For Whom the Dogs Bark

July 2014

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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
269.880.000.000.00269.88
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

London, cool temperatures, but no watch or HRM.  Ran 6 with client out of hotel, past Buckingham Palace.  I have been on planes most of the month of June and dealing with a couple of injuries, but today's run went OK.  Might be on my way back.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

Last day in London, 9 more.  Warmest day of the year but the temperatures were great, probably high 50s or low 60s.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.000.000.000.0015.00

74F, 97% and calm.  Back in the soup.  Out the door at 4:12 a.m. for 15 in 2:19:41, 9:19/mile, 158 bpm, 186 max.  Slowest 10:09, fastest 8:29.  Was out of the country most of June and the first week of July and am out of shape.  Foot seems to be OK though it still hurts (not getting worse though), also have a nagging groin injury.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

76F, 94% and calm.  Back to LHR training, I think I can get over my injuries best this way and I need to do it anyway.  10.00 miles in 2:13:17, 13:20/mile, 121 bpm.  Pretty ugly, but it is a combination of heat, out of shape and running hard (for my current conditioning) on Saturday.  Should get better as the week progresses.  The groin was sore at first but the slow job loosened it up.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

76F, 90% and calm.  10.00 in 2:10:10, 13:01/mile, 122 bpm.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

76F, 97%, S 3 mph.  10.00 in 2:05:36, 12:34/mile, 121 bpm.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

75F, 96% and calm.  10.00 miles in 2:02:05, 12:12/mile, 122 bpm.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

73F, 95%, SW 2 mph.  10.00 in 1:59:12, 11:55/mile, 122 bpm.  So this week my average LHR pace dropped from 13:20 to 11:55, same distance every day, very similar temperatures, though this morning did feel a little cooler.  I guess if you don't stay out of shape for long it is easy to get a lot of it back.  That and finally acclimating myself to summer temps.  They hadn't really hit in early June when I stopped running.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.000.000.000.0016.00

75F, 97% (73 DP) and calm.  Huge thunderstorm here last night and the pavement was still boiling off this morning.  Other than the 10 for Texas run last fall in similar conditions, this was probably the warmest run I have had.  Out the door at 4:15 a.m. for 20, thinking I would try to hold it at 9 flat.  Last Saturday, first day out for a longer run, was 9:19.  This morning I got my first mile at 9:24, caught the 9:00 guy at mile 6 then everything else through mile 11 was 9:00 or below.  At this point I was suffering in the heat and decided to do 16 instead of 20, so as a result I picked up the pace -- it actually felt good for a while, then things got really grim:  Last 5 were 8:53, 8:42, 8:36, 8:19, stumbling in for mile 16 at 8:27.  Pretty beat but I recovered quickly throughout the day, foot feels OK and groin pull is gone.  Overall 8:52 average.  161 bpm and 186 max.  Same heart rate as last Saturday, but 27 seconds per mile faster, which confirms the LHR progression I was seeing this week. I have been taking my heart rate up regularly when not doing LHR runs and it feels like the right thing to do.  It isn't hard to do in the heat anyway.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

79F (74 DP), 84%, SW 5.  Hot dry wind from the southwest.  Short on time this week; ran 8.0 miles in 1:42:02, 12:46/mile, 121 bpm.  So quite a bit slower than I finished up last week before the long run, but faster than the beginning of last week after the previous long run.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.200.000.000.006.20

79F, 91% (76 DP), WSW 5 mph.  6.20 miles in 50:21, 8:07/mile, 164 bpm average, 187 max.  Started at 9:01 and finished at 7:40.  Another quick run and done day.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

74F (74 DP), 100% and calm.  10.00 in 1:27:18, 8:44/mile, 160 bpm, 178 max.  Took it a bit easier than yesterday, but still got in a 160+ heart rate run.  Again, was in a hurry to get to work, really hard to get in a 2-hour run when there are early appointments to be met.  Heading out of town tonight.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

TM run at a hotel in Tulsa, OK.  10.00 miles, starting out at 6 mph and ending at 9 mph.  Probably ran too hard but was in a hurry to get to a meeting.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Nothing today.  Flight from Tulsa got in a midnight last night and I need my beauty sleep.  Going long tomorrow.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.0020.00

73F, 93%, ENE 5 mph, 20 miles at 9:20 pace, heart rate about 152 average, hit 167 towards the end as I sped up.  I planned to do these at 9:00, but my Garmin has an error message on it and won't give me a clock/GPS readout.  Heart rate monitor worked fine, though, so I was able to judge my speed a little bit by heart rate and feel.  But at the end of the run I had come in slow.  Not that I wanted to do it any faster, probably just as good I didn't have a Garmin today, I would have outrun my fitness again like I did the last two weekends.  It has been a long time since I could string 20 miles together in one run, so the primary goal today was distance rather than speed.  Legs are sore but seem to be recovering quickly this afternoon.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

79F, 97%, DP 78F, SE 1 mph and clear.  Hotter than ever.  Don't see it getting cooler soon.  Usually there is a whiff a coolness in the morning, but it was muggy today even before starting.  Out at 5:00 a.m. for 10, LLHR, 12:43 average, 120 bpm average.  A bit faster than last Monday's run, with muggier conditions today, so I am continuing to progress a little bit.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

77F, 100%, 77DP and calm.  10.00 miles in 2:02:30, 12:15/mile, 121 bpm.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.220.000.000.0011.22

79F, 100% (79 DP, highest yet) and calm.  Ran 11.22 miles in 2:16:50, first 10 averaged 12:09/mile, but mile 12, if I had finished it, would have been close to 13, steady through 9, then big fade at the end.  121 bpm average.  Air was tot, humid and stale.  Changed clothes and went to the gym to lift.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

75F, 96% (74 DP), calm and crisp.  12.00 miles in 2:25:27.  First 10 in 2:00:10, 12:01/mile, 122 bpm average for the entire run.  Everything through mile 8 was under 12, then the pace dropped fast and mile 12 was 12:49.  This run is a slight improvement over yesterday, mostly attributable to the nicer running conditions, but happy to get it anyway.  My legs feel wasted from lifting weights yesterday and I assumed I would be slower today.  I am thinking that if I keep pushing the distance on the low heart rate stuff that I will improve faster at the bottom end of the training zone, rather than just waiting for it to come to me by running the same distance every day.  Won't be able to run these distances consistently, though, it takes too much time.

Out of curiosity I checked my LLHR entries from a year ago.  Interesting that during July my low heart rate runs were mostly faster than I am running right now, preceding a meltdown at the Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Wisconsin.  But right now I am running faster than I did in September, 2013, preceding SGM where I ran within 4 minutes of my PR and had energy to spare.  Also my long run heart rate/speed combinations are comparing favorably with last year at this time; hopefully that holds this Saturday.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.200.000.000.0012.20

75F, 96% and calm to start, 77F, 95% (75 DP) and W 3 mph at end.  Ran from 5:00 to 7:30 then did weights.  Low heart rate run, averaged 11:56/mile through 10, as good as anything else recently.  121 bpm average heart rate.  Was going to run 13 but my pace went to pot and I decided there was no more benefit.  Last 5 splits show the quick deterioration:  11:56, 12:11, 12:16, 12:55 and 12:53.  Finished with a vigorous weight session and I am tired.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.200.000.000.0016.20

80F, 91% (79 DP), SSW 8 mph.  Truly miserable, intended to do 20 at 9:00 pace, but did 16.20 at 9:13/mile, 155 bpm average, 169 max.  I got up very early because I have an 8:00 commitment.  So I needed to get out the door at 4:00, actually got out at 3:50, the last thing that went right.  Temperature was overwhelmingly warm, and my legs were still tired from lifting yesterday.  I huffed and puffed through a 9:35 first mile and I knew I was cooked.  I only broke 9 once and it was a fight the whole way, though I didn't fight that hard -- too dangerous to fight hard for 2+ hours in these conditions.  I kept fluids down well and heart rate was relatively controlled, which were a couple of good things.  This is one of those runs that you do it and forget about it, deposit made, no big deal.

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.250.000.000.0012.25

79F, 95% (77 DP), SW 4 mph.  Started at 4:26 a.m., did 5 miles at LLHR, 12:08/mile, 120 bpm, surprisingly good considering this is a Monday after a long run -- last Monday, almost identical conditions, was 12:43/mile; today probably would have been about 12:20 for the full 10.  Then met Wade and did 4 at long-run rate, low 9s and upper 8s, finishing with 3.25 more by myself, picking up the pace slightly -- 7.25 miles at 8:51/mile, starting at 9:27 and working down to 8:19, average heart rate 153 bpm, max 171.  Overall 12.25 in 2:04:51.  Good run.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

77F, 97% (76 DP) and calm.  My watch battery was low, so I clocked the run by my cell phone, averaged 12:21/mile with estimated water stops.  No idea what my heart rate was, but I felt like I was keeping it in the correct zone, maybe a little lower.  Followed with weights at the gym.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.810.000.000.0012.81

73F, 100% (73 DP).  Noticeably cooler this morning and my running showed it even though I did weights yesterday.  I did 12.81 miles, LLHR, 2:30:58, 11:47/mile, but the first 10 were at 11:36/mile, 19 seconds faster than my best time in recent weeks.  Mile 5 was 11:18 (throw it down!).  Average heart rate 122.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.000.000.000.0013.00

81F, 84% (75DP), S 3 mph.  Out at 4:25 for 13.  Legs tired to start and I thought I would only do 10, especially in light of the temperature, but things got better and I stuck it out.  13.00 in 2:34:44, 121 bpm.  First 10 at 11:43/mile, slightly slower than yesterday but hotter today.  Last two were at almost exactly the same speed (12:29 and 12:51) as yesterday.  Then lifting at the gym.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
269.880.000.000.00269.88
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