Bret

PM - after an early start for a 7 am flight back home that connected in Philly and delayed - I finally got out for run around 6 pm this evening as a thundershower began to wind down.  Very enjoyable for the the first part which was just light rain, but as it got heavier and windier midway through, it was a bit of a slog.  Got 12.5 miles in when I thought I was just going to run about half of that, so that was a nice surprise.  May be catching a cold or have some allergy issues - suddenly found myself with a runny nose after my flight today. 

AM - 4.0 very easy slow miles this morning before work.  Very tired and achy, probably from the cold I think I am catching or have caught. 

PM - 9 miles on the treadmill which consisted of a mile warm up and then 7 miles at between 70 and 75% HRR - which I progressively edged upward with faster pace until the last 2 miles which were at MRP - then about a mile cool down.  Total effort was 140 bpm at 6:55 average including the warm up and cool down.  Pleased with the measure of fitness to date.  Was tired and fatigued most of the day today, so was pleasantly surprised with how good I felt in the workout. 

Noon - easy - light 5 miles around the office park at Carillon.  Very warm and humid, felt a bit out of sync today.  Did not get a morning run in, so will resume with a longer one this evening.  Good news -- I received confirmation that my entry into the London Marathon 2013 was accepted. 

PM - after work - 12 miles on the treadmill good steady but easy pace.  Felt much better than the earlier run today. 

Noon - treadmill fartlek run of 8 miles.  Good workout, lots of speed changes and inclines.  Need an easy gentle run to shake out my legs - hopefully later today or this evening.

Late PM - drove up to Gainesville after work with wife and daughter #2, Riley, for her freshman orientation for the University of Florida.  Quick dinner at the Swamp and then a short easy 4 miles before bed.

AM - 6.5 miles easy around the perimeter of the campus of my alma mater.  Stiff and slow to start on a muggy morning before daylight.  I ran up 34th to Archer past Shands Hospital and then up 13th street to University.  Ran past my old dormatories and the impressive football stadium.  The football team was on the practice fields for training at 6:30 am - lights on, whistles tweeting out instructively.  Finally loosened up to a more normal pace about 4 miles into the run and so enjoyed the downhill next to the golf course where I once ran cross country meets in high school.  All in all, a very nostalgic morning.

PM - still very humid and close this afternoon.  I escaped from some orientation lectures and got in 11.50 miles.  Have to head back to dinner with them etc.  Kept thinking during the run how this town is the basis for the fictional college town written about in the book Once a Runner.  And that made my run better.

AM - very light easy untimed 5 miles around the interior of the UF campus.  Ran past the dome with swimmers all lined up waiting to get inside for their warm ups for competition.  Junior Olympics for swimming is taking place here.  We saw Riley's old swim coach yesterday morning.  Took a few loops around the track - which is brightly colored blue - but doesn't seem to be Gator blue - but more akin to UCLA blue.  Don't know why but I always seem to feel a need to run around the track when I am here.  Ran back along Fraternity Row and Lake Alice.  Saw no alligators lurking about this morning.  All in all, a very pleasant run on a fogging morning.

AM - 7 miles easy on a warm humid summer morning.  I had expected to do a run like this last evening after returning from Gainesville, but I was just too beat to head out after a few hours of driving.  Will get a longer run in later today. 

PM - exactly 15.5 miles this evening on what started out as a hot late afternoon run.  I noticed what appeared to be an isolated storm in the east, but it looked like it was about rained out and fading.  I headed south and when I looked over again to the east, I noticed the storm had seriously rebuilt and was getting very dark and moving my direction.  Good, I thought, a nice shower will cool me off near the end of my long run.  As I made my way west through Dunedin past the Toronto Blue Jays Spring Training stadium and headed back north on the Pinellas Trail, the storm was nearly upon me and it grew very dark and extremely windy - and by the time I reached the old Hoods orange juice plant, I became very concerned about being hit lightning or by flying debris.  I made it almost to Curlew (about 3.5 miles from home) when the lightning strikes were so fast and so close, I barely had time to count before the thunder came.  I dashed across traffic to a old bank building for shelter from the lightning.   Then I began to worry that my wife would be worried about me - and perhaps drive out looking for me.  No pay-phones around and electricity disabling the local businesses with what I thought was the worst overwith - I decided to make my way back home before she would go out looking for me.  So my long run turned into a fast finish - though I did not have a watch on it, I probably ran at 10k pace for the last few miles or better. 

Sure enough, when I arrived at home I found that she had gone out to search for me.  Of course she knew not where I ran, and was out driving in unsafe conditions.  Yikes.  Delaney called her back home immediately and she arrived safely home thereafter.  She informed me of reports of a tornado near where I had been running. 

Anyway, that was my adventure for the week.

Thanks to my virtual training partner Bam for motivating me to get my last few miles in this week.