The Long Run

8.16 mi, 1:12:29, 8:53 avg

Started out from Longleaf a little after 7:00.  Had missed the 6:30 start but was hoping to intercept Daisy and Jamie as they were coming back.  Saw them at the corner of Alico Pass.  Talked them into running back to Diane's house so I could get a drink, then we all headed back to Longleaf.  Jamie and I finished up one more mile once we got back.

First run of the second half of the year, hoping to get another 1,000 miles for the second half, shouold be doable as I plan to pick up the mileage a little bit as NYC marathon training picks up steam.

After the run I had a frozen strawberry lemonade at Havana Dreamers - quite refreshing!

3.61 mi, 31:39, 8:46 avg

Sandwhich run, short window from getting back from Jessica's house, catching up on a few things at my house, getting in a run, before stopping back at her house and getting to work.  Not a bad run, just a little bit short on miles.

Today is Stella's birthday!

10.4 mi, 1:27:29, 8:24 avg

6:00 start was a little bit too early, but was hoping to catch Joe and Jamie as they finished their run to at least say hi.  Walked Stella and started running just after 7:00 but did not see them.  Then kept on going and ran over to Longleaf to meet up with the Strider's for the July 4th run which had started at 7:00.  Stopped and said hi and stashed my gatorade.  Marie said she had seen Thomas fly by her (said he ran so quietly she didn't hear him come from behind until he passed).

I ran up and turned around just past the bridge, saw Thomas coming back as I was heading north.  Stopped again on the way back to finish my gatorade and grabbed a second one from their cooler.  Talked to David J a little bit (hadn't seen him in quite a while - he'd been out first for prostate cancer, and then while ramping back up ran into some heel pain which won't go away).  Cynthia, Renee and several others were there also, tried not to stop too long.  Got going again and finished up the last 2.4 miles home.

More exhausted than I thought once I got home.  Couldn't believe I fit in more than 10 miles after yesterday's run made 6 miles seem far!

Weather was not so bad, about 75 degrees and nice when in the shade.

8.05 mi, 1:15:03, 9:20 avg

Ran with Jamie at 6:45.  Warm and humid this morning and legs were a bit tired but just moved along while chatting and run went by pretty quickly.  Right at 7 miles when splitting off from Jamie, then back home and ran with Stella for a bit to get to 8 miles.

5.25 mi, 46:22, 8:50 avg

Solo run in the neighborhood, a bit warm by the time I started - 82 degrees.

7.31 mi, 1:04:51, 8:52 avg

Ran with Joe in the neighborhood, about 5.5 miles before stopping back home to make sure I had a chance to see Jessica off to work. 

Went back out and walked Stella and then ran her about a mile.  Finished up by myself with a few Strides

6.5 mi, 56:12, 8:39 avg

Evening run in the neighborhood, solo.   Had flown back from Atlanta in the afternoon, getting back in at 7:30, then getting a ride back home from Jamie, and then went to Joe's house to retrieve Stella before heading back home.  Was able to start my run right about 9:00 pm.  As I was approaching Heritage Springs a deer ran across the sidewalk, coming out from behind some bushes.  If I had been just a little bit earlier it might have run right into me.  I looked around to make sure no more of its friends were with it.

Managed once again to get 40 miles this week.  Time to start thinking about NYC marathon training.

7.81 mi, 1:09:19, 8:52 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood for about 6 miles, then I continued the long way around the neighborhood back to my house, walked Sammy and Stella, and then ran Stella a little bit over a half mile.

The combination of temperature and humidity was just enough to not be miserable and was in "not so bad" territory instead.

11.12 mi, 1:34:13, 8:28 avg

After the dogs woke me up at 4:00, I decided to get a little extra sleep and slept until 6:15 and got going a little bit after 6:30.  I ran from my house to the Longleaf area, stopping near the little church and saying hi to some of the Striders who were mostly finishing up.  I stashed my gatorade and then headed north up the bike trail.  Anthony came up behind me and we ran together until just a little bit past the bridge then he turned back, finishing up his 11 miles.

Next, I ran into Corey and Diane at the corner near Aristide, chatted a bit, then Corey headed south.  I ran with Diane a bit into Aristide until I reached just over 5.5 miles.

On the way out of the neighborhood I picked up the pace to a 7:48, then a little faster to 6:54, then backed it down a bit to get back to where my gatorade was.  I saw one of the rabbits again, drank most of my gatorade and then headed home.  I did my final my at 7:21 pace.  Pretty happy to get some good miles in this morning. Tomorrow will be busy and I'll have to squeeze in what I can.  I'm picking up Tom from running camp at FSU.

Walked the dogs when I got home but did not run Stella today.

3.41 mi, 28:20, 8:18 avg

Had to get on the road this morning at 5:30, so I didn't run into after dinner.  I had to drive to FSU to pick up Thomas from running camp.  About 4 hours each way, pleasant drive except for the very end of the return trip, just a few miles from home a 45 minute traffic delay.  Dropped him off at Jenny's house then put in some time at work before heading back home to make dinner and eat with Andy.

So, evening run, neighborhood, short and sweet.  A bit of a cooler breeze tonight.  Felt good to stretch my legs after sitting a little more than usual.

5.06 mi, 46:29, 9:11 avg

Went to Longleaf for the Striders run.  I needed to be home by 6:30 so was keeping it short.  Ran with Keith for 4 miles, did another half mile by myself - hadn't run with Keith in quite a while.

Went home, made sure Andy was up, walked the dogs and ran Stella for a quick half mile run.

Left just after 7:00 for USF orientation with Andy, able to make it there on time.

1.03 mi, 10:56, 10:40 avg

Ran one mile instead of skipping my run.  Had to leave early for day 2 of USF orientation for Andy and was up too late between work and catching up on things.  Felt much better after doing this better than nothing run.

17.02 mi, 2:35:13, 9:07 avg

Ran with Joe, Jamie, Leah, and Daisy starting from Longleaf.  We first did about 3.1 miles in Longleaf before heading up the Starkey Blvd bike trail.  Weather felt almost cool but it was humid and as it warmed it, heat started getting to me a bit.

We stopped at Diane's house for a quick drink, then to the end of Alico Pass, turned around and continued north on Starkey Blvd again and into the park to the shelter area.  Someone had brought freeze pops which were most welcome and refreshing.

Headed back out from the park and back down Starkey.  With just under two miles to go I had a sudden urge to stop and walk for a bit which normally I ignore but this time ended up taking a short walk break.  Joe and Jamie went ahead which was good because I picked it up a little and kept them in my sights with my last mile at 8:15.

I had not planned on 17 miles, was thinking more like 13-14 miles, havent run much over 12 in quite some time, good to get back into the swing of things as far as mileage.

7.02 mi, 1:00:02, 8:33 avg

Ran in the neighborhood, was definitely feeling a bit sluggish, but after a 10:10 first mile stayed in the 8:xx's until the last mile which was about 7:50.  It was a little bit warm this morning but nothing like how it felt on Sunday.

I took some time to notice the good things around me like the birds and flowering plants and familiar faces of people out walking (most of whom I don't know their names but seem them out a lot).  I stopped at one of the fountains on the golf course despite the risk of getting yelled out.

Walked Stella when I got home but did not run her today.

Did some upper body work, mainly pull-ups and push-ups

9.27 mi, 1:13:11, 7:53 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, 5:30ish start time (more like 5:45, but better late than never)

After warm up ran 4x1km, 3:48, 3:46, 3:40, 3:49

I felt surprisingly faster than I thought I'd be on the first one, but by the last one I was really struggling to match the other ones, but it was a good leg wake up workout.

Ran easy for a bit and then picked it up for the last mile.

Last mile 6:54

6.52 mi, 59:18, 9:06 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.  My left heel was really tight at first and I was afraid I was not going to be able to keep up but was fine after about 3/4 mile. Warm again but not terrible.

3.6 mi, 34:29, 9:34 avg

Evening run, about 8:00 pm at Camp Coleman in North Georgia.  Jessica had the day off so Aubrey, her, and I had lunch in town, did a one hour float trip down the Chattahoochee River, with stop at the water slides, and then grabbed dinner on the way back to camp. Aubrey went off to evening actitivies and Jessica had to work a few hours in the infirmary so I did a few loops around the lake with a couple small detours (one loop was supposed to be 0.75 miles but I did a little bit of "exploring" aka getting lost).

3.43 mi, 31:12, 9:06 avg

Just a quick run this morning.  First 1.2 miles was with Stella and then I did the rest by myself.  I did not start very early so it had gotten pretty hot by the time I started.  

4.27 mi, 34:07, 8:00 avg

Started my run with Stella, about 1.4 miles (we ran a little bit past the gate, back to the house but slightly past it).  I wasn't going to have time for a lot so I threw in a few fast quarters to stay out of a slow rut.

quarters were: 1:33, 1:30, 1:25, 1:22

Easy quarter mile jog between the repeats.

6.7 mi, 57:52, 8:38 avg

Finally was able to get out of bed early enough to get in more than 3 or 4 miles.  Was rewarded with less oppressive air which actually felt kind of nice.  I started out at a pace I could manage and was running faster after a couple of miles.  Ran out and back from my house, past the golf course, down Trinity Blvd, to Trinity Oaks neighborhood.  On the way out I did not have to stop at the traffic light, but did on the way back so it was almost a completely non-stop run.

Yesterday was our one month anniversary.  I took her out to eat at Zim Zari's (a good place to share a plate of fajitas - although this time it was taco tuesday), and she bought me some flowers.

7.29 mi, 1:04:38, 8:52 avg

Got started about 7:45, ran out and back from my house to Duck Slough to Corporate and took a right on some unnamed street until the end and turned back, ran back home for 4.6 miles.

Walked Sammy and Stella and then took Stella for about 1.5 miles at 9:00 average.  Then ran a little more by myself to get over 7 miles for the day.

4.25 mi, 36:41, 8:38 avg

3.1 miles around the neighborhood by myself, and then 1.1 miles with Stella.  It was a pretty good run.

Happy Friday!

15.25 mi, 2:10:30, 8:33 avg

Started from Longleaf about 7:50 am.  Was originally going to start at 6:30 with Joe but didn't wake up until almost 7:00.  Still determined to get enough miles to get over 40 for the week.

Felt prett good starting out and was quickly in the 8:00-8:59 range.  Stopped at the shelter in Starkey Park for a gatorade top off then continued on the bike path until just past the power lines. It was getting warmer and feeling the heat but able to hold my pace.

Got a little bit faster the last three miles, with last mile about 7:50.

7.09 mi, 58:55, 8:18 avg

Some easy miles in the light rain.  Looped around the neighborhood, out past the golf course to Trinity Blvd on the grassy shoulder for a bit, then down a side street before turning around home.  Picked up the pace, 7:47, 7:40, and 7:10 for last half mile.  

Walked Stella and then ran her for a little bit (just over half a mile and enough to get me over 7 for the morning).

For the month of July I stayed on track for 2,000 miles.  Starting to seriously think about a plan for NYC marathon.

I cooked dinner for Jessica and Aubrey last night and Aubrey walked Stella to one of the parks (about 0.7 miles), Stella listened really well to Aubrey despite being 10 pounds heavier.  She had wanted to see Sammy but I had just taken him back to Jenny's house since they were back from their Texas trip to see her dad (he hasn't been doing well but the visit really helped perk him up and the boys were very mature and helpful).