For Whom the Dogs Bark

73F, 61% and calm.  I was overjoyed with our weather this morning, unbelievably low humidity, went long again, very low heart rate, though probably not low enough.  20.00 miles in 3:24:22, 10:13/mile, RHR 50, 132 average bpm, 144 max.  Pretty tired by the end, but it went OK.

69F, 75% and calm, another great running day.  10.00 miles in 1:25:22, 8:32/mile.  RHR 50, 147 average, 176 max.  Did 5 miles warmup, 9:42 (130), 9:03 (139), 8:48 (141), 8:51 (143) and 8:43 (144).  Then 5 x 1000, 7:44 mile pace (158), 7:33 (160), 7:33 (163), 7:23 (165) and 7:14 (169), 7:29 average pace.  These were hard, but results were better as I progressed through the sequence without a lot of extra work -- I have quite a bit of endurance now, just need to be able to apply it at higher speeds.  I jogged out each mile, generally in the 9:20 to 9:40 range.  Legs feel good, this workout did not waste me, which is probably the best thing about it.

Driving to Arizona starting this afternoon, I'll get in some high altitude runs there.

Fort Stockton, TX, 65F, 48%, SSE 8 mph, 2,972' elevation.  Ran 10 miles out of the motel, straight up Hwy. 285 and back.  Was making pretty good time (heart-rate wise) on the way out, then turned around and realized I had been running slightly downhill with the wind at my back, pace dropped by about 30 seconds per mile.  Lots of oil out here, and lots of oil-field trucks going by, some closer to me than others.  Overall 10.00 miles in 1:39:23, 9:56/mile.  46 RHR, 134 average, 146 max.  Then into my car to drive to Arizona.

Big Lake, AZ, 44F, 68%, SSE 8 mph, elevation 9,100 at end, highest point 9,400.  Drove from Round Valley up to the top and ran to Big Lake, a fishing reservoir up here.  Lungs were burning the first half-mile heading up the first hill, then I was OK through 10, then it was a struggle to finish the last few hills, my legs were too tired.  My niece gave us water every two miles and a ride home when we were done.  Dirt road all the way, some of the rocks were too big for my Jingas.  14.00 miles in 2:19:22, 9:57/mile, 49 RHR, 148/170.  The wide open meadows on top are spectacular, but this cell-phone photo is inadequate.  The mountain in the distance is the second-highest point in Arizona, climbed it a couple of times when I was a kid.  Some friends ran up it once but I was never that crazy.  Now that I am that crazy I am incapable.

Springerville, AZ, 44F, 82%, E 5 mph, elevation 7,000'.  Ran north out of town along the highway, out and back.  Lots of hills but quite relaxing after yesterday.  10.00 miles in 1:34:51, 9:29/mile.  49 RHR, 140/156.

According to the new person running this race, there were double the number of entrants from last year.  I showed up expecting at least 200 runners but there were more like 25, and that was 5K and 10K combined.  Most of the faster runners were in the 10K, but we all started together.  Combined with 7,000' elevation, the first 2.5 miles was all uphill, plus a couple of side-hills on the way back down.  I had an 8:40 mile in one stretch.  Was comfortably below 8:00 for most of the way down, but my legs were too wasted to do much more than that.  I did pass the 5K winner, though.  Turns out he is the son-in-law of a woman I graduated with.  She now has 22 grandchildren and counting, of which he is the proud owner of 6.  Age division awards were a bit spotty, to put the best light on it.  Some divisions had no runners.  Mine had 4, so they gave it the whole deal, starting with the bronze medal and dramatically announcing me as the gold medal winner.  The medal was actually yellowish in color, so I took it home.  I don't have any races at elevation scheduled for this year (unless you count SGM), so not sure if any of this running this week did any good.  I had fun though; went to my HS reunion and got to hang out with my family for a few days.  Drove back to Houston over the weekend.

79F, 84%, S 3mph.  Back in Houston, ran 10 at normal LHR pace, 1:40:48, 10:07/mile.  Felt good to be back in the soup, in a twisted sort of way.  Heart rate was 53/135/141

Didn't run today.  Legs are still recovering from some rough miles last week -- could feel some things going on in my left foot so I decided to take the day off.

75F, 99%, W 2 mph.  Pretty muggy this morning.  Ran 10.00 in 1:26:53, 8:51/mile.  Ran the first 5 slow then picked up to GMP for the last 5:  10:08 (127), 9:42 (135), 9:12 (141), 9:12 (144), 9:09 (140), 8:13 (158), 8:16 (162), 8:09 (167), 8:19 (170) and 8:04 (176).  Finished the miles readily enough, improving, but heart rate is still too high.

76F, 97%, SSW 3 mph.  Went on an ultra-low heart rate run in the morning, 6.18 miles at 10:41/mile.  53 RHR, 121 average, 126 max.  Was surprised I could run at all at this speed, but according to my test at the performance lab this is where I burn the most fat.  Have to see if this is a viable pace or not.

PM:  96F (98 heat index), 31%, SE 4 mph.  Didn't have a watch or HR monitor, but ran for 58 minutes and went 6.26 miles according to the computer, comes out to about 9:16 pace, but the time isn't exact, could have been plus or minus 20 seconds -- heart rate felt about 155 to 160 level of effort at the end.  Didn't really want much more than that. 

79F, 88%, SW 4 mph to start, 85F, 72%, WNW 8 mph at end.  Started late and ended up running a lot in the sun, plus tried the low-low heart rate thing again.  Did not work at all for this distance in the bright sunlight, ended up with some 12+ miles at the end and the heart rate still got away from me.  Overall 12.36 miles in 2:21:41, about 11:30 per mile.  RHR 50, 125 average, 139 max.  Totally exhausted at the end, believe it or not.  There is a lot of work to do in this training zone.  I didn't even know it was down there.  Hope I didn't cannibalize my long run tomorrow.

78F, 88%, WSW 3 mph.  Started at 5:00 a.m. but really should have started about 4:30.  Goal was a 20-mile fast-finish long run, 8 laps around a 2.5 mile course I have marked in my neighborhood.  Did better than last time (3 weeks ago) but still didn't pull it off.  Felt good through the first 10:  9:19 (136), 9:21 (139), 9:05 (143), 9:20 (143), 9:10 (145), 9:15 (146), 9:09 (143), 9:12 (147), 9:18 (149) and 9:13 (151), so heart rate held steady until the last two then started climbing pretty quickly.  The fast ones started off well but I got tired quickly:  8:09 (163), 8:18 (166), 8:13 (169), 8:12 (173) and 8:08 (176).  0.3 WU/CD.  For the "official" miles, my overall average was 8:53.  I think if I could have held 170 for a couple of more miles I would have been able to finish the run.  I stopped for water/Gatorade at mile 5 and 10, then every lap after that.  Was starting to feel dizzy on the last two laps so I shut it down.  But certainly an improvement over the last one, and way beyond anything I could have attempted 6 weeks ago.  I'll probably try again in a week and see if I can do it -- giving myself one last shot at a BQ in August.

72F, 89%, ENE 4mph.  20.03 miles in 3:04:36, 9:14/mile.  Basically ran the first half of Saturday's run twice.  Weather was good and decided I would start out the week hard and see how long I can stay strong.  After this week I have a 3-week taper, so I figure I can do anything I want other than get injured.  Happiest about my heart rate today, 148 average, stayed under 150 through 12, 162 max.  Some of that is due to the 72F, which is slightly cooler than average, but not all of it.

PM:  Ran 10 from downtown without any equipment other than my cell.  Approximately 1:32, which comes out about the same as this morning.  Didn't feel like I was pushing too hard, though it was definitely a slog at the end.

74F, 97%, NE 3 mph.  10.00 miles in 1:46:36.  First 5 at ultra-low HR, 12:00 (119), 11:54 (120), 12:01 (120), 12:06 (121), 12:05 (121), then 5 a little faster:  10:18, 9:51, 9:31, 9:25 and 9:13.  That was it for the day.

75F, 96%, NE 5 mph.  15.00 miles in 2:17:46, 9:11/mile.  Was planning to go 20 but was starting to get fatigued and lots of running left for the week.  Compared to Monday, I broke 150 bpm in mile 8 instead of mile 12, so definitely more tired.  55 RHR, 151 average, 167.

73F, 100% and calm.  10:00 miles in 1:40:37, 10:03/mile, 128 bpm, 140 max.  Not sure where the 140 cam from, never saw more than 134 on my watch.  Was just trying to run easy, keep the miles going without wearing out.

74F, 100%, N 1 mph.  Pretty consistent weather this week.  Another 10.00 but my heart rate was still high toay for this speed, 129 bpm/135 max.  So similar to yesteray, but 10:11 per mile instead of 10:03.  Felt good, though.  One last big push tomorrow, then a final decision on the August 10 marathon in Wisconsin.  I am already registered, but if tomorrow is a disaster I might decide not to go.  But I'm giving tomorrow's run all I have.  I cut back the last 3 days just so I would have a little in the tank.

75F, 93% and calm.  It rained for a couple of hours late yesterday afternoon.  When we went out to eat about 8:00 last night the pavement was steaming and I knew my run this morning had just gotten a little bit harder, because the same thing happened Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.  It went OK, and I'm going to go ahead and run my race, but it wasn't a smashing success.  I left the house at 4:45 and opened up with 0.15 WU followed by running 10 at 9:14 average:  9:06 (139), 9:24 (139), 9:12 (143), 9:17 (144), 9:10 (145), 9:16 (146), 9:22 (147), 9:09 (148), 9:13 (149) and 9:09 (150), so 10 below 150 bpm, compared to 8 on Wednesday, but compared to 12 on Monday.  Then took off for the dreaded second half, though it took 3 or 4 miles to get dialed in:  8:24 (157), 8:30 (162), 8:20 (163), 8:15 (1767), 8:13 (170), 8:06 (173), 8:16 (176) and 8:15 for a half mile.  Then slogged out the remainder 2.4 at about 10:00 pace.  Altogether the 20-mile portion (I re-started my watch after 20) took 2:57:22, 8:52/mile, 154 bpm average, 179 max.  20 oz Gatorade and 20 oz. water.   

Cutting myself a lot of slack for the humidity and the high mileage week.  I figure if I concentrate on turnover for short distances during the taper that I can eke out a few more minutes.  If I was going to shoot for a straight 3:40 BQ I think my chances at this point are 50/50, which is a miracle with everything that has happened this year.  To get a 3:35, which is what it will realistically take to actually get into that certain race with all the bomb-sniffing dogs, it goes down to 25/75.  Any runner knows if your odds are that good you go for it. 

Paavo Nurmi Marathon, Hurley, Wisconsin (Population 1,547, Elevation 1,496 (1.03 persons per foot above sea level)), August 10, 2013.  It is named for a lawyer who won a big mining lawsuit and let them name the town after him in lieu of taking a fee.  As a lawyer I can understand both sides of that one.

79F, 100%, S 3 mph.  Temperature was 80 when I went to bed last night, so I was surprised to see the high reading this morning, but the wind turned and conditions were close to the max we have here in the summer for morning runs.  Starting my taper now, so lower but more intense miles.  5 at GMP or faster:  8:17 (154), 7:51 (164), 7:44 (172), 7:44 (178) and 7:52 (181).  HR 169 average, 182 max.  I'm not really very good at these higher heart rates.   3 WU/CD. 

79F, 93%, SSW 6 mph.  8.07 miles in 1:32:37, 11:28/mile, low-low HR:  53 resting, 121 average, 127 max.  Different kind of fatigue after finishing these super slow runs.  Either I am training a new system or using new muscles.

76F, 96% and calm.  8.20 miles, 3 WU, then 5 x 1K:  7:50 (156), 7:29 (163), 7:12 (170), 7:14 (173), 7:16 (176).  RHR 53, 152 average, 183 max.  Cool-down and stop.  Pretty good times today  Comparison to July 2, which was 69F:  7:44 (158), 7:33 (160), 7:33 (163), 7:23 (165) and 7:14 (169).  Hard to draw any conclusions.  Temperature and heart rate were lower on July 2, but I ran faster today, so I'm calling it a win.

78F, 96%, SW 5 mph.  Slow-slow again today, trying to stay smart and still get something done.  8.16 miles in 1:34:43, 11:37/mile.  53 RHR, 121 average, 127 max. So definitely slower than Tuesday.

79F, 94%, SSW 5 mph.  Intervals again today, trying to force some speed memory into my legs.  3.0 WU then 5 x 1K again:  8:00 (157)), 7:25 (166), 7:35 (170), 7:38 (173), 7:41 (177).  RHR 55, 151 average, 180 max.  I tried to dial it down a bit on the speed, so my legs felt better but my heart rate for each repeat was almost identical to Wednesday.  These heart rate results are probably not a good sign for a taper week (I should be improving, not getting tired across the board, starting with RHR), but I think I can get away with some experimenting this far out.  Might even go hard tomorrow, though certainly not 20.

79F, 93% (77 DP), SSW 5 mph.  Got in late last night from a trip to the airport and I had an 8:00 commitment this morning, so there wasn't a lot of time to run.  Made it out for a few anyway:  10.30 miles in 1:31:27, 8:53/mile, 151 bpm average, 169 max.  The last 6 were between 8:30 and 8:35, and I could have made it to 16, which was what I originally intended.

Weather in Hurley, WI this morning:  48F, 87% (45 DP), NW 6 mph, raining.  I probably won't be that lucky in 2 weeks, but one can always dream.

79F, 92% (DP 76F), S 4 mph.  1.5 WU then 9 x 400 at 7:00 to 7:15 pace (estimated, I didn't press the lap button, wanted to run more by feel), 200 jogging in between and 400 jog at end, 6.00 miles total.  51:57 total tim, 8:40/mile.  152 bpm average, 182 max.  Felt good to air it out a little bit, and felt good to finish in under an hour.

77F, 94%, S 5 mph.  6.14 miles in 56:24, 9:11/mile, 142 bpm average, 152 max.  Nothing special, just trying to walk the line between staying sharp and fading.

Legs were slightly more tired than I thought they should be this late in the taper, so took the day off.