Training Log

7 am - MRTC 2nd 5 miler. I was actually early getting to the race area which I do not know too well since I hardly ever go to the area of Bartlett where the race is. I had directions from Google maps and had the name of the park where the race start is, but apparently, there are 2 Freeman Parks in Bartlett - the Google directions took me to the high school stadium, and no one was there. So I drove around the neighborhood a while and was totally lost. About 7 minutes before the race is scheduled to start, I finally see a lady walking her poodle and ask her how to get there. She is not quite sure she knows the exact directions, but she sent me in the right direction, and I got there 3 minutes before the race start, parked quickly, and ran over to the start area just as the announcer was getting ready to blow the start siren. Whew! I would have been pretty disappointed to miss this race since I missed the 1st 5 miler because of Jacob being sick all night the night before.

Felt pretty strong and finished in 38:15 which may be a PR for 5 miles - don't do too many 5 mile races, so not sure. It was a great morning to run - kind of humid but overcast. Waiting for the official results.

5:40 am - 10.17 mile loop around the lake, through Schilling Farms, Poplar Ave, Peterson Lake Rd.  Felt strong.

Later in the day, the remnants of now tropical storm Fay came through, and it rained really hard in a short period of time.  My son's apartment building in midtown Memphis  flooded, so we were all up until midnight, cleaning up the mess.  Lots of water on the first floor.  Fortunately, he was home at the time and was able to move a lot of things upstairs as the water came in.  Unfortunately, his car also got flooded, with the water more than halfway up the doors, and in the engine.  Looks like it is totaled. 

6:15 am. - 7.3 mile loop in the direction with the uphills - traffic is heavy at the high school again, so went in the original direction.

6 am - 7.8 miles, around the lake near town hall and back. Felt pretty good.  Hoping to do a long run tomorrow morning.  I have a 14.2 mile race on Sunday in Tupelo.

5:18 am - so this is my long morning run - I don't have a course mapped out, which is poor planning, so I just added more to what I usually have been running and ran in a few areas that I have not run before to try to add mileage. My plan was to run 2 hours, 45 minutes, and I ended up running 2 hours 34 minutes, which is close. I do have to go to work this morning! Ran out to the fitness center, past the lake but didn't run around the lake because it was too dark over there and there are no lights around the lake. Ran through Schilling Farms, out to Poplar, then to Peterson Lake Rd and down through Johnson Park. Legs started to hurt at about 2 hours, but kept going, and pretty soon they felt better. When I got close to home, I felt like I could have gone further, but also felt pressed for time because I didn't want to be late for work.

So, this means I need to start earlier if my long runs are on a weekday morning. I'm hoping to have time this evening after work to run more miles, even though it won't be a continuous long run. And, I need to think about running some easy miles after the 14.2 race on Sunday to get in another long run.

7 pm - 4.23 mile run - Byhalia - Powell Rd Park - through park to drinking fountain - up to Peterson Lake Road - Simmons Ridge - Home. Felt a little sluggish at first but better as the run progressed.

6:10 am - 7.8 mile loop around the town hall lake.  Felt a little tired in the middle of the run and better after that.  Nice morning to run.

6:30 am - ride with Mike, one of my co-workers. We are training for the MS 150 which is Sept. 13 and 14 - riding 150 miles to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society - the money raised goes to local area chapter for services for families impacted by MS and for research through the national chapter.  Helping deliver the cure.

 Rode a shorter distance of 40 miles today because of my 14.2 mile race tomorrow.  We'll ride again on Monday, hopefully a longer ride depending on how my legs feel.