My February 2024 Running, Walking and Swimming Report

In February I continued running daily, and worked to create a viable running and walking course in my backyard…I’m getting tired of all the humanity and hassle at my local gym. I also ran two races, the Florida Track Club’s Micanopy Ten-Miler on the 10th and the Depot Parkrun 5K on the 24th.  I feel right now that I am in a sort of running groove that has generated faster times in whatever distance I’m running in than in several years.  The fact that the weather is turning warmer now may mitigate against that trend, not to mention that available races of the long distance variety in our area tend to quickly diminish as the springtime and more heat enters the picture.  Yet in late March my Alachua County features the Trail of Payne 10K, an annual trail run set in Paynes Prairie between Gainesville and Micanopy I’ve somehow managed to avoid all these years…maybe I’ll try it this time around.  And on April 7th there is a race with the dubious name Run Your Buns Off, covering the same course in Hawthorne I ran back in January for the Mary Andrews half marathon.  I’m considering that one but haven’t decided whether to repeat my half marathon efforts or go all out for the 26.2 mile marathon they’re offering…stay tuned!  Sadly, though, the following week’s 5K/10K race titled Run the Good Race, which I had twice run in years past, is canceled due to its organizers having decided to direct their charitable efforts elsewhere…that’s a shame.  Well, all that’s about running, but I’m still planning on working with my walking and swimming as well. I'd like to try speed-walking the next Depot Parkrun 5K I enter...I really dig walking fast and see it as something that I'd like to carry into my advanced years should I be fortunate enough to have that opportunity. The same is true for swimming, although I have a ways to go to improve my form in the different strokes and don't like what my local gym offers me...I may be searching elsewhere for a viable pool...