They all can't be "easy" runs.

10.2 miles. Legacy trail. 1:27:23. 8:34 pace. Constant throughout.A little coughing, but I didn't have to stop again, whch is good.

12.9 Miles. Legacy Trail to Venice Avenue. 1:44:48. 8:07 Pace. 

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 36:15. 7:53 pace. 

I saw a guy running in Chuck Taylors. Now THAT is a minimalist shoe. I saw a bunch of kids that said they were looking for Blackbeard's Treasure near the marina. The imagination of children is awesome. It got me thinking about what I miss every day with my own kids. 

I might have overdone it this weekend. I'm excited about having this flu leave me, and I might have done too much.  I didn't feel like running tonight, but I'm glad I did. I'm looking forward to NOT running tomorrow. 

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 34:40. 7:32 pace.

Cons: Run never felt "right." It was not smooth running. It was super-crowded. I lost big time to shirtless backwards visor dude. 

Pros: Nice sunset. I saw a group of 6 dolphins surface multiple times.

Pros wins! 

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 33:35. 7:18 pace.

5.5 miles. hood route. 47:09. 8:34 pace. Then spent the day picking oranges and grapefruit for church. Like, a LOT of oranges! I hope to get a longer run in tomorrow.

7.5 miles. to Legacy Trail and Back. 59:30. 7:56 pace.

I need to sign up for a race soon. Not training "for" something makes for unfulfilling training miles. I considered the Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon next weekend, but I can't see myself going into a race, knowing I will not be at my best. I'm still coughing a bit, and my paces haven't bounced back, like I had hoped. I wasn't going to run tonight, at all. But then a recap newsletter from Steamtown came in the mail yesterday, and I looked at it tonight, and then I went on to FRB, to see what everyone had done this weekend. I saw that the folks in Utah did a snowy 10k, and I was inspired. So, other than running a lot slower, at night, with no precipitation, or wind, or hills, by myself, in 50 degree warmer temps, they were, like, IDENTICAL runs!

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 33:37. 7:18 pace.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 34:28. 7:29 pace.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 33:46. 7:20 pace.

Intermittent rain, but no wind. No crowds! Just me.

My stride felt longer, if that makes any sense. This was a satisfying run.

I think today officially ends my flu. What a month! 

11.85 miles. 1:36:29. 8:08 pace. Fort Lauderdale Bridges: Las Olas (x2), Oakland Park (x1), Sunrise (x1). Felt fine, had to stop a couple of times for traffic, etc. I Should have got to bed earlier the night before. @ 5 hours sleep. 

10.2 miles. Legacy Trail to Colonia. 1:16:17. 7:28 pace.

I had the Primanti Brothers kielbasa, cheese, cole slaw, and french fry sandwich for dinner last night, and was worried about how it would affect my run today. ...

Apparently, I need to work more of those into my diet, because I am pleased with this result.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 36:00. 7:50 pace. Right achilles feels tender for some reason, so I took it slow. 

So, the kids have a run-athon at school this Friday. They get them out on the track and let them run for X minutes, and see how many laps they can do. Last night my 6 year old, Johnny, asked me if he could run with me today to get ready for his race. I got up early today, and woke him up. I said "Do you want to run this morning?" He was super excited. I told him not to wake up his brother. He put on church clothes. I had him change and we headed out, and did some stretches. He said he wanted to run around the block. I asked him if he wanted to time it, and he said no. He started off slow, and that discipline surprised me. He ran the whole thing (0.45 miles). When we were done he wanted to do another run to the bridge at Curry Creek and back (0.55 miles round trip). He sprinted the last 100 yards. His brother has better form, but this one has all of the determination and competitive drive. I kept trying to run next to him, which he thought was me making a passing move, so he would swerve to cut me off. I told him that the goal is not to waste any energy, that looking back over his shoulder and swerving like that was slowing him down. I told him that in his race on Friday, to “not look at the people behind you, focus on the people in front of you and pick them off one at a time.” He said “There won’t be anybody in front of me.”

Today is going to be a great day. 

 p.m. 4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 33:05. 7:11 pace. Right achilles feels fine. song running through my head: http://youtu.be/b-nsLFSqu2c See, I told you this was going to be a great day.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 35:00. 7:36 pace.

Spouse went to Johnny's run at noon (mid-80's). He did 9 laps. He says he did 10, and was upset, because 10 would have tied him with the girl in his class that had the most. (Just for fun, say her name to him, and see how mad he gets! "Oooh! I think somebody likes Jasmine!") But I digress.... I told him I thought he could get 7. So he was happy that he got more than that.

I went to Tommy's run at 2. Super hot. He did 11 laps. I think he could have done more, but he spent a lot of time either; a) consoling friends that weren't doing so hot, or b) bragging to non-friends abouth how good he was doing. It was a rough dad moment. Anyway, I paced him for the last 4 laps, mostly to shut him up. 

All in all, it was pretty fun, and fairly well organized. However, I don't think they counted the last lap for Tommy's run, though. So I can see why Johnny might be upset.

14.75 miles. Legacy Trail 2:06:34. 8:35 pace. Then walk / run 1.5 miles home.

3.5 miles. 26:55. 7:41 pace. Hood route.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 34:02. 7:24 pace. Breezy. Winter Low Tide. Ahhhh! What a fine aroma!

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 33:18. 7:14 pace. This could have been faster. I was stopped 3X by traffic. oh well. 

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 33:07. 7:12 pace. Great way to end the month. I'm starting  to feel like I'm coming back. I'm taking tomorrow off from running. I'd like to get somewhere in the  8:20 pace range for 16.25 miles Saturday. I think that would be a pretty good gauge of where I am, fitness-wise.

Now, if I didn't have 6 tacos with hot sauce for lunch, my time could have been....