Cruisin'

OBJECTIVE
5 mi. Slow (>8:38/mi.)
3 x 100 meter strides @ 5K pace (~24.26 sec. per 100 meter OR 6:31/mi. pace)

ACHIEVED
5.11 mi.@ 8:30/mi.
113 m. – 22.90 (5:29/mi.)
113 m. – 22.70 (5:26/mi.)
113 m. – 22.32 (5:20/mi.)

5:30 AM 49° 100% 2 mph mist

Got in a good run with Aaron this morning. The temperature was cool to start but great once we got going. This run was scheduled for Friday but I rolled it back to today. I'll have to see how the next few days shake out running-wise. I'm still planning on a 15-miler Saturday but I'm not sure who else is around to run with.

PRE RUN
weight = 164.5# (too many burritos last night!)
water

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin & baked Amish oatmeal (Yes, I tried something new but decided it wasn't worth the effort ... and it really didn't take much effort!

Aaron Gets Sick

OBJECTIVE
7 mi. not sure if this was technically supposed to be "slow" or "easy" pace

ACHIEVED
7.29 mi.@ 9:05/mi.

5:30 AM 34° 100% 0 mph mist

This was a true recovery run at a slow pace. I was slow starting today. I met Aaron who had been in Utah for the holidays. We started slow and got slower. He was suffering some stomach discomfort that led us to a stop at a donut shop for a "relief" break. The slower pace really wasn't a problem for me. I am still feeling the pounding I gave myself while doing strides at the end of each of my runs yesterday. (I think I need to slow them down a bit!)

PRE RUN
weight = 162#
water

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin & oatmeal w/flax, brown sugar & 1% milk

Daily Double, Part II

OBJECTIVE
3 mi. Slow (>8:38/mi.)
3 x 100 meter strides @ 5K pace (~24.26 sec. per 100 meter OR 6:31/mi. pace)

ACHIEVED
3.02 mi.@ 8:28/mi.
107 m. – 22.22 (5:33/mi.)
161 m. – 36.25 (5:47/mi.)
241 m. – 50.40 (5:28/mi.)

8:03 PM 51° 54% 0 mph

Not surprisingly, this run was a bit slower than this morning's.

PRE RUN
Water

POST RUN
Hamburger, grilled chicken wrap, chocolate milk & apple slices

Two-A-Day Workout #1

OBJECTIVE
3 mi. Slow (>8:38/mi.)
3 x 100 meter strides @ 5K pace (~24.26 sec. per 100 meter OR 6:31/mi. pace)

ACHIEVED
3.02 mi.@ 8:17/mi.
177 m. – 35.34 (5:18/mi.)
156 m. – 32.60 (5:20/mi.)
177 m. – 34.08 (5:09/mi.)

6:34 AM 39° 93% 2 mph

Everything about this run was too fast except for the first mile. I’m not sure why I was so charged up this morning …? Maybe it was just getting back to my “home track”. I’ll be running the same routine later today. I’ll be curious to see the comparison.

PRE RUN
Weight = 162.5#
Water

POST RUN
Water, multivitamin & 5-grain hot cereal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

Training Schedule: December 28 - January 3

Sun: Rest
Mon: 2 Runs - 3 mi. each Slow w/3x100@5K
Tue: 7 mi. Easy
Wed: 12 mi. w/1 Easy, 4-3-2-1@MP w/2 min. Rest, 1 Easy
Thu: 3 mi. Slow
Fri: 5 mi. Slow w/3x100@5K
Sat: 15 mi. w/6x100@5K

Gutting One Out

OBJECTIVE
20 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
20.85 mi.@ 8:28/mi.

6:31 AM 73° 79% 19 mph

This was a tough one. I got back home late last night. I knew I didn't want to take on a 20-miler by myself but almost all of Stephanie's group is out of town and ChampionsFit's run today is "unofficial". Aaron is also out of town. Fortunately, Stephanie gave me a heads up that the Bayou City Road Runners were doing a 21-miler that was supported and open to all-comers.

I arrived at the start point only a few minutes early then the group started. I didn't see anyone I knew even though the group must have been about 50 runners. I took off in the darkness with strangers. Fortunately, Laurie found me before we had gone a mile. Then Jonathan showed up too. Jonathan didn't hang with us for very long as it looked like he has staying with his Tornado running buddies. Laurie and I ran the whole route together. I was glad she was with me today.

The course was well marked and there were water stops (manned and unmanned) about every 3 miles. The route took me through the Tanglewood area which I haven't run in before today.

It wasn't the best of days for me. My traveling (just got in last night) and bad nutrition over the past week certainly didn't help matters. Laurie kept us on a decent pace but around Mile 15 or 16 the wheels pretty much came off for me. My legs were getting heavier with each stride and overall fatigue was setting in. I gutted it out but with about a mile or so do go, we missed a turn along the route and ended up adding a bit of unplanned distance. At this point in the run, I was quite disheartened. I pressed on but as soon as I hit the planned distance, I mentally and physically shut it down. Laurie kept on while I walked it in over the last half mile.

It seems strange that this is the last long run of this cycle. If I'm running either the Houston marathon or Phoenix marathon, the taper begins Monday. This cycle has been abbreviated and I don't feel like l've been as disciplined. We'll just have to wait and see how it plays out.

PRE RUN
weight = 162#
FRS liquid concentrate & oatmeal w/sugar & 1% milk

POST RUN
SlimFast, breakfast burrito, sausage, bacon, grapefruit juice

Ice & Snow

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.36 mi.@ 8:32

11:18 AM 18F 68% 8 mph

Like each of my runs in Utah, this was a tough one. A storm dumped a bunch of snow in the afternoon and evening yesterday. The roads were covered with snow and ice. It was cold.

I wore my YakTrax which helped a lot. But running in snow and ice definitely requires more work.

On the return trip, the wind was squarely in my face which was not pleasant at all. Surprisingly I didn't notice the wind much going out.

Late in the run, I was quizzing myself, "Why am I doing this?" The answer came quickly. "So I can out kick people half my age like I did in Dana Point." It's only an example but the ability to compete is a powerful sensation for me.

Next month I hope to run my best marathon ever and qualify for the Boston marathon. Hopefully this week's challenging help me accomplish that goal.

I've also been thinking about altitude training. There is an adage that says endurance athletes should "live high and train low". I don't understand the physiology but I know elite runners cycle through high altitude locations in California, Arizona, and Colorado in an effort to gain a physiological advantage. I'm aware that Indiana Elite recently spent a week of training in Park City, Utah with some measured benefits. Could my week in Utah have similarly benefited me? I'll be watching for any noticeable improvement with curiosity.

I'm scheduled for a long run tomorrow but may have trouble finding someone to share it with.

PRE RUN
oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

POST RUN
???

An Addition to My List of Things I Need to Race

Time to buy knee high compression socks ....

Link to scientific study


I also want some arm warmers for my next cool weather race start. No science behind it that I've found yet. I just think they look good.



Okay, maybe it's the guy wearing the arm warmers that make them look good. (Ryan Hall, US Olympic Trials Marathon winner)

Still, Still, Still

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. slow (> 8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.58 mi.@ 8:39/mi.

7:26 AM 34° 75% 32 mph snow

Except for the wind, everything was very still during this Christmas morning run. Yes, it was blowing hard. Yes, it was snowing during the second half of the run. But there was very little traffic. I spied through a couple living room windows as I passed by and saw families in pajamas opening gifts. It was a peaceful run. I was glad to get out after yesterday's peculiar "run". My legs had a very slight soreness and my body overall was a bit sore too. I think it was the uneven ground of yesterday's run and perhaps the shoveling of snow in the driveway the day before. I feel pretty good and I'm looking for a good run tomorrow.

Two things happened during today's run. First, with about a mile to go, a guy was stuck in a snow bank on the side of the road. I stopped to try helping push him out. After some back and forth rocking followed by a big push, we were close to getting him back on the road. But for some reason, he got out of his car said, he would try it on his own because he "didn't want my blood pressure to get too low." I have no idea what that means. I'm sure he meant something about my running and that he was trying to politely dismiss me. So I wished him a Merry Christmas and ventured on.

Shortly after the stuck car, some horses in a nearby field began braying. There wasn't anything going on and I looked back to see them. I saw nothing. Then a bird made a strange sound. I didn't have to wonder long what this was about as about 90 seconds later the wind really picked up. So much so that it was howling there the trees of the river bottoms where I was running. It was the storm front moving in. The animals knew it shortly before I sensed it. Then the snow started flying. This snow seemed fitting for Christmas morning. I pressed on oddly enjoying the Christmas morning scene.

Once I turned for home and hit the freeway overpass the wind was in my face. It was a fierce breeze driving the snow squarely into my face. A snowflake hit my eyeball. I wondered if the sharp edges of a driven snowflake could actually cut the fragile membrane of an eyeball. Yes, it was painful! I closed my eyes and tried to make my body area as small as possible to thwart to negative influence of the winds. I was close enough to being finished that I found some fun in it.

Finally, it was over. I was snow-encrusted from head to toe. I'm sure the occasional passerby must have wondered about that crazy Christmas morning runner.

It was a good run.


PRE RUN
Clif bar & water

POST RUN
water, hash browns, sausage, bacon & toast w/raspberry jam (Calodie's - a Christmas morning family tradition)

This One was Tough!

OBJECTIVE
25K Antelope Island Christmas Eve Striders' group run

ACHIEVED
11.7 mi.@ 14:52/mi. (No, this is not a typo! It took 2:53:49 to go less than 12 miles!)

8:33 AM 19° 70% 12 mph

This was a tough "run". The course was supposed to be the 25K/50K Buffalo Run course on Antelope Island but was modified due to the "course master" not being with the group to run today.

Brandon picked me up and we drove to the gate of Antelope Island State Park. We waited for others as the plan was to carpool over the causeway to the island. You never really know what to expect at group runs. This group wasn't quite as welcoming as what I'm used to in my group at home. Maybe it was just that everyone was focused on getting their run and didn't want to be slowed down by the new guys. Brandon and I were equipped for the run okay but it was fairly clear we weren't experienced with this type of run. We were wearing cold weather gear and YakTrax. The others were wearing better cold weather gear and trail shoes.

Before I go on, I can summarize the run with this elevation graphic:



I didn't realize we were in for this type of terrain. It was rocky and snowy. Most of the way was covered with 4 - 8" of snow. Brandon and I (like everyone else) walked most of the extreme uphill sections. While running, I had to focus on where my foot was landing with each stride. The terrain was uneven. The YakTrax were a tremendous help and allowed for some confidence. I realized I was dealing with basically everything that I never see while running roads in Houston: snow, cold, elevation, and terrain. It was mentally and physically taxing.

We cut it a bit short on the return leg. I had had enough and Brandon had too. We traipsed back in; alternating running and walking. This was a tough one. But I'm glad I did it. The experience helped confirm for me that I'm a road rather than trail runner.

Later I plan to upload a few pictures taken while we were on the island here.

PRE RUN
orange juice & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

POST RUN
apple cider & brownies
Later, Clif bar, water, & puffed wheat crisp cereal w/1% milk

Run in the Snow

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.58 mi.@ 8:30/mi.

11:59 AM 25° 86% 10 mph light snow

I got a late start on this run as I was trying to wait out the snow storm that was moving through this morning. However by waiting, I ended up short circuiting my run since I had to get back to meet my parents for lunch. We went to Maddox which Paige and I really enjoy and, of course, can't get in Houston.

Yesterday I picked up some YakTrax to run with in the snow. Sometime ago I remember reading they are the best snow and ice traction device for running. I demoed them today as there was a pretty good accumulation from yesterday's storm and again from this morning's flurries. They seemed to work pretty good. At least I had more confidence in my footing than I otherwise would have had.

It was still snowing during much of my run. But I enjoy going down by the river and along the train tracks in Uintah. It seems that road shouldn't be as busy as I've found it the past couple days. Teenage girls with cell phones on slick roads scare me!

Unique things I saw along today's run: mallard ducks in the Weber River and a mail truck stuck in the snow along the day's delivery route.

Tomorrow's a big running day. I've been looking forward to it for a few weeks. Now that it's here, I have some apprehension. Striders Running is hosting a 25K Christmas Eve run on Antelope Island along the 25K and 50K Buffalo Run course. All of this seems like a wonderful idea. However, I'm now having second thoughts. It's going to be snowy and cold and on trails that I doubt have been groomed. I'll also be running with a group that I have never met so if I die along the way ... maybe they'll just leave me ...! Being from Houston, my running wardrobe is generally light on winter attire. It looks like there's a bailout option as the course is a figure 8 that I can probably just make the first loop for approximately 8 miles if I'm having problems. It should be an adventure. I'm trying to figure out a way to take my camera in case we see some wildlife but I've got to carry gel and liquid first and my tights just don't seem to have enough pockets for that!

If you don't hear back soon, send a rescue party to Antelope Island. I'll be the under dressed, frozen guy much like Preston Blake in the movie Mr. Deeds.




PRE RUN
???

POST RUN
???

Brandon Gets the Headline

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. Slow (>8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.32 mi.@ 8:54/mi.

7:12 AM 36° 75% 19 mph

I had the opportunity to run with my brother-in-law, Brandon Arnell, this morning. This was a good run; just what I needed to stretch out my legs after Saturday's long run and the plane ride (a/k/a 3-hour leg stiffening!).

A couple observations from today's run. First, when in Utah I'm always reminded that Utah is on the western most boundary of the Mountain Time Zone. Houston is in the middle of the Central Time Zone. That means the sunrise and sunset fall at much different times than what I'm used to in Houston. Of course, my body clock is generally screwed up from the one-hour time difference anyway.

Second, people think I run fast but they shouldn't. I commented to someone recently that I "train slow so I can race fast". But it's all relative, right? I never feel fast enough when I'm racing! I mention this because Brandon had a concern about not being able to keep up or go as far etc. etc. etc. .... But he was just fine. The pace and distance was all I wanted today.

Brandon is going to be running in Ogden in May (half or full marathon, I'm not sure ... ???) then the Wasatch Back Relay in June. It sounds like his training is going fine. He's following Hal Higdon's plan which is a good one. I've followed a bit of Higdon's concepts myself. Particularly for marathon recovery in the week's following that long, hard effort.

There's snow on the ground but the roads were dry this morning. The temperature was cold but the only time I noticed it was immediately before we started. Once we got going, I was fine. In fact, I ended up being a bit too warm before we finished.

PRE RUN
water & GrapeNuts & 1% milk

POST RUN
In the stupor of the holiday food fest that's going on, I don't actually recall so I'll just say ... JUNK!

A Couple Seasonal Pics

This was the photo of the week on The Complete Running Network a few weeks ago. I thought it was a great idea. The race shirt was styled like a Santa suit and runners were also given a hat and beard. Therefore, the racers end up being "a bunch of running Santas." The irony of this picture for me is that when I saw it I thought, "That looks like home with the mountains in the background and the way the street lights look." Well, surprise, surprise. This race was indeed in Ogden, Utah.



Next time you're wondering if you should actually go out in the cold weather for a run, think of this picture of a race in Calgary, Canada a couple weeks ago. The wind chill was -40°F!

Picking Up at the End of a Long One

OBJECTIVE
20 mi. easy w/last 5 mi.@ marathon pace (7:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
20.87 mi.@ 8:12/mi.
last 5 mile splits 8:23/7:44/7:18/7:26/7:37/7:33 (.87 mile)

6:09 AM 68° 93% 10 mph mist

This was a really good run. The main reason wasn't necessarily how I felt physically ... although I felt pretty good. Or how I went 20 miles for the first time in several weeks. Or how I actually hammered a solid, 5-mile pickup at the end ... which I did. No, this was a good run because the group was all pretty much back intact and running together again. With the fall racing season, it seems our schedules haven't synced up for a group run where everyone was there ... until today. Roll call for this morning included: Stephanie, Laurie, Miranda (back with us while visiting from her new home in Florida), Stuart, Jonathan, Josh, William, Randy, Aaron, and me.

There was a slight taint of melancholy because I'm not really sure how much longer our group stays together. I'm sure we'll keep getting long runs when we can get together but individual goals and objectives seem to be changing a bit. I'm hoping it's just the end of the racing season and the approach of the Houston marathon which many in our group are running.

We rolled over 15 miles averaging something around 8:25 per mile. The weather and conversation was good. I was feeling strong through about 9 miles but after a water break, fatigue and sluggishness started to set in a bit. I fought through it determined to go the distance. The group was slated for 18 but I knew I needed 20 both physically and mentally if there's any hope for a strong marathon in January (still to be determined). The route took us out-and-back through the Heights which I'm not a big fan of but succeeded in pressing on. Being with the group always helps me at this point.

I knew my training schedule had a 5-mile pickup. I was waffling on the idea through the entire run. At some point, I downgraded the pickup to 3 or 4 miles ... that should be good enough, right? Around 14 miles, Stuart decided to pickup and broke from the pack. I inadvertently went with him but caught myself and held back as I knew I couldn't hold his pace and that my distance hopefully going to be a bit longer than his. However, the accelerated pace for the short time I went with him felt good and convinced me that I should go ahead and see what I could do. At that point, I decided a 4-mile pickup would be good.

Laurie won't know how much I appreciated her calling for a pickup with just under 5 miles to go. I went with her and found the accelerated pace and rhythm difficult to establish for a bit but we settled in. No more talking ... focus and breathing would be more important now. We ran together and once we settled in around a 7:30 pace, it felt really good. It wasn't easy because I was working but there's something about being able to really being able to get moving after you've already put 16 miles on your legs. Just before getting back to the park, Laurie broke off back to the cars; the route everyone would be taking. I turned left to add mileage with a turn around the backside of the park. I didn't know if I'd be able to hold the pace after separating from Laurie but I was sure going to try. As always, the park held that magical energy of everyone exercising; running, walking, moving, etc. The energy always helps me and it didn't fail me this time either. I held the pace. I was hurting a bit with less than a mile to go but was so close I wasn't going to let a strong run slip away to mental weakness and fatigue. I pressed on. At the tennis courts, I saw an old friend, Robert Curran, who I hadn't seen in over 18 months. I stopped to talk with him and catch up. Our sons played baseball together on a travel team for about 3 years so there was a time when we spent most of our summers together. After our chat, I had stiffened a bit but pushed it over the final 1/2 mile back to the swimming pool parking lot. Aaron had finished some time before and was waiting. I missed the rest of the group as they had finished earlier, stretched and went there ways.

It sounds like most of us our out of town for the holidays next Saturday so I'm not expecting a group run. That will leave me to my own design to figure out a way to get miles. Running with a group is a huge help for me. Running with this group has been the best fortune of my running life.



PRE RUN
weight = 163#
FRS liquid concentrate, oatmeal w/1% milk & water

POST RUN
2 SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin, & oatmeal w/almonds, flax, brown sugar & 1% milk

Can it Really Be this Warm in December?

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.17 mi.@ 8:36/mi.

5:49 AM 68° 94% 2 mph

Ran alone this morning. Aaron took the day off. I kind of slogged along. I felt okay from a cardio standpoint most of the way but the old ab/groin issue flared mildly and my legs felt tired. I pressed on.

It was unseasonably warm!

PRE RUN
weight = 162#
Corn Flakes w/1% milk

POST RUN
SlimFast, water, multivitamin, Kashi GoLean cereal w/1% milk

Misty Moonlight

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. Slow (>8:38/mi)

ACHIEVED
4.06 mi.@ 8:37/mi.

5:32 AM 60F 100% 3 mph fog

It was really foggy this morning. The weather has been strange over the past few days. It looks like a cold and gray, wintery day as I remember them in Utah but there's no snow and the temperatures are too warm.

Aaron joined me again this morning. I was feeling pretty good, given yesterday's intervals. My legs were a little sore but it was ever-so-slight. Our pace was perfect for a recovery run. We'll go for 6 miles tomorrow and then a long 18-20 on Saturday. That will give us 46-48 miles for the week.

PRE RUN
weight = 162#
GrapeNuts w/1% milk

POST RUN
water, multivitamin, lowfat granola w/1% milk

Accompanied on Big Workout

OBJECTIVE
8 mi. w/8x2 min.@ 6:26/mi. & 2 min. recovery

ACHIEVED
8.39 mi.@ 8:39/mi. including:
2.39 mi.@ 8:28/mi.
6:17/6:27/6:17/6:35/6:23/6:29/6:27/6:36 (mile pace for 2 minutes)
2.00 mi.@ 9:04/mi.

5:19 AM 44F 100% 1 mph mist

As usual, this workout became more ominous as it approached. Aaron joined me. This was the first time I've had a partner for the Big Workout. I picked him up at 5 then drove to the Y for my traditional start.

The humidity was so heavy it was like a very light rain. I started out hammering the intervals pretty hard. I'm sure Aaron's presence spurred me a bit. I was surprised as we progressed through the intervals that I was stretching my lead on him even though it seemed the pace of each interval was slowing. In the end, all turned out fine as I was close to the targeted pace. I was disappointed with our pace back after finishing the last interval. It needed to be about 30 seconds faster.

PRE RUN
weight = 161.5
FRS liquid concentrate

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin & 5-grain hot cereal w/1% milk

Unique Way to Cross the Line

I posted links of some ridiculous race photos of myself recently. However, as evidenced by this photo, I'm not the only runner who has done something "crazy" in the heat of competition. This photo is from last weekend's Foot Locker Cross Country Championship in California. The top 15 runners in the event are declared All-Americans. The two runners in the photo are the 15th and 16th to cross the line. Obviously, the "diver" knew that it was between himself and the other runner for All-American status. One would get it while; the other would not. He thought diving would get him across the line faster. Who does it look like got the coveted 15th spot to you? A day after the race, the final results were posted after several reviews of photos and video, a tie for 15th place was declared and both named as All-American's.

I can't see myself ever going "Superman" at the end of a race. But I'll never say never, strange things happen in the oxygen-depleted state near the end of a race!

Crisp, Cool Morning Run

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.17 mi.@ 8:24/mi.

5:32 AM 36F 96% 6 mph mist

Ran Wimbledon Forest Loop with Aaron. It was cool. Felt okay.

PRE RUN
water, corn flakes w/1% milk

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, & Kashi GoLean w/1% milk

Wow! It's Warm

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. Slow (>8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.03 mi.@ 8:32/mi.

5:25 AM 61F 100% 4 mph mist

It was really warm and humid this morning. I ran sleeveless. After a week, I finally ran with Aaron again.

PRE RUN
weight = 162
water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin, & GrapeNuts w/1% milk

Chasing the Pack

OBJECTIVE
15 mi. Easy w/last 3 mi.@ marathon pace

ACHIEVED
13.76 mi.@ 8:21/mi : no pickup

6:18 AM 55° 88% 5 mph

I am very disappointed that I didn't make it out to California for today's Rose Bowl half marathon. Alex and I had loosely planned to run it (he still is) but I was a last minute scratch due to my lousy cold and the lack of good flight options.

This ended up being a weird run. Stephanie is recovery from her 50K age-group victory last Saturday so it was a recovery run for her. A few other group regulars were out for various reasons. Steph routed an 11-miler. I wanted to try a bit more since I was scheduled for 15. My plan was to run a loop at Memorial Park before the group started at 6:30 AM. However, I stayed up late last night and didn't get to the park ready to run until about 6:10 AM. The loop is 3 miles so off I went after sending them a text message not to wait for me. I figured if I was feeling good, I'd catch up. The feeling good part was questionable based on my the lingering impact of the sickness I've been dragging around with me for the past 3-4 days.

The morning air was cool but comfortable for running. I made my way around the loop in the dark. The park was busy as I'm sure there are a bunch of runners prepping for next month's Houston marathon. There's almost always an "energy" in the park when I run there and this morning was no different. I was running "easy" but still clipping along at an 8:24 pace (it felt much slower). I figured the group had about a 10-minute head start on me. The chase was on. I tried not to think about them somewhere up ahead but invisible forces were pulling me toward them. My pace was faster than it otherwise would have been. After about 4 miles, I started running some numbers in my head and started wondering if I'd even catch them before they finished. I thought they were probably running 8:30 and I was under 8:20 but with those paces the run didn't seem long enough for me to catch them. I tried to stop thinking about it. If I ran alone today that would be fine. Finally at a water stop somewhere around 7 miles into their run, I caught them.

Today it was only Stephanie, Stuart and Randy. It was good to hear Steph's race report from SunMart. She had a fantastic run finishing 6th overall and 1st in her age group ... all of that after falling ... TWICE! ... and finishing the last 8 miles of the 31 miles run while battling severe cramps. Josh also ran and had a good day finishing 4th in his age group.

I was so happy to have caught the group that I bypassed my scheduled pickup for the last 3 miles of my run. I'd expended some energy in catching them and am still generally fatigued from being sick. The pickup can wait for another day .

PRE RUN
FRS liquid concentrate, oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

POST RUN
2 SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin, oatmeal w/almonds, flax, brown sugar & 1% milk

Cool Run under the Full Moon

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. Easy (8:08 – 38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.15 mi.@ 8:34/mi.

5:12 AM 28° 97% 0 mph

I had a pretty good run this morning. I focused on keeping it easy since I’m still not 100% back from the cold I’ve been battling. It was good to get back at it and hit a decent time. Fortunately, I didn’t feel like I’d lost much – if anything.

Some time ago I read the idea that there are times when you can “run through a sickness” and times that you can’t. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the parameters. The recommendation is along the lines of feed a fever / starve a cold. But I honestly can’t ever remember if it’s feed a fever or starve a fever …etc. I suppose if I had to deal with illnesses on a more regular basis I’d remember these adages better. No, I don’t want to have reasons to remember them!

I’m still not certain what I’ll be doing tomorrow for a run.

PRE RUN
weight = 159.5#
FRS liquid concentrate

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, Life cereal w/1% milk

This Looks Worth Watching

Marathon Love airs Sunday, December 14, at 8 PM (ET/PT), on Discovery Health

Rarities

It snowed here Wednesday afternoon and evening. This is only the second snowfall I've witnessed since being in the Houston area since 1999.

The other rare occurrence is that I missed work due to illness (part of the day Tuesday and again part of Wednesday). I think it's just a cold but it's really been kicking my butt. I've had no strength and felt really worn down. Needless to say this preempted my Big Workout on Wednesday (Paige questioned if I was really just avoiding the run since she knows I dread "the Wednesday run" more than any other during the week.) and my Thursday recovery run.

Getting sick has me wondering about my nutrition again. Ever since the marathon in October, I've been fairly sloppy with my eating. For a few weeks it was anything goes. Over the past 5-6 weeks, I've "thought" about it and been kind of careful but have lacked overall discipline. I've justified it by thinking I can get back to it "when I need to". The other issue making it difficult right now is that we're trying to bulk Cameron up for the upcoming baseball season. He drops so much weight while running cross country. It's better for him to carry more weight for baseball. So there's been a ton of food available at the house - with the primary focus on mass calories rather than overall quality. His weight is coming up so that's good for him. Unfortunately, I think Paige and I are following his lead!

Hope to be feeling better and running again soon. I hate losing the days and having to log "zeros". It makes me feel like the prior training is a loss and wasted if I don't stay on plan.

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. Easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.16 mi.@ 8:31/mi.

6:06 AM 72° 83% 7 mph

Since I started late, I went out-and-back to Wimbledon Forest rather than dropping down onto Cypresswood during morning commuting traffic.

I felt okay and tried to keep it “easy”.

PRE RUN
Ginger snap granola w/1% milk, water & 2 mini powdered donuts

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, zinc, 5-grain hot cereal w/1% milk

Dana Point Race Pictures ... Ugggggghhhh!

There has been some discussion recently among my Saturday running group about how horrible or ridiculous some of the race pictures are. I really didn't fully appreciate the discussion - as I thought I looked okay in most of my race pictures. That is until now! Here are links to the Dana Point races. I post these only for your amusement! I look horrible!


Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K (disregard the pics from the kids' race their was a kid with the same bib number is I had in the 10K)

You can only begin to appreciate how hard it was raining from these pics!


Dana Point Turkey Trot 5K

The finishing pictures here are ridiculous! Remember this was the race "I wasn't going to kick to the finish" in. You can see that I passed the guys who were in front of me in the picture from my earlier post

The rain stopped shortly after the 10K finished.

Lesson learned: Don't run two races on the same day!

Straggler for a "Short" Long Run

OBJECTIVE
14 mi.@ 8:08-38/mi.

ACHIEVED
~13.7 mi.@ ~8:12/mi (1:52:16) No Garmin today due to "Low Battery"

~6:05 AM ~42° ~78% ~1 mph

Josh and Stephanie ran the Sunmart 50K so they weren't with us for this morning's run. Congratulations to each of them for very strong finishes in that event! Josh took 4th in his age group and 28th overall while Stephanie won her age group by a large margin and was 6th overall. Yes, I am very fortunate to hang with such accomplished athletes.

Today's group included Randy, Laurie, Stacey, Kevin, and me. We started at a slow-ish pace in the cool morning air. My Garmin performed its occasional "Low Battery" routine with me so I was left with my IronMan and no complete data from today's run.

I was okay for about 6-7 miles then I just started feeling worn out. I think it's the two hard races in the last month and the mileage buildup. It didn't feel like things were going to improve so I just focused on holding on. Laurie and I planned to cut it short at 14-15 miles while the others were going for 19-21 miles. When it came time to separate, everyone ended up going back to the park and the others just added on with a loop (or loops) around the park.

My ab/groin injury seemed slightly improved today. It seems that a slow but sure recovery is occurring. Hopefully that trend continues and I can get back to 100%. I'm also hopeful that I will have my legs back under me soon!

PRE RUN
weight = 162#
FRS liquid concentrate & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

POST RUN
2 SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/1% milk

Falling Down on a Cool Morning

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. Easy (8:08 - 38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.21 mi.@ 8:34/mi.

5:35 AM 32° 93% 0 mph

It was a cool, clear morning. I wore a long-sleeved tech shirt over a short-sleeved tech shirt, tights, gloves and knit cap. I felt comfortable once I got going.

I stopped at Randall's but Aaron didn't show up for about 10 minutes so I went on without him.

My cardio condition felt stressed today as did my leg muscles. The ab/groin strain is still a problem and seems to be impacting my stride now. The entire left side of my abdominal down to the inside of my left leg feels weak, strained, and sore. Hopefully it improves some over the next 24 hours.

PRE RUN
Clif bar & water

POST RUN
weight = 160.5#
SlimFast, brown sugar muffin & multivitamin
Later, water, calcium, Vitamins A & D & oatmeal w/flax, almonds, brown sugar & 1% milk

Dana Point 5K Finish

This was taken near the end of the Thanksgiving 5K. I had already run the 10K and wasn't feeling great during this race. I turned it into the tempo run and kept telling myself there wouldn't be any reason to kick at the end ... just take it in at an even pace. Right! As I got closer to the finish, I naturally picked it up. The two guys in front of me in the picture really started picking it up and were dueling with each other. Of course that just spurred me on. As they were in their final dash, I gave an extra effort and pulled up along side. They didn't even see my coming. Once I edged in front, the guy on the left found a little extra in his tank and really put down the hammer. I'm proud to say that I held him off and finished ahead of both of them ... at the wire.

I love the finish line of races!

Still Trying to Recover

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. Slow (>8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.03 mi.@ 8:46/mi.

5:42 AM 46F 71% 12 mph

I am still feeling beat up from the race last Thursday. My legs are sore but improving. The bigger problem seems to be a lower left abdominal strain that extends down into the groin. I observed this problem last week days before the race. I think it may have resulted from over-aggressive core work while doing a physical therapy session. Racing seems to have aggravated the problem. I suspect kicking the final stretch of the 5K may have been when it occurred. Running two races back-to-back was stupid ... especially after putting done a personal best time in the first race. Note to self: don't do anything like that again! It's now compromising my training.

Aaron is still out of town for the holiday so I ran alone today. He'll be back tomorrow.

PRE RUN
Clif bar & water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin, brown sugar muffin, 5-grain hot cereal w/brown sugar, flax & 1% milk

Dana Point Turkey Trot

10K
41:56 *** new PR ***
age group: 8 of 189
men: 104 of 1494
overall: 123 of 3179

5K
22:40
age group: no rank due to running in 5K rather than Masters 5K
men: 176 of 1116
overall: 214 of 2334

Met at Alex's house. Drove to Dana Point. Started together in a light rain. I expended a bunch of energy in the first mile weaving through traffic. By Mile 2 it was coming down really hard. I pressed on hoping to be able to hold the pace. Fortune smiled on me and I held up pretty steady to the end. I had a strong kick as I passed several over the last quarter mile.

Another PR in the books and another evidence that a 3:20 marathon is a possibility.

PRE RACE
FRS & Carb-boom

POST RACE
water & Clif bar

Several months ago while eating at a restaurant, the server was surprised by how much water I was drinking. I was none too reluctant to inform him that I had run 20 miles earlier that day. Ever since that day, I haven't been able to live down my eagerness to let him know about my running and particularly my distance for the day.

This video that I saw on a very funny runner's blog reminded me of this incident.

On Heavy Legs

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
~ 6.17 mi.@ ~8:25/mi. (51:53) Garmin out of commission.

~ 5:30 AM

Ran with Aaron. My legs are still heavy and my lower abs were sore this morning. It was a cool morning; much different than yesterday. We were slow over the distance which is fine with the races coming up on Thursday. Hopefully I'm feeling much better than I did today!


PRE RUN
weight = 158.5#
GrapeNuts w/1% milk

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

More Like Houston Weather

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. slow ( > 8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.01 mi.@ 8:19/mi.

5:32 AM 64° 94% 4 mph

I flipped the schedule from a 6-mile run this morning to a 4-mile run. I'll get the 6-miler tomorrow then a 4-miler on Wednesday. My legs were heavy this morning. I'm still feeling the effects of Saturday's 15.5 miles and I worked through my physical therapy routine last night.

I ran with Aaron again this morning. He seemed to be feeling about the same as me.

Last night I read that the Dana Point race on Thursday is the biggest Thanksgiving Day run in the country. They are expecting 12,000 runners. I think they've staged the starts such that the 10K goes first, followed by the Masters 5K then the 5K. The Southern California section of USA Track & Field has designated this as their 10K championship so I'm absolutely certain their will be slow smokin' fast runners at the front. If I'm not mistaken, the course doubles back on itself three times so I should get to see them at least a couple times. I'm looking forward to that and expect seeing elite-class speed in the same race that I'm in to be inspiring.



This course doesn't look fast because of the U-turns and other turns but I keep reading that it is fast and I doubt they'd make it a championship if it wasn't at least a "fair" course.

The weather is looking good for Thursday. The forecast is for temperatures in the mid-50's.

I'm considering a good ice bath and maybe a massage sometime this week before heading out for the race.

PRE RUN
weight = 161#
Clif bar & water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & oatmeal w/almonds, brown sugar & 1% milk

Training Schedule: November 23 - 29

Sun: rest
Mon: 6 mi. Easy
Tue: 4 mi. Easy
Wed: 4 mi. Slow
Thu: Dana Point 10K & Masters 5K
Fri: 6 mi. Slow
Sat: 14 mi. w/last 2 mi.@ MP
(if Saturday run not available, run Sunday)

Saturday Long

OBJECTIVE
14 mi. w/last 2 mi.@ MP (7:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
15.51 mi.@ 8:17/mi.

6:08 AM 46° 66% 9 mph

It was a cool morning but a good run. Aaron joined me as I drove to Memorial Park to meet the group. Today's edition included: Stephanie, Stewart, Laurie, Josh, Randy, Aaron and me.

We went out to the George R. Brown Convention Center and back ... essentially.

At different times along the way, I felt good and not-so-good. It was good to get back with the group. I miss them when I don't run with them. My legs are still feeling fatigued. I'm just not feeling strong. Last week's race most likely is the biggest contributing factor. I've also slacked off my physical therapy (bad runner!). I'll get back to it.

I signed up for the Thanksgiving morning races in Dana Point. Yes, I said races. That's a 10K followed by the Masters' Division 5K. It looks like there will be about a 30-45 minute break in between which I need to figure out what I'm going to do to stay active and loose. Obviously the 5K won't be any kind of a breakthrough effort but I do hope to put down something in the 42 minute range for the 10K. I still need to plot my schedule for the week. I'm looking forward to the excitement of another race.

Oh, I almost forgot. I didn't hit marathon pace over the last couple miles of this run. Aaron ran strong all morning but was fading a bit at the end. Since he didn't know the way back, I slowed a bit to stay with him.

Mile Splits
9:06/8:43/8:32/8:26/8:21/8:42/7:51/7:52/8:08/8:24/8:11/8:24/7:54/7:51/8:03/4:04 (.51 mi.)

PRE RUN
oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin & GrapeNuts w/1% milk

Another Cool Morning ... and Six Miles

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. easy (8:08 – 38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.18 mi.@ 7:59/mi.

5:30 AM 48° 51% 11 mph

Ran with Aaron again this morning. It was a cool morning and I believe it’s only supposed to get colder as the day goes along. Tomorrow’s run may end up starting with temperatures in the 30’s.

I’m surprised by the times of my runs when Aaron is with me. It seems like we’re just moving along at a comfortable pace talking but we always end up running around 8 minute miles. It’s a bit faster than I would like and I wonder if it’s slowing my recovery from hard runs but for now, it’s okay. I suppose the same thing happens when I run with the group on Saturdays. The pace is always quicker and more comfortable than if I were running alone. For me, there’s definitely something to this running with others!

PRE RUN
Water & GrapeNuts w/1% milk

POST RUN
SlimFast

Back at It

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. Slow (>8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.01 mi.@ 8:09/mi.

5:28 AM

Met Aaron for a morning run. It was an easy cruise over the miles. Talking makes time and miles pass quickly. My legs are mostly better. I think yesterday's unplanned off day helped. It does however feel like my right heel may be bruised or something. It's tender to pressure. I'll pay attention to what it's telling me.

I need to register for the Thanksgiving day run. Cameron has decided against running. Paige will be doing the 5K. And I'm running the 10K. I'm also considering the 5K since it will start about 30 minutes after I finish the 10K. I haven't decided if this is a bad idea or not. If I push hard over the 10K, I most likely will tighten up waiting for the 5K. But I figure I can take the 5K easy just to get a couple miles. I think this is a big race ... maybe 4,000 runners. The course doesn't look fast as it is T shaped with 3 U turns. I'll get to work on my turn technique.

PRE RUN
weight = 159#
water, Kashi GoLean cereal w/1% milk

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & 5-grain hot cereal w/brown sugar and 1% milk

10 for Texas

What is that vein/muscle in my right leg?



I thought maybe it was my femoral artery but it seems like it's on the wrong side of my leg.



Kicking it home at the 10 for Texas. November 15, 2008

Missed This One

OBJECTIVE
9 mi. w/ 8x2 min.@ 6:26/mi. & 2 min. jog

ACHIEVED
no run

This morning didn't work for me. My time was spent preparing for a major presentation at work. I justified missing this big workout by the fact that I raced hard last Saturday when I was supposed to be running easy. I've still got some delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) from Saturday's run so rest probably isn't that worst thing right now.

Recovery Run?

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.19 mi.@ 8:11/mi.

5:26 AM 41° 93% 0 mph

Another cool morning. I think it was around 41F. Garmin's weather service has been down since Saturday so I'm not getting weather information about my runs. Generally, this isn't a problem. Although I really would like to know what the wind speed was during the race on Saturday.

I met Aaron again and we covered the 6 miles of the Wimbledon Forest Loop. My paces have all been faster since I started running with Aaron a week ago. I usually run at the slow end of my target pace ranges when I'm alone but with him I've been at the fast end or even outside the range. My legs feel a little beat up right now. I'm not sure if it's the faster paced recovery runs, the race on Saturday or a combination of the two.

Today's discussion topics included the airline industry, California's proposition 8, and abortion ... among other things. One of the many nice things about running with others is the opportunity to exchange ideas.

Hopefully my legs find some life before tomorrow's run. I've got 9 miles with some speed mixed in over the middle section. The dreaded, midweek Big Workout. It will be interesting to see how this works with two of us doing it along the Faulkey Gully path ... in the dark.

PRE RUN
weight =159#
Clif bar & water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & 5-grain hot cereal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

Cold Morning Shakeout

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. easy (> 8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.01 mi.@ 8:18/mi.

5:27 AM

It was a cold morning. I believe somewhere in the mid-30's. I broke out my tights for the first time this fall and wore 2 tech shirts, hat and gloves.

I met Aaron at Randall's. We covered the 4 miles that is the Stuebner-Airline Loop. I'm still sore from Saturday. My recovery isn't as quick as I thought it would be. It may be that I underestimated how hard I pushed. It could also be that I didn't stretch and reload for proper recovery after the race. Of course I gorged on free food but it wasn't exactly what I needed for recovery.

Speaking of food and eating, ever since the marathon I've pretty much had an anything-goes-approach to eating. At one point over the weekend, I weighed in at 10 pounds heavier than my marathon weight. I'm not too concerned since I don't have a big event soon but I do need to apply a bit more discipline to my eating.

The Pasadena marathon was cancelled yesterday due to smoke and ash from wild fires in the area. My friend, Alex, was scheduled to run and, at one point, we had discussed the possibility of me joining him. I suspect they'll end up with a rescheduled date.

BYU's cross country teams participated in regionals over weekend. The men took third and are waiting to hear about advancing to Nationals. Their top runner was second overall. The women had a disappointing day and only their top finisher will advance to Nationals.

Last week I mentioned the incredible women's team at University of Washington. As a reminder, they swept the top 5 places at the PAC-10 championship. Not surprisingly, they won the West Regional over the weekend. Their top finishers placed 2 - 6. Okay ... now for the surprise. They rested their top 2 runners! How's that for depth? I can't imagine another team challenging them at Nationals in Terre Haute.

PRE RUN
weight = 159.5#
apple juice

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin & oatmeal w/flax, brown sugar, ginger snap granola & 1% milk

Training Schedule: November 16 - 22

Sun - rest
Mon - 4 mi. slow
Tue - 6 mi. easy
Wed - 9 mi. w/ 8x2 min @ critical velocity & 2 min. jogging recovery
Thu - 4 mi. slow
Fri - 6 mi. easy
Sat - 14 mi. w/last 2 mi.@ marathon pace


slow = >8:38/mi.
easy = 8:08 - 8:38/mi.
critical velocity = 6:26/mi.
marathon pace = 7:38/mi.

Ten for Texas

OBJECTIVE
original - 10 mi. b/w 8:08-38/mi. w/last 2 mi.@7:38
revised - 10 mi. race 1:11 - 12 (7:08-12/mi.)

ACHIEVED
10.07 mi.@ 6:59/mi. (official time = 1:10:14)
overall = 59; age group = 6

Stephanie sent out an email that the group was running 22 miles this morning in preparation for the Sunmart 50K in a few weeks. That was much farther than the 10 miles I had scheduled and the course didn't seem to lend itself to good bailout options. However, Shellie and Michele each responded to Steph's email saying they were going to run the 10 for Texas in The Woodlands. BINGO! That's what I'm going to try doing, I thought.

I picked up Aaron and we made our way to The Woodlands and registered. It was a windy, cold morning. I had looked up the equivalent 10-mile race time for a 3:20 marathon. Mcmillanrunning.com had it at 1:11:24 and attackpoint.org had 1:12:01. I decided to see if I could hold the necessary pace of 7:08 - 7:12 per mile necessary to hit these times. I was unsure of myself given that I had not planned on running this race until about 20 hours before the starting gun. I figured I'd go out at that pace and if I faded that would be fine ... at least it could serve as a gauge. I surprised myself and ended up with the following splits:

7:14 started with the 7 min. group; surprising how light the traffic was
7:13 staying focused on running first couple miles slower than overall goal
7:14 still holding back; head wind is gusting
7:12 feeling pretty good; good turnover and running easy
7:07 got a little overzealous upon seeing the turn in the distance
6:58 picked up too early but feeling good and started "racing" rather than clock-watching
6:53 picking off "victims" one by one and liking it; worried about pushing too early
7:00 feeling the early push; pulled back a bit to catch breath for final 2-mile push
6:39 realize that no one has passed me since about Mile 2; not feeling as strong as I would like but can tell I'm stronger than those I'm passing; this is fun!
6:20 this mile flew by; pushing hard I was surprised how fast the finish came up; had a very strong 0.4 mi. kick
0:21 (0.07 mi. on Garmin)

This was a strong effort. I pushed hard and didn't let myself get lazy or coast. I focused on racing and running tactically over the second half of the race. This helped occupy my mind and focus my objectives. I'm very happy with my time. It suggests that a 3:20 marathon is well within reach from a vdot (performance-based VO2Max index for runners) standpoint. I just need to keep building endurance by putting in the miles and 3:20 is mine!

The race was really well done. The refreshments, band, and finish area were all very good. I'd like to do this one again.

While walking around I saw and chatted with Shellie for a bit. I have to say she's one of the nicest people I know. Later, while walking to the car, I saw Michele. It was good to talk with her. It sounded like each of them had good races.

Aaron came in around 1:15. This is a great time for his inconsistent training. He's using this race as a baseline for his training for the Austin marathon in February.

PRE RUN
FRS
Earlier, water & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk


POST RUN
water & smoothie
Later, bagel w/peanut butter; breakfast burrito; Powerade; & turkey sandwich

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.14 mi.@ 8:10/mi.

5:27 AM 61° 100% 1 mph mist

Ran with Aaron again this morning. We covered the 6 miles at the bottom end of my target range. My legs are a bit sore - most likely from the quickened pace over the past couple of days.

Steph's crew is going 22 miles tomorrow. They're getting ready for Sunmart 50K. That's more than I need at this point. I'm scheduled for 10 miles and there's a 10-mile race that was rescheduled from the time Hurricane Ike hit. I think I'll try that and see how it goes. I'd like to hold a 7:08 pace for something in the neighborhood of an 1:11:00 but I'm not sure I'm up to that. I cold front is supposed to be moving in so the morning could bring cold temperatures. Assuming I'm able to register, I'll just run it how I feel.

PRE RUN
weight = 160#
chocolate milk

POST RUN
water, multivitamin, & oatmeal w/almonds, flax, brown sugar & 1% milk

An Early Morning Training Partner

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. easy (> 8:38/ mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.03 mi.@ 7:57/mi.

5:25 AM 61F 100% 1 mph mist

So the obvious question is why did I run so fast today. Well, there's a good answer ... it's the natural benefit that comes from running with others. My Saturday runs with the group are always faster than when I'm on my own. There are many reasons the Kenyans are such prolific distance runners ... I believe one is that they rarely run alone.

Susan Cline of ChampionsFit dropped me a note earlier in the week that she met a guy who she thought was about my pace. He's new to the area and has Utah connections. I dropped Aaron a note and heard back from him last night. He's actually living with a sister (?) about .7 mile from my house. We met at Randall's at 5:30 and I took him on the Stuebner -Airline Loop. We were obviously faster than I planned but the pace felt fine as we were talking the whole time. He's younger and faster than I am. He's looking to qualify for Boston (3:10 for him) at the Austin marathon in February.

We're planning to run together again tomorrow. Six miles over the Wimbledon Forest Loop.

Later today I plan to put up a video link of a University of Washington women's cross country team workout. They just swept their conference (PAC-10) meet taking the top 5 places. This is an amazing feat for a big conference school. They're led by a freshman phenom.

PRE RUN
weight = 158.5#
chocolate milk

POST RUN
SlimFast, water, multivitamin & 5-grain hot cereal w/almonds, flax, cinnamon, brown sugar & 1% milk

Pushing through Another Big Workout

OBJECTIVE
8 mi. including warm-up; 7 x 2 min.@ 6:26/mi. & 2 min. jogging recovery; cool down

ACHIEVED
8.37 mi.@ 8:05/mile including
2.42 mi.@ 8:39/mile
6:43/
6:16/
6:18/
6:20/
6:10/
6:09/
6:04/
2.33 mi.@ 8:02/mile

5:51 AM 63° 100% 3 mph

So the ominous, midweek run started out as usual ... with me dreading it! It rained hard overnight so everything was wet but it didn't rain on me at all during the run. I started from the Y and shortly after getting underway, I realized that I had started my Garmin as a regular workout rather than an interval workout. Fortunately, I caught this early and once I reached the end of the first mile, I stopped, saved the first mile, and started a new interval workout. When I uploaded the runs later at the house, I just combined them and it came out just fine on the motionbased.com website.

After coming up a bit short on the pace over the first 2.42 miles (8:39 vs. 8:38 per mile), I started down the gully path on the first of 7 intervals. For some reason, I had a difficult time shifting gears and getting up to speed. The first interval came in at 6:43/mile while the target was 6:26/mile. Maybe I was distracted by how much water was flowing down the gully this morning after the rainstorm. It was practically a raging river. It's usually a modest stream. The rest of the intervals came in well under the prescribed 6:26 pace. The fourth one was the slowest at 6:20 and that one included the turnaround point so I lost speed and the GPS most-likely calculated me as standing still for longer than it actually took me to turnaround.

After the seventh and fastest interval (6:04 pace), I jogged for 2 minutes then picked it up for the car. I wanted to run the final 2.3 miles around 8:30 pace but was pleasantly surprised to manage an 8:02 pace which felt fairly comfortable.

Upon completion while still walking to the car, I clicked through my interval times as I really don't get the opportunity to see them during the run. The Garmin automatically triggers the intervals and the screen clears before I see what my last interval time was. I was surprised this was a really solid workout. I usually can feel early on if I'm having a good day and a solid effort. This feeling feeds on itself and oftentimes results in a good day of running. Today wasn't like that. It wasn't a grind but it didn't feel like a strong day either. I felt like a was giving a great effort but didn't seem to be yielding any special result. Anyway, I was very happy with today's result.

I don't understand all the physiology behind the midweek Big Workout. But it has something to do with getting miles and speed work all in one workout. The way the speed work is constructed, the body is conditioned to become more efficient at clearing the waste generated by the anaerobic effort. I think today's result suggests that my conditioning is ahead of where I am in my training cycle. Next week will be a good gauge of this theory. The midweek workout will add a mile and two more intervals to the mix. That should give me an idea of where my recovery capability really stands.

Looking forward to an easy one tomorrow!

PRE RUN
water, FRS & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

POST RUN
weight = 158#
SlimFast, chocolate milk, water, multivitamin, Honeynut Cheerios w/1% milk

Kickin' It Home in St. George!

The reason I run 26 miles is to get this feeling for the final 2/10!

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.15 mi.@ 8:31/mi.)

3:42 AM 70° 98% 7 mph rain/mist

PRE RUN
water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/1% milk

Equipment Check

While on a recent run, I had the thought to post a picture of my shoes. Of course not much equipment is needed for running but shoes are critical. When I started running in March 2007, I was "professionally fitted" and ended up choosing Mizuno Wave Rider 10's. When I needed a new pair, I ordered online and just picked the same model in a different color. The Wave Rider 10's went "out of style" as a newer model was released. It became harder to find them but when I did the price was right. These shoes have always felt pretty good on me so when I had the chance for another 2 pairs on closeout, I jumped. This is how I ended up with 5 pairs of Mizuno Wave Rider 10's. Somewhere along the line I bought a pair of Asics but after running in them once, returned them.

They say a good pair of running shoes should last 300 - 500 miles. I've also read and heard that the shoes are actually worn out before they look worn out. I have not tracked the mileage on my shoes but generally believe they're all either worn out or close to it. I rotate through them through the week.

A couple Saturday's ago, I picked up a pair of Saucony's on a whim (very unlike me). I've added them to the rotation. They feel different and I'm wondering if they somehow aggravate my calves (probably not ... just looking for a scape goat).

So here are my 6 pair of running shoes.

BACK ROW:
Blue & yellow - first pair
Red - St. George 2007
Red & blue #1 - Ogden 2008
FRONT ROW:
Red & blue #2 - training
Red & blue #3 - St. George 2008
Saucony - short, easy runs only ... for now

Why am I mentioning all of this? I don't know. Paige absolutely HATES all of my shoes dominating space in the laundry room. But we've generally reached an accord (haven't we?).

Over the weekend, I ordered 2 pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 11's. I got a good deal because they're orange. I honestly don't care what color I'm running in as long as it's not pink!

I tried the 11's at a Mizuno exhibit hosted by Fleet Feet during the summer. I had my feet analyzed by computer and they essentially told me I'm in the right shoe and to "keep buying Mizuno's". There's a lot of marketing involved. Which makes me wonder about the 300 - 500 mile per shoe wear-out claims. Is it just marketing to get runners out to buy more shoes? If so, I guess it's working on me.

Looking forward to my new orange Mizuno Wave Rider 11's!

Close Monitoring

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. slow ( > 8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.01 mi.@ 8:34/mi.

5:29 AM 63° 83% 7 mph

It seems I've got something developing that I need to keep a close eye on. During the St. George marathon my calves got really tight around 19 miles. I thought this was from the wind and rain. Of course, I was expecting my quads to be burning which thankfully didn't happen but the calves were pretty bad. Since then I've had similar tightening with my calves. I've mentioned it a few times in my blog. Again today, the problem flared up. It's never been bad enough to stop me but it's fairly unpleasant. Last year at this time, I was feeling good about completing my first marathon, cranked up my training intensity and injured myself. I'm leery of the same thing happening so I'm going to keep a close handle on what's going on here. I don't want it to get away from me.

Today's run was pretty good. I covered the distance too fast; hopefully that's not a problem tomorrow or Wednesday when I'm trying to go farther and faster.

It was warm this morning and it's supposed to rain later today then off-and-on over most of the week.

*** REMINDER *** I need to blog about my shoes, telegrams, and potential shake up to the overall training schedule (this is a good thing!).

PRE RUN
weight = 158#
Clif bar & water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & 5-grain hot cereal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

November 9 - 15 Training Schedule

Sunday - rest
Monday - 4 mi. slow (>8:38/mi.)
Tuesday - 6 mi. easy (8:08-38/mi.)
Wednesday - 8 mi. w/ 7 x 2 min.@ 6:26/mi & 2 min. jogging recovery
Thursday - 4 mi. slow (>8:38/mi.)
Friday - 6 mi. easy (8:08-38/mi.)
Saturday - 10 mi. w/last 2 mi. marathon pace (7:38/mi.)


I'm following the exact same schedule as last week. I want to compare how I'm feeling week over week. Hopefully I notice better recovery over the 38-mile week than I did last week!

Mercy ... That's a Good One!

OBJECTIVE
10 miles including 8 mi. b/w 8:08-38/mi. then 2 mi.@ 7:38/mi.

ACHIEVED
10.03 mi. incl.
8.0 mi.@ 8:25/mi
2.0 mi.@ 7:23/mi.

6:31 AM 42° 98% 0 mph

This was a really good run. It was tough to get out of the house realizing that I would be on my own today. But once I got over to the Y, stretched and got going, I felt pretty good. The morning's air was cool and the sun was just coming up around Mile 2. Although I was running alone today, there were a lot of people out enjoying the morning on the path along Faulkey Gully. I was going a bit faster at the start than I wanted to and had to keep telling myself "Settle down!" But I hit my times for every mile of this run and was able to finish strong (7:33 and 7:13 miles).

I'm looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow.

Congratulations to my friends who ran the Rocky Raccoon 25K trail run today and those running the 25K road race in Houston tomorrow.

PRE RUN
FRS & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk

POST RUN
weight = 156.5#
SlimFast & Kashi GoLean cereal w/1% milk

In September's Berlin Marathon, Haile Gebreselassie broke the marathon world record with a time of 2:03:59. Here's part of his inspiring story in his words >>>LINK<<<

Don't Worry; Be Happy

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. slow (> 8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
4.01 mi.@ 8:52/mi.

55F 77% 5 mph

PRE RUN
weight = 157.5
water & Clif bar

I really needed this slow, short run today. It was scheduled for yesterday and I should have taken it then. I've been pushing mileage and pace for a week now and my body really isn't too happy about it. My legs are sore and achy. My abs - particularly lower abs - feel strained too. My build up hasn't followed conventional wisdom and I'm certain I shouldn't have run 20 miles last Saturday "just because I can". That was pretty stupid.

Today I just tried to settle in at a relaxed, comfortable pace and kept reminding myself to take it slow. I caught myself repeatedly looking at my watch which is certainly a symptom of being too pace-oriented recently. All of this week I've been focused on hitting my times and wondering "if I could actually do it" since I adjusted my times for this training cycle to a 3:20 marathon. I've hit them all but it's been a slight stretch.

I've got a long run tomorrow then rest for Sunday. I think I'll follow the same training next week as a comparative. Hopefully Sunday's rest will serve me well!

POST RUN
chocolate milk, multivitamin, water, oatmeal w/almonds, flax, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & 1% milk

EARLY Morning ... Addiction ... ???

OBJECTIVE
6-8 mi. easy (8:08-38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.14 mi.@ 8:35/mi.

3:37 AM 64° 99% 3 mph

Yes, I was on the road at 3:37 this morning! You know you're early when passing by the donut shops and no one is even there yet.

This run wasn't that good. My legs are sore particularly my calves. I'm pretty sure it's yesterday's Big Workout and the overall mileage buildup. It's not the smartest thing in the world to jump from 16-18 miles per week up to 38 miles per week. Actually that's a huge invitation for injury. I've been under 20 miles per week since the marathon and I'll be around 38 miles this week with some intensity along the way. Hopefully I don't have an injury problem looming around the corner. I'll hold the mileage at the same level next week then add on a little the following week.

I think I'm off of the idea of running the 25K this weekend. Instead I'll just go get some miles Saturday morning. I suppose there's a good chance I'll be alone for that endeavor but I've decided that's okay.

PRE RUN
Clif bar & water

POST RUN
SlimFast & multivitamin
Later, Cheerios w/1% milk

"Smallest" Big Workout

OBJECTIVE
8 mi. including warm-up; 7 x 2 min.@ CV & 2 min. jogging recovery; cool down
CV = 6:26/mile

ACHIEVED
8.36 mi.@ 8:08/mile including
2.42 mi.@ 8:31/mile
6:34/
6:11/
6:12/
6:09/
6:22/
6:19/
6:20/
2.35 mi.@ 8:16/mile

6:06 AM 61° 100% 1 mph

The midweek Big Workout is always a mental challenge for me. The workout is tough but it’s always doable. And once it’s done, I always feel really good. It really is a confidence booster.

Today’s effort originally called for a total of 6 miles. However, I decided last night that 8 miles would be better. I’ll probably trim a couple miles off Saturday’s scheduled run in exchange. Last night I also completed the full complement of physical therapy exercises. My left knee has been feeling like something is lurking under the surface so I figured I had better get back with the program and complete my physical therapy. I haven’t been very diligent about doing it since the marathon – maybe only once a week when I’m supposed to be doing them twice.

I woke up a bit later this morning. My sleep pattern has been screwed up by the time change and I really haven’t done anything to get a handle on it. While running today, I decided I’m going to be more rigid with my waking up time. That will drive my “to bed” time to whatever I actually need to be getting sleep-wise.

I hung around the house a bit getting ready but I was really lingering because I wasn’t looking forward to the workout. The Big Workout always seems so ominous when it’s sitting there in front of me.

I finally got away from the house and drove to the YMCA. I haven’t run from there since well before the marathon. It was a very nice morning. I wanted to keep my warm-up and cool down in the “easy” pace range which I’ve determined to be 8:08 – 8:38 per mile.

The 2.4 mile warm-up felt pretty good. I had the pace around 8:31/mile. From there, it was time for the intervals. I hit it pretty hard right out of the gate. Over the course of the intervals, I was tested but made my time on every one but the first one. It seemed I alternated feeling really good and not-so-good.

I was surprised. It felt like I still have a great deal of overall fitness from the marathon but I’m clearly not where I was leading up to the marathon. My overall pace was very good and my interval pace was good too. This was a good workout for me to have at this point.

The next couple of days have easy runs on the schedule. I can chill out while getting ready to log a few miles on the weekend.

PRE RUN
weight = 158#
Water & FRS

POST RUN
SlimFast & multivitamin
Later, oatmeal w/flax, brown sugar & 1% milk

Opening the Door to Restart the Grind

OBJECTIVE
6 - 8 mi. easy (8:08 - 8:38/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.17 mi.@ 8:21/mi.

5:48 AM 51° 100% 0 mph

Today's run was okay. It felt long and my calves were very tight for some reason. My pace was a bit faster than I wanted given tomorrow's scheduled Big Workout.

PRE RUN
weight = 156.5#
water

POST RUN
chocolate milk, multivitamin, & oatmeal w/flax, brown sugar & 1% milk

A Bit Sore

ACHIEVED
3 - 4 miles slow

OBJECTIVE
4.03 mi.@ 8:50/mi.

4:52 AM 48F 100% 0 mph

I got an early start this morning as the clocks changed from daylight savings time to standard time early Sunday morning. I also got a nap in early Sunday afternoon.

This morning's run went fine. My legs were sore, certainly from Saturday's miles, even though I took an ice bath when I got home from running Saturday. I can only imagine they would have been worse were it not for the ice bath. I rolled out the 4 mile "Stuebner-Airline Loop". Since I was supposed to be "slow" today, I wanted to keep it slower than 8:38 pace. This wasn't a problem with my legs being a bit balky.

I ran in new Saucony Grid Ignition shoes that I picked up on a whim Saturday afternoon. They felt light and comfortable when I tried them on in the store and again this morning before setting out. They're a cushioning shoe and seem to be "tilted" forward slightly more than my Mizuno's. Shortly after getting going, they were "just shoes", nothing special. I'll monitor my legs and feet for soreness today and tomorrow. It's not like me to just randomly try a new pair of shoes.

I'm considering racing this weekend in place of my scheduled long run. I'll have to see how I'm feeling as the week progresses. It seems the group I usually run with on Saturday is doing a trail run and some other runners that I occasionally join are doing a 25K race. I don't feel I'm really ready to race right now but know the 25K will be an easier way for me to get miles than on my own.

PRE RUN
weight = 158#
water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & oatmeal w/flax, brown sugar & 1% milk

November 2 - 8 Training Schedule

Sun: rest
Mon: 3 - 4 miles slow
Tue: 6 - 8 miles easy
Wed: 6 miles with 7x2 min. @ CV w/2 min. jogging recovery
Thu: 3 - 4 miles slow
Fri: 6 - 8 miles easy
Sat: 12 - 14 miles easy (last 2 miles @ MP)

I am setting my paces for this training cycle as follows:

Easy = 8:08 - 8:38 per mile
Critical Velocity (CV) = 6:26 per mile
Marathon Pace (MP) = 7:38 per mile

There are 11 weeks until January 18 which is the date of the Phoenix marathon. This week will offer a good test for me to see where I am fitness- and recovery-wise after the St. George marathon and my relative easy subsequent weeks. I'll adapt the training schedule based on how I'm feeling.

I forgot to mention that I went to the Texas High School District 13-5A Championship meet last Friday. It's fun to watch the kids run and see the over-exuberance of almost all of them starting out way too fast. They also don't really have a concept of working together as a team which I believe would make a huge difference in meets of that type given the scoring that is used. Anyway here's a picture of my favorite runner of the day. He took 12th place in the junior varsity event.





While I'm on the topic of high school cross country, I want to give a huge congratulations to Syracuse High whose boys' team took 6th and girls took 7th at the Utah State Championship meet. The school opened in 2007 and had the extreme good fortune of Coach Roger Buhrley joining the staff. Coach Buhrley is a Utah coaching legend with far too many accolades to mention here. Suffice it to say, he's done it all ... several times. Many years ago Coach Buhrley introduced me to cross country and I find many of the lessons learned from him then help me with my running today. Thanks, Coach, and congratulations to you the Titans of Syracuse High.

Adding Some Miles

OBJECTIVE
20 mi. easy

ACHIEVED
19.53 mi.@ 8:18/mi.

6:39 AM 63° 91% 2 mph

Had a good run this morning with Laurie, Steph, Stacey, Josh, and Randy. The weather was great. I wasn't sure about going out for 20 miles today but felt great over the first 13 miles. From there, I was laboring. My cardio was fine but I had muscle fatigue. It was good to get out and cover this distance.

Thought more about the Phoenix marathon in January and I'm thinking I'll just register and train hard for it. If it works for me to go out for it then I'll go. If not then I'll just skip it and run my next marathon later in the Spring.

PRE RUN
water & oatmeal w/1% milk

POST RUN
2 SlimFast
Later, chocolate milk & GrapeNuts w/1% milk

Training Interruptus

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. easy

ACHIEVED
4.03 mi.@ 7:59/mi.

6:54 AM 52° 100% 0 mph

Well, it's now been 27 days since the marathon. I've been floundering around with my running "just enjoying" not being in an intense training cycle. While rolling out for 4 miles this morning, I loosely decided that I would begin training for the Phoenix marathon. The marathon is January 18. I'm not sure I'll actually run the marathon due to the holidays and my January work schedule. But I'm going to target this as my Boston qualifier so everything is going to be geared to coming in under 3:20. If I don't end up actually running Phoenix then I'll recalibrate and look for another marathon in April or May.

Today's run was good. It was fast and I felt good. The temperature was near-perfect.

Steph's group has a 20-miler scheduled for tomorrow and I'm planning to go the distance with them. That should be interesting since my weekly mileage has really been down since the marathon.

PRE RUN
nothing

POST RUN
weight = 155#
water, multivitamin, low-fat granola w/1% milk

Keep Running ... Don't Stop

OBJECTIVE
3 mi. easy

ACHIEVED
5.13 mi.@ 8:05/mi.

6:38 AM 39° 70% 4 mph

The plan was just to roll out for an easy 3 miles but I was feeling so good that I just kept going. I wasn't familiar with the area so a just started running along the roads. It was very cool so I wore sleeves, gloves and my stocking cap. The temperature felt fantastic shortly after I got going. The pace was lively as I cruised down a long, quiet street. The area was a bit warehouse-y/industrial. I hit a dead end about 1.4 miles in. My cumulative pace to that point was around 8:15/mile. I knew that I would be short if I just went straight back and finished so on the way back I found another street to turn down. I did a little out-and-back along this street which added about 3/4 mile. On the way back I was feeling so good that instead of turning down the finishing street, I just kept going straight until I hit another dead end. This added about 1.1 mile. I finally headed back. When I crossed my starting position, I only had 4.6 miles and figured I may as well make it an even 5 so I continued up the short street and ran around a large parking lot and back. I ended with 5.13 miles.

This may have been the easiest 5 miles I've ever run. I just wanted to stay out on the road as long as I could. I felt great physically cruising in the predawn air.


PRE RUN
orange juice, wheat toast & oatmeal w/granola & brown sugar

POST RUN
orange juice, Raisin Bran w/skim milk

Going Somewhere?

OBJECTIVE
3 mi. easy

ACHIEVED
3.02 mi.@ 7:20/mi.

6:12 AM 43° 100% 0 mph

Okay ... see what happens? Yesterday, I blog about some high-minded discipline then today I go out and go absolutely out of control! You'd think I was in a hurry to get somewhere or something.

Obviously this run was too fast. Yesterday was my birthday and I ate way too much of pretty much all the wrong things. I had thought I'd go for 6 miles as "punishment" this morning. But my late start curtailed that idea.

So what happened ... well, I rolled out the first half mile as usual. I think I was around 8:30/mile pace. Then I just decided, "I'm cutting this thing loose!" So I took off. I thought I'd just pick it up for a couple miles then ease it back home over the final half. But I kept pushing. This wasn't in all-out effort but it was very, very fast for an easy run that certainly didn't need to be. I felt good though. My legs and cardio were strong. The morning air was surprisingly cool.

My weekend running has some uncertainty due to a bit of traveling. I expect to log some miles though. I'll miss 18 miles with the regular crew tomorrow. I hate missing them but I'm sure they'll be okay without me. ha

Well, gotta go for now (it seems I'm still in a hurry to get somewhere...). I'm going to indulge in some high-class chocolate now that I've finished my lunch. It's a good thing birthdays only come around once a year!

PRE RUN
water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin, Kashi GoLean cereal w/2% milk

Finding the Line?

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. Easy

ACHIEVED
4.02 mi.@ 8:15/mi.

5:32 AM 55 70% 10 mph

It was a good run today. I had only mentally planned for 3 miles but as soon as I fell out of bed 4 is what was on my mind. It was cool so I wore sleeves but it was fine shortly after I got going. For a moment, I wished that I had worn gloves but it wasn't a problem. But it reminded me that I need to pull my gloves out of hibernation.

I've really just been letting my runs "happen" since the marathon. No discipline. No preconceived targets for time or distance. I'm feeling pretty good. This was my fourth consecutive day back in the saddle. I've been running short but the paces have quickened over the past couple days. I don't believe I've recovered from the marathon but I'm on my way back. One thing I've really tried to do lately is just enjoy myself. Not only with running but life in general. The marathon training cycle was a grind and it's good to have it in the rear view mirror. I'm really excited and eager for the future and my next big event. I keep reminding myself it will come soon enough. I just need to be patient with myself and the process to get there.

All of this got me thinking during today's run about boundaries. Recently I've been mentally calling it "finding the line". During the training cycle I had specific distances and objective times for every workout. In preparing for my two successful marathons, I was very effective in hitting those times and distances. It showed in the results. While my recent unconstrained running has felt so good, I've employed no boundaries and I've really enjoyed these runs - both the short ones and the long runs (even though I mentioned them being too fast for recovery). I've considered preparing for my next big event without employing any boundaries (or lines) - just do what feels good. I had convinced myself this would work out well and lead to a happy end result. However while running today, a bit of clarity started to formulate in my mind. Based on yesterday's excitement (i.e., my giddy pace), I don't necessarily think it's the best idea to not have the "lines" set before my runs. Of course I was even faster today. Which I'm not exactly sure what that means but I'm thinking I have a better handle on my limitations and where the lines need to be. I need to fine true this some for my next marathon. Obviously the objective is a Boston qualifying time. But in order to get there, I now believe there has to be constraints in my training. It will be incredibly difficult because there will be days when I will just feel like letting it go. Run and be free. But there are usually consequences later. From minor to very serious hurting that limits further activity.

I'm rambling but I suppose in summation ... I haven't known where the line is recently. I still don't know with precision where it needs to be. But I feel strongly that it should be there and I'm closer to knowing. As my heavy training starts soon, I plan to have this figured out soon.

PRE RUN
weight = 156.5#
nothing

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, oatmeal w/flax, brown sugar & 1% milk