For Whom the Dogs Bark

May 06, 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, Sep 03, 2011

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
20.15	0.00	0.00	0.00	20.15

77F, 71%, NNW 5 mph. Definitely better weather today, just having the wind from the north was a nice touch I thought. Tuesday morning is forecast at 59F, but I'll believe it when I see it. Two weeks ago I tried to do 19 miles at 8:00 per mile and ended up with16 at 8:22. At the time I thought if I could go to 8:10 and then 8:00, I would be setting myself up for a good race in St. George. So that meant today's goal was 8:10 for 19 miles. Two weeks ago it was 80F and 80%, so today was better weather, but still a bona fide run in the heat.

I took EFS and set out two water bottles, then warmed up for 1.15 miles with the clock off. Took one last drink, turned on my Garmin and set off on my 5K lap. I stopped briefly after each lap to take a drink, and EFS every other lap, 6 laps in all. I started out at 8:29, but overall the first three laps were a breeze, even hit some sub-8s on some of the splits. I kept my heart rate at or under 160 through the first 10 miles. Right at the beginning of my fourth lap the lap counter on my Garmin filled up, so I had to stand there in the dark (alone) and figure out how to clear it. By the end of the fourth lap I was feeling it, but my heart rate was still under 170, and I was still able to hit 8 flat whenever I wanted to. I hit 8:00 for miles 17, 18 and 19, and overall pace was 8:08 (maxHR 181), so I beat my goal by 2 seconds and I beat my previous run by 14 seconds, so I was happy about this one. When I got to 19 miles I stopped, not one step further, and walked it in. In two weeks I plan to try it again and see if I can beat 8. If I can do that, I think I will have a realistic chance of getting a 3:30 at St. George even if temps are higher than average like they were last year.

After this marathon I am going to switch to something besides EFS. I like the fact that I get calories, electrolytes and amino acids out of it, but I don't like the taste and my stomach is not a fan either. I am getting through my runs on it, but somebody ought to figure out something that does the same thing and is a little more pleasant.

Comments

From Rye on Sat, Sep 03, 2011 at 11:37:10 from 70.58.163.66

Nice run flat! Seems like you are right were you need to be for STGM.

From derhammer on Sat, Sep 03, 2011 at 11:48:37 from 70.113.125.159

Nice run! I hate when the lap counter fills up - always at the worse moment, too.

I found EFS too syrupy for my tastes. Like you said, it seems to have great ingredients, but if it tastes bad it kind of defeats the purpose.

Looks like you are ready for the marathon!

From SlowJoe on Sat, Sep 03, 2011 at 12:36:22 from 75.109.104.60

Yep, that is still certifiably hot, so very nice run. Looking good for St George.

Have you ever tried the powder mix Gatorade instead of the bottled? Instead of high-fructose corn syrup, the carbs come from regular sugar. My wife can tolerate the powder, but not the bottled.

From seeaprilrun on Sun, Sep 04, 2011 at 00:58:11 from 205.172.12.230

Good run and ended well! The cooler temps are helping, and SG will surely be cooler! I thin your 3:30 will be easily attainable.

From allie on Sun, Sep 04, 2011 at 01:16:27 from 24.10.191.18

great run today. have you ever tried emergen-c?

From flatlander on Sun, Sep 04, 2011 at 08:06:30 from 76.31.26.153

Rye, thanks, I hope so, but still gotta run the race, until then it means nothing.

DH, what are you using these days? I recall you mentioning something.

Joe, I have heard that as well. I would have to carry a hand-held to make it work, and re-mix halfway through, but it might be worth it.

April, thanks. BTW, it is really encouraging how you have St. George lined up in your gunsights right now.

Allie, that looks like it tastes good and has all the electrolytes and other supplements you need. Do you supplement it with something else for fuel/calories?

From derhammer on Sun, Sep 04, 2011 at 10:17:31 from 70.113.125.159

Hey Flat,

For my Iowa marathon I went back to GU (Roctane) and the Power Bar gels. On long runs I will have one or two of either. I found that taking with water and swishing it around before swallowing helps break it down faster and it goes down easier.

From allie on Sun, Sep 04, 2011 at 11:05:56 from 24.10.191.18

normally i just mix it with a little water and it's fine. last year for a marathon i added some honey so that if offered more fuel. i consider myself to have one of the most sensitive stomachs on the planet, and this combination has never given me trouble.

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