Weekly Totals (10/25-10/31):
5 runs, 41 miles. One indoor cycle workout.
Very good long run of 16 miles, probably too fast, couple of good Gazelles workouts (2000m and 800m repeats), and two recovery/EZ runs. Nice balance, and some good quality workouts.
For the month of October, a new record for mileage, 167 miles. They add up in a hurry.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Recovery Run With GalloWayers
This morning, on Central Standard Time, I set out with the Finishers group from Galloway, to lead them through a 7 miler on the I-35 loop. They're supposed to be running pretty easy, maybe 12-13 minute miles, and all at run 3/ walk 1 minute. It was okay, about 74 degrees, totally overcast, high humidity, even some light rain while we were out there.
The run felt just fine, but they were really frisky, and we ended up running 7 miles at 11:11/mile pace. Okay for me for a recovery run, but probably a little quick for them as a training pace. We'll work on that in the future.
I did some good stretching afterwards, and the legs feel just fine today. My back and abs are slightly stiff, still, but I can work on that.
Now, after guitar orchestra practice this afternoon, it'll be Trick or Treat time this evening, weather permitting.
This morning, on Central Standard Time, I set out with the Finishers group from Galloway, to lead them through a 7 miler on the I-35 loop. They're supposed to be running pretty easy, maybe 12-13 minute miles, and all at run 3/ walk 1 minute. It was okay, about 74 degrees, totally overcast, high humidity, even some light rain while we were out there.
The run felt just fine, but they were really frisky, and we ended up running 7 miles at 11:11/mile pace. Okay for me for a recovery run, but probably a little quick for them as a training pace. We'll work on that in the future.
I did some good stretching afterwards, and the legs feel just fine today. My back and abs are slightly stiff, still, but I can work on that.
Now, after guitar orchestra practice this afternoon, it'll be Trick or Treat time this evening, weather permitting.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
16 Miler
This morning, the Gazelles got together for our 16 miler. The course was the last 16 miles of the Freescale marathon course, which made for an interesting dress rehearsal. We carpooled up to the starting point at 45th and Lamar, and grouped up at 6:00 am. Diana and Tracy were there, and we added Patrick, a new guy, to our happy band. Patrick has been with Gilbert only since Monday, but he's been doing long runs on his own. After a quick stop for hydration adjustment at the Starbucks right there, we were off. We rolled through the first 3 miles of the route, warming up and easing into pace. First 3 miles 10:42, 10:22, 10:05, and another .7 miles at 10:08 pace to the port-o-potties near the Capitol. After a short stop there, we were off again, down Congress, to 6th Street. It was still dark through here, of course, which made for a surreal experience. We rolled it all the way to Mangia Pizza at Lake Austin Blvd, where Gilbert had put the water out for the first water stop. Those couple of miles were 9:44 and 9:57. Another quick water stop, maybe 2 minutes, where I took my first GU of the morning.
The next portion of the course was an out-and-back to the turnaround on Lake Austin Blvd, which we knocked out in 9:34 and 9:43. We were starting to pick it up pretty good through those 4 miles since the potty break, and were at mile 8, the halfway point. Overall pace for first 8 miles was 10:03, pretty much right on target for us.
Refreshed after a second water stop on the way back, we headed for Cesar Chavez street. Rolled down the hill, and along by the high school track. We stopped a time or two through here for various short bathroom breaks, and then reached the last Gilbert water stop, which featured red Powerade. Despite our start and stop approach through this stretch, we knocked out those 2 miles at 9:05 average pace, really quick, but there was a good bit of the hesitation blues through there.
At the water stop, Tracy said that she'd back off the pace for a while, and run the rest of the course a bit easier than we were pressing. Patrick stayed with us for the time being. We got started again, and ran a fun mile up Cesar Chavez, as we talked about how crowded with spectators that stretch got during the actual race. It funnels down like the Tour de France. But not today.
After a 9:28 mile 11, we found ourselves in the midst of a 10K race. The Texas Twister 10K was using a fair chunk of our route as part of its course, much to our surprise. So we fed into the stream of 10K runners, actually passing a bunch of them, which was a boost to our spirits. We stayed with them for the better part of the next 2 miles, and unwittingly picked up our pace as a result. It was the mile 2 to mile 4 portion of their race. Our mile 12 was 8:44 pace, way too fast, and the next .8 miles was at 8:56 pace, as we found the last water fountain on our route. We stopped to hydrate, and I took my last GU. I was feeling pretty strong, but I could tell that I was starting to tire a bit. Tracy caught back up with us at that point, and she and Patrick decided to finish together (his previous long run was 12 miles on his own), and Diana and I made the other team. We were off to finish this thing.
The next mile featured the span of Longhorn Dam, and then climbed up a short hill to turn onto Riverside Dr. That is a tough spot for me during the marathon, for some reason. Anyway, we cruised through here, picking up the pace again, and I was starting to worry that I'd have to tell Diana to go on ahead. The pace was starting to wear me out a little. It was a little warm, but there was enough of a breeze and overcast to keep things okay. Next mile was 8:44, then .8 miles to the I-35 overpass at a 8:36 pace. We were hauling butt this late in a long run, that's for sure, through a hilly section as well. I was starting to have real doubts on the longer of the two Riverside hills, and told Diana to go on ahead if she wanted to, but she said she was working hard, too, so we hung together for the last push. After the I-35 overpass, we rolled up the last hill, and thankfully headed down the other side for the home stretch. We had only one mile to go, and I was starting to work really hard. I wasn't looking at the watch, but I knew that I was starting to breathe very hard while we charged down Riverside. Finally, we reached RunTex and the end of our journey, and I was glad to see it end.
It was a very pleasant surprise, and relief, to see the reason that I was huffing and puffing so much was our 8:01 pace coming down Riverside, and a last sprint of 300 yards at 7:41 pace! We had absolutely flown over the last part of the run, and that was way cool. Second 8 miles of this run was a big negative split pace of 8:48/mile, which was sort of unbelieveable. Overall pace for the 16 miler was 9:26 pace, very solid indeed.
I was still trying to catch my breath as we started the stretching session with Gilbert, trying to drink my Endurox while doing the first couple of stretches. I was actually a bit dizzy during some parts of the stretching, but by the time we were done, I had started to recover better. I bought a bottle of Powerade at RunTex just to give me a little more replenishment, since I was pretty drained.
Since we had hammered the end of the run as much as we did, I'm not too worried about my fatigue after the run. We ran the last 8 miles at a pace faster than I did the Pervasive 10 Mile race last weekend, after all. This wasn't nearly as tough of a course as last week, but it was a 16 mile run all the same.
A really great day at the running office, once again. Now, I just need to eat and drink all afternoon and evening long, to get back to normal.
This morning, the Gazelles got together for our 16 miler. The course was the last 16 miles of the Freescale marathon course, which made for an interesting dress rehearsal. We carpooled up to the starting point at 45th and Lamar, and grouped up at 6:00 am. Diana and Tracy were there, and we added Patrick, a new guy, to our happy band. Patrick has been with Gilbert only since Monday, but he's been doing long runs on his own. After a quick stop for hydration adjustment at the Starbucks right there, we were off. We rolled through the first 3 miles of the route, warming up and easing into pace. First 3 miles 10:42, 10:22, 10:05, and another .7 miles at 10:08 pace to the port-o-potties near the Capitol. After a short stop there, we were off again, down Congress, to 6th Street. It was still dark through here, of course, which made for a surreal experience. We rolled it all the way to Mangia Pizza at Lake Austin Blvd, where Gilbert had put the water out for the first water stop. Those couple of miles were 9:44 and 9:57. Another quick water stop, maybe 2 minutes, where I took my first GU of the morning.
The next portion of the course was an out-and-back to the turnaround on Lake Austin Blvd, which we knocked out in 9:34 and 9:43. We were starting to pick it up pretty good through those 4 miles since the potty break, and were at mile 8, the halfway point. Overall pace for first 8 miles was 10:03, pretty much right on target for us.
Refreshed after a second water stop on the way back, we headed for Cesar Chavez street. Rolled down the hill, and along by the high school track. We stopped a time or two through here for various short bathroom breaks, and then reached the last Gilbert water stop, which featured red Powerade. Despite our start and stop approach through this stretch, we knocked out those 2 miles at 9:05 average pace, really quick, but there was a good bit of the hesitation blues through there.
At the water stop, Tracy said that she'd back off the pace for a while, and run the rest of the course a bit easier than we were pressing. Patrick stayed with us for the time being. We got started again, and ran a fun mile up Cesar Chavez, as we talked about how crowded with spectators that stretch got during the actual race. It funnels down like the Tour de France. But not today.
After a 9:28 mile 11, we found ourselves in the midst of a 10K race. The Texas Twister 10K was using a fair chunk of our route as part of its course, much to our surprise. So we fed into the stream of 10K runners, actually passing a bunch of them, which was a boost to our spirits. We stayed with them for the better part of the next 2 miles, and unwittingly picked up our pace as a result. It was the mile 2 to mile 4 portion of their race. Our mile 12 was 8:44 pace, way too fast, and the next .8 miles was at 8:56 pace, as we found the last water fountain on our route. We stopped to hydrate, and I took my last GU. I was feeling pretty strong, but I could tell that I was starting to tire a bit. Tracy caught back up with us at that point, and she and Patrick decided to finish together (his previous long run was 12 miles on his own), and Diana and I made the other team. We were off to finish this thing.
The next mile featured the span of Longhorn Dam, and then climbed up a short hill to turn onto Riverside Dr. That is a tough spot for me during the marathon, for some reason. Anyway, we cruised through here, picking up the pace again, and I was starting to worry that I'd have to tell Diana to go on ahead. The pace was starting to wear me out a little. It was a little warm, but there was enough of a breeze and overcast to keep things okay. Next mile was 8:44, then .8 miles to the I-35 overpass at a 8:36 pace. We were hauling butt this late in a long run, that's for sure, through a hilly section as well. I was starting to have real doubts on the longer of the two Riverside hills, and told Diana to go on ahead if she wanted to, but she said she was working hard, too, so we hung together for the last push. After the I-35 overpass, we rolled up the last hill, and thankfully headed down the other side for the home stretch. We had only one mile to go, and I was starting to work really hard. I wasn't looking at the watch, but I knew that I was starting to breathe very hard while we charged down Riverside. Finally, we reached RunTex and the end of our journey, and I was glad to see it end.
It was a very pleasant surprise, and relief, to see the reason that I was huffing and puffing so much was our 8:01 pace coming down Riverside, and a last sprint of 300 yards at 7:41 pace! We had absolutely flown over the last part of the run, and that was way cool. Second 8 miles of this run was a big negative split pace of 8:48/mile, which was sort of unbelieveable. Overall pace for the 16 miler was 9:26 pace, very solid indeed.
I was still trying to catch my breath as we started the stretching session with Gilbert, trying to drink my Endurox while doing the first couple of stretches. I was actually a bit dizzy during some parts of the stretching, but by the time we were done, I had started to recover better. I bought a bottle of Powerade at RunTex just to give me a little more replenishment, since I was pretty drained.
Since we had hammered the end of the run as much as we did, I'm not too worried about my fatigue after the run. We ran the last 8 miles at a pace faster than I did the Pervasive 10 Mile race last weekend, after all. This wasn't nearly as tough of a course as last week, but it was a 16 mile run all the same.
A really great day at the running office, once again. Now, I just need to eat and drink all afternoon and evening long, to get back to normal.
Friday, October 29, 2004
Rest Day
Days like this are nice. No scheduled run, a full day of rest, getting ready for tomorrow's long one (16 miles). I try to use these days to practice my pre-marathon eating, rest, and hydrating, to make sure that I know what nutritional and rest regimen works best for me prior to a marathon. Call it a Dress Rehearsal for Freescale. I even try to wear the clothes that I think I'll wear for the marathon, as much as possible. If I'm going to try a new flavor or brand of energy gels during the run, these runs are the time to try it. It's never a good idea to use a new product of any sort on your race day. After months and months of training, it would be a shame to mess up your goal race by using some product that gives you blisters, chafes you in a bad spot, or causes intestinal distress. Use the long runs for all the kinds of things that you want to try, besides the raw training effect of covering longer and longer distances.
I sure hope the weather cooperates tomorrow. Looks like intermittent showers and temps in the 70's.
Days like this are nice. No scheduled run, a full day of rest, getting ready for tomorrow's long one (16 miles). I try to use these days to practice my pre-marathon eating, rest, and hydrating, to make sure that I know what nutritional and rest regimen works best for me prior to a marathon. Call it a Dress Rehearsal for Freescale. I even try to wear the clothes that I think I'll wear for the marathon, as much as possible. If I'm going to try a new flavor or brand of energy gels during the run, these runs are the time to try it. It's never a good idea to use a new product of any sort on your race day. After months and months of training, it would be a shame to mess up your goal race by using some product that gives you blisters, chafes you in a bad spot, or causes intestinal distress. Use the long runs for all the kinds of things that you want to try, besides the raw training effect of covering longer and longer distances.
I sure hope the weather cooperates tomorrow. Looks like intermittent showers and temps in the 70's.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
800m Repeats
Back to Gazelle speedwork this morning, on a drizzly, humid morning (I hope this is the cool front that has been long-promised!). I felt great on the warmup, with no sign of the calf distress from yesterday. Drills went like clockwork. Gilbert grouped us up, and my group of Joseph and Amy got a new person, Heidi. We were to do one more repeat than the last time we did the workout. Amy and Joseph had done 5 last time, and I did 6, but we decided on 6 for a group goal, and if I felt great, I might go for 7. Our goal time was 3:40-3:45, according to Gilbert. I think I averaged something like 3:45 last time out (8 weeks ago).
We got in a good rhythm from the first, and knocked out our intervals in:
3:43, 3:38, 3:41, 3:41, 3:42, 3:33. We got a little frisky on the last one, but truthfully it didn't feel a lot harder than the previous ones. We were very consistent, and that was a very good sign. Joseph and I followed those up with 3 x 200m strides, concentrating on high knees and butt kick form. Those were knocked out at 0:54, 0:51, 0:46 (the last one was 6:10 mile pace!).
The rain held off while we were running, but I was soaked with humidity and sweat once we were done. Good run back to RunTex afterwards, and I did most of the long stretching routine once we got there.
A good day at the running office. I'm getting stronger and faster. The last time I did 800's, I did the same number of strides and 800's, but my pace for the fast stuff was 7:28/mile. This time, it felt comfortable for the most part (hard work, but comfortable), and I was 10 seconds faster per mile. A very good sign.
7.2 miles total workout at 8:36 average pace. 800's and 200's at average 7:17 pace.
Friday is a full day off, resting up for the 16 miler on Saturday. Gilbert is using the Freescale Marathon course for our workout, and we're doing the last 16 miles of the marathon course. I think this is a very good idea, to really get to know the course, especially the end, where your mind gets tired and your concentration can lapse. It's good to know as much as possible about the part of the course where you really have to bear down and fight to the finish.
Back to Gazelle speedwork this morning, on a drizzly, humid morning (I hope this is the cool front that has been long-promised!). I felt great on the warmup, with no sign of the calf distress from yesterday. Drills went like clockwork. Gilbert grouped us up, and my group of Joseph and Amy got a new person, Heidi. We were to do one more repeat than the last time we did the workout. Amy and Joseph had done 5 last time, and I did 6, but we decided on 6 for a group goal, and if I felt great, I might go for 7. Our goal time was 3:40-3:45, according to Gilbert. I think I averaged something like 3:45 last time out (8 weeks ago).
We got in a good rhythm from the first, and knocked out our intervals in:
3:43, 3:38, 3:41, 3:41, 3:42, 3:33. We got a little frisky on the last one, but truthfully it didn't feel a lot harder than the previous ones. We were very consistent, and that was a very good sign. Joseph and I followed those up with 3 x 200m strides, concentrating on high knees and butt kick form. Those were knocked out at 0:54, 0:51, 0:46 (the last one was 6:10 mile pace!).
The rain held off while we were running, but I was soaked with humidity and sweat once we were done. Good run back to RunTex afterwards, and I did most of the long stretching routine once we got there.
A good day at the running office. I'm getting stronger and faster. The last time I did 800's, I did the same number of strides and 800's, but my pace for the fast stuff was 7:28/mile. This time, it felt comfortable for the most part (hard work, but comfortable), and I was 10 seconds faster per mile. A very good sign.
7.2 miles total workout at 8:36 average pace. 800's and 200's at average 7:17 pace.
Friday is a full day off, resting up for the 16 miler on Saturday. Gilbert is using the Freescale Marathon course for our workout, and we're doing the last 16 miles of the marathon course. I think this is a very good idea, to really get to know the course, especially the end, where your mind gets tired and your concentration can lapse. It's good to know as much as possible about the part of the course where you really have to bear down and fight to the finish.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Another cross-training day. Rode the cycle indoors on the wind trainer for an hour, spinning along in a mellow gear at 100 rpm. This was just to give the legs something different to do that wasn't pounding on them. My calf was a little stiff and sore this morning, so I figured a cross-training day was a good idea. Tomorrow is 6-8 x 800m repeats at the track, which should be fun.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
2000 Meter Intervals
This morning, it was a little cooler, maybe 72 degrees, but still quite humid, as we set out at 6:00 am to Zilker Park. I felt pretty clunky during the warmup to Zilker, stiff and out of sorts. During the drills, I still felt clumsy and stiff, but nothing hurt. Gilbert assigned 3-4 x 2000m (2:00 rest between) for those training for a marathon, 2 for those racing this weekend. I knew I wanted to do at least 3, to improve on the last time I did this workout back in September.
My group was Joseph and Henry. We went out intentionally relaxed, as Gilbert had suggested, and finished the first repeat in 9:58, 8:06 pace. I was surprised it was that fast. My legs started feeling a lot better as the workout went on. The second lap was Joseph and myself, as Henry fell back just a touch, and we pushed across in 9:22, which surprised me again. That one was at 7:37 pace. For the last one, we pushed it a little more, and we crossed in 9:01, or 7:20 pace. I was very pleased with this workout. I felt good once I sufficiently was warmed up, and we knocked them out in an overall pace faster than the last 2000m workout. If I had been more patient, and run them a little easier, I would have done 4, but I'm being cautious since the race was just Sunday.
Uneventful run back to RunTex. Overall, 7 miles for the day, pace 8:40 including warmup and cooldown jogging. A good one! Did the full stretching regimen afterwards. My massage later today will possibly be a painful experience. My lower leg muscles, front and back, are sore, as are my quads, from the race. But better to suffer a little during that therapeutic massage in order to speed the healing process.
This morning, it was a little cooler, maybe 72 degrees, but still quite humid, as we set out at 6:00 am to Zilker Park. I felt pretty clunky during the warmup to Zilker, stiff and out of sorts. During the drills, I still felt clumsy and stiff, but nothing hurt. Gilbert assigned 3-4 x 2000m (2:00 rest between) for those training for a marathon, 2 for those racing this weekend. I knew I wanted to do at least 3, to improve on the last time I did this workout back in September.
My group was Joseph and Henry. We went out intentionally relaxed, as Gilbert had suggested, and finished the first repeat in 9:58, 8:06 pace. I was surprised it was that fast. My legs started feeling a lot better as the workout went on. The second lap was Joseph and myself, as Henry fell back just a touch, and we pushed across in 9:22, which surprised me again. That one was at 7:37 pace. For the last one, we pushed it a little more, and we crossed in 9:01, or 7:20 pace. I was very pleased with this workout. I felt good once I sufficiently was warmed up, and we knocked them out in an overall pace faster than the last 2000m workout. If I had been more patient, and run them a little easier, I would have done 4, but I'm being cautious since the race was just Sunday.
Uneventful run back to RunTex. Overall, 7 miles for the day, pace 8:40 including warmup and cooldown jogging. A good one! Did the full stretching regimen afterwards. My massage later today will possibly be a painful experience. My lower leg muscles, front and back, are sore, as are my quads, from the race. But better to suffer a little during that therapeutic massage in order to speed the healing process.
Monday, October 25, 2004
First of all, last week's numbers:
5 runs, 30.2 miles total, a couple of recovery runs, one hard 10 mile race, two speed workouts. Pretty good week. This week, the miles go back up to a new peak, probably, with a 16 miler on Saturday. The course for the 16 miler is posted as a more moderate course, but we'll see...
I mowed the yard again this afternoon, for a "cross training" deal.
Tonight, I went out for an easy "run as you feel" recovery effort after yesterday's hard race. 4.2 miles, 40 minutes more or less, 9:25 pace. It was supposed to feel easy, and it did. All the various running parts felt just fine, no pains or anything like that. Followed that up with most of the long stretching routine, just to help push the bad stuff out of the legs. Tomorrow, we've got 2000m repeats, and I'm shooting for 3 or 4 of them. Supposed to be "80% effort," whatever that is, so I interpret that as 10K pace. Hopefully, that matches Gilbert's ideas for tomorrow.
After that, a massage tuneup just to continue the recovery from the speedwork and Sunday's race.
5 runs, 30.2 miles total, a couple of recovery runs, one hard 10 mile race, two speed workouts. Pretty good week. This week, the miles go back up to a new peak, probably, with a 16 miler on Saturday. The course for the 16 miler is posted as a more moderate course, but we'll see...
I mowed the yard again this afternoon, for a "cross training" deal.
Tonight, I went out for an easy "run as you feel" recovery effort after yesterday's hard race. 4.2 miles, 40 minutes more or less, 9:25 pace. It was supposed to feel easy, and it did. All the various running parts felt just fine, no pains or anything like that. Followed that up with most of the long stretching routine, just to help push the bad stuff out of the legs. Tomorrow, we've got 2000m repeats, and I'm shooting for 3 or 4 of them. Supposed to be "80% effort," whatever that is, so I interpret that as 10K pace. Hopefully, that matches Gilbert's ideas for tomorrow.
After that, a massage tuneup just to continue the recovery from the speedwork and Sunday's race.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
PERVASIVE 10 MILER
The weather for this morning's Pervasive 10 Miler (click for race report on the RunTex site) was definitely not conducive to PR attempts. It was in the mid 70's, and a zillion percent humidity. It stayed very overcast, so we didn't have to fight the sun, but it was time to reconsider race goals.
I went in hoping to run something like 8:30 pace, with an 8:45 pace as a weather-related backup goal. We met for a Gazelles warmup, a very easy 1.5 miles with Gilbert, then the drills and some strides. I had worked up a light sweat, and I had 20 minutes till the race started (7:30 start). I wandered back to the car to take a last swig of Accelerade, and I was ready to go. I got in line pretty far back in the crowd, and waited for the gun. The National Anthem was performed by a female soloist, and she did a good job. I worried that she had started out pretty high, but she had the voice to handle the high notes at the end.
I saw a bunch of running acquaintances in the crowd, but it was time to run. The horn went off, and we set out of the Pervasive parking lot. I weaved through a lot of people in the first mile, trying to find my pace area. I didn't waste too much energy weaving, just slowly pushed my way to the folks running about what I would be doing. First couple of miles were ever so slightly uphill, but I settled into a nice rhythm and pace by the end of mile 3. At that point, the course dipped down, bobbed up for a moment, and then had a very long downhill segment, rather steep. I passed some folks that I knew during this stretch, and was moving along quite well, thank you. By the time we reached the 4 mile mark at the bottom of the hilly section, I was right on pace. But, the mountains loomed...
Splits, miles 1-4: 9:28, 8:36, 8:26, 8:27. I was feeling pretty good.
We then turned up a very steep hill, on Scotland Wells, and everyone slowed down. I shuffled up it as best as I could, and reached the top panting a little, but not too bad. I brought my pace back up to snuff on the flatter section at the top of the hill, then pushed up the next bit of the hill, and turned the corner. I crossed the mile 5 timing mat feeling pretty good, high fiving Raul, the timing guy. This was the first mile of the bad section of the course. Split for Mile 5 was 9:15. Halfway split 44:12, 8:50 pace. Now, could I bring it home for a negative split?
Mile 6 started uphill with some short steep bits, then some downhill, then up...you get the general picture. There was a guy that I kept passing and then falling behind, as he would go by me on the uphills, and I would catch him on the flats and downhills. I don't know if I finished ahead of him in the end or not. Anyway, mile 6 was not as tough as mile 5, but still a tester, with lots of corners. Mile 7 featured the last steep uphill bits, and we reached the water stop there, grateful for the Girl Scouts manning (or womaning?) the water stop. I took a GU there, and hoped to pick it up on the last 3 miles.
Mile 6 and Mile 7 splits: 8:55, 9:03.
Mile 8 wasn't all that bad, except for some corners and some mild uphills, but my brain went to sleep during this stretch. I lost focus, and my pace dropped badly. I caught up with a woman right at the mile 8 marker, and I was shocked to see my 10:00 split for mile 8. My time at that point was almost exactly 1:12:00, 9:00 pace. It was embarrassing. As we turned the corner and headed down the last 2 miles, I at first fell back a bit, and then suddenly I felt revived. My brain snapped back into focus, and I started picking up the pace and picking off the people ahead of me. I knew that Gilbert would be ahead, waiting for us to pass by in the homestretch. I concentrated on catching people one at a time, and slowly made my way forward. I grabbed one last cup of water at the water stop at mile 9, and poured it over my head, trying to cool down.
I was pleased to see that I was back on track for mile 9, with an 8:38 split, taking me back under 9:00 pace. I knew that if I could average 8:45 miles for the last 2, that I could break my current Masters PR for 10 miles. That became my goal. Mile 10 was mostly downhill, although only slightly, so I rolled it as best as I could. I felt myself picking up my pace with each step, and I started finding the full Gazelles running form. We zigged through an industrial park (well, a techie park), and finally hit Reatta Trace Parkway for the home stretch. From the warmup, I knew where one Km to the finish was, and about where a half mile to go was. I kept pushing, passing as many people as I could. I passed Gilbert and Frank and some other Gazelles, who were cheering from the side of the road with just under a half mile to go, and Joseph was on the other side of the street cheering us on as well. I cranked it up even more, and made the turn into the Pervasive parking lot again. The finish is further along there than I had thought, but I heard the announcer's voice, and kept the hammer down. I crossed the finish line with a mile 10 split of 7:43, which was amazing to me.
Final time 1:28:31. Pace 8:51. On a bad weather day, I'll take it. It's a masters PR for the distance, and my last couple of miles were very satisfying.
I'm only upset with myself over mile 8, where I was so slow, but I think the lesson that I learned is to take my GU earlier, instead of waiting until I felt tired. Onward and upward!
The weather for this morning's Pervasive 10 Miler (click for race report on the RunTex site) was definitely not conducive to PR attempts. It was in the mid 70's, and a zillion percent humidity. It stayed very overcast, so we didn't have to fight the sun, but it was time to reconsider race goals.
I went in hoping to run something like 8:30 pace, with an 8:45 pace as a weather-related backup goal. We met for a Gazelles warmup, a very easy 1.5 miles with Gilbert, then the drills and some strides. I had worked up a light sweat, and I had 20 minutes till the race started (7:30 start). I wandered back to the car to take a last swig of Accelerade, and I was ready to go. I got in line pretty far back in the crowd, and waited for the gun. The National Anthem was performed by a female soloist, and she did a good job. I worried that she had started out pretty high, but she had the voice to handle the high notes at the end.
I saw a bunch of running acquaintances in the crowd, but it was time to run. The horn went off, and we set out of the Pervasive parking lot. I weaved through a lot of people in the first mile, trying to find my pace area. I didn't waste too much energy weaving, just slowly pushed my way to the folks running about what I would be doing. First couple of miles were ever so slightly uphill, but I settled into a nice rhythm and pace by the end of mile 3. At that point, the course dipped down, bobbed up for a moment, and then had a very long downhill segment, rather steep. I passed some folks that I knew during this stretch, and was moving along quite well, thank you. By the time we reached the 4 mile mark at the bottom of the hilly section, I was right on pace. But, the mountains loomed...
Splits, miles 1-4: 9:28, 8:36, 8:26, 8:27. I was feeling pretty good.
We then turned up a very steep hill, on Scotland Wells, and everyone slowed down. I shuffled up it as best as I could, and reached the top panting a little, but not too bad. I brought my pace back up to snuff on the flatter section at the top of the hill, then pushed up the next bit of the hill, and turned the corner. I crossed the mile 5 timing mat feeling pretty good, high fiving Raul, the timing guy. This was the first mile of the bad section of the course. Split for Mile 5 was 9:15. Halfway split 44:12, 8:50 pace. Now, could I bring it home for a negative split?
Mile 6 started uphill with some short steep bits, then some downhill, then up...you get the general picture. There was a guy that I kept passing and then falling behind, as he would go by me on the uphills, and I would catch him on the flats and downhills. I don't know if I finished ahead of him in the end or not. Anyway, mile 6 was not as tough as mile 5, but still a tester, with lots of corners. Mile 7 featured the last steep uphill bits, and we reached the water stop there, grateful for the Girl Scouts manning (or womaning?) the water stop. I took a GU there, and hoped to pick it up on the last 3 miles.
Mile 6 and Mile 7 splits: 8:55, 9:03.
Mile 8 wasn't all that bad, except for some corners and some mild uphills, but my brain went to sleep during this stretch. I lost focus, and my pace dropped badly. I caught up with a woman right at the mile 8 marker, and I was shocked to see my 10:00 split for mile 8. My time at that point was almost exactly 1:12:00, 9:00 pace. It was embarrassing. As we turned the corner and headed down the last 2 miles, I at first fell back a bit, and then suddenly I felt revived. My brain snapped back into focus, and I started picking up the pace and picking off the people ahead of me. I knew that Gilbert would be ahead, waiting for us to pass by in the homestretch. I concentrated on catching people one at a time, and slowly made my way forward. I grabbed one last cup of water at the water stop at mile 9, and poured it over my head, trying to cool down.
I was pleased to see that I was back on track for mile 9, with an 8:38 split, taking me back under 9:00 pace. I knew that if I could average 8:45 miles for the last 2, that I could break my current Masters PR for 10 miles. That became my goal. Mile 10 was mostly downhill, although only slightly, so I rolled it as best as I could. I felt myself picking up my pace with each step, and I started finding the full Gazelles running form. We zigged through an industrial park (well, a techie park), and finally hit Reatta Trace Parkway for the home stretch. From the warmup, I knew where one Km to the finish was, and about where a half mile to go was. I kept pushing, passing as many people as I could. I passed Gilbert and Frank and some other Gazelles, who were cheering from the side of the road with just under a half mile to go, and Joseph was on the other side of the street cheering us on as well. I cranked it up even more, and made the turn into the Pervasive parking lot again. The finish is further along there than I had thought, but I heard the announcer's voice, and kept the hammer down. I crossed the finish line with a mile 10 split of 7:43, which was amazing to me.
Final time 1:28:31. Pace 8:51. On a bad weather day, I'll take it. It's a masters PR for the distance, and my last couple of miles were very satisfying.
I'm only upset with myself over mile 8, where I was so slow, but I think the lesson that I learned is to take my GU earlier, instead of waiting until I felt tired. Onward and upward!
Saturday, October 23, 2004
This morning, I met up with a few of the Gazelles, and we ran a very easy 4 miles with Gilbert. Very easy. 10:00/mile easy. On a humid, overcast morning, the run felt pretty comfortable. Afterwards, the usual Saturday stretching. We got some race advice from Gilbert, and we're meeting before the race tomorrow morning for warmup and drills.
If the weather is like it is today, I'm going to scale back my race goals a bit. Since it's going to be warm, I'll shoot for an overall pace of 8:30-8:45. If I'm faster than that, then good for me. My plan is to go out easy for the first mile, maybe 9:00 pace, then slowly accelerate over the next 3 miles to the base of the hilly section. Get through the hilly section (about 3 miles) as comfortably as possible, while keeping up a pace under 9:00, and then hopefully push the last 4 miles and pass a bunch of people. A negative split for this race is a major goal, and I'd like my last two miles to be my fastest.
If the weather is like it is today, I'm going to scale back my race goals a bit. Since it's going to be warm, I'll shoot for an overall pace of 8:30-8:45. If I'm faster than that, then good for me. My plan is to go out easy for the first mile, maybe 9:00 pace, then slowly accelerate over the next 3 miles to the base of the hilly section. Get through the hilly section (about 3 miles) as comfortably as possible, while keeping up a pace under 9:00, and then hopefully push the last 4 miles and pass a bunch of people. A negative split for this race is a major goal, and I'd like my last two miles to be my fastest.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Running Biography (Part 2)
At the time I signed up for the 1992 Galloway program, my long run in the previous month was 4 miles. The first run that year was an 8 miler. So, that Sunday, it was with some considerable trepidation that I met up with the group at 7:00 for the first run. I joined the 4:00 marathon pace group, so our long runs were supposed to be at around 11:00/mile. At that time, we were using run 7 minutes / walk 1 minute as our run/walk ratio. It turned out that the run wasn't that bad. Going twice as far as my longest run that month was pretty comfortable, with the walk breaks. And it went from there. The training went fine, as I learned the art and science of marathon training. The dynamics of training with a group helped a lot, and I did well on the weekend runs, hill repeats and mile repeats. However, I wasn't 100% compliant with the suggested weekday running schedule. Also, most of the people in the program were doing either the Atlanta marathon on Thanksgiving day or Chicago, New York, or Marine Corps marathons. I was doing White Rock in Dallas, which was at least a week or month later than everyone else. My last long run was quite a while before my race. I had a pretty good experience for that first marathon, but I was slower than I had hoped. Despite a half marathon time around 2:05, I finished the marathon in 4:36 or so. But, I learned some lessons from the experience.
After eating and drinking all day afterwards, I felt pretty good about my first race, and resolved to continue. So, I was a group leader in 1993, and kept training after White Rock. I had some good races in the spring and summer, and had a good group for 1993. I did a much better job of running during the week, and our long runs were pretty intense. That fall, I ran my second marathon at Marine Corps in Washington, D.C., which was just fantastic. The course is great, with interesting things to see while you're running, and Mary Anne was able to see me at 4 places by taking the Metro around town as I ran. On a good weather day, I ran my lifetime PR, 4:01:36. Even on that race, if I had gone out a little easier, I think I would have broken 4 hours. I slowed pretty dramatically in the second half, but otherwise, I did a good job of training for and running Marine Corps.
I kept training after that, and ran my 10 mile and half marathon lifetime PRs in the months following Marine Corps. My long runs weren't very solid after that, though, and I suffered through the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth in February 1994. I was once again a group leader for Galloway in 1994, and that fall ran the Atlanta marathon, which was run that year on the Olympic marathon course. It was a tough course, and my training lacked a little during the weekday runs again, so predictably, it was a slow day at the races. Another 4:45 type run.
After that, I was really out of motivation, so I dropped out of regular running for quite a while. Our second child had been born in September 1994, and those long weekend runs were taking a toll in the household. It was quite a while before I got back to regular running. I'd roll around and get ready for the Peachtree Road Race 10K each year, but other than that, I wasn't doing much. I found some great running shoes, the Nike Huarache International, but of course, they were soon discontinued by Nike. I bought about 3 pair of them and stashed them away. Those shoes lasted a long time.
Time passed, and we moved to Austin in the summer of 1999. I started running again, and tried another marathon training program here that following summer, August 2000. That program didn't use the marathon walk breaks that I was accustomed to, and partly as a result of that, I got injured during the training, and had to abandon my plan to run another marathon. After recovering from that injury (IT band again), I kept up my training at a low level, and started enjoying it again.
The marathon bug was still lurking around, though, and when I found that the Galloway program had opened here in Austin, I went to the first meeting and signed up. Our first training run was in August of 2001. I went to RunTex and sought new running shoes, and was introduced to the Mizuno Creation. It was and is a fabulous shoe for me, and I'm on my eighth pair of them as I type this history.
Kristine Williams was my group leader for Galloway Austin, and she did a great job with our group as we slogged through the early heat of September and October, into the longer runs, and so forth. By now, Galloway had changed the recommended run/walk ratio to run 5 minutes / walk 1 minute for the 4:00 pace group. The program suited me just fine, and I progressed pretty well. My goal marathon was the 2002 Birmingham Mercedes Marathon, which would allow me to visit a good friend of mine, Justin, who lived there. Since the Austin marathon was the week after Birmingham, I scheduled the Houston Marathon in January of 2002 as my last long training run.
I ran Houston in a controlled 5:10, but suffered a little at the end (I got out a little fast, of course). Then, a few weeks later, I tackled Birmingham. It was fun to see Justin and some friends from North Carolina, Jeff and Andy, who came down for the half marathon at the event. I thought I was ready to go for a 4:20 marathon there, and set out at that pace. The course featured a large mountain at the 9-11 mile mark of the course, and I got up that in pretty good fashion. I reached the half marathon mark right on schedule, at about 2:10. After that, though, I faded a good bit, and started feeling a little sorry for myself. I got across the finish in 4:43:16, which was a 20 minute improvement over Houston, but a lot slower than I thought I could do. Nevertheless, I tackled my training with renewed vigor that spring, and brought my 10K time back down to 8:00/mile pace, which was nice.
My goal for the rest of 2002 was to do the New York City Marathon, as well as the local Distance Challenge series of races starting in the fall, finishing with the Motorola Marathon in February of 2003. I was a group leader for the Fall marathon group, and led that group throughout the long hot summer, where the long runs were really tough. We started a lot of the longer runs at 5:00 am, to try and duck some of the heat. I got to New York, ready, I thought, to again try for a 4:20 marathon, and arrived in New York with Mary Anne in November 2002 ready to run. The weather was absolutely perfect, in the 40's and sunny. Andy and Jeff were there, as well, with a lot of their friends from Charlotte. We had a good time prior to the race, loading up with pasta, seeing some of the sights in NYC, and woke up on race morning ready to roll. We had a van take us down to the race start, and it was sobering to roll past the World Trade Center site as we went over to Staten Island. The pre-race sights and sounds of the NYC marathon are amazing, and it was fun to hang out waiting on the 11:00 start of the race. We ate and drank, waiting for the call to the start line. When the gun went off, I was way back in the corrals. After about 15 minutes, I crossed the start line. I set out at 4:20 pace, but my body finally settled into a pace around 4:25-4:30. I was okay with that. Brooklyn was a blur of people, then Queens, and finally we crossed the massive Queensboro bridge at the 16 mile mark. I was moving along pretty well at that point. Going up First Avenue was amazing, too. When we crossed back to Manhattan from the Bronx, I started fading a bit. By the time we reached Central Park, I was walking a lot more than I had planned. But, I crossed the finish line in 4:40:22, an improvement over Birmingham. Not great, but what an experience!
Picking up right away from that, I jumped right into the remainder of training for Motorola 2003. I thought I was ready to run a pretty good race there, too. I again set a race goal of 4:20, and resolved to pace myself properly. Andy and Jeff came over to Austin for that one, and again ran the half marathon. Race day was very cold and windy, but that was okay with me. I ran a really good race that day, with just a slight slowdown at the end of the race, in 4:21:18. I was pleased with that one, since it was the first marathon since Marine Corps that I did properly.
I continued with the Galloway program, this time as program director, and set an ambitious schedule of running Chicago 2003, Honolulu 2003 (as a vacation with Mary Anne), and Motorola 2004, in addition to tackling the Distance Challenge races. Chicago was a little too hot for me, and I ran a disappointing 4:38:54, fading at the end pretty badly. Honolulu was a fun experience, which I ran really slowly as a training run in the heat, finishing in 5:18:19. The weeklong stay in Kauai was a fine place to recover from a marathon, I'm telling you the truth! And, Motorola 2004 was disappointing, as well, where I finished in 4:48:35. I actually knew I was not ready for that race, and 4:48 was exactly what I intended to run, so maybe it was a success...who knows?
After Motorola 2004, I searched for some inspiration to jumpstart my running again, and found it in the form of Gilbert Tuhabonye and his Gilbert's Gazelles training group. I tried it out with my friend Frank, and in short order, I was enjoying those early morning workouts, and seeing quick results. I've stuck with Gilbert since March 2004, and I continue to improve almost weekly. By now, I'm even doing my long runs with Gilbert's group, and will train for Freescale (nee' Motorola) Marathon in 2005.
My enthusiasm for running has returned, and I'm thinking bigger thoughts about my running goals in the near term. Long-range, I'd like to qualify for Boston when I turn 50, and maybe only do one marathon a year until then, focusing on improving my times at shorter race distances. Near term, I hope to break 4 hours at Freescale this February, and then to have a good spring racing season, getting my 10K, half marathon, and 5K times down.
It's an adventure, that's for sure.
At the time I signed up for the 1992 Galloway program, my long run in the previous month was 4 miles. The first run that year was an 8 miler. So, that Sunday, it was with some considerable trepidation that I met up with the group at 7:00 for the first run. I joined the 4:00 marathon pace group, so our long runs were supposed to be at around 11:00/mile. At that time, we were using run 7 minutes / walk 1 minute as our run/walk ratio. It turned out that the run wasn't that bad. Going twice as far as my longest run that month was pretty comfortable, with the walk breaks. And it went from there. The training went fine, as I learned the art and science of marathon training. The dynamics of training with a group helped a lot, and I did well on the weekend runs, hill repeats and mile repeats. However, I wasn't 100% compliant with the suggested weekday running schedule. Also, most of the people in the program were doing either the Atlanta marathon on Thanksgiving day or Chicago, New York, or Marine Corps marathons. I was doing White Rock in Dallas, which was at least a week or month later than everyone else. My last long run was quite a while before my race. I had a pretty good experience for that first marathon, but I was slower than I had hoped. Despite a half marathon time around 2:05, I finished the marathon in 4:36 or so. But, I learned some lessons from the experience.
After eating and drinking all day afterwards, I felt pretty good about my first race, and resolved to continue. So, I was a group leader in 1993, and kept training after White Rock. I had some good races in the spring and summer, and had a good group for 1993. I did a much better job of running during the week, and our long runs were pretty intense. That fall, I ran my second marathon at Marine Corps in Washington, D.C., which was just fantastic. The course is great, with interesting things to see while you're running, and Mary Anne was able to see me at 4 places by taking the Metro around town as I ran. On a good weather day, I ran my lifetime PR, 4:01:36. Even on that race, if I had gone out a little easier, I think I would have broken 4 hours. I slowed pretty dramatically in the second half, but otherwise, I did a good job of training for and running Marine Corps.
I kept training after that, and ran my 10 mile and half marathon lifetime PRs in the months following Marine Corps. My long runs weren't very solid after that, though, and I suffered through the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth in February 1994. I was once again a group leader for Galloway in 1994, and that fall ran the Atlanta marathon, which was run that year on the Olympic marathon course. It was a tough course, and my training lacked a little during the weekday runs again, so predictably, it was a slow day at the races. Another 4:45 type run.
After that, I was really out of motivation, so I dropped out of regular running for quite a while. Our second child had been born in September 1994, and those long weekend runs were taking a toll in the household. It was quite a while before I got back to regular running. I'd roll around and get ready for the Peachtree Road Race 10K each year, but other than that, I wasn't doing much. I found some great running shoes, the Nike Huarache International, but of course, they were soon discontinued by Nike. I bought about 3 pair of them and stashed them away. Those shoes lasted a long time.
Time passed, and we moved to Austin in the summer of 1999. I started running again, and tried another marathon training program here that following summer, August 2000. That program didn't use the marathon walk breaks that I was accustomed to, and partly as a result of that, I got injured during the training, and had to abandon my plan to run another marathon. After recovering from that injury (IT band again), I kept up my training at a low level, and started enjoying it again.
The marathon bug was still lurking around, though, and when I found that the Galloway program had opened here in Austin, I went to the first meeting and signed up. Our first training run was in August of 2001. I went to RunTex and sought new running shoes, and was introduced to the Mizuno Creation. It was and is a fabulous shoe for me, and I'm on my eighth pair of them as I type this history.
Kristine Williams was my group leader for Galloway Austin, and she did a great job with our group as we slogged through the early heat of September and October, into the longer runs, and so forth. By now, Galloway had changed the recommended run/walk ratio to run 5 minutes / walk 1 minute for the 4:00 pace group. The program suited me just fine, and I progressed pretty well. My goal marathon was the 2002 Birmingham Mercedes Marathon, which would allow me to visit a good friend of mine, Justin, who lived there. Since the Austin marathon was the week after Birmingham, I scheduled the Houston Marathon in January of 2002 as my last long training run.
I ran Houston in a controlled 5:10, but suffered a little at the end (I got out a little fast, of course). Then, a few weeks later, I tackled Birmingham. It was fun to see Justin and some friends from North Carolina, Jeff and Andy, who came down for the half marathon at the event. I thought I was ready to go for a 4:20 marathon there, and set out at that pace. The course featured a large mountain at the 9-11 mile mark of the course, and I got up that in pretty good fashion. I reached the half marathon mark right on schedule, at about 2:10. After that, though, I faded a good bit, and started feeling a little sorry for myself. I got across the finish in 4:43:16, which was a 20 minute improvement over Houston, but a lot slower than I thought I could do. Nevertheless, I tackled my training with renewed vigor that spring, and brought my 10K time back down to 8:00/mile pace, which was nice.
My goal for the rest of 2002 was to do the New York City Marathon, as well as the local Distance Challenge series of races starting in the fall, finishing with the Motorola Marathon in February of 2003. I was a group leader for the Fall marathon group, and led that group throughout the long hot summer, where the long runs were really tough. We started a lot of the longer runs at 5:00 am, to try and duck some of the heat. I got to New York, ready, I thought, to again try for a 4:20 marathon, and arrived in New York with Mary Anne in November 2002 ready to run. The weather was absolutely perfect, in the 40's and sunny. Andy and Jeff were there, as well, with a lot of their friends from Charlotte. We had a good time prior to the race, loading up with pasta, seeing some of the sights in NYC, and woke up on race morning ready to roll. We had a van take us down to the race start, and it was sobering to roll past the World Trade Center site as we went over to Staten Island. The pre-race sights and sounds of the NYC marathon are amazing, and it was fun to hang out waiting on the 11:00 start of the race. We ate and drank, waiting for the call to the start line. When the gun went off, I was way back in the corrals. After about 15 minutes, I crossed the start line. I set out at 4:20 pace, but my body finally settled into a pace around 4:25-4:30. I was okay with that. Brooklyn was a blur of people, then Queens, and finally we crossed the massive Queensboro bridge at the 16 mile mark. I was moving along pretty well at that point. Going up First Avenue was amazing, too. When we crossed back to Manhattan from the Bronx, I started fading a bit. By the time we reached Central Park, I was walking a lot more than I had planned. But, I crossed the finish line in 4:40:22, an improvement over Birmingham. Not great, but what an experience!
Picking up right away from that, I jumped right into the remainder of training for Motorola 2003. I thought I was ready to run a pretty good race there, too. I again set a race goal of 4:20, and resolved to pace myself properly. Andy and Jeff came over to Austin for that one, and again ran the half marathon. Race day was very cold and windy, but that was okay with me. I ran a really good race that day, with just a slight slowdown at the end of the race, in 4:21:18. I was pleased with that one, since it was the first marathon since Marine Corps that I did properly.
I continued with the Galloway program, this time as program director, and set an ambitious schedule of running Chicago 2003, Honolulu 2003 (as a vacation with Mary Anne), and Motorola 2004, in addition to tackling the Distance Challenge races. Chicago was a little too hot for me, and I ran a disappointing 4:38:54, fading at the end pretty badly. Honolulu was a fun experience, which I ran really slowly as a training run in the heat, finishing in 5:18:19. The weeklong stay in Kauai was a fine place to recover from a marathon, I'm telling you the truth! And, Motorola 2004 was disappointing, as well, where I finished in 4:48:35. I actually knew I was not ready for that race, and 4:48 was exactly what I intended to run, so maybe it was a success...who knows?
After Motorola 2004, I searched for some inspiration to jumpstart my running again, and found it in the form of Gilbert Tuhabonye and his Gilbert's Gazelles training group. I tried it out with my friend Frank, and in short order, I was enjoying those early morning workouts, and seeing quick results. I've stuck with Gilbert since March 2004, and I continue to improve almost weekly. By now, I'm even doing my long runs with Gilbert's group, and will train for Freescale (nee' Motorola) Marathon in 2005.
My enthusiasm for running has returned, and I'm thinking bigger thoughts about my running goals in the near term. Long-range, I'd like to qualify for Boston when I turn 50, and maybe only do one marathon a year until then, focusing on improving my times at shorter race distances. Near term, I hope to break 4 hours at Freescale this February, and then to have a good spring racing season, getting my 10K, half marathon, and 5K times down.
It's an adventure, that's for sure.
This morning, warm and humid, was the last Gazelles tuneup workout before the Pervasive 10 Miler this weekend. We warmed up for just under 2 miles, did our drills, and then in groups, went out and did a fartlek workout, 10 x 1:00 bursts with 1:00 recovery jogging between. Amy and Joseph were my group this morning. We were about 8:30 mile average for the fartlek sections, including the recovery jogging. Overall, a nice little tuneup run.
Afterwards, we did some more drills with Gilbert, hopping and stepping. I hung out after that and did a good bit of stretching. There's some interesting folks in the Gazelles, that's for sure.
Hopefully, the rains coming will bring a cool front with them, to drop the temps for the 10 Miler. Otherwise, it will require a change in race plans.
Afterwards, we did some more drills with Gilbert, hopping and stepping. I hung out after that and did a good bit of stretching. There's some interesting folks in the Gazelles, that's for sure.
Hopefully, the rains coming will bring a cool front with them, to drop the temps for the 10 Miler. Otherwise, it will require a change in race plans.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Well, today the weather was just not inspiring. 70's in the morning, and 90's by the afternoon, with high humidity all day. After the pretty decent weather we've had around here for most of the September/October running season, this week has been terrible. So, I just couldn't get excited about doing the long marathon race pace run today. Instead, I rode my bicycle on an indoor wind trainer for an hour, spinning along in a big gear at around 100 rpm on the pedals, just to get the legs moving for a while. I feel bad about missing the scheduled run, but a cross-training day isn't the end of the world. Plus, with the race this weekend, it's probably just as well.
Thursday is Gilbert's fartlek tuneup run, about 6 miles total, then Friday is a full day off. Saturday is a short 30-40 minute run followed by stretching with the group, and then Sunday is race day.
Thursday is Gilbert's fartlek tuneup run, about 6 miles total, then Friday is a full day off. Saturday is a short 30-40 minute run followed by stretching with the group, and then Sunday is race day.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
My Running Biography (Part 1)
Instead of more minutiae regarding times, distances, and pace of various training runs, I suppose it's time that I jot down some of my running history, leading up to my short- and longer-term running goals.
I've been running, off and on, since I was 15. I read Jim Fixx's Book on Running way back when, along with Dr. Cooper's "Aerobics," and I figured running was something that a skinny kid with no overt speed could do. So, I strapped on my very thin-soled running shoes made by the Tiger company, which has morphed to the Asics company now (they looked like slippers with laces, but were the only "running shoe" available back in 1973 or so), and headed out to run. I ran too fast, of course, and timed every run with a stopwatch that I held in my hand. I didn't know distances, but I could time myself on various courses in my neighborhood. Each run was a race against yesterday's time. I only knew that running was a progressive thing, but didn't know anything about training in particular. So, after a few months, I grew weary of the whole exercise, and went back to more scholarly pursuits.
Years passed, and I found myself in college, 1977-8. My roommate was a former cross country runner from New Jersey, and he decided that we should get out and run. So, I got out and purchased running shoes (those very early waffle trainers from Nike, I think they were called the International), and we headed out. I had no stamina, but Rich had an idea of how to proceed, and off we went. We slowly added distance, and eventually were out on hour long runs, often at midnight, through the neighborhoods surrounding Emory University in Atlanta. It was fun, and we worked on running very quietly, making our footsteps as silent as possible as we ran. That was actually good training, because quieter footfalls meant less jarring impact with the ground. From the Nikes, I moved to the old blue New Balance 320's, I think, with the world's worst heel counter, but they were really comfortable shoes. We lasted 4 or 5 months with our running, until the ice and freezing temperatures came, but it was a memorable time. I timed those runs with my regular watch, memorizing the time we started and then heading out. I know it seems impossibly quaint now.
In the summer of 1979, I took up running again, on my own this time, partly as a fitness thing and mostly as a mental thing. The progressive training took me on a journey of self-discovery and increasing fitness as I reclaimed myself after a bit of a bad patch in life. The first runs were brutal, maybe one telephone pole. But after a few weeks, I was covering a few miles, and it became a habit. I ran my first race in there somewhere, a local 10K race. I kept running, fairly consistently, through the rest of my college days, going through more brands of running shoes as my favorites were discontinued, and had some good race times. I still wasn't running much past an hour on my longer runs, but it was a nice outlet.
After moving to Dallas in 1982, I continued to run, entering a bunch of races there. I got the marathon bug, but after much scheduling on graph paper and writing down schedules leading up to various Texas marathons, I never was able to get much past a 15 mile run on my own. I tried more New Balance, Asics, Saucony, Turntec, Brooks, and Nike shoes, as I kept searching for my perfect shoe. I bought my first running watch with actual stopwatch features, which was a revelation. Only 8 laps of split memory, but it was a huge advance over using my dress watch. I was a customer of the Phidippides Running Store there, interestingly enough. The advent of organized marathon training programs was still a good ways away, and although I read a lot on the subject, it was difficult for me to progress very well on my own. This carried over as I moved to Austin after getting married in 1984. I got my first running injury in 1983, IT band agony, after I got a little carried away with my pace and mileage as the weather turned nice that spring. It passed with time. Running was fun, still, as a solitary activity, but I was the only guy in my circle who was doing it, so it was a very inward-directed activity. I kept running logs, which was a neat thing to do, and read Jeff Galloway's Book on Running, as well as Runner's World (I was a subscriber way back when) and "Runner" magazine (since defunct). The thought of marathoning kept popping up, but again, training for one was just out of my reach.
Atlanta, where I moved in 1986, was another good running city. I ran some races, including some pretty fast times, but I was still self-coached. I got my first Timex Triathlon watch, which was so stuffed with features that it seemed like a space-age piece of technology. 50 laps of split memory! I had one of the first pairs of those wild Nike Air Max shoes (which later suffered an airbag blowout). Finally, in spring of 1992, I received a postcard from the Jeff Galloway Marathon Training Program (no doubt, they had used a mailing list from probably the Peachtree Road Race 10k). The program sounded interesting, I already purchased my running shoes and other gear at his Phidippides store, and I had his book already (which was and still is a very fine introductory book on running), so I figured I'd go to the "Meet and Greet" and see what they had to allow. There were a lot of people there, way more than I had expected, and of course, Jeff G was there to do the speaking. The program sounded like something I could do, with its neat progression of longer runs, speedwork and hills, and the regular walk breaks promised to make the experience tolerable. So, I plunked down my $79 and joined up. The first group run was the next weekend, May 1992. I was at once excited and terrified, but I had made a commitment, so I had to follow through.
(To Be Continued)
Instead of more minutiae regarding times, distances, and pace of various training runs, I suppose it's time that I jot down some of my running history, leading up to my short- and longer-term running goals.
I've been running, off and on, since I was 15. I read Jim Fixx's Book on Running way back when, along with Dr. Cooper's "Aerobics," and I figured running was something that a skinny kid with no overt speed could do. So, I strapped on my very thin-soled running shoes made by the Tiger company, which has morphed to the Asics company now (they looked like slippers with laces, but were the only "running shoe" available back in 1973 or so), and headed out to run. I ran too fast, of course, and timed every run with a stopwatch that I held in my hand. I didn't know distances, but I could time myself on various courses in my neighborhood. Each run was a race against yesterday's time. I only knew that running was a progressive thing, but didn't know anything about training in particular. So, after a few months, I grew weary of the whole exercise, and went back to more scholarly pursuits.
Years passed, and I found myself in college, 1977-8. My roommate was a former cross country runner from New Jersey, and he decided that we should get out and run. So, I got out and purchased running shoes (those very early waffle trainers from Nike, I think they were called the International), and we headed out. I had no stamina, but Rich had an idea of how to proceed, and off we went. We slowly added distance, and eventually were out on hour long runs, often at midnight, through the neighborhoods surrounding Emory University in Atlanta. It was fun, and we worked on running very quietly, making our footsteps as silent as possible as we ran. That was actually good training, because quieter footfalls meant less jarring impact with the ground. From the Nikes, I moved to the old blue New Balance 320's, I think, with the world's worst heel counter, but they were really comfortable shoes. We lasted 4 or 5 months with our running, until the ice and freezing temperatures came, but it was a memorable time. I timed those runs with my regular watch, memorizing the time we started and then heading out. I know it seems impossibly quaint now.
In the summer of 1979, I took up running again, on my own this time, partly as a fitness thing and mostly as a mental thing. The progressive training took me on a journey of self-discovery and increasing fitness as I reclaimed myself after a bit of a bad patch in life. The first runs were brutal, maybe one telephone pole. But after a few weeks, I was covering a few miles, and it became a habit. I ran my first race in there somewhere, a local 10K race. I kept running, fairly consistently, through the rest of my college days, going through more brands of running shoes as my favorites were discontinued, and had some good race times. I still wasn't running much past an hour on my longer runs, but it was a nice outlet.
After moving to Dallas in 1982, I continued to run, entering a bunch of races there. I got the marathon bug, but after much scheduling on graph paper and writing down schedules leading up to various Texas marathons, I never was able to get much past a 15 mile run on my own. I tried more New Balance, Asics, Saucony, Turntec, Brooks, and Nike shoes, as I kept searching for my perfect shoe. I bought my first running watch with actual stopwatch features, which was a revelation. Only 8 laps of split memory, but it was a huge advance over using my dress watch. I was a customer of the Phidippides Running Store there, interestingly enough. The advent of organized marathon training programs was still a good ways away, and although I read a lot on the subject, it was difficult for me to progress very well on my own. This carried over as I moved to Austin after getting married in 1984. I got my first running injury in 1983, IT band agony, after I got a little carried away with my pace and mileage as the weather turned nice that spring. It passed with time. Running was fun, still, as a solitary activity, but I was the only guy in my circle who was doing it, so it was a very inward-directed activity. I kept running logs, which was a neat thing to do, and read Jeff Galloway's Book on Running, as well as Runner's World (I was a subscriber way back when) and "Runner" magazine (since defunct). The thought of marathoning kept popping up, but again, training for one was just out of my reach.
Atlanta, where I moved in 1986, was another good running city. I ran some races, including some pretty fast times, but I was still self-coached. I got my first Timex Triathlon watch, which was so stuffed with features that it seemed like a space-age piece of technology. 50 laps of split memory! I had one of the first pairs of those wild Nike Air Max shoes (which later suffered an airbag blowout
(To Be Continued)
400m Repeats.
This morning, it was humid and muggy, 75 degrees or so, with a breeze, as we headed out at 6:00 am with the Gazelles. It was a very large group this morning, as we had 5 or 6 new folks joining us. We headed to the track for 400m repeats. After the usual drills, Gilbert gave us our marching orders. The newbies would do the circuit training workout, and those not racing this weekend were also to do the circuit. All of us racing the Pervasive 10 miler this weekend were to do 10 x 400m repeats, 1:00 rest between, and the NYC marathoners were to do 15 x 400m. I was supposed to do my repeats in 1:45, which was faster than my average pace when I did this workout last (6 weeks ago). So, I set out with Frank and Henry. Our first repeat was slow, as we found the range. After that, we clicked them off in very solid fashion: 1:52, 1:43, 1:44, 1:44, 1:46, 1:44, 1:43, 1:44, 1:42, 1:39. I felt really strong during these, and even tried to use the Gilbert high knee, butt kick form on the last couple of repeats. Frank did his 15, completing his extra 5 after our 10. It was nice to see improvement just in 6 weeks, but hopefully that is just another sign that I'm getting into some good shape.
I'll be curious to see what Gilbert's marathon taper program is, by checking with Frank. This was the last hard speedwork for the NYC marathoners, I believe.
This morning, it was humid and muggy, 75 degrees or so, with a breeze, as we headed out at 6:00 am with the Gazelles. It was a very large group this morning, as we had 5 or 6 new folks joining us. We headed to the track for 400m repeats. After the usual drills, Gilbert gave us our marching orders. The newbies would do the circuit training workout, and those not racing this weekend were also to do the circuit. All of us racing the Pervasive 10 miler this weekend were to do 10 x 400m repeats, 1:00 rest between, and the NYC marathoners were to do 15 x 400m. I was supposed to do my repeats in 1:45, which was faster than my average pace when I did this workout last (6 weeks ago). So, I set out with Frank and Henry. Our first repeat was slow, as we found the range. After that, we clicked them off in very solid fashion: 1:52, 1:43, 1:44, 1:44, 1:46, 1:44, 1:43, 1:44, 1:42, 1:39. I felt really strong during these, and even tried to use the Gilbert high knee, butt kick form on the last couple of repeats. Frank did his 15, completing his extra 5 after our 10. It was nice to see improvement just in 6 weeks, but hopefully that is just another sign that I'm getting into some good shape.
I'll be curious to see what Gilbert's marathon taper program is, by checking with Frank. This was the last hard speedwork for the NYC marathoners, I believe.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Recovery run. I switched the schedule a little bit, moving the 30-40 minute recovery run to today, since I worked harder than I thought yesterday with the GalloWay folks. The marathon pace run is now on Wednesday. Anyway, I got out there tonight for the recovery cruise. It was muggy and warm, but what the heck. I set the pace warning on my GPS watch to 9:30/mile, so that it would try and keep me running truly easily. The course was rolling terrain in my neighborhood, and the 3.4 miles came in at 9:51/mile pace, pretty much a perfect true recovery run. My legs felt a lot better after the run, with the residual soreness from yesterday largely gone. Good HR at the end of the run, too, at 136 bpm, which with my HR range, is definitely in the easy aerobic zone. This was just a nice easy run to start off the week. Tomorrow is either circuit training or 10x400m with Gazelles. I'll find out tomorrow which it is, but I think I'll be doing 400's.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
I finished off another good week of training by leading the Galloway Freescale time goal people through their first hill repeat workout. The hills are a quarter mile long, and I ran their pace, about 2:04 average (8:16/mile). We did 6 repeats, with the jog/walk down the hill serving as recovery, plus whatever time was required to get to 4:00 recovery between repeats. They worked hard, and enjoyed the workout, I think. They were ready to do some faster stuff.
So, the total workout today was about 6.5 miles, including warmup/cooldown. I felt better at the end than I did beforehand, and did the full Gilbert stretching routine afterwards, because I had the time.
When I went to recover the water and cooler that I left out for the folks doing their long run, I met the GalloWayers there, and it was nice to chat with them for a bit.
Total mileage for the week, 36 miles. Long run 10 miles, two good 1000m interval workouts, a hill repeat workout, and a Fartlek workout totalling 7.5 miles. It was a good week. Next week starts with the most important workout, a marathon tempo run on Monday, then some 400's on Tuesday, recovery run on Wednesday, and Gilbert's tuneup fartlek workout (10 x 1:00 accelerations, 1:00 rest) on Thursday. Friday is off, Saturday is a very short run, 30-40 minutes, followed by stretching. Sunday is the Pervasive 10 miler. Should be very interesting!
So, the total workout today was about 6.5 miles, including warmup/cooldown. I felt better at the end than I did beforehand, and did the full Gilbert stretching routine afterwards, because I had the time.
When I went to recover the water and cooler that I left out for the folks doing their long run, I met the GalloWayers there, and it was nice to chat with them for a bit.
Total mileage for the week, 36 miles. Long run 10 miles, two good 1000m interval workouts, a hill repeat workout, and a Fartlek workout totalling 7.5 miles. It was a good week. Next week starts with the most important workout, a marathon tempo run on Monday, then some 400's on Tuesday, recovery run on Wednesday, and Gilbert's tuneup fartlek workout (10 x 1:00 accelerations, 1:00 rest) on Thursday. Friday is off, Saturday is a very short run, 30-40 minutes, followed by stretching. Sunday is the Pervasive 10 miler. Should be very interesting!
Saturday, October 16, 2004
What a spectacular morning! It was perfect running weather, clear and in the low 60's. Today was a 10 mile recovery run, supposed to be at conversational pace, and Gilbert said to pick it up over the last 1.5 miles or so. My whole long run gang was here this morning, so we could let the main pack go, and we settled into our pace comfortably. Diana, Henry, and Tracy were all there, and had Greta with us for the first 5 miles or so (she was only going 7 this morning). We chatted away as we ran, starting at 6:30 am.
We were cruising along at something like 9:45 pace by the time we met up with Gilbert on the trail, and while he was singing and we were doing the "Iyo ngwe" response, we sped up for a mile in there, to about 9:00 pace. After he pulled away, we settled back down. At the Rock, Greta peeled off, and our happy band of four hit the trail underneath Mopac, up the hills to Enfield. We continued to have a good time, and the pace remained pretty consistent. Once we hit Exposition and were on the homeward portion, however, we started to ease the pace forward. Mile 7 was 9:39, mile 8 was 9:12, mile 9 was 8:48, and finally, Diana and I pulled away on the last mile, which was 8:18. Those last miles didn't feel that much faster, and we had a lot left.
It was a very good run. 10 miles, average pace 9:31. Excellent morning of running, followed by the usual Saturday stretching ritual with the Gazelles.
I can't wait for the Pervasive 10 miler next weekend! It will be very interesting to see where I am.
We were cruising along at something like 9:45 pace by the time we met up with Gilbert on the trail, and while he was singing and we were doing the "Iyo ngwe" response, we sped up for a mile in there, to about 9:00 pace. After he pulled away, we settled back down. At the Rock, Greta peeled off, and our happy band of four hit the trail underneath Mopac, up the hills to Enfield. We continued to have a good time, and the pace remained pretty consistent. Once we hit Exposition and were on the homeward portion, however, we started to ease the pace forward. Mile 7 was 9:39, mile 8 was 9:12, mile 9 was 8:48, and finally, Diana and I pulled away on the last mile, which was 8:18. Those last miles didn't feel that much faster, and we had a lot left.
It was a very good run. 10 miles, average pace 9:31. Excellent morning of running, followed by the usual Saturday stretching ritual with the Gazelles.
I can't wait for the Pervasive 10 miler next weekend! It will be very interesting to see where I am.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Ah, a day off! I mowed the yard (let's call it cross training, okay?), and otherwise concerned myself with household stuff. The 30 minute recovery run is one that I can skip occasionally. I'll have plenty of miles this week (probably 35-39), so a day off prior to tomorrow's 10 miler is a good thing.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
I ran with the evening (5:30 pm) Gazelles group tonight, because of household duties in the morning. Fortunately, the weather turned last night, and it was only 73 or so at the start of the run tonight. I couldn't get to RunTex in time to leave with the group, so I went directly to the Austin High School track instead, intending to do a warmup run towards the oncoming Gazelles, and turning around with them back to the track. I called Gilbert on the way, letting him know I was still coming, but would meet them at the track. He asked me to check the track, and sure enough, Austin High had a JV football game there, so the track was out. Instead, he asked me to meet them over at Zilker Park.
I took an easy run over to the park, and met up with the afternoon gang. Diana, one of my long run crew, was there, and some other familiar faces besides. I fell in with them, and we did the drills and strides, and then gathered to hear what Coach had to say. He put us into groups (Diana and I were a pod), and told us to run around the Zilker park road, and he would be at the 1000m mark. He wanted the first interval to be the slowest, and then by number 3 and 4, to have a steady pace, and possibly on number 5 to push it a bit. We were to jog across the grass fields between intervals, not too slowly. That was about 300 yards.
I had previously rolled that street for use as a mile repeat course, and had painted marks on the curbs for quarter mile intervals, so I could track pace pretty accurately. Diana and I set off, and we got to Gilbert in a very fast (for 1000m) 4:15. I had done 5 x 1000m some 7 weeks ago, in an average of about 4:40 / 1000m, after all. I felt really good and in control, so I suspected that the distance was a little short. On lap 2, I took a split at 880 yards, and then calculated the distance of the full loop using that 880 pace. The first two intervals were 940 meters. We knocked off the second interval in 4:19, pretty consistent (and 7:23 pace). On lap 3, Gilbert had moved down a bit, and that one calculated pretty much exactly 1000m. We clipped that one and the next at a precise 4:25 (7:06 pace), which still felt pretty comfortable. We were working over the last half of the interval to bring it home at that pace, but it wasn't a death sprint, either. On the last interval, we intentionally pushed it, and brought it in in 4:20, 6:58 mile pace. We were pretty excited about our workout, which, for once, ended up stronger than we started.
It was getting much cooler by the end of the workout, and I was pretty chilled running back to the truck afterwards.
For the day, a total of just under 7 miles, with the 3 miles of fast bits (the 1000m intervals) at an average pace of 7:10, and the rest of the miles (about 4) at 9:30 pace, so this was a quality workout. It was fun meeting a new group of Gazelles, and I'll keep this option in hand now that the weather is cooler.
Friday is going to be a super easy 30 minute run, and Saturday is a 10 mile "recovery" run with the Gazelles. Sunday, I'll be leading a hill repeat workout with the GalloWayers, so that won't be too bad. I can always stop after 3 or 4 repeats, and I can certainly moderate the pace of the repeats for my own workout.
I took an easy run over to the park, and met up with the afternoon gang. Diana, one of my long run crew, was there, and some other familiar faces besides. I fell in with them, and we did the drills and strides, and then gathered to hear what Coach had to say. He put us into groups (Diana and I were a pod), and told us to run around the Zilker park road, and he would be at the 1000m mark. He wanted the first interval to be the slowest, and then by number 3 and 4, to have a steady pace, and possibly on number 5 to push it a bit. We were to jog across the grass fields between intervals, not too slowly. That was about 300 yards.
I had previously rolled that street for use as a mile repeat course, and had painted marks on the curbs for quarter mile intervals, so I could track pace pretty accurately. Diana and I set off, and we got to Gilbert in a very fast (for 1000m) 4:15. I had done 5 x 1000m some 7 weeks ago, in an average of about 4:40 / 1000m, after all. I felt really good and in control, so I suspected that the distance was a little short. On lap 2, I took a split at 880 yards, and then calculated the distance of the full loop using that 880 pace. The first two intervals were 940 meters. We knocked off the second interval in 4:19, pretty consistent (and 7:23 pace). On lap 3, Gilbert had moved down a bit, and that one calculated pretty much exactly 1000m. We clipped that one and the next at a precise 4:25 (7:06 pace), which still felt pretty comfortable. We were working over the last half of the interval to bring it home at that pace, but it wasn't a death sprint, either. On the last interval, we intentionally pushed it, and brought it in in 4:20, 6:58 mile pace. We were pretty excited about our workout, which, for once, ended up stronger than we started.
It was getting much cooler by the end of the workout, and I was pretty chilled running back to the truck afterwards.
For the day, a total of just under 7 miles, with the 3 miles of fast bits (the 1000m intervals) at an average pace of 7:10, and the rest of the miles (about 4) at 9:30 pace, so this was a quality workout. It was fun meeting a new group of Gazelles, and I'll keep this option in hand now that the weather is cooler.
Friday is going to be a super easy 30 minute run, and Saturday is a 10 mile "recovery" run with the Gazelles. Sunday, I'll be leading a hill repeat workout with the GalloWayers, so that won't be too bad. I can always stop after 3 or 4 repeats, and I can certainly moderate the pace of the repeats for my own workout.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
It was dusk before I got started with today's Fartlek workout, but I did get out there. It was very humid and damp, but the temperature was a tolerable 75 or so. It got dark as I ran, but that's okay, too. Anyway, the prescribed workout was 20 minutes warmup/cooldown, with 10 x 2:00 fartlek accelerations in the middle, with 45 seconds rest between each pickup. Gilbert usually says that the accelerations should be somewhere between 10K and marathon race pace...faster than your recovery pace at any rate. I usually have done these pretty quickly.
So, I set my regular watch timers for the fartlek section, and set out. The warmup felt just great, and I was going easy, it felt like, about 9:30 pace for the 20 minute warmup. I was on a rolling neighborhood loop, and the 3 miles or so of Fartlek intervals were knocked off at an average pace of 8:08/mile, which is awfully quick, considering my current 8:00/mile 10K race pace. For the cooldown, I averaged a sedate 9:50/mile, as I just eased to the finish. I've got 1,000m repeats on the track tomorrow evening, so I didn't push the cooldown this time. The fartlek sections felt quick, but not too terrible. I was able to recover during the 45 second jog except for one that was uphill, so I count this as a really good workout. I did almost the full Saturday gazelle stretching routine tonight, just to help recovery, too.
Total mileage for the night, about 7.5 miles, overall average pace 9:00/mile. Tomorrow, the aforementioned 1000m track repeats with the afternoon Gazelles. It will be interesting to see how different they are.
So, I set my regular watch timers for the fartlek section, and set out. The warmup felt just great, and I was going easy, it felt like, about 9:30 pace for the 20 minute warmup. I was on a rolling neighborhood loop, and the 3 miles or so of Fartlek intervals were knocked off at an average pace of 8:08/mile, which is awfully quick, considering my current 8:00/mile 10K race pace. For the cooldown, I averaged a sedate 9:50/mile, as I just eased to the finish. I've got 1,000m repeats on the track tomorrow evening, so I didn't push the cooldown this time. The fartlek sections felt quick, but not too terrible. I was able to recover during the 45 second jog except for one that was uphill, so I count this as a really good workout. I did almost the full Saturday gazelle stretching routine tonight, just to help recovery, too.
Total mileage for the night, about 7.5 miles, overall average pace 9:00/mile. Tomorrow, the aforementioned 1000m track repeats with the afternoon Gazelles. It will be interesting to see how different they are.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Meriden 1,000m repeats:
This morning was spectacular. 60 degrees and clear as we set out at 6:00 am from the Lake Austin RunTex store. After a shorter than normal warmup run and then the regular drills, we gathered for Gilbert's instructions. Today, he wanted us to be in groups and run to a number. The course was the usual 1,000m hilly repeat course. This is a good workout, forcing you to work on strength and form over speed, although you do watch the clock, too. Amy and I became a group of two, and we were supposed to do them at 5:05. Our times were all over the place. The first one was in a pretty comfortable 5:08, then we speeded up to a 4:58, then 4:53, and then, we tried to get the pace back to where it should be, and did a perfect 5:05 for our last repeat. We finished off the workout with 5 x 120m uphill striders, concentrating on form and high knee lift, and then 2 x 80m backwards running up the hill, which feels like you're towing your car up the hill with you.
Last time I did this workout, I only finished 3 x 1000m repeats, so this was better. One additional repeat, and much faster overall pace for the repeats. I felt a lot stronger on the hills, specifically. I think all the work is showing up.
I've got a massage later, and then tomorrow is the Fartlek workout.
This morning was spectacular. 60 degrees and clear as we set out at 6:00 am from the Lake Austin RunTex store. After a shorter than normal warmup run and then the regular drills, we gathered for Gilbert's instructions. Today, he wanted us to be in groups and run to a number. The course was the usual 1,000m hilly repeat course. This is a good workout, forcing you to work on strength and form over speed, although you do watch the clock, too. Amy and I became a group of two, and we were supposed to do them at 5:05. Our times were all over the place. The first one was in a pretty comfortable 5:08, then we speeded up to a 4:58, then 4:53, and then, we tried to get the pace back to where it should be, and did a perfect 5:05 for our last repeat. We finished off the workout with 5 x 120m uphill striders, concentrating on form and high knee lift, and then 2 x 80m backwards running up the hill, which feels like you're towing your car up the hill with you.
Last time I did this workout, I only finished 3 x 1000m repeats, so this was better. One additional repeat, and much faster overall pace for the repeats. I felt a lot stronger on the hills, specifically. I think all the work is showing up.
I've got a massage later, and then tomorrow is the Fartlek workout.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Today, the kids were home from school (Teachers Work Day), and Mary Anne had car trouble that I needed to help her with (replaced the battery), plus various other carpool duties with Sarah, so I didn't get out for Gilbert's scheduled Fartlek workout. No worries. I'll slide that workout in on Wednesday, and call yesterday's 9 miler a replacement for the 30-45 minute easy run normally featured on Wednesday. I'll go back to the Gazelles full schedule next week. Might even go 30-45 minutes easy on Friday, since we've "only" got 10-12 miles on Saturday, and a shorter hill workout with Galloway on Sunday.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
I woke up today a little stiff, mainly in my back, but nothing too bad. Went down to the trail to lead the Galloway Finishers group on their 9 mile journey. The weather was nice enough, maybe 68 degrees. We toured the two loops on the hike and bike trail doing the Run 3/ Walk 1 routine, and despite my attempts to rein them in, they pushed the pace. We ended up doing just over 9 miles in 1:45 and change, for an average pace of 11:38. Still too fast for that group, but they seemed just fine with it.
For the week, 45.5 miles, a new record mileage week for me. I feel pretty good, despite the mileage and intensity of much of the training. Rest will be important, as well as keeping up the stretching and good nutrition. I can't wait until the Pervasive 10 miler in a couple of weeks, to see where all this is taking me!
Tomorrow is a Gilbert Fartlek run, 20 minutes warmup/cooldown, with 10 x 2:00 pickups in the middle with 0:45 rest between each acceleration. I hope to knock it out early, before going to Sarah's parent/teacher conference.
For the week, 45.5 miles, a new record mileage week for me. I feel pretty good, despite the mileage and intensity of much of the training. Rest will be important, as well as keeping up the stretching and good nutrition. I can't wait until the Pervasive 10 miler in a couple of weeks, to see where all this is taking me!
Tomorrow is a Gilbert Fartlek run, 20 minutes warmup/cooldown, with 10 x 2:00 pickups in the middle with 0:45 rest between each acceleration. I hope to knock it out early, before going to Sarah's parent/teacher conference.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Mount Bonnell!!!
This morning, Gilbert prescribed a 14 miler, starting at RunTex downtown, rolling through the hilly Scenic loop, and then up Mount Bonnell, to a turnaround, and back to RunTex via Exposition, with more rolling hills, and finally the last few miles on the trail again. I was excited about this run for quite a while, and nervous, of course.
Anyway, today dawned really nicely, with clear skies, lower humidity than lately, and a fairly crisp 67 degrees. Good enough. We met at 6:00, and my partner Diana was there, so thankfully, I didn't have to do this alone. The faster people headed out in a flash, and we trailed behind. Now, we're not slow, but we certainly aren't ready to run the long runs with those other folks quite yet. we started out at around 10:00 pace for a couple of miles on the trail, as we carefully ran in the pre-dawn darkness on the slightly uneven surfaces there. Once we hit the streets on the other side, we picked up the pace a bit. Our first stop was at the boat docks, for a quick drink of water. That was 4 miles, and our pace was just under 10:00/mile, which is probably our ideal training pace for long runs.
After that stop, we rolled into and through the challenging Scenic loop, a local favorite course. I was feeling pretty good, and we cruised there in good fashion. We got to 35th Street, after passing several other training groups along the way, and stopped next at Mayfield park for another quick drink of water. This was about 6.2 miles, and our average pace was still right on track, about 9:56/mile. We turned up Mt. Bonnell Road, and powered up the two-tiered hill. I was a little uncertain about how long the mountain was, and how steep, so I carefully pushed up the slopes. Diana fell back a bit, but we stayed together pretty much. Reaching the top, I was surprised at how good I felt. We stopped for Gilbert's Powerade, and then went down to the turnaround, and returned to the Powerade for a quick fillup. Then, we rolled down Bonnell, retracing our steps to 35th Street. The couple of miles up and over Bonnell were at 10:05 pace, and then we had a quick 9:00 mile coming down the mountain. We were now at 8.6 miles, and our average pace had dropped to 9:51/mile.
Up 35th to Exposition, and now we endured the rolling terrain down Exposition, all the way to the next Powerade stop at O. Henry Middle School. We actually picked it up a bit coming down Exposition, and we were now at 10.7 miles and 9:48 overall pace.
At that point, Gilbert has always told us to pick it up on the way back, for the last 3 - 4 miles of a long run, so we took advantage of the slightly downhill aspect getting back to the trail, and then really picked it up on the trail, passing folks left and right, and we powered to the finish with miles in the 8:30 range, for a final run total of 13.9 miles and an average pace of 9:30/mile. Really surprising overall pace, and it was really cool to have that much left at the end of the run, that we could push that hard.
A handful of 100m strides on the grass finished off the run, and then we met Gilbert for the usual Sunday stretching routine, for about an hour. My legs feel just fine, no aches, no pains, but I'm sure I'll be sleepy this afternoon.
A great day at the running office.
This morning, Gilbert prescribed a 14 miler, starting at RunTex downtown, rolling through the hilly Scenic loop, and then up Mount Bonnell, to a turnaround, and back to RunTex via Exposition, with more rolling hills, and finally the last few miles on the trail again. I was excited about this run for quite a while, and nervous, of course.
Anyway, today dawned really nicely, with clear skies, lower humidity than lately, and a fairly crisp 67 degrees. Good enough. We met at 6:00, and my partner Diana was there, so thankfully, I didn't have to do this alone. The faster people headed out in a flash, and we trailed behind. Now, we're not slow, but we certainly aren't ready to run the long runs with those other folks quite yet. we started out at around 10:00 pace for a couple of miles on the trail, as we carefully ran in the pre-dawn darkness on the slightly uneven surfaces there. Once we hit the streets on the other side, we picked up the pace a bit. Our first stop was at the boat docks, for a quick drink of water. That was 4 miles, and our pace was just under 10:00/mile, which is probably our ideal training pace for long runs.
After that stop, we rolled into and through the challenging Scenic loop, a local favorite course. I was feeling pretty good, and we cruised there in good fashion. We got to 35th Street, after passing several other training groups along the way, and stopped next at Mayfield park for another quick drink of water. This was about 6.2 miles, and our average pace was still right on track, about 9:56/mile. We turned up Mt. Bonnell Road, and powered up the two-tiered hill. I was a little uncertain about how long the mountain was, and how steep, so I carefully pushed up the slopes. Diana fell back a bit, but we stayed together pretty much. Reaching the top, I was surprised at how good I felt. We stopped for Gilbert's Powerade, and then went down to the turnaround, and returned to the Powerade for a quick fillup. Then, we rolled down Bonnell, retracing our steps to 35th Street. The couple of miles up and over Bonnell were at 10:05 pace, and then we had a quick 9:00 mile coming down the mountain. We were now at 8.6 miles, and our average pace had dropped to 9:51/mile.
Up 35th to Exposition, and now we endured the rolling terrain down Exposition, all the way to the next Powerade stop at O. Henry Middle School. We actually picked it up a bit coming down Exposition, and we were now at 10.7 miles and 9:48 overall pace.
At that point, Gilbert has always told us to pick it up on the way back, for the last 3 - 4 miles of a long run, so we took advantage of the slightly downhill aspect getting back to the trail, and then really picked it up on the trail, passing folks left and right, and we powered to the finish with miles in the 8:30 range, for a final run total of 13.9 miles and an average pace of 9:30/mile. Really surprising overall pace, and it was really cool to have that much left at the end of the run, that we could push that hard.
A handful of 100m strides on the grass finished off the run, and then we met Gilbert for the usual Sunday stretching routine, for about an hour. My legs feel just fine, no aches, no pains, but I'm sure I'll be sleepy this afternoon.
A great day at the running office.
Friday, October 08, 2004
Today is a full rest day from running. I've stretched already today, and will do that again throughout the day. I also worked over my tight calves with The Stick, an implement of torture that nevertheless helps work out knots and tight spots in muscles.
It's super humid and overcast out there today, so I hope that weather is not in place tomorrow for the journey to and over Mount Bonnell. We've been promised a real cool front for a while, to drop the morning temps into the lower 60's, but that hasn't happened yet. Maybe by tomorrow morning?
It's super humid and overcast out there today, so I hope that weather is not in place tomorrow for the journey to and over Mount Bonnell. We've been promised a real cool front for a while, to drop the morning temps into the lower 60's, but that hasn't happened yet. Maybe by tomorrow morning?
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Gazelles again, 6:00 am. Extreme humidity, overcast, about 72 degrees. Could be worse, that's for sure. Anyway, today was 6x700m repeats on a fairly flat course, with about 300m jog across the grass for recovery, then "boom!" start the next one. I was grouped with Henry, Amy, a new person and myself. After the first repeat, I paired up with Amy, and we did the rest of the workout as a team. I started off easy, since my legs were a little dead (six days straight of running will do that to you), and my calves were a little sore at the start. By the third repeat, however, everything started falling into place, and the rest of the workout went just fine. Average pace was 7:21/mile for the 6 repeats, so 4200m at 7:21/mile. Not too bad. It worked out to be about 1:45 rest jogging between repeats. Gilbert advised super easy jogging between, and I tried to oblige. He also wanted "70-80% effort," which is probably about what I did. So, all things considered, a really nice workout.
I actually took the time to stretch pretty intensively afterwards, which is a good idea any time, of course. I'm looking forward to the full day off tomorrow, as I get rested up for Mount Bonnell on Saturday.
Stronger every day...
I actually took the time to stretch pretty intensively afterwards, which is a good idea any time, of course. I'm looking forward to the full day off tomorrow, as I get rested up for Mount Bonnell on Saturday.
Stronger every day...
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
For a change, I actually did the Wednesday recovery run instead of taking the day off. I can't wait until I'm able to hand off the Galloway runners, so that I can have Sunday as a running rest day like the rest of the Gazelles.
Anyway, today was scheduled for 45-60 minutes, easy. I revised it to 30-45 minutes, easy, since I only get one full day off right now. However, on my "easy" run, I included a nasty uphill on Lakewood Drive, which is about like the Mt. Bonnell and Pervasive hills. I didn't push the hill except the honest difference in effort required to get up such a steep climb. I set the Garmin to beep at me if I exceeded 9:30/mile, to keep me nice and easy. That feature worked well. For the section of the run including the nasty climb, I was at 9:42 pace, which would be acceptable during the Pervasive run, and is faster than we'll need to climb Bonnell on the long run Saturday. I recovered fairly quickly afterwards, too. It was a good run, a little over 4 miles, a little over 38 minutes, about 9:35 pace overall. I tried to wimp out, but finally just headed out the door at about 10:30 am when I could find no good reason not to run.
I'll be doing 9 miles with the Galloway finishers this Sunday, after Mt. Bonnell, and I'll hold them to 13:00 pace at the fastest, mainly for me. Then, the week after, I'll lead the time goal people over for their first hill repeat workout, but I'll take it easy on the hill bits. Then, Pervasive, and then on Halloween, I'll just have to help the Finishers do 6 or 7 miles. On November 7th, I'll again lead the time goalers on their hill repeats. Then, I think I can basically hand off leadership of the groups except for December 12th. That's the day after a 20 miler for me, so I may only have to put out water and stuff, since all the groups, fall and Freescale will be combined by that point. I may need to follow along on my bike or something, but that's about it.
Anyway, today was scheduled for 45-60 minutes, easy. I revised it to 30-45 minutes, easy, since I only get one full day off right now. However, on my "easy" run, I included a nasty uphill on Lakewood Drive, which is about like the Mt. Bonnell and Pervasive hills. I didn't push the hill except the honest difference in effort required to get up such a steep climb. I set the Garmin to beep at me if I exceeded 9:30/mile, to keep me nice and easy. That feature worked well. For the section of the run including the nasty climb, I was at 9:42 pace, which would be acceptable during the Pervasive run, and is faster than we'll need to climb Bonnell on the long run Saturday. I recovered fairly quickly afterwards, too. It was a good run, a little over 4 miles, a little over 38 minutes, about 9:35 pace overall. I tried to wimp out, but finally just headed out the door at about 10:30 am when I could find no good reason not to run.
I'll be doing 9 miles with the Galloway finishers this Sunday, after Mt. Bonnell, and I'll hold them to 13:00 pace at the fastest, mainly for me.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
After talking with a few Gazelles this morning, I've decided to send the Polar HR watch in for repair. I changed the battery in it myself, and I guess I didn't seal it correctly, and it filled with lake water while jet skiing in early August. That water killed the screen, so although it still works, I can only see the bottom portion of the screen. Not very useful that way.
Massage wasn't as bad as it could have been, although Ron admonished me to be better about stretching and working on the calves, since they were a bit tight.
Massage wasn't as bad as it could have been, although Ron admonished me to be better about stretching and working on the calves, since they were a bit tight.
Back with the Gazelles this morning at 6:00 am, for 900m repeats on a hilly loop at Zilker Park. Weather was dreary, humid, overcast, and cool (68 degrees). I concentrated on getting loose before, during and after the warmup run over to Zilker, doing some stretching to loosen up my quads in particular. After the usual drills, we gathered to get our group assignments and times. He prescribed 5x900m except for those doing New York Marathon in 4 weeks, and he wanted 8x900m from them. He grouped us with folks and assigned time ranges for our groups, trying to rein us in a bit, I guess. My group was Amy, Joseph and me, and our time range was 4:10-4:15. Since I had averaged 4:16 last time out on this workout, this would be an intensification of effort, especially after Sunday's race.
So what happened? Amy led the first one out in 4:07, too fast. I led the second one, at a too slow 4:18, going too far to correct the pacing. Joseph led a perfect 4:11 on the third. We got tangled up with a faster group on the fourth one, and toured around in 4:06, too fast again. The last one, I led, and I was feeling ever stronger, so we did that one in another 4:06, which felt pretty relaxed until the last hill. All in all, a very good workout. My legs felt a little tired on the first two or three repeats, but they snapped around by the end.
I'm looking forward to my massage today, to work out the residual soreness in my calves and quads. It might be painful, but it will be a great help.
Tomorrow, I'll stay on the low end of the prescribed 45-60 minute recovery run. I plan on doing 30-45 minutes, easy, including the Lakewood Drive hill. I'll do the steep hill as easy as possible, but I want to include it in preparation for the Pervasive and Motive races coming up.
So what happened? Amy led the first one out in 4:07, too fast. I led the second one, at a too slow 4:18, going too far to correct the pacing. Joseph led a perfect 4:11 on the third. We got tangled up with a faster group on the fourth one, and toured around in 4:06, too fast again. The last one, I led, and I was feeling ever stronger, so we did that one in another 4:06, which felt pretty relaxed until the last hill. All in all, a very good workout. My legs felt a little tired on the first two or three repeats, but they snapped around by the end.
I'm looking forward to my massage today, to work out the residual soreness in my calves and quads. It might be painful, but it will be a great help.
Tomorrow, I'll stay on the low end of the prescribed 45-60 minute recovery run. I plan on doing 30-45 minutes, easy, including the Lakewood Drive hill. I'll do the steep hill as easy as possible, but I want to include it in preparation for the Pervasive and Motive races coming up.
Monday, October 04, 2004
The prescribed workout today was a relaxed recovery run in the 45-60 minute range. So, I fought off the lazy demons and headed out the door at 8:00 am for my little run. I am a little stiff from yesterday's exertions, but not anything terrible. I did a little stretching while I waited for the GPS watch to synch up, and then set out. The weather was pretty nice, maybe 72 degrees and sunny. Not too humid, either, I think. Anyway, I did my neighborhood loop plus the water tower trail behind the 'Hood, for 5.45 miles at 50:31. Average pace probably a little quick, 9:17/mile. First two miles were textbook, 9:53 and 9:35, and then I settled into 9:00 miles for the rest of the run. By the end of the run, my legs felt really good, so the workout did its job. I'll schedule a massage for tomorrow to work out whatever is left of the race soreness.
This week, I need to temper my enthusiasm, and merely do the workouts and not add new difficulty or distance where I don't need it.
This week, I need to temper my enthusiasm, and merely do the workouts and not add new difficulty or distance where I don't need it.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
IBM Classic 10K:
Sunday was the IBM 10K, a fixture on the local racing scene for at least 5 years. It was the first race in the Distance Challenge series for many of those years, until this year, when it was pushed to second by the Congress Avenue Mile. Anyway, I've run this race the last two years, with a best time of something like 52 or 53 minutes...it was usually hot, and I was typically in the last stages of marathon training, so it was usually a pace run instead of a race. Still, I had had two very poor performances in 2002 and 2003. I wanted revenge this year.
The weather was nice, maybe 70 degrees and mostly overcast. Slight breeze at times. Good running weather. Frank and I met some other Gazelles at 7:00 for a warmup jog, and then subsequent drills and strides to get ready. I was sporting the all-black Gazelles racing uniform, and so felt some pressure to perform at a solid level. It's been a long time since I was really ready to race, maybe a year or more, so I was nervous before this one. Really nervous. After multiple port-o-stops, I was settled down, and got in line with the multitudes for the race start.
My race plan was to go out at about 8:15/mile, and slowly crank up the intensity until the last mile, which would hopefully be the fastest mile, and an overall pace of 8:00 or lower. My Masters PR of 49:43 was also a target.
I hit the first mile, after weaving through traffic, at an almost perfect 8:17. I got too enthusiastic on mile 2, which was 7:50, settled down for a 7:59 third mile, and a 7:53 fourth mile, which put me exactly on 8:00 pace. I kept up a steady effort through the fifth mile, which featured the only tough section of the course, and did 8:03 on that mile, about according to plan. I saw Gilbert at the mile 5 marker, and he exhorted me onward. I fought a big case of mental angst during the sixth mile, and just hung on by mentally attaching myself to two guys in front of me. I dragged through mile 6 in 8:07, which had me 8 seconds off PR pace. I dug down deep, and pushed hard over the last .21 miles, really lifting my legs, and cranked through the last .21 in 1:32, 7:18/mile pace, to grab a PR by 3 seconds, 49:40!
I was very pleased with this race. Looking back at March and April, I've improved some 4 - 5 minutes at the 10K distance. I've fought my way back to the shape I was in the Spring of 2003, when I set most of my current Masters PR's, and I'm really only 2 months into training since my injury in June. I'm very encouraged, and now I've got three weeks of training to get ready for the Pervasive 10 Miler.
This week features two easy runs of 45-60 minutes (Mon / Wed), and two Gazelles interval sessions (900m repeats on Tues and 700m grass repeats on Thurs), and then the 14 mile Mount Bonnell loop on Saturday. Should be an interesting week.
Sunday was the IBM 10K, a fixture on the local racing scene for at least 5 years. It was the first race in the Distance Challenge series for many of those years, until this year, when it was pushed to second by the Congress Avenue Mile. Anyway, I've run this race the last two years, with a best time of something like 52 or 53 minutes...it was usually hot, and I was typically in the last stages of marathon training, so it was usually a pace run instead of a race. Still, I had had two very poor performances in 2002 and 2003. I wanted revenge this year.
The weather was nice, maybe 70 degrees and mostly overcast. Slight breeze at times. Good running weather. Frank and I met some other Gazelles at 7:00 for a warmup jog, and then subsequent drills and strides to get ready. I was sporting the all-black Gazelles racing uniform, and so felt some pressure to perform at a solid level. It's been a long time since I was really ready to race, maybe a year or more, so I was nervous before this one. Really nervous. After multiple port-o-stops, I was settled down, and got in line with the multitudes for the race start.
My race plan was to go out at about 8:15/mile, and slowly crank up the intensity until the last mile, which would hopefully be the fastest mile, and an overall pace of 8:00 or lower. My Masters PR of 49:43 was also a target.
I hit the first mile, after weaving through traffic, at an almost perfect 8:17. I got too enthusiastic on mile 2, which was 7:50, settled down for a 7:59 third mile, and a 7:53 fourth mile, which put me exactly on 8:00 pace. I kept up a steady effort through the fifth mile, which featured the only tough section of the course, and did 8:03 on that mile, about according to plan. I saw Gilbert at the mile 5 marker, and he exhorted me onward. I fought a big case of mental angst during the sixth mile, and just hung on by mentally attaching myself to two guys in front of me. I dragged through mile 6 in 8:07, which had me 8 seconds off PR pace. I dug down deep, and pushed hard over the last .21 miles, really lifting my legs, and cranked through the last .21 in 1:32, 7:18/mile pace, to grab a PR by 3 seconds, 49:40!
I was very pleased with this race. Looking back at March and April, I've improved some 4 - 5 minutes at the 10K distance. I've fought my way back to the shape I was in the Spring of 2003, when I set most of my current Masters PR's, and I'm really only 2 months into training since my injury in June. I'm very encouraged, and now I've got three weeks of training to get ready for the Pervasive 10 Miler.
This week features two easy runs of 45-60 minutes (Mon / Wed), and two Gazelles interval sessions (900m repeats on Tues and 700m grass repeats on Thurs), and then the 14 mile Mount Bonnell loop on Saturday. Should be an interesting week.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Saturday morning was fun. I got to sleep in, and we met at 8:00 am for a little warmup run of 4.5 miles before the usual Saturday Gazelles stretching session. Liliana, Frank, Alex and I headed out, with their promise that they wouldn't put the hammer down. Each mile was slightly faster than the one before, but we never really busted one down. Started with a 10:00 mile, then 9:17, then 9:02, then 8:31, and a half mile finish at 8:05 pace. All in all, a relaxed 4.5 miles at something like 9:10 pace overall. The weather was dreary, with 100% humidity and occasional drizzle and mist, but for some reason, that didn't bother us at all. We cruised around the loop, and finished back at RunTex totally wet, but warm and ready to stretch.
Stretching was a good thing, and I enjoyed the IT stretches the most, since I could really feel them. I also finally got my official Gazelles racing singlet, so now I have to run hard enough in races to earn it, I suppose.
Rest of the day is all about hydration and refueling for tomorrow's IBM 10K. Goal is still a fairly modest sub 8:00/mile pacing, or 49:42. Gilbert prescribed a 7:00 am arrival, and an easy warmup from the finish line backwards on the course to the 5 mile marker, then turn around and jog back to the finish, so that we know the homestretch intimately. After that, drills and such, and then start the race. I'll try to time it so that my heart is pumping along when the gun goes off. I'm excited and nervous about tomorrow, but I'll try to relax early in the race, and hit the first mile marker at something like 8:15. My other race goal is to have my last mile be my best.
Stretching was a good thing, and I enjoyed the IT stretches the most, since I could really feel them. I also finally got my official Gazelles racing singlet, so now I have to run hard enough in races to earn it, I suppose.
Rest of the day is all about hydration and refueling for tomorrow's IBM 10K. Goal is still a fairly modest sub 8:00/mile pacing, or 49:42. Gilbert prescribed a 7:00 am arrival, and an easy warmup from the finish line backwards on the course to the 5 mile marker, then turn around and jog back to the finish, so that we know the homestretch intimately. After that, drills and such, and then start the race. I'll try to time it so that my heart is pumping along when the gun goes off. I'm excited and nervous about tomorrow, but I'll try to relax early in the race, and hit the first mile marker at something like 8:15. My other race goal is to have my last mile be my best.
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