1/23 updates on workouts

1/23
Mile repeats at zilker.
got up this morning and met a large group at Runtex at 5:45. Ran over to the mile repeat area at Zilker park.
Lined up and did 4-5:55, 5:43,5:38, 5:50. Hurting real bad for last one. Rest of group did another. I decided to let it go.
miles: 7

1/22
easy 7 around lake with scott and alex.
around a 7:45 pace
miles: 7

1/21
easy 7 around lake with Elissa on bike - from house to Rtex, 4 mile loop and back home.
Around a 7:30-7:15 pace
miles: 7

1/20
21 miles marathon route: 2:43 or so around a 7:30 pace. Very wet and cold. had to stop and pee 4 times: coffee? cold?
r achilles sore and r ankle flared up.

1/19
7 miles recovery around lake
miles: 7

1/18
track workout 10X800 with 2 min rest

3:00 X 4, 2:55 X 3, 2:50, 2:45, 2:31
miles: 9

bunch of down days due to ice and general slothfulness. can't remember much about miles.

1/11
track workout 20X400
5@84, 5@82, 5@80, 79,78,79,77,68.

ARA 20

Well, I've been busy lately and haven't been keeping up with this blog.

Today I ran the 20 miler as a pace run for the marathon. Greg and I were a little inconsistent in the last 5K and ran a little fast, but still ended only 20 seconds fast overall to finish in 2:24:40. It was a beautiful day out there and a good test for the marathon.

I have been inconsistent lately with miles due to travel and work, but hope to get a solid 5 weeks in before the marathon.

Dec 20

did 10 this evening from the house, down to the lake and the 7 mile loop and then back up to the house. 75 minutes.
Mileage for week
M 10
T 8
W 10
TOTAL 28 so far.
off to maui tomorrow will have to update when I get back.

12/19

12/19

So, ran about 7-8 today. I was going to do Bouldin St hill repeats but G convinced me to try his new hill workout over off Barton Hills Road (spring creek rd is the side street i think). He thinks it will help simulate the rigors of the marathon. I think we need a longer hill to work out on for that. His route is 500 meters with an initial gradual grade and then a steep bugger at the end. It hurts. I ran from the house down to runtex, then over to this workout, did 3 repeats, and then ran back to the house.

12/18

Am: did 7 with scott around the lake
Pm:3 on the treadmill at the gym.

Total so far this week:
18 miles.

15 tomorrow (10 am/5 pm)
5 thursday
5 fri
16 sat
5 sun

Need to bank some long miles before travelling. Want to get up to 56 miles this week,

62 next week, then 68, 75, 68, 75, 50, 45 (marathon week), 30, 45, 55, 65, 75, 70, 75, 45, Boston Marathon then start to cross train for tris

Sun 12/1?

So, finished out the week with 4 around the lake. Relatively fast (near 7min.mile pace) for a recovery run.

Total for week was 53.

Feel pretty good- No major aches. We'll see what this week brings as we travel to Maui on Thursday- I'll have to scout out good run s now.

update: 12/16

Well, getting back into it is rough on the ol legs. After Tuesdays Wilke fun, I was sore for a few days. I think i updated through Wed last time.

Thurs 12/14 - 7 miles on trail- decided to do recovery run until rudy showed up- middle 4 were faster than I wanted (6:40-6:20) but that's ok.

Fri 12/15- Off

Sat 12/16: Did 19 of the marathon course. It will require patience and strength. The expo hills and then the grind up to Northcross and Woodrow (along with additional bumps on North loop etc, will make this a very challenging marathon.
I did 19 in 2:22 or so. Legs were beat up at the end. Needed to have better plan for nutrition and fluid intake. Took a gel at 45 and 1:30, cup of water at 45 and 2:10. Silly.

Miles so far this week:
M7, T9, W7, Th7, F0, S19 = 49
Sunday? we'll see if i can get in a few tomorrow to get up into the 50's . Really need to be in 70's-80's in a month.

12/11 and 12/12

12/11 -

7 miles with the boys- Did first few of marathon course and then 4 mile loop- 7.5 miles or so- 53 minutes i think.
Tweaked ankle again on trail - too dark.

12/12 -

Wilke repeats: Q1 workout: This was a good workout for a change. I didn't try to hammer from the beginning and tried to work on proper form. Consciously attempting to not swing left foot in during kick.

Rtex to hill and back- 5 miles

Wilke X 10 average 1.08 + 3 backwards + 5 sprints. - 4 miles

total: 9 miles

Mileage to date this week: 16
Goal: 45-50

recap of last few days

Alright.

Recap:

Decker race (12/03): Cold and windy- Ran first mile in 5:51- whooops. Dropped back to 6:30-6:40 pace and held it there. I really didn't have much more to give. Lack of hills training and lack of fire really don't make for a stellar race. Finished in 1:23 and change. Bleahhhh.
miles: 15

12/04 Ran 7 with Scott and Dwayne. 7:30 pace.

12/05 Ran 10 around lake / 74 minutes.

12/06 off

12/07 Intervals at track. Ran 600m/ 200m jog 400m/2 min rest X 5
times: 2:04/82, 2:04/77, 1:57/75, 2:00/70, 2:02/73.
Those times hurt. Right foot sore (Plantar?) ankle ok. Left foot sore too.
Miles: 7

tues 11/28

well, ankle felt OK and I knew colder weather was coming, so i strapped on the filas and met the boys down at the corral before milers at zilker.

Total distance: 7 or so.
Repeats with 2 min rest 6:30, 6:10, 6:00, 5:57

had a side stitch on last one. I don't like side stitches.

times a little slow, but at least I did them. Slow to get back in shape.

monday 11/27

seven on the trail with a few friends today- Scott mc. Patrick, Alex P, Erine...Ran choppy for a few miles (up and down ) then settled into low 7's for the remainder.

7 miles / 51-52 mins

Tweaked ankle about 1/2 way through, hit a rock the wrong way and collapsed left ankle out (heard crunchy pop), Kept up the pace but it was (and is quite tender). Ice and rest will hopefully deal with it.

sunday 7 - 11/26

Did an easy 7 on the trail this afternoon-
51 and change- went a little faster than i was planning- can't seem to turn down the motors and when I do, they rev back up again real quick. Saw Mario on the trail. Hope he rests well and gets that knee fixed so he can come back even stronger in the spring. Ran without a shirt, mid-70's.

Mileage goal: 45 this week.
Race on Sunday at Decker.

Tuesday will be a hills workout. maybe some Bouldin St. mile repeats to get ready for Sunday.
Thursday will be an interval workout on trail- 2 on , 1 off.
rest will be makeup miles.

Saturday long run 11/25

Ran 14.5 today with Scott, Mike Woo, David Weaver + son on bike, and John Paladino.
Route: Rock, Mt Bonnell, Balcones, Hancock, Shoal Creek (s), 34th (e), Speedway, campus, congress, N trail, Rock.
First 4 were at 7 or sub-7, then bonnell, balcones, hancock at about 7:30 pace, then back to low 7s to congress, then below 7 to end.
Start: 7:30 am, upper 50's, humid, sunny. ran with singlet.
Time: 1:45
Average pace-7:10ish.
Felt like a race. Tough, but glad i hung on. Great group of masters runners to train with. I will hopefully have a little more umphhh at the end in weeks to come.

Total miles for week:
44

Thanksgiving week

Just a quick update on my first week back,

Sun-10 miles on trail
Mon- 6 miles on trail (7:15 pace)- GI tract trouble - Food poisoning? 40 min- weights at golds afterwards for 45 min
Tues-Wilke - 5 mile wu/cd with 5 up, 1 backwards at hill. Felt tired and stomach sick- hadn't really eaten. total miles = 7
Wed-6 miles- house to trail to congress ave bridge to lamar st back to aud shores, up hill to home. 42min- weights at golds after

notes: probably too many miles first week back. already at 29 miles. ah well, F*** it. not going to stop now.

Goal this week- 40-45 miles


ankle flaring up a little, mainly just feel stiff and tight. Speed is way off, no real strength on hills. need to build some more base with a strength and speed/threshold workout per week.

Hills/Strength on tues, Threshold for 6 weeks (b run) then switch to speed?

It's been a while...November 19th

Well, it has been a long time since I have had the time or energy to update the blog. I have been up to my hambones in dissertation and finally defended successfullly on Friday the 17th. TFG. I ran for the first time in a few weeks this morning and decided to try out my new fila sanctuary's- gift from the pace gods. The shoes are 1/2 size too large, and I find that I kick my opposite calf with the toe box when I am getting tired...I've always done this, but haven't noticed it so much until today. MAy be a sizing thing, or may be a weak legs thing. Quads started to ache also about 5 miles in, weak hammies?


Anyway, did the 10 mile TLT loop, getting used to new shoes and a new nike watch. it was absolutely beautiful out however, so the time was quite pleasant. I ran the first few around 8 and then started dropping down to 7:15s or so. Mile 5 was at 37.50 - total was at 73 minutes- surprizingly fast for the lack of running i've done recently. I felt fairly strong until the last mile or so, and just tried to keep the pace down. Frustrating to still feel like I have to pass anybody who looks like someone in my age group...Wish I could just run my own pace, but perhaps I need to fire up the juices again and kicking some poor unsuspecting guys butt on the trail is the price I have to pay.

Will pace ATT, race Boston.

Race Decker, and any little 5Ks that are cheap to get the blood flowing again.

10/10 update

Quick summary of last few days.

Saturday, 10/07
ran 14.5 or so with Jorge and Steve Hernandez, Averaged 7.20s or so. Good run and no issues with ankle.
Last weeks total was 48 or so.

Sunday 10/08
Ran 5 easy at dusk (warning- don't run over the congress bridge during bat takeoff, people are idiots.

Monday 10/09
7.5 easy in morning, 8:00 pace or so. Ran with young gun and patrick.

Tuesday 10/10
7 or so. 4X2000 repeats at Zilker with morning group. Got there at 6...group had started at 5.45. sigh.
6.54, 6.59, 7.05, 6.59. felt controlled for most of the repeats. Fast group ramped up quickly and I dropped back quickly. Ran by myself for 1,2 and 4, with Dustin and Jimmy W. for the third one. I was happy with the times considering my lack of recent training.

Friday 10/06 recap of the week

Well, its been a while since I wrote anything in the blog. Other bits of life have kept me extremely busy and my running has suffered over the last few weeks. Mileage has been waaaaay low and motivation to get out there has been lagging as well.
I am pulling it back together however, and need to keep up with the recording of workouts since this seems to be a good way to build a running log and keep myself accountable.

I am making a few changes, primarily to my running schedule and will be focusing on two quality workouts per week. I'll be running hard on Tuesdays and on the Bomb run on Fridays. Long runs ideally will be on Sundays unless there is a race, in which case the race will take the place of the Tuesday quality run. I will also be running in the mornings due to work/family conflicts for afternoon runs. Mondays will be recovery days with the cannonballers, Wednesday will be crosstraining, thursday will be easy/long, Need to get up to and stay at 70 miles if possible by December. Goal races will be ATT if course looks good. Boston will be #2 race. Will start preparing for the Texas Tri series after Boston as recovery.

I will start with today and work backwards.

Mileage this week: 34 with 15 tomorrow AM will bring it to 49.

Friday, 10/06 - 10 miles
Practice Bomb run. I started with the large group of bomb runners this morning and we were quickly running 6:30's or so. By the 4th mile I could feel it and my GI tract was rebelling against the early hour and unaccustomed pace. One pitstop later and I was left in the dust. I limped in behind the group at 68:30 after another pitstop by the tennis courts. I was happy to finish under 70 minutes in any event. Actually, I was just happy to finish. Lessons: Wake earlier and evacuate system before run begins. Work on nutrition and hydration.

Thursday 10/05 1000's at zilker - 8 miles
I ran with the afternoon group after a long hiatus. We started with a 3000 (11.00) and followed with 1000's (3.28, 3.25, 3.21, 3.21). I knew I was doing the bomb so didn't really push it. I am also attempting to restrain myself from bumping back up to fitness too quickly. My ankle needs time to get used to this stuff again.

Wed off

Tuesday 10/03
7 mile easy run around lake-49.18

Mon off

Sunday IBM 10K 9 miles
37.55 Horrible.

Before sunday- 3-4 days no running due to conference and life. Before that is a hazy hazy memory of being fit and in shape.

Monday 9/25 IBM simulation

Decided to try a simulated IBM route without the drive up north. Started at 6am with DV and ran from B Springs to the rock, DV went right on the trail, I took a left out LAB to enfield, over to Pecos, up to Windsor, back on Expo to the rock, and then back over to the Springs. Felt like a similar type course. Little up, little down with some long boring stretches (Specifically LAB standing in for Great Northern). I was a little uneven in pacing, so decided on an impromptu fartlek session where I would pick a landmark and pick up the pace to it, then slow down for recovery, then speed up again. I figure its good training for surges in race conditions. Didn't check the time. Legs were a little sore from long run.

sunday long run 9/24

Ran long today knowing that the weather was going to cool. Arranged to meet Rosenthal and started off from the house at 8am. Very civilized run. We did click off the majority of the miles between 7-7:30 pace, with a few sub 7s at the end. Most notably a 6:30 up Bouldin St for the last mile. Tried a new route I'd been thinking about. Basically got on Annie at S 1st and ran east till it dead ends over by Riverside and Pleasant Valley rd (lots of dips and little rises up to riverside). Then did the grove loop from there, with a hilly last mile back up to Bouldin. It was good. 15 miles on the button. 7:10 average.

9/21 Autumnal Equinox Tempo run

Did the 4 mile Tempo run yesterday afternoon. Temps were up around 90.
2 mi W/U
4 Mile Tempo around 24.
2 Mi C/D
8 miles total.

Felt comfortably hard for first 2.5 or so, just under or at 6min/mi pace. Then the legs got a little heavy and I lost some focus.
Tried to lean forward, breathe in different pattern, slow up a fraction, speed up a fraction, count my steps, etc and finally pulled it together although the last 1200m was really tough. I didn't run as fast as I expected but will be happy that I was focused on consistancy, not racing.

I really need a race to see where i am.

9/19 and then she said

Why are you running up a hill called Possum trot?
5X1000@3.46 with 2.75mile W/U and 2.75 C/D
total mileage 8 or so.
I was late to the workout today so got to run alone. Practiced steady breaths and high knees.
I practiced running under control up hills today. Wanted to see how that affected my time. By backing off slightly (based effort on breathing pattern and rate) I was able to hit the last hill a little harder and still brought in some respectable times. The only time i was really laboring was on the last one, and up that last hill on Meridan.
I think i'll try to maintain this pace (3:45 or so) for the next time and see if the effort is easier. Then use a race to determine if I should drop my time some. The meridan workout is primarily a strength builder and ball breaker workout for me, not a speed session. Save that for the track.

Monday 9/18

Did 7 on the trail today with Patrick and Liliana.

Legs still beat up after 18 on Saturday. We started at B Springs and Patrick and Liliana were excitable because they are thinking of CIM as their goal race. Because it is closer than ATT, a heightened sense of focus was clear in their pace. Amazing what fear can do! Anyway, we went to north side of trail and splashed through about 4 miles in the dark. Picked it up at the Congress Ave bridge. I really wasn't in the mood for a firing of the cannon, but went ahead and put a few miles of work in. Patrick and Liliana were right on my tail and passed me as I stopped at the 35 bridge for water. I caught up to P coming down the hill on Riverside and we ran together until the Statesman building, when he got a cramp/pulled his calf muscle slightly. We walked for a while, and then with Liliana, jogged it back to the springs to chill the sore legs and revive the spirit. Liliana explored the remains of a crawfish (that had been regurgitated by a heron) with her fingers, and then we all parted ways for a brand new week. Don't you wish you were there?

recap of the week 9/16

Been busy etc so the blog suffered. Here is what i've been up to.

Sunday - Long Run: Ran scenic loop up to Bonnell /steps/side road and back on scenic - total was about 15 miles- didn't time it.

Monday- we did the cannonball run from B springs, 5 mile loop, up congress to Annie, annie to bouldin and then back down to the trail and over to B Springs. It was quite tough running up Congress and It will be interesting to see how that affects the marathon group as time goes on. Total miles were 7 or so i think. Didn't pay too much attention to watch

Tuesday- Wilke repeats
Ran alone from Rtex and met group at base of Wilkes, Did 7 repeats fairly consistently (1:02-1:03), with 3 backwards and 3 sprints. Then ran alone back to Rtex. total miles are about 8 I think with all the ups and downs etc. Felt OK, ankle bothering me

Wednesday- Off

Thursday- 1000's at AHS, this workout didn't go as planned. I was hoping for 8 with a faster finish on the last two. Started out with 3:26 and held it there painfully for 6. Legs felt really dead and I couldn't muster up another 2. C'est la guerre...Bummed but realistic. Not everyday can be a great one. ran back the long way as self punishment. Mileage was about 8.

Friday- off

Saturday - Wanted to get a look at the course for marathon. Started with Paul, Pete , Floyd etc and quickly dropped off the pace. Ended up running for a while with Paul and Dustin and then at Enfield I peeled off on my own. Went to Pecos and started back west, missing the turn on Winston to get back to Expo. So I ended up running all the way to 35th on Pecos (quite hilly!) and caught up with another group, Greg, Scott M, Mike, Roger...so ran with them up Balcones to hancock and then foolishly turned N on Shoal Creek rather than S like they did. Ran up to Allandale, got lost for a while and began to dream of ice water. Finally made my way along Koenig to Lamar and got back on track at North loop. I knew that the course turned S. on Guadalupe after just a little bit on Nloop but I aimed for the new coffee shop further up the street for water. The barrista gave me a glorious cup filled to the brim with ice and water. It was probably the best cup of water i'd had in a while. So I drank that, knowing that GI issues may ensue. I did not care. Walked for about 50 meters to let it settle and then ran up northloop to airport blvd, finally turning S on that little side street parallel to Airport B... Ran down to R River, and then R. River to 38th. I ran along the edge of the golf course there on a little XC trail that parallels 38th st , it was a nice change. At the top of one little hill, next to a bathroom, was a hose bib at drinking level. Awesome! I soaked my head, drank about 2 quarts, and tried to cool the legs a little, muscles were getting fatigued. This is a great little secret watering hole and pitstop. shhhhhh.
At Duval and 38th, I turned S again and staggered down Duval, through campus to Jester for one last water stop and then past Ann Richards as she was being brought into the capital ( I stopped for this and took off my hat, felt rather foolish, but it seemed like the appropriate thing to do) and then down congress right before some parade (perhaps for ann richards? ). Anyway, the run took 2:20, distance was about 18.25 and I'm glad its over. I was dehydrated early on and really seemed affected by the water. A few minutes after drinking some, I'd want more. Real craving. Of course, I hadn't done 18 and wasn't really expecting to this morning, so that may have had something to do with it also. Legs were really tight for the last 3 miles, will need to work on this and get them used to long distances.

Mileage for week was at 56.

Sunday long run - 15 on 9/10

Ran alone this morning, missed yesterday and friday due to school stuff. This is going to be a rough month trying to write and teach and run...I finally got out the door at 9:15 and ran from Rtex through scenic, over bonnell to balcones and back down bonnell through scenic and back on the trail. I was having a hell of a time keeping the pace easy. I think I was anxious about other stuff and I kept peeling off mid to low 7's or so. I finally stopped and walked for a few feet, and had a good talking to with myself about peaking early, and running too hard, etc. Anyway, that helped for about 1/4 mile, then I was all over the place again. Turmoil.
Stats
Total distance 15 miles
Total time 1:47
Average pace 7:08
AHR 163
1 - 7:32
2-7:21
3- 7:40
4- 7:10
5- 6:39
6-7:33
7- 7:22
8-8:20
9-6:40
10-7:26
11- 6:23
12-6:56
13-6:47
14-6:34
15-6:32

fartlek on the trail 9/7

Since the track was being used for a football game last night, we went to the trail and did a fartlek workout. I ran the 10 mile loop with a 2 mile warm up and then 20 X 1 min on / 1 min off followed by a 2 mile cool down. The workout got progressively harder after about 12 repeats of this cycle. I was finished with the last repeat at the rock, so did a cool down back to Rtex.
The best thing? no ankle pain. Felt good but I wished we could have done those 400's. I was looking forward to that. Maybe in a few weeks.

recovery run- yeah right. 9/05

Rudy, Jorge and I decided that a 9.25 mile recovery run was much more pleasurable with the cooler temps this afternoon so we trotted off. The route was a backwards version of the Bolder Boldin route. Here is the link to the route.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=416159
We had a great run and enjoyed the temps. I felt really fresh today-We did the loop in 1.05 which equals about a 7 min mile pace overall. This was a good effort based on the monster hill about 6 miles in (Robert E Lee). Stopped off and got some syrupy gatorade at the track.
A run to boost confidence, for sure.

Fila relays 9/01

Peter, Rudy, Brian and I teamed up to race for the masters title this year at the relays. I ran the last leg with cotton mouth, a side stitch and Paladino breathing down my neck. It was ugly but I managed to hold him off and we took the crown.
My time was slow compared to many of the other masters runners so I will need to keep sharpening for the DC.
The timefor my leg was 13.40 = 5.36/mi or so...really needs to be faster than this.

bolder bouldin 7.5 9/04

Ran the boldin route today.
Started slow and keep the pace easy till Bouldin road. Picked it up for the last 1/2.
Ran with Floyd for the fast bit.
Last time we did this route earlier in the summer, I ran 59 and change, today, I ran 52 and change. Felt good to push a little.

8/30 recovery

7 miles easy around the lake.
51 minutes.
Nice and cool for a change.
Legs felt ok after FIT test.

FIT test 8/29

results from the fitness test

Procedure
Here's how it works.
You go to the UT stadium 8th Floor and go into this little room with a treadmill etc.
Someone weighs you, measures body fat composition with a weird little caliper thing, and then sets you up on the treadmill with a HR monitor on. You warm up for 5 or so minutes at a comfortable pace. Then they stop the treadmill and you bite down on a snorkle mouthpiece that is connected to some hoses that lead into a computer. You have to run breathing only through your mouth. They also put a nose clip on so you are forced to breathe through the mouth. this feels claustrophobic at first but soon you get used to it. Then the fun begins. You run in 4 minute segments to begin, starting at a comfortable pace. Every 4 minutes, you get off the treadmill, they stick you with a lancet (only had to do this once and then just squeezed the b'jesus out of my earlobe to get more blood) and draw a drop of blood from your ear. (you get to take off the snorkle and drink some water). Then they up the speed incrementally until you have reached some threshold (Don't know how they decide this. I think it's a combo of lactate threshold data and heart rate data). For me, they started the 4 minute intervals at a 6:50 pace, and I did the final one at a 6.00 pace. Then they make you keep the snorkel in, and they increase the speed by about 10 sec/mile every minute until you cry uncle. For me, they started at 5:50, went to 5:35, 5.25, 5.15, 5.00 and then 1 minute at 5.00 with a 1% incline because the machine didn't go any faster. I was toast at the end of this and called it a day. I ran about 5 miles total with about 35 minutes "under load"
Heres the data compared to last year at this time:

Data 08/2006 09/2005

Fat 6.5% 6.5%
VO2max 64 60.3
Max Speed 12.3 11.4
Max HR 191 187
LT (%VO2max) 82.8% 82.8%

Performance predictors show about a +6% difference in projected performance over the last year. The numbers vary so widely between predictors that i am not posting them.
All of this is a bit confusing to me. I am happy that I am in better shape, but don't want to be limited by a number or test.
The key will be to see how to use this info in the training. Especially with some of the HR ranges they suggested.

8 miles Monday 8/28

Good start to the week with a solid effort over Stratford and back on the N side of the trail to S 1st, finishing back at the springs. We had Scott, Patrick, David A, Lili, Ashley, and Chad as a group. This run has become a great time to see some folks I rarely get to see any more.
We started a little more aggressively today, but the group held together through stratford and then split up at LAB. I ran behind Scott on LAB and then caught him on the trail- we were averaging 6:15's. I died about 1000 meters out from the finish and stumbled in at a 6:30ish pace. It was good to practice getting the HR up early.
Total time was 59:30 for 8 miles.

8/26 twelve

Rather a discombobulated run today. Woke up late, didn't hydrate or nuutrate, got to B Springs south and ran with Sanchez, Ramchop, Rude boy and Rocker. It was a whine fest for a while, with temps high, humidity high, and a general sense of discontent in the air. We ran to Expo, up to 35th, to S Creek, to 45th, to speedway, and back through campus to the lake on Congress. 12 miles, average was around 8:30's. I think the change in starting location, my general ennui, and the lack of sleep/preparation made this run tiresome. The company was worth it though.

Off the weekly goal by a few, I think I ended up with 47 or 48.
C'est la vie....

seven miles of heat 8/25

Did a 5:30p recovery run today after a day off yesterday. Noticing a lot of mental resistance this afternoon. I think the stress of the rest of my life is preventing me from just letting go and running. I kept feeling that I had to stop because I had too much to do to be running. After 4 miles, these feelings suddenly went away. Partially because i was running around others more, and also because i tried to talk myself out of feeling crappy. Physically, the ankle is still quite sore and both knees feel tight. THe last two were fairly easy after a good soaking at the shower by the rock.
Tomorrow will be an easy long run with friends. No pushing until the very last few.
Even with all the bellyaching, i was able to pull off a 50 minute run for 7, so i guess my fitness is still OK. Head just wasn't in the game today. These slumps come with the miles i think. Running a few more miles per week can become a chore when the honeymoon PRs are over and the fatigue leaves one open for the running blues. This is minor though, and will go away when my plate has been emptied a little.

Mileage - 7
time - 50.00
Total for week - 36ish.
need 14-16 tomorrow.

tired 5 8/23

Well, I was really hurting after last nights little interval session so my grandiose plans for a 10 mile recovery run quickly turned into a stumbling 5 mile endurance shuffle. I have a lot on my plate at the moment, and the running mileage is going to be the first thing to jettison unfortunately, but thats OK, because my base is strong and I could use a few lighter weeks to control the injury. I will only be able to run about 45 minutes per day, and may not be able to make all Gazelles workouts until the Diss is finished and the new job settles down. I am noticing also that the ankle is flaring up a little with the added stress, so I am not running the 5K this weekend and will focus on being strong for the relays instead.
Modified goals:

This week:
Miles so far:
Sun: 7.25
Mon 7.5
Tues 9.5
Wed 5
total so far: 29.25

Goal: 50 need 20.75

Thurs rest day (10th wedding Anniversary! )
Friday Bomb or easy 7
Sat 14

Zilker 1000s 8/22

Just the Numbers
Mileage 9.5
8X1000 3 min recovery
1 3.12
2 3.20 173
3 3.20 178
4 3.20 180
5 3.19 174
6 3.18 184
7 3.15 183
8 3.08 181

went too fast on cool down (hr was 180BPM for the run back). Felt like absolute crap. Still do in fact.

This was a hard workout.

Black Cat 7 8/21/06

We did the 7 mile loop this morning, CCW. Ran with Duane, Scott, Jorge, David V, Michael, John C, and Liliana for first 2 and then picked up the pace at the 35 bridge and ran in with Jorge for a while, then picked it up again and drove it home. Felt good to pick it up. I could feel myself at that threshold of blowing up around 6, but was able to find rhythm again which was good. Will need to get a few more in later in the week to make my goal.
1 9.54 130
2 8.29 183
3 7.50 173
4 6.47 185
5 6.39 185
6 6.16 192
7 5.54 181 +0.36@5.51 178

8/20 sunday in the shade

took a nice easy run on the B springs greenbelt this afternoon. I saw a few lizards, a bunch of rock climbing hippies, a few mountain bikers, and very little water. I ran in from the south side of the springs (free parking) and ran in 3.5 miles, turned and came back. I wanted to strengthen the ankle, run in the shade, and test my ability to run slowly on recovery days. It worked.
Distance 7.25 miles. Goals this week: 65 miles. Step up the intensity just a little.

M-10 miles on rocket run
T- 1000's at Zilker (7 miles)
W-10 miles recovery
Th-800's (7 miles)
F- 8 miles recovery
S- long run (16)

long run 8/19

Mt Bonnell route today.
Don't have time for long report.
Numbers:
54 up 7.4 miles
44 down (via exposition) 6.6 miles

went out faster than planned, ran by feel.
Still harnessing power for fall. All systems go.

Total miles 14
for week 61

8/18 5 at 5

5 mile recovery run around the lake at 5pm. HUMID after rain. still over 100 degrees.
average 7:30's or so- total time was 37.30
legs tired after yesterday. Not looking forward to tomorrows long run.

1200's at the track

104 degrees/5:30 pm/ track workout.
These are the days to live for. Who else in their right mind would be out in this weather?
1200's today.
1200X4 with a 2min rest then 5X200 with 200m jog.
Total miles 9.5

miles for week 42.5 goal by Saturday 60.

tomorrow 5 easy
Sat 14 daniels modified lr


Ran behind Des, Paul and Rudy today for the work out. G wanted 82-85's for the 400's, which equates to 4:10 - 4:25 1200.

here are the splits w/ HR

1. 4.12 AHR 176
2. 4.15 AHR 175
3. 4.10 AHR 177
4. 4.09 AHR 176

What was surprising to me was the AHR- lower than I would have thought given the pain I was in for the last few. Again, the leaning helped for the last 600m of the last repeat and I felt very relaxed, but I have no leg speed. So i wonder if i am setting an artifical threshold for myself that is based on pain vs my actual Vo2 max. I am at the low end of VO2 max workout with these values. Maybe i need to push myself into more pain and see how that equates to HR? I will be doing a VO2 / lactate test at UT in a few weeks so maybe they will have some answers.

10miler 8/16

Ran 10 this afternoon around the lake
first 5 with Erine and Jorge (41 or so) , last 5 alone ( 37)
total 1:18
Long and slow. Last 3 miles were really tough, needed more water. had to stop at the dog park and pour water over head.

8/15 meridian and 12th

We did 1000's at 12th and Meridian tonight, it was very hot. I ran over from Runtex Riverside with Patrick G. and met the group at LA blvd. We then trotted up to 12th and began the workout. Its amazing how draining 16 minutes of VO2 Max can be. I was wiped after 4 repeats.
Stats
Miles : 8
Weekly total : 23
repeats 90s rest
1: 3:49
2: 3:50
3: 3:49
4: 3:46
didn't use HR monitor for fear of knowing how high my HR was. Some things are better left unknown:)

also did 5 up/ 3 back up the first hill to finish off. Ran back to Riverside alone - it was a tough few miles.

I feel good about tonights effort. I was happy to improve from the last time we did this ( ithink i was doing closer to 4 min)
and it was good to get a VO2 max workout in. I felt like death on the last one, but it was kind of cool to step back from the pain and observe what i was feeling from a more objective place. I felt calm for some weird reason, even though i was really struggling. We had some guests from the AM group and that was fun.

sparkler run 8/14

600am progressive run with the monday morning group. We did a 7.5 mile loop that included 4 mile trail run with a detour up and around the bouldin / barton hills area. First portion of run was easy and on the north side of the trail to congress and back to Rtex, second portion was over to B springs road and up through bouldin creek area to lamar on Mary, and last portion was Heather/bluebonnet back to R E Lee blvd and the springs. We had a strong group today that included Scott, Patrick, Jorge, Erine, David A, David V, Duane and Chad. Great camraderie and laughter, awesome way to start the week.

I felt good for the entire run, strong on the hills, in control. No real issues with ankle etc, legs felt tight at first but loosened up.

I am going to include stats from now on when i wear the HR monitor, for posterity.

Total distance: 7.68miles / 59.30 min
Average pace 7.45 mile
Average HR 165
M1 9.44 176bpm wow that's high HR
M2 8.07 180bpm ditto
M3 8.20 150bpm trail
M4 8.12 149bpm trail
M5 7.30 157bpm bouldin
M6 7.00 170bpm bluebonnet
M7 6.46 176bpm (last 0.68m 5.37 173bpm) bluebonnet and R E Lee

8/13 recovery run 7.5 miles

THis afternoon i ran with a Garmin 301 to see what a recovery run effort should look like with HR monitor etc. THe heat was on though, so the values may be off due to that added stress. I ran from my house down to Rtex Riverside, did the 4 mile loop and then back home.
Total miles: 7.5
Time 54.46
Average pace: 7:20
AHR: 161 bpm

I paid fairly close attention to the HR and noticed that it went up about 10 bpm on hills, but on one long hill it dropped back down to 160 or so after the initial peak up to 180ish.. The run felt OK, legs were a little beat up from Saturday, ankle a little sore, etc.

Here are the splits for posterity

M1 7.35 142bpm
M2 7.34 159bpm
M3 7.23 168bpm
M4 6.33 174bpm (under mopac bridge- signal weak so mile was off a little)
M5 7.19 158bpm
M6 7.31 174bpm (hill on way home)
M7 7.31 165bpm + last 0.5mile @ 7.01 171 bpm

Don't really know what to make of all this. Checking the HR all the time was a pain, and I felt controlled by technology. I may use the garmin but not look at it till the end to get a sense of what i did.

When I had my VO2 max tested at UT last year, they gave me some HR ranges for different workouts.
Here is what they told me:

First, my data from this test (taken 9/16/05)

Maximal data:
VO2 max (ml/kg/min) 60.3
HRmax 187bpm

They said that the % HR for me are:
60% Vo2max 131bpm
70% Vo2max 147bpm
80% Vo2max 163bpm
90% Vo2max 172bpm

VO2max workouts: 95-98% HRmax, 2-6 min intervals @ 178-185bpm, rest 50-90% for a total of 2.5-5 miles of running
Threshold workouts 20-40 minutes at 158bpm,
Endurance workouts 140-150bpm

I really don't know how accurate these numbers are. Using these recommondations, I did a threshold workout tonight, not a recovery run. MAybe i need to get another test done for current fitness levels.

18 miles 8/12

Did a portion of the Austin marathon course this morning. Conditions were nice, with moderate temps, and moderate humidity. Here is the route ( http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=359705 )
It was 18 on the dot. Started at 5:30 up at S. Springs and Jollyville and eased on down the road. I decided that today was going to be a recovery day along with an endurance run to get my body used to long runs (over 14 miles) again. Therefore, I decided to enjoy the company (which was easy, based on the runners I spent time with) and the scenery.

Total time was 2.23 which is about 7.50s or so. I felt good until making a pit stop about 8 miles in, then the legs felt dead for the rest of the run. I am wondering if I need to pick it up more and if that increased turnover will help the tiredness. May try this next week, when i plan to run a modified daniels long run that incorporates some time at tempo pace as well as running easy.
I didn't eat or have coffee before the run, and only got 4.5 hours sleep and this change in the normal routine may have contributed to my general tiredness during the effort.

2000's 8/10

5:30pm/100+/7.5 miles
tonight we did the 2000's at Zilker. I practiced running evenly and visualised what a 10K would be like running at the pace I was running...hmmmm, i don't think so. I had set a goal to run the last one below 7 minutes and decided to do 3 repeats rather than 4. (2 minute rest)
My splits:
Repeat1-7.19 (pace roughly 5.40 at mile mark)
Repeat2-7.15
Repeat3-6.55(pace roughly 5.30 at mile mark)

Thoughts: My pace felt controlled throughout one and two, effort was moderately hard/hard. Number three was hard/very hard
a bit uncontrolled. My breathing was ragged and I had to really focus on pulling the rhythm back together after about 400m. I leaned forward and felt more comfortable and was able to regain some control for the rest of the repeat and opened it up for the last 400 along the road.

Went and watched the road race afterwards and saw Steven and Rudy post some respectable 5K times. J Paladino won in 17 and change. G said i could run faster than that right now...hmmmmm, we'll see.

7 on the trail 8/9/06

430pm Hot, humid etc, felt hotter than yesterday, Found Rudy at Rtex Riverside and joined him for a 7 miler around the trail. Went out too hard and felt bad until the last few miles, when i decided to lean forward. WOW what a difference 10 degrees of lean makes. My breathing immediately became less labored, i felt like i could take full breaths, i could feel the power transfer in my quads and my arms and shoulders relaxed. I was able to run quite well and felt better than before. G has told me to do this before and i have tried without the dramatic success that i felt today. Ususally because I was in O2 debt already and couldn't feel much of anything...IE Bomb Run. Here are the splits:
M1: 7.05
M2: 7.10
M3: 6.54
M4: 7.08
M5: 7.27
M6: 6.24
M7: 6:03
the last two are when i changed my posture. Of course we also stopped for water so that may have had something to do with it. However, I changed posture about 500m into the 6th mile and noticed the difference immediately. Rudy was running effortlessly next to me the whole time- He is in great shape already.

Did 7 strides with full recovery afterwards and noticed that my calves were beginning to tighten up on me for the last 3 or so. Need to pay attention to this.
Ankle is sore for first 400-800m and then tender afterwards.
tomorrow is 2000's: goal is to run negative splits down to 7 min for last one.

wilke 8/8

today- wilke repeats

hot, humid etc
2.5 wu
average time up 65 sec X 7
3 backwards
5 sprints
2.5 cool down.

Felt OK. Hills were hard, but when aren't they hard?

monday recovery 6 8/07

530pm @ 96 degrees (102 Heat index), 5 mile TLT loop.

Did an easy 6 around the lake to get the legs back on track from vacation. I wanted to run 7:45's but got off to a quicker start and just stayed at it. It was great to be back home and on familiar turf. I realise how important my running buddies are when i'm not around. I was able to chat with G, Rudy and Duane at the start, saw a slim-looking Mario cruising on the trail, ran into my nephew Orin and ran with him for a while, saw Henry Harless busting along, Waved to fellow gazelle Kimberly on the way back and finished up by talking with Ruthie E from the rogues back at Runtex. Missed Pablo in the parking lot but saw his truck parked.
My legs felt fairly heavy at the beginning so i curtailed the original plan to do 7 and dropped it to 5. After running over the Congress Bridge, I settled in and realised I was running faster than I had planned, oh well. I backtracked for about a 1/2 mile with Orin so added about a mile total to the distance.
Mile 1 : 7.20
Mile 2-3 : 12.21- ran an extra mile or so with Orin
Mile 4 : 7.18
Mile 5 : 6.40
Mile 6 : 6.44

didn't do strides although i should have.

Feelings: Well, I was a bit surprised that my recovery run was at this speed. Either the week off has left me with fresh legs or I was on some artifical plane that i will be rudely bumped from today at Wilke. Hard to tell. It didn't feel easy, but it also didn't feel particularily hard. I am a little concerned that if i keep consciously telling myself to slow down on recovery days, that i'll lose the sensation of going fast and will shy away from pain during race days. Last year i felt so ambivalent about competing that I am really trying to nurture the flame again. When i was competitive a few years back, i ran scared for most of the races because of the DC. There were specific runners who were gunning for me and that was really stressful. However, that feeling did evoke good performances as well. I think the key this year is to be confident in my preparation and to run the DC as competitively as possible, while also training for Dallas as my key marathon. Adding the stress of DC races will stoke the fire, and the long term plan for Dallas will keep me balanced. Getting 2 high quality days a week will also be key.
We'll see.

Block Island Tri report 8/5/06

This is a race report for the BI tri that I just completed. For those who don;t know, my sister Belinda is a closet jock who recently caught the tri bug and persuaded me to join her for the second time at this event. We both spent a good portion of our childhood on Block Island (off the coast of RI) so it was special to compete there. The race is a modified sprint with a 400m ocean swim, 14 mile bike and 4 mile beach run. There were only 300 or so participants.
Elissa and I got to the Island on Wednesday and spent a few days at the beach and generally tooling around (BI is only 13 or so miles long).

We stayed at a cool little B&B and I did little training. I decided to give the legs a rest week because I know how much of a pounding they will take this fall. Conditions were very hot and humid for most of the trip, but i was used to it so it worked to my advantage in the race I think. The water was comparable in temperature to Barton Springs but was obviously salty and very clear.
Because of the 1 hour ferry ride from the mainland, the tri didn't start until noon. On race day morning i was able to get up late, eat a good breakfast, delete the previous nights dinner and slowly mosey over to the starting area at the main beach pavillion. I was using my bro-in-laws bike (specialized sequoia) which is set up more for touring and event rides, so i was not thinking heavily about competing, but more about enjoying the event and getting a good workout. I got to the bike racks at 10am and set up fairly quickly. I racked my bike, arranged my shoes, helmet, gels, etc on the ground and got my swim cap and number. There were a fair number of very nice tri bikes (guru's , kestrels, Q Roos etc) and people were milling around and bragging about their times etc. I Found Belinda and her South African friends who had come over to race and we chatted for a while and paced around in the shade of the bathhouse. It was getting quite warm (Upper 80's) and the beach sand burned the soles of my feet. despite the heat and fancy tri outfits out in the racking area, I still felt no real anxiety (This is a bad sign for me because I need a little nervous juice usually to get focused). We got the basic pre-race instructions about 15 minutes prior to the start, and were split into 5 year age brackets, each to start at 1 minute intervals from the first group. No marshalls on the course, no road closures, Saturday at the height of the summer season running on the most popular beach on the island. This is a grass roots race and includes jumping over kids building sandcastles, avoiding tourists from NJ driving on the one country road like its the turnpike, and hopped up roadies who forgot to read about the no drafting rules for tri events. Elissa was set up down the beach just a little ways so we took a few pics.

The start involved a 50 yard dash parallel to the water through the sand and then a perpendicular 100 meter leg, buoy, 200 meter leg parallel to shore, buoy, and final 100m leg perpendicular to shore and up to the bike transition through deep hot sand and fist sized rocks.
As the 40-45 group lined up, i noticed that these boys looked kind of serious about all this. We got the word to go and we all made a mad sprint down the beach to the water entrance. I must say i was shocked at how fast a bunch of the people were in my group as they bolted ahead of me. I dove in and promptly knocked my goggles off with the force of the water, re-adjusted and started swimming. I was wearing my sleeveless wetsuit (only about 30% had wetsuits on)
and was able to pass a number of swimmers who were from the earlier waves and who were doing the side paddle or the breast stroke. I never really got into a rhythm while swimming and noticed that i was working fairly hard to maintain my path. However, I passed a lot of people and snuck around the buoys on the inside corners without having to stop and sight too much. I finished and staggered up to the bike, realising that i had not set the stopwatch correctly on my watch so i had no idea how long it took me to swim and transition. No chips or anything like that at this one, so I really don't know what any of my splits are. I got off to a good start on the bike, charged the hills and was passed by maybe 10-15 guys who were aero and hammering. I did slow down a little and decided to save some energy for the beach run. Finished the bike, changed shoes, grabbed goo and visor and set off down the beach. It was complete mayhem. There were people walking, dogs running, kids body surfing, babies making mud pies and 300 geeks in tights jumping and dodging them on a beach with a serious camber. I at first tried to keep the shoes dry and ran around each incoming wave, while attempting to stay on the firm wet sand, but soon got one foot soaked so changed the strategy to my advantage. I began to reel in the impetuous fellows who passed me on the bike segment, and slowly moved up in the general scheme of things. I was really hot and Elissa said i looked horrible as I passed, She was going to suggest I stop and take a break. Sensible for 99% of the population. Silly for those of us out there purposefuly parbroiling ourselves. I soldiered on and realised that the guy who i was chasing was really trying hard to avoid wet sneakers. I surged on him just as a wave came in and I bolted through it and hammered for about 100m while he had to avoid a large hole being excavated by some kids and the water from the wave. I got past him and did the same thing to about 4 others on the way back. I would charge just as the wave came in and run through the water while they avoided it.
Anyway, I made it to the finishing gate just as Belinda was coming by on her run so we were able to high 5 each other as we went by. Afterwards as I waited for her to finish, I saw at least 4 people vomiting as soon as they came over the finish line. Apparently this was a tougher race than i thought. I felt horrible on the run, so so on the bike and OK for the swim.
Results:
2006 1:16:23 15OA, 5th in Age group (40-45)
2004 1:17: 45 13OA 5th in Age group (35-40)

Belinda captured 2nd in her age group.

I was quite pleased with my time because i have been much more systematic and restrained in my training this summer and haven't done too much tri specific work. I am glad that the monday pop gun runs are paying off and the gazelles runs are progressing well.

After the tri, My old high school/college friends Eric and Michelle showed up from Connecticut and we hung out for the rest of the afternoon. Michelle is short in stature but stands tall as a mom of 3 awesome kids.


Overall, we had a great trip to the beach and really nice visit with family and friends.

7/29 Save the Bay Swim

Well, today was an exciting day for me. I swam side by side with my 52 year old sister Belinda across the Narragansett Bay for the 30th annual Save the Bay swim. Got into Boston on Friday afternoon and was immediately struck by how busy this little corner of the world is compared to Austin. Lines formed for everything, from the baggage claim to rental cars to the highway, and some people seemed clueless with regards to common courtesy and politeness. This is why I moved west. Anyway, it did feel good to see the salt marshes and the ocean again as we drove to the beachfront. Settled in at the B&B quite late and tried to sleep since we had to get to the starting point early to check in and get the kayaks set up for our "spotters" (mandatory safety measure). 5am wake up, ate some cereal and was picked up by the sis and support team en route to the starting point in Newport at the Naval Station . Got there at 7am. We milled around for a while since the start wasn't til 9am. We had rented one boat from a company that was supposed to have the boats unloaded and ready to go at 630am, but they hadn't arrived yet so we relaxed and my sister spent a lot of time in line for the portapotties. I felt really relaxed because I was just swimming to complete this one, and my biggest fears were sharks and jellyfish stings.(A great white had recently devoured a seal in plain view of hundreds of beachgoers nearby, and many of the local beaches had been shut down for man o' war jellyfish sightings and stingings...) I was resigned to my fate however, and knew that i was going to just plod along and hope nothing got me. We were reassured by the management that there were no jellys in the water that day, and they didn't mention sharks, which was either a good sign or a very very bad sign.
The rent-a-boat finally showed up at 8:30, so we get that squared away and pull on the wetsuits for the swim. We were in the last wave (for first timers and people that needed to use fins and stuff) so we got to watch the fast people start, and then the intermediate ones go, and then finally at 9:10 we set off. The swim itself was actually really fun. I was able to get into the rhythm of breathing right away, and the temp of the water (mid 70's) made it easy to swim without getting too hot or cold in my wetsuit. The water was opaque and greenish, so I couldn't see down very far, but this was ok because I really didn't want to see how deep we were. We were supported by my nephew Andrew and Bob, Belindas husband, in the boats and they steered us more or less towards the finish, which looked really freaking far. The was very little chop and the tidal current was not so bad, so the conditions were great. Sunny and about 70 at the start. About half way through we stopped and took some pictures in the water with a waterproof camera (i'll post them if i can) and we just slowly motored along, sighting every 6th stroke or so. The combination of wetsuit and the salt water made me feel like a cork and I just skimmed along the surface. It was awesome to see the finish get closer and closer and know we were going to do it, kind of like mile 25 in the marathon. Our official time was 1 hour and 11 minutes so we swam it in about 1:01 with the 10 minute offset for being in the third wave. At the finish, they draped a big beach towel and a medal around our shoulders and that was that. I felt calm and happy throughout, no stings or bites (besides a near tick bite afterwards and some mosquitos in the marsh) and it felt wonderful to swim this with my sister Belinda. She had been thinking about this swim for 2 years she said, so it was awesome to do it with her.
No long run today (Sunday) so i'm letting my legs recover from a month of hard training.

400 repeats 7/27

It was a night of trash talk unlike any other tonight on the track, with Mario challenging Desiree to a bike race (even though she wasn't there), Rudy trash talking Mario and Duane getting in on it as well. All in good fun. Everyone was running hard so it was a good night.

Tonight was a track workout and we were asked to run 15X400 with 1 min recovery. We were asked to run them a few seconds faster than the last time and we were asked to drop 2 seconds per set of 5 400's. With that in mind, here are the splits for the night.

First 5 400's were run at an average of 83 seconds ( 83, 83, 83, 83, 84)
Second set of 5 400's were run at an average of 81 (79, 82, 80, 81, 81)
last set were run sub 80 (79, 77, 80, 72, 70)

Ran with Rudy and Chris for most of them. Chris moved up to finish with Paul and Patrick Evoe. Rudy and I hung back and ran fairly solidly.
Impressions:
Overall, a good workout although i felt pretty bad after the first set-tired and lethargic. I felt like the breathing was labored although i noticed that i was able to keep it at one complete breathe per 2 complete step cycles (Inhale LRLR Inhale LRLR). THis is the breathing pattern i use when at threshold pace and it lets me know that i'm working but not anerobic yet. So, all the way up to the last 400 I was in this rhythm which tells me that my base is solid right now. The last one (#15) I blew up at 200m and just clawed my way to the end. My ankle ached a little too, perhaps from the 10 miler yesterday. I may not be able to run high miles this fall and try to sharpen for races at the same time. (too much strain on the ankle). It feels ok now, but, i will be watching it carefully. It might also be the combination of the hills monday, mile repeats tuesday, 10 miles yesterday and track workout today...Too much quality perhaps. Cross training and rest are as important as a good thumping on the track. Have to remember that and also stay true to running my pace and my workout. Easy to get sucked into the racing mentality. My goal this fall is to run a competative marathon (probably Dallas) and then pace Austin 3:10 group. I'm not out to prove anything to the world, but am ready to compete against my own PR's. THis focus will keep my energy contained for the races and will sustain me no matter what my place or time is.

Off to RI tomorrow so don't know when the next update will be.

easy 10 7/26

did an easy 10 on the trail today as a recovery run. Felt relaxed most of the way with a rough spot over at festival beach. But a gel and some water put some perk back in the step. Finished moderate intensity. Went a little fast i think- wanted to average 7:30-7:45. It was hot and humid.

M1 7.58
M2 7.34
M3 7.37
M4 7.29
M5 7.29
M6 7.19
M7 7.11
M8 7.15
M9 7.10
M10 6.54

7/25 mile repeats

this afternoon we did mile repeats at Zilker. My goal was to run these carefully but to drop a few seconds from the last miler workout in late June. I ran with Chris, Clint, and Roger for the first one, and then with Chris/Clint for the rest of them.
We did the first one conservatively at 6:28, and then dropped down abruptly to 5:55, 5:54 and finally 5:28. We were going to do 5 but because we ran too aggressively for the second and third one, G told us to only do 4. He was happy with my times so I guess i'm still on track, although i felt like I was putting out a little too much effort for each repeat- I want to be able to run these comfortably at 5:50 pace, not feeling so bad, but I have to remember that I am still re-adjusting to the training loads from the past.
temps were cooler, (low 90's) and the repeats felt OK although the last one was a push.
total mileage- 7

repeats on 6/29
Mile 1: 6:13
Mile 2: 6:05
Mile 3: 6:13
Mile 4: 6:10
Mile 5: 5:23

repeats today
Mile 1: 6:28
Mile 2: 5:55
Mile 3: 5:54
Mile 4: 5:28

Looking back now, I am disappointed that I didn't beat that last 5:23, but will try to back off on the intermediate repeats more so that I can nail the last one.

Monday Water Bomb 7/24

Today we did a new loop with the farm team. We started at the springs, ran the back side of the miler loop and ended up on stratford hills. Went out conservatively to save some strength for the later part of the run and to be able to run with some people I hadn't really talked to. Ran slow through stratford, around redbud and onto LA blvd. At Exposition and LA blvd (about 3 miles out) I picked up (probably too rapidly in retrospect). I was able to hold this pace (probably around 6:20 or so) for the rest of the loop around the north side of the lake and back around to the springs. I was closer to 6 min pace for the last mile i'd guess.

Still struggling with pacing and blowing up on the runs since the track workout on thursday. I think I felt so good from my workout then that I am putting too much pressure on myself consequently to keep at that level. This is dangerous, based on my past record of injury and burned out feelings. Need to relax with this stuff. Life is really crazy right now as well, Tucson house sold, new job, travel to RI, Diss not finished, etc. I need to back off on the pressure from running and remember to enjoy this aspect of my life.

That said, I really do enjoy these monday morning runs. They have become a great motivator for me. I feel like i'm getting fit from them and i really like the folks that show up to run. We have fun.

7/22 Long run Grove route

6am long run to grove and back on trail. 14 ish miles. time was 1.47 so average pace ended up around 7:35-7:40 although it felt faster. 5X strides. Went out too hard today and felt pretty bad by the longhorn dam. I'm a little irritated at myself for not backing off immediately. Need to keep this slow steady progression moving forward. forgot goo also and this might also have been a problem. Picked up a little with 2 to go, but too little, too late. Depleted. Ankle OK.
Goals for next week:
Monday- 7.5 stratford route- run conservatively to exposition, then begin to pick up and hit it hard at Austin High. Swim 1.25 miles
Tuesday- Milers at Zilker- Start slow and then pick up last 4. Do first one at 6:20, then drop to 6:00 until last one.
Wednesday-recovery run 7 miles- 7.45 to 8 min pace. Swim 1.5 miles
Thursday-16X400's at Austin High 4X84, 4X82, 4X80, 4X78.
Friday-early Am recovery run 7 miles easy if time. Travel to RI
Sat- Swim 1.7 miles
Sun-drink.

7/21 recovery run

5 mile recovery run tonight at 4:30 pm. Didn't time it, but probably went a little too hard. Felt like the breathing was too labored for recovery run. Need to pay attention to these details and correct them early.
It was hot.
Feeling a little drained.
Wonder if last few weeks are catching up.

1000's

temp: 85-90
time: 530pm
route; 1000 REPEATS AHS TRACK
distance: 8 miles
tonight we did 5X1000 repeats at the track-
felt pretty good and wanted to run 3.35 average which was about 10 sec faster than last time.
ran with Des and Clint.

1: 3:42
2: 3:33
3: 3:30
4: 3:25
5: 3:17

Then did 5X200 sprints and 70 crunches

I hit this one right, and only felt really bad during last 200 of last 1000 and during the 200's
Good time for temp and time of year. Ankle feels fine. met the goal. On to long run.

7/19 run/swim

I decided to try getting ready for my 1.7 mile swim across the narragansett bay in RI coming up on July 29th , yeah, thats only 10 days from now, i know (Having fun with links today because it beats writing a dissertation). My training for this particular endeavor has been spotty to say the least, but I am looking forward to swimming it with my older sister, who will probably have to rescue me at some point. She swims an hour in the pool 3-4 times a week and loves it. We did a sprint tri on Block Island, RI a few years ago, and we'll be doing that again as well a week after this monster swim across the bay. So to prepare, I decided to run an easy 7 and then jump in Barton Springs for a mile swim.
The run:
Ran the 7 mile loop from BSprings at 730pm. I hadn't had dinner so was feeling a little depleted at the start. Got into an easy rhythm however and trotted out 7.30 pace for the majority of the run. I was surprised to find my breathing labored after about 4.5 miles and attributed it to heat and no nutrition. Finished the run in 51 and change and made my way to the pool. I did have a strawberry kiwi carboom gel which was very welcome along with some really hot water that i had left in the truck all day.
The swim:
I decided to suit up in my Promotion wetsuit to practice swimming without sinking. I bought this wetsuit for the first sprint tri and haven't used it much. It is a sleeveless model along with a seperate top that can be added for cooler temps. Very versatile and a great company out of Hood River Ore, Anyway, getting the top on was no big deal, but zipping up the sleeveless part over the top caused some issues because the zipper (zips up the back) kept catching on the material of the wetsuit top. Finally got the thing on and was sweating like the outside of a tall glass of iced coffee on a hot humid day. I was hot. Anyway- Made my way into the water and sluggishly began the 1/8th mile lengths that determine the parameters of the pool for lap swimmers. After dodging splashing kids, diving board daredevils and other serious lap swimmers, i found my peace and swam into the darkening waters. It was really neat to swim as it got dark because I couldn't see the algae scum that normally gets kicked up from all the swimmers and splashers and it was too dark to identify the decomposing smell that emanated from the eastern end of the pool. I was only able to swim 800 meters however, because i was hungry. Very hungry at this point. So i rescued a tiny baby toad that another swimmer pointed out on the edge of the grass and went home to the fridge and all of its wonders. Joking aside, B Springs at 9pm is really a great place. All the folks that don't want to pay the $3 admission charge come out to swim and it gets quite lively. Good training for the confusion of a tri mass start. I had to sight while swimming every 4th or 6th stroke to avoid potential collisions.

Possum Trot 7/18

530pm/100+ degrees/Rtex Rside-Meriden-Rtex Riverside/8.5 miles/Gazelles PM group
Today we did the meridan/11th street loop. One of the streets is called Possum trot (the first hill) and I think that is pretty funny, because i felt like a possum trying to run up it!
I started at Rtex Riverside a little early after buying some of the "Nuun" electrolyte tablets (quite expensive-7 bucks) that people have suggested. I wanted to see if my electrolyte drink "staminex" by trace minerals could have some competition from another product. The Nuun tablet fizzed a lot in the water that i had and tasted pleasant (lemon lime) and gave the water a little carbonation. I chugged and began to run over to Rtex LA blvd to meet the group. The carbonation gave me a stomach cramp right away, so i made a mental note to take the drink earlier before running. Uneventful warm up run, I just noticed that it was very hot (100+) and not very humid. Good. Got to RTex LA, filled one of the water jugs for G, and suggested to the groupo that we moveo. Jogged up to the start, did the drills (order is: sideways, crossovers, skips, butt kicks, high knees, backwards, strides) and prepared mentally for 5X1000 followed by 5 sprints up the hill, 2 backwards. Gilbert cautioned us to go at 70% for these so Clint and I decided to hold each other accountable for that. It worked for the first couple, but as the workut progressed, we found that we were working at 85% or so to get a comparable time as the 70% for the first one. Ran the last one fairly hard, took hill 1 too hard and almost gave up, but held it together enough to recover and finish strong.
Sprints were difficult
Backwards were OK because I didn't rush them.
Calves cramped on the cool down back to RTex briefly, but went away once I hit the flats. Not sure about the Nuun tabs, I'll use them till they are gone and reevaluate their effectiveness.
Stats:
Repeat 1: 3:55 70% effort
Repeat 2: 3:59 75% effort
Repeat 3: 4:01 85% effort
Repeat 4: 3:46 95% effort

7/17 7mileloop

Today we did the weekly farm team run- 7 mile loop on TLT.
The group included Jorge, Scott, Michael, Ivi and Lisa P.
We gently set off from B Springs and took it easy until the 35 bridge.
Picked up to normal running pace (4-6 on effort scale) and then jumped up again around 1st street. By the mile 3 marker (2 miles to go) we bumped effort up again and scott, jorge and I were running at about a 7 (moderate hard). By Mopac(1 mile to go), I picked up one final time and was running very hard for 800meters (3.03s) and then very very hard for the last 800m (2.37s) of the last mile.
Felt good today, even the pick up felt controlled, though hard. I think this is a fine place to be right now. I am not going to really pick up in intensity until September. Then I will begin to sharpen for 12 weeks prior to Dallas. This might entail a switch to the Friday Bomb and a Sunday long run.

Saturday long run 7/15/06

Time 6am:
Temp 70's
Route: Rtex/Scenic/Bonnell/deadmans curve and back
Distance: 16 miles
Time: 2:19:00
Groupo: Gazelle Jorge, Gazelle Joe, Gazelle Patrick
The long run today started with 3/4 of the Gazelle Herd leaving 10 minutes early, so those of us who got there at 5:55 were a bit perplexed. We regrouped however and set off at a leisurely pace up to Bonnell. And I do mean leisurely. I decided that today was going to be a real easy day after the workouts this week, so I was purposeful in my slothfulness. It ended up as a bawdy group of 4-5 with Patrick, Jorge, Joe and myself settling into a rhythm of alternate trashtalk/and the occasional sensible comment thrown in. Before each hill, we'd bring up politics and Patrick would dutifullly spit out an obscenity and charge, effectively leading us up the slope. This only worked for so long though, and by the grand mountain Bonnell we were left to our own resources for the climb. After the obligatory steps at the top, we re-fueled and headed down the back side, finally ending up in the hairpin curve after the Bar, which I now name deadmans curve, and estimate to be about 8 miles out from the start. We turned and climbed back up and over the hill, and practiced our effortless downhill form. At 35th street, we turned and traversed back to RTex via scenic. This adds about a 1/2 mile to the mileage, but is well worth it vs. the traffic and hills on Exposition, IMHO. All was peaches and cream and I picked up the pace a notch at Mozarts and drug my sweaty butt home. Stretching, random first aid to dizzy runners, and home for a nap. No real effects from the humidity for me today- I didn't feel overheated at any time.

Tech notes: Only wanted to run 2:00 today. The literature suggests 20-25 % of weekly mileage for long runs during the base phase. Which for me would have been 8-10 miles. Thats just silly. 14 miles would have been more than enough though, but that back hill on Bonnell is a favorite. Can't let that one go by.

I felt pretty relaxed today- Going up the front of Bonnell still takes it out of me though, more than I remember from the last few years, and I am wondering if I need to concentrate on a good hill workout each week (perhaps once a month we can do 3-4 X Mt Bonnell repeats for our monday group) to supplement the monday run and the weekend long run. This might mean some solo work if the gazelle schedule doesn't jive. I was also reading a quote from Emil Zapotek, who said that he decided to train by running faster because he knew how to run slow, and didn't want to do that anymore. Anyway, his daily workouts included 20-50 X 400 in the 60-80sec range (although for the longer sets he was apparently very sporadic and even walked some, but still)...Every day. Doing speed work like that. Yikes! Too early to sharpen for this body I think. I think that will start in October. This is an interesting experimental year for me. I will see how my performance looks compared to my previous PR's. For the record current times to beat are: 1600m: 4:40, 5K: 17:01, 5mile: 28:53, 10K: 35:40, 12 miles(decker 03) 1:11:54, 1/2 Marathon: 1:16:06, 20miles, 1:58:57, Marathon: 2:46:51, 50K: 4:28:56. Most of these were done from Fall 03-Spring 05. Injury and school have curtailed training this past year. I am excited to see if I can lower any of them this year using a more balanced approach to my training.

7/13/06 Tempo

time 530
temp 90s
route: town lake trail
distance: 5 or so
workout: 4 mile tempo

A good thread on the gazelles forum got me thinking about the mental side of running and i pulled out a book opn mental conditioning this afternoon before the tempo. I really wasn't too nervous before the run today, in part because we've been talking about being nervous and that helps to bring it out in the open, and also I think the monday runs are conditioning me to run with more discomfort than before. Anyway, the book talks about visualisation and affirmations. I used these today in the rough spots and was able to get through them a little more easily before.

Mile 1: 6:11 started out with Chris and hit this one pretty well. Felt comfortable, but not too comfortable.
Mile 2: 6:13 This was a tough one because the sun was blasting us as we got out by the fields near Mopac. Chris surged a little on me and got about 5 yards ahead.
Mile 3: 6:03 Tried to pick it up but the breathing was labored and the legs started to come off. Chris dropped back about .25 miles into this mile so I was alone coming back. I started having bad thoughts about .5 miles into this mile, and I remember thinking that I couldn't keep this pace going, and that I needed to slow down. Instead, i practiced telling myself that i was strong, that i was relaxed, and I tried to even my breathing out more. This seemed to help me because i didn't slow too much.
Mile 4: 6:15 The wheels came off but I kept at it for this last mile. I tried to really hammer but i was hurting pretty bad.
Total 24.43 minutes.
My last tempo was 25.06 so I dropped 20 seconds or so. Acceptable considering the weather. It was hot and humid today.
Goal for this workout is to continue this trend to get below 24 minutes by 2 tempos from now and keep it there. THere is no way I'll be running anywhere near a 2.45 marathon with these current times.

recovery day 7/12/06

time: 545pm,
temp: 90's,
route: 7 mile loop, then 5 strides, and higher opens, 50 crunches, 25 pushups and stretching
dist: 7 miles+ strides
Time: 52 min

Today was an easy recovery day, I felt sore in my upper butt muscles from wilkes yesterday, so started out very slow. In fact i made a very concious choice to run this one too slow. I was sorely tempted to speed up about 1.5 miles in when another runner (in my age group and who knows me) passed and ignored me as he went by, but i kept my cool and will relish handing him his ass on race day. Today was going to be pure recovery for me. I felt quite comfortable, and although a nagging pain above my R ankle on the front of my foot was bothersome for a while, it soon went away. Passed all the traffic on the 35 bridge and made it over to the north side of the trail in 15 minutes, and then just carried on this pace to about 800 meters out, where i picked it up. Still battling the mental stuff on these pickups. I have to go back and look at some writing on mental conditioning, i've forgotten how important that used to be in my training. I was surprized to see that i ran that loop in 52 because it felt quite easy and i thought i was cruising about a minute slower per mile than i was. This shows that the buildup is progressing and that i need to trust myself and my training. I was thinking today that i need to make a decision about my mileage for the fall, as a build up to a marathon. I believe in the benefits of high miles, but am not sure my ankle does as well. I guess i'll plan for my 2:45 next year, I may need a year of getting used to running with this arthritis issue. My goal for the fall DC races falls in ideal, realistic, satisfactory categories. Ideal is below 6 min pace average up to Austin marathon, realistic is at or below 6:15 pace up to austin marathon, satisfactory pace is at or below 6:30 pace up to marathon.
So there it is. the gauntlet is thrown. All i have to do know is figure out how to make that happen without injury. I think the key for the next month is to increase the mileage to above 50 and then start to hone in on the speed.

7/10 farm team run

Time :715 am
Temp: upper 70's
Route: 7 mile loop from springs
Distance 7.5 miles
Time 58 minutes or so, didn't time accurately.

Well, I slept late, right through the alarm, and missed the 6AM start this morning. I jumped out of bed at 7:10 and was down at Barton Springs by 7:20, to razz the guys who were lounging in the pool. I fessed up eventually and had to do the run alone. This sucked.

I decided to do a 3rds run, for the first 15 minutes i ran very easy (8-830 pace) , then i picked up to 7:30-745 pace for the next 2 miles or 15 minutes, and then i reluctantly picked it up again to sub 7 (630-645) for the rest of the way in. Legs felt really heavy when I did the last pickup and i lost my will after about 2.5 miles at this pace. I slowed down, picked it up, slowed down, walked for 30 seconds, picked it up, and generally fell apart at the end. Need to really work on positive self talk and mental toughness. These workouts are the place to practice toughing it out. It is a safe and non-pressured environment to experiment with limits, both physical and mental. Oh well, Need to remember this next week.

wilke repeats 7/11

time: 5:30pm
Temp: freaking hot
route: runtex riverside/wilke/runtex riverside
Workout 2.5m WU /2.5m CD and 7X wilke forwards, 3X 1/2 wilke backwards, 3X 1/4 wilke sprints.
Distance: about 7 miles with workout
Group: gazelles afternoon group

This was a very challenging workout with hi temps/humidity out the roof and no respite from the sun. I ran over to Wilke with Clint and Chris (New Gazelle) from Runtex Riverside and we caught up with most of the group at the base of the hill, where they were doing the drills in the shade. I knew it was going to be tough because i needed water before the drills- never a great sign for me. I was also feeling butterflies in my stomach on the way over and couldn't tell if it was nervousness about the workout or general malaise. I actually felt like stopping at one point and turning around. I'll have to explore that more. I guess i was apprehensive about the pain I knew i'd be in after a few of those repeats. Anyway, i kept on and took the workout more conservatively than in the past (sub 60 sec), i didn't time the repeats but was probably running them in 70-75 seconds or so. THey still hurt like hell. I did 7 and by the last one, i was really feeling groggy and after the 3 backwards and 3 sprints, i had a headache and felt like lead. My legs were shaking and my ears were blocked. After a few cups of ice water on the back of the head and around my wrists, i felt well enough for the jog back to the car. Good news is that i didn't cramp like normal in the calves and my ankle held up OK. Clint, Chris and I stopped at the Dog Pond below B. Springs and took a dip. That water has NEVER felt so good. I was willing to stay immersed for a while but we all needed to get back. THe last mile was nice because we had cooled down. It was great to see some old friends again, Des and Paul were there looking in great shape. Mario soldiered through, and Duane also. The afternoon group is strong and determined.

7/8 saturday long run- the Bonnell pimple

Time 6am, Temp 70's, humidity High, Route Scenic/bonnell/scenic, distance 14.8, time 1:51, group : Gazelles (Jorge, Joe, Clint)

today was our weekly long run and I was determined to not start too hard. We went out at 7:45's and held them to the hill and back, which we affectionately named the pimple. People are so intimidated by Mt Bonnell that we felt it necessary to give it some trash talk, to put it in it's place so to speak. As usual, the opposite occured and we were humbled and crumbled by the top, although we did the steps as an FU to the whole adventure. Uneventful run, except that i could really feel my quads today, and the ankle was acting up as well. I think the last few days have put more stress on the body than it's been used to recently, so its starting to talk back. On the way back, we decided to return via Scenic, and started to pick up once on LA Blvd.
By Mangias, I was cruising with Jimmie, and we pushed each other back to A shores the long way.

COMMENTS: Feel tired today, not sure if its increase in training, or other issues. Take tomorrow off for swimming and see if that helps bring some spring back to the step.

7/7 recovery

Time: 12 noonTemp: 90ish
Loc: Deli Route
Dist: 6.5
time: 48 minutes with a few stops for lights

Recovery run this afternoon, 6.5 on fall 10K route. Hot and slow , said hi to Mario and then i was off.
Started too fast for recovery run. (7:15s for first 2, then 7:45 or so for rest)
That route is actually quite tough with a long slow slog back up great northern after the downhill on Shoal creek.
Work on this route.

7/6 Circuits

Time: 530pm,
temp: 90,
location: AHS track,
group: Gazelles tu/thur pm, ran and chatted with Joe, Chris, Patrick, John, Roger.
Mileage 8+
Today was the last Circuit training for a while.

We started with 2.5 mile WU
Then 2 miles at 1/2 marathon pace on track (I did this in roughly 12 minutes- too fast for current fitness but OK)
Then circuit
Step ups X 10
Push ups X 10
Crunches X 10
Supermans X 10
Jump ups X 10
Lunges X 10

with 400 at 1/2 marathon pace (I did 800 for the first repeat- mind was wandering)

I completed 4 sets of these.

Then to the circle for
15/30/45/90 abs
2 X 1 min planks
2 min fast feet
2 X 100 no breath

cool down was trail back to Rtex.

Felt Like I really pushed the 2 mile pace run and probably went too hard on that, but i was able to complete the exercises so I guess it was OK. I see these strength workouts as a chance to safely push really hard. I was toast by the end of the workout though.

7/3/06 7 mile loop

time 6am
temp 70, humid, slightly overcast, trail soggy
route- 7 mile loop
group: Farm team - Jorge, Patrick, Scott, Ivie, Jeffery, David V, Duane

Rolled out of Bed at 5:49, at Runtex Riverside at 5:57, helped a few new gazelles get started by 6:03, met Jeffery and invited him along at 6:04 and met the group about 800meters in.
First few miles we took easy, then picked up around the bridge over shoal creek on the north side. Effort for first 3 was easy, then for next 3 just below threshold (moderately hard) then last mile I pushed just a touch more and got into anaerobic zone, pace was hard. Luckily, Jeffery paced me so i was able to run at this pace for about a mile. Stopped at Mile 1 bridge and jogged over to B Springs- jumped in with the rest of the crew and then jogged the last mile back to the car. Legs are tired. I'm frustrated that i wasn't able to keep that pace up for longer (like back to riverside) but i have to remember to stay calm and steady for the fall buildup.
Lessons learned today:
I was able to push past lactate threshold conciously. I did this experimentally to see how long i could hang. I might have pushed a little too hard, too fast to get there. I lost a little control for the last 400 meters, legs were rubbery, arms going numb. the good thing was that ankle didn't hurt and I recovered really quickly once i slowed.
Set the alarm. I didn't take any nutrition or water this morning, GI tract was acting up. all because i was late.

7/1 long run

time:6 AM,
Temp: mid 70's and extremely humid
Route: Rieverside/grove/trail
distance: 12.3 miles
time: roughly 1:30 didn't really keep track

Today was the weekly long run and we ran a route i had never done before.

Runtex Riverside to Grove:
We started fairly slow and had quite a large group (15 or so) of runners as we hit riverside. Not the best surface or environment to run through, but the change of scenery was good. Once on Grove, we stopped briefly for water and then began to pick up just a little.
Hike n Bike to Rt 35:
The dirt road that we ran on was really nice and felt good on the feet. I was feeling pretty rested along this stretch and let Joe and others lead the way. No soreness in ankle, breathing was controlled. GI tract was only issue but decided to deal with it as long as possible before pit stop. We tunnelled under pleasent valley and up over the dam (why do i always feel like leaping over that bridge into the water?) anyway, around power plant and over to mile 5- pace was easy- a little slower than i normally run but fine.
35-Auditorium shores
For some reason, under the 35 bridge, my body said Go and took off. I decided to go with it and pulled away from the group with Lisa P in tow. She had done the Bomb on Friday so her legs weren't as fresh as mine, and we ran together for a few miles but she backed off at around 3. I pushed my breathing up to lactate threshold pace and ran moderately hard/hard for the last 5 miles. It was controlled but hard. Strength is sloooowly coming back and its going to be really hard to be patient and wait for the right peaking time. The Bomb farm team meets in the morning so i'll see how i feel then.

Zilker mile repeats 6/29

Time 530pm
Temp 90
location: Zilker park
Wk out 5X1 mile with 2min recovery
Dist: 8miles
Gp: gazelles afternoon gp.
pod: Roger, Rudy, John

Today was one of the most important workouts we do. Mile repeats at Zilker. These are so important as strength builders.
Gilbert did a really good job beforehand explaining the purpose of starting slow and running the last one fast, especially in terms of the time in the season and the weather.
Gilbert asked us to do the first one in 6:30 followed by 3 at 6:10 and last one hard.
We went out too fast so here are the numbers

Mile 1: 6:13
Mile 2: 6:05
Mile 3: 6:13
Mile 4: 6:10
Mile 5: 5:23

It was a good workout and I was surprised to hit the last one at the time I did. Testament to the strategy.
We went as a group and soaked in the dog pool at Barton springs after the run. It felt great.

6/28 recovery run

Time: 7am
temp: mid 60's
location: TLT
Wkout: recovery
Dist: 7 miles
Gp: Patrick G and Jorge

Ran an easy 7 with Patrick and Jorge this morning at 7am. The weather was great- Mid 60's i'd say. Took off watch and just cruised. I felt really stiff for about 400 meters, then slowly warmed up. Pace felt good til Jorge picked up at 5miles...good finish. Ankle a little stiff, L knee sore from chickenfights.
Tomorrow morning will be the milers...Looking forward to dealing with that hill halfway through.

6/27 Circuits at AHS

Time: 530pm
Temp: low-mid 90's
Location: AHS track
Workout: Circuit/pylometrics
Distance: 5-6 miles

Tonight we continued our strength workouts with another series of circuit/pylometrics.
Warm up was 2.5m to track easy/easy moderate pace,
We got there and immediately ran 5 laps Moderate/Moderate hard to bump up heartrate. I enjoyed running with Rudy.
Then circuits were: Jumping Jacks (2 X 1 minute), some one legged jumps, weird push up things while running in place, knee extensions, 4X100 breath holding sprints, and even a few chicken fights at the end. We finished with another set of 4X100 sprints and Brenna. Rudy and I did 2 extra on a dare.
Easy cool down turned faster with Rudy and Patrick as running buddies on the way back.

My ankle isn't up to the bounding/jumping stuff, so i subbed some jump ups, push ups, crunches, and fence squats instead.

Monday 6/26 Atomic run

Run: 7mile loop
temp- low 70's
time 6 am
group; Scott Mc, Duane, Patrick G
intention:
today was the inaugural run of a new group. We are attempting to run a bomb-like run without the pressure of the faster runners. We committed to run the first 5 together and then pick up at the rock. This will probably change as we get more fit.

Mile1-2 easy pace (730s)
mile 2-5 picked up a little but still comfortable (715s)
mile 6-7 (550s) ran these in 11:50, quite hard but I still felt in control, unlike other runs of this nature. Scott was on my heels and we finished together. Duane and Pat came in about a minute later and we all felt like it was a good effort. We decided not to wear watches and to meet at the springs from now on.
We'll see how it goes.
I didn't time the total run.
Feels like a good workout although I'm tired now from getting up so early.

Sunday 6/26 swim

Did a recovery day today-
Swam for about 50 minutes at the UT pool- the water was actually a little too warm.
Still working on stroke mechanics and general endurance.
Right foot cramps consistantly after about 40 minutes in the water so I'll have to figure that one out.
Feeling pretty confident about the bay swim in a month. Should be a blast.

saturday 6/24 long run

weather: 70's overcast, humid
time 6am
route: mt bonnell
Distance: 14 miles
Time: 1:42

Saturday long run
Humid and overcast this morning, large group of runners took off for Mt Bonnell.
I started up front with Floyd, Jeffery, Woo, Rauch and others but after a mile decided to back off on the pace. Those guys push from the first meter and I need more time to warm up than that.

Settled into a decent pace with Jimmie and some guy from the Performace Project who we dropped on LA blvd. Kept things controlled through scenic, and didn't really feel too bad until Mt Bonnell. I really struggled up today, arms burning, legs burning- I think it was from going out too hard. Antway, did the steps and met Jimmie coming back from the turn around, we waited for Lisa and pushed back down the hill. Decided on Exposition today and Lisa really pushed up the hills, I was toast by about 11 miles and told her to go ahead. She took off around O'Henry and gapped me by about 50meters for the rest of the way in, I felt really bad on the trail but just plugged along until we were done. 5 Strides and home.

I feel like i still have no speed and am aggravated at my plateau, I just have to remember to balence things right now and the time to focus on running more will come when i am done writing the Diss,.

June 20th - the longest day

Today was a strengthening day at the track.

2.5m W/U
1200m moderate hard pace
straight leg jumping jacks 2X2 min 20sec rest
high knees
4X100 sprints with holding breath
knee extensions (higher open)
bounding
small hurdle jumps w/ 10 pushups X 5
4X100 sprints holding breath
fast feet 2min
2.5m cool down

Ankle was sore after this workout- bounding and jumps are not good for it so i may not do those anymore.

Today (Wed) my knee joints are sore, as well as lower legs.

June 19 Monday pool and Gym

today was a gym and pool day- I didn't run a stitch
Gym was crunches (2X20) lower back lifts (2X20) Quads (2X15X50lbs) hams (2X15X40lbs) adductors (2X15X40lbs) abbductors (2X15X40lbs), calf extensions (2X10X?)
pool was 200m warm up
50m left side kick drill
50m right side kick drill
50m left arm stroke drill
50m right arm stroke drill
200 wide arms and zipper drills
200m main set
100 cool down.
30 minutes in pool.

Felt good from hills on saturday, looking forward to building shape back slowly and surely.

Saturday long run 6/17

tempestuous conditions this morning-I woke up late and was contemplating blowing off the run, but when I heard rain and thunder i knew I had to do it. I love being out in severe weather, It really energizes me for some reason. We had a downpour at 6am for the start, and then intermittant showers for our hilly long run. Finished off with a dramatic front moving in and obliterating most of the gazelles as they finished on South Lamar. I was lucky enough to just catch the front edge of the rain and got to the truck just as it really started coming down. THe route was the barton hills loop with a little extra added on to make it around ten miles.

The first 3-4 down to the lake were easy- although felt a little fast for the hills in my near future.
the TLTrail was deserted which made it fun, although vaulting over the putrid stream of runoff by the Austin High Track wasn't pleasant. We pushed through that couple of miles fairly quick with a group of 6-8 runners and then began pushing up Barton Hills road. Gilbert had given us directions to go a different way but I had never been that way so took the familiar route over to the start of the hills. We crept up past wilke and on to the corner, watered and then did the little loop down barton hills before hitting the final stretch. Up and over on S lamar back to Porter Middle School. THe rain/front hit about 1200 meters from the finish for me and the cool air was perfect.
All and all a great training run, I felt comfortable throughout and no complaints from the ankle. Feeling really good.

June 15th tempolicious!

Today was the dreaded tempo run-
I was excited to feel a little fire come back during this run. Started out with Clint, Roger and Patrick and ran an uneven pace throughout.
2 Mile W/U easy
tempo
mile1 6:20
mile2 6:05
mile3 6:27
mile4 6:14
total time was 25.06 or so.

We were supposed to run neg splits but the heat was pretty bad. I felt strong till the turn around and just felt like i was jogging till the last 800 meters.

I suppose its a good baseline that i can build from.

Goal is to run 23.30 by summers end.

swimming Monday June 12

So i am doing a 1.7 mile ocean swim in 6 weeks. Its for the Save the Bay effort in Narragansett bay RI- my home stomping grounds.
Today i swam a mile
1600 m of steady swimming- took 32 minutes or so.
need to bump this to 45 minutes steady swim.
I have also been doing drills to correct a nasty habit of tucking my left arm underbody for the pull underwater, and trying to swim "in a tube" keep kick light and frothy.

Tuesday 13 June Circuits

To the track we go....
Managed 4 sets of circuits in 20 minutes with 800m jog between sets of step ups, sit ups, push ups, fence squats or jumps, supermans, lunges.
then we did some core work that really sucked. Planks, scissor leg stuff and fast feet. My abs are weak and I need to go to the gym.
Felt stronger today though, and no complaints from ankle again. this is good.

Saturday Fun- Mt Bonnell

Quick note on Saturday long run on June 10th.
Started at 6 with a decent group and slowly ramped it up by the time we got to LA boulevard. Put down some decent miles and enjoyed the climb up MT Bonnell and the steps. Somehow running those steps is a must now- It just caps that experience. Anyway- we ran to the stop sign at Balcones and turned around to make it an even 14 for the morning. Ran back on Scenic rather than Exposition. Finished off hard and felt spent- It was good to run hard and have the ankle hold up. Hung with the troops for a few and then home and endurox.
The battery in the watch died halfway so I don't know pace.

Tucson Heat - Sunday June 4th

writing dissertation today- yesterday was travel day. Feel out of it due to heat and travel. Don't miss running here in Tucson. Reid park loop looks so pitiful after running around the lake in Austin. May not get to run today.

June 2 : town lake 10 miler

So this is fun, writing done this stuff.

Today I decided to do my own personal bomb run, and do a progressive 10 miler. the goal was to run conservatively for 5 miles then slowly pick it up for the last 5.
Started at runtex rside and ran the lake backwards,

mile 1 - 8ish
mile 2 - 7.05
mile 3 - 7.21
mile 4 - 7.23 ummm, i think i am supposed to be running 8's for the first 5, oh well
mile 5 - 7.25
mile 6 - 7.04
mile 7 - 6.43
mile 8 - 6.41
mile 9 - 7.06 wheels came off
mile 10 6.26 -

total time 70.51 -
average 7.05 m/mi

effort
first 5 felt moderate easy, 6-8 felt moderate hard but below threshold, 9 hard, 10 very hard.

can't believe how hard last two miles felt and yet how slow my time was. I felt like i was giving it 90-95% for last mile all for a 6.30 mile...
yikes i have a long way to go. My goal for the fall is to be able to run 6:15's on the trail comfortably.

I think i need to lift weights now.

Off to tucson to run in the desert for a few days.

June 1, 2006 , Track workout AHS

This is my first post. I am going to add profile stuff later.

Gazelles workout at AHS tonight.

Goal 6 X 800
2 min recovery

Got to track covered in sweat- it was extremely humid. I had been stressed all day trying to write and rewrite the dissertation, so I was looking forward to burning out some angst on the track.

Warm ups were ragged- need to focus on the form for these more carefully- i thought about the DVD i made with gilbert, and thought about distributing it to the group again or putting it online.

I had been running 82-80 sec 400's the previous workout so was expecting to run the 800's at around 3.00 or so. Gilbert said "steve, 2.45s". Gulp. OK coach.

We had a nice little group actually and proceeded to run.

Splits:

1. 2.45 Felt good, didn't push to hard, watched everyone enevitably start too hard, and ended last in the group with a perfect 2.45 split.

2. 2.45 Same aas above- just trying to be consistent - other gazelles gave us encouragement, we cheered for them.

3. 2.45 nailed it again, feeling a little tired now, legs heavy on that last 200

4. 2.49 Bizarre, I led this one and was on pace for the first 600 meters, then backed off unconciously and came in over by 4 seconds. If felt hard actually.

5. 2.47 Man, I feel bad. I can't believe that this much effort still leaves me over by two seconds- I watched Rudy take the other guys out at a 2.38 pace and must have backed off too much- I did drive hard on last 200 to make up ground.

6. 2.38 Pushed this harder and it felt better actually. Maybe I need to push these harder. Its easy to get into a rut and sometimes you have to speed up to a pace that kicks in another level of metabolism or something.

On the way back to Runtex, a few of us helped one severe calf cramping gazelle and a "runners Knee" gazelle get back to the parking lot. It was fun to walk in the rain.