For Whom the Dogs Bark

107F, 50% (DP 85F), calm.  Ultimate vitamin D run.  Was at a conference in Abu Dhabi and somehow running came up.  A local group said they were going to the Formula 1 race track to take a lap.  Not sure how much heat was coming up from the surface of the track in the late afternoon.  Had to get a ticket and everything, it was an organized event, with music and one aid station out on the course.  Got there a little bit late and started about 3 or 4 minutes after the gate opened, never saw the conference people. 

I was crushed after the first 20 steps, was breathing very hard like I was running uphill or at altitude, or both.  Eventually got somewhat used to it and managed to run kind of hard.  Kind of cool out there on the track where the European drivers run; not actually cool I guess.  Got water at about mile 1, that was the last water I saw.

At first I could barely pass the walkers.  Then I caught my breath, saw a few joggers and passed them, then runners.  There were so many twists and turns to the track I couldn't tell where the finish was and thought I might have passed it.  But it lasted long enough (about 32 minutes) that I think I ran about 4 miles, even though it was advertised as 5K.  I ended up passing every runner I saw, so maybe I won?  There were also several hundred bikers out there, riding the opposite direction from the runners.

Thankfully I found the finish line and there was water there.  My partner picked me up but was silent when I climbed in and got his BMW upholstery wet.  He shouldn't have offered.  Not sure if I will run any more this week, this one seemed sufficient.

On the hotel TM.  Still must be jet-lagged or something worse, legs felt very heavy, traveling is not kind on the body.  I got it up to 10.4 km/hr after the wu, then escalated by 0.2 every K, then hit it hard the last split, ratcheting up every quarter or so and finishing at 14.0.  Sweating like a farm animal at the end, even though the overall pace was only about 8:10/mile or something like that.

Same run but a little faster and more speed on the front end.  Did the first 2K in about 12 minutes, then down to 4:40/km thereafter (13 km/hr).  Finished with a 7:44 overall pace, but the last 8 were about 7:27/mile, not great but better than the previous one, and felt a lot better afterwards.  Must be time to get on a plane again.  I didn't bring a HR monitor or a watch with me, so I don't really know how hard I am working, other than by feel.  If I could do one of these at 15 km/hr that would be a 40-minute 10K -- also, if could do it at 30 km/hr that would be a 20-minute 10K, but I might try to work up to that over several sessions.  

More TM time, a little slower overall than Saturday.

77F, 85% (DP 72F), SW 5 mph.  Back out on the streets in Houston, very early and pretty jet-lagged.  Did 6 LLHR, about 11:22/mile, not a good result but not surprising I suppose.  Off on another plane today, so more TM miles ahead.

6 on the hotel treadmill (Panama this week) in 43:22, 7:13/mile.  This felt much easier than the last TM run on Monday, which is undoubtedly a reflection of how the belt speed is metered.  First mile came in at about 8:30 overall, was planning to do 5 x 1K at 7:00, but the first one was easy enough that I changed plans and pushed it through as a tempo run at the same speed, then sped up at the end:  last split was run at 6:40 pace for the first half, 6:18 for the second half, but who knows what the actual speed was.  The TM had a bar you could grip and it would read out your heart rate.  at 4.75 miles I took a reading, 164 bpm, which isn't even close to a tempo speed, should have been in the 175-185 range for an extended run in the low 7s.  I didn't get the same rapid deterioration I got in Dubai at 14 km/hr (6:53/mile) until I took it down to 6:18 for the last half mile.  So throw this one out.

77F, 90% (DP 74F), SE 10 mph, raining off and on.  Pretty nasty conditions, trying to rain but not succeeding, gets really humid when that happens.  Jet-lagged, I woke up at 2:30 and finally left for the run at 3:57 a.m.  Not a whole lot of company, just me and the paper guy, who basically tries to run me down every time he sees me.

I intended to run 20, haven't done that since before Boston, intentionally, but thought I needed to get a long one in even though that isn't the focus right now.  I was interested to see what would happen after doing a lot of fast treadmill work lately.  I took what felt like an easy pace and the splits were coming in naturally between 8:15 and 8:30, so I went with that.  Heart rate climbed gradually from the mid-140s, reaching high 160s toward the end.  At about mile 17 I slowed down quite a bit and started to feel the effects of the heat, so I decided not to run the last mile.  It was one of those workouts where I had to lay down afterward.  Overall 8:26 pace.  I needed this run and will probably do it every other week or so until I start a more rigorous endurance regimen for my fall races.

77F, 88% (DP 73F), ESE 6 mph and clear, calm before the next storm.  Out early for 10 LLHR miles, 1:50:35, 11:03/mile, 121 bpm.  Followed by stretching and weights.

75F, 100% (DP 75F), NE 8 mph, starting to gust.  Tropical Storm Bill is moving in, the air actually felt fresh, if you can say that when you have 100% humidity at sea level.  I thought I might have to quit, but the rain held off until I finished, other than a couple of minor episodes from the outer bands of the storm.  Good run, was under 11 for all splits until mile 10.  Average 10:50/mile for the first 10, 11:00/mile overall for 15 LLHR miles (2:45:01, 122 bpm).  Last split was 11:38, more than a minute slower than the fastest one, things really fell apart in the last 2 or 3 miles.  If I were an ultra guy I would probably do this every day, which is why I am not.

77F with rain and too much wind this morning, so I drove down to the gym to run on the TM.  Gym was closed, even though we have had less than 2" of rain in this part of town.  Drove back to my neighborhood and went to the clubhouse where they have a TM and a few machines.  Did 10 at about a 9:05 pace.  My heart rate didn't go above LLHR level until the last mile or two.  It is amazing how much easier the TM is compared to the pavement, about 1:30/mile faster than outside at the same heart rate.  At least for that particular machine.

Finished with stretching, leg curls, squats, lunges, core and jump rope.

Storm should be moving out today.  I think tropical storms should be named something other than Bill, might as well be Peggy or JoeBob.  Should be something more ominous and foreign, like Barack.

77F.  Planned to go 15, but got a late start due to work last night; then in addition there was a 17 mph south wind this morning, can't run LLHR in the heat if I am fighting a wind, can't get a steady enough effort.  So back to the gym, this time LLHR came in at 6.2 mph, compared to 6.6 on the machine yesterday.  Finished with stretching and jump rope.

75F, 100% (DP 75F), S 6 mph.  Very muggy, but finally made it back outside.  Got 10 at 10:49 pace, which I am OK with.  Finished with stretching and a heavy weight session.

75F, 100% (DP 75F), S 6 mph.  Identical to yesterday.  Hit the road slightly after 4:30, ready to run 4 hours if necessary to get to 20 at LLHR.  Haven't gone this far at this speed before.  It is more difficult than doing it at 9:00 pace.  The first 10 came in at 10:50/mile, then my watch went dark at 10.18.  I forgot to charge it.  I knew how far I had to run to get to 20, but not sure if I ran the right pace or not.  Pretty close though.  Sat in the pool for my post-run workout -- that was tough.

77F, 94% (DP 75F) and calm. Out at 4:50 a.m. Wade is back in town and caught up with him about 5:30. Ran 2 wu and 3 fast ones before meeting Wade, then finished out at normal speed around 8:00 to 8:10/mile. Oveall 10.0 miles in 1:19:43, 7:58/mile, 160 bpm average, 178 max. Fast splits were 7:24 (160), 7:19 (167) and 7:14 (174). Finished with stretching, weights, jump rope and lunges.

Over the weekend I installed a weather station that I bought 2 years ago. I have been waiting for some work in my backyard to get done. Here is the outside unit. It has solar panels that point south in order to calibrate wind direction correctly.

Then it sends a signal to a receiver set up in the other end of the house, where I get a detailed readout.  Pretty cool.

I have long mis-trusted the weather information on the computer. This morning, for instance, the Weather Channel app had a readout of 78F, 92% (DP 75F), wind SE 3 mph. Local Channel 13 had 75F, 100% (DP 75%), SE 4 mph. What is interesting is that dew point is exactly the same on all three, not sure how that happens.  But overall not too far off on a calm morning. My guess is that when the atmosphere is active the data points at my house are going to be quite a bit different than the official ones.  I am actually looking forward to the next rain event to see how the rain guage works, which is certainly an unhealthy wish given our recent history around here.

81F, 89% (DP 77F), calm. Got out late and paid for it. Started out fine, second mile was in the 10:30 range with heart rate below threshold, then quickly into the 11s and stayed there. Overall 10.0 in 1:51:03, 11:06/mile, 122 bpm average. Legs didn't feel dead, felt good in fact, despite doing weights yesterday, but heart rate was not to be controlled. Probably just the heat but I also missed a meal yesterday and I wonder if that is a factor. Shouldn't be, since I am supposedly burning more fat than glycogen at this heart rate.  I will probably go hard again tomorrow.  

This summer is a search for speed, which I think is to be found, if at all, in losing yet a little more weight and achieving a longer stride via a strenuous weight regimen.  I have posted it before, but my goal is this stride, which my son reposted on Father's Day on his Facebook account.  No dignity in my family, but I will say that I won that race, my only W ever.

74F, 95% (DP 73F), calm.  Slightly better weather, but not a particularly good run.  Got an early start, 2 wu, 8:40 and 8:07, then 5 @ 7:20 goal pace, didn't quite make it.  Fast ones came in at 7:25 (162), 7:26 (170), 7:19 (174), 7:16 (181) and 7;25 (183), 7:22 average, maximum heart rate 186.  Monday's fast splits were 7:24 (160), 7:19 (167) and 7:14 (174), so today was not up to Monday's level.  It was OK though, I got 5 in the heat at a fast pace.  I told myself that if split #4  came in over 7:25 I would quit. Unfortunately it came in at 7:16 so I did all five.  Overall 10.0 in 1:20:49, 8:05/mile. If I can get to 10 in the heat at 7:20 I should be in good enough shape to knock another 10 minutes off my PR.  But to really knock it out of the park on my half marathon in October I need to get this down to 7:00 instead of 7:20

77F, 91% (DP 74F), calm and clear.  Air felt fresher this morning even though it isn't actually much cooler.  Measurement at my house was 3 degrees hotter than the local TV station.  Ran 10 at LLHR, 10:48/mile, 121 bpm, much better than Tuesday.  Wade was out there for about half of it.  

We spent the whole time arguing about why we are doing this.  Right now I could revert to a daily 6-mile run at 9:00 pace, do it every morning for the next 25 years, be in optimal health, and never think about racing again.  But racing is like a drug.  I frequently wake up in the night thinking about Boston, or whatever my latest race happens to be.  Sorting through splits, thinking about my age group placement, wondering what would make me faster, planning the next workout.  Go too long and I have to find a race somewhere.  Not sure what would make me walk away from that, even though I am not fast, and even if I were it would mean almost nothing to anybody else.

Finished with stretching, weights (donkey kicks (180#), squats (135#) and good mornings (40#)) and body weight lunges.  Love the names weightlifters have for some of their routines.  I'm not going to do any weightlifting routine that doesn't have a cool name.

79F, 90% (DP 76F), calm and clear.  Hot morning.  Goal was to run 8 x 1K, only got 5.  They were 7:50 (161), ?, 7:14 (168), 7:12 (174) and 7:16 (177), 181 bpm max.  Felt wiped out, presumably from the heat and from yesterday's weight session.  Overall 10.0 in 1:23:13, 8:19/mile average pace.

79F, 92% (DP 76F), SW 4 mph. Very warm. Met Wade at about mile 4, but he had run a couple of the 1K repeats with me yesterday and was short on sleep and felt wiped out in this heat. So we called it a day early. 12.0 miles at 9:04/mile, 144 average heart rate, 155 max. Wade and I came back to my house and cooled off in the pool, which I highly recommend over running. We are toying with the idea of doing a Mt. Whitney/Boundary  Peak (i.e., California/Nevada) double in October. It's not like we have to train for it.

78F, 92% (DP 76F), calm.  Another beautiful morning.  Back to LLHR today, 10.15 in 1:52:05, 11:03/mile, 121 bpm.  After the first few miles I had revised my training program for the rest of the summer, then after the second half I wasn't so sure.  First 5 were 11:13/mile, trending to a steady downward spiral since I was hitting 10:30 with no problem at the beginning of the summer; then the second 5 came in at 10:52 which I was much happier about.  Still not sure I'm making progress alternating between workout weeks and slow weeks.  I think it may be the case that I need to pick one or the other, run its course, then move on to something else, rather than switching back and forth.  I know I can't sustain workout weeks all the way through without overtraining, so that leaves slow miles.  But waiting to see how the rest of this week unwinds.  Another way of looking at it is to keep doing what I am doing, and concentrate on weights and getting my body fat % down.  That would work best if I could do it.

78F, 93% (DP 76F), calm with an almost-full moon settling below the trees at the beginning.  Identical run to yesterday as to distance and DP, but faster.  10.15 miles in 1:49:16, 10:46/mile, 120 bpm.  17 seconds faster than yesterday's pace, with heart rate a little lower.  Wade and I are running at about the same heart rates right now, usually his is 7-10 bpm lower than mine.  But he isn't fully acclimated to the heat and he goes back to Wyoming tomorrow, leaving me alone in the soup.  He has a hilly 10K this weekend in Star Valley; it will be interesting to see how he reacts to the hills and altitude, particularly whether the high-DP training helps.