For Whom the Dogs Bark

Today was a big day, difficult to capture all of the flavor of this race.  The Texas Marathon is held on New Years Day every year in Kingwood, Texas, which is northeast of Houston.  It runs along a jogging parkway that leaves a community center and extends out to Lake Houston then back to the start.  The race is four laps, and even that is generous, as each “loop” is really an out and back with a small half-mile loop at the far end.  As a result many people pass on this race because they can’t fathom the mental stress of going out on the last out and back just as the bonk begins.  Nevertheless, in recent years this small race has sold out several months in advance.  About 2/3 of the 450 runners run the marathon and 1/3 run the half, which starts a few minutes later over the same course.  The course is mostly flat, my favorite kind.

Weather at the beginning was 42F and cloudy, with a 10 mph north wind that continued throughout the race.  By the end of the race the wind had blown out the clouds and it got sunny.  The forecast of 32 at race time never materialized, but it stayed cool enough throughout the race that temperatures were never a noticeable factor.

I decided to try for a 9:10 pace, which would put me at about 4 hours.  My other competing plan was 9:30 pace, which would put me at about 4:10.  While not out of the question, I knew that 9:10 was a long shot for me, but I decided to try it anyway for a couple of reasons.  This was a goal race but it was not going to be my Boston qualifier no matter how well things went, so I could afford to overextend myself and hopefully learn a lot more that way.  I also decided that I would be able to take my foot off the gas pedal and run slow if things started to fall apart.  Both assumptions turned out to be correct.

I drove to the course with a friend, my former bishop, who was running his first marathon.  He is more talented than I am but was apprehensive of what would happen after 20 miles.  I think it is good to be afraid of that.  He planned to run conservatively, opposite of me, planning to break 4 hours by a comfortable enough margin that he could still achieve it if the wheels fell off late in the race.  We discussed briefly running together for a couple of laps, but even with the differences in our approaches it was apparent that my aggressive strategy was still slower than his conservative plan.

The race is run on a walking trail, 4 abreast at best, so we edged our way up toward the front in order to avoid too much congestion at the start and lose 20 seconds in the first mile.  That worked well, I had to step around a few people but managed to get my first mile at 9:06.  My friend was long gone -- he ended up beating 4 hours by about 2 minutes, but I haven’t gotten the details from him yet.  The first couple of miles seemed a little hurried but I soon settled into a rhythm and the pace didn’t seem overly aggressive.  I noticed that my Garmin was measuring the course short (it is USATF certified and a Boston qualifier).  Before too many miles I was being greeted by runners coming back the other way.  Runners always have a high degree of sportsmanship, but I was amazed at the number of “nice bib number” type of compliments I was getting.  It wasn’t until halfway through the third lap that I realized the connection between bib number 262 and the marathon distance.  Boy did I feel dumb.  Even with my GPS measuring the course short, I was holding to a 9:10 pace or better through most of 3 laps without much trouble.  After two laps I had a 3-minute cushion on a 4-hour time.  Starting in the third lap it was harder to make the splits but I was still making them most of the time and had hopes through much of that lap for achieving 4 hours.  The first hint of trouble came at about mile 17 (last year’s bonk location) when I got a severe pain in my upper left groin.  I have never had any issues like that before and I was astounded at how debilitating it was.  I thought my race was over right there, but thankfully the pain subsided enough after a quarter of a mile that the overall effect on my time probably turned out to be minimal.   I knew Plan A wasn’t going to happen toward the end of the third lap when I popped a 9:27.  I “picked up the pace” and popped a 9:33.  I was hemorrhaging seconds at an alarming rate.  I kept going as best I could until halfway through the fourth lap but then intentionally slowed in order to be able to bring it in.  My pace ballooned to the 11s and the 12s.  I was hurting but I knew from a couple of my long runs that I could run through the pain.  I even picked up the pace a little bit in the last mile or two, hurting all the way but never getting worse.  A host of family and friends were there at the finish line and I’m telling you I was very emotional when I saw them. Here are my splits, without adjustment for measuring the course short: 9:07, 9:02, 9:20, 9:08, 9:06, 9:00, 9:10, 9:05, 9:11, 8:58, 9:06, 9:18, 9:11, 9:11, 9:10, 9:27, 9:33, 9:53, 9:42, 9:55, 10:09, 11:09, 11:46, 12:46, 12:33, 12:25

So Plan B worked.  I learned a lot and I only missed the 4:10 “safe” goal by less than 4 minutes -- and who knows, if I had run a 9:30 pace I might have bonked anyway.  A couple of bad things I noticed:  My speed was fine, at least for the speeds I am running right now, but I ran out of gas.  I need more stamina, which will only come through continued training.  I have to run 8:30s to qualify for Boston, but that now seems achievable.  The other bad thing relates to hydration and calories.  I drank only half a bottle of water through the whole race.  I was trying to avoid that sloshing feeling that has caused nausea in each of my first three marathons.  It worked but I had salt on my face after the race and my legs felt like logs through the last lap, probably because of no calories.  I still have to work on that one.

On the good side, I learned a ton and got a 45-minute PR off of 2-1/2 months of training.  (I threw up on the lawn at St. George, so I can’t be accused of dogging that race.)  I couldn’t be happier about how my training has gone this fall.  I am convinced, at least for now, that our bodies are happiest going hard for 6 days then taking a day off.  I did that every week beginning two weeks after St. George and coincidence or not I got a big PR.  For now, I see no reason to train any differently, legs permitting I plan to run lots of low heart rate miles to build endurance and continue working on speed to a lesser extent.  My next goal race will be St. George or some fall equivalent, which is where I hope to qualify for Boston.  I may run some other stuff in the meantime, but I won’t interrupt my training schedule to do it.  As we rotate into our Houston summer I will have lots of opportunities to work on hydration and calories.

39F, wind NNW at 8 mph.  Ran two easy ones to get circulation going, no stats.  I felt good but the groin pull from the marathon is still chirping a little bit.  I hope it doesn't amount to much.  Saturday was my first day off except Sundays since mid-October. 

My son's Texas open house was Saturday night, lots of good company and good food; one last blowout and the holidays are now over except for cleaning up.  My son-in-law got the fireworks assignment.  I couldn't resist "helping", though.  He built two cannister cases and we spent the week looking for fuses and just checking things out generally.  Buying fireworks is a good way to meet rednecks.  They sell some big ones down here to the general public (up to 2" in diameter for the big shells), but the really big 4" stuff isn't generally available.  There are legal restrictions, but they are fairly easy to meet (i.e., get around), the main hurdle is becoming a member of the inner circle, which is a traveling, carny-type crowd.  They love to talk, though.  I think if we ever did this again we would start a little earlier, practice our accents and bad grammar to get certified (formally and informally) and go for the big stuff.

As it was, the fireworks show was a huge success.  Everybody was talking about it at church yesterday morning.  Bride and groom are back in Utah starting classes this morning.

27F, wind NNW 3 mph wind chill 22F, long pants day.  Ran 4.17 miles in 48:58, average pace 11:45, low heart rate.

I feel pretty good today, my thigh is still pulling a little bit from the marathon but otherwise normal.  Given how hard I have been running on Saturdays, running this soon after a race is not all that different, at least that is how it seems right now.  They say you don't know until the next day whether you overdid it, so we'll see.

My daughter and granddaughters return home today.  My son-in-law has a couple of more interviews for his residency, then he is going home too, leaving the remainder of our family to rattle around in this house for the rest of the winter.  Decompression time, but slightly melancholy as well.  Nothing beats having a lot of family around.

35F, wind ENE 5 mph, 31F wind chill.  Ran 6.11 miles in 1:11:12, 11:39 pace, low heart rate.  Left groin no better or worse.  I dressed two layers deep top and bottom, thinking it was going to be in the low 20s.  I started shedding clothes almost immediately and by the end wasn't even wearing gloves.  We have a cold front coming in, but this morning was not it.  On the other hand, some winters this would be one of the coldest days, it's just a lot colder this winter.

I was thinking as I ran about what I might be able to accomplish this year (more training wise than race wise), but concluded that I just don't know.  It all depends on how well I adapt to increasing training loads, how well I balance between pushing the envelope and staying healthy. 

50F, wind NNW 13-25 mph.  8.03 miles in 1:31:54, average pace 11:27, low heart rate.  The next two mornings will be in the low 20s, high teens, so I didn't mind this run even with the high wind.  I got a personal best 11:06 on one of my splits, as well as my best overall average, each by a little bit.  My low heart rate speeds are getting just fast enough that I can feel it in my legs.  That never used to be an issue.

We will by hyping our cold weather down here for the next few days, so just bear with us.  All of the plumbing is in the attics here.  The soil is clay and shifts too much to bury the pipes under the slab.  Works reasonably well until the pipes freeze.  Usually anything over 20 is safe, but there will probably be a run on wrapping material at Home Depot today.  I wrapped mine when the house was being built, about to find out  how good of a job I did.  My contractor wouldn't do it, he had the nerve to say it never freezes in Houston.

25F, wind chill 16 at start, 24F, wind chill 13 at end.  10.04 miles in 1:58:44, 11:50 minutes per mile average pace, low heart rate.  The weather is a big deal today, but it wasn't quite as cold as predicted, never is.  My face was frozen, luckily into a smile, but otherwise it was pretty manageable.  I'll be out in similar temperatures tomorrow morning for about 3 hours, but I don't think there will be as much wind.

18F and calm, 14.96 miles in 2:28:46, average pace 9:57.  I "warmed" up for two miles then tried to run 10 miles at an 8:35 pace, which is what I have to run for a whole marathon to qualify for Boston.  I didn't make it, but I have lots of excuses.  My splits and average heart rate for the tempo part of the run were:  9:05 (154), 8:34 (164), 8:41 (166), 8:44 (169), 8:43 (170), 9:00 (170) (stopped to shed a layer, which promptly froze solid), 8:31 (168), 8:37 (172), 8:41 (169) and 8:57 (164).  I was looking real hard for a bathroom solution on the last split and lost concentration.  I jogged in the last three at a 12-minute pace.  My average pace for the tempo run was 8:45, so 10 seconds slow.  Plenty to work on.  I am going to earn every minute of marathon time from here on out.  My excuses are . . . never mind, I didn't make it.

Today is a record low for January 9, by one degree, breaking a record set in 1976.  It is by no means the coldest day ever, in fact it was warmer than yesterday because there was no wind this morning.  There was 3-day stretch in December, 1989 of  13, 7 and 11, which were three of the four coldest days on record here.  The all-time record for Houston is 5F, set on January 18, 1930, before plumbing.  So we are a ways from that and won't get close, thankfully.  My attic pipes which I wrapped myself 9 years ago held up just fine last night, unlike many of my neighbors, who have plumbing trucks in front of their houses this morning.

48F, 10.25 miles in 2:05:38, 12:15 pace, low heart rate. 

I had to start work early this morning, so I didn't get my run in until the lunch hour -- took my phone and blackberry with me but didn't have to use them.  Just like Mack's experience, running later in the day slows things down considerably for me, today it was about 45 seconds per mile.  I drove out to a bayou I used to run a lot last year.  Sure enough, same old speed.  Actually, this was a speed I would have welcomed only a couple of months ago for low heart rate running, so I'm not really complaining.  Got in some good base miles and my mood improved considerably as a result.  Didn't hurt that by noon it had warmed up a lot from this morning's 22F low.  No more cold mornings for a while at least, back to the old routine.  It was fun while it lasted.

30F, clear, calm and dry.  Also daylight.  10.63 miles in 2:04:39, average pace 11:43, low heart rate.  I finished up a work project at 2 a.m. and slept in a little before heading out.  It was pretty nice running in the bright sunlight without any heat.  My pace dropped quite a bit from yesterday as well.  Who needs sleep?  My legs are tired, though, should know in a day or two if I am ramping up the miles too quickly. 

33F, calm, wind E 4 mph, 91% humidity.  10.03 miles in 1:54:36, average pace 11:26 minutes per mile, low heart rate.  Finally back in the groove today.  As I was running I noticed the air traffic coming in low -- I live about 15 miles west of the airport and when the winds shift to the east we are in the glide path.  That's how I know the weather is changing, even though we are still 10 degrees below normal for these parts.  Much better to run here right now than in the Utah temperature inversion.  Y'all will get your revenge in a few months.

48F, light rain at start, steady rain at end.  10:03 miles in approximately 1:56, 11:34 average.  My Garmin went on the blink again, so I ran exactly the same route as yesterday and used the clock on my cell phone to get a time for the complete run.  I tried to keep it at low heart rate, so if my heart performed the same as yesterday I probably got it about right.  It actually felt a little harder for whatever reason, so I may have run too fast.  (I know that sounds funny at these turtle speeds, but I'm trying to stick with a program here.)

I will be running in Denver tomorrow, but it doesn't look like their temperature forecast for tomorrow is any colder than ours were over the weekend and early this week.  They expect 30F overnight, which for January must be warm for them.  Altitude is a different story, it always makes me work harder, and my wife has nixed turning the master suite into a hypobaric chamber.

26F, 21 wind chill, 8.54 miles in about 1:24:40, average pace 9:48 per mile.  (The Garmin lap counter got full about halfway through, I got an accurate distance but some of the timing is messed up on it.)  I ran in downtown Denver this morning, out the hotel door on Grant, down 19th to Sherman, then Sherman to a building that looked like the Capitol (?), then swung out on Lincoln a little less than a mile to a river and turned upstream for about 2.5 miles, then back the same way.  I ran past a golf course that said DCC, which I assume means Denver Country Club, then through an upscale shopping district and into an office park type area before turning around.  I was happy to find a good open route with not too many street crossings and in a safe area.  I had to get back early for a breakfaast meeting so couldn't go a full 10, but it was a good run anyway.  Felt strong, but I wasn't pushing myself very hard, still it is nice to have one of these every once in a while.  My left knee, an old friend, was hurting yesterday on the plane and I worried about it.  Still worried some, but it felt fine this morning.  Seems to feel better when I go faster for some reason, probably a difference in my stride.

48F, windy and rainy, wind chill 41F, out the door very early to run 20.23 in 3:31:29, a 10:27 overall pace.  It did this run a little differently.  I ran 5 miles at low heart rate, then thought I would try running 10 or 12 at a little faster than Boston pace, which is 8:35 per mile for me and faster than my last marathon pace by about a minute.  I kept up the pace for a while, but had to stop after 6.  Those splits and heart rates were 8:26 (157), 8:23 (166), 8:29 (171), 8:31 (172), 9:03 (172), 8:32 (173), for an average pace of 8:37, so I almost made it.  It was that 5th split that tanked my overall pace, and also the point where I knew this boy was not doing 10 of these today, much less 12.  I'll probably try it again in a week and go for 8 or 10, working up to this milestone a little more gradually.  Then maybe try for this pace for a entire half marathon which I am running in two weeks.  Whether I make it or not in the short term, I have enough time to get my time down this year.

So after bailing on the fast run at mile 11, I still had 9 to go.  Uh oh.  Death march to the end, starting out in the high 11s and ending up in the high 9s.  I'm not sure how much good I got out of those last miles, it was more a matter of principle.  I finished in just enough time to make some stake meetings at 9:00, but it was weird sitting in a suit and tie with quads still burning and a couple of sweat beads sliding down my back.  (Fully showered and hygenic, of course.)

P.S.  My son has a plan to get ready for the half marathon in Phoenix in two weeks.  Very simple, 8 miles today and 10 miles next Saturday.  His original plan was 8, 10 and 12, but last Saturday he got busy with a video game and then his friends called, so he revised his plan.  Disgusting, especially since it will probably work.  Last night he came home late under questionable circumstances, but I held back, something I am getting used to.  Instead I ran his 8 with him, it was actually 7.95 but close enough.  He thinks I am certifiable, but he was the one struggling.  We started out in the low 10s and ended up in the high 10s.  It wasn't like I was feeling good, but I could have held that pace for longer and he collapsed on the lawn.  Anyway, the point is that it was the thing to do, at his age parents don't get many chances to engage in memorable activities, and he won't soon forget this one.

38F at start, 48F at end, 10.02 miles in 1:57:11, 11:42 average, low heart rate.  Was short on sleep over the weekend so I took advantage of the holiday and slept in almost until sunrise this morning.  The cloud cover left just as the sun came out, great run in the crisp bright air.  I started out feeling awkward with Saturday's run still in my legs. (My first split was 13:20 and my heart rate was unstable, if I throw that one out my overall average pace would have been 11:31, not great but OK for a Monday.)  After a while things loosened up a bit and my pace sped up through most of the run.  My quads never stopped hurting, haven't really had that issue before.  Always something new.

I think it is important for the low heart rate pace to get faster.  Whatever the benefits, or not, of running at low heart rate, I'm guessing that keeping track of pace at a particular heart rate is a way of monitoring how much overall improvement is occurring.  I think at a particular baseline heart rate it is possible to improve to some extent in the higher speed zones, maybe even quite a bit, but I think if pace at that baseline rate isn't getting better then overall potential is going to max out pretty quickly.  A long way of saying that if I could get my low heart rate speed into the low 10s I might start to see some interesting race times. 

59F, 100% humidity, 10.05 miles in 1:59:37, 11:54 average pace per mile, low heart rate.  Slower than yesterday for some reason, not sure why.  The temperature was higher and that might have affected it.  The air is so wet that the streets are wet even though the weather is clear.  Can't complain about the boring weather this winter, something different every morning.

I'm already thinking about, maybe even dreading, running hot this summer.  Not because of the pain but because I will be slower.  I figured out this morning that I ran St. George about 12% faster than my best 20-mile pace in the heat here in Houston running up to the marathon date.  So maybe that translates, percentage-wise, to faster paces as well?  For instance, if I could run 20 miles in the heat at an 8:30 pace, would that mean 7:35 per mile at St. George?  Seems doubtful looking at it that way, but that is what happened to me at slower speeds last year.  I know the heat is a big factor, and of course it all goes out the window if St. George is hot as well.

63F, rainy, light wind.  Ran 10.07 in 2:00:44, 12:00 average right on the button, low heart rate.  Slower than yesterday, but at least my legs feel better today.

Must be addicted to this blog.  I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself this morning when it went down.  It's great to have a place to post runs and to read what everybody else is doing.

59F, blustery.  10.05 miles in 1:54:55, 11:38 minutes per mile average pace, low heart rate.  Better.  The weather this morning was very spring-like.  I have seen large flocks of birds the last couple of mornings, too dark to tell exactly what.  I could tell from their voices that they aren't local.  Spring is an interesting time of year, lots of stuff to see living on an avian migratory flyway, but I hope it doesn't stay warm.  I like spring but it is too early, we'll be in trouble next summer if it warms up too quickly.

So the good thing about this week, despite slower times, is that I seem to have recovered from Saturday's run, which was too long, doing it on the run without cutting my miles back.  That is good information to have and I am pretty sure the times will fall back into line as soon as the temperature drops a little bit.

I plan to drive to Utah this weekend to deliver wedding presents that my son and his wife acquired at the Texas open house about three weeks ago.  So I'll probably do my long run in the morning before I leave.  Too much hassle to try to deal with that on the road, but I'm wondering what it will be like to sit in a car all day after doing a big run.

45F, bright and clear.  17.11 miles in 2:48:58, average pace 9:53 per mile, average heart rate 152 bpm.  The goal was to run 10 miles in the middle at 8:30, didn't make that.  My threshold mile splits and heart rates were as follows:  8:50 (159), 8:38 (164), 8:38 (169), 8:31 (170), 9:00 (170) (same split where I screwed up last week), 8:43 (172), 8:49 (173) and 8:48 (173), 8 miles at average of 8:45, about the same pace as I ran 10 two weeks ago, so that was a bummer.  On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I could have made my marathon goal of 9:10 per mile from 3 weeks ago, the one I couldn't do then.

I'm off to Utah today. 

30F and snowing.  Ran 6.14 "recovery" miles in Albuquerque, NM in 1:10:30, average pace 11:52, low heart rate, but didn't try to target any particular heart rate and it was a little higher than normal.

It started snowing just as I exited the hotel and snowed the whole time.  I planned to go 10.  Bopping along, even stopped to take a picture of my virgin tracks on the sidewalk (Burt, stay away from this one), thinking how great it was to be out running in a new spot in new weather.  I tested a couple of places and determined that there was no ice under the snow, but then there was ice under the snow.  I did whatever is the opposite of a face plant.  Landed directly on my back and the back of my head, alone in the snow (sniff, sniff).  If a runner falls and no one sees, did it really happen?  (Sorry.)  I was miles from home, so I just got up and kept running, but I cut it short and I am going to be very sore for the next few days, hopefully no other consequences.  I am changing my name from flatlander to FLATLANDER.

Gotta go, trying to figure out a way to get to Utah this morning.  I am driving a small, sporty, rear-wheel drive vehicle that is great on corners and inoperable on ice.  Seemed like a good idea on the car lot.

40F, sunny.  Got in from Utah late last night, slept in and ran in the sunshine.  A very pretty morning.  Ran 6.14 miles in 1:00:24, average pace 9:50, no heart rate monitor.  Started slow and accelerated gradually throughout the run, slowest split 11:07, fastest 8:59.

When I woke up on Sunday morning after my "back-plant" on Saturday morning in Albuquerque, I could barely move, my body hurt almost everywhere, like I had been in a bad car wreck.  So I took yesterday off and the object this morning was to assess the damage.  At the beginning it felt like I was coming off my summer 2008 back injury, OK to walk but unable to run.  I pushed through and everything in the core area felt better after awhile.  My shoulder is apparently injured -- my arm felt like it wanted to be in a sling, but as long as I held my arms high I could run without too much trouble. 

Oh my goodness, all the snow in New Mexico and southeastern Utah!  Monticello at 7000+ elevation looks polar.  The snow is piled 8 to 12 feet alongside the road in town, and the fences outside of town are almost buried.  The red rock country is very beautiful covered in a white blanket.  My parents who live in the Arizona high country are also buried in the stuff -- the highest mountain in the area got 6 feet of new snow at the top, and there are a couple of feet in town.  I think this storm must be some kind of record for that area. 

If I still feel good I'll probably return to a regular running schedule tomorrow, and it looks like I can run the half-marathon with all of my siblings this weekend in Arizona, although I will probably be slower than originally planned.  I am very thankful to still be on the road.  Running is a gift, as they say.

48F, weather moving in.  Ran 10.1 at slow pace, but no heart rate monitor or GPS, which are on the fritz again.  Average pace about 10:40 per mile.  Still not feeling too great.  This morning it was my outside left hip, back again after bothering me some last week.  I almost stopped at 8, then decided to go on and it started feeling a little better.  Funny thing is, it disappeared immediately when I stopped, which indicates something like an ITB (doesn't the ITB band go the whole length of your leg?).  I'll have to do some internet sleuthing and see if I can figure out what it is.  My left groin also started out sore, but didn't bother me once I got going.  Neck and shoulder still sore from the fall and still have a little bit of a headache.  Other than that, everything is peachy.

I was accosted three separate times by dogs let out the front door by owners too lazy to walk them.  Incomprehensible to me why anybody would think that is OK, much less three different people on the same morning.  I am sure there must be something good to say about these particular dog owners.  Maybe no cavities?

56F, wind E 6 mph, cloudy and trying to rain.  10.10 miles in 2:00:01, average pace 11:53 per mile, low heart rate.

Despite the very average pace this morning I felt a lot better.  Hip pointer was still there but subdued, and shoulder and headache the same.  Almost my old self.

I've been running a month now since my last race and I don't think I've improved much.  The half marathon on Saturday will provide some feedback, but I suspect my time won't be as fast as I would have predicted a month ago.  Might be time to mix things up a little bit, but whatever I do, I need to make sure I can withstand running consistently at these distances.  The main thing is to stay on the road.

63F rain and lightning.  Ran 1.07 then ran for cover, rain is OK, not lightning.  Then it blew through and I went back out, 50F, wind NW 8 mph, still raining.  Total run was 10.11 in 2:03:43, average 12:14 per mile, low heart rate.  Not a good run, hoping for better ones to come.

Off to Arizona tonight to run London's Run tomorrow morning (1/2 marathon version) with my siblings.  Maybe I'll get to meet Burt. 

I ran London's Run today, the half-marathon version.  It wasn't quite a half-marathon.  They changed the course because of some serious mud and the new distance wasn't measured quite right, in fact it was short by a half mile, not that I was complaining by the time I finished.

Flew to Phoenix Friday night and met up with several siblings and nephews I had arm-twisted into running the race with me.  Turns out we are all over the map in terms of talent.  One nephew came in 5th overall, and one brother finished pretty late.  I was somewhere in between.

There were over 523 finishers in the half-marathon, and it was very crowded at the beginning on the narrow dirt track.  My goal was to get a Boston pace for the race (8:37 per mile) but when I saw the mud and the crowded conditions I quickly adjusted my expectations.  I was coming off a poor running week anyway.

I was a little encouraged when the first mile came in at 8:48, despite the conditions.  A couple of nephews who hadn't trained much took off like rockets and I figured I would be picking up body pieces at about mile 4, but I never saw them again until the finish.  Being smoked by untrained teenagers seems to be a common theme in my racing career.  I passed two brothers and eventually caught up to the third brother, who normally runs faster than me but has a bad hip right now.

I was struggling with the pace until I caught up with him, then all of a sudden everything clicked.  We talked and hit several splits below 8:30.  He stopped at an aid station and I told him to catch up with me.  Shortly after that the 10K and half courses split and he went the wrong way, running his own unique hybrid race.  (I did the same thing but corrected myself after a couple of steps -- didn't stop me from giving him considerable grief.)

Another theme of the day was pink.  Several women wearing pink passed me.  I was holding my own against every color but pink.  I managed to pass one of them and felt pretty good, but then she caught me at about mile 10, just like all the others.

But then just at that low point a runner coming upstream began yelling "Flatlander".  Yep, it was the one and only Burt, miraculously appearing to save the day.  We yapped away and before I knew it the race was over.  It was totally awesome for him to come out and pull me in, especially just after finishing a very fast 10K of his own.  Just a great guy, and got to meet his wife as well.  She took a picture of us which I hoped to post, but I am too lame to figure it out, so you'll just have to believe me when I tell you I really did meet Burt. 

I also got chicked by my sister, a fellow blogger who is making a surge this year.  We went back out for some cool-down miles after the race, which loosened up our legs and gave us a chance to look for lost siblings.

Here are my splits:  8:48, 8:39, 8:52, 8:16, 8:34, 8:26, 8:19, 8:27, 8:27, 8:45, 8:48, 8:51, 5:33 (8:48).  Average pace 8:37 per mile, which adjusted to a half-marathon distance comes out to 1:52:53.  That number is almost exactly half of 3:45:59, the age-adjusted marathon time I have to run to BQ.  So I was very happy to get this time despite my low expectations, and happier still to have improved since my last race, even though it didn't seem like I was making much progress this month.  This is my first half -- I didn't think I would like running this distance, but was surprised at how much fun it was.  I plan to run the Cowtown Half Marathon in Fort Worth at the end of February, and hopefully I can get my two teenagers to run that one with me.

38F, 10.05 miles in 2:04:24, 12:23 average pace, low heart rate.

I worked harder on Saturday than I thought, took a while to get going this morning and never got going very fast, although the kinks eventually worked themselves out.  My speed is still slow.

My sister pointed out something over the weekend, which is that if one's speed at the same heart rate continues to deteriorate, that is probably a sign of overtraining.  It seems obvious when I think about it, and a blessing, actually, because it might give one the ability to back off soon enough to avoid injury.  I can't think of another explanation for why speed at the same heart rate would decrease consistently over 7-10 days.  This is something I will be watching closely this week.

Shoulder is still pretty painful from my fall 10 days ago, but otherwise no remaining effects.

48F, windy and trying to rain, felt cold.  Went out late and ran 10.10 miles in 2:00:09, 11:54 minutes per mile, low heart rate.

I was prepared to cut it short if my times were still slow, but I started hitting some 11s after the first mile and continued doing it, so I went the full distance.  Not a great run, but better than the last few.

Still have a lot of chatter going on in the family about Saturday's run in Queen Creek, Arizona.  It was a big success and we will probably do it again with a higher participation rate.  Turns out my sister won her age group, as did a second nephew running the 10K.  With results like that everybody is enthused to go at it again.  Of the 9 in our group who did the half or the 10K, only three or four were running when we organized this race about 6 months ago.  Running is contagious, probably the best thing about it. 

There was also a long-lost law school buddy running, finishing about 2 minutes ahead of me.  I didn't realize he was there until I got home and saw his name on the results list.  Good thing I didn't elbow him at the start line, or push him into the mud at mile 3.  I contacted him yesterday and he said he has been doing this for about as long as I have.  Lots of fun.

48F, wind E 8 mph and rainy.  It was dang cold out there.  Ran 10.04 in 1:58:27, average pace 11:48 per mile, low heart rate.

Somebody on this blog, can't remember who, posted a link (http://www.scribd.com/doc/13695/Gordon-Piries-Running-Fast-and-Injury-Free) to a long essay by Gordon Pirie, who I had never heard about.  He was an iconoclastic British runner, post WWII, a contemporary of Roger Bannister.  He was very, very good.  He beat Zatopek several times but apparently was not popular with the UK running establishment.  Very opinionated, thought anybody who disagreed with him was uninformed or worse.  In many ways his views are the antithesis of the Lydiard long slow distance theory, so I am doing things that would make him yell at me if he were still alive, if he even cared.  He thinks running long and slow all the time is a waste of time.  His basic thesis is that you avoid injury by acquiring good (by which he means perfect) running form, which includes wearing minimalistic shoes, after which you let it fly.  Frequent monster workouts (at his peak he ran 175 miles per week), lots of racing and lots of heavy weight-lifting.  Despite the temptation to laugh him off as old-fashioned, the guy got results.  And my recent habit of running long runs hard may not be that far off from his views.

49 F, wind NNW 5 mph, rain petering out.  It rained all night but stopped in time to run this morning.  Cold and dry is OK, wet and warm is OK, but cold and wet is uncomfortable for my delicate disposition.

Ran 10.18 miles in 1:56:55, 11:29 minutes per mile, low heart rate.  One of my better runs, nearly a best, especially since the first mile was in the upper 12s.  I got 11:27 about a month ago.  My left groin is still bothering me, the one that first popped up late in my last marathon.  It comes and goes, but right now it is here, and it takes two and a half miles to loosen up.  It isn't getting worse, so I'm just watching it for now.  I have been practicing my form a little bit, and I think that has helped my speed as well as keeping the groin pull in check.

48F, wind NW 10 mph.  Got up early but had to work, so didn't make it out until later in the morning, then had to stop a couple of time to fix my heart rate monitor, then a client called so I had to stop for that.  But eventually I got going and ran 10.17 miles in 1:58:56, average pace 11:42 per mile, low heart rate, not as good as yesterday but OK under the circumstances.

The highlight of the run was following a garbage truck picking up cans in my neighborhood.  I was right behind him for a full mile, going about the same speed (2 mph).  Nice smells, but the guys were friendly and he wasn't trying to run me over.

41F, ran 10.43 miles in 1:49:39, average pace 10:43 per mile.  I had planned to run 20, 15 of them at a pace of about 8:30 or so.  I warmed up for 4 miles but never seemed to get completely loose.  Tried anyway, but it was obvious after 3 miles that I still had groin/hip problems in my left leg, so I shut it down and jogged in. 

Whenever I get an injury, it has been traceable to running too fast rather than too far, probably a geriatric problem.  This is the same groin that first acted up in my last marathon -- it came back a few hours after the half marathon a week ago and never completely disappeared during the week.  If I don't run fast I won't get better, so there isn't an easy answer, but I think going forward I will run faster but shorter and increase it more gradually, just like the slow running.  There are no important races on the near horizon, so I will probably shut it down completely this week, maybe try some machines or something so as not to lose ground.  My goal was to not let this happen, but it did.  Hopefully a week will be sufficient.

Two bits of good news.  First, I drove out to the Rocky Raccoon 100 last night (Saturday) in Huntsville, Texas, about an hour from my home, hoping to spot Davy Crockett.  I missed him because he was way ahead of schedule, but it was fun watching all the hundred mile runners come through the home aid station at the end of their third or fourth laps.  Davy a couple of weeks ago generously invited me to pace him (he doesn't normally use pacers) but I had to decline because of my leg.  Probably a good thing, I might have slowed him down.  Some other year.

Second, a friend who is an orthopedic surgeon came over today and we talked about running.  He doesn't like it too much, says the biggest problem is that it can eventually cause osteoporosis, but if I take lots of dairy I should be fine.  Time to add that Sam's non-diet rocky road 3-pack to the shopping list.

Back in a week for better or worse.

34F, ran 1.06 miles in 14.10, average pace 13:21.

Well, that was a good week.

The groin injury is still there, but wasn't bothering me.  I feel OK after running very short and will monitor it over the weekend, but I am unsure whether to start running again.  I'll try to figure out some cross-training today and get started on that, at least.

32F and sunny, 3.07 miles in 35:16, 11:31 average pace, no heart monitor.

Still feeling out whether I am on the healing side of my groin pull.  Hard to tell.  At times the pain was sharp but focused, like a small needle, at other times it wasn't there at all.  Most encouraging, it stopped immediately when I finished.  But this thing is not settled.  My son is going to show me some stuff at his gym today.

My next door neighbor has her grandparent's visiting and they brought their lap dog, a fierce little thing that got out of the garage when I ran by.  I was very nice about the whole thing.  See, I can be nice to dogs.

Such a perfect morning and no work.  Would have been a good day to go long.

29F, ran slowly to the neighborhood rec center in the dark and went in, only to find all the ellipticals in use, at 5:20 in the morning.  There is never anybody in there when I run past the place.  I needed to start working on weights anyway, so I just started in.  I had to read the directions on the machines, but after awhile I noticed a pattern:  wipe off with towell, sit down, pick your weight, push or pull about 10 times, get up, wipe off with towell.  Finally an elliptical came free and I casually got on and made it go up and down. Had about a half mile on it before I glanced over at my neighbors' feet on both sides and noticed they were moving the opposide direction.  Sad to say, I was going backwards.  I got off, stretched, got back on and coolly changed directions.  Nobody said a thing, at least while I was there.  I fled into the darkness and ran back home.  My groin pull seemed less actute today while running, so maybe I'll leave them to their machines tomorrow.

29F, clear and cold.  Weather was perfect again, and I wasn't about to let another good running day go to waste.  Ran 5.08 in 58:33, average pace 11:43.

My groin pulled a little bit, especially at the first, but it subsided after a while and was replaced by a modest but noticeable hip pain on the same leg.  This is my new substitution theory of injury recovery.  Also, they all come back in a taper, in reverse order, according to my theory.  So never taper. 

Anyway, all the pain went away after 4 miles and I floated home.  If I feel good during the day today I'll probably do the same run a couple of more times before ramping up.

31F, clear and crisp.  Another great day in paradise.  Ran outside for 2.25, paying close attention to my injury.  It wasn't bad, but neither was it better than yesterday, so I pulled into the rec center and got back on the elliptical.  Now that Jasro has been kind enough to officially certify operating the thing backwards, I hopped right up and went after it.  There was a guy right next to me going forward, but I sold it hard and I think I got away with it.  Got 2.5 more miles that way, set on about level 3 of difficulty out of 8.  I accelerated through the whole thing and my legs were very tired afterward, but the elliptical motion does not affect my injury, so this is going to be a good backup if I can take the mental torture.  Even though I did the 2.5 backwards, I am adding it to my total for the day.  Runner math.

Then I did some weights and ran back home, another .25.  Garmin is on the fritz again, but I know what these distances are within a few hundredths.

51F, cloudy and windy.  I woke up at midnight with an epic cramp in my lower right calf, probably from doing too much backwards elliptical yesterday -- this must be my punishment for counting yesterday's backward miles as forward miles.  I made enough racket that my wife came running in.  As a veteran of childbirth she wasn't all that sympathetic.  But it kept me drifting in and out most of the night, and when I got up this morning I could barely walk.  So I dressed in street clothes, took my daughter and  her friends to school, ate a full breakfast and then cleaned out my in-box.  I kept walking around a bit at a time and it continued to improve, so I finally changed into my running clothes and went out.  No problem running, it only hurts when I walk.  The good thing about cramps is they go away, although I think once you get one in a muscle it makes you more susceptible to getting more in the same spot, kind of like a concussion.

Anyway, 5.08 miles in 56 minutes (Garmin is still recuperating), about a 10:55 pace.  Felt sluggish.  All the normal aches and pains are still there, but at least in my imagination they are improving, and by the end of the run I felt pretty good. 

My other daughter was complaining about aches and pains this morning.  Turns out she ran every day this week and I didn't know it.  She is probably a go for the Cowtown half marathon in a week.  I was considering dropping out because of my own aches and pains, but I can't do that if she is powering through like this.

52F, cloudy but dry.  Ran 9.09 miles in 1:31:22, average pace 10:03.  Pretty stiff and sore to start but gradually loosened up as I ran.  Every mile was faster than the last, starting at 11:22 and ending at a 9:09 pace for the last partial split.  It felt pretty good to run a little faster with no significant pain.  Went and cleaned the church afterward -- an hour and a half of bobbing and weaving behind a vacuum seemed to help.  So far so good, looks like I will be able to pick up the distances a little next week.

There is an ad on this entry page for a Nordstrom Rack grand opening in Houston.  I can't figure out how they know I am in Houston or how they ended up running a Houston-specific advertisement on this blog -- I'm sure Nordstrom Rack isn't opening a store in every city where FRB bloggers live.

48F and blustery.  Ran 6.18 miles in 1:13:29, average pace 11:54, low heart rate.  Back to a normal routine today, though my miles are still lower than before.  I can tell I have lost some conditioning.  The plan is to run a half at the Fort Worth Cowtown Marathon this Saturday, but I will run it with my kids at their speed if they come, which is a little slower but fine for where I am at.  More important that they have fun anyway, and I am still a ways away from adding much speed.

42F, wind N 10 mph, cloudy with weather moving in -- they are predicting snow tonight, but I don't believe it.  Ran 7.77 in 1:34:15, average pace 12:08, low heart rate.  I felt really good today, when I saw my average pace I knew why.

I stopped at about 7.5 and did weights.  Wish I could say what I did.  Some arm stuff and some leg stuff.  I just looked at the pictures.  Anything with glutes I hopped on -- I'm trying for a bigger you know what.  Anyone who has seen me knows that is an ambitious goal.

47F, wind NW 14-19 mph, sunny (we actually got snow flurries yesterday afternoon, but nothing stuck).  I ran at lunch today because my son called this morning on his way to school from seminary.  The transmission on the truck blew out.  Nice little present to start the day.  The debate is whether to buy a new transmission or a new truck.  I pointed out that I could buy a transmission every year and still be better off than getting a new truck.  Plus trucks are supposed to be old.  The older and uglier the better.  If I see somebody driving a truck that is too fancy, like with GPS, heated seats and mood lights, I think he is a poseur who probably doesn't own a good socket set.  My son and his mother, on the other hand, think that is just fine and would add a custom sound system to the list.

Oh yeah, the run.  I went 7.91 miles in 1:13:06, average pace 9:15 per mile, no heart rate monitor.  That is about where I wanted to be, the goal was to air it out a little bit and see if my injuries stayed away.  They did, and after I ran the second mile in 8:54 I thought I might as well run the rest of it at that pace.  Well, it didn't happen, never saw another 8 the whole run.  I have lost some conditioning to be sure.  The wind was pretty hard and I don't like baking my skin in the noonday sun.  But those are mere excuses.  You are what you run.

29F, clear and calm, great running weather.  Ran 7.77 in 1:32:46, 11:57 per mile, low heart rate.  This is the same exact run as Tuesday, down to the stop for weightlifting at 7.5 miles.

My groin hurt all night after running "fast" yesterday, but it didn't really bother me this morning.  All the aches and pains disappeared at mile 3 and never came back.  I like the idea of doing weights toward the end of the run rather than after.  It seems that running the extra quarter after lifting gets rid of quite a few kinks.  Some people in the weight room acted like they were waiting for me when I came in, said they saw me all the time and wondered how far I run.  They seemed impressed, even though most people on this blog regularly do similar workouts.  I guess it is just a different world once you get serious about running.  But I'm gonna have to start running in the dark more, I hate to make a spectacle out of myself.

Current drama at the house is whether to buy a new truck -- stay tuned.

49F, cloudy and slight breeze, nice running weather with no gloves or beanie.  I ran 5.2 after taking my son to seminary, then had to take my daughter to the bus stop, then went back out for another three, totaling 8.18 in 1:37:29, average pace 11:55, low heart rate. 

I am going to fix the old truck, so there is no joy in mudville with this stick-in-the-mud old dad.  Everybody but me wanted a new truck, even the wife, although she understands the economics better than some of my math-challenged teenagers.  In the meantime life in the morning is complicated getting everybody off with one less vehicle.

34F, clear and cold.  This was not supposed to be a race report today, just a run with my son and soak in the atmosphere.  My time reflects it, a full 13 minutes slower than my previous half in Phoenix a month ago.  The plan was to run at about an 11:00 pace to ensure that he finished.  He came up lame early in the race, bad shin splints.  We tried walking about a half-mile but he only got worse, so I sent him back and finished it by myself.  By that time there was no hope of getting a good time, not to mention the fact that I have been recovering from my own injury and don't have the conditioning to run well -- even if I did I wouldn't want to push it hard for fear of re-injury.  Still, I ran as fast as I could given the sudden change of plans.  I don't have mile splits because the memory in my Garmin filled up halfway through the race.  That was also frustrating.  The race results show me doing quite a bit better overall (1892/4753) than in my age group (114/197).  The same thing happened in Phoenix.  I need a new age group. 

One good thing, I don't appear to be having any trouble recovering.  No lingering pains or stiffness of any note, even though I hopped into a small car immediately after the race and drove all the way back to Houston.  I figured I would need to be manhandled out of the automobile, but I was fine.  Secondly, I ran negative splits -- toward the end of the race I was approaching my previous pace, so I am probably going to be OK.  Finally, due to my hopeless position when I started running, I must have passed over a thousand people -- I improved by about 700 places just from the 10K mat to the end.  I was almost never around anybody who was running my speed.

A couple of interesting things happened.  I was following a group of runners for a while with blue t-shirts that said "The Pine Cove Team".  I wondered where that could be.  All of a sudden this neighborhood we were in went crazy, and the blue boys started high-fiving and body-bumping everybody.  Obviously, we had entered Pine Cove.  Good thing I waited to pass them.

Also, some course confusion, if that is possible in a race this big.  The marathon and half-marathon groups ran together for about 8 miles and some change.  Then at about mile 11 there was old man questioning some officials about where the courses split.  He said "I am in the marathon".  Pretty sad, I'm pretty sure he didn't finish his race.  And the kids 5-k turned into a 1.8 mile race because a cop on a motorcycle stopped to direct traffic, everybody ran the wrong way and nobody stopped them -- wonder how they found their way back.  Lots of chaos today, 21,000 people in a relatively small area created some tough logistics before, during and after.

Here's to better races.

53F, cloudy and intermittent rain.  9.01 miles in 1:53:43, 12:31 average pace, low heart rate.  Must be hung over from Saturday, even though I don't feel sore or fatigued.  In my "heart" I know what I did on Saturday.

This run was late in the afternoon.  Last night I woke up from a wierd dream at 4 a.m., but got up and went to work instead of heading out, I had some leftover stuff I planned to get done over the weekend but couldn't.  So I didn't go out to run until later, which is always tough and never produces good results.  But a run is a run and I appear to be recovered from all of my ailments, just slower than slow.  I practiced running like a Kenyan for one mile and went even slower.  Guess I'll stick to Western European.

Lots of dogs out getting walked, several off their leashes, but I changed my route several times and avoided any direct encounters.  I'm working on becoming a better dog person, but they still don't like me.  I need to buy Dog Whisperer for Dummies.

43F, clear and gusty.  9.08 miles in 1:47:36, average pace 11:51, low heart rate.  Started out pretty rocky after running last night, but got into a rhythm after a couple of miles and it went fine.  Stopped near the end of the run to do weights, then finished it off.

I have my first 5K this weekend, got a free entry at work.  I'm going to do some speed work tomorrow, such as it is.  I need to mix things up since I haven't been getting faster lately.  Injuries are the pits.  They put you way behind schedule.  And they lead to morbid thoughts, like the ones I had after the first two miles this morning:  What if I get slower and slower and don't know why, then I finally go to the doctor and find out I am on my last lap?  Then the sun came out, I got faster, and everything was fine.  Time to buy an Ipod.

45F, calm and waning moon.  Couldn't run this morning, had a roomful of clients all day long, then went to eat.  It was 10:00 when I got home, and I have to start early again in the morning, so it was out the door or miss maybe two days of running.  I had intended to run fast on this one, but started out slow with a full belly, good thing I don't imbibe.  First mile was 10:23, last full mile 8:34, last partial split 7:59 pace.  9.12 miles in 1:24:35, 9:16 average pace, no heart rate monitor.  I ran about the same pace as in the half marathon on Saturday after the first two slow miles dealing with my son's shin splints.  Not that I was happy about that race, but tonight wasn't bad considering the circumstances, especially happy that I could accelerate through the whole run.  Maybe it is time to start running mile repeats, but not this week.  Felt a couple of twinges tonight, hopefully that is all it is.

48F, calm.  Another night run after being in a conference room all day.  9.11 miles in 1:47:44, average pace 11:49 per mile, low heart rate.  Before I ran I went to my son's gym and he showed me some of the weight machines.  Then halfway through the run my daughter joined me, so it was a good night.  I never get company in the morning.  Was also pleased that I could keep a pace below 12 minutes after running hard last night.

44F and calm.  Ran 7.03 in 1:09:03, average pace 9:50 per mile, medium heart rate.

I was time constrained this morning with work and taking my daughter to the bus stop, plus it was only a few hours after Thursday's late run -- I decided to run anyway since I may need to do my long run tonight, given a full weekend schedule.  So the thought was to see what my speed would be at about 150 bpm, and this is what I got, though it bounced up to 160 from time to time.  Actually, my heart rate was fairly erratic at these speeds, not steady like when I run at 130, probably a sign that I am not adequately conditioned in this zone.

Kind of a complicated day but a good one, a 5K race sandwiched inside a long run. I intended to run long last night but I thought it would put too much stress on my recovering legs after already running yesterday morning.  So I ended up with a race and the need to get in a long run today.

The race is a local charity event to raise money for the Women's Center.  It is well-backed and it is for a good cause.  I usually don't pay attention to these sorts of things, but this is an important cause and one that doesn't get enough support.  These institutions hide battered women and their children, in addition to performing a host of other services.  They do a good job and have always been well-funded in this community.  I liked the atmosphere at the race, very positive but you could tell people were serious about this issue.  I was happy to participate.

This is the first time I have run a 5K race, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I thought it would be good to get there early and do a few slow miles so as to be loosened up for the race.  What I didn't want to do was re-injure my groin, especially since running fast got it injured in the first place.  This turned out to be a pretty good strategy.  I got there an hour and a half early and ran about 10K before the race, 6.22 miles, average pace 10:58 per mile, range 11:09 to 10:39, basically a steady pace.  I felt ready to go.

Then I went to the start line.  The race started in downtown Houston and headed west and back to the start line, basically an out and back with a loop in the middle.  Weather was perfect, about 50F with a light breeze.  I met up with some people from work (our firm was a contributor) and suggested a team strategy session, which suggestion was politely ignored.  That's why they call them fun runs, nobody was interested in taking out the other law firms.  That was the last I saw of any teammates.  I lined up fairly close to the front.  After the gun went off there was a little bit of jockeying around as people tried to find their pace.  I wove in and out for a couple of hundred yards, accidentally elbowed and apologized to a woman who wasn't too happy (especially given the subject matter of this particular charity), then I was free to run my own speed.  Lots of practice from Fort Worth last week and from driving an old sports car with a radar detector, but I digress.

Even though there were lots of runners, most of them were either good or purely recreational, then me running alone in the middle.  I marveled that I had so much room to run in a short crowded race like this.  After the first half-mile I passed very few people and even fewer passed me.  I felt like I was pushing the pace a little but it wasn't too bad.  I was afraid given my recent training adventures that the first mile would be low 9s, but it came in at 7:24 (171 bpm).  This is by far the fastest I have run a mile since high school.  Something paid off big time.  The next mile was 7:44 (184 bpm) which I also thought was good.  By then I figured I could make this happen.  I was very tired and lactic acid was building up, plus the last mile was a little bit uphill, but I hit 8:03 (187 bpm) and then a 7:57 (188 bpm) pace for the stub split at the end.  (My heart isn't supposed to beat that fast at my age, but it does and I am not complaining.  It gives me more upside, I think.)  Total time was 24:22, average pace 7:44.  This is not a fast time by the standards on this blog, but it is faster than I thought I could run and I am happy with the result.  I measured 3.15 miles on my Garmin -- admittedly not the most accurate measuring tool but I still think the course was a little long, and I won't get an official time or place for 2 weeks.  That's what you get when the sponsor is 501(c)(3) -- nice people but not razor's edge in the organizational aspects. 

They gave out age-group awards right after the race.  I didn't see any old guys running fast, so there is a possibility I might have placed, but I didn't stay around.  You can bet I am going to check the times of my co-workers as soon as I can.

I went back out and finished my long run as soon as I cooled off a little bit.  By this time it was getting hot.  I ran from downtown along the course route and then west to Memorial Park, which is the primary running location in Houston.  That place was more crowded than the race.  It was truly a great morning for running here.  Altogether I did another 10.35 miles, average pace 10:25, progression from11:25 down to 9:42 pace.  I was pretty tired but felt a lot better once I sucked down a chocolate milk shake.  I tell anybody who will listen that I run drug-free, but that isn't entirely true.  Chocolate is a drug.

55F pre-rain and breezy.  I ran at low heart rate for about an hour and a half, then lightning and thunder appeared so I scampered home.  No tolerance for that kind of weather, the thunderstorms can get violent around here and need to be respected.  Total of 7.67 miles in 1:35:50, average pace 12:29, mostly at low heart rate.  My legs felt fine despite running longer on Saturday and from running the 5K -- until I tried to rush home.  My "scamper" pace was a sizzling 10:09, I knew then why I was so slow all morning.

I have been running about two months since my last marathon and have made some progress despite an injury -- as best I can tell, consulting the McMillan Calculator to translate my Phoenix half and Saturday's 5K to the marathon distance, I would have a good chance of running a typical marathon about 10-15 minutes faster right now.  My half marathon time of about 1:52:45 translates to 3:57:47 and my 23:58 time for Saturday's 5K (adjusting the distance from 3.15 to 3.1, assuming my Garmin measured the course more closely than the fun run crew) translates to 3:53:39 for the marathon distance.  On January 1 I ran 4:13:45 although I am pretty sure I could have run 4:10 with a less aggressive strategy.  So some real progress it appears, but I will be re-evaluating this week, trying to decide whether to stay the course, correct a little, or move in a new direction.  Lots of factors as I turn 55 later this month, embracing a new age group and a new BQ time of 3:45.  I woke up at 3:30 (a.m., not BQ time) with all of this on my mind.  One advantage of getting a little bit older is having more time to think.

64F, cloudy but no rain.  Ran 10.30 in 2:01:27, average pace 11:48, low heart rate.  Everything seems back to normal this morning, although temperatures are almost in the summer range, hopefully only temporarily.

I just read Burt's entry from this morning and happened anyway to have been thinking a lot lately about things more important than running.  My mom has had cancer for a while, although she has other age-related issues that will probably take her first.  And two families I home teach (church-related visits) also have cancer in the family.  In one, an older lady has been fighting it for years.  She expected to pass away about two years ago.  She and her family spoke of it openly and made plans -- but instead she is in complete remission and happy as a lark, as are her family obviously.  Never met a sweeter lady.  Then in the last month the father in the other family, 4 young kids, got a rare form of esophogal cancer.  He starts radiation and chemo on Monday, so I will be going over there on Sunday night to try to help.  I talked to him last night.  He and his wife had a long session yesterday with the head doctor on his team, a very talented and caring woman who told them she will not let him die.  We have world class cancer facilities here at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, possibly the best, both in terms of scientific prowess and legendary compassion.  It seems like they cure stuff that nobody else cures.  I had a colleague 15 years ago who got brain cancer, an aggressive form with a 5-year survival rate under 15%.  He actively researched and pursued all avenues here in Houston and also ended up with very good care.  His cancer eventually stabilized and he quit his job and moved to Utah to be close to both familes.  He can't practice law anymore, but is an instructor in the philosophy department at BYU and in the last year has seen one son finish a mission and a daughter marry very well.  Sometimes life can be bad for a while before it gets quite good.  Other times the inevitable happens, I have seen some of those in the last year as well.  So best wishes to anyone out there who is struggling.  Struggle well. 

74F, windy and dry.  I got up early and worked 4 hours, then went out and ran 4 warmup miles in my new shoes (see below) with my daughter.  Then I changed shoes and went back out for some faster running.  I ran another mile slow, then 3x1 mile with 1/2 mile rest intervals.  The first two threshold miles were 7:46 and 7:44.  I didn't get a split on the third one since I am a klutz with the Garmin, but I think it was a little slower.  Then one mile warm down.  Overall I ran 10.10 in 1:39:51, average pace 9:53 per mile, no heart rate monitor.  Good run, first trial of the year in the heat, our answer to training at altitude.

I bought some running flats and first tried them out for one mile yesterday.  I found that I was faster at the same heart rate.  I wore them for 4 miles today, but I am trying to be careful since they tug and pull on different muscles and tendons -- once I am used to them I think they will be a good choice.  Here is what they look like (thanks to Burt for the tutorial on posting pictures):

This particular pair is Brazilian (Jinga) and somebody at work told me they look good.  That was not my intent, but OK.  They are cheaper than regular shoes but I am skeptical they will last as long.  Even though the soles are made of PVC, I can already see a little bit of wear after 5 miles.  But man it feels good to run right on the ground.  If they don't last I'll find something else that will, but I suspect I will be going in this direction if it helps to minimize injury risk.

60F, cloudy and calm.  Ran 10.27 miles in 1:59:27, average pace 11:38/mile, low heart rate.  I was pleased that I felt good enough to run this well after the hard mid-day run yesterday.  I stopped again before the end of the run to do weights and I can feel those more than the run.

I am trying to decide which mixture of workouts will help the most this year as well as longer term.  Not sure if the same plan would be optimal for both goals.  One choice is to keep doing what I am doing until I stop improving.  Another is to take the LSD guys at their word and never let my heart rate exceed 132 for three or four months.  Another is to run some really long stuff at least once a week, to try to beat the final 10K in the marathon.  Or I could jsut do what most people do, which is more harder and longer runs.  Or mix and match.  Plus I really need to do something about my form.  Suddenly October doesn't seem so far away.

50F, wind N. 10-20 mph but clear.  Ran 10.07 miles in 1:51:17, average pace 11:03/mile, low heart rate.  I ran the whole thing in my flats and beat my best previous average pace by about 25 seconds per mile.  My average for the run was better than my previous low heart rate best for a single mile, and today I got my first mile with a 10 in front of it, 7 of them actually.  As best I can tell, the flats improved my speed at the same effort by about 30 seconds per mile.  Yesterday was 11:45 per mile, coming off a speed day on Wednesday, but I am guessing in regular shoes today I would have been around 11:30/mile and would have been happy.  If this is really true it could translate to a free 10-15 minutes in a full marathon.  My reason for switching is to go longer periods between injuries, I wasn't expecting a speed windfall.  It may not hold up, but for now I am impressed.

49F at beginning, 66F at end, wind WNW 18 mph, ran 27.67 miles in 5:03:35, average pace 10:58 per mile.  The theory on this run is that I have been getting killed the last 10K of every marathon.  I hardly ever run more than 20 miles and sure enough, right around mile 20 I lose it every time.  I think younger runners can get through the last quarter by digging deep, but for me I am what I ran getting ready for the race.  So I am thinking that if I start running 30+ miles twice a month I can get that monkey off my back, or at least make him lose some weight.  So for a while instead of running 15-20 hard every Saturday I am going to run longer but easy about every other weekend, and for now keep doing hard runs on the other two weekends as long as I can tolerate them.

Today I planned to make 30 but it didn't happen.  Is that what they call a DNF?  I ran the first 10 at low heart rate, almost exactly 12:00 per mile.  Then I picked my heart rate up to 150 for the next 10, which equated to about 9:45 to 10:00 per mile for a while.  But then my heart rate began edging up pretty fast, like the needle on an overheated engine, so by the time I got to mile 22 or so I was getting pretty trashed -- it felt remarkably like a race.  I pushed through to the marathon distance in 4:45:13 (a time I would have killed for at St. George last fall) then kept on a little further before getting to the house and deciding to pass on the extra loop.  My wife called just after I reached marathon distance, wondering where the heck I was, then she called me a slob when I told her I had decided not to do 30 -- she was just kidding of course.

I think if anything this run proves that I need to do more of these.  Those last miles are really tough and I think it is naive for me to assume they won't be tough in a race if I haven't been running them to get ready for the race, even if I only run them easy.  So there you go.

I am thankful to be relatively injury-free and to have the health to run. 

63F, foggy then clear, wind ENE 12 mph.  Got a late start after getting some work out the door.  Ran 10.22 miles in 1:58:38, average pace 11:38 per mile, low heart rate, flat shoes.

No observable effects from Saturday's run, though my lower calves and foot tendons were still a little bit stiff from Thursday's run in flats. That situation worked itself out about 3 miles in to the run, then I got sore again toward the end.  I don't think it will amount to anything, though, progress seems good, especially for a recovery run.

I loved the weather today.  It was a little warm for a long hard run but just right for an easy one.  The fog was cool and wet at the beginning, which was nice, then when the sun burned it off that was nice too.  Squirrels are multiplying unchecked with no natural enemies, a couple of robins bouncing around.  Gotta love the spring, we don't get many of these days.

57F, cloudy and trying to rain.  Then it did rain.  Good running weather.  Ran 10.25 in 1:55:16, 11:15 per mile, low heart rate, regular shoes.  Also did weights toward the end of the run.  Gotta get better at those, not sure what I am doing.  This was my best low heart rate pace so far in regular shoes, so safe to say I have recovered from Saturday's run.  I had a lot of stiffness from running in flats yesterday and a little bit tender on the bottom of my right heel, but it all went away this morning once I got going.  It is spring break here this week, so no early morning schedule at the house other than my own.  I got more sleep as a result and that may have helped.

49F, clear.  Ran 10.10 miles in 1:39:04, average pace 9:49.  I warmed up for 3 miles then ran 20x200 with equal rest intervals.  The fast legs averaged about 7:35 - 7:40 (slowest 7:54, fastest 7:27).  The intervals weren't exactly 200 meters since I didn't have that distance set as my automatic lap counter, but the paces are pretty accurate because that's what Garmins do.  These weren't terribly fast, even for me, but I was concentrating on keeping good form (pushing off instead of reaching out) and not pulling too hard on my left groin.  I think I did OK in that regard but even so I might could have taken them a little faster, I just wasn't sure what to expect.  I am on a quest to be less identifiable as an old man from a distance, and I think doing short fast intervals is a way to lengthen my stride, to coin a phrase. 

At the end I ran another 2.1 cooldown at 10:29 and 9:29.  Overall I seem to be OK. 

48F, a little bit windy but clear.  Perfect running weather.  I ran 10.26 miles in 1:51:46, average pace 10:53 per mile, low heart rate and flats.  My feet seem to be adjusting to flats pretty well, still a little soreness in my right calf.  The first mile was 12:03, second 11:03, everything after that below 10, including a 10:37.  This is the first time I have averaged under 11 for LSD, and with weather scheduled to warm up soon it might be a while before I see these splits again -- but to put it in context, today was 3:40 seconds per mile faster than a similar low heart rate run 1 year ago, 30 seconds per mile faster than I ran St. George less than 6 months ago, and 1:10 per mile slower than I ran the Texas Marathon about 2-1/2 months ago.  I have often thought that if I could get to 10 flat at low heart rate I might see some interesting marathon times.  Weird how this metric goes long periods without improving then moves significantly over a one or two-week period.  Too bad LSD isn't an Olympic event.  The last time I saw an LSD event was in the '60s and luckily I was too young to participate.

Also did some weights near the end of the run.  I need a weight coach.

47F, wind ESE 5 mph, clear.  Perfect running weather.  Ran 10.06 in 1:50:52, average pace 11:01 per mile, low heart rate, regular shoes.  So even in regular shoes only 8 seconds per mile slower than yesterday.  Either that means I was better today or the differential between regular shoes and flats is not as great as I first guessed.  Either way a good run.

I spent all day yesterday putting together some Ikea furniture for my daughter's friend's new bedroom.  It says "some assembly required", but the desk, dresser and armoire came in boxes of pieces, little tiny pieces that look like they were collected from an explosion at a tinker toy factory.  Managed to get it all put together though, even had a few pieces left over.  We loaded it all up in the pickup, put on the flashers, took it over and unloaded it, got some Tex Mex and didn't get home until late, but glad it was done.  Now that I think about it, all that probably slowed me down a little bit this morning.  Gotta get some paying work done today.

60F, cloudy and getting ready to rain.  Perfect running weather.  This run was not very successful.  The plan was to run a couple of warmup miles then do 20 at an 8:30 pace.  But I couldn't do it.  I warmed up one mile then ran 7 at that pace:  8:30, 8:31, 8:25, 8:16, 8:37, 8:32, 8:45 -- average pace 8:31, not bad but I couldn't hold the pace any longer.  I dialed back to a jogging pace, about 11:30 for 5 miles, then about 11:00 for 2 more.  At this point I was at mile 16 and decided to try again.  I did mile 17 at 9:34, jogged a mile (9:56), then did mile 19 at 9:00, then cut back to 11:00 for the last two miles.  Overall pace 10:02 in 3:31:52.  By this time it was raining.  I got in my car and drove back over the course to pick up my used water bottles, came home soaked and took a long hot shower.  No ice baths for this boy.

I am not improving quickly enough.  I may have to scrap some of the low heart rate focus and start running hard during the week, building up a little at a time hopefully to be able to withstand the extrera stress.

41F, wind WSW 9 mph, clear, perfect running weather.  Ran 9.76 in 1:38:54, average pace 10.08 minutes per mile, flat shoes.  I ran the first 6.5 at low heart rate, average pace about 10:55, was surprised to find no fatigue in my legs from Saturday.  Then ran 3 at a little faster than 3:45 marathon pace, splits 8:34, 8:20, 8:17, then jogged it in because I was out of time.  This morning's pace was faster than Saturday and didn't seem to require as much effort.  At times I could feel a certain smoothness and rhythm, but not sure how it would have looked on YouTube.  The flats always feel good, I'll probably be wearing them every day before long.

The revised plan, if it holds up, is to add more speed work during the week by picking target paces and gradually increasing the miles at that pace, then pick a new pace, all at the end of the run.  Hopefully I can get past some of my speed issues by getting in more, shorter sessions with quicker recovery.  The bottom-line question here is whether one would get more benefit from running 3 ten-milers or 1 twenty-miler at the same speed.  Right now I am betting on the former, but it is just a bet.  Feels good to do something different, though.  That may be the main benefit.

39F, clear, calm and cold.  Perfect running weather.  Ran 10.11 in 1:52:21, average pace 11:07, low heart rate and regular shoes.  No weights today, I had to run ("run" meaning get in the car and speed) to the dentist for a 6-month checkup, which ended up as a wallet checkup in the form of a crown replacement.  I love it how everybody sneaks out of the room when they take an X-ray.  I wanted to ask where everybody was going, is there a problem, should I leave too?  That lead bib might be a good training device.

Yesterday I walked into Houston's biggest running store to see what they had in running flats.  Wrong term.  Running flats, as currently sold by retail establishments, look like regular running shoes with rigid soles and big heels, just a little bit less of them and a lot lighter.  The kind of flats I have, flat flats, are nowhere to be found in traditional running stores, at least in this pretty big store.  Apparently there is some sort of a speed issue with flat flats.  Not an issue for me at my speed.  The guy told me, with a little bit of a smirk, that the Kenyans run barefoot until they can afford shoes, then never go back.  But he did acknowledge that Nike's own research shows that less is more when it comes to injury rates -- at least he gets a couple of points for owning up to that one. 

57F, wind SSE 6 mph, gathering clouds.  Perfect day.  Ran 10.51 miles in 1:40:57, average overall pace 9:36 per mile, flat shoes.  First 5 miles at low heart rate, average pace 10:44, fastest low heart rate pace so far.  Second 5 miles at marathon pace.  Goal was 8:30 per mile but I went too fast, that is a hard zone for me to find.  Splits were 8:21 (156 bpm), 8:22 (163 bpm), 8:17 (167 bpm), 8:14 (170 bpm) and 8:06 (173 bpm), then jogged it in.  It was hard but not that hard as long as I concentrated on form, particularly trying to push instead of pull with my feet.  The last time I timed 5 miles was a turkey trot back in November, and this morning's run was 2 or 3 seconds per mile faster, at the end of the run and without going all out.  I won't really know until tomorrow morning if I ran too fast, but so far the new program seems to be working well.  Funny how bad days like Saturday can make the good days look better than they are.  If I had been able to run 20 miles at 8:30/mile on Saturday, then this morning's run would have been nothing.

Then I stopped to lift weights but I was locked out -- my right index fingerprint wasn't working.  So I have to get a new fingerprint today.

50F, wind WNW 9 mph and clearing after a night of thunderstorms.  Puddles everywhere.  Perfect.  Ran 10.07 in 1:50:47, average pace 10:59 per mile, low heart rate, regular shoes.  I felt some fatigue in my legs at about mile 7 so was glad to finish.  And some tightness at the end in my left Achilles, opposite of the one that has been giving me problems.  I'll run easy again tomorrow morning and if all goes well do my long run tomorrow night.

I just got an e-mail yesterday telling me to get off my butt and go pick up my age group award for the 5K I ran on March 6 -- before they put the thing in the wood chipper.  Turns out I got third.  Out of six.  But I beat the other runners at my firm by a fair margin.  Just a bunch of pasty-faced lawyers.

Update:   Got my award.  Must be a major award.  I'm going to put it on my credenza right next to my Ralphie statuette.

45F, clear and sunny.  Another great day in the neighborhood.  The run today was as close to a carbon copy of yesterday as possible, although I ended up running it a little faster.  Ran 10.07 in 1:49:24, average pace 10:52 (7 seconds per mile better than yesterday), low heart rate and regular shoes.  No further stiffness in my left Achilles.  Was going to cut this run short because of running long tonight, but I felt good and finished it off.  Tonight the plan is to run slow and as long as possible.  We'll see what happens when the rubber actually meets the road.

51F, it was a dark and cloudy night (but not stormy).  Ran 27.0 miles in 5:26, average pace 12:07 per mile, low heart rate and regular shoes.  I ran at a very steady pace the whole run, thinking that if I ran slowly I could go as far as I wanted.  I didn't get started until about 11:00 because on the spur of the moment I had to help deliver mulch for a high adventure fundraiser for my son's troop.  Because of that, I finished the run about 4:00.  I probably would have been targeting finishing about then anyway but just hoping to run longer, but the last two miles were surprisingly difficult.  Before then I was holding a fairly steady heart rate and a very steady 5 mph pace, though my heart gradually climbed about 10 bpm over the course of the run.  Then the last two miles it dropped about 6 bpm, almost in the original zone, probably because my pace slowed, though I felt like I was working harder than ever -- supposedly heart rate tracks how hard you are working, not speed.  The feeling of working hard may have been related to some nausea that unexpectedly showed up late in the run. 

I was surprised at how difficult this run was.  I felt the marathon monkey on my back right at his usual spot, mile 21 or 22.  Everyone says yeah, yeah, you only have enough energy in your muscles to run 20 miles, you are supposed to bonk, but the ultra guys are just getting warmed up at this distance -- I think there is a whole lot more to this equation than glycogen stores.  I drank water whenever I wanted it, not that often really, and ate crackers, but at the end started to get that sloshy stomach feeling followed by nausea even though the pace was slow and the weather was cool.  I felt better a couple of weeks ago when I ran the same distance at a faster pace on less water and no food.  Not sure why, maybe running at night.  The biofeedback from this run was interesting, particularly the heart rate.  I think that I can sustain these types of runs about every other week and I think the effort required even at this very slow pace shows that I need them.  I am happy to be talked out of all of that though -- it was not a particularly fun run.

Off to IHOP.  I turn 55 tomorrow and I am going to try to order off the senior menu one day early.  Hopefully they don't card me.

46F, calm and clear, full moon setting.  A perfect morning for running.  Ran 10.17 in 1:34:41, average pace 9:21 per mile, flat shoes.  Ran the first 4 at 12:33, 11:32, 10:54 and 10:41, all low heart rate.  Started mile 5 at the same pace, then the thought of a whole week at Friday night's speed was more depressing than my fear of injury, so I sped up to 10K pace after about 100 meters.  Splits for the rest of the run were 8:09 (including jogging the first 100), 7:50, 7:57, 8:00, 7:51, 7:48 (178 bpm), average pace for the six fast miles was 7:54, or 48:59 for a 10K, about the same speed as I raced my 5K a few weeks ago.  Then I jogged in the stub split at 11:39 pace.  Not a very disciplined run, but it felt good to air it out for a few miles this morning. 

56F and cloudy, wind SSE 3 mph.  Good running conditions -- this morning the air was heavy and moist, it will be summer running conditions before long.  I ran 9.40 in 1:45:46, average pace 11:15 per mile, low heart rate and regular shoes.  Had to cut it a little bit short due to my daughter's school schedule.

I didn't run yesterday for a couple of reasons.  After Monday morning's hard run I felt fine, then developed something in my left knee as the day wore on, to the point I was limping around.  I felt better yesterday morning, but had to be at work at 6 and didn't get home until 9:30 last night.  I could have gone out then, but I still had some residual knee aches and pains and I knew I would be running this morning, decided not to push it.  So I missed a day.  The knee felt fine this morning, nothing at all.  This is probably a good week to cut back on miles a little bit anyway.  My two granddaughters are visiting for the weekend starting tomorrow, and they are going to want plenty of grandpa time -- grandpa too.  Their parents are hoping to buy a home in Temple, Texas, where my son-in-law will be doing his residency for the next six years.

60F, cloudy with wind S 13 mph, good morning to run.  Felt comfortable at first then hot.  Ran 10.14 miles in 1:44:00, average pace 10:15, regular shoes.  First three at low heart rate, average pace low 11s, then 10x400 with equal recovery intervals in between.  400 splits, corrected to mile pace, were 7:17 (155 bpm), 6:49 (160), 6:22 (168), 7:00 (167), 6:29 (167), 6:31 (169), 6:50 (171), 7:04 (172), 6:59 (170), 7:15 (172), then cool down for 2.25 miles at about 10:30s.  Progress, liked the 6:22 but not the 7:15.  On the last lap I tried to run butter smooth and it turned out smooth and slow, lots to work on form-wise.  I was happy to be able to run a second hard workout this week.

67F, wind SSE 10 mph, gusts to 21 mph, cloudy and getting ready to rain.  A great morning for running.  Ran 10.09 in 1:49:40, average pace 10:52 per mile, low heart rate and flat shoes.  Best low heart rate pace so far if my memory is correct. 

My granddaughters are in town from Utah, and my wife left with their parents this morning to go look for a house in Temple, Texas, where they are moving in a couple of months.  They took the younger one with them, but Kate and I are duking it out here alone for a couple of days.  So far she is winning.  I have painted her nails (sad but true) and raced her grocery cart on the back porch.  I lost that race but was able to get 0.01 VO2 max miles in.  Here is the winner with her groceries.  I think she needs to work on her sportsmanship.

66F, wind SW 3 mph and foggy.  Great morning for running.  Got up very early in order to get back before my granddaughter woke up.  Ran 18.56 miles in 3:05:07, average pace 9:58 per mile.  Did a 3-mile pickup at mile 12 at marathon pace, 8:48, 8:31 and 8:37, then 0.28 at the end at 8:25 pace, it was as fast as I could go at that point on wooden legs.

By the time I got back to the house my granddaughter was up, two hours ahead of schedule, eating cereal, ready with her to-do list.  That took the rest of the day, so I am late blogging.  She's gone now, not sure what I will do with myself today.

69F, wind SSW 10 mph, hot and humid.  Felt great running out there, basically the first day of summer, though it should cool down by tomorrow.  Ran 10.55 miles in 1:55:50 (lots of 5s on April 5), average pace 10:59 per mile, low heart rate and flat shoes.  I am watching my right knee closely, it felt like it had some ITB in it, but it never got worse during the run and seems to be better now than yesterday.

I have made friends with a bike rider.  He is out spinning around every morning about the same time as me, for about 8 months now.  Finally six weeks ago he said "hi" when he went past me.  I said "hey".  This has happened three times now.  This may not seem like much to the lady bloggers, but for guys at 5:00 in the morning it makes us blood brothers.

67F, wind SSE 6 mph, cloudy and humid.  Good running weather.  Ran 10.76 in 1:53:42, average pace 10:35 per mile, low heart rate and flat shoes.  This beat my previous low heart rate best by 17 seconds per mile.  One split was 10:16.  Not sure where all the "speed" came from this morning but no complaints.  I am still nursing my right ITB so I haven't done any speed work yet this week.

Two years ago yesterday I started training for a marathon.  I have run a lot of miles since then, but it is kind of funny to look at my first entry:

Star Date 04.05.08, Christian Saturday, GMT 13:30 and GMT 16:30 -- Day 1

            The alarm went off at 6:30.  Not so fast, buckaroo.  I turn over to catch a few more winks.  Next look at the clock shows 9:30.  Time for a new alarm clock.  Dang, here it is Day 1 and I didn’t answer the bell. 

            I roll out and start walking around.  Notice that the floor is a little cold.  Check the computer and it is low 50s outside.  Perfect running weather.  The gods are smiling.  I get dressed and head out.

            I need to run 4 miles this morning in order to start a fairly steep ramp-up to merge into the mileage buildup schedule.  4 miles may not sound like a lot, but it is twice any distance I have run since I was 22 years old.  I am apprehensive, but the weather is perfect. 

            There is a stiff head wind for part of the lap, then a tailwind.  (I'm running laps, get it?)  At lap two, I keep going instead of turning in.  Just that one little thing creates a tinge of excitement.  I am doing something new.  After lap three, I am still feeling OK, and I head around once more.  Lap four is a little iffy toward the end, but I stumble into the front door, and I am on my way, with a big assist from that Canadian cold front.  No immediate ill effects.  No dizziness, queasiness, pulled muscles or blisters.  No crawling on the floor trying to catch my breath.  Also no welcoming committee.

The crawling on the floor, dizziness, queasiness, blisters and pulled muscles came later.  But I have enjoyed perfect running weather every day since the first day.

69F, cloudy with warm wind from S, 11 mph.  Nice morning to run.  Ran 10.22 in flat shoes, started out with 3 at low heart rate, 11:26, 10:16, 10:28.  Interesting times, it was tempting to finish out the run at that speed and see if I could beat yesterday's pace.  But I had bigger fish to fry.  I ran 7.00 at threshold pace, averaging 7:53 per mile.  I was hoping to make 8 but this was a difficult pace for me at warm temperature.  Plus my groin pulled right at the end of the 7th mile so I slowed down the last 50 yards.  Walked a while then jogged it in at molasses speed.  Last week I ran 6 at 7:54, so I might have expected a little more improvement, but the temperature for that run was 46F so this morning is probably real progress.  The one thing I have learned in my short running career is that temperature is the most significant variable, it trumps sleep, nerves, stress, diet, shoes, injuries, fatigue and teenagers; it is probably at least on par with altitude and hills, which don't play a huge role in most marathons I would be entered in.  So I have to be OK with the run today -- maybe next week I'll get 8 or 9.  I have to figure out one more speed workout this week but I ain't doing this one again.

51F, wind NNW 6 mph, clear and cooling.  Nice fresh wind to run in this morning.  Went 11.41 in 2:04:02, average pace 10:52 per mile, low heart rate and regular shoes.  Good pace for regular shoes, but not my fastest.  It was OK after running hard yesterday, though.  When I started I could barely move, but the longer I went the better I felt.  After 3 miles my groin loosened up and after 8 the right ITB pain quit.  Who knows what would have happened if I had gone 20.  Luckily I never found out, I have things to do today.

45F, wind calm, clear with setting moon.  Perfect morning for some speed work.  So I decided to go long and slow.  Ran 10.14 miles in 1:49:41, average pace 10:49 per mile, low heart rate and regular shoes.  A little bit faster than yesterday, but pretty much the same range. 

I regret missing the golden opportunity for a speedy run, I really do, but I was hurting everywhere when I went to bed last night.  A little worried in fact.  I woke up in the middle of the night thinking it was time to get up and go, couldn't make myself do it, which is a classical sign of overtraining, so I thought maybe I would just go out for 4 or 5 and see how I felt.  Then I looked at the clock.  1:10 a.m.  I relaxed and the next thing I knew it was 5:00, all my aches and pains were gone and I was ready to go.  But no speed today, it can wait.

If I still feel good tonight and if my schedule cooperates, I might go ahead and do my long run instead of waiting until tomorrow.

71F at beginning, 55F at end, partly cloudy wind SSE 10 mph.  7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.  It was a perfect night for running.  Ran 30.00 very slowly, in 5:51:51, average pace 11:44 per mile, average heart rate 138 bpm, regular shoes.  My heart rate is naturally higher at night than in the morning.  I didn't really want to do this run, but SlowJoe said I had to.  I quit at 30.00, not one step further.  But at least I made 30, the furthest I have run and something I have failed twice to do in the last month.  I remember a year ago running the marathon distance on a Saturday long run and running the last mile in 14:30 at a 145 heart rate.  My last lap today was 12:52.  Older is definitely better, but I need to run this a little faster.

My heart rate got as high as 150, but was in the low 140s most of the run after 10 miles, then wend down to mid-130s for the last 5 or 6, partly because I slowed down, but also due to some other physiological factor which I don't really understand.  I am guessing my body switched over to burning fat after I finished digesting up a bowl of rice I ate just before the run.  It was like I ran through the bonk that happened at 22 miles and lasted through the marathon distance, maybe a little further, then at about mile 27 or 28 the nausea abated enough that it was no longer uncomfortable to run, my pace picked up naturally and my heart rate went down.  I waited too long to take a drink, about 13 miles, a bad personal habit which doesn't work at this distance.

At about mile 6 I ran into my friend, Wade, who ran the Texas marathon with me.  He is faster than me and has been improving despite not really focusing since the January 1 race.  He ran with me until about mile 18 and we had a good time, but then it was tough being on my own for the last 12.  We are thinking of joining a running group for Saturday morning runs down at the YMCA.  I was concerned that they might be doing only 10 for a long run, but then we figured out that we could run down there, do their run and run back, giving us 20 miles.  Wouldn't want to do that every week but I am looking for extra ideas for long runs (I can't do a progression run or a 30-miler every Saturday, that would get stale), so that might be a good alternative.  Also, we might do a 10K next Saturday in Brennam (home of famous Blue Bell ice cream, about an hour from here), but that is still up in the air.  Depends on whether they are serving rocky road.

53F, wind NE 1 mph, high thin cloud layer.  Best morning for running that we will have for a while.  I thought I would wait another day for this week's speed trial, since I did big miles over the weekend, but decided to go ahead with it this morning since it is going to be warm for the rest of the week.  Warmed up two miles then ran 9 miles at threshold pace in flat shoes, targeting 8:00 per mile.  Splits and heart rate were 7:57 (157), 7:54 (165), 7:52 (163), 7:44 (172), 7:53 (172), 8:03 (173), 7:53 (174), 8:04 (174) and 8:07 (174), then jogged it in since I had to take my youngest daughter to school.  Average pace for the threshold run was 7:56, I liked how my heart rate held steady in the low 170s, thought that was a good sign.  Was hoping for 10 miles, but this is good enough.  Next time I do this run I will target somewhere between 7:15 and 7:30, starting out short and building up.  Feels good to continue making progress.

My middle daughter, who has a very mixed academic career, stayed up all night doing a paper last night.  Had a couple of bad breaks, not her fault, that put her behind, but didn't complain, just decided on her own to take a Red Bull (OK, not the best choice) and push through to get it done.  She gets it, she is a regular adult now.  That feels pretty good, like I can let her go and she can diagnose her problems and figure them out.  Life is better since she dumped her toxic boyfriend.  Now if she could just get the whole church thing going.

67F, wind SE 13 mph, 9:00 p.m.  Ran 9.32 miles at an average pace of about 10 per mile, regular shoes, no heart rate monitor.  Today was a mess work-wise and I needed the early morning hours to try and meet my deadlines for the day.  So it was late before I got out, I came pretty close to not getting out at all.  Even though it had been 36 hours since I last ran I still had a lot of aches and pains.  Running hard for 9 miles yesterday took a lot out of me, and my bad groin was making it hard to go very fast.  Plus I ate a full dinner before going out.  I was hungry, but also wanted to see what that was like.  Didn't cause problems but it definitely slowed me down.  Starvation is the best way to go.  The object tonight was to just get through the run.  Tried to pick it up a little at the end, but didn't do much, most of the splits were right at 10.  I came home and went right back to work, didn't get to bed until 1:00 and still didn't finish.

69F, wind ESE 7 mph, good morning for running until I got going hard.  I slept in a little, finished my leftover work then ran 7.75 miles in 1:13:30, average pace 9:29 per mile, average heart rate 158 bpm, regular shoes.  Had to quit early to take a phone call.  I tried to speed up throughout the run, got down to 8:27 for one split but couldn't go any faster in the heat and after running late last night.  My heart rate got up to 182 at one point, 10 bpm higher than Monday's much faster run.  A run like this isn't all that encouraging, but running hard on the hard days is what makes it all work.  My groin felt a little better from last night.  Every time it started to pull I paid more attention to my form and got through the run with minimal problems.

On a happier note, I ordered my first senior breakfast last Saturday morning.  Smaller portions but it seemed just right, so I am fitting into my new role quite nicely.  A bonus was this automobile parked out front.  So two classics at IHOP that morning.

59F, wind ESE 10 mph, light rain for about 4 miles, enough to soak everything.  A great morning for running, sloshy and messy, just like playing in puddles and mud.  Ran 9.00 at low heart rate, regular shoes, high 10s and low 11s.  Legs felt heavy, acidy and awkward the whole time, though my pace wasn't too bad.  At the end I decided to see what would happen when I sped up.  Amazingly, everything felt better as long as I was careful with my form.  By the last quarter I was sub-8 and all my aches and pains disappeared.  I was plenty tired but it was a good kind or tired instead of wanting to lay down and take a nap kind of tired.  Maybe going different speeds uses different muscles?

For some reason I had that old song "School Days" floating through my head, the one we used to sing in elementary school.  Not sure why, maybe it was overflow from a dream.  Anyway, looks like I'm all set with my own internal iPod for the next few runs.

64F, wind ENE 5 mph, 93% humidity, getting ready to rain.  Perfect running weather.  Ran 9.10 miles in1:34:42, average pace 10:24 per mile, low heart rate and flat shoes.  This is 11 seconds better than my previous best 10 days ago.  My fantasy goal is to average 10:00 at low heart rate, which is now starting to look achievable.  (I am perfectly aware that most people fantasize about more interesting topics.)  I got a full 7 hours of sleep last night, and as heavy and weak as my legs felt yesterday they felt light and strong this morning.  head-Pod tune for this run was Stranger in Paradise.  Dunno why.  Never even saw the movie.

A serpent in paradise:  Had to quit early because of some pain in my left ankle, down low on the heel on the outside.  It was there at the beginning, subsided during the middle miles (I got one split at 10:03) then all of a sudden came back hard.  So I quit early and may have to skip the 10K race in the morning out in Brennam.  I have been thinking I could run 7:30 splits if the course isn't too hilly, but all that may have to wait depending on how things progress today.

Inside workout this morning, no long run.  My ankle didn't loosen up after the run yesterday.  It felt like a bad sprain, to the point I was almost walking sideways at times to get around.  Felt kind of ridiculous at work.  I just told everybody I stepped in a hole on my lawn.  If you tell them you got hurt running it's like a gotcha.  It feels somewhat better this morning, so I did 6 miles on the elliptical, 3 forward and 3 backwards (that adds up to 6, not 0).  I have complete respect for anybody who does that machine on a regular basis, it takes a lot of mental stamina.  I was ready to quit after 1 mile, not sure how I made 6.

Good luck to all the Boston runners and anybody else who is racing this weekend.  I am definitely going to track my two sisters and brother-in-law as they pound the historic pavement on Monday, as well as some of the bloggers.  Looks like Ryan Hall and Meb are both entered so maybe the U.S. will get a win finally.  There appears to be only one U.S. woman entered in the elite field, Michelle Frey out of Iowa -- I have heard the name but don't know much about her.

Still working my sprained ankle, might be a couple of more days.  6.0 on the elliptical.

It is fun tracking family and friends running Boston this morning.  Looks like the Americans failed again to win it, though, taking 4th and 5th in men's and nada in women's.

More elliptical this morning, one hour.  It will be that way for a few more days.  Ankle is improving but not there yet.  It is working different muscles, especially when I go backwards.  I wouldn't be surprised if my speed isn't actually improved by the time I hit the road again, and I don't think I'll take much of a hit in conditioning either.  That machine is hard.

I noticed that the top Boston finisher in my age group had a posted time of 2:42:27.  I'm sure that is a typo.

56F, calm and clear.  Perfect morning for running, so off to the rec center.  6 miles (1 hour) on the elliptical, frontwards and backwards half and half.  I can walk without a limp this morning, but I am leary of starting back too fast.  I can jog a little bit, so maybe tomorrow I'll shuffle to the rec center and back instead of driving.  I should be almost back to normal about the time I leave on an overseas business trip next week.  Seems like everything is conspiring against my training in the last few days, but honestly I'm not frustrated yet, seems fine right now to take a small break, as long as it doesn't amount to more than that.

57F, calm and clear.  Another great day to be inside, one hour on the elliptical.  Actually, I ran a quarter mile to the rec center then back home after the workout, thus 6.5 today.  Also a round of weights after the elliptical.  Ankle is still somewhat sore, but it seems to loosen up somewhat if I push it just a little.  Easier to run a quarter mile than a hundred feet, but my stride feels shuffly and awkward.  And it feels more comfortable to land heels first, but from experience that leads to knee trouble. 

Always something, this interruption came from nowhere, right at the end of my best run of the year, and totally unrelated to the other aches and pains that have been coming and going all year long.  I am pretty certain it relates to some of the work I have been doing with my form, which means I am doing something wrong.  I probably need a coach to work on my form with me, but it is hard to find the right combination of running and scientific credentials.

73F and raining, midsummer temperatures.  Perfect elliptical day, though I did run a mile outside in addition to my hour on the machine.  Still running with an awkward gait, but it is an improvement over yesterday.  I am undecided about what to do for the weekend, maybe do 10 miles combined elliptical and running.

This has been a strange week.  In addition to my gimpy ankle, my main client got sued, my brother got sued, my married son is in town trying to buy a house, my other son is going off the deep end (temporarily I hope, at least he can swim), clients still want their work done, and I am still not good looking.  It all feels disjointed, like the wheels came off in a week.  It will probably take a week to put them back on.

65F, blustery, high winds and threatening early, then clear and almost calm at the end.  By the time I finished the weather was perfect and I was happy to be outside.  I must have gone out at the end of a storm or something.  I ran 3.67 miles in the dark (about 12 minute pace), then pulled into the rec center for 1 hour on the elliptical followed by weights, then finished up with another 1.35 (about 10:45 pace) under clear skies and low humidity.  No heart rate monitor, regular shoes.  My ankle was hurting at a low level most of the time but never got worse.  I think my gait was getting a little smoother as well.  On the second run things definitely felt better.  So progress unless the ankle starts to feel bad today.  I don't expect it.

As I was lifting weights I noticed something interesting.  I have always had a small knot on my left leg down low on the outside, about 4 inches above the ankle but a little toward the front.  I had assumed it was overgrowth from some long-forgotten sprain or something.  Today while pushing weights with my legs I felt the knot and noticed it was contracting.  It is muscle.  I have the same muscle on the right side (duh), but it has little definition on that side.  Obviously I am not using my left leg the same as my right when I run.  Don't know what the difference is but there is no other explanation that I can think of.  I think it would be cool to study anatomy.

56F, bright and calm morning.  Took my son and his wife to the airport, took my daughter to school, then ran 1 mile on the streets and 6.4 on the elliptical.  My ankle felt pretty good all weekend then didn't feel so good this morning.  I can get around but it is awkward and slow, definitely not making any training progress until it heals, though I am probably maintaining some reasonable level of fitness. 

So over the weekend my son bought a small house to live in during medical school.  Should be pretty nice for them and he might be able to turn a profit in 4 years when he is ready to sell.  The first-time homebuyer bonus from Uncle O was too hard to pass up.  Unfortunately I will have to co-sign, but he is good for it.  (Fingers crossed.)  Might not have done it so readily for a couple of other kids I know with the same last name.

6.2 miles on treadmill.

I traveled to Hong Kong from early Tuesday to Wednesday late, losing a day traveling east to west, amounting to two days lost workout time.  Hong Kong is a three-dimensional place, meaning two things:  it is very much up and down, and you can't just go to the street and walk across to the next building.  Buildings are connected at different levels and I couldn't find a place to run.  So I went to the hotel gym.  They had a big MMA rink there with lessons going on, and a couple of treadmills tucked away in the corner.  So I got on a treadmill.  My ankle still doesn't feel great, but I went 10K in about an hour, speeding up to an 8 minute per mile pace at the end, it felt good but mainly anything to drown out the martial arts sounds -- I would jump every time they yelled. 

Then walked around all day looking at the sights, including a trail that circles the mountain on top of the main island and has a spectacular view of the harbor, about a 2-mile walk.  Then drove into Shenzhen, just across the border in China, last night.  This hotel has elliptical machines, but I am getting ready for meetings today, so not sure when I will get to them.  I'll be here until Monday, will try to get in as much training as my ankle and schedule allow.

Still looking for flat spots.

One hour on the elliptical at the hotel.  I couldn't work out on Friday due to our travel and work schedule and I had a limp most of the day.  I kept working it though, walking whenever I could and forcing myself to put pressure on the ankle.  I am doing this entry on Sunday morning in Hong Kong -- basically the ankle felt great during the workout Saturday morning and I had no limp all day long.  It got a little tired toward the end of the day but is otherwise OK.  Hopefully this is behind me.  Probably good for me this week to work it hard without overdoing it, and then let it rest.

So Friday and Saturday I was in Shenzhen, which is across the border from Hong Kong in China.  It used to be a sleepy little fishing village, but China decided to pour money into it to compete with Hong Kong, so it has broad boulevards and large new buildings, very different from Hong Kong or Beijing, the only two other places I have visited in China.  The hotel there was opulent but had a strange, sterile feel to it.  It is built on a Spanish theme; the doormen are even dressed like matadors.  It felt out of place; just like you wouldn't go to Wall Street for barbeque, you wouldn't go to China for Spanish culture.  I mentioned to someone that the decor felt like one of Saddam Hussein's palaces, and others seemed to agree with that description, though none of us has ever been to Iraq.  Anyway, we enjoyed the visit and particularly the company of the Chinese members of our party -- we had a good time and we got a lot done.  We start back home in the morning (Monday), arriving late Monday Houston time.  This hotel in Hong Kong doesn't have a gym, so it may be Tuesday before I get to train again.

The weather here feels identical to Houston, warm and moist -- now if they could just make the ground flat.

75F, clear, wind WSW 2 mph, 43% humidity.  Great running weather this morning -- clear, sunshine and almost no humidity.  Very little sweat on my shirt despite the higher temperatures.  We are going up to 90 today and yesterday was 92, basically mid-summer temperatures.  Ran 6.21 miles in 1:01:22, average pace 9:53 per mile, regular shoes and no heart rate monitor.  Slept in trying to get past the jet-lag fog and finally made it out the door at about 9 o'clock.  I was hoping my left ankle would not be an issue and for the most part it wasn't.  I could feel it a little bit, though it never affected my form or my speed.  As a result I decided to cut the run short and see how the ankle feels throughout the day.  If it still feels OK after walking on it all day and getting a good night's sleep, I'll ramp up some more tomorrow.  It's great to be home.

76F, clear, wind SW 7mph, humidity 52%, great running weather.  Ran 10.05 miles in 1:38:37, average pace 9:49 per mile, no heart rate monitor and regular shoes.  I was on pace to average 9:30 per mile through about mile 7.5, then got stopped by a big red-neck hound dog off its leash and never got going very well after that, not that I wanted to push too hard today anyway.  I got out late this morning after working late last night so heat was a definite factor, but I believe that I have lost some conditioning as a result of my ankle problems.  The cross-training helped some but didn't completely compensate.  Interesting that my quads were sore from the 6 miles I ran yesterday at a pretty modest speed.  No ankle issues, so assuming that holds throughout the day I will go back to my regular long, slow pace tomorrow, with fast miles at the end, and eventually get in some time in my very fashionable flats as well.  I still think the best way to train is either slow or hard.  I am a little skeptical of in-between miles like I ran today, although certainly the main thing is just being out there and going at it.

66F, cloudy wind SE 1 mph, 95% humidity, great morning for running, except that I slept in.  A thunderstorm came through last night and reset my clock back to midnight, so I woke up with light seeping through the windows.  Felt great to get 8 hours though.  Only had time for 4 before taking my daughter to school.  Plus the dog ate my homework.  Average pace 11:29, low heart rate and regular shoes.  Definitely not back to normal.  Might go out again later today, depending on how my ankle feels.  It started hurting yesterday afternoon, but never got to the limping stage and felt OK this morning. 

70F, 90% humidity, wind S 6 mph at start, 72F, 94% humidity, wind S 8-16 mph at end.  Beautiful morning for running.  Worked late and got to bed late last night but went ahead and set the alarm for 5:00 so as to sure and have adequate time to run before the day started.  Instead I woke up at 4:00 (lovely being old), finally got up at 4:45 and was out the door by 5:15.  Ran 8 at low heart rate, which this morning meant a pace just slightly under 12, not too good but my ankle felt fine.  After a quick bathroom and water break (yep, Bald, I stopped the clock), I ran the last 2 and change at marathon pace, splits were 8:36 and 8:14, with an 8:13 pace for the stub split.  It actually felt pretty easy, though I could feel residual weakness in my ankle as soon as I sped up.  Assuming my legs hold up I can probably start doing some 7s again before long.  My next milestone is a 10K at 7:00 pace, not sure how long it will take to get there, especially in the heat.  Overall pace this morning was 11:12, but it was really two runs.

We are headed to 93 today, almost a record.  Then the wind is turning to the north tonight and tomorrow, supposed to be in the 10-20 range but it won't cool much, only down to 67F tonight and hitting mid-80s tomorrow.  Our breezes might not be much by Abilene or Kansas standards, but I'm gonna go ahead and call it windy here.  If my ankle stays OK today I'll probably attempt a regular long slow run in the morning.

71F, wind NE 3 mph, humidity 73%, wind picked up a little and temperature up a little during the run.  It was a great morning for running, clear at first and then clouding over right about sunrise.  I ran 20.28 in 3:47:02, average pace 11:12, regular shoes.  I ran the first 10 at low heart rate, which was about a 12-minute pace, not sure why but I think it is the heat.  Then I picked it up the next 10, intended to run low 11s, but ended up mid-10s.  My last 6 splits were 10:30 (153), 10:26 (154), 10:40 (152), 10:22 (157), 10:20 (159) and 10:06 (162).  So my heart rate was moving up gradually the whole time but it never broke 160 until mile 19. 

Basically I had quite a bit in reserve, but my ankle was a little sore from running fast yesterday and I didn't want to dig myself a hole for Monday's session.  The other good thing I did was manage hydration better.  I have been a bad boy when it comes to drinking (don't get the wrong idea, we are only talking about water here), basically I don't bother.  But a long run in the heat and humidity forces the issue.  This time I started early and took a respectable drink every two miles or so, hauling a water bottle with me so I could do it.  It wasn't enough water to make my stomach slosh but it staved off dehydration.  I felt cramps coming on a couple of times and they might have been an issue if I had been running faster, but as it was I was able to control it by changing my stride a little to stretch my left hamstring.  In order to control cramping I need to think about taking salt, but that stuff really sends my stomach into orbit.

Well, no St. George for me and my siblings this year.  As a group we whiffed in the Lotto, and my brother who entered with my cousin also whiffed.  We are just not good gamblers.  One alternative is simply to do another fall marathon and I'll probably do that anyway.  But I'm thinking about doing the Utah Valley Marathon on June 12.  The course looks sweet, just not sure if it's too soon to BQ.  According to the McMillan Calculator, I can BQ if I can run a 10K at a 7:47 pace.  I have already done 7:53 for a 10K about a month ago, and I'm thinking that the course might be just fast enough to make up for the altitude.  But I might be pushing my ankle injury too hard, and I am close enough to the magic pace that if anything goes wrong it will probably do me in.  Lots to think about and not a lot of time to decide.

73F, wind SSE 7 mph, 87% humidity, storms moving in.  Good running weather.  Ran 10.02 in 1:59:16, average pace 11:54 per mile, low heart rate and regular shoes.  My ankle was tender for 3 miles then not an issue, so that was encouraging after Saturday's long run.  Not much else going on, except the strap on my hat came loose.  It will have to be re-attached, because I am not giving up on this hat.  I have run every mile I have ever run in it since my first marathon.  I wear it in races, I wear it training, I wear it to work, and to bed.  Maybe kidding on the last two.  Even more important, it covers my questionable hairline.  Bald is cool for some guys, like that blogger in Pittsburgh, but others have yet to embrace it.

75F, wind SSE 5 mph, 82% humidity, cloudy, great running weather.  Completely screwed up my Garmin this morning.  Forgot to re-set it going out, so I was running on top of yesterday's clock.  Then I hit the lap button, not sure what that did but nothing good.  Then after my sprint I turned it off, not sure why, for about 3/10 of a mile, so everything today is an estimate.  I ran the first 7 miles at low heart rate in regular shoes, mid 11s.  Then switched to flats and went as far as I could at a 7:10 pace, trying for 7:00 but that wasn't happening.  I ran out of gas after about 3/4 of a mile, but hey, I got my first distance in at close to my next goal 10K pace, just have to run that hard for another 5.5 miles and I'll be good to go.  After that I went back to original pace, although my heart rate was in the 140s because of the sprint.  On my sister's orders I iced down my ankle after the run and so far it feels great, like I don't have to wait 12 hours for the inflammation to fade.  We'll see how it holds up today, but I might have stumbled on to a pretty good solution here.

Well, I took the plunge.  I'm going to run the Utah Valley Marathon this year, signed up last night just before the fee went up.  It is way ahead of schedule to get a BQ, but the ankle is improving, I'm in range, the course is fast and the weather should be cool.  So I'm going to try.  I still have a few weeks to improve, so maybe it will work out OK.  I have to run 8:37 pace to qualify, pretty ambitious, but I'm glad to just have a chance.

75F, 84% humidity, wind SSE 10-18 mph.  'Twas a great running day.  Ran 12.03 in 2:18:03, average pace 11:29 per mile, low heart rate.  Ran the first two miles in flats then switched to regular shoes.  First five splits were 11:42, 10:45, 11:17, 11:22, 11:13.  Ignoring the first mile, which I always run slow until my heart gets warmed up, this is pretty good evidence that on the same day in the same conditions I am 30 seconds per mile faster in my flats, possibly more than that because my fastest mile is usually my fifth mile.  That is too much advantage to pass up, I need to get my ankles in shape to wear flats for the marathon, so I'll be trying to wear them every day for at least part of the run.  I could feel the weakness in my ankles for the first two miles, then my feet felt more support when I put on regular shoes, so I think it is just a matter of building up to it.  I have enough time if I keep at it.  I iced my ankle down and it feels fine so far today.

Also worked on hydration this morning.  I realized that if I try to drink all the time, even if I'm not that thirsty, maybe I can increase my ability to absorb water.  Worth a try.  Also weighed myself, down to 165, so making progress.  That is 35 off altogether from the beginning.  I ran St. George in 2009 at about 180.

75F, 85% humidity, wind SSE 10-20 mph.  Good running weather.  Ran 12.22 miles at a mixture of speeds, overall pace 10:58 per mile, low heart rate on the easy miles.  I warmed up in flats then tried to run at 7:00 per mile, my new 10K goal.  Had to quit after .32 miles (7:02 pace) because the house key fell out of a hole in my pocket.  (Bet that's the first time anybody heard that one.)  So I jogged for a while longer then tried it again.  This time I made .87 miles at 7:09 pace (top heart rate 186 bpm) before the wind picked up and slowed me down.  Then I jogged back to the house and changed to regular shoes, ankle was feeling it a little bit and still is.  I went back to low heart rate (about 12:00 per mile, some higher some lower) until mile 9.  Even though the regular shoes felt heavy and clunky, I knew I needed some marathon pace miles, so I did the last two at 8:37 and 8:26, although it was hard to hold a steady pace, I kept wanting to go to either 8:00 or 9:00.  Anyway, it went pretty well, I thought it would be harder than it was after running ten miles including a little bit of fast stuff, but probably a good thing it wasn't, otherwise I wouldn't have a prayer for a BQ in a month.  There is a workout that people talk about, which is to do a 20-mile run, first half at MP plus 1.5 minutes, then 8 at MP then 2 at 10K pace, accelerating to 5K pace for the last 400.  They say if you can do that one you will have confidence that you can make your marathon pace in the actual marathon.  I have a few Saturday's left, maybe I'll try that one a couple of times if my left ankle holds up.

About 10 degrees cooler this morning, great running weather, didn't run though.  Was up very late working and the ankle was a still a little iffy this morning after yesterday's frolic.  It gets more sore as the day wears on, which probably means that inflammation builds up from sitting all day.  So I did elliptical for an hour this morning after sleeping in and taking my daughter to school.  Actually ran the machine pretty fast -- I didn't bring my heart rate monitor but I could tell it was racing by the time I finished.  Still, I'm not going to put down anything other than 6 easy for an hour on the elliptical.  It feels much better today so I think I can run in the morning, not sure how far.  Kind of frustrating to be training around an injury while trying to get ready for a race, but so far it has worked out.

Maybe it was the high sustained rate on the machine, but driving around to my meetings today I felt wonderful.  I guess it was endorphins but it almost seemed more than that, like all the toxins were flushed out of my system.  That sounds pretty new-agey I guess.  So I stopped and bought fries.

66F, 100% humidity, wind NNW 6 mph.  66F was nice running weather, felt great for the first 100 yards but I embraced it even after that.  I looked at the 10-day forecast and it is showing thunderstorms everyday, first time I have ever seen that.  The forecasts never actually happen exactly as predicted, but I think we have a lot of moisture coming in.  Thunderstorms are the one no-no I impose on my running, but usually they boil up in the afternoon so I should be OK. 

Oh yes, I went for a run this morning.  I went 11.02 miles, average pace 9:49, regular shoes.  The plan was to do 20, first half at marathon pace plus 1.5, then marathon pace for 8, then 10K pace for the last 2.  My ankle was very stiff to start out but it loosened up and I did the first 10 at about 9:55 per mile.  Did the next mile at 8:38, one second over marathon pace, then a few steps into my second mile I re-pulled my groin, in a single step.  I knew instantly what it was because the identical thing happened in my last marathon.  It is posible to run through it but not smart.  I stopped immediately and walked home, otherwise I would pay a price that I have learned is too high.  Probably bad form caused it.  I was smelling this run, it was there.  I am pretty sure I could have finished it as planned, though the 10K splits at the end might have been a little iffy.  So I think I am going to play it conservatively and go back to the machines for a week.  Then I will run in Utah this next weekend since I am traveling there for my son-in-law's graduation; maybe I can get acclimated a little for the Utah Valley Marathon in four weeks.

The way I figure it, for UVM I have three things going for me:  Temperature/humidity, taper and downhill.  The altitude is against me.  I believe the temperature will at a minimum make up for the altitude, it is very draining to run in high humidity at 65F+.  So I net out to plus 2, the taper and the downhill slant of the course.  I should be OK, but race day will tell the tale, as it always does.  You are what you ran last, and until I run something better I am a 4:13 marathoner.

Happy weekend, all y'all.

Great running weather indoors today.  Ran .33 to the rec center then did 85 minutes of elliptical (counting 8.5, even though the meter read more than that).  Tonight I propped up the back of my wife's treadmill and did 3 more at some sort of a downhill slant, 10:54 per mile (5.5 mph).  Not exactly sure of the incline, I'll have to measure it, but I need to do this almost every day so I don't crater at the end of UVM.  I raised the TM about an inch, so probably something like a 1.5% slope, probably should raise it another inch, maybe experiment with higher speeds and get some blood flowing as long as I am on the machine.

Is it possible to get injured on the elliptical?  I was hurting bad enough when I was done this morning that I decided to walk home, almost made my daughter late for school.  I thought I could wear flats and it wouldn't make a difference, but my ankle felt better tonight in regular shoes.  In fact, it felt as good on the treadmill tonight as it did on the elliptical this morning.  Ditto with the groin, go figure.  Just have to see how it plays out this week.

Similar routine as yesterday, did 90 minutes on the elliptical and 2 on the treadmill tonight, plus ran to the rec center and back.  I set the treadmill at 4% negative slope.  If you can't stand the treadmill, I recommend trying the elliptical.  It makes the treadmill an absolute pleasure.  It looks to me like the average decline at UVM is 1% (1500 feet net elevation decrease over 26.2 miles), so getting used to running at 4% should be adequate if I get in enough distance.  Ankle feels OK today, not great but it should make it.

9 on elliptical, 3 on treadmill tonight at 4% decline, no running outside today, all regular shoes.  I wore a monitor for the elliptical and I mostly stayed at low heart rate, though it climbed in the last 20 minutes to about 140.  Interesting that it doesn't do that when I run until I get over two hours.

So tonight was the tale of two daughters.  We took our youngest daughter to her junior high school awards ceremony.  She got some good academic awards but we had to sit through a half-hour speech by the principal about excellence and everybody is a winner.  My middle daugher didn't go, she has never been to one, never had the need; but she knows about the speeches, she calls them words for nerds.  She is the food nazi so she was home cooking dinner while we were gone, and still cooking long after we got home.  Finally we got served about 9:30, some healthy little pasta thingy, bless her cholesterol-free heart.  Good thing my wife bought ding dongs today or I might have starved.

9 on elliptical, 0.66 running and 3 tonight on the treadmill.  Elliptical and running was in flats, but my ankle was still barking at me a little bit.  The treadmill was in regular shoes and felt better.  I also walked about 2 miles around downtown this afternoon going to a meeting, feels fine to walk, it's just the pounding from running that aggravates it.  Iced twiced today, which always feels good.  This concludes my regularly scheduled program for the week.  Actually, I'll do machines in the morning, then travel to SLC for a graduation and try to get in some runs over the weekend at altitude.  My wife says it will be raining, what kind of a deal is that?

Yesterday I went into the rec center a little later because I noticed the day before that everybody left for work by 7:30.  So I waited until I dropped my daughter off and had the rec center all to myself -- for about 20 minutes until the Stepford wives came in with full makeup and $500 workout suits.  Some of them must have been up since 4:30 getting ready.  They had obviously provided Christmas for a lot of plastic surgeons.  There was a cardio coach yelling somethng about "abs" and "reps", but I am pretty sure not one of them can run a mile under 10 minutes, if at all.  Not sure how I ended up in that situation, but at least they were done in about 15 minutes.  This morning I was back at it, fighting for time on the machines with the sweaty earlybirds and happy to do it.

60 minutes on the treadmill, then got on a plane and traveled to SLC for a graduation.  Planned to run tonight, but the schedule would not permit.  Trying to put a couple of runs together for tomorrow, in between graduation events, hoping to acclimate to the altitude a little.

Woke up early in SLC this morning and did 6.0 treadmill miles at about a 10 minute pace.  Then went to my son-in-law's graduation and broke away in the afternoon for a drive down to Provo to run.  I hooked up with my brother and we ran 7.1 in Provo Canyon at 8:53 per mile, slightly slower than marathon pace.  We started about a mile and a half above Vivian Park on the South Fork Road where we parked a car, ran down to the main road then down the paved trail to the parking lot at the mouth of the canyon, driving back up to retrieve the car. 

The object today was to get some familiarity with the course and get in some running at altitude, but more importantly to see how big of an impediment the altitude is going to be for me.  It is a big impediment.  I can write it off to a few factors that wouldn't be present on race day:  running in the afternoon, second run of the day, rusty legs from not running outside all week, not wearing racing flats, no taper, etc.  Some of that might mitigate, but the fact is I struggled to maintain pace at this altitude.  I could have run it harder, but it wasn't easy enough and I am skeptical about being able to do it for the whole distance.  I assumed that low temperatures and downhill would compensate for altitude, but that did not happen today.  At sea level, I ran better in the heat on flat terrain as recently as a week ago.  I realized the obvious, which is that altitude is a limiting factor rather than an adjustment factor.  You might get better at running in altitude, but you will always be faster at sea level.

So not sure whether to go ahead and do this race.  I have heard they are flexible about deferring entry fees and I haven't bought a plane ticket yet, so it wouldn't be that big of a deal financially.  But I hate to change plans.

Anyway, my wife and I had a wonderful time in Utah.  My son-in-law graduated from medical school at the U, wearing his red gown with unusual pride for a BYU grad.  He said he requested blue and was politely refused -- maybe not so politely.  Also got to see both brothers who live in the area, running with one, as well as visit my uncle and aunt, my son and his wife, and my wife's brother and his wife who are both running UVM.  We ate at a great restaurant on 13th East called Market Street Grill.  I look forward to more visits so I can work my way through their extensive seafood menu.  Today I started by ordering steak.

89F, 43% humidity, wind SE 18-22 mph.  I am in Dallas for a wind power convention through Wednesday.  Finished up for the day and went out about 4:00 in the afternoon for a run through downtown to the American Airlines Center, then got on a path called the Katy Trail.  It is about 5K, 10K round trip.  Nice trail, with drinking fountains every mile or so.  I tried to hold marathon pace for as long as possible, but eventually the heat caught up with me, so I switched to holding a 175 bpm heart rate (92% of maximum), which eventually caused my pace to fall into the 10s.  I was very tired and my face was very red when I finished.  But it was a good workout, no dehydration issues, and I am glad I did it.  No ankle problems today, so pretty encouraging on that front.  Comparing this heat run to Saturday's altitude run, I think the heat was harder, but not sure whether it does any good except preparing to run in the heat.  I'll have to see if there is some information on that.

I really need new clothes, I am starting to look like a scarecrow man.  The old ones aren't worn out and it is against my nature to throw out perfectly good clothes.  Hopefully I will never need that size again.

AM, 6.0 on the treadmill at the hotel, about 11 minute pace, in flat shoes.  PM, ran the same 9.66 mile course as yesterday, regular shoes, 1:39:52, average pace about 10:30 per mile, 89F, 42% humidity.  Some fairly quick miles in there about marathon pace + 45, but overall 5 minutes slower than yesterday.  I forgot my heart rate monitor and I am a little afraid of working too hard in this heat.  I worked plenty hard anyway.

I found out there is a 5K race for conference participants in the morning on the Katy Trail, the same one I have been running, but I think it is too late to register.  Not sure I want to do any speed work right now anyway.  My ankle has held up pretty well the last few days and I probably shouldn't try to push my luck.

I have been hydrating well and my absorbtion rate has been good, no sloshing.  If nothing else, that one aspect of heat training should help me get through a marathon better than I have done in the past.  I can't believe anybody could run a marathon in this much heat, at any speed.  It is just beyond me.

75F, 70% humidity, very Houston-esque.  Ran the same route (Katy Trail) as the last two days in Dallas, 9.66 miles, but this time ran it in the morning and at low heart rate, regular shoes.  Took about 2 hours.  Much easier but my legs needed it.

The trail in the morning is very crowded, great for people watching.  I guess the strangest thing I saw was coming up on a lady with a baby stroller.  I saw everybody coming the other way looking into her stroller.  As I passed I glanced back and it was the strangest looking baby, actually it was a dog.  Something is very wrong there.

I passed on the 5K this morning, no way to register and probably wasn't a good idea anyway.  They were just putting everything away except the outhouses as I ran past the start line.  Coming back the other way toward the end of my run I decided that the port o potty placement was very strategic.

So last night after returning from Dallas I turned around and drove to Temple, Texas, about 2-1/2 hours from here, to meet my daughter and her family who had just arrived from Utah with their moving van.  My son-in-law and I unloaded the whole thing by ourselves.  He is a clever guy and strong but he needed me and my wisdom acquired through the ages, especially when it was time to unload the piano.  (Into the living room without a scratch.)  We finished at 1 a.m.  I slept on the floor, got up and drove back to Houston.  Then put in almost a full day at work.

Bottom line, 6 on the treadmill tonight, 4% decline, 6 mph as I watched the Lakers steal one from the Suns, texting with my brother who lives in the Phoenix area.  Sorry Burt, but I think your team still has a chance, they look good right now.

70F, 98% humidity, wind 0 mph.  Ran 10.16 in 1:43:34, average pace 10:12.  Started out in flat shoes and ran 3 miles at low heart rate, 12:34, 11:37, 11:37.  Flat shoes felt really good this morning, especially in my knees, it was like there was no pressure whatsoever in that area, very encouraging.  Then I switched to regular shoes and sped up to 10 minute miles through mile 8, then the last two at marathon pace, 8:36 and 8:26, heart rate 175 on the last one, then jogged it in.  Got back just in time to take my daughter to the bus stop.  Grabbed a new water bottle on my way out the door.  I was never in a fraternity but I chugged it all waiting for her bus.  She got out silently and walked away.  I think I may have caused some psychological damage there.

72F, 80% humidity, clear.  Great morning for running under a full moon.  I had to make a trip to the airport to drop off my daughter and her husband for an early flight, so no long run today.  I will do it on Monday, which is still 12 days out from UVM and should be OK.

Ran 10.06 miles in 1:38:40, average pace 9:49 per mile, most splits between 9:38 and 9:55, which is MP + 1:10 or 1:15.  I ran in regular shoes today.  I was hurting in multiple places when I went to bed last night, but woke up early and felt good so I went out and got the run in before I had to leave.  Basically I ran the first half of the planned long run, the second half would be at marathon pace.  Monday will prove whether I can put it all together.  My heart rate started at 138 for the first mile, progressed rapidly to 155, then held steady until the last two or three miles, ending at 159 on a 9:37 final mile.  I can hold a 178-182 pace for 10K, so I can see some possibilities here.  If I can stay below 165 through the first half of UVM, I might just have a shot at my BQ.  But if I am at 175 at the half I don't think it will happen, because I would be at 185 or higher for the last 10K, too high to sustain.  I'll get more data on Monday.

My daughter and son-in-law left on a post-graduation vacation, leaving our two granddaughters here.  It is a reliable sign you are getting old when you would rather watch grandkids for 10 days than go on vacation.  Also when you wake up at 3:30 without an alarm clock, ready to run.

72F, 92% humidity, wind calm, 75F at end  Rained last night but just made it more muggy, no break in the temperature.  Today's plan was to do 20, 10 at MP + 1.5 then 10 at MP.  First 10 went pretty well, heart rate stayed at or below 155 through the first 9.  When I sped up my legs felt heavy, then disaster -- I got to my water stop and somebody had taken my bottles.  I was already soaked to the skin, the sun was up and I couldn't risk running without water in these conditions.  So that was it.  Honestly, my heart rate had already climbed to 175 during miles 11 and 12 and I am not sure I could have made it another 8 at that speed anyway.  I lost net 5 pounds of water during the run, 169 down to 164.  Overall, 12.01 miles in 1:56:26, average pace 9:42 per mile. 

I think of runners as a pretty mellow group, but not everybody thinks running is a great thing.  Kind of discouraging when something like this happens.  It happened once before and somebody who saw me looking for my bottles came up and said they thought they were just cleaning up litter, so hopefully that is all it was.

So now I have a decision to make.  It looks like I am not in a position to BQ right now.  Might be a good idea to keep training instead of using up a month tapering and then ramping back up, I might be further ahead in the long run.  Plus, there are a lot of work pressures and pressures with the family's summer schedule.  The logistics and training for this marathon are starting to look difficult all of a sudden.  I need to decide soon.

75F, 85% humidity, wind SW 6 mph.  Very nice morning out.  I ran in flats, 6.46 miles, average pace 10:04.  Ran first 4 at low heart rate, 11:38, 10:39, 10:28 and 10:27, then ran two at MP (kind of), 8:46 (147 bpm) and 8:19 (158 bpm), then jogged it in at 10:24 pace.  Wore ice all the way in to work and my ankle feels fine so far.  Was surprised I could still run that fast at low heart rate with this much heat, I think it is the shoes more than anything.  The flat shoes almost force me to run up on my toes, which seems to make everything feel better.  My ankles feel some strain, but that is a training issue I think, not a permanent issue.  This run felt much better than yesterday's -- maybe because I ran 6 instead of 12? 

Still trying to decide about UVM.  If I thought I could get away with running it in flats I might just do it.  The latest idea is to arrive a few hours before the race.  Apparently some professional sports teams do that when they go in to Denver or SLC.  The theory as I understand it is that your lungs are shocked into taking in more oxygen.  I am a little skeptical, but a lot of experts say that is the best thing to do if you can't go in two weeks early.  There is a flight that gets in about 11:30 p.m. and I think the buses start running at about 3:30 a.m. if not earlier.   I'm not counting 8 hours in there anywhere.

Treadmill 4% decline at 10 minutes per mile, ran 6 miles this evening.  Work is tough right now so the taper comes at a good time.

UVM wrote back and said they would let someone else pick up my packet, so I am back on.  I plan to fly in late Friday night next week in a crazy attempt to beat the altitude.  Still don't understand the theory that well, but apparently if you do your thing right away after arriving at altitude the effects aren't as bad.  I'll take a nap before the plane leaves and try to get an exit row seat so I can sleep a little on the plane.  I should be OK, but a BQ at this point is a long shot.  I just have to be a good sport, try hard and be happy.  As my grandma used to say, "take what you get and don't throw a fit."  Well, I'm pretty sure somebody's grandma said that.

6 more treadmill miles at 10:00 pace, 4% decline, flat shoes again.  The flats didn't feel too good today, they are really putting my lower legs through a workout, I will need to be careful.  Another late night workwise, hopefully getting back on schedule by running in the morning.  I don't do as well running at night, just don't feel quite as good.  But have to do it when I can.

72F, 94% humidity, wind W 6 mph, beautiful morning for running, felt good to get outside.  I ran 6.49 miles in 1:00:59, average overall pace 9:24 per mile, flat shoes.  Started with two low heart rate miles, 11:13, 10:18, then 6 x 800 at 5K pace minus a little bit:  3:35 (7:11), 3:43 (7:26), 3:38 (7:17), 3:36 (7:12), 3:37 (7:15), 3:38 (7:17).  400 cool down between intervals and then jogged it in.  Funny thing is I never saw my heart rate above 170 and it never averaged higher than 164 for any inteval, even though I felt pretty tired.  I was watching it on the last one and for a while I thought it was broken, the readout wouldn't move off of 150.  Finally started to move but I am suspicious I wasn't getting accurate readings, as I felt like I was working pretty hard.  Anyway, it felt good to air it out, even though I was feeling the humidity by the end.  I met another woman out there who I have seen from time to time.  She stopped me during a rest interval and wondered what the heck I was doing.  I meet more people running than doing anything else, it seems.  Pretty soon I'll have more friends than Burt. . . . nah . . . but Burt maybe you can come up with a nickname for her?

75F, 89% humidity at start, 81F, 81% at end.  Got a late start today because of work, but drove down to a trail called Terry Hershey to do something different.  I used to run it quite a bit then cut back because it is a 20-minute drive to get there.  The trail goes along Buffalo Bayou from the Sam Houston tollway west out to the Addicks Dam.  Buffalo Bayou is the main river in Houston.  The trail is busy, and it goes up and down, quite a bit, believe it or not.  We need the Army Corps of Engineers in here and get that fixed, can't have hills in Houston.  This is a taper week, and the plan was to run at long run pace, MP + 1 or 1.5 minutes per mile.  My lower legs were very sore from the speed workout yesterday, so it took a couple of miles to loosen up.  Then it was 9:00 and started to get hot.  There is actually an outdoor shower out there.  I stepped in shoes and all at about mile 9.  Didn't get any wetter, just changed salt water for fresh, but it helped cool off.  Then I remembered I had my phone in my pocket, quickly pulled it out and it still worked.  After I finished I felt like I had run 20 miles and have felt that way all day, but it was only 11.25, which I ran in 1:52:36, average pace 10:01 per mile.  Most of the miles were in the 9:30 to 9:45 range after the slow start, then crept back up toward the end.  It was a lot of work.  I tried not to hit the gas too hard but I was still plenty tired.  I hope I didn't overdo it.  In the past I have either tapered too much or not enough, it is hard to get it right.

Then we took our granddaughters to the zoo.  They just moved here from Utah and it is time to start toughening them up for the Texas summers.  They were a little shocked by the heat, but resilient and had a good time.  Lots of water, icees and food kept the heat beast at bay.  Embrace the heat.

75F, 94% humidity, wind calm, partly cloudy and trying to rain.  Great, stifling running weather this morning.  Ran 4.08 at low heart rate, flat shoes, average pace 10:46 per mile.  I'm in serious taper mode now.  My ankles and calves were complaining all weekend about the up-and-down run on Saturday.  It wasn't much for the mountain runners on this blog, but after running the whole thing in flats I was really hearing it from my body.  In fact, it is difficult on my left ankle right now to walk up stairs, which is completely new.  It didn't affect my running this morning, though, other than a little initial stiffness.  If everything holds up this week I'll run the marathon in flats, which should make me faster.  I'll have my son waiting at Vivian Park, if he can get there, with regular shoes in case I have to change shoes just to finish.

My daughter and her husband returned from their post-graduation vacation late last night.  Happy reunion going on right now with their kids.  Everything is back to normal.  Soon they will leave for home and my wife will reclaim the house for herself.  They are lovely granddaughters, but grandma has worked hard this week.  I think she would do it again in a heartbeat, though.  Kind of like a marathon.  Right at the end you say never again, then in two days you are planning the next one.

76F, 95% humidity.  Even hotter and muggier than yesterday -- bring it on.  Ran the same route as yesterday, low heart rate miles (11:26, 10:50 and 10:56) except for one marathon-pace mile (8:35, 153 bpm).  I ran in flat shoes again, looks like that should work out OK for this weekend, as my ankles and calves feel quite a bit better today.  Totally different question whether I can hold the pace for the whole race.  I am guessing not, but I won't know until I try, and I certainly intend to try.

Supposedly we are going to have a monster hurricane season this year.  Last year surface water temperatures in the Atlantic and Gulf were below normal and prevailing winds created quite a bit of shear on top of the storm systems, so nothing every got going very well.  This year surface temperatures are above normal and there is minimal wind shear.  On the other hand, these kinds of predictions have never been all that accurate in the past.  It has only been two years since the last one, so maybe we will catch a break.  Even if a big hurricane doesn't hit this area, chances are I could end up on a chain saw crew somewhere, cutting trees off of roofs.  In the medical profession they have a noble program called Doctors without Borders.  We call these humble chain saw crews Lawyers without Skills.

78F, humidity 94%, wind calm.  Nice peaceful, stifling morning out there.  Ran 3.08 in 33:30, 10:53 per mile, low heart rate and flat shoes.  Speed was a little faster than yesterday but not by much.  This is the most attention I have paid to a taper for any race.  I hope it works.  If not I'll try something else next time.

There were several new runners out this morning, all working hard in the heat.  I was not working hard and it was interesting to reflect how much progress I have made.  Even though I still run dog slow it has made such a difference for me.  In fact, I now get a lot of worried comments that I am losing too much weight.  I am about 170 now, down 30 pounds from two years ago.  Other than trying to be a little more careful about second servings and trying to cut back on red meat, I haven't really changed my diet, it just happens naturally with this much running.  I pulled out a photo of me running in high school to show my wife and kids.  Same height, 135 pounds.  I look perfectly healthy with my '70s locks flowing in the wind at 12 mph, and I was.  (Form wasn't too bad either, if I'm allowed to say that.)  Weight increases naturally with age, I suppose, but I think people's perception of a healthy weight is skewed by all of the overweightness out there.

UPDATE:  In response to popular demand (OK, maybe only one request, but it was from KP, so it is important), here is the photo:

80F, 84% humidity.  Great weather for being on a taper.  Ran 2.19 miles in 22:33, average pace 10:17, flat shoes.  Ran a variety of speeds, trying to stay loose.  Felt the left hamstring pull a little bit after a couple of strideouts so I immediately backed off.  It feels OK and I don't expect any problems.  Long term, I have to find some way to get good form or otherwise adapt to faster speeds.  These little stretches and pulls every time I speed up a little bit have got to go.

With my crazy schedule this weekend, it would be nice if I could get about 8 hours of sleep tonight. 

78F, 94% humidity.  Nice morning out there, very quiet.  Woke up very early (grrr, but hoping to get a senior-type nap this afternoon) and ran a completely slow mile around my main loop in flats, no watch or heart rate monitor.  Ate a healthy breakfast and I'm ready to go.

Well, this is it.  I don't have a good feel for what will happen, but I feel in my bones that a BQ is a long shot.  Just not enough non-injury time to build up my cruising speed enough.  But I really don't know anything.  For every plus there is a minus and vice versa.

Hope to meet a lot of folks this weekend, good luck to all of you, there should be a lot of fast times out there tomorrow.

This was an interesting day.  No BQ but I thought that might be the case.  Bottom line, I got a nine and a half minute PR, not what I hoped but not a bad day at the office.

As planned, I got on an airplane late last night and managed to snag an exit row seat, the one with no seat in front -- redneck first class -- spent the whole flight exercising my legs.  I can vouch for the storm system we experienced today.  It rocked the plane pretty good, more than I have experienced in a while, but once we got under the clouds the landing at SLC was pretty routine.  Some days it seems unnatural to bounce around in a pressurized aluminum tube 5 miles above the ground at a high rate of speed, with a union guy driving.

We arrived so early that I ended up waiting for my ride, precious sleep minutes slipping away.  I needn’t have worried since I didn’t sleep that well anyway.  Got to bed at 1:00 this morning and woke up, on my own, at 3:00.  The joys of senior status.  Went out to take a walk to loosen up.  The Y was glistening in the rain, peeking out between rain clouds and reflecting the city lights, not sure if anybody else saw that.  Then I met up with my sister (she used to be a blogger here) at the bus stop and we got on a 4:15 bus to the starting line.  Big mistake.  The bus got lost (let’s see, where has this happened before, oh yeah, Ogden 2009).  When it finally pulled up there were about 50 PoPs by the unloading zone that didn’t have unreasonable lines, but it was 20 minutes to race time and we got directed to the starting line, where there were “more PoP with no waiting”.  Wrong.  There were about 10 PoPs for sure, but each one had a substantial line that stretched into the starting corral. We shrugged and waited, then it got interesting.  About 30 minutes after the race started we were still in line, when they announced that they were pulling up the starting mat, apparently to let some traffic through, but would be putting it back down in 5 minutes.  No problem.  Then not too long after they put it back down they announced they were taking it back up for good in 30 seconds and if you wanted a time you had to cross the mat.  I had just emerged after attending to my chores and didn’t have my warmups off.  Plus my drop bag was tied shut and I couldn’t get it open because of cold fingers from the rain that had started falling.  I had no choice but to cross the mat before finishing my preparations.  The way I figure it, the running gods owe me 2:02.  I take Visa and American Express.

So off we went.  My sister decided to run with me.  My goal was 3:45, and she said if I broke 4 hours she would happily take the PR that gave her.  She has been having health problems that affect her running and seemed happy to stick with the old guy.  I ended up losing her early on at a water stop and worried about her the rest of the race, but she ended up finishing only a couple of minutes behind me and is fine.

Goal pace was 8:37 per mile.  I had earlier decided no matter what happened I would stick with it through the half then reevaluate whether I could carry it through.  It was basically a long shot strategy.  Splits were as follows (Garmin measuring a little short today):

Mile 1:  10:39 (no heart rate reading), this one meant I was 2:02 in the hole right off the bat, but the effect was probably more because the early steep downhill splits were all faster than goal pace.

Miles 2 through 6:  8:20 (173), 8:15 (163), 8:28 (168), 8:31 (166), 8:29 (168).  Right here it started raining in earnest, but I didn’t mind, except that I lost my sister in here.  My socks got a little soggy but they are good socks and I never had blister issues.  I wore my flats and they felt fast in these early miles.  Right here I got to goal pace plus 55 cumulative seconds and was optimistic I might be able to beat the running gods if I didn’t get too greedy too soon.

Miles 7 and 8:  9:06 (173), 9:10 (173), I had been warned, but these three hills along the reservoir were as difficult as anything at St. George.  I think the average elevation over the length of that course is almost 2,000 feet lower than UVM.  I decided that the prudent thing to do was keep my heart rate going up the hills at no more than 175.  It got up to 178 at one point but generally I was disciplined and calmly ate the extra seconds in a very mature manner.

Miles 9 through 13:  8:10 (168), 8:25 (170), 8:52 (173), 8:22 (168), 8:36 (168), these intermediate miles to the half marathon point went pretty well, despite another hill or two thrown in.  My son planned to meet me at Vivian Park with my regular shoes in case the flats were bothering me.  I didn’t find him there, but all of a sudden a car coming down the road from behind honked at me and it was him.  The cars behind him didn’t like this scenario and laid on their horns.  He pulled over into a median, only to have me tell him I had decided not to change shoes.  I was generally maintaining pace at a reasonable heart rate and I thought the flat shoes were still helping me.  Then he received a visit from an officer, which turned out to be friendly but bottom line was “don’t park here”.  So he went on his way and I did the same.  But he showed up several spots on the course, took me to the bus stop this morning and did the airport thing, so I much appreciate my son this weekend.

Miles 14 through 18:  8:45 (167), 8:54 (173), 8:24 (164), 8:36 (158), 8:43 (156), still was within two minutes of goal pace and more importantly my heart rate was behaving very nicely.  I have run 10K at a 175 heart rate and I thought if I could be under that at 20 miles I would have a chance.  This turned out to be wrong.

Miles 19 through 21:  9:05 (158), 9:16 (161), 9:15 (155),  My heart rate was never a problem but my stomach and legs, old friends, decided to make an appearance at this inopportune point.  I started to cramp up badly in my stomach and had to break stride repeatedly to avoid getting cramps in my legs, whom you will recall I have named Charley and Horse.  Haven’t yet thought of a good name for my stomach, taking suggestions.  (Just talked to Huans32, who has some great ideas from the tri side of things about how to manage leg cramps and stomach issues, great talking to him, he is very helpful and knows a lot.)  At this point I knew a BQ was not going to happen and it was just the same old death march to the finish line.  I thought about how I could make the best of the situation and decided to try to run at an uncomfortable but sustainable pace for the duration.  At about mile 20 I was very happy to see my brother who lives in Orem and is recovering from a hip injury but will be running marathons by this fall, faster than me.  It was a pleasant surprise and gave me some good mental energy.

Miles 22 through 24:  9:58 (158), 10:48 (153), 10:51 (148), starting to fade but sticking to my plan.  These were difficult miles, but somewhere in here someone yelled my name.  It must have been a blogger whom I haven’t met; whoever you were, thank you very much for the shoutout, it was a big boost, and please excuse me for not stopping to chat.  Believe me, I would have loved nothing more than stopping for a nice chat. 

Miles 25 through 26.22  11:05 (147), 12:48 (140), 11:30 pace on last 0.22.  The overpass at 900 South, at mile 25.5, is cruel beyond measure.  Somebody needs to pay for this one.  I take Visa and American Express.  I walked up it and my split for mile 26 shows it.  All race long I saw a log of guys in Pleasant Grove VFD shirts.  They seemed a happy bunch.  They were running a very respectable pace and I was impressed by the high level of participation.  But at the top of the overpass I saw a lone fireman stopped at the rail and gazing over the side.  I knew a suicide was not in the cards, since runners at this point of the marathon are such a happy lot.  Suddenly he emptied his stomach on the railroad tracks in a very impressive fashion (orange Gatorade if I am not mistaken), then quickly started running again before repeating the procedure.  He got better results the first time.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or join him at the rail.