The Long Run

Short and reasonably paced run with Jenny and Kathryn.  Resisted the urge to do more since I've got a big run (and a race) tomorrow, followed by a recovery run on Sunday.

This run was just what I needed today.

After the run did a little bit of upper body stuff (minimal), and then had some extra time around the house before biking Thomas to school.  Nice, pleasant morning for a bike ride.

I arrived there about 10:00, it was still cool out (high 60's) but the sun was up.  Did another 16.64 miles on trails (longest all trail run so far - well, almost all trail, ran about a 1/2 mile on the bike path to top off water bottles).   I parked at the horse corral and ran towards the 3 mile loop, then out past it over to the power lines where I headed North.

I came to the water crossing where Sean had seen an alligator the day we ran together back in July and I was still recovering and rebuilding (I just did 6 that day so turned back early and did not see the gator).  But, with the dryness, there was only a very small water crossing (short enough to jump over), but with the size of the swamp and ponds on either side of the trail I could see how much of an obstacle this could turn into when it is the rainy part of the year.

Kept going north and got to the paved bike trail.  Took a slight detour onto it to top off my water before continuing north some more along the power lines.  Enters into a new park at some point.  I turned onto one of the marked trails and ran on it for a while until I came to a bridge over a creek, crossed it and the trail started to get overgrown until it disappeared.  Made my way back through some tall grass to the main power line trail which I stayed on until taking another chance on a side trail.  The second one worked out better.

Ran until I had gone a little over 8 miles total then headed back the way I came (minus the first disappearing trail!).

The total distance for the day was just a little more than I did two weeks ago but I felt a bit more wiped out due to the race and the timespan.  Had been on my feet and on the go since 6:45, and now it was 12:45.

Recovered pretty well and enjoyed another bass guitar lesson where I learned a few new things (like how to tune using harmonics), but also learned about how much I have to learn.  Hope I can get better at it someday!!

Click here for a few pics from both runs.

Quiet run alone, peaceful.   I went from my house and turned onto Trinity Blvd instead of going into Fox Hollow.  Ran on the grassy part a few feet from the shoulder and just enjoyed an easy pace. 

After yesterday's run there was a spot on my calf almost at my ankle which had a sore spot.  I kept an eye on it and it seemed to be ok.

Ran with Chris H. and Lisa R. , tagging along with Chris on his 1600's in prep for Sunday's half.  He was targeting 7:30 to 7:45 pace so it was a good change from running the slower paces without being too fast to get beaten up.

We stopped at the water fountain where I took a gel.  I felt bad I didn't have an extra gel for Lisa as she sometimes has extras for other people but had none today.

I didn't feel any calf issues during the run but could feel it a little bit during the day while walking around at work.

Started out with Jenny and Lisa R. , then went ahead to Trinity Blvd, came back and into the "C" neighborhood before heading home. Cool with a few small patches of fog for that magical effect (although I did not spot any fairies or gnomes).

 I think calf issue was completely gone today.

Up early, out and back ez to start the day. Ankles were a little tight, like last Friday morning but Saturday's run came together so not worried.

 I did not skip warm ups this morning and then had time for some stretching since it was so early.  It's too easy to start skipping all of it by just missing here and there at first, then doing less and less.

Planning on 18 tomorrow followed by 10 on Sunday.

2-ish mile warmup in Longleaf, then ran into Keith, Victoria, Greg, and two Jamie's. Ran to Craig and Dianes house for fluids top off.

Ran with Craig into Starkey Park then turned towards the horse corral to get to the off-road trails. Ran into a girl named Madeline home on break. We ran out the usual way that I go, but turned right at the point in the trail where you can turn left to do the 3 mile loop or go straight to get out of the loop and towards the power lines (the way I ran the last few times I was in Starkey).  Went on the "new" trail (although I think I ran this trail with Sean one time).  Eventually made it to the power lines and then south for a bit with her, before I had to turn around.  At this point I had done 11 miles.

I thought I was doing ok retracing the route but ended up taking a couple wrong turns. Corrected it but was going to be a little long, I was a bit further south than I wanted to be.  But, I was pretty sure I could still make it back on time.  However, as I was heading north I saw Craig who was going back home by way of a short cut, so I turned back with him and ran back thru Aristide, then back out to Starkey Blvd.

I would have been a little short if I had gone straight back, so I headed north a little once back on Starkey Blvd then turned around for home stretch back. No plans run turned into lucky adventure.

I was going to skip my run this morning, but while laying in bed I heard a Sandhill Crane flying overhead and squawking. I have no idea what Sandhill Cranes have to do with running, but I got out of bed and went for a short easy run on a nice cool morning, and felt better at the end than at the beginning.

Jenny was at the Gulf Beaches Holiday Halfathon.  She ran 1:46:35 and felt really great.  I think this is one of her best feeling runs in a long time, so I was very happy for her.  That is one of my favorite races around.  Very home towny feeling.  Have been going there most every year since 2006 except for two years ago when we were out in Texas and Jenny was running the White Rock Lake Marathon.   This year I stayed home.  Made it much less stressful than hauling kids down to watch who didn't want to be there.  Although I must admit I did miss going this year.

Started out slow and slowly got a little faster by the end of the run. Thought about cutting it shorter but felt better after stopping for water.

One more day of running without a break, but it wasn't too bad.  I don't think I'll go through the whole week without taking a day off even if it feels like I could.  Afraid it will catch up to me eventually even if doing slower paced.  Although, I guess some people get away with it.

P.M. - went to Jenny's boot camp at FlexOne.  A couple new students were there including another friend from Striders that I've known for years (since I first started running with them in 2006).

Jenny asked me how far I was running, 6 or 7, or maybe 3 or 10, I wasn't sure.

I stopped at the golf course water briefly then headed over across Trinity Blvd. Stopped at the Y and grabbed a bottle of water from the Strider's cooler (there were a few left hanging out after their 5:30 run) before heading home.

Ran by the house of Chris H. and Elizabeth H. and waved. Got back to the neighborhood and finished up with a loop. I think I was feeling better due to the awesome boot camp last night!! thanks Jenny!  I think the boot camps really have been making a big difference since I end up doing a lot of different exercises I wouldn't think to do on my own as well as getting an efficient workout because I usually end up dawdling between sets when I do similar exercises on my own.

Quick jog through Longleaf, then back to the starting area at 5:30 to see who would show up.

I started out again and quickly got passed by the fast group (Mike, Beka, and Melanie), then ran a bit with David and Greg before they passed me also.

Got to Craig and Diane's house for refreshments, then ran with Craig into Starkey Park. When I split off from him, at first he told me not to get lost this time, then changed his mind and said I should get lost, it's more fun that way. I agreed, but said I needed to get back on time.

So, I didn't get lost and figured out where I made the wrong turn last week on the way back. Saw some deer, heard some coyotes, and several other creatures crashing into the brush as I approached.

Spectacular sunrise over the trees and fields. Ran on a section of grass on the way back between Alico pass and the bridge that I always wanted to run on. Also saw, Elizabeth H. and Amye E. as I was leaving the park.

After sleeping in a bit, then taking the boys to Ihop for breakfast, then a trip to Costco for my birthday (I'm pretty easy to please), went for a run from home, out towards and onto Trinity Blvd on the grassy part, then turned around and ran to Flex One. There was a steep bank in the ditch that I ran up and down a couple of times.

Went inside the gym and did another 13 minutes on the treadmill and a little bit of working out while Jenny was training Elizabeth H. and Chris H. was hanging out.

Then headed out to Tijuana Flats for beer and chips, then back home and over to Carabba's with my family and parents for dinner, and when I thought it couldn't get any better, Scott, Tracy and the Suncoast Running store staff was there and bought me a drink! Whew, what an awesome birthday!

Nice, easy paced enjoyable run with Lisa around the neighborhood.  I had thoughts of not running today and probably would have felt slow and clunky if running by myself, but instead the pace and the run felt easy and enjoyable (sure it was a little slower than normal, but it felt nice and easy rather than a struggle).

It was a bit chilly this morning so I wore long sleeves and a hat - head was a little warm by the end of the run because it wasn't that cold, about 50 degrees.

I did a quick "better than nothing" workout after the run and then biked Thomas to school before heading off to work.

Easy paced run with Jenny, Lisa, and Chris H for first part of run, then just Chris H. and I for the second half. Little bit warmer than yesterday, nice morning for a run.

Pace felt nice and it was fun to have some people along.

Started with Jenny , Lisa R. , and Nicole S., ran together to Trinity Blvd, then I kept going and ran to the Y for water and gel stop.

Ran into Raj as I was heading towards the Y and ran with him for a few miles, before heading back home.

I was chatting this morning about shoe rotation and how good it is and now just realized I wore the same pair two days in a row.  Oh well, I'm sure I'll live.  And what's more I should remember to be thankful I have shoes to choose from as well as just having shoes, period.

Had considered a tempo run with Raj, but thought better of it since just getting over something that almost turned into a holiday wrecking bad cold. Actually turned off the alarm an hour before it was supposed to go off and was going to sleep in if that's what my body needed, but I woke up at 5:00 anyway. Did easy instead.

Started out slowly caught up to a few people like Stephanie, Amye E. and Rachel G. to say hi and chat a couple of minutes. Felt way better at the end than at the beginning. Remembered to wear different shoes today.

Ran 1.5 miles with Jenny , Lisa R. , and Kathryn L. then did another 5.5 myself. Warmer this morning with some touches of cooler fog patches. Nice run.

My first run up at Croom. 

I'm signed up for a 50K here in January called the "Croom Zoom" - it is basically a 3 loop course plus a small loop at the start.  Running off road on some of the best trails around.  This particular course avoids the big hills that the fall and spring races here run on but there is some pretty good rolling stuff.  Never having run up here before I wanted to get a feel for the course.

I had wanted to get in 20 miles and I was originally going to try and just follow the course as best I could. But, Sean mentioned that he saw some people from FL Ultra runner's group were meeting at 5:00 to run 3 loops on the Croom Zoom course.

So, I woke up at 3:25, left the house at 3:44, and got there about 4:40.

 Starter loop and loop 1

We did the "starter loop" then one full loop (with a slight detour added),so a total of about 12.5 miles so far.  There were a few spots on that first loop where I wasn't sure how well I was going to be doing for the day, going through some deep sand, having a hard time seeing and avoiding the roots while it was dark out, and I was needing a bathroom stop with about two miles left before we got back to the parking lot.

The pace was pretty easy for the first loop, about 11:35 or so which included periodic walk breaks to go up a hill or to decide whether or not we were still on the right trail.

Loop 2

I did a quick pit stop at the start area, then started on the next loop.  Now it was light out and a picked up a few more people that wanted to run with the group but did not want to start at 5:00.  The pace was a little bit quicker and the running was a lot easier now that it was light out.  By the end of the second loop the pace was just a little slower than 11:00 pace.

Loop 3

After the second loop I drank some muscle milk - I had planned on refilling my drink bottles with Accelerade but had left one of them at home.  Oh, well - two 10 oz bottles of Accelerade and 3 gels would have to do for 30+ miles.  One of the guys was heading out for the third loop so I hastily followed him back out onto the course.

Not sure if I was making a mistake or not, but after the halfway point of the last loop I felt pretty good. Picked up the pace for a few miles, then finally found my way to the end.

Couldn't believe I ran that far. The scenery was amazing (except for the first loop which was dark). Saw a pretty big deer. Andy pointed out the holes in the ground where some of the trees completely burned to the ground and then kept on burning, not even leaving a stump, just a hole in the ground. Several hunters were out so we made sure to periodically make some noise, like a "whoop whoop" or a train (whoo-whoo). Had fun running again with Andy (ran with him in Jacksonville in 2007), another Andy, Ash, Dave, Andrea, Tori, Ashley, and a couple others whose names I forget now. Some of the "rooty" sections at the beginning were a little bit tough in the dark. Couple near misses with falling and a few minor ankle rolls but nothing serious. After the run had yogurt, a cliff bar, and a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a donut. Overall an amazing experience. I wish I could think of more to write. Now I'm definitely ready to be back there in January for the actual race.

Just a short and easy recovery run. Tight in a few spots but pretty good overall considering Saturday's run.  The first run after a big run where I think I might have overdone it always feels like the real test.  I think I passed this one.

 P.M. - did Jenny's boot camp, felt even better than on the morning run.  Class was indoors for the most part, so after the warm up routine outside we did strength circuits using some of the equipment.  For cardio we did jump rope tabatas.

Short and sweet run with Jenny , Lisa R. , Kathryn L. and Chris H. Legs felt a bit better today than yesterday.  I think I'll definitely be ok.

I'll add a little bit more on for tomorrow's run.

Nice run with my brother Jim on the neighborhood t-route. Good weather, short sleeve shirt and hat, felt great especially once warmed up. This was his longest run in a while due to work constraints, weather and a knee.  So, it was great to get a chance to run with him this morning.  He's just here for a couple of days before heading over to Disney and then for a short cruise.  He's down here with the family escaping the Rochester cold weather.

He's also signed up for tonight's boot camp!!

P.M. - went to boot camp class with my brother, included in the hour workout was about 1 mile of running (a warm up lap, then 3 laps during the cardio portion where we ran a lap and then did 50 jump ropes, repeated three times).

Ran with Jenny (for about the first 2 miles) and Chris H. for the reset of it.  A bit chilly, but I'm not complaining!  It's actually quite nice once you get warmed up.  It's best to be a little bit cold when starting out, then you end up feeling perfect after 1 or 2 miles.

 Right hip flexor was bothering me slightly towards the end of the run.  I think it is getting better.  Definitely needs some more strengthening before the 50K race in January and a good deal more before the 100K race in February (assuming I actually do it).  Although, the 100K race will be on a pretty flat course (old railroad bed, about 4 miles paved).

Ran loop plus classic t-route by golf course.  Ran by myself.  Was looking forward to running with some others, but the time running alone ended up being nice.

First mile was 10:41, last was 7:31. Overdressed, overheated at first, shed one shirt and the hat then felt better.

Right hip flexor felt improved today.

Year is quickly winding down.  Contemplating the past year and looking forward to the new year.