Recent Runs

I've been a bit of a slacker keeping up with my blog (and runs) during the past week. Travel and Olympics contributed but not to blame.

I ran 8 miles downtown with Gerri and Team Tiara on Saturday morning. It was a nice run, although the hills were a killer. The worst was McDaniel as we came out of Cleveland Park. It's a bit over a mile up McDaniel and the steepest part is the initial segment before you reach Cleveland. Luckily the Spinx Half (and Full) will bypass that initial steep segment, but their course has plenty of other hilly portions. We also had to deal with cemetery hill on Main Street at the end of the run. Overall it was a fun run and I felt pretty good during and after. We all enjoyed some coffee and a Chocolate Banana Vivanno at Starbucks afterwards.

We had the girls, plus one this weekend. So I was bad and took Chelsea, Heather and Mattie to Skins for lunch. Yummy, yummy, yummy! We relaxed during the afternoon and then met Robin and Eric for dinner at Outback to celebrate her birthday. Good food and company.

We all went to NewSpring on Sunday and then Mimi's Cafe for lunch afterwards. The girls headed home in the afternoon and Gerri and I helped out her Mom and Francis for a little while at her home before heading to Copper River Grill for dinner. I had a nice soup and salad.

Monday morning I got a late start but did manage to get in a sweaty 3.5 miles in Westchester. Pace was okay for a recovery run but the humidity killed me. I'm waiting to get back to the point where runs feel fun and easy. I dropped my dead PC off at my friend Jimmy Cokers office and then drove the 6 hours to Waycross, GA.

I have to head to Hazlehurst later this afternoon and need to get in a run. Unfortunately hotels in the area leave a lot to be desired and no treadmills. I'll look for a track at a local high school once the heat and humidity let off a bit. Looks like I better eat early so that my food can digest.

Short Work Week

I made it back home last night in time to meet Gerri and Pizza House on 153 for dinner. Nice salad with feta & blue cheese, cheese garlic bread and spaghetti with meat sauce. In my younger days Wednesdays were Prince Spaghetti days! If you have no clue what I'm talking about, see the ad below.

My week was short so that I could be home with Gerri when she went for Lasik surgery this morning. We woke early, she went for a run with Team Tiara, hung out at Starbucks with "the girls" and drank a Banana Chocolate Vivanno. After a quick stop by the Life Center and McDonalds for some coffee we were off to see Dr. Anne Parker.

Everything seemed to go well and Gerri is now home and taking a nap. She has a follow-up visit in the morning, but the Dr. has told her she can get back to running on Sunday.

My knee is feeling a bit better, so I'm going to get a short run in tomorrow, rest Saturday and hopefully do 7 miles with Gerri on Sunday before we head to NewSpring for church.

7 miles with Team Tiara

Yes, you read that right. Gerri is training for the Spinx Half with Team Tiara. They meet three times a week for group runs and Saturdays is their long run day. She has asked me to come run with them a few times, and I usually respond by rolling over and going back to sleep. Not today.

The alarm went off about 5:00am. For a brief moment I debated taking a pass to enjoy a few additional hours of sleep, but the internal voice let me know that this was something I needed to do. We got up, ready and headed to downtown Greenville. A quick stop along the way to drop off some water for the group. We met the group of around 6:00 and got started. Two runners were doing 9, the rest 7 and since I was only planning on an easy 5, I let everyone else go ahead so that I wouldn't be tempted to go faster than I should.

I caught up with the group within a few minutes when they stopped to wait for another team member that pulled up in her car late. The air was cool, humidity wasn't bad and the pace was comfortable. I stayed in the back and eventually a few of the women dropped back and joined me. Conversation flowed and I really enjoyed the course and the chance to run with a group. I was amazed at how many other groups are running around Greenville around the same time.

As we headed back up Main Street, I was a bit disappointed that 5 miles was coming to an end. Kim was hurting a bit, and decided to stop at 5 miles. I didn't want Nadia to have to run the last 2 miles by herself, so I decided to keep her company. The pace was slow, but I enjoyed the route and the opportunity to help her achieve her longest distance ever. We finished with about 7.4 miles and around a 12 minute pace. The pace is nothing to write home about, but I'm thrilled to have my longest run in since the marathon in May.

Afterwards we walked down to Starbucks and had a very yummy Banana Chocolate Vivanno.

Donations to Gerri's fundraising effort to support Girl's on the Run are greatly appreciated.