Where's the Donuts?

Definitely nice enough to head outside this morning, and the daylight at 6:30 was really nice to wake up to. But I wanted to watch football highlights so I hit the YMCA treadmill for four miles. They felt great and it was good to get the week started with a run -- even if ESPN played Vikes-Packers highlights for 25 of the 31 minutes I was running. Enough already, another NFC North team won this weekend, you know? 

supernova glide 

Beautiful sunny (election) day. Since I'll be at the office until midnight, I cut out for a mid-day run. Maybe 65 outside and sunny, perfect fall day. Did the 11th/Shore Drive loop, hadn't run my home course in awhile. My legs were a little stiff and I had a sideache, but I scaled back my pace and eventually relaxed some. 36:10

supernova glide (I really need to go back and add up the miles on these)

Flying to  Corpus Christi, Texas for the rest of the week. So more sunny running. Anyone (any of the three of you) know a route down there?

I was in Corpus Christi, Texas for work meetings a few days this week. The one, and maybe only, good thing about Corpus Christi was the running trail downtown. Wednesday morning I spent an hour right along the Gulf of Mexico, running at a nice brisk pace while the warm morning sun came up over the sea's horizon. They have a great paved trail that runs along marinas, beaches and parks; absolutely beautiful way to start the day. I went out about three miles, then left the trail and explored back through the city to my hotel downtown. The second half of the run, nowhere near as pretty. The city center has deteriorated into nothing, it's pretty bleak in places. But that trail...  48:36

supernova glide 

Morning Beach Drive run with Mike and Henry, weather wasn't great but could have been worse (and now, in fact, it is). Windy, but the rain held off until a little drizzle at the end. We got to talking and really pushed the pace, two miles sub-7. But everything felt fine, and it was a nice cap to my best week in awhile. Started my watch late, but around 50 minutes.

supernova glide

My body clock is a bit off, in a good way, from those days in Texas. So I was up early on a Sunday morning with nothing to do, and since the rain hadn't started (it has since) I headed out to stretch out my legs (I think I have the itch back, it feels good).

Went up Trenton so I could get a long hill and control a nice easy pace. Then I cut over to the Y, headed down the hill to 11th and home. Stuck with that easy pace, around 8/minute mile, which I needed after pushing a little yesterday. Really quiet out, I think I saw one car the whole time. Cloudy, cool fall morning, leaves everywhere make the whole city a mess right now. Also in a good way. 31:57

supernova glide 

A few easy miles at the Y, on the treadmill. Started above 8/min, slowly worked down to 7:47. Another runner who's usually there at the same time as me does barefoot laps. He has an extra pair of Vibrams in my size, so I may give them a try later this week just to see what the fuss is all about. 

24:00

supernova glide

First real cold morning of the year. We ran too fast, probably because Henry wore shorts. Geez, it was 35 out. We were at 7:05 or under (some as fast as 6:45) for eight miles, way too fast for a normal Saturday run.

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An evening four on the YMCA treadmill. It's been a pretty stressful week, and it's just Tuesday. I needed the post-work miles, and they felt pretty good. 8 minute pace for two, then 7:47 for the rest. They feel faster indoors though. 31:30 

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Snuck out of work at 1 for a quick trip over to the Y. It was dry to start the day, but raining again by then. Jumped right in at a zippy pace (7:47, "zippy" for the treadmill) and watched the ESPN guy analyze next week's NFL games for 30 minutes. 31:10

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The annual Turkey Trot at the Bangor Naval Base was today, and the weather was crappy, which is also a tradition. Actually, the rain held off until almost all runners were finished, so I shouldn't complain. It was a good crowd out there, our club had about eight runners and there were some other friends in the running community to see.

As always there was a crew of high school cross country runners just off a season of running 5ks out front, and I let that lead pack go. No studs, but the kids are ready for that distance. I ran a good first mile, but that's helped by two short downhill portions. 5:46. I was a little lazy on the second mile, Henry from the Slugs caught me and we ran together. We were a little lackadasical, giving high fives on the return looped portion. Oh well, had to have fun. 6:20 for the second. The third mile we could see the string of runners in the top ten, there's a long straight stretch. We picked up the pace after the second to last hill and surged to catch one guy. I separated from Henry was within striking distance of another, but the last hill is always nasty and I could quite take him. So I followed two high school kids for the lap on the track to the finish, couldn't quite stretch it out, which happened last year as well. The finishing speed isn't there in November (if ever).

Just north of 19 minutes, and I really wanted to go under. But it was a good race, reminded me how different the pacing and thinking is for that distance, and then....

I WON A TURKEY IN THE RAFFLE. 

So it turned into a great race. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

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Read Jon's report from the Grand Canyon this morning, so I couldn't help but feel inspired to run. This morning is one of those Pacific NW mornings I like -- a little damp but not rainy, with a mild temperature. I'm ok with this through February, even if my Vitamin D count gets a little low. I did the old 11th Street-Shore Drive loop and back, pretty easy pace and felt pretty loose and light. Saw four other runners out, which is a lot for this neighborhood. Maybe we're on to something. Good start to Thanksgiving week. 35:57

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Four on the treadmill. 8/min pace. 

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Absolutely great Thanksgiving morning run. Our club joined with a few others for a tradition that's five years old or so, and we had nearly 50 people together on the Clear Creek Trail this morning. Misty out, but not cold, and the company made up for the weather. Great run at a decent pace once I got going, I spent time running with about seven different people over the course. All sorts of ages and abilities (and even a few dogs and babies), it was just a great reminder of what kind of people are runners -- all people. We all hung around and drank coffee at Starbucks after the run, and started planning next year's runs that people want to do. What an inspiring way to start the day, that was the best birthday present I got.

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Just a guess at how long I ran today, it was an untraditional workout (and I'm not saying that just because I was in lefty Seattle). 

I stayed over there Saturday night after the Crab Apple Cup (nice job UW), woke up and ran over to the race course. I had missed Dale by the time I saw the half runners, so I ran the course backward until I found the marathon leaders. The guy in seventh place, by the way, was wearing an Elvis costume. He had held the world record for a marathon while dressed like The King until last year, when someone ran a 2:49 and took it. He ended up at 2:42, reclaiming the mark. 

Back to my story, I kept going until I was at the top of a hill at about mile 19.5. I cheered people on for about an hour, saw a few folks from Kitsap that I recognize, and then my friend Danny was coming up the course. He was aiming for just over four hours, and I figured he'd need some pacing through the hills. Our friend Chris also joined. Danny was feeling great and had run conservatively to that point, we ended up passing a lot of people between 20-24. It was great, a lot of fun and I think lightened him up. Also, at the 24 aid station they had DONUTS. So Chris and I ran past the water/gatorades and went straight for the sugar, then hung around eating treats while all these poor suckers slogged their way to the last two miles. I know the running gods will punish me for that one, but it was a great time for a donut.

After that I peeled off on Eastlake, picked up the pace and ran about three miles back to my uncle's house alone. So I'm not sure of the exact distance, but I'm guessing around 12. I was running for 1:34 total, a mix of really comfortable nine minute miles and then some 7-minute pacing. Great morning, overcast and really mild, and I was glad to have done that instead of the whole 26.2. Those are for 2010 right now.

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