The Long Run

7.21@ 9:59  HR 132 bpm

After a pretty busy week at work, today's run was much less stressful with the deadlines behind me (but not thinking yet about the upcoming ones).

Starkey Gap trail southbound and then continued on along Keystone after crossing the road at the point I usually turn back.

Big run tomorrow, maybe up to 32 miles.  Supported Long Haul preview at Colt Creek State park.  Will do at least one loop (16.7 miles) , maybe two if it goes well.

21.19@11:20  HR  136 bpm

Long Haul course preview run.  This was a supported run held at Colt Creek state park.  I think there were about 40 runners there.  I was hoping to do up to 32 miles (about two loops) but at least wanted to get one loop done and then add on some more to get into the 20's.

Official start time was 8:30. I said I'd meet Daisy there at 7:30. I got to the gate just after 7:30 then took a few minutes to drive to the parking spot.  We did a short 3 mile loop to warm up and then waited for the official start where RD Andy gave some course instructions and advice.  It's a similar course to Colt 45 but adds on some extra sections to extend the distance from 14 miles to 16.7 miles.

Nick was also there, the three of us ran together for almost 13 miles.  Nick was running short on time so went ahead and since we had gotten ahead of Daisy, I turned back to look for her.  Saw two women running together and asked if they saw her, they said yes and that she said she was "done" and last saw her walking on the paved road. So I assumed she was going to take a shortcut on the road to get back.

At about mile 14 I think my average pace was around 11:40, but after that I picked it up for the remainder miles.  Course was pleasant.  There was one section of water you could almost tiptoe around but not quite so my shoes got a little wet, but everything else was perfect.   Almost back at the start area and I was near the start/finish for the actual race, near the big pavillion.  Course wasn't explicitly marked but if I'd paid attention to the instructions I'd know to stay on the paved path in front of the pavillion which then turns back to trail as it goes around Mac Lake.  Fortunately, a runner that was driving by on his way home saw I looked lost and told me where to go.

Back at the start, my watch was at 19.8 miles.  I stopped at my car for water and refueling and then suddenly felt run down. Got going again and felt better but didn't go too far, just enough to get into the 20's.

Hanging out afterward, Daisy called.  She was close by at the place where I wasn't sure where to go, gave her the instructions and less than 10 minutes later she showed up (a few people ran into the same problem).  On race day it won't be a problem because we will be running this loop 7 times.

All during the week the temps were cool, but they warmed back up today, with start temps in the mid 60's and finish temps in high 70's but at least there was a good cloud cover.

Since I didn't get the big 30 plus mile run I'd hoped for I'll do some more miles tomorrow.

8.47@10:39  HR   130 bpm

Better than expected run, 5:11 pm start, so started light and ran into the dark, brought a headlamp with me.  Northbound up Belcher Road, over to Klosterman, then southbound on Pinellas Trail to the crossing at Delaware and back to Westlake.  Started out willing to go as slow as it took to get in miles without wearing myself down farther, shooting for paces between 11 and 12, so happy to stay a little faster than that.

So, not quite back to back long runs but at least got some miles in and added some variety timewise vs always running in the morning.

Rest day

7.26@7:42  HR 150 bpm

Garmin suggested workout 2 x 15 min @7:15 pace, ok why not.  Feeling completely back to normal.  Run on Starkey Blvd bike trail and partially into Starkey Ranch.  As I got started on the first repeat, I was a little slower than suggested pace for about the first 0.4 miles, then slowly got a little faster than suggested pace and seemed to hold it ok.

The last tempo run I did was in Westlake Village which has rolling small hills everywhere which help me accelerate and not have that flat leg feeling.  Starkey is much flatter, but there's a little section of Starkey Ranch trail with a couple of very small hills but just enough to help.

Second set went a little faster but I was also pushing harder.  Average pace for both was around what I did for the 6.2 mile tempo run, so part of me was why couldn't I go faster on shorter intervals?   But other part of me was glad I still got it done and stayed a little ahead of pace without struggling or overdoing it, that vague sounding "comfortably hard".

Repeat paces: 7:05, 6:58

So, that 6:58 is really nice to see

AM 4.86@9:59  HR133 bpm

A loop and a half inside Westlake Village, going to run some more tonight with Daisy and Evan

PM 4.09@9:38  HR 140 bpm

Run through Longleaf to look at the holiday lights, it was chilly out tonight, wore long sleaves.  Stopped by Jenny's front yard and got a picture with her Bucee and NiKYO pup.

7.33@10:11  HR 131 bpm

Out and back from Trinity Blvd on Starkey Gap trail and some along Keystone after the trail crosses the road.  Heart rate/pace in range and run felt pretty nice.  Saw two deer and stopped briefly to take a picture of them.

5.54@8:32   HR 150 bpm

Ran in Westlake Village.  Garmin called for 1 minute repeats but with 3 minute rests.  I was a little short on time so shortened the cool down a little bit and did 2 minute rests.  Except for the first one at 6:07 pace, the rest were at or faster than 6:05 pace goal with a few of them much faster than 6:00.

8.6@9:58   HR  132 bpm

Looking for some easy miles so I can run tomorrow fully recovered.  Ran the similar loop to last Sunday which was Belcher to Klosterman, then back down the Pinellas trail then work my way back to Westlake Village.  Could've gone a tad easier on some of the last miles but stayed in check for the most part.

Then went over to the Palm Harbor Christmas parade.  Fun watching the baby's reaction to everyone going by and tossing out toys, candy, and beads.  Was a nice morning.

Half marathon tomorrow morning but also work Christmas party tonight, so will try my best for moderation.  Since this has been the usual combination of work party followed by half marathon the next morning (for most of the past 17 years), it's all relative as to my raceday performance.

Holiday Halfathon, 1st AG , 8th Overall, 6th Male, 1:36:59.5

Just barely under 1:37:00, but I have to add an asterisk.  Course was short.  The last half marathon I did the course also came up short so comparing the two on short course times does show an improvement from 1:38:20 down to 1:36:59, although this course was even shorter (my watch came up with 12.86, where other runners were much closer to 13).  

The marker for mile 4 was way off.  It's normall at the top of the bridge going to the mainland, but this year it was at the bottom of the bridge.  The markers after mile 4 were spaced out about a mile, so it was mainly this one.  I can only theorize that it seemed as if one person started from the finish and the other started from the start and this is where it came up short. Miles 1, 2, and 3 were all as expected.

My stomach was not quite right from last night's party, I wasn't sure how I'd fare. I'd had some good tempo runs and originally planned on going out at 7:15 to 7:20 pace.  Got in a mile warm up and a few strides.  Did not want to take a pre-race gel but had a couple with me to take during the race.  I also didn't want to drink my morning beet juice.  The weather was on the verge of not being cool and humidity felt like it could be an issue.  

The person that usually sings the national anthem was a no show so they played it on a little blue tooth speaker.  They also announced a shortage of police officers, so after mile 7 there'd be three intersections where they told us we'd have to be careful and look at for cars.  Things weren't looking so good.

Race started and I actually felt ok, a little slow but managed to get in the middle of a pack.  I think some time after mile 1 I sped up a little to get out of the box.  Fearful that this could be a mistake and they'd all pass me soon, tried to put that out of my mind.  First three miles though were pretty consistent at 7:32, 7:28, 7:32

Then, sooner than expected the mile 4 sign showed up, figured it was a mistake, kept on going, watch beeped for mile 4 at the top of the bridge, then I was on the other side.  Despite the bridge, pace still haning in there at 7:36.  At this point I'd be thrilled with anything faster than 1:40 or at least anything faster than 8:00 pace.

Mile 5 and 6 still good.  I sometimes fade a little on mile 6, it's a slight and steady uphill of net 30 feet.  After mile 6 you get to a small park that you loop around the outside until the path reaches the Pinellas trail, there's an aid station followed by a pedestrian bridge. This is typically a slower mile, after which I'll get some speed back.  Mile 7 was 7:48.  Ok, if that's the worst I do then it will be ok.

Sometime in the 8th mile, a woman wearing candy cane style long socks passed me, a volunteer shouted to her "girl power!" as she passed me.  But, this woman was a huge help.  I picked up enough pace to keep up with her for a while as she very slowly opened a gap.  I passed several guys as I followed her.

Miles 8 - 13 were:  7:28, 7:28, 7:30, 7:33, 7:33, 7:30

There was one more pedestrian bridge to go over.  In the past the course would go in and out of the park, onto a road and then back into the park on a gravel path, looped around, and to the finish line with last stretch on pavement.  This year, we didn't leave the park, got onto gravel path early and did an extra out and back.  One more woman caught up to me and passed me.  I stayed very close to her but could not pass her.  None of the other guys caught up to me and most of the people in that pack I left did not pass me.  I think the candy cane sock woman was not in that pack but further back but the second woman that passed me was in the pack.

Weatherwise, it got cooler and less humid as we moved away from the water.  It also turned out that by the time we got to those three intersections, there were police directing traffic.   This was one of the steadiest races I've run.

That should do it for racing this year, next big race is the big race in January, 100 miles inside Colt Creek State Park for my 5th Long Haul 100 race.

2.2 mile walk in Westlake, 37:58

10.22@10:48  HR 129 bpm

From Trinity Blvd trailhead, north up Starkey Gap Trail across SR54 then more miles on Starkey Blvd bike trail before turning around.  First mile and a half heart rate kept on jumping up.  But once I crossed 54, everything was normal.  Run felt pretty smooth, 4/1 run/walk.  I did throw in a few extra walkbreaks if heart rate hit 140.

First mile was 11:58, fastest mile was 9:56

AM 4.58@9:49   HR 130 bpm

A loop and a half inside Westlake Village, going to do more tonight with Daisy and Evan

PM 4.01@10:17  HR 127 bpm

Evening run with Daisy and Evan, run through Starkey Ranch for a change and also to look at various Christmas lights/ holiday decorations.  Stopped at one house that the guy had worked since February putting everything together, was quite elaborate with music and special effects synchronized across various lights and displays.  Heart rate was a little high at first but we did stop a bit here and there so ended up lower.  Was just the right amount of chilliness.

4.63@10:19  HR  129 bpm

Short and easy run, southbound down Starkey Gap trail from Trinity Blvd and then turned back around.

12.02@10:10  HR  131 bpm

A little bit longer of a run for a Friday, tomorrow is supposed to be rain all day so wanting to make sure I start getting in some miles and if I can run more tomorrow can count as back to back long runs.  Ran north up Pinellas Trail via Eniswood cut through, up to Klosterman , up and over Mt Klosterman then turned back with return via Pinellas Trail and exit near PHU high school, then slightly roundabout way to south entrance of Westlake Village.

8.21@7:28  HR 160 bpm

1.11@7:54  HR 160 bpm

I was under the impression that it would be pouring rain all day, so plan was to try and get some miles in before the rain started.  Was barely sprinkling when I started and didn't rain much while running, in fact rain mostly held off vs what was predicted although I may have missed some (some friends of mine were doing a 7 hour timed loop and still some others were running a hundred mile race on Florida's east coast, they probably had a different opinion on amount of rain).

So, decided on a little bit longer tempo run than last time, adding one more mile but at a little more relaxed pace, also did stop at water fountain early on to wash down a gel (PowerBar apple flavor).  Towards the end of the run a big delivery truck did a rolling not quite stop as I was trying to cross the intersection at  Woodcutter/Lakeview so had to briefly stop, was kind of mad at the driver but had to let it go.

With all that said, after a slower first mile, was able to stay under 7:30 for remainder.  After one mile warmup (9:17 pace), got going faster:

7:35, 7:10, 7:19, 7:18, 7:05, 7:16, 6:53, 0.22@6:40

Would like to figure out how to stretch similar splits to these into a half marathon.

Stopped my watch after the tempo portion but figured I'd add on a little more so got going with a little more than a mile at 7:54 pace which felt easy after the tempo miles.

17.71@10:36  HR 131 bpm

After yesterday's strenous but not long enough run to be a long run, looking for some more miles today.  Yesterday was rain, today was wind.  The wind was very strong and wasn't sure how long it would be strong.  My dad had just called me worried about the water level near his house - there was a coastal flooding advisory but it had just expired, the worst of it was over with no actual flooding near him.

Decided to just tuck in, get in at least a few miles then re-evaluate.  I headed up Belcher Rd to Klosterman, turned left and then crossed once it was safe so I wouldn't get stuck at the Alt19 traffic light.  Turned right and headed north up the Pinellas Trail and soon was in and out of Tarpon Springs, then the trail turns to the east.  Wanted to try that spur that goes north to Anclote but the sign and fence said closed so I stuck to the main trail.  Kept going, under 19, then the trail turned south for a little bit where I could feel a tailwind, then east again up and over the Keystone "mountains", then finally turned back.  (oh, forgot, I did have one stop on this run at the public restroom near the Tarpon Tavern.  Other than that was steady 5/1 run/walk).

After the turnaround, and the trail heading south, had some tailwind but the wind was also dying down.  Kept straight on the trail when I reached Klosterman and kept going to Palm Habor's little downtown area and finally stopped just past Stilthouse Brewery.

Called Jessica for a ride, she came by with Jacob and the baby and had lunch at a local wing place.  Wings later that day did not sit well later that day.

Also later that day, we had an old (but not too old) unstuffed bear from Build a Bear which someone had given to Aubrey.  Since she's past the bear phase we gave it to the baby and let her watch as they stuffed it with fluff and we picked out a few small accessories.

Walked 2.11 miles.

For the first time in I'm not sure how long did not do a birthday run.  Last few days were pretty solid and challenging so today was an off day, just walking.

Met up with family in the evening for dinner.  Unfortunately the place that I picked, Brick Oven is closed on Mondays despite what google maps told me so we ended up at Zim Zari, was a nice dinner.  Due to the mix up and the extra wait for a table, Tom was not able to stay for dinner but brought me a nice gift.  Also had there Jessica's parents, my parents, and the rest of the kids.

6.02@10:37    HR 145 bpm

Not sure why heart rate so much higher today, didn't feel any harder.  Met up with Cynthia at Longleaf, have not run with her in quite a while.  Happened to run into Jenny so she ran her warmup mile with us before heading off to her workout.  Good catching up with Cynthia, weather a little chilly but pretty nice once warmed up.

4.32@10:06  HR 127 bpm

Loop and a half inside Westlake Village, no Wednesday night run tonight, going to eat out with customers after work.  Heart rate back to normal for the pace today.

6.43@8:37  HR  149 bpm

Did the garmin suggested workout, I usually skip this particular one, it's 15 seconds sprints, three sets of 3.  Lots of rest between each one (3 minutes) and more rest between the sets (5 minutes). Supposed to be 4:35 pace, which I don't think I've ever hit.  I have gone sub 5:00 on a treadmill if it goes that fast.  Today I did have one sprint that was like 4:40.  Apart from these very short sprints, the rest of the run was at a faster than my usual easy pace.

Workout was at least different than what I usually do.  Not sure if this was any more beneficial than doing like 9 or 10 strides at the end of an easy run vs having these 9 spaced out evenly within an otherwise somewhat easy run.

5.21@9:43 HR  132 bpm

A couple of loops inside Westlake Village, going a little bit faster and mostly keeping heart rate low enough but let it creep up, run felt really good.

Will do some big miles tomorrow to wrap up the week.

31.34@10:18   HR 144 bpm

Able to get one more big run in.  Did not set out with definite goal but wanted at least 25 miles, then figured why not make it a marathon distance which turned to might as well go for 50k. 

Left from Palm Harbor, heading north up Belcher, then left on Klosterman then over to the Pinellas Trail heading north and kept on going past US19, along Keystone, across Eastlake, some more on Keystone then north up the Starkey Gap Trail across SR54 and onto Starkey Blvd.  Stopped at the bike shop for a can of Celsius and a honey stinger gel.  Probably should've refilled water, but seemed ok at the time.

Up until mile 13, heart rate was in 120's or a little into the low 130's.  Mile 13 was still at 135, so still mostly easy.

After that I became less disciplined, slowly was getting a little faster each mile.  After the Celsius was going even faster.  Still felt really good.  Kept going up Starkey Blvd and into park.  Got off the pavement for a little bit and then back onto the bike trail running by the planets and a little past Pluto (planets cover 1 mile), turned around and then stopped at the bike parking lot bathroom.  Refilled water at fountain but pressure was low, so a little bit slow filling.

Was at 25 miles when leaving that stop, hit the marathon distance, still feeling good.  After crossing SR54 and back on the Starkey Gap trail picked up the pace for a strong finish.  Hit the 50k mark and a little past that then ended the run and decided to walk the last mile in.

That walk turned out to be more difficult than I thought it would be.  Stopped in at Escape Brewery.  Filled up water bottle and ordered a wheat beer (supposed to be good for recovery).  The beer did not help, was not enjoyable so got up and paid, walked outside and didn't make it too far until I had to stop and throw up.  Haven't done that in a while and not sure if I've ever done that because of a run (came close after some 5ks).  Felt better after that, walked slowly to my house and took a nap while waiting for Jessica to come pick me up.   Stella came in the room and brought me a stuffed elephant to play with which I declined.

Stopped at Grain and Berry for a bowl, that hit the spot.  Was originally going to go out and finish up shopping but did not.  Watched Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer with the baby.  She liked it except for the snow monster.  She hid under the blanket a couple times when it showed up.

2.24@10:02  HR  128 bpm

Late in the day Christmas run.  After all the stuff - Busch Gardens and then gift exchange with the boys, fit in a short run in Westlake Village before time to head out for birthday dinner.  Dining options out fairly limited today, a lot of Asian restaurants still open, was going to try a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant but ended up at Smokey Bones for BBQ.

Talked to my parents for a bit  - they are at my brother's house in California, got to talk to parents, brothers and their wives, and cousins.

Walked 3.0 miles, about 15:30 pace

2.11@10:05   HR 123 bpm

Westlake Village - headed out the door and about to start running when I heard "Hi Mark".  It was Jamie from Foxwood who was walking while waiting for her son swimming at the Y.  Started chatting and didn't want to hold her up so walked with her.  Did 3 miles at a reasonably brisk pace about 15:30.  Was near the Y when we split up, so started running from there back to the house.

6.84@7:41   HR 158 bpm

Garmin workout of the day, 32 minutes at 7:30 pace which turned into 4.44 miles @7:12 pace.

Pretty happy with the results, started out just wanting to hit the minimum goals but able to pick it up a little each mile while keeping what I thought felt like an even effort except for a little extra push at the end.  Mile splits went from 7:26 down to 7:01 for last mile.

Run was looping in Westlake Village.

3.51@9:48

Loop inside Westlake Village

6.52@8:42

Another Garmin workout, one that I  have often skipped 15 second sprints where it wants me to run at 4:34 pace but can never get close to that.  I finally got one out of the 9 sprints at 4:33 pace.  Could be an inaccurate measurement but I'll go with it.  Maybe I will start hitting these if I keep doing them.  Long recovery between sprints (like 3 minues), different from the strides that have only 30-60 second recoveries.

5.34@10:20

Out and back run on Starkey Gap trail from Trinity Blvd trailhead.  Took Stella to vet afterward for her stay at the kennel, she was excited, they love having her there.

10.11@8:55

8.13@10:34

Two part run, with first part from Garmin suggested workout, 90 minutes@9:05 pace which I did looping in Westlake Village, then switched to easier pace heading out toward the Pinellas Trail heading south and finishing up at Stilthouse.