I'm retired from racing. Really.

PM 6 around my house. Great weather for a run.

AM 5 miles on GE trails. Nice to be on the dirt again. Saw deer and turkey from a distance, not sure how many. Then weights.

Real boring at work today. No projects to work on yet this year. My email inbox is almost empty- maybe I'll try to get it to 0 tomorrow.

Rainy, rainy day so no frisbee. Nothing much happening at work so working from home. 3 miles.

I'm retiring some of my older road shoes. They are all lower mileage than I normally retire shoes, but pretty old (first ran in them 24 months and 18 months ago). However, I have about 10 pairs of unused shoes in my closet from my Pearl Izumi days (2015). I might as well use them before they get hard from aging.

Went to the Columbia zoo with the family today. Got home and went straight to the gym. Watched the Bills-Texans playoff game from mid-third quarter. Hoped to do 7 or 8 miles (longest run in months). Game went to OT at 7.5 miles so I stopped there and watched the rest while lifting weights. Happy to see Texans win. More happy to see Patriots lose the next game. First run over an hour in a long time.

Lunch- frisbee on a 60 deg sunny day. 7v7, other team had sub. Played ok but we got beat 5-3, though 3 of their points were questionable (contested due to being almost out of bounds in the endzone). 8 people stayed for game to 2 and we won 3-1.

AM Cold and rainy so 6 miles on the treadmill at ~8:30 pace, then lifting.

Nice day for frisbee- sunny and mid-50's but pretty windy. 6v6 and my team had sub. Teams were even but the other team had more drops. Wind made for some humorous events. We got up 4-0 and had a chance for a shutout except a throw carried and Jeff jumped about 2 seconds too soon in the endzone, missing the winning point. We ended up winning 5-1. After the game, we discovered the gym had no hot water so had a very invigorating shower.

AM- There was not supposed to be hot water at the work gym so I debated going to the Sportclub, but decided to tough it out. Ran on GE trail in 27 degree windchill in shorts- I'm a genius. Actually it wasn't too bad. Got very close to 5 deer and saw 6 turkeys. Run went fine, then did weights. I was actually a bit disappointed after mentally preparing myself for the cold shower that the hot water was back on. But not so disappointed that I didn't enjoy the hot water anyway.

Lunch- 50 deg, overcast, small breeze. 15 people, my team had sub. We won 5-3. Then we did a 4 vs 5 game- my team had 4, and we won 3-2. I played pretty well- nothing spectacular, but no drops and only one or two stupid/bad throws.

Am 8 miles around home. 8:30-8:45 ish. Warm and misty/drizzly weather. 

Rainy, warm day so no frisbee. I couldn't run this morning due to work meetings but finally got out at 2 pm, when it wasn't raining. 6 muddy, wet miles on GE trail. No animals or people. Then only had a few minutes so did lower body weights.

Go Clemson.

Mid-morning run on the treadmill as there was a stong thunderstorm outside. 5 miles at 8:30 to 7:50 pace, then upper body weights.

Rain finally let up last night so we played frisbee today. Muddy but passable, no hard cuts, though. 6v6 with a sub on my team. My team won 5-1. I generally was lazy early and didn't run much but picked it up in the game to 5. I had 1 bad throw but made it up by blocking a throw on the last point. We did 4v4 second game, and I changed to the other team. My new team won 3-1.

AM- warm morning, 60 degrees, running on the wet GE trail. 8 turkey, 5 deer. 6 miles, 52 minutes. Then had 10 minutes so did quick lower body weights.

Sometimes the bad days are really bad (speaking only of frisbee). Today was one of those days for me. 16 people, cool but sunny, somewhat windy. I caught fine (1 drop on a pretty bad pass) but my throws were T-E-DOUBLE R-I-B-L-E. Attrocious. Long, short, didn't matter. Lots of bad throws today. It was just one of those days. My team struggled overall, too, and we lost 5-1. 10 people played second game and I threw mostly better. We won 3-2.

20th birthday party for the gym at work, so did an hour of games and eating cake. I won 3 competitions (wheelbarrow race, 3-leg race, and dizzy bat) complete with gift cards. Then did frisbee. Coldest day of the winter, low 30's and a breeze. 9 people at first so we played 4v5, my team had 5. Then another person showed up- we probably should have even uped the teams but didn't. My team lost 5-2. We had some shots but did not have enough speed and had enough bad throws/turnovers to lose. Still fun.

AM Ran 6- quads are sore/tight. This has been an issue for months so I actually have a massage scheduled for tomorrow. Then weights.

Cold day for frisbee and windy- only 8 people showed up. My team did our best to lose and indeed we did in the end, but made it closer than it could have been. I had a lot of bad throws in the warmup but only had a couple during the game (and everyone did thanks to the wind). Headband Joe had the dropsies- I think he dropped 5 or 6 easy catches, several of which were in the endzone. It was pretty comical and consistent. We were down 4-2, clawed back to 4-4, but lost 5-4.

Legs feeling beat up so did 30 min ellipticating, then weights. Then stretching/foam rolling. Now time to work.

AM- 30's and raining (we've had over 13 inches of rain since Dec 1, so rather wet). 8 miles on treadmill. Started at 8:40 pace, finished at 7:40. Felt generally ok. No running yesterday likely helped that.

AM 5 miles and weights. 

Lunch- only 8 people for frisbee. Partly cloudy, mid-50's, pretty windy such that it impacted a lot of throws. My team got up 2-0, then the other team tied it, then we traded points till my team won 5-4. Fun game. A few bad throws but pretty much everyone had that with the wind. I threw the winning point but it was very low and Adrian did a nice job catching it. No drops for me.

Sad about the Kobe news. He's only 2 months older than me. I don't regularly fly in a helicopter, but it's a good reminder that life can change in a hurry so make the most of it while you can, and spend lots of time with your kids.

AM- Didn't get out till 9:30 am due to morning meetings, so nice temps in the low 40's. 8 miles on GE trail. Started at 8:10-ish pace (faster than usual) and got as fast as 7:45. Right quad was sore/tight the last few miles. Ran by 8 turkeys. Then did weights.

Lunch- overcast, high 40's, intermittent breeze. Another game of 4v4. The other team was doing better early, enough so that they stopped and asked if we wanted to swap some players to even it up. That's the ultimate insult, of course, so we told them to pound sand. Sure enough, we won the game 5-3. Ha, take that! The highlight was that Joe T had some back pain so wasn't running. At one point, he was wide open so I bombed one to him. He was so confident he could catch it that he ran backwards for 20 yards, saying, "Come on, baby, don't fail me now" just for fun. Then he watched as it went just over his head and he missed it, unable to speed up due to his back. Then he claimed he was running as fast as he could, but we pointed out he was actually running backwards. Very funny.

I only slept 3 hours last night. Woke up at 4:30 am with a nasty Charlie Horse in my calf. Been sensitive all day but didn't impact the game.

AM Didn't want to trust my sore calf to a long run and have to walk back, so did a treadmill run. Actually felt fine, it's just sore to the touch. Decided to keep it easy and only run 4 miles. Then weights.

Lunch- it snowed for about an hour today, first of the year. Had about half inch accumulate on the windshield, nothing else. Then it turned to a steady rain and 35 degrees, so frisbee was cancelled. I ran on treadmill, hoped for 6-8 miles. Everything felt good so I ran 9, which is my longest since last February. Started at 7 mph, finished at 8 mph. 

Am 4 ez and weights

Lunch- perfect day for frisbee, low 70's and small breeze. 16 people showed up. My team was a bit more stacked- there was discussion of swapping teams but decided not to. We went up 2-0, then they scored 2, then we went up 4-2, they scored 1, finally we won 5-3.

5v5 for game to 3. My team won 3-1. I caught the winning point on a long breakaway.

AM- Low 50's, ran 8 miles on GE trail, 8:30-8:00 pace. Felt fine. 5 deer and about 14 turkey. One neat thing- it was still dark when I started. About 10 minutes into the run, I was surrounded by trees just as the sunlight hit the clouds at the edge of the horizon. The clouds turned brilliant pink and orange, as did the trees all around me. It seemed almost fake, like an instagram filter. So beautiful. The pink/orange only lasted about 1 minute on the tree before the sun rose enough for the light to change to more normal colors.

Did strength class in the gym at lunch. Lots of low back work.

7 inches of rain expected Thursday to Friday morning, with High risk of flash floods per the weatherman. That's two months worth of rain in one day. Should be fun.

Lunch- I had to run to frisbee cause my car wouldn't start. Intermittent rain plus mist, and a strong breeze, made for some crazy frisbee. Plus, tons of drops. We were all in a good mood and the game was hilarious with so many funny drops. I dropped a long bomb, Jeff dropped a very easy pass from me (he was still defensive-focused so didn't think of catching it)... everyone had drops. My team lost 4-5.

AM- Raining and lightning outside so ran inside. Back still sore from Tuesday so I ran slow and easy with no weightlifting. Felt tired so wanted to get at least 4 miles but found myself plodding on and on till I hit 9 miles, at which time my back was starting to tighten up so I called it a day. 77 minutes, 9 miles. 

Lunch- didn't make it on my run till about 1 pm. Ran 4 easy miles on the GE trail- it was in a lot better shape then expected, with no trees down, no big branches, and only the usual wet/swampy areas. No humans or animals soon. Then weight lifted. 

We ended up with just over 6 inches of rain yesterday. That was fun.

AM ran 5 easy miles.

We've had a wide range in weather. In the past 9 days it has snowed, then was 75 deg, then rained 6 inches in 24 hours, had tornadoes, and now it is snowing again today (fairly heavily, too). You never know what to expect.

Lunch- expected heavy rains held off through lunch, so we had a nice 6v6 game. 50 deg, overcast, very little wind. I played well- had several good catches (one sprinting toe toucher in back of endzone, one that was tipped by defense, and dug 2 out of the grass), no drops, and only 1 bad pass. The other team played zone and we generally did a good job breaking it. They also had 2 big drops and a few other plays that went our way. We won 5-2. Fun day.

Looks like no game Wednesday due to another flash flood warning with 2-4 more inches of rain expected between now and Tuesday evening, with the rain continuing steadily through Thursday. We may break the all time February rain record in Greenville of 12 inches. Already at 6.6 inches.

AM- the endless rain continues (almost 2 more inches in the past 12 hours) so ran on treadmill. Wanted 8 miles or so but felt good enough that I went 10 miles. Started at 7.0 mph, steadily increased till finished at 7.8 mph. My last 10 mile run was 362 days ago, Valentines day 2019. Interestingly, my last run over 10 miles was January 2018, so it's been a long time.

Today was a really fun ultimate game even though my team lost. We played on the old field as it was very wet still and we didn't want to tear up the new one. The field today was super muddy all over and had standing water in places. 9 people, so we did 4v5 (Sam, Scott, Tom, me vs Haley, Adrian, Dave, Jeff, Joe T). It was very hard playing a person down all game but we did a good job forcing some bad throws and turnovers. I had some great plays, too- contested catches, breakaways, and especially a number of great knockdowns on def. We really worked hard and I was pooped.

Game to 5 was good but we lost. We traded points till it was 3-3. I was really pleased/surprised we kept it so close. Lots of hustle. Last 2 points the fatigue started catching up, though. We also drove it all the way down a few times just to turn it over. I almost had an awesome diving block on a long throw to Adrian but barely missed it and he made a nice twisting, jumping catch. I had one pass throw at the end and then ended the game with a terrible throw (right to the ground). We lost 3-5. But, it was a lot of fun overall and got a great workout.

AM- another morning, another storm moving through. Today it was a severe storm warning with heavy rainfall (up to 2 inches per hour), 40 mph gusts, and possible lightning. Yeah, I ran inside. 8 miles, 8:30 to 7:45 pace. Then leg weights plus an upper body challenge.

Very fun frisbee today. Perfect weather- low 50's, sunny, slight breeze. We ended up with 14 people. Even teams, lots of back and forth. I was throwing great today- I probably had 5 or 6 completed long bombs, plus near misses on another few. I also caught a few long scores. In the game, we traded points till it was 4-3 for my team. The other team tied it up, my team had a bad turnover near our endzone, and we lost 5-4. Bummer to lose but still fun.

We had 4v4 second game. My team won 3-0.

Lunch- bring your kids to work day, and all 5 of mine came for the first time ever. Lots of fun and tours in the morning. We had about 12 kids at lunch for frisbee, and 4 of them played, plus 14 adults. My 8 year old, Zach, stopped halfway, but Quincy, my 7 year old, played the whole time. My wife played, too. Perfect weather, high 50's and sunny. Lots of back and forth, my team was down 3-4 but won 5-4.

AM- More rain today but it held off this morning. Ground was wet and it was misty/foggy, but no rain. Did lots of back and forth with 11 total miles on GE trail. Right quad a bit finnicky but otherwise good. 8:10-7:50 pace. Ran near 5 deer (within 1 yard of one of them before he ran away), and 2 groups of 3 turkeys each (also within a few yards of some of the turkeys). First run over 10 miles in at least 2 years. I think you can count my runs of 10+ miles over the past 5 years on your fingers.

Lunch- No frisbee due to threat of rain but I went running outside anyway. I've been pretty sore after yesterday so I went nice and slow- 8:40-8:30 pace. 6 miles. Saw 2 people and 5 deer.

AM- After only sleeping about 5 hours the past few nights, I topped it off last night with 3 hours of sleep. I'm exhausted, plus still sore from my Tuesday run. Just did 30 min easy elliptical and stretching. Too sore/tired to even weight lift.

Lunch- 9 people showed up today. About 40 deg and windy. The wind reeked havoc on all of us, but especially me. I had so many terrible passes, and all I could do is laugh. Also had a drop or two. We did 4v5, I was on the bigger team. Even with the extra person, we played terrible till the game started, then we started playing a bit better. We won 5-3. Amidst all my bad passes, I did have a great contested catch near the goalline, then threw across the field for the winning point. 

Was a touch sick over the weekend (cough, runny nose, aches, partly lost voice), combined with donating blood and staying home with sick kids, so no workout Saturday or Monday. Went to the gym today and expected to feel terrible, which I did, but ran 5 miles and did weight lifting. I would have run outside except it was raining again- my kids' soccer practice is cancelled for tonight, which means 6 of the first 7 practices have been cancelled. It's pretty rough for the new teams that way.

Only slept 3 hours last night with lots of waiting to sleep again (it didn't happen). Frisbee had 6v6- overcast, windy. A bit of a mismatch with Barry (very tall but older and not as fast) guarding me so I scored a fair amount. We probably should have swapped a few players. My team won 5-2.

AM 8 run. Felt a lot better than Tuesday, but didn't want to push it. Relaxed 8:30-ish pace. Then weight lifting.

Well, today was a butt whupping for frisbee. Very windy, chilly. 6v6. My team just didn't have anyone that could reliably throw it into the wind, at least far. The first point was very long but we scored when I threw a risky pass to Haley. Then the other team scored on a crazy point (low pass was kicked by Clay and stayed up long enough for Kevin to grab it). Then they scored 4 more straight, so we lost 1-5. Lots of turnovers by both teams due to the wind, but my team had a number of drops that should have been caught, plus we couldn't move it out of our endzone into the wind. I guarded Kevin and actually did good there, with a number of knockdowns. But we got beat. Still had fun.

5v5 on a very windy, overcast day. Pretty even teams, but very hard to score into the wind. During the game to 5, all 9 points were with the tailwind. My team lost 4-5.

AM- Morning rain let up, so I did my run on the trail. Only saw 1 turkey, no deer- they were probably hiding somewhere dry. 9 miles, then weight lifting. No hot water in the gym for my shower.

It's raining again today. We are at 18 inches so far this year. Last year during spring soccer, my kids had most of their practices but it rained every Friday/Saturday, so they cancelled games the first 5 weekends. This year, they have held every game but have only had 2 of the 9 practices, and Thursday looks rainy, too.

Rain hit most of the state but stayed just south of Greenville, so 10 people came for frisbee. Nice day- mid 50's, overcast, slight breeze. Wife is out of town so I had my 5 year old with me. My team won 5-2, then second game 4-2. 

AM went to gym with my daughter. Wanted to run and weight lift but didn't have as much time as I wanted due to work meeting. Ran 9 miles. Might go back tonight to lift.

50's and windy. 4v5, my team had the extra person. We were up 4-2, then the other team had a very low pass for a score that there was debate if it counted (we decided it did), then my team scored the winning point but the other team said it was out. In the end, we lost 4-5. 

AM 4 miles on McAll loop. Slow, 9+ pace. Then a full day of kid soccer, baseball, and cleaning.

Sunny, warm, windy day for frisbee. My team played 4 vs 5 for 30 min and got pretty worn out. I had a number of drops and lots of bad throws. Then 4v4 for the game- I was very tired. Still had some bad throws (ones I should have been able to complete) but no more catches. Got to 3-3 when people had to leave, so we did one more point before stopping. Lost 3-4.

Didn't run till lunch. 8 miles on GE trail, then weights. No turkeys or deer, which is normal for mid-day runs. About 4-6 people, though.

Lunch- 5v5 on a beautiful day, with 65 deg temps and sunny, plus a strong breeze. I continued my trend of some dumb and bad throws, but not as bad as recent days. Both teams were making lots of mistakes early, and my team started making a few less by the end. We won 5-2.

AM 10 miles- 2 loops on GE track waiting for it to get lighter, then the rest on GE trail. Felt a bit sluggish and plodding but got it done. 84 minutes. Saw 7 deer, 1 turkey by the trail, and a few more turkeys from a few hundred yards away. Then weight lifted.

Lunch- 70 deg and very humid, overcast, a bit of a breeze. We convinced Tom to play so we had 4vs4. We were making lots of mistakes- I had some terrible throws early, everyone had some drops. We were down 2-0, then scored, but it felt like we were down 3-0 with as many mistakes as we were making. I actually started throwing better, with 1 misfire in the endzone, but Elisha and Julian both dropped one of my throws, and Joe was making tons of bad throws and drops. We finally got it cleaned up a bit when down 3-1. Lots of running by both teams- we scored three straight, then they tied it at 4. We drove all the way down the field, turned it over, then repeated that several times. The other team had a long bomb into the endzone that Kevin dropped, then my team eventually scored for the win. Very tired, nice to win.

Ran about 7 miles near home with my wife

PM- at work today, didn't have time to run till afternoon. 50 deg and overcast but felt very good right from the start. Started at 8 min pace, then ran most around 7:30 or so. Could have kept going but needed to get back to work plus planning longer run tomorrow. 6 miles. Also lifted weights in a very empty gym.

PM- didn't go running till 5 pm thanks to a very busy day. 10 miles on GE trail and felt pretty good- started off about 8 min pace, and did most the run at 7:20-7:40 pace. Fastest run in a while. I think I run faster in the afternoon, probably due to having some food in me plus VO2 max is higher in the afternoon. Saw no people, turkeys, or deer today. Worked from the office today but brought home all my stuff to stay at home for a while going forward.

No workout the past 2 days, but did do a lot of moving boxes and furniture, so still sore/tired.

6 people came to frisbee today. Warm, nice weather- 75 deg, sunny, and windy (mid-80's high today). 4 kids came to watch, and my wife played a bit till a 6th GE employee came. Scott, me, Tom vs Dennis, Clay, Haley. Wind made it interesting/crazy. My team won 5-3.

AM- Ran about 5.5 or 6 miles with Marci in the cool morning. Very nice. Good to talk. A few hours later, we took the family to GE to walk and bike the trails. I think we walked about 2-2.5 miles. The bikers did more.

Lunch- rainy, no frisbee. Went to the gym and ran 12 miles. That is my longest run since June 2016 (I just looked through my whole calendar). Felt fine, started at 8:30 pace and finished just under 8 min. Then did weights and sat in the sauna for 20-30 minutes. 

AM 4 miles in nearby neighborhoods. Relaxed and slow after yesterdays longer run.

Got email today that our gym is closing. No more official weight lifting for a while, I guess.

Started feeling a bit sick yesterday- runny nose and sore throat, the signs of a cold (I think/hope). Woke up at 2 am with a killer sore throat and never fell asleep again. Felt pretty bad most of the day but still worked. Did manage to take a 2-3 hour nap. Despite great weather, decided not to run or wear out my body. Going to bed now, hope I sleep better than yesterday.

Lunch- slept a solid 9 hours last night and felt a ton better today though I still have a cough and congestion. Decided to go running today. Ran 3 miles at 9-8:15 pace. Felt pretty good but didn't want to overdo it.

AM 6 easy miles around home. Felt ok, still a bit tired/sick. About 8:40 pace. 

Nice day today- sunny, 87 deg high. Went to GE with the family this afternoon for a 90 minute walk/bike ride.

The wet spring has continued. It rained 4 inches this week in 4 days. We are at 22 inches for the year. That would be on pace for about 90 inches. Impressive.

AM- Marci's running buddy stood her up so I drove over with my 8 year old and his bike. We ran around the soccer fields and a neighborhood. 5 to 5.5 miles. After, we were going to take the family to Lake Conestee but it closed today due to coronavirus so we went back to GE. Explored the bamboo forest and saw some sort of black snake.

AM- Runs rarely go well the day after fast Sunday, and today was no exception. Slow and thirsty. Did 6 miles averaging 8:30 pace. Hopefully can do longer run tomorrow. I think we finally threw in the towel on ultimate frisbee until this is all over, as GE has enough restrictions that it would be bad optics for us to be out there playing. Sad, but what can you do?

AM- cloudy, breezy, 60 deg. Felt much better today- started at 8 min pace, and last 2 miles were in just under 15 min. Ran around the normal neighborhoods including lots of hills. I saw a turkey on Philips McCall road for the first time ever as it came out of the bushes 20 yards in front of me, ran my way, then turned into some woods. Gmap pedometer says I did 11.11 miles, about 1:29.

Lunch run around the neighborhood. My son biked along. He wanted to stop at 2 miles but I coaxed him to 3, then challenged him to a race of 1 mile (which he won, of course). I'm pretty happy to get him to bike 4 miles. I probably went harder than I should have after a long run, but I'll go easier tomorrow. 4 miles. New shoes.

PM- somewhere between 8.5 to 9 miles on the normal roads. Lots of people out walking and running around the soccer fields, which warms my heart.

Lunch- met Barry at GE trail, first time I've run with him in a long time. Good to have someone to vent with about work stress, life, economic shutdown, etc (just like everyone else, we have salary reductions and mass layoffs coming). 4.5 miles. Saw a couple deer and a few more turkey. Beautiful sunny day.

7.5 around home. Ran along a creek and meet a guy who told me his plans of turning our area into the biggest City in the state. He talked for 30 minutes. Nice guy. 
I'm proud to live in one of 8 states that doesn't have a mandatory shelter in place requirement. 

PM- 5 miles with Marci in exactly 50 minues. Hot and sunny, mid-80's. 

Lunch- 70's, overcast, breezy. Ran 12.5 miles, longest in 2 years. Started 8:30 pace but maintained about 8 min pace the last 10 miles. 1:42. Legs were a bit tired by the end.

Overdid it a bit Tuesday between my longest run in 2+ years and then some tag with the kids in the evening. Groin is twinging a bit, so I'll take a few days off. Probably try a little jog on Saturday or Monday.

Lunch 4 miles with Zach around the neighborhood. Ran into someone from my church, talked for 30 minutes.

AM- 8 miles around neighborhood in 1:09. Felt fine. Listening to podcasts on coronavirus. Nice weather- low 50's, sunny, breezy.

AM 4 miles in neighborhood

Lunch- went to GE with family. 3 bikes. Marci rode the whole time. Quincy and Josie took turns riding on crossbar or running with me. I was not expecting to have to run so wore pants. We did 3 miles and I ran at least 2 of them. My 5 year old is crazy- she can run almost as fast as me for miles, and talk non-stop while running. She even sang some. My 11 year old and my 5 year old are the most natural runners of my kids- if they want to, they could be very good.

Lunch 8 miles

AM- 5

AM- 4 miles with Marci and Zach on his bike. Slow-ish, 10-min pace. Then did 6 more by myself. 

Lunch 6 with the wife on a drizzly day.

Lunch- met Paul at GE trail. Ran 3 miles together and had a great time catching up. Then I ran 5 more miles by myself.

After much complaining from some of the kids, we went to GE trail with the whole family. 3 oldest kids had bikes, wife and I planned to run, and have the two youngest ride on their older siblings' bikes. However, the 5 year old ended up running most of the way at basically the same pace as me (and faster than her mom)- I'd say she did 2.5 miles or so. The 7 year old ran 1.5 miles or so. Marci and I ran 3.5. I'm very impressed a 5 year old can run 2.5 miles straight at adult pace without complaining. As always, after we went to QT for donuts or ice cream.

6

Ran with Mike Smith for the first time, joining the workout group at his house with Paul and Heather. We ran 1 mile, did 4 exercises (squats, burpies, pushups, etc), then repeated 3 more times. 4 total miles. 

4.5 miles with Zach on this bike. We were only going to do 4, but a home builder was pouring a house foundation with a concrete pumper truck so we ran over and watched for 10 minutes while I explained how it all worked (I did construction/concrete for 2 summers in high school and college).

AM- Rained a lot last night, 2.7 inches. Stopped just before sunrise, so my run was humid, cool (low 50's), overcast. Quite nice. My left ankle has been bugging me a bit but everything else is ok, generally. Ran 7 miles in 1:03.

Didn't run yesterday to rest my niggles. Got together with some folks today for ultimate frisbee- I think there were 19 of us at the max. Great day, sunny and 80 deg. Fun, fun times. Played for 90 minutes. Verdin came from work. My team lost the first game 8-11, won the second 5-2. Right quad was really sore. I donated blood yesterday but didn't feel the normal post donation fatigue so I guess that's good. 

Lunch 4 with Marci and Zach

AM 5 miles, pretty tired and slow

AM 6. Felt tired at the start and end but pretty good in the middle. 8:10-8:45 pace.

Lunch- met Barry at work and ran 5 miles on the GE trail. Did see 4 or 5 turkeys. No people. About 40 min.

Lunch- had a very nice game of frisbee with about 10 GE folks and 6 or so people from my church plus my wife. We didn't split the teams very evenly- the other team had an extra player and better players. My team lost 5-1 then 3-1. So much fun to be back out there. Quad is sore again, but much less so than after last Saturday.

Lunch 5, 8:30-7:55 pace

AM- 4 miles with the 4 workout sets with the GE folks...

Lunch- 3 miles with Zach. Abs are mighty sore.

Lunch- sunny, warm day. Did 4 miles with Barry on the GE trails. We solved all of the world's problems, or at least all of the Covid-related ones. Then I did 4 more by myself. 7 mph avg.

Lunch frisbee with GE folks and a few others. It was warm, 80+ deg and sunny. Lots of people at the park, including what appeared to be 30 or so high schoolers getting ready for football. Teams were even but we got spanked the first game 2-5, then won the second 3-1.

PM- rainy day (rainy week, actually- under a flash flood warning till Thursday with 6-10 inches possible) but finally got an opening from work and rain at 5 pm. Ran 5 easy.

Lunch- ran 6 slow during a break in the rain. 54 minutes

PM- 4 miles in under 8:30 pace. Found another break in the rain so stayed pretty dry. Cool and windy, though. Flood warning continues till tomorrow (8-10 inches expected Monday thru Thursday). We had hotels this weekend booked for both Pigeon Forge and SC beach and will likely cancel both due to bad weather.

AM- rain finally stopped. Ran 8.5. Feel good. Going to the beach tomorrow with the family.

Am 3 easy, before going to the beach with the family for a few days

PM ran a bit faster today on account of a challenge from a coworker. 8 miles, 1:03:20. Then went to the gym to weightlift for the first time in 2 months only to discover the gym closed at 1 pm today. 

Lunch 3 miles ez run at the gym, then lifted weights for the first time in 10 weeks. Gym was pretty empty.

AM 6, about 8:30 pace

PM- 6 on a very muggy day. We are within spitting distance of setting an all-time rainfall record for the month of May. The record is 13 inches, and we are over 12.5. More rain tonight and tomorrow, too. Went to my son's baseball practice tonight, with games starting on Saturday.

Lunch frisbee on a very muggy day. It rained this morning, so the field was completely muddy with many puddles. Fun time, though my team struggled more. We were tied 3-3 in the first game before losing 5-3. Second game was tied 2-2, and we had two drops in the end zone, before losing 3-2.

PM- new month, can't believe it's already June. Ran 6 miles in the afternoon, 51 min or so. Wasn't as hot as late last week.

PM 5. then weights

AM Had a work broadcast so I took my phone to the gym and watched it while running. Ran 8.5, felt pretty good, especially towards the end. Would have run more but ran out of time. Started 8:45-ish, finished 7:40-ish.

Dollywood is finally reopening. We have season passes (first time we've ever bought season passes like this). We'll have to wear masks and reserve days, but it's better than nothing.

10 am- ran 6 miles on GE trail, 8:50-ish pace. Hot. Great to be on the trail again. Saw 1 worker in a golf cart, no other people. No animals, either. 

Lunch- we had 13 people for frisbee. Fun day. My team struggled with throws early, but won the game 5-3.

AM Warm, very humid morning. Ran 4 miles with my wife (40:40) then 4 more miles alone (34:10). Saw a 4 foot snake in the road.

PM- my left ankle has been very sore for a few days so I did 50 min xt, then weights.

PM xt after dinner. Ankle feeling better, might try a run tomorrow

Frisbee, my team won 5-3. We were even down a person. Lots of running.

Lots and lots of walking at Dollywood Monday and Tuesday.

First run of the week today. Legs felt like they were filled with lead. 4 easy miles with my wife.

Lunch- only 8 adults and 1 kid on a hot, sunny, not windy day of frisbee. My team struggled at first but dominated the game, 5-2.

Lunch- planned on a short run at the gym but the movie The Martian was on which is one of my favorites, so I had to watch it to the end. Ended up 7 miles, then weights.

PM- Ran at the hottest time of day, 2 pm, when it was about 90 deg and very humid. Blah. Ran 5.5 miles, 8:45-ish.

Met Barry at 3 pm at GE, ran the trail. Rainy day, so wet but only 75 deg. Humid, obviously. Went to the gym and weight lifted later. Good to run with Barry, first time in a few weeks. The world always provides more than enough to talk about.

AM- 8 miles. 8:10-7:50 pace. Felt good. Nice to run when it was a cool 65 deg.

PM- didn't go running till about 4 pm. Hot (in the 90's, heat index near 100) and first run in 5 days so sluggish. 8:45-9 pace

Lunch- 3 miles at the gym and lifting. Didn't have time for more, busy day

AM- no running the past 3 days, but lots of walking at Dollywood. Ran 4 miles this morning with the wife- hot and humid (upper 80's when we ran)

Happy Independence Day, everyone. But can we really call it such this year- seems to be a bit of a farce.

AM 6. Sluggish and slow, 9+ pace. Had 4 deer run right in front of me.

2 pm run- hottest time of the day, sunny and humid. I started off feeling a lot better than yesterday running about 8:20 pace. After 30 min I started feeling terrible, with tingly hands and dead legs. Walked about 1/3 mile, then trudged home over 9 min pace. Got it done, though.

Running in the south, I'm used to seeing lots of garbage alongside the roads. Beer cans, usually. The past few months, however, I see almost as many discarded face masks. Sad.

Lunch frisbee- hot (90's, sunny, feels like 100). 9 people, my team played with 4. We did really good at the start, but then had some errors and fatigue in the game so lost 2-5. Still fun. Didn't actually feel as hot as yesterday's run.

AM 6 miles, nice and slow 9:15 avg pace. Then weights.

AM 7. Felt pretty good, 8:15-8:30 pace

AM- 6 miles with Marci. She leaves today for 10 days in Utah/Idaho along with my 2 oldest kids. I'll be home alone with the 3 younger kids, working and keeping everyone alive.

AM- run 8 miles at the gym. Felt really good, kept upping the speed. Started at 8:13, finished at 7:48. Nice to feel good- running inside an air conditioned building probably helped. 

AM 5 mile run, weights

No run yesterday due to a sick kid (can't take them to the gym with fever). She was better today. Ran 9 miles, not fast, then weights. 

Didn't run the past two days as I was at Dollywood with my 3 youngest kids. Went to the gym today, ran 5 miles, then weights.

AM- Ran 8.5 miles at the gym.

Wife and 2 oldest kids get home tonight after 9 days away. I haven't really talked to an adult during that time. I'd say some pressure has been building inside- no pressure relief valve. At this point, I'm just sick of all the covid crap- the stress, job losses, school issues, etc. I'm just plain over all of it. 2 weeks to flatten the curve has become over 4 months of arbitrary shutdowns and ever-changing-rules, with no end in sight. I'm tired of it and the very real impact it's having on people.

AM- Legs felt absolutely dead today. Slogged through 6 miles at about 9:30 avg pace. Oofdah. I did have a doe and fawn run across the road in front of me. Then did weight lifting.

Lunch- Wanted to run 6 miles but it was so hot out (in the 90's with feels just below 100) that I cut it short and only did 4. I'm not in the same kind of shape I used to be to run so many miles in the heat. I guess being older, fatter, and slower will do that to a person.

Lunch- woke up to a painful ankle yesterday for no reason I could figure out. Hurts when walking, but not to bend it. Took the day off. Went to the gym today to see if I could still run on it, and found no pain while running. 8 miles, then weights.

AM 4.5 with Zach on his bike

AM 6 miles. Felt much better than yesterday- 8:20-ish pace. Then weights.

AM 6 miles usual route. Felt ok- started at 9 min pace, finished 8:15. 

AM 5 miles on usual route, then weights. Felt fine, ~8:15 avg pace.

First frisbee for me in a month. Great weather for August- overcast, about 80 deg, though very humid. Fun game, my team lost 3-5

AM ran 6 then donated blood

PM (after dark)- ran 3 miles with my second daughter. Though only 12 years old, she will soon be faster than me if she isn't already. We discussed meteor showers, running, school, and other things.

Had the 3 youngest kids so ran at the gym. 7 miles, then weights. 7 mph. Felt fine.

AM 4 nice and slow, 38:00 I think.

Frisbee- 6 vs 6 (although 1 on my team was a kid). I was throwing well in warmup which usually means I throw poorly. I did throw poorly- probably had 5 turnovers. We got whupped 5-1. Then played more and we won 2-1. Most people we've had in a while. Weather was pretty good, too- low 80's, partly cloudy, but very humid.

AM 5 miles and weights

PM- first cross country practice. Generally just helped the head coach, ran a mile with the team and some more to set up/take down, etc. About 25 girls and 20 guys showed up. They generally keep about 16 boy and 16 girls, primarily based on 2 mile time trial on Thursday.

AM 6. 8:40-8:05 pace. Saw a 6+ foot long black rat snake.

PM- 1 mile or more during cross country practice

PM- we actually had a 7 pm ultimate game with 15 people. My team was getting beat early but won 5-1.

AM- 4 with my son on his bike.

PM- Cross Country time trial. I ran a bunch along the course cheering on the kids. Fun to watch them push themselves.

Lunch- it rained hard all morning so frisbee was cancelled. Marci and I ran 7 miles at just over 10 min pace.

AM only had time for 4.5 miles before a day full of 6 kid soccer games. I'm taking two of my kids to the movies tonight- the theatre is open showing classic movies for $5. I chose Inception. Might be a bit confusing for them.

AM 4 miles 34 min in a drizzle. Head XC coach is out today so I'm leading the charge solo. 

PM- ran quite a bit while doing cross country practice. Fun times.

PM uneventful 5, no watch. Then weightlift.

Lunch 6

PM- hot and muggy day. Ran about 3 miles as part of cross country, then ran 2 miles after with my daughter who went to soccer practice instead of XC.

Lunch- 14 people for frisbee. Pretty hot and very muggy. My team won 5-3.

I didn't get out till after 10 pm. Ran around the neighborhoods while listening to podcasts. 6 miles. Started at 8:30 pace, last few miles were faster, finishing under 8:00.

AM- I felt really slow but actually started at 8:35 pace, which wasn't bad. Finished around 8:05. 6 miles, 50:13. Nothing notable to report.

PM- ran a bit during XC practice. Their first meet is tomorrow. To my dismay, the teams won't race against each other. Instead, each team will have their own start time, staggered from the other teams.

AM- 5 miles then weights

PM- ran some at the cross country meet. I thought it went well, there were lots of kids that ran hard and improved on their time trial times. Fun to watch them.

Late afternoon frisbee- hot hot, mid-90's with feels like of 102. 10 people plus one kid. My team was kicking butt at the start (I think we scored the first 4 or 5 points). Sure enough, we lost 5-3 in the real game. I had a couple bad throws.

Ran 4 at the gym then weights. Then went to cross country, did about 3 or more miles.

Lunch- very hot for frisbee. 6v6 with 1 sub. My team won 5-0, the very rare shutout. I don't think I made a single mistake- no drops. I may have had a bad throw or two but don't remember any. 

AM 8 8:40-8:10 pace

AM 8 miles at the gym while listening to meeting, then weights.

AM 6

4 miles in the early afternoon heat/humidity. Felt terrible but was moving faster than it seemed.

Ran 4 earlier in day. Then about 2.5 more at cross country practice

11 people came to frisbee today, other team had a sub. It was very hot, sunny, and humid- everyone was commenting on it. My team started off slow, but picked it up before the game to 5. Chris R threw some good long passes that we did a good job catching- I had 3 or 4 long catches, which is rare for me. A few hard and easy drops, but generally played well. I felt very tired- after a hard sprint, it took a lot longer to recover than usual. My team won 5-3.

PM- Ran 3 miles with Aspen after sundown.