Let the craziness begin...

Distance: 1.3 miles   Time: ??:?? min    Partly cloudy 6:00 pm
Temperature: 83 °F    Humidity: 27%      Pressure: 30.00inches(holding)

The day was fantastic. The humidity was so low!! I tutored inside all day except for lunch with magnetbabe and we realized too late that would should have taken our lunch to go and eaten outside. Why does food always taste better outside? So when I finished with my last tutoring client I couldn’t get to the trail fast enough and yet I laid down on a bench in the shade outside the library just to be outside before the craziness begins.

The craziness is my family!! Not one of them alone is crazy but at a pack they are nuts. My brother and his wife (no sister-in-law jokes…I really have the best one) are coming to FL from NC, They get passed amongst parents this afternoon and end up with my Dad and his wife here in Tampa for dinner. Then tag I’m it. I entertain them for the night and Sunday we do a “project.” In this case It will be to remove an unwanted fence in my yard. Then Mom and her husband come to pick them up and have dinner tomorrow evening!!

The house is sooooooo not ready so I guess running is out for the rest of the weekend. I’m really glad I made yesterdays a good one.

I CAN’T WAIT!!!! ARE THEY HERE YET!!!!

Ran yesterday…run again on Tuesday.

*This all sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan but it took 1.5 weeks of endless phone calls and e-mails to arrange. This is plan #345,792

Short runs on Tuesdays

Distance: 1.66 miles  Time: 19:49 min    Partly cloudy 6:00 pm
Temperature: 84 °F    Humidity: 53%      Pressure: 29.94inches(holding)

It was Tuesday again yesterday….that happens once a week or so. This week I was in charge of dinner so another quick run to get in before the adopted family gets together. It went much better than last week’s (I wasn’t as hungry this time) and I finished the last block with my sprint as always, and still had time to take a shower before I had to start dinner.

Sunday I ran as well. It wasn’t the most productive run but I ran. I went to the trails at USF. That is one of my favorites and where Randy and I always ran so it was good to run it on Sunday. I didn’t keep time or distance I just went for a run.

Quick RUN!

One year ago today....

Some times it's hard to remember our blessings. That I have a roof over my head, food on my table, the three cutest kitties, support in all I undertake from friends and family, and my health. We are reminded of the work it takes to provide food and shelter, and kitties remind you of there existence every time they expect a meal. Friends and family come to visit, go to lunch with you, or call and you are happy to hear from them and support them back. It is health that we so easily take for granted.

I closed on my first home on Friday, March 25, 2005. One of my closest friends, Randy, went with me that afternoon to buy paint, door locks, etc. All those things you need for a new home. Some other friends came that evening to the new place and Randy picked up Pizza to have a picnic in my new home. Over the next several days Randy and other friends and family came and helped me paint the rooms of my home different colors. Finally on April 1, I was preparing to move the next morning when, while talking to Randy on the phone, he mentioned his back was stiff and he might not be as helpful as he would have hoped. The next morning he was as strong as ever and the move was finished in a short period of time. Over the next two weeks we would learn that the sore back that night before and next couple weeks was a symptom of a much bigger problem.

On April 23rd Randy called me in the early afternoon. He was going to the ER because the pain had become so bad he was having trouble breathing. After I joined him there the doctor removed his shirt and asked me where he had received bruises all over his body. I had to say I did not know. As the day turned to evening I found out from the doctors that something wasn't right with Randy’s blood counts. At this point we decided I should call his Mother. A call neither she nor I will ever forget. I told her that we didn't know what was going on yet but we were not looking at a simple pulled muscle in his back.

Randy was diagnosed with leukemia, Acute Leukoblastic Leukemia, to be exact, and to add to the difficulty of this disease it was found that he had the Philadelphia chromosome. Chemotherapy was started, and within a day or so and Randy felt much better than that first night. As a testament to his strength and courage he breezed through treatment after treatment with very few side effects. Hair loss, some insomnia, and the worst to him.... the hiccups.... Leave it to Randy to get the silliest side effect and take it to the extreme!!! At the time of the second treatment all tests showed no sign of the cancer and he was declared to be in remission with 6 treatments yet to go. This was a fantastic outlook. However the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome worried the doctors. The leukemia was expected to return within 3 to 5 months after the chemo treatments finished. When leukemia returns the prognosis is rarely good.

He decided to undergo a bone marrow stem cell transplant. The transplant must be done while the leukemia is in remission. A "perfect match" was located and in late November he was given his new donor cells. All went very well and he was home in his apartment for Christmas with his family. On December 31st he was admitted back to the hospital with abdominal pain. In time the doctors would diagnose the problem as Graft vs. Host disease and for the next weeks Randy would fight harder than he had ever had.

Randy lost his fight on January, 29 2006.

Cancer effects everyone differently, the victims, the family, the friends. This is the effect on me. Randy always inspired me to work harder. When things got tough he gave me his strength too so I could get through. I can only hope that I was able to do the same for him.

Now he inspires me to help raise money to find a cure and to spread the information of the effect cancer had on my life and that we should all be careful that we don't take our health for granted.

I was lucky to have shared many things with him, running, movies, TV shows, video games, we did homework together, and defended our theses and graduated in the same semester. He stood by me when I wrote my thesis and helped edit it, and was there to watch as I defended it for my degree as I was there when he defended his less than a month earlier. He taught me about curling, pitched for our department softball team, and helped me with repairs to my new home. More than anyone else he believed (almost more than I did) that I would close on the house I wanted so badly. He took care of my kitties if I went out of town, watched football with me, went to a baseball games with me, and even threw a surprise party for me when I got full time and a raise at my job.

I was lucky to have known a friend like Randy and honored that he called me friend back.

I was lucky to have the all too short time with him that I had, and I miss him so much.

One short year ago today I took my health and my friends health for granted. And this was one of the longest years of my life.


*This post fulfills one of many requests from the american cancer society to place the I fight cancer ribbon on my blog. Please click on the ribbon on my sidebar and check it out.

HEY!! Who put that wall there?!?!

Distance: 1.2 miles     Time: 18:45 min     Sunny 5:00 pm
Temperature: 80 °F    Humidity: 67%      Pressure: 29.87inches(holding)

Note to self….eat something before you run!! I have “family dinner” with friends every Tuesday night and we call it family dinner because we each take turns cooking for the 4 of us and we always call if we aren’t going to make it and this is how we catch up for the week. It’s just a second family in town that I picked.

Anyway….I was squeezing in my run and didn’t want to ruin my dinner. (Which was a HUGE fantastic salad with fresh grilled chicken, romaine, carrots, spinach, corn, cheese, tomatoes, etc… with all the fixings on the side so we could pick what we like!!!) So I was very hungry and didn’t eat before I headed out the door. That’ll teach me. I ran the first .75 miles in ~8 min. For me that would be pushing ~10.5 min mile. An improvement for me. I was fine for another min or so…then BLAM-O!! I ran right into it. A huge section of the planet turned into goo and stuck to my shoes and made me work really hard at everything. A stitch in my side suddenly appearing didn’t help either. Moral of the story….have that snack!!

Eat to Run!! Run to Eat!!

Working back up...

Distance: 1.5 miles     Time: 19:28 min     Partly Cloudy 5:00 pm
Temperature: 78 °F    Humidity: 56%      Pressure: 29.97inches(falling)

I ran a new route that I mapped. It is just in the neighborhood but I liked it. Baseball and softball fields and the cemetery. Might seem creepy but it is one of my favorite sections to run past. It’s one of the really cool old cemeteries with the really big headstones. One is Jewish and those stones and graves are really interesting.

I was stiff when I started out but I loosened up quickly and today I’m not sore at all. I’m very glad. It really seams to be true that you lose your mileage very quickly when you take a break. I think 1.5 once more tomorrow and then up to 3 miles on Wednesday. If I have to walk part of the 3 that will be ok, but at least I will get in all the distance. The 29th is the Draft day dash and I would like to be back up to that again.

Running….not far…but Running

Adventures of RGFL

Distance: ???                 Time: ~20 min          Partly Cloudy 4:00 pm
Temperature: 83 °F        Humidity: 31%          Pressure: 30.02 inches(falling)

I had the best day yesterday!! Including the fact that I got the run in!! I really was getting antsy about not running!!

I slept in, I get to do that on Fridays when my first tutoring client is at like 11:00. My tutoring was really ON for both subjects I did. Lunch with the Physics Boys was good. My last client of the day called earlier in the week and said he had Good Friday/Easter stuff going on so he would see me next Friday. Fine by me for an easy day once in a while.

Since I had time (and I had thought ahead to bring clothes) I went to the trail at USF to run. I had decided that since it had been a little bit I was going to run ~20 min rather than a distance. Then I’m not so stressed about how I’m doing I just go till time is up. I concentrated on picking up my knees more so it was really 20min of running and not just running at the beginning and more “jogging” by the end. That was apparently something I need to do more often. (Like from now on) My thighs were burning by the end and today they are stiff. That is the only part of me sore, so that was the part that really got the workout.

I then went and got a hair cut (I was looking a bit shaggy) at a little place near the University. I just wanted a walk-in appointment. The girl was the best ever!! I HATE!! I mean H A T E ! ! haircuts because they always pull my hair. I have long hair and lots of it so they pull a lot!! Well she didn’t make it hurt. NOT EVEN ONCE!! It was the best, and she did a good job so I will be back!!

Then I went home and got ready to go to a movie with a friend. We saw “Lucky Number Sleven.” It was good I really liked it. Also I saw a preview for a movie of the type that MagnetBabe usually sees with me. So I’m sure that will be a good movie trip in the future.

I went home late and slept well and continued the good day by getting up when the kittens were hungry enough to wake me and then headed off to the Tampa Museum of Art, which is free on Saturday mornings, and saw the WILD THINGS: The Art of Maurice Sendak Exhibit. Where the Wild Things Are is one of my favorite books so this was really cool!!!

If I make it to my Mom’s in time for dinner tonight it is Meatloaf with rice pilaf and then egg dying activities…. Sunday is Church, Lasagna for Easter Dinner (YUM), Back to Tampa for a run, and finally some geeking out with the football boys for some gaming.

I think I’m doing OK.

Running with the WILD THINGS!!

Success!!

Yesterday was the First Annual Miles for Moffett Event, and many of Randy's family and friends walked together. Everyone had a great time!! The mile went really fast and we all walked as a big group. People found us from our shirts and we saw people we knew in other groups walking for friends or family of their own. It was a huge turn out I hope the Moffitt people know what a fantastic event they put on.

As for our little group I think everyone had a fun time!! We hopped and walked and skipped and monkey walked and giggled and bounced and walked backwards to take pictures all the way along. The brunch afterwards went well and everyone stayed and visited for hours. It was very nice. I’m ready for next year!! I will post pictures as soon as I have them.

Now I need something else to think about...hmmmm...well I’ll come up with some big scheme I’m sure.

Next up the Draft Day Dash...

Running into my self at this point (am I comming or going)

Wide awake!!!

Well here we go!! It is the night before the Miles for Moffitt walk/run and I am up late!! I mean it is only a mile and it is only a walk but then everyone is coming to my house after the event for brunch. I hope the house is clean enough, I hope the food is enough, I hope everyone likes the food, I hope the kitties are good, I hope the people are happy, I hope…. Well you get the point.

I don’t usually worry about people coming over and I guess I’m not really worried about any of these things all that much. I do want everyone to have a nice time since this is the first time we are participating in this event together. I want to do this every year, and I have been sooooo excited to spend time with friends and family of my friend Randy that I guess I’m just up.

This is it….this is what all the fuss was about. Let’s make it a good one.

We have a nice size crowd and I am very proud of our group and how we have stepped up to do something for cancer awareness and research during a dark period for all of us. I am sure Randy would be honored and would know how much he is loved.

Walking for the greater good

Super Slacker

Well I have been Pathetic haven't I. I haven't taken a whole week off from running yet!! Aren't I the biggest slacker EVER!!

I have some ideas up my sleeve and some firming up of plans that I will be doing over the next couple days and then I will start on Friday. I’m very excited that with the time change I can run later into the eve.

I wanted to go on a run tonight but traffic took longer than I thought so I have to wait. That is part of my new plan. I’m going to pack clothes on some days so I can sneak in the run, or try mornings again…..(well It’s worth bringing up again even if it never happens)

So for today….I’m a slacker!!

Speed Work

Distance: 1.3 miles       Time: ???              Bright and sunny 5:00 pm
Temperature: 59 °F        Humidity: 32%          Pressure: 30.04 inches

I was a little short on time so I ran at USF around the trail but I used the fitness stops as markers for a sprint workout. I jogged a nice long on at the start then alternated walking and sprinting. It was a good run. I like to run hard like that sometimes. I feel like a real runner rather than a jogger. I know that I start running even when it is a distance but I end up pretty pathetic by the end. I used the sprints to concentrate on my feet and how long they are on the ground. I read an article that said that improving turnover rate is important for not plodding along during the long runs and that sprint type workouts help this. They also help you get faster in general so it’s all good.

I was also thinking about a new interval type workout where I run one sprint one walk one run backwards one and repeat. I may have to do this one at the local park rather than USF because the local park is a sidewalk. It might be safer than the trail when I’m not looking forward. Also then I could do it the first time around with .2 mile segments then with longer segments the second time or next time etc.

Speed runner Me!!

More Pirates!!

Distance: 2 miles         Time: ???              Partly Cloudy 5:00 pm
Temperature: 59 °F        Humidity: 53%          Pressure: 30.04 inches

Wow a big cold front moved in. Well cold for Florida anyway. At first I thought I was going to be whiney about the cold and then I remembered that it will be hot way toooooo soon so I was chilly at the beginning but warmed up quickly and was very happy after just a few minutes.

I have made a point on these last two runs to pick up my knees every now and then to make sure that I’m more running than jogging. Also I made sure that my arm swing went from my midline in front to my hip so that I get the most out of the motion of my arm swings. It helps pick it up through out the run and make sure I’m not getting lazy. Every time I felt tired I concentrated on these two things and they not only gave me something to think about but also seemed to pick it up enough that anything that felt tired seemed to work more efficiently and didn’t feel so tired.

I have found another run. April 29^th is the Draft Day Dash a 5K put on by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the benefit of some local charities. (I’m not sure which ones yet but I called the Bucs home office and they haven’t called me back yet.) It might not be a cancer run but I have to keep running and there isn’t one in the area that I have found. So this sounds like fun!! It is on the day of the football draft and starts in front of Ray Jay stadium and ends by running into the stadium tunnel and onto the field with the finish on the 50 yard line, while you watch yourself finish on the Jumbo screen!! How cool is that!!

Note that means another reason to do my favorite type of running:

P I R A T E R U N N I N G ! ! AAAARRRRGGGG <--Pirate for GO BUCS!!

Easy Tuesday - Soooooo Stiff!!!

Distance: 2 miles         Time: sub 28 min       Mostly Cloudy 5:00 pm
Temperature: 78 °F        Humidity: 79%          Pressure: 29.93 inches

Well it’s that time of year again where the humidity in FL is higher then the temperature. It was a very nice night out. 2 miles on a Tuesday night is pretty good. I didn’t have a lot of time so I jumped online and measured a route (see links) and went for a run. I was really tight in my legs. I think because I was still very sore yesterday after the fitness trail on Sat. I wasn’t useless, just stiff so by next week’s workout I should be good!! YEA!! Then the following weekend is MILES FOR MOFFITT!! There is still so much to do. Well no use sitting here writing about it…

…gotta Run!!

Friday's run and Saturday's workout!!

Distance: ? mile          Time: ~15 min          Clear and warm 10:00 am
Temperature: 72 °F        Humidity: 69%          Pressure: 30.16 inches

Yesterday (Friday) I ran for ~15 min with the point being to just go and do it for a time rather than a distance. I didn't have a lot of time so I thought I would try this theory. Then I wouldn't be upset that I was running late or anything. I think it worked well enough. I will have to do more of this sort of workout so that I can just go for a run. It was a nice day and I ran at the trail at USF.

Today I did the trail at USF for the fitness trail. I was happy to do all the exercises with the jogs in between. A year or so ago with Randy we had to walk most of the way to do the exercises or run the trail but not stop at the stations. I only had to walk once where I was supposed to jog and that was between the last two leg exercises. I could tell they were getting tired on me. I did complete all of the exercises at the highest “par” except the upper bocy stations. (I sooooo have T-rex arms!!) I guess I’ll have to keep working on them.

I found a really awesome resource on Runner’s World!! It’s a personal trainer system called Smart Coach. You enter the last race and time you completed and your goal and how long till you want to reach it and it gives you workouts for 3 days a week at a choice of 3 different intensity levels. Very cool!! I will use it to set up my next goal. I think that will be 5 miles. (5k – 5mi sounds reasonable) then I’ll move to a 10K…maybe. I don’t have a race at 5miles coming up. In fact I am having trouble finding races in my area for the summer. Not that I’m completely surprised at that so I may have to wait till September or October to find another race I want to do. In the mean time I can just improve and extend my distance. I know the summer will be tough because of the heat and humidity here in good ole F-L-O-R-I-D-A. (Yes, I sang it like they do in the swamp)

Tomorrow….hmmmm….I haven’t come up with a plan but I will need to soon. I’ll let ya know what I figure out.

Run Strong!

So far so good

Distance: 3.3 miles       Time: no time          Clear and warm 10:30 am
Temperature: 72 °F        Humidity: ??%          Pressure: ??.?? inches

I ran the tree today but it was a little weird. I borrowed a friends GPS running calculator. It was really cool. I measured two trails near USF today so I did 2 miles (2 x 1 mi trail) at one park and then the trail at USF and found that it was ~1.3 miles

So there was a break in the middle of the run but the trails are only a few minutes drive apart so it was worth it today to do it that way. Now I can run on the trails and have a better idea of how far I am going.

My arms are sore from the work on the fitness trail yesterday. It's not too bad though. I am also ready to add a short free weights program to tomorrow and some yoga for flexibility. I will pack a lunch tonight to save me time, so I am doing well on my new changes.

Until next time....keep running!!

Goal #2: Rounding out the fitness plans.

Distance: 1 mile          Time: 11:54:50 mile    Clear and warm 11:00 am
Temperature: 81 °F        Humidity: 47%          Pressure: 30.20 inches

Now that the two 5K’s are done, and I’m not worried about the Miles for Moffitt fun run because I can run the mile and the event is more about all of us gathering in the memory of Randy and the awareness of the fight against cancer. So today I get started on a new goal. This week is Spring break so I do not have to teach 3 nights this week. This seems like the best time to start some new habits while things are a little slower and then I can continue them when things gear up again. To accomplish the first goal I had to run regularly to get to the 5K mark. This new goal is to now to add meal planning and to place some cross training on the off days. I’m going to add just some small additions like the Saturday run will now be a short warm-up before a fitness trail, and Monday and Wednesday mornings having some in-home core, flexibility, or upper body work. These are small additions and will facilitate each other. I don’t seem to have time to do small ½ hour workouts on Monday and Wednesday because I am running around finding my lunch in the morning or finding dinner at night. If I have my meals planned a little better the night before (even just lunch) then the next morning can have an easy ½ hour of workout time to get me started. That’s my thinking.

Today I did start the Saturday part of this by running one mile in the park and then doing the fitness circuit on the trail. I wasn’t overly impressed. Most of the upper body exercises were either too advanced even at the lowest level (and I’m not the worst to try the trail) or the equipment was built for men. Some of the shortest of the fitness bars was too high for me to reach to do the recommended exercise. I’m 5’ 5” and that makes me right at the national average for women. I’m not tall but I’m not short either so this seemed to not be helpful. Next week I will do the fitness trail at USF instead. I like that one better. The important part is that I did complete the workout and it was a workout. I also ran between about every other exercise so I got in a little more mileage today but I don’t know how far it ended up adding on.

I would hope that my next goal would be reached within a few weeks to a month since they are a scheduling/habit goal rather than a mileage goal. In the upcoming weeks I will decide my next running goal.

I’m a well rounded runner!!

5th Annual Bolt Run

I did it again!! YEA!! and I did it better!! By my watch I had a time of 40:34!! That is 1:20 faster. Last time my watch was with in a couple seconds of the chip time, so since this time there were no chips I figure the watch is better than the "official" time since I didn't start near the start of the pack.

This was a much smaller crowd and I was worried that with out people all around me I wouldn’t keep going but I was still distracted enough to not notice that I was still going.

I made a friend for the day. She is in town at MacDill AFB for a couple of months and was doing the run. I guess she figured out that I was alone too because she started a conversation with me while we were at the start. Afterwards I found her again (she ran much faster than me) and we hung out at the “after party.” It’s really more like a picnic on the plaza, but it was the best part. This time there was fruit and water but not just bananas. I’m not a big banana fan personally. AND there was PIZZA and BEER!! It rocked!! Two guys came and sat near us and joined in the conversation and the 4 of us waved at Thunder Bug (He is sooooo cute) and listened to the winners. (not me…hehehe) I had a lot of fun!! It was nice to talk about our times and improvements even though my time was soooo slow but they were all encouraging and nice and gave me some tips but weren’t nasty about if I was making any mistakes.

Last week was for me but this one was for Randy!! I’m glad it only got better. I know that as I do more of these I will get to a time when my times level out and some will be better than others, but for right now, I’m glad I am improving.

Running a little faster!

Told you I did it....

Here I am!! That's me!! I'm running like a Pirate!! It looks like I'm walking but I'm running Wait, I have another to prove it.....





See Here I'm running. I didn't say I ran fast I said I ran!!




Here I am at the finish area with the Pirates!! AAARRRGGG!!!!

I had a very good time.





Saturday is the 5th annual Bolt Run 5K. It is put on by the Tampa Bay Lightning for the benefit of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society!! I hope I do well again!! I don't think there is a picture company there this time. Nothing was in the literature about it but if there is I will post more pictures after that. I don't have anyone to come and watch or run with this time again so I can't have someone take a picture as I go by.

Gasparilla 2006 - Distance Classic - 5K

I DID IT!! I ran like a pirate!! I ran the whole way!! I really really did!! And they give you a medal for finishing!!

I took only a few walking steps twice to slow down to drink water at the two water tables (and they were crowded so you had to slow down)….That was it. Other than that I ran the whole way!! I had a chip time of 41:54 and a pace of 13:25.7. (According to the results posted to the web site!!) I know from my own watch that my first mile was under 12 minutes which was better than all the training runs. So I must have really slowed up after that but I ran the whole way!! When the pictures come in I will post them. And we don’t have to discuss my placing in either the women or the over all or the age group but there were more women then men and there were 6419 total runners!!

I wasn’t going for a time and I wasn’t going to run the whole way I was going to have fun and do it and I did better than I had hoped!! AND had a lot of fun too!!!

To top it all off, just when I got back into my truck a friend called and said she had an extra ticket to the Storm game this evening!! I said I had to check on some stuff, but then called back and told her I was in. THEY WON!! And they beat the only undefeated team in the AFL. It was a very exciting game and a lot of fun.

Needless to say I am wiped out!! I’m going to bed early tonight and I am going to read. Then tomorrow I am going to putt around the house most of the day and relax!! (Is it legal to drug the kitties so they will sleep in….it’s not….darn!)

AAAARRRGGGG!!!!! (<----Pirate for RUN!!)

My Running Feets!!!

I went to the Health and Fitness expo today to pick up my Race Package for the 5-k tomorrow. There are free samples, my number, coupons etc in the bag. How ever they made me walk to the very back of the expo to pick up my stuff. Aren't they smart all those booths of stuff to buy and people to hand you free stuff.

Then in front corner of the room that I walked passed as I was leaving, there it was, a booth of people selling Nikes. Big deal people selling Nikes, but they had those treadmills with the camera behind them to watch your feets!!! I HAD TO DO IT!! I stand slightly pigeon toed and have very flat feet but I don't tend to over pronate (roll my ankles in) like most flat-footed pidgin-toed people (well no one is perfect). Soooo I waited my turn and put on the shoes they gave me (so they have everyone in the same shoes). What did I find out? That I don’t pronate like most people with flat feet, I have a good heel strike, I run up the outside of my feet like I should, and my toes come up off the ground like they should. Basically I run correctly!! That was good news, he said he would never have guessed from my stride that my feet were flat and my big toes were best friends. I should still wear the shoes with more support in the arches. He confirmed that it is my flat feet that make my knees hurt when the arches in my shoes are bad.

The coolest part was watching my feet do their thing with out messing them up by looking down or sideways to try to watch them. On Monday I went to MOSI to the BODIES exhibit. I saw all the bones in the feet, ankles, and legs and the muscles that move them. Then to watch my very own two little feets running on the screen moving like they should was really cool!! I imagined the bones in my feet pulling and pushing the ligaments hanging on and my bones allowing my ankle to stay straight. Very interesting. I would recommend it!!

I got runner feets!!

Happy Presidents Day!!

Distance: 3 miles         Time: ??:??         FOGGY  8:45 am
Temperature: 56 °F        Humidity: 96%       Pressure: 30.26 inches

3 M I L E S ! ! ! Ok still some walking spots but only .3 miles and not all at once!! I can now do Gasparilla 5k this weekend. Good thing too since I have already paid to take part. It should be fun, I am really starting to look forward to it. I think tomorrow night I am going to go look at the race route, and I will try to just run 1.5 tomorrow with out stopping and a short mile on Friday to stay loose.

My calf didn't tighten up at all so I hope my shin doesn't start to ache like after the 2.75 run. I also have not been getting the cramps in my calf at night so maybe I am finally getting in better shape.

I ran near my home today. That way I only knew the half way point much like on race day. I won't have tenth mile marks like in the park. So I had to push to make it just a little farther before a break. I think it worked. I had a little bit of an idea of how far things were and I will for the race but I really only knew the route and the turn-around. I like to map the routes using "America's Running Routes" I don't save mine but I have my own list. I know it is about around the cemeteries near my house. That is a quiet run. (hehehe)

The park is my favorite but I like the streets too. Most people are nice and smile as you pass. I try to say "morning" as I pass and most smile and say it back. The neighborhoods near my home are older and near downtown so there are many different people on the streets. The only rude people were some tourists that had all of their luggage on the sidewalk waiting for the city bus and between them and their luggage they took up the whole sidewalk and they didn't even make an attempt to give me a path. I had to drop off onto the busy street. I didn't say morning to them. I usually like the tourists but these people were just rude. Most of the people on the street in the morning are part of the "work force" walking to work or waiting for the bus. They all look different and you can tell they all have different backgrounds and stories. All the shops are opening too getting ready for business for the day. I would be one of them most of the time driving to work or already there by this time but I happen to get Presidents day off, so it’s nice to see what happens when I’m not rushing to work myself.

I can run miles and miles :)