So it begins

I'll call this mornings workout an AT run. It's based off the McMillan plan where the first phase has some up tempo runs that are run at half marathon pace. Not having run a half marathon in some time, I based it on my heart rate for the last time I ran these workouts, 160 bpm. Pulled a distance of 2 miles out of thin air, mostly because it was a third of the total distance I planned on running. Seems like the first workout of this plan is 20 minutes. Close enough for starting out.

Thought it was cooler this morning when I started. The 68 degrees according to the thermometer on the deck felt cooler. At least until I started to crank up the pace to get to 160 bpm, then it felt really warm and muggy. The first mile came in at 7:28. I had the Garmin set so all I was looking at was heart rate. Felt like stopping, but continued on until it beeped to let me know the second fast mile was done. Heart rate rose to 164 for that one and the pace had slowed to 7:40. Yikes, lots of work to be done. Probably would have been discouraged seeing those paces as they were being run.

I've been at this place before. Patience is the key. The paces will drop. Just can't get to gungho and try to accelerate the program. That would just lead to injury. Probably best to wait another week or two before I try and run with the herd. Still trying to get in some bike rides, but missed some because of all of the rain.

Reminded again this morning why I don't like riding my bike on the shoulder of the road on Thompson Lane. Someone dropped a box of nails for a nail gun, over a hundred nails. I've flatted twice in the last month, need to buy some new tires and tubes.

Scored a comp entry for the Murfreesboro Half Marathon. (Thanks to BQ1 and SS) I really like this race. I've run it twice, never to my potential. It's going to be the A race this fall. It's just about the ideal size at around 2,500. It's a fast course and its the hometown race. The Tate's have done a bang up job since the start. Really hate last years race was marred by the police blocking the wrong turn.Plenty of time to get into shape.

Registered for the lottery for the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon on day one. Last year it sold out in 4 hours. That's quicker than Boston. Glad Trent has decided to keep it small. The weighted lottery is really the only fair thing to allow those who have run it before and the newbies to have a shot at running. Awesome that he also considers military service as part of the weighting. Can't give those folks enough credit. I'd still really like to run 3:30.

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Dylan and his cousin, Ryan dock side in Cozumel
Lots to blog about the cruise. Running on the road/cruise ship, driving 10+ hours, food, ports of call, gambling, snorkeling, pictures, rum, pirates, cigars.............

We left for Tampa at 1:30 am on Sunday morning. According to Mapquest, 682 miles in 10 hours. We drove the van and Paula's sister followed in their car. Starting early in the morning is my preferred way to travel long distance with the kids. Hopefully you're able to get lots of miles and time down the road before the kids wake up and start the how "long till we get there", "I've got to pee", or "I'm hungry". We only made three stops on the way down and were able to combine them into bathroom breaks, food breaks and gas fill-ups. Trip down went very well. We arrived in Tampa around 2:00 pm. (Darrell stayed home, he had class)

Trip home seemed to take forever. We got off the ship around 8:30 am, Saturday morning (yesterday) jumped in the car and started driving. Made it home just before 8:00 pm. That was a long day on the road.

What are the odds of Paula and her sister booking the same hotel I stayed in on one of my 2 trips to Tampa, over 7+ years ago? They were remodeling some of the upper floors. We were able to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stadium from our room. The picture I took of Paula and Dylan on the balcony, you can't really see the stadium. Boys were able to swim in the pool after we got back from a trip to the dock to see where everything was for our departure the next day.


Bryan and Dylan in the atrium of the hotel in Tampa
Got one treadmill run in on Monday morning a week ago. I hate the treadmill. But, didn't really feel good about trying to run outside from the hotel. One good thing about the treadmill is dialing into the pace you want to run. That's about the only good thing. Time stands still on the treadmill. I did 6 miles, one mile at a incline and another mile at faster pace and the rest just plodding along. This treadmill had fans, which helped a little bit. It's still hot and the sweat just slings everywhere.

This morning was my first run on the road since last Saturday. Started at 8 am, way later than usual. Usually done with my long runs by that time, because of the heat. Scheduled for a twenty miler. It was 60 degrees when I started but right at 80 degrees when I finished. Got my 20 miles, but with a 2 mile warmdown walk home. Hell it wasn't warm, it was downright hot. I was breathing just as hard walking as the miles I slogged from 16 to 18. The early miles were great, real marathon pace to monkey pace and felt great. Guess the cut back in runs/distance from the cruise with the lack of pre run hydration kicked by butt.


Best picture of the cruise was of Paula's sister family at sunrise

this blogging thing

My 100th post has come and gone. Didn't even realize it until yesterday. Knew I was getting close. This has actually been easier than I thought.

Check out this definition of a blog. Swiped it from Bad Ben's other blog.

Definition of "Blog" -
1. an acronym for Boring Loser Of Grand-design. 2. an abbreviation used by journalism drop-outs to give legitimacy to their shallow opinions, self-absorption, and amateur photography, which seem permanently stuck in the first draft.

My first batch of home brewed beer is a little green. I'll try again, but first I'm going to make sure all of the ingredients are fresh.

Easy 10 miles from the house to the Stones River Battlefield. Super slow. Rain the entire time. Ran in the freshly plowed field adjacent to the battlefield. I'd hoped to find some flint, arrowhead preferably or perhaps a mini-ball. Nada. Dirt was very wet and my shoes were mud covered in the 100+ yards of dirt I covered. About the only thing I saw in the mud were the deer tracks entering and exiting the field.

Freshly plowed fields or bulldozed work sites were always the best places to find arrowheads in my youth. Dylan found a couple of arrowheads up at the farm last summer. I still have a box of broken arrow head pieces that I've held onto for over 30 years. Below are some of the perfect to near perfect points I've found.



Center most point in the frame was given to my Grandmother, the spear point next to it was found by my brother, (who evidently forgot that he gave it to me) he can have it back.

blogs

Started doing the blog thing in January and it's really becoming addicting. I spend a lot of time reading other blogs and following links to yet even more blogs. Very entertaining stuff. Haven't watched any television in quite some time.

Came back around to the SLUGS website this morning. The 50 mile trail run they put on has reached its limit. It filled faster than the big city marathons. Haven't seen BT in quite awhile, he's the one who suggested that run. He's hooked into the ultra scene, need to have him or puppymeat suggest a early fall 50 miler.

Recovery day today, 8 miles on the golf course.