They all can't be "easy" runs.

5.5 miles. Legacy trail with Tommy on his bike. 11 am start. 84 degrees. Shirtless. Big crowd out there today. We had a few bike problems, so i had ro run with black chain oil stained fingers. Now watching the gator QB stink up Orlando.

8 am: 3.1 miles. pacing Johnny in a 5k. It did not go especially well. The weather was fine. We just were a bit under-prepared for this one. 

Then to the beach in the rain for skim / boogie boarding. 

4 pm. 7.5 miles. hood route. very smooth. 70 degrees and misty rain. I really appreciate the drop in temps.50 this week. It's been a while. 

10.2 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and Back. 8 am start. 60 degrees?!! rain/mist throughout. Fairly smooth stuff with one "sprint" thrown in just because.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. 53 deg. 67% hum. 42 d.p. with weather like that, this should have felt much smoother. It was clunky. Boy #1 started at a new school this morning. We shall see about this.

9 pm: Island Walk mini-bridges. 2.4 up. weight training. 2.4 down. Great stars tonight. 

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. 50 something degrees. Really tough getting out and getting going rhis morning. Yes, this Floridian wore gloves and a hat this morning.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. Felt pretty easy this morning. I'm glad winter is over. Track stuff later.

6 pm. At track. 2 up. 800 in 2:57. 400 in 1:24. (10) x 100 m sprints, jog back. 2 down. 64 deg., 83% hum., 69 d.p.

7:30 pm: Island Walk mini-bridges. 2.4 up. weight training. 2.4 down.

I just thought I would get some “year in review / looking ahead” thoughts down. Short version – What happened in Savannah changed my thinking about what I am trying to accomplish as a runner. I am going for sub 3 at Sugarloaf. The rest of this is going to be kind of disjointed, so whatever.

I’ve been hesitant to call that sub 3 shot. Well, we go on these cool trips, and I never thought I would qualify for Boston, so time isn’t really the goal, and countless other excuses for not trying that I have unloaded on this blog. Well, now I have called it out.

Savannah went bad. I knew it wasn’t going to be a PR, but not just because of the weather. Something was off at the start line. Yes, the kids’ football seasons really beat up my training. But as I understand it, the kids get even more involved with things as they get older, so my time to train will become less and less. My training has been so uninspired since Boston, that I was starting to wonder why I was doing this. Then we got home, and I was kind of bummed. Then we had Thanksgiving, and Andy’s wedding, and Johnny’s birthday, and Christmas, and New year’s, and Tommy changing schools, and yesterday, my birthday. I have eaten so much cake in the last month!

If I am going to get sub 3, it’s got to happen soon. It’s only going to get harder. I had originally rough scheduled 2016 to go – Jackson, MS in January, Brookings, SD in May (I’ll get there eventually, Matt), and then RnR Vegas in November. I was kind of psyched for Jackson, as it would be my 10^th marathon, on the anniversary of my first marathon.

More awkward candor - I have a coach. I have had a coach since before joining this blog. I didn’t say so in the beginning, and then more time passed to where it would be weird to admit having a coach here. He’s seasonal in Florida. He spends half the year in Canada, and half in Island Walk, where I have been running on Mondays and Thursdays lately. The first time I met him was a week after MCM, and I was really down. He said he could knock a half hour off my marathon time. He said that without ever seeing me run. 2 months later, I got a half hour off. Back then, he set up the plan, and it was up to me to execute it. Then, for a while, I would send him e-mails, letting him know how I was doing, and the coaching was much more distant. But now, He wants me to get sub 3, probably as much as I do. He has a really good resume, as a coach.  I am honored at the amount of time and advice he has given me.   

Okay, so looking ahead – The plan is to get my weekly mileage up to @ 60-70. For January, February and into March I’m going to stick with this weight training plan he has me working on Mondays and Thursdays. Wednesday night speed work – either at the track, the Island Walk hilly course, or Celery Mound. Every run I do will have some component of race pace running, even if it is for 100 yards. I beefed up about 15 pounds at the tail end of the year, so there is much focus on weight right now. I am 182, and ideal race weight is @ 165ish. I need to run more races. Racing is not running. Nothing can prepare you for a race like a bunch of races. Coach is a big believer in those charts that say “if you can run a 5k in x, then you can run a 10k in y, and you can run a marathon in z.” So racing these local races will either let me know I’m on the right track, or make me lose hope.

My family is on board with the plan, and are being remarkably accommodating. I am going to try to not let this take over our family schedule, but I can see where that could happen.

I think that is about enough for one night.  

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. In the rain. Shirtless. It seemed like it was fast, but my watch broke yesterday, so who knows?

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 6 am start. 65 and super foggy. It was cool watching bicycle tail lights disappear into the fog. Snappy pace, but it's time to get a watch. Beautiful day out today. I took the boys to both Lido Beach, and Siesta Key Beach. Bothof those were great. Now watching an awful texans vs. Chiefs game.

12.9 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to Venice Avenue and back. Hot and overcast. Slow and steady.

7 pm: Island Walk mini-bridges. 2.4 up. weight training. 2.4 down. Kind of chilly tonight.

7.5 miles. Hood route. Slow and chilly.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6:30 am start. 50 deg and no wind. Almost perfect. Track stuff later.

6:15 pm. At track. 2 up. 4 by 800 (2:57, 2:58, 3:00, 3:01). 2 down. it was crowded during warm up. So crowded that antisocial wrong direction board shorts guy had to go in the right direction. Everyone was gone by the end of warm up. It was tough to keep focus tonight.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. 50 deg.

6 pm: Island Walk mini-bridges. 2.4 up. weight training. 2.4 down. 65 deg.

16.25 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to Circus Bridge and back. 68 deg., 90% hum., 63 d.p. 2:10:54 (8:03 pace). 1st 2 miles in 15:16. (7:38 pace). Last 2 miles in 15:34 (7:47 pace). 1st half in 1:04:30 (7:56 pace). 2nd half in 1:06:24 (8:10 pace).

Beautiful morning. I started later than usual (7:30ish). As I was headed south, and I crossed the bays, the angle of the sun reflected off the water through the pickets of the railing, and it created this strange strobe light effect. I had to run those bridges with my left eye closed.

Shirtless. Camelbak. Longest run since Savannah. Sweat dripping off the end of the visor. Awesome.

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. I waited until the wind died sown somewhat at nine. Rain for part of it, sluggish from yesterday, hopping branches. I did learn something, though. In a couple of weeks, i have a 5k on sunday. I have been debating what my Saturday run should be the day before. I do not feel like racing today, so that rules out 16.25.

3.5 miles. Hood route. Much cooler this morning.

Pm: 2.4 miles up. Island Walk mini bridges. Weight training. 2.4 miles down.

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. Temps in the forties. I totally overdressed. I was sweating a lot by mile 2. This is foreign ground for me. I might figure it out by the time it gets warm again.

This made me laugh. Pearl jam at wrigley in august. BAD seats for $220. On the lawn for $2,200.

http://m.ticketnetwork.com/tix/2765945?SearchTermOrigin=pearl%20jam&EndIndexOrigin=21#

5.5 miles. Hood route. 45 deg. I dressed more appropriately today. Speedy, non-track stuff later.

Late start for the island walk mini bridges workout, so i had to cut this a bit short. 2.4 up. 4 x 800 (2:55, 3:05, 2:59, 3:02), 1.2 down. I wish i could have got 6 in tonight, but there was no time. Weather was just abput perfect. These bridge runs are like the anti-tempo runs. You can't hold a steady pace for any consistent amount of time. I feel like they are doing some good.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. Much warmer this morning.

7:30 pm. Island Walk mini-bridges with the boys on their bikes. They had fun with the bridges. 6 miles. 5 laps. 25 bridges. There was a mix up with access to the gym tonight, so no weight training. This was a great substitute. 55 deg., 87% hum., 52 d.p. It got up in the 70s today. go figure.

16.25 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Circus Bridge and back. 8 am start. 58 degrees. 25 mph sustained winds. White caps on the intercoastal waterway. 9 minute pace. 2:26:16. I feel beat up. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to Colonia and back. 7 am start. 46 degrees. I totally overdressed again.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back. 5:45 am start. There was FROST on my windshield this morning! I should've taken a picture, so you guys could see what it looks like!

7 pm. Island walk mini bridges. 2.4 miles. Then weight training. Then 2.4 down. i magically put on a half pound this week. So, hanging tough at 182.5. Bummer.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. I must have a race this weekend, because my head is full of self doubt. You're slow, fat, and on the verge of, at least, 6 injuries and illnesses. Have a great race!

10 miles. legacy trail. 6:15 p.m. start. in the rain. 67 degrees. under 7:30 pace. Very good run, but unplanned. Track stuff was cancelled tonight. Coach isn't feeling too well and plus with the rain, the track was sure to be flooded.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 5:45 am start. Left calf is sore. I wanted more miles this morning, but I cut it short because i was really fighting it.

3.6 miles. Hood route with 100 m "Sprint". 7 am start. 48 deg., 95% hum., 47 d.p. This left calf strain took me out thursday night, and all day friday. The one time it is convenient to have a desk job! Today's run was to test it out before tomorrow's 5k. I think I'm good to go. I was aware of it, but never in pain, even with "speed."

Fundraiser for Venice High Soccer - 5k for Kicks. 55 deg. Race started at 8. I got there super early. I drove the course, then stretched for a long time, then warmed up for a long-ish time. Less than 100 runners. Very quick start. This woman said "Okay, I'll be starting you off. Ready Set. Go!" That sent most people fumbling for their watches. After about a half mile, I was in 6th place. Before the turn around, I passed 2 people, then ran all alone for the rest of the race.

I wanted a better time than this, and, as usual, I have excuses. The left calf held up better than I expected during the race, but became increasingly more stiff during church.

It amazes me that there are (5) 5ks in this location every year, but every one has a slightly different course. THIS is where we run races around here. They start at Sharkeys and go to the end of Caspersen Beach, then turn around to finish with some sort of loop around the lake at Maxine Barritt Park. Every race. But the exact location of the start, the turn around, and the loop around the lake are all different. This particular race extends the turnaround point to the playground at Caspersen. Which means you run on unpaved road for @250 yards at halfway. Which means, when it rains extensively, like this week, you are looking down, avoiding pot holes and puddles. Also, this route had a hair pin turn before the last 50 yards on grass.

I do not think a PR was within reach today, even without the odd course. And I have some work cut out for me. But racing more often is part of the process in this marathon build-up, and it had to start somewhere. I have a 15k next month, and then March has 10k, 8k, 12k, and another 10k. I expect greatness in all of those. 

Venice High's soccer coach was my coach in under 14s. I didn't get to see him there. I was kind of looking forward to that.

My mom usually yells at corrects the announcer when they butcher my big polish last name. Today, I told her not to. Instead the announcer handed me the mike, so I could say it. For some reason, the crowd decided to say it back to me, after I said it, like I was teaching them a new language. Funny stuff.

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6 a.m. start. 62 degrees.

6 pm. My left ankle is swollen.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back. 7 a.m. start. 50 degrees. 56:46 7:34 pace. Things still feel tight, but I'm glad this run went well.

First run in Derunzo's shoes. 6:30 a.m. start. 58:27. 7:48 pace. 54 degrees in the drizzle breeze. Hood route to Legacy trail and back. I bought the fresh foam boracays yesterday. Since New Balance Sarasota was bib pickup for today's Sarasota music half, the store was kind of mayhem. On the other hand, I spent $45 on shoes, which I think is a good deal.

5.5 miles. Hood Route. 6 a.m. start. 43 degrees.

7 pm. Island walk mini bridges. 2.4 miles. Then weight training. Then 2.4 down. 65 degrees.

3.5 milea. Hood route. 5:45 am start. 57 degrees. Windy .

8:15 pm. Island walk mini bridges. 2.4 miles. Then weight training. Then 2.4 down. 54 degrees

6 p.m. At track. Warmed up for a mile and a half and then decided not to run. Sometimes life gets in the way of running.

Fruit Cove running. Perfect weather. 3.5 up. Then a drink of water. Then 7.85 through Julington Creek. The run felt very smooth and consistent throughout.

Fruit cove running. Started in the dark. 6 am. Slow. Low 40"s.

Then church.

then ran the whole thing again with my sister in law. And since she can't stand to finish on uneven numbers, we continued running until we got 8 miles even. 20 degrees warmer for this one.

6 pm. Island walk mini bridges. 2.4 miles. Then weight training. Then 2.4 down. 71 degrees. No time to run this morning, before we left Fruit Cove. Just as well, I guess. Maybe I can save my racing for the actual race this time. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back . 5:45 a.m. start. 70 deg. When i started. 65 and foggy when i finished. About an hour or so.

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back . 5:45 a.m. start. 60 deg. Super foggy.

6 p.m. At track. With my brother John. 2 up + strides. 800 @ 2:51. 3 min. rest. 400 @ 1:24. 3 min. Rest. 400 @ 1:26. 200 easy. 200 @ :35. 2 down. The lady that wins all the local races was there. It looked like she was teaching a class. I said "see how hard I work, just to lose to you? " she was supposed to run the Gasparilla 15k this weekend, but she says she has been injured for a while. Bummer.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 a.m. start. Then once around the block once I got home.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6 a.m. start. Then once around the block.

Gasparilla 15k. 1:04:37. 6:56 pace. 149th place overall. 15th age group.

Met Mike M and Drew from the blog. Drew is neither a fat man, nor a unicorn.

Had to get up at 3, and met coach at 4, and we hit the road. They would not let me in to get my bib until 6. Race starts at 6:45. How they process that many people that fast is beyond me.

I lined up behind the elites. There were a few words from Bart Yasso, Shalane F., and Meb. (Impressive, I thought). I talked to a woman down on vacation from Ohio. She was shooting for 1:03. I think she got it. She had great pacing. And when she passed me at mile 7, she said some encouraging words. Nice lady.

I ran the second half slower than the first, like i do. I could read a bunch in to this race result in both good and bad directions. Obviously, if I want to run a sub 3 in May, this is not good news. On the other hand, I knocked 14 minutes off my PR for this distance. I'm going to try not to dwell on this either way. Things are moving in the right direction, and that's all that matters right now.

After the race I walked for @ 400 yards, and saw a group of runners standing around talking. I just said "are any of you guys Drew?" So weird that i found him and Mike like that. I mean, I had no idea what they looked like. Glad you guys had a good race. They beat me by a ton! I'll see you guys around.

going for @13 tomorrow. I'm not sore at all, but I'm going to run this one easy.

16.25 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to circus bridge and back. 7 a.m. start. I was supposed to do 12.9 but the weather was perfect, and I was feeling good so I just kept going.

Am. 0.4 mile run fail. I just didn't have it this morning. Hamstrings were pretty sore.

pm. Island walk mini bridges. 2.4 up. Then weights. Then 2.4 down. Seventy something degrees.

The man with the charts says last Saturday's race translates to a 3:13 marathon. Dang.

in happier news, i lost 4 pounds.

6 am. 3.5 miles. Hood route. Windy. Track stuff later.

Track stuff. 6:30 pm start. More wind and no light from the softball fields next door. It rained a lot today. Lanes 1-3 were flooded. 2 up. 1600, 800, 800, 400, 400, 1.5 down. The goal was to run the second lap of the 800s faster than the first.

6:25, 3:06, 3:10, 1:28, 1:26.

7.5 miles. 6 am start. Hood route to legacy trail and back. Breezy.

6:30 pm. Island Walk mini-bridges. (the anti-tempo.) 2.4 up. then weight training. then 2.4 down. The temps dropped while I was at work today to 59 degrees. Off tomorrow. 20+ Saturday. 

Interesting non-running related stuff. I got a note home from school today for boy #2. In part, it says "John licked a book I gave him ...." I should make a list of things I have to say as a parent, that I would have never imagined I would say in my life. I could come up with a bunch more, but the two of my favorites right now are: 1. "Stop throwing bait fish at those people." and 2. "Let's try not to lick books anymore."

I had to sign the note for him to take it back tomorrow. 

I'm going to lick it, because that's how we roll over here. 

20.75 miles. 6:30 am start. Hood route to legacy trail to the circus bridge to Caspersen beach and back. Slow. 48 degrees at start. 58 degrees at finish.

11 miles, mostly on legacy trail with boy #2 on his bike. We started out @ 4:30 from Laurel road. We headed south over Dona Bay and Roberts Bay and the US 41 bridge. Then we did a quick u turn to go along side US 41 on to the island of Venice. Once on the island, we ran on the west side of the venetian waterway park, behind venice high school. Shortly after that we came up on the Lomas family, and said a few words. He's probably going to beat me by a lot next saturday. I started worrying if we could get back to the car by dark. So we went over the circus bridge to run on the east side of Venetian waterway park. We crossed all of the bridges for hatchet creek, US 41, roberts bay, and dona bay again. Great sunset over the bays.

Even though this was 11 miles, it felt like much more. He kept losing his chain, needed a drink, had to pee, etc. All of the stopping and starting gave me a beating. I'm glad we did it, but this was work. He is excitedly making plans for next sunday. I might do a small run sunday morning, then go for 10 with him in the afternoon.

6 am. Hood route.

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6 a.m. start. Very smooth.

6 pm. Track stuff. 2 up. 1600 in 6:02. 1600 in 6:17. 400 in 1:22, 400 in 1:22. 1 down.Goal was to be @ 1:35 on the first lap of the 1600s. First one was 1:27, second repeat was right on 1:35. This is going to be a slack week, mileage wise. But this 10k means something to me, so I'm not going to try to catch up miles between now and then. Picked up my bib today. They have discontinued the shark in sunglasses motif. Apparently that was a couple of years ago. They gave me a hard time because I didn't know.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. There's not enough 'O's in Sloooooow to describe this run.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start.

53 degrees. 94% hum. 51 d.p. Through 5k in 20 flat.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to Colonia and back 6:40 a.m. start. Steady running. Great weather.

7 pm. 2.4 miles. Island Walk mini bridges. Then weights. Then 2.4 more Island Walk mini bridges. Very warm.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start.

6 pm. At track. 1 warm up lap. I can't take running hurt anymore. Training is suspended until further notice. This sucks.

Just got off the phone with Doc. Short version is: wear a boot to imobilize my ankle for 3 weeks, or no running for 6 weeks. I pick up the boot at 5 today. Hopefully back to running april 2. I'm going to try riding a bike and water running to keep fit. Or maybe I'll be a slug. We shall see.

Tommy ran the st. Pattys day 8k in my place this morning. 43:14. Not bad. He ran under the alias 'Paddy O' Furniture. ' good times and green eggs afterwards. My new boot is quite fashionable. I got lots of great looks. Then Johnny and I pool ran for a half hour. Then we rode bikes on trails for an hour. Pretty productive day for injured dude.

Then 2 hours later, johnny's best friend came over. He wanted to ride the trail too, so we did it again. Im not much of a cyclist. I expect this will make me sore in new places.

Big hour and a half bike ride this morning. Most of it on Legacy Trail. It felt like a pretty good workout. What I've learned about cycling: 1. Hills are more of an inconvenience to cyclists than they are to runners. You are limited in your options as far a gears, leaning, and effort to overtake them. Runners can constantly make micro-adjustments to overtake hills. 2. The urge to race strangers is really ramped up on a bike. I got passed by one dude out there. He had a tricked out bike and a goofy aerodynamic helmet. I tailed him for about a half mile on my cheapo Huffy mountain bike, before i let him go.

i plan on pool running later, after church, and my dad's 75th birthday party.

12:30 - 1/2 hour pool running. The pool is not heated. I'm glad we got up to 82 degrees today.

6:30 pm. 45 minutes pool running. I had the boys and their friend with me. 3 boys unfer 10 wrestling and screaming in the pool for 45 minutes? Im amazed that I got to "run" for that long. It was not very relaxing. And of course, everything stopped when 2 boys bonked heads. Almost goes without saying.

5:45 am. 1 hour bike ride. Foggy.

8 pm. Half hour pool running.

6 am. 1 hour bike ride. Super foggy.

A while back, I got an email from the RNR Savannah folks. It was a survey to find out what they could do to improve my race day experience. Well, i guess they have compiled all of the data. Recently, I got a "you spoke, and we listened" email. The biggest change for the race this year will be....

....

More on - course bands!

Um....

7 pm. Half hour bike ride with the boys then pool running for 45 minutes.

6:30 pm. 1 hour bike ride at a pretty quick pace. This time I took my bike to legacy trail, and headed north, instead of south, like i usually do. Much morw to see to the south, as you are crossing bays and whatnot. But this evening, i got to see that the northern portion has merit as well. Going through the pine flatwoods and oscar scherer state park was kind of nice.

then dinner.

then half hour pool running. Spouse sat on the side of the pool and we talked. I don't think I've ever talked to her while running before.

6:30 pm. 1 hour bike ride. Legacy trail south. Much better over the water.

then home. Then half hour pool running.

Half hour bike ride with the boys on the trails through the puddles. Good times until johnnys bike broke. The left pedal fell off. How does that happen?

6:30 am. 2+hours bike ride in the rain, in the dark. Then home. The half hour pool running. Then spent 3 hours at the beach with the boys. Last day of spring break.

6 am. Half hour bike ride. Great weather. Wish i was running.

6 am. Another half hour bike ride. 40- something degrees today. Steam comung up off the water and out of storm sewers. I guess this rules out the pool running for a few days. We were at 83 degrees 4 days ago.

6:15 p.m. 1 hour pool running.

6 pm. Half hour pool running.

6 a.m. 1 hour 45 minute bike ride. Really misty but not quite foggy out there.

3 pm: the beach. The water was a bit cold, but we got up to 87 degrees today. The boys were already skimboarding for an hour and a half before i showed up. Then to the pool to rinse off the sand. I only got to pool run for 10 minutes before we left. Beautiful day.

6:30 pm. 70 minute bike ride. Not too fast. Mostly trails. I did some exploring new trails, and got a bit turned around. It was a fun time.

5:45 am. 1 hour bike ride. Super hot and sticky. One of the most fragrant trips i can remember. Orange blossoms, dead armadillo, lumber yard, cow pasture, night blooming jasmine.

6:30 p.m. Half hour pool running. 3 days till I'm running again for real.

5:45 am. 1 hour bike ride.

6:30 pm. 15 minutes pool running. Then I spent another 15 minutes throwing the football around the pool with the boys. I would have done the pool running longer, but there are a couple kids out there with a GoPro and I didn't want video evidence of me pool running.

6 am. 45 minute bike ride. So much steam out.

pm: at pool with boy #1. I did 15 minutes of pool running, and then we swam laps. All kinds of styles. Why would anyone do the butterfly? Is is so inefficient. If you are the fastest guy in the world at running backwards, even YOU go faster when you run forwards.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6:30 am start. Shirtless. 77 deg., 87%, 73 dp. 43:31. 7:55 pace. This was a bit tougher than I expected. I am sore in a couple of places on my right leg, which I guess is from overcompensating for a boot on my left leg for the last three weeks. It took about 3 miles to smooth out the bouncy stride. Man, I hate the hot breeze. It is like repeatedly opening a sauna door. My endless summer.

Off to football signups. Then a one hour bike ride with my boys plus one.

I have to admit it is nice to see a number in the green box, instead of an empty grey box.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6:45 am start. Much better weather than yesterday. We had a momentary lapse of humidity.

You know what I forgot to do in my time away from running? Stretch.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6:15 a.m. start. Slow and cumbersome.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6:15 a.m. getting a bit easier.

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

6:40 pm. Track stuff. Bad idea. Turned into 5 slow miles.

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6:30 p.m. start.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 7 a.m. start. Barely beat the nine Minute Man. Beautiful weather. 5 weeks till race day and I find myself in a deep hole. Now me and the boys are going to Haines City to see a friend do a half Iron Man.

Am. 3.5 miles. Hood route.

Pm. 6.5 miles. Legacy trail.

12.9 miles. Hood route to Venice Avenue and back. 6:45 am start. 8:30ish pace. 71 deg., 91% hum.,  67 d.p. Shirtless. Camelbak. 

10.2 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 5 pm start. 77 deg. 45% hum. 55 d.p. Roughly 9 minute miles. 4 weeks until race day.

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

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start.

My goal of 20.75 miles on Saturday is being threatened by both my limited physical abilities, and also time/scheduling constraints. It's going to take a miracle to pull rhis off.

6.5 miles. 6 p.m. start. Legacy Trail. Very slow.

20.75 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to circus bridge to Caspersen Beach and back. I switched Thursday's and Saturday's runs. 7 pm start. First 2 miles at 9 minute pace. Next 2 much slower. I thought about cutting the run short. But by mile 6, the pain stopped relating to the stride and impact. It was just constant, and i didn't care. By mile 8 at the circus bridge i feel like i was moving pretty quick. I was fatigued for the last 4 miles. But i have been worse before. This gives me some hope that i can finish sugarloaf.

I missed 4 hours of work on Tuesday morning waiting for the cable guy who never showed. I'm now postponing my run till this afternoon waiting for the same cable guy who has an hour and a half to get here. I am so mad.

No show again! Then I went out and ran 7.5 miles to Legacy Trail and Back. Now I have boy #2 at Payne Park Skate Park. We're going to spend the rest of the day here. He is LOVING this place! I plan on using this place to coerce him to do things from now on.

St. Pete. I went to root for my buddy in the St. Anthony's Tri. I saw Mike up there. I have no idea how I can spot that dude in a big crowd, given that I have only met him once for less than five minutes. It's kind of crazy. He was running the relay for his team. The results page says he did very well.

I was planning on running when we got home, but I went to a baptism at the beach. The kids wanted to bring their skimboards, but i didn't think that was appropriate. Maybe we should have. I mean, God provided perfect shore break for skimming. Hmmmm.

Hood route. 2.5 weeks until race day. This is not good.

Hood route.

5.5 miles. Hood route. With the 8 minute man. Haven't seen that dude in a while.

20.75 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Circus bridge to caspersen Beach and back. 5:45 am start. Hot and humid. 2:58:52. 8:37 pace.

Then, we went to the beach with the kids for 4 hours. The water is close to perfect right now.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to colonia and back. 6 am start. Slow, but that was expected. Then church. Then a couple more hours of yard work. THen swimming pool. Then batting, fielding practice with my boys +1 at well field. Then my brother got into town, so we hung out with him for a bit. When leaving my parent's house, I stepped on a snake for the first time. I've been close before. Since it was dark, i didn't find out until after. That was icky.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6:15 am start. Slow and painful.

5.5 miles. Hood route.

12.9 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Venice Ave. and back. Weather was uncommonly unhumid. 65 deg., 58% hum., 52 d.p. 1:44:06. 8:04 pace. Last 2 in 14:36. Once again, there was a lot of pain at the start. By mile 4 or 5, things kind of became manageable. I feel like I could run for days at slow paces. It is only when I attempt to generate the quick stuff that things get ouchy. I just need to get through this race, and then I'll worry about getting healthy.

It only sounds dumb because it is dumb.

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back.6 am start. I saw a squirrel get run over at half way. Ewww. And. Awww. Happy mothers day!

7 days until race day.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6 a.m. start.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. Shirtless level warm. Flat course running. Good race day simulatIuon.

6:30 am start. This really happened. And it was not fast.

5.5 miles hood route. 6 am start.

Pm: flew to Portland, ME. Got in after midnight.

Driving day. Portland to Bar Harbor ( scenic route) to Acadia National Park to Cadillac Mountain to Sugarloaf. We got to Sugarloaf @ 10 pm. 2 floridians driving through rainy, foggy mountains, in the dark, with no cell service could mean bad things. Despite a bit of white knuckle driving, we got here okay.

I just couldn't see going to Maine, without visiting the coast. Impressive stuff.

We drove the course this morning. Usually, I do a three mile jog the day before a marathon. But today i thought i should just chill. It is fantastic weather. Much easier driving. Did some low-impact sight seeing. It is really a beautiful place. Craziest thing about today - I got knee deep in a really cold mountain top lake that buried a former town.

On another note, I don't think these sugarloaf folks are maximising the possibilities of this race. For example, they have a band playing at the base lodge tonight. And tjey are closed tomorrow night. Maybe it's this way because they want it this way.

Sugarloaf Marathon. I held 7:30 pace for @ 18 miles, then things got weird. Most beautiful course i have ever run. I guess Jake's buddy Merkel got on the podium for his age group. I heard his name called, but i didn't get to see the hair!

I guess I'll write more when i gethome. Cell phone connections here are iffy.

Sitting in the airport. Looking at the official results. I guess there was a timing strp at mile 16. I came through at 7:40 pace to that point. From there it says i dropped to 8:44 pace. I might be the first person in the history of this race that ran a positive spilt.

Rainy and cold at the start, but neither was unbearable. My plan was to go out at 7:30 pace until the big drop off at mile 10.5, and then see what happens. I came to that race plan, because in previous races - whatever my last 20 miler pace was, subtract a minute and you get my race pace. I expected 3:28:30. I went out at goal pace. I thought i held it pretty well. The downhill at mile 10.5 was almost scary, because of the wet streets. Also, i know the cross slope of the road caused some people troubles. I spent a lot of the race looking for flat surfaces. When i got to about mile 20, my calves were just about locked up. I was running slow. Like, breathe through my nose slow. And everyone was passing me but there was nothing i could do about it. so i finished the race.

Then we went back to the condo. Then we went looking for a moose. We never found one.

If you train on flat, without any speed, in intermittent surges, you don't do so well.

It was still a great 22nd anniversary trip. Maine is beautiful.

Day started with snow flurries. Drove back to Portland. We went over a wire bridge in New Portland. It swayed back and forth. It was really cool.

7.2 miles. 8: 11 pace. In Apopka. Apopka is Hillier than Venice. I'm up here for a conference, but staying with an old friend. I should have stretched at some point since the race, I guess.

3.5 miles. hood route. with boy #2 on his bike. 7 am start. 76 deg., 87% hum., 72 d.p.

3.5 miles. Hood route. Big Tailwind on the first half. Collin is a jerk. I had plans for this week, running and otherwise, and he's kind of messing things up.

2 days in a row? Look out for this guy! 80 deg., 87% hum., 75 d.p.

http://jimspages.com/The-Rio-Welcome-Sign-2016-Olympics.htm

I'm going to get one of these things! Every day should start by bungee jumping off of a flaming fountain power plant.

5:45 pm. RINGLING BRIDGE RUN! 5.2 miles. It was tough. Super duper hot, and I'm out of shape, but I ran the whole thing. It was good getting back to some old sights, sounds, and smells, and kind of weird parking in my old job's parking lot, but I had an opportunity to do it, and I'm glad I did.

3.6 miles. hood route. 6 am strt. Then I drove to Fruit Cove to pick up the kids.

5.5 miles. 6 pm start. on Legacy Trail. After driving back from Fruit Cove. It's Pretty hot out there, and I'm not in good shape, unless you consider "round" to be good. I haven't been on a scale in a while, and MIL has one. That was worse than expected. I'm working out a new set of goals, and losing weight is fairly high on the list.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 6:15 am start. Fat man running shirtless! Look out!

3.5. Hood. 6 am. Hot.

6 am start. Testing out new asics something or another that i bought cheap yesterday at the sports authority going out of business sale. Shoes felt good. My stomach was upset this morning for some reason. I'm going to have to run some vurpy free miles.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to colonia ave. And back.great sunrise. Three different rain events. New shoes are acceptable. A bit quicker than i was expecting. Under 8:15 pace. Go figure.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia Ave. and back. 6:40 am start. Much slower than yesterday.

Anyhow, I got to thinking - if you are running for the school board, and you have the letter "O" somewhere in your name, are you obligated to replace that "O" with an apple on your signs? Does someone without an "O" in their name find themselves at a disadvantage to someone with an "O", when running for school board? What about the letter "L" , being replaced with a pencil? Would you vote for the apple or the pencil? I'm just saying, it's a lot to consider, when voting. And school board is kind of important. Think of the children!

I already miss the regular schedule of the school year. It seema that every week during summer, some schedule change occurs.

I'm going to try to add to this tonight.

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. 6:30 am start.

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6:30 a.m. start...

7.5 miles. Hood route. 5:45 am start. The bugs were delicious!

5.5 miles. Hood route. 5:45 am start. Less bugs, but more spiderwebs. That might be a direct relationship there.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back. 5:40 am start. Not much bugs or spiderwebs, but a humid stillness that was creepy. Like, dew-accumulating-on-your-eyelashes level humidity.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back .5:40 am start. Cool sliver moon.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 6 a.m. start. Beat the nine minute man. Lots of Runners out today. Very hot.

10.2 miles. 6:30 a.m. start. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. Very humid this morning. Like pruned fingertips from sweat humid.

5:30 p.m. A friend from church asked me to go run with him tonight so I went. We ran on the Legacy Trail for five and a half miles in stupid mid-nineties Heat. He has always been faster than me on the shorter stuff so I had to take another shot at it and tried to outkick him at the last 200m. Once again, I lost. Someday, B minus, someday.

10.2 miles hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 6:30 a.m. start. Going to see fireworks at the beach tonight for the first time in many years. The boys couldn't be more excited.

1.5. Then bathroom stop. Then 3.5.

I intentionally took Tuesday off. I accidentally took Wednesday off by staying up too late. I feel like I gain some ground on the self discipline front, only to lose it within days. This will be an ongoing struggle, I guess.

6 am. Hood route. I saw a bald eagle.

10.2 miles. 6:15 am start. Super hot, but i was distracted with tthoughts of weddings and such.

Best wishes to Jake and Andrea today and in the years to come.

1.5 miles then home field advantage bathroom. Then 10.2 milea. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. Very hot. I ran into 2 guys i used to fish with every week. (That was my hobby before running). They were on the golf course and they yelled at me going by. This is right before i got home. Anyhow, they said i was the wettest person they had ever seen. Well, at least that wasn't weird.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail in back. 5:45 a.m. start. Still super hot.

Fun fact: I ran my last 5 marathons at a rate if 67.9 seconds per pound.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 5:40 am start.some guy screamed at me from a passing car about 5 minutes into the run. That is the second time this has happened in my running career. I couldn't understand what the guy said. Other than someone screaming at me in complete darkness from 6 feet away, I think I am annoyed by the lack of articulation.

. 7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail. 6 a.m. start. I couldn't find my usual running shoes this morning, so I ran in some old Hokas. Pretty quick today!

5.5 miles hood route. 6 a.m. start. Then i took boy #2 to work with me. We started at the sarasota bmx track. They were flying a drone over the new track. Now my 9 year old thinks i have the coolest job ever.

16.25 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Circus bridge in back. 6 a.m. start. Very slow.

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6:45 a.m. start.

6 pm. kids at church, so I decided to go run a bit on Legacy Trail. It was post-rain super-miserable. Anyhow, about 1.8 miles into it, I saw my man, Brian from church out running. We both laughed. like there's nowhere else to run around here! So I ran with him back to my car. Then we ran the 2.25 back to his car. As we were coming up to the finish, I asked him if we were going to race it out again. If he won, we would meet at the track next week. If I won, we would do this again next week. It seems nobody wanted to go to the track next week, because I really went fast at the end. Then he drove me back to my car.

What would happen if you threw a frisbee on the moon?

7.5 miles. Hood route. Emergency bathroom stop at McDonalds at halfway. Sorry, McDonalds! Still ran @ 8:30 pace, including the stop. So, not ALL bad, considering.

P.s. this has nothing to do with running, but it's my new big thing, so who cares? tommy figured out Santa Monica (everclear) on guitar monday night, and I'm still super psyched about it. The boys made their first song together sunday night, which they immediately forgot. Still, i like where these music lessons are taking them.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back. 6 am start. Comedic sweat levels. I hung up my shorts in the garage. They left a puddle that spouse accidentally stepped in barefoot. That scream will haunt me the rest of my days.

16.25 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Circus bridge and back. 6 a.m. start. Better pace than last week.

10.2 miles. Good route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 6 a.m. start.

6 pm. 5.5 miles with Brian on Legacy trail. Tough running.

1.5 miles. Then back home. Then 2 miles. I've been trying to quit coffee, as I do not like relying on it, as part of my pre-run ritual.Some days are better than others.

7 pm. At track with Johnny and his friend, Chris. 1 up. 400. 200. 100. 1 down.

Me: 1:17, 36, 16. Johnny: 1:32, 40, 16. Chris: 1:33, 44, 16.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to colonia and back. 5:45 am start. I had the time and i felt good enough to go the extra distance so i did. Not fast, but i got some good miles in this morning. I went by the orange groves while they were spraying the crops. It was like a half mile of running with a cigarette. I also went by the lumber yard. That is a great fragrance. I saw a racoon, possum, Armadillo, and some bats. Going out at 5:45, instead of the usual 6 am, allowed me to get some running in before the pre-sunrise humidity bomb. I think I may be scheduled out of a saturday run, so i need to get some miles in advance.

78 deg. 96% hum. 77 d.p. whatever, I finished the run.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to colonia and back. Same weather as yesterday. After half way the shoes went squish squish squish squish...

10 miles on Legacy Trail. No hood route today. Late start. By the way, I put on 3 pounds this week. Awesome! I now have to lose 21 pounds for a shot at a personal record in Savannah.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to colonia and back. 6 am start. 80 deg. 89% hum. 77 d.p. I was gonna run 7.5, but then I thought i should go farther.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to colonia and back.

5.5 miles. Hood route. 78 deg. 84% hum.73 dp.

3.5 miles. In the hizood. Before the rain. Traffic is really picking up, for summer time. Usually there's not this many cars out there.

16.25 squishy miles.Hood route to Legacy trail to circus bridge and back. Like sweat dripping off the camelbak onto my lower back kind of hot. Like I left cheap asics sweat footprints in my driveway hot. So, yeah. Hot.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back. In the mist. No life saving breeze.

5:15 pm. 1 mile at the track. Lanes 6-8 were not flooded.I was going to run more, but then the sideways rain started.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back. 5:30 am start. 82 degrees. No rain. Frogs singing, bats, and a bald eagle. Getting my miles might be tough this week.

1. This week looks to be busy at work.

2. Spouse is in Omaha all week.

3. This week the boys go full pads at football practice.

4. We are expected ro get @ a foot of rain this week.

I'm going to have to take what I can get.

Dodging rain. I run by a church sign that is bananas. I look forward to reading the next level of crazy each day. It is largely political, seldom biblical, and basically confirms every out of stater's assumptions about Floridians it is also blindingly bright. I should start taking pictures of their stuff.

Hood route to Legacy trail and back. The church sign was sending a message about chemical dependency, i guess. There was a picture of the Frozen cast next to the words "Let it Go."

On the way back, they had a picture of Luigi, from Mario Brothers, next to the words "You are not a good god." Hmmmm.