They all can't be "easy" runs.

trails. I had hoped to start the year off big, but this is as good as I could get. Oh well, something to build on, I guess. 

4 on the trails. kind of chilly. boy #2 comes home from London today. 

8 miles. hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. 

mid day 8 miles. hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. 

4 on the trails plus 3.5 hood route. 

trails

Trails

4 in the fog, on the trails, with not much sleep. Because, as of 3:27 this morning... 1st run as a Pop Pop! I have to shower and then I'm super stoked to go see my dad to tell him he has a great-grandson. 

We were "Mr. and Mrs." at 23, "Dad and Mom" at 35, "Pop Pop and Nonna" at 54. What a wild ride!

8 miles. hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. cold I've been having trouble connecting to the blog the last couple of days.

Still having trouble getting in here.

4 on the trails. cold. 

3 mile walk

4 on the trails today. Even though I was running in the late aftenoon, I saw the shirtless tire dragger out there for a walk with his family. 

4 on the trails. 65 degrees. I guess winter is over now. 

Unique day. I was "involved with" the changing of diapers of an 83 year old, and a 8 day old human. It's not every day you can say those words. My role with the 83 year old was mostly helping him stand up while he got cleaned. My role with the 8 day old was mostly stepping back and watching my son work, and realizing that I have forgotten a LOT about this process over the last 16 or so years. 

more trails. fantastic weather. 

trails. A ++ weather. 

trails. I saw the shirtless tire dragger 4 times out there. all 4 times he was on the phone. and walking. 

run fail

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 76 deg., 79% hum., 69 d.p.

6 on the trails

8 miles. hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 

For the last 5? 6? years I have been running some version of this route, and calling it 7.75 miles.  I re-measured the route yesterday.  As it turns out, I have been shorting myself by a quarter mile on each of the runs.  What do I do now?  1. Continue marking this as 7.75 miles to remain consistent?  2. From this day forward, mark this as 8 miles?  3. Go back through my run history and change all of the runs to 8 miles? 

The explanation of how I could be this wrong is that when I originally mapped the run on Mapmyrun, the SWOM bridge was not shown on the aerial photograph, so I had to estimate where it started and ended. Now the bridge is there, and I really underestimated the length of the span. 

First run over the SWOM bridge was Dec.8th, 2018. but I think the post and comments from Dec. 9th are better: They all can't be "easy" runs.

trails

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. Foggy start. 73 deg., 77% hum., 65 d.p.

6 rough miles on the trails. I have had an exceptionally bad diet this weekend. But the point is: 1st 40 mile week since July 2023.

Also, my youngest is a senior and a musician. Every year, they have music performance assessments (MPA's). So this is the last one. They are judged at districts, and if given "Superior" they get to go on to perform at state. My son was awarded superior at district for his performance of this piece today:  https://youtu.be/9aoVhah8YLw?si=PYU6Oq6tKya01mZp

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. I went out for 8 and got inspired, I guess. I did have to make an emergency bathroom stop on the way back. But the miles all felt pretty good. 77 deg., 69% hum., 67 d.p.

trails. 79 degrees. but felt hotter than that. 

4 on the trails. All I could get in. I was cramped for time. 

6 am: 3 mile walk with the neighborhood dads. We saw a starlink satellite string that was neat.           https://youtube.com/shorts/QPLcEl1tJF4?si=l3qHHIf5CR4JePbx

8 am: 5 on the trails. many many dogs out there. 

8 miles. hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 80 deg., 84% hum., 74 d.p.

8 miles. hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 80 deg., 58% hum., 64 d.p. I now have more miles this month than I did  last month. 

Spouse and I are going to the Savannah Bananas game today. I've seen a few videos. It looks like fun. 

I intended to run, but helped my brother investigate an irrigation problem at his house instead. Minimal digging this time. 

6 on the trails. great weather, but I am sore from digging yesterday. So I really had to make myself run today. 

3.5 hood plus 1 trail. 

8 hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. This run felt really good and fast. Possible explanations are 1. temps dropped @ 30 degrees overnight. 2. I took yesterday off from running. 3. I ate a comical amount of zucchini at dinner last night. What is in that stuff?

8 hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back.

trails. 

trails. I did not have sideways 40 mph snow out there. 

8 hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. 

trails. 

trails

8 hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. 

73 deg., 46% hum., 51 d.p. Low humidity is fantastic!

4 on the trails at sunset

4 on the trails in the AM. I haven't seen high tide in Curry Creek in a long time. I saw a 6'-8' FAT gator sunning himself on the opposite side of the creek, and I had to stop and check him out. The gator became the talk of the trail, as everyone I passed said "did you see the gator?"

The tail end of last week got kind of crazy with things with my dad. It's a very long story but my dad passed away this morning. His decline over the last 12 years has been dramatic, and a couple of times I mentioned it here. In a way, this makes the "letting him go" part of the process less difficult. The day closed with my son bringing my 7 week old gransdson around to everyone. Babies are a miracle cure for the blues in this situation. 

As it pertains to running, I'll get back to it. Pop was proud of my running. For him to get on a plane (which he hated) to fly to Boston and be in a big crowd (which he hated) to see me running for, at most, 5 seconds in that race, lets me know he was proud. He was always a heavy guy, and he took up running during the late 70's / early 80's running boom. When I was a kid, he and I used to run together on what is now the Delaware Canal Towpath in Levittown PA. Back then it was just a grass levee. He didn't stick with running because sometimes life gets in the way of running. And I'm sure he was glad that I picked it up again later in my life. 

I am amazed by the Hospice folks. They were wonderful to my dad the last week. 

4 on the trails on what would have been pop's 84th birthday. 

4 on the trails

6 on the trails. 

3 on the trails. didn't have it today. 

However, in the public restroom by the soccer  fields, Homeless electric bike guy had his bike in the handicap stall, and was playing ukelele while sitting on the toilet. That was unique. 

4 on the trails. 54 degrees. The temps were great, but this year's oak pollen season is really beating me up. 

No mojo

4 on the trails. All of them I had to will into existence.

For the last 5 years, I have been trying to climb out of a running hole, almost getting there, and then falling back in. This one seems pretty deep.

4 on the trails. 

There was a woman out on the soccer fields, doing 100 m barefoot grass sprints. She must have done a significant amount of them, because I saw her as I passed on every lap. Like, her workout could very well have been: Repeat Sprints, Until Failure. Years ago, this was part of my deal. And I got to thinking, this would be a good way for me to slowly work back "speed" as part of the conversation for my running. Hmmm.

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort (I can't call these "sprints" with a straight face) + 100m AR on the soccer fields. I was going to wait until I built up something of a base before I started trying to run faster again. But then at church this morning, the sermon could be linked to - If you wait for perfect conditions, you'll never get anything done. (Ecclesiastes 11:4, if you're interested.) Anyhow, we'll see how long this divine intervention keeps up. I know I'm going to feel this tomorrow. 

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort + 100m AR on the soccer fields. Same drill as yesterday, except today the faster stuff was run on laps 2 and 3. Feeling some tightness in the upper hamstring / lower glute, which I think indicates that I'm getting my knees higher than what I have been on regular slow stuff, which is good. 

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort + 100m AR on the soccer fields. Same drill as yesterday. I met a guy on the fields, named Ademar? Ademir? from Brazil. Interesting guy. Heavy accent. Turns out, he may have coached me at some soccer camps when I was @ 12 or 13 years old. He's been a server at some high-end place on Boca Grande, for 48 years. Hurricane Milton trashed the place, and it is still being rebuilt. 

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort + 100m AR on the soccer fields. Same drill as yesterday. A walker was taking pictures of what I thought was a stick, which was actually a small rattlesnake. I need to think about running with glasses. 

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort + 100m AR on the soccer fields. Same drill as yesterday, except on a different field because some dudes were playing soccer on my usual field. I talked to Adamir again today. 

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort + 100m AR on the soccer fields. Same drill as yesterday. I lost lots of time today running because of 1. A fat 3'-4' rattlesnake on lap # two. I had to stop and throw sticks at it to get it off the path. and 2. Lots of people wanted to talk to me today. Ademir, the Bahbcaht Whizz guy., etc. I must not look focused while running. I wish I wasn't so stinking approachable! 

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort + 100m AR on the soccer fields. I guess this should be written as: 1.5 trails, (4) x 100m on grass at increased effort + 100m AR, 1 trails, (4) x 100m on grass at increased effort , 1.5 trails. I'm going to try to do this (again) all week, and then do a couple of 8 milers on the weekend. 

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort + 100m AR on the soccer fields. I wore my Gator running shirt, yesterday and today. I got a lot of "Go Gators" out there.

Look, I'm an extremely biased Gator grad, and as such, I am happy with the outcome of the game. However, I can still feel bad for that Houston player, Sharp?, for how the game ended. And also, I can recognize that the officiating was hot garbage. It was as if they had two sets of refs for the game: first half refs called nothing, and the second half refs were way more involved. I say stuff like this, and people question my Gator-ness. Neither of those two ideas make me any less of a Gator fan. 

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort + 100m AR on the soccer fields. 

Pop's funeral and burial is today. 

Yesterday went great. As good as can be expected. My boys did the readings at mass, I did the prayer of the faithful, father Michael had a great sermon. The internment ceremony at Sarasota National was moving, with taps, and the presentation of the flag to my mom. Then at the gathering afterwards, my brother made a wonderful speech about my dad. But it was also a long day, that ended with some long talks with close friends, reminiscing about my dad. As anybody would have predicted, there was no running today. I did do a 40 minute walk, though. 

4 on the trails + (8) x 100m grass at increased effort + 100m AR on the soccer fields. 

4 on the trails, then spent the day helping boy #1 with a project. 

4 on the trails. 1st run in new baby blue hokas. I ran 804 miles in the last pair. I guess I was due. 

I have always admired that "logged miles = the circumference of the earth" thing that jtshad has on his blog. I am now under 900 miles to get to that goal. 

4 on the trails

Having the dew point and humidity below 70 is amazing. I hope this keeps up for a while. 

Spent the day helping boy #1 with a project. It involved me being on my hands and knees for hours, ripping out carpet tacks. 

4 on the trails. then Easter church service, where spouse was ringing bells, and johnny was playing trombone. It was pretty cool. then big easter lunch with my sons, my grandson, and extended family.

4 on the trails. 

I'm embarrassed that I forgot it was Marathon Monday until 3 pm. Crazy. So I've heard good things about this Mantz guy....

4 on the trails. A few snake encounters today. 

4 on the trails. 

4 on the trails. Skee bop a doo bop a dideley bop doo.

4 on the trails. Yesterday felt like I was running slow enough that I could have gone for many more miles. Today I was running much faster. But I still felt like I could have done more. I had Smashing Pumpkins' "Eye" stuck in my head for this one. I have no idea how these songs pop into my head. 

8 miles. hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. 82 deg., 65% hum., 56 d.p. The run felt easy. I had the ability to pick up the pace here and there, but I decidedly kept it steady. Also, on the way back, the fragrance from the goat farm was heavenly.

4 on the trails. 82 deg. 66% hum., 70 d.p.

4 on the trails. 80 deg. 66% hum., 67 d.p.

8 miles. hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. 85 deg., 54% hum., 66 d.p

4 on the trails. 76 deg. 60% hum., 58 d.p.

4 on the trails. 81 deg. 59% hum., 65 d.p.

4 on the trails. We really need rain. It's been a while. 

8 miles. hood route to legacy trail, over the SWOM bridge and back. 81 deg., 61% hum., 66 d.p. Much faster than normal for me. I don't know why. 21 straight days running. I've never been much of a streaker. But I see no reason to stop now. 

3 on the trails. light rain. 

3 on the trails. Short run because I had a meeting in Sarasota to get to. But definitely a top contender for the weirdest song to pop in my head while running - Kon Kan - I beg your pardon. 

End of running streak.

The day ended with the VHS Chorus end of year conecert. They allow chorus alumni to get on stage for the finale. So, Boy #1 and Boy #2 were on stage singing together for the first time in 4 years. Both of my sons are good singers. 

4 on the trails. It is for sure summer.

Last high school jazz concert tonight. 

Last symphonic band, wind ensemble concert tonight. Lots of crying band people afterwards. I'm so happy that I'll never have to set foot on that campus again. 

4 on the trails. then trimming landscape and pulling weeds at my mom's for mothers day. Then end of year band banquet. 

4 on the trails. We had the first rain yesterday in months. This made it a bit cooler out and somewhat compacted the sand on the trails. It has been running in loose sand for a long time. So today had a bit more zip too it. Also, life is getting in the way of running again. I'm really trying to force myslef out there. But it is tough right now. Also, Pop received his real, not temporary, headstone at Sarasota National Cemetary yesterday. I went to see it / him after church today. I like it a lot better than the temporary marker. I know it's odd to talk about my dad on Mother's Day, but in fairness, I saw her first. She knows how I feel about her. 

4 on the trails

4 on the trails. I caught up with the shirtless tire dragger in the middle of the 4th lap. He's training for a 25 hour obstacle course race in London in a month and a half. I'm trying to not get fat. 

4 miles trails. The shirtless tire dragger saw me on mile 2. He said "you're going pretty fast today." I guess I was. I couldn't sleep last night. I'm going through a lot of stuff right now. I don't mean to be so ambiguous. But this is one of the most trying times of my life. 

4 on the trails. Deep thoughts by Tom K. out there this morning. 

trails. 

trails.

31st Anniversary. Life is expensive right now, so we're going to a small restaurant with good chowder for dinner. 

last night was boy #2's graduation party. He is going to miss the actual graduation next week, because he's off to Spirit of Atlanta Spirit of Atlanta | Music Education Non-Profit again this summer. He was originally going to attend, but then they moved the graduation date, and school year last day back because of the hurricanes. Anyhow, it was a great party. 

drive to atlanta

drive home from atlanta

Visited Pop at Sarasota National Cemetery. That place is pretty special on Memorial Day. 

trails.

trails. 91 deg., 63% hum., 76 d.p. "feels like" 103. 

4 on the trails in intermittent rain, 3 run with the shirtless titre dragger. he got bit with horseflies. I did not. Anyway, he made me run faster than usual. 

3 for 3 today. For me that means I ran, lifted, and practiced drums (Spouse got me drum lessons for my 50th birthday. Even though I am no longer getting lessons, I try to practice some. I am still really awful). Most days it is just the running. These other things take time away from running. I enjoy them.  But I can't help think this is time I should be running, if I'm ever going to get this thing going again. 

2 mile run fail. 

on the trails on the rain. 3 for 3 today. 

4 on the trails. Since it rained the last 2 days, a lot of bugs were interested in running into me. 

3 miles walking, yardwork at mom's

2 miles walking, yardwork at mom's

3 miles walking, 

All in, 4 miles walking.

4 on the trails. Hot. 

Happy Father's Day. 

4 on the trails. Hot. 

4 trails.

trails

2 mile walk

3 mile walk

4 on the trails. I haven't been injured or sick. I've just been busy. 

trails

trails. light rain for the first 3 miles. then downpour for the 4th mile. 

2 mile walk

4 on the trails. feels like 98. Homeless guy that lives in the woods came out and said the same thing as he did July 26, 2024 - No running in class! You have to go to the principal's office! I thought he was harmless the first time he said this. The fact that he said the same thing as he did many months ago, word for word, gives a kind of sling blade vibe. 

4 on the trails. On mile 3, a couple with german shepards and 20' leashes had the leashes completely blocking the path. So I had to stop for a second. The man said they're friendly. A gap in the path opened up, so I ran through. At which point, a dog lunged at me and barked. Having been bit on these trails before, I assume nothing when it comes to dogs. 

trails. I fought the heat, and lost. 

4 on the trails. time to get a slurpee.

3.5 hood route. 1 on the trails. in the hottest part of the day. the trails were way worse than the roads. No life saving breeze, plus bonus humidity. 

 5 miles. Venetian Waterway Park West side. Venice Avenue Bridge south to marine max and back. Feels like 103. I used to run this a lot, back when Johnny was in baseball summer league at VHS. It may be the only place to run and catch a breeze around here right now. That's why I decided to do it today. It's been so long since I pushed myself in any fashion, that I took a camelback. I know, 5 miles is a low number for that. But I'm an old, and it is hot. 

4 on the trails. Very strange weather. All skies around me were black, with thunder and lightning. I ran in a donut hole of no rain, and full sun. At least there was a nice pre-storm breeze at moments. 

4 on the trails

4 on the trails. "feels like" 107. 

3.5 hood route miles. I found 2 golf balls. I throw them back on the course, kind of like catch and release when fishing. Then 1 on the trails. "Feels like" 102. 

5 miles. Venetian Waterway Park West side. Venice Avenue Bridge south to marine max and back. Feels like 109. Then I had to pick up some stuff from the store, so I was the sweaty-est dude in Winn Dixie.....At least I was top 3. 

3 on the trails, then 1.5 hood route. I could have gone longer, but I had a meeting for work. 

4 on the trails, earlier than usual. 

4 on the trails before the rain. 

4 on the trails. 2 with the shirtless tire dragger. a little on the buggy side. 

4 miles out on the trails, warm. 

4 on the trails

4 on the trails. Hot, horsefly-ey, but at least no one out there but me. I had head over heels by the go-gos stuck in my head for some reason

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail overthe SWOM bridge and back. "feels like" 103. First mile was rough, but eveything was steady after that.  

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail overthe SWOM bridge and back. "feels like" 105. Last mile was rough, but everything was steady before that.  

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail overthe SWOM bridge and back. "feels like" 104. None of it felt good.  

4 miles (3.5 hood route with an extra .5 for the hospital run along laurel), then 2 on the trails. I was too beat up after yesterday's run to go for 8 again. So I did what I could today. Feels like 103.

Work got in the way of running today. Flying to Indy tomorrow. I'm going to try to get a couple of runs in there. I can't wait to see Boy #2 again. It's been since June 28. 

5 miles in Indianapolis, including a loop of the canal walk. I had to really move, so I could get back to our room, shower, and now be back in military park to watch spirit of atlanta warm up for tonight's performance. I find the pre competition brass lot warm ups to be almost as amazing as the show. Also we toured New Fields museum park today.

https://youtu.be/kTsHu7CMTL0?si=b7Kuzp7aJ9My53Bt

5 more miles in Indianapolis, including a loop of the canal walk. Much more mellow pace. Feels like 92, which is lovely, compared to Florida.

Last 5 more miles in Indianapolis, including a loop of the canal walk. We fly back early tomorrow. Spouse's birthday today.

Flew home from Indianapolis early on very little sleep. Ran a few errands and then slugged out 4 miles on the trails. 

4 more on the trails. Feels Like 99.

Song stuck in my head for this run: 

https://youtu.be/lvA-STM7oJk?si=RFW6oz5LS7zgptUs

long story

3 on the trails. I intended to go much longer. 2.5 miles in, I guess I scratched my nose, right on the bridge between my eyes. Blood started running out, dripping on my shirt and legs like crazy. I walked back to the soccer field bathroom and got some toilet paper to hold down, which immediately started filling up. I got another piece and started to walk home. You know what happens when you walk through the woods continuously bleeding out of your face? You get swarmed with horseflies. I have never experienced an attack like that before. Since I had to apply constant pressure to a wound, I had one less hand to swat the horseflies away. So I started running while holding the toilet paper to my nose. The dog walkers on the trail were concerned. I got home and I had to have Spouse apply bandages to my face. Great start to today. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. "feels like" 107. I met a cyclist at the turn around. Eric. Nice guy. He called me"young man" then was surprised to find out I was a year older than him. How to win friends and influence people, right there. What is it about non-runners, that when they meet runners, they feel compelled to tell them why they are non-runners? Almost all of them point to vertical scars on their knees. How have I avoided this fate? I am not incredibly disciplined in my running so if anybody should need the surgery, it should be me. 

Now to the important stuff: My mental playlist today was a cross between the day I tried to live by soundgarden, and Help me Rhonda by the beach boys. My grandson makes singing noises when he hears beach boys, so we've been listening to a lot of that lately. 

4 on the trails. 

550 until I have logged the equator in miles. 

4 mid day trail miles. Stupid time to run, but I needed to get out of the house for a bit. 

4 miles. hood route to laurel with SMH "extra" and back. then 1 mile trails. "feels like" 103. Weatherman said it was supposed to be mostly cloudy. It was not. 

4 on the trails. super hot, but not a bad run. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail overthe SWOM bridge and back. "feels like" 96. What a difference running while the sky is clouded makes. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. Overcast for the first 4. Partial sun for the next 2.5. Light rain for the last 1.5.

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. As much as I liked running in a little bit of rain yesterday, I hated putting on wet shoes today. Overcast for the whole run today, but no rain. This week, I'm getting a new roof, and lots of other things to distract me from running. I'm going to try to make it work, but we shall see. 

3 on the trails. then 1.5 hood route. 

non-running rant.....I don't need a new roof. My roof is 17 years old. My roof did better than all of my neighbors roofs through the storms of the last couple of years. In January we got a letter from our insurance company - get a new roof or lose your insurance. Can we just get it inspected? - No. (Last year we replaced all of our plumbing at their insistence, btw. The plumbing contractor never got his work inspected. So we had to sort all of that out before we could even begin this new task.) We have solar panels. When someone sells solar panels, one of the frequent questions they get is "what if I need a new roof?" to which the answer is always "We will take them down and put them up after the work is complete as part of our service." Then, nearly all solar panel companies go out of business within 2 years (maybe so they do not have to do what they promised.) My company went out of business last November. So today, my solar panels came down. Weather permitting, roof starts tomorrow, ends Thursday. Solar panels, in theory, go back up Friday. Regardless of what a new roof (that I may or may not need) costs, do you know what the taking down and putting up of solar panels cost is?

$8,700.00

Today the panels came down in a half an hour. If you do this for a living, you must wake up laughing. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. Overcast for the whole run today, but no rain.

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. Overcast for the whole run. Light misty rain for the first 2 miles. Sun came out right as I finished running. If the rain keeps up, I may never get a new roof. 

Song of the run- "Not you again" by Dinosaur Jr. (Yes, I'm going through a Dinosaur Jr. phase again, where I listen to nothing but them for a 2-3 week period, and then not again for about a year.) 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. Full sun. "Feels like" 100 deg. Song of the run was "Lounge Act" by Nirvana. I'm 4.2 miles from making this my biggest month of the year. 

We were out to dinner with some friends last night. As we were talking, 4 priests (black outfit, white collars) walk in and sit at the table next to us. (I swear this is not a set up for a joke.) One of the priests did the service for my dad's funeral. So as we were leaving, I walked up to him and thanked him for the job he did that day. He was asking about my family, mom, brothers, etc. Nice guy. But he's always going to remind me of my dad. 

5 on the trails. all of them slow. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. Full sun, but with an occasional breeze. Emergency bathroom stop at mile 2 in construction port-o-let. It's good to know all of the construction port-o-let locations on your route. Anyhow, I've always been impressed with the artistic graffitti in the POP's. But today's was political, which I don't think I've seen before. 

3 on the trails, then 1.5 hood route. I could have gone longer, but I had a meeting for work. It's not just the discipline to go run regularly. At my age, it is also the disciplineto go to bed the night before at a reasonable hour. 10 years ago, I could force myself to run on very little sleep. I'm in a go to bed late - wake up late - cut run short kind of cycle that I have to get out of. 

trails

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. Earlier start than usual. 84 deg., 76% hum., 75 d.p. 10 degrees cooler is quite noticable.

song of the run: 

https://youtu.be/U15rzqfSofo?si=x75SpUCxyJhqDKJF

4 on the trails

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 89 deg., 72% hum., 78 d.p., "feels like" 104. It was pretty tough moving for the first 2. But after that things got easier. 

After that, I super-exhausted myself with yardwork.

Going to the Rays game tonight.

Trails. Amazingly hot and humid.

late run. moving fast. 3 on the trails then it was too dark to run the trails. then hood route to laurel, then turned towards SMH and back. As I was headed to laurel, a helicopter was coming in for a landing at the hospital, so I really turned up the already fast pace to try to get there for the helicopter landing. I just missed it. I used to run this in the dark all the time, and it feels much harder to see. I don't know if there are less lights on the street after the storms, or maybe, my eyes are much older now.  

NIN - Tampa

Tampa to fort lauderdale

home from fort lauderdale

trails

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 89 deg., 60% hum., 73 d.p., "feels like" 98. A slight drop in humidity and dew point made this almost enjoyable. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 86 deg., 70% hum., 75 d.p., "feels like" 95. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. I had an odd dizzy spell at about 2.5 miles in, but I rebounded well and finished strong after the turn around. I got out at 8 am, which is earlier than my recent lunchtime runs, so temps were much lower. Also, Humidity and Dew Point were much higher. Pick your poison, I guess.

I walked many miles in Wellen Park. 

4 rough noontime miles on the trail.

pm: 4 mile walk

8 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 86 deg. 72% hum, 75 d.p.

Less than 400 miles to logging the equator in miles. 

pm: 4 mile walk

8 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 83deg. 76% hum, 74 d.p.

trails. Some days are steady cruising. some days are today. 

8 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 89 deg. 64% hum, 75 d.p. Apparently I-75 is shut down right now. The local roads are like a parking lot. I was passing cars while running the sidewalks. 

8 miles. Hood Route to Legacy Trail over the SWOM Bridge and back. 83 deg. 82% hum, 77 d.p. Kind of snappy last mile. 

6 evening trail miles. 

The five mile west venetian waterway park route x 2. The sun was set at the end of the first loop, so I knew I was pushing it for running in the dark on the second loop. I was really grateful that the VHS stadium lights were on for that last mile. I would have got out on time, but I got a call from a contractor that I needed to go home and address. By the way, the contractor used an expression repeatedly that I'm not familiar with. He kept saying "this, that, and a third." I have heard people use "this, that, and the other" many times. But this guy kept saying "this, that, and a third." Is this a common thing? I'll try not to lose sleep over it. But the running felt smooth and kind of quicker pace for me. Some time this month, I passed last year's milage total. I know this is going to be another low volume year for me. This new interest in getting to log the equator in miles has got me going again with running. Like a need to run? This has been a rollercoaster year for me, on a personal level. So it's nice to have some consistency in this area of my life again for a bit. Who knows? Maybe I'll sign up for a race after I get over this hurdle. 

1 ON THE TRAILS, THEN 3.5 HOOD ROUTE. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. "feels like" 94. Miles 2 and 3 were especially tough, for an unknown reason. 

Mom's first anniversary without Pop

2 on the trails, then sunset, then 4 miles - hood route to SMH "extra" and back.

The five mile west venetian waterway park route x 2. I finished right as the high school football game was starting. 

Late start after apartment shopping near USF for Johnny, and after watching on TV the Gator game that was a lot closer than it should have been. (my oldest son, Tommy was there) Did the Venetian Waterway Park right at sunset in intermittent rain, with an extra bit added onto the south end to beyond the Circus Bridge, and more extra added to the north end to beyond the North Bridge. 

I believe this is my first 50+ mile week since July 2023. 

The five mile west venetian waterway park route. At sunset. Very slow.

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 81 deg., 81% hum., 75 d.p. Those numbers make it look worse than it felt. I saw the shirtless tire dragger's wife and daughter on the way out, and the shirtless tire dragger honked at me on the way back. It's been a while since I've run the roads. I do not remember this much weed stink coming from traffic... In school zones....At 8 am.

Less than 300 miles to the equator goal. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 87 deg., 68% hum. 75 d.p.

1 mile trails, then 5.5 miles hood route. 5:45 pm start. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 78 deg., 76% hum., 69 d.p. For most of this run, it was below 75 degrees. It was like running in a foreign land. pace was pretty good. I had about a 20 minute stop and chat with a friend of my son's from church. Nice kid. Going off to Appalachian State. 

trails. there was a jerk with an electric bike out there zinging around. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 83 deg., 52% hum. 63 d.p. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. I had pretty good speed today. It might have something to do with it being under 75 degrees, and having humidity less than 70%, and dew point at less than 70 degrees. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 80 deg., 64% hum., 67 d.p.

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 82 deg., 52% hum.,  62 d.p. I talked to the shirtless tire dragger for about a half hour, midway through the first mile. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to legacy trail to colonia and back. 87 deg., 61% hum., 72 d.p.

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 85 deg., 63% hum., 71 d.p.

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 87 deg., 62% hum., 72 d.p. I broke 1,000 miles on the year. Seems pretty late for that, but at least it's better than last year. As I was running today, for some reason I was thinking of car rides in Pennsylvania with my dad and brothers, as a child. We would be going through farm lands, and the car would become really foul smelling. My brothers and I would really overreact about the stink. (Now that I think about it, this thought came to me as I was running by the goat farm.) Anyhow, my dad would say it was the Skunk Cabbage and point out in the fields. It wasn't until this run, at 54 years old, that I considered the possibility that my dad may have been lying about the source of the smell.. so I got home and googled Skunk Cabbage. It is, in fact, a real thing. But seeing as it is not commercially grown, and exists only in wetlands, yeah, I think my dad was a bit disingenuous about this.

5.5 miles. hood route. early for my standards. I'm not used to running in the dark. But 70 degrees at the start of the run! 

I now have more miles this month than any other month this year. 

This is now my biggest month of mileage since march 2023. That's crazy!

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 80 deg., 77% hum., 71 d.p.

4 on the trails. then 3.5 hood route. Dew point was in the low 60's. Felt amazing. I could have run all night if I had better eyes and a camelbak. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 81 deg., 63% hum., 67 d.p. kind of breezy. I miss the smell of going by the lumber yard. I have only missed 2 days running this month? wacky. 

5.5 miles hood route. Then off to Jacksonville for spouse's aunt and uncle's 50th anniversary party

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 75 deg., 73% hum., 65 d.p. I had tomiss the last couple of days for family reasons. But it doesn't seem like much fitness has left me. 

10.2 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Colonia and back. 68 deg., 64% hum., 55 d.p.

I'm making plans for racing again. I'm looking at a February Gasparilla half marathon. Also, I've been invited by the shirtless tire dragger to be on a quasi-competative Ragnar team in December. 

3 on the trails plus 1.5 hood route  = 4.5 miles = 200 miles for the month. 

Happy Halloween!, and Happy 13 year Blog-iversary to me. 

5 miles on Venetian Waterway Park x 2. Finished right before sunset. Wonderful lack of humidity and low dew point. At the end it was 66 deg., 67% hum., 54 d.p.

I committed to the Ragnar in early Decemeber. It will be a 4 man team. Which means I will have something like 30 trail miles over 6 runs in 2 days. I can do that, right?

Same deal as yesterday. 5 miles on Venetian Waterway Park x 2. Finished right before sunset. At the end it was 70 deg., 76% hum., 62 d.p.

2 on the trails. then 3.5 hoodroute. 

5 miles on Venetian Waterway Park. Finished right before sunset. I would have run more, but I ran out of daylight. 

Daylight savings is stupid, and must end.

5 miles on Venetian Waterway Park. In the morning. I paid the price for poor food choices the night before. 

16.25 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail to Circus Bridge and back. With Camelbak. 73 deg., 68% hum., 64 d.p. Overcast with no visible sun for the entire run.

Longest run since 4/16/23. 94 miles until I reach the equator in logged miles goal. Why run this on a Thursday? Who knows? 

2 on the trails. then 3.5 hood route. Legs felt fine after a half mile. 

Then lost some time repairing Boy #2's car. Boy #1 is a welder, and has created a network of young blue collar guys. I totally didn't see this coming, but now I have go-to guys for auto repair, plumbing, HVAC, etc. I've lived here off and on since 1983, and in this house for 20 years. And it took my son to connect me with these experts. It's really great how these guys help each other out. 

9.9 mile run fail. I went out to do 12.9. I made it to the turn around point for a 10.2, knowing things did not feel right, and just kept going. At the turn around for 12.9, I realized I wasn't going to have a geat day running, so I chose an alternate, and shorter, run home. My left knee felt wonky throughout. Full sun. 83 deg., 72% hum. 70 d.p. did not help, either. That's okay. Tomorrow is another day. 

8 miles. Hood route to legacy trail over the SWOM bridge and back. 46 deg., 38% hum., 22 d.p. at the start of the run. That's right. The temperature dropped almost 40 degrees in 2 days. This got me to thinking - At what temperature could I say that I thought it was cold enough to put on gloves, and then I would no be mocked around here? I have no real experience running in the cold, or even cool weather. I'm sure most of you have numbers in mind that would require you to suit up differently.

Anyhow, there's supposed to be excellent surf for the next 2 days. I'm sure my brother is going to pressure my boys into going out. 

Happy Veteran's Day.