w.e. 17

10.8 miles this morning w/ the guys. that put me at 76 miles for the week. puurtty good for me. actually, the month of feb was pretty good to me -- 293 miles for the month. i do believe that's the most miles i've ever run in a month. now, i just need to keep things consistent down the final stretch. the big day will be here before we know it.

Plodding along

Sat LR, 24 miles (718 pace) -- I don't really know what to say about this run. I didn't enjoy it that much. It wasn't hard but also wasn't something I too much enjoyed. There was no real challenge, which I think is what made me feel so 'blah' about it. Fortunately, we all have something quite demanding to look forward to next weekend: the first real race prep. Gotta be sure I focus & get up for that one, that's for sure!

Cheat run

15 min shakeout before the gym routine. 1.8 miles

1st track workout

On tap for today was a 5K on the track. Yes, that is all. The instructions were to do 600m at 5K pace and 1000 at hmgp x 3 -- with a hard 200m add on as the cherry on top. Last night Coach said the key to this workout was to be sure to slow way down & recover for 100-200m after each 600m portion. I kept that in mind & also planned to be a little conservative.

I was a little unsure how today would go because we have not really done any work at 5K pace to date. My plan was to let the guys set the pace for the first mile and speed up or slow if necessary from there. Three laps into the workout, though, I knew I was going to be fine. The rest of the laps were pretty much a blur.

The goal was 204-205 per 600m at 5K and 346-347 per 1000 at hmgp

207
346
201
349
158
421

I missed the split after the last 1000 so the "421" time contains an additional 200m. 1805 for the 5K. 10 miles for the day.

Mejor que nada

easy 9 in the mizuno wave riders. the shoes felt so so -- not great but not terrible either. tomorrow the plan is to run fast. should be interesting

Hills instead of the track

We didn't hit up the track today because of a strong wind and rain/sleet. I can't say that I'm upset cuz it would have been pretty rough trying to hold 5K/hmgp on the wet track with the wind gusts. Instead, we did a hill workout which was originally planned for Thurs. But this was more of hill workout (lite).

The workout is called the Marshes & is basically a fartlek: about 100-200m "on" followed by maybe 30-50m "off" -- for 6.8 miles according to the googles. The hills weren't too substantial & the workout was pretty much a cakewalk. I'm told, however, that the workout on Thurs will be much tougher. We shall see about that.

About 12.5 miles for the day

Splits for Track Workouts

5K pace -- 532 per mile, 1:23 per 400m, 41/42 per 200m
10K pace -- 545 per mile, 1:26 per 400m, 43 per 200m
hmgp pace -- 604 per mile, 1:31 per 400m, 45/46 per 200m
mgp pace -- 624 per mile, 1:36 per 400m, 48 per 200m

8 miles today

WE 16

10 miles today. 71 for the week. All is pretty well (fingers crossed things stay that way).

Awesome Fun Times in W. Austin

16 miles today -- a good 10 of that in the hills. Tough route and a good run. The down/recovery week is almost over.

Hill Prancing...

as Mike has aptly named this workout. Sisson took it easy on us today and took out the 800 m tempo portion of this workout. And we did fewer sets (only 6 times up the hill). As such, I tried to maximize each rep and focus on form. I didn't let my heels touch the ground (balls of the feet only) and tried to get my thighs horizontal to the ground -- on each trip up the hill. That may or may not make sense, but whatever. Just think of high knee from running. 12.5 miles for the day

Relaxin Wed

Easy 10 from BS. Mike & Karma for the first two, and then Jon & Keith joined Mike & I for the last 8. Karma looked really strong and looks to be down to racing weight. Mike should let him compete more often; I'm pretty sure he would destroy in his age group.

Steady steady

Today was the first time I had planned to run 10 miles steady. I have gradually built these steady runs up to the prescribed 10 miles Coach recommends. The first one was 7, then 8, and 10 today. Being a little farther to run, I didn't want to go out like a madman today, and lucky for me, Chris wanted to go out conservatively too. Thank goodness. We took it pretty easy on the way out (640s) & sped up some the 2nd half (using the downhills to our advantage). We ended with 628 overall avg and a hair under 14 miles for the day. Day 2 in the Brooks Launch; I think these shoes may be just what I need. I'll give em another week or so more before I make any further exclamations. :-)

9 Weeks out

Nine weeks from today is the 114th running of the Boston Marathon. If all goes to plan, I expect to set a sizable PR. Between now and then, though, there is still much work to be done. Now, don't get me wrong, I fully realize I'm in great shape and well on my way to achieving my goal. But I have realized, for me to achieve said goal, that I need to shorten my view (if you will). One week at a time, I need to be sure that I maximize each Tues, Thurs, & Sat (if applicable) workout. Also, I need to keep my mileage up (in the 70-80 miles per week range). To achieve these short-term goals, I need to be ready mentally and physically for each day. So that's where I am today: tightening my mental focus & doing what's necessary to ensure I'm physically ready for the next day's run/workout.

Easy 9 miles today. No Gremlin. Today I used a strategy a running buddy told me he uses on 'easy' days: "I ran as easy as my legs wanted to go." I interpreted this to mean that there should be no effort whatsoever to push the pace, and I tried flow with whatever felt comfortable to my legs the entire time. New shoes (Brooks Launch) and a good run. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Austin Marathon Workout -- w.e. # 15

the plan for today was to do 4 sets of 3 miles at 620 pace w/ a 1 mile recovery in between. a week ago, i would have told you this workout would be a breeze. toward the end of this week, though, i had an idea it might be tough. my legs just haven't been that sharp the last 3-4 days, likely due to the running for 13 consecutive days experiment. no excuses, though, i held tough today even though i was hurting pretty good the 2nd half of the run.

here's how the sets went:

623, 619, 618
614, 619, 612
629, 625, 628
643, 630, 615

so in reviewing the numbers, it is easy to see and say -- i went a little too fast in the beginning. but i would still say i knock it out of the park if i'd had "it" today. but whatever, a good day's work all in all.

22 miles for the day....65 for week.

Sat. shakeout II

Easy 6 miles. Not much to report regarding the run. I'm planning to work pretty hard tomorrow, but not quite as hard as I had originally planned. It should still turn out to be a full day's work though. The weather looks like it is going to be perfect. It should be a good day to make it hurt.

Mile Repeats

Today was mile repeat day. Originally, 6 were on the docket. Before the workout, coach said we could do 4-6, preferably 4 if doing a tough workout on Sunday (Austin M). At first, I planned to do 6. But once we got going, I got it in my mind to stop at 4. My legs just did not have 'it' today. Checked w/ the guys after the 4th one, and they were mostly on board w/ this plan too. I still feel like I cheated myself a little today. But oh well, I don't think those 2 miles are going to make or break me. At least I hope not.

4 mile warm-up
559
545
554
544
1 mile cool down.

Easy easy easy

10 miles from Rogue today. The first 40 min were a struggle; I could tell we worked yesterday. As the run went on, I felt better. Still, I'm glad that one is over.

Stratford Circuits

Stratford 4 mile loop (Stratford, Rosebud, Lake Austin Blvd, Veterans, and Mopac bridge back to Stratford) -- the marching orders were to go hard up the hills on Stratford, recover on the downs, 'steady' on the flats, 'steady' on L.A.B., and recover on Veterans/Mopac bridge. If one pushed it up the hills and did the steady portion, this workout was a doozy. I feel like I pushed it pretty good. The first 1/2 mile of Stratford w/ that big hill was the toughest part and definitely got my attention.

We did 3 loops. 27:17, 27:58, and 27:25. About 13.2 miles for the day.

The foot did great again in the Nikes. But my left hammie got a little tight on me after the first loop. Hopefully, it was just a "WTF is this" reaction to the hills. I do believe tonight I will treat myself to an ice bath. Burrr!

The streak continues

Waffled between running & not for several hours this morning, but in the end I decided what the hell. I got in 5 during lunch. Borderline weak, but it still counts.

eow # 14

I felt pretty horrendous after the run yesterday. My legs & feet felt really beat up. Maybe this should have been expected since I hadn't done a 24 miler in about a month. Also, I have not spent that amount of my time (2:59) on my feet since Portland. Whatever it was, I didn't like it at all. To compound matters, my rt foot really bothered me the last 3 miles (in the Mizunos). Boo hoo.

Anyway, this morning my foot was pretty tender in the middle of my rt forefoot. This obviously concerned me. Thus, I decided to ditch the early(ish) morning run w/ the guys. Instead, ice bucket action & a little more sleep. Once I was up & around for the 2nd time, the hoof felt a little better so I decided to give it a go. I went w/ the Nikes today. No right foot issues. Guess there is something to the different shoes & I may be to the point where I can wear them on a daily basis. Will test em out a few days in a row to see how I hold up.

10 miles today at a 740 pace. My legs felt pretty tired. 80 miles for the week so maybe that has something to do w/ it. Onward through the fog.

3hr LR

24 mile LR today at an avg pace of 728. We kept the pace in check the entire time. No shows of speed today. Though, I never really felt like I got in a good rhythm during the run. It was probably good to go easy this weekend, because I have gone pretty hard on one weekend day for the last several weeks. Then again, maybe I would have felt better if we picked it up some. Hmm.

Fri Shakeout

Easy 5 during the lunch break. It was nice to loosen things up a bit.

Tempo Run

The first tempo run of the training season was today. I planned to get a 4 mile warm-up but had RR issues so I only got in a little over three. My plan was to run be between 550 & 605 -- start out closer to 605 & pick it up just slightly if I felt okay. The first 10 min was a bit of a shock to the system but felt good from the half way point on. Now, that doesn't mean it was easy. But I felt plenty strong the 2nd half...just not used to holding the pace for longer than a say 10 min. The comfort level will come I know. Today was a good start though: 23:50 for the 4 miles -- 602, 600, 557, 551. 4 mile cool down & a little over 11 miles for the day.

Rainy 10

Managed to make it out the door this morning despite the rainy conditions (with slight prodding) -- once it was over, I was glad to have gotten it done. Kamran, Asia, and I ran around like crazies for 1:15 min. Don't know the exact distance, but I figure it was at least 10. So that is how this one goes into the books: 10. My legs felt pretty damn good -- couldn't even tell I ran the hills yesterday. I suppose that is good thing. Tempo run tomorrow, I can't wait (even if it is rainy).

Scenic Hill Loops

On tap today were Scenic Loop Hill Repeats. Instructions for the day -- start at the bottom of Scenic, run up it hard, recovery jog for like 200M, and then get into tempo pace for the rest of the loop. The loop is like .9 of a mile. Run two of them, rest for a min, and then start again. We did three sets or a total of 6 loops. I suppose that comes to about 5.4 miles of relatively hard running. This is the type of workout that is as hard as you want to make it. I tried to keep the intensity up, but there were times when I coasted on the tempo portion. Still, I had a 638 avg for the 5.4 miles (including recovery jog). We do this workout again in a few weeks so I will try to better my results at that time.

11 miles for the day

Mon Run

Lunch run from the workplace: Freidrich, St Elmo, Woodward, St Eds, Eastside, Riverside, Travis Heights & back. 68 minutes & about 120 snot rockets. Mark it 9 Dude!