The Long Run

I rode my bike to the Y, stretched and did some core work then got onto the treadmill for 4.3 miles at about an 8:05 pace.   I then headed outside and did another 3.9 miles at 7:40 pace.   Then I got on my bike and headed home without doing any weights or inside cool down.  Jenny wasn't feeling well after going out to eat last night so I didn't want to be back too late.  Fortunately she was much better by the time I got home.   I was supposed to do 9 miles today but I don't think I'll have a problem making it up sometime this week.

After warming up with a quick bike ride around my neighborhood I set out for my run. Weather was ok but I could tell it would be a bit warm at the finish. First 3 miles were at an easy pace but I've noticed that the initial miles have sped up slightly compared to what they used to be. I ran down the old road to Trinity Blvd then into Trinity Oaks neighborhood until I hit just over 4 miles then turned back heading a slightly different way. Crossed Little rd into Thousand Oaks East then back onto Trinity Blvd and back into our neighborhood. Pace felt pretty good but I could tell I was on the edge of what I could still call my easy pace. I ended up making up some of my shortfall from yesterday. It was quite warm at the finish. Got into the pool afterwards to cool down.

Average pace: 7:47

PM - one mile with the boys in 11:11.  They are going to do another 5K so we are going to get them back running 3 times a week. 

Today's plan was to hit the track for 3 X 1600's at 6:17.   I woke up a little bit earlier than usual and got on my bike and headed over to the Y.   I was there just before 6:40.  Already warm and humid as it seems to be a lot in Florida in August.  I figured oh well, you get what you get.  Well, that's not entirely true.  We did go out to eat last night and although I resisted the urge to order a glass of beer or wine I did order chicken parm and did eat the whole thing and then had some sort of whipped reese's dessert.    

After stretching some, I did an easy pace 2 mile warm up then headed over to the track at the HS next door.   Unfortunately, the gate going out to the field was locked so I went back to the front desk to ask for it, unlocked the gate, then returned the key.   The field was wetter than I had ever seen before.  I slogged across it getting my running shoes completely socked and covered with mud.

Finally made it to the track and started my work out.  I made sure to alternate directions on each 1600 repeat (this was ok since no one else was at the track).   First one I thought was going great, Garmin said I was doing a 5:45 pace, but by the first lap I knew I wasn't going that fast and was just barely on target (1:34 for the first lap).   I also accidentally pulled out my headphones from the ipod so I fumbled around briefly with that.  So the first repeat was a little off target in the end.   The other two went ok.

Splits were: 6:23, 6:16, 6:17

Ran some cool down to get in at least 8 mile total.   So, despite things that didn't work out so well I still got the job done.  It's been quite some time since I made it to the track so I wasn't expecting it to be easy (although I hoped it would be).

Finished up with some weights and then biked back home. 

Warmed up on the bike with one lap around the neighborhood. Started running about 10 minutes before 7:00, starting to get light out. I saw that there were very few clouds which meant it could get hot (but it turned out ok). Ran out the neighborhood to 54 then up Starkey Blvd. and back. Shaded most of the run from the row of tall trees along the bike path. Run felt pretty good overall, picked up the last mile like I usually seem to do on this route. Garage door wouldn't open when I got home because the power had been out for a while. Fortunately it was back on in not too much time. Spent some time cooling down in the pool then made sure to do some stretching.

Average pace: 7:53

 I'm not sure what these guys were doing hanging around my office.....
 

Planned day off from running.

 But, I did bike to the Y, stretch, core work, and did some weights (mainly upper body), then biked back home.  It was a very nice morning with a slight hint of fall in the air.

Big run tomorrow, although not as big as last Saturday's run.

Woke up at 5:00, fed the dogs, got ready to run then headed outside and did one loop around the neighborhood on my bike.  Then I started my run.  I was running from home with a stop at the Y to meet up with David and Randall who were going to run 10 miles today.  I was supposed to meet them at 6:15 but due to a slight miscalculation I got there 4 minutes late but it wasn't too bad since they were still waiting on one other guy.  

We got going again and headed on the "horse farm" route (actually the horse are gone now but we still call it that).  Reached our turn around point and then detoured one mile through the Grey Oaks neighborhood and headed back towards the Y.  David had left out a cooler with water, gatorade and towels which was very nice since my water belt only holds 2 10 oz bottles and they were starting to get warm.   We got close to the Y and I said good bye to David and Randall and headed back towards my house with about 3 miles left to go.  I picked up the pace a little bit but was starting to feel a little worn out - it was getting a bit warm already and I might have been a little behind on my fluids.

Average pace: 8:29 

Made it back home, got into the pool for a bit and then stretched a little bit.  Jenny made these awesome biscuits and gravy (with vegan sausage) and a big side of fresh blueberries - yum!