Today was different because of Mary Anne's work schedule. I had child transport duties this morning, and had to create my own solo fartlek workout instead of rolling around the lake with the herd.
This morning, I visited Gold's again, for core and upper body weights. Even though it appeared that I was lifting weights with stick-figure arms, I completed a single set workout of everything at various reduced weight and reps. Pleasant soreness was the result. Again, they didn't call my bluff and kick me out as some sort of interloper, so I guess I'll just have to keep going.
This evening, after delivering Sarah to All-City Band rehearsals down south at Covington M.S., I decided to use the intervening time before going back to pick her up by running a fartlek workout around LBLake. I arbitrarily chose a 10 minute warmup, 10 x 1:00 fartleks with 1:00 rest, and then cooldown running from the end of that back to my starting point. The Congress Ave. loop was my turf tonight. It was 85 degrees, according to the trusty car thermometer, but it felt much more pleasant than that on the trail. I guess it was a combo platter of lake effect, breezes, and copious shade along the route. Nice, though.
Without a gang to bounce paces off of, I just picked things up on the accelerations to some perceived level of effort, and then backed off, after that initial warmup. I'm sure I had that focused frown going during the tougher bits, but I was happy that I pushed through and finished the entire workout as I had mapped it. I ended up with something like 7:40/mile pace on the 10 minutes of accelerations, and 9:20/mile or so for the entire loop, including cooldown and warmup miles. 4.82 miles, 44:32. Avg HR was up there, but lower than it was for the 400s last Wednesday.
I saw Carrie out there, putting in some recovery miles just 10 days after her AZ Ironman dream race. I told her it was too early to be out there already, and she just shrugged. Those triathletes are just a different breed, I guess. You need to read her blog about that race. She was amazing!
So, another day of honest physical work, another drop in the physiological bucket, another baby step back towards fitness. Onward.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
HR Recovery Running, again
Today, my legs didn't feel nearly as destroyed as they did last week after the 400m repeats. I'll take that as a sign that I'm creeping back into shape. Slowly.
I finally got to the gym today, and I felt like an impostor. However, no one asked me politely (or impolitely) to leave, so I guess it was okay for me to be there. :-) I just cruised through an introductory gym routine with core and leg weight evercises, using lighter weights or lower reps or both from my past gym days. Just one set all around, too. I wanted to get there to reacquaint myself with the routine and to let my body know that we were going to get back to work. No rebellious muscles snapped, and I'm sort of looking forward to future visits.
Tonight, I rolled out into the 'Hood for another exciting HR recovery run. Again, my goal was to run 30 minutes at a very controlled overall HR for a true recovery effort. I was successful. My legs felt pretty good from the start, and I was able to get a little more distance at a little quicker pace and a little lower overall HR than last Thursday's similar effort. Victory! The stats were still quite modest: 2.82 miles, 30:42 time, 10:53/mile pace, and avg HR 152. For me, 152 is sort of loafing. For Frank, I think, it's close to 10K HR pace. Such are the vagaries of cardiovascular numbers.
I am starting to look forward to running again, and that's a big step for me. Tomorrow, I have to craft a fartlek workout on my own here in the 'Hood due to home responsibilities, so that will be a bigger test of my willingness to work out than today's efforts.
I finally got to the gym today, and I felt like an impostor. However, no one asked me politely (or impolitely) to leave, so I guess it was okay for me to be there. :-) I just cruised through an introductory gym routine with core and leg weight evercises, using lighter weights or lower reps or both from my past gym days. Just one set all around, too. I wanted to get there to reacquaint myself with the routine and to let my body know that we were going to get back to work. No rebellious muscles snapped, and I'm sort of looking forward to future visits.
Tonight, I rolled out into the 'Hood for another exciting HR recovery run. Again, my goal was to run 30 minutes at a very controlled overall HR for a true recovery effort. I was successful. My legs felt pretty good from the start, and I was able to get a little more distance at a little quicker pace and a little lower overall HR than last Thursday's similar effort. Victory! The stats were still quite modest: 2.82 miles, 30:42 time, 10:53/mile pace, and avg HR 152. For me, 152 is sort of loafing. For Frank, I think, it's close to 10K HR pace. Such are the vagaries of cardiovascular numbers.
I am starting to look forward to running again, and that's a big step for me. Tomorrow, I have to craft a fartlek workout on my own here in the 'Hood due to home responsibilities, so that will be a bigger test of my willingness to work out than today's efforts.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Mile Repeats
This morning was pretty muggy, but it was still reasonable conditions that we'll be begging for in a few months. It's just such a drag when the last nice cool spell comes and goes. Sigh...
Gilbert was back today after his London trip and his subsequent trip to meet Chuck Norris. Really. Apparently, the Chuckster was a nice guy, and knew all about Gilbert, so G had a very nice experience meeting one of his childhood heroes. That's a good thing. I'm glad that Norris did some research and he seemed to enjoy meeting and talking with Gilbert.
As for today's running, we went for mile repeats on the traditional rolling course at Zilker Park. I found my new group once we got there, and settled in for 3 repeats. I'm still slowly returning to training, but I turned in respectable times of 8:00, 7:56 and 8:10 for my three laps. Way off of my PB for this workout, but not too bad today. My HR numbers weren't pegged like they were with the 400s last week, so that was a sign that I was pacing better today.
I had a nice relaxed run back to RunTex with Courtney, Marty and Mary Ann(?), and spent some time getting in a good stretching session once we were done. My hamstrings were pretty tight and sore, so I'll dig into those later on with the foam roller, etc.
For the day, about 6.8 miles. I feel better every day that I stay on my running path, and I hope that things get better sooner rather than later.
Gilbert was back today after his London trip and his subsequent trip to meet Chuck Norris. Really. Apparently, the Chuckster was a nice guy, and knew all about Gilbert, so G had a very nice experience meeting one of his childhood heroes. That's a good thing. I'm glad that Norris did some research and he seemed to enjoy meeting and talking with Gilbert.
As for today's running, we went for mile repeats on the traditional rolling course at Zilker Park. I found my new group once we got there, and settled in for 3 repeats. I'm still slowly returning to training, but I turned in respectable times of 8:00, 7:56 and 8:10 for my three laps. Way off of my PB for this workout, but not too bad today. My HR numbers weren't pegged like they were with the 400s last week, so that was a sign that I was pacing better today.
I had a nice relaxed run back to RunTex with Courtney, Marty and Mary Ann(?), and spent some time getting in a good stretching session once we were done. My hamstrings were pretty tight and sore, so I'll dig into those later on with the foam roller, etc.
For the day, about 6.8 miles. I feel better every day that I stay on my running path, and I hope that things get better sooner rather than later.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Slooooooowwwwwwww Runnin'
Today was the first HR recovery run since I've returned to the fold. And it was a wildly eye-opening experience. What is a HR recovery run? Well, there is some discussion amongst training peeps that you should stick very carefully to a low HR range for recovery runs, even if it means almost crawling along on your run. There is further discussion about what "low" means in relation to HR. It gets to be pretty confusing and contradictory if you go between the various HR running gurus.
However, I've decided on what "low" means to me, given my current max HR and waking HR, and for me, that means trying not to get too far over 155. For me, that's around 60-65% range (my max is a scary 202 bpm, and my waking pulse is 48). Not so long ago, I could cruise around at that HR range at a running pace of somewhere around 9:30/mile, and sometimes quicker if the weather was nice and chilly. Tonight? Well.....
I was way too stiff and sore this morning to go out for an early run, so I gently stretched, did some foam rolling, and worked out some of that junk instead. After the day had run its course, I eased out at 7:15pm for 30 minutes of carefully monitored HR running. And off I went. Keeping a careful eye every couple of minutes, I managed to find the pace that kept the HR number at 155 or below, for the most part. Imagine my surprise when my first mile "split," if one can call it that, was 10:57. Wow! Continuing on, I turned in a second mile in 11:21 (some hilly stuff that forced even more slowdown on the inclines), and a last .77 miles at 10:39 pace.
Totals were 2.77 miles at an average of 11:00/mile. Golly! Sure, my average HR was 155 for the full run, so I did that properly, but that's darned slow compared to just a few months ago, before the dark days of late February and March. There is much work to be done, that's for sure.
On the good side, I stuck to the required workout plan, discovered some things about my current shape, and my legs felt pretty good once I was finished. A nice stretching session later, and all things considered, it was a good workout.
So, I have a ways to go to recover my former fitness, but it will come. I have to become reacquainted with the gym, too, so that I can burn off the anatomical goo more efficiently. I'll keep you apprised of my progress. I will not mention things like my weight, but let's just say that when you keep eating like a marathoner, but you are training like a truck driver, certain things happen to you. They are mostly not great. :-) Time to kick up the old internal physiological furnace once again!
However, I've decided on what "low" means to me, given my current max HR and waking HR, and for me, that means trying not to get too far over 155. For me, that's around 60-65% range (my max is a scary 202 bpm, and my waking pulse is 48). Not so long ago, I could cruise around at that HR range at a running pace of somewhere around 9:30/mile, and sometimes quicker if the weather was nice and chilly. Tonight? Well.....
I was way too stiff and sore this morning to go out for an early run, so I gently stretched, did some foam rolling, and worked out some of that junk instead. After the day had run its course, I eased out at 7:15pm for 30 minutes of carefully monitored HR running. And off I went. Keeping a careful eye every couple of minutes, I managed to find the pace that kept the HR number at 155 or below, for the most part. Imagine my surprise when my first mile "split," if one can call it that, was 10:57. Wow! Continuing on, I turned in a second mile in 11:21 (some hilly stuff that forced even more slowdown on the inclines), and a last .77 miles at 10:39 pace.
Totals were 2.77 miles at an average of 11:00/mile. Golly! Sure, my average HR was 155 for the full run, so I did that properly, but that's darned slow compared to just a few months ago, before the dark days of late February and March. There is much work to be done, that's for sure.
On the good side, I stuck to the required workout plan, discovered some things about my current shape, and my legs felt pretty good once I was finished. A nice stretching session later, and all things considered, it was a good workout.
So, I have a ways to go to recover my former fitness, but it will come. I have to become reacquainted with the gym, too, so that I can burn off the anatomical goo more efficiently. I'll keep you apprised of my progress. I will not mention things like my weight, but let's just say that when you keep eating like a marathoner, but you are training like a truck driver, certain things happen to you. They are mostly not great. :-) Time to kick up the old internal physiological furnace once again!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Return to Speedwork
Let's see...Monday I was pretty stiff and sore from my modest effort at the Bun Run 5K, but as they like to say, it was a good kind of sore, earned from actual effort. Anyway, I figured 2000m repeats probably weren't the best idea given my current state of (non-) fitness, so I did some recovery running instead. 40 minutes of nice and easy running on the trail, and by the end of the run, my legs were feeling better. Just over 4 miles, but for now, that's just fine.
Today, Wednesday, I rejoined the herd for some speedwork. I decided before I drove down for the workout that I would purposely shift groups, and I planned on doing 8 repeats, maybe 10. So, when Bernard said that 10 was the minimum number of repeats, I was already a little bit off kilter. Still, the group I hung with was just perfect for me, and everyone took turns leading the pack, so it was a communal effort. We were really solid on pacing, knocking the 400m repeats out at an average of 1:51/400m, with a slow lap of 1:53 and a fast lap of 1:50 for the first 11 repeats. On the 12th and final repeat, I picked it up a bit to 1:44. I wouldn't have done 12, but no one else was stopping at 10, so I sort of was shamed into staying with the pack for an even dozen. I'd point out that 10 is an even number, too, but Monique was persuasive, and our pack of 6 runners stuck together.
I ran back with Frank, and all in all it was a nice return to the morning workouts. It was fun to see everyone, and now I can approach future workouts with joy instead of trepidation.
Except for my HR being much higher for a slower pace, I felt okay out there. My legs felt a little clunky, but that's to be expected. It'll come back to me, but I must be patient. I figure by June I'll be more or less back to normal. Whatever "normal" is... :-)
Today, Wednesday, I rejoined the herd for some speedwork. I decided before I drove down for the workout that I would purposely shift groups, and I planned on doing 8 repeats, maybe 10. So, when Bernard said that 10 was the minimum number of repeats, I was already a little bit off kilter. Still, the group I hung with was just perfect for me, and everyone took turns leading the pack, so it was a communal effort. We were really solid on pacing, knocking the 400m repeats out at an average of 1:51/400m, with a slow lap of 1:53 and a fast lap of 1:50 for the first 11 repeats. On the 12th and final repeat, I picked it up a bit to 1:44. I wouldn't have done 12, but no one else was stopping at 10, so I sort of was shamed into staying with the pack for an even dozen. I'd point out that 10 is an even number, too, but Monique was persuasive, and our pack of 6 runners stuck together.
I ran back with Frank, and all in all it was a nice return to the morning workouts. It was fun to see everyone, and now I can approach future workouts with joy instead of trepidation.
Except for my HR being much higher for a slower pace, I felt okay out there. My legs felt a little clunky, but that's to be expected. It'll come back to me, but I must be patient. I figure by June I'll be more or less back to normal. Whatever "normal" is... :-)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Schlotzsky's Bun Run 5K
He's baaaaaaack...we hope. Anyway, after months of moping and rib injury and general malaise, I'm creeping back out on the roads and trails to see about turning myself into a shape that is not round. :-)
Mary Anne's work schedule has caused me to miss a ton of Gazelles workouts, too, so that created different mental stresses. You know how it goes...I'm way slower than I was a few months ago, so I get embarrassed about going to speed workouts, so maybe I don't go to the speed workouts because I'm slower, and so I don't get faster because I don't go to speed workouts because I'm slower. I know the logic is twisted, but our minds do strange things to us from time to time.
At any rate, I did get out yesterday for a super easy 3 miles of jogging before the Stretch-A-Thon with the Gazelles, and my legs didn't explode or anything. So, I did the only logical thing, which was to walk over and sign up for the Bun Run held this morning. I tend to run this race every year, and I like the shirt, so what the heck? Also, I had no expectations of time for the race, and could just run it for fun to get my psyche jump-started.
This morning, after rolling down to park near RunTex, I did some very gentle warmup stuff. I wasn't even in shape (I thought) to join the herd for the usual warmup, so I walked for 20 minutes or so, did some drills, stretched gently, and finally did some very easy jogging. No strides, but I figured I'd be running nice and relaxed, so who needs strides for that?
I eased into the mob about 30 yards back from the start line, but moved up a bit in the crowd when I realized that surely I was faster than most of the folks I saw around me there. The weather was a perfect crisp and clear 48 degrees, and I was fairly serene as the wheelchairs went off, the National Anthem was sung, and Evel blared the starting horn for us. No worries. Just go out and see what happens.
So, I did. I weaved my way through the crowds ahead of me as I crossed the starting line, passing walkers, very slow runners, and those who went out fast and quickly came to a crawl (young runners, mostly). The course has changed this year from the traditional Dog Pound loop, presumably due to the Arts Festival that has taken over Cesar Chavez street this weekend. Thus, we zigged and zagged over to Congress, and did that sneaky climb up Congress to the Capitol. I saw Rich and Banjo right at the one mile marker, and noted a sedate 8:55 for that mile. Okay. Traffic caused some of that, and I felt pretty good, so I eased into the next running gear, and moved on.
Mile 2 featured all of the hills on this course. Up 12th Street, where scads of folks slowed to a walk, up San Jacinto , which had some bumps for us, and then the turn west onto 15th, where the last significant hill came and went. Even in my current (lack of) shape, I was pleased to note that I was passing folks left and right. That's encouraging. We turned south at Lavaca and then tucked into the Capitol grounds for a bit. Mile 2 came and went, and I was happy to see a second mile split of 8:06. It was a harder mile than the first, but I felt about the same, so it was all good.
Except for quick little hill at the Governor's Mansion early on, Mile 3 was mostly downhill and/or flat, so one could expect to pick up a little time here. I continued to roll through the crowds, and I don't remember very many, if any, people passing me during this part of the race. Just sort of relaxing into a higher turnover, I picked it up a bit, and soon enough we were back at the First Street Bridge and the 3 mile marker. This year, the course finished on the bridge, so it was a bit easier to concentrate on the finish line since it was right in front of us from farther back (no corners to negotiate late in the race for a change). I did a modest finishing kick over the bridge, and was pleased to cross the line at a decent pace. Done!
Mile 3 was 7:34, and the 0.11 mile finishing kick was 0:46 for a 6:58/mile pace. Way slower than in years past, but much faster than I had expected. Final time 25:21, or 8:09/mile pace. I've run half marathons faster than that pace, so I'm way off my game, but it was comforting to be able to turn in a respectable race coming off of basically no training.
I hung out afterwards with Frank, Larry, Ava, Alicia and other folks, and in ways that they might not recognize, that simple activity made me feel much better. I forget how much a part of my social network that the Gazelles are. When I drift away from the herd for a while, I miss the human interaction, and that can snowball into all sorts of grumpiness on my part. Perhaps I've learned a lesson...again?
At any rate, as I told Frank, my goals for the next 3 months are to get into shape so that I can begin White Rock marathon training in late July. Shouldn't be a problem, but I have let myself drop way off my former fitness. I'll get back to the Gazelles workouts, albeit at a slightly slower pace than usual, and fight my way back into shape. No other grand pronouncements except to remind myself that running improves most aspects of my life, both mentally and physically, and when I drop off of that, I'm a lesser person for it.
Onward!
Mary Anne's work schedule has caused me to miss a ton of Gazelles workouts, too, so that created different mental stresses. You know how it goes...I'm way slower than I was a few months ago, so I get embarrassed about going to speed workouts, so maybe I don't go to the speed workouts because I'm slower, and so I don't get faster because I don't go to speed workouts because I'm slower. I know the logic is twisted, but our minds do strange things to us from time to time.
At any rate, I did get out yesterday for a super easy 3 miles of jogging before the Stretch-A-Thon with the Gazelles, and my legs didn't explode or anything. So, I did the only logical thing, which was to walk over and sign up for the Bun Run held this morning. I tend to run this race every year, and I like the shirt, so what the heck? Also, I had no expectations of time for the race, and could just run it for fun to get my psyche jump-started.
This morning, after rolling down to park near RunTex, I did some very gentle warmup stuff. I wasn't even in shape (I thought) to join the herd for the usual warmup, so I walked for 20 minutes or so, did some drills, stretched gently, and finally did some very easy jogging. No strides, but I figured I'd be running nice and relaxed, so who needs strides for that?
I eased into the mob about 30 yards back from the start line, but moved up a bit in the crowd when I realized that surely I was faster than most of the folks I saw around me there. The weather was a perfect crisp and clear 48 degrees, and I was fairly serene as the wheelchairs went off, the National Anthem was sung, and Evel blared the starting horn for us. No worries. Just go out and see what happens.
So, I did. I weaved my way through the crowds ahead of me as I crossed the starting line, passing walkers, very slow runners, and those who went out fast and quickly came to a crawl (young runners, mostly). The course has changed this year from the traditional Dog Pound loop, presumably due to the Arts Festival that has taken over Cesar Chavez street this weekend. Thus, we zigged and zagged over to Congress, and did that sneaky climb up Congress to the Capitol. I saw Rich and Banjo right at the one mile marker, and noted a sedate 8:55 for that mile. Okay. Traffic caused some of that, and I felt pretty good, so I eased into the next running gear, and moved on.
Mile 2 featured all of the hills on this course. Up 12th Street, where scads of folks slowed to a walk, up San Jacinto , which had some bumps for us, and then the turn west onto 15th, where the last significant hill came and went. Even in my current (lack of) shape, I was pleased to note that I was passing folks left and right. That's encouraging. We turned south at Lavaca and then tucked into the Capitol grounds for a bit. Mile 2 came and went, and I was happy to see a second mile split of 8:06. It was a harder mile than the first, but I felt about the same, so it was all good.
Except for quick little hill at the Governor's Mansion early on, Mile 3 was mostly downhill and/or flat, so one could expect to pick up a little time here. I continued to roll through the crowds, and I don't remember very many, if any, people passing me during this part of the race. Just sort of relaxing into a higher turnover, I picked it up a bit, and soon enough we were back at the First Street Bridge and the 3 mile marker. This year, the course finished on the bridge, so it was a bit easier to concentrate on the finish line since it was right in front of us from farther back (no corners to negotiate late in the race for a change). I did a modest finishing kick over the bridge, and was pleased to cross the line at a decent pace. Done!
Mile 3 was 7:34, and the 0.11 mile finishing kick was 0:46 for a 6:58/mile pace. Way slower than in years past, but much faster than I had expected. Final time 25:21, or 8:09/mile pace. I've run half marathons faster than that pace, so I'm way off my game, but it was comforting to be able to turn in a respectable race coming off of basically no training.
I hung out afterwards with Frank, Larry, Ava, Alicia and other folks, and in ways that they might not recognize, that simple activity made me feel much better. I forget how much a part of my social network that the Gazelles are. When I drift away from the herd for a while, I miss the human interaction, and that can snowball into all sorts of grumpiness on my part. Perhaps I've learned a lesson...again?
At any rate, as I told Frank, my goals for the next 3 months are to get into shape so that I can begin White Rock marathon training in late July. Shouldn't be a problem, but I have let myself drop way off my former fitness. I'll get back to the Gazelles workouts, albeit at a slightly slower pace than usual, and fight my way back into shape. No other grand pronouncements except to remind myself that running improves most aspects of my life, both mentally and physically, and when I drop off of that, I'm a lesser person for it.
Onward!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Pre-Race Rituals, v.2008.01 [Entered 1/28/08]
Saturday morning was the usual super easy jogging with the gang, 30 minutes, then strides. We followed that up with the full out stretching ritual. The campers were all in fine spirits as we awaited the downhill 3M fest on Sunday. Lots of easy laughter as we did our last fine-tuning. For the day, a mere 3 and a quarter miles. The rest of the day was spent chilling out, messing about the house, playing some guitar, and getting all my stuff ready for the race. Now let's go run that thing!
When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth [Entered 1/28/08]
Once again, I've let the blog slip my attention. Oops. I'll catch you up on the running stuff in a later post, but right now I need to let you know how the Brothers Van Halen, the Lead Singer, and the Baby Van Halen did in concert on Thursday night.
Frank and I met at his casa Thursday afternoon, and after an easy drive, a healthy pre-concert dinner at Hooters (it was for the wings, man...seriously! :-) ), and the remaining journey to the AT&T Center in San Antone, we were ready to rock. Judging from the crowds waiting on line to enter the auditorium, the age range was weighted more heavily to the late 30's and older crowd, but a sizeable number of teens and younger adults was mixed in as well. We were sure better dressed than we were in the old days when we'd go to an arena rock show!
Once the doors opened, a roar shot up from the crowd. I'd say the audience was a little stoked. After the obligatory t-shirt purchase, we settled into our seats and awaited the night's entertainment. The stage looked pretty cool, with a giant video screen behind the band, all the speakers above the stage with an impressive lighting rig suspended above, and an S-shaped runway coming off the main stage that surrounded a tidy piece of the crowd on the floor. So far, so good.
The opening act was one of the many Marley children, grandchildren, or nephews that are out there performing. It was pleasant reggae music, with a couple of Bob Marley's tunes sprinkled in for effect ("No Woman No Cry" and "I Shot The Sheriff"). Thank you. Now get off the stage.
After the roadies did their magic, and suitable time had passed, the lights went down, the crowd went nuts, and the massive guitar chords of VH's version of "You Really Got Me" blasted out of the speakers. From that point on, it was nonstop party rock and roll for 2 hours.
The Van Halen brothers looked to be in fine physical and sober form, and David Lee Roth, the grinning banshee, was similarly happy to be on stage again. Those three guys, music veterans all, showed us what a professional rock and roll show is all about. The guitar player did his pyrotechnic technique thing, showing off the full kit bag of two-handed tapping, blindingly fast runs, and chest-thumping power chords. Obviously, the years of hard living haven't robbed Eddie of his prodigious musical gifts. His trademark solo portion of the show, very late in the evening, was stunning as usual. About 8 minutes of all the cool things you can do with an electric guitar, 16 amps turned to "11," an arsenal of effects pedals, and two magic hands...it was amazing. The funniest thing was how all the guitar players in the audience were staring at the closeups on the big video screens of Eddie's hands as he played all that cool stuff...it was no different than the look that guys have at strip clubs! Sort of a slack-jawed half grin, half grimace, as we watched something we'd never be able to do. :-)
David Lee Roth? He sort of screamed a lot of the lyrics, but who's worried about lyrics in this setting, anyway? He never was much of an actual singer, but he's lost none of his raw showmanship. He strutted the stage the whole night through, like some sort of Atomic Rooster, with that crazed ear-to-ear grin plastered on his face. He was clearly the happiest person on stage, and who can blame him?
Alex played the drums with all the thunder that was required, locked in tight with his brother as they supplied the stuff that makes arena rock so intoxicating. I'm not sure that he needed all four (4!!) bass drums in his kit, but it sure looked cool. His drum solo was actually pretty cool, and I'm not really a drum solo guy.
Now, I must discuss little Wolfgang Van Halen, the Child Of Eddie, 16 years old, in his first band, Daddy's band, playing every night in front of 15,000 people. Sigh... I must admit that any anger stems from a heavy sense of envy, but the kid looked like, well, a 16-year old kid. He played the bass very well, bringing the bottom end, and obviously he has a genetic gift for the guitar and bass. No problems there. The singing was adequate, but no 16-year old can match pipes with Roth. I just thought he looked a little scared, a little hesitant to do anything outside of a tightly scripted list of Acceptable Moves. He may turn out to be a fine adult someday, but one wonders what this trial by fire might do to any 16-year old boy. It would nearly be impossible to maintain any clear sense of one's self under those circumstances, no matter how much fun all the glitz and glamour might be.
The encore was the expected "Jump," and after the last chords echoed through the arena, the night was over. What's the final verdict? For musical quality, I give the instrumental portion a "10," and the vocals just a "6." I missed the portions of the songs where Roth either used to scream or wail those high notes, and the sound system swallowed up the vocals a lot. For entertainment value, I give it a "9.5." Geez, it was Van Halen, the original Van Halen, rocking loud and proud. While it wasn't 1984 again, it sure was a lot of fun. Well worth the price of admission, and even worth the long rambling journey out of the jumbled parking lot and back home to Austin that night.
Frank and I met at his casa Thursday afternoon, and after an easy drive, a healthy pre-concert dinner at Hooters (it was for the wings, man...seriously! :-) ), and the remaining journey to the AT&T Center in San Antone, we were ready to rock. Judging from the crowds waiting on line to enter the auditorium, the age range was weighted more heavily to the late 30's and older crowd, but a sizeable number of teens and younger adults was mixed in as well. We were sure better dressed than we were in the old days when we'd go to an arena rock show!
Once the doors opened, a roar shot up from the crowd. I'd say the audience was a little stoked. After the obligatory t-shirt purchase, we settled into our seats and awaited the night's entertainment. The stage looked pretty cool, with a giant video screen behind the band, all the speakers above the stage with an impressive lighting rig suspended above, and an S-shaped runway coming off the main stage that surrounded a tidy piece of the crowd on the floor. So far, so good.
The opening act was one of the many Marley children, grandchildren, or nephews that are out there performing. It was pleasant reggae music, with a couple of Bob Marley's tunes sprinkled in for effect ("No Woman No Cry" and "I Shot The Sheriff"). Thank you. Now get off the stage.
After the roadies did their magic, and suitable time had passed, the lights went down, the crowd went nuts, and the massive guitar chords of VH's version of "You Really Got Me" blasted out of the speakers. From that point on, it was nonstop party rock and roll for 2 hours.
The Van Halen brothers looked to be in fine physical and sober form, and David Lee Roth, the grinning banshee, was similarly happy to be on stage again. Those three guys, music veterans all, showed us what a professional rock and roll show is all about. The guitar player did his pyrotechnic technique thing, showing off the full kit bag of two-handed tapping, blindingly fast runs, and chest-thumping power chords. Obviously, the years of hard living haven't robbed Eddie of his prodigious musical gifts. His trademark solo portion of the show, very late in the evening, was stunning as usual. About 8 minutes of all the cool things you can do with an electric guitar, 16 amps turned to "11," an arsenal of effects pedals, and two magic hands...it was amazing. The funniest thing was how all the guitar players in the audience were staring at the closeups on the big video screens of Eddie's hands as he played all that cool stuff...it was no different than the look that guys have at strip clubs! Sort of a slack-jawed half grin, half grimace, as we watched something we'd never be able to do. :-)
David Lee Roth? He sort of screamed a lot of the lyrics, but who's worried about lyrics in this setting, anyway? He never was much of an actual singer, but he's lost none of his raw showmanship. He strutted the stage the whole night through, like some sort of Atomic Rooster, with that crazed ear-to-ear grin plastered on his face. He was clearly the happiest person on stage, and who can blame him?
Alex played the drums with all the thunder that was required, locked in tight with his brother as they supplied the stuff that makes arena rock so intoxicating. I'm not sure that he needed all four (4!!) bass drums in his kit, but it sure looked cool. His drum solo was actually pretty cool, and I'm not really a drum solo guy.
Now, I must discuss little Wolfgang Van Halen, the Child Of Eddie, 16 years old, in his first band, Daddy's band, playing every night in front of 15,000 people. Sigh... I must admit that any anger stems from a heavy sense of envy, but the kid looked like, well, a 16-year old kid. He played the bass very well, bringing the bottom end, and obviously he has a genetic gift for the guitar and bass. No problems there. The singing was adequate, but no 16-year old can match pipes with Roth. I just thought he looked a little scared, a little hesitant to do anything outside of a tightly scripted list of Acceptable Moves. He may turn out to be a fine adult someday, but one wonders what this trial by fire might do to any 16-year old boy. It would nearly be impossible to maintain any clear sense of one's self under those circumstances, no matter how much fun all the glitz and glamour might be.
The encore was the expected "Jump," and after the last chords echoed through the arena, the night was over. What's the final verdict? For musical quality, I give the instrumental portion a "10," and the vocals just a "6." I missed the portions of the songs where Roth either used to scream or wail those high notes, and the sound system swallowed up the vocals a lot. For entertainment value, I give it a "9.5." Geez, it was Van Halen, the original Van Halen, rocking loud and proud. While it wasn't 1984 again, it sure was a lot of fun. Well worth the price of admission, and even worth the long rambling journey out of the jumbled parking lot and back home to Austin that night.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Dancing In The Dark
The weather returned to good old chilly and clear this morning, so we got to enjoy that while taking laps around the Zilker soccer field complex. The mood was good as we all cruised over to Zilker and got drilled up. Gilbert gave us a few words about the workout, and then it was time to group up. At that point, things got a little jumbled, since a lot of us don't really know who's who yet in the new groups. The first group went out, though, and then when no one stepped forward for the second group, a bunch of us took off as a mob for our workout.
We started out sort of slow, but by about halfway through the repeat, I had worked my way up to the front, and we were moving a little more smartly by the end of that loop. The gates were locked across the road at two points on the Zilker loop, which made the start/finish a little compacted, and it made for a brief cross-country detour at about the 3/4 mile mark. For the last three repeats, I was in a smaller pack, and ran with two guys who are new to me. I've talked with one of them, but not the other. Note to self: Ask people their name! Anyway, we were very consistent on the last three repeats, and I was done. I had to get back to make sure Jake got on the school bus. Teenagers. The sun was just coming up over the horizon when we knocked out that fourth repeat, and was the only time I could really see the road all morning. It was a nice sunrise, though.
I ran back with Amy, and we had a fun talk. So, for the day, 4 x 2000m repeats (actually 1.18 miles). 8:57, 8:40, 8:42, 8:42. Average pace was 7:21/mile, which is about right for the slightly longer repeats compared to the mile repeats last week. I felt good all morning long, and if time had permitted, a fifth repeat wouldn't have been a terrible ordeal. That's all good.
Total mileage for the day was a shade over 8 miles. I'm looking forward already to the tour on Saturday of the 3M half marathon course. That course is fun even in training, with a gentle downhill trend the whole way.
We started out sort of slow, but by about halfway through the repeat, I had worked my way up to the front, and we were moving a little more smartly by the end of that loop. The gates were locked across the road at two points on the Zilker loop, which made the start/finish a little compacted, and it made for a brief cross-country detour at about the 3/4 mile mark. For the last three repeats, I was in a smaller pack, and ran with two guys who are new to me. I've talked with one of them, but not the other. Note to self: Ask people their name! Anyway, we were very consistent on the last three repeats, and I was done. I had to get back to make sure Jake got on the school bus. Teenagers. The sun was just coming up over the horizon when we knocked out that fourth repeat, and was the only time I could really see the road all morning. It was a nice sunrise, though.
I ran back with Amy, and we had a fun talk. So, for the day, 4 x 2000m repeats (actually 1.18 miles). 8:57, 8:40, 8:42, 8:42. Average pace was 7:21/mile, which is about right for the slightly longer repeats compared to the mile repeats last week. I felt good all morning long, and if time had permitted, a fifth repeat wouldn't have been a terrible ordeal. That's all good.
Total mileage for the day was a shade over 8 miles. I'm looking forward already to the tour on Saturday of the 3M half marathon course. That course is fun even in training, with a gentle downhill trend the whole way.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Chillin' In The 'Hood
Ah, yes...if it's Tuesday, we've got a brand new weather situation here in Austin. Just last week, it was lovely, crisp and cool. Yesterday, not so good, but okay, and today we're well into the 70s again. I suppose it could be worse, though. :-)
So, today I managed to visit the gym for the first time in eons. Okay, maybe not eons in the dictionary sense of the word, but it's been quite a while. I sidled into Gold's this morning, and found that yesterday's circuit training had left some sore spots in my weak core. I'll take that as a sign that work needs to be done. Anyway, I won't relate each and every exercise, but I did an introductory round of stuff, single sets, on core (planks, crunches, etc.) and legs. I felt better having completed any sort of gym workout, and now that the ice is broken, future visits won't be such a mental chore. And, yes, the Resolution members were out in good numbers, but at this point, I'm essentially a Resolution member, so I will leave those folks alone.
Once I got home, I changed and went out in the 'Hood for an easy hour's run. 6.4 miles, exactly one hour, 9:19/mile. It was warmer and bright sun, but still a nice day for a run. Everything checked out okay, and by mile two, I was working through any residual soreness from yesterday's lunges and today's leg weights.
So, for compliance with the Program, I'll give myself a solid grade. I'm not quite back to full sets of gym work yet, but that will come as long as I continue to go there.
Tomorrow, 4-5 x 2000m repeats. Yowzah! I could probably slink through the workout and just do 3 x 2000m, but I'm going to approach it as a 4 x 2000m day, and if I manage things properly, then I'll go ahead and do all 5 repeats. Should be interesting.
So, today I managed to visit the gym for the first time in eons. Okay, maybe not eons in the dictionary sense of the word, but it's been quite a while. I sidled into Gold's this morning, and found that yesterday's circuit training had left some sore spots in my weak core. I'll take that as a sign that work needs to be done. Anyway, I won't relate each and every exercise, but I did an introductory round of stuff, single sets, on core (planks, crunches, etc.) and legs. I felt better having completed any sort of gym workout, and now that the ice is broken, future visits won't be such a mental chore. And, yes, the Resolution members were out in good numbers, but at this point, I'm essentially a Resolution member, so I will leave those folks alone.
Once I got home, I changed and went out in the 'Hood for an easy hour's run. 6.4 miles, exactly one hour, 9:19/mile. It was warmer and bright sun, but still a nice day for a run. Everything checked out okay, and by mile two, I was working through any residual soreness from yesterday's lunges and today's leg weights.
So, for compliance with the Program, I'll give myself a solid grade. I'm not quite back to full sets of gym work yet, but that will come as long as I continue to go there.
Tomorrow, 4-5 x 2000m repeats. Yowzah! I could probably slink through the workout and just do 3 x 2000m, but I'm going to approach it as a 4 x 2000m day, and if I manage things properly, then I'll go ahead and do all 5 repeats. Should be interesting.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Circuitry
This morning was sort of springlike, weatherwise, but tolerable. It was a good day to head to Austin High and join a bunch of Gazelles for circuit training. We had a bunch of new folks there today, I think, so I believe Gilbert took it slightly easy on us. Plus, the 30K racers were there to gently work out the junk left over from that hilly tour, and circuit is a good way of doing that.
Those who ran the 30K seemed awfully relaxed and strong today, which was very impressive. Equally impressive was Larry, who ran a 100K race all day on Saturday, and then showed up this morning to ease back into running. All of those folks were pretty awesome, as far as I'm concerned.
The circuit stuff was the usual, with the addition of pullups and medicine ball magic to the regular exercises. I hung out around Rachel, Brian and Amy, and we were diligent about the exercises, but pretty casual about the 400m runs between each circuit. We got the full benefit of the workout, since we were directly into and out of the exercises, but we certainly didn't bust a move doing those 400s. :-)
After 3 circuits, Gilbert had us do another round of 4 different medicine ball exercises, and I paired up with Amy for that. She chose the 8 pound medicine ball, but except for dealing with a heavier toss, it wasn't too bad. After the medicine ball, we were secretly hoping that a certain exercise that Shall Not Be Named would not appear, and we were rewarded when we went directly to a couple of rounds of fast feet. The first round was either 1 or 2 minutes, I don't know which, and the second round was either 2 or 3 minutes. All I know is that I was about 3 seconds away from having to stop on that last round of FF. The whistle blew just in time. Bernard accompanied our FF song on a drum, which lent a new vibe to the whole experience.
Fun recovery run back to RunTex with Michael, Wes, Brian, Amy and Rachel, and our day was done. It was a wimpy mileage day, around 4.5 miles, but I'm glad to get in some exercises to boost my reentry into gym work. Tuesday should be that day, if I get myself moving in the direction of the gym.
I got my assignment for the AT&T marathon entertainment volunteerism, and I got a good spot, I think. I'll be at the baseball fields on Great Northern at about mile 15.5. Not too deep in the race that people will be in distress, but not so early that the runners will be jammed up together. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep an eye on the runners and give shout outs to my peeps!
Those who ran the 30K seemed awfully relaxed and strong today, which was very impressive. Equally impressive was Larry, who ran a 100K race all day on Saturday, and then showed up this morning to ease back into running. All of those folks were pretty awesome, as far as I'm concerned.
The circuit stuff was the usual, with the addition of pullups and medicine ball magic to the regular exercises. I hung out around Rachel, Brian and Amy, and we were diligent about the exercises, but pretty casual about the 400m runs between each circuit. We got the full benefit of the workout, since we were directly into and out of the exercises, but we certainly didn't bust a move doing those 400s. :-)
After 3 circuits, Gilbert had us do another round of 4 different medicine ball exercises, and I paired up with Amy for that. She chose the 8 pound medicine ball, but except for dealing with a heavier toss, it wasn't too bad. After the medicine ball, we were secretly hoping that a certain exercise that Shall Not Be Named would not appear, and we were rewarded when we went directly to a couple of rounds of fast feet. The first round was either 1 or 2 minutes, I don't know which, and the second round was either 2 or 3 minutes. All I know is that I was about 3 seconds away from having to stop on that last round of FF. The whistle blew just in time. Bernard accompanied our FF song on a drum, which lent a new vibe to the whole experience.
Fun recovery run back to RunTex with Michael, Wes, Brian, Amy and Rachel, and our day was done. It was a wimpy mileage day, around 4.5 miles, but I'm glad to get in some exercises to boost my reentry into gym work. Tuesday should be that day, if I get myself moving in the direction of the gym.
I got my assignment for the AT&T marathon entertainment volunteerism, and I got a good spot, I think. I'll be at the baseball fields on Great Northern at about mile 15.5. Not too deep in the race that people will be in distress, but not so early that the runners will be jammed up together. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep an eye on the runners and give shout outs to my peeps!
Sunday, January 06, 2008
ARA 30K - A Spectator's View
This morning, I joined a bunch of Gazelles to volunteer at one of the water stops for the ARA 30K in hilly SW Austin. We were at about mile 7, and we had a full-service stop (GU, Gu2O, and water). The day started early in the dark, of course, and finished some 3 hours later when the last runner passed our position.
In between, the great crew efficiently managed to hand out all of our Gu2O, a bunch of water, and a gaggle of GU (I think Tri-Berry was the preferred choice among today's runners, narrowly beating out Vanilla Bean. Chocolate finished third out of three, but the GU staff reports that the super fast folks at the front of the race predominately asked for choco-GU.). We also did some serious cheering, especially for anyone sporting their Gazelles colors. By the time the runners arrived at our place, they were still looking pretty relaxed, and it was fun to yell at our friends.
We had the stop all buttoned up by the time the cleanup truck arrived, and I was done in time to scurry back to the finishing line to try and see everyone at the end. There was no available parking near the finish, so I took up residence on the last giant hill, right at the 18 mile marker, and cheered my friends up that last tough climb. All things considered, the Gazelles looked pretty darned good. I offered up my Dr. Pepper to Amy, but I think she was afraid of losing her balance and rolling back down the hill that she had worked so hard to climb. :-)
It was big fun, and I'm very impressed with the runners today. That course was just epic, and I'm sure it will achieve some sort of legendary status among Austin runners. It'll go in there with that double loop 20 miler up in Round Rock where the wind threatened to blow us backwards, the ice storm Freescale Marathon, and other races of that ilk.
Today we put away the Christmas decorations, which is always just the bestest time, and everyone then chose their own 30 minute anti-clutter project to complete. We might set a new record for amount of recycle materials on trash day this week. :-)
In between, the great crew efficiently managed to hand out all of our Gu2O, a bunch of water, and a gaggle of GU (I think Tri-Berry was the preferred choice among today's runners, narrowly beating out Vanilla Bean. Chocolate finished third out of three, but the GU staff reports that the super fast folks at the front of the race predominately asked for choco-GU.). We also did some serious cheering, especially for anyone sporting their Gazelles colors. By the time the runners arrived at our place, they were still looking pretty relaxed, and it was fun to yell at our friends.
We had the stop all buttoned up by the time the cleanup truck arrived, and I was done in time to scurry back to the finishing line to try and see everyone at the end. There was no available parking near the finish, so I took up residence on the last giant hill, right at the 18 mile marker, and cheered my friends up that last tough climb. All things considered, the Gazelles looked pretty darned good. I offered up my Dr. Pepper to Amy, but I think she was afraid of losing her balance and rolling back down the hill that she had worked so hard to climb. :-)
It was big fun, and I'm very impressed with the runners today. That course was just epic, and I'm sure it will achieve some sort of legendary status among Austin runners. It'll go in there with that double loop 20 miler up in Round Rock where the wind threatened to blow us backwards, the ice storm Freescale Marathon, and other races of that ilk.
Today we put away the Christmas decorations, which is always just the bestest time, and everyone then chose their own 30 minute anti-clutter project to complete. We might set a new record for amount of recycle materials on trash day this week. :-)
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Long Running [entered 1/6/08]
Saturday, it was long run time again. On an average weather day (humid and in the high 50s to low 60s), I met up with the gang at 5:30am for a tour d'Austin. The AT&T folks were due for 20, but my peeps were "only" going to go for 16.5 or so. After the initial shuffling around, I ended up running with Leslie and Frank. They must have been taking it easy due to injury discomfort, but I still appreciate the fact that I had folks that wanted to run my pace. :-)
We started out by heading south on the initial 5 miles or so of the AT&T course. That first hill is still a tester, especially since it appears right away, before we got a chance to warm up much at all. I was worried a bit as we worked our way up the steady incline, all the way to the end of Lightsey, since I was huffing and puffing more than I'd prefer that early in a long run. However, once we turned back north on S. First, I settled down, and from that point on, I was running fairly comfortably.
I had thought we'd find lots of AT&T folks running around our pace, but I suppose most of our pace pals were running the 30K on Sunday, and thus weren't there for this long run. Oh, well. We found plenty to discuss as we cruised around town. Gilbert had the rolling water stop set up around Oltorf, and he was already in an expansive mood. Again, it's funny how we are all so wide-awake so early in the morning, even if we're not necessarily "morning people."
We didn't encounter too many runners this morning, presumably due to tomorrow's race. Still, it was a little weird to have the streets and sidewalks basically to ourselves.
We took a second quick water stop at Auditorium Shores, where I took a GU as well. Nice trip on the trail to Mopac, then Lake Austin Blvd. to the next water/Accelerade stop at Enfield. We were already 9 miles into our morning, and it seemed like most of the hard terrain was still yet to come. Man, I'm glad I'm not doing AT&T this year!!
The hills of Enfield and Exposition came next, and we got through those in pretty fine shape. It was sure great to get over the bridge at Mopac, because that was the last bad hill of the day, really. We met up with Lisa and Laura at the water/Accelerade stop on Shoal Creek, and had a brief chat as we took our second GU and tanked up on fluids. From there, we only had maybe 5 miles to go, so weirdly, we were almost done.
Picking our way across 38th Street was different, since we don't usually use 38th to get across town, but it worked out okay. Kenny was there on Duval with the next water/Accelerade stop, and after topping off, it was time to finish this thing.
I started running up front after that, through the massive construction project at the UT football stadium, through the nearly empty UT campus, up those nasty little hills on San Jacinto going past the Capitol, and then finally, we were on the downhill tip on 11th and then Congress. I tried to get us run over at several of the stoplights and crosswalks on Congress, but we managed to escape without serious damage. I just wanted to get done, I guess. :-)
Leslie were running along at the end, and she kept asking what the GPS said the mileage was. When we realized that we were going to be really close to an even 17 miles, we decided to continue on the trail for just a little bit after the usual stopping place, just to let the watch roll over to an even 17. Silly? Yes. But, by the time we ran past SRVaughan's statue, we had achieved our minor goal. 6 striders later, I was ready for the full stretching routine.
We did most of the optional "bonus" stretches on Saturday, and we had an overflow crowd at the Annex that spilled out onto the loading ramp and parking lot outside. It was a nice day for stretching, even if it was a little warm to be considered ideal for running.
For the day, 16.94 miles (after accounting for the minor distances that accumulate at water stops, you lose some absolute mileage). 2:42:03 with all water stop time included, 9:34/mile total pace. Actual running pace after subtracting 10:31 in water stop time was a nifty 8:57/mile, plenty good for me.
I scored a surprising 43.5 miles this week, the most in quite a while. Got in 5 days of running. Failed to return to the gym, but I should get that kick started next week after circuit training on Monday reveals the state of my weak core. All in all, things are going great. I might back off a tiny bit on mileage this week to allow some recovery and rebuilding...we'll see how that goes.
We started out by heading south on the initial 5 miles or so of the AT&T course. That first hill is still a tester, especially since it appears right away, before we got a chance to warm up much at all. I was worried a bit as we worked our way up the steady incline, all the way to the end of Lightsey, since I was huffing and puffing more than I'd prefer that early in a long run. However, once we turned back north on S. First, I settled down, and from that point on, I was running fairly comfortably.
I had thought we'd find lots of AT&T folks running around our pace, but I suppose most of our pace pals were running the 30K on Sunday, and thus weren't there for this long run. Oh, well. We found plenty to discuss as we cruised around town. Gilbert had the rolling water stop set up around Oltorf, and he was already in an expansive mood. Again, it's funny how we are all so wide-awake so early in the morning, even if we're not necessarily "morning people."
We didn't encounter too many runners this morning, presumably due to tomorrow's race. Still, it was a little weird to have the streets and sidewalks basically to ourselves.
We took a second quick water stop at Auditorium Shores, where I took a GU as well. Nice trip on the trail to Mopac, then Lake Austin Blvd. to the next water/Accelerade stop at Enfield. We were already 9 miles into our morning, and it seemed like most of the hard terrain was still yet to come. Man, I'm glad I'm not doing AT&T this year!!
The hills of Enfield and Exposition came next, and we got through those in pretty fine shape. It was sure great to get over the bridge at Mopac, because that was the last bad hill of the day, really. We met up with Lisa and Laura at the water/Accelerade stop on Shoal Creek, and had a brief chat as we took our second GU and tanked up on fluids. From there, we only had maybe 5 miles to go, so weirdly, we were almost done.
Picking our way across 38th Street was different, since we don't usually use 38th to get across town, but it worked out okay. Kenny was there on Duval with the next water/Accelerade stop, and after topping off, it was time to finish this thing.
I started running up front after that, through the massive construction project at the UT football stadium, through the nearly empty UT campus, up those nasty little hills on San Jacinto going past the Capitol, and then finally, we were on the downhill tip on 11th and then Congress. I tried to get us run over at several of the stoplights and crosswalks on Congress, but we managed to escape without serious damage. I just wanted to get done, I guess. :-)
Leslie were running along at the end, and she kept asking what the GPS said the mileage was. When we realized that we were going to be really close to an even 17 miles, we decided to continue on the trail for just a little bit after the usual stopping place, just to let the watch roll over to an even 17. Silly? Yes. But, by the time we ran past SRVaughan's statue, we had achieved our minor goal. 6 striders later, I was ready for the full stretching routine.
We did most of the optional "bonus" stretches on Saturday, and we had an overflow crowd at the Annex that spilled out onto the loading ramp and parking lot outside. It was a nice day for stretching, even if it was a little warm to be considered ideal for running.
For the day, 16.94 miles (after accounting for the minor distances that accumulate at water stops, you lose some absolute mileage). 2:42:03 with all water stop time included, 9:34/mile total pace. Actual running pace after subtracting 10:31 in water stop time was a nifty 8:57/mile, plenty good for me.
I scored a surprising 43.5 miles this week, the most in quite a while. Got in 5 days of running. Failed to return to the gym, but I should get that kick started next week after circuit training on Monday reveals the state of my weak core. All in all, things are going great. I might back off a tiny bit on mileage this week to allow some recovery and rebuilding...we'll see how that goes.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
The Quintet Rolls LBLake
This morning was another perfectly crisp and clear day, just right for a relaxed run around Lady Bird Lake with the peeps. It was hovering around 30 degrees all morning, and it was fabulous! Marcy, Rachel, Brian and Michael made up our running posse along with little old me, and we had a grand time putting in our 7 miles. Lots of conversation, lots of laughs, and almost as a side effect, we got in a nice run while doing it.
Just as we got started, the fast folks from the Tuesday/Thursday crew blasted by us in the opposite direction, as they finished up their fartlek workout. Alex looked like it was effortless running for him as he went by. We enjoyed a really beautiful sunrise that peeked over the horizon and through the buildings of downtown Austin just as we made our water stop at Auditorium Shores. It was just a delightful day, and I was very happy to be a part of this run. Like I said, the actual running was nearly secondary to the good company and conversation, but we took care of business there, too.
For the day, 6.95 miles, 9:09/mile pace, even with the water stop. We were clicking away at an 8:35/mile clip for those last 4 miles, but it felt good to me. I'm probably the poky little puppy in that group, but it worked out for me today, at least.
After bundling up in dry clothes, I stretched just a bit before driving back to the hacienda. I'm feeling really good lately about my running, and I've enjoyed these last couple of weeks. So far, so good. Now, I just need to get my gym visits kick-started again, and I'll be all set!
Just as we got started, the fast folks from the Tuesday/Thursday crew blasted by us in the opposite direction, as they finished up their fartlek workout. Alex looked like it was effortless running for him as he went by. We enjoyed a really beautiful sunrise that peeked over the horizon and through the buildings of downtown Austin just as we made our water stop at Auditorium Shores. It was just a delightful day, and I was very happy to be a part of this run. Like I said, the actual running was nearly secondary to the good company and conversation, but we took care of business there, too.
For the day, 6.95 miles, 9:09/mile pace, even with the water stop. We were clicking away at an 8:35/mile clip for those last 4 miles, but it felt good to me. I'm probably the poky little puppy in that group, but it worked out for me today, at least.
After bundling up in dry clothes, I stretched just a bit before driving back to the hacienda. I'm feeling really good lately about my running, and I've enjoyed these last couple of weeks. So far, so good. Now, I just need to get my gym visits kick-started again, and I'll be all set!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Dark Fartleks
It just stayed dark this morning all the way around the lake loop as we did our fartleks. It was nice and chilly, around 27 degrees, which is totally okay with me! I felt great all the way around.
I ran with a new group (to me, at least), since most of my normal pace peeps weren't there today. Brian, Rachel, Michael and a couple of others were up ahead, but I missed out on them early. So, I hooked up with Monique's crew, and I was a happy camper. Still feeling my way back into speedy stuff since the long marathon recovery period, I was content to hang out with this new gang. It wasn't a stroll around the lake, either. We took turns leading, and everyone did a good job pulling the bunch along when they took their time at the front. I had watch issues, so I don't have the usual super detailed data from the fartleks, but suffice it to say that we were moving right along on the faster bits. We stood around for most of a minute at Mopac while a couple of folks grabbed water, so that mile was artificially slower.
Gilbert sneaked up on us during our cooldown run at the end of the workout, so everyone picked it up a bit once we realized that that's who was joining us. :-)
Stats: 9:20, 9:14 (warmup), then first fartlek burst at 7:13/mile pace, then miles at 8:57 (extra recovery minute in that one), 8:19, 8:33 (the one with the Mopac stop in it), and 0.33 miles at 7:59/mile. Warmdown miles at 9:09 and 0.51 miles at 8:53/mile. 6.92 miles for the day, overall pace 8:51/mile. We were doing 1:00 on and 1:00 off fartleks, so we did a good job with pacing, I think. It was tough at the detour on the north side of the trail to maintain a good steady pace for just a bit, but we got past that soon enough.
I had fun out there today, and it was interesting to run with entirely new people for a change. I've got to learn some names!!!
After we got done, Gilbert opened up the Annex, so I did the full stretching routine, more or less, since we were inside in the warmth of a closed building. My legs will appreciate that tomorrow, I'm sure.
I ran with a new group (to me, at least), since most of my normal pace peeps weren't there today. Brian, Rachel, Michael and a couple of others were up ahead, but I missed out on them early. So, I hooked up with Monique's crew, and I was a happy camper. Still feeling my way back into speedy stuff since the long marathon recovery period, I was content to hang out with this new gang. It wasn't a stroll around the lake, either. We took turns leading, and everyone did a good job pulling the bunch along when they took their time at the front. I had watch issues, so I don't have the usual super detailed data from the fartleks, but suffice it to say that we were moving right along on the faster bits. We stood around for most of a minute at Mopac while a couple of folks grabbed water, so that mile was artificially slower.
Gilbert sneaked up on us during our cooldown run at the end of the workout, so everyone picked it up a bit once we realized that that's who was joining us. :-)
Stats: 9:20, 9:14 (warmup), then first fartlek burst at 7:13/mile pace, then miles at 8:57 (extra recovery minute in that one), 8:19, 8:33 (the one with the Mopac stop in it), and 0.33 miles at 7:59/mile. Warmdown miles at 9:09 and 0.51 miles at 8:53/mile. 6.92 miles for the day, overall pace 8:51/mile. We were doing 1:00 on and 1:00 off fartleks, so we did a good job with pacing, I think. It was tough at the detour on the north side of the trail to maintain a good steady pace for just a bit, but we got past that soon enough.
I had fun out there today, and it was interesting to run with entirely new people for a change. I've got to learn some names!!!
After we got done, Gilbert opened up the Annex, so I did the full stretching routine, more or less, since we were inside in the warmth of a closed building. My legs will appreciate that tomorrow, I'm sure.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Froeliche Neue Jahr!
Or something like that. My Deutsch isn't what it once was... :-)
I hope the fledgling New Year finds all of you hale and hearty (and not too hungover, if you partied hard last night). This morning, I got caught up in the Twilight Zone Marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel, digging on those tasty nuggets of TV written and hosted by the incomparable Rod Serling. When I was finally able to avert my eyes, I was then distracted by the bowl games. Finally, about 3:00, I dragged my carcass off the couch, put on running togs, and headed out into a beautiful 50 degree, sunny day. What a glorious way to start the new year!
I had a nice little cruise around the 'Hood and back on the trails behind the 'Hood, enjoying the weather, running nice and easy. These recovery runs are so good for me, but I've neglected them in 2007. I hope to rectify that issue this year. I had fun on the occasionally rocky trails, and I only fell once, late in the run, when my attention wandered just enough...boom! No harm done, though, just a scrape on one of my hands.
For the day, a very easy 4.7 miles in about 46 minutes. I told you it was easy running! Legs feel great, and I know that the magic of the recovery run will help purge any remaining junk from my legs that remains from the mile repeats. Tomorrow will be a fun fartlek workout with the herd.
I hope the fledgling New Year finds all of you hale and hearty (and not too hungover, if you partied hard last night). This morning, I got caught up in the Twilight Zone Marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel, digging on those tasty nuggets of TV written and hosted by the incomparable Rod Serling. When I was finally able to avert my eyes, I was then distracted by the bowl games. Finally, about 3:00, I dragged my carcass off the couch, put on running togs, and headed out into a beautiful 50 degree, sunny day. What a glorious way to start the new year!
I had a nice little cruise around the 'Hood and back on the trails behind the 'Hood, enjoying the weather, running nice and easy. These recovery runs are so good for me, but I've neglected them in 2007. I hope to rectify that issue this year. I had fun on the occasionally rocky trails, and I only fell once, late in the run, when my attention wandered just enough...boom! No harm done, though, just a scrape on one of my hands.
For the day, a very easy 4.7 miles in about 46 minutes. I told you it was easy running! Legs feel great, and I know that the magic of the recovery run will help purge any remaining junk from my legs that remains from the mile repeats. Tomorrow will be a fun fartlek workout with the herd.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Return to Speedwork
Another crisp and clear morning greeted us today as a fairly numerous group gathered for mile repeats. With Tuesday classes being cancelled for the holiday tomorrow, we got some of the Tuesday/Thursday crowd to join us for the festivities. On the menu today was mile repeats. For the AT&T peeps, somewhere in the 5-6 range for repeats, but for recovering marathoners like me, maybe 3 or 4.
Nice conversation as we rolled over to Zilker with Amy, Marcy and Brian, then drills. The call to the post happened next, as Gilbert got the groups together, with their target times. I was in a big pack of maybe 12 runners, many of whom I knew were about my speed for usual workouts, so I figured I was in the right place. At our imaginary beep, we were off. Almost immediately, I realized that we were moving a lot quicker than the normal reconnaissance pace for the first repeat. It felt okay, just a little quick. I soon found myself hanging out at the back of the pack. I managed to close up on the group a bit towards the end of the repeat, but even so, I was surprised to see that my caboose finishing position scored me a 7:08 repeat. Go figure!
2 minutes rest seemed luxurious, and we were off again. This time, I finished maybe 2 people from the back of the group, and still scored a 7:03 repeat. Those folks at the front of the pack were doing some serious repeating! My third repeat was 7:02, and given that I was just coming back to speedwork, I called it a day. I felt fine, and four repeats wouldn't have been terrible, but for a first workout, this was enough. Anne and I ran a slower (8:25) mile repeat for a warmdown lap while our peeps were doing their fourth and fifth repeats, and then I ran back with the gang once they were done.
It was good to meet Martha, at least to put a name to a face, and as always it was fun to hang out with my friends. I stuck around for a while afterwards, once I bundled up with warm and dry clothes, and talked at length with Alex, John, James, Gilbert, and Margaret. Good times...
For the day, about 7.75 total miles, and I'm happy to be back with the speedwork portion of the program. I think we're doing fartleks on Wednesday, which I usually enjoy, so that will make for a good week. A good day at the running office!
New Year's Eve plans? Nope. Don't usually do that, and this year is no exception. I'll cook up a nice dinner here at the hacienda, and we'll try to stay up to watch the ball drop at Times Square. Scintillating, eh? :-) Be safe out there, and let's start 2008 on a good note.
Nice conversation as we rolled over to Zilker with Amy, Marcy and Brian, then drills. The call to the post happened next, as Gilbert got the groups together, with their target times. I was in a big pack of maybe 12 runners, many of whom I knew were about my speed for usual workouts, so I figured I was in the right place. At our imaginary beep, we were off. Almost immediately, I realized that we were moving a lot quicker than the normal reconnaissance pace for the first repeat. It felt okay, just a little quick. I soon found myself hanging out at the back of the pack. I managed to close up on the group a bit towards the end of the repeat, but even so, I was surprised to see that my caboose finishing position scored me a 7:08 repeat. Go figure!
2 minutes rest seemed luxurious, and we were off again. This time, I finished maybe 2 people from the back of the group, and still scored a 7:03 repeat. Those folks at the front of the pack were doing some serious repeating! My third repeat was 7:02, and given that I was just coming back to speedwork, I called it a day. I felt fine, and four repeats wouldn't have been terrible, but for a first workout, this was enough. Anne and I ran a slower (8:25) mile repeat for a warmdown lap while our peeps were doing their fourth and fifth repeats, and then I ran back with the gang once they were done.
It was good to meet Martha, at least to put a name to a face, and as always it was fun to hang out with my friends. I stuck around for a while afterwards, once I bundled up with warm and dry clothes, and talked at length with Alex, John, James, Gilbert, and Margaret. Good times...
For the day, about 7.75 total miles, and I'm happy to be back with the speedwork portion of the program. I think we're doing fartleks on Wednesday, which I usually enjoy, so that will make for a good week. A good day at the running office!
New Year's Eve plans? Nope. Don't usually do that, and this year is no exception. I'll cook up a nice dinner here at the hacienda, and we'll try to stay up to watch the ball drop at Times Square. Scintillating, eh? :-) Be safe out there, and let's start 2008 on a good note.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Climb Mt. Niitaka!
Okay, so I stole the title from WWII history class. Sue me. "Climb Mt. Bonnell" would of course be much more accurate, if I were writing about today's run. So, about that run...
6:00am was the start time for today's little jaunt up Mt. Bonnell, via the slightly extended approach Lake Austin Blvd. to Enfield to Exposition to 35th. Once again, running Enfield to Exposition up to 35th, I was happy with my decision to skip the AT&T marathon this year. That's a tough little stretch from about mile 8 to mile 11 or so. But, I digress, as usual. :-)
It was really nice out there this morning, crisp and clear with starting temps around 33 degrees. For me, that's great running weather. Warm hat and gloves at the ready, I hung out in the Annex while we gathered ourselves up for the day's journey. I took the time to chat with Amy as Gilbert talked with us for a bit about things hither and yon, and we finally got going maybe 10 minutes past the scheduled start time.
Amy and I grouped up with Brian and Frank, and our pace pod settled into the day's groove. We had a grand time rolling along up to the first water stop, chatting away about the usual topics. A fairly snappy water stop later, it was time to deal with the hilly stuff. Enfield to Exposition to 35th was rolling, but Amy and I got through that in good shape. Frank and Brian had dropped back to investigate a construction site on Enfield. Amy and I made the turn on Mt. Bonnell Road, and for the first time in quite a while, it was time for a Bonnell Climb. I caught up with a few folks on the climb, which made me feel pretty darned good, and I hung out for a while at the Bonnell water stop talking with Colleen and Eric and a bunch of other folks while my group formed back up. Alex came back by, smiling away, as his group of Bonnelliacs returned from their trip down the backside of Bonnell to the Dry Creek Saloon and back. Fun times.
I was grinning, myself, once again being reminded about how much I enjoy the Bonnell runs, for whatever reason. I guess it's just cool to tell people that you ran up Mt. Bonnell that day. :-) So, a GU, 6 minutes, and some Powerade later, we took off to return to RunTex. Pretty soon, Brian picked up the pace and left us in the dust on Pecos, but Frank, Amy and I maintained our group through "Backwards Scenic" as we picked our way back to the last water stop at Enfield and Lake Austin. The Rogues were coming down Scenic as we were going the other way, and maybe Austin Fit had some groups in there, too. Hard to tell. Certainly it felt like we were running against the human tide!
Gilbert and Kenny were there at the water stop when we arrived, and we exchanged some light-hearted bantering as we took our last GU and had some Accelerade. Oh, Amy was sporting a special holiday flavour of GU, something like Chocolate Mint? She assured me it was pretty yummy, but that's too much for me. Santa put a 6 pack of the special stuff in her stocking. That Santa's quite a guy!
As we rolled down Lake Austin Blvd., I decided that I was officially happy that I'd joined everyone for the full Bonnell Experience today. I was feeling great, and with the snappy weather and all, it was just a great day. Not to mention that my pace pals for the day were such great running friends! Another day to revel in all that my running hobby/avocation has brought my way...
After announcing that we weren't going to do the "fast finish" that Gilbert had suggested, I think we did actually pick it up a bit down the homestretch. Not terribly so, but a little. Frank took a side trail on the way home, and then I pulled away a bit from Amy in the last mile. I guess I was just feeling good, and my legs decided on their own to pull me to the finish at their pace.
I finished nicely, and enjoyed a cup or two of water. There were more Gazelles there, and more opportunities to talk with folks. I feel like I'm back with the gang now that my White Rock recovery time is over, and I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead.
The scoring, for those at home: 10:00, 9:29, 9:26, 9:05 (2:19 GU/Accelerade stop), 9:01, 8:55, 8:50, and 0.68 miles up Bonnell at 9:43/mile pace (6:00 water/Powerade stop), 9:20, 9:05, 9:20 (2:05 GU/Accelerade stop), 9:04, 8:35, 8:47, and 0.86 miles at 8:00/mile pace. Final score was 14.55 miles at 9:06 actual running pace, 9:49/mile counting all the stop time. HR numbers were pretty good, legs feel good, great day at the running office.
It was fun to lead the stretching for the gang afterwards, even though I had to think pretty hard about the correct order of things from time to time. Much conversation followed, as we all enjoyed the bright sunshine and cool temperatures.
For the week, I ended up with a pretty robust 35 miles, although most of it was easy running. I can no longer hide from speedwork, though, so Monday will be mile repeats with the gang at Zilker. It's good to be able to run like this, and I hope to never take it for granted!
6:00am was the start time for today's little jaunt up Mt. Bonnell, via the slightly extended approach Lake Austin Blvd. to Enfield to Exposition to 35th. Once again, running Enfield to Exposition up to 35th, I was happy with my decision to skip the AT&T marathon this year. That's a tough little stretch from about mile 8 to mile 11 or so. But, I digress, as usual. :-)
It was really nice out there this morning, crisp and clear with starting temps around 33 degrees. For me, that's great running weather. Warm hat and gloves at the ready, I hung out in the Annex while we gathered ourselves up for the day's journey. I took the time to chat with Amy as Gilbert talked with us for a bit about things hither and yon, and we finally got going maybe 10 minutes past the scheduled start time.
Amy and I grouped up with Brian and Frank, and our pace pod settled into the day's groove. We had a grand time rolling along up to the first water stop, chatting away about the usual topics. A fairly snappy water stop later, it was time to deal with the hilly stuff. Enfield to Exposition to 35th was rolling, but Amy and I got through that in good shape. Frank and Brian had dropped back to investigate a construction site on Enfield. Amy and I made the turn on Mt. Bonnell Road, and for the first time in quite a while, it was time for a Bonnell Climb. I caught up with a few folks on the climb, which made me feel pretty darned good, and I hung out for a while at the Bonnell water stop talking with Colleen and Eric and a bunch of other folks while my group formed back up. Alex came back by, smiling away, as his group of Bonnelliacs returned from their trip down the backside of Bonnell to the Dry Creek Saloon and back. Fun times.
I was grinning, myself, once again being reminded about how much I enjoy the Bonnell runs, for whatever reason. I guess it's just cool to tell people that you ran up Mt. Bonnell that day. :-) So, a GU, 6 minutes, and some Powerade later, we took off to return to RunTex. Pretty soon, Brian picked up the pace and left us in the dust on Pecos, but Frank, Amy and I maintained our group through "Backwards Scenic" as we picked our way back to the last water stop at Enfield and Lake Austin. The Rogues were coming down Scenic as we were going the other way, and maybe Austin Fit had some groups in there, too. Hard to tell. Certainly it felt like we were running against the human tide!
Gilbert and Kenny were there at the water stop when we arrived, and we exchanged some light-hearted bantering as we took our last GU and had some Accelerade. Oh, Amy was sporting a special holiday flavour of GU, something like Chocolate Mint? She assured me it was pretty yummy, but that's too much for me. Santa put a 6 pack of the special stuff in her stocking. That Santa's quite a guy!
As we rolled down Lake Austin Blvd., I decided that I was officially happy that I'd joined everyone for the full Bonnell Experience today. I was feeling great, and with the snappy weather and all, it was just a great day. Not to mention that my pace pals for the day were such great running friends! Another day to revel in all that my running hobby/avocation has brought my way...
After announcing that we weren't going to do the "fast finish" that Gilbert had suggested, I think we did actually pick it up a bit down the homestretch. Not terribly so, but a little. Frank took a side trail on the way home, and then I pulled away a bit from Amy in the last mile. I guess I was just feeling good, and my legs decided on their own to pull me to the finish at their pace.
I finished nicely, and enjoyed a cup or two of water. There were more Gazelles there, and more opportunities to talk with folks. I feel like I'm back with the gang now that my White Rock recovery time is over, and I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead.
The scoring, for those at home: 10:00, 9:29, 9:26, 9:05 (2:19 GU/Accelerade stop), 9:01, 8:55, 8:50, and 0.68 miles up Bonnell at 9:43/mile pace (6:00 water/Powerade stop), 9:20, 9:05, 9:20 (2:05 GU/Accelerade stop), 9:04, 8:35, 8:47, and 0.86 miles at 8:00/mile pace. Final score was 14.55 miles at 9:06 actual running pace, 9:49/mile counting all the stop time. HR numbers were pretty good, legs feel good, great day at the running office.
It was fun to lead the stretching for the gang afterwards, even though I had to think pretty hard about the correct order of things from time to time. Much conversation followed, as we all enjoyed the bright sunshine and cool temperatures.
For the week, I ended up with a pretty robust 35 miles, although most of it was easy running. I can no longer hide from speedwork, though, so Monday will be mile repeats with the gang at Zilker. It's good to be able to run like this, and I hope to never take it for granted!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
More EZ Runnin' With Friends
Today, I met up with Frank and Rachel at the Rock at the leisurely time of 9:15am for a 7 mile spin around LBLake. The weather? It was spectacular! About 38 degrees, bright sun, crisp and clear. Ahhhhhhh.....
It was a rare treat to run with both Frank and Rachel, as they've graduated from my usual pace pod, but I was able to run a semi-MGP pace run today while they slummed along. :-) I had fun chatting away with them as we cruised around the pond, and we covered the usual topics. And, no, I cannot share any of that conversation with you. What is said on the trail stays on the trail, after all.
So, for the day, 6.82 miles, 1:02:29, 9:10 pace or thereabouts. That time includes our quick water stop at Auditorium Shores. We dialed in the pace over the first 3 miles, and then dipped to the 8:40 range for the last 4 miles. I enjoyed myself out there. These runs since White Rock have served to rekindle the running fire that I had let die out a bit, and I'm grateful to Frank, Rachel and other folks who've asked me along. Sometimes you just need a reminder of why we do this in the first place, and if you pay attention, those reminders can come when least expected.
Side note: I was listening to Tom Petty's "Buried Treasure" show on XM radio this morning, and Little Richard's "Lucille" was played. Has there ever been a more perfect rock 'n roll record made? I had the radio cranked, and it made me feel all happy inside. If you don't have a copy, shame on you. If you do, go get it out or kick it up on the iPod and get reacquainted with Mr. Perryman and his rollicking piano riff and those amazing vocals. A slice of recorded musical perfection.
It was a rare treat to run with both Frank and Rachel, as they've graduated from my usual pace pod, but I was able to run a semi-MGP pace run today while they slummed along. :-) I had fun chatting away with them as we cruised around the pond, and we covered the usual topics. And, no, I cannot share any of that conversation with you. What is said on the trail stays on the trail, after all.
So, for the day, 6.82 miles, 1:02:29, 9:10 pace or thereabouts. That time includes our quick water stop at Auditorium Shores. We dialed in the pace over the first 3 miles, and then dipped to the 8:40 range for the last 4 miles. I enjoyed myself out there. These runs since White Rock have served to rekindle the running fire that I had let die out a bit, and I'm grateful to Frank, Rachel and other folks who've asked me along. Sometimes you just need a reminder of why we do this in the first place, and if you pay attention, those reminders can come when least expected.
Side note: I was listening to Tom Petty's "Buried Treasure" show on XM radio this morning, and Little Richard's "Lucille" was played. Has there ever been a more perfect rock 'n roll record made? I had the radio cranked, and it made me feel all happy inside. If you don't have a copy, shame on you. If you do, go get it out or kick it up on the iPod and get reacquainted with Mr. Perryman and his rollicking piano riff and those amazing vocals. A slice of recorded musical perfection.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas jogging
After sitting around for a while this afternoon, I couldn't ignore the beautiful weather outside. So, I got geared up and went for a little recovery run. It was bright and sunny, with temps in the mid- to high-50's. Very nice. At any rate, the run was a HR effort, staying well within recovery range. I stayed as much as I could on the water tower trail behind the 'Hood, and ended up with a relaxed 3.5 miles in about 33 minutes. Everything checked out well, so mission accomplished. I've been neglecting these recovery Tuesday/Thursday runs, so for a while, I'm just trying to get back in the habit of doing them, and will slowly build them back up to the regulation 7 miles. There is something to the raw total mileage in a week, and I'll be paying better attention to that in the coming months.
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