The Long Run

6.2 mi, 53:27, 8:37 avg

Solo run in the neighborhood, mostly easy pace except for some pick up at the end.  Enjoyed the nice weather and peace of running even with news of turmoil. 

On top of the horrible news from Las Vegas, also found out that Jenny's father passed away after battling cancer for some time.  He was a good man, loved by many and hopefully at peace.

8.2 mi, 1:12:32, 8:50 avg

Solo run from my house out to Little Road, stayed on the sidewalk and then turned down Photonics Pkwy and ran to the Y, stopping there for a gel.  Felt pretty tired this morning and serisously thought about skipping my run but conned myself with "just go out and do at least a mile".

Left the Y and headed back home via Thousand Oaks neighborhood, coming out on Trinity Blvd and then right onto Robert Trent Jones.  Stopped a little bit and contemplated life before finishing up the last two miles to get home.

7.15 mi, 1:00:53, 8:31 avg

Ran from my house over to the new park on Trinity Blvd, doing two loops around the lake once I got there (each loop about 0.72 miles), stopped for the water fountain and took a gel, then did another loop before heading home.  First mile on the way out was 10:25, which had started out even slower with dead leg feelings which I gradually shook off.

On the way back after slowly increasing my pace to around 8:00, I felt a small stab in my knee - I had let my form get sloppy and I had a lot of tight muscles.  Stopped and stretched briefly, then continued on at a little slower pace and with more care.

Made it home ok and overall happy with the run.

PM  - Drove up to Suncoast Technical High School in Brooksville to see Tom run with the cross country team.  I got there just before the boys race started, ran  to near the starting area and was about to go closer when the race started.  I started the timer on my phone but was about 12 seconds late.  I followed the coach and ran with him to the 1 mile marker, timed 5:40 for the first mile (which was really 5:52), then ran to the 2 mile marker and waited there.  Mile 2 was 6:15. He was running just ahead of Spencer by a few feet.  3 mile marker was near the entrance to the track.  This time I saw Spencer but he was with a different Mitchell teammate and slightly ahead.  Tom was close by.  He ran into the track where I lost sight of him but someone else could see better and called out when he crossed the finish.  I had 18:51 on my timer (not 100% sure at that time if I was exactly 12 seconds off), later found out, yes I was, finish time was 19:03, a new PR!   I know he was trying to break 19:00 today, but it was 13 seconds faster than old PR and last two meets were in 19:30's.

I was watching some of the kids finish and how some get passed by someone outkicking them.  That has happened to me quite a bit.  In most cases, the passer has built up too much momentum and there's not enough time for the passee to catch back up. This has happened to me quite a few times.  So, what I do now is pick a spot a little earlier than where I think someone might try to outkick me, and pretend there's someone trying to pass me already, so I'm able to outkick my invisible opponent and fend off any actual passers while also bettering my time by maybe a few seconds.

10.24 mi, 1:22:30, 8:03 avg

I dreaded doing this run, so I knew I had to do it.  As a workout and as a test, running as-is, tried Yasso repeats, 10x800m, goal of 3:15 each repeat (or 6:30 pace).  McMillan says this is a pretty good predictor, but 5 seconds faster, so hopefully this would give me some confidence for a 3:20 marathon.  Unfortuntately I did quite get them all in under 3:15, but wasn't too far off and finished them all when I wanted to quit.

800m splits: 3:18, 3:12, 3:14, 3:11, 3:15, 3:11, 3:18, 3:10, 3:17, 3:12

The average came in under 3:15 at least.

I had warmed up with a run from my house out to Robert Trent Jones, dropped off my drink and ran up and down the sidewalk, stopping a few times for a quick drink.  Also, it felt like a did a real workout and that there's still some hope for a good run in NYC.

4.21 mi, 39:11, 9:19 avg

Just an easy run in the neighborhood.  Most of it was by myself but took Stella for about a mile and a half. Good to get some dog miles in.  Little bit of a stressful morning but the run helped a lot and in the end the day was pretty good.

20.08 mile

Part 1: 4.11 mi, 37:27, 9:07 avg

Part 2: 4.24 mi, 36:12, 8:33 avg

Part 3: 5.09 mi, 38:50, 7:37 avg

Part 4: 6.64 mi, 1:01:42, 9:17 avg

I had to break up my run because of life events (suppose I could have woken up at 3:00, but wanted to try it this way).

Drove home from Jessica's house, ran 4.11 miles in the neighborhood, out and back from my house.  Felt pretty good.

Watched Tom at the cross country meet in Crews Lake park where he PR'd and broke 19:00 for the first time with 18:56.8.  First mile was 5:53, he then averaged 6:17 for the next two miles and had an amazing finishing kick which I think he ran at a 4:30 pace (0.107 miles in 28 seconds).  Mitchell won 3rd place for this meet.  There were a few other PR's as well.

Stopped for cinnamon melts on the way back and dropped Tom off at Jenny's house. Then I ran another 4.24 miles, drove over to pick up Tom and take him to hour long trumpet lesson.  I then drove to the Y and ran on the treadmill for another 5.09 miles, with 4 miles between 7:00 and 7:30 (average with warm up and short cool down was 7:37 pace).

After trumpet, I drove to Palm Harbor to meet Jessica to look at a house, then drove back home and then ran 6.64 miles in the hot afternoon (91 degrees but some cloud cover thankfully).  I wanted to quit after a mile "good enough", "why push yourself?"  "what does it matter?".  Kept on going mile by mile then eventually back home.

I relaxed a little bit in the pool floating on a raft and a little bit of swimming, then got up and drove to Land O' Lakes to see Jacob play soccer.  First time watching him.  Game delayed an hour for weather.  They tied, it was fun to watch even though I know hardly anything about soccer.  Jacob played goalie and had one really incredible save early on which I missed and many more saves which I did see.  Then, all of the sudden it was 10 o'clock at night.

AM 3.62 mi, 34:48, 9:36 avg

Short, easy paced out and back run from my house to just past the golf course drinking fountain.

PM 2.12 mi, 24:26, 11:32 avg

Evening run/walk with Stella around the neighborhood loop plus a detour to the parks to drop off waste bags and a brief stop at Jamie's house so Seven could say hi to Stella.  Usually Stella jumps on Jamie at some point, not tonight but instead, Stella kept on jumping up on me for some reason.

9.37 mi, 1:21:17, 8:41 avg

Ran out and back from my house to the Y.  Stopped at the Y for the water fountain and a gel then headed back.  Pretty good run but wasn't trying to push myself but it didn't feel totally easy either.  After I crossed Trinity Blvd stopped a little bit to take in the morning, then finished the 2 miles to get back home.

10.61 mi, 1:26:15, 8:08 avg

Ran from my house out to Starkey Blvd., first mile slow at 10:51.  Stopped at the little church, took my gel and stashed my gatorade, then jogged a little more and did a few strides.  Goal was to retry the failed workout of a few weeks ago but trying at a faster pace, instead of 7:00-7:10 I was going to try for all under 7:00.  After the first mile my hopes felt dashed, although maybe I was too quick to give up, 6:57 pace but partially due to speeding up once I decided this would be a bunch of repeats.

Slowed down for about a minute and did another fast mile, but this one at 6:42.

I went out a little bit farther into Aristida neighborhood before turning back.  Next part would be two miles under 7:00.  Just made it barely with 6:55 and 6:51.  Felt a lot tougher than it should have been but at least it meant I put in the effort.

Grabbed my gatorade and stopped for a little bit before continuing home.  For the last mile I started picking it up and ended up with 7:07 - always feels a little bit easier

7.25 mi, 1:08:01, 9:23 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, all easy miles.  Ran the sidewalk up and down along the golf course and then did the loop back in the neighborhood for just over 7 miles.  Coolish morning, 7:15 start.

6.26 mi, 51:52, 8:17 avg

Coolish morning, set out in my neighborhood for 5 miles, felt pretty good and did a little bit more.  I did not have a very slow mile for the first mile which is sometimes about 11:00 pace, this morning's first mile was 9:10.  I did a little bit better job warming up.  Went a little bit faster for the last two miles.  No running buddies this morning.  Close to 40 miles for weekday mileage, one last long run tomorrow then a little less each of the next two weekends.

18.12 mi, 3:00:13, 9:57 avg

This morning was the Sunshine Athletic Conference meet for Thomas and the Mitchell Mustangs, held in Dade City, FL at the Withlacoochee River park.  Race started at 8:40 after the varsity girls meet.  Race started and ended in a big field with the course running into the woods on a double track trail, winding around a bit and then exiting back into the field at about 2.8 mile marker with the rest of it on the field enough to finish the race.  I arrived just after 8:00, said hi to Jenny and then headed onto the trail to find the 1 mile marker so I could get his split.  I was still close enough to hear the gun go off but the stopwatch on my iphone malfunctioned with it flipping back n forth between 0.1 and 0.2.  But fortunately, one of the coaches had rode his bike out to the 1 mile marker and was calling out times.  The leader came through at about 5:07, with about a 15 second gap to the lead pack.  Zeke (5:40) was first for Mitchell, then Spencer and Tom (5:55) was right behind Jarod.

There was only one way in and out where I was standing so I waited for the runners to go by before heading back toward the field.  Took me a little longer than I had hoped and got to the finish line just after Tom had crossed.  He knocked off another 1.2 seconds from his old PR to finish at 18:55.4, 3rd place for the team and 7th place overall for the conference.   Next up is the regional meet in two weeks at McEthan Lake Park which was the last CC meet that Andy and Tom competed in together.

I hung out for a little bit and then got my running clothes and waited for the JV meet to finish then I started out on my run.  I should have been doing a 20 mile run but I thought maybe 30k would be good enough, so 6 loops around the CC course and I could swing by my car for drinks so I could run without carrying anything.  At the start of the first loop it seemed kind of crazy but I gradually got into it. I missed a turn toward the end of the first loop and did not end up in the field but found myself back on the course.  Because of this my total for 6 loops would only be 18.1 miles instead of 18.6 miles.  After the second loop I stopped for a cold drink at my car and then ran loops 3, 4, and 5 mostly steady and no big issues although it was starting to get a bit warm.  At the start of the 6th loop it was hot and I wanted to be done, I had some slow miles but picked it up for the last mile and finished strong.

It was great to see Mitchell (both varsity and JV teams did really well) and I somehow managed to get in a long run (as well as a trail run) at a new location.

6.16 mi, 53:40, 8:43 avg

A little bit of a late start, ran solo in the neighborhood and over by the golf course (classic t-shaped route).  First mile was a little slow but not super slow, then a little bit faster each mile, with mile 5 at 8:09.  On the last mile, after I crossed the street and went past the gate I superstitiously decided if I could run 7:38 or faster for the last mile I could break 3:20 in the marathon.  I know that this is not scientifically correct but I picked up the pace just in case on the very off chance it did somehow work that way, so I ended up running the last mile in 6:54.

8.41 mi, 1:12:16, 8:35 avg

To change things up a little, I decided on the out and back route to the Y.  On the way out I took the Little Road sidewalk to Photonics, and on the way back I ran through the Thousand Oaks neighborhood to Trinity Blvd.  Overall, it was a pretty good run and happy to get in a reasonable amount of miles.

6.09 mi, 56:15, 9:14 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.  First run altogether in a while between Jamie's trip and then Joe's trip.  Fall'ish weather finally this morning.  Easy, conversational pace.  

Stopped by drinking fountain inside the golf club, it is still out of order.

After the run, picked up Jenny and Sammy, dropped off Sammy at the house along with Tom's stuff then dropped Jenny at the airport before heading to work.

8.27 mi, 1:07:08, 8:07 avg

Thursday morning 5:30 run with the Striders at Longleaf.  First mile was really slow but it was cool and pleasant so felt relaxing, next 1.6 miles a little faster but still easy as I ran to the corner of Alico Pass and stopped for a water.  Finished out the third mile and then picked it up.  I wasn't up to doing a real tempo run so went with a progression run.  Ran 7:45, 7:18, 7:20, 7:00, 6:31.  I was surprised by the last mile because the 7:45 mile felt hard.

Felt really good that I didn't slow down.

Time for a quick cup of coffee before heading home and getting ready to take Thomas to school.

5.46 mi, 55:42, 10:12 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood, 6:15ish start.  I was running kind of slow, having trouble keeping up with them for the first mile or so then I started running nearer to them.  Pace was very, very slow in the beginning but improved as the run went on.

12.44 mi, 1:41:30, 8:10 avg

Shorter long run this morning, I guess start of taper, 8 miles next Saturday and then the marathon a week and one day after that.  Ran in Starkey, but a little bit late for start of the Striders run.  I went out at an easy pace on the way out for 6 miles, then I picked up the pace for return trip. I was thinking 7:30 or better, but the pace I locked onto was a little bit faster.  I also planned on making one quick stop but with the watch running to practice drinking and running (a little rusty, actually more like stop really quickly and then catch back up to where you would have been mainly because I can't toss the cup on the ground and the trash can is actually at the water stop).   But, I guess that part worked because I did mostly catch back up, just a little bit slower that mile than the others. 

Faster miles were: 7:19, 7:10, 7:23, 7:11, 7:04, 6:49

In contrast, the fastest mile of the first 6 miles, was mile 6 at 8:26 which felt like I was running fast enough to question whether I could run 7:30 or faster.  I seem to have this discussion all the time and need to show myself that I can do it.  I probably could have even gone faster, maybe.

5.19 mi, 46:15, 8:54 avg

Almost normal feeling run but a little bit short.  Didn't get going until about 6:30, so just ran about 4 miles then stopped back at the house to make sure Thomas was awake.  Then ran about 1 more mile, before getting myself ready for work.

8.26 mi, 1:15:24, 9:08 avg

Solo run from my house out to the Y and back.  It was a nice morning.  My legs were not feeling great buut I wasn't trying to set any speed records.

5.46 mi, 52:45, 9:39 avg

Run with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood, standard t-shaped route with no add-ons.  Coolest morning so far this fall, short sleeve instead of sleeveless would have been nice.

5.53 mi, 49:32, 857 avg

I ended up doing mainly easy miles instead of a short tempo run due to left achilles being tight.  Takes me a while to warm up and decided more harm than good to push the pace at this point.

Was a nice morning out.  Solo run in the neighborhood.

Late afternoon, headed up to Brooksville to watch Thomas compete in the district championship.  He ran same course last year in about 20:30.  This year he did 18:22.  Team did really great taking 2nd place (was tied for points with third place so it went to 6th place runners on each team).  Super proud of Thomas.

5.44 mi, 49:03, 9:01 avg

Another easy run today.  Ran out to the new park, did a lap around the lake.  Hung out for a little bit enjoying the cool morning and then ran back home.

9.16 mi, 1:23:06, 9:04 avg

Shorter Saturday run for taper weekend.  Ran with Joe and Jamie.  We did the out to the Y and back route giving us just over 9 miles (they were more like 10 since they took the long way home around the loop after dropping me off at my house).  Weather was perfect, legs felt ok.  Not feeling fresh but hopefully it gets better during the week.

6.26 mi, 56:57; 9:06 avg

50ish degree weather for a nice run.  Solo neighborhood and t-shaped route near golf course.  First run with "new" (refurbished) Garmin Forerunner 630, I'm actually pleasantly surprised so far.  At the end of my run it congratulated me for 4 achievements!  - fastest 5k, fastest, 10k, fastest mile, and longest ever run.  It reminded me of what that was like to start running and everything was some sort of new record.

3.27 mi, 29:32, 9:02 avg

Just an easy out and back run by myself from my house to just past the water fountain on the golf course.  Nice, cool morning.  Trying to shake the dead leg feeling but grateful I can move injury free heading into the marathon weekend.

Also, wrapping up second biggest running month mileage this year.

42 push-ups