold  (low 50s).

Workout was: 1 X 1 MILE, 400 REST, 1 X 1200, 400 REST, 800 WITH 200 REST 800 WITH 400     REST, 2 X 400 WITH 200 REST

I raced Sean on the 1200 and first 800 and ran out of gas after that.

Splits: 5:31.3 / 3:58.0 / 2:32.6, 2:43.8 / 1:15.6, 1:15.8

I should have run today, and if I was in serious training mode I would have found time, but it was a mess. Everything broke down - cars, carpool, couldn't break out for lunch and left Quint hanging. I find I feel better about my job when I am exhausted from running too much.

8 miles at lunch with Quintmeister.

Nope.

I broke away for 2 miles today, only because I felt gross.

Otherwise, I spent most of my free time this weekend coding. I haven't really gone on a tear like this since my 20s, but I have an idea I'm kind of inspired with.

A perhaps more honest take would be to say I'm channeling OCD into programming because I can't find any spark in running right now.

Wasn't sure I'd make it out, but I woke up and wanted to see the gang.

I'm glad I did - mid 40s but not too windy and about half the run under 6:30. Everyone running fast and feeling good.

8 miles at lunch, beautiful running weather.

No much running this week. I got a headcold, but normally I'd just run through that.

I had a good week, even with little running. I've been working like mad on an idea, but since this isn't Fast Software Blog I don't want to belabor it. But it does feel good to be enthusiastic.

I met Quint after work and we had a good time catching up. I do want to get back to training, but I'm just trying to figure out how to incorporate running. I don't have the guts to train at a high level right now, but running casually is not that easy either.

AM: 4 miles, running with no purpose, felt good.

PM: 3 miles, 2 with Elise, 1 with Anna on their bikes.

AM: 15 miles. Very strong group this morning. I didn't have any particular plan. After 5 miles, Jim got us started on 3x2 miles @ 6:30 pace, which we hit pretty cleanly. Couple minutes recovery, then a few of us got rolling and ran the second set in 6:01, 5:53. Lately that would have felt like a struggle, but I was surprisingly comfortable today. A lot of that had to do with having Anthony, Mike M & Mike G to roll along with.

On the final 2 mile repeat we ran 5:56, 5:33. I didn't look at my watch and just kind of went with it. It felt pretty good.

I know a lot of it had to do with good runners to pace with, and being fresh from running so little lately. And finally tolerable weather. But it did get me thinking about how some friends have suggested I might run better if I ran fewer miles.

The idea of getting better results with less work sounds great. I'm still dubious but it is fun to entertain at least. Last week was way too slack, I will try for 70 this week, which seems like a reasonable number all around.

Sunny run at lunch with Quint. I wore the singlet he made for his company and he was happy.

9 miles at track, warm. 5x1000 w/ 200 recovery.

1. 3:38.8
2. 3:35.6
3. 3:31.0
4. 3:25.9
5. 3:12.3

10 miles, sore but glad to get it in.

8 miles at lunch with Quint.

AM: 11 miles with Christina, middle 8 miles bouncing around 6:35-6:55 pace.

PM: 6 miles. Cut out of work at 3, then met Quint, Bryan and Cody on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. We ran a few miles out from Northshore through downtown St. Pete and past the Trop where some businesses are moving into abandoned warehouses. In this case, the business was a local brewery. I think we were going to talk about some serious topics, but all we talked about was Donald Trump.

3 miles, 1 with Anna on her bike. Took off her training wheels today, but will have to put them back on. I got a little ahead of myself. This happened with Elise too.

I guess it's time to bring my blog a little up to date, hopefully that reflects more focus on running. But not necessarily.

Either way, looking at the big guy in my profile was getting depressing. The shoes still fits, but looking at my daughter's My Little Pony art makes me happier.

I'm running a marathon next weekend. It's in Jacksonville Beach near my wife's parents. I'll be pacing her, shooting for 8:15-8:20 pace, which I think would bring us in around 3:37. I'm hoping she doesn't drop me in the last 10k.

There's a good local contingent planning to run Chicago in the fall. I would like to get on that train. My goal for this month is to be reflective and figure out if I can commit to the training.

20 miles, solid group today. After 3 warmup, ran 16 miles in 6:37 avg, then 1 cooldown. Pretty good run. Miles 14 & 16 around 5:48.

8 miles at lunch with Jim and Quint. We ran too hard for a recovery day.

AM: 3 miles

PM: 7 miles at track, with 2x2 miles, 4 minute standing rest.

Had late-breaking work issues and almost didn't make it to track. Abbreviated warmup and felt scattered. Luckily Sean was there and I just followed along.

11:02 (5:39 / 5:23)
10:46 (5:25 / 5:21)

Probably another step forward, but I'm still not feeling right. I just haven't felt that sensation of legs, lungs, heart and mind all being in sync. In some ways I felt comfortable, in others I felt pretty far away from being fit.

8 miles at lunch with Quint.

8 miles, same ole same ole.

AM: 12 miles. Christina had an 8 mile wave tempo scheduled which I ran with her, alternating 6:45 / 6:25 every mile. Felt controlled but not easy.

4 miles in St. Pete before rolling up to Jacksonville.

This race didn't go as we hoped. I ran with my wife who was shooting for about 3:37. Things clicked along very well for the first 5 miles, but we were a little ahead of schedule and running north into the wind. We were running even splits, but I fell down as a pacer by not taking the wind more seriously. Running a couple seconds faster than target pace at that point was  a bad decision - we should have gone for a negative split with the wind at our backs on the way home.

Allison started talking about dropping around mile 15, and we talked through it for a couple more miles, but by ~17.75 we pulled over to the side of the road in Jax Beach and stopped. I knew it was time - Allison has less quit in her than me by a mile. Everyone who's run for any stretch knows what it feels like on a bad day. On another day she would have run a PR, but the marathon is such a fine line anything can happen.

We borrowed a phone and called her parents, who live 3 miles away for a lift.  I asked if she'd mind if I finished. I've had enough disappointments and shortcomings in my running in the last few months, so I really did not feel like a DNF.

I felt pretty guilty when I left, but my wife had already processed it and was feeling better by the time the family reunited at the finish. She's more level-headed than me, something I can learn from. I was a little more sluggish than anticipated covering the last 8 miles. My final 10k split was 38:29, 6:11 pace or so. That should be under 6 minutes, but it's where I'm at, not where I want to be.

Despite the disappointing ending, the rest of the race was a lot of fun. We had a good time doing the race pre-rituals together and running well in the first half. So it goes.

8 early miles up Jax Beach before heading home.

9 miles at track. Ran with Mike M - think we did a good job of running with some effort but not too hard. Gasparilla 15k for everyone on Saturday.

Sorry Mike, but I ripped off your splits. I'm just too tired to be original tonight.

Workout: 4x400, 2x800, 4x400 with 200 recoveries between items and 400 between sets.

Splits: 1:26, 1:23, 1:22, 1:20, 2:37, 2:37, 1:19, 1:19, 1:18, 1:14.

Busy day, but got in relaxed 8 miles at lunch with Quint.

I took my daughters to a karate class tonight. I've wanted to try a family class for awhile, and it went pretty well, but it was a lot of work getting dinner, homework, baths, etc handled around the class. We'll see if it sticks.

8 miles at lunch.

I'm running the Gasparilla 15k on Saturday. This is usually the winter peak race for local runners, by way of tradition, temperature and prize money.

When I hit the skids this winter, I didn't plan to run it at all and planned for an alternate goal. I never ended up getting into shape, so that plan went out the window too.

In the last couple weeks, I think I've started turning the ship around. I still don't have any good workouts or races to point to. And I know I'm nowhere near PR shape. But I do think the race on Saturday is a chance to take a step forward.

Mentally, it's a little challenging to settle for a goal that will put me well out of the competition and is 15-20 seconds per mile slower than last year. But I do feel I need to start challenging myself if I am going to train seriously this summer.

The alternate - just running to stay in shape - sounds pretty good in contrast. But I'd like to at least give myself the option of how I train for the rest of the year rather than letting it all go right now.

So...I'll be shooting for around 53:30, about 5:45 pace. One one hand, that sounds pretty easy considering I almost broke 51 a year ago. On the other, I haven't run sub-6 minute miles for any sustained distance in months. So it's far from a slam dunk, but hopefully not completely impossible.

AM: 4 miles, a few strides.

Gasparilla! It went well today. If you told me a year ago I'd be happy to run 53:42, I'd be "unhappy". But it's this year, and I'm good with the result.

I met Charles and Mike ahead of the race and we ran about 3 miles to warmup. A bit more than intended, but those guys are so awesome to run with I didn't notice our mileage until the race was about to start.

Mike and I planned to run 5:45 miles. For Mike, injury not withstanding, that is no big shakes, but he was sick and I was glad for the company.

We clicked off the first couple miles right on pace. It felt pretty easy and I wondered if I was sandbagging the race (spoiler-not!). I heard we were in 30th place, and there were definitely a lot of people up there. It's a Gasparilla tradition to go out too fast, so I knew a lot of them would be coming back. Still, it felt a little weird to see so many people in front. After the first mile, I didn't get passed again.

That said, a lot of people ran well today. Best weather for Gasparilla in years, neither humid nor windy. Just 55-60 temps, really nothing to hold you back.

By mile 3, 5:45 pace no longer felt easy. At the mile 5 turnaround I was really starting to work. Mile 8 I slipped off, but on the 9th mile I came back. Still, the last .3 I could literally not breathe, and I crossed the finish line and began dry-heaving. A race official approached me with an slinky bag, anticipating actual vomit action. That was an interesting first experience. I think I ran today as hard as I ever have.

I've tinkered with the idea that lower miles might be an interesting recipe to experiment with. I think this race definitively answered that question.

I can run 30-32 200s on 10 miles a week or 100. But for distance events, after the initial miles, the difference is the mileage base. I came up against the limits of my training at mile 7.5 today, and it was not pretty.

If I choose to put on a certain set of goggles, I could feel bad, running a lot slower than last year. But more realistically, this is the best I have run in months, and I was able to match my pace against my goal and stay in control. Now I need to take this momentum and roll it forward.

I'm really grateful for my teammates that help break down the race pressure and mindless mileage in our weekly training. I got to spend time hanging with them post-race and that community is my second family.

It was very cool to meet Tom K from the blog on the bridge post-race. The sense of humor and camaraderie in his writing transfer in person. West Coast! Florida yeah!

I have a nagging question to answer: at 42, have I ran my fastest times? Nothing happened today to put off the Grim Reaper, but I don't think I lost ground either.

I think I still stand at a point where my fate is in my own hands.

5 miles this morning, somewhat sore but not too bad. 2 with Elise, 1 with Anna.

There are a couple days each winter when the weather is the perfect mix of temp, coolness and sun, and today was one of those days.

I wanted to run more but the chore backlog was too intense. That's a big question mark now. I don't know where I'm going to find the time to run higher mileage.

We've been waiting for the right age to watch The Last Airbender (cartoon, not the move of course) with our girls. Started last night, it was super fun.

Neat profile on a runner in our group, somehow they let her husband (and my lunch run partner) into the pictures too.

4 miles at lunch with Quint. I probably shouldn't have taken the time to run at all, but this week is going to be dismal with work travel.

Flew to Baltimore. Met two of my bosses for dinner, scheming. Chilly and light rain.

3 early miles on BWI loop. Light rain but nothing bad. There were a couple dirty clumps of snow here and there, which I snapped and sent back to my family in Florida as proof that winter exists.

I got back on Saturday, and continued the nonrunning tradition with another day of not running.

AM: 7 miles.I still didn't feel much like running, for no good reason. But I went out to meet up with the long run group for a few miles just to catch up.

PM: 2 miles with Anna on her bike.

6 miles at lunch with Quint.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads with running right now. I'm sure I will continue running, most days, and I'll keep going to track and the Sunday long runs. Mostly to see my friends.

But I don't feel like training right now. I'd like to race well, and see good results, but I'm not sure I have the drive (and willingness to sacrifice) that that would take.

It's a few things. I put so much energy into training for Twin Cities last summer that I think I burned myself out, in retrospect. Or maybe not. I really enjoyed that training cycle, but I am not ready to recreate it.

There's an internal project at work I've been investing a lot of time in. It looks like it will adopted by a couple clients soon, and I'm hopeful about its prospects. I do a lot of that development after the kids go down, and I'm really enjoying it. I put on the headphones and focus and it feeds a drive similar to running my head off. But I'm not sure it's compatible. When I run 100+ miles a week, I'm pretty much worthless by 8pm.

And more significantly there is my family. Things have only gotten busier in the last year. Since we moved 8 months ago, we're 15 minutes farther away from everything - school, shopping, activities. That doesn't sound like much, but when you double it for round trips, it adds up. And since the girls are older there are more things going on. We have an awesome Dad/daughters karate night now, and there's the usual homework/meal prep/life maintence stuff. It's just so much easier with less running.

I don't see an easy path to integrate all of it. If I was truly focused on racing now, I probably could do a lot of it. But without the underlying drive, it's not happening.

I explained all of this on Sunday to my friend Lee. He just smiled at me and told me I'd be back at it in a month or two. I'm not sure about that, but we'll see.

7 miles at track with Anthony and Sean. Workout was 6 x 800 in 2 sets of 3, 200 rest, 400 between sets.

2:53.7, 2:49.9, 2:47.5, 2:41.0, 2:38.8, 2:38.1

8 miles at lunch with Quint.

7 miles at lunch with Quint.

Last half-marathon in a series today. I had no motivation to race, but I did want to get out and run. I made a plan with a friend who was hoping to run a PR, 1:25-1:26.

Having me as a pacer is apparently is the best way to come up short. Around the 6 mile mark he threw in the towel, and we eased off. A couple miles later I remarked the race became a lot more fun after we relaxed and stopped worrying about a goal. "No - it still sucks" he said.

I got home and ran another mile with Anna on her bike. I was fairly sore, which given the pace is a little sad.

6 miles at lunch with Quint. Sweating weather is starting up.

Got stuck at work, no track.

Quint got stuck at work, but Jim met me for 6 at lunch.

I can't remember this far back, but I think I ran. 

I guess I'll take a zero to make up for Garmin trimming my runs year round.

8 miles at lunch with Quint.

A couple miles with the girls on their bikes before going to Gainesville overnight with Allison. We walked around UF and she showed me points of interest. Great campus.

3 miles in Gainesville with Allison.

Decent 8 mile lunch run with Q.

4 miles with Quint, couldn't make it to track.

6 miles with Quint.

0, a strange mid-afternoon St. Patrick's dinner with coworkers.

4 miles with Quint but I turned back early. My chest hurt near my ribcage and made running uncomfortable. I thought I might have cancer but Mike said he's tweaked a muscle there too.

Ack I fell behind. Running so many 5:00 tempos I got sick of blogging.

Or something like that. I'll try to reconstuct the pitiful last two weeks.

31 miles, 7:49 pace. It wasn't pretty, and it got me done.

AM: 0. I had my clothes arranged, coffee made, lunch made, but still slept through my window to go running. On the other hand, I was exhausted and sore from running more on Sunday than I ran all of the previous week.

PM: 9 miles at lunch with Quint with a guest appearance by Mike.

AM: 4 miles.

PM: 10 miles at track. I didn't do the workout, just trying to rebuild some base. It was a good group out there today, and it was inspiring to see everyone banging out descending 400s. I know I look like a loser just jogging in circles, but I'm plotting a return.

AM: 12 miles. Did Christina's tempo with her, 10 miles ~6:50.

PM: 8 miles at lunch with Quint. 

Very tired.

10 miles at lunch, out onto the Causeway for a change.

No running. Started work early and drove up to Jacksonville afterwards with the family. 

16 miles. Woke up slowly and carried on the traditional trip to Panera with Mimi and the girls. Lots of grabbing, roiling and spilled hot chocolate. Around 9am Allison and I slipped out and ran 10.5 miles together. Dark clouds and some rain, but nice run. About half on the beach, trying to figure out how to raise our kids and what's up with Jon Snow. I dropped Allison off and went out for 5.5 more.

We were listening to the radio on the way to lunch and there's a guy in the Jacksonville area named Big Lou who advertises term life insurance. We heard a couple of his commericals, which target different high-risk pools. The one I liked was aimed at 50+ guys with Type 2 diabetes on statins. It ends with "I'm Big Lou - I'm just like you - I'm on meds too".

After Easter candy was accounted for, went our for 6 miles, picked up Allison and did another 7 together. A lot of clouds again, beautiful beach running. Drove back home later in the day. That's three roadtrips in three weekends.

AM: 8 miles.

PM: 8 miles at lunch with Quint.

10 miles at track. It rained most of the afteroon, but that petered out just as we were getting started. There was a good group there tonight. Workout was 4x1 mile, 400 rest. I tried to hang off the back of the Mike/Sean/Anthony pack, but blew up on the last lap of the second repeat. Shifted after that and finished the last two out with Quint and Jim.

5:25, 5:33, 5:58, 5:55

I have two principles guiding my running now: 1) Don't do intervals until I've rebuilt my base 2) Don't run with my shirt off until I lose weight. I broke both of these rules tonight, and didn't look good in the process. But sometimes you just have to face the muzak.

Anthony ran very well, passing Sean on his last repeat. Mike blew the doors off his last mile and looks like he's in sub-16 5k shape.

8 miles at lunch.

I took a day off work to focus on other things stressing me out- taxes, house chores, bills.

I considered going to a movie or something, but instead I ran a bunch and took a nap. My ankles are hurting quite a bit - probably from ramping up quickly, but that's a new one. On the positive side, I've lost 3-4 lbs in the last 1.5 weeks.

AM: 12 miles.

PM: 8 miles - picked up Elise from school. They have an awesome program two days a week called "Run Club" - the kids wear a pedometer and meander around a small infield track. I did two miles there, drove her home, then met Quint for another 6.

AM: 8 miles.

PM: 8 miles at lunch, getting warm - 86 degrees, 72 dew point. But as Quint put it - this is just the preview of the preview-

AM:5 miles, jogging stroller to park with the girls.

PM: 12 miles. Didn't want that many this afternoon, but I was fixated on hitting 100.

27 miles, 7:25 avg. I was hoping to run 50k this AM, but my ankles, hamstrings and mind were breaking down around mile 20 and I knew I'd never make it.

The crew was kind and ran me up CoffeePot Bayou toward my home where I got a second wind. Good group, but it never felt easy today.

The Rays didn't look great on opening day, but it wasn't as bad to watch as last year. Somehow Chris Archer struck out 12 batters in 5 innings.

I've been sore around my ankles lately. As it turns out, running 27 miles on them on Sunday didn't help out much.

Monday was the perfect day to skip running, since I had to be at work very early and our design sessions went through lunch. But I was very loathe to skip after a couple weeks of building momentum. 

Went to karate with the girls, which included hopping on one leg, unfortunately. Then did a night run with Quint and Cody. The air was cool, and I never run that late, so it should have been a lot of fun - but I was in pain for most of it.

Woke up with a throbbing and very swollen left ankle. Walking was uncomfortable, so it was an easy decision not to run.

Pain and swelling seems improved this morning. I finally started icing yesterday, which probably helped. I'll take a least one more day off.

So I haven't run since Monday. Every day this week my ankle felt a bit better, but there's still something not right when I put pressure on that leg by jumping, twisting or running. I have a doc appt Tuesday, which I'm hoping to be able to cancel.

In othe times I would probably have gone nuts with Google trying to self-diagnose, but this time the issue was acute enough I couldn't do anything with whatever half-baked theory I drummed up. So I've just been a bit checked out and focused on other things, but I'm getting antsy to start training again.

When I got home from work I told my wife: "I have a weird request. I just need to lay down and sleep a little bit. Please. Take the kids for one more half-hour, and I'll take over. And I'll be good for the rest of the night."

So I took that time and had the crazy micro-nap dreams and woke up fairly functional.

Early AM tempo with Christia and Mike G. Ego kick-in-the-pants #10000 to be that guy hanging on to the back of the pack.

AM: 6 sore miles on little sleep.

6 miles at lunch with Quint. Today Anna turned five and we gave her a big plastic horse. Yesterday, since our office is near TPA, I looked out the window and saw Donald Trump's plane landing. You can tell because there is a huge T painted on the tail.

A zero. I brought my running clothes to work but was overwhelmed.

This has happened a lot in 2016, It's a trade-off that *might* make sense in the short term, but it's definitely not the way I want to live my life.

We have a 9 wk old puppy, not as tiring as an infant, but similar ballpark.

8 miles at 10am with Quint, complaining about the heat never gets old.

I was trying to be better about writing...

I usually write down my long run pace vs. not checking easy runs. It wasn't so easy this time, as I realized I hadn't connected my watch to download splits since April.

Anyway, Sunday's "long" run was 13 miles at 7:28 pace. I thought I was going to run a lot more, but we starting going hard in the middle, a 6:13 mile happened, and I blew up.

6 lunch miles w/ Quint.

6 lunch miles w/ Quint.

Tons of rain + tons of work = no running.

New day same story.

Left work early, 6 miles with Quint in downtown St. Pete with pub stop & darts at the midpoint.