Bret

AM - 3.5 miles with Finn early before church.  

AM - just under 5.25 miles with Finn through the neighborhood in the the Grove and back.   Tried the Kinvara's this morning - thinking that the Achille's recovery was at a point to test some normal training shoes.  Not there yet, unfortunately.  Took a good 2 miles to warm up in them and still had discomfort all the way until the last mile - with lingering achiness afterward.   Back to the Alphafly's for a while longer. 

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn starting from Wood Rd. and with a variation on the normal route out the horse farm trails.  Dan is out of town the next couple of days.  Much better run today in the Alphafly's. 

AM - 4.25 miles with Finn in the neighborhood.  Got out a little late and my watch battery died rather abruptly halfway through even though I had started with nearly 30% battery.   Ran in the newer version of the AlphaFlys which I think has a 8 mm drop versus the 4 mm drop in the older version - also the design around the back of the shoe is slightly different.   Not as comfortable as the old ones as related to the Achilles issue but not as bad as running in the Kinvaras two days ago.  Need to find a solution since Nike no longer makes the older model and finding them on Ebay in my size is challenging and expensive.  Was hoping that the progression of recovery woud have me back in normal training shoes by now.  

Heading out this afternoon with Tracy to Florence Italy for daughter #2's wedding this weekend (actually it is on Monday).   

PM - arrived mid morning in Florence but our bags did not make the connection in Paris - so we made the best of it.  Tracy got air sickness and had to sleep it off so I went for a walk around the city.  Eventually we had a late lunch - but with no definite time as to when our bags would arrive at the hotel and a run streak to maintain - I bought an inexpensive pair of running shoes and some clothes and did a pre dinner run along the Arno River.   Achilles tendon did not like the shoes but I got some good photos and kept it short and easy.  

AM - random run through the heart of Florence and when I ended up back at the hotel at about 5k - it seemed like enough for the day.  Bags arrived this morning so we are otherwise all set to enjoy the weekend pre-wedding and wedding events with the rest of the family and guests who are arriving today and tomorrow.   

AM - a little under 6.5 miles in a park that I had not realized was so close to our hotel.  Beautiful running trails under a canopy of hardwood early fall.   

AM - 4 miles in the park in Florence.   My cold progressively worsened overnight and so the effort was reflective of that.   Wedding rehearsal today - dinner tonight - wedding tomorrow.

AM - just a 5k this morning - felt really heavy and slow - which I had to keep reminding myself was probably from this head cold and the travel.  Did not really feel like going very far this morning since the day will be long with Riley's wedding this afternoon into the late evening.   

AM - 4 miles in the same park in Florence that I have been running in the last several days.  Felt faster and stronger for some unknown reason this morning.   Daughter #2 is now a married young woman - the ceremony and venue were really very nice - a magical setting in the rolling hills of Tuscany outside of Florence.  Heading home this morning. 

AM - just under 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn at Milton HS.  My flight and travel from the airport got me in at aroudn 10 pm last night.  I slept ok, but not great.  Finn was so ready for me to take him on a run - that he had me out of bed before 5:30.  Decent run, and my cold seems less severe today.  Good catching up with Dan. 

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn in the rain in the neighborhood.  

AM - 5.5 miles with Finn up to North Valley and back - faster pace this morning. 

AM - 10.5 miles with Greg and Finn on the Forsyth trail.  Greg always runs at a faster pace - and so today was no exception.  Last 6 miles were 7:45 or better.  

AM - very easy 3 miles with Finn before church. 

AM - a little less than 5.5 miles this morning with Finn in the neighborhood.  Low 40's for a true fall chill.  Tried out my new wool Tracksmith gloves - which seem to be a little on the small side, but not too bad that I want to exchange them for a larger size.   They did a decent job of keeping my fingers warm.  I have a tough time with cold fingers.  Normal cotton or synthetic gloves end up ineffective for me - and I end up pulling my fingers out and forming a make-shift mitten using the warmth of the fingers instead - or just pulling my sleeves over my hands.   I am a big fan of merino wool as a really effective material for running shirts.  It breathes well, wicks away moiture, keeps you warm, and it does not need to be washed too frequently.   Multiple uses and no sweat odors.  Great for traveling too - as they dry well during the day after a morning run. 

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton trail - temps again in the low 40's.   Prompted our annual/seasonal debate about cold weather gear and temperature cut-offs for certain items - e.g. Dan is short sleeve shirt and gloves until sub 40 degrees - whereas I am long sleeves hat and gloves below 45 degrees (Long sleeves for sub 50 - gloves optional - running cap, not a touque).  I go with pants/tights if its in the 30's or below.  Dan refuses pants or tights and sticks with shorts unless it is below 30.   Anything above 60 degrees is shorts - no shirt unless it is raining. 

There should be some published runner's chart of suggested gear/kit for weather conditions - perhaps with a range depending on your sensitivity to cold or heat as a best practices guide as authority to mediate our debates.  Although if there was one, we'd argue over its accuracy.    

AM - 4.75 miles with Dan and the dogs on the trail - which thankfully had been recently mowed and groomed to where the unfinished part that had been quite overgrown was actually cut down low and easy to traverse.   Too dark to venture into the backwoods that we figured had not been trimmed anyway - so we did several loops around the pond before heading back in.   The New Balance trail shoes I bought in Italy to get my run streak saving run in when my bags were lost by the airlines, were actually decent on the trail today - not too painful on the achilles.   

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn at Milton HS.  Slightly warmer today, good easy effort. 

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn through the neighborhood with a loop on the golf course following an early morning thunderstorm.  Quite dark on the golf course even with two headlamps - I was fairly certain that one of us would trip or stumble but we made it out unscathed.  

AM - 10 miles with Dan and Finn from the horsefarm trails up the Milton trail to Birmingham and then Taylor road to Batesville and through Triple Crown for the full loop.   Weather was just about perfect - easy effort and good conversation.  

AM - 3.25 miles with Finn before church - the first mile was exceptionally slow - but then the next two were progressively much faster - 11, 9:10 and then 8:10 with the last quarter at 7:30 pace - so I guess it just took a little time to wake my body up today.  

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton Trail - temps dropped back down into the lower 40's again this morning - good enjoyable running conversation this morning.  

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn from Dan's place - out to the horsefarm roads.   On the way out there I rolled my left ankle on a massive seed pod from a magnolia tree in the darkness - that caused me to lose my balance but with Finn pulling me forward on the hands-free leash around my waist - I nearly went down - but instead ran myself into the wrought iron fence next to the sidewalk.  The impact with the fence or the stumble itself was significant enough to cause my Garmin watch to attempt to call for emergency assistance - (fortunately my phone was not with me and no connection could be made).   Once I regained my footing and composure there was no real harm done and we had a good run.  

AM - just under 5.5 miles with Dan and Finn in the neighborhood but about half of it on the golf course which is quite hilly and dark - so a bit on the slow side.  

AM - 5 miles at Milton HS with Dan and Finn.  Bought the new New Balance Fuel Cell Super Comp Elite 3 - super shoes from Running Warehouse yesterday at Richie's recommendation.  They have a good deal there that you can return for 90 days.   I liked the ride on the shoe, but it has a very tight bootie type design with a tight fit around the ankle, and though it performed really well with my achilles issue, I ended up with a blister on the upper part of my foot under the bump of my ankle.    Unsure if it there is a solution.

AM - 3.25 miles with Dan and Finn in the neighborhood - earlier than normal start and shorter run due to early morning meetings in the office.   Tried changing the socks and the  lacing on the NB Fuel Cell shoes but the collar around the ankle was still digging-in where the blister formed yesterday and so I just switched to the Alphafly shoes instead of dealing with the blister causing shoes.  I will take them back to the store today, to try a larger size to see if that makes any difference.  

AM - 7.5 miles with Dan Greg and Finn on the horsefarm roads - changed the lacing on the Fuel Cells and while it was an improvement- I think I need to consider a larger size. 

AM - 5k with Finn before church.   I got a larger size shoe and tested them out this morning.   It seemed to help with the problem and the pace was good.  I think these shoes change my gait a little and though I like them - they are not quite as good as the Alphaflies.  

AM - a little over 5 miles this morning with Dan and Finn through North Valley to E. Bluff.   Nearly 60 degrees this morning - hard to accept that in 48 hours the temp is forecast to be over 30 degrees cooler with a low of 29.  

AM - 3.75 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton Trail.   Dan had an early morning meeting and needed to go early and shorter than usual.