The Long Run

6.69 mi. 56:43, 8:28 avg, elev gain 187 feet

Did a short loop in Westlake Village and then out and back to Conservation Park via Eniswood neighborhood.  Run was pretty good, grateful for the nice cold water fountain they have at the park.

9.4 mi, 1:27:54, 9:21 avg, elev gain 359 feet

Ran 4 loops in Westlake Village.  Got a pretty early start today, 6:23 am.  Jenny and Tom came down to run some loops.  I ran two loops with Jenny while Tom ran in the opposite direction.  Ran the next two loops by myself.

Afterward, we had some donuts that Jenny brought.   It was a pretty fun morning.  Dropped of Sophia at the temple for volunteer work before I headed to work.

6.62 mi,56:10, 8:29 avg

Slept in a little bit more than usual because it was a day off.  Ran from my house down the new trail out and back past Lake Dan.  Had a little bit of a pickup the last couple of miles after a reasonably slower start.

10.15 mi, 1:26:49, 8:33 avg, elev gain 359 feet

More loops in Westlake Village.  This time I did a slightly longer loop, roughly in the shape of Texas.  3 full loops and then an out and back to the clubhouse.  That final out and back felt kind of rough as the heat was getting to me, but at least there were some clouds.

In the evening took Jessica, Aubrey, and Sophia to dinner at Whiskey Joe's in Port Richey for her birthday.  Saw Evan there and said hi.  Looking out on the water, we could see a couple of dolphins as they surfaced a few times.

No official fireworks displays, but on the drive back to the house there were a good amount of private displays that we could see all along either side of US19.  There were also plenty of fireworks in Westlake Village and surrounding neighborhoods as well.

3.15 mi, 29:06, 9:14 avg, HR 145 bpm

Short run, just one loop and a little more in Westlake Village. I've been ignoring my heart rate for some time now while running the "fooling myself this is my easy pace" runs.  I wore it today  finally, end result was not good, reported VO2 max of 44.  Last I could remember it was about 50-52.

I looked back over history and saw a peak of 52 in March, a low of 49, and just a couple weeks ago on June 20 a value of 51

This morning was particularly a little hotter and humid. In fact, stepping outside felt like hitting a wall of discomfort.  I've gotten used to running on warmish and humid mornings but this was a notch above this morning.

5.18 mi, 57:09, 11:01 avg, HR 130 bpm

Decided to go back to basics today and run closer to where I should be for heart rate.  Stuck by it for the first three miles and got a little bit above for last two with mile 5 at 135 bpm (instead of 127 where I should try to be).

Out and back from my house to just past Lake Dan

VO2 max same as yesterday, 44

4.38 mi, 38:21, 8:45 avg, elev gain 192 feet, HR 138 bpm

Did three of the short loops (1.25 mi)  in Westlake Village, miles 2 and 3 were a little slower than mile 1 on purpose - wanted to get into a groove and then back off, and then finally mile 4 was about the same pace as the first mile.

VO2 max up 1 point to 45 (good to know not stuck at new low of 44)

3.25 mi, 27:49, 8:34 avg, elev gain 246 feet

One quick loop through Westlake Village, and then a little bit farther out and back into a second loop so I'd at least get over 3 miles.  Vo2 max up one more point to 46.  Slowly coming back up.

8.7 mi, 1:20:16, 9:13 avg, HR 144 bpm

One loop inside Foxwood (1.7 miles about), then down the new trail, past Lake Dan until reaching Keystone Rd.  This was much longer than yesterday and at an overall slower pace.  4th mile was the slowest where I went slow enough to keep my heart rate at 127, which turned out to be an 11:16 pace (after running the previous 3 miles around a 9:15 average pace).  After the slower mile went back to 9:15 pace, then a couple miles fater than 9:00 with final mile very close to 9:00 (9:02).

Vo2 max at 47 today

11.76 mi, 1:53:53, 9:41 avg, elev gain 182 feet, HR 152 bpm

Start time: 8:54 am

This was a very hot run.  Wanted a long run or at least a longish run but no set distance, just anything at least 10 miles.  For variety I started at Anderson Park.  For a warmup, I ran up the hill towards shelters 2 and 3 and back down to where I parked, then left the park going north on 19.  Ran to Keystone Rd and crossed over at Jasmine Road to the wide sidewalk which soon merged up with the East/West portion of the Pinellas Trail.  Not much shade here, and for a while no breeze.

Forecast called for some rain, so I was hoping for a light sprinkling, but it wasn't  happening.

Just past mile 4, I reached the (warm) water fountain at the corner of East Lake and Keystone, topped off on water and headed north to a little bit past Trinity Blvd.  Found a tree shaded parking lot to stop and cool down.  I had been running paces between 9:11 and 9:21, except for mile 4 which was 11:13 because I walked some of it while taking a phone call.  After the turnaround, I had three miles over 10 minute pace, before picking back up a little for the last two miles.  Reached my car and cooled down with the ice I had brought and some big gulps of the cold gatorade I had been dreaming about.  Then reapeated up and down the hill that I had warmed up with.

As I was leaving, some people getting into a car near me were giving me some strange looks, was wondering why.  As I started to pull out, one of the guys came toward my car.  I had left my hat on top of my car and it fell off.  Glad they told me, it was maybe my second favorite hat.

5.0 mi, 40:14, 8:02 avg, elev gain 220 feet, HR 157 bpm

Shorter Monday morning run (but not too short).  Two loops around inside Westlake Village and a little more up and down the street to get to 5 miles.  8:55 first mile, 7:06 last mile with a steady push trying to get the heart rate up.

Reported vo2 max at 49 today, up 2 from Saturday

7.85 mi, 1:09:11, 8:49 avg (no HR data today, strap not working)

Was going to do a much slower paced run today (but not too slow), with a goal to average between 9:10 and 9:20.  Ran from my house, south down the new trail until Keystone Road, kept on going to where the trail crosses the road, but turned back there instead.  First 4 miles were very steady - 9:07, 9:07, 9:02, and 9:02 - although all sligthly faster than goal.

Pace picked up a little while not watching it and finally decided to keep the trend going.  So, instead of the 9:10 to 9:20 goal it ended up being 8:49 but at least the first half was relatively close to the goal.

It felt overall like a pretty controlled run.

6.24 mi, 51:06, 8:11 avg, elev gain 326 feet, HR 154 bpm

2 loops (not the same each time) and a little bit of up and down the street for just over 6 miles inside Westlake Village.

Vo2 max one more notch up to 50, pretty much back to the range I was in during the spring up to June 20th.

7.06 mi, 1:04:47, 9:10 avg, elev gain 285 feet, HR 144 bpm

Eased back on the pace a little bit today.  Ran the short 1.25 mile loop several times in a row, then made a bigger loop by venturing out of the neighborhood (through the cut through past the Y), and back inside via Westlake Blvd south entrance and finished up with a little up and down the street near the house to get over 7 miles.

Vo2 max holding steady at 50 despite the slower run (but with slower heart rate as well)

6.35 mi, 57:26, 9:03 avg 

Friday Lake Dan run, slightly faster than yesterday's pace and no hills so pretty much a similar effort.

Temperature 80 degrees and mostly clear but did not feel horrible, some breeze

12.03 mi, 1:45:11, 8:44 avg, elev gain 295 feet, HR 154 bpm

Long run in Palm Harbor/Tarpon Springs, started just after 8:00am.  A good part of the route was shaded, the non-shade section was at the start so got that out of the way first.

Did a little warm up loop around Park Ct so I could run hands-free for a few minutes, then headed out onto Alderman, up Belcher Road to Klosterman and kept on going until turning left onto Curlew Place and over to the Pinellas Trail. Ran a very short distance going north to get to the drinking fountain (non-chilled) on the trail near the entrance to the hospital.

Headed south, with a quick stop in Conservation Park to get some of the nice chilled water from the fountain.  Back onto the trail and south until almost in downtown Palm Harbor, then back towards Westlake via Pennsylvania Ave.  Instead of going straight back to the house ran the partial loop of Sandy Hook to Village Way back to Lakeview so I'd be able to get 12 miles.

This run felt better than last weeks almost 12 mile run.  

5.16 mi, 43:16, 8:23 avg, elev gain 225 feet, HR 147 bpm

2+ loops inside Westlake Village.  I felt sluggish starting out but otherwise not bad and no dead legs feeling.  So, the first mile was a little bit slower but I made up for it eventually with a pickup at the end.

Reward today was one more notch up on vo2 max to 51

7.35 mi, 1:06:23, 9:02 avg, HR 147 bpm

Ran from my house down the trail past Lake Dan until Keystone Rd and then maybe about 0.2 miles on Keystone before turning around.  9:25 first mile and 8:44 last mile. Other miles were right around 9:00 pace.

7.53 mi, 1:00:38, 8:03 avg, elev gain 285 feet, HR 158 bpm

Ran a few loops through Westlake Village, each one similar but slightly different from the others.  Was pushing it a bit more on the last full mile, down to 7:22, and then just a little bit faster for last half mile.

6.67 mi, 59:28, 8:55 avg, HR 143 bpm

Ran in Palm Harbor but didn't want to do a lot of loops or a big out and back.  So, instead I did one short loop inside the neighborhood (1.25 miles), then headed onto Alderman and up Belcher before turning back just after the school, then west on Alderman until almost at Alt 19, then back to Westlake Village and finished with the loop I started with.

First mile was about 8:40, next three miles I ran progressively slower trying to keep the heart rate down.  On the final return and finish loop started to pick the pace back up doing the final 0.63 at a 7:18 pace.

4.43 mi, 36:58, 8:20 avg

Quick shorter run from my house to just past Lake Dan and then back.  First three miles were somewhat easy pace with the remainder about a 7:30ish

6.27 mi, 55:03, 8:47 avg, 148 bpm

Similar to yesterday's run, but a little bit farther and was 8:47 pace rather than 8:20, so not so much like yesterday's run except maybe the route.

This was supposed to be my long run day but as has happened a lot did not get a very early start.  This time, I couldn't just suffer through the late morning or early afternoon heat.

Tom's graduation was today at 11:00 am (after having the time and place moved a few times).

All things considered it was a nice ceremony.  They had groups of three chairs (graduate and two guests), six feet of space in either direction, out doors (football/track field).

After graduation, I installed the new kitchen faucet to replace the old leaking and falling apart, now I just need to fix the rot from the water.

But, overall it was a good day.

2.45 mi, 20:58, 8:33 avg, elev gain 109 feet

I had an early morning conference call that lasted a few hours which fortunately counted for work from home hours.  After lunch I ran one loop inside Westlake Village to make sure this was not a goose egg for the day.  But, it was a pretty nice run.

6.33 mi, 56:50, 8:58 avg

I did not need to do the early morning call so I slept in a little bit, drove up to my house and did the Lake Dan trail run, out just past that house sitting by itself before you reach Keystone Road.

I could not find my heart rate monitor strap so no HR data.

This was a pretty good run.

3.33 mi, 28:10, 8:27 avg, HR 149 bpm

Another early morning long conference call where I rolled out of bed and started my work day.  Went into the office for a bit in the afternoon and then did my run once I got home.

I walked a little bit with Jessica, and then ran 3 loops of about 1 mile each.  New loops, partially through the Westlake Park and finishing on Park Ct.  I wanted to stop at the end of each loop because I've started to get into that habit but these were such short loops I resisted the urge.

Another low mileage day but better than nothing as well as variety in time of day and route.

5.41 mi, 46:02, 8:30 avg, HR 153 bpm, elev gain 250 feet

Similar work and run pattern to yesterday.  Went back to doing the longer loops covering most of the neighborhood, so just two loops to get 5ish miles.

6.34 mi, 1:03:04, 9:57 avg, HR 152 bpm

Friday Lake Dan run but it wasn't as relaxing as usual, a bit frustrating with heart rate running like I was doing about an 8:30 pace.  I guess the week caught up to me with the mixed up schedule.  It'll get better.