Long run in the dark

So how do you get in a long run this time of year in the deep south? Apparently, you have to get up EARLY. I mean, I was running at 4:50 this morning. It was actually kinda nice around 5 AM, probably about 76 degrees, a slight breeze, and a well lit course. Sunrise was around 6 AM. Still not too bad. But around 7 AM, the fun was over. I stayed with it until about 7:45, finishing 17 miles at about a 9:45 pace. The course I ran today is kinda nice for long runs. It's a loop of 3 or 4 miles, depending on exact route. So I can go out for a loop run, and return to my truck where the Powerade/water is stashed. Then go again. I don't have to carry water, or look for water down the road. This course will probably be my bread and butter through the summer.
Post-run nutrition consisted of steamed shrimp, boiled crabs, and crawfish at R&R Seafood. I also hydrated thoroughly with Corona/lime.

New 5k PR

I braved the heat Saturday morning to run the Causeway 5k, and actually PR'd. There was no plan to run a race, but I got up and just didn't feel like running alone. So it was either train by my lonesome, or pay $25 to run with a whole bunch of other fools on a day with a 100+ heat index. I met Michael, Rick, and Leah (all Blue Bell Bombers) at the race, and aside from the running part, I had a good time. Here are the splits:
Mile 1: 6:50
Mile 2: 6:55
Mile 3.1: Low 7-something.
I finished at 21:49, which is a 7:01 average.
So speed work can help even a Slow White Guy. Guess I'll keep doin' it, and hopefully race some sub-7 5/10k's in the fall and winter. We'll see.
Gotta go. Happy trails!

Bridges! I hate bridges!

Perdido Pass Bridge to Hell

And summer heat. Yeah, I hate the heat. I ran 10k this morning in Orange Beach, and thought my shoes would melt, it was so hot. I took along a bottle of water, but it was woefully inadequate. It's gonna be a long summer for long runs, pilgrims. I sweated through about 15 miles on Monday morning, and ran/walked another 3 at the end of that. I watched my Garmin pretty closely, and tried to maintain about a 9 flat pace. This was pretty easy to do until about mile 13-15, when the sun came out from the morning cloud cover. I sweated so much, my fairly new blue New Balance 992's oozed blue dye on my feet. And that crap doesn't wash off. So I'm pretty sure I got strange looks from folks noticing my necrotic looking feet this week.

Anyway, we're back home now. Three days at the beach come and gone. Next up? Maybe a 5k Saturday morning it it ain't too damn hot!

Speed week

Life continues to be crazy busy lately. But yesterday I did some speed work with one of the Blue Bell Bombers. We started out with a slow 2 mile warm up, then we ran a 2 mile tempo run. My ego hurt me on this, because my buddy is faster than me. His tempo run is about 6:50ish. My tempo run is around low 7's. But I wanted to REPRESENT! I took off like a shot, running the first mile in 6:30, and slowed to a 6:58 coming back on the second mile. It was sooo hot, too. I thought I was gonna die. We rested for about 8 minutes, then did another 2 mile tempo run. I was waaaay slower this time. My first mile was about 7 flat, and the second mile was 7:40. I so did not enjoy that second mile. We briefly rested, and ran a 2 mile cool down. My friend assures me that running fast in this heat is gonna cut my race times in the fall. Well..............IT BETTER! I look forward to my long run just for the opportunity to go slow.
No matter how much I might whine, I am enjoying running with these guys and girls. I think the fall race season with them will be interesting.
Happy trails.

Busy Busy Busy

This past week has been crazy busy. Let's break it down:

1) TBall hell (which is finally over)

2) Beach time

3) Uber Overtime at work

4) My M1 Garand arrived and has not bitten my thumb yet

5) Scenic runs with the Blue Bell Bombers like the Dauphin Island Bridge pictured above. Yeah, Sunday we ran across that bitch 3 times. 10 miles of Bridge Hell.

More of the same this coming week. Except for TBall. No more, please! This weekend looks good for the beach, and ice cold Michelob Ultra. I'll post pictures of the M1 soon.

See ya