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.