For Whom the Dogs Bark

May 03, 2024

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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

Sat, May 21, 2011

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
3.21	12.67	0.00	0.00	15.88

72F, 84%, E 5mph. Weather is a little bit relaxed from yesterday. We left the house at 6:30 this morning for a family trip to Temple (granddaughter's first dance recital), so had to get out the door at 4:00 to do this run. I warmed up for 1.25 then picked out a loop which I thought was pretty close to two miles and did it 7 times. My Garmin was out this morning, so I ran according to my cell phone, started the fast miles right as the minute changed, ran completely by feel and finished the 7th loop right as the minutes changed again. Subtracting 35 seconds for two drink stops (yes, I counted off the seconds), total running time was 1:37:25, or 7:41 per mile.

I was confused all day about how far I had run, and what my pace was. According to a Google Earth application I pulled up on the computer before we left for Temple, the loop was 1.97 miles, I won't even write down how fast that is except to say I had a pretty high opinion of my running speed all day. When we finally got home late Saturday night I had the Garmin working again, so took it out and ran the loop. 1.81 miles, a very different distance. Based on how I felt when running, the 7:41 pace is about right, however, so I think that is the right number. Bottom line, 7:30 per mile for UVM is still a very optimistic goal. I will get a little bump from (i) the downhill course (less so because of altitude), (ii) cooler temperatures, (iii) taper and (iv) slightly lighter shoes. On the other hand, I have to run more than twice the distance I ran this morning, and I will be running on minimal sleep due to flight schedules.

Comments

From SlowJoe on Sun, May 22, 2011 at 16:03:02 from 184.79.24.255

Nice run...wow, 4am. I think the cooler temperatures will be what gets you there at UVM. It will be interesting, the elevation and downhill may almost cancel each other rout, but you'll have fresh legs and cool temps -- I bet you'll feel like a totally different runner.

From JG on Sun, May 22, 2011 at 18:26:18 from 74.176.224.60

Nice run ... looking good for UVM! 10 -15 sec/mile is nothing when you throw in some downhill & cooler temps ... and a little adrenaline pumping to help you maintain for the distance.

From Dan on Sun, May 22, 2011 at 19:13:02 from 24.209.83.20

I agree- UVM is looking good for you- nice job!

From PRE on Mon, May 23, 2011 at 07:31:42 from 99.50.214.225

Hey flatlander,

I responded to your post at my blog site (little late responding which is why I am telling you here). Also...what is the race you are referring to here(UVM)? Is it an Ultra? When is it?

From lightitup on Mon, May 23, 2011 at 11:01:38 from 67.5.108.176

Ultra Violent Manathon? aka careening down the mountain at Utah Valley Marathon

From I Just Run on Mon, May 23, 2011 at 11:04:45 from 67.79.11.242

I don't think the sleep thing is going to bother you at all for the UVM. It seems you are conditioning youself well for that part of the run... Getting up at 4:00 am ... Man, I call that dedication...!

From flatlander on Mon, May 23, 2011 at 21:34:41 from 207.88.181.2

SJ, I figured out last year, based on speed at a given heart rate, that altitude combined with cool weather and downhill is slightly faster than level running in the heat and humidity at sea level. I also looked up some pre-UVM workouts from last year and it appears I am closer to goal pace this year. Of course, last year I missed it goal pace by 25 seconds per mile!

JG and Dan, thanks, I sure hope so.

PRE, thanks, I'll go over there and check it. As my ever-helpful sister said, UVM means Utah Valley Marathon. It is a net-downhill course coming down the canyon into Provo, Utah.

E, that sounds hard on the knees.

IJR, didn't think of it that way, but you make a good point. I like the idea of sleep, just don't seem to do it as much as I used to.

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