For Whom the Dogs Bark

August 2015

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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
199.4018.3214.100.00231.82
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.0020.00

75F, 76% (DP 67F), calm to start; 82F, 62% (DP 68F), NE 6 mph at the end. A rare good weather day for this time of year, and I could immediately feel the difference. I began late, and started at a 9:15 pace; I had an overall pace just under 8:30 at the halfway point, finished up in 2:47:33, 8:22/mile overall, so I ran 8:14 the second half. It felt cool even though it was 75 degrees. Took water at 10.5, 12.5 and 16. Average heart rate for the run was 151 bpm, max 178. Heart rate for the first 10 was 143 average, didn't break 150 until mile 12. Speeding up to the finish, the heart rate got quite a bit higher -- last 3 miles were 168, 172 and 177. Was feeling pretty wasted at the end, but not terminal.

Went to the gym and did weights, medium session.  Squats got to me pretty good.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.500.000.000.0012.50

75F, 90% (DP 72F), calm. Still pretty reasonable weather, though not as cool as Saturday. The combination of a brisk long run followed by weights on Saturday kept me pretty stiff and sore through the weekend, and I was slower this morning, though my heart rate held up well throughout. 12.5 in 2:19:25, 11:09/mile, 120 bpm. All of the low heart rate running this summer is playing with my mind and I started thinking about ultras. Really have to suppress those kinds of thoughts. Honestly, if I had a choice between a 5-minute mile and a 20-hour 100-miler, I would take the former in a heartbeat. The problem is that the latter is more achievable.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.500.000.000.0012.50

76F, 92% (DP 74F), calm. Warming back up. Out very early for another 12.5 at LLHR, 2:19:08, 11:08/mile. Nothing much going on in this run, a bit irritated that I am slower this week. 

Saw an interesting McMillan article about tapering, which says some things I have always believed. The gist of his view is: two-week taper, not three; don't back off much in terms of time (10 - 20 minutes/dat first week, 20-30 minutes second week); don't back off at all in terms of frequency or intensity, maybe even up the intensity a little bit without actually going to race speed). He calls it peaking instead of tapering. My own view is that tapering probably works best in the three weeks after the race; my body at least needs the rest, but rest slows it down temporarily -- don't want to do that going into a race.

Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.500.000.000.0012.50

80F, 91% (DP 77F), SW 2 mph.  12.5 miles at LLHR, 11:05/mile.  Heart rate monitor went nuts, showing 200+ bpm at times.  It eventually settled down toward the end.  I think the battery is going out, hope that is all it is.  I don't know how to change the battery in this new watch I have.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.400.003.100.007.50

79F, 90% (DP 76F), calm.  Going nuts with the low heart rate stuff, so I ran some repeats this morning.  2 wu, then 5 x 1K:  7:28, 7:17, 7:22, 7:06, 7:23, maximum HR 183.  Jogged out the mile on each one.  Not a particularly good workout.  I hope all the slower times this week are attributable to temperatures, but not sure that is the case.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.500.000.000.0012.50

79F, 90% (DP 76F), calm.  Identical to yesterday.  Back to LLHR this morning, 12.5 miles at 11:11/mile.  HRM is still acting up, hard to get a good reading, but have been getting slower all week.  Usually I get faster as the week goes on.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.0020.00

79F, 89% (DP 76F), calm.  Out by 4:15 running my daily constitutional.  20.0 miles at 8:59 pace.  Not a good run.  Took water at 10.75 and 15.75, it wasn't enough, got dehydrated.  Have drunk about a half gallon of water since finishing and I am gradually getting back to normal, but chilled, etc.  So the week is done.  Not a good week but it is on the books.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.500.003.000.007.50

79F, 89% (DP 76F), calm.  Out for a quick workout this morning.  2 wu (9:22, 8:40, 8:25), then 3 fast miles, 7:46 (162), 7:19 (172) and 7:01 (181), heart rates are at the end of each mile, not averages.  Was glad to see the 7:01 after last week's average running.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.500.000.000.0012.50

77F, 95% (DP 76F), WSW 1 mph.  LLHR this morning, 7.5 miles at 11:00 pace.  Then a full stretching and weight session, which felt good.

PM:  5 downhill on TM, about 8:30 pace, starting to get ready for a half marathon in the first week of October, which is downhill at altitude.  Can't do anything about the altitude.

We hit 105F this afternoon, then a storm rolled in and the temperature dropped to 82F in about a half hour.  Raining again now, it has been a while and it is welcome.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.000.008.000.0010.00

77F, 95% (DP 75F), calm. It rained last night, so humidity was high at ground level - the steam effect - which adds an extra layer of misery over and above the metrics that show up in humidity and dew point measurements. Today was a scheduled workout. I was pretty beat up from weights and a second running session yesterday, so I figured I would warm up for 5 miles then do repeats. Repeats haven't gone all that well lately, which is probably why I should do them more, but I wasn't in the mood and I changed my mind on the fly. After 2 miles warmup (9:23, 8:37), I eased into an 8-mile tempo run: 7:56, 7:55, 7:45, 7:36, 7:40, 7:36, 7:39, 7:43. Overall 10.0 miles at 7:59/mile. Heart rate maxed out at 177, so things were under control. Pretty happy with this run, but I really hope the high-dew point workouts translate in to some dramatic improvements when I get to October. It does seem, though, like my one week on, one off plan for workouts this summer is working OK, on the fast side. I'm developing some stamina at higher heart rates, which is what I need for a strong HM attempt. However, my LLHR runs have slowed down throughout the summer, though not dramatically -- I think base running needs to be more consistent and uninterrupted than what I have been doing.  

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

On the TM at the gym, Got up and it was 82F outside, two hours before sunrise, with lightning on the horizon, so I immediately threw in the towell.  10.0 starting at 10:00 pace down to 7:40 pace. Finished with a desultory weight session.

Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

79F, 83% (DP 74F), no measured wind.  Kind of in a hurry, had to get downtown for a 7:30 breakfast, so did 6 LLHR, 120 bpm average, 11:00/mile.  Intended to do some TM work later on but it never happened.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.0020.00

76F, 90% (DP 73F), calm.  Intended to do only 10 or 15, but was feeling good and pushed through to the standard long-run distance.  20.0 miles in 2:49:29, 8:28/mile, 151 bpm average heart rate, 167 max.  Legs were kind of sore and choppy, but heart rate stayed quite low throughout.  The lower dew point seemed to help a lot.

Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

78F, 90% (DP 75F), calm.  Did not run yesterday due to work conflicts.  Slept only 4 hours last night, but got up anyway and went out for 10, at long-run pace, nothing special.  8:56/mile for the run, but heart rate was staying remarkably low.  138 bpm overall for the run. I sped up to 8:11 and 8:31 to get my average below 9 for the run, but even then it didn't go over 150 or so.  Still tired from lack of sleep, though.

Wade is back in town briefly, we were going to run yesterday, then I couldn't make it. Turns out he didn't either because his mother passed -- she had been ailing for a while. So we talked a lot. My mother passed three years ago under similar conditions, on the day of the Boston marathon. I had already cancelled the trip for other reasons, but was glad I was not running that day. Circle of life things -- we blessed my newest grandson in church on Sunday and got a 4-generation picture:  grandson, daughter, me and my dad.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

80F, 90% (DP 77F), calm.  Running LLHR this morning, figured it would be a mess and I would bail to a regular speed later in the run, but heart rate held fine, so I finished the whole run at 121 bpm average.  1:45:10 for 10 miles, 10:31/mile average, fastest LLHR run in quite a while despite the ridiculous temperatures.  Met up with Wade again -- he is probably going to run Susanville with me on October 10, then we climb Boundary Peak and Mt. Whitney.  Should be a stellar weekend.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

77F, 100% (DP 77F), NE 1 mph.  Trying to rain but never got going.  Not quite as fast today, but still got in a good 10 at LLHR.  1:46:04 for the run, 10:37/mile.  Missed Wade this morning; he slept in and is headed to Utah for his mother's funeral, won't be back until after I have already left for Dubai, so we won't be running together for 3 more weeks at least.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.0020.00

77F, 96% (DP 75F), easterly breeze at 4:35 a.m. The dew point actually increased by 5 degrees during the run, to 80F. I have never seen that before. Even now in the middle of the afternoon it is still 77DP.  20.0 miles in 2:51:24, 8:34/mile. I was holding right at 8:30 for the first 10, planning to drop the pace by at least some, then mile 10 came in around 8:46 and everything went to pot. This must have happened right as the dew point was changing, because I just wasn't getting the same result out of the same effort. Didn't want to dig too hard for fear of not finishing. On top of all that, the heart rate monitor started fading the last 5 miles or so, it was showing in the 120 bpm range, which is simply not accurate at the end of a long effort in the humidity.

On to hotel TMs for the next two weeks. This is going to be a challenge to continue making progress. There may be a way to suck it up and run outside though -- maybe by the time I come back Houston will seem cool.  Current forecast for Dubai:  108H, 95L; quite a bit cooler than earlier in the summer when I last ran there, and not so much humidity.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0012.120.000.0012.12

TM at the hotel in Dubai, two sessions.  First one 8.5 km, starting out at about 10:00/mile pace, winding down to about 7:15 pace.  Second one 11 km, starting out the same but a little more aggressive, winding down to about 6:55.  So I'm calling them MP miles, but they are really all over the map.  I didn't wear a HR monitor, but I was breathing pretty hard at the end.  Schedule is very hectic this week.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.006.200.000.006.20

More hotel TM miles, 10K, finishing up at 6:40 pace, but averaging about 7:15 or 7:20/mile.  That's it for the week.  Next week is Cairo.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
199.4018.3214.100.00231.82
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