The Long Run

11.52 mi, 1:33:54, 8:09 avg

Ran from my house, to 54, then Starkey Blvd and stopped briefly at Longleaf to stash my gatorade and then continued up the Starkey Blvd bike path.  I gradually increased my pace up to mile 6 which was 7:24.

I then ran 10x1min pick ups which ranged from 5:40's to 6:00 pace.  I minute easy jog between each one.  Last few were getting pretty tough and kept on bargaining with myself how 5 was good enough, and then 6, etc. until I got them all done.

Wedding is now only 24 more days, can't believe it is this month.  We met with Jessica's rabbi yesterday to go over some questions and the format of the ceremony.  He is a wise and personable man.  Still some things left to do but the big things are mostly covered, very exciting time.

4.26 mi, 59:37, 13:58 avg

Just some light run/walk today.  Did some with Jessica in the morning and then in the evening went with Stella to burn off some of her energy.

11.28 mi, 1:43:20, 9:10 avg

Ran from Longleaf up to Starkey park via Diane's house with Jamie, Cynthia and Daisy.  It's been a while since I ran with all three.  I had been thinking about running to Longleaf but was a little bit short on time so I got there a few minutes early and warmed up a little bit first before the others got there.  Finished up one more mile back in Longleaf with Jamie once we returned.  

It was warm and humid but a little bit of a breeze helped out.

4.42 mi, 40:01, 9:03 avg

Short out and back run from my house to Trinity Blvd and a tiny bit running on the grassy shoulder before turning around and heading back home.

10.18 mi, 1:26:03, 8:27 avg

Ran from my house to SR54 and then Starkey Blvd, easy paced warm up about 2.4 miles.  Dropped off my gatorade and then continued north on Starkey Blvd bike trail doing 4x1km repeats of: 3:55, 3:49, 3:51, 3:54

So, each one a little bit faster than 20:00 5k, although I only did 4 today instead of 5, that was actually one up from my bargain of "just do 3" which I did, then did one more.

Good mileage for the morning and run seemed to go by quickly.

6.15 mi, 51:43, 8:24 avg

Run in the neighborhood.  Came close to getting run over.  Was running on the sidewalk, jeep pulling a trailer was coming out of one of the neighborhood parks.  He pulled up to the sidewalk, thought he saw me and thought he was going to stay stopped, so I continued on and he started pulling out so I had to stop. Gave him the two palm salute.  I ran ahead a little bit and he pulled over and started a non-apology saying that he thought that I saw him, then he said he couldn't see me because his windows were fogged up.  I reminded him that I was on the sidewalk and if I had been a little kid I might not have stopped and would have gotten run over.  He finally gave a real apology which was not the main point of saying something but rather hopefully he will yield the right of way to people on the sidewalk.

Rest of run was uneventful, last two miles were faster at 7:46 and 7:16 (maybe from some leftover adrenaline from the big confrontation).

7.72 mi, 1:07:58, 8:49 avg

Last night my AC stopped working, fortunately it only got up to 80 inside my house (but humid with no AC drying the air).  I called the repair people (AirHawk) and told them it could wait until the morning.  Joe messaged me back and said it sounded like the float switch.  So, in the morning I used my shopvac to suck out the water that was making the float switch activate and then the AC worked again but I figured I should have someone check it out.

I started my run which was going to be 10 miles but AirHawk called and said someone would be there between 8 and 10, so I ran back to my house and ran up and down the street until they arrived.  Checked things out and cleaned out the drain a bit better.

I ran another 3.8 miles, out and back to Trinity Blvd, and then went to do 8x25 second strides.  I threw in a bonus stride where I averaged a 4:57 pace for 30 seconds - I just need to extend that pace out for another 4:27!

So, AC fixed twice, run done and now just need to solve the mystery of the missing 5th tie that I ordered for the wedding but only 4 showed up!

Also, saw an incredible full rainbow as a result of the light sprinkling that helped cool down the run.

7.26 mi, 1:01:14, 8:26 avg

Cool temps were back a little bit.  Ran from my house out to 54 and took a right and then down Corporate Center to Trinity Blvd and then to the new park.  Used the water fountain and ran a couple of loops around the lake before heading back home the same way I came.  Lots of people were at the park, several dogs in the dog park and a few couples playing on the thing that looks like a tennis court but is not tennis (not sure what it was, looked like they were using giant ping pong paddles).

Finally made it back to the RAP River Run 5k.

Thomas and Andy came with me.  They had a 10K this year also starting at 6:30, with the 5K starting at 7:30 (glad it didn't start at 8:00!).  Was getting warmer (but still not too bad) and a bit humid.

Andy was going to just run it for fun and Thomas was going to race it (he'd missed about a week of training due to some braces related oral surgery but has been getting in some good training recently).

Made my way through the thick starting crowd.  Thomas was a good bit ahead of me.  Eric from Mitchell cross country was there also and he had a good sized lead on both of us.

About a 1/4 mile into the race I suddenly felt really good and made up some of the initial weaving time.  Course is nice and shaded as it heads north up Grand Blvd.  Finished first mile in 6:13.  Shortly into the second mile I was not holding the same pace and was struggling a bit to get back into the 6:30's.  Finished the second mile in 6:35.

Nice thing about 5K's is they are over pretty quickly but it can be tempting to take it easy in the third mile.  I passed a few runners then caught up to Thomas.  I told him to come and stay with me but he told me to go ahead without him (ok, he didn't really say that but he made it clear he was not going to stick with me).  I passed a couple more runners.  A person on the side called out "400 meters left".  Finish line was a straight shot from there and pretty soon I could see 19:40something on the clock. I picked it up and ran faster trying to slow down the clock but it just seemed to speed up.  But fortunately I was still able to beat it before it turned 20:00.

Thomas was not far behind at 20:19.

Larry Smart was there today and ran 19:07 so he took first place masters award and I was awarded 1st place "Grand Masters".  Eric ran 19:27 but was in a tough age group so took 4th.  Andy took it easy and ran a decent 24:07

After the race I ran about another 1 mile for a cool down, stayed for awards, and in addition to the GM award, won a door prize drawing for $50 gift card to Pet Spa - maybe get Stella a mani-pedi

5.61 mi, 52:09, 9:18 avg

First mile was slow and clunky and even thought it might be a good morning for a run walk, but each mile after that was faster, with 5th mile at 7:40 pace.  Ran out and back to the last neighborhood before Trinity Blvd, then came back same way but took long way home around neighborhood loop.  There was a little bit of a breeze and a hint of post rain coolness.  

This was a good run after having to get up early to clean up after dog accident and some kid drama the night before.  Running always helps. (at least it always has so far)

8.19 mi, 1:10:45, 8:38 avg

Dropped Tom off at Y for cross country practice then I drove to Longleaf.  Wanted to give Anthony is AG award from Saturday's race but he wasn't there.  Ran just a bit over 4 miles, then drove back to the Y and finished off the 5th mile while waiting for Tom.

He decided to run home instead of riding with me so he got in another 3 miles.

Came home, walked the two dogs, then ran Stella for three more miles doing about an 8:30ish pace.  This was her longest run since the injury and it went pretty well.

8.25 mi, 1:14:52, 9:05 avg

Ran in the neighborhood with Jamie, did t-shaped route and added on the c-shaped neighborhood.

As we were heading out saw Tom and Andy in the truck heading out to cross country practice.  Good to see Andy still running now that he has gradualted.  We will do the Father's Day race this Sunday in John Chestnut Park.

After the run, I walked the two dogs and then ran Stella for one mile at about an 8:30ish pace to burn off some energy.

It was a cool enough morning, the extra rain has been nice.

Also, today I made it over 1,000 miles for the year so far, on track to make 2,000+ miles for the year.

8.26 mi, 1:11:52, 8:42 avg

Drove Tom to cross country practice in Starkey Park, and then I headed out from the park and then down Starkey Blvd.  I was going to get some water at the corner of Alico Pass and then maybe do some intervals.  Just after I got my water I saw Diane running in my direction so I ran with her a little bit before she had to turn left and I had to turn right.

I finished up the 6th mile doing a loop around the horse corral parking lot, last two miles about a 7:30 pace.

Drove home, walked the dogs, then ran Stella for another 2.26 miles.

The morning temperatures were just about perfect again.  Grateful for running in the morning to see the morning sky.

9.16 mi, 1:17:31, 8:28 avg

Left my house and finally got moving about 10 minutes to 7 this morning. Another cool morning.  First mile was very sluggish and was feeling pretty normal by the end of the third mile.  I ran past the golf course, out to Trinity Blvd toward Trinity Oaks neighborhood enroute to the Y.  Saw a another nice rainbow on the way there (quite a few this week with all of the rain).

Stopped at the Y for a drink of water and my ginsting gel, then headed back the same way.  Starting going faster with mile 6 at 7:50, and then the rest between 7:20 and 7:40.

I'm not sure if I like the new Pureflow that much, the tongue is plastic and was chaffing my ankle but it was a little better today than the first time I wore them earlier this week.

10.35 mi, 1:35:53, 9:16 avg

Ran with Joe, Jamie, and Daisy in the neighborhood.  Needed to stick close to home so we ran like a weekday run.  The 4 of us did the first 4 miles together, then Joe had to head home.  After a brief water stop at Jamie's house, Daisy, Jamie, and I did another 4ish miles.

Ran easy, conversational pace.  We saw an alligator (a youth, about 4-5 feet long) crossing the road on Robert Trent Jones Pkwy, just strolling along like it was no big deal, trying to get back to his pond (which fortunately have begun to refill after many had gotten pretty low from the lack of rain).

Ran the "I Love Father's Day" 5k with Thomas and Andy.  Andy was going to not race it and at first Thomas said he was going to go out medium effort.  I told him I thought we could win the father/son division.

Warmed up a bit and did a few strides.  There were several other people there that we knew including Alan, their cross country coach who was racing it with his daughter.  There was a last minute route change due to a small bridge being out, so instead of a big loop it was more of a horse shoe shape.  Temperature was warm and humid but the park has lots of trees for shade.

I ran pretty steady and felt reasonably good - it didn't feel like torture but was a solid effort.  Had splits of 6:15, 6:22, and 6:18

Came in right at 19:34, winner was 18:44 and Thomas came in about 20:20 and Andy about 26:00.  Happy I was able to bring down my time a little bit from RAP River Run.

There was a slight mixup with bibs and chips.  The chip numbers attached to the bibs were not the same as the bib numbers and there was no consistent way to tell so they had to sort it out by hand (some matched, some were off by 100, and some off by a random number).

They had pretty good food including tamales and the big blue beach towels instead of t-shirts are nice.  I also won a pair of newton socks in the drawing.

Grateful to have my two boys running with me for father's day , best gift I could ask for!!  (the card and Boston Market gift card they got me were also nice!)

9.37 mi, 1:20:44, 8:37 avg

I started off feeling like I could barly run, I actually stopped and walked twice to try and shake the dead leg feeling and managed an 11:28 for the first mile, next mile was 10:26, and after that was 9:40.  I was running from my house, out to 54 and then right on Starkey Blvd.  I saw a few straggler Striders also running late - Stan, Becky, Corey, and also had a few people beep at me that had just left while I was still on 54.  

Once I got to the turnaround was feeling much better and averaged 7:23 pace for the last 4.37 miles.

It was a bit warm and very humid but the cloud cover and breeze made it not so bad.

7.31 mi, 1:06:30, 9:06 avg

Run in the neighborhood, I think with Joe and Jamie but now I'm not sure because I've waited until July 1st to fill this in.

I do remember in the evening I ate at Fairway Pizza with my brothers Jim and Tim, Tim's wife Kristy, Grace, Alex, Brian, my Mom, Jessica, Aubrey, Sophia, and Jacob, was a lot of fun!  Wished my kids could have made it.

9.15 mi, 1:17:14, 8:27 avg

Ran from my house to Longleaf to say hi to the Striders finishing up their run then headed up Starkey Blvd for some more miles.  I did a few strides as a approached the turn around spot and then got ready to do one fast mile.  I wanted to run sub-6:00.  I started out but then stopped after about 0.25 miles and decided to try again (I was stuck in the 6:10's).  Got going again and it looked good at first, but then pace was slipping away, but I held it at 6:09 and was determined to at least break 6:10 , slowly picked up some more speed and came in at 6:04  (good effort for the heat and humidity and slight lack of sleep).

After a little recovery running, stopped to grab my stashed gatorade.  I walked to the edge of the parking lot and saw a rabbit, looked a few feet over and saw one more rabbit, and then one more just past that one.  Seemed like some sort of reward for stopping and looking around.

Got going again and did last two miles at 7:36 and 7:09 and stayed 7:30ish until back at my house, so 2.26 miles at "MP effort"

6.14 mi, 57:03, 9:17 avg

Another simple run in the neighborhood with no details that I can remember, but I think it was a pretty good run.

7.1 mi, 1:06:07, 9:19 avg

Ran with Joe, Jamie, and Daisy from Longleaf out to Diane's house.  Joe had run from his house, we got going a bit after 6:30.  Was warm and humid but it didn't feel that bad and my legs were feeling pretty good.  We got to Diane's house for her "lemonade" stand and saw a few others there that we chatted with.  Diane ran back with us almost all the way before she turned back.

We were rewarded with a light mist rain on the return trip to cool things off.

I thought about various odds and ends of things that need to be done before tomorrow but made sure not to forget and lose sight of the big picture and the happiness ahead.  The last just over 3 months have gone by quickly.  It seemed like a long way to go but tomorrow is finally the big day.

4.11 mi, 35:19, 8:36 avg

First run back after a brief but fun honeymoom.  Slept in a little, walked Stella and ran into Joe and Jamie finishing up their run.  Went back home as Jessica was finishing getting ready to go to work, saw her off and then went on a short run out and back to Trinity Blvd.  I picked it up on the last mile, just wanting to be under 8:00, kept on speeding up and finished it right at 7:00 pace.

Good to get back into the swing of things and get one last run in for June.  This has been an amazing month.