They all can't be "easy" runs.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 72 degrees, 98% humidity, 71 dew point. First run back from being sick, still not right. 2 emergency bathroom stops. Ran through spiderwebs. 2020 is going to be great!

12.9 miles. hood route to the legacy trail to Venice Ave. and back. 7 am start. Super hot and humid and hot breeze. Yuck. First 5 miles in 40:45. I started training too late for this race. Oh well. I saw antisocial wrong direction board shorts guy! It's been a while. He must have been social enough since the last time I saw him to get a lady friend to run with. Good for him! As they were approaching me he said good morning! I can't believe it! That has to be a good sign for 2020¡­ it's supposed to rain heavy this afternoon and really drop temps this evening.

7.5 miles. Hood route to the legacy trail and back. Great temps this morning.

10.7 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge, turn around to Colonia, and back the same way. 6:20 am start. 47 DEGREES OF AWESOME! I should have timed this one. What a difference lower cooler non life-threatening temperatures make. I had Monty Python's Lumberjack Song stuck in my head for this one. I wish that were not true, but it is. 

7.5 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail and back. 6 am start. I got out a bit late, and ran slower, so I didn't get as many miles as I wanted. Also, yesterday I turned 49 years old. So things were a bit off this morning for other reasons. 

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6:10 am start. The weather is still really good.

Then I talked with spouse about the possibility of doing the Gasparilla 15k. The problem before was getting up at 4 am to go up there, get my bib, and then race. I decided that if I were ever to do this again, I would be staying the night up there. It's just a little too far to do in one day. (although I have done this twice now, so obviously, it CAN be done.) The kids have something out of town that weekend, so why not? I bought my race entry, and I think spouse is looking at renting a boat for us to stay on. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6:30 am start. I got up early enough for more miles. I had no appointments after this, so I could have run more miles. The weather was good enough for more miles. 

I can't explain why, but I had everything going towards running more miles, but I didn't run more miles. 

Also, 9 years ago today, I ran my first race - Disney. 

16.25 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to Circus Bridge and back. 76 degrees, 85% humidity, 71 dew point. No wind until the last 2 miles. 1:13 out. 8:59 pace. 1:10:16 back. 8:39 pace. 2:23:16 overall. 8:49 pace. First 5 miles in 45 min. Last 5 miles in 43:16. 8:27 pace.

7.5 miles. Hood route. 6:30 am start. Lots of dead animals on the side of the road this morning.

1.2 miles around the block. Then to track. 1 up. (8) x 400, with 400 AR. 2 down. 1:32, 1:33, 1:34, 1:37, 1:34, 1:33, 1:35, 1:34. Lots of people on the track on a Tuesday morning. I don't usually get to see this. I have the day off work because Pop has heart surgery this afternoon. We have tried to have this TAVR procedure 2 previous times, but he kept getting infections and had to postpone. it looks like we are good to go today.

5.5 miles. hood route. 6:15 am start. Pop's procedure went fine yesterday. We were delayed substantially, because of an emergency situation they had with another patient in the morning. The care for Pop was great, but the treatment of the people in the waiting room left a lot to be desired. But I'm trying to focus on what's important here. The proceedure was done, and he got through it, by all accounts, better than expected. In theory, they will let him out late today. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. 6 am start. summer weather. I timed it for no good reason. 34:45 out, 9:16 pace. 31:54 back, 8:30 pace. 1:06:39 overall, 8:53 pace.

Then I visited Pop in the hospital. No, they didn't let him out. He had some old guy reaction to the meds and went bonkers. It was a fun night in the hospital. After everything that happened last night, they are letting him out today. He will do much better at home. 

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. slow. 

Pop is back home, and is doing much better. My brother is in town to help my mom out for a few days. 

6:30 am start. 2 miles around the block. Then 10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to Colonia and back. 39:15 out. 7:42 pace. 39:28 back. 7:44 pace. The way out was fairly even splits. The way home was widely varied.

4 miles. hood route. 6 am start. hot. humid.

5 on the trails this morning. dropped 10 degrees overnight.       

 also, I'm giving up on the tiny home electrical improvements project I've taken on this weekend. I've been zapped way too much in the last couple of days! 

5.5 miles. hood route. 5:30 am start. 37 degrees at the start of the run. So this is "winter"? 

5.5 miles. It was silly warm for 6 am. everything is clicking off nice. I may have over-tapered for this race, but it has been a crazy couple of weeks. I'll just take my PR and shut up then. 

I drive across the state tonight after work. I'll get to the place where I am staying in Pompano probably near 9 pm. Expo tomorrow morning. I'll meet up with Michael for dinner tomorrow. Maybe before dinner, if his schedule will permit. That dude is cramming as much Florida into this trip as possible!

Publix A1A Half Marathon in Fort Lauderdale. 

1st time running a Half Marathon. 1st time running a race of any distance without "going #2" beforehand. 1st time running a race of any distance with a negative split. 

Last night, spouse and I had the traditional pre-race pasta dinner at Il Mulino, with Michael from the blog, and our friends Scott and Diane. 

About the race. Alarm went off at 3. They wanted us at the VIP parking area near the finish line at 4:30. Since we were staying north of the race course, essentially on the race course, and the finish line was to the south, that meant that we had to drive all the way around and then double back to the finish line. Michael was staying right near the start line. We drove all the way there, then spouse and I rode the bus to the start. This is a really well run race. It is a bit pricey, I think, but in this case, you get what you pay for. The shuttle from start to finish and back again was set up really well. There was only one thing that they got comically wrong. Before the chute at the start line, on the sides of the road, there is a grass strip, a sidewalk and then a row of port-o-potties. Guess when the city decided to run the irrigation for the grass strip? It was really funny. @ 1,000 people waiting to use the bathroom screamed at the same time.

When I saw Michael at the start, I told him I was nervous about not "going" before the race. It was too late to deal with at the moment. So I just figured that would be a problem during the race, and then I would figure it out. It was a bunch of worry about nothing. It never came close to being an issue. 

A guy did the national anthem on saxophone, and then we were off. I almost always go out too fast. So I was grateful for the big crowd at this race that slowed us down for the first mile. I stayed with Michael for the first @2.5 miles. I told him I thought the pace felt fast early on. Maybe it was just the extra work of fighting through the crowd. But at around 2 miles, it felt slow. So right before the Las Olas bridge over the intracoastal, I started picking it up. I didn't see Michael again until he finished his race. The run down A1A was just a few minutes before sunrise, and it was great. Then we rounded the corner into Sunrise Blvd. and the Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. It was still incredibly dark. For some reason, I got even faster through here. By the time I exited the park, I had caught up to the 1:40 pacer. I decided to chill out behind that crowd for a while. Seriously, why do poeple run shoulder to shoulder with the pace guys? You are allowed to be just behind that guy, you know. They ate up the whole road! I stayed in this spot for a while. The sun had risen by this point. We split off from the full marathoners near the 9 mile mark, with a short loop back. There was a guy playing Green Day in a reggae style at the turn around. I figured after the short loop, I would see the 3:30 pace dude, and I did. I didn't see Michael after him. So I thought that was a good sign. I thought he was ahead of pace guy, and still on his way to hit his goal. 

Around mile 10, I still had a lot to give. I felt like I was easy cruising, and not racing anymore. So I hit the gas pedal again, and  passed the 1:40 pacer and his wall of humans. Still felt too easy for a race, so I decided to hold off my " big kick" until crossing Las Olas @ mile 12.5, but still hold the new pace, and don't get passed back by any of the 1:40 guys. When I got to Las Olas, I chickened out of kicking. But then I started passing some people, just by nature of the new pace. One of those poeple didn't like that, and tried to pass me back. Well THAT wasn't happening, so that's when I kicked. He didn't get me. 

I have finished a few marathons, where the half marathoners have eaten and drank everything, leaving nothing for the full marathon runners. This was my big chance to be that kind of jerk. After finishing I ate and drank everything they had to offer. Multiple times. Water, tacos, beer, muffins, Sports drink, beer, bananas, beer, chocolate milk, beer, bubba burgers, beef jerky, beer, I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I kept changing my look to go back to the beer truck. It was really funny. Then I went back to the car to change, because I hate hanging out in wet clothes. Then I went back to raid the finish chute some more, and cheer for Michael as he came in. So when I saw super tall dude from the start line that was right in front of us come in, and I saw 3:30 pacer guy come in, I was kind of bummed, that he missed his goal. As it turns out, only by 30 seconds, or so, but still. I got some decent photos of him coming into the finish. Then we grabbed his stuff from the UPS trucks, and hung out for a while. We had to go at least ankle deep into the Atlantic. It was a great day weather wise. Dry, by Florida standards. 

I like this distance. My legs feel really good even the next day. I could get used to this. I was stunned to find that I ran the second half of the race faster. I was 47:12 (7:36 pace) through 10k. There is a fun quality to this spot I am at right now. Like, if I get too obsessed with times, and PR's, there is no fun. And if I run too slow, there is no fun. Right now, this is fun. Michael, let me know where you are racing in Florida next year, And I'll try to get there again. Really good seeing you again, and Good luck in the Non-Easter-weekend 2021 Boston Marathon. 

5.5 Miles. hood route. 6 am start. I've had a cold this week / work has been demanding / etc. The weather has been great, and my legs feel fine. It's just the headcold.

Last weekend's half has inspired me to race more. After Gasparilla, I'm looking forward to the return of Fatty McButterpants, Paddy O'Furniture, and Lil' Pat O'Butter at this year's St. Paddy's Day 8k. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 8 am start. Rained nearly from start to finish. I felt like had smooth form throughout the run.

7.5 miles. hood route. 6 am start. forty something degrees. So, I dressed like I was in a snow storm. 

1.5 miles. 6 am. bad stomach. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. Smooth running at 6:15 am. Seasonal traffic is here. I have to get out earlier. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6 am start. I did not get out earlier. back to summertime temps. I was very slow. I lacked the gusto today. 

3.5 miles. hood route. 6:15 am start. It's a bad time for this to happen, but I'm kind of in a funk lately with some championship uninspired running. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to Colonia and back. 7:00 am start. decent weather. 44:34 (8:44 pace) out. 42:50 (8:23 pace) back. 1:27:24 (8:34 pace) overall. A bit harder work then what I would want. 

So I was thinking of the song "The Judge" by 21 Pilots. But in my head I changed the lyrics from "You're the judge, oh no" to "Buttigieg, oh no". That's probably bad news for him. Or maybe, an excellent add campaign in the making. 

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6:45 am start

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail and back. 6 am start. Humid, but not Florida-Hot yet. I timed it for funsies. Not really pushing it. 33:02 out. (8:48 pace). 32:14 back. (8:36 pace). All in 1:05:16. (8:42 pace). 

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

6 miles on the trails. 7 am start. My stomach has been uneasy the last couple of days.

7.5 miles. hood route to legacy trail and back. 6:45 am start.

3 on the trails + 2 on the trails + 1 on the trails + 3.5 miles hood route = 9.5 miles. 80 degrees of yuck. Basketball yesterday beat me up. 

3.5 miles of uninspired, lethargic, hood route running. 6 am start. super hot.

I don't know what happened. My stomach has been weirdly tight for a while. I have no urge to run fast / far out there lately. It's bad when you lose this much mojo on race week. Hopefully, I can salvage something decent out of this race. It doesn't seem likely right now. 

7.5 miles. hood route to legacy trail and back. 5:45 am start. despite the heat, humidity, and still air, parts of this run felt pretty smooth. I'm not going into the race confident. But, the sky is not falling as fast today.  

Gasparilla 15k. Spouse and I stayed in Ybor City. Race started @ 38 degrees with the wind chill they said before the start. I don't know if it was that cold, but the Tampa Bay Times made a big deal out of Canadians doing well out there. I fought through crowds for the first mile. Then I settled in for a while. This is my third time running this race. I always forget how much headwind is on the way back. Like stand you up headwind. How bad? My streak of races with a negative split ends in Fort Lauderdale at one.

33:29 out - 7:07 pace. 34:56 back - 7:31 pace, for a total of 1:08:25 - 7:18 pace. 

All I wanted was a better pace than the A1A half. And I got that, so I'm satisfied. 

Then Spouse and I spent the remainder of the day in Ybor. The cuban bread is like the stuff of legend. 

3.5 miles. hood route. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 6 am start. 

3.5 miles. Hood route. 

4 on the trails.

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 3 start.

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

7.75 miles. hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 6: 30 am start. 76 deg. and a ton of humidity. A little bit of hot breeze, which is gross. I've been running in humid conditions for like, since I've been running. Today was the first time I can remember "smelling" the steam. The smell of a boiling pot of water - That's what it smelled like outside. And I thought Why do people Vape? Aren't we Floridiots essentially doing the same thing? Inhaling water vapor? Am I on my way to popcorn lung? 

Sometimes it gets deep out there. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6:15 am start. windy. 

check out this guy, running 2 days in a row. look out!

1.5 miles. Then home. Then 10.2 miles.

6 am hood route. Why I blew it the last 2 days: Big weekend of digging holes and moving furniture, plus daylight savings. 

5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. For some reason, I had Dinosaur Jr.'s "Blowing it/ I live for that look" stuck in my head.

7.5 miles. hood route to legacy trail and back. 6 am start. I'm totally taking advantage of this streak of good weather and low-ish dew point days. After a year of running in dew point 70+, running in 60 dew point weather is awesome. But that's not the big news. 

So, my son is in the middle school band. Today, the band went to Disneyworld, so they can record the score to a disney movie. They don't know which movie yet. Apparently, they go there, learn the peice, record the peice in front of a big movie screen, and then they give the kids a DVD of the scene in the movie, with the middle school band playing the score. Then they spend the rest of the day in Disneyworld. This sounds like the coolest field trip ever! I know what you're thinking - How is this possible with the Bad Beer Virus everywhere, and the highest concentration of peoples visiting from the Asian Continent in the state are (likely) at Disneyworld?

Great question. 

I, too, am amazed that the school is allowing this to happen. Especially since they called and left a voice mail last night, telling families not to travel during spring break, and that if we went international, or on a cruise ship, the kids would be quarantined from school for 2 weeks, upon return. I am just happy that my kid gets this experience. God knows he sold enough scented candles to go there. This is the kind of field trip that can open a kid's eyes to what could be. Hopefully, it will be that experience, the amazing, life-changing, career path generating experience, and I'm really hopeful no one will get sick from it. 

5 miles on the trails. 5 pm start. I saw and talked to a kid from church out there, with her mom. I recently stopped working with children's ministry on Sunday nights, after being on the job for the last 3 plus years. Seeing the kid out there made me regret quitting a little bit.

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy trail to colonia and back with a quarter mile detour around mile 4 to go a bathroom. The rest of it felt pretty good. Then a day of yardwork. I was supposed to be at basketball tryouts with John, but that was canceled. Apparently social distancing is tough to do when you are boxing someone out for a rebound.

3 on the trails. I really did a number on my back moving plants yesterday. this was tough and slow. 

Then to make things worse 2+ hours of basketball with John and some kids we met at the court on vacation from Michigan. They made theircourtside grandpa proud. Not smart back rehab. 

3 on the trails with Tommy. (If the office wants me to stay home, if I can, then I'm going to do cool stuff with my kids. I have basketball with johnny later.) Tommy ran it like a fartlek, I ran it slow steady pace. The back is still twisted. When I run "the trails", it is like a 1 mile loop, almost a square with quarter mile sides. Not exactly, but close. We had Tommy run the north south parts fast. He ran the east west parts slow with me. He was rewarded with a longer rest period the faster he ran away from me. So for him it was like 0.25 mile slow, 0.25 mile fast, wait for me, repeat to 3 miles. It kind of turned into a good run for him. Stinking hot, though. 

1 mile on the trails. 

5 miles onthe trails at 1. it took a mile for my back to loosen up. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6 am start, in an effort to reestablish "normal." 

2 thoughts on the working out of the house for a while thing: I didn't know how schedule dependent we are as a family. Yes, I knew we were busy. There's pickup and drop off times and so on. But when that switch is all the way "off," and eating, sleeping, running, working, household projects, reading, musical instrument practicing, etc. etc. can be done at ANY TIME, it is really unsettling. Void of a schedule, I am having a hard time succeeding at any of those items. I lost much of Monday getting upset about my kids lack of productivity. But really, all that happened was -  I was unproductive. (Honestly, they are on spring break anyway. This week was not designed for overachieving.) Spouse and I adapted well by Tuesday, and are now settling into the new "normal." I am a little over the people that have been homeschooling for their kid's whole lives reveling in the newcomer parent's anxiety about the change. Hey, are you done laughing yet? Because it took us like a day to figure this out.

Also, this year's Oak pollen season is like nothing I've ever seen. Everything outside looks like it has been powdered with yellow pollen. If you use windshield washer fluid to clean your windshield right now, it turns into yellow-streak mud. I use a blower to clean my driveway twice a day of all the debris. In short, it's really bad. What an absolutely awful time to be telling folks not to touch their faces. I wake up with eyes so itchy, it is torture.

5 on the trails at 8 am. A fella could get used to the non schedule schedule. 

5 more on the trails. 11 am start. lots of walkers out today. They have signs up at the park entrances that say "if you feel sick, turn around. go home." All the beaches are closed (I find this one pretty dumb). Pickleball, which consumes all courts in the county every morning, is still packing the parking lots.

To clarify - soccer, basketball, and baseball are all cancelled for the young. Pickleball, golf, bridge, and bingo haven't even slowed down, and may be busier now than ever.

Just Venice being Venice, yo. 

5 on the trails at noon. Super hot. The guy that walks laps dragging an old tire harnessed around his chest was out. I have questions for that dude. If just walking isn't enough of a workout, why not try, maybe, running? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate his dragging the trails smooth with his old tire caboose. Is there a greater health benefit to slow walking, while pulling extra weight than running? I don't get it. His lady friend was running the whole time. You know what, to each his own. We watched church on the computer this morning. Yes, in our pjs. The Best part is when they passed the collection basket!

5 on the trails. stinking hot. In addition to the beaches, they have now closed all the parks in Sarasota County. Which means the song of the run was Breaking The Law! Breaking the Law! They put garbage bags on the basketball hoops.

This is stupid. 

10.2 miles. hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 6:15 am start. I'm still sore from the back injury / soccer game / being old / whatever. I just had one of those Gumpian moments - I just felt like running, so when I got to the turn around for 5.5 miles, I kept going to the legacy trail. Since I made it all the way to the legacy trail, I figured I might as well keep going until Colonia. So that's what I did. The sunrise over Dona Bay was well worth the extra running. And the crazy church sign has really gone next level. "It's not the end of the world, but let's call it practice." What kind of message is that?! Do people read that and think - Yeah, that's my kind of house of worship! 

All that aside, it was  great run, and I should have been doing this all along during my Viruscation. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 6 am start. 10 milers on back to back days? What is this? 2014? What the What What?

White out fog conditions. Going over Dona Bay was wild. Fog quiets the world. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 8:30 am start (which is way too late. it was hot). Since everything else in the town is closed except for legacy trail, it was packed with cyclists. There were some walkers out that are unfamiliar with the keep-to-the-right concept. they took their half of the trail out of the middle, with their arms out wide. Then when some 20 mph cylcist went flying by, they would yell at them. I would have been better off getting out earlier for both the temperatire difference, and not having to deal with the crowds. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 10:45 am start. very hot. I may never learn to start running earlier. I'm still a bit sore from pressure washing my mom and dad's fence yesterday. I don't have much shoulder exercise in my life. We stayed out late fishing at blackburn point bridge last night. I have fished there many times (My hobby was fishing before it was running), but I have never fished there from the land. My boat repair is almost done, and since the kids are excited about fishing right now, and I find myself on a more flexible schedule, everything is lining up to fish more, right? Not so fast, my friend. They have officially closed all boat ramps in the city of Sarasota. I'm sure the Venice boat ramps will close soon. They even have rules for social distancing of boats! Like, the boats have to be xx' apart! WHY? Can we give Covid 19 to BAIT FISH NOW? 

7 am: 3.5 miles. Hood route.

8 pm: 7.6 miles down memory lane. Sarasota memorial hospital to Osprey ave. to Bahia Vista to Orange to Bayfront Park, along the marina, through Golden Gate Point, over the Ringling Bridge and back. Man, I miss the Ringling Bridge run. Red and pink skies at sunset, changing effort running up and down the bridge, just good feelings. I used to do this run @ 3 times per week about 5 years ago. Now I do it so infrequently, I get totally nostalgic. Faster days back then. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 7 am start. I wanted more miles, but I was feeling a bit baloon-headed out there. 

3.5 miles. hood route. 7 am start. 

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge Run with Tommy at 5 pm. Didn't have the magic sunset like Monday. There were big winds, with white caps on the bay. But I ran with my kid, which is awsome. He makes me run faster than I want to, and I make him run longer than he wants to. Since the whole state is on a stay at home order for the next month, I'm glad we had this time. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 7:30 am start. Then I did some work. then I pressure washed my dad's other fence. Then I went back to work. It was a remarkably productive day for a guy under a stay at home order. 

3.5 miles. hood route. 7:15 am start. a bit cooler out. 

10.7 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail, over the SWOM Bridge, to Colonia and back the same way. LOTS of people walking, running, cycling on the trail this morning. With everything else closed, it is the only game in town for exercise. The variety of songs that popped into my head was crazy - Motley Crue Kickstart my heart, The Go-Gos Our lips are sealed, Led Zep Fool in the rain, Ben Folds Still fighting it, Smashing Pumpkins Geek USA, Weezer Only in Dreams, and a bunch more I can't remember right now. I really need to organize my mental playlist. 

So, this is now my biggest week of mileage this year. So that's something. 

8 on the trails on a fantastic overcast morning. I did a ton of yardwork yesterday. 

yikes. 

10.2 Miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 7 am start. Decent weather. 

7:15 am start. 1.9 up - hood route + around the block. Then pit stop with home field advantage. Then (5) x 400M repeats, with 0.15 mile active recovery (around the block repeats) 1:27, 1:31, 1:29, 1:31, 1:30. Then 3.5 down. Hood route.

I used to have this measured as quarter mile repeats. I have recently re-measured the route, and marked it clearly with 100M increments (which is cool, because I can now check my pace, as I go.). I plan on getting the neighborhood kids to race parts of this route someday. 

10.2 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 7:15 am start. 80 degrees. I came home soaked. 

I spent the day listening to John Prine yesterday. What a loss. It never occurred to me how many of that man's songs were about his own mortality. I can't think of too many song writers that can make you laugh in one lyric and cry in the next. You see that from one song to next in other writers, but not usually in the same song. 

I was a big Cowboy Junkies fan in the early 90's. I saw them in concert in Tampa in 92? John Prine was the opening act. They did "If You Were The Woman And I Was The Man" together. That song was our first dance when spouse and I got married in 1994. (also, mickey and mallory's song in the movie natural born killers, but it was ours first.)

So, kind of a solemn day yesterday. Stupid Virus. 

4 on the trails. low humidity, which makes it wonderful.

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. Hot and windy. This was work.

I had an old guy (never seen this guy before) on a bike following @ 20 yards behind me for the last quarter mile. When I finished the run and rounded the corner to walk home, he said "the concrete's bad for your knees." I said "what?" He said "Running on concrete's really bad for your knees. I've had both of my knees replaced." I said "Getting hit by a car is worse for your knees, so I'm going to stay on the sidewalk." He just shook his left hand in the air in a 'whatever' kind of movement.

Disclaimers: 1. I think it's super ironic that he was riding on the concrete sidewalk, and not the asphalt bike lane. 2. My response would have been nothing if my kids were present. I live in a town of old people, and I'm not teaching them to be disrespectful to the olds, even the ones that give the unsolicited advice. 

5.5 miles hood route. hot + humid bonus gravity like summer. I lost my house key somewhere out there. I went back to look for it with spouse for about 30 miinutes. no dice. whoever finds it is going to have to guess what house it belongs to, if they want in. The tiny little key pocket in the running shorts - it had a hole in the bottom of it. That makes it not a pocket, but a useless flap of dryfit material really. 

4 on the trails. 9:45am start. I have had a little stomach bug for the last day or so. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. 8:15 am start. The weather was great. My eyes were just a bit itchy from the pollen.

My head was filled with worry of raising teenage boys with so much time on their hands. School work now gets finished in less than 3 hours. I'm hoping I can get them to do something productive with their time. In hindsight, I now wonder if the outrageous schedule we were ruled by was doing more to keep my kids out of trouble, than excellent parenting. 

1 on the trails, then much later, to the track. 0.5 up. Then (8) x 200M w/ 200M AR. 46,46,44,44,43,43,42,42. Then 0.5 down. It rained this morning, so the steam heat coming up from the track was crippling. I wanted to see how many of these I could do at this pace, but I was with a friend that wanted to workout with me. He's way younger and faster than me, but he can do like one rep. I could tell he was getting bored, so I packed it up, even though I was showing no signs of slowing. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. Pretty smooth stuff. There was the heat and humidty. I could feel the weight of my shirt after 2 miles.

There are rumblings that the local beaches may reopen soon. When that happens, I may spend an entire day there, and come home with record setting sunburn. I really miss the beach. 

2 on the trails. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. Late start. slow but steady running. 

For the majority of the "hood route" I am running on a 4' wide sidewalk. There is a drainage ditch on one side. On the other side, there is a 4' wide grass strip, a curb and gutter, a 4' wide bike lane, then the 40 m.p.h. 2 coming 2 going divided roadways. I run on the same sidewalk both ways, so I'm 50% with traffic, 50% against traffic. Laurel Road runs east-west, so for 2 miles, given the time of day I usually run, I am looking into the sometimes blinding sunrise (and so are the cars and bikes travelling that way).

I tell you all of this to tell you that social distancing in this context is very dangerous. Many times this morning, I was running towards someone on the sidewalk. While I was still @50 yards away, that person then decided to avoid me by leaving the sidewalk, crossing the grass strip, stepping down the curb into the bike lane, next to the 40 m.p.h. cars that were looking into the rising sun. This makes me wonder what I look like running, if folks would rather take their chances with a blinded driver, than pass within 2' of me for a split second on a sidewalk. Also, if they were struck by a car, does that count as a COVID 19 related death?

I know I have said this before, but I really need to get out earlier, before the people get out. Someone could die. 

5 pm start. 5.5 on the trails. Then, when no one was looking, (8) x 100 M+ grass sprints pn the soccer fields, with 100 M+ recoveries. Then 1.5 down on the trails. I didn't feel like running faster. I just felt like I should run something faster. So I did. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. 7 am start. noticeably cooler this morning. I threw in a 7:29 mile on the 2nd to last mile for funsies. I got out earlier, but not early enough. I still had to deal with a few folks that would rather walk in the street than be within a 3' radius of me for a split second. 

Oh yeah, Sarasota County announced yesterday that the beaches will be open starting Monday. But they have rules, like, no beach blankets, or coolers. They want you to keep moving. Also, they are not opening up the parking lots next to the beaches. Just the beaches. 

I still plan on spending a good chunk of Monday there. 

5.5 miles. Hood route. 7:30 am start. I went out, came home, went out again, ran the first 2 miles in just awful heat and humidity, then I saw the storm coming, the skies grew darker, a cool breeze followed, but the rain never came. Given how I felt at the beginning of this, I can't believe 5.5 miles happened. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. hot and humid. Massive amounts of rain last night. I got a late start. My mom called me to let me know that there is a big picture of spouse in the Venice Gondolier newspaper. There is a charity fundraiser going on right now. Spouse volunteers for meals on wheels. I had to run out and get a newspaper. 

Also, because of all the rain last night, the drainage ditches on either side of the legacy trail were loaded with water this morning. I guess that brought the frogs out. The frogs were croaking crazy loud for parts of the trail this morning. It was like going through a scream tunnel. Not the usual calm introspective running moment I am used to out there. 

Finally, on my way home, 2 small propeller planes flew overhead. They were so close together that, at a distance, they appeared to be one plane. Well, that's different. 

It has already been an eventful morning. 

11 am start. hot and sticky. 1 up on the trails. (5) x 400m around the block, with 0.15 mile AR, 3.5 down. 

No run. I went to the beach with the boys. A bit windy, but it was good to be back. This is about Englewood beach, just south of us....

https://www.nbc-2.com/clip/15054886/dozens-flock-to-englewood-beach-shortly-after-it-reopens

DOZENS AND DOZENS FLOCK?! Well, okay. Simmer down, there, hype machine. 

Okay. That's in Charlotte County. Up here in Sarasota County, the bathrooms are locked, you can't have a chair, blanket, or cooler on the beach, and the parking lots are roped off.

https://youtu.be/XyIi-Iyg-n4

It's good that the cops lectured that lady. She looked like trouble. Her cooler was filled with Toxic Death, to be sure!

The "beach open - but parking lots closed" thing is really stupid. It must have been thought up by the same folks that think docks kill manatees. Furthermore, we ALL pay the taxes for the beach. If only the people that live within walkable distance of the beach can go, that just feels ... not right. 

I parked about 2 blocks away, legally, on a street, BTW. 

3 on the trails. 

5.5 miles. hood route. I had a morning meeting, so I had to get out by 7 to run.

I used to run most days at 5:30 am? That seems impossible now!

10.2 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and Back. 10 am start. Intermittent rain - I passed no one. It was some super smooth miles.

They opened up the beach handicap parking, and it got me to thinking about my first college roommate at UCF. He got a handicap parking pass because he had a very minor form of dyslexia. He had difficulty telling the difference between "who" and "how." He would come home, and I'd say "Who are you?" and he'd say "Oh, I'm fine, thanks. How are you?" And I'd say "It's me, Tom. I'm your roommate. Now let me borrow your car, so I can get that sweet parking spot!" 

Most of that story is true. 

3.5 miles. Hood route. 7AM start.

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

Hey what happened to allie? She was here for like a minute.

5.5 miles. Hood route.

10.2 miles. hood route to legacy trail to Colonia and back. 7:20 am start. @ 72 degrees. 

I ate way too much last night.

2 miles - hood route, then home. Then 2 miles - trails. Then 3.5 miles - Hood route. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. 70 deg. 43% hum!, 47 d.p.! 15 mph winds out of the northeast. But wow! I could get used to this low humidity stuff!

10.2 miles. Hood route. 65 deg. 68% hum. 54 d.p. For the Florida runner, this low humidity low dew point weather condition is amazing. I have become so accustomed to running in a dishwasher, that this feels really foreign. My body’s cooling system is working as it was designed! My sweat is evaporating! This makes no sense! I’m sure to be back running in soup tomorrow. But, for the moment, I’m going to enjoy this.

1 mile on the trails. 3.5 miles hood route. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. Intermittent rain kept things cooler. @ 75 degrees.

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. 76 deg. 67% hum. 73 d.p.

Emergency bathroom stops without buying anything at McDonalds are especially awkward with the dining area closed. 

5.5 miles. Hood route. 2 miles on the trails.

I'm trying to be positive, but I am dealing with a lot of unreasonable people right now - my father, the boat mechanic, and many others. I say all the disrespectful things to those people while I am out running, so I don't have to be disrespectful to them in person. So far, this is working. But if they step it up with being unreasonable, I just know I'm going to say something I'll regret. 

4 pm. at the track. kind of windy. 2 up. 12 x 200M, w/ 200 M AR, 2 down. Fastest was 41 seconds (#9). Slowest was 46 seconds (#2). After the warm up, @ 30 second water break, and then again after every 4 laps. It was good to run some faster stuff. They can't all be easy miles. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail. over the SWOM bridge and back. 7:30 am start. Started slow, but finished strong. Another day with humidity and dew point low (by Florida standards). It was nice.

I had Jane's Addiction's 1% stuck in my head the whole time. 

16.25 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to circus bridge and back. 8 AM start. So - so weather. Hot and humid, but I've been in worse.

3 on the trails. in the rain. I would have got more but the lightning really ramped up, and it kind of freaked me out. I'll run in rain all day. Lightning - not so much. Also, first shirtless run in a really long time. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 

5.5 miles. hood route.

26 years married today! 

10.2 miles. Like Florida hot and humid out there. Sweaty clothes making slapping noises against the skin? Yep, summer. 

So, it made national news today that West Virginia is re-opening their zip line tours. What percentage of the West Virginia economy does this represent? Does this account for like 5,000 jobs in the state? Did they re-open the zip line tours because of all the public protests in this regard? Like do the people on the street look at each other and say "I can't believe we survived 8 weeks without zip lining. I can't wait to get back. Talk about government overreach, huh? You can take away my zip lining, when you pry this five point harness from my cold, dead body" 

8.3 miles. on Venetian waterway park. Started at the old train station, went south to over the circus bridge, more venetian waterway park to Caspersen Beach and back. I saw Manatees and Gopher Tortoises. Fantastic weather. The boat ramp was packed with trucks and empty trailers. If you have a working boat, you were out on it. Caspersen Beach parking was loaded. I hardly ever go there, but the weather, and the gulf waters are stunning. 

So as I went over the Circus Bridge, I saw the trapeze school near where the Ringling winter headquarteers used to be. No one was using it, but it still made me think of this:  https://youtu.be/HAQFtntTlzA 

The hours I spent in my grandmother's basement listening to that guy on vinyl can not be counted. 

4:30 p.m. start. 7 miles on Legacy Trail. Started at the train station. headed north over the swom Bridge to 3.5 and then back. 32 minutes out 29 minutes 12 seconds back hot and humid cloudy but no rain.

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 8:30 am start. Super hot and humid. threat of rain but never came. life saving breeze on the way home. 

4 on the trails. 9 am start. hot and muggy. the struggle is real. lack of sleep has a greater impact on me than it used to. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 7 am start. Oppressive humidity and dew point. Slow. First run in new Saucony Triumphs. The Hokas I was running in lasted 1,500 plus miles. The Sauconys have a much wider toe area.

7.75 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail, over the SWOM and back. 7:20 am start. 80 deg. 95% humidity. 79 d.p.

Crazy Church sign has stepped its game up lately. Or maybe I haven't noticed until recently because I am now no longer running in the dark. There were a couple of wacky ones this morning. But top honors goes to a picture of a casket with the quote "Compromise makes for a fine casket." 

6 miles on legacy trail. 4 pm start. I started at venice avenue. I went north until I went over the SWOM bridge to 3 miles and back. very hot. I'm a bit bummed about not running the last 2 days. Oh well, you can't get it back. 

Anyhow I have been thinking about Yes's "City of Love" for a couple of days.  I thought that song was cool from the first time I heard it in the 80's. And then I started thinking that song has some definite "grunge" sounds to it. Then I thought - Have I been a fan of grunge music since before grunge even existied? Whoa!

Is was super hot out there! I might have drain bamage. 

3.5 miles. hood route. 7 am start. 

3.5 miles. hood route. 7:15 am start. hot out. We had a couple of tornadoes yesterday. I finally got the jonboat engine fixed yesterday. At the time the tornadoes were going on, I was hooking my jonboat trailer up. then driving home. timing is everything. 

7.75 miles. hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. 8 am start. some rain. 80 deg. 100% hum. no sunshine. not bad.

5.5 Miles. Hood Route. 8:30 am start. 

11 miles. legacy trail north from Venice Avenue to 5.5 miles at Oscar Scherer Park entrance and back. I left at noon, with the intention of getting in a good rain run. It stopped raining right before I started, and has now resumed raining since I've stopped running. They still have all of the water fountains turned off at the rest stops along the trail, because of the virus. So I had to run the whole thing without water. That's a bit longer than I'd like to go without a drink in 80-something degree 100% humidity. 

hood route. still trying to get the magical run in the rain. i keep missing the storms. 

7.75 miles. hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 7:30 am start. 85 deg. 78% hum. 76 d.p.

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. hot. humid. Ffffflorida.

They were pruning trees on legacy trail, so part of the trail was closed.

Also, when I went over Shackett creek on Laurel Road, there were many pockets of foam floating on the water. With a strong outgoing tide, they kind of looked like mini icebergs, floating out. I wonder what caused that?

Finally, Boy #2 played a part of "Hypnotize" by SOAD for me yesterday, on a Baritone. So I had that song stuck in my head for the whole run. 

1 pm at track. 2 up. (4) x 400M + AR. Recoveries first. 1:30, 1:31, 1:32, 1:35. (4) x 200M + AR. Recoveries first. 45, 41, 43, 41. 1 down.  88 deg. 72% hum. 78 d.p.

7.75 miles. Hood Route to legacy trail, over SWOM bridge and back. 8 am start. my right hip was kind of bugging me for the first mile and a half or so. 

7.75 miles. Hood Route to legacy trail, over SWOM bridge and back. 7 am start.

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to Colonia and back. 7 am start. Hot and humid. overcast, but never raining. 77 deg. 92% hum. 75 d.p.

Non-running related - kind of a big finish to the week for me.

On Thursday, I made dinner for my family. I had made breakfast before, and packed more than a few lunches in my time. But I've never made dinner for these people. Ever. It turned out way better than I (or they) expected. I made this: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-enchiladas-with-roasted-tomatillo-chile-salsa-recipe-1953523

On Friday, Boy #1 passed his on-line driving test, which means he can get his learner's permit driver's license. So that means the baby boom 9 months after Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne (August '04) are now learning to drive. 

On Saturday after my run, and after a heavy afternoon rain, I took out our 14' jonboat with Tommy. We've been working on the engine for a long time. The boat was my father in law's. It has sat idle for 10+ years, before we started working on it. To be able to finally make the run from here to Snake Island, well... things got emotional out there.

So much so that I took the boat out again Sunday with Tommy and Johnny. Sunday, I let Tommy run the boat for a while, and bring us all the way back to the dock/neighborhood boat ramp. It is a very circuitous route for about a half hour. It was tough to not be barking orders at him the whole time. He did it just fine, and didn't run us into anything. I can see the future of this, where all things revolve around this silly little jonboat, and fishing trips. Soon they will be too big to take me with them. This makes me both sad and happy at the same time.

It has been a great weekend for the part of me that is DAD. 

6 miles on the legacy trail. 6 PM start.

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 7 am start. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 8 am start. Lower dew point today. Lots of sidewalk reconstruction made me run a slightly different route. 

8.1 miles in Downtown Sarasota. Started at noon. I started at Payne Park (I dropped Johnny at the skatepark.) to 301, to Brother Geenen, to Orange, to 41 then I did the old Ringling Bridge run, and back. 87 deg. 70% hum. 74 deg. d.p. "feels like" melted shoes and 97. 

On the way to the bridge, local Sarasota News Network Chief Meteorologist Justin Mosely was setting up for a report next to Marina Jacks. I was @ 10' from him, and I yelled "Hey, it's the weather man!" He smiled and waved, and said thanks. I don't see too many celebrities when I run. He's been a weatherman here for almost 20 years. Of course, most people know him from this: https://youtu.be/fGxB2hOZ5ZE

5.5 Mi. Hood Route. 8 a.m. start. Then I spent the whole rest of the morning and early afternoon out on the boat with the boys. The waterways were packed today. You can barely find a place to tie up at Snake Island. Both boys got to run the boat. They're pretty excited about the day.

3 on the trails. then I did a kind of circuit of situps, pushups, scissor kicks, cone running, ladders, something called frogs, shuttle run, and a couple laps around the soccer feilds with some kids from Tommy's old soccer team. I figure there was at least a half mile of running in there. Lesson learned - my core is awful. I haven't done situps in a very long time. I will feel this for sure later. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail, over SWOM bridge and back. 7:30 am start. 101 on the heat index, and rising! The run actually felt decent, surprisingly. I had Billy Idol's "cradle of love" stuck in my head for some reason. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. The run felt decent, despite the time off and the crazy heat/ humidity. 89 deg. 70% hum. 78 d.p. Feels Like 103.

For some reason, I had Toad the Wet Sprocket's "Fly from Heaven" stuck in my head. 

7.75 miles hood route to legacy trail over the swom bridge and back. 7:45am start. 88 deg., 67%, 75 d.p.

7.75 miles hood route to legacy trail over the swom bridge and back. 9:15am start. 90 deg., 71%, 79 d.p.

brutal. 

1 mile on the trails. then 3.5 miles. hood route. 7:40 am start. 86 deg. 77% hum. 78 d.p. feels like 102.

7.75 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 7:50 am start. Life saving rain for about a quarter mile, with 2 miles to go. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 6:50 am start. 87 deg. 70% hum. 75 d.p. Song of the run: I would run 993 miles, and I would run 7 more, just to be the man who ran 1,000 miles to fall down at your door. Dadadada! Dadadada! Dadadada! Dadadada! Dada Dundiddle Dundiddle Dundiddle Dundiddle dun. 

First day of vacation. Going back to Little Gasparilla Island! Woo Hoo!

 7.5 miles of beach running on Little Gasparilla Island. very hot. I got to see some new sea turtle tracks from mama turtles going up to lay their eggs overnight. 

4 on the trails. 10 am start. man, I'm out of shape. 

6 miles. on legacy trail. venice avenue north over SWOM bridge and back. 11 am start. 

7.75 miles. hood route to legacy trail over SWOM bridge and back. 11 am start. 91 deg. 61% hum. 76 d.p.

7.75 miles. hood route to legacy trail over SWOM bridge and back. 6:30 am start. 82 deg. 85% hum. 77 d.p.

7.75 miles. hood route to legacy trail over SWOM bridge and back. 6:30 am start. song stuck in my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bx20cflBBk

7.75 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over SWOM bridge and back. 7 am start

Legacy trail 4 miles north from Venice Avenue, and back. 9:15 am start. hot and humid. Not quite a mist, but you could sense the moisture in the air. 85 deg., 80% hum., 79 d.p. I was breathing in soup, for sure. Right around 2 miles in, I saw a two bike crash on the legacy trail. They never actually ever came into contact with one another. It was one of those things where they both overcompensated in an effort to avoid a collision, that sent them both to the ground. The one "superserious" cyclist repeatedly yelled at the older joy rider. But in my opinion, superserious cyclist was wrong. I helped them up, got their bikes off the path, and briefly made sure they were okay, then I was back off running, without ever telling them my opinion of what caused the crash. Then I spent the rest of the run reviewing the crash in my head, like it was the Zapruder film. 

5 miles on legacy trail. Venice avenue north to 2.5 miles and back. 6:15 pm start. The run was a very big struggle today. 

5.5 miles hood route 5:30 am start. then 1 mile on the trails. Then at 7 am, I met up with the family that does the training circuit at the soccer fields. They did a mile on the trail as warmup. then ladder, shuttle, zig zag sprints, frogs, and of course the dreaded situps, scissor kicks, and pushups. My core is / has always been useless. I'm just trying to mix things up a bit. My mind says they can't all be slow, easy runs. But my body would really like that. 

4 miles on Venetian Waterway Park. 6 pm start. From Circus Bridge to Caspersen Beach and back. 

7.75 miles. hood route to legacy trail over SWOM bridge and back. 7:30 am start. 

7.75 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over SWOM bridge and back. 7:00 am start. 

7.75 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over SWOM bridge and back. 7:00 am start. 

7 AM with the family that does the trraining stations at the soccer field. 1 lap on the trails plus ladders, zig zag run, shuttle run, frogs, stairs runs, situps, pushups, scissor kicks, and I feel like i'm missing something. lots of stairs running today. All in, 2 hours of fairly intense interval stuff. I'm doing okay at keeping up with the teenagers, and I'm trying to hide how hard I'm working out there, ut when I sweat like I have been swimming, it's kind of obvious. 

5.5 miles of awful, miserable slogging. Hood route. 7 am start. bad diet and bad sleep last night. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 7:30 am start. slow and ugly. Apparently there is a tropical storm near the other side of the state. You would not know it, based on what I'm seeing. Same old stagnant humidity. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 7:00 am start. I had this stuck in my head: 

https://youtu.be/n3CfvXnawOo

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 7 am start. Very slow.

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to Colonia and back. 7 am start.Weather felt slightly better than yesterday.

I saw 7 other runners today. That is 7 more than normal. One runner got on laurel road at the same time as me, and we were going in the same direction, so we had to race without him knowing it, and he had to get beat. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6 am start. I used to run in hte dark all of the time. Now this seems odd. 

10 miles of ugly. West Venetian Waterway park from the north bridge to Caspersen Beach and back. halfway at 12:30 pm. Smoldering. 91 deg. 64% hum.  77 d.p., feels like 105. I totally bit off more than I could chew. 

lesson of the week - When working from home, don't turn on your computer until after your run.

Last 3 days are like this: Well, I'll just respond to this e-mail, Well, I'll just answer that question, Hey look, it's 11:00 am! I guess I'm not running today. 

7.75 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over SWOM bridge and back. 7:00 am start. 

3.5 Miles. Hood route. 7:30 am start. 

7.75 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over SWOM bridge and back. 7:00 am start. Excellent cool rain for the first 3/4 mile! Then depressing humidity/bonus gravity for the rest of the run. 33:30 to legacy trail. untimed over the bridge and back. 34:45 back. As soon as I stopped running, the rain started again. 

7.75 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over SWOM bridge and back. 7:00 am start. Rained the whole run through. But the sun stayed out. so for the 2 miles I ran to the east, the reflection off the wet road was blinding. On the other hand - RAINBOWS!

I was okay running in the rain this morning. Then the lightning got crazy and I said NOPE! and went home. It has been crashing lightning and raining cats and dogs ever since, so I might not get back to it today. 

So I'm looking around the blog at dudes that are really stepping their game up with paces right now. First off, well done. Second, I can't get it going without a race on the horizon. How do you do it? Rhett breaking off 5 mile tempos in 110+ degrees? What? The workouts that Rob M has been doing lately? Crazy. Michael doing a marathon pace workout just because? I know I'm supposed to get motivated by seeing you guys do this stuff. But honestly, you're making me depressed and I feel like a lazy bum. 

Now excuse me while I eat this big bowl of nachos with queso for breakfast. 

pm: inspired at 6 pm, I went to the track with no rain. I ate bugs for 3 laps, and cleared them frequently from my eyes. Then I went home. 

1.5 miles. 6:20 am start. then home for an emergency bathroom stop. then 5.5 miles hood route. 

10.2 miles. hood route tolegacy trail to colonia and back. 1 mile thrown in at 7:24 pace. 7:30 am start. overcast, but no rain. 80 deg. 91% hum. 77 d.p.

5.5 miles. hood route. 7:40 am start. We went to an awesome murder mystery party at the neighbor's house last night. There was a lot of really rich food. Which was great at the time, but not so much this morning. I'll be getting away with spouse for a couple of days. 

6 Mi on the beach on Clearwater Beach. 7:30 a.m. start. North to the mangrove shell tree and back. I saw a group of a dozen dolphins in the surf.

5.5 miles from Clearwater Beach down gulstream and gulf blvd., over the bridge to Sand Key Park, down the beach in the park and back to Clearwater Beach. 7:30 am start. Then a very large musclebound dude riding a bicycle rode by as I was sitting on the seawall. He was singing the end part of Prince's Purple Rain, and totally nailing it. Those are crazy high notes to be coming out of a person of that build. Anyhow, I started swaying my arms back and forth in the air like I was at a concert. That made him laugh. Then swimming / bodysurfing in the gulf. Then the ride home. Sigh... 

...Back to reality. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 7:30 am start. I was walklng to the run start, and my neighbor was out walking her dog. I have known this person for 35+ years, and was once good friends with her sons. I talk to her either walking to, or returning from almost every other run. She asked me about my kids and school. I told her they start back on Monday. It took 2 more questions from her to turn it into a political debate. Although I am stunned about how quickly that escalated, the bright side is....I ran faster than usual today. 

5.1 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia, and then things went bad. I had to walk for a long time. Then I jogged in the last 1.75. It was super hot and humid. 79 degree dew point. dishwasher-esque. no wonder I fell apart. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6:45 am start. 86 deg., 75% hum., 77 d.p.

5.5 miles hood route 6:15 am start. Song in my head - Welcome by 311.

Then (since they have made the student pick up and drop off requirements so cumbersome) a 15 minute bike ride with boy #2 to school, and then 15 minutes back.  It's about 3 miles-ish. When I go to ride home with him this afternoon, I have to remember to bring hand snips. The branches are tough to get by on the sidewalk in places.

Here's to the end of the longest spring break ever. 

Also, our family has become hooked on the Cobra Kai TV show on netflix. It's about time that Johnny Lawrence got a backstory. 

3.5 miles. hood route. 6:30 am start. then the bike ride with boy #2 to school. I'll be going back this afternoon. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6:30 am start. Steamy. My head was filled with songs by the Outfield. Say it isn't so. Your Love. All the love. No bike rides to school today. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6:45 am start. I saw some walkers out, and they were looking to the sky. I asked them what they were looking at. They said they could see Jupiter. They pointed it out to me. So I saw Jupiter this morning. They say next month we should see Saturn. I guess there will be a SpaceX rocket launch in about a half hour that I should check out as well. 

5 on the trails. 8:30 am start. 87deg. 77% hum. 79 d.p. Brutal.

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

8.5 miles. Venice Avenue south on VWP over Circus Bridge to Caspersen Beach and back. 2:30 pm start. overcast. close to raining but not quite. Very little direct sun and lower temps. 83 deg. 82 % hum. 76 d.p. Still dishwasher-esque but not miserable. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 7 am start. 78 deg., 94 % hum., 76 d.p. Song of the run: https://youtu.be/h3Lo91Z0h3Q

5 on the trails. noon start. 88 deg. 67% hum 75 d.p.

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

6 on the trails. 1 pm start. overcast, but never raining. 85 deg., 74% hum., 76 d.p.

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

1.5 on the trails, then (8) x 100M+ grass sprints w/ AR, then 1.5 on the trails. 9 am start. 84 deg., 81% hum., 77 d.p. song of the run: https://youtu.be/n-pC3ncVjEw

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. 6:15 am start. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 

Hood route to Legacy Trail over SWOM bridge to Colonia and back the same way. Super sticky. 84 deg., 84% hum., 77 d.p. I am soaked.

With about 2 miles to go, there was a homeless dude staggering towards me on the narrow sidewalk. He's drinking a 44 oz. fountain drink from a gas station. I can see he really wants to have eye contact with me and make some sort of connection. As I get closer he says "you're doing great, dude" and then sticks up his hand for a high five. I clearly gesture with my hands open that I am not interested. Undeterred, he keeps putting his hand forward, and creeping towards my side of the sidewalk. He then puts his palm in the center of my chest. He high - five- chested me? Immediately, we both groan Ewwww. I don't think he was expecting me to be that wet. He totally met my expectaions. 

So I think that's the first time I have experienced unwanted touching on a run. Hopefully that's the end of it. 

Hood route. 6:30 am start. It was momentarily not raining. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. I had a dream last night that someone thought I was a valet and tried to give me their keys over and over. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

6 miles on legacy trail venice avenue north toover SWOM bridge and back, starting at 12:20. I only got about a mile of rain on the way back. 

My excuse for this week is work. There were a lot of deadlines. But it honestly was the anxiety of the deadlines that took me out of the game. In hindsight, I totally could have run. I'm a bit angry at myself for letting things go. We'll try it again tomorrow, and see what happens. 

5.5 miles. Hood route. 8 am start. Sweaty sweaty. For some reason I had soundgarden's rusty cage stuck in my head.

5.5 miles. hood route. 7:30 am start. Song stuck in my head: https://youtu.be/22T65YR63L0

6 on the trails. 10:15 am start. breezy. but still hot. lower humidity. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6:30 am start. 

https://youtu.be/DlSsIKn3HTU

Do you rememeber the 21st night of September? 

Yeah, like it was yesterday!

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

6 on the trails. 7:30 am start. It's amazing how a slightly lower dew point can change your run. I live @ 8 months per year with the dew point above 70, usually around 75. Then today it is 67. It was really great out there.  

Also, I watched The Social Dilemma the last couple of nights. It was eye opening. I'm not even on Facebook, but the movie got me to think about screen time choices for me, and my kids. 

As a side effect, I now have this song stuck in my head: https://youtu.be/4qkrsodwJGY That's not the version they use in the movie, but I like this version more. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

3.5 miles. hood route. 6:30 am start. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

7 on the trails. 7:30 am start. 86 deg. 75% hum. 77 d.p. Yucko. 

10:40 am at track. 2 up. (8) x 400m. w/ AR. AR's first. 1 down. Fast stuff in 12:35. 90 deg. 72 % hum. 78 d.p. 

2 miles. hood route, then home field advantage bathroom stop. then 2 on the trails. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

surprise 4 pm run: 3 miles on legacy trail, right next to the sun. 

1 mile hood route. Then Home Feild Advantage Bathroom Stop. Then 5.5 miles. Hood route. 6 am start. No bicycling today. 

5.5 miles. Hood Route. 6:30 am start. Faster than usual because 1. Cooler temps! 70 deg., 90% hum.,  68 d.p. and 2. My head is filled with household stress. Last week it was work stress. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning.

The weather felt so nice I went back out at lunch for 4 on the trails. 

4 on the trails at lunch. Still decent weather. 

my parent's 54th anniversary. 

5.5 miles. hood route. summer has returned. 

I watched a Pixar documentary last night on Netflix. I was stunned to find out we were married a year and a half before Toy Story 1. I guess I had it in my head that I must have been a child, because it is a children's movie. Sigh. Old man is old. 

10.7 miles. hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge, double back to colonia, and back the same way. steady pace. at least 6 other runners out today. Soundtrack in my head was a Wham! medley. I'm not proud of that. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 1/2 hour of bicycle in the afternoon. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 6:30 am start.

1/2 hour of bicycle in the morning. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 9 am start. warm. song in my head - 50% Custard Pie / 50% Song 2. 

As I turned back onto pinebrook road, I passed the guy that people usually think is me. For the last couple of years, people have said - Hey, I saw you running. When I ask them to describe the runner, I realize they are thinking of this guy, not me. We run a lot of the same routes, but just not at the same time of day. It's funny, but my answer is always - I'm WAY faster than that guy, as if this is how poeple can tell us apart. The dude is a half foot taller than me, bald, always runs shirtless with a headband, and has a snot rag draped over his waistband while he runs. But yeah, they should be able to tell that I'm faster than that guy. The resemblence is uncanny! (typed in sarcasm font)

And yes, I passed him, like Michael would pass a 9 year old on a bike. Dusted. 

4 miles on the legacy trail at lunch. 

6 on the trails. 9:15 am start. Song in my head - Trees by 21 pilots.

7.5 miles. hood route. 6 am start. 

7.5 miles. hood route. 6 am start. 

7.5 miles. hood route. 8 am start. 

4 on the trails. Autumn is a myth.

Since Tom Brady came to Florida,  we have had 1 Stanley Cup victory, 1 apprearance in the NBA finals, and 1 appearance in the World Series. Well, they said the guy was going to have an impact.