Thursday, November 27, 2008

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

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

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

Monday, November 24, 2008

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

Sunday, November 23, 2008

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)