They all can't be "easy" runs.

9 on the trails. 2 pm start. light rain for the last 2. 

Late start. Too much blabbing with my neighbors. Plus I saw my dad out there for his daily walk. 2 on the trails, then 3.5 hood route, then 1 more on the trails. It was pouring rain for the last mile.

5 on the trails. 9:45 am start, right after the rain. 87 deg., 72% hum., 76d.p., "feels like" 97. 

I don't like to bank on this too much, but projected race day temperature for me is 57 deg., 89% hum. 54 d.p. 

so I got that going for me, which is nice.

1.2 around the block. Then 10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 1:24:02.1st half - 42:00. 80 deg. 90% hum., 76 d.p.

After I stop sweating, I'm going to get a newer car in Clearwater. 

Last night was Venice High School's first home foosball game. Boy # 2 is in the band. They did 80's hits for the halftime show. Video Killed the radio star, footloose, don't you forget about me. 

4 on the trails. 10 am start.

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. Slow chugging in the heat. 

I went out with boy #2 in the boat yesterday for @ 5 hours. It was hot, but calm, except for all of the wakes thrown by other boats. We have a 14' jonboat with a 9.9 hp four stroke suzuki tiller. In other words, the smallest boat on the water. When a 32' boat goes by, even in a no wake zone, it can get kind of bouncy. John ran the boat all day and I was just passenger. he did a great job, and has now spent more time running this boat than I have. We made it all the way up to Blackburn point bridge and back. You give a 14 year old total control of where he's going like that, and he'll act like it was the best day of his life. Being out in the sun all day is probably not the best way to spend my time a week out from race day. but on the other hand, I got much closer with my son out there. And I can't think of the last time I spent 5 hours on a boat without a beer!

5 on the trails. I had to stop twice for out of control dogs. Meh. Also, I stopped when I heard this big commotion in the shrubs next to me. A squirrel ran out and across my foot. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. 6:30 am start. 85 deg. 77% hum. 77 d.p. In spite of that, it was a very smooth run. (btw, Rochester MN is 54 deg. 89% hum. 50 d.p. right now) Anyhow, I was thinking about finishing a race again. It's been 19 months since my last race, and 35 months since my last marathon. When I'm out on a training run, and I'm thinking about race day experiences, or what it will be like to cross the line, I just run better. I think too much of my training this summer, I was thinking about problems. Maybe it's that I'm too far removed from race days to go to that well. There really is a power to positive thinking. 

3 on the trails. 8:15 am start. 

Spouse and I spent the whole day traveling Friday. Srq - msp. Drove to Rochester. The place Spouse booked us is 2 blocks from the start/ finish line. We are across the street from an Ethiopian orthodox church. It is a historic house where the floor creaks with every step. Saturday morning I picked up my bib at the saddest expo ever. I was in and out in 5 minutes. Then we toured a whole bunch of local places. Since the entire city is dominated by the mayo clinic, and mayo family legacy, I can't stop making "mayo on the side" or "mayo on everything" jokes. It might cost me my marriage, but it may also be worth it. This town is fantastic. I am biased, because this is not winter. But everything has been lovely. There are a ton of trails crossing the city. And some Nordic ski trails, whatever that is. This place is great.

Lovely town.

The halfers, 20 milers and full marathon runners went out at 7 am. The race is 2 laps, mostly on paved trails, around the city. I crossed several bridges over rivers and streams. Very little fan support, or even opportunities for fans.There is a mile long hill at mile 7, and again at 20 on the second lap. knowing that after the first lap kind of filled me with dread for the second lap. On the other hand, I knew I could make it to the finish after the hill. So that's what I did. I decided there would be no walking. I needed to get to the top of the hill, and then coast to the finish. Besides the hill surprise, this was the best I have ever done at executing a race strategy. Even though I didn't really train paces, I ran almost perfect even sub 8 splits until the hill at 20. Gu, water all timed perfect. The last couple were a struggle, as expected. But I can't think of a race I've had that went as close to planned as this.

Oh and there was a guy running the half shirtless. His entire torso was a giant skin graft. So much so that, at first glance, you thought the dude was wearing a shirt. He was also wearing Spiderman shorts and a tu tu. He made a comment before the race about my hat. Okay bro, my hat's too much. He passed me at mile 6. And I yelled "I can't believe I am getting passed by a guy in a tu tu!" And he said that's why I wear it. I passed him back at 10. He said at least you're not going to lose to a guy in a tu tu.

The post race party was pretty lame. Later we found out that I won my age group. Announcer guy said there was a commemorative pin for the age group winners. So I told him I won my age group. Without verifying anything, he handed me a pin with a number 1 on it that is smaller than a penny. Anytime spouse disagreed with me for the rest of the day, I would hold up my pin and shoosh her. It was hilarious.

This town is amazing. We are really impressed.

Spouse and I did some exploring outside of Rochester. We picked up some apples at Sekapp Orchard. Then we ate them while hiking up to chimney rock in Whitewater State Park. Then we dove to Lanesboro, toured the town and had lunch. My mobility after this race is great. I'm just a bit sore in my quads. I think it's because there was not a lot of downtime after the race. We kept moving, so my muscles never really locked up. We'll see how I feel after flights home on Tuesday.

Then we drove home and sat outside of our rental place until sunset. We can't really sit outside like this in Florida without melting.

4 on the trails. 84 deg., 81% hum., 77 d.p. On race day, the dew point was 51. I was more soaked after 2 miles on this run at home than I was at the end of the marathon in Minnesota. Humidity was roughly the same. Dewpoint is the critical thing, though. I could have started running yesterday. There are no dents anywhere, so I guess I should start going again. I had Jane's Addiction's 1% running through my head on this one. 

4 on the trails. 11 am start.

Five on the trails at 5 pm. I saw snakes, gopher tortoises, coyotes, and rabbits out there.

It was a bad weekend for all football fans in Florida. I think every pro and college team lost. The bucs might still win.

^^^^Okay, the bucs were winning by 3 when I typed that.

1 on the trails, then a new 4 mile route I'm calling the Capri Isles route. It's got a little bit trails, a little bit hood, and a little bit something new. It went okay. 

5 on the trails. 10 am start. I saw another Coyote out there. 

BTW, This story about the couple that went out west camping, and he came home to north port, you know, without her. North Port is kind of local to here. In fact, some of the people in North Port put Venice down as their mailing address. I have written on more than one occassion of running in Carlton Preserve (where the guy is supposedly hiding out). I don't know why this story is national news, but it is always bizarre when local things I am familiar with are mentioned on the national level.

1 on the trails, then the Capri Isles route. I was going to do all trails, but then I passed a couple of guys smoking pot in the middle of the trail, and they kind of freaked when they saw me. So I didn't want to do that over and over with each lap. 78 deg., 94% hum., 76 d.p. Those numbers don't show it, but it felt not as awful today. Maybe because it was overcast. I came home soaked. But something just felt nicer weather-wise. 

p.s. I had this super manly song running through my head for this run:  https://youtu.be/EDMDb8unsIA 

trails. 

I saw Dan Mullen running across campus before the Florida vs UT game. 8 hours or so before kickoff. 

4 on the trails at 8:30 am. Work has been really time-consuming since I came home from Gainesville.