Bret

AM - 6.5 miles in Moundsville WV - ran out 4th street which meanders along Middle Grave Creek in a narrow valley between sets of hills.  I was blessed with extremely favorable weather relative to what it has been in Atlanta for the last month or two - 55 degrees and foggy - and although humid, the temperature difference alone which was about 15 degrees cooler here - made for a gloriously easy and enjoyable run.   This is a country road that is a bypass of sorts to get out of town and connect with Rte 250 and so while it is narrow with no real shoulders - the traffic was pretty light and though not ideal, at times it was non-existent at other times, where the only sounds were my footfalls, the water rushing in the creek over the rocks and the occasional dog barking.  Heading out it is a false flat with a slight incline; coming back it is slightly downhill and by that time fully warmed-up, I was clipping along with easy in the cool air at 7:45 pace.   

AM - 7.5 miles or so from Moundsville to Glen Dale WV.  Ran through town up the extension and along Rte 2 past the hospital and long the creek in Sun Valley and then ran back past where we once had a garage apartment and was a little sad to see that the entire building and surrounding houses had been removed and replaced with a partking lot for the hospital.  Ran back down the trail along the Ohio River.  Cool again this morning and enjoyed a decent pace but not quite as fast as yesterday.  

AM - 6.5 miles in Moundsville - on the 12th Street park perimeter trail - 4 loops and the out and back from my in-laws house.  Slightly warmer today and a bit more humid.  

AM - 6 miles along the Ohio River rail trail from Moundsville WV to Glen Dale looping back through town.  Heading back home early this afternoon.  

AM - 5.5 miles with Dan and Finn on the horse farm roads.  Considerably warmer and humid here in comparison to the weather in WV this past week.  

AM - 3 miles easy with Finn in the neighborhood before church.

PM - 13 miles on the treadmill to stay out of the heat. 

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn in the neighborhood.  Achilles was sore/achy from the volume yesterday. 

AM - about 5.5 miles today.  Met Dan with his daughter Lily this morning at Milton HS.  It was Dan's birthday and Lily has been running to train for a half marathon this fall when she returns to school at Michigan and he's been wanting her to join for a run or two per week before she goes back to school.   She is self-conscious of running at a slower pace and likewise prefers flatter routes.  It is really not that easy to find a route to run around here that does not include some rolling hills - so multiple loops around the parking lots and athletic fields of Milton HS was the best option for her.   I arrived after they had already started, and she ran a little over 3 miles with us before concluding her run.  We then headed onto the Milton cross country course into the woods.  Very nice wood chipped trail with lots of twist and turns and ups and downs - but I was wearing the AlphaFly's and they are just not built with the necessary stability to run on trails, even if they are pretty well groomed as these were.  We exited the course after about a mile and ended up on the NorthWestern middle school track.  My Apple Watch has an interesting new feature:  it can sense when you running on a track, and the screen says "it looks like you are running on a track - is that right?" answer "yes" - and then it asks which lane are you in - and you can select 1-8.   I thought this was pretty cool.  It then switched to providing distance in miles, to providing distance in meters.   And after we completed 4 laps and were heading back to the cars, the watch display stated: "you have left the track - please confirm" - and then it switched back to displaying the distance in miles.  

AM - just about 4.75 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton trail very early this morning as I have meetings early at the office today.  

AM - total of 5 miles - partly outside and mostly inside.   Started the run with Finn outside to get his exercise; but a line of thunderstorms was moving in, and the lightning was too close for comfort; and Finn kept trying to turn back - so we did.   I ran the remainder on the treadmill.  

AM - a little over 5 miles through North Valley - East Bluff - with another thunderstorm today on the horizon.   It appeared that I would just have enough time to complete the run before the storm rolled in when we headed out; we nearly timed it perfectly finishing in the first light rain showers in the last half mile of the run before the main storm with heavy rain and lightning arrived.  

AM - 10 miles with Greg and Finn on the Forsythe trail.  Very humid waram and close with fog for much of the run - which was probably a blessing as it would have been even more uncomfortable with the sun out.   As with all runs with Greg we started quicker than I like and we ran right at or below 8 min pace.  We were fortunate that the local running store put out a tub of water bottles with a dog bowl which Finn really needed around the halfway / turn around point.  Finn stopped abruptly around 7.5 miles - not sure if he needed a rest or was spooked by something, but after a little coaxing he resumed and just before we finished he needed a little encouraging.   He's nearly 9 years old and as a dog with a lifespan is 13-14 years I need to be careful not to overdo. 

AM - just 3 on the treadmill this morning.  Finn was gimpy yesterday after the morning run and I thought it was best not to take him out today.  I was hoping to get up earlier but yardwork in the heat yesterday combined with a fast-ish run really resulted in me sleeping a bit longer.   No time later day for a second run either. 

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton trail.  

AM - 5 miles on the trail with Dan and Finn.  Very warm and humid and the trail is really overgrown in the lower back half with lots of thornbushes and downed trees and tree limbs.  Slow slog.  

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn.  Loops around the Milton HS campus and parking lot and a few laps around the track at Northwestern Middle School.   Much milder today with temps in the mid 60's with less humidity.  Good relief from the last several weeks - and combined with a relatively flat course, this was easy and enjoyable and with a much faster pace. 

AM - 5.5 miles with Dan and Finn from Dan's house up to the horse farm dirt roads. He had an early appointment so he headed back and I continued.  Temps were pleasant again today and the pace was good as a result.  

AM - 5 miles through WC and to the Grove neighborhood with Dan and Finn a little earlier than normal.   He's picking up a u-haul to take his daughter back to school at Michigan tomorrow and they are packing up and loading today.   Run was good with the temps still in the less-uncomfortable range as we near the end of the summer.  I am heading to Tampa later this afternoon to attend a funeral for a friend's mother.  Plan to get a nostalgic longer run in tomorrow morning in Clearwater with Richie.  

AM - 13.1 miles with Richie in Clearwater we did the loop from downtown across the bridge along the beaches and back through Belair - the old long run group that used to meet here had a few remnants or else they started earlier than us and ran the route in reverse as we saw a couple small groups along the way headed in the other direction.  Very warm and humid with a dew point of 77 degrees at 6 am with a feels like of 93   
But we ran easy and the conversation was great as always to catch up with him   

AM - easy shake-out run with Finn before church. 

AM - 5 miles with Finn where we did the loop around Nix road.  

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton trail.  Dan returned from moving his daughter into school for her senior year at Michigan - and so we chatted about that and my visit to Florida for my friend's mother's funeral. 

AM - a little over 4 miles on the trail with Dan and Finn - but he had to cut it shorter than usual due to an early morning meeting and a late start.  My achilles was painful on the uneven surface in the Saucony Rides - and the temperature and humidity made things feel worse.   So, after giving Finn a bath to clean up from the trails, I hopped on the treadmill for another mile or so and wore the Vibrams.  Interestingly, the even surface of the treadmill and the cooler indoor temps made the extra run feel nearly effortless by comparison.  

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn at Milton HS.  Three loops around the parking lots and then a mile on the NWestern middle school track where I recounted the World Championship 1500 meters story to Dan who had not seen it yesterday.  Love to see arrogance eat some humble pie - sorry Jacob - you are a great runner but 2 years in a row being outkicked in the final 100 meters...

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn in the neighborhood.  Quite warm and humid this morning - I feel as though this is the final push of summer for the next 5-7 days before things start to cool off for the beginning of fall.   Tracy is heading up to NY to visit Delaney and the two of them will be going to Boston for Riley's wedding shower later next week.  

AM - 15 miles with Greg on the Greenway - got an early start to get as many miles in before the sun and the heat became unbearable.   Most miles were at 8 min pace or better.  Last 2 miles were quite warm. Felt good about the effort.  Kept Finn at home for this one. 

AM - 5 miles shake out run to recover from yesterday's effort.   Intentionally slow start - a bit sore but not bad.  

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton trail.  Storms earlier were ending a little before we started, so the roads were wet and lots of puddles in the potholes of the dirt road of the trail.  Finn needed a thorough washing when we got home to get the mud/dirt off of him.

AM - just under 5.25 miles with Finn in the neighborhood.  Dan is out on business travel.  Rain most of yesterday and overnight - probably from the moisture pushing up from the gulf from the storm.   Felt very heavy and slothlike today. 

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn on the horsefarm roads.  We were supposed to meet one of Dan's friends to run, but they did not coordinate the timing well.  Wet roads and humid conditions with the hurricane pushing up moisture from the Gulf to the south.  Expect more rain later today.   

AM - a little over 5 miles with Dan and Finn at Milton High School.   Rains all passed yesterday, and it was slightly cooler today.   Good pace running the parking lot perimeter as it is almost entirely flat - plus a mile on the middle school track.