The Long Run

5.12 mi, 44:54, 8:46 avg, HR 135 bpm, elev gain 161 feet

Short, out and back run from Westlake Village, out the south entrance via the cut through and then over to the Pinellas Trail, heading north for a little bit until reaching about 2.5 miles, then turned around and headed back.

Then, headed out to Holloway Park in Lakeland for the regionals cross country meet. It was pretty nice weather, good day for a race.  I left the house a little bit too late and miscalculated the traffic so I just barely made it in time.  It was something like, park, run from the car to the entrance, pay the entry and as I'm getting my change I hear the gun go off and see the runners start, heading up the hill.

Ran over to the 1 mile marker and met up with Jenny.  Saw Tom come through at about 5:20 on the clock, looking strong.  Next, rushed over to the part of the course about 2.2 miles in, Tom still looking strong, running close by to Jacob U.

Then, quickly over to the finish area.  Tom comes through at 17:32.32, 3rd place for the team and 22nd overall.  The last time he ran this course his time was 17:32.73, but his last two races were 18:55 and 18:10, so this was a pretty big comeback.  More importantly, the team scored a 4th place finish, with the top 8 teams going to state finals.  They'd pulled it off, Mitchell was going to state for first time in 8 years.

6.23 mi, 54:27, 8:44 avg, HR 137 bpm

Easyish, nice, Saturday morning run in Starkey.  Got to say hi to the remnants of the Striders that were packing up and getting ready to leave after the group run, then saw Jenny just as I was about to head out.

I'm going to run a 5k tomorrow but wanted to get in at least a few miles today and enjoy the park.

I've always enjoyed running this race and regretted each time I missed it.

Ran by myself this year, Jacob was not able to make it and Tom is between regional championships (past Friday) and states (this coming Saturday).

Weather was good and plan was to do the best I could with even splits.  It's two full loops around the campus with one out and back hairpin.

Splits were: 6:29, 6:33, 6:33, and 0:39 for the last bit (5:39 pace)

My pace was failing a bit in the third mile, but I was trying my best to keep Jason W. within my sights which helped a lot.  I remember three years ago when I ran with Tom and Andy.  Was behind Jason for much of the race then but got past him in the third mile.  This year he put some more distance between us in the last mile, finishing at 19:52. I came through at 20:14

This was "slower" than the last 5k but my splits were much more even and this course wasn't short (although I did get a faster first mile at the last one).

Looking forward to coming back next year, maybe with one of the boys (or girls).

8.08 mi, 1:16:40, 9:29 avg, HR 139

Out and back from Westlake Village to Curlew Rd/Alt 19 and back.

7.06 mi, 8:52 avg, HR 141

Out and back from Foxwood house to Keystone Rd via the Lake Dan trail and then back home.

8.23 mi, 1:09:37, 8:27 avg, HR 151 bpm

5x1km workout after two mile warm up.  Ran from my house to start of Lake Dan trail for the warm up.  Ran down the trail and was turning around halfway through the third one.  Goal pace of 4:00/km or 20:00 5K pace.

Splits: 4:01, 3:58, 3:58, 4:06, 4:01

So, pretty close overall, but a little bit of a slowdown for the last 2.

7.24 mi, 9:01 pace, HR 142 bpm

Out and back run from Westlake Village over to the Pinellas Trail, headed north just past Conservation Park (quick stop there), and then back the way I came.

Pushing the pace a little vs heart rate, but not too crazy, probably should stick closer to below 133 to keep it easy.

No running for me today.

Instead, was in Tallahasse to see the cross country state finals meet.

It was very well done, with a huge screen to watch the race so you could see parts of the course that were hard to get to as a spectator.

Tom ran extremely well with a course PR of 17:02 and his second fastest cross country time.  Over 30 seconds faster than when he was here for the pre-state meet.  There have been some ups and downs for him this season but was super happy to see him end on a high-note having made it here when he could have given up when things got rough.

Had breakfast with him and Jenny afterward at Cracker Barrel, then I headed to Jacksonville to meet up with Jessica, Aubrey, and Sophia for their friend's Bat Mitzvah (just the party, I missed the ceremony).

5.05 mi, 51:22, 10:10 avg, HR 115 bpm

Ran with Joe and Stella from my house, down the Lake Dan trail and back.  Wasn't orginally planning on taking Stella but Joe said something like "want to take the beast?".  She did stop quite a bit but overall was a pretty good dog.

10.21 mi, 1:32:10, 9:01 avg, elev gain 210 feet, HR 140 bpm

Out and back run (as opposed to a loop) from Westlake Village, south cut through, then PA Ave to Pinellas Trail and north almost to Klosterman Rd and a quick stop at Conservation Park on the way back.  Pace was a little bit quicker but heart rate was a little out of the "easy" zone.

8.51 mi, 1:23:31, 9:49 avg, HR 124 bpm

Managed to take it easier today with a good lower heart rate.    From my house, to the Heritage Springs gate and then out and back down the Lake Dan trail almost to Keystone Rd.  Pretty sure this was with Joe and Jamie.

8.14 mi, 1:08:19, 8:23 avg, elev gain 128 feet, HR 143 bpm

A little bit of a tempo run, 4 miles ranging between 7:20 and 7:37, after doing the first 4 miles easy.  Run fromWestlake Village out to the Pinellas trail and then out and back going north.

6.71 mi, 1:02:40, 9:20 avg, HR 130 bpm

Normal Friday morning run from my house, down and back on the Lake Dan trail and then 6x100m a few houses down on my street.

13.13 mi, 1:45:07, 8:00 avg, HR 151 bpm

Ran from Longleaf, up Starkey Blvd and into the park until just over 6 miles.  Steady pickup with the first couple miles slow then reaching about 8:00 pace after 5 miles, then into the 7:00's with the last mile at 7:06.

Longest run since the marathon and first time running about an 8:00 pace for a long run, trying to make these feel easy again!

8.72 mi, 1:19:15, 9:05 avg, elev gain 218 feet, HR 140 bpm

Out and back run from Westlake Village, out through ths south cut through and over to the Pinellas Trail via Georgia Ave., then headed south to the pedestrian bridge before turning back.

It was a pretty good run, last three miles were in the low 8:00's.

8.06 mi, 1:05:14, 8:06 avg, elev gain 177 feet, HR 153 bpm

Ran from Westlake Village out to the Pinellas trail (about two miles), then ran north on the trail 2 miles, then 2 miles back to the starting area with goal pace of 7:00.  I had trouble locking onto the pace and fell behind a little bit, gained some ground on the second mile, and finally after the turn-around did the last two miles faster.

Paces were: 7:07, 7:01, 6:69, 6:50

As usual, the jog back home after the tempo felt nice.  Weather was really pleasant this morning also.

So, I've got this idea to try and qualify for NYC marathon.  Need a 1:32 or better.  My 5k time predicts something close to that.  Going to see what I can do at the Turkey Trot 5k next week, hopefully something sub-20:00, like 19:50 or so.

But more importantly, can I increase my 7:00 pace tempo distance?  In the past if I can manage a 7:00 tempo pace for 7 miles I've got a good shot at a half marathon at the pace.

7.1 mi, 1:03:20, 8:55 avg, HR 139 bpm

Out and back run from my house to the trail along Lake Dan Preserve and then back.  Nice low 60's (warmed up from 51 earlier in the morning). 10:12 first mile, 7:58 last mile.

I was a little clunky feeling starting out but got into a good groove eventually.  Massage yesterday helped out.

8.38 mi, 1:10:02, 8:21 avg

Ran from my house, out to the Lake Dan trail.  Plan was for 2 mile warm up, 5x1k @4:00 (6:26 pace, 5k goal pace), then about 2 mile cooldown on return trip home.

Weather was really nice, but I wasn't feeling very fast but also didn't want to bag it and give up before starting it.  Even bad workouts at least get better toward the end usually.

I was a little slow on the first repeat, the next two were closer to goal pace but still a little short of goal.  Finally, hit the last two at 6:21 pace.  The 4th one actually felt pretty good, the 5th one was a struggle, was really feeling it in my breathing toward the end.

Run back home was nice.  I should probably add in some more variety.

9.06 mi, 1:22:55, 9:09 avg, elev gain 190 feet, HR 139 bpm

Easy-ish out and back run from Westlake Village over to the Pinellas Trail north to just past conservation park.  Started out feeling kind of sluggish, slowly warming up with first mile at 11:00 pace.  But, I slowly got faster and the second half of the run was in the 8:00's.

Really nice morning out, enjoying the weather.

14.55 mi, 2:01:23, 8:20 avg

Long run, Saturday morning later start than I should have but the weather was pretty decent so it's ok and probably good that I had some extra sleep.

Started out from Longleaf, running up the bike path along Starkey Blvd.  Just under a mile into the run I saw a group of cyclists heading toward me, coming around a curve.  A woman on a bike falls over to the side.  I reach her just as a friend of hers is going to her and I start to ask her if she's ok.  It sounded like she was snoring, not sure what happened.  Her other friends are soon gathered around.  They are asking her questions while someone is calling 911.  She's able to answer her full name but still isn't getting up, in a few minutes I can hear sirens in the distance.  Not needing to be one more bystander, I get going again on my run.

  About 2 miles into the park I stop to refill my water bottle, but the cooler is mostly empty (if you rock it back and forth a few more drops come out).  A woman and her dog also stop at the cooler, I tell her there's no water unless you rock it.  Another woman rides by and calls out "Stellaaaa!".  So, I ask which one was Stella.  The woman is Stella and fortunately she's not offended about me mentioning that I have a dog named Stella.

I'm almost out 7 miles where I'd planned on turning around but I decide to try and go a little farther to the next water cooler, just past the power lines.  There's two serious looking cyclists hanging out at the next one.  No water there either.  One of the guys offers me some of his water but I'm ok, can always get some from the faucet outside the bathrooms.  Ask the guys how far they are riding, I'm expecting to hear some distance between 50 and 100 miles.  Nope, these guys are riding 200 miles today.  They started out down in St. Pete, came up Alt 19, over to this way and plan on riding up to Brooksville, looping around there and then heading back.

Head back from the water stop, back to Longleaf.  Nothing else eventful or noteworthy occurred.  I picked up the pace a bit and ran some miles in the 7:40's and last one at around 7:30.  However, when I had about 4 miles left to go I slowed down a little bit, on purpose as this was supposed to be an "easy" run but had turned into a pace pushing run.

The pace was a little slower than last week, the run a little bit longer but it felt a lot harder.  However this run did cap off a 55 mile week with two mid-week workouts.

7.57 mi, 1:05:30, 8:39 avg, HR 139 bpm

Out and back run from my house, past Lake Dan to the Keystone Road section for a bit then turning back around.  Got back to my house and then did 6x100m strides to finish up the morning.  My right toe felt kind of funny a couple of times during the strides so it slowed me a tiny bit but still ran pretty good.

Feeling pretty recovered from Saturday's run which seemed to take more out of me than I thought it would.

9.05 mi, 1:24:42, 9:22 avg, elev gain 230 feet, HR 137 bpm

Ran from Westlake Village, through the cut through and over to the Pinellas Trail.  Took the crosswalk a little bit north of downtown to add some more distance and it seems a little bit safer.  When I got to the intersection of Curlew (where I usually turn around) turned left and ran until reaching 4.5 miles.  Hit the water fountain on the way back.  After the turnaround I had three miles under 9:00, but slowed it down for the last mile to 9:13, trying to keep the easy run easy.

4.27 mi, 44:02, 10:19 avg, HR 121 bpm

"Ran" with Stella from my house out to the Lake Dan trail out 2 miles-ish and then turned around.  There was a lot of stopping for restroom breaks (all for the dog, none for me) and some sniffing followed by charging ahead.  Fortunately I was using the leash that goes around my waist and has some bungee so that helps to dampen the pulls.

Need to get her out on more runs.

Tomorrow is the Turkey Trot, 5k and 10k