The Long Run

Ok, trying to get back on track with blogging.  The more I blog, especially on this blog, the better my running seems to go.

First run of the year.

7.62 mi 01:02 08:11 pace

Croom Zoom 50K Trail race report

31.59 mi 05:30 10:26 pace

Ran in nbhd, trying shake off "marathon legs" from Croom Zoom 50k, I think it helped.

5.14 miles, 31:12

Ran at the Y with the Striders

58 minuts, 8:46 average

Feeling a little run down today, felt better as I warmed up.

Ran from my house out to Trinity Blvd for a bit then turned back.

6.18 mi, 47:34

Ran in the nbhd

4.09 mi, 34:15, 8:22 avg

Ran in the neighborhood.  Trying to get my head and chest cleared out.  It helped.  I wasn't as slow as I thought I'd be.  First mile was 9:16 which is pretty good for a first mile easy run (they can sometimes be well over 10:00)

6.41 mi, 48:43

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Mostly ran easy but did the three "classic" Tuesday intervals which vary in length but are more or less about 1km each.  Felt a little better today than yesterday.

6.9 miles, 53:54

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.   Easy warm up of just over three miles, then picked up the pace.  Brought down the 4th mile to 7:20 then did next 2.5 miles at a bit under 7:00.  Practiced gradually increasing the pace from a slower pace rather than immdiately jumping on a new pace just to remind myself I don't have to get continually slower if I feel like I've gotten into a pace rut.

Wore new shoes I just got - Skechers GoMeb Speed 2

This was a good run considering how the last week ended with a cold, feeling run down and some chest congestion.  Feel like I'm mostly back now and ready for Sunday.  Clearwater marathon here I come again.

3.81 mi, 8:14 average pace

Quick run in nbhd, day before Clearwater Marathon

Clearwater Marathon Race Report

(better late than never)

(Garmin stats: 26.46 mi, 03:27:06, 07:49 pace)

Miles 0-5: 7:50, 7:20, 7:27, 7:30, 7:09

Last year I ran the first mile too fast, so this year I was hoping that if I ran the first mile a little slower I might have a better overall race.  I also had a goal to make the first mile the slowest mile of the race.  Other problem I had last year was cramping in my calves starting about mile 17, goal was to avoid that also.  First goal was easy enough except I had to run a little faster than I wanted after stopping to retie one of my shoes.  First mile finishes at the top of the Clearwater memorial bridge and then has about a 1/3 mile downhill for the start of the second mile, so it felt easy to get onto a faster pace.  Third mile was flat and fourth mile was mostly flat except for the end where it finishes part of the way up the Sand Key bridge.  Fifth mile had a good section of downhill on the bridge followed by the big group of Striders manning the Sand Key water stop, loudest cheering second only to Boston near Wellesley College.

Miles 6-16: 7:24, 7:26, 7:25, 7:20, 7:27, 7:32, 7:32, 7:16, 7:26, 7:29, 7:48

These were all pretty good miles.  I was running behind a pack and feeling pretty good, eventually caught up to many of them.  I went over the Park Blvd bridge back to the mainland and new there were a few slightly uphill miles ahead but was feeling pretty good. 

Miles 17-26: 8:21, 8:16, 8:18, 8:43, 8:31, 8:31, 8:46, 8:30, 8:24, 7:59, 0.35 @7:13

My pace dropped and I couldn't seem to get it back as I approached the Pinellas trail.  Honestly, it was a nice day out and I was overcome with the urge to enjoy the day and just take it easy.  But only half of me thought that, the other half wanted to continue on.  At about mile 20 I heard a voice from behind, "are you ok buddy?" - it was Joe, cruising by on his way to a big PR.  I was also playing tag team with a guy doing a run walk, which helped.  Everytime I thought I was way ahead and come back and pass me up.  And then there was Oliver, who has been beeting me throughout the year at various races.  But really no nicer guy out there.  When he passed me I managed to stop slowing down after I hit my slowest at 8:46.  Towards the end of the last mile it felt like a real race.  Running up the street, getting close to the helix back down toward the finish line:

Summary notes:

5.13 mi, 42:00, 8:07 avg

Give it a try and let's see how it goes run.  Ran at the Y, felt surprisingly pretty good for being only a couple days after marathon.

7.58 mi, 7:52 avg pace

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders

6.1 miles, 8:27 avg

Friday morning run in the nbhd

12.24, 8:29 average pace

Ran in Starkey Park.  Easy warm up for three miles, then the rest of the miles under 8:00 pace

4.75 mi, 8:20 average pace

Ran in the nbhd

7.25 mi, 7:41 average

Ran at the Y with the Striders

6.54 mi, 7:59 avg

Ran in the nbhd

8.16 mi, 7:50 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders for Strider Thursday run.

7:55 avg

Ran in the nbhd.

9:36 average

Ran at Croom with the Striders for the periodic "off campus" trip away from Starkey.  Ended up with Dixie and Mike Husband for last 7 or 8 miles, got a little bit lost then back on track. 

7.66 mi, 1:07:26, 8:48 avg

Day off, so started a little bit later.  Ran in the nbhd.   Tried out new GoRun Ride3's as a non-speed shoe.  I'll have to give them another try but so far like the other Skechers models I've tried.

Run was pretty good overall. Ran into Joe about 2.5 miles into the run and stuck with him for next 5 miles.

8.07 mi, 7:40 avg, 1:01:51

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Started out kind of easy but not completely slacking.  I ended up doing 4 intervals of random distances, the first was a mile that started out slow that I steadily picked up, finishing at 6:56, then three shorter ones (0.33, 0.5, 0.52), with paces of 6:16, 5:55, and 5:54.  I could feel my lungs working on the last two.

9.15 mi, 01:16, 08:16 pace

9.15 mi, 01:16 08:16 pace

8.26 mi , 01:09, 08:23 pace

18.12 mi, 02:21, 07:46 pace

7.64 mi , 01:22, 10:41 pace

8.08 mi, 01:03, 07:50 pace

Long Play Ultra Marathon 33 1/3 Miles, Race Report

Official Time: 6:18:33

The main goals of the race today was to cover some miles, help my friend Dixie run his first ultra marathon, and experience the ups and downs of running 33 miles.

The race started at 6:30, just as it was about to get light out.  We had arrived about 5:30 after a drive of just under an hour (almost took two cars because Dixie called at 4:25 to say he would be almost 15 minutes late, I said I'd wait, 5 minutes later he was waiting for me at the meeting spot - fortunately traffic is pretty light at 4:30 am).

Just before 6:30, the race director Andy Matthews was going over the course and things to look out for (like the water crossings) and how not to get lost.  Dixie was back at the car getting some last minute things.  10 seconds before the race started he was back and ready to go but noticed he didn't have his Garmin.   I said I'd run slow and he could catch up -  I didn't want to lose sight of the runners and risk taking a wrong turn.  It all worked out.  He was soon caught up and we were running a nice easy pace in the back of the pack and slowly working our way to the middle.

Start to Tucker Hill (6 miles) - 10:59, 9:44, 10:44, 10:20, 9:57, 11:55

I think this section was pretty uneventful, running was good and it seemed to go by pretty quickly.  There was a 2.5 mile aid station (turnaround for the 5 mile race) which we didn't stop at.  This section had a combination of packed dirt road, paved road (very briefly), paved bike trail, sandy fire road and finally single track.

Tucker Hill to Croom Road Aid Station (Miles 7-14) - 12:02, 10:15, 10:32, 9:55, 9:03, 9:32, 9:44, 10:06

The back side of Tucker hill is covered in roots and a bit tough (for me) to run on and there was a few muddy spots but not too too terrible.  There is also a fun ravine to run through.  After the ravine, we started picking up the pace and had some good miles through this section.  In hindsight, maybe we went a little too fast, but nothing crazy at lesat.  It was all pretty much single track until we reached Croom Road which is paved.  We weren't on it too long before hitting the aid station and getting back onto single track.  I think at about mile 10, I noted we were averaging a 10:28 pace.  Thought that if we could hold this pace, bank a few faster miles here and there we would be in good shape.  Unofficial goal was under 6 hours which seemed very reasonable, 10:00 pace would get us about 5:30, 11:00 pace would make us just miss it.

Croom Road Aid Station to Course Turnaround (Miles 15-20) - 10:59, 10:10, 17:24, 10:14, 10:26, 10:38

Headed back onto the trail, wound through some woods and then I could hear the highway nearby (I-75), where we should have gotten onto a sidewalk underneath an overpass with a rive next to it.  But the sidewalk was under water.  The flags were there marking where the route should have been.  It didn't look too safe (although I think it would have been ok since there was a guardrail hidden underwater which would have prevented us from falling into the river.  But, there was a way around, over a fence, scrambling through some brush and along a steep embankment, then over another fence and back next to the water again.  So, all of this meant a pretty slow mile.  But, it also meant Dixie had a chance to recharge and catch a second wind.  There was an aid station in the Silver Lake campground, quick stop there and then onto the turnaround.  Through some more cypress then into some open areas near meadows until finally getting to the turnaround aid station just past 20 miles.  They had gels there, so I took one because you never know if  you really can have enough gels.

Course Turnaround to Croom Road Aid Station (Miles 21-26) - 11:40, 11:31, 12:25, 13:05, 15:33, 19:02

This was some of the most serene looking terrain and I felt good that we were finally heading back and were more than half way done.  Dixie was struggling a bit so we talked different strategies such as 3-1 or 4-1 run-walk and just concentrated on what we could do.  Eventually made it back to the campground aid station where I had run ahead a little faster to try and save time, filling up Dixie's water bottle and encouraging him to keep going.  Got going again and then back to the flooded out overpass.  He got ahead of me and is better at scrambling across that sort of thing so I figured I'd catch back up once running again.  But, by the time I had gotten past the flooded bridge aread and over the fences the trail came to a fork.  I was pretty sure we needed to take a slightly different path back.  Dixie was nowhere to be seen, but another runner who we had run into earlier had caught up.  He was pretty sure we should go right, so right it was.

For a while the trail looked like what I thought it should.  There were periodic orange flags put up by the race director, along with the blue blazes painted on trees to mark the existing trail.  Then, the trail was no more.  I could still see the orange flags but instead of ground was a flooded cypress swamp.  RD did mention something about water crossings.  Ok, here goes.  Water was ankle deep, then thigh deep, and then waist deep.  Almost looked like it would keep going.  I knew that this was actual trail most of the year so the ground under the water was fairly solid but also rooty.  And then, eventually the trail was back again.

Trail wound on some more and then it disappared again.  But, with all of the zigging and zagging and what looked like a road nearby it almost seemed like I had taken a wrong turn and was on the wrong side of the water.  So, I looked at my garmin and pulled up the little line drawing map and sure enough it showed that I would complete the loop if I kept on going forward.  So, back in the water.  This one was a bit more open looking with fewer trees and it also bordered closer to the river.  But, then after maybe 4 or 5 minues (which seemed like forever), the trail was back.

So, that was the 15 and 19 minute miles.  And soon after the trail was back I came out of the woods I was at the 26 mile aid station.  And, not only that I was congratulated by the volunteers for actually following the correct trail (they had been making the people that went the wrong why run out 0.2 and back 0.2 miles to make up the lost 0.4 miles  (although they also missed all the fun and lost time of slogging through the swamp water).  I had just missed Dixie by about a minute.

Croom Road Aid Station to Finish Line (Miles 27-33.333) - 11:26, 9:35, 11:45, 12:42, 11:27, 9:10, 8:55, 0.46@8:15

I left the aid station, making up some of the lost time and eventually caught up to Dixie.  He seemed to be on a second wind and was running strong for a while and also running with a woman named Crystal (who had herself gotten lost and had run an extra several miles somehow (and also missed the swamp crossing)).  We had a few slow miles and stuck together until I got to the mile 31 aid station.  Stopped there and when I looked back realized I had gotten ahead farther than planned.   The sun was being kept mostly behind clouds but it was still a bit warm at around 78 degrees.   Decided it'd be ok to go ahead.  I felt good and picked up speed as the course changed from single track to fire road and then eventually paved bike path until finally back to dirt road.  About a mile away the RD had put up a series of signs - "You're almost there!", "Keep Going", "There's BEER at the finish line", and then "Say YES", followed by  "Say YES" repeated 48 more times.   The last "Say YES" sign had a drawing of an engagement ring on it.  The RD's girlfriend was running her first ultra marathon and apparently was in for a big surprise at the finish line.

I finished up, grabbed some refreshments and headed back to the finish line to catch a photo finish of Dixie and Crystal.

Also got to see the proposal - she said yes fortunately!

Overall, it would have been nice to run this a bit faster even though I was mainly wanting to just pace Dixie, but he did finish and with the obstacles and warmer temps it could have been worse.

But, maybe the best part was how easy the last 7 miles felt for me after I hit the 26 mile mark and how good it was to experience so many things I would never have seen or done.

Ran at the Y, 7:41 average pace

Looking back, I thought I must have run some intervals, but I did not, just a little bit faster than normal run.  Feeling good after only one day off after Sunday's ultra.

8.22 mi 01:10 08:33 pace

7.05 mi 00:57 08:05 pace

11.17 mi, 01:27, 07:47 pace

20.16 mi, 02:37, 07:47 pace

8.26 mi, 1:08:30, 8:17 pace

Run around the nbhd, out to Duckslough to Trinity Blvd, then Robert Trent Jones Pkwy with stop at golf course fountain, back onto Trinity then reversed back home.  Coolish at the start and overall the run felt pretty good.  Almost always feel renewed but until I do I forget how powerful it is.  I've written it down before and it's always helpful to remember it somehow when it is forgotten and you just don't feel like getting up early and heading out the door.

Yesterday's run also gave me a bit of hope for a good race this weekend and maybe even a good race at Boston this year.

8.52 mi, 01:09, 08:02 pace

(Garmin Stats 13.29 mi, 01:32:26, 06:57 pace)

Official: gun time 1:32:27, chip time 1:32:22

8.32 mi 01:04 07:41 pace

7.72 mi 01:05 08:24 pace

10.27 mi, 01:17, 07:31 pace

5.71 mi 00:48 08:21 pace

  Suncoast Bike Trail, Brooksville

20.21 mi , 02:38 , 07:47 pace

7.63 mi 01:03 08:18 pace

6.57 mi 00:58 08:53 pace

10.01 mi 01:21 08:05 pace

10.37 mi 01:15 07:11 pace

7.63 mi 01:04 08:23 pace

13.15 mi 01:56 08:48 pace

6.14 mi 00:51 08:20 pace

8.07 mi 01:00 07:24 pace

6.1 mi 00:52 08:28 pace

8.55 mi 01:01 07:11 pace

4.63 mi 00:39 08:23 pace

10.02 mi 01:27 08:39 pace

6.18 mi 00:52 08:25 pace

4.41 mi 00:35 07:56 pace

5.18 mi 00:39 07:27 pace

Boston Marathon race report - better late than never

(Garmin Stats: 26.54 mi,  03:24:44,  07:42 pace)

Official Splits:

Run for the Red Marathon

This is potentially a fast course, a pretty big net downhill (1400 feet), but with enough rollers and hills between miles 18 and 24 to make it challening.

Weather called for much warmer than average and also humid.  They had 3:15 and 3:25 pace groups.  Decided I'd start with the 3:25 group and pull ahead at some point in the race.  I had a pace tatoo from Taz Running which showed suggested 3:20 splits based on the elevation profile. Warmed up a little bit on the HS track with a little less than a half mile including a couple easy strides.

Miles 1-6

First 6 miles went pretty well.  Stayed close to the 3:25 pacer guy and the group clustered around him and hit some pretty steady splits - 7:41, 7:41, 7:41, 7:45, 7:49, but the 6th mile I'm not sure because I missed the mile marker and only have the time for miles 6 and 7 combined which averaged 7:37 but that was due to mile 7 being faster.  The first few miles of this section I didn't feel great.  Although the temperature was not terrible (high 60's) it felt pretty muggy.  These miles were also almost net flat but kind of rolly.  I knew I'd feel better, at least for a while after getting some miles in and I did, maybe after about 4 miles it started feeling easier.

Miles 7-13.1

The big downhill section started about mile 6 and I was feeling better also.  My 3:20 pace tatoo said I should speed up also.

So, after 6 miles of running with the pace group I pulled ahead.  Some of these miles felt easy.  There was also plenty of shade during these miles.  Lots of downhill mixed in with periodic uphills, but way more down than up. Just before the 13 mile point was a bridge with a metal grate for its deck - glad I wasn't wearing super light shoes.  Crossed the half way point at 1:40:05 which seemed perfect.  Although in retrospect it felt like I was already pushing the pace for the conditions.

Miles 13.1 - 19

After cruising by the clock at the halfway point I felt energized for a bit and there was still some pretty significant downhills until at least mile 17.  Jessica had dropped me off at the starting area and I told her not to wait there so she could get back in time to start the 5K race at 8:30 and it would be better to see me on the second half of the course than the start where I was still fresh and in good spirits.  The race website discourages trying to spectate on the course due to congestion on the roads and many of the places being hard to reach.  But, the information people at the expo had some good suggestions on where to view the race and there was a good spot right at the mile 16.   As I ran down the course, was wondering if she made it and if I'd actually see her.  I could see a lot of cars lined up on the cross street.  Just past the corner saw her taking pictures of me and shouting out some needed-to-hear "go Marks!"

Feeling pretty good now, two more miles under 8:00 pace.  It was getting harder but I knew it would, just wanted to keep it under 8:00 even if just barely.  Mile 18 finished after going through a tunnel where the road passed under train tracks.  Then a few tenths of a mile into mile 18 was a pretty good sized uphill.   I knew it would slow me down some going up it but thought I could make up the time going down the other side.  Not quite able to do that.  So, mile 19 would be 8:28.  Still not terrible.  BQ was in danger here but still not out the window.

Miles 19-26.2

3:25 group passed me around mile 21 and couldn't pull myself back together enough to try and hang on with them.  It turns out that the pacer for that group actually finished 3:23:59 which would have been pretty close to getting be back into Boston. 

Mile 23 and 24 had some walking involved.  The shade was mostly gone, the temperature felt like it was getting close to 80 (although it wasn't really).  I stopped for ice to try and cool down.  We had turned off the main road onto a parallel side street where all of the sudden, a LOT of people were walking.  One person was collapsing while two of her friends tried to support her on each side.  Lots of walking can be contagious.  Mile 24 finished right at the bottom of the last hill.  Fortunately I didn't succumb to walking the rest of the course and instead picked up a little speed back on the downside of the mile 24 hill and finished mile 25 back under 9:00.  After mile 25 I just kept plodding along and took one more short walk break.  Turned off of Main Street into the high school campus as I headed to mile 26 just outside the stadium.  3/4 of a lap around the track and finally it was over.   Had a few leg cramps as I turned the corner but overall the cramps had mostly held off.   Jessica was right near the finish line cheering me one more time.   I crossed under the finish arch and stopped my watch but I think I might have actually walked across the finish mat.

After finishing I had a craving for a coke, but they didn't have any for post race refreshments - but they did have a concession stand nearby for spectators and I was thankful I had tucked a $20 in my pocket in case of an emergency.  I collapsed on the field for a while after drinking the coke and a nurse from the med tent wandered by to make sure I was ok.

Miscellaneous:

Despite the highs and lows of the day, not reaching my goal, and feeling like giving up I reached one conclusion.  I love running marathons.  I love the training, the planning, the pre race nerves, the pasta dinner the night before, the aid stations, the mistakes, the things done correctly and the reminiscing afterward to name a few things.

Did I fall apart?  It's all relative.  I counted about 13 people who crossed the halfway point after me but finished before me (i.e. they passed me).  However, there were about 40 people who crossed the halfway point before me but I finished before them (I passed them).

This was my first attempt at not using auto-lap, I think I like it.  The laps weren't all exactly a mile, but on the plus side I knew exactly how much there was left to run after reaching 26 miles and I didn't have to worry about what my "real pace" was at any time.

(garmin stats: 3:30:39, 26.35 miles)

1. 7:41
2. 7:41
3. 7:41
4. 7:45
5. 7:49
6. 7:37
7. 7:37 (15:14/2) - missed mile marker
8. 7:09 (8:11 ,1.14 mi) - missed again but hit lap anyway
9. 7:28 (6:26 ,0.86 mi) - back on track
10. 7:46
11. 7:42
12. 7:45
13. 7:34
14. 7:45
15. 7:39
16. 7:17
17. 7:53
18. 7:44
19. 8:28
20. 8:31
21. 8:15
22. 8:47
23. 9:26
24. 10:19
25. 8:43
26. 9:06
27. 0.18 @7:23

1.04 miles @11:23 pace

First attempt back at running - started out walking, then run walk, and finally running a little bit at the end.  Felt better.

3.82 mi, 36:37, 9:35 pace

Second day back running.  Creature of habit - went to Longleaf to run with Striders because it is Thursday.  Ran with Dixie until he went on after the water stop.  Legs felt a little bit better today.

In the evening did some weights and elliptical at the Y while the boys did swim team.

5.65 mi, 53:10, 9:24

Day 3 back running, a little bit faster and farther.  Felt pretty good.  Ran with Jamie.   Warm and humid which is actually good.

8.11 mi, 1:01:25, 7:34 pace

Ran in Starkey Park, cooler than yesterday.  Days are in transition towards humid and warm mornings.  Started out easy but didn't want to run lazy, so first mile was 8:39 and second 7:55.  Picked it up and the rest were 7:05 to 7:32.  Missed the start with Renee and Jamie but saw them on the way back at least.  Also saw two deer running across the trail.

Legs feel pretty much back to normal with just a little tightness in my left calf.

8.03 mi, 1:10:13, 8:44 avg

Ran at Longleaf for the annual Memorial Day run.  Got there a little early and ran with Jamie and Cynthia for 2 miles, then met up for the group picture and ran another 6 miles.

7.07 mi, 54:13, 7:39 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  I felt a bit creaky at first but soon felt loosened up.  3 of the miles were between 7:12 and 7:21, the rest a bit slower.  Humid and warm which I'm appreciating as I want to get adjusted to the warmer weather as soon as possible!

1:01:08, 7.55 mi, 8:05 pace

Mostly easy miles, running in the neighborhood and some adjacent ones.  Started out later than planned but had cooler than expected temperatures so ok.  Slowest mile was 9:37 (first mile) and fastest was 7:19 (6th mile).

6.32 mi, 52:15, 8:16 avg

Warmer this morning but still breezy.  Started out in the neighborhood, ran to 54 to Corporate back to Trinity and then around the pond in the new park to see how far it is (almost exactly 0.75 miles with 1/4 mile increments measured on the path).  Ran a good bit on the grass on the way back and picked it up a little for the last mile (7:36)

9.03 mi, 1:20:13, 8:53 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood.  Was able to get started at 6:00 becaause I was meeting someone.  Kept the pace easy but with a slight and steady pickup throughout the run.  Nice coolish weather again this morning.  Goal was 8 miles but kept going for 9.

14.62 mi, 2:07:46, 8:44 avg

Started at Longleaf with Jamie and Cynthia about 6:00 just as it was getting light.  Nice and cool at the start and didn't get too hot even at the end.  We ran pretty steady and even for the first half, got slightly faster, and I started picking it up with miles 13 and 14 under 7:00 pace.  Last half mile was about a 7:45 pace.

5.21 mi, 42:26, 8:08 avg

Easy paced run in the neighborhood, still nice and cool.  Need to get a few more miles in tonight.

PM

3.12 mi, 25:56, 8:19 avg - Plan was to take the boys to swimming at the Y and then zone out on the treadmill to get to 9 miles.  Swimming was canceled so ran from home, caught a little bit of rain but almost got in what I set out to do.

9.05 mi, 1:09:35, 7:41 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Felt pretty easy going to start, not sluggish at all.  Cooler temperatures were still holding as well.

8.06 mi, 1:03:12, 7:50 avg

Ran in the neighborhood and after a slower first mile stayed pretty steady.  I originally was planning on a tempo run today but decided to postpone by one day and run easier today.  Felt pretty good and once again enjoyed some very cool (for June) weather.

Last day of school today for the boys so for the summer I won't be on such a tight morning running schedule so no more excuses for running out of time.

9.15 mi, 1:07:52, 7:25 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  I forgot to set my alarm, which should have been for 4:52.  However, I woke up on my own at 5:08 a little bit confused.  Got going and out the door almost on schedule.

Did about 2.5 easy miles for warm up and then started the tempo portion.  It was warmer today than yesterday - almost 75 degrees.  First mile was pretty good, second mile was harder and at about 2.6 miles I paused for a few seconds to regroup mentally.  Got going again and fought my way through it.  Finally with 0.45 miles left I crossed paths with Jenny who was out with her dog, so I stopped to say hi and then continued on.  So, not actually a non-stop tempo run but seemed pretty close.

Splits: 6:50, 6:52, 6:49, 6:52, 6:58, 6:44

9.27 mi, 1:21:26, 8:47 pace

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood.  Steady conversational pace throughout which gradually increased as we ran.  Cool air was gone but it's not yet hot.  Run went by pretty quickly and it was good to have the company.  A running week can get long if I do all of the weekday runs by myself.

18.04 mi, 2:35:09, 8:36 avg

I started out at Longleaf at about 5:30 with Jamie and Cynthia.  I felt good at the start of the run, usually I feel slow and clunky for the first few miles.  I actually didn't sleep too well last night.  When I came home for work I had a Baja Blast Mountain Dew with dinner - I don't drink very much soda and can't remember the last time I had a Mountain Dew (a Dr. Pepper now and then is more likely).  By about 10:30 I felt too jittery, went to bed had some trouble falling alseep and woke up a few times.  Didn't feel tired when I woke up and felt like I was already warmed up.

 Anyway, kept the pace pretty easy but I kept finding myself in front of the group.  Picked up Renee and Craig and Diane's house (which is also Craig's house), ran into Starkey Park for a bit until we got to the power lines and then turned back.

On the way back, with about a mile to go to get out of the park I told everyone we should do indian drills.  They reluctantly agreed be we kept on it for about a mile and a half and was kind of fun.

At about mile 13.5 I stopped and stretched briefly while Cynthia ran ahead.  Got going again and picked up the pace and was able to focus on her in the distance until catching back up and passing her.  Mile 14 was 8:02, and then the last 4 miles were 7:04, 6:54, 7:16, and 6:56.

So, although a good part of the run was at an easy pace (bonus that it also felt easy), had a pretty good fast finish.

It was a relatively cool morning at the start but pretty warm at the end.

Had a chance to have coffee with several other runners at Havana Dreamers, then headed home and cooled off in the pool.

10.15 mi, 1:19:18, 7:48 avg

Ran in the neighborhood.  Late enough start where most of the run was warm except for shaded areas almost cool.  I have two schedules printed out, one with 9 miles, the other with 10, so was going to settle for 9 if things weren't going well but was able to stick with 10.

9.55 mi, 1:15:40, 7:55 avg

I was wavering about doing 8 miles or 10 miles and was feeling a bit more tired than usual so I decided to settle on 9 which turned into almost 10 miles.  I ran at the Y with the Striders but was mostly by myself.  Temperature I think was 76 degrees or so which means it felt warm to me where 75 or below feels much cooler for some reason.

The other good thing about not doing 10 miles was when I got back they were just packing up the coffee and snacks so was able to grab a half a banana and a cup of coffee.

Overall, it was a good run and ended up being almost 10 miles.

9.6 mi, 1:14:57, 7:48 avg

After missing yesterday's run, including a second chance evening run, and getting a later start this morning I started worrying about what if I never run again.

Bur, fortunately that didn't happen.  I started out feeling like I would just plod along for 6 miles if I had to.  First mile was slow, but then as usual soon felt better.  Yesterday was also supposed to be speed work day.  So, I decided I'd at least do a little bit today.   Did 400m, 800m, and 1 mile with about 0.2 mile rest between.  I was thinking about repeating this a second time but decided not to push it.  I did do 4 x 25 second strides at the end as well.  The rest of the miles were pretty good as well.  More importantly I pulled myself out of panic mode, got the miles in and did some better-than-nothing speed.

9.17 mi, 1:25:16, 9:18 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood at 6:00.  Weather was good and the miles went by pretty quickly.  Conversational pace throughout with a slight and gradual pick up throughout the run.

16.33 mi, 2:25:56, 8:56 avg

Ran from Longleaf at 5:30 with Jamie and Cynthia.  We ran up to Diane's to meet Renee but just missed her.  Ran into the park and when we got to the shelter Jamie decided to turn back early.  Cynthia continued out to the power lines before turning back.  It was extra humid this morning and it made the forest look like a jungle.   Had been running between 8:50 and 9:30 for most of the run until I picked it up for the last 3.33 miles to 7:49, 7:21, and 7:12.   Not quite the pick up I did last week but still good to switch gears and finish strong.

Lots of people were doing the RAP River Run 5K this morning.  I ran that race 5 years ago with the family while I was getting ready to run the Deseret News Marathon.  That morning I ran from my house to the starting line, did the 5K with my kids and then ran the course again to round out 20 miles for the morning.

9.16 mi, 1:14:44, 8:09 avg

Ran in the neighborhood, delayed start a couple of times and didn't get going until 7:45.  Sluggish the first mile and then pretty good after that.  Three water fountain stops to cool off.  Last mile 7:11.

Will try to get 2 or 3 more miles in tonight.

PM - ok I did it

3.07 mi, 24:23, 7:57 avg

Out and back to the golf course water fountain.

1:10:52, 9.1 mi, 7:47 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Warm and very humid but this was all before the sun.  Warm up first mile at 9:06, then the rest between 7:22 and 7:50

8.67 mi, 1:06:05, 7:37 avg

Plan called for 6 miles @ 7:00 pace.

But, it was very warm and humid this morning, partially due to me not getting out the door soon enough.  Toyed around with moving today's run to tomorrow but that doesn't seem to work out to well except when it's for a reason more beyond my control.  Also, feeling a bit sluggish during warm up.  So, I bargained with myself.  I decided I'd do 2x3 miles.  Also, would see how I felt after the first mile and if I could hang onto that pace the workout was on.

And so, after 1.5 mile warm up I started out and it wasn't that bad.  Felt like I could do it.  First mile was good, second came and went and the third mile looked like it was going to be a success.  Water fountain was about a half mile away from where the third mile would end so I figured I'd keep going, then the second half would only be 2.5 miles.

But, after the water fountain stop I realized I wasn't doing so good.   Got going anyways but then called it off after a half mile.  Slogged through the next mile but it turned out it wasn't that slow (8:22), and finally decided to finish up the last mile.

So, splits were: 6:54, 6:55, 6:55, 6:57, 8:22, 6:50

Got to keep hoping it's the heat acclimitization and the miles will get easier.

8.1, 1:08:41, 8:28 avg

I ran with Cynthia and some with Dixie.  Started at 5:30 at Longleaf.  Warmed up for about 2 miles.  My garmin started flaking out and said I was running a 3:30 pace, so I've had to do some estimating about what I really ran.  But, I fixed the problem by power cycling it and then it seemed to behave.

After the warm up did 10x1 minute intervals with one minute rest.  Ran into Dixie after the third one and then he joined us for the rest.  After getting back, headed out for about another mile and a half to hopefully get over 8 (garmin distance was 8.87 which included the flakeout section).

Felt much better today than yesterday - starting out just  before dawn makes a huge difference!

9.07 mi, 1:13:18, 8:05 avg

Ran in the neighborhood, kind of warm out but I think I've pretty much adjusted to it by now.  Slower start at 9:45 and typical faster last mile at 7:14.  Good run overall.

20.06, 2:40:23, 7:59 avg

Except for a slight glitch, this run couldn't have gone much better.

Met up with Beka, Andrea, and Dixie at 5:00 in Longleaf.  Beka and Andrea are both training for same race I am - Chasing the Unicorn in mid August in PA.  Dixie was along to see how far he could go.

We started off from the parking lot and headed inside the neighborhood so I decided to ditch my fuel belt since we'd be back to the same spot in about 3.5 miles.  After starting again needed to catch up the ladies so first mile was a little faster than planned (8:05 instead of 8:30).  And then the next few miles were right about 8:00.

Grabbed my fuel belt and a swig of gatorade from my car.  I could see the ladies on the trail not too far up ahead and was about to pick it up to catch them but then saw I had dropped my ipod that had been on my fuel belt.  Thought about getting it later but then afraid maybe I had droppped it someplace it might have gotten run over.  Ran back toward my car just as another group was starting out.  Dixie decided to switch groups so he went with them.  I finally found my ipod and it definitely could have gotten stepped on if left on the ground where I dropped it so glad I went back.  But, now all alone I decided to drive ahead to Diane's house where they'd be going, and then run towards them until meeting back up.

It worked, and soon intercepted them with Jolene now with them, and soon we picked up Melanie. 

After that, the run was pretty steady with most miles right at 8:00 or up to 10-15 seconds faster.  I had one extra mile to finish once the rest of the group was done so I just did a short out and back by myself which ended up as my fastest mile at 7:13 pace.

And then, time to head up and finish up packing followed by about 11 hours in a car (to be followed up by a second day in the car of 11 hours!)

8.14 mi, 1:17:06, 9:28 avg

8 nice and cool miles with my brother Jim in Webster, NY.  Ran from his house onto Klem Rd for a while and then turned onto a trail.  I saw a sign but didn't read the name correctly.  While running through the woods saw that there was a ravine on either side and then realized this must have been a railroad.  Asked Jim who said it had been the old Hojack Line.  When I looked carefully I could see remnants of old railroad ties, but most of the old gravel bed was gone and now it was just nice packed dirt.  Took the trail to the railroad bridge that crossed Lake Road which was pretty much the end of the trail since the homeowner's along the lake quickly snatched up the railbed right of way a long time ago when the line closed.

Turned back and came home the same way.  Nice treat with the cool weather, the wooded trail and running with my bro.

8.56 mi, 1:12:09, 8:25 avg

Same route as yesterday but much later in the morning (10:30), and by myself.  Woke up earlier when it was still raining.  Promised the kids Donuts Delite so did the donut run first then did the actual run part.  Nice route again, from my brothers house to Klem Road and out and back on the Hojack Trail but went slightly farther - down the bridge to Lake Road at the end of the trail so I could run back up the hill.  Also, kind of breezy out this morning which was nice.

No running miles, but did do a nice 6.2 mile hike up Wright Mountain in the Adirondacks.  Well, at least most of the way up.  Sammy was struggling a bit once the trail got extra steep and very rocky.  Even with help things were getting really slow, so Jim and the boys continued the remaining 0.8 miles or so to the peak while Sammy and I turned back.  I took my time and stopped a few times and eventually they caught back up to me with about a mile to go. They said the trail became even more difficult just after I had turned back.

Fun and challenging time overall, would love to come back here again some time.

9.0 mi, 1:16:16, 8:28

Felt good about this run for a few reasons.  Third run of the week, good for a vacation/travel week, glad to see I'm not too dinged up from the hiking and it was a really nice day.  Started from the cottage, ran a short distance to the end of the road (only a few houses but a good steep hill), then headed out past the mailboxes, past the little bridge and golf course and then onto old County Road 100 which has less traffic and a much better view of the river.

8.2 mi, 1:04:45, 7:53 avg

Similar route as yesterday but didn't do the initial out and back to the start of the island.  Another nice day, late morning run with cool temperatures.  Ran about the first mile with Jim before he split off onto a different route for a shorter run.

6.12 mi, 51:04, 8:20 avg

Drove over to the Thousand Islands Bridge and parked near the base.  Ran up and over to the visitors center on the other side, headed back over and ran a bit in the grass.  Did one more complete up and over but on the second trip turned at the base and ran down to the river before heading back up.  Stopped at the top for a selfie and to enjoy the view, saw one ship and several fishing boats.  When I reached the bottom I ran up one more time almost to the top and then back down, so about two and a half full trips.

It had been looking like it was going to rain for a while so was trying to finish before the rain but the rain never did show back up.  Got back to the cottage in time for the start of the scrabble game and then dinner.

Last day at the cottage with Jim and Brian, and then the boys and I would leave on Sunday morning.  It was a great visit.

5.07 mi, 40:34, 7:59 avg

Ran in the neighborhood.  Avoided a goose egg for the day after two days driving in the car.  Home by 6:30, made dinner, unpacked the car and cleaned a bit and then went out for a run just before it got dark.  Back to the warmer weather so evening run was a pretty good transition.

8.54 mi, 1:10:37, 8:16 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders. Joe was there, ran with him most of the way.  I was feeling a bit stiff and slow at first but warmed up nicely.  The air was already warm but there was a nice cooling breeze about 6:00.  Could not get all 9 miles in because I needed to get back to wake up Andy for volunteering.

PM - 2.25 miles, 19:12, 8:32 avg

Did a short easy run in the neighborhood to make up for this morning and some of yesterday, feeling mostly back on track now!

9.15 mi, 1:12:25, 7:54 pace

It was supposed to be a 6 mile tempo run but it didn't quite work out.  Started too late to avoid the sun.  Route is somewhat shaded but not quite enough.  Warmed up and then did 4 miles at tempo pace: 6:48, 6:59, 6:59, 7:06

I finished the fourth mile and thought I might start again to finish the last two after cooling off at the water fountain but I felt almost dangerously tired and overheated so decided just to finish out the rest of the run the best I could.

9.07 mi, 1:11:50, 7:55 avg

Today's run felt much better.  5:30 start at Longleaf with the Striders.  Ran with Joe and Jamie for first 4.5 miles then did the rest on my own.  Miles 6,7,and 8 were 7:21 and below and 9th mile was 6:53.  This morning's 6:53 felt so much easier than the same pace yesterday.  No sun makes huge difference.  Temperature was 80 degrees and pretty high humidity - felt like swimming!

9.09 mi, 1:20:55, 8:54 avg

Ran with Jamie in the nbhd at 6:00.  It looked like Raj might show up but couldn't make it at the last minute.  Run was good, not too hot out or I've really gotten used to it.

First mile was about 10:25, last mile 8:07 but they all kind of felt the same.

22.12 mi, 2:57:36, 8:01 avg

Great run with Beka and Andrea for 22 miles (plus some miles with Brian, Melanie, Diane, Jason, and a few others).

Training plan had 20 miles but was better to run with others and they have a different running style from me where they like to get on pace right away and run pretty even (I usually have more drastic variations with very slow starting miles, highs and lows and a few faster miles at the end).

Starting temp was 77 degrees, mid 80's for humidity but didn't feel bad.  Looped in Long leaf for 3 miles, then Starkey bike trail to Diane's house, into the park several miles and a quick stop at the shelter for gatorade refills.

Pace plan - 1 mile warm up, 10 miles at 8:15, 10 miles at 8:00 and 1 mile cool down.

Great feeling to finish this run and grateful to have so many different types of runners to run with, can learn something from each one.

Two more 20's and six weeks total until Chasing the Unicorn in August.

11.11 mi, 1:30:43, 8:10 avg

Monday seems like it came too fast, but at least I was ready mentally and had no dread of running 11 miles in summer alone.  Made a big loop from my house out to SR54, then turned into the road that runs through the edge of the Trinity hospital campus out to Little Rd, then a side trip down Photonics pkwy to the Y for a bottle refill in the 10 oz handheld I was carrying, then back through Kinsmere toward my neighborhood via the golf course.

First mile was 10:15 and last one about 7:30.  Only 5 more runs left, or in other words I get to do 5 more runs this week!

6.23 mi, 50:45, 8:08 avg

Got a little bit rained on and ran a little bit short on time so did not get all 10 miles in but at least did 10 kilometers! Will try to get some more in later.  I started out with no shirt and the rain actually felt cold which made me think how lucky I was to feel chilly on a run in Florida in July.  Rain slowed down and then stopped and the air stayed pleasant, I finished before it turned to steamy as it warms up.  After a slower warm up the miles got faster with the last one about a 7:20

11.05 mi, 1:26:55, 7:51 avg

Late start, slow first couple of miles for warm up as I ran out to the new park which has a path around some ponds with 1/4 miles marked out to 1 mile which covers about 1 1/3 times around the loop.  Goal was 5 x 1 miles at 6:23 and I really didn't think I had it in me but the training and adapting to the heat must be paying off.  First mile I was quickly on pace and finished a few seconds ahead of goal.  Second mile I was much faster, third mile was like the 1st and so on.

Paces: 6:19, 5:51, 6:19, 6:05, 6:25

Last one a little slower, but I felt pretty much done after the fourth one (done in a good way).

Today's run was a big boost since the last time I did repeats they didn't go so well but today the warm air and humidity didn't seem to bother me.

10.11 mi, 1:17:45, 7:41 avg

5:30 am run with the Striders at Longleaf.  Easy paced first mile, followed by 8:06 second mile, and then the rest under 8:00.  Felt a bit cooler this morning, maybe right about 75 or 76 degrees.  Ran a little bit faster than planned.  Felt good overall.

When I finished the run there were a few of us left, maybe 6 or 7.  A very mature high school student decide to share a devotional thought for the day about mentoring and being mentored and went around the circle.  I thought it was pretty impressive the way she led it.

9.27 mi, 1:24:47, 9:08 avg

Ran in the neighborhood with Jamie at 6:00.  Good relaxed pace which was a good break after the last couple of days of running harder.  Warmer and maybe a small notch more humid though.  I successfully completely gate-game which is where I try to make it to the gate of this one nbhd before it closes, good pick up.  Made it just after gate was starting to close but still had plenty of room so as not to be that dangerous.  It's maybe been a couple of years since doing that.

16.06 mi, 2:24:48, 8:59 avg

Ran with Jamie and Cynthia from Diane's house.  Jamie was doing 20 and Cynthia was keeping her company.  They started at Longleaf and I did bag pick up for them.  Another day of running a bit slower but again it felt like I needed it.  About 10 miles into the run, while inside Starkey Park, Cynthia kind of ran out of gas and ended up walking to the shelter.  Jamie and I continued on and just outside the park we split up and I did a little bit of a pickup for the last two miles, 7:18 and 7:23.  Sun was out in full force by this time but I felt like I could run through it.

Cynthia had just finished the walk back to the shelter so we headed up there to pick her up.  Jamie said it was a good confidence boosting run for her.  Her race is several weeks after mine at Presque Isle Marathon in Erie, PA.

10.21 mi, 1:22:40, 8:05 avg

This morning felt like one of those "get the job done" runs.  Ran from my house to 54 to Corporate Pkwy and then to the new park and one loop around the water, then down Trinity and then towards Heritage Springs and up and down Robert Trent Jones Pkwy.  First mile was 9:33, second was 8:20 and then the rest were mainly between 7:40 and 8:00.  Heat and humidity were as expected.   Felt pretty good most of the time.  I thought back to Thursday's run where I felt great the whole time and appreciated it.

10.21 mi, 1:25:39, 8:23 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders, 5:30.  Ran about 6 miles with Joe, then did another 2.5 miles by myself before I had to head home and make sure Andy was awake to get to his volunteer hours.  After that, did another 1.7 miles running the neighborhood loop.  Felt a  bit sluggish again today but part of that was due to chatting with Joe while running.

11.02 mi, 1:24:12, 7:38 avg

Started out finally about 6:50, warm and overcast.  Weather.com said it was 79 degrees, but there was a slight breeze.

Warmed up with about 1.6 miles easy pace (feeling slow and clunky), ran out to 54 so I'd start the tempo portion just around the corner from Starkey Blvd.

Started the tempo portion and was wondering how far I could make it today.  I haven't had one fully successful tempo run so far this training cycle.  First mile was ok and I was making it through my second mile ok, and then into the third mile and it was starting to feel tough and I wanted to stop.  The thing with stopping by choice during a tempo run is that it can really ruin it for me.  However, if I stop for some reason outside of my doing then I seem to be ok.

And soon, I saw Beka running toward me, looking a bit tired and discouraged.  She was running a 20 mile training run since she'd be travelling on Saturday and the heat had gotten to her.  Stopped and said hi and said some words of encouragement, but secretly I knew she had just saved me.  She told me where they had stashed a cooler in case I needed water, I wished her a good vacation and then went on my way.  The rest of the miles weren't easy but I knew I'd get them done.  One of the miles was a little slower but not far off and the average of the tempo miles was good.

Splits: 6:46, 6:53, 6:45, 6:51, 7:02, 6:49

After the tempo miles I still had a bit over two miles to get back home.  Felt good on the final mile with 7:25 pace.

10.03 mi, 1:24:18, 8:24 avg

Longleaf with the Striders at 5:30.  A few drops of rain before the run and then nothing, just some pretty pre-rain humidity (rained a couple hours later).  Joe and Jamie were both there this morning, ran with them almost to Aristide neighborhood (about 5.5 miles), I kept going a bit more so I'd have 10 miles when I got back to the start.  Picked it up the last few miles with the final mile at 7:13.

9.36 mi, 1:25:20, 9:08 pace

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, 6:00 am start.  Not too hot and muggy and then started to rain a bit part of the way into the run.  Ranged between light and medium with a bit of wind.  Wet, but at least it was no longer close to hot.

20.12 mi, 2:46:55, 8:17 avg

Pretty warm and muggy but with a breeze here and there.  5:45 start at Longleaf with Jamie and a bunch of others.  Ran up  Starkey Blvd, brief stop at corner of Aristide neighborhood for water top off, started again but Jamie forgot her ipod so we doubled back about a quarter mile, grabbed it and then started up again.  A little bit later Joe caught up to us.  He had left a little later than us but was also running a little faster.

We ran into Starkey Park and then at almost 8 miles, Joe and Jamie turned back.  It was my plan to pick up the pace for the rest and that's what I did.  At that point I had about an 8:48 average pace for the run.  There was no water in the water coolers on the trail so I was careful with what I had.  Headed out a little past 10 miles and turned back with a stop at the Striders shelter for some gatorade and water.

Now, only 5 miles left, got going again.  Kept on a pretty good pace but it sure was getting hot, really feeling it when out of the shade. 

With three miles left I kept it under 8:00 and did the last mile at 7:33.

Stopped at Havana Dreamers after the run for a big coke with lots of ice.

Now, only one more 20 miler to go.  I feel like I've done a consistent job this time of following the plan with the paces and distances even when I feel like running a bit slower, not running as far or skipping the tempo run.  They haven't all gone as planned but I think the effort was there for each one.

When I drove home I saw Jamie jogging in the neighborhood with her husband biking next to her.  Her return trip was kind of rough and she cut it short but decided to finish up once she got home.  Good that her husband offered to bike alongside her.

9.12 mi, 1:16:43, 8:24 avg

Had trouble getting out early and then felt really sluggish the first few miles, but second half of the run was faster and came close to evening things out.  Ran in the neighborhood, solo.  I'll put this run in the overall good column.

9.06 mi, 1:11:31, 7:53 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Better run today than yesterday.  First mile was 8:43, then the rest were all faster.  After the water stop I ran with Ben for about the next three miles and then did another Kinsmere loop before heading back and also stopped again at the water stop for another drink.  Warm and humid but dark for a lot of the run which makes a bigger difference than I used to realize.

9.15 mi, 1:22:04, 8:58 avg

Ran in the neighborhood with Joe, met about 6:15 kept the pace pretty easy, a little bit faster.  Weather was typical hot and humid.  Good to have the company on a Wednesday run.

9.15 mi, 1:15:50, 8:17 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Got there just after 5:30, but saw Joe waiting just across the street, he figured I was running late.  A bit more humid than yesterday.  Ran with Joe until just past the bridge where he turned back and I told him I was waiting for him to turn back so I could have my melt down.  Fortunately, found a second wind and found some faster miles on the way back with last mile at 7:07.

9.12 mi, 1:14:14, 8:08 avg

A little bit later start than hoped.  Ran in the neighborhood and also seriously thought about doing a "good enough" distance instead ended up with 9 miles and felt pretty good at the end.  There was a little bit of light rain so that helped cool things off a little bit.

8.87 mi, 1:16:03, 8:34 avg

Ran in the evening, finished just before it got dark, still pretty humid out.  Found some hills and nice scenery.

11.16 mi, 1:34:13, 8:26 avg

Felt like an impossibly long distance when I started and of course it was a bit hot and humid.  But chipped away at the miles.  Ran around the neighborhood and up and down past the golf course finally finishing up running past my house until I'd get in enough miles.  Cooled off in the pool a little bit and as I left for work it began to rain again.  Running 11 miles on a Monday can be one of the toughest workouts.

11 mi, 1:31:40, 8:20 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders, a few minutes late for 5:30 start.  Rain sounded heavy when I woke up but figured it might stop or lighten up.  I finished 7 miles before I had to head back home to wake up Andy.  Finished up the rest of the miles at home with an out and back past the water fountain.  But, on the way out my garmin battery died so I'm estimating the pace but I'm pretty certain of the distance since I've run the exact route a bumch of times.  More rain but not heavy, just enough to keep it cool.

10.86 mi, 1:23:11, 7:39 avg

Ran from my house to Starkey Blvd to run on the bike path.  Almost felt cool at first but the humidity caught up with me eventually.  Also, ended up dodging more puddles than I expected and the grass on either side was pretty saturated and spongey.  But, did the best I could and pretty much made my goal of 6:54 average for 6 miles (although did take one break to mentally regroup at 2.4 miles).

Splits: 6:52, 7:02, 6:45, 6:54, 7:00, 6:48

Pretty big mileage week and now I'm halfway done.

9.08 mi, 1:13:29, 8:05 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders at 5:30.  At first it looked like hardly anyone was there, but because they moved the meeting spot to across the street and I was apparently in the group that did not check facebook the night before.  Bike trail has gotten even more flooded so all the run consisted of extra loops inside the neighborhood and none on the bike trail. 

Ran first loop with Michelle and Fernando, and then joined by Ben on the second loop. Third loop was mostly by myself.

Coffee had all leaked out of the pot so none left when I finished.

Run turned out better than expected, was afraid I'd be dragging the whole time.  Last three miles were all in low 7:30's and felt good.

20.02 mi, 2:41:28, 8:03 avg

This was a very tough run for me but also a great confidence booster.  Since Starkey bike trail and park are getting more and more flooded we ran in Lansbrook nbhd.  Met up with Beka, Andrea, Ryan and Jason at the Y down there.  They like to start out faster than I usually start out and I felt like I was struggling for the first few miles.  It was also 5:00 am, it's a Friday instead of the usual Saturday long run, it's warm and humid and I wasn't sure what route we were taking.  Seemed to zig and zag throughout.  I've run down here before but it was very dark and it was a new route.

We got back to the parking lot after just under 10 miles for drink refills and to start the second half.  Jason was only do 10 so he took off and Beka was really struggling and wanted to run alone for a bit.

So, I followed Ryan and Andrea as we headed across East Lake to another neighborhood where we were going to go straight for 2.5 miles, turn back and then head out again from the parking lot.  I felt a little bit better now that it was light and I knew the route but still trailed behind them until we arrived at the turn around, then I was running with them.  At 13 miles seemed like a long way to go still, wasn't sure how I'd keep going, but I kept on moving along with our small group.

At 15 miles I was getting ready to make my short speech about how I was going to stop and stretch and drop back for a little bit.   Instead, I took my powerbar double latte gel, waited for it to kick in and soon found myself out in front.  We had been hovering around an 8:00-8:10 pace, now we were around a 7:40.  Altered the route again so we'd be done by the time we got back.  Also, as we were returning, saw Beka again who looked like she was back and running strong.

It was a good effort and a valuable mental exercise in keeping on.  Hoping for some cooler temps (should be as it will be PA instead of FL) and a little race day magic in two weeks.

10.39 mi, 1:34:22, 9:04 avg

Since I did my long run yesterday, still needed an "easy" run today.  Jamie needed to do 18 miles and wasn't sure what route to talk and in desperation thought she might just run the close neighborhood 10 or 11 times.

So, alternate plan was for her to do a few loops for 5 miles, then she and Joe would swing by my house and we'd do an out and back to the Trinity Y where we could get some cold water and run back. 

Heard a good amount of rain at 5:00 am and was wondering if I'd get a text saying she wasn't running.  But, the rain stopped, I waited out front.  Saw Joe and then a few minutes later Jamie showed up after her 5 miles.  I led the way on a meandering course to the Y to get there just after 7:00.  Got there and headed back.  There was some very light rain that kept things cool.  Took it easy and felt good.

Biggest week for me in a while with some solid effort.

4.05 mi, 34:07, 8:24 avg

Heard it raining and thundering early in the morning, thought maybe it would stop soon, but it didn't and eventually I was running out of time.  Put on an older pair of shoes because I knew they'd get wet.  But, it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be.  It had died down a little.  There were some pretty impressive puddles and little rivers running down the road, but overall not terrible.  Was supposed to do 6 miles but this was at least better than nothing.

5.36 mi, 40:02, 7:28 avg

Busy morning so I had to do my run in the evening.  Still pretty warm out but ended up getting onto a pretty quick pace after a mile warm up for the first mile at about 8:30 pace which is a pretty fast warmup mile.  Rest of the miles were all below 7:20 pace.

Slightly short on distance but it was fun to do a shorter and quicker run.

6.31 mi, 51:08, 8:06 avg

Finally, a run that turned out to be the planned distance and pace.  Ran in the morning in the neighborhood (although still slightly on the late side).  Steady pick up from 9:30 first mile to 7:20 last mile.

Well, actually tempo run was scheduled for today but decided to postpone it one day.

6.63 mi, 51:03, 7:42 avg

Yesterday's planned short tempo run which was postponed until today almost didn't happen.  Pretty warm out this morning but figured I could push through 3 miles at a 6:41 pace.

After the mile warm up I switched into tempo gear and felt ok at first, but then didn't and started thinking about postponing again. Pace had slowed down to 7:08 and then I decided if that's all I could do with the effort I had then that's what I'd do.

Then, little by little pushed the pace back down and finished the first mile at 6:45, then did the last two at 6:36 and 6:31.  Done!

Starting to wrap up week 1 of the taper, then there's another taper week next week and then race day.  Fingers crossed that I'll be able to beat back any doubts on race day like the one that almost took me down today.

8.63 mi, 1:14:18, 8:36 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood at 6:00.  Joe stayed with us most of the run but headed back a little bit early.  Warm and humid but about average for what it has been.  Overall a good run and always nice to have some company.

5.42 mi, 44:11, 8:08 avg

Ran by myself in the neighborhood.   Waited too long to start so it was one notch more humid than most other days.  Had a slow start at first, but ran the last 3.5 miles at a pretty good pace.

4.32 mi, 35:01, 8:06 avg

Taper week, just a short run.  Went to the Y to run with the Striders for the company.  Ran with Joe for a bit.  Started out at very easy pace and finished with last mile at 7:07.

6.15 mi, 46:30, 7:33 avg

Taper week with one hard workout, today.

3x1mi @ 6:18 pace.

I ran at the new park again with the marked path around the small lakes.

6:09, 5:50, 6:18

I've noticed an anomaly here and at the high school track.  When running clockwise my pace shows faster.  At this park the 1/4 mile marks out to a mile are only counterclockwise so hard to tell.  But I'm guessing they first two were close to the same.  It was a good run for being about 80 degrees already.

4.47 mi, 37:05, 8:18 avg.

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, only 4 miles today but wanted the company.  Ran with Joe and Jamie for most of it.  Saw only one meteroid from the shower.  I saw two on Tuesday.

Chasing the Unicorn Race Report

(see bottom for stats if you want to skip to stats)

My fourth marathon this year and coming off of some of my most solid training, especially for summer.  Put in some good miles, some easy and some fast.  Enjoyed running some tough long runs with Beka and Andrea as they prepared for the same race so was feeling pretty ready as the race approached.

However, the weather forecast did somewhat deteriorate as race day approached, with the low temperature climbing and the projected high climbing even higher.  But, I also reasoned that since I had done a lot of training in Florida summer weather I still might have an edge and with a little race day magic could still pull it off.

Met up with Beka and Andrea the evening before the race and for packet pick up at Washington Crossing Park, PA (took me a while to realize that yes, this is indeed the spot where G.W. crossed the Delaware River on Christmas for a much needed victory).  Walked out onto the canal path a little bit to check it out and then headed for dinner in the nearby town of Newtown at a Chinese restaurant called "Duck Sauce"

The weather was looking not so good, skies had been clear a lot and day time highs were in the 90's.  Mornings were still cool so that helped.  We met back at the park, warmed up a little bit and then had another runner get a picture of us.  We had goal times about 10 minutes apart (hopefully) with 3:20 for me and 3:30 for Beka (Andrea was there for moral support).  Small waves of about 50 runners were 30 seconds apart.  I was in the 2nd wave and my two friends right behind me in wave 3.  I think the start  temperature was about 65 degrees, humidity a bit high somewhere in the high 80's  (about 10 percent lower than Florida summer humidity).

Race starts at 7:15 in a parking lot, then on the road out of the park but turns onto the Delaware canal path which has a crushed fine gravel on top of packed dirt.  There is a very slight incline as the path heads north (one small lock and a very small climb to the turn around point).  There are also 7 "camelback bridges" that arch over the canal with the path dropping down below the bridge and then back up.  Taller runners might have to (or feel like they have to) duck a little bit.  Most of the path is as wide as a single lane dirt road but a few spots narrow down to the width of a single track running trail which gets a little tight when there are runners coming the other way.

First mile I felt pretty good although didn't quite have that bouncy feeling I sometimes have at the start of a good race.  Not all good races have this feeling, so I'd wait a few miles.  I hit the first mile at 7:58, hitting the lap button on my garmin instead of relying on garmin splits.  I thought that pace seemed reasonable and planned on trying to keep all miles after that faster.

With Andrea and Beka starting 30 seconds after me, and with a goal pace about 20 seconds slower I wanted to be about two and a half minutes ahead of them after the 6.6 mile turn around where I'd see them.  First 5 miles went by, still not quite feeling that fast, but then all of the sudden, after mile 5 the running felt easy.

Hit the turn around, felt good and in a couple minutes saw Beka and Andrea both looking strong and happy.  The whole return trip back felt pretty much like it did just after mile 5.  It was still relatively cool, and the shade definitely helped.  There was a pretty tall bald guy wearing dark shorts that I started to follow.

I was hitting all of the aid stations to grab a water or gatorade so I wouldn't fall behind.  At the turn around, went through the aid station, grabbed a cup, and went to toss it in the trash can.  As I was trying to do that, a volunteer was telling another volunteer (maybe his son), that the trash can was in the wrong spot and starts to drag it away as I'm trying to throw out my cup.  It was frustrating in a slow motion sort of way.  Didn't really cost me any time but it would be the start of a slower second half.

Crossed through the halfway point with a gun time just over 1:41, so right about 1:40:30 net which was 30 seconds slower than at Poconons, but with this being a flat course and having just run the first half and knowing what exactly was in store thought I had a good chance of running an even split or at least a small positive split.  I really wanted to be under 3:23 for a decent shot at getting into Boston.   Soon saw the ladies again, both looked good and the gap seemed to be about right.

On the second half, the course markers are at 0.1 mile offsets, so 14.1, 15.1, 16.1, etc.  I knew this because I saw those signs on the first half.  But for some reason my running calculation brain had not caught up and I was waiting to hit the lap button at the 14 mile sign.  So, the lap time made it look like I had slowed.  While I was trying to sort this out, my pace slowed a little bit.  I recovered some of the lost pace but missed getting under 8:00 for mile 15.1

Also around this time I lost sight of the taller bald guy when I got a side stitch (I chatted with him at the end of the race, he finished with 3:25, good for a 55 yo age group award).  16.1 was now way slower than 8:00.  But, not to be defeated, I would try to pick it back up again once I could shake the side stitch.

So, next mile was faster, back under 8:00, but just a little bit.  then slower, and then one more faster as I approached the 19.6 mile turn around.  I was now on my way back and was feeling a little bit faster and soon saw Beka and Andrea approaching their last turn around, but shortly after seeing them slowed down again by the time I got to 20.1.   Next mile was faster but could no longer get back under 8:00.  Except for the goal of finishing, the race part felt pretty much over.

Finally, just before the 25.1 marker I looked at the total race time which I hadn't looked at for a while (probably not since the halfway).  Time was 3:21:20 (or was it 3:21:40, can't quite remember).  So, with 1.1 miles I mustered up a little bit of steam and got back under 8:30.  There was an emergency vehicle on the canal path a little bit before the turn off back into the park.  Ran past it and soon saw the turn off, soon was at the 26.1 marker with the finish arch in sight.

I walked around for a bit, grabbed some gatorade and sat on the ground.  Calf seized up once I was on the ground and seemed to stay locked forever (or maybe it was a minute).  Soon, was back up on my feet and hung out at the finish line until Beka and Andrea approached and came across looking pretty strong.

Ok, so another missed BQ but it was ok, there was a little less giving up and falling apart at the end than my last race even though temperatures were even higher this time.  I think the first half was about as fast/slow as I could go without being too far out of reach of my time goal.  Also, a lot of fun to hang out before and a little after with my running friends and of course a visit to my favorite Aunt and Uncle that live in New Jersey after the race before flying back home the next morning.

Official Race stats:

Start offset: 39:06  (I was in the second wave.  Waves were 30 seconds apart to keep congestion down)

6.55 miles: 0:51:17.42  1/2 Marathon: 1:41:11.82  19.65 miles: 2:34:45.47  Gun Time: 3:31:59.49  Chip Time: 3:31:20

Garmin Stats: 2.37 mi, 3:31:22, 8:00 avg

Mile 1-13 Splits: 7:58, 7:44, 7:39, 7:47, 7:42, 7:28, 7:33, 7:34, 7:39, 7:27, 7:31, 7:37, 7:42

Mile 14-19.1 splits: 8:47 (7:38 pace, 1.1 miles to 14.1 miles, second half of course was marked at mile + 0.1), 8:05, 8:26, 7:56, 8:30, 7:59

Miles 20.1-26.2 splits: 8:57, 8:12, 8:44, 8:42, 9:11, 9:00, 8:25, 0:50 (0.12 @ 7:15 pace)

1.18 mi, 14:10, 12:02 avg

First attempt back at running to get my legs thinking about running.  Short and slow and also the first day of trying out MAF training, running at or just below maximum aerobic only pace.  I think part of the problem with that today is it was a very clunky run and heart rate was all over the pace.  It will take some getting used to.

2.3 mi, 26:48, 11:39 avg

A little bit farther than yesterday, slightly faster and day two of maf running.  Yesterday heart rate was all over the place.  Today it was more steady and run felt smoother all around.

6.23 mi, 1:03:38, 10:12

I ran with Joe and Jamie today in the neighborhood, and for most of the run I just ran what they were running.  So, I didn't stick as closely to the proscribed heart rate range.  However, the miles I did run with them (4.23) had an average heart rate of 132 which is at the top end of the range.  That section was a 9:41 pace.

For the last two miles I kept it within range (122-132) and averaged about 11:15 pace.

I am feeling fully recovered and refreshed now with just these three easy runs so far.

7.13 mi, 1:10:26, 9:53 avg

Ran in Starkey Park, missed seeing Joe and crew at the start so headed out by myself.  Another day doing heart rate training.  I ran next to a friend named Tracy, we chatted and ran for just over two miles.  My heart rate stayed below 132 for the entire time with an average pace of 10:24 which is the best pace so far. 

Then I saw Joe, Jamie, and Cynthia at the water stop.  Ran with them for 3.45 miles not looking at my heart rate, 8:51 pace (later saw heart rate shot up).

Turned back at the park entrance and ran back to the parking lot on my own at about an 11:30 pace for 1.4 miles to get back in heart rate zone.

Felt really good after the run.

6.3 mi, 1:02:22, 9:53 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.  Warm up first mile, part of it by myself before joining the group.  Just ran what they were running.  Did not look at heart rate while running, just know averages after the run for each mile. 9:24, 9:02, 9:01, 9:26.  Stopped for water at the end of the 9:26 mile and heartrate average was 142 bpm for that mile, higher than planned.  Ran the rest of the way alone (sent Joe and Jamie ahead), averaged about 11:25 pace to keep heart rate low enough.

6.42 mi, 1:07:13, 10:28

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Did all my miles by heartrate (except for last one).

10:04, 11:44, 11:17, 10:42, 11:10

Then did last mile at 8:29 with HR average of 170 - way higher than I wanted.

6.55 mi, 1:05:48, 10:02 avg

Ran in the neighborhood solo, another heart rate run, a bit better than yesterday.

10:28, 10:00, 10:26, 10:26, 10:23, 10:38 (and 0.11 @ 9:40)

Kept heart rate under 132 for all of these miles, felt smoother, too.

Ran in new pair of Brooks Launch which just arrived, one of my old favorite shoes (had my three fastest marathons in a row wearing them)

7.04 mi, 1:06:26, 9:25 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders (Joe and Jamie for the first half).

I did not run by heartrate but did have some good miles. 8:59 (122), 8:32 (134, close, but a little high), 8:24 (140 - too high!), 9:33 (132 - but it did include a brief stop)

Then, was by myself for a bit so as to not slow down Jamie (doing an MP run).  I ran 10:14, 10:13 (both at 130 bpm), and 10:02 (131).  During the 10:13 mile I saw Anthony who ran along with me.  He's also been doing heart rate training and getting ready for his first marathon (Chicago) and soon an ultra marathon someplace.  He's been putting in a ton of miles for a new runner (as high as 90 mpw), but running very smart and by the book.  It was good chatting with him.

I also noted how my last mile got faster at about the same heart rate while chatting.  It's as if my actual effort decreased as well as my perceived effort decreasing, interesting.

6.15 mi, 57:05, 9:17 avg

Best maf run so far.  It was a little cooler and less humid (enjoying it but feel guilty because the cause is the nearby hurricane sucking out some of the moisture).  Ran with Joe and Jamie.  First mile was 10:16, and next mile was 9:16.  I was suprised to see my heart rate stay low.  Ran together the whole time.  Had two miles under 9:00 and a pretty good average.  Part of this is the slight temperature drop and part might be adjusting to the slower running.  Pace is picking up to what my normally stated easy pace is.  If nothing else, this is good recovery from last marathon.  Feeling extra rested.

12.02 mi, 1:54:54, 9:33 avg

Met Joe, Cynthia, Jamie and a few others at Diane's house.  Stuck to heart rate training again.  Weather was also nice - 74 degrees and a drop in humidity making it feel much cooler than usual. First mile 9:29, then 9:09, and 8:58 (heart rate averaged 131 for last mile), slowed down a little bit after that.  Let Joe and Jamie go ahead and Cynthia stayed with me, ok with the slower pace.  Cynthia went ahead when there was just under two miles left to go.  Stayed under 10:00 pace until the last two miles which were just over 10:00.  I wanted to pick it up as it was starting to feel tedious but I held back.  Felt great again when finished and happy with progress so far and feeling more fully recovered than I have in a while.

6 .2 mi, 1:04:13, 10:21 avg

Ran in the neighborhood.  A little bit slow and clunky feeling and interestingly enough heart rate pace was slower than last couple of runs.  I guess it's not surprising.  Still, a pretty good run, just getting in some slow and easy miles.

6.55 mi, 1:02:35, 9:33 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders, first 4 miles with Joe, and then joined by Anthony for two of those miles and most of the last two miles were alone.  Pace was better, still keeping the heart rate down.  Running felt easier, maybe partially due to the nice cushiony feeling Brooks launch worn again today.  Also, it feel cooler today for some reason even though it was 78, maybe a slight drop in humidity.

3.01, 30:43

Ran in nbhd, looped inside of foxwood.  Wore HR monitor with 131 bpm average.

1.16 mi, 9:55, 8:32 avg

Thought I had better run something to make sure my legs would work for tomorrow's race.  Did some easy jogging and a few striders.  As ready as I'll ever be.

Pocatello Marathon is an awesome course, great scenery and every detail is taken care of.  Starting line is at a small farm.  I had one small glitch, though with my garmin.  I turned it on and it was taking forever to get past the start screen.  This happened to me one time before, about a year ago, for some reason it was updating every stored run to today's date.  So, I waited and hoped and eventually it was ready.  While that was getting ready I was waiting for a trip to the POP, but somehow got in the slowest line.  Then with just two minutes left to start, I dropped off my bag at the UPS truck and squeezed into the second to the front group near the 3:15 pacer.

I had a TAZ running 3:20 pace tatoo which showed about a 1:37 for the first half so I thought I'd go out with the 3:15 pace group and stay behind them to make sure I didn't go out too fast just in case it was feeling easy.  Unfortunately, for whatever reason (partially at least due to getting no warm up due to time miscalculation) the pace did not feel easy.  But still, first mile was 7:24 for me and I quickly fell behind the 3:15 group.

The downhill was pretty windy at first and fairly steep but not scray steep.  Turning the first corner, it was still dark but with a faint hint of light just a few minutes into the race.

(former college runner Aaron to the left of me, marathon maniac Bob to the right of me (I'm in middle, #234))

I had driven the course on Friday and knew it was pretty easy to follow but was a little worried about what the first hill on the out and back ending at the 7 mile marker.  But, it wasn't that bad.  Also there, I could see that the 3:15 group wasn't that far ahead and I had a pretty good lead on the 3:25 group (which was the other plan I had thought about, just hang in with 3:25 group from the start, pick it up at the end if I could and if not just stay with them, miss the BQ but get a better time than the last two marathons and maybe even pick up a couple seconds from my Boston time if I could even pull ahead a little bit or if the 3:25 pacer came in a little bit early - like they did at Poconos).

Miles 7-12 felt pretty good, mostly easy and gentle downhill with a few spots flattening out and a few slight, short uphills here and there which felt pretty good.

I slowed down a little bit before mile 13 as I went by an aid station and couldn't seem to easily get back on the pace I was at and ended up with a 7:54 for mile 13.

Still under 1:40 at the halfway point - but I was also picking it up instead of cruising through, held the new pace through mile 14 which came in at 7:30.  But, that was going to be it as far as 7:30ish pace as I headed into the "rollers".

Not sure of the exact point, but maybe around 18 or so the 3:25 group came cruising up behind me.  Pacer Ryan encouraged me to keep up.  I didn't at first and thought I'd just try to keep them in my sight.  As they were maybe 100 or 200 feet in front of me I found a burst of inspiration and decided I'd catch back up.  And, at first it worked.  I must have been holding something back until then because it didn't seem that hard to catch up and once I was there I could slow down a little.  The slight drop in pace and running with the group made it feel easier.  The view of the road also was encouraging, it looked like downhill for a pretty good stretch.

But it didn't last long enough, they had pulled ahead a bit by the time I got to mile 20, but still not that far.  Mile 21 is almost at the top of the last big uphill (not that big, about 69 feet up).  Getting up to the 21 mile marker and staying under 9:00 was a little encouraging.  Was hoping that the switching back to flat to slightly downhill would help.

Unfortunately, hill went up a little bit more and didn't go down right away (mile 22 went up another 35 feet, not a huge uphill but not downhill either).

Earlier in the race I ran a little bit with a 20 something guy named Aaron, former collegiate runner doing his first marathon, originally wanting a 3:00 until a hamstring injury late in training derailed that plan.  But, he had been running pretty strong and had a pretty good lead on me.  Ran next to him for a while but we ended up splitting up at an aid station.  Also, came up to 55 year old marathon maniac Bob who I had also chatted with early on in the race.  I had been trailing him for some time.  Miles 22 and 23 were much slower.  Then, another runner from early on, Lisa, came up behind me and slowly cruised by me.  I was about a minute ahead of her at the half so the slower first half paid off for her with a good lead on me at the end.

Finally, miles 24 to the end were a nice and steady slight downhill.  But, there was also a fairly strong headwind (rare for this part of the course which usually has no wind or a slight tail wind due to the terrain).  But, the wind didn't bother me since I was already slower than originally planned and just wanted to finish.  Actually, I was thinking about how the wind was kind of nice at keeping it cool (temps were still in the 50's but sunny).

Sometime during this last few miles, a runner from another race (maybe 10K or half marathon) told me I looked like the happiest marathoner she had seen all day.  Definitely a nice thing to hear.  I must have been enjoying the race!

Finish line was wonderful with great food and lots of places to sit on the grass or on picnic benches and a DJ for entertainment.

garmin stats: 26.37 mi, 3:32:28, 8:03 avg

1. 7:24
2. 7:27
3. 7:31
4. 7:36
5. 7:23
6. 7:30
7. 7:31
8. 7:40
9. 7:32
10. 7:27
11. 7:28
12. 7:21
13. 7:54
14. 7:30
15. 8:04
16. 8:43
17. 8:37
18. 8:13
19. 7:54
20. 8:34
21. 8:55
22. 9:36
23. 9:25
24. 8:46
25. 8:51
26. 8:26  and 26.2 1:39 (7:36)

1.1 miles - first run after Pocatello

2.17, 22:59

Second run after Pocatello, one more mile

5.46, 50:25

Ran in Longleaf with the Striders.  Feeling back to normal.

4.09 mi, 41:32, 10:09 pace

Ran in the neighborhood, out and back past golf course to Trinity Blvd.

7.01, 1:14:25, 10:37 avg

Ran in Starkey park with the Striders.

6.1 mi, 1:05:01, 10:39 avg

Ran in the neighborhood, started a little bit late and montiored heart rate, keeping at 132 or below which meant a bit slower than usual today but not my worst heart rate run.

6.41 mi, 58:30, 9:07 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  I wore an old pair of Skecher's Gorun.  Ran slower on purpose but took a break from the preciseness of heart rate monitoring and decided a good compromise was to not go faster than 9:00 pace.  Weather was pretty decent and I felt pretty good throughout the run.

3.25 mi, 32:29, 9:59 avg

Ran just under two complete loops around the neighborhood.  Kept heart rate at 132 or under, with an average of 128 bpm (spiked a little bit here and there but quickly brought it down) so this was a pretty good run as far as pace vs heart rate goes.  Hopefully will see some more gains in heart rate pace.

6.76 mi, 58:32, 8:40 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, specifically ran with Fronasty (aka Fro-fro the barber among other names).  Did not wear heart rate monitor and also my ipod was dead so happy to have someone to chat with.  We seemed to get progressively faster.  Last mile was about a 7:30 pace. 

I'm thinking maybe of doing heart rate training every other day.

7.14 mi, 1:14:10, 10:23 avg

Ran in the neighborhood and stuck to heart rate monitored training.  Average pace ended up being a little bit slower than Wednesday, including the first mile. Pace mostly stayed the same vs keeping heart rate at or below 132.

A few things I've noticed, besides being at a slower pace, I have no desire to stop for a drink or anything like that.  I'd rather just keep going and I have no big desire for a gel or gatorade, and finally once I'm done I have an urge to do a second run later in the day (which I haven't done yet, though).  Usually a second run is more like because I have to, but now I've been wanting to do one because I want to.  Definitely has been interesting.

10.09 mi, 1:33:12, 9:14 avg

Ran with Jamie at Starkey park as well as criss-crossing many of the other Striders for the big group run.  Also, ran into Dixie on the way back who turned around a little early so he could run with us. 

Did some very easy miles at first, then a little bit faster, and then the last 4 miles were 8:30ish.  Legs felt very fresh today and felt like I wanted to keep going.

6.13 mi, 1:00:45, 9:55 avg, 128 bpm average

It was a pretty good run.  Ran in the nbhd, got started at a decent time and stuck to heart rate training today.  I felt a slight improvement from the start and was happy to be under a 10:00 average for the run.  Tomorrow I will run socially and not worry about heart rate but not push it either (except maybe a little bit at the end).

I did five miles, then stopped at home to wake up Andy for school then did one more mile.

Weather was pretty nice this morning, too.

7.19 mi, 1:04:44, 9:00 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  No heart rate monitoring today.  Just wanted to run easy with no monitoring so decided I'd keep the pace at 9:00 or slower (which I did for the most part except for a little bit just faster than 9:00).  Able to run a little bit more natural feeling this way.

6.32 mi, 1:01:30, 9:44 avg, HR 129 bpm

Ran in the neighborhood.  Extra nice out with cooler temps (but still a long ways to go to cold).  Use HR and stayed below 132 most of the run except when I noticed it was too high and would slow down right away.  Ran just over 5 miles, stopped home to wake up the boys, and then ran about one more mile.  I think this might be my second best HR run and maybe best since Pocatello.

6.07 mi, 52:00, 8:34 avg

Ran with Striders at Longleaf, specifically ran with Jamie and a couple of miles with Michelle H.  Somewhat coolish morning.  No heart rate monitoring, mostly conversational pace though.

PM - 2.53 mi, 27:30, 10:52 avg

Ran at the Y on the treadmill while Thomas was doing swim team.  First heart rate run on the treadmill, was using my watch instead of garmin chest strap and sometimes used the built in heart rate on the treadmill, it was all over the place so I just ran kind of easy.

8.55 mi, 1:19:26, 9:18 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood which meant I was able to start a little earlier than usual since I had to meet someone.  Ran pretty easy.  Finished about 7.5 miles when I was back at my house.  Woke up Andy then went back out and did another mile up and down the street.

18.1 mi, 2:52:05, 9:30 avg, HR 136 bpm avg

Met Jamie at 6:00 and ran from Longleaf, heading to Starkey park to meet Cynthia and Renee for their 8 mile run.  I wore my HR monitor but wasn't going to look at it until the end of the run.  There was a big cross country meet going on in the park so we ran passed hundreds of HS runners in their staging areas, warming up and getting ready.

Found Cynthia and Renee ok and had a  good 8 miles with them before heading back out of the park and towards longleaf.

Heart rate was good for the first 5 miles or so but would spike here and there and steadily climbed even with the even pace.

Overall a pretty good run.