St. Petersburg Beach

 
On our anniversary in 2007, Susan and I flew to Tampa and went to St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. We absolutely loved the area that we came back this past August. When we were talking with the girls about where they would like to go over Christmas break, they said they wanted to go somewhere warm. We left on Friday morning and headed to just south of Atlanta. That trip took us about 12 hours. The next day we had a short day and arrived around 3:30 on Saturday afternoon. Our condo that we reserved for 4 days is a two bedroom, two bath. We are having a great time. We have enjoyed walking on the beach every morning and evening. We will be here until Wednesday morning when we head to Orlando to visit Shamu for New Year's Eve. Thursday we will comeback to St. Petersburg for one night and the girls and Susan will fly back to Springfield. I will be on my way to Virginia for some Public Health Service training for two weeks.

Christmas Day Run

Well another year is coming to a close. I have really increased my running lately. Last week I logged 26 miles and the week before I logged 25. I owe the increase in my intensity to Rob, who has embraced running at an obsessive level. I am also big time trying to get my weight to 155. I am feeling really good running at this weight (167). Today I ran 6 miles in Republic. The sun was out and was shining brightly. The crisp December air was highlighted by a 20 mph wind from the South. Surely this wind running will help my overall speed in the spring when marathon time comes around.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Springfield, MO Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 12/07/08 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 08:12 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0   Weather: Fair   28 F temp; 55% humidity   28 F heat index; winds SE 12 Performance Distance: 10.00 miles Time: 1:38:38 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 52 /mi Heart Rate: 148 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1752 170 bpm (Peak) Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Heart Rate (bpm)   Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 176 - 195 0h 00m 0%  0.00 mi Zone 4 156 - 176 0h 20m 20%  2.17 mi Zone 3 137 - 156 1h 12m 73%  7.43 mi Zone 2 117 - 137 0h 11m 11%  0.93 mi Zone 1 98 - 117 0h 01m 1%  0.11 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0%  0.01 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 37 -0' 15 6.2 +0.1 140 -- ft 2 10' 04 +0' 12 6.0 -0.1 145 -- ft 3 9' 48 -0' 04 6.1 +0.0 145 -- ft 4 10' 21 +0' 29 5.8 -0.3 147 -- ft 5 9' 49 -0' 03 6.1 +0.0 148 -- ft 6 10' 09 +0' 17 5.9 -0.2 148 -- ft 7 10' 16 +0' 24 5.8 -0.2 149 -- ft 8 10' 01 +0' 09 6.0 -0.1 148 -- ft 9 9' 54 +0' 02 6.1 -0.0 152 -- ft 10 8' 55 -0' 57 6.7 +0.6 160 -- ft end ** ** ** ** 170 ** ft Versus average of 9' 52 min/mile ** Insufficient data to calculate this split

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The training continues

I managed another week in which I logged 6 days of activity. I ran 4 days and swam 3 days. I know that sounds like 7 but I actually swam and ran on the same day on Friday. You can see my dailymile widget that keeps my miles logged on this same page. Rob and I are gearing up for the Turkey Trot on Thursday and we are both excited about it. I am hoping to crush my PR by at least 2 minutes, but it's going to be tough.

Dailymile

Ravished after a run.

Went for a little run with Rob today after work. The temp at start was about 43. I decided to run the first mile at a pretty fast pace and wound up running 7:19 for the first mile. Rob and I ran together on a course that he had been telling me about and it wound up being the exact same way I had been running during the summer. After we got back to his house I had run 5 miles, so I decided to take it up a notch for the way home. I pushed it very hard and finished the last mile in 7:15 which leads me to wonder if I am going to be able to break 23 minutes in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I haven't used my inhaler in over a year, but the air was cold today and I almost went for it, but decided against it.  We had supper shortly after I got back to the house and I felt like my body absorbed every calorie in about ten minutes, which left me very hungry and searching for calories. I went to Wal-Mart after I took the girls to dance and I bought a box of Snyder's of Hanover Bavarian Pretzels, ate three of them and had a Diet Mt. Dew. I realize it wasn't necessarily the best choice considering I had candy already today and I am trying to lose 10 pounds. I know that I need to drink more water. I am really enjoying my training and can truly envision one day completing a triathlon.  I have increased my swimming to three days a week and can swim a half mile without stopping. 

Very windy run with Rob 2.0. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1259 ft Location: Springfield, MO Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 11/11/08 Up/Downhill: [+239/-236] Time: 09:00 AM Difficulty: 2.9 / 5.0   Weather: Overcast and Windy   47 F temp; 82% humidity   47 F heat index; winds SE 26 G 36 Performance Distance: 6.23 miles Time: 1:04:51 Speed: 5.8 mph Pace: 10' 25 /mi Heart Rate: 148 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1076 180 bpm (Peak) Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Heart Rate (bpm)   Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 176 - 195 0h 00m 0%  0.04 mi Zone 4 156 - 176 0h 25m 39%  2.65 mi Zone 3 137 - 156 0h 32m 49%  3.22 mi Zone 2 117 - 137 0h 06m 10%  0.54 mi Zone 1 98 - 117 0h 03m 5%  0.12 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0%  0.00 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 59 -0' 26 6.0 +0.2 137 -7 ft 2 9' 51 -0' 34 6.1 +0.3 141 -16 ft 3 9' 52 -0' 33 6.1 +0.3 148 -10 ft 4 10' 01 -0' 24 6.0 +0.2 154 +10 ft 5 10' 06 -0' 19 5.9 +0.2 159 +20 ft 6 8' 59 -1' 26 6.7 +0.9 164 +4 ft end 24' 53 +14' 28 2.4 -3.3 127 +4 ft Versus average of 10' 25 min/mile

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Was a little windy but after about a mile started to really loosen up. A stupid dog chased me at about the 1/2 mile mark. I wore my Heart Rate monitor for the first time in a long while. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1279 ft Location: Republic, MO Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 11/06/08 Up/Downhill: [+193/-190] Time: 08:10 AM Difficulty: 2.1 / 5.0   Weather: Fair   52 F temp; 83% humidity   52 F heat index; winds W 17 G 22 Performance Distance: 4.50 miles Time: 0:38:45 Speed: 7.0 mph Pace: 8' 37 /mi Heart Rate: 162 bpm (Avg) Calories: 786 178 bpm (Peak) Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Heart Rate (bpm)   Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 176 - 195 0h 00m 1%  0.07 mi Zone 4 156 - 176 0h 35m 91%  4.12 mi Zone 3 137 - 156 0h 04m 11%  0.49 mi Zone 2 117 - 137 0h 00m 0%  0.00 mi Zone 1 98 - 117 0h 00m 0%  0.01 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0%  0.01 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 49 +0' 12 6.8 -0.2 157 +23 ft 2 8' 47 +0' 10 6.8 -0.1 160 +20 ft 3 8' 32 -0' 05 7.0 +0.1 164 +10 ft 4 8' 24 -0' 13 7.1 +0.2 165 -19 ft end 8' 30 -0' 07 7.0 +0.1 165 -30 ft Versus average of 8' 37 min/mile

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Bass Pro Half Marathon

The temperature at the start was about 60 degrees. If you look at the data below you will see that I went out too fast. I have got to learn to be a better overall pacer. I was starting to get a little dehydrated by the end of the race, but I felt like I finished strong. However, I finished under my goal time of 1 hour and 50 minutes. All of the miles are accurate except the last 0.1 because I forgot to hit the stop button on my GPS watch. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Springfield, MO Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 11/02/08 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:02 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0   Weather: Fair   60 F temp; 89% humidity   60 F heat index; winds S 10 Performance Distance: 13.14 miles Time: 1:49:45 Speed: 7.1 mph Pace: 8' 25 /mi Calories: 2489 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 7' 39 -0' 51 7.8 +0.8 -- ft 2 8' 01 -0' 29 7.5 +0.4 -- ft 3 7' 56 -0' 34 7.6 +0.5 -- ft 4 7' 55 -0' 35 7.6 +0.5 -- ft 5 8' 23 -0' 07 7.2 +0.1 -- ft 6 8' 29 -0' 01 7.1 +0.0 -- ft 7 8' 17 -0' 13 7.2 +0.2 -- ft 8 8' 47 +0' 17 6.8 -0.2 -- ft 9 8' 21 -0' 09 7.2 +0.1 -- ft 10 8' 46 +0' 16 6.8 -0.2 -- ft 11 8' 47 +0' 17 6.8 -0.2 -- ft 12 8' 52 +0' 22 6.8 -0.3 -- ft 13 8' 34 +0' 04 7.0 -0.1 -- ft end 19' 10 +10' 40 3.1 -3.9 -- ft Versus average of 8' 25 min/mile

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2008 Wildcat Duathlon

This morning, I participated in the Wildcat Duathlon. This was a real fun event and one that I knew that I wouldn't be competitive in, but I ran and biked as hard as I could. I finished the first two miles in 15:58, took about a minute at the transition point and headed out for the bike ride. The bike course was hilly (in my opinion). I was riding a Trek 7.3 Fx. which is not geared like a road bike. I started out strong but many people passed me on the bike ride. It took me 52 minutes to ride 12 miles. By the time we got to the last leg, I was fairly far back. My legs felt like bricks and jello but I was able to pass about 10 people on the second two mile run and finished at 1:26:12. I feel pretty good for that time, considering it was my first race.

2008 Sunshine Run

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Originally uploaded by scottgriffith22

We loaded up the family this morning and headed for the St. John's Sunshine Run. Emily and her friend Jade ran the Murney 5k and ran along with them until the finish. They finished at 26:11 and placed 4th and 5th in their age division. I changed clothes and watched some of my friends and family come in, then headed for the starting line. I lined up hoping to run a 8 minute pace which would have put me in around 49 minutes and some change. I set my GPS watch to buddy mode and set the pace around 8. About half way through the run I was feeling the strain, but was determined not to slow down. When I rounded the corner in the last 200m I saw the clock showed 47:30 so I let out a "yahoo!" and put it in high gear to finish with a time of 48:05 which crushed my PR from last year (52:39). Hopefully I will use this to propel me to a nice PR for the Bass Pro Shops Half-Marathon.

Multisport

Recently I have been considering becoming a multi-sport recreational athlete. I have been running for two years now and have a firm grasp on running. My quest for more speed has led to me losing about 8 pounds since a year ago. I am currently at 171 and hoping to get between 160 and 165. I will be running the Bass Pro Shops Half-Marathon on November 2. I am hoping to really smash my PR of 1:58:05(Personal Record for those of you scoring at home).

I have recently purchased a bike (Trek 7.3fx) and have been getting interested in riding. I have rode about 30 miles total on it so far. I am considering participating in a duathlon on October 18th which consists of a 2 mile run, 12 mile bike ride and another 2 mile run.

 

 

Head games in the morning

It's amazing to me how much running is controlled by your mind. I woke up this morning at 5 and made a pot of coffee.  When I first got up I stood there for a few minutes contemplating skipping the run and sitting in the hot tub. I'm getting tired of running with temps in the 80's so  I decided to go ahead and go for it. I drank a cup threw on my running clothes and headed out the door. I headed out down my usual route. The air was foggy and it was still dark outside. The temp was about 60, so it was perfect. I'm always concerned about dogs and other animals on the loose so I try to keep my wits about me. Initially I was going to run 30 minutes. However, I decided on a specific route without knowing the exact mileage and I wound up running 39 minutes and was able to run 4.75 miles. I was so glad I ran after I was done. With the fall coming on, I am feeling stronger and stronger. 

A nice day for a long run

At 6 Sunday morning, Patrick and I met at Sequiota Park for a 12 mile run. The starting temp was 60 degrees and it was slightly humid. I felt good the entire run, in fact I ran the last mile in 8 minutes flat. I am planning to run the Bass Pro Shops Half-Marathon on November 2. I am hoping to beat last years time of 1:58:19.

I'm glad I still did it

This morning I was supposed to meet Patrick for a 12 mile run at about 5:45 a.m. at Sequiota Park. But at 4:35 Pat called me to tell me the wind and rain was too much to run in this morning. I went back to sleep and was woke up at 7 by my mother calling me to tell me she was in the hospital with complaints of chest pain. Susan and I got up and went to Cox South to visit with mom. Her EKG and bloodwork had been negative and she was waiting to a treadmill stress test. She was basically in for a long day because waiting for the results of the test is usually the long part. She eventually had the test and found it to be negative and got to go home from the hospital. When we got back from the hospital, it was clear outside and I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to go for a run by myself. It was extremely windy but I relaxed and took it very easy. I was able to run 7 miles and I felt really good the rest of the day. 

Running after meals

I took the Brittany and Courtney to dance class tonight. While we were waiting for them to finish, Emily and I went down to the track at the Nixa High School and ran a little while. I ran about 2 miles then we did some intervals.  The bad part about tonight's run was that I ate  dinner about an hour before the run and I didn't run quite as fast as I would have hoped to. Emily and I both ran a 400m for time. She ran it in 1 min 37 seconds and I ran it in 1 min 29 seconds. She did really well for a 10 year old girl. 

Running with bricks on my feet

This afternoon, after work I went for a run here in Republic. As I was running, I felt very tired from the start. I was able to run over 3 miles, but I had to stop and walk several times. The temperature was about 73 at my run time. I literally felt like I was running with bricks tied to my shoes. My ipod battery was too low to use, so I carried my cellphone and played the mp3s on it.

Run to the battlefield

After not running Thursday, I decided that I better get a long run in today. I have been enjoying running with someone for the long ones, but today no one else was available. So I headed off around 9 and ran out to Wilson's Creek Battlefield entrance and back. There was a pretty strong wind out of the North which made it chilly when I first started. The sky was very overcast and at times I wondered if it was going to start raining. It never did, however.