20 Miler On Freescale Course [Entered 12-11-05]

Today was a very important day, psychologically, for all of us training for Freescale. It was the first 20+ mile run of the training season, and for some reason, the runs seem a lot more serious once they cross into the 20's. The weather forecast was off slightly, and it was 45 degrees throughout the run and overcast, instead of starting at 36 and warming to 45 or so in sunny conditions. No big problem. Some folks were overdressed, but since it stayed right in the mid-40's throughout, heat never became an issue. Gloves were needed throughout. I was ready, I thought, properly fueled and excited about the workout.

Anyway, we met at Lake Austin RunTex, and carpooled up to the starting point at 183 and Spicewood Springs, the 3.5 mile mark on the Freescale course. I had a car full, as usual. The weird Christmas music station that I had playing didn't provide sufficient inspiration for the run, so in retaliation, I switched to the 80's channel on satellite radio, where we were treated to Tommy Tutone's "867-5309 (Jenny)." That's the kind of tune that can haunt you on a long run! The conversation on the ride up was bubbly, and I think everyone was looking forward to the run.

Gilbert was up in Dallas for the White Rock races, so Henry and Rudy took over the job of course support from him. They did a fantastic job of supplying us with fluids and snacks, as well as acting as drop sites for extra clothes and such. After we milled around for a bit once we arrived at the parking lot at the top of our course for the day, it was time to get going, a little before 6:00 am. We all just sort of took off, and slowly, the typical pace groups formed up. I ended up running with Jennifer, Amy, Shannon, Brian, Rich and Jan on this one. Alex ran with us for the first mile or so before moving up to the group ahead of us. We ran the 5 miles to the first water stop (Henry's stop) very comfortably, with only a little nervousness on Jollyville Road and Burnet with the traffic behind us. Shannon put together enough GU's from our extras that we were carrying to supply her on the run, so that logistical problem was solved. We caught Frank's group at that stop, which surprised us, and we kept running up on the group ahead of us throughout the day. Either we were moving quicker than normal, or they were having to take extra "rest" stops. Whatever the case, it was odd to see them so much. That also made the water stops last longer than normal, with 3:30 being the norm today. A couple of cups of Powerade (blue flavor) and a GU, and it was time to get going again. So far, things were going great!

Splits miles 1-5.45: 9:30, 9:17, 9:29, 9:10, 9:03, .45 miles at 8:56. Overall, 9:16/mile pace.

We survived the sometimes dicey traffic on Burnet, and got off of heavily travelled roads for the rest of the run. The zigzag route through the industrial park just north of 183 was easy, and we saw a group coming up from the old version of the Freescale course, not for the last time. They passed through our group, and we made our way to Shoal Creek. Our merry band rolled down to the Great Northern road along the railroad tracks, and again encountered a Rogue Training workout while we went through there. They were doing some sort of multiple lap workout on the route they call "The Lab," so they were moving faster than we were...not a lot faster, but enough. We found Rudy on White Rock Trail, and again mixed up with the faster people ahead of us. Frank even came from the old route again, behind us, and I'm sure that was due to some sort of extra stops that his group had to make. Once we get 10 miles into one of these long runs, we shouldn't be seeing those folks on a typical day. Another GU, more Powerade, and it was time to get going. We were well into the run, and things seemed just fine. The course had been flat to gently downhill trend to this point, but during the next 5 miles, we'd encounter the moderately hilly middle section of the marathon course.

Splits miles 6-10.6: 8:50, 8:38, 9:09, 9:19, 9:20 and 300 yards at 9:17 pace. Overall, 9:09/mile. With the first water stop in there, pace dropped to 9:27/mile, which was perfect. Everyone seemed to be doing just fine, and spirits remained high, conversation animated. My legs stiffened up during the longish stop there, but soon loosened back up as we moved on.

A short jaunt down Shoal Creek took us to Hancock and then the split to North Loop for the journey West to East to Duval Street. North Loop features a series of modest inclines which aren't much, but they will be something to consider at the 16-18 mile segment of Freescale in February. We got through them well, and successfully made the turn onto Duval without adding any extra distance for a navigational error (unlike some other Gazelles on Saturday!). We saw Frank's group just up ahead, and I kept cautioning our people that catching Frank and his tribe was not in our best interest. Keeping the same gap between our groups was okay, but closing on them was probably an indication that we were getting a little frisky with pace. After cruising through the UT campus, we found Henry and the last water stop just south of MLK Blvd, as planned. The usual collision of groups occurred there, and a group of faster people even came up after we did, due to more unplanned stops. Just one of those days, I guess. We took our last GU's, downed a few cups of Powerade, and we were off.

Splits miles 11-16.5: 9:07, 9:01, 9:11, 8:54, 8:53, and .75 miles at 8:44/mile. Those downhill miles on Duval and San Jacinto picked our overall pace to 9:06/mile. With the first two water stops included, our pace to that point was 9:30. We were all having a good run, that's for sure.

This was where Gilbert had told us to "Go!" and pick up the pace to something between 10K and half marathon pace to the end of the run. I resolved to pick it up to one degree or the other, and I'd just run how I felt in from there. The time for trying to stay together in one big happy pace group was over, although we generally stayed with one or more folks from the group to the finish. We had the option of following the actual course as it goes around the Capitol building, and we all took that option. More rehearsal value. I picked it up, and soon enough, Rich came up with me, and we pushed it from there. As we ran along Congress Avenue, enjoying that slightly downhill mile, we made pretty much every light along the way, so we didn't have to do too much waiting for traffic. After 2nd Street, we took the north side of the hike and bike trail, which went right along the Freescale course on Cesar Chavez. That street is too busy by then to run on, so we sort of simulated it as best as we could. The surface of the trail was a relief after all the concrete and asphalt that we had covered to then. Rich and I kept pushing each other, and later when we compared notes, it seems that at various points, we thought the other guy was going to move ahead to stay, but we kept finding new reserves to maintain the pace. I knew we had picked it up a good bit, but it didn't feel like we were going crazy fast. It was certainly as fast as I could go after all the first 16 miles, though. We kept counting down the mile markers, and finally, we hit Veterans Blvd., and caught Alex there underneath Mopac. The three of us pushed up that last little hill to RunTex, and it was over, finally. It turns out, Rich and I had a really strong finish to the day. Congratulations all around from those folks who had already finished, and very shortly after that, Shannon and then the rest of the gang powered up to the finish. It was a great running day for all of my pace pals, that's for sure!

Splits miles 17-20: 7:59, 7:43, 7:35, and .4 at 7:41/mile. Whew! Overall pace improved to 8:51/mile, running pace. With all three water stops included, it slowed to 9:22, which was terrific all by itself. Final mileage 20.1 miles, 3:08:18 time including water stops.

We managed to convince ourselves to do 5 striders up the alley behind RunTex. Most of the first one, I did exaggerated balance drills trying to loosen up my quads and hips, and then by the end of the striders, I was feeling almost decent. You could really tell that we had worked hard today, that's for sure. That fast finish portion was hard going, but most of the rest was tough mainly just due to the accumulation of miles and wear and tear, not from cardiovascular issues.

The gang gathered at the Austin High School track for post-run stretching, and the groans were more pronounced after the 20 miler. Still, I felt pretty darned good after we finished. Frank was nice enough to drive Jason and I up to our cars at the start of the course, and the long day's work was over.

For the week, "only" 35.5 miles running. Good compliance with gym workouts, though. I skipped only one run, actually, the easy hour run on Thursday. The 800m repeats went great, so I'll call this a very fine week of training. I'll try to get all the scheduled workouts in next week, starting with circuit training on Monday. Today, Sunday, I'm a little stiff, but that's to be expected. Tomorrow, after the circuit training, I'll take the time to stretch my legs after they're warmed from the exercises.