Unleashed a monster today!

1:28:43 official

9th place overall
8th place men
3rd place age group

Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless

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

ACHIEVED
2.02 mi.@ 9:11

5:25 AM 76° 70% 2 mph

Easy shakeout. Felt fine.

PRE RUN
weight=161
water

POST RUN
diet V8 splash, multivitamin, 500 mg glutamine & oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk

OBJECTIVE
dynamic stretching warm-up
1.5 mi. warm-up @ 8:30-9:40
5.5 mi. tempo run @ 6:52
1.5 mi. cool-down @ 8:30-9:40

ACHIEVED
1.54 mi. WU
dynamic stretch
5.5 mi. tempo @ 6:50 (6:50/6:51/6:52/6:50/6:48/[6:44])
1.84 mi. CD

5:52 AM 77° 85% 1 mph

This run was a breakthrough for me. I haven't been able to hit the target pace on these Thursday tempo runs for this entire training cycle. I've come close and had good efforts the past couple of weeks but today was different. I hit it! It required a great deal of focus. No wandering thoughts or moments of slack attention. I started steady and stayed steady throughout. I didn't ever feel like I was going to die but it was an effort.

Interestingly my 10k PR is 41:56. Today I covered 5.5 miles (0.74 miles less than a 10k) in 37:31. If I held the same pace through 10k (which I believe was possible), I would have run 42:22 - only 26 seconds off a PR in a non-race environment and less than ideal weather conditions.

I am reminded the brain is a powerful thing in running. It can work for you or against you. Many of running's seemingly physical barriers are actually mental. I need to remember this. I need to stay positive and believe.

PRE RUN
weight=161.5
diet V8 splash & 500 mg glutamine

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin, diet V8 splash & low-fat granola w/skim milk

OBJECTIVE
2-6 mi.@ 8:30-9:40

ACHIEVED
6.09 mi.@ 8:30

7:33 AM 77° 83% 3 mph

Absolutely crushed this recovery run! ha!

PRE RUN
weight=161
water

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & brown rice farina w/almonds, brown sugar, flax & skim milk

Just noticed I ran 210.7 miles this month. That got me wondering about my highest mileage month and how many times I've gone over 200 miles in a month. Looking back at my log, this is the third time I've gone over 200 miles, August and September 2009 being the other occurrences. This is my second highest monthly mileage ever with September 2009 being higher by about 13 miles.

Looking forward to September 2010. This could be my highest mileage month ever.

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

ACHIEVED
1.07 mi. WU
dynamic stretch
2k @ 6:39 w/2 min. active recovery
1mi@ 6:29 w/2 min. active recovery
1k @ 6:19 w/2 min. active recovery
800m@6:03
1.38 mi. CD

total time = 51:09
total distance = 6.39 mi.

6:14 AM 77° 79% 1 mph

Lesson relearned, "Now that school has started, don't run near the high school between 6:30 and 7:30 AM." Those kids can't drive!

I felt okay today. More specifically, I felt pretty good physically and a bit flat mentally.

About got hit by an oncoming teenager-driven car going out on the 2k interval. Then coming back on the 1k interval I was dodging a whole bunch traffic and had to make an impromptu reroute ... at 6:18 pace

PRE RUN
weight=160.5
water, 500 mg glutamine & ginger snap granola w/skim milk

POST RUN
SlimFast, multivitamin & brown rice farina w/brown sugar & skim milk

OBJECTIVE
6 mi.@ 7:40-8:29
1x20 sec. high knees
1x20 sec. bounding

ACHIEVED
6.17 mi.@ 8:29
1x20 sec. high knees
1x20 sec. bounding

5:06 AM 80° 87% 1 mph

The theme for today's run was "tight and tired". I didn't really get loosened up until well over 2 miles into this one. I think that's just Saturday's long run still "on my legs" and the fact that after Saturday's run I went to the office and worked (i.e., sitting down the whole time) until late evening. I'm sure that can't be good for shaking out the legs and giving them the best opportunity to recover. I also felt tired today. Yesterday's rest day just didn't seem to be enough to give me a full recovery from last week's +59 miles. The good news is this is a "pull back" week. So my mileage will drop and the intensity will ease ... slightly.

PRE RUN
weight=160.5
apple juice & 500 mg glutamine

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

OBJECTIVE
20 mi.@ 7:40-8:29

ACHIEVED
20.18 mi.@ 8:14

5:43 AM 78° 60% 3 mph

Ran 20.18 miles. Instead of going solo I paid $5 to "drop in" with Kenyan Way. After running from the park to their starting point (2 mi.), I found out they only had an 11/13 mile route on their schedule today. I also got there right as they were sending groups out so I didn't get placed in an appropriate pace group. This ended up being fine. I left after everyone else and there was a long string of runners in front of me so the route was easy to know. There were water stops every ~3 miles. The route took us back to Memorial Park and over to Uptown where we looped back. I managed to hold my pace in the relevant range as I made my way back to the park and back to the Kenyan Way base. The water stops helped a lot today. The weather was really accommodating too.

I felt pretty good and, as always after a 20-miler is finished, was pleased with the accomplishment.

PRE RUN
weight=162.5
water, 500 mg glutamine & oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk

POST RUN
SlimFast & water

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

ACHIEVED
6.19 mi.@ 8:55

4:53 AM 72° 76% 1 mph

Back home for this recovery run.

PRE RUN
weight=161.5
water & 500 mg glutamine

POST RUN
water, multivitamin & ginger snap granola w/skim milk

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

ACHIEVED
1.55 mi. WU
dynamic stretch
7.5 mi. tempo @ 7:00 (701/702/659/701/656/701/703/701)
1.63 mi. CD

total time = 1:19:25
total distance = 10.68 mi.

7:32 AM 57° 37% 2 mph 4,500' elevation

This run always looms ominously on my entire marathon training cycle. This one was no different. Being in Utah gave me the opportunity to test myself at 4,000' elevation rather than my usual sea level runs at home.

I am happy with today's result. Just like my marathon days, I focused on "staying within the mile" and was able to get it done. I'm pleased with the consistency of my splits. While I didn't hit the 6:52 pace I was targeted for, the 7:00 I achieved compares favorably to last year's 7:04 over 6.5 miles.

I moved away from South Weber sixteen years ago. While on today's run, two people unexpectedly called out my name - one from a car; one from a bike. Tells you something about this place.

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

ACHIEVED
6.33 mi.@ 8:30

6:51 AM 54° 53% 1 mph

Arrived in Utah by plane a little before midnight last night. Got this recovery run in before loading up to take Cameron down to BYU and get him settled in to start his freshman year.

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

ACHIEVED
1.04 mi. WU
dynamic stretch
3k @ 6:47 w/2 min. active recovery
2k @ 6:33 w/2 min. active recovery
1k @ 6:22 w/2 min. active recovery
800m@6:09
1.01 mi. CD

5:32 AM 76° 91% 0 mph

sleepless Sun. night + bad nutrition Mon. = missed intervals on Tues.

I was flat today. The 2k interval would have been faster but I got caught up in some back-to-school traffic that slowed me down quite a bit.

Went to see Dr. Cadeña yesterday. He worked my left calf and also stretched out both legs really good. However to start out this morning, I was feeling worse than I have been lately. I did loosen up and think I'll be better in a day or two. The therapy may have caused a bit a trauma.

PRE RUN
weight=161
water & 500 mg glutamine

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

OBJECTIVE
9 mi.@ 7:40-8:29
2x20 sec. steep hill running
2x20 sec. one-legged hops

ACHIEVED
9.16 mi.@ 8:22

4:33 AM 79° 88% 5 mph

Decent run this morning. Felt a little tired which is disappointing coming off of my rest day yesterday.

In the see Dr. Cadeña this afternoon.

PRE RUN
weight=162
water

POST RUN
diet V8 splash, multivitamin, glutamine, low-fat granola w/skim milk

"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

OBJECTIVE
18 mi.@ 7:40-8:29

ACHIEVED
18.15 mi.@ 8:22

5:30 AM 82° 79% 1 mph

Jonathan and I set out at 5:30 this morning. I had a bit of dread and foreboding about this one but that quickly dissipated. Had a good run. Jonathan is a great conversationalist. He split off at Mile 14 as I finished with an extended loop of Memorial Park. It's good to have this one in the bank! Will be watching to see how I'm feeling tomorrow and how my recovery goes.

PRE RUN
weight=162
water, 500 mg glutamine, diet V8 splash & oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk

POST RUN
SlimFast x 2