For Whom the Dogs Bark

Week starting Nov 15, 2009

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Location:

Cypress,TX,

Member Since:

Oct 10, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K: 24:22 (March 2010); 22:33 (October 2010); 20:47 (May 2011); 21:05 (May 2012); 21:33 (September 2012); 21:23 (November, 2013); 22:31 (September 2014)

5M:  39:22 (November, 2012); 35:54 (November, 2013); 36:03 (March, 2015)

10K: 44:08 (November, 2010); 49:20 (July, 2013); 44:07 (April, 2015)

12K:  56:03 (December, 2013); 58:58 (December, 2014)

10M:  1:11:58 (October, 2012); 1:15:24 (October, 2014)

Half Marathon:  1:53:xx (London's Run 2010); 2:05:21 (Cowtown 2010); 1:37:04 (Gusher 2011); 1:42:19 (Huntsville 2011); 1:33:47 (Baytown Jailbreak 2012); 1:33:50 (The Woodlands 2012); 1:42:52 (Texas 2015); 1:49:17 (Jailbreak 2015); 1:38:34 (The Woodlands 2015)

25K: 2:01:47 (Fifth Third River Bank, May 2014)

Marathon: 5:51:35 (Texas Marathon 2009); 6:21:36 (Ogden 2009); 4:58:29 (St. George 2009); 4:13:45 (Texas Marathon 2010); 4:04:12 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2010); 5:11:14 (Hartford ING, 2010); 3:41:43 (Richmond SunTrust, 2010); 3:39:27 (Texas Marathon 2011); 3:41:46 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2011); 3:30:35 (St. George 2011); 3:41:51 (Richmond 2012); 3:49:15 (Texas 2013); 3:46:59 (Paavo Nurmi, 2013); 3:34:04 (St. George 2013); 3:49:51 (Texas 2014); 3:31:59 (Richmond 2014); 3:28:34 (Boston 2015)

Short-Term Running Goals:

3:20, 1:30, 0:20

Long-Term Running Goals:

I'm 60, there is no long term.

Personal:

I live, work and run in Houston, Texas.  I have run 17 marathons, some good ones and some others.  I prefer straight, flat, cold, sea-level marathons, still waiting for my first one.  I feel like there are more PRs out there.  When I have them, I am told it is time to dial it back, run for healthy reasons.  I'm sure that's right, and I'm sure it won't happen.

My wife and I are from the mountains of the west.  We have five kids, three granddaughters and three grandsons.  The kids and grandkids are native Texans but we are not -- you have to be born here.

As for my blog title: I run most of my miles before sunrise, sometimes hours before. On the back road of my neighborhood two hours before daylight, I can depend on a pack of mutts behind the boundary fence lighting up when they hear my footsteps. I have wondered what they wanted; but according to Hemingway I needn't ask.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
25.1227.002.500.0054.62
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.026.000.000.007.02

70F.  I went out the door at 5:30 a.m. for my normal a.m. run, did one mile at low heart rate and then the rain came pouring down.  I hurried inside just as Austin was pulling out for seminary, so I quickly explained that I wasn't a wimp, I just didn't want to be struck by lightning, which is a good possibility for someone like me.  He was like sure, Dad, and drove off laughing.  Fortunately (or unfortunately), there was no lightning, which I will say is unusual for a storm of this magnitude, especially when the starting temperature is 70.  I think it dropped 10 degrees just during the run and the wind was ferocious.

So I ran from my downtown office at lunch.  I recently joined a club downtown so I could have more flexibility.  It is a good time to join with the economy in the toilet.  I got a whole year for $250, I basically pay for it twice by not entering the Ogden Marathon in May.  So anyway I figured everything out and found the trail along the bayou.  A total of 6.00 miles in 1:01:07, average pace 10:11, average heart rate 157 bpm, 60F.  I intended to do it at low heart rate but the wind was still strong and the trail had more up and down than I thought possible in this town, so that plan went out the window real quick and I just ran.  I'll figure out the rest later, the important thing was to get my run in.

Legs are still sore from Saturday but I'll be fine.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.210.000.000.006.21

41F, 6.21 miles in 1:20:00, average pace 12:53, average heart rate 128 bpm. I went to one of those Brazilian meat palaces last night with some clients and ate quite a bit, even though I tried to keep the quantity down and ate lots of salad. Very good restaurant, very slow morning. My legs are still unwinding from the weekend and yesterday, so it's OK. Interesting, though, how the quantity and type of food at dinner affects running performance the next morning.

Also, in what is becoming a trend, I interrupted my run again, this time a bio break to visit the Juan. A Juan, as opposed to a PoP, has no hand sanitizer in it. I thought I was early enough to avoid competition, but all of a sudden truck drove up and some guy started banging on the door. Juan wanted to use the Juan.

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.150.000.000.006.15

38F, 6.15 miles in 1:20:00, average pace 13:01, average heart rate 126 bpm.  Frustrating run because I love these running conditions, but at this ambient temperature my heart rate was all over the map.  Max 158 and min 105, even late in the run.  It never would stabilize, I am surprised that the average rate came in so close to normal.  Nothing to do but keep running.  I am happy that my legs, knees and feet are staying in good shape, no ill effects from Saturday's and Monday's faster runs.

My Rockets screwed up late against the Suns last night, so I'm guessing a couple of AZ siblings are gloating, not to mention Burt.  I'm taking no calls this morning.  I love this Rockets team, they have no talent but they show up every night and even when they don't win they are almost always in the game late.

 

Comments(11)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.370.002.500.007.87

48F, warmed up for two miles, about 11:00 pace then ran 10 x 400 with 400 jogging intervals, then jogged in for the last mile or two, about the same pace.  I left my heart rate monitor at home today, but I'll take it on the next one of these, it would have been interesting to see what is happening on the upper end of the spectrum.  Average pace for the whole run was 10:10 per mile, total distance 7.87, total running time 1:20:00.  These are most of my splits, although I'm not the greatest at figuring out the buttons on my Garmin:

2:16, 2:04, 1:57, 1:57, 1:54, 1:50, 1:54, 1:49 (7:09 pace).

That's only eight splits, so where did the others go?  No telling, I had a 1:47 in there I thought, and  I swear I counted ten splits altogether.  It felt good to stretch it out a little bit, and I actually hit my lactate threshold on one of the quarters, something I haven't felt since I was a teenager.  I wonder if it is still possible to run a 5-minute mile (slapping myself awake now).  I hope I don't pay dearly for this morning's frolic. 

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.370.000.000.006.37

61F, 6.37 miles in 1:20:00, average pace 12:34, average heart rate 127.  This was one of those days when there are all kinds of reasons to not go out -- short on sleep, bad weather, work pressures, but then when you run it anyway you are glad you did.  I ran this one in howling wind and horizontal rain.  Despite the mild temperature, it was actually cold with the wind and the rain.  Also, it is garbage day and everybody's cans were blowing over.  Empty milk jugs were rolling down the street (sad to report, mostly whole milk labels).  I had no competition on the roads this morning.  Amazingly enough, my legs felt pretty good despite yesterday's run.  Looks like the rain will clear out, the clouds will stay and it should cool down by about 10 degrees for tomorrow's long run.

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0021.000.000.0021.00

51F at beginning, 53F at end, 21.00 miles in 3:28:04, average pace 9:55 per mile.  This was the goal run I had for last week but didn't make it, so I stubbornly added a half hour to the run and went for it again.  It was about 10 degrees cooler and that helped, but I think my training helped too.  This run puts me on target for a 4:20 to 4:30 marathon on New Years Day.  A good day would be faster than that, but a bad day would be slower.  Either way I should beat my St. George time unless heat is a factor, which is always a possibility around here.

When I anxiously peered out the window at 5:00 a.m. it was raining and gusty.  That doesn't usually bother me for a shorter run but it gave me pause this morning.  I knew my feet would be wet and my shirt heavy by the time I got done.  I have a weak mind, what can I say.  But I made it out the door and everything went pretty well after I got going.  It never rained too hard, but my feet were wet and my shirt was heavy by the time I got done.  My splits were:

10:20, 9:25, 9:46, 9:53, 9:59, 9:42, 9:53, 10:00, 9:45, 9:52, 9:53, 9:56, 9:51, 10:00, 9:47, 10:00, 9:56, 10:00, 9:58, 10:03, 10:05.

I learned a lot on this run.  I got my hydration and electrolytes working pretty well so I could concentrate on my other systems.  By the time I got 2/3 of the way in I was struggling with every mile, but I learned that I could push through when I don't have stomach issues. 

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
25.1227.002.500.0054.62
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