I'm a Sick Billy-Boy, They Say

 Up until the October 21st ct-scan done on my head that determined a presumably cancerous, rapidly growing golfball-size tumor in my brain, my general state of health, medically speaking, was determined to be good.  But after the brain surgery done three days later, it was confirmed that I am afflicted with an aggressive variant of brain cancer called GBM, or Glioblastoma Multiforme.  It's an open question as to whether treatment strategies like chemotherapy or radiation will arrest the GBM development or reduce it, but I've been enthusiastic about going along with the prescribed program.  So far, my adverse reactions to treatment...mainly radiation...have been brain inflammation and headaches, partially remedied by steroid capsules and OTC capsules like extra-strength Tylenol.  But I'm still susceptible to getting tired over the course of a typically long day, and on weekdays I usually spend a substantial amount of time with Melissa meeting doctor and radiation therapy appointments at UF Health.  Doctors like my oncologist and the skillful surgeon who operated on my brain encourage me to be physically active while listening to my body in a cautionary way.  I've already scaled back my running training, avoid gym treadmills and show up consistently to Saturday morning Parkrun 5K events in which walking takes center stage, usually with Melissa and me.  Still, it can be a matter of testing my will power to cover the race's course from start to finish.  At home, I have been using my living room floor...with a lot of rug covering...to exercise while watching TV and dutifully record  my times spent in Zone One movement.  Today I covered (virtually) the equivalent of 4.4 miles before finally calling it a night.

The medical authorities say I'm sick with an aggressive variety of brain cancer and the prognosis for a reasonable number of years ahead to live is limited and subject to how my brain responds to the prescribed treatment regimen.  Yet, by all acounts, I do well with blood tests and vital signs.  I have a good appetite and food gets easily digested and passes though my body without trouble.  I don't know how much time I have remaining on Earth before my body dies...or the Earth around me from my own subjective point of view.  That far-reaching video by the alternative rock band My Chemical Romance titled Welcome to the Black Parade vividly presents this notion, and I recommend it if only to broaden your perspectives.  Just copy and paste the title, once you're on YouTube, into the site's search engine.  It is , in my opinion, that band's crowning achievement and can really bring on the tears for how the singer deeply honors his father.  As for my own life, I'll just carry on, although at this stage it seems like I'm in a decaying orbit, destined to burn up and crash.  Let sustained life and quality of life be my true destination, both short and long term...

Mini-Seminar on Avoiding Falls

This past Saturday morning (somebody) presented an educational meeting about the dangers of falling for seniors and ways to avoid them.  Melissa arranged it for us...all I had to do was drive us down to the gym conference room where it was being held.  We heard a nice talk describing the various situations that can put folks in danger of falling, and also participated in a test of our own individual susceptibility for falls.  Melissa and I did well with the tests...since I tend to be a bit on the athletic side I figured I would.  As people age, they tend to lose muscle mass and strength, especially regarding the "fast-twitch" muscles that can quickly straighten them out when they lose balance, averting fall situations.  Also, bone density tends to lessen, creating the hazard of injuries from falling being compounded with broken bones. Sometimes I get down on the way the world is going, and it seems like people are getting meaner and meaner.  But there's good stuff as well, and this mini-seminar is a useful example... 

My July 2025 Running, Walking and Swimming Report

For the month of July I persevered with my running and (speed) walking, cutting back some with the swimming.  I participated in three different racing events, running two of them (Melon Run, Depot Parkrun) on consecutive mornings early in the month. My intent this month...in which we've been experiencing a record-setting heat wave...was to balance my running and walking training while trying to avoid overexposure in the heat (and humidity) of the blistering day: I think it's worked so far. In the middle of July Melissa and I went on a three-night Bahamas cruise, but apart from expected extensive walking I didn't exert myself much, and the ship's pools were too crowded and small to be of any use.  The second half of the month I began to use my gym's treadmill to work on increasing my walking speed.  And the past week saw us using our local YMCA's swimming pool, with me getting in some practice.  At this stage, I am dissatisfied that I have gained some 20-plus pounds since this time in 2024.  Back then I had a built-in daily structure...going to my regular post office job five days a week...with which I could implement habits moderating and spacing my food consumption while maintaining physical activity.  But I retired at the end of November and with Melissa we seem to be focusing more on the next meal we're to eat, while much of the time I'm content with just eating light although I often go along with her recommendations and, quite frankly, have my own high-calorie favorites (like pancakes and hamburgers).  I don't really need that much food to get by, and I think that my general health and fitness (and running and walking speed) would be better were I to proactively assert myself more around eating time.  That said, I'm happy with this past month and have high hopes for August.  During my last two neighborhood 3.3-mile training loops I walked briskly until 40 minutes went by and then I ran the rest of the way back home...I think I'll adopt that pattern into my regular training regimen.  With swimming, my goal is to get myself comfortable using the 25 yd swimming lanes and thereby avoid depending on the shorter and more shallow half of the pool, which can get unpredictably crowded.  August 2025 has five Saturdays, so there should be plenty of chances to do 5K races next month, especially now that there are two Parkruns in town now.  I'm thinking of "officially" running my first West End Community Parkrun in a couple of days.  Although I disliked the course when I test-ran it back on July 13th, I like that it's directly across the street from Gainesville Health and Fitness (Tioga branch) and Patticakes coffee shop...

My June 2024 Running and Walking Report

In June I maintained my running and walking training, working out every day of the year and diversifying my activities.  My habit of doing neighborhood long distance run/walks had to take a back seat to the necessity of dealing with family medical issues, and I myself might find myself in the middle of one concerning me in the next few weeks...nothing is clear at this time, though. I ran inside my house, in the back yard, at the gym on the treadmill, and on the weekly Depot Parkrun 5K races.  I also speed-walked one of those races...I'd like to get in at least one 5K event per month in which I do that.  I think my gym treadmill strategy of briefly pushing ahead my limits in running and walking speed is working for me, improving that speed while providing some brief high intensity training.  In July I plan to continue what I did in June, working around "life" with my training and enjoying that life with Melissa...

Olympic Swimming Trials and Pool Training Access

I was watching the Olympic qualifying trials the past few days on NBC, primarily in swimming and running.  I couldn't get past the notion that with the former, the great athletes in these events were privileged to have easy access to pools to train in.  When I went to high school, you could tell that the good swimmers also had that kind of access to pools, and I didn't.  Now I'm 67 and with a gym membership touting its pool to swim laps in, and I have pretty much given up on the idea of ever having access to it with it being so crowded, even late in the evening.  Yet on a personal level I have to take responsibility for making time to get to a pool, whether it is waiting for long stretches at that gym or finding a way to use one of my two city pools when they happen to be open.  I'm still entertaining the notion of drastically improving my swimming form in the various standard strokes and integrating it all with my running as I age...but that pool access is still an obstacle, something that does not exist with my running or walking.  Of course, I'm talking training to a much more modest level than those championship swimmers, and they also merit their due respect for working hard and rising above their more limited and privileged group of competitors...

New Treadmill Routine at Gym

Over the past few weeks I have been occasionally visiting my local gym after work to try out a new routine on their treadmill.  Part of what I am trying to do is work out intensely for brief stretches by running and walking on the treadmill at my maximum speed capable for a sustained length of time.  I start at that speed and see whether I can get to one total mile on it, with a tenth of a mile being the minimum distance to cover.  Once I reach the mile goal, then the next time I am at the gym I will increase the speed by .1 mile and start again.  So far, here's how I've been doing with my running and walking according to this treadmill system (distance in miles, speed in mph):

DATE   RUNNING         WALKING

           MPH  MILES      MPH  MILES

  5/2       7.3   1.0                5.2    .2

  5/3       7.4     .2                5.2   1.0

  5/7       7.4     .7                5.3    .2

  5/8       7.4   1.0                5.3   1.0

  5/11     7.5    .3                 5.4    .2

  5/14     7.5    .4                 5.4   1.0

  5/15     7.5    .7                 5.5    .2

  5/17     7.5   1.0                5.5   1.0

  5/22     7.6    .5                 5.6    .6

  5/26     7.6    .7                 5.6    .8  

  6/5       7.6    .3                 5.6    .3

  6/7       7.6   1.0                5.6   1.0 

  6/10     7.7    .2                 5.7    .1

  6/12     7.7    .5                 5.7    .4

  6/14.    7.7.  1.0.               5.7.   .6

  6/17     7.8    .3                 5.7    .7

  6/24     7.8    .4                 5.7   1.0

  6/30     7.8    .8                 5.8     .2

  7/2       7.8    .4                 5.8     .2

  7/10     7.8    .5                 5.8     .3

Walked This Morning's Depot Parkrun 5K in Gainesville

As has been the usual case recently on Saturday mornings, I got up early and headed out to Gainesville's Depot Park for their weekly free (and volunteer-run) 5K (3.1 miles) event.  Already considering doing another purely speed-walking stint, my decision was solidified by the warm (73 degrees) and very humid (97%) conditions at 7:30 race time, with a blanket of clouds rolling in to replace the clear sky at sunrise.  As I walked the four-lap asphalt & concrete pathway looping through the pretty nature park...loaded with egrets, red-winged blackbirds and grackles (not to mention a resident gator and turtle in the center pond)...I was intent on pushing myself harder in a cardiovascular sense than with the previous time I had walked this Parkrun.  Still, although my clothes were thoroughly drenched with sweat at the end, I was hardly at a loss for breath or energy and finished with another 5K personal best (for walking, that is) of 38:58.  During the recent few weeks I have employed a new strategy of training whereby my gym visits consist of alternating treadmill walks and runs at my maximum sustainable speeds.  If I get to a mile covered at a particular speed, then the next time I go for the next higher tenth of a mile-per-hour.  Last night I tried it and completed a mile running at 7.5 mph and a mile walking at 5.5 mph...next time I'll see if I can't go for at least a tenth of a mile at 7.6 and 5.6 each.  I think this has sharpened both my running and walking form...especially so with the latter.  I also think that I have the greater capacity for improvement with speed-walking as opposed to running and that, at my age of 67, it also represents more of my future.  Not that I won't run the next race, though.  Click HERE to see today's results...

Yesterday's Neighborhood Run/Walk

Yesterday, Wednesday, I went on my second weekly "hump-day" running/walking outing in my neighborhood, again taking place in the late morning before I went to work in the early afternoon.  My initial goal was to step up the distance covered from last week's 3.3 miles to 4.1 by adding an extra block to the run/walk, which I did to about a 2:1 ratio in time spent with each. However, as I progressed...the weather was perfect at 72 degrees and only 50% humidity...I decided to add another block to make it a 5 mile session...felt good, worked well and finished at 50:03.  Along the way I met up with Jim, an old buddy from work who had retired a number of years earlier: he's doing fine, happy to say.  Later on Wednesday after work I went to my local gym and walked on their treadmill at 5.0 mph for two miles...I think I'm handling that speed pretty well now.  I'm looking forward to what this weekend brings, whether it's another Depot Parkrun 5K on Saturday morning or a lengthier neighbor run/walk...or both...

Discrepancies Between Workout Settings

I've been writing on this blog off and on about my struggles with developing efficient swimming form and endurance...it's going unevenly, to say the least.  My main stroke is the freestyle American crawl, while I'm working on the fundamentals both of it and the breaststroke.  The pool at my local gym, Gainesville Health and Fitness, can seem daunting at 75 feet of length as well.  On our recent cruise we had access to a smaller pool that had an unexpectedly positive feature: salt water, which provided much more buoyancy and aided with my brief swimming practice there.  That would have been a good pool to be able to swim 75 feet in! In one setting I feel like Mark Spitz while, in the other, just little old me thrashing around awkwardly.  It's not only swimming in which the setting can make a difference.  Naturally, treadmills tend to give the user better mileage and speed scores than if they were running on the ground or road, and they tend to be gentler on the legs and feet.  But there are differences between them as well. At GHF I can get to a sustained walking pace (no inclination) on their treadmills at 5.0 mph, but the treadmill at home we recently purchased can go up to 5.4 and it seems easier than the slower gym treadmill pace.  I've come to believe that whether I'm swimming, walking or running, it's a good idea to vary the setting a bit while not getting hung up on how fast or far I'm able to go...consistency is the watchword here.  Of course, with swimming my variables are pool availability, pool size and water salinity, factors I have much less control over now that I'm off the cruise ship.  Melissa suggested that maybe it's time to get a pool in our backyard, one that is conducive to swimming laps.  Interesting, but I'm also thinking of that salt water: maybe the beach is a good idea, too...or another cruise...

My Swimming & Running: Yesterday, Today and Next Weekend

Just when I was starting to be convinced that the New Year's "resolutionists", as I dub them, had begun to retreat back into their normal state of unmotivated mediocrity, I was dismayed yesterday to get to my gym, Gainesville Health and Fitness, a little past nine in the evening to discover that members had taken up all the swimming lanes in their generous indoor pool.  Since I had picked Friday as my "swim day" of the week, I might have to change it to another day, say Monday, since folks often stay up later when they're leaning into the weekend.  As it was, I went over to use one of their elliptical cross-trainer machines and then fiddled around with light weight settings on their overhead press and chest press weight machines...I've been advised in the past couple of years by two different physical therapists to work out some with light weights.  After I did that I peeked back at the pool and it seemed there were some available lanes, so I went back and did six laps, no doubt looking completely awkward and uncoordinated as I struggled with the freestyle crawl, backstroke and breaststroke to cover the distance.  All in all it was a positive gym experience, but I was frustrated at the overcrowded pool that late in the evening.  Hopefully either some of its users can demotivate themselves a bit or Monday might be more amenable to my own schedule.  As for this morning, I'm usually out at Depot Park running its free 5K Parkrun, but it was raining at the time pretty strongly.  They still held the event as they didn't get any lightning, but for me I was fine letting it ride until next week.  Speaking of next week, on Sunday the 14th the Florida Track Club will be holding its Mary Andrews Marathon/Half-Marathon race at Hawthorne.  I signed up for the half-marathon.  Although I was interested in the marathon and thought I could cover it, the race organizers placed what I think was an unreasonably strict cap of 5 hours for the event, beyond which they would refuse to time finishers...how tacky and elitist!  I'm reconsidering my membership to the Florida Track Club as I get completely different...and much more negative...vibes from their people than from those in charge of the Parkruns.  Doesn't mean I won't run in the FTC races from time to time, though.  Yet their attitude makes me wonder: after all, their posted mission statement is (italics mine) "Our mission is to build the local running community and act as a network that supports runners of all ages and abilities"...

About New Year's Resolutions

Since it is the beginning of the new year, I think it's appropriate to discuss the notion of New Year's resolutions.  This is indeed a cultural phenomenon, when folks feel they can push the reset button in specific areas of their lives and "get away with it".  I say that because too many people are challenged by others when they change their habits, even for the better.  Saying that you're following a New Year's resolution you made to justify your decision to change something in your life kind of gets you off the hook socially, and others are less likely to irrationally feel threatened. But if you stick with it and persevere, then you're liable to be called out for being fanatical, extreme, or even suffering from a disorder.  So when I drove up to my local Gainesville Health and Fitness gym complex a little past nine in the evening on January 2nd, I should have known the parking lot would be crammed...I had to backtrack and park further away: no problem, extra steps for me!  But then after dressing out I walked upstairs to the row of treadmills I like to use and found that almost all of them were taken: that simply does not happen!  H-m-m, evidently there were a lot of the "resolved" that night. Funny thing, though: yesterday and today, during the same time, the number of gym-goers plummeted...no problem finding my favorite treadmill available for action!  I don't know how tenaciously people will hold to their resolutions, but I am confident that, human nature being as base as it often is, the people in their lives will, by and large, be relieved to see them settle back into their respective familiar ruts...

My December 2023 Running/Walking/Swimming Report

This month I finally got around to doing something I had intended for a long time: add swimming to my regimen of exercise. My local gym, of which I have been a member for more than eleven years, has an excellent pool for swimming laps...it's almost inexcusable that I have neglected using it for so long.  But then is then and now is now...for the past two Fridays after work (my official shift ends at 10 PM), I have "taken the plunge", so to speak, and started my laps (25 yards, not the 50-meter Olympic standard).  My swimming form is atrocious, but as I make this more of a habit I'm hoping that practice (along with watching YouTube videos) will make me more effective...my upper body strength and endurance definitely lags far behind that for my running and walking.  Speaking of them, I ran a 15K race in December as well as two 5Ks, employing the Galloway run/walk method in all events to achieve faster finishes than in recent years.  I also speed-walked a 5K, the second time I've done that.  We're blessed here in Gainesville to be a part of the international Parkrun movement, with our Depot Parkrun 5K event, free and volunteer-run, a regular Saturday morning staple since 2018...I've run or walked it 30 times since 2019 and volunteered 3...probably need to help out again soon. I've run (and, naturally, walked) on every day of December, anticipating more of the same tomorrow as the year closes.  I've tried for the most part to get to the gym after work, using the treadmill for running and speed-walking practice.  Speaking of the transition from 2023 to 2024, I thought that for tomorrow's article I would just throw out some ideas about where I might be heading with my running, walking and swimming...

Walked Gainesville's Depot Parkrun 5K This Morning

When I speed-walked my first 5K (3.1 miles) back in May, I had originally planned to try for at least one walking race per month.  But then I underwent some back issues, followed by a Covid diagnosis...the momentum for this ebbed.  This month I decided to return to my idea and made my way down to Gainesville's pretty Depot Park this morning to walk their weekly, free and volunteer-driven 5K...it's my 30th race there since I started in 2019.  The temperature at race time was 56 with the humidity at 90%...not important factors.  Just as in May, I felt a little weird sticking to a fast walk at the start of the race when all these others were running past me.  But I maintained my speed and at the end beat my May finishing time by nearly three minutes: 42:20. Afterwards I wasn't the least bit tired or winded, and so I went on an "extra" 2.3 mile run in the park's vicinity, including a stretch of the Hawthorne Trail.  I like walking fast like this and have already incorporated it both into my gym workout (treadmill speed-walking on Wednesdays) and my racing Galloway Method of alternating running with walking...with me the latter is always at a quick pace.  Speaking of the gym, I've been a member of Gainesville Health and Fitness for more than ten years, and finally last night I got around to using their wonderful 75 ft. indoor lap pool.  I managed to swim one length doing the American crawl while floating and paddling backwards on the return lap...good start, but I have a long way to go. I've never been a very agile or fast swimmer, but I think I'll use Friday evenings as my "swim night" and see how far I can go with it.  As for today's Depot Parkrun results, you can see them by clicking HERE...

Ran Gainesville's Depot Parkrun 5K This Morning

Amidst a cool (56 degrees), humid 93% morning with overcast, dark skies and gusty winds, I somehow sprang up out of bed at six this morning to once again tackle the free, volunteer-driven Depot Parkrun 5K here in Gainesville just a few blocks south of downtown.  I had been working out at my local gym after work and knew I was getting into better running shape, but I hadn't anticipated...even with my Galloway Method of interspersing short walking breaks with my running...of annihilating my Parkrun personal best, finishing at 28:57...my best 5K result since 2016.  Immediately following the run I covered another 1.8 miles along SE 4th Street, 10th Avenue, the Hawthorne Trail and then back on Depot Road to my parking lot.  Total for the run: 4.9 miles, 47:15.  Now I'm sitting (for the first time) at the Starbucks near University Avenue on NW 13th Street which is really an extension of the Publix store there...it's instantly become my favorite Starbucks!  Yesterday I had been considering getting up even earlier today and driving down to Ocala to run their Baseline Trailhead Park race, but the enrollment had been capped off...maybe another time.  As for the Parkrun extension I did this morning, I'd like to make that a regular Saturday morning feature while making some adjustments in my route.  As for today's race, click HERE for the results.  As for my cumulative running record posting on December 10th, I decided to add each subsequent race I do to it...

Weather to Get Rainy, About Running

Looks like we're in for some nasty weather with the next few days...throughout the whole Florida peninsula.  I had been considering trying out an Ocala park running race on Saturday morning, but I think maybe since they hold it twice a month I'll wait until the weather is a little more propitious. On the other hand, maybe going down there like this could be part of the adventure!  In any event, there's always the Depot Parkrun in town...or just sleeping in late might fill the bill as well.  I have been hitting my local gym lately quite a bit and enjoy their treadmills with the built-in screen app called "Virtual Active".  It shows different scenes as virtual runs in five-minute chunks, alternating in various places like New Zealand, Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), Italy, California, Washington State, and British Columbia. It's made treadmill running more than just looking at my numbers and huffing and puffing...they offer it on Roku at home but for a subscription: I think I'll just enjoy YouTube virtual races shown there instead.  Well, I've got somewhere I need to be going and something to do, so until later...

My November 2023 Running/Walking Report

In November I ran a total of 363 miles, and on every day of the month. My runs were spread throughout each day more or less, and I made much use of my local gym, which is Gainesville Health and Fitness.  Maybe it's counterintuitive, but when I get off from work in the evening I'm often tense and tired...yet getting on the treadmill for a brisk run relaxes me and takes the edge off the day.  I also ran a couple of Depot Parkrun 5Ks in the month...but my biggest race was the Tom Walker Half-Marathon, organized by "my" Florida Track Club and held on the 14th on the Hawthorne Trail.  There I surpassed my personal expectations when I employed the Jeff Galloway method of alternating running a set number of minutes (for me, 5) with a set number of walking minutes (1).  The result was the best finish I had at the distance since 2015.  I even applied it to the much shorter 3.1-mile Parkrun distance and finish with a personal best out of 27 Parkruns.  In December I plan to continue doing the Depot Parkrun 5K, but on the 9th I intend to run another Hawthorne Trail race: Season of Hope 15K (proceeds to go for the fight against dystonia) for my third time, and the first since 2019.  As for walking, I may walk one of those upcoming Parkruns...speed-walking rocks, too...

My July and August 2023 Running and Walking Report

For the previous two months of summer my overall amount of running and walking mileage took a nosedive, much of this due to (1) issues with lower back spasms and (2) becoming ill...I've happily recovered from both for weeks.  Still, I managed to generate more than 200 miles of running training mileage for each of July and August and managed to run two local Depot Parkrun 5K races on August 19th and 26th...they're free and held each Saturday morning at Gainesville's pretty Depot Park.  I have also been visiting my local gym after work to run and walk on the treadmill...I think that has helped a lot, too.  Unfortunately, the summer weather here has been the most stifling hot and humid season I can remember experiencing...and I grew up near Miami!  I am hoping against hope for conditions to greatly improve in September, but still plan to trudge ahead regardless.  Eventually I plan to run in some longer distance races starting in October...we'll see how I'm doing by that time.  This morning I skipped the Parkrun, correctly gauging that I needed the extra sleep.  I signed up to run a 4-mile race organized by the Florida Track Club, of which I'm a member, that starts and finishes at Squirrel Ridge Park off Williston Road near US441. Should be fun: it happens next Saturday...

Quote of the Week...from Oscar Wilde

There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.

                                                              ---Oscar Wilde

Late nineteenth century Irish novelist and playwright Oscar Wilde is probably best known for his book The Picture of Dorian Gray, and he has a lot of witty things to say about this thing and that.  As for the above quote, I'm assuming I'm not to take it literally for I can come up with a lot of things in life worse than being talked about.  But I get what Wilde is trying to say here...let me expand upon it a bit.  It seems that in today's world, more than ever before, people at large are letting themselves get caught up in two seemingly diametrically opposite offenses. On one hand they are obsessed with privacy about their personal lives and while in public are sensitive to anyone passing their low threshold of what constitutes undue attention.  But on the other hand, they want to be known by others...in a good sense, of course...with their sense of self-worth tied in to how attractive their appearance and personality shows in public...and being ignored is offensive.  I just saw a social media post laying out a number of ways someone can determine whether another is stalking them in their gym...then saw an ad for my own gym that emphasizes how one can use it to make their bodies look like those of professional models, an obvious appeal for those prospective customers wanting to turn others' eyes toward them.  Social media is kind of peculiar in this regard, too, with the clamor for privacy always a major beef among various sites' users...yet they're using the sites to come out into the public arena, aren't they?  I have come to believe that while privacy is a legitimate and major concern for people to have, the fear of a future in which everyone has forgotten them becomes worse...as Mr. Wilde so eloquently stated.  I think people in general are unrealistic in that they want to control who pays attention to them and talk about them, while if they are realistic about it they will acknowledge that there's always going to be some unwelcome reactions to their presence and message  Still, there's a limit to what I'll put up with on this blog with some past trolls...you don't have to agree with me but you also don't have to be a jerk about it...   

My May 2023 Running and Walking Report

In May I kept up my pace of running training, adding to it a regimen of incremental speed walking.  On the 6th and 20th I ran the Saturday morning Depot Parkrun 5K here in Gainesville, and on the 27th I walked the course.  I've also been paying regular visits late night after work to my local 24/7 gym, where I have been gradually increasing my walking speed on their treadmill...now up to 4.6 mph (13:02/mile) for a mile's duration.  I'd like to develop a good mix in the future for half-marathons...and possibly even marathons...of a steady running pace regularly interrupted with fast walking breaks: in other words, the Galloway Method perfected by marathoner Jeff Galloway.  In June I plan to do more of the same with my training and sticking to that Parkrun for public races...although they're PC about calling them "runs" and not "races".  I've also done a lot of my running in my own nicely air-conditioned house while listening to podcasts and watching race videos on YouTube...lots of fun and pretty convenient, too.  Hope you're doing well with whatever you may be training on...

Visited Local Gym for a Hot Summer Day Treadmill Distance Run

It's been several months since I've visited my local gym, which happens to be Gainesville Health and Fitness.  I was planning to try out a long training run this weekend around the neighborhood but the temperature was too high...and since GHF has been opened back up I decided to give it a try as it got up to 94 degrees with a three-digit heat index.  I got there at one this afternoon and was a little taken aback about how busy it was, although upon reflection the parking lot was a lot emptier and there were fewer people there.  Their website discouraged members from using the locker rooms in the interest of safety from the coronavirus...I had already figured that out and don't plan to use them until the pandemic has subsided.  Wearing a mask upon entry and exit as asked (and all the employees wear masks), I scanned my membership card on a machine they had installed on the counter, to reduce any proximity to workers holding scanners.  Once in, I went upstairs to the row of treadmills I was accustomed to using, surprised that none had been roped off...they stated that members needed to work out six feet apart and I suppose they just expected us to abide by it: fortunately, everyone there seemed considerate of each other.  On the cardio equipment like the treadmill, users removed their masks but I noticed that those training with weights tended to keep them on.  My treadmill worked great and I was able to slog out eight slow miles on it while listening to a shuffle of some of my favorite songs on my MP3 player.  Afterwards I just walked out and back to my car and drove home...a successful venture.  But I still didn't like that many people there and know there are better times to visit when it's emptier.  The staff there was very friendly and professional as usual, and naturally were taking extra steps to keep the equipment clean and disinfected.  I don't know what it's going to look like there, however, when the University of Florida students pour back into town in a few weeks...heck, I don't know what it's going to look like anywhere, for that matter...