Doug's Running Thingy

Took Friday off and running yesterday was totally washed out by rain, but I did get in some core work.  Started at the track today in light rain and did 3 mile warm up on the ravine trail plus north loop.  Planned on 8X200, but the rain got serious during my 4th rep and I bailed.  Ran them in 36, 34, 33, and then I missed the time on the last one in fairly heavy rain, so we'll call it 28 - right.

Came home and did a little work on the pull up/dip stand - nice bit of soreness from working different muscles on that. 

Just plyometrics and dumb bell workout today - increased the weight and decreased the reps.

My little weekly north loop time trial didn't go so well this morning.  Took it a bit easier on the 1.75 mi warm up today (8:20 pace), but never really got in a rhythm on the .8 mi loop section - ran 5:18 and expected to dip under 5.  Was really hungry, so maybe it was lack of nutrients - not sure.  

Ran to the track from the gardens trailhead for warmup (1.6 mi).  Quite satisfied with the track work - 200 (36), 300 (55), 500 (1:30), 300 (48), 200 (30) - all with pretty much full recovery (4-5 min).  Main goals were hitting the 500 at 90 and the last 200 at sub-30.  After the 48 on the last 300, I waffled a bit on going sub-30 on the final 200, so just decided to work the turn hard and float through the finish - ended up feeling ok and hit 30.49 - that's cool.  Finished up with 1.6 mi back to the jeep.

Gonna throw on the spikes for the first time on Saturday and work some starts at the 200 and maybe some 40 meter efforts at near 100% - time to test the old legs out. 

Lunchtime dumb bell workout with a bit of core work, and then pushups, dips and pull ups in the evening.

Yesterday's track workout gave a good confidence boost, so wasn't too concerned about working this "long" run too hard.  Planned on just cruising a bit under 8 minute pace, but after the second mile (8:02 and 7:54), I decided to negative split the rest of the way.  Finished with 7:46, 7:42 and 7:18 before doing the last .3 cool down at about 10 minute pace.  Beautiful day on the trails... sunny and 52.

2.25 warm up on the ravine trail at 7:30 per mile to get the legs good and warm, then to the track for some fast starts and 1 ninety percent effort 200 meter.  Did six X 50 meters from the 200 start - 1 in each lane.  Then did the one 200 at about 95% for first 50 then cruised the next 100 and tried to bear down for the last 50 - was hoping to drop under 29 and ran 27.81.  With 3 weeks to go before racing, I feel pretty good about getting real close to or under 27. Couple laps to cool down to finish - good workout.  

Never ceases to amaze me... ridiculously cold (for my delicate soul) and damp for my lunchtime run, so planned on just gutting through a 4 miler including the north loop, but not working it hard like I have the past few weeks.  At two miles (the beginning of the north loop), I felt warmed up a bit and fairly smooth, so decided to steadily pick up the pace through the north loop.  Still felt smooth at 3/4 through so worked the last section hard and sneaked under 5 minutes for the 0.8 mi loop.  That was my missed goal last week, so its all good.  Its always those runs that start off perfectly crappy that end up sweet.

Lunchtime run in the chilly breezy sunshine.  Stiff lower back and slight soreness in lower right hamstring scrapped my plan to go 1 min on/1 min off for the middle 2 miles, so just ran easy at 8-8:15 pace.  The 50 trips up and down stairs and 100 trips up and down the step ladder caught up I guess.  I am stripping, prepping and painting the ceiling in our dungeon family room.

Used the interval workout feature on the Garmin for the first time - programmed a 1:00 interval with 1:30 rest and 8 repetitions, with warmup and cool down - very cool.  Did the workout on the Overstreet Trail loop in the 50 degree sunshine at lunch.

Little 4-miler at a bit under 8 min pace - from the Gardens trailhead then up and around Ravine Trail and North Loop.  Track work tomorrow - maybe 300s and 500s or starts and a fast 400.

Two miles warmup before some track work.  Did several short starts followed by four 50 meter starts from the 200 start line.  Felt strong and fast, but right hammy poking at me a bit on the last couple, so bailed on the rest of the workout (was gonna do 2X300 and 2X500) and just did some easy barefoot striders and then 2 laps on the infield.  Truly gorgeous springlike day at the track.

Lows in the mid 40s, and highs up to mid 60s all week, so should get in some good work. 

Ran in the neighborhood since it was dark this morning.  Did 1 mile warmup and then 8X 1 min on, 2 min off - able to do them much smoother and stronger than last week on the trails... but not nearly as fun.  Half-mile cooldown back to the house.

Scale reports that I'm back under 160 after several weeks nudging toward 165 - would like to be at 158 when I toe the line in Gainesville on the 30th, and then 155 by March 4. 

North Loop time trial tomorrow and then track work on Thurs. 

Nice lunchtime run with good effort on the North Loop - 4:52 for the 0.8 mile twisty turny uppy downy stretch - was definitely hurting toward the end.  Hands, arms and shoulders are fried from removing 120 square feet of ceramic tile flooring the past 3 nights... sledge hammer, floor scraper, flat nose shovel - big fun.

Excuses excuses excuses...

Was at least able to get in 3 miles in the neighborhood at lunch, in the middle of which I did 2X350 meters at 59 and 58 seconds, with about 3 minutes recovery between.  A fairly flat, straight stretch of road on which I historically have done things like 4X350 at 60 seconds when I was in fairly decent shape, so today was a bit encouraging, although I don't think I could have done two more under 60 today.

More "cross training" this evening during family room remodel. 

Supposed to be a bit warmer and less windy tomorrow, so opted to shift the track workout to tomorrow and just do an easy run on the trails today.  Good to clear the mind and loosen the sore body - trying to figure out how to squeeze in about 80 more hours of remodeling work before the Inlaws arrive on Thurs...  I guess they could always sleep in the tent out back.

2.25 mile warmup on the Ravine Trail then back to the track for some full out starts - 3 each X 50 meters from lanes 1, 2, 3.  After that I did two 200s at full speed for 1st 50, then cruising the next 100, and about 90% effort the last 50.  Only had the Garmin on, and it only registers to the second?  Both were at "27" - real happy with that level of effort... especially considering the achy tired body from all the overhead painting and back-breaking floor prep. Finished up with four 100 meter barefoot striders and then 2 barefoot laps on the infield.

Nice 4-miler in the neighborhood after work at 7:45 pace.  

Didn't get to running until after work.  Did 2.5 miles in the neighborhood, but didn't quite warm up enough to do any long sprints after that.  Ran 6 good striders of about 100 meters, and then another half mile around the block.  Can't imagine anything I do in next few days will benefit my racing on Sunday.  Only signed up for the 200 since the 400 is only an hour before and I'm not really ready for a strong 400 anyway.  Still hoping to just sneak under 27 seconds, but its not looking like I will have any time at all to check out the track before stepping on it for the race.  Haven't run on an indoor track in... 27 years!  At least the ODome is a full 200 meters/lap.

2.25 mile warmup and then a few 50 meter starts and one 200 starting and ending at the midpoint of the straightaways.  'Bout as ready as possible for racing the 200 on Sunday.

Two miles on the treadmill in the morning at the Cabot Lodge in Gainesville just to get the kinks out from the drive and sitting around all day Saturday.  Watched the boy child run a 4:54 indoor mile on Saturday - strong finish to go by 3 guys for 2nd place in 15-16 age group, but the slow pace of the race hurt his shot at his desired sub 4:50.  This afternoon, I did a half mile warming up on the concourse level of Ben Hill Griffin stadium, but the legs never really felt loose and strong.  Got a chance to run a few strides on the track about 10 minutes before my race, but didn't really get a feel for the tight circular track.  Gun went off for my 200 meter race and before I knew it, I was finished.  Never felt at top speed and just about fell out of my lane (lane 1 - ugh) a couple times... haven't raced indoor for 27 years, and I've never raced indoor on a non banked surface.  It was pretty cool running in the same heat as Don Drummond (don't think he was an Olympian in his day, but dern close) and Marcus Shute (top 5 US masters athlete for many years), and they both were gracious and shook hands with the slow little white guy at the end.  I was hoping to dip under 27 seconds, but came through in 27.34 to grab the 40-49 age group bronze medal (kindly refrain from asking how many guys were in my age group).  Did another half mile or so around the stadium and then went out for a nice meal with my adoring fans - wife and kids, as well as the inlaws and my parents - a good day.

Little interval work around the neighborhood during lunch break.  Did 1 mile warmup, then 4X1 min at approximate 800 pace and 2 minutes walk/jog.  Noticed a little bit of soreness on right upper quad - likely due to trying to sprint in a circle on Sunday - so I bailed on the intended additional 4 reps and just jogged the 1.5 miles back to the house.

Lunchtime run around the ravine trail and north loop - no energy to work the north loop - maybe Friday.  Looking forward to finishing up the remodel this weekend so I can get back to normal evening/sleeptime routine.

Couple relatively quick miles (7:20, 6:51) to warm up, and then 4X 220 meter hills with about 500 meter jog between.  Did the hills in 42, 44, 42, 41 seconds.  Might have to throw this one in the mix once a week - felt good.  Finished with about a mile cool down.

Easy mile (8:15) and a bit quicker mile (6:48) for warmup, before a little track work.  Did 8X block starts at 400 meter start out to 40-50 meters, then 2X block starts all the way through the curve.  Followed that up with 2X 450 meters, working the curves and floating the straights - clocked the last 400 of each, 73 and 68 - last 50 of the second one was pretty rough. Three laps barefoot on the infield to cool down.

Tried the distance interval feature on the Garmin at lunch today in the neighborhood - I have only used the timed interval setting until now.  One mile warm up and then 8X 0.25 mi with 3 minutes rest interval.  Did the first 4 pretty strong between 82 and 78 on varying terrain, then eased off a bit on the next 2 (88, 86), so I could finish strong on the last 2 (80, 77).  Ran the 3/4 mi easy back to the house.  Tight right hamstring early on, but loosened nicely and feels ok now.

Tried a little north loop time trial in the woods today - good mental toughness run.  Start of the north loop is 2 miles into the run and I had planned to work the first quarter mile, cruise the 2nd quarter and work the final stretch of the 0.8 mile section.  Went well right up until about 200 meters to go when I felt pretty rough.  Pretty sure it was Keith Brantly in a presentation at a XC meet where he talked about his coach telling him that if you reach a tough spot in a run, that is the time to throw in a surge... the result will either finish you off, and you will know you weren't ready for that pace or its just not your day, or, you will be reenergized to finish strong.  Well, I tried digging a bit deeper to see if I could work through it and, sure enough, it was a difficult but satisfying run - 4:51 - one second faster than the last time I ran the north loop hard.  Walked about 100 meters after that and then jogged the last mile back to the car.

Quick workout in the neighborhood at lunch.  Two quick miles for warmup (6:50, 6:41) plus a quarter mile, and then 2X long hills (220 meters at 40 and 39 seconds) with 500 meter rest.  Finished up with a bit less than a mile cool down.  Nice weather and rested legs should set up tomorrow's track work nicely... if I can just get out there and do it.

Worked all day laying flooring and building a valance to hide the projector screen, and finally got out to the track after 5 with limited enthusiasm or strength.  Did a mile warm up and then 4 block starts to 50 meters, 2 block starts to 100 and another out to about 150 - the last one felt surprisingly good.  Dungeon remodel is coming along nicely, and I got a bit of training in - its all good.

Two mile warmup on the trails, then a little ladder on the track - 200, 300, 500, all at about 70-72 pace.  Still sore and achey, so didn't push too hard.  Followed up with some barefoot striders and two laps on the infield.

Did the Garmin quarter mile interval workout in the neighborhood again - 8X 0.25 mi with 3 minutes rest interval, mostly walking.  Much better effort than last week, with the only reps over 80 being the first, the last, and the 6th which has a 200 meter gradual incline to start.  Was the heat and the strong penultimate effort (76) that dragged the last one to 83, but thats cool.  68 degrees and sunny - wham!  nearly too warm all of a sudden - yesterday it swung 44 degrees here from 6AM (26) to 4PM (70) - always good to crank up the sickness level in town - ugh.

Planning a good track workout in the morning, so I took it a bit easy this afternoon with just a trail run on the ravine trail and north loop.  Stepped it up considerably (6:22 pace) for the 0.8 mi north loop, and then eased it back to the jeep at 8:00 pace.

Officially a zero for the day, but 10 hours assisting at a track meet surely counts for some good cross training.  Travis ran first leg of the 4X800 and never felt smooth or fast - passed the baton in first place right at 2:10 - needs that to be sub 2:05 late in the season.  Then, six hours later, he ran the 3200 with 2 of his senior teammates.  They hit the mile together at 5:16, and then Travis let them open about 10 meters on him over the next 3 laps.  He actually looked real smooth and strong and he finally woke up on the last lap, running a 70 and finishing 2nd overall with a 10:21 PR, a couple seconds ahead of one teammate, and just under a second behind the other.

Two and a quarter miles warm-up followed by 4X50m block starts, 2X100m block starts and 2X150m block starts - all on the curve, and all full speed.  Stretched and loosened up fully, and then did a 600 with 1:45 as the goal.  First two 200s were close to pace, both at 36, then the last 200 was 38, so 1:50.  Surely could have strained to get closer, but I worked the starts pretty hard and didn't want to press my luck.  Found out today that the kids' track meet next Saturday has a community mile and community 600 - interesting.

Hit the trails for an easy trip around the Overstreet Loop.  Steadily picked it up with miles of 7:43, 7:12 and 7:00.  Dungeon remodel is essentially finished, new windows are installed throughout the house, weather is cooperating... time to get busy on the track. 

Two and a quarter miles easy warm-up, then a bit of track work - 2X300 (52, 51); 1X450 with a clock on the last 400 (71); 2X300 (48, 47) - full recovery.  Finished up with 4 barefoot striders and 2 laps around the infield.  Did each of the last two 300s cruising the first 150 at about 75-80% and working the last 150 at probably 90% effort - felt pretty good.  Easy 4 miles tomorrow then back on the track Wed.

Finally back to morning running - at least until the time changes again in a few weeks and it will be too dark.  Started at the track and ran the ravine trail and north loop with a bit of a workout on the north loop (6:38 pace) - the rest of the run was at 8 flat.  

Chillier this morning than I expected.  Went to the track and did 2.25 miles warmup, followed by 4X50m block starts and 2X100m block starts - was going to do two more starts out to 150, but got a twinge in my left hip halfway through the first one, so just bailed from there.  Jogged a couple laps on the infield and called it a day.  I think it is nothing except the hip complaining that I never really got warmed up properly.  Will try to get a bit more running in at lunch or this evening.

Easy run around the ravine trail and north loop from the track - just to loosen up the legs and test the hip pain.  No problems at all.  Will shoot for 5:20ish for the mile on the track tomorrow.

"Community Mile" on the track in Panama City before the boy-child's allllll day track meet.  Insufficient warm-up and limited cool down, but wasn't really taking this too seriously since I've been in sprinter mode for a couple months now.  The mile itself was all over the place with only one 200 meter interval at goal pace of 40 seconds.  Boatloads of JV-type high schoolers in the race sucked me out a bit too fast, and then weaving around them the rest of the way resulted in lack of focus and a finish time about 12 seconds off my goal - 5:32 and the medal for 1st place old guy was satisfactory.

Speaking of boy-child.  Lower back pain following his race last Friday kept him on the spin cycle a couple days this week, and back still a bit tweaky today, but he dropped a decent 5-second PR in the 1600 to take 5th place at 4:46.   He was hoping to run a leg of the 4X400 as well, but he and coach both decided to hold him out

Wanted to run a couple quality quarters, but light was waning by the time I got home from work - no time to get to the track before dark, so I did them on the lighted neighborhood roads.  Ran a 7:20 mile out to a fairly straight, fairly flat, nearly quarter-mile section. Pretty sure the distance was only about 390 meters, since I was at about 85-90% effort and ran the first one in 63 and the next in 61, after about five minutes recovery.  The last 50 meters of each was pretty tough, which is what I was wanting to feel since I have to race the 400 on Friday - not likely to be any easier in 4 days.  Jogged the mile and a half back to the house and stretched a bit.

Three comfortably quick miles (7:43, 7:23, 7:07) and then 6 striders over at the trails.  Just trying to stay loose before racing this weekend.  Will do my last track workout tomorrow morning.  Starts and a couple 300s and a couple 450s - something like that.

Hit the track this evening one last time before Albuquerque.  2.25 warmup and then stretching before 4X50m block starts, 2X100m block starts and 2X150m block starts - no hip pain... just big toe pain between reps.  Getting pretty dark after the starts, so just did a quick 300 (46.8) and a quick 200 (28.3), and then 2 barefoot laps on the infield.  'Bout as ready as I'm gonna be - still considerable linger doubt about racing the 400, but we shall see.  I feel like I should be able to go sub-58, but fear something closer to 60 - at least this nervousness is nothing compared to nerves before running a marathon - it'll all be over in less than a minute  :)

Although officially a race report, I don't want to ruffle any feathers by clicking that little button up there and posting results of a 200 meter dash on a site frequented primarily by marathon geeks - I use the term affectionately since I have run a couple of the things myself.  After a frankly quite disappointing 400 meter race on Friday, I was determined to redeem myself in the 200.  Unfortunately, similar to the 400, the heat sheets revealed that many of the entrants had bailed for whatever reason, leaving just me and 12 guys that looked a wee bit faster than I.  I sucked it up and climbed into the blocks in lane 5 at a 30 degree side angle, wishing someone were there to prop me up so I didn't fall over - interesting experience for sure.  I got out really well and was gaining on lane 6... before he decided to actually sprint.  I was able to stay strong and upright through the final banked turn and down the stretch, beating one guy in my heat and another in the last heat.  More importantly than not coming in dead last (ok, I admit that was pretty important), I posted a 26.57, which is pretty much where I wanted to be this early in my return to masters track.  Rob had to miss my brilliance to catch his flight, so I only have a photo taken by a kindly race fan after I ran.

OK - back in the saddle and ready to get serious now.  Did an easy 3 on the trails at lunch while pondering my attack plan for a fast 200, 400 and 800 late in the summer.  I have some thoughts, but will likely consult a fastrunning coach I know for some tips.  I know, Rob, firm up the core and drop another 6-8 lbs to start with.

So, when making a blog entry, we get these cool insert link tools etc, but not when making comments on others' blogs - gonna have to look into that.  Will post link to pics from Albuquerque here just to test it out - the link I pasted at Rob's blog doesn't actually show up as a link.

Masters Indoor Track Nationals  

I'm thinking a couple weeks of general fitness running will be good, with just two days/week on the track.  Started at the gardens trailhead and ran ravine trail plus north loop, with 8X1 minute on/1 minute off for the middle 2 miles.

Core work last night, and will do pushups, pull ups, dumbell workout during lunch today.

Made it out in the neighborhood early for a mile warmup and then 4X 200 meter hills with 600 meter jog rest interval.  I then put in a couple hours at work before jumping on the road to watch the boychild run another mid 4:40s 1600 over in Jax.  2nd place in his heat feeling a bit too comfortable - we talked later about it being time for him to change things up and break out of the comfort zone if he wants to threaten 4:30 at next month's state meet.

 A fine way to spend one's birthday all-in-all. 

Slept in for the first time in quite a while - nice.  Eventually made it out to the trails for 3.25 easily around lake overstreet. Still trying to find time to organize my training plan for the next couple months.

Five hours of "cross training" in the yard today - gorgeous day with a bit too much pollen in the air.  Raked and hauled 4 billion pounds of leaves and then mowed the early spring weeds before accomplishing the prime objective... clean out the garage to get the wife's camry back in there after the family room remodel - mission accomplished!

Another beautiful evening for a run on the trails - did the ravine trail plus the north loop and the new trail - all easy 8 flat pace except for last half mile I dropped to about 6:30.  Nice time on the trails.

Quick workout at the track after loading the concession stand for a big middle school meet tomorrow.  Mile and a half warmup, then 4X200 (34, 34, 33, 31) and 4X barefoot striders on the infield - finished up with 2 laps around the infield.  Easing back into meaningful training starting Sunday.

Easy 4-miler in the neighborhood, mostly on the "bridle trails" - most of my neighborhood was built in the late 50's/early 60's, and the developer left wide easement/alley ways behind and between the houses.  Where we are used to be considered the outskirts of town and there were quite a few horsey folk in the area, so the easements were maintained as bridle paths... miles and miles of em.  Over the years they evolved into powerline easements, but they remain open to the public and are maintained nicely with fairly smooth, grassed footing.  Its a nice change from asphalt or the trails I usually run.

Up and on the road to Atlanta at the crack of dawn tomorrow to watch the boychild race a couple 800s in relays - should be fun. 

Yes, I got my run in this evening, but yesterday was much more interesting.  Drove up to Atlanta to watch Travis and a few other of our athletes race at Georgia Tech.  Trav did the 800 anchor leg of the coed sprint medley, and they won their heat and placed 5th overall with a 4:02 - Trav went 2:07 in 63/64.  Three hours later he ran 2nd leg of the 4X8 and went 2:07 again, and was a bit more aggressive in 62/65 - he was pleased and coach was pleased - told him he will definitely go sub 2:05 when he runs it next in 2 weeks.

I ran 2 miles easy and then 2X 200m hills with 600 jog between, then 4 striders and a half mile cool down. 

Good track workout this evening before dinner.  Ran 2.25 miles warmup at 8:00, 7:20 and 6:46 pace, then 10-15 minutes of active stretching, flexibility before track work.  Did 2X300 (51, 50), 1X450 clocking the last 400 (69), and 2X300 (51, 49) - 2 minutes between 300s and 3 minutes before and after the 450.  Half mile barefoot cool down on the infield. 

Got my email newsletter from masters news today and that helped me nail down my next goals - racing the 200, 400 and 800 (depending on the schedule) at the SE Regional Masters Meet in Raleigh on June 10-11.  Now to organize my training plan and get busy. 

Longest steady run I've done in months - seemingly.  Lots of up and down - good steady run.  

Good run in the neighborhood this evening following a welcome rain.  Steadily dropped from 8 flat to 7:15 pace over the 4 mile effort.  Peculiar dizziness and confusion over last 2 days kept me from working out.  I'm thinking sinus pressure - much better today, but going to visit the doctor Monday for a good check-up.

Made it out the door this morning to get the workout out of the way.  Ran 2.8 pretty quick (7:37, 6:42, 6:37 pace), then did 2X 200 meter hills around the block with 600 meter jog in between.  Followed that up with a bit of stretching and about 20 minutes of dumbbell circuit training.

Nice cool late afternoon workout at the trails and track.  Ran 3 miles warmup with the middle mile at 6:30 pace. Followed up with 8X200 between 35 and 33 with a jog across the infield recovery.  Finished up with a couple barefoot striders and then 2 barefoot laps around the infield.  

Quick little track meet/scrimmage/fish fry this evening at the school - was over quick enough to get in a workout on the neighboring trails.  Mile and a quarter warmup and Mile and a quarter cool down, with about 2 miles worth of one minute on one minute off in the middle.  Good effort. 

Track workout this evening in gorgeous light winds and 60 degree temps - nice.  Started with 2.25 mile warmup at about 7:30 pace.  In preparation for racing 200s, 400s and 800s over the next couple years, I decided that I will do most of my track work at distances of 300, 500 and 1,000 meters, with speedy stuff out of the blocks thrown in as well.  Today I did one of each with full recovery (300 at 49 sec; 500 at 89 sec; 1,000 at 3:32), with the plan to build to a once per week effort of 300, 500, 1000, 500, 300.  My other regular workout will be 8 to 12 X 200 at 800 pace with jog across the infield recovery.  Onward.

Steady run from gardens trailhead to Overstreet to Keel Over to North Loop to Ravine Trail and back.  Nice uphill switchback sections on Keel Over to really get the legs and heart pumping.  

Lunchtime workout on the neighborhood roads.  Did 8X quarter mile with a mile warmup and half mile cool down.  First 3 quarters went 78, 79, 80 on varying slopes - took it easy on middle 2 repeats (95, 92), and finished up with 78, 80, 80 for the last 3.  Jogged/walked 3 minutes between each rep - the Garmin workout feature is awesome for this effort, and the elevation vs time charts when uploaded are very helpful for perspective.

My normal trails were closed this evening due to several downed trees from the storms we had Mon night, so I popped over to a killer single track trail I usually do only when I'm in much better shape (for distance running) than I am now.  Its tons of twists and turns and ups and downs and generally a great workout... unless one is not in very good shape for such things - in that case, its a really difficult 4 miler - yep, it was a really difficult 4 miler this eve.  Will try to remember to throw it in a couple times per month from now on, because it is indeed enjoyable - when its over.

Supposed to be record high 90 here today, so, logically I went out to the track when the temp was peaking - oh well.  Warmed up for a mile and a half, then did 2 sets of 4X200.  First four I wanted to do at goal mile pace (5:00 at some point) and went 36, 38, 36, 35 with a 90 second jog across the infield.  The next four I was planning to do goal 800 pace (2:10 sooner than later) and went 31, 32, 32, 31.  Good workout.  Popped the shoes off and did a few striders and two laps on the infield to finish up.

Well, spring is over in Tallahassee already.  Late afternoon run on the trails with 82 degrees and 90% humidity.  The real indicator of early summer though is the fact that I was swarmed by deer flies for the first time this year - sweet.  I guess everything combined to be good motivation though since I ran noticeably better on this run than last week.  Its a mile and 3/4 fairly flat, a mile and a bit mostly uphill, and another mile and 3/4 slightly downhill back to the trailhead.  Unlike last week, I was able to work the uphill mile pretty good at 7:25 pace - that'll work.

Three miles on the ravine trail plus north loop at between 7:45 and 7:25 pace.  Planned on doing 300, 500, 1000 on the track but could only muster the 300 - zero energy after the somewhat longer than usual warmup I guess.  Stretched and chatted with another masters track dude that I see out there on occasion, then did 6 barefoot striders on the infield and two laps cool down.  Will get the quality track workout in on Fri or Sat - tomorrow is all day District Meet at the home track - concessions duty and shooting pics for 10 hrs - yes!

Up early to get a workout in before heading to the track for all day District Meet.  Ran 2 brisk miles (7:16, 6:40) and another .25 to warm up before 4X200 meter hills with about 500 meter jog/walk recovery.  Did the repeats in 41, 39, 39 and 37 - pretty pleased with the effort.

Boychild helped the 4X800 squad qualify through to regions (2:06 split), and then qualified in the 1600 (5flat) and 3200 (10:50) later in the day (put forth only enough effort to make sure he qualified top 4 - got 2nd in 1600 and 3rd in 3200) - a very good day for him and the team... boys and girls are District Champs! 

Easy run from the soccer fields out to Lake Jackson and back - too much big gravel on the trails - I knew there was a reason I haven't done that run in a while.  Kept it right around 8 minutes per mile on the up and down trails.

Gorgeous evening at the track today - bit breezy, but low humidity and low 70s - nice.  Ran a bit more than a mile warmup and then a decent pyramid workout of 300 (52), 500 (1:29), 600 (1:56), 500 (1:28), 300 (48).  Finished with 4 barefoot striders and two laps around the infield.  Originally planned a 1K at the top spot, but going through the 400 at 80 seconds felt way too rough, so I dug down and made it a fairly quick 600 instead.

Nice tempo run in the neighborhood following a couple hours of trying to rationalize with and motivate the boychild, all the while trying to not show my own disappointment... The run allowed me to work off the same frustration and disappointment he is feeling.  He qualified to run the 1600 and the 3200 in this weeks region champs, but his coach wants him to dog it in the 1600 and be sure to not qualify for next week's state meet, so that he will be fresh for the 3200 next week.  He frankly is unlikely to score points in either event at the state meet, but the chances are better for a point or two from him in the 3200 - thats just the reality.  Travis really wants to run the 1600 and has only had three opportunities all year, so hes quite bummed.  By the time Thursday rolls around, he will be plenty fired up about having the chance to at least make it on the state meet squad, and he will run well, but its always tough seeing him upset.

My run was good - first mile at 7:39, then 7:10, and finished with a 6:37 - pretty good for a sprinter, I'm thinkin. 

Out the door fairly early for some repeat quarters in the neighborhood.  Did 1 mile warmup at 8 min pace and then 8Xquarter mile, all between 78 and 88 (only 2 were above 82) with 3 minutes jog/walk rest.  First time in past several weeks that I didn't intentionally ease off on #s 5 and 6 - was able to maintain sub 90 even on #6 that has a considerable uphill section.  Very satisfying workout.

Steamy early evening run after work.  Did the ravine trail plus new trail - new trail portion (1.35 mi) in the downhill direction at 9:46.  Still pumped after the boychild's race yesterday.

Three mile warmup on the ravine trail and north loop followed by 1X1K at 3:23 and 1X300 at 49, then four barefoot strides and two laps around the infield.  Travis joined me after that to work on block starts for a 400 meter time trial tomorrow.  He is attempting to make the 4X400 for the state meet.  The squad has three guys between 50 and 53 seconds, but they lack a fourth that can consistently run sub-55.  He hasn't run a 400 since 8th grade when he would usually go 56-57 as anchor on the 4X4 - we'll see.

Steamy early evening run on the trails today - never really felt comfortable.  Started at the gardens trailhead and ran ravine trail clockwise to the north loop.  Tried to press a little on the north loop and dropped to 6:45 pace for the .8 mi section.  Last mile and a half was at 8:30 pace.  Really need to shift to morning runs again - light enough by 6:45 to get rolling, so will work on that.

Two and a quarter miles warmup at about 7:45 pace before doing two sets of 4X200 on the track.  First set was intended at goal mile pace (37-38 seconds) with 200 jog rest - hit them at 35, 37, 37 and 36.  Full 200 walk before second set - intended to be goal 800 pace (32-34 seconds) with 50 walk and 150 jog between - I hit them at 31, 34, 32, 32.  Finished up with two barefoot laps on the infield.  Fine workout on another steamy evening.  Heading to Winter Park tomorrow afternoon for the big State Meet on Friday - wooooooo.

Ran the neighborhood streets by the hotel in Winter Park before heading to the State Meet at Showalter Field.  Ran about 1.75 miles before feeling ready to do the planned 8Xquarter mile with 3 minutes jog/walk rest.  First 4 were still a little rough at 86, 87, 87, 85, but the last 4 were all at 81 and felt pretty good.  Bit over a mile back to the hotel after the last quarter.

The meet was an absolute blast.  Maclay had a boy and/or girl in just about every event, so our little contingent of parents/coaches was fired up all evening.  I think Travis relied a little too much on his senior teammate through 1200 (they went 68, 71, 72), and really didn't pay enough attention to the pack.  He easily could have stuck to the back of the lead pack (he did 68 for last lap) and run 4-5 seconds faster, and maybe grab 7th-8th place for a spot on the podium (8th was 4:37.8 and T ran 4:40.2 for 11th place) - live and learn.  The boys' team was leading by 10 points before the 3200, but the expected team winner placed 3 guys in the top 3 spots for 24 points to seal the deal.

After a good day of getting the house, and the yard, and the bills, and the maclayrunners.com website back in order after a couple days out of town, I popped up to the track for a little workout.  Ran 2.25 warmup on the ravine trail before a pyramid of 200 (32), 300 (50), 500 (96), 300 (49), 200 (29).  All but the 500 were right on goal - was hoping to go 90 seconds on the 500, but just didn't have it.  I may have short-changed myself on rest before that effort as there were several people at the track and I was trying to work it so I wouldn't have traffic - ah well.  Two barefoot laps cool down and then it was back to the house for breakfast dinner - always great.

Hill work in the neighborhood again this morning - and a lovely morning it was.  Ran 2.25 warmup averaging just over 7 minute pace.  Ran 4X200 meter hills with 500 meter jog rest.  Best effort yet on this hapnin little workout - 42, 39, 38, 37.  Garmin reports that the rise is 50 feet across the 200 meters... about 8% grade for you col du tourmalet riders.

Couple good miles (7:11, 6:56) this evening on the way to pick up daughterchild's car at the shop - I do love being within 5 miles of everything.  Circuit training and stretching back at the house afterward.  Need to get more consistent on the thrice-weekly circuit training, and more dedicated on core/stretching/yoga.  My self-diagnosed "sportsman's hernia" has been nagging at me since cranking up the track work again - swell.

Easy run around Lake Overstreet this evening after 4 days of nothing due to back spasms - bleh.  Sat on my arse in front of computer at work for 40 hours in two and a half days at end of last week and I'm thinking that has to be the cause of the low back pain.  I've had it occasionally in the past, but never kept me off the trails for more than a day before.  I know, I know - gettin old.

Averaged a little over 8 min on my new favorite trail run - half of Lake Overstreet to Keel Over to back half of North Loop to last mile of the Ravine Trail.  Lots of good up and down action and twisty single track on the slightly more than a mile section of Keel Over.  Wasn't the best effort since I was down four days with my back issue, but fun nonetheless.  Back was essentially pain free - thats something.

A billion degrees out this evening for a short track workout.  Did 2.25 warmup and then 4X200 with jog across infield.  Finished up with 4 barefoot striders and two laps around infield.  I inexplicably forgot to wear my watch or the Garmin, so had to... gasp... wing it.  Did the 200s easy in about 35ish.

From the trailhead up to the North Loop trail real easy, then worked the Loop .8 mi at about 6:30 pace.  Continued around the ravine trail back to the trailhead.  Good finish to a strange week of workouts.  Four days off due to the back issue really did a number on me.  No back pain, but first couple hundred feet today and yesterday I had weird numbness/shooting pains in both buh tocks.  No issues after getting warmed up - will keep tabs on that weirdness.

One more day taking it easy on the back/glutes.  Two and a half warm up at 7:30 pace, then just a couple 300s at 54 and 4 barefoot striders plus two laps around the infield.  Feel like I can ramp things right back up this week, but not sure I will be ready to race the 200/400 and/or 800 in a few weeks.

From trailhead, 1.5 miles up to the north loop - did the 0.8mi loop at just under 7 min/mi.  Continued a bit over a mile on around the ravine trail to the new trail.  Gradually picked up the pace on the 1.3 mi new trail, finishing it in 10:20 - about a minute slower than my best effort on that section.  Easy .5 cool down back to trailhead to finish up the 4.7 miles - good run.

Lovely evening track workout today.  Low humidity, low 70s, light breeze.  Did 2.5 mile warmup steadily dropping pace from 8:30 to 7:00, then stretching and flexibility before 4X200 (34, 33, 31, 29) and 4X100 barefoot striders.  Finished up with two laps of infield.  Wanted to run fast and see how sore my lower abs are tomorrow - "sportsman's hernia" really bugging me.  Takes almost the entire first mile now before the stiffness/soreness eases up, but then I can finish a workout like tonight with no pain during the workout.  Based on my past experience, I may be pretty sore tomorrow - grrrrrr.

Easy 8-8:30 pace run on the trails.  Lower abs sore for first half mile or so and then only on the steep uphill sections.  Summer track meets start two weeks from this evening - we'll see how long I can just work through this - grrrrrr.

Total of 4 and a half shows on the Garmin, but a lot of that was walking around between working block starts.  Did 2.5 warmup on the trails then about 8X50-60ish meter block starts and one 88-90% effort 200 - Garmin said 28 seconds, I'll call it 27.83  :)  Finished up with two barefoot laps on the infield.  

Quads and lower abs a bit sore after blocks and sprinting yesterday.  Ran easy 8:30-8:45 pace around Overstreet and then down new trail.  Pleased that I got out there before the heat really started cranking - let the summer slog begin.

Didn't get out the door early enough to do as much as planned, so ran a bit more after work as well. 

AM did 2.5 warmup and then 2X200 meter hills and half mile cooldown.

PM went to trails and did 1.5 warmup and then 2 miles worth of minute on (5:25-5:30 mile pace) minute off (10-11 min/mi pace), with about a quarter mile cool down.   No rain and much heat here for past 10 days or so, so the trails were sandy and not easy to run fast on - much cooler than doing this workout on neighborhood pavement though.

After a couple days of little sleep and no running, finally got out to the trails after work for a short run.  Got through the end of year track banquet last night, and Travis' last day of school was today, so we're finally finished for a few months.  Heading to Orlando tomorrow to watch the Golden South meet and then to Dunedin for a couple days relaxation in the folks' backyard.

Have A Great Weekend! 

2.25 warmup before several block starts and then one 300 at 44 seconds.  Finished up with a few barefoot striders and two laps on the infield.

Just a couple miles around the folks' neighborhood before heading out to dinner.  Nice visit with the folks.

Jumped out of the jeep after the drive home to Tally and the boychild and I hit the trails.  Got in a good five miler before the sun went down.  Felt about the best I've felt in a long time on a steady run.  Got lots of sleep past three nights - ahhhhhhh.

2.25 warmup on the ravine trail from the track.  Flexibility and stretching before an easy little pyramid - 200 (35), 300 (54), 400 (75), 300 (52), 200 (31).  Felt pretty heavy and weak - will do just dumbbell and core workout tomorrow and hopefully feel fresh for racing the 100 meter on Thursday - 1st week of the summer track series.

Nothing yesterday and summer track meet this evening, so I got out early and did a couple easy miles.

At the track meet I decided to do all of the events except the 5K.  Worked the 100 meter as hard as I could since it was the Grand Prix event this week - ran 13.42 and got 4th or 5th.  Haven't felt strong for a while now - pretty sure its weight and diet related - gonna work on that for the rest of the summer.  Toed the line at 165 lbs - up 7 since racing Indoor Nationals in March - bleh.  Planned on cruising about 70 for the 400 meter, and felt much better than expected - ran 64 real easily - who knew!?  The mile went off immediately after my heat of the 400, so I used the first two laps as recovery and then pressed the last 800 - ran 6:39 finishing fairly strong (42 for last 200).  'Twas good to be back out there for the first time in 3 years.

Decided at last minute to run this race because a rainstorm blew through and dropped the temp from mid-90s to upper 70's for the 6PM start time.  Its billed as approximately 4 miles on rolling trails - mostly grass or clay double-track.  Its also a prediction run with no marked miles, no split timers and no watches allowed - the only clue they provide is that the water station is at approximately the half-way point.

Haven't raced since October, and haven't run more than 5 miles since then, so I really had no clue what to predict for "approximately 4 miles" - went with 28:34.  Felt really good and comfortable through the water station, then the course trended uphill for the next mile or so - ugh.  Nobody passed me after the water station, and I went by 5 or 6 runners between there and the end.  Finished in 35th by clock time at 28:52, and 25th by prediction time at +18.

Miles one, two and four felt pretty good - the uphill third mile was considerably more difficult than it should have been - definitely looking forward to dropping 6-8 pounds before the Midnight Run on July 4. 

14 miles on the mountain bike today.  Rode up to the trail course that I raced yesterday.  The "approximately 4 miles" turned out to be 4.1 per the cycloputer and 4.13 per Garmin - cool.  Looking at the gps track, the third mile wasn't actually as consistently uphill as it seemed - interesting - was only from about 2.0-2.25 that was uphill.  I guess that section just wiped me out mentally.  Was a good ride today for a little cross training.

Finally got out to the track for a morning workout today.  Cooler, fewer folks on the track, and more pep in my step than evening workouts.  Ran 2 and a quarter miles warm-up at about 7:15 pace, then did three 200s and three 300s, alternating between the distances.  Pretty much full recovery - about 3 minutes.  Did the 200s in 34, 32, 31, and the 300s in 54, 52, 49.  Finished up with two barefoot laps around the infield.  Paying close attention to food intake, and doing more consistently intense workouts - already down 2 lbs since Thurs - 'bout 6-8 more to go.

Hill work this morning in the neighborhood.  Bit of a rainstorm last night made things coolish but muggy this morning - could be worse.  Ran 2.2 miles warm-up and then 4X200 meter hills (45, 43, 42, 38 - yep, felt pretty feisty on the last one) with about 500 meters recovery jog in between.  Finished up with a half mile around the neighborhood.  Lower abs soreness never really abated today like it usually does after a mile or so.  Will take tomorrow off before racing the 200 meter on Thurs evening.

Real easy run on the trails to loosen up the legs and lower abs - mostly worked.  Ran between 8:15-8:30 per mile in the 90 degree, 90% humidity evening - ahhhhh.

Might have to admit that the self-diagnosed sportsman's hernia is affecting me more than I thought.  Wholly unsatisfying effort at the track meet this evening.  Did a 2.2 mile jog and felt I was warmed up enough for the 200, but never really got into a strong sprint - weird.  Ran 27.42 when I fully expected low 26 - hmph.  Jumped right back on the track after that and cruised through a 2:32 800 and then immediately into a 14:04 2-mile after the 800.  So, if nothing else, it was a pretty good workout at least.  Gonna drop my Doc an email this evening and just pick his brain on the self-diagnosis - he's a runner and we discussed it a bit last year about this time when it flared up - he's not a big believer in the whole sportsman's hernia phenomenon in general.  

Nothing but dumbbell workout yesterday, and no running today either.  Did 15 miles on the mountain bike - right at 80 minutes - good workout with no strain on the lower abs.  Probably do 20 miles on the road bike tomorrow and some light stretching/yoga.  Feels quite a bit better today, so maybe by Monday I can test it out with a little 4-miler or something.  Will baby it through Thursday so I can try to race the 400, then I will totally back off the track work and just go with base mileage for the rest of the summer and set my sights on a couple little 5 Ks in the fall.  I'll finish out the summer track series... 800, mile, 2-mile, 5K, but no more sprinting for a while - thus is life.

Jumped on the road bike a bit too late in the morning - planned on three loops around a 6-miler on neighborhood roads that I used extensively in the past for marathon training, but just wasnt feeling it after the second loop.  One mile to and from the loop, so finished up with 14 miles at just under 17 mph.  Shoulders and hands a bit sore after mountain biking yesterday - first time in 7-8 months that I've been on a bike two days in a row.

Pleasantly surprised this morning that 3 days off weight-bearing exercise seems to have worked nicely for the lower abs.  Back to the regular twinge for the first mile, then pretty much pain free for the remainder.  Will try some minute on minute off tomorrow, or maybe 8Xquarter mile on the trails.

Couldn't roll out of bed for a morning track workout, so I hit the trails at about 7:30PM, after a small dinner.  Planned to do 400s on the track, so I did 8Xquarter mile with two minutes rest (one minute walk and one minute jog).  Trails were pretty sandy and it was steamy, so the times were a bit slower than on neighborhood roads (88 to 95 seconds) - felt pretty good though.

Didn't plan on running today, but the boy child wanted to double up after the team only did 4 this morning, so I went with him to the trails this evening.  Tallahassee broke the all time record high temp today at 105, but when Travis and I hit the trails after a nice rain shower at 7PM, it was amazingly 73 degrees with a cool breeze!  Very sloppy footing, but really nice easy run with Trav.

Thursday night summer track meet again tonight.  Grand Prix event was the 400 and I was hoping to sneak under 60 - ran 60.8 and was lucky to get that.  Still just not feeling at all strong - ah well.  Jumped right on the track after the 400 and did the mile in 6:37, with each lap a couple seconds faster than the previous.  Flipped the shoes off and jogged a couple laps on the infield to cool down.  Plus the mile and a half warmup before the 400 makes 3.5 for the evening - that'll work.

Travis and I drove about an hour over to Torreya State Park early this morning to scout the trails for long run potential for the team.  They have a figure 8 that makes up a total of about 14 miles.  We ran the hilliest section of one of the loops up and down from the Gregory House which overlooks the Apalachicola River.  Garmin tells me it was down 294 feet and up 302 feet over the 2.5 miles - thats a pretty serious elevation swing for Florida boys.  We then walked quite a bit of the remainder of the trails - definitely runnable, but some really steep sections, and lots of downed trees.  It was a nice workout for the old man, and Travis was polite and said he was feeling it too - even after just the 2.5 miles.

No running today, but got in a good 12 mile ride on the mountain bike while Travis and the guys did their long run.  Back in action tomorrow morning with a 5 miler, and then hit the track Tuesday morning for some 70 second 400s to get ready to try a 2:20 in the 800 on Thursday evening.

Morning trail run - yay.  Did the full figure 8 of overstreet trail/ravine trail for the first time in quite a while - 5.3 miles.  This will be my standard run 3 days/week for the foreseeable future while I try to ramp up to around 30 miles/week.  Ran right at 8 min/mile - need to work that down under 7 by Aug 27 when I will do an 8K trail race.  I ran 37:15 last year on little training, but just under 35 minutes in 2008, so splitting the difference for a 36 flat seems like a good goal.

Brutally hot and humid this evening - perfect for a stab at 800 pacing for Thursday's meet.  Ran a couple miles warmup at 8 minutes and 7:40, then some stretching and flexibility before a 600 at goal 800 pace (2:20) and then a few 200s at goal 800 pace.  I hit the 600 just under 1:46, splitting the 200s at 35.5, 34.8 and 35.5 - pretty ragged finishing up, but pleased with the effort, considering the heat and no competition.  Took one minute rest and managed a 200 in 34 - wonder if they'll let me do that during the race.  Full recovery (about 6 minutes), and then did two more 200s with 90 second rest (36 and 34).  Felt the abs a little bit, but nothing like a couple weeks ago.  It seems backing off block starts and sprints at sub 30 for 200 has helped.  Should be able to finish out the summer track series (800, mile, 2-mile, 5K) with minimal pain.

Short little shake out run this morning of about 2.25 miles, and then raced the 800 this evening.  Only had time for about a half mile warm up before toeing the line, but that was fine.  Planned to go out in 70 seconds and see what I could do the next lap.  I hit the 400 in 72 and started stressing about the last 100 - was sure I was going to totally lock up and finish over 2:30.  At 600, I actually felt pretty good and just pressed on in from there for a 2:25.  I hit my watch at each 200 and, of course, the last 200 turned out to be just fine (35, 37, 37, 35) - go figger.  The 2-mile went off immediately after the 800, so I jumped in there and made it through the mile in just over 7 minutes before backing off and just going 2 more laps.  Another fine evening of summer track - big fun.  Oh - Travis cruised through a 2:15 in trainers after 2 striders as warmup - kids!

Nice workout this morning - mix of easy running and ramped up effort.  Did 1.25 miles easy to start of north loop and then did 2X north loop (0.8 mi) at a bit under 7 min pace with 120 meter walk rest interval.  After the 2nd loop, did just over a mile easy to the start of New Trail.  Picked it back up through New Trail (1.35 mi) and then jogged in the last quarter mile to the parking lot.

Almost bearable this morning as the sun rose on the trails.  Ran the full overstreet trail/ravine trail figure 8 in right at 8 min/mile.  A bit faster than last week.  Thats the plan each week for the next several - we'll see.

This was actually Wednesday's workout...

Really good run this evening - wish I knew why.  Ran overstreet trail to connector and then remainder of ravine trail - all but the uphill connector section in slightly under 8 min pace. 

Oops - this was actually Tuesday's workout...

Popped up to the track after work and after a nice cooling/steaming rain shower.  Did 3 easy miles warmup and then an 800 and 2X400, all at goal mile pace (5:29.9).  I hit the 800 in 2:47 (a little slow, but comfortable), and then 90 seconds rest before and between the 400s, both at 81.  Not looking forward to the pain of racing the mile on Thurs, but after that, we all head down to my folks' place for 4-5 days of chillin in the pool and maybe at the beach.  Oh, and racing the Midnight Run 5K Sunday night - woooo!

Summer track series this week was the mile - actually the 1600 meter.  Had hoped to go 5:30 with all the 200 splits around 41-42.  First few were at 42 and that felt pretty good, so just cruised at that pace.  A couple bounced up to 43, but finished strong with a 40 second last 200.  Add up all the tenths and I finished at 5:38 - I'll take it considering I never really felt too labored.  Travis hit his plan perfectly with a controlled 2:30 at the half and a good negative split to finish 4:56.

Travis and I popped out into the folks' neighborhood for a few miles early this morning.  We started out at 7:45 pace and by the end of 3 miles were down to 7:28, so I bailed and let him continue on without me.  I finished up with another mile and a half at 7:50 pace.  Trav circled around another lap to finish with about 6.25.  Was a good run after nothing Fri or Sat - bleh.  Racing the 5K tonight at midnight - wooooo.

Race went much better than expected - always good.   Travis and I ran much of the 1-mile race with the daughter child, the wife, the folks and the brother-in-law as a little warm up.  All of them did well and had a good time.  Travis vacillated considerably during the warm up between thinking he would run the 5K easy with me or go out hard and see how he felt.  Starting siren sounded and he was gone! I saw him at the turn-around in 6th place and thats where he ended up, in a decent time of 17:44. Three of the guys ahead of him were in his 16-17 age group, so 6th overall only netted him 4th in his age group - ah well, he was pleased. 

I went out pretty fast (6:18) for my planned 21 flat goal, but actually felt really good, so just went with it through the turn-around. Still felt pretty good coming off the draw bridge on the way back with a little less than a mile left, so worked fairly hard to maintain 6:30 pace.  Crossed the line and the finish clock said 20:10, Garmin said 20:11, and the chip timing results read 20:13 - I'll take it - and the 4th place age group award too!  Got to see Bret at the turn-around as well, and then for a bit of a visit after the race - got his age group award too - I'm on fire!!  Was a good evening.

Drove home from Dunedin this morning and then to work for a few hours, so didn't get out for a run until this evening - silly hot and humid.  Got in 4.7 on the ravine trail, north loop and new trail.

Hot energyless evening run again today.  Ran the clockwise perimeter of ravine, connector and overstreet trails real easy... 9 minute pace.  Some calf soreness remains from racing and playing in the pool this weekend, but shouldn't impact my assault on 12 minutes for the 2-mile at summer track tomorrow eve - we'll see.

Well, as good as I felt on the 5K Sunday, I felt the opposite this evening for the 2-mile on the track.  Plan was to go through the first mile at 6 flat and see how I felt.  Unlike the "mile" last week that actually was 1600 meters, they started us at the spot for a full 2-mile run - cool.  Settled into too much of a pack for the first 600 meters and went through off pace pretty bad, but smoothed out for several 45 second 200s over the next few laps.  I hit the mile at 6:08 not feeling too comfy.  Proceeded to blow up to 6:22 for the next mile and finished at 12:31.  Will be out of town next Thurs for the 5K, so looks like it will be no better than 4th overall for the series this year.  Should hold on to 1st for age group though - that'll work.

Got out this morning and did my longest run since this time last year when I got Bret and myself lost in San Felasco for a 9 miler - sheesh.  Warm and humid at 0800... better than hot and steamy I suppose.  Started at the track and went to Forest Meadows and then down along Lake Jackson and back.  Fairly hilly course and more sections of large gravel than I recall - no fun, but a good workout - kept it around 8:15-8:45 pace.

Routine bounce around the figure 8 of overstreet and ravine trails this morning.  Right at 30 seconds faster than 2 weeks ago... 8:10 pace overall, with no real challenge.  Hope to get on the trails early tomorrow as well and do 1 minute on 1 minute off for a couple miles in the middle of the same course. 

Way too hot and humid on the trails for this workout tonight, but I got through it.  A bit over two miles warmup at about 8:45 pace, then 6X2 minutes on and 1 minute off - all of the "ons" were between 5:57 and 6:11 pace, and the "offs" were essentially walking.  Then jogged about 3/4 mile back to the car - whew.

Work has me up in central Indiana for a day and a half checking out a former Nike Missile base - kinda cool. Sneaked in a bit under 5 miles this evening before dinner with the clients.  More detailed site visit tomorrow with the state environmental agency in tow - fun.  Ran out from the hotel toward a huge office complex - turned out to be a couple ginormous buildings of some sort with gorgeous well maintained grounds with nice grass and little hummocks to play on.  Lots of birds and cotton tail bunnylets too - can't beat that.

Still in Indiana - command decision after meeting at hotel to NOT go back out for another site visit - woooo.  Took advantage of the extra time to get in 45 minutes on the hotel treadmill while watching the end of today's tour de france stage.  Pretty much the longest I've ever run on a treadmill... still not impressed.  Sitting at Chicago Midway airport now - back home by midnight.

Back home today and after lazing around all day, I finally dragged out to the trails this evening.  Ran overstreet counterclockwise to the milkyway and keel over trails up to the ravine trail and back to the trailhead.  Probably the fastest I've run this route - will have to look into that - good run.

First morning under 70 degrees since May, and I actually got up and ran!  From the trailhead, did the figure 8 counterclockwise plus north loop for exactly 6 miles.  Overall average pace a bit under 8 minutes, with miles of 8:22, 7:55, 7:55, 7:51, 8:01, 7:29 - not bad for a tubby old sprinter.

Ravine trail plus north loop and then another half mile to find the wife on the trail and then walk back to the jeep with her - nice evening run/walk.

Quick workout this morning on the trails.  Did about 1 mile warmup at 8:30 pace then 8X 1 minute on and 1 minute off (right at 2 miles total).  Seven of the 8 "ons" were sub 6 minute pace, with the last one being the fastest at 5:24 pace.  Finished up with a half mile cool down.  Will probably do another 3-4 miles this evening during the final summer track meet - no grand prix events, so I will just do every event they offer tonight and then enjoy the ice cream social.  After no points in the 2-mile and then being out of town for the 5K, I slipped from 5th to 8th overall, but kept my 1st place age group spot - thats something.  Travis ended up in 3rd overall even though he only ran 3 of the 7 events - punk!

Nice evening at the track for the ice cream social (was actually catered by Fuzions yogurt!).  I did a mile and a half warmup and striders, and then cruised the 100 (14.16), 400 (67) and mile (5:59).  Did about a half mile barefoot cool down on the infield with a couple of the old guys.  It was really great being able to compete essentially the entire summer track series again this year... now to prep for making top 3 overall next year!

After the track meet last night, I probably should have waited until this evening to run, but we have dinner plans so I got out early.  Took it real easy for the figure 8 trail run on overstreet and the ravine trail - right at 9 minute pace.

Slight variation on the over street/ravine trail figure 8 to finish up walking about a half mile with the wife.  Another nice evening after a huge rainstorm earlier in the evening.  Averaged a bit under 8 min/mi.

Supersize figure 8 on the trails this morning - counterclockwise up top and clockwise around the lake.  First 2 hilly twisty miles real easy (8:57, 9:01), then picked it up (8:03 third mile) on the way to the lower loop, and finished with 7:37, 7:35 and 7:08 for the rolling miles around the lake.  I think I will enjoy using this run as my weekly gauge for the next several weeks.  Looking to get in another 25 mile week to give me my first 100 mile month in ages - hey, its something.

Supersize figure 8 with good effort on the north loop portion from 2-2.7 miles.  Remainder of the miles were easy at 8:30-8:45 pace.  Really had no energy or motivation after the north loop effort.

Finally got out to the trails late this evening for a nice workout.  Ran 1 mile warmup and then 6Xquarter mile with 1 minute walk between.  All of the quarters were between 86 and 92 seconds - quite satisfactory on the sandy rolling trails.  Finished up with 2 easy miles back to the jeep.

Ridiculously hot and humid this evening when I hit the trails, so just took it easy around the perimeter of my usual trails.  Total distance around the outside comes to right at 5.7 miles.  Couple of the miles are mostly uphill and one is mostly downhill - averaged right at 8:30 pace for the whole shooting match.  

Heat index right at 100 this evening - such a deal.  Figure 8 - overstreet counterclockwise then ravine trail counterclockwise.  Just a tough slog of a run, but finished out another 25-mile week.  Will do better next week at running in the morning.

Yes! What a difference 20 degrees makes.  Was able to drag out to the trails early this morning and get in 6 miles.  Ran the figure 8 plus north loop again with steady increased effort 8:13, 8:02, 8:01, 7:51, 7:45, 7:38.  Decent run to start the week off right. No ill effects from the several hours we spent yesterday boating, kayaking and swimming in the Wakulla River - big fun, but no manatee sightings... until we left, of course.  The couple we were with sent pics of a group of six they saw 5 minutes after we had to leave - figures.

Goal this morning was to run the north loop 0.8 mile section under 5 minutes.  Did about 1.5 miles warmup at 9 min pace and then started on the loop.  Felt pretty good and finished up at 5:03 - fastest I've run it in a long while so that'll work.  Continued on around the ravine trail at 8:45-9:00 pace back to the trailhead. Had about 4 inches of rain yesterday, so humidity was about 120%, but at least temps were down to mid 70s this morning.

Late night last night so was lazy this morning.  Got out to the trails this evening for a hill workout.  Went 2 miles at 8:07, 8:02 for warm up and then did 4X160 meter hills with a job back down the hill for rest.  First 100 meters pretty gradual incline and then it really cranks up for the last 60.  I hit them at 37, 37, 36 and 35 seconds.  Little over a mile back to the trailhead for cool down.  Nice workout.  Pondering a hilly road 5K for Saturday - we'll see.

First time in months that I've run a 4th day in a row, so I took it real easy.  Did my usual overstreet trail/ravine trail figure 8 right at 8:30 pace.  

Decided to go ahead and race tomorrow morning, so I just ran a couple easy miles in the neighborhood this morning to loosen up a little.  Might do a couple more this evening if Travis wants to hit the trails.  The race tomorrow is a road 5K with a downhill 1st mile, rolling 2nd mile and uphill 3rd mile (looks like a gain of 100 feet steadily over the whole mile - yes, thats a hill in Florida).  The whiners last year (I didn't run it) said it was tough - guess we'll see.

Travis opted for catching up on sleep this morning, so I was on my own for the race.  Learned this morning that the start/finish is one of the highest points in Tallahassee - great.  Garmin tells me that from the start of the 3rd mile to the finish line we gained 110 feet, most of it from about 2.5 to 2.75 miles.  I knew about that part, but didn't fully comprehend the hilly second mile.

We started at a middle school and made a couple turns to the top of the downhill at about 300 meters in (out and back course, so this is the uphill at the end).  I planned on 6 flat for this downhill mile and went through at 6:02 actually holding back a little.  The next mile had a few turns and one 100 meter uphill section that I found myself working way too hard on, so I backed off a bit.  That was what killed my shot at sub 20.  I figured 6:20 for the second mile but went 6:44 as I conserved a bit for the last uphill mile.  Halfway up the steepest part of the last hill, I was really creeping along when I saw the stoplight at the top of the hill.  Finally had something to shoot for so I snapped out of it and ran pretty tough on in to the finish.  Expected a 7 flat 3rd mile and ran 7:05.  I passed a couple guys on the 3rd mile and nobody went by me, so thats something I suppose.  I finished 20th overall and the top 25 got cute medals.  Travis' coach took the masters win, and there were 2 or 3 other masters in front of me - will update with official results when I see them.  Did about a mile warmup and then a half mile cool down with coach for the total 4.5.

The usual Monday supersize figure 8 on the trails.  Calves were a little sore at first from racing on Saturday, but still averaged under 8 per mile and ran the last mile in 7:28 to finish a few seconds faster than last week.  Going to focus on water and rest and morning runs only this week to try for a more satisfying few workouts going into another 5K on Saturday.

Very humid this morning, but mid 70's, so quite bearable.  I ran the 1st and last miles of the 5K I will be running on Saturday, and the overstreet trail in between.  Did the 3 middle miles at 7:30-7:45, with the others at 8.  Hopefully the low to mid 70's will hold out until Saturday morning.

Lovely morning today - 71 degrees and humidity sub 80%. Translated to a fine workout on the trails.  Ran 1.5 warmup to the ravine trail midpoint then did 6X 2 minutes on and 1 minute off, with the "ons" at 5K race pace and walking the "offs".  All of the reps were between 6:14 and 6:25, so thats just about perfect for where I am right now... hope to go just sub 20 minutes on Saturday.  Finished up with about a mile and a quarter cool down.

Goal today was run the north loop under 5 minutes.  Warmed up on the 1.5 miles to the start of north loop at 8:30 pace, and cooled down at about the same for the last 2 miles.  On the twisty tight 0.8 mile north loop, I thought I was flying and feeling pretty good, but came through the finish at 5:03 - oh well.  Might have to look back and see when I last broke 5 on that little devil.  Certainly having a better week than last week - commitment to morning runs is helpful with this heat.

The Operation One Voice Florida Fallen Heroes 5K was pretty cool, with Marine color guard at the start, National Guard and local ROTC groups running, and cops on bikes throughout the course.  Better still, it was on my favorite course in town at Maclay Gardens right across from the house.  The race is in its 3rd year, and proceeds go toward the families of killed and injured Special Operations members.  They had a pretty good turnout, although not many of the local elites showed up...  thus my 7th place overall and 2nd place age group finish  :)

The course starts with a rolling mostly downhill first mile on asphalt, and I went through as planned right at 6:20 (6:18).  The second mile plus a bit is flat and on trails that I run pretty much every day.  Came through 2 miles a few seconds over my 12:40 goal (12:43, 2nd mile in 6:25), but felt fairly strong.  The third mile starts on trails and heads back to asphalt and uphill to the finish.  Ran the third mile in 6:35 and worked through the finish to sneak under my goal of 20 minutes with a 19:53.  Good confidence boost for the mile race next week and the 8K trail race the following weekend.

Six miles on neighborhood roads this morning so that I would be back in the house in time to take the ever thrilling first day of school pics of Travis.  Maclay starts a week earlier than the public schools, so he is now off and running for his junior year - wow.  Cynda gets another week of lounging around the house before heading off for sophomore year in Gatorville.  Basically just tried to wake up during the first mile (8:19), but then worked the rest of them between 7:55 and 7:37 for an overall average (7:52) a few seconds faster still than last week's 6-miler on the trails.

Nearly changed my plan this morning to a longer faster run since it was a gorgeous 66 degrees and 50% humidity.  Decided to stick with the plan of an easy 1.5 mile warmup to the north loop, work the 0.8 mi loop fairly hard (5:05), and then 3 miles easy on the overstreet trail (8:30-8:45 pace).  Was a nice taste of things to come in another month or so when mornings should be consistently in the 60s... of course by then it will be too dark in the morning to run the trails.  

Less than acceptable sleep last night, so I didn't roll out of bed for a run this morning.  Took a quick nap after work and then hit the trails and track as the sun was setting this evening.  Two and a quarter miles warmup at 7:45 pace and then 2X200, 1X800, 1X400, 2X200 - all at goal mile pace (5:28, so 41 on the 200s, 82 on the 400, 2:44 on the 800) with a minute rest.  I hit all the 200s between 40 and 42, the 800 at 2:46 and the 400 at 79.  First time back on the track in almost a month.  Racing the mile on Saturday morning, so wanted to work on pacing.  Good workout.

Early to bed last night and remembered how to sleep, so I was able to hit the trails at first light this morning.  Did the super size figure 8 real easy.  Good thing I wasn't targeting any particular times or anything - the Garmin got real squirrelly during 4th and 5th miles.  It was reporting 11 to 13 minutes per mile when I'm sure I was right at 8:30 pace - very strange.  The final time seemed correct, but the distance of 5.51 miles was a half mile short of what this run is confirmed to be via Garmin many times previously and via my cyclometer in the past.  Off to Garmin site to compare the gps track.

Easy jog around the neighborhood this morning with 4 striders to finish.

Had a really good morning at the track earlier today.  Just now back from helping move the daughter child into her dorm in Gainesville - that was a good trip too - a good day all the way around pretty much.

Travis ran in the 1st heat with Kevin Sullivan, 2-time? Canadian Olympian in the 1500, but didn't make him sweat or anything.  Sullivan won in 4:26 basically cruising.  Trav did not have a good run at all, but was only 3 seconds over his goal of 4:50, so he wasn't too terribly disappointed with his 10th place overall finish.  All of his team mates ran really well and are even more fired up for XC.

I toed the line in the 2nd heat (projected times from 5:20-5:40), hoping to go 41 seconds each 200 for a 5:28.  They set this up as a full mile, so my first 200 split was actually 209 meters, and was at 43, then I went 40, 41, 41, 41, 41, 39, 37 for a 5:23.  First time in several mile races that I actually had a bit of a kick - it was fun.

After watching and shooting pics of 6 more heats of mile races, I stepped to the line for the Hamstring Hundred as one of the 6 fastest 100 meter runners during the summer track series. Surprised myself with a 4th place finish just 2 hundredths off my time from early in the summer - 13.46.  My award... a canned ham... on a string!

Garmin threw in another little hiccough this morning right in the same spot on the trails.  Skipped about 4 tenths of a mile - wonder if there might be an underground meth lab or new gravitational black hole - its done this the past 2 runs, but never before.  Eased the distance of my Monday morning run up a bit on the way to making it an 8-miler over the next few weeks... my version of a "long run".  Super humid after rains yesterday afternoon.  Took it easy at about 8:20 pace for entire run.

Sat around after work watching the heat index drop from 103 to 100, but it never went below 100, so I sucked it up and headed on out for a really slow 5 miler.  Ran the Lake Jackson loop from forest meadows trail head - nice run... when its nice outside - bleh.

Easy 1.5 miles to the start of north loop, and then some light stretching before launching into the 0.8 mi loop in an attempt to go sub 5 minutes for first time this year.  I borrowed Travis' Kinvaras because I need some new trail shoes and the Perigrines are supposed to wear identically as the Kinvaras.  I really liked the feel and the weight, and they carried me through the twisty north loop in 4:42 - not bad.  Finished up the rest of the ravine trail back to the jeep real easy.  Think I'll go shopping now.

Figure 8 plus north loop again today, and again Garmin got squirrelly from 3 to 3.5 miles - lost about a quarter mile - I guess I will just take that into account from here on when I run this route in the morning.  It did not mess up yestereve when I ran that same stretch - odd.  Was a fairly comfortable 8 min pace run with some harder efforts on the uphills - felt pretty strong.  Still trying to decide if I want to race the 8K trail run this weekend or just shoot pics of Travis and the team doing the 5K and 3K.  

Oh well, I guess a strong mile one week doesn't translate to a strong 8K the following week.  This 8K trail race has some pretty good hills and more big gravel than I recalled from last year.  Started out right on my desired 6:55 pace, but I worked the hilly 2nd mile too hard and still only mustered a 7:23.  Cruised the 3rd mile in recovery mode at 7:18 and pretty much fell into survival mode for the last two (7:24, 7:10 pace) - not a good day, but the 36 flat overall time is a minute faster than I ran it last year, so thats something.

Travis raced the 5K and took 5th overall in 17:40ish (the 8K and 5K were run concurrent, so I didn't see his finish and he wasn't sure exact time).  He is still in motivation doldrums and did not have a good run.  He now has two weeks to snap out of it before the first official XC race. 

Didn't plan on running today after racing yesterday, but Lisa wanted to walk and my legs felt fine, so I ran about 3 and then finished up walking a half mile with her.  A bit lower humidity this evening, but still over 90 degrees when we headed out at 7pm. 

Evening run today following the XC parents' meeting - good turnout.  Coach's message boiled down to getting 8 hrs of sleep every night, eating a variety of healthy foods, sitting in ice water, and drinking chocolate milk - pretty straight-forward.  It was easing toward darkness after the meeting, so I ran from the school, through 3 miles of trails and then a couple miles on back roads to Newk's to meet Lisa and Trav as they finished dinner.  Surprisingly good run in my new Saucony Peregrines - apparently the trail equivalent to the Kinvara - nice lightweight, low heel shoe.

Being the lightweight that I am, I don't usually do two runs within 12 hours of each other, but I wanted to take advantage of the cooler temps this morning, so I hit the trails at sun up. Ran the figure 8 starting with the low side to see if the Garmin black hole would be vanquished by running that section later in the run when the sun was fully up (yes, I know that the sun should have nothing to do with satellite reception, but there you have it) - seemed to work - very strange.  Five miles at overall average 8:03 with each mile faster than the last, finishing with a 7:42.

Nothing yesterday due to too many hours working and not enough hours sleeping.  Got in 5-6 hrs sleep last night, so jumped out to the trails this morning for my weekly north loop time trial.  Once again sneaked under 5 minutes for the 0.8 mi loop (4:54).  Warm up and cool down mileage was between 8:30-8:45 pace.  Probably do 2-3 miles this evening if wifey wants to walk the trails after work... as long as I don't need to pull another all nighter here at the office.

Decided to make tomorrow the 5th Saturday in a row that I do a local race - 5K mix of road and trail, so I just ran a little 3-mile shakeout run this morning.  First mile easy (8:30), then pressed a little bit in the middle mile (7:17), and cruised on back to the house at 7:41 for the last mile.  I've never run tomorrow's course before, but it shapes up very similar to the one on which I ran 19:54 three weeks ago, so I'm thinking 19:49 is a good goal.

Tropical storm to our west sucked most of the heat and humidity away for the morning, so it was 69 and really nice for the race.  Not many folks showed up other than several JV-type XC boys (this was a fundraiser for a local high school's sports program) and only a handful decent locals - total of 110 runners.  There was more single track trail than I thought, and a finishing hill that was pretty nasty, so just breaking 20 minutes was perfectly fine for today.  Finished 9th overall and 1st old guy - of course, the one race ever that I snag 1st master, I had to leave right away before the awards ceremony - ah well. Its been a pretty fun five weekends of racing - might come to an end next week as we travel to Mobile to watch the boys first XC meet... hmmmm maybe there's an open division  :)

Figure 8 trail run plus north loop and new trail.  No issues with the black hole on this mid morning run - interesting.  Struggled a bit from 4.5 to 5.5 miles, but then finished strong in the new trail portion - I likes the single track twisty stuff.

Could only muster a half mile walk late in the day.  Spent the 12 hrs from 6am to 6pm either atop or afore the porcelain throne with some sort of truly nasty bug.  Finally feeling alive again at 11pm.  Hopefully sleep will come easily and last long.

walked a half mile this evening... very slowly

full mile walk this evening - wouldn't wish this episode on my worst enemy - another doctor visit tomorrow

So the digestive disease specialist says bacterial gastroenteritis - also known as really nasty stomach bug... either that, or ischemic colitis or ulcerative colitis or colon cancer - definitely my new favorite doctor.  She did say I could run tomorrow at least, as long as I have no pain.  I'm planning on having no pain and getting in a couple miles - this is ridiculous.

Best two mile run/walk I've ever had - heh.  I'm no high milage or streak runner kinda guy, but that 4 days of zeroes is the longest I've gone without running since blowing out my knee five years ago.  If I had eaten about half a bagel beforehand, I think I could have gone longer or thrown in less walking - actually felt pretty good.  Back at it.

Probably more than 1.5 total while photographing and encouraging runners between the two XC meets I attended today, but that'll work.  Lisa and I headed out early to attend the girls and JV boys meet in Marianna - they did well.  We then jumped back on I-10 to continue west to Mobile for the boys varsity meet in the evening.

Once again, to the shock of the team, coach was proven right in taking them to this out of town big time meet for some distraction and early good competition.  Travis had expressed concern that the boys, who have shown waning motivation as summer ended, would fold under pressure and come back with their tails 'tween their legs.  Quite to the contrary, they finished 3rd with a team average 17:31, top five all under 18 and a 1-5 split of 30 seconds - unheard of for our team over the last 4-5 years.  Trav was a little disappointed that he didn't get closer to 17 flat (ran 17:15, 21st overall and 1st on the squad), but was pleased with the team performance.  Coach told them he expected at least 40-60 seconds drop from each of them by State in mid Nov, and that they should start expecting more from themselves and should start practicing and racing more confidently. 

Felt pretty much back to normal on this easy short run this evening.  Actually dropped the middle mile down to 7:30ish and felt fine.  I think I will go ahead and just ramp straight back up to 25-28 miles for this week since my setback had nothing to do with physical injury or anything.  Will certainly pay attention to my bod and readjust as needed, but I'm psyched to get rolling again.

Good run this evening at the trails.  Did the figure 8 five miler with miles of 8:05, 7:57, 7:33, 7:33 and 7:43 - quite satisfactory.

Five miles at lunch on the bridle trails in the neighborhood.  Kept it right at 8 min pace .  Right calf and left quad a bit sore last 2 runs - interesting.  I kinda think it may have been all the squatting for shooting pics on Saturday - hmmmm.

Planned to do 6 in the neighborhood at about 8 min pace, but at one mile in I really felt no energy and no motivation to be on the roads.  I bagged the distance and pace, and circled the neighborhood at about 9 min pace - live to fight another day.  Will do my weekly trail time trial tomorrow morning - always good for a lift.

Terribly lovely morning on the trails - a bit dark to start, so I did the first mile back and forth on the power line easement.  Once it was light enough, I did another mile up to the start of the north loop and then did my time trial.  Felt really good, but didn't press particularly hard, so just under 5 minutes was fine (4:58).  Finished up another two miles easy back to the jeep.  Legs and energy level much better today.

Mid morning start to Travis' cross country race, so I went out early to the course and ran it plus a bit before the teams hit it.  Compared with the last couple years, they really dumbed it down - no single track portion and lots of asphalt to go with now having to run the big half-mile uphill section twice.  I felt totally back to normal today for the first time in a week - whew.

This was another race that coach told Trav and the team to run for place and not worry about time at all.  Worked out well for them as they won the team title by 4 points, even without their #2 runner.  Not as impressive team average or top 5 split as last week, but they all raced well.  Travis ran really well for 2nd overall at 17:06.  Definitely a pleasant surprise considering this course was tougher than last week, and the temp was starting to crank up as the gun fired at 10:45.  Most importantly, he reported that he had fun and felt great for the first time in quite a while. 

Couldn't fit in a run yesterday, but the yardwork and housework and napping was surely beneficial to my training.  Out the door this morning as the sun rose to a lovely 65 degrees.  Ran 5 miles in the neighborhood with the three middle miles down around 7:40 and the others at 8 minutes.  Nice steady run for me.

Had to break out the headlamp to hit the trails this morning - ran the figure 8 plus north loop.  Darkness made for a very tentative first couple miles, but there was enough light by the time I hit the upper loop to move a little faster.  First two miles at 8:30, and the next four steadily dropped from 8 to 7:30 pace.  Nice run.

Well the wife wouldn't let me run yesterday after my colonoscopy, but I got out there this morning in a nice light rain.  Did the north loop time trial thang and actually went a couple seconds faster than last week (4:56).  Easy 2 miles before and easy 2 miles after.  Good to have all this GI bidness behind me now - onward!

Basic figure 8 trail this evening.  First and last miles easy and the middle miles steady 7:30 pace.  Huge race for the boy child in the morning - FSU Invite on the course he first broke 17 minutes on.  He's looking to go 16:30ish - we'll see about that - I expect 16:48.

Got in at least 1 mile of fartlek work this morning at Travis' XC meet, and then ran 4 in the neighborhood steambath this evening - nice steady negative split down to 7:18 for last mile.

Travis continued his progression for the season with a decent 16:56 on a steamier than hoped for morning.  That is the exact same time he ran at this meet last year, but the meet was 3 weeks later in the season and 10-12 degrees cooler.  All-in-all a good effort pointing to nice improvement as we go through the season.  The rest of the squad really struggled for some reason, so that was Trav's biggest concern.  They have a couple weeks to regroup before next meet.  

The brief flirtation with fall last week has given way to another week of summer.  Heat index over 80 this morning before 7am for my 6-miler around the neighborhood.  Luckily, at about 4.5 miles, a light rain showed up and made things a bit more bearable.  Circuit training this evening - must get back to that and core work on a regular basis!

Threw on the headlamp (with fresh batteries - made a difference compared with last week) and hit the trails before sun-up today for a nice trip around the figure 8.  Tentative first couple miles so I didn't break an ankle, but then pressed the pace on down to 7:48, 7:46, 7:28.

Started my weekly north loop time trial run at the track this morning so I could do the first 10-12 minutes on the track before the sun was up.  Bonus was that I got to hear about Travis' morning workout... they started a bit before 6am!  Today was 3x1,600 with 90 seconds rest - 2 weeks ago he went 5:15, 5:35, 5:18 on this workout - today he did 5:16, 5:15, 5:04.  Trav and coach were both quite pleased - coach did admit giving him 30 extra seconds before the last one.

Trav inspired me to go under 5 minutes again on the 0.8 mile north loop - 4:56, same as last week.  Added a couple miles cool down to bring the total to almost 5. 

Hilly 5 miler in the neighborhood this morning - one of my "go to" runs for two-a-days when I was playing around with marathon training - ahhh, the good old days. Pretty sure I'll take tomorrow off, and then hit the track on Saturday - no XC race this weekend.

Quite the lovely midmorning run and track workout today.  Still in the low 60s when I rolled to the track at about 10 - nice.  Did 2.25 warmup on the trails and then 6x300 on the track.  Was thinking I'd just go about 5K pace (for me around 66-68 per 300), but the first one at 60 felt pretty comfortable.  Walked 100 for rest between.  Did the remaining 5 at 60, 60, 59, 59, 56.  Finished up with some barefoot striders and 3 laps around the infield.

Nice run this evening while Lisa walked the lower loop.  I did the figure 8 super-size plus the new trail.  All miles between 8 and 8:20 pace.

Looks like evening runs for this week so I can run while the wife gets her walk/run in.  I did the figure 8 five miler, and dropped the 5th mile under 7 minutes - fine effort for me.

Another lovely evening run on the trails.  Ran the Lake Jackson loop (5 miles), then about 3/4 mile on the ravine trail until I found Lisa and then walked on in with her.  Stretched out real good on the playground before heading home for some grilled chicken salad.

North loop time trial this evening in the middle of 4.4 on the ravine trail.  Wanted to really test myself this time, so I took it out real strong on the first third.  The final third was definitely tough, but I came through with my best time in quite a while - 4:42 for the .8 mi loop.  Garmin informs me that was a 6:13 pace - that'll work on the single track twisty trail with some super sandy sections.

Just a couple miles in the neighborhood this morning to shake out the legs.  Decided to race a trail 5K tomorrow in support of a bacterial meningitis foundation - young girl that graduated from the kids' school a few years ago died last year from it - her family has started this race.  I stepped up the middle half mile to a bit slower than race pace - felt good - we'll see.

Quite satisfied with the effort this morning.  The course was pretty amazing and very hilly.  The directors are the family of a young lady that died from bacterial meningitis a couple years ago.  They hired a firm from Orlando that really did it up right - chip timing, national anthem, awards stage, nice spread of food.  Most amazingly was the fact that they convinced several property owners adjoining the host school/church to allow them to clear and mow a 10 foot wide swath through really nice areas to create a one loop 5K all trail course that had it all.  Right at 400 finishers, most of whom were the run/walker variety.

I went 6:30, 6:28, 7:02 and finished up at 20:30 for 8th overall and 1st 45-49 - that'll work. 

Overstreet loop plus ravine trail X 2.  Real easy pace for my "long" run.

Connector up to the ravine trail then north loop time trial - 4:41, one second faster than last week.  Finished up the ravine trail and then back to jeep via new trail.  

Track workout at FSU this evening before watching the lady Noles lose in soccer - bummer.  Ran a couple miles around the old campus for warmup then did 6x300 at the track.  Did them in 60, 60, 60, 57, 55 and 52 - nice workout.

Mid morning run on red bug trail, toughest single track mtb trail in town - lots of fun to run when there aren't bikers on it.  Only saw one biker and she was clearly not in the right place - I think she fell 5 times in the 45 seconds that I was able to watch her.  I, however, only fell once - not bad.

Perimeter run around overstreet, ravine, north loop and new trail then half mile walk and stretching with wifey.  Good midmorning movement to get things going on a Sunday.

Got the run in before the expected washout of a day. Five miles on the Thomasville Rd loop - did a little short cut to skip the last mile because I got a late start and had to get ready for work. Very comfortable at a bit under 8 min pace.

North loop time trial this evening - made it in 4:42 - one second slower than last week - not bad. It was actually kinda chilly this eve - sweet!

Everybody and their brother were out on the trails this gorgeous evening - strange - I musta missed a memo.  Figure 8 with the middle 3 miles at about 7:30 per mile.  Big XC meet in Marianna on Saturday (bit more than an hour west of us).  They have an open division at the end that I will run, after running around shooting and yelling at kids for 90 minutes.  'tis a famously fast course as far as XC goes, so the kids and us old folks all are looking forward to the trip.

Blah blah, I ran, felt pretty good, did ok.

Travis broke through with a nice 20-second PR at 16:20 for 11th place in this perennially competitive race.  The guys were missing their numbers 5 and 6, but each of the top 4 and number 7 all got PRs - was a good morning.

Evening trail run from the Maclay track - figure 8 plus a lap around the track.  Pinched nerve or something in upper back - never really loosened up.  

Full perimeter run plus backtracking to Lisa - walked a half mile with her at end.  Start and finish at the gardens trailhead.

North loop time trial again this evening, and again I go 4:41.  Not complaining I guess, but thats 4 weeks in a row at 4:41 or 4:42 - really thought I'd go under 4:40 tonight.  I blame it on roll my ankle about halfway through and taking 50 meters or so to work it out.  Finished up with a mile and a half easy back to the jeep.  Nice evening.

Decided to just do an easy three this evening, so I went to Trav's school and ran the XC course they plan on using for tomorrow's City Champs meet.  I thrice avoided the mud hole that coach is creating (2 hoses full blast for the past 24 hours, continuing through meet time tomorrow), resulting in garmin reporting 3.07 miles - pretty good.  The guys are planning on wearing superman capes for the race - clearly a low key meet before post season starts next week.

Zero for me, other than fartlekking it around the XC course.  Travis played around with strategy at the low key City Champs on our challenging home course.  He led the race through 2 miles and then backed off.  Only one kid went by him, so he got second in 17:23.  Coach successfully flooded the holding pond that the kids go through 3 times - he was disappointed that only 3 or 4 kids lost shoes in the mud this year.  The boys failed in their attempt to find little capes to wear, so they all decided to wear shades.  The guy behind him in the pic was the winner - good bud of his that is a senior with a 16 flat PR

Short run and then walk around the folks' neighborhood in Dunedin.  Lisa and I made a last minute decision to drive down for her brother's Halloween party - big fun, but seriously ate into potential running opportunities.

Did the perimeter trail this evening and set what had to be a record for wildlife encounters - 5 deer, 9 turkeys and a few hundred migratory waterfowl.  Said waterfowl were the best - had to take a break out on the dock at Lake Overstreet for a couple minutes to admire them.  Some manner of little duck dudes and dudettes, all making soft little gobbley noises, but, since there were hundreds of em it wasn't terribly soft at all.  Carry on.

Planned to do 6X 2 min on 1 min off, but only got through 2 sets before my Garmin crapped out.  I continued with the workout going by best guess timing, and it went well... as far as I know.  Garmin was fully charged when I started, so about to hook it up and reload firmware or something.  Only two deer this eve and no turkeys or waterfowl - ah well.

Didn't get out until pretty late this evening, so I had good motivation to go fast to beat the sunset.  Did the ravine trail down to the overstreet dock and back to the track.  First mile just under 8, but then the next 3 at 7:41, 7:32, 7:19 - eased up the last half mile.  Pretty good effort for me.

Nothing on Friday but a bit of running around the XC course watching Travis and the boys and girls in the district meet.  Trav took the title in 17:02 (really good time on our course), and the boys secured their 12th championship in 15 years - on to Regions!

Yesterday was a bust as well, although very productive in the house and garage - thats something.

Just finished a real good 5 miler out to Lake Jackson and back up the hill.  First mile easy at 8:20 and then did the others between 7:30 and 7:45.  Good run on a beautiful early afternoon.  Was both inspired and stressed by watching Bret's progress in NY.  I'm sure you're a bit disappointed, but it was great fun watching and yelling at my computer screen  - good job.

Time change and cool mornings inspired me to rededicate myself to consistent training.  So far so good (first day).  Started at the track and did 1.25 warmup to start of Lake Overstreet trail.  On Overstreet I did 6X 2 min on 1 min off, with the ons at between 6:10 and 6:30 pace.  Final rep was uphill heading back to track, but it wasn't the slowest, so that was good.  Jogged it on in to the track to complete 5 miles total.

Successfully made it out the door two mornings in a row!  Ran the full perimeter run on my usual trails - just under 6 miles.  Not even the critters were up and about this morning.  I guess they haven't adjusted to the time change yet.

Morning workout starting from the track and then doing 2X ravine trail tempo run.  The loop is 1.7 mi and I went 13:05 first loop (7:40 pace) followed by 11:31 second loop (6:45 pace) with no rest between loops.  I was satisfied with the effort, but was breathing considerably harder than I would have hoped at end of second loop. Finished up with about a mile around the school and back to the track.

Off to Lake City tomorrow afternoon for Travis' region meet on Saturday morning.  He's very fired up, but quite nervous about being the expected champ - not a position he's used to.  Course is supposed to be pretty fast.  He's going to work through 2 miles comfortably hard and then try to steadily separate from the field. 

Really nice XC course tour this afternoon.  If Trav and the boys pay attention to the many tangent opportunities, this course can produce lots of PRs.  Check ya later.

I didn't plan on racing this low key charity 5K very hard, but there was one master dude that I generally compare well with, so I went out kinda strong just stalking him for a while.  The first mile was decent at 6:18, and then there was much curvy sidewalk and a couple roundabouts that the lead bike played fairly loose with, so those of us in/near the lead pack made some fairly liberal interpretations of the course I believe.  I went through the 2 mile mark at 11:46 and my garmin read 1.89 mi - oops!  Never did catch my nemesis, and fell off pace a bit late in the race, but still finished my 2.94-mile 5K in 18:55.  Something to shoot for on a certified course in the next couple years.  This was the graduation run for the beginning runners group that Lisa joined 6 weeks ago - she ran 36:37 in her first road 5K ever - wooo.

Speaking of first, Travis came through as expected yesterday and took the region championship.  He cruised through the first mile and then steadily dropped the pace, pretty much running alone for the last mile and a half.  Finished very controlled in 16:47.  Depending on how the leaders take out the race next week at the state meet, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes really low 16s.  He likely will need around 16:15 to make the top 10 podium. 

Nice run this morning, but most significantly, I encountered my first buck on the trails.  Been running out there for a billion years and have seen a million does and young males, but this dude was an 8-point buck and huge.  He popped onto the trail ahead of me and trotted along for 50 meters or so before bounding off to my left.  He went into the woods maybe 20 meters and turned to look at me.  I stopped to admire him and, after he stared at me way too long, I decided to move along so as not to provoke him into pummeling me to death... did I mention he was huge?!

Just one little doe this morning on my 6X 2 min on 1 min off workout on the trails.  Did a bit over one mile warmup then started the workout on the rolling Overstreet Trails.  All the "on" reps were right at 6:20-6:30 pace.  Finished up with an easy jog back to the track. 

Good run on the trails this morning. Pretty steamy for mid Nov.  Looks to be mid 70s in Dade City when Travis toes the line at the State Meet on Saturday - yug.

Easy 3 miles on the trails this morning while Lisa walked the track with a friend.  She wants to run a couple miles this evening in the neighborhood, so I will probably get at least 2 more in later.  The whole fam is doing the Turkey Trot 5K on Thurs morning.  I figure I'll shoot for a bit under 20 minutes again to wrap up this year's racing - we'll see.

Sneaked into the front area at the start this year so that I didn't have to bob and weave for the first mile.  Worked out nicely as I hit the mile in 6:18.  Eased up a bit through the 2nd mile in 6:25, and ran 6:14 for the last to finish up at 19:40 - best time (on a certified course) in a couple years, so Thanksgiving started out nicely.

Travis and our # 4 runner paced a younger teamie to a PR in a bit under 21 minutes - good deal.  Cynda and Lisa also ran the 5K, so now we are primed for stuffing our bellies.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Charlotte NC - ran the complete Footlocker South Region course with the kids (three of our girls and Travis running the race) and then did a couple finishing 100s and worked with Travis on the ridiculous steep up and steep, turning downhill section at about 1.5 miles - big fun.

Charlotte NC, Footlocker South Region meet.  OK - this was an incredible experience for me - oh and Trav did well and had a great time too.  I'm definitely running the Open/Masters race next year.  Still in Charlotte and just on Lisa's laptop, so I can't post a pic of Travis grinning on the awards stand with his 22nd place medal and certificate.  He ran the Junior boys race and came through in 16:35, a much more satisfying result than last week.  After the first 4 or 5 boys, there was no more than 2 seconds between finishers all the way down to about 150th - 243 boys were in the race.  He said he felt like he was sprinting the entire first mile, but came through in a reasonable 5:09 in 50th or so. When I next caught up with him just after the 2-mile, he was in 32nd... top 30 receive medals.  I told him where he was and then I (and tons of other fans - this was major fun) sprinted to the next spot I sould see him, at about 600 to go.  He was in 26th with a firm trail around a lake to the finish line - very picturesque and I could watch the whole way.  He passed a few more boys down the line and got passed by one at the end - really fine racing in crowded conditions the whole way.  He was pleased and I was impressed - great way to end the season - whew - so glad he erased the bad taste of the state meet.  On to track!

Pretty sure the 2 miles estimated running is low - had to run to/from the jeep a couple times too and parking was a nightmare.

Brisk run from the track around the ravine trail plus north loop and then a couple more laps around the track.  Was 39 degrees and damp - guess its time to shop for a treadmill or get a gym membership... or just get fatter and wait for Spring.

Intended morning run evaporated when I flicked to the weather channel and saw 28° - blah.  Got in 4 miles at lunch though - yay.  Pretty good run too.  Hit the bridle trail and neighborhood streets and kept the pace sub 7:45.  Might have to make that a routine because I really really dislike running when its below freezing... ok, when its below 50!

Quick few miles starting from the track this morning.  Had to be in early to work, so only squeezed in 3.5.  Off to a better start this week than last at least.

Lunch run around the neighborhood and bridle trails.  After a mile warmup, did 6X 2 min on 1 min off.  Hit the ons between 6:05 and 6:18 pace - felt pretty good.  Trying to decide what to do for the next couple months.  Feel like I should concentrate on short fast stuff, core and lifting.  Maybe four or five runs per week of 4-5 miles, and resistance/core every other day.  We'll see.

Did the lunchtime run thing again as I was too wimpy to climb out of bed this morning to run in 35 degrees.  Hit the trails for quick tour around Lake Overstreet.  Quick indeed - for me  :)

Very good Lake Jackson trail loop run from Forest Meadows rec center.  First mile flat (7:37), second mile mostly downhill (7:07), third (7:27) and fourth (7:52) miles mostly uphill, and fifth flat (7:42).  Cool and sunny lovely midmorning run.  Took it pretty easy on the uphill 4th mile and then cruised on back to the jeep.

Feet are starting to ache a bit lately - just over 300 miles on the shoes - might just add some inserts since they are still really good on the outside.

From the track down and around Lake Overstreet clockwise.  Middle 2 miles right at 7:30 pace.  Felt really good this morning, but didn't press any harder than the fairly comfortable 7:30 pace.  Will do a hard interval workout tomorrow on the trails.  Decided to run a 6K race on the FSU XC course this Saturday.  Should be fun.

Upper 40s, crisp and clear for the run this morning - nice.  Started at the gardens trailhead and did ravine trail for warm up - on hindsight, just over 3 miles may have been a bit too much warmup for me.  Once I made it to the relatively flat Lake Overstreet loop, I did 6X 2 min on 1 min off.  First three were between 6:30 and 6:20 pace, but I backed off a bit on next two (6:35 pace) so I could finish strong on the slightly uphill final rep.  I hit 5:55 pace on that one and was pleased with the effort - pleasantly spent.  Just under a half mile back to the jeep real easy.

A little tempo this morning on the "2-mile loop" aka the ravine trail.  Ran easy from the track and once around the loop (8:11 pace), then worked it pretty good for the second 1.7 mile lap (7:09 pace).  Finished up easy back to the school and around the track once.

Very enjoyable inaugural 6K trail race this morning on the Apalachee Regional Park cross country playground.  Its a dedicated running trail with a main loop of a bit over 1.5 miles.  FSU XC teams race here at 5K, 6K, 8K and 10K, and the high schoolers use it during XC season as well for a few 5K meets.  I started out with the intention of going 4 min per K and even switched my Garmin over to metric to monitor my progress.  Well, I poorly managed my warmup/porta potty timing and didn't have time to head to the car to switch into my racing flats... more tragically, I failed to double tie the laces on my trainers and, at a bit shy of the first K, my left shoe came untied.  I was exactly on pace, but after tying my left shoe and retying my right to be safe, I found myself in a pack of a few guys I know and we just kinda cruised around the trail enjoying the morning.  Travis and Lisa also ran.  Trav wanted to just go out easy and negative split - he ran 22:17 for 12th and was pleased with that.  Lisa, in her 4th race ever, averaged under 12 minutes per mile and defeated nearly 20 of the 175 racers!  Very impressed and proud of her jumping into this silly running thing.

Averaged 7:43 for 5.3 miles around the ravine trail and overstreet loop this morning - bout the best I've run that route in quite some time.  Felt pretty good.

Did my weekly interval run on the trails to lake jackson early this afternoon.  Yep, had to wait until the chill wore off - ha ha.  Was 70 at 7AM and about 75 when I ran at 2PM - sheesh - Merry Christmas from Florida!

Each of the 2 minutes "on" were at between 5:55 and 6:17 pace - not too shabby.   

Nice midmorning run after the Inlaws left for 'bama.  Just zig-zagged around the trails until hooking up with Lisa for the last half mile back to the jeep.  Looking forward to having this week off work.  We shall see how productive I can be... 

Much rain over night, so just ran around the track while Lisa walked/ran with a friend.  I did five laps warmup then 8X200 - first 4 between 40 and 42, and the next 4 between 37 and 40, all with a 200 jog between.  Finished up with two barefoot laps on the infield.  Last day of morning lows above 50 for a few days, but I can live with the forecasted upper 30s.

Afternoon trip around the trails.

Did 3.8 pretty hard on the big fun single track red bug mountain bike trail this morning and then did an easy 2 and a half run/walking with Lisa along the St Marks Trail while Travis did the entire 16 miles on his longboard - kids!  Good day so far, now off to dinner at Carrabbas - gotta love gift certificates.

Dec 31 and I just returned from some track work in sunny 72 degree weather - shame, ain't it?  Two mile easy warm-up and then a couple 300s and a couple 200s before I ran out of time before lunch date with Lisa.  Sneaked in two barefoot laps on the infield and then headed off to Panera.  Got new inserts for my shoes last week and the heel pain has subsided nicely.