The Long Run

I went with Jenny on her run where she had to do 3X1600 @ 7:38.   The plan was to stay with her for the first 0.75 of each mile and then I would do the last quarter by myself at 10K pace to get a little bit of practice for Saturday's race, just wanted to get a feel for the pace.  This strategy ended up working out pretty well for both of us.  Jenny said it made her last quarter easier.  For me, it was an easier transition to go from Jenny's repeat pace to 10K pace than it would have been going from an easy pace.

Jenny made her times with 7:32, 7:21, 7:21

I made my quarters with about a 6:15 average between the three of them.  I'm sure this isn't very scientific training on my part but at least I won't go in cold as far as this pace goes on Saturday.

We did a cool down together for a total of about 7.5 miles, then I did a little bit more to get me over 9 for the day.

Average pace: 8:34

The weather was wonderful again this morning with temps about 66°.  Unfortunately it is going to get warmer for Saturday's race but I'm hoping it will be 75 or less.

Another nice cool and pleasant morning.  Normally Jenny gets up earlier on Fridays and meets up with some people at a nearby neighborhood with some hills.  But due to various reasons decided to just run from home today with me.  Also joining us was her friend Kathryn who also normally goes to the hilly neighborhood.  Resurfacing work is almost finished but we had to still run on the sidewalks for part of the run.  

As usual, headed out towards the golf course after a neighborhood run.  Kathryn stayed with us for about 5 miles before heading back (to get about 6 in).  We went on a little bit further.  Jenny and I ran about 7.5 together then I continued on by myself a bit more to get 9 for the morning.  Run felt good overall this morning.  Felt relaxed like Friday runs often do.

Average pace: 8:36

Condensed version - met my goal, had a great time and enjoyed myself

Splits:

6:28,

6:19 (Jenny and the boys cheering me)

6:28 (+ :08 to sync up garmin),

6:21,

6:09,  (Jenny and the boys cheering me)

6:19,

0.26@6:02 (1:34)

I was very happy with how this race turned out.  I had picked up my race packet yesterday after work on Friday, so I would be able to go straight to the starting line this morning.  Jenny and the boys said they wanted to come watch and cheer me on.  So, we all woke up early this morning and got into the car a little ahead of schedule, just before 5:45 for the drive down to St. Petersburg.  Earlier in the week we had some nice cool mornings where it almost felt chilly.  This was not one of those mornings but I was prepared for that.  Low 70's and humid this morning.  I was used to that so although not ideal, not awful either.

We walked from the parking garage to close to the starting line where I started my warm up while Jenny and the boys went to go find something to eat.  I warmed up with two easy miles on a 1 mile out and back course from near the starting line.  I think this helped me so I knew what to expect at least for the first mile.  After the two easy miles I did a couple of striders and then hung out in the starting area.  I was already sweating at this point.  Fortunately there was a slight breeze, so I cooled down quickly.  I chatted with a guy in a dark shirt asking him about his time goal, he said he was wanting to break 40 minutes which is what I was after, too.  We wished each other good luck.  The starting area was marked off according to paces, from 6:00 to 15:00.  People seemed to do a good job lining up until just before the start when lots of people crowded near the starting line.

The race started and right away a lot of the people that crowded up toward the front got in front of me and some of them almost instantly seemed to slow down.  Fortunately, this didn't go on too long and the crowd thinned out pretty quickly.  We headed along the water and then turned onto 2nd ave which goes out onto The Pier.  My pace started out in the 6:30's.  I didn't feel bad but not great either.  I tried not to worry about the pace and that seemed to help.  By the 1st mile marker I was almost at my goal pace of 6:27 (just missed it with a 6:28).   I was feeling better now but knew I still had a ways to go.

Headed back down the pier and before I knew it, almost at the second mile marker.  I saw Jenny and the boys cheering me on and was able to hit that mile in 6:19 (although that was according to the garmin which beeped short of the 2 mile marker).  But I was feeling like I had a shot at getting under 40 now.

Mile 3 was up a hill.  Not a very big hill but fairly long and straight.  Just a little over 40 feet of rise.  Made that mile in 6:28 according to the garmin but now I was even further off, so I hit the lap button when I actually got to the marker, which was 8 seconds later.  Just past 3 miles was the out and back turn around point which was next to Tropicana Field.  I had been following a couple of guys wearing yellow singlets (not the exact same shade of yellow but close).  The 4th mile was going back down that same hill and I finally caught the two yellow shirt guys.  I couldn't believe it because they had been ahead of me for so long and pretty far ahead, too.

4th mile was in 6:21 but I didn't bother to try and sync up garmin with the mile marker, just kept on going.

5th mile I was getting close to the guy in the dark shirt I had talked to at the starting line.  My pace had gotten faster, and then I saw Jenny and the boys cheering me again.  That mile was in 6:09.  I wasn't expecting that the 5th mile would be the fastest.

On the last mile I was doing my usual last mile count down.  Holding on and counting steps if I had to.  I had passed the guy in the dark shirt.  The lead pack was too far ahead of me, and now I was in the lead of the secondary lead pack, which looked weird because I couldn't see anyone in front of me.  The road was running along the park where we were supposed to finish.  I had a moment of doubt where I thought I wasn't going the right way.   I slowed down for a second to see if anyone was going to yell at me for going the wrong way.  I looked back and saw the guy in the dark shirt coming my way, hoping I wasn't leading him the wrong way.

Fortunately I was going the right way and finally saw the 6 mile marker and then the left hand turn into the park and the finish chute.  Clock was ticking away at 39:3x.  Too far to make it under 39:40.   The last I saw the clock it said 39:41.  I went through the chute and after a moment stopped my garmin which said 39:47. 

It was a huge race (around 10,000 people between the 10K, 5K, and various fun runs and walks).  It was inspiring to see all of the cancer survivors and hear them tell the story of Susan G. Komen and her sister.

I saw a bunch of my friends from the Striders as I looked for Jenny and the boys.  It took me quite a while to find them because we kept on missing each other in the crowd.  Finally after well over 30 minutes of looking we met up near where they were passing out the awards - it was pretty low key, just simple medals to the top 50 men and women and each race and a few overall awards.

I was 9th overall and 8th for men.

After we left the race we stopped at the nearby farmer's market which was going on.  It was actually quite nice.  Lots of interesting produce for sale, baked goods, other interesting things.  We stopped at one stand where we tasted different honeys from each season so that we could taste how the different seasons flowers changed the flavor of the honey.  It surprisingly tasted quite different by season.  We bought a bottle of the spring time honey.  Wandered on a bit more then headed home.

***Update - official results posted, it was 39:46 instead of 39:45

Good Monday morning run.  Went to the Y and did my usual routine with 10 minutes on the bike, some ab crunches on the ball and stretching.  Then got onto the treadmill for 4.65 miles @ 8:00 average before heading outside.  I felt a little stiff at first but was able to loosen up by going slow at first.

Mid-70's outside, not too bad, but looking forward to later in the week when we might hit high 60's again for morning running.   First mile in about 8:15 pace, then gradually picked things up and tried not to look at the watch too much.  Glad to finish this run and feel good without any real lasting soreness from Saturday's race. 

Finished 7.39 miles in 7:26 average pace.

Looking forward to 8 miles with Jenny in the morning and then three more after that.

P.M. - did the Inflict workout with Jenny.  I usually do these on Tuesday mornings but we decided to do the workout together because we were both feeling a little less than motivated.  Now, I feel like I've jumped into the week.

Ran with Jenny this morning.  She had 8 to do and I had 11.  Much easier to run 11 when you can run the first 8 with someone else.  It was warm and humid with humidity fog but nothing worse than usual.  It actually looked kind of nice.  We looped around the neighborhood then out to the golf course and then we went into a neighborhood we had not been in before.  Because of the new route, Jenny ended up going 9 so that just left 2 to do by myself.  I picked up the last 2 miles to about a 7:40 average pace.

Average pace: 8:46

Long tempo run tomorrow, then they start getting shorter (but faster).

Did my tempo run as promised.  Goal was 8 @ 6:41.  Weather wasn't so great, pretty warm with foggy humidity which lifted as the sun came up.  Thought about possibly not doing this run (or modifying it at least) since I had just raced on Saturday, but I didn't feel like I was in any danger of injury.  The run actually went pretty well and I didn't have an intense feeling of quitting like I did on the last tempo run.  It wasn't easy, but it wasn't awful (at least now that I look back at it).

Made my times for each split except for one of them:

6:36, 6:35, 6:36, 6:34, 6:42, 6:38, 6:35, 6:33

Cooled down after the tempo portion with about 1.8 miles of easier running to get back home.  Glad to finish this run.  Was a bit tired and moving slowly at first but felt great later in the day.

Average pace: 7:11

Jenny had her tempo run this morning so I offered to go along with her to carry the fuel belt and provide moral support.  The plan was to run just slightly back from her and let her lead the pace. 

We warmed up with one mile slow (9:59 I think), then started on the tempo portion.  Her goal was 7 miles @ 8:22.  I think this one went better than last time.  It was a good run and she made all of her splits with a little bit of time to spare on each one (overall average about 8:14).   She even had to stop and tie her shoe on the second mile but did not stop the watch.  At another point the garmins flaked out when we were in the area of some high tension power lines.  It straightened out eventually and the pace went back to where we though it should be.  Hers was reading about an 8:45 and mine was about 7:45 while they were flaking out (odd that our garmins were off in different directions).

Cooled down with another mile and a quarter to get back home then I went on ahead a little farther to get close to 11.  I stopped a little bit short because I'm slightly ahead for the week.

Average pace: 8:24

P.M. - did my Inflict workout, good to have finished the second one this week.  I skipped the second one last week due to the race on Saturday.

Nothing too fancy on this morning's run, just a relaxed Friday run.  I ran with Jenny this morning as she was not going to meet up with any of her running friends.  We did the usual neighborhood routes, running 7 miles together.  I then went ahead a little over 2 and a half miles by myself picking it up for the last mile or so.  Holding up pretty well with the mileage this week.

Average pace: 8:49

Went to Starkey park this morning, arriving just after 6:00.   It was pretty dark out but not completely due to some good moonlight.  I didn't have plans to run with anyone in particular and there were very few people there this morning.  Fortunately Keisha and Andrea were getting ready to head out for 10 miles so I joined them.  Andrea has no problem whatsoever starting out at a good pace, something I struggle with a bit.  So, for the first couple of miles before I was warmed up it felt difficult.

 They turned around at 5 miles, I said good bye to them and continued on.  I was feeling good at that point and gradually increased the pace.  Made it out to the 8 mile turnaround point and was at about a 7:30 pace.  The return trip felt pretty good.  I was also avoiding the brunt of the sun that was starting to come up, but it was at a my back which also helps.

Averaged under 7:10 pace for the last 8 miles with the final mile at 6:49.  Just as I was approaching the turn off from the main trail, a wall of runners was coming right at me.  There was a local 5K which had just started.  So, I ran on the grass and sand next to the bike trail and headed over to the race start/finish area.  I hung out for a bit and cheered on a bunch of the finishers before heading back to my car. 

Average pace: 7:29

Monday morning run was a little bit stiff and sluggish at first but turned out pretty nice.  Went to the Y, bike warm up, some crunches on the ball then 4.43 on the treadmill at 8:05 average pace.

Headed outside where it had just started getting light, warm (high 70's) and humid but tolerable.  I went on my favorite 6 mile out and back course with some side streets added on.  Nothing too notable, but it felt good overall. 

Average pace: 7:27

After the run, went back inside for a cool down, a few minutes on the arc trainer then 3 sets of leg extensions before heading home.

Today was the start of the second week of a 3 week higher mileage block, hoping I hold up ok!

Ran with Jenny around the neighborhood and out by the golf course.  It was maybe a degree or so cooler than normal.  Running felt pretty good this morning and Jenny seemed to be doing well also.  We ran 8.25 miles together then I did the rest on my own.  I think the running together has helped us both out.  We have each been doing higher miles than we have in the past and it certainly helps to have some company.

Average pace: 8:34

After the run I did the Inflict workout.  Nice because it was mainly core and not much legs which is good since I'm heading to the track tomorrow morning for some 1600's!!

I was heading to the track this morning and was all prepared with a light to clip onto a hat because the last couple of times it was dark out.  But, today for the first time ever the lights were on because the grass was being cut.  So, I had bright lights shining down making me feel like a rock star!

First warmed up with just over 2 miles of easy running.  Put on my crocs and ran across the grass to get to the track then put my running shoes back on.  Ran one lap around the track slowly to check it out.  Said good morning to the guy cutting the grass.  I was partially stalling, a little nervous about getting started, so I decided it was time to start.

Goal was to do 4 X 1600 @ 6:02

First repeat went well.  On the second repeat I reversed directions which always throws off the garmin.  I'm mainly just using it as a stop watch at this point.  With a ways still to go on the fourth lap it said I had finished a mile (not true) in 5:18, which meant I had 42 seconds to finish.  I ran without looking at the time again and hit the lap button as I finished and it was exactly 42 seconds, so 6:00 for the first and second repeat.

The third repeat was the fastest at 5:57.  After the third one I was excited to only have one more left.  Fourth one was good, too, but when I finished the last lap I didn't quite hit the lap button to record the time at first, but then tried again, so it was off by maybe one second, two at the most, so that one came in at 5:59.

Summary: 6:00, 6:00, 5:57, 5:59

I have one more set of these to do in about a month where the goal will be 4 X 1600 @ 5:54 which I have never done before.

After the track work headed back across the grass then ran easier for a cool down and to get my mileage over 10 for the day.

Average pace: 7:44

THE PLAN:

Wake up at 4:30, leave the house by 5:00 and run to Longleaf to meet up with the Striders and run about 6 miles with them, then run back home.

ACTUAL:

I did wake up at 4:30, felt extra tired, and shortly after getting up heard the rain pouring down outside.  Part of me knew the rain would probably stop soon.  But, at that point another hour of sleep sounded good to me.  So, I got back into bed and woke up at 5:50.

Jenny and I ran together for 8 miles.   Her foot was hurting her a bit at the start of the run so we took it easy then the pain seemed to clear up.  The run went by pretty quickly.  Ran another 3 miles by myself, picking up the pace and ending up with 8:48 average for the run.

It turned into quite a nice morning, a little bit cooler out than earlier in the week with nicer weather supposed to be coming this weekend.

P.M. - Did my Inflict workout after getting home from work.  Finished both workouts for the week!

The alarm went off at 5:50 and I didn't feel too tired.  Jenny asked me if it was still raining outside which it was.  She said she'd do her run later and I decided to go to the Y and split up between the treadmill and outside.

Did the usual warm up routine then got onto the treadmill for 4.41 miles @ about 7:55 pace then headed outside.

As I was going outside, the guy at the front desk said a storm looked like it was approaching, so I left the ipod behind, although I decided to risk it with the garmin.  Run went pretty well and I dodge most of the rain, just a few sprinkles although it looked threatening for a while.  Didn't look at my pace until near the end.  My schedule said to run at 7:41 pace, when I finished I saw that my overall pace was 7:41.  Odd that it was exact like that.

Big run tomorrow!

Ran up in Brooksville on the Sun Coast trail with Eric.  Today was the first real fall day of the year as far as the weather goes.  It was in the low 60's, nice.  Earlier this week Keith had asked if I wanted to run up there.  He wasn't able to make it but I was already set on going up there by the time he canceled.  I figured it was also good to give myself some variety from the usual flat courses that are closer to home.

Got up there about 6:15 and met Eric and we headed onto the trail a little after 6:30.  It was surprisingly humid at first but as it started to get light out the humidity went away and it quickly turned into the perfect morning for running.  Eric was going to do 22 miles and I was up for 20.  We stuck together until sometime after 4 miles when Eric started pulling ahead.  Probably about 5 miles when he was definitely out in front of me.

The run felt good overall but a few times my knees would bother me a little bit then it would go away.  Once I got to 5 miles I put on my music.  The combination of only 5 miles left and having the music on somehow got me feeling really good.  I picked up the pace with about a 7:00 average over the last 5 miles with final mile at 6:41.

Felt great to finish another good 20.

Average pace: 7:26

Waited a bit for Eric who wasn't too far behind me (I didn't have to wait long because he ran 22 @ 7:05 pace).  We then headed out for breakfast which like last time was courtesy of Eric's parents.

Challenging Monday morning run.  I was feeling a little bit junked up from weekend fun when I woke up this morning.  Also, thinking about the miles ahead for the week.  But, I managed to get today's run finished and felt good at the end.

Went to the Y and warmed up inside.  First, did 10 minutes on the bike, then some crunches and stretching followed by 3.6 miles on the treadmill at about an 8:20 pace.  Legs, especially shins were tight at the begining but got better after 2 miles.

It was chilly outside so it was good that I was warmed up.  I was maybe a little bit underdressed as it was 49°, and being so used to the heat it was a minor shock at first.  After a mile or so the colder temps wasn't an issue and I started to feel good.  Took it one mile at a time until I had less than 3 miles left before I really started thinking about how much I had left.   It's odd how running 13 miles on a Monday seems so much different than 13 on a Saturday. 

Average pace: 7:30

P.M. - Did my Inflict workout at home with Jenny, good to get that out of the way a day early, leaving just a run tomorrow.

Feel better about the week now.

Forgot to blog yesterday (Tues), trying to catch up today.

I ran with Jenny around the neighborhood on our usual routes.  It was nice and cool this morning, maybe some place in the 50's, perfect for running.  We ran 9 miles together and the run felt really good.

After running together, I continued on to get 3 more miles in but sometime during the last two miles I started feeling a little worn and achey, nothing terrible but just didn't feel great.  Maybe feeling the effects of the previous evening's Inflict workout.

Average pace: 8:31

Fortunately I had a massage scheduled for later in the day which would hopefully help fix things a bit.

Good tempo run this morning.  Goal was 7 @ 6:37 pace.  Weather was still pleasant although temps had crept up a few more degrees from yesterday morning.

I did part of my warmup with Jenny before I headed out of the neighborhood over towards the bike trail on Starkey Blvd.  I was feeling much better this morning than I was yesterday so I was hoping that would translate into making my goals for the day.

Since I had gotten a fairly early start, about half the tempo portion was in darkness which made it a little bit harder to do - I couldn't see the Garmin very well to check my pace (had to turn the backlight on each time) and I was little bit worried I might not see debris on the trail until it was too late.  At one point I did very slightly roll my ankle when I stepped into some sort of depression, fortunately nothing bad happened but it did get me worried.

Anyway, the tempo portion went well and I didn't get hit with feelings of wanting to quit.  Splits were even at first with the final two miles faster:

6:36, 6:35, 6:35, 6:33, 6:33, 6:25, 6:13

Whew! glad to get that one done.  I have a few more tempo runs scheduled before the marathon but they will start to get shorter (but a little faster).

After the tempo portion my next mile was nice and easy.  Final mile, I picked it up but not on purpose.

I accompanied Jenny on her tempo run this morning.  She had to do 8 @ 8:21 plus warmup and cool down.  Weather was nice and the run went pretty well.  We didn't really have many glitches this morning.  Except, during the 2nd mile a little white dog came running after us yapping.  Usually dogs seem to stop once they get to their property line.  But, this one kept on going and I was afraid he would get too far from home so I ran towards the dog while Jenny kept on going.  The dog turned around and eventually made it home.  I had to catch up with Jenny which wasn't easy because the gap had grown a lot while I was dealing with the yappy dog.

That was it for the excitement.  The rest of the run was nice and Jenny met her time goals with some room to spare (8:10 average).  

We did a slow mile to get back home then I did a little bit over 2 miles on my own with the last mile picked up to under 7 minute pace.

P.M. - I did my Inflict workout.  I almost didn't do it because just when I was starting the phone rang and I ended up being on the phone for a while, but it wasn't that late when I was done so I went ahead and did the workout, then ate dinner.

Nice run with Jenny this morning on the usual routes around the neighborhood.  Uneventful overall which is not bad at all.  Kept the pace a little bit slower.  Ran 9 miles together, then I did a little bit over 2 more miles by myself.

Average pace: 8:56

It was a great morning for a run.  The plan was to show up at Starkey, run with whoever was starting out at the same time and do 16 miles.  I showed up about 6:10 and the parking lot was filling up.  We had a pretty big group starting out, probably about 10 of us with David taking the lead.  Joe G was also there as well as Joe M, Keisha, Renee, Jorge, Victoria and others.  I was feeling a bit sluggish so was happy to just trail the pack for the first few miles.  We had a brief stop 4 miles then got going again.

Finally I was feeling ready to start running about 5 miles and started running a little bit faster than the group.  It was nice to have a good group of friends to start out with as this is always the hardest part for me when it is dark and I'm not warmed up yet.

As I was approaching my 8 mile turn around point I saw someone ahead who looked not too far away and seemed familiar.  I ran up ahead and as I got closer I realized that it was Eudair (one of my first running mentors).  I chatted with her for a bit and thought about running another mile with her but I was already at over 8.6 miles, so this was not going to be a 16 mile run.  But it was nice and I never know when I'll run into Eudair again so it was worth it.

I found my pace picking up after I turned around and did a couple miles at 7:0x pace.  Stopped briefly to top off my water bottles then got going again.  My pace continued to pick up and I thought I would do one fast mile and then back down.  After the next mile I backed down a little bit but was still holding a good pace so I finally decided to just finish off the run at goal marathon pace.   I ended up doing the last 6 miles each under 6:50 pace and was very happy about that.

As I got closer to the end I came upon the turn around point for a big cross country meet, so I tried to stay out of the way as best as possible.

Average pace: 7:28

Hung out for a bit at social hour then headed home for some delicious pumpkin and oatmeal pancakes that Jenny had waiting for me when I got home, mmmmmmmm.

Today's run was a little bit tough at first.  On Saturday, when I was starting out my left leg was hurting me a little bit but it went away after a couple of miles.  Same thing again this morning which was kind of worrisome.  I've got to keep my eye on it.  Fortunately this is a little bit of a cut back this week.

I went to the Y and did some warm up on a bike then did some stretching and core work.  Next was the treadmill.  Felt ok but had trouble getting going.  Got off after 1.5 miles, then tried again and did another 2.5 miles.  Feeling a good deal better after round two on the treadmill.  Averaged 8:30 pace inside.

Headed outside and just concentrated on taking it easy and running relaxed.  Felt pretty good the whole time and really good for the 5th mile where I went faster.   Backed it off a bit for the last mile.  Good to get the first run of the week out of the way.

Average outside: 7:36

Greeted this morning by surprisingly warmer than expected air, thought we were done with that but I guess not.   It could have been worse though, just starting to get spoiled by the cooler weather.

Jenny and I ran around the neighborhood on the usual routes.   My left leg was a bit sore at first and I was initially lagging behind Jenny and was thinking that she was going faster than normal but was not (first mile pace was about 9:30).

The rest of the run didn't get any faster but my leg started feeling better about mid way through the run.  Good sign that it gets better once I'm warmed up.

With about two miles left, Jenny insisted that I go on ahead of her.  I picked up the pace but not by too much.

Average pace: 9:01

Jenny was doing her mile repeats this morning so I went along with her.  It was another warm morning out with even higher humidity than yesterday morning.  We warmed up for 1.5 miles at a nice easy pace.   Leg was a little sore at first but felt fine after the warm up.

Jenny's goal was 4 X 1 mile @ 7:32.  Like last time, I was going to go 0.75 with her and then speed up for the last 0.25 by myself to near 10k pace.  I think the run went by pretty quickly as intervals usually seem to do.

Average pace: 8:48

This morning's weather was back to being more reasonable.  Also, when I woke up and got out of bed I was pretty sure my left leg was feeling better.  It helped that last night I did some more stretching, rolling, an epsom salt bath and took a couple of advils before going to bed.   Getting in bed before eleven also helped. 

Once we started running I knew it was a lot better.  The first couple of miles were not as slow as they recently had been and we kept a pretty decent and even pace.  Jenny also seemed to be doing better especially considering yesterday was her speed day.

We did our usual route and stuck together the whole way except for at the very end when I did a brief pick up past the house and then back, putting me just a little bit over 9 miles.

Average pace: 8:50

Nice run this morning.   Weather was just a bit nicer.  Ran with Jenny and this time I did not have to do more miles after we were done running together.  We ran the usual neighborhood routes and enjoyed a steady uneventful run.

Average pace: 8:51

going to run the Halloween Half Marathon tomorrow in Fort DeSoto Park.

Today's race was great, I loved it!  Things went well, I did my best and had a good time.

Since this race was just a little bit over an hour drive away and my parents would be in town, we booked a room and stayed at a nearby hotel, the Alden Beach Resort which had a special deal for runners with late checkout so we could shower afterward.   Forecast was initially good but it deteriorated as it got closer to race day.  So, it went from high 60's start, to low 70's to finally mid 70's start.

We drove to the park and got there just before 6:00.  Fort De Soto is at the entrance to Tampa Bay and has some great beaches and nice scenery.  Jenny and I warmed up in the parking lot with me doing just over two and a half and Jenny doing closer to 3 (she was trying to get in a total of 20 miles for the day).  We ran into lots of people we knew who were doing the race.

We lined up and I moved up somewhat close to the beginning but not at the very front.  The race started and we were off.  Beginning was crowded and it took a little while for people to spread out.  There were a good amount of people in costumes, some geared towards running and some looking like they were carrying a heavy burden, but it certainly made the atmosphere festive.

Before today (back when the forecast look better), I had some visions of maybe breaking 1:26 today.  I had also thought about trying to adjust to running a steady pace and breaking 1:30, maybe getting a few seconds ahead of my PR.  Instead, I decided to just do the best I could and see what would happen.

First mile felt tough.  I gradually picked up my pace and was pleased to see I would get in the 6:40's for my first mile, so I set that as my goal.   The first 5K was on a loop course running part of the way on the road and then into a palm wooded area before heading back to the parking lot.  Just after the first mile I was running next to a guy who I talked to for a bit and asked him what his goal was.  He said, break 1:30, but we were running a little faster than that so I said ok and hung along side him for a while.  Running through the loop course I saw Jenny and also some other people I knew who shouted out cheers of encouragement.

 We made it back to the starting line area and I saw my pace slowing down a little bit so I did what I could to bring it back up but didn't want to over do it.  The next 10 miles consisted of 5 miles out and then back, mostly along bike trail with some road portions near the turn around point.

As we headed out along this portion, the line was very spread out, there was a breeze in some of the open areas.  I found myself get into a decent rhythm.  As I neared the half way point I was thinking about how much better I was feeling than when I was at this point in the race at Moab.  I also felt better than my previous half marathon before that at the Clearwater Half marathon.  Maybe I could hang in there today.

We ran past the actual fort in Fort De Soto and then I kept my eyes on the big flagpole near the park entrance.   Running past that I knew it wasn't much farther to the out and back turn around point.  As I got closer to the turn around point I saw Eric go flying by as he had already hit the turn around,  looking very strong.  People were holding up despite the heat, and actually for a short time the air was a little more comfortable just after the sun came up but before it was very high.

I soon hit the turn around point and then shortly after that saw the 8 mile sign.  Not too long after that I saw Jenny coming the other way, looking strong.  We high-fived each other and I shouted out that I loved her and was rewarded with a feeling that I could keep hanging in there.  Reaching the 9 mile point was good but is also a tough distance for me, need to make it to mile 11 before I feel like I can make it.   Usually if I'm running at this pace the farthest I go is 8 miles, so I'm moving into unknown territory for distance at this pace.

Finally I see the 11 mile sign and had just managed one of my faster miles for the race.  Just two miles left!  Hang in there.  So, that's what I did, make it to the 12 mile sign then start the under one mile countdown.  Did what I could  to pick up the pace for the last mile and extra bit past that, focused on the finish line.  Glad to see that the clock still started with 1:27.

Went through the chute where Eric was waiting for me and handed me a cold water.  Walked around a bit then grabbed the camera to go look for Jenny.  Saw Jenny around mile 12 or just after that.  She had a very focused look on her face.  Today was the day she was determined to finally break 1:50.  Cooler weather would have been nicer but that was not provided (everything else was).  After mile 12 there is a short out and back before heading into the parking lot, so I waited at the next spot.  Saw her again then rushed over to the finish line to snap a picture as she crossed the line.  She made it with 1:48:12 on the clock (1:48:03 chip time).

Here are my splits:

6:46, 6:31, 6:23, 6:47, (:24 to sync my Garmin back up), 6:47, 6:36, 6:37, 6:40, 6:47, 6:43, 6:33, 6:40, 6:28, 0:49 (0.13 @ 6:19)

Jenny then headed over to the beach and ran another 4 miles to round out 20 for the day.

We waited around for awards and enjoyed lots of great food and free beer while waiting as well as catching up with friends and race day stories.

I received a nice big plaque for 3rd place masters and Jenny received one of the extra big star fish medals for 2nd in her age group.

Unfortunately, after the race my left leg pain started up again.  Not terrible, but enough to worry about, need to figure out what this is before I continue on.