Bret

PM - lunchtime run - 5.0 miles easy.  Felt a little fatigued but not really very sore following yesterday's long run - so I was encouraged by the recovery. 

AM - easy 4 miles early today - plan to get another easy workout this afternoon.  Body needs an extra day of recovery from Monday's long run before I do a quality workout.

PM - lunchtime run with Richie - 7.0 mile easy to moderate pace.  Nice time chatting with him.  He's headed out to the Super Bowl in Dallas tomorrow morning. He's been going to the Super Bowls since the mid 1980's - has connections in the NFL - actually invited me to come along this year as he had an extra ticket - unfortunately the timing was not right for me to go this year.  Maybe next. Nice run today.

Thursday was a zero (life got in the way from running day) and Friday was a travel day for work leaving no running opportunities.   So Saturday I did 4 miles easy then 4 miles at marathon pace followed by a mile at threshold pace followed by 2 miles easy.  Good workout - though it was very humid this morning - so I felt a bit more drained than perhaps I would have if I had done this indoors.

On the treadmill early this morning due to pouring rain.  20.0 miles.  Felt much better than last week.

Easy 5.00 miles this morning - chilly out.  Started slowly, a little sore from the long run yesterday but nothing significant.  Travel later and maybe a run when I land on the west coast.

Easy 4.00 - shake-out run in San Diego along the bayfront with Andy Mac, a colleague in my company.  Cool temperatures - pleasant evening.  Enjoyed the run and the chat.

AM - treadmill workout at the hotel - 8 x 400 @ 79 secs w full recovery (appx 3 mins) 2 mile warm up and cool down.  This is the same workout I had done in January at 81 seconds per 400, but have moved the pace up per the Daniels VDOT tables following the 5k I ran two weeks ago.  This was a solid workout - definitely pushed through to where I knew I was benefitting from the effort but not over the top.

PM - lunchtime recovery run of 7 miles followed by 6 striders.  Felt pretty comfortable for having done a tough workout yesterday and a long run on Monday. 

Difficult race this morning.  Cold (for Florida) 42 degrees and windy.  Race was a 5/10k combined in downtown St. Pete.  Started uphill slightly from 2nd Ave N and 2nd Street in front of Baywalk - headed west and around mirror lake then back east to the waterfront and beach drive south past Al Lang field and behind the old bayfront center with a hairpin turn around and back north to Baywalk.  Ran the first two miles ahead of pace from my 5k two weeks ago where I went 18:06.  Miles 1 and 2 were - 5:42,  5:54 respectively - but never felt comfortable and in fact debated whether to race today - so that probably had something to do with a slight loss of concentration after the turn in the last mile.  6:17 in mile 3 with and uphill finish on a long course resulted in a disappointing time of 18:56.  Heartrate was at max 181-182 from the start of the second mile to the finish.  So, it wasn't for a lack of effort.  I think I thought I was going to break 18 this morning and would have expected as much after mile 2 - but running into a bit of a head wind in the third mile and just not quite having it put together today I came up short.  Indeed wth the mismeasured course even if I had run a 5:50 or 6 flat for the last mile I still would not have been under 18.  Oh well, still ran well for the first two miles. :) 

Turns out I won my age group and was 14th overall.

PM - went out with Delaney for an easy 4 miles - I am doing my best to be her personal trainer for her track season - enjoyed the time chatting with her about running.

Long run this morning on the treadmill - 16.0 miles.  Felt pretty rough today.  Had to slow the pace several times just to get into a relaxed comfortable pace, then picked it back up.  Decided not to do the full 20 miles today - after running a little over 2 hours I decided that it was enough.

Easy 7.0 mile recovery run from Carillon at lunchtime past the dump and around the Val-Pak lake twice.  Probably the nicest weather day we have had all year.  Sunny and 70 degrees.  Felt very comfortable during the run, but noticed that I felt very tired when I was in the gym stretching afterwards.

PM - lunchtime workout on the treadmill.  2 mile w/up; 5 x 1000 @ 5:43 mile pace w/ 2:00 recovery; 6 x 400 @ 78 w/ 3:00 recovery; 2 mile c/d.  This was a very good workout for me today.  I cannot recall too many recent workouts where I felt as much of a sense of accomplishment as I did with this one today. 

Easy 5 miles on the treadmill at the Canyons in Park City before a day of skiing. Looking forward to a long run tomorrow outside with Rob.

AM - Had a very nice 16.0 mile run this morning with Rob in Utah who took me from a few minutes outside Park City up through East Canyon and then down through Emigration Canyon to his home in Salt Lake City (he will let me know if I got my navigation and names correct).  Tough going at the start with strong winds and snow up the 4 mile climb at unfamiliar elevations - but he assured me the run down through the canyon would be good with a downslope and the wind at our backs - which thankfully turned out to be the case.  A little rain toward the end, but great conversation and a decent pace (at least for me - probably slow for him) had us finishing up just in time for a dish of pancakes served up by his gracious wife Ann. 

AM - easy to moderate 5 miles on the treadmill at the Sundial Lodge before heading to the airport for the journey home. Had a very nice stay - good snow, good food and good friends.

PM - Tempo run on the treadmill (outside temps in the 80's and humid).  2 mile warm up - 40  mins at 6:26 pace (~6.1 miles) then 2 mile cool down.  Good workout.  Legs still a little sore from skiing and downhill running.

AM - easy 3.0 miles early as a shake out recovery run.  Hopefully my schedule will allow for a second run later in the day.  Legs were significantly sore in the quads today.

PM - lunchtime run of 5.0 miles.  Managed to squeeze in a short run at lunch on a busy workschedule day.

Easy shake out run before a planned 15k race tomorrow in Tampa.

This was a reasonably good effort under quite warm and humid conditions.  The Gasparilla Distance Classic is a 15k that is the Tampa Bay area's signature event.  They began this race 34 years ago - and I actually ran in the inagural race in which George Steinbrenner was the official race starter at that time.  Over the years the race offered substantial incentives and prize money such that there were several world records set on the flat out and back course along the scenic Bayshore Boulevard in sight of downtown Tampa.  Bill Rogers ran the race a number of times and my father actually had a photo of him in the race that years later at a different event he had autographed by him.  Bill was here this morning and spoke to the crowd minutes before the race.  He is in a "weakened" state - during a year of recovery from prostatic cancer as I understand.  He was planning to run 7 minute miles.  Joan Benoit Samuelson was aslo on hand to say a few words to the 22,000 or so runners.

My plan had been to run conservatively for the first 5k  at or just below MRP and then to see how I felt and hopefully run the rest of the race in the mid to low 6:20's.  What actually happened  was a bit of the opposite.  I ended up running the first 10k in the low to mid 6:20's with the last 5k sort of involuntarily at MRP or just  a little faster.  The early start time of 7 am was good, but I think by the time the sun was fully up and established the heat slowed everyone down. 

Mile 1 was relaxed at at 6:17 pace and my heartrate was 155

Mile 2 was controllled at 6:30 with HR at 166 (according to Daniels I should have be running with my HR at 163 for a 15k - but weather conditions dictated otherwise.).  I tucked in behind a big guy in a red shirt to draft shortly before the 2 mile mark.

Mile  3 - 6:21 HR at 170 felt ok but thought I may be pushing it a little bit to stay with the big guy in the red shirt off of whom I was drafting.  Two other runners of similar size grouped up with us, one of them looke like a triathlete with a visor and shaved legs.

Mile 4 - 6:23 HR 173 - lost the red shirt guy and we headed in to an extend loop for the turn around.  Triathlete pushed ahead of me about 10 yards and his buddy about 20 yards.  Striking and stylish female in between the two with a long blond braid was falling back or I was catching her as we started heading back north befor the 5 mile mark.

Mile 5 - 6:17 HR174 - passed stylish female and began picking off a few others as the heat kicked in.  Was a bit frustrated that none of the waterstops had gatorade up to this point. 

Mile 6 - 6:26 HR 174 - starting to wonder about my HR as I am hitting a bad patch.  Pleased with my overall pace at 6:22 through the 10k.

Mile 7 - 6:51 HR 172 - Not sure what happened here.  Felt kinda crappy and perhaps zoned out on my concentration.  HR actually dropped too.  Triathlete guy and stylish female were still within 10 yards so they must be feeling it too.  I was not being passed either.  So I thought, I gotta pull this back together...Fortunately waterstop had gatorade - got a gulp and resumed concentration.

Mile 8 - 6:43 HR 173 - Thought I had run faster than that - but was feeling good bit better.  Pulled up past stylish female and started picking up other runners.  Triathlete was definitely going down by mile 9....a sub 1 hour effort is looking unlikely.

Mile 9 - 6:37 HR 174 - Still surprised at not being under 6:30 but thought, I had a shot at going sub 1 hour if I got a 6:20 or better in - oh well.  I can smell the barn from here.

Last .3 --- 5:55 pace HR 178 to max 181 - passed triathlete dude and stylish female was way behind - huge gap to next set of runners - so "no one will pass me" mode kicks in - drive to finish.  Somewhat disappointed with not breaking 1 hour - but pleased that my garmin says I average 6:29 pace for the race.

3 mile warm up an 1.5 mile cool down back to the car. 

Finished in top 100 (97th) for the race and 13 in my age group.  Not great, but not bad.   I recognized none of the names of the runners who finished ahead of me in the age group.  I  beat my more familiar competitors. 

All in all - decent effort.  

Looked back at past race results - in 2009 I ran about 10 seconds slower.  I did not run it last year as I was still recovering from a stress fracture.  It appears I did the race twice since the year 2000 and those two times I ran 1:03 and 1:05.  Seems to me that I did this race at sub 1 hour in the late 90's - but have not been able to find race results that far back.  So I guess this is my best time here in the last 10 years.  LOL.

AM - easy 3.0 mile recovery run with middle daughter (16 yr old) Riley before church.  Just broke up with her boyfriend yesterday evening and asked if we could go for a run together in the morning.  I enjoyed chatting with her - good bonding time.  .

PM - 20.00 miles on the treadmill at the gym after work at 7:19 pace.  Other than being a bit bored and impatient to finish, I felt very comfortable and relaxed the entire time.