The Long Run

AM - 10.1 mi, 1:35:10, 9:25 avg

Ran with Jamie and Cynthia at the Upper Tampa Bay Trail.  Cool, low 50's at the start.  Took it easy and enjoyed a nice morning.  Three of us had not run together since two weeks before Marine Corps Marathon.

PM - 0.75 mi, 7:40, 10:13 avg

I took Stella to the dog park. She was playing a little bit rough and one of the other dogs was a bit more aggressive (I thought) , so I pulled her out and we ran a loop around the lake including the little extra bit to get to the 0.75 marker.  We slowed down when we approached other people so she wouldn't pull me too much.   She seemed to have fun and then we stopped by the fence so she could say bye to some of her friends.

9.39 mi, 1:25:47, 9:08 avg, HR 127 avg, 138 max

Ran at Longleaf on Starkey Blvd at the Striders Tuesday run.  Everything was good, weather and breathing and pace was good for sticking within heart rate range.

Drove home, woke up Andy, took Sammy and Stella for a walk, then ran Stella around the neighborhood loop for 1.7 miles

Chipping away at my goal of 3,000 miles for the year - within striking distance.  I'll need under 300 in December.

7.08 mi, 1:05:18, 9:13 avg

Stella and I ran 4.66 miles.  I was originally going to just take her one loop around the neighborhood for 1.7 miles but she was being really good so we added on an out and back to the golf course water fountain.  The running is keeping her nails trimmed - the vet techs said they were already short enough.

Dropped off Stella, woke up Andy to get ready, then headed back out.  I finished off the fifth mile then did 10x25 second strides with 50 second jogs and a short cool down after that.  Strides felt better than last time, so maybe I'll have a good race on Saturday (5k).

7.02 mi, 1:06:51, 9:31 avg, HR 120 avg, 140 max

Ran with Joe at the Striders run at Longleaf.  Out and back on the Starkey Bike trail.  Legs were feeling sluggish today.  It was back to warmer and humid with humidity you could see and low 70's for temps.  Other than that a pretty good run and nice to run with Joe (as part of his 11 mile run).

1.54 mi, 15:22, 9:59 avg

Part two of the run was after I got home and walked both dogs.  I took Stella around the loop.  She was all over the place with the extra traffic and people/dogs out walking I had to take a coupld of walk breaks to settle her down.  But still, managed to get most of the miles I wanted.

8.05 mi, 1:15:14, 9:20 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood starting at about 6:00.  We ran a little over 5.5 miles together then I stopped by my house to make sure the boys were up and I leashed up Stella.  Stella was way too excited to see Joe and I had trouble calming her down so gave up on running with Joe and Jamie and I ran in the opposite direction and met up with them later near Jamie's house.  Stella and I did a little over 1.5 miles and I finished up enough on my own to get 8 miles for the total.  Temps really cooled off since yesterday and should be nice for tomorrow's Little-Markou 5k.

Little Markou 5K Race To Educate 5K

Wonderful and fun race through the streets of the Longleaf community in memory of two beloved high school students.  This is the second year in Longleaf (was previously held nearby at a different location).  I was over a minute faster than last year and happy with my time (although I lost some drive during the third mile).  I started out as usual where I seem to end up behind a long line of people.  I passed several people after making the first turn and the line thins out to where I can see about 7 or 8 people ahead of me.   Anthony has taken an early lead (like he did during Robbie's Run 5K in the spring).  Jean is also a good distance in front of me and also Anthony.  I think towards the end of the second mile I was in 5th place, with Anthony passing Jean and I had just gotten ahead of Andrea.  Andrea has a very light and relaxed stride and is super cheerful thanking all of the volunteers (note to self to not let my 5k pain make me less cheerful).

First two miles on my garmin were 6:00 and 6:02.  But, since this is a twisty and turny course I knew I'd still have a tough time breaking 19:00.   Finally at about 2.5 miles I pull up to Jean and he says he's done (he's had a remarkable fall racing series with a 2:58 in Chicago).  Anthony still has a good gap on me.  I am feeling less motivated.  I'm not done but I don't have a strong drive to try and catch Anthony (didn't think I could at the time but maybe now that I look back at it).

But, fortunately I knew Andrea was very close behind me and knew she could/would pass me if I eased up.  In one of the pictures near the 3 mile marker I see just how close she is and looking at the official times we both ended up with 19:19.

At Robbie's run 5k, Anthony had faded.  But this time he stayed even, finishing 10 seconds ahead of me overall.  My last mile was 6:12 (garmin time), so another 6:02 would have put me neck and neck with him.

But, all things considered this was a very very good race for me.  I loved running with so many familiar faces through the Longleaf streets with extra holiday decorations and for a good cause.  The racing part (the push from behind and pull to catch up) could not have been better.  I had been missing that at the last Wesley Chapel 5k.  The last two 5k's were a slow down from the two before that but with this one, I once again sped up a little bit by 2 seconds.

Cooled down with a mile easy after the race and before the awards.  Was awarded $50 for second place overall male (Anthony got 1st place masters at $75, no double dipping thankfully).  After awards, ran another 4 miles with Julie who was looking for some more miles.

When I got home, picked up Stella and took her to Starkey Park and we did 3.6 miles on the trails there.