The Long Run

62.14 miles, 13:54:00, 13:25 avg

So, who does this? Does raceday registration for a 100K race?  Now I know.  Actually, I thought about running this race two weeks earlier, the day after my birthday when I ran a couple loops of the Croom Zoom course, also known as the "B" loop as the hiking trail is marked. That day I was toying with running my age in miles and looked for but did not find Andy "Croom" Matthews the race director who was so excited that the 100 mile race was finally happening that he ran 100 miles, some of it with friends and a lot of it solo.  I haven't done much ultra-specific training but knew that if I lowered my pace I could get through it ok.  The night before the race I told a couple of people I was going to do the 50K.  My kids said I should do the 100K (partially because they wanted me out of the house longer but I'd like to think also that they believed in me).

Race started at 6:00 and the weather was looking good.  First portion is a 2.2 mile "starter loop", starting out on pavement, turning onto a dirt fire road and then onto single track trail taking us back to the start line.  Just sort of followed along with everyone trying my best not to trip or go out too hard.  Back at the start at 6:30.

Loop 1

Started the first big loop, still dark.  My first and only 100k was on a flat course with no hills and my time was just over 11 hours.  Today I thought 12 hours sounded doable, so my plan was to try and do about 2 hour loops, maybe a little faster here and there to make up for the starter loop time.  Still dark at the start of this loop I kept my light and grabbed my fuel belt for hydration.  Felt good and finished the loop at 8:23 am, so about 1:53, right about where I wanted to be.

Loop 2

Light out for the next loop. Finished at 10:15 am, so 1:52 and still where I wanted to be but maybe I should be holding back a little bit?  Ihad my phone in my drop bag at the starting area and did a quick post on Facebook for anyone who might be following my progress.  The distance seemed not impossible but I was having more and more respect for what I had to still run.  I hadn't run over 33 miles since August 2014 when I did the Pinellas Trail Challenge and April 2014 when I did the Croom Fools Run 50 mile race.

Loop 3

Started the third loop and was feeling pretty confident, keeping the pace steady and feeling a little more relaxed since I now had some good miles completed.  Still a lot to go.  There were two unmanned aid stations and one manned aid station halfway through the loop (about 5 miles) as well as aid at the starting area.  The volunteers at the halfway point aid station were amazing.  Seeing them each time almost made me feel like I was further along than I was.  On the third loop I think I said something like "only have to come here 3 more times!"  Felt kind of like I was already halfway done even though only 27 miles in.  But then, with a few more miles to finish the third loop I had my first feeling of tired legs and thoughts that maybe this wasn't wise to jump into 100k distance on whatever training I had been doing.

But still, despite being a little tired feeling, still on track, finishing third big loop at 12:14, or 6:15 for about 50k - 45 minutes slower than running the same 50k last year.

Loop 4

As I headed out onto the 4th loop I saw Patrick Bene.  He was doing the 100 mile race and had been running at a pretty big lead ahead of me.  I opened up my first "5 Hour Energy", drank about half of it and soon had a renewed spring in my step.  I chatted with Patrick for a bit until finally pulling ahead of him, he told me to be careful (would later realize that would have been a good time to not run ahead of him).  Great to see the halfway aid station volunteers, but then sometime in the second half of the fourth loop slowed down a bit.  Finished the 4th loop in 2:06, total time of 8:20.

Loop 5 

At the start of each loop, there's a root covered section of downhill, maybe about a 1/4 mile. I would take it pretty slowly and mostly walk it.  I'd also usually be eating or drinking something still.  Each loop I'd go a little farther into the start before I started running again, especially on the 5th loop.  I was beginning to really notice every little feature of the trail more and more each loop.   Kind of comforting but also knowing all of the details made the distance seem longer in some ways.  My feet also started really hurting and kind of started feeling bad all over.

But, as I finished up the 5th loop I was greeted by not one but two friends waiting for me.  Both my running partner Jamie and my significant other girlfriend Jessica were both there.  Both of them had mentioned they would try to come up but there was nothing definite.  Also, with my facebook posts I wasn't able to actually check the comments as they were taking a long time to load.  Just prior to seeing them I was dreading having to go back out there.  But, things were different now.

Loop 6

Chatted with Jamie and Jessica as I gathered up my stuff for the final loop.  They both had on running clothes and were ready to go.  I wasn't sure what the plan was so I said, let's start walking and plan what to do.  Before I knew I'd have company I was envisioning a 3 hour loop, which would just be an 18 minute pace - going to basically walk it but wasn't looking forward to a long lonely walk.  As we got along farther into the loop I realized I was going to have company for the full ten miles.  But, it was getting dark out slowly.  So, it was actually kind of fun, felt more like a hike at this point and I wasn't suffering like I was on the 5th loop.  Jamie had a light and I had my headlamp and a small flashlight.  Made it to the half way aid station for the 6th and final time.  Crossed the road and started the second half of loop 6.

I soon realized my headlamp batteries were completely dying.  I should have put fresh batteries in but did not and should have had spare batteries.  However, my original plan would have me in the dark for maybe only 15-20 minutes.  Runners were periodically passing us up.  Eventually Patrick and one of his pacer friends George came up behind us.  Patrick was looking strong again and quoting Shakespeare.  I asked which play the quote was from, at first he said Hamlet and then said Othello, something about screwing down your courage and not failing.  (I later looked up the quote , it was from MacBeth - "What if we fail?  But, screw your courage to the sticking place and we shall not fail").

Eventually a guy named Tim came up behind us and was chatting along.  He was running the 100 mile race and on his 5th loop.  His headlamp was very bright which helped quite a bit.  He also had a spare headlamp which he gave to Jessica.  Unfortunately, shortly after she put on the light, she tripped on a root.  I went to help her up and there's that moment right after someone falls and you're not sure if they are ok or anything is broken.  She got up and was ok (except for a really big bruise on her arm).  As we got closer and closer, a couple more people passed us up but we finally made it.  10th place out of 22. 
Three hours and four minutes for the final loop and race was finally over.

It was a memorable and rewarding experience, lots of ups and downs.  Grateful for Jessica and Jamie showing up and sticking with me for the last loop, the aid station volunteers, Andy the race director, Patrick's inspiration, Tim's light and the general kindness and cameraderie of everyone out there.

5.13 mi, 53:26, 10:25 avg

Ran in the neighborhood with Jamie.  I was surprised that last night I had a strong desire to run in the morning.  Legs felt pretty considering!

Did not run this morning.  For the first time in a long time I absolutely did not run.  I gave myself a pass because of "recovery".  Maybe should have taken off yesterday.

5.3 mi, 47:08, 8:54 avg

Ran in the nbhd, solo.  Good run overall I think.

6.0 mi, 53:56, 8:59 avg

Started at Longleaf with the Striders and ran up and down Starkey Blvd bike trail.  Started out with Daisy and Joe.  Joe continued on when Daisy and I turned back.  Return trip was a little bit slower on purpose to ease back the pace.  My headlamp died almost right away because the "new" batteries I put in were actually old ones that got mixed in.

4.41 mi,  39:21, 8:56 avg

Short run in the nbhd, I need to leave the house before 8:00 to pick up Thomas for orthodontist appointment.  I did a few strides at the end to remind my legs how to run fast.

7.0 mi, 1:02:52, 8:59 avg

Ran with Cynthia in Starkey Park.  Just a quick run, had to be done by 8:30 so went out half of the time and then turned around.  Came back faster so we had to run a little bit past the start.  She had forgotten her watch so told me to set the pace.  First mile was 10:35, last mile was 8:13 and each mile between was a little faster than the one before.  Cool at the start, almost cold but not quite.  Saw several deer on the side of the trail.

AM - 5.35, 47:54 - ran in the neighborhood before waking up the kids.

PM - 1.3 mi, 12:30 - took Thomas swimming at the Y, did some weights and a little bit on the treadmill with three 10% incline hills to start with, need to start adding more so I'm not completely unprepared for Georgia Death Race which will be here sooner than I know.

7.26 mi, 1:04:32, 8:53 avg

Ran with Joe, starting at Longleaf.  Small group this morning.  Florida winter finally with 39 degrees, not too bad with long sleeves, hat and shorts, and one glove (can't find the other one).  Wore Brooks Pureflow which I retired from the list a while ago but they must still be good because they felt pretty good.

6.1 mi, 53:22, 8:45 avg

Ran in the nbhd, started just after 6:00.  Garmin battery died about 4.6 miles into the run at which point I knew I was 1.5 miles from home and I'm pretty sure I kept about the same average pace which was about 8:45 the last time I had looked before losing power.

10.3 mi, 1:30:04, 8:45 avg

Ran from my house, leaving just after 5:00, met Joe at back gate of neigborhood and ran to Longlife.  Waited a bit for Jamie until we were pretty sure she wasn't coming then got going again, running out to Aristide before turning back.  Weather was just slightly warmer than yesterday, felt almost perfect at 46 degrees, would have been great for running a marathon.  Stopped briefly to say hi to the group on the way back then continued home.

5.52 mi, 55:24, 10:02 avg

Ran with Jamie and Andy in the neighborhood.  Andy was supposed to run with the team yesterday but overslept so decided to run with me today.  Started at 6:00, met Jamie.  There was a light rain, which cleared up briefly and then maybe started again, but it was pretty decent overall, not too cold.

So, my boys got me good today.  They had been trying to do this for years to either me or their mom but could never pull it off.  After the run they both got ready and when it's time to leave I leash up Sammy and take him for a short walk while they drive off to school (it's the evolved tradition of Sammy riding in the truck to the bus stop).  Andy came out, got in the truck, sat there for a few minutes, went back inside, came back out and said Tom wasn't coming down.  What??  Went inside said he had to come down.  Then finally Andy said that if Tom is not going then he's not going.  Finally figured out there was no school today.  There were clues that I missed.  For example, yesterday on the way to swimming Tom said they didn't have school tomorrow.  But I said no, that's next Friday.  That's when he decided this was the perfect chance to get away with it.  Other clue - the elementary school in the neighborhood had on their sign "Teacher planning day 1/15".  I assumed it was just that school, however schools just don't do that, it's always the entire county.  There were a few more subtle clues I missed as well.  It was kind of funny.

14.11 mi, 2:02:06, 8:39 avg

Left the house and started running about 5:40.  Ran to Longleaf and met Joe and Renee.  Joe had also run there from his house but I didn't realize it until I got there.  Continued on another 5ish miles (about out to 7.1 miles) and then turned back to head home by myself while Joe and Renee were going out another two miles. 

I needed to get back home for the tv delivery people.  This was try #2 after Wednesday when the TV they delivered had three big cracks.  This time they unboxed it before they left (which I should have done last time) and saw it was ok.  The old tube TV of 14 years finally died (picture was smooshed in half - it had been that way for a month or so).

Later AM: 2.07 mi, 18:58, 9:11 avg

After the TV people left and I hooked it all up saw that I had 49.94 miles for the week and thought that 50 something would look better so I ran once around the nbhd loop plus a little more to get 2 miles done.

12.54 mi, 1:54:02, 9:05 avg  (wore older Brooks pureflow)

Ran with Jamie and Cynthia in Starkey Park.  Cynthia missed her run and Jamie is trying to get caught up.  Warmish at the start but on the way back the wind picked up and then the skies darkened but the bulk of the storm had already passed through south of here.  I had half an idea to run the Clearwater Marathon or 50K this morning but due to weather and potentially worsening weather (e.g. tornado possibilities) the longer races were canceled and all runners were made to turn around at the half marathon turnaround.

Park was pretty quiet, saw a few other runners, a number of cyclists, including Jason who slowed down and rode along with us for a little bit to say hi, and one 6-point buck.

8.08 mi, 1:07:48, 8:23 avg

It was cold out this morning, not that cold actually but a little bit of headwind and starting out alone in the dark made it feel colder.  I was a couple minutes late for 5:30 start at Longleaf and there ended up not being many people there.  First mile felt slow but it at least it didn't feel difficult.  I hung in there and knew I'd warm up and knew I'd feel better soon.  Saw a couple of Strider friends at the water stop, continued on to the end of Diane's street before heading back.  With a couple of miles left to go I could hear a couple of runners coming up quickly behind me.  It was Mike and Jolene moving along at a good pace.  Said hi to them and then picked it up a little and then a lot following them.  Thought I'd do one faster mile at least but ended up doing two.

From start to finish the pace range was pretty wide: 10:27, 9:02, 8:32, 8:17, 8:12, 8:05, 7:23, 7:06

5.46 mi, 45:39, 8:22 avg

I was starting to think there would be no freezes this winter.  Chilly 30's this morning.  I didn't see any frost but I think there was some in the area.   Up late last night for work and not in a hurry to get out of bed but finally did get going.  Overdressed with long sleeve shirt and short sleeve underneath and also a hat.  Long sleeve was the MCM shirt which has a turtle neck.  Took long sleeve shirt off half way into the run and felt chilly but not cold - perfect.  Run got faster as I went on.  Ran in the nbhd and near the golf course.

10.05 mi, 1:22:09, 8:11 avg

Nice running weather.  Did a big loop from my house to 54, then onto the hospital access road, to Little Rd, down to the Y for a water and gel stop, then home via Kinsmere, Trinity Blvd and golf course.  The run was basically a steady pick up with first mile at 9:37 and last two 7:12 and 7:10

4.08 mi, 35:50, 8:47

Ran in the neighborhood.  Slow in getting out of bed and sneaking in between rain.  Pretty good run by the end, just a little bit short.

21.21 mi, 2:58:39, 8:25 avg

Ran in Starkey Park with Cynthia for a little over 8 miles.  It was chilly, windy, and a little rainy here and there.  Stopped by for Striders picture, ate one donut hole and had a half cup of coffee  but I knew I needed more than 8 miles.  Maybe 14 miles? or 15 - go out three or so and then come back.  Average pace for first part of the run was 8:44.

Got going again before I got too cold and felt pretty good.  The Pasco Challenge 5k/10k/half races were going on so I saw runners coming and going both ways.  I kept on going a little bit further until I was close to the end of the Starkey bike trail and finally turned around.  I stopped and tried to help a cyclist with her flat tire but didn't have much luck and she said her friend would be by in a few minutes.

I kept the pace steady with a slight progression so finished up last two miles in the 7:40's and thankful to myself that I actually went back out for the second half of the run.  Didn't try to overdo it with the pace because planning on running tomorrow for at least 10 miles.

10.23 mi, 1:34:22, 9:14 avg

As hoped and promised ran today after yesterday's long run.  Colder than expected but I'm sure "balmy" compared to half of the country with this morning's temperature at 37 degrees.  Still shorts weather though.

Ran with Jamie, meeting at 9:00 and heading out towards the golf course.  Went to Little Road and decided to head down the street and do the Kinsmere loop.  After getting there saw Carin out for a run.  Hadn't seen here out running in literally years, said hi for a bit then continued on. 

The miles went by pretty quickly.  I was afraid at the start of the run that I'd feel achey and clanky but it felt pretty easy and relaxed.

7.08 mi, 1:04:14, 9:04 avg

Ran at Longleaf.  I was a couple minutes late but fortunately Joe hadn't left yet so was able to run with him.  Was warmer this morning, low 50's, was a little cold at first with short sleeves and then it was perfect after a mile or so.  Forgot to stop my watch at the one stop so the average is the total time average.

6.26 mi, 52:34, 8:24 avg

Avoided the rain as long as I could.   It died down finally.  Got out about 6:45, ran a loop around the neigbhorhood (1.7 miles) , woke up the boys and then did another out and back.  Originally was going to get running at 5:45 and try and get in an extra mile or so, but at least it wasn't a total wash.

7.14 mi, 57:45, 8:05 avg

I was up way too late the night before, had to go back into work to try and get some things working that were due at the end of the week and didn't get to bed until 1:00.  Thought about skipping the run and then decided I'd just do an out and back to the water stop at whatever pace.   Joe was there so I ran with him and I actually felt pretty good.  Decided to run out to 3.5 miles for 7 total.  Last two miles 7:23 and 6:58.  Glad I didn't skip!

7.42 mi, 1:00:16, 8:08 avg

Got started reasonably on time.  Second mile looked like it was really fast (6:18) but it was definitely a glitch.  Pretty good run in the neighborhood overall.

30.04 mi, 4:45:58, 9:31 avg

I needed to run far today.  Started from my house just after 6:00 and ran to Longleaf where I met Jamie for 6:30ish start.  Brief stop at Diane's lemonade stand and continued into Starkey Park, stopped at the shelter and then continued on.  Jamie headed back after a half mile so she could get back with 13 miles total.  I noticed a couple of times that my pace was very steady until I realized I had stopped it at the shelter and forgot to start it again.  Missed about maby 0.7 miles (Starting where the shelter trail intercepts the main bike trail is a Sun sign and then planets spaced proportionally until Pluto (which was still a planet when the signs went up) which is 1 mile from the Sun.  Started my watch again at Uranus.

At about two miles out from the shelter are the big power lines with a dirt access road running underneath.  Turned onto the access road and ran north until I thought I had enough to make it to 30 miles round trip (not counting the 0.7 that I missed on the way out but knowing it would count on the way back and planning on bypassing the side trip to Diane's house).  It was a great place of solitude.  Also, the road was rutted and pot-holed with lots of water to avoid.  It was a pain dodging around the obstacles but soon I forgot I was doing it and was just doing it instead.  Saw a really big buck crossing the trail.  Stopped and picked up a big white feather and was going to bring it back with me but it kept on falling out of my belt.   I wanted to stick it in my hat but there was no place to make it stick.

My pace felt pretty good, sometimes slowing a little as the road was harder to pass and speeding up a little when it was smooth.  Near the turn around my legs were getting tired which was kind of worrisome when only half-way done.  But, this was why I was here and doing this distance - to run on tired legs.

Made it back to the bike trail, topped off my water at the last water stop and was soon leaving the park.  Starkey Blvd was mostly uneventful.  I thought of stopping a few places but didn't.  I'd think about stopping at a bench up ahead or a fence where I could stretch, but when I'd get to that spot I'd just keep going.

Made it back to SR 54, only two miles left to go.  Slowed a little on second to last mile and then got some spring in my step for the last mile and ran about an 8:45 pace.  Done.

7.2 mi, 1:11:15, 9:54 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, 8:00 start time.  Legs were slow and heavy at first but soon loosened up and the slow and heavy turned into easy pace.  Nice weather and good way to start the day.

7.54 mi, 1:09:41, 9:15 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, started a little bit late, but not too late.

8.06 mi, 1:03:28, 7:52 avg

My re-introduction to speed work.  I needed a challenge but have not done  much of any speed or tempo in a while.  I thought that 2x2 miles would be a good compromise.

First set: 6:42, 6:40

Second set: 6:40, 6:46

It was challenging and would have been good to not slow down on the second mile of the second set but still prett close.  I ran out and back from one of the water fountains near the golf course so I'd have a place to leave my gatorade.  Felt somewhat accomplished afterward.  I needed this run, was a tough week and was going to get tougher, but in the end things somewhat worked out (I'm writing this the Sunday night after the the actual day - Wednesday).  On today, as well even on some "easy days" any run can turn into a run of self-discovery.

6.1 mi, 55:00, 9:01 avg

Ran with Striders at Longleaf.  The person who was going to leave water at the water stop had mixed up her calendar and did not leave out water.  This was actually kind of good to remember and appreciate the effort that people go through to provide water for 99% of the runs.  Ran with Joe but kept the run a little bit short as I had to get Thomas to a 7:15 appointment.

5.12 mi, 45:25, 8:52 avg

It was raining when my alarm first went off, so waited a little bit before starting. Only did 5 miles and started out a little slow but got moving faster by the end.  Out and back in the neighborhood.

12.25 mi, 1:51:21, 9:06 avg

Ran with Joe, Jamie, and Cynthia starting at Longleaf at 6:30.  Good to run with the whole group, nice morning out also.  Ran into Starkey Park and then back.  Time for a quick cup of coffee afterward with Cynthia.

AM - 6.25 miles, 8:39 pace

Ran in the nbhd, slightly late in getting started, so did 4.5 miles, woke up the boys then ran around the nbhd again to get 6.25 miles.

PM - 2.14 mi, 17:36, 8:13 avg

Ran at the treadmill at the Y and did about 10 minutes worth of weights when dropping Thomas off at swimming
 

8.09 mi, 1:03:25, 7:50 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Chilly windy (but not that cold, 54 degrees), didn't feel like going fast but thought I'd pick it up after grabbing a quick water at 2.7 miles.  Joe had caught up to me by then.  We ran to the end of Alico Pass, picking up the next mile to 7:24, turned around, next mile at 7:17, then 7:06.  Joe told me to go ahead once we got to the bridge (two miles left), picked up next mile to 6:42, thought about slowing down but finished last mile in 6:40.  Wind wasn't that bad and had warmed up by the end.

7.93 mi, 1:05:47, 8:17 avg

Ran in the nbhd, solo.  Actually got up and moving on time so I didn't have to cut the run short except maybe a little since I had to get the kids up 15 minutes early.  Stopped at home after 5.3 miles then went back out and finished up the rest with last two miles at 7:43 and 7:15, the rest were all 9:30 to 8:00 range.

Wore old Brooks Pureflow which I retired a while ago but still look and feel pretty good.

9.07 mi, 1:14:04, 8:10 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Got in some pretty good miles and had a nice pick up at the end.

7.76 mi, 1:04:37,  8:20 avg

Ran in the nbhd, solo, ran a little bit over 6 miles, stopped at the house to wake up the boys then finished up another mile.

27.21 mi, 4:11:39, 9:15 avg

I started out at Diane's house because I thought she and Renee would be starting there.  I got there a couple minutes late but Renee's car wasn't there so didn't think I missed them.  Started out and legs felt really dead and pace was slow and difficult.  Stopped and then started again.  Eventually shook off the feeling after about 3 miles.  Just after 4 miles, met up with Jamie and Cynthia inside Starkey Park.  We ran out just over 4 miles, then turned back.  I said goodbye and turned right at the power lines and ran north on the dirt road almost 6 miles before turning back, then headed back out toward's Diane's house.  Some of the miles on the dirt road were slower due to large holes and some partially torn up sections.  Mile 25 a little faster, back under 9:00 to 8:46, then last two miles at 8:06.  Hopefully I'm getting enough of these big runs in to be ready for the 68 mile race without an excessive amount of suffering!

13.49 miles, 9:31 pace

Ran with Jamie and Cynthia, started out at Target near Suncoast and 54 and headed south towards Lutz Lake Fern Rd, and then kept going onto the new section of Upper Tampa Bay Trail.  My legs were a bit tired today but easy to just go along with the group.  My garmin died right before 6 miles (5.99), but got the pace and distance from Cynthia after the run.  Temp was in the 40's but felt pretty good, wore just the right amount of layers.  I did get hungry on the way back (which doesn't happen too often on runs).

So, pretty happy to get nearly 41 miles in two days.

6.04 mi, 52:35, 8:42 avg

Ran on the Starkey Bike trail starting out at Longleaf at 7:00.  Andy's track team was meeting there for an extra run since today was a school holiday.  Pretty good steady pace, slowed down the 5th mile, then picked it up a little bit at the end.  This was Andy's longest run (he's been running 4-5 miles for the "easy" runs in addition to the track workouts).  Pretty fun Monday morning run.

8.23 mi, 1:09:48, 8:29 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Out and back run with a little bit faster on the way back and finished while the coffee was still set up and remembered to give Clarke my water contribution of 70 small bottles of water from Costco.  It was a pretty fun morning.

8.38 mi, 1:05:00, 7:45 avg

Nice cool 48 degrees.  Decided today would be a challenging run.  Goal was 5 miles at 6:55 average plus warm-up and cool down.

Felt pretty good at the start, did about 1.5 mile warm then started the tempo portion.  I seemed to get on pace quickly and easily but holding it was not so easy.  I was over 7:00 for the firt mile (7:07), then I had to squeeze through a gate to get to the nbhd part of my usual route, so my pace slowed a lot for the second mile which I gradually got back most of but finished mile 2 with 7:27 but at the end of that mile I had picked up momentum and did the next three miles at 6:37, 6:39, and 6:37. 

So, end result was 6:54 pace for 5 miles but not quite the way I planned.  When my pace slowed on mile 2 and I thought about scrapping the run I decided it was just going to be based on effort no matter what the pace came out to be.  That seemed to get me motivated to keep going and pace picked up also.

8.64 mi, 1:15:00, 8:41 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the nbhd.  We all did a little over 6 miles together then I continued the long way back to my house and finally finished up with 7 x 25 second strides with 50 second jogs between.  Not my fastest, especially at first but did the job to practice leg turnover.  It's like a fun mini-speed workout.  Weather was great and the miles with friends rolled along pretty smoothly.

16.09 mi, 2:23:19, 8:54 avg

Ran with Joe, Jamie, and Cynthia from Longleaf, up Starkey Blvd and into Starkey Park out almost to the power lines.  Was a nice and cool 50ish degree kind of morning.  I had some dread going into the run and last night but my legs were nice to me and the easy pace felt easy and I gradually picked up the last three miles - 8:19, 7:45, 7:19

Part of the reason I picked it up though was needing to get back in time to watch Andy at his track meet.  Meet started at 10:00 although he didn't get to run until about 3:15 - a lot of sitting around in the sun and seeing the temps climb - to about 81 degrees.  Still did really well with 2:32 for the 800m event.  This was his first official time so now he has a starting point.

8.24 mi, 1:09:42, 8:27 avg

Nice cool 50ish weather, run around the nbhd, solo.  Slower start with faster pace at the end.  Started pretty much on time and added a loop after waking up the boys for school.

PM - 2.10 miles, 17:10, 8:35 avg , ran on the treadmill at the Y while Thomas was at swimming and then did a few sets of random weights after the run.

8.23 mi, 1:06:36, 8:05 mi

Striders run at Longleaf.  Started about 5:35, caught up with a few people at the water stop and then continued on until at the end of Diane's street.  Picked up the pace with a few miles in low 7:30's.   Warmer today but still sort of cool, low 60's

Got back too late for coffee but did say hi to Julie.

6.18 mi,  58:48, 9:31

Ran with Jamie in the nbhd.  Nice, easy paced run.  I had thought about doing some more but had a little bit of pain in lower abs - need to stop slacking with the core stretches/strengthening exercises.  (did get better as the week went on)

8.51 mi, 1:08:17, 8:01 avg

Ran at Longleaf with Joe.  Last night he asked if I wanted to do 6 x 1 mile at 6:45 pace, I said ok but thought it sounded a little odd.  This morning he said it was actually 5 x 1 mile at 6:38 pace.  50's for the temperature but cold feeling with a pretty strong wind from the north.  Warmed up for about a mile and a half and then started.  I must not have really been warmed up yet because I couldn't seem to get moving fast enough, plus we were heading into the wind.  The second repeat was much better - warmed up, out of the wind and in a neighborhood with some street lights so less dark.  Pace felt much easier.  Also in the 6:30's for the next two repeats and for the last on I went a bit faster and finished with a 6:22.  I hadn't run a mile that fast since the last 5k I did.

mile repeats: 7:07, 6:35, 6:32, 6:33, 6:22

PM - 1.56 mi, 13:36, 8:43 avg - short treadmill run at the Y after doing some weights while waiting for Tom's swimming.

8.17 mi, 1:16:09, 9:19 avg

Ran with Jamie in the nbhd, just over 6 miles, easy pace with a little bit faster toward the end.  Stopped in at the house to wake up the boys then ran another loop so I'd get at least 8 miles.  Nice, chilly but not cold morning today.

16.42 mi, 2:18:18, 8:25 avg

Ran with Joe starting from Longleaf.  I had no exact distance in mind, Joe had 16 on his training schedule and wanted to do the last 4 (or possibly last 8) faster.  As we were heading out we talked about how sometimes easy pace feels hard enough that you don't think you can run at a faster pace but when it's time to go you just go.  So, that's sort of how it went.  Ran into the park and turned around near the power lines than started moving a little bit faster for mile 10, then were in the 7:30's and 7:20's and finally at the last mile I decided to pick it up some more.  I didn't want to struggle keeping it at an exact pace and didn't want to come up short so went faster than planned with a 6:53 for the last mile.  Weather was great which helped a lot.  Actually kind of cold until I warmed up, had to keep my hands balled up inside my sleeves for warmth.  Felt perfect at the end with the sun and temps warmed up to low 50's.

11.28 mi, 1:45:07, 9:19 avg

Ran with Jamie from the nbhd, looped through Kinsmere and back via Little Road.  Chilly again at the start but felt perfect after a few miles.  We ran a little over 9 miles together then I added some more on by myself.

Felt pretty good, hardly felt yesterday's run including fast finish.

5.54 mi, 48:46, 8:48 avg

Slightly abbreviated run, nbhd route out to golf course with out and back.  Pleasant morning in the  mid 50's, no water stop today, just a brief stop waiting for the traffic light to change going out and coming back.

11.33 mi,  1:29:52, 7:56 avg

Striders run at Longleaf, but actually no longer in Longleaf, but up and down the Starkey Bike trail and parts of Aristide neighborhood, but I still call it Longleaf.  Nice cool 50's, perfect for running.  2.7 miles to water stop, then gradually picked it up after that, then picked it up some more after mile 3.  Ran mainly in the 7:20's and 7:30's with one mile at 6:48.  Finished Longleaf with 9 miles, socialized for a few minutes with the group before heading back home.

Decided I'd do a quick loop around the neighborhood because I felt good, it was a perfect morning and was doing good on time.  Finished up with a few strides.

8.29 mi, 1:05:23, 7:53 avg

I started out just thinking I'd do an easy run but for variety I ran out to the new park where there is a marked trail  and decided to do some repeats since the loop around the parked as 1/4 mile markings for a 1 mile course.  Decided on 800's, thought about doing just a few then settled on 5.  I ended up doing just 4 since I have a long race coming up on Sunday and this was more just for fun and also because I did the 4th one better than expected I thought a very small reward was in order. 

repeat times:  2:50, 2:58, 2:59, 2:48

I didn't know I could run that fast still, I'll add some more on next time or maybe do 1K repeats but try for the same pace.

I watched Andy later that day at his track meet, he ran in the 4x800m.  This was his first time doing a relay event.  I timed 2:38 which was a little bit slower than the other 800's I've wathced him do but this was his first time doing a relay so maybe that cost him a second or two doing the hand off at the start and finish.

9.07 mi, 1:20:02, 8:49 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the nbhd, started at 7:00, Joe joined us a little bit later.  Did the usual routes and took the long way around the loop on the way back and overshot my house just enough to be over 9 miles for the morning.  Perfect weather.  I was feeling a bit draggy this morning but Joe was keeping a pretty good pace otherwise I might have ended up a lot slower.

10.19 mi, 1:30:32, 8:53 avg

Ran with Cynthia in Starkey Park, did 6 miles together then I stayed for a bit for the Striders social hour which are no longer weekly but monthly so it was a good chance to see a number of people I've been missing.  Weather was low 50's so a little chilly feeling until warmed up then perfect.

Got back home and decided to add on a little more.  I turned left out of my driveway but didn't cross any side streets but turned down each side street.  It quickly added up.  What would normally be a one mile run (out to main gate and back) turned into a little bit over 4 miles.  It was tedious at first but was kind of fun.  Not sure if I could do the entire neighborhood this way, sure it would be over 10 miles.

Tomorrow is the 33 1/3 mile "Long Play" race, which is preparation for the 68 mile race in two weeks.

Long overdue Race Report for Long Play Ultra

Overall, in the big scheme of things this was a pretty good and successful race, not perfect but the good far outweighing the bad.  I ran this race last year pacing Dixie for much of it to help him get through his fist ultramarathon and I ran a time of 6:18, whereas 3 years ago I ran this race for Western States training with a time of 5:22 (on a very cold day perfect for running and dry trails).

This year's race conditions were cool at the start with a little bit of warming in the afternoon with trail conditions that were mostly dry except for four brief water crossings.  I had also hoped to try out my new Ultimate Direction SJ (Scott Jurek) hydration vest, but I had ordered a size too big and had to send it back so used my trusty 2x10oz Nathan belt instead.

Plan was to start out easy for the first few miles (at whatever pace that happened to be, just go by feel) and then get into a 9:something pace.

Also Cynthia was going to join me, originally for the last 13 miles which turned into 17 miles and if I was feeling really good and needed to pick it up I might have to go ahead of her the last 2 or 3 miles.

The first part of the plan worked out ok, but that shifting into a steady 9:something pace didn't really happen, with only miles 5, 8, and 11 (9:46, 9:38, 9:37) being under 10.

At around mile 16 the trail goes under I-75 where the road goes over the river with the path under ankle deep water (water crossing #1), then just past it the trail crosses a small boat ramp (kayak, canoe launch area).  Cynthia was waiting, happy to have actually found me and having seen the race leaders fly by earlier, she was ready to go with her secret trail legs ready to spring into action.

Before getting to the meeting point, I had decided I wasn't going to try and push the pace, just enjoy the day and finish and I'd go with whatever pace Cynthia felt like running.  However, as we wound our way through the Silver Lake camping area and past a rooty section of trail and onto more runnable trail (although a good amount of sugar sand) we started catching up to people who had been way ahead of me.  At the start of the race I was running with a guy named Adam who was doing his first ultra, who we had now caught up with.  Next up was a woman named Heather who I had not seen earlier because she was way out in front.  For the next couple miles, Heather, Adam, Cynthia and I ran together until we might it to the mile 20 aid station.  Stopped briefly, refilled bottles and before too much time went by, Cynthia and I took off.  So, first 20 miles had actually gone by pretty smoothly.  We made it back to the campground, then through the rooty section, back to the next aid station then back towards the boat ramp.  Cynthia side tripped to her car to get some stuff and I took a walk break until she caught bake up.  Did a quick selfie since I was carrying my phone with me:

However, for most of the rest of the run, this is what I'd be seeing since she said it was better for her to run in the lead:

Next up was the water crossing I had hit on the way out, followed  by the section of trail taking the "low water" route where there were two more water crossing in the flooded cypress grove, where the water was knee-deep (but where it was nearly chest deep last year).  With the warmer temperatures now the water felt pretty good and rejuvenating.

Made it out of the cypress grove and out to Croom Road where the mile 26 aid station was.  Caught up to a couple more runners, got off Croom road and back onto the trail.  Cynthia was setting a good pace now and making it look really easy.  Caught up to another guy who was concerned that he had missed a turn and was headed to Tucker Hill, but I was 98% sure the turn was still up ahead.  Went over Peace Moutain and Croom Mountain, found the turn off of the trail and onto the fire road and before long we were at the unmanned 2.5 miles to go aid station.  I hadn't looked at my watch for a while but noticed the total time was 5:33.  Oh shoot! I was hoping to be a good bit under 6 hours but now I wasn't so sure I'd make it.  The road was good except for the sugary sand but I knew we had paved road and bike trail coming up.  Last two miles were 9:20 and 8:35 with final 0.33 at about 8:00 pace.  We were closing in on a man and woman running ahead who we might have caught if this was a 34 mile race.

Crossed the finish line and received my medal and LP :

Jessica was at the finish line and the three of us hung out for a bit enjoying some food, drink, and music before we had to drive Cynthia back to her car so she could get some time with her family for the rest of Sunday.

This was Cynthia's first longer trail run and she made it look easy and really saved my race from being a tough slog.

5.22 mi, 57:19, 10:58 avg

Ran in the nbhd with Jamie.  I started out really slow and was running maybe around a 10:00 pace by the end.  Not too be for being the day after 33 1/3 mile run.  Good to have some company, I'll take tomorrow off.

6.38 mi, 53:35, 8:24

Ran in the nbhd, solo.  Nice low 60's for temp.  Slow start with increasing speed until last mile at 7:15.  Legs much better than yesterday.

AM: 8.15 mi, 1:01:47, 7:34 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  I was not late this time.  Group took off in multiple directions while I was still thinking about what to run.  Early and fast group of Beka, Andrea, and Brian came by first.  I took off with them to say hi but they were already on a 7:15 pace.  Chatted a little bit then dropped back.  Next up came Mike and Jolene, running about a 7:30 pace.  I chatted with them a little bit longer and then dropped back.  First mile was soon done and I was about an 8:00 pace which is way faster than my usual first warm up mile. 

Made it to Aristide but no water again today so turned back to use the water fountain near the Longleaf pool.  Mile paces were getting faster, mile 7 was about 7:15, and finally for mile 8 it was 6:43, then a short cool down at the end to get back to the parking lot.

Pretty good sized group this morning and perfect weather, bank to sleeveless or could have also been shirtless.

PM: 2.14 mi, 17:31, 8:11 avg

Short run on the treadmill at the Y while Thomas was at swimming.

6.1 mi, 57:31, 9:25 avg

Easy run with Joe in the nbhd.  I was dragging a little bit at first but got moving a little bit as the run went on.

11.1 mi, 11:40, 9:01 avg

Ran with Jamie, starting out in the nbhd and running to Thousand Oaks and over to the Y to stop and use the fountain then heading back.  Pretty good run, no complaints!

6.2 mi, 48:36, 7:50 avg

Ran in nbhd, solo, started out not too slow (8:49 first mile) and had a couple of faster miles at the end.  Felt really good especially for a Monday.

6.85 mi, 55:29, 8:05 avg

Ran from Longleaf with the Striders.  Met Rob there who was letting me borrow his National Geographic Map 777 for this Saturday's race (hopefully I won't need it but good to have just in case!).  Ran with him about two miles then kept on going and picked it up a little bit.  Went faster the last few miles on the way back.

6.23 mi, 56:36, 9:04 avg

Ran with Jamie in the nbhd, nice and easy pace, a bit humid and with my hair getting longer starting to feel it more.

Georgia Death Race, short version (maybe longer version later)

This race was somewhat brutal but I'm glad I did it, it was also humbling, beautiful and maybe a few other things.

72ish mile race in north Georgia mountains from Vogel State Park to Amicalola Falls. Finish time of 23:09 at 7:09 just as it was getting light out.

Original goal time was between 18-21 hours, new goal was to finish under 24 hour cut off and earn the spike. The first 26 miles were a series of soul crushing up hills and steep technical downhills.  It took me just over 3 hours to do the first 10 miles.  At that point, some quick math in my head (3 hours times 7 ten mile sections equals 21 hours plus the extra 2 miles it would be tight).  The next ten miles were slower and were really starting to beat me down.  I started thinking that this was not the race I had trained for - I had trained and put in miles including some good long runs but had not hit the hills and spent not nearly enough time on trails.

Surprise magical weapon to snap me out of my low point at mile 21 was a shot of pickle juice. 

Felt better after mile 28 with still 44 miles to go. The next 13 miles were the best miles of the race where my pace was faster than what I needed to average but I was also out of daylight.  When I got to the mile 41 aid station my garmin said 28.3 miles and I thought I was in real danger of not making the cut off time.  Fortunately I was about an hour ahead.

Met some really great people along the way.  I would run into the same group several times - a guy named Tim (early 40's), a woman named Nancy from Texas, Megan from Michigan, and a guy in his 60's named Thomas.  I ran some miles with them, would get ahead for a while and they'd somehow catch up again.

Miles 41 - 47 were pretty good.  The mile 47 aid station was where I tried to recharge my garmin without interrupting it, but it didn't quite work out.  I had some really awesome hot soup (last one to get it because they had to shutdown the camp stove because the propane was leaking and catching fire). I changed into my thermal top and got moving.  Tim and company caught up with me so I decided to just stick with them at least until the next aid station (mile 54).  They seemed to know what they were doing and it was easy to just fall in behind them, mostly fast walking with some running.

At the mile 54 aid station had a really great grilled cheese sandwich.  While waiting for the others I started to shiver from standing around so I set out on my own.  Next aid station was 9 miles away and at the end of a 1300 foot climb.

The next 9 miles were mainly by myself, passed several runners here and there and took it one mile at a time.

Night time temperatures dipped into the low 30's with a steady chilling wind. Got a little worried about hypothermia but was ok as long as I kept moving. Grateful for the mandatory gear list, the warm hat, thermal top and rain jacket kept me just warm enough.

Finally made it to mile 63, tried not to stay too long and got going again.  My headlamp started to die so I stopped to put in new batteries.  About a mile or so out of the aid station, Tim and company caught up to me again - but no Thomas.  I then heard Tim say he was going back for Thomas.

The last three miles were kind of a blur.  There was a section with 600 steps (175, then another set of 425).  I had dreaded the stairs but it turned out they weren't so bad (compared to some of the early miles).  After the stair climb there was downhill but through a pretty windy and rooty path.  And finally, just before the finish line, the course crossed the river right next to a bridge that we were not allowed to use.

Crossed the finish line, turned in the old railroad spike I had to carry for the whole race and was given a nice engraved one.

So, why the spike? The race director went out of his way to design a course that was so hard you need to be "tough as nails" to finish it. The concept behind the death race is you feel most alive when closest to death, the idea was born when the race director Sean Blanton lay near death at a Mt Everest base camp suffering from high altitude pulmonary edema and his race to descend to a lower altitude so he could survive.

I lost most of my Garmin data (partially through poor planning - I had a partial plan where I'd recharge my garmin with a portable usb charger once the battery got low, but I had meant to practice doing this but never got around to it.  When the low battery warning came up, it immediately shut off and once it turned on all the original data was lost and I could also not use it until I unhooked the charger.  I had thought I could use it and charge it at the same time).

4.34 mi, 37:34, 8:38 avg

First run after the big race, nice morning and felt pretty good, first mile was 9:47 and then faster.  Ran out past the water fountain and then back.

5.35 mi, 45:35, 8:31 avg

Cool and a little bit wet out this morning (could hear some thunder throughout the night), went a little bit farther than yesterday, similar route.  Andy was thinking about running with me but decided he'd take a vacation day.

11.6 mi,  1:47:41, 9:17 avg

Met Jamie at Diane's house at 6:30, waited a few minutes and then Joe showed up and we headed out and towards Starkey Park.  Stopped at the shelter a little bit then kept going out to the power lines where Joe took off to do his fast miles.  But as he was picking it up and listening to music he didn't hear is light drop and hit the ground, so we picked up his light and ran after him until he could here us. Let him go again then took it easy for the run.  Quick stop at the shelter again (because someone picked up and took the bottle of water Jamie had stashed) then headed back to Diane's house where we saw Crain (back from his 3500km bike ride in South America), Diane, and Renee.

I did walk the last 0.3 miles or so as we turned onto Haltata, legs were still feeling a little worn.

3.62 mi, 29:48, 8:14 avg

Short out and back run this mornnig from my house to the Heritage Springs gate and back with a very brief stop at the traffic light.  Weather was pleasant, almost cool but a little damp.

7.2 mi, 1:05:02, 9:02 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, foggy morning which felt nice and cool at first but later felt sticky. Easy warm up and then pretty steady run with a little bit faster at the end.

7.74 mi, 1:01:42, 7:58 avg

Ran from my house to the "new" sports park with the loop around the ponds.  I didn't have a specific plan in mind.  I ran one loop easy, then ran the next loop at a faster pace but not anything like a "tempo", but 7:25ish because I had an idea.  For the next lap I would try to run at a pace that would be the same or maybe a litle faster, wanted to see how I did "going by feel" which I don't do nearly enough.  So, the third lap was 6:37 pace.  Each lap is 0.72 miles but they have markings to do a measured mile (0.75 shortly after start and 1 mile about a third into the loop).

Cooled down a little bit and then ran home with a slightly faster pace then what I did on the way out.

6.41, 53:36, 8:21 avg

Ran at Longleaf with Striders at 5:30.  Ran two miles with Joe while he warmed up and before he took off on his tempo run.  Good run with mostly steady miles and last two a bit faster.

43:29, 5.43, 8:00 avg

Planned shorter run before 50 mile race tomorrow to try and feel faster and loosen up.  Warmer this morning and a bit humid, loop around the neighborhood then out to Heritage Springs and back.  Pretty steady througout with last mile at 7:24 and last 0.4 at 6:51

Croom Fools Run 50 Miles - a very late and very abbreviated race report

50 mi, 9:33:20, 11:28 avg pace

10th overall, 3rd AG (40-49)

I've always loved this race and this was also 4th time running (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016), it was also a redemptive race after the very challenging time I encountered at the Georgia Death Race just two weeks earlier.  I felt like I was actually running this time.  So, while 11:28 is not blazing fast, it is definitely faster than walking.

The race starts out on a paved road, and mostly downhill for 0.7 miles, then goes onto a dirt forest service road before turning onto single track for a short loop (about 5 miles) back to the starting area.  First couple of miles felt nice and easy as did the whole first 5 miles.

Then, we start the first of the three big loops, running down tucker hill through the heavily rooted sections, up and over some small hills and through a narrow glen that I heard another runner refer to as "beaver gulch", first time hearing that name.  The first loop overall was uneventful and mostly pleasant.  Temperature wise, things were not so great but fortunately would not get worse.  Start temp was low 70's and humid.  Fortunately some light rain kept things feeling kind of nice (and made the air in the controlled burn areas a little more tolerable).  Towards the end of the first loop I could see a pine tree near the trail, burned at the base and smouldering, with its trunk slowly getting smaller.

Finished the starter loop and first big loop in about 3:40ish.  For the start of the second big loop it felt like the rain was on its way (along with some lightning).  I prefer running without lightning but there is also a feeling of figurative electricity in the air that makes me want to run faster (this is what I felt at the start of loop 3 right before the big storm hit).  But unfortunately it was only the start of loop 2 so I still had to conserve.  Lightning got a little bit closer but soon passed.  Light rain was on and off for a good part of the race, not nearly enough to soak, just enough to cool.  Also, I had insurance, brought a cheap rain poncho with me just in case things got bad - so, they never did get bad and the poncho stayed in its packaging for next time.

The start of the 3rd loop was my low point, I had trouble getting going back to a running pace, extending my walk break more than planned and then when I did start the run pace was not much faster.  Overall, pace was not super fast and hopes of breaking 9 hours were gone.  Two secondary goals - finish under cutoff (12 hours), finish under 10 hours.  For the cutoff I'd just have to keep walking, to go under 10 hours I'd have to actually run (i.e. not walk) most of it - average faster than 15 minute pace.  So, eventually I got moving again and looked at each mile under 15:00 minutes as minutes I'd be under 10 hours.  They have an aid station just after going through the "pits" with about 4 miles left in the race.  Passing through there for the last time, thanked the volunteers and told them that this was my favorite aid station to go through for the third time (although the one on Croom Road was pretty entertaining).   Did miles in the 11:00 and 12:00 pace range, one mile at a time until finally was heading back up Tucker hill for the last time.

Last year and 2012 I was under 9 hours, but 2013 my time was 9:38 - that was the year I was training for Western States so my training was pretty serious and I had an annoying nagging cough that day.  No cough today, just a little worn from the Death Race two weeks earlier but I did it, kept on moving - past the looming storm which never really got bad (they did get hit pretty bad more towards home), past the low point until done.  The race just sort of progressed.

And as always, the race director here, Andy and his volunteers put on a top notch event that feels like family and coming home.

5.39 mi, 49:35, 9:11 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, started out with Anthony and ended up sticking together.  We ran out to the water stop and back.  My legs felt pretty reasonable today, much better than yesterday.  Not bad for just having run 50 miles on Saturday (race report to come shortly!).

It was back to cool again this morning, very nice.

5.66 mi, 55:49, 9:52

6:00am (ish) run with Jamie in the neighborhood and out past golf course.  Nice and cool again this morning.  Easy pace but legs might have felt a little better yesterday, but still not too bad today.

AM 4.33 mi, 36:27, 8:25 avg

Slept in a little bit, feeling very tired, was going to start at 6:00 instead of 5:30 but then there was a tornado warning and some very heavy rain, so started my run at 7:30 and just did a shorter one, was nicer out by then.

PM 2.19 mi, 17:30

Did some weights and then a quick run on the treadmill at the Y while Thomas was at swimming.

6.09 mi, 58:09, 9:32 avg

Easy paced run in neighborhood with Jamie.  Nice cool morning.  Run felt pretty good and it felt like I was running a lot faster than I was but at least it was nice out and it didn't feel slow.

8.36 mi, 1:16:03, 9:05 avg

Ran with Jamie and Cynthia in Starkey Park, 7:00 am start.  Ran out and back to the 4(ish) mile water stop.  Cool and pleasant morning again.  A little faster on the way back than on the wsay out.   Saw lots of other runners today and spent some time at the Striders social hour which are now about monthly,

12.46, 1:49:00, 8:45 avg

Ran with Cynthia at Spring Lake.  Great, cool morning for running, but I was kind of dragging but Cynthia was going pretty strong so I just kind of followed along.  There was a bike race going on but it didn't bother us too much as they went by quickly.  Cynthia was pretty strong up the hill on Earnest Lee Road, which a few years ago she could not run without taking a walk break.

Finished up with a loop around the actual Spring Lake and picked it up to about 7;30 pace.

Quick snack and then headed home so I could take the dogs on a car ride to get breakfast stuff for the boys.

8.31 mi, 1:04:52, 7:48 avg

Nice cool morning again, ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  I ended up going faster than planned, felt so much better than Sunday, miles flowed together with last mile at 7:16

Dropped off big case of little bottles of water to Clark for my water donation since I didn't run to Costco yesterday.

7.11 mi, 1:03:10, 8:52 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood and out past the golf course.  Started at 7:00, was nice out again today and good to sleep in just a little bit later.  Nice easy pace but not too slow throughout and a little bit faster for the last mile.

7.58 mi, 58:52, 7:45 avg

Ran at Longleaf with Striders, starting just after 5:30.   Ran out to water stop at easy pace for warm up and then did some 400m repeats (0.25 laps on garmin)

1:27, 1:28, 1:26, 1:22, 1:28, 1:27, 1:28

Did a little cool down then did next mile at about 8:00 and last mile at 7:19

Fairly cool out but just a tad warmer than yesterday, maybe about 68 degrees.

They had little cupcakes at the social hour to celebrate what would have been Hudson's 5 year old birthday.  He was a little boy that many in the group had been running for to raise awareness for cancer.

Saw Melanie and wished her good luck at Boston this weekend.  I had seen Claudia before the start of the run but didn't get to see her afterward to wish her good luck.  So, good luck to Claudia, Melanie, Joe G, David J, Ryan, Jacki, Andrea, Jolene and anyone else I'm forgetting.

9.28 mi, 1:23:17, 8:58 avg

Ran in the neighborhood with Jamie, 7:00ish start time.  Ran a little bit extra because she had 10 miles on her schedule.  A little warmer and more humid this morning and felt like rain might be approaching.  Golf course water fountain has been broken now for a couple of weeks so we ran to a different fountain (also on a golf course but the next one over - the "fancier" one).

Robbie's Run 5K today, felt good and happy to improve over last 5K where I did 20:32.

Managed to get 19:49 which was good for 4th place overall (3rd male) and 1st place masters.  Race was put on by Stider Keith who works at Word of Life where the race was held.  My first time being there, it's a beautiful campus with a youth summer camp.  Race was to raise scholarship money to send kids to camp.

Warmed up with some easy jogging and three 30 second strides up to race pace, then had about 5 minutes to hang out at the start line waiting for the race.  Lined up in the second row.  I had one PowerBar espresso flavored gel which I found in my laptop bag (must have been there for an emergency situation) which I took about 10 minutes before the race. 

There was a good sized group ahead of me for about the first 1/3 mile or so as I slowly caught up to the smaller pack that was forming.  Anthony took off quickly and was in the lead for about the first half mile.  I caught up to him just after the end of the first mile but wasn't sure if I'd be able to put any distance on him.  At this point there was a small lead pack of three people up ahead - Jacki Wachtel (who is flying to Boston on Sunday night), Bret (Keith's early 20's son), and a teenager.  I pretty much focused on Jacki and stayed at a fairly even distance back from her for about the first two miles, it was kind of like having a pacer.

At one point I was starting to gain on Bret, maybe around 2.6 or 2.7 miles, but then he got some speed back and put some distance between us.  I was worried about Anthony coming up behind me (he runs a lot of miles, has consistently been getting PRs).  My third mile was looking like it might end up being slower than 6:30 but I gained back some speed as it was drawing to an end and then kept on accelarating as I approached the finish line, doing the last 0.15 (garmin, pretty close) at 5:00 pace (I think that is my fastest kick).

Splits were: 6:17, 6:23, 6:24, 0:45 (0.15 @ 5:00)

Masters award prize was a large jar of Dixie's Honey

13.13  mi, 1:57:30, 8:57 avg

Ran with Cynthia and Renee starting on the Suncoast trail and heading south to where it turns into the Upper Tampa Bay Trail.  Miles were pretty easy, went a little bit faster towards the end and also ran into a pretty good headwind.  Low 60's for starting temps which was very nice.  Legs a little tight here and there from yesterday's race.

7.23 mi, 1:03:39, 8:38 avg

Ran at Longleaf, 5:30ish with Striders.  Out and back just past the water stop, ran with Anthony the whole way.  Back to being cool again this morning (cooler than Saturday or Sunday), about 59 degrees at the start.

6.54 mi, 53:18, 8:09 avg

Ran in the neighborhood by myself, good weather again.  Nothing too exciting today, started out easy and ended up picking it up on the way back (partially because I was running out of time!)

7.68 mi, 59:16, 7:42 avg

After about 1.4 mile warm up, did a short tempo run which went pretty well

splits: 6:47, 6:40, 6:30, 6:37

The second and fourth miles had a breif slowdown navigating through a closed gate but mostly made up the time.  Weather was good again today and it was nice to piece together 4 faster miles in a row.

PM - ran at the Y on the treadmill briefly after doing some weights.  1.25 mi, 10:30, 8:24 avg

7.03 mi, 1:06:15, 9:25 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, easy conversational pace.  Started out together but she was running 10 and I had to get home to get the kids moving for school.  Another day of being blessed with good running weather.

20.08 mi, 3:00:15, 8:58 avg

6:00ish start (actually I was 5 minutes late, so more like 6:10.  Ran with Jamie from Longleaf to Diane's house where we picked up Cynthia, ran into Starkey park, brief stop at the shelter then headed out.  Saw Daisy coming back but she was walking.  Talked to her for a second and said she should turn around and run with us to our turn around.  She was supposed to finish her run fast (goal pace) but had gotten into a slump so we said we'd pick it up -ran just under 8:00 for first mile and about 7:40 for the second mile.  Then we continued on, back to Diane's house to drop of Cynthia and then back to Longleaf with last two miles at about an 8:20 average. (few seconds faster than Jamie's goal marathon pace).

Weather was cool and humid at the start (very light fog almost), some of the humidity burned off by the end of the run and fortunately it didn't get too warm - breeze kept it feeling cool.

7.86 mi, 1:14:42, 9:29 avg

Cynthia came over to Jamie's house and I met them there.  Did easy paced run out to golf course and then back to neighborhood where we did a loop.  Coolish morning especially at the start.

8.1 mi, 1:07:19, 8:18 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Ran with Joe for first 2.7 miles (up to water stop).  Took it easy and chatted about his race at Boston.  He did well considering the sciatica issues he battled for most of the month before the race.  After he turned back I picked it up a bit and did 5 MP miles (7:39 - 7:08 range).

7.23 mi, 1:03:56, 8:51 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, 7:00ish start.

1:03:55, 8.01 mi, 7:58 avg

Started about 8:30 which was much later than originally planned.  Air still felt cool but sun was out so it was in between hot and cool (still nice in the shade).

Warmed up with 1.8 miles easy out to water fountain, then did 4 x 400m with 1:15 jogs between, followed by 1 mile where I tried to stay somewhat close to the pace for the 400's (at least wanted to be faster than 6:10), followed by 2 more 400's

First set of 400's: 1:31, 1:27, 1:25, 1:22

1 mile: 6:06

Last set of 400's: 1:31, 1:29

Didn't want to do too much more than this because I'm going to try another 5k on Saturday.  Workout was copycat of workout that Cynthia did with Tampa Running except hers had 6x400m to start with and I think I took a longer recovery after the 1 mile.  About halfway through the 1 mile portion I felt like I had slowed down to a jog but was more or less holding the pace.  When I say it felt like a jog, I mean my perceived pace, not the effort which felt all out.

In any event it was a pretty good run.

1:26:51, 10.06 mi, 8:37 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood and out over by the golf course.  First 4 miles were easy pace but gradually getting faster and next 6 miles were a little bit faster than her goal marathon pace.  Able to maintain conversation throughout the run.   A little bit wamer this morning and somewhat humid but still cool if you use your imagination.  Good run.

Thought I'd try out another 5K after having good luck at Robbie's run.  Hoping to shave off a little bit of time.  Other goal was to try and run more even splits.

Did not get a better time but pretty happy with 20:24 time.  I was pretty strong through the second mile with the first two mile splits faster than at Robbie's run.  The race was supposed to start at 8:00 but they delayed it a little bit because many people were looking for registration/packet pickup at the finish area.  Race was point to point so start and finish were not very close (about a mile and a half away).  Morning was heating up, so knew it would be a little bit tough.  Race started and I was about 20th place for about the first half of a mile until I slowly gained on various other runners until we were mostly in the finish order.  As I got about halfway through the race I thought I had a chance at meeting my even split goal and was very pleased when I finished the second mile one second faster than the first.

6:14, 6:13, 6:38, and 5:54 pace for the last bit

Not sure exactly what happened on the third mile other than losing focus and not having someone to try and catch (the leaders were far enough ahead that I couldn't see them until almost the end.  The first almost two miles were mostly straight road.  Just before two miles we did a wide turn and then went onto a paved bike path for most of the rest of the race.

Ran some cool down with Cynthia and then stuck around for awards.  There were close to 20 people from the Striders group.  Pretty fun morning.

58:05, 6.17 mi, 9:24 avg

Easy run with Jamie in the neighborhood.  It's the first Monday that I've run in a while after having done a bunch of Sunday runs.  6:00 am start, weather pretty nice this morning.  Yesterday afternoon got pretty hot.  I think yesterday morning was pretty warm also so good to take that day off.  First mile this morning was 11:00, then next few were in the 9:00's then last mile was 8:06

PM - 2.04 miles, 16:10

Went to the Y while Thomas did swimming, warm up, weights, and then just over two miles on the treadmill.  Back up to 155 lbs for bench press (5 reps) as well as being able to do  10x135lbs (which forever has been my bench benchmark but recently I had some trouble doing that).

10.4 mi, 1:33:00, 8:56 avg

Met Jamie at the back gate about 5:10, ran to Longleaf and said hi to a few people but just briefly, continuing on until hitting 5 miles and stopped for a small water at Aristide before heading back.  Coolish morning, very dark at the start with just a small sliver of moon.  Back home by 6:40, seemed so early!

4.21 mi, 37:14, 8:51 avg

Sammy woke up early (about 4:30) wanting to go out, so let him out, back in and then got back in bed.  Just when I was about to wake up at 5:30 the lightning started along with rain so I stayed in bed, woke the kids up at 7:00 then went out for a short run.  Cool, pleasant post-rain morning, although a little bit short but maybe I needed the extra rest.

8.92 mi, 1:09:28, 7:47 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, usual 5:30ish start time.  Was planning on warm up followed by 6 mile tempo at 6:50 average pace.  Saw Daisy at the start who was waiting for Anthony (who did not show).  Supposed to do 5 x 1 mile @ 7:25-7:30 range repeats.  Ran with her for warm up to the water stop at Aristide and then said I'd do the first mile repeat with her to start out and then I'd do the remaining 5 miles at my pace.  I also thought this would be a good exercise for me since I have this fear is that once I start out a new pace I get "stuck" there.  This is nonsense and decided this was a good time to prove that.

Did one mile with Dais at 7:24 pace.

Then transitioned to my tempo pace and held at for next five miles with last mile the fastest: 6:39, 6:47, 6:44, 6:48, 6:32

Even with the slower start, my average pace for the 6 miles was still about 6:50. The cooler air brought with yesterday's rain is sticking around so that was nice.

6.26 mi, 52:32, 8:24 avg

Nice crisp morning (believe it or not).  Ran in the neighbhorhood solo.  I started on time (about 6:00), ran about 30 minutes, stopped back home to make sure Andy was up (needed to be in earlier than usual) which he was, went back out and finished run with loop around the neighborhood.

21.24 mi, 3:04:24, 8:40 avg

Ran with Jamie in Brooksville starting at Suncoast and SR 50.  Ran south for 2.5 miles, turned around and then ran north 8 miles out and back.  High 50's at the start felt chilly but soon felt perfect.  Amazing to have such cool weather this late in the year.

Plan was to run first seven miles at easy pace (9:00-9:30), next seven at about 8:45 pace, and then last seven miles at or below 8:23 pace (3:40 marathon goal for Jamie).

Run went just as planned and good practice for me running as a pacer.  There should be a 3:40 pace group in Buffalo to run with.  Then, two weeks later will see what I can do at Utah Valley.

8.24 mi, 1:13:18, 8:53 avg

Easy paced run with Jamie in the neighborhood and golf course area.  Slower pace first few miles, then a little bit faster.  Conversational pace and once again nice cool weather.

Wore new pair of Brooks Launch 3!

10.54 mi, 1:20:42, 7:39 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders starting at 5:30.  Started out with Daisy and Anthony.  We did a two mile warmup then I did the first mile repeat that Daisy was doing, ended up with 7:08 pace for that one.  They headed back and continued on,  After a short water stop and a gel, for fun I decided to continue on the repeat pace, taking just a one minute rest between them.  Not all out but kind of a goal marathon pace feel which ended up being between 6:58 and 7:08 for a total of 7.  The one minute breaks made it feel really easy and kind of fun.  Not sure if there was a solid benefit but it did make running over 10 miles go by quickly.

New brooks launch again today to break them in.

10.06 mi, 1:31:50, 9:07 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, out and back to Heritage Springs, past the golf course and then loop around the neighborhood.  Felt muggy like it was going to rain soon but it didn't rain but did get a little bit cooler.  Good to get 10 miles in again today.

3.19 mi, 28:57, 9:05 avg

Tight schedule this morning and I did not get up early enough to get the whole run in that I wanted.  But, once I realized I had missed the window I resisted the tempatation to sleep in even more.  So, better than nothing run, out and back to golf course water fountain (which is finally fixed after several weeks being out).

10.65 mi, 1:30:30,8:29 avg

Nearly perfect run in Webster, NY from my brothers house.  Short run on road to the Hojact trail (former railbed).  Ran northwest to the end of the trail on Lake Rd, then made a quick left onto Forest Lane until it dead-ended so I'd get just over 5 miles in, then turned around and headed back the same way.  It had been raining earlier so there was some muddy areas here and there on the trail.  Also, a few small hills for variety kept it fun.

(new brooks launch)

Meet-U in 5 and a Half - Half Marathon, Titusville, PA

Not long after signing up for the Oil Creek 100 Ultramarathon in October, received an email from the RD about a chance to preview part of the course.  The Oil Creek 100 runs on a 31 mile loop split up into four sections.  This half marathon would run on sections 4 and 1 (in that order).  My brother also wanted to run this since he has volunteered for some pacing in the fall and it was also a good chance for brother time.

Titusville is birthplace of the Oil Industry with the Drake well.  Race started in the parking lot of the Drake well museum.  Cool and cloudy, we were fortunate that it wasn't raining at the start.  We started with a one mile loop run across a grass dike, then back through the parking lot before we turned onto the trail.  Trail started climbing right away.  There would be over 1700' of climbing (the 100 mile race has 17,000 total feet of climbing).

Jim and I stuck together with me running behind him.  He was right behind a woman named Julie who we passed after about 10 minutes.  Jim caught his hydration pack and I was thinking about how he misjudged the clearance from the pack to the tree I slammed my shoulder into the same tree so hard I was soon thankful I didn't actually break it (nice sized bruise later).

After the big climb the trail was up and down, in and out of small ravines crossing streams which fed into the bigger creek down below.  Some streams we went through and some had very small wooden bridges.  I went down one pretty steep and muddy section which slowed me down a lot.  Jim was far ahead and Julie caught up and passed me.  Caught back up to Jim and Julie.  A couple of times a guy dressed in black and green was just a few feet behind me.

Rain had started after a couple of miles but it was light and had to filter through the trees, so stayed dry for the most part.  The race had a 5 hour time limit and I had no idea how much time I'd actually need, worried that it might be death race hard.  The trail was challenging at points but never brutal. 

At about 7 miles we came to a road where a bridge would take us over the river.  The four of us were there - Jim, Julie, the guy in black and green.  After a brief stop I got going along with the others.  Julie asked the volunteers how many women were ahead of her - they said 3.  Then she said to us "Ok, take us home boys".  So, I went out in front and thought I'd pick things up and see if I could catch female #3 (but had no idea how far ahead).  Julie was soon shouting "turn, turn!" - I had overshoot the turn from the road to the trail.  Back on track, more climbing and I was feeling good.  I was thinking Jim would catch up and pass me again on own of the downhills but I was getting farther out front than I thought.  I soon passed up one guy.  A few miles later while going in and out of a ravine, passed one more guy.

Trail was getting muddier and muddier - could no longer go around the muddy sections had to start going through them.  I also kept on hearing over and over again the words of the race director "assume that every root, rock, and bridge is slippery".  I had a few near misses with slipping but overall kept a good footing.  

With less than a mile to go the trail ended onto a paved bike trail.  Passed one more guy as I approached the bridge back over to the park.

3rd place female and gone through the finish about 30 seconds ahead of me.

Took off my race bib and jogged back to go find Jim.  Soon, saw the green/black clothed guy and a little later saw Julie.  Ran to almost where the trail met the bike trail, saw a couple more people and then Jim and ran with him back to the finish.

Splits: 9:45, 13:55, 11:30, 12:34, 13:29, 12:24, 14:57, 13:26, 10:17, 11:51, 13:48, 12:08, 8:41, 0.11@6:20

Stuck around for the awards ceremony and some refreshments before getting into some warmer dry clothes - temperature was dropping, so we kind of lucked out for the race.

7.64 mi, 1:07:10, 8:48 avg

Ran in the neigborhood with Jamie, Andy, and a friend of Jamie.  Ran the t-shaped route out and back to golf course, then did one more loop in the neighborhood.  Andy is starting to run 3 weekdays and a weekend long run.  Legs felt pretty good but still feeling Saturday's hills a bit.

PM - 2.07 mi, 16:30

Ran at the Y on the treadmill after doing a quick weight workout while Thomas was swimming.  Was able to do a maximum bench press of 165 lbs for three reps - working my way back up there

9.02 mi, 1:12:40, 8:03 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Easy warm up then picked it up a bit.  Warmer and more humid this morning.  Run was going well then the chaffing started - ouch!

57:23, 7.27 mi, 7:54 avg

I ran solo in the neighborhood.  I was going to do my usual route but instead I decided to do a "right turn run", where I start taking a right down every side street until I'm back on the main loop.  I didn't start right away.  I made it a little under halfway around the neighborhood before having to run straight back to be home in time.  It feels tedious at first to go down every Court, Lane, Way, or  Street but was also kind of fun.

(wore new brooks)

Andy was originally going to run with me but found out that the cross country team is already meeting for the fall for informal group runs.  He started a spreadsheet to track his runs (I suggested a blog, but maybe later for that).  His coach expects senior boys to run 60-70 miles per week.  He gave Andy a goal of 30-40 miles per week because even though he's going to be a senior this will be his first year of cross country but he's also not completely new to running.  So, the mileage goal corresponds roughly to sophomore runners.

10.03 mi, 1:19:37, 7:56 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Had been thinking about doing a longer tempo run but the morning was a lot hotter than planned and I was not feeling as good as I had hoped so modified things slightly and decided to do 6 one mile repeats with a short rest and a little faster pace than doing a straight tempo run.  So, that's what I mostly did, except for the 5th mile.

Splits: 6:37, 6:39, 6:29, 6:41, 6:58, 6:32

So, after the slight change of plans was pretty happy with the run.

8.03 mi, 1:10:07, 8:44 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood.  She had a few fartleks to run (5 mins @ 5k pace, 2.5 min rest times 4).  We ended up doing 3 and ran a total of about 6 miles together then I added a little more on to get to 8 miles.  Was a little bit warm this morning but otherwise pretty good.

16.26 mi, 2:09:27, 7:58 avg

Drove up to Brooksville (SR50 and Suncoast) with Andy and met Joe and Jamie.  Andy was running 7 miles and would take the truck back and I'd ride back with Joe and Jamie.  We started out together and once I got to 6 miles and Joe and Jamie headed back, I started to pick up the pace.

For last 10 miles ran: 7:40, 7:37, 7:21, 7:21, 7:36, 6:52, 7:10, 7:28, 7:08, 7:05

None of it felt easy but I managed to keep going.  Starting temp was 70 degrees and when there was a breeze and shade it felt nice but quickly warmed up when in the sun.

I think it was a better run than if it all just felt easy.  The hills were nice, need to keep doing more of these!

Joe had some watermelon slices for after the run which really hit the spot.

Andy had a good week of running, finishing with a total of 27 miles and longest run of 7 miles.  He plans to run 40 mile weeks by the end of the summer.

6.21 mi, 53:16, 8:34 avg

Ran solo in the neighborhood.  Weather was pretty good and run felt good except for the first mile where I felt pretty sluggish, just needed some warmup I suppose.

11.26 mi, 1:35:35, 8:29 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Dixie was there this morning, so ran with him.  He was just doing six.  We did an out and back together then I ran across the street to the actual neighborhood and did another 3 miles, but not more so I'd have a little time to talk to the others who were still sticking around. Chatted for a bit then drove home and then did another couple of miles in my neighborhood.

11.18 mi, 1:23:30, 7:28 avg

Attempted to do a 7 mile tempo run at under 7:00 pace, which I did in terms of average pace but one of the miles was 7:07, splits were: 6:53, 6:54, 6:49, 6:53, 7:07, 6:45, 6:42

Then, after a recover mile at 8:27, did last full mile at 7:14

It was a little bit on the warm side for a tempo run , but still cool enough at 70 degrees and a slight breeze kept things cool.  Ran from my house to Starkey Blvd and did the tempo portion on the bike trail, then back home for the cool down.

4.27 mi, 34:30, 8:04 avg

I didn't run this morning, decided I'd run after work.  I get home about 7:30, walk in the house and it is hot (at least hotter than it should be).  Call the AC people and they can send someone out within the hour.  I don't want to miss the guy so I do my run up and down my street, about 0.2 of a mile in each direction until the guy shows up.  It was actually kind of fun.  Now I get a new AC tomorrow.

8.31 mi, 1:11:17, 8:35 avg

Joe met me in front of my house.  We ran to Duckslough, to 54, to Corporate, to Trinity Blvd to the new park where we did three laps around the water on the trail before heading back.  Ran with Joe to near his neighborhood then kept going for another couple of miles to get over 8 miles for the morning.

Had time to eat and cleanup a little before the AC guys showed up.

Ran with Jamie for the Buffalo Marathon trying to help her get a BQ, but it was not quite BQ weather.  The course was nice and the race well organized.  They had pace groups so plan was to go with the 3:40 pace group and stick with them as long as possible and if we had to drop back I would do my best to stay on track for 3:43 or faster.

Cruising through the first half:

Race start had about 7,000 runners between the half and the full.  We stuck with the pacer with first mile going up a long gentle hill followed by the next few miles slightly downhill (this was pretty much the pattern throughout the race for the most part).

Just after three miles I kind of had to stop to use the POP although I knew I could probably hold it, but there was a row of 4 with no line.  I told Jamie I'd catch up but just missed getting into the last one before someone else grabbed the last one.  Had to wait maybe 20 seconds or so before my turn.  We were at a median near the end of an out and back section.  I briefly thought about cutting the course to catch back up because I was there to pace, however since I was officially registered and wearing a bib, quickly decided no way.  Caught back up right about the 4 mile mark.  I think I heard someone murmur about me making a "rookie mistake" as I darted past a bunch of runners trying to catch up - I'm sure I must have been quite the sight turning on the speed so early in the race.

Settling back in with the group after the little sprint I felt really good.  Sometime around mile 6 or 7 Jamie said something like "I hope this doesn't jinx things but the miles are going by pretty quickly".   Just after that we went over a short but steep arching bridge to get to the road that would run along the lake.  The next few miles were several degrees cooler and I wished we could have just run loops near the lake, that would have been nice.

In the 11 or 12 mile range, Jamie started mentioning about not feeling great, but she was still hanging on and we just followed along the pacer.  I asked the pacer how he got the pacing gig and said he was actually the pacing team captain.  For the marathon, they used two pacers.  At 12.75 miles the second half pacer would join us and then Jim would lead the half marathoners down the 1/2 finish chute while the rest of continued on.  The next pacer joined us, a little while later Jim split off and we went by the 1/2 way point pretty much exactly at 1:50 (although I did not see a 1/2 marathon marker - they did have good sized banner flags for each mile).

Not so good (but not horrible) second half:

Just before mile 14 Jamie took a short walk break and was starting to feel dizzy.  We still managed an 8:35 for that mile but soon after that she really wanted to quit.  I know that feeling but was going to do whatever I could to keep her going.   Also, she had mentioned about using a 3:50 to get into the London marathon so I thought that might help to bring that up, we'd just need to average 9:07 for the second half).  Mile 15 was right at 9:00 and then for the next two miles we somehow managed to stay under nine minute pace at 8:58 and 8:45 because between the walk breaks the actual running pace was in the low 8:20's.

But, it was tough going and soon the struggle would be to finish and to keep going fast enough that it didn't become a death march.

Going through Lafayette Park took its toll.  A lot more people were walking and it felt even warmer there - and it didn't help that an ambulance was being loaded up as we were leaving the park.  Maybe things got a little bit better after leaving the park, because segment-wise, we were heading into the final stretch.

The slowest miles were two miles (19 and 24) at 10:25, then mile 25 was right at 10:00.  Mile 26 is a long gentle slight downhill.  There were attempts at a couple small walk breaks but we kept moving for the most part and stayed right at 9:00.   We were running towards a traffic circle with an obelisk in the middle (you can see it in the picture below) that we could see for a while.  We went around the circle saw the 26 mile sign then a couple quick turns before seeing the finish clock.  My brother Jim was at one of the corners and got a few good pictures.

Jamie was a bit disappointed and I wished there was something I could have done to help her get a better time but I think it ended up being still a good time for a humid race with starting temperature of 70 degrees and ending at 82 degrees (not your typical Memorial Day weekend in Buffalo).  I did enjoy the course with the small ups and downs on a mostly flat two (different) loop course.  The race organizers asked the residents along the course to set up their sprinklers and hoses which many people came through and were out there cheerfully wetting us down.

The convention center had the AC turned down colder and they had plenty of great refreshments including pizza and a local craft beer "Mile 27".  We saw Jamie's family and friends several times on the course and was great that my brother could come out for the finish.  After the race (and a bite to eat at Jamie's parents house) we headed towards Rochester, stopped at Donut's Delite, then his house and then up to the Thousand Islands to see my parents. 

7.13 mi, 1:04:31, 9:03 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Dixie was there again so ran with him and we chatted about training and about the Buffalo marathon.  Legs felt pretty good, not too much different then after a 20 mile run - maybe just a little bit.

6.17 mi, 48:55, 7:56 avg

Ran in the neighborhood, solo.  Wanted to see what a few marathon pace miles would feel like.  They weren't too bad but weren't easy either. Maybe a little too fast for being just a few days from this past Sunday's marathon.  I'm supposed to be tapering so I'll try and do some short easy runs and some short runs with some faster stuff.

Today's faster miles were: 7:26, 7:19, 7:07, 7:22, and 0.6@7:22

The rest was a warm up and short cool down.

5.35 mi, 47:20, 8:51 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, but mainly ran by myself as I got there about two minutes late and none of my usual suspects were there, but still nice to be crossing paths and saying hi to others in the group. Kept it easy and barely looked at my watch (I didn't even know the average pace until at looked at the stats just now).  Trying to get to 100% recovery without easing back too much.

8.34 mi, 1:07:46, 8:07 avg

Ran at Starkey Park with the Striders.  I saw Raj but missed him at the start and then got a text from Cynthia to say she was running late, so I got going.  Saw Raj as he was coming back and then I got to the 4 mile water stop before turning around.  The first 4 miles I felt pretty sluggish but was able to magically go faster after the turnaround.  Plan was to run 7:20-7:30 pace for the return trip and feel strong doing it.  I quickly got onto pace and was a little bit ahead.  Saw Cynthia but just said hi briefly.  Last 4 miles were: 7:13, 7:05, 6:59, 6:38

Very warm and muggy this morning.

While chatting we saw a small pygmy rattlesnake, first time I had ever seen one.  They sure deo look harmless enough! (but of course are not).

4 mi, 8:54 avg

Easy-ish short run this morning, post tropical storm remnants so hot and steamy.  Garmin died about 2.6 miles into the run but I was familiar enough with the route to run 4 miles with a reasonable degree of certainty that it was around 4 miles (maybe 4.2 perhaps).

For being a taper day it didn't really feel that easy!  Oh well, it's what happens on race day that counts.

7.82 mi, 1:02:38, 8:00 avg

Dreading this run a bit but knew I needed to do it and knew I'd feel better and more confident after doing it.  Supposed to be 4 easy and 4 tempo miles at 6:45 goal pace.  I was pretty close for the average but off a good bit for the third mile.  Not sure why I struggle with those so much.

Tempo miles: 6:38, 6:52, 7:11, 6:31

Part of the problem on the third mile is the route where I have to twist myself to fit through a gate which breaks my pace for a bit then I have to struggle to get the average back down.  But, if I do catch up then I'm at a fast enough pace to hit the last mile ok.  Anyway, about a 6:48 average for the 4 tempo miles.  It was also in the high 70's and humid, part of this was my fault because I started later than I should have.  But, it's the effor that really counts, right?  If so, then it was a huge success.

2.69 mi, 22:41, 8:26 avg

Last short run before the marathon, ran in the neighborhood and did a short segment of 7:13 pace towards the end for 0.3 miles.

Utah Valley Marathon Race Report

Overall a wonderful experience with some nice surprises although the time was not quite what I had hoped for I actually don't think I had a solid idea of what I was capable of.  

Walking out of the hotel in Provo on race morning, the air actually felt hot.  It was 3:30 am and weather.com said it was 70 degrees but it felt warmer.  Boarded the bus about 3:40 and headed up the race course.  The bus route followed the race course because that was really the only way to get there - up Univiersity Blvd (189) to Canyon Road through the small town of Wallsburg at about 6200 feet of elevation.  It was cooler and felt cooler when we got off the bus - low 60's.  Starting area was at a ranch and the prerace hanging out area was literally inside a corral (word of caution from the day before, if you sit down on the grass and think there are rocks under you - those aren't rocks - most likely "cow pies".  While hanging out, killing time, and hydrating before the race I eventually got into a POP line (and huge kudos to RD for having ample POPs resulting in reasonably short lines).  The next line over I see a tall guy with the name Stephen on his bib.  It was none other than "Big Steve" Radle from back home and a member of the Suncoast Striders.  Steve is tall and used to carry around a lot of extra weight but now he's just tall but has a big heart so I think that's why the name has stuck.  Chatted a bit with Steve and some of his new friends from waiting for the race, then I warmed up and got in line for the race start.

The good miles(1-7): 7:15, 7:23, 7:27, 7:25, 7:34, 7:41, 7:41

There was a 3:15 pacer and a 3:25 pacer.  I was feeling like a 3:20 kind of day so I got into the middle with the inivisible pacer.  This is the point in the movie "Mark" where the audience is screaming at me to get behind the 3:25 pacer but of course I ignore it.  The usual race start mayhem occurs and I lose track of who is where, a lot of people run past me and I see a pacer up ahead and it almost looks like he is carrying a "3:45" pace sign so I'd better hurry and catch up.  Nope, it really was the 3:15 guy I find out nearly a mile into the race.  So, first mile is a little fast, I slow down a little after that and am feeling pretty good.  The first seven miles are pretty much just steady downhill with nothing terribly scary downhill.  This is one of the features that makes this course potentially fast - or possibly a disaster or something in between.   And although the miles are somewhat easy, it easy feeling not quite as easy as it should be.  It's also warming up a little bit, climbing towards 70 degrees as the sun comes up and the altitude decreases and I'm feeling a subtle affect from the altitude.

Hard stuff I knew was coming (8-15): 8:11, 8:58, 7:38 (+0:26 resync with mile marker), 7:40, 8:28, 7:44, 7:51, 7:42

Just after mile 7 finishes, Canyon Road merges onto Hwy 189 (which becomes University Ave), there is one last dip and then the road goes up for a while (with a little bit of down), mile 8 finishes and for most of mile 9 you go up.  Just before mile 9 finishes you start going down again for the most part with some up here and there for the next 3 miles after that.  Mile 8 didn't go so bad and I was feeling somewhat relaxed and ready to give back a little bit of time during the easy 7 miles.  So, finished mile at with an 8:11 pace, pretty much where I wanted to be.  Mile 9 was a different story.  The uphill really started to get to me.  I saw some POPs with no line so ducked into one.  Kind of needed to go but really needed a quick break.  Heart rate was through the roof.  At this point I felt like I was in trouble with still a long way to go.  I also reasoned that because there was a long way to go there was still time to turn things around and eventually the course would get easier again.  I finished, calmed down and jumped back out onto the course and by the time the downhill started again I gained back a little bit of pace and finished at 8:58.

Over the next 6 miles I was a decent bit under 8:00 pace except for one of the miles at 8:28.  But, it had taken a lot out of me.  As I neared the half way point I could hear members of the 3:25 pace group coming up behind me.  I was holding them off for a little while but not too far past the half way point they eventually passed me by.  I kept them in my sight and mile 15 I even rallied a little bit at mile 15 and managed a 7:42 pace.  Help came from some musical and semi-devine inspiration in the form of Depeche Mode's song "Personal Jesus" which actually has nothing to do with the real Jesus however is a catchy song with a decent beat.  And unfortunately, the rally didn't last much past the end of mile 15, and soon the 3:25 group started to slip away.

It gets harder, but I finish (16-26.2): 8:42, 9:28, 8:53, 8:29, 8:17, 8:36, 8:39, 9:34, 9:11, 8:36, 8:59, 0.3@6:55

There's one last significant hill (and a few smaller ones) starting around mile 16.  It is also in a section of canyon known to have quite a bit of wind but is mostly a tail wind except for this year.  Wind came on suddenly while going up a hill.  I survived ok for a while but found myself walking a few times after hitting mile 16.  Just after mile 21 (let's say 21.2) I looked at my overall time - 2:50.  Which meant keeping every mile under 10:00 would get me across the finish line under 3:40 - so new goal, was determined to not miss that one.  I think around mile 23 the 3:35 group passed me by.  I heard the pacer yell out to his runners encouraging them.  The road was a straight shot and you could see a very slight downill the whole way.  Legs were hurting.  Grabbed an ice pop which helped (not too warm at this point, about 72 degrees maybe).

Approached the finish line and managed a 6:55 paced kick and I think I passed one or two people.  I saw the clock ticking away and was trying to get even just a second under 3:37:00, however I ended up with a chip time of exactly 3:37:00, but at least I had hung on to me knew goal and resisted too much walking to stay under 3:40.

After grabbing some food and drink I sat down at the awards area where they were doing half marathon awards.  None other than the owner/administrator of this blog, Sasha Pachev was picking up his award as overall male masters winner for the half marathon for a time of 1:17.  Made plans to meet up with him later, then headed back to the hotel.

Had a chance for a quick sit down with Steve over a coke before he had to head to the airport.

Spent the rest of the day hanging out with Sasha and his family.  Saw three of his kids race in an 800m race,

then saw them race at a mile race in the Orem street festival going on.  That race was point to point so I had to run/walk another mile to go catch them at their finish.  Also, at this point the weather had actually turned cooler and weather was a little bit drizzly.

Had a wonderful dinner at Sasha's house including my first ever taste of home made root beer flavored ice cream.

Went to Sunday services the next day heading to the airport.

While heading to the gate I smelled something good, followed the smell and found the most garlic covered garlic fries I've ever tasted (along with a grilled cheese sandwhich)

2.55 mi, 30:03, 11:48 avg

First run back after the marathon.  Actually, when starting out wasn't sure if I'd be running at all but thought I'd try run/walk if necessary.  More walking at first but was kind of running by the end.  Felt much looser by the end and ready to try for farther and faster tomorrow.

4.94 mi, 46:59, 9:31 avg

As promised yesterday, a little farther and faster today.  Also, accompanied by Joe and Jamie so I could catch up and tell them about my experiences at Utah Valley.  Felt better again than yesterday and the company really helped.  Ran in the neighborhood.

6.2 mi, 1:01:03, 9:50 avg, HR 125 bpm (max HR 133 bpm)

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders and for first time in a long time wore the HR strap to see where I was at.  It also keeps me in a good recovery zone and away from too fast to be easy but not fast enough to serve a purpose.  I was expecting the worse and thinking I'd have to slow way, way down.  But actually, I was somewhat around where I was when I was doing HR training on a more regular basis.  Back when I tried it for the first time, I was struggling to run faster than even an 11:00 pace, but eventually worked my way into the 9:xx's.  Furthermore, the first mile doesn't seem to make a difference whether I'm trying to run HR or not, it's still about the same, a good bit slower than the rest of the run.  Today's first mile was 10:29 pace with an average heart rate of 112 and that included about the last 0.2 trying to move my heart rate up.

But, after the first mile, things fall into place and I have to be sure and run an even pace and fight the urge to want to speed up.

So, overall pretty happy with today's run and looking forward to at least a few more HR runs and then probably try to keep doing these except on planned specific workouts.

7.33 mi, 1:13:51, 10:04 avg pace, 123 bpm avg HR, 141 bpm max HR

Today's run was a little warmer and slightly harder than yesterday's run.  I ran through my neighborhood to the new park and circled the pond a few times (0.72 mile loop with 1 mile marked out).  Also wore HR strap again.  Did warm up mile where HR averaged 104 bpm, then had three good miles under 9:30 pace with HR in high 120's, but then had to start slowing down to not exceed 131 bpm.  Next three miles saw pace slowing down to 10:52 for the last mile.

But , overall a successful run because I did what I set out to do.

10.06 mi, 1:30:53, 9:02 avg  (no HR strap today)

Ran in Starkey Park with Joe, Jamie, and Andy.  Andy turned back at 4 miles so he'd get 8 miles to meet his CC goal for the week.  Felt pretty good up until about mile 7 when it started to feel harder (even warmer today than yesterday).  But, we made it back ok and pretty happy to end the week after the marathon with 30 miles.  Can do more next week.

After the run, Anthony had boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts for fundraising in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities.  He signed up with them to get into the Chicago marathon and has ended up recruiting over 30 other runners from the Striders to run for them.  Bought one box to bring home.

I had fun at this race and felt a little bit of redemption after my slower than hoped for time last week at Utah Valley.  I had asked the boys to run with me but Andy was volunteering at the hospital and Thomas had met and exceeded his mileage goal for the week before (and wasn't very eager to go), so I figured I would enjoy the race myself.  Instead of t-shirts they had these really nice beach towel sized towels with the race name printed on them.  I had to wait until after the race to get mine because I was doing race day registration.

This race takes place in John Chestnut park which is very shaded.  I've done a number of 5k's here and I think they pretty much use the same route each time (one small loop about a half mile, and then a bigger loop for the rest).

Splits: 6:18, 6:28, 6:42, 0.04@5:42

Now, I know those don't really look like splits or distance that work out to a 19:42 5k, and at first I did think that the course was short.  But after talking to other people the consensus is the course really is 5k but the heavy shade can mess up the gps signal.  People using their iphones for watches measured 3.2 miles, and gps people came up a little bit short but the RD said the course was accurate.  Also, while I was running, I'd notice my lap pace for the second mile would fluctuate wildly.

I'll just have to run another 5k soon to see if I can repeat or beat this time. It's a good bit faster than my last 5k and a few seconds faster than the one before that which was run on a cooler day and was the one where I was trying to win a large jar of raw local honey (which I did).

Sasha's advice to me last week was to concentrate on 5k's for a while.  So, that was another reason to want to race this one.  While I was running the race it occurred to me maybe he meant more concentrating on training for a 5k, but maybe also did mean to run more.  5k is a short enough distance where running enough of them is pretty good training.

8.28 mi, 1:20:41, 9:45 avg, Avg HR 126 bpm, Max HR 134 bpm

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Went out nice and easy and kept HR within MAF range of 121-131 avg for each mile.  Run felt pretty good.  Due to my distance and slower pace I almost missed the coffee.  Clark and Cindy were pulling out with their stuff all packed up, but when they saw me they poured me a cup before driving off.  Nice service!

So, another pretty good HR run.  These things take patience but wondering when I'll see my pace improve while staying in MAF range.

AM - 7.87 mi, 1:05:20, 8:18 avg

Ran with Andy's cross country team at their practice.  They were doing 2 x 2 mile repeats with easy mile warm up and an easy mile between sets.  Goal pace was in the 6:40's.  I kep up ok sort of in mid pack of the group.  It was a lot of fun and I was glad I could basically keep up.

My splits ended up being: 6:47 and 6:52 for the first one, and then 6:43 and 6:45 for the second one.

After the two by two, we did 6 x 100m strides.  Now, on those I was way behind.  I think I might have kept up with one of the girls on the last one.

PM - 4.11 mi, 37:59, 9:15 avg

Ran with the Striders at Longleaf for the weekly "Humpday Hustle" which is a short run followed by meeting up at a nearby pizza place.  This was my first time participating although I had been meaning to for a while but I'm either staying too late at work or I have the kids and can't make it on those weeks.  

They had just changed the time from 6:00 to 7:00 which worked out for me, but main reason is because it's still pretty hot at 6:00.  Actually 7:00 was still pretty hot (low 90's) but it felt almost reasonable for running.

It was a nice way to break up the mileage for the day and be social at the same time.

10.25 mi, 1:42:19, 9:59 avg, HR 126 avg, 140 max

This run ended up feeling really long.  I was doing heart rate training and it started out feeling normal, with usual slow first mile with lower heart rate (below maf range), then miles in the low 9:xx's   No water at the water stop so turned back and decided to detour to the Longleaf pool which has a fountain outside.  After doing a couple more miles decided to go back to the starting area to be social for a bit and then finished off the last of my miles with an out and back.  Left hip flexor started feeling "tired" where it was slightly sore and just didn't want to lift my leg.  Stop and stretched using the new section of fence and then finished off the run.

AM - 7.77 mi,  1:24:02, 10:49 avg, HR 127 avg, 139 max

Ran from my house to SR54, to Corporate Drive, to Trinity Blvd to get to the new park and did a few laps around the lake there.  Was having trouble keeping my heart rate even with slower running, so I started to periodically walk to get my heart rate where I wanted.  Air was warm and humid but there was some cloud cover and a hint of a breeze.  The walking breaks actually felt good because my running pace was faster and my overall pace was pretty much the same.

PM - 3.21 mi, 30:38, 9:32 avg  (no HR data)

Since I had decided to not do all 10 in the morning I brought my run running shoes and a pair of shorts to work and would head to the Dunedin causeway.  This ended up being quite enjoyable since it prevented me from working too late and the scenery was a nice change.  Ran from first parking lot over the second bridge and close to the park entrance before turning back.

17.1 mi, 2:37:40, 9:13 avg

Ran starting from Longleaf, just before 7:00.  Solo run today with goal of steady miles with no stopping.  Ended up at least with almost no stopping.  First 10 miles were basically pretty even (except for slower first mile as I warmed up slowly).  However, for some reason mile 9 felt harder than it should have felt and I just starting feeling really slow.  Saw Rob heading back from his run and stopped for just a bit to chat with him.  Just passed 10 miles I turned around and then suddenly felt a lot better.  I picked up the pace a little bit to get out of my perceived funk.

When I got to 14 miles, I decided to do the rest as a fast finish run.  Mile 15 was a 7:52 which I held myself back on slightly because I thought what I'd try to do is pick it up more each mile.  Went faster on mile 16 but was starting to feel off.  So, one more change - pick it up even more, finish under 7:30 and then take the last mile as a cool down. So, that's what I did - last two miles 7:27 and 8:45

Felt a bit tired and beaten up for a while, however I'd bounce back and would end up feeling pretty good by Sunday morning.

10.64 mi, 1:41:34, 9:33 avg

Ran with Joe, Jamie, and Cynthia in the neighborhood and over by the golf course.  Saw Cassie from the Striders out running and said hi.  Then, on last segment of the neighborhood loop saw Lisa starting her run so she joined us for a bit.

I described the temperature as "not that bad" - since it was less than 80 degrees, and actually I ended up feeling better than I thought I would based on how I felt after yesterday's run.

AM: 10.32 mi, 1:38:18, 9:31 avg, HR 127 avg, 138 max

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, arriving pretty much on time at 5:30.  Ran a couple of miles with Daisy who was asking me about my Utah Valley Marathon experience and then continued on my own to the end of Aristide so I'd have over 8 miles for this portion.  Start temps were in the high 70's but for some reason Aristide felt at least 5 degrees cooler.  Got barked at by the dog behind the invisible fence but no longer get startled - he is pretty convincing that he's really coming into the street up until the point he actually stops.

I had my best maf mile so far this time around - 8:54 - the rest were 9:30's to 9:40's

Saw Andy and the Mitchell CC team heading out when I was on my way back.  

After the run, socialized a few minutes, drove home and did a couple more miles doing the neighborhood loop so I'd have over 10 miles for the day.

PM - 2.3 miles, 22:32, 9:48 avg

Did some elliptical at the Y, followed by a short weight workout, and then 2.3 miles on the treadmill keepingn my heart rate in the 121-131 range

6.46 mi, 1:02:16, 9:38 avg, HR 127 avg, 137 max

1.15 mi, 9:07, 7:55 avg (no HR data) - strides

Ran from my house and did the t-shaped route out to golf course area and back.  Started just before 7:00 which was later than planned (was aiming for 6:30) but there was a slight delay helping the kids get out the door to go meet with the cross country team.

For first part of the run, kept heart rate at or below 131 (121-131 range), although it did jump out of range here and there.  I had another sub-9:00 mile (mile 2, 8:58).  Thought that yesterday's sub-9:00 was just a fluke but maybe these will start showing up more.  Looking at an article based on MAF training, I should be able to run at 8:00 pace or maybe a few seconds under based on my recent 5K times.  I'm theorizing that this sort of prediction works in one direction.  That just because I can't run those paces in training doesn't necessarily mean I won't hit those 5k times, but if I CAN hit those paces the I should be able to definitely hit the 5k times, and perhaps, furthermore the 5k times, when based on aerobic training instead of race day magic or gutting it out, it may better predict longer races.

But, I still want to do a little bit of speed here and there to practice leg turnover, so after the slow run I did 6 strides of various times (20-30 seconds).

11.2 mi, 1:47:27, 9:35 avg, HR 124, 136

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders at 5:30.  Did out and back with Joe while keeping heart rate in MAF range.  Saw Jackie and Ryan running and they asked us to join them but I wanted to stick to heart rate, although it was tempting.  Short coffee break with some of the Striders, drove home and then did 3 more miles around the neighborhood.  Trying to make it to 200 for the month of June.  Just two more to go which I'll try to get done at the Y tonight.

AM -  10.23 mi, 1:37:39, 9:32 avg, HR 127 avg, 143 max

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.  First mile about 10:32 and heart rate about 110.  So, I picked it up a little bit to get HR into 121-131 range.  I had one mile about 8:45, and then the next mile was mostly in the 8:40's until I saw my heart rate at 137, so slowed down a bit to finish that mile at 8:59 and get HR back to 133.

Split off from Jamie at about 8 miles and then did the rest on my own.

Yesterday evening didn't go as planned so I missed getting in that last two miles for the month at the Y and therefore ended up shy of 200 miles making it my first month after 6 straight  months of miles over 200 - but pretty close at 198 which included recover from two marathons.

PM - 2.32 mi, 23:24, 10:05 avg

Ran around the neighborhood with NiKYO,  He was pretty good on the leash.

15.25 mi, 2:22:19, 9:20 avg

Started at Longleaf at 6:30 with Jamie.  Ran to Diane's house then into the park for a bit before turning around.  Was pretty consistent with miles between 9:15-9:40 most of the way.  With one mile left, I picked up the pace and ran the last mile in at 6:40, then did a short cool down.

I signed up Andy and myself for both the 5k and the 10k.  5k started at 11:25 pm.  My brother Jim is in town and he also signed up for both races as well as Jamie (thought she might be doing just one race but decided on both).  It's only $10 more to do both races than it is to do just one.

Race takes place near the start of the causeway out to Honeymoon Island state park.  It's always expected to be pretty warm but this year (compared to last time I did it in 2010) was warmer and more humid with temperature at 81 degrees (2010 temperature was 75 degrees).

Andy had debated over which race to race and which one to run for fun and decided on the 5k.  Thought sounded like a good idea and said I'd run with him and maybe he could get a PR over his time at the RAP River Run 5k (20:30) a few weeks ago.  At that race he ran by himself and had splits of 6:05, 6:5x, and 6:5x so I thought maybe a little bit slower first mile could smooth things out.  We warmed up with a little over a mile before the race started including 3 x 25 second strides.  Felt drenched after the warm up and felt extra warm while packed into the crowd at the starting area.  We were hoping for a nice offshore breeze once we got out onto the causeway.

Got off to a good start and settled in about a 6:15 pace for most of the first mile but lost some speed going up and over the drawbridge (not too tall, maybe 15-20 feet up) and ended first mile at 6:26, a little slower than hoped but a good start and on track to break 20:00.   Next mile, which included the turnaround brought some more slowing and finished at 6:52.  I was feeling pretty wiped at that point and was about to tell Andy that this wasn't my day and he should go ahead.  As I was thinking about saying it he told me he was battling a side stitch so I kept quiet and just kept running.  Pace was not looking good - about 7:45 at the start of the third mile.  Gradually the side stitch started to release and we slowly picked up the pace until just back under 7:00. 

With about 0.2 mile to go I told Andy to kick it in and go, which he did and was able to pull away from me.  I watched him head toward the finish chute and realized he'd make it in under 21:00 and then I realized that I still had a chance, so I gave it my all, was close but just missed being under 21:00.  Andy got 20:57 - about 25 seconds slower than his PR but not that far off.  And, he was able to pull away from me when I was giving it all I had left.

6.214 miles, 46:49, 7:33 avg

12:15 am, shortly after the Midnight run 5k was the 10k.  I was feeling pretty done after the 5k so thought I would just "jog out" the 10k.  As I recovered more I did at least set a couple of goals. 1. Try to get to and stick to a sub 8:00 pace, and 2. run a negative split.  Andy thought the 8:00 pace sounded good and said he'd run with me.  We started out together, got separated and then met back up.  But, the crowd was pretty thick and we were soon separated again.  About 3/4 th into the mile my shoe lace was flapping so I stopped.  A lot of people ran by me and I looked out for Andy but did not see him.  Got going again and finished the mile about 8:16.

I felt pretty good and kept going at my post shoelace pick up pace.  

Next miles were: 7:23, 7:19, 7:16, 7:23, 7:23 and last 0.2 @ 6:39

The causeway ends about 2.5 miles out as the road heads into Honeymoon Island state park.  The causeway was fairly dark but there is some light from buildings, traffic lights and such.  But, once inside the park it was pretty dark.  This year they had each side of the road and the center of the road lined with glow sticks.

As I headed out of the park and back on the causeway I saw Jamie (I'm not sure how she recognized me, I could barely recognize anyone).  As she headed into the park she saw Andy and they ended up running back together (except for the end where he sprinted the last bit).

I felt good and passed a lot of people.  Not really the time I'd normally be happy with for a 10k but for a 10k I decided to just "jog out" it was pretty good - more of a marathon pace run, after running a 5k, at midnight, in heat and humidity.  

For the 5k, Andy's age group was pretty competitive so his place was 7th.  However, for the 10k there were only two people.  So, he ended up with a nice age group award, and even though he was 2 out of 2 he certainly earned it!

10.68 mi, 1:42:29, 9:36 avg, HR 128 avg, 136 max

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, with the group but did not run with anyone in particular.  Did not have my HR strap for the first part of the run (about 7 miles).  Finished up miles when I got back home (about 3 more).  Legs a bit sore from Sunday/Monday races.

AM - 7.15 mi, 1:07:31, 9:27 avg, HR 124 avg, 140 max

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the nbhd.  It felt oppressively humid this morning. Good thing at least was that even though i didn't feel like running fast I had to put out some effort to put my heart rate into the 121-131 zone.  I had one mile under 9:00.  HR went a little bit high on last mile to Jamie's house, after which I slowed down.

PM - 4.0 mi, 37:11, 9:18 avg

Ran with the Striders at Longleaf for "hump day hustle".  Temperature was much higher than this morning but humidity was down and there was a little breeze so actually much nicer feeling.  Good to run a little bit with Renee who I hadn't seen in a while.

10.06 mi, 1:35:07, 9:27 avg, HR128 avg, 135 max

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Started out and stuck to my heart rate zone so was mostly running by myself.  Temps felt much better this morning compared to yesterday morning (hint of cool now and then with some imagination).  Pace felt pretty good.  No miles under 9:00 today but overall average about the same.  Did just over 8 miles at Longleaf, then finished up once I got home.

8.79 mi, 1:29:24, 10:11 avg, HR 129 avg, 153 max

Little bit later start, ran from my house to the new park and did a few laps around the lake.  Sun was hitting me pretty hard.  Kept HR in MAF range for most of the run until after I got back to my house and finished up with 6 by 25 second strides.

14.1 mi, 2:08:02, 9:05 avg

Ran in Starkey Park with my brother Jim, Cynthia, Andy, and a little bit with Joe.  79 degrees at the start and felt a little cool at first but humidity really snuck up.  Kept the pace easy and consistent.  Jim and Andy turned back just after 4 miles out and Cynthia stayed with me to 6.5 and I kept going until 7.  Picked up the pace on the last two miles to 7:47 and 7:07.

Nice finish to the week of mostly steady running to concentrating on cardio base.

AM - 6.01 mi, 54:45, 9:07 avg

Ran with Andy and Thomas (and cross country team) at McKethan lake park just north of Brooksville.  Kind of an adventure getting there.  Went to wrong place for caravan (wrong Target) so drove up by ourselves and got there early but gate to park was still locked.  Began doubting I was at the right place (although I had been there at least twice for the Red Mule 5k), tried a different entrance which showed a connecting road.  Road was dirt road and not really drivable with my little car (would have been fine for truck).  Got a stick stuck underneath which was dragging so stopped and climbed around to pull it out.  About ten minutes later I was getting bit by a large ant.

Eventually met up with everyone.  I did a couple loops with Thomas then some more on my own.  Was reasonably not too hot when under the shade but pretty hot in the few sunny sections.  Was planning on running a little more but already kind of late so left at it 6 miles for the morning.

PM -2.08 mi, 16:37, 7:59 avg, HR 125 avg, 141 max

Second running attempt, about 8:40 at night.  Rain was rolling in along with a little bit of thunder but tried to squeeze some in.  Just got a little bit wet.  I wore the heart rate strap but didn't look at it while running.  The second mile was a 7:41 but the average was only 132 bpm, only 1 beat outside of MAF range.  If this pace is true then that's a huge PR for MAF running.  I'll have to see if I can come close to repeating this.

AM - 10.56 mi, 1:36:06, 9:06 avg, HR 128 avg, 136 max

This morning's 77 degrees felt cooler than normal. It would have been a good day for tempo or speed work but still sticking to HR training a bit longer.  Ran at Longleaf where I did a little over 8 miles.  Was able to string together even more sub 9:00 miles while sticking to MAF range (121-131).  Finished up two miles at home.

I'll have to look back to last fall but I think this might be my best MAF run ever.

Unfornately, Andy missed his run with the group.  He had slept through his alarm, although he did do some miles by himself after I got home and will join the team for their evening run tonight.

PM - 2.6 mi, 24:20, 9:22 avg

Ran on the treadmill at the Y after doing a warmup on the elliptical and an abbreviated weight workout (no bench press tonight, they've both been busy on the recent nights I've been there).

AM - 9.53 mi, 1:19:00, 8:18 avg (no HR today)

Ran from my house to the new park to do 5 x 1k repeats around the small lakes.  Today's gift was nice 73 degree starting temperatures and a slight breeze.  It felt nice yesterday, but was a little bit warmer so I'm glad I waited until today.  Although I'm concentrating on base building I want to do a little bit of concentrated effort on 5k training so I can run 5k's and evaluate my fitness.   Park is about two miles away, so ran that at an easy pace, then speed warmed up with 3 25 second strides to goal pace.

Since I've had two 5ks recently under 20 minutes and two over 20 minutes I set a goal pace as 6:26 (or 4 minutes per 1k repeat) and ideally wanted to come in maybe 5 seconds faster.

Trying to hit the pace by feel I ended up faster.  It's hard to adjust downward without going too far down and since I might fade toward the end I decided to just go with the pace.  If I ended up too slow I'd try to at least hit the 6:21-6:26 goal.

Results exceeded goal: 3:49 (6:10 pace), 3:34 (5:45), 3:46 (6:04), 3:35 (5:46), 3:48 (6:08)

Jogged back home and felt good.  Maybe it is too early to tell, but I'm coming up on nearly a month of mostly heart rate training (aka easy running) and it might be starting to pay off already.

 PM - 2.33 mi, 21:19, 9:10 avg, HR 125 avg, 136 max

Short run around the neighborhood loop after dinner, and after a stick shift lesson for Andy (he can at least get to where he needs to go if he has to and should be pretty smooth with a little more practice).  Cooled down nicely just before I started running due to some rain nearby but not so close we actually got any here.

10.17 mi, 1:33:45, 9:13 avg, HR 128 avg, 137 max

Another easy paced heart rate run and fortunately once again a relatively cool morning (for which I am thankful, especially with several in a row now).  Started near Longleaf and did out and back run to Aristide neighborhood.  Pace not quite as fast as Tuesday but still pretty decent.

After grabbing the last cup of coffee from social hour headed home and ran two more miles by my house.   Glad to see Andy had left and did not oversleep meeting the CC team.  Woke up Tom and he did his miles in the neighborhood while I was getting ready for work.

13.12 mi, 1:58:59, 9:04 avg (no HR today)

Ran with Jamie and Renee on the Suncoast bike trail south to the Upper Tampa Bay trail, out and back route.  Pretty decent temperature but a little warm on the sections with no shade.  Stayed at a pretty steady pace (except for a post pit stop pick up to catch back up).  Was nice to get a mid week medium long run.  Pace felt pretty good but I'm sure I was probably out of maf zone for at least some of it.

Wore new Skechers Go run sonic 2 - pretty good but still like the original GoRuns (which seem to be hard to find).

16.4 mi, 2:31:42, 9:15 avg (no HR)

Started out just after 5:30 from Longleaf and ran up to Starkey park (with a short out and back into Aristide so I'd have at least 6 miles before the park).  Met Jamie in the parking lot just before 6:45 and then we did 5 more out and then back for 10 more miles.  Picked up the pace and ran the last mile fast at 6:56 pace.  Weather was ok and was pretty happy that I'm not feeling dinged up after running over 70 miles this week and was able to do a pretty good pace for the last mile

10.37 mi, 1:41:13, 9:45 avg, HR 127 avg, 139 max HRR 37

Did not get started until almost 8:00.  Ran from my house, past the golf course and through Thousand Oaks to the Y and then turned back.  Grabbed some water at the golf course on the way out and back and took a gel at the Y.  Run was pretty good, not a bad pace for not being a great run, it seemed to drag out a bit but it never turned bad and the plus side was there was a bit more of a breeze on the way back and a few more clouds in the sky for cover.

I'm not sure if I love the new GoRun Sonic2 shoes, they are a bit spongier feeling but I think they'll do ok as an every day shoe.

PM - Fast Tuesday's 5k

This was a small, semi-formal 5k race put on by a local running store.  $10 for entry and prize money for top 3 male and female runners.  Course was across from the new outlet mall on SR 56 near I-75 in a new yet to be developed sub-division.  The course was well marked, there was a guy timing it and a guy leading the lead runners on a bike.  Each loop was just over a mile, so it was just under 3 full loops.  I warmed up with a little over a half mile easy jogging, then two 25 second strides, then lined up.

There were two fast looking guys and a girl who looked like she might be fast.  Started out without really looking at my pace and was running near the girl for almost the first half mile as she started pulling away.  At that point my pace so far was about a 5:45.  I tried to stay steady without pushing too hard early in the race.  The two guys and the girl steadily spread out from me and each other.  Stayed near 6:00 pace and finished the first mile in 6:03.  I pretty much was able to hang onto that pace for a good part of the second mile but ended up slowing a little and finished at 6:10.

Temperature was about 81 degrees, a little humid but nearly as bad as the Dunedin Midnight 5k a couple weeks ago.

Third mile started feeling really slow but I gradually got back some of the pace I was losing and finished that mile at 6:30, then kicked it in at 6:00 pace for last 0.18. 

The 3 loop course had a good number of turns which I didn't do a great job with the tangents.

6:03, 6:10, 6:30, 0.18 @ 6:00

So, basically much faster and less fall apart at the end than the last couple of 5k's.  I felt a little bit stronger and more confident from the steady base work I've been doing

The other really nice bonus was the $20 prize money for 3rd place male.

7.32 mi, 1:06:12, 9:03 avg, HR 127 avg, 136 max, HRR 38

Cooler out this morning (from last night's rain) and earlier start made this a much easier feeling run.  It was also my fastest maf run so far with the pace slowly edging towards under 9:00 pace.  Today's conditions were similar to last week but with a small improvement.  Still need to keep at it.

Saw Andy, Thomas and the CC team heading out for their run while I was coming back.  Last night for their practice they included a 1 mile time trial at the track and Thomas ran his fastest mile ever - a 6:10.  I'm not sure if he's ever broken 7:00 before  He's been running with CC team since the start of summer putting in 20-25 miles (including swimming cross training).

AM - 9.14 mi, 1:30:42, 9:55 avg, HR 124 avg, 146 max

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood and out by the golf course.  I didn't get great sleep last night due to feeling wired after the race, but didn't wake up tired either.  Weather was pretty good again this morning, maybe about 75 or so.  I wore the heart rate monitor but wasn't really watching it carefully, just running a conversational pace.  8th mile HR was a little bit high.  After Jamie split off I did the last mile by myself and slowed down to get the HR back to 131.  For the most part it worked out that HR was where it needed to be.

PM - 3.68 mi, 36:23, 9:53 avg

Ran with the Striders for the "Hump Day Hustle" at Longleaf.  It was still well over 90 degrees so we ran in the neighborhood instead of on the bike trail.  Cynthia was there tonight so we ran together.  Joined up after the run at Johnny Brusco's for dinner.

10.51 mi, 1:42:32, 9:46 avg, HR 128 avg, 138 max HRR 31

Decided to not get up at 4:50 then driver to Longleaf to start running at 5:30, but started from home at 6:30 instead.  Stopped by tail end of Striders social hour and grabbed a small gatorade to take on the rest of the run then continued out another 2.7 miles to get out just over 5 miles before turning around.  Sun was starting to hit me on the way back but most of the run felt almost cool.

8.76 mi, 1:21:10, 9:16 avg

Ran from my house to the park with the path around the small lakes.  Was reasonably cool feeling when I left the house but pretty hot by the time I got back.  Back toward my house and then did 9 by 25 second strides with 50 second jogs in between.

(wore old Brooks Pureflow which i had retired from my shoe manager)

20.12 mi, 3:11:6, 9:30 avg, HR 131, 151 max

Ran from Longleaf to Starkey park, leaving at about 5:40 (few minutes late as usual).  Got in almost 7 miles when I got to the parking lot where I met up with Jamie who had driven there.  We did a little bit over 13 miles together.  Also ran some with Daisy and Anthony (about 3 miles with them).  Plan was to stick within 121-131 range which I pretty much did except for the last two miles where heart rate climbed steadily (had gotten pretty hot out by then).  I didn't want to slow down because I wanted the run to be over with and Jamie was my ride back and she needed to be home soon.  

Overall the run felt good except for when it started to drag on.  Temps were pretty nice starting out and the light fog inside the park almost gave the air a slight chill until the sun cleared it up.  No major wild life sightings today, just one rabbit.

AM - 10.75 mi, 1:40:04, 9:18 avg, HR 128 avg, 138 max

Nice, easy heart rate (121-131 goal) run from my house out to the Y and back in a slightly meandering path.  I left the house just before the boys drove to the Y to meet the CC team.  I passed them on my way back after stopping there for water and taking my gel.  I had 3 miles in a row under a 9:00 pace and felt pretty good overall.  The distance seemed to go by quickly.

Less than 49 miles to go to make 300 miles for the month!

PM - 2.52 mi, 20:30, 8:08 avg

Went to the Y.  After a short elliptical warm up and some weights (including leg extensions), I got on one of the treadmill that can go down to a 2% decline to do some "downhill".  Started out flat, then  went downhill for 10 minutes, then up for a couple of minutes, then downhill for the rest.  I'll add more later.  Ran some of it easy and some of it at goal marathon pace.

10.65 mi, 1:36:50, 9:05 avg, HR 128 avg, 137 max

Tuesday morning run with the Striders sat Longleaf.  As usual, I got there 5 minutes late, didn't really run with anyone but talked to some people at the water stop and then a little bit at the end.  There weren't very many of us today.  It was another reasonably nice morning weatherwise, summer in Florida is not so bad these days.  Stayed within heart rate range of 121-131 and ended up pretty consistent pace wise and ended up being one of my fastest heart rate runs.  I felt like I wanted to go faster and should have been able to but going to be patient a little longer.

I saw Andy and one of his CC team mates heading out when I was heading back.

I did the last two miles near my house and passed by Thomas out for his run.

10.12 mi, 1:27:53, 8:41 avg

Did 10x400m workout today.  Easy paced jog out to the park with the trail that goes around the ponds, one stride to get warmed up, then did 400m (0.25 mile markings on the trail), followed by 400m jog/recovery, goal was to run 1:25-1:30 for each one.

Splits: 1:29, 1:24, 1:27, 1:22, 1:23, 1:21, 1:22, 1:26, 1:24, 1:23

On the 9th one, one of my shoes came untied so I slowed down a little to try and not trip, otherwise it would have been just a little bit faster.  There was a little bit of a breeze but almost no cloud cover so was getting a bit sweaty feeling by the end of the run.

AM - 8.54 mi, 1:23:32, 9:47 avg, HR 115 avg, 138 max

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood and by the golf course, starting at 6:00.  Usually run at Longleaf with the Striders on Thursday at 5:30 but thought that 6:00 sounded a little better and this was probably the only chance for Jamie to run outside.  We were doing a conversational pace (but I wasn't looking at my pace and did not have the heart rate set up on the display), then we stopped at the drinking fountain.  I turned the heart rate display back on and saw my HR was below the 121-131 goal range, but was at 114.  So, sped up a little bit.  It's nice now that my heart rate actually says I'm doing an easy pace when I think I am.

Decided to not do all 10 miles this morning since I'm planning on doing at least two miles (maybe 3) on the treadmill at the Y tonight so I can practice some stead downhill running - longer than what I could do on any hill I could find around here.

PM - 3.04 mi, 24:08, 7:56 avg

Ran on the treadmill at the Y after 10 minute bike warmup and 3 sets of leg extensions.  Did two minutes warmup and then 20 minutes at -2% decline gradually going to 7:35 pace, followed by 1% incline at same pace, then 1 minute slow.  Hopefully this will help a little bit for the downhill at the Super Tunnel Marathon coming up on 8/21

11.01 mi, 1:51:31, 10:08 avg, HR 122 avg, 140 max

Ran the Suncoast Trail to the Upper Tampa Bay trail with Cynthia as well as with Ben for the first three miles.  This morning was the warmest morning all week but it didn't affect things too much at first but gradually dragged on things a little more.  Took it easy on the pace and for the first 7 miles my heart rate was on the low side.  Got a little bit out of range on the last mile but I didn't want to slow Cynthia down who was struggling mentally with the sun so I wanted to stay with her rather than dropping back.  Despite my heart rate rising that last mile I didn't feel like I was struggling.

16.34 mi, 2:26:27, 8:58 avg

Ran at Brooksville on the Suncoast trail starting near SR 50.  Ran south 1 mile, turned back and then grabbed my water belt and headed north for 7 miles, then turned around and came back.  Starting temperature was about 77 degrees and the humidity was up pretty high and partly cloudy so not direct sun the whole time but not shaded either.  Purposely took it easy for the over the first half and then started picking it up a little on the second half especially the last two miles which were 7:50 and 7:27.  Was a pretty tough run mentally because the easy pace didn't feel that easy but at least when I decided to go faster I could.

And now it looks like I've hit my July mileage goal of breaking 300 miles!

10.65 mi, 1:41:32, 9:32 avg, HR 128 avg, 138 max

Ran from my house to the Y, stopped for water then headed back.  Boys and the CC team had met at the Y for their run so I saw Andy and Thomas heading home just as I was getting there.  But, the coach was still there, so I had a chance to chat with him for a bit.  They had done a timed mile on the track today and Thomas ran a 5:50 (20 second improvement from two weeks ago).  Andy did not do the time trial due to injury recovery (just did the easy miles today).

Weather was pretty nice again, felt cool at the start of the run, nice little breeze, too.