"Toto, I'm melting!"

OBJECTIVE
2 mi. warm-up @ recovery pace
8 mi. @ marathon pace (7:09)
2 mi. cool-down @ recovery pace

ACHIEVED
2.04 mi. WU
8.00 mi.@ 7:10
2.01 mi. CD

total time = 1:34:10
total distance = 12.06

6:27 AM 80° 91% 0 (Heat Index = 86°)

I ran solo from the Y today. The intent of today's run is to start "grooving" my marathon pace into muscle memory. (Hard to believe it's only 41 days away!) I'm gauging a lot of what I'm doing now on how I was doing at the same time last year. For this run a year ago, I was looking to go 7:17 pace and ended up at 7:27. This was a good run ... for last year .... It may be a little self-defeating to be using last year as a benchmark. But I did run my best marathon off of last year's training cycle. Should I be faster than last year? On one hand, I think "Absolutely! I've got another year of training and experience under my belt." On the other, I think "I'm older. Lung capacity is probably diminishing slightly and cardiac efficiency may be declining a bit too. How can I expect to be faster this year than my PR marathon last year?"

I need to trust my training. I'm hitting most of my times and distances. When I'm missing, I'm still giving a good effort and getting in quality work. Rationally, I should be in better fitness now than last year.

It was HOT today! I knew this at the outset but focused on blocking it out. That wasn't easy to do as I watched ChampionsFit runners coming back in pretty bad shape at the end of their 4-6 milers. The temperature seemed to be all anyone on the trails and roads was talking about. Getting this in my head wasn't a good thing.

I was surprised the first couple miles how easy the pace seemed to be. The pace required effort but was manageable. I laughed out loud as I was cruising along the bayou path and out of the corner of my eye I caught the glint of a squirrel's tail at about eye level. I looked over to my right and a squirrel was running along the top of a fence at the same 7:10 pace I was going. The more I thought about this, the more impressed I became with that squirrel. I was amused that I thought I was really flying along but that squirrel, on uneven footing, was running comfortably with me .... ha!

Somewhere around 3 miles I got it in my head that I needed a drink. This was a distraction then a distress when the church I planned on stopping at was locked up this morning. It made me thirstier.

After a very solid 3 miles, I stopped for a couple minutes for an FRS lime chew. Then off again. Still thirsty; still pressing along. The pace was getting more difficult to sustain and it seemed to be getting hotter. I stopped briefly a couple miles later. Finally, I was back on the bayou trail and I knew there was a club house less than 2 miles ahead with an outside tap. I would get a drink there. My pace was starting to wash out. It felt a challenge to try to even remain at a respectable clip. Finally the club house. I doused my head and got a quick drink. ChampionsFit had left out a self-serve water stop. I helped myself. Their water was cold and refreshing compared with the club house tap. I had a little over a mile to go at marathon pace. A lady passed while I was drinking and talked about how hot it was "for this time of day." I wasn't getting any closer to finished by standing around so I pressed on. The last mile was tough. I managed to pull through.

The two-miler cool-down that followed was torturous but necessary.

I feel good about today's run given the conditions. I generally held pace even though I had a few stops along the way.

Back at the Y, I saw Susan Cline. She told me about a new trail that better avoids traffic and only cuts off 1/10 mile. I confessed that I "bandited" her water stop and "really appreciated it!"

A good run today. Eager for tomorrow's rest day! I'm also scheduled with Dr. Cadeña Monday afternoon (although my calves and Achilles weren't much problem today).

PRE RUN
weight = 161
Lime FRS powdered drink mix ~16 oz. & GrapeNuts cereal w/1% milk

POST RUN
SlimFast & water

OBJECTIVE
6 mi.@ 8:30-9:40

ACHIEVED
6.18 mi.@ 8:46

5:09 AM 81° 89% 5 mph

I needed this recovery run. I'm feeling a little beat up and fatigued. However, the only thing I'm concerned about is my left calf and Achilles. They're still bothering me with a persistent soreness. I'm pretty sure it's the early stages of what I was dealing with earlier this year. I called Dr. Cadeña yesterday after hours. Hope to have something on the books with him soon. Hopefully a session or two of active release therapy will knock this problem out for a while.

PRE RUN
weight=162
diet V8 splash

POST RUN
diet V8 splash, multivitamin & ginger snap granola w/1% milk

OBJECTIVE
dynamic stretching warm-up
1.5 mi. warm-up
6.5 mi. tempo run @ 6:52
1.5 mi. cool-down

ACHIEVED
1.55 mi. WU
dynamic stretch
6.5 mi. tempo @ 7:01
1.46 mi. CD

total time = 1:14:32
total distance = 9.52 mi.

5:14 AM 80° 88% 3 mph

I don't remember ever feeling this good about missing a run this badly. The 9 seconds per mile difference between the target pace for this tempo run and what I actually ran it in is a pretty big difference. However based on the issues I've had with tempo runs, this was a big success.

I looked back to see what I run this workout in last year. I found that my target was 6:59 and that I ran it in 7:11. It was tough and I was feeling run down going into the workout. I feel the same this year and after last Thursday's tempo debacle, I wanted to prove to myself that even if I couldn't hit the 6:52 target pace for today, I at least wanted to be 1 second faster than last year's pace. That's how 7:10 became the slowest I was going to allow myself to go on this one.

It was hard and seemed to be never-ending. But I pressed on. I am very happy that I hit 7:01 and that my pace stayed near that point throughout the run. A good, hard tempo.

I obviously still have work to do to get where I need to be!

PRE RUN
weight=161
diet V8 splash, 50 mg glutamine & GrapeNuts cereal w/skim milk

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, apple juice & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE
6 mi.@ 8:30-9:40

ACHIEVED
6.20 mi.@ 8:46

5:21 AM 81° 88% 3 mph

A much-needed recovery run. Still experiencing soreness in my left calf and Achilles. It faded as I got farther into this run.

PRE RUN
weight=162
water & 500 mg glutamine

POST RUN
diet V8 splash, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE
dynamic stretching warm-up
1 mi. warm-up
3 k @ 6:52 w/2 min. active recovery
1 mi.@ 6:32 w/2 min. active recovery
1 k @ 6:18 w/2 min. active recovery
800m @ 6:05
1 mi. cool-down

ACHIEVED
1.02 mi. WU
dynamic stretch
3 k @ 6:45 w/2 min. active recovery
1 mi.@ 6:28 w/2 min. active recovery
1 k @ 6:16 w/2 min. active recovery
800m @ 6:02
1.04 mi. CD

total time = 51:15
total distance = 6.63

6:21 AM 76° 82% 2 mph

Hit all of my times today. Felt pretty good. It seems I've got my fitness calibrated accurately because this workout was "do-able" but required significant, focused effort. I probably need to go back in to see Dr. Cadeña for some active release therapy. My calves and Achilles seem to be extremely tight; particularly my left.

PRE RUN
weight=162
diet V8 splash & 500 mg glutamine

POST RUN
SlimFast & multivitamin

OBJECTIVE
9 mi.@ 7:40-8:29
2x20 sec. stiff legged running
2x20 sec. running no arms

ACHIEVED
~9 mi.@ ~8:18
2x20 sec. stiff legged running
2x20 sec. running no arms

~5:30 AM 83°

Felt good coming off of Saturday's 18-miler. Left my Garmin at the office so didn't run with it today. First time in a long time I've been without it. The battery was dead on my backup - Ironman watch. So I used my old heart rate monitor watch for time. Pressed "stop" at the end of my run and it started flashing and beeping then quit altogether. I need a better contingency plan!

PRE RUN
weight=162

POST RUN
SlimFast & multivitamin