Back on the course

Spent part of a day off on the UF golf course with a friend, which was a blast, and played another 9 holes today at a small course on the western side of Gainesville.  Both outings held a lot of promise for the future. I've been working on a more consistent, more accurate and much more comfortable swing plane which goes hand in hand with my stretching routine. Aside from not setting foot inside the gym this year for lifting and dynamic weighted exercises, distance hasn't suffered and has, in some cases, increased over the past year. For example, most of my clubs have been changed. My driver, the newer Taylor Made R11, is dialed in to a nice slight fade off the tee. I love the setup since if I need to turn the ball over from right to left instead of the more comfortable left to right I can without worrying about a massive hook. Consistency is the goal this year. More fairways, more greens. Distance is great, and I'll gladly give up a few fairways here and there for more yards, but I can't be all over the course like I was up until the past year or two.

On that note, Taylor Made is promising a new line of fairway woods and, from the YouTube videos I watch on the wife's iPad, they live up to the "RocketBallz" name. Only a few more weeks until their release!

Highlights from the UF round:
- Shaped shots well from the tee and from the fairway.
- Used 3 wood more off the tee, including carrying a bunker 265 out with a fade, and one 275 out with a draw (downwind). Not bad, and I wasn't swinging for the fences, which is nice to know I don't have to feel like I need to crank it or depend on a driver at all times.
- Short game - First round with the new Vokey SM4 wedges. I had forgotten how many shots I could play since sticking with the old, worn out wedges in favor of saving a couple of bucks. It's more wasteful to play old wedges than pony up the cash for new ones!

Highlights from West End:
- Drove the first green, laser showed the distance was 323 yards. Not bad!
- 2 birdies on par 3's plus one on the first hole = 3 under par. The course sucks, but under par is under par.
- 3 wood, sand wedge to a 433 yard par 4. Yeah, it had a cross, helping wind, but make it a pitching wedge instead of a sand wedge and it's still damn good.

All in all, I'm having a lot more confidence than I had before off the tee.  Maybe it's getting older and smarter regarding my swing, but I'm longer and more accurate now than I've ever been. Hopefully it's putting me in a great position for Q School going forward!

Mileage Updates

1/6 - 5.07 miles, 48:08 min
1/7 - 9.00 miles, 1:29:34 min
1/10 - 5.67 miles, 56:43 min
1/11 - 4.04 miles, 39:07 min
1/14 - 9.56 miles, 1:34:00 min
1/16 - 5.00 miles, 48:30 min

So far it's not a bad number of miles, but I do want to change the bad habit that seems to be occuring of running a few days in a row then taking a few days off. The "new" shoes aren't breaking in the way I had hoped, and they're starting to aggrivate the arch of my right foot to the point where it's bordering on pain. I don't know if that's the reason my min/mile is creeping up ever so slightly, but it's something I have to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.  I can't wait too long to get a new pair if this pair doesn't work out. Evidently that's a huge "no-no" in the world of running.

Catching Up

I've been lazy posting since just after Christmas! Mileage since the 27th is below -

12/30 - 3.27 mi, 31:13 min, 9:33 pace
12/31 - 8 mi, 1:27:06 min, 10:52 pace
1/2 - 4:15 mi, 37:48 min, 9:06 pace
1/3 - 5.72 mi, 52:32 min, 9:11 pace

Mileage is picking up and the temperatures are getting crazy. In one week it goes from highs in the 70's to 40's and back. Very strange. Only about 5 weeks to go until the half marathon, and I'm not really sure when to start tapering. A week? Two? We need to have either an 11 or 12 mile run under our belts before the Rock n' Roll St. Pete. Hopefully we can squeeze everything in!

Resolution Time

New Years has come and gone and it's time again to make a list!

1. New job - Irons in the fire, but exploring every option.

2. Summer lovin' - Or early Fall... Either way, but as a result we hope Maggie, Pepper and dear Isabella will be joined by a less furry, human addition to the family in 2013.

3. Home Sweet Home - House shopping is a possibility, but if not we have a decent place to spend another year. The hope is we don't have to though.

4. Less Clint - 2011 saw a 236 lb Clint go to a 216 lb Clint. 2012 will see a 216 lb Clint go to a 190ish lb Clint or less. The final number is to be determined after I get to 190. Who knows, maybe I'll feel better at 195 than at 185. We'll see! To get there I'll need to...

5. Get back to the gym - I miss it. Running and spending time at the driving range will be the lions share of my fitness, but I can't get to where I need to be without lifting. More reps, less weight more often than heavy weight, less reps. Still, I better be benching upwards of 230-240 by the end of the year.

6. Home on the range - Will be my second home. Due to sunlight, work, etc I'm going to buy a net and a mat for the back yard. At least I can get swings in and work on mechanics. Shot shape will have to wait for the range, but if my mechanics suffer it doesn't matter what I do at the range.

7. Hit the road (or trails) - Half marathon with my wife in February, Tough Mudder later in the year with friends... That leaves the rest of the year. Hmm... What race can I squeeze in? I have to make a list of everything I can find that looks remotely interesting and see what, if anything, is worth entering. Who knows, maybe just putting in miles is what I need to do to prepare for an ultra or a marathon late in 12 or sometime in 13?

8. Music - Taking guitar lessons is one thing, working on it is something else entirely. I will spend much more time dedicated to the goal of not sucking. Gotta make my St. Auggie friends proud, and one in particular, Sam Pacetti, who does teach, but not beginners or intermediates. I don't know if I can get good enough this year to begin taking lessons from him on a very limited, geographically inhibited basis, but hopefully I can get a lot closer.

9. Knock something off the Bucket List - I highly doubt a cross country drive is in the cards this year, but seeing a national park like Glacier, Yellowstone or Grand Tetons? Key West to see where Gamble opened Margaritaville for his protege Jimmy Buffet among other sights (Hemingway cats!)? I have more that I may post at some point, but I'll keep my fingers crossed that we can knock one off at least. I wonder what my wife has on hers?

Christmas Run and Run/Walk

5.3 miles
51:08 min, 9:38 min/mile pace
+
6.03 miles, 2 running, untimed

Ran on my own this morning, including a mile long run through a valley that, according to the elevation chart, was a hundred foot drop then an immediate hundred foot climb out. Felt pretty phenominal today. 28*, saw wildlife everywhere, got to practice running on ice for future races. All in all a pretty goof start. Then, I got to run and walk around a nature preserve, see geese and ducks, a small river, numerous lakes and ponds while spending time with my wife! We did 6 miles in all. I could do this every day!

Perfect weather!

3.01 miles
30:33 min, 10:09 min/mile
+
2 treadmill miles

We had another nice run this morning. Nothing intense, but we did manage to pick up the pace just a bit. I suspect she did this in order to get out of the 30* weather, but whatever works! Today was supposedly the coldest day here in Columbia with temps not breaking 35* all day, and the Target insulated mock neck worked just fine, even if it does feel like the mock neck is choking me. At half the price of Under Armour Cold Gear I can handle it for now!

10/22 Midwest Run

3.03 miles
31:12 min, 10:17 min/mile

Also ran, but didn't track, 3 miles while we were in Atlanta, but I have to say that the best run so far was today. 31 degrees when we woke up, threw on the warm layers and hit the road. Columbia, Missouri has some beautiful scenery, nice rolling hills with the occasional valley to run through. Before we leave I'll be running through a valley that would make Newell Rd in Gainesville look tiny and I can't wait! I'm not sure DW will want to do that with me, but that just means I'll run half the mileage that day with her and the rest by myself. We're still thinking about the Katy Trail down closer to the Mizzou campus, but a body was just found there by another runner so we might avoid it for now until all the spectators and police get done with whatever they have to do.

Ate way too much Shakespeare's Pizza so the run tomorrow should be miserable. We'll attempt a few miles on the treadmill tonight. Can't let the weight slip over the holidays!