5 miles on Fernandina Beach, FL

Well work caused me to miss my run on Tybee Island yesterday, so I was determined to get one in today. I got done with my restaurant visit in Yulee, FL and then headed east to Fernandina Beach, just north of Amelia Island. It was a beautiful afternoon, sunshine and 78 degrees. A slight breeze blowing off the ocean.

A quick Google search found me a mostly tree covered sidewalk/walking/running trail next to Amelia Island Parkway. After finding a parking spot at Scott Rd beach access, I quickly changed in my car. Once the Garmin located the satelites, I was off.

Ooops, about 30 seconds in and nature was calling big time. And it wasn't a simple matter of ducking in somewhere to pee. Both sides of the sidewalk are surrounded by trees, bushes, ponds, nature and who knows what kind of creatures. I saw an Beach access area that looked promising, but it actually led to a Condo complex. Luckily the pathway emptied at their pool area which included bathrooms. I helped myself and took care of business. Problem solved.

Back on the pathway, I quickly realized that this was going to be a tough run. Some shin/ankle discomfort was back, the heat/humdity took some getting used to, and with each step, I heard the sound of critters nearby. I don't like critters, especially the thought of snakes and gators. Luckily I didn't see any, but just the thought kept me tense. I was taunted by those little lizard things and one of my major nemesis, the squirrels, kept mocking me.

I went down, stopped about mile 1 to stretch some, then turned around and headed back. I eventually reached the end of the trail around Mile 3, another beach access spot. I took some time to enjoy the beauty. The sound and color of the ocean, the refreshing breeze blowing in off the water. The tension disappeared and as I headed back, I stopped only momentarily to watch some golfers teeing off. I finished the run strong and feeling good. Okay, so I missed my the turnoff for the car, but didn't mind the quarter mile cool down as I backtracked.

After the run, I got back in the car and drove the 2 hours back to Savannah. A perfect opportunity to reflect on the run while listening to some running podcasts; Two Gomers Run A Half Marathon and 4 Feet Running.

Three days to the Rumpshaker 5K.

6.25 Miles Downtown

Gerri was scheduled for an 8 miler today and was meeting her old Team Tiarra running buddies Christina, Drew and Emmitt in GVegas at noon. I wasn't feeling it this morning, but a gentle nudge from Gerri was all it took. In my mind, I knew that I needed, maybe even wanted to get this run in. I haven't run more than 5 miles since the Kiawah Half Marathon in early December, and given my pain/injury I figured 6 miles would be enough.

Running downtown pretty much guarantees hills, and we had plenty today. North Main and McDaniel to name two. I really wanted to go slow, 11:30-11:45 was my goal so that I could finish and feel good. Things didn't work out that way. As much as I wanted to let them go ahead, my mind kept reeling them back in. We ran the 1st three miles or so at an 11:00 pace. Now it wasn't long ago that I would be embarrassed by that info, but I'm just happy to be on the mend and getting some conditioning back.

The last three miles, including McDaniel were run about 11:14 pace. Other than the hill, my ankle felt good. I ran most of McDaniel, with a few short walking breaks, but otherwise I ran the entire distance and actually finished the uphill section of Main Street pretty strong. Although I was tempted to run the entire 8 miles with Gerri and Christina, I knew I was smarter to stick with 6.

So another week in the books with three runs. Mileage still needs to slowly creep up, following the 10% rule. Sadly this was my highest weekly mileage since the 1st week of December. Or maybe I should look at the positive and proudly say this was my highest weekly mileage since December.

Picture borrowed from a great blog post by terrific Greenville athlete, Ashley Long. http://ashleylong.blogspot.com/

3 Miles in Madison Lakes (GA)

It's been a long day. Started in a restaurant in Chattanooga, TN at 6am. Then lunch with the KBE and FBC teams, followed by a trip to Krystal Corporate offices for a conference call with franchisee. Left Chattanooga in time to be in Atlanta rush hour traffic, but luckily it wasn't a horrible day in the ATL.

Changed my schedule from Conyers to Madison. This was a great change because it gave me a chance to get another run in tonight. A short distance from my hotel is a gated subdivision called Madison Lakes. I ran there once last year one morning, and knew it would be a perfect spot tonight. I parked near in a lot before the entrance and jogged in. I saw more people walking their dogs than I saw cars. The temperature was perfect and the sun low in the sky and setting.

This was my first back to back runs this year, and maybe as much as 5 or 6 months. After the horrible run yesterday, I had three goals 1) Go slow 2) Don't stop 3) Have fun. I'm happy to say that I achieved all three goals. Pain in my left ankle was noticeable, but not unmanageable.

I'll take a rest day tomorrow and then get in another run on Friday or Saturday.

4 miles @ Camp Jordan Park

Four miles sounds good, but it was brutally ugly. 1st mile was actually good. The weather was about 70 degrees, low humidity and the sun was shining. Camp Jordan is a large recreation complex with a two mile gravel path. I knew I was going to fast (relatively speaking) for my current conditioning level, but I was not able to slow down. Odd considering I used to preach to new runners doing C25K that when you think you are going slow, slow down even further. But my body/mind wouldn't listen.

Having recently been fighting shin, calf and ankle discomfort, I naturally started to take stock of how I was feeling. Surpisingly I found a new area of discomfort today, my groin. I should have focused on it because it wasn't long before my ankle discomfort (low front) started again. This time it was both ankles instead of just the left, and lower than in the past. I willed myself to run through it, but my mind is not cooperating these days and my body gave in.

I walked some, then started again, then walked again about a half mile later. And my mind is working overtime. Less than a year ago you ran a marathon and now you can barely run a mile. Over and over my mind ran this scenario. I saw may car, the two mile point and stopped to recover and stretch.

I promised myself that I would complete four miles, so back out I went. I felt okay, minor discomfort but once again could not force myself to slow down. The two miles were mostly slow running with some walk breaks mixed in. I completed my two laps, four miles and was happy to have it done. It wasn't pretty, but I finished.

Each run should bring me one step closer. Closer to where I was, closer to finding the joy, magic that running provided not that long ago. I'll get there one day when I'm older. Maybe when I'm 49. Who knows, it might be my magic year!

Happy Birthday Chelsea

Hard to believe but my little baby turns 18 today. That's Chelsea on the right, and Heather on the left. This photo was taken in the fall of 2008 in Charlotte at the Renaissance Festival, prior to the the Ded Bob show. That would be Ded Bob in the middle.

Gerri and I are anything but Renaissance Festival folks, but Chelsea loves them so we went so that we could spend time with her doing the things she appreciates and enjoys. As much as I dreaded it, we ended up having a fun family day.

Where have the last 18 years gone? The time has flown by and I'm sure the next 18 will go even faster.

Nice to know that 18 years later that I have an intelligent, creative, beautiful, and sensitive daughter. Chelsea, enjoy your birthday and everything that life has planned for you. The joy is in the experience, so be sure to enjoy the journey through the unknown paths that lie ahead.

Happy 18th! We love you.

I've Been MIA

After making a special effort to blog almost every day in February, my week in Orlando seems to have thrown me out of my blogging sync. So perhaps a brief recap of the past two weeks is in order.

Gerri and I had a terrific week in Orlando. The weather started out cool and ended up in the 80's, and the sunshine state lived up to its name. It was a "work" week for me, which means I worked a few hours on Monday night doing my night shops, then Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6:00am until about 3:30pm. The rest of the time I was able to spend with Gerri.

We had three runs around Universal. The 3.5 miler that I already blogged about, another 3 miler after work one afternoon and finally a 6.2 mile run on Saturday morning. We ran this in honor of our friends that were running the Reedy River 10K back at home that morning. This was my longest run since the Kiawah Half in early December, and it showed. The warmer temps had some impact, but not as much as my Friday evening meal at the Ale House. It felt great to get it done, but required more "pit stops" and walk breaks than I would have liked.

One of the real treats about our trips to Orlando is the opportunity to visit with friends. One night we drove out to a nice area northwest of Orlando called Clermont to have dinner with my third grade teacher. Fran and her husband Gordon have remained good friends over all these years. They have lived an amazing life and have such terrific stories to tell. Like always, it was a wonderful visit and evening.

We also had a chance to see our good friends Mike and MaryBeth Smoot and their son Jimmy. I met, live and worked with Mike and MB back in the 80's during our time at People Express Airlines. Smoot is responsibly for ratcheting up my love of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

One night we met them for dinner, Hawaiian Fusion at a restaurant called Roys. The food was surprisingly good but could not match the company which was terrific.

After our run on Saturday, the Smoots picked us up at the hotel and we traveled to Kissimee to see my St. Louis Cardinals take on the Houston Astros in a spring training game. Mike was nice enough to think ahead and get tickets when he knew we were coming. There is nothing more relaxing and enjoyable for me than a spring training game sitting in the Florida sunshine. Being with Gerri and great friends made it even better, and a Cards victory was icing on the cake.

Traveling for work is something that I have become accustomed to as part of the job. If I could only enjoy each trip as much as I did this week in Orlando. Now I can't wait to go back again next quarter.

3.5 miles in Orlando

Gerri and I spent our first full day in Orlando. We slept in late, had a less than special lunch and then headed to Fleet Feet Sports.

The owner, Eric was very helpful. Gerri ended up with a new pair of shoes, Nike Lunar Trainers. I tried them on and loved the way they felt, but Eric was concerned that they were too neutral and I needed to stick with a stability shoe. He did suggest I begin working away from the Adrenaline's that I have used since I started running. I tried on a few pair including Inspires and Infinity. So only a new pair of Super Feet inserts for my shoes.

We went back to our hotel, and went out for a run around Universal. We ran around the Portofino and Hard Rock Hotels on the Universal property. It was mostly beautifully landscaped pathways meandering around the waterways. About 1/2 way we reached City Walk, stopped for a brief period to sight see and then headed back.

The good news, no shin pain in my left leg. The bad news, my right calf seized up and felt like a baseball on the back on my right leg. What the heck! Oh well, tomorrow is another day and we'll likely attempt another run. This would be my first back to back runs in forever.

March 1st - Week in Orlando

It's snowing in Greenville, SC but Gerri and I are in Orlando. We were scheduled to fly out on Allegiant Air at 6:45pm. When I saw the weather forecast this morning, I thought we may be better off driving. After some discussion, we both decided that driving was better than waiting to see if the flight was cancelled. We drove, and yes the flight was cancelled.

So we now have a week in Orlando. I'll work Tues, Wed and Thu until about 3:00PM, but the rest of the time we can spend together. Gerri will spend her days relaxing, reading and studying while I'm working.

We'll get to see some friends, including my third grade teacher and her husband on Tuesday and some friends from my People Express Airlines days. We'll also be taking in a Cardinals/Astros preseason game next Saturday.

February was a pretty good month. My running is getting back on track and I blogged 23 out of 28 days. March will be even better.