They all can't be "easy" runs.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 5:45 pm start. 37:01. 8:03 pace. 85 deg. 67% hum. 73 d.p. Too much of my boss's birthday cake before running.

Folks around here are excited about this weekend's "cold snap" forecast. On Sunday, it could get down to 78 / 62! 

5 am - Bananas-level downpour. Postponed run to YMCA treadmill at 9. My 3rd -ever treadmill run. 3 separate runs, totaling 12.24 miles, average pace - 8:05. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I may put some miles on my new YMCA membership, we shall see.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 7:00 am start. 1:00:38. 8:05 pace. 64 deg. 57% hum. 49 d.p. Solid weather. Almost regret mocking the locals who were excited about the cooler temps. Almost.

Started the day by chasing a possum off the lanai at 6:00, you know, like you do.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 5:45 am start. 1:04:36. 8:37 pace. 74 deg. 83% hum. 68 d.p. ....and we're back to feeling like Florida again.....

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 5:45 am start. 1:05:45. 8:46 pace. 72 deg. 94% hum. 70 d.p. Emergency stop at halfway. I'm glad there is more home building going on around here lately.

I just signed up for Birmingham Marathon. The kid's marathon program they have is really interesting: https://bcbsal.acms.com/mercedes2015/ The kids keep a running log for 25.2 miles, then run the last mile on race day. Sounds really cool, I think.

6:15 pm - At track. 2 up, 6x800 @ 3:00 each, 1 down.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 5:30 am start. SLOW and un-timed. 71 deg. 94% hum. 70 d.p. My legs hurt so bad in the first mile, I had to laugh. I didn't start feeling right until @ mile 4. I have GOT to get to the track more often. 

12.9 miles. Legacy Trail to Venice Avenue and back. 6:00 am start. 1:53:02. 8:47 pace. 71 deg. 91% hum. 66 d,p. very slow start.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 6:00 am start. 1:01:35. 8:13 pace. 76 deg. 86% hum. 72 d.p. 

5.8 Miles. Ringling Bridge. 43:27. 7:29 pace. 84 deg. 73% hum. 74 d.p.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 5:45 am start. 1:05:17. 8:42 pace. 75 deg. 95% hum. 74 d.p.

7.5 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail and Back. 1:04:55. 8:39 pace. 75 deg., 94 % hum., 73 d.p. 5:30 am start. I kept it slow, because I'm going to the track later. Oh Yeah, That's right, 2 weeks in a row.

I passed a guy running on the road, in the dark. I said "I wouldn't trust those drivers out there. You should run over here, on the sidewalk." He said "Yeah, but my knees can't take the sidewalk." This raises some questions. A) Is there that much of a difference in the impact on your knees, between asphalt and concrete, and B) Is that difference worth the risk?

I run on the road sometimes, when the sidewalk has a lot of curb cuts, and the cross slope changes frequently. I would just rather run on a flat surface. But still, I am REALLY cautious when I get in the street. This guy wasn't even wearing reflective stuff. I don't get it.

6:20 pm. At track. 75 deg., 74 % hum., 76 d.p. 2 up. 4 min. rest. 1600 @< 6:05. 3 min. rest. (2) x 800 @< 3:00, with 3 min. rest. (4) x 400 @< 1:30, with 3 min. rest. 1 down.

My sister in law is doing a 10k in Sarasota this Saturday. I may be racing, or pacing her, or cheering for her. I haven't made up my mind yet. We'll see how I feel after tomorrow morning's run.

5.5 miles. Hood Route. 5:30 am start. 76 deg., 57% hum. 59 d.p. Slowwwww. Legs are pretty beat up today. Oil can! Oil can!

1 up. Then, I was a pacer for my sister in law for a 10k. She got a 2+ minute PR! So she's pretty psyched. It was a 10k, then you could run a 5k. Most of the people were running the 5k only.  Meanwhile, boy #2 scored a goal at soccer. Then we went to the beach, and my brother stepped on a tiny stingray. That jump of his was pretty funny. All in all, a good day.

But my Gators stink out loud.

Test run Tri with the boys: (75 yard swim, 2 mile bike, 0.7 mile run.) Boy #2 got 24:35. Boy #1 got 23:25. I had each of them go separately, because ... well.... having both of them go at the same time really stinks for many reasons. Here's where we stand with this; it's @ 3 weeks until race day for them. I know they will finish the race. Boy #1 is a good swimmer, and a good runner. When he's on his bike, he's humming and daydreaming. I have to keep after him to keep him on task. Boy #2, as it turns out, is also a decent swimmer. He FLIES on the bike. But then, has a lot of difficulty continuously running the whole distance, especially if he thinks his brother is beating him. This is going to be pretty exciting. Also the water temp right now is 78 degrees. Should be @ 5 degrees less on race day. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 5:45 am start. 1:04:04. 8:33 pace. 67 deg. 82% hum. 65 d.p. More work than I thought it would be. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 5:30 am start. 1:02:48. 8:22 pace. 72 deg. 89% hum. 68 d.p. Song stuck in my head:

http://youtu.be/d0TZZZcC9l4

7.5 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail and Back. 1:03:26. 8:27 pace. 70 deg., 93 % hum., 68 d.p. 5:45 am start. Track later.

6:20 pm. At Track. 2 up. 1600 in 5:51. 1 down. To my knowledge, this is the fastest mile I have run. I am now faster than the 17 year old version of me. So that's cool. But,... 1. I thought I was faster than this. 2. First lap was 1:18. There is much work to be done.

I'll give the fast mile another go in @ 6 weeks. 

5.5 miles. Hood Route. 5:30 am start. 66 deg., 74% hum. 57 d.p. Slow. 

PM: Signed up for the "Boo Run 5k" this Saturday. Fit2Run was pandemonium, as they were registering people for 2 races (@ 750 runners in each race) + having their Thursday group run, etc. Yeesh! Get me out of here! Take my money and give me a stinking Bib! The employees were frozen in fear. 

Anyhow, I guess I should update the "Short Term Running Goals." This is the first of a three 5k series. I think I'm going to throw in one, maybe two, 10ks between now and Birmingham, in February. 

3.11 up (Since there was no course map on-line, I ran the course as a warmup), then some strides. 8:30am start. I saw some familiar runners from other 5ks, 10ks around here, so I knew that getting any kind of age group award would be tough. I tailed a guy that in other races, some he beats me, some I get him, but we are usually within @ 30 seconds of each other, or so. Lots of kids up front. It WAS a halloween race, after all. @ 1/2 mile into it, this guy wearing a bicycle helmet with a mohawk on it comes flying by me. And he gets really close, to where I think we would get tangled up. Then I see him do the same to the guy that I was following, and it was worse! My pace guy had to slow up, not to trip over bike helmet mohawk guy. Mile 1 @ 6:00, and I'm still with pace guy, although it's obvious that pace guy is not working as hard as me. And I passed bike helmet guy at this point. At the turn around, Pace guy has me by @ 20 yards. Through mile 2 marker at 12:20, and pace guy's lead has grown to @ 50 yards. After mile 2 marker, I got the feeling there was a large gap between me and whoever was behind me, because the police were letting cars cross the course, after I passed them. I figured, if there's enough room for them to wave cars through, there must be nobody back there. I saw pace guy finish @ 30 seconds ahead of me, then I kicked it up a bit into the finish. Apparently, I just barely held off bike helmet mohawk guy! Crazy! Should make for an interesting finish line picture someday! I won a cup, for the age group thing. I met some nice folks, and ate some good grub, waiting for my cup. Then I hightailed it out of there, and back to Venice, and saw Johnny score 2 goals in his soccer game! A Good day. A good race. I'm slowly coming back around again. When that happens, you can just feel it.

10.2 miles Legacy Trail to Colonia and Back. 8:30 am start. 1:19:43. 7:49 pace. 70 deg. 61% hum. 56 d.p.

It's coming back around again.

5.5 miles. Hood Route. 5:30 am start. 48:00. 8:44 pace. 60 deg., 86% hum. 56 d.p.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 5:30 am start. foggy. 66 deg. 93% hum. 64 d.p.

6:15 pm. At track. 2 up. 8x400 w/ 2 min. rest. All less than 1:25. 1.5 down.

I still haven't figured out how to make this work next week when daylight savings is here.

No running. I was at a conference all day, where one of the the speakers was Dr. Gilman. Among many other things, he performs experiments to find the breaking point of trees / branches. Experiments like this: http://youtu.be/NFqF5RHXNCw

He has made a career out of destroying trees. Fascinating.