Bret

AM - early start was planned, but just didn't happen - so I did a short 3 miles with a plan to run again later today. Legs still not soreness-free - but are feeling much better.

PM - lunchtime run on the treadmill of 7 miles.  Comfortable 7:30 pace.  Felt pretty normal - though afterwards my quads let me know they are not fully recovered as I climbed the steps to my office.   

AM - easy 6 miles around the PHU extended loop.  Felt reasonable good this morning, though my upper legs are still a bit "leaden" but seem to be improving day by day.

PM - 7.0 miles up the Belcher extension and back. 

PM - after work and before my mid week bible study at my church - I squeezed in 7 miles at a reasonably moderate pace on the treadmill..  Had a full 24 hours between runs, so my legs were nearly fully recovered.   Good aerobic run and stress-reliever.

AM - 4.0 miles easy. I think I was asleep the first 2.5 miles - Honestly I think it probably takes me 3-4 miles to start running at a normal pace when I do early morning runs. Must be old age.

PM - lunchtime - on the treadmill 7.0 miles  -- was going to run outside, but Richie called and asked me to run inside as he is recovering from a Morton's neuroma injury that has sidelined him for a while.  Turns out he is still not released to run, so he basically just chatted with me while I ran.  Run went fine, nice to talk to someone when you are running.

PM - took a late lunch and did a run outside around the county dump for a little over 8 miles.  Extremely hot humid and stinky.  Good character building run.  Was hoping to get under some storm clouds but that did not really materialize until after I was finished.

AM - long run of 21 miles.  Got an early start at 5 am in downtown Clearwater and ran over to the beach and up to the north end for the first hour, then return to downtown and changed shoes and socks as the humidity was so high, I was squishing.  Met up with the group that starts at 6 am and ran with a slower paced group of some runners that I knew - for company.  Needed to veer off the loop and away from the group after we crossed over to the mainland  in Belleair at around mile 15 (where my Garmin ran out of battery) to stop at a Hess station for a Gatorade - never linked back up with everyone until we finished.  The fountain in front of City Hall was on and cool from a rain yesterday afternoon which was nice as everyone was soaking their feet and chilling afterwards.  Not a great run, but a decent effort. 

Rest day

AM - 5.5 miles around 6 am this morning.  Day off with some extra sleep time yesterday was helpful.

PM - lunchtime - 8.5 miles on the treadmill at the Carillon Wellness Center next to my office.  Very pleased with how easy this run was at 7:15 pace - just putting in miles for the next couple of weeks. 

PM - lunchtime 7.0 miles around Carillon and Feathersound on a muggy overcast and sometimes rainy day.  Pace was decent to slow, but the effort was a little uncomfortable - I attribute that to the 98% humidity - though without the sun it was not nearly as warm as it has been.  Thunderstorms this morning kept me in bed and away from running, so I will do a second run after work this evening.

 PM - second run - after work - 6 miles at home past the high school and to Tampa Road and back up Belcher.  Still rainy but not as muggy for some reason.  Decent run.  Went out to dinner with Riley as Tracy and the other girls went to Sea World today with my niece who is visiting us for the week.  Riley had swim practice and summer homework to finish, so she couldn't go with them.  Went to Selmon's restaurant - watched the Rays win against the Royals.

PM - on the treadmill at lunch due to constant thunderstorms today - 10 miles at primarily 7:15-7:20 pace.  After the first mile or two, I settled into a nice cadence and was relaxed and aerobic throughout. 

PM - ran about 6.5 miles around the Carillon office complex at lunchtime including a couple of parking structures to stay out of the heat.  There was a light rain when the sun was still out for a short time which only served to make things more steamy and sauna-like.  This was a pretty uncomfortable and miserable slog - not the least bit enjoyable.  Hopefully things will be better this evening, or I will hit the treadmill instead.

PM - after work I decided to run at the soccer fields while waiting for Delaney during her training.  8.5 miles from Ed Radice through some neighborhoods to Race Track Road heading south and then turned on Countryway and headed into West Chase and returned.  Better run than this afternoon - but still not great.  Turned out to be profitable, as I found a $20 bill on the ground.  Well-timed too, as I passed a 7-11 within a mile or so, and bought a Gatorade with it before finishing the last couple of miles.  I think I have probably found money on the roads totalling over $500 in the years I have been running.   

PM - lunchtime - on the treadmill - 8 miles in 57 mins, relaxed comfortably good run.  Sharp contrast to the runs outdoors the last few days.

PM - 20.00 miles on the treadmill today - I had planned to run with the group this morning but had to change my schedule to accomodate for my daughter's soccer practice and a couple of other things - the good news was that I got some extra sleep.  Too hot and humid outside for a long run during the day, so I hit the gym.  Met up with a friend and his kids at the FC Tampa Bay soccer game  afterwards this evening while Tracy and the girls were shopping (back to school tax holiday).  Decent run until about 16 miles when I thought about cutting it short a few times - more out of boredom than anything else.  Kept it at 7:30 pace for most of the workout.

Rest day

PM - lunchtime on the treadmill 7.25 miles at 7:30 pace, with Richie on the elliptical machine next to me for part of the run.  He has a Morton's neuroma in his left foot that is not improving despite 3 cortizone injections - so he's having surgery on Wednesday, hoping for a full recovery in 6-8 weeks.  He's got some bad feet - this will be the 5th surgery he's had since college.

Anyway - I am doing my best to try to balance the use of the treadmill and running outdoors.  Right now the indoor runs are so much easier than outdoors with all of the heat and humidity.  Will do my second run outside this evening while Delaney is at soccer practice. 

Second PM run - 6.0 miles in Tampa while I waited for Delaney at Soccer Practice.  A tad less humid (87%) tonight actually made it a bit easier and more enjoyable.  Delaney had a "tryout" at cross country before her practice - a 2 mile run which she sandbagged - and we had a chat.  Tomorrow they do a 5k - better report expected for tomorrow.

AM - early start because of work meetings today.  7.0 sleepy miles on the treadmill.

PM - 6.5 miles along Racetrack Road in Tampa while Delaney was at soccer practice.  Steamy night following a rain shower which made it all the more humid.  Delaney did not have a time trial at XC try outs tonight - she had been mistaken on the schedule. 

PM - In Gainesville to drop off my daughter at school at UF - I did 12.5 miles on the treadmill at the SW Rec Center gym they have on campus while my wife and daughter set up the dorm room after I carried all of her stuff upstairs (they did not want me there anyway).  This gym is very high end, with a huge indoor basketball area, with multiple courts, an indoor running track, aerobic machines on two floors - and with Woodway treadmills with no time restrictions on use.  I would love belong to a gym like this (nice that it is "free" to students), but had to admit I felt a bit out of place with nearly all of the population in the facility being at least 25 years my junior.  Pretty solid run in the middle of the afternoon - a little soreness in the front of my right shin afterward, which probably was from the treadmill, which is a little different in feel than most that I am used to. 

PM - squeezed in 5.25 miles between business meetings at a late lunch today.  Will plan to do more mileage after work today.

PM - 8.25 miles through Spanish Trails - pretty tired at the end of this run - probably needed to eat.

AM - verrrry easy 5.5 miles - feeling a little weary as I near the end of this week. 

PM - 7.0 miles on the treadmill at 7:30 pace.  Decent run, but not feeling all that strong.

AM - had to work around some things this morning.  Ran to pick up my wife's car that we had left parked in a lot last night when I met her half way to meet some friends for dinner and forgot to pick it up last night.  Will need to add to mileage if there is time later today. 

PM - 8.0 miles timed perfectly for an afternoon storm which was rolling in for the first 3-4 miles and although pretty windy and with heavy rain, it lightened up enough to be a cool shower for the last 3 miles for a very pleasant and satisfying run to finish the week.

Rest Day

PM - lunchtime on the treadmill - 8.5 miles at 7:20 to 7:30 pace.  Nothing special.  Could not get myself out the door to run this morning and went back to bed after making sure my girls were up and getting ready for school  - their first day for the fall term. Probably got 8 hours of sleep which is about 2 hours more than my average.  Plan to do some miles tonight and will mix in some workouts begining this week instead of just straight aerobic work I have been doing the last few weeks. 

PM - after work - 5.0 miles outside up the Belcher extension and back.  Ran faster than I had planned for an easy run - someone was running on the same route and I was somehow compelled to catch them, pass and sustain a pace that although was not race pace, it was not relaxed either. 

PM - after work - cruise intervals on the treadmill.  2 mile warm up then 6 x 1 mile at threshold pace (6:26) with a 1 min rest and then a 2.5 mile cool down.   First hard workout in a while so it was a bit uncomfortable getting into it.  The pace was right as it was hard but not too hard to be unmanageable.  Had felt pretty ragged this morning and even a bit during the workout, but the effort has left my legs actually feeling better than they had before I start - tired, but a good tired.

AM - 5.5 easy shake-out miles following yesterday evening's workout.  No soreness to speak of. 

PM - lunchtime 7.5 miles outside.  Very unpleasant run particularly toward the end as the heat and humidity seemed to be a bit more oppressive than usual today.

PM - 10.0 miles on the treadmill after work at 7:30 pace.  Got a good 8 hours of rest and the period of recovery from my last run yesterday at noon was more than 24 hours, so I felt really quite rested and good for this entire run. 

PM - lunchtime run around Carillon Office Park - had to keep it shorter than planned because the gym was closing at 1 pm for maintenance work - Ran 5 miles and brought a water bottle with me and drank every 15 mins per something I read online yesterday - when the heat index exceed 100 - it is good to rehydrate that frequently - which I have never tried before in training runs except for long runs.  The  heat index was 102 today - but it was breezey and less humid (75%) - and I did not run that far - so I don't know if that made a difference, but the run was actually good and enjoyable - so I will continue to test that hydration thing out a little more over the next few weeks. 

This was a great workout. On the treadmill - 2 mile warm up; 5 x 6 mins at 6:26 ppm with 1 min rest; 1 hour easy; then 15 mins at 6:26 pace; then 2 mile cool down.

PM - easy 6.0 miles to shake out yesterday's workout - but the heat index was still over 100 at 7 pm - so it was not a very comfortable run.

AM - easy 4 miles before the sun was up and followng a rain shower - though still quite muggy despite the rain. 

PM  - lunchtime - 7.0 miles on the treadmill - feeling a little fatigued, but not too bad.

PM - on the treadmill - good workout: 2 mile warm up then 2 x 15 mins at 6:25 pace with 3 min rest then 10 mins at 6:25 pace, then a 2 mile cool down. A little bit tired this evening, so I did not feel as strong on this workout as I did on Saturday - but still got through it.

AM - 5.0 miles easy - shake-out run.  Less humid this morning, made for a reasonably pleasant run.  Noticing some hip pain over the last few days, more on the left than the right.  May be some bursitis - perhaps from the Woodway treadmill that I used for Saturday's long run/workout and again last night.  Will try some hip strengthening exercises and stretches and keep an eye on it.  Will also try to limit treadmill running for a few days.

PM - lunchtime run outside 7.0 miles.  Muggy and warm, but overcast, so it was actually not too bad.  No hip pain while running either.  Did a few stretches and exercises and used the foam roller after the run.