For Whom the Dogs Bark

72F, 94% (DP 70F) and calm.  A storm moved through last night and it was significantly cooler this morning.  Wade and I were giddy, like we had gotten away with something.  10.0 in 1:44:57, 10:30/mile, 120 bpm.  Mile 9 was 10:13, mile 10 was 10:48, so that is where I finally broke.  Same pattern on my other runs this week; I think it means I am improving my aerobic longevity, because this used to happen after mile 7.

82F, 85% (DP 77F), calm.  Late start after not running yesterday due to work schedule.  10.0 in 1:49:39, 10:58/mile, 122 bpm.  Finished with heavy weight session.

PM:  3.5 on TM.  Legs were dead, had to quit early.

79F, 92% (DP 76F), calm.  Very early start, then ran out of gas.  16.5 at 9:00/mile, last half mile at 9:41 pace, unbelievably.  I assume most of this relates to yesterday's weight session.  Have been dragging all day, even after taking a nap.  Have yet to get 20 at long-run speed post-Boston.  Not sure where I am at right now, which is disconcerting.  Just have to keep going and push through it.

We had about 40-50 people at the house for fireworks. My son-in-law is a Canadian who got his citizenship about the same time he got his pyrotechnician's license.  Most of the fireworks were off-the-shelf consumer grade.  But he made one out of gunpowder and coffee creamer.  It was my job to buy the gunpowder.  So I walked into Gander Mountain, a local outdoors store.  It was tough getting the right stuff since I didn't know what I needed.  I didn't want to say "my foreign friend is making a bomb for the 4th of July -- which brand of explosives would you recommend?"  I was saved by a couple of rednecks hanging around the self-loading area.  They got me hooked up and knew not to ask too many questions.  The fireworks were spectacular; some of them were good enough to probably be illegal.  But there is very little in this state that is actually against the law, other than driving slow in the left lane, for which a small but growing minority is advocating capital punishment.

80F, 91% (DP 78F) and calm, wind freshening during the run, thankfully, from the south. Decided to take an extra day yesterday, needed to work in any event. So this morning was 15.0 miles in 2:07:12, 8:29/mile, 154 bpm (171 max).  Decidedly better than Saturday, worked no harder and went 30 seconds/mile faster.  Actually, I worked a little harder this morning, as overall heart rate was 152 bpm on Saturday, with a 161 max, but legs felt much better from the beginning.  So the lesson learned is that a heavy weight session, which happened on Friday, does what it is supposed to do, makes the core tired and slows pace.  I almost quit at 10 so I would have time to do weights this morning, but I didn't want to waste a good running day.

81F, 87% (DP 77F), SE 5-15 mph.  Windy but slightly less humid.  10.0 in 1:23:11, 8:19/mile, 150 bpm, 162 max.  Pace yesterday through the first 10 was 8:34, which I was happy with, but today was 15 seconds faster at the same heart rate through 10 and essentially the same temperature (one degree higher, but DP one degree cooler).  Saturday's run appears to have been an outlier, which is great news.

76F, 94% (DP 74F), calm and clear.  Needed a quick workout this morning, so went out for 10 MP miles, 1:18:31, 7:52/mile and 154 bpm averages, right at Boston pace.  Last two splits were the best, 7:20 and 7:19, and highest heart rate was 180.  Good run, taking advantage of the cooler weather.

75F, 95%, (DP 74F), calm.  Low heart rate run today, reasonably strong @ 10:48/mile, 121 bpm.  Felt good to slow down.  Tomorrow is a long run, but not sure I want to go back to LLHR next week, have to think about that.

77F, 91% (DP 74F), calm. Woke up at 1:30, no kiddding, finally got up at 3:20 and actually spent some time reading before I left; underway at 4:07 a.m. Finally got all 20, a milestone for this summer, which has been hotter than average. 8:37/mile, 154 bpm (175 max). Almost everything was between 8:25 and 8:40, but my heart rate climbed in nearly a continuous straight line, from 135 to 175, was working pretty hard the last couple of miles. Water at 9.3 and 14.7. Not sure I could do this run at 8:20/mile right now, though I will probably try.

Vacuuming at the church afterward, I had to sit down in a pew at one point to rest, hunched over and totally weak. I felt like I will probably feel all the time in 20 years. I also felt like I needed a sermon, but it was Saturday morning.

78F, 92% (DP 75F), calm. Got quite a bit of rain late afternoon yesterday, so the pavement was still steamy. Ran 3 wu, but failed to turn on my watch until the start of mile 2. Then ran 5 at tempo speed, goal was 7:20 and I did it, not without difficulty: 7:20 (160), 7:20 (167), 7:21 (170), 7:05 (173), 7:35 (176). What's with the last one? 2 cd, overall 7:50 pace for the 9 I measured; then stretching and a vigorous weight session on tired legs.

77F, 92% (DP 74F), SSE 1 mph.  10 at LLHR, 11:03/mile, 119 bpm; not too bad after doing weights yesterday. With LLHR runs I can definitely track the recovery time off of weight sessions -- enough to know not to ever do weights the week of an important race.

77F, 90% (DP 74F) and calm.  More LLHR, abbrevated because of work.  6.0 miles at 10:47/mile, 120 bpm, so pace was 16 seconds faster than yesterday, 48 hours out from last weight session as oppose to 24.  Hoping to get some more miles in tonight after things calm down.

After reading Joe's blog today, I realized that my thinking on some of these issues is starting to coalesce around yet another running theory, which this, as the king of slow miles:  There is a certain speed at which you can run pretty much as long as you want each day, as many days in a row as you want, at steady-state level.  For me that is 122 bpm, right at the halfway point between my HRMax (193) and my resting heart rate (50).  Then there is another "cyclical" level, still not at workout speed, at which you can run heavy miles for a while, then you have to back off.  For me about 145-160 bpm, basically long-run speed.  Then "workouts" are mini-cyclical (for me 165-180 bpm), can't do them more than 2 days in a row, once in a while 3, without taking a good honest rest.  I think all three modes have an important role, but fitting them all in without bumping into each other is hard to figure out.  It might be impossible.  But the conclusion is, it's important to run when you are tired and it's mandatory to rest before you get too tired.

78F, 92% (DP 76F) and calm to start, 81F, 88% (DP 77F) and calm at the end.  12.0 in 2:11:29, 10:57/mile, 122 bpm.  First 6 were almost the same as yesterday, despite doing weights after the run, then the next 6 fell off dramatically:  10:45 on the first half, 11:09 on the second half.  It is amazing how many different runs there are at the same speed in the same soup.

At mile 3.5 I found two (2) five (5)-dollar bills soaking in the dew-filled grass at the curb, which is better than one 10-dollar bill any day.  This return represents about $0.00066 for every mile I have run (15,086 since joining this blog on October 3, 2009), which is unacceptable.

PM:  5 on TM at 9:20 pace, trying to keep my legs loose.  

78F, 91% (DP 75F) and calm.  Back out for another workout.  Goal was 7:15 pace for 5 miles, since I did 7:20 on Monday, but it wasn't to be. Probably too many miles yesterday.  Overall 1:20:34, 8:03/mile, average 159 bpm, max 182.  Warmed up 3, then 5 fast at 7:25 (161), 7:29 (169), 7:14 (174), 7:28 (177), 7:31 (179).  7:25 average, compared to 7:20 on Monday -- should have stopped running after Monday?

80F, 90% (DP 77F) SW 1 mph.  12.0 miles in 1:42:32, 8:33/mile, 149 bpm, 162 max.  Went out semi-quick, planned to do 17 but quit at 12 as it felt like mile 18 of a bad marathon, right when you know you are going to want to die in about a half an hour.  Decided instead to live another day.  It was weird, because my heart rate was behaving fine, it was just too hot and legs were too tired.  Have to keep reminding myself that I am not trying to peak right now.

79F, 91% (DP 76F), no wind.  LLHR, 1:49:50, 10:59/mile, 121 bpm, not a good run but that's the way it is on Mondays, not sure why.  I used to blame it on Saturday, but Saturday was an easy day this time around.  Just a Monday thing.  Wade is back in town for a week and a half, very good to have someone to talk to.

79F, 89% (DP 75F) and calm.  Supposed to continue to get hotter throughout the remainder of the month. Out very early, had to be done in time for a 6 o'clock call. LLHR again, 10 in 1:48:46, 10:53/mile, 121 bpm. Pretty average run, a little better than yesterday, which is typical for Tuesday. Finished with stretching and weights.

80F, 90% (DP 77F), calm.  More LLHR stuff, 10.0 in 1:46:09, 10:37/mile, 121 bpm. Legs were stiff and tight from weights, was quite surprised when the splits started coming in at the mid-10 range. At 6 miles I had a 10:32 average, but the heat finally started getting to me after that. Not too bad of a run today.

78F, 92% (DP 75F) and calm.  10 more LLHR.  I did a weight session last night which my son coached me through, could barely walk out of the gym.  So I figured a bad run this morning.  But even with pretty numb legs it went well.  1:45:11, 10:31/mile, 121 bpm.  Pace was 6 seconds better than yesterday, even though at the 7-mile mark I was 14 seconds behind yesterday's cumulative clock, so I gained 75 seconds against yesteray's clock in the last 3 miles.  A week like this makes me think my plan is actually working, but one data point doesn't make a trend.

79F, 90% (DP 75F), SSW 2 mph.  Another beautiful morning.  10 again, LLHR, but this time 10:54/mile (1:48:57), and 122 bpm, so not as good a run.  Not much sleep, which might be an explanation.  Finished with stretching and weights.

77F, 94% (DP 75F), calm.  15.0 in 2:10:12, 8:37/mile.  First 8 at 8:47/mile, last split was 7:58.  Average heart rate 148, max 172.  Planned on 20 but slept all the way to my alarm and I have grandkids here, so I quit early.  But felt great, good run, might have time for some TM miles later on during his nap.

Here he is, preparing for his nap:

81F, 91% (DP 78F), calm.  Was going to do a workout today but decided to do it tomorrow instead.  Wade didn't really want to chase me around the neighborhood at a low 7-minute pace anyway.  11.0 miles at 11:01/mile, 120 bpm average.  Not too bad for a Monday.

79F, 83% (DP 77F), calm.  Had to be at a 7:30 a.m. meeting an hour from the house, so a 4:00 a.m., short workout this morning.  2 wu, 9:12 and 8:33, then 5 tempo miles:  7:31 (151), 7:22 (164), 7:10 (169), 7:21 (173) and 7:34 (176), followed by 1.15 cd, 8:34 and 8:31.  Overall 8.15 miles in 1:04:23, 7:54/mile.

78F, 93% (DP 77F), calm.  Back to LLHR this morning.  It went relatively well, as it usually does the day after a workout.  Don't really know why.  11.20 miles in 2:01:18, 10:50/mile, 122 bpm.  Wade joined me for the middle 5 or 6.  Today is his last day for a couple of weeks.  He is going to be in Calgary tomorrow and I told him he should try a low heart rate run there and compare paces.  I'm thinking it will be quite a bit faster, even though there is a little bit of altitude there.

81F, 87% (DP 77F), still calm.  Didn't run yesterday because I had to be in the office by 5:00 a.m. to get ready for a speech.  The speech went well, running not so much.  But managed to get in the second workout of the week this morning, though it wasn't much.  6 x 1K at a moderately vigorous pace, which is about all I can do at these temperatures anyway.  1K splits were 7:27 (166), 7:13 (173), 7:39 (173), 7:26 (171), 7:27 (177).  10 miles altogether at overall 8:06 pace.

Wade ran in Calgary last night on a relatively hilly course and still got 20 seconds per mile faster than Cypress, at a 122 heart rate.  He ran it in late afternoon, 79F 30% humidity, so the only real difference was the humidity, plus he had a little bit of altitude (about 3,500').  I think when lower temperatures kick in I am going to see a 30 second boost for sea-level splits.

When I walked into my study this morning to check the readouts from my weather station, it announced a "blue moon", which is the second full moon in a calendar month.  

Never saw the actual moon until the end of the run, and it was yellow.