For Whom the Dogs Bark

April 27, 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

Wed, Jul 21, 2010

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
6.65	0.00	4.00	0.00	10.65

79F, 92% humidity, wind NE 2 mph, clear. Very nice morning for running. Went 10.65 miles in 1:43:32, average pace 9:43 per mile, regular shoes. Ran three miles warmup at about 10:45 per mile, then 2X3200 with 2 miles jogging between, then another 1.65 cooldown. The splits for the 4 threshold miles (2 sets of 2) were 7:27 (162) and 7:23 (174), then 7:44 (169) and 7:37 (180), average 7:33 compared to a goal of 7:30. So it seems like I almost made it but my second set was way slower, just no more gas in the tank, so I am not yet declaring victory. Heart rate hit 184 at the end of the last mile, so it was more VO2 max than threshold level. That is OK, but it shows that I don't quite have this speed under control yet. One of these days I will go to a track and figure out what my max heart rate is. Seems ridiculous that I still don't know. I think it is 190 but I am not sure. I wonder if it is possible to raise one's maximum heart rate. I have read that the max goes down as you get more fit, but that doesn't really make sense to me. Another good thing is that my legs feel fine, actually better than the noodles I was walking around on after getting off the elliptical machine last night. This was a good run for me, pushed through some significant fatigue. I may lower my wimp factor from 10 to 9, unless I get major objections, at which point I will scurry back into my cave.

The advertisement on my "Add Entry" page this morning says "Start a Soda/Snack Vending Business". This is a running blog, right?

Comments

From KP on Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 10:10:31 from 65.208.22.26

sweet times on those speedy miles!

From SlowJoe on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 11:03:24 from 84.11.148.246

I agree, great workout. You definitely can't be accused of wimpiness, hitting that 184 bpm.

From flatlander on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 13:57:09 from 198.207.244.102

Thanks guys. I saw a guy this morning obviously pushing pretty hard, but he didn't seem to be going that fast. Then I realized he was probably beating my 7s from yesterday.

From derhammer on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 17:18:20 from 65.67.40.73

Hey there,

Heart rate is pretty much genetic and cannot be "raised" and, in fact, your ceiling will come down a few BPM with age. Max HR really does not matter anyway - it is the efficiency that matters. What I mean is that over time you will be able to run faster at the same HR as your fitness improves. Lactate threshold, VO2Max, running economy, etc. call all be improved. You are stuck with your Max HR though. Living in Houston you should have some type of V02Max testing available. Up here the University of Texas offers it to the public. They will do body fat, max HR, blood lactate test (by pricking your ear lobe and testing your blood at various speeds) max speed, VO2max, etc. I think the cost is $110 or so. It is well worth it.

http://www.edb.utexas.edu/fit/aerobicfit.php

Nice reading as well: http://www.edb.utexas.edu/fit/runningaf.php

Hey, another excuse to come up to Austin!

From flatlander on Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 12:30:48 from 198.207.244.102

Thanks derhammer. I have intended to go get tested for a while, just never made it. There must be a similar lab here in Houston somewhere. I do want to come to Austin and take a dip in Barton Springs, though.

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