League Line Road w/Stephanie's Abrreviated Crew

OBJECTIVE
10 mi. including 8 mi.@ 8:24-54/mi. & 2 mi.@ 7:55/mi.

ACHIEVED
12.89 mi.@ 8:08/mi.

6:15 AM 74° 92% 4 mph

It was a beautiful morning for a run. I got an early start on the drive to Conroe and arrived about 15 minutes before the others. This worked out great as I got in a good stretch and mentally shifted gears.

Stephanie arrived with Randy, Laurie and Brian (our host for the day who usually runs with Wayne's group). They waited about 5 minutes for Jonathan but we found out later he had a late night and didn't set his alarm.

We ended up running the exact same route Jonathan and I covered together a while back. The route is hilly (for Houston) but I really enjoy it. It's a bit cooler in Conroe ... maybe because of the nearby water and being a bit farther north ....

We started out fast. Brian was leading and I think he's used to a faster pace than Steph's group runs. We kept trying to bridle him. I was feeling okay but didn't know what to expect with my IT band so I didn't want to blew out too fast, too early. We stopped by a water break at the Teaswood turnoff. I had mild stomach discomfort and wondered about my decision to eat a little oatmeal this morning before leaving the house. I used to always eat before a morning run but haven't been eating pre-run for a few months now.

We made it the I-45 where they had stashed more water. It's about 4.5 miles in. I was still feeling okay. There was discussion about slowing the pace. Brian pulled off the lead for the return trip. Laurie pulled out and started gapping us (as she often does). Randy wasn't going to let her go. The two of them stretched a 100 meter lead on us. Stephanie and I had a chance to catch up. Brian talked about St. George since he's run it twice.

At the water stop with around 2.5 miles remaining, I was still feeling good and decided that I'd try staying with whoever went to the front. Brian reminded us that once back at the cars there was a 3 mile loop to add on at the end of the run. I figured if I wasn't feeling like it, I'd just skip the add on. After all, I'm still capped at 10 miles, right?

Laurie and Randy eased to the front. I went with them. There are a few big ups and downs over this section but the road is narrow and morning recreational traffic had picked up by now. Going up the second hill, an oncoming vehicle approached at a high speed. I picked up my pace to get ahead of Laurie and into single file. I felt strong and the pace felt okay so I just stayed with it figuring I'd top the hill then ease up. Once on top, I tried focusing on my form going downhill; low knees without over striding ... increased turnover. My pace picked up. I couldn't hear Randy and Laurie any more but didn't look back. I still felt good and figured I'd just hold the pace as long as I could. Be strong on the up's and use good form on the down's. I thought I knew how many hills there here back to the marina but I was early surprised when I topped a hill and the parking lot was at the end of this long downhill section. I was sure that at least another up and down was left. As usual, I was "the horse returning to the barn" and picked up the pace some more. I've never led Steph's group at the finish of a run. Not that it's a big deal but to me it felt like some sort of milestone. Of course, they were all planning on another 3 miles and, at this point, I wasn't.

At the car I got water, the others arrived shortly after I did. Although I didn't feel like adding the extra 3 miles. I went out with them for two reasons: 1) I missed yesterday's run and 2) I wanted to know the 3-mile loop that Brian was leading us on ... in case I come up on League Line Road myself sometime. It's always good to get another route in your mental directory.

Mile splits:
8:26/7:52/7:53/8:02/8:08/7:56/8:10/8:09/7:26/6:52(0.85 mi.)

8:55/8:56/8:40


PRE RUN
FRS & oatmeal w/turbinado, flax & skim milk
(had very mild stomach cramping throughout first third of run; not a big deal but occasionally uncomfortable)

IN RUN
Accelerade - 20 oz. over 4 stops & mint, chocolate GU @ 4.5 mi

POST RUN
SlimFast (2 cans) & water

Conspiring against Me!

OBJECTIVE
6 mi.@ 8:24-54 (EZ)

ACHIEVED
nothing

This is the first day in six weeks that I've missed a run. I got up this morning with every intention of running but checked my email before going and ended up tied up with a major issue at work. ... very disappointing. Thought I'd get the miles this evening but the work issue continued throughout the day and kept my at the office late. Decided just to go home and sleep to save my legs for tomorrow.

OBJECTIVE
4 mi. SLOW

ACHIEVED
4.01 mi.@ 8:54/mi.

5:29 AM

Felt pretty good this morning. I was happy with my pace after yesterday's effort. I wore my new Mizuno Wave Rider 10's for the first time. This is my fourth pair. I think my oldest pair is due for retirement. I've only been using them on my shortest runs.

I had some discomfort above the inside of my right ankle. I first noticed it during the last half of yesterday's run. It doesn't seem like a big problem but I'll keep tabs on it. ... maybe it's due to running on old, worn out shoes ... ???

I was happy with the coincidental, near-perfect-symmetry of today's splits:

8:55/8:55/8:56/8:50

I wasn't worried but time or splits and didn't even look at my watch much. It seems good to have hit a comfortble and sustainable pace for today's run without really worrying about it.

PRE RUN
water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin, Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk, & chocolate milk

OBJECTIVE
9 mi. w/7x2 min.@ 6:40/mi. & 2 min. jog

ACHIEVED
9.06 mi.@ 8:31/mi. w/7x2 & 2 min. jog (see below for splits)

5:31 AM

This run always looms ominously on my weekly calendar. I don't enjoy the strange anxiety it causes leading up to it but I love the ecstatic feeling of completing it!

I was particularly happy with closing the last 3 miles averaging 8:31/mi. and running negative splits. I was working but it felt good.

2.44 mi.@ 9:00/mi.
1:59 @6:50/mi.
1:59
2:00 @6:29/mi.
1:59
2:00 @6:42/mi.
1:59
2:00 @6:34/mi.
3:32
2:01 @6:35/mi.
1:59
2:01 @6:35/mi.
1:58
1:59 @6:25/mi.
2:00
3.02 mi.@ 8:31/mi.

PRE RUN
FRS

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water; multivitamin; oatmeal w/flax, turbinado, & skim milk; 2 slices wheat toast (1 honey & 1 cinnamon sugar)

Lethargy

OBJECTIVE
5-7 mi. EZ (8:24-54/mi.)

ACHIEVED
6.13 mi.@ 9:04/mi.

5:06 AM

As much as the "Low Battery" problem with my Garmin has been annoying, the "Low Energy" problem I've experienced the past couple mornings has been frustrating. ... probably more so .... For whatever reason, I haven't been able to get out of second gear. I tried not to let it bother me today by reassuring myself that today is an easy run to set up tomorrow's "real" effort. Normally I'd keep pushing until I got myself into the right pace range but today I just "let it got". I suppose that really puts the pressure on me for tomorrow's run!

Later this morning, I met with Dani for physical therapy. It's hard for me to know if I'm making progress. She says that I am but it's slow. She mixes up the routines every time so I can't compare where I was to where I am now. I was much better on one leg balancing against resistance than I was last week. I doubt I could have improved that much in such a short time so I'm going to chalk it up to my being farther along the learning curve and better composed. Interestingly, I didn't notice any of this morning's "low energy" spilling over into my PT effort.

On the final exercise, she had me take 3 strides and land on a half ball and balance. It was very hard. I kept falling forward or to the side. She believes this is a big part of my problem ... deceleration. She said you're fine accelerating; you're plenty fast. But it's slowing down that you have a problem with and slowing down occurs on every stride at impact.

Aside from the concept she shared with me, which for now I'll assume is correct, I am now laughing out loud at the comment that I'm plenty fast. After spending me entire childhood and early adult years being too slow, now I'm "plenty fast". How can that be? Let me tie that in to a comment Tinman made on The Run Zone blog. After giving him my race times, he asked if I had made a mistake. When I told him no, he said there's a huge disparity in your 5K and 10K times. Your 10K should be much faster. Well, if I look at well the race equivalent charts or age-graded schedules, my 5K is fast and everything else is much slower but generally in line with each other. So am I really too fast. No, as enticing as it is for me to accept the label, I can't because it's not true. I'm relatively fast or I'm fast for a long distance runner ... maybe. The only thing this is leaving me wondering is this - Is my best race the 5K ... ??? No time to find out now. Maybe that will be 2009's quest.

PRE RUN
water & very small brownie

POST RUN
SlimFast & multivitamin
Later, water, English muffin, poached egg, & Canadian bacon

OBJECTIVE
3-4 mi. SLOW

ACHIEVED
4.03 mi.@ 9:03/mi

5:08 AM

After the weekend, I was really expecting to feel good this morning. Didn't happen. I'm not sure what the problem was. I just felt slow. I ran long last Friday instead of my usual Saturday. On Saturday, I had an abbreviated run. I napped both Saturday and Sunday. Shouldn't all of that add up to fresh legs Monday morning? The only thing I can think to blame it on is nutrition. I gorged myself Thursday afternoon at the Astros game (but had no ill effects on Friday's run). My weight came right back in line within 24-36 hours. Saturday wasn't nutritionally stellar but it wasn't bad either. I began a 24-hour fast Saturday afternoon. That went fine due to limited physical activity. Sunday afternoon was marinated turkey breast, potatoes, and green beans. There was cheese in the potatoes and I had a brownie for dessert (which I would usually pass on). None of this seems wildly inconsistent with a decent run. Maybe it was hydration .... I also need to look back at other runs following fasting. I seem to recall a similar bad Monday run following a fast ....

Fortunately it was a recovery run so I slogged through it. It was odd though. My legs felt okay and my cardio felt good. I just felt slow and couldn't get going.

Hoping for something better tomorrow. I'll keep it to 6 miles since I'll be working with my physical therapist, Dani, later in the morning.

PRE RUN
nothing

POST RUN
Accelerade, multivitamin & oatmeal w/flax, turbinado & skim milk

Training Schedule: July 6 - 12

SUN. rest
MON. 3-4 mi. SLOW
TUE. 5-7 mi. EZ
WED. 9 mi. w/7x2 min.@ 6:40/mi. & 2 min. jog
THU. 3-4 mi. SLOW
FRI. 5-7 mi. EZ
SAT. 12 mi. w/last 3 mi. @ 7:55.mi.


Same schedule as last week except an extra mile on Saturday. This week has more structure since there's no holiday. There seems to be a plan coming together to run League Line Road in Conroe for some hills on Saturday. I'll have to see how the week of running and physical therapy goes before committing to that. The last thing I need is a silly setback.