4.0 easy miles this morning. Had a terrible last 2 weeks of running with possible injuries work commitments and travel. Thursday I had an overnight flight and then Friday awoke with a really bad cold. So today was all about getting out to start the year out with a run. Did not feel well but was happy I did not take a zero.

PM - 10 miles in Palm Harbor - to the Dunedin Causeway and up the Pinellas Trail.  Still have a cold, but figured I better get back on track with my training and do a "long" run - of at least 10 - which turned out reasonably good.  I averaged 7:45 pace - with most of the later miles at 7:30. 

Lunchtime run - repetition workout.  8 x 400 @ 81 - full recovery - 10 minute warm up and 10 minute cool down.  Tough workout after kind of being out for the last two weeks.  Working on turn over - pleased with the effort.

PM - Lunchtime run in the gym.  7.0 miles on the treadmill at 7:40 pace.  Kind of a choppy - never got comfortable type of run - hate those. 

AM - 5.0 miles easy with 8 striders at the end.  Quite slow going and tight this morning.  Have not really done an early morning run in weeks - so I chalk it up to that and last week's lay off. 

Treadmill workout at lunch - 3x 1200 at 4:21 with 4 min recovery.  15 min warm up and 15 min cool down.  Bailed on the last 400 of the last one - just couldn't tough it out.  Give myself a B- on the workout.

Easy run today around noon 7.0 miles.  Still not feeling like I am back in the training groove. Will increase mileage gradually over the next few weeks. 

I had hoped to get a few more miles in than what I did today but was short on time. Very good run though.

PM - on Treadmill - 8 x 400 @ 81 secs - full recovery - 2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.  Did this workout last week, but felt much more in control and good after I was done following this week's workout.  In additiona, I did not feel like running this morning and thought that if I postponed until later in the day, I would be better fit mentally to do the workout.  Unfortunately, after a long day at work I really had to convince myself to get this workout completed at the end of the day.  Glad I did.

AM - early easy 4.0 mile shake out run recovery from yesterday's repetitions workout.  I think I am in a bit of a running funk right now with some poor motivation.  Had a hard time getting out the door this morning.  Felt fine once I got started - it was just the gettting there that was tough.  Will try to follow up with a secondary run later in the day.

Lunchtime - managed to squeeze in a 6 mile run on the treadmill at lunch with 6 striders, in between a day of back to back business meetings.  Too chilly outside today to run as I only had shorts and a t-shirt with me at the office.  Below 50 degree temps with significant wind chills in the middle of the day in Florida is a bit unusual.

Worklife got in the way of running today - so it became a rest day.

Early AM on the treadmill - 4 x 800 @ 2:47 with 2 min recovery.  This was manageable but bordered on the edge of too fast / too tough.  2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.

Late afternoon - did an easy 4.5 miles on the treadmill before a business dinner. 

PM - 8.0 miles late afternoon - stress reliever.  Had to work most of the day today :( But had a nice run.

PM - 13.0 miles on the treadmill at the gym.  Felt very comfortable at 7:40 pace.

PM - lunchtime run on treadmill - repetitions 12 x 300 @ 5:20 pace (essentially 1 min) with full recovery (about 2 mins); 2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.  Dreary rainy day outside - but probably would have done these on the treadmill regardless.  Changed up from doing 400's the last two weeks and added a few to accomodate for the decrease in the length of the workbout.  I liked the 300's better than the 400's for a change - they seem easier mentally too because I feel like I can endure almost anything for a minute. Perhaps I am picking up some better economy too after as this is my third week of doing these.   

PM - lunchtime run.  7.0 miles outside around Carillon and Feathersound.  This should have been an easy recovery run, but the weather was good and I began progressively pressing the pace each mile until I ran the last mile at 6:37.  Today would have been better to either casually run with a partner or lock into a pace on the treadmill to keep the pace light - not that the the pace was hard today, but it was faster than a normal recovery run.  Will try to run with one of my daughters later this evening or force a slower run tomorrow morning for proper recovery.

PM - lunchtime run on the treadmill at 7:35 pace - Did 8 striders at 5:10 pace for 20 seconds each - felt fine to a little bit fatigued.  Have to travel this afternoon to Denver for a meeting tomorrow.

AM - 5.0 miles easy on the treadmill at the hotel.  Early meeting and really poor weather conditions (at least for a Florida boy) kept me inside - 3-4 inches of snow overnight and 12 degrees.  Felt the altitude (or at least I think I did) as I was not that comfortable during the run.

PM - Lunchtime run.  Cruise intervals 8 x 1000 meters on treadmill at 6:18 mile pace (or about 3:55) with 1 min recovery.  1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.  I have not done this workout in a while.  I felt very good.  In fact it would seem that I could have targeted a slightly faster pace perhaps 6:10 to get the intended impact of the workout.  Perhaps it is a good peak at where I think I may be fitnesswise.  I did a tempo run at that pace at the beginning of December and struggled.

AM - easy 6.0 miles.  Very windy and temperature dropping - felt crappy and really did not enjoy this run at all - Maybe should have taken the day off.

Rest day

Lunchtime run around Carillon office park.  4.25 miles - actually felt very good and ran faster than I wanted to run this easy few miles.  I am planning to do a workout this evening but wanted to get a few extra miles in early in the day.

PM - workout on the treadmill.  6 x 400 at 81 / full recovery then 4 x 200 at 38 - full recovery - 1.5 mile warm up and 1.0 mile cool down.  Did this on the Woodway treadmill at the gym near my house.  It was a bit clunky getting the speed set each time, but it ramped up to the proper speed quite quickly - no rail on one side of it so it was a bit dangerous too.  Good workout - felt strong.

PM - Lunchtime - 7.5 miles around Carillon and Feathersound.  Windy and humid with some strong gusts ahead of cold front that is moving through.  Probably finished just ahead of the storms.  Kept the pace comfortable and was pleased to see that it would appear that my new "easy" pace over the last couple of weeks is about 7:15 per mile.

AM - easy 3.0 miles - needed a stress relief run as I awoke in a bit of a grumpy mood.  Unfortunately midway through the run in the cold windy weather, it started to rain.  Did nothing to improve my mood.

PM - Lunchtime run - 7 miles on the treadmill at 7:13 pace with 8 striders at the end.  Mood had improved by then in any event!

PM - lunchtime - easy 6.00 miles around Carillon office park.  Crisp cool and quite windy - in the mid 50's - not exactly comfortable.  Legs are feeling a bit heavy today - this week's training with two doubles and a hard workout on Monday is making me think of little to no running tomorrow and possibly a 5k race on Saturday morning.

3-4 easy light running miles at lunch.  I have a choice of three different 5k races tomorrow morning - have not decided which one (if any) I will do - but wanted to do a light workout today in case I do race tomorrow.

5k Race in Wesley Chapel today near Wiregrass High School. Had a very satisfying result following some solid training the last few weeks. 5:43 first mile was a bit fast but did not feel that way. Lots of high school distance runners to chase. Lost to one at the finish, but was the overall masters winner. Best time in over 15 years. Good improvement since a 5k in December where I ran 18:24. Would like to go sub 18 next time out.

PM - long run 20.0 miles.  If I am going to do a spring marathon in April - I need to get a number of 20 milers in before then.  This was the first one - and I really have not done any long runs over 13-15 miles since October - and I felt it afterwards.  Most of the run was good.  Started out slowly and then worked into a pace that was probably too fast (7:15 for several miles) and by the time I reach 17 miles or so, I was already pretty sore and in need of fuel - if I could have ended then I would have been better off.  I slowed a bit and finished fine, but was very achy and sore and tired afterwards.  Will need to monitor the next couple of long runs to see if my body adapts.

PM - lunchtime run - 5.0 miles easy.  Felt a little fatigued but not really very sore following yesterday's long run - so I was encouraged by the recovery. 

AM - easy 4 miles early today - plan to get another easy workout this afternoon.  Body needs an extra day of recovery from Monday's long run before I do a quality workout.

PM - lunchtime run with Richie - 7.0 mile easy to moderate pace.  Nice time chatting with him.  He's headed out to the Super Bowl in Dallas tomorrow morning. He's been going to the Super Bowls since the mid 1980's - has connections in the NFL - actually invited me to come along this year as he had an extra ticket - unfortunately the timing was not right for me to go this year.  Maybe next. Nice run today.

Thursday was a zero (life got in the way from running day) and Friday was a travel day for work leaving no running opportunities.   So Saturday I did 4 miles easy then 4 miles at marathon pace followed by a mile at threshold pace followed by 2 miles easy.  Good workout - though it was very humid this morning - so I felt a bit more drained than perhaps I would have if I had done this indoors.

On the treadmill early this morning due to pouring rain.  20.0 miles.  Felt much better than last week.

Easy 5.00 miles this morning - chilly out.  Started slowly, a little sore from the long run yesterday but nothing significant.  Travel later and maybe a run when I land on the west coast.

Easy 4.00 - shake-out run in San Diego along the bayfront with Andy Mac, a colleague in my company.  Cool temperatures - pleasant evening.  Enjoyed the run and the chat.

AM - treadmill workout at the hotel - 8 x 400 @ 79 secs w full recovery (appx 3 mins) 2 mile warm up and cool down.  This is the same workout I had done in January at 81 seconds per 400, but have moved the pace up per the Daniels VDOT tables following the 5k I ran two weeks ago.  This was a solid workout - definitely pushed through to where I knew I was benefitting from the effort but not over the top.

PM - lunchtime recovery run of 7 miles followed by 6 striders.  Felt pretty comfortable for having done a tough workout yesterday and a long run on Monday. 

Difficult race this morning.  Cold (for Florida) 42 degrees and windy.  Race was a 5/10k combined in downtown St. Pete.  Started uphill slightly from 2nd Ave N and 2nd Street in front of Baywalk - headed west and around mirror lake then back east to the waterfront and beach drive south past Al Lang field and behind the old bayfront center with a hairpin turn around and back north to Baywalk.  Ran the first two miles ahead of pace from my 5k two weeks ago where I went 18:06.  Miles 1 and 2 were - 5:42,  5:54 respectively - but never felt comfortable and in fact debated whether to race today - so that probably had something to do with a slight loss of concentration after the turn in the last mile.  6:17 in mile 3 with and uphill finish on a long course resulted in a disappointing time of 18:56.  Heartrate was at max 181-182 from the start of the second mile to the finish.  So, it wasn't for a lack of effort.  I think I thought I was going to break 18 this morning and would have expected as much after mile 2 - but running into a bit of a head wind in the third mile and just not quite having it put together today I came up short.  Indeed wth the mismeasured course even if I had run a 5:50 or 6 flat for the last mile I still would not have been under 18.  Oh well, still ran well for the first two miles. :) 

Turns out I won my age group and was 14th overall.

PM - went out with Delaney for an easy 4 miles - I am doing my best to be her personal trainer for her track season - enjoyed the time chatting with her about running.

Long run this morning on the treadmill - 16.0 miles.  Felt pretty rough today.  Had to slow the pace several times just to get into a relaxed comfortable pace, then picked it back up.  Decided not to do the full 20 miles today - after running a little over 2 hours I decided that it was enough.

Easy 7.0 mile recovery run from Carillon at lunchtime past the dump and around the Val-Pak lake twice.  Probably the nicest weather day we have had all year.  Sunny and 70 degrees.  Felt very comfortable during the run, but noticed that I felt very tired when I was in the gym stretching afterwards.

PM - lunchtime workout on the treadmill.  2 mile w/up; 5 x 1000 @ 5:43 mile pace w/ 2:00 recovery; 6 x 400 @ 78 w/ 3:00 recovery; 2 mile c/d.  This was a very good workout for me today.  I cannot recall too many recent workouts where I felt as much of a sense of accomplishment as I did with this one today. 

Easy 5 miles on the treadmill at the Canyons in Park City before a day of skiing. Looking forward to a long run tomorrow outside with Rob.

AM - Had a very nice 16.0 mile run this morning with Rob in Utah who took me from a few minutes outside Park City up through East Canyon and then down through Emigration Canyon to his home in Salt Lake City (he will let me know if I got my navigation and names correct).  Tough going at the start with strong winds and snow up the 4 mile climb at unfamiliar elevations - but he assured me the run down through the canyon would be good with a downslope and the wind at our backs - which thankfully turned out to be the case.  A little rain toward the end, but great conversation and a decent pace (at least for me - probably slow for him) had us finishing up just in time for a dish of pancakes served up by his gracious wife Ann. 

AM - easy to moderate 5 miles on the treadmill at the Sundial Lodge before heading to the airport for the journey home. Had a very nice stay - good snow, good food and good friends.

PM - Tempo run on the treadmill (outside temps in the 80's and humid).  2 mile warm up - 40  mins at 6:26 pace (~6.1 miles) then 2 mile cool down.  Good workout.  Legs still a little sore from skiing and downhill running.

AM - easy 3.0 miles early as a shake out recovery run.  Hopefully my schedule will allow for a second run later in the day.  Legs were significantly sore in the quads today.

PM - lunchtime run of 5.0 miles.  Managed to squeeze in a short run at lunch on a busy workschedule day.

Easy shake out run before a planned 15k race tomorrow in Tampa.

This was a reasonably good effort under quite warm and humid conditions.  The Gasparilla Distance Classic is a 15k that is the Tampa Bay area's signature event.  They began this race 34 years ago - and I actually ran in the inagural race in which George Steinbrenner was the official race starter at that time.  Over the years the race offered substantial incentives and prize money such that there were several world records set on the flat out and back course along the scenic Bayshore Boulevard in sight of downtown Tampa.  Bill Rogers ran the race a number of times and my father actually had a photo of him in the race that years later at a different event he had autographed by him.  Bill was here this morning and spoke to the crowd minutes before the race.  He is in a "weakened" state - during a year of recovery from prostatic cancer as I understand.  He was planning to run 7 minute miles.  Joan Benoit Samuelson was aslo on hand to say a few words to the 22,000 or so runners.

My plan had been to run conservatively for the first 5k  at or just below MRP and then to see how I felt and hopefully run the rest of the race in the mid to low 6:20's.  What actually happened  was a bit of the opposite.  I ended up running the first 10k in the low to mid 6:20's with the last 5k sort of involuntarily at MRP or just  a little faster.  The early start time of 7 am was good, but I think by the time the sun was fully up and established the heat slowed everyone down. 

Mile 1 was relaxed at at 6:17 pace and my heartrate was 155

Mile 2 was controllled at 6:30 with HR at 166 (according to Daniels I should have be running with my HR at 163 for a 15k - but weather conditions dictated otherwise.).  I tucked in behind a big guy in a red shirt to draft shortly before the 2 mile mark.

Mile  3 - 6:21 HR at 170 felt ok but thought I may be pushing it a little bit to stay with the big guy in the red shirt off of whom I was drafting.  Two other runners of similar size grouped up with us, one of them looke like a triathlete with a visor and shaved legs.

Mile 4 - 6:23 HR 173 - lost the red shirt guy and we headed in to an extend loop for the turn around.  Triathlete pushed ahead of me about 10 yards and his buddy about 20 yards.  Striking and stylish female in between the two with a long blond braid was falling back or I was catching her as we started heading back north befor the 5 mile mark.

Mile 5 - 6:17 HR174 - passed stylish female and began picking off a few others as the heat kicked in.  Was a bit frustrated that none of the waterstops had gatorade up to this point. 

Mile 6 - 6:26 HR 174 - starting to wonder about my HR as I am hitting a bad patch.  Pleased with my overall pace at 6:22 through the 10k.

Mile 7 - 6:51 HR 172 - Not sure what happened here.  Felt kinda crappy and perhaps zoned out on my concentration.  HR actually dropped too.  Triathlete guy and stylish female were still within 10 yards so they must be feeling it too.  I was not being passed either.  So I thought, I gotta pull this back together...Fortunately waterstop had gatorade - got a gulp and resumed concentration.

Mile 8 - 6:43 HR 173 - Thought I had run faster than that - but was feeling good bit better.  Pulled up past stylish female and started picking up other runners.  Triathlete was definitely going down by mile 9....a sub 1 hour effort is looking unlikely.

Mile 9 - 6:37 HR 174 - Still surprised at not being under 6:30 but thought, I had a shot at going sub 1 hour if I got a 6:20 or better in - oh well.  I can smell the barn from here.

Last .3 --- 5:55 pace HR 178 to max 181 - passed triathlete dude and stylish female was way behind - huge gap to next set of runners - so "no one will pass me" mode kicks in - drive to finish.  Somewhat disappointed with not breaking 1 hour - but pleased that my garmin says I average 6:29 pace for the race.

3 mile warm up an 1.5 mile cool down back to the car. 

Finished in top 100 (97th) for the race and 13 in my age group.  Not great, but not bad.   I recognized none of the names of the runners who finished ahead of me in the age group.  I  beat my more familiar competitors. 

All in all - decent effort.  

Looked back at past race results - in 2009 I ran about 10 seconds slower.  I did not run it last year as I was still recovering from a stress fracture.  It appears I did the race twice since the year 2000 and those two times I ran 1:03 and 1:05.  Seems to me that I did this race at sub 1 hour in the late 90's - but have not been able to find race results that far back.  So I guess this is my best time here in the last 10 years.  LOL.

AM - easy 3.0 mile recovery run with middle daughter (16 yr old) Riley before church.  Just broke up with her boyfriend yesterday evening and asked if we could go for a run together in the morning.  I enjoyed chatting with her - good bonding time.  .

PM - 20.00 miles on the treadmill at the gym after work at 7:19 pace.  Other than being a bit bored and impatient to finish, I felt very comfortable and relaxed the entire time. 

PM - lunchtime 5.0 mile recovery run around Feathersound and the Carillon lakes.  Legs felt pretty heavy and sluggish today following yesterday evening's long run.

PM - lunchtime on the treadmill - cruise interval workout.  5 x mile @ 6:10 pace w/a 1 min rest.  2 mile warm up and 1 mile c/d.  This was a good workout for me.  Had a few doubts a couple point during the last two - but hung in until the end.  That pace is manageable for me but just on the edge of being really tough as the miles begin to add up.  Definitely a mental element involved too.  Good confidence builder workout.

PM - after work 10 miles easy to moderate with Richie in St Pete down through Old Northeast and Coffeepot Bayou to the Northshore pool. Cool windy evening good conversation. Talked about some destination race plans for the next few months.

PM - after a full day of home improvements I was able to squeeze in an easy 6 mils at the end of a long day. 

PM - after work - 20.00 miles on the roads.  After easing into the run for the first 2 miles I kept a consistent pace of between 7:25 to 7:30 per mile and then miles 13-18 I ran between 7:10 and 7:15 before cruising in the last 2 miles.  Very pleased with the effort - building on the confidence throughout the run.  Afterwards however I felt pretty drained with the effort - sometimes when I do a long run I get chilled after and have to bundle up to stay warm in the house - not sure why that happens, but it did tonight. 

PM - lunchtime run of 5 miles - recovery type run following yesterday's long run.  I was a bit sore and heavy legged today.

AM - early start at the gym due to work day committments. 5 x 1000 @ 5:43 pace on the treadmill at 1% grade with a 3 min rest between. 2 mile warm up and cool down. Was not feeling 100% this morning with some lingering fatigue from Monday evening's 20 miler. I had a tough time with this workout this morning - though as Rob once told me, "hard workouts are supposed to feel hard, what did you expect?" Anyway, got through it - will take tomorrow off and do a race on Saturday.

PM - lunchtime run - easy 5 miles with Richie.  Both planning to run a 10k tomorrow morning - the Armadillo run in Oldsmar. 

Had a pretty good race this morning.  My plan was to run between 6:10 and 6:15 per mile for at least the first 4 miles and then hang on for the last two.  As it turned out I did even a little better than that.  Richie and I warmed up together and I ran into an old friend from high school and college, Craig Oldham who was there with his 4 daughters to run the 5k.

Richie and I ran together for the first couple of miles.  Mile 1 was controlled at 6:03 and Richie kept tugging at my shirt to keep me from going too fast.  He was very conversational and I knew he was feeling competitive.  The 5k and 10k started together so we knew a number of the runners in front of us would be peeling off at the 5k turn around.  We backed off to 6:13 in mile 2 at which point we saw our friend Drew Chandler heading back on the 5k having already made the turn around and he was battling for the lead.  This of course resulted in a surge of adrenaline for Richie who increased the pace, especially when it appeared after the 5k runners had made their turn, that we were in the top 5 in the 10k. 

Richie began to pull away from me with another younger runner, constantly calling back to me to stay with him.  He was thinking that I was dropping off the pace, when in fact I was steady and actually ran mile 3 at 6:11. 

We made the turn around and Richie by this point had pulled away from the younger runner who I was keeping in my sites about 50 to 60 yards in front of me.   Mile 4 was 6:13 and I thought to myself, "well, I have done exactly what I had planned - 6:10 to 6:15 per mile through 4...I feel good, let's keep it going." 

Mile 5 had us running into the stragglers from the 5k on the out and back course and it was a bit of a game of frogger weaving around them and somewhat distracting - so my split was 6:24.  But though I could barely see Richie, the other runner in front of me looked to be faltering a bit, so I refocused my concentration with the thought that I may have a chance to reel him in before the end.

Mile 6 was 6:15 and I could see that I was coming within striking distance to catch the runner in front of me.  He was running high on the curve and I was cutting the tangent when my friend Craig appeared on the road with a camera to take my picture.  He decided to run with me for the last 2 tenths of a mile - which was nice of him, but it completely threw me off my focus to catching the guy in front of me. 

I ended up running the last 2 tenths at 5:53 pace - and may be would have ended up 5th overall if I had not been distracted (may be not).

In any event, I was quite pleased with my fitness and my competitiveness. 6:03, 6:13, 6:11, 6:13, 6:24, 6:15 (and 5:53 ppm for .2 miles).

Richie ran 37:36 and was 3rd overall.  He was very pumped after the race.  He ended up running under 6 mins per mile for the last 3 miles. 

We did a cool down together, I visited with Craig and his young daughters and picked up 1st place age group award. 

Easy 5 miles around the Carillon office park at lunch time.  Really nice day - light pace.

20 miles on the treadmill at 7:19 pace with the last two at MRP (6:44).  Felt reasonably good for the entire run - but was pressed for time to complete it before work - would have liked to get an extra mile or two in.  Pleased that the MRP miles did not feel "hard."

Easy 4.5 miles around the Carillon office park at lunchtime.  Very nice weather again today.

My daughters had a high school track meet today.  The competitive swimmer, Riley has decided to run track this spring but has been hampered with injuries.  Her very first track meet was today - she ran the open 800 and clocked 2:57 - not bad.  Her teammates were calling her "Nemo" - fish out of water.

Delaney had a pretty good meet.  Ran the 4 x 800 with a 2:49 split.  Her team won.  Next ran the open mile and recorded at PR at 6:13 and then was recruited to run the 4 x 400 at the end of the meet.  She was the lead off leg, and I was nervous for her, but she ran really well, with a 69 split and  kept even with her competition - in fact she was not even the slowest leg.  They won that event as well.  Then I had to drive her to club soccer practice in Tampa - oh to be young...

On treadmill at 1% grade - 12 x 400 at 79-80 seconds per rep with a 90 second rest.  2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.  Tough workout but also a confidence builder.  Had my doubts about the last 2 reps, but did not crack.  Pleased with my fitness level.

Rest day.

On the treadmill - 4 x 3 miles @ 6:30 pace with 800 rest - 2 mile w/u and 2 mile c/d.  This was a tough workout - more so mentally I think than physically, perhaps because it was on the treadmill.  I switched from a regular treadmill for two of the reps to a Woodway - which I usually like, but I noticed my left calf felt a little tweaked as well as the back of my right knee, so I switched back to the regular treadmill for the last rep.  Was watching the Gators game against UCLA - which turned out well for Florida while I was doing the workout.

Early AM - 5.0 mile recovery run before a week of business travel.  Legs felt a little heavy - not sure if that is lingering from the workout Saturday and before or just because I got an early start this morning.  Looking forward to a run in Central Park tomorrow if my schedule works out.

AM - run in Central Park while on business here in NYC.  Did 12 x 400 @ 5k pace with 400 recovery around the reservoir.  I was really tired after a long day of travel and meetings yesterday so I started out a bit sluggish.  The ground was a bit soggy and still full of puddles from a steady rain yesterday, so dodging those obstacles and dealing with undulating and uneven surfaces made this into more of a strength workout than I had done last week when I did this workout on the treadmill.  Pleased with the effort, though struggled to really get any speed or turnover going. 

I did 4 miles easy around the Carillon Office park at lunch today.  Heading out to Phoenix this afternoon.  Busy travel week.

AM run in Phoenix.  I had what I would describe as a poor workout.  I am a little distressed about this.  The plan was to go for about an hour at MRP.  I had to travel for business again and arrived yesterday evening.  I had an early business call at 6 am and needed to squeeze in the workout before a 9 am meeting.  Ran down to the hotel fitness room at 7 am which was quite warm and hopped on the treadmill.  Only did about a half mile warm up (perhaps problem #1) and then ramped up the speed to MRP.  Immediately I felt "off" but continued to push through - but clearly was not feeling like I could go the entire time at that pace.  Sweating profusely I decided to go outside where it was cooler instead of using the treadmill after the third mile.  Headed up the street at MRP once again, but felt pretty stressed at that pace.  Began to wonder what was wrong, "is Phoenix at altitude?..., did the lack of a proper warm up cause the problem?..., was the treadmill calibration off?..., do I just suck etc"  So, after another mile at MRP, I slowed down significantly and began to run along a canal with a dirt path - which had lots of other runners on it.  I decided I would regroup for the next mile.  Made a turn around and picked up the pace again, but still felt off - so I dialed it down again - and my Garmin told me it was a 7:30 mile.  Then, oddly, I felt fine, and ran the next mile at 6:38 with relative ease.  Too late for any more running I went back to the hotel. 

I don't know what to make of this - but it certainly is a blow to my confidence.

4 miles easy around the Carillon office park at lunchtime.  Ok I actually ran the last mile at MRP just because...

10 miles easy on a warm sunny afternoon.  Ran the first 3.5 with Riley at a very relaxed pace and then when we looped by the house and she finished I did another 6.5 on my own at 7:30 pace.  Felt ok but not great.  Will concentrate on rest and sleep this week.  Weather forecast for next Sunday keeps changing.  Last night it was showing 67 degrees and rain...

Easy 4.0 miles at lunch around Feathersound. Felt very relaxed and strong over the last 2 miles after getting warmed up. Took yesterday off and have gotten at least 7 hours of sleep the last two days. (A vast improvement over my average of less than 6 hours per night). Will do some leg turnover work tomorrow and try to stay rested and healthy through the weekend.

Final leg turnover workout before race on Sunday.  1.5 mile warm up and then 4 x 400 at 5:50 ppm with 1:20 recovery and then 2 x 200 at 40 with 50 second rest.  On the treadmill at 1% grade - 1.5 mile cool down.  Felt very good - relaxed  and strong.  If the race was today on the treadmill, it would have gone very well.  :)

Easy 3.0 mile recovery run.  Went out around 6:15 this morning.  Weather radar showed some severe storms to the north but which looked like they were going to west to east and not dip south.  Made it about two thirds of the way through before I got caught in it.  Probably one of the worst storms I have seen - which is still going on right now complete with hail, tornadoes, high winds and lightning.  No worries, it made the run all the more exciting - I was only in it for about 5 minutes anyway.  Felt very good again today.  Will take tomorrow off and then a light shake out run scheduled for Saturday after my flight.

Easy shake out run in Athens OH before race day.  Cold rainy and windy today.  Supposed to warm a little and the rain is supposed to end tonight. The winds are forecast at 15-20 mph, but there is nothing I can do about it, so I won't worry.    Race course is mostly on a bike path along a river, out and back.  Did the run today on part of the bike path.  Should be good. 

Ok - so no sub 3 hours and no PR, but I am reasonably satisfied with my race today.  The weather report had been forecast for temperatures between 48 and 58 degrees for days.  I awoke surprised this morning to 26 degrees and ice on the rental car.  No worries though, I was fully prepared with clothing to cover that possibility.

This was a small town race in Ohio where Ohio University is located.  The race started in the center of town at the corner of the entrance the school.  They have done this event 44 years, so they have figured out how to operate it very well.  It was an out and back course along a bike path that more or less paralleled a the Hocking River.  The Hock-Hocking Adena Bike Way as it is officially known makes its way through the Wayne National Forest.  I don't recall seeing the river very much, but there were lots of trees and pleasant scenery. And VERY FEW runners (maybe less than 200 in the full marathon), which I think turned out to be my issue very late in the race.

They ran a half marathon alongside the full marathon, with turn around at about 6.5 miles finally revealing who was in the big race. 

Anyway, the early part of the race had to make its way out of downtown Athens, which sits atop a hill, so the first mile was a bit quick at 6:40 but not too terribly fast that I was at all concerned.  However I usually run over 30 seconds slower than my MRP in most marathons when I hit the first mile.   I dealt with a few negative thoughts in the early miles of not feeling that sharp and worrying about my HR, but I began to settle into a comfortable pace in MRP goal race pace range around 4-5 miles. 

When the half marathons runners separated from us, I had two runners within my immediate view in front of me, but I knew there were quite a few well ahead and nearly out of sight.  So, I set about reeling them in one by one.  Between miles 8 and 20 I think I passed 6 runners and had none pass me.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but the gaps between each runner I passed was literally a half mile or more between each.  At the turn around I think I counted around 15 to 18 runners ahead of me.  Two were well off on their own, clearly running in the low 2:30's.  Then a scattering of a couple here and there.  I used the "carrot" of each runner in front of me to maintain pace and concentration. 

I was at 1:30:17 at the halfway mark.  I knew I needed to drop some time to have a chance at at sub 3.  I was pleased that I really began ticking off the splits that would set me up to do just that.  At mile 16 I was emotionally very high, knowing that I was feeling very good and was visualizing the final clock.  I just had to keep it together for the next ten miles. 

Around mile 21 I started going through a rough patch.  The sun which had been out for a while, and warmed things nicely, was covered by clouds and a headwind started pushing against me.  My mile 23 split of 7:10 was evidence of the difficulty I was in, as it was the first mile in the entire race that I had gone over 7 mins per mile.  It was all the more difficult because there was no one in front of me to catch and no one behind me to push me.  The trail was slightly twisting and turning so I could never get I long view of the field in front of me.  With the exception of a few stragglers from the half marathon, I saw no one for the last 3 miles of the race. 

I think the slowed split and realization that I would need to really have several fast miles to have a chance at breaking 3 hours when I was not feeling that good, really dropped my spirits.  I settled in for the next two miles just trying to keep from losing too much time.

I think I ran two 7:15's before the last mile at 7:08.  The race ended on the track at the University stadium.  That was pretty cool.  1.5 laps around the track - the PA announced my name and my hometown as I entered the stadium.  I had to run past the finish line to make it around the last lap and so saw the clock at 3:00:34 with 400 meters to go.  Oh well - I ran a decent quarter with my nearest competitor entering into the stadium when I was finishing the last 200. 

The organizers arranged for the Aquatic Center at the school to have showers available after the race which I took full advantage of, before heading to the airport.

With the last two marathons I have completed at 3:01 and 3:02, I feel like I am in a range now where with just a few tweaks in the training and execution in the race, I might yet see a sub 3 hour race.

AM - so after taking 3 days off following Sunday's marathon, I had to go out for a little run this morning.  I find it harder mentally not to run some times.  Just a little over 20 minutes very easy.  Everything felt fine and normal except for some lingering soreness in my calf muscles.  Did some stretching and foam roller work afterwards. Will still plan to take it easy to allow full recovery over the weekend.

PM - lunchtime easy 30 minute run with Richie around the Carillon Office Park.  Still some slight tightness in the calf muscles.  Other than that, I feel completely normal and recovered. Very warm and humid today in the upper 80's - nearly summer time kind of weather.

In Vero Beach for the weekend and Delaney's club soccer team advanced to the second round in State Cup.  An easy 5 miles in the afternoon that saw 91 degrees today.  Kept the pace conservative at just around 8 mins per mile and then did the last mile at 7:15.  Legs felt nearly normal - but I can still feel a tad of fatigue in the calf muscles.  Probably take tomorrow off before resuming on Monday.

5.0 miles this morning before work.  Started easy on the first mile, then noticed a couple of runners turn the corner ahead of me in the second mile, and seeing that they were running reasonably well, I was of course compelled to catch and pass them - so the second mile was quick at 7:15 then I settled in at 7:30 pace for the rest of the run.  Felt completely normal with no lingering aches or pains - so now I have to figure out some near term goals in the next week or so of recovery time.

Managed to squeeze in 4 miles on a busy work day that has me travelling again late.  No lingering soreness now, but I notice that I don't seem to have much speed - kinda feel heavy (which could be the case) and slow.  Could be the heat and humidity too.  Anyway, next two days will be in cooler weather, so I can compare.

After a delayed flight that did not have me checking into my hotel last night until after midnight, I could not pull myself out of bed at 5 am to run in the cold and rain in NYC, so after a long somewhat stressful day in trial, I made it a point to head out for a run around 7 pm this evening.  Temps in the 40's with a damp fog/mist made for perfect running conditions.  Not planned but after a mile warm-up from my hotel to Central Park, I found myself clipping off MRP miles for the next 4 miles before I headed back downtown dodging crowds and traffic back to the hotel.  Really just what I needed.  Felt great -- stress relieved and ready for a quick dinner and bed.

Took yesterday off as it was a busy work/travel day and besides I am supposed to be in recovery mode right now.  Today I was back in the office in St. Peterburg and did an easy 7.5 miles with Richie around Feathersound and the Carillon Office Park.  He's training for a 10k in July - Peachtree in Atlanta.   We are both planning to run Bay to Breakers in San Francisco next month for fun.  Today,  I deferred my entry in this year's St. Anthony's triathlon (Olympic Distance or now known under the the new marketed name "Ironman 5150") to next year because I have not done any swimming or cycling with the build up to Athens two weeks ago.  I would not have time to recover and then be ready mentally and physically for a competitive tri on May 1. 

8.0 miles easy to moderate on the treadmill this afternoon.  Felt pretty relaxed, enjoyed the run.

Back in NYC for business again this week.  Run in the Park again around the outter loop, I had forgotten how much of a "climb" there was on the far north end of the route.  Cool temps in the 40's had me running quite quickly (unplanned) with 2 or 3 miles at MRP and the others at low 7 minute pace.  Not sure why,  but I felt the workout a bit late in the day, probably a combination of business travel and work stress too. 

Easy 5.5 miles very early in the Park this morning.  Stumbled on a rut in the road and fell in the dark.  Not a big deal, but scraped up my hands, twisted my ankle and banged up my shoulder.  That'll wake you up.  Decent run, which I kept to a reasonable pace of around 7:30 for most of the miles.  Cool and rainy 48 degrees.

Very early run again this morning in the Park.  A little sore from my fall yesterday.  Ran a little different route today 6.0 miles.  Chillier today with more rain expected, but warmer late in the day.  If I get finished up on time today with work, I will try a second run.

Easy 5.5 miles in the Park with some different directional loops than earlier in the week.  I ran up on the "track" around the reservoir this morning.  Quite brisk in the low 40's and very windy.  Been a long week, look forward to heading home at the end of the day.

8.0 miles around Feathersound twice and then through the Carillon office park around both lakes.  Very nice weather today - warm 82 degrees with low humidity and a light breeze.  Was especially nice compared to the cold and rainy weather of NY for the last few days. 

Iphone does not play well with the text portion of the blog entry.... I am in Gainesville this weekend to pick up my daughter who is just finishing up her freshman year at UF.  Ran at around 4:30 but the temperatures were around 91 degrees.  Stopped by the University track to run a couple of laps along the run, and to find a water fountain.  Other than being quite warm, it was a good run. 

Early start of my day to catch a 6 am flight to NYC (again) today, so I did not get a chance to run in the morning.  Hopped on the treadmill around 7:15 pm this evening to squeeze a run in before I hit the bed early.

Had a nice workout this morning in the Park.  2 mile warm up then 6 x 400 at appx 5:20 -5:25 pace with full recovery then a 1 mile cool down.  This is the first real workout I have done in about 4 weeks (pretty much just straight running until this point) so it felt good to push the pace and get the heart pumping harder and faster than I have been doing in my daily runs. 

Easy to moderate 6.0 miles in the park this morning.  I was a bit sluggish starting this morning.  Had less than 6 hours of sleep after a long day of work and meetings.  Weather was warmer in the mid 60's.

Trying to beat the storm that hit Alabama yesterday from delaying my flight home today from the Northeast, I changed my schedule and left NYC at 6 am (which meant I was up at 3:45) but was sitting in my office in St. Pete by 9:30 this morning.  So, I went out for a run at lunch which with near 90 degrees and 70% humidity and about 4.5 hours of sleep was an ugly six miles around the Carillon Office Park and Feathersound.  Probably should have run indoors or waited until this evening for a more enjoyable run.  Did 6 striders at the end.

Had a very nice run at lunchtime today.  Cool front pushed through this morning so the conditions were much more comfortable today than yesterday.  Around 76 degrees will less than 50% humidity - my run seemed effortless.  Ran at a moderate pace and threw in a couple of miles at MRP. 

Late morning run on the beach in Melbourne, Florida - At a soccer tournament for youngest daughter Delaney for the weekend.  Ran in the vibrams for the first time in a long while.  Beach was very inconsistent in firmness and rather steep in parts - got the starting of a blister on the big toe of the left foot as a result - but the weather was very nice and it was otherwise an enjoyable run.  Will try to get out later in the day for a few more miles on the roads.

PM - easy 4 miles at around 6:30 on the roads.  Do have a blister on the toe, but not really a problem for running.

Easy 6.0 miles along the main road in front of the beach in Melbourne.  Weather was comfortable but more humid.  No issues with the blister from yesterday at all.

In NYC again this week - arrived late yesterday evening right before the announcement about OBL.  Interesting morning - I went to the elevator to head out for a run, but the elevators would not work - so I went back to my room and tried to call the front desk, customer service, room service etc...with no answer.  Got a little nervous but ended up connecting to the operator who told me the elevators were out due to electrical problems, and that they would send someone up on a service elevator for me.  Got tired of waiting - so I started my workout this morning with a downstairs effort of 36 floors.  Had a quick paced run in the park - not quite MRP but a strong effort nonetheless. 

(Elevators were working upon my return.)

Around the Central Park Reservoir this morning - 10 x 400 at 5:20 pace with 400 rest following at 2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.  Following strength and plyos that I did yesterday evening, my legs were a bit wobbly after this morning's workout. 

Planned to go easy-ish this morning but after the first mile in the Park I was compelled to run faster than planned.  Competitive pride or something just won't allow me to let any recreational runners in the Park "beat" me (even though technically there is no race going on).  So I ended up running most of my miles close to 7 min pace even on the rolling hills in the north section.  Temperatures were mild but a cold front was bearing down and arrived with rain right after I finished.  Went out to lunch later and with the rain, the temps must have dropped 15 to 20 degrees.  Miserably damp and chilly - yuck. 

Today should be my last day in NYC for a while as the trial is set to conclude with closing arguments tomorrow. 

AM - easy 4 miles at home, with core/plyos/strength training thereafter.  Ran without my watch this morning and really just enjoyed a relaxing run.

PM - late lunch - 7 miles around Carillon office park and Feathersound followed by 6 striders.  Began the run in a light rain and then the sun came out toward the end, making for a rather muggy and humid condition. 

PM - 10.5 miles up the Belcher extension to Helen Ellis Hospital and then back down the Pinellas trail with an extra loop in my neighborhood  at the end.  Warm day, but low humidity made it very nice.  Legs were a bit sore from plyos and core work yesterday.

AM - early start - did 4 miles easy in the vibrams and then did 45 mins of plyos/strength and core work.  Will do a lunchtime run as well.  Took off yesterday for mother's day events.

PM - lunchtime run on the treadmill (because it is oppressively hot outside now) - 6 miles at moderate pace - able to squeeze in this run between meetings.

AM - easy 3.0 miles followed by 45 mins of core/strength work.  (Committed to consistently do the core work for the next couple of months).

PM - lunchtime run of about 6.0 miles through Carillon Office Park and Feathersound with Richie.  Was good running with him today as I was a bit sore and heavy legged from the plyos yesterday and fortunately he was the same after a hard track workout yesterday.  So, we chatted and even stopped and stretched a few times.  Quite hot out today nearly 90 degrees and humid too. 

AM - 45 mins of core/plyos.

PM - Lunchtime workout - 10 x 400 at 78-79 secs with 400 walk/jog rest after a 2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.  Did these on the treadmill at 1 % grade at 11.4 mph.  Rest time was generally around 2.5 mins to cover the quarter.  Felt reasonably solid for the whole workout.  Thought about doing just 8 but convinced myself to push through. 

AM - easy core work for 30 mins

PM - Lunchtime - squeezed in an easy 4 miles at the gymn between meetings.  Actually got off the treadmill and dialed into a conference call while cooling down.  Too busy today.

Planning to do a race this weekend - so the easy day was probably good anyway.

Just read this on a Cool Running Facebook post - thought it was good.

We run.

4 miles easy shake out run in San Francisco.  Long travel day with some delays - so it took me nearly 10 hours to get here.  Had trouble getting my race number and packet too.  They allegedly mailed it to me, but I never received it.  So, I was given an alternate number and chip, which I am a bit skeptical about - as there is nothing tying my name to this new number.  Oh well, I am just running the race for the experience anyway.

Fun experience this morning.  Richie and I were seeded and subseeded (respectively) runners in this 100th annivesary of the Bay to Breakers.  Over 50,000 participants this year.  Course is a bit challenging with a gradual incline in the first mile which then moves into a significant climb which is purportedly an 11.5% grade from about 2.5 miles to just past the 3 mile mark - with a few rolling hills thereafter until 5.5 miles where the course heads to a gradual downhill to the finish.

Richie was well trained and really had his mind set on running very well - whereas I was not really looking for a time goal, but wanted to enjoy the experience and get a good workout in.  So, I agreed to pace him through the first couple of miles to keep his pace controlled and then let him go after that. 

We came through the first mile at 6:11 and as we got to about the 2 mile mark I told him, I needed to back off but that he was really breathing well and seemed very comfortable at that pace. 

I timed my release and slowed pace pretty well as we hit the hill on Hayes street I relaxed and eased my way up the hill, careful not to go too hard.  Mile splits for 3 and 4 were slow - 7:45 and then 6:57 and as the race began to head downhill I had some fun with it - running 6:10s through to the finish - last half mile was at 5:45 pace.

The race is a quite an event with lots of costumes and the absence of clothing for a number of folks.  Where we were running it was mostly just normal competitive runners, but the photos of the race behind us are crazy.

AM - in San Francisco this morning.  Richie and I went out for an easy recovery run, and though we had only intended to run a few miles, we both felt good and the weather was nice, so we ended up running 8 miles along the Embarcadero and along the Bay.  As we were nearing the end of the run, we saw this guy running toward us, and Richie remarked,  "look at this guy, I bet he ran the race yesterday, he looks fast."  At that very moment we both realized it was Meb Kefelzghi and said to each other, "hey that's Meb!"  So, he had just passed us and saw that we had recognized him, and we both hollered to him and he acknowledged and waved back.  So then Richie decided we should go run with him.  We turned around and started to try to catch him.  We were running hard and were not making up any ground on him.  He must have been doing his recovery run at like 6 min pace.  So we gave up the chase and headed back to the hotel.   Funny story though.

PM - lunchtime run 7.5 miles with Richie around Feathersound.  My flight back from San Francisco was delayed yesterday afternoon and as a result I did not arrive home until 3 am.  Up at 6:15 to start the day.  Felt fine though - and we had a good run in some very unseasonably pleasant weather for Florida. 

PM - lunchtime run - 5 miles easy to moderate followed by 6 striders.  I did a core/plyo workout this morning before work.  Got 8 hours of sleep. Feeling good.

PM - lunchtime run - workout.  5 miles tempo run - at 6:30 pace.  Richie asked me to do this workout with him today.  It was supposed to be 6 miles but the 86 degree temps seemed to sap our strength pretty well - so it became 5.  Tough workout all things considered, but we pretty much hit the splits - 6:36, 6:30, 6:24, 6:31 and 6:41.  One mile warm up and one mile cool down.

Taking my bride of 21 years to the SandPearl Resort on Clearwater Beach for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary today.  Gonna be a nice weekend.  

PM - 4 miles easy to moderate on Clearwater Beach.  Enjoying a relaxing weekend with Tracy at the SandPearl.  Used the Vibrams for the run.  Legs felt a little heavy from yesterday, but loosened up after about a mile.

PM - easy 6.0 miles after a day at the beach.  Pretty dehydrated to start on a hot afternoon made for a rather unpleasant run - but I should have expected that.  My quads are quite heavy, not sure if that is from the beach running, plyos or massage yesterday or from 9 days of running without a rest day.  Either way, I am going to take tomorrow off.

AM - plyos and core work. 

PM  - Lunchtime on the treadmill (over 90 degrees outside now - it is too hot and I am too old).  5.5 miles easy to moderate.  Felt good after a day off.  Was short on time, so will do some additional miles this evening.

AM - 4 miles easy then 40 mins of plyos, strength and core work.  Noticed some soreness on the top of my left foot where I previously had a stress fracture.  Will keep an eye on it.  Possible that plyos or beach running could have caused some slight inury here.  Doing a treadmill workout at lunch - will see if there is any soreness during that workout.

PM - lunchtime workout on the treadmill.  2 mile w/u then 4 miles at MP and then 1 mile at Threshold pace and then 1 mile c/d.   This is a good workout for me to measure progress.  Right now MP is manageable but not "easy" - if I do this workout about 1 week out from a goal race - or something like it (usually go about 6-8 miles at MP), if the MP segment is such that I feel like I could go forever and at an aerobic HR - it is a great confidence builder and shows my fitness progress.  Funny thing about this run today was that the T pace was really not significantly harder to me, whereas I felt the MP pace felt a little be harder than it should.

Anyway, no pain or soreness in the foot in the warm up or during the workout.  Notice a little something as I walked back to my office as I climbed the stairs - so I will keep it on the radar. 

AM - plyos/core/strength work for 40 mins.

PM - Lunchtime run - recovery 6.0 miles around Carillon Office park.  Ran through two parking structures to keep out of the heat and to get a few "hills" into my run.  Very heavy legged today.  Debating on whether to get a few more miles in later this evening as I had limited time at lunch today.

AM - easy core work and stretching for 30 mins.

PM - lunchtime workout on treadmill.  2 mile warm up then 2 x 200 @ 40 secs with 200 recovery; 3 x 1000 @ 6:15 ppm with 1 min rest; 2 x 200 @ 40 secs with 200 recovery; then 2. 5 mile cool down.  This was a good workout for leg turnover with some speed play stresses bouncing from easy to vo2 max  to threshold and back.  Not a huge volume (only 2 miles or so of actual speed work) but that was perfect for today as I was feeling a little bit sore yesterday, so this got me a quality workout without feeling beat up.

AM - 3 miles easy then 40 mins of core/plyos and strength work.  Recovery run planned for lunchtime.

PM - 7.0 miles easy to moderate on the treadmill.  Felt a little bit weary around the middle of this one.  Maybe as a result of being on a treadmill. 

AM - got up dark and early to beat the heat - without too much success as it was 78 degrees at 4:45 am with 80% humidity.  Did 4 four mile loops that went by my house each lap so that I could get some fluids.  Around the beginning of the third lap my shoes were completely soaked with sweat - so I squished the rest of the way.  Little tough heading back out to the succeeding laps as I got my drinks in my driveway (would have been easier to just go inside) but I think it was a good mental toughness exercise in the end.  Run was not great but wasn't terrible either.  Solid week of training. 

AM - got a late start this morning, but got 8 hours of sleep.  10 miles easy, south on County Rd 1 to Spanish Hills and then back North on Belcher with a loop through my neighborhood.  Stayed mostly shaded and actually the temp and humidity with a cool breeze made this a much more comfortable run than when I ran before sunrise on Saturday.  Did core/plyo work for 40 mins after and am headed now to a barbeque for the holiday with friends in Tampa.

AM - easy 3 mile run followed by 40 mins of core/plyos.  Will do a workout at lunch for my main set today.

PM - Lunchtime on the treadmill - 12 min warm up then 3 miles at Threshold pace (6:22); 5 min rest at 7:45 pace; 2 miles at T pace; 4 min rest at 7:45 pace; 1 mile at T pace; 10 mins at 7:45 pace.  Total was about 9.5 miles.  Good workout.  I had planned to do an interval at 1.5 miles before the 1 mile but was feeling the stress of the workout and it would have added enough time for me to stress out getting back to my desk in time for a call, so I skipped it.  Still got six quality miles in and was pleased with the my ability to manage that pace / volume.

AM - easy core/plyos routine for 40 mins.  Quite sore this morning - could be from yesterday's workouts or could be because we played kickball on Monday at a Memorial Day barbeque.  Yes - kickball.  Doesn't seem strenous but I suppose when we reach our 40's, if it involves using muscles in a different way than we are used to, then it can have an effect.   Delayed onset of muscle soreness.  Had not played the game in years, but it was good time and just about anyone can play.  Anyway, it kept me from getting out of bed early enough to do a run and core work.

PM - lunchtime run outside around Carillon office park.  Summertime thunderstorm built up rather quickly and cut my run short at 4.5 miles with high winds, lightning and rain.  But it was fun too. 

Will try to get another run in later after work today.

AM - 4.0 miles easy around the PHU loop from my house.  Then 40 mins of core/plyos.  Quads are still sore - so I did not do the second run yesterday evening. 

PM - 6 miles easy around Carillon and Feathersound. Much hotter today than yesterday when it rained.  Pretty heavy legged again today.

Hard to call this a race report as it really was more of a training workout - where I just wanted to see how much I would be able to push through without really being rested for a race.  I have been putting in miles and daily core/strength work over the last two weeks and did not take any time off to rest for this workout.   I was indeed pretty fatigued and sore before the race.

This is a series of 4 races over the summer on Clearwater Beach.  They have been doing these races for years.  Generally pretty fun, but tough to run very fast due to holes, water, soft sand, other non-racing beach patrons wandering into your path etc.  Not to mention the Florida heat at 7 pm.  Every now and then if a storm blows through to cool things off and hardens the sand well, I can get a decent time. 

Anyway, I arrived a little later than expected, but ran 3 miles to warm up which with the temps in the upper 80's with high humidity did not take long.  I sort of mistimed the warm up such that I began to be concerned that I would not get back to the starting line on time, so had to run at a pretty quick pace to get lined up.  As it turned out, the "kid's mile" took a little longer than expected so I ended having about 4 minutes to spare at the start. Several high school runners jumped out into a pretty stiff headwind of about 10 miles per hour -(oh to be so young and strong) and for some reason I thought I was feeling ok and never glanced at my watch except one time just before the mile marker.  I was surprised to see that my heartrate was nearly maxed and I was only running about a 6:16 mile pace.  I could tell I was blowing up, so I just held on to the turn around with my HR in uncharted territory (mid 180's) - and decided to see what I could do to bring it down and still not lose too much on pace.  Well,  with the wind now at my back at just about the pace I was running, it only made my body temp feel higher and so the HR stayed up and I just slowed to about MP for the rest of the way in.  Pretty sure the race conditions did me in, having just done a treadmill workout at 6:18 pace for three miles earlier in the week. 

I find it remarkable how profound an effect the heat has on my performance as I get older. 

Did an easy 3 mile cool down and stopped to see my daughter at the Palm Pavillon where she has a summer job as a hostess.  Saw an old friend Dave Batten who works there - he and I ran together in high school.  He told me his older brother Keith just ran 16:35 last week in Tampa - He's going to give me his contact information - to maybe do a run together.  

Planning to do road 5k next Friday and then back on the beach the week after - will be interesting to compare times over the next couple of weeks.

PM - plan was to do a long run today - but my morning would not permit for it.  Friends of ours have a son in the Marines who returned from a tour in Afghanistan and we had a surprise breakfast at Cracker Barrel to welcome him home safe and sound. 

Got busy with some household repairs with good intentions to do a run of about 20, but I waited until it was cooler out, around 7:30 and by then I think my legs were a bit over stressed from the workload this week.  My Garmin quit on me around an hour into the run, and I finished in about 2 hours - so I am calling it 15 miles, more or less. 

AM - 3 miles easy with 30 mins of core/plyo work.  Feeling a bit weak and sluggish this morning.

PM -- 7 miles on the treadmill at an easy to moderate pace.  Felt much better than this morning.

AM - early start due to an early morning meeting at work.  3.0 miles easy with core/plyos for 30 mins. 

PM - workout at lunch was interesting - not so much the workout itself but how it came about.  I have been feeling a bit weak and kinda crappy since late last week.  I attribute that to increased training workload and restricted caloric intake as I am dropping some weight (6-8 lbs) to be race ready by the end of July.  So I was not really motivated to take on a tough quality workout today - mentally or physically.  So, I decided I would try a tempo run of about 60 mins on the treadmill. After a mile or so of a warm up I increased the speed to my tempo pace, but within a few minutes I knew it was going to be a bit of struggle.  I slowed the pace back down slightly, then increased it back again for a few minutes, but that did not help.  So after a mile at tempo pace, I changed the workout to 6 x 800 with 400 recovery. I did the first one at 3 mins and then increased the speed by 4 second the next 800, and steadily dropped the pace per interval until I did the last one at 2:44 followed by a mile cool down.  I did not feel great but I managed them well, even the last one.  Pleased that got a decent quality workout in and was able to adapt to how I was feeling in order to change it  up a bit. 

AM - 60 mins of core/plyos, but no time for a run.

PM - lunchtime run - 7.5 miles from Carillon past the dump and around the lake in front of ValPak twice in the midday heat.  Probably pushed the envelope a little bit as the heat index was 91.  Was trying to avoid three days in a row on the treadmill.  Kept the pace modest so it was manageable, but the shower just wouldn't "take" afterwards.

AM - Core/plyos/stretching for 45 mins, then 3.0 miles with Delaney around the neighborhood.  Her first day of training for the fall cross country season.  She has not run a step since track season ended in April (aside from soccer training and games).  We ran together in the mornings last summer to prepare for cross country last year.  A bit of a struggle last time around to get her going -- but this year she was eager to get started.  She has a plan of running every morning with me and to do runs with her team who will meet 3 times per week in the evenings.  Running camp at Brevard College in Asheville, NC in July for 2 weeks.  We had a nice run, after the first mile which was 9:12 - she ran sub 8:30 miles without too much difficulty.  Her weight is up a bit, (she loves to bake and eat her creations)but she's also grown about a inch since the end of her fall season - so some good training and healthy eating should have her well ready by the end of August.

PM - lunchtime run on the treadmill.  8.0 miles in 62 mins.  Felt a little rough for the first mile or two, but once I got rolling, it was very comfortable run - mostly at 7:15 pace or better.

Evening - did a 1.5 mile walk with Tracy after dinner through the neighborhood.

AM - 3 miles with Delaney this morning.  Felt very sore and did not feel "normal" especially in the first mile or so.  Attribute it to the increased workload of training with the core/plyos and the caloric restrictions.  Weight has dropped well over the last 10 day.  Another 5 days or so of conscious focus on limiting intake and improving quality of foods should have me at my ideal weight.  For now though, I don't feel all that great.  Am planning to race tonight - 5k on the roads.   

PM - Race Report

Had a decent race at the Oldmar Tap House 5k - which is the third time they have done this event.  With lots of free stuff afterward, including the Tap House's specialty, this race attracted over 2000 runners for a Friday evening.

I ran a bit conservatively, this week as compare to last week, making certain to keep an eye on my heartrate - so that I would not blow up.  First mile was a cautious 6:00 on my Garmin though the mile marker had me at 5:47.  Second mile was slightly slower at 6:08 as my HR crept up to 176 so I tried to keep it in check.  Third mile was good until about halfway through it, then I started feeling a little ragged - think that may have been around 6:22.  Finished 33rd overall and got one of the coveted "boots" - which was a plastic mug in the shape of a boot - that were given to the top 50 males and top 50 females.  No age group or masters awards for this event and the focus seems to be on the post race party.

Did a good cool down on a warm evening of near 90 degrees at the start.  Using Daniel's conversion tables for higher temperatures, I am confident at below 60 degrees I would have been in the mid to low 18:00's for this race. 

I saw my friend Ken who I used to train with, who ran with his wife.  Ken used to work for Runner's World many years and pounds ago.  Good to see him. 

PM - core/pylos for 1 hour then 4 miles with Delaney as a recovery run.  Thought I needed a bit of a rest, so I pushed my long run from today to tomorrow.

PM - due to a number of unexpected scheduling events today I had to delay my long run until this evening.  Using a method I have seen Rob use a few times, I planned my run where I was dropped off about 20 miles away from my house and had my daughter stash a gatorade at about the halfway mark.  Following evening worship service, I changed clothes at the church building and began my run home from Erlich Road about 1.5 miles west of Dale Mabry in Tampa.  I headed west to Gunn Hwy.  When I got to the Citrus Park area I made a turn onto the Upper Tampa Bay Trail - which I had never been on before.  Since I started the run at about 6:30 pm and the "feels like" temperature was still 95 degrees - the well shaded trail was a happy discovery about 2.5 miles into my run.  I stayed on it for about 3.5 miles until it intersected with Limbaugh and then headed west through West Chase and then through Oldsmar on Forest Lakes to Tampa Rd and back to my house.  Had to add a short loop to the end.  Felt reasonable good for most of the run - but after I got the gatorade (all of which I drank at once) I felt a little off for the rest of the run and was pretty tired at the end. 

AM - 3 miles easy with Delaney.  I probably would have foregone this morning's run after yesterday evening's long run, but am trying to keep Delaney consistent with her training, so we got the run in around 6:15 this morning.  I was a bit envious as she snoozed on the couch after breakfast and I had to head off to work.  Summer time life of a teenager...

PM  - decided to go to the gym to do a few miles on the treadmill - ended up with 5.0 at 7:30 pace.  Felt reasonably recovered from a cardio and soreness standpoint.  I may need to take tomorrow off as I have a busy workday and evening plans too.  Left foot is a bit sore on the top of the first metatarsal - new development / location.  Day off may be in order anyway.

AM - was planning to take the day off, but Delaney was up and ready to run this morning, so I went for a run with her - easy 3  miles.  She had her first summer cross country practice last evening - 33 runners showed up for a very easy night of training.  She was eager to chat about it this morning on our run - so I was happy I went with her.  My foot which was achey yesterday afternoon/evening, was fine this morning. 

Full day of meetings at work, I will take the rest of the day off from training.

AM - 1 hour of core/plyo work before a dentist appointment - which limited my time for a morning run with Delaney - so she went to the gym instead.  Good idea, the heat index at 6 am was 90 degrees.  Steamy morning.  Will do a noon workout and if time, one after work.

PM - lunchtime workout.  Did the Murphy treadmill workout - after a 20 min warm up; 2 mins @ 7 mph; 2 mins @ 8 mph; 2 mins @ 9 mph then 4 mins @ 10 mph - repeat  5 times.  10 min cool down.  I was not as fresh as I have been when I have done this workout in the past.  I had to kind of grind through the last two when it came to the 4 mins at 10 mph.  But, I did not bail and felt that the workout was good physically and mentally. 

AM - 4.0 miles easy recovery run.  Had a storm over night that pushed the temperature down a bit from yesterday when the heat index before sunrise was 90 degrees.  Feeling pretty fatigued from training lately - first mile or so was slow before I got into a rhythm.  Core/ab work following for about 20 mins.

PM - 6.0 miles on the treadmill at the gym at lunch.  First mile was very rough getting up to speed.  Ran the rest of the miles at 7:30 or better but was generally fatigued and not really enjoying the experience.  Though not that I am training that hard, and I don't put myself in this category, I am reminded of the phase of training described in the book "Once a Runner" described as 'breaking down'.  Accumulation of steady mileage and training takes its toll where the runner is basically not fully recovered between workouts and finds himself in a constant state of fatigue-depression.

AM - Delaney and I are doing a beach race 5k this evening - so she slept in, but Riley decided since her swim team practice was cancelled for the morning, that she wanted to to go for a run.  So we did an easy 2 miles which was a good shake out run for me and was just about right for her because she has not done any running in months - and only just started swimming for the summer about 2 weeks ago. 

PM - 5k race on Clearwater Beach.  Much better experience this week than two weeks ago.  I ran a much more controlled race for the conditions.  Softer sand and warmer temps - I kept my heartrate at a manageable level through the first mile, a seemingly pedestrian 6:21 but I was gradually making up ground on runners in front of me.  The second mile was on a steep sidehill which was fatiguing and resulted in a 6:42 second mile - but when things levelled out I finished reasonably well with a 6:33 mile just missing a sub 20 min race.  Doesn't seem fast, but this was nearly a minute better than two weeks ago and I finished 15 places higher.  So, it was a good training/race strength building workout and I showed progress if not physically - at least I was wiser this time out.

Delaney ran as well - but she was at the beach the entire day - completely drained from the sun, I told her just to run, not to race and to use it as a training run.  A couple of her teammates were there and ran well. 

We met my wife and Riley at the Palm Pavilion where my other daughter Bradlea was working and enjoyed a meal and a nice sunset.  A very good evening with the family.

AM - easy 4 miles with Delaney.  I dragged her out of bed (she insisted that I do so last night) so that she could get her run out of the way today.  I felt surprisingly good and fresh - but she did not, and so we talked about having those types of days and how to deal with them.  Spent the rest of the day cleaning out the garage and doing general work around the house. 

AM - 3 miles easy with Delaney and then 45 mins of core/strength/plyos.  Felt rested after taking yesterday off for Father's day and eating way too much junk that my girls baked for me.  Planning to do my long run this evening if the timing works out.

PM - 20.00 miles on the treadmill after work at the gym.  Kept the pace at 7:30 for the entire run - only jumped off twice to get water.  Mentally brutal, but with comfortable climates inside as opposed to 90 + degrees with humidity, physically this allowed me to run a more reasonable pace. 

AM - 3.5 miles easy with Delaney this morning.  First mile was slow as I had some stiffness from yesterday evening's long run and noticed some tightness/soreness over the first metatarsal on the left foot.  Nothing serious, it seems, but will keep an eye on it.  Delaney has struggled a bit in the last couple of runs.  It is quite warm and humid though.  Two more weeks and she heads to a running camp.  She's still in the first two weeks of her summer training - I think once she gets a couple more weeks of training and maybe sheds a few pounds, her efforts will be less labored.

PM - lunchtime run outdoors (heat index 98) - 5.0 miles easy.  Wanted to run on heavy tired legs and hot conditions to help prep for the Des News race at the end of July.  Mission accomplished. 

PM - lunchtime run on the treadmill - 10 miles at 7:30 pace.  Was a very comfortable and stress-free effort.  Have some post workout discomfort in the top of the left foot - still keeping an eye on it.  Was going to do a workout this morning, but felt very "off" when I awoke and after about 30 mins of trying to get started (and I never actually started), I went back to bed for about an hour.  In the past I would have pushed ahead, but I am trying to pay more attention to what my body is telling me.  The extra rest seemed to do me right.

Delaney went to the gym to run and workout and hitched a ride with Riley on her way to her morning swim workout.

AM - Core/plyos workout for 45 mins - then started to run with Delaney, but noticed some more serious feeling discomfort on top of my left foot (which I first noticed beginning on Monday) - so after a couple of mins I decided to stop and turn back - fearing a recurrence of a stress fracture I had a couple of years ago.  I recall reading where college trainers will advise a player/athlete to sit out of training for a week or two if they begin having pain on the top their feet, better to allow the foot a rest for a short time than to aggravate and cause a fracture resulting in a prolonged recovery.   I am completely weight bearing with no other symptoms so I think I will give it a day or two before I test it again.  Noticed some discomfort in the foot about a month or so ago, and it subsided after about a week of easy running in proper running shoes.   Optimistic that I may have the same results again (noting that I put some more significant mileage in this week than a month ago). 

So, I took most of Thursday off and all of Friday from running to allow my left foot to have some recovery time in case there is a developing stress fracture there.  About 95% of the discomfort I noticed on Thursday morning was all but gone and though I was tempted to run on Friday, I held off until today. 

We travelled to Tracy's hometown, Moundsville WV, for her annual family reunion on her father's side of the family - the Emery's, late last night.  Some flight delays and logistical issues at the airport had me getting to bed at around 2 am - at which point Delaney begged off of the planned run together in the morning, claiming she would die without getting enough sleep.

So I got up around 7 am to a pleasant feeling low 60's climate - and eased into a cautious and slow run along a bike trail that parallels the Ohio River.  This past winter this trail was mostly snow covered and a bit harsh - but the nice contrast of today was that it was densely tree covered and full of wildlife and other recreational runners and cyclists.  The foot had some vague twinges of something going on, but nothing like sharp pain or even the discomfort I felt Thursday morning.  I felt pretty heavy legged and clunky for most of the run, not wanting to allow myself to just run as I was ever concerned more intensity would result in injury.  So I kept it easy and enjoyed the scenery.  Ran up through the Narrows to McMechan which is a gradual climb and descent back and forth over a couple of miles. 

So all in all, the run of 10 miles was good, a bit slow and cautious, but no pain or discomfort in the foot during the workout.  I will say there is something going on with the foot but perhaps keeping stressful workouts to a minimum will keep from getting any worse. 

Heading off now to the reunion at Oglebay Park in Wheeling for a day of cover dish meals, cool breezes and volleyball.

PM - 5.5 miles easy with Delaney on the same bike path I ran on yesterday.  This was her longest run of the summer thus far.  It was a nice run with the weather in the low 70's - I did not tell her how far we were going until we finished.  She was well able to handle it - and we will gradually work up her mileage as the summer progresses.

Very little issue with my foot today - will test it again tomorrow on a long run.

AM - had a great long run this morning of 20 miles with lots of hills and comfortable weather conditions.  I ran from my inlaws home in Moundsville up Rte 250 which is about a 6 mile climb (really about 1.5 miles of a sharp 8-10% grade) and then north on Rte 88 toward Bethlehem WV - which is a ridge connecting Marshall and Ohio counties.  Turned west on Rte 86 which has a road side market - where I bought some Gatorade - almost exactly at the halfway point.  Lots of rolling hills which had some significantly steep grades until mile 14.5 when I hit a sharp downhill for about a 1.5 mile steep descent.   The last 4 miles were mostly flat which was actually a tougher transition than I expected after so many ups and downs.   Got a good workout on the quads today.  Met up with my family for breakfast at Bob's Lunch - yum. 

PM - went for a late afternoon run with Delaney after a day of running around the Upper Ohio Valley.  We did a educational/historical tour of a place in Flushing Ohio called the Underground Railroad museum.   My kids really enjoyed the tour and the curator who spent a long time visiting with us and chatting. 

Ran with Delaney around the 12th Street Park trail.  She did about 3 miles and then headed back to my in-laws house for a total of 4 miles and I continued running laps around the park for a total of 9 miles - the last 5 of which were at 7:15 pace.  Felt a little tired and fatigued from the hill running yesterday and was really worn out at the end of this run today - but ended up playing volleyball and corn hole afterwards along the Ohio River - and enjoyed a couple of slices of pizza to end the evening. 

AM - 8.0 easy miles this morning with my girls.  Riley is staying with my niece Brittany in town, so I ran to her place at 7:30 and did 3 miles and then dropped her off back at Brittany's house, then ran to pick up Delaney for a 3 mile run at my other niece, Brianna's house also in town.  Had to run separately with them because they have different things scheduled this morning.  Worked out fine to give me an easy enough run, on a very crisp 59 degree morning with very little humidity.  Left foot was a bit fatigued when I started out this morning but improved as the runs progressed.

PM -  I went up to Wheeling to run the course for what used to be called the Elby's Big Boy 20k Wheeling Classic.  They have changed the name and course to a half marathon this year.  In fact it is called the Ogden News Wheeling Half Marathon.  Anyway, I did not know the exact route for the half - and so ran the course of the 20k from memory - Last time I ran this course was in the actual race in 1992.  Has a steep 8% grade 2 mile climb right after the two mile mark.  Steep 2 mile descent and the rollers until mile 10 which has another steep climb for just under a mile - and a steep descent to the end.  Weather was good at 83 degrees, but less humid than I am used to - which meant I got a bit dehydrated without realizing it until I noticed all of the salt on my face and shorts.  Good workout for me.  Making good use of the hills while I am in WV.

AM - last day here in WV, so i got one last hill run in.  Up my favorite named hill called Round Bottom Hill, which is about a  1.5 mile climb and a bit longer descent and then back along route 2 which parallels the Ohio River.  Good run to finish up the week here.       

PM - easy run at around 6 pm - back in Florida in the heat and humidity.  Had plans to go a bit further, but felt a little drained by the weather conditions and I plan to run at least the 5k of the Midnight run tomorrow evening at race pace - so I backed off and kept the pace tonight in a heartrate zone that was almost painfully slow.

AM - did an easy 4 miles shake out this morning.  Using some older Gel Nimbus shoes that felt like the compression was gone on them this morning - either that, or my legs felt like lead, but definitely one of the two.  Running at Midnight race tonight - we'll see if they loosen up by then.

PM - Midnight Run - With a pretty late night storm causing some indecision in my house about whether to run this race, my daughters all bailed, but I decided the storm was about overwith and after a hurried registration and warm up was quite pleased with the rain having ended and the weather conditions not as warm and humid as it usually is.  Saw Doug during my warm up and right after the turn around during the race itself.  Race was full of high school cross country boys and girls.  I was running reasonably well (though I could not see my watch in the dark and was only guessing at pace) through 2 miles where I edged up to what I thought was my age group competition.  Just then I had an immediate and urgent GI issue - which caused me to back off the pace to keep things in order.  (Fortunately it turns out my competition was the next age group up).  Came out of it and finished well over the last half mile.  Splits turned out to be 6:04, 5:59 and 6:28.  Won my age group with this same time 2 years ago too.

Doug ran well - 20:19 (I think) and I met up with him and Travis and the rest of his family after the race.  Travis ran 17:44, finished 6th overall but 4th in his age group.  Bunch of young ones up front in this one!

Decided not to do the 10k after the stomach issues - and feeling generally too fatigued to head back out in the dark especially with the wet roads and no lighting except for luminaries out on the Causeway.

Anyway - not too bad of a night. 

Ended up taking today off to spend it with the family for July 4th.  Breakfast, then beach, then soccer game (Rowdies v. Stikers) at Al Lang field in St. Pete, followed by the fireworks.  As my daughter put it:  "A successful July 4th celebration with the family."

AM - 4.0 miles easy with Delaney this morning.   She had backed out of the Midnight Run on Sunday night, but awoke early yesterday and had her sister drive her to the gym to run on the treadmill before we went to the beach (sister was not happy about that) - so I have to give her credit for her committment.  Anyway, we did an easy run this morning, which was tougher on her than it should have been - but it was considerably humid (88%) at 6 am.  She's headed off to a running camp for 2 weeks on Sunday and wants to be ready for it. 

My left foot was sore again this morning - which I attribute to the race on Sunday night in racing flats.  Probably a combination of intensity and lack of much cushioning / support in the shoes (Ascics Tarther).  Will do a secondary run this evening.

PM - 11 miles easy this evening after work.  Actually after my first day back to work after vacation, I was not really motivated to go out to run, so it really was not "easy" to do.  Had a decent run though as I went through Spanish Trail and the up Belcher to the extension past Alderman and turned around by the girls' elementary school.  I remember in high school we'd come up to Alderman Rd to run "hills" - as that was about as close as we could get to finding any of them.

AM - 3.5 miles with Riley and Delaney this morning.  Riley's morning swim practices changed from MWF to Tues/Thursday - (she has afternoon training everyday) so she wanted to continue to work on her fitness with cross training (what swimmers call "dry land training") on her off-mornings.  She sort of struggles and complains as a true fish out of water when we run.   I really enjoy running with them as they chat and cut up on each other.  Delaney revealed to me yesterday that she prefers running with me because it keeps her from stopping when she's feeling lousy -and when she can't run with me she goes to the gym to run on the treadmill because she feels that she won't stop because the people in the gym would see.  Funny stuff.

Anyway - I will do a secondary run either at lunch or at the end of the day today.

PM - lunchtime 10 miles on the treadmill.  Cool indoor temps with the ipod for a change, made for a pretty enjoyable run today. 

AM - 5.5 miles in a very humid slog of a run this morning. Tropical system is moving in from the south making the already steamy weather even more thick and heavy.  Delaney went with Riley to the YMCA to run on the treadmill during Riley's morning swim workout, so that Delaney could do some strength work following her run.  I did not have time for all of that so, just ran on my own this morning.

PM - 12.0 miles at the gym on the treadmill.  I did a heartrate zone workout using the Garmin.  First time I have done this.  I set it for a range which would have been roughly zone 4 between 155 and 163 bpm.  The Garmin will provide an alert if the HR drops below or goes above the target zone.  I  first did a 2 mile warm up and then 9 miles at a pace which averaged roughly 6:40-6:45 except the last couple of miles where I was exceeding the target zone perhaps because my body temp was going up and so I reduced the incline and then the pace slightly to keep it close to the zone.  Then I did a mile warm down.  The zone is basically my MRP.  Little disappointed that the ppm was not faster and that I had to slow it a bit to keep it in the zone, but overall, I thought it was a useful workout. 

AM - significant thunderstorm this morning required Delaney and I to go to the YMCA to run on the treadmills this morning.  Felt surprisingly fresh and not fatigued from yesterday evening's workout.

PM - After a bit of a stressful workday I went out for a run in a light rain this evening - 8 miles easy.  Actually did not really feel all that great.  Not sure if the fatigue in my quads was from yesterday's workout as a delayed onset, the two treadmill runs, or the extra miles this week, but this was a bit of a slog. 

AM - very early start to get out before the heat.  Planned to meet my friend Ken with the group who meets in downtown Clearwater to run over the beach bridges.  Ken is just starting his training for the Vegas marathon in December, so he was not up for a really long run.  As a result I went down early and ran for an hour before he and group arrived at 6 am.  We started with a plan to run a bit longer, but Ken was not feeling his best, and though I would have been tempted to do 20 total, we only did an hour together - so 2 hours total for me and just under 16 miles.  Ready for a rest day as was feeling a bit fatigued at the end myself. 

AM - 4.0 miles easy this morning with Riley (sent Delaney off to running camp in NC yesterday).  Riley pressed the pace (for her) the second mile and when I told her she was going faster than usual, she said she wanted to see how long she could sustain the pace (about 8 mpm) - so I said, OK - but it may be unpleasant for you later.  Deciding that she should experience it rather than taking my word for it - she lasted until just about the last mile when she slowed a bit and complained that I should have told her to slow down.  HA!

Anyway she finished just under 9 mins for the last mile - no worse for the wear.

I felt a little sluggish in the first half mile after taking yesterday off - but felt fine the rest of the way.  Will do a run later today, probably on the treadmill.

PM - lunchtime run of 6 miles on the treadmill.  Used the Garmin HR workout feature and kept the HR in zone 3 which for me was between 130 and 148 or appx top end of 80% max HR.  Took over a mile to hit the target zone and then toward the end of the run I exceeded the top end a couple of times - for a few seconds - probably from body temp.  Ran steady at 7:15 pace after warming up to it during the first mile.  Felt very solid and comfortable at that pace and my legs had some pop that I was holding back.  Will be tapering now for the next couple of weeks.

PM - lunchtime workout on the treadmill - Fartlek:  2 mile warm up 2 times (3 x 90 secs; 3 x 60 seconds; 4 x 45 seconds equal recovery )  The long reps were at 5:45 pace, the medium at 5:30 and the fast ones at 5:15 pace.  1 mile cool down.  Felt very much within myself on these reps and the volume did not phase me either.    Good workout. 

PM - after work 8.0 miles on the treadmill in an hour's time.  Felt very relaxed.  Good recovery run.  I did yesterday's workout at lunch so, I tried to stretch the recovery time by doing today's run later in the day and tried to get a little more sleep this morning - got almost 6.5 hours of sleep - better than my average which usually under 6.

PM - lunchtime workout.  4 mile warm up then 6 x 400 at 78-80 sec pace with 3 min recovery and a 1.5 mile cool down.  Top of my left foot, at the first metatarsal was noticeably tender/sore yesterday evening and this morning - possibly too many runs in a row on the treadmill (as I have not used the Vibrams at all) - so I did this run outside.  It did not give me any problems running - but the high heat and humidity (heat index of 104) really drained me toward the end of the run. 

PM - lunchtime run outside.  Of course very hot and humid, but I wanted to stay off the treadmill and I have been skipping morning runs in favor of getting more rest.  7 hours of sleep last night.  I wore the heartrate monitor and kept the pace under a 75% HR effort - which required me to slow down in the last couple of miles probably because of heat - not because the pace was too hard.  First metatarsal on left foot was tender again today, and was somewhat noticeable for the first 2 miles.  I cannot decide if it is the beginning of an injury to the bone or just some tendonitis from treadmill running for a couple of days in a row.  Keeping an eye on it.

Early AM - had a nice run with the group in Clearwater this morning.  I went down early and ran 5 (basically over to the beach and back) and waited for my friend Ken and the rest of the group to start at 6 am.  Had a nice mix this morning.  Ken and I ran with a college aged young lady who was starting her training for the Columbus marathon.  We ran over both the main bridge to the beach and the Sand Key bridge to the Marriott and got some water and then ran back over them again.  On way out on the Sand Key bridge I did a couple of surges to test my legs and lungs - and felt very fit and light.  I did the same coming back over the main bridge.  Closest thing we have to hills. 

The first 5 miles on my own were a bit ragged - my left foot - 1st metatarsal was tender and took about 2 miles to warm up - and then I had some kinda low blood surgar thing going on - like I was getting shakey and needed to eat.  So when I got back to the car, I had some Gatorade, which seemed to solve that problem.  The run with the group was great and I felt as if I really hadn't put much effort in when I was done.

PM - lunchtime workout on the treadmill.  3 x 2 miles at 6:30 pace with an 8:15 pace mile rest between each 2 mile rep; then 800 at 2:48 with a short cool down.  This could not have gone better for me today.  I would describe the effort as comfortably managable.  Excellent confidence builder workout. 

AM - early morning easy 3.0 miles ahead of a long day of meetings including dinner tonight.  Did an ice bath yesterday evening after my workout and so my legs felt fine this morning.  See if that carries over to tomorrow as well.

Unplanned day off - work schedule left no time for a run today.

PM - lunchtime workout - total of 5.5 miles - outside, after an easy 3 mile warm up, I did  4 x 200 with 200 recovery.  Times / distance were a little imprecise, but they were right around 33-34 seconds with the last one at 32.  I was a bit sluggish when I started the run, and it was quite hot and humid - the tapering and extra onboarding of carbs and calories has me feeling a bit heavy - normal tapering stuff.  However, when I ran these 200's I was really amazed at how much strength and speed I seemed to feel in each rep.  Started to rain a bit at the end of the workout so the cool down was actually pretty nice.  Just need to stay healthy and uninjured for the next few days...

AM - easy 5.5 miles this morning - kept my HR under 70% which made the pace rather slow on a very warm and humid morning.  Felt a bit sluggish and constrained by the forced easy effort.  Whenever my pace and HR would creep up a little bit - I would actually feel better - but I kept backing off.  Flight to SLC is later this afternoon. 

AM - 4.0 miles with Rob up at the top of Big Mountain.  Rob wanted me to get a feel for the steepness of the downhill for the Des News Marathon on Monday.  I was surprised at how sore my quads were even though we were not really running that hard.  I am a bit concerned about how fatigued I will be in a full marathon given the severity of the descent here.  Oh well, I will just have to deal with it as best I can.

AM - easy 2.0 mile shake out run with Rob, followed by a few striders.  Hoping for good weather for tomorrow's race.

Wow, what a 'beast' of a race course.  Easily the toughest race I have ever run.  Rob and I had planned to run together, with Rob pacing me to hopefully finish with a sub-3 hour marathon for the first time.  I was a little concerned about the course on Saturday when we went up to the start to run the first few miles to get  an idea about what I'd be facing on the downhill on Monday.  My legs were fatigued after only 4 miles and I let Rob know that I wasn't so sure how the marathon would go.

On race morning, as planned, we clipped off 6 min miles for the first 4-5 miles with Rob pushing the pace a bit up in front of me.  When the road would level a bit, he would continue on the same pace, whereas I would slow to my normal aerobic pace.  I was not feeling all that great and noticed a hotspot on my left foot that I knew was a blister forming.  I have never had a blister in a race and I run in those shoes all the time - so I figured the steep downhill and the camber of the road caused the friction.

Anyway, as Rob got out ahead of me, he picked up the drinks and gels his wife Ann was waiting to deliver at mile 6 just before we started the climb up Little Mountain.  Rob handed me the gatorade and assured me the course would get easier.  He pushed out ahead again and motored up the mountain, and my Florida boy legs simply settled in for the grind to the top.  I think one of those miles was probably 8:45.  I got to the top and felt very good, even though I had been passed by about a dozen runners up the hill and I saw my pace per mile average was down to 6:57.  So, I decided to do my best to get the pace down to a 6:51 or better as we went down the Canyon. 

I immediately passed three runners and then saw Rob coming out of the short out and back at about mile 10.  He looked at me and asked if I was ok, and I said I was good - and did not expect him to wait or anything...I could see he was feeling good and possibly was weighing his options to race the rest of the way. 

Slowly but surely I began to move the average pace per mile downward until about mile 15 where it was showing 6:51 as I began to exit the Canyon.  I hoped that I could maintain that pace for the last 10 miles.

I saw Ann and the kids just before mile 16 and she said I looked good, and was still running well as I grabbed a bottle of gatorade from her.  The short hill at the zoo slowed my pace to 7:02 and I hoped I would be able to get things back under 6:51 after that, but that stretch on Foothill to almost mile 20 is really difficult with some uneven pavement, rollers, and speed bumps and I slowly began losing time.  I never got discouraged though, and kept hoping that I would start to feel better as the course turned downhill again past the stadium.  Indeed I had a few good miles until mile 24 where I think I ran 6:48 and had a slight glimmer of hope that I could get close to 3 hours.

Unfortunately, I got confused on where to turn left from South Temple and ran past the turn. The course was not really marked there and I saw no race volunteers or officials directing runners.  There was no one in front of me, and the runner immediately behind me followed me until I reached the parade route where a police officer told me I had run off the course.  He said I could stay on that road until I reached "30th" which meant nothing to me.  I let the female runner behind me catch up and let her know that we were off course.  I thought I just needed to find a turn to go back to the street that paralleled the one I was on.  So, when I found a break in the spectators lined up for the parade, I headed back on course. 

Eventually, I found my way to the last mile where I saw Rob, who ran with me for a little bit, and said I was doing well.  He then told me I had about 400 yards to the finish and alerted me that a female runner was bearing down on me - so I kicked it in to the finish - hoping not to stumble and fall because my legs were just about shot.  I was able to hold her off and finished at 3:08.  I think I lost about a half mile when I doubled back onto the course, so I may have run 3:05 or so - which I confirmed on my Garmin and on Runkeeper was the case for 26.2 miles (3:05:14) which does not include the time I lost when I had to speak to the cop and the slowed pace whilst I got my bearings.

This was a very difficult course in my opinion and though I did not run sub 3 - I was pleased with my effort and that I never got discouraged, even when I went off course.  I would not however, expect to run this one again!

Thanks to Rob and Ann and their kids for allowing me to bunk at their house this weekend and for the kind hospitility (and medical care for the blister!).

I was also glad that I got to meet a few folks from the blog and the winner of the race John Kotter.

Hats off to Rob for a negative split and his master's win.

Returned home late yesterday evening arriving at 12:30 am and off to work in the morning - quite sore and fatigued - probably take it easy this week.    Blister injury looks much improved - toes are bruised on the right foot from the downhill pounding.  No running today - as if that was even a possibility.

PM - lunchtime - mostly a walking effort with a few periods of light running 2.5 miles around the two lakes in the Carillon office park, just before a thunderstorm.  Even though I was really stiff and sore again today, this felt very good (excluding the first 100 yards or so of running - which was quite uncomfortable) - especially afterwards when I did some self massage with the foam roller in the gym.

PM - lunchtime - walking with more running, beginning to feel much less sore.  Walked the first mile and then ran the second mile in about 8 mins and then ran most of the last mile after some more walking.  Soreness was not a limitation to the effort today, but I want to gradually ease back into things and consciously restricted myself from just doing a "normal" aerobic run so that in a few days' time I will be soreness-free and ready to resume training.

PM - lunchtime run easy 5.0 miles on the Feathersound/Carillon Office Park loop.  Was feeling much more like normal this morning, so I was perhaps a little overly ambitious with this run as my legs still have the lingering soreness and it was very hot and humid.  In fact, my legs feel today (post 4 days) the way they normally feel 2 days after a marathon.  Anyway, I was glad I got out and moving with an actual run - rather than a walk / run or a zero.

AM - went out too late this morning around 8 am and was thinking I would run anywhere from 6 to 10 miles - and ended up at 9 and quite drained from the heat in the last couple of miles.  Probably should have kept it on the short side, but I am used to doing my long runs on Saturday mornings of late, and though I mentally was ready for one, my body is not yet fully recovered from the race earlier in the week.  Will take a full day of rest tomorrow.

Day of rest. 

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. 

PM - 7.0 miles easy in a light rain during Delaney's soccer practice.  Took the morning run off to try to rest the soreness in my hip - and had a busy workday which caused me to a miss a lunchtime run.  Came close to taking a zero today, but glad to have gotten a run in as a stress reliever.  No hip pain while running.  Little stiff about an hour afterwards.