Lightning Can Make You Faster (A Long Run Tale...)

Friday was spent doing other stuff, and I felt sufficiently leg-weary that a full day off seemed to be in order. It's been a great running/exercise week, and a day off fit right in with that. I'll get that second gym workout in on Sunday.

Anyway, this morning Frank, Alex, Liliana and I gathered at an alternate starting spot for our long run (well, medium long, 10 miles) at 6:00. We started at the Rock near Mopac, and it was drizzling/raining and there was lightning crashing all around when we got there. It was also pretty darned chilly compared to how it's been lately. Probably 55 degrees and breezy as the last cool front of the season blew through. We waited the weather out for a while, and got underway right at 6:30. We started out nice and easy, and by the time we reached Auditorium Shores, at about 2.2 miles in, we had warmed up to a good solid pace. Somewhere behind the Austin American Statesman, my GPS totally lost tracking, and stuck on 2.66 miles for a long time. I tidied up things later with Topo Fusion, but the early miles are approximate. At about 4 miles in, we made a really quick stop for hydration adjustments, and the GPS found its satellite friends while we were stationary. So, 4.15 miles into the run, we were overall at about 9:30/mile pace after some really easy miles early. It changed from there, of course.

After that, we boogied on pretty well, watching the dark skies build overhead. I think the threat of incoming weather encouraged us to pick things up, and the pace got quicker. We knocked off a couple of miles in the 8:30 range, took our last brief water/GU stop (1:23 in length), and roared on. We averaged about 8:45/mile for the rest of the run, chatting all the way, and finished the 10.1 mile loop in 1:30:26, or 8:57/mile pace. HR numbers were pretty good, and we were pleased with our effort. Frank and Liliana had to get home for various soccer and childcare duties, but Alex and I decided to go over to RunTex to watch our fellow Gazelles in the Texas Roundup 10k and do the stretching.

We piled into my car, turned on the heated seats, and generally enjoyed warming back up after the chilly run. While we drove over, the weather changed to rain again, and it was even cooler, at 53 degrees and wet. As we walked towards RunTex, we noticed that the race course was still being occupied with cars, and that there were no runners in sight. The race was supposed to have started at 8:00, and it was 8:15 by now. In the distance, we heard the familiar air horn, signalling the start of the race. We later found out that it was delayed due to lightning in the area. We crossed over to RunTex, and stood under the eave of the building as the rain started really pouring down. Peter was there after his run this morning, still recovering from Boston. We saw all of our peeps go by, and were a pretty good cheering section, especially for the Gazelles. I yelled in particular for Jan, Amy and Shannon, my pacing peeps. They looked strong when they went by us, about the 4 mile mark of the race.

After the last Gazelle, however, there were still tons of runners working hard. We stood there for 40 more minutes, cheering and clapping, and those poor runners getting soaked and cold needed the boost. We finally gave up cheering after 9:00, and Alex and I found our way inside the RunTex covered storage building for some stretching. While we were there, the Rogue Training folks started filtering in after their race. It was fun to hear them talk about the race.

I heard from Jan as we finished up the stretching, and she sounded happy about her race. It was nice to catch up with her after she had to miss Gazelles this past week. Alex bailed out and headed home, to dry off and then to go the gym (what a monster! :)).

It was a good day at the running office. I'm excited about the half marathon next weekend, and from now till then, it'll be Taper City as I build up strength and reserves for that effort in Indianapolis.

Ladder Intervals

It was slightly warmer this morning, maybe in the mid-60's, humid, overcast. Still, not too bad for this late in the year here. A pretty big gang gathered for the workout. Gilbert sent those doing the Texas Roundup 10k on Saturday out to do fartleks on the trail, the usual 10 x 1:00 intervals that we do before races. The rest of us warmed up over to Austin High School for what Gilbert deemed a "medium" speedwork session. Beware Burundian promises of what constitutes "medium" speed.

Anyway, our warmup run was actually sanely paced today. Some folks were still feeling a little tired after Tuesday's circuit or 6x800m workouts, and the gang just rolled it a little easier than normal. We concentrated on drills more than normal after we discovered that Gilbert was paying attention to them last time. Then, it was time to hit the track. The workout was a reverse ladder, going 600m, 400m, and 200m, all at 10k race pace, with a 200m jog between. After each set, we were to walk a full 400m lap. 3-5 sets were prescribed. My gang was Henry, Joseph, and Caitlin. I thought we'd do them at about 2:50 for the 600m, 1:52 for 400m, and 0:56 for the 200m, which would be about 7:30 pace for the mile. Gilbert told us to do 2:45 for 600m, which translates to 1:50 and 0:55. Easier math.

We were off. We did a pretty good job of maintaining steady and accurate pace, which is the trick in this sort of workout. Caitlin did 3 sets, and Joseph and Henry did 4 with me. Gilbert stopped us after 4 sets, saying that was enough. The times?

Set 1: 2:45, 1:54, 0:55
Set 2: 2:47, 1:50, 0:55
Set 3: 2:48, 1:47, 0:51 (got a little frisky late)
Set 4: 2:40, 1:48, 0:54

For 4800m of intervals, we averaged 7:21/mile pace, very nice. I thought we did fine with the consistency of pacing. This was a challenging workout, mainly mentally. Jogging the 200's between the speedy bits made it a little tougher, too.

The cooldown run back to RunTex was with Alex, Frank, Henry, and Joseph. We moved it along pretty well, at about 9:10 pace. Too fast, really for a true cooldown, but what the heck. For the day, we covered 7.7 miles at an average pace of 9:03, if you include all the 200m jogs. The average pace for the actual running bits, including warmup and cooldown was 8:30/mile. A solid workout, for sure.

Afterwards, Frank and Alex joined me for the full stretching routine, which was a really good idea. Then, Frank had to get to work, and Alex and I did the full core/ab exercise routine. I did 4x30 crunches/leg extensions, 2x20 "Jan" crunches, 2x20 "Canoe" crunches, 2x25 back raises, 2x15 pushups. I even did 4 pullups at Alex's urging. That's a new record for me.

It was a really great day of exercise, and it was fun as always to hang out with my running pals. Tomorrow is back to the gym, then a nice relaxed 10 miler with Alex and Frank on Saturday. Gilbert has also given us our marching orders for next week, although I may have to adjust them ever so slightly. I plan on taking rest days next week to try and taper a bit for Indy.

Back To The Gym!

After a lackluster week of training last week, it was great to get back to the gym today. Once I get there, I enjoy the workout, but it's sometimes hard to overcome inertia and get myself out of the house and to the gym. Warmup was on the exercise cycle again, 30 minutes at a slightly higher resistance, and I tried to keep the pedal action at about 90 rpm. It was harder work, but still I only got HR up to very casual running levels.

I added the dreaded "Canoe" crunches to the regular routine today. On the leg stuff, I skipped the 4-way hip machine because my legs were a little tired from yesterday's 800's. I did all the other leg stuff, though. I bumped up to 80 lbs on bench press today, which was pretty cool. By the end of the summer, I hope to be up to 100 lbs on bench. Surely that's a reasonable goal? The upper body stuff went very well. I'm about ready to move up in weight on a couple more of those exercises. I timed myself casually today, and I found that the ab/core stuff was the biggest chunk of time, at just over a half hour. The somewhat abbreviated leg exercises were about 15 minutes, and the upper body stuff was 20 minutes or so.

Tomorrow, Gilbert is calling an audible, so we'll be doing some sort of "medium" track work, depending on what sort of racing we've got coming up. Should be fun!!

Oh, yeah, Frank checked the super long-range forecast for Indy's race weekend, and it appears to be perfect racing weather (lows in the 40's, highs around 65). I'd be overjoyed if we got great running weather for the Mini! Time to keep the old fingers crossed...

The First Full Year With The Gazelles (A Look Back)

I've now completed a couple of races (Capitol 10,000 and the Bun Run 5K) that I ran last year, so I've got true year over year comparisons from my running "Before Gazelles" and "After Gazelles." Plus, I've had a full 12 months of training with Gilbert, so the effects of such work should be more apparent. What do the numbers say?

I started with Gilbert only a week before the Capitol 10,000 last year. I had been training using the Galloway training method (scheduled walk breaks on all long runs) for a long time, and was coming off of a subpar Motorola Marathon. Frank and I joined Gilbert as an experiment, to see what having a real coach could do for us. I'll never forget that first workout, as I was almost left behind on the "warmup" run over to Austin High School. I thought the warmup drills were the actual Circuit workout at first. Frank and I just laughed at how different it was than anything we had done before in running, but we stuck with it. Now, a slew of PR's later, we're not going to train with anybody else!

My 2004 Capitol 10,000 was run using a couple of walk breaks at the water stops on a warmer and humid day. I crossed the finish in 53:24, 8:36/mile pace, and that was all I could do at that time. This year, I improved my time on that same course to 47:52, or 7:42/mile pace. A full one minute/mile improvement in a single year, and I never thought about walking once.

My 2004 Schlotzsky's Bun Run 5K was on a pleasant weather day. I had five weeks of Gazelles behind me when I toed the line last year. I did a pretty good job, and finished the 5K race in 23:10, 7:28/mile pace. My pacing was pretty solid, but it wasn't a negative split. This year, I improved my time to 22:03, 7:05 pace, a PR by over a minute, and each mile was faster than the one before.

The last year over year test will be at the Indy Mini Marathon in two weeks. I ran a pretty good race on a warm day last year, and finished in 2:02:24 (9:21 pace). I used run/walk throughout that race, because my long training runs were all run/walk efforts still. This year, I've already lowered my half marathon time to around 1:52 (8:36 pace) in November on a very hilly Motive course, and I expect to do better than that in two weeks in Indianapolis.

I now routinely do long training runs at paces that I couldn't even handle in races back then, and the idea of walk breaks is a distant memory. My times on the speedwork sessions have dropped dramatically, and I guess I'm one of the regular steady members of the Gazelles now. I'm no longer the slowest Gazelle, which is a big improvement for me. Most importantly, I think I've finally started showing more mental strength in the tougher workouts and in races. I still haven't put together a quality race above the half marathon distance, but that will come. I've rewritten my Masters PR record book over the last 8 months, and that's always fun to see a string of races where you set personal bests each time out. I did better in every Distance Challenge race this year than ever before, except for the last two, the 30K (I was sick this year) and Marathon (bad weather day).

The only blemish on my running since starting with the Gazelles is that I foolishly ran myself into an injury last May, which caused me to limp around for a couple of weeks, and then I had to shut down running entirely for 3 weeks. Including the slow recovery schedule after that, I lost almost 3 months of regular Gazelles training, which was tough to deal with. I've fixed the muscle weakness that was partially responsible for that injury, and I've gotten a little more intelligent about taking a day off now and then when I'm getting too tired.

Following Freescale Marathon this year, I finally started being regular about Gilbert's suggested gym workouts, and that has made a difference. My form used to collapse because I had no core strength, which caused other inefficiencies in my running. I've also been pretty good about the post-run core exercises that we are supposed to do every time out. I feel more fit, I've lost 4 or 5 pounds since the marathon, and all that is good news. Gilbert's only been suggesting that I do this since last March...sometimes it takes a long time for me to accept reality. :)

After Indy this year, I might do the News 8K in June, and possibly the Fathers Day 5K, but that's pretty much all the racing I'll do except for a 5K in North Carolina (late July) when I go over for guitar camp. This summer will be nice because I won't be training for a marathon, and I won't be recovering from an injury, so I can enjoy my running without the stresses of specific race training. Long runs will be in the 7-12 mile range, which will be nice in the summer heat here in Austin.

It's been a great running year since joining the Gazelles, and I've enjoyed becoming a part of such a great group of people. I can't wait to see what Year Two has to offer!

6 x 800m Intervals, Fast Version

This morning was another glorious weather day. Clear, cool, maybe 60 degrees. There was a slight breeze from time to time on the backstretch of the track, but not too bad.

A large group of Gazelles gathered at RunTex at 6:00 am, including lots of new folks. It was good to see Peter Rauch there, still basking in the glow of a well-run Boston Marathon. He got to do a relaxed run on the trail instead of what we were doing. For the rest of us, Gilbert had two different workouts: Circuit Training, 3-4 x800m circuits (for those not racing the Texas Roundup 10k this weekend, and for those not doing Indy Mini); and 3-6 x 800m @ 10k pace, 2:00 rest between, for those of us racing in the next two weeks. We had a brisk run over to Austin High, and I had fun talking with Frank and Alex on the way over. Gilbert could see us better this morning, so he stopped the entire group on one of the drills ("High Knees") because we weren't doing it right. That's always funny when he catches us going through the motions. For the record, I think I was doing it right before he stopped us. Believe it or not.

My pace group for the 800's was Amy, Shannon and Susan. I thought we'd be shooting for 3:35 or so for our intervals, because I was the fastest 10k runner in the group, and that was faster than my 10k race pace. However, they had other ideas. We were okay on the first one, at 3:39. Then the fun began. We were quite erratic on these, doing 3:29, 3:25, 3:33 for the next 3 repeats. The women had to leave, so they pushed the last interval. I clicked number 5 off in 3:26, running with Shannon, while Amy and Susan ran away from us on the backstretch. Gilbert told Alex, Frank and I that we should do 6 repeats since we were doing the half marathon next week. So, I lined up with Alex, and we were off for the last repeat (Frank felt a little beat, from 5K hangover, so he sat out number 6). Alex left me behind immediately, but I tried to hold the gap at least. I was surprised to see my last interval at 3:20. For all 6 repeats, 4800m of repeats, I averaged 3:29 per repeat, 7:00/mile pace. The whole workout was basically faster than my current 5k race PR. Crazy, man, crazy.

I felt okay throughout the morning, though, and despite my HR getting cranked up to race levels, I was within myself and my limits for the 800's. It was a heck of a workout, that's for sure. This was probably the last hard workout before Indy, so it was good to really crank some hard speedwork out. The run back to RunTex was with Frank, Alex, Kelly, Marci and Henry. We were moving on, too.

I did the full stretching ritual once we finished, since I didn't want to jump into my car right after running like we did. It was a really good day at the running office. Total mileage 6.7 miles, 8:12 average pace, including warmup and cooldown runs on the trail.

Recovery Run in the Sun (oooh, it rhymes!)

Today, I felt pretty good after yesterday's 5k racing exertions. I waited until the afternoon, and then got out in the sun and mild heat (about 70 degrees) for my day after recovery run, as well as the next heat acclimatization run. I went out intending to go for an easy 45 minutes or so in my neighborhood, which is mildly hilly. There was a slight breeze, so that helped with the minor heat. All in all, I felt great out there today. Ended up doing 46 minutes, 5.1 miles, right at 9:00/mile pace. I was a little faster than I had intended, and my HR was higher than a normal recovery run, but I blame that partially on the iced tea and Dr. Pepper I ingested in the hours prior to the run. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!) I never felt like I was blasting away out there, and my breathing never got out of control, so this was a good one. Afterwards, did most of the stretching regimen, and got back to the post-run exercises. 4x30 crunches/leg extensions, 2x25 "Jan" crunches, 2x25 "Canoe" crunches, 2x15 pushups. A nice day at the running office, and I've finally gotten back onto the Monday run routine.

Weekly Stats (4/18-24):

Only 3 runs, but they were all good ones. 7 mile pace run, fartlek tuneup run, and PR 5K race made up a good week. 17.5 miles is all, but I'll take that. Just one gym workout, too. I'll just chalk it up to a distracted week and move on. This week is all about the last couple of tuneup workouts for the Indy Mini, including an easy long run of 10 miles on Saturday. Gym on Wed, Friday, and maybe Sunday. Next week is taper city.

Schlotzsky's Bun Run 5K!

First of all, I was a slug on Friday and Saturday, and did nothing. Nada. Yeah, I had an all-day classical guitar festival to participate in on Saturday, but I could have woken up early enough to get in the standard pre-race easy run and stretching on my own. I did not. Yeah, I had all day on Friday to get to the gym, but I found other things to do instead. Plus, I went to the Ginger Man last night, after the festival, with a couple of my friends from that group, and we worked out all the problems of our musical world over a beer and pizza. I was fairly good, and had only one Black and Tan, but I normally don't drink at all the night before a race.

I said all that to show you that my pre-race preparation was pretty substandard. I ate badly and shut down the exercise routine for a couple of days. Oh, well. This morning, I woke up to a spectacular day. It was 47 degrees, crisp and clear. Perfect running weather. I felt a little grungy, but after a banana and Accelerade, I perked up a bit. Met Frank early at 6:45, and we strolled over to the zero marker to meet the rest of the gang for a pre-race warmup. We both had on an extra shirt, because it was so nice and cool. Our easy 2 mile warmup, with Marci, Amy and other Gazelles, went just perfectly. I was feeling better all the time. Drills were fun, as the vast majority of people gathering for the race just looked at us like we were goofy. I stretched a bit, just to work out some kinks, and then we were ready to lineup. I took a pre-race GU, just for that last boost, about 25 minutes before the race, with a last sip of water.

Frank and I ditched our extra shirts over at RunTex, and got in the crowd at the start line, along with Amy. Frank moved forward to the front of the line, but I stayed back about 15 yards with Amy. We chatted and commiserated about how hard the effort to come would be. 5K's are just hard. You go out until you feel uncomfortable, then hold that pace, speeding up if you start feeling good. They are not fun. Short, but hard all the way. Plus, I haven't run one of these in a long time. Race goals were to break 22:50 (Masters PR), break 7:15 pace, and fastest goal was to get to 22:00. I had no idea how fast I would go, but resolved to go out hard. Patrick and Alex would be cheering us on, after all.

The National Anthem singer did her best Shania Twain imitation, turning a bunch of single syllable words into broken two syllable constructs (La - And of the free, for instance). I was giggling, and Amy told me to behave. I couldn't help it. The singer was good, just used some funny phrasing.

At the horn, we were off. Amy left me behind, but I resolved to run my race. I worked my way over the first half mile through the walkers and really slow people who decided to line up ahead of me, and thought I was going really slowly, because I had to do so much darting and waiting. I was really happy to see my first mile split at 7:14. Right on pace for my mid-level hard goal. I figured that with all the extra time spent negotiating traffic, I should maintain that same effort level, and I'd be faster on mile 2. At the 1.5 mile mark, a band was playing ZZ Top's "Jesus Just Left Chicago," which is a great song, but it's really slow blues. Odd choice for a band at a race. After looping around the Dog Pound loop, Mile 2 split was 7:10. I was really doing well. Now, to hang on for the finish.

Mile 3 has a long sneaky incline on it, and as I pushed up First Street, I passed Jan, then Brent, then Amy. I had to concentrate on my own race, and kept digging. Reaching the top of that incline, I gathered myself, and pushed through the turn onto the First Street bridge. I knew the finish was maybe a quarter mile away. It was go time. Alex yelled that I was doing great as I passed him on the bridge, which helped a lot. I kept passing folks, and hit the mile 3 marker at 7:02 pace. I was going great! I kicked it in for the last .1 miles, and was making all sorts of sounds, I'm sure. At the finish, I roared across the line, and my final time was 22:04! I blasted my race goals, for the most part, 7:07 overall pace. My final sprint was at something like 6:20 pace, pretty good.

I ran a perfect race, for me. Each mile was faster than the one before, I had a kick at the end, and very very few people passed me during the course of the run. I did not leave anything out on the race course, I think. This was my 8th fastest 5K ever, out of 26 tries. It's been 12 years since I've run a 5K that fast. I think I have a good shot at a lifetime PR in the next year. It was a Masters PR by some 46 seconds, a huge margin over 5K.

Frank, Amy and I all PR'd, and it was a happy bunch of Gazelles who celebrated afterwards. Schlotzsky's puts on a good post-run scene, and we enjoyed the food and the gorgeous weather for quite a while. Marci and Frank both won medals in their respective age groups, and another Gazelle won the overall title. Alex was there for the post-race festivities, and he was beaming in the afterglow of his great Mt. Bonnell run yesterday. Of course, he'll probably go out this afternoon for a 40 mile bike ride up various mountains. :)

It was a fabulous day at the races. Now, I just need to have this last good week of training, and get ready for Indy!!

Running With The Herd Again...

This morning, on a muggy, overcast day, I rejoined the Gazelles for the typical pre-race fartlek tuneup run. I formed a pack with Frank, Amy and Sean after drills and a short warmup run. Our 2.35 miles of fartleks (1:00 fast, 1:00 easy) averaged 8:12/mile, and it was a fun time. It felt really great to get out there with everyone again after missing Tuesday, and it was a treat to run with Frank and Sean, who usually are faster than me on this workout.

Most of the folks had to do the 4 mile tempo/time trial run, if they weren't racing this weekend, so we got a chance to cheer them on as they finished that effort. I was particularly impressed with Joseph, who blew away his existing personal best for the tempo run by maybe 2 minutes as he escorted Liliana during the run. Richard was chasing down Shannon right at the end of the run, too, but she held him off with a strong finish. I'm not sorry that I missed out on that particular workout. :)

After that, I had to hurry home so that I could get to our refinance closing, so I'll have to do the situps/pushups this evening. The refi was uneventful, and it'll be nice to get that boost in monthly available funds.

Tomorrow, another gym visit, and I might do a short run tomorrow as well. Saturday is very busy with the classical guitar festival, so I might be better suited to do my last run on Friday instead of Saturday. We'll see...

Schlotzsky's Bun Run 5K Goals:

My current Masters PR for 5K is 22:50 (7:22 pace), and I hope to blast past that on Sunday at the Bun Run. My comfortable goal is 22:49 (masters PR), mid-level hard goal is 22:30 (7:15 pace), and my stretch goal is 22:00 (7:05 pace). Again, I have no idea what to expect, but my recent 20x400m workout seems to give me a shot at my stretch goal. With a 5K, you just go out hard, and try to maintain that level of discomfort for a short 3.1 miles. It's a tough race, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Oops...I forgot to properly BlogNotate!

Monday, I again couldn't get motivated to get out there and do the pace run as scheduled. I gotta figure that out someday...

However, Tuesday, Mary Anne had an early work meeting, so I couldn't attend the Wilke Hill Festivities with the Gazelles, so I did the pace run on Tuesday instead. I did it in the 'Hood, easy 2 miles at about 9:15/mile pace, and then 5 miles at a sort of progressive pace, averaging just under 8:00/mile for the fast bits, with a "fast lap" of 7:48/mile at the end. I wish I could've joined the herd for the hillwork, but home life does trump running hobby. I'm pleased with the pace run, but I'm still mad at myself for not doing it on the scheduled day. Overall, just over 7 miles at 8:22 average pace. Mid 60's temperatures, overcast, humid. The wonderful crystal clear cool mornings are gone, I fear.

Today, Wednesday, I went to the gym for the regular workout, and had a good time. When an exercise feels like it's getting easier, I just do more or more weight the next time. It's still hard work, but I can see results. Warmup 30 minutes on the cycle, watching the financial channels and CNN with the scrolling text across the screens.

I'm looking forward to running with the herd again tomorrow. After we run, I get to go and meet Mary Anne at the bank to finish up our refinancing on the house. That'll be fun, right?

Weekly Stats:

4 good runs, 31.6 miles. Serious speedwork this week, with mile repeats (5) and 400m repeats (20), along with a recovery run and a long 14+ miler. Two good gym workouts, about 45 minutes of cycling. Did my post-run exercises after 2 of my 3 runs, so compliance 66.7% on that (On Wednesday, I did the full gym workout along with the 40 minute run). This week, my primary goal is to do the pace run on Monday and a fast 5K on Sunday. The workouts between are more for strength and form. It should be fun!

Gym Work + Cycle

Had a good gym workout today. Legs felt slightly tired after yesterday's long run, but only during some of the leg exercises. Good cycle warmup 30 minutes, varying the resistance levels while I watched ESPN on the screens there.

Then, really solid gym work. Did pretty much all the exercises I've got in my routine, including some things I've added on my own (I added the evil "Jan" crunches today to my regular gym routine, for instance). I did skip weighted lunges today, on the day between a long run and the pace run tomorrow. Otherwise, everything got done. My arms, in particular, were toast after I finished, but that will pass. I was amused again by watching some of the gym folk. It is a very interesting culture in there.

Great Long Run!

Yesterday, I failed to get to the gym for my scheduled workout. I will try to get that done on Sunday instead. I did do the full ab battery of exercises here at home, though, using the fitball. I also did my "practice" pre-race eating routine on Friday (turkey sandwich at lunch, pasta at night). Can't hurt to make sure that food ritual still works for me on the long run.

Today, Marci, Alex, Frank and I gathered at RunTex at 6:00 for our long run. We were joined by Jan, Bridget, Volel, Shannon and one other person, who were planning on shorter long runs, but would accompany us at least to our mile 8 mark. We took off. Weather was partly clear, but nice and cool. Probably mid-50's. At about the one mile mark, Volel had a leg problem, and turned back for RunTex. He's been battling injury, and his calf just wouldn't let him go today. We rolled on. By 1.5 miles into the run, I looked back, and couldn't see Shannon and the other woman running with us. Since there were two of them, we guessed that they had adopted a slightly slower pace. Through the pre-dawn darkness we went, chatting away and generally enjoying the morning. Bridget and Marci pulled ahead of us, with Alex, and Frank, Jan and I forming a second group. Not too much distance between, but it would grow to 50 yards or so.

Our group took a quick 10 second water stop, and then Marci's group took one ahead of us, so we played leapfrog for a while. We finally got synched up at about mile 5. First 5 splits were very good: 9:55, 9:00, 8:58, 9:15, 9:05. We were moving right along. We made our first full stop at about 6.75 miles, took a GU, and after an efficient 1:53 stop, we were back on track. Our pace through that point was 9:09/mile.

We did one more mile on the trail, and then Jan and Bridget turned for home, and the four of us remaining turned up under Mopac for the rolling trip up to Enfield. We started picking up the pace considerably here, and I had to concentrate to stay with the faster folks through the tougher stretches of that path. I recovered pretty quickly, though, and we reached the second and last full Powerade stop at 9.5 miles. Our overall pace had dropped to 9:03/mile. We hydrated a bit (1:33 stop), and then we were off for the homestretch run.

The course was rolling hills for a mile or so, and then it was much more moderate from there to the finish. Our new quicker pace continued, even through the hills. As we turned from Enfield to Lake Austin Blvd, we were nearly taken out by a motorcycle hugging the inside blind corner. Marci took the scariest view of the oncoming cycle, and it took a while for her breathing to return to normal. Our miles were now 8:50, 8:40, so we were accelerating a good bit. When we reached the Mopac bridge, with 2 miles to go, Alex, Frank and Marci pulled ahead of me a bit, but I was still running hard. My last miles were 7:55, 7:50, and then a half mile at 7:44. So, I finished up a 14.15 mile run with a hard stretch at or near my current 10k race pace. Excellent! I didn't finish that far behind the faster folks, and I have them to thank for the very solid run that we did. My HR didn't go totally crazy on those last few miles, either, so that was encouraging as well. Overall, 14.15 miles, 8:47/mile overall pace. Maybe too fast? Or, should I rethink my half marathon race goals? :)

We did 5 striders afterwards, and these felt a lot better and smoother than the ones after last week's Mt. Bonnell run. The MarleyFest was setting up at Auditorium Shores while we were striding, which is a funny juxtaposition of activities. On the one hand, presumably pot-smoking reggae fans and musicians, and on the other, seriously non-smoking runners. At least it amused me to think of this.

Back at the RunTex parking lot, a large crowd of Gazelles had gathered for the post-run stretching routine (and free breakfast tacos! Thanks, Mario!). The usual groaning and laughing ensued, but the stretching really makes a difference.

A trip into RunTex to use my Capitol 10k merchandise coupon followed, where I scored 3 pair of my favorite CoolMesh Wright Sox as well as a new running shirt for the warmer weather to come.

It was yet another great day, and I think I'm basically ready for the Indy Mini Marathon right now. I've got a pace run and some speedwork to do next week, then a 5K race on Sunday. After that, it's a short 2 week taper. Back to the gym on Sunday for cycling and weights.

Good Golly Miss Molly! 20 x 400m Repeats!

Sometimes, I am bemused at the mystical powers that Gilbert seems to wield over us. You show up for the workout, you know what it's going to be ahead of time, and you have a vague idea of what pace you might run. Then, you get there, and Gilbert looks at you and says you should do the maximum number of repeats at a pace that seemed outrageous in the comfort of your own home. You grumble a little, mutter that it seems impossible, and then you do the workout just like he said to do it, and you find you're stronger than you thought. This morning was such a day as that.

It was beautiful this morning, again, temps in the mid 50's, clear, crisp. Amazing weather for mid-April in Austin. A huge crowd of peeps left from RunTex at 6:00 for the warmup, with a bunch of folks meeting us at the Austin High track to save time after the workout. I ran over with Amy, chatting away to catch up on what's going on with her. Even the warmup today was faster than normal, but it was still comfortably paced (9:27/mile). The sheer numbers of Gazelles doing the drills was unbelieveable. There could have been 40 people there. At any rate, after the drills, we gathered in our loose pace groups for the Word. We were to do sets of 5x400m repeats, with 1:00 active walk/jog rest between. He said at least 2 sets, and up to 4 sets. The first set were all to be at 10k pace (most of us laughed at that), then each successive set would be 2 seconds per 400m faster. Between each set of 5, we got to walk a full lap of the track (or rest for 4:00 instead). The watchword was consistency in each group of 5.

My crew was Richard, Jan, Amy, Shannon, Margaret, Joseph and me. Was there someone else with us? We arbitrarily set our goal pace for the first set at 1:48/400m, or 7:14 mile pace. We did a great job keeping the first set on track: 1:48, 1:49, 1:48, 1:46, 1:49. The next set was a little more erratic, but still pretty solid: 1:48, 1:45, 1:47, 1:45, 1:44. We kept getting distracted by the slightly faster group ahead of us (Frank and Alex's group), and some in our group would get pulled along on the homestretch. Still, we were pretty solid through 10 repeats. Richard, Joseph and Margaret had early meetings and had to leave after 10. Set 3 was faster still, and we clicked them off at 1:44, 1:41, 1:44, 1:44, 1:45. Nice consistent job there. Like booster rockets, Shannon and Amy left after 15 repeats, off to work. So, for the last set, I was the last of the Mohicans. I hooked up with Frank, Alex and Marci, the only people left on the track, and settled in for a last fast 5. While we were doing those last 5, I noticed that Jan was doing a couple more repeats by herself. Oh, well. My last 5 were surprisingly good: 1:40, 1:41, 1:39, 1:39, 1:31. On that last one, I was feeling pretty clunky, but I blasted out an all-time 400m repeat single lap record for me. That last one was 6:06/mile pace, which just sounds outrageous to me.

Anyway, Gilbert was happy that we had done the whole workout, and we watched ourselves on video afterwards. Gilbert told me that my form looked pretty good, which made me feel much better about myself.

Everyone was driving from the track except for Alex and me, so I did the cooldown run with him back to RunTex. A couple of times, we had to make each other back off on the pace, and we still did something like 8:55/mile pace back after the workout. Crazy, we are. It was fun to talk with Alex, and it's good to see him so happy again now that he's training like normal. He is still a little grumpy that his times aren't what they were when he was blasting away in the fall and winter, but he's going to be back to his normal running self in no time. He's plenty fast to me, that's for sure!

Alex and I did the full stretching ritual once we got back to RunTex, as well as the post-run exercise stuff. I did 4x30 crunches/leg extensions, 2x20 "Jan" crunches, 2x20 Patrick's "Canoe" crunches, and 2x15 pushups. Then, Alex did 10 pullups, and, inspired, I tried it, and was at least able to do one pullup. That's an improvement, believe it or not! :)

It was a fabulous day at the running office. Total mileage was 8.7 miles, at an average pace of 8:00/mile, including warmup/cooldown. Average pace on 8000m of repeats was 6:58/mile. I don't know exactly what this all means with regard to the 5K race next weekend, but I think I'm supposed to run harder than I had originally planned. I'll just let Gilbert tell me what to do.

...And a Recovery Run, Just for Fun

I was restless this evening, so I scooted out for a little 40 minute recovery type run in the 'Hood. Did 4.5 miles exactly in 40 minutes exactly for an 8:53 average. Used the HR monitor to keep me slowed down, but turned it off for the last 1.5 miles, where it was going to be mostly hilly and uphill slopes. Still kept overall run in happy HR zone. This was a good one, just to work out the kinks remaining from yesterday's mile repeats. It was much warmer, about 80 degrees, but the sun was going down, so it wasn't as brutal as full sun would have been.

Tomorrow morning, it's 400m repeats. Coach is talking about doing them in groups of 5 repeats, so I suspect that means that we'll be asked to do the first set at a certain pace, then slightly faster on set 2, and so on. I did 18 x 400m the last time we did these, so it will be interesting to see how I do tomorrow. Tomorrow's workout is all about the 5k, and very little about the half marathon in May. That's okay, though.

More Gym Adventures

Today, I didn't have quite the time I usually do, but I still got to the gym for a solid workout. Just 12 minutes on the cycle to warmup the legs. Then, the full ab repertoire, with a lot of fitball stuff. I think that part of the routine is pretty good. If I get brave, I'll add either Patrick's "Canoe" crunches or Jan's "Evil" crunches to the gym party. :)

I skipped the 4-way leg machine today for the first time, just as a variety thing. Did lunges with weights again, bumping up to 40 lbs of barbell across the shoulders. On the upper body stuff, I increased weight on bicep curls (just to 45 lbs, but that's a big improvement from the 30 lbs that I started with 6 weeks ago), did some extra reps on bench, lat pulldowns were up to 80 lbs, and then I finished things off with something new. To wrap up the workout, I did incline bench press with dumbbells (20 lbs each hand), and after finishing those 2 sets, I finished off my triceps with the usual tricep extensions and a 20 lb. dumbbell. Geez! My arms were all a'quiver by the end of all that.

Who knows? Maybe someday I'll actually be able to see an actual ab muscle...I know they're there, but they're still hiding behind some modest blubber. I know, diet and exercise, diet and exercise... And, I hope to be able to do pullups one day. Maybe sooner than I think.

Oh, yeah, what is it with serious gym babes and the platinum blonde dye job? Usually found with other, uh, artificial enhancements. These are just questions that I have. :)

Mile Repeats and a Missed Workout

Monday, I had a variety of issues that conspired to prevent me doing the scheduled pace run. There's something about Mondays, I guess. At least I feel bad about it.

Today, I met the Gazelles early on a beautiful cool morning (52 degrees, clear), and we cruised over to Zilker for the hilly mile repeat course. In one direction, there's a long sneaky uphill followed by a steep downhill and then steep uphill right before the finish. In the other direction, we have that downhill first, then a shorter steeper uphill, and a long downhill finish, although slight downhill. I've always gone faster on the second direction, even with the steeper hill in it.

Anyway, drills in the dark, and then we gathered for the repeats. Gilbert initially told me to do 6 repeats, and I tried to pace myself accordingly. My pace pod was Richard, Jan, Joseph, and Gretchen and Liliana started with us but ran faster. My pacing was about like I usually do, with a 10 second difference between the clockwise and counterclockwise direction. I had thought I'd run a little easier than I did, and I felt like these miles were totally within me, but I was still a little quick. Mile splits were 7:43, 7:32, 7:38, 7:28, 7:18. Jan and Joseph stayed around to do number 5 with me, which was nice. It's always easier to do track work with people around you. I thought I had one more to do, and was not going all out on number 5, but Gilbert told me 5 was enough. Better to leave the track thinking you could do more, he says. Okay. I felt pretty comfortable through the workout, although it got slightly tougher during the steeper bits.

Nice run back to RunTex with Frank and Joseph. Then, I did some moderate stretching with Alex, Jan and Patrick. After that, Patrick, Jan and I did the expanded battery of ab/core exercises. I did 4x30 crunches/leg extensions, 2x25 of the new "Jan" crunches, and 2x20 of the "Canoe" crunches that Patrick showed me, where you go side to side. That's a lot of ab work! I also did 2x15 pushups. It was a really great day at the running office. Total mileage around 8.8 miles, 8:20 average pace. Mile repeats were at an average pace of 7:32.

Weekly Stats and Tiger Time!

I took a full day off today, after realizing I'd gone 12 straight days either running or in the gym (or both). Well, I ended up doing some fitball exercises, experimenting with some new ones to see what I might substitute into the regular gym routine, but no running or extended gym work. Other than that, we celebrated Jake's birthday (12 already!), had some cake, and watched the Masters. It was really exciting, even if it was golf, and it was cool to see Tiger win another major.

For the week, I had 4 running workouts, 31 miles. Really good long run up Mt. Bonnell, a couple of good Gazelles workouts with the Monday/Wednesday crew, and a little 5.5 mile pace run. Two good gym workouts, as well. This week will be a tough one on the exercise front, but it should be the toughest one between now and the Indy Mini Marathon in May. I hope the weather cooperates tomorrow so that I can get out there for the long progressive run (well, actually, Gilbert said to go 2 easy miles, then 7 miles at half marathon pace, and one last mile really pushing it). I'm increasingly optimistic about the half marathon at Indy, based on how training and racing is going. Just one more month...

Climbing Mt. Bonnell

This morning, with the weather okay at about 60 degrees and overcast, a pretty large group gathered at 5:45 am for our trek up and over Mt. Bonnell. Marci, Kelly, Patrick, Alex and Jan joined Frank and me for the 13-14 mile journey. With the time change last week, it stayed dark for a long time on this one, which was really different. We made two short water stops early in the first 3.8 miles, as we sort of fell into our running rhythm. The pace for those early miles was 9:21, a relaxed start to the day. I was feeling pretty good, and it seemed everyone else was in good form. After that second stop (both stops totalled 1:45, basically a sip and go situation), we rolled into the Scenic loop, a hilly route that we know by heart. There was some pushing and pulling in the group as we sort of took turns leading the pack. We finally turned up Mt. Bonnell Road, and Patrick said "Here we go!" And we did.

I like the idea of the Bonnell run. I like the feeling after I've done the Bonnell run. I even like the feeling at the top of the second rise up Bonnell, where I swear I hear the "Rocky" theme song in my addled brain. But, there's always a moment as we slog up that steep beast when I question my sanity. :) Anyway, we reached the top of Bonnell, about 7 miles into the journey, at 9:16 overall pace. I had stashed coolers of Accelerade and cups at the top of Bonnell, so we took a somewhat leisurely 3 minute stop there and drank some replenishment fluids and a GU. Refreshed, we moved on.

The Garmin went wild on the overcast and tree-covered Balcones Woods, but later smoothing of the data showed that we rolled down that and further down Pecos in sprightly fashion. Pecos is a rolling, hilly route, but we handled it pretty well. The group's mental energy helped me through Pecos, which is the main reason I enjoy training with other folks on the long runs. At Enfield, Jan and Patrick turned for the slightly shorter 13.25 mile route, and the rest of us headed the other way. By the time we reached the last water stop, back on Lake Austin Blvd., we had covered 10.5 miles, and our average pace had dropped again to 9:09/mile.

After that brief 1 minute stop, we gathered ourselves, and took off for the last 3.5 miles. From there, we were sort of on our own, so some folks (Frank and Marci) took off and pressed the pace from there. I ran with Alex and Kelly to the Mopac bridge, and then slowly continued accelerating for the last couple of miles. Kelly had done a 60 mile bike ride on Friday, so she wasn't in the right shape to blast away. Alex ran with Kelly for a while, but ended up catching me in the last mile of the run. I rolled past the Zero marker and continued on for a bonus loop of Auditorium Shores. The extra loop was slightly slower, as a sort of recovery lap. My last splits were 8:43, 8:44, and 1.6 miles at 8:21. A nice bit of accelerated pace, without going totally crazy. My recovery lap, about .9 miles, was at 9:06 pace.

I was pretty tired by then, but the 15 miles had gone by at exactly 9:00/mile pace. That was a nice Mt. Bonnell run, and I was pleased with my running day. Of course, Gilbert was there at the finish, and made us all do some striders. These 4 striders were easily the hardest ones I've ever done. I felt totally stiff and awkward on the first one, but by the last one, I was feeling fairly normal.

We trudged back to RunTex for the big stretching session, and as usual, we groaned our way through it, laughing at ourselves at the same time.

I hung out and did my post-run exercises with Patrick, Jan and Richard. For Richard, this was his introduction to the Gilbert-Suggested crunches/pushups/back raises, and it was fun to watch him go through the same initial groaning that we all have suffered. Those ab exercises are tough, especially after a long run. Jan showed me a new crunch exercise that's just evil, but I fought through a set of 20 of those. I did the usual 4x30 crunches/leg extensions, 2x20 back raises, the single set of 1x20 "Jan" crunches, and 2x12 pushups. The pushups are getting easier each week, but I still don't have to like them.

Tomorrow is pretty much a day off, with a possible visit to the gym. It's been a good week!

Gym-nastics

I've felt a little leg-tired this week, so today, I skipped the leg portions of the workout regimen. I warmed up with 15 minutes on the bike, and then did the full Ab and Upper Body segments of the workout. I added a new fitball crunch to the mix, and I think I might add just one more exercise there for abs/core, if for no other reason than to have some exercises to rotate in the routine just for variety. Upper body stuff went well. It was a good day at the gym. With Mt. Bonnell coming up tomorrow, I just figured skipping the leg weights today was okay. I'll try to get to the gym on Sunday for a full workout.

I feel pretty good, and all the workouts on the road and in the gym have gone well this week, but I can tell my legs needed a real day off today. Tomorrow should be fun, a 14-15 miler up Mt. Bonnell. Frank and Alex will be in attendance, and maybe some additional guest runners in our crew. We can let Alex talk tomorrow so it will keep him slowed down just a bit, and that way we can all run together the whole way. :)

Short Pace Run [Posted 4/9 due to Blogger.com issues on Thursday]

I was pretty beat this morning, so I did other stuff around the house, then went to the High School to teach my guitar class. It was a beautiful day, but I sort of didn't find the time to get in my run. Eventually, around 7:00, I got out of the house (and off my duff), and took off for a 45 minute run. I planned to do at least the first 2 miles at a recovery run HR, and then if I was feeling good, I'd ease the pace up a bit, just to half marathon HR numbers, for the rest of the 45 minutes. Gilbert had said that I didn't need to do a pace run this week, but I figured a short run at slightly accelerated pace would be okay.

The first 2 easy miles were at 9:06 and 8:53. After that, I started picking up the pace a little, and surprised myself with how comfortable they felt. I clocked 8:24, 8:06, and 7:37 for the next 3 full miles, and then eased up a little for the last .45 miles at 8:01 pace. Overall, it was a really nice 5.45 miles at an average pace of 8:23/mile. My average HR was in the happy zone, although it did get up a little during the 7:37 mile. It was a good run, and another one on a day when I was sort of trying to not do it. I get a day off tomorrow, with just a gym workout and a cycle warmup, and then it's Mt. Bonnell on Saturday. Sounds like we might have more than Frank and Alex on that one, but it should still be fun to have a gang along.

9:00 Gazelles & Zilker 900m Repeats

Another nice day, sunny, breezy, about 63 degrees. It was a bigger group today, and we were off to Zilker for the moderately hilly 900m repeat course there. I ran over with Greta, who had done some of our long runs in the fall. Patrick was absent today. Anyway, the drills were different because in the bright light of mid-morning, Gilbert was able to take aside a few runners to correct their form on one drill or the other. I escaped censure, thankfully.

He gave us permission to run a little easier if we were still tired from the Cap 10k, but that usually goes out the window once we get started. He assigned me to do 5 repeats (90 seconds jog/walk rest between each repeat). I chased Maggie, Greta and Amy on the first repeat, and came in at 3:56 (7:02 mile pace), probably a little fast. The nature of the course is such that either direction, you have to finish on an uphill section. By the time we got to the last repeats, I was able to run by some of my pace group, especially late in the repeat, and I did a pretty good job of maintaining pace. My second repeat was weirdly off, at 4:07, but the last 3 were 4:02, 4:01, 3:58. Overall, I averaged 4:01 (7:11) pace on the repeats, faster than I've done them in the past, but still not all out. I was glad to be done, though.

I ran back with Maggie, a Galloway alumnus, and chatted about what's been going on with her. Once we got back to RunTex, it was time for a good stretching session as we enjoyed the great weather. I remembered to do my post-run exercises once I got home, 4x30 crunches/extensions, 2x25 back raises, and 2x15 pushups.

For the day, about 6.5 miles, average pace running was 8:40 or so. A good day at the running office.

Take It To The Gym

I rode the exercise cycle at the gym for 36 minutes today, and it felt pretty good. HR only got up to low recovery run numbers, but it did my legs some good to get some non-impact work.

The workout went well. I tried incline dumbbell flies after bench press, and that was an interesting change. Still, I'm making progress, and I know the weight work is helping me. The routine is reaching all the main muscle groups, and I'm slowly improving on most of the exercises. I like the fitball crunces and oblique crunches that I've substituted into the workout, and I might add one more ab/core exercise on the fitball. Today, I did have one amusing moment. I was doing seated rows, and as I pulled back on the first repetition, I felt like it was a lot more difficult than usual. I had set the machine for my usual weight, but I guess I was tired or something. Once I finished my first set, and I only was able to do 10 reps, a guy next to me asked me if I knew that the 80 lb plate was stuck to the stack that I was lifting. Well, no, I didn't, but that sure explained why it felt more difficult! After getting the weight unstuck, the second set was sure a lot easier to do.

It was a good day at the gym, another small step on the road to getting into lean, mean shape.

9:00 Gazelles & Modified Circuit Training

The Day After the 10k, I met the 9:00 M-W Gazelles for their workout. This week, I get to "guest" with them due to time issues. They're a fun bunch, and Greta, Tracy and Patrick are in that group, so it feels normal to run with them. Since so many of us ran hard yesterday, Gilbert adjusted the workout a bit. He sent us out to do a relaxed 4 miles, doing the tempo run course, and then we'd do circuit exercises at Auditorium Shores. So, I took off with the aforementioned folks, including Bridget, and we headed to the turnaround at the Mopac bridge. Patrick, Greta and Bridget ran faster than "relaxed" pace, so I ran with Tracy to start with. We got caught up on what was happening in Real Life, but at the turnaround, she told me to go on ahead. I must have picked it up slightly on the way back, because my last mile was 8:35. Overall, the 4.2 miles were at 8:53 pace. Maybe a bit fast, but it felt fine, and my HR numbers were okay.

After a little water, we did a set of the usual circuit exercises, although I did slightly elevated numbers on a few things. I did 10 stepups (each leg), 15 crunches, 10 Superman jumps, 12 pushups, and 10 lunges (each leg). After that first circuit, Gilbert had us do his "Run While Holding Your Breath" deal. In that, you take a deep breath, and then sprint or stride until you have to breathe. We did 3 repeats of that. I usually got around 70 yards down the grass on those. It's certainly a strange feeling running like that. After the anaerobic strides, we did a second set of circuit stuff, same numbers. And then 2 more anaerobic strides.

A nice stretching session followed, as we worked out remaining kinks from yesterday's race.

It was a fun day, and nice to meet some new Gazelles.

Statistics:
Week 3/28-4/03: 4 runs, 22.4 miles. Solid Meriden 1000 workout, very good 10k race. Two gym workouts, 55 minutes cycling. It was a good week as we did a mini-taper for the 10k. I did miss a scheduled pace run, but the good 10k effort makes me feel okay about that.

March 2005: 135.5 miles. 18 runs. 7 gym workouts. About 70% compliance on doing routine post-run exercises. It was a good month. 50 miles more than March 2004.

Capitol 10,000!

This morning, the weather was perfect for running a good 10k. Temps were probably in the 50's at the start of the race, slightly breezy, clear and cool. Humidity wasn't an issue. If there was ever a day to go for a good time at this distance, this was it. It was singlet weather, so I donned my all-black Gazelles gear for today's effort.

I met up with the Gazelles an hour before the race start for a nice relaxed warmup (I did about a mile) and the usual drills. I was feeling pretty good. I was confident that I could PR in this race, but I had no real clue as to what to expect other than that. We stretched a little with Gilbert, and then Gilbert had us approach the start line in a roundabout way, so Frank and I jogged that extra distance to reach the starting corrals about 10 minutes before the gun. They did a much better job of making sure that the correct color bibs got in the proper corral, which made for a much better start to the race. I remembered at the last minute to double tie my shoes, and wished Margaret, Sean and Frank luck.

At the gun, I ended up maybe 20 seconds off of clock time as I crossed the start line. My legs felt a little tight in the first half mile or so, but I soon fell into a race rhythm and motored along Congress. I was passing people in droves, but was never held up by the crowd. I was able to run my pace all day long. I felt fairly relaxed on the slightly inclined first mile, working hard but not going crazy, and passed the mile 1 marker in 7:49. That was a little faster than I had expected, but it felt about right, so I didn't worry too much. We zigzagged around the Capitol, up a short little hill, and then ended up on 15th. I kept up the same effort level, and on the rolling mile 2, I ended up with an almost identical split of 7:52. Mile 3 starts with a long uphill, but after all the hillwork that we do in training, I was able to push through that mile pretty efficiently. I was working hard, but was right on target. I passed Jan during mile 3, but figured that she might sneak along behind me and catch me later in the race. That probably made me run harder. Mile 3 split, after turning south, was 7:53. Through 3 miles, I was way ahead of schedule, but felt great. I was on a good run, and now it was time to bring it home. It was at this point that I thought about Patrick and the challenge he had thrown down to me, to run past that comfortable zone and go for a really good time. I was determined to keep pushing hard, and resolved to get everything out of this race that I could. Thanks for the mental note, Patrick!

Mile 4 had one minor hill in it, really not too bad compared to some of the stuff we've done. After that, it has a lot of downhill trend as it rolls down to the river and Austin High School. A good number of folks were walking or slowing considerably through this stretch. These are roads that I know really well, from a zillion races and training runs. Don Lujan, one of the guys who's run every Capitol 10,000, passed me during mile 4. I chatted briefly, but we both had work to do. My mile 4 split was a really surprising 7:35. I dodged the sprinkler on the course and kept focused on the task at hand. There were a couple of people more or less running my pace, so I kept them in sight. With only 2 miles and change to go, it was time to really bear down. I kept passing people during mile 5, and after the underpass over by the dog pound that's in every race downtown, I soon came up on the mile 5 marker. With the sun blasting in our eyes, it was somewhat tough going, but I hit my mile 5 split at 7:37. I wasn't trying to calculate my possible finishing times, but I knew I was way ahead of my stated pre-race goals. Time for the big payoff!

Churning up the slight incline on Cesar Chavez, I kept moving and working hard. I reached the bridge and turned for RunTex and the last corner. On the bridge, I saw Gilbert, right when I was suffering a little, and his quick cheer picked me up. I passed several guys right after that, as if I had gotten a rocket booster, and made the turn for home. The mile 6 split right after the last corner was 7:34. I'm really glad that Peter gave me the tip about the finish line this year. When it's stretched out on a straight, it looks forever away, but I knew what I had to do. At first, a couple of people went around me right after the marker, but I dug deep, and pushed for the finish. I concentrated on my form, and pressed past the uncomfortable point. As I got closer to the line, I saw that I had a shot at getting under 48:00, which was a wildly improbable thought! So, I had to dig even harder, re-passing a couple of folks late, and nipping across the line in 47:52. My finishing kick wasn't that much faster than I was going already (about 7:18 finishing kick), but I certainly wasn't slowing down.

It was a really great result for me, and it's a sign that all the hard work is starting to pay off. I blasted my "Masters PR" by almost 2 minutes, at an average pace of 7:42/mile. This was totally unexpected, but very gratifying. I did an almost perfect job of pacing and racing, with a definite negative split by a bunch. A fantastic day at the races.

Frank, Sean, Henry, Jan, Patrick and I all PR'd today, so it was a good day for lots of folks. Gilbert returned to racing again, and ran a strong 3rd overall, so he was happy with his day.

After hanging out and doing the usual post-race eating, drinking and talking, I had to get going. Frank and I jogged back to where our cars were parked, about a half mile. I took the time to stretch while I drank my Endurox in the parking garage, and that helped. Tomorrow, I'll be hanging with the Monday/Wednesday 9:00 Gazelles, so we'll see if Gilbert has us do the scheduled circuit training or substitutes something easier.

Easy Run & Stretching

Today was a casual 30 minute run followed by the standard Saturday stretching session. It was clear and cool (temps around 45 at the start). Gilbert was a little late arriving, so we were told to run 30 minutes instead of 4 miles. I ended up cruising along with Richard and Alex, and we chatted away as we did our little run. Turns out to be 3.2 miles or thereabouts. Average pace around 9:30-9:40. After that, we did 5 striders on the grass and watched the kids finish up the Dillo Dash mile or whatever it was called. The best part of that was seeing a girl in a walker finish the race, with the crowd roaring for her as she pushed across the line. That put any injury whining by any of us to rest, I'd say.

A giant circle of Gazelles gathered on the grass afterwards for the stretching, and that was fun as usual. It was a glorious morning, and it felt good to be outdoors during the stretching session. We then gathered for a group photo. It was a fun morning.

Capitol 10,000 Goals:
Comfortable goal: Break 50:00 (8:03 pace)
Reasonable goal: Masters PR 49:39 (8:00 pace)
Stretch goal: 49:00 (7:53 pace) - the next round number barrier

When I told Patrick that I had set some modest goals for the Cap 10k, he challenged me to run all out and to "go for it." We'll see how it feels tomorrow morning. Weather promises to be nice and cool, so it'll be a good day to try to run fast. Strategy is to get through the hilly first 3 miles without blowing the whole race, and then to dial it up each mile after that. Peter pointed out to me this morning that the finish line is much further down Riverside than the other races that finish at Auditorium Shores. The mile 6 marker is far after the last corner, coming off the bridge, and the finishing straight is deceptively long. That was good information to put away before tomorrow's efforts. It should be interesting to see how it goes. It's been six months or so since my last 10k, after all.

Gym Workout & Packet Pickup Problems

This morning, I got to the gym and had a good workout. I did 20 minutes on the bike to warmup, doing some interval type work on the bike, varying the intensity level back and forth. While I was riding, the news channels were running story after story about Pope John Paul II and his grave health condition. They had nuns, medical correspondents, and other clergy up there as talking heads, giving their opinions about either the pope's medical condition, his legacy, or possible successors. You can bet all news outlets have their stories already written and edited in the event of his death.

Anyway, I saw a couple of Gazelles there in the gym, which was fun. I skipped the lunges today, since I'm racing on Sunday, and skipped seated rows today for variety. I added dumbbell flies on the flat bench, for additional chest work. From time to time, I think this is a good thing, to substitute a different exercise for something on the permanent menu.

It was a good workout, and I finished in time to zoom home, get cleaned up, and then get to the high school to teach my guitar class there. The kids were whining a little today about learning a third piece for their recital in May, but after we played through the new piece a time or two, I think they all realize that it's not that tough. I'm sort of a benevolent dictator in my role as volunteer guitar ensemble coach. :)

After that, I dashed down to the new packet pickup location for the Capitol 10,000. What a fiasco that was! The line stretched far out the opening of the big circus tent that housed the pickup. After standing there for a few minutes, a volunteer told us that if we owned our chip, that we could go around everyone and get in the special line for chip owners. Cool! I went past probably 75 people, maybe more, and stood just 6 people away from the Chip Owners window. And I stood. And stood. And stood. You get the picture. People were zooming through the lines next to me, picking up their packets and chips. But in our "special" line, there was little or no progress. Some people were apparently picking up multiple packets, for friends in the untimed groups or in the "need a chip" groups, and the single guy behind our window had to stroll around the whole length of the pickup area gathering the packet stuff for all those folks. It was incredibly frustrating. Once I got within 3 people of the window, I noticed that the folks standing with me when I first arrived were getting their packets in the lanes next to me. Grrrrrrrrrrr!!! And finally, I was NEXT IN LINE! Joy was in my heart...and then the man in the "Just Need My Chip, I've Got The Rest Of My Packet" line had to leave to assist someone. When my guy looked up, he asked the guy in the line next to me, who had no helper in their window, to advance ahead of me. And that guy had, no fooling, 6 packets to pick up. SIX!! It took a tooth-grindingly long time for him to be serviced. When I finally got to the window, the guy said, "Just One?" I bit my tongue for a moment, and said, "Yes, I didn't know we could collect packets for all 15 of our friends." He then said, "Do you own your own chip?" I replied that, yes, I owned my chip, and that's why I was in this line, and that's why my race number was marked as it was. I escaped before I totally exploded. For a very patient guy like myself, this was more than I could take. A terribly bad pickup experience. It took over an hour for me to get from standing outside the tent to the time I walked out the tent again. I'll run the race in a shorter time than that!

Man! Anyway, after that, the race shouldn't be nearly so bad, right? Weather looks promising.