The Long Run

AM -  10.23 mi, 1:37:39, 9:32 avg, HR 127 avg, 143 max

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.  First mile about 10:32 and heart rate about 110.  So, I picked it up a little bit to get HR into 121-131 range.  I had one mile about 8:45, and then the next mile was mostly in the 8:40's until I saw my heart rate at 137, so slowed down a bit to finish that mile at 8:59 and get HR back to 133.

Split off from Jamie at about 8 miles and then did the rest on my own.

Yesterday evening didn't go as planned so I missed getting in that last two miles for the month at the Y and therefore ended up shy of 200 miles making it my first month after 6 straight  months of miles over 200 - but pretty close at 198 which included recover from two marathons.

PM - 2.32 mi, 23:24, 10:05 avg

Ran around the neighborhood with NiKYO,  He was pretty good on the leash.

15.25 mi, 2:22:19, 9:20 avg

Started at Longleaf at 6:30 with Jamie.  Ran to Diane's house then into the park for a bit before turning around.  Was pretty consistent with miles between 9:15-9:40 most of the way.  With one mile left, I picked up the pace and ran the last mile in at 6:40, then did a short cool down.

I signed up Andy and myself for both the 5k and the 10k.  5k started at 11:25 pm.  My brother Jim is in town and he also signed up for both races as well as Jamie (thought she might be doing just one race but decided on both).  It's only $10 more to do both races than it is to do just one.

Race takes place near the start of the causeway out to Honeymoon Island state park.  It's always expected to be pretty warm but this year (compared to last time I did it in 2010) was warmer and more humid with temperature at 81 degrees (2010 temperature was 75 degrees).

Andy had debated over which race to race and which one to run for fun and decided on the 5k.  Thought sounded like a good idea and said I'd run with him and maybe he could get a PR over his time at the RAP River Run 5k (20:30) a few weeks ago.  At that race he ran by himself and had splits of 6:05, 6:5x, and 6:5x so I thought maybe a little bit slower first mile could smooth things out.  We warmed up with a little over a mile before the race started including 3 x 25 second strides.  Felt drenched after the warm up and felt extra warm while packed into the crowd at the starting area.  We were hoping for a nice offshore breeze once we got out onto the causeway.

Got off to a good start and settled in about a 6:15 pace for most of the first mile but lost some speed going up and over the drawbridge (not too tall, maybe 15-20 feet up) and ended first mile at 6:26, a little slower than hoped but a good start and on track to break 20:00.   Next mile, which included the turnaround brought some more slowing and finished at 6:52.  I was feeling pretty wiped at that point and was about to tell Andy that this wasn't my day and he should go ahead.  As I was thinking about saying it he told me he was battling a side stitch so I kept quiet and just kept running.  Pace was not looking good - about 7:45 at the start of the third mile.  Gradually the side stitch started to release and we slowly picked up the pace until just back under 7:00. 

With about 0.2 mile to go I told Andy to kick it in and go, which he did and was able to pull away from me.  I watched him head toward the finish chute and realized he'd make it in under 21:00 and then I realized that I still had a chance, so I gave it my all, was close but just missed being under 21:00.  Andy got 20:57 - about 25 seconds slower than his PR but not that far off.  And, he was able to pull away from me when I was giving it all I had left.

6.214 miles, 46:49, 7:33 avg

12:15 am, shortly after the Midnight run 5k was the 10k.  I was feeling pretty done after the 5k so thought I would just "jog out" the 10k.  As I recovered more I did at least set a couple of goals. 1. Try to get to and stick to a sub 8:00 pace, and 2. run a negative split.  Andy thought the 8:00 pace sounded good and said he'd run with me.  We started out together, got separated and then met back up.  But, the crowd was pretty thick and we were soon separated again.  About 3/4 th into the mile my shoe lace was flapping so I stopped.  A lot of people ran by me and I looked out for Andy but did not see him.  Got going again and finished the mile about 8:16.

I felt pretty good and kept going at my post shoelace pick up pace.  

Next miles were: 7:23, 7:19, 7:16, 7:23, 7:23 and last 0.2 @ 6:39

The causeway ends about 2.5 miles out as the road heads into Honeymoon Island state park.  The causeway was fairly dark but there is some light from buildings, traffic lights and such.  But, once inside the park it was pretty dark.  This year they had each side of the road and the center of the road lined with glow sticks.

As I headed out of the park and back on the causeway I saw Jamie (I'm not sure how she recognized me, I could barely recognize anyone).  As she headed into the park she saw Andy and they ended up running back together (except for the end where he sprinted the last bit).

I felt good and passed a lot of people.  Not really the time I'd normally be happy with for a 10k but for a 10k I decided to just "jog out" it was pretty good - more of a marathon pace run, after running a 5k, at midnight, in heat and humidity.  

For the 5k, Andy's age group was pretty competitive so his place was 7th.  However, for the 10k there were only two people.  So, he ended up with a nice age group award, and even though he was 2 out of 2 he certainly earned it!

10.68 mi, 1:42:29, 9:36 avg, HR 128 avg, 136 max

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, with the group but did not run with anyone in particular.  Did not have my HR strap for the first part of the run (about 7 miles).  Finished up miles when I got back home (about 3 more).  Legs a bit sore from Sunday/Monday races.

AM - 7.15 mi, 1:07:31, 9:27 avg, HR 124 avg, 140 max

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the nbhd.  It felt oppressively humid this morning. Good thing at least was that even though i didn't feel like running fast I had to put out some effort to put my heart rate into the 121-131 zone.  I had one mile under 9:00.  HR went a little bit high on last mile to Jamie's house, after which I slowed down.

PM - 4.0 mi, 37:11, 9:18 avg

Ran with the Striders at Longleaf for "hump day hustle".  Temperature was much higher than this morning but humidity was down and there was a little breeze so actually much nicer feeling.  Good to run a little bit with Renee who I hadn't seen in a while.

10.06 mi, 1:35:07, 9:27 avg, HR128 avg, 135 max

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Started out and stuck to my heart rate zone so was mostly running by myself.  Temps felt much better this morning compared to yesterday morning (hint of cool now and then with some imagination).  Pace felt pretty good.  No miles under 9:00 today but overall average about the same.  Did just over 8 miles at Longleaf, then finished up once I got home.

8.79 mi, 1:29:24, 10:11 avg, HR 129 avg, 153 max

Little bit later start, ran from my house to the new park and did a few laps around the lake.  Sun was hitting me pretty hard.  Kept HR in MAF range for most of the run until after I got back to my house and finished up with 6 by 25 second strides.

14.1 mi, 2:08:02, 9:05 avg

Ran in Starkey Park with my brother Jim, Cynthia, Andy, and a little bit with Joe.  79 degrees at the start and felt a little cool at first but humidity really snuck up.  Kept the pace easy and consistent.  Jim and Andy turned back just after 4 miles out and Cynthia stayed with me to 6.5 and I kept going until 7.  Picked up the pace on the last two miles to 7:47 and 7:07.

Nice finish to the week of mostly steady running to concentrating on cardio base.

AM - 6.01 mi, 54:45, 9:07 avg

Ran with Andy and Thomas (and cross country team) at McKethan lake park just north of Brooksville.  Kind of an adventure getting there.  Went to wrong place for caravan (wrong Target) so drove up by ourselves and got there early but gate to park was still locked.  Began doubting I was at the right place (although I had been there at least twice for the Red Mule 5k), tried a different entrance which showed a connecting road.  Road was dirt road and not really drivable with my little car (would have been fine for truck).  Got a stick stuck underneath which was dragging so stopped and climbed around to pull it out.  About ten minutes later I was getting bit by a large ant.

Eventually met up with everyone.  I did a couple loops with Thomas then some more on my own.  Was reasonably not too hot when under the shade but pretty hot in the few sunny sections.  Was planning on running a little more but already kind of late so left at it 6 miles for the morning.

PM -2.08 mi, 16:37, 7:59 avg, HR 125 avg, 141 max

Second running attempt, about 8:40 at night.  Rain was rolling in along with a little bit of thunder but tried to squeeze some in.  Just got a little bit wet.  I wore the heart rate strap but didn't look at it while running.  The second mile was a 7:41 but the average was only 132 bpm, only 1 beat outside of MAF range.  If this pace is true then that's a huge PR for MAF running.  I'll have to see if I can come close to repeating this.

AM - 10.56 mi, 1:36:06, 9:06 avg, HR 128 avg, 136 max

This morning's 77 degrees felt cooler than normal. It would have been a good day for tempo or speed work but still sticking to HR training a bit longer.  Ran at Longleaf where I did a little over 8 miles.  Was able to string together even more sub 9:00 miles while sticking to MAF range (121-131).  Finished up two miles at home.

I'll have to look back to last fall but I think this might be my best MAF run ever.

Unfornately, Andy missed his run with the group.  He had slept through his alarm, although he did do some miles by himself after I got home and will join the team for their evening run tonight.

PM - 2.6 mi, 24:20, 9:22 avg

Ran on the treadmill at the Y after doing a warmup on the elliptical and an abbreviated weight workout (no bench press tonight, they've both been busy on the recent nights I've been there).

AM - 9.53 mi, 1:19:00, 8:18 avg (no HR today)

Ran from my house to the new park to do 5 x 1k repeats around the small lakes.  Today's gift was nice 73 degree starting temperatures and a slight breeze.  It felt nice yesterday, but was a little bit warmer so I'm glad I waited until today.  Although I'm concentrating on base building I want to do a little bit of concentrated effort on 5k training so I can run 5k's and evaluate my fitness.   Park is about two miles away, so ran that at an easy pace, then speed warmed up with 3 25 second strides to goal pace.

Since I've had two 5ks recently under 20 minutes and two over 20 minutes I set a goal pace as 6:26 (or 4 minutes per 1k repeat) and ideally wanted to come in maybe 5 seconds faster.

Trying to hit the pace by feel I ended up faster.  It's hard to adjust downward without going too far down and since I might fade toward the end I decided to just go with the pace.  If I ended up too slow I'd try to at least hit the 6:21-6:26 goal.

Results exceeded goal: 3:49 (6:10 pace), 3:34 (5:45), 3:46 (6:04), 3:35 (5:46), 3:48 (6:08)

Jogged back home and felt good.  Maybe it is too early to tell, but I'm coming up on nearly a month of mostly heart rate training (aka easy running) and it might be starting to pay off already.

 PM - 2.33 mi, 21:19, 9:10 avg, HR 125 avg, 136 max

Short run around the neighborhood loop after dinner, and after a stick shift lesson for Andy (he can at least get to where he needs to go if he has to and should be pretty smooth with a little more practice).  Cooled down nicely just before I started running due to some rain nearby but not so close we actually got any here.

10.17 mi, 1:33:45, 9:13 avg, HR 128 avg, 137 max

Another easy paced heart rate run and fortunately once again a relatively cool morning (for which I am thankful, especially with several in a row now).  Started near Longleaf and did out and back run to Aristide neighborhood.  Pace not quite as fast as Tuesday but still pretty decent.

After grabbing the last cup of coffee from social hour headed home and ran two more miles by my house.   Glad to see Andy had left and did not oversleep meeting the CC team.  Woke up Tom and he did his miles in the neighborhood while I was getting ready for work.

13.12 mi, 1:58:59, 9:04 avg (no HR today)

Ran with Jamie and Renee on the Suncoast bike trail south to the Upper Tampa Bay trail, out and back route.  Pretty decent temperature but a little warm on the sections with no shade.  Stayed at a pretty steady pace (except for a post pit stop pick up to catch back up).  Was nice to get a mid week medium long run.  Pace felt pretty good but I'm sure I was probably out of maf zone for at least some of it.

Wore new Skechers Go run sonic 2 - pretty good but still like the original GoRuns (which seem to be hard to find).

16.4 mi, 2:31:42, 9:15 avg (no HR)

Started out just after 5:30 from Longleaf and ran up to Starkey park (with a short out and back into Aristide so I'd have at least 6 miles before the park).  Met Jamie in the parking lot just before 6:45 and then we did 5 more out and then back for 10 more miles.  Picked up the pace and ran the last mile fast at 6:56 pace.  Weather was ok and was pretty happy that I'm not feeling dinged up after running over 70 miles this week and was able to do a pretty good pace for the last mile

10.37 mi, 1:41:13, 9:45 avg, HR 127 avg, 139 max HRR 37

Did not get started until almost 8:00.  Ran from my house, past the golf course and through Thousand Oaks to the Y and then turned back.  Grabbed some water at the golf course on the way out and back and took a gel at the Y.  Run was pretty good, not a bad pace for not being a great run, it seemed to drag out a bit but it never turned bad and the plus side was there was a bit more of a breeze on the way back and a few more clouds in the sky for cover.

I'm not sure if I love the new GoRun Sonic2 shoes, they are a bit spongier feeling but I think they'll do ok as an every day shoe.

PM - Fast Tuesday's 5k

This was a small, semi-formal 5k race put on by a local running store.  $10 for entry and prize money for top 3 male and female runners.  Course was across from the new outlet mall on SR 56 near I-75 in a new yet to be developed sub-division.  The course was well marked, there was a guy timing it and a guy leading the lead runners on a bike.  Each loop was just over a mile, so it was just under 3 full loops.  I warmed up with a little over a half mile easy jogging, then two 25 second strides, then lined up.

There were two fast looking guys and a girl who looked like she might be fast.  Started out without really looking at my pace and was running near the girl for almost the first half mile as she started pulling away.  At that point my pace so far was about a 5:45.  I tried to stay steady without pushing too hard early in the race.  The two guys and the girl steadily spread out from me and each other.  Stayed near 6:00 pace and finished the first mile in 6:03.  I pretty much was able to hang onto that pace for a good part of the second mile but ended up slowing a little and finished at 6:10.

Temperature was about 81 degrees, a little humid but nearly as bad as the Dunedin Midnight 5k a couple weeks ago.

Third mile started feeling really slow but I gradually got back some of the pace I was losing and finished that mile at 6:30, then kicked it in at 6:00 pace for last 0.18. 

The 3 loop course had a good number of turns which I didn't do a great job with the tangents.

6:03, 6:10, 6:30, 0.18 @ 6:00

So, basically much faster and less fall apart at the end than the last couple of 5k's.  I felt a little bit stronger and more confident from the steady base work I've been doing

The other really nice bonus was the $20 prize money for 3rd place male.

7.32 mi, 1:06:12, 9:03 avg, HR 127 avg, 136 max, HRR 38

Cooler out this morning (from last night's rain) and earlier start made this a much easier feeling run.  It was also my fastest maf run so far with the pace slowly edging towards under 9:00 pace.  Today's conditions were similar to last week but with a small improvement.  Still need to keep at it.

Saw Andy, Thomas and the CC team heading out for their run while I was coming back.  Last night for their practice they included a 1 mile time trial at the track and Thomas ran his fastest mile ever - a 6:10.  I'm not sure if he's ever broken 7:00 before  He's been running with CC team since the start of summer putting in 20-25 miles (including swimming cross training).

AM - 9.14 mi, 1:30:42, 9:55 avg, HR 124 avg, 146 max

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood and out by the golf course.  I didn't get great sleep last night due to feeling wired after the race, but didn't wake up tired either.  Weather was pretty good again this morning, maybe about 75 or so.  I wore the heart rate monitor but wasn't really watching it carefully, just running a conversational pace.  8th mile HR was a little bit high.  After Jamie split off I did the last mile by myself and slowed down to get the HR back to 131.  For the most part it worked out that HR was where it needed to be.

PM - 3.68 mi, 36:23, 9:53 avg

Ran with the Striders for the "Hump Day Hustle" at Longleaf.  It was still well over 90 degrees so we ran in the neighborhood instead of on the bike trail.  Cynthia was there tonight so we ran together.  Joined up after the run at Johnny Brusco's for dinner.

10.51 mi, 1:42:32, 9:46 avg, HR 128 avg, 138 max HRR 31

Decided to not get up at 4:50 then driver to Longleaf to start running at 5:30, but started from home at 6:30 instead.  Stopped by tail end of Striders social hour and grabbed a small gatorade to take on the rest of the run then continued out another 2.7 miles to get out just over 5 miles before turning around.  Sun was starting to hit me on the way back but most of the run felt almost cool.

8.76 mi, 1:21:10, 9:16 avg

Ran from my house to the park with the path around the small lakes.  Was reasonably cool feeling when I left the house but pretty hot by the time I got back.  Back toward my house and then did 9 by 25 second strides with 50 second jogs in between.

(wore old Brooks Pureflow which i had retired from my shoe manager)

20.12 mi, 3:11:6, 9:30 avg, HR 131, 151 max

Ran from Longleaf to Starkey park, leaving at about 5:40 (few minutes late as usual).  Got in almost 7 miles when I got to the parking lot where I met up with Jamie who had driven there.  We did a little bit over 13 miles together.  Also ran some with Daisy and Anthony (about 3 miles with them).  Plan was to stick within 121-131 range which I pretty much did except for the last two miles where heart rate climbed steadily (had gotten pretty hot out by then).  I didn't want to slow down because I wanted the run to be over with and Jamie was my ride back and she needed to be home soon.  

Overall the run felt good except for when it started to drag on.  Temps were pretty nice starting out and the light fog inside the park almost gave the air a slight chill until the sun cleared it up.  No major wild life sightings today, just one rabbit.

AM - 10.75 mi, 1:40:04, 9:18 avg, HR 128 avg, 138 max

Nice, easy heart rate (121-131 goal) run from my house out to the Y and back in a slightly meandering path.  I left the house just before the boys drove to the Y to meet the CC team.  I passed them on my way back after stopping there for water and taking my gel.  I had 3 miles in a row under a 9:00 pace and felt pretty good overall.  The distance seemed to go by quickly.

Less than 49 miles to go to make 300 miles for the month!

PM - 2.52 mi, 20:30, 8:08 avg

Went to the Y.  After a short elliptical warm up and some weights (including leg extensions), I got on one of the treadmill that can go down to a 2% decline to do some "downhill".  Started out flat, then  went downhill for 10 minutes, then up for a couple of minutes, then downhill for the rest.  I'll add more later.  Ran some of it easy and some of it at goal marathon pace.

10.65 mi, 1:36:50, 9:05 avg, HR 128 avg, 137 max

Tuesday morning run with the Striders sat Longleaf.  As usual, I got there 5 minutes late, didn't really run with anyone but talked to some people at the water stop and then a little bit at the end.  There weren't very many of us today.  It was another reasonably nice morning weatherwise, summer in Florida is not so bad these days.  Stayed within heart rate range of 121-131 and ended up pretty consistent pace wise and ended up being one of my fastest heart rate runs.  I felt like I wanted to go faster and should have been able to but going to be patient a little longer.

I saw Andy and one of his CC team mates heading out when I was heading back.

I did the last two miles near my house and passed by Thomas out for his run.

10.12 mi, 1:27:53, 8:41 avg

Did 10x400m workout today.  Easy paced jog out to the park with the trail that goes around the ponds, one stride to get warmed up, then did 400m (0.25 mile markings on the trail), followed by 400m jog/recovery, goal was to run 1:25-1:30 for each one.

Splits: 1:29, 1:24, 1:27, 1:22, 1:23, 1:21, 1:22, 1:26, 1:24, 1:23

On the 9th one, one of my shoes came untied so I slowed down a little to try and not trip, otherwise it would have been just a little bit faster.  There was a little bit of a breeze but almost no cloud cover so was getting a bit sweaty feeling by the end of the run.

AM - 8.54 mi, 1:23:32, 9:47 avg, HR 115 avg, 138 max

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood and by the golf course, starting at 6:00.  Usually run at Longleaf with the Striders on Thursday at 5:30 but thought that 6:00 sounded a little better and this was probably the only chance for Jamie to run outside.  We were doing a conversational pace (but I wasn't looking at my pace and did not have the heart rate set up on the display), then we stopped at the drinking fountain.  I turned the heart rate display back on and saw my HR was below the 121-131 goal range, but was at 114.  So, sped up a little bit.  It's nice now that my heart rate actually says I'm doing an easy pace when I think I am.

Decided to not do all 10 miles this morning since I'm planning on doing at least two miles (maybe 3) on the treadmill at the Y tonight so I can practice some stead downhill running - longer than what I could do on any hill I could find around here.

PM - 3.04 mi, 24:08, 7:56 avg

Ran on the treadmill at the Y after 10 minute bike warmup and 3 sets of leg extensions.  Did two minutes warmup and then 20 minutes at -2% decline gradually going to 7:35 pace, followed by 1% incline at same pace, then 1 minute slow.  Hopefully this will help a little bit for the downhill at the Super Tunnel Marathon coming up on 8/21

11.01 mi, 1:51:31, 10:08 avg, HR 122 avg, 140 max

Ran the Suncoast Trail to the Upper Tampa Bay trail with Cynthia as well as with Ben for the first three miles.  This morning was the warmest morning all week but it didn't affect things too much at first but gradually dragged on things a little more.  Took it easy on the pace and for the first 7 miles my heart rate was on the low side.  Got a little bit out of range on the last mile but I didn't want to slow Cynthia down who was struggling mentally with the sun so I wanted to stay with her rather than dropping back.  Despite my heart rate rising that last mile I didn't feel like I was struggling.

16.34 mi, 2:26:27, 8:58 avg

Ran at Brooksville on the Suncoast trail starting near SR 50.  Ran south 1 mile, turned back and then grabbed my water belt and headed north for 7 miles, then turned around and came back.  Starting temperature was about 77 degrees and the humidity was up pretty high and partly cloudy so not direct sun the whole time but not shaded either.  Purposely took it easy for the over the first half and then started picking it up a little on the second half especially the last two miles which were 7:50 and 7:27.  Was a pretty tough run mentally because the easy pace didn't feel that easy but at least when I decided to go faster I could.

And now it looks like I've hit my July mileage goal of breaking 300 miles!