Bret

AM - 3 miles on the treadmill this morning to start off the new year.  

AM - 3 miles followed by a Yoga session before heading back to work for the first time since the holidays.

PM - 3 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime at work.  Yoga in the morning before work. 

AM - 3 miles on the treadmill in the morning before work, followed by a yoga session. 

AM - 3 miles with Finn and Riley at Bell Memorial park.  Yoga afterwards.

I re-read my doctor's orders and was pleased to see that I am only restricted to 3 miles per day for the first 30 days (instead of 8 weeks - as I had previously thought) - so by the end of next week I can increase my mileage to 5 miles per day. 

PM - 3 miles with Riley and Finn on an unseasonably warm-ish January afternoon.  Really nice outside. 

PM - 3 miles at lunchtime on the treadmill at a good pace - well under 8 mins per mile.  Feeling well.  Yoga this morning before work.

AM - 3.5 miles with Dan and Finn in the neighborhood.  Good to catch up with him.  Yoga afterwards.

AM - 3 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime - Yoga before work. 

PM - 3 miles easy on the treadmill at lunchtime (very cold out today) with Yoga before work this morning.  

PM - 3 miles at lunchtime followed by Yoga.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn on a cold windy grey morning with some spitting rain.  Felt great to be out and to increase my mileage per what my doctor's have permitted.  Yoga afterwards. 

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill followed by a Yoga session. 

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.  Ran the first 3 at a moderately high aerobic HR effort and then moved the speed to 6:47 for the 4th mile and then 6:31 for the 5th mile with the last half at 6:20 pace.   Just to see how I would feel.  All systems seemed to check out well.  My HR was just slightly above threshold for the last little bit, but it felt good to see where I was fitnesswise.    Yoga before work. 

PM - easy 5 on the treadmill at lunchtime - Yoga before work this morning.  

AM - just about 4 miles with Finn and my neighbor Dan on a frosty cold morning in the 20's.  Ran another mile or so on the treadmill to even the distance out to 5 miles total, then a light yoga session.  

AM - just about 5 miles with neighbor Dan and with Finn before work.  Yoga session after the run. 

AM - slightly over 5 miles this morning with Dan and Finn in a cool fog/mist before work.  Yoga session after. 

AM - 5 miles with Finn.  Hilly route - probably a bit more effort than I should have done on a couple of the hills, but I felt up to it.   Yoga session after.  

Per my doctor's permission - I ran 5 miles each day this week.  This worked out to 35 miles for the week.  I looked back at my log - it is the most miles that I have run in a week since early October.  I did not realize it had been so long since I was running regularly without issues.  I feel so much improved physically, that I have no doubt that I would have no problem putting more miles in.  I have to keep it limited to 5 miles per day however until the first part of March per doctor's orders.  I feel like this will be a restriction I wish I did not have, but at the same time, I am still recovering - so I need to respect that processs, plus it will probably help keep me from getting injured by doing too much too soon.  

AM - 5 miles on the treadmill and a yoga session before church.  Cold and very windy/rainy ouside. 

AM - 5 miles with Finn in the neighborhood - I was going to head out early before sunrise, but felt like I might be catching a cold, and the temps were in the low teens with the windchill - so I waited until later in the morning to go out.  Still might be catching a cold but had a good run.  Yoga session early. 

PM - 5 miles on treadmill on a late lunch.  Feeling my cold growing in strength...won't be long before its full blown.  

Sick

AM - 5 miles on the treadmill followed by a Yoga session.  Still sick, but fever is gone. 

PM - 5 miles with Finn - faster than expected. 

AM - 5 miles on the Forsyth trail with a group of men from my church.  Quite cold - below freezing and so the boards on the boardwalk parts of the trail had some icy patches.  This was a very very easy pace to accomodate for everyone.  Great conversation and good healthy activity for a Saturday morning. 

PM - 5 miles after church and before my annual HOA meeting.  Ran the last couple of miles quite quickly - low 7 min pace.  

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill at work.  Still have this lingering cold - which kept me up much of the night coughing...Tomorrow's weather forecast has a winter storm warning and schools are closing.  1-2 inches of possible accumulations.  But its ATL - so its a big deal.  

AM - yoga before work then 5 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.  Snow never materialized today.  Made for a really easy commute with schools and many people working from home today.  

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill in the afternoon following some business meetings.  Yoga afterwards.

PM - lunchtime treadmill run of 5 miles.  I picked it up in the last two miles with the final 800 at under 6 min pace.  Really enjoyed it.  Yoga in the morning before work and then a session after the run. 

PM- lunchtime run with Finn - 5 hilly miles where I ran the last 3 miles at tempo. 

AM - easy effort with Finn on the Forsyth trail.  5 miles. 

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill.

PM - Lunchtime - 5 miles on the treadmill at work. 

AM - 5 fast miles with neighbor Dan P. and with Finn early before work. 

PM - 5 easier treadmill miles at lunchtime. 

AM - 5 faster miles with neighbor Dan and with Finn before work.  

AM - 5 with Dan and Finn before work.  

AM - 5 miles on the treadmill 

AM - 5 miles very early for a Sunday morning with Finn before church.  Really windy and cold.  

AM - shorter morning run with Dan and with Finn before work.  Did a little bit more on the treadmill after I got back to the house. 

AM - treadmill tempo at lunchtime.  Appx 2 mile warm up and then 3 miles at 6:48 pace and down to 6:41 pace in the last mile.  Felt about right for the effort.  

PM - easy 5 on the treadmill at lunchtime.  Traveling to the west coast tonight for business tomorrow.  

AM - 5 miles in some heavy wind and rain in Northern California (San Ramon) near San Francisco.   Just wandered around to get in some miles.  Ended up getting a bit hillier than expected - and rain and wind was pretty significant.  Really slow pace - and higher HR than planned.  Got into the hotel very late and got up very early.  

PM - 5 miles at home after taking a red-eye flight home yesterday evening.  Limited sleep, but my daylight hours were not wasted in air travel back home.  On the other hand, I am really tired.  Decent enough run - but felt sluggish. 

AM - 5.5 miles or so with Finn - fairly quick pace - it was a day when I felt strong and so I just went with it.  

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill, raining and in the mid-40's outside.  Yuck.

PM - lunchtime treadmill workout.  2 mile warm up then 3 x 800 with a 400 rest; then 1 x 1200.  800 cool down.  Avg pace 5:50 per mile.  

Unplanned workout really - until I just decided to do it when I got to the gym.  Felt solid. With the restriction of just 5 miles per day during my recovery (hopefully only until next month) - I have been trying to do some tempo efforts and faster runs to mix things up a bit when I feel the urge.  But I am not really doing anything with a plan or goal in mind.  Just enjoying that I can do it.  

PM - easy recovery effort 5 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.  Outside it is raining and 40 with thunder....expected to continue for the next 6 days.....

PM - 5 miles easy on the treadmill. 

PM - treadmill tempo.  2 mile warm up and then 3 miles at 6:30 pace.  

PM - 5 recovery effort miles in the chilly, windy, foggy rain with Finn.  

PM - 5 easy treadmill miles. 

PM - 5 hilly miles with Finn on a breezy afternoon and the first time seeing the sun in like a week. 

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.  

AM - early start because I have to travel today back and forth to Nashville today for a business meeting.   5 miles with Finn.  Slow start for me, but good to get Finn outside even though it is still a little on the chilly-side for my liking.  

PM - 5 miles moderate to faster effort on the treadmill - sub 7:30 pace after the first mile. 

AM - a little over 4 miles very early this morning with Dan and Finn.  I have another early flight today for a business trip to Charlotte - and return the this evening.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn in the fog mist and some rain.  Warmer and humid.  

Race - 5k - Milton Mayor's Cup.  Made a decision this morning with decent weather to do this race to get an idea of where I am fitnesswise.  Reasonably pleased with the result and grateful to see where I am physically following the heart stent implant in December.  

Small field, relatively flat course; cool but a little humid in the upper 40's to lower 50's.   I was a bit cautious in the first half mile - not sure how things would feel, but it was more mental than physical.  Three guys went out to the front, with one who looked to be in high school, running in long sweat pants, but he was legit (I think he won.)  Once I got past the initial nerves, I moved up on the third place runner when the two front runners gapped him; I passed him just before the mile mark and stayed slightly ahead of him through 2 miles, when he came back by me early in mile 3.  No one was close behind me, and I lost contact rather quickly, being satisfied where I was.  Finished reasonably well for 4th place overall.  Splits were 6:35, 6:28 and 6:46. 

I looked back at my races from last year - and this was a nearly identical time to a 5k I did in January 2018.  With limited/restricted (doctor's orders) volume in my training, and a few sporadic / occasional tempo efforts and a couple of workouts in the last 45 days - not a bad time - all things considered.

PM - 5 miles at an easy recovery effort on the treadmill- rain storm outside.  

PM - 5 miles at moderate effort on the treadmill at lunchtime.

AM - just less than 5 miles with Dan and Finn early before work this morning.  Really quite cold in the 20's with a feels-like of 18.    

AM - 5 miles with Finn and Dan on a chilly morning before work. 

AM - same as yesterday.

AM - 5 miles on a treadmill in my hotel in LA.  Here for business and then traveling on to Australia tomorrow evening.  

AM - in LA on business yesterday with flight later this evening to Australia - I signed up for a 5k to occupy my time for the day.  Very very small event in Long Beach.   There were competing races/events going on.  In fact in the same parking lot there was another 5k race, and a triathlon.  In the general area there were several other races to chose from.  My race had events from 5k through the marathon.  I would estimate less than 25 people lined up for the race.  It was quickly apparent that I was going to be running by myself - so it was more of a time trial than a race - which I think was measured a little short too.  I think I won by over 2 mins.  Nice day though and it was fun to get out and do a race out of town on the spur of the moment.  

Literally lost this day in travel from Los Angeles to Sydney Australia.  I left Saturday evening at 10:15 pm and arrived in Sydney on Monday morning at 8:15 am Sydney time.  

PM - just short of 6 miles in and around Sydney Harbour in Sydney Australia.  Here for business meetings.  It is nearly the end of summer here and the leaves are just beginning to start to change colors slightly. Quite warm, with lots of sights around the harbor including the Opera House and the Sydney Habour Bridge and Botanical Gardens.  Body clock is way off - and nutrition is lacking. 

AM - 4.25 miles - ran across the Sydney Harbour Bridge at daybreak.  Warm and I felt like I was working way harder than I should have felt.  

AM - 5 miles around Sydney Harbour and the Bridge in the rain before a day of travel to New Zealand.  

AM - 4 miles around the Town Basin in Whangarei New Zealand before sunrise.  Really pleasant weather and light effort run.  

AM - 5 miles on the treadmill at the airport hotel in Auckland NZ.  It was 4 am and I did not see a reasonable running area outside with the roads around the airport.  Early flight.  So the treadmill had a virtual running route video - which happened to be in Auckland. Kinda interesting that I was running both literally and virtually in Auckland.  

Heading home today.  Flight connection in Brisbane Australia.   When I leave there it will be 11 am Friday morning and when I arrive in LA it will be 7 am Friday morning.  Time for second breakfast.  #timetravel.  

PM - 5 mile run back in the US at home now having returned yesterday evening.  Good run with Finn who was happy to get outside for some exercise.  

PM - 5 miles with Finn in the afternoon whilst my wife was hosting a wedding shower at the house and I needed to have him out of sight and sound during the event.  Quick pace both yesterday and today. 

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill in the afternoon at work.   Struggling a little with jetlag - and so I opted to sleep instead of getting up early to run this morning. 

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan and Finn on a morning where it was right around 32 even this late in the season.  Hat and gloves.  Was not feeling it this morning - the effort was high again - for 3 out of the last 4 days - so I probably should try to run easier for a couple of days.

I had my 3 month check-up with the cardiologist this morning and I have been fully released to return to my normal training activity without restrictions.  Also, got specific written permission to run a marathon in June, to share with my wife for proof.  :)

AM - a little over 5 miles this morning with Dan and Finn.  I purposely ran easier today - body / mind were feeling fried with too many days in a row of intense efforts.  Felt much better.  Travel later today. 

AM - 6 easy miles along the Colorado River in Austin, Texas.   

AM -  a little over 5.5 miles with Finn and Dan in the neighborhood.  

AM - 7.75 miles with Finn and Dan on a still chilly morning.  Good effort - longest since before my heart issues in November.  

PM - a little over 8 miles with Finn on a warmer afternoon than in many recent days.  I think the warm weather was getting to Finn a little bit toward the middle and the end of the run.  Faster than planned, but I felt really strong most of the way.

AM - a little over 4 miles with Dan in the neighborhood.  Easier effort and cut it shorter than normal - Dan was not feeling it. 

AM - somewhere between 5.5 and 6 miles this morning with Finn and Dan.  Much faster than I had wanted to go, and my watch stopped unexpectedly near the end of the run - and then restarted shortly thereafter.  

AM - 6.25 miles this morning with Finn and with Dan for at least the early portion of the run.  He had an early work commitment, so he only ran the first 3 with me.  I travel later today to the West Coast for a day.  

AM - 6 miles very early in San Francisco.  Watched stopped twice, perhaps because of rain - annoyed nevertheless.  

AM - 5 quick miles with Finn at lunchtime. 

AM - 9 miles with Finn on a beautiful spring morning.  Tragedy narrowly avoided when a little Shih Tzu dog got under his backyard fence and crossed a busy road to try run with us and then turned around back into the traffic - fortunately the cars stopped as I ran and yelled as the dog's owner came running out frantically.   

Good speedy run today on lots of hills - felt really solid.  

PM - 10 mile “long run” on the treadmill watching the tournament.   

AM - 5 miles with Finn on a very cold morning for April.  

AM - 6 easy miles with Finn before work.  

PM - lunchtime run.  Too cold this morning and I did not feel like dealing with it, but by lunchtime it was 30 degrees warmer and sunny.  Beautiful running weather. 

AM - 3.25 very easy miles this morning in Charlotte ahead of a client meeting.  Racing this weekend.

AM - 3 miles easy with Finn in the rain.  Heading the Charleston for the weekend. 

Cooper River Bridge Run - 10k Race - Charleston, SC .  This is the second year I have done this event.  Last year I had planned a weekend with my wife and do the race, but she could not make it at the last minute, and I just drove over the day before and drove back right afterwards - had a decent race but not stellar.  This was a re-do - in which she got to make the trip this time, and I got to have really good effort and result.  Very pleased with this race today.

For those unfamiliar with this event, it is a large 10k with an estimated 35,000 runners this year. It is a point to point race over an iconic bridge.  The bridge is about 2.5 miles long and has a decent climb of maybe just less than a mile.  

My recent heart procedure (arterial stent) in December has me feeling very good aerobically, but I really have had limited training until the last 2 weeks with doctor's restrictions of running no more than 3 miles per day for the first 30 days and then no more than 5 miles per day until mid to late March.  My training has been mostly tempo or faster efforts on the roads.  My longest long run was last weekend at 10 miles.  

I went out somewhat conservatively wanting to not blow-up on the ascent up the bridge in the first part of the race and miles 1-3 were good at 6:38, 6:52, 6:52 for a 5k split of right at 21 mins or so.  But I felt fantastic as I crested the middle of the bridge and maybe let some irrational exuberence allow me to crank the backside of the bridge a little too quickly at 6:08.  We leveled off on mile 5 into town at 6:29 pace and that would have been a great place to finish for me because I was running on fumes for the last mile at 6:49.  Managed to pip someone at the finish at 6:19 pace for the last 2 tenths of a mile.  

My wife was at the finish and caught a good video of me on her phone as I ran by (maybe I did not catch that guy at the end??)

So - I had a negative split by about 30 seconds.  I ran nearly 2.5 mins faster this year than last year (perhaps it helps to have full blood supply to one's heart being unblocked) and I finished in the top 300 of the event. 

All in all, while I would have liked a better 6th mile and maybe liked to have been closer to going sub 40 minutes - I was really just so pumped on the top of that bridge, feeling so solid and so much depth to my fitness that I had not felt in quite some time, that I would have to say this was really a good day.

AM - 3 mile shakeout around historic Charleston before breakfast and heading home. 

AM - 5 easy to moderately paced miles with Finn this morning before work.  Much warmer and more humid today.  Probably 30 degrees warmer this morning than last week at this time.  

AM - 6 miles in the neighborhood with Finn and with Dan for part of the way.  So much warmer and humid today with a dew point of 63 and temp at 68.  But it was a nice run, and good to catch up with Dan as he was on Spring Break with his kids last week.  I head to LA for business midday today.  

AM - 7 miles in LA - just out and back toward Hollywood from downtown - did not feel particularly well this morning - kinda forced this one a bit.  Very windy and the road had lots of ups and downs.  

AM - 4 miles with Dan and Finn early before work.  Tired from the travel to LA yesterday and did not get home until midnight.  

AM - 7 miles with Finn and Dann early this morning.  

AM - about 8 miles in NYC - Central Park.  Surprised my wife for her birthday and took her to the city to see To Kill a Mockingbird with Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch.  Powerful play - excellent acting.  Great experience.  

AM - NYC run along the Hudson River Greenway from midtown to the Battery and back up Broadway.  The watch kept stopping randomly and twice it decided that I was doing yoga - Apple Watch .... so 11 miles is an estimate.  

AM - just under 6 miles with Finn and Dan in the neighborhood.  Cold and windy...in the low 40's.  

PM - 3 miles on the treadmill at lunch time easy.   Felt really light and easy.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn and Dan - faster this morning, but HR was lower and seems to be trending that way even at rest - 48 bpm overnight for the last 5 days or so.  Finally researched and located a solution for the Apple Watch randomly stopping during runs...there is a lock feature (swipe right) that I was not previously aware of that can be engaged to prevent clothing, moisture, or other unintentional contact with the watch-face from switching off the chronograph.   Brilliant. 

PM - 3.5 miles easy at lunchtime - absolutely perfect weather day.  Great to get outside in the sunshine.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn and Dan - slightly slower.  My legs are a bit worn-out from the doubles on Monday and Tuesday and the 11 mile "long" run on Sunday.   Although I have time on my schedule for a second run today, I will rest instead.  

AM - a little over 3.5 miles this morning with Finn.  I had gotten up early to run with Dan but he bailed in favor of more sleep, so I went back to bed for another 45 mins but felt like the dog needed to have some exercise - so had to run shorter with limited time.

PM - 6 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime. 

PM - pretty strong storms through the night and early morning complete with tornado warning sirens kept me from running until late in the day - 7.25 miles with Finn through the neighborhood.

AM - 6 quicker miles with Dan and his coworker friend Greg (and his dog Bodie) on the dirt roads of Brittle and Summit - cold and rainy and consequently muddy.  I was tempted to run longer but I have added more than 10% volume this week over my average mileage for the last month already - and I was late anyway.  Good running week for adding miles.  

PM - 11 miles on a really very nice day.   I was planning to do a longer run at a slower pace - but ended up getting into a groove and went with it - for more of a tempo effort. I think both Finn and I were a little dehydrated with all the sunshine and dry air - so I am probably going to feel the effects of the run.  Really enjoyed it though.  

PM - 4 miles at lunchtime on the treadmill.  Got up early to run, but had not slept well, and my legs were fatigued from yesterday's workout.  Very easy active recovery run midday after getting another hour of sleep this morning. 

AM - 6 miles with Dan and Finn before work.  Feeling a little more rested.

PM - lunchtime just under 4.5 miles on a really nice day - got a dose Vitamin D.  Spring is my favorite season.  

AM - a little over 5 miles with Dan and Finn before work this morning.  

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn and Dan this morning before work.  

PM - lunchtime treadmill workout - 5 x 800 with an equal time rest ~3 mins - after a warm up and cool down.  3:00, 2:56, 2:52, 2:50, 2:48.  Felt very much within myself.  Could be the treadmill is not calibrated well - but I kept my HR just below threshold and something interesting of note - when I slowed for the jogs and then for the cool down, my HR went down very quickly as one would expect.  That was not always the case for me over the last few years, the HR would go down but would remain higher than expected when I was doing threshold or VO2 max workouts.  In short, things seem to be functioning well now.  

PM - 6 easy miles on the treadmill. 

AM -  I woke early  -  could not fall back to sleep, and Finn could tell that I was not sleeping - So instead of sleeping-in as planned - we went out for a run just before sunrise. Cool morning. Beautiful running weather. Ended up going 10 miles very easy.

PM - 14.25 miles on the Forsyth Trail - longish run with a faster finish for the last 3 miles.  

AM - about 4.25 miles with Dan and Finn this morning before work.  A bit sore and a little tired - took it easy for the first mile and a half.  No time for a lunch run today - may be best for a little less volume.  Weight is way down - mileage is up for the last couple of weeks - need to increase my intake.  

PM - 8 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime. 

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn before work. 

PM - treadmill workout at lunchtime.  3 x 1 mile @ HM pace  / LT Heartrate - with a 400 rest.  On Daniels Tables HM pace should have been around 6:47 for me right now based on my most recent 10k, or ~161 bpm HR - just below LT.   So the treadmill I used at the gym was clearly not calibrated properly because that pace was not getting close to my HR  desired range - so I gradually moved the pace/speed up in the first rep until I came close to hitting the target HR.   Nailed it midway into the second rep and all of the third rep.  15 min warm up and about a mile cool down.  Good workout.  Right hamstring/groin had a light "dagger" of pain but nothing too serious.  I thought about doing a 4th rep, but thought better of it.  

AM - 6 miles with Finn and Dan before work this morning. 

PM - 4.5 more at lunchtime on a very pleasant day.  

AM - just under 5.5 miles with Finn and with Dan who is driving to New Orleans today to a Jazz Fest.  Sounds like fun.  

PM - 17 miles on the treadmill due to some severe thunderstorms in the area. 

AM - 4 miles easy in the misting rain before church.  Lots on the schedule today, so this will be the total for today.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn in the neighborhood before work this morning.

PM - 5 more on the treadmill at lunchtime.  

AM - late flight yesterday evening and an early start for a meeting in Nashville - just enough time for 5 miles before the day started. 

PM - Treadmill tempo workout - 15 min warm up then 30 mins at tempo effort (using HR) and then 10 min cool down. ~7.5 miles.  Little tough in the last mile or so, but good solid workout overall. 

AM - 4 mile easy shakeout with Finn.   Tired legs. 

PM - 6 miles at lunchtime - hilly route.  Legs still tired.  Ordered some new shoes.  

PM - lunch Run of 8.5 miles with Finn on the trails of Brittle, Summit, Phillips Circle and Wood road.  I thought it was pleasant to warm but Finn seemed to be having some difficulty with the temps - otherwise I think we would have done a little more running - and  I did not want to overheat him.   

PM - 8 miles with Finn on a hilly humid afternoon.  

PM - long run.  Not great.  First 7 with Finn.  Got caught in the rain - dropped him off and did another 8.  Humid and thick air.  

PM - 4 miles on the treadmill after work - active recovery effort.  

PM - lunchtime run outside - a little over 7 miles.  Low energy for most of the run, except the last couple of miles. 

AM - 4 miles with Finn before work this morning.  Hoping for some time later in the day for a second run, but not looking likely. 

AM - 4.25 miles with Finn before work.

PM - lunchtime treadmill workout - Yasso's.  10 x 800 @ ~2:49 avg pace - 400 rest.  Warm up and cool down. Felt really solid on this one.

AM - a little less than 4.25 miles with Finn on the packed dirt/gravel roads of Brittle and Summit as the sun rose past the horse farms and pastures with deer and rabbits.  Needed to keep this easy and slow as the legs were feeling yesterdays workout.  Yoga afterwards. 

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill late.  Had house guests that kept me from running early and then I got busy with yard work and repairs.  

AM - 3 miles early on a Sunday morning with Finn before church.  Did not feel motivated for any more running later in the day.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn before work - some rain showers were about.

PM - around 4 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.   Sometimes when I am on a particular brand of treadmill at the gym and I am running too closely to front, my hand sometimes inadvertently strikes and actuates the control button for "cool down" which is on the handbar in front of the control panel...suddenly arresting my pace down to 4 mph - and requiring to me to restart.  Happened on this run - and so I am not quite sure how far I had gotten as I quickly reset to restart the machine.  I get so irritated when that happens..."stupid treadmill" - when I really should be saying to myself - "run further back on the belt, and this would not happen..."

PM - 8 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.  

AM - just about 6.25 miles with Finn in the neighborhood before work.

PM - late lunch - treadmill tempo at marathon pace.  4 mile warm up then 4 miles at MP or better.  Good effort.  

PM - just about 5 miles in the late afternoon with Finn on the Milton Trail.  Very warm outside.  

AM - 6 miles with Finn at daybreak.  Peaceful morning with mist rising in fields between the hills and the trees. Lots of deer out today.  

Heading out on vacation for a week with my bride - to celebrate our 29th anniversary.  Taking a Scandinavian cruise mainly to Norway out of Amsterdam.  

No running - travel day

AM - 7 miles on the treadmill aboard a cruise ship traveling to Norway.  Seas are a bit rough - but not bad.  Had to grab the side of the machine a couple of times before losing balance with occasional movement.   

PM - 3.25 miles on the treadmill in the evening as Tracy was getting a spa treatment massage.  Tried running on the top deck jogging track but it was really short -140 meters - and the wind was kicking and it was cold  - so I went back inside.  

AM - 5 miles around the village of Eidfjord Norway - fun exploring the area where we are in port for the day.

AM - ship was not quite into port of Skjolden a tiny village at the end of Norway’s longest fjord.   No obvious place to really run outside anyway.  Ran at HR tempo effort.  

PM - our cruise ship made port in Molde, Norway on a cold cloudy overcast day.  I awoke a little late and Tracy and I decided to walk around the town of about 18,000; but strangely no one was out and the shops and restaurants were all closed.  Turns out to have been a national holiday in Norway - Ascension Day.  We made our way back to the ship and after lunch Tracy got a massage treatment whilst I ventured back off the ship to run up a somewhat steep hill /trail to a panoramic view of the area which is said to have 222 snow covered peaks.  I did not begin to count them.  Pretty view though and a solid effort of about 6 miles in total. I made my way down the trail which was rather steep and at times slippery as I got caught in a rain shower.  

It is pretty far north here. In fact sun does not set officially until after 11:30 PM and then actually stays light for the most part until the official sunrise around 3:30 AM.  

PM - in Bergen Norway on our last port before heading back to Amsterdam.  Bergen is the second largest city in Norway at nearly 220,000 in population.  It is a pretty seaport town with a very clean picturesque cityscape against 7 hills.   Evidently it rains here quite a bit- like over 280 days of rain per year.  But we were fortunate because although it was quite cloudy and looked like it would rain - we escaped with no precipitation.  Quite cold though for my taste at barely 50 degrees and windy.  We wandered around the shops in town and took the funicular rail to the top of a hill and viewed the city and countryside below.  I ended up just doing a few miles on the treadmill late in the day since - too lazy to figure out a run outdoors.   

AM - at sea for the day.  Got up late - did about 4.25 miles on the treadmill in some rough seas - making balancing on the machine a bit of a challenge.  

PM - when Tracy went to get a spa treatment- I did another run on the treadmill- but this time the seas were calmer and I felt good and got about 8 more miles in.  We arrive in Amsterdam early tomorrow and then transfer to the airport for the flight home.  It has been a sedate and relaxing experience.  Exactly what we wanted.  

Travel day from Amsterdam back to Atlanta

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn in the neighborhood this morning before work.  Felt good and ran at more of a tempo effort. 

PM - 3.5 miles for a short easy run at lunch time.  

PM - lunchtime - a little over 6 miles.  Was not feeling it early-on, may have been nutritional - like I had not eaten enough.  Finished up considerably faster.  

AM - just a little less than 5.5 miles with Finn and with Dan before work this morning.  Dan has had a knee injury and had taken a few weeks off, so I expected a shorter/easier run, but he pushed the pace and insisted his knee was not bothering him.  

AM - 5k with Finn before work.  Late start, limited time. 

PM - lunchtime - treadmill workout:  4 x 800 @ 5:45 ppm with a 400 rest; then 1 mile at 5:45 pace.  Warm up and cool down.  Felt solid the whole time.   Pretty sure the treadmill's calibration is not accurate, but the HR effort is what I was seeking, which was right in the high tempo to threshold zone. 

PM - 4 miles very easy on the treadmill.  

AM - 10 miles early with Finn on Brittle/Summit and Wood Road trails.  Rainy for a few days but we were fortunate to get about half of the run in dry before the rains resumed.  He was a filthy mess from the dirt roads.  Lots of wildlife and farm animals to check out at the daybreak including one very vocal rooster.  

AM - very early start- 4 miles on the treadmill before a lengthy day of travel to Asia.  

No run - traveled to Kuala Lumpur for business - 26 hours of transit - left Sunday morning and arrived Monday evening around 11 pm local time.  

AM - 5 miles on the treadmill in Kuala Lumpur- no time to figure out a run outdoors as the road/highways and buildings looked like a labyrinth below from my hotel in the dark. Travel to Hong Kong after a morning meeting.  

AM - 5.25 miles in a steamy humid mire in Hong Kong - did loops around Victoria Park. Early meetings and then off to Amsterdam.  

AM - cool damp morning in Amsterdam - ran from the hotel to Vondel Park.  Staying a little further away from where I usually stay when I am here.  Temps in the 50’s and cloudy. Felt like a fall day instead of June.   Here for 2 nights and then back home.  Not sleeping very well with all of the travel and time zone changes.

AM - 6 miles quite early in Amsterdam- heading home today. 

PM - 3.1 miles with Finn - jetlagged - just wanted to get outside and stretch my legs.

PM - 5 miles with Finn on Summit/Brittle and Phillips Circle - quite warm.  Felt a little rough for the first mile or so.  Warmed into it though. 

AM - 5k with Finn before work.  

PM -  5 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime. 

AM - just under 3 miles this morning with Finn before work.  I awoke early enough for a longer effort, but decided I was tired and went back to bed; then got up and decided to squeeze a shorter run in, because Finn was jumping around and essentially begging that he wanted / needed some exercise.  Happy dog.   He was so pleased when he got back that he went back to sleep...and I went to work.  

AM - 5k with Finn before work. 

No running - travel day and race tomorrow.

Grandma's Marathon 2019.  I had a good day.   I had no reason to expect the result that I had, but I am very pleased with how I did and how things went.

I am 6 months - post-stent implant in the LAD (aka - "the widow maker" artery that supplies blood to the left ventrical) due to a 90% blockage.    Today I ran faster in the marathon than I have in 6 years.  

I had low expectations coming into this race even though I had a decent training period leading up to the race.  In the last 4 weeks I was traveling for vacation internationally, and then traveling for business both internationally and domestically - and though I was getting daily runs in, I was not really training or running very far.  

When I originally signed up for this race - I had two goals:  1. Finish (as a statement that I fully recovered from the heart issue in the Fall) and 2. Run a Boston Qualifier (3:25 for me at age 52) in order to run in 2020 where my middle daughter is in school.  

But I had pretty much tossed Goal #2 out of the realm of possibilities - because I just was not feeling as though I was fit enough to expect it.  My longest long run was just 17 miles and I did not have too many lengthy runs either.  Plus I was anxious about my health - although I had run a couple of 5k races and a 10k, this was going to be signficantly longer, and I wondered if I would I have a problem with such a long race.

So my race plan today was go with whatever my body would give me and to be conservative.   I was pleasantly surprised that the first mile which felt relatively easy was 7:39, and then I ran 7:20 and then 7:10 and thought to myself - ok, don't get greedy or too excited.  Run the mile you are in, and keep your HR at a manageable high tempo level.  If the pace slows, so be it.  Well, it really stayed consistent after that.  I ran between 7:10 and 7:20 per mile all the way until mile 17.  I slowed slightly from there on in, but still kept things between 7:20 and 7:30 and finished the last .2 miles at 7:15 pace.  

The weather was a huge bonus too.  They had predicted rain earlier in the week, and this morning the forecast called for 95% cloud cover and temps in the mid 50's.   Well, as it turned out, we got bright sunshine, temps in the mid to high 50's and blue skies with a nifty tailwind for most of the race.  Could not have asked for better weather - which brought out way more spectators than last year's event.  

So - in summary - I had a good day and I didn't die. 

PM - 2 easy miles on the hotel treadmill in Las Vegas - just a shakeout to see how everything feels.  Just a little soreness and fatigue but otherwise fine.

AM - 4 miles on the Las Vegas strip - toward downtown and back.  Easy effort.  

AM - 3 miles in Vegas before heading home midday.

AM - 5k with Finn back home in the neighborhood.

Caught a cold...post-marathon - right on schedule.  No running today. 

AM - 5k with Finn before work.  Cold is still with me, seems to be getting worse. 

Still sick. No running 

AM - 6 miles before church. Way harder perceived effort than I had planned. 

PM - 6 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime. 

PM - 3 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime - ran 6:30 mile between 1.5 and 2.5 miles to see how it felt.  Felt like too much effort :).  Not expecting too much in the heat of Thursday morning at the Peachtree as a result. 

AM - 2 mile walk with Finn.   He came up lame Sunday afternoon after we had run in the morning.  Left front paw was causing him to limp.  Could not see any obvious injury and were advised to keep an eye on him for a few days.  So I did not take him out Monday or Tuesday- and the limp is only showing up occasionally.  Did not stop him from chasing and catching a bird in flight yesterday- so I decided to let him walk a bit.  Seems fine. Won’t run him for a few more days.  

Peachtree race is tomorrow. 

This was the 50th running of the Atlanta Peachtree Road Race.  I first ran this race in 2014 when we moved to Atlanta.  I have run it every year since then with the exception of 2015 when we were out of town.  This was my fastest effort to date and my best since 2014 by nearly a minute.  

It was expected to be very hot and humid - perhaps worse than some years - so I took things conservatively for the first couple of miles which are mostly downhill.  We were fortunate with some good cloud cover which kept the heat from being a significant factor.  I worked the uphills to try to keep an even pace - which in recent years has really been difficult.  This year with clear blood vessels - it was refreshingly manageable.  I slowed only slightly in the second 5k from the first and felt quite well after the race too.  

My son in law, eldest daughter and wife each participated (wife walked it with daughter) as my other girls live out of state now and did not travel for the holiday.  We all connected with each other at the finish and found another friend of ours.  Went to breakfast at Maple Street Biscuits in Alpharetta and had a grand ole time.  

Considering I just completed Grandmas marathon less than 2 weeks ago - even though this was not my fastest 10k this year - I was quite pleased with the result and grateful that I have the health to continue to do this.  I think of this each time I line up for a race now.  It was an especially moving moment for me and others as we stood at the start - staring up at the enormous American flag hanging from a crane over the starting line and a solo singer delivered a poignant rendition of our national anthem concluding with a low flyover of 3 F16’s thundering overhead.  

Took the day off. 

AM - just under 5 miles meandering around the neighborhood.

PM - 5 miles with Finn along the Alpharetta Greenway trail around noon time.  Tried running here to seek some tree cover from the heat.  Not bad.  

AM - a little over 5 miles with Finn before work this morning.  

AM - 4.5 miles easy with Finn before a long day of travel to Singapore. 

no running.  Travel day to Singapore 

AM - 5.25 miles before meetings in Singapore 

AM - 6.5 miles - super warm and humid.  Was not very enjoyable- but nice scenery.  

AM -9.5 miles wandering around Singapore before sunrise. 

AM - just a shade under 11 miles this morning in Singapore before traveling later today to India.  I went out with a plan to explore a little different route.  About 3 miles into the run and still before sunrise - I converged with a group of 4 other runners who were going a little faster than I was running by myself - so I decided to latch on to the back and kept my distance within about 10-15 yards of them and just followed wherever they went.  Ended up going longer than I had planned as a result - but it was fun.  

AM - roughly 8 miles on the treadmill in Bangalore India.  

AM - 8 miles on the treadmill at the hotel in India before heading to the office.  Travel late this evening back home.  :)

Travel day - no running. 

AM - back at home (briefly) - nice morning run of about 5.75 miles with Finn.  Heading to WV for a long weekend and Tracy's family reunion.  

AM - 7.5 slow sluggish miles along the banks of the Ohio river in West Virginia.  Quite warm here - unusual for this part of the the country.  

AM - 4 miles with Riley - easy effort - nice chat; good to catch up with her.  

AM - 3 easy miles with Riley in WV before church and before heading home later today. 

AM - 6.25 miles with Finn - ran a good bit faster than I have in the last several days - but felt very good - and did not feel as though I was really pushing the pace.  

AM - 4 miles easy with Finn in rainy conditions.  

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime considerably faster.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn before work.  

PM  - 4 more at lunchtime.

PM - 5 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.  

AM - 3 easy miles with Finn before a day of travel to Boston to visit Riley.

AM - 7 miles with Riley in Boston. Ran into a group at Chestnut Hill and Commonwealth Ave and ran with them for a while.  We went onto BC campus and did a quick lap around the football field and reservoir.   Heading to a game at Fenway this afternoon.  

AM - 4.25 miles with Riley this morning in Boston.  From her place she wanted to take us on a route along the Charles - but we were pressed for time before church and ended up just doing a loop around the edge of BU's campus and heading back.  Had an awesome time yesterday - got to go to Fenway Park and watch the Sox and the Yankees play.  A friend hooked me up with pre-game field passes and sweet seats in the grandstand lower level behind home plate.  Great game and great memory. 

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn before work this morning. 

PM - treadmill workout at lunchtime - 2 x 2 miles at 10k pace (6:47) with a 400 rest in between.   Good workout - HR was tempo to high tempo but below threshold.  

AM - 5k shakeout with Finn before work.

PM - just over 5.25 miles at lunchtime.

AM - 3 miles easy with Finn before work.

PM - lunchtime treadmill workout - 6 x 400 @ 82 secs with a 400 rest.  Warm up and cool down.  Good workout 

AM - 4 easy miles with Finn

AM - 4.25 miles with Finn. 

PM - longish run of 12 miles on the Greenway - good shade. Started slowly but felt very good and finished fast - watch battery died before I finished. 

PM - just under 7 miles with Finn on a steamy late afternoon. 

PM - 3.5 miles at lunchtime on the treadmill.  Had limited time, and was feeling a little fatigued - so a shorter run was in order. 

AM - 5k with Finn before work.

PM - late lunchtime - treadmill workout - 4 x 1 mile at HM pace with a 200 rest.  Warm up and cool down.   Good effort.  

PM - 5 miles easy effort outside in the Atlanta heat at lunchtime.  

AM - 4.25 miles with Finn early before work this morning.  

PM - 7 miles.  Treadmill tempo at roughly MP or the equivalent HR effort.  Little tired today but good enough workout.  

PM - 5.25 miles on the Alpharetta Greenway late afternoon- shaded but very warm out in the 90’s.  Recovery effort.  

PM - ran with Riley on the Alpharetta Greenway after 5 pm to attempt to escape the high temps and to find some shade.  The dew point was over 75 and very uncomfortable.  Riley got in a little over 8 miles and I did a couple more after she turned around.  Not really very enjoyable running conditions.  

PM - hilly route with nearly 1000 ft of vert. on a very warm and humid afternoon.   Grinder of a run - with more effort than I had expected.   Also, I thought the route would give me about 13 miles but was actually pleased that it was only 11.25 as I really did not feel like running much further.

AM - 4.1 miles easy morning shakeout with Finn.   Legs a bit fatigued, but not terribly, from the weekend's runs.  

AM - 3.3 miles with Finn before work.  Very warm even before sunrise.  Legs still a bit fatigued in the quads.

PM - lunchtime treadmill workout -  8 x 800 @ 3 mins with a 400 rest.  Warm up and short cool down.  Tough but solid.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn this morning - first part very slow.  Had some rain overnight, so it was not quite as warm as yesterday.   

AM - short easy 2 miles with Finn and Dan very early, with little time before heading to an offsite presentation for work.  Good to see Dan who is recovering from an injury.  First day back running for him.

PM - following the offsite, I went to the gym and did 4 miles of tempo at HM pace on the treadmill, 1.5 miles warm up and 1 mile cool down.  Solid, but I feel a little more fatigued this week.  

PM -  5 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime.

PM - 9 miles easy on the treadmill- too hot outside    

AM - got out early for a long run before the day heated up - 14 miles. I think I was asleep for the first 5-6 miles pace-wise - good move though in terms of staying cooler.   

PM - 5 easy miles at lunchtime.

PM- treadmill workout at lunchtime - 5 x mile at HM pace with a 400 rest.  2 mile warmup and 2 mile cool down.  Good effort. 

AM - 4.5 miles with Finn and with neighbor Dan.   Legs were tired from yesterday's workout, as expected.  

PM - another 5.5 miles at lunchtime - started easy and slow.  

AM - 4.5 miles with Finn and neighbor Dan again this morning.  Dan is driving his eldest back to school this morning at UVA for the start of her second year.  I kinda miss those days a bit now that my children are well past that age.  

PM - 6 miles - Fartlek workout on a soccer field near my office  6 x 2 mins at 5k to 10k pace with a 1 min rest. Tough but good workout  

AM - 6.5 miles with Finn this morning before work.

AM - 4 miles early with Finn.  

PM - 6 miles just before dinner.   Did lots of yard work today.  Felt really fatigued on this run. 

PM - 14 miles in St Pete.  Had to be here for business in the morning tomorrow and did not run at home this morning.  Regretably it was in the upper 60’s midday in Atlanta for the first time in forever but I ended running in St Pete where it was 94.  Bleah 

AM - 4 miles with Richie in St Pete.  Just a shake out run - good to see him and catch up a bit.  

AM - 3 miles with Finn in the rain this morning before sunrise.  

PM - 10 miles on the treadmill after work 

AM - 4.75 miles with Finn and Dan before sunrise. 

PM - 6.25 miles at lunchtime 

PM - treadmill tempo - 2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down - 6 miles at MP - which on this treadmill was 6:44 pace.  Generally I try to hit my target HR and whereever the pace ends up on the treadmill - I get the intended effect of the workout. 

This was a bit tougher than I expected - I had to concentrate pretty hard - and the last mile or so was a bit above threshold.  

AM - just under 4.75 miles with Finn and with Dan before sunrise.  Dan is leaving for vacation to Greece later today.

PM - 5 miles after work with Finn on the Milton Trail.  

PM - 17 miles on the treadmill.  Good decision to stay inside with really warm temps - today.  I felt really relaxed and watched football and listen to a new book on running.  “Running to the Edge” by Matt Futterman.  

PM - just under 8 miles on some dirt roads along horse farms with Finn.  

AM - 5.75 miles with Finn on a relaxed Labor Day morning.  

PM - 5.25 slow miles on the treadmill