The Long Run

AM:  6.06 mi, 53:22, 8:48 avg

Ran from my house, starting with one loop around Foxwood and then an out and back southbound on the new trail.  Once back at my house finished up with 6x100m strides.

Workout was supposed to be 8 miles easy +strides.  I had woken up feeling very tired and was later than usual so I cut the run a little bit short opting for a total of 6 miles including the strides.  That way I'd at least have most of the miles done and would have the strides so if I didn't complete the miles in the evening it would be better than better than nothing.

PM: 2.08 mi, 18:28, 8:53 avg

But, I did finish the miles.  After work, before dinner, ran a loop through Westlake Village and finished up the miles.  Evening was nice and cool, streets were kind of dark so I wore a light (more so the few cars on the road could see me).

8.06 mi, 1:09:28, 8:37 avg, elev gain 165 feet

Ran from Westlake Village, onto Alderman, through Eniswood, a little bit on Alt19 then onto Pinellas trail heading north and then far enough onto Klosterman to get 4 miles out (was to the top of the Klosterman hill), then turned back to retrace the route except for a stop at Conservation Park to use the water fountain.

Starting out my first mile was 8:48 which is faster than usual.  I usually start out a lot slower and then speed up a lot.  This time I sped up a little throughout the run except for the last mile where I slowed back down to keep the pace not too far off from prescribed "easy" range.

Weather awesome again, nice to get in all the miles at once unlike yesterday.

Week 3 , day 2 done.

5.05 mi, 46:31, 9:12 avg

Ran from Foxwood, onto Trinity Blvd and then north up the new trail until reaching SR54 and then ran just far enough to be 2.5 miles from home, then came back the same way. 

First mile was 10:03 and the fastest mile was 8:46 but overall the average pace was right where I wanted it to be.  Another perfect run in an unmremarkable way, the kind we don't always appreciate.

11.09 mi, 1:38:22, 8:52 avg, elev gain 123 feet

Week 3, day 4 of the plan, mid week medium long run.  It's been a while since I've done one of these.  Last weeks was 10 and there have been a few here and there but this one went up to 11 (these runs will max out at 12).

Got a 7:30ish start which is pretty good for me these days.  Trying to make it back in time so Jessica could get to her favorite exercise class and I'd stay home with little Charlotte Dani.  Goal range was 9:02-9:57.  If I wasn't feeling it I'd just try to keep it at the slow range which would still get me back in time.  But the run went along smoothly, first mile at 10:01, then 9:13 then the rest in the high 8's mostly, last mile pick up to 8:21

This was basically the same route as Saturday's 12 mile run but I turned back at 5.5 miles.  Route was Alderman to Crystal Beach Ave, to Pinellas Trail and a little bit onto Curlew Rd.  Quick stop on the return trip at the water fountain on the corner of Curlew and Pinellas Trail for water top off and a gel.  Had filled the bottle with Liquid IV energy.  Still some left so watered it down for return trip.

Miles clicked by and before I knew it was heading back onto Alderman and then back to the house in time for the handoff.

So, overall this was a pretty good run.  No new speed records and not quite as "easy" paced as it should've been.  I'll slow it down a little bit tomorrow for the first part (8 miles) and then stretch out the legs a little during the strides.

8.54 mi, 1:18:37, 9:12 avg

8 easy miles plus Strides, Week 3, day 5 of the plan.

Ran from my house, to the start of the new trail south bound portion, dropped off a bottle of water, then ran to the traffic light at Little Road, then back to where I dropped my water and then south down the trail far enough so I'd have 8 miles by the time I got back to my house.  Pretty steady run with first mile 10:31, then 9:31, 9:21, then hovered near 9:00 for the remainder.

Did the 6 strides near my house.  Picked up Stella and then went back to Palm Harbor and then to work.

14.05 mi, 2:03:48, 8:48 avg

Started my run from Eagle Lake Park in Largo at 10:00 am.  First, was Jacob's meet at Clearwater Catholic HS.  Jacob ran a pretty solid 20:27.  I also got to see people from Mitchell HS including the coach, seems like forever since last year when Tom was running for them.  I had Jessica drive me a few miles so I wouldn't be too far from the Pinellas Trail, looked like Eagle Lake Park was a good place to start from.

Headed south down Keene Rd which turns into Starkey Rd (completely different Starkey from where I usually run), a little bit south down to East Bay/West Bay then over to the Pinellas Trail.  The road had a good sidewalk set far enough back from the road but there were several lights I had to wait for.  I thought it might mess up my groove, but it was pretty easy to get going again each time.

The run up the Pinellas Trail was nice, some of it was open to the sun but there was also a decent amount of shade.  The downtown Clearwater section goes on and off sidewalks and is probably the most confusing where it looks like the trail almost vanishes (and it will if you miss a turn).  Coming into Dunedin was nice, just past the 10 mile mark, then a couple more miles north and turning back so I'd end up at 7th Sun where Jessica would meet me.

First mile was 10:03, then two in the low 9's with the rest in the mid 8's, last mile 8:21.  

I haven't run 14 miles since the Saturday after Charlotte was born, so today's 14 miler at the end of a 54 mile week after two 48's is a good confidence booster.  Not feeling beaten up and not been getting dead legs.  Hopefully can stay on track.