RUNNERS LIFE 1102

Making up for lost time!

START 6:30am-

Had to get started quickly because I had to get back to bring Morgan to Pre-K before 8:30 am. With this in mind I was able to get in 7 miles on the Starkey Trail. The run went very well because of how comfortable I felt again. I ended with an average pace of 7:39. Three of the miles were under a 7:20 pace giving me the "marathon pace" mileage.

START 6:30pm-

Felt pretty good and wanted to get in more training since Tuesday was a bust. Plus I have never really tried this whole "twice-a-day" thing before. Went to Veterans Memorial Park and started off with a 7:54 warm-up. All six miles following that were between a 7:19 and 7:11 pace. This gave me a total of eight "marathon pace" miles for the day.

I enjoyed the "twice-a-day" running. Considering I got in 14.10 miles in one day I did not feel like typically feel (spent!) following 14 continuous miles. Think I may incorporate this into my training more often.

Ready to go again........the Bucs game is on Friday so, I need to get in a good run tomorrow..

Not much to speak of hear. 5 easy miles at Veterans Park. Felt good, but took it easy and finished with a 7:40 average pace.

Went to Veterans Memorial Park at 6:30pm with the whole family, a rare event! Christine, Rachel, and I ran the loop while Erika stayed with Morgan at the playground (Erika was probably more exhausted than us at the end!).

Wasn't expecting to run at all, so getting in 4 was better than 0. Took it easy with and average pace of 7:56.

Ready to go again.....12 tomorrow..... 

Nice weather. Started around 6:45am with a temperature of 74 degrees. felt cool and the huidity was not to bad.

It has been a while since I was out there by myself. It wasn't bad, but it is nice to have someone push you. Need to focus more. Overall a good run though.

Had an overall average pace of 7:31. I am always searching for consistency and it worked out pretty good today. After the first mile of 8:09 and the second at 7:35 the remaining 10 stayed within a span of 5 seconds. 7:24 being the fastest and 7:29 being the slowest.

Ready to go again.....tomorrow is Labor day and I have no plan.....hhhmmm.....I think I'll run! 

TURTLES AND GATORS AND SNAKES,

OH MY!

Todays run has given me some perspective for when I am on the trail, before there is sunlight and completely ALONE. Normally I will see very little and brush off any stirring in the woods as an armadillo.

However,  for Memorial Day I went to the Starkey Trail  for an enjoyable run while Christine used her roller blades with Morgan in the jogging stroller. When we first got to the trail we saw a large turtle and Morgan loved it.

Christine was a little ahead of me and I saw her stop. She was pointing into the water and when I approached, I could not believe the size of the alligator that was about thirty feet off the trail. Probably, at least 8 feet. Of course, Morgan loved it.  We proceeded down the trail and around the 3.5 mile mark I saw two bicyclist's stopped and obviously in front of them was a snake. It's length was as wide as the trail and about as thick as my arm. It was a Diamond Back Rattle snake. Not something you want to miss! After the turn around we saw the gator again, it didn't move an inch and then shortly after that a pretty large Cotton Mouth was stopped on the trail! Morgan loved the snakes too. Nice to be 4.

Now I know we needed rain, but if this is what it brings out, I'm not so sure.

Anyway, The run was very good. The weather was nice.  I ended up with an average pace of 7:25 with four miles under 7:11.

Ready to go again.....very cautiously...... 

Double Duty

7:10am 

 Headed out on the Starkey trail for a Tempo run. The weather was very nice with a temperature of 72 degrees and low humidity. Completed a slow warm up at  an 8:09 pace.  The run ended with 7:24, 7:02, 7:04, 7:06, and 7:02. I was looking for an average of about 6:55 for the last four, but I'm not complaining.

6:10pm

Went to the Veterans Memorial Park for an easy 6 miles. Average pace ended at 7:56. The weather wasn't as nice with a start around 94 degrees and the humidity was a little high.

Nice to get in two runs. Make for a good feeling to get it done.

Ready to go again.........

Went to the Starkey Trail For an easy run. Christine and Morgan came with me, but I dropped them off at the playground and I started from there. Morgan absolutely loves the playground and it was nice having them there.

Once I made it to the trail it was surprisingly busy considering the heat. Start temperature was around 93°. Mostly walkers and bikers, but it is sometimes better to see life when it is so hot to keep your mind busy. Averaged a 7:50 pace to keep it easy.

Nice easy run....

Ready to go again......Bucs home opener this weekend against Dallas......must focus on good diet habits during the season.......

Does it make me a.......Pansy?

Saturday Morning...time for a long run.....wait it's raining! I take a look at the radar and think, no way. No one is running in that. So, I send a text to Eric and decide that I am going later. Eric replies he's gonna' try. I think, yea right.

Well, there was a clearing in the weather around 10:00am so I head out. I send a text to Eric again.

ME: "Hey, I'm heading out in case your interested?"

ERIC: "I got it in, the rain wasn't that bad."

I'm a pansy.

Anyway, I also see Mark did 20. I'm definately a pansy.

But, the good news is....I got in 12 at an overall pace of 7:37....83°......Who's the smart one here?

Ready to go again......Monday RAIN or shine.......Go Bucs!.... 

Headed out on the Starkey trail around 6:25pm. Start temperature 88° and crazy humid. There was some rain nearby, but I made it without getting hit.  Looking to get in 7 easy miles, but I have to be out of the park by 7:30pm because the closing time changed from 8:00pm.

Christine was on her roller blades pushing Morgan in the jogging stroller while I ran. The first two miles were a little faster than I am used to(7:48 and 7:27), but with time limited I need to get going.

The last five miles were all under 7:20 with the last mile at 7:02. The run felt "comfortably hard."  Some rain had fallen earlier on the trail and it created steam coming up from the trail. Not exactly condusive to great breathing. It could of been worse.

Ready to go again.......another 7 tomorrow.......I am sure the weather will be great! 

6:30am - Headed out on the extremely muggy Starkey Trail. My plan was to complete 7 miles in the morning and 7 more at night.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.......

Completed the 7 in the morning with an average pace of 7:37....not to bad and felt good considering the humidity.....THINGS came up at night and every time I wanted to head out...kids....what more can I say.....don't count your chickens.....

Ready to go again.....with no expectations......need to try to "catch up".....

The weather showed some heavy rain to the south, so I headed north to the Veterans Memorial Park. When I got there it was 93° and humid. The park was packed with soccer, baseball, and a school swim competition at the pool.

I wasn't expecting too much considering the heat, but my goal was to have a consistent pace. The first two miles were slow around an 8:00min pace. Following the warm up miles I completed the run with 6 consistent miles between 7:25 and 7:17. Average pace ended at 7:30. Ending temp at 91°....almost like a cool front came through.....

Used my Bandito's for the second time. Very light and flexible. Good run.....

Ready to go again......

HILLS

Headed up to the Suncoast Parkway at SR 50 to run some Florida Mountains with Eric and Mark. I originally planned on doing 12 to 13, I couldn't nail down which one. So I did 14. Doesn't make sense, but I am always running alone, in the heat. If I get an opportunity to run with some outstanding competitors, I take advantage of it.

We started off at 6:10am and began the spider web swatting competition. It seems the webs cross the trail overnight just to screw with us!

The run went very well for me. Mark and Eric went longer than me, so I turned around at the 7 mile mark and I was alone from there. My goal was to remain consistant. I was able to accomplish my goal and finished with a 7:38 average. The last 7 miles all remained within a 6 second window! from 7:30 to 7:36. At the end I still felt pretty fresh. another accomplishment I am pleased with.

Ready to go again......Go bucs......

Christine, Morgan, and I headed to the Starkey trail. When we got there we found that the closing time changed to 7:00pm from 7:30pm. This is only two weeks after it changed from 8:00pm. Bummer, not enough time.

We adapted and turned around and headed out of the park to use the Starkey Blvd. trail.

The starting temperature was 92°, but for some reason it affected me more today than typically. I had no choice but to keep it slow. I ended with an 8:08 average pace. The last three miles were a little faster, but the slow beginning kept the average down.

When I got back to my truck the temperature remained at 92°! not great conditions, but I feel good that it got done.

Ready to go again...... 

LOST KEY, PLEASE HELP!

Approximately 11 hours from the last run, I find myself at the Veterans Memorial Park at 6:00am. Had to get there early, otherwise I may not have time to get in a run the rest of the day. Plus, gotta' get home quick to releive Christine.  

I used my headlight because the park was surprisingly dark on the back side. The weather felt wam at 78°. I started off a little slow to warm up and kept a consistent pace around 7:45 and ended with an average of 7:43 with a quick ending.

Sure enough, I got there early so I could get in a run and because Christine had to get to a meeting. I lost the key to my truck! It must have fallen out of my pocket. I think I forgot to zip it up. Fortunately, the park crew was there and let me use the office phone. Christine was....well...not happy (can't blame her). She and Morgan came to the park and dropped off the spare key. I groveled. It didn't work, but she cheered up soon after.

Ready to go again......gotta' go cut the lawn.....

Had to get to training in Dade City by 0900 hrs. This gives me time to get a run in early. I headed to the Starkey Trail by 0540 hrs, hoping the gate would be open. There wasn't a moon or even a star with the fog, so I knew it was going to be dark.

Got to Starkey at 0555 and the gate was open! Once I parked and got out of my truck I realized exactly HOW dark it was. I could not even see my hand in front of my face. I turned on my head light and it provided enough light to get me through. I must admit, I was a little freaked out with how dark it was. I headed out slowly on the trail and just before the 1 mile mark I looked slightly off to the left and my head light shined on three sets of eyes. Eyes of what, I don't know, but I wasn't hanging around to find out. The pace slightly increased and my head was on a swivel for about a half mile! Not to belabor the darkness thing, but I have never been on this trail and get to mile four and still need my head light. Today I did.

Wanted to get in 5 miles of tempo. I remained between 6:56 and 7:02 for the five miles(the fastest being the last mile). I did not meet the goal I was looking for of an average 6:52 pace, but I was close enough not be disappointed.

Off to work....Ready to go again...... 

KIDS!

(YOU GOTTA' LOVE 'EM)

Had enough of the afternoon heat, so I decided to use the dreaded treadmill. First I completed a short chest workout and then headed up to the treadmill. I warmed up for the first mile at around an 8:00 min.mile. After that I quickly brought the treadmill up to a 6:30 pace. I felt pretty good and suddenly at 3.2 miles in to the run I hear over the intercom system my name and "please come to the child care center." Ughh......First you think hope everything is OK, so you rush oover there...

Nope.....the rugrat is misbehaving.....how do I know......as soon as I enter I hear, "daddy I love you."........uh, yea right......

Needless to say I had to end it there. Sometime I have to look at the bright side. I got some mileage in and everything is OK........

Ready to go again.......

Headed to the Veterans Trail at 6:15pm. The weather was pretty hot, but do-able. Wanted an easy, steady run before a 12 miler tomorrow morning.

Completed the run with a 7:38 average. Felt good and....

....ready to go again....tomorrow 12....

Starkey Trail at 6:00am. I am convinced that the need to get there that early is no longer necessary. I have not been seeing light until almost mile 6 now and that is too long in the dark. When I win the lottery, I will install lights. 

Started a little slower with around a 7:50 average for the first half. The second half of the run was significantly faster. I did not plan on running as fast as I did, but sometimes it just feels right so I go with it. The last three were all 7:07 and all six were under 7:18!  Overall average pace 7:27.

Although the weather was humid, it was not too bad.

Ready to go again.....

Forgot my Garmin. Fortunately, I know the distances on the Starkey trail like the "back of my hand" (whatever that means).

Christine used her rollerblades and pushed Morgan in the jogging stroller. We saw quite a bit of wildlife and as usual Morgan loved it.

At the end of every run Morgan gets out of the stroller and runs the final 2/10 of a mile with me. So we are going to register her for the kids races at the Race for the Taste. 4 year olds have to run 200 meters. It should be interesting!

Average pace around 8:00 today....nice and easy...ready to go again.....

Speedwork

Completed a good speed workout. Started at 8:45 after dropping off Morgan. No big deal, the temperature was 67°!! First cool front of the year and it felt great.

Started with a 2.03 mile warm up at a 7:50 pace. Then I began 5 x 800 with 400 jogs. The goal was 3:01 per 800.

The 800's were: 2:59, 3:03, 3:04, 2:58, 3:03

Felt pretty good. The breathing is much easier without  all the humidity.

Gonna try to go again tonight.......

5:45pm

The weather is still nice (start temp. around 76°), so I took advantage of it. Back at the Starkey Trail and it was pretty busy with both humans and wildlife.

Started off with a pretty good pace. The overall pace was 7:20, but I had three under that with the last mile at 7:01. I felt good so I went with it.

I really enjoy the two runs in one day, but having the time isn't always there.

10 days to the "Race for the Taste" at Disney. We always look forward to the "taste" part afterwards.

Ready to go again......