Ran Gainesville's Depot Park 5K This Morning

I could tell this morning that the humidity had drastically dropped when I stepped out of the car at Gainesville's Depot Park, a few blocks south of downtown.  Each Saturday morning they hold a free, volunteer-driven 5K run/walk in this pretty park, starting at 7:30.  You participate by signing up online and they issue you barcodes that you print out and take with you to be scanned...I believe they also have an app you can use on the phone to scan, although I'd rather leave it in the car while I run.  This morning I ran my second straight Depot Parkrun, this experience better than the last because of the lessened mugginess, although the temperature was an unpleasant 77 degrees.  Although it started packed and crammed with runners and walkers, after about a half lap (there are four in the race) it thinned out enough to where I felt comfortable establishing a steady pace.  It was faster than last week's, reflected in my improved finishing time of 31:29...click HERE to view the results.  There were a lot of people here today...120 finishers...and a lot of "first-timers".  I'm looking forward to seeing what I'll do next week...

Enjoyed Our Brief Visit to Daytona Beach

 

Melissa and I just got back from a two-night trip to Daytona Beach, staying at our favorite hotel there.  Sometimes it's good to break the regular pattern and routine and get out of town, if only for a little while.  For the most part we rested and enjoyed the ambiance...although I did go out on a 4.5-mile beach run yesterday afternoon during low tide.  The temperatures during the day stayed in the seventies...unusual for this time of year...but the winds coming from the southeast were ferocious, as I discovered during my run when I turned around to go back to our hotel.  As is the case in my workplace, they're doing some renovation work at this hotel...some things I guess you just can't get away from...

Ran New Year's Day Depot Parkrun This Morning

I thought I'd get the 2023 New Year off on the right note as I got up early and drove down to Gainesville's Depot Park to run in their special event on this holiday Sunday morning, departing from their Saturday pattern.  The weather, while not raining, wasn't exactly cooperating, though.  The temperature at the 7:30 race time was an unseasonably warm 65 degrees with an extremely muggy 97% humidity (with fog everywhere), bringing to memory the horrible conditions for last November's Tom Walker Memorial half-marathon I struggled through.  This time around I was wiser, taking the first couple of laps in the 3.1 mile course easy...I had to anyway as the asphalt/concrete trail was moist and slippery.  No, my goal was just to reasonably get through this run, and I accomplished that, with a modest finishing time of 32:59...click HERE to see the complete race results.  There were only 42 finishers this morning...no problem finding a parking space this time!  I'm still thinking of entering the Florida Track Club's half marathon race two weeks from now, but I'd first like to get an idea what the long-range weather forecast will be for that morning and will need to wait another week to find out.  It's being held on the Hawthorne Trail, originating and ending at its endpoint in the town of Hawthorne near the high school...