For Whom the Dogs Bark

Women's Center Race Against Violence

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Location:

Cypress,TX,

Member Since:

Oct 10, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K: 24:22 (March 2010); 22:33 (October 2010); 20:47 (May 2011); 21:05 (May 2012); 21:33 (September 2012); 21:23 (November, 2013); 22:31 (September 2014)

5M:  39:22 (November, 2012); 35:54 (November, 2013); 36:03 (March, 2015)

10K: 44:08 (November, 2010); 49:20 (July, 2013); 44:07 (April, 2015)

12K:  56:03 (December, 2013); 58:58 (December, 2014)

10M:  1:11:58 (October, 2012); 1:15:24 (October, 2014)

Half Marathon:  1:53:xx (London's Run 2010); 2:05:21 (Cowtown 2010); 1:37:04 (Gusher 2011); 1:42:19 (Huntsville 2011); 1:33:47 (Baytown Jailbreak 2012); 1:33:50 (The Woodlands 2012); 1:42:52 (Texas 2015); 1:49:17 (Jailbreak 2015); 1:38:34 (The Woodlands 2015)

25K: 2:01:47 (Fifth Third River Bank, May 2014)

Marathon: 5:51:35 (Texas Marathon 2009); 6:21:36 (Ogden 2009); 4:58:29 (St. George 2009); 4:13:45 (Texas Marathon 2010); 4:04:12 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2010); 5:11:14 (Hartford ING, 2010); 3:41:43 (Richmond SunTrust, 2010); 3:39:27 (Texas Marathon 2011); 3:41:46 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2011); 3:30:35 (St. George 2011); 3:41:51 (Richmond 2012); 3:49:15 (Texas 2013); 3:46:59 (Paavo Nurmi, 2013); 3:34:04 (St. George 2013); 3:49:51 (Texas 2014); 3:31:59 (Richmond 2014); 3:28:34 (Boston 2015)

Short-Term Running Goals:

3:20, 1:30, 0:20

Long-Term Running Goals:

I'm 60, there is no long term.

Personal:

I live, work and run in Houston, Texas.  I have run 17 marathons, some good ones and some others.  I prefer straight, flat, cold, sea-level marathons, still waiting for my first one.  I feel like there are more PRs out there.  When I have them, I am told it is time to dial it back, run for healthy reasons.  I'm sure that's right, and I'm sure it won't happen.

My wife and I are from the mountains of the west.  We have five kids, three granddaughters and three grandsons.  The kids and grandkids are native Texans but we are not -- you have to be born here.

As for my blog title: I run most of my miles before sunrise, sometimes hours before. On the back road of my neighborhood two hours before daylight, I can depend on a pack of mutts behind the boundary fence lighting up when they hear my footsteps. I have wondered what they wanted; but according to Hemingway I needn't ask.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
267.5326.1211.503.15308.30
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.010.000.000.009.01

53F, cloudy and intermittent rain.  9.01 miles in 1:53:43, 12:31 average pace, low heart rate.  Must be hung over from Saturday, even though I don't feel sore or fatigued.  In my "heart" I know what I did on Saturday.

This run was late in the afternoon.  Last night I woke up from a wierd dream at 4 a.m., but got up and went to work instead of heading out, I had some leftover stuff I planned to get done over the weekend but couldn't.  So I didn't go out to run until later, which is always tough and never produces good results.  But a run is a run and I appear to be recovered from all of my ailments, just slower than slow.  I practiced running like a Kenyan for one mile and went even slower.  Guess I'll stick to Western European.

Lots of dogs out getting walked, several off their leashes, but I changed my route several times and avoided any direct encounters.  I'm working on becoming a better dog person, but they still don't like me.  I need to buy Dog Whisperer for Dummies.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.080.000.000.009.08

43F, clear and gusty.  9.08 miles in 1:47:36, average pace 11:51, low heart rate.  Started out pretty rocky after running last night, but got into a rhythm after a couple of miles and it went fine.  Stopped near the end of the run to do weights, then finished it off.

I have my first 5K this weekend, got a free entry at work.  I'm going to do some speed work tomorrow, such as it is.  I need to mix things up since I haven't been getting faster lately.  Injuries are the pits.  They put you way behind schedule.  And they lead to morbid thoughts, like the ones I had after the first two miles this morning:  What if I get slower and slower and don't know why, then I finally go to the doctor and find out I am on my last lap?  Then the sun came out, I got faster, and everything was fine.  Time to buy an Ipod.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.009.120.000.009.12

45F, calm and waning moon.  Couldn't run this morning, had a roomful of clients all day long, then went to eat.  It was 10:00 when I got home, and I have to start early again in the morning, so it was out the door or miss maybe two days of running.  I had intended to run fast on this one, but started out slow with a full belly, good thing I don't imbibe.  First mile was 10:23, last full mile 8:34, last partial split 7:59 pace.  9.12 miles in 1:24:35, 9:16 average pace, no heart rate monitor.  I ran about the same pace as in the half marathon on Saturday after the first two slow miles dealing with my son's shin splints.  Not that I was happy about that race, but tonight wasn't bad considering the circumstances, especially happy that I could accelerate through the whole run.  Maybe it is time to start running mile repeats, but not this week.  Felt a couple of twinges tonight, hopefully that is all it is.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.110.000.000.009.11

48F, calm.  Another night run after being in a conference room all day.  9.11 miles in 1:47:44, average pace 11:49 per mile, low heart rate.  Before I ran I went to my son's gym and he showed me some of the weight machines.  Then halfway through the run my daughter joined me, so it was a good night.  I never get company in the morning.  Was also pleased that I could keep a pace below 12 minutes after running hard last night.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.030.000.000.007.03

44F and calm.  Ran 7.03 in 1:09:03, average pace 9:50 per mile, medium heart rate.

I was time constrained this morning with work and taking my daughter to the bus stop, plus it was only a few hours after Thursday's late run -- I decided to run anyway since I may need to do my long run tonight, given a full weekend schedule.  So the thought was to see what my speed would be at about 150 bpm, and this is what I got, though it bounced up to 160 from time to time.  Actually, my heart rate was fairly erratic at these speeds, not steady like when I run at 130, probably a sign that I am not adequately conditioned in this zone.

Comments(2)
Race: Women's Center Race Against Violence (3.15 Miles) 00:24:22
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.620.000.003.1519.77

Kind of a complicated day but a good one, a 5K race sandwiched inside a long run. I intended to run long last night but I thought it would put too much stress on my recovering legs after already running yesterday morning.  So I ended up with a race and the need to get in a long run today.

The race is a local charity event to raise money for the Women's Center.  It is well-backed and it is for a good cause.  I usually don't pay attention to these sorts of things, but this is an important cause and one that doesn't get enough support.  These institutions hide battered women and their children, in addition to performing a host of other services.  They do a good job and have always been well-funded in this community.  I liked the atmosphere at the race, very positive but you could tell people were serious about this issue.  I was happy to participate.

This is the first time I have run a 5K race, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I thought it would be good to get there early and do a few slow miles so as to be loosened up for the race.  What I didn't want to do was re-injure my groin, especially since running fast got it injured in the first place.  This turned out to be a pretty good strategy.  I got there an hour and a half early and ran about 10K before the race, 6.22 miles, average pace 10:58 per mile, range 11:09 to 10:39, basically a steady pace.  I felt ready to go.

Then I went to the start line.  The race started in downtown Houston and headed west and back to the start line, basically an out and back with a loop in the middle.  Weather was perfect, about 50F with a light breeze.  I met up with some people from work (our firm was a contributor) and suggested a team strategy session, which suggestion was politely ignored.  That's why they call them fun runs, nobody was interested in taking out the other law firms.  That was the last I saw of any teammates.  I lined up fairly close to the front.  After the gun went off there was a little bit of jockeying around as people tried to find their pace.  I wove in and out for a couple of hundred yards, accidentally elbowed and apologized to a woman who wasn't too happy (especially given the subject matter of this particular charity), then I was free to run my own speed.  Lots of practice from Fort Worth last week and from driving an old sports car with a radar detector, but I digress.

Even though there were lots of runners, most of them were either good or purely recreational, then me running alone in the middle.  I marveled that I had so much room to run in a short crowded race like this.  After the first half-mile I passed very few people and even fewer passed me.  I felt like I was pushing the pace a little but it wasn't too bad.  I was afraid given my recent training adventures that the first mile would be low 9s, but it came in at 7:24 (171 bpm).  This is by far the fastest I have run a mile since high school.  Something paid off big time.  The next mile was 7:44 (184 bpm) which I also thought was good.  By then I figured I could make this happen.  I was very tired and lactic acid was building up, plus the last mile was a little bit uphill, but I hit 8:03 (187 bpm) and then a 7:57 (188 bpm) pace for the stub split at the end.  (My heart isn't supposed to beat that fast at my age, but it does and I am not complaining.  It gives me more upside, I think.)  Total time was 24:22, average pace 7:44.  This is not a fast time by the standards on this blog, but it is faster than I thought I could run and I am happy with the result.  I measured 3.15 miles on my Garmin -- admittedly not the most accurate measuring tool but I still think the course was a little long, and I won't get an official time or place for 2 weeks.  That's what you get when the sponsor is 501(c)(3) -- nice people but not razor's edge in the organizational aspects. 

They gave out age-group awards right after the race.  I didn't see any old guys running fast, so there is a possibility I might have placed, but I didn't stay around.  You can bet I am going to check the times of my co-workers as soon as I can.

I went back out and finished my long run as soon as I cooled off a little bit.  By this time it was getting hot.  I ran from downtown along the course route and then west to Memorial Park, which is the primary running location in Houston.  That place was more crowded than the race.  It was truly a great morning for running here.  Altogether I did another 10.35 miles, average pace 10:25, progression from11:25 down to 9:42 pace.  I was pretty tired but felt a lot better once I sucked down a chocolate milk shake.  I tell anybody who will listen that I run drug-free, but that isn't entirely true.  Chocolate is a drug.

Comments(10)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.670.000.000.007.67

55F pre-rain and breezy.  I ran at low heart rate for about an hour and a half, then lightning and thunder appeared so I scampered home.  No tolerance for that kind of weather, the thunderstorms can get violent around here and need to be respected.  Total of 7.67 miles in 1:35:50, average pace 12:29, mostly at low heart rate.  My legs felt fine despite running longer on Saturday and from running the 5K -- until I tried to rush home.  My "scamper" pace was a sizzling 10:09, I knew then why I was so slow all morning.

I have been running about two months since my last marathon and have made some progress despite an injury -- as best I can tell, consulting the McMillan Calculator to translate my Phoenix half and Saturday's 5K to the marathon distance, I would have a good chance of running a typical marathon about 10-15 minutes faster right now.  My half marathon time of about 1:52:45 translates to 3:57:47 and my 23:58 time for Saturday's 5K (adjusting the distance from 3.15 to 3.1, assuming my Garmin measured the course more closely than the fun run crew) translates to 3:53:39 for the marathon distance.  On January 1 I ran 4:13:45 although I am pretty sure I could have run 4:10 with a less aggressive strategy.  So some real progress it appears, but I will be re-evaluating this week, trying to decide whether to stay the course, correct a little, or move in a new direction.  Lots of factors as I turn 55 later this month, embracing a new age group and a new BQ time of 3:45.  I woke up at 3:30 (a.m., not BQ time) with all of this on my mind.  One advantage of getting a little bit older is having more time to think.

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.300.000.000.0010.30

64F, cloudy but no rain.  Ran 10.30 in 2:01:27, average pace 11:48, low heart rate.  Everything seems back to normal this morning, although temperatures are almost in the summer range, hopefully only temporarily.

I just read Burt's entry from this morning and happened anyway to have been thinking a lot lately about things more important than running.  My mom has had cancer for a while, although she has other age-related issues that will probably take her first.  And two families I home teach (church-related visits) also have cancer in the family.  In one, an older lady has been fighting it for years.  She expected to pass away about two years ago.  She and her family spoke of it openly and made plans -- but instead she is in complete remission and happy as a lark, as are her family obviously.  Never met a sweeter lady.  Then in the last month the father in the other family, 4 young kids, got a rare form of esophogal cancer.  He starts radiation and chemo on Monday, so I will be going over there on Sunday night to try to help.  I talked to him last night.  He and his wife had a long session yesterday with the head doctor on his team, a very talented and caring woman who told them she will not let him die.  We have world class cancer facilities here at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, possibly the best, both in terms of scientific prowess and legendary compassion.  It seems like they cure stuff that nobody else cures.  I had a colleague 15 years ago who got brain cancer, an aggressive form with a 5-year survival rate under 15%.  He actively researched and pursued all avenues here in Houston and also ended up with very good care.  His cancer eventually stabilized and he quit his job and moved to Utah to be close to both familes.  He can't practice law anymore, but is an instructor in the philosophy department at BYU and in the last year has seen one son finish a mission and a daughter marry very well.  Sometimes life can be bad for a while before it gets quite good.  Other times the inevitable happens, I have seen some of those in the last year as well.  So best wishes to anyone out there who is struggling.  Struggle well. 

Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.100.003.000.0010.10

74F, windy and dry.  I got up early and worked 4 hours, then went out and ran 4 warmup miles in my new shoes (see below) with my daughter.  Then I changed shoes and went back out for some faster running.  I ran another mile slow, then 3x1 mile with 1/2 mile rest intervals.  The first two threshold miles were 7:46 and 7:44.  I didn't get a split on the third one since I am a klutz with the Garmin, but I think it was a little slower.  Then one mile warm down.  Overall I ran 10.10 in 1:39:51, average pace 9:53 per mile, no heart rate monitor.  Good run, first trial of the year in the heat, our answer to training at altitude.

I bought some running flats and first tried them out for one mile yesterday.  I found that I was faster at the same heart rate.  I wore them for 4 miles today, but I am trying to be careful since they tug and pull on different muscles and tendons -- once I am used to them I think they will be a good choice.  Here is what they look like (thanks to Burt for the tutorial on posting pictures):

This particular pair is Brazilian (Jinga) and somebody at work told me they look good.  That was not my intent, but OK.  They are cheaper than regular shoes but I am skeptical they will last as long.  Even though the soles are made of PVC, I can already see a little bit of wear after 5 miles.  But man it feels good to run right on the ground.  If they don't last I'll find something else that will, but I suspect I will be going in this direction if it helps to minimize injury risk.

 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.270.000.000.0010.27

60F, cloudy and calm.  Ran 10.27 miles in 1:59:27, average pace 11:38/mile, low heart rate.  I was pleased that I felt good enough to run this well after the hard mid-day run yesterday.  I stopped again before the end of the run to do weights and I can feel those more than the run.

I am trying to decide which mixture of workouts will help the most this year as well as longer term.  Not sure if the same plan would be optimal for both goals.  One choice is to keep doing what I am doing until I stop improving.  Another is to take the LSD guys at their word and never let my heart rate exceed 132 for three or four months.  Another is to run some really long stuff at least once a week, to try to beat the final 10K in the marathon.  Or I could jsut do what most people do, which is more harder and longer runs.  Or mix and match.  Plus I really need to do something about my form.  Suddenly October doesn't seem so far away.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.070.000.000.0010.07

50F, wind N. 10-20 mph but clear.  Ran 10.07 miles in 1:51:17, average pace 11:03/mile, low heart rate.  I ran the whole thing in my flats and beat my best previous average pace by about 25 seconds per mile.  My average for the run was better than my previous low heart rate best for a single mile, and today I got my first mile with a 10 in front of it, 7 of them actually.  As best I can tell, the flats improved my speed at the same effort by about 30 seconds per mile.  Yesterday was 11:45 per mile, coming off a speed day on Wednesday, but I am guessing in regular shoes today I would have been around 11:30/mile and would have been happy.  If this is really true it could translate to a free 10-15 minutes in a full marathon.  My reason for switching is to go longer periods between injuries, I wasn't expecting a speed windfall.  It may not hold up, but for now I am impressed.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
27.670.000.000.0027.67

49F at beginning, 66F at end, wind WNW 18 mph, ran 27.67 miles in 5:03:35, average pace 10:58 per mile.  The theory on this run is that I have been getting killed the last 10K of every marathon.  I hardly ever run more than 20 miles and sure enough, right around mile 20 I lose it every time.  I think younger runners can get through the last quarter by digging deep, but for me I am what I ran getting ready for the race.  So I am thinking that if I start running 30+ miles twice a month I can get that monkey off my back, or at least make him lose some weight.  So for a while instead of running 15-20 hard every Saturday I am going to run longer but easy about every other weekend, and for now keep doing hard runs on the other two weekends as long as I can tolerate them.

Today I planned to make 30 but it didn't happen.  Is that what they call a DNF?  I ran the first 10 at low heart rate, almost exactly 12:00 per mile.  Then I picked my heart rate up to 150 for the next 10, which equated to about 9:45 to 10:00 per mile for a while.  But then my heart rate began edging up pretty fast, like the needle on an overheated engine, so by the time I got to mile 22 or so I was getting pretty trashed -- it felt remarkably like a race.  I pushed through to the marathon distance in 4:45:13 (a time I would have killed for at St. George last fall) then kept on a little further before getting to the house and deciding to pass on the extra loop.  My wife called just after I reached marathon distance, wondering where the heck I was, then she called me a slob when I told her I had decided not to do 30 -- she was just kidding of course.

I think if anything this run proves that I need to do more of these.  Those last miles are really tough and I think it is naive for me to assume they won't be tough in a race if I haven't been running them to get ready for the race, even if I only run them easy.  So there you go.

I am thankful to be relatively injury-free and to have the health to run. 

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.220.000.000.0010.22

63F, foggy then clear, wind ENE 12 mph.  Got a late start after getting some work out the door.  Ran 10.22 miles in 1:58:38, average pace 11:38 per mile, low heart rate, flat shoes.

No observable effects from Saturday's run, though my lower calves and foot tendons were still a little bit stiff from Thursday's run in flats. That situation worked itself out about 3 miles in to the run, then I got sore again toward the end.  I don't think it will amount to anything, though, progress seems good, especially for a recovery run.

I loved the weather today.  It was a little warm for a long hard run but just right for an easy one.  The fog was cool and wet at the beginning, which was nice, then when the sun burned it off that was nice too.  Squirrels are multiplying unchecked with no natural enemies, a couple of robins bouncing around.  Gotta love the spring, we don't get many of these days.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.250.000.000.0010.25

57F, cloudy and trying to rain.  Then it did rain.  Good running weather.  Ran 10.25 in 1:55:16, 11:15 per mile, low heart rate, regular shoes.  Also did weights toward the end of the run.  Gotta get better at those, not sure what I am doing.  This was my best low heart rate pace so far in regular shoes, so safe to say I have recovered from Saturday's run.  I had a lot of stiffness from running in flats yesterday and a little bit tender on the bottom of my right heel, but it all went away this morning once I got going.  It is spring break here this week, so no early morning schedule at the house other than my own.  I got more sleep as a result and that may have helped.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.600.002.500.0010.10

49F, clear.  Ran 10.10 miles in 1:39:04, average pace 9:49.  I warmed up for 3 miles then ran 20x200 with equal rest intervals.  The fast legs averaged about 7:35 - 7:40 (slowest 7:54, fastest 7:27).  The intervals weren't exactly 200 meters since I didn't have that distance set as my automatic lap counter, but the paces are pretty accurate because that's what Garmins do.  These weren't terribly fast, even for me, but I was concentrating on keeping good form (pushing off instead of reaching out) and not pulling too hard on my left groin.  I think I did OK in that regard but even so I might could have taken them a little faster, I just wasn't sure what to expect.  I am on a quest to be less identifiable as an old man from a distance, and I think doing short fast intervals is a way to lengthen my stride, to coin a phrase. 

At the end I ran another 2.1 cooldown at 10:29 and 9:29.  Overall I seem to be OK. 

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.260.000.000.0010.26

48F, a little bit windy but clear.  Perfect running weather.  I ran 10.26 miles in 1:51:46, average pace 10:53 per mile, low heart rate and flats.  My feet seem to be adjusting to flats pretty well, still a little soreness in my right calf.  The first mile was 12:03, second 11:03, everything after that below 10, including a 10:37.  This is the first time I have averaged under 11 for LSD, and with weather scheduled to warm up soon it might be a while before I see these splits again -- but to put it in context, today was 3:40 seconds per mile faster than a similar low heart rate run 1 year ago, 30 seconds per mile faster than I ran St. George less than 6 months ago, and 1:10 per mile slower than I ran the Texas Marathon about 2-1/2 months ago.  I have often thought that if I could get to 10 flat at low heart rate I might see some interesting marathon times.  Weird how this metric goes long periods without improving then moves significantly over a one or two-week period.  Too bad LSD isn't an Olympic event.  The last time I saw an LSD event was in the '60s and luckily I was too young to participate.

Also did some weights near the end of the run.  I need a weight coach.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.060.000.000.0010.06

47F, wind ESE 5 mph, clear.  Perfect running weather.  Ran 10.06 in 1:50:52, average pace 11:01 per mile, low heart rate, regular shoes.  So even in regular shoes only 8 seconds per mile slower than yesterday.  Either that means I was better today or the differential between regular shoes and flats is not as great as I first guessed.  Either way a good run.

I spent all day yesterday putting together some Ikea furniture for my daughter's friend's new bedroom.  It says "some assembly required", but the desk, dresser and armoire came in boxes of pieces, little tiny pieces that look like they were collected from an explosion at a tinker toy factory.  Managed to get it all put together though, even had a few pieces left over.  We loaded it all up in the pickup, put on the flashers, took it over and unloaded it, got some Tex Mex and didn't get home until late, but glad it was done.  Now that I think about it, all that probably slowed me down a little bit this morning.  Gotta get some paying work done today.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.129.000.000.0021.12

60F, cloudy and getting ready to rain.  Perfect running weather.  This run was not very successful.  The plan was to run a couple of warmup miles then do 20 at an 8:30 pace.  But I couldn't do it.  I warmed up one mile then ran 7 at that pace:  8:30, 8:31, 8:25, 8:16, 8:37, 8:32, 8:45 -- average pace 8:31, not bad but I couldn't hold the pace any longer.  I dialed back to a jogging pace, about 11:30 for 5 miles, then about 11:00 for 2 more.  At this point I was at mile 16 and decided to try again.  I did mile 17 at 9:34, jogged a mile (9:56), then did mile 19 at 9:00, then cut back to 11:00 for the last two miles.  Overall pace 10:02 in 3:31:52.  By this time it was raining.  I got in my car and drove back over the course to pick up my used water bottles, came home soaked and took a long hot shower.  No ice baths for this boy.

I am not improving quickly enough.  I may have to scrap some of the low heart rate focus and start running hard during the week, building up a little at a time hopefully to be able to withstand the extrera stress.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.763.000.000.009.76

41F, wind WSW 9 mph, clear, perfect running weather.  Ran 9.76 in 1:38:54, average pace 10.08 minutes per mile, flat shoes.  I ran the first 6.5 at low heart rate, average pace about 10:55, was surprised to find no fatigue in my legs from Saturday.  Then ran 3 at a little faster than 3:45 marathon pace, splits 8:34, 8:20, 8:17, then jogged it in because I was out of time.  This morning's pace was faster than Saturday and didn't seem to require as much effort.  At times I could feel a certain smoothness and rhythm, but not sure how it would have looked on YouTube.  The flats always feel good, I'll probably be wearing them every day before long.

The revised plan, if it holds up, is to add more speed work during the week by picking target paces and gradually increasing the miles at that pace, then pick a new pace, all at the end of the run.  Hopefully I can get past some of my speed issues by getting in more, shorter sessions with quicker recovery.  The bottom-line question here is whether one would get more benefit from running 3 ten-milers or 1 twenty-miler at the same speed.  Right now I am betting on the former, but it is just a bet.  Feels good to do something different, though.  That may be the main benefit.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.110.000.000.0010.11

39F, clear, calm and cold.  Perfect running weather.  Ran 10.11 in 1:52:21, average pace 11:07, low heart rate and regular shoes.  No weights today, I had to run ("run" meaning get in the car and speed) to the dentist for a 6-month checkup, which ended up as a wallet checkup in the form of a crown replacement.  I love it how everybody sneaks out of the room when they take an X-ray.  I wanted to ask where everybody was going, is there a problem, should I leave too?  That lead bib might be a good training device.

Yesterday I walked into Houston's biggest running store to see what they had in running flats.  Wrong term.  Running flats, as currently sold by retail establishments, look like regular running shoes with rigid soles and big heels, just a little bit less of them and a lot lighter.  The kind of flats I have, flat flats, are nowhere to be found in traditional running stores, at least in this pretty big store.  Apparently there is some sort of a speed issue with flat flats.  Not an issue for me at my speed.  The guy told me, with a little bit of a smirk, that the Kenyans run barefoot until they can afford shoes, then never go back.  But he did acknowledge that Nike's own research shows that less is more when it comes to injury rates -- at least he gets a couple of points for owning up to that one. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.515.000.000.0010.51

57F, wind SSE 6 mph, gathering clouds.  Perfect day.  Ran 10.51 miles in 1:40:57, average overall pace 9:36 per mile, flat shoes.  First 5 miles at low heart rate, average pace 10:44, fastest low heart rate pace so far.  Second 5 miles at marathon pace.  Goal was 8:30 per mile but I went too fast, that is a hard zone for me to find.  Splits were 8:21 (156 bpm), 8:22 (163 bpm), 8:17 (167 bpm), 8:14 (170 bpm) and 8:06 (173 bpm), then jogged it in.  It was hard but not that hard as long as I concentrated on form, particularly trying to push instead of pull with my feet.  The last time I timed 5 miles was a turkey trot back in November, and this morning's run was 2 or 3 seconds per mile faster, at the end of the run and without going all out.  I won't really know until tomorrow morning if I ran too fast, but so far the new program seems to be working well.  Funny how bad days like Saturday can make the good days look better than they are.  If I had been able to run 20 miles at 8:30/mile on Saturday, then this morning's run would have been nothing.

Then I stopped to lift weights but I was locked out -- my right index fingerprint wasn't working.  So I have to get a new fingerprint today.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.070.000.000.0010.07

50F, wind WNW 9 mph and clearing after a night of thunderstorms.  Puddles everywhere.  Perfect.  Ran 10.07 in 1:50:47, average pace 10:59 per mile, low heart rate, regular shoes.  I felt some fatigue in my legs at about mile 7 so was glad to finish.  And some tightness at the end in my left Achilles, opposite of the one that has been giving me problems.  I'll run easy again tomorrow morning and if all goes well do my long run tomorrow night.

I just got an e-mail yesterday telling me to get off my butt and go pick up my age group award for the 5K I ran on March 6 -- before they put the thing in the wood chipper.  Turns out I got third.  Out of six.  But I beat the other runners at my firm by a fair margin.  Just a bunch of pasty-faced lawyers.

Update:   Got my award.  Must be a major award.  I'm going to put it on my credenza right next to my Ralphie statuette.

 

Comments(7)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.070.000.000.0010.07

45F, clear and sunny.  Another great day in the neighborhood.  The run today was as close to a carbon copy of yesterday as possible, although I ended up running it a little faster.  Ran 10.07 in 1:49:24, average pace 10:52 (7 seconds per mile better than yesterday), low heart rate and regular shoes.  No further stiffness in my left Achilles.  Was going to cut this run short because of running long tonight, but I felt good and finished it off.  Tonight the plan is to run slow and as long as possible.  We'll see what happens when the rubber actually meets the road.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
27.000.000.000.0027.00

51F, it was a dark and cloudy night (but not stormy).  Ran 27.0 miles in 5:26, average pace 12:07 per mile, low heart rate and regular shoes.  I ran at a very steady pace the whole run, thinking that if I ran slowly I could go as far as I wanted.  I didn't get started until about 11:00 because on the spur of the moment I had to help deliver mulch for a high adventure fundraiser for my son's troop.  Because of that, I finished the run about 4:00.  I probably would have been targeting finishing about then anyway but just hoping to run longer, but the last two miles were surprisingly difficult.  Before then I was holding a fairly steady heart rate and a very steady 5 mph pace, though my heart gradually climbed about 10 bpm over the course of the run.  Then the last two miles it dropped about 6 bpm, almost in the original zone, probably because my pace slowed, though I felt like I was working harder than ever -- supposedly heart rate tracks how hard you are working, not speed.  The feeling of working hard may have been related to some nausea that unexpectedly showed up late in the run. 

I was surprised at how difficult this run was.  I felt the marathon monkey on my back right at his usual spot, mile 21 or 22.  Everyone says yeah, yeah, you only have enough energy in your muscles to run 20 miles, you are supposed to bonk, but the ultra guys are just getting warmed up at this distance -- I think there is a whole lot more to this equation than glycogen stores.  I drank water whenever I wanted it, not that often really, and ate crackers, but at the end started to get that sloshy stomach feeling followed by nausea even though the pace was slow and the weather was cool.  I felt better a couple of weeks ago when I ran the same distance at a faster pace on less water and no food.  Not sure why, maybe running at night.  The biofeedback from this run was interesting, particularly the heart rate.  I think that I can sustain these types of runs about every other week and I think the effort required even at this very slow pace shows that I need them.  I am happy to be talked out of all of that though -- it was not a particularly fun run.

Off to IHOP.  I turn 55 tomorrow and I am going to try to order off the senior menu one day early.  Hopefully they don't card me.

Comments(8)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.170.006.000.0010.17

46F, calm and clear, full moon setting.  A perfect morning for running.  Ran 10.17 in 1:34:41, average pace 9:21 per mile, flat shoes.  Ran the first 4 at 12:33, 11:32, 10:54 and 10:41, all low heart rate.  Started mile 5 at the same pace, then the thought of a whole week at Friday night's speed was more depressing than my fear of injury, so I sped up to 10K pace after about 100 meters.  Splits for the rest of the run were 8:09 (including jogging the first 100), 7:50, 7:57, 8:00, 7:51, 7:48 (178 bpm), average pace for the six fast miles was 7:54, or 48:59 for a 10K, about the same speed as I raced my 5K a few weeks ago.  Then I jogged in the stub split at 11:39 pace.  Not a very disciplined run, but it felt good to air it out for a few miles this morning. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.400.000.000.009.40

56F and cloudy, wind SSE 3 mph.  Good running conditions -- this morning the air was heavy and moist, it will be summer running conditions before long.  I ran 9.40 in 1:45:46, average pace 11:15 per mile, low heart rate and regular shoes.  Had to cut it a little bit short due to my daughter's school schedule.

I didn't run yesterday for a couple of reasons.  After Monday morning's hard run I felt fine, then developed something in my left knee as the day wore on, to the point I was limping around.  I felt better yesterday morning, but had to be at work at 6 and didn't get home until 9:30 last night.  I could have gone out then, but I still had some residual knee aches and pains and I knew I would be running this morning, decided not to push it.  So I missed a day.  The knee felt fine this morning, nothing at all.  This is probably a good week to cut back on miles a little bit anyway.  My two granddaughters are visiting for the weekend starting tomorrow, and they are going to want plenty of grandpa time -- grandpa too.  Their parents are hoping to buy a home in Temple, Texas, where my son-in-law will be doing his residency for the next six years.

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
267.5326.1211.503.15308.30
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