Catch a Wave Challenge

 It's self explanatory.  The goal is to catch a wave in every state that has an ocean coastline.  I'm off to a good start so far and yes, this can be doable.  

I'm listing my favorite beach in every state, which is subject to change as I visit more of them.  If I've never caught a wave, it's listed as TBD with the planned stop in parenthesis.

Pacific Coast:

Only in So-Cal is it warm enough to swim without a wetsuit and even there, Santa Barbara is about the northern limit.  I'm shooting for San Diego here but would not mind a visit to an LA beach as well.  Just completed Hawaii.  Nor-Cal and points north will always require a wetsuit.  Alaska will be tough but if I'm one state away, I've got to do it.  I only need to be in the water for 1 hour.  

So-Cal- Pacific Beach San Diego

Nor-Cal- TBD (Crescent City)

Oregon- TBD (Newport)

Washington- TBD (Westport)

Hawaii- Kua Bay

Alaska- TBD (Kodiak is best bet)

Gulf Coast- Here, water temps will be comfortable from April through the end of November in most years.  Problem is that the surf can go flat especially in the summer.  I've managed to catch a wave in all 5 states.  I got lucky with the conditions in Louisiana but there was barely enough wave action to qualify in Mississippi.

South Florida- Clearwater

North Florida- Ft. Walton

Alabama- Orange Beach

Mississippi- Ship Island

Louisiana- Grand Isle

Texas- South Padre

Atlantic Coast- It's a good bet that you will find rideable waves any time of year.  Depending on the location, you could see all year round comfortable temps in South Florida to a narrow window in Maine.  Yes, water temps can crack 70 for a few weeks in August even in Maine so I plan to do it.

South Florida- Miami

North Florida- Daytona

Georgia- Tybee Island

South Carolina- Isle of Palms

North Carolina- Carolina Beach 

Virginia- Chincoteague Island

Maryland- Ocean City

Delaware- Bethany Beach

New Jersey- Wildwood

New York- Rockaway

Connecticut- Ocean Beach (never any waves due to Long Island Sound)

Rhode Island- Narragansett

Massachusetts- Horseneck Beach

New Hampshire- Hampton Beach

Maine- Ogunquit

USA Travel Bucket List Revisited

 #1-The next trip is Delmarva there is no need to rehash the plan.  In short, it's Philadelphia down to the southern tip of Eastern Shore Virginia with a race in Salisbury, Maryland.  Number 47.

#2- North Dakota.  I've only been to Fargo and this one really would not be on my bucket list if I didn't need Minnesota as a half marathon state.  I hope to find a race in the western part of the state that is closer to Fargo than Minneapolis.  Government Bay and Theodore Roosevelt NP are both on my want to see.  This would be state #48.  I'd like to go to Manitoba and Saskatchewan on this trip but the border is closed.  Just to finish the challenge, I'd be willing to do just about any Minnesota race that is in person.  

#3- Maine/New Hampshire- I've been to each multiple times but I need Maine as a race state.  The time to go is August or early September.  Water temps should be in the upper 60s-low 70s so yes, I can swim without a wetsuit.  I also want to see Mt. Washington, one of the highest peaks in the east.  Again, late summer is the best chance to see it safely.  There are quite a few race options.   

That takes care of the race states, except for Hawaii.  Here are some other trip ideas:

Outer Banks, North Carolina- beach hopping trip from Wilmington up to Virginia Beach.  There's a good chance that I can swing this in early summer.  I have been to the Wilmington area as an adult but never the Outer Banks and not VA Beach since I was a small child.

Pacific Northwest- Again, I was there fairly recently (2018) but have some unfinished business. Now that I have a thin wetsuit, I should be able to tolerate the water there for at least an hour to complete my other challenge.  I could check off Washington, Oregon and California on the same trip.  The Oregon coast is especially beautiful.  I can also see the full Mt. Rainier NP and Redwoods NP on the same trip.  Again, late summer is the best time of the year so I can't do this one plus Maine/New Hampshire in the same year.  

Jersey Shore- I need New York and New Jersey for the Catch a Wave Challenge.  I would opt for Wildwood, New Jersey then drive up the coast to Rockaway in New York.  Perhaps I can see a Yankee game if fans are allowed.  Mid-late summer is the time to go.  I would have to choose between this trip and North Carolina.  

California (2)- One big trip or 2 small ones.  The latter is more my style.

Pacific Coast Hwy and Palm Springs to Lake Tahoe.  The first trip is probably best in late Spring-early summer.  Obviously, late winter is best for the latter.

Idaho- I've only seen the panhandle here.  I've thoroughly explored southern Utah but haven't even touched points north of Salt Lake City.  Idaho looks awesome from YouTube, especially the Sawtooth Hwy.

I have a few others but they would require a border crossing into Mexico so I'll leave those out for now.  Plenty left to explore in the USA even though I've visited all 50 states.

Training 2/22-2/28

 2/22- I keep reminding myself not to worry about the paces right now.  Just focus on getting decent mileage.  At this stage, that's a weekly total in the 25-30 range.  Do that consistently and the times will come down.  It's hard to stay positive on a day like this.  3 miles in 29:36 (9:52 pace).  True, 5 of these plus a long run will get me to 25 but this was really not good.  Started off in the low 9s and finished in the mid 10s.  Aimed for 4 miles but had to cut it short.  Good news is that I was noticeably better after taking extra ADHS after I got home.  Most likely, I just need to increase that dosage.  Hopefully, the blood donation next week will help in that regard.

Distance=3.0

2/23- Well. I found the culprit.  Once again, it AIN'T MY FAULT!  I had been taking Curcumin from NOW Foods.  I had to switch brands because it was out of stock.  Guess what, the brand that I chose triggered a reaction!  Just my luck!  I confirmed it when I got home.  Almost certainly, it contained an added ingredient that I just can't tolerate.  One or two days on it will weaken me but it won't be debilitating.  Taking it every day over the long haul is another matter. Fortunately, I found a good brand that will work as a substitute from a local food store.  The workout was just 1 mile and I cut off the watch in disgust.  Time was over 10 minutes.  I should be better tomorrow.

Distance=1.0 

2/24- 2 miles at Veteran's Park on a crystal clear evening.  3 laps around the lake in a time of 17:52 (8:56 pace).  Much better than yesterday.  This probably translates to 8:45 on Lakeshore because of the slow gravel trail.  Didn't expect to set the world on fire because I'm still clearing out the bad Curcumin but this was a LOT better than yesterday.

Distance=2.0

2/25- This is really getting ridiculous.  Took 3 ADHS in the morning and it clearly was not enough.  1 mile in 9:54 plus a half mile cool.  Again, noticeably better after taking ADHS after getting home.  Blood donation next week.  They had better let me donate.  Worried that I could be denied because I went to Cancun over Christmas.

Distance=1.5

2/26- Loaded on ADHS right before the workout.  I was better but not by much.  Lakeshore 2.5 in 24:09 (9:40 pace).  Again. the pace fell off rapidly on the back half.  I was at 11:25 at the turnaround then slipped to a 12:44.  The culprit is likely Lactoferrin.  Yesterday's medicine has become today's poison.  Nothing should surprise me anymore.

Distance=2.5

2/27- I knew that I could not go long today so I didn't even try.  Confirmed last night that the Lactoferrin in the culprit so I had to wait for it to clear.  1 lap at Montreat took me 3:20 (10:00 pace)  then I was slightly worse with just 1 Lactoferrin (3:27/10:21 pace).  By mid-afternoon, I was better (2:49/8:27 pace) but still in no condition to go long.

Distance=1.0

2/28- I cannot tolerate TRS without Lactoferrin so I went with neither this morning.  I was beyond awful.  Over 12 minutes for just 1 mile.  Took 1 Lactoferrin with TRS afterwards and felt noticeably better but so disgusted that I'm not going back out.  I'm going to have to go with low dose TRS plus Lactoferrin going forward.  May add back a small amount of Probiotics.  

Distance=1.0

-12 miles on the week.  YTD- 142.

Time is running out.  It looks like once again, I'll be heading into a race totally unprepared.  Only 5 weeks out now and next week's outlook is not much better.

Delmarva Road Trip Plan

 On April 3, the Salisbury half marathon is a GO and it will be state number 47!  It will NOT be a "virtual event."  I actually lived in Salisbury during the summer of 2000 but have not even stepped foot in the state of Maryland since 2005.  Yes, I've been to every other state in the Union at least once since then.  How did I skip Maryland for so long?  At any rate, there are still some questions about the logistics but those will soon be settled.

Which airport?

Baltimore, Reagan National and Philadelphia are all about 2.5 hours away but I will opt for Philly.  Birmingham used to have a direct flight there but apparently not anymore  I'll probably have to connect in Charlotte or again fly out of Atlanta.  One of the things that I wanted to do when I lived in Salisbury was to drive the entire Delmarva peninsula all the way from the Pennsylvania border down to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia.  It's only about 4.5 hours.  Back then, I was too much of a chicken but not so now.  

Arrival?

The race is on a Saturday so I could come into Philly either Thursday morning or Wednesday night.  I'm leaning towards Wednesday night.  If I do that, I might have a shot at seeing the inside of Independence Hall on Thursday, which I was unable to do last time.  Yes, it is open but tickets are sold in limited quantities on a first come first serve basis.  I would have to be there first thing in the morning.   

Stops on the way:

There is Delaware's State Capitol in Dover as well as several hidden gems on the Eastern Shore of both Maryland and Virginia.  I'll probably spend Thursday night near Cape Charles, Virginia.  It ought to be a good place to catch the sunset over the Bay.  Other possible stops include Chincoteague Island, Virginia and Jones State Park in Crisfield, Maryland.  

Friday will be a relatively leisurely  day and I expect to get into Salisbury by early afternoon.  I'll just chill and check out my old stomping grounds.  I've been told that Salisbury has experienced considerable growth in the last 20 years so I may not even recognize much of it.  I know that my old apartments are still there but the K-Mart where I worked is not.  

Saturday is race day.  After that, the plan is to walk on the Ocean City boardwalk then head up the Delaware coast towards Philly.  Even with a wetsuit, it will be too cold to swim there in early April.  Water temp will likely be below 50 degrees. 

When to fly back?

That's another question.  I'm starting to lean towards Atlanta because they will likely have several direct flights to and from Philly.  Sunday is Easter and I will NOT miss church on this day.  I do have a friend in Philly that I would like to meet and we've talked about attending church together.  I must find a flight late enough to give me enough time to do that.  Otherwise, I'll have to fly back on Saturday.  I cannot miss any work the following week.    

Big Island Hawaii Trip Report

 2/10- Got the negative COVID test so I was off to Atlanta after work to catch my flight the next morning.  I've done that many times and that went without a hitch.

2/11- Flight to LAX and Kona both went off as planned.  In LAX, you are not allowed to eat inside the airport restaurants.  Instead, you must take the food and drink to your gate, which creates MORE crowding and makes no sense.  In Kona, there was a NEAR DISASTROUS SNAFU.  They wanted a hard copy of my negative COVID test and I don't have a printer at home.  I was told that I would have to go to quarantine.  I protested that I did not have access to a printer and threw in that my results didn't come until I had already left for Atlanta.  Add to that, they did not provide a printer for such cases.  Fortunately, the boss overruled the employee and let me go free when I provided the e-mail from my phone which proved that I tested negative within 72 hours of my departure.  When that was over, I had to get ANOTHER COVID test.  This one was a rapid PCR test in which the results came back within 2 hours.  I would be informed only if the test was positive.  I never heard back.  So now, why the hell would they send me to quarantine without a proper test before arrival?  Just hold me until the rapid test comes back negative!  Fortunately, it did not come to that and I was off to the rental car pickup.  I had to provide proof of the negative test to rent a car AND check into my hotel.  Those 2 instances were no problem.  

2/12- As expected, because my body was still adjusting to the time change, I was up before the sun this morning.  First stop was a sunrise hike down to a black sand beach.  After that, it was on to Akaka Falls, where I caught some views of snow capped Mauna Kea along with some impressive water falls in a jungle environment.  As for the weather, days always dawned crystal clear but clouds increased throughout the day.  The farther south and east you go, the rainier it gets.  On my last day, it was raining pretty hard just a few miles inland but it remained dry on the beach itself.  Temps were about the same every day.  Low 70s in the morning and low 80s in the afternoon with a water temp in the mid-upper 70s.  

 

By the afternoon, I made it to the closest beach to Akaka Falls, which was at Hapuna State Park and what was probably the largest stretch of white sand on the island.  Conditions were fairly calm but I did manage a decent body surfing session.  

2/13- Drive down to Volcanoes National Park, where I saw no lava flows but a large crater and several steam vents.  Much of the park roads passed through lava fields   From there, it was on to New Black Sand Beach.  Unfortunately, there were too many sharp rocks on the ocean floor so I never got too deep in the water.  Still, I had never seen such exotic scenery so it was well worth the trip.  Dinner was a pineapple and ham pizza at a nice overlook just after sunset.  

2/14- Drove up to Mauna Kea Visitor's Center to 9200 feet altitude.  Temperatures dropped to the 40s and there was certainly snow at the summit.  I really wanted to go sledding just a few times but the road was closed.  Rental cars are not allowed past the Visitor's Center so my best bet would have been to hitch a ride up.  I was not worried about getting up but back down could have been a problem.  Today, the road was closed.  It was raining at 9000 feet so that meant snow at 13,000.  After some deliberation, I decided not to try again.  Being stuck up top and riding back down with a stranger was not real appealing.  Afternoon was an epic surf session at Kua Bay with a water color just as blue as Cancun.

2/15- I had planned to stay in Kona at Magic Sands Beach today but because of a freak high tide, the sand near the water had disappeared, leaving a rocky shoreline.  This is a fairly common occurrence.    The water looked the same beautiful blue as Kua and there were people in the surf but the lifeguard advised me against it.  I went with my gut and obeyed.  If I fell off my board and landed head first on a rock, I could be seriously hurt.  Instead, it was back to Hapuna.  I thought about going someplace different but really did not want to risk another beach out of the way that was not suitable for swimming.  This time, it was rough at Hapuna and I went down several times but caught plenty of good rides to the shore.     

2/16- Pretty much a full day because my flight did not leave until 9:40 PM.  My choices were Rainbow Falls in Hilo or Waipio Beach, another steep hike to a 3rd black sand beach.  I chose the latter.   Actually, it wasn't really black, more like dark grey that turned black when wet but still pretty cool.  This one had a beautiful overlook and a STEEP hike down, which later caused blisters on my feet but it was well worth it.  As a bonus, this beach was good for swimming and the waves were nearly perfect.  Not strong enough to be dangerous but plenty big enough to be exciting.  There was no food down there so I left for a food truck on the road then it was back to Kua Bay for another great surf session.  

2/17- Sleepless night but no delay.  Layover in Seattle and not surprisingly, I was totally whipped back in Atlanta.  After 20 minutes on the road, it was clear that it would not be safe to drive the 2.5 hours back to Birmingham.  I got off at the next exit and just crashed out.  The next morning, I was back in Birmingham.  

Training 2/15-2/21

 2/15- 1 mile junk run this time in the morning near the hotel.  Ran this one on the same road as the Ironman Start/Finish.  Moderate effort brought me home in 7:48 on a route that included a tough climb at the end.  Not bad.  Just want to maintain some level of fitness.

Distance=1.0

2/16- I may be cheating by counting this but it was a 3 mile hike that included 2400 feet of elevation change.  I didn't run it but it was a real workout.  

Distance=3.0

2/17- Flight back to Atlanta.  Planned rest day.

2/18- Elective rest day.  Jet lag is easing up a bit.  Good enough for a junk run but I'll save it for tomorrow.  

2/19- Lakeshore 2.5 in 22:18 (8:55 pace) plus a half mile cool.  Still recovering from jet lag but didn't feel too awfully bad.  1st half in 11:09, 2nd half in 11:09.  How about that!  It won't be great but I may be up for going long tomorrow.

Distance=3.0

2/20- 10 miles in 97:34 (9:45 pace).  Most important thing is that I made it.  My pace fell off a cliff after a respectable first 5 miles.  (45:36-51:58).  9th mile was over 11 minutes before a mild rebound at the end.  A half marathon today would probably be around 2:10 but I believe I can do better.  I'm not fully recovered from the trip and I don't think I took enough Lactoferrin given that I loaded on TRS.  If I can manage 3 tomorrow, that's 20 on the week.  This was my longest run since October of last year.

Distance=10.0

2/21- I had nothing today.  Too sore from yesterday.  I am neither surprised nor disappointed.  Probably didn't gain any fitness from this but I did manage to total 3 miles naked.  Did 3 laps at Montreat this morning then another 6 in the afternoon.  I was slightly better in the afternoon so I may deliver a non-terrible workout tomorrow.

Distance=3.0

-20 miles on the week.  YTD- 130

Training 2/8-2/14

 2/8- Hoping to run 6 @ 8:30ish.  Ended up with 5 miles in 42:20 (8:28 pace).  This was a case of a run that looks better than it is.  After a strong start, I struggled again in Miles 3-4 before a decent rebound at the end.  1st half- 20:56, 2nd half- 21:24.  Still, not bad overall.  I'm sure that I beat my 10K split (54:37) from Saturday but don't think I could have held an 8:45 pace for 8 miles.  Added a half mile cool in which I was barely moving.  Took my COVID test this afternoon and it wasn't bad.  I hope I get the results back before I leave for Atlanta on Wednesday night.  This is a front loaded week but I still hope to hit at least 20 for the next 2 weeks.  Passed 100 miles on the year.

Distance= 5.5

2/9- Tried to run without ADHS and it was not pretty.  2 miles in 19:46 (9:53 pace) plus a cool at glacial pace.  I REALLY don't like being this dependent on one pill.  I've held off on the blood donation until I get back.  That may help slow down my adrenals.  No test result yet.

Distance=2.5

2/10- A lunchtime junk run was all I had time for today.  Ran it naked but it was ugly again.  I'm going to have to make up the shortfall in Hawaii and hope there are some decent places to run near my hotel.  Still hope to get at least 20 the next 2 weeks.  Tested negative so the trip is a GO.

Distance=2.0

2/11- Travel day.  Arrived in Hawaii

2/12- 2.5 miles on the 'mill at the hotel.  That's about all I can stand to do on that machine.  I will likely fall short of my weekly target but that's not the focus this week.  Held a steady 8:30 pace with a strong kick at the end.  Just about my norm despite a bit of jet lag.

Distance=2.5

2/13- Volcanoes National Park junk run.  Totaled 1.5 miles on relatively flat but uneven terrain.  Slow pace but it was hard to pick up speed on that trail.  My days are busy and I usually don't get back until after dark.

Distance=1.5

2/14- Kua Bay.  1 mile junk run but it was up a steep hill then back down.  Finished in 9:11 with the first half in 5:00 followed by a 4:11 back half.  Not as bad as it looks.  The climb was FIERCE then I had to brake going down rather than just let loose.

Distance=1.0

- 15 miles on the week.  YTD- 110

Finalized Hawaii Trip Plan

 2/8- Monday afternoon, I will need to go to Wal-Mart for a NAAT COVID test.  That must be done within 72 hours of my last flight, which leaves Los Angeles at 1:25 PM so I'll have to wait until 3:30 CST to be safe.  Turnaround time is 24-48 hours so if there is a SNAFU at the testing site, I should be okay to do it first thing on Tuesday morning.  I fully expect my test to be negative and this test is more accurate than the PCR.  Unfortunately, if it comes back positive, I'm probably SOL.  Not enough time to re-test.  

2/10- I know the drill.  Drive to Atlanta after work and stay in a cheap motel near the airport.  Done it many times before.  It is much cheaper than flying out of Birmingham even with the hotel stay.  

2/11- Flight out of Atlanta does not leave until 9:40 AM so I won't have to get up super early.  I'll have an hour and 40 minute layover in LAX so that will be plenty of time to get a sit down lunch though I may opt for In and Out Burgers.  I land in Kona at 5:20 PM local time.  Not much daylight left and I'm sure that I'll be tired.  Most likely, I'll just check into my hotel and shut down for the night.  

Boogie board:

Bring my own, rent or buy?  In Cancun, I brought my own and it was a good call because there are not many surf shops.  Different story in Hawaii so I'm leaning against that for this trip.  It will cost $30 each way to check it and one of DELTA's acronyms is Don't Expect Luggage To Arrive.  Miller's Surf Shop USED TO have good deals on weekly rentals but that's off due to COVID.  Choose your own offensive word about that policy.  I can buy one at Wal-Mart or Costco for under $40, which is still cheaper than bringing my own.  Unfortunately, I'll be sacrificing some quality but I'm not paying over $60.    Many others are in my situation and you would think that there would be a good selection of used boards at discounted prices.  That may not be the case but I'll look into it.  No reason to bring it back home when I already have two.  I could make a young kid very happy by giving mine away before I leave.     

Flight home:

I don't leave Hawaii until 9:40 PM on 2/16 so I'll have essentially 5 full days.  I'm taking a red eye into Seattle and don't expect to get much sleep.  I don't get back to Atlanta until 3:50 PM the next day. However, what is most important is the 5 days in between.

Here's a list of things that I want to see:

Akappa Falls (sp?)- That's on the Windward side closer to Hilo and I can probably do this one the same day as another hike, which is Pololu Valley.  That one could be EPIC at sunrise.  

New Black Sand Beach (Punalu).  I should see some sea turtles here and the water does look to be good for swimming as well.  This is near Volcanoes NP so these 2 will be seen on the same day.

Mauna Kea- This one is big but also tricky.  It's the tallest mountain in Hawaii at 13,000 feet elevation.  I've been higher at Pikes Peak, Colorado without significant issues.  There will DEFINITELY be snow at the peak and lots of people go skiing and sledding at the top.  My boogie board can double as a sled.  I've seen lots of YouTube videos of people doing it.  Man, it would be wild to do this in the morning then body surf in the afternoon in 80 degree weather!  Truly, a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

 Big problem is that 4 WD is required and your insurance is voided if there is an issue on that road.  You are only permitted to drive up to the Visitor's Center at 9,000 feet.  I'd imagine that my State Farm would also be voided.  I'm renting a Jeep so I'm good on the 4WD but still don't feel good about chancing it.  I'll ask about the conditions and safety issues.  Two other options include hiking up to the snow line, which is probably not too far.  However, finding a good spot may not be as easy as at the summit.  Second, I can hitch a ride from a local who has done this before.  Yes, it is a common practice there.  The full hike up to the summit is 6 miles each way.  Too long and too difficult at that altitude.  A clear day is a must with no snow on the road!    

In addition to New Black Sand Beach, I'd like to sample Magic Sands, Kua Bay and Hapuna.  All 3 are reportedly spectacular.  Of course, there are plenty of other spots worth seeing that I won't be able to get to.  I may not spend as much time in Oahu but want a full week in Kauai and Maui.  5 days is a good amount of time for the Big Island.

No pictures on this post.  Wait for the trip report.   

Training 2/1-2/7

 2/1- Vestavia 5K and my time is down to 25:13 (8:04 pace) plus a cool. Best time of the year.  Splits were 7:49-8:11-8:22-51.  Thought I had a shot at sub-25 (Mendoza line) through the first half but faded considerably after the first 6 laps.  This was an improvement of 65 seconds in the last 3 days.  I attribute it to correcting the dosage of the TRS/Lactoferrin combo.  I feel good about that.  I'll be noticeably weaker if I mess up the dose but it won't be a disaster unless I completely miss one or the other.  Soon, I want to see how I do if I load on both instead of low doses.   

Distance=3.5

2/2- AM.  Interval tests.  1 lap at standard effort without TRS or Lactoferrin.  Clocked a 2:38 (7:54 pace).  Not a significant drop off from yesterday in terms of how I felt but I don't think I could have matched the performance.  Probably around 26-flat give or take a few ticks.  With mega TRS and only 1 Lactoferrin pill, I slipped to 2:41 (8:03 pace).  Not a significant drop off and I think my effort was dialed back a hair as well.  Without any Lactoferrin at all, it would have been awful.  Moment of truth came when I loaded on Lactoferrin.  Clocked a 46.9 (4:41 pace) on a half lap running all out then cooled down.  At the same distance last Sunday, I could only muster a 50.1.  That's a 20 second improvement per mile.  I felt a difference as well.  I'm still sticking with the lower dose of both to save money.  I'll get the results that I want but it will take longer.  If I had clocked a sub-45 on the high dose, I'd reconsider.  I might load for one day if I have a race or time trial upcoming.   

PM- 4 miles on Lakeshore in 32:24 (8:06 pace).  Strong.  Definitely felt the benefits of increased TRS and Lactoferrin.  Passed 3 miles at almost exactly the same time as yesterday then had another good mile in me and was not spent at all.  I actually dialed back the effort a bit compared to yesterday.

Distance=5.0

2/3- Not as strong on the lower dose but this was still not bad.  2.5 on Lakeshore plus a cool.  Finished in 20:24 (8:10 pace) with splits of 10:07-10:17.  Probably would have been more like 8:20ish if I went 4 miles but I did scale back the effort a bit.  With the exception of my half lap sprint, all my runs have been the same pace give or take a few seconds.  That needs to change.  I expect my long run will be slow but that is by design.

Distance=3.0

2/4- 5 miles in 43:42 (8:44 pace).  Aimed for 8:30ish and came in a bit slow.  Not worried about it.  This was still over a minute better than last week.  Probably nothing more serious than accumulated fatigue from increased mileage.  I was on pace through the first half then Mile 3 and 4 were close to 9 minutes.  Rebounded in Mile 5 and could have gone longer.  Soon, it will remain daylight long enough to run on roads with traffic.  I'd like to add a bit of variety instead of staying on Lakeshore all the time.

Distance=5.0

2/5- Planned rest day.  On target in terms of mileage.

2/6- 8 miles in 70:02 (8:45 pace).  Well done.  Actually, it was a little better than I was expecting.  Passed 4 miles at 8:41 pace then hung on for an 8:49 on the back half.  Slacked a bit in Mile 5 and passed 10K in 54:37 for an improvement of 4:03 in the last 2 weeks.  Finished strong and actually increased the average pace in the last 1.8 miles.  Could have broken 70 if I really sprinted at the end.  I needed about a 9:45 pace for the next 5.1 to break 2 hours for a half mary.  I think I can do it and still have almost 2 months until race day, which as of now is still on.

Distance=8.0

2/7- NAKED.  3 mile Trak Shak loop.  Good to get out on the roads again.  Naked means no watch in case you didn't know.  Easy recovery effort but legs still had decent pop and I could have delivered a non-terrible performance today.  Still, it's a smart call to take it easy today because I'm going to front load next week.  I don't anticipate doing much running in Hawaii.

Distance=3.0

Best week of the year by far.  I feel good about my progress.

Distance= 27.5/ YTD= 95