Bret

Tarpon Springs Rotary 5k

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Location:

Milton,GA,USA

Member Since:

Jul 27, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

PR's -

Mile - 4:38    (High School)

2 Mile - 10:12 (High School) 

3 mile - 15:51 (High School)

10k - 35:19 (High School)

Marathon - 2:59 marathon (London -2013)

Half marathon - 1:25:18 (Deseret News 2013)

Completed all 6 of the World Marathon Majors 2024

Completed each of the 5 majors (NY, Chicago, Boston, London & Berlin) at least twice.

8 x Boston Marathon (1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2020 (virtual due to covid) 2021, 2022)

13 x NYC Marathon (1997, 1998, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)

 

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub 3 hour marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

Continue to enjoy running and racing as long as my body permits me.  

Personal:

Old guy - (grandfather even) been running for 40+ years.  

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Miles:This week: 21.75 Month: 111.20 Year: 380.05
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
229.506.0019.108.10262.70
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.000.000.000.0013.00

AM - out the door by 5:15 - I did 13.0 miles this morning.  I was a bit on the slow side - only going about 8:15-8:30 pace.  I have been doing most of my longer runs on the treadmill, but this was outside and though it was not as warm as it has been, it was quite humid, with my shoes squishing with sweat around the 6 mile mark and onward.  Were the marathon today, I would have struggled to finish.  No food or drink before or during the run - probably played a bit of a factor.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

AM - 6.0 miles easy to moderate pace.  Soreness on the upper part of left foot - very wary and paranoid due to a stress fracture near that area last year around this time.  Will continue to monitor it and rest if it seems to be anything more significant.

 

PM - 6.0 mile lunchtime run.  Pleasant day with unseasonably lower humidity than normal.  Was really nice running weather.  Noticed some soreness in the foot about midway through the run - stopped and walked a little bit - resumed pain/soreness-free thereafter. 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.003.000.009.00

AM - 9.0 miles on treadmill. First 6 were moderate to fast and then last 3 were threshold. Felt great - no foot pain at all.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.001.001.007.00

AM - 7.0 miles early - in Atlanta for daughter Delaney's soccer tournament. Cooler temps and way less humidity than at home. Great run. First 5 miles easy then 1 mile at threshold and 1 mile at VO2 or close thereto - 5:30 pace.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

AM - between Delaney's soccer games today - easy 6 miles around the Clayton State University campus in Morrow, GA.  Nice again today, with a little more humidity.  Will be here overnight if her team wins in the semi-final match this afternoon - with a final game Monday at 12:30.  So - plan is to run a 10k race in Atlanta tomorrow if her team advances, but if they do not advance, I will do a long run at home tomorrow morning after a late flight this evening.  Her team has not lost yet, and has only given up one goal...so we'll see.

 

 

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

AM - in Morrow GA again.  The good news is that Delaney's team advanced to the finals today, but the bad news was the the 10k race I was hoping to run in Atlanta closed its registration before the end of her game on Sunday - and there was no race day registration or packet pickup.  A big race - with 11,000 runners on a point to point course.  Logistically, it would have been challenging to be able to get there and back in enough time to get Delaney to her game.  In the end I did not want to run in a race unregistered and would not have been in the right frame of mind to race well, worrying about that and getting back in time.  So I slept-in a little and did 12 miles this morning around the perimeter of the Clayton State University campus.  Felt kind of off this morning - and it was warmer and more humid - Did it at a moderate pace.  Not a bad run but certainly not as good as I have felt the last two days.

 

PS - Delaney's team won the Atlanta Cup U15 Girls Championship for the B Division following a 0-0 draw, two extra time periods and a penalty kick shoot-out.  Great finish to a great weekend.

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.003.000.0010.00

AM - 4 miles easy this morning.  Significantly more humidity back at home in Florida - yuck. Trying to plan out the training for this week.  Will do a fast treadmill workout at lunch and then figure in a possible 5k race on Friday evening.

 

 PM - 6 miles - treadmill actually after work as I was too busy at work to take a lunch.  2 mile warm-up then 3 x 1 mile with 2 min recovery at 1% incline.  Did them at 5:44, 5:33 and 5:32.  Felt reasonably strong throughout.  Thought about doing a 4th one, but decided it was good enough.  Interested in gauging the recovery - as the last few hard workouts I end up with a 24 hour delay in actually "feeling" it; and needing the recovery day not the day after, but the 2nd day after. 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

PM - took the morning off and did an easy 7 miles at a late lunch today.  Quite hot outside, still summertime hot here.  Last mile was probably not needed - so I feel a little drained from the high temps.  Otherwise a good run - no signs of soreness from yesterdays workout.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

AM - easy 4.0 miles early this morning.  No issues or problems.  Will do an easy 6 at lunchtime or later. 

PM - easy 6 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.  Kept the pace in the low 7 to 7:30 range - very light.

Comments(1)
Race: Tarpon Springs Rotary 5k (3.1 Miles) 00:19:25, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.500.003.100.007.60

Well - the time is not so great - but under the rather uncomfortable conditions of over 90 degrees and over 90% humidity at the end of a long work week - I am not too upset.  I was second overall in the race.  The winner was well out in front of me by nearly a minute and a half and the next closest competitor to me was over a minute behind.  I think I lost concentration somewhere in the second half of the race and though I thought I was maintaining an even pace - I slowed more than I realized.  First mile was 5:55 second was 6:12 and third was 6:35.  Race started on the small beach end of Fred Howard Park which has a long causeway out to it.  It is nearly a mile from the beach to the park on the causeway.  I  had moved my way into 2nd place about 3/4 of a mile into the race and could see the leader when he hit the first mile split and it appeared that he was under 5:30.  I never saw him again after he turned.  When we entered the park we made a series of twisty turns for all of the second mile which slowed me down a bit.  When we emerged from the park we had the last mile heading straight into the sun with a slight headwind.  The leader may have been in front of me but the sun's angle was blinding so I really couldn't see anyone to focus on.  With no one close behind - I think a zoned out a bit.  I finished strong and really did not feel spent afterward.

Immediately following the race, I ran back across the causeway to the park to my car to make it to Delaney's cross country meet in Tampa.  She was supposed to run at 8:00 pm but was designated to the JV squad which I had not expected, and they started at 7:10 (exactly when I left Tarpon)  - so I got the play by play from my wife who was there and arrived just when she finished. 25:20 for her first HS 5k cross country race.  She was first on her team to finish and later when the varsity girls ran, it turns out that her time would have been 5th on the varsity team this evening.  So she will move up in the next meet. 

The XC meet location was a mud bog in high heat and humidity.  I counted 7 ambulances on the scene - all actively administering first aid to distressed runners.  Delaney's team's number one runner  actually pulled out the race just before the second mile but then later rejoined.  It was  just that hot and humid.

Delaney lost a shoe in the first mile - in a thick mud bog - and she was quite upset at the end of the race because she only had one shoe on for the last two miles.  She was not alone - many many athletes lost shoes on the course. 

It was a great night though - we stuck around to watch two other races and then went to my friend's sandwich shop "Henry's" for meatball subs.  Mud and sweat all over us. 

With the warm up and the cool down I got about 7.5 miles in this evening.  I think if the conditions were better and there was more competition I would have been in the low 18's. 

 

 

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Rest day following race last night.  Attended Delaney's club soccer game in the morning - heat index was 105.  Ouch.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.0020.00

Early AM - out the door at 3:30 this morning for my long run of 20.00 miles.  Busy day ahead with church then travel for work to CA this afternoon.  So in order to make sure I got the long run completed, I got it done early.  Rather warm and humid, but no sunshine to really heat things up - I finished before dawn.  Ran reasonably well - at a conservative 8:15-8:30 pace for most of the miles -I may have slept through a few.

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.004.000.000.0012.00

PM - in San Francisco for work today.  Finished up meetings at 4 pm - enough time to get a run in before a dinner meeting.  12.0 miles on one of my favorite runs - from the financial district to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge and back - along the waterfront Embarcadero.  Cool weather was a pleasant relief from Florida - though the wind was quite strong.  I felt good enough following my long run yesterday to run the last 4 miles or so at marathon pace. 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

PM - almost took a zero today.  Up at 3 am PDT to catch an early flight back east.  Arrived at home at 4:30 pm and was on conference calls until 7:30.  But, thought the stress of the day would be well suited for an easy 5.0 miles to clear the mind.  Amazing how much of a difference the perceived effort is here with heat and humidity as compared to yesterday's run in temperatures nearly 25 degrees cooler.  Hope I get cool dry weather in NYC in November!

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.002.002.000.0012.00

AM - 4.0 easy miles this morning.  Little less humidity was welcomed.  Trying to become a little more focused on what I need to work on between now and the marathon - while I still have some time.  I weighed myself this morning for the first time in several weeks, and think I may be about 3-4 lbs heavier than I want to be for racing weight, so will try to drop those over the next few weeks; and I have requested some traininng advice from Rob.

I have a treadmill workout scheduled for lunchtime.  Am reminded that it was about this time last year that I started developing signs of a stress fracture.  Kept running of course, thinking it was just soreness, until I got to the point where I couldn't walk.   So very wary of overtraining at this point this year.

 

PM - lunchtime treadmill workout.  2 mins at 7.1 mph; 2 mins at 8.1 mph; 3 mins at 9.1 mph and 3 mins at 10.1 mph times 5 after a 10 mins warm up with a 5 min cool down.  Good workout - felt a little pushed in the fast section of the last set. 

PS - I attended my daughter's second HS XC meet today at John Chesnut Park - it was a 6 team meet.  She had a great race finishing fourth on her team and eighth in the race overall with a time of 24:39 for the 5k.  Although the final tally was not completed before I left, I am certain that her team won the meet with their top 6 girls finishing in the top 10 in the race.  Proud papa.

 

 

 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

Lunchtime run - took a longer lunch today and did 12.0 miles on the treadmill at 6:58 pace - Felt a little like a tempo run - well within a conversational level pace - but long enough and fast enough that I finished feeling like I had gotten a good workout in. 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

PM - after a stressful day at work I did 10 easy miles.  Felt really relaxed afterward.

 

 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

PM run - 10.0 at a moderate pace from my house up the Belcher extension almost to Helen Ellis Hosp and back down the Pinellas Trail.  Exactly a 10 mile loop (how often does that happen).  Had a good week of training with 81 miles as a high weekly total for me over the last few months. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

10.0 miles on the treadmill.  Was planning to do my long run today, but I really felt very tired and flat - even before I started.  Sometimes a few miles of running will wake me up - but I really never felt very good and instead of pushing through for another 10 miles I decided my body needed rest.  Felt really tired and lethargic afterwards for a few hours too.  Will take tomorrow off completely.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Complete day of rest.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.007.000.0012.00

AM - easy 3 miles early before heading to the airport this morning.  Busy day at work, had to fly to Ft. Lauderdale for a meeting.  Finished up early enough to catch a stand by flight home in time to see Delaney's cross country meet - Countryside Invitational (race report below).  Then went to Riley's swim meet at the Y - where she swam a relay (just under 30 in the 50 Fly) and then;

PM run - after Riley's race I went into the gym and did 9 miles on the treadmill.  First 2 miles at a moderate warm up and then 7 miles at 6:24 pace (1% grade).  Very good tempo run.  Was going to do 6 miles but felt good enough to do an extra mile.  Great workout after feeling so flat and tired on Sunday.  The day off really helped.  Started reading Matt Fitzgerald's Brain Training for Runners.

Delaney had another PR today - running 22:58 in the 5k on the same course that last week she ran 24:39.  Better competition and I think perhaps better feel for the course.  Dropped 1:43 in one week off of her best time.  She was 4 on her squad again and 22nd overall in a much deeper field than last week's 6 way meet.  We thought her goal should be to run in the 23's by the end of the season - but it looks like we will need to reset some new goals.  The winning time in the race today was around 20:15. 

 

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

PM - lunchtime 6.0 mile run.  Very hot and humid again today.  Quads were heavy after last night's tempo run on the treadmill.  Did not run particularly fast, but the perceived effort was more difficult than it perhaps should have been.  Scheduled to do another run later today.  See how I feel later.

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.004.0011.00

AM - treadmill / track workout.  2 x mile @ 5:50 pace; 2 min rest; 2 x 1/2 mile @ 2:45 w/ 1.5 min rest; 4 x 1/4 mile at 78 secs w/ 1 min rest.  2 mile warm up 1 mile cool down - total of 7 miles.  Felt very heavy, and not really up for the speed of the workout when I started this morning.  I don't usually do my fast workouts before 6 am - but a busy work schedule today made this my only option.  The second mile of the was pretty ragged - I was suffering at the end of it.  The halves were fine - and the quarters (except for one that I did at 75) were on the edge but manageable mentally and physically. 

May squeeze in an easy 3 later today if my schedule permits.  There is a 5k on Saturday evening in Dunedin - The Dunedin Brewery 5k - to kick off OctoBEERfest month.  May do that if I feel recovered enough from the two quality workouts this week and the weather cooperates.   

 

PM - easy 4.0 mile recovery run at lunchtime.  Felt pretty good considering I had done the hard workout earlier this morning. 

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

PM - lunchtime run.  7.0 miles easy on the treadmill to stay out of the heat.  Decided today to to a 5k tomorrow morning - so kept the pace very light. 

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Race: Miles of Hope - Moving Toward a Cure 5k (3.1 Miles) 00:19:42, Place overall: 5, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.003.106.10

The time is not indicative of the effort or the actual distance for this race.  It was actually over 3.2 miles on my GPS Garmin - Very "hilly" course for Florida.  Run  went from downtown Clearwater at Coachman park.  Started at the bottom of the hill on Drew and then turned onto Osceola right on the Court and the across the Bridge to the Clearwater Memorial Causeway.  The elevation of the Bridge is about 100 ft and so the first mile was a start with a sharp uphill then a gradual incline to the bridge which then has about a .3 of a mile of another sharp climb to the top.  Then down the other side and turn around and back over the bridge.  Coming back the course did not give the full benefit of the downhill of the bridge but instead went down a "helix" (sort of spiral ramp to the road below) then back up another hill.  I was right at 6 min pace at the 2 mile mark - but really suffered a bit on the uphill third mile and though I was at about 18:35 at three miles - the finish line location was evidently mismeasured.  Came in 5th overall.  Felt as though I gave this a better effort  than my most recent 5k - and really for the most part, handled a non-typical Florida course pretty well. 

Immediately left race to drive to Brandon to catch Delaney's club soccer game - missed the first 15 minutes or so.  Then went to delicious late breakfast with Tracy and Delaney at Mimi's Cafe. 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.000.000.000.0016.00

PM - 16.0 long run pace.  Was planning to do this early this morning but ended up out later than expected, so I thought I would do this in the middle of the day.  Not wanting to get on the treadmill I though if I had enough water with a camelbak and a hat, I would be able to deal with the heat.  Ended up ok - though, I was planning to do 18-20, but when the heat started to take over my heartrate, I decided to end the run.  Was probably in the mid 90's with 65% humidity. 

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

AM - early - 4.0 mile easy recovery run through Autumn Woods and Enniswood.  First two miles was tight and slow until I was completely warmed up by the last mile. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Rest day - by default.  Had to awaken early for a flight for work.  Good news was that I had breakfast with Doug in Tallahassee - but did not get home until 7 pm and then had to attend a soccer meeting for my daughter - so no run time even available.  Probably good though.  I think I am perhaps a bit overtrained.  Have a number of the symptoms muscle soreness, fatigue, reduced concentration, apathy, irritability, decreased performance, decreased enthusiasm for training etc.  Will take it easy for the next few days - may try to race on Saturday.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

AM - 6.0 miles easy to moderate pace.  Actually did not feel like running at all this morning, and was in a bit of a negative mood - a fair bit of it probably work related stress.  Anyway, went out the door with no real plan but to see how it would go.  First 800 meters was a bit ragged and noticed some discomfort around my previously injured left foot but ended up moving into a decent pace and focused on form most of the run.  Ran a good bit faster than a normal training run but slower than marathon race pace.  Felt less negative afterward.  Think the day off helped.  Workday is unlikely to render another run opportunity for me today.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

AM - early 10.0 miles.  Never felt very good for this run.  Quite humid still.  Planning to incorporate some improvements in nutrition and diet to help give me a lift.  Weighed in at 143 this morning.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
229.506.0019.108.10262.70
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