Dixies Dashing Diary

Missed my wake up this morning. Just as well in light of a late night to bed and an otherwise sound night sleep. A full night's sleep is never a bad way to start a week.

 Tonight I ran about 8:00 pm. Still a little sore from a hard run on Saturday, I tried to keep it slow tonight. Tried to focus on relaxed breathing and comfortable form AND keeping it slow. Not a bad start.

My right calf muscle just before it reaches the back of the knee started feeling weird. I cooled off in the pool after the run and stretched very lightly. Iced for about 15 minutes and will warm up a little longer than usual for the next few mornings.

Time: 8:00 pm  Total Time: 1:07:48 (8:28 avg)

Temp: 85º  Humidity: No Report

Planned on running in the evening so I could get some additional rest. Got a free ticket to the Rays game with one of my best friends so no run tonight.

So tomorrow...should I run today's easy run or tomorrows tempo...?

Went to the Rays game last night and watched a great game that ended with a batter hitting into a double play with two men left on base. Go Rays!

So I didn't run last night and I didn't run yesterday morning. The question in my mind was, should I run the 7 easy that I was supposed to run yesterday OR the 4 mile tempo that's on my Wednesday schedule. I opted for the tempo.

I've decided it's going to take a long time for me to learn how to run at certain paces. I feel like most of the time I'm running out of fear. I'm afraid if I run slow I'll race slow. I've got to slow down and train the numbers so that in the fall I can speed up and race the numbers.

I did a 1 mile warm up, 4 mile tempo, with a 1.2 mile cool down. The miles looked like this:

1. 8:55
2. 7:16
3. 7:15
4. 7:18
5. 7:12
6. 8.27

I showered off in the hose, jumped in the pool and just floated for a while. Got out and iced right calf from mid way up to just behind the knee. No pain yet just a tinge that says something needs attention.

Time: 6:15 am  Total Time: 47:51 (7:43 avg)

Temp: 82º   Humidity: 85%

Got a late start this morning but I got in an easy 6 miler. Not much to talk about other than the fact that my easy pace seems to be faster than it use to be. My first mile was an 8:31 which felt like a shuffle for the first half. After I got warmed up everything was 8:10 or under. I even past a guy in my neighborhood just on instinct and sent my last mile down  to 7:44.

The encouraging thing is that I still have like 12 weeks till the race... If I can stay uninjured and stay consistent on the long runs, I should see vast improvement in my times.

 Time: 6:45 am   Total Time: 49:56  (8:06 avg)

Temp: 80º  Humidity: 87%

Still not sleeping well. I'm waking up feeling like I've not really rested. My legs feel dead.

After a couple of snooze hits and a couple more spent on the couch, I finally got up and did a quick 6. Today was supposed to happen Tuesday. I missed my Tuesday run so I'm making it up on my rest day.

Time:  7:00 am  Total Time:  49:50 (8:06 avg)

Temp: 81º  Humidity:  79%

I am no expert when it comes to nutrition. I have learned some valuable lessons through out the years and today I intend on starting a spreadsheet entitled "Thing You REALLY Should Not Eat The Night Before Your Long Run." I will begin with #1 on the list: Nuclear Boneless Chicken Wings from Beef O'Brady's. Now it's not that I'm against chicken (I am quite a fan of the wing) but something about fried and the word "nuclear"  in the same sentence says that "nothing good will come of this."  While the wings seemed like a very good idea in the moment (after all they were only .55/wing), later that night and early this morning...and later in my run...and later after the run I learned that this is a gift that just keeps on giving. From now on I will stick to the old fashion, highly reliable, boring pasta meal that so wonderfully fuels and never burns twice!

So my run started a little later than planned this morning. We did the beach bridges. Matt and I headed out from Coachman Park toward the bridge and came up on the West Coast Y Runners just emerging from the City Hall parking lot. There was a bunch of them and fortunately they were starting out slow. We ran about a 9:00 pace the first mile and gradually worked down into the 8:20's. Saw Diane, Renee, and Katie from the Suncoast Striders; I actually took the time to look at the beautiful sights over the bay and sunrise as we ran over the Sand Key bridge; caught up with and were promptly left by a group of guys that were running sub 7's for the last half of the course. It was truely an eventful run.

I didn't crash today. On the contrary I actually ran negative splits my last 4 miles. Last mile was a 7:36. I actually felt good today throughout all phases of the run (with the exception of that last port-o-pottie experience which was really post run, but bad enough to warrant a mention). Next week: Rest, run, continue with the SmartCoach plan. I am blessed!

PM:  I realized I was .40 away from hitting my 40 mile mark for the week so tonight after my youngest son and I finished the lawn, we went out and did an easy 1 mile before jumping in the pool. What a great finish to the day as the sun had just gone down.

Time: 6:01 am   Total Time: 1:50:30  (8:23 avg)

Temp: 82º    Humidity:  85%