Bret

AM - 6 miles easy on a narrow/soft beach.  Little less humid.  Ran north this time and past a surfing competition that was just setting up.  Interesting spectacle.

PM - 8 miles in the afternoon heat.  Ran across the causeway from Cocoa to Merritt Island and back.  Lots of gnat swarms, completely covered with a few in my nose and eyes at the end. Delaney's team won again today and are through to the semi finals tomorrow morning.   

AM - 6 miles easy to moderate along Ocean Blvd - on a morning in which it would have been nice to extend to a long run - but we have a game to attend early and pack up the vehicle to head home after the tournament today.  

No secondary run today - Delaney's team won in the semis (a good exciting match with her team equalizing in the final seconds of normal time and pulling out the win on penalties -- Delaney burying hers in the back off the net!) and then they won in the finals also on penalties - but a dull match with both sides a bit drained from 5 games in three days in the Florida heat.  So they were the champions of the U18 Girls division.   I was likewise drained from sitting in the sun all day and then driving 2.5 hours home afterwards.  Hence the lack of motivation for run in the evening.   

AM - 7 miles total.  Did a VO2 max session of 5 x 800 at 3k pace with 90 seconds rest.  Hit all of the splits right at 2:45-46 (with the exception of the last one which was untimed due to technical issues with the Garmin).  Overall I was pleased with the workout - though I was hoping to feel like I could have gone faster or for more reps - I was pretty much at my limit this morning. 2 mile warm up and cool down.   

PM - 8 miles easy after work.  Legs felt pretty tired and lifeless - as I had expected. 

AM - 5.5 very relaxed miles through the neighborhoods this morning before work.  Thought I would feel the same stiffness and fatigue in my legs today as yesterday evening, but was pleasantly surprised to have things nearly back to normal.

PM - 8.0 miles on the treadmill on a late lunch.  Wore the HR monitor to assure that I did not get out of aerobic zone and also just out of curiosity.  Interestingly my HR was slightly elevated from what it has been in the month or so at a recovery pace.   All other influences on HR being the same,  I assume that has to do with the impact of the VO2 max workout from yesterday.  So, I kept it aerobic and ran at a pace about 10-15 seconds slower per mile than I had been doing at that HR - Hopefully this trend will reverse itself with recovery runs.  

AM - 6 miles easy before work - felt rested and relaxed during the run - back to normal.

PM - 9 miles at a comfortable pace after work. 

AM - 6.5 miles very light and easy before work.

PM - another 6.5 at lunchtime with Richie in a light rain. Felt crappy this morning - but much better in the second run of the day. 

So this was not a race that I knew with certainty that I was going to do until yesterday afternoon - so no taper or easing up of my training leading into it.  Decided to run when the timing became apparent that I could both run this race in Clearwater and get to my daughter's high school cross country race in Dunedin before it started.

First two miles were statisfactory (not great, but acceptable)- 5:48 and then 5:59 (hill) but then I sort of inexplicably blew up in mile 3 and ran 6:30 - Race length was long at 3.2 miles which I had run and measured with my garmin before the race and during.  Ultimately confounded about this time - since my training has been great, and training times have been indicative of a much faster result.  Warm temps of 87 degrees with 87% humidity may be a factor.  Race winner ran 17:00 and second place was 30 seconds in front of me.  Had a chance before 2 miles to move to 2nd place but the third mile fade and the lack of anyone close behind me (low key race) left me alone in 3rd.

Hopped in my car immediately after the finish and got to Delaney's meet in time.  Actually they delayed the start for 15 mins due to lightning in the area.  Used that time for a proper cool down around Fisher fields and the Hammock Park.  This site is where my high school cross country team had its home meets (different course now though).  Old teammate Todd Howsare is coaching Dunedin's team - and we had a chance to catch up - along with Suzanne Rodriguez who is a local race director for tri's and a former teammate from high school.   Delaney struggled a bit too this morning and was just outside the top 7 on her team on a rainy heavy course.  My wife and Riley were there too (Riley is home from college this weekend to go see Ed Sheeran in concert in Orlando tonight).  We all went to breakfast at the Lucky Dill and had a nice morning.

PM - easy 6 mile shake out.  Body felt fine - just a little tired.