The Long Run

Halloween Halfathon

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Location:

FL,

Member Since:

Mar 20, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

PR's:

  • 1 mile : 5:43 (3/2017)
  • 5K : 18:34 (12/2011)
  • 5 mile : 32:03 (5/2010)
  • 10K : 39:29 (11/2013)
  • 11K: 46:47 (July 2008)
  • Half Marathon : 1:26:47 (11/2012)
  • Marathon : 3:06:34 (02/2010)
  • 50K Trail: 4:34 (01/2012)
  • 50 Mile: 8:34:48 (4/2012)
  • 100K: 11:06 (2/2012)
  • 100 Mile: 24:19:44 (1/2022)

Marathons:

  • Treasure Coast Marathon (FL) - 3:39:51, Mar 2021
  • Towpath Marathon (OH) - 3:35:26, Oct 2019
  • Jacksonville Marathon - 3:31:10, Dec 2018
  • NYC Marathon - 3:49:12, Nov 2017
  • Marine Corps Marathon - 3:27:00, Oct 2016
  • Utah Valley - Jun 2016
  • Marine Corps Marathon - 3:28:12, Oct 2015
  • Pocatello Marathon (ID) - 3:32:25, Sept 2015
  • Chasing The Unicorn (PA) - 3:31:20, Aug 2015
  • Run for The Red (Poconos) - 3:30:40, May 2015
  • Boston - 3:24:42, Apr 2015
  • Clearwater - 3:27:04, Jan 2015
  • Clearwater - 3:16:17, Jan 2014
  • Boston  - 3:27:00, Apr 2011
  • DesNews - 3:10:57, Jul 2010
  • Gasparilla  - 3:06:34, Feb 2010
  • Space Coast - 3:11:29, Nov 2009
  • Estes Park  (7500' and up) - 3:52:19, Jun 2009
  • Boston - 3:17:22, Apr 2009
  • Niagara Falls - 3:19:21, Oct 2008
  • San Diego RnR  - 3:24:18, Jun 2008
  • Jacksonville Marathon -3:21:24, Dec 2007
  • Chicago Marathon - 3:35:08, Oct 2007
  • Disney Marathon - 3:52:34, Jan 2007

 

 

 

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

 

  • Sub 40:00 10K
  • 2:59 Marathon
  • 1:25 Half Marathon
  • 18:30 5K

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Maintain my health and continuously seek to improve my fitness. Maybe someday get under 3:00 for marathon. More importantly, I'd like to figure out what my maximum ability is and reach that.

I'd also like to find the right balance in life and use running to enhance and improve myself.

 

Personal:

Dad of  three (welcome Charlotte Dani on 8/10/20) awesome kids and stepdad to three almost as awesome as my own kids.

I have a brown dog named Stella, and three cats - Catty, Tortie, and Esperanza.

  (old lines that were a little out of date but couldn't quite bring myself to removing them completely:) Also, have one wonderful brown dog named Sammy and just added a grey tiger cat (Catty) whose life started out rough but now has a better home.

I've recently started another blog so I can easily add lots of pictures and so other non-FRB users can leave comments:

Forward Progress!

 Also, for 2012 I started a blog to write down each day one thing that I am grateful for

Grateful Blog

 

Love living in Florida but love to travel and see the country and rest of the world.

 

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 1390.02
Brooks T7 Lifetime Miles: 202.78
Brooks ST5 Lifetime Miles: 403.91
GoMeb Speed3 Lifetime Miles: 483.77
Brooks Pure Flow Lifetime Miles: 160.60
Brooks Launch(lobster) Lifetime Miles: 782.98
GoMeb Razor Lifetime Miles: 468.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
32.5413.150.000.000.000.000.0045.69
Race: Halloween Halfathon (13.109 Miles) 01:40:33, Place overall: 10, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.9813.150.000.000.000.000.0015.13

Halloween Halfathon 2021 Race Report

Very nice weather with cool temps and not too much wind (there's always some wind at this race since it is so close to the water, unless maybe it's warmer/hot).

I had signed up for this race a few weeks ago but last night was regretting it as I wasn't feeling well. I slept horribly with crazy/stressful dreams.  Anyway, when the alarm went off decided to make the best of it and be grateful for each step and each mile I made it.  Thought I might crash sometime during the race, but that wouldn't happen today.

Race line up was done with some of the typical covid era protocols with runners lined up in rows with gaps between us.  Start time at 7:05 meant it would be dark for the next 15 minutes or so.  Race was a few minutes late getting started so that helped cut down on the darkness.  Race director called for people running 7:00 pace or faster and almost no one stepped up, then he said "how about somewhere in the 7's?" so I came forward.  At the last minute, Alan Graff showed up and I had him get in front of me as he'd be running closer to 7 flat.  Jacki was also there just ahead of me.

I decided I wasn't going to run by pace, I'd just go out and try to get behind people I thought I could hang on.  Race starts going through several sections of parking lots before turning, crossing the street and running on a bike path and then a little after that is the 1 mile sign, 7:32.  Felt about right.  The course then winds in and out of a treed in area before coming back out to the bike path, crossing the street and back to the parking lot where we run through the start line now about 3 miles into the race.  Next two miles were 7:33 and 7:31.

After this sort of "warm up loop" we are on the big out and back section.  When I'm trying to hit a certain pace I find myself slowing during mile 4 but today it was faster, 7:20, which would be my fastest mile.  Surprised a little that I had 4 good miles in me this morning, it soon turned into a 5th good mile at 7:31.  Maybe this won't be a bad day after all.

At the start, I was probably lined up as the 6th or 7th person, several people passed me during the first half mile but at this point I'd caught up to a few of them and for the most part the runners were in their places that they would finish except for a few exceptions.

Miles 6 and 7 were a little bit of a slow down, but still both under 7:50.  At 7 point something there's a loop turnaround, then an aid station and a little past that is the 8 mile marker.  This is usually a tough mile for me.  I had slowed a little more, but squeeked under 8:00 with a 7:56.  Now my goal was to string together at least 10 sub-8:00 miles.  At the aid station just before 8 miles I took my PowerBar tangerine gel (they don't make those anymore, it's kind of old and was slightly chunky).  But between the gel and the psychological boost of the turnaround and mile 9 was 7:35.  I knew I could make my 10 mile goal.  I closed in on a guy that I had traded places with a few times.  There was also this taller very fit looking guy who seemed to come out of nowhere that cruised by us effortlessly.

As I passed the guy that I was closing in on I told him I'd been hanging onto him for a while.   He said he might try to hang onto me for a while so I told him I'd try to hold a steady pace.  Made it to mile 10 at 7:39, had done it, and now decided to bring it home.  Mile 11 was a pretty good 7:40.  But then mile 12 became a struggle.  I dipped past the 8:00 pace, slowing to about 8:20 at some point but slowly brought it back.  With 0.1 to go to the mile 12 sign tried to surge a little, got just under 8:00 and then puhsed through the last mile and homestretch 0.1.  Just missed breaking 1:40 but had shaved off a minute from BDR just two weeks ago.

I had started out the night before regretting I'd signed up and finished with no regrets.   Still no after race party with guy with a guitar singing "Wish You Were Here" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and pasta from the pasta crew and maybe a Mich Ultra, but still nice to walk around a little and take in the people finishing and the morning air.

Later in the day Jessica, the baby and I and her kids and parents went up to Sweetfield Farms for corn maze, hay ride, and apple cider and then back to Palm Harbor for trick or treating in the neigborhood.  Charlotte Dani was more excited by houses that had a dog than by which candy they had (or in one case no candy but a banana).

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.00

Day off post race

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.120.000.000.000.000.000.006.12

6.12@11:44  HR 132 bpm (from WHOOP)

Out and back run from my house, out to Trinity Blvd and then Starkey Gap Trail and a little on 54 to reach 3 miles out.  Didn't feel like crossing 54, just had about a half a mile when I got to the light so stayed on the sidewalk.

Heart rate was high at the start but it wasn't as stubborn and came back down eventually settling in the 120-130 range for most of the run.  No garmin strap today for comparison.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.250.000.000.000.000.000.006.25

6.25@11:25  HR 122 bpm  (WHOOP said 155 bpm)

Slow and easy, trying to keep heart rate down, first mile was 13:17 but WHOOP had me in the 170's for heart rate so I gave up eventually, ran easy and glanced at the garmin heart rate from time to time.  Did a square'ish route from Westlake Village, to Alderman, right on Belcher, right on Nebraska, to Pennsylvania to Omaha and over to Pinellas trail with side trip to Pop Stansell Park and then back to the trail , over to Omaha, and then right on Alderman to get back to Westlake.  First 4 miles were pretty slow on purpose "sped up" to 10:21 and 10:03 for the last two which made the run not feel so tedious.

Excellent fall Florida weather once again.

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.290.000.000.000.000.000.006.29

6.29@9:18,  HR 140  bpm

Two identical loops without stopping inside Westlake Village.  I always want to stop after doing a loop, which makes more sense if it is hot and I'm not carrying anything to drink but on a nice day there's no reason to stop and once I run past the house it's easy to keep going.

First mile 11:37 with 118 bpm HR, picked up each mile with last one at 8:20

going to take a break from trying to follow the WHOOP HR until I figure out what's going on with it.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.710.000.000.000.000.000.001.71

1.71@9:30

Raining out this morning and procrastinated partially because of the rain but the rain was actually not too bad if wearing a hat.

Ran up to the top of Lakeview to the highest point and turned right on Woodcutter to come back to Lakeview.

Will try to at least make up the missed steps today.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
10.190.000.000.000.000.000.0010.19

10.19@11:37

I'm racing tomorrow but also a little light no miles this week and wanted at least a longish run, so goal was at least 9 miles keeping the strain to a minimum.    First 6 miles were all slower than 11 (and some over 12)  minute pace keeping the heartrate in the low 120's or 11x's.  Started picking it up a little on the way back, still keeping it light.  So, goal accomplished.  Wonder if this is too slow.  Should try to get some heart rate runs while running with other people, those seem to be a much faster pace (10:36 @ 121 bpm while running with Renee) than when I'm shuffling by myself.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
32.5413.150.000.000.000.000.0045.69
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