147.3

Starting our destination wedding adventure right with a first morning beach and bridge run in St. Petersburg FL. I never thought I would be one of "those people", but running without hills is extremely doll. Running on the flat is like a constant hill that never ends because you have to continually push yourself forward without end. Without a big hill to tackle and a good recovery coming down, running is nowhere near as much fun!  Florida is not the best running vacation location. 

But... What they lose in challenging hills, they make up for with awesome bridges stunning scenery! I made this bridge the mid point for my morning out and back, so I stopped for a few minutes to take some pictures during the run. This something I love to do when running out of town. I'm on vacation, it doesn't always have to be about negative splits and good mechanics (although I did have negative splits on the way back haha), it's nice to stop and take in the sights. 

110.41

The 100 mile mark for the blog has been passed!  Even though I haven't posted lately, my running has really been progressing.  I had taken a long break from running (more than a year). It has been really hard to get back in to it again. All of the milestones that were fun crossing the first time are just bland and treacherous the 2nd time around. It was hard to get excited about anything. Add to that a couple months of knee pain which I had never had before (which actually turned out to be caused by running in the wrong shoes), I really think I am almost back to where I was when I was at my best 2 years ago.  Maybe not for long distance pacing. But I'm definitely feeling faster at shorter distances

Last weekend I had a personal best 22:21 5K and 1st place finish for my age group.  The course was very hilly. On a more forgiving course I think could have easily broken the 22 mark. The race was called the Leggin' it for Literacy 5k. Despite the hilly route, it is my favorite in town race each year. My company was the main sponsor for the second year in a row. They also paid for a small team of 10 runners to compete. As a group we did great taking 8 medals!

We were also happy to have our good friends from Kentucky visiting that week. Our friend Greta even took the prize for 2nd overall female. 

Greta looking strong at the finish line

Me sucking air at the finish line. Did I mention this race ends atop a huge hill??  Who designed this course?!

My beautiful wife Kristina finishing with grace as usual!

This race was so much fun, now I'm getting the bug to start running longer distances. Perhaps a fall half marathon?  To be continued....

More pictures from the weekend. 

85.53

A wonderful run on my lunch break today. I found this abandoned airfield along the banks of the Chattahoochie river. It is located near the Subway I sometimes frequent for lunch. I usually keep running clothes and shoes in my center console for when opportunities like this present themselves. It's nice to always be prepared. 

I was so tired the first half of the day, it was exactly what I needed to be more productive the second half of the day. 

Here is my pictures from the run. 

After doing a little research on this old airfield, I found some pretty neat information. 

As depicted in 1948 with a 3,100' runway.

In the 1950's the airport was used for drag racing on Sunday's. 

Even though the airport is on the Alabama side of the river, the legal description of the state line is the most westwardly extent of the floodwaters of the river. Because of this, the state of Georgia attempted for many years to collect taxes on the field. 

1964 soil conservation photo

Noted as a 3200' paved runway in 1962

In 1982, the shorter grass runway had been abandoned with the note "Private, use at own risk". 

The airport was closed at some point after 1986 and is no longer depicted on aeronautical charts. 

The land is now owned by the city and is used for a RC plane field and exercise trail. 

Credit

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/AL/Airfields_AL_Montgomery.htm. Historical pictures and notes are from that website. 

74

Urg.... Back to Ga and another chokingly hot and humid run down the highway on my lunch break. This is a route not to be repeated, but at least I felt light on my feet. 

71

This is running nirvana. During an early fall trip visiting our good friends in Minneapolis, I had the privilege of running the chain of lakes.  If I were forced to run the same route forever, I would be hard pressed to find a better place. It really offers everything. It's fast, beautiful scenery, magnificent homes, and the vibe is tops. It was so refreshing to be surrounded by so many runners and cyclist. In my Georgia town I may not see another runner out for days but in the twin cities, I could truly sense that the locals were trying to get the most of the last few weeks of the fall season before the looming weather takes its stranglehold on the region.  Lake Calhoun is a definite must do for any runner visiting the Minneapolis or St. Paul. 

61.23

After logging another 5K this afternoon in my new shoes, my confidence is ever increasing that these are going to be the best shoes I've used yet. They are light and neutral yet seem to provide lots of impact protection. 

I also found out I finished 2nd in my age group in the 5K I ran sick a couple weeks ago. I love getting cheap dorky medals.  

One more run after work tomorrow (hopefully), then a day off for a round a golf!  Here's to the weekend. 

58.13

New shoe time!  These are the new Brooks Launch. They should take me the next 250 miles or so. I've never owned this particular model so I'm not sure for how many miles they are good for. After the first 3 miles in them, my first impression is very good, but I'll need to get about 20 more to know for sure. 

I am a former Ghost 5, and 6 user. While I loved the 5's, I didn't think the 6's held up as well. After a failed attempt at a Nike running shoe I am back with Brooks again. 

I actually haven't heard much about the Launch model. They caught my eye at the sporting goods store, and I did a quick review check on my phone. It turns out this shoe was on the chopping block at Brooks last year but had such an overwhelming response from its customers, they scrapped the idea of discontinuing it and kept offering the shoe albeit without yearly updates and little marketing. All this seems to be fine with the devoted users of the shoe. If it's not broke, why fix it. I hope to be able to join the fan base, I just don't want to fall in love with these shoes only for them to be canceled next year. Only time and miles will tell. 

54.63

I was asked by a coworker on 9/11 to run 9.11 miles that night in memory. I had not been running long runs in many months, but figured I would give it a go. It went well and the heat even let up for us. This should be a tradition every year. 

44.19

Race morning on the square. Decent finish time of 26 considering it's the hilliest course in town and I had a 100.7 degree fever...  I could have been faster if I wasn't sick, but at least I made it.  Hardest race in a long time. 

41.19

This run was short, fast and interrupted by a massive thunder storm. But at least it wasn't a hundred degrees...

39.62

In honor of out of an town run, I have multiple pictures from a surprisingly hot and humid early morning run at the University of South Alabama 

35.32

32.22

Good after work run today. The temp was high but fall is in the air. Great breeze, slightly less humid. 

28.49

A grim photo for a grim run. The heat and humidity was murder. Combined with long rolling hills and I only achieved half the miles I was after.  Apparently you can't party two nights in a row and still expect to have a good run in the morning. 

Fun milestone:  Marathon distance passed for blog. 

25.39

US Gov Property - Do Not Enter. 8/21

22.36

Cheating the heat on the treadmill 8/19

16.16

Stopped by the train on a out and back. 8/17

10.34

A morning run around the college. 8/16

6.33

Awesome run by the lake on 8/14. These are truly the dog days of summer.

0.0

Welcome. My name is Mike. I like to jog. I like photography. That is why I created JOGPHOTOG. The premise is very simple; each time I run, I use my iPhone to record the distance and take one picture during my outing. Each new posting will be titled the cumulative number of miles ran, starting with this one @ 0.0. 

So that is pretty much it. This blog is about miles and a photo. This is intentionally meant to be short and sweet. I can't wait to sit back and watch the miles pile up (and to see what kind of photos I can come up with while often running the same routes in town. 

See you in a few miles.