For Whom the Dogs Bark

Week starting Apr 03, 2011

Previous WeekRecent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesFlatlander's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageMonth ViewYear View
Graph View
Next Week
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2009201020112012201320142015201620172018
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

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.

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
50.4516.800.000.0067.25
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.013.000.000.008.01

On treadmill at hotel.  Went to meetings all day, then caught an hour before dinner, so did a quick 8 on the TM.  Was going to do LHR, but decided I didn't have time, so did one at 6 mph, 3 at 7 mph, 3 at 8 mph and one cool-down.  Took about 68 minutes, TM did not like me going past an hour; it would slow down to 4.5 mph every minute and I had to speed it back up, like a car with a bad engine, but I finally finished.

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.850.000.000.0012.85

40F, 60%, NW 3 mph.  Yesterday there was a hot, 35 mph wind all day, which contributed to my treadmill decision last night.  Today I got up on time but didn't really know what to do.  Looked at the computer and it showed 40F outside, almost drove me to the TM again since I had no long-sleeves or gloves, but decided not to waste the day and I'm glad I didn't.  I ran outside and it was magical.  With low humidity it wasn't cold, just ran at low heart rate and explored.  Lots of hills, since this hotel is in the Texas hill country, but I just went up and down for over two hours.  Kept a very low heart rate the whole time (less than 125) except for a few of the steeper hills.  All of my splits were in the 10:10 to 10:30 range, very slow but got the job done.  Back in Houston now.  We have cooler temperatures here in the morning, then back to 70+ for the remainder of the week at least, probably longer.  Hopefully I can get a good run in the morning since it may be my last chance for a while.

Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.076.000.000.0012.07

47F, 87%, SE 1 mph, clear and crisp.  This will undoubtedly be the best running day until November, plus I had no seminary run, so I did it uninterrupted.  I toyed with the idea of taking advantage of the ideal conditions by running to failure, such as 15 miles at GMP, but decided to be a bit more prudent, save something for the rest of the week.  So I ran 3 at LHR, 1 transition, then 6 at GMP and 2 cooldown at about 10 flat.  Altogether 12.07 miles in 1:43:02, overall pace 8:32 per mile, flat shoes.  The GMP miles were 7:30 (157), 7:29 (161), 7:23 (165), 7:28 (167), 7:28 (168) and 7:21 (170).  Truth is my fast miles felt awkward, never was able to get into a smooth rhythm and the higher heart rates show it.  But I got it done and lived to run another day.  I am wondering whether I should be doing these faster.  For a 7:30 MP target, tempo runs should be in the high 6s to low 7s, but on the other hand tempo runs are not recommended for every day.  I am trying to run these daily in order to acclimate myself to the pace -- unusual I know, but maybe it is OK to stay at 7:30, have to think about it and see how my legs feel later today.

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.344.000.000.007.34

64F, 88%, SSE 5 mph, cloudy and getting ready to do something.  Started early this morning, two warmup, 4 at GMP, 7:39 (157), 7:24 (161), 7:21 (167) and 7:21 (171), then cooldown.  I woke up with a cramp in my right hamstring and my legs felt sluggish from the start, but by the end of the fast laps I was feeling more in the groove.  The good thing is no specific injuries at the moment, just general aches and pains from training at a high percentage of capacity.  My heart rate was high from the beginning as well but not high enough to slow me down on a short run like this.  I am hoping to get some hill work in tonight on the treadmill, time to start doing that.  Overall 7.34 miles in 1:01:29, average pace 8:22 per mile, flat shoes.

Comments(7)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.353.800.000.0016.15

72F, 88% SSE 6 mph, cloudy but doin' nothin.  Good morning for losing weight while you run.  Got up very early and ran 9 slow before the seminary run, then came back and warmed up for 2 more, then tried to do 4 GMP miles, pulled up at 3.8 because my right hamstring started to hurt, same spot as it cramped yesterday morning.  Discretion over valor, live to run another day, etc., etc.  The 3 I did do were 7:39 (161), 7:31 (168) and 7:27 (174), don't know the pace on the 0.8 split.  1.35 cooldown.  I was hitting 180 bpm on the 4th one before I pulled up, heat and accumulation of fast miles this week are starting to take their toll.  I now know what my long run is going to be like tomorrow: slow.  It isn't too bad doing miles at this pace periodically, but it is a different feel to do them every day.  If I manage to pull off a marathon at this pace I will feel like I have earned it -- this is hard work.

Overall 16.15 miles in 2:34:17, average pace 9:33 per mile, flat shoes.

My biker friend (he is out there every morning and we exchange greetings every 6 months) found a biker buddy this morning, so I guess it is over for us.  But I know he'll come back when he gets tired of the new guy.

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.830.000.000.0010.83

72F, 82%, SSE 7 mph.  Almost identical day to yesterday, except that I got 8 hours of sleep.  Woke up late and headed out for a quick long run in time to get back for the big day with my granddaughters.  The older one was already up, agenda ready, by the time I got back.  10.83 miles in 1:48:34, average pace 10:01 per mile, low heart rate.  I compared this run to the low heart rate part of yesterday's run and I think the only variable is the amount of sleep I got.  Full 8 hours for this one, about 5 hours for Friday's run.  Here is the comparison:

Mile

04.08.11

72°, 88%

04.09.11

72°, 82%

1

10:49

(123)

10:59

(118)

2

10:06

(127)

9:50

(127)

3

10:09

(128)

9:42

(131)

4

10:09

(129)

9:37

(131)

5

10:14

(128)

10:08

(131)

6

10:06

(130)

9:56

(131)

7

10:15

(130)

9:52

(132)

8

10:17

(130)

9:56

(132)

9

10:13

(132)

10:02

(132)

Average

10:13

10:00

 I recall feeling refreshed at the Richmond Marathon when I woke up late and strolled to the starting line about 10 minutes before the gun.  There must be something to this sleep thing.

I intended to get on the treadmill later in the day and start my hill climbing sessions, but I had other things to do today.  If you don't get it done first thing in the morning it probably won't get done.  Here is a partial record of the day's busy activities in the strawberry patch and other locations:

So that's my excuse.  Happy weekend all.

Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
50.4516.800.000.0067.25
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: