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.