I just felt like running

Easy run at work.  Stiff breeze from the south.

Looking forward to Senior Cup 5K on Saturday.  Looks like it may be wet and rainy.  I like wet.

Senior Cup today.  Rained until about 45 minutes before race.  Made it pretty steamy by race start.

Went well overall.   I probably could have gone a little faster but there was 45 seconds of cushion ahead and behind me  so I was content to cruise and not push too much at the end.  Matched my time from last year to within a second.  Reassuring that I'm not getting slower.

Cooled down with Jon and Eric C.

In the afternoon, I took Elliott for a jog in the stroller.  Very easy.  He was quite content.

Vacactioning at St. George Island, FL.  Got in a run a right before lunch.   Sunny 83F with slight breeze.

Felt a little weak.  Got better as run progressed.  Averaged 8:15/mile pace.

Scouted out some trails to run later this week from a book I found "Hiking Trails of Florida's National Forests, Parks, and Preserves".   We are very near the Apalachicola National Forest so I'll focus there.

Drove east to the St. George Island State Park.   There was a 2.5 mile trail I wanted to checkout.

Got an earlier start which was nice.  Temp was 65F at start and only got to 75F by the end.  Path started at the back end of a campground.  It is best described as a sandy jeep trail.  Some shady as it went through a sparse pine forest.  End was a nice beach on the bay side.   Sand made for slow going in spots.  Pine needles and undergrowth on other spots made the footing better.

Took a new boardwalk on the way back which was nice.

Park is $3/day for one person and $5/day for 2-8 people.

The road ends about 5 miles from the "East End" of the island.    Untouched , quiet, beautiful beaches.

Got another early start so the weather was nice (under 70).  Did warmup with brother-in-law (John).  9min/mile.  He turned around at 1.5 miles.  Got out to Pine St (dirt/sand road).  Did a two mile marathon pace run (6:54/mile pace).  I felt a little fatigued from yesterday's sand run.   After the two miles, I drank some water and 1/2 clif bar and walked for a minute and then started jogging.  Did  1 mile hard (6:17) on the paved bike path.  This got me almost to the entrance of the plantation.  Cooldown back home.  Took a dive into the pool before having breakfast.  (Cereal, fruit, bacon, coffee)

Needed an easier run after yesterday. Legs tired. Spent quite a bit of time digging a tidal pool for the girls yesterday. It started with a hole but I tied in a trench to catch the waves.

Run started as a repeat of Monday's. Heading west on the bike path through the plantation. Made it to Sike's cut (manmade channel that now divides St. George from Little St. George) It is used by shrimping/fishing boats. Pace was 8:10/mile on they way there. Watched the fishing at the cut for 30 seconds and then headed back. Ran the beach the way back. Decent beach running- not a absolute high tide so there was some good hard pack to run on. It had a slope at times. Pace (at same effort) slowed to around 8:45-9:00. Nice breeze and clouds made it comfortable.

Not many people here. Passed no more than 15 people in 3 miles of beach running.

Father-in-law and my wife got an early start cooking bacon and pancakes. I couldn't resist an chose that breakfast over an early morning run.

I got my run in around noon (85F and sunny, pretty humid 72F dewpoint).

Got an early start.  Plan was to head east and get picked up at the far end of the state park at 9:30am.  Good running weather other than it was very humid.  Stayed on bike path past downtown.  Took in a Chocolate Almond Clif Bar at the lighthouse and refilled my water bottle.

I was getting hot so took off my shirt hoping that the westerly wind at my back would cool me more.  Run got really nice once I entered the park.   Ocean and beach on the right and the bay on my left.  Nice breeze.  Good cloud cover.    Lots of fisherman heading to the boat launch or the boardwalks.  At 9:10am, Hit 13.1 miles at the Sugar Hill Beach Area (end of pavement).  There was water there and shade so I called it a day.  I had a Powerbar Protein Bar in my waist pack.  I took two bites and couldn't eat any more.  Gross.    I'm done with any powerbar product -  the bars, gels, now this.  yuck.     I'm a loyal Gu person for gels.  I like the clif bars and their newer shots.   For races, I've stuck with Gu so far.

Today is our last day at the beach.  Long drive home tomorrow.

Easy evening run with Jon.   Went down to Eastwood and returned on 11th St. to 20th Ave.

easy run at lunch , busy week this week at work

quick lunch run,  slight cool down, felt good

28th annual Jesse Owens race in Moulton, AL.  Near JO's birthplace and home till he was 9.  After 1 mile, I tried to stay comfortable and save a little for the end.  Ran 6:20-6:30/mile from miles 2-5.  Another runner, Nathan G, got even with me at the 5 mile mark.  I paced off him for a 1/4 mile and kept my eye on him.  I surged and got a good gap and then relaxed for a little.  Once I got within 1/2 mile of the finish I surged again and ended up 15 seconds ahead of him. Last mile was under 6:10.

For fun, I did the two mile event as well.  Ended up around the same placing overall.  Won the 30-39 age group with a 12:20.

They put on a really good race.  Lots of community support.  Great weather and food.  Awards were very generous.

Easy run.  Still a little sore from Saturday.    I didn't do a cool down after the 2 mile or any post race stretching.   That would have helped.

Easy run.   Ran from home to Delano Park, did a lap, and came back.  Its starting to warm up here-  79F.

Hill interval run at work.  Ran the paved hill from the pump house to the pavilion.  0.20 miles, 100ft climb,  targetted around 90 seconds.  Did 4.  Felt pretty good.

Went shopping at Fleet Feet in Huntsville and then went for a run around south huntsville from the store.  Found some imposing hills  (Edgehill rd, Hickory Hill Rd, Weatherly, Visa)..  Garmin says 1400 ft of climbing. There were a couple 20+ degree climbs.  Biggest was around 160 ft up.  Took it fairly easy-  8:12/mile pace.   I had drank two bottles of Cytomax at home and then took a clif bar along.  Well fueled.

Making a last ditch effort to work on bench pressing for the our plants 12 week fitness challenge.  I have 10 days to get up to wear I can do 26 reps of 80lbs.  I did reps at 85,90, and 105.  I've gotten better - started being able to do 6 reps.  On Tuesday, I did 13.  We'll see.  A $75 reward hangs in the balance.   I probably should have taken one of the other challenges:   walking (6% incline @ 4mph for 30 minutes) , running (7:30 mile), or elliptical (30 minutes at a specific level). 

After my little weight effort, I ran the trails at work.

Did my second annual baloon chase run.   Every year Decatur hosts the Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Baloon festival.  Last year I was out for a run and tried to follow the baloons as they flew into Point Mallard.  It was alot of fun and make for running miles that were effortless.  Its hard to think about how far you are going when you are looking up.

Had fun again.  Took pictures of Larry Fuller's baloon (Spirit Chaser).  I'll bring those to him at work.

Helped out at Cotton Row setup in the AM.  I got my run in at 2pm so it was pretty hot (89F, 32C).  Felt good though.  Got a call from Liza during the run that she and the kids were almost home.  I turned around near Delano Park and got home 10 seconds before they did.  Nice to have the house full again.

Pushed Elliott in the stroller- our first run together!.  He had woken up crying from a nap but quieted down and went to asleep right when we started running.

Lunch run. Did two mile repeats - 6:30 pace.

Got this run in at 1am.  Following a new product run at work.