They all can't be "easy" runs.

First attempt at running the track in the morning. Cut short. No POP at the track. We'll try this again.

5.5 hood route miles. 6am start. The run felt good. I went to the Venice High School soccer game last night, instead of running intervals at the track. It was good to go, but I feel a bit guilty.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6:15 am start.

16.25 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to Circus Bridge and back. 5:50 am start. Last mile - 6:44. Camelbak. I forgot to bring Gu. I got passed by a rollerblader. That might be a first.

On a side note, whoever invented the strobe light bicycle headlight - you must now do something great for the world to offset this incredibly bad idea. Get to work.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back. Super foggy. I ran in some old addias boost that i wore in birmingham two years ago. Anyhow, they felt great. Big sales today in sarasota, because it's race weekend. I should go check stuff out. I'm due for new kicks.

1:30 pm. 5 barefoot miles at the soccer fields. (2 up, (8) x 100ish sprints, jog back, 2 down.) I am really enjoying running barefoot. I also missed out on the big shoe sales in Sarasota this weekend. Meh.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6am start. Slow.

0.4 up around the block. 3.5 miles. Hood route. 25:42. 7:20 pace. 0.4 down around the block. Warm. 65 deg.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6:45 am start. Super late start. It rained a bunch last night. So I anticipate a couple of lanes will be flooded at the track tonight.

6 pm. 72 deg. No flooding at the track. 1.5 up. (6)x400 w/ 400 recoveries. 2 down. 87, 88, 87, 89, 86, 87. not stellar, but my best track work out in quite some time.

3.5 miles. Hood route. Foggy. Slow running. I am feeling good about this year's attempt to keep the workouts separate from the recoveries. I believe pushing the mileage or the pace today would have been a mistake.

16.25 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to Circus Bridge and back. 5:45 am start. Last 2 in 7:15, 6:47. I saw boy #2's basketball coach out there. Before dawn. Small. Town.

Spouse is out of town this weekend. I think this is the longest run I've had, where I've left the kids unattended. They're okay, and the house is still here, so... Winning!

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. Foggy.

After church and haircuts, barefoot running bizness at the soccer fields. 2 up. 8 x 100ish sprints, jog back, 2 down.

I have had Janis Joplin's Mercedes Benz song stuck in my head all day. Thanks, Allie!

Hood route. 6 am.

0.4 up. 5.5 in 42:36. 7:45 pace. 0.4 down. 6am start. 72 deg.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6am start.

6 p.m. At track. 2 up. 3 x 1200, 400 AR, 4:58, 4:55, 4:57. Then I ran one cool down lap, and then started to walk. Then I couldn't complete my cooldown. My legs said NO. So I went home. The cool down has a window of opportunity, it seems. If you wait too long you're just starting a new run.

No running today, but the parents played against the kids at basketball tonight. The good news- that was the most fun I've ever had playing basketball. The bad news -those kids did not take their first loss well.

5.5 miles. Hood route. A vine actually caught me under my nose and jerked my head back. That will wake you up.

Oh yeah, thanks for bringing the cold front with you, Dan.

13.75 miles. Legacy Trail and Laurel Road to Circus Bridge to Caspersen Beach and back. 6:45 am start. Gulf has a bit of red tide this morning. Good run.

Woke up with a sore throat, and feeling like I was getting sick, so i skipped running.

Spouse and I went to a funeral in the afternoon. The family is a big part of the local running community, so there were a few sentimental running stories in there.

7.5 miles. Hood route. 7am start. I still don't feel right, but not bad enough not to run.

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6:30 pm start. This is the beginning of a slippery slope. So far, I've been doing well at separating my workouts from my recoveries this year. Ever since Saturday, when I ran with Dan, any little thing- sniffles, cough, aches, etc.- keeps me from doing a workout. I could easily slip into 2016, where every run lacked purpose, the amorphous blob of pseudo fitness. It's pretty obvious who I should blame here.... Tom Brady.

Ghosts appear and fade away..

7.5 miles. hood route to Legacy trail and back. 6 am start. Things are feeling normal again.

boomin in ya, boomin in ya, boomin in ya jeep, or your honda, or your beemer, or your legend, or your benz. The rave of the town to your foes and your freinds.....

Change is coming.

Now is my time.

Listen to my muscle memory.

Contemplate what I've been clinging to.

Twentysix point two ahead of me.

16.25 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to Circus Bridge and back. Last 3 miles in 22:06. Not great, but not awful either. A pretty strong finish to a bad week. A couple of things from the run. First, this crazy muscle bound dude on a bike went by me in the opposite direction. His arms are bigger than my legs for sure. Anyhow, he goes by, and i hear a crash behind me. It took me about 5 or 6 steps for it to register that no neck guy just wrecked his bike. Then I stopped and turned around and asked him if he was okay. He was super embarrassed as he was digging his bike out of the woods. What the heck just happened?! It's a ten foot wide sidewalk! Did I freak him out by saying good morning? Did I cause him to wreck? The other thing is that ospreys were everywhere today. Some even flew next to me as i was running. It was crazy. I know I should say that i enjoyed the company. But they are much faster than that. I consider the slow flying to be mocking me. One thing i can't stand is a smug seahawk! The only thing worse than that would be an arrogant anhinga.

After all of that, I took the boys to the beach for a really long time today. There were manatees swimming in the gulf that drew a big crowd.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back . 7 am start. I got so sunburned yesterday, I had to run the return route shirtless. Sorry you had to see that, fellow Venetians.

I've been posting lyrics to whatever song popped into my head for the last 3 runs. But, I had no song in my head today.

Next race is St. Patty's Day 8k in 2 weeks. I am still shooting for a May marathon, although I am not officially signed up for anything.

2 pm. At soccer fields for barefoot running. 2 up. (8) x 100ish sprints, jog back. 2 down.

Then I went home, and brought the boys back to play soccer for about an hour and a half with another family. Thier team was much better.

6 am start. Today did not go well. Intent was to have 5.5 @ 7:00 pace. I must be still sore from the weekend, because that was not happening today.