Bret

AM - just 3 miles this morning with Fin through the neighborhood before church.  Felt like I should do less distance before Tuesday's Peachtree but who am I kidding - my aching Achilles has not let me train for a number of months the way I would normally be able to train and so the "race" is more likely to be an experiment of just how well I can run in really hot and humid conditions with a gimpy Achilles at nearly age 57.   My run with Dan yesterday was fine but it took more effort than I had planned and so today I kinda just needed a reprieve.   Bought a new pair of Nike VaporFlys yesterday and wore them this morning.   They are a half size too small but they did not have my size and I wanted to run in new shoes Tuesday because my current Alphaflys have over 300 miles on them.   The new ones felt good but I noticed on the downhills that my toes were hitting the front of the shoe.  I will likely regret the purchase when I lose a toenail or two on some longer downhill runs if the shoes don't stretch out a bit.   

AM - 5 easy miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs - each of us are working today before the Independence Day holiday tomorrow.   I expect a lighter workload by the afternoon as my calls and e-mails from Europe and Asia drop off and folks in the states are enjoying their afternoons leading into a day off.   

2023 Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta - quite surprisingly I ran better than I expected.  I was about 10 seconds faster than last year and the last 3 years have basically been the same mid 45 minute range.   This year was more relative effort - the temps were warm but there was cloud cover for the early waves which was good, but the humidity and dew point were quite high and so I measured my effort in the early downhill portion in order manage my more challenging uphill miles in the second half.   Never blew up but was also very aware of the effort.   Had a little snafu getting to the race - the plan was  to pick up Dan and his daughter Lily (college aged) and from there to pick up my son-in-law Marcus.   The three of them were in the F wave and I was in the earlier A wave.   We were nearly to Marcus' house when Dan and Lily realized that they had left their numbers at home and so we had to circle back to get them.  This added about 15-20 mins to the trip which then got a little delayed with the Marta train taking us to start from the North Springs station.   Basically got off the train and when we exited I did my warm up of about a half mile to the starting corral - arriving just as the National Athem started.   Two minutes later the gun went off.   So I had very little time to think or get focused on the normal aches and pains - particularly the Achilles tendon issue.

Yesterday I went to the doctor/walk-in clinic to see if they'd give me a cortisone injection in the Achilles, but after some miscommunication in which I thought they would provide that service, it turns out that they would only provide a general anti-inflamatory injection.  I went ahead with it, and it did result in less swelling in the Achilles - which translated to less discomfort, but unfortunately it also had a side-effect of insomnia - the night before the race! 

Anyway - I was pleased with the result given the limited specific training and training volume for the last several months and also considering I am not getting any younger - the fact that I can still run 7:15 pace for a 10k in the middle of the summer - is something I am good with.   

Dan, Lily and Marcus all ran together to Lily's pace at just under 11 mins per mile and I met them after they finished and we headed to the Marta station to get the train to take us to the car.  On the train ride the skies opened up to quite a storm - and when we got home there were text messages from the race that they had to cancel the event due to lightning - safety concerns.  

Happy Independence Day!

AM - 3.5 very easy miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton trail.  Taking things easy after yesterday's race.  Wore the Green Rides as the Achilles was feeling favorable to the normal shoes, hoping the anti-inflamatory oral meds continue to provide relief beyond the dosage and not just a temporary reprieve.   Very warm and humid again this morning - suspect that will be the case for the next several weeks of summer.  

AM - 5 miles on the trail with Dan and the dogs.  Had a little bit more muscle soreness today when we started - perhaps delayed onset from the race effort on Tuesday.  Dan is leaving this evening for a long weekend at Disney with his family as a birthday celebration for his middle daughter who turns 21 this early next week.   So I will be solo the next few days unless Greg has returned from vacation on Saturday.    

The achilles was slightly more noticeable this morning.  Could be that the anti-inflammatory injection is wearing off.  I am doing the medrol pack too - oral prednisone and the swelling is much less than it has been.   

AM - 6 miles with Finn through WC and across Birmingham Hwy into the Grove neighborhood.  Very humid and warm which I suspect will likely be the case for the next month or two.   Took it very easy the first couple of miles and ended with a little more pace.  Hoping the meds for the Achilles sustain a long term reprieve of the swelling - I have a couple more days of the script - as it has certainly taken the edge off of the early discomfort in the morning runs. 

AM - 7 miles with Greg and Finn on the Forsyth Greenway.  Got a late start and it was very warm and humid.  Felt poorly early on and even Finn started to fade by mile 5 - and I stopped a couple of time for him to get water.  I was definitely dehydrated but managed to grind it out.  Greg is back from a vacation in Hawaii and shared some stories of his trip.