The Long Run

5.15 mi, 44:02, 8:33 avg

Had some trouble getting motivated to get out of bed, but finally managed to get going.  Did 4 miles by myself out and back to Trinity Blvd, then came home and picked up Stella and did just over a mile with her, just under 8:00 pace.

8.12 mi, 1:06:37, 8:11 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  I made it just in time for the group picture.  Ran easy for about two miles then started doing 5x1k repeats.  It was cold and dark and I'm still on my way back up from some lost fitness, so the first repeat was signicantly slower than the 4:00 time I wanted (4:17), but then the rest were pretty close and two were a little under.  However, the last one, where I thought I could give it my all and pull ahead was kind of a struggle and I felt I was giving it all I had.

So, 1k splits:  4:17, 4:00, 3:53, 3:59, 4:03

After a mile easy, I picked up the last 0.53 miles to 7:15 pace.

Not the easiest run and did not make time goals but I found out where I was at and survived the cold and did a workout with a purpose.

8.75 mi, 1:25:30, 9:45 avg

Ran 7 miles with Jamie in the neighborhood, then walked Stella and ran her just over 1.5 miles.  It was high 40's this morning but felt kind of nice.  Stella thought it was a good run also.

8.07 mi, 1:03:27, 7:51 avg

I decided to retry last week's failed 4 mile tempo run. Started out at Longleaf about 5:30ish.  For warmup I ran easy pace up to Aristide to the water stop.  My legs were feeling slow, so I'd speed up here and there for a little bit to get used to going faster.

I was afraid I would start out and just not get to the pace ok.  I decided on a goal range of 6:50-7:10 so I wouldn't stress out if I wasn't getting under 7:00.  Once I got through the first mile and into the second mile I knew I could do it.  First mile was mostly just over 7:00 but I slowly got the pace faster and ended right about 7:00 pace.   Miles 2 and 3 were still tough but doable. I picked it up a little more for the last mile but was feeling at my limit aerobically, but still happy since it was my fastest mile all year.

Splits: 7:00.7, 6:55, 6:57, 6:45

During the parts of the run where it felt like I couldn't move my legs fast enough I concentrated on just moving my feet and that seemed to trick me enough into running faster.

After the fast part, I slowed for a bit but gradually came down to a 7:55 pace for the last full mile.

Had coffee with Keith, Patrick, and Brett after the run at Havana Dreamers.

6.79 mi, 1:02:05, 9:09 avg

Easy paced run with Jamie in the neighborhood, started out slow and gradually went a little faster.  Did not really stop at all except at the traffic light.

Did not run Stella after my run but took her for a walk to the park.  Very mini-taper for BDR half marathon tomorrow.

24th overall, 19th male, 1st AG (50-54), 1:33:39.9 (chip)

(garmin stats: 13.34 mi, 1:33:40, 7:01 avg (about the same garmin distance as las time)

My first race of the new year and in my new age group as well as the sometimes used catagory of "grand master" at the BDR Half Marathon in Safety Harbor.  I had a lot of uncertainty going into this race but wanted to see what I could do when challenged.  This past week was the first full week of this year that I felt fully ready to go full speed ahead with all systems back to normal.  The 4 mile tempo run (which went well but felt like I had nothing left to give) let me know I had a chance at running better than I thought I could.

Warmed up a little before the race and got into the corral with about 10 minutes to spare, working my way up to near the front but not quite toeing the line.  First mile felt pretty good and not that hard, probably a little fast but it felt so much better than the last mile of Thursday's tempo run and was a couple seconds faster.  My baby steps goal was to complete at least 5 miles under a 7:00 pace and then after that try to at least make sure no miles were over 7:20.  With mile 1 out of the way, mile 2 came and went at 6:52 as we headed into Phillipe park.  Approaching the turnaround I saw Mike MacDonald leading out in front and then several runners later Jacki Wachtel as lead female.  Mile 3 was a nice 6:44 (the rolling hills inside the park were actually kind of nice - slow down a little on the uphill but get it all back and maybe a little extra on the downhill).

Heading out of the park and finishing mile 4 at 6:53 pace was a great feeling and I still felt like I had plenty left.  Kept it up for miles 5, 6, and 7.  At that point I was thinking maybe I coould do a repeat of the Brass Tap Half where I kept the miles under 7:00 through mile 9.  But, not this time, shortly into mile 8 I noticed one of my shoelaces was completely undone, so I stopped to tie it, there was just too much left of the race to try and finish it untied.  I had nearly caught up to Bill Cottrell but now he was gone and I wouldn't see him again until after the race.  A few people passed me and as I was getting my pace back up I caught up to the woman who had just passed me and I stuck with her for a good part of the remainder until I eventually lost her also.

The shoelace mile was 7:26 (almost under my 7:20 floor).  And then I felt like I was "back in the race" with mile 9 at 6:54.  11 was another slowdown at 7:29 with some hills that were wearing on me, but I pulled some pace back together to get 6:59 for mile 12 and then kind of let things go for mile 13 with a 7:37 which is too bad since mile 13 is usually one of my best miles.  However, I was alone at that point with the person ahead of me way, way ahead of me (well maybe not that far ahead, she was just under a minute faster, so if I had gotten a good sub 7:00 mile I might have been within catching distance of her)  and the guy I had been leap frogging (I was running behind him at one point going up a hill and his wife and little son were waiting for him and his son ran out to give him a hug, then a pulled farther ahead until I eventually caught up to him on a downhill and then we passed each other a few more times)  had fallen back far enough he wasn't going to catch me.  However, with a little bit faster mile 13 I could have beaten my time from this race two years ago.

They had great post race food and drink and a good DJ for a fun post race party.  I saw two coworkers, a bunch of Suncoast Striders and chatted a bit with Mike M. for a bit congratulating him on his 1st place win (speedy 1:12:33 ).