Bret

PM - Workout:  3 mile warm up then 3 x 2 miles at HM pace with 800 meter rest - then 2 miles cool down for a total of 12 miles. Avg pace 6:27.  Was really too fast on the first rep and felt dehydrated or something by the end of the workout which made this feel tougher than I think it looks on paper.  

PM - 10 aerobic miles on the treadmill - I thought I would be feeling better by lunchtime today, but a lingering cold and hard workout from yesterday left me a bit depleted.  Not very enjoyable run today.

PM - workout - tempo at MP.  2 mile warm up and cool down with 6 miles at MP (avg pace 6:47).  Feeling much better than yesterday, but not quite 100%.  Would like to have this workout feel slightly easier than it did today.  

PM - 7 very slow easy miles in a cool mist/drizzle (mizzle is I think what Bam calls it).  Felt rather depleted and unmotivated to step up into a more normal training pace - so I just plodded along.  Actually did not have very much time to get a longer run in - so will perhaps add a few more miles later.  Feel pretty relaxed and comfortable now - so maybe the easy pace was what I needed.

PM - 11 miles easy to moderate.  Should have felt more relaxed and solid at the pace I was running - but did not.  Not sure if the cold has left me a bit weak or what.  Nice day though when it was supposed to be cloudy and rainy.    

PM - 8 miles easy in the early evening.  I had scheduled myself to do a long run today, but knew I was going to be very busy.  Thought that I could get up really early before church and do it - but my body soundly rejected that notion when the alarm clock went off.  So I ended up heading out at the end of a day of church, lunch with friends and seeing my two daughters back off to college for their Spring term and in between work calls - I actually got a very pleasant relaxed run in.  Felt much better than most of last week.  

PM - had a really solid feeling 10 mile run at lunch today.  Probably a combination of feeling better from a cold last week, and getting the right dosage/right brand on the iron supplements.  Had gotten this stuff called "EP-NO" which is recommended for runner/endurance athletes.  But I don't think it works as well as some other supplements I bought.  Anyway, the important part is that I felt very good on my last two runs.  Ready for a workout tomorrow.

PM - after work (long stressful day...) good workout.  3 mile warm up; 5 x 1000 @ 10k pace with a 600 rest; 3 mile cool down.  Very solid, felt strong and good and confident.  

AM - went out for my first morning run for the new year - (mostly been running midday or evenings) - planning a double for today.   Easy 4 miles.  Almost forgot how nice it is to do a few easy miles in the morning.  Warm, humid day.  

Interesting encounter:  After I was finished and walking down my cul de sac, a car pulls up from behind me and the driver rolls down the window and stops and informs me that the reflective materials I had on my clothing were insufficient and that I really should consider wearing a flashing light and a vest for safety reasons.  I introduced myself to the heavy set fellow who looked a bit like Santa in his beat up old car,  thanked him for his concern and suggestion.  

PM - easy 8 miles at lunch on a summer-like day.  Hot humid and uncomfortable. 

PM - another solid workout.  Tempo.  3 mile warm up then 5 miles at MP and then 2 mile cool down.  Avg pace 6:44.  Felt very good. Pleased with how I have felt over the last 5 days of running.  Hope it continues.  

AM - easy morning 4 miles before work.  Felt very good - enjoyed the run.

PM - 8 miles around the ValPak lake loop and the county dump.  Lovely hot humid and a little stinky.   

AM - long run - total of 14 miles.   Fast finish with two of the last 3 miles at MP.  Ran with Richie and Drew in from downtown Clearwater and did the loop over the bridges.  Good conversation, great catching up with Drew who I have not seen in about 6 months.  Pace was moderate for the most part, and then we picked it up at the end.  Richie and I rounded out the run for an extra mile or so at a cool down pace as Drew headed out to get in another 6 miles or so.  Felt very good again on a humid warm morning.  

AM - had to get an early start, so was out the door by 5:15 for an easy 8 miles.  Bit on a sluggish side this morning.  Did not feel as strong as I have felt the last week or so.  Poor sleep the night before and only about 6 hours last night probably a contributing factor.  Have to travel on business this afternoon to NYC.  

AM - easy 10 miles early in NYC.  I ran cross town from my hotel near Grand Central to the Hudson River Trail - which parallels the river and the West Side Highway.  Cool foggy and a bit drizzly.  Little sketchy in some areas where it was not well-lit and there were very few people out running at the time I was out there.  Avoided a few rats and other critters (unidentified mammal - could have been a cat, could have been a rat) - but a very nice run overall.  

AM - very long day of meetings yesterday with a follow-on dinner.  Did  not see my hotel room bed until after 11 pm.  Slept a bit longer than planned, so instead of trying to squeeze a workout in, I just headed out for a pleasant morning run.  Rain over night, and temps dropped into the mid 30's.  Ran up to Central Park around the reservoir for around 6 miles.  Hope to get some time later today or this evening for a workout.

AM - well I ended up having to extend my stay on business NYC; did not get finished with things and wrapped around 11 pm.  Hopefully will be heading home today (though the weather is rather dreary with an icy/rain/snow mix.  Sure to cause airport delays) after finalizing some things.  So I did not get the second run in that I had hoped for yesterday.  

Anyway - fortunately I packed some extra running gear (only not the kind to run in icy weather) so I did a workout on the dismal treadmill in the hotel instead of dealing with the cold wet conditions outside.  Very warm in the exercise room and the tm had seen better days.  But I hammered out 2 x 2 miles at HM pace with an 800 rest.  Had hoped to do 3 x, but there were only 4 treadmills and people were waiting to get a turn - and frankly I was good with the 2 reps.  Got in a good warm up and cool down.   

AM - got home late last night - a very successful business trip.  Got out to run a few easy miles for a shake out of about 5.   Will do some type of run later today.

PM - easy 8 miles after work.

PM - easy to moderate 10 miles with Richie after work around Carillon and Feathersound.

AM - 16 miles in Cypress Creek Preserve - paced my friend Brian for a portion of an ultra - 100 mile race. Met up with him around mile 23 or so and ran with him at a light pace and kept him company for a while. Great weather for the race. Called the Long Haul. It is Brian's first attempt at 100 miles. Hope he makes it. He's trained very well for about 9 months for this race.

PM = 13 miles easy out Dunedin Causeway and back.  Bit of a gloomy windy overcast day for much of the run.  My friend Brian had to DNF at the Long Haul 100 at mile 70.  He was disappointed but for his first attempt at that distance, he should be pleased with what he accomplished.  Ran his best marathon split and 50 mile split too.  Had some GI issues that just did not allow him to keep anything down - and as he says. nothing runs for long on fumes.  

PM - easy to moderate 10 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.

PM - another good session tonight.  Cruise intervals - threshold pace.  6 x 1 mile at HM pace with a 200 meter rest.  Averaged 6:30 pace with HRR avg at or below 85%.  Pleased with how I felt.  Right in the threshold zone.  Total of 12 miles with warm up and cool down.

PM - 10 easy miles with Richie around the office park and Feathersound after work.  

PM - good workout 6 miles at MP with a 3 mile warm up and cool down. Average pace of 6:46. Was not exactly smooth/easy but solid especially with the cumulative fatigue from the workout from Tuesday - so pleased with the effort.

PM - just about 10 miles with Richie after work.  Easy pace.  Really nice weather.  

AM - a little over 16 miles on a very nice cool morning.  Ran with Ken (who will be running with us in London)  in Landsbrook for several loops and then met up with a running group around 7 am and finished up.  Kept the pace easy with Ken but then we were joined by a couple of guys who wanted to do a fast finish - so I ended up running a couple of miles a bit faster than marathon pace, and the cooled down for 2 miles back to Ken's house.  

PM - 10.5 miles easy.  Felt very good.  Weather is perfect this time of the year.  

Easy 9 miles after work with Richie. Warm and a bit humid out this evening. Felt a little sluggish today.

AM - due to business travel this afternoon, I went out early today and covered another solid session.  Speed work.  8 x 800 @ 5-10k pace with a 400 recovery.  3 mile warm up and then 1.5 miles cool down.  With the exception of the first rep which was at 3:04 the rest were all at 2:58-2:59.  Very controlled, not easy by any means, but never in distress or anything like that. Nice getting it out of the way early in the day too.  

AM - early run in Atlanta - rainy, windy and a bit hilly.  Easy 10 miles regen run from yesterday's workout.  Felt ok, maybe a little tired from yesterday's workout and business travel.  

AM - chilly start - nearly 30 degrees cooler than yesterday.  2 mile warm up then 4 miles at HM for a nice threshold run.  2 miles cool down.  Felt very good and crisp this morning.  Quite happy with this session.