7 p.m. 70 degrees and very light wind. Ideal conditions 4 for an early evening run along the ocean. The Panorama of the sky was striking. A hazy, gray full moon hung over the eastern ocean horizon gazing westwood at a golden fireball sinking into the Matanzas River. Strollers on the beach must have been quite confused watching an old guy running on the beach with a wide smile on his face.

The happy runner had a number of reasons for sporting a smile.
1-the mesmerizing sky of course
2- running along in the evening without pain
3- performing a workout that far exceeded his expectations for that evening

Tonight I covered five miles on my journey along the ocean. At the start of the workout it seemed that things were going to be tedious. My quads were sore and heavy and my calves were whining. All this no doubt is a result of yesterday’s rather difficult and demanding workout. As I have mentioned earlier, it seems my workouts are getting longer, more in the five to six mile range rather then in the three to four mile range that had been my previous norm. Warm up was about a mile and a half of walking and jogging which took 20 minutes. Feeling a little better, I decided to try to do a few mile intervals wondering if I could run better than 9:30 pace. I was surprised to find that I ran a quite comfortable 8:24 for the first mile. After a four minute jog I ran an 8:13 mile! I had some idea that I might go for 3, but my Achllie’s tendon started to ache slightly during the second mile. So I opted to err on the side of caution. The workout concluded with a one-mile cool-down jog. I am pretty sure I could have run three. I think that if I can run a number of 8 minute miles during workouts over the next fiew weeks, I have a chance to reach my goal 5K time of 25 minutes.

We just finished a delicious dinner cooked by Arlene of a fish we have discovered in Florida. It’s name is trigger. The folks at the local fish store claim it is one of the most popular in the area and it is tasty and versatile. We both liked it end probably will have it again before we leave. I don’t know if it is available in New Jersey.