Weekly and Monthly Stats:
For the week 1/24-1/30: 6 runs, 42.4 miles. Hard 10 mile pace run, slightly more relaxed half marathon pace run, couple of nice easy recovery runs, fartlek workout, and hard set of 1000m hilly repeats. Very solid week, and the last hard week before Freescale. Bring on the Taper!
For January, 2005: 155 miles, 19 runs. Long runs, a handful of medium long pace runs, some good track and interval work, and just one downer of a run. Mileage slightly down, but that's to be expected as we slowly taper for Freescale. Mileage is almost 2.5 times my mileage last January. Things are sure different!
Forgot to mention that my 3M time was a course record for that race by more than 4 minutes, despite being a controlled effort. It's really cool to cruise through a race and have it still be such a solid run! It'll be interesting to see how the Indy 500 Mini Marathon (a half marathon) in May goes, with more than a year of Gazelles training behind me, too.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Sunday, January 30, 2005
3M Half Marathon: A Deep Sigh of Relief
As I think I've noted in these e-pages, my confidence had been severely shaken by the Buda 30k a couple of weeks ago. I know that my poor performance there was probably due to being sick, but it still was a shock after a long series of good races. Since then, I've had two weeks of solid workouts with and without the Gazelles, and today it was time for a relaxed run at the 3M Half Marathon. My goal was to run it in a controlled fashion, going for something in the 9:00-9:05 range, pace-wise, and to finish with maximum relaxation and comfort. I wasn't going for a PR, even though this is a very tempting course. I figured I'd run to a HR number if I was in doubt, trying to stay in the comfy aerobic zone.
Weather wasn't pretty, but it wasn't all that bad, either. Temps in the mid to high 40's, with drizzle and mist all day long. We met as a group at 6:00 am for a little one mile warmup and drills, followed by an abbreviated stretching session. Gilbert offered some last-minute advice and cautioned us to run with an eye towards Freescale. I felt good after all the warmup stuff, and after a last sip of Accelerade, I stripped off my running vest and long pants, and took my pack over to the gear truck at the start line. Frank and I took advantage of a strategically placed dumpster for a hydration adjustment, and we eased over to the start line for the festivities. A nice four-part national anthem was sung, and we crushed into line for the start. I had on a regular cap, gloves, a long sleeved shirt and a singlet over that. Shorts today.
I saw a bunch of people that I knew, of course, but chose initially to run alone as I usually do in races. At the horn, we surged forward, and I clipped the start line about 35 seconds after the horn. There were a lot more people at this race than at most of the Challenge races, somewhere around 2700, so it was packed in the first mile or so. I started off nice and easy, letting folks rush by left and right. In the first 100 yards, I heard an unmistakeable sound, twice. There are a few sounds that everyone will know, no matter what your experience. Two of those are the sound of a pump-action shotgun slide, and a rattlesnake in the wild. This morning, I clearly identified another: The sound of an iPod or other mp3 player hitting the pavement. Not a great way to start your race, I'd guess, to have your $300 electronic device crashing to the ground under the feet of 100's of strangers.
Anyway, we reached the end of the mostly uphill mile 1, and turned the corner onto Braker. Another turn later, and we were heading south and east on the access road along 183. I saw Jan ahead of me, but I didn't rush to catch her just yet. I passed Tracy, Sean passed me, and we all sort of started settling into our race pace. The water stops were every 2 miles, so I took a small cup of water at each stop today, taking a short 10 second walk (maybe less) at each stop to drink the water down. They used plastic cups today, which prevented us from using the "fold the cup" trick to drink on the run.
Miles 2-4 were mostly a downhill trend, but there was some rolling action. Enough to keep your legs from grinding down on a downhill slide. Mile 5 was largely downhill, too, a steeper downhill pitch mellowed out by a fair uphill climb over Mopac and back down to Shoal Creek Rd. One of the bagpipers was right there at Mopac, and that was pretty cool to hear the sounds of Scotland on such a British Isles sort of weather day. Jan and I paired up during mile 5, and decided to stick together for the run since our goals were the same. So far, so good. HR numbers still in the happy zone, except for some bumps as we climbed the uphill bits. On average, though, I was running like I should.
Splits, Mile 1-5: 9:06, 8:49, 8:45, 8:45, 8:49 (overall pace 8:51, a little faster than I had thought)
During mile 6, an old Galloway pal, Sara Fisher, sneaked up behind Jan and me, and decided to draft along with us for a while. I took a GU at the mile 6 water station, and then we wound our way through a neighborhood. Sara pulled ahead of us, and Jan and I let her go, staying on our pace groove. We had a slower mile 8 for some reason, but it looks like it just may have been a slight uphill grind, and slower for most folks. After seeing that split, I picked up the pace for us a bit, and we got right back to business through the rest of the race. During mile 9, I think, a guy was set up on the side of the course with a bunch of bathroom scales stacked around him, with a sign reading "Free." Clever. "Free" Scales, get it? Also during mile 9, the other bagpiper guy was playing away. There was a large amount of crowd support today, which was fun to see. We reached mile 10 in comfortable fashion, right on target, and very consistent in pace. We were talking the whole way, chatting about all sorts of things, which was probably annoying to those around us. Even under our controlled pace conditions, we were passing plenty of folks, and again, that was good for my psyche.
Splits, miles 6-10: 8:59, 9:05, 9:19, 8:43, 8:53 (overall pace 8:55)
It was the homestretch now, and we were picking off a large number of people who had gone out too fast. There were some fair uphill bits down the stretch, but we didn't seem to mind those, especially since there were plenty of downhill segments to balance it out. We cruised by the UT campus and enjoyed a guy playing steel drums at Guadalupe and MLK. We caught and dropped Sara through here, and rolled on. Stroller Man (he used to push a triple stroller through all the Challenge races) passed us during mile 11 or 12, and I just gave him an "Attaboy!" Jan said that she wanted to push the last mile, but I told her that I'd follow Gilbert's directions, and would take it easy through the steeper downhill bits in the last mile, to save my quads from getting beaten up. During mile 13, Jan pulled away just a bit, and ended up finishing about 10 seconds ahead of me. I turned the last corner, and cruised up and down the last bit of the course, and passed Gilbert with a smile on my face as he stood at the mile 13 marker. I was totally aerobic, and feeling fantastic. Frank ran with me for a couple of hundred yards, and told me where he'd find me in the post-run madness, and then I ran nice and easy through to the finish.
Splits miles 11-13.1: 8:53, 8:48, 8:21, and 0:58 (8:47 pace). Overall chip time 1:56:13, second best half marathon time since I turned 40, and a surprising 8:52 overall pace. This was 15 seconds per mile slower than my PR on the tougher Motive course back in November, which was probably right on target.
I felt great as I got my medal and started drinking the bottled water handed to me. I had achieved all my goals for the race, and had stayed in a nice HR zone for almost the whole day. That last mile at 8:21 didn't feel like I had accelerated at all. In fact, I thought I had slowed down considerably during mile 13, since lots of folks were kicking hard around me. I put blinders on during that last stretch, to avoid the temptation of racing hard to the line with everyone.
I got my backpack from the gear truck, and gratefully put on dry and warm clothes before I got too chilled after I finished. Frank and I met up, and we got some food, and chatted with lots of Gazelles in the infield of the football stadium. Seems like most of us had race days right out of the training book, and there were a lot of grins as we talked. I chatted with Stroller Man afterwards, too, and he was a nice guy. Turns out that he has sort of destroyed his ankle, and it's not repairable by surgery, so his doctor has allowed him to run just one medium long race per year, pushing the stroller, and no other racing. He was philosophical about it, saying that at least he can get his daily running fix...he just can't race like he used to. It was an interesting chat. Alex drove Frank and I back up to the top of the racecourse, so we could get our cars and avoid riding the buses. That made for a much more pleasant trip back.
The feeling of relief and accomplishment that I felt today was almost indescribable. Now, I know that if I go out a little easier at Freescale than I did today, my HR will be even lower, and I'll get to mile 13 and beyond of the marathon in great position to assault the 4:00:00 barrier. This course is very similar to Freescale, so this was a very good test run for the marathon. Now, I just have to be smart about these last two weeks, and get to the start line on February 13th healthy and ready to run.
As I think I've noted in these e-pages, my confidence had been severely shaken by the Buda 30k a couple of weeks ago. I know that my poor performance there was probably due to being sick, but it still was a shock after a long series of good races. Since then, I've had two weeks of solid workouts with and without the Gazelles, and today it was time for a relaxed run at the 3M Half Marathon. My goal was to run it in a controlled fashion, going for something in the 9:00-9:05 range, pace-wise, and to finish with maximum relaxation and comfort. I wasn't going for a PR, even though this is a very tempting course. I figured I'd run to a HR number if I was in doubt, trying to stay in the comfy aerobic zone.
Weather wasn't pretty, but it wasn't all that bad, either. Temps in the mid to high 40's, with drizzle and mist all day long. We met as a group at 6:00 am for a little one mile warmup and drills, followed by an abbreviated stretching session. Gilbert offered some last-minute advice and cautioned us to run with an eye towards Freescale. I felt good after all the warmup stuff, and after a last sip of Accelerade, I stripped off my running vest and long pants, and took my pack over to the gear truck at the start line. Frank and I took advantage of a strategically placed dumpster for a hydration adjustment, and we eased over to the start line for the festivities. A nice four-part national anthem was sung, and we crushed into line for the start. I had on a regular cap, gloves, a long sleeved shirt and a singlet over that. Shorts today.
I saw a bunch of people that I knew, of course, but chose initially to run alone as I usually do in races. At the horn, we surged forward, and I clipped the start line about 35 seconds after the horn. There were a lot more people at this race than at most of the Challenge races, somewhere around 2700, so it was packed in the first mile or so. I started off nice and easy, letting folks rush by left and right. In the first 100 yards, I heard an unmistakeable sound, twice. There are a few sounds that everyone will know, no matter what your experience. Two of those are the sound of a pump-action shotgun slide, and a rattlesnake in the wild. This morning, I clearly identified another: The sound of an iPod or other mp3 player hitting the pavement. Not a great way to start your race, I'd guess, to have your $300 electronic device crashing to the ground under the feet of 100's of strangers.
Anyway, we reached the end of the mostly uphill mile 1, and turned the corner onto Braker. Another turn later, and we were heading south and east on the access road along 183. I saw Jan ahead of me, but I didn't rush to catch her just yet. I passed Tracy, Sean passed me, and we all sort of started settling into our race pace. The water stops were every 2 miles, so I took a small cup of water at each stop today, taking a short 10 second walk (maybe less) at each stop to drink the water down. They used plastic cups today, which prevented us from using the "fold the cup" trick to drink on the run.
Miles 2-4 were mostly a downhill trend, but there was some rolling action. Enough to keep your legs from grinding down on a downhill slide. Mile 5 was largely downhill, too, a steeper downhill pitch mellowed out by a fair uphill climb over Mopac and back down to Shoal Creek Rd. One of the bagpipers was right there at Mopac, and that was pretty cool to hear the sounds of Scotland on such a British Isles sort of weather day. Jan and I paired up during mile 5, and decided to stick together for the run since our goals were the same. So far, so good. HR numbers still in the happy zone, except for some bumps as we climbed the uphill bits. On average, though, I was running like I should.
Splits, Mile 1-5: 9:06, 8:49, 8:45, 8:45, 8:49 (overall pace 8:51, a little faster than I had thought)
During mile 6, an old Galloway pal, Sara Fisher, sneaked up behind Jan and me, and decided to draft along with us for a while. I took a GU at the mile 6 water station, and then we wound our way through a neighborhood. Sara pulled ahead of us, and Jan and I let her go, staying on our pace groove. We had a slower mile 8 for some reason, but it looks like it just may have been a slight uphill grind, and slower for most folks. After seeing that split, I picked up the pace for us a bit, and we got right back to business through the rest of the race. During mile 9, I think, a guy was set up on the side of the course with a bunch of bathroom scales stacked around him, with a sign reading "Free." Clever. "Free" Scales, get it? Also during mile 9, the other bagpiper guy was playing away. There was a large amount of crowd support today, which was fun to see. We reached mile 10 in comfortable fashion, right on target, and very consistent in pace. We were talking the whole way, chatting about all sorts of things, which was probably annoying to those around us. Even under our controlled pace conditions, we were passing plenty of folks, and again, that was good for my psyche.
Splits, miles 6-10: 8:59, 9:05, 9:19, 8:43, 8:53 (overall pace 8:55)
It was the homestretch now, and we were picking off a large number of people who had gone out too fast. There were some fair uphill bits down the stretch, but we didn't seem to mind those, especially since there were plenty of downhill segments to balance it out. We cruised by the UT campus and enjoyed a guy playing steel drums at Guadalupe and MLK. We caught and dropped Sara through here, and rolled on. Stroller Man (he used to push a triple stroller through all the Challenge races) passed us during mile 11 or 12, and I just gave him an "Attaboy!" Jan said that she wanted to push the last mile, but I told her that I'd follow Gilbert's directions, and would take it easy through the steeper downhill bits in the last mile, to save my quads from getting beaten up. During mile 13, Jan pulled away just a bit, and ended up finishing about 10 seconds ahead of me. I turned the last corner, and cruised up and down the last bit of the course, and passed Gilbert with a smile on my face as he stood at the mile 13 marker. I was totally aerobic, and feeling fantastic. Frank ran with me for a couple of hundred yards, and told me where he'd find me in the post-run madness, and then I ran nice and easy through to the finish.
Splits miles 11-13.1: 8:53, 8:48, 8:21, and 0:58 (8:47 pace). Overall chip time 1:56:13, second best half marathon time since I turned 40, and a surprising 8:52 overall pace. This was 15 seconds per mile slower than my PR on the tougher Motive course back in November, which was probably right on target.
I felt great as I got my medal and started drinking the bottled water handed to me. I had achieved all my goals for the race, and had stayed in a nice HR zone for almost the whole day. That last mile at 8:21 didn't feel like I had accelerated at all. In fact, I thought I had slowed down considerably during mile 13, since lots of folks were kicking hard around me. I put blinders on during that last stretch, to avoid the temptation of racing hard to the line with everyone.
I got my backpack from the gear truck, and gratefully put on dry and warm clothes before I got too chilled after I finished. Frank and I met up, and we got some food, and chatted with lots of Gazelles in the infield of the football stadium. Seems like most of us had race days right out of the training book, and there were a lot of grins as we talked. I chatted with Stroller Man afterwards, too, and he was a nice guy. Turns out that he has sort of destroyed his ankle, and it's not repairable by surgery, so his doctor has allowed him to run just one medium long race per year, pushing the stroller, and no other racing. He was philosophical about it, saying that at least he can get his daily running fix...he just can't race like he used to. It was an interesting chat. Alex drove Frank and I back up to the top of the racecourse, so we could get our cars and avoid riding the buses. That made for a much more pleasant trip back.
The feeling of relief and accomplishment that I felt today was almost indescribable. Now, I know that if I go out a little easier at Freescale than I did today, my HR will be even lower, and I'll get to mile 13 and beyond of the marathon in great position to assault the 4:00:00 barrier. This course is very similar to Freescale, so this was a very good test run for the marathon. Now, I just have to be smart about these last two weeks, and get to the start line on February 13th healthy and ready to run.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Nice and Easy
This morning was a nice and easy run of 4.2 miles in exactly 40 minutes. 9:31 pace. The run was mostly just to loosen us up enough to enjoy the long stretching routine afterwards. After the first half mile or so, I felt really good this morning. The weather was dreary, heavily overcast and 50 degrees, but not too bad really. Tomorrow for 3M the forecast is for possible rain. That would be a drag.
We chatted throughout the run today, running mostly with Liliana, Kelly, Frank, Patrick, Jan and Alex. It was a relaxing jaunt. I think we picked it up coming back a little bit, but I wasn't keeping individual splits, so that's just a guess.
The stretching afterwards felt great, and we all enjoyed the time together in our Saturday ritual. There's something about a routine that is comforting. I know that in work and everyday life, routine can seem depressing or suffocating, but in running and especially for pre-race preparation, it's nice to know that you always do the same thing the day before a race. For that matter, our extended routine goes back to the Thursday before the race, when we do the fartlek tuneup workout. That takes one more thing off your list of Things To Worry About in the days before a major race effort.
My plan for 3M tomorrow is to go out nice and comfortably, getting through the steepest downhill portion at a pace somewhere around marathon race pace (9:05-9:10/mile), and then perhaps pick it up just a bit for miles 5 through 12, maybe down to 9:00 average pace. For the last 1.1 miles, Gilbert wants us to back off and stay away from bombing down the steep downhill bits at the end of the course. I want to finish between 9:00 and 9:10 overall pace, and I want to feel really comfortable as I cross the finish line. This is a pure pace run and nothing more. It should be a fun day, despite the weather.
This morning was a nice and easy run of 4.2 miles in exactly 40 minutes. 9:31 pace. The run was mostly just to loosen us up enough to enjoy the long stretching routine afterwards. After the first half mile or so, I felt really good this morning. The weather was dreary, heavily overcast and 50 degrees, but not too bad really. Tomorrow for 3M the forecast is for possible rain. That would be a drag.
We chatted throughout the run today, running mostly with Liliana, Kelly, Frank, Patrick, Jan and Alex. It was a relaxing jaunt. I think we picked it up coming back a little bit, but I wasn't keeping individual splits, so that's just a guess.
The stretching afterwards felt great, and we all enjoyed the time together in our Saturday ritual. There's something about a routine that is comforting. I know that in work and everyday life, routine can seem depressing or suffocating, but in running and especially for pre-race preparation, it's nice to know that you always do the same thing the day before a race. For that matter, our extended routine goes back to the Thursday before the race, when we do the fartlek tuneup workout. That takes one more thing off your list of Things To Worry About in the days before a major race effort.
My plan for 3M tomorrow is to go out nice and comfortably, getting through the steepest downhill portion at a pace somewhere around marathon race pace (9:05-9:10/mile), and then perhaps pick it up just a bit for miles 5 through 12, maybe down to 9:00 average pace. For the last 1.1 miles, Gilbert wants us to back off and stay away from bombing down the steep downhill bits at the end of the course. I want to finish between 9:00 and 9:10 overall pace, and I want to feel really comfortable as I cross the finish line. This is a pure pace run and nothing more. It should be a fun day, despite the weather.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Just Chilling
Today was a full day off, and I started feeling the first taper-induced phantom pains. It always happens, when we start backing off the normal routine, and the body starts questioning you as to what the heck you think you're doing. It's predictable, and sort of amusing, but it's still strange. It's time to eat healthy, get plenty of rest, do some gentle stretching when you think about it, and generally get tuned up for the Big Event. Gilbert has posted the remaining workouts through Freescale, and he's really taking it easy for us the last two weeks. Next week, we do an easy hour run on Tuesday instead of faster stuff, and then some 800's at marathon race pace on Thursday. Easy 7-12 mile run on next Saturday. Marathon week, we have a modest 3x1000m workout on Monday, at more or less marathon race pace, and then a warmup and some strides on Thursday, and that's about it, except for a couple of 45 minute easy runs. Intellectually, I understand that there's basically nothing I can do to improve my performance at this point, but it's sort of scary to see how little remains between now and February 13th. It's time to stay focused, relaxed, and ready. I'm looking forward to the last pace test on Sunday, the 3M Half Marathon, my last trial run at marathon race pace. Hopefully, it'll feel great, and I can bank some more positive mental images for use in two weeks.
Today was a full day off, and I started feeling the first taper-induced phantom pains. It always happens, when we start backing off the normal routine, and the body starts questioning you as to what the heck you think you're doing. It's predictable, and sort of amusing, but it's still strange. It's time to eat healthy, get plenty of rest, do some gentle stretching when you think about it, and generally get tuned up for the Big Event. Gilbert has posted the remaining workouts through Freescale, and he's really taking it easy for us the last two weeks. Next week, we do an easy hour run on Tuesday instead of faster stuff, and then some 800's at marathon race pace on Thursday. Easy 7-12 mile run on next Saturday. Marathon week, we have a modest 3x1000m workout on Monday, at more or less marathon race pace, and then a warmup and some strides on Thursday, and that's about it, except for a couple of 45 minute easy runs. Intellectually, I understand that there's basically nothing I can do to improve my performance at this point, but it's sort of scary to see how little remains between now and February 13th. It's time to stay focused, relaxed, and ready. I'm looking forward to the last pace test on Sunday, the 3M Half Marathon, my last trial run at marathon race pace. Hopefully, it'll feel great, and I can bank some more positive mental images for use in two weeks.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Fartlek Tuneup (10 x 1:00)
It was rainy this morning, temps around 55 (and dropping during the run). A surprisingly large group of Gazelles met for the festivities. We took a longer warmup than usual, somewhere around 2.2 miles. Then drills, and we grouped up for the 10x1:00 fartlek workout. My group was much larger than usual, with Amy, Henry, Jan, Joseph, Jeff (?), Chelsea, and Susan. We took turns leading the fartlek accelerations as we cruised around Auditorium Shores, and had a lot of fun chatting with each other on the recovery bits. My GPS glitched out for some reason, so I have to estimate the individual splits, but we averaged around 8:17/mile on the Fartlek section (about 2.3 miles), including the recovery bits, so we did well there. Afterwards, we did 5 striders to finish off the morning. I felt really good to be out there, and I hope that's a harbinger of things to come. Total day somewhere around 5.5 miles.
It was a fun little workout on a rainy and dreary morning. Saturday is the usual easy 4 miler, perhaps with chanting this time, then a controlled 3M Half Marathon. Gilbert gave some of us a preview of the last two weeks of training, and we get to kick back. Next week, we have the cool ladder workout on Thursday (2x2000, 3x1000, 3x400), something else on Tuesday, and an easy 7-10 miler on Saturday. Marathon week, we have 3x1000m at 10-15 seconds faster than marathon race pace on Tuesday, just to sharpen the spear, so to speak, and then on Thursday, we'll do a 2 mile warmup and about 20 strides. All of a sudden, the marathon is RIGHT HERE!
It was rainy this morning, temps around 55 (and dropping during the run). A surprisingly large group of Gazelles met for the festivities. We took a longer warmup than usual, somewhere around 2.2 miles. Then drills, and we grouped up for the 10x1:00 fartlek workout. My group was much larger than usual, with Amy, Henry, Jan, Joseph, Jeff (?), Chelsea, and Susan. We took turns leading the fartlek accelerations as we cruised around Auditorium Shores, and had a lot of fun chatting with each other on the recovery bits. My GPS glitched out for some reason, so I have to estimate the individual splits, but we averaged around 8:17/mile on the Fartlek section (about 2.3 miles), including the recovery bits, so we did well there. Afterwards, we did 5 striders to finish off the morning. I felt really good to be out there, and I hope that's a harbinger of things to come. Total day somewhere around 5.5 miles.
It was a fun little workout on a rainy and dreary morning. Saturday is the usual easy 4 miler, perhaps with chanting this time, then a controlled 3M Half Marathon. Gilbert gave some of us a preview of the last two weeks of training, and we get to kick back. Next week, we have the cool ladder workout on Thursday (2x2000, 3x1000, 3x400), something else on Tuesday, and an easy 7-10 miler on Saturday. Marathon week, we have 3x1000m at 10-15 seconds faster than marathon race pace on Tuesday, just to sharpen the spear, so to speak, and then on Thursday, we'll do a 2 mile warmup and about 20 strides. All of a sudden, the marathon is RIGHT HERE!
Easy run (Wednesday)
It's Austin, so today, we had temperatures back up to 80 in the afternoon. Go figure. It's been a real weather rollercoaster. At any rate, Wednesday, I did a nice easy mostly trail run, without GPS, and relying on HR to find a pace. It was a happy little 45 minute jaunt. I estimate a little over 4.5 miles. It felt good to let the legs work out any residual soreness from yesterday's 1000m repeat workout. Some stretching afterwards, and I felt really good. The taper continues.
It's Austin, so today, we had temperatures back up to 80 in the afternoon. Go figure. It's been a real weather rollercoaster. At any rate, Wednesday, I did a nice easy mostly trail run, without GPS, and relying on HR to find a pace. It was a happy little 45 minute jaunt. I estimate a little over 4.5 miles. It felt good to let the legs work out any residual soreness from yesterday's 1000m repeat workout. Some stretching afterwards, and I felt really good. The taper continues.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Meriden 1000's
After yesterday's exertions, I was a little concerned about the hilly 1000 m repeats on tap for this morning. The weather was nice, about 45 degrees, and the very short warmup jog from the Lake Austin RunTex up to the site of the repeats was uneventful, although I was slow to loosen up. Drills were fine in the dark, and then it was time to get going.
Gilbert ordered a max of 5 repeats (around .64 miles), but did not give us target times. It's been a long time since I did this workout, but the last time I did, I averaged 5:00 or so, so I figured I'd try to aim at that target. Amy and I took off for the first repeat, trailing after Frank's group of slightly faster people. I was struggling just a little bit on the first repeat, but by the end of it, I was feeling pretty good. It was slightly slow at 5:14, but not too bad. Getting into it, Amy and I knocked off the next 4 repeats in a very nice group of 5:04, 5:04, 5:00 and 4:58. I was really happy to stay so consistent and strong on this challenging course, and I felt strong on the uphills. After that, and a short rest, I knocked out 4 uphill striders for form and then 2 backwards uphill striders. Gilbert said that my form was pretty good on those, which is a change. I worked really hard this morning, but I'm happy with the results of the last hard workout this week until the 3M Half Marathon on Sunday.
Easy run back to RunTex with Jan and Henry, and we were all done. Total workout was 5.4 miles at 8:31 average pace.
After yesterday's exertions, I was a little concerned about the hilly 1000 m repeats on tap for this morning. The weather was nice, about 45 degrees, and the very short warmup jog from the Lake Austin RunTex up to the site of the repeats was uneventful, although I was slow to loosen up. Drills were fine in the dark, and then it was time to get going.
Gilbert ordered a max of 5 repeats (around .64 miles), but did not give us target times. It's been a long time since I did this workout, but the last time I did, I averaged 5:00 or so, so I figured I'd try to aim at that target. Amy and I took off for the first repeat, trailing after Frank's group of slightly faster people. I was struggling just a little bit on the first repeat, but by the end of it, I was feeling pretty good. It was slightly slow at 5:14, but not too bad. Getting into it, Amy and I knocked off the next 4 repeats in a very nice group of 5:04, 5:04, 5:00 and 4:58. I was really happy to stay so consistent and strong on this challenging course, and I felt strong on the uphills. After that, and a short rest, I knocked out 4 uphill striders for form and then 2 backwards uphill striders. Gilbert said that my form was pretty good on those, which is a change. I worked really hard this morning, but I'm happy with the results of the last hard workout this week until the 3M Half Marathon on Sunday.
Easy run back to RunTex with Jan and Henry, and we were all done. Total workout was 5.4 miles at 8:31 average pace.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Last Marathon Pace Run (Posted Tuesday)
Monday, I finally got out there mid-day, on a beautiful clear and cool (and windy) day, for the final pace run. This one was to be 2 miles easy and then 8 miles hard, with the last 2 miles 90% or so. I felt good, so I tried to follow the instructions.
First couple of miles, going counter-clockwise on the Longhorn Dam Loop, went smoothly, at about 9:15 pace. Then, I got going. Next 5 miles all in the 8:25 - 8:35 range. I was a little elevated on HR compared to other runs at this pace, but I felt pretty good. Mile 8 was 8:23, and then I tried to crank it for the last 2 miles as ordered. I ran the finishing stretch of 2 miles without looking at the watches, and ended up surprised that I ran an 8:10 and 8:05 final two. I was working hard at the end, for sure, but it felt good.
The 10 minute super easy cooldown lap of Auditorium Shores was at 10:00 pace, and I was glad to have that as part of the workout.
All in all, a terrific day at the running office. Running alone, it gives me confidence to apply towards Freescale, and I was able to work through some tough mental spots and continue working hard. Good one. Actual pace run was 10.1 miles at 8:28/mile average pace, and with the cooldown, was 11 miles.
Did full stretching routine afterwards.
Monday, I finally got out there mid-day, on a beautiful clear and cool (and windy) day, for the final pace run. This one was to be 2 miles easy and then 8 miles hard, with the last 2 miles 90% or so. I felt good, so I tried to follow the instructions.
First couple of miles, going counter-clockwise on the Longhorn Dam Loop, went smoothly, at about 9:15 pace. Then, I got going. Next 5 miles all in the 8:25 - 8:35 range. I was a little elevated on HR compared to other runs at this pace, but I felt pretty good. Mile 8 was 8:23, and then I tried to crank it for the last 2 miles as ordered. I ran the finishing stretch of 2 miles without looking at the watches, and ended up surprised that I ran an 8:10 and 8:05 final two. I was working hard at the end, for sure, but it felt good.
The 10 minute super easy cooldown lap of Auditorium Shores was at 10:00 pace, and I was glad to have that as part of the workout.
All in all, a terrific day at the running office. Running alone, it gives me confidence to apply towards Freescale, and I was able to work through some tough mental spots and continue working hard. Good one. Actual pace run was 10.1 miles at 8:28/mile average pace, and with the cooldown, was 11 miles.
Did full stretching routine afterwards.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
A Different Kind of Running Day
Today was a full day off from running, but I still spent the entire morning on a really long training run. What? I served as the rolling water/supply wagon for the Galloway program's last long training run for Freescale. It was actually sort of fun to cheer them on as they slogged through the biting cold wind all morning. They ran a course that included the last 15 miles of the Freescale course, plus some other miles to bulk it up to 22 miles plus. At any rate, it felt pretty good to help those folks out that way, on a tough weather day. It was probably colder for me standing around than it was for them while they were running, but they still were very impressive finishing off their last hard workout before Freescale. No matter what training program you're using, you're done with the tough stuff by now, and you can sort of feel that energy around the hike and bike trail. Pretty cool. I registered for Freescale today, too, finally.
Today was a full day off from running, but I still spent the entire morning on a really long training run. What? I served as the rolling water/supply wagon for the Galloway program's last long training run for Freescale. It was actually sort of fun to cheer them on as they slogged through the biting cold wind all morning. They ran a course that included the last 15 miles of the Freescale course, plus some other miles to bulk it up to 22 miles plus. At any rate, it felt pretty good to help those folks out that way, on a tough weather day. It was probably colder for me standing around than it was for them while they were running, but they still were very impressive finishing off their last hard workout before Freescale. No matter what training program you're using, you're done with the tough stuff by now, and you can sort of feel that energy around the hike and bike trail. Pretty cool. I registered for Freescale today, too, finally.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Weekly stats (1/17-1/23):
4 runs, 33.8 miles. Good medium-long run Saturday, two comfortable recovery runs after Buda, and a neat interval ladder workout. Mostly a recovery week after the 30k race. After some grumpiness early in the week, I'm looking forward to the last 3 weeks of training for Freescale. Just a couple of tough workouts left, and bunch of casual runs. Next week is a little challenging, with a hard marathon pace run on Monday, the always fun 1000m hilly repeats at Meriden on Tuesday, fartlek tuneup on Thursday, easy run on Wednesday, easy 3 or 4 miler on Saturday with stretching, and 3M Half Marathon on Sunday (no faster than marathon race pace). After next week, we're really done with anything tough until the marathon. 3M is the last thing approaching a marathon race pace run, two weeks out. It's getting closer and closer...
4 runs, 33.8 miles. Good medium-long run Saturday, two comfortable recovery runs after Buda, and a neat interval ladder workout. Mostly a recovery week after the 30k race. After some grumpiness early in the week, I'm looking forward to the last 3 weeks of training for Freescale. Just a couple of tough workouts left, and bunch of casual runs. Next week is a little challenging, with a hard marathon pace run on Monday, the always fun 1000m hilly repeats at Meriden on Tuesday, fartlek tuneup on Thursday, easy run on Wednesday, easy 3 or 4 miler on Saturday with stretching, and 3M Half Marathon on Sunday (no faster than marathon race pace). After next week, we're really done with anything tough until the marathon. 3M is the last thing approaching a marathon race pace run, two weeks out. It's getting closer and closer...
Tour of the 3M Course (and more)
This morning, we gathered and carpooled up to the start of the 3M Half Marathon course for our last lengthy run before Freescale. A sizeable group assembled, and we got started more or less right on time at 6:00 am. After the faster people eventually sped up and pulled away from us, we were left with Jan, Tracy, Henry and myself in my pace group. We passed the first mile mark, and Henry and Tracy had to make a stop and told us to go on. Jan kept on running, caught up with the faster people, and after I stayed behind to make sure Henry knew where the course was, I took off in pursuit of Jan. Our first mile plus was at about 9:55 pace, standard for the first mile of a long run. My next couple of miles were 8:03 and 9:10 as I ran down Jan during mile 3. We were both a little winded after running with faster people or, in my case, chasing down my partner. Mile 4 was mostly downhill, and we clicked off a 9:03 for that one as we chatted about a wide range of topics and caught our breath. We reached the first water stop after another mile or so at 9:30 pace. We talked with Frank and some of his group there at the stop, but they moved on ahead of us. We only stopped for about a minute and a half, and then continued our run. We wound our way through a neighborhood, and then popped out on busy Burnett street for a long straight shot. This section featured a few uphill stretches, and for the next 4 miles or so, we clicked along at about 9:35-9:45 pace, relaxing into the run. At the second water stop, we saw Frank, Margaret and Liliana, and after our own 2 minute GU and Powerade stop, we were off ourselves. Some hilly sections were ahead, but they were mild uphills. Next two miles were 9:35 and 9:33, and then we picked it up a bit for the last few miles. We passed the turnoff for the 3M Half, and continued on straight to get back to RunTex in time for the stretching session. 9:01, 9:31, and a last tour of Auditorium Shores for a short stretch at 8:30 pace.
All in all, 13.86 miles at 9:21/mile pace. My HR numbers were back to normal range for this sort of effort, so I think last weekend's cold has finally left me. I was very happy about this one in many ways. First, I was glad to have been able to recover pretty quickly in the run after the high speed section spent chasing Jan down after I stopped to give directions to Henry. Second, we were able to do the run with minimal stops, so the run was a better training test. Third, we clicked off a bunch of miles at marathon race pace or thereabouts. Last, we finished the run feeling pretty fresh, and that was the idea. Gilbert did not ask us to push the last few miles of the run today, and that was a nice change as we slowly start tapering for Freescale.
The stretching session was lots of fun. Gilbert had to leave early to teach a class at Gold's Gym, and I was left in charge of the stretching. There was a lot of groaning in some of the stretches, of course, and for some reason, that gave us all a case of the giggles. I think everyone is excited to be rolling toward Freescale, with most of the hard work behind us, and that showed in everyone's faces this morning.
This morning, we gathered and carpooled up to the start of the 3M Half Marathon course for our last lengthy run before Freescale. A sizeable group assembled, and we got started more or less right on time at 6:00 am. After the faster people eventually sped up and pulled away from us, we were left with Jan, Tracy, Henry and myself in my pace group. We passed the first mile mark, and Henry and Tracy had to make a stop and told us to go on. Jan kept on running, caught up with the faster people, and after I stayed behind to make sure Henry knew where the course was, I took off in pursuit of Jan. Our first mile plus was at about 9:55 pace, standard for the first mile of a long run. My next couple of miles were 8:03 and 9:10 as I ran down Jan during mile 3. We were both a little winded after running with faster people or, in my case, chasing down my partner. Mile 4 was mostly downhill, and we clicked off a 9:03 for that one as we chatted about a wide range of topics and caught our breath. We reached the first water stop after another mile or so at 9:30 pace. We talked with Frank and some of his group there at the stop, but they moved on ahead of us. We only stopped for about a minute and a half, and then continued our run. We wound our way through a neighborhood, and then popped out on busy Burnett street for a long straight shot. This section featured a few uphill stretches, and for the next 4 miles or so, we clicked along at about 9:35-9:45 pace, relaxing into the run. At the second water stop, we saw Frank, Margaret and Liliana, and after our own 2 minute GU and Powerade stop, we were off ourselves. Some hilly sections were ahead, but they were mild uphills. Next two miles were 9:35 and 9:33, and then we picked it up a bit for the last few miles. We passed the turnoff for the 3M Half, and continued on straight to get back to RunTex in time for the stretching session. 9:01, 9:31, and a last tour of Auditorium Shores for a short stretch at 8:30 pace.
All in all, 13.86 miles at 9:21/mile pace. My HR numbers were back to normal range for this sort of effort, so I think last weekend's cold has finally left me. I was very happy about this one in many ways. First, I was glad to have been able to recover pretty quickly in the run after the high speed section spent chasing Jan down after I stopped to give directions to Henry. Second, we were able to do the run with minimal stops, so the run was a better training test. Third, we clicked off a bunch of miles at marathon race pace or thereabouts. Last, we finished the run feeling pretty fresh, and that was the idea. Gilbert did not ask us to push the last few miles of the run today, and that was a nice change as we slowly start tapering for Freescale.
The stretching session was lots of fun. Gilbert had to leave early to teach a class at Gold's Gym, and I was left in charge of the stretching. There was a lot of groaning in some of the stretches, of course, and for some reason, that gave us all a case of the giggles. I think everyone is excited to be rolling toward Freescale, with most of the hard work behind us, and that showed in everyone's faces this morning.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Interesting Interval Workout
Today, on a gray and humid, chilly (49 degrees) morning, we gathered at RunTex and then cruised over to the Austin High track for a reverse ladder interval workout. For marathoners, the workout was 2 x 2000m, basically at the pace we ran them a couple of weeks ago, with a full 400m walk recovery between, 3 x 1000m (same pace as the 2000's, with shorter rest between each repeat of 200m jog/walk), and then 3 x 400m (quicker pace by about 2-3 seconds over 1000's, 1:00 jog/walk rest between). Non-marathoners got to cut one 2000m repeat.
My pace group started with 6 people, but by the second 2000m interval, it was just Amy and me. Our first 2000 was a bit slow (Gilbert had prescribed 9:10 pace for my group), at 9:35, and then I picked it up considerably on the second interval, to 9:03. Amy stayed with me for the first 1000, which we knocked out at a perfect 4:35. Then, she had to leave to get to work. So, for the rest of the workout, I was on my own as a pacer. Next two 1000's were at 4:40 and 4:29. Then, the 400's were 1:40, 1:43, 1:38, and I was done. This was a long long workout, but after a subpar race last Sunday, I felt really good during this workout, and that boosted my spirits and helped me remember that my conditioning and speed is actually pretty good.
I waited after I was done for Henry and Jan to finish their workout, and we ran back to RunTex, swapping stories and making plans for Saturday's 15 mile long run.
We hung out for a while and stretched, and then scattered to get on with our Thursdays. For the day, the 5.1 miles of intervals were at an average of 7:20/mile, pretty good. The full day was something like 8.8 miles at 8:19/mile average pace. A solid day's work on the track. Saturday, we'll cruise the 3M Half Marathon course, and then go from the finish area of that race to RunTex, for a 15 mile (more or less) day.
Today, on a gray and humid, chilly (49 degrees) morning, we gathered at RunTex and then cruised over to the Austin High track for a reverse ladder interval workout. For marathoners, the workout was 2 x 2000m, basically at the pace we ran them a couple of weeks ago, with a full 400m walk recovery between, 3 x 1000m (same pace as the 2000's, with shorter rest between each repeat of 200m jog/walk), and then 3 x 400m (quicker pace by about 2-3 seconds over 1000's, 1:00 jog/walk rest between). Non-marathoners got to cut one 2000m repeat.
My pace group started with 6 people, but by the second 2000m interval, it was just Amy and me. Our first 2000 was a bit slow (Gilbert had prescribed 9:10 pace for my group), at 9:35, and then I picked it up considerably on the second interval, to 9:03. Amy stayed with me for the first 1000, which we knocked out at a perfect 4:35. Then, she had to leave to get to work. So, for the rest of the workout, I was on my own as a pacer. Next two 1000's were at 4:40 and 4:29. Then, the 400's were 1:40, 1:43, 1:38, and I was done. This was a long long workout, but after a subpar race last Sunday, I felt really good during this workout, and that boosted my spirits and helped me remember that my conditioning and speed is actually pretty good.
I waited after I was done for Henry and Jan to finish their workout, and we ran back to RunTex, swapping stories and making plans for Saturday's 15 mile long run.
We hung out for a while and stretched, and then scattered to get on with our Thursdays. For the day, the 5.1 miles of intervals were at an average of 7:20/mile, pretty good. The full day was something like 8.8 miles at 8:19/mile average pace. A solid day's work on the track. Saturday, we'll cruise the 3M Half Marathon course, and then go from the finish area of that race to RunTex, for a 15 mile (more or less) day.
Wednesday Easy Run
Just didn't get around to posting this one yesterday. A nice 45 minute, easy run mostly on the trails in the nature preserve area behind my neighborhood. About 4.7 miles. Just a nice, comfortable run as the legs continued to recover from the 30k.
Weekly stats (1/10-1/16):
5 runs, 42.4 miles. A not-so-good 30k race, two good easy runs, a fartlek run that was fun, and a relaxed set of 6x800m. For an early start to the Freescale taper, it wasn't bad. For a race week, it wasn't what I had hoped. So, the 30k is now basically another long training run in my book instead of some sort of signpost time trial. I can move on from that.
Just didn't get around to posting this one yesterday. A nice 45 minute, easy run mostly on the trails in the nature preserve area behind my neighborhood. About 4.7 miles. Just a nice, comfortable run as the legs continued to recover from the 30k.
Weekly stats (1/10-1/16):
5 runs, 42.4 miles. A not-so-good 30k race, two good easy runs, a fartlek run that was fun, and a relaxed set of 6x800m. For an early start to the Freescale taper, it wasn't bad. For a race week, it wasn't what I had hoped. So, the 30k is now basically another long training run in my book instead of some sort of signpost time trial. I can move on from that.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Nice and Easy Hour
This morning, Gilbert sent those of us who did the 30k off to do a one hour easy run, followed by some strides to loosen up our tired legs. I set out with Alex, Frank, Liliana and a couple of other folks. They went a little further than I did, because I cut the run slightly short and did some laps around Auditorium Shores for 6.1 miles (they did 7). Average pace a smooth 9:16/mile, and my HR stuff was getting back to normal, so this was a nice little run for me. I had some stiffness early in the run, but everything smoothed out by the end of the run, and the strides felt pretty good as well. I did 6 striders when I was finished. Altogether, a nice morning, even though it was overcast and in the 40's.
Gilbert talked to me for a while about Sunday's race (he was concerned about me), and it was good to hear his encouraging words. He told me what many friends have said, that whatever the reason that I fell apart at Buda, I've done too well in the training so far and in the other Challenge races to give up. He still believes that I'll do well at Freescale, and wants me to stay positive about things. I appreciated him taking the time to seek me out this morning, and once again, I realize how lucky I am to have Gilbert as a coach.
This morning, Gilbert sent those of us who did the 30k off to do a one hour easy run, followed by some strides to loosen up our tired legs. I set out with Alex, Frank, Liliana and a couple of other folks. They went a little further than I did, because I cut the run slightly short and did some laps around Auditorium Shores for 6.1 miles (they did 7). Average pace a smooth 9:16/mile, and my HR stuff was getting back to normal, so this was a nice little run for me. I had some stiffness early in the run, but everything smoothed out by the end of the run, and the strides felt pretty good as well. I did 6 striders when I was finished. Altogether, a nice morning, even though it was overcast and in the 40's.
Gilbert talked to me for a while about Sunday's race (he was concerned about me), and it was good to hear his encouraging words. He told me what many friends have said, that whatever the reason that I fell apart at Buda, I've done too well in the training so far and in the other Challenge races to give up. He still believes that I'll do well at Freescale, and wants me to stay positive about things. I appreciated him taking the time to seek me out this morning, and once again, I realize how lucky I am to have Gilbert as a coach.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Buda 30k Race Report (A day late and several minutes short)
I've been moping around a little bit, and so this race report is a day late. On a day at Buda when seemingly everyone I knew had a PR race, some by astounding amounts of time, I had my first really bad race in a long time. I guess it was due to the cold that I had, which knocked me down by just enough to make a 30k race too tough to handle. Anyway, here's the story:
The weather was crisp, cold, sunny, and windy. A strong wind from the North blew from 5-15 mph throughout the race, and the temperature started around 35 degrees and warmed to perhaps low 40's by the end of the race. The wind chill was whatever it was, but the wind was in our faces for most of the first 11 miles of the race, which made things interesting. I went with long pants, after much thought, and wore a long-sleeved and short-sleeved running shirt. I also had my throwaway tyvek jacket over that as a windbreaker.
Gilbert met us before the race, and we did a 1.3 mile warmup jog together and then the usual drills to limber up. A brief stretching session later, we were ready to run. Gilbert showed us the bathroom of choice for this race, on the other side of the stadium from the main restrooms, so we were able to use the facilities with no wait at all. Very nice to know.
I eased into line about 10 minutes before race time, and stood by Gene Woodruff, my 73 year old running friend. We have been running about the same times this year, so he's usually a good guy to keep an eye on in these races. National anthem was a three-part deal from Hays High School girls, not too bad a job, either. After a few (too many) words from Governor Perry, the horn was sounded, and we were off. My plan was to go out and run to a HR number in my aerobic zone for at least the first 13 miles, and then push the last 5.5 miles for a strong finish.
We looped the track at the football stadium, and headed out into the wind. First miles were uneventful. I felt pretty good, in control, and my breathing seemed just fine. It was like a slightly faster paced long training run. My splits were a little faster than I had planned, but I kept trying to ease back on the throttle as I went. I got away from Gene early, but he went by me again at the 10k mark, where I had stopped to walk briefly and take my first Enervitene (GU stuff) with water. He joked that if I kept walking like that, "an old man might beat [me]." I appreciated his humor, and eased up the steep little hill from that spot to catch up with him at the end of mile 7 (just past the cemetery). My overall pace at mile 7 was a nice 8:56/mile, right on schedule. However, my average HR was about 10 bpm higher than I expected, based on past runs at this pace. Something wasn't quite right. I kept an eye on it, and tried to ease my pace back until the HR was where I thought it should be.
Miles 8 and 9 were basically a straight shot down the highway, and during this stretch, I saw the leaders coming back the other way. I didn't see Gilbert, so I had to assume he had suffered an injury, or maybe he just couldn't take the cold weather. He has real problems in big cold weather, since his body fat is about 1% (exaggerated to make a point). I was hearing the song "Wind Cries Mary" by Jimi Hendrix on my mental radio station (no, I don't actually hear voices). Anyway, Gene and I were cruising together through here, and my mile times kept drifting slower (both at about 9:15), while my HR wasn't settling down at all. I just felt unsettled, but kept pressing on. 15k split was 1:23:57, which was still right in the pocket for my various goals.
Miles 10 and 11 went through a neighborhood, and down to the bottom of the course. At the mile 10 water stop, I took a short walk again to drink water and do another Enervitene. Gene pulled away from me for good during mile 11, after I caught him briefly. It was like I was running in Jello, and I just couldn't get going strong again. Even with a significant downhill in mile 11, I had slowed to a 9:33 split there. At mile 11, my overall pace had slowed to 9:04/mile, still salvageable if I could get my body in the groove. My HR was still high, and although my breathing wasn't too stressed, I could tell that I just wasn't all there.
We turned back towards the finish, and the wind was finally at our backs. I stashed my tyvek jacket in my small pack, and eased up the long uphill stretch out of the neighborhood. I tried to run comfortably, but by now I was being passed by all sorts of people, and I had nothing to respond with. I would try to hang onto people as they went by, but that wouldn't last for more than a few steps. It was terribly frustrating to me, to know that for all practical purposes, I wasn't going to be able to achieve my highest goals for the day. Still, I had 7 miles to go, and no way to get there other than my two feet. I soldiered on.
After getting up mile 12's continuous ascent, I hung on for mile 13, and saw a lot of people at the 9 mile mark there, so I knew I was still ahead of a lot of people. That was a small comfort. I got by the policeman directing traffic at the corner before the 13 mile mark, and then, just after the mile marker, I broke mentally. My splits for mile 12 and 13 were 9:38 and 10:36, and that was just a crushing blow. I knew that any of my goals were out of reach, and nothing was improving. I haven't had a bad spot like this in a long while, and that made it even more devastating when it happened Sunday. Broken, I walked a hundred yards or so, and then shuffled forward to cross the highway again, to get on the proper side of the road for the long finishing leg. The wind was at our backs, but there was still a long way to go. I alternated jogging with walking, trying to find a rhythm.
Miles 14 through 16 were the worst of the day. Why? Because during that stretch, all the people that I knew in the race (all those that weren't obviously way faster than me) passed me as I trudged along the highway, uphill all the way, it seemed. The Governor went by, and I knew I had finished ahead of him in all the previous races. I must have become invisible as I slowed to a crawl, because none of them noticed me (and truthfully, I was too embarrassed to call their names as they went by). Jan, one of my long run training buddies, did notice me, and I encouraged her to finish strong. By the end of this stretch, I knew that I was going to be the slowest Gazelle in the race, and that was painful to know. I jogged the downhill bits and walked most of the uphill bits, and mainly was just trying to get done. These miles were all between 11:00 and 12:00/mile (I'm a fast walker).
When we made the final turn for the last 1.64 miles, I was happy to see the mile marker. My splits were terrible by now, but time was the least of my concerns. I kept going back and forth with a guy, both of us struggling. We would talk a bit, and then one of us would get moving better, and then he would slow, and it would be my turn, etc. It gave me something to focus on, at least. I ended up passing him in the last stretch, at least.
Finally, the stadium loomed ahead, and I slid by the mile 18 marker. I resolved to run the entire finishing bit, and at the marker, moved into a survival shuffle. Gritting my teeth, I moved at my slightly faster pace, and made the last two corners, turning onto the track, probably 15 minutes behind my goal time. I passed a few people, grimly, as I cruised around that last 300 yards, and finished in just over 3:05. Average pace 9:58/mile, a full minute per mile more than I had anticipated. When Gilbert encouraged me at the last turn to "butt kick!," I gamely tried to comply, but it was almost comical at that point, given the day I had endured. My finishing "kick," such as it was, was 10:00 pace for the last .64 miles. Not great, but a 2 minute improvement over the mile before.
My thoughts as I crossed the line were of embarrassment, and I almost wanted to slink out of the stadium without seeing any of my fellow Gazelles. I chugged down a Powerade, and got my finisher's shirt (a nice technical running shirt, by the way). Resigned, I went back inside the infield of the track, and found Frank, Alex, Sean, Peter and a host of my running buddies. I sheepishly told them I had a terrible race, and they commiserated with me for a bit. Then, I asked them how they had done, and all I heard was "PR," "Second in Age Group," "Top 200," "Top 100," "First Place Masters," and so on and on. I was really happy for them, truthfully, but I had an almost impossible job of getting rid of my own swirling negative thoughts. I left them for a bit, and went to the car to put on a bunch of dry and warm clothes, since I was chilling down really quickly after the race. I bundled up, drank my Endurox, and went back to the infield for some more post-run chatting and some stretching.
By the time we had decided to leave, about an hour after I had finished, I felt a little better, and I've decided that the nagging cold that blossomed in the last day or two must have impacted me more than I would have expected. Plus, maybe I was just beaten down more from the training than I knew. Or, perhaps I went out too hard early, and that sapped me too much. Whatever the reason, this was the first Challenge race that really didn't fit the profile of a 4:00:00 marathon finisher (well, except for Pervasive, where it was really hot). I need to get my head together in the next 4 weeks, do a proper job of tapering and resting, and run Freescale in a smart and confident fashion.
Gilbert gave us Monday off, and also has told us that we can take Tuesday to do an easy one hour run instead of the 900m repeats scheduled. I will take him up on that option tomorrow morning, then the usual easy run on Wednesday, and I'll be ready for the interesting interval workout on Thursday.
My short term goals are to shake this cold, which seems to have largely left me today (go figure), to recover from Buda, and to run the 3M Half Marathon in two weeks as a true marathon paced training run, sort of long pace run. 3M should be comfortable at that pace, so much so that I feel like running more after it's finished. If I can do that, I'll be ready for Freescale two weeks after that. My Freescale goals are still reachable, since all the hard work up to now hasn't just gone away. I just need to get positive again for that effort.
I've been moping around a little bit, and so this race report is a day late. On a day at Buda when seemingly everyone I knew had a PR race, some by astounding amounts of time, I had my first really bad race in a long time. I guess it was due to the cold that I had, which knocked me down by just enough to make a 30k race too tough to handle. Anyway, here's the story:
The weather was crisp, cold, sunny, and windy. A strong wind from the North blew from 5-15 mph throughout the race, and the temperature started around 35 degrees and warmed to perhaps low 40's by the end of the race. The wind chill was whatever it was, but the wind was in our faces for most of the first 11 miles of the race, which made things interesting. I went with long pants, after much thought, and wore a long-sleeved and short-sleeved running shirt. I also had my throwaway tyvek jacket over that as a windbreaker.
Gilbert met us before the race, and we did a 1.3 mile warmup jog together and then the usual drills to limber up. A brief stretching session later, we were ready to run. Gilbert showed us the bathroom of choice for this race, on the other side of the stadium from the main restrooms, so we were able to use the facilities with no wait at all. Very nice to know.
I eased into line about 10 minutes before race time, and stood by Gene Woodruff, my 73 year old running friend. We have been running about the same times this year, so he's usually a good guy to keep an eye on in these races. National anthem was a three-part deal from Hays High School girls, not too bad a job, either. After a few (too many) words from Governor Perry, the horn was sounded, and we were off. My plan was to go out and run to a HR number in my aerobic zone for at least the first 13 miles, and then push the last 5.5 miles for a strong finish.
We looped the track at the football stadium, and headed out into the wind. First miles were uneventful. I felt pretty good, in control, and my breathing seemed just fine. It was like a slightly faster paced long training run. My splits were a little faster than I had planned, but I kept trying to ease back on the throttle as I went. I got away from Gene early, but he went by me again at the 10k mark, where I had stopped to walk briefly and take my first Enervitene (GU stuff) with water. He joked that if I kept walking like that, "an old man might beat [me]." I appreciated his humor, and eased up the steep little hill from that spot to catch up with him at the end of mile 7 (just past the cemetery). My overall pace at mile 7 was a nice 8:56/mile, right on schedule. However, my average HR was about 10 bpm higher than I expected, based on past runs at this pace. Something wasn't quite right. I kept an eye on it, and tried to ease my pace back until the HR was where I thought it should be.
Miles 8 and 9 were basically a straight shot down the highway, and during this stretch, I saw the leaders coming back the other way. I didn't see Gilbert, so I had to assume he had suffered an injury, or maybe he just couldn't take the cold weather. He has real problems in big cold weather, since his body fat is about 1% (exaggerated to make a point). I was hearing the song "Wind Cries Mary" by Jimi Hendrix on my mental radio station (no, I don't actually hear voices
Miles 10 and 11 went through a neighborhood, and down to the bottom of the course. At the mile 10 water stop, I took a short walk again to drink water and do another Enervitene. Gene pulled away from me for good during mile 11, after I caught him briefly. It was like I was running in Jello, and I just couldn't get going strong again. Even with a significant downhill in mile 11, I had slowed to a 9:33 split there. At mile 11, my overall pace had slowed to 9:04/mile, still salvageable if I could get my body in the groove. My HR was still high, and although my breathing wasn't too stressed, I could tell that I just wasn't all there.
We turned back towards the finish, and the wind was finally at our backs. I stashed my tyvek jacket in my small pack, and eased up the long uphill stretch out of the neighborhood. I tried to run comfortably, but by now I was being passed by all sorts of people, and I had nothing to respond with. I would try to hang onto people as they went by, but that wouldn't last for more than a few steps. It was terribly frustrating to me, to know that for all practical purposes, I wasn't going to be able to achieve my highest goals for the day. Still, I had 7 miles to go, and no way to get there other than my two feet. I soldiered on.
After getting up mile 12's continuous ascent, I hung on for mile 13, and saw a lot of people at the 9 mile mark there, so I knew I was still ahead of a lot of people. That was a small comfort. I got by the policeman directing traffic at the corner before the 13 mile mark, and then, just after the mile marker, I broke mentally. My splits for mile 12 and 13 were 9:38 and 10:36, and that was just a crushing blow. I knew that any of my goals were out of reach, and nothing was improving. I haven't had a bad spot like this in a long while, and that made it even more devastating when it happened Sunday. Broken, I walked a hundred yards or so, and then shuffled forward to cross the highway again, to get on the proper side of the road for the long finishing leg. The wind was at our backs, but there was still a long way to go. I alternated jogging with walking, trying to find a rhythm.
Miles 14 through 16 were the worst of the day. Why? Because during that stretch, all the people that I knew in the race (all those that weren't obviously way faster than me) passed me as I trudged along the highway, uphill all the way, it seemed. The Governor went by, and I knew I had finished ahead of him in all the previous races. I must have become invisible as I slowed to a crawl, because none of them noticed me (and truthfully, I was too embarrassed to call their names as they went by). Jan, one of my long run training buddies, did notice me, and I encouraged her to finish strong. By the end of this stretch, I knew that I was going to be the slowest Gazelle in the race, and that was painful to know. I jogged the downhill bits and walked most of the uphill bits, and mainly was just trying to get done. These miles were all between 11:00 and 12:00/mile (I'm a fast walker
When we made the final turn for the last 1.64 miles, I was happy to see the mile marker. My splits were terrible by now, but time was the least of my concerns. I kept going back and forth with a guy, both of us struggling. We would talk a bit, and then one of us would get moving better, and then he would slow, and it would be my turn, etc. It gave me something to focus on, at least. I ended up passing him in the last stretch, at least.
Finally, the stadium loomed ahead, and I slid by the mile 18 marker. I resolved to run the entire finishing bit, and at the marker, moved into a survival shuffle. Gritting my teeth, I moved at my slightly faster pace, and made the last two corners, turning onto the track, probably 15 minutes behind my goal time. I passed a few people, grimly, as I cruised around that last 300 yards, and finished in just over 3:05. Average pace 9:58/mile, a full minute per mile more than I had anticipated. When Gilbert encouraged me at the last turn to "butt kick!," I gamely tried to comply, but it was almost comical at that point, given the day I had endured. My finishing "kick," such as it was, was 10:00 pace for the last .64 miles. Not great, but a 2 minute improvement over the mile before.
My thoughts as I crossed the line were of embarrassment, and I almost wanted to slink out of the stadium without seeing any of my fellow Gazelles. I chugged down a Powerade, and got my finisher's shirt (a nice technical running shirt, by the way). Resigned, I went back inside the infield of the track, and found Frank, Alex, Sean, Peter and a host of my running buddies. I sheepishly told them I had a terrible race, and they commiserated with me for a bit. Then, I asked them how they had done, and all I heard was "PR," "Second in Age Group," "Top 200," "Top 100," "First Place Masters," and so on and on. I was really happy for them, truthfully, but I had an almost impossible job of getting rid of my own swirling negative thoughts. I left them for a bit, and went to the car to put on a bunch of dry and warm clothes, since I was chilling down really quickly after the race. I bundled up, drank my Endurox, and went back to the infield for some more post-run chatting and some stretching.
By the time we had decided to leave, about an hour after I had finished, I felt a little better, and I've decided that the nagging cold that blossomed in the last day or two must have impacted me more than I would have expected. Plus, maybe I was just beaten down more from the training than I knew. Or, perhaps I went out too hard early, and that sapped me too much. Whatever the reason, this was the first Challenge race that really didn't fit the profile of a 4:00:00 marathon finisher (well, except for Pervasive, where it was really hot). I need to get my head together in the next 4 weeks, do a proper job of tapering and resting, and run Freescale in a smart and confident fashion.
Gilbert gave us Monday off, and also has told us that we can take Tuesday to do an easy one hour run instead of the 900m repeats scheduled. I will take him up on that option tomorrow morning, then the usual easy run on Wednesday, and I'll be ready for the interesting interval workout on Thursday.
My short term goals are to shake this cold, which seems to have largely left me today (go figure), to recover from Buda, and to run the 3M Half Marathon in two weeks as a true marathon paced training run, sort of long pace run. 3M should be comfortable at that pace, so much so that I feel like running more after it's finished. If I can do that, I'll be ready for Freescale two weeks after that. My Freescale goals are still reachable, since all the hard work up to now hasn't just gone away. I just need to get positive again for that effort.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Buda 30K Race Goals
It's always a scary moment when you sit down to figure out your race plan for an event. You check out your recent races, your training, the weather forecast, your horoscope, and combine all that information to come up with a set of goals for Race Day. I used the various run pace calculators, crunched the numbers from the previous Distance Challenge races, and I've arrived at these goals for tomorrow's 30k race:
I'll treat the rest of the day as I will before Freescale, hydrating, and eating what I plan on eating before the marathon. It's an exciting thing to have this race before me, and now I just have to execute the plan.
It's always a scary moment when you sit down to figure out your race plan for an event. You check out your recent races, your training, the weather forecast, your horoscope, and combine all that information to come up with a set of goals for Race Day. I used the various run pace calculators, crunched the numbers from the previous Distance Challenge races, and I've arrived at these goals for tomorrow's 30k race:
- Minimum Goal: Course PR and overall PR of 2:51:12 (9:11 pace). I've done long training runs at this pace, so I'm pretty sure this should be comfortable.
- Realistic Goal: 2:46:37 (8:57 pace). This is the pace that matches my Freescale goal of 3:59:59, since the 30k is shorter. I feel good about this goal. As long as I don't go crazy early in the race, I should have plenty left to push to the finish for this one.
- Dream Goal: 2:45:00 (8:52 pace). This is a nice round number barrier, and this pace matches my best races in the Distance Challenge previously on the various charts. This would be an aggressive race, but maybe I'll be surprised tomorrow.
I'll treat the rest of the day as I will before Freescale, hydrating, and eating what I plan on eating before the marathon. It's an exciting thing to have this race before me, and now I just have to execute the plan.
Casual Tuneup and Stretching
This morning, I got to sleep in and we started our nice and easy pre-stretching run at 8:00 am. I was sporting my newest pair of Mizuno Creations (pair #10) for their second run, as I use the shorter runs to slowly break in new shoes. I'll keep rotating the new pair and pair #9 (currently 220 miles), wearing the older shoes on longer runs, until I get the new ones to about 50-70 miles, at which point they'll become the long run shoes and the older shoes become the "off day" pair. I think Pair #10 will be the Freescale shoes, based on current mileage consumption, but we'll see.
Anyway, it was a little colder than on Thursday, but the wind was thankfully not as big a deal. Since it was so sunny, by the end of the run, I was nice and warm. Maybe too warm for racing. After today's test, I think it might be a day for shorts and a couple of shirts tomorrow.
Nice and easy 4.2 miles, average pace around 10:00/mile, as we took it very comfortably on the trail. We finished the day off with a handful of striders. The stretching session went very well, and I didn't find any new aches or pains to deal with, so things are looking up for Sunday. Gilbert talked about race strategy for a good while, encouraging us to hold something in reserve for the last 5 miles.
After picking up my race number for tomorrow at RunTex, I couldn't resist a pair of crazy camouflage running shorts that were on sale. I chatted a while with Tracy and Sean about tomorrow and our respective goals, and then I headed home. It should be quite a day tomorrow!
This morning, I got to sleep in and we started our nice and easy pre-stretching run at 8:00 am. I was sporting my newest pair of Mizuno Creations (pair #10) for their second run, as I use the shorter runs to slowly break in new shoes. I'll keep rotating the new pair and pair #9 (currently 220 miles), wearing the older shoes on longer runs, until I get the new ones to about 50-70 miles, at which point they'll become the long run shoes and the older shoes become the "off day" pair. I think Pair #10 will be the Freescale shoes, based on current mileage consumption, but we'll see.
Anyway, it was a little colder than on Thursday, but the wind was thankfully not as big a deal. Since it was so sunny, by the end of the run, I was nice and warm. Maybe too warm for racing. After today's test, I think it might be a day for shorts and a couple of shirts tomorrow.
Nice and easy 4.2 miles, average pace around 10:00/mile, as we took it very comfortably on the trail. We finished the day off with a handful of striders. The stretching session went very well, and I didn't find any new aches or pains to deal with, so things are looking up for Sunday. Gilbert talked about race strategy for a good while, encouraging us to hold something in reserve for the last 5 miles.
After picking up my race number for tomorrow at RunTex, I couldn't resist a pair of crazy camouflage running shorts that were on sale. I chatted a while with Tracy and Sean about tomorrow and our respective goals, and then I headed home. It should be quite a day tomorrow!
Friday, January 14, 2005
Course Reconnaissance
Today was a full off day. Legs felt great, but I'm still suffering a bit from a mild cedar pollen allergy (I think that's what it is). Some minor throat irritation and some sneezing, but nothing more than that. I spent today eating and drinking as I plan to do in February for Freescale (full out marathon dress rehearsal), and took a drive of the Buda 30k course.
The course isn't as fearsome as I remembered, but there's certainly a degree of difficulty to it due to its length and the rolling hills. There's a lot of spots in the last 5-7 miles where there's extended inclines, some milder than others, but a steady climbing profile heading back to the stadium for the big finish. I noted the places where I can recover a bit from the climbing spots, and eagle-eyed the mile marker locations (spray painted on the roadside) for future reference on Sunday. The course is pretty generous to about the 6 mile mark, with just a couple of uphill bumps, and then you climb out of the lowest spot on the course over a nasty little 3 part climb past a cemetery. After the mile 7 mark, we get a pretty mild section to around the 10 mile mark, followed by a downhill section to the most distant spot on the course. After that (around mile 11), we climb for a mile out of a neighborhood (multi-part climb), and then the course flattens to about 13.5 miles. After that, it's a series of uphill bits alternating with flats and a very few downhill bits. The biggest hills are between the mile 16 and 17 markers, a double decker hill with a short downhill spot in between. Then, you turn for home on a rolling mile 18. The last 3/4 of a mile is pretty much dead flat, so if we have anything left by then, it'll be a good stretch to pick it up.
It was a trip to get down to Buda and do the course drive, but knowing where the recovery opportunities are will help on Sunday. The weather looks to be almost perfect, between mid-30's to mid-40's, moderate wind out of the north (which would be at our backs for the final stretch). Race goals will be published tomorrow, but I'm confident of a PR at least.
Today was a full off day. Legs felt great, but I'm still suffering a bit from a mild cedar pollen allergy (I think that's what it is). Some minor throat irritation and some sneezing, but nothing more than that. I spent today eating and drinking as I plan to do in February for Freescale (full out marathon dress rehearsal), and took a drive of the Buda 30k course.
The course isn't as fearsome as I remembered, but there's certainly a degree of difficulty to it due to its length and the rolling hills. There's a lot of spots in the last 5-7 miles where there's extended inclines, some milder than others, but a steady climbing profile heading back to the stadium for the big finish. I noted the places where I can recover a bit from the climbing spots, and eagle-eyed the mile marker locations (spray painted on the roadside) for future reference on Sunday. The course is pretty generous to about the 6 mile mark, with just a couple of uphill bumps, and then you climb out of the lowest spot on the course over a nasty little 3 part climb past a cemetery. After the mile 7 mark, we get a pretty mild section to around the 10 mile mark, followed by a downhill section to the most distant spot on the course. After that (around mile 11), we climb for a mile out of a neighborhood (multi-part climb), and then the course flattens to about 13.5 miles. After that, it's a series of uphill bits alternating with flats and a very few downhill bits. The biggest hills are between the mile 16 and 17 markers, a double decker hill with a short downhill spot in between. Then, you turn for home on a rolling mile 18. The last 3/4 of a mile is pretty much dead flat, so if we have anything left by then, it'll be a good stretch to pick it up.
It was a trip to get down to Buda and do the course drive, but knowing where the recovery opportunities are will help on Sunday. The weather looks to be almost perfect, between mid-30's to mid-40's, moderate wind out of the north (which would be at our backs for the final stretch). Race goals will be published tomorrow, but I'm confident of a PR at least.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Fartleks and Tapering
For the first time in my memory, Gilbert is really cutting us back this week before the Buda 30k, so this week is a true taper week. The 800's on Tuesday were at a relaxed pace, and today's fartlek workout (10 x 1:00 minute accelerations with 1:00 easy running in between) was supposed to be at 60-70% effort, just enough to get a little snap in the legs.
The weather was blustery, with temps a reasonable 49 degrees, but with a very strong wind throughout that dropped the chill down much lower than that. The wind was strong enough that it slowed us running into it. The warmup and drills were fine, and then we set out for the fartlek workout. My group was Henry, Amy and myself. We did take it easier than normal, and cruised through the workout pretty smoothly. After a brief jog across Auditorium Shores, we joined Gilbert for the form work festivities. We did 6x100m striders, which felt pretty good. Then, we did a bunch of Gilbert's form drills, which for the first time really felt okay to me. These drills aren't like the warmup drills that we do, but are more pure formwork about balance and coordination. After a good bit of that, we did some fast feet hopping just to fully shake things out. Then, an abbreviated stretching session.
It was a nice workout, just enough to get the blood moving without wiping us out. Total day about 4.5 miles, 9:00/mile average pace overall. The fartlek section was much slower than usual, but that was intentional.
I felt under the weather yesterday, and did not do the scheduled workout. The minor sore throat is largely gone today, so I think it was a good idea to bag the Wednesday workout after all. Tomorrow is a full day off, and I'll go down and drive the 30k course. Saturday is our super easy 4 mile run and stretching ritual, and Sunday is the big race. The current weather report is more promising that previously thought...lows in the 30's, warming to 40's by race's end. I'm just hoping the big wind isn't blowing like it usually does at Buda.
For the first time in my memory, Gilbert is really cutting us back this week before the Buda 30k, so this week is a true taper week. The 800's on Tuesday were at a relaxed pace, and today's fartlek workout (10 x 1:00 minute accelerations with 1:00 easy running in between) was supposed to be at 60-70% effort, just enough to get a little snap in the legs.
The weather was blustery, with temps a reasonable 49 degrees, but with a very strong wind throughout that dropped the chill down much lower than that. The wind was strong enough that it slowed us running into it. The warmup and drills were fine, and then we set out for the fartlek workout. My group was Henry, Amy and myself. We did take it easier than normal, and cruised through the workout pretty smoothly. After a brief jog across Auditorium Shores, we joined Gilbert for the form work festivities. We did 6x100m striders, which felt pretty good. Then, we did a bunch of Gilbert's form drills, which for the first time really felt okay to me. These drills aren't like the warmup drills that we do, but are more pure formwork about balance and coordination. After a good bit of that, we did some fast feet hopping just to fully shake things out. Then, an abbreviated stretching session.
It was a nice workout, just enough to get the blood moving without wiping us out. Total day about 4.5 miles, 9:00/mile average pace overall. The fartlek section was much slower than usual, but that was intentional.
I felt under the weather yesterday, and did not do the scheduled workout. The minor sore throat is largely gone today, so I think it was a good idea to bag the Wednesday workout after all. Tomorrow is a full day off, and I'll go down and drive the 30k course. Saturday is our super easy 4 mile run and stretching ritual, and Sunday is the big race. The current weather report is more promising that previously thought...lows in the 30's, warming to 40's by race's end. I'm just hoping the big wind isn't blowing like it usually does at Buda.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
800m Repeats
Another bleary, stuffy morning, as the Texas weather keeps changing on us. This morning, it was another humid and overcast day with temps a little cooler in the mid to high 60's. Not bad, really, but my problem is that the weather won't just stay cold for 3 weeks at a time...we get to watch it bounce around instead. Oh, well.
We had a pretty big crowd today, with a lot of new people, it seems. Once we finished the warmup to Austin High and did the drills, Gilbert had a plan for us all. Those of us doing the 30k this weekend were to do 5 or 6 x 800m, at a somewhat relaxed pace, with 2:00 rest between. New people and those not racing this weekend were to do circuit training.
Another training group was at the track doing a 2-3 mile workout with alternating 200m at marathon goal pace and 200m at 10k race pace, so it would be crowded for the first part of our workout, and a little odd pacing due to the other folks speeding up and slowing down.
I was a group of one, since my usual gang was either absent or was not racing Buda this weekend. I decided to tag along behind Frank and Sean's group, letting a gap build between us. They were supposed to be doing 3:25-3:30, and I was supposed to do 3:35-3:40. Gilbert said the first repeat could be a little easier as we got into the workout. The idea for this one was to get a little speedwork in without wiping out ourselves for the 30k, so Gilbert gave us times that were intentionally slower than usual.
The repeats were pretty comfortable, in 3:42, 3:42, 3:34, 3:36, 3:33, 3:28. After that, we knocked out 3 x200m striders for form, and called it a day. I ran back with Alex and Frank, and we were all excited about the prospects for Sunday's race.
For the day, just over 7 miles at an average of 8:25/mile.
After talking with Gilbert, I may alter the progressive run just a little tomorrow, and maybe do a 7 mile progressive instead of 10, going 30 minutes easy and finishing with 30-35 minutes faster running at the end. We'll see.
Another bleary, stuffy morning, as the Texas weather keeps changing on us. This morning, it was another humid and overcast day with temps a little cooler in the mid to high 60's. Not bad, really, but my problem is that the weather won't just stay cold for 3 weeks at a time...we get to watch it bounce around instead. Oh, well.
We had a pretty big crowd today, with a lot of new people, it seems. Once we finished the warmup to Austin High and did the drills, Gilbert had a plan for us all. Those of us doing the 30k this weekend were to do 5 or 6 x 800m, at a somewhat relaxed pace, with 2:00 rest between. New people and those not racing this weekend were to do circuit training.
Another training group was at the track doing a 2-3 mile workout with alternating 200m at marathon goal pace and 200m at 10k race pace, so it would be crowded for the first part of our workout, and a little odd pacing due to the other folks speeding up and slowing down.
I was a group of one, since my usual gang was either absent or was not racing Buda this weekend. I decided to tag along behind Frank and Sean's group, letting a gap build between us. They were supposed to be doing 3:25-3:30, and I was supposed to do 3:35-3:40. Gilbert said the first repeat could be a little easier as we got into the workout. The idea for this one was to get a little speedwork in without wiping out ourselves for the 30k, so Gilbert gave us times that were intentionally slower than usual.
The repeats were pretty comfortable, in 3:42, 3:42, 3:34, 3:36, 3:33, 3:28. After that, we knocked out 3 x200m striders for form, and called it a day. I ran back with Alex and Frank, and we were all excited about the prospects for Sunday's race.
For the day, just over 7 miles at an average of 8:25/mile.
After talking with Gilbert, I may alter the progressive run just a little tomorrow, and maybe do a 7 mile progressive instead of 10, going 30 minutes easy and finishing with 30-35 minutes faster running at the end. We'll see.
Monday, January 10, 2005
He Calls an Audible (Green, 42, Mad Dog, 18, Hut Hut Hut!)
Gilbert had called for a Progressive run today, 5 miles (or 45 minutes) easy, then 5 miles pushed progressively harder to the finish. Real Life interfered, and instead, I did the Wednesday run today, moving the progressive run to Wednesday, since the two Gazelles speed workouts are relatively easy this week. Anyway, on a muggy evening, I cruised 6.1 miles, averaging about 9:30/mile, a true HR recovery effort. About 1/3 trail, and the rest on the neighborhood streets. All systems felt good, and I'm ready for the rest of this semi-taper week, heading for the 30k race on Sunday. I'm excited and a little nervous about the 30k, nervous in a "let's get racing already!" sort of way. I may not push the progressive run quite as hard as I have in the past, since it'll be closer to the 30k race, but there will be plenty of time to recover from it before Sunday.
Gilbert had called for a Progressive run today, 5 miles (or 45 minutes) easy, then 5 miles pushed progressively harder to the finish. Real Life interfered, and instead, I did the Wednesday run today, moving the progressive run to Wednesday, since the two Gazelles speed workouts are relatively easy this week. Anyway, on a muggy evening, I cruised 6.1 miles, averaging about 9:30/mile, a true HR recovery effort. About 1/3 trail, and the rest on the neighborhood streets. All systems felt good, and I'm ready for the rest of this semi-taper week, heading for the 30k race on Sunday. I'm excited and a little nervous about the 30k, nervous in a "let's get racing already!" sort of way. I may not push the progressive run quite as hard as I have in the past, since it'll be closer to the 30k race, but there will be plenty of time to recover from it before Sunday.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Weekly stats (1/3-1/9):
For the week, 4 runs, 33.5 miles. Two good speed workouts, a recovery run on Wednesday, and the good longer run in Houston. I feel good, even a little refreshed after the extra off day at the turn of the new year. We are definitely in the homestretch for Freescale. Next week, the last hard test for Freescale comes around, the Buda RunTex 30k race. I want to really do well on that race, since it's been a bit of a nemesis the last two years. I'd like to finish strong for once in that race. Overall, the mileage might be shorter for the next few weeks as we start sharpening and tapering. Basically, this coming week, I have two main runs: Monday's 8 mile pace run (10 miles, with a 2 mile relaxed start and then 8 miles "run as you feel"), and the Sunday 30k race. The other runs are just to mark time between those efforts. The weather looks to be turning much colder on Thursday, so hopefully, we'll have nice crisp weather for the race.
For the week, 4 runs, 33.5 miles. Two good speed workouts, a recovery run on Wednesday, and the good longer run in Houston. I feel good, even a little refreshed after the extra off day at the turn of the new year. We are definitely in the homestretch for Freescale. Next week, the last hard test for Freescale comes around, the Buda RunTex 30k race. I want to really do well on that race, since it's been a bit of a nemesis the last two years. I'd like to finish strong for once in that race. Overall, the mileage might be shorter for the next few weeks as we start sharpening and tapering. Basically, this coming week, I have two main runs: Monday's 8 mile pace run (10 miles, with a 2 mile relaxed start and then 8 miles "run as you feel"), and the Sunday 30k race. The other runs are just to mark time between those efforts. The weather looks to be turning much colder on Thursday, so hopefully, we'll have nice crisp weather for the race.
Tour d'Houston (medium long run)
This weekend, we were in Houston to catch Cirque du Soleil with the extended family unit. It was a fun trip, and we all had a good time catching up on stories and seeing the usual fabulous Cirque show. As a result, though, I had to arrange a run on Saturday to cover the scheduled 14 miler that my Gazelles comrades would be doing to Mt. Bonnell. After checking the Houston Road Runners website, I found a nice route that came close to our hotel's location. It was a 10 mile route, but it looked to be about 1.5 miles from the hotel, so if I added that, it would be close. Armed with that map and a city map section copy for the streets I would encounter, I was ready to go. The weather was supposed to be in the mid-50's, so I brought what I thought was appropriate clothing. Just for emergencies, I had my throwaway Tyvek jacket purchased so long ago at the NYC marathon expo, but I left gloves, long pants, and a warm hat at home. I was a good boy at dinner on Friday night, gobbling down a pizza from the Cheesecake Factory. I laid out all my gear that evening, and crashed before midnight.
Saturday morning, I intended to start running at 7:00am. I got ready faster than I had thought, though, so I headed out the door of the hotel at 6:45. I had the Tyvek jacket on because it had seemed pretty cool the night before. My running cap on and a Camelbak full of Accelerade, I was ready to go. After the GPS finished finding itself, following a short walk to limber up, I was off. 6:52 am.
First couple of miles were uneventful, on fairly busy streets and across a couple of roadway construction sites. After that, I turned into the River Oaks subdivision in Houston, a very ritzy neighborhood. The houses were pretty amazing, with giant yards, fences, gates, and towering trees. With all its rainfall, Houston is home to a veritable rain forest level of greenery in the residential areas, and that's very different than here in Austin. It was a nice change. As I tooled along during the first 5 miles or so, I passed a ton of Houston runners doing their last runs before next week's Houston marathon, and exchanged greetings as we passed by each other. Although I was alone on this run, for the first time in a long while for a long run, the various groups of runners on the roads kept me company in a small way. Following my map, I finally made a wrong turn, where I outsmarted myself at a specific intersection. I figured out my mistake after a bit, and aimed myself correctly towards a large cross street ahead of me, but I added some mileage there. Stopping for my first GU, I took the opportunity to check the more detailed map, and got back on the actual route with little problem after that short stop. I was about 6 miles in, and feeling good. The weather remained cooler than it looked, and I kept the Tyvek jacket on for the whole run. There was a steady breeze that kept things cooled down as well.
I passed some truly monstrous mansions on Inwood as it got closer to Kirby, including one sprawling thing that had a 6 car garage, two other houses (guest house and pool house?) and giant main house that looked like an Ivy League university building. Just giant. The owners called it "Adagio." Okey dokey.
Up Kirby, cross the Bayou on Shepherd, and then back towards Memorial Park. I think the Memorial Drive part was on the Houston marathon course, but it was a few years ago. A little more dancing around up and down sidewalks, and I was finally at Memorial Park. It is a nice park, with a golf course, tennis courts, and all that sort of stuff. The running trail, though is only about 3 miles. That means that it is very crowded. I stopped briefly for my second GU, and to check my map to figure out if I needed to add an extra Memorial Park loop to get my mileage up around 14-15 miles. I was on track without the extra distance, so I took off on the final part of my journey. At the end of the park, I was at about 10 miles. I made one last navigational error coming out of the park, and had to get some assistance from some helpful Houston runners to find my way back where I needed to be. That required a cross-country run, including two major streets, but I was on track.
For the next 3.5 miles, I picked it up considerably, for the traditional "fast finish" that Gilbert prescribes for us, and finished that faster bit as I reached San Felipe for the last time. The high speed miles were at about 8:20 average pace, a nice pickup from the miles before.
After the high speed section, I finished off my Accelerade, and did an easier mile over to S. Post Oak road. Once there, I picked it up again for the last half mile or so, just to get finished.
It was a very nice run, 14.3 miles, average pace 9:10/mile. I was a little faster than usual on this run, but until the fast finish part, I was pretty much in good long run HR range, so I was pleased. It was a lot of fun to get out and see the city like this.
This weekend, we were in Houston to catch Cirque du Soleil with the extended family unit. It was a fun trip, and we all had a good time catching up on stories and seeing the usual fabulous Cirque show. As a result, though, I had to arrange a run on Saturday to cover the scheduled 14 miler that my Gazelles comrades would be doing to Mt. Bonnell. After checking the Houston Road Runners website, I found a nice route that came close to our hotel's location. It was a 10 mile route, but it looked to be about 1.5 miles from the hotel, so if I added that, it would be close. Armed with that map and a city map section copy for the streets I would encounter, I was ready to go. The weather was supposed to be in the mid-50's, so I brought what I thought was appropriate clothing. Just for emergencies, I had my throwaway Tyvek jacket purchased so long ago at the NYC marathon expo, but I left gloves, long pants, and a warm hat at home. I was a good boy at dinner on Friday night, gobbling down a pizza from the Cheesecake Factory. I laid out all my gear that evening, and crashed before midnight.
Saturday morning, I intended to start running at 7:00am. I got ready faster than I had thought, though, so I headed out the door of the hotel at 6:45. I had the Tyvek jacket on because it had seemed pretty cool the night before. My running cap on and a Camelbak full of Accelerade, I was ready to go. After the GPS finished finding itself, following a short walk to limber up, I was off. 6:52 am.
First couple of miles were uneventful, on fairly busy streets and across a couple of roadway construction sites. After that, I turned into the River Oaks subdivision in Houston, a very ritzy neighborhood. The houses were pretty amazing, with giant yards, fences, gates, and towering trees. With all its rainfall, Houston is home to a veritable rain forest level of greenery in the residential areas, and that's very different than here in Austin. It was a nice change. As I tooled along during the first 5 miles or so, I passed a ton of Houston runners doing their last runs before next week's Houston marathon, and exchanged greetings as we passed by each other. Although I was alone on this run, for the first time in a long while for a long run, the various groups of runners on the roads kept me company in a small way. Following my map, I finally made a wrong turn, where I outsmarted myself at a specific intersection. I figured out my mistake after a bit, and aimed myself correctly towards a large cross street ahead of me, but I added some mileage there. Stopping for my first GU, I took the opportunity to check the more detailed map, and got back on the actual route with little problem after that short stop. I was about 6 miles in, and feeling good. The weather remained cooler than it looked, and I kept the Tyvek jacket on for the whole run. There was a steady breeze that kept things cooled down as well.
I passed some truly monstrous mansions on Inwood as it got closer to Kirby, including one sprawling thing that had a 6 car garage, two other houses (guest house and pool house?) and giant main house that looked like an Ivy League university building. Just giant. The owners called it "Adagio." Okey dokey.
Up Kirby, cross the Bayou on Shepherd, and then back towards Memorial Park. I think the Memorial Drive part was on the Houston marathon course, but it was a few years ago. A little more dancing around up and down sidewalks, and I was finally at Memorial Park. It is a nice park, with a golf course, tennis courts, and all that sort of stuff. The running trail, though is only about 3 miles. That means that it is very crowded. I stopped briefly for my second GU, and to check my map to figure out if I needed to add an extra Memorial Park loop to get my mileage up around 14-15 miles. I was on track without the extra distance, so I took off on the final part of my journey. At the end of the park, I was at about 10 miles. I made one last navigational error coming out of the park, and had to get some assistance from some helpful Houston runners to find my way back where I needed to be. That required a cross-country run, including two major streets, but I was on track.
For the next 3.5 miles, I picked it up considerably, for the traditional "fast finish" that Gilbert prescribes for us, and finished that faster bit as I reached San Felipe for the last time. The high speed miles were at about 8:20 average pace, a nice pickup from the miles before.
After the high speed section, I finished off my Accelerade, and did an easier mile over to S. Post Oak road. Once there, I picked it up again for the last half mile or so, just to get finished.
It was a very nice run, 14.3 miles, average pace 9:10/mile. I was a little faster than usual on this run, but until the fast finish part, I was pretty much in good long run HR range, so I was pleased. It was a lot of fun to get out and see the city like this.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Time Trial ("Tempo Run")
Yeah! The weather turned cooler again, which I enjoy. It was 37 degrees this morning and overcast, which was great. The steady wind was less enjoyable, but at least it was at our backs on the return leg of the tempo run!
A pretty large group gathered at 6:00 am for the tempo run. We joked and shivered, waiting to get going, and then did a short 1.2 mile warmup. By the time the drills were over, we had all warmed up pretty well, and I felt downright toasty. With last minute instruction from Gilbert to concentrate on a negative split on this run, we were off. I tucked in behind Margaret and Sean, alongside Amy. Our little foursome took off, and I suffered through the usual first mile panic trying to get settled into the pace. The first mile was a pedestrian 8:07, and I thought that if the pace didn't pick up by the turnaround, I'd have plenty left to have a nice negative split, at least. The second mile was substantially faster as Sean and Margaret kicked it up a notch. Amy fell back a bit during mile two. I hit the turnaround at 15:30 (second mile 7:33), right with Sean and Margaret. Mile 3, with the wind at our backs, felt easier to me for some reason, as I was pretty comfortable on this one, and it turned out to be a swift 7:19 mile. As we crossed the footbridge on the trail, I pushed ahead with Sean, and tried to keep him in my sights as he pulled ahead 20 yards or so. Concentrating on relaxing and keeping the pace up, I pushed across the finish with a final mile of 7:21, and a time of 30:20. It was a new tempo run "PR," and a negative split of around a minute (actually 50 seconds). Overall pace for the tempo run was 7:35/mile. I was really happy to improve my time, especially under somewhat tough conditions with the wind.
An easy cooldown mile around Auditorium Shores finished off the day, and we happily piled into our cars after putting on dry clothes (or at least extra clothes). For the day, 6.5 miles, average pace 8:15/mile.
Tomorrow is a full off day, and Gilbert has assigned a hilly 14 miler for everyone here in town for Saturday. I'll have to make do with a flat 14-15 miler in Houston while we're there with the extended family. It won't be hilly, but maybe I'll press the pace just a little instead.
Yeah! The weather turned cooler again, which I enjoy. It was 37 degrees this morning and overcast, which was great. The steady wind was less enjoyable, but at least it was at our backs on the return leg of the tempo run!
A pretty large group gathered at 6:00 am for the tempo run. We joked and shivered, waiting to get going, and then did a short 1.2 mile warmup. By the time the drills were over, we had all warmed up pretty well, and I felt downright toasty. With last minute instruction from Gilbert to concentrate on a negative split on this run, we were off. I tucked in behind Margaret and Sean, alongside Amy. Our little foursome took off, and I suffered through the usual first mile panic trying to get settled into the pace. The first mile was a pedestrian 8:07, and I thought that if the pace didn't pick up by the turnaround, I'd have plenty left to have a nice negative split, at least. The second mile was substantially faster as Sean and Margaret kicked it up a notch. Amy fell back a bit during mile two. I hit the turnaround at 15:30 (second mile 7:33), right with Sean and Margaret. Mile 3, with the wind at our backs, felt easier to me for some reason, as I was pretty comfortable on this one, and it turned out to be a swift 7:19 mile. As we crossed the footbridge on the trail, I pushed ahead with Sean, and tried to keep him in my sights as he pulled ahead 20 yards or so. Concentrating on relaxing and keeping the pace up, I pushed across the finish with a final mile of 7:21, and a time of 30:20. It was a new tempo run "PR," and a negative split of around a minute (actually 50 seconds). Overall pace for the tempo run was 7:35/mile. I was really happy to improve my time, especially under somewhat tough conditions with the wind.
An easy cooldown mile around Auditorium Shores finished off the day, and we happily piled into our cars after putting on dry clothes (or at least extra clothes). For the day, 6.5 miles, average pace 8:15/mile.
Tomorrow is a full off day, and Gilbert has assigned a hilly 14 miler for everyone here in town for Saturday. I'll have to make do with a flat 14-15 miler in Houston while we're there with the extended family. It won't be hilly, but maybe I'll press the pace just a little instead.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Last Run With A Pair Of Friends
No, it's not quite as grim as the title suggests. Tonight, I cruised a true recovery run, 4.5 miles, average pace of 9:52, using the HR monitor as a governor on speed, and it was a really nice and easy run on a very windy and much cooler night (about 45 degrees). The promised cool front has blown in, it seems. I hope the wind has died down by tomorrow morning for the tempo run. The purpose of these runs are twofold: (1) To act as sort of an "active recovery" activity between harder workouts, letting the legs roll without working them too hard, and (2) With a HR monitor, to force myself to run a purely low HR aerobic run, which by some voodoo, helps with various respiratory numbers, including increasing my body's ability to process oxygen at higher and lower speeds, etc. I don't pretend to fully understand Purpose 2, but I've read about it in more than one place, so it's something to include in the Weekly Plan.
The "Last Run" title regards my ninth pair of Mizuno Wave Creations, which tonight crossed the 350 mile mark (353.88 miles, to be exact). I took my first run in them on September 16th, 2004, and tonight they served me for the last time as running shoes. Just as in many fields, there is a Mandatory Retirement Age for running shoes, and for me, I start really feeling the pounding at 350 miles. Trying to scrape an extra 10 or 20 or 50 miles from a pair of running shoes has always seemed to cause problems with my legs, so at 350, they are retired to become casual shoes or yardwork shoes (after a ceremonial washing with towels and such in the washing machine). This pair were on my feet for a series of great races this fall, all personal bests, as well as a dozen or so really fine long runs with my Gazelles friends. Countless other workouts of various lengths and speeds were covered as well. I'll move my timing chip to the newer pair of Creations (about halfway through their life, at 165.8 miles), and will make a trip to RunTex in the next few days to get my next pair of the same Mizunos to start working into the shoe rotation. It is very nearly a mirror of Real Life, as the old make way for the new, but I think that would be straining the analogy to ruminate upon this any further, wouldn't you agree?
5 weeks, 4 days to the Freescale Marathon...and counting.
No, it's not quite as grim as the title suggests.
The "Last Run" title regards my ninth pair of Mizuno Wave Creations, which tonight crossed the 350 mile mark (353.88 miles, to be exact). I took my first run in them on September 16th, 2004, and tonight they served me for the last time as running shoes. Just as in many fields, there is a Mandatory Retirement Age for running shoes, and for me, I start really feeling the pounding at 350 miles. Trying to scrape an extra 10 or 20 or 50 miles from a pair of running shoes has always seemed to cause problems with my legs, so at 350, they are retired to become casual shoes or yardwork shoes (after a ceremonial washing with towels and such in the washing machine). This pair were on my feet for a series of great races this fall, all personal bests, as well as a dozen or so really fine long runs with my Gazelles friends. Countless other workouts of various lengths and speeds were covered as well. I'll move my timing chip to the newer pair of Creations (about halfway through their life, at 165.8 miles), and will make a trip to RunTex in the next few days to get my next pair of the same Mizunos to start working into the shoe rotation. It is very nearly a mirror of Real Life, as the old make way for the new, but I think that would be straining the analogy to ruminate upon this any further, wouldn't you agree?
5 weeks, 4 days to the Freescale Marathon...and counting.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
2005 Running Goals
It's time for a public list of goals for my 2005 running year. They are at once simple and complex:
1. Stay injury free. Missing all that time and conditioning in May and June last year was a real drag, and it set me back a good bit.
2. Race Goals:
4. Add Weight Training in 2005: Again, this is something that I know, but I need to get stronger to improve my running, so join a gym, and do the workouts. Twice a week would be sufficient, but three times a week would be nice when possible.
5. A Little Cross-Training, Please: Some cycling and swimming would certainly be a good thing, too. No specifics here, but especially as the weather warms up, adding workouts in these disciplines, perhaps as substitutes for some of the recovery run efforts, or occasionally in addition to them, would balance some of the muscle work with the running.
That's it. Just 5 things, some of them big, some small. And, by doing them, I can achieve one of the Real World goals for 2005, one that all of us seem to make this time of year: Lose 5 pounds.
It's time for a public list of goals for my 2005 running year. They are at once simple and complex:
1. Stay injury free. Missing all that time and conditioning in May and June last year was a real drag, and it set me back a good bit.
2. Race Goals:
- 2005 Buda 30k (1/16/05) - Break 9:00/mile pace, or 2:47:42. PR, and it would fit in with the prediction tables for my Freescale goal. I'd also like to really kick those last 3 miles of that race, where I've suffered in the past.
- 2005 Freescale Marathon (2/13/05) - Any time beginning with "3." 3:xx:xx, where "x" is any digit or series of digits, would be a lifetime PR, a step through the 4 hour barrier, and an improvement of over 20 minutes from my best marathon since turning 40, and over 45 minutes improvement from my Freescale 2004 time.
- 2005 Indy 500 Mini Marathon (5/7/05) - 1:50:00, which would be another step improvement at that half marathon distance, and a 12+ minute improvement over Indy 2004.
- Break 49:00 at 10k (next round number barrier) and 22:00 at 5k (ditto)
- Break race/course PR's at 2005-6 Distance Challenge races
4. Add Weight Training in 2005: Again, this is something that I know, but I need to get stronger to improve my running, so join a gym, and do the workouts. Twice a week would be sufficient, but three times a week would be nice when possible.
5. A Little Cross-Training, Please: Some cycling and swimming would certainly be a good thing, too. No specifics here, but especially as the weather warms up, adding workouts in these disciplines, perhaps as substitutes for some of the recovery run efforts, or occasionally in addition to them, would balance some of the muscle work with the running.
That's it. Just 5 things, some of them big, some small. And, by doing them, I can achieve one of the Real World goals for 2005, one that all of us seem to make this time of year: Lose 5 pounds.
2000m Repeats, Summer Style
I guess those who've whined about the cold snap we had a few weeks ago are loving the new Texas weather the last week. This morning, it was a zillion percent humidity and 71 degrees, overcast skies. Just like it was back in September. Oh, well, time to break out the singlets again!
The first Gazelles workout of the new year started with a quicker than normal warmup run over to Zilker Park for 2000m repeats. Even the drills were slightly longer than usual. Sort of a Supersized deal. None of my regular pacing gang was here this morning, so I'd have to make my own pace. It just makes it more of a mental thing. I decided to tag along behind Frank's group, and to figure out the proper gap between their pace and mine. Gilbert prescribed 4 or 5 repeats for marathoners, and told us to "run how you feel" on the first one, and then he'd tell us pace after that.
I intended to go for 4 x 2000m, at about 9:20 pace (7:31 mile pace) for each of them. That's about where I figured I'd be, based on past workouts at this distance. Cruising along, relatively comfortably, I knocked out the first one in 9:20, perfect. A quick 2 minute recovery, and we were off again. The next two repeats were in 9:09 and 9:06 (about 7:20 mile pace) drifting faster and faster. Another quick recovery, and Frank and I were left from his gang. He took off, and I just tried to hang out about 50 yards behind him as long as I could. He was really moving, and I ignored my watch until I crossed the line at the end, just running to the tape. The last repeat was my first time under 9:00, a smooth 8:42 (7:00 mile pace). Now, I was working on that last one, but I still had a little more in reserve if I had to use it.
We took some time to wait on Alex's group to knock out their 5th repeat, and chatted with Gilbert. After those speedy people finished up, we ran back to RunTex at a snappy 9:00 pace.
It was a nice return to running, and all physical systems seem to be working just fine. It'll be interesting to see where I am with the tempo run on Thursday.
For the day, 8000 meters of repeats at 7:18 average pace, about 13 seconds faster than the average pace of 6000m of repeats at the last time we did this workout, and 8.2 miles total running, at 8:00/mile average pace. My current 5k "Masters PR" is at about the pace of the 4 x 2000m repeats, and the overall mileage and day was at my current Masters PR 10k pace. Good things are happening!
I guess those who've whined about the cold snap we had a few weeks ago are loving the new Texas weather the last week. This morning, it was a zillion percent humidity and 71 degrees, overcast skies. Just like it was back in September. Oh, well, time to break out the singlets again!
The first Gazelles workout of the new year started with a quicker than normal warmup run over to Zilker Park for 2000m repeats. Even the drills were slightly longer than usual. Sort of a Supersized deal. None of my regular pacing gang was here this morning, so I'd have to make my own pace. It just makes it more of a mental thing. I decided to tag along behind Frank's group, and to figure out the proper gap between their pace and mine. Gilbert prescribed 4 or 5 repeats for marathoners, and told us to "run how you feel" on the first one, and then he'd tell us pace after that.
I intended to go for 4 x 2000m, at about 9:20 pace (7:31 mile pace) for each of them. That's about where I figured I'd be, based on past workouts at this distance. Cruising along, relatively comfortably, I knocked out the first one in 9:20, perfect. A quick 2 minute recovery, and we were off again. The next two repeats were in 9:09 and 9:06 (about 7:20 mile pace) drifting faster and faster. Another quick recovery, and Frank and I were left from his gang. He took off, and I just tried to hang out about 50 yards behind him as long as I could. He was really moving, and I ignored my watch until I crossed the line at the end, just running to the tape. The last repeat was my first time under 9:00, a smooth 8:42 (7:00 mile pace). Now, I was working on that last one, but I still had a little more in reserve if I had to use it.
We took some time to wait on Alex's group to knock out their 5th repeat, and chatted with Gilbert. After those speedy people finished up, we ran back to RunTex at a snappy 9:00 pace.
It was a nice return to running, and all physical systems seem to be working just fine. It'll be interesting to see where I am with the tempo run on Thursday.
For the day, 8000 meters of repeats at 7:18 average pace, about 13 seconds faster than the average pace of 6000m of repeats at the last time we did this workout, and 8.2 miles total running, at 8:00/mile average pace. My current 5k "Masters PR" is at about the pace of the 4 x 2000m repeats, and the overall mileage and day was at my current Masters PR 10k pace. Good things are happening!
Monday, January 03, 2005
Playing Hooky
After the good 23 miler on Friday, I planned on taking Saturday off, which I did. I've had some minor aches and pains, and wanted to take advantage of the last chance for a short rest before the push to Freescale. Sunday, I intended to do a relaxed 60 minute run, but just got caught up in household activities, and instead took a second day off. Today, I wanted to get out there for a run in the hour range, at some moderate pace, just to get the legs rolling again. But, last night, Jake kept us up most of the night with a 24-hour bug, and I was just beat today after getting very little sleep last night. So, today turned into a bonus day off as well. Since Gilbert had intended for us to just take a nice easy run today, I don't think this will harm anything. I'll be out there tomorrow morning bright and early (possibly in a rainstorm) for the 2000m repeats, and that will officially start my Year 2005 running program.
I think this nice break will actually be a good thing, allowing my legs to heal and recover more than usual, and to allow me to attack the rest of the training with good energy. I hope to decide tomorrow on a gym to join, and to get started on a more regimented weight training routine, as well. The weights will mostly be for strength after Freescale, as 6 weeks isn't really enough to build much before the marathon, but it should hopefully establish the habit for the coming year.
Now, I need to go and get the Christmas decoration boxes down from the attic so we can put away all that stuff for another year.
After the good 23 miler on Friday, I planned on taking Saturday off, which I did. I've had some minor aches and pains, and wanted to take advantage of the last chance for a short rest before the push to Freescale. Sunday, I intended to do a relaxed 60 minute run, but just got caught up in household activities, and instead took a second day off. Today, I wanted to get out there for a run in the hour range, at some moderate pace, just to get the legs rolling again. But, last night, Jake kept us up most of the night with a 24-hour bug, and I was just beat today after getting very little sleep last night. So, today turned into a bonus day off as well. Since Gilbert had intended for us to just take a nice easy run today, I don't think this will harm anything. I'll be out there tomorrow morning bright and early (possibly in a rainstorm) for the 2000m repeats, and that will officially start my Year 2005 running program.
I think this nice break will actually be a good thing, allowing my legs to heal and recover more than usual, and to allow me to attack the rest of the training with good energy. I hope to decide tomorrow on a gym to join, and to get started on a more regimented weight training routine, as well. The weights will mostly be for strength after Freescale, as 6 weeks isn't really enough to build much before the marathon, but it should hopefully establish the habit for the coming year.
Now, I need to go and get the Christmas decoration boxes down from the attic so we can put away all that stuff for another year.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Weekly Stats (12/27-1/2/05):
Truth In Advertising: This post was actually posted on Tuesday, but I wanted it to appear at the end of the appropriate week. The week was only 3 runs, but 41 miles. Fine pace run in Lufkin, 5x1000m repeats at solid pace, and then 23 miles of Austin roads on Friday. I skipped the mile repeat workout and a pure recovery run, with a spate of end-of-the-year laziness. I will endeavor to exorcise that particular Demon for 2005.
Truth In Advertising: This post was actually posted on Tuesday, but I wanted it to appear at the end of the appropriate week.
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