6.3 miles

Phot0: from mile 3 on map below.

Today I ran 6.3 miles (no water, no calories). I did and out and back. I'm not a big fan of out and back but I'm running in a new area for me. The pace was decent for how well I felt and for how cold it was (20's). The sickness (a bad cough) is still here. I'm ready for it to leave.

4.4 miles (Friday)

Yesterday I ran 4.4 miles. The sickness lingers and the running is slow. Ran mainly just to keep from losing whatever fitness I have.

1 hour: warm up and hill repeats

Tonight I did a warm up run of about two miles and then spent the rest of my time (1 hr) doing hill repeats up the water towel hill behind the complex. It was a good workout. The sickness lingers.

5 mile run: The sickness

Today I ran 5 miles, the Starbucks run. Our family has been fighting the "sickness" for about a week now. I still don't feel great but was sick of not running. I'm not sure if running today was the best thing to do but ran because I was sick of not running outside.

5 treadmill miles (Friday)

Friday I did a slow five miles on the treadmill. What fun.

5 miles: Another day another dog

I did the standard 5 mile run today (full time kid duty starts later today). Got chased by another dog. A trash can lid nearby provided a great weapon. I'm glad we don't live in the wild west but think a 6 shooter would come in handy with these dogs.

Franklin, TN: Top small town to get chased by a dog in.

23.2 miles: Not a new plan

Today I ran 23.2 miles (1.8 liters of water, 400 calories). I have not run since the last 20+ mile run. This is not new running plan - running 20 miles once a week. Wednesday was a huge work day but that wrapped up a major project. I should have more time moving forward, but not this weekend and coming week as again I am on full time kid duty.

22.1 miles: Hold on to both ends

(Photo above taken around mile 16 on map below)

Today I ran 22.1 miles (1.8 liters of water and about 500 calories). I only now remembered the marathon was less than two weeks ago. Oh well, I wanted to do a long run so I did. Plus I was thinking more about this weekend when I will be on full time kid duty (=no outside runs).

The key to long runs is to set a distance or time goal at one end and then hang on till the other end of the run. The same can be said about dog leashes. They really only work when the human or a post is on one end and the dog is on the other.

Two medium size mutts ran after me today in a park, one was maybe just along for the fun but the other was after me for sure. I got mad and turned the tables on them. I almost got a good kick into the mean one. They took off back to the human. Both dogs had a leash on, but nobody was on the other end.

7.5 mile mole run

Today I ran 7.5 miles around town. Busy work schedule kept me from running too much. Working hard, but not as hard as this mole. This mole hill extends beyond what is shown here.

The goal is to work hard today and tomorrow and do a really long run Friday. If I can't wrap up a work project by Friday morning early, Friday will be a short run too.

5 miles in the rain: Year of "Speed"

A good 5 mile run this morning in the rain. I kept a fast pace during the run.

I'm making this year (till the end of the next philly marathon) the year of speed. I'm going to focus on getting faster. Last year I focused on running my first Ultra and doing two marathons in 5 weeks. This year I'll likely do the same races and thus will focus on doing them faster*. This is not an all out attempt at going as fast as possible. I'm still not a fan of speed work and the goal is to have fun in training not just on race day. However, I will try to increase the pace of all runs and keep the pace closer to the front of my mind on runs.

*Doing the ultra faster is only a goal if the weather is the same or better. It was lower 70s and overcast. If it's sunny and warmer, the goal will be just to finish. Last year two or three days after the ultra it was in the upper 80's and humid.

5 mile run

Today I did the Starbucks 5 mile run. No soreness felt during the run and my pace was fine. When I stopped my legs did feel more tired than normal but not bad. Recovery from the marathon is on pace. Soreness was gone by Friday morning.

Up next: Sunday 5 mile run.

Coming week: two 8-12 mile runs.

26.2 Miles Sunday (Philly Marathon)

Sunday I ran 26.2 miles in the Philly Marathon. My time was 4:40:52. So about 2 1/2 mins faster than my last Marathon, not too much faster but faster. I guess I'm not thrilled with my result but not upset with it either.

It's possible I ran the first half too fast as I ran the first half with an average pace of about 10 and my overall pace was 10.42. My legs are rather sore today, likely from pushing the first half and having to hang on to beat my last marathon time.

Marathon review: This year saw improvements in the area of porta-potties as I believe there were more but took a step backwards in t-shirts and cups. I got the wrong t-shirt in my bag (half-marathon) and two water stations were out of cups. They poured water into our hands.

Up next: Training for Strolling Jim Ultra in the spring and maybe the same two marathons in the fall. I may take off until this Saturday.

5 miles and marathon pace plan.

I did the Starbucks run today without the iPhone. The danger of major rain kept the iPhone inside. Good run.

The marathon plan is to stick with the 4:30 pace group for 20 miles and then try to finish anywhere from 4:27-4:40. A 4:30 finish would be about 30 seconds faster per mile than my last marathon and the fastest I have run a marathon. If I'm feeling great at mile 20, I'll try to pick up the pace by up to 30 seconds per mile for a 4:27 finish. If I'm hurting, I can slow down at least a minute per mile and still end up beating my last marathon time.

Goal 1: Beating my last marathon time of 4:43:31

Goal 2: Finishing around 4:30 +/- 3 mins.

The goal of just finishing a marathon is gone now.

There is almost no chance of me running faster than 4:27. I plan to stick with the 4:30 group for 20 miles even if I feel great. If I feel great, I'll go then but not so much faster I crash - so maybe just about 30 seconds per mile.

3 around the complex

Odd run. Great first, rough second, and good third. It was like a longer run wrapped up in a short one.

Up next: 4-5 tomorrow.

Forecast for Sunday in Philly. Low 60's and cloudy. I'd take lower 50's but I'd be happy if the current forecast holds.

3 treadmill miles

Not a fan of the treadmill but sometimes it's all there is. Steady but not fast pace.

Up next: maybe a 3-4 mile run outside tomorrow night.

10.2 Miles (5.1 + 5.1)

Today I ran 10.2 miles (0.8 liters of water, 90 calories). It was a very good pace run and good last true workout. The rest of the runs before next Sunday will be short maintenance runs.

This run was done in two parts. Five miles, then I took a phone call, and then another five. It actually worked out well as I was able to have a fast pace for each set of five.

Up next: I'm on full time kid duty for the next three days so I will do some short treadmill runs at marathon pace.

Easy 5.7: Busy boy

Today I ran 5.7 miles. My work load increased again (again good for bank, bad for having time to run). I'm not sure I would have run much more anyway. I should be on a taper and my legs were somewhat sore from the last 20 mile run. Last year I did my last 20 miler 3 weeks out, this week I'm going with two weeks.

Up next: Friday an 8-10 mile run.

5 miles: About perfect

I ran 5 miles this morning. It was a near perfect run. Great weather (sunny but cool), little traffic, I felt strong, and my pace was good. My legs were a bit sore but it didn't seem to slow me down. I felt in shape (funny how I can do 5 miles sometimes and not feel in shape).

The Starbucks run (this run) is a good one. Four of the five miles are in some of the best parts of Franklin (tree lined non-busy streets and a park). I can think of some areas I would rather run in other parts of the country but for living here it's the best spot for running.

20 miles: Decent last 20 mile run

Photo: taken roughly around mile 10 on map below.

Today I ran 20 miles (3.0 liters, 450 calories). Overall it was a decent last run long run. A bit of a foot problem at mile 3 almost canceled the run but it seemed to go away. Overall good (not great) pace, running yesterday at a good clip probably didn't help today's pace but was probably the right thing to do.

Now on to the tapper. It's the first one I am looking forward too. My legs are tired.

10.3: Good pace run

I ran 10.3 miles today (0.6 liters of water, 90 calories). It was a good pace run (a bit faster than marathon pace). Put off the 20 mile run till tomorrow due to work.

6 miles

Short run today as work piled up and I plan on doing my last 20 miler this week before the taper for the marathon.

5 miles: Good run and about 2 in sprints later

I did the 5 mile run this morning to downtown and back. It went well. Pushed the pace and finished strong. It wasn't my fastest ever but it was solid.

Later I took the boy to the park and we ran and did sprints. I'm guessing it was about 2 miles worth of running (hoping it pays off at bedtime).

6.2 miles: no motivation Saturday run

Short term lack of motivation. Short-run. Looking forward to pushing the 5 tomorrow.

7.3 Miles: Less is more?

Today I ran 7.3 miles. I had to work most of the day and so had less time to run. I'm not sure I would have run much more anyway. I'm feeling a bit tired all around.

I'm not a big fan of running in loops but I'm less of a fan of Friday afternoon traffic, especially with some rain and puddles around.

21.2 miles: dead tired

(Photo above from about mile 8 on the map below)

Today I ran 21.1 miles. It was 75 and partly sunny at the end of the run (3 liters water, 480 calories). It was a good 18 mile run followed by three hard miles. My legs are not recovered from the marathon it seems. This is good to know because I was considering a 10 day taper for the philly marathon (it's been 10 days since my marathon). Clearly that is not enough time to recover. My leg muscles are taxed after the run today. I guess that is good since this is training. I might do a down week next week and focus on running 12 miles twice faster rather than doing a 20 and a 12 as the long runs.

5 mile free run

Good simple Sunday morning 5 mile run. Good pace for 4, great pace for last one. Nice chilly morning.

10.3 miles

Today I ran 10.3 miles. It was a very average run. It ended sunny in the mid 60's (0.6 liters of water). I may have run too close to a pre-run snack. It wasn't a bad run, just nothing special. Traffic was worse than I thought it would be, I like midweek runs better. The traffic is actually lighter in the middle of the day during the week than on the weekend.

6.1 miles

I'm being good this week and staying low on the miles. I put off the 10-12 mile till tomorrow. Today's run was good and I had a nice pace for the entire run (0.3 Liters of water). Looking forward to doing a long run next week (15+).

6.5 miles: Wind, Cold, and rain = Great run

Today I ran 6.5 miles. It was 46 degrees and windy with light rain at the end of the run. It was a great run. I had to limit myself. I set out only to do 5 but felt good and did some more. My legs muscles are a bit sore but not bad and I have no pain from the marathon.

My pace was great. The marathon kicked my pace into a higher gear and it seems to have stuck. Running the 7 bridges marathon as a training run without going all out seems to have been a great idea at this point.

Good news/bad news: Good news work wise in that I have a great chance to pick up extra income doing more work from home for the next two months. Bad news is that it's likely to cut into my running time. Since the bank doesn't take running miles the job wins out. I'll make time to run but the miles might decrease. If that happens I will really work on pace which might be best anyway.

Friday: I'll try to stay below 10.

7 Bridges Marathon race report

Photo: from around mile 25.8 (but running in the other direction). Taken the day before on a family walk.

Overview: Today I ran 26.2 miles in the 7 bridges Marathon in Chattanooga, TN. My unofficial time (my watch) was 4:43:48 (official time 4:43:41; updated 10/18/11). This is just about a minute faster than my last marathon time, thus that time was not random. My goal today was to run between 4:43 and 4:59. I determined at mile 16 I was on pace for the faster goal and somewhat backed off because I had some time to spare. I worked hard today but did not super push it since this was more of a training run for the Philly Marathon in November. I'm not suggesting I could have run much faster, just maybe by 3 or 4 minutes. My legs are tired and I will be sore.

Race report: This was great marathon. It was the first time it was being run. The start was a little disorganized but it didn't really matter since it was a small marathon (300 people for the full). There was no start sign and no gun. The fast runners just took off (someone must have said, not yelled, go). I was only about 10 yards back.

The course ran over 7 bridges and on some of the great water front trails in Chattanooga. It is a great outdoor town. There were plenty of aid stations staffed with very good volunteers and while more porta pots are always better there were plenty compared to a typical event. I ended up just using of the park bathrooms around mile 21 or so that was right on the path of the run and made one other break in a wooded area earlier.

I took in about 7 gels and an unknown amount of water/Powerade. I was trying to take in less fluid than I normally do and it didn't seem to effect me so I might stick with a lower level. The weather was great at the start (upper 40's?) and ended a bit warm and sunny (lower 70's?). The weather was a non-factory for 20 miles and only a slight factor for the last 6, overall the weather and shading was great.

Me: I had a poor night of sleep as our 4 years old was with us at the hotel. He woke up a bunch of times like normal. However, since this is normal, I'm somewhat use to it and train under the same poor sleeping conditions.

In the race I felt great for 13 miles or so, from mile 13 till the end I felt a bit off in my stomach. Likely the result of gels I normally do not take. I think I had a vanilla gel that didn't sit quite right. I had planned to take Hammer gels (my normal product) but forgot to grab them this morning. However, my stomach never got off enough that I would claim it slowed me down. It was right on that edge. My foot gave me a scare around mile 14 or so. I thought a major problem was coming in my right foot but it never did show and that scare past by mile 16 (about).

My best miles were probably miles 20-23 when I ran and talked with a pacer for a 4:40 finish. I think I probably could have stayed with him but it would have been pushing it more than I wanted to for this marathon. The pacers were a bit off in the first 6 miles (the 4:40 guy got passed by the 4:15 girl around mile 6). I didn't exactly trust them after that and just ran my own race. I think they finished on time. I heard them say my 4:40 guy finished with 30 seconds of that time.

Post run: there was a great set up of food and drinks. However, I didn't take anything as my stomach was still not great and I had to start the mile walk back to the hotel that gave us a late check-out.

overall: Great marathon and I had a good time. This marathon will stay on my radar to do again if it fits in the family/work/running schedule.

up next: A low mileage week this week and then build back to another 20 miler or two before tapering for the philly marathon. Goal for philly? Faster than my time today.

3 Easy miles

Well on to the unknown. This is the most confident I've felt going into a marathon about being able to go the distance. It's the least confident I've felt being able to predict a time. It's a new marathon, a new marathon for me, my weight is down, my speed seems down, and I'm a bit sick.

I have no idea. I plan to start slower than I have been starting marathons and maybe finish a bit better.

http://www.7bridgesmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=223

5 easy miles

I did the Starbucks run today at an easy pace. The taper is in full effect. I do not like it. I'm still feeling a bit sick so that helped me limit myself today.

5 miles: Sick

Today I ran 5 miles. I just started with a good long run pace (not pushing it) and stuck with that pace for four miles. The last mile I picked it up a bit. Head cold and flu like chills. Hopefully getting them now means I'll be fine by next weekend.

11.8 a bit sick

Today I ran 11.8 miles. It was sunny and 78 at the end (1.2 liters of water, 270 calories). I'm a bit sick, thanks to my kid's preschool germ fest 2011. Feeling maybe 70%. Head cold and flu like chills. My lungs are fine which is why I did run.

Considering the lack of sleep, tired legs (from fast 6 thursday), and sickness it was a decent run. Will take it easy on all remaining runs till marathon.

faster 6 around the complex

Tonight I ran 6 miles around the 1 mile loop here in our complex. It was 73 at the end of the run (0.6 liters). I didn't take a GPS but took my watch. I ran each mile about 1:30 faster than my long run pace.

Rough taper plan: Friday: 0 miles, Saturday: 10-12, Sunday- 5, Mon/Tue- off, Wed: 5, Thur: off, Fri: 4, Sat: 0, Sunday: 26.2

7.8 (Wednesday)

I ran 7.8 miles yesterday. It was about 80 at the end of the run (0.6 liters of water). I had to drop off the car at a repair shop and I just ran until they called. The tapper for the first marathon is on. It's coming soon (10/16).

Fast 5

Today I did the Starbucks free run (no gps). It was 41 degrees with 85% humidity at the end. It was likely the fastest five since my time in the Army. I was pushing it and sweating even with the temp at 41 and me in t-shirt and shorts.

8.5 miles

Today I ran 8.5 miles. It took me a while to get into the run today but it ended well with me going at more of a 5k pace for the last mile and a half. It was sunny and 55 at the end of the run (0.6 liters of water, 0 calories).

13 miles

Today I ran 13 miles. It was 66 and sunny at the end of the run (2 liters of water, 200 calories). It was a decent run pace wise but I still need to work on increasing my speed. I think I lost some in the ultra training and summer heat. I think between the first marathon and second this fall my primary goal will be increasing speed.

The Albino Squirrel 20.1 miler

Today I ran 20.1 miles (3 liters of water, 500 calories?). It was sunny and 78 at the end of the run. It was fine in the shade but a bit warm in the sun. Overall it was a decent run given a very bad night of sleep and tired legs. The squirrel was around mile 15 on the map below.

5 miles: A bit slower

Today I did the standard five mile run. Much like last marathon season, this 5 is sometimes the hardest run of the week because my legs and body are tired from training during the week. I didn't record the temperature but it was hot enough that I was sweating a lot and my 4 year old told me I was "Stinky and Smelly" when I got back.

11.1 a bit faster

I ran 11.1 miles today (1.2 liters of water, 0 calories). I did the first half at the typical 20 mile pace but picked it up for the last half. It was a very good run. It was 72 and partly sunny at the end.

The training is switching from increasing distance to increasing speed. I like my marathon training at about 45-55 miles a week. I had to ramp up to that from the summer shorts distances 30-35 miles a week. I've been at the 45-55 mile range for about two weeks and I am now switching to running those distances faster. I turned off the pace feature when I was training for the ultra. It let's me know how fast I am moving every mile. I turned it off when training for my first ultra because the pace did not matter. Now that I am aiming to beat my Philly marathon time from last year this year, the pace matters again.

12.1 miles

Today I ran 12.1 miles. It was 67 and partly sunny at the end (1.2 liters of water). It was a rather simple run.

20.1 miles (a long 20)

Today I ran 20.1 miles (4.2 liters of water, about 600 calories). It was partly sunny, humid and 78 at the end of the run. I can't call it heat but the warmth did get to me a bit in the last 5 miles.

It was a run with a slow start and good middle and a slow end. I really wasn't trying to push it. Last night was poor in terms of sleep and I think my legs are a bit tired from the recent ramp up in miles. This run felt more like 25 miles.

Up next: Friday 10-20 miles depending on work, sleep and the weather.

5 Mile run

I did the normal 5 mile run for Sunday. My legs were a bit tired and so I didn't push it for most of the run. I started to feel good around mile 4 and picked it up. I didn't record the temperature but it was likely in the 70's.

13.1 miles

Today I ran 13.1 miles. It was sunny and 76 at the end. A typical warm but not hot fall day. It was a good even effort for the entire run. My legs felt good. My wife's 6k race this morning inspired me to do a bit more today than I had planned (maybe 8 miles).

Up next: the five mile Sunday Starbuck run. I'll likely do this as a recovery run as I've had a big mile week.

17.3 miles: overactive cop

Today I ran 17.3 miles (2.4 liters, maybe 300 calories). It was sunny and 70 at the end of the run. I felt fairly good but had to get back to do some more work so I didn't hit 20. I'm not worried about that since I just need to hit 20 once every two weeks and I did a 20 last week.

Around mile 5 I crossed a road using the cross-walk (no headphones). There were no cars coming for at least 3/4 of a mile in one direction (closer to me) and the last car (a cop car) just passed on the other side of the road leaving that side clear for about the same distance.

The cop turned on his lights, peeled around came back and motioned me over. He wanted to let me know what I just did was very dangerous. I should have waited for a green light to cross and made sure I saw the little guy telling me it was safe to cross. The calm side of my brain won and I thanked him for the good advice and left.

12.5 miles

Today I ran 12.5 miles. It's a busy work week so I cut back on miles today. Hopefully Friday will be lighter on the work and cooler. Today it was 79 and sunny at the end. It felt hotter than that the last two miles (1.2 liters of water, 1 slice of bread).

The goal today was to go around 12 when I left the house. In order to ensure I went 12 - I ran out a bit over 6 and turned around. I'm not a fan of out and back running in general but it does force you to run a known distance once you turn around.

5 miles: Somewhat less than average.

Today I did the 5 mile run. It was slightly less than ok but not bad. My nose was stuffed up, it was sunny for the first half, my legs were a bit sore, and I didn't eat or sleep well in the last 24 hours. It was one of those runs that reminded me while I like to run long distances. The last mile was the best. I didn't record the temperature but it was likely in the mid 70's and I know it was humid.

This week: Likely doing a shorter run on Wednesday (10-12 mile) to spend more time on work and the longer run (17-20) on Friday. Friday is also forecast to be 10 degrees cooler than Wednesday.

About 7.5 miles: People everywhere.

I did a GPS free run this morning to the park and one loop there and back. I think from past runs it's about 7.5 miles. It was a great run with a good steady pace. It was 61 degrees, sunny and very humid (92%). I just took a hand-held water bottle (0.6 liters, 0 calories).

The fall has brought people out of hiding. There were people everywhere. I like the fall weather but I like the fewer people out in the summer.

12.3 miles

Today I ran 12.3 miles (2.4 liters of water and maybe 150 calories). It was 79 and mostly sunny with low humidity. This was another good run. The drop in temps really help.

Up next: Saturday a 7-8 mile run and Sunday the five. It's possible these runs will be reversed. I'll try to do the shorter run at a good pace.

20.7 miles: great fall run

Today I ran 20.7 miles. It was a good first 20 miler for the fall. The temperature was 65, the humidity was 69% and it was mostly overcast. Ten degrees cooler and I would call it perfect but 65 was great compared to the summer. I took in about 3 liters of water and maybe 400 calories. I did make one stop at the library during the run to pick up a book I had on hold (around mile 18).

It wasn't a fast run but it was good. A good run. I'm happy about it. If I didn't have to get back to do work, I'm sure I could have run 30 miles.

Up next: Friday: a faster run in the 10-12 mile range or another long run depending on the work outlook for Friday.

About 5 miles

I ran for about the time (no GPS) I've been taking to run 5 miles. I ran around the local park instead of running to Starbucks because the fields I cut across are very wet from the rains last night. It was 72 degrees and 95% humidity. I did a different kind of workout running "sprints" and then jogging using light posts as starts and stops.

note 1: I had a running dream last night. I was running trails with friends in steep mountains and having lots of fun. This was just about the whole dream. First running dream that I can remember (that is not saying much).

note 2: The current weather forecast for Wednesday has a high of 67 and rain. If that turns out to be correct, it's great and I'll do a 18-20 miler.

11.5: Hot September

Today I ran 11.5 miles. It was sunny and 92 at the end of the run. Hot. The summer is holding on. It was a decent run for the conditions (2.4 liters of water).

14.7 Wife run

Today I ran 14.7 miles. It was 88, sunny and humid at the end. I ran out of water (after 3.0 liters) around mile 9.5. I ran the first 3 miles with my wife! We dropped the kid off at school and went for a run.

It was a good pace run for the summer.

7.9 miles

I ran 7.9 miles today. I did laps around the local park (above). It was in the lower 80's and sunny at the end of the run.

I think my mind has been stuck on training for the Strolling Jim, my first ultra. The goal in that training was to finish the 41.2 miles. So my training was lots of very long runs without regard to pace. I basically ran over 10 miles every day of training except for Sunday (5 miles) but those runs were slow (greater than 10 min pace)

However, the marathon is 15 miles shorter and I know I can run that far. I need to switch to marathon training since I have two this fall. The new general training plan will be to run more than 10 miles twice a week at most and do a few shorter runs at a pushed pace (10 or less).

5 mile free fun: Best of summer

Today I did the normal Sunday five mile free run (no water, no calories) since it fit better into the family schedule. I'll do a longer (around 10) run tomorrow. It was sunny and 75 degrees with 70% humidity at the end of the run.

This was by far the best run of the summer. I can determine a few possible reasons: 1) this was likely the lowest temperature run of the summer and it was early enough in the day to get more shade. 2) I slept ok (not great). 3) Yesterday after my run I had a serving of Hammer's Recoverite. 4) It wasn't a long run.

I think it was mainly the lower temperature and the extra morning shade. I have not been taking Recoverite this summer; if it did help - the help was real (not just in my head) as I didn't remember I took it until around mile 4 when I was thinking about why the run was going so well.

I'm encouraged that maybe I'm in better running shape than the summer runs would suggest.

10 Average summer miles

I ran 10 miles (2.4 liters, 200 calories). It was 88 and sunny at the end of the run. This run was average. I felt decent until the heat/sun caught up to me. I did get a bit overheated because I was trying to pick up the pace. The pace on these summer runs has been less than ideal.

14.2 miles: Yoda run

I try to avoid hate. As Yoda said: "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

I fear the heat. It makes me angry. It makes me hate the heat and it makes me suffer.

Today I went 14.2 miles. I'm not sure I drank enough water to deal with the Sun and heat (93 at the end). Please go away sun. It was a bad run.

15.5 mile swim?

Today I ran 15.5 miles rather slowly (2.5 liters of water). I must have hit the wrong button on my running app because it logged this as a swim. It was overcast and 85 degrees with 60% humidity. I've been trying to do these runs without taking in any calories. I don't think I am going to keep this up. I think I run better when taking in a few hundred calories. It doesn't matter to me if the effect from the calories is real or in my head.

6.8 (wednesday)

Wednesday I ran 6.8 miles; I forgot to update the blog. It was in the mid 80's and I was tired. I ran more miles than hours than I slept.

5 mile free run

Standard 5 mile run this morning. It was sunny, 80 and humid. It was an average run with a kick in speed at the end.

7 head cold but not cold outside run

I've been battling a low level cold that last few days. Today's run was a bit rough again. I'm really not liking the summer (mid 80's, sunny and humid). The fall can not get here soon enough.

5.5 mile caterpillar run

Today I did the exact same hour run I did yesterday (0.6 liters of water). Today, no snakes. This caterpillar was the most dangerous thing on the road.

About 5.5 miles: Snake run (copperhead)

I ran today for an hour rather than trying to run a set distance (0.6 liters of water). I plan to do the same thing tomorrow. This stick in the road turned out to be a snake on the road.

I forgot to record the temperature but it seemed to be in the 80's and overcast.

**Post note: it looks like this snake is a Copperhead (venomous)

5 mile free run

I did the 5 mile run to Starbucks and back. I was a good run pace wise mainly because I wanted to be done with it. It was sunnier than I thought it would be (I didn't take my sun hat). I didn't record the temperature but I'm guessing it was mid 80's and 90% humidity.

7.3 miles: High Humidity

Today I ran 7.3 miles. It was a run that would rank in the lower 1/4 of my runs. The temperature was fine, about 80, but the humidity was 95% (2 liters of water). I was also tired from not sleeping well.

Up next: 5 mile Starbuck run.

13.8: the rain saves the day

Today I ran 13.8 miles. It was a good run (100 calories and about 2 liters of water). The temperature at the end was 74, humidity was 98%, and it was overcast. It rained hard from about mile 8 to 11. The rain was great. It cooled me off and put a spring in my step. I may have gone further but I saw a few lighting strikes so headed home, plus my socks and shoes were soaked and I wanted to avoid a blister. The high humidity wasn't easy before the rain but it was not hot. I'll take more of these days over 90-100 degree days.