Bret

PM - easy 8 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.

PM - after work 5 more miles - quite slow.

AM - easy 4 miles before work.  Legs feeling the "weight" of the miles from the last two days even though on paper it is still light and within normal training ranges for me.  Amazing how easy 2 a days were in the midst of training just a month or so ago, and how quickly the body adapts to not doing them.  Doesn't help that I am trying to drop a few pounds too - I guess I enjoyed the french food - a bit more than my fair share.

PM - 8 more at lunchtime on the treadmill (heating up outside - over 90 degrees).

AM - easy 3 miles before work.

PM - 7.25 miles outside at lunch.  Very warm temps in the upper 80's.  Made two water stops - almost summerlike.

AM - 4 miles easy before work - supplemental miles.  I am enjoying these easy untimed morning runs - low intensity, no stress.

PM - 8 more on the treadmill at lunch.

PM - 12 miles on the treadmill on a warm / hot afternoon.

PM - 8 easy aerobic miles in the early evening.

AM - easy 3 miles - need to describe this as a shake out because for some reason I was really achy and sore when I went to bed last night and that continued this morning.  Not sure why.

PM - moderate to easy aerobic run with Richie at lunchtime around Carillon and Feathersound.  Quite warm / summer-like conditions.  Felt tight when we started, but did not notice much after that as we were engrossed in conversation the entire run.  7.25 miles.

PM - 4 easy miles at lunchtime - with a plan for a longer run after work.  Tried to get up early to do the longer run, but I just wasn't feeling right.  Shorter run at lunchtime was quite pleasant even in the heat.

PM - 11.5 miles on the treadmill at the Y.  All aerobic, felt very smooth.

AM - 4 miles very easy before work.  Felt fine.

PM - 8 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime in just over an hour.  Medium intensity aerobic - felt very good.

PM - lunchtime easy 4 miles supplementary run.  Could not find a groove today - felt a little bit off.  Hopefully get some good miles in after work.

PM - 12.5 aerobic miles on the treadmill. 

AM - easy untimed, just about 5 miles this morning before work.  Less humid, very pleasant enjoyable run. 

PM - had a very nice run at 3/4 effort or between 75-80% HRR - which turned out to be right at 6:49 ppm on the treadmill (which has been my goal MRP for the last few races).  8.5 miles.  Never in recent memory have I felt so smooth and in control at that pace.  So, I have to credit the immersion into the Lydiard training. Lots of well-thought aerobic miles - and using the HRM to properly place me in the right zone. 

Three weeks ago  in the Paris Marathon, I could not maintain a pace any faster than 7:05 at a HR at near 85%.  Early last week, I struggled to even run 7:40 pace without my HR blowing up.  Yesterday I ran 16 miles in two runs at a very manageable aerobic pace of 70% HR and my body actually felt better after than before. 

Ok - enough evangelizing.  I actually just feel a bit silly that I had not fully understood and tapped into this sooner.  It is obvious to me now - that I have run a lot of miles over the years at anaerobic paces without enough balance of aerobic miles to permit good performance. I am excited to see where this goes. 

PM - 15 miles at low aerobic pace on the treadmill.

AM - easy shake out 4 miles - pleasant morning.

PM - overcast but warm afternoon.  Just under 9 miles - low aerobic effort from my house up CR 1 and through Spanish Trails.

AM - 4 miles easy before work.  Very humid this morning.  Noticing that I am running faster but with the same easy intensity effort on these morning runs.

PM - 8 miles at middle level intensity aerobic effort on the treadmill.  Was not as fast or as smooth as Friday's effort. 

AM - easy 5 miles before work.

PM - 12 miles at 70% HRR on the treadmill at the YMCA after work.  Averaged 7:45 per mile - very smooth and relaxed.  Delaney and Riley both came too and each did 45 mins of running. 

AM - easy 3 mile shake-out run - perhaps a little faster than it should have been, but I was pressed for time this morning and could only just squeeze this one in. 

PM - busy day at work - 7.5 miles at lunch - light fartlek workout.   Much more humid than I had thought it was under overcast skies.  Felt ok, but not great.

AM - busy workday ahead with meetings and then a dinner afterwards - so out the door at 4 am.  12 miles low intensity aerobic effort.  Humid and a bit rainy. 

PM - after a full day of business meetings I was able to squeeze in 4 miles on the treadmill before our business dinner. 

AM - easy 4 miles before another long workday of meetings.

PM - after work - 9 miles on the treadmill at 6:45 pace - high aerobic effort.  Actually ran the first half at 6:40 pace and then the second at 6:49 pace as I was edging on 80% effort with some cardiac drift.  Not as great as last Friday's effort with this, but good progress nonetheless.  Classifying this as marathon pace for now. 

AM - 6 miles easy.  Felt like I needed a easy shake out run rather than a long run - so I may do a longer run this afternoon on the treadmill.

PM - 15 miles outside around 5:45 pm - which I thought would be cool enough but the mid 80's hung around and while I felt pretty relaxed and in control of things, I became dehydrated and so the last 3-4 miles were pretty slow. 

AM - 4 miles easy before church. 

PM - 8 more on the treadmill in the afternoon.  Not feeling all that great today.

AM - easy 3 miles before work.  Was concerned about some achiness in my left big toe - will keep an eye on it - could be just normal aches and pains - but very wary of stress fractures - so with higher mileage and advanced age - I have to be cautious.  No pain or soreness there at all during the run.  Noticed it after the treadmill on Friday and after yesterday's treadmill run - so could be some correlation. 

PM - at lunchtime - had a really nice solid steady run on the treadmill of 8 miles at about 70% HRR - I increased the incline and that adjustment may have helped with the kink in my big toe. 

AM - 6 miles easy this morning before work.  Seem to have gotten back into balance with some easier intensity aerobic runs.  Felt good.

PM - just under 12 miles out to the Dunedin Causeway - pretty strong wind going out straight into the setting sun.  Good aerobic pace - legs felt a little fatigued toward the end. 

AM - easy 4 miles before work.  Little stiff and one of the toes on my  right foot is bruised from last evening's run....sweaty squishy shoes probably forced the toes to the front of the shoe last night. 

PM - lunchtime - about 8 miles of fartlek on the treadmill.  For some reason I cannot recall ever doing a fartlek workout on the treadmill prior to this - but it was quite good.  I loved the ability to pop in a hill randomly here and there and not having to run outside in 90 degree temps at lunchtime was nice too.  I was dragging a bit headed to the gym but about halfway through the run, I really started feeling energized. Speed play is definitely a nice tool to break up the stack of steady state runs.

AM - 5 miles easy in Vibrams this morning before work.  One of my toes on the right foot is pretty bruised and sore, so I decided to run in the Vibrams to provide some relief (I may just use scissors to cut the regular shoe where the toe is located to let it breathe, later).  So, because I was in the Vibrams which was good for the toe, I was also careful not to pound too hard causing injury - and as a result ran mostly on the grass next to the sidewalks and on the infield of the track at the middle school.  Relaxing easy run.

PM - 12 miles on the treadmill of aerobic running.  Richie joined me at the gym and ran a few miles next to me and then otherwise hung around and chatted until I was just about done with the run.  Made the time go very quickly - enjoyed the workout.

AM - easy 4.25 miles before work.  Noticed some "achy fullness" in the top of the left foot, first metatarsal this morning after the run.  Seems to be a little more than a nuisance-type thing.  It is likely from the Vibrams run yesterday.  In the past the soreness in the foot after a run in the Vibrams seems to disapate within a few days.  Will monitor this closely.  Running too well now to end up with a breakdown for something like this. 

PM - short day at work; left around 3 pm hoping to find an outside run in shade and on trails, so I drove to Phillipe Park in Safety Harbor.  But the park is only shaded in a small area - so I ended up running along the bay past the Safety Harbor Spa on a very hot mid-90's afternoon.  Foot was ok - I was very cautious not to push the pace and tried to stay on softer ground where available.  7 miles easy; no problems with the foot afterwards either.

PM - decided not to get up early and do my long run this morning to beat the heat, and instead opted for the treadmill - bought some new runnng shoes this morning too.  Nice run of 16.5 miles. 

AM - easy 4 mile shake out run before church this morning.

AM - 6 miles in a very humid morning with a tropic feel as the TS Beryl makes its way across the northern part of the state.  Not the least bit enjoyable of a run.  Yesterday's events with family and the church conspired to keep me from my main run of the day.  Should have time for another one later today.

PM - had a nice effort on the treadmill this afternoon - after a mile warm up I ran pretty much at 6:50 pace for 9 miles. 

PM - lunchtime - 5 miles easy on the treadmill.  Did not run this morning because as I opened the door to step outside at 6 am the heat / humidity was simply uninviting - 86 degrees and the sun was not even up.  Anyway, treadmill was my choice instead at lunch - will hit it again after work.  First mile or so, was a bit creaky - body did not seem to want to go - but fell into a nice easy aerobic cadence just under 8 min pace for a shake-out run. 

PM - after work - 12 miles on the treadmill at a modest aerobic pace - which felt great.  Body was feeling a little tired the last couple of days, but two really good aerobic runs today was the cure.

AM - easy 3 mile shake out before work.

PM - lunchtime - 8 miles of fartlek work on the treadmill.  Felt very solid.

AM - easy 5 mile shake out run this morning before work.

PM - 11 miles on the treadmill - easy aerobic pace.