Bye, bye June

Day 298 - June 30, 2008

The streak has survived another month. June has come and gone without much fanfare. Today was a nearly perfect summer morning. The sun was rising behind high white clouds, the temperature was as low as can be expected for June, and traffic was light as I ran the back roads through farm country. Not a bad way to start a week.

Day: 298 Time/Date: 7:25 AM 5/3/2008 Weather: Clear, 66F
Run: Beazly Miles: 5.1 Time: 38:53 Pace: 7:37 min/mile
Miles to Date: 967.4 Total Running Time: 118:36:15

A chilly 87F

Day 297 - June 29, 2008

Normally 87 would seem pretty hot for an afternoon run. but after yesterday, it was actually not that bad. I intentionally went for a shorter run today so that I would be ready for a longer run in the morning - we'll see if I can actually pull that off on a Monday morning. Stay tuned...

Day: 297 Time/Date: 6:15 PM 6/29/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 87F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:18 Pace: 7:09 min/mile
Miles to Date: 962.3 Total Running Time: 117:57:22

That run was HOT

Day 296 - June 28, 2008

Man - 100F is hot. It's been a long time since I ran in the triple digits. To help stay cool, I tried to run in the shade and even thought I was only out for 23 minutes, I stopped three times to cool off. I should have forced myself to get out before 6 this morning but I didn't make it. This will be incentive to get up early tomorrow.

Day: 296 Time/Date: 4:15 PM 6/28/2008 Weather: Sunny, 100F
Run: TL 3.1 Miles: 3.1 Time: 22:54 Pace: 7:23 min/mile
Miles to Date: 960.3 Total Running Time: 117:43:04

Finally Friday

Day 295 - June 27, 2008

Not much to say - just a slow morning run.

Day: 295 Time/Date: 6:30 AM 6/27/2008 Weather: Partly Cloudy, 69F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 27:12 Pace: 7:33 min/mile
Miles to Date: 957.2 Total Running Time: 117:20:10

Drama aint all bad

Day 294 - June 26, 2008

One benefit to having a rough day or something on your mind is that the run gives you the perfect opportunity to play out different scenarios in your head. The thing I most like about that is that I forget about the run and the miles just tick away. Today I finished the run and could barely remember any of it. I guess all the drama yesterday had some benefit.

Day: 294 Time/Date: 6:30 AM 6/26/2008 Weather: Partly Cloudy, 67F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 26:12 Pace: 7:17 min/mile
Miles to Date: 953.6 Total Running Time: 116:52:58

Overslept

Day 293 - June 25, 2008

Just a quick run since I slept too late to get in what I wanted to run today and still get to work on time. Today was another perfect weather morning. It was nice.

Day: 293 Time/Date: 7:15 AM 6/25/2008 Weather: Clear, 59F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:06 Pace: 7:03 min/mile
Miles to Date: 950 Total Running Time: 116:26:46

Perfect Morning

Day 292 - June 24, 2008

It was pretty easy to get outside this morning. The skies were crystal, clear blue and the sun was casting golden beams down between the trees. The humidity was seemed to be near zero. I stopped to stretch at the near end of Davis Road and was amazed at how quiet it was. The air was so still and all that could be heard was the occasional bird singing and of course the distant bellows of an angry cow, but almost no human noise anywhere. As a bonus, when I reached the far end of Davis, there were seven deer lazily grazing int he hay field. I stopped to watch them for a moment until they decided they had enough and trotted off. It was a very relaxing way to start what is sure to be another hectic day.

Day: 292 Time/Date: 6:40 AM 6/24/2008 Weather: Clear, 58F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 26:32 Pace: 7:22 min/mile
Miles to Date: 948 Total Running Time: 116:12:40

Before the Thunder Rolls

Day 291 - June 23, 2008

Was fortunate enough to get out early this morning and run before work - well it was almost a run. I was pretty tight for the first two miles and then was done. I didn't expect much after the longer run last night, but I'm glad I didn't wait for the thunderstorms to roll in this evening.

Day: 291 Time/Date: 7:05 AM 6/23/2008 Weather: Clear, 67F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:12 Pace: 7:36 min/mile
Miles to Date: 944.4 Total Running Time: 115:46:08

Run through the woods

Day 290 - June 22, 2008

Yesterday was a great morning to run and the weather was great. I really enjoyed having the time to sleep in a bit then not have to rush out and get in my miles as quick as possible. I also enjoyed getting the run done in the morning so that I didn't have to try and fit the run in between thunderstorms.

Today, I waited until the evening to run. Because I was already out and about, I went over to Spring Hill and ran the back roads through the woods. The overhanging leaves and gravel surfaces brought a nice change from the asphalt and crowded houses that line my normal running routes. I'm going to try and make a point of going over there more often and take advantage of the lack of traffic and solitude that this route offers.




Day: 289 Time/Date: 8:30 AM 6/21/2008 Weather: Clear, 65F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 26:22 Pace: 7:19 min/mile
Miles to Date: 936.9 Total Running Time: 114:49:11

Day: 290 Time/Date: 7:15 PM 6/22/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 75F
Run: SH-Bridges Miles: 5.5 Time: 41:45 Pace: 7:35 min/mile
Miles to Date: 942.4 Total Running Time: 115:30:56

Sunny Morning

Day 288 - June 20, 2008

Finally got out of bed early enough to run before work. The payoff was a beautiful morning. There was just enough mist in the air that the sunbeams coming through the trees radiated down like tiny spots lights selectively lighting the ground below.

I still hate that it takes me at least a mile to warm-up. My first mile was 7:45, followed by 6:45 to finish. I guess I just need to run more miles to make that average pace come down.

Day: 288 Time/Date: 6:50 AM 6/20/2008 Weather: Clear, 53F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:37 Pace: 7:18 min/mile
Miles to Date: 933.3 Total Running Time: 114:22:49

Grammar lesson - gotta love the Google

Day 287 - June 19, 2008

I figured I wouldn't bore everyone (why stop now) with yesterdays 1 mile treadmill run. Somehow yesterday got away from me and it was 10 o'clock and I still hadn't run. Oh well. One mile is still farther (further?) than a lot of people ran yesterday.

Today was a little better, but having to mow the lawn first really took the energy out of my legs. I'm starting to feel a little better on the hills and by next week I'll have all that Florida flat land running out of my system.


Day: 286 Time/Date: 10:20 PM 6/18/2008 Weather: Indoor, 73F
Run: Treadmill Miles: 1.0 Time: 06:26 Pace: 6:26 min/mile
Miles to Date: 927.8 Total Running Time: 113:41:51

Day: 287 Time/Date: 8:10 PM 6/19/2008 Weather: Clear, 70F
Run: Geranium-Amicus Miles: 3.5 Time: 26:21 Pace: 7:32 min/mile
Miles to Date: 931.3 Total Running Time: 114:08:12

Quite the contrast

Day 285 - June 17, 2008

Today's weather could not have been prettier - low humidity, low 80's, light breeze. The damage from yesterday's storm was quite amazing. Today I ran through areas that looked like a tornado came through and snapped trees like Popsicle sticks. Fortunately, it looks like all the trees in our neighborhood missed power lines and houses and the damage from the hail was minimal.

Being back from FL, the hills (even the small ones) are slowing my pace. On the way out today I felt like I was running in slow motion. It was a little better on the way back, but I think that has more to do with the general downhill trend. Anyway, enough whining - I'll bounce back in a few days.

Day: 285 Time/Date: 6:20 PM 6/17/2008 Weather: Clear, 81F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 26:02 Pace: 7:14 min/mile
Miles to Date: 926.8 Total Running Time: 113:35:25

And the Thunder Rolls

Day 284 - June 16, 2008

Severe Thunderstorms rolled through today and I got out to survey the damage. With all the trees down and waiting to be cut up, I decided to only go 2 miles. Our house took some damage from the golf ball size hail that pelted the side of our house. I'm thankful it wasn't worse.

Day: 284 Time/Date: 6:30 PM 6/16/2008 Weather: Clear, 79F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:42 Pace: 7:51 min/mile
Miles to Date: 923.2 Total Running Time: 113:09:23

Return of the Hills

Day 283 - June 15, 2008

Back in VA, it was time to get back to running on hills. There was a lot to do after the 18 hour car ride home yesterday and not getting to bed until 3 am made it a tough day. I finally boxed out some time at 8:00 to get a two mile recovery run in. Basically I just wanted to stretch out the legs and get ready for the coming week.

It was good to be back home. Even with the temperature in the 80's, it felt cooler without the FL humidity and sun.

Vacations are usually very bad for me with respect to running. The streak kept me focused and I still managed to get out each day. The 25 miles I ran in Florida was a nice jump start to my summer running and a big leap from the 15 a week I've been doing. So, with less than 3 weeks to 300 days, I don't have any anticipated roadblocks.

Time/Date: 7:50 PM 6/15/2008 Weather: Clear, 82F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:30 Pace: 7:45 min/mile
Miles to Date: 921.2 Total Running Time: 112:53:41
>

Last Day in FL

Day 282 - June 14, 2008

Early morning run to keep the streak alive before the long drive back. It has been a great week - wish it was going to last longer.

Day: 282 Time/Date: 7:00 AM 6/14/2008 Weather: Clear, 72F
Run: Caloosa Creek Loop Miles: 2.1 Time: 15:18 Pace: 7:17 min/mile
Miles to Date: 919.2 Total Running Time: 112:38:11

South Florida is Hot

Day 281 - June 13, 2008

Somehow 81 felt a lot hotter today than yesterday. With today being the last full day in Florida, I decided to go longer than I have previously this week. I do like the flat roads here in Ft. Myers and I'm sure I will not enjoy the hills when I get back, bt it will be nice to return to some more normal temperatures. It has been a good week of running. I'll just have to run a short run before we pile back in the car tomorrow and the streak will have survived a week of vacation.

Day: 281 Time/Date: 9:00 AM 6/13/2008 Weather: Clear, 81F
Run: Iona Run Miles: 5.1 Time: 37:21 Pace: 7:19 min/mile
Miles to Date: 917.1 Total Running Time: 112:22:53

Late Start

Day 280 - June 12, 2008

Slept in this morning - have to do that at leat once on vacation. But, that meant the temperature was a lot higher than yesterday. I'll use that as my excuse for running slow.

Day: 280 Time/Date: 9:10 AM 6/12/2008 Weather: Clear, 81F
Run: Ft Myers Miles: 3.6 Time: 28:10 Pace: 7:49 min/mile
Miles to Date: 912 Total Running Time: 111:45:32

Early 5K

Day 279 - June 11, 2008

Got out a little early this morning to give more time for the hours of fun we have planned. A fat 5K with very little wind meant the pace was a little quicker despite not really ever loosening up.

Day: 279 Time/Date: 6:50 AM 6/11/2008 Weather: Clear, 71F
Run: JohnMorris-Summerlin Miles: 3.1 Time: 22:00 Pace: 7:06 min/mile
Miles to Date: 908.4 Total Running Time: 111:17:22

Before it gets hot and storms

Day 278 - June 10, 2008

Easy early morning run before a day of traveling and dolphin touring. My pace seems pretty consistent on these flat Florida roads.


Day: 278 Time/Date: 7:50 AM 6/10/2008 Weather: Clear, 74F
Run: Alien Loop Miles: 2.6 Time: 18:52 Pace: 7:15 min/mile
Miles to Date: 905.3 Total Running Time: 110:55:22

Running on Vacation

Day 277 - June 9, 2008

Internet access has been limited this week, but I wanted to give an update before anyone thinks I failed to continue the streak.

Thursday was a short run trying to recover from the limited sleep, but I managed 2 miles after work. I then got back up early on Friday and ran another 2 miles before work because we wanted to get an early start on our vacation driving.

We drove until about 1 am Friday night, found a hotel, and grabbed a few hours of sleep. The running clothes were buried deep in the trunk of the car so I had to hold off on the run until we reached our final detination. So after 18 hours of driving, we got to Ft. Myers and I immediately had to go out for a run. Yeah, that was fun.

Sunday was better. I slept until about 7:30 and made it out to run around 8 before it got too hot. The humidity here is pretty high, but the lack of hills compensates for that pretty well. On a side note, went on a kayak tour on Sunday afternoon - beautiful and sunny - that is until wee were almost a mile from the dock and the bay decided to lift into the sky and come down on our heads!!! We checked the radar on weather.com when we got back...it went from nothing, to light green, to dark read in about 5 minutes. Our gear satyed pretty dry under the helm, but we were soaked - it was a blast. Amazing how much faster you can paddle when you think you are about to be capsized.

Today's run was ok - the sun was beating down pretty hard, but it was a good loop. Even the sorness from paddling yesterday wasn't that bad. I've identified a few loops I can do here - thanks gmap-pedometer.com - and I'll be trying to stretch out the distances I run. One day I'm going to run down to the beach, swim, and run back - should be fun.

Day: 273 Time/Date: 8:00 PM 6/5/2008 Weather: Clear, 84F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:22 Pace: 7:41 min/mile
Miles to Date: 891.6 Total Running Time: 109:15:34

Day: 274 Time/Date: 6:30 AM 6/6/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 73F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:32 Pace: 7:46 min/mile
Miles to Date: 893.6 Total Running Time: 109:31:06

Day: 275 Time/Date: 7:20 PM 6/7/2008 Weather: Clear, windy, 93F
Run: Caloosa Creek Loop Miles: 2.1 Time: 14:51 Pace: 7:04 min/mile
Miles to Date: 895.7 Total Running Time: 109:45:57

Day: 276 Time/Date: 8:10 AM 6/8/2008 Weather: Clear, 78F
Run: Caloosa Creek Loop Miles: 3.4 Time: 24:38 Pace: 7:15 min/mile
Miles to Date: 899.1 Total Running Time: 110:10:35

Day: 277 Time/Date: 8:10 AM 6/9/2008 Weather: Clear, 79F
Run: McGregor Loop Miles: 3.6 Time: 25:55 Pace: 7:12 min/mile
Miles to Date: 902.7 Total Running Time: 110:36:30

Flashbacks to what started this nonsense

Day 272 - June 4, 2008

I'm working on two straight nights of photographic sleeplessness. Needless to say, my running tonight was dog slow. I think it was this type of sleep deprived insanity that lead to me not running much in the summer last year. Ughhhh! I guess I should go back and watch the video.

Day: 272 Time/Date: 8:45 PM 6/4/2008 Weather: Cloudy, Humid, 70F
Run: TL 1.3 Miles: 1.3 Time: 10:32 Pace: 8:06 min/mile
Miles to Date: 889.6 Total Running Time: 109:00:12

Rain I wasn't expecting

Day 271 - June 3, 2008

Completely forgot that the misses had to go out this evening and I worked way too late. Got home with just enough time for a 2 miler - problem was it was pouring rain. Fortunately it didn't last long and the run wasn't too bad - slow, but not bad. I'm starting to think that Dahlia run is actually longer than 2 miles.

Day: 271 Time/Date: 6:40 PM 6/3/2008 Weather: Rain, 73F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:38 Pace: 7:49 min/mile
Miles to Date: 888.3 Total Running Time: 108:49:40

Easier than yesterday

Day 270 - June 2, 2008

Just another run on a warm evening. It was easier to get out and run just from thinking about yesterday's video.

Day: 270 Time/Date: 6:15 PM 6/2/2008 Weather: Clear, 85F
Run: Short Ncarnation-Davis Miles: 3.5 Time: 24:50 Pace: 7:06 min/mile
Miles to Date: 886.3 Total Running Time: 108:34:02

Don't I feel small now

Day 269 - June 1, 2008

Yesterday, I barely squeaked in a run and today I was not motivated to run at all. I was laying on the couch, thinking of 100 excuses to just end the streak, wondering if anyone would really care if I failed to make even 300 days. Then, the wife calls me over to show me this video...the video is a result of a simple request from a son to his father...Dad, let's do an Ironman...Needless to say I got my lazy ass off the couch and ran three times as far as I was even considering. Hard to be a crybaby after watching that...make sure you watch the whole thing - it is worth it.



Day: 268 Time/Date: 4:30 PM 5/31/2008 Weather: Clear, 90F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:31 Pace: 7:15 min/mile
Miles to Date: 879.5 Total Running Time: 107:44:50

Day: 269 Time/Date: 8:00 PM 6/1/2008 Weather: Clear, 72F
Run: Davis Run Miles: 3.3 Time: 24:22 Pace: 7:23 min/mile
Miles to Date: 882.8 Total Running Time: 108:09:12