They all can't be "easy" runs.

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. 80 degrees. Longest run since August 18, 2022. So I looked into running the St. Paddy's day 8k. My favorite local race. It's one of those races that died during covid, it seems. So now I'm looking for a new test race in March/April.

72 deg., 93% hum., 70 d.p. foggy. 7:30 am start. 6 on the trails, then 1.5 hood route. slow. 

5.5 miles. hood route. then 2 on the trails. 71 deg., 95% hum., 69 d.p. Spouse has a new years resolution to go for daily walks. She has never exercised in any capacity her entire life, so this is a big deal. I tried to time this so that we were on the trails at the same time, and I might see her out there. We were there at the same time, but I didn't see her. 

p.s. It's only Tuesday, but this is my biggest week of running since August. I'm not really worried about ramping up mileage too quick. These paces are garbage. The plan is to get some decent milage back in a couple of weeks, and then try to work on speed. When I start running faster, then I will be a bit more concerned.

5.5 miles hood route. then 2 on the trails. 73 deg., 95% hum., 72 d.p. I actually got to see spouse on the trails today. 

4 on the trails, then 1.5 hood route, then 2 on the trails. some light rain in there. 

I start / finish most of my runs on the corner of pinebrook way and pinebrook road. A couple of years ago, I thought it would be funny to take the band aids that I use for nipple chafe protection, and stick them to the backs of various signs at this corner at the end of my runs. The number of signs expanded. At the end of the trails that I run there is a power pole with a metal covering on the guy wire. After I stuck a dozen or so on the metal covering, someone took the time to write the word "ouch!" on the metal. It was kind of funny. Anyhow, I told no one about this silly childish thing that I think is hilarious. In fact, I had to laugh to myself as I went by the intersection after the hurricane to find that all of "my" signs were still standing, and nearly all of the band aids survived the storm. My nipple band aid murals are clearly visible on google street view. 

Which brings me to today. I turned the corner at the end of my run, and a man was scraping all of the band aids off the back of the sign that started it all - the "no through trucks" sign on the corner. He had polish and a rag to wipe the sign down after he finished. I walked right by him and said nothing. Then when I got home I was still laughing when I told my family this whole thing. Thier reactions are somewhere between "that's gross" and "that's stupid". But they all laughed when I showed them the street views.

Yes, I turn 52 tomorrow. But inside, I'm much more juvenile. 

1 on the trails. then 7.5 miles, hood route to legacy trail and back. longer than normal stop at the legacy trail for a bathroom break. 72 deg., 34% hum., 41 d.p. very nice. 

AM: 3 on the trails.

PM: 4 on the trails, then 1.5 miles hood route.

AM: 4 on the trails. late start. still relatively low humidity and dew point. 

5.5 miles. hood route. then 2 on the trails. 61 deg., 87% hum., 57 d.p.

below 50 degrees? What? 6 on the trails, then 1.5 hood route. 

6 on the trails at noonish

10.7 miles. hood route to legacy trail over the swom bridge and then back south to colonia, and back the same way. Fairly stout wind out of the north, which I really appreciated on my last 2 miles, going south. 55 degrees or so. 

Longest run since September 4, 2021! 

10.2 miles. hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. It went from 40 degrees to 60 degrees while I was out running. I overdressed for 60 degrees. really low humidity, really low dew point. Best running weather in a long time. 

4 miles on the trails. not much pep today. 

I was ticked  off about the last couple of days productivity. So, 10.7 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the swom bridge back to colonia and back the same way. 73 deg. 72% hum., 63 d.p. Hotter than I would like, but it's got to be better than running ahead of a snowstorm. 

3 on the trails then 5.5 miles, hood route. 72 deg., 87% hum., 68 d.p. I came home sweaty.

12.9 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to venice avenue and back. 76 deg., 63% hum., 62 d.p.

Longest run since my last marathon (9/12/21), 1st run with a camelbak since that marathon build-up, 1st run with Gu since that marathon build-up, 1st 50 mile week since that marathon, and, I think, first run with a watch since that marathon.

Speaking of which- 1:03 out (9:46 pace) and 1:06 back (10:14 pace) (includes stopping at a few intersections for traffic). These are not great times, but I don't want to live in fantasyland about my present abilities. Miles 7-9 were the hardest work. 

I did not encounter any hoar frost on this run. 

I was thinking of Kula Shaker's cover of "Hush" on and off during the run. 

7.75 miles. hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 73 deg., 88% hum., 70 d.p. 37 minutes out (9:33 pace). 39 minutes back. (10:04 pace). Stiff head wind for the last 2 miles out of the south is what I think slowed me down. 

AM: 3 on the trails. 1.5 hood route. 3 on the trails. 63 deg., 66% hum., 51 d.p. Very nice. very smooth miles. 

PM: At Track?! Yeah, I haven't run "fast" in a very long time. 1.5 miles up. Repeat 800s with 400s recoveries. Recoveries run first. 1.5 miles down. 3:26, 3:31, 3:29, 3:29. This was work, but I feel like I could have gone a bit faster. I held it down because it has been so long, and I didn't want to blow up. Gotta start from somewhere. 

3 on the trails. 3.5 hood route. 1 on the trails. 73 deg., 89% hum., 69 d.p. 

at track - (4) x 2 miles. 55 degrees and windy. Then I walked a mile. I don't usually do that. Boy #2 went surfing tonight. It's been a while since the waves were up. 

16.25 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to circus bridge and back. All of it under 10 minute miles. 2nd to last mile under 8. 64 deg., 57% hum.,  49 d.p. I was feeling really good until halfway, and then turned around into the 18 m.p.h. wind, and I realized why the first half went so smooth - I was running with a tailwind.

It was a pretty good run. 

5.5 miles hood route. 79 deg., 70 hum., 68 d.p.

PM: at track. 2 x 2 miles. I forgot my watch. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 80 deg., 69% hum., 73 d.p. It went bad. Way too hot and too long to run without water. What was I thinking? 

7.5 miles. 3 trails + 3.5 hood + 1 trails. 9 am start. 

At the beginning of the year, I started looking around for a marathon to run in the spring. I figured 3-4 months was enough time to build up to get ready for a race. Before 3 weeks ago, I had never even heard of Rehoboth Beach. But then, looking into the marathon they have there, I thought it was pretty cool, and decided to sign up. I signed up yesterday. And then there was a 24 hour news cycle, where everyone was talking about Rehoboth Beach, and stuggling with the pronunciation of that as much as I do. 

PM: at track. 1.5 up. (5) x 800m w/ 400m recoveries. Recoveries run first. 1.5 down. 3:21, 3:27, 3:25, 3:21, 3:24.

4 on the trails. The easy runs are feeling a bit faster. 

16.25 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to circus bridge and back. 54 deg. at run start. 64 deg. at run finish. 9:40 pace overall. 8:15 pace for 3 of the last 4. felt better / smoother/ more in control than last week. You've got to love the process and not the goal. The process is working.... slowly. 

6 miles on Venetian waterway park. Venice Avenue Bridge to Circus Bridge and back. At sunset. Great weather. Started rough, but finished strong. The goal was to continue to the north bridge, and then do bridge (hill) sprints and jog back to venice avenue bridge. That didn't happen. maybe next week. 

7.75 miles. hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 10 am start. 75 degrees. 

At track. 2 x 2 miles. My additude is garbage right now. About running, and most other things too. I've got to turn this around soon. Life is good. I've got no reason to walk around surly.

3 on the trails. 3.5 hood route. 1 on the trails. 75 degrees. 

PM: at track. 1.5 up. (6) x 800m w/ 400m recoveries. Recoveries run first. 1.5 down. 3:10, 3:12, 3:18, 3:23, 3:20, 3:21.

Pop went into the hospital again today. It was 12 hours at venice hospital before they shipped him up to Sarasota. I was there for the last 4 of those. Venice has been full since the day it opened. That place is like a shipping depot for sick humans. It is a big line of ambulances just taking people to other hospitals. No one in my family will ever go back there willingly. Drive an extra 20 minutes to get care at a place that actually treats you. 

Spent some time with Pop in Sarasota Hospital. He was "combative" before I got there, aparently. So my visit was with a drugged out sleeping guy. I'm sure he didn't even know I was there. 

14.25 mile run fail. Goal was 20.75. Hood route to legacy trail to caspersen beach back to venice avenue, before I gave up. 70 degrees at the start. 80 degrees at the end. 75% hum., 71 d.p. The 20 mph wind out of the south wrecked me. I ran 6 miles straight into that. I was hoping the turn around would help me more than it did. Mentally, I didn't have it today. The early half of this week was light on miles. I'm going to try to change that next week so that I'm not running so many miles late in the week. 

Now I'm going to shower, eat something, and go back to the hospital to see Pop. 

AM: 3 on the trails. then 3.5 miles hood route. super windy.

PM: 0.5 up. 10 X 0.15 hill (bridge) sprints, jog downhill recoveries. 0.5 down. Still windy.

Then drove to sarasota hospital to see dad. He's doing a lot better. But they still don't know what is causing the problem. Watched the pregame and kickoff with pop and most of the first half. Made it home by the halftime show.

3 on the trails. 3.5 hood route. 1 on the trails. 63 deg. no wind. 

7.5 miles. Hood Route to legacy trail and back. 1:00:40. 8:05 pace. 73 deg. 

4 on the trails. Pop is getting out of the hospital today. 

4 on the trails. Noon time. 

6 PM: at track. 1.5 up. (7) x 800m w/ 400m recoveries. Recoveries run first. 1.5 down. 3:15, 3:20, 3:17, 3:18, 3:12, 3:15, 3:16. Last week there were 2 walkers with trekking poles bogarting lanes 1 and 2. I went a bit later this week so as to avoid that situation. Upside - just me at the track until the cool down, when a jogger that was on her cell phone for her whole run showed up. Downside- some of the next door softball fields did not have their lights on, so most of this run was pretty dark. 

It's funny, I remembered a post from Mike from a long time ago, where he was at the track, and he was complaining about the folks he was running with "dogging the recoveries." So every recovery run, I kept thinking - 

Don't dog the recovery. Mike doesn't like it when you dog the recoveries. 

I did not dog the recoveries. 

2 months to race day. I like the improvement, but the pressure is on now. 

20.75 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over Circus Bridge to Caspersen and back. Slow, and I mean slow. Like 10:20 pace. I've finished marathons in less time than this! But instead of crashing like last week, I wanted to make sure I could finish the run. Paces are next week's problem. Slight wind out of the east, which only was a pain for 2 of the last 4 miles. 

I went to the boat show in punta gorda. My oldest boy has a job he started about 2ish weeks ago. I met his new boss that spent an hour telling me how hard of a worker my kid is. That is music to a dad's ears. 

went out to run and had a very sharp pain on the top of my right foot, up near where I tie the laces. The interwebs says that this means I am either tying my shoes too tight, or running for the last 2 months in $30 shoes was not smart. So I went out, after re-tying my shoes and ran up and down the street. Most of the pain went away, but I don't want to risk it for a run of any serious length. I think I'm going to take the day off, and get some better shoes for tomorrow. 

4 on the trails. foot pain seems to be done with. I think I just tied my shoes too tight on Saturday. I never got new shoes, but that will be coming shortly. So I'm back in business tomorrow, with my plan. I have to fight the urge to try to make up the miles I missed earlier in the week. 

4 on the trails at 10 am. Hot. Foot pain goes away quickly, but I'm still not out of the woods yet. 

Pm. At track. 1.5 up and pulled the plug. Not because of pain, but because I'm a big coward. Also, I mentally punted this week, because of the bad start to the week. I got new balance fresh foam 880s today. They're awesome. And I got to be the starter for 3 guys at the track doing sprints. First time saying ready-set-go to people that are not my sons, I think.

3.5 miles. Hood route. 80 deg., 77% hum., 72 d.p. 

16.25 miles. 2:36:27, 9:38 pace, hood route to legacy trail to circus bridge and back. Hot. 80 deg., 71% hum., 70 d.p. I came home with pruned fingertips. Also the middle 8 ish miles were all red tide stink. I crossed 2 bays x 2, and run next to an ICW littered with dead fish. 

3.5 miles. Hood route. Talked to the shirtless tire dragger for a bit. Dude is always trying to recruit me for a spartan race. I have no interest.

PM: 0.5 up. 10 X 0.15 hill (bridge) sprints, jog downhill recoveries. 0.5 down. Pretty sunset on top of the north Bridge. Still with the red tide stink though. I have had Jim Croce's photographs and memories album stuck in my head for a couple of days. It started with "one less set of footsteps", and then basically the rest of the album got on The mental playlist. Except "time in a bottle". That song is just awful.

7.5 miles. hood route to legacy trail and back. 77 deg., 67% hum., 65 d.p. 1:07:32. 9 min/ mile pace. 34:00 out. 33:32 back. Really steady. A smart guy would have started 2 hours sooner (and 15 degrees cooler). 

7.5 miles. Hood Route to legacy trail and back. 1:00:21. 8:03 pace. 77 deg., 75% hum. 69 d.p. I really wanted less than an hour on this run. So close.

Was it last night's pizza? Was it the heat? Was it the pollen in the air? Nope. It was a bunch of idiot drivers that are going to get themselves in car accidents, if they keep stopping in the middle of 45 mph roads. If I'm in the crosswalk, driver stops - fine. If I'm 30 yards from the crosswalk, the driver should proceed through. When I didn't time my runs, none of this would matter. I would stop, turn my back on the intersection until the driver got the message. But now that I care about my times again, this is becoming a thing. So, in addition to avoiding heat, I should run sooner to avoid traffic. I go by 2 schools that open at 8 am on this run. So I need to be moving by 6:30, or wait until 8:15. 

Oh yeah, we had celebration pizza last night. Boy #1 got accepted into welding school, and we are all kinds of stoked. He's going to be marine mechanic by day, welder by night for the foreseeable future. When you see your kids apply themselves to something, something that will eventually lead to the parent's planned obsolesence, that calls for stuffed crust sausage pizza. 

3 on the trails. then 1.5 hood. 1:30 pm start. 80 deg. 62% hum., 65 d.p.

I'm sick. this stinks. things were going well. I'm sitting here, debating whether or not I should just go to the track to do today's scheduled workout or not. 

5.5 miles. hood route. Okay, turns out this is like "allergies" more than "sick." Today's run was a test. Still mad at myself for sacrificing last night's track stuff. 2 weeks of Thursday night speed cowardice. 44 days until race day. I might have bitten off more than I can chew.

20.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over circus bridge to caspersen beach and back. I'm going to say -not my best run. 80 deg., 71% hum., 70 d.p. We still have the red tide dead fish stink. Also, pollen covering eveything. Further, I ran out of water with 4 miles to go. 

3.5 miles. Hood route. 83 deg., 72% hum., 70 d.p.

Then big lunch at my parent's house with a few cousins and an uncle. 

PM: 0.5 up. 5 X 0.15 hill (bridge) sprints, jog downhill recoveries. 0.5 down.

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail, over SWOM bridge and back. 1:12:31, 9:21 pace. 81 deg. 70% hum. 70 d.p. Full sun. Little bit of hot breeze in there. Pretty rough conditions. But there was a moment that I had, where I envisioned myself as a smooth running train, without any errant movements, feet striking the ground consistently, arms swing driving me forward, breathing all synched up with everything else. Like I have all of this inertia, and it would take a tremendous amount of force to slow what is going on here. I used to think about that stuff a lot. It was nice to have it come back for a bit today. 

7.5 miles. Hood route to legacy trail and back. 79 deg., 72% hum., 69 d.p. 59:17. 7:54 pace. Not as good as I used to be, but moving in the right direction. 

Oh, there were no "smooth running train" moments today. I had to dodge a lot of traffic, so it was hard to check out, mentally. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 81 deg., 67% hum., 69 d.p. 1:16:29 - 9:52 pace. Lots of stopping for traffic today. With about 1.5 miles to go, I saw my mom pulling into the hospital, and spent the rest of the run wondering what was going on. Apparently my dad needed to get some blood work done and was getting it there. So no emergency. 

5 PM: at track. 1.5 up. (10) x 800m w/ 400m recoveries. Recoveries run first. 1.5 down. 3:15, 3:17, 3:23, 3:21, 3:20, 3:21, 3:22, 3:19, 3:25, 3:16. (3:19 average, kind of what I expected.) The cool down run was at a surprisingly snappy pace. I ate way too much lunch today, and I sure felt it tonight. 

Old man trekking poles was out there for the first 5.  Tonight, though, he kept himself in lane 2, which is cool. I'm glad I made it out there earlier tonight. They are doing some work on the track and so there are these 4" wide ruts in specific locations. Trying to navigate that in the dark would have been rough. 

20.75 miles. 3:25:15. 9:53 pace. Hood route to legacy trail over circus bridge to caspersen beach and back. Like every other long run on this training cycle for some reason, things got really bad at almost exactly 2 hours deep. I had to really fight my way through it. then at about 2:20 in, things started to feel better. I was moving at a pretty decent clip for the last 4 miles or so. I think red tide is over now. I didn't smell any dead fish. But the pollen is still bad. 78 deg. 63% hum, 65 d.p. It felt way hotter than that. I'm just glad that I was finally able to go 20 miles. I needed to know that. 

PS. I plan on listening to 311 all day. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 

PM: 0.5 mile up. 10 X 0.15 hill (bridge) sprints, jog downhill recoveries. 0.5 mile down. At North Bridge. 

Noon time miles. 4 on the trails. 3.5 miles hood route. 1 on the trails. The rain held off until 5 minutes after I finished running. I appreciated the overcast conditions. 

Pop is 82 today. I went down to see him before my run. He was scraping the weeds out of the control joints of his driveway. He always has to be working on a project, I guess. That's what makes him happy. Why not scrape weeds out of the driveway for your birthday? 

Noontime "tempo?" 10.2 Miles Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 72 deg., 41% hum!, 48 d.p.! Camelbak. 1:20:56. 7:56 pace. 

7.75 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail, over the SWOM Bridge and back. Stellar weather! 63 deg., 46% Hum., 41 d.p. 1:11:44 - 9:15 pace. 

5 PM: at track. 1.5 up. (10) x 800m w/ 400m recoveries. Recoveries run first. 1.5 down. 3:17, 3:18, 3:17, 3:17, 3:16, 3:17, 3:18, 3:19, 3:14, 3:15. (3:16 average. better than expected. That's 3 seconds average better than last week.) 75 deg. 48% hum., 55 d.p. Full sun. There was a headwind at the start / finish. The headwind in last 100 meters of rep #6 really discouraged me. I had to dig pretty deep not to bail on the workout, and I'm glad I finished. The cool down run was not nearly as smooth as last week. 

I had the track to myself for every lap. They filled 1 of the 3 (4" wide) ruts that cross the track as the repair process is on-going. 

1 month to race day. I know people like to use these runs as a marathon predictor tool. But a 3:16 marathon just seems so far out of reach. Oh well, I've got a month to figure this out. 

20.75 miles. 3:28:23. 10:03 pace. Hood route to legacy trail over circus bridge to caspersen beach and back. 80 deg. 75% hum, 71 d.p. I looked like I was swimming at halfway. I'm not happy about the pace, but happy I could finish the run. 

7.5 miles. Hood route. 1:07:56. 9:03 pace. 55 degrees. 80 degrees and sunburned yesterday. Cold ears today.

PM: 0.5 mile up. 10 X 0.15 hill (bridge) sprints, jog downhill recoveries. 0.5 mile down. At North Bridge. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. Noontime miles. 64 deg., 32% hum., 34 d.p. constant 14 mph wind out of the north. 1:12:41. 9:23 pace. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to Colonia and back. Was scheduled to be a 10 mile tempo, but after the 2nd bathroom stop, I decided I couldn't really call it that. The weather was fantastic for the whole thing. But for some reason, my paces/breathing were off from the beginning. Bummer.

And by the way, How does publix know when I'm going to show up to use the bathroom, and therefore, it's time to clean the men's room? I have used the "Family Restroom" more often than the men's room there, because it's always being cleaned when I show up. 

PM run: 1 on the trails then 7.5 miles hood route. It's been a while since I ran the sidewalks in the dark.

10.2 Miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 80 deg., 71% hum., 70 d.p. 1:34:37. 9:17 pace. Even split. I think this was going to work out to be a slight neg. split.

But then a dude on a motorized bike wrecked about 10 yards from me with a mile and a half to go, and I sort of lost what I was doing in the minutes I spent helping him out. He was turning off of pinebrook road into the publix shoppping center. It's a wide turn, and he was moving quick, and it looked like everything was going smooth. He had a set of golf clubs strapped to the back of his bike. As he went around the turn, the weight of the golf clubs shifted, sending him into the curb. He landed in grass, did a decent tuck and roll, had on the padded gloves and helmet. I didn't see a scratch on the guy. But he threw his chain, and it took us some time to get that together. For a while after that I was in a slow jog mode, thinking over the dangers of these motorized bikes that all of the seniors and homeless folks ride. I see more motorized bikes on the legacy trail than I do conventional bikes lately. 

6:15 PM: at track. 1.5 up. (6) x 800m w/ 400m recoveries. Recoveries run first. 1.5 down. 3:09, 3:21, 3:19, 3:16, 3:21, 3:16. It got windy on the last 2 800s. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 84 deg. 48% hum., 61 d.p. About a mile and a quarter into the run, there was a dead otter on the side of the road. It didn't take me long to run out of "Otter Destruction" jokes. 

16.25 miles. 2:32:30, 9:23 pace, Hood route to legacy trail to circus bridge and back. 1:15:50 at halfway. Hot. 82 deg., 74% hum., 72 d.p. 

7.5 miles hood route to legacy trail and back. 31:38 out (8:26 pace). 30:10 back (8:03 pace). 1:01:14 all (8:14 pace). 83 deg., 65% hum., 70 d.p., and those numbers seem low. I guess the beauty of training in Florida is I am pretty much guaranteed better weather conditions on race day, if I race out of state. Delaware, on race day, is predicted to be about 2/3 of those numbers on race day.

13 days to race day, and man, I don't know what an appropriate goal marathon finish should be. If you look at my intervals, you'd think I should go for a 3:20 finish. If you look at my handy pace by the pound guide, 3:26 is a good goal. But over the last 3 months, I haven't seen the tempo times drop any. I'm still doing just under 8 minute miles on a good day, and just over 8:30s on a bad day. So should I look for a 3:36 finish time? I've finished marathons better than that on far worse training cycles. And my long runs have been even worse. If you look only at my long runs, you would be impressed if I finished with anything under 4:00. I'm hoping something will reveal itself to me before race day, and then I will now what to do.

Who am I kidding? I run by feel anyway! I have consistently abandoned every race plan at the sound of the gun. 

5.5 miles. hood route. 77 deg., 84% hum., 72 d.p. 45:34. 8:17 pace. Dead otters smell really bad after a few days. 

Oh yeah, I had Nitzer Ebb songs on the mental playlist this morning. That's some obscure stuff. 

3 trails / 1.5 hood route / 3 trails. 94 degrees. 

7.75 miles Hood Route to legacy trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. Last 3.75 in 33:14 (8:52 pace). I ran roughly the same pace on the way out, but I botched the start thing. It was all really easy miles, and never pushing it. 84 deg., 68% hum., 72 d.p.

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 1:27:42. 8:36 pace. Not pushing. First mile was 9, and the rest picked up pace. Hot, but I don't have exact numbers.

Then (non-running stuff) immediately to pop's house for tree trimming, lawn mowing, edging, etc.  I'm beat.  After, we had sandwiches my mom made. Then a really meaningful conversation about faith with mom. It was a good day with my octogenarian parents. I am fortunate to have my parents around, at my age. It is fantastic that they live just down the street. But, even with that advantage, I find that most of our conversations are about the mundane - fix the screen door, next week's doctors appointments, look at the water heater, trim the trees, see what's going on with that one irrigation head, next month's graduation plans for Tommy, stuff like that. But when Mom realizes that her days here may be few, and is desperately compelled to tell me what Jesus has done in her life, to make sure that I know, I have to step back and be grateful for what I have. She's awesome. 

5.5 miles in the pouring rain. I mean buckets. In the last 1/4 .Ile, I did about 30 yards in ankle deep water. 48:38. 8:51 pace . Happy Easter!

PM: 4 miles along West Venetian Waterway Park. Venice Avenue south past Venice High School to the pavilion and back. 14:48 out. 14:20 back. 29:08, 7:17 pace overall. 76 deg., 63% hum., 63 d.p., and 20 mph winds.

6 days to race day. Looking back at what I've done over the last 3 months, I think I'm ready to finish a marathon. It is one of the more disciplined training cylces I've had. But in hindsight, I think I needed more runs like this. Something in the 3-6 mile range. Where I'm not red-lining (like intervals), but the effort is raised a bit. On the next go around, I think I'll try to do more tempos, and more fast-finish long runs. I still think 50-60 miles a week is where I should be. I'll just try to put more emphasis on a goal pace, rather than only logging miles. 

7 noontime miles on the trails. 

am: at track. 1.5 up. (2) x 800m w/ 400m recoveries. Recoveries run first. 1.5 down. 3:10, 3:08. Light rain and wind.  

4 miles in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Then spouse and I rented bikes, and rode around much of the first third of the race course. We went around Gordon's pond in henlopen park. Unbelievable beauty. The temperature changes here are pretty quick. Several

times today the Temps swung 20 degrees in less than a half hour. Also, This town is crazy wealthy.

7 am start. It was very hot, and I wilted on the second half. Badly. At race start - 60 degrees, 100% humidity, 55 degree dew point.  At race finish - 76 degrees, 61% humidity, 62 degree dew point. 0% cloud cover (and tree shade for maybe 3 miles total) for the entire race, but also 0 mph wind. There are no hills. The course has a couple of odd U-turns, but no hills. Also, the race goes around "Gordon's Pond" early in the race, which is a marshy area, that kind of stinks like dead fish for about 2 miles. 

I'm a guy that trains in @ 80 degrees, 90% humidity, 70+ dew point, and spent a month running in red tide stink. I thought I would have an edge. I can't imagine anyone else out there training in the exact race conditions. It doesn't matter. I started running 7:30s, and finished with running 10:20s in the last 5 miles. 7:52 pace overall on the first half. 9:22 pace overall on the second half. I got knee deep in the Atlantic Ocean after the race, and I think it did me some good. The water temperature was really low. Spouse and I met some nice folks at the Grotto’s pizza post-race party. I don’t know what’s next for me. I am happy about knocking off another state. I am mostly happy with my training leading up to the race. But a 19:45 positive split is giving me some pause about getting super-stoked! for my next race, whatever that is.

The weather the rest of the time we were in Rehoboth Beach was spectacular. I found myself getting irritated about the fact that the weather conditions in the town were better for running everyday we were there, than they were on race day. Easily 10 degrees cooler everyday, with some breezes. Neither Spouse or I have ever been to Delaware before. We spent the next 2 days riding around the area on rented bikes. The race course is beautiful. The whole town is beautiful. I mean, really amazing. Also, Rehoboth Beach has an intense tourist season that goes from May to September. So in mid-April, there are not many folks around, and room rentals are cheap. We could ride bikes without worrying too much about traffic. Everything was in bloom. There were cherry blossoms blowing across the street, when we were riding bikes. We rode bikes through the president’s neighborhood, where we saw 4 deer just poking around. Crazy right? I mean, just amazing.

3 on the trails. Everything still works.

4 on the trails. 

7.75 miles. Hood route to legacy trail, over the swom bridge and back. 10 am start. 83 deg., 69% hum., 72 d.p.

7.75 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over SWOM Bridge and back. 80 deg., 58% hum., 63 d.p.

5 on the trails at noon. 

2 on the trails. I didn't feel right. Dizzy. 

4 on the trails. 2 pm.

1 on the trails plus 3.5 hood route. 

4 on the trails. 

4 on the trails. 

4 on the trails at noon. Today is Boy #1's 18th birthday. Yes the kid kissing his hand and touching my cheek in the picture over there. Yes, he and most of his classmates exist because of the massive August 04 hurricane season. He graduates high school tomorrow. The last 10 days have been all schedule all the time. There were 3 awards ceremonies and 6 concerts, between him and his brother. And that's not counting tomorrow night, when Tommy graduates, and Johnny and Tommy both will be performing. I've been thinking back to when they were little, and I was more in charge of my life schedule, and theirs. Now their schedules have taken over my life. I used to fight this change, and I realize now that I have embraced it, it is quickly coming to an end. Soon, their schedules will be theirs, and mine will be mine again. And it kind of makes me sad that I will no longer be complaining about "having to go to my kid's" event of some sort. Tommy will no longer be singing anywhere, at least for a while. He starts welding school in August, and I'm not sure of the market for singing welders. The chorus has one last singing event after graduation to perform at Carnegie Hall in June. And then,... no more singing. He's a good kid, and I'm going to miss having him around.

Sorry to have such a melancholy non-running stuff post. 

P.S. 29th Wedding Anniversary Saturday. 

5 on the trails. Weights with Tommy.

PM: 4 on Venetian Waterway Park. Venice Avenue to the 2 mile pavilion and back. 30:29. 7:37 pace.

Then to Venice Beach for Sunset. 

4 on the trails. then weights with Tommy. 

4 on the trails. then weights with Tommy. 

4 on the trails. I'm just running whatever whenever. Time to find another race, I guess.

1 pm: 5 on the trails. Then weights with Tommy. For some reason, I've had Van Morrison's Into the Mystic stuck in my head for the last couple of days. 

4 on the trails

5 on the trails. You know, I have these blue running shorts that I don't wear that often. So I wore them today. At the end of the run, I could see that the sweat pattern on my shorts was less than flattering. So THAT'S why I always run in black shorts! Then weights with Tommy.

4 on the trails. then weights with Tommy

5 on the trails at 2 with a gut full of church lunch. 

4 on the trails before a zoom meeting. 

The guy that does album reviews while running with a go pro is my new favorite thing on the internet. Jimmy Watkins, or Biggy Timmkins, I'm not sure.

 Jimmy Watkins (@biggytimmkins) / Twitter

Jimmy Watkins - YouTube

4 on the trails

Mom's 80th birthday. We got her a plane ride up and down the coast. She loved it. Then a big fancy pants dinner. It was great.

On the trails. Then Weights with Tommy

4 on the trails at 2:30 pm. Swampy. Then Weights with Tommy

4 on the trails, after weights with Tommy. 89 deg., 75% hum., 80 d.p., "Feels Like" 106. So, you know, refreshing. 

4 on the trails. Weights with Tommy

5.5 miles. Hood route. I had to do something besides 4 on the trails. "Feels like" 108. It was good to get back on the sidewalks. Weights with Tommy

My U14 soccer coach, who later hired me to dig holes at his landscape company, when I was in my late teens / early 20s, honked at me out there. I see him from time to time while running. Today, I was thinking about all the laps he made me run at practices, you know, for being a jerky teenager. And how that led me to playing midfield, because I could run without getting tired. And how that may have led to me taking up this hobby. So, if you think about it, I'm a runner now because I couldn't shut up in soccer practice when I was 12 and 13. 

Whoa!

4 on the trails. I had 2 mellow songs in my head. Alejandro Escoviedo's cover of pale blue eyes, and Jane's addiction's summertime rolls. Weights with Tommy

Weights without Tommy

Weights with Tommy

Weights with Tommy

Weights with Tommy

4 on the trails. then weights with Tommy. then cut my dad's grass. then cut my grass. 

4 on the trails. Crazy hot. Before the run, I was on the sidewalk, waiting for a break in traffic to cross pinebrook road to the trails. I looked down as one car went by and there was a 2' snake between my feet. I wish someone had recorded my reaction to that. I mean, the snake was non venomous and just slithered away. But still, I don't think I've ever jumped in that fashion, or made a noise like that. I don't think I could duplicate it ever, either.

Going to Venice CA on Tuesday with Boy #1 to hang out with my brother and SIL. They are determined to get me on a surf board. 

Flew to LA with boy #1. Toured Venice CA and Santa Monica by bike. Many miles. Also had some killer tacos. It got downright chilly when the sun went down. Long day.

Started the day at dockweilers Beach. Lax is right there, so non stop jets flying over. No crowds. Lots of debris on the beach from last night's fireworks. 2 to 3 footers, with a random 4 to 5 footer thrown in occasionally. Water cold enough for wetsuits. Tommy and my brother rode wave after wave for hours. It was really great. I tried. I had trouble sitting on a board and looking for waves. I caught one, and the speed really shocked me. I didn't even think about getting up. So I paddled in. Surfing is something I think you have to learn before you're 25. Going to give a few more beaches a try tomorrow, but I think I'm out on this sport.

Went to the dodgers vs pirates game. It was a Hawaii themed night. A guy named peso pluma threw out the 1st pitch. I think maybe half the crowd was there to see him. The national anthem was done with ukulele which was really cool, but hard to sing along with. Dodgers came back from 4 runs down to win. LA people leave events early in the hopes of avoiding traffic. But if everyone leaves early, doesn't that just change the time of the traffic?

Went south to doheny Beach. The

Boneyard part was packed with surfers. So Tommy and Andy surfed the rivermouth part of the beach. Maybe the best, most consistent, even sets, cleanest waves Tommy has ever and will ever ride. People compared the waves there to Hawaii waves. He left super happy about the day. Then we made our way back through orange county. Very beautiful area. Then we had dinner at an Italian place in Brentwood. Going north tomorrow.

Went north to Malibu by pepperdine. I can't imagine how anyone finishes school at that place. If the sun is shining, I would ditch every class there. Then we went to matador Beach and climbed on the rocks, went into caves, etc. Super cool. Back down to Zuma Beach. Lots of summer camp surfer schools. The guys went out and rode a couple waves. These were 4-5. I think Tommy was intimidated by the size. After a while, he caught a wave, fell off weird, and his ankle hit and broke a fin on his board. So we left, got some more killer tacos, and checked out Beverly Hills. Then a concert at penmar golf course, and food truck Friday in venice.

Tommy and Andy surfed Santa Monica first thing. The waves were much more manageable size than they were at Zuma Beach. Couple hours of riding good waves. Surfer schools on either side of the guys. Then lunch. Then Griffiths observatory for some great views of LA. Then brief trip to Hollywood Blvd. I saw the Bob hope star. Back home by way of Beverly hills. Showered, light touring of the venice bridges, and marina del Rey. Then off to whisky a gogo to see atomic punks. A van Halen cover band. They were excellent.

Flying home today. First breakfast at marina del Rey Ritz Carlton. $32 bacon and eggs? Did I break a window, bub? Whatever. I'll Go out in style, I guess.

I live in Venice, Florida, where 62% of the population is over 65. In Venice, California 15% of the population is over 65. Of the many differences between the 2 Venices, I found that to be the most striking.

I guess this marks the end of Tommy's graduation vacation blog. Back to work, and back to running. I think I'm ready to build up to something again.

6 on the trails at 3 pm. "feels like 115" Wait, is that right? 

4 on the trails at 11 am. "feels like" 117! 

6 on the trails. 6:30 pm. Much better weather. Weights with Tommy at noon.

weights with tommy

5 on the trails. I waited until after the rain. So, still silly hot, but 10 degrees better than normal.

4 on the trails evening run. Threat of rain, but it never happened.

run fail. then weights with tommy

10 am start. 2 trails. 3.5 hood. 2 trails. I may never stop sweating. then weights with tommy. 

3 trails. 3.5 hood. 1 trails. 

Five on the trails. It was threatening to storm but never got around to it again. My biggest week since April. That's kind of depressing.

4 on the trails 7:45 am start. That's pretty early for me these days. 

AM 4 on the trails. hot. humid. 

I did a ridiculous amount of yardwork this weekend. I pruned everything. Bulk pickup tomorrow. I was a total veg last night after all of that. 

Then weights with Tommy at lunch.

PM 4 on the trails. hot. humid. 

4 on the trails. 10:30 am start. 

Then weights with Tommy

4 on the trails. 7:30 pm start. 

9 am: 4 on the trails.

Then weights with Tommy

10.2 Mile Hood route to legacy trail to Colonia and back. 10 am start. Overcast = No Sun for the whole run. Good to be back on pavement again.

I was thinking about the women's team USA vs. Nether-regions game last night  that tied 1-1. 15 years ago, I preferred watching women's soccer over men's soccer. I hate the amount of effort put forth in the men's game to get inside the other guy's head, the flopping, the pulling of a dude's shirt 50 yards away from the play on the field, just to tick him off in the hopes of drawing a foul. It's like a wrestling match, where the ref can choose to call or not call a foul, where they kick a ball occasionally. If you've ever watched a game where Neymar was on the field, you know what I'm talking about. If he would put that effort into moving to the open space, rather than trying to get a cheap shot on the other guy so he can draw a foul, things would be so much better. In my opinion, the way the women played the game was a better version of soccer. Well, after watching that game last night, those days are over. That game was the most cheap-shotting women's game I may have ever seen. Congratulations, women! You have just lost your competative advantage over men's soccer, by playing like the men. Brilliant!

10.2 Mile Hood route to legacy trail to Colonia and back. 8:30 am start. no clouds = Sunny for the whole run.

I'm trying to get over 1,000 miles by 7/31. It's a stupid goal, but I'm at least working towards something. (also I need like 4 miles to pass Michael on the mileage board.)

7 am start. 2.5 on the trails. Then 6 with the shirtless tire dragger. Then 0.5 home. All trails. The first mile with the shirtless tire dragger was also with his friend, Nikki. She is also one of those tough mudder, spartan race, obstacle course, run by heart rate monitor types. But she is not a recruiter like he is. I really like running alone. But today was good to run with some folks. I haven't done that in years. Also, the shirtless tire dragger is 42 (10 years younger than me). Later today, he and his wife are having a baby shower. Their first kid. It's awesome listening to someone talk about parenting before they have kids.

4 on the trails. 830 am start.

4 on the trails. 1100 am start.

7 miles split between 2 runs on the trails. This morning was so brutal, heat-wise, that I just couldn't get there. I'm pretty mad at myself for having to go out again before sunset to finish the job. Even now, 7 pm, the "feels like" is 100+. My buddy said "I think something's wrong with the sun." 

5.5 miles hood route. New shoes - Adidas Boston 11. I had the old shoes since February, so I was due. 90 deg., 65% hum., 77 d.p.

4 on the hot hot trails

4 on the trails. 1 pm start. 94 deg., 64% hum., 79 d.p., "feels like" 111. 

4 on the trails. Then Spouse's bithday stuff all day, including me getting my first pedicure ever. 

4 on the trails. 92 deg., 71% hum., 81 d.p. "Feels like" 112! For those conditions, it was surprisingly smooth running. Go figure. Must be the new shiny toes? 

4 on the trails. 2 pm. Very hot. Not as smooth as yesterday. Usually my Saturdays are- go run. Lift weights with Tommy. Do a ridiculous amount of yardwork at my house and my parents' house. Today I went reverse order.

4 on the trails after weights. 5 pm start.

I went to Catholic church last night with my parents, because my younger brother's in town from CA. My dad had to go use the bathroom during the offertory, because he's an old guy, but then he got lost on the way back. I elbowed my older brother (because he was sitting on the end, and boxing me in), and he said "What?!" kind of loud. So then I had to yell at him to go get him. He let out a heavy sigh and went to retrieve pops, who then, in turn, yelled at him that he knew where he was going. We were a joy at Saturday night mass, I tell you. Also, I've been saying the same words in Catholic church my whole life, every week, until I got married. For some reason, they have decided to change all of them in my absence. Same prompts from the priest, different responses. I'm convinced this is to make me look like an idiot. 

Then this morning, spouse, the boys, boy #2's girlfriend, and I went to our regular church. Numbers are down. Way down. Like we usually have a decline in the summer, when the snowbirds head north. But this is next level decline. In fact, a good chunk of the sermon was spent on getting people watching on the interwebs to come back to real live church. In contrast to the message, however, came the realization that folks just don't know how to act in church anymore. I don't know if the pandemic is responsible. But we had people talking during the songs and the message. And there were 3 separate phone calls. 1 of those, the person answered, and said "I can't talk right now, Jim. I'm in church." What in the world?! That was in the traditional service. I can only assume that the rock and roll service was worse. Begging people to come back to church, when the congregation is acting up is not good. 

I don't know what this all means, and I'm not an especially faithful guy, but there is a lot to pray about. 

4 on the trails. a few moments of light drizzle rain. 10-15 degrees cooler than normal, which was nice. 

4 on the trails at 11 am. I had that song Sarah! posted the other day - Phobia stuck in my head. Never heard of the band or the song before. The sound kind of reminds me of Muse. 

4 on the trails. then weights with tommy

4 on the trails. For some  reason, I had GnR's Rocket Queen stuck in my head. Not the whole song, just the slow-ish part at the end. Over and over. 

https://youtu.be/mej6bkcNZtE?si=CqYyH3PiZPYy5JYM

then church (the small congregation was much better behaved this week). Then lunch. then honey doos. then weights with tommy. Then watching hurricane stuff for my brother in Venice CA. (To recap: Tropical storm in LA, 5.5 earthquake in Ojai, Tornadoes in San Diego, and then they warned that since it is rattlesnake season, don't go outside in the flood waters. My brother said the earthquake made him nauseous, but other than that, just a lot of rain so far. 

What's next is I guess mudslides, locusts, etc. 

4 on the trails, then 1.5 hood route. And with this run, I pass last years' total mileage. (last year was pretty bad for me.) But still, that's something. 

5 on the trails. Lots of neighbors out there, so the pace was up a bit. I don't want to look like I'm struggling in front of audiences. Dance like no one's watching, maybe. But run like someone is watching. 

on the trails 11 am

trails. pre-storm stagnant soup. 

pre-storm prepping with pop. Boys went surfing. they took the short boards, but it was kind of a long board day. 

watched the storm on the news. not much wind, not much rain. super storm surge though. I've never seen the tides that high. 

4 on the trails. hot, humid, blah, blah, blah. tides are still high. everyone is back to school today.

I know this is a Utah based blog, and I may be the only Gator fan here, and far be it from this Gator fan to trash talk before a game we will surely lose, but I wore my Gator running shirt today. It's been a while. Last year was pretty bad for us. Maybe the only highlight of the year was beating Utah, and that was just barely. Maybe a reasonable goal for tonight would be "not getting embarrassed," or maybe, "it was competative" or "we didn't lose the game because an idiot decided to throw a shoe." 

4 on the trails. Last night's game was ugly. Gonna be a long year. 

4 on the trails. Late start today because I was talking with spouse about Jimmy Buffett for  a while before heading out. Then when I got out there, I talked to the shirtless tire dragger for way too long. Then Yard Work. Then weights with Tommy. 

5.5 miles. hood route. it was good to get off the trails. slightly lower temps today.

Then yard work. then weights with Tommy

I never realized "Come Monday" is a song about labor day weekend. 

4 on the trails. The crickets were super loud.

4 on the trails. 90 degrees feels kind of nice, after months of running in 100 degrees. It's all relative. 

In gainesville. This was fun: 

https://youtu.be/JlGdjpZcC3I?si=5ejrbVCmOmBCPNsA

trails

trails. great weather. 

trails

trails. I've been running these trails off and on since 1983. Sometimes after hurricanes, with logs and branches to hurdle. Sometimes through parts with ankle deep water. I've seen coyotes, wild hogs, and bobcats. I have magically hovered over snakes a time or two. I've run these trails at night, and in the rain. Never fell, that I can remember. But today, in full sun, with about a quarter mile to finish, my right foot caught a rock and I had to tuck and roll. I have a little blood on my right elbow. Nothing serious. For some reason, I had the the Naked Gun theme music stuck in my head for the whole run. That song always makes me smile. 

trails. 85 deg. 100% humidity. 80 d.p.

Trails. Then weights. Then getting new cabinetry for my garage from my neighbor. Then getting rid of the old stuff. Then..... the gators beat Tennessee.

Trails in late afternoon, after the heat was really bad.

4 on the trails at 11:00 am. "Feels like" 102.

trails. much cooler this morning. 79 deg., 94% hum., 78 d.p.

3 on the trails. Would have been more but I spent way too much time talking to the shirtless tire dragger. 

Another Gator Game. Saw some old friends. Learned to enjoy hot boiled peanuts. 

4 on the trails. The shirtless tire dragger introduced me to a new guy on the trails - Brian the Bird watcher. So when he had his binoculars out, and I was running by him, I tried to run quietly. 

5 on the trails. It was overcast and sprinkling. 

trails. no bears. 

trails. youth soccer season is back, so I had to pick up the pace when I went by the fields, just in case someone out there could identify me. 

Mom and Dad's 57th anniversary. I went over there for a bit. 

4 on the trails. 

4 on the trails. super hazy out. 

News reports say the haze is from Canadian Fires, 1,700 miles away. 

4 on the trails. I spent way too long talking to my neighbor before the run. She was walking her dog, and had a bag of poo, and is one of those animated hand gesture talking people. So that bag was flying around, as she talked. 

For some reason, I had Aimee Mann's "Save me" and Cinderella's "Somebody Save me" playing in my head, back and forth, for this run. 

4 on the trails. Song of the run stuck in my head: 

https://youtu.be/5EV9IdeU3D0?si=XgO5mMvrV-WuAEZ2

4 on the trails. much cooler today.

pm run on the trails in the rain. 

4 on the trails after a rough week of work. super hot out there. lots of snakes. 

A mile and a half into the run, I thought "Whatever happened to Ned's Atomic Dustbin?"

Then I spent the rest of the run trying to think of all of the 90's Britpop bands. Ride, Blur, Verve, Oasis, Radiohead, Charlatans UK, James, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses. There's more, but that's a pretty good list, I think. 

on the trails. 

After Church, Boy #1 and I went to the restaurant where Boy #2 works for lunch. Outdoors, looking at the boats, seafood, nice. Table next to us is getting a bit rowdy. Boy # 2 is bringing a couple to their table, and loudmouth guy from the table next to us jumps up, points at the guy and yells "Who are you? I know you from somewhere!" Apparently, the couple was on a show called Naked and Afraid. I know of the show's existence, but that's about it. Rowdy table gets up and starts taking pictures with these folks, the whole time talking in profanities, to the point where the Naked and Afraid couple tell them to chill out, there's kids in here. Which raises the question: 

Where are you in your life that naked and afraid couple can take the moral high ground on you for your behavior in public? 

trails. 

I'myouronlyfriendI'mnotyouronlyfriendButI'malittleglowingfriendButreallyI'mnotactuallyyourfriendButIam

trails. 71 deg., 55% hum., 54 dew point. So nice. 

pm. on the trails. I've been busy. It felt good to run again.

I've been doing a lot of auto repair stuff lately. We have 4 cars at my house right now. Me, spouse, Tommy, Johnny. I feel like part of my job here, as dad, has become "fleet management". I spend more time than I thought I would checking tire air pressure and auto fluid levels. This weekend it was brakes repair. I'm no mechanic, but I can watch the youtubes, and I do like saving money. 

on the trails. then weights. I haven't been good about documenting weightlifting here. i should get back to that. 

on the trails. then weights. 

4 on the trails. then weights

uninspired 4 on the trails at noon. 

1 on the trails. rolled my ankle pretty good about a quarter mile deep, so I decided to go out on the 3.5 mile hood route, running the sidewalks. 

Then weights with tommy. But I should have been icing this ankle. I'm limping now. 

4 more on the trails. after strapping a bag of frozen broccoli to my ankle a couple of times yesterday, the ankle seems to be okay. 

then weights with Tommy

Weights with Tommy. 

4 on the trails. then weights. 

4 on the trails. then weights. 

weights

4 on the trails

4 on the trails, then weights with Tommy. Then hit the road for Miami without showering. @ 3.5 hours, with traffic. My buddy is getting married on a cruise in port saturday. rehearsal dinner friday at 6 pm. hotel check in 4 pm. we have to get on and off the boat saturday, and then some folks are on for the whole cruise. 

I forgot all of the hanging clothes we packed for the trip.

We didn't realize this until we were in the hotel room. The moment of panic was huge. What happened next was insanity. In less than 2 hours, we got our car from the hotel valet, raced to a store (in Miami traffic), found somewhat acceptable clothes for both events, and bought scissors to cut off the tags, got back to the hotel room, only to find that one of the security beacons was left on spouse's new shirt! 

Okay. New plan.

We showered and got dressed. Spouse put on the shirt with the security tag. We were walking down the hallway, planning to go back to the store we just left and have them remove the tag frome the shirt she was wearing, and she was kind of upset about the situation we were in. In her anger (and letting me know about it), she was rolling up her sleeves, when it occurred to her that the tag would be hidden in her sleeve, if the sleeves were rolled up. So we went to the rehearsal dinner with the security tag still attached. 

Wedding on the cruise ship in Miami. It was a great event, and everyone had a good time. The nature of cruise-in-port weddings is kind of fast paced, and frenzied. But given that, it was still a lot of fun. And I am happy for my buddy. I didn't tell the groom about the fiasco the day before. We had bar codes e-mailed to us that had to be scanned getting on and off the ship. We, non-cruising guests, had to be off the boat by 2:30. If you are going on a cruise, usually it works like - you check your bags - you walk around the ship for a while - and then you get called to muster (which is where you learn what to do / where to go if there is an emergency) - after muster, your bag is in your room. My buddy needed to have his tux returned to men's wearhouse. He had a guy designated for the job, but since I knew exactly where the men's wearhouse was (because of yesterday's circus) I volunteered. Around 2:10, I started pestering him about needeing his tux. We went back to his cabin, and he changed into the suit he brought for the rest of the day. One problem - the shoes that go with the suit were in his bag that would not be in his room until after muster. He was thinking he would have to walk around with a suit barefoot for muster, etc. So I gave him my shoes. He's a size 9, I'm a 10.5. but it was just a couple of hours until he could get in his own shoes. So I grabbed the tux, and went back to the reception barefoot to get spouse (in a dress she will never wear again) and go. I had shoes in my car in the parking lot across the street. I thought "No big whoop." There was a huge uproar when I came back barefoot. The amount of pictures taken of my feet was a bit off-putting. We got our barcodes scanned and were on our way back to the car, when Spouse reminded me that this is not the first wedding reception we've been to, where people were taking pictures of my feet. At MY wedding, spouse gave me converse all star chuck taylors to wear at the reception. And a zillion pictures were taken of my feet at OUR wedding reception, too. Maybe having pictures of my feet at your wedding reception is good luck. Spouse and I will be married 30 years in May. 

We got the anti-theft tag off of her new shirt, returned the tux and drove home. 

weights with tommy

4 on the trails. Very smooth running today. 

4 on the trails. The lowlands, timberlands, badlands, birdlands.

the weights. 

4 on the trails. very out of sorts today. just didn't have it. I talked to the shirtless tire dragger very briefly this morning. There is some sort of 24 hour spartan race a year from now in florida. I don't know why I can't convince this guy that I'm not interested in these races. He's been asking me for years, and I've never even responded with a "maybe". 

SRQ-CLE

Met some folks from Vermont running a trail marathon in central Ohio. They are 50 staters and are now up to state 38. I am really doing this at a snails pace. 

Depeche Mode in Cleveland. 

CLE-SRQ

weights then trails. 80 degrees. 

Weights then trails

drove 10 hours to North Atlanta

spent the day here: North Atlanta High School - Cooper Carry Incredible High School.

My son is trying out for Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps. Spirit of Atlanta

He wants in bad. I hope he gets it. It sounds like an amazing experience. 

drove 8 hours home from Atlanta. 

4 on  the trails

4 on the trails. Talked to shirtless tire dragger in the middle of mile 2. 

Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. Sidewalk construction on the south side of laurel road forced me to run on the north side of laurel road. But since this is Thanksgiving, there were not many cars out there, making this a relatively easy game of frogger. 

4 on the trails.

4 on the trails. Deep thoughts this morning.

trails. slightly cooler today. 

4 on the trails. 78 deg. 100% hum. 77 d.p. Fog. 

Song ofthe run: https://youtu.be/dganziYCLu8?si=G5KnsRbUNNMRvOpq