The Long Run

It was a pretty good run for a Monday morning.  20 miles on Saturday, pizza and one beer with dinner last night I had my sights set fairly low for this morning.  It was a bit warmer out this morning that it had been recently, about 70°.  I did some of my usual warm ups inside the Y - 10 minutes on the bike, a few minutes on the rowing machine, and a few on the treadmill.

The first mile felt pretty good, not fast, but it didn't feel cloppy or slappy either.   Next mile started to not feel great, but not horrible either.  Then I dropped off my drink bottle at the beginning of the loop I was going to do.  Things felt better after that.  By the 6th mile my pace had picked up naturally.  The 7th mile felt really good, the pace kept creeping up with the same amount of perceived effort.  For the 8th mile I decided that this was not supposed to be a speed day so I backed down a little bit.  

Splits were: 9:05, 8:55, 8:51, 8:10, 8:07, 7:49, 7:24, 8:07, 0.16 @ 8:44

Average pace: 8:20

Asics 

Ran from home this morning.  It took me a while to get going from the time I woke up until I actually started running.  It's a lot easier for me to get warmed up by hopping on some sort of cardio machine.

 I finally got moving and started my run, took it easy, the first few miles were slow but not uncomfortable.   At the 5 mile turn around I had picked up a little bit of speed but my left hip was bothering me so I didn't go any faster.  It finally loosened up after a couple miles.  At about 8 miles the sky started getting dark and I was afraid that I would get caught in the rain but it held off (and still has not rained yet).  I was in a pretty good pace for the 8th mile but had to wait a long time to cross SR 54 in the middle of the 9th mile with all the morning traffic.  10th mile was good, then slowed down for the remainder to get back home - taking the long way back around the neighborhood loop.

Splits were: 9:38, 9:02, 8:58, 8:31, 8:27, 8:21, 8:17, 7:32, 8:28, 7:39, 0.71@8:30

Average pace 8:30

Brooks
 

I started out this morning feeling a little bit tight and maybe sore in a few spots so I didn't have great expectations. However, something happened, I'm not sure what and I had a good run.

First mile was slow but comfortable, then the second mile was faster than usual for a second mile. I tried not to look at the Garmin too much except when it beeped off the mile. The pace felt good and I did not feel like I was forcing the pace.

Splits were: 9:05, 7:57, 7:49, 7:24, 7:29, 7:15, 7:36, 0.26@8:01

Average pace: 7:49

I cooled down inside on the treadmill for a few minutes and then did some leg extensions. I was going to do some more weights but ran out of time.

Today was supposed to just be an "easy" run but I went a little bit faster because I felt good. It wasn't fast enough to be called a tempo run or even a marathon pace run but somewhere in between easy and MP (as far as the overall pace goes). I should have gone slower or faster, but sometimes I guess you just go.
So, not sure if I should do a tempo run or not tomorrow.

Asics.

Another easy run which actually felt easy.  I hope this trend continues.  I woke up at 6:00, seemed to take forever to get out of the house, then made it to the Y.

10 minutes on stationary bike, 3 minutes on rower, then a few minutes on the treadmill speeding up and slowing down.

It rained heavily last night so it was foggy out this morning with a warmish temp of 70°.  First mile felt pretty good, second mile was good also but was not as fast as yesterday.   Splits were pretty good and the run seemed to go by pretty quickly.

 Splits: 8:44, 8:24, 8:03, 7:55, 7:47, 7:33, 7:35, 7:31, 0.19@8:38

Average pace: 7:57

Brooks 

I carried powerade in my fuel belt and drank that while I ran.  This brought back memories of the Disney marathon.  Powerade claims as one of its benefits that it does not taste too sweet so you won't want to water it down.   But I like sweeter drinks when I'm running.  I remember running during the Disney marathon wondering if they were serving us a sugar free drink!  I know better know but it just goes to show how important it is to practice with your race drink before the race so there aren't any surprises.  Looks like Jacksonville will be serving powerade also.  

Went back inside and did some cool down work on the treadmill, about 5 or 6 minutes or so.  Headed home and then volunteered to bike the kids to school since it feels like I have been seeing them less due to work.

Mixed cardio, short easy run and some weights.

Ran outside on what measured out to be a 4.1 mile loop. No garmin, no shirt. Slightly cool but warmer than last Friday, foggy out.

I did get some of that tightness in my shin/ankle area that sometimes gets so bad I want to quit but goes away after a few miles.  I had just had two days of not having it at all so was hoping it would maybe go away forever.  It was back this morning but fortunately went away after just over two miles into the run. 

Average pace: 8:05

I was proud of today's run because it was one of those where you have to do something different, something out of the routine.  These always make me feel good once I have finished them.  Jenny was going to run a 5K this morning with two of her friends at 8:00 at Fred Howard park (where the Beach to Bayou 5K was that I ran in April).  She was going to bring the kids with her and then I would meet them at 7:30 so I could watch the kids and cheer her and her friends on.

So, the best plan I could come up with was to run in that area before the 5K.  I had scheduled myself for 16 miles.  I usually don't run in that area and wasn't familiar with the running routes there.  So, I planned out a course as best I could and aimed to get there at 5:00.  Alarm clock at 4:15 wasn't so bad.  I got moving and headed over there arriving just after 5:00.  The gates to the park were locked so I found a school nearby to park at.  Fortunately the moon was pretty bright and there were some street lights on the roads.  Warmed up and stretched a little bit and was on my way.

First mile was 9:36 - it felt faster because it always seems faster when I run in the dark, next 3 miles were right around 9:00.  The 5th mile I was starting to move a little bit faster.  By this time I was on the Pinellas trail - a bike path that used to be railroad tracks.  I came up to a tunnel that went under the road, it was pitch black inside so I attempted to go up and over it at first but that didn't work out, so I went through it and it wasn't too bad except for the middle where it was pretty much pitch black.  So, my initial fear of the tunnel slowed me down a little bit to a 9:20 for the 5th mile.

Kept on going and my pace started feeling better.  I finally passed one runner and then a little bit later a biker.  Just after 7.6 miles,  I turned around.  Since my trip out was a little bit slow I didn't want to count on being faster on the return trip and risk being late for meeting Jenny.   The return trip was faster and it slowly got lighter out.  It was a beautiful morning for running.  I got back to the car just after 7:20.  I didn't quite have my 16 miles but I didn't want to risk being later and I figured I'd still have about the same mileage for the week.

Splits were: 9:36, 9:01, 8:56, 8:58, 9:20, 8:38, 8:06, 8:13, 8:08, 8:13, 8:08, 7:55, 7:51, 7:52, 7:54, 7:36, 7:38, 0.52@8:04 

I met up with Jenny and watched the kids while they played.  Jenny and her friends had a great 5K - it was both of her friends first 5K.