Bret

AM - 4 miles easy before work.

PM - 8 miles easy after work with Richie.

AM - met Richie Ken and Tim in downtown Clearwater to run the bridges. Got a nice easy 20 miles in on a chilly and rainy morning. Felt great.

PM - took yesterday off - as an unplanned day off, due to too many family commitments, which I think turned out to be a good idea.  I rested most of the day on Saturday too.  This evening Richie and I did an easy 12 after work, and I felt very good.  

PM - after work; had a really good workout.  6 x mile @ HM pace with a 200 rest following a 2 mile warm up.  Average pace was 6:26 with the last two at 6:17 and 6:20.  Felt very solid.

AM - easy 4 mile shake out run before work today.  Cold front blew through earlier this morning, so it was a bit windy and rainy and chilly.  Will plan to get a more substantial run in later today.  

PM - got another 7 in at lunch.  Front has lots of windy conditions - so it was chilly and overall a very non-relaxing easy run.

AM -  In Indianapolis for business today - got in late, so woke up a little later than I had wanted to.  Snow and high 20's outside found me deciding to stay indoors.  MP workout.  3 mile warm up then 6 miles at MP and then a 1 mile cool down.  Would have liked to get another couple of MP miles in, but no time to make it fit before meetings/calls.  Felt ok on the whole.

AM - a little over 11 miles early this morning in Washington DC - around the National Mall and various monuments and memorials.  Very windy and cold with periods of some snow flurries. Nice run though.

AM - got a late start - but had a decent 20 miles today - long loop around Lake Tarpon.

PM - got 4 easy miles squeezed in between too many other things. Could not wake up early enough - body clock not adjusted to the daylight saving time clock yet.

AM - 4 miles very early this morning (4:30 am) before a flight to Atlanta. Groggy but decent stroll around the neighborhood.

PM - after work in Atlanta - raining and in the low 50's made me decide to hit the treadmill at the hotel. Not a very good run. Kept it slow and got 8 miles in.

AM - worked late into the evening (after midnight) and was up at 5:15 to get out and run before work meetings in Atlanta.  Had tentatively planned a strength training session this morning - but it was in the 30's and my old body was telling my brain not to really consider a hard workout.  My brain listened.   Thought about doing a short 4 miles and regrouping later in the day for a workout, but ended up running about 7 rather moderately paced, hilly miles and felt good after I had gotten the blood circulating and my muscles were warm.    Will give it a go after work if I am up to it, for a session of strength training.

AM - well my day got away from me yesterday and so I never got to the hoped-for second workout.  Got out this morning and did some exploring - found some nice running areas and some pretty hairy/sketchy/dangerous traffic areas too.   But all in all, it was a pleasant cool run of about 12.5 miles.  Looking forward to a run tomorrow with Ingrid!

AM - a very cold morning by my standards -- in Alpharetta.  Met Ingrid (a FRB blogger who doesn't blog)  :) for a run along the Alpharetta Big Greenway trail.  Fortunately Ingrid had a headlamp - it was quite dark and she runs very fast.  Very nice run on the meandering trail, only made one wrong turn - and completed 11 miles - at what seemed to be a brisk 7:15 to 7:30 pace.  Enjoyed the company and the chat - but not the cold weather!

Point of reference - I met Ingrid at the start of the NYC marathon in 2011 and found out later that she was actually on FRB - but it never came up in our conversation.  We ran together in that race for about 15 miles - where she left me in the dust and ran 2:58 (or perhaps faster).  She followed that up with a great performance in Philly last fall at 2:52 - (Ingrid please correct my memory on the times).  Turns out she lives not too far from where my new company office is located in Alpharetta.   Always good to run with someone you know especially when you are away from home and particularly good if they are faster than you. :) 

PM- Had just enough time for 9 miles at lunchtime back in St. Pete today.  Did not feel all that great.  Hoping for time for a few more miles this evening after work.

PM - had to accompany Delaney down to Ft Myers today for a soccer tournament while her mom was with her sisters in Gainesville - so an early start for a long drive kept me from running before we left. Her team was in a semi-final match today where if they lost we'd be heading home in the afternoon and if they won we'd stay overnight for the final in the morning. Oddly we were both hoping a little bit that her team would lose because we could head back home (she had a surprise party she wanted to attend and I just wanted to sleep in my own bed at least 3 days in a row for a change).

Well it was a very tense game which ended scoreless even after additional time periods and they headed to penalty kicks to decide it. Delaney's goal ended up being the winner. She told me afterwards that it was her best spot kick because she figured if she made it - everyone would be happy because the team would advance and if she missed then she could go to her party. Hence no pressure.

Anyway after a very lengthy meal and a fiasco of finding a hotel room I finally headed out at 6:45 pm north on the Tamiami Trail for 10 miles and turned around and headed back. Nothing was enjoyable about the run which went through some sketchy areas. The only things remarkable about the run was that I did it and that the last 2 miles were at MP.

PM - back home after the soccer final in Fort Myers this morning.  Delaney's team won the Region Cup - this game also went past regular time and ended up in penalty kicks after they were deadlocked at 1-1.  Once again they prevailed and Delaney had a brilliant penalty - and it was also the deciding goal.  She was completely exhausted after two days of very physical games each over 110 mins long.  

Anyway - I headed out the door for a run just before 5 pm - with a plan to run to feel - and as it turns out, I felt reasonably well, so I covered a little over 12 miles.  

Nice weekend. 

AM - easy 4 miles very early before flying up to Atlanta for work.  

PM - another 8 miles in Atlanta. Headed out after work to the Greenway - and on the way the weather took a turn for the worst - starting with hail and then these really loud sirens started blaring which I figured out were for a tornado warning. As I neared 4 miles I took a turn on the trail because it was turning dark and the rain was getting harder. I ended up at a shelter for restrooms which was fortunate as the lightning was pretty severe. I waited there for about 10-15 minutes and then headed back in a much lighter rain. Bit scary. The run back to the hotel left my shoes completely soaked - which was good news because it meant that I had to head over to the Big Peach running store to replace the long overdue Gel Nimbuses so that I would have dry shoes in the morning.

AM - on the treadmill - 3 x 2 miles at HM pace with an 800 rest.  2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.  This went very well.  Started off the first rep at 6:31 pace - and then did the second rep at 6:27 pace with the last one at 6:24 pace.  It was strange that I did not feel that great in the warm up and even the first 3/4 of a mile on each rep felt a little tough, but I was definitely strong enough and was not over the limit even on the last one - So a good confidence builder.

AM - some really slow and easy miles this morning.  I was not sore or fatigued from yesterday's workout, but it was cold out and I did not want to force anything - so I just let it slowly increase over the miles - got in about 11.5.  Quite an enjoyable run on some new roads to me in Alpharetta.  

AM - quite cold and windy morning in Washington DC.  Did a good progression run - 2 mile warm up then 6 miles with a plan to start at 7:30 pace and increase the speed by 10 seconds each mile.  First mile was uphill around the Capitol Building - so it was 7:45, then 7:28, 7:15, 6:58, 6:48 and 6:33.  Finished up with a 2.5 mile cool down.  Did loops around the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol for miles 3-6 - which is packed dirt/stone and relatively flat almost like running on an old cinder track.  Pleased with the effort considering the cold and the 20 mph winds.

AM - 6 easy miles this morning back at home.  Very tired and not too motivated to run today.

PM - 8 more at lunch.  Felt really slow and fatigued today. 

PM - steady state run of 18 miles on the treadmill today as it was quite warm and humid by the time I started to head out for this workout. Did one mile warm up then kept every mile right at 6:55 pace more or less for 17 miles. Bit tough mentally in the last 4 miles or so. Actually very pleased that this went as well as it did.

AM - 4 miles easy before church - felt pretty sluggish and slow; but expected that.

PM - waited for some storms to pass - which never really materialized here.  8 more miles - first couple were tight and heavy legged, but loosened up nicely and felt good by the end. 

AM - 6 miles easy and early before my "commute" to Atlanta this morning.  

PM- after work - bit of a "day" and I was in a poor mood.  Did not want to go outside where it was cold with snow flurries (after having run shirtless at home this morning) so I began a slow run on the treadmill in the hotel, and low and behold about 4 miles into it I felt much better and the world was all good again.  Love to run.  Got in the 8 that I had planned. 

Good session today on the treadmill - 8 x 800 with a 400 meter rest.  2:53, 2:56, 2:56, 2:54, 2:52, 2:49, 2:49, 2:47.  Was supposed to do these at 10k pace, but this is the Yasso's workout that I have done in the past and just wanted to see where I was, so I went faster than 10k pace.  Felt a bit tested, but solid and strong.

AM - cold morning - easy slow 7 miles; no soreness to speak of, but a bit tired today.

PM - was able to get out at lunch and do 8 more miles along the Greenway trail - bright sunshine but windy and chilly.   

PM - busy day. Headed to the airport early to get my Global Entry interview done and then got an early flight back to St. Pete. Was at my desk early afternoon. Richie called me - he's been care\ing for his father who is not doing well - and he was in need of a break - So we headed out for a run where he could talk and vent.

Had a great workout. 2 mile warm up and about 8 miles at slightly better than MP pace with a 2 mile cool down. We were talking so much, I hardly noticed how quickly we were going.

AM - 6 miles easy this morning - chilly for Florida - 55 degrees or so.  Should have worn gloves.  

PM - 8 miles more at lunch - very nice day out today.  No gloves needed - 70 degrees.  :) 

PM - 19 miles on a very warm afternoon. Got a bit dehydrated and ran out of time to get the full 20 miles in.

AM - 6 miles easy before church. Thought I would feel a bit sore as I got a little dehydrated at the end of my long run yesterday - but actually felt fine.

PM - decided to go out for a run as it was no use in watching my Gators take a whipping from Michigan. Had a nice 8 miles before packing a heading to the airport - Atlanta again this week. .