The Long Run

I met up with Dixie at the 7-11 near John Chestnut park.  I was supposed to be there at 6:30 but was 5 minutes late.  Dixie had his son Josh with him.  We got ready and headed up the bike trail on East lake rd.  Josh was on his bike and carried Dixie's gatorade.  The first mile was slow partly because we weren't paying attention.   The next mile was still a bit slow.  On the third mile I still felt slow and decided that would be ok, just stick with the easy pace.

We got to near the end of the trail where there is a neighborhood with a 1.1 mile loop and a couple of hills.  We did that loop twice and then headed back down the bike trail.  The weather for the whole run was pretty much perfect.  The start had been just slightly cool, enough where you wished you had a long sleeve shirt.  It quickly warmed up to perfect.

The return trip was a little bit faster.  We got back to the parking lot and did one short loop in and out of John Chestnut park.  Dixie and Josh had to get going.  I thought about doing another 1.1 miles to round up my total to 13 miles but instead decided to just head home.  I knew that Jenny was thinking about doing a short run this morning before Tae Kwon Do.

I got home just in time for the pancakes to still be warm.  They were delicious apple cinnamon whole grain pancakes, mmmmmm!  So, the extra 1.1 miles wouldn't have done that much for me and I would have had to reheat the pancakes.

 Average pace: 8:35
 

I started out my morning pretty good, with a reasonably early 5:57 wake-up.  I fed the dogs, got ready and headed over to the Y.  Warmed  up on the bike and rower then headed outside.  Did a little more stretching then started my run.  First mile was slow, it started out ok but gradually seemed to get slower.  The next mile was not much better.  A little past two miles I stopped and dropped off my drink bottle.  I had averaged a 9:30 pace.  I stretched a little bit more then started again.  The next mile was just under 8:00 pace but it felt forced.  The next two miles felt better and more natural and were about an 8:15 pace.  After that I finally felt better,  much less tight.  When things were not going well I thought about cutting it short and only doing 7 miles.  But, I was thinking that since I suffered through a couple bad miles at the beginning, I might as well get something out of it. 

Average pace: 8:20

Pretty good run this morning.  I had plenty of time so decided to get in a medium long run.  The weather felt slightly warm and humid and I noticed some wind at first but didn't think too much of it.  I left from home and took the route out of my neighborhood to SR54 then up Starkey blvd and back.

First two miles were kind of slow, similar to yesterday but not as bad.  3rd and 4th miles felt better,  more comfortable and relaxed which meant faster with less effort.   At the turn around point I started getting battered by the wind.  I was glad I was getting hit on the way back, otherwise the starting slow miles would have felt slow and discouraging.

Despite the wind I managed to hold my pace and I tried to remind myself of the good that the wind was doing for me making me stronger.

This run felt similar to the last time I took this route but not as good as two runs ago when I felt like I could have done a marathon PR on that day.  But overall I'll count this as a successful run since I didn't let the wind slow me down. 

 
Average pace: 8:05

It was perfect weather this morning for running, right about 60° at the start and no humidity to worry about.   I warmed up inside the Y on the bike but both rowers were in use so I skipped those and headed outside.  A little more warm up and then I started.  I have a 10K on Saturday so thought I would try a low key tempo run.  I thought about just two miles at tempo pace and decided that was not enough and settled on 3.

After a two mile warm up I started my tempo with a goal of right at 7:00 pace.  When I started out I realized my pace was too fast and slowly backed it down.  The next mile was a little bit faster and then the third mile was about the same as the first, then I decided why not make it 5K.

Splits were: 6:48, 6:38, 6:45, 0.11@6:40

Well, that was supposed to be it, I backed it down for the next mile at 7:41, but the mile after that kept on getting faster, towards the end I was right about 7:00 pace so I pushed just a little more for the last 0.2 miles to finish that mile at 6:53.

Then I backed it down and ran easy for the return trip.

I think I can do a similar pace and hopefully a little faster for this Saturday's 10K. 

Average pace: 7:35 

I wasn't expecting too much from this morning's run as I wasn't feeling great when I woke up this morning.  But, I was determined to at least get in a nothing fancy 7 mile run at whatever pace I could manage.

I did have at least two things going for me this morning.  It was nice and cool out, but not cold, pretty much perfect.  Yesterday I ran fast and it seems like the day after a fast day, the easy pace feels easier.

First mile was slow, next two were a bit better.  Then I felt nice and warmed up and was moving along nicely.  Nothing too fast except for one of the miles at 7:22.  I was feeling good enough that I decided on 8 miles instead of 7. 

Average pace: 8:04

I did a few "easy" miles on the treadmill this morning to keep myself ready for tomorrow's 10K.  The pace was relatively slow but it didn't feel all the "easy".  Just one of those days.  But, much better to get a bad run out of the way on a non-race day.  I think my pace was around 8:30.

I also did some time on the bike and rower as well as some weights, but nothing too harsh. 

Today was my first 10K that I have raced. I was looking forward to it this week but things did not go completely as planned. The weather report had changed and the wind was going to be strong for the start of the race. In fact, when I woke up this morning I could hear the wind howling. When we got to the race site I was still somewhat optimistic as it didn't seem that bad all the time. The wind was steady from the west at 24 miles per hour. Most of the course was going to be north/south with a little bit of east/west.

I did a little bit of warm up before the race but I was not very careful about my time. The next thing I knew it was 7:56, I was 1/4 mile away from the race and I could see people hurrying up towards the starting line. Whoops!

I was at the starting line and did not feel completely loosened up but was doing my best. The race started and off I went. The 5K and 10K race started out together so there was a good number of people starting out fast. I quickly got into a 6:30 pace then eased it slower to about a 6:50 something pace. I thought I would take it a little bit easy for the first couple miles then gradually pick things up. The first mile included a section of course going directly into the wind. It was tough but manageable. As I was finishing up the first mile I noticed my pace slowed a little bit and I was not able to get under 7:00. The next mile was about the same.

At the beginning of the second mile a few people passed me. I was able to eventually pass them except for one, a 17 year old girl who I decided I would at least try and keep up with. My ankles still felt tight and very uncomfortable, my breathing and the rest of my legs felt ok. I was hoping that it would pass and I'd get into a good pace.

Just past the turnaround I saw my wife running with her friend Kathryn. Jenny asked me "are you doing it?" I said no, but I felt some inspiration. I picked it up a little bit and as I got closer to the 4 mile marker I was determined to finally get under 7:00, which I did. I nearly caught up to the girl that had passed me.

The 5th mile I was getting whipped by the wind some more and struggled to not totally blow it. My pace slowed a lot at one point and it took all I had to try and salvage it.

Finally for the 6th mile I was able to get into a pretty good pace. As I got close to the finish line I heard several people I knew call out my name and cheer me on. Kathryn's boys were there yelling for me. Despite not having run the best that I thought I could have run, I gave it all I had for the finish.

Here are my splits:

7:00, 7:00, 7:07, 6:45, 7:10, 6:53, 0.26@6:28

Sometimes, it comes down to who has shown up for a given race. I saw the results and was pleased to see that I did get first for my age group.

I went to look for Jenny and Kathryn. I soon saw them coming in strong. Jenny came in one minute faster than last year. Last year I paced her in and she was not able to beat that time on the 10k's she ran after that without me. But for this race, she beat that time, despite the whipping wind that did me in. Great job Jenny and Kathryn.

Also, for the first time I met a fellow FRB blogger in person.  I saw Mark from http://tamparunning.fastrunningblog.com

So, that was kind of neat.  I chatted with him for a bit.  I had seen him at the Tampa Bay Lightning Bolt run 5K and I think I had followed him for a good part of the run.  Something seemed familiar about him and I later remembered where I had seen him.  So, today I said hi and introduced myself.  Hopefully I'll get to meet from more FRB'ers eventually.

Today's run was a challenging run.  My shins and ankles got very tight again especially my left one despite having done some elaborate stretches beforehand that usually works.  I might be suffering a little bit of fatigue so I'm thinking of cutting back last week.

I stopped after the 1st mile and tried to loosen up.  I stopped again after the second mile due to a long traffic light.  I thought I was going to have to stop after the third mile but I did not and fortunately kept on going. 

Anyway, I'm glad I toughed it out and by the last mile I was feeling better and managed to comfortably run 1 MP mile.  It was actually a nice morning to run as far as the temp, wind, and humidity go.  Although the traffic seemed a little bit more dangerous.  I had read some place that pedestrian deaths spike around the time change.  Time to be careful.

Average pace: 8:32 

Strategically planned non-running day.  I decided to cut back a little bit this week.  I'm going to run Wed, Thu, and Sat. and then get back to my regular schedule next week.

I did go to the gym this morning and did 20 minutes on the rower and 20 minutes on the bike. 

I met up with Randall, Raj and Tim this morning for a run at the Y.  We decided on an easy run today.  It had rained last night, but the morning air felt cool and comfortable.  It was dark and I did not look at the pace until the third mile to see the split.  The first two miles were slow at 9:57 and 9:08.  It was a nice run and good to have some company today.  It was also good for me I think for adjusting to daylight savings time.  After the shock wore off of getting up at 5:00 this morning it didn't feel so bad.

After we crossed at the traffic light we decided to pick up the pace for the last half mile.  It started  out pretty quick and then got faster, finishing the last 0.5 miles in 3:03.  That felt good to help wake up.

After the run I did a little bit of cross training and weights before heading home.  I had a dentist appointment this morning which been hanging over my head like a dark cloud but it turned out that it went pretty smoothly. 

I did a track workout this morning.  I was hoping that Randall might join me, however he had left open the possibility that he might not make it.  I was at the Y at 6:00, waited around for a few minutes and then got started on the warm up.  It was nice out this morning, mid to high 50's, no wind, good humidity.

The first good thing I noticed was that the running felt easy, natural and flowing.  It was at an "easy" pace, but this time that equated to an easy run.  I did  a little over two miles to get things started then headed over to the track.

I did one lap on the track as part of some additional warm up.  Then I set out on the first repeat.  I was planning on 6 X 800.  During the first lap there was a guy who worked there (either coach or maintenance guy I'm not sure) who said something to me, I said hi back.  It was still pitch black out with just some light coming from a nearby parking lot, most of the buildings were still dark.  Since I had slowed down because of this I figured I would start again.

So, I did.  Since it was dark and I didn't want to fiddle with my garmin too much I just ran by what felt right.  I did look at the time at the end of the first lap I was right at 1:29.  Wow!  I was right on.  It was a good sign that I didn't have to constantly check my pace.  I did the second lap and came in at 3:02.  I'm still not sure if I'm hitting the lap button exactly when I finish, I might be a little bit slow.   I guess it doesn't matter too much as long as I do it the same each time.

At the third lap I was beginning to doubt myself as to whether I could do all six at this pace.  That must mean I'm doing it right and pushing myself, so I kept on going.

I did all 6 800's.  As I started the last one I thought about doing 7 today.  I made a deal with myself if I did the last one in under 3:00 then I would call that the end.  Also, for the past week or so I have been in a slight running funk and thought that quitting on a positive note would be a good idea.  

Here are my splits:

3:02, 2:56, 3:01, 2:59, 3:01, 2:58

I jogged back to the Y across the ball fields.  The sun was just coming up now.  The grass was wet with the morning dew and I could see my footprints from the walk out there at the start of the track work.  I thought to myself, "wow, that guy sure did get up early :) ".  I then headed on an out and back cool down.  Somehow this all added up to 10 miles exactly.  Usually I hit the stop button on the garmin and I write down whatever that happened to be. Today it was exactly 10.00 

One more strategically planned day off from running.  It was very tempting to jump on the treadmill for a few quick miles today but I resisted.  I'll be back to regular running next week.  I was starting to feel a bit aimless and needed to reset things.

 Anyway, I did get up this morning and go to the Y.  I spent some time on the arc trainer, rower, and bike.  Then I did some lower body weights.

Looking forward to a nice long steady run tomorrow.
 

I was fluctuating between whether to run at Starkey park (possibly alone) or at John Chestnut park where there might be other runners I knew. I opted for John Chestnut.

I got there a little past 7:00. I saw Bob who had already run 15 miles. He was going to do 5 more around the park and then head home. I said I'd go along with him. Also, there were two others from the group who said they'd go along, Cameron and Jacklyn. So, we went on a nice out and back 5 mile run. At this point I thought we would get going again quickly to get to Bob's house, then I would continue on for some more miles. Bob is one of the nicest guys and likes to chat and socialize, but we probably stopped a lot longer than we should have - about 10 minutes or so. We got going again but about 1.5 away from the park Bob started to cramp up. So we slowed the pace down and made it the best we could. Bob split off at his street and I kept going.

I picked up the pace without looking at what pace I was doing until the mile beeped on the garmin. The first mile went by at 7:20 and I figured I'd keep it around there. It was a nice morning out with a pleasant 65 degrees temp and some cloud cover. As I left the Lansbrook neighborhood to head back along the East lake bike trail the wind hit me a little bit but it wasn't too bad.

I figured I'd do a mini MP tempo run with splits of:

7:20, 7:27, 7:18, 7:16, 7:04, 0.70@6:49

I made it back to the park, walked around a bit and stretched then got going. I was a little bit later in finishing than I wanted to but it was good to do most of the run with some other people.

Average pace: 8:39

Since I was a little bit later, I did not make it home in time for a still hot breakfast, but there were some left over delicious home made waffles that Jennny had made.

I was feeling pretty good because now I feel like I have a goal. I signed up for the San Diego marathon in June. I can't wait to go. I'll get to see my brother and his family. Jenny and the kids won't be able to make it out for the marathon due to school but they'll come out later in the week and hopefully we'll get a chance to also go to Lego Land!

It was a nice and cool morning.  As an extra bonus I had some company which is nice.  I met up with Randall, Keith, Raj, and Tim at the Y.  We started out at a nice easy pace for the first two miles and then picked things up a little bit over the next couple of miles.  Raj split off from us after 5 miles to head back and the rest of us continued.  We had some drinks stashed by the bank where we stopped briefly before continuing on.

Since the first half of the run was a little bit slower than I had intended we picked it up a little bit more with the last two miles at MP.  This brought up the average for the whole run to where I had intended.

Average pace: 8:19

Afterwards we stretched and talked a bit then I went inside for a little bit of weight training.  I printed out a schedule for the remainder of my marathon training.  It's pretty much what I have been doing but the mileage starts to pick up.  I like to have a schedule because then I can tick off the workouts as I do them and mentally prepare myself as the weeks and days count down.  I plan on making adjustments here and there based on how I feel. 

This morning's run went pretty well.  The weather was great.  I didn't have to get up too early and I didn't take forever to get ready.  I ran from my house so that part was pretty easy and I have been taking a route that I have come to know and love.

As usual I started out nice and easy for the first few miles until I had reached a 7:50ish pace which I did for the last few miles.  Made sure not to push it as that is the tendency when the weather is nice and I'm feeling good and warmed up.  I was getting a few twinges of PF on my right foot around the heel.  I need to keep on eye on that and take care of it while it is still just barely noticeable.

Average pace: 8:11

 
I biked the boys to school afterward.

Today's run was great, I loved it. It was a little bit warm but nothing that would slow me down and the humidity was not bad. I was planning on 7 miles with a 4 mile tempo run.

I warmed up with a little bit over two miles, after having already warmed up on the stationary bike inside the Y.  I crossed the street to the neighborhood across from the Y, dropped off my drink bottle and then got started.

 First mile felt pretty good.  Second mile was a little bit of a struggle to hold the pace.  As I started the third mile I was having issues with my headphones so I stopped briefly.  So, maybe this doesn't count exactly as a five mile tempo run.  I don't think I stopped for more than 10 or 15 seconds.  Anyway I got going again and felt faster.  I got to the 4th mile and it wasn't too bad.  I figured then I'd do one more mile just for fun, icing on the cake sort of thing.  Now, since I was doing it just because I wanted to I felt faster.  For a good part of that last mile I was on track for a sub 6:00 pace and it was starting to feel hard, so I backed it down, although not by too much.  Not a great idea to go that fast on a tempo run but it was a lot of fun.

Tempo splits: 6:56, 6:56, 6:38, 6:41, 6:09

After the fast miles, I went back to my usual easy pace and headed back to the Y and then home.

Average pace: 7:39

I ran from home this morning, to SR54 , up Starkey Blvd. and back.  It had rained last night so the streets were wet and it was a bit humid out but not too bad.   I didn't have a huge desire to run this morning but figured I should just go out and get the job done.  Despite this less than stellar attitude it turned into a pretty nice run with miles that were not slow and laborious but not too fast either.

On my return trip I saw David who was also running on Starkey Blvd, we ran about a mile together before I had to split off towards home.

In conclusion, this morning's run was great, I loved it. 

Average pace: 8:07

Non-running day today.

Went to the Y and did some various cardio followed by a quick full body weight routine.

Tomorrow I will run 14 miles, then get some even longer runs after that ramping up for San Diego.

I had thought about doing this race when I saw the flyer a few weeks ago at the Armadillo race 10K. A couple of days ago I decided not to do it. Then I had a voicemail from Randall who said he was doing it and wanted to know if I was doing it. I looked at the weather and saw that the conditions would be good, and they were. The course would be a straight, out and back, and flat on the Pinellas trail. It's not that often that everything lines up that way.

It was a small race (I seem to be good at finding these small inaguaral 5K's), so the only drawback is there might not be anyone to race against. Just before the race started I saw two high school kids that I think I had seen at other races. The race started and we all took off, the high schooler in the yellow shirt was out and front. My Garmin briefly said I was doing a 4:51 pace (which I new was wrong), it settled on a 5:5x pace which was not the pace I wanted. I was not going to make the same mistake that I did at the Bolt run back in February so I eased back a little bit. I was back between 100 and 200 feet from the yellow shirt guy and now I was at the pace I wanted.

We hit the turn around, I was still feeling pretty good, the gap had closed slightly. Then at around 2 miles I was gaining on the yellow shirt guy. He was fading a bit because my pace was staying pretty consistent. Then I was past him. Still one mile to go and I had to keep holding my pace. As a warm up I had run the whole route which was good as I knew each little landmark. At about 0.2 into the third mile my garmin played a mean trick on me that it does sometimes. It said I was doing a 6:46 pace and it didn't look like it was going to budge. I didn't feel like I had slowed down but maybe I had. I gave it a little more effort and then it finally clicked back to 6:19 at about 0.5 miles into the third mile.

When I could see the time clock it had 19:3x on it so I knew I could do it. I gave it all I had and past the clock at 19:46. I grabbed my race card and hit the stop button on the Garmin at 19:49.

Splits were: 6:21, 6:22, 6:19, 0.13@5:56

** Update ** I just found out the actual official time was 19:46 instead of 19:47, yay! 

This was the most consistently paced 5K I have run. The conditions were perfect with the main challenge being the last mile when I wasn't chasing anyone down. I also broke with 5K tradition and did not squeeze down a PowerBar gel with caffeine immediately before the race because I was all out. I'm glad that I ran an even race because I did not want to blow my chance at breaking 20 minutes. I was afraid that I'd keep missing it. So, maybe next race I'll try to go out a little bit faster. With the ideal conditions maybe I could have gone a little bit faster but probably not much faster as sometime during the third mile I was feeling like I was one step away from feeling like I was going to throw up.

Randall crossed third after the yellow shirt high school guy.

We stuck around for the awards then Randall and I did just under 3 miles for a cool down. I had my picture taken, received a dog tag for the age group award and a nice plaque for overall male.

It was a pretty good run today.   Ran from the Y after a bike and rower warm up inside.  First 3 miles were kind of slow and my ankles and shins felt tight.

Then I loosened up a bit and the pace felt easier and got a little bit quicker.

It was a great morning for running weather-wise.  Overall things worked out pretty well and it felt good to get the first run of the week behind me. 

Average pace: 8:07

Looks like there was at least one more chilly Florida morning left this year. About 48 degrees, cool enough for long sleeve tech shirt and hat. Kind of wished I had gloves for the first two miles but not bad after that. I ran from home on my new favorite 9 mile loop through Trinity Oaks and Thousand Oaks. My shirt sleeve was covering up my garmin for the first few miles so I didn't see those splits until after the run.

Picked up a little bit faster midway through the run then settled on a slightly slower pace.

Great to get one more run out of the way and hopefully the last one by myself this week.

Average pace: 7:56

Well, that's about it.  I feel like I'm leaving something out, though.   Maybe I'll think of it later. 

I was wrong about not having to run alone this morning. I hadn't really finalized plans with Randall. I got to the Y about 6:00 and he had gotten there at 5:30 and ran with Keith, Raj, and Tim. I'm not the best planner. My alarm had been set for 5:30 but I was woken by my oldest son 15 minutes early, nothing too urgent though. Well, I was up now. Unfortunately this didn't mean I got moving 15 minutes faster, it just took 15 minutes longer to get ready.

When I got to the Y I felt a bit chilly and since I had missed the guys I went inside for a warm up on the bike and rower. I headed back outside just as the guys were getting back from their run. I said hi and then finally started moving. I did a two mile warm up and a nice easy pace. Stopped once to retie my shoe which was too tight, a good choice considering problems I have had in the past with shoes that are too tight.

Sasha had advised me to do either a 3X2 or 2X3 instead of 1600's if I really wanted to do some speed work. These kind of scared me. This is good in a way since it means there is a challenge and without challenges it is hard to improve. Since I probably would have done 3 1600's I decided I would try doing at least two 2 mile repeats, figuring that was still one mile longer than 3 1600's. Still feeling a little bit guilty I settled on 2X2 followed by 1 mile.

So, when I got going things felt better than expected. Usually the first mile of a tempo or speed workout is very mentally challenging, it wasn't so bad today. The weather was good, I felt warmed up and was able to get on pace right away.

Here is what I did:

1st 2 mile repeat: 6:22, 6:27
2nd 2 mile repeat: 6:26, 6:28
Final mile: 6:26

I did 0.5 mile recoveries between.  I think I could have done two miles in the third set but I had made a deal with myself and you can't break those deals ALL the time otherwise your body will think you are lying everytime :)

Jogged back to the Y - a little over a mile away.  Then, did some things inside, a quick cool down on the bike and some upper body weights.

I don't have any more intervals planned for a while and there are no more races coming up - it will be a mix of easy, long, and some tempos. 

Average pace: 8:03

Once again I was supposed to meet up with someone for a run but it did not work out. I had talked to Dixie on Sunday and thought it was all set up for today. However, I did not confirm things. I need to get better at this as that is now twice in a row. Anyway, the good part is that when you are trying to meet up with someone you get there on time.

So, I showed up at the 7-11 near John Chestnut park, waited a few minutes and then got going on my run. Once again, I have found that the easy run on the day after a hard run feels easy - much easier than an easy run on a Monday.

At the two mile point I saw a guy with a light on his hat, he said hi. It was Bob. As Bob has been training for the Boston Marathon I have been running into him more and more. He is running in a charity slot but has not taken his training lightly. In fact, I think he could actually qualify for Boston at this year's Boston. Anyway, we ran together about 5 miles before he had to turn right and I had to turn left. After we split off I picked it up slightly for the return trip back to the parking lot.

The temp was about 55 degrees, beautiful weather for running. The run went by quickly but I didn't run too fast or too slow.

Average pace: 8:34

I did go to the Y this morning but I did not run. I did some time on the bike and rower and then some upper and lower body weights. I thought about getting on the treadmill for at least a couple of miles but decided against it. Instead I thought I would run Sammy around the loop tonight after work. That would be much more enjoyable for both of us.

I think I might have said this last week, but tomorrow I will run long! (hopefully 16 miles).

 p.m. - I ran the loop with Sammy, 1.7 miles in 15:30

Today's run went well. I ran alone at Starkey park. I woke up at 6:15, did my usual morning routine, drove to Starkey, stretched out a little bit, and walked to the bike path.

It was nice and cool out at the start, the first few miles were slow. 16 seemed like a long way to go because I hadn't run that far for a while. I tried not to think about it and as the miles went by I was able to go faster with less effort.

There weren't very many runners out, mainly bikers. As I approached the Suncoast highway trail my task at hand no longer seemed so great. I took a left onto that trail and headed north for a bit. Finally, I got to the turnaround point which always feels good. Still 8 miles to go but it's almost always easier on the way back. Fortunately, today was no different. I picked it up the last few miles. I didn't have to stop because I had just enough accelerade in my fuel belt that I didn't need to top it off with water. It was getting warmer out so if it had gotten just a little bit warmer or I was going a little bit longer I met have needed more.

As I approached the last mile I had thought I might back it down and relax a little bit. However, my pace had picked up some more just before that and I decided to hold the faster pace. I finished the last mile in 6:53.

Average pace: 8:00

There were delicious banana pancakes waiting for me at home that Jenny had made, she is an awesome cook! 

My parents invited the boys over for a sleepover.  So, I had the rare treat of being able to run with Jenny.  We tried out a new running spot, the Upper Tampa Bay trail.  It was quite nice.  Very picturesque, lots of shade, good facilities.  We ran north up the trail until the end, since we started in the middle of the trail, the end was about 4 miles.  Eventually they will extend it to connect with the Suncoast trail which connects to the Starkey park trail.

We were at a nice even pace throughout the run.  We chatted some but mostly just enjoyed each other's company and the perfect weather.  

Average pace: 9:26 

After the run we stopped at Panera for a bagel and coffee.

Today's run actually works out really well since we will be driving all day on Saturday and part of Sunday so I'm going to basically shift my running week one day to the left. 

Yesterday turned into a very busy and tiring day - but also very fun with the afternoon spent on the water.  So, my goal for this morning was to get the job done.

My legs felt dead at first.  I usually don't get this, more typical is tightness down by my shins.  The deadness cleared up after the first mile then things went pretty smoothly.

The other odd thing today was that the last mile didn't feel great, usually this is the best mile for me but today it was maybe the 3rd or 4th best mile.

The running route was starting from the Y and through 3 different neighborhoods around there.  Temp was very pleasant in mid 60's but there was some wind here and there to do battle with.

Average pace: 8:16 

It will be sort of a tough week for running since I need to get all my miles in before Saturday including a long run since we'll be driving most of Saturday and Sunday.