Pokey 20

My Treo 650 still has a dead battery so Pokey is filling in for me today.

My little wire-filled orange legs got a good workout this morning. Started my run (10 miles out and 10 miles back) with Bill (from his house) at 6:40 AM.

Technically I started out with a nice trot and then worked up to an easy canter or lope. Since this was 20 miles I'd be incorrect to state I ever actually worked up a gallop, but near the end it sure seemed that way even though my legs felt like plastic instead of rubber...a little rubbery once I was done.

The weather being about 40 was also helpful too. As you know rubber gets a little stiff in cold weather.

Considering that someone needs to hand bend my legs for each movement, the 3 hours 17 minutes and 29 seconds for our 20 mile run wasn't too bad.

Holiday 14

Post-Thanksgiving it was time for a 14 mile run to work off a bit of turkey and dressing.

A lovely temperature of 38 F with sun and no wind for my 7:36 AM start. Only one slight glitch was that my running partners set a 7 AM start and we're already down the trail. I was awake at 6 AM, but for some reason thought we were running at 7:30.

Since I knew the out and back route, I figured I'd meet up with them as they headed back. Legs were a little stiff the first few miles since I hadn't run since doing 18 on Sunday.

My pace bounced around from 8:43/mi to 9:14/mi through the first 6 miles until I met up with Bill and Jeff. They'd completed 8 miles by this time. Our next many miles our pace bounced from 9:48/mi down to 7:58/mi for mile 12 as they finished they're 14. I still needed 2 more miles so I continued on down the trail for a mile out and back. I finished the last two miles at 8:50/mi pace with a chocolate milk from Bill waiting RIGHT at mile 14!

Overall run was excellent. 2:07:06 for 14 miles for a 9:05/mi avg pace. This pace kept the 1/2 marathon distance under 2 hours which is the Disney World goal.

6 weeks from tomorrow is the 1/2 marathon race!

Not sure why my picture turned out so green (stuntman) ...maybe because my phone ran out of juice.

2x Long

Yesterday Bill and I completed 14 miles so this morning was the actual "long" run of 18 miles. We're doing back to back long runs since we're training up for Disney's Goofy Challenge in January.

The sun wasn't quite up when we started at 6:37 AM. The temp was around 32F again with a breeze. It felt a bit cold wearing shorts, but we had our ears covered and layers of shirts.

My legs were tired after running 14 miles yesterday, but they weren't hurting just tired. Greeted by a hill only 1/2 mile into the run, ok my legs were sore.

Our pace about 9:15/mi for the first 6 miles, but then slowed as we completed 14 miles in 2:13:00 compared to yesterday's 2:08:28. We finally realized that the breeze was actually a 12 MPH wind at 32F and high humidity. No wonder my face was numb.

We completed the 18 miles in 2:53:43 by visualizing the chocolate milk waiting for us at Bill's house.

A character building run today. I was done at 14, but we did 18!

...chocolate milk was delicious.

Nippy 14

It's Saturday so it's a 14 mile run day!

Bill and I headed up the local trail at 6:30 AM on the first of two longer runs this weekend. The temp was around 32 F, but no wind. Sun was starting to rise.

We did a 7 mile out and back. The first mile was at a 9:00/mi pace, but we slowed down to a 9:20/mi avg pace as we chatted through the first 12 miles. Kicked into an 8:10/mi pace for the final two miles to finish 14 miles in 2:08:28.

Yes that's frost on my hat!

Back to Black

Back to the Midwest and cooler temps than 97 F in Hollywood last week!

This evening was a track workout. I did three sets of 1/2 mile runs at a faster pace than I've been running.

1. I'm guessing my first 1/2 mile was 3:20, but user error operating my Garmin watch.
2. My second 1/2 was 3:30.
3. My third 1/2 was 3:47.

Overall I ran, jogged and walked around the track for 3.5 miles at an overall 9:11/pace.

Umm, yes it was dark out. Yes I had to climb the fence to get to the track. A different workout than normal. It was fun!

HOLLYWOOD!

Beverly Hills

After some nice runs in Monterey, CA, I was seen running through Beverly Hill last week.

Running in Monterey Bay

Saturday 14

It's Saturday so that means it's a 14 mile day!

I had a lovely 7 mile out and back (down and up) from Monterey to Pebble Beach. Temps in the 60s with a nice breeze. It would be easy to stay fit in weather like this.

I packed my fuel belt for this trip or a 2 hour+ run wouldn't be a good idea without some water. Though I never got hot, I drank the 20 oz by mile 12. Refillled for a few more gulps when I was done.

For lunch I drank two big ice teas and a qt of milk.

Monterey Run

Hadn't run since Sunday's 14 miles so it felt great to get back to running. I'm planning to run a bunch of days in a row while out in California.

Lovely weather today and a nice 7 1/2 mile run from Monterey to Pacific Grove and back along the water. A little mist in the air. Temps in the 60s. Awesome views!