The Long Run

Woke up at 5:15.  Did the usual morning routine, then hopped onto my bike.  Rode a little bit over a mile for a warm up and parked my bike at the shopping plaza on 54 and Duck Slough.  This morning was another "adventure run" - it's what I call it when I have to leave at a certain time run someplace to meet others at a certain time.  I guess it's not much different from just driving over to meet some people but for some reason it seems a lot different.

I ran 1.5 miles to the Longleaf pool to meet David, Keith, Eric, and Jorge (others were "maybes" but ended up not showing up).   We did 7 miles together on an out and back course up Starkey Blvd.  On the return trip Eric ran ahead, then David and I picked it up for two miles for a 7:38 pace.  Stopped and hung out for a bit but I wanted to try and be back by 8:00 so Jenny could meet up with her friend at the Y for weights.  I got back to my bike for a total of 10 miles then got on it and rode home.

Average pace: 8:18

Jenny had just finished baking some delicious muffins with spelt four and blueberries - am I spoiled or what?

Also, "Trainer 2" is now a new pair of Asics Gel Equations (old trainer 2 mileage ended at 455 for the year)

PM - One mile with Jenny and the boys after dinner.  We went out to eat at Sweet Tomatoes and saw a park on the way home that we hadn't been to in years.   The boys played there a bit and then we ran on the trail there.  It's marked out each 0.1 miles so we went 1/2 mile out and then came back.  It was hot and everyone was still full from dinner but we got the job done!

Biked to the Y.  Warm up and stretch then did 4.16 miles on the treadmill at about an 8:15 pace.   Next, ran outside, 3.88 miles at 8:04 pace.  Finally did some sets of lower body weights.   This is typically what I do on Monday's but since I ran with David and friends at Longleaf I'm switching things around a bit.

Biked back home, ran into some wind which made it feel hard for portions of the ride.

I was glad I kept my run pace easy today as I was feeling on the verge of being beaten up by the end of yesterday (not exactly sure why though).  Feeling much better right now.

Today's run was the third attempt at a tempo run.  The last two had gone ok but I did not run them through without taking a break due to heat and giving up (in fairness to myself it may have really been the heat and I was just being "smart" and listening to my body, or maybe I was just giving up? who knows).  Anyway, today's went much better.  Early September can still be kind of warm and humid in the morning but this morning it was just cool enough, about 75° and 80% humidity.

I ran up and back on Starkey Blvd for the tempo portion which is the first time I have done that there.  On my "easy" runs I often end up going faster than planned when I run this route so I figured it would help me for today's run.   I warmed up with 2 easy miles to get from my house to the start of Starkey Blvd.  I paused for a moment, stretched out a little then got going.  I got into my pace pretty quickly and then hung on.   First 3 miles went by pretty well, the 4 th one was a little bit of a struggle but not terrible.  At the time though, I was afraid that this is where I'd start falling apart, where my pace would slow inexplicably and I'd helplessly try to bring it back up to no avail.  Fortunately, that did not happen.   My body got into the rhythm of it and held the pace.  As I finished up the 5th mile I knew I could finish.   The 6th mile was my fastest mile which brought me to the last mile, counting it down until it was done.

splits were: 6:45, 6:48, 6:48, 6:57, 6:54, 6:44, 6:51

Walked for just a short bit and then took it easy on the rest of the run home.   Cooled down in the pool when I got home.   Jenny was glad my run went well and told me she was proud of me :)  Thanks Jenny!

Today's run was great, I loved it.   The easy run that follows a hard run usually works out really well.  Today was the same.   I'm slightly ahead on miles for the week so I wanted to try and take it easier today.  So, instead of an out and back run from home I opted for a indoor/outdoor split run at the Y.   This would also allow me to get some more weights in and made sure I did a good job stretching and warming up.

I biked to the Y then did my usual stretch and mini core workout, followed by 4.1 miles on the treadmill at an 8:05 average.  Weather was still pretty decent when I made it outside. I did the Kinsmere loop and although I had my garmin on I did not look at it once (not even when the miles beeped).  I just ran at a pace that felt good.   When I finished I saw that I had done 3.14 miles at 7:37 average (8:08, 7:22, 7:22 for the full miles).    The 7:22's did not feel hard :)   So, maybe I have a chance of finally pulling off a BQ at Niagara Falls.

Day off from running.   Biked to the Y, did weights and core work and then bike back.  It was really nice outside for biking except for the wind.   Since I finished earlier than on a running day I missed all the traffic going to the high school which was nice.

Mentally preparing myself for tomorrow's 20 mile run.  I still have to take those things seriously !

I can't complain at all about today's run.  The air was a little bit drier and cooler than it had been, overall a pretty nice morning for running.   I arrived at the Suncoast parkway bike parking lot a little after 5:30, warmed up a little bit and got moving about 5:45.   I started out at a fairly easy pace.  One thing that was slightly odd was how dark it was.  The beginning of the run had some lights because it is near a parkway exit, but once those lights end there is only light from the occasional passing by vehicle, whose lights make everything bright and blind me for a bit then my eyes have to readjust.  When there were no lights it was just really dark.  The sky was clear, so the stars were out but the moon was not out.   I did run into some low lying fog patches here and there.

  I ran just past the Starkey park trail head to a water station but did not stop there but would on the way back.  I then backtracked a little and went into Starkey park.  It was still dark.  Whenever I have run this route in the past it is usually always light by the time I get to this point, maybe I just got an earlier than usual start today.  Anyway, kept on going, now about halfway to the turn around point.  The landscape here is pretty open with palmetto and some scattered pine trees, but there is a section I call "the tunnel" which is thick section of trees - always a welcome section on a hot day.  But this morning it felt creepy, light was starting to come up on the horizon in the east but I was running to the west.  But once I was through "the tunnel" it finally started to lighten up and it started to look like a very beautiful morning out.

Just before 10 miles, I ran into Eudair who was starting her run.  I hadn't seen her since before the San Diego marathon when we ran 12 together.  We ran together for a bit before she split off onto a different trail.  Now I was past 10 miles and felt I was now on my way home.  My pace picked up a little bit here and there and I began clicking off the miles.

I got back to the end of the Starkey park trail then turned left onto the Suncoast trail and ran to the water stop where I refilled my nearly empty bottles with fresh cold water.  I got going again and after a short time, I noticed my garmin had lost its signal - I'm not sure how long it was gone.  I fiddled with it a bit and eventually got it back.  When I finished that mile it said 9:55 (the previous mile was 7:32).  Oh well, now just 4 miles left to go.  The last 4 went pretty well.  It was starting to get warmer but it didn't matter since I was almost done.  The last 2 were at 7:13 and 7:15 which got me back exactly to the parking lot.

I felt good today and it almost felt like 20 was "no big deal", but actually it still is.

Avaerage pace: 8:05