The Long Run

6.72 mi, 59:00, 8:47 avg, HR 149 bpm

2.21 mi, 20:30, 9:15 avg, HR 158 bpm

5x1k workout with goal of 4:16 (6:51 pace) per repeat.

Ran on Starkey Blvd from Longleaf, warmed up for 2 miles, then started repeats from the bridge, leaving my drink bottle there so I didn't have to carry it while I ran.  Thinking back to my past these times should have been easy, but today I had to put some work into it, but no way was I going to to not do the job.

Splits: 4:12, 4:09, 4:12, 4:09, 4:06

When I stopped to get my drink bottle, accidentally saved the run so had to hit start again to finish the cool down, so this showed up as two runs. 

6.83 mi, 1:12:45, 10:39 avg, HR 119 bpm

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood (Foxwood).  It was just slightly cooler but I think the humidity was lower also.  After the regular running part, finished up with 6x100m strides.  Heart rate was surprisingly good today.  Maybe due to combination of: 1) running with someone else, 2) run/walk, 3)lower temperature and humidity.

Tom and Jenny had run here earlier so there were some donuts left over but none of Andy's coffee.  I'll have to ask him to save some for me next time.

19.13 mi, 3:04:35, 9:39 avg, HR 145 bpm

Started out solo from my house, heading over to Longleaf where I met up with Jamie and Cynthia so I could run a few miles with them.

Next, we headed up Starkey Blvd (saw Tom as he was returning from his run) and then into the park and over to the shelter where we talked to some of the Striders and I got the last gatorade.  As we headed down the side trail to the shelter I noted my mileage of 7.3.  Since I wasn't going to take the detour on the way back I'd have to go out a little more than 9 miles to get 18 miles total.

Said goodbye to Jamie and Cynthia and headed further into the park.  My math was a bit off.  I think I went out to about 9.8 miles which would end up making my run too long.  Picked up the pace a little bit.  Weather was getting warmer and I was looking forward to an ice cold drink from Circle K.  Arrived there at 17.3 miles total.  Went inside and got my favorite mix of Powerade topped off with a little Mountain Dew Voltage.

Made it home ok, a little over a mile more than planned for the total run, not too far off from a 20 mile run which I'll do soon.

6.52 mi, 1:00:43, 9:18 avg, elev gain 185 feet (no HR data)

Today's run was 6 miles easy followed by 6x100m strides.  I did not have the heart rate strap with me today so no data.  Ran in Westlake Village, out the southern entrance, then west along Nebraska and Penn. Ave. until going north for a little bit onto Omaha and then reversing the route back.

Did the strides on Lakeview down at the bottom of the little hill.

7.12 mi, 1:10:47, 9:56 avg, HR 126 bpm

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.   Was going along with Jamie's 5/1 run/walk.  When we got back to my house (but I still had 1.7 miles to go), stopped and had an Ice Pop with Joe (Jamie had a water).  Really hit the spot.  Then I did one loop around the neighborhood in order to get 7 miles for the day as per Tom's training schedule.

Very happy with heart rate today, maybe it was just slightly cooler out this morning or something.

10.24 mi, 1:33:39, 9:08 avg, HR 137 bpm

Left from my house and met up with Joe at the back gate of Foxwood.  Only one harder run this week, and this was it.  

Running along 54, it started to rain.  We briefly stopped in Havana Dreamer's so Joe could grab some water.  The rain had stopped and now it was not so oppressive feeling.  Ran up Starkey and a little into Alico Pass until I was about 5 miles into the run then headed back.

At the 6 mile point I tried to shift into the next gear and go a little bit faster than 8:00 (schedule called for 7:57).  But I felt stuck, it was like the speedometer was stuck between 8:15 and 8:20.  So, a half mile in I said I was stopping.  Regrouped mentally, got going again and was able to get under 8:00.  Joe told me to go ahead.

Got back home and went just a little bit farther to make up for the start/stop/start (last mile was a bit too fast).  7:51, 7:32, 7:27, 7:19

I'll try to keep it more even next time but didn't want to risk slipping off my pace this time.

7.26 mi, 1:13:49, 10:10 avg, elev gain 131 feet, HR 138 bpm

Easy paced out and back run from Westlake Village, over to the Pinellas Trail and then north until about the park near the reclaimed water place.  Did a pretty good job keeping heart rate in control without going too, too, slow.

6.62 mi, 1:04:20, 9:42 avg, HR 142 bpm

Mostly relaxed run out and back from Foxwood to the Lake Dan trail, gradually increasing pace. A bit warm out this morning.

Finished up with 6x100m up and down the street near my house.

12.38 mi, 2:14:59, 10:45 avg, HR 134 bpm

A shorter long run than the last few long runs.  Met up with Cynthia about 7:30 at Longleaf.  This was going to be a hot and humid run.  Several people were finishing their runs as we were starting.  Saw Tom finishing up his run.

We were on a pretty easy pace.  About 4 miles into it and Cynthia said we could run/walk on the way back.  Figured it was a good time to start now, so she started tracking the 4 minutes of running and time to walk.  We made it to the side trail to the shelter area (at about 5.1 miles), so I said I'd run out until 6 and she could hang out at the shelter.

Fortunately, there were still a couple of cold bottles of gatorade which I gladly accepted one of.  Headed back out.  At about 10 miles, I went ahead and picked up the pace a little bit.

While waiting for Cynthia I went into Trinity Cyclery and bought a packet of Recoverite and then bought a fountain drink next door to get some ice and water for my bottle and also a root beer.

Stuck around long enough to see Cynthia get back ok, then headed home and cooled down in the pool for a little bit.

8.78 mi,  1:36:17, 10:57 avg, elev gain 228 feet, HR 143 bpm

8ish easy miles plus 6x100m strides at the end.  Headed south out of Westlake Village and over to the Pinellas Trail, then south until Curlew Road.  Was trying to keep it easy and relaxed but heart rate up a little bit higher than I wanted.  When I got to Curlew Road I thought I'd go into Publix to see if they had a water fountain.  Did not see one so just used the one outside on the trail near the street corner.

8.17 mi, 1:09:07, 8:27 avg, HR 151 bpm

4 mi tempo run with 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down.  Ran on the trail next to Lake Dan preserve.  Goal was 7:36 pace.

Able to hit each of my splits (7:26, 7:22, 7:19, 7:16) and slightly faster but also resisted thinking I should run them much faster.  It was challenging as-is.  Run was pretty good overall.

9.07 mi, 1:32:13, 10:10 avg, elev gain 192 feet, HR 131 bpm

Out and back run, from Westlake Village to Conservation Park just north of Wall Springs Park.  Took Pennsylvania Ave over to Pinellas Trail and headed north.  Shortly after getting on the trail saw a streak of lightning ahead with an almost immediate boom.  Got off the trail and found some shelter outside someone's garage.  Waited for a minute, didn't see anything else and it seemed to be passing.  Made it up to the park, rain started coming down steady for a little bit and then stopped.  The air cooled down a bit.  Waited a little bit, got going again.  

Made it to the underpass where a couple of cyclists were hanging out, thought about stopping again.  Got to Wall Springs.  More lightning, so found some shelter and waited for a bit.  It finally seemed to pass, so kept going and eventually made it back home.  

It was a little bit more excitement than I wanted!

9.48 mi, 1:24:07, 8:52 avg, (no heart rate strap today)

8x800m workout with 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down.  2 minute rest/jog between repeats.  Goal of 3:25 (6:50 pace).

Ran from my house to the new trail near Lake Dan preserve, warming up for 2 miles.

Ran two repeats going south, two heading back north, and then repeated for a total of 8.  Did this so I could grab a sip of gatorade if needed.  Was able to make them all within goal but not much faster (which is ok), splits ranged from 3:18 to 3:23

It's been a while since I've done 8 of anything  (last thing I can remember was doing 8 (or more) 400's while training for Jacksonville Marathon.

Got the job done today.

7.46 mi, 1:16:32, 10:15 avg, HR 127 bpm

Rainy morning run from my house out onto the trail next to Lake Dan preserve, then back the way I came.  Finished up on the street near my house with 6x100m strides.

Good morning run, happy with heart rate.

18.19 mi, 2:51:43 , 9:26:41

Long run and first Beer Mile

I had 18 miles scheduled and Escape Brewery was having their first ever beer mile which was at 9:00 am.  So, I made an adventure out of it.  Left the house in Palm Harbor at 5:50 am, heading north on Belcher until Klosterman, then over to US 19.  This was probably the worst part of the run but it wasn't that bad.  Traffic was still light and the sidewalk is set back pretty far from the road.  But some of the sidewalk was uneven and there were lots of parking lots to cross where someone might not have seen me although I was wearing a headlamp and green safety vest.

Also, mindful of my time, I did start out easy but slowly worked my way toward a 9:30 pace.  

Turning east onto Keystone Road, there were hints of light.  The sidewalk is extra wide and then I was on the Pinellas Trail which was even nicer.  Crossed over East Lake with no problems, and soon I was turning north onto the new trail along Lake Dan preserve.  Felt like I was almost home.

I swung by Escape to make sure race was at 9:00 and not 8:30.  Still had 2.5 more miles to do so stopped by my house to grab a gatorade, did a loop in the neighborhood and then back to Escape.

Got my bib, waited a little, warmed up a bit.  The race was very, very casual.  Original plan was for 4 laps around the little strip plaza but they couldn't do that for some reason, so they changed it to 8 laps in the front parking lot.  They had a table set up with little dixie cups of beer (those little 3oz ones, filled maybe 2/3 so about 2 ounces or maybe a little less).

I ran a little faster than expected, about a 7:31 pace, not bad for making 9 stops.  When I finished the 8th lap my garmin said 0.89.  I asked the guy in charge if I should do one more lap, he said if  I wanted to.  I might have won the race but no one was keeping time or places, it was all for fun.  I think there were about 25 of us.

We each got three tokens good for $1 off.

After the race, it started to rain heavily.  Earlier in the morning there were some light sprinkles.  The rain had held off.

Headed back home, showered and then got a ride from Andy back to Palm Harbor and we also grabbed lunch at Grain and Berry.   So, it was a pretty fun morning.

7.69 mi, 1:17:51, 10:07 avg, HR 127 bpm

Easy run day, 7 miles (supposed to do 8 but running late so compromised a little).  Out and back from Foxwood to Lake Dan preserve trail.  Peaceful run with good heart rate.

10.41 mi, 1:27:49, 8:26 avg, HR 153 bpm

The workout of the day is 3x2 mile repeats with goal pace of 7:25, plus two wam up and cool down miles.  2 minute jog/rest breaks between sets, so not a full recovery but not a straight 6 miles either.

Used the Lake Dan path.  It's about two miles from where it crosses the golf course down to Keystone Road, so a nice and quiet stretch.  I would do the first repeat going south, do my rest break on Keystone, then back north for the second repeat.  With the third repeat a 1 mile out and 1 mile back.  I could keep my drink bottle on the fence so I didn't have to carry it.

Repeats: 7:22, 7:19, then 7:13, 7:13, and finally 7:11, 7:04 for the last set

It was a little bit faster than goal with the last repeat maybe being a bit too fast but I didn't want to risk slowing down too much once I was on pace.  But I also did resist pushing the pace even farther.  I need to train where I'm at if I want to get back to the faster paces.

9.09 mi, 1:31:59, 10:07 avg, elev gain 221 feet, HR 134 bpm

Ran a big loop north of Westlake Village, up Belcher to Klosterman, back down the Pinellas trail, then back on Alderman with a short loop in the neighborhood to get the last mile.  Kept it fairly easy with heart rate not too far off from MAF.  This Wednesday run was much less scary than last Wednesday's run.

8.08 mi, 1:22:29, 10:12 avg, elev gain 189 feet, HR 138 bpm

Another easy paced run, getting in some miles for the week.  South through Westlake, a tiny bit on Nebraska, then took Georgia Ave over to the Pinellas Trail, south a little for 4 miles out, then turned around and came back.  Was pretty even for pace, with last two miles in the 9:00's instead of 10:00's

7.56 mi, 1:13:04, 9:39 avg, HR 137 bpm

Easy run from Foxwood to the trail along Lake Dan preserve, down to Keystone Road and then back the way I came.  Finished up with 6x100m strides using the mysterious 100 meter marking on my street (with 50m half way marking).

Lake Dan has filled up from the rain, and a channel of water I had not noticed before extends to the trail, then forms a little whirlpool going into a pipe under the path and then over to the other side where a stork and a white egret were fishing.

No run today - moving it to tomorrow.

Went to watch Tom and Jacob run in the cross country meet in Lakeland at Holloway Park.  They both ran this one last year - the Jim Ryun Invitational.  Last year it was Tom's second meet of the season, after having run a small "quad" meet at Gulf HS where he did well but was a bit pale looking at the end.  But, at Jim Ryun 2018, he collapsed during the homestretch, was able to get back up and finish the race but not feeling well at all.

This year was a different story.  New cross country PR of 17:57, much more relaxed before the race, and then did a 3 mile cool down after the race.

Due to some injuries on his team, Jacob's coach put him with Varsity (good thing especially since it heats up by the time JV boys get to run).

Jacob finished his race with 22:29 (a course PR by about 1 minute 30 seconds).

Good day for both Tom and Jacob.

16.12 mi, 2:33:44, 9:32 avg, HR 138 bpm

Doing my Saturday long run on Sunday because of yesterday's cross country meet.  So, Friday will be my day off and I'll take a little bit easier on Monday and hopefully be ok with the schedule switch.

Ran 10 miles at easy pace with Cynthia, starting from Longleaf, heading up Starkey Blvd, into the park a little bit and then turning around back the way we came.  Actually, at 4.5 miles, Cynthia stopped for a bit while I ran out to 5 miles, turned back and joined back up.  She only wanted to do 9 miles and wanted to finish a little stronger.  For the 10th mile, went a little bit faster so I'd be ready to transition into the 7:50ish pace after having run in the 10:00's for the  first 9 miles.

Although we had gotten an earlier start, it was getting later now and I was a little worried about the last 6 miles.

First two miles were a little tough and just at the slow end of what I wanted (7:56 and 7:55), but I slowly got a little faster and did better at the next 4 miles - 7:49, 7:44, 7:49, and 7:30.

7.1 mi, 1:10:24, 9:55 avg, elev gain 218 feet, HR 135 bpm

Westlake Village run, looping south through the neighborhood, out onto Nebraska and Pennsylvania Ave and curving up Alt 19 for a bit, then heading back.  Not quite slow enough for a heart rate run but not too far off so I can call this one easy.

I've got a big run coming up this weekend!

9.06 mi, 1:17:07, 8:31 avg, elev gain 158 feet, HR 151 bpm

Tempo run with 2 mile warmup, then 5@7:39 pace, followed by two mile cooldown.  I'd offered to take Jacob to school so started early enough to be back by 8:00.  Headed out from Westlake Village, then Alderman over to the Pinellas trail (cut the warm up slightly and made it up on the cool down once I realized I would be back in time).

Trouble getting going but then felt pretty good and made decent splits with the last two miles a bit faster: 7:37, 7:26, 7:29, 7:18, 7:12

From Crystal Beach Ave to Klosterman it's almost exactly 2.5 miles (had to go just a little bit onto Klosterman).  If I needed to go longer I could start a little south of Crystal Beach Ave because that road isn't all that busy.

Got back to the house in time.

3.12 mi, 31:02, 9:56 avg, HR 130 bpm

Ran up and down the street in front of my house while waiting for roof guy to finish up, then did one loop around the neighborhood.  This was a cut back from today's planned mileage of 9 miles but I'll make up for it this weekend with the PTC (46 miles).

8.99 mi, 1:21:30, 9:04 avg, HR 156 bpm

Today's workout was supposed to be 6x1k @4:16 (6:51 pace), with 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down, 2:30 between repeats.

I started out a little bit too late and it had gotten a bit too hot out for speed work.  I did the first 4 ok with the last one maybe a second too slow.  But then I felt way too beat up and overheated and decided it wasn't worth it.  I had the workout preprogrammed into my watch so when the 5th one beeped to start I did pick it up a little and went faster than if I had really quite.  For the 6th one I went a little bit faster so it was at least in the ballpark of my goal.

Splits: 4:05, 4:11, 4:13, 4:17, 4:46, 4:22

In retrospect, maybe it wasn't the heat but the first two, or a combination of both.

Did the repeats on the Lake Dan preserve trail, going out and back so I could grab my drink bottle on the jogs if needed.

6.72 mi, 1:09:22, 10:19 avg, elev gain 209 feet, HR 131 bpm

Easy run starting in Westlake Village, out the south entrance, then onto PA Ave, and up Omaha until reaching 3ish miles before turning back.  Then ran 6x100m on Lakeview Dr on a relatively flat stretch.  Today's run was 1 mile shorter due to big run tomorrow - 46 miles on the Pinellas Trail.

46 mi, 10:34:39, 13:48 avg, elev gain 552 feet, HR 135 bpm

Quick summary.

Joe and I

Plan was to go out easy, do run/walk with Joe at 4/1 and settle into splits around 11:30 pace with the walk breaks.  Rode down with Joe to his brother's house and then got dropped off at the start line area.  Race starts at 6:30.  It was a pretty good sized crowd considering the uncertainty from Hurrican Dorian, although by this time it was moving very slowly and would not likely direct hit Tampa, but still nothing was really certain.  Additionally, they had to reroute the course which normally runs the entire length of the Pinellas Trail from downtown St. Pete to John Chestnut Park in Palm Harbor.  However, John Chestnut Park was going to be used for sandbag distribution.  So, the plan was to turn around at the Tarpon Tavern in Tarpon Springs, and run back to Weaver Park in Dunedin, still a length of 46 miles.

So, the first couple of miles were slower than 12:00 pace, it already felt hot and humid with still air.  After about 5 miles we started running with a guy who somehow realized that I was the guy who's race reports I had read.   He knew all about how Joe dropped out after 26 miles the first year, went and had lunch and then later met me along the way for support and at the finish line. He said he and his wife had even nicknamed Joe "fish and chips"

Joe, Tom, and I

Sometime after we crossed the long pedestrian bridge going over Long Bayou, and then passing the St Pete/Madeira Beach with those log cabin looking cottages we started running with a guy named Tom.  I told him we were doing 4/1 and he was good with that.  Nice to have another person along.  I forgot to mention (and almost needless to say), it was pretty hot out already.   The first few miles were warm and humid with very still air.  There was a short time when it was just warm and the air was less still, but soon the temps climbed some more.

We got to an aid station where I loaded up my bandana with ice (that Joe's sister-in-law had loaned me).  I instantly felt good again (it lasted until a little after the ice melted).  I would reload the bandana several times throughout the race.  This is a free race, but there are a good number of aid stations, all with helpful and enthusiastic volunteers.

We continued on.  I remember texting Jessica when I was at mile 16, she was going to try and meet me around mile 26.

Around mile 22, in Clearwater, was the aid station with our drop bags.  I had a muscle milk and a Reign energy drink. They also had ice pops there which always help.  I went out of the aid station first, needed to keep moving.  Joe and Tom soon caught up with me.

We made it to Dunedin at "the Boxcar".  Joe's wife DeeDee was there and Joe stopped to change his shoes and take a break.

A little bit farther north was Weaver Park, where the race would finish after doing the 10 mile north to Tarpon Tavern and then back.  Andy Matthews and his wife had a table set up with some refreshments.  Between the bigger aid stations were several of these smaller ones, always nice surprises.

Jessica was outside Weaver Park also (same place she saw me in 2014), she had a bag with some snacks and drinks including a V-8 Energy.

Cassidy, The Marine, Tom, and I

After Weaver Park it was just Tom and I. But, we kept on catching up to and passing a guy and a 20 something woman running together.  The guy looked like a Marine and that he spent a lot of time in the gym.  The guy's name was Gabriel (a former marine) and the woman was Cassidy.  She had a bluetooth speaker clipped to her belt.  She invited Tom and I to join them.  They were running 2/2, which I didn't mind switching to. It was a nice break and overall we were actually averaging about the same.  It was also nice that she was the one calling out the walk breaks so that was also a nice break.   It wasn't that far past Weaver Park that we saw the first place guy.  He looked a bit bedraggled so we thought he was dropping out, but no, he was actually finishing, running a 7:57 pace for 46 miles on a hot Florida day.

Thune, Tom, and I 

There's a good sized aid station in downtown Palm Harbor.  Gabriel needed to sit down (he'd only ever run 3 miles at a time except for one marathon while in the marines a long time ago).  I loaded up my camelback, my ice bandana, my drink bottle.  Had several slices of watermelon with the last slice dipped in salt.  Left the aid station without Gabriel and Cassidy but soon met up with Thune.  He said he had been running with Rob Fulton until he had to call it a day and now was alone.  Invited him to run with us doing 2/2.  He had been random running until needing a break, then walking.  Said it was good to now do it on a schedule.  We stayed together for a few miles but lost him when he met up with his wife.  

We also ran into a woman on a bike who asked if we needed anything.  Tom asked if she had sunscreen which she did not but said she lived nearby and would ride home and get it.

Tom and I  

With Thune gone, it was Tom and I again.  The woman on the bike caught up to us again with sunscreen.  Tom was running shirtless and was getting a bit crisp.  I reapplied to keep from getting burnt.  Still had about 5 miles or so to Tarpon Tavern.  It was a long slow and steady run/walk but little by little we got there.

I love the Tarpon Tavern and it was even better this time because it was the turnaround.  Loaded up on more liquids and some random food.  Had two cups of coconut water and one cup of coke.

Got going again, feeling a little bit better but still a long way to go.  Pace average was now 14:01 for me which seemed so slow considering the 100 mile pace in January was 14:59 and that included all the middle of the night walking.

But, not too far south from the turnaround we finally got some rain.  Came down pretty heavy and there was a little bit of lightning.  It didn't last long but it also did drop the temperatures.

Now, we were running a bit faster, bringing the average slowly into the 13:nn's finally.  As the day seemed to keep getting slower my original goal of breaking 9 hours turned to breaking 10 and then breaking 11.  So, as the miles counted down breaking 11 was safe and started even eyeing 10 and a half hours.

On the way back, the Palm Harbor aid station was a bit raucous with the volunteers enjoying much merriment. I'm grateful to see volunteers having such a good time, they are having fun so keep coming back to support us, I'm glad to give them a reason to come out and have fun.

Crossed the pedestrian bridge over Alt 19, then after making it through the light at Curlew, felt really close.  I was itching to run it in, Tom was sticking to the 2/2.  He said it didn't matter much with no one close in front of us or behind us, so he was right, but I did go ahead finally within the last mile.

Jessica was at the finish line to greet me and get some pictures.  Finished 10:34:39, my slowest PTC so far but it was also another good comeback.  2016 was the fastest and easiest, we had a lot more rain throughout the day that year and I was probably in better shape as I was putting in miles for Oil Creek 100 and running a series of local 5k's.

Waited around as one by one the cast of characters finished, Tom, Joe, Thune, Cassidy and Gabriel, the guy that read my blog and of course the woman that ran the race dressed like a squirrel.

I had not preordered a shirt this year but they had a few extras available for sale for $15.  No free shirt but also no entry fee so that's still a really good deal!