The Long Run

Ran with Jenny on her tempo run, serving as both running buddy and drink carrier.  Said good bye after we did 8.5 together then I turned around to finish another 5.5 by myself.  With two miles left I felt a little worn out.  So, I stopped, chugged the remainder of the gatorade I was carrying and headed home.  Felt much better after that brief stop.  Also, ran into Joe G. (my Jacksonville and Boston running partner) and said hi briefly to him.  Also saw Cherise, so it was a pretty social morning.  The weather was wonderful, too, for which I am extremely grateful as I'm about to venture into the snowy midwest for a bit.

Average pace: 8:10

Short and easy run this morning, started out with Jenny and ran with her for 4.5 miles, then ran the last 1.5 miles by myself.  It was warm and humid this morning, I'm in for a shock as a leave later today for Cedar Rapids, IA, where it's not going to get about 10º!

Average pace: 9:04

Ran on the hotel treadmill in Cedar Rapids, IA.  Was supposed to do a total of 11 miles but decided to concentrate on getting the tempo portion done at least, and then whatever else I had time for.

It felt hard and I felt like quitting after just a short time.  But, you don't have to worry about concentrating on maintaining a pace, just on not falling off the back of the treadmill.  After a 2 mile warm up, did 6 miles @ 6:43 average pace, then did a short cool down.

 Felt great to get this run completed!

Average pace: 7:31

Average pace: 8:05

So, last night my flight was delayed a bit, did not get home until 3:15, slept about 4 and a half hours, dawdled a bit, and got going about 10:20, nice at first, with a breeze, then some rain fluctuating between sprinkles and moderate. Went on a long and winding route and worked my way back home, thought I was right at 20 miles, then looked at the garmin and saw it was only 19 miles, close enough!

 Average pace: 8:01

Originally I was going to meet Dixie, but it was raining pretty heavily at 5:15, so I went back to sleep until 5:45, at which time the rain had mostly stopped.  But since I was late and it was still raining a bit, I went to the Y instead and ran on the treadmill.

Average pace: 7:48

After the run I did some upper body work at home.

P.M. - I was going to stop at the Y on the way home from work for another 4 miles but forgot my running stuff, so I went home first, had dinner and then went to the other Y.

Average pace: 8:15

My legs felt tired almost from the start and it was windy out.  I started out with Jenny and we ran about 4 miles together before I headed over to a different neighborhood.  Fortunately, there was enough shelter from the wind that it wasn't too bad for most of the way.  Slogged through the miles but was very glad to have finished.

Average pace: 8:29

Easy run with Jenny and Jamie, Jenny was going much longer, so I turned around early, much nicer than doing 15!

Dressed warm with long pants and two shirts, would have gotten too hot that way if going a lot longer but it was perfect for the distance I was doing.

But, overall, I'd say I felt really good.

Average pace: 9:04

It felt really warm when I started out this morning.  I started just after 5:00 and ran about 2.3 miles to get over to Longleaf to go meet up with the Striders.  I got there just as they were starting out.  I was going to meet Dixie there but didn't see him.  

I felt so warm that I took off my shirt, but about 2 minutes after starting out again the rain started, along with some wind and I suddenly felt cold.  Grabbed my shirt while passing by the starting area before heading north up Starkey Blvd.  Felt much better.  Ran up to the Aristida neighborhood.  Heard Dixie say hi to me as I was still running up.  I couldn't see him because it was still kind of dark out.  Once I turned around the wind hit me pretty hard and along with the rain and dark my pace slowed down a bit.

Stopped by the Strider starting area to grab my water bottle and ipod.  David was putting things away and was talking to one of the other runners who offered me a ride home.  It was tempting but I still had about two and a half miles I needed to run.  So, I got going and finished the run, just as it was getting light and the rain was stopping.

Finally made it home!

Average pace: 8:31

Did my upper body workout and made sure not to skimp on stretching afterward.

Had the luxury of not starting my run until 6:30 this morning!  Started out with Jenny and a bunch of her friends and ran about 5 miles with them before heading off back towards the house.  Finished up with 6x100m strides at the end.

Average pace: 9:01

Headed over to Starkey Park this morning with the whole family.  Chilly when we got there with a breeze.  Warm up (0.3), then ran with Andy (about 8:20 pace) in the Hero 5K, a benefit run for a local marine going through rehab after losing his legs in the war.  Jenny's friend Kathryn along with the football group she is involved with put together this race.  Kathryn did a tremendous job spearheading this effort, especially since this was her first ever 5K that she put together.  There were about 200 runners.   There was a color guard and a stirring national anthem at the start.  They had a webcam set up so that Justin, the 22 year old marine, could watch the start of the race and the finish.

Between the pasta dinner last night and the race today, Kathryn was able to raise a sizable amount of money for an individual and his family going through a very tough time right now, having nearly sacrificed everything for his country.  Well done Kathryn, you are an inspiration!

After the race, ran 12 miles at marathon goal pace - targeted 7:00-7:10.  First mile was slow, and I was feeling a little bit discouraged, especially with the head wind.  I felt like I was putting in too much effort early on but falling short of the pace that I wanted.  But, I knew the wind would be my friend after the turn around, the next 3 miles were under 7:10, then the 5th and 6th miles were under 7:00.    During the 7th mile I took a gel and grabbed some water but did not stop my watch so that one was 7:09.  Kept the rest under 7:00.  Ended up with an average pace of 6:57 l for the 12 miles, short cool down afterward.

 Some of my runs (maybe a lot of them), had been feeling kind of flat recently, so it was good to see that I could dig down today and do the job.

Average pace: 7:21

Met with Dixie just after 6:00 at the usual spot.  Felt cold and stiff at first so we were going a bit slow.  Dixie had to get going after a bit over 6 miles, then I continued on after that for the remainder.  Felt better on the last two miles.

Average pace: 9:11

Run included 6x600m at 5K pace, which should have been about 6:06, but the fastest pace I reached was 6:08 and the slowest was 6:29. Although the numbers don't show it, the effort did feel like 5K.

So, overall felt better on today's run than on yesterday's run.

Average pace: 8:11

Ran some with  Jenny and also with Jamie. Cool and pleasant out. Jenny was doing 600's, I ran 3 of them but slightly behind, then I had to turn around and head back.  Felt a lot better than I did yesterday.  I think I needed this shorter run.  The ups and downs in daily mileage on the Pfitzinger plan were hard to get used to at first but are not so bad any more. 

 Average pace: 8:34

Met w Raj and Dixie, ran over to Longleaf to run with the striders, although it was mainly the three of us running together for most of the time. Nice, cool, foggy morning. Run felt good today, better than I expected, always a nice bonus!

Average pace: 8:21

Nice run in perfect weather. Ran alone in the neighborhood. Kept the pace pretty even, then towards the end started my strides.   Did 10 strides (25 sec each)  which didn't suck this time (unlike the last set that I tried)!!  They felt good and I was able to accelerate up to a good pace before easing off.

Average pace: 8:05

 Jenny and I flip-flopped our runs this weekend, so I did my long run Sunday instead of Saturday.  Dixie was nice enough to switch his long run also.  We met up at Coachman Park in  Clearwater.  Got going just after 6:00.  Dixie had to be back in his car no later than 8:00.  I felt sluggish at first and had trouble shaking the feeling.  Due to time constraints, instead of doing a loop course we did out and back, with a turn around at 6 miles so Dixie could meet his departure time.

Finally started feeling some life in my legs about 7 miles.  We gradually picked up the pace and actually accelerated up the Clearwater Memorial Bridge.  Felt good when we hit the top, then pushed the pace a bit on the downhill side and finished up back in the parking lot.

I had thought about cutting the total mileage for the run short and just leaving it at 12.  Decided I'd just take it easy for the last 3.  Went out a mile and a half, back up and over the bridge then turned around to head back.  Felt great again going up the bridge and sped up on the downhill like the last time.

I think next time if I start out feeling sluggish I'll run back up the bridge a few times before I'm awake.

Average pace: 8:20

 Ran with Jenny in the neighborhood.  We slept in a bit (until 7:15).  Got going about 8 and took it easy.  My legs felt better than I thought they would.  Will get another 4 miles in later tonight.

Average pace: 9:00

P.M. - as promised, did my evening run.  Went to the Y and ran on the treadmill, the run kind of just flowed along (in other words, it didn't suck!), wish I had more runs like this.

 Average pace: 8:24

Another mid-week 15 mile run.  I think I only have one more of these during this training plan (for Boston).

I was afraid that this run might hurt (my legs that is).  Woke up with the best attitude I could muster, and headed out the door 15 minutes before Jenny with a plan of running into her and Jamie about 15 minutes later.  That plan did not quite work out.  Something about running in the opposite direction being a bit too vague.  Opposite to what?  The direction I usually run or the direction that she was going to run?  In any event, it was actually kind of fun, even though it didn't work out.

I did eventually run into them around the time they were on their last mile.  So, I ran with them a bit and then headed back out.

My legs did feel tired about half way through the run, but it didn't slow me down, fortunately.  Weather-wise, it was a beautiful morning out and I was grateful to be able to run and finish 15 miles.

Average pace: 8:14

Shorter run today. Misty fog.  Did a  warm up, then ran 2.5 of Jenny's tempo run before heading back.

Average pace: 8:19

Did some upper body work after the run

Got going early, motivated with the fact that this is my last long tempo run for a while. Warm up over to Longleaf, then ran 7 miles @ 6:48, wanted to get 6:45 or better but this was close enough, and the last 3 miles were the best, so glad I didn't fade.

The first mile was right at 6:48, but the next 3 miles were in the 6:50's.  I picked it up after the turnaround at 4 miles, then with just over 2 miles left, ran into Dixie who turned around and ran with me for the remainder.  Pushed it a bit on the last mile for a 6:34 pace.

The weather turned cooler as I headed back home for the two mile cool down return trip back home.

Another short run.  Slept in late and started about 6:45.  Legs felt pretty good.  Wanted to take it easy since tomorrow's run will be long.

Average pace: 8:20

Did another upper body workout after the run.

Long run for end of a long week.  Just over 22 miles, new longest long run for me in training.  It went pretty well.  Headed up to the Suncoast trail near Brooksville.  Started running just before 7:00 and started out heading south so I could come back and top off my water.

I ran into a few dogs that were out by themselves.  I also saw some small pigs and a pen and a few cows that were near a fence.  The biggest cow was looking at me suspiciously, not sure why though.

Felt comfortable picking it up a bit on the way back, with the very last mile right about 7:00.

Average pace: 7:56

Headed over to the 7-11 nearby afterward for a chocolate milk and a banana, quite refreshing.

Was able to "do over" this workout which I did a couple of weeks ago but didn't quite reach my goals.  Today I was determined to do better.  Warmed up and then did 5x600m repeats with a goal of 5K pace.

First one ended up being similar to what I did last time, but then I was able to pick it up for the next four.

Paces: 6:17, 5:30, 5:53, 5:53, 5:44

Average pace: 7:54

Did some stretching and light upper body work after the run.

In October I put a tomato plant in a hanging pot behind the house.  I wasn't sure if I'd get any tomatoes before a frost might kill it.  It was a race against time.  The tomatoes were supposed to be ready 55 days after planting ("Early Girl").  November came and went and December and January brought a few nights below freezing. But the tomato plant survived, although the growth was slow. 

Finally, today picked a few nice tomatoes, as well as a few smaller ones.  It is even starting to getting some new flowers on it for spring.

So much for "Early Girl", more like persistent girl, better late than never!!