For Whom the Dogs Bark

61F, 100%, SSW 7 mph.  A system is moving in but still warm for a few days.  Woke up with a raw throat but ran anyway.  23.00 miles in 3:25:33, 8:56/mile, 146 bpm, 159 max.  Last 4:  8:53 (154), 8:55 (154), 8:43 (157) and 8:53 (156).  Pretty good run and I felt fine until the endorphins wore off mid-afternoon, at which point I declined rapidly into full cold/flu mode and have been there all week; no more running, which has been most inconvenient since this was to be a major miles week.  Pretty much the whole family got it.  It is now Friday and I am hoping to get out in the morning to assess the damage.

33F (24 WC), 87%, N 12 mph.  After being doped up all week, today was the day to get out and test the endorphin theory.  Haven't really slept much with this flu, which has been particularly vile and persistent.  But I got out despite the cold weather because I couldn't really wait much longer if I am going to race in 3-1/2 weeks.  Fully dressed for battle, the run still felt very strange.  I planned three 2.5 mile laps plus a couple of detours to get to 8, and I was ready to quit after the first one.  Not because I was tired, either in my legs or aerobically, but because I was sick.  But I decided to try one more loop and by the time I came around to the start line I was picking up the pace and never considered quitting.  I still felt odd -- I have been on Nyquil, Ibuprofen and Benadryl this week, just to make it through the nights.  Ibuprofen has the fewest side effects, but I don't like to use it too much just because it is so effective for me; want to save it for when I really need it.  So last night I took a half-dose of Benadryl to see if it would get me some sleep.  Didn't seem to help much and I had a headache and a metal taste in my mouth this morning and throughout the run -- then coughed and hacked on my congestion the whole time.  But for cardio and legs the run was fine.  I didn't take a watch, then wished I had.  An honest guess is 8:30 pace, though I think I was considerably faster than that by the end; even so I never felt like I was pushing the needle at all.  It was like I had been tapering all week.  On an endorphin high now and I feel the best I have felt since before I got sick, practically normal.

44F, 99%, NE 7 mph, moderately dense fog throughout the run.  Has warmed up considerably from last week.  Originally planned to go long today, but I decided that I can be conservative and do my long runs later in the week and/or next week before starting another 10-day taper.  Not having a 3-week taper really helps adjust to contingencies such as this flu detour.  Slept just a little better but still not well, lots of drifting in and out and leftover fever dreams, which I won't share.

Got out the door at about 4:50 a.m. and ran 13.04 in 1:51:42, which is an 8:34 pace.  152 average heart rate, 168 max.  Last 4 were 8:31 (156), 8:30 (154), 8:13 (161) and 8:09 (166).  Was hoping I could get to 8:00 at a 165 heart rate for the last mile, but wasn't quite there.  I think I could have run a marathon today at an 8:25 pace, but I don't believe much faster, but still cutting myself some slack as I gradually shed these flu toxins.  I felt a little heavier too, which if true is not good.  I wish I had run with a watch on Saturday so that I could compare heart rates to see if there is movement in a positive direction.

33F (26 WC), 85%, NNW 9 mph.  Really cold this morning for seal level conditions.  Bundled all the way up and went out for a quick 10 at GMP.  That proved to be not doable, still recovering from the flu, or worn out or something.  Did 5.0 miles (plus wu/cd) in 39:47, 7:57/mile, then called it a day.  Splits were 8:14 (155), 8:06 (157), 8:00 (164), 7:41 (167) and 7:48 (170).  Could have gone another mile or two but it didn't seem smart.  My best hope for the upcoming race is to not get overtrained.

39F, 90%, N 3 mph.  LLHR run, 10.00 miles at 11:47 average pace, 121/126 bpm.  About a minute off my best pace at this heart rate -- this flu has really knocked me out.

45F, 80%, N. 15-20 mph.  Paced my daughter Jennifer in a half marathon in Temple, TX today.  The race didn't start until 8:45, so I got up early and drove from home, got to the start line about an hour early and met my daughter who had my race packet.  Warmed up with a couple of laps around the parking lot, then the race started.  Jennifer held a steady pace throughout the course, which was a short out, two loops of 6+ miles, then back.  Her goal was 8:15 to 8:20 per mile.  She held that until about mile 9, slowed down to the 8:25 to 8:35 range (she was getting tired and wanted to make sure she didn't bonk), then picked it up for the last 5K.  There was one stretch toward the end of the loop that was a long uphill into the wind, where I was able to make myself useful as a mobile wind break. Jennifer picked it up the last two miles, 8:08, 8:01 then a sub-7 sprint into the finish.  If I get tired during a race I never get my speed back, not sure how she does that.  She got a PR by 8 seconds, 1:48:30, 8:17 average pace.  I told her at the 12.5 mile point that if she held a 10-minute pace she would get her PR, but my math was way off, good thing she didn't listen to me.  I had general joint stiffness for much of the day, otherwise felt fine.  We met another father/daughter team at the beginning of the second lap and ran with them for 3 or 4 miles before they pulled away slightly, beating us by about 20-30 seconds.  Had a lot of fun and it appears I am finally leaving the flu behind, though I still have a persistent cough.  Originally this was going to be a goal race for me, but right now I will be lucky to have a good showing at the Kingwood marathon on New Years Day.  Not getting sick is as much a part of a successful training cycle as anything else -- I have failed this test a number of times, not sure how to prevent it.

30F, 95%, calm and sunny.  Nice weather, full moon followed by a bright sunrise, haven't seen one of those in a while.  But too cold to run very efficiently, too bundled up and too much energy expended trying to stay warm.  Went ahead with my schedule LLHR run, 10.00 miles in 1:59:33, 11:58/mile.  121 bpm, 127 max.

A couple of interesting things about Saturday's race, pacing my daughter.

• Only two runners from outside of Texas, out of 311 finishers -- this one was deep in the heart, as they say.
• Even though I started and finished almost even with my daughter, my official time is about 1.5 seconds slower.  I think I have finally figured out why the finish line has 2 mats:  The second one is there if the first one doesn't read your chip -- I am guessing that is what happened this time.
• My daughter finished 5th in the 25-29 age group, but her time would have won the 30-34 age group.

68F, 100%, S 6 mph.  The week has been pretty much wasted away.  Monday night I got food poisoning from a bad hamburger.  I never return to a restaurant that poisons me, just a petty little rule I have.  Then the next two nights, Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked until 2:00 a.m. on a deal that went bad at the end, got it straightened out but the running did not happen.  So today I got out for the second run of the week, planned to do 23 but there wasn't time, so did 10.46 miles at 8:55/mile, total time 1:33:18, 8:55/mile.  153 bpm average, 167 max.  With a marathon in 10 days this is pretty bad timing.  Last 4:  8:48 (160), 8:47 (159), 8:45 (162) and 8:35 (164).  I have had enough interruptions from flu, food poisoning and work that I have lost conditioning, I can feel it.

74F, 100% and raining.  This race is called 12K of Christmas, get it?  It is actually pretty well organized, good traffic control, precise course measurements and an on-time start.  My family advised me not to go to this race because of the weather.  My daughter Jennifer was signed up but decide not to go, which I certainly respected.  I promised that if there was lightning or thunder in the area I wouldn't run.  Wade, Linda and a couple of others drove down together for a 7:45 a.m. start.  It was raining steadily in Cypress where I live, but the race was in downtown Houston; it was raining to a certain extent at the start of the race, but out on the course it wasn't.  In any event, no lightning so I ran.

Really wasn't sure what I could do, turned out to be not much, especially in the heat.  I started with Wade but he pulled away after about 3 miles.  He is running every day now and it shows.  He hates hot weather but still got 7:16 per mile.  He basically hit the first one in about 7:30 and was low 7s the rest of the way.  He beat me by two minutes, the first time that has happened in several years, very happy for him.  My splits were 7:29 (139), 7:12 (176), 7:17 (181), 7:15 (183), 7:49 (183), 7:51 (184), 7:51 (185) and 7:27 (186), overall 7:31/mile, average 176 bpm, 189 max, so I almost maxed out.  Ironically, I won my age group by 5 minutes.  51st overall out of 697, 7.3% of the runners ahead of me.  This was a medium-sized holiday run, but not competitive, although at the top end it was all low 5s (for some reason all of the results are quoted in Ks, which I think is carrying the theme too far).

As soon as the race was over the rain started in earnest; we piled in the vehicle and headed out without picking up our awards.  On the way back I told Wade I was seriously considering pulling out of Kingwood, the fitness hill looks too tall to climb right now.  I am out of shape and worse I don't really feel like running right now.  He predicted I would not make good on my threat and he is probably going to be right.

34 F, 89%, N 10 mph.  I have decided to run two honest long runs this week and see how my legs respond.  Today was the first.  Out the door at 4:25 a.m. to run 23.00 miles in 3:28:33, 9:04/mile, 153 bpm, 172 max.  Ran the first half at a 9:20 pace and the second half at an 8:48 pace.  Last 4:  8:44 (163), 8:48 (164), 8:40 (160) an 8:32 (169).  Wade ran to my neighborhood and ran the middle third with me.  I picked up the pace when he came then sped up a little more for the final third.  These runs seem to divide more naturally into thirds than quarters, for some reason.  I felt generally OK, legs very sore but no conditioning reason I couldn't hold this pretty slow pace.  Plan was to do another one on Tuesday, but when I woke up Tuesday morning I could barely walk on my right foot.  I knew it would work itself out but didn't think it was smart to push anything, especially a potential injury, so I went back to bed and resolved to try again tomorrow.

36 F, 97%, NE 5 mph.  Slightly warmer than Monday though not much.  I went out in full battle gear, hit the road at 4:29 a.m.  By the end of the first loop I shed a shirt, after 3 loops I shed the long pants and after 7 loops I dropped the gloves, ending up in a single long-sleeved shirt and a beanie.  I'm getting used to the cold weather, seems like it has been under 40 or over 65 for a long time now.

This run went well; despite the madness of continuing a full training regimen so late in the cycle, I was stronger today than on Monday.  23.00 miles in 3:23:20, 8:53/mile an 11-second improvement at essentially the same average overall heart rate (154) but lower top end (164 max).  Last 4 were 8:40 (160), 8:43 (161), 8:29 (162) and 8:38 (162).  Finished an hour and a half before the rest of the household was ready to unwrap gifts.  Legs are not as sore as on Monday, and the run was not as difficult mentally or physically as on Monday, even though I got an assist from Wade then.

So that is it for long runs, don't dare press my luck.  If I'm feeling somewhat decent I think I will keep a regular training program going through the end of the week, maybe even some GMP miles, then a quick shakeout run on Monday and nothing on Tuesday.  That's my taper.  We'll see what happens.  The experiment of one continues out of necessity.

47F, 100%, N 5  mph, clear.  10.00 miles in 1:57:26, 11:45/mile, 121 bpm average, 129 max.  Legs didn't feel dead from yesterday, but slower than usual at this heart rate.

45F, 86%, N 2 mph.  Out for a shakeout run this morning, four days out.  Wore my racing shoes, good results, no chafing or blister problems, though I had to stop and tighten the laces so my socks wouldn't slide off my foot.  WU 2 miles, 9:26, 8:38, then 8 at slightly faster than GMP:  8:06 (155), 7:51 (158), 7:51 (159), 7:51 (162), 7:46 (163), 7:43 (165), 7:39 (166) and 7:44 (167), average 7:49 (162).  CD 0.48 miles to my front door.  Overall 10.48 miles in 1:25:09, 8:07/mile, 155 bpm, 169 max.  It felt pretty sustainable was happy about the relatively controlled heart rate, but the proof is at mile 18, not mile 10.  Race day is looking like low 40s, but 70% chance of rain, the only day on either side that has rain in the forecast.  If the trail isn't covered with puddles I'll be OK, otherwise it might be a repeat of last year, hate running with wet feet.

39F, 76%, NW 5-15, partly cloudy.  5.39 miles in 42:58, 7:58/mile, 157 bpm, 171 max.  Individual splits:  9:07 (141), 8:03 (154), 7:43 (160), 7:38 (165), 7:29 (168) and 7:41 (168).  Not really bothering to carb load today, just making sure I eat plenty of rice and bread.  I don't have any carb powder left and not inclined to get any.  Work is busy, hope everything comes together.  I feel good, but heart rate was a little high this morning.  Weather forecast is already looking better, cooler and drier -- whatever it is, will be.

This was the last run of a pretty difficult year, but I had one unexpectedly good race, SGM, and could potentially get another one on Wednesday if I feel good and don't go out too fast.  I think I'll run with my watch in my pocket.  I'll have a clocked time every lap, that is good enough.