Doug's Running Thingy

First run of 2012 went just fine and dandy.  I hit the trails early afternoon in a bit of wind and chilly temps.  Decent run around the trails to get things rolling for the year.

Finally got back out for a run after 2 days of laziness - shame shame.  Ran around the neighborhood after work.  Kept it under 8 minute pace pretty comfortably.  Mid-70s next several days - probably melt all the snow on the ground.

Another unseasonably warm day.  Lisa and I hit the trails late afternoon... me running 4.5 and she mostly walking almost 2.  Just a nice easy run with plans tomorrow to hit the track.

Too much yardwork and ladder climbing etc on Sunday resulted in tight right hammy, so did no running Sun or Mon.  Got back at it this morning with an easy mile on the track and then 4X300 easy (63, 61, 60, 59) and 2X200 moderate (35, 34) to test the leg - no issues.  Another easy mile around the school cooldown.

Evening workout in the neighborhood.  One mile warmup, then 6X2 min on 1 min off.  Finished up with mile and a half back to the house. Good chat with Trav this evening about the visiting runners from the UK that are working out in Tallahassee for a month.  Once a week they are hitting the track at Trav's school to take advantage of the trails immediately adjacent - very cool.  2008 Olympic 1500 meter guy/miler Andy Baddeley and steeple/5K guy Mark Draper are in town along with a few runners from Zap Fitness out of North Carolina.  Trav watched their workout Tues morning when they did two sets of 6 laps followed by 4X200 at mile race pace.  Each of the sets of 6 laps were generally neg split from 70 to 66 and then the 200s were 30, 30, 29, 28 for the first set and 28, 28, 28, 26 for the second...  3:47 simulated mile.  Baddeley's PR is 3:49.  Trav said Draper bailed out on the 5th lap of the second set looking pretty rough.  He got to chat with them quite a bit and looks forward to seeing them again next week.

Rushed an evening run in the neighborhood before dinner.  Nice hilly route that I occasionally tack on a couple miles on the golf course... not tonight.  Home in time to cook dinner for T and Lisa.  Lisa is bailing out of massively stressful real estate after a good 7 year run.  She started new job as Manager of Professional Development for the Florida Recreation and Park Association today - woooo.

Damp morning run in the neighborhood - nothing special.  Travis visited with the Brits again yesterday - they did 4X800 with full recovery.  Baddeley was a bit disappointed that he didnt sneak under 2 minutes on his last one - he went 2:00, 2:02, 2:01, 2:00 - pitiful, eh?  Trav got to speak with them quite a bit about training and racing - they both are doing the mile indoor this Saturday in NY at the New Balance Games - Baddeley told him there are several guys capable of sub-4, so it should be pretty good.

Couple days of no running to see if I could knock out the slight tenderness in the right hamstring.  Back on the trails today and felt just fine.  Prolly skip any faster stuff for a couple more days.

Easy run around the neighborhood early this morning.

Evening saunter around the neighborhood at 75 degrees and 80% humidity.  Actually had to clear pollen off the windshield this morning - majorly confused trees and bushes.

Raced the incoming storm this evening for 5 miles in the neighborhood.  Chilling things back down to normal at least - whew.

In Gainesville to visit Cynda and watch Travis run.  Got in 3 quick miles on the hotel treadmill  before dinner with C.  As I write this on Sunday night, Travis is fairly satisfied but not overly excited by his 4:46 indoor full mile earlier today.  With 600 to go, he was pretty well sapped.  He hadnt eaten anything since 0630 and he ran at 1PM - ugh.  The 4:46 is 5 seconds better than he ran this meet last year, so thats something.

Quick tour around the trails trying to beat the sunset - almost made it.

Puttin in a few miles before the big girls soccer regional champs at school this eve.  Our team was greatly overmatched and only lost 4-2 - not bad at all.  The run was ok as well. 

6X2 minutes on 1 minute off bracketed by about a mile and a quarter warmup and cooldown - felt pretty good

Left work a few minutes early to try and squeeze in 5 miles before dark and before the big regional semis soccer game at Trav's school.  Success on both counts, but the guys lost - bummer.  Silver lining is that the track team gets an influx of soccer runners on Monday.

Must find a goal race or something to fire up the motivation. Basic goal for now is to drop the 6-8 lbs that I've packed on.  Easy 5 on the usual trails this afternoon then some fishing with Lisa at Lake Hall as the sun set - no nibbles.

Sunset time all the way up to 6:17 today so I took advantage and hit the trails after work.  Ran the 5-mile Lake Jackson loop.  Nice yet steamy February run.

Just puttin in a few miles here, a few miles there.

Ravine trail down to keel over and onto the overstreet loop - ran the overstreet 1.5 right at 7:20 pace feeling pretty good.  Cool light rain falling - always a fave of mine.

Ran same route as yesterday but opposite direction - the tougher direction, and went about a minute faster overall - decent run on a chilly breezy afternoon.

New trail uphill to the ravine trail then north loop and back to the jeep.  Saw my first ever bobcat on the trails - cool/creepy - he at least was more creeped out by me than I of him.  He was considerably bigger than I thought bobcats were - winter fluff maybe.

Chilly drizzly workout on the trails.  Mile warmup then 6X two minutes on and 1 minute off.  Working the "ons" back down closer to 5K pace finally - all were less than 6:30 this time - need that to be 6 flat.

Hilly 5 miler in the neighborhood.  Not too bad.

Trails after work - got in 4 easy miles and then felt pretty good so worked the last mile and a half down to 7 flat pace - works for me.

Not to self - 2.5 hrs is not long enough to wait before running after enjoying a plate full of bratworst and fries.  Quite the uncomfortable 4-miler.

OK, ten days is long enough to let the foot and hamstring rest - couldn't take it anymore.  Did a couple easy miles in the neighborhood.  Foot was fine and hammy is just tight from lack of activity - it'll be fine.

Headed over to UNF in Jacksonville for a campus tour with Travis and a friend.  Walked the campus for a couple hours and then I cut the boys loose with their longboards to explore a little more without me.  I slapped on some shorts and toured their on campus trails - ran/walked close to two miles of the 7 or so that they have there - nice little trail complex around a lake.  Travis seemed to really like the campus, but he was disappointed we couldn't meet the coach or watch the team practice.  Only the throwers and vaulters were at the track when we stopped by. 

Couple miles on the hotel treadmill before heading over to the UNF track for the first of two long days of action.  Got my sunscreen and hat and camera ready to roll.

First time back on the trails in a while.  Just did the Overstreet Loop nice and easy. Odd soreness in middle of both hamstrings - finally realized it was from 16 hours of sitting on bleachers at UNF this weekend watching the track meet.

Travis ran a decent 2:05 anchor leg of the 4X800 on Friday afternoon and followed up Saturday morning with a decent 10:11 3,200 in windy warm conditions.  He went 5 flat/5:11 which matches up nicely with his 5:09/5 flat effort last week... next time will be even splits 9:59!  Next up will be his first 1,600 of the season over in Jax again at Bolles High School on Friday evening. 

Slowly getting back into it.

Mostly walked with Lisa, but ran about a mile after we finished our walk in the woods at Tom Brown Park - beautiful evening in Tally.

Overstreet trail right at 8 min pace.  Foot clearly not fully clear of PF nonsense, but going to press on through and see how it does as I drop this next 2 lbs to get under 160 again.

Pseudo race report of the horsey adventure over 25 jumps across 2.6 miles.  Me and about 200 other curious runners/walkers/adventure race types toed the line this morning for a tour around the Red Hills Horse trials cross country jumping course.  The jumps ranged from 3 to 5 feet high and most were uniquely carved wooden structures topped with bushes.  There were two water jumps that horses could probably cruise through in 3-4 strides, but were actually about 20 meters of knee deep chilly muddy water - most of us lowly humans didn't fare too well on these.  After about the 4th jump, I was reduced to climbing/crawling over the majority of the jumps.  The jumps, mixed with the hilly terrain and the majorly chewed up surface (actual horses raced the course the day before!) made for a very challenging run.  I finished in the top 10, a bit over 22 minutes, and was perfectly satisfied with my effort.  Travis won the silly thing in 17:20.

Speaking of Travis... on Friday evening he successfully dropped into the low 4:30s for 1600 meters with a fine 4:32 - a 5 second PR.  He went out well in 66, then ran 68, 70, and finished with another 66.  Add in all the tenths, and thats 4:32.  We had talked about keeping his slowest lap at 68, and he said he actually thought he was flying and felt pretty good on that 3rd lap - oh well, he's getting there.  Here's the video of his race - he's in white over blue with 88 on his back.

Overstreet plus milky way back to the jeep.  Just loosening up the legs from acting like a horse on Sunday.

Nice evening run through the bridle trails in the neighborhood.  Had to stop and stretch the foot at about a half mile in, but then it was fine.

'nother run in the neighborhood on my cushy Dyads to keep rehabbing the foot - weight is dropping again, so that is what will help the most.

Three miles on the Tom Brown trails after walk/running two miles with Lisa - nice evening.

A bit over a mile of walk/runnin with Lisa and then 3.4 on the oyster shell trails at Miccosukee Greenway.

Mile warmup, 6X two minutes on (if you can call 6:45 pace "on"), one min off, then about a mile cooldown - all on the overstreet loop.  Second day into Spring and it was 85 degrees and 85 percent humid - sweet!

Really needed a few miles yesterday, but failed to get up early to do it and then never squeezed it in.  Gorgeous morning today on the trails tho - ran farther than I have in weeks.  Felt really good and even the foot was a non-issue.  Then, did 6 hours of cross training tidying up the garage and the yard - whew!

Made it out to Tom Brown hilly trails again this eve - pretty good run.  Then went to Sams Club and bought $300 worth of concessions supplies for tomorrow's big middle school meet at our track - expecting nearly 400 kids and anticipating a noon to 9PM event - joy joy!

The track meets on Fri and Sat inspired me to a fine workout this afternoon on the trails.  Did my usual weekly 2 minutes on and 1 minute off workout around lake overstreet, but I actually worked it down to 6:15 mile pace for the last two intervals - not bad for me.

Now back to the fun stuff.  Travis got his annual opportunity to race an open 800 on Saturday afternoon.  'Twas breezy and warm, but he had a plan and stuck to it and came through with a 4-second PR of 2:01.51.  He cruised through the 400 at 59 and then put his head down and hammered the next 100, floated the back stretch, and then hung on for dear life to close in 62.  Coach was very pleased, Trav was satisfied (he had visions of 2 flat), and I was duly impressed.  Even more impressive was his 4X400 leg later in the evening.  He hasn't raced a 4X4 since 8th grade.  He ran third leg and was able to maintain 4th place for the team with a 52.4 split. Our anchor dropped a 50.6 to bring us to 2nd with a 3:29 - not too shabby.

Travis races the 1600 tomorrow night in his best opportunity of the year to go sub 4:30.  After tomorrow, we have easy district and region meets prior to the challenge of the state meet on Apr 27 - looking more and more like he will need to triple in the 4X800, 1600 and 3200. 

Ran my good old north loop (about 1300 meters) time trial for the first time this year - right at a minute slower than best time - thatll work for now.  Mile before and mile and a half after, followed by some striders on the grass and some stretching.  Might hit the track for the first time in weeks and weeks on Saturday or Sunday.

Easy few miles in Tom Brown park after looking at puppies at the shelter - oh my.  Lisa really thinks its time we got another dog... or two!

Good cross training (shooting pics and grilling burgers) all day yesterday at the District track meet, so no running.  

Finally got in a little track workout - 4x200 with 100 jog in between.  Mile and a half warm up and mile cool down.  Nice to get out there a little bit.

Ravine trail plus muhammad.  

Longest run in weeks!  Felt decent tooling around the full figure 8 trail.

Four miles around the neighborhood at lunch with 4 two-minute efforts right at 6 min pace thrown in the mix.  I blame the 82 degree temps and pavement for feeling pretty rough on the pick-ups - good to get a workout in though.  Off to Jax tomorrow for the Regional Track meet.  Travis should qualify for State easily in both the 1600 and 3200, and likely can take the region title in the 16 - we'll see.

'bout 4 miles on a really nice morning on the trails before rain expected most of the day.

Travis is the Region Champ in the 1600 and runner-up in the 3200, and the 4x800 team is champs as well.  He went 2:03 in the 4x8 with the guys getting their best time of the year with an 8:20 (need 8:10 to place about 4th at State next week).  He ran a smart controlled 4:35 in the 1600 with windy hot conditions, and came back in just over an hour to run an easy 10:36 along with his two teammates to go 1,2,3 in the 3200.  Boys took the team title and the girls were runners-up.  The rolling schedule was pretty much a steam-roller to beat the expected thunderstorms.  Next week finals start at 6 pm so will hopefully be cooling off by the 1600 at 7ish.

Nice run on a gorgeous evening.  Actually dropped the pace to sub 7 on the finishing half mile - been a while.

Neighborhood four-miler this evening - another beauty of a day here.  Looks like it all ends tomorrow - back to mid-80s on the way to 90 for Friday as we head to Jacksonville for State.  Oh well, thats the least of the worries as Travis is completely wiped out by sinus/upper respiratory crud - unreal timing.  Any and all home remedy solutions accepted.  I have 36 hours to knock this out.

Finally got back out for a run today after three days of nuttin - whew.  Decent run on the trails before it boiled over to 90 degrees - ugh.

End of last week deteriorated into trying to get Travis healthy and making last minute plans for getting parents and athletes to the state meet in Jax on Friday.  Trav missed school Tues and half day Thurs with coughing fits and major head and chest congestion.  Friday morning saw him somewhat better as he jumped on the bus at 0700.  His first race was at 1pm and it actually went quite well as he split 2:02 in the 4x800.  Coach had arranged for the 4x8 kids to go back to the hotel to avoid the heat of the day during field events and sprint/hurdle prelims.  Trav took a couple good naps and got a bit of food before heading back for the 1600 at 6:45.  Once again he ran a decent 800... of course there were two more laps.  He went 66, 67, 70, 68 to tie his PR at 4:32 and grab the 8th place podium spot - disappointing when he was sooo primed to crush 4:30, but tremendous considering he couldn't breathe!

Well this evening's run had everything a midsummer run should have - 90 degrees, 90% humidity, deer flies, and nice little bunnies - bunnies good, all else truly ridiculous for mid Spring!

Made it out to the track as sun was setting to try to beat the heat a bit - not too bad.  Did an easy 3 mile warmup then some 200s and some fast barefoot striders on the infield - felt fat and slow, but loved every minute of it.

North Loop time trial - again right at a minute below best time - fine.  Then did 4x200 in 41, 39, 37, 35 very controlled, followed by barefoot striders and 2 laps around infield.

Lake Jackson loop in the heat of the day - bad plan, but made it through.  I always forget that this trail is not nearly as shaded as my other routes - oh well.  Over 20 for the week - back on track.

6x two minutes on and one minute off bracketed by 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down.  At least 12 degrees cooler on the trails this evening than in the neighborhood - I do love that these covered trails surrounding a lake are 3 miles from the house.

Decent track workout of 4 x 300 at 60, 58, 58, 56 with 100 meter walk rest.  Three miles on the trails warmup and about a half mile cool down barefoot around the infield after 4 barefoot striders following the 300s.

No running for probably 2-3 days after tomorrow morning.  Having outpatient surgery to hack out a precancerous mole - be warned, all ye having multiple large moles and who spent much of their youth with too much skin exposed.  Turns out that having more than 10 moles cranks up your risk of skin cancer about 10-times more than the general population - sweet!  Had a skin cancer screening a couple weeks ago and they sliced off 4 moles for biopsy - one came back precancerous so they are gonna dig around some more.  Will require stitches and lack of activity for 24-48 hours - hmph! 

Easy run around the trails after a couple days of nothin while the excavation in my back healed a bit.  Kinda felt like I hadnt run in a couple days...

Track work bounded by 1.75 mi warmup and 0.75 cool down.  Did a mile on the track of 200 on and 200 float.  All the ons sub-40 and all the floats slightly under a minute.  Just a couple weeks away from the start of summer track meets - sheesh

Really nice morning - probably the last one until October.  Did the first 4.8 of my sometimes usual 5.4 mi figure 8 on the trails.  Walked the last half mile after the water fountain - just because there were lots of cardinals flitting about and they wanted me to look at them.

Little pyramid on the track (200, 300, 400, 300, 200) following 3.5 mi warmup.  Striders and two laps barefoot on the infield to finish up.

Easy run on the trails - north loop, ravine trail and new trail coming back

Planned on 6X200 on the track, but pressed the 5th one a bit and felt a little tight in the right hamstring afterward so bailed on the last one.  Did them in 40, 39, 37, 36, 33.  Ran the ravine trail plus north loop 3-miler for warmup and then two barefoot laps of the infield for cool down.  By the end of the cool down, the hammy actually felt fine.

The added track work over past couple weeks has helped motivation and kicked up the weight loss effort - under 160 for two mornings in a row - wooooo.  Five more pounds ish by start of Summer Track on June 7th and I'll be satisfied. 

Good run in light rain this evening - overstreet loop plus keel over and north loop.

Track workout this evening just before the sun set.  Three miles warmup then little pyramid of 200, 300, 400, 300, 200 followed by a couple barefoot striders and two laps of infield cool down.  Going up the pyramid I wanted to hit them all at 5:20 mile pace with about 90 seconds rest and went 38, 57, 78, so all were a couple seconds fast.  Then I increased the rest and worked the final 300 (53) and 200 (32).  The last 200 felt decent, so, with two weeks before summer track meets, I'm getting there.

Quick three miles of two minutes on one minute off before heading to the 2012 graduation ceremony - several senior trackies walking the aisle tonight.

Ravine trail plus north loop plus new trail - decent little run in 90 degrees and 90% humidity - sweet!

Two mile warmup, then some block starts and 200s on the track.  First time back in the blocks since this time last year.  Did 4x20 meter starts and 4x50 meter starts then 4x200 at 38-40.  Nice hot evening at the track.

More block starts and a couple 300s on the track this evening with a 3 mile warmup and half mile cooldown.

Easy run in the heat clockwise up new trail around ravine and through north loop.  Track work tomorrow then Fri off.  Gonna run a 4 mile prediction run on Saturday evening - local running club's social race of the year - should be fun. 

Little track workout while Travis played with the new dog in the family. Lisa has been looking for a while to find a little dog to take care of as she starts to see the writing on the wall of Travis leaving for college next year.  Travis and I have been working on her to make it a medium dog that will run with us... we won.  She found an awesome one year old border collie mix that is already trained fairly well - sit, down, stay, heel (kinda), and loves fetch - very cool.  Heres a gallery of a few pics  http://gallery.me.com/dugco#103981

Too much fun yesterday with the new dog and Travis and then lots of yardwork so I blew off the 4 mile prediction run.

Gorgeous morning today - probably the last one for several months.  Went to the track for some block starts and then 300, 500, 500, 300 - all at a bit less than 5:20 mile pace.  We'll see how that works out in about 5 weeks when I race the mile.

Three mile run/walk with the new doggie.  Two miles was running - mostly around 8-8:15 pace - the beast is a beast!  He actually seems to prefer a bit faster pace.  Even showed no real stress at probably 6:30 pace for about a quarter mile.

Tweaked my right hip a bit doing block starts on Sunday, so taking it easy a couple days before the 100 meter race on Thurs - Summer Track is back! 

Surprisingly lovely run about an hour after a serious rainstorm.  High humidity, but temps in the low 70s - gonna miss that soon enough.  Ran comfortably at 8 flat pace with no hip pain at all.

Easy 3 mile warmup then easy 2X300 and 2x200 on the track followed by barefoot striders and cool down on the infield.  And just finished an easy mile run/walk with Cassidy - the new doggie.

Pretty satisfying first week of the Summer Track Series.  Grand Prix event was the 100 meter and, based on limited track work and very limited sprinting so far this year I was hoping to just sneak under 14.  Ran 13.61 battling the whole way with a 26-yr old who ran 13.60 - big fun.  Jumped into the 400 and cruised a 35/31 for a 1:06, and then immediately toed the line for the 1600.  Toyed with trying to hit 6 flat, but when I went through 800 at a way too painful 3:06 I bagged that plan and shut it down for a 6:36.  All-in-all, a great evening on the track - tons of "kids" of all ages having fun running.

Travis hadnt gotten his training run in yet for the day (he's a junior counselor at the day camp at his school), so he spent the first part of the meet doing about 4 miles on the trails.  When the 1600 rolled around, he paced a couple buds through 1200 at 5:20 pace and then proceeded to drop a 61 to win the race in 5:01.  The 5K was started at same time as the 1600, so he cruised two more miles with a couple of those racers - ah to be young again.

A little track work this morning before the rain sets in again.  A bit over two miles warmup, then 2X500 at 5:20 mile pace, and planned 2X200 at 30 seconds.  Hit the first one at 30 and felt a little tightness in the left quad, so bagged the next one.  Probably a combo of lingering soreness from Thurs track and the fact that I havent run a 30 second 200 in a few months.  Will be fine and dandy for Tues workout.

A bit over three miles on the trails on Paris Mountain - yes, Rob, THAT Paris Mountain. Travis and I are in Travelers Rest, SC tonight after tourning Western Carolina today and in anticipation of touring Furman and UNC Asheville tomorrow. Been a crazy couple weeks leading up to this trip and I never got the chance to bend your ear about Furman and whether you know the coaches there. Trav has been contacted by UNCA coach, and I suggested we pop into Western Carolina and Furman while we're up here.  Fun trip so far.  Trav enjoyed hearing about us riding up Paris Mountain and me falling over at the top... was that Paris Mt or... I dont know, its been 25 years!

Four miles on the treadmill at the hotel before heading to Furman for a campus tour, then up to Asheville for a tour of UNC Asheville - should be a fun day.

Never should have let Travis tour Furman - oh my!  Looks like I better get another job or two.  UNC Asheville was nice too, but after the Furman country club...

Left Asheville at 5 and got to my sister's just south of Raleigh a bit before 10 - not too bad.

Ran four this morning in 56 degrees on the country roads by her place - very nice run this morning.

Couple miles with the dog after driving 10 hrs home from NC.  Im thinking the beast could run for hours at 8 min pace.  Trav did 5 while Cassidy and I ran and then played fetch at the school.

Good trip, but good to be home too. 

Mile warmup and cooldown bracketing a little track work.  Ran 4x200 at goal mile pace (41, 40, 40, 38) and then 2x200 at goal 400 pace (31, 30).  Not looking forward to racing the 400 on Thursday, but we'll give it a whirl.

Three miles warmup, including the north loop trail apace.  Then 2x300 at 5:20 mile pace and 2x200 at 30 seconds.  Barefoot striders and two laps on the infield to finish up.

Back to the track for the 400 this evening - missed the 200 last week while touring colleges with T - bummer.  Did about a mile and a half warmup and some striders and flexibility before toeing the line.  Kinda expected a mid 62 effort so was satisfied with the 61.29 I ran.  The last 50 was quite uncomfortable.  Cooled down for a mile-ish with the dog afterward.  Another fun evening at the track.

Overstreet loop plus new trail.

Ran/walked a bit over 4 miles with the dog this evening after a nice rainstorm.  Running portions totalled to 3.3 with his best pace being a full mile at 7:43 - not bad.

Three mile warmup on the ravine trail and then a little track work in prep for Thursday's 800 - ugh.  4x200 at 36, 37, 35, 35 with about 30 seconds rest between, then after about 5 minutes, did one 400 at 72.  Looking for around 2:26 in the 800 - 72/74 - we'll see.

After Debby cleared out, humidity is down a wee bit, and there were moments of coolish breeze during my evening run.  Not really meaning to, I actually average under 8 min pace for the entire run - thats something - I guess maybe its time to start getting serious about prepping for some XC races in the fall.

Surprised myself a wee bit with a 2:24.9 in this evening's summer track 800.  The planned 200 meter splits of 36, 36, 37, 37 for 2:26 became 36.9, 35.9, 36.6, 35.6.  Trav jogged a 2:11 in trainers in the fast heat taking a teammate through 400 in 62, then backing off - teamie got a PR 2:05 - nice!  I got second in the old guy heat with a "young" old guy just ahead of me the whole way - not sure I would have hit my time without his help.  Man, the last 200 of an 800 is just not comfy at all.  Mile and a half warm up and only a half mile cool down - couldn't muster more than that.

As I type this I realize that dropping 10 lbs and getting serious again about the whole running thing would easily get me 10-12 seconds faster in the 800 - just might have to start working now to be ready for the 50-54 age group masters track circuit!

One mile with the doggie and a couple more on my own - ridiculously warm steamy evening on the neighborhood roads.

Didn't get out of the house nearly early enough... 84 degrees at 9am for my run around the neighborhood - not good.

Only about 55% humidity this evening - of course, it was 93° - oh well.  Warmed up for a mile then did 6X two minutes on and one minute off.  The ons ranged from 6:30 to 6:50 pace.  Will try to work that down to 6 flat over the next month with an eye toward breaking 19 in some fall 5K.

Ravine trail plus overstreet for first time in a while.  Kinda rough at just under 8 minute pace.

Couldnt muster the summer track mile this evening, but I did do a couple easy miles on the trails and then another mile and a half with the dog.  Spent much of the day up and down a ladder and wandering around on the roof applying a strong surfactant/mildewcide.  Totally slammed my sinuses and totally tweaked my back - ah well, you would think a biologist/toxicologist would take more precautions with the stuff  :)

On the positive side, Travis cruised a 4:39 in trainers.  Not bad speed for the middle of summer milage work. 

Naproxem sodium and a good 8 hours sleep fixed up the back just fine.  Got out to the trails before the thermometer reached 80 - wooo.  No work the past couple days, so I'm heading back outside to deal with some woodrot - again, I say wooooo. 

Lake Jackson loop this morning with about 4 billion of my closest buzzing biting friends.  Tropical Storm Debby has left us a fine batch of skeeters to deal with.

Neighborhood workout this morning.  Two miles warmup then 4x180 meter hills with ~600 meter jog around to start of hill again - nice 800 meter block we live on with a killer hill on the backside. I ran the hills in 48, 47, 46 and 44 - when I'm in shape for them, I usually go 40 flat - something to shoot for.

Morning workout in the neighborhood - one mile warmup and then 6X two minutes on and one minute off.  Paces were between 6:38/mi and 6:12/mi, steadily picking it up each rep - felt pretty good.  Finished up with an easy mile back to the house - ran the last couple hundred meters with Travis as he finished up his 8-miler before heading to work at the school day camp.

Summer Track 3200 tonight - bleh.  Figured I'd go for a 6 flat first mile and see how I felt.  Went through at 6:04 and just eased out to lane two and watched Travis work it while I cruised a bit over 7 minute pace to finish at 13:12.  Travis won in 10:18 feeling good until the last 600 or so.  Bit less than a mile warmup and then a bit more than a mile with the dog cool down.

Ran the perimeter route of my usual trails just after 10am - bit too late to take advantage of "cooler" temps - oh well.  Got back to the track and played with Travis and Cassidy on the infield with tennis balls and a soccer ball - big fun.

Easy mile to the start of the north loop - worked the loop at 5:20 - not bad.  Finished up around the ravine trail for a bit over 4 on another steamy evening.  

Neighborhood workout this evening of 3 miles in 8:00, 7:36, 7:20, then 2X 180 meter hills and jog around the block and finished up with another easy mile with the dog.

Nearly enjoyable misty coolish five miler on the trails early this morning - early for me anyway - bout 0645.  Plenty of light, manageable temps, definitely need to shift all my runs to AM.

Messed up this evening and missed the start of the Summer Track 5K - bummer.  I went ahead and took Cassidy around the ravine trail (1.7 mi) and then did another three without him.

Decided on this morning's run on the trails that I was going to run the half at the Tallahassee Marathon in February - why not?!  I've never run a half - well, never when it wasn't part of a marathon.  Could be the motivation I've needed... or maybe I'll change my mind after lunch and just stop running.

Sunday morning workout at and around the track.  Did 2.8 mile warmup down to the lake and back, then 5x block starts on the curve - going to do the 200 at final summer track meet on Thurs.  Followed the starts with 2x 300 at 54 and 50 seconds, and then 4 barefoot striders and two laps of the infield.

Decent little workout in the neighborhood this morning - mile warmup and then 6x two min on one min off, all at about 6:20 pace and walking the offs.  Probably time to bump these up to 8x or go back to jogging the offs, or both!

Nice thunderstorm cooled things off for an evening run on the trails and a few block starts on the curve at the track.  Tweaked the left quad a bit so bailed on the planned 300s - ah well.  

Another nice afternoon thunderstorm left the evening massively humid but relatively "cool" for the final summer track meet.  The final meet is always a combo track meet/ice cream social and the director picks the events to be run based on public opinion.  I did not arrive in time to provide my opinion... no 200 meter race - bummer.  I also did not arrive in time for a proper warmup before the old guys lined up for the 100.  I jumped in anyway and threw down a terribly acceptable 13.43.  I chose not to run the 400 or mile, but instead ran my usual ravine trail 2 miler as a cooldown. 

Travis cruised a sub 5 mile doing it as a workout of sorts - decent effort first 800, then floated a 200 and gradually picked up during the final 600 for a strong finish.

I received a little bling for being the top scorer in the medium old guy age group, and Travis got a medal as well for being 2nd in the 15-19 group - even though he only raced two events - punk! 

Back home yesterday after a quick bounce down to Dunedin/St Pete - waved in your general direction a couple times, Bret.  Got in a good run this evening after a thunderstorm.  

A little hill work in the neighborhood this morning.  Two miles warmup and then 4x 200 meter hills at 47, 45, 46, 43 seconds.  With the end of the summer track series, it seems the local track club is firing up a Thurs evening XC series.  Will be run on the trails of a preseason race that the team always does - 3K, 5K and 8K distances for the race.  The race is Aug 25, so there will be four evenings on the course before the race - could be fun.

Mile warmup, 2.5 miles worth of 8x two minutes on/one min off and then a half mile cool down.  Kept the "on" pace around 6:45 on this ridiculously muggy evening - bleh.

Once again didnt get to the trails nearly early enough this morning to beat the heat - ah well.  Decent 5 miles on and around the 5K course that I didn't make it out to for the weekly Thursday evening training - maybe next week.

2.5 warmup on way to the track then 6x200 at 39-41 with a 200 jog rest.  Finished up with 4 barefoot strides on the infield and then .75 back to the jeep.  

Neighborhood run this morning.  Easy mile, then a 5Kish pace mile (6:33), then 4x200 meter hills at 45, 45, 43, 41 with 600 meter jog around the rest of the block between reps.  Decent little workout for me.

Nearly lovely out this evening after massive thunderstorm.  A billion percent humidity, but only about 75 degrees and a bit of a breeze.  Ran my hilly 5-miler in the neighborhood and kept all miles under 8 min pace without much difficulty - gettin there.  Will see how the 5K training goes tomorrow evening on the trails with the running club.

Arrived at the trail about two minutes before they were going to start.  Not a real big deal since I decided to just run easy with the dog.  Of course, when the gun went off, Cassidy really wanted to fly after Travis and the speedsters.  I held him back to about a 7:20 first mile and took a little break with him for some water and to water the trees.  With most of the quick runners in the distance now, we did the next mile a bit over 8 min pace - stopped again a little after two miles for a couple minutes and then eased on through the last mile for a Cassidy PR of 26:05.  He was a pooped pup afterward, so I left him with Trav and I did another mile-ish easy.

Travis ran a fairly hard 8 miler this morning, so after two miles hard this evening he shut it down.  The guy he was pacing continued on for a PR 17:25 - good deal.

Decided to run a local 5K in support of a high school XC team, Lincoln High.  I ran the same race last year, but the storms of last couple days knocked some trees down on the course and rutted out other parts, so they had to re-route and change it up quite a bit.  Most significantly, they sent us up over a pedestrian overpass to cross a 4-lane section of roadway - kinda interesting.  I figured I was in about 22 minute shape so set a goal of 21:34.  Finished in 21:28 - that'll work for now.  Went 6:48, 7:04 and 7:12 before the finishing 200 meters on the school track.  Nice little run.

Travis came out to help tend to the racers and run the trails after the race - brought Cassidy out, so I ran a bit and walked a bit with him while waiting for Trav to do his 80 minutes. 

Did my hilly neighborhood five-miler this morning in humid but not steamy conditions - nice.  Later in the week sees me hitting the 5K trail training on Thurs eve without the dog this time, and then Saturday morning is the Breakfast on the Track one mile - always a highlight of the year and the unofficial kickoff to high school XC - lazy goal of sub 5:30.

Little track workout this evening at the school.  Three miles easy warmup and then some block starts.  After the starts, did 4x200 at 40, 39, 40, 40, and then 1x400 at 82.  Everything was right in the range of goal mile pace for Saturday's race - 5:28 here I come.

Steamy neighborhood run of 2.5 miles with the doggie (last half mile at 7:20 pace) and then another 2.3 without, just under 8 min pace.  Gonna run the trail 5k training deal tomorrow eve without the dog to see if I can crush his PR.

Got about a half mile warmup before the 5K trail run this evening.  On the run, I went through the first mile at 7 flat, then mile two at 7:12 and third mile at 7:28 to finish up at 22:03.  Ok compared with last Saturday's 21:28, since this is a much tougher course.  Did another mile and a bit following the training.

Nothing like racing the mile to earn a plateful of pancakes.  The pancakes were quite tasty - two plain and one blueberry in a nice stack with butter and syrup.  The mile was ok as well.  If nothing else, I'm pretty good at gauging my fitness these days (or maybe self-fulfilling prophecizing) - figured I could hit 5:30, and ran a 5:29.79.  I did have to throw down 200 splits of 39, 40 and 38 in the final 600 to get there though - whew.  Nobody wanted to lead the heat I was in (projected times of 5:26-5:50), so it was pretty lazy through 800.  I finally broke out and nearly ran down the one guy that indeed had gone out fairly hard.  Third in my age group and 28th overall of the 211 runners in 10 heats - big fun.

Travis took the overall title in 4:40, hitting his goal of 2:15 at the half and then easing off.

After all the mile heats, I toed the line again for the Hamstring Hundred to determine the Gulf Winds Track Club fastest man and woman... I was neither.  I was however the oldest man in the field by ten years, and only missed 5th by one tenth of a second.  Yes, its a six-lane track, you do the math.  Ran a 13.52 to close off another hugely fun summer track season. 

Coolish damp neighborhood hilly 5-miler this evening - not too bad.

Way too much of a struggle on the trails this evening.  A bit warmer than last few runs, but just had no energy at all.  Better sleep surely would help.  First week back to school for Travis has me up early to work out and fix his breakfast, then up late messing with XC website etc - ah well, wouldn't have it any other way... big senior year for him.

Not racing on this course Saturday morning (just gonna run around and shoot pics), so this last Thurs training run was my race on this tough trail 5K course.  Unfortunately, nobody showed up that I could work off.  Ran more balanced than last week and cruised under 22 minutes, so thats some progress.  Miles of 7:03, 7:08 and 7:12, then finished up with 21:48.  Garmin reported it as 3.06, but its nearly all under heavy tree cover, so thats pretty close.  Time to ramp things up now for my goal fall 5K on Oct 20.

Late evening run on the trails with temps in the low 80s - not too bad.  Was a much better run than the other night.  Kept right at 8 min pace and actually felt almost like a runner.

Pre-season XC race in the morning - Trav is pretty stoked.  Shooting for sub 17 on a fairly tough course with incredibly poor footing - we shall see. 

Logging it just because I did it - was photo interval work this morning while Travis and the gang raced.  Planned to run more this evening, but failed miserably.  Will get in 5-6 tomorrow.

Trav had a great run, right up until GI distress stopped him in his tracks.  Rare for him to have issues on morning runs - really frustrating.  Felt great at first mile in 5:15, still awesome at two miles in 10:25, then slammed a bit after that and actually had to walk a few seconds before struggling in at 17:02.  He was cruising easily with the eventual winner who set the course record at 16:31.  Upside is that he knows he would have gone real close to his 16:20 PR if he had no issues - positive mental attitude! 

Lovely morning at the Apalachee Regional Park running trail.  I ran a bit before helping out at the workday to get the course ready for the XC season.  The State Meet will be there at the end of the season, as well as 2 or 3 other races.  Did three hours of cross training with a rake, loppers and an ax - big fun.

Six in the neighborhood on this breezy warm hurricaneless evening.  Got a whopping half inch of rain so far, but possibly considerably more tomorrow - we'll see.  First time I've run six in several weeks - was ok right at 8 minute pace.

Had to do a quick workout on the trails before senior parent meeting at the school.  Did a mile warmup and then 8x two minutes on, 1 min off.  I hit them all at a little under 7 minute mile pace, so about my current 5K race pace - good workout.

Neighborhood hilly five this morning.  Comfortable 8 min pace for most of it - worked the uphills.  Morning runs going much better than evening... discipline, discipline!

Decent run out at the State Meet course before three more hours of cross training with a rake and an axe to get it ready for next weekend.  Good sized group of people made it out this morning - even Travis and a few teammates.  After 5 miles and then 3 hrs hard labor, the old bones enjoyed a nap in front of football - wooooo.

Happy Labor Day!  Twas a bit of a labor this morning on the trails - didn't get out there early enough as usual.  Temps and humidity were already cranking by 0830 - ah well, at least I got the five-miler done.

Averaged 7:50 for my six miler on the roads/sidewalk in the neighborhood - much more comfortable than yesterday's trail effort.  Will likely hit the roads more as I ramp things up for the 15K on Thanksgiving and the half in Feb.

Quick tempo run in the neighborhood after work before heading to open house at Trav's school.  Dropped steadily from 8 min pace to 6:40 in 90 degrees/ 90% humidity - not bad.

A bit over two miles of running around shooting pics during the first official meet of the season - mostly semi-sprinting between start/1-mile/2-mile/finish locations for four races - most enjoyable.  I was official photographer for flrunners for the meet - my gallery

Travis competed well, finishing 9th in 16:57 - winner was 16:15.  Conditions were less than ideal with low 80s temps and high 90s humidity, so a decent start on balance.

Late evening 'nother couple easy miles in the neighborhood with the doggie. 

Nice weather came one morning too late for the meet yesterday.  I hit the trails this morning to a light breeze, lower humidity and low 70s on the thermometer.  Supposed to be like this all week... right up until next Saturday for the local XC meet - hmph.  Having some left hammy tightness past few runs that isnt really worsening or improving.  Gonna run through it a couple more days and just crank up the icing and ibuprofen.

First really awesome weather of the fall - low humidity, 75 degrees this evening for a 5 miler down to Lake Jackson and back.  Steady drop from 8 min to 6:55 pace per mile.

Not quite as gorgeous as yestereve, but very acceptable.  Met up with many track club members for a Dash 'n Dine charity event for a couple of runners whose house burned down a couple weeks ago - bleh.  We all chipped in cash and gift cards etc and had some cookies and bagels afterwards.  Now I'm halfway through a beer and then bed.

Beautiful morning in the neighborhood, but I didnt get out the door in time to do the 6 miles I had planned.  Ran a decent 4, dropping from 7:46 to 6:45 per mile - nice weather is a big help to dropping the pace lately.  Unfortunately, the left hamstring remains pesky and it didnt loosen up until about a mile and a half in this morning - bleh.

Ran the 5K course this morning before Trav's meet and then another mile and a half or so shootin pics.  Boys and Girls took the team titles and Trav got third overall just under 17 again.  Boys didn't toe the line until 10:30 so was about 85 degrees and humid - was an ok result for the hilly course and weather conditions.  Hes looking forward to racing flat and hopefully cool over in Pensacola next weekend.  Should be about ten guys in the 16 flat or better range over there.

I committed to participate in a FSU exercise physiology study starting Tuesday and lasting 5 weeks.  A downhill running/recovery study for a "natural" supplement claiming enhanced recovery after intense workouts.  Should be fun.  Free VO2 max test before and after, and some other metrics as well.  Have to run an hour at -2.5% on treadmill next Thurs and then again at end of study. 

No running past two days as part of study protocol in prep for testing this morning.  Surprise surprise, sprinter boy has some of the strongest quads he's tested so far (mostly skinny white distance guys), but I came up a couple points shy of his lower cutoff for VO2max - bummer.  He showed me an age-grade chart with my 52.1 being in the top category for 45-49 years old ( >48, Excellent), but he is trying to keep to his protocol of 54-55 minimum at this point.  It was really pretty cool, except for the whole breathing through a snorkel and not being able to swallow deal - 5 min warmup walk/jog on the massive treadmill that looked like a tank, then 2 minutes each at 5.5, 6.5, 7.5, 8.5 and 9.5 mph with no incline - no problem at all through any of that.  He left it at 9.5 and then bumped incline to 2% for 2 minutes - no biggie.  Then kicked it up to 4% and I started struggling after 4 minutes, then he pushed it to 5% and I had to bail after another 30 seconds or so.  My VO2max had peaked at about 20 minutes and then plateaued through the last 90 seconds or so.  I shall frame the printout that he gave me.  I'm most pleased with my killer 21 inch vertical leap!

Will run a few easy miles later - the resistance test has my right quad a bit tweaky.

Walked/ran a little bit with the dog late this evening.  Legs a bit sore from the effort this morning.  Onward and upward.

Back to the trails again finally.  Easy 5 miles to work out a bit of soreness in the calves and right quad from yesterday's VO2 max fun.

Course preview run over in Pensacola - hot, sandy, lots of side-hill footing - interesting.

Bit over a mile running around shooting pics this morning and then about 5.3 this evening after driving home from Pensacola.

Travis finished 13th out of 298 in just under 17 again.  Super hot super sandy course, but he at least stayed engaged this time after 1.5 miles and lost no spots.  Needs to work on pressing through that section from 1.5 to 2.5.  Team got 9th out of 36 without 3 of their top guys, so Trav was very pleased with that. 

Ran an easy half mile with the dog before passing him off to Lisa and continuing on for five more.  Really nice evening on the trails with lower humidity and cool temps.  Last three miles all under 7:30 and feeling comfortable.  Much fun.

Another swell evening run on the trails before dinner with daughter child - Cynda is home for a couple nights - Wed class cancelled, and Thurs class not until 3pm - what a deal.  Weekend visits just dont work for C - too much studying ya know.  ha ha ha ha ha

Hilly five in the neighborhood this morning.  Cool crisp mornings already done for another few days - bleh.  Was warm and wet, but banged it out for the day.  Racing 5K cross country on Saturday on the beautiful Pebble Hill Plantation - they let the old folks head out first, so maybe it will be decent temps.  Last time I ran this one was the inaugural edition three years ago and it was more like 5 miles than 5K - oops.  Hopefully they have it figured out now.

Easy neighborhood run this morning before work.  Left upper hamstring still not totally painfree, but its not worse, so just gonna keep hammering away.  Racing in the morning in what looks to be warmer/steamier than hoped for conditions - ah well.

Decent effort this morning on a hilly mostly trail course.  Goal was sub-21 and I had to hesitate a couple times due to limited course marshals and having a lead horse as a guide.  Horse and buggy lead vehicle on this gorgeous plantation was a great idea on paper... not so much in practice.  Within first 400 meters 5-6 of us were out in front of the beast and had to keep looking back for direction - kinda silly, but everyone was good natured about it.

Trav took the win in the high school 5K in yet another hot hilly race and yet another 17 flat effort - I seriously expected closer to 18 on the day, so he did great. 

Renewed determination to get my runs out of the way before work!  So far so good - decent 5-miler this morning on the neighborhood roads.

Early trip to the trails to find out that its a bit too dark at 0645 now - bummer.  Had to run around the park roads for a while before safely hitting the trails.  Decent run once I got rollin'

Massively humid but only 70 this morning, so not too bad on the neighborhood hilly 5-miler.  Nice progression down to 7 min pace during first 3 miles, but then the big hill on mile 4 helped me lose focus and kinda daydream through the last couple miles a bit over 8 min pace.

Neighborhood six miler... cut short at five due to lack of interest.  I think I'm more nervous for Travis about tomorrow than he is.  He hides it well, but I know he really wants to break out of the 17 flat rut he's in so far this year.

No running yesterday, other than maybe a mile total back and forth between my photo locations at the meet.  Trav maintained his frustrating 17 flat streak with a 16:56 3rd place finish - thats 4 races at that course within 2 seconds of each other in the last 12 months - interesting.

Got in nearly six miles this evening on the trails - steamy but nice - then played with Lisa and the dog for a half hour cooldown. 

A bit over a mile "warmup" with the dog - he doesnt believe in warming up - much of the run with him was sub 7 pace.  Then I did another 4 on the roads and bridle trails in the neighborhood.  Definite change in the air finally... now we'll all get sick!

Wooo - took almost 3 miles to become totally soaked in sweat this evening, unlike the usual half mile - times they are a changing.  Also saw a bevy of deer for the first time in quite a while.

Decent run on a really nice, dare I say, Fall-like morning.  Lake Jackson loop with all miles sub 7:50 - yes, thats decent for me  :)

A little slow and achy to start, after pressure washing all weekend, but got it done and in the books.

Lake Jackson loop on another really nice evening.  No deer, turkeys or bunnies, but a gorgeous sun setting over the lake.

Great trail run as a little rain shower rolled in this evening.  Saw a few deer and a pod of turkey - sweet.

Easy mile ish with the doggie in the neighborhood late.

Bit over 5 miles on the trails and roads of Spirit of the Suwannee River Music Park.  Yes, Rob, I had to weave around a few hippies adorned with hemp clothing - what about it?!  Weather was gorgeous and the park is very nice... as long as you dont go during a music festival - we pretty much had the place to ourselves for two days.

Another quick 5 around the park before packing up and heading to Gainesville for lunch with the daughter-child and then back home to reality... and a sick boy-child.  Seems breaking 16 minutes for the first time kicked his immune system pretty hard - that and the racing in 50 degrees for the first time this year.

Quite the turkey of a run this evening - saw one group of nine and another covey of six - always fun.  The run actually was just fine.  Back to a bit warm and muggie for a couple days, but bigtime cold coming next week.  Yes, that means way below 70!

Early run on the trails before the cross country meet at our home course. Travis was in Thomasville taking the ACT, so our #2 stepped up nicely and won the City Champs race leading the team to the victory as well.

The usual figure 8 on the trails

Lake Jackson loop before dinner - really shouldnt be so challenging for me to run 7:30 miles for five miles - bleh

Got in a few miles this afternoon before the big District Champs at our home course.  Trav currently throwing a bit of a pity party due to his 2nd place finish, but he really was a warrior and I'm quite impressed he was able to hold on for 2nd at just under 17 minutes.  Hes finally turning the corner on the sickness, but that means its all down in his chest now - breathing is a bit of a challenge, and rather important for distance running.  He will be healthy for regions next saturday and will have another shot at the kid that won.

Did the perimeter run on my usual trails.  Probably the last evening trail run for a while with the time change looming.  Was pretty dark by the end and I was swatting deer away like they were mosquitos - a bit disconcerting actually.

No running for three days to try and knock out the nagging tightness in left hamstring.  Still felt it a little during the run this evening - we'll see.

Hilly fiver in the neighborhood.  

Ran and walked all over the Region Meet course this afternoon while the kids previewed it and got some running in.  Travis runs at 11:45 tomorrow - should be gorgeous weather.

Another zero, but I have an answer now for what I was thinking was upper hamstring/glute strain or maybe nerve damage.  Doc says too much sitting and not enough stretching/strengthening the piriformis muscle.  Also said go ahead and restart running easy - wont impact the strengthening routine I need to start.  Works for me.  Will run 3-4 tomorrow morning for first time in 3 weeks.

oh, and I have to quit work so that I dont have to sit at computer 8 hrs a day - or maybe just get a new chair 

quick, well, slow run in the neighborhood this evening - gunning for a ten mile week to get things rolling again

pushing the envelope to three miles this evening

Bridle trail and neighborhood roads as the sun was setting

Nice easy run on the trails with the dogster - he only 'bout tripped me up once for a squirrel and once for a deer - not bad.

Ran the 6K course for next weekends Tannenbaum Trail 6K to be run at the ARP (state meet course).  This was another workday at the ARP.  Putting the 5K course and all unneeded markings to bed for the year (hands and forearms are a bit sore from ripping rebar out of the ground).  Next month they begin phase II of course development to make it NCAA Champs legal.  Course has to be 10 meters wide all the way around - lots o trees coming down...

Four miler in the steamy neighborhood this evening - back to summer for a few days - bleh.

Four miler in the neighborhood this eve again - just trying to get back into things.

Took the day off to shop with Lisa, so I hit the trails early.  Managed the fourth mile in a blazing 7:51 - looking good for sub 30 in the 6K at the ARP on Saturday.

Part of this should actually be a race report, but I really just cruised around the awesome Fl XC State Meet course one more time for the year.  The cool parts of the day far outweighed my running.  The Tannenbaum Trail 6K at the ARP was won in 19:35 by multi time olympian from Canada and current running shop owner in Tally, Kevin Sullivan.  Lisa and Cynda volunteered at the finish line, Travis tended to the pup and cheered everyone on, and I ran right at 7:30 pace, crushing my goal of sub-30 minutes  :)

Following the race, things got reallllly fun and interesting.  We went to one of our favorite spots for brunch with one of Trav's buddies and fam.  As we were finishing up, I glance at the entryway and in walks Bernard Lagat!  I got Trav's attention and told him to look at door - his jaw literally hit the table.  We had heard from Trav's coach that Lagat may be in town for his sister's graduation.  Viola Lagat ran for FSU past couple years and graduated last night.  Travis and Chase got up the nerve and went over to chat a minute while he and Viola waited for a table.  Then, on our way out, they got a pic with him...

Afternoon run on the trails - figure 8 plus a bit.  

Midmorning run on a day off from work.  Took the dog with me on the Lake Jackson five miler.  Gorgeous day for a run/walk.  Walked a bit every mile and a half or so to gauge how the beast was handling the blistering 8 minute pace.  He did fine, but definitely stopped tugging the lead after about 3 miles.  Got to the jeep with Garmin reading 5.1 so I ran backwards for a tenth to finish with an even 5.

Neighborhood run after work this evening before dinner and then baking a couple key lime pies - its what I do this time of year.

Off early from work today so I hit the trails with the dog and did a workout.  Mile warmup then 6x two minutes on one minute off.  Doggie did great - I did ok.  Finished up with just under a mile back to the jeep.

Christmas eve in Tally - 9am run in misty 57 degrees this morning - nice. Longest run to date with the beastie dog - he did well, and once again, I did ok.

Neighborhood hilly five while the roast beast was roasting.  Encouraging run finally.  Able to keep the overall average right at 8 min pace without too much trouble.

Merry Christmas

Why didnt I ask for a foam roller years ago?  Hamstrings are thanking the kids bigtime.

Six miler in the breezy chilly neighborhood.  Quite a decent run.

Got off work a bit early so was able to hit the trails before dark.  Ran the complete perimeter loop and saw two deer and six turkeys - a good run.

Longest run since accidentally going 9 with Bret more than two years ago.  Wasn't half bad.  Started with the ravine trail then did the Lake Jackson loop.  Mostly between 8:15-8:30 pace with miles 3, 4, and 5 a bit below 8 min pace. Something to build on for sure.

Happy New Year!