For Whom the Dogs Bark

72F, 81%, WSW 4 mph.  So much for the cold front, not bad running weather though.  At least the wind is swinging to the west, which is where our cooler weather comes from.  Another bifurcated run, 5.8 at LHR prior to taking my daughter to seminary, average pace 9:45 per mile; then restart with 1.2 warmup, accelerating into 4 at GMP:  7:14 (161), 7:24 (166), 7:27 (169) and 7:21 (175); then 1 mile cooldown and that was it.  Overall 12.04 miles in 1:46:27, average pace 8:51, flat shoes.  Hoping to get some TM ups and downs tonight, finally.

PM:  2 miles on TM, 3% up and 3% down, beginning my hill work for UVM.

52F, 77%, NW 3mph, cool and clear.  Matchless running weather, joggers out in droves this morning.  Did my normal workout, 6 before at low heart rate (9:42 average), break for seminary run, then 2 more warmup, 4 at GMP (7:35 (157), 7:35 (160), 7:23 (163) and 7:07 (168)), finished with 1 cooldown.  Total 13.03 miles in 1:56:48, average pace 8:48.  I did some stretches during the break and that seemed to help.  Maybe I should go back to that a little more than I have been.

Talking to my younger son this morning as we ate our respective healthy breakfasts -- he is a bodybuilder, although he has lost some weight and is trying to get more into running.  Now that he is down to the last two months of his senior year he is starting to think about college.  He asked if I thought it would be a good idea to take a business class the first year instead of all straight requirements.  I told him to go for it, but why the sudden interest?  Turns out he was talking to the owner at the local GNC store who is apparently raking it in, saving up for a 911 Turbo.  My son says there are lots of idiots out there, just like he was when he first started buying that stuff, and he wants to be a seller instead of a buyer.  Progress.

50F, 80%, calm and clear.  Another great running morning.  Got out the door early and did 3 easy, 1 transition and 4 at GMP:  7:43 (156), 7:25 (161), 7:29 (163) and 7:19 (166) (average 7:29), 1 cooldown.  Break for seminary run, then finish up with 5 LHR (10:30 to 10:45 per mile on fatigued legs), overall 14.01 miles in 2:11:25, average pace 9:23 per mile, flat shoes. 

Had to get done early to be sitting in the dentist chair at 8 sharp, where they started with a blood pressure reading, approximately 55 minutes after finishing my run:  113/53.  Apparently you don't normally have a 60 point spread (aka pulse pressure) between diastolic and systolic, more like 40.  But apparently it is also the case that runners have bigger pulse pressures.  Wikipedia, which I consider the final authority, has this to say:

Usually, the resting pulse pressure in healthy adults, sitting position, is about 40 mmHg.  The pulse pressure increases with exercise due to increased stroke volume, healthy values being up to pulse pressures of about 100 mmHg, simultaneously as total peripheral resistance drops during exercise. In healthy individuals the pulse pressure will typically return to normal within about 10 minutes. For most individuals, during aerobic exercise, the systolic pressure progressively increases while the diastolic  remains about the same. In some very aerobically athletic individuals, for example distance runners, the disastolic will progressively fall as the systolic increases. This behavior facilitates a much greater increase in stroke volume and cardiac output at a lower mean arterial pressure and enables much greater aerobic capacity and physical performance. The diastolic drop reflects a much greater fall in total peripheral resistance of the muscle arterioles in response to the exercise (a greater proportion of red versus white muscle tissue).

That's just what I was thinking.  (Actually, I have no idea whether it explains anything about my high pulse pressure reading.)

PM:  2 miles hill work on TM.  Legs were killing me all day, but they felt good once I got going a little bit.  Kind of sad that I have to run to feel better.

71F, 86%, calm and cloudy.  Summer temperatures today but wasn't too bad until later in the run.  I started with the normal routine, 6 at LHR, average pace 10:00, then took daughter to seminary.  For the second half I did 2 warmup, then 10 x 400 with 400 rest intervals.  I had to stop after 8 for a drink and really didn't want to go again, I knew I would get nauseous on the last two and I did.  Heart rate wasn't that high, but this workout took me to my limit, unexpectedly.  Interval paces (converted to 1 mile) and heart rates were 6:41 (164), 6:33 (163), 6:33 (169), 6:24 (170), 6:36 (170), 6:28 (172), 6:30 (172), 6:39 (173), 7:05 (168) and 6:54 (171).  Goal was 6:20 average, didn't come close, the last two were lost causes.  Total run was 13.32 miles in 2:02:17, average pace 9:11 per mile, flat shoes.

In a way, this should have been expected.  I am purposely running tired this week; the training load is starting to accumulate.  Plus it was a warm morning and the intervals were not begun until I had run 8 miles, albeit at a slow pace.  Still, it is humbling to reach your limit before you expect to.  At the same time, I'm glad I did the last two even though they stunk -- someday I'll need to make a withdrawal from that account.

74F, 85%, SW 12mph.  It was supposed to be high 40s this morning, guess they missed that one by a little.  Same basic run.  Out early for 6, then seminary deliveries, then back for 7 more, including 4 at GMP:  7:34 (156), 7:17 (164), 7:26 (168) and 7:21 (172), then 1 active cooldown, overall 13.04 miles in 1:58:21, average 9:05 per mile, flat shoes.  I assumed at the end of the week I would have trouble hitting the fast miles, especially after yesterday's pretty hard run, but it wasn't a problem.  Either I'm developing a tolerance to the pace or it just seemed slower after running (mostly) in the mid-6s yesterday.  Probably a little of both.  But closest equivalent on pacing and temperature was Monday, and heart rate today was a little better, so maybe there is some progress, too early to tell.  Did some stretching after the run, I feel better today over yesterday.  Might get in some more TM work tonight.

PM, two miles TM hill work, legs felt fine.

48F, 78%, calm and clear.  Weather could not possibly be one bit better, it was almost magical out there.  I left the house at 4:29 and ran down to the Y to meet up with Wade and the rest of the group at about 6.  Got there early, running very low heart rate which in the cool air worked out to about a 10-minute pace.  Nobody there yet, so I went out for another small loop.  They had arrived and were just leaving on the run when I got back.  Wade and one of his friends from his previous work place led out, chattering away.  I met a guy named Stan who is about my age (OK, three years younger, but close enough) and we hung back just a little and talked running war stories.  He doesn't run marathons anymore, but his PR is a little better than mine, which I say makes him a good runner. 

With all the talking I kept thinking that the pace had picked up quite a bit, checked my watch and sure enough, we were in the low 8s.  Stan turned back after 4 miles and I sped up and caught Wade and his friend.  We went another mile then turned back and booked it in, we were in the 7s by the time we finished, the last quarter about mid-6s.  It was one of those mornings you don't want to miss, so much fun, made me grateful to be a runner.  Total 18.13 miles in 2:48:47, average pace 9:19 per mile, flat shoes.

When we got back to the Y they were setting up for a fun run.  We never did find out how far they were running, but we took a clue by the location of the first water stop, just to the right of the start line below.  We skipped the fun run.