The Long Run

Croom Zoom 50k  Race report

Time: 6:06:21, 10th place overall, 4th age group

I was nearly 12 minutes faster this year compared to 3 years ago, however 3 years ago I missed a turn and added on about an extra mile and a half, so this year's pace was a tiny bit slower.

It was not easy running a race on new year's day at 6:00 am with an hour and 15 minute drive.  I did stay up until midnight the night before but was in bed at the time so went to sleep right after the ball dropped (which I missed because TV was on the wrong channel).

The first mile of this race is the easiest because it is 70% pavement before turning onto a sandy fire road for another half mile then a right turn onto single track.  I wore the same headlamp I wore for the training run a few weeks ago but did not have the handheld.  This was a big mistake.  I could barely see.  I let a lot of people go past me and walked up the rooty section going up Tucker Hill.  But, because of the paved section, the pace for the first 2.2 mile "starter loop" was 13:11.

Passing through the start area and then onto the first of three ten mile loops, the downhill side of Tucker Hill starts out pretty rooty and it was still dark out, so mile 3 came in at 16:09 - but fortunately that was the worst of it.  Next mile still dark and still kind of slow at 14:21.  As it got lighter out, pace got better and eventually started catching up to some of the many people who had passed me.

It was still pretty cool out while I was going slow, so I kind of felt chilly, but I knew it would warm up soon.  Got into the 11:00's for pace and a couple of miles in the 10:30's before finally slowing down a bit for up and over Tucker Hill on the completion of the first big loop (mile 12 was 12:43).

The second big loop would be a lot faster than the first big loop and slightly faster than the last loop.  I felt good starting out, continued to catch up to people.  But somewhere into the second or third mile I felt something like a big needle in my shoe so stopped to take care of it.  Took me a little more time than I cared to get my shoe off and back on but probably worth it.  A guy I had just passed came by me and said "got a blowout huh?".  (13:45 for that mile).

Rest of the second big loop went really well.  The official timing said the average pace was 10:54.  When I hit mile 16 (shortly after the shoe stop), my average pace was 12:05.

Going up Tucker Hill went pretty smoothly, went through the start/finish area and felt good going into the third loop.

Going back down Tucker Hill was a differnt story.  Feeling good and trying to slowly make up time, and feeling more confident, was taken down a notch when my right foot caught a root, almost lost my balance but managed to stay up right.  And even though I didn't fall, there was an instant of great pain.  A second or two of thinking I might've broken a toe.  Soon realized, no, basically just like stubbing my big toe.  Hurt for a bit, then got better.  With that little slowdown, mile 22 was 14:07.

The rest of the first half of the third loop continued on ok and I was soon at the Croom Road aid station, approximately halfway point of the loop.  I thanked the volunteers and told them this was my last loop.

The next 5 miles were not too bad, but it was getting a little bit warm.  I slowed a little for miles 30 and 31 (12:08 and 12:05), was not feeling too motiviated to push hard and my watch was on average overall pace and not lap pace so I didn't realize I was slowing down that much until hitting each mile.  Then finally, last third of a mile, last climb up Tucker Hill and into the finish chute where I was given a cool looking pair of Croom Zoom socks.

They had a DJ at the start/finish area which was the only music I heard during the whole run.  I had a pair of headphones on and my phone but I just never found a good time or place to start the music.  I did however have a few songs repeating in my head.

Relaxed for a bit, had a towel with me, laid down on it and stared up at trees while listening to the DJ and clapped every now and then when  another finisher came through.  Eventually got up, had a hot dog and some potato salad before heading home.

So, overall it was good.  I kept moving, felt fresh going into the third loop and never had to take any extended walk breaks.  I took a few here and there on purpose (originally was going to take one minute sometime during each mile but it didn't work out that way).  Long Haul course is much flatter which makes it easier in a way but at the same time you don't get those nice easy feeling downhill stretches.  Two years ago before Long Haul I was on a cruise so missed  this race.  The longest training run before that race was only 18 miles, and I ended up suffering.  I've got a few more long runs in this time, so hopefully will feel more like 2019 than 2020.

6.23@9:34

Better than expected run two days after the 50km.  Did a square loop around the outside of Westlake (about 4 miles) then a shorter one inside the neighborhood for the rest.  Day off work so slept in a little bit and didn't start run until 11:30.

7.11@9:25

Run from my house to the Starkey Gap Trail and southbound to Keystone/Tarpon before turning back.

7.12@8:05, HR 154 bpm

I called this run "fun with quarters".  Ran a loop in Westlake Village, watch set on 1/4 mile laps, ran easy , then ran faster, with each faster one, faster than the previous one, last 1/4 was fastest at 1:33.  After that switched to miles, did an "easy" mile at 8:16 (felt easy after running fast), Then sped up for last mile which wsa 6:54, followed by a little bit of easy running to get home.  Ran the two mile loop 3 times plus a little more, went by quickly , was good to keep moving the whole time with no stops or walks between sets.

8.21@8:50

Ran from Longleaf Church into Starkey Ranch , around Cannon Lake and a little bit past that so I'd get in 8 total.  Was a nice steady pick up starting at 9:45 pace for first mile down to 8:17 for the last mile.  

3.12@9:10

One loop inside Westlake Village in the morning

2.06@13:50

Late afternoon "power  walk" from the office

18.39@10:19

One more run at the LongHaul course in Cypress Creek.  Out to the hub and a full loop followed by part of  a second loop (skipping spur 3) followed by run back to car.

Practiced doing 1 minute walk break, some place in the middle of each mile.  I don't always do this but have had luck with it especially on flat courses (like Iron Horse and Keys100 (50 mile version).   Except for the best of the best, most of us are likely to walk at some point on a 50 mile or beyond race, so the earlier planned walk breaks are like money in the bank earning interest.

When I was heading out ran into a guy named Arnold who was coming back from his run.  He asked if I was racing next weekend.  We chatted a couple minutes before I continued on.  Always nice to meet someone who's going to be in the same boat.

3.23@14:17

Evening power walk in Westlake Village.

4.55@9:58

From my house, out and back southbound on the Starkey Gap Trail.

2.63@9:24

Smaller loop inside Westlake Village in the morning

1.8 miles in 25:45

Evening power walk inside Westlake Village

5.12@9:41

Ran from Starkey Gap Trail access on Trnity Blvd, up to SR54, then back and just a little bit south past the parking area.  Felt pretty good overall like a taper run should.

3.12@9:25

One loop inside Westlake Village.  This will be the last run before the race, probably just some walking tomorrow, then 100 miles on Saturday (and some into Sunday since I'm not quite that fast).

Long Haul 100 Race report,

(or race against the rain, 80 Miles to Midnight)

New personal record for 100 miles.  Looks like I found something I can still PR in.  Storms were pending.  They could roll in anytime during the night or hold off until the morning.  I wanted to get as many miles before midnight and hopefully enough so if worst came to worst and it got really bad I could shelter while the storm passed.  Unfortunately, there was a chance that might not work if it was heavy for long enough as some reports said, possibly lasting 4 or 5 hours.

But, as luck would have it, would be mostly good except for near the very end. 

I felt better prepared going into this race than last time and probably the time before.  Last time was two years ago when it became a suffer fest and I might've dropped out or missed the Western States cutoff of 30 hours if Cynthia didn't pull me along and speed me up.  In that year, 2020, I only had one long run of 18 miles between finishing the Towpath marathon in October and this race.  In 2019, I ran the Jacksonville marathon in December and managed to also run the Croom Zoom 50k two weeks before this race.

This year I had one definite pacer lined up (Daisy) and two possible maybes (Joe and Cynthia).  Cynthia ended up with a positive covid test and Joe had some work obligations so they were both out.

The evening before the race, picked up my bib, listened in on some of the pre-race meeting.  RD gave a shout out to me since I'm the last person who has run Western States 100 by qualifying in a Florida qualifying race, which was the Fools Run 50 mile race in 2012.  Shortly after that, the Fools Run was removed as a qualifier and until 2020 there were no Florida races that could be used as qualifiers.   This year we have three runners going to WS 100.

I brought out some stuff - a beach shelter, a folding chair, small cooler, some supplies which I set up near "the hub" which is near the timing mat and at the intersection for the three "spokes" that make up a "loop" (it's actually cross shaped).

Saturday morning, lined up in the chilly (high 30's according to some people) morning, got in line for the POP and then back out of line (it could wait).  Race started and almost everyone took off way too fast, heading east on the paved road on our way to the hub and the start of the first loop (the 0.9 miles out to the hub is just a bonus, no extra charge).  On a per mile basis, 100 mile races are quite a bargain.

(I need to fill in more details for the laps but wanted to at least get something posted before the Iron Horse 100K on 2/5)

Loop 1 (2:10:42)

It's all fun and games when the race starts, pretty much everyone goes out too fast all in a big group.  I lag back a little bit knowing there's plenty to time to catch up.  Approaching the end of the first spur, there's a guy with a clipboard taking down bib numbers but no one is turning around right away.  We seem to have gone past the turn around point before people realize that (maybe went about 0.2 mile too far, but that's just going to be noise compared to the overall distance).  Back to the hub and finally hit the POP which I didn't have time for before the start.

Loop 2 (4:02:12)

Don't remember much about this loop but after finishing it, no longer feels like the race just started.  Still a long way to go.

Loop 3 (5:53:52)

Felt good on this loop, sped up.  Averaging much faster than 24 hour pace.  If I could hold this pace it would be a sub-20 hour race.  So, yes this is too fast in that regard but it's also part of the plan to try and get in as many miles before the rain starts sometime later which could be anytime between 2:00 am and sunrise.  With the "starter" mile, the end of loop  3 is around 50km, so the 50km split is also a little faster than what I did at Croom Zoom.  Croom Zoom is hillier and I had that slow start due to bad headlight, so this pace is not too fast.

Loop 4 (8:00:28)

Loop 5 (10:29)

Just as I was finishing loop 5, Jessica and the baby showed up.  She was originally thinking she'd just come out for the finish but it was a nice day so she came out in the afternoon.  I chatted with them, got a picture, and then asked her to wait while I did the first spur.  Wanted the baby to have some time hanging out near the "hub" to soak up the race vibes.  Saw them again after the first spur and they walked with me for bit on the paved road.  It was a boost seeing them and looking forward to having a pacer at the start of loop 6.

I think it was this loop where as I was finishing up spur 3 and coming up the little embankment up to the paved road, Patrick Bene was yelling at me to run (all in good fun yelling) and Daisy heard this and shot back at him to not make me run up the hill.  It was kind of funny but also nice how Daisy was sticking up for me.

Loop 6 (12:59) (100k 13:29)

Going into this loop, was looking forward to this being the last one that I had to run alone, the thought helped me keep moving forward and not worrying if I was pushing too hard.  Pace was slowing but I was getting a lot of miles to keep me on track for 24 hour pace (14:24). If I could hit most of the miles at that pace, combined with the first half time of ten and a half hours I could hit sub 24 with some room to spare. 

Took a little too long at the spur 2 aid station (ended up with about 17 minute pace for that mile).

Loop 7 (15:50)

Ok, just keep going.  And now I have some pacer help.  So that Daisy wouldn't have to run all 40 miles with me, she was going to skip a shorter spur here and there.  But for spur 1 of loop 7, she was with me.  Heading south down spur 1, I found myself having some trouble lifting my legs and getting out of a shuffle.  Coming back to the hub I announced I was going to try a strategic sitting down and see if that refreshed my legs.  So, with this few minutes of sitting down, mile 63 was 23 minutes.  And, once we got going again legs didn't feel much better.  There wouldn't be a whole lot of running for most of the remainder of the race.  Just try and keep the power walk pace fast enough and watch the time spent at aid stations.  Miles 68 and 69 had a little bit of running and got the pace into the 14's (but not quite magic 14:24 pace).  I did spur 3 by myself.  Almost went down at one point in one of the rooty sections.

Loop 8 (18:39)

Did not make it to mile 80 by midnight, but it was still late night instead of early morning, rain was still holding off and felt pretty comfortable that no matter what we could still finish.

Loop 9 (21:29)

Finishing up this lap, it was approach 4:30 in the morning. My legs were tired but stable.  My best time to finish this race was a little over 25 hours.  I didn't think I could break 24:00, but I wanted my finish time to start with a 24 at least.  I told Daisy and Lucas to just keep me moving no slower than 18 minute pace for the last lap, which would mean the lap would be 3 hours or faster and I'd be well under 25 hours. I knew there were things that could go wrong so wanted a little bit of cushion in case I cramped up and needed to stop or the rain started and got brutal.

Loop 10 (24:19)

Very excited to start this last lap.  First stop was the trip to the check in tent at the far end up the first spur, thanked the volunteers and told them this was my last visit.  They said they'd miss giving me grief (mild messing with me here and there throughout the race, all in good fun).  

I had announced I would not be stopping at all for anything, but at some point did stop one more time to empty out my shoe of trail debris, but otherwise kept on moving.

Made it up to the end of spur 2 and checked in one last time but did not stop, had plenty of water still in my bottle.

It was some point in the hall of pines that the rain started but was not bad yet.  Wouldn't get bad until we reached the paved road. We already had our rain gear on from earlier when we'd get a few sprinkles.  I knew that when it started it might come down hard and start suddenly.

Then it started, buckets of rain.  I was wearing a $1 poncho which kept me dry and in a light to moderate rain would keep me warm, but the rain was hitting so hard it was chilling me and the plastic was too thin to keep in the heat.

Just keep going, almost done.

We turned onto the trail for spur 3.  The trail was turning swampy and as the road went from double track to a single track trail the trail was a small stream with mud banks on either side.  Around that time, two or three guys came towards us in the other direction.  It was still before 7:00 am and they could make it under 24 hours if they ran (found out they made it with a few minutes to spare).

When dry, this last bit of single track was slow for me, trying not to take a hard fall from the roots (had a few stumbles earlier).

Finally made it to the timing mat at the end of the spur, turned around and once we reached the double track and were out of the woods, we were also out of the woods figuratively with the rain slowing down and the sky starting to lighten.

And then, the final timing mat, the end of the race.  Crossed the finish line.  Amy handed me my buckle and congratulated me saying I was the first to get the new buckle (over 24 hour buckle was redesigned from a rectangle to an oval).

I'd done it, new PR.  But really, just like the last two times here, it was more of a we did it.  The pacers kept me going, pulled me along and kept me from the middle of the night despair.

Marina was still out there and I wanted to stay, but even with some dry clothes and more layers and I was feeling chilled and needed to get back to my car to warm up.  Daisy and Lucas packed up my stuff for me (Daisy kindly and accurately said I "was useless" as far as packing goes).  They walked me to the shuttle (pickup truck pulling a trailer) and Marina's parents helped me into the cab of the truck.  Daisy and Lucas rode with me and then moved the stuff from the trailer to my car.  Thanked them both again and said goodbye.

1.27@10:43

First run after the 100 mile race, have to start somewhere.  One small loop in Westlake Village.

3.19@9:18

A little farther and faster than yesterday. Down and back starting from Starkey Gap trailhead on Trinity Blvd heading south.

6.23@8:51

Ran from Foxwood house, crossed over Trinity Blvd to along the golf course then north on Starkey Gap trail out to SR54 and then back home.

4.19@8:55

Started from trailhead again on Trinity Blvd, headed south and then turned around and came back.

4.26@9:13

Ran in Westlake Village.  One big loop inside the neighborhood and one little loop.

2.45@9:03

Running short on time, just one 2ish mile loop inside Westlake 

8.31@8:48

Now I feel like I'm back (either that or I'm just fooling myself).

Good run from Westlake Village and over to the Pinellas trail via Delaware and then north until out just past 4 miles, then back.

7.05@9:35

Ran from the Longleaf church, into Starkey Ranch and a loop around Cannon Lake then back to the car.

10.06@8:53

Ran from Westlake over to Belcher then south to Nebraska , zig zagged over to Pinellas Trail and then north just past the old train tunnel, sharp u-turn back up to the road and then cut through Eniswood on the way back to the house.

5.56@9:44

Ran on Starkey Gap Trail from the Trinity Blvd trailhead, ran down to Keystone and then back to the car.

4.26@8:36

Up and down the street on Lakeview Dr. (Westlake Vilage)

4.19@8:21

Skipped the morning run thinking I might go to evening Hump Day Hustle and ended up keeping that promise.

Current Hump Day Hustle route is from the little church in Longleaf, then into Starkey Ranch with a turn around at the second traffic circle for 3 mile route or out to the "two mile tree" for the 4 mile route.

Went out with the group and it felt way to fast but it was good to know I could start out faster if I needed to.  I asked Daisy if she always ran this fast and she said just when she was running with the boys.

I mentioned that I was going to be doing the Iron Horse 100k this weekend.  No one gave me a hard time, they were pretty supportive.  Only 3 seeks since the 100 mile race but I'm planning on going easy which means slower unless I feel good then easy might be a little bit faster.

7.02@8:49

Big square around the outside of Westlake Village (Alderman, Belcher, Nebraska, Omaha sides) and a medium sized loop inside the neighborhood.

Felt pretty good.

No run today, just a quick walk in the neighborhood.

Heading up to Gainesville tonight after work, staying with Jessica and baby who are up there with Jacob touring UF.  

62.45@11:41, 12:09:55, 3rd overall, 2nd male.

Iron Horse 100k, my 10 year anniversary of Ultra Running

Pretty much everything worked out on this race, felt pretty good overall, met my "B" goal and came pretty close to beating my "A" goal.

I ran this race 10 years ago as my first longer than 50k ultra race (I had done one 50k before that race in preparation).  The course has changed quite a bit since 2012.  The race used to be strictly on a rails to trails route starting in Florahome, FL, with a couple miles paved and the rest on dirt or crushed gravel.  The unpaved section has now all been paved, so now the race route exits the paved area and runs a couple different spurs into the Etonia Forest.  

The other major difference is in 2012, for the 100K you would run two 25 mile "loops" and then go out and do another half of a loop.  After running 50 miles, you could also choose to be done and collect your 50 mile finisher medal.  But this year, a 100k racer gets the initial 12 mile half loop out of the way first, and then runs two by 25 miles with no option to gracefully bow out at 50, it's either finish it or don't.  With no choice to finish early there's no temptation.

First Loop (12 miles)

The morning was nice and cool for Florida, prerace meeting about 6:30 right near the starting area.  I had on a very light jacket to keep warm which I was going to shed right before the race started.   Last minute course change added a half mile run to the west, turn around and head back to the start so that the course would not be short.  So, I kept the jacket on.  As we came back to the start decided to keep the jacket on.

About two miles on the pavement, the course makes a left onto a side street, run down a little bit, and then right onto a dirt road underneath some power lines (not the big huge ones with steel towers, but medium sized ones on large wooden poles a little bigger than telephone poles).  The dirt is a little sandy, but not quite sugar.  There's an uphill but not too bad, but enough to know this won't be a totally flat course.  It's about a mile and a half to the aid station and a junction where two spurs of the course separate.

We head up the first spur until reaching a timing mat for the "short" loop turnaround that the 100k racers are doing.  So, at this point some people keep going and a few of us turn around.  The dirt here is pretty hard packed, it's almost like pavement and feels fast for a trail.

The morning is still very cool and I'm still wearing the light jacket.  Head back towards the start, down the loose dirt beneath the power  lines and then back to the paved trail, back to the start.   First loop is done.

2nd Loop (25 miles, first full loop)

Back out and running the first full loop, get to the point where I turned around last time but this time keep going.  Averge pace is slowly getting faster, dipping just under 11:00 pace.  I'm sticking to the 7 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking.  A little bit past where the turnaround was for the short loop the trail enters into a section of pine trees.  It reminds me of the hall of pines from Long Haul.  At some points the trail turns from hard packed to some sugary stuff here and there.  The pine section is the loop part of the lollipop.

It's around this time I see a notification that Jenny tagged me on her Instagram, she posted a vide of Tom racing his first 10k race (BDR in Safety Harbor), coming in first place with a time under 34 minutes.  It was pretty cool to watch and made my run feel easier (at least for a while).  I'd check my phone or send a text on the 1 minute walk breaks as well as taking some sips from the bottle or eating a snack (had another one of those Reese's Big cups (with pretzel pieces) that I had during Long Haul).

Get back to the junction, quick stop at the aid station, and then onto the next spur.  The dirt road descends slightly and eventually crosses a bridge over a creek, then after this the trail climbs.  It seems to slowly go up forever, where you see what looks like the peak, it flattens out but then you see it go up some more.  I think it's around here where I take off the jacket and tie it on my waist.  The road turns a few times and then the aid station is off to the left.  It's slightly off the course but I stop there anyway just so I keep taking in a little food here and there.  After the aid station is another 1.5 miles out to the spur turnaround.  The road widens (it's still dirt but it looks like they are going to build a 4 lane road here at some point), turn off the wide road and then onto a narrower and rockier road with some more ups and downs. Finally, the timing mat off to the right, I'm careful to make sure I get close enough to the box.  I'm wearing two timing chips, one on the bib and one on an ankle strap.  Timing guy believes in redundancy.

Turn back, stop at aid station again, then make my way down the hill, down to the little bridge and then back up, heading to the aid station.  When I'm less than a mile away, my eyes start to sting.  Sweat has rolled down and I must've but the suncscreen/bug spray combo where I shouldn't have.  I've got Hammer sports drink in my bottle, not good for rinsing.  I try wiping and squinting but it doesn't help much.  Eventually get to the aid station, beg for a paper towel and rinse out my eye (mainly just the left one).  Ok, much better.  I've lost a little time but I'm moving again without the stinging.

As I get back to the starting area, there's two women and a guy running together.  I slowly pass them, get to the turn around, cross the timing mat and stop at my car which is parked on side of the roard with tailgate facing the trail right across from the aid station.  This is my one planned sitting down.  I need to gather up what I need for the rest of the race.  It will get dark before I get back so need a light.  I forgot my new headlamp and just have an old one.  I also have the USB charger that has a light bar on it I can use for backup and can also recharge my Garmin which might run low before finishing.

3rd Loop (25 miles)

The two ladies and one dude go cruising by just before I'm ready to get up.  I get going again (with this sitting down, it would be my slowest mile for the race at 16:52).  I feel slower at first, but stick to the run/walk.  I gradually start catching up to the group but they seem to pull ahead each time.  After a few times nearly passing them, I finally pick up the pace just enough to go by them.  I put a little space between us.  Turning off the paved path and over to the dirt road, where I slow down a little on the uphill I can hear the group catching up again.  But once I get past aid station 2 and onto the lollipop section I'm by myself again (they must have stopped a little longer at the aid station).  My legs feel good again.  Still light out but the weather is cooling slightly and before it gets too cool I take the jacket from my waist and put it back on.

Finish the lollipop, go by the aid station and onto the last spur.  Now it's just one more out and back.  I'm not looking forward to the climb up the hill that seems to go forever but I keep going, keep doing the run/walk.  I come up to two women running together, slowly go past them but a little after that one of the women catches up to me.  Not sure which race distance she's doing I ask her but she says, no she's the aid station captain for aid station 3 and was bored so was out doing a few miles back and forth from the aid station.

I reach aid station 3, grab a couple small bites of food and take a few shots of coca cola, then head out for the last mile and a half to the timing mat.  Feels like they moved it but garmin says no they did not it's right where it's supposed to be.  Get back to aid station 3 but don't run up to it, run by it and wave and say thanks. Maybe about 7 miles left.  There's some rain sprinkles here and there, sunlight is running out.

Down to the little bridge and then climb back up to the junction and aid station 2.  I skip that aid station also, only a little over 4 miles left now.  At the start of the dirt road under the power lines, there's just a tiny bit of light left.  I put on the headlamp but I'm having trouble keeping it lined up and getting it to sit right with my hat.  I give up and carry it like a handheld.  After a couple of stumbles on the roots, decide to just walk this section (14:59, 16:04).  One headlamp is coming toward me, say hi to the woman that owns the light, keep going and finally back to the paved trail.  The unscheduled walking break has freshened up my legs enough to where I'm back running on the running intervals.  With the paved trail, the not so great headlamp is more than enough.

Finally, about a 1/3 of a mile from the finish I can see the LED lights of the time clock.

Just over 12 hours.  About an hour slower than 10 years ago but only three weeks out from my PR 100 mile race.

Hang out for a bit.  A volunteer makes me a quesadilla (the really simple kind, perfect post race or during race) and gives me a coke.  The 2nd overall, 1st female is there hanging out with her husband trying to warm up by the fire.  She did around 11:30 and the first place guy was around 11:20 I think.

This one of my favorite parts of any race, the post race hang out.

Overall, really enjoyed this race, glad I took a chance.

Decide to not risk driving home (about 3 hours) and instead get a hotel in Gainesville, but then can't fall asleep until 3:00 am!

2.26@9:34

One short loop inside Westlake Village.  First run back after the 100k

4@9:06

Evening Hump Day Hustle run with the Striders, felt pretty good.

4.63@9:14

Square shaped loop around the outside of Westlake Village (Alderman, Belcher, Nebraska, Omaha)

7.28@9:12

easy-ish run from the Longleaf Church into Starkey Ranch, out to and a little past Cunningham Park

12.02@9:46

Long enough run to count for a long run on Saturday.  From WLV, north through Eniswood over to the Pinellas Trail, then south until reaching 6 miles out, then turn around back home.

5.14@9:20

Out and back run from Starkey Gap Trail Trinity Blvd trailhead, heading south and then back to the car.

Evening Valentine's Day dinner at Thirsty Marlins with Jessica, her kids, the baby of course, Jessica's parents and Jacob's girlfriend Emma.  It was nice, not too busy and there was room in the indoor/outdoor area for the baby to roam (I guess not completely a baby if she's roaming but more toddling).

3.12@9:10

Up and down the street in Westlake Village.  I should run this more often for a warm up before long runs because it's just hilly enough to stretch out my legs.

AM 5.27@8:21

Did "fun with quarters" where I just alternate between easy and fast from beginning to end.  By the time I finish the "easy" quarters are faster than the first "fast" quarter.

PM 4@8:49

Evening Humpday Hustle run with the Striders at Longleaf.  Out to the "two mile" tree, take a couple sunset pictures (actually dusk at that point) head back, then pick up Sushi on the way home (every Wednesday Publix has $5 sushi, it's not bad for $5).

6.22@8:48

Big square around the outside of Westlake Village, then finished off with a loop on the inside.  First mile under 10:00 which is good for me, last mile right around 8:00 pace.

4.26@8:49

Another square around the outside of Westlake Village, but no loop inside this time. Similar pace to yesterday

12.02@9:02

Longish run, from WLV over to Pinellas Trail and some miles both to the north (first) and then to the south before heading back.

4.72@9:05

Two loops inside Westlake Village (figure 8ish)

6.23@8:42

Run from Foxwood down the Starkey Gap trail until out a little past three miles and then back home.

AM 5.04@8:39

A little over two loops inside Westlake Village

PM 4.0@9:00

Wednesday nigth run with Humpday Hustle group at Longleaf.

4.25@8:51

Square loop around the outside of Westlake Village

10.02@9:16

Longish run (for a Friday) from my house out to Starkey Ranch with a quick stop at Cunningham Park to use the water fountain.

14.02@8:38

Earlyish start (for me), 6:58 am, zig zag north through Eniswood over to the Pinellas Trail and then south almost to Curlew Road and then retrace back.  Miles 3-13 all under 9:00 and final mile at 7:59 pace.

Run felt efficient.

6.56@8:32

Big square loop around outside of Westlake Village with smaller loop inside.  Last 0.56 miles at 7:36 pace

7.21@9:12

Ran from Longleaf church to Starkey Ranch, going around Cannon Lake and quick stop at bathrooms on way back.

AM 4.57@8:39

Two loops inside WLV

PM 4.0@8:49

Humpday Hustle at Longleaf with the Striders

5.04@8:52

Couple loops inside WLV, added a little bit more someplace compared to yesterday's two loops on same course.

6.12@9:25

Ran from my house, crossed the street over to the golf course and then north on Starkey Gap Trail over to SR54 and then back the same way.

Long Play 33 1/3 Ultra Marathon

(Late and abbreviated race report (today is 4/22/22) )

This was my 7th time running this race , first time was in 2013 during its inaugural running.  This is the second time I've run on the "new" course.  Old course used to start in Nobleton, loop through Croom (Tucker hill area), then down to and past the Silver Lake camping area and then back.  New course starts at Ridge Manor, winds north and does basically one Fools Run loop in Croom Tucker hill area.  And actually, this "new" course was slightly different than the last time I ran the "new" course.  Loop around Tucker hill area this time was counter-clockwise vs clockwise last time, there was no bike path "starter mile" this time, but there was a little added loop toward the end of the first 9 miles.

After feeling really good about Iron Horse, probably had my hopes set a little high.  Iron Horse is run on some bike trail, some dirt road, pretty much all of it drivable (at least by Jeep), whereas this course is mainly good old trail, more hills, and weather was a bit warmer today.

Race started at 7:00 am, headed out with plan of 7/1 run/walk.  The problem with that on this type of course is it gets awkward on single track, passing groups of people only to get passed again without putting in much distance between us (feel like an accordion).  But, first few miles went reasonably well, running between 11:40 (first mile) and 10:20 for the first 7 miles.

Then all of the sudden, we (the line I was in), stopped.  Someone realized we were much too close to the lead pack.  We'd missed a turn.  We went back a little ways to try and spot it with no luck.  Then decided to just keep going forward and ask the race volunteers for guidance.  (We would later find out that someone removed the flags that were supposed to mark the turn, otherwise course was very well marked).

Next aid station was nearby, we had missed close to 2 miles.  I grabbed some food and started eating a PB&J sandwich while walking, feeling a bit discouraged.

Next several miles were slower, partially due to getting warmer and partially due to terrain, 13:01, 13:05, 11:13,  12:46, 11:37, 11:52.

Then I got a little faster approaching Tucker Hill.  There was an aid station at the top, and then the backside down Tucker Hill is pretty rooty, so that mile was 14:59 (slowest for the race, although I didn't actually know my mile splits at that point because I had 7 minute run, 1 minute walk intervals so only saw the paces for those and my math brain while running wasn't going to calculate the averages.  So, I just decided to settle in on reasonable running paces during the run section.

The next few miles heading back to that aid station where I grabbed the PB&J went well.  I felt good and passed a few people.  At the aid station I asked about making up the lost distance and they said to get instructions at the next aid station located at a campground.

Left the wooded area and ran along section of trail exposed to the sun, running parallel to a paved bike path.  I saw a cactus so stopped and took a picture of it since I had no pictures of the race so far.

Crossed the bike path eventually and headed on the trail to the campground.  Caught up to a few more people.  Volunteers at the campground and me do a loop inside there which added back some mileage but would not be enough to reach 33 1/3.

About 5 miles later was nearing the finish line, thought about running around some more but there was no telling exactly how much I missed since the garmin doesn't always line up to the course mileage.  So, decided not to worry about it and just finish.

Although it couldv'e gone better, was still a good experience, nice scenery, pushing through some lows and enjoying the highs and seeing a lot of famililar faces.

And the 11:43 average pace would not look all that bad after the Croom Fools run 50 mile race.

BDR Starkey Trail Relay (Inaugural)

Team members:  Eric, Katrina, Daisy, and myself  (original member Marina was there most of the weekend to cheer us on and general support, I was taking her place due to a back injury)

My loops below in backward chronological.  Temperatures perfect for running, daytime felt a little warm if the sun not behind a cloud and the wind stopped and you're running on the sand, or felt chilly with the wind blowing.  Night time got down to the high 40's.

I spent some time in a tent in a sleeping bag but couldn't quite get warm enough so ended up spending a good part of the time at night in my car. The parking area was close to the exchange area and not all that far from the tents.  There was also a campfire for s'mores and warmth as well as a big screen TV where they played movies at night.  

Refreshment table had water, gatorade, various snacks, and in the morning had Dunkin Donuts coffee and donut holes.

We had a lot of food at our tent and Eric had a cook stove to make grilled cheese sandwiches which looked really good but I missed having one due to timing.  I did have a pulled pork sandwich and mac 'n cheese from one of the food trucks there during the day so never felt too hungry.

Our tent was set up next to the "Trail Pirates" with Ben, Mike, Nick, and Brad

There was also a woman there who asked if I was Tom's dad.  She was a big fan of his, inspired by his dedication.

6.55@8:49 - Loop C Relay finish (Sunday 9:35 am)

I was pretty happy with this loop.  Basically, I'd been up all night, more or less, had already run 30 miles and a lot of people were already done.  But I was excited to get back out there.  I watched for Eric coming in and he handed off the bib to me near our tent but then ran with me to the official exchange point so he'd complete his loop.  Loop C was much nicer in the daytime, first mile was a reasonable 9:13, then the rest of the miles were all well under 9:00.  Sun was out, and like yesterday could be warm when out in the open, but through the trees was much cooler.  The section just before until just after the power lines was difficult but at least I could see what I was doing.  Then the rest was home stretch.

9.99@9:52 - Loop A-B Combo (Sunday 5:07 am, picking up extra "A" loop from Katrina)

Original plan was for me to do Loop B as my last night time loop.  Picking up Katrina's loop A meant I was going to just start a little bit early and have one more loop in the dark.  But, the good thing about all the sand on Loop A is that there is very  little to trip over.  I kept thinking to myself, ok, this is only 10 miles and I'm just trying to do about a 10 minute pace, this is not a hard run.  At the start of the loop Eric didn't realize I was running a double and then I wasn't sure if the plan changed again so when I get back near the tent I slowed down, checked my messages, grabbed a quick drink and finished up the loop after verifying, yes I'm running two.   

So, the 4th mile was onto B loop which starts on the paved bike trail so I made up some of the time I lost slowing down at the tent.  Then, more onto the bike trail where next two miles were faster than 9:00 pace.  Turn right onto the power line road and slowed a couple of times when navigating the big, sharp, poking gravel and the couple of water obstacles.  There was a guy I kept on almost catching up to but then lose as I'd slow down.  I also stopped once to empy a pebble out of my shoe.   Finally passed the guy as were were turning off of the dirt road and onto the trail.  Shortly after that , a woman passed me as I was slowing down for some sort of obstacle.  I stayed pretty close to her but as I'd pick up my pace so would she with us going from a 10:30 pace down to a 9:00 pace.  

It was getting close to light, but just before it did I say a bead of light right before me, suspended a few feet above the trail and then it rose straight up into the air like a tiny spaceship.  I got closer to it, it suddenly rose up higher and I relaized it must've been a bird with my headlamp reflecting off its eye.  Just after that, there was a man off to the side of the trail with his dogs who was making room.  I could see the two sets of eyes from his dogs and heard the man telling them to settle down.

All of the loops converge onto a wood chip covered trail, then cross a timing mat about 1/3 of a mile from the finish until out in the open through the camping area.  Sprinted in as best I could and looked for my team mate.  Uh-oh, no one there.  Daisy where are you?  She showed up a couple minutes later, nature had called. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  Break time! My shoes were now damp from dew and a couple of the puddles I couldn't avoid 100%.  Temps were at their lowest, maybe about 48 degrees.  Shorts, long sleeve shirt, and tall socks were good enough for running but I quickly got chilled, so grabbed some coffee and a couple donut holes then warmed back up in my car.   Daisy was out on the C loop and then Eric would do the A-B combo then I'd wrap things up.

3.76@9:06 - Loop A , second time (Sunday 2:20 am) - This loop went pretty well, felt better than the first night time loop, also knew the ground better and knew there was less stuff to trip on with much of it sandy, I felt comfortable running faster.  Didn't wear a hat so I didn't fuss with the headlamp moving around as much and although it was a little chilly was fine for running once warmed up.  When I got to the point where the Loop A and Loop B converged not far from the end another runner merged onto the trail from the B loop.  He was moving pretty good but I stayed ahead.  I heard him call out "good job runner ahead!".  I recognized the voice, it was Mike H. from the "Trail Pirates".  I thouht he would catch me but I managed to stay ahead.  He thanked me later as it was easier for him to keep the pace while following me.  The Trail Pirates were the favorite to win the "ultra" division.

I'd soon find out that the next loop for me would be another round of Loop A, going directly into Loop B.

6.53@10:06 - Loop C, first dark loop (Saturday 9:50 pm) - started off feeling really slow, first mile was 11 minute pace, got faster the next couple of miles and then slowed at the section just before and through the power lines.  Ground was unfamiliar and a little harder to navigate than other trail sections.  There was a water obstacle I slowed down around but the last mile and a half was pretty easy running compared to the first 5 miles and made up some of the time pacewise.  Was hoping for more like 9:30 average but could've been worse.  First night loop done! 

6.28@8:15 - Loop B (Saturday 6:00 pm) - This loop is a mix of pavement, dirt utility road, and trail, with very little sugar sand and a couple of water obstacles.  After the handoff, I spent too much time putting on the bib belt that we shared.  The first mile should've been much faster but was 9:15, next two miles much faster at 8:02 and 7:52.  The 4th mile started out fast running down the road under the power lines, but I had to slow down going over a section of large gravel pieces that would poke into your shoe (trail shoes would've been a great choice), but still "slow" 8:17 pace was not bad, next couple miles were 8:11 and 7:59, and 7:44 pace for the last 0.2.   Katrina had put together a spreadsheet with estimated start/finish.  I told her to put me down for 8:30 pace (originally had me at 8:00).  So far I'm ahead of schedule, but those night time miles are going to be harder.

3.69@7:56 - Loop A (Saturday 2:58 pm) - This is the shortest loop, it's also the one with the most sugar sand (but plus side is very few roots to worry about tripping over). As runner number 4, and having been here since 10:15 this morning and watching the other runners go out and come back I was itching to go.  I went out hard, knowing there was plenty of time to recover.  I haven't run this fast on a trail in a while and it was good to see I could still go under 8:00 on the sandy trails.  I'll have to come back and practice some more so I'm not always used to doing 11, 12, or 13 minute miles

9.29@8:55

Didn't quite get in all the miles I wanted to.  Later start than planned, time limited as I had to get Stella to the kennel due to traveling to Boston.  Parked at Trinity Blvd Starkey Gap trailhead heading north.  Ran into Joe who asked if he could watch Stella.  Went out about 2.5 miles, turned around and stopped at my car and called the vet's office who said no problem to cancel for Stella.  So, I had a little more time to spare, ran south a few miles and then back to the car again.  Stopped by the house and then brought Stella to Joe's house.  Lucky to have a friend that likes Stella so much.  Also, his dog recently passed away so good for him to have a dog running around the house for a few days.

Kind of a light week for running and not quite a long run today but I guess a break was ok after last weeks almost 37 miles and the 50 mile race the week before.

0 miles, travel morning and then straight to work.

My flight was at 7:00 am, Jim at a 6:00 am flight.  I decided to just wake up and go to the airport at the same time.  It worked out since it was raining pretty heavy and would not be a fun walk to the Silver Line station, so we shared an Uber.

Was hanging out before the flight with extra time to spare when Tracy came over and sat next to me.  She was the guide runner for Chris with bib number 321, reserved for neurodivergent athletes and sponsored by Adidas.  It was fun to listen to her recount running with Chris.  She's a pretty tough woman who kept Chris moving and helped get him a nice PR as well.  She only had about a month to train, and even though it was much slower than she usually runs, its still the marathon distance and was hard work running while continually motivating her runner.  Quite a feat for her and Chris.  I've always been inspired by the guide runners and the runners they are guiding, each one with a unique challenge.

1.72@8:47

Pretty short run today, one loop inside Foxwood.  I did two quick strides to try and remind me to start doing strides.

Very low miles so far this week!  It must be sympathy marathon recovery for the marathon that I watched.

5.07@8:38

Big square loop around Westlake Village and a little loop inside to get over 5 miles.

5.14@8:52

Friday run out just past Lake Dan on the Starkey Gap Trail.  Near the turnaround I saw Joe, so caught back up to him and we ran back together.  Filled him in on the Boston trip while we ran.  Third mile was 8:14, slowed down a little while chatting.

15.33@8:42

Started out doing the big square around the outside of Westlake Village, but instead of completing it right away, headed south down the Pinellas Trail to Curlew Road and then headed north , just past the old train tunnel to conservation park to use the cold drinking fountain.  Someone there asked if I was running 20 miles today or just 10, I said 15.  He seemed to recognize me but I couldn't quite place who it was.  People sometimes come up to me and ask if I'm that guy they see running all the time.

7.26@9:06 

followed by 4 strides (baby steps back to speed work).

Down the Starkey Gap Trail to Keystone and then back home.  Pace was pretty steady but felt a little harder than it should have, but overall it was a good run.

Decided to not completely skip the strides and at least do 4. 

7.61@8:02

Looped around Westlake Village.  Decent first mile at 9:43 (working on not being so slow the first mile).

After two miles, picked it up, next mile at 7:41, slowed down next mile to 8:06 (was planning on slowing down more but mile got faster toward the end).  Remaining miles were all under 8:00 pace.

It wasn't non-stop, was on standby for work and had to answer a couple of text messages.

Glad I was able to go faster today as yesterday's 9:06 pace felt like it was all I could do, glad it wasn't.

4.26@8:50

Big square loop around the outside of Westlake Village.

Was planning on joining the hump day hustle crew in the evening for another 4 miles but was not able to get away from work early enough.

7.51@8:49

Out and back from Westlake Village over to the Pinellas Trail and north to Wall Springs Park and then back home.  I had one gel with me I was going to take at the water fountain but decided to just keep going instead of stopping.  Nice enough morning to run with no water, enjoying them while they last.

6.45@8:49

Friday run down the Starkey Gap Trail to the bench about a 1/2 mile before Keystone.  Another nice morning but temp is climbing a little, wind offset it (gusted strong enough to blow off my hat).

Was not feeling as fast as I felt last Friday.

I did do strides at least at the end of the run, up and down the street.

15.28@8:43

Distance and pace-wise, almost identical to last Saturday's run.  Today, I went the classic route, starting from Longleaf and running into Starkey Park until reaching just past 7.5 miles.  Weather was nice, slight breeze to keep the heat away, 16oz water bottle was just enough. I do miss the water coolers they used to keep filled in Starkey (pre-covid), although there are at least a couple of ground temperature water fountains.  Last 1.28 miles at just below 8:00 average

5.81@8:41

Just under 5.5 miles, at an easy-ish pace (last mile maybe not so honest easy pace) followed by 6x100m strides.  Getting back into the strides routine, as well as continuing on with the right amount of warmup so my first mile isn't so much slower than the rest of the miles.

6.21@8:51

Two loops inside Westlake Village and a little bit of up and down the street.  5th mile was 7:53 then slowed down a little.

7.02@8:33

Run up and down Starkey Blvd.  Was trying for an earlier start so I could get in 10 miles before my dentist appointment.  Nice and steady pickup on the way back with the last mile at 7:36

6.11@8:36

Another looping run inside Westlake Village.  Had a good first mile at 9:15 pace, maybe I'm getting better at the warmup.  Also good was rest of the run was non-stop - there's usually something that interrupts my run but not today.

Also, 7:09 am start, early enough to get in some miles before Jessica had to go to dental appointment.  Still early enough for me to count the temperature as "cool"

6.04@8:59

Accomplishment - started running at 6:11 am, need to get back in this early habit.  Jessica was doing a substitute teaching job so she could stay on the list.  Square loop around outisde of WLV, with shorter loop inside.

After stretching and showering, took the baby to the park and did some walking.  She met two other kids with their grandma and a little after that got to pet a small dog someone was walking.

15.9@9:07

Today was not an early start - forecast called for rain and possible thunder storms up until 8:00 am.  That didn't really happen, but due to worry about the rain I didn't start until after 8:00 (closer to 9:00).  Ran from Trinity Blvd trailhead of Starkey Gap, north to inside Starkey Park, headed south from there but inside Starkey Ranch to the lake to grab some cold water from the drinking fountain.  While heading into Starkey Ranch, had a "knee warning" which slowed me down.

Then, just after leaving Starkey Ranch, ran into Claudia and then a little bit after that ran into Patrick (they had both just biked 60 miles now were doing a short run).  Last few miles went by quicker and made up some pace from the slow down.

For a 9:07 pace average, it was a bit of a struggle. But, I got the job done.

6.19@8:39

Ran 5.8 miles over to Robert Trent Jones from Heritage Springs to Trinity Blvd.

Ran back home and finished up with 6x100m strides.

9.23@8:55

Very nice morning and early enough start to do a little bit extra.  Out to Pinellas Trail and north almost to Klosterman and then back.  

AM 4.31@8:46

Big square loop around the outside of Westlake Village

PM 4.01@8:55

Humpday Hustle group run at Longleaf.  There were also a few cross country runners from Mitchell HS.  One of them remembered Tom (she was a freshman when he was a senior).  Going to cross country meets seems like a lifetime ago.

10.11@8:34

Out and back run from Westlake Village, cut through Eniswood to Alt 19 then sharp left on the Pinellas Trail until 5 miles, then back the same way.  I think I only stopped once when I was trying to get the bag of sport beans open, but it wasn't a very long stop.  

Felt good to get in the mid week longer run.  Happy with the pace vs effort.

6.43@8:34

6ish easy miles from my house, over and along Robert Trent Jones, then back home.  Finished up with 6x100m strides.

16.05@9:49

Started inside Starkey Park at 6:45.  Ran 5 miles in the park with Daisy and a few other runners, then we ran to the park exit and down Starkey Blvd to the church where I had left a small cooler with ice and a few cold drinks.  We saw several people we knew along the way.  Did a pretty steady pace.  Daisy hasn't done any long runs recently and has a marthon coming up in June (Grandma's).  The last few miles we took a couple of short walk breaks as it was starting to heat up, other than that did a pretty good job of moving along.

I probably was due for a slower long run.

No run today.

Yesterday, I started driving from Florida to NY to help out my parents. Left about 3:30 in the afternoon and drove until 12:30, reaching just inside NC.  Stopped at "South of the Border" to buy a couple souvenirs and take a couple pictures.  Always loved stopping there when I was a kid and since then whenever driving up and down I-95.

Woke up at 7:00 and on the road at 7:30 with goal of getting to the cottage before sunset.  Weather was mostly good, but hit some heavy rain in DC area, then it cleared up until crossing into NY.  Was cloudy and drizzly by the time I got there but felt like home when I arrived (They've had the place since about 1980)

6.04@9:30

Slightly better than expected run on Wellesly Island, needed to stretch my legs after being in the car for two days.  Cool out but partly sunny.  Ran past the golf course then onto a side street that went past the Coast Guard station and border patrol until reaching a dead end about 3 miles out.  On the way back ran past a lighted speed limit sign to see if it would tell me how fast I was going.  Only got 9 miles per hour.  I should've kept on trying to try and hit at lesat 10 mph.

Around lunchtime, packed up and headed down to Syracuse to meet my parents at the airport and give them back their car.

5.54@8:26

A couple of loops inside Westlake Village.  Towards the end I did one faster quarter at 6:48 pace just to stretch my legs.

10.18@8:29

Started out with the square loop outside of Westlake Village, but instead of completing it right away got onto the Pinellas Trail and headed north just past Conservation Park.  One the way back, in a sort of congested area, I temporarily picked it up but then stayed on that pace so last few miles were:  7:48, 7:42, 7:37

8.47@8:43

Run up and down Starkey Blvd from the church to Starkey Park entrance.

First mile 9:17, good for me, not too slow or clunky, then tried to keep it pretty even, slowly getting faster from 8:56 down to 8:36

Did 6x100m strides at the end.  Clouds were rolling in and the sky darkened but the rain held off, maybe a little thunder in the distance but not close enough to worry.

16.41@9:23

Met Daisy in Starkey just after 6:45.  We ran out 2.5 miles and then back to the parking area, then ran out of the park.  Turning south onto Starkey Blvd, Daisy started feeling overheated, so she turned back after we ran 7.5 miles total.

Headed south to the little church where I had my cooler stashed underneath a picnic bench with some ice and ice cold drinks.  Miles 9 through 15 were in the 8's with mile 16 at 7:55

Although it was warm there was some cloud cover and hints of breeze here and there which helped.

6.12@8:36

Ran a couple of loops inside Westlake Village, last mile was 7:58

8.25@8:41

Ran over to Pinellas Trail and headed north , turning around (but not stopping at) Conservation Park.  Little did I know that this would be my longest run for the week, so glad I didn't cut this run short.

No run today, probably could've squeezed in a couple of miles on the treadmill.  Arrived in San Juan with Jessica, the baby, Sophia, Aubrey, Jacob and 4 of Jacob's friends.  Staying at same hotel as last year but no Andy this year as he will be in Texas this weekend.

Did manage to almost make my 12,000 steps goal

5.15@9:42

Ran from near the hotel, heading out of Isla Verde and crossing over the bridge to Pinones for about another 1/2 mile before turning back.  Pinones is completely different from Isla Verde, leaving behind all of the chain hotels and other name brands to shack looking beach side and road side local bars, restaurants, and other local businesses.

Started run just before 12, so kinda warm and humid but there was some cooling ocean breeze for some of the run.

After the run, hung out on the beach with Jessica and the baby under a couple of coconut trees.

5.09@9:10

Similar run to yesterday , but even later in the day (6:00 pm), able to move a little faster after not as slow of a start.  Just trying to not fall too far behind this week.

3.64@8:20

Decided to skip the heat outside and run on the hotel treadmill.  Treadmill pace was slightly faster but not too far off compared to the garmin using "indoor run" mode.  Seems to care more about how fast you swing your arms.

Kept incline at 1 percent and played around with speed for variety.

After the run we Uber'd over to Pinones and got empanadas at a roadside place and then walked down the road a little to a beach access.  Beach was mostly empty, it wasn't well manicured but was pretty nice overall.  Had to watch for broken glass here and there but on the plus side I was able to find some smooth "beach glass".  Should've looked for more.

Would've been happy to just hang here until susnset but we had reservations back in San Juan to go to a restaurant with Tapas and Flamenco dancers.  The dancers were good (the baby was mesmerized watching them), but the guitarist was extremely talented and narrated the show in addition to providing the music for the dancers.

3.82@9:12

Last day in San Juan (supposedly), ran almost to the bridge and back.

Hung out by the pool for a few more hours before heading to the airport.

Flight delayed once, then again, and then a third time and finally canceled altogether due to weather.  Scrambled to find a hotel.  Able to get back to the Hampton Inn after some finagling.  Asleep by about 1:30 am.

5.13@8:50

Bonus run in Puerto Rico, here for one more day due to flight cancellation and back at the same hotel.  9:00am ish start, usual route towards the east, across the little bridge into Pinones and about a half a mile before turning back.

After the run, had breakfast and then spent some time at the beach and a little more time near the pool.  Headed back to the airport and this time the flight was not canceled but we flew to Orlando instead of Tampa.  Looked at transportation options and best one seemed to be rent to standard size SUVs, with me driving one and Jessica driving the others.  Final leg worked out and dropped off Jacob's friends at cell phone lot where their parents met them. Not the smoothest trip home but could've been worse.

9.36@8:33

Back home, thought about doing 10 but instead did just a little under that.  Run over to Pinellas Trail and then north a little past Conservation Park, then stopped there on the way back for some cold water.  Mile 9 was 8:06

Thought about running 3 miles in the evening to make 200 miles for the month but decided to get some rest instead.

AM 5.27@7:58

Ran in Westlake Village doing the "fun with quarters" workout where there's no warmup other than the first quarter.  Run the next quarter faster, then go back to easy, keep repeating until you've had enough fun.

PM 4.08@8:25

Ran with the Humpday Hustle crew at Longleaf.  Did 1 mile with Daisy before she had to turn back due to sore ankle.  Ran out to the 2 mile tree.  Still had my watch laps set to quarters.  Return trip was under 8:00 pace.

Stopped by my house to say hi to Andy and Stella before driving back to Palm Harbor.  $5 Sushi night at Publix and some miso soup for dinner.

3.15@8:25

Not as many miles as planned but had a pretty good first mile (9:13), and overall pace at 8:25 was good.  Did not have the big spike that whoop usually shows and overall strain was a little bit lower than usual.

7.71@8:34

A little bit over 7 miles, running from my house down the Starkey Gap Trail and a little onto Keystone then finished up with 6x100m strides up and down the street.

Run didn't feel as easy today but not bad.  5k one week from tomorrow for me.  Hasn't been much 5k specific training, maybe use this next one for a baseline and then try to jump into some more races over the summer.

14.51@8:44

Ran in Safety Harbor.  Went to see Tom race in the BDR "Leftover" 5k where you get to pick your own medal from previous races leftover medal.

It was drizzly rain although not torrential downpour but had been raining enough so that the streets were a bit slippery.  Saw several of the Striders before the race and also Michael MacDonald.

One runner took an early lead on Tom and was able to stay ahead of him for the race, there were reports of him closing the gap a bit but I only saw the start and just before the 3 mile mark.  The first place guy, Dylan, is 16 years old and ran two seconds faster at the Turkey Trot back in November.

After things wrapped up, I started my run.  Warm and humid but some breeze here and there and a good amount of shade on the route helped.  Headed south for a bout 2 miles and turned onto the Ream Wilson Trail which I stayed on until the end, backtraked a little and then south down the Duke Energy Trail to some point south of SR60.  Had a to wait a couple of times at some long lights.  Saw some parrots hanging out overhead on a phone line.  Supposedly they are only in south Florida.

The route was a little hillier than I thought.  It was a pretty good route for variety with a decent number of water fountains along the way.

6.41@8:42

Ran over to Fox Hollow running from Heritage Springs to Trinity Blvd.

First mile was 9:52, ok but could've had a better warm up.

Rest of the miles were fairly even.  Finished up with 6 strides up and down the street in front of my house.

5k this weekend, will do some repeats tomorrow.

6.34@8:19

5x1km workout - 4:13, 4:20, 4:09, 4:22, 4:08

About 1.5 mile warmup, then 5x1k repeats running from Sandy Hook to Lakeview, then reverse for the next one.  Kind of warm and humid but doable for a short enough workout like this.  I didn't have high hopes for this run but just wanted to get a baseline, overall was pleased.  I can build on this to get back some speed.  Hoping to break 22 minutes at Saturday's 5k.

AM 4.37@8:48

Big square loop around the outside of Westlake Village

PM 4.03@8:45

Ran with the Humpday Hustle group from the Longleaf church.  Daisy turned back after a mile.  I went out to the two mile point and caught up with Evan and Chad then ran back with them for return trip.  Picked it up a little for the last 0.33 miles.

8.16@8:39

Run from WLV over to the Pinellas Trail and then north to just past Conservation Park.  Stopped at Wall Springs fountain for water then continued back.  Mostly even pace until the last mile which was 8:06

4.34@8:55

Ran a couple of loops inside Anderson Park.  There was a little bit of rain when I started running, which helped make it feel cool enough. Hadn't been here for a little while.  It's got some small hills (similar in size to Westlake Village).

Warmup - 1.03@10:15, cooldown - 2.33@9:24

Race - 3.09@7:01, 21:41

Fun times.  One of my most evenly run races with each mile within a second of the other.  It was warm and humid of course but no different than other years.  Splits were pretty close to each other:

7:02, 7:01, 7:01, then 35 seconds (0.09@6:27)

First mile was a big crowd, the usual enthusiastic younger runners, most of whom faded about 1/4 mile out but many held on and several kept a good lead on me.  First mile I steadily improved my pace, then held on for the second mile at about the same pace.  Third mile I was tempted to slow down.  My goal was to stay under 22 minutes.  I also wanted to speed up.  But between wanted to slow down and speed up, stayed about the same pace until finally hitting the three mile point with the finish line in sight.

Awarded first place age group 55-59 but was 14 seconds short of "Grand Masters Award".

As always, great to see so many familiar faces and enjoy the festive atmosphere.

Last 5k was 21:07.  I felt like I had lost a lot of speed but 34 seconds isn't so bad.  I can get back to low 21's and could break 21 soon.  I've been cutting back on alcohol, gradually eliminating mid-week consumption and also reducing weekend intake.

4.1@9:24

Ran in Hilton Head, SC.  Was warm and humid but trail/sidewalk was mostly shaded.  Just trying to get in a few miles instead of 0.

6.07@8:29

Ran inside Westlake Village, 2.5 mile warm up and then did some hill repeats up Sandy Hook and then back down Village Way running in a loop.  Was not going very fast until the last one which was near 6:30 pace, should've tried for one more.

AM 5.03@8:37

Big square loop around outside of Westlake Village.   First mile 9:15, last mile 8:14

PM 4.02@8:57

Humpday Hustle run from Longleaf church out and back.  Ran 3 miles with Daisy then ran one more mile by myself

8.29@8:46

Out and back run from WLV to Pinellas Trail and North to Conservation Park for the cold water fountain, then reverse route back to the house.

This would end up being my longest single run for the week.

6.18@8:26

Almost 6 miles at a mostly steady pace, and then 6x100m strides to finish things up.

6.52@8:36

Got out the door early enough to warm up and start the run at 6:03 am.  Wanted to get in at least 6 miles and then have time to shower and be on the road by 7:30.  Ran a couple of loops in Westlake Village.

On the road a little after 7:30 (getting closer to 8:00,but at least it was before 8:00).  Drive to Tallahassee with Jessica and baby and a bunch of Jacob's stuff in the minivan.  He's starting his college career with summer session.  Made pretty good time both ways with only one stop total.

5.59@8:46

Things sure did warm up.  Felt like I was melting , but despite that maintained a decent pace while sticking mostly to the shade.  Finished up with some strides up and down the street in Foxwood.

6.98@8:07

Trying to make sure I don't ignore workout runs, but not on any program at the moment.  I decided on 5x1200m repeats.  Didn't quite stick to that goal.

Ended up with 4x1200m followed by 2x400m

1200's: 5:10, 5:31, 5:03, 5:15

400's: 1:42, 1:36

For the 1200's, first one felt ok, thought to myself "I got this", second one fell apart, although it was a lot more uphill.  Third one was good, thought ok, maybe I do got this.  4th one was back to meh but at least I hadn't given up completely.

For the 400's - first one was not any faster than the good 1200s, but then finally for the last one was back to my goal 5k pace.

It was definitely better than nothing , and these will pay off on the next 5k.

AM 5.32@8:35

Big square loop around the outside of Westlake Village.  Run felt good today after yesterday's harder run

PM 4.04@8:45

Evening run with Humpday Hustle group.  Ran out 1 mile with Lucas before he turned around, then caught up with the three other guys at the two mile tree, stopped for a bit until Patty caught up to us.  No Daisy this week, she's out west someplace.

10.12@8:44

Ten good miles, heading out from Westlake Village to Pinellas trail and then north to Klosterman Rd and just enough there to make it out just past 5 miles before turning back. Stopped briefly both ways at the fountain outside of Wall Springs Park, not a cold water fountain but water nonetheless.

Wow, today was first time over 10 miles since June 4th.

5.16@8:35

It got warm fast.  Did not get out of bed when planned.  A was up crying that she could not sleep and the baby woke up too so I calmed the baby while Jessica tended to her older one.

Warmed up with a loop inside WLV.  Had my watch programmed for 10 x 25/50 (25 seconds fast, 50 seconds reovery).  I wasn't quite getting up to the speeds I wanted but I did plow through all 10 without stopping.

Keep pushing.

13.14@8:39

First long run of the month even though month is almost over.  Goal today was no stopping, start early enough to get back by 9:00.  Carried my fuel belt with 16oz bottle and also a pack of sport beans.  Headed towards Pinellas trail via Eniswood and the sidewalk near Conservation Park, then headed south to near the base of the pedestrian bridge.  First mile 9:35, last mile 8:20.  Everything in between was ok.  There are no traffic lights on this route and the road crossings weren't very busy.

Today was Jessica and my fifth wedding anniversary.  We had dinner at Mystic Fish while her friend Emily watched Charlotte Dani.  Our very first dinner out without the baby (whose pretty much not really a baby anymore).  After dinner, we drove to Rocky Point and stayed at The Current hotel.  It was nice, all new looking, and nice view of the bay.

7.53@8:45

Ran from Foxwood, over to Fox Hollow along the sidewalk from Heritage Springs to Trinity Blvd and a little on that road.

Got back to my house and then did 10 x 25s/50s (fast/recover), which was what was on the plan from McMillan's marathon plan.  I'm not running the fast segments nearly as fast when I did 100m strides with standing around between sets.

Trying to finish up the month with 200 miles, 26 miles to cover over the next three days.

10.3@8:41

First mile was a little slower today at 10:12.  Left achilles was a little tender, so took it slower to start with and thought about doing only 7 or 8 miles today, but it soon felt better so went with 10.  Ran from WLV over to Pinellas Trail and then north to Klosterman.  Stopped at conservation park on the way back for some cold fountain water.

AM 5.15@8:44

Big square loop around the outside of WLV

PM 4.0@8:59

Humpday Hustle run from Longleaf church out to the 2 mile tree.  Ran with Evan and Chad and also Dave for part of the way.  Others opted for the shade of the neighborhood.  Ran through clouds of bugs so had them all over my chest and stomach by the end of the run.

Wednesday night $5 sushi from Publix and a Becks NA beer, refreshing.

7.27@7:55

I was stressed in my sleep about this run.  Had a dream about going to a 5k race at a church but I kept on getting delayed and was running out of time, never did get to the race.

Goal was actually somewhat modest, 5 miles of sub-8:00, 7:59 would've been ok.  Anything I could hold without slowing down.

Looped in WLV, 1 mile warm up.  I paused a little just before the end of the warmup.  Got going and mentally counted through the percent complete - 10% at 0.5, 40% at two miles, 51% at 2.55, until 80% at 4 miles, ok I think I got this.

Splits: 7:28, 7:36, 7:35, 7:17, 7:25

So, about 7:29 average.  Have not tempo'd for a while, have not put together this many sub-8:00's since the last half marathon.

6.22@8:46

A little under 6 miles in Trinity (near my house), mainly keeping in the shade on Robert Trent Jones.  Finished up with 6x100m strides in front of my house.  Just before the strides at a few gulps of Orangina, very refreshing.

First time in a while hitting 40 miles for M-F.  Looking for maybe another 15 miles tomorrow to finish off the week.

13.62@8:51

Original planned goals were 8:30 average pace, no stopping, 14 miles, and start by sunrise (6:38 am).  I pretty much missed every single goal.  Actual start time 7:50 am.

I stopped at 3.5 miles, drenched in sweat.  Decided on 13 miles at whatever pace I could manage.  Stopped a little bit after the turnaround and for the most part kept on going until reaching Conservation Park (slightly off the planned, direct route home) for some ice cold water to drink and splash. After the stop, had trouble getting back on pace but eventually was able to do so.

Felt exhausted after the run.  Although I missed all my goals, still a long run, mental toughness, etc.

Overall Place: 51, Age group: 1

I had originally planned to try and do the 5k in Lutz on the morning of the 4th, but surprisingly that one sold out (not surprised by good attendance but maybe by the cap).  I had been dreading the heat and stillness and humidity of the night air, but it didn't feel so bad.

Warmed up with some jogging and a few short strides to stretch the legs.

Race splits: 7:13, 7:23, 7:20, 0.1@6:43

Simple out and back on the Dunedin Causeway, race starts at 11:40 pm.  First mile felt decent and I thought ok, I can pick it up a little more and be just under 22:00 or at worst a few seconds over.  Away from the start line there are no street lights.  Most of the light is from far away or from the green light for the drawbridge traffic signal.  Turn around is about a half mile past the bridge.  Running over it and onto the grate, worried I'll catch my foot and trip, wished I was wearing a light, but made sure to pick up my feet and was ok.

After the turnaround was passing people here and there, but I'd slowed a little instead of picking it up.  Seeing 7:23 for the second mile a little disappointing.  After that I started looking at my watch more often, pace had slowed even more down to 7:30.  Didn't want to get passed, so dug in and got my feet to turn over a little faster and improved a little on 3rd mile compared to 2nd.

Jessica was near the finish line with the baby fallen asleep in the stroller.  3 years ago was the 10k which I ran with Jacob and we had Sophia and Aubrey there to cheer as well as Jacob's dad and three years before that, Andy and I did the 5k and 10k, my brother Jim ran the 10k, and Jamie was there, and Tom was just starting to run but did not come with us.  Good memories, glad to be back here one more time.  I'll bring a light next time!

1.12@10:10

Post race cool down, technically Monday morning July 4th.  Got in a mile running around the parking lot and killing some time waiting for awards.

I met a guy from Strava, Bill, who came in just behind me but was happy to hear I was not in his age group.

After getting back to the house, stayed up for a bit and watched an episode of Stranger Things with Aubrey.

For evening firework watching that night we went to the airport parking garage to the top deck.  360 degree view of Tampa area, with fireworks near and far.

5.26@8:45

Somewhat standard run, two loops inside Westlake Village, first mile 9:50 , last mile 8:09

2.59@8:58

Felt good to do this - out the door and started run at 4:40 am.  I just wanted to get in any sort of run.  7:15 am flight for same day out and back trip to Atlanta.

It was nice to start and finish the run while it was still dark.

Then, with some airport walking and walking at the customer site able to get over 12,000 steps for the day..

6.31@8:26

Picked up Stella from Jenny's (Tom and Jenny watched Stella while I was gone and Andy also out of town), then ran about 6 miles with alternating quarters of easy and faster - none of them all that fast until the second to last one which was at 6:15 pace.

7.42@9:36

Ran with Joe in Foxwood.  6:25 am start, early enough to see the sunrise.  Ran on the Starkey Gap Trail, south to Keystone before turning back.  Finished up with 6x100m strides near my house.

Took a half day off work to go with Jessica to Tallahasee to go see Jacob.  Stopped by his dorm, had a quick dinner out before dropping him off.

5.13@9:18

Ran in Tallahassee from the Aloft Hotel, ran south, and then west over to near the stadium and then found a trail (nicely shaded) to run on, then back to Call Street which sort of appears and then disappears changing from a street to just a sidewalk through the campus.  Ended run at the dining hall where Jessica and Jacob (and baby) were having breakfast.

Was planning on doing a long run today but due to the driving and unfamiliarity with the area just decided to get in any run.  I'll do a tempo run (or maybe more like a marathon goal pace run) tomorrow.

Headed back to the hotel, then back on the road, pretty easy drive back to Tampa.

8.16@8:00

As make up for no long run yesterday, broke my rut and ran this morning doing a tempo of 1 mile warm up , 6 miles @pace (between goal marathon and half marathon), followed by 1 mile warm down.  Started run at 7:00, already pretty warm but sun still pretty low.

After the mile warm up, started out a little more conservatively running first mile at 7:51 (minimal goal was all miles under 8:00).

Splits: 7:51, 7:41, 7:44, 7:33, 7:40, 7:25

The "warm down" mile was 8:08 which felt a lot easier than the 7:25 but really wasn't that far from first "tempo" mile of 7:51.  I think the conservative start helped.

Will extend this to 7 miles and then maybe work on some faster paces.

rest day since I didn't take off on Sunday

5.42@8:23

Did the square loop around the outside of WLV and then the 1.25 "marathon loop" inside.

Today's accomplishment was that the first mile was sub-9:00 (8:49).  Not sure why it is so hard for me to get started, but I'm slowly getting better.  With the exception of a few runs at hump day hustle, where I'm chasing after a small group, I have trouble with the first mile of an easy run.  When my first mile is too slow compared to the average pace, I try and catch up and ending up running the last mile too fast.  Trying for a more evenly paced.

Last mile was 8:14. 

Better dynamic pre-run warmup has been helping.

AM 3.13@9:03

One loop inside WLV.  First mile 9:11, then tried to stay around there for the rest of the run, picked it up ever so slightly.

PM 8.81@8:47

Combo run Humpday Hustle and track session with Cynthia.  Pretty hot at start of the run, sunny low 90's, humidity but at least some cloud cover.  Ran to "2 mile tree" with Daisy, Marina, and Arlo in his stroller.  Stopped for picture then I continiue to Starkey Ranch K-8 to use their track and meet up with Cynthia.  Her scheduled workout was 4x800m followed by 4x400m (2:30 rest between 800's and 1:15 rest between 400s).  It's been a while since I've been to a track.  It took me a while to find the track as I went from one side of the building to the other, finally finding the back parking lot.  Building is pretty good.

Wasn't sure what to expect for paces, conservative goals of 3:30 for the 800's and 96-100 seconds for the 400s

800s: 3:27, 3:25, 3:17, 3:21

400s: 1:34, 1:34, 1:34, 1:31

Parking lot gates were getting locked so Cynthia had to move her car, so she missed out on some of her repeats.  For the last three of my 400s, she met me at the 100m mark and strided in with me.  For the last one I almost felt like I could've pulled away from her but she did keep up and it was nice having the help with the final push.

Cool down was a run out to and loop around Cannon Lake (counter clockwise) and back to the parking lot (about 2 miles).

I felt better about my speed potential after this run and will try to get to the track more now that I know where it is.  Maybe some 1K or 1600 repeats to try and improve on my 5k pacing. 

3.29@8:40

Sort of up and down the street in a figure 8 inside Westlake Village,  Nothing fancy.

Kept it short beacause Jess had a doctor apppointment, then she had trouble putting gas in her car.  Met up with her later at gas station.  I guess Pacificas can be finicky sometimes with certain pumps due to their capless gas tank design.  Glad there was no repair bill.

10.07@7:54

The plan  - two miles easy, 7 miles tempo/marathon pace (start at MP and build to threshold), followed by 1 mile easy.

Start from Longleaf church, was trying for sunrise start but was much later.  They are chopping up the sidewalk near where I started from so had to run around it.  I did 1 mile out and then back for the 2 miles easy then headed off for the 7 mile portion.  Fuel belt was bouncing around.  Could've ignored it but stopped about 1.25 miles into the tempo and stashed the bottle.   Then ran north to farther than the turnaround point (3.75 miles instead of 3.5 miles).  Then stop number 2 at the bench.  Then continued back to where I stashed the water bottle (now about 0.8 miles to go), pick up pace for the last portion.  So, not at all straight through 7 miles, but 7 miles nonetheless at mile splits: 7:52, 7:37, 7:32, 7:31, 7:14, 7:26, 7:13

Finished up with 1 mile easy-ish.

If there were no stops at the above paces I think this would've been an awesome run.

But, as it turned out it was still a good run, getting out of my comfort zone and putting in some work.

14.27@8:44

From Westlake Village, cut through Eniswood to Alt19, then sharp left onto Pinellas Trail, heading south and then turning around at Curlew traffic light just past the pedestrian bridge.

Run started out pretty well, 9:06, 8:41, 8:29, 8:39, 8:23

Then it started getting harder (it was getting warmer of course).  Had to break the run up into pieces.  On way back stopped at Conservation Park which is just off the route, but the cold fountain water really hit the spot.  Slowest mile, not counting the warmup was mile 12 at 9:04

Was hoping for an 8:20-8:30 average with no stops.  Or maybe should've tried for longer run at a slower pace.

4.54@8:23

Figure 8 shaped loop inside Westlake Village.  Finished up wth a few strides.

7.69@8:36

Headed south through Westlake Village, quick right on Nebraska and then south down 19th street and across Tampa Road to check out Palm Harbor middle school track to see if it was usable by public (came up on google search) - nope, pretty well locked up with no trespassing signs,  Will maybe call office sometime to see if certain hours possibly.

Continued run heading west on Tampa over to Pinellas Trail , then crossing near Canes Cafe and head back to Westlake Village.   No luck with track but at least a different route for variety.

5.93@8:16

One bigger and one smaller loop inside Westlake Village.  Finished just in time to shower and be at work by 9:00 for start of the meeting.

No humpday hustle run this evening due to dinner out with customers after the meeting.

4.16@8:01

Up and down the street and figure 8 shape inside Westlake Village.  4th mile was 7:16.  Another day with customer meeting.

In the evening tried to get to bed early for 3:45 am wake up the next morning for early flight up to Rochester.

4.31@8:46

Ran in Webster, NY from my brothers house, along Klem Road and then just a little bit onto the Hojack Trail heading north before turning back.

We had a a 6:10 am flight from Tampa and plane change in Detroit, flight was delayed a little bit but made it to Rochester by about 12:30.

My brother and his wife had already left, dropping off the dog and heading up to Lake Placid so Jim could check in for the Iron Man (his first attempt at the full distance).  My parents were at his house with my dad recovering from some heart issues, so they wouldn't be able to go to Lake Placid to cheer.  We had fun as the baby explored Jim's backyard - the creek with tiny fish swimming in it, the big rocks to climb on and the little kid sized bench.  In the evening , my dad grilled some chicken and I made some mushrooms and we ate outside.  It had been hot earlier but cooled down nicely for the evening.  Just sitting outside, eating and drinking a little wine while the baby toddled around was worth the flight.

4.75@8:49

8.06@8:04

Almost 13 miles, running from my brother's house in Webster.  Klem to Holt to the trail along NY 104 to Gravel Road.  While waiting to cross the street accidentally hit the button to end the run.  Started again, took old Ridge Rd to Cherry Hill Lane then down Parkside Drive (aka memory lane) past my old house then onto Bay Road.  There was one house that looked abandoned last year but now was getting fixed up.  Turned around at Flags (bar) then traced the route back.

When I had what I thought was 2.25 miles left, decided to do the next mile sub-8:00, or if I didn't quite make it then the mile after that.  But, I did get the next mile at 7:44 and instead of rewarding myself with taking it easy, picked it up a little more to 7:26.  The next mile, eased back a little but still held a good sub-8:00 at 7:37 pace.  Had to run a little past the house to finish off that mile.

So, a slight surprise at the unplanned "fast finish".  It's usually much cooler in the mornings here, but at least it was cooler than Florida.

After lunch, headed up to Lake Placid.  My parents took Jessica and baby to the airport.  While I was driving got an update from Delta that the flight was delayed and saw it was long enough she'd miss her connecting flight.  I pullled over and tried to call but no signal in the mountains.  Finally got to the vacation rental and Nancy was on the phone with my mom.  Told her I'd take care of it.  Got a hold of Jessica who was just heading out in a taxi back to Jim's house.  Told her to try and get back on the Atlanta flight and I'd book a hotel for her at the airport so at least she'd be closer to Florida and just one flight away.  She made it to the hotel ok.

Tried to get to bed reasonably early to get up at 4:30 to leave by 5:00 so we could all drive Jim to the Ironman start area.

4.31@9:21

Short run in the Adirondacks from the rental we stayed at to watch my brothers Ironman yesterday.  It had just rained earlier in the morning so humidity was 99% according to the home weather device.  Started out going down a very steep road to the main road, so ironically very slow until it flattened out enough so I didn't have to brake.

Saw one very large rabbit, but that was it for wildlife (no bears this time).

Got out by 10:00 and then on the road.  Thought about driving up to the top of Whiteface but it would've been $40.  Later found out we could've ridden the gondola to the top for same price.  I would've done that.

Decided to stop by the cottage on the way back to Webster.  Was going to take the boat out for a spin but instead we dropped it off at the marina to have the bilge pump looked at.  Still nice to hang out a little bit.

Continued on back and when we got off of 81, I saw the sign for the fish hatchery.  Decided to check it out (thought it was closer to the exit than it was).  Closed when we got there.  Oh well next time.

Back to Webster about 7:00.  Hung out for a bit and had a glass of wine with my dad and Jim.  

Tried to not stay up too late since I'd have to wake about about 3:00 for the 5:00 am flight.  Then , flight delay notification, flight delayed about 8 hours!  Yikes.  Won't make the connection in Charlotte. Fortunately, automatically rebooked.  Got to sleep in at least.

8.37@8:15

Bonus run in Webster.  Originally thought there'd be no morning run due to 5:00 am flight, but with major delay had enough time for a decent run.

Rectangle shaped route, new for me, Klem to Gravel to 104 bike trail to 250 back to Klem.  Ran through North Ponds Park which I can remember when the first built it around the time of building 104.  One of the ponds used to have a small beach.

After the first 4 miles, got down below 8:00 pace for the remainder.

No more flight delays and eventually made it back to Tampa and then Uber part of the way home so Jessica didn't have to drive all the way out.

AM 5.45@8:20

PM 4.05@10:06

Pretty good mileage for the day, getting down to the wire trying to make 200 miles for the month.  Morning run was big square around the outside of Westlake Village and then in the evening was humpday hustle.  Ran with Daisy, we went slower due to her having a minor issue with calf or maybe ankle.  Felt good to slow down a little and not have to worry about being slow because you're going at someone else's pace.

10.12@8:04

Mid week longer run.  Up Belcher to Klosterman, down the Pinellas Trail to downtown Palm Harbor, back into West Lake Village and finish up with most of the 1.25 mile loop.

Been running a little faster this week except for last night which probably helped me run faster this morning.

7.4@8:19

Up and down Starkey Blvd bike trail and then finish up with 6x100m strides.

16.16@8:47

After a week of some pretty good feeling runs, this one started out not so good.  Maybe a little bit muggier feeling and also was wearing fuel belt with the 16 oz bottle.  I've had some good luck with it but now seems harder to keep it tight, and then it starts bouncing.

Headed out from Westlake, then south down Belcher, to Nebraska, and down 19th street for a change to Tampa Blvd.  Felt like a bit of a struggle until I got to the Pinellas Trail and stashed the drink bottle as I ran down to Curlew and then back.  Those miles felt easier and I was finally running faster than a 9:00 pace.  Retrieved the bottle, ran north to Conservation Park, topped off with cold water and then back to the house, about 13 miles.  Stopped in the house briefly and looped inside the neighborhood.

Glad I stuck it out and didn't give up (seriously considered making it a short run and then retry for long run on Sunday).

4.29@8:38

Figure 8 loop inside Westlake Village.  Felt pretty good.

8.33@8:25

Ran up and down Starkey Blvd bike trail.  Build up pace heading north, then after the turnaround, eased back on pace then started picking up again so last 3.33 miles under 8:00 pace.  I did pretty good on not stoppping, resisting the urge to "stop and stretch" one last time when I didn't really need to.

A bit warm and humid, if it was cooler was hoping for a sub-8:00 average, and also a couple more miles if I started at sunrise instead of 8:35 am

After the run, I tried doing some dumbbell presses with 25 lb weights.  Did not go so well.  Could barely do 5 reps.  Two or three sets of ten used to be no problem.  Will try and build back up.

4.37@8:41

The mini van wouldn't start yesterday.  Tried to jump it, no luck.  Called AAA, car guy was able to jump it after cleaning off the battery and using a better jumper, but said battery was pretty much finished.  It was just over a year old so took it back to where we had it installed, they couldn't do it right away so said to bring it back in the morning.  (I borrowed a portable jumper from a coworker to make sure I could get it started in the morning).  Repair place is just a couple miles from home, so dropped off the van and ran home taking a longer route than needed, then had Jessica drive me to work.

Got car back later in the afternoon and then headed on the road for trip to North Georgia to pick up A from camp.  Left 40 minutes later than planned which meant we hit some traffic on way to I-75, but then pretty smooth sailing except for a couple big rain dumps and something hitting the windshield just north of Gainesville.

Alpharetta, GA - there was probably time for a short run but did not get up in time. Drive another hour north for camp pickup and then turnaround and drive back to Florida (had considered lunch in Helen)

1.83@8:01

Up and down the street on Tecoma Drive, out to the bridge action and back and then some strides to practice turning over my legs.

Signed up for the BDR Freakin Hot 5k tomorrow.

8.06@8:19

Well, that was a first.  I had signed up for the BDR Freakin Hot 5k in Starkey Park with 7:15 am start.  I had set the time on my alarm for 5:30 and I either forgot to finish setting it or it went off and I turned it off while still asleep.  I woke up, wide awake at 6:50 am, it was light out already so without looking at the time I knew I'd blown it.  Maybe if it was 6:30 I could have barely gotten there in time but, no way at 6:50.  

I thought about running my own 5k time trial but decided on 5x1k repeats and then do a longer run tomorrow.

4:28 (7:11), 4:12 (6:46), 4:25 (7:06), 4:05 (6:34), 4:15 (6:50)

These times were ok.  First one is always a struggle which makes me not want to do the rest, but the rest turn out better.  I'm going up and down a street, so going in the opposite direction every other one with first and third slightly more uphill.  So, 5th one was really good because it was in the "slow" direction.

Track woud be better.  Maybe try flat next time.

14.22@10:31

For a slower "easy" pace, this run really zapped me.  Did 7/1 run/walk to try and make it "easy".  I carried a handheld 20oz bottle instead of wearing a belt.  Ran from Westlake Village, straight over to the Pinellas trail and then north up to the Tarpon Tavern.  On the way up I caught the "Walk" light across Klosterman just in time.  

Topped off my drink at the fountain outside the restrooms behind the Tarpon Tavern, then continued south with another stop at Conservation Park for cold water.  I did not get the "walk" light crossing Klosterman this time but let me watch run to simulate what might happen on race day (I'm pretty sure I'll do Pinellas Trail Challenge, it's free!).

With the missed day of running on Thursday and the very low miles on Friday this would be a light week, but if I could get at least 13.1 miles today I'd have 40 for the week.  So, kept going enough for that and a mile beyond that.

Off day because I ran on Sunday

10.02@7:58

Success this time.  I had attempted a similar run a few weeks ago, and although on paper the other run might like good, I stopped several times.  This time I ran straight through after the warm up two miles and even moved into the cool down mile without missing a step.

It had rained the night before and the temperature was still good when starting at 7:11 am (still not quite a sunrise start but I did see it on the drive to Starkey Blvd).  Ran from the church, right turn into Starkey Ranch until about 1.6 miles in , turned around and picked up the pace at two miles, then turned back onto Starkey Blvd heading north to almost the park entrance then headed back.

Modest goal of under 8:00 for each mile, was able to do:

7:38, 7:26, 7:29, 7:24, 7:23, 7:20, 7:18

So, a little under 7:30 for average pace.

This run was a good boost after the slower than planned run on Sunday

AM 5.26@8:25

PM 4.01@9:21

Morning run was two different sized loops inside Westlake Village.  First mile was 9:17.  Had a decent pre-run warmup and when I got going I didn't feel too stiff.  I thought the first mile might end up being faster but despite the warm up felt a little bit stuck.  Next three miles were faster, with last mile at 7:46.  A little after first loop, stopped back at the house since the windshield glass person had just shown up (rock strike on Wednesday night).  Finished up the run with a shorter loop.

In the evening did the humpday hustle run, slightly smaller group tonight. I was almost 10 minutes late showing up but Daisy and Evan waited for me.  We ran out to the two mile tree but no one had their phone for the obligatory picture so we just pretended.  I was very slow feeling on the first mile and spent must of it catching up to Daisy and Evan, but after that we did each mile slightly slower.

After the run, met Jessica and baby at Twistee Treat in Tarpon and had some ice cream for her birthday.  I guess not quite a baby anymore since she turned two today.

5.15@8:40

I ran a couple of figure eights inside Westlake Village.  After stopping my watch and saving the run saw that I was at 4.98 miles.  So I did a couple quick strides that added another 0.17 miles so I'd be over 5 instead of just short of 5.

6.37@8:03

Ran on Starkey Blvd bike trail.  7:52 am start, pretty good for me but not quite the pre-dawn warmup I was hoping for.

Did a 2 mile warmup and set down my water bottle at corner of Starkey and Rangeland.  Doing 1 mile repeats.  This start location gives me one mile of uninterrupted bike trail from here to the bridge.  Before starting I took a drink from my bottle which had liquid IV.  It tasted nasty.  I had hand washed the bottle before filling it but had missed something.  Tried squirting some out to hopefully purge the taste but it didn't get rid of it.  Fortuntaley wasn't that hot and I wasn't that far from the car after the run ended.

Anyway, repeats ended up being ok.  When runing 5x1k, I seem to not be able to get under 7:00 pace for the first one.  Today felt the same, at about 1k into the mile I was around a 7:05 average.  But, since I was doing mile repeats, brought down the average and finished first one at 6:58.  Did two more, might've done a 4th if hydration situation was better.

6:58, 6:51, 6:50

"Jog" back to the car was 8:05 pace,feeling much easier than the warmup miles.

28.73@11:27

This was my first time running a 6 hour race.  Loop course in St Petersburg running out to the pier and coming back to the park where we started, about 3.6 miles.  This was a free event.  No clock timing, you just put a check next to your name each time you come back to the start.  No aid stations, self supported but since it's only 3.6 miles you've got your own aid station and there are fountains along the course as well as stores and food vendors.

A lot of people running this were doing it for practice for the upcoming Pinellas Trail Challenge on 9/3.  It was warm today, but some clouds for cover, and course was mixed as far as sun and shade goes.  I had a cooler with ice, a couple frozen 8 oz water bottles, some 12 oz gatorade bottles and two protein shakes.

Loops were taking me around 40 minutes which included time to put more ice in my bandana and anything else I needed to do at the start/finish area.  I think there was one bathroom stop.  

During the 7th loop as I was heading out to the end of the pier, there was a woman eating a snow cone.   They were selling them at the very end so I stopped for one.  The cashier was replenishing change so it took some time to be served and then I walked for a bit while eating it until I could pour the rest into a bottle and start jogging again.

The 7th loop ended up taking me 48 minutes, some of it due to the snow cone and some of it due to slowing down.

As I came through to check off my name I told the RD "one more loop" and she said something like, I believe you can get two more.

Felt pretty good the last loop, took about 39 minutes.  I had just over 31 minutes to run one more loop for it to count which is not that fast, but much faster than I had been running, so decided to call it.  Pretty much right on the edge of being able to get one more done.

There were 4 runners who finished 10 loops, and 4 more that finished 9 loops.  With 8 loops I was in the upper mid-pack.

I wasn't planning on trying to race today, just some practice staying cool at a steady pace.  If I could do 11:27 pace for 46 miles at PTC it will be a PR.  Ice will be key.  I'll try a similar run/walk strategy of two walk breaks per mile, 30 seconds at 0.3 and 30 seconds at 0.75 each mile.  Seems to help break things up and keep legs fresh.

There was actually no beer involved in this race except for afterwards where some of the group went out for some brewery hopping.

Other memories from this run was the awesome early morning view looking over the water, seeing the "new" pier (my first time here since it was redone), and all the runs past the Museum of Fine Arts where Jessica and I got married 5 years ago.

3.85@9:16

A couple of small loops inside Westlake Village including a trip through the park, which I usually don't run through (stopped at pull-up bar for a few pull-ups).

Legs still a little sore and sluggish from Saturday's run, glad I didn't push it too much more.

8.13@8:35

Ran up and down Starkey Blvd bike trail.  I carried a small bottle of gatorade which I set down on the bridge (about 2 mile point).  Had gradually been running faster as I went with mile 6 at 8:06 pace.  Grabbed the bottle on the way back, felt refreshed.  Picked it up for the last two miles to 7:35 and 7:14.

Still some residual sorenes from Saturday's almost 29 miles, but almost gone.

5.43@8:55

Outside WLV loop followed by the 1.25 mile inside loop.  No run tonight with Striders because of family pictures at Fred Howard Beach.  Convinced Andy to come and bring Stella.  Baby kept on looking at the dog instead of the camera but eventually they got a good shot of us.  Was nice to have almost everyone in the picture.

5.74@7:59

Two figures 8's inside WLV and then part of a 3rd one.  Last 0.74 was at 7:11 pace.

Not quite long enough to be a tempo run or fast enough to be speed work.

1.66@8:02

Very short run with some strides at the end.  Going to run the Ernie Chatman 5K tomorrow in Brooksville (this race used to be called the Red Mule Labor Day 5k but the date far enough away from Labor Day weekend it made sense to rename it in the memory of one of the race founders).

This is my "redo" from the race that I overslept a couple of weeks ago.

This was my "do over" for the race that I missed and overslept.  It used to be called the Red Mule Labor Day 5K, but the date has been moved back (I might've mentioned this already).

Today was also Jacob's move-in day at FSU, so race first here in Brooksville (part way up to Tallahasee) then up to  Jacob's dorm with the stuff he can't fit in his car.

It was decent enough for Florida August, maybe about 75ish degrees but soupy humidity.  Did a short warm up before the race (about 0.75 miles including some quick strides).  I'm thinking I should've done a little more warm up.

Race was mainly high school kids (at least 80% it seemed).

It's a one lane road that goes around a small lake, two full loops and then part of a third one then exit off onto a grassy trail for the last 0.2 miles.  The start line is much wider than the road so you have to squeeze on pretty quickly.

My plan was to try to quickly go out too fast, get solidly under 7:00 pace and then try to hang on.  Instead, the pace seemed to start at about 7:30 and I slowly worked my way down to 7:19 for the first mile.

Second mile was 7:16.  But, there were patches where garmin said I was running an 8:20.  It was pretty wooded so that might've thrown it off.  Third mile said it was 7:23.

And then I hit the end, right about 3.0 miles exactly.  The course often measures short on GPS but it has been repeatedly wheeled.

So, even though splits of 7:19, 7:16, 7:23 , my "official" pace was 7:04.

Not sure if I could've pushed a little faster had I known I wasn't that far off from sub-7:00 pace.  

Oh well, try again soon hopefully.  More warm up next time and banish any pre-race thoughts of "this is not my day".

Back on the road, then made it up to FSU about 1:00 pm, unloaded Jacob's stuff and took him on a Walmart run and then picked up his girlfriend then went to dinner at a BBQ place Jacob wanted to try.

With the early morning and the race, decided to stay over night instead of driving back 4 hours.

1.37@9:48

Not very far or fast today, just one short loop inside Westlake Village.  Jessica had a dr appointment so I drove Aubrey to school.

8.41@8:09

Out and back heading north on Starkey Blvd bike trail into Starkey Park and then back toward Longleaf.  First mile at 9:13, 4th mile 8:08 and then last 3.41 all under 8:00 pace.

I like this route, it feels very uncluttered, usually very few people out and just one road crossing at the entrance to Starkey Ranch neighborhood.

AM 5.41@8:19

PM 4.02@8:59

In the morning did the big square loop around the outside of WLV and then the 1.25 mile loop inside.

The evening run was humpday hustle starting from Longleaf.  Ran with Daisy and Evan.  It had been pouring earlier but the rain held off for the run except for a light and cooling sprinkling.

10.04@8:42

Cut through Eniswood, north to Pinellas Trail with sharp turn south until out 5 miles.  On the way back , swung by the fountain at Wall Springs but kept watch going to keep pace real.  The classic mid week medium long run.

7.12@8:18

5x1km workout.  Up Starkey Blvd, warm up to the bridge and then south 0.62, and back for 6 repeats with 2:30 rest between.  (Actually took slightly longer rest between).

For the 5th one I had given up but since I had to get back to my car decided to just jog it out.  However, 5th one ended up around the same pace.

4:17, 4:14, 4:21, 4:16, 4:17

Not getting any faster but at least hanging in there for now.

Going to do something longer and slower tomorrow to gear up for Pinellas Trail Challenge next week.  Feel pretty good about running it due to the 28 mile run a couple of weeks ago.  I ran slow and steady and if I can run the same slow and steady at the race might be able to eke out a small PR.

16.07@9:51  (or is it 10:05?)

Intentionally slower run, with planned 30 second walks at 0.3 and 0.75 of each mile.  Kept the clock running the whole time so time includes waiting for some traffic lights and side trips to water fountains.  Although Strava takes the data from Garmin, it seems to somehow "autopause" the run by subtracting time I stood still.

Ran due west on Alderman to the Pinellas Trail in most direct route possible and then headed south , finally turning around a little past main street in Dunedin which is a little south of Weaver park where the Pinellas Trail Challenge will end.

I kind of wanted to run in Starkey Park or around that area but thought this would be better practice.  There's one long traffic light (Curlew and Alt 19) and a couple shorter ones nearby.  North of this section is Klosterman, but other than that much of the trail has pedestrian overpasses.

First mile was 10:55, last miles 9:32 (fastest was 9:24).

I think I will try for a slightly slower average for first 16 miles next week with hopes of trying to average about 12 minutes per mile.

Key will be conssitent pacing and as much ice as I can get.  Cold ice filled bandana around the neck is a game changer.  Also, cloud cover, maybe some light rain and temps under 90 or no more than 90 will be a big help.

5.14@8:37

Figure 8ish loops inside Westlake Village.  I'm getting pretty close to 200 miles for August.  I just need about 6 miles per day average for these last three days.  I'll run a little longer tomorrow, and Wednesday I'll do two shorter runs.

8.01@8:01

Warmed up for two miles, then did 4 mile tempo with goal pace of under 7:30 for each mile.  Parked at trail head on Trinity Blvd and did warm up on RTJ Pkwy before starting on trail heading south.  I quickly was able to get on about a 7:20 pace.  About 1.75 miles in I saw my friend Joe so I stopped to talk to him for a minute, so run was not straight through.  However, was good that I could get right back on pace, and then when I hit the turnaround sped up a little and was almost sub-7:00 for the last mile.

7:20, 7:20, 7:07, 7:01

AM 4.28@8:39

Straight out and back (as in not a loop) but actually kind of zig zag when looking at a map.  Ran from house in Westlake Village out south entrance of neighborhood and a little onto 18th Street before turning back

PM 4.02@9:05

Humpday hustle run with Evan and Daisy. New route.  Instead of out two miles to the two mile tree and then back same way, started out the same but kept on going then turned right and looped back using the new road which will open soon.  Also, swung by bathrooms and the ball field which have nice cold fountains outside.

AM 4.37@9:00

A couple of figure 8's inside Westlake Village

PM 2.11@9:18

Short out and back run from Brighter Days in Tarpon Springs.  Went there for packet pickup for Pinellas Trail Challenge.  This year I pre-ordered a t-shirt (it's a free race so you need to buy the shirt, still a great deal).  My bib number is 11.  I asked the RD why my number was low as I'm far from elite.  He said they used bibs 1-25 for people who had completed the race 3 or more times.  Hoping I'll make it number 4 without a lot of suffering.

3.05@10:24

Kept it very easy and short while trying out the Camelbak (should've done more practice with it before this).  Decided against using it.  Felt too cumbersome for starting out even though I eventually get used to it and forget it's there.  Would still need to wear some sort of belt to hold my phone and possibly a small handheld so I can take gatorade to go from the aid stations.  I'll just stick with the UltrAspire Synaptic 2.0 which has gotten me through all the other ultras this year (except for Durty Beer Run which I just used small water bottles).

In the later part of the race the aid stations are only 3-4 miles apart, but at the start, the first aid station is 8 miles.

46.03@12:25  9:31:54

Pinellas Trail Challenge Race Report

I think this race went pretty well overall with no really low points.  Yes, some hard spots here and there but overall kept on moving.  This year I had race bib number 11.  They used bib numbers 1-25 for people who had completed this race 3 or more times.  This was my 4th time running it with the other three races in 2014, 2016 (PR year for me), and 2019 (my slowest).  I was just over an hour faster than in 2019.

Race morning Jessica drove me to the start line in downtown St Pete and we picked up 3 riders from Weaver Park (finish line).  One of the riders was a woman in her early 70's who had run all 10 of these races (but DNF'd a couple of them).  She was interesting to talk to on the ride down.

Planned on doing 7 minute run then 1 minute walk which I stuck to pretty well except during the last 10 miles there were a few extra walk breaks.  I also added in walk breaks going "uphill" on the overpasses.  The first 7 minutes of running I did not feel well for some reason.  But then after the first 1 minute walk break, felt really good which I held onto pretty much through mile 26.

This year, I had two drop bags (insulated lunch bags), each one with extra gels, small bottle of coke, frozen bottle of water and a Reese's "big cup".  First bag was at about mile 13.5, next bag was at 25.5

At the 13.5 mile stop I started putting ice into my bandana.

One of the Wednesday night Striders, Stacy, was there to crew her husband (Tracy) who's mainly a Tri guy but jumps into ultras here and there.  At around mile 16 I ran with him for a bit but he was going a bit faster so I said goodbye to him.

With this trail being not in the woods, restroom breaks require actual restrooms.  Kind of had to go early on and then again but just had to hold it until Weaver Park where I knew the restroom was pretty close to the trail.

About mile 21 or so there was an aid station in downtown Clearwater.  They did an amazing job and had lots of cold stuff and ice cold wash rags.  Just down the street, past the aid station there was some music playing which felt uplifting enough to give me a short runners high.  But, still a long way to go.

About a mile or so before the 25.5 mile aid station (at the Boxcar in downtown Dunedin), one of the trailside bars had a big box of ice sitting out with a pitcher for a scoop.  This was perfect.  Even though the next aid station wasn't far, it still helped out quite a bit since every bit of ice was helpful today.  Saw Stacy at the Boxcar, she helped handing me stuff and getting my bottle filled and said Stacy was just a little ahead of me.  I think I saw Stacy about 5 times on the course.

Mile 26ish was Weaver Park, so quick bathroom break and pay no atention to the big finish sign which although right in front of me was still 20 miles away.

Next big treat, maybe only a quarter mile down the trail were people with ice cold ice pops (I had a blue Powerade one), so delicious.

And then another treat - as I approached Curlew Road, heard a beep and saw Jessica on the road next to me.  She pulled into a pizza place just ahead.  She and the baby got out and handed me a frozen bottle of water.  It was great seeing them (I'd see her a little later near Wall Springs Park and then at the finish line).

I'm not sure what happened at the 30 mile aid station , but I seemed to slow down a bit after this while I tried to get my ice bandana just right.  As I stood off to the side, Andy Barrett came running by.  I had passed him earlier in the race but now he seemed to be on a second wind.  Once I got myelf sorted out I felt like I was moving again but no site of Andy, he'd gotten too far ahead.

At the mile 33 aid station I saw Tracy again along with Stacy.  He'd gotten there before me but ended up needing a longer break so I left before he did.

Now, only 3 miles to go until the turnaround and my secret weapon, Daisy.  Just kidding, Daisy is not a weapon but it was very nice and above and beyond to volunteer to bike alongside me while I shuffled along the last 10 miles.  Mile 36 was Brighter Days micro brewery.  It was quite a lively aid station, wished I could've stayed longer but I had a race to finish.  

The next 10 miles went reasonably well.  Daisy did her best to make conversation with me, although I was not feeling too conversational.  She also talked to quite a few of the other runners.

At the mile 30/42 aid station, or rather just after leaving it, I finally got to the point where I felt like I'd finish the race.  Had not fallen apart yet (to me would've meant I'd switched to 100% walking), still mainly doing 7/1 run/walk but adding in a shorter walk break here and there between scheduled walk breaks when out in the full sun, sun breaks.

There was a bit of a wait at the Curlew Road traffic light (Curlew and Klosterman are about the only two real traffic lights as most ever other crossing is using a pedestrian bridge or it's a side street).  After the light it was less than two miles to go.  With about 1.75 miles to go Daisy called out "2 miles left!" and I was like, no don't say that! There's less than two miles to go, big difference (to me at least), although not a very big difference in the framework of 46 miles.

And then finally, after 9 hours and 31 minutes it was over.  I'd held onto the sub 10 hour goal and wasn't too far off from a PR (about 12 minutes).

Rain came shortly after I finished, which probably felt pretty good to the runners still out there.  Hung out at the finish for a while with Jessica, the baby, Stacy and Tracy.

And then the next challenge was to get on the road and drive to Tallahassee so I could watch Tom the next morning run his first college meet (8K at the TCC Invitational).

3.14@11:04

First run after PTC.  Very slow and clunky feeling the first mile.  By the third mile much better, still fairly slow at 9:46 but not slow like the first mile at 12:43

AM 4.21@9:09

Second run after PTC.  Figure 8's in Westlake Village doing much better and feeling close to normal.

PM 4.02@9:02

Wednesday evening HumpDay Hustle.  New 4 mile loop which instead of out and back, starts out the same but then curves around to the new, almost opened road which comes back to the church.  Have to add a little loop at the end to get to 4 miles.

5.37@8:15

Fun with quarters, slow, fast, slow, fast.  Fastest quarter was 1:39 (6:36 pace).

Loops inside Westlake Village

7.02@7:52

Started out from Trinity Blvd trailhead, warmed up for a mile, then picked it up with intention of doing 5 uninterrupted miles faster than 8:00 and hopefully closer to7:30 average.

First mile 7:55, then 7:48, 7:31, and 7:17

My phone kept on ringing, two calls from same number, should've ignored it, but stopped instead.  It was a wrong number.

So, finished up the last mile making this a 4 + 1.  Last mile was 6:55.  Nice to visit the land of sub-7:00 especially outside of intervals.

10.22@9:34

Ran with the Striders, first time in a while doing the Saturday run. Ran first 6 miles with the group.  Slowed down at mile 5 when Daisy called for a walk break.

I added a 4 mile solo loop where average was around 8:50 pace.

Run was just long enough and was able to get back to the house early enough for Jessica to make it to body combat at the Y.

4.26@9:05

Somewhat short and sweet inside Westlake Village.  Did the 3 mile loop and then added some on with up and down the street action.

9.06@8:57

Ran north from Trinity Blvd trailhead, crossed SR54 and ran out to Cannon Lake, then looped back on the new road back to Starkey Blvd and then back to my car.

In the evening, went with Jessica, Aubrey, baby and me to Poke restaurant in Trinity to meet up with Jenny, Andy, Sean and Tom for Tom's birthday dinner.

AM 6.09@8:11, 5x1km

5x1k repeats in Westlake Village - 4:11, 4:17, 4:11, 4:15, 4:08

Goal of all under 7:00 pace, check.

4:12 per km, almost but not quite.

Wanting solid all at or under 4:12 so I can start aiming at 4:00/km

PM 4.06@8:51

Humpday Hustle run, ran with Daisy and Evan

7.09@8:51

Out and back run from WLV, through Eniswood, up Alt19 to the Pinellas Trail and then sharp left south out 3.5 miles, then turn around and come back.

After 10:07 first mile, rest of the miles were between 8:31 and 8:48

8.35@7:48

Ran on Starkey Blvd bike trail.  Warmed up about a mile, then ran 6 mile tempo, first mile at 7:42 and last mile at 7:11.  Slowed down for the remaining part but slowly picked it back up for 8 mile to run that one at 7:40 pace, so 6 miles ended up being 7 miles.

Then only about a third of a mile run back to the car at an easier pace.

15.15@9:29

Headed out due west to the Pinellas Trail taking the shortest route to get there, then up north and kept going until just past the tunnel that goes under US19, ran back the way I came, ran a little bit south of where I started on the trail and ended up finishing in downtown Palm Harbor, grabbing a muscle milk at the gas station for post run recovery then across the street to deBine's for some more refreshments.

Did 7/1 run/walk the whole way.  Pace progression was somewhat similar to if I had just run with no walk breaks, but overall the breaks made it seem easier.

Yesterday morning my foot was kind of bothering me a little bit, but with the easy start and mostly easy running it didn't bother me at all today.

3.27@9:02

Short and easy run, across Trinity Blvd and then down a little bit onto the Starkey Gap trail heading south before turning around.

10.06@8:46

Wanted some more mileage today so planned on 10 miles and also wanted to do a steady but easy pace which I did not end up doing.  Too fast to be easy to but too slow to be tempo or marathon pace, but overall seemed ok.

Westlake Village to Omaha and over to the Pinellas Trail heading north to Klosterman which I ran on just enough to get to the 5 mile point before turning around.

Little did I know, this would be the longest run of the week.

 6.12@8:15 5x1km workout

Retry of 5x1km workout with net improvement of 1 second faster when adding up the times.  I felt slightly off but wanted to try it anyway so felt pretty good at hitting the same splits as when I felt better.  Maybe could've seen some improvement if not feeling off.

Splits: 4:11, 4:18, 4:06, 4:17, 4:09

Looking for 4:12 average so I can then starting looking at hitting 4:00 and under for these.

Did not make it to humpday hustle run in the evening.  Had to take care of moving the boat to storage facility.  Original plan for storage fell through and boat had been "driveway surfing".   HOA at my parents neighborhood not happy, so finally found a place with an open spot.  Was a bit stressful moving it but glad it got done.

6.21@8:53

Did big square loop around outside of Westlake Village, and then about another 2 miles inside.

Going to try a longer run tomorrow, maybe 10-12 miles with some tempo, maybe 8 miles, starting at marathon pace and getting faster.

5.63@9:23

Woke up this morning with unexpectedly poor recovery according to Whoop band - 3%, deep red, high respiration, poor resting heart and low hrv.

Cut back expectations and just put in some easy miles.  Ran north from Trinity Blvd trailhead to 54, felt ok, so then did a short out and back going south.

No running today, was going to try and get in a few miles after watching Tom's meet but left foot was hurting a bit.  It had been feeling tight , maybe like PF, but was a little worse today.

Meet was at St Leo University, technically, across the street at the Abbey Golf Course.  Tough looking course.  For flat Florida it was quite hilly.  Pretty big meet with ages ranging between elementary school 3K to Collegiate 8K.

Tom did well, only about 10 seconds off his race at Tallahassee but I know he's looking for more based on what he can do in the marathon and half marathon.  He's putting in the work so I know he can get there.

Next scheduled race is in Chicago on 9/30.  I found a $78 airfare on Frontier so going to try and watch it.

3.36@9:40

Trying to get at least a short run in this weekend.  Came back from Tallahassee early enough it was still light out.  Ran a loop inside Westlake Village.  

Left foot hurting quite a bit, worse than on Friday.  Going to take some time off and go slowly.

Hurricane Ian currently on track to come close by.  Should've filled gas tank all the way up on the way back from Tallahassee but the gas station where I stopped was only doing prepaid, so did $30 worth instead of full fill-up.

Day off running.  Went to work and left a little bit early to start getting ready for possible hurricane this week.

Another day off from running, but busy doing hurricane prep stuff