8 miles at general aerobic pace.  7:51 AP today.  31 degrees, feels like 22.   

I have been struggling with a sore throat and congestion for the past two days.  You know what?  Marathon training don't care.  I busted it out.  Happy New Year.

Seriously though, I began feeling much better by the afternoon today.  It definitely would have been a mistake to run this morning, I felt much more up to it by 3:00 after a nice warm pasta and ground beef lunch.  I'm so glad I did not work today, because there's no way I would have managed to get my run in otherwise.  

I ran for the first time in my new New Balance 1080v3's.  I love them.  They will replace the 1260's, which I have run in for a long time. The 1080v3's have descent arch support, a moderate amount of cushion, and are pretty light at 10.15 ounces. 

While I was at the New Balance store I also tried on the New Balance 1290, which is a little lighter at 9.4 ounces.  The 1290 is amazingly comfy with the most cushion I have ever experienced.  The only reason I went with the 1080v3 was that it will get me much higher mileage than the 1290 will.  Paul, the guy who fit me, told me to expect only about 400 miles out of the 1290.  He suggested buying the 1290 about two months before a marathon to train in and then use as a race day shoe.  I may just do that.  

Boom!  After taking 4 days off to do battle with a viral upper respiratory infection I think I'm back.  7:37 AP.  24 degrees.

My hands and fingers went numb several times this morning.  It even happened near the end of my run which worried me a little.  I was also worried about my recovering lungs taking in big gasps of 22 degree freezing air.  It can't be good, right?  I just couldn't hold back any longer though.  It felt good to get out there and beat myself up to a Pfitz 16 mile long run.

First 8,  8:15 AP

Last 8,  7:19 AP

The plan was to run the last 8 at 7:00 (marathon pace), but I think I did pretty good considering 4 days off and recovering from sickness. 

General aerobic run this morning.  8:01 AP.  28 degrees.  

I have two pieces of great news to report! 

The first is that I'm really feeling like I'm recovering from my upper respiratory infection!  That's awesome because running and life in general is so much more enjoyable while not feeling under the weather.  I've been trying to really focus on positive thoughts these past few weeks, and this last week was a great opportunity to really test my resolve.  As soon as I fully recover the bad memories of not being able to run and feel my best physically will simply be an illusion because those things no longer exist.  I can simply discard those thoughts and focus on positive thoughts, just as I can do with any bad memory from the past. 

The second piece if great news is that Alisha and I put an offer on a house on Sunday that was accepted last night.  We are so excited about this.  We are getting an awesome house that has virtually all the amenities we want.  It has a whole lot more breathing room than what we currently have, and it is in a great neighborhood that is still about as close to the trail as our current house.  Cheers to having your cake and eating it too!

Mid week MLR.  7:52 AP.  49 degrees.  

When I woke up I put on my clothes that I had laid out the night before, which included long pants and a turtle neck.  I dressed and went to the kitchen to get a snack and check the weather.  Last night the hourly forecast said it would be 40 degrees, but it ended up being 49.  So I went back to my bedroom to change into shorts and short sleeves.  

The conditions were very misty and damp this morning with a slight wind out of the north. 

My legs are still really sore from my workout on Sunday.  I probably should have taken it a little easier since I had not run in four days, and I had not done a long workout like that since before the marathon in November.  I will be taking it extra easy on my recovery run tomorrow. 

Recovery run this morning.  It was raining this morning, but it wasn't coming down too hard.  8:31 AP.  48 degrees.  Winds at 8 to 10.  

My legs are still very sore, but I'm sure this recovery run helped work out that soreness.  I'll be doing a 9 mile general aerobic tomorrow that I will probably still take at a pretty relaxed pace. 

General Aerobic Run.  8:26 AP.  44 degrees.  Five miles with Kevin.  

My legs are still a little store from the pace run Sunday and the MLR Wednesday.  

Recovery run.  8:10 AP. 

The temperature was an amazing 54 degrees this January morning.  It was pretty windy at 11 to 13 mph and from the north, but at 54 degrees I'll take it as long as I don't have to run too many miles into it.  

Long Run.  25 feels like 15.   12 mph winds.

Yeah, it was a touch cold this morning.  I wore my nylon jacket over my turtle neck.  Instead of wearing my hat and ear warmers, I decided to break out the ski mask for the first time this morning.  The left side of it was frozen somewhere around mile 10.  For the first two miles I thought the ski mask was too much.  I couldn't really feel the wind at all and in fact I was beginning to feel too warm, but eventually I was very glad I decided to wear it.  When I got out on the open trails with the north wind to my side or when I was running head on into it I was very happy with my choice. 

I felt my right achilles tendon just a little near the end of the recovery run yesterday and again this morning.  I thought it was going to be a problem this morning when I started to feel it between the 1 and 3 mile marks, but it eventually went away and did not bother me for the rest of the run.  I know that sounds bad like I warmed it up and ran through it, but I'm pretty sure from a past injury to my arch that tendons don't work that way.  If they are injured or torn they will start to hurt and not get better as you go.  I felt the tenderness way down low right near where it would be attached to the back of my heel on a few steps.

There were a few icy patches on the trail this morning.  I lost my balance one time and felt like I through my shoulder out of socket for a moment trying to recover my balance.  Fun times. 

Tuesday MLR to be followed by the usual MLR on Wednesday.  Build the base is the mantra this week.  7:38 AP. 18 degrees.

The wind was not as bad this morning as it was on Sunday.  I thought I felt that weird tenderness in my right achilles again, but it was very faint.  

A weird sequence of events resulted in my new head lamp going out of commission.  Hopefully it is not broken.  Follow me here:  I grabbed my gear and headed out the door this morning only to realize I did not know where my new head lamp was.  I then remembered I left it in my jacket pocket.  It was in my jacket pocket because on Sunday I ran without my hat, because it was so cold and windy I needed my full head mask.  Since I ran without my hat Sunday I tried clipping the light to my jacket sleeve, but that was very annoying because your arms move in ways that are not optimal for a head light.  I ended up just holding it for most of the run, but while I was getting a drink or otherwise not needing a light I would put it in my pocket.  Turns out I left it in there after I got home.  Alisha, being the good wife that she is, washed my running gear soon after I got home.  Thus the new head lamp got washed and now the light does not work.  I'm going to try replacing the batteries to see if that works.  Hopefully I didn't break it. 

13 MLR.  7:26 AP.  18 degrees.  Calm winds.  

I'm definitely going to be sore after to MLR's in a row.  Especially since I ran both less than 10% slower than marathon pace.  I still felt that tender soreness in my lower right achilles for the first 2 to 3 miles, but then I really didn't feel it after that.  

I'm going to take it real easy on the recovery run tomorrow, and preserve my strength for my first tempo on this cycle on Friday.

Recovery run.  8:33 AP.  Nice and easy.  33 degrees.  It was so nice to finally feel the "warm" weather once again!  Seriously it felt warm after 5 or 6 days of sub 20 degrees in the mornings.  

I still felt the weird mild tenderness in my right achilles.  It's not what I would call pain, but definitely a small thing I'm keeping in my mind.  I'm excited to run my first tempo of this cycle tomorrow.  

I ran 11 this morning at a nice and easy 8:24 AP.  It was 32 degrees with a slight breeze.  

This was my first run back after taking 7 days off to prevent what I felt like was a looming achilles injury.  I felt pretty good this morning.  I run an easy 5 mile recovery run tomorrow morning, which is good since today was my first day back

Recovery run with Kevin for 2.5 miles this morning.   8:46 AP.  32 degrees.  

The achilles is feeling good.  18 tomorrow!  I'm going to try not to push my self.    

It felt so good to run 18 miles this morning!  It was 45 degrees, but with 12 to 13 mile per hour winds.  It was nice out all things considered.  

My AP was 7:58.  I really kept my pace in check this morning.  This was my first run of 18 or more miles since October 28th, and I'm still easing back in off of a week long break from an achilles issue.  

I will rest tomorrow and get a good workout in on Tuesday with a tempo run.  

First 5 miles AP: 8:13

Last 13 miles AP: 7:51

Tempo run with 5 at tempo pace.  This morning was an unbelievable 67 degrees.  It's January for Pete's sake!

I felt really good going in to this workout.  I hit all of my splits in under the time I was aiming for.  My achilles felt totally fine throughout and after the workout, but I did feel a little twinge in my right calf during my cool down. 

2 warmup miles: 7:51, 8:04

5 at tempo: 6:48, 6:47, 6:44, 6:44, 6:50

2 cool down 8:52, 8:26

I am especially proud of that last split in the workout because it included the hill from hell.  I will be running pretty easy on my MLR tomorrow morning. 

MLR of 14 miles.  36 degrees with 22 mph winds. 8:12 AP. 

I almost didn't wear my wind breaker jacket, but I stepped outside and immediately felt the wind and changed my mind.  Then then after the first 2 miles I was regretting wearing it because I was really heating up with all the wind at my back.  I almost discarded it before I got on the trail, but decided to keep it.  After I got about 1 mile down the trail I was so glad I kept it because I got into an area where the wind was just blasting.  I ended up lowering the zipper for the parts of the run that the wind was not blasting me in the face and then raising back up with it got intense.

 My legs felt pretty sore from the 18 long run on Sunday and the tempo run yesterday.  I really felt like I should have been running a recovery today instead of an MLR, but I ended up just taking really easy keeping my pace just above 8:00 minute miles. 

Recovery run.  8:34 AP.  22 degrees. Calm winds.

My calves are a little sore still from the tempo on Tuesday.  

7:57 AP.  18 degrees.  

I was scheduled to run a 12 mile MLR this morning, but two things made me cut it a little short.  I was still feeling really sore in my calves and quads last night before I went to bed.  That was one thing.  The other was that I simply did not get out of bed early enough to get the full workout in before I have to leave for the first of two early business meetings this morning.  

As for the run I felt pretty good, but I'm definitely glad I didn't run the full distance so my muscles will get a bit of a recovery.  It was really cold at 18 degrees with 8 mph winds.  I'm looking forward to the next few days when we'll get a break in the cold weather.

Recovery run.  8:35 AP.  26 degrees.  

I'm feeling good after having cut my MLR short yesterday followed by the recovery run today.  I should be good to go for my pace run tomorrow.  

Ka-Chow!  I PR'd on my 18 mile pace run (10 miles at marathon pace).  39 degrees.  winds at 5 - 6 mph. 

First 8 AP: 7:44

Last 10 AP:  6:56

Overall AP: 7:18

I checked my logs and the last time I ran a workout similar to this one was on October 14th about one month before Route 66.  It was a little different because then it was 14 miles at goal pace.  This workout was 10 miles at goal pace.  I was also shooting for a slightly slower goal pace then, but all things considered I'm pretty happy to have set a PR on an 18 mile run.  

I'm most happy with the 6:56 AP on the workout.  I think I am in a good position to strengthen my fitness and be in BQ shape by April.  

General Aerobic Run.  8 miles an 8:16 AP.  32 degrees.  

My legs were still very sore from my PR Pace run on Sunday.  I almost did not get out of bed this morning to make this run because of that.  I'll be taking it real easy the rest of this week. 

MLR.  8:14 AP.  38 degrees.  Beautiful morning.  

My legs are still sore from the Pace run Sunday.  I feel like they may be sore until this Sunday.

In unrelated news Alisha and I closed on our new house last night and got the keys.  We are so excited.  We will be pulling the carp tonight and tomorrow night so the new carpet can be installed in Friday.  We will then move on Sunday.  I have a feeling this week is going to go by very fast.  

Recovery run.  38 degrees.  8:11 AP. 

I have spent two  of the past three nights late at our new house pulling carpet and carrying loads of it down the stairs.  On the second night I spent hours pulling millions of staples from the floors so that the carpet guys could do the install the next morning which was yesterday morning.  Needless to say I did not make two of my scheduled runs this week.  I'm still hoping to get my long run in tomorrow before we finish packing and begin loading the Uhaul at 10:30.

I guess only having missed two days this week from being worn out and sleep deprived isn't so bad.  I'm going to call it a winner so far.  I can't wait to get our stuff moved in and be able to enjoy the new house. 

Tempo run with 5 at 6:50.  3 miles to warmup and 2 to cool down.  37 degrees with 4 mph winds out of the north.  

This was hard workout.  I missed last Thursday, Friday, and Sunday for a total of 30 miles due to the move.  So not only was I not running, but I was moving heavy furniture.  I am pretty exhausted, and definitely satisfied that I was able to make this workout a success this morning! 

7:23 AP

Splits:

MLR.  7:57 AP.  36 degrees.  

This was a typical Pfitz MLR torture session the day after a tempo run.  It was more painful than usual given that my tired body is still making up for lack of sleep and sore muscles from the move.  I'm am looking forward to the recovery run tomorrow like nobody's business! 

Recovery run.  30 degrees, 6 mph winds.  8:26 AP.  

I'm still getting used to my routine getting out of the new house in the morning.   

I felt some pretty tender soreness in my hamstrings of my right leg.  It must have something to do with climbing stairs multiple times per day now in the new house.   

MLR.  7:49 AP.  36, feels like 25.  I love the new Garmin feature that shows the weather.  It makes keeping a log so much easier.  

I'm feeling strong, but I have had some aches and pains these past few days.  My right hamstrings still feel a little tight, and this morning I had some pains in my upper back.  I only noticed it when I tried to rotate my upper body when I would go to grab my gatorade bottle on my belt.  I had this same back pain last fall training for the Route 66.  If I recall a few good massages took care of it.  I think what also helped was to keep on top of my core exercises.  Admittedly I've let a few weeks get by without doing those.  

I'm excited for this weekend as we will be visiting relatives in Searcy, AR.  I will be getting my Saturday and Sunday miles out there.  Hopefully they have good trails.  This will be sort of a high mileage weekend.  From Friday to Sunday I will have run 40 miles. 

Searcy, AR. 

General Aerobic Run with 10x100's.  7:53 AP.  25 feels like 25.  Wind 4 mph. 

We are in Searcy visiting family.  There is a really nice trail about 1.5 miles from our hotel that runs along a creek.  The only problem with this trail is that it is only about 5 miles long.  I'm going to have to use the streets and then run a couple of loops somewhere to get my 21 mile run in tomorrow morning. 

I packed plenty of running pants, but only one turtle neck.  Alisha did a load of laundry the night before we left, but I did not grab my clean running gear out of it like I should have.  So I hand washed my turtle neck in the sink this morning and it has been air drying all day.  I actually worried it would not dry in 23 hours, so I gave it a head start with the blow dryer.  We went out to an event at Harding and when we got back it still felt really damp.  Now I have it hanging by the ironing board in front of the Heart vent with the fan on blowing air on it.  Hopefully it is dry by morning! 

Searcy, AR.  5:00 AM start as usual.  7:43 AP.  37, feels like 33, winds at 6 mph. 

I might finish this blog entry later, but for now I will just say that I had a great long run in Searcy.  We are packing our bags to head back home and I don't have time for all the details just yet.  I ended up getting lost early on from my original mapped out plan, but that worked perfectly in my favor since I would have originally had to do some back tracking to get my full 21 miles in.  With my little excursion I ended up perfectly looping back around to my hotel at and finishing at exactly 21 miles. Bam!

5:10 AM.  5 miles at recovery pace.  8:29 AP. 28, feels like 22, 6 mph.  

I have been experiencing some sensitivity in the ball of my left foot since Sunday evening.  It flared up yesterday morning.  I made sure to wear my good Montrail sandals around the house and my work shoes with arch supports.  It felt a lot better by yesterday night, but I could really feel it this morning when I woke up.  It did not bother me on the run.  

I also must have strained my hamstrings or whatever ligaments run along the back of my left knee.  I really felt that one this morning which sucks because I was running a real easy pace.

I think these are just some lingering effects of have run a high mileage weekend.  I will run the second part of the double this afternoon at four miles to complete ten for today

3:28 PM.  5 miles at recovery pace.  8:13 AP.  50 feels like 48, 6 mph. 

I'm not sure what happened but my left knee area hamstrings or ligaments felt jacked up this afternoon.  In retrospect I should have just skipped the PM run.  I'm going to take a few days off to heal up.  The ball of my left foot flared up again too. 

20 miles at 7:53 pace.  28 feels like 22, winds at 6 mph.  

I had to take the last 5 days off.  Midway through my afternoon run last Tuesday I had strange calf pain in my left leg.  It gradually got worse towards the end of my 5 mile recovery run.  The good news is that it felt fine this morning.  I'm pretty sure I injured it during a non-running activity, which means continuing to run while it heals should be fine.  That's my theory anyway.  As long as I don't feel it while running I'm going to keep running.  I had some minor soreness in the ball of my right foot this morning.  It also felt really sensitive after my last run last Tuesday, but it felt exponentially better by last night walking barefoot around the house.  That type of injury has not cropped up on me my first marathon in 2010.  It was quick to vanish then and I'm expecting it to be quick this time as well.  

Other than that giant paragraph describing my two injuries I had an awesome time this morning.  I expect to be back at regular volume this week.  Too many things have interfered with this cycle.  That is all past and I'm ready to improve now.  

5:40 AM.  34 feels like 24, 15 mph winds.  Light rain/ snow.  

8:26 AP. 

Snowy, wet, and muddy conditions.  My right ball of my foot felt a little tender after I finished, but my calf is feeling great! 

It's going to be a busy day off, but hopefully I can squeeze my PM 4 mile run in these afternoon.  

6:45 PM.  4 miles at recovery pace.  41 feels like 36.  I wore my jacket and was way too warm.  I thought with the wind I would need it.  I totally missed the boat there.  This was the first run I can remember running with my jacket tied around my waist.  Weird.

None of what follows is related to my run, but I feel like writing about it.  Alisha and I finished watching Firefly last night and the movie called Serenity that ended the whole series.  It was awesome!  I can't believe Fox cancelled it after only 12 episodes.  So we started a new series tonight.  The comedy called How I Met Your Mother.  It is hilarious. 

We really needed something goofy to unwind to after a loaded day.  We have been working hard to prepare our house for our future renters.  Everything is coming along nicely.    

Mid-week MLR.  15 miles at 7:41 pace.  32 feels like 27.  5 mph winds.  

I set out to keep the pace easy at 8:00 minute miles.  I accomplished that until I ran into Shane at miles 7.  That's when I went from an 8:00 AP to about a 7:30 AP.  

I felt really good though.  I'm definitely going to make sure to go super easy the rest of the week since I have a pace run on Sunday of 16 with 12 at marathon pace of 7:00 or sub 7:00.  

Recovery run of 6 miles at an 8:24 AP.  28 feels like 28.  

I'm feeling good.  

Friday MLR of 13 miles at a 7:42 AP.  34 feels like 28 at 6 mph.  Finished before 7:00 AM.   

I felt really strong, until around mile 6 when my right calf started tensing up a bit.  I still feel it a little.  I will make sure to stretch a little today and tomorrow.  I've got to be strong for my pace run on Sunday. 

Now its off to my first of two meetings before we open the store today.  Alisha and I are going to do our budget tonight.  I have a feeling this day is going to fly. 

Marathon Pace run with 12 miles at GP.  Total AP 7:07.  30 feels like  24.  

I feel awesome!  I was not sure exactly how this run was going to go since I missed my last tempo run due to weird injuries that sidelined me for about four days.

First four miles warmup: AP 7:40

Last 12 miles at marathon goal pace or better (7:00):  AP 6:54

I feel really good about this workout.  I have missed way too many runs and other workouts, including a long run this cycle which broke one of my cardinal rules.  I have a long list of life event things getting in the way, but I'm putting all that behind me and I am going to focus like a laser on making 100% of the rest of my runs and workouts.  I feel like with my current level of fitness and with good weather in Oklahoma City I have a real shot at attaining my coveted BQ.  

General aerobic run of 9 miles at an 8:03 AP.  WINDY!  39 feels like 31.  14 mph winds. 

My legs were still quite sore from the pace run Sunday morning.  It didn't help that I only got 5 hours of sleep last night.  Between ten hour days at work and preparing the house for our renters, sleep has been made a low priority.  Thankfully we are just about finished with the make ready process and will sign our tenants on Saturday morning.  

V02 Max workout.  9 miles with 6 800's with 400 jogs between repeats.  27 feels like 21.  

I actually used half miles and quarter miles for my intervals, but I figure it should be close enough.  

My 800's:  3:10, 3:02, 3:00, 3:05, 3:09, 3:09

My legs still felt a little sore from the pace run on Sunday.  I keep reminding myself that it is during these grueling high mileage weeks sprinkled with quality workouts that builds the endurance to go 26.2 in under 3:05. 

Recovery run.  37 feels like 32.  I dressed way to warm somehow.  I should have worn shorts.  

My legs feel fully recovered from the past weekend and interval run yesterday.  Onward!

MLR.  7:33 AP.  45, feels like 39.  Shorts weather is back!  Woohoo!  

I looks like it's going to be a nice couple of days.  I felt really good this morning.  I'm liking this recovery week.  I actually had to hold myself back during this run.  I was tempted to run the last half at marathon pace.  

General Aerobic run of 8 miles with 10x100's.  

52 feels like 52.  Actually it feels like spring. 

I think my overall endurance has improved since training last Fall.  My heart rate range for this type of run should be between 144 and 166.  I averaged 153 even running at a 7:31 AP.  I will need to go back and look at the data, but I believe I used to have to run closer to 7:50 or 8:00 AP to keep my heart rate down near 153.  

MLR - 15 at 7:22 AP.  54 degrees with some rain.  The rain felt nice.   I wore my new compression socks for the first time. 

PR training run! 

With the time change last night I only ended up getting four hours of sleep!  I somehow felt really good this morning when I woke up and I still feel great.  Fortunately this was a recovery week and I only had 15 miles to get in this morning.  That helped.  Now I'm ready to relax.  This is the first Sunday of the past six that Alisha and I can just sit back and relax a little bit. 

6:00 AM.  6 mile recovery run at nice and easy 8:26 miles.  I'm feeling good. 

I'm going to try to get some core exercises in some time today before my second act of 4 miles this afternoon.  

6:05 PM. 4 mile recovery run at an 8:00 pace.  I wasn't sure that 8:00 minutes would truly be considered recovery pace, but I made sure to keep my heart rate under 150.  I average 147 for this workout. 

I'm feeling good and ready for my MLR tomorrow morning bright and early.  I was able to sneak in an hour and forty minute nap today during Ty's nap. 

Mid-week MLR with 8 miles with Shane.  7:27 AP.  

I ran this whole run under 8:00's with the last 4 miles at 7:13, 7:18, 7:08, 7:13, and 6:53.

I'm feeling pretty good about my fitness levels right now.  I just need to figure out how to get some more sleep and stay injury free until Oklahoma City.  

Recovery run an 8:01 pace.  My legs needed this after the mid-week MLR yesterday that I hit pretty hard.  I'm looking hit it hard again tomorrow with a tempo with 7 at 6:50 pace. 

12 mile tempo with at tempo pace. 

Conditions were beautiful this morning at 57 degrees.  The only thing that would have made it better was if the power had not gone out at about 3:45.  When that happened the alarm system alerted us that the power was out.  It was a strange morning to lose power since there was no storm or weather of any kind.  The utility company website said that over 10,000 customers were without power across Broken Arrow, Tulsa, and Coweta.  I really wasn't able to fall back to sleep before my alarm went off at 4:30.  

When I took the trail out of my neighborhood and came out on 71st street I saw a local news station prepping for a live remote. 

As for the workout I was very pleased with my self.

Three miles warmup: 7:48, 7:50, 7:42

7 miles at tempo: 6:41, 6:37, 6:41, 6:41, 6:40, 6:42, 6:48

2 miles at cool down: 8:24, 8:11

According to Garmin this is a PR for me for this distance.  According to Strava I clocked my 2nd best time in a 10K during this workout.  My best 10k ever recorded was during the 15k Tulsa run last October in which I recorded a 40:14 time for 10k. The 10k from the workout this morning came in at 41:24. 

I'm happy! 

Recovery run at a nice and easy 8:31 pace.  So warm this morning at 62 degrees.  

My right calf felt a little too sore this morning.  I hope it heals up nicely for my monster 22 mile long run tomorrow morning  

BAM!  New PR on 22 miles.  44 feels like 36.  It was cold and windy and misty.  

As for my PR time I beat my previous PR from last September by over 11 minutes.  My AP was 7:32.

My final five miles:  7:08, 7:09, 7:13, 7:01, 6:48

I did feel a slight twinge in my right calf muscle throughout the day yesterday.  I was a little concerned about how the long run would affect that this morning, but I put on my new compression socks and headed out the door.  I really did not feel a thing throughout the run.   Go compression socks!  I'm now looking forward to resting the the rest of the day and tomorrow. 

I could not be feeling better about heading in to the final six week stretch for Oklahoma City. 

VO2 Max run of 9 miles with 5 600's.  37 feels like 33.  

I messed up on the third repeat and did not go the full 600 meters, but on the first I went just a little bit longer than I should have.  

600 meters is about .37 miles.  My goal was to run them in 2:20.   

.40     2:29

.37     2:16

.27     1:40

.38     2:20

.38     2:22

Mid-Week MLR.  36 feels like 31.  7:31 AP. 

I'm still feeling really good with my training.  When I compare my training logs to these same workouts last fall I'm consistently running faster and feeling like I'm maybe I'm not as fatigued as I was back then.  I feel as though my body is responding to the stimulus of the workouts really well.  

6:00 AM.  6 miles at recovery pace with 6 100's.  I'm feeling good.

7:15 PM. 4 miles.  Nice and easy 7:57 pace.    

Nice and easy 5 miles at recovery pace.  The trails were very wet and it looks like it's only going to get more wet as we head into the weekend.  

I probably should have substituted my recovery run this morning for some type of workout.  The schedule calls for a tune-up race tomorrow morning, but I don't have a race to participate in.  I think I'm going to run 10 to 13 miles with a portion of it at tempo or something like that.  Then I'll close out the week at just over 70 miles, which will by my highest volume week this cycle.  

6:00 AM.  9.04 miles at a 7:37 pace with 6 100's at the end.  The last mile time was 7:00. I got home and uploaded my data and realize that I missed the 70 mile mark on the week by .76 miles.  I mentioned this in the Oklahoma Mileage Club on Facebook.  When several members challenged me to finish out the 70 mile week I decided to go ahead and make it happen after work tonight.  So that's what I did. 

8:13 PM: 1 mile in 7:30.  I ran out of the neighborhood and around the pond once and then back to my house.  This was just about exactly one mile.  

Ka-Chow!  That's what I say when I'm excited.  I finished this run feeling good, but totally beaten down and devastated by the vicious 20 mph winds out of the north west.  I felt devastated because I thought there was no way I made my pace goal. 

I should start at the beginning.  The goal of this workout was to warm up for 4 miles, and then to run 14 at marathon goal pace.  The weather turned sour in a real bad way last night.  The forecast called for a 90% chance of precip. by 5:00 AM, my usual start time, and 20 mph winds throughout the morning and into the day.

I stepped out into the street and took off feeling like the winds were not as bad as the forecast suggested.  And fortunately there was absolutely now rain or snow.  Once I headed into the north for the first time I received blast of 'kick in the butt' old man winter's wrath.  I thought this was Spring.  What happened?  

Miles 1-4:  7:42, 7:44, 7:38, 7:16.  The first mile was run mostly against the west wind.  The second, third and fourth were run with the north wind at my back.  The scary thing about this wind was that I could actually feel it whipping around and pushing me onward.  This was scary because usually you are not aware of the wind when it is at your back.  You only become aware of it once you turn around and are now running into it.  I knew a majority of the back end of this run would be heading back into the northwest, which worried me. 

Miles 5-9:  6:54, 6:50, 6:53, 6:54, 6:46.  These were all run with the wind.  Thus my pace was working nicely.  I knew that after mile 9 I would be running into the wind, which was why I ran a faster pace so that I would have some time in the bank for the return trip.

Miles 10-15: 7:01, 7:05, 7:12, 7:01, 7:26, 7:21. These sucked royally!  This whole way I was running directly into the wind as I was running either west, north, or northwest.  The wind gusts were really beating me into submission.  I felt exhausted after a couple of these miles.  I forgot to mention that the rolling hills out in this area are enough to kill your energy, with wind not needed.  There were however a few glimmering moments when I hit certain remote areas that either trees or land blocked the wind just enough that I could tell I still had enough gas in the tank continue running at my goal pace.  I went through several areas where I was able to recover before suffering a wind set back again and again.  This was a real growing moment for me as a runner.  I know now that I possess the ability to overcome adversity on a long tough run and finish strong.

Miles 16-18: 7:17, 7:04, 6:58.  Miles 16 and 17 were run into the north.  The wind was either coming right at me, or occasionally it would change to the west and I would get a small break.  This area is also a slow and steady uphill for both miles.   The last mile I finally got the wind at my back and I was able to really crank the pace back to where I would have run for this entire workout had I not had the wind.  

Conclusion:  I felt good about the strong finish, but I thought there was no way that I made my goal pace.  And maybe I thought this because I've been shooting for just a few seconds below 7:00 on my pace workouts.  When I got home and analyzed the data it turned out that I averaged exactly 7:03 on the 14 miles I set out to run at marathon goal pace!  I am really happy because I know now that I'm capable of averaging this pace even on a wicked 20 mph windy day like today.  This happened even running a majority of the workout (about 8 miles) directly into the wind.     

V02 Max run.  9 miles with 6x600's.  25 degrees.  

It was a nice cold morning to work up a good sweat. 

The first three miles were a warm up.  7:30, 7:28, 7:19.

I ran the 600's with 1 minute jogs between repeats. 

600's:  2:14, 2:13, 2:10, 2:10, 2:15, 2:12. 

The last three miles to cool down went like this:  7:58, 7:38, 7:18.

Other than the fact that I did not get up to make my customary 5:00 AM start time, I'm feeling really good about this workout.  Also, my shoe came untied during the second repeat.  So technically it doesn't really count since I had to stop and stop my watch to tie it back.  Because of that I made myself run a sixth repeat.  Coach Pfitz only wanted me to five this morning.  For anyone other than Joe reading this entry, coach Pfitz refers to Pete Pfitzinger and his book Advanced Marathoning from which my training schedules come.     

MLR - 15.  32 feels like 26.  7:23 AP.  

This run did not exactly go as planned and was thus a little unconventional.  I planned on meeting up with Shane about 4.5 miles in.  I got to the meeting point a little bit late, and he had turned around rather than keep heading my direction.  I eventually caught up with him, but I had to 7:10, 7:21, and 7:14 to do it rather than my planned 7:45 pace.  After I caught him we slowed down 7:21, but then we followed those with a 7:13 and 7:07.  I was obviously not able to sustain that for throughout the rest of the run.  My ideal MLR starts out a little bit slower and then builds to a fast finish just about 10% or less slower than marathon pace.

I still had a good finish time overall, but I think I could have set a new PR if I'd run this one a little smarter and had been more organized. 

Recovery run with 10x100's with Channing.  It felt good to take it easy this morning after the past two days.   

MLR - 12.  7:36 AP.  56 feels like 56.  

I basically started out in the 7:40's and finished in 7:20's with my last mile at 7:09.  I did not take any GU or liquids of any kind on this run.  I've been toying with the idea that training with less carbs will build the body's endurance so that during the race when you take carbs you will receive a true extra boost of energy.  I'm not cutting it completely because I also know you should practice training how you are going to race so that there are no surprises in your digestive tract on race day. 

Recovery run at a nice and easy 8:02 pace.  55 degrees with 94% humidity.  Yuck.  

My legs are a little too sore for this point in the week.  I probably could have run my two MLR's this week a little slower.  

I will try to run smart this week since I have the half marathon tune-up race one week from today.  I'm looking forward to setting a new PR in the half. 

Long run of 17 miles at a 7:32 AP.  57 degrees.  

There was an isolated thunder storm that started to develop at the beginning of this run.  I lucked out and did not get rained on, but the wind was whipping around like crazy from the North.  Fortunately it had died down somewhat towards the latter half of the run. 

I took the Creek trail to the West this morning, which I haven't done in a while because it has been closed for several months.  I knew the wind would not be as bad if I went that way so I decided to risk running on construction.  It turned out to be safe and passable, but there was one muddy spot that coated my shoes in mud that I did not see in the dark. 

Last five miles: 7:22, 7:14, 7:15, 7:11, 6:48.  I felt strong near the end so I finished a little faster. 

VO2 Max workout.  11 miles with 5x1200's.

It was lightly raining and the wind was blowing hard out of the north east.  I made sure that I was running in to the wind as little as possible on the 1200's, which meant that I got a short warmup and a long cool down due to the direction of my out and back route.

2 mile warmup: 7:27, 7:45.

1200's: 4:38, 4:43, 4:42, 4:40, 4:37.

I jogged for quarter miles between repeats, which ended up averaging about 2 minutes of recovery.  This was about the the amount of time it took me to get back to 70% of my maximal heart rate. 

I ended up running 4.25 miles at the end of this workout.  I would have balanced this a little better in ordinary circumstances, but I knew if I didn't get most of the workout done up front I would have been running the 1200's directly in to the 20 mile per hour north winds.

My "cool down" went like this: 8:13, 8:20, 8:15, 7:54.

Recovery 6.75 miles with 6 100's.  

I skipped my MLR yesterday because I felt a weird twingy feeling in my right ankle.  I've got the Aquarium Half on Saturday and I really didn't want any weird injuries cropping up last minute.  This morning I went nice and easy at a 7:55 AP and then ran some 100's at the end.  I can't say I didn't feel the ankle at all, but I only felt it slightly during the last mile.  

I will take it nice and easy tomorrow and hopefully be 100% Saturday morning. 

Recovery run.  Nice and easy 8:12 pace. 

My Garmin malfunctioned somewhere about the one mile mark.  I looked down at my wrist and it was on the clock screen. I had to reconnect to the satellites and start it again.  When I got home the original activity had just been lost, which I thought was really weird.

My right ankle feels much better today than two days ago, but now my lower back feels like I pulled a muscle.  This has been a hard cycle on me, but I'm going to make it.  I'm really looking forward to writing my half marathon PR race report tomorrow!  

The Jenks Aquarium Half Marathon has now officially come and gone.  I am both happy and slightly disappointed.

My goal was to run this in under 1:30:00.  My chip time came in at 1:30:17.  17 seconds is all I missed it by.  The course was a nice flat out and back.  I knew I should have no trouble making my time, but I didn't count on the South wind for the entire 'back' 6.5 miles throwing a wrench in the works.  

Miles 1-5: 6:32, 6:33, 6:33, 6:36, 6:40

I felt really good for the first five miles.  I initially planned on going out in 6:49's and then gradually picking it up depending on how I felt.  When I realized that the wind was blowing from the South I knew I would need to bank as many miles as I could in under 6:49.  That way if I couldn't hack it running in to the wind I would have some breathing room.  

Miles 6-10: 6:44, 6:41, 6:50, 6:56, 6:59

All of these miles were run into the wind, but fortunately there were lots of trees that helped to damper it.  Half way through mile 9 the course veered to the right and headed directly into the south wind.  Miles nine and ten completely through me off my game and I never fully recovered. 

Miles: 11-13.2: 7:07, 7:17, 7:10, 1:42

We finally got a little break from the wind just over halfway through mile 11 as the course changed direction several times from this point until the finish.  There was a hard right turn that went under a bridge at mile 12.  I was running with two other guys and we all ran along the street instead to the sidewalk.  A course marshal directed us back onto the sidewalk, which meant chugging up a grassy hill.  I wonder now that I'm thinking back on this if that isn't what cost me my 17 seconds.  If we had not gotten slightly off course I would not have had to kill my self going up the hill.  Or if I had just stayed on the street until it met back up with the sidewalk I probably also would have had an easier time keeping my pace.  It was not a short cut, just an eventual turn that meant you needed to be on the sidewalk to get to. I talked to others after the race that got caught off guard by this same point in the course.

Conclusion: My watch says that I ran 13.25 miles in 1:30:26 at an AP of 6:49.  6:49 would have been fast enough to make it in under 1:30.  If I had only run a few less tangents I think I would have made it.  

I am thrilled with my time overall.  I took 9:02 off of my previous half marathon time.  That was two years ago so I should have improved quite a bit, but I'm still feeling good.  I will not go in to Oklahoma City lightly.  I will run smart through the taper and hope there is not too much wind to deal with.

Long Run of 20 miles the day after the Jenks Aquarium Half.  7:47 AP.

My legs felt amazingly good until I stopped.  Then I felt my muscles tense up a bit.  Hopefully I can get quality rest today and tomorrow and start healing up well as I head into the taper.

This morning was absolutely beautiful.  This was really the kind of morning that I can't resist.  It was 59 degrees with a slight breeze.  

Recovery run of 4 miles with 5 100's.  

My legs are still very sore from the punishment I put my self through by running 20 on Sunday the day after the half marathon.  In hindsight I should have taken it a little easier.  I hope to wake up tomorrow morning feeling a big improvement.  

MLR - 12.  My legs are feeling much better today, although still not fully recovered.  I'm going to run a recovery run tomorrow.  Today's AP was 7:46.  36 feels like 29.  

I ran into Shane in the middle and ran for about 8 minutes with him.  If I had gone the other direction at the fork I would have run into him a lot sooner.  He ended up chasing me down just like I did to him a couple of weeks ago.  

Recovery run of 5 miles at an 8:12 AP.  My legs are starting to feel more recovered, but I can definitely still feel the aftershocks of last weekend. 

I'm looking to run about an 8 mile general aerobic run tomorrow with some 100's at the end.  

8 miles on a general aerobic run with 10x100's.  50 degrees.  7:42 AP.  

I'm up over 630 miles on my Ravenna 2 shoes now and it's amazing, but they still feel really good.  I may have make the switch completely to Brooks rather than alternating between Brooks and New Balance as I have done for 3 years.  

My quads are feeling much better, but I still feel as though they are recovering from last weekend.  I hope this is all gone after tomorrow, which is my last long run before Oklahoma City. 

17 miles at a 7:35 AP.  54 degrees.  

I began this run still feeling the hangover from last weekend.  I'm starting to feel repetitive saying that on every post this week, but I making sure to clearly document how I'm feeling for future strategy.  I started to feel a little more pep in my step at about the 12 mile mark, which was good because I usually prefer to drop the pace down close to marathon pace on my last five miles of a long run.  Since I was feeling good I decided to go ahead and finish strong. 

My last five miles splits: 7:27, 7:15, 6:50, 6:59, 6:53.

The way that I was able to finish made me feel better about skipping my MLR due to over soreness on Wednesday of this week.  I can feel that my body is going to recover nicely over the course of the next two weeks on the taper. 

Today was a recovery day for me.  It was also marathon Monday.  I was at work and at about 1:00 PM, I got a notification on my phone that there was an explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

As soon as I was able to get to my computer after I was finished working with customers I started checking Facebook to try to find out if the people I knew who were there were safe. This was a tragic day for Boston, the nation, and the running community at large.  My heart goes out to the people whose lives have been touched by this cowardly act.

At the same time I was happy to see the good people on the scene.  Scot Jurek shared an NBC Sports story that reported on runners crossing the finish line and continuing on to the hospital to donate blood to the injured.  The compassion of the running community never ceases to amaze me.   

General aerobic run of 7 miles with 8x100's.  

The north wind was really blowing this morning.  It was 54 degrees.  Garmin says the wind was blowing from the north a 4 mph, but it felt like it was a lot harder than than that.

Taper on!

My last real workout before OK City is done! 8 miles with 3x1 mile repeats. I lucked out because only one of them was partially into the wind. Splits: 6:19, 6:20, 6:22. I jogged for half a mile for my rest between each mile. I'm feeling strong.

 48 feels like 42. 

5 mile recovery run this morning.  Cold!  35 degrees.  8:07 AP. 

I'm recovering from a cold I came down with on Monday.  I feel like maybe I'm experiencing a slight shortness of breath, which is a little bothersome.  I'm just glad there's still 8 full days between now and Oklahoma City.  

Recovery run with 8x100's.  I felt good.  The 100's felt good and easy.  It was 39 degrees, and yet somehow I managed to overdress.  I was soaking wet when I got home.  There was not wind at all.  I can only hope that conditions are very similar to this one week from tomorrow in Oklahoma City.  

My last 13 mile MLR before Oklahoma City.  I am now one week away.  I felt a little bit fatigued for the first 4 or 5 miles, but once I got past the half way point on this run I started to feel more energetic.  It was 52 degrees with a slight sprinkle that felt really nice.  

I'm still questioning the wisdom of running such a hard 20 mile run the day after the Aquarium Half Marathon.  I was thinking this morning that this has been one of my sloppiest most erratic cycles ever.  I have missed at least two mid-week MLR's and I think one weekend long run.  I have been sick twice and gone through a move that wiped me out physically for several days.  The silver lining is that I feel like most of my workouts have been good quality, and I have hit several new PR's on pace runs.  I hop that after one more week of taper my body will be physically renewed and rejuvenated well beyond how I feel this weekend.  

7:35 AP.  Final five splits: 7:19, 7:16, 7:28, 7:17, 7:16, 7:12.

7 mile recovery run.  The north wind was vicious and it was spitting rain at me.  

I'm really glad it was a recovery run and not a workout.  

Dress rehearsal.  7 miles with 2 at marathon pace.  6:57, 6:58.

My legs felt good, but my lower back felt a little tense.  I was wondering if I should have been more diligent about my core exercises this cycle.  I tried a new thing where I did push-ups daily, but I neglected all the other basic core postures.  I'll wait and see how I feel after / during the race.  

Recovery run of 5 miles at a nice and easy pace of 8:09.

I'm starting to really feel the healing pattern of the taper.  I'd love to kick this head cold  turned sinus congestion, but I'm sure by Sunday morning I'll be good.  

5 mile recovery run with 5 100's.  AP 7:45.  I felt a little sluggish for the first mile, but I felt pretty good after that.  I ate my usual bagel egg sandwich and I supplemented it with two pancakes.  I'm going to make sure I get plenty of carbs the last few days before race day.  

Recovery run with an 8:02 AP.  This is it.  The day before the OK City Marathon.  The weather should be perfect at about 52 degrees with out much wind in the forecast.  I'm ready.  

Where to begin?  I set out to BQ this morning.  That did not happen.  I didn't even PR.  I finished in 3:20:37, which is 8:03 slower than Rt. 66 last November.  Let's take it from the top.  

Day Before: In an unusual move for me I was able to take off work on Saturday so I could drive to Oklahoma City to pick up my packet.  This allowed me to get much needed rest the day before the race, which is something I've not done my previous two marathons.  Alisha brought along a pasta dinner for us to eat at the hotel.  Since Ty was sharing our single bedroom we were forced to turn in early since we put him to bed at 8:00.  Of-course I didn't fall asleep right away, and I even got out of bed around 9:30 to eat more pasta.  

Race Morning:  I woke up at 4:00 to being getting ready.  I ate 2/3  of an everything bagel with 3/4 of an avocado.  I slowly began hydrating with water and gatorade.  I also had one cup of coffee.  I went down to the shuttle bus pickup area at my hotel at 5:00.  There was a bus that had just left.  We waited another 33 minutes for the next bus.  As the waiting drew on I began texting Alisha that she may need to get Ty up and come down to drive me to the starting line.  I almost didn't make the next bus because it arrived about half full of people.  I got to the starting line with enough time to wait 25 minutes for a bathroom and make it to my corral about 1 minute before the gun.   

Miles 1-5:  7:08, 7:13, 7:10 , 7:07.  Everything started out according to plan sort of.  I planned on running the first 5 splits in 7:17's.  So I was a little fast, but I felt like I was in a good range here.  I was constantly repeating to myself to stick with the plan and forcing myself to slow down.    

Miles 6-14:  6:55, 6:56, 6:56, 6:53, 6:52, 6:54, 6:55, 6:56, 6:55.  Everything was still dead on with my plan.  This was a portion of the middle segment (miles 6-20) of my plan where I intended on pacing 6:57's.  As can be seen from my actual splits I was completely controlling my pace here.  I ran all the way up North Robinson Ave through Sparrow Park and onto North Harvey Parkway.  I made my way up Classen to lake Heffner without so much as a hiccup.  Somewhere between miles 8 and 10 there was a hill called Gorilla Hill. The spectators were all handing out bananas and acting like gorillas.  It was a lot of fun and was not a problem for me to run.  It felt like it was over half a mile long or more so the elevation change was not that tough for me. Fast forward several miles to the turnaround at the lake at about the start of mile 15.  Heading back South I could fee the wind.  The wind was not actually that bad and not very intimidating.  I felt good and was slowly and very methodically sticking with my plan and gradually starting to pass some other runners at this point,

Miles: 15-20: 7:01, 7:01, 6:59, 7:17, 7:09.  It was during this area that the first cracks in my armor started to show.  On mile 18 there is a bridge that runs over highway 74.  This was the steepest hill I had encountered so far.    But this bridge took a lot out of me.  I finished mile 18 at 7:17.  I think this was hard on me psychologically.  It was a little bit too slow for the range I felt like I could recover from at this point in the race.  When I ran mile 18 in 7:09 I definitely felt better but I was still stinging from not being able to get my pace back down under 7:00.  I could feel the BQ slipping away.  

Miles 21-26.2: 7:52, 8:40, 9:02, 9:09, 9:02, 10:05, .59 in 7:38 (My watch was off some and I did not stop it at the finish)  This seems to be where it all really fell apart as I went from 7:09 to 7:52 from mile 20 to 21.  I can't remember exactly what was going on here, but I do remember I just felt what must have been the last of my glycogen draining out of me.  The temperature starting out was in the low 50's.  I believe I finished the race with it in the low 60s'  It never really felt too warm. The silent killer must have been the humidity.  It was 93%.  I knew something was going on when I felt overly thirsty on the last few miles of aid stations.  I just could not muster any more power at this point.  Forget digging deep.  I felt like I had lost the shovel at this point.  That last mile was unlike anything I've ever experienced.  I felt throbbing muscle spasms in my thighs and calves.  It got so bad I had to stop and walk.  Of-course walking temporarily made it worse.  Eventually it went away and I started running again.  Then it was back and I had to walk again.  I think this throbbing almost debilitating thing happened about 3 times on mile 26.  At one point I actually wondered what it would be like if I just couldn't finish, but I was so close so I really dug my heels in and pushed on.  Then I rounded the final corner to bring the finish line into view.  It did not make any difference.  My legs were just toast and felt like they could at any second just take me to the ground if I pushed too hard.  I must have been passed by 5 or 6 people maybe more between seeing the finish line and crossing it.  This is not something I'm used to.  I've been accustomed to passing others at this point.  

Conclusion:  This was not my slowest time.  That was my first marathon at 3:35:05 in 2010. I still finished 15 of 255 in my age division.  I finished 88 overall.  I have plenty to be happy about if I choose to look at the good things that happened which I will.  I still finished the race in spite of throbbing muscle spasms the likes of which would have brought me to the ground on any other day that I was not running a race.  I learned a little about my self today. It's possible I could have hydrated a little more the day before and the morning of and avoided some of these problems.  It's also possible that this pace was just too much for me with the humidity such that it was.  I ran the Rt. 66 faster in windier and hillier conditions, but in November the humidity was a non-factor.  It's also possible I just missed one or two too many crucial runs this cycle.  I was sick twice and missed a long run when we moved. Life is always going to happen so I'm not going to make excuses, but I think there may have been a few too many interruptions this cycle.  I also felt like I never fully recovered from my 20 mile long, hard run the day after my half marathon.  That in hind sight is something I would have done differently if given the chance.

In the end I finished my third marathon in what I'm going to look at as a respectable time all things considered.   

This was my first run back since the marathon.  I met Kevin at 101st and Garnet and we ran for an hour on the trail towards his house.  

It felt good to wake my legs back up after 8 days of time off.  It was also good to run with Kevin again after several months of conflicting training schedules.  

I've been having a conversation with my friend Shane who is a very experienced runner and recent Boston qualifier from Oklahoma City.  He suggested that I change up my training in order to BQ.  His suggestion was to take the next six months and continue to run 60-70 miles per week and to also run about 4 half marathons.  This would allow me to improve my lactate threshold while also building my racing experience.  The half marathons can be run more often and require little to no recovery.  So my schedule would look like this.  4 half marathons over the next six months.  Then take a couple of weeks to recover and then build back up over six months for the next marathon.  I told him I would look at the idea, but that I had two reservations.  1. I've already signed up for my home town marathon in November.  2. This is the big one.  My work schedule make is difficult for me to run that many races that close together.  It can be hard to find that many half marathons that happen on Sunday that I don't have to travel very far to participate in.  I have to be picky about which Saturdays I take off because I only get a few per year.  If I could find all local races that I could run Saturday mornings before work I could swing it.  I will look to see if this is even feasible, but as of now I feel I will probably stick to plan A and build back up for the fall marathon.  If I don't qualify then, I will try something different. 

Easy 6.  Super humid.  I'm still in recovery mode, but I'm feeling good.   A pretty windy storm blew through last night.  We had 40 mile per hour winds.  The pond outside my neighborhood had piles of trash and debris that must have blow in and collected at each end in the shallow area and on the bank.  

Easy 10.  I think my body feels pretty normal again.  I may try some light speed intervals this week if I'm still feeling good.  It was such a beautiful morning.  

Easy 5.  It's that time of year when it starts to get a little warm outside.  I think I'll run 8 tomorrow with some 100's.  

I ran 9 miles at a steady state pace of 7:42 with 7x100's at the end.  It felt nice and refreshing to run at that pace.  I've had a hard time getting back into it since the bonk in Oklahoma City.  I think I made it through that today.  

 I ran14.52 miles this morning on Riverside with Shane and a few of the other runners from Tulsa Runner. It was nice and breezy, but very humid this morning.

7:53 AP.  74 with 94% humidity.

I ran 8 miles with 6 800's.  I jogged for a quarter mile between each 800.  

The first one felt tough, the next three felt a lot easier, the fifth about killed me, and the sixth was not too bad.

Splits: 3:05, 3:01, 3:01, 3:05, 3:16, 3:05

My jogs in between looked like this: 2:10, 2:08, 2:08, 2:14, 2:18.

I felt good to get a workout in.  This was my first real good workout since OK City.

Easy 6. 52 degrees.  It was nice and cool this morning, which felt great since it has been so warm and humid these past few days.  

General aerobic run.  7:52 AP.  I'm felt good despite being a little bit tired from not enough sleep.  

Recovery run.  7:59 AP.  The temperature felt really nice out this morning at 59 degrees with a breeze.  I'm feeling like I have not had any time to devote to the blog lately.  I'm on vacation next week, so I will catch up with everything then.  

It was a beautiful morning for a 16 mile run.  7:55 AP at 66 degrees.  

I'm excited after a very busy month to take some time off and travel to Branson with my family.  Of-course by time off I in no mean time off from running.  This week I'll be running the hilly streets of Branson. 

My schedule for this week: 

Mon: Rest

Tues: Gen Aer 8

Wed: 3x2 mile tempo

Thurs: 12 MLR

Fri: 35min RR +6x200

Sat RJ 7 miles

Sun: LR 16

Branson, MO.  1:03:32.  7:51 AP.  

We are on vacation this week in Branson, which means I'll be getting plenty of hill workouts.  

Yesterday I took Ty on a go cart track called Wild Woody.  It had four stories of uphill fun.  He kept a pretty serious look on his face most of the time, but I knew he was having fun when I shouted out 'woo-hoo' and he yelled out too. 

I'm looking forward to taking him to Silver Dollar City today.  He will be able to ride a lot more rides than he did last year. 

Branson, MO.  66 degrees. 5:20 AM.  Tempo run 2x3 miles with 2 mile warmup and five minute cool down.  I jogged for 3:15 in between the two 3 miles repeats.  

My average pace 7:24.

First 3 mile set splits:

6:57, 7:02, 7:01

Second 3 mile set splits:

7:05, 7:04, 7:03

I would have done these splits about 10 to 15 seconds faster, but for several factors.  First of all the hills out here are beastly.   Yesterday we spent 8 hours walking and playing with Ty at Silver Dollar City.  Considering all of that this was all I could muster and I'm happy about it.    

Branson, MO.  5:33 AM.  63 degrees.  

Mid week MLR. 7:57 AP. 

My legs felt a little bit heavy today.  I think that's because I've been getting such a good workout in on these hills all week.  I'm looking forward to Riding The Ducks this morning and enjoying a nice glass of wine this evening with my book as our Branson vacation rolls along. 

Branson, MO.

35 minute rhythm run.  Splits: 7:43, 7:31, 7:10, 6:58, 6:47. 

I then recovered by jogging for 1:30. 

I then ran 3 200's with 50 second recovery jogs.  0:44, 0:43, 0:44

Just like my tempo run this week I definitely felt the Branson hills and the fatigue of spending a lot of time sightseeing and playing. 

Long run.  For some reason I did not even hear my alarm clock this morning and I overslept about an hour.  Usually I wake up before my alarm anyway, but I think my body was catching up on sleep from vacation.  I still got 14 miles in before we went to breakfast with Alisha's mom and step dad at Cracker Barrel. It was good.  

2:00 PM.  77 degrees.  Hot and humid.  I worked up a really good sweat today.  General aerobic run.  7:50 AP.  

The storm interrupted my run this morning.  

General aerobic run.  

7 mile run. This was supposed to be 6 at tempo, but the heat put a stop to that. I got one really good warmup mile followed by three fairly decent tempo miles considering the heat (6:31, 6:45, 7:00). The last three felt like junk miles. I had nothing left.

MLR.  I started out planning a 13 mile run, but my 98 degree heat index tempo last night took too much out of me.  I cut this one short.  I almost called Alisha at the 7 mile point and asked her to come pick me up.  I felt exhausted.  

I ran 8 miles this morning.  The breeze felt nice.  I'm still feeling a little fatigued from the hot tempo run on Tuesday night.  It's crazy how much that workout took out of me.  I think I'll run a recovery 5 tomorrow and then go long like normal on Sunday.  

Recovery jog.  My legs felt really worn out.  I was a little surprised.  I hope I am fully recharged for the long run tomorrow.  

14 - LR.  72 degrees. 100%.  

I ran out to Hunter Park and back.  My legs felt a little tired, but I think they will recover nicely after my rest day tomorrow.  Especially since I cut the LR short by 2 miles today. 

The sun rise was absolutely stunning this Father's Day morning.  I'm offered to take Ty running or fishing today.  He just walked into the room and announced he wants to go running.  I'm a proud daddy!  

Tempo - 6.  66 degrees, 100% humidity. 

This was a tempo run with 2 to warm up and six at tempo.  I am not quite up to speed with where I was this spring. 

6:50, 6:41, 6:49, 6:56, 7:11, 6:49. 

That 7:11 was mostly on a slow steady incline, but I need to be better than that.  I need to be able to hold my tempo somewhere near a 6:40.  That is my goal for this cycle.  

The temperature felt nice with the wind from the north this morning keeping things feeling cool. 

MLR - 12.  It was a really nice cool morning.  I ran 12 miles with no liquids of any kind.  I was feeling quite thirsty on those last few miles.  Pace: 8:03.  64 degrees, 100%. 

2 on 1x10 off + 4x200's.  70 degrees, humidity 100%.  

I ran a workout today that I have not run before.  I ran for 2 minutes hard and then jogged really slowly for one minute for rest.  I repeated this ten times.  The 2 minutes on was supposed to be a 3,000 meter race pace, but since I've never raced that distance I set a goal of a little bit faster than my 5k pace (6:16 last August).  

 2 minute splits AP for each: 6:10, 6:13, 6:23, 6:15, 6:11, 6:45, 6:28, 6:26, 6:31, 6:27.

I was only able to run four of them faster than my 5k pace.  I feel a little bit like I'm still in a rut that started somewhere a few weeks before Oklahoma City in late April.   I going to run an easy recovery jog tomorrow and reflect. 

Recovery jog.  8:35 AP.  75 degrees, 94%.  

I really needed this recovery.  Kevin is meeting me tomorrow morning for another easy run.  I hope to be fully refreshed for my long run Sunday.  

8 mile general aerobic run with Kevin.  8:28 AP.  73 degrees, 94%.  

This makes my first 6 day training week sine the Marathon at then end of April.  I finished the week at 56 miles.  My left ankle was feeling a little gimpy this morning when I got out of bed, but I don't think it's anything to worry about.  

16 miles at an 8:32 AP.  My legs felt like jelly this morning and I felt like I lost 5 pounds through sweat.  It was hot and humid.  My last several long runs have averaged closer to 7:55, so I was a little down on my self for feeling so fatigued.  I had to remind myself I worked really hard last week and finished at 56 miles, which was about 26 miles beyond what I'd been average for the week. I had two really good workouts during the week too.  I think I'm probably just experiencing the adjustment from the change.  

Recovery jog.  I did not enough sleep last night to run a tempo this morning and still partially hung over from the hot and humid long run Sunday morning.  So I just went for an easy five mile jog.  

Tempo Run Fail.  I set out to run a 7 mile tempo with a one mile warm up and one mile cool down. 

Splits: 8:07, 6:58, 7:05, 7:11, 7:12, 7:42, 8:29, 8:57, 8:39.  (Temp: 75 degrees)

Only one week ago I ran 6 miles at tempo pace that looked like this:

Splits: 8:11, 8:13, 6:50, 6:41, 6:49, 6:56, 7:11, 6:49, 8:26. (Temp: 66 degrees)

Getting back to the tempo run from today I felt totally exhausted.  I've never felt a workout just fall off a cliff so bad like I did on this one.  I'm going to take a few days off.  The past two mornings I've gotten out of bed my body has felt tired and worn out rather than revived and refreshed.  I think a combination of excess summer heat, lack of proper sleep, and stepping up my training recently has taken a toll.  I think I'll four or five days to get good sleep and let my body recover fully.  I think I'll still have time to get a few good runs in before the Fire Cracker 5k and run a good race. 

After taking 3 days to rest my over-trained body I started back today with a 10 mile long run.  I felt really good and averaged 7:51.  

5 mile recovery jog.  I've been in a rut and did not want to push it this week with the 5k tomorrow.  I felt like I will need all my energy so I skipped my tempo yesterday.  Contrary to the normal work ethic of work harder and get better I'm relying on extra rest this past week to run a better race.  We will see if it pays off.  

We had a beautiful morning for the Firecracker 5K. There was a slight north wind that was nice and cool and the temperature was 70 degrees.  

Although this was not a PR in the 5K for me, I did PR in this particular event which I am pleased with.  I'm going to consider that I came away with a win considering I hit a slump in my training two weeks ago.   

I ended up running a chip time of 19:53 which scored me 4th in my age division.  I was totally unprepared to for the guy that passed me about a quarter mile from the finish.  I saw him cross the finish line, but I was not prepared to catch back up with him.  Had I known he was coming I would have made an adjustment and fought a little harder at the end.  He ended up taking third in my division and beating me by just 9 seconds. 

14 mile long run this morning.  My legs still felt a little sore from the Firecracker 5K on Thursday, but otherwise I felt strong and finished strong.  I'm ready to get back on track this week.  

My Garmin my.  steriously died this morning right as I left the house.  I did have a low battery problem on Sunday about half way through my 14 mile run, but the battery made it all the way.  I charged it on Sunday and put it away.  It should have been fully charged and ready for this morning, but when I grabbed it I noticed it had a blank screen.  When I held the light button down to power it on the batter was so low it had just enough power to come on and then die.  I hope it is not about to completely croak.  

Fortunately I only had an 8 mile aerobic run planned for this morning, which was easy to gauge using the regular stop watch on my phone and my perception of my own 8 minute mile pace in my head.  

I ran until my watch hit 32:30 then I turned around.  I finished in 1:05:20. 

Tempo at 80 degrees.  I hope the heat is what has been holding me back.  I have not been able to hold my pace under 7:00 minute miles for the past few weeks.  

I feel somewhat ok with my pace this morning considering the heat.  

I ran 1 to warmup up and one to cool down.  

Splits: 7:53, 7:09, 7:06, 7:24, 7:12, 7:23, 7:58, 7:17, 9:29.

80 degrees.  My legs felt tired at the start.  I'm not sure if it's the heat or what, but I'm having a tough time maintaining my speed.  My AP was 8:46.  I had a few 9:00 minute miles in there.  

I skipped Friday and Saturday because my legs had been feeling very over trained or something.  I almost decided to skip today and start about a one to two week break from running altogether.  I thought maybe my entire body was in need of a reset.  I'm so glad I went ahead and ran today.  It was a little bit cooler at 73 degrees, and there was this wonderful could cover that kept things cool as the sun came up.  I felt my pace being somewhat difficult to maintain for the first 7 to 9 miles.  I think I average about 8:30 for this part.  I was able to finish my seven of my last eight mile in under eight minutes per mile.  This made me very happy, especially since this was a 17 mile long run.  I have been struggling in my mid-week MLR's to stay around 8 minutes per mile.  I think now that it has just been the heat getting to me. 

AP today of 8:06. 

General aerobic run.  8 miles.  8:22 AP.  72 degrees.  100% humidity.  I sweat just a little bit on this run, and I witnessed the deaths of hundreds of little black bugs on my face, chest, torso, and forearms.  They were really bad this morning. 

It was so humid out I saw girls running with tech shirts in hand having stripped down to sports bras.  I saw older men running shirtless.  Maybe these people were just training for the undie run, but it probably has more to do with the humidity. 

8 mils in 76 degrees at an 7:36 AP.  This took 1:00:51 to complete.

I set out to run a 7 mile tempo that I was supposed to run on Wednesday morning, but work life and other factors have been severely impeding on my training lately.  So I thought having taken two days of unscheduled rest I should be able to nail this tempo.  That did not happen.  I hope it is still the heat, but I'm not feeling like myself these past few weeks.  The power is just not there for me to string together 5 to 7 consecutive miles in under 7:00 minutes a piece.  

Long run.  Beautiful and freakishly cool 64 degrees with nice cool north wind.  

I took the last week off to reset and renew.   I should have run a short easy run yesterday before trying to go long today.  My knees were killing me by ten miles in.  Perhaps trying to run 18 was a bit over ambitious.  I called Alisha to come pick me up just over 14 miles.  I feel good though.  If I'd suffered out those last four miles I probably would have risked injuring myself at worst and at best would not have gotten quality miles in.  

General aerobic run in a hot and humid 80 degrees.  8:31 AP.  

5 mile recovery jog this morning in 83 degrees with high humidity.  

The humidity about knocked me out this morning.  I drank all of my Gatorade and had to refill my bottles at the fountain.  I drank a total of 5 8 ounce bottles, when I usually only drink two.  Sometime I drink three.  

My AP sucked at 8:51, but I think it's partly because of the humidity and partly because I've been taking it easy on mileage during the past few weeks.  So basically I'm not in tip top shape.  

MLR - 11.  8:21 AP, 75 degrees, 81%.  

Mid-week MLR.  13 miles at 8:46 AP.  I felt like I was dragging.  I'm going to need to readjust myself to 55 plus mile weeks again, and get used to it in the heat.  Hopefully it cools off soon.  

Recovery jog.  5 miles in the rain at a nice and easy 8:48 pace. 

Tempo of 9 miles with 4 at tempo pace.  Three warmup and two to cool down.  My tempo pace needs to be about 6:39.  

Actual Splits: 6:51, 6:49, 7:01, 7:14. 

I'm looking at this workout as a success considering it was raining on me the whole time and that I have gone about 4 or more weeks without any type of speed work.  I've also been running considerably lower weekly mileage during that time.  Now it's time to build back up both speed and volume.  

Recovery jog.  5 at an 8:29 AP.  It was an amazingly cool 70 degrees with 94% humidity.

I'm feeling good about this week.  It closed out at 59 miles and feel really good considering I've not been at this volume in several weeks.  

Long run of 15 at an 8:22 AP.  Kevin and his friend Keith joined me for about 4 miles.  

General aerobic run with 10x100's.  70 degrees with 100% humidity.  

MLR - 14.  68 degrees.  Awesome weather.  I also felt really energized this morning.  I wish all mornings were like this.  Especially the long run mornings.  

MLR - 11.  64 degrees. 

It was a beautiful morning and still very humid, but at these temperatures in August I will take it.  

Recovery run.  5 miles at an 8:20 AP.  The temperature was a beautiful 63 degrees.  

Long run.  18 miles.  First 4 with Kevin.  This weather is AWESOME!  It was 64 degrees.  It almost feels like fall.  

I had a really good run.  I ran the first half between 8 and 8:30 pace and the last 6 under an 8:00 minute pace.  I'm feeling strong.  

9 continuous with 5 very uneven tempo splits.  2 to warm up followed by these five: 6:35, 6:45, 6:54, 7:00, 7:12.  Two to cool down.  The last few tempo miles were uphill.

MLR - 78:23 AP.  66 degrees, 100%.  

I met Carl and Larry at two different points along my route today.  The are two really nice guys.

Recovery jog.   

MLR - 12.  I ran in my Brooks Ravenna 2's that have almost 700 miles on them.  I've decided that is my favorite shoe.  It's amazing how light it is and how good it still feels even after 600 miles.  

8:04 AP today.  67 degrees.  I feel strong this week.  I should be in good shape for my pace run on Sunday.  

Recovery jog - 5

Pace run.  The goal was to run 18 miles with the last ten at marathon pace.  The problem was two fold; heat and hills.  73 degrees with 94% humidity.  I also ran towards to Riverside Drive down the Creek Turnpike trail, which seems to be a lot hillier.  The second two miles of the marathon pace portion of the run had 59 and 62 feet of elevation respectivelly.  

I started at 5:35 to meet Kevin and Keith for the first 4 miles.    I probably should have started half an hour earlier like I usually do to get most of the hard miles in before the sun got too high in the sky.  The heat was really getting to me this morning. 

The first 8 miles averaged 8:22 pace. 

The last ten that were supposed to be run at marathon pace ended up averaging a 7:31 pace.

General aerobic run with 10x100's.   The 100's were run in about 20 seconds a piece.  I still felt sore from the pace run on Sunday, but my turnover felt good and I felt strong on the 100's. 

Mid-week MLR. 72 degrees with 100% humidity.  8:20 AP. 

I ran 4 with Shane who advised me to take the day off after the Tulsa Run this year instead of running the 17 on the Advanced Marathoning schedule. 
 

MLR - 10.  77 degress, 94%.  I'm ready for the heat to break. It looks like next week we will be back to lows in the uppers 60's.  

Recovery run of 5 miles.  73, 94%. 

MLR - 15.  73 94%.  Kevin and Keith ran the first three and half miles with me.

I'm so glad I got a recovery week this week.  Being home by 15 after 7:00 on a Sunday morning is very nice.  Now I have a long weekend to relax. 

Tempo of 10 miles with 5 at tempo pace.  64 with 95% humidity. 

I'm feeling much better about myself after this tempo as compared to the last one I did. 

AP for full ten miles was 7:37.

AP for the tempo miles was 6:44.  Since my goal was to run 6:39 on those tempo miles, I'm feeling good about where I'm at.  The cooler temperature helped.   

MLR - 14.  66 degrees, 83%.  I ran about 4 with Shane.  8:19 AP. 

My legs felt pretty flat after the tempo yesterday.  After I got past the first few miles I felt better. 

Recovery - 5.  8:36 AP. 

MLR - 11.  66, 83%. 8:09 AP. 

I got an early start this moring at 4:43.  I was home by 6:14.  It's going to be a long day at work with a merchant meeting before we open. 
 

Recovery run.  7 miles with 10x100's. 

Long run - 21.  The temperature started out at 80 and finished somewhere around 72.  I started at 4:30 because I knew this was going to take me close to three hours.  I finished in 2:54:14 with an AP of 8:18. 

I really felt like I was dragging on the first half.  There are some pretty tough hills at miles 13, 14, and 19.   I was not sure I was going to be able to negative split as I was traversing those, but somehow I pulled it off.  I ran the first half in 87:25 and the second half in 86:39.

I compared this to my the 21 mile run I did on September 2nd, 2012, and was not so pleased to see that my time then was a bit faster.  I broke it down by first 11 miles and last 10 miles.  It may have been a little bit warmer according to the temperature log, so I'm gong to say that played the biggest role.     

                         Sept. 2012              Sept. 2013

AP                            8:10                  8:17

first 11 AP                8:20                  8:19

last 10 AP                 7:56                 8:15

Temperature             70                      75

Elevation Gain          860                   537

I'm not sure that I trust this elevation data.  I ran a different portion of the Creek trail system that feels so much hillier than the portion I ran last year.  I'm probably over analyzing this considering it is just a simple long run and not a tempo or pace run. 

6:17 AM.  Recovery - 6.  8:08 AP.  68 degrees.

This was the first of a doubler.  I will run another 4 miles the evening. 

4:03 PM.  Recovery - 4. 8:11 AP.  95 degrees.

My legs felts about 65% on this second part.  I think I'm still recovering from the 21 miler on Sunday.  I also could have done without the 95 degrees.  Tomorrow I plan on taking it real easy on my 14 MLR.  I need to be 100% for my tempo on Friday.  I really need to hit my goal splits going into this phase in the cycle. 

MLR - 12.  I was supposed to run 14, but I injured my right ankle somehow so I ended up cutting it two miles short.  I didn't injur it on this run.  I think something happened on the long run on Sunday, and it wasn't totally healed by the time had the double workout yesterday.  

6:00 AM - My first run back since last Wednesday.  I took a full five day break from the pain I felt in my right ankle half way through my long run on Wednesday.  I was a little worried the first day, but when I realized it was healing up nicely by day three I knew I would be back this week.  I didn't feel a thing this morning, but of-course I took it real easy at an 8:40 pace. 

I'll see how I feel thoughout the day.  If I feel good I will run my 4 mile second part this afternoon. 

5:17 PM - 4 nice and easy recovery miles.  This run felt nice except for the 88 degree temperature.  I should be good to go for my MLR tomorrow morning.  My ankel feels 100%. 

Recovery - 6.  I think my ankle is still taking some time to heal.  I thought it was fully healed two days ago, but after my runs on Tuesday I noticed it felt a little tender that night and the next morning.  So I skipped my MLR on Wednesday.  Hopefully it will be healed enough to run 13 tomorrow morning. 

13 miles this morning in 1:36:15 for an average pace of 7:24. I'm feeling good.

7 recovery with 6x100's.  The 100's felt nice on sore legs. 
 

Marathon Pace Run.  54 degrees.  Beautiful weather.

While technically I accomplished my goal of run 4 miles to warm up followed by 12 at marathon pace, I'm not sure how I feel about this workout.  I averaged 7:02 for the final 12 miles, which puts me exactly 1 second under my 7:03 absolute slowest time needed for the marathon.  The reason I don't feel awesome is because I compared this to the last time I ran this workout on the previous cycle and I averaged 6:54 on those last 12 miles. 

Should I be worried?  I'm not quite sure.  I missed my last tempo run one week ago Friday because my ankle was injured.  I eased back into running after 5 days off and ran a pretty fast MLR on Friday, which was quite a bit faster than the same workout on the last cycle.  Maybe that had an effect on my energy levels for the pace run this morning.   

I think that if I can nail my next pace run and my remaining tempo runs, and then run a sub 60 minute Tulsa Run I will be in position to shoot for a 3:05 in November. 

General aerobi run - 9 miles.  My legs still felt a little sore from the pace run on Sunday, but overall I felt good.  I averaged 8:08 on this run.  It was a cool 57 degrees. 

VO2 Max: 8.5 miles with 6x800's. 

3 miles warmup. 

6x800's:  3:04, 3:08, 3:16, 3:02, 3:06, 3:16

2.5 miles cool down. 

My goal pace for the 800's was 3:05.  I didn't quite make that, but it is worth noting that the third and sixth repeats were on hills. 

Recovery run - 6 miles.

11 - MLR.  64 degrees.  7:36 AP. 

I'm starting to feel the speed come back a little bit.  My last couple of MLR's have been averaged in the mid to low 7:00 minute pace as opposed to the low 8:00 minute pace.  I'm going to focus on quality tempo runs and try to keep my MLR's in the 7:00 minute range.  If I'm feeling good I will occassionally dip below 7:00 on the last mile or two of my LR's and MLR's as I finish out these last 8 weeks until the marathon. 

General aerobic run with 11x100's.  7:57 AP.

I felt reasonably strong this morning.  I thought I was going to have to call it off when I stepped outside and my right ankle started hurting just walking down the driveway.  I decided to start anyway and as soon as I started running the feeling went away. 

My lower back felt a little stiff from when I put Alisha's bike back up on the wall mount last night.  This was the first time I gotten it down sice we moved in the new house in February.  The wall mount is very high and the first time I hoisted the bike up I lost my balance and it came crashing down over me forcing me into a back bend position.  Hopefully the sore spot in my back heals up before the long run tomorrow. 

On the 100's I felt pretty good.  I averaged about 20 seconds on each one and I averaged about 30 seconds of jogging rest between them.  I'm finishing the week at 58 miles. 

MLR - 15.  7:39 AP.  55 degrees.  100% Humidity. 

There was a really heavy fog like I've never seen in my area this morning.  When I got to my turn around at 7.5 miles I looked up and noticed the the fog was completely gone and I could see the moon again.  At first I thought that the fog had lifted, but after I had gone about 2 miles back towards the East I was completely ensconced in it again.  For some reason I found it amusing that I had acutally run out of and then back into the fog.   

My last six splits: 7:28, 7:26, 7:14, 7:18, 7:11, 6:36

General aerobic run.  Today was supposed to be a doubler, but I have way too much on the plate for that to happen.  I was supposed to do 6 this morning and 4 this afternoon, but I decided to compromise on the miles and run 8 this morning and skip this afternoon.  The time saved from not having to change clothse, shower, log mileage, etc for a second time today will save me an enormous amount of time. 

My legs are feeling really great right now.  I only ran 15 on Sunday, but I ran the last four miles at 7:14, 7:18, 7:11, 6:36.  I'm feeling like my recovery time is definitely in a good place right now.  I have a 15 MLR tomorrow, 6 on Thurs, followed by an important tempo run on Friday for 12 with 7 at a tempo pace of 6:20.  I'll be curious to see how well I can do since I was injured two weeks ago and had to miss my last tempo that was the building step to this one. 

Alisha and I just finished our October budget, she is now at the salon, and I am on my way to get my oil changed.  After we pick up Ty from school she will still need to make a big grocery shopping trip before we go to back to school night tonight at Ty's school.  A lot is going on today. 
 

Mid-week MLR.  8:17 AP.  I ran into Shane about 8.5 miles in and he ran back to 81st with me, which worked out ot about five miles. 

The humidity was dreadful this morning.  I felt completely drained of energy and my sore throat is not making this any easier.  That's my complaining for the day.  Other that that I had a good run.  There was a nice cool breeze from the South that felt awesome at times.