Vacation

I started my vacation Saturday after leaving work that afternoon. I will be going back on July 16th and plan to do very little while I am off. I have been hanging out with my wife and son and reading, playing and napping the last few days.

I have been running a bit but have been taking it easy and getting in some easy miles. Since I wrote last I ran a 10.25 mile run on Friday morning before work in 1:24:18. I ran it a bit faster than my VDOT says to because I was running out of time to get it done and ran the first five in 8:31 pace and the last five in 7:55 pace. I ran a little more relaxed Saturday afternoon covering 5.25 miles in 44:06 or 8:24 pace.

I took Sunday off to play with my boy and mess around.

Monday morning I got up with Nathan and we played, ate some breakfast and watched a little TV until Kim got up. After she woke up and took over for me I ran a six mile run in 50:31 and then did the 20 minute Yoga for Regular Guys workout with Diamond Dallas Page to loosen up my back.

This morning I ran an easy three in 25:04 and then repaired a few of the popped nails that have been annoying me for the last month or so. I have a textured ceiling and I can't seem to get the texture right so my ceiling looks like a rank amateur did the repairs, which I guess is what I am. It doesn't look too bad but it could be better.

After that, we all went to order a cake for Nathan's 1st birthday party this weekend and then we went to Kohls where I bought a few new pair of shorts. Then we went home and Nathan and I took naps.

Tomorrow I am going to run the Premier Bank 5k in Jacksonville. I'm not expecting to run too terribly fast because it doesn't look like it is going to be a great day. Conditions will be similar to the Scholastic Challenge (upper 60s) but the course isn't as shady and there is a chance of a thunderstorm. I'm not feeling rested up for this race, I think that June was a rough month with all the racing and hard training I did, and I'm feeling a little run down. I still think I can run 10-20 seconds faster than I did at Scholastic but I'm not sure when I'm going to do it. Havana maybe?

Coming up on July 25th is the Sizzling Mile during which I think I can run 5:25 or so. I ran 5:36 in practice last year and I know, based on race performances and my first mile split from Scholastic, that I can blow that away.

Thirteen days afer the Sizzling Mile is the Parade Run 2 mile where I am hoping to dip under 12:00 for the first time since 1999 when I ran a two mile split, in the last 5k I ran for five years, in 11:40. I don't think I'll be able to run quite that fast but I think I can squeak under by a few seconds.

Race plan for tomorrow: Mile one in 6:10-6:15. Two mile split under 12:30. Last 1.1 in under 7:00. Not much of a plan but burning the first two as hard as I can and trying to survive the last 1.1 sounds like it will hurt pretty bad. I've done it before but it isn't a smart strategy.