For Whom the Dogs Bark

April 29, 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, Oct 05, 2011

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
4.14	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.14

55F, 94% and calm. Too bad I am in recovery mode, pretty superior weather this morning and it won't last. Ran 4.14 in 40:45, average pace 9:51, LHR. I feel fine, but my legs are definitely in recovery mode, it was difficult to maintain a 10-minute average and keep my heart rate down. I am going to pace Wade in a big 10-mile race this Saturday. It might be difficult to keep up, he ran the last half of a long run at 7:50 pace on Saturday. He has started running every day and thrives in the cooler temperatures. Just another Wyoming guy.

Some post-marathon thoughts:

1. I ran 19 miles at 7:56 per mile two weeks before the marathon, under more difficult conditions (73F, 93%) than the marathon (67F to 81F, low humidity), 8:02 per mile. I can only conclude that for a sea-level runner, going to altitude creates enough extra stress on body systems to more than compensate for the significant net downhill.

2. I understand that there are statistics showing SGM is 5 minutes faster than a flat sea-level marathon, i.e., it is an "aided" course. I think they are probably pretty good statistics. But I also believe that a sea-level runner going to altitude gives up a lot, more than an altitude runner gains by going to sea level. Having now run 3 non-disaster marathons at altitude and 4 at sea level (in addition to 1 disaster marathon at altitude and 2 at sea level), I think my own experience bears that theory out.

3. Can't say enough about the organization and friendliness of the SGM volunteers. The folks who helped me at the finish line were angels, and very competent ones at that. I will always remember their kindness.

4. No more whining about being old. Sorry about that. I am now mentally refreshed and ready to keep chasing my 7:30/min GMP.

5. Wish I had taken out that tarantula.

Comments

From Rye on Wed, Oct 05, 2011 at 21:48:06 from 174.27.109.71

Flat.... interesting observations... I believe that they all could be answered by living out here in the good old west! In particular, Idaho. All except #4.. We whine with the best of them.

From I Just Run on Wed, Oct 05, 2011 at 22:15:21 from 71.41.149.142

Hey Flat,

It's good to see you're back. The Blog just isn't the same without you :-) Glad you're recovering well and have put those negative thoughts behind you.

About that trantula, I had a pet one for about three years. He died about six months ago and I got another one. He only lived about a month. Now I'm looking for my third one. They make great pets. Oh, and if you talk to Joe tell him you'll never have a $600 vet bill on a trantula!

From JG on Wed, Oct 05, 2011 at 22:55:40 from 71.59.27.33

Nice shake out run Flat. Interesting observations, I think both downhill & elevation affect different runners differently. I seem to gain a lot of speed at a similar effort with downhill, and although I don't live at elevation either, I did not seem to notice it the 2 times I did St.George. St. george is a great race, most find it fast while others struggle with all that downhill ... either way, it is an exhilarating race, and I hope to get back to do it soon!

From flatlander on Thu, Oct 06, 2011 at 13:05:45 from 198.207.244.102

Rye, Idaho is the best, can't disagree with that.

IJR, shoulda known! Can't say anything without stepping on somebody. Now that I know you are a tarantula lover I'll be more circumspect. But he was running across the road in front of hundreds of runners like he owned the place. I'm betting he didn't make it.

JG, thanks, couldn't agree more about St. George. I have yet to run it in great shape and great temperatures, so maybe with that combination the course at least wouldn't be slower.

From I Just Run on Thu, Oct 06, 2011 at 15:29:34 from 67.79.11.242

I bet that trantula family lived there way before the road was built :-) So yes he probably does own the road. I'll have to get with a good lawyer to straighten this out!

From seeaprilrun on Thu, Oct 06, 2011 at 22:25:19 from 205.172.12.229

Interesting theories on altitude vs sea level vs downhill etc.. This is the only marathon I've done at altitude coming from sea level, and I don't believe I noticed the altitude, or it didn't seem to affect me much. However, my aerospace engineer friend says that heat training is really quite equivalent to altitude in some ways, so maybe this nasty hot summer helped me out. I'm still not sure! I need more experience I guess on different courses!

From flatlander on Thu, Oct 06, 2011 at 22:26:50 from 198.207.244.102

Yep, your run for the ages is ruining my theory.

From SlowJoe on Thu, Oct 06, 2011 at 22:44:30 from 75.109.104.60

I think we can all agree that April is just a freak of nature, or some kind of super-human runner-bot. Thus your theory is intact.

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