It's all relative

Belleair Sunset 5k

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Location:

FL,United States

Member Since:

Feb 08, 2015

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Certified course PR's:

Mile: 4:28.0 (Florida, Jan 2020)

5K: 15:12 (FL, Jan. 2020)

10K: 31:44 (FL, Feb. 2020)

15K: 49:03 (FL, Feb. 2020)

1/2 Marathon: 1:10:34 (FL, Feb. 2020)

Marathon: 2:26:57 (WA, July 2019)

100k (63.7 miles, trail): 9:11:00 (FL, Jan. 2019)

Personal:

I started running in 2010 and have (mostly) kept it a habit ever since!  

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2535.07466.023001.09
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.300.0010.30

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.010.007.01

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.500.002.50

Gym- Chest, Tris, Shoulders

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Off day, unintentional (rain, no car, stuck inside)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.560.005.56

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.180.007.18

Gym- Chest, Tris, Shoulders, Abs (full abs, 7:10 plank)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.130.0011.13

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.100.004.10

Gym- Biceps, Lats, Back, Abs

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.600.005.60

Gym- leg day

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.850.0010.85

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
18.620.0018.62

All in the 7:30-8 range

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.040.007.04

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.135.5011.63

Mile, 1200, 800, 400, 200 (x2), ran the first mile in 4:54, first time breaking 5 minutes!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.010.0011.01

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.300.008.30

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Day off (tired, intentional)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.247.0011.24

Progressive, down to 5:45

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.036.0020.03

3 x 2s  6:30, 6:30, and then somewhere around 5:30s on the last

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.200.007.20

On cruise ship (sunset)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.203.008.20

On cruise ship, ran on treadmill

1.5 mile, 1 mile, 0.5 mile at 5:10-5:20 mile pace

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.503.209.70

6.5 on Grand Cayman Island, 3.2 on treadmill (cruise ship)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

In Mexico, no time to run (7:00am to 12:00am straight)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.350.009.35

Decent pace, around 7:00 miles

Race: Belleair Sunset 5k (3.107 Miles) 00:16:25, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.703.115.81

I competed in the Belleair Sunset 5k with a group of about 15 friends. The course is always quite fast, however Joe let me know that it was USATF certified.  Felt great, had a first mile at around 5:17 and was completely just enjoying every moment of it. In the second mile I kept on the guy's shoulder in front of me which caused the pace to drop to about 5:30 or so. I then gradually passed him to the turnaround crossing mile 2 at around a 5:28 pace.  I decided to stick with him that long with the advice of my training partner Lee, who I'm quite sure noticed I'm still new at pacing consistently. I certainly appreciated the advice.  I felt really good and picked it up mile 3 in about a 5:09 pace, then finished strong. I don't often find myself in the lead, let alone have the fitness to extend it, so I enjoyed the leased glory for the moment. Second place ended up 30 seconds or so back after I crossed in 16:25. I thanked him, then went to go cheer my friends in.

5:17 overall pace.  

Huge head-wind headed out, meant a nice tail wind on the return.  

I need to work on my consistency with pacing, I had too much left for the end.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.206.0018.20

Had a 2 x 3mile section at 6:40 pace.  Felt good from the day before.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.170.008.17

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.005.0010.00

Fun workout, still feeling elated from my 5k.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Gym, split run.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.210.0013.21

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.720.007.72

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.225.0011.22

Progressive down to 6:00/mile

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
18.160.0018.16

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.500.007.50

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.024.0011.02

There were 18x300s today with 100m recovery.  I stayed well  below speed workout pace per the advice of Drew and Lee.  I was thankful for the advice, since I ended the workout feeling great as opposed to exhausted.  I held all but the first 2 at 55-60 seconds, or 5k pace, then on the last set picked the first 4 up to about 53-55 seconds, then 50, then 46 for the last one.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.470.004.47

Lifted weights: Tris (Dips & pushdowns), Pectorals (Straight flys, downward flys), Shoulders (press- machine and free wire), Rotator cuff (in and out)

Comments
From Drew on Fri, Feb 13, 2015 at 06:30:00 from 24.92.19.68

You mean you're not naturally ripped?! :)

Missed you on Tuesday, although we were just coasting.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.750.009.75

Ran part of the course I was unfamiliar with.  Terrible labeling of the race map, but I figured it out.  I'm happy I did this- I didn't think there would be literally 3 sets of 180 degree turns, and I also probably would have underestimated the slight hills.  Was also nice to see where the tangents would be, particularly on 14th avenue with the turnaround.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No running, prepped for race and busy at work.  Had hummus, bread, chicken sandwich, and veggies.  Not too much water.  

Race: Best Damn Race (13.109 Miles) 01:15:30, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.7513.1014.85

Best Dam Race Half Marathon Report

This race is right in my current hometown, so it's hard to pass up. Particularly when it takes 8 minutes to drive to. It's in the third year of existence, and this run would be my fifth overall half marathon. I feel they're long enough to where I feel like I've worked hard, but not so long as to where I want to cry from every cell in my body- looking at you, marathon...

Ran mile 1 expecting someone to blow by me, so I could use as a pacer from afar, since I saw a 1:10 half marathoner registered as well as a couple 1:13-1:14 guys and I wanted to run a 1:16:00. However, at half a mile only a good runner, James O, was behind me. I know he is very quick and generally runs much better than me based on his times. At mile 1 I was still conservative at a 5:55 mile hoping to have at least him I could fall behind, but since no one wanted to go in front, I decided to settle into a pace, so I dropped down to 5:43 for the next 2 miles to get closer to the 5:46 pace I was hoping for. I don't usually wear a watch, so me "dropping down to and sticking to a pace" is akin to an infant getting all his food in his mouth- cute, but not gonna be messy. I wasn't excited to have to focus on a pace for that long.

At the 3-mile turnaround I was surprised to see a gap already forming, and at the 10k mark I had a good 1:40 lead on James (second) and about 3 minutes on third. At the 6.5 turnaround, I must've had some body language, because James clearly gave a push to shorten the gap. Fortunately, I caught myself slowing in time, although, in hindsight, it was unintelligent to drop the pace to 5:30 for mile 6, as I felt cramps in my quads and hamstrings quickly. From there on out I tried to keep them at bay all the way until making it to mile 12 and decided I could probably run through them so close to the end.

The only runner left in sight at mile 11 was James and he was about 3 minutes back, but having never led a half marathon I decided to push anyway. At the 13 mile marker right before the final turn I took a look at my watch and was elated to see it just cracking 1:15:00 along with my 5:35 mile pace for the last 2 miles, so a PR was in sight.

Fortunately, I did end up with a 1:15:30, a pr in the end. I love being a newer runner- the pr never gets old. Next race is in 3 weeks, so I have a chance to leave it all out on the course and hopefully put in the work to do it again.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.074.0019.07

Did 2X2 mile at 6:30 pace just for fun.  Drew and Lee weren't here today, but I was able to catch up with Christina a little bit.  What an awesome runner.  I felt really strong even considering the half-marathon the day before.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.550.006.55

Ran 2.5, then worked out: biceps on fly machine, forearms, lat pull-downs, wide-grip pullups, low-row (wide grip), and shrugs with 60s (with controlled roll).  Ended with 4 more miles on the treadmill.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.450.0010.45

Had to skip track to do the tryouts instead.  Kids ran great, had a lot of fun, and we had 5 kids run under 6 minutes for the mile.  Only 2 threw up, which may be a record for lowest number on the first day of tryouts.  

Ran with Cory (22) and caught up with him about his first marathon, which he ran a 3:33:33- with only 2 training runs over 15 miles.  Yikes.  He's going to be fast if he decides to work at it.  Maybe I can entice him to run on Tuesdays.  This was his first run in 23 days.

Again, made a sincere effort to keep my slow miles in the 7:30- 7:55 range, which I have been consistent with since my 5k.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Split my run into 5.8 and 4.2, had tryouts in between.  Ran with Cory.  He seemed tired from yesterday, but was a good sport.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.004.5011.50

Overall, what a weird running day.  Started with waking up at 5:30 to run, and decided to sleep in.  Felt terrible for doing that, so couldn't go back to sleep.  That afternoon before tryouts, I ran 4.5 miles, with 2.5 of them at 6:00-6:40 pace. ran a 400m in 60 seconds flat with the kids randomly for fun, then finished with a little light running mixed with 6 more 400s at 5:08-5:20 mile pace.  Probably not the best idea for a workout, but running like an idiot sometimes can be fun.

Comments
From Drew on Fri, Feb 13, 2015 at 17:08:00 from 24.92.19.68

Hey Mike - it's really fun to read about your training, I hope you keep the blogging up.

I think you might be racing tomorrow? Either way, good luck!

From Mike on Sat, Feb 14, 2015 at 09:08:19 from 65.34.80.35

Hey Drew! No races until Best Dam race in Orlando in two weeks. Can't wait for your run in a week! Take it easy Tuesday...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.331.007.33

Ran a fast mile and 800 with the kids @ 5:40 to pace the leader.

Running today felt amazing. Healthy, loose, and care free.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.128.0012.12

Mile warmup followed by 8 miles descending from 6:50s to 5:50s, then a shake-out. Was the last day of the Davis Island run group until August. Not the most outgoing of groups anyway, unfortunately.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.100.0017.10

Standing all day yesterday, a lot of lower calf/ achilles soreness.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.160.0011.16

Best I've felt in a long time. All 7:30- 8:45mpm pace.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.133.5010.63

Rainy,. Long warm-up, 4x400,3x800,4x400 w/ 200rest between items, 400 between sets. Pace 5:20mpm, finished w/ 76, 72, 72, 69.

Drew, lee, and quint- they even let me lead, so I tried to be consistent to help. Very lucky to have them to run with in the rain.

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 03:51:07 from 24.92.19.68

Thanks for hanging with us out there Mike. Having you guys to run with took it from being a miserable day to fun.

From Mike on Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 06:29:07 from 168.213.7.118

Pleasure was all mine- the rain was just a bonus.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.340.0014.34

Morning: 3

Afternoon: 2.5

Night: 8.84

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.250.006.25

Pm run. Had to rush it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.520.008.52

Told myself I'd take a day off since I'd be busy from 5am-7pm. I lied, and it felt great.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.002.0012.00

Had 2 speed ups for about a mile each. Ran the Gasparilla 15k course- and feel so sorry for them with the nasty head-wind they had on the way back. Got to cheer on Lee, Drew, Christina, Jacob, and a couple others.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.507.0021.50

Started running at 4:50am. Had a 6mi warmup, 4mi @ 6:00mpm, 1mile rest, 3mi @ 6:00mpm, 7.5 miles @ 7:10-7:40 with Steve who I saw randomly. Lucky to catch him since I didn't even know he'd be there! We got to watch/ run past the elite half-marathoners. Very exciting and humbling! Saw Kai, Christina, Bri, Rae, Alvaro, and Ben all kicking butt today. This whole weekend was exactly why I started liking running- so proud of everyone.

 

Gym Day- 5x5s: Biceps (isolated), lat pulldown (wide-grip), pull-ups (close-grip), wide-grip low row, in-and-outs (shoulder), shrugs, jerks (with cross-cable), abs (with sides and front planks)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.502.0010.50

Broken up with the track kids.  Ran a quick mile (5:25mpm pace) pacing them, and then 2 pacing 800s after that at around 5:00 mpm pace.  Then ran with Corey.  Slowly trying to convince him he will be an awesome runner.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.154.358.50

Warmup, then 7 x 1000 with 200 recovery between each at a decent recovery speed. Pace was 5:40-5:45 mpm for the duration. Was hard to hold back, but happy I did- definitely feeling Sunday's workout.

Time to taper a bit.

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 08:05:00 from 24.73.66.122

Smart and disciplined of you to hold back yesterday, Mike. Can't wait to hear about your doubleheader!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.100.007.10

Fun run!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.300.004.30

Fun run, did 5 striders to end it. Knees still aching from softball/basketball.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Day off. 2 races this weekend. Both half-marathons. Going to be rough.

Race: Orlando- 2nd annual Best Damn Race Half Marathon (13.109 Miles) 01:15:01, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.1513.1015.25

Rainy/misty, 65 degrees,windy, humid. This will be the first of two half-marathons in two days, so I wanted to come out of it feeling healthy. Given the conditions I'm surprised how fun the run was. I was looking forward to racing again, so I started excited, running out with the lead group. There were 5 leading (and then me). We started out quick, which didn't interest me too much because of the all-brick terrain, but I went with them because of the wind, hoping to draft a bit. Mile 2... Well... Mile 2 escalated quickly. The lead group pushed their pace down to 5:30 or so, which I held with them for a half mile, but decided to leave the lead group and enter no man's land in a haze of light mist and wind. I was confused for a bit, since there seemed to be a coach riding along with the lead group, 4 of which looked to be part of a team, the fifth was the lead runner hanging at their shoulder. From mile 2-5, the coach on the bike seemed to help his runners along over the span of about a 40 second lead in front of me. Eventually 2 runners began to drop back, 1 whom seemingly quit the race at mile 5 right next to me. Down to 4th place, miles 6-9 were hilly, but I kept a steady pace, picking off the next one and closing the lead gap to about 20 seconds. Then the first place guy slowed slightly right around mile 9.5 and shortly after mile 10 the kid who quit at mile 5 suddenly came off a side street into the race and took over first place, pacing the final guy in front of me. Very shortly after that, the lead guy, who I now figured was just in the race to pace miles 5-10 for the true leader, slowed to a stop in front of me and began walking. At around mile 10.60, the gap had closed to 5 seconds for the lead, and the pace had slowed, the rain increased, and the roads were now quite wet. I decided to close the gap completely and got on the shoulders behind the two lead guys, which seemed to bother them a little. But to be honest, I was a little pissed the lead guy was getting free pacing, so I didn't care. I was feeling very good at that point, with a lot saved up from the previous 2 slower miles, and decided to do a quick pass around the outside of a 90 degree turn and laid down a 5:30 pace for about 3/4 of a mile. I looked back and saw the two had drifted significantly back (20+) seconds, and I sort of lost focus. I kept the lead, but the next 2/3 of a mile I slowed a lot (5:55-6:00 pace), just really trying to keep the distance I had created for the lead. Then, midway around mile 12, I finally re-focused, and kept an eye on my watch to finish the mile with a 5:40 pace and then sprinted down the final street. The lead ended at about 50 seconds between myself and second, but seemed overall, the first 10.6 miles made it seem much more dramatic than that. Overall: the pacing team of 5 runners jumping out in front and the coach riding on a bike (back and forth) past me was pretty annoying- especially when the runner re-entered the course. Their team game plan in the beginning could have easily derailed my race had I not known I needed to be smart given my ability, which is not at that level. I really have never truly run with a team of any kind, so I don't know if what happened was normal, but it caused me to go through a lot of confusion and annoyance throughout the race. I wish I had known what they were doing or that they weren't in the race. I liked the competition, and actually am very okay with truly being beat, but it didn't really feel... right. I felt like I raced a team of runners today, as opposed to just the two who actually ran the race from that lead group. Lucky they couldn't hold on in the end I guess. Fortunate to have another PR, since I certainly won't get one tomorrow!

Splits

Mile 1) 5:39.77

2) 5:45.15

3) 5:42.26

4) 5:45.13

5) 5:45.81

6) 5:43.94

7) 5:44.50

8) 5:47.71

9) 5:46.10

10) 5:49.07

11) 5:50.03

12) 5:39.37

13) 5:40.82

Finish) :22 @ sprint

(Quick calculation splits- First 6.55 miles came in at 37:32, last 6.55 came in at 37:29, first ever negative split!)

Gun time: 1:15:01.6,  @ 5:44 avg. per mile, (Chip time 1:15:00.4) 

 

                             -Age Group-      - 10k -       Chip       Gun  
 Place  Name         Age Gend  Pos Group  Rnk   Time  Rnk   Time       Time  
1  Michael MacDonald 29   M  1  Top Fin    3  35:41.9  1  1:15:01.6  1:15:00.4
2  Jose Diaz Jr.     28   M  2  Top Fin    1  35:06.6  2  1:15:45.9  1:15:45.3
3  Adam Lawrence     19   M  3  Top Fin    2  35:33.8  3  1:17:40.6  1:17:40.0

Comments
From Drew on Sun, Mar 01, 2015 at 02:58:55 from 24.92.19.68

Wow Mike. Great report, and better race!

Yesterday was a pretty lousy day. I was thinking of you and hoping Orlando was better.

I don't think that coach/pacing scenario was normal. It's one thing for pacers/coaches/friends to do what they can to encourage and assist, but having a traveling peloton like that is over the top.

Getting ready to head out for the long run- we'll miss you, but good luck in your next half today. Awesome PR- I don't think I've every seen anyone progress the way you have in the last year. Keep it up and you'll be winning a lot of races.

From Mike on Sun, Mar 01, 2015 at 21:07:07 from 65.34.80.35

Thanks for the kind words, Drew! Hope to just keep getting better. Feeling nice and sore now although. Hope the run went well this morning for you guys, I definitely missed being there.

Race: Orange Blossom Half Marathon (13.109 Miles) 01:17:57, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.1613.1015.26

Orange Blossom Half Marathon Race Report

Weather: 65 degrees, humid, misty turning into cloudy, wet pavement, gentle, constant breeze, formerly USATF certified course (out-dated).

Final time: 1:17:55 watch time, 1:17:57 gun time, 5:57 avg. per mile

Day 2 of the half-marathon weekend of death. This time the race was in the middle of nowhere, but it was a free gift, so, worth the 50 minute drive and sore legs from the race yesterday. I had looked at the times the last two years, the winner having been in the 1:23-1:24 range, so I figured a 6:15-6:20 pace would be fine to run at and hopefully be successful at staying healthy/not getting hurt while giving myself an opportunity to win. I stayed back mile one, letting a couple of runners select their paces- I have never ran a conservative effort before, so this was new and very fun in a tactical sense. They were all running at a 6:05 pace through mile 1, so I decided to roll into the lead and drop it to 6:00 to see if there were any takers, and 2 runners followed. I did not expect this- so much for a 6:20 pace.

Mile 4 was weird- I had built a 15 second lead at about a 5:50 pace, trying to shake 2nd and third while making sure to stay within myself. Meanwhile, it had rained a bit again this morning, and the road was slick, and the poor lead biker was crossing some railroad tracks and took a dive right in front of me. Bike slid out, water bottle went flying, and he slid across the pavement. I stopped to help him and grab his bike, and fortunately he was quick to jump up. I checked with him to make sure he was okay, which he said yes, but the fall looked rough, so I stayed a bit to make sure. The second place guy had caught up as well by that point, and I think he didn't know what to do, as the biker tried to gather himself, so he kept going, and I followed suit behind him. I kept glancing back until he had caught back up to us on the bike to lead us again, and felt like a jerk for my decision to keep running until he caught back up. If he stayed down I don't know what I would've done, but I hope I would've gone to get help. I knew the biker was embarrassed, so I made a note to thank him at the end of the race and an even bigger note to not bring up the fall. I'd hate someone calling me out on that.

Refocusing, I now had lost my lead, but figured keeping the 6:00 pace would be fine. By mile 7, I hadn't heard footsteps in a while, but decided to turn around anyway- only to see the second place guy not even 8 seconds behind me at most! This sent adrenaline into me- I was not expecting this based on the earlier miles, but I knew then I had to get into gear or else he'd rightfully kick my butt.

Miles 8-11 I dropped the pace accordingly. Fortunately, this helped and he eventually fell 2 minutes back. Having a more comfortable lead was nice, as the police had not securely blocked traffic on the road, so cars were weaving in and out, and with other runners on the opposite side (out and back course), tangents were impossible today, so it could've gotten hairy. I was hoping for a decent negative split for the race but geez, not to be shocked into that kind of pace like I was. I was able to calm it down the last two miles, and hit the finish. Lucky to win this one. Also learned all bikers should wear helmets. And ride perpendicularly over railroad tracks. Needless to say, I tiptoed over the railroad tracks when I crossed :)

Mile splits:

Mile 1) 6:05

2) 6:01

3) 5:58

4) 6:01

5) 5:56

6) 5:59

7) 6:05

8) 5:47

9) 5:50

10) 5:46

11) 5:52

12) 6:00

13) 6:01

Finish) 0:34 I think the pad messed up, since I was about 2 seconds off the start line.

first 6.55miles split (halfway): 39:21, second 6.55miles: 38:34

Final time: 1:17:55 watch time, 1:17:57 gun time, 5:57 avg. per mile

Comments
From Drew on Mon, Mar 02, 2015 at 03:44:35 from 24.92.19.68

Mike, just thinking about your last two days of racing is making me tired. Once again - great running, and this report is just as good as the last.

Good news, Tuesday is 2x2 miles at track. :)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.030.006.03

Slow. Oh so slow. Sore in quads, calves, right achilles, left plantar. Worth it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.502.5010.00

Eventually did a 2.5 mile tempo at 6:00-6:10 mile pace with Charles for part of it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.350.0010.35

Slow.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.320.004.32

Ran after coaching, 7:30pm.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.110.006.11

PM, rainiy, felt much better today.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.190.0014.19

10mi @ 5:00am solo

4mi @ 12:00 pm with Amanda and Kelly

Still feeling right achilles, but second run was better.

Also, a Sean Gallagher sighting! Go Sean!

Comments
From Drew on Sat, Mar 07, 2015 at 11:00:45 from 216.165.227.21

Awesome to hear that Sean is back. If we can get him in the mix on Tuesdays we will really be rolling.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.272.008.27

Had a 2-mile tempo at 5:55mpm

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.670.0014.67

Afternoon 5mi before track

Night- 9ish miles after airport trip

Not much time to run today. Right achilles still tired.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.513.2511.76

AM- 4.25 Miles

Then Gym- Back, and biceps 5x5s with a focus on range of motion on the wide grip rows.

PM stuck at work, but did a workout on the track beforehand-

Ladder: 4x100, 100 rest in between, 4x200, 100 rest in between, 2x300, 2x400 with 200 rest, reversed ladder with 400 rest in between sets, times: 5:20 pace for 400s, 5:15 for 300s, 34-38 for 200s, and 15-18 seconds for 100s

Very hot outside, made it a challenge to do without my run group- hard to motivate myself. Achilles still tired.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.421.006.42

1 mile @ 6:00mpm pace.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.100.0011.10

PM run with the track kids. No real spoed, but really had about 3 separate runs total: track, then run with AJ and Cory, then got stuck on 60 on the way home in traffic, so I pulled over and ran 5 more miles instead of waiting. Fun day of running!

Right achilles still sore, but manageable, and I could feel my running form finally returning just a little bit. My slow/aerobic pace is showing the return as well. Optimistic!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.140.009.14

Was supposed to be an off day running/ leg day at the gym, but there was traffic on rt. 60 again on my way home, so I pulled over and went for a run instead of waiting in traffic.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.040.0013.04

AM- Did the 3 Clearwater bridges with Christina. It was great catching up- this was a phenomenal run day. Achilles felt much better and my stride is evening out.

7:30 pace

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.754.0021.75

AM- Long run in some pretty humid, warm weather. Quint and Drew held a pretty quick pace, making me pretty thankful for warming up early. Everyone else left us on our own and didn't want the training pace. Had one very fun mile that progressed down into the 5:30s, which was fun and unexpected. Didn't think I had that in me so late in a run.

Excited to start working on some speed!

PM- 1.5 mile warmup/shakeout, then 5x5 triceps, delts, pecs, and general shoulders on free-range.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.100.009.10

PM- beautiful weather, got out of work early, and made the best of it. Should have run less miles to aid recovery, but I was enjoying it too much. Finally had a slow run pace that felt natural.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.114.0010.11

PM- Long warmup (3 miles), then 5 x 1200 at 5:16mpm pace, with 400 moderate recovery.

I was impressed that I was perfectly consistent throughout, and the confidence boost was nice given the hot weather. Had to run solo today which made it tough- everyone is getting ready for their races this weekend. Ended with about 400m worth of striders.

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Mar 18, 2015 at 11:07:49 from 24.73.66.122

Love that 5x1200 workout, sad to have missed it. Nice splits!

From Mike on Wed, Mar 18, 2015 at 18:44:21 from 65.34.80.35

Thanks! You missed a good one, but it looks like you had some nice speedwork of your own.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.160.008.16

4 in the afternoon, then coaching, then 4 more with striders at the end. All solo. Hot out- too early for this.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.100.0010.10

6.25 before coaching, 3.85 after. So hot.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.022.0012.02

3 mile warmup. Progressive starting at 8:30 down to 6:00mpm for final 2 miles, then cooldown mile.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.150.0010.15

AM- Gym for tris, chest, dips, shoulders, and full abs and obliques, then 5 miles outside. Fun day, felt good.

PM- 5 miles, feeling bouncy... Should have slowed down a bit, but oh well.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
21.700.0021.70

Solo long run on the clearwater/belleair/sand key bridges area. Loved this run, but need to run with people or my pace is way too leisurely. Finally committed and kept the last 12 miles in the 7:30 range.

 

Today is the day that I finally beat my Garmin watch. I've always wondered if I'd ever run long enough for it to shut off, and thanks to its advanced age, it finally died on a run before I did.

Score:
Garmin: 1,000+
Me: 1

Suck it, watch.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.501.008.50

Warmup laps, then beep test for fun with the kids. We then played indoor soccer for cardio (thunderstorm/rain). After practice finally got to run a nice 7-miler. Very slow.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.554.0010.55

Ran 2 sets of 4 x 800s with 200 rest in between each item and 400 between each set with Drew and Lee. Lee took it easy today and hung back a bit, so it was just Drew and I, really. Although warm, I felt like I ran alright, so the dewpoint must not be too terrible yet. All were in between 2:34 and 2:40, with the last one in at 2:38.

Drew was a big help as always. I really missed the competitive edge of our group, since we've had different running schedules the last couple of weeks, so it was nice to re-kindle it a bit. Hopefully it grows, I really think our group could start running some special times and giving some even better efforts. Today was a ton of fun, plain and simple.

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Mar 25, 2015 at 17:15:06 from 24.92.19.68

Hey Mike, totally agree it was nice to run together for a change. Seems like someone has always been tapering or recovering for the last two months! I'm sure over the summer it will be plenty of slogging it out with no end in sight. :)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.270.006.27

PM run after track practice.

Then gym for some 5x5s with focus on lats, bis, traps, deltoids, rhomboids, and then some good old fashioned planks to finish it off.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Day off, had conferences in the morning, track meet, then long drive home. Figured I'd have trouble fitting it in, but it's good to have a break. Just makes me more excited for tomorrow!

Race: Honda St. Pete Grand Prix 5k (3.04 Miles) 00:15:40, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.253.009.25

I had a fun warmup in the drizzling rain, which eventually cleared. I was not too excited to be running on wet brick, but figured I'd only have to worry about it for the first quarter mile or so. This event had a ton of runners from our run group: Joe, Quint, Drew, and a surprise entry with Wendy and Sean. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him. I was very excited for him to have the opportunity to be racing again even if he is still recovering a bit, I know he missed competing.

The start line looked quite formidable for a local 5k, and the course is generally short by about 0.05 or 0.06, so I knew it would be fast. I knew Drew would be absolutely ready to rock, but was interested to see if anyone else would be there. I shouldn't have been surprised, but Sean G. ran out to a quick lead and a small group of 8 or so of us followed. When the dust settled at about mile 1, there were only about 4 of us remaining. My watch was being funky because of the tall buildings, and although I was hoping for 5:14 per mile, I decided to just run by feel. Fortunately Drew took charge by mile 2, and although I never looked back, I felt the other 2 runners drop well off by then.

Drew was an incredible help from this point forward. I just focused on his pace, my breathing, and on my form. Without him, I don't think I would have achieved any improvements today in my 5k running, so I was more than thankful. With about a half mile to go, I felt pretty good, but the gap had widened considerably to about 11-12 seconds. I had a fleeting though about making a hard push, but fortunately thought better of it. I just tried to maintain the distance, my focus and form. Although I had dreams of closing the gap, I definitely didn't have any extra speed in me despite feeling alright. It really was an odd feeling.

The end was a whirlwind. I was very happy for Drew and myself, and then seeing Quint and Sean finish in the top 6 was pretty exciting and put me over the top for a bit. I had a flashing moment where I hoped we'd all eventually be pushing each other at full speed to get better. I never was on a running team, but it evidently causes these flashes and/or seizures. Who knew?

Lots of fun- now if only it was a certified course...

Race notes: almost got beat down by a large man who I had apparently walked backed into. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. Also, tried to pick up Drew's award to give to him as well, but they lady I think though I was going to steal it. As a white, affluent male, this is a normal expectation, so I'm used to it. We're all thieves up to debauchery.

Comments
From Drew on Sun, Mar 29, 2015 at 12:58:00 from 24.92.19.68

Thanks for trying to grab my award. I actually ran into the race director later that evening when we were at dinner. She said she totally thought you were a con artist. ;P

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.810.0013.81

AM: 11 miles on the Dunedin Causeway and trail.

PM: 3 ish mile shakeout run before lifting on the treadmill

Gym: 5 x 5 chest: flys (60lbs), decline press (60), tricep: pulldown (110), dips, shoulders: overhead press (70), T's and I's, rotator cuff: in and outs on the fly machine (20-25), abs: planks, side planks, side-to-sides with 25s

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
22.070.0022.07

Long run in Clearwater this morning, 8 bridges total with Lee, Lyle, Mark, and a couple of others. Got there early so I ran 2 miles, then Lee came, and we did about 5 more, then we met up with the group for 2 sets of 8 milers. I didn't care much for the breaks, so I tried to run through them. I always wonder if all the short breaks of stopping negatively affects endurance- I can't imagine it does, but my opinion is very malleable on that point.

Pace was generally around 8:00 minutes per mile for the first set and then 7:00-7:30 per mile for the second set, and Mark and I dropped the second to last mile to around 6:50 over the final bridge which was fun.

Somehow, the Florida weather is comfortable again, if only for the week. I'm not complaining.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
18.020.0018.02

AM: 7 miles

Noon: 4 miles treadmill, then gym

PM: 7 miles

Spring break! Even went to the gym today. 5x5 Lats, bis, lower back (wide grip row), traps. The runs got progressively more fun, so I kept going. Last 2 miles were a bit tiring, since my arms/abs were tired.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.084.0015.08

AM: 4 miles

PM: track- 4 x 1 mile, with 2:30-3:00ish recoveries (400 and then standing at the line). Splits: 5:09, 5:09, 5:15, 5:07

It started out as a challenging workout. Drew wasn't able to make it and Lee was still testing his achilles and wouldn't be pushing it too hard, so I just had to stay focused and ran alone. Not really sure what happened on #3 there, but on #4 I turned it around and came out a little better. Jim pushed me for 200 on the second lap which I was thankful for. Felt good afterwards, ran another 3 miles to cool down.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.774.0015.77

AM: 3 mile warmup then 5x5 chest, shoulders, rotator cuffs, and tris.

PM: 12 miles, 6 in my old sneaks, 6 in my new flats. Excited- first pair ever! Couldn't help but run a little quick in them.

Ran on Bayshore, Tampa- beautiful run!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.502.7510.25

AM: 1.5 mile warmup with Dow, Rick, and a couple others. This is the first time I've run with them, but they've been trying to get me out for a while. Great plyometrics routine to get loose.

The workout: 2 x 200 (sprint), 1 x 600 (5k pace), repeat 4 times total, then 2 x 200 to finish. I took the first one and ran the 200s at mile pace, but realized that wasn't the workout to help me, so I switched them to sprint efforts at about 90-95%, and focused on form. The 600s stayed at at mile pace: 1:56, 1:52, 1:52, then 1:45.

The intervals seemed fast, but this group waits for everybody to finish and do a 200 recovery before going again, so I used it as an opportunity to work on sprint speed especially in the 200s.

Overall, lots of fun and supportive.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.202.0017.20

I guess I had 2 fast-ish miles in there. Might be lying to myself. And to you... Internet.

Was fun running with Christina and Drew!

Comments
From Drew on Fri, Apr 03, 2015 at 15:06:47 from 24.92.19.68

Thanks for the company this morning Mike. I definitely needed it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.130.0012.13

AM: very slow

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.130.0020.13

AM: 20 miles with Drew, Quint, and Charles spent running through a couple of Easter assemblies and causing general debauchery. Mostly quicker, bringing the pace down into the 6s for a couple of miles. Did not feel good, but happy I did it.

Charles and Quint are looking strong for their marathon! Excited for them to maybe PR.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.000.003.00

PM: warmup the miles on the treadmill, then worked out: leg day and did tris, chest, and shoulders.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.204.0010.20

PM: track workout 2 ish mile warmup, then we decided on 2 sets of 4 x 800s with 200 recovery between items and 400 recovery jogs between sets. I probably should have done the initially scheduled workout, as my hips were really feeling it today so the speed was probably not the best choice. I need to figure out a better day to work on legs than Mondays.

Splits: 2:38, 2:39, 2:34, 2:30, 2:34, 2:33, 2:35, 2:38, 2:36. I really tried to focus today on doing the first lap quick so I would feel tired and struggle slightly for lap 2. My goal is to be able to push through some pain on Friday and hopefully earn a PR time. After talking with Drew about my goal time, I think that struggle might be where I can pick up the seconds that I think I'll need. Guess we'll see! Either way, it will be great for training and exciting to put myself out there on the line.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.100.0012.10

PM: had to make it all the way until 7:45 until I could run. Coaching districts for track. Reminder to myself to never run the discus event ever again. 2 and a half hours- so tiring and got no fitness in.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.310.006.31

PM: a couple of miles and striders after our last track meet (districts) of the year. Guys went undefeated for the fourth year/season in a row! Girls... Not so much...

Feeling sore now that I'm entering my race day tomorrow, but will try to keep reminding myself to just have fun and not worry about ot too much.

Race: Bradenton Marauders Pirates & princesses 5k (3.107 Miles) 00:16:23, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.153.118.26

Disappointing, hot, and tiring. Winning was cool although!

Comments
From Drew on Sat, Apr 11, 2015 at 18:46:26 from 24.92.19.68

Succinct, Mike. I like it!

No doubt you can run faster than 16:23. Keep in mind though:

A) That's an impressive time, period.

B) Running that time with no one to push you is extra hard.

C) You're over a minute faster than last year - going from 17:30+ to low 16s is a BIG step.

Congrats on a strong win.

From Mike on Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 06:34:17 from 168.213.7.118

Thanks Drew! I appreciate your helping to keep it in perspective. In the end, I suppose it's good to realize I can work harder. Thank you for the positive words.

From jtshad on Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 13:01:58 from 141.221.191.225

Congrats on the win. I agree, very good time!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.030.0012.03

AM: run in bradenton solo

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.030.0020.03

Noon: 4 miles

PM: 16 miles

Humid and hot would be a kind way to describe today.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.510.0011.51

PM: 11+ miles. I needed a run like this- felt good, felt smooth, felt strong. Fun run!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.914.2510.16

PM: track workout with Drew and Lee. 14x400s, ended up being 15x400s. Descending rest starting at 1:30 between items spent jogging/walking, stagnating at 60 seconds, then descending in 10 second increments down to 10 seconds between the last 2 items. We accidentally did 1 too many according to my watch, which was a nice surprise since I didn't even notice. Wanted to speed up on each one all the way to the end. Felt very strong by the end of it, so I guess it's a confidence booster. Lee and Drew hung back again this week, but I appreciated the extra rest on a day like this, that's for sure.

Splits: 1:26.7, 1:24.4, 1:20.3, 1:20.6, 1:17.8, 1:16.9, 1:14.9,1:14.8, 1.16.7, 1:15.6, 1:13.9, 1:11.3, 1:12.4, 1:12.4, 1:11.0

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Apr 15, 2015 at 17:57:15 from 24.92.19.68

I promise this will not become a pattern. :)

I took off quickly to bring home a Chipotle feast, so I didn't get to reinforce how great you ran that workout.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.560.008.56

PM: 8+ miles very slow

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.662.507.16

AM: Track workout with Dow, Rick, and company.  3 sets of 4 x 300s, 1 set of 3 x 150s.  100 recovery between items, 400 recovery between sets.  A lot of standing around before items/sets, little continuity which allowed for extra rest.  I don't like having the extra recovery and had too much left at the end.

 

Set1: 53.0, 49.7, 50.4, 49.2,

Set 2: 50.0, 49.4, 48.5, 49.6,

Set 3: 50.0, 48.2, 43.9, 45.5,

Set 4: (150s): 25.0, 20.2, 21.0  (supposed to be 4 repeats, but we only did 3)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Day off.  Definitely needed it.  Cue the running withdrawals throughout the day...

Race: Ryan's Run 4-miler relay (1 Miles) 00:04:38
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.001.008.00

Ran the opening mile leg for a 4-mile relay/race event for a charity. Our team changed a lot in the past week, losing our only other guy in 5:00 shape and he got replaced by an 8-minute miler unbeknown to me... so I wanted to go first leg instead of the last leg as originally planned, so I'd be able to have runners around me to run against. I started out fast and just tried to hold on. It was over in a flash and the baton was handed off. Proud of my run today, as I've never raced a mile before in a competition. The run was a lot of fun, and man that is a fast race. It's fun to try something new.

Estimated splits:

1st quarter: 1:06

2nd quarter: 1:10

3rd quarter: 1:13

4th quarter: 1:09

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.100.002.10

AM: 2 miles warmup, not what I wanted with today as I was forced out of a long run, but then got in a good workout at the gym- arms, back, and abs. The scheduled cleared itself in the PM, so I think a bike ride is in order.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.550.0012.55

PM: was hoping that taking Sunday off would allow me to heal, but I definitely have an injury to my peroneus tendon area. Started early and progressed throughout the run. Started feeling it on Thursday morning.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.253.007.25

PM: track workout- 4x 1 mile workout with 400 rest between items. Completed through the third mile before bailing. Even tried being cautious on them. Oh well. Tendon on my right foot was feeling it bad. Worried about my race on Saturday (half marathon).

Mile 1: 5:41

Mile 2: 5:38

Mile 3: 5:30

Mile 4: disappointment lol

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- rest day

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- rest day

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- rest day. Feeling worried.

Race: Lake Minneola Half Marathon (13.54 Miles) 01:27:00, Place overall: 5
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.6013.5414.14

This will be a sad race report. Had a Peroneus\Achilles injury show up quicker than expected at Mile 2. Wanted to quit for the first time ever, but just kept plugging along, wanting to quit and not doing it. I'm an idiot for continuing and hurting myself further, and probably shouldn't have started. That said, I'm proud I didn't quit. That DNF would have hurt more than anything. I credit the supportive runners in today's race for getting me through this one.

Comments
From jtshad on Sat, Apr 25, 2015 at 10:12:12 from 69.20.183.178

Sorry about the injury, not fun. Get healed up quickly.

From Mike on Sat, Apr 25, 2015 at 14:19:06 from 66.102.7.219

Hey thank you, I hope so too. :)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.  Started workout regimen to compensate for the break- Push, pull, core.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.  Tried a light run of a couple of steps, still a lot of pain.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Injury- right foot, acl/peroneal related.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.000.001.00

PM: pulls and abs.  Ran my first mile back insanely slow.  Felt very sore.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

PM: pushes and abs.  Ran for my second day, felt very sore, but not in the spot of injury- fingers crossed.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Planned off day.  PM: pulls and abs.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.060.004.06

PM- Safety Harbor

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

PM: Gym- pulls & abs

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.500.001.50

AM: Gym- pushes & abs

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.250.005.25

AM: Gym- pulls & abs

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

PM: Gym- pushes & abs

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

PM: Gym- pulls & abs

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.580.0010.58

PM- Safety Harbor, hot.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Off day, planned.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.570.007.57

PM: Had some speed-ups.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.510.0011.51

AM, on 60.  Saw all of RunTampa there.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.500.001.50

AM: Gym- pulls & abs

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.010.0010.01

PM: on the causeway, felt very tired on the bridge section

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.530.008.53

PM: Safety Harbor

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.120.008.12

PM: Safety Harbor, with 5 striders

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.500.001.50

PM: run warmup followed by chest and tris

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Felt it again, sadly. Took the day off.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.500.001.50

PM: run warmup followed by arms and back

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.252.008.25

PM: missed morning track, and decided to do a treadmill run to maintain my form to keep an eye on my achilles area. Did a progressive run down to 6:00mpm and just focused on my form.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.630.006.63

PM: Ran after school. Did 5 striders. Still feeling achey.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.253.009.25

PM: track workout, first one in over a month! Warmup, 1x800, 90 second recovery (moving), 1xmile, 90 second rest, 1x800, 5 minute rest (recovered 1 lap during), repeat all 3 items. I did better than I expected. I was very conservative, and gradually sped up. I will try a similar approach next week. We opted for the shorter workout, which was appreciated.

Splits: 3:00, 5:57, 2:55, rest, 2:50, 5:13, 2:40ish

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

PM: light run on treadmill followed by legs, arms, and back, followed by light run outside. Could feel the injury a little today, but not necessarily a bad thing.

Happy National Running Day!!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Off day, did some let stretching.  Could feel the achilles, but seemed as if it was just nominal soreness.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.000.0012.00

PM (noon): Run with Drew and Quint- missed it a lot (10.45 miles).  They both look in great shape, so I was thankful it was just a mileage run for them.  Definitely needed more sunblock.  Noob is right!

PM (6pm): Warmup run (1.55 miles), then Chest and tris.  The dips felt much cleaner today.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.800.001.80

AM: Warm-up run, followed by arms and back.  Twinge in my back afterwards.  Note to self to work on my form picking up the weights.

PM: 

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.500.0016.50

AM: Started a little before everyone this morning, as I was nervous they were going to have some speed planned so I'd need a warmup.  I don't know how they can all start at that 7:00/mi b.s.- my body takes a mile or two to get going, and I'm one of the younger ones.  Although it was quicker for a long run (7:29/mi overall average pace), it really wasn't too bad.  I liked the slightly quicker long runs anyway, since I feel it decreases the amount of time I'm spending pounding down on my feet.  Especially getting back from an injury.  I still feel the achilles/peroneal, but it has remained stagnant and manageable as far as soreness/pain is concerned.  

A lot of new runners out there today.  Charles had some cramps about a quarter mile from the finish, so I ended up running back to grab some water, gu, towels, and my car and then stayed with him as his cramps got better for about an hour or so.  It was nice to catch up with him.  Leaving my lights and flashers on in my car was a bad idea as I waited for Charles, but fortunately Val, who was running with the forerunners, was there to help jumpstart my car.  Interesting morning to say the least.  Nice little meetcute as well- need to let my battery die more often... 

All said and done, I ran too long today, but I can take it easy tomorrow.  I really missed running with that group, and it was nice to see so many runners out this morning.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.060.0010.06

AM: 1 mile warmup, then chest & tris.  Did not do dips today, taking it easy with them.  Back is feeling a little better.

PM (noon): 8 miles with Drew and Quint,  then 1 mile solo afterwards to work on form.  Ended up getting my foot caught in a couple ditches, so it probably ended up making my form suck more.  Yey.

 

 

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.053.5012.55

AM: 2 miles to get loose, then gym- arms, back, and lower back. I really sometimes think that I have the back of a 90-year old man.

PM: track time. Workout was: 4x400, 3x800, 4x400, with 200 rest in between items and 400 between the sets. I didn't wear a watch, which was sadly not due to design, but due to stupidity. When I got home my running gear backpack containing my watch laid glaring at me in the corner- and nobody puts baby in the corner. We cried, had a moment, and I think the backpack and I are on good terms now.

Splits: ?

?

?

?

Bueller?

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 03:18:37 from 173.171.218.92

It's really good to have you back Mike. You looked great out there.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.010.008.01

PM (noon):  Was awoken to messages of running at midday with Quint and Drew.  Slowly worked myself out of bed to begin adulting for the day.  Storms held off which increased the humidity and the asphalt radiated heat, causing me to perspire... or cry... or both?  Anyway, I survived, and now it's time for a nap, a book, and then to pretend I'm a hockey fan.  What's icing again?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.110.008.11

PM (noon): 8 miles.  Slow and steady... loses the race.  But feels better on the joints... starting to feel better.  Tomorrow will be undoubtably important to come out of feeling healthy.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.533.0012.53

AM (9:30): Ran a warmup around the whole 5k course at Al Lopez Park, then did 2 x 1.5miles staggered start with 5ish minutes of rest in between.  Loved this workout even if my times were nothing special.  I think running with staggered start was a great motivator.  Ran with Drew, Charles, and Quint.  

Splits: 1)  8:19,   2) 7:59,   I did not sprint the ends of either one, and tried to stay nice and steady throughout, which was tough with intermittent gps input.

 

 

PM: Warm-up run and then chest, shoulders, tris, and dips.  Changed the order of muscles and tried upping the weight in every area today.  Went well surprisingly, so I went easy on the shoulders at the end.  

 

Now time to go watch Lee race in the rain!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Day off, traveling

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.200.0012.20

AM: solo run in CT with hills

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.010.008.01

PM: decided to run when I got into Auburn, New York and just tried to see what I could see. Quaint, industrious little place. I enjoyed it, and the finger lakes are beautiful.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.213.0013.21

PM: track workout around 12pm. 75 degrees, rainy/windy, but I'll take it if it's 75 degrees!

Workout: 12x400s. 400 with 200 active recovery in between items, 400 active recovery between sets, 4 items in each set. Felt good. Clearly had too much left at the end, but that's helpful with my confidence. Felt like I should do another set at the end of it, but I think I made a good decision stopping- I was tired on the run home.

Set 1 splits- 1:19, 1:19, 1:16, 1:17

Set 2 splits- 1:15, 1:16, 1:15, 1:16

Set 3 splits- 1:18, 1:16, 1:12, 1:10

PM: went to Niagara Falls this afternoon, couldn't help but want to get in a run/hike/climb. About 3 miles.

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 08:17:54 from 24.73.66.122

Nice workout, and yes, I'm jealous.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.620.009.62

AM: unintentionally longer run. I got lost and was just enjoying it, so I ran to one of the finger lakes for fun, then mosied home.

Comments
From Drew on Fri, Jun 19, 2015 at 04:43:04 from 173.171.218.92

We miss you out here Mike.

We went on a family trip to Lake Seneca a few years ago. It was beautiful, but pretty cold. I'd love to go in the summer.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.030.0011.03

PM: ran, then learned to play/got my ass whooped playing field hockey with Nicole. Then finished up my run back to where I was staying at the Finger Lakes (NY). The last mile the skies opened up for a pretty fun downpour which, in 75 degree weather honestly makes for an awesome run experience. Days like this make me love running.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.230.006.23

PM: after the baseball hall of fame, I decided to go for a little run in Cooperstown. Very hot, but I know better than to truly complain.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.066.0011.06

I wasn't planning on running today since I am headed to Deep River, CT in the morning, but I woke up and couldn't sleep so figured I go have some fun. I decided to make it into a workout/tempo hybrid. The goal was a 3.5 mile warmup, then a 1 mile, jog recovery 3-5 minutes, 2 miles, recovery 3-5 minute jog, then 3 miles, with a short cool down afterwards. I was hoping to just keep them all under 6:00 minutes per mile and speed up each mile, so it went pretty well given the meager goal. It was kind of hilly and had some streets to cross, so I wasn't sure if I should do a higher goal than that.

Workout 1-2-3

Splits are for each mile.

1 mile set split: 5:50

2 mile set splits: 5:44, 5:35

3 mile set splits: 5:57, 5:51, 5:40

Very happy with this, and hopefully will take it easy tomorrow!

Comments
From Drew on Sat, Jun 20, 2015 at 09:18:20 from 173.171.218.92

Nice workout Mike! We should try to integrate something like that into a long run when you get back.

From Mike on Sat, Jun 20, 2015 at 12:58:08 from 66.249.83.156

Yeah thanks! It was absolutely worth it. It felt nice that it got more challenging as I went on with the workout as the distance increased. Made the workout fly by.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Rained heavy all morning and we were on the boat all day = no time to run for me.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.014.5020.51

AM: first real long run back. After missing yesterday I was dreaming of getting on the trail and doing some running all day. Also, with my local running buddies doing some racing this weekend, I was feeling particularly inspired. That being said, I made this more into a progressive run with some twists. I would run each set of 5-mile sessions (4 sets) progressively faster, and then during the last 3.1 (5k), during miles 17 to 20, I would run my only timed goal of a sub-20 5k pace. This was nice since it allowed me to focus on keeping my form and not on making sure the watch said any numbers in particular, as long as I hit my goal after each set. Surprisingly, although it continued to get harder this workout was a ton of fun!

"Workout": 4 x 5miles, progressive, no recovery.

Set 1 (5 miles): 39:56 (hills)

Set 2 (5 miles): 36:45 (hills)

Set 3 (5 miles): 35:19 (flat)

Set 4 (5 miles): 32:13 (flat), with final 5k in 19:36.

Cooldown 0.5 miles

It certainly was a challenge since I'm used to stopping a bit on long runs with a group, but since I was solo in this one, aside from a quick take on my stashed water bottle at mile 10, I didn't stop except for letting a car pass in front of me. It felt good to experience that uncomfortable feeling with my endurance that I regularly get with speed work. A fun variation of this might be splitting it into 5ks which I might try.

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 06:52:08 from 173.171.218.92

Hey Mike- that's a really interesting approach to getting in quality on a long run - I like it! When you get back, I'd be up for this or the 5k variation.

From Mike on Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 13:22:46 from 65.96.105.243

Yeah, I really think it was beneficial, and if we can get the speed right, it can be good training. Can't wait to try something similar again!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.340.0012.34

AM: trail run

PM: trail run

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.704.0010.70

AM: track workout. Did a warmup on some neighboring trails/streets then got into it. It's amazing to always know there's a track relatively close by wherever you go.

Workout: 16x 400, with 4 items in each set, 200 jog recovery between items and 400 jog recovery between sets. I usually only get 3 sets in, but since it's the same workout I did last week, I had to do something different, right?

Set 1- 1:17, 1:13, 1:12, 1:12

Set 2- 1:13, 1:11, 1:11, 1:13

Set 3- 1:16, 1:14, 1:12, 1:16

Set 4- 1:15, 1:15, 1:14, 1:11

Mile cool-down

Overall, I'm very happy with this. It's notably better than my workout last week and I added a whole set of 4 on top of it. Solo workouts are never easy, but this one met expectations, although, it helps when there is wind, the air is dry, and it's only 80 degrees outside.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.030.009.03

AM run on the trails.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.541.0011.54

PM: what an amazing solo run today. My first time in this town, just decided to map a random preserve and run to it hoping there'd be a trail through the hills/forest up there. Threw on my watch and ran out the door towards where I saw it on the gps. Low and behold, I reached the end of a road after 3 miles and found a place laced with hiking trails. Ups, downs, hard turns, rocks, trees, logs to run over, dry hard packed earth, completely covered by trees, one-person wide, not a single other person seen in the 5.5 miles of trails I ran before deciding I was going to trip on a root from being too tired. What an exuberant, surreal experience. I haven't had miles like that fly by in a long time. The 3 miles mostly downhill back to the waters' edge was just icing.

Not bad for a planned off day. Off day tomorrow maybe...

Comments
From Drew on Fri, Jun 26, 2015 at 17:43:52 from 173.171.218.92

Yeah, you don't see that every day in Tampa Bay. Where are you now, by the way? :)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Busy hiking...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.500.0012.50

AM run WHILE hiking. Tough terrain.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.500.0014.50

AM run WHILE hiking. Tried going fast, just couldn't get my legs to do it!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.150.006.15

AM run WHILE hiking

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.000.0013.00

PM: hiking and running is taking its toll.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.400.008.40

AM: 4

PM: 4

Sneak 'em where I can! Mount Washington bottom to top to bottom tomorrow!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Got to Mount Washington today. Hiking in the white mountains has been cool so far, but this was what I was waiting for. So worth it. Can't believe there were still ice patches on it! Now time to head back to civilization...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.020.0012.02

AM: first real run back after some intense days hiking. I don't know how shit normally feels, but I bet it feels similar to how I felt today.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
19.580.0019.58

AM: 12.5 miles total, 5 on the trail. I ate too much yesterday. We stayed as a family on the boat last night, so I naturally couldn't sleep and was awake at 6... So might as well, run, right?

PM: 7 miles. As I could not stand the confinement of being ln a boat, I went kayaking for 2 hours and hoped that would be enough. It wasn't. I returned and just couldn't take 5 other adults on a boat on a dock, so I scooted out for a run into a neighboring town and back to Deep River.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.010.0010.01

PM: hard to find time the next four days, but got lucky at around 2pm and the rain held off. Tough hills today. Back in CT

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Couldn't find the time, sadly.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.624.009.62

AM: track workout- Full 4-mile ladder

4-mile Ladder workout with ascending/descending recoveries. Warmup on some rolling hills, followed by the workout: 400 then 1min recovery, 800 with 2min, 1200 w/ 3min, 1600 w/ 4min, 1200 then 3 min, 800 then 2 min, then 400 followed by cooldown on the grass. Really was not feeling it today before I even started, and started hearing my hard breaths in the first 1200. Hot, humid, and not windy at the right times. I am fortunate to find time to get the workout in although, as I've been slacking.

400- 1:20

800- 2:32

1200- 3:49

1609 (mile)- 5:01

1200- 3:49

800- 2:33

400- 1:09

Overall, I should have been a lot faster on the shorter stuff and slower on the longer, but I aimed for a goal of 5:00 on the mile section and at least got that. Secondly, 2-min is too much recovery after that last 800, 1-min would be better as I think the 1:09 is more indicative of the recovery as opposed to what I had left. I believe next time I should plan it a little slower. Or maybe do a 3-mile variation, as my fitness isn't quite there yet.

Comments
From Drew on Thu, Jul 09, 2015 at 07:17:14 from 24.73.66.122

Looks like a pretty darn good workout to me, Mike!

Aren't you supposed to be back in Florida???

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Travel day... Busy busy.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.050.0010.05

PM: Noon run with Drew and Quint.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.020.0014.02

AM: Relatively long run on the Upper TB Trail in Tampa.  Ran with Troy and Elias.  Actually, it was a pretty beautiful route, and overall nicer than Pinellas trail.  Lots of tree cover, and really, the highway is not too noticeable if you're in a running trance.  

It was really nice to run with Elias again, although, I felt bad as I think I pulled him a little quicker than he may be used to going and probably a littler farther too.  I didn't really want to go any slower than 8:30s, but we slowly plateaued there and then got slower and slower, and once it it got to 9:30s I really tried to bring him back to a more efficient pace, but eventually had to leave him for the last 2 miles.  That pace overtly taxes my knees, feet, plantar, and legs in general and then doing 2 miles of that and I felt I had run an extra ten miles.  It just doesn't seem like smooth mechanics to shuffle along at that speed and doesn't feel right.  Although we didn't stay at that pace for too long, I don't know how people stay on their feet and impact the ground for so long and so hard when going that pace, it's brutal.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.500.0020.50

AM: Run in St. Pete with Walt, Drew, and Christina.  Mostly around 7:30 pace.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.061.0010.06

PM: Accurate mile at Eagle Lake Park "race."  Hot and humid, but I wasn't worried since a mile isn't long at all.  It was with KLRs racing team and there were about 100 or so people.  I ran/raced today with Lee for the first time that I can remember.  He led the way for the first 8/10 of the mile with me sitting on his shoulder.  I felt really sluggish throughout, but I just stuck right on his shoulder and he didn't really deviate from the pace except for a couple of slow downs which I fought a lot with myself for not trying to get in front, but I did not want to take a wrong turn on the trail.  This meant I had quite a bit left at the end which was an odd feeling for a short race.  When I saw the end coming up I figured I was going to pass him and stay in front since he has no confidence in his finishing speed but was excited to race and see, but I was sad to see him not speed up with me- I know he could have.  I really think he could if he just decided to try it.  That part kind of took away from the thrill a little bit, as that's the fun part of racing, especially when getting beat by someone.

Anyway, I picked up about 5 seconds on him pretty quickly and then just coasted in the last 10th of a mile since he didn't want to follow I guess.  I suppose if anything it lets me know I'm getting in decent shape.  

Final time: 4:45 flat.

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Jul 14, 2015 at 07:41:44 from 173.171.218.92

Nice mile, Mike! Maybe you'll take it easy on me tonight now.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.383.0010.38

PM: Track workout with Lee and Drew and a couple of others.  Got to see Charles and talk to him a little bit about his trip, but still had thousands of questions- guess a long run is in order  :)

Workout was two sets of three 800s, with 200 rest in between items and 400 in between the two sets.  Normally four items in each should be in order, but I'm VERY happy it was only three.  I was lucky to have Drew on this one, as I wanted to quit on item 5, but just seeing him up there was reinvigorating enough to get me to finish the last two.  There's something about competition that is just essential in track workouts, and it makes me actually enjoy them when all is said and done.  I somehow got roped into a religious conversation which was overwhelming.  I should know better than to open my mouth about things I don't know a lot about.  Lesson learned!

800 splits-   2:38, 2:30, 2:29, 2:29, 2:34, 2:37

Although, Drew, you need to start sharing your motivational internal music with me a little earlier... ;)

 

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Jul 15, 2015 at 03:32:44 from 173.171.218.92

Will do Mike, but buyer beware ... the song I had going in my head last night was pretty OK ... but sometimes the wrong thing gets stuck.

I did a long run a couple years ago with this flea collar jingle on endless repeat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1umbFOLztAw

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Mega-rain in PM coupled with work training caused me to forego running. Not the best decision.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Lightning in AM, mega-rain in PM coupled with work training caused me to forego running. Probably a good idea with a hard workout tomorrow planned in the AM.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.274.2511.52

Early AM: workout scrapped for me anyway. Made it to Vinoy and drowned my car in a flood. This is a real low point in my training and effort. Planned on bailing on the rest of the day with exercise.

Late AM: became stir-crazy around 11:30 in my apartment and decided to go out and try the workout planned anyway. The workout was a 4-3-2-1 with half mile rests in between, with descending mile splits in each set of 5:55, 5:45, 5:35, then 5:25. I made it through the first set and just bailed. It was hot out, but I was within my capabilities to at least do the 3 mile section, but I got through about a quarter of a mile of the second set and just didn't have it mentally. The time of day was a poor choice, but my mindset was even poorer.

Splits for the 4 mile section: 6:01, 5:51, 5:54, 5:55

Splits for the rest: lol. No.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.010.0014.01

AM: 11 miles.  Planned on running with a big group in Safety Harbor to get out of this funk, and set my alarm, but also my phone to "no interruptions" as well, so woke up at 6:30, which is 30 minutes after they start. Severely pissed at this point, I tried to just go back to sleep, but couldn't. Eventually around 8:00 I got going and did a little some mileage.

PM: 3 miles and gym- Arms, back, abs.

Comments
From Drew on Sat, Jul 18, 2015 at 18:38:08 from 173.171.218.92

Sounds like you've got a bad luck streak going.

I'll be in touch tomorrow - I'm off Monday, maybe we can coordinate something.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.320.0014.32

AM: 7 miles solo

PM: noon, 7 miles solo in a nice downpour

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.070.0014.07

AM: point to point from Rocky Point to the end of The yacht club on Davis Island. Kept it quicker and had 2 detours for water at Marjorie Park and the ghetto beach. 7:30 average pace.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.822.3015.12

AM: treadmill 4.5 miles with 6 good striders to warm my legs up. Planning on doing a little speed work later, so hopefully it helps get me springy and ready.

Then gym: chest, tris, shoulders

PM: track 10.5 miles, 2 miles of hard running. Workout was 4x200, 4x400, 4x200 with 400 jog between all items. Drew, Jim, Charles, and Hunter ran. Drew did his own thing, Jim and Charles stayed with us through the first 400, and Hunter stayed with me for all of the items.

Splits-

(200s) 31.5, 31.6, 32.0, 29.9

(400s) 1:07, 1:06, 1:09, 1:08

(200s) 32.9, 30.9, 31.2, 28.0

Square tracks are terrible for these types of workouts.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.256.0021.25

AM: Ran with Christina who was nice enough to come meet me on 60 as I am carless at the moment.  Did a 2 mile warmup then followed with her workout: 3 x 2 miles with 400m jog/rest in between.  Her goal was to stay in between 6:15-6:25 so I kept that for her for as long as she wanted.  In the end, we decided to try and hit 6:30s on the last two.  I'm never really too sure what to do pacing-wise when I'm out in front and the pace slows behind me, so hopefully it was beneficial for her.

1st set-  6:10, 6:15  

2nd set-  6:18, 6:21 

3rd set-  6:30, 6:48 

PM: 9 miles, a couple with Drew

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.320.0012.32

AM: 9+ miles with Drew and Quint. Had a really rough run on this day- MI of 88 + 77

PM: 3 miles on treadmill then back, lats, bis, core. I love air conditioning.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.050.002.05

AM: couple miles warming up on the treadmill, then gym 5x5 tris, chest, shoulders with burnouts.

PM: thunderstorms so no running.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.020.0014.02

AM: early morning run with RunTampa. Ran solo though, sadly, on the actual running part.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
19.003.0022.00

AM: Long, structured run with Drew and Christina (for about 10 miles) in St. Pete.  

 

Mile warm up, then 14 consecutive within a range of 6:46-6:55, followed by what was supposed to be 6 miles at 5:55 pace, but I couldn't hold.  I made it through the first 3 miles and called it quits.  Last 3 miles: 7:26, 6:58, 7:08.  Followed with an (eventual) cool down mile after waiting/finding Drew for about 10 minutes- need to work on my direction skills!

I was initially disappointed in not finishing well, but I will get there, and appreciated the workout and challenge, even if I didn't get it done.  Fun stuff and excited for the fitness that will come from this.  

Joe was the most helpful today, even for the most brief moment that I saw him- he saw me loping around during the 7:26 mile and I said "hey!" and went to high five him, but he just told me to "go get up there", which in retrospect is something I needed and need moving forward.  Failure happens, but being comfortable with it should not.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.150.0010.15

AM: Rainy run with Quint and Drew on 60.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.005.0011.00

PM: track "wave" workout. Alternating 800s @ marathon pace then @ 10k pace, rinse and repeat and run consecutively for 5 miles. Ran solo for most of it. Fortunately weather was much more ideal than expected: middle 80s, partly cloudy. Entered it aiming for 3:10/2:45 alternating paces which are 6:20/5:30 mile paces.

Splits:

MP 1- 3:11

10k 1- 2:45

MP 2- 3:03

10k 2- 2:45

MP 3- 3:03

10k 3- 2:47

MP 4- 3:05

10k 4- 2:40

MP 5- 3:10

10k 5- 2:36

I definitely mis-estimated my initial paces, but it was nice to hit paces I don't usually run at and practice managing them. It was a spurt of the moment decision to do the workout anyway, so I'm not surprised at the mis-estimate. I should listen to my teammates more next time.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.070.0010.07

AM: run in westshore with Quint and Drew. Felt miserable.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.004.009.00

AM: track workout in Safety Harbor with Dan and his team. Another guy, Bobby, was with us for a couple of them too.

The workout was 1 set of 8x800 with 400 recovery.

Item 1- 2:40

Item 2- 2:32

Item 3- 2:34

Item 4- 2:33

Item 5- 2:32

Item 6- 2:30

Item 7- 2:24

Item 8- 2:21

Overall, just too much rest in between items to stick to the times I started with/aimed at. There was a little waiting on the line, so I should have adjusted much earlier than just the last 3 items and shot for 2:30s. Temperature was great (mid 80s), humidity not bad, and time of day (6am) made it an easier workout. Was great running with Dan again. Really just a stand-up, awesome person.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.140.0010.14

AM: run with Drew averaging 7:10-7:30. Raining, cloudy, lower 80s.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.560.005.56

PM: on my feet all day moving, so went out in the rain for a run in East Lake for the first time. My legs were tired.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.7016.0019.70

AM: long, structured run with Drew in downtown St. Pete. Goal for me was to run a total of 18 miles with a 15mile tempo at 6:45 pace. I kind of talked myself up from 10, then to 12, then 15, and eventually finished with 16 at close to MP. I'm my own worst enemy with peer pressure.

Splits

6:53, 6:40, 6:45, 6:48, 6:48, 6:45, 6:52, 6:50, 7:39, 6:54, 6:52, 6:59, 6:25, 6:39, 6:39, 6:34

Not so sure about that 7:39, but that may have been from when we met up at Demens? My watch was having a very bad day today overall, so who knows. Even with that weird mile I was averaging 6:49, which isn't too bad, and the last couple felt good and quick.

Cool down miles were rough at the end. Downpouring and tired legs are not a good combo.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

AM: rained out. Gym treadmill busted.

PM: 11 miles solo in the floods/ John Chestnut Park.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.004.0015.00

AM: 6 miles solo, East Lake.

PM: "Track" was on the treadmill today. Workout I chose was one I had been thinking about doing for a while now as a 5k specific training session. Workout was: 2.25 mile warmup, 400, (2 minute rest), mile, (4 minute rest), 4x1000, 400, then a 2 mile cooldown. Quarter mile recovery jog between each of the last 5 items. The goal was to stay fast and not decrease speed on any item.

400- 1:30

Mile- 4:59

1st 1000- 3:05 (4:58 pace)

2nd 1000- 3:05 (4:58 pace)

3rd 1000- 3:05 (4:58 pace)

4th 1000- 3:03 (4:55 pace)

400- 1:12 (4:50 pace)

Treadmill makes hitting splits a breeze and also made sure I didn't do any sprinting at the end. It felt really nice to NOT do a workout in the blazing heat or rain. I don't think this workout means anything at the moment for upcoming races, but it's a good sign for the winter season.

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Aug 04, 2015 at 18:18:43 from 173.171.218.92

Nice workout Mike - we really need to do this one in the fall or winter.

If you can hit those splits on the track, that would definitely indicate sub-16 in my mind, probably closer to 15:45.

From Mike on Thu, Aug 06, 2015 at 15:14:45 from 66.249.88.173

Thanks! I really think it was a great workout to try out. The 400s on either end may not be too necessary. Remind me next time a less useful workout comes up at track and we can try this one instead.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.130.0011.13

AM: 5 miles solo, treadmill

PM: 6 miles solo, Palm Harbor

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.703.007.70

AM: Track workout in Safety Harbor with RunVie.

I got a ride from Rick, thankfully, as he lives nearby. Workout was 4x1200s with each 1200 consisting of 6 alternating 200s at hmp and 5k pace, followed by active recovery. I aimed for 43-45 and 38-40 respectively. Managing paces for 200m I learned is incredibly difficult, and this was a challenging workout simply for trying to get the paces right. I found this very beneficial not for the work I did, but moreso for managing my form, arm carriage, and noticing how to change paces and "sit" in them. I had a great conversation with Dan about how he likes to use this tactic in races like 10k's where the pace is in between as a strategy to get ahead of someone but not burn out. I suppose if you've been racing 30 years like he has, you might actually be able to consciously think about strategy during a race as opposed to drooling and worrying about toilets like the rest of us!

Splits (were a mess)-

Set- HM, 5K, HM, 5k, HM, 5k

Set 1- 45, 41, 45, 39, 47, 38

Set 2- 43, 38, 45, 38, 42, 38

Set 3- 43, 38, 46, 38, 46, 37

Set 4- 40, 37, 43, 38, 45, 37

3 miles was just right for this workout with the hard one I did on Tuesday.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.000.009.00

AM: 9 miles on the treadmill.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.730.0010.73

PM:  Rain run.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.541.5011.04

AM: 4 miles on treadmill. Them weights: chest, tris, shoulders

PM: warmup then 5-mile Fartlek. Very underrated workout. Need to do more of these...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.100.0015.10

AM: 10 miles in John Chestnut

 

PM:5 miles to check out the new job- man I live close... for better or worse.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.681.7511.43

AM: Track workout.  Light workout given my high intensity workouts scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.  No watch, just a track and 5k race pace speeding up as I went along to strider speed to finish the last 3.  Workout was: 3x200, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, 100 with 100-200m jog in between each item.  The last three items I did at strider pace, not sprinting.  Pace was at 5:10-5:15 for the first item according to those running near me, and then I just went by feel trying to mimic it.  

So, today was different.  Woke up at 3:30am and couldn't sleep, and decided to join RunVie for their 5:30am Tuesday track run which I've never been to.  I got there and only recognized 3 people and only really knew 1 of them and no one at my pace, so that was a tough start.  At the end of the workout, I felt as if I could do more and faster, which was what I wanted to feel after, but I'm very surprisingly feeling quite sore in my feet/achilles, which is usually a bad sign for me.  The plan is still to do both 5ks this weekend, but I suppose my body dictates what actually happens.  I'll try a shakeout later today likely and/or take a day off.  

 

PM: 5.5 miles in JC park. Still felt it, but hopefully this helped.

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 06:57:30 from 173.171.218.92

First my selfish reaction,...*weeping to not have you around for mile repeats*...

Not a bad idea to get some speed work in earlier, and that sounds like a really good workout to sharpen up for the 5ks.

I really hope the soreness turns out to be nothing. I'm on the fence about running Saturday myself at this point. Will decide by tomorrow.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.000.0012.00

AM: 4 miles on the treadmill then chest, tris, shoulders.

PM: 8 miles.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Planned day off. First day back to work!

Comments
From Drew on Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 18:33:48 from 173.171.218.92

Hope it's a good start to the school year.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.060.008.06

PM: 8 miles, 7 striders

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.200.005.20

AM: 5 miles, a couple of striders (6).

PM: Likely skipping the track 5k. Game time decision I guess. I suppose in the end I want to be very healthy for the winter, and I am starting to learn my body now entering my 7th year of running (it'll be 6 years ago on Tuesday since I started! Happy run birthday to me!), Therefore, I can kind of tell running two hard 5k races in 12 hours isn't the best idea at least currently. Although it'd be nice and more mangeable to PR on a race with tons of faster runners and a rubber track, on the other hand it's the dead of summer in Florida. In other words, I'd be a fool to expect to run a top-notch race with such heat, humidity, and dewpoint.

I am feeling much more relaxed with this decision and can chase a PR later on in the season and can just have fun tomorrow 's road 5k instead. Fortunately, tomorrow's course is probably the only truly accurate one in the series, so at least I can gauge my fitness a bit and start comparing some numbers to last year to update my expectations for my half and marathon coming up.

Race: Sea Dog Brewery 5k (3.107 Miles) 00:16:15, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.003.117.11

Race season begins again! This was a local 5k with 440 people total doing it, so pretty small, but a pretty great after-party. This was my third year in a row doing it, so I knew the course quite well- an out and back with fifteen or so 90-degree turns. I didn't see any runners I knew and then all of a sudden Nick Miehe pops out of nowhere, possibly the last person I'd expect at a 5k road race. I knew I wasn't in his class if he was in shape, but I was excited to hang on for fun as long as I could. I took the first mile in 5:09, and wondered why he was not about 5-10 seconds ahead of me, so I looked back and saw him about 30 seconds back with 2 other guys. I was utterly shocked. Mile 1.5 clicked through at the same exact pace, and turned around and fortunately saw them about 45 seconds back. I was grateful for this as my legs were slowly cramping. I didn't realize it at the time, but he was apparently running with his dog, so that explains the 17:41 finish. The rest of the race was taxing in the sun and (un)fortunately at the end- as I wasn't close enough to break 16 to worry about breaking it- I didn't have to do any sprinting or speed up at all. I was very thankful for that as I had some terrible leg cramps by that point. It ended up being a weeny PR, slicing a couple extra seconds off, so that's always nice.

I really don't understand this cramping issue I continue to battle in races, and seemingly races only. During the cooldown I was literally limping for the first mile until my heart rate dropped. This cramping happened last year and the year before that in this exact same race, and likely will happen in the 10k race in a month- as it has happened the last two years there, too. I'm guessing it's overheating related at this point, but I don't know for sure, just that it tends to be the most severe in summer races.

Rough Splits (poor gps)

Mile 1- 5:09

Mile 2- 5:20

Mile 3- 5:24

Finish- 0:22

Comments
From Drew on Mon, Aug 17, 2015 at 11:54:38 from 24.73.66.122

Great race, Mike, and congrats on the solo PR! You'll be running sub-16 this season.

That is strange about the cramping, in races only. You feel that you hydrate enough beforehand?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.000.0012.00

PM: 12 miles

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.904.1010.00

PM: track workout in St. Pete. Workout called for 600 repeats. I joined in with Drew, Quint, and Cory for the last half of their bridge/hill repeats. Workout called for: 2 sets of 5x600s with 200m in between items and 400m between the two sets. The "hills" after were approximately 0.1mi with the downhill being the recovery. All active recoveries.

Splits

Set 1- 1:55, 1:51, 1:54, 1:52, 1:45

Set 2- 2:00, 2:03, 1:57, ------, ------

Bridge inclines:31, :26, :25, :24, :22

Went way too fast in the first set. Wanted to keep them around 1:55, but the high schoolers kept challenging those paces at different times, and I just couldn't help being competitive. The 1:45 really did me in. Bailed on the final two and join the hills to get some form and quad work in,

I FINALLY got my friend Cory to make it out to track. Ideally he will come every Tuesday. Now if only I can convince Tyler to join we'd have something going... Drew is understandbly focused on doing marathon specific stuff, so I am trying to stop being lazy with my workouts as they're mostly solo. We'll see.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.100.0011.10

PM: 11 miles in the sun. Gotta work that tan...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.003.009.00

AM: track workout in Safety Harbor with RunVie. Workout was intended to be something Dan called a "flush out." No idea what the hell that means, but he's been doing track forever...

1200, 2x400, 800, 3x200, 600, 4x200, with 400 active recovery between long items, 200 between short items, descending speed starting at 10k pace, then 5k, then 3k, then mile pace.

My paces started at 5:30 per mile and then dropped eventually to 4:20 or so. Just not useful speeds overall, as my fitness can't match those in a correct workout. Still entirely too much rest in between items, so I just kept jogging extra which is just giving too much recovery... Enough to turn an 8.25 mile intended workout into 9 miles... Next week I plan on just keeping the correct speed for a longer time and then returning to the group to get the same "time-spent-working-hard" benefit I'm clearly cheating myself out of. I'm disappointed I wasted this workout, but hopefully, finally, learned something from it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No running today.  Helped a friend move.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.250.0011.25

AM: solo run. Need new shoes.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.006.0014.00

AM: Was expecting to do about 20-22 miles today, with ideally 10 fast miles at around 5:55 pace after a couple miles of warmup.  Got through about 6 and thought I'd heart out the rest at whatever pace- just if anything to make me learn a lesson.  It was an ill-thought out choice and I threw in the towel after 8.  Also unforutunately had to have Drew drive me back to my vehicle at the halfway mark which was forever away.  Although I'm very thankful- it would have been a terrible waddle back...

Splits for the "10 miles"

(3 mile warmup), 5:51, 5:52, 5:53, 5:55, 5:55, 5:59, 6:23, 6:40, xxx, xxx (3 mile cooldown w/ strides)

I just need to work smarter- I wasn't ready for that workout and I need to realize I'm constrained by my fitness I have- not the fitness I think I have- and shouldn't just expect results that I haven't had indicators for.  In the end, I'd rather fail in practice than in the game and thus I'm happy with the 6 miles and it can only help.  Period.

Comments
From Drew on Sun, Aug 23, 2015 at 16:49:53 from 173.171.218.92

Mike - I really appreciate you jumping on board my workout. Like I said, let's compare notes in October when it cools off, because this workout will be well within your fitness. We're almost there, too.

From Mike on Sun, Aug 23, 2015 at 17:46:41 from 24.73.33.200

Thanks man. I definitely will take you up on that!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

PM: 11 tired, slow miles slugging through the heat.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.503.758.25

PM: track workout. 1600, 1200, 2x800, 4x400 with 200 between each similar item and 400 rest between each different item. Splits: 1600- 5:19 1200- 3:55 800s- 2:37, 2:35 400s- 1:18, 1:15, 1:15, 1:12 Hot, humid, gross day. Just trying to descend paces from 5:20 downward. Very lucky to have Drew out there today. I was still feeling Sunday's workout too, sadly. Jim, quint, Charles, and Cory were also welcome additions. News on Sean G is that he is back running 10 miles a day and 20 mile long runs... Tyler should be joining us on Tuesday too, although he's a wildcard but he did run college and he just got out... This is shaping up to be a phenomenal training season for the Fall at this rate!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Too busy with school today.  Stuck there from 7am to 7pm.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.545.0011.54

AM: Track workout.  Workout was honest Yasso 800s- did the full 10x800 with active recovery of about 400m to equal the time of each 800.  Warmup of about 3.5 miles.

Splits- 2:42, 2:42, 2:42, 2:40, 2:41, 2:41, 2:40, 2:39, 2:41, 2:33

This is generally a tough workout since it is so long.  I wanted to be right around 2:40-2:42, and I was very pleased with this workout.  Even the last item did not feel too bad and I didn't reach down too deep for it which I'm happy about.  Everyone bailed as there was lightning (but no rain) a couple of miles away, but I was already geared about after being too busy to run yesterday, so I had to run.  The weather was very humid, so I had doubts about completing the workout however.  Definitely feeling better than on Sunday.  I'm thinking it was the ice cream sundae I had last night.  Good fuel...

Comments
From Drew on Thu, Aug 27, 2015 at 11:34:28 from 24.73.66.122

Nice workout, Mike! I had ice cream last night but missed the performance enhancing syrup/whipped cream - next time...I'll call you Sat., I'm on for Clearwater.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No running, busy busy....

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

PM: first day of coaching, followed by 11 slow miles with a couple of newer runners at noon.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.000.0020.00

AM: Long run on the Clearwater bridges with Drew. Tried to get a bigger group together, but it ended up being just the two of us. The 20 miles flew by and we did about 9 bridge crosses which was a nice fitness challenge. We finished just in time as the last bridge was taxing to say the least. Loved this run, and very happy I got it in with some bridges.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.550.0011.55

PM: So... the heavens opened up today... I can't imagine I've ever been more water-logged.  I'm including pools, the ocean, and every other swimming adventure I've ever gone on.  It felt like a veritable monsoon- and it's Florida, so that's saying something.  I thought I was in that scene in Forrest Gump:

"One day it started raining, and it didn't quit... We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath..."

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.573.5010.07

PM: track. Safety Harbor this time with Cory and Tyler.

Workout was 400s. 5x400, 4x400, 5x400 with 200 active recovery between items and 400 between sets. Figured we'd start at 5:20 pace and work down from there. Tyler only lasted a pair of them, but Cory hung in for the first 10, and the last one which was awesome. Tyler will be there shortly, I'm sure, as a college runner a couple of months removed with a 9:30 two-mile on record. I'm incredibly excited for our winter track workouts now.

Splits:

Set 1- 1:17, 1:17, 1:18, 1:16, 1:19

Set 2- 1:16, 1:17, 1:18, 1:16

Set 3- 1:10, 1:10, 1:10, 1:10, 1:06

Felt really good about the last set. Reached a little too far into the tank for the 1:06 which I will regret Thursday.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

PM: Ran mostly on trail/boardwalk today.  Nice change.

Side note- had a phenomenal day of teaching.  I was just really into it today.  Normally I get very excited and into it, because it makes my students wicked excited, but today was different.  I just had so many positive interactions today that I've been on a real high.  I managed to wane every negative situation and parlay that hedged bet into a positive rapport that hopefully is the basis of some great relationships to come.  

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Sep 02, 2015 at 18:51:55 from 72.29.197.23

That's awesome to read, Mike. There are so many teachers in my life that I can get that by proxy. Awesome when things go that way. I really respect you for what you do. I'm just a cog in the machine. :)

From Mike on Fri, Sep 04, 2015 at 18:29:43 from 24.73.33.200

Hey thank you, that means a lot! However, I'm not to naive to know that we are all just cogs when you truly think about it- so just enjoy the ride, right?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.120.006.12

PM: first day of coaching running! (Coaching adults, anyway)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.010.0011.01

PM: Trail & sidewalk run.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.340.008.34

AM: 8 incredibly slow miles.  Longer night runs followed by morning runs are not the most fun.  Note.  To.  Self.

 

PM: 

Race: The Beer Mile! (1 Miles) 00:07:13, Place overall: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
21.001.0022.00

AM: 20 mile running reunion in St. Pete with a split tempo planned.  Starting at the beginning of mile 8, we dropped the pace down to around 6:54 average (over the course of the next 4 miles), mostly unbeknownced to my running mates.  Then after some quick water, I finished that up and got Sean to sign on to a 6-mile tempo aiming at 6:15 averages.  Hunter ended up joining for a couple and then both eventually dropped out at the beginning of mile 5.  Selfishly I wish they had stayed, but I luckily found a nice groove.  Ended with a 6:14 average which was nice to see.  

What a great run- the miles flew by.  Talking with Sean, Drew, some new girl, and Christina for most of the run was wonderful.  I felt very thankful to be around such a great group of people and friends.  I really can sense some incredibly things for this group in the next couple of years, as long as we stay dedicated.  

 

PM: The Beer Mile!

This was a random discussion on Tuesday during trivia night with my friends where I mentioned and 2 of them were interested.  I then gauged some of my running buddies who I knew were drinkers, and fortunately found some more interest.  So, I planned the private event for Sunday afternoon at 5, and at one people 10 runners were planned.  Eventually only 6 toed the line, but we did have a couple of spectators.  

The course: a 0.25 mile loop around a pond in Clearwater.  Had to find a place away from children and schools... so my options were limited.  This actually ended up being PERFECT.  Interesting course with some weird curves, perfect spot to place beer bottles, and trash cans readily available to throw them out so we didn't litter anything.  The course was surprisingly accurate, and if anything, slowed our overall times because of the curvature.

The rules: Drink a full 12-oz light beer, dump the rest over your head upside down to show it's empty, run a loop.  Repeat 3 more times.  If you vomit at any point or spit the contents, you must run an extra lap that will be added to your time.

The field: 

Me- Was worried since I had a long, strenuous run in the morning whether this was a good idea at all to even attempt.

Alvaro- One of the fittest of the bunch.  Consistent runner, but not sure about his drinking ability coming in- wild card on his beer chugging abilities.  Sub 5-minute miler.

Cory- I thought probably the best drinker in the bunch.  Great sprinter- sub 56 second speed per 400m, so I figured the "drinking breaks" would help him.  Former sub 5-minute miler.

Tyler- Former College track/cross country runner in college.  Good drinker, not sure if he could chug beer.  He hasn't run much since the spring, but he is also a former sub 5-minute miler.

Devin- The only girl brave enough to go for it.  Automatically wins the women's title.  :D

Charles- The tallest, strongest of us all.  Great, consistent runner, and certainly a good drinker.  Thought he would do the best at holding onto the beer and running good times.

The race: With a storm rolling in, we decided we had to start at around 5:20 after about 20 minutes of prep.  I felt bad (sorry Jim!) that a good friend of mine had gotten stuck in some traffic and was still a couple of minutes out, but I had everyone just kind of waiting around, so I just decided to start.  We all started with a beer in hand and the timer began after a small countdown from me.  Unfortunately, Charles had snuck out to help his son with something, and we started accidentally without him (I swear!), so I had to split off a 15 second time for him, as it took that long to get back over and start on his beer, and made a mental note to keep him updated on this.

Beer 1/Lap 1: It was a decent first lap.  Tyler destroyed everyone with the first beer chug with Alvaro and I right behind and we all came in to lap 2 pretty much together.  Cory had already vomited from chugging too quickly and was pretty much just leaving the start line, which made us laugh a bit.  Sorry Cory.  Before beer 2 got much under way, Charles came in and began on beer 2 within 12-13 seconds, meaning he was up 2-3 seconds on the 3 of us.  Lap 2 was rough.  I was already full.  I honestly had no idea where the other 2 beers were going to fit.  The running was surprisingly the easy part, just with a lot of burping.  Beer 3 had Alvaro and I were even again, and Charles rolling in still about 2 seconds ahead of us.  I think he mistook this to mean he had lost time, so he really started going after that beer, so I just decided to take huge gulps and pray it stayed down, which gave me my first lead as I dripped foam onto my head and took off with Alvaro right on me.  Beer 4 was rough.  I really thought I was going to vomit on it as I picked it up.  Alvaro and I glanced at it disgustedly.  Where I was going to fit it I had no idea.  I took one sip and honestly couldn't swallow, so I just sat there for 5 seconds.  Alvaro and I were on the same page I think, and just decided to go for it- hoping not to throw it up.  A couple of huge gulps later, I dumped the empty bottle over my head and took off.  After about 50m, Alvaro's quick cadence quickly caught my attention in my ears and I decided to sprint hard the next 150m and hoped he backed off, since I didn't have much left.  Fortunately, I kept a good clip somehow the rest of the way, and pulled in a couple of seconds ahead of him.

Final rounded times (adjusted for Charles too) from my watch splits, now that I had time to read them all and do the math-

1) Mike- 7:18

2) Alvaro- 7:25

3) Charles- 8:25 (adjusted for start split)

4) Tyler- 9:43 (penalty lap included)

5) Devin- (approx) 30:00

6) Cory- (approx) 35:00? (Penalty lap included)

Final Thoughts: 10/10 would do this again.  Felt terrible, as it progressed, but it is something I'll never forget doing.  Great people great time.  Next time- I'll invite all of my run buddies, make sure the alcohol is 5% (we had Bud light, which is 4.2% I think), and have a designated arrival and start time closer to each other.  Say, 15 minute apart.  Also, no ice or coolers were actually needed, cold water bottles are a must, and available trash cans are as well.  Lastly, demonstrate the dump the empty beer on the head rule before starting.  

 

Comments
From Snakemoney on Tue, Sep 08, 2015 at 00:21:28 from 70.192.66.157

Awesome beer mile race! We were supposed to run one in Maine on the way to Portland but now I found a 5k in South Boston and now we are doing that instead. Save the beer mile for another day. I figure because it is at 1pm on a Saturday + I still have to drive the next 30 mins to Portland....it could ruin the rest of the day (drinking and sight seeing) if I already have 4 beers in me so fast.

Keep up the good work!

From jtshad on Tue, Sep 08, 2015 at 13:27:22 from 141.221.191.225

Too funny. Way to go, champ! Upping the alcohol content though...that is tough!

From Mike on Thu, Sep 10, 2015 at 11:39:51 from 168.213.5.107

Haha Jake, good point. Not looking forward to the next iteration, but it was a surprising amount of fun.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

PM: 4 miles on the treadmill and tris, chest, shoulders

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.004.258.25

PM: Track workout in Safety Harbor with Cory and Tyler.  We did a ladder and stayed pretty moderate.  Cory stayed with me or led me for almost all of it except for the final 3 items, which was awesome to see.

The workout- FULL ladder up & down: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 600, 400, 200, 100, with active recovery in between items- 200 between short items, 400 after the three long ones.  I treated the first two and last two items like striders, and intentionally kept a 5:20-5:30 pace for the rest of the items.  Felt strong.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Busy at work.  No running.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.003.0010.00

AM: Track workout in Safety Harbor.  

Workout was 4 x 1200 with 400 active recovery in between items.  kept them all in between 5:35-5:40 pace per mile.  My goals were to stay in the LT and focus on form.  This was a good workout to practice the little things as it was not taxing at all.

Feeling ready for Sunday's 10k, but I have been busy and on my feet and running around all week, and that looks to continue, so who knows how I'll feel on the actual morning.  

Comments
From Drew on Thu, Sep 10, 2015 at 16:21:34 from 173.171.218.92

Nice running, Mike- sounds like a good prep for 10k running. I think you'll do great.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.220.0011.22

PM: Had fun this afternoon.  Really should have taken it slower with a race coming up in a less than 2 days, but I just was thankful to run today.  This has been a long week.  In the end, having fun is what matters.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.180.005.18

AM: Coached this morning, then went on a little jaunt into the thunder/lightning before calling it quits.  Never did end up raining much at all although.

Race: Hooters 10k (6.214 Miles) 00:34:31, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.006.2110.21

AM: After a good warmup, I took to the start line.  This is surprisingly a tough course for being in Florida (no real hills).  Lots of weird turns, U-turns, 90 degree turns, turns while switching surfaces, and the end allows for NO speed since you have to zig-zag a parking lot.  Needless to say, I should be happy with the result, but I'm not.  

 

The 10k left with the 5k group, so I decided to go out at around 5:28-5:30 or so.  After about 2.5 miles, I was breathing relatively okay, but there wasn't anyone behind me, and the ones that were within 20-30 seconds were guys doing the 5k, so after looking back after the turn off, I just relaxed into a slower pace.  I wasn't really happy with myself for this, but in the moment I couldn't talk myself out of it.  Disappointed in my effort today.

Splits-

Mile 1- 5:26

Mile 2- 5:26

Miles 3 to 6.2- Averaged between 5:40 and 5:50s.

 

 

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Sep 15, 2015 at 18:09:30 from 173.171.218.92

Mike, you should be proud. I saw the race results and noticed you held off the 64 year old woman who was trying to kick you down.

Joking aside, I don't think you should be disappointed at all. Running mid-34 in the summer is hard. When you add in no competition and a tricky course, I would look at that as an excellent first step toward what will be your best racing season, no doubt.

From Mike on Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 06:29:27 from 168.213.5.107

Lol, and taking a closer look: it was a 65 year old man AND his 64 year old wife who tried sprinting me out at the line apparently- they tried to Kenyan box me out I guess like Mo Farah in that 10k, haha. They snuck up on me like ghosts ;)

Thanks for the positive words. It's hard to stay positive about this one, so that's helpful.

By the way... next up is the infamous Pretty in Pink 15k... Did you just shudder for me?

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

PM: Slow run in Tarpon Springs.  I've never had more bugs stuck to me in my life.  Got a funny cat call today though.  She yelled, "you look wet!"  I'm not sure what that means...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.503.5010.00

PM: Workout in Safety Harbor with Tyler and Cory.  This was a really fun take on a workout.  I stole the idea from a workout I saw and just added some competition to it.  There were 10 items with like rest in between each.  The items ranged from one minute to four minutes.  The fun part was at the "halfway" mark (meaning 2 minutes on a 4 minute interval) you would turn around on the track and race to the start line.  

You would earn 1 point for being in the lead at the turn around, and 2 points for being the first to cross the start line.  With some tweaking, this is a great way to incorporate every runner in my opinion.  It was perfect since our fitness between the three of us isn't equivalent yet.

Final tallies:

Me- 14 points, Cory:10 points, Tyler: 6 points

Loved this workout, and we all worked hard at strategizing and during each item (which is key for making it beneficial.)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No running today.  

 

Will be at work from 7am until 8:30pm...  I'm not happy about my efforts lately making room for my running.  I hate when training wanes like it is doing right now.  I feel so much weaker as a runner in this mileage.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.060.0017.06

PM: 17 miles.  Ran with Cory and Tyler for about 10 miles and the miles flew by.  Then a storm rolled in so track was "cancelled" with the run group.  Fortunately, a few crazies decided that they weren't afraid of no ghosts- I mean rain- and wanted to run a couple anyway.  So I tacked on some more miles.  

Interestingly, the night should have been over, but I then had an impromtu business meeting at a wine bar that my fellow coaches asked me to.  That was odd to have and unexpected.  But certainly an experience- particularly in wet clothes.  Then 10:00pm rolled around and a group of my younger friends in their early 20s wanted to play some ultimate frisbee in the pool, so I went over there and had a ton of fun.  Felt like college a bit again and it was nice having fun and hanging out in the hot tub afterwards.  Then that went on until midnight, and then for some reason I got roped into going to the beach.  That turned into 2:30am (and a lost towel and sandals), and I finally made my way back home by 3, just in time to wake up at 7:00am and start a new day.  Oh to be young.  Particularly when I'm not young anymore.  

Comments
From Drew on Fri, Sep 18, 2015 at 18:15:46 from 173.171.218.92

Young is a state of mind. And it's a good state of mind. Sounds like an awesome night.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.210.0010.21

PM: 10 quick miles after school.  A pair of children drove me crazy this afternoon, so it was much needed.  I needed the miles to relax that out of me.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.000.0013.00

Early AM- 4:45 start.  7 miles with Dow and company, around 9:45 pace.

Late AM- 6 mile run with the new run group.  Wasn't planning on running, but I can't say no.  Had just drank a giant load of coffee, so it was an interesting experience for 6 miles.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.000.0020.00

AM: Clearwater over all 3 major bridges with Quint, Cory, and the Drew.  Didn't do as many as I would have liked, but happy I did them,

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

PM: 4 miles on the treadmill, then chest, tris, and shoulders.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.075.0010.07

PM: Track in St. Petersburg.  Drew and I knocked around the idea of 800s, so I had my heart set on them all day.  I was late, so I was thankful for everyone waiting to begin.  Workout was: 2 sets of 4x800s with 200m recovery between items and one 400m between the two sets.  I ended up adding two extra 800s afterwards with Cory to help him along to get to the ten 800s/5 miles.

Set 1- 2:29, 2:31, 2:30, 2:30

Set 2- 2:30, 2:31, 2:35, 2:33

With/pacing Cory- 2:38, 2:27

 

Overall, pretty happy with a 2:31 average for them, especially with the short rest.  This was an important workout to me, so I'm happy I hit some good times.  Good cooldown with Jim, Cory, and Tyler afterwards.  I gave Jim my copy of "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer", which I think he will either really enjoy, or find incredible ridiculous.  Time will tell... I told him that another famous person makes a cameo in the text, so hopefully Edgar Allen Poe gets him into it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.100.004.10

PM: Treadmill and then gym workout: 5x5 with biceps, back, traps, lats.  Short and quick.  I really think 20 minutes is sufficient for the weight training and I like it since it goes so fast if I know my plan for each set.  Happy I'm (maybe?) back at it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.253.5011.75

PM: Fartlek with Cory.  I had actually planned on doing a tempo, but I would've been solo, so this worked out better.  We introduced some body weight activities halfway in to simulate some tough mudder stuff.  Was a fun way to break it up, but man was I tired at the end.

PM: Another 1.75 miles with the group as the rain rolled in.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.030.005.03

PM: 5 Miles

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.050.007.05

AM: 7 Miles with the group

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No running.  Trapped my car at Weedon Island for the night, and missed the morning run, then got tied up for the day.

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Sep 29, 2015 at 06:48:11 from 173.171.218.92

Was Weedon Island scary at night? ;P Interested to hear this story when next we meet.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.100.0013.10

AM: 6 miles, then gym: tris, chest, shoulders

 

PM: 7 miles

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.103.008.10

AM: Track workout in Safety Harbor in the rain.

Workout was: 1200, 2x400, 800, 4x200, 600, 3x200 with 200 recovery between items.  Kept the paces for the first item at 10k pace, then 5k, for the next 3, then 3k for the next 5, then mile pace for the final three.  

Not the workout I wanted to run, but the group was doing it, so I just joined.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.510.0011.51

PM: Slow slog in some shitty weather.  Yey...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

PM: 8.5 miles with Cory.  Cory was pulling me today, which I think really motivated him, however, I wished death upon myself as he kept trying to push pace.  I kept taking it down to a slow slog, but we compromised for around a 7:15 pace.

Late PM: 1.5 miles with the team and plyos.  They did a fun workout where they tried to pace a couple of quarters without using a watch.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

PM: 4 blisteringly shitty miles.  This cold is getting worse and worse.  It has moved from nasal, to throat, to chest, to vomiting.  

Still got in a couple of miles and hit the gym... Sorry to the gym rats after me if I didn't wipe the free weights well enough...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.600.003.60

AM: 3+ awful miles with the team.  They did "The Michigan."  I practiced keeping it together on the sidelines.  I had trouble talking, was coughing a ton, and felt dizzy.  I have gone from overtly excited about my 15k race tomorrow, to utterly detesting its existence on my schedule.  I feel bad going into it in such terrible form health-wise, but sometimes things are just out of your control.  Getting sick once a year is pretty good I suppose.  I plan on trying my best, but planning is one thing- and executing is another.  

In other more important news, Drew is heading out tomorrow for a huge race at Twin Cities, and I honestly could NOT be more excited for him and what will be a certain PR on a tough course people literally just don't PR on.  I just wish I could watch!  Any marathon with late, long hills would be "can't miss TV" in my book.

 

Race: Fort DeSoto Inaugural 15k Race, St. Petersburg, FL (9.321 Miles) 00:50:44, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.009.3211.32

Inaugural Fort DeSoto 15k Race.  Finish: 50:44 (5:27 pace)

This was an interesting race.  The course was an out and back at the beach (on the paved trail) in DeSoto national park.  The day was windy, cloudy, rainy, and in the upper 70s.  Fortunately, the wind was mostly on the side of us- but incredibly constant.

I had really wanted to be successful in this race, as it was the first race I had ever been given (comped) as a runner, so I didn’t want to let the race director down or make him feel like he wasted his entry on me.  However, I have been quite sick the entire last week, and still running while doing some unintentional tapering.  This all culminated to a couple of very interesting circumstances.  Due to the training, sickness, and lack of hard miles recently, I certainly was worried about the outcome.  I was hoping that a best-case scenario would have me around 52 minutes to 52:30.  Man was I wrong.

At the start line, I just felt awesome.  Body-wise, I was sore and still coughing, but my mind-set couldn’t have been better.  I saw friends/runners that I rarely got to run races with, and just shot the shit with them at the start line.  I had no worries and I didn’t even realize the race was going on until the announcer shouted out “1 minute!” to which I barely noticed.  Even with 10 seconds to go, I didn’t even have a desire to scoot up closer to the line and started a row back.  The next 5 miles clicked off with the same attitude. 

I sat on to two incredibly good runners for those miles- Chris McCaffrey and Kevin Collmar- who both finished in the top 10 at Gasparilla this year in the 15k, and just let them dictate the pace.  I didn’t even look at my watch the first mile.  I had honestly hoped to do 5:35 pace, but, I figured if I blew up, I blew up- I wasn’t expecting a great race anyway.  I just relaxed, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of DeSoto while talking to Chris every once in a while.  Mile 5 into mile 6 was the real turning point.  It had dropped to really just Chris and myself, and we were still talking a bit, and had just passed a Winnebago that was cooking bacon, which we both made jokes about stopping, eating, and hating them for their choice of location (and food prep), but then something interesting happened: it started raining.  It had been windy the whole way and sprinkling, but then it really started to pour.  In the distance, we were running into one of the most incredible double rainbows I’d ever seen and I just felt euphoric.  I felt how good it was to be a runner.  I felt the endorphins.  Racing is incredibly fun, however in that moment, it felt like just another fun training run alone.  It just felt- to speak plainly- fun.  Not surprisingly, we both must have had the same insight and we dropped the pace to 5:20 for the next two miles in the pouring rain. 

My shoes were soaked.  I didn’t care.  I was landing in puddles- I didn’t mind.  I was weaving around runners headed towards the turn-around, but I reveled in that.  I couldn’t see well in the rain- I loved it.  It seemed everyone in the race in the reverse direction was cheering on Chris (I think he must’ve had his entire run group in this race, seriously) and commending him on waiting to make his move or just approving/applauding his effort.  That didn’t deter me, I loved it.  I felt such a bond to runners and to running in this race it was unbelievable.  From there on, I just ran.  Each mile clicked by and I just kept pushing.  Every single one of them was sub 5:35, and every single one of them ended with me knowing I could give more. 

By the end of mile 7 Chris had dropped off, as I stopped hearing his footfalls.  I had raced him once before, and the same thing happened with about 2 miles to go, just to have him almost nick me at the finish line with a sprint out of nowhere before I held him off by less than a second, so I knew letting up was not an option- so I pushed hard.  Miles 8-9 were tough, but I honestly was on cloud nine.  I started catching the 5k runners, and that just kept me going. I spent the last 0.3 looking back over my shoulder looking to see if Chris was turning on the after-burners, but couldn’t see him- but I thought maybe he was just getting mixed in with the 5k runners, so I kept pushing, but made sure to hold on to my sprint in case I needed it.  Fortunately, I didn’t have to use it and crossed the finish line feeling taxed, but incredible.

I honestly can say this was the best race I have ever had.  With any other weather, any other lead runners, any other time, and any other build-up week, I don’t think this race would have ever fallen into place like it did today.  Without Chris and Kevin there, I don’t think I would have been successful at all today.  What a race and what an experience.

Splits:
5:25, 5:30, 5:33, 5:29, 5:32, 5:22, 5:21, 5:26, 5:24, Finish- 1:42

 

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Oct 07, 2015 at 13:18:55 from 24.73.66.122

Mike - second time I read this and better the second time. It's awesome to see how your work and talent are coming together.

You definitely hit the next level. I hope you'll still train with me sometimes. :)

From jtshad on Thu, Oct 08, 2015 at 07:13:15 from 141.221.191.225

Wow, awesome performance. Great to have such amazing competition to push you and for you to respond the way you did (with the weather motivating you to have fun) is very cool.

Congrats on a stellar race!

From Mike on Thu, Oct 08, 2015 at 10:51:31 from 168.213.5.107

Drew- Thank you for the words. You know I am excited to see what we can do pushing each other moving forward here, particularly out of this marathon block.

Jeff- Thanks! I was lucky to have those runners there. Things just fall in to place sometimes, so I got lucky. I appreciate the comment.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.180.0010.18

PM: Some interestingfun, sore miles with Tyler and Cory in Safety Harbor.  Fun story- "stepped" into a giant hole hidden on a goat path we were running at in the woods that was big enough to engulf my leg down past my knee.  I somehow did a somersault by bouncing off my other foot onto my shoulder, rolled, and jumped right back up onto my feet.  For something that could have been disasterous on multiple levels, it really must've been an incredible sight to behold.  It definitely made the next couple miles a little bit more sore however.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.303.7511.05

PM: Track Workout with Cory, Tyler, and Alvaro who was nice enough to grace us with his presence.  

Workout was: Warmup, then 15 x 400 with stop rest after each.  1:30 rest between items 1 & 2, 1:20 between 2 & 3, 1:10 between 3 & 4, 1:00 between items 5-10.  Then start deducting 10 seconds per item ending with 0:10 between the last two items.  Cooldown.

Felt sore from Sunday, but I knew I could hit the times I wanted, so I just tried to keep form and work on staying relaxed.  All the splits were in between 1:20-1:15 for the first 5 items, then in between 1:16-1:12 for the last 10 items.  It was supposed to only be 14, but, I became delirious at one point and wanted to add an extra one I guess- which caused much complaining, but oh well, we did it.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.260.005.26

PM: seriously late run-10pm. Busy day...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.152.2016.35

AM: 6+miles at track in safety harbor. Did two prediction run 400s without a watch fast followed by six 300s at around 5k pace. Nailed the second prediction run: called 59 seconds and ran it in 59.08. First one I called 1:15 and got 1:12.50, so that could be better.

PM: 10 mile run with Cory then a little more at practice.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

PM: shake out run, then gym- shoulders, chest, tris (with dips)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.220.005.22

AM: run group. I was hosting today, definitely had a lot of fun. Then did 5+ miles afterwards. Still feel sore from Thursday, but it's no big deal.

Tomorrow I will be running another 15k, this time in Clearwater/Safety Harbor. This is the most annoying race ever. Parking sucks, logistics suck, bathrooms are non-existent, the course is all on trail and swerves all over the place, it's a double loop, it's not marked well, and the worst part is that it ends on a 180 turn into a park where almost all runners should be pushing it in to the finish. Needless to say, I could care less about the time I run for tomorrow and have literally no plan for the race. There's a big party afterwards though at my friend Dow's place which is walking distance from the finish which makes it worth it.

Race: Pretty in Pink 15k (9.321 Miles) 00:53:10, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.009.3212.32

Pretty in Pink 15k Race report

This race is pretty infamous for being a difficult course to navigate (easy to get lost), challenging to run (lots of turns, ups, downs, and a ridiculous 180 finish into the finish chute), and annoyingly late in the morning (they run it AFTER the 5k is completed and everyone is done with the first race).  

Fortunately, it was fun, and I hung out with a ton of friends, played with a bunch of dogs, high-fived tons of runners on the double loop and everyone was cheering one another on, and then finished with going to a party at my friend Dow's house where I almost adopted a rescue dog as well as discovered "candy bacon" which is now my new favorite food.  

The actual race went okay, but I could tell my head wasn't in it today.  I just didn't feel like pacing anything or focusing.  I think that I certainly could use a break from racing at the moment.  It's odd how it can be so easily overdone.5310

Splits- 5:33, 5:37, 5:33, 5:51, 5:34, 5:41, 5:49, 5:51, 5:51, (0.35mi) in 1:54

Comments
From Drew on Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 16:10:18 from 173.171.218.92

Sounds like good fun Mike - you get a break for 3 weeks, anyway. :)

From jtshad on Wed, Oct 14, 2015 at 13:11:40 from 141.221.191.225

A solid race for not being in the moment!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.060.009.06

PM: slow, fun run on the trails/boardwalks solo.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.884.0012.88

AM: track practice in Safety Harbor. Workout: 1200, 800, 400, 400, 800, 1200. Tried pacing a bunch of different people through a ladder workout. Not the best for my legs, but I think everyone appreciated it. PM:

PM: 7 miles at safety harbor track.  This time another track workout, but the intention was to see my fitness level as well as Cory and Tyler's and then run a fun workout version of the game "Horse."  We did a warmup, then a mile for time, then I used that timed mile to handicap the game.  You got a letter for coming in last on the 400s, and didn't receive any if you came in first or second.  

Tyler- 5:54 mile, Cory- 5:04 mile, me- 4:42 mile.

This translated to a 18 second handicap for Tyler and a 5 second handicap for Cory and then I started my 400 after them to catch them.  Cory and I were trading letters until he fell off and he was sent packing when I had only two letters.  Then Tyler continued his sweep and never even earned one letter before shutting me out in second place.  I really thought if I could sprint up to him in the first 200 he would just let me take it, and then I'd have recovery time on my side (30 second recoveries).  Never got him though.  Next time, I'm capping the leads or changing it to an 800.  18 seconds for a lead on a 400 is just too much.

A LOT of fun.  Can't wait to integrate this with the morning runners or the St. Pete group.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.300.001.30

PM: Slow warm up, then shoulders, tris (isolations), chest (free), lower pectorals (fly), dips (body weight)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.800.007.80

AM: 3.80 Miles at the Safety Harbor track, alternating 7:35 & 8:00 minutes per mile for an athlete I'm coaching.  Trying to get him to realize it's not so hard (and feels good) to speed up later in a race as opposed to just hang on.  

 

PM: 4 Miles with the team.  Spent the majority of it running the opposite direction cheering them on.  Did not feel well again this afternoon, sore legs.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No running tonight

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

AM: 7 Miles

Rest of day... walking all day at "Food and Wine Festival" at EPCOT near Orlando.  I really had a great time, but holy crap does that require a lot of money to spend.  All I did was bleed money slowly throughout the day.  Between the ticket, hotel, parking, tips, food, wine/beer/drinks, and random purchases it's unreal what you spend there.  I suppose once a year is okay, and it was a ton of fun, but sometimes I think those situations have such a social obligation to spend money that it's incredible.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.250.006.25

PM:  Late, late run.  9pm, then went to go see the Patriots win!  Loved the weather tonight, body did not feel healthy although.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.510.0010.51

PM: warmup (run), arms, bis, back, delts, traps, lats, then ran to John Chestnut to do a bunch more for fun. Weather. Was. Perfect.

Still feeling the right ankle area (Achilles).

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.306.7015.00

AM: track workout in Safety Harbor (coaching) with about 8 people. Alvaro showed up which was awesome! Played a fun workout version of "horse" with staggered 400s. Got in about 3 miles of solid speed with some great competition. I only participated in about 2.5 miles of it, since I was running the show a bit and keeping track. Some of them asked what the goal was for the workout. I replied simply: for fun! I think they enjoyed it by the end of it.

Workout: 12x400, with staggered 400s as a team, with approximately 1 minute standing rest. I did 10 at a pretty good 5k clip.

PM: track in St. Pete. Track was closed but we snuck in anyway. It was a nice little reunion of sorts with Charles, Lee, Jim, Joe, and even Sean showed up to his first track workout in a long, long time which was awesome to see. Naturally he ran a 5:15 mile (ish) to open things up. He signed on with me to do some mile repeats.

I only wanted to get about 5 or so in since I worked out in the morning already and figured I'd be quite fatigued (I was). He fell off after the first one, but he was just trying to get a sense of his fitness I think anyway. Still impressed with anyone that can rock a 5:15 with a huge layoff.

Workout: 4xone mile with 400 jogging recovery Splits: 5:20, 5:20, 5:19, 5:22, then joined Jim and Charles on their final three 100s on their ladder.

Comments
From Drew on Wed, Oct 21, 2015 at 17:11:52 from 173.171.218.92

Nice running Mike - sorry I couldn't be there. Sounds like it was a great group.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.260.008.26

PM: 4 miles, gym for chest, tris, and shoulders, then 4 more miles.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.263.5015.76

AM: Track at Safety Harbor.  

Workout:

 6 x 200 at 1-mile pace w/ 200 recovery, 1x1000 @ 3k pace, 1 minute recovery, 8 minutes @ 10k pace, 1 minute recovery, then 4x200 @ 1-mile pace w/ 200 recovery.

Overall, this is meant to be a tough workout, but I spent the 1000 and 8 minutes at 5:35-5:40 pace just to get used to the pace, so it wasn't so bad.  I felt very strong running the mile pace at the end.  I also forced everyone to not take extra time on their recoveries, which they probably didn't appreciate, but it should help them become better runners in my opinion.

PM: 

8 and a half miles with Tyler in Clearwater. He's getting quite in shape...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.370.008.37

PM: slow run in Eas Lake mostly on trail/Boardwalk.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.040.007.04

AM: Early, early run with Dow and Michelle, then practice.  Went nice and slow, feeling sore from the week.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.010.0017.01

AM/PM: So, I'm an idiot and slept through my alarms this morning after staying out late.  To punish myself, I decided to run 6:50s for 15 miles with a mile warmup and cooldown.  At noon.  In Florida.  This is the longest run I've had in a while after the highest mileage week I've had in quite a while, so I guess this will be one sore week coming up.

 

 

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.660.006.66

PM: 6.5+ slow miles, after gym- arms, back, lats, delts, traps

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.503.107.60

AM: Workout in Safety Harbor- breezy, wet. Kept everything at around 10k pace. 

1 mile warmup, 0.5 miles Plyos

2 x 200m w/100m recovery, 1 x 600 w/ 200 recovery

Repeat 5 times.

Cooldown

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.070.006.07

PM: Warmup run, then gym: chest, tris, shoulders, then ran outside

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.070.004.07

AM: Safety Harbor track.  Nothing too fast, did 8 striders too.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Unintentionaly got in no running today.  Hoped to get 3-5 miles, but I just couldn't get myself up in the morning and thought better of it at night with a race the next day.

Race: Florida Halloween Halfathon (13.109 Miles) 01:14:01, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.4213.1117.53

Florida Halloween Halfathon Race Report

The weather was humid and close to 80 degrees and windy since it is next to the ocean.  The course is incredibly flat with lots of wavy turns and is an out-and-back for the most part, making tangents not possible on the way back with people running in the other direction.

The field was awesome!  Four people in this race could EASILY beat me at their best, so I was so excited for the competition, particularly since I felt game to give it my all and had high confidence from the 15k a couple of weeks ago at Fort DeSoto.  Sean and Drew were running it, and although one is coming back from a long injury and the other just weeks out from a 2:38 marathon (and rightfully so, not feeling 100%), I knew they'd still be game to run hard if they were feeling good.  Chris M. was also there again and he is an incredible runner whom I had just ran against him a couple of weeks earlier, and Chris Y., who I had never raced against, was also there, and is probably top 3 (or better) in our area and just out of college.  I'm surprised the field didn't have anyone else but the five of us to be honest, as it was offered as free and that is the only reason I even considered the series on my calendar to be honest, as I don't have $350 to throw around on just 4 races.  I won't complain that's for sure.

Game plan: My game plan was A) Ideally, to run with the lead guys until the turn around, or B) run 5:33 pace per mile if they were running too fast for me.  It seemed like everyone was going to feel it out and hang together, which meant that I should just stay with the group and then treat it like the last 15k and push it right before the turnaround.  I knew that would be the best opportunity for me, as the wind would switch to my back and then I'd have the crowds in the other direction helping me along with cheers.  Most importantly, if the pace got past 5:33 pace per mile for too long, I'd drop back to 5:33 and just try and run my dream race.  I was excited either way, as I really felt ready for this race and knew the course.

The race: The first 5k was truly a breeze.  At one point the pace dipped to 5:28 per mile which worried me momentarily and caused me to drag back (since I am not in that kind of shape), with the 2 Chrises leading, but it seemed to occur right when we started seeing other runners in the other direction.  Both Sean and I talked about this afterwards and agreed that this happened again when we passed the 5k start line with all of that group cheering on our 5-person lead group.  I think this was important to read, since it meant that the only "surges" so far were false surges, and no one was feeling particularly great in the humidity.  Sean definitely had the same read I did, as he then dropped a surge in mile 5, to which both Chrises responded and Drew and I followed suit.  At some point there, Sean noticed us staying and reeled it back in.  It's important to note this is one of the first times I've felt like a racer as opposed to just a runner in a race.

The next couple of miles had us all stacked together still, and then mile 8 came as we approached the turnaround.  I honestly felt incredibly fortunate to have been able to wait so long before having to take the lead, and it was such an eerie feeling (on Halloween no less!) to be able to make a move and be confident that it would be a decisive one in breaking up the group.  Fortunately, I made the move and (Sean later told me that) the pack did indeed break at that point, leaving just Chris Y and myself trading off the lead.  I tried another surge speeding up again to a 5:25 pace halfway through mile 9 and although he hung with me and I slowed down a couple more seconds, I noticed Chris Y was breathing way harder than me and much more often.  I was shocked.  I know this sound.  That's usually my sound.  I couldn't believe I was on the other side of hearing it.  For once it wasn't me dying, but instead I was the one breathing with perfect cadence.  I then did the only thing I knew that could possible shake him from me- I sped up again.  Miles 10 and 11 were both fast, and although they show 5 seconds apart below, I really think that was more to do with all of the turning and weaving through people.  I checked on him at each mile marker after that and just keyed off his pace.  I also had some fortunate help from Jim and Joe who were cheering on the course.  Jim was a huge help, and seeing him from his SUV cheer me on really was what I needed to just keep pushing.  I can't wait to thank him and thank Joe for letting me know my lead on Chris, as I didn't want to look back too often to give him confidence.  

The end of the race was a quick U-turn which had some drama with some 5k-walkers taking up the entire cone-to-cone line at some points, blocking even the biker and turning up their noses at him when they looked back, but I've seen this a million times in races and just ran outside wide and re-entered the cones.  I figured they wouldn't yell at me for doing that.  I never really know what to do in situations like that, but I was feeling fortunate I didn't have to throw a crazy sprint in there as well and possible hurt myself with the weaving.  The last straight-away felt great and I pushed hard when I saw 1:13:5x, but didn't quite make it under, which stunk a bit- but I was incredibly happy overall with the race and the lucky win.  Any other day, all four of these guys could wipe the pavement with me.  But for some reason, today was just my day.  

Splits- 5:37.47, 5:46.57, 5:38.52, 5:40.43, 5:37.13, 5:41.53, 5:41.37, 5:34.81, 5:30.36, 5:28.48, 5:33.92, 5:42.11, 5:34.42, Finish- 0:56.00 (0.19miles).

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Nov 03, 2015 at 06:52:35 from 173.171.218.92

Mike - I'm equal parts impressed with your race, and determined to give you a better challenge next time. You have put in a lot of hard & smart work over the last year, and it really showed at the race. Congrats my friend!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.100.0014.10

AM: 10 slow miles on the Causeway to Honeymoon Island with the sunrise.  Beautiful, and wish I took a picture.  Very humid and windy, but it was nice.

 

PM: 4 miles watching the replay of the NY Marathon on the treadmill TV.  Cool finish for the guys race, and that Japanese guy is just unreal.  Also, did the gym- biceps, back, lats, traps

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.010.007.01

PM: Late run in East Lake after some pretty crappy news that confirmed a lot of suspicions.  Fortunately I kept it nice and slow, but I just needed to run today.  

I could do without this hot/humid weather that should be gone by now although...

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Nov 03, 2015 at 06:44:35 from 173.171.218.92

Mike, I'm sorry you found out that it wasn't really me at the race on Sunday, but just my imposter with a very realistic Drew mask and accent. Yes, the real Drew will be out at the next 1/2 to kick your butt. ;P

From Mike M on Tue, Nov 03, 2015 at 10:56:25 from 168.213.5.107

Haha, happy to hear that! I am glad to see/read that you are feeling healthier. Can't wait to get some runs in with you!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.604.4012.00

PM: Track in St. Pete.  Originally I wasn't planning on making the trek since I had just raced and have a marathon coming up, but I'm happy I did since I had a lot on my mind and running usually helps.  I had planned to drive down with Tyler and Cory, but each bailed at different times which was tough, but I just drove anyway.

Fun track group today and everyone was in good spirits.  I don't think anyone really wanted to commit to running the planned 800s, so they let me try my silly run game with them and split the workout into two pieces.

4 x 800 with 200 recover in between.  Paces ranged from 2:30-2:33.

Then we went on the trail for a 2-minute, 3-minute, 4-minute, 3-minute, 2-minute workout with the bridge in our way and recoveries ranging from 1-2 minutes.  It was a fun way to game-plan and "race" the times as opposed to just focusing on pacing.  Was about 2.4 miles of speed and did some sprinting in there at points too which was fun.

I will incorporate negative points next time for the out for the last place person I think, and likely for the way back too, just to keep it more honest.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.550.007.55

PM: 2 Miles on the Treadmill, then gym: tris, chest, shoulders, followed by 5  1/2 of the slowest miles I've probably ever run outside in some wonderful humidity and with some friendly bugs attaching themselves to my face and various body parts.  Some of the nicer ones even flew into my nose, eyes, and month.

<3 bugs. 

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.600.0011.60

PM: Run in Safety Harbor with Tyler then track with the team.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.500.009.50

PM: Slow run on East Lake.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.250.0013.25

AM: 5 mile run at Eckerd College.

PM: 8 miles at treasure island.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
15.005.0020.00

AM: Demen's Landing in St. Pete with Anthony, Drew, Sean, and Lee for my last (and first in over a month and a half) long run. First 10 miles were 7:15 or so. At mile 10 we threw in a 5-mile marathon pace tempo that ranged from 6:05-6:15 paces. I haven't practiced that pace at all let alone at 10 miles into a run, so it felt pretty terrible. Last 5 miles after that were slower, but not really as awful as I thought they'd be.

Drew really helped my confidence today entering the end of this "marathon training," so I appreciated the boost- I sincerely needed it.

Comments
From Drew on Sun, Nov 08, 2015 at 18:02:07 from 173.171.218.92

Your results speak for themselves, Mike. Let's try to connect for an easy run before Spacecoast.

From Mike M on Wed, Nov 11, 2015 at 06:48:51 from 168.213.5.107

Thanks Drew, I definitely think we should! I'm planning on only doing a couple more of the longer distance runs and will be flying up north for the week before the marathon (and flying back the day before-yikes!), so I'll have to call you and coordinate. I won't be out this Sunday either, since I have a "race."

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.050.007.05

PM (late): Dark outside, misty, but it made for a good run.  Sometimes at night, you feel like you're almost gliding over the ground and don't register the footfalls at all.  Tonight was one of those nights.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.555.008.55

PM: Tempo run with Cory and Tyler.  2-mile warmup followed by 5 miles at 6:10-6:15 pace.  I did not expect to feel very good after having done a tempo in my long run two days ago, so I expected it to feel pretty uncomfortable.  Fortunately my breathing was fine and it wasn't really a struggle at all.  Tyler hung for about 2 miles, but Cory hung the entire 5 miles and even took off during the last mile a bit.  I wanted to push since I'm competitive and it's fun, but I'm happy I didn't.  

Splits for the tempo: 6:07, 6:10, 6:08, 6:09, 6:10

Comments
From Drew on Fri, Nov 13, 2015 at 06:56:52 from 71.99.88.184

Nice tempo Mike - good to see. It will be even easier as it cools down this week.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

A big goose egg.

Busy at work until 8:00pm.  Not happy.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.250.0010.25

PM: Played kickball with my co-workers tonight, then went out for a night run.  Very warm tonight and knees hurt from kickball (running around the bases).  Made me feel nice and old.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.050.005.05

AM: 5 slow miles.  So.  Hot.  Out.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.210.003.21

PM: 3ish miles with some striders in PH

Race: Shipyard Half Marathon (13.109 Miles) 01:18:44, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.8913.1117.00

Race report Shipyard Half Marathon.

The weather was favorable, in the low 70s, breezy, and lower humidity. The course itself was short- 13 miles at most- and although I expected the bridges to be tough at mile 2 and 9, they didn't seem bad at the slower pace. The course was also a double loop, which can get annoying when having to weave.

As for the actual race, today was tough in that I didn't perform at my best intentionally. After talking with Drew and getting his advice, I went into it intending to just stick to my marathon pace or 6:09 (dream time) since my marathon is close and I want to stay fresh, however when a friend of mine, Sean, showed up randomly and went out fast, it was tough to see him go and to know I could be there next to him. After 6 miles of battling my desire to speed up, I was about 2 minutes back and just resigned myself to stick to general marathon pace.

The moment I made that decision to relax and run the pace, everything was incredibly fun! As much as I relish competition, running a half at marathon pace in a race was one of the most pleasurable things I could have ever imagined. I felt like a million bucks the entire run. I was high-fiving teammates, cheering other runners on, not worrying about tangents, goofily weaving through people who I had come upon in lap two, and running on the grass without even being annoyed that they were five across and taking up the entire course- and we all know how that can be. By the time mile 13 hit, I was sincerely sad to realize that the run (race?) was over, and was all smiles for my friends watching me run in. It was tough to hear everyone in my group wonder why I didn't have a faster time after the race, but I got over it quickly. I believe that it truly does allot me the best opportunity to be successful for my marathon in two weeks.

Even if the marathon doesn't go according to plan in two weeks and I just don't have it that day, I know now that I'm capable of a good marathon eventually. That's truly a cool feeling.

Splits: (goal was 6:09 overall pace): 6:06, 6:18, 5:59, 6:08, 6:01, 6:03, 6:00, 6:03, 6:17, 6:00, 5:53, 6:08, 5:56, no last 0.109 (short course).

6:05 overall pace. A little quick, but that's okay I think.

Comments
From Drew on Sun, Nov 15, 2015 at 18:54:25 from 173.171.218.92

Seems like a perfect pace Mike, and great running.

I can definitely relate. One of my favorite races ever was the Holiday 1/2 a couple years ago. I ran it two weeks before the JAX marathon at marathon pace, which coincided with pacing Christina to a 1:20 1/2 PR. It was super fun, confidence building, and good team building all at once. Very remniscient of your day.

From Mike M on Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 06:16:32 from 168.213.5.107

That's pretty cool! I bet Christina appreciated that too. If there was something I could change, it would be having someone to run that with. I couldn't quite coerce Sean although ;)

From Drew on Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 18:05:07 from 173.171.218.92

Haha, I'm sure! We were wondering where he was Sunday AM.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.320.004.32

PM: Slow jog  then into the gym: shoulders, chest, tris- all free weights and new angles this time and finally brough back dips.  It was time to switch it up.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No running.  Semi-planned... I would have rather have had my off day on Thursday, but I guess it happens.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.050.0010.05

PM: some miles in John chestnut.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.350.004.35

PM: A couple of miles running in the rain, then gym for back, delts, traps, biceps, lats.  Last gym day until after the marathon, which stinks.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.030.005.03

PM (late): 5 miles in Lansbrook.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.100.0010.10

AM: 10 miles in John Chestnut and the area, felt incredibly sore and slow.  Ridiculously, I perked up real nice when I saw a cute blonde run by though despite that... my immaturity baffles me sometimes.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.550.004.55

PM: cold run on rails to trails in Connecticut. Forgot that the cold air makes my throat burn.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.100.003.10

PM: late, cold recovery run.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.453.105.55

AM: holy cold, batman! Final prep before marathon. Three miles at MP sandwiched in between warmup and cool down.

Weather forecast for Sunday morning in Cocoa looks to be mid 70s, humid, and higher dew point particularly since it is completely next to the water. Not exciting, as I hoped the better weather would stick around all week down there. I may have to amend my goals knowing my performances when the weather is warmer. it's going to be a battle.

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Nov 24, 2015 at 18:15:31 from 173.171.218.92

It was still nice today, but it looks like a steady climb to Sunday.

No two ways about it - that stinks. Just one thing to keep in mind though: you ran great in the 15k & 1/2 marathon in similar or worse conditions, so try not to let it worry you too much.

You paced yourself and managed those races perfectly, and I think you will do the same thing on Sunday.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Planned day off

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.250.004.25

AM: easy run with six striders.

3 days to go.

Weather for Cocoa, Florida on Sunday looks... Relatively bad for marathon running. Mostly sunny, 70-78 degrees, 10-20mph winds (seriously? what the hell?), 70-75% humidity, and dew point around 65. Guess I'll be chaffing...

Current goals without taking weather conditions into account at all.

A+) 2:40:00

A) sub 2:42:00

B) sub 2:45:00

C) sub 2:50:00

F) above 2:56:44

Minor goals: to hurdle some half-marathon walkers on the way back as opposed to weaving around (ideally while they are tying their shoes), to not bleed from the nipples (or at least bleed out), to not cramp (hilarious dream), to high five at least 10 people along the way, to attempt to high 5 Joe Burgasser and get snubbed, to attempt to high 5 him a second time and get snubbed again but this time casually pass my hand through my hair as if it was planned, and lastly to fashion a pancake sandwich after the race and eat it while drinking a beer.

A boy can dream.

Comments
From Drew on Fri, Nov 27, 2015 at 07:33:07 from 108.83.241.110

You got a big crew in St. Pete pulling for you on Sunday, Mike.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Planned off day

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.260.002.26

AM: easy run with some pickups. Mentally went through my race.

Race: Space Coast Marathon, Cocoa, Florida (26.219 Miles) 02:47:56, Place overall: 3, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.0026.2227.22

Race Report- The Space Coast Marathon, Cocoa, Florida

Conditions: 80 degrees, sunny, cloudless, windy (10-15 mph), humid, and dewpoint around 70. 

Race prep: Mostly did half-marathon specific stuff, but got a pair of 17 mile runs and a 20 mile run in in the weeks leading up to it with a full taper minus a marathon-paced 13.1 about two weeks before (6:05 average). 

The race: So this was my second ever marathon, so my expectations were all over the place.  The race started off with me following the lead group in 5th overall by the first half mile.  I was hoping to run at about a 6:05 pace, and started off running quite well, as I just wanted to ease into that pace.  By mile 4, I had run a 6:10, 6:07, 6:05, and had moved into a group of 3 runners way behind the lead runner (and eventual winner).  We sat together for a bit talking and just enjoying everything.   One of the runners (Marc Burget) had mentioned he had been injured after Boston so he was taking it easy this race and he said he was shooting for a 2:40-2:42, so I figured he’d be a good one to pace with as he’s done that before.  He is normally a low 2:30s marathoner, so I felt I could trust his pacing.  This was also nice as talking passed the time and he even offered/gave me one of his GUs at mile 8 when they didn’t have the box of GUs opened up for the runners yet, which meant I didn’t have to stop.  We were clicking along at 6:04-6:05 up until around mile 10 and then we just slowly dropped the pace to 5:55-6:00 for the next 5 miles or so.  This turned out to be a terrible idea for both of us.  We both went through the halfway point at around 1:19:30 or so with him a couple of seconds back, but I could really tell he was breathing much harder than me, so as he slowed down a bit, I kept the pace (which turned out to be 2 more miles) since I felt fine. 

Mile 15 was really the turning point for me (and likely Marc as well).  The sun had fully risen into view and the heat really started getting at me.  I had prepared and drank at every water stop the entire race except one (the stupid one without the GU that was being overrun anyway by runner’s going the other direction), but it just wasn’t enough for the conditions.  I could taste the salt on my lips and feel it on my face at mile 15 and immediately knew I was in trouble even if my pace wasn’t suffering yet.  Even with 2 Gus and about 12 half-cups of water at that point, I just wasn’t hydrating well enough at all.  Mile 16 was a 6:12, Mile 17 was a 6:18, and I knew that I was in even bigger trouble as the cramping began.  First the quads, then the hamstrings, then the calves, then the side of my abdomen.  Fortunately, Marc had caught up to me, however he must have been hurting a bit too since we locked into a 6:40-6:50 pace.   We were able to use each other as a crutch for the next couple miles until about mile 24.  Neither of us were breathing hard, but our gaits were just a mess trying to battle through it, so we battled it by giving each other encouragement.  Mile 24- 26 were terrible- somewhere in the 7:00-7:30 range at best, but I don’t even want to check my watch to guess.  I also felt like I was moving in slow motion and was incredibly sloppy with my footfalls.  I wanted and felt like I could speed up at any moment, but even a slight lean forward made the cramps spastically retract my muscles and my legs just wouldn’t fight through it.  So, to compensate and to make sure Marc didn’t get too far ahead, I’d throw in 10 second bursts to catch and pass Marc, and then suffer some pain for the next 20-30 seconds or so.  In retrospect, it must have been kind of funny to watch.  I was trying everything to speed up, even moving to running more on my heels to try and stretch my legs, but it had been too late for that for a while now.

During the last half mile, Marc had found another gear and I just couldn’t will myself to catch him, as he crossed about 20 seconds in front of me for second place.  I loped in after that in third place and congratulated him and thanked him for helping me along.  In the end, I could do nothing but feel sincerely gratuitous for him though.  Without him there, the conversation, and just using each other to will ourselves faster, I think I would have had an extra 10 minutes slower on my final time. 

Overall… I think I can honestly say I just need to practice more marathons.  That’s really it.  I need more long tempos, more marathons, and more confidence in myself in that distance.  My body will get used to it, and I will learn how to fuel better.  I’m just a slow learner I suppose.  The first 15 miles really felt fantastic though, and even speeding up during miles 10-15 felt right at the time, so that’s a positive sign.  I guess the nine minute PR is also a nice final thought for me to hang my hat on, so at least I can focus on the positives a bit and learn from the negatives.

Splits: I can't bear to look right now.

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Dec 01, 2015 at 05:37:25 from 173.171.218.92

You have a good perspective on this Mike.

You can run much faster than this in the marathon, but it's a series of steps, and you took a big one, in bad conditions, with this race. It sounds like you learned a lot and fought through some very tough miles.

You've had a great fall of racing - I'm very glad to be able to train with you! Hope you are enjoying some rest now.

From jtshad on Tue, Dec 01, 2015 at 09:06:03 from 141.221.191.225

Sounds like you battled through tough conditions. Congrats on the podium finish.

Marathons are tough, especially when the conditions are so impactful. Every race is a learning opportunity. The late stages of a marathon are a huge challenge.

Nice to have another runner to help get you through.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Day off, rehab ;)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.560.008.56

PM: Sore.  Probably shouldn't be running.  I'll try again tomorrow.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.040.008.04

PM: Much slower today.  Legs feel really out of sorts.  I tried to stay very light on my toes and keep the cadence up a bit, even with the 9:26 minute per miles.  Hopefully it feels smoother tomorrow.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.370.007.37

PM: Had a kickball game and then ran with Cory and broke into a JC park to run at night.  It was a lot of fun, and exhilarating to do- however the actually running was tough.  I am sore, slow, and not recovering all too well.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.250.0010.25

PM: Ran with Lee, Jim, and Natalie in St. Pete.  I really just needed to run with someone.  I am putting up some really sucky times and have little initiative.  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised I'm feeling burnt out, but I wish it would subside at least until after next Saturday.

Pace was 7:39 per mile and felt way too fast for me.  I didn't talk much.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.000.001.00

AM: Light run and gym.  Sore.  Sucks.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.000.001.00

AM: Light run and gym.  Sore

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

PM: 10 slow miles.  I am still incredibly sore.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.500.003.50

Went to St. Pete to talk with some running mates and try to get back on "track."  Wasn't planning anything hard, and after about 3 miles of warmup, I decided to do some striders around the track for 800 meters.  I stopped to discuss the workout with Sean and company, and decided to do a quick jog to get my hear back up, but I felt an immediate out-of-nowhere pain along the left sifde of my knee.  I tried just running it off thinking it like a basketball "injury", but literally couldn't run, jog, and then had to hop on one foot back to the start line.  I threw in the towel after a couple more attempts to run and hobbled off to the nearest bar instead.

The acuteness and sudden-onset has me worried.

In other news, I finished another awesome book- "The Martian."  I appreciated the math/engineering that coincided with the story line as well as the guy-humor.  Well-placed swearing always makes a book better.  

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Uh oh, real pain in my left knee.  In hindsight maybe it was from turning on the square track during striders?  I don't know exactly what I did yesterday to cause the acuteness, but it isn't good so far.  Tried running lighgtly... but then just had trouble walking instead.  : D

Comments
From Drew on Thu, Dec 10, 2015 at 17:37:41 from 173.171.218.92

Man, I'm sorry! Recovery from a marathon can be really tricky - and seems like it is always different.

Give yourself some time - Holiday Half of course this weekend, but you have no pressure to race that - you can do Clearwater and the last race in March and still finish at or near the top.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.050.001.05

PM: Tried running.  Did not fare well.  I'll try again tomorrow on softer ground.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.310.003.31

PM: Sore, but knee pain subsided a bit to where I could only feel it after the run going up the stairs.  Progress.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.100.004.10

AM: 2 miles with the group in Safety Harbor.  Felt sore, but no pain..

PM: 2 miles.  Decided to try to run a little more to A) see if I was sore/had pain, and B) to see if I could handle 13 miles tomorrow at any pace.

I've decided- no pain so I'm going to try it.  Race warm-up as normal with striders.  Check the knee thoroughly, then if pain-free go for it for mile 1.  If after mile one or two I feel incapable, drop back and run for fun.  If I am pain free- which I doubt highly- I'll go for it.  

My expected outcome is to run the half and just enjoy it- not race it- and hopefully exit it pain free.

Race: Florida Holiday Halfathon (13.109 Miles) 01:18:58, Place overall: 6, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.0013.1115.11

Race Report: Florida Holiday Halfathon

I knew this would be a tough race.  Two weeks removed from a marathon, I still had hopes the fitness was somehow hiding in there ready to magically repair my injuries (and mind) from the last race.  It wasn't.  I felt drained by mile 4, was bleeding time by mile 6, was dehydrated/defeated/bleeding through my shoe by mile 8, and then began having aching knee pain in the same spot as Tuesday at mile 10.  I, however, gutted it out although and finally finished in front of a guy (Larry S) whom I have literally never finished in front of (0-7 up to that point).  I wouldn't normally count this as beating him, but he was within 20 seconds of me at mile 10 and obviously in as bad of shape as me, but I just gutted out those last 3 miles to keep him behind me.  He pulled it to within 15 seconds or so with 0.4 remaining, however I just wanted at least one moral victory out of this one so I willed myself ahead and out of reach.  I've always envied his speed- but never his attitude- so it felt good to end up a couple of seconds in front of him.

Afterwards, hanging out with everyone was a ton of fun so I'm more than happy for making the decision to run this one.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

No running today.  Knee.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.200.005.20

PM: Ran 3 miles.  Then picked heavy things up and put them down in the gym with some 5x5s.  Ended it with 2 more miles focusing on fixing my form.

Knee is sore, but the form work helped. 

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.050.0010.05

PM: Kickball game, then ran with Cory.  I had to make him go so slow- I felt bad.  Then we hit up the gym after for arms and back.  So much easier running/working out with someone than doing it solo.

Knee watch: sore, but manageable.  Only the last 2 miles were a struggle getting it to lift up while keeping form.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.710.004.71

AM: Slow slog instead of planning during school.  

Knee watch: upgraded to... very sore :)

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.350.002.35

PM: couple of miles, then went to see Star Wars. Honestly expected it to be better.

Comments
From Drew on Mon, Dec 21, 2015 at 18:01:46 from 173.171.218.92

Sorry to see you sore, Mike - hoping that changes soon...

Thanks for the book, really enjoying it.

Saw Star Wars Friday, had an extra ticket and Lee came along. He was of your opinion. I'm mostly thumbs up.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.210.004.21

AM: slow run in Oldsmar. Very sore.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.100.004.10

Knee...

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.210.002.21

Knee.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Meh.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.230.002.23

Knee did not get better after the day off.

Comments
From jtshad on Wed, Dec 23, 2015 at 09:55:17 from 141.221.191.225

Sorry about the continued issues with your knee. Hope it starts to feel better soon.

Merry Christmas.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.970.009.97

AM: ran 3, was hurting.

PM: thought running more would be a good idea. It wasn't. Kept running for no real reason.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Shut it down indefinitely. Winter/spring season in real jeopardy.

But 3,000 miles! Wahoo!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Got a free used road bike ready to be mailed to FL. Never was much of a bike rider, unless you count crashing into the end of my driveway.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Road bike needed some work, so spent some time figure out how they work. Bought and replaced some things on it. Tried to true the tires and somehow managed to pop a tube. Think I'll just pay a guy, watch them do it, and memorize it. Feel very unmanly.

Good news is, knee hurt bad again today, so that's making upcoming racing decisions much easier, albeit depressing.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

There won't be any running today. I have however become a book-reading champion with all of this downtime. Some girl in a bookstore asked me today to describe the book I was reading since I was clearly enjoying it. I managed, " it's good and the characters are good. I like it. It's good." ...You know, when you have the innate ability to communicate verbally so exquisitely like I did there, it's no wonder women just flock to me.

The book is sarcastic too, so I'm blaming the author.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Nope.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Excited to get back to some warmer weather.

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Good ole' goose egg to end the year.  Happy New Year!

Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2535.07466.023001.09
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