The Long Run

8.75 mi, 1:25:30, 9:45 avg

Ran 7 miles with Jamie in the neighborhood, then walked Stella and ran her just over 1.5 miles.  It was high 40's this morning but felt kind of nice.  Stella thought it was a good run also.

8.07 mi, 1:03:27, 7:51 avg

I decided to retry last week's failed 4 mile tempo run. Started out at Longleaf about 5:30ish.  For warmup I ran easy pace up to Aristide to the water stop.  My legs were feeling slow, so I'd speed up here and there for a little bit to get used to going faster.

I was afraid I would start out and just not get to the pace ok.  I decided on a goal range of 6:50-7:10 so I wouldn't stress out if I wasn't getting under 7:00.  Once I got through the first mile and into the second mile I knew I could do it.  First mile was mostly just over 7:00 but I slowly got the pace faster and ended right about 7:00 pace.   Miles 2 and 3 were still tough but doable. I picked it up a little more for the last mile but was feeling at my limit aerobically, but still happy since it was my fastest mile all year.

Splits: 7:00.7, 6:55, 6:57, 6:45

During the parts of the run where it felt like I couldn't move my legs fast enough I concentrated on just moving my feet and that seemed to trick me enough into running faster.

After the fast part, I slowed for a bit but gradually came down to a 7:55 pace for the last full mile.

Had coffee with Keith, Patrick, and Brett after the run at Havana Dreamers.

6.79 mi, 1:02:05, 9:09 avg

Easy paced run with Jamie in the neighborhood, started out slow and gradually went a little faster.  Did not really stop at all except at the traffic light.

Did not run Stella after my run but took her for a walk to the park.  Very mini-taper for BDR half marathon tomorrow.

24th overall, 19th male, 1st AG (50-54), 1:33:39.9 (chip)

(garmin stats: 13.34 mi, 1:33:40, 7:01 avg (about the same garmin distance as las time)

My first race of the new year and in my new age group as well as the sometimes used catagory of "grand master" at the BDR Half Marathon in Safety Harbor.  I had a lot of uncertainty going into this race but wanted to see what I could do when challenged.  This past week was the first full week of this year that I felt fully ready to go full speed ahead with all systems back to normal.  The 4 mile tempo run (which went well but felt like I had nothing left to give) let me know I had a chance at running better than I thought I could.

Warmed up a little before the race and got into the corral with about 10 minutes to spare, working my way up to near the front but not quite toeing the line.  First mile felt pretty good and not that hard, probably a little fast but it felt so much better than the last mile of Thursday's tempo run and was a couple seconds faster.  My baby steps goal was to complete at least 5 miles under a 7:00 pace and then after that try to at least make sure no miles were over 7:20.  With mile 1 out of the way, mile 2 came and went at 6:52 as we headed into Phillipe park.  Approaching the turnaround I saw Mike MacDonald leading out in front and then several runners later Jacki Wachtel as lead female.  Mile 3 was a nice 6:44 (the rolling hills inside the park were actually kind of nice - slow down a little on the uphill but get it all back and maybe a little extra on the downhill).

Heading out of the park and finishing mile 4 at 6:53 pace was a great feeling and I still felt like I had plenty left.  Kept it up for miles 5, 6, and 7.  At that point I was thinking maybe I coould do a repeat of the Brass Tap Half where I kept the miles under 7:00 through mile 9.  But, not this time, shortly into mile 8 I noticed one of my shoelaces was completely undone, so I stopped to tie it, there was just too much left of the race to try and finish it untied.  I had nearly caught up to Bill Cottrell but now he was gone and I wouldn't see him again until after the race.  A few people passed me and as I was getting my pace back up I caught up to the woman who had just passed me and I stuck with her for a good part of the remainder until I eventually lost her also.

The shoelace mile was 7:26 (almost under my 7:20 floor).  And then I felt like I was "back in the race" with mile 9 at 6:54.  11 was another slowdown at 7:29 with some hills that were wearing on me, but I pulled some pace back together to get 6:59 for mile 12 and then kind of let things go for mile 13 with a 7:37 which is too bad since mile 13 is usually one of my best miles.  However, I was alone at that point with the person ahead of me way, way ahead of me (well maybe not that far ahead, she was just under a minute faster, so if I had gotten a good sub 7:00 mile I might have been within catching distance of her)  and the guy I had been leap frogging (I was running behind him at one point going up a hill and his wife and little son were waiting for him and his son ran out to give him a hug, then a pulled farther ahead until I eventually caught up to him on a downhill and then we passed each other a few more times)  had fallen back far enough he wasn't going to catch me.  However, with a little bit faster mile 13 I could have beaten my time from this race two years ago.

They had great post race food and drink and a good DJ for a fun post race party.  I saw two coworkers, a bunch of Suncoast Striders and chatted a bit with Mike M. for a bit congratulating him on his 1st place win (speedy 1:12:33 ).

10.52 mi, 1:47:22, 10:12 avg

Ran with Brett and Mike H. on the Starkey trails.  We ran out on mainly double track winding our way to the water stop at the 4 mile spot if taking the paved bike trail.  Came back basically the same way but on a parallel course except for the last mile.  It was slightly foggy out at the start and very peaceful.  My legs were pretty tired and slow feeling at the start so it was good to go at an easy pace off road.  We went a little bit faster the last few miles.

8.45 mi, 1:14:22, 8:48 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, as usual I was just a little bit late.  Ran out easy pace to the water stop with a few very small pick ups to try and wake up my legs.

Did 4x800m with 400m easy jogs.  Pace was a little bit slower than I wanted but the effort was good enough to remind my lungs.  3:15, 3:03, 3:02, 3:05

Actually just the first one was slow, the other three were pretty good considering, but nothing under 3:00 today.

Instead of doing more of these, after the last one and catching my breath, I picked up the pace to about 7:30 for the last 1.8 miles.

6.12 mi, 59:24, 9:42 avg

Easy run in the neighborhood.

7.06 mi, 1:09:39, 9:52 avg

Thursday morning run with the Striders at Longleaf.  I was going to do a 5 mile tempo run after 2.6 miles easy.  However, plans changed when I realized I forgot to charge my garmin and it was already low. Keith offered me his regular watch and I could have used some landmarks to get pretty close.  But, I decided to just run whatever.  Started out with Keith and then Marcia came up behind us and ran with us.  Her picture had just come up on Facebook from when she ran me in the last bit at BDR Safety Harbor 2 years ago.  She's mostly  not been running since battling a hard to diagnose injury that happened just before Boston 2013.  So, it was a surprise to see her out there.  

Keith turned around at two miles and Marcia and I went to the water stop (where my watch died).  We than ran out to 3.5 miles and turned back.  The last couple of miles were a little bit faster and Marcia remarked that she hadn't run any miles under 9:00 since before her injuries.  Last mile was 8:39.

6.23 mi, 1:02:39, 10:03 avg

Cynthia came over to Jamie's house then they ran over to my house and we did about 6 miles together running the t-shaped route near the golf course.  Chilly 49 degrees was kind of nice compared to yesterday's crazy 70ish degree morning.

12.05 mi, 1:54:39, 9:31 avg

Ran with Joe, starting out from Longleaf.  We stopped at Diane's house to top off drinks, then into Starkey Park for a little bit before heading back.  We did about 11 miles.

Got back home, walked the dogs, then drove back to Starkey Park for the Striders 15 year anniversary post run get together.  Brought Stella with me where she got lots of pets.  A little 15 month old girl couldn't get enough of her.

Back home again, looked at my mileage for the week and saw that I was just short of 50, so I took Stella out for a 1 mile run.  She was more than happy to help!

12.31, 1:49:19, 8:53 avg

Drove up to Brooksville/Spring Lake area with Jamie, Cynthia, and Daisy for some country rolling hills.  Nice and cool at the start with light fog making the fields look picturesque.  Stopped at a Speedway just before we got there for a pit stop and I had a non-typical urge for a cup of coffee just to have a few sips before the start of the run.  Coffee must have helped because I felt really good the whole run even starting out which can sometimes be tough for me.

Just after 5 miles in, Daisy's hip issue flared up and she wasn't sure she could finish the whole run.  We had just passed on road that would short cut her back to the start and when I got to the next road I told her to take it thinking it would connect to the same road (it does eventually but it's longer with an added turn).  Cynthia was ahead and when I caught up she told me I hadn't sent her quite the right way.  However, it all worked out as Daisy had her phone map and was able to get to the right spot (just past the Alpaca farm).

Good run up the mile stretch uphill on Ernest Lee Road, then I finished up with a fast mile around the actual Spring Lake with 7:02 for the last mile.

8.6 mi. 1:11:50, 8:21 avg

Tuesday run at Longleaf with the Striders.  It used to be called "tempo Tuesday" back when it was smaller and more structured (although only on Tuesdays) and they were actually more like tempo intervals or just intervals but Tempo Tuesday sounded much better.   So, in the spirit of tradition I did some intervals.  I picked quarters to make myself try and go faster.  But I couldn't seem to quite get to the speed I wanted. I thought I would do 8, and if I did them all successfully I'd treat myself to doing two more for a total of 10.

I wanted to do them all in the 1:20's, but only managed one with the rest in the low 1:30's, so I decided that I'd end with 8 and be ok that it was the best I could do today.

After a cool down, I picked it up a little and did the last two miles at 7:30 pace which felt good.  When I got back I looked at my splits for the quarters and realized I had only done 6!  My counting brain was not working.   But despite all that it was still a pretty good run, at least it was different.

Quarters (close to 400's): 1:35, 1:36, 1:26, 1:33, 1:31, 1:33

1.8 mi, 18:44, 10:26 avg

I just went for a short run this morning, mainly for the sake of Stella.  My legs were tired from yesterday's intervals, which were tired from Sunday's hilly run with fast last mile.

I thought maybe I could get a run in the evening with the humpday hustle crew but the track meet turned into a marathon.  I saw Jolene who had the right idea with wearing running shoes and getting in 2.5 miles - although she was herding a group of girls as their assistant coach so that kept her moving around.

Andy did the long jump followed by 4x800m relay which were two of the earliest events.  His long jump was an improvement over last time and turned out to the the longest one of anyone from his school (his friend scratched on his and he beat all of the girls - but it was still encouraging).

He unofficially PR'd on his leg with 2:27 according to my watch - breaking 2:30 for the first time.

Thomas debuted with 2:25 on his 800m.  

There was a no show for the 4x400m so Andy volunteered.   That kept us there until the end -11:45 pm.

I'm glad he tried it, ran 1:01 which was almost the same pace when he tried the 100m last year (14.4 seconds).

Proud of both boys for trying and stretching their limits.

8.55 mi, 1:05:58, 7:43 avg

After Tuesday's partially failed intervals, I only ran 1.8 miles yesterday and that was mainly for the sake of Stella.  My legs were dead and felt like they needed a break.  I had thought about doing an evening run after work but the boys first track meet turned out to be a big one (26 schools), so it didn't finish until almost midnight.  Andy did one of the first events (long jump and a 4x800m relay), Thomas was running the 800m which was toward the end, and then Andy volunteered to fill in on the 4x400m relay for a no show.  So, as it kept on getting later and later I was not sure I'd be able to run a tempo run this morning.

But, after only about 4 1/2 hours of sleep I felt good enough to try.

5 miles at sub-7:00 pace was the goal.  I made the average although one of the miles was 7:01 (although that pace is questionable because there seems to be a GPS dead spot on part (lots of tall trees) where my pace always slows for no real reason.  There was even a bit of wind, but due to where I started, most of it would be a tailwind.

Splits: 6:54, 6:43, 7:01, 6:45, 6:35   (about 6:48 average)

Was feeling motivated from watching the boys run their hardest.  Andy shaved some time off of his 800m PR down to a 2:27.  Thomas PRd in his debut 800m with a 2:25.  Then Andy PRd (although he hasn't done many) at the 400m with 1:02.   Was glad the spot opened up for him, he's always willing to jump in.

Wore my brand new bright orange GoMeb Speed3

7.29 mi, 1:05:27, 8:59 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.  Stopped back at my house, walked Stella then ran her a little over one more mile.  As I was getting back, Joe came by with his brother's dog Renny (dog sitting)  - Renny looked really big because she towered over Stella who is a pretty big dog herself.

10.06 mi, 1:30:51, 9:02 avg

Started with Joe and Jamie and Longleaf about 6:00, Joe had run from his house and was doing 20 miles.  We ran out past Diane's house, into Starkey Park just a little, then Jamie and I turned back.  I needed to get back to my car by 7:40 so I could get to the boys track meet at 9:00 about 45 minute drive away.  Went a little bit faster the last few miles.

Andy did long jump for his first event at about 9:30 in the morning.  Next event for them was not until 5:00.  They both ran the 800m and were in the same heat.  It was the battle of the brothers.  Andy was not feeling like he had a PR in him.  Thomas was nervous.  Thomas took an early lead over Andy and held it for most of the race.  At one point Andy was kind of far back but he slowly caught up and finally passed him sometime during the last 100m.  But, it was neck and neck for a while.  They both got PRs, with Andy's going from an old PR of 2:30 down to 2:23.99 and Thomas shaving a little off going from 2:25.2 (this past Wednesday) down to 2:24.7.    Before the race, I was a little bit afraid that Thomas would want to catch Andy but not pass him, but he had no problem wanting to pass him.  He did beat himself up a little bit for feeling like he wasn't very good sprinting the final bit and letting Andy pass him.

7.28 mi, 1:03:59, 8:47 avg

Ran 5.5 miles by myself, with last half mile at 7:17 pace (I had been slowly picking it up each mile before then).  Stopped back home, walked Stell a little bit, then we did the neighborhood loop (1.7 miles) at about an 8:20 average, one of our faster runs - she's been getting better at looking at me for cues so I don't have try as much to keep her on track in the right direction.

8.24 mi, 1:05:30, 7:57

So, last Tuesday's intervals were a partial failure but must have done some good.  Today I wanted to try 5x1km at 20:00 5k pace, so 4:00 per 1km

Got: 3:58, 3:53, 3:50, 3:55, 3:51

Success this time around!  Easier mile, followed by 7:31 for last mile, post easy.  I had one of those feelings when I first got out of bed this morning that I could do it today.

7.57 mi, 1:12:13, 9:32 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood for a little bit over 6 miles.  Stopped back at my house, then ran Stella for a little bit over a mile (maybe 1.2 miles).

This is about my third week of doing the three times per week "better than nothing" strength routine which is centered around 3 sets of 25 push-ups along with 3 sets of 8 pull-ups, along with various other things thrown in.  As part of the last set of pull-ups, I will often try to do more if I feel up to it.  Today I did 15 pull-ups for the last set which is the most I've done for at least 2 or 3 years.  Good to see little bits of progress.

8.06 mi, 1:02:05, 7:42 avg

Original plan was for a 6 mile tempo run, sub-7:00 pace, hopefully 6:52 or faster.  It was raining when I woke up so took a little bit extra time and started about 5:45 instead of 5:30 by which time the rain was almost completely stopped and this would also be a little less time running in the dark.

Warmed up about 1.7 miles, then picked up the pace.  For a short time was under 7:00 but when I wasn't watching it my pace kept on slipping.  Thought about scrapping it, then decided to switch it to 3 x 2 mile repeats.  I did get a little faster on each set.  Glad I didn't quit completely.  I should have gotten more sleep the night before!

Repeat sets:

1. 7:27, 7:01
2. 6:54, 6:54
3. 6:40, 6:33

6.18 mi, 58:27, 9:27 avg

Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.  Prett good Friday morning run.  Did not do anything extra with Stella afterward, just a normal dog walk.

Gasparilla Half Marathon

1:32:42, 4th Age Group (50-54)

(garmin distance 13.16, pretty close, not too many turns)

It was a pretty good race overall with ups and downs and a good ending.  The weather was perfect and that turned out to be one of the motivating factors when my pace dropped - don't waste perfect running conditions on giving up!

Rode down to the race with Renee, got there in plenty of time and made our way to the start and warmed up a bit running just past the starting line.  Got off to a pretty good start, holding the first three miles under 7:00 pace with each mile getting slightly faster by a few seconds.  But mile 4 somehow missed being under 7:00 but still pretty close (7:04).  I must have gotten too comfortable and slowed down more for mile 5 to 7:20 (which included picking up the last part of it heading down the bridge coming off of Davis Island).

It was around this time that a very fit guy covered with tattoos wearing nothing but running shoes and a red speedo came cruising past me.  Not too much faster so I think that helped me pick it up a little bit following such an interesting target (talked to him a bit after the race, really nice guy).   So, miles 6,7,8,9 I was feeling really good, enjoying the view on Bayshore and happy that mile 5 was the end of the race for me.  Mile 6 was back to a 7:01, and miles 7-9 were all back under 7:00.  At the beginning of Bayshore I caught up to the guy I saw earlier in the race that I ran with at the Holiday Half.  I ran with him a bit then pulled ahead.

So, I was feeling like I could really turn this race around, until we got to the turn around and hit the wind.  Mile 10 was not pretty - struggled to keep it under 8:00 and slowly brought pace down to7:37 (I was a little worried about slowing down too much and having the 1:35 pacer pass me - I was a little bit miffed at him because about a quarter mile into the race he kind of cut me off, weaving around and getting right in front of me even though I was going faster than 1:35 pace).  A few guys passed me, and although I didn't run too close to them the did block the wind just enough.  The road bended a little bit and the median had more trees so mile 11 was back to a reasonable pace (7:11), and mile 12 was back under 7:00 again.  I thought back to BDR where I just stopped pushing once I passed the 12 mile sign.  Managed a 7:01, then had a pretty decent kick for the last 0.1

I saw Anthony at the end.  He'd had a really good race.  Before the start he said that if everything went well was hoping for a 1:28 - he got 1:26:30, so really good day for him.  Then I went back to the start and waited for Renee, she just missed the time she wanted but was pretty close.  They had good post race food from the Columbia restaurant.  Race bib had a free beer coupon but they can't serve until 11:00, so did not stay for that.  We did pick up our top 10% finisher mug.

Meb also raced, came in third place with about a 1:03.  Joan Benoit at 59 years old ran a pretty decent 1:29.   Fun race today, about 5500 runners.

My splits: 6:59, 6:53, 6:52, 7:04, 7:20, 7:01, 6:55, 6:57, 6:53, 7:37, 7:10, 6:58, 7:01, 1:01 (0.16@6:32)

6.17 mi, 58:57, 9:33 avg

Legs were feeling a little bit beat up this morning at the start.  Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood and felt a lot better by the end of the run.  No Stella run, just a little bit longer walk.

8.81 mi, 1:16:22, 8:40 avg

I had decided to not do intervals this morning and instead just run easy. I made it to Longleaf and actually was there in time for the morning picture (but partially because the picture was a couple of minutes late).  I started out with the group and was at first the slowest one but eventually caught up to David and Marcia running about a 10:00 pace.  Ran with them for about 2 miles, then picked it up a little bit.

Stopped at the corner at Alico pass for a water and gel then continued into Aristide.  Saw the herd go by.  I ran down to the end of Diane's street, then back onto Alico Pass and saw the herd again but they were taking a brief stop.  Chatted with them for a second then they said they had one more interval to do and invited me along.  Asked them what pace and how far, 6:50 pace for 1.5 miles - ok, I figured I could hold on for a mile and a half. Was hard but fun and was doing a 6:43 pace for the last half mile.  Cool down for half mile then I continued on back to see if I could make it in time before they ran out of coffee - and was rewarded with half a cup of coffee!

Pretty eventful run, one of those anything can happen run.