Bret

AM - just under 6.5 miles with Dan and the dogs from his place on the horese farm trail roads - much cooler today in the upper 30's than the last few days.  Go run and conversation to begin the new year. 

AM - 4.25 miles on the Milton Trail with Dan and Finn. Even colder today in the upper 20's 

AM - 3.25 miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs.   Got a slightly later start than normal and so decided to go shorter at Dan's request.   The trail surface was mostly frozen - which made for easier running where warmer temps would have resulted in some muddy sections being a bit more treacherous.    Dog clean up was easier too - less mud.  

AM - 7 miles with the guys and a new joiner Ryan so we had a total of 5 of us plus Finn from downtown on a cold morning.  Good relaxed effort and great conversation.  

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan and the dogs on the golf course before church. 

AM - 5k on the treadmill - heavy rains and colder temperatures kept me from considering an outdoor run today - much to my dog's frustration. 

AM - 4 miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs - quite cold in the 20's and the ground is frozen so no issues with the mud from the rains yesterday.  A little twinge in the left hamstring perhaps from running on the treadmill yesterday?   Heading down to Disney on Thursday with the kids and grandkids - Bradlea and Marcus are doing the half marathon on Saturday and I am doing the full on Sunday.  

AM - 3.75 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton Trail - very cold and windy this morning - in the low 20's with the feels-like temp at 14.  The windy was painfully cold on my face going out on the trail, but then as we warmed up and headed back, it was good to have the wind at our backs.   Heading down tomorrow to Disney.  

AM - 3.25 miles with Dan and Finn 

AM - 2.5 miles with Delaney around the Disney area resorts 

AM - 2 miles running around the Disney hotel trying to time it right to see Bradlea and Marcus in the half marathon.   Got a good video of them and they looked great going very easy.  This was Bradlea's longest run and first half marathon.  Marcus ran together with her and they were dressed in red and black with mouse ears.   It was a bit rainy and humid but they had a good experience.  

Disney Marathon 2025 - This was scheduled nearly a year ago when Bradlea and Marcus had the idea of doing the half and having me do the full marathon with a long family weekend with the grandchildren with visits to the parks to bookend the vacation.   Richie signed up as well but as late as Friday had told me he was nursing a slight calf injury and was not going to run. Then Saturday morning he called and had just finished a 12 mile training run and perhaps FOMO decided he was going to make the drive over from his home in St. Pete.  I was excited to having the chance to run with someone instead of solo.  Funny story - he recently bought a Sprinter van and decided to drive over late Saturday evening declined to sleep in our hotel room and instead slept in the camper van in the parking lot.   
 

The race start is 4:30 am so we were heading to the Epcot parking lot by 2:45 am.  Richie had to get special treatment to get his bib number on the morning of the race and the security layout kept us from the comfort of his vehicle in the relatively cold conditions for Florida of the low 40's.   Side note - with the race starting so early - many of us had to use the restrooms along the course a time or two - since it was a bit off of our "regular" schedules.  :) 

Due to his lack of training and lack of mental preparation this ended up being a buddy run with him - which was really great.  We went out easy and ran together from start to finish and got a negative split.   The course is actually quite uninspiring - mostly of it taking place on service roads and parking lots between the various Disney parks.  Richie was really having a hard time with the lack of spectators and scenery - but perked up when we were in the parks and when we encountered character photos areas.  Oddly, they have Disney characters placed along the course where runners will stop and get a photo with say, Donald Duck or Darth Vader - also oddly, people were lining up for these photos.  

Anyway, this was very much a training run effort heartrate-wise until the last few miles where I was fatigued and started to lose form and we were going a bit faster toward the end.   

Marathon #48 is now in the books.   Good to run a race with Richie from start to finish for the first time ever too.

AM - 1.5 mile shakeout / systems check run around the hotel in Disney.  No real issues, just a little soreness. 

Day off - as I had to be at the airport early for a 6 am flight to NYC for work.

AM - a little over 5k in NYC up the Hudson river trail - and back to my hotel - Quite windy and cold in the lower 20's.   Either catching a cold or struggling with some inflammation in my lungs?  Felt terrible.

Sick

Still sick with a fever

Zero - very sick with the flu and with a fever. 

AM - 3.25 miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs.  Slow going - still recovering from the flu - very muddy trail.

AM - 3.75 miles from Dan's house up to the horse trail roads.  Very cold at 16 degrees and a "feels-like" temp of 5.   Hands/fingers were painfully cold despite gloves and mittens.  Ran shorter due to that.  

AM - 4.25 miles on the Milton Trail with Dan and Finn - not quite as cold but I had some rechargable handwarmer pods as a Christmas present  - that I used for the first time today.   A little awkward, but they were effective.  Put them inside my mittens and rolled them around - they are like a large key fob.   Hands were warm and that was the key.  

AM - 4.5 miles from my house with Dan and the dogs over to the WC Golf Course - colder again today with a temperature of 14 degree with feels-like temps in the single digits.  Some snow hit the area just south of us - but we were spared.   Handwarmers were effective.   

AM - 4.25 miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs.  Under 20 degrees again this morning - and the trail was completely frozen - so the muddy track from the construction equipment was not sloppy, it was challenging because it was not smooth - and tough on the ankles.  

AM - 4.25 miles with Dan and Finn from Milton HS through Crabapple.  Temps still below 20 degrees this morning - pace was quicker today with mostly flat roads.  

AM - 8 miles with a considerable group.   Dan, Greg, Ryan and Darryl with Finn to start - and then we ran into two random guys doing a long run on the horse trail roads - and asked them to join us - Allen and Ben - two pretty accomplished runners of similar age.  Shared about 3-4 miles with them before they headed further out and we turned back.  Still quite cold, but a good pace and good conversation made it an enjoyable morning.  

AM - 3.25 miles easy with Finn before church. 

AM - 5 miles on the treadmill as it was raining this morning.  Just did not feel like running in the 40's with rain.  

AM - 3.5 miles with Dan and the dogs on the trail.   Rain from yesterday, even though it was at or below freezing temps this morning left some areas still quite muddy and others frozen and slippery.   Had a stop a number of times to locate Rosie who was exploring - at one point she had a massive frozen dead fish in her mouth - which was really disgusting.  So lots of stops and starts - and not much distance - but good conversation.   May try to get a couple more miles in later today on the treadmill if I have time. 

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn from Dan's house out to the horse farm trail roads.   Decent pace - though my Apple Watch was buggy this morning at the start of the run - when I tried to start it with Siri (to avoid removing my gloves to start it) - which normally works fine - but today it did not appear to start a run workout, but something else - and when I attempted to correct it, Dan repeatedly gave Siri other crazy instructions as a joke - "like record the audio from this run" - and in the end it failed to record the first 4-5 mins of the workout.  

AM - 5 miles on the golf course with Dan and the dogs. 

AM - just under 5 this morning from the high school through Crabapple with Dan and Finn.  Wore the Kinvara's for the first time in a while, which felt weird.  The NB Supercomps I got are a half size too small and the left big toe is getting an ingrown nail because of it - so I gave it a break today - and bought a larger size.  

AM - 9 good miles with a group of 7 runners plus Finn - a new addition for today was Venu who is a friend of Allan and Ben who we met last week.  Very cool to have a group this size and with similar talent and age.  

AM - 4 miles with Finn in the neighborhood before church. 

AM - 5 miles with Dan on the trail - but we left it because it was too muddy and slippery and Rosie ended up not coming with him which is why he wanted to run the trail in the first place. 

AM - 5 miles with Dan and dogs on the golf course.   A bit slow-going with Rosie but a pleasant morning.  

2000 meters of indoor rowing afterwards 

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn from Dan's house up to the horse farm trail roads.  Last 3 miles were sub 8 min pace without Rosie running with us.   2000 meters of indoor rowing following the run.

AM - 5 miles on the Milton trail with Dan and Finn.   Warm enough this morning in the uppper 50's for just shorts and a shirt.

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn through the neighborhood over to the Groves and back.  Quite warm compared to the last few weeks in the low 60's and humid.   Rough acclimation with such a rapid change.   Dan was heading out early to do a college visit with his son to Tennessee where he was accepted - (though he has acceptances to multiple schools already) but had not visited yet.  

AM - 10.50 miles in total this morning.  Did a short run with Finn of a little over a mile or so because I did not think he should run quite as far as I had planned today especially with it being warmer.   Met Dan and Ryan at the Summit Elementary school and we ran for probably 5 miles or so and then went back to the school to meet Ben who had just arrived.  Greg never showed.  Dan headed back home and I ran with Ryan and Ben for another 4 miles or so before heading back home as Tracy had something on the schedule for early today.   Ran reasonably well, but not sure if the warmer humid temps the last couple of days, or the indoor rowing I did everyday or the combination of the two (and the slight increase in mileage) had me feeling a little overly fatigued today.   Too much perceived effort. 

AM - a little under 4.5 miles with Finn on the Nix road route.  Very fatigued and probably in need of a day off - but Finn was very persistently wanting to run - so I kept things very slow and easy at a recovery effort. 

AM - 4 easy trail miles with Dan and the dogs on the MCC trail behind my property.   Not too muddy - and the temperature was nearly 20 degrees cooler today.  Needed at least another recovery day type effort. 

AM - 5.25 miles from Dan's house today with Finn  - on the horsefarm trail roads.  Colder and windier today - but a decent run all the same and much more normal pace.  

AM - 5 miles on the treadmill - as I had no interest in running in the rain at 37 degrees this morning.   Good run - followed by some indoor rowing, 

AM - 5 miles with Dan and the dogs on the golf course.  Heavy rains and thunderstorms yesterday and overnight - with still some drizzle this morning.  

PM -  5 miles around Stowe Vermont - we arrive late last night and stayed in Burlington for the night at a B&B and had a nice breakfast drove around the town and headed out to Stowe at the Green Mountain Inn where we have stayed 3 out of the last 4 years for Valentine's Day weekend.  

AM - 6.25 miles on the Stowe Recreational Path from the center of town.  Got a little lost in the snow as there is a smaller loop called the Quiet Path and it is not well marked.  So after hitting a dead end I retraced my way back to get on the trail which was at times very slow going with soft snow in some areas.  Quite cold too at 3 degrees but sunny.  I needed up losing the path when it came parallel to the road out to the ski resort but decided it was long enough to just turn around and finish up on the roads.  Got a good snow beard from the cold 🥶 on my face.  

AM- 4.5 miles in a fairly heavy snow storm this morning before we headed to the airport.  Had 10 inches of snow with more coming down.  The strap on spikes for my running shoes that I bought last time we were here have been pretty helpful- never slipped even once on the snow and ice.  

No run - super early rescheduled flight due to weather kept me from getting out today.

AM -  5 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton Trail - cold here but relatively speaking to the temps in Vermont at 25 degrees this morning - not too bad.  Good to get out with Finn and have some conversation with Dan.

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and the dogs - much of it on the WC Golf Course.  

AM - 4 miles with Dan and Finn in the neighborhood very early as I had a meeting in the office.  Very cold this morning as well - but not quite as cold as Vermont on the weekend. 

AM - just under 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn from Dan's house.  Temps in the mid teens today - but I think the handwarmers were the missing link in my cold weather gear up until a few weeks ago.   Now, I really have very little discomfort running in cold weather.  Good merino wool gear and tights with a windbreaker if it is breezy - and with the hand warmers I really don't mind it at all.  Dan did not initially want to go out today but was glad that he did - though he was not dressed well enough and his hands were freezing :). 

AM - 9.25 miles with the group of 8 minus Dan from Summit Hill Elementary.  I started before everyone as I needed to be home earlier than previously expected - so Finn and I did about 3 miles and then ran back to the school to meet everyone else.   Cold again in low 20's but not much wind.  Finn seemed a little bit "off" today but maintained.  Pace was honest at between 8 and 8:30 and coversation was good.   I split off on Wood before the bridge and made it home on time.   Would have liked another few miles - several ended up with 12+ for the day - with Ben extending his run to 18 in his Boston training.  

AM - 4.75 miles with Dan and Rosie on the trail.   Still in the 20's the trail surface was frozen - so the mud was easier to traverse.  Gave Finn the day off since he was walking like he had a hind quarter issue following Saturday's longer run. 

AM - 3.6 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton Trail.  Dan is having an issue with the left hamstring now - last year it was the right side and he had PRP which worked very well - so we had to slow down and cut the run short this morning.   Finn seemed ok on the run with his hindquarter issues - but then slept all morning afterwards - so he's not quite back to normal.    I got on the treadmill when I got back to the house and did a couple more miles at a faster pace. 

AM - a little over 5 miles this morning with Finn through Wood Valley and the North Valley neighborhood.  Dan took the day off from running and has an MRI scheduled for today for his left hamstring.  Decent run but Finn is still slightly off his norm - stopped to turn around about 20 meters before we would normally do so.   Temps improving to the upper 30's this morning - less cold weather gear needed.  

AM - just under 5 miles today.  Took things quite slowly and easy mostly on the trail with Finn.  Dan's out until further notice and I felt like I have a possible tweak in the left hip - and generally felt a little like I needed either a day-off or just an easy recovery effort day.   Seemed to be the right choice to run slow and easy on softer terrain - not quite as cold, and though the trail was not frozen, it was also not muddy (rain is expected tomorrow) and the ground was softer as a result.   I did a long loop out of the neighborhood first before entering the trail.  It would have been exactly 5 except that a contractor/construction pick-up truck arrived just was we were reaching the Dinsmore gate - and though it was still dark, I had a headlamp on and I thought they may have a problem with me being on the trail during construction - so we turned around quickly to head back to avoid any interaction in case that area is in fact supposed to be off-limits to the public until completed.  So we ran a bit faster to stay out ahead of the vehicle which seemed at times was stopping to check on equipment - until we exited the restricted area.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn in the neighborhood early ahead of a meeting in the office today.  Slightly faster than yesterday - hip felt fine.  

AM - 5 miles on the Nix road route with Finn - still minus Dan due to his injury.  Cooler yet again this morning in the upper 30's.  

AM - decent long run this morning with Darryl.  The larger Saturday morning group was scattered in response to texts on Friday evening so the two of us just decided to do our own thing - in which I ran from my place to his, and structured a longer loop back near my house and he ran back to his.   Took Finn for a short 1 mile loop before heading out to meet Darryl who just moved into his house which is about 3 miles away just past Bell Memorial Park.   Had a nice relaxed effort with him with some good conversation.  Ended-up just short of 12 miles today.

AM - just under 5 miles in the neighborhood with Finn before church.  Cold again...

AM - 5.5 miles with Finn out to the Groves development through the neighborhood.  Upper 20's this morning...I know its early March, but it feels like the temperatures should be moderating more than they have been.

AM - 4.25 miles with Dan and Finn from Dan's house.  He probably should not have run today with his hamstring injury - but he had taken 9 days off and thought it felt ok to run.  He was fine for the first couple of miles but then we had to walk and jog.  Good to catch up with him nonetheless.  

AM - 6 miles with Finn in the neighborhood.  Felt a little sluggish today and the perceived effort did not match the pace or HR.  

AM -  5 miles on the treadmill.   Just not in the mood to run in 30 mph wind gusts with freezing temps today. 

AM - 5 miles on the trail with Finn. 

AM - did 2 miles with Finn in the neighborhood to give him some exercise and then met the guys in downtown Alpharetta and did another 12.5 miles, which were fairly fast in the low 8 min pace with a few under 8 mins.  Last several miles required some concentration to maintain.  Ben was going to do 17 and Greg did a few more with him.  Good effort today. 

AM - recovery effort 5 miles with Finn on the Nox road route. 

AM - 4.5 miles on the treadmill as it was raining and 44 degrees outside.   Ran a little easier and slightly shorter - as I really only run on the 'mill when it is raining and my legs are not as used to the treadmill as when I ran on it fairly regularly several years ago.  

AM -  5 miles on a somewhat chilly morning just under 40 degrees.  Wore my gloves with the handwarmers, but no tights.  Stayed in the neighborhood and pace was easy, but I felt fairly recovered from Saturday's harder longer run.   My pace on easy days now is much slower in comparison to a few years ago - but I am healthy and have no injuries and so I am ok with that. 

AM - just shy of 5.25 miles this morning with Finn on a variation of the Milton Trail starting on Freemanville up to Summit and Brittle then back on Philip's Circle and Wood Rd.  This DST has left it so dark from start to finish on the run.   Moon was bright and yellow on the horizon not quite full but close.   Felt smooth and no aches or pains and lacking any feel of inflammation - so much so, that it was noticeable.   First mile was uphill and slow as a warm up but the rest of the miles were at a good pace.  Finn seemed a little off this morning.

AM - 5 miles with Finn on the trail - a bit early since he got me up ahead of my alarm - slightly warmer - trail was not too bad - though still under pretty heavy construction around the ponds - and it seems that they still have work to do on drainage - with some low spots and standing water from rains all the way back to Monday still there.   

AM - 4.25 very easy run/walk miles with Dan and the dogs from his house.  He's easing back into running after a few weeks off for a tweaked hamstring.   The effort this morning seemed to be well tolerated by his hamstring and it was good to catch up with him after so many days of not connecting on a daily basis. 

AM - 2 miles with Finn and then met the group at Summit and got 11.5 miles in - fairly fast and lots of elevation.  I think Ben did 23 today and was very solid in his effort - preparing for Boston in a few weeks - he's aiming for a sub 3 time.   I ran with him and Greg up front - everyone else dropped - I peeled off when I knew I would have close to 14 miles total.  It was a fairly intense effort for mwith GAP pace under 8 mins and avg HR of 150 in much warmer temps at right around 60 degrees.  

AM - slightly less than 4 miles with Dan and Finn in the neighborhood going with a run/walk approach for Dan's hamstring injury recovery.  It was actually perfect for me after a hard long run with elevation yesterday and 2 days of yard work.  Big storms came through overnight keeping Finn on high alert for a few hours - fortunately we had just rain and wind with some lightning- but nothing more serious and really nothing in the way of damage.  

AM - just under 5 miles this morning on the Nix route with Finn.  Considerably colder today and with winds at 15 mph - the feels like temp was 26.  Saturday I ran shirtless, today I had two shirts and wore tights.  Such is the Spring in Atlanta. 

AM - 3.75 miles on the trail with Dan - doing a run/wak thing for him every other day to recover from his hamstring injury.   Probably will do something later today to get a few more miles in. 

PM - I did a workout on the treadmill - 2 x mile; and 1 x 800 with a full recovery in between with a mile warm up and short cool down.   Felt good to run with some speed - I do not think I have done a workout in ages.   The miles were just sub 7 and the half was at 3:20 pace - but I really enjoyed it.  

AM - 5 miles easy through East Bluff with Finn on a chilly morning.  Enjoyed the solitude of that neighborhood in the dark. 

AM - another walk/run with Dan and the dogs helping him recover from his hamstring issue.  We definitely ran much more today - and he seems to be improving.  The slow pace is good for him to gradually strengthen and it is a nice break for me to do these less intense effort - though I feel like I still need to run again later today.  

AM - a little over 5 miles this morning.  Quite cold again just around freezing with lower "feels-like" temps - but I feel like this may be the last really cold morning now for a while - at least according to my weather app.   Decent effort with just Finn today.  

AM - did a short run to give Finn a little exercise then met Greg at the Greenway and we did about 14.5 miles - and at a fairly fast pace- averaging 7:45.  Temps were cold but not as cold as yesterday.  Good effort today. 

AM - easy run/walk on the trail with Dan and the dogs allowing for his gradual hamstring recovery.  

AM - 5.5 miles on the hotel treadmill in DC.  Raining this morning - and no backup shoes or clothes for a run in the rain today to allow a run tomorrow - so I stayed inside today.  

AM - 7.25 miles in DC along the Mount Vernon trail along the Potomac from Crystal City - up to the bridges over to the Tidal Basin - for photos of the cherry blossoms at sunrise.  Cold, but great run. 

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan on the trail.  

AM - 4 miles on the trail with Dan.

AM - 4.25 miles in Stow, Mass - the small town outside of Boston where Riley and Sam just moved into their new home.   Very New England rural area - nice run with her dog Molly to this flood management conservation area called Delaney Pond.   Good to catch up with her and spend some time in their house with some minor home improvement projects.  

No run this morning - rain / snow and only one set of shoes - and Riley wanted to run tomorrow. 

AM - cold drizzle / icy run with Riley and Molly in her new town outside of Boston down to the Delaney watershed pond and trail area.   Molly was off-lead on the trails and had a blast. 

AM - 4.25 miles with Dan on the Milton Trail.   Good run for Dan with very little walking for his hamstring.  Quite warm - shirtless run.   Weather coming in midday with thunderstorms expected.  

AM - 4 miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs - quite muddy from the rains yesterday - and I took a digger near the end coming down a hill in the woods.  No real harm done.   Need to get another run in later today...too many easy short runs with friends the last several days.  

PM - treadmill workout - 6 x 800 at 3:20 pace with full recovery.  Good workout effort - felt solid.  HR drift by the last two up close to threshold at 156-157 but overall in good range.  Nothing hurt and I was not on the limit. 

AM - 4 miles very easy.  Heavy legs from yesterday's workout - and it was warm and so much pollen!!!

AM - run with Dan and Finn from Milton HS through Crabapple.   Legs were still heavy from Tuesday's workout and wanted to do something flat.   After the first mile or two, legs felt a little more normal - and this was by far the longest and uninterrupted run for Dan with his hamstring recovery.  

AM - 5 miles from Dan's house with the dogs.  Rosie had frequent stops because perhaps of how warm it was today - lots of pollen too.  Legs felt a little heavy even after 3 days!  Good conversation and Dan's hamstring issue seems to have nearly resolved. 

AM - 12 miles with Greg on the Greenway.   Expected a couple more to join based on the text string last night, but it was just the two of us, which with Greg translates to a much faster pace than with a larger group.   Most miles were sub 8 after the first one.  Warm but not uncomfortable - lots of pollen to inhale.  Solid tempo like effort. 

AM - 5.5 miles on the trail with Finn at recovery effort. 

AM - 5k with Dan and Finn in the neighborhood.  I had an early dentist appointment- so did not have time to get any additional miles in.  Good to catch up with him after he was out of town over the weekend on a college visit trip with his son in Virginia.  

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn in the neighborhood.  Cold front pushed through with rain all day yesterday, and it was 20 degrees cooler this morning than yesterday morning.   Up late last night watching the Gators win their 3rd National Championship in basketball.  

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn starting on the trail and out to Wood Valley and Thompson.  Stayed off Freemanville traffic going up the trail is a good option. 

AM - a little over 5 miles this morning with Finn starting from Wood Rd. and doing an out and back on Summit and Brittle.  

AM 5 miles with Finn on the Nix road route

AM - 10 miles solo very early as we have the grandchildren this weekend and are taking them to the zoo today. 

AM - 3 miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs. He just returned from vacation in Dominican Republic and we had some time to catch up.  The trail construction work and the heavy rains over the last couple of days made for a muddy and short mess of a run.  

AM - a little over 4.25 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton trail before heading to Miami for a business trip. 

AM - 5 miles from my hotel on Miami Beach south on A1A and then looping back on the "boardwalk" along the beach which is really a very nice path of pavers.   Warmer and more humid, but the sea breeze from the Ocean made this really pleasant. 

AM - 5 miles on Miami Beach from my hotel going north this time on the boardwalk and doing a turnaround on the same.  Ran way too hard for the work stress I have been under.   HR was at a tempo effort - but my pace was meh.   

AM - 5 miles on the same route as Tuesday heading south on A1A on Miami Bch.  Much less effort today, very low energy - tried to keep my HR in the zone 2 range. 

AM 4.25 miles with Dan and the dogs from his house this morning.   Rosie was very slow which was actually good for me, to keep my effort modest and aerobic.  

AM - 10 miles with the guys from Summit Elementary.  Slightly slower than my usual pace with Greg for the first half and then normal Greg pace for the second half.  Finn ran the first half and then when Dan peeled off he agreed to take him back to my truck where he waited until I finished.  

AM - 4 miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs.  

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan and Finn from Milton HS and through Crabapple.   Talked about our friends who were doing Boston today - felt a little FOMO.  Tracked them all and each had very good runs today - Ben in particular went sub-3 hours at 2:56 and Allan ran 3:19.   Kacy ran 3:11 and Karen ran 3:18.   Nice seeing Conner Mantz run a really strong race today too.  

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn through the East Bluff and up to the top of Dinsmore.   Slow start but gradually got up to a good pace. Finn seemed to be a little off this morning at times running in parallel or slightly behind me - though he was super stoked to run when we got up this morning.  As with the last two mornings, I have done some indoor rowing as a part of additional fitness along with yoga and strengthening exercises.

AM - 5 miles on the WC Golf course with Dan and Finn.

AM - 3.5 miles with Dan and the dogs on the trail which was pretty muddy from the rains over the last few days - so we stayed on the back nine - and looped around the lake over a couple of new bridges which are nearly completed.   He had an early doctor appointment and had to cut things short today. 

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn through the neighborhood quite early as I had a meeting in the office.  Slow start as always, but finished strong.  Finn has been lagging a little bit in the last couple of runs where he's more to the side of me instead of his normal up front.   

AM - 7.5 miles with Dan and Darryl on an improvised and very hilly route - we opted not to go with Greg on the Forsyth trail where we end up with a tempo effort.  This was more relaxed and sub-tempo and sub-long run distance.   Good conversation. 

AM - 4.5 miles with Finn before church up to Birmingham Rd and past the little Publix.  Less traffic on Sunday morning made this possible.  Decent pace for a change following a Saturday run of late. 

AM - 4.5 miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs.   Trail construction is proceeding and in some areas they have footbridges nearly completed across the ponds and some newly created creeks.  

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton Trail.  Good pace for a change - and good conversation. 

AM - just about 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn from my house up the trail to Dinsmore and the East Bluff neighborhood and back.  Hilly but solid effort by all.  Finn seems to be back to running well with no gimpiness in his front paw...unfortunately later this morning he had another seizure...he's having these breakthrough seizures every few weeks despite medication from the vet.  

AM - 6 miles in WV.  Started in town and ran up the extension to Rte 2 to Glen Dale past the high school and back down the river trail.  Decent pace and good HR but felt stiff and clunky rather than easy and smooth.  

AM - 5.25 miles out to the 12th Street Park and then some add-ons up down Rte 2 past Kroger and then back up into town. Still felt a bit off and so ran easy for the first few miles before getting into my normal pace. 

AM - 10 miles in Moundsville up to Glen Dale and out Little Grave Creek and back along the Ohio River Trail - second half of the run was  much faster at sub 8 minute pace.   Good run today.  

AM - easier 4.75 miles this morning in the rain mainly staying in Moundsville - just touching into Glen Dale past Dicarlos Pizza and back down the extension.  Got warmed up into normal pace sooner today at just over a mile instead of 2 or 3 miles.  

AM - 5 miles in White Columns solo as Finn is still at the vet/boarding and Dan is travelling.   Decent effort in terms of pace following the first two miles.

AM - Easy trail run with Dan and the dogs.  Good to catch up after each of us was traveling over the a long weekend.  His daughter graduated from Michigan with her masters in business and is set to start her first job in June and his youngest child starts college in the Fall at Va Tech.  

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and the dogs from his house on to the horse farm trail roads in the rain.  Good conversation, and the rain was light and almost not noticeable.  

AM - 4 miles easy with Finn very early in the neighborhood as I had an early meeting in the office today.  Feeling stronger as I get into the second to third mile on each run in the last week or so, to where my avg pace is low 8's to sub 8 after a mile or two of warming into the effort.  

AM - just less than 4.5 miles in what turned out to be a walk/run with Dan who had a sudden hamstring cramp/injury at just under 2 miles - so we jogged and walked it back in.  

AM - longer run with the guys in the rain from Summit Elementary.  Solid effort on the hills.  

AM - 4.75 miles with Finn on the roads where weekday traffic is too high, but Sunday morning allows for it.  Was not really feeling it today - and considered a shorter effort, but ended up close to my daily average. 

AM - 4.5 miles with Finn in some heavy rain - ran through the golf course and exited via the gated section of WC.  Not exactly an enjoyable effort in such a slog. 

AM - 3 mile walk/jog with Dan with his new injured hamstring protocol...good to connect and chat.   The trail was a muddy mess in areas but not too much trouble since we were not really running all that much in those spots. 

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn through East Bluff up Thompson and down Dinsmore.  Very slow clunky-feeling start.   We were between passing thunderstorms and I was trying to get the run done outside before the next wave arrived.   Nearly made it, but the last half mile had lots of lightning close by and heavy rains.  

PM - 6.5 miles in Amsterdam from my hotel and around Vondel Park.  Decent pace - beautiful weather - lots of people and bikes.  

AM - 5 miles around the park behind the hotel and then a little exploring the east part of the city.  

AM - 3.75  easy miles on a travel day from Amsterdam to Paris.

AM - 5 miles from the first hotel we stayed in Paris.   Ran along the river from Gare de Lyon up to Notre Dame - and a little bit beyond.   It appeared that there was some type of oganized road race but not starting until perhaps later in the morning, because I saw runners warming up and ultimately ran past the finishing line and chute on my way back along the Seine. 

AM - from our nicer hotel in Paris in the 7th - I ran out towards the Eifel Tower and then across the river up to the Arc de Triomphe and down along the Champs Ellysee and then back.   Lots of traffic with people getting to work on bikes and cars at the time I ran.   Beautiful weather.  

Celebrating 35 years of marriage today.

AM - easy 4 miles ahead of a conference I am attending.  Ran along the river again.  Noticed later that a former colleague of mine from Singapore had run a similar route as me on Strava perhaps 30 mins later.   We ran into each other at the conference having not previously known we were both attending.  

AM - feeling sluggish with a bit of a head cold the last two days and knowing I had a long flight home ahead of me, I ran very easy, and ultimately decided to go short, when I turned my ankle on some cobblestones.   Not too severe of an injury but it will probably take a week or two before its back to normal. 

AM - walk/jog trail run with Dan and Rosie back at home from a long day of travel yesterday.  Good to be back on home soil - which was fairly muddy :)

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn

AM - 13 miles total for the morning.  Couple of miles with Finn to give him some exercise because he really should not be doing long runs at his age.  Then met with the group at Summit Hill.  Started slowly with Dan who is nursing a hamstring.  We caught Ryan and Ben at just around a mile but a half mile later his injury became worse and so I ran /walked with him back to the cars hoping to see Darryl who had called running late but he was a no show.  Ran solo until about 5.5 miles when I saw the guys heading back but I didn't turn around there but kept going past the gated section of WC.   I ended up going back on Redd and met up with Ben for the last mile or so - fast of course with him.  

AM - woke up late and it was raining hard - so I opted for a couple of miles on the treadmill.  

AM - 5 miles with Finn on the Birmingham loop with light traffic on this holiday.   Legs felt heavy and slow - so I didn't grind but kept it easy and smooth.   Lots of rain overnight - but not too bad when we ran.  

AM - 3 miles very early because of a flight and travel to NYC with a car pick-up at 5 am.  Avoided the rain somehow.  

AM - 6 miles in Central Park in New York- here on business.  Ran quite quickly at tempo for some unknown reason.  

AM - 3.25 miles in Central Park quite early in a light rain before heading to the airport.  Unless, I was out too early, it would appear that most of the runners in NYC choose not to run in the rain, because I think I saw a total of 3 runners in the park this morning whereas it usually has so many runners on a regular basis that it resembles a race.   

AM - 5 miles with Finn in the neighborhood and around the golf course...much slower on the hills and in the humidity and with the dog than I was running in NYC earlier this week.  

AM - 2 miles with Finn to give him some exercise because I was going to do a long run and he's no longer really able to safely do that at his age I think.   Then I met Ryan and Darryl at Summit Hill.  Pace was much more reasonable with them.  Ryan peeled off at around 7 miles and Darryl a little over 8 miles - and I did another 4 on my own a little faster than with them.  Good conversation - solid run.

AM - 5 miles very easy with Finn before church 

AM - a little over 5 miles this morning with Finn through the East Bluff neighborhood - so many deer out this morning in the fields and woods and neighborhoods. 

AM - 3 very easy miles - in which I did a walk/jog with Dan who is struggling with a hamstring injury - and the two dogs on the trail.  I needed a recovery effort - as yesterday evening I was feeeling some aches and inflammation in my upper back and traps and shoulders.   I may do a workout on the treadmill later if my schedule permits and I am feeling up to it. 
 

PM - treadmill tempo- 10 minWU and 3 miles at 7:40 pace.  HR was no higher than 143.  

AM - 5.5 very easy recovery miles with Finn through the North Valley/East Bluff neighborhood starting on the trail to avoid the traffic on Freemanville.  Really nice morning with lots of mist arising from the ponds and fields full of deer. 

AM - speed work on the track - 17 x 200 with full recovery.  Ran these very consistently in the 42-43 second range - with a few at 44 at the beginning and a couple right at 40 seconds in the latter half.   Finn ran with me, and seemed to do fine; though he headed to the exit after #17 when I probably would have maybe pushed to do a few more - but probably best to see how the body does in recovering from the two more intense sessions this week and not push too much. 

AM - 3 easy walk/run miles with Dan and the dogs on the trail. 

AM - 2 miles with Finn and then drove to the Forsyth greenway and did 13.   Very warm and quite humid.   Could have met Ben and Greg at Riverside but I knew they'd want to run sub 8's and that's too far to drive anyway.  Glad I did my own thing today because I really was not feeling it.  Legs were tired from two workouts this week and extra volume/mileage called for slower effort.  This ended up being hard in terms of my HR in the latter half of the run.  Saw Rodee going the opposite direction when I had about 4 miles left - had not seen him a quite some time - we chatted briefly.  Pleased to have gotten the miles in, but it was not pretty or easy.

AM - 3 miles on the treadmill in the afternoon - which was interrupted by a 5 min power outage.  Legs were very sore this morning and I did not feel well, so I did not run early as is my normal routine.  Felt better by the afternoon and the legs were not as bad. 

AM - very slow walk/run with Dan on the trail.   Finn is sick with something that is perhaps a stomach virus or worse.   

PM - 3 miles on the treadmill to get a few more miles in.   Finn is in fact very sick and had been with the Vet all day.   Things are looking a bit grim for him.  

AM - 2.5 miles easy with Dan to do a bit of a mental health run with him.  Brought Finn home last night from the vet, and will need to make some decisions if his condition continues to deteriorate.  They have him on antibiotics, and we are hopeful that perhaps his acute symptoms are as a result of a bacterial infection, but he also has a handful of other comorbidities that may or may not be the cause of his symptoms (in no particularl order, seizure disorder, heart murmur, kidney function deteriorating/declining, some type of mass seen in his abdomen on x-ray which may or may not be a tumor).  He is slightly better today - though I need to carry him up and down the stairs, because he is very weak and lethargic. :(

AM - track workout - 7 x 400 at 6:15-6:30 pace with a 200 rest.   

Finn passed away peacefully and naturally yesterday in our home, with me sitting next to him.   The little guy had a lot going on in the last year or so health-wise, but it was some type of bacterial infection that he contracted over the weekend that was just too much for him to overcome despite efforts with the vet and antibiotics.   We brought him home late Tuesday afternoon and he spent the night the next day very close to my side.  He was very weak and lethargic and I think he knew it was his time.   I was thankful that I was there with him in the end and that he felt at home, secure and at peace.

Finn was my very close running companion for the last 10 years.  He probably ran with me nearly every day that I was in-town with the exception of days when he was sick or injured.  Our routine in the mornings particularly for the last 5 years since I began working from home with the pandemic, was that he'd usually urge me to get up before my alarm - stroll in the backyard for a few minutes to let him do his business; then I would read some emails, read the paper and take my blood pressure, about which time, he'd come over to me and stare, or make some noise of impatience as if to say "well, it's time to go run, what are you waiting for?"  

From the first time I took him out for a test run as a pup, maybe at 6-9 months old, he just naturally took to it - running on leash always in front, always all business about the run.   Even if we met Dan or his dog Rosie after starting a run, Finn had very little interest in soicalizing when we were running; before and after of course he was excited and playful, but running was his thing.   He knew the routes we ran, he had his preferences, but he could also sense when I was going to turn even before I did it - and then post run we would spend time stretching in the exercise room in my basement.   He'd get in my way, purposefully positioning himself to have me scratch his head, or rub his shoulders before I would say, ok - go get your breakfast - I am getting in the shower.   

Over the last year I was particularly aware that our time was going to come to a close. He developed a seizure disorder, which the vet surmised was possibly a brain tumor since he did not have epilepsy as a young dog...They told us he may have a few months or at the most a year - and as it turns out we got right about a year's more time with him.  

His running was still a part of our routine even as he aged, and did not have the same youthful energy or endurance.  Whereas there were times when we'd easily go 10 miles together or even as many as 15 a few times, I was very careful not to take him longer than 6 miles or so on a daily basis over the last several months.   Indeed, on my Saturday long runs lately, I would get up early, and take him out for at least a mile or two, and then go meet the guys for a long run just so that Finn could get his exercise and not feel too left out or disappointed.   We shared a bond together with running that is something for which I will always feel blessed to have had.  

Last week we did a workout together at the track.  It was supposed to be 20 x 200 and I was not sure he'd be up for it, so I parked the truck close to the track in case I needed to bring him over to finish the workout as he watched from the truck, but in fact, he did the workout without a problem - running on the inside of the track on the grass as I ran in lane 1.   When I got to rep #16 I thought, that's probably, enough for me, but maybe a couple more...when we finished #17 Finn moved across the track heading for the exit - deciding or sensing that we'd had enough for the day - we always seemed to be in sync that way....This morning as I did my workout on that same track, in a morning fog with the dew still on the grass, I remembered not even a week ago seeing his pawprints on the grass - and I felt at least briefly this morning, that I saw them again, as if he'd been running with me the whole time....

AM - 5 miles solo (ugh...without Finn now) in a recovery level effort following the workout yesterday.   Appreciated the kind words from everyone here and via text, and on Strava about Finn's passing.  

AM - 4 easy miles with Dan at the high school and through Crabapple.   His hamstring is gradually improving but needs very easy running and recovery time in between runs so doing an easy run with him at around 11 min pace worked well for me to keep my effort light following a workout 2 days ago and heading into a long run tomorrow. 

AM - long run in some quite humid/high dew point conditions today.  Did the first few miles with Dan, and then Ben arrived and unfortunately his training pace is more like my tempo pace and so I had to ask him to slow down a little, and although I had wanted to go 14-16 today, when we got back near the cars, 12 seemed like enough under the conditions today.  

AM - 5 miles before church - quite humid with a high dew point conditions- which I expect will be the case for the next couple of months.  Slow going today following yesterday's longer run.

AM - just under 6.5 miles through WC and cutting through the golf course and out the gated section and back through the entry from Birmingham in the non-gated section.   Good number of hills, and legs were still fatigued, so it was slow going at least for the first 4 miles today until I began to get warmed up.  

AM -3.75 miles with Dan on the Milton Trail still with a modified walk/run for his hamstring. 

AM - treadmill tempo of 3 miles after a 1 mile WU and a 1 mile CD after.   Avg pace was 7:22 but the last two miles were both under 7:15 after the first was around 7:40.   I was trying to target a HR of the mid 150's but never actually got there until running closer to 7 flat the last half mile.  Cooler indoors of course, so this was a good workout and not as taxing on me as the track or running long and fast on the hills on Saturdays...Honestly, the increased intensity of workouts and somewhat higher volume was beginning to result in some soreness and lack of motivation - so I needed to recalibrate my efforts to maybe do just one workout such as a tempo every week and a long run - versus two workouts which I might do every other week to keep me from getting injured or rundown. 

AM - 4 miles on the trail with Dan.  

AM - 4.25 miles with Dan from Milton HS - we ran into a different neighborhood, with some hills, and then did a quick lap around the track.  He was feeling nearly back to normal - and our pace was nearly where it normally is.

AM - 5 miles social run with Dan and Darryl from my house - neither of them were up for a long run and so my plan was to enjoy a run with them and then add some miles later. 
 

PM - 8 more miles on the treadmill with most of the miles at 8:20 pace and my HR not exceeding 130.  Really like these longer efforts at a decently steady pace and comfortable HR.  

AM - 3.75 recovery effort miles on the trail.   The construction of the new phase appears to be in the closing stages - with most of the bridges over the newly created creeks complete - and much of the gravel trail now in place - I would suspect that it will be done by August.

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan from his house out to the horse farm trail roads.   Felt a bit sluggish today to start and then later the HR seemed a bit higher than it should have been for the pace we were running - but it was considerably warmer and more humid - so that could have impacted things as well.   My overnight HR was 48 with a low of 43 - so that is suggesting that my fitness may be improving if that trend continues..

AM - 3.5 miles easy on the trail with Dan and Rosie. 

PM - treadmill fartlek - which was about 18-20 bursts of about 30-45 seconds at 5k pace with about a minute or less of rest.  1 mile WU and short cool down.   Really surprisingly good effort.  

AM - just under 3.75 miles with Dan on the Milton Trail at a recovery effort pace.  Quite warm and humid - good conversation.   I am leaving this evening for a long weeekend with Tracy and Bradlea and the grandchildren for Va Bch where Tracy's brother and his extended family are located.  Dan is out all of next week on vacation in the NE and moving his middle daughter into her new apt. in NYC where she starts her new job - so we will not see each other to run for over 10 days.   

AM - 5.75 miles in VA Beach from my BIL's house on a trail around a lake and did some exploring.  Found an historic marker for the Skirmish at James Plantation related to the revolutionary war and after Benedict Arnold had already switched sides.   Very hot and very high dew points - so kept this very slow and easy - which was not too bad of a plan because I kind of enjoyed the run.

AM - just under 6.25 miles on essentially the same route as yesterday at the same slow easy effort except for the last 1.5 miles when I wanted to have my avg pace begin with a 9 instead of a 10.  

AM - 11.25 mile long-ish run in Va Bch - exploring some different roads - high dew points and humidity with warm temps in the upper 70's even at 5:30 am - so I managed the effort to not overcook - which seemed to work well.  Hoped the route would have given me 13-14 miles but as it was, the morning plans with the family on the beach would not have allowed for it anyway.  

AM - 4.75 miles in VA Beach for my last morning here before heading home.  Slow effort again in the heat and humidity.   

AM - 5 miles through the neighborhood and partly on the golf course.  Lots of downed trees on my property from a bad storm when we were out of town.  

AM - 4 miles through Wood Valley and East Bluff.  Legs feel fatigued and I feel really slow at the beginning of my runs lately.  

AM - 3 miles easy on the trail..hoping to get some "rest" in my legs ahead of the Peachtree race on Friday morning.  Felt a little better today.  

AM - 2 miles on the trail - to allow for additional recovery time for my legs which are in need of a break; ahead of the Peachtree race tomorrow.   Also, I got a blister on my right achilles from using different shoes with no socks to cut the grass yesterday, and somehow slightly tweaked my right heel, right hamstring and right lower back yesterday jumping over a gap on the new trail bridges which are not yet completed.  Things that you would never give a second thought to doing when younger, always seem to have more of in impact when you are older.   Note to self - stop trying to do improptu steeplechase manuevers.  

Peachtree - 2025 was a decent solid effort for me.   Richie who has a lake house in Alabama now, decided late last week to drive the 3 hours or so to join me and run together.   Initially I thought we'd be going on the slower-side of things when he asked what my most recent tempo-paced runs had been (7:35-7:45) and he reacted by saying, he was not sure if he'd be up to it.   The first 2.75 miles of the race are net downhill, so it is easier than the second half, and we cruised the first mile at 7:35 and he seemed fine and conversational.   Mile 2 was 7:17 and sharper downhill, and both of us were easily within ourselves - but as we started the initial few hills, Richie dropped back a bit - and I checked on him, until I could not spot him, then as if he was just biding his time, he came up to me after the 4 mile mark and urged that we should keep grinding and picking people off.   Unfortunately, I was pretty much at my limit just to maintain my pace, and so gradually he pulled away, checking back a few times until neither could spot each other in the big crowd.  As it turned out we finished within 20 seconds of each other.  He actually just simply ran a much faster final two miles than I did, and that was cool because I had a negative/to even split running the last two miles in 7:37, 7:14 and 6:43 for the last .2 miles.  

Got to catch up a bit in person though we keep in touch via text and calls quite a bit.   We will be running together in 2 months at the Sydney marathon in Australia.

Day of rest. 

AM - very east 3.25 miles in the neighborhood  before church. 

AM - 4 miles easy on the trail with Dan and Rosie - good to catch up with him as we were both out of town on overlapping vacations.   

AM - a little over 5 miles solo this morning through up the trail through wood valley and east bluff.  Still getting memories of running or doing things with Finn - certain routes that he'd prefer or just things that he'd do that are pleasant reminders of the time we got to spend with each other.  

AM - just under 5.25 miles with Dan from his place this morning.   First mile as always was slow and uncomfortable, but after I got more warmed up most of the miles were comfortably in the 8:45 range.   Very warm and humid as you would expect this time of year. 

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan through WC and the golf course.  We ran in the reverse direction of our normal route on the course, which as it turns out felt significantly more difficult with seemingly more hills than in the usually direction.   

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan on the Milton trail.  A bit slower today as Dan was dragging a little.  

AM - 10 miles with Greg and Darryl from the Starbucks at Bethany Bend through Deerfield and up to Avalon and back through town.  We ran at a good pace but not too hard in the heat and humidity.   

AM - 5 miles with an improvised route using part of the trail and surrounding neighborhoods.   Did a half a piece of sourdough with some honey and .25 mile warm-up before the run - which kind of amazingly suprised me at how much of an affect that it had on the run.  Lately my day-after my long run is a slow shuffle - and as I have been complaining about deep muscle aches in my upper legs - the checklist of causes - I decided to do a little pre-run nutrition with a little natural sugar from honey - less than a teaspoonful - so today I expanded my run from a 3-4 mile easy run - to 5 miles at a more "normal" daily pace - and my upper legs were noticably much less achy.  

AM - met Dan at Milton HS for a run through Crabapple.  Did the same pre-run nutrition - and a short warm up before he arrived; and though we were slower in pace due to various issues Dan was having - I had a relatively good run with little achiness except for the first .25 to half mile.  The idea is to only do intake of natural sugars ahead of, during, or after runs; but not in any other part of the day unassociated with running or workouts; using the sugar mainly only for fueling and restoration.  

AM - 4 easy miles on the trail with Dan and Rosie.  He changed his travel plans instead of going to NYC for business, due to the bad weather/flash floods.  

AM - 3 miles with Dan early before Tracy and I headed out to travel to WV for her annual family reunion.  

AM - 5.5 miles from my in-laws house in WV.  Did a short warm-up - started from the pen and ran up the river trail to Glen Dale and looped back down the hwy.  

AM - 3.25 miles with Delaney and Riley on some trails in Grand Vue state park in Moundsville WV.   Here for Tracy's annual family reunion which is at a new venue - and quite nice - staying up on the hilltop in some cabins.  The trails were not very well groomed and probably better for an easy mountain bike - and Riley was concerned about rolling her ankle as she frequently does on terrain such as this.   We ended up taking it very slow on the downhills and in where there were lots of roots or rocks - but decided to end it at a 3 mile effort. 

AM - ran from Grand Vue Park down into the town and over to the 12th Street ball fields around the running / fitness trail that goes around the perimeter of that park and then through town to meet Riley and Delaney who drove down to the trail head to run along the Ohio River trail.  Did about 4 miles with them and an easier pace and then they drove back (stopping at Dunkin for everyone at the cabins) and I made my way back up the hill to the Park which was a little steeper and longer than I remembered from prior visits.   About 1.5 miles with an average gradient of around 10%.   No switchbacks, pretty much straight uphill but I think I managed it well.   As a benefit multiple family reunion early arrivals drove by me in their cars/trucks up the hill either with words of encouragement or bewilderment.  

AM - heading back home today - and sore from the run yesterday, but wanting to get a shake-out in, I drove down to the Walmart and ran and loop the length of the town and back, picked up breakfast and headed by the the cabins.   Good weekend. 

AM - 5 miles with Dan on the Milton Trail.  Good to catch up with him after both of us were away for lengthy weekends.  

AM - 5.75 solo miles this morning starting with a light jog up the trail to the clubhouse before starting my watch.  Mostly uphill the first couple of miles and though I was not especially fast, or in a flow, not too much to complain about with the training modifications I have implemented since last week with a small bite to eat with some honey before my run and a short warm up before formally starting.   I think this adaptation to address the upper leg fatigue, including dropping midweek workouts, is getting me back to feeling better overall.

AM - just over 4.5 miles on the trail with Dan and Rosie this morning.   Had calf muscle cramps late yesterday evening following mowing my yard after work in the heat and humidity that were quite painful and severe, causing me to quickly hop up from my recliner, lose my balance and fall into an end table cracking my ribs.  Legs were fine once I got started today, but the ribs will be painful and sore for a few weeks I suspect.   

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan through Crabapple - decent pace - good conversation. 

AM - 5.25 miles through Wood Valley and East Bluff - very humid today and did not eat any pre-run toast and honey; really felt the absence of fueling today. 

AM - just under 7 miles with Dan who wanted to try for a longer run which went well for him - and then I did another 7.5 miles on the treadmill.  It is just so warm and humid - so doing that second half indoors was a relief.   

AM - 5 miles easy to moderate before church...partly on trail.   Legs felt ok, but overall I was a bit fatigued - still ended up running reasonably well the last 3 miles. 

AM - 4.75 miles with Dan and Rosie on the trail.    A bit slower than usual for us, but that was fine as I really did not feel all that into it today.  Very warm and it is supposed to reach the upper 90's today.  

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan from his house out to the horsefarm trail roads.  Good conversation and good pace after the first mile.  

AM - 7 miles in NYC up the Hudson River path/trail toward the GW Bridge.  Heatwave in full force and over 80 degrees to start at 6:15 am.  Oddly though, I ran way faster than I had expected or planned to.   I noticed about a mile in, that I was passed by a couple of runners, and checked my watch expecting to see a slower pace when in fact I was running below 8:20.  For some unknown reason I continued with that effort attempting not to "lose" anyone who had gone by me and eventually those that passed me either stopped or made earlier turnarounds - leaving me with no one to "catch."   I maintained the pace after turning around at the 3.5 mile mark, and despite the increasing heartrate effort in the heat. finished with what looks like an intentional progression run at tempo effort (though short of tempo pace).   

AM - 6 miles going south on the Hudson Eiver path - again found myself running much faster than I should have for the conditions.   I blame it on the other runners and feeling pulled along by the faster paces. 

AM - 4.5 easy miles with Delaney from her apartment in Brooklyn.   My flight last night was cancelled and my morning flight also cancelled which gave me time to run with her and have breakfast.  Weather was cooler and drizzly with wind and low cloud cover.  The easy pace was just what I needed. 

AM - 7 miles with Dan and Darryl at an easy pace. 

AM - 3 miles - easy shakeout before church in the rain.

PM - 14.25 miles on the treadmill.

AM - just under 3.75 miles on the Milton trail in a light drizzle, cooler temps and unfortunately, dark enough now to need a headlamp at the 6:15 am start time.  Legs were expectedly very fatigued after the volume of miles yesterday.  

AM - 4.25 miles with Dan in WC at a very pedestrian pace - I am catching a cold and felt kinda bad for the first couple of miles.  Enjoyed the conversation and we met a family awaiting a school bus pick-up with their very large English Bull Mastiff - named Clyde who weighs 220 lbs according to his owner.   Very sweet dog despite his imposing size. 

AM - a little under 6.25 miles this morning solo.   Felt really kinda bad for the first half of the run, and then felt only moderately bad the second half. 

AM - 3.75 miles with Dan early before I had an early day at the office. 

AM - 4.25 miles with Dan and Greg for their birthday run - with Darryl too from Starbucks near where Greg lives - very early.  And they got free coffee drinks for their birthdays afterwards. 

AM - 4 miles on the treadmill early before taking Tracy to the airport.  Was not really feeling it this morning; and she was actually concerned and said "you never do that, what's wrong."  But honestly it was just bleh and did not feeling like pushing through if it was not enjoyable.

PM - 15.25 miles on the treadmill in the afternoon.   First part of the run took a while to find my groove, but ultimately settled in and ground through to get a solid long run in.

AM - 4.25 easy recovery miles before church. 

AM - 5 miles on the treadmill because I did not feel like running in the rain this morning.   First mile was slow and clunky, but ended up running reasonably well the rest of the workout. 

AM - 5 miles from the trail to the clubhouse and then Wood Valley through east bluff into North Valley and back down on Dinsmore.  Quite heavy humid air with lots of rain from yesterday.   Decent effort in the last couple of miles.  Pace was good but I did not feel like I had a whole lot of depth of energy but would like to get to a point where it is there.  

AM - just 3.25 miles this morning as I have an early dentist appointment today.  

AM - a little less than 5.25 miles in the neighborhood on a sticky warm morning.  Ran without fueling today and with the exception of maybe not feeling quite as much "pop" in the last couple of miles comparatively - not much difference.   Just not feeling all that strong and relaxed on my solo runs.   Perhaps because I am not running with someone to distract me, I am just focused on how I am feeling too much.  Sure do miss running with my dog as well.   Saw my neighbor today with her very large bull mastif named Clyde - who was very responsive to my greeting today and happy to see me.  

AM - 7 miles solo and very easy for the first few miles from Wood Rd down Redd to the trail head on Brittle all the way back up to the end of the Milton Trail.  Lots of people out today.  Right hammy has a little niggle.   

AM - 12 miles solo this morning as a couple of the guys were out of town and one was doing a half marathon to pace a friend.  This is 2 weeks out from Sydney and so I wanted to go 10-12 miles but at an easy enough pace so as not to tax or deplete my fitness such as it is.  Slow start gradually got to a decent long run pace but not too fast.  Felt fatigued but not too terrible.  Watch battery died before I finished - so 12 or a little less was the total. Checked all the boxes for the effort today.  Now I will just maintain with easy efforts to keep fresh and try to avoid injury or illness.  

AM - very slow and easy recovery shake-out from yesterday's long-ish run.   Getting to a point where the old body just does not bounce back as quickly as I would like even from moderate efforts on medium-long runs.   Oh well - nothing I can change about that - just roll with what I am given.

AM - 4.75 mile trail run with Dan who is back from a vacation in Maine.   Got to hear about his trip and catch up a bit.   He's out the next 2 days or so to take his son off to Va Tech for his first year in college.  

AM -  3.75 miles with Dan quite early as he leaves to take his son to college today.  Pretty decent pace after the first mile. 

AM - 5.25 miles solo this morning from Wood Valley into the North Valley neighborhood  and coming back all the way up Dinsmore instead of cutting over on the trail through the backyard.  Intentionally kept myself from even beginning to push at all today - wanting to not strain or injure anything in the last 10 days.  Not that I expect to run fast in the race - so it is a little weird to do, but my mindset is to be able to complete the event in a healthy and relaxed form. 

AM - 4.25 miles with Dan on the Milton Trail this morning.   Lots of people out walking and running on the trail this morning which is usually completely absent anyone except ourselves at that hour.   Felt crappy in the first mile and really the first half of the run - but seemed to be fine after the turn-around and distracted with conversation.   Dan was back from dropping his son off at college - his last child out of the house - and so our discussions centered around that change in his life stage with he and his wife now effectively empty-nesters with his older children already out of school and living on their own. 

AM - 3 miles - tapering.  First mile was extremely slow and unsmooth - slightly better in the second and got down to a decent pace in the third - but legs felt depleted - nutritionally.   Had a special gala function last night with some different foods - none of which had much in the way of carbohydrates and I did not do any fueling before the run.   Hamstrings telt much better after having breakfast.  

AM - 8 miles with the guys on the Greenway.   Relaxed feeling effort which was a little bit faster than the pace Richie and I plan to do Sydney next week - He's not been running very many miles due to work commitments, but he always gets up for these races - and the weather is supposed to be very comfortable in the upper 40's to start.  

AM - 3.25 miles with Dan in the neighborhood before church. 

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan from his place this morning.  Pace was decent and the air slightly cooler.  It is good starting from his place because for the first half mile or so it is slightly downhill which allows for an easier and faster warm up time.   Nutrition and sleep were off last night.   Having a hard time figuring out what is going on with my intake that is giving me lots of GI churn. 

AM - 3.25 miles with Dan in the neighborhood before heading to the airport for Sydney.  

AM - 2.25 shake out miles in Sydney around the Harbor and Opera House. Arrived yesterday but lost Wednesday in the flight and needed the day to acclimate.  

AM - 3 mile shake out run with Richie around Sydney Harbor. 

Sydney Marathon - 2025 

Traveled to Sydney Australia to participate in the latest of the World Marathon Majors - #7.   This was an enjoyable race for me -  My build-up to this event was primarily just getting in regular training with longer runs in the range of 2 to 2.5 hours in the weeks leading up to the race.   My body does not seem to handle VO2 max training or long tempo runs without significant recovery time - but I do seem to be able to work decently through recovery of endurance efforts.   So I I had low expectations of going "fast" but had a confidence that as long as I kept things in-check aerobically, this would get me through the race.

Richie's build-up was spotty at best.  He had a few good races in July and did a half in early August that suggested he was fit - but he had zero long runs over 13 miles and very few miles in the last month or so of training due to his work/travel schedule.   But historically he always "shows-up" on race day.

He felt as though he would like to run just below 4 hours and so that meant around 9 min pace.   In 2021 Richie suffered a TIA at the end of Boston - and though he had zero ongoing issues or deficits - it has caused him to be very cautious not to go too deep in these events.  

At my age I have long since given up the idea of running a personal best - and running these races with a companion / racing/training partner is really the best way to experience them.    So  running with Richie was the plan - and though we have run many races together - we really have only ever finished 2 of them together.  Something always happens - one of us is not feeling it, or one of us is feeling extremely good in the race and by agreement we agree to let that person go for it.   

Today was a day that Richie was not feeling it, from the very early miles and though we kept together for nearly 2/3rds of the race - he admittedly was yo-yoing and knew that I was feeling really quite good.   

After hitting a pit-stop at just under halfway and not knowing how many minutes or so that were lost, I began trying to make up some time to keep us on track for a sub 4.  This mean moving the pace down to 8:45's instead of the 9 mins or so pace.   This seemed to be where he began to fade.   

The course was quite hilly with over 1000 ft in elevation and lots of turns and narrow sections and at least 2 180 degree out and back turns.  And though we started with cool temps in the upper 40's by the time we were near the 15 mile mark, the sun was bright and the course was completely exposed.   

As I checked back for him a couple of times when he was fading between 20k and 25k and slowed to rejoin him, he finally signaled to me to just go around the 29k mark.  

At this point I just let things flow - and after a mile or two of running low 8's - I popped in my air pods and locked into see how I could do.  Turns out I had a good bit left in the tank after running so conservatively the first part of the race.   Ended up with a negative split.  First half 2:01 and second half 1:51 and change.   9:17 ppm to 8:30 ppm. 
 

Richie ended up having to walk a bit coming in at over 4:30 hours.   

Saw Tracy in the final half mile as we finished in front of the Sydney Opera House   Overall this was a very enjoyable experience    

AM - 3 mile easy recovery effort with Richie in Sydney the day after the marathon.  He felt much better than he expected - having done some cold plunges and alternating with warm and massage.  Post-mortem discussion of the race was good and positive.   I felt actually much better than I had expected to feel as well.  Heading to NZ tomorrow. 

Travel day - and recovery day.  No running. 

AM - 3.5 miles of light running from our hotel in Queenstown NZ.   Absolutely stunning scenery along Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountains.  Had a close encounter with a lost little lamb crossing the road.  

AM - raining and very windy out this morning - so I hopped on the treadmill instead of braving the conditions for a short run.  Legs still need a week or so of easy light effort to feel fully restored I think. 

AM - trail run in the rain in Queenstown.  This was a recon run to see if it was doable for a hike with Tracy later - but it was too wet and slick and technical even for a light run on my own.   Cool scenery and photos from a boat dock with no sound but the breeze and the rain hitting the water on the lake amidst the low clouds and surrounding snow covered mountains.   Leaving later today. 

AM - in Auckland for the morning before heading home.  Steady rain and low clouds.  Ran along the harborside on Quay Street where I ran maybe 13 years ago.  Got a little too exuberant and ran a lot faster than planned.  

AM - 3.75 miles on the trail with Dan early before church - good to catch-up with him.  Jet lag resulted in some poor sleep last night - I was awake from about 1 am to 4 am.   

AM - 4.25 miles with Dan at Milton HS.   Legs felt very heavy and I had low energy today despite having a full/normal night's sleep.  Suspect that my body is still acclimating to the jet lag and recovery from the marathon.   I may consider taking a day off or running more at a jog a couple of times this week just to allow for things to settle back to my normal.

AM - just under 4.5 miles with Dan from his house, out to the horsefarm trail roads.  Intentionally started slower which was better to warm into the run.  Cooler this morning and needed a shirt - felt nice.  

AM - considered taking a day-off - but decided since I was up, I may as well enjoy the cooler pre-fall morning on the trail.  Very easy jog for 3 miles - very low heart rate effort.  This was nice.  May do this again every few days until I am fully back to normal following the marathon and the jet lag.  

AM - 4.25 miles on the Milton Trail with Dan.  Ran at faster pace than it felt - so I must be recovering back to almost normal. 

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan on the WC Golf Course - I always forget how hilly that route is.  Legs were heavy today for some reason.  

AM - just short of 11 miles with the guys on Summit Hill and Wood Road.  Darryl is running Dublin and wanted to get in 19 today grabbed 7 before meeting up with us.  Good to see everyone and try to keep my fitness up for NYC.  

AM - easy 2.5 miles on the trail as a recovery effort.  

AM - 5 miles with Dan out Dinsmore through East Bluff and North Valley and back.  Dan seemed like he was pushing the pace early-on, but I think my body is just in a lower calibration right now on the start of my runs - content to run the first mile 2 mins or more slower than my normal training pace.   By the time we were ascending the Dinsmore hill on the return at the end of the run, I was relaxed, warmed-up and had a lot in reserve and had to wait a little for him to keep up.   

AM - 4.25 miles in Bellevue, Washington - in for a couple of days of business meetings with MS at their main campus. 

AM - 5.25 miles around Bellevue - attempted to find a route that would take me to a trail, but I got a call from Richie in the first mile and spoke to him for about 80% of the run on my watch - but that became distracting enough to make me give up on finding a trail and just finding a way back to the hotel.  Also, without headphones, the audio from the watch was not loud enough with passing traffic - so I ended up having to raise my arm to hear him, which became fatiguing for my shoulder...LOL.   Decent run nonetheless.