Back in the saddle–tempo runs

I was feeling a little bit better – the tooth thing really took its toll on motivation. I did not miss a single scheduled workout but I did not go above and beyond either. Normally I would have had a strength training session or two but not this week.

I took all of Tuesday off. I rode the trainer for nearly an hour on Wednesday morning. Lunch would be the real workout. It was cold and windy but I needed a 10 mile tempo run. This tempo run would be ay my projected marathon pace – 6:50 minutes per mile. This is what I need for my 2:59:xx marathon. I have run these 10 mile tempos many times in the past – this is one of my bread and butter distances. I started out fine but the run got hard. I never entered the red zone but the run was more than challenging. I finished the run with an average of 6:51 – I was not beat down or destroyed but I could not help from thinking about having to run an additional 16.2 miles.

 

This marathon goal is going to be tough.  Saturday calls for 15 @ 7:00. 

The triathlete’s dilemma

For many triathletes the off season means getting back into the weight room and base building. This is a time to work on weaknesses and limiters. It has been a tough couple of months of fitting in 3 swims, 3 bikes and 3 runs. For me the off season means running – and lots of it. Ask the experts and they will tell you that an off season marathon does nothing for ironman – not to mention for sprint or Olympic distance triathlon. However, it is the premier running distance.
Last year I decided to put together a solid effort at the marathon. I had never run a marathon but I was determined to Boston Qualify. I went from a half marathon time of 1:37 and dropped it too 1:29:30 – A solid 7 minute gain. I got my BQ in my first and only marathon at Mardi gras with a time of 3:08:44 – evenly split mind you (1:34:00 / 1:34:44).

However, during that run period my cycling suffered. Looking at my triathlon races this past year my cycling did improve but it was incremental. Compared to my compatriots I lost time on the bike.
My dilemma is how much cycling can you do when you want to put up the best possible time in a marathon? I have been riding the trainer two mornings each week and then hitting the group ride on the weekend. The trainer sessions have been purposeful. I have been attempting to ride 2 x 20 minutes at FTP (functional threshold power). FTP is the maximal power that can be maintained for 1 hour. The 2 x 20 minutes sessions are based on a percentage of this FTP.
Being in Australia for the month of November I was not able to keep up with my bike fitness. In addition I also increased my run volume. I have been unsuccessful in my trainer sessions and seen little to no progress.

So back to the question at hand – How many times can you ride each week and still put together a PR marathon. Unfortunately the answer is zero.

Marathon Goals

I have been planning out my goals. If you have been reading the blog for any length of time you will already be familiar with my goal setting process here and here.

So my long term goals are to run a sub-3 hour marathon at the 2011 Mardi Gras Marathon. I ran this race earlier this year (my first stand alone marathon) in 3:08:44. Cutting 8 minutes and 44 seconds of my marathon PR will be difficult. That means dropping 20 seconds per mile off of my pace. If you have been running for a while then you realize that this will not be a walk in the park. For these paces to work out that means I need to run a 1:25:20 half marathon (about 4 minutes faster than my PR and an 18:28 minute 5k (40 seconds faster than my PR).

So, how do I plan on achieving this goal?

There is a lot of work to be done – that is why I am starting now. First, over the course of the next couple of months I am going to build my running mileage up to 45 – 50 miles a week. Most of these miles will be at 20 – 25 percent slower than marathon race pace. I will run a half marathon at the end of October to gauge my conditioning. Then I am going to slack off for a couple of weeks. I have already bought my ticket and I will be spending November in Sydney, Australia visiting my sister and her family. I will still be running a lot but I will also be relaxing and vacationing.

Once I return that is when the real volume and work begins. I would like to build up to 70 miles per week over the next couple of months and test myself regularly with increasingly longer races. I will probably run the Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon (first of December), the Ole Man River Half Marathon (December 19), the Steam Whistle 12K (Jan 1), the First Light Half Marathon (January 9), the Annual Larry Fuselier State Championship Race 25K (mid January) and the "The Wall" Louisiana Long Distance Championship Race 30K (end of January). I ran all of these races last year and they helped me with racing – both with strategy and pacing. It seems like a lot of racing, and it is, but I have found that races are the best way for me to put together a solid HARD distance run. Every one of these races was a solid effort and led to a PR. I hope to duplicate those results.

Oh yeah, and then there is Boston six weeks after the Mardi Gras Marathon (I am already qualified).

Mardi Gras Rock 'N' Roll Marathon Race Review

About the race. The EXPO was well run. It was crowed but that was to be expected. However, the Competitor Group has refined this process. It took all of 2 or 3 minutes to get processed. This was the largest race that I have ever participated in and this was the most efficient check in! When I did my ironman it literally took hours. Yes, there was a lot of hand holding for the ironman and regulations and rules and stuff but there were only 3,000 people participating – the marathon had 16,000. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Series has this down to a science.

The EXPO itself was pretty good also. There were several booths doing what appeared to be brisk business. You were also able to show your ID so that you could have beer at the finish line. If you checked in during the EXPO you would not have to show ID at the finish line. You could also sample the MGD 64 in Dixie cups at the EXPO. But, there was a rumor that you were only allowed 2 beers at the finish. That must be a dirty joke – this is after all New Orleans. The New Orleans Track Club almost starts serving beer prior to the start of their races. Now, don’t get me started on Baton Rouge – many races have food and drink the night before the race (included in the fee) as well as food and beer immediately following the race. This two beer limit must be a joke.

The race started near the convention center. The corrals were well marked and each corral had several port-a-loos. This was done very well. When I first got to the start line there were no lines for the potties and I hopped in and did my business. A little bit later I needed to go again and this time there was a line but it was acceptable. Even with a line it took only a couple of minutes. I don’t know how many corrals there were – twenty something I would guess – and there were a couple or three port-a-loos in each corral. I appreciated the amount of facilities that were available. There was a VIP area near the start that had heaters so you could stay warm. This area also had food, drinks and VIP bathrooms. However, you had to have purchased $150 worth of stuff at the EPXO. That was not for me.

The start was in the warehouse district, an industrial part of town. I have started at races here before and it is as good as anywhere to start. The course went east and looped around Audubon Park. This was a nice run even though the pavement was less than ideal. After the race I heard several stories of people falling. I hate to hear that but this is New Orleans and the roads are just that bad – there is no way around that.

Prior to the race I was looking over the course map and I was immediately concerned about the Half and Full marathoners branching off from each other and then merging back. I was concerned because the two groups would merge back together at mile 4.5 for the half marathoners and mile 8 for the full marathoners. I was afraid that there would be two groups of runners at very different paces. Worrying was all for not. The groups never actually merged – instead they ran side by side separated by a median or a line of cones.

As the name of the race suggests, there were a lot of bands. They were place at every mile of the race. This was not as motivating as you might think. You ran by the bands and heard them for about a minute. I do not remember any of the bands specifically. Maybe the bands are for the spectators?

The volunteers were plentiful and enthusiastic. There were cheerleaders from area schools everywhere cheering the runners on – they were competing for monies for their schools. Water and sports drink was every mile. I prefer to take gels and wash them down with straight water. It might be prissy but I do not want to spill the sports drink all over me and have to lose the mental concentration fussing with the stickiness. Anyway, I always take my own gels so this is not an issue for me (my gels are looped into my race belt), but I believe that there were only two water stops that had the gels. The map of the race indicated that gels would be available but it did not say where they would be available. If I had not had my own gels I might have been out of luck. As it turns out I did take 3 gels from the course. I combined this with the 5 that I had with me. Yes, that is right, I had 8 gels during the race (1 before and 7 during). Not having gels at all or most water stops seemed, I don’t know, I guess a little bit cheap. Once again, this did not pose a problem for me.

The finish line was lined deep with spectators and you could see the clock from a hundred yards out. This was well done and it definitely encouraged me to ‘sprint it out’. Once you crossed the finish line you were given your medal and a sports drink. The area immediately after finishing was well stocked with bagels, bananas, sports bars, water and sports drink. You were also given a solar blanket. There were speakers at the exit of this area that told you that once you left you would not be allowed back into the area. The notification system was well done. There was no doubt that you would not be let back in – they also had security standing there to ensure that no one came back into the area. I was spent when I finished and did not feel like eating much of anything – after all I had just finished a marathon. I did eat a bite of a banana and grabbed an additional sports drink as well as two sports bars.

I left the finishers area and found my group. I changed clothes in a port-a-loo. The park was huge and you had to walk a good distance to the reunion area. They had letters posted in a field that allowed for you to easily meet up with group. I thought this was done well. We ventured over to the letter P (for Pine belt Pacers – our running club) and met several of our group. The ground was damp so we used our solar blankets to keep us dry.

I went over to the beer area and my race bib procured me two beer tickets. They marked the bib to show that I had received my tickets. Each additional beer would be $2. Now, this race cost well over $100. I wonder how much money was saved (or made) from limiting cans of cheap beer? This did not affect me too much but there was a lot of grumbling amongst the finishers. In addition, who carries money with them on a race? I guess you could have packed it in your finish line bag – but …

After a few more people finished we started to get a little bit hungry. There was no food available outside of the finisher’s area. I take that back, they did have food for purchase. Now here is the rub, they have a captive audience of 16,000 people that have just run several hours and they charge them for food. That is just wrong. I have been to a lot of races and there is always food for the racers. That is just how races are done. There was a national chain restaurant serving food for free if you jumped through some hoops the day before. I was not aware of this and I did not jump through the necessary hoops. Anyway, they ran out of food.

This was also a point to point race and you had to take shuttles back to ‘near’ the start. There was no parking at the finish. You had to walk about a mile to get to the shuttles. I am not sure why they could not have been closer. I mean, we did have to walk along a road to get to the buses. But the number of buses was plentiful. There was no wait once you made the trek. The buses took you to the Superdome which is where most of participates had parked for the race and the second stop was close to the French Quarter. But if you were staying in a hotel near the race start you had another mile to walk. I knew where the shuttles were dropping off and was okay with the walk but I did hear of many people being upset – especially if you did not know the area.

I am aware that you cannot make everyone happy. And I did have a great race (I am signed up for next year already – I signed up prior to running the race for about a 50% discount). But there are a few things that need to be done better. Having done a number of triathlons I often hear of people being upset with WTC (World Triathlon Corporation - the ironman company) and talk about how expensive their races are. Both of these companies put on an efficient race and sell an experience. And I am perfectly fine paying for these experiences. At the end of my ironman, there was a ton of food (cheap food like pizza, bagels, cookies – but who cares at the end of an ironman) and even complimentary massages. My ironman and my marathon were both wonderful. But the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon series seems to be rather greedy. After all, it is just a marathon. If you charge a premium you had better deliver. With just a few changes to the amenities these events would be spectacular. I believe that the cost of the race should cover post race food. For crying out loud, no one would have complained if they charged an extra $5 and gave you a hamburger (although the race is already at a premium). There are a lot of marathons around. I am not sure if the Rock ‘n’ Roll experience is the premium.

The Good:
Fast easy check-in
Nice EXPO
Start Line facilities
Nice course
Volunteers
Ample water stations
Festive Finish line

The Bad:
Expensive Race
No FOOD
Limited Beer
Limited Gels at the water stations

All in all I had a great race and many of the CONS just did not have an effect on my experience. Most of what I am reporting on was from other racers. However, I do see their points. As I have previously mentioned I will be doing the race again next year. It will be interesting to see how the race grows.

Mardi gras Marathon - By the number revisted

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1735863/Mardi_Gras_Marathon

Mardi Gras Marathon Race Report

I had brought 5 different shirts for the race. I had a contingency for everything. I had 3 sleeveless shirts, a short sleeve shirt and a long sleeve shirt. I knew that I would not be wearing the long sleeve shirt but just in case.

I knew that it would be cold / cool prior to the race but I was planning on running hard. I did not want overheat in the later stages on the race. Race morning would be in the high 30’s / low 40’s.

I decided on a triathlon Zoot sleeveless jersey because it had a ½ length zipper. I had also brought a pair of tube socks that I had cut the ends out of – these would be my disposable arm skins. In addition I also had disposal gloves and a disposal long sleeved cotton shirt.

After walking the mile to the starting line I milled around corral number one for about 45 minutes. I used the bathroom twice – I was nervous. The first time there was no line – the second time I only had minutes to spare. I was cold and nervous and shaking. I was not as anxious as before my ironman but there was a lot on tension in the air. I wanted to do well. Like I said, there was no fear just a heck of a lot of anxiety.

When the gun fired the elites, corral 1 and corral 2 started. It was crowed at the start but I crossed the timing mat within seconds. I had my ‘virtual partner’ going on my left wrist and a regular stopwatch on my right. I got passed by hordes of people in the first 2 miles. I stuck to my plan. I kept to my paces. The half marathoners split off early in the race. I saw many people making the half / full decision. The split was between mile 3 and mile 4. I thought to myself that you had to be having a bad day if you jumped ship this early.

I continued on with the full marathon. My paces were maintaining. In fact, they were maintaining easily. However, I was running about 10 seconds slower than my last 30k race. I had some doubts start to creep into my mind. How could I have run 10 seconds faster for 18.6 miles? I am not sure how I did it three weeks ago but this was a different race.

Anyway, I was sticking to my race strategy, I was going to try and run even splits for the entire race. If I had more at the end (yeah right) I would pick it up. I ran with a couple of older guys for a couple of miles and I was chatting up a storm. We were swapping race stores left and right. I saw Becky from the running club around mile 7 or 8 – she yelled at me and I was sure she was going to tell me to shut up and race (I would see Becky and Holly a couple of more times during the race – they are fantastic cheerleaders!) The older guys started to drop off of my pace a little bit so – I had made this decision earlier – I was not going to slow down at all to talk. It would be okay to talk but I had to keep to my race plan. I dropped the older guys and picked up with a guy that I had met that morning. He needed a 3:10 to qualify and we were running similar paces. I ran with him and another guy for about 8 more miles. At times it was tough to stay up with them. They would drop me at the water stops and I would have to quicken my pace to catch back up. I am not very good at running and drink at these water stops. However, even though I had to quicken the pace to catch back up, I felt it was worth the effort to ride along with them. Although I was pushing it my ‘virtual partner’ kept was telling me that I was a little slow. I tried to catch back up to him but I just did not want to get into any danger zones.

At this point we were entering City Park. The half marathoners broke off to finish their race. I had run about 15 miles and I was still feeling strong. The course had the half and full marathoners break apart and come back together twice– after the first break we never actually intermingled – there was always an island or cones separating us. We, the full marathoners were running up the west side of City Park. I recognized this section from the Ole Man River Half that I had run back in December. This was a long flat straight section. I crossed the 17 mile marker at 2 hours and thought to my self, no scratch that, I said it out loud, that there was only about an hour to go. I proclaimed “That we could do anything for an hour.” Even though there was very little wind I had been tailing these guys for several miles. I was starting to push past them. It was time to move out on my own. I left them – I would not call it a pass, definitely not a pass with authority or anything I just got in front and kept going. We rounded the north section of the park and I was worried. I still felt strong but I knew that “The Wall” would be lurking. The temperature had climbed into the 50’s. This should not have been warm much less hot but most of my training has been in the 30’s. I had to take off my sweat band a couple of times to wring it out. I passed mile 20 and there was such a relief. I was past the first 20 miles and just had a 10k to go. There was an out and back for a couple of miles and then the course would come back into the park for the finish. I ran mile 20 on schedule (7:08 minutes / mile) – just as I had planned. I actually felt really good. I passed several people during this mile and kept to the plan.

This little out and back section turned 180 degrees at mile 21. That is when it hit me. I was running strong because of the tail wind. I don’t think the wind was that strong but it did not have to be. Running into the wind I was still passing people but it was hard going. These next 3 miles would be the slowest miles of the race. I lost 59 seconds during these 3 miles. It got hard in this area. And I was alone. I was trying to sight up ahead and reel runners in but they were getting few and far between. In a race this large it is amazing how many people I saw that I knew. At about mile 24 and a half I passed another runner. He knew my name and I looked up. This was a guy named Michael that I had run with at the 30K race 3 weeks ago. He needed a 3:10 to qualify for Boston and I told him to jump on – to finish this race strong. I don’t know how it made Michael feel (he finished in 3:11:xx – heart breaking) but it was encouraging to me. I knew the finish was within my grasp and I knew that I could push harder / push farther. I picked it up and my times got back on track. Mile 24 was the absolute slowest of the day (7:32) but mile 25 was back (7:07). I would continue to push hard until the end. Mile 26 felt like it took forever but I was on – it clicked off at 7:13. Down the finisher chute I kicked it up. I saw the clock and it was ticking up – I was damned and determined to not allow another minute click past. I sprinted the last minute and finished by a clock time of 2:08:5X and a chip time at 2:08:44.

When I finished I was spent. I was hurting – not a bad hurting like something permanent just sore from the effort. I received my finisher’s medal and got my photo taken. I did not feel hungry but ate a banana and a bar of some kind. I also took some sports drink. My face was crusty from salt.

I only needed a 3:15 to qualify for Boston so I knew that I was safe several miles back. This probably let me slip off of my paces. I had wanted to finish in a low 3:07 (as per the running calculator). I have become a better, more patient racer over the past 3 months. During the fall of last year there was no way that I could have come close to qualifying. Now, both the first and second halves of this marathon would have been half marathon PR’s in early December.

I am indebted to many friends that have allowed for me to experience this race. As I have said, I would not have even taken on this challenge without the encouragement from so many Pinebelt Pacers (special thanks Charles and Jim who talked me into running all of the build up races). I also could not have done this without the constant encouragement of Jodie who had to put up with all of the talk – the training this / the racing that. I am sure it has been tough on her for the last 3 months (not to mention all of the ironman stuff from last year).


Splits for the race - slowest - mile 24 - 7:32 / fastest - mile 15 - 6:59 average - 7:11
Average Heart Rate - 169

So, this is the race report. I would also like to put together a lessons learned for this marathon and a race review - a review of the Rock & Roll Mardi Gras Marathon itself. Stay tuned.

My race - by the numbers.

2 Cliff bars for breakfast
8 gels during the race (1 before / 7 during)
7:09.00 pace 1st half (1:33:57)
7:13.81 pace 2nd half (1:34:47)
7:11.90 pace Total

Qualifying for Boston in my first marathon … pretty sweet!

On yeah, at the expo I already signed up for next year’s race.

2010 Mardi gras Marathon - Boston Qualified!

First marathon down and a Boston Qualifier (3:08:44). Full race report to follow.

Before and after.

Ole Man River Half Marathon Race Report

I rode down with Charles to New Orleans Saturday afternoon. Scott, Charles’s step son went with us – he is 27 and came along for the ride – more interested in New Orleans than a race. We met up with Jim and his wife. We stayed in a house that is for sale down in New Orleans so we all brought air mattresses. The Saints were playing Saturday night and USM was playing Sunday night – both games would be in the Superdome.

We went to a sports bar not far from the house. Jim’s wife would be doing some Christmas shopping. I was preparing for a PR race and only drank diet coke – all night – about 20 of them. From the kickoff the Saints were in trouble. Jim was sure that Charles had brought bad mojo down to Nawlins – and this would be proven correct. The sports bar was packed and the negative vibe was locked in – we had a good time but the game was rough.

I woke up early to a flat air mattress – yes it leaked – and took a shower and grabbed a small bite – I had a granola bar in my race bag. We stopped for coffee on the way to the race. Eric and Terry had gotten to the race venue early – real early and had great parking spots – we had to walk a little ways.

Race packet pick up went quick and we ditched our outer layers in Eric’s car. The weather was perfect. I wore shorts, a short sleeved shirt, some old tube socks that I cut the end out off (temporary – disposable arm skins if you will) and white compression socks. Gloves would not be needed. This was just about perfect. I was not shivering or shaking like in Baton Rouge two weeks ago.

I had a lot more nervious tension for this race. I knew I could get a PR. I knew that I needed to execute well. I set the ‘virtual trainer’ on the GPS for 7 minute miles. This would be a challenge. As we started to gather for the race start I saw a few more local runner friends. Neil was there with a couple of other guys. I had used Neil to pace off of at a couple of 5K’s last year. I asked him what pace he would be running – he said 7 minute miles. Neil’s half PR was a 1:33 something. I decided to try and follow Neil – big mistake.

There was a lot of congestion at the race start and although the race is chip timed it is gun started. It took a few seconds to get going. I was standing next to Terry and Neil at the start but Terry just simply disappeared. I was able to follow Neil even though he was weaving in and out of traffic like a race car driver. I was about 3 strides behind Neil and hurting when we passed the first mile marker – 6:37. Damn, I was not running my own race. I was going out too hard. My heart rate was sky high but I tried to keep the pace up – I was a 400 feet in front of my ‘virtual trainer’ on the watch – I was going to just try and hold this number steady. I backed off of the pace and watched Neil power on.

However, I was not able to hold that 7 minute pace. The 400 feet dropped to 300 feet in the next mile. I was running this half marathon like a 5k – out of the gate too fast and just trying to hold on. That can work for a 5K but trying to hold on for 11.5 mile – this was hurting. I had to slow down but I still NEEDED a PR. I was not going to let up but at the same time I just could not hold the pace. I would be demoralized if I did not beat my last half marathon time – considering those conditions. I just kept at it.

Mile 1 – 6:37 - Ave HR 172 – Max HR 184
Mile 2 – 6:55 - Ave HR 179 – Max HR 180
Mile 3 – 7:09 - Ave HR 176 – Max HR 179

I had slowed considerably by this time – there was no way to hold 7 minutes a mile and I had already pushed into my red zone - HARD. Once your heart rate is up there – you do not get that back – it is just spent and there is not much recovery that will take place without slowing to a crawl. I had blown up in the first mile and a half! I hunkered down – it was tough being passed and watching people pull away. That does not normally happen in these races. I usually am able to pick a pace and hold it for most of the race and then put together a hard kick at the end. But people were passing me and there was nothing I could do – I definitely was not chatting during this race. My breathing was labored and I was in pain. These next few miles were the slowest of the race. I was burning up and I ditched the sock arm warmers at mile six. I was determined to try to keep up a respectable pace.

Mile 4 – 7:20 - Ave HR 175 – Max HR 178
Mile 5 – 7:24 - Ave HR 173 – Max HR 174
Mile 6 – 7:20 - Ave HR 174 – Max HR 175

I had recovered from the initial shock and was actually starting to be able to push a little bit and race MY race. I passed a couple of guys but it was not with any kind of authority. One of these guys came with me. I could hear him right behind me and we ended up racing side by side for a lot of the race. It was at this point that I passed the guy running backwards. He was trying to set a Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest half marathon time running backwards. He had two spotters with him on either side and a guy filming the race on a tricycle. I was just relieved that I was not going to be beat by the backwards guy. In hind sight he must have been given a head start – Terry was flying on the course and did not pass backwards guy until several mile into the race and I am sure this guy was not running anywhere close to 6 minute miles. I was still pushing hard but feeling better – I was just getting to the half way point.

Mile 7 – 7:15 - Ave HR 173 – Max HR 176
Mile 8 – 7:15 - Ave HR 173 – Max HR 177
Mile 9 – 7:15 - Ave HR 175 – Max HR 177

At this point I was running with two guys – not talking just putting out some consistent miles – working hard but running well – then we heard someone coming up. We were getting passed by a couple of boys. This was the back portion of the out and back course and the people still going out were shutting encouragement to the kids. The boys looked like they were about 8 years old! (In reality they were 13 – they were running strong. I could not hang with them - my mind wandered at this point and I was thinking that I was getting my race handed to me my some little kids – but if I pushed on and tried to out kick them then I would be the jerk - …

At mile ten the pace picked up a little and one of the guys that was running with me fell off – the other guy - well, I just tried to keep his shoulder. He was pushing hard and struggling. I was doing the same. One of the little kids started to crash a little bit and was fading. I passed him up at about mile 11. The other kid was also starting to fade now but was still strong. I also ended up passing this kid at about mile 11.5. And then there was another kid – this one was maybe 16 years old and caught up with the one kid and really started to lift him up. It was pretty awesome! These kids, the 13 and 16 year old ended up passing me in the last half mile or so – I was just done. I even had to stop at the last water station – just for a freaking break – I was so gone. This was the hardest race that I have done!

Mile 10 – 7:06 - Ave HR 177 – Max HR 179
Mile 11 – 7:05 - Ave HR 180 – Max HR 184
Mile 12 – 7:07 - Ave HR 181 – Max HR 184
Mile 13 – 7:00 - Ave HR 183 – Max HR 186
Mile 13.15 – 6:46 – Ave HR – 183 – Max HR 184

I did get my PR by over 3 minutes and I learned a LOT about racing and myself. This was not a smart race but I did push myself HARD – and I did not give up. I will count this as a major BREAKTHROUGH training session!

Terry ended up with a HUGE PR - 1:23:XX and won his age group (15th overall). Neil PR’d with a 1:29:59 and won his age group. I ended up with 3rd in my age group (by 40 seconds – 7:09 pace) with a 1:33:53 but the awards are only 2 deep – oh well.

I had wanted to push hard in this race and I did that - I just pushed too hard at the beginning (my average heart rate was 8 beats higher than Baton Rouge) . I believe that with a smarter race I can bring this time down a little more.
 

Planning for a PR - Ole Man River...

I was looking at my heart rate information from the Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon from two weeks ago. Don’t get me wrong – I had a good race – a PR after all – but I know that I can pick up the pace. My heart rate zones are not set in stone – they are in fact pretty generic, but I would like to see a lot more time in ZONE 4 SUB-THRESHOLD. For me that calculates to between 168 – 174 beats per minute. This is where I would like to see all of my time – with the exception of giving everything at the end of the race.

Also, I tried out the ‘virtual partner’ on the Garmin this morning for the first time. I tend to do pretty well in races if I have someone to pace off of – and I am afraid I might be caught in the middle tomorrow. Between Terry who is just too fast for me and Jim who is treating this race like training run. So I just might be able to make this little digital figure on the watch my nemesis for this race. It would also be the first time that I have actually raced by pace. I almost always race short stuff by feel – all out and just try to hold on - and longer stuff strictly by heart rate – never letting myself get too high and blowing up. (Blowing up is a huge fear of mine – it really has not happened BAD yet – I should probably just go out sometime and see what happens – but I really do not want to blow up and FAIL in one of these races).

The weather looks perfect for the race – about 40 degrees and sunny. In addition, this is New Orleans so it should be flat and fast. On top of all of that I am reworking my pre-race routine – this should be a much better race than two weeks ago. I am planning for success!

Bike trainer and long run fun.

Having ran a pretty good tempo run on Friday morning I just did some easy reading on the exerbike at the gym for lunch. I needed to finish up a Lance Armstrong book – Lance: The Making of the World’s Greatest Champion. I did not really care for the book. As with all of the Lance books they are completely one sided. You have books like this one by John Wilcockson, who has been following and interviewing Lance for almost his entire career who really thinks that Lance can do no wrong. In the other camp is David Walsh, L. A. Confidentiel and From Lance to Landis, who presents circumstantial evidence and then draws conclusions. I actually like the latter books a bit better but, to be fair, I am not the biggest Lance Armstrong fan. Anyway, I had an easy spin on Friday afternoon – I was planning a long run on Saturday morning.

That Saturday run just did not happen – no fault of my own mind you. The temperature was in the low forties and the rain was pounding. It was miserable conditions here in Southern Mississippi. With it raining outside I jumped on my bike trainer and put on a DVD. Forty five minutes later I was drenched. With school being officially out the gym has restricted hours. I arrived just after 2PM. I hopped on the treadmill with no real workout in mind – I just knew that this was not going to be the 12 – 15 mile run that I wanted – I can’t do that on the treadmill. I warmed up slow for about ¾ of a mile and then I decided to run mile repeats followed by ¼ mile recovery runs – not sure why but I guess to make the best use of the available time. I ended up with 5 miles at just less than 40 minutes. Three of those miles were at 6:30 pace.

The holiday / December running club meeting was at my house on Saturday night. Most of the usuals showed up and we did our officer elections. I scored big with the Dirty Santa by procuring a set of Yanks, running gloves, sunglasses and a couple of gels – not too shabby. However, there was way too much food and drink (actually I drank very little and I did not over indulge too badly on the food). But, the next day my weight was up by over 5 pounds. It tends to do that! – I know that it is water weight from salty food – but still.

The weather had changed by Sunday. Still some rain but much warmer. I got up and did the bike trainer again. I have been enjoying the trainer more than I ever have. I have been doing pretty easy base work but the computer will record all of my stats. I like to compare workout to workout and see my heart rate average, cadence and power averages for the sessions. The computer then spits put a ‘performance’ number. It is average watts compared to average heart rate. The number is not perfect but comparing the same workouts session is fun.

I met up with Charles on the trace on Sunday afternoon. We would try to put together a good long run. I ran 3 miles to meet him just past Clyde station. I ran those miles between 8:15 – 8:30 pace. Charles was running fast also – about his half marathon race pace – 9 minute miles. I slowed to his pace and he never let up. He stung together between 13 – 15 miles at right at 9 minutes per mile. He killed it.

I got about 13 miles at just over 2 hours – there were a couple of long breaks – I got to chew the fat and congratulate Steve (the postman) on his Ironman Arizona. I finished the last two miles of my run at a 7:30 minute pace. It was tough but not race tough. My legs were a little sore after the run – not race sore but…– so I took it easy the rest of the day. I actually skipped the December Beer Club meeting. I really was not in the mood for winter warmers with the outside being 68 degrees – in addition, I did not want to hamper my recovery.

The coming weekend is another half marathon in New Orleans – The Old Man River. The race is on Sunday with the Saints playing the Cowboys on Saturday night. New Orleans will be on fire.

Marathon Training - throwing down the gauntlet

After last weekend’s PR half marathon run on less than idea training and race conditions I have decide to try and put together a fast half and full marathon run. Maybe I can actually run a full-all-out half run this next weekend – I have signed up for the Ole Man River Half in New Orleans. This race is Sunday, December 20th. That is only two weeks since the last half in Baton Rouge and I do not expect to make great gains in running speed but I have more speed in me. I only hope to be able to run the entire race with race intensity (not lollygag and talk and stuff) and see where the time falls. Looking at the race calculators, according to my fastest ever 5K time I should be running these half’s nearly 10 minutes faster than I am. I think that calculator is pushing it but I would like to see how close I can get.


So the goals for the first quarter of the year are set – they will be running goals with cycling base building in between. Yes I still want to push the pace on the bike. I have read many articles that state a fall marathon will not help an ironman time. And I can only image that a spring marathon will in no way whatsoever help sprint and Olympic triathlons. That being said I am finally pumped about my training!

Jim and I met up at campus on Wednesday morning for mile repeats. The weather was warm and humid. We did a campus run with a 1 mile warm-up and cool down with the 4 one mile runs in the middle. We were not killing ourselves but clicked off the following – the rest interval was 3 minutes:

1. 6:42
2. 6:54
3. 7:05
4. 6:52

This was a good effort but the times will be dropping in the coming weeks. At lunch I did the STADIUMS. It was getting cooler and there was a strong wind. Having done the mile repeats I decided to be a follower and just kind of go through the motions. I still felt strong and performed well but I was not giving it everything I had. We pulled up short on the STADIUMS (10 X on 1:45) because I had a new challenge in mind. There is a LARGE staircase on the back of the Thad Cochran building. No one uses this stair case – it is like 3-4 flights of stairs – this is longer than the STADIUMS. So after 10 sets of STADIUMS we went to the back of the Coch. I had wanted to try out 5 sets on 2 minutes. The first set took 22 seconds up and a full 40 seconds to run down/recover. This was a damn hard workout – at the bottom we rested 1 minute. Vic and Richard were with me for the next two but were sucking wind at that point. I did just one more set at intensity and called it a day with 4 x the back of the Coch. This is tough stuff - when the heat hits it will be EPIC.

I had an exam on Thursday morning so I studied instead of exercising. I would have rather rode the trainer and watch a movie but… priorities. At lunch I played around in the racquetball courts to let the legs rest a bit. But after work it was back on the bike trainer. I got a good 45 minutes in a sweat-fest.

On Friday morning Jim was supposed to meet me at the campus for a tempo run. Something came up and I ran alone. It was a good run in the cold. It showed that I am not in position to meet my running goals at this point. I am going to need some solid training to run the paces that I want. I love a challenge.

TEMPO run:

1. 8:29 Warm up
2. 6:41
3. 7:02
4. 6:51
5. 6:57
6. 7:48 Cool down

I have been working on which races I will do next year and I have put together a list.  This is not set in stone (except for the races up to the Mardi Gras Marathon).

Tentative Race Schedule (first half of 2010):

12/20-Ole Man River Half – New Orleans
01/01-Stream Whistle 12k – Hattiesburg (on the trace)
01/17-Louisiana State 25K Championship – New Orleans
01/31-"The WALL" Louisiana State 30K Championship – New Orleans
02/XX-Run for Love 5K
02/28-Mardi Gras Marathon – New Orleans
03/19-St Thomas 5K
04/18-Ironman 70.3 New Orleans
06/05-Heatwave Classic Triathlon
07/XX-Sunfish Summer Triathlon
07/24-Heart O’Dixie Triathlon

Baton Rouge Half Marathon

There were five of us planning to run the Baton Rouge Beach half Marathon this past Saturday. Only three of us made it – Me, Charles and Eric. Terry was sick and had a house of sick kids. He had been training and I am sure that he was upset that he missed out on the race. Jim – not sure – I think the weather played a big part in him skipping the race.


I drove over to Charles’s house Friday afternoon. The sky was bright blue but there was a chill in the air. As we neared Baton Rouge the sky turned gray and it started to rain. The rain turned to a rain / snow – or as we called it in the Midwest – a wintery mix. It was cold and nasty.

We met up with Eric in the hosting hotel but we were a little bit early. The registration had not yet opened so we went and had a drink at the bar. This would foreshadow the rest of the event.

The Baton Rouge Beach race is pretty special in that it has a pre-race dinner and post race food – both of which are fantastic. We are talking jambalaya, seafood pasta, alligator – all really good stuff. Oh yeah, and beer.

I got my fill of all of the good food and my share of the beer. After talking with many of the other participates Charles and I parted ways with Eric. Eric was staying at a friend’s house while Charles and I were staying at another hotel that Terry had reserved. Charles and I checked in just in time to enjoy the last 30 minutes of happy hour. I made a grave mistake and switched to run and diet coke – fewer calories. With just a few minutes left in happy hour the barkeep came by and suggested that we double up while the drinks were free - ouch. Charles and I went up to the room as happy hour ended but we needed to procure something to eat prior to the race.

We went back downstairs and talked the barkeep into finding us some cereal or whatnot. She was very accommodating. So, this is not my pre-race routine – you know – tying one on. Charles said that he heard me exercising my demons in the bathroom at about 3 in the morning. I am sure that all of these shenanigans did not bode well for his race either. Many apologies.

I awoke feeling like death warmed over. It was about 32 degrees outside and I was hurting. Eric met us at our hotel and we drove to the race site. I was resting my head against the head rest in the back seat of the truck. We all got out and wished each other well as we froze in the race starting line.

The race is chip timed but there is not a race mat at the start. The race start is gun timed. We never heard the gun but the crowd of close to 1000 started to move. I ran a little ahead of Eric and Charles and just tried to fall into a groove. Mile one came up extremely slow – and quick – at the same time (7:08 – by my watch). I thought about pulling up for a minute or so and waiting for Eric or Charles and just taking this race easy. But like a hair shirt I needed to pay for the nights transgressions. I kept the pace up. The miles slowly clicked off on the light rolling course through the LSU campus and along a lake (hence the Beach portion of the race name). The mile markers were each manned by different groups of volunteers that were competing for a best water stop station prize. That was a lot of fun. There were people in costumes and many a girl scantily clad – they traditionally win the prize I later heard. It did not hurt that the temperature was in the lower 30’s – at least there was no rain for these troopers.

In races of this distance my mind tends to wander and I rarely am able to stay on task. This is a mental problem for me. It is hard for me to maintain that hard line between racing hard and blowing up – I almost always tend to back off a little bit. When I do this I get chatty and look for anyone to talk with. I found a couple of guys with the New Orleans ½ Iron race shirt on and struck up a conversation. This was the middle portion of the race and my mile times slowed. I was still pushing hard – just not race hard. I missed the mile marker at mile 12 and told the guy I was talking to that I needed to pick it up and finish strong. I sprinted hard the last ¾ of a mile and finished the race in a low 1:37 – just about even for my ½ marathon PR – I’m not sure of my official time yet. Eric took a spill during the race and still ended up with a PR – 1:48 and Charles finished just behind Eric well under his goal time of less than 2 hours. All things considered we all raced well.

I really want to actually prepare for a ½ marathon and push hard the entire race and see just where I might end up. I was disappointed and encouraged at the same time. I have only run about 20 miles per MONTH for the past 2 months and my longest run by far (at least double) was the last ½ marathon that I ran at Halloween.

I am going to put together a few weeks of REAL training – throw in a taper and give it everything. Depending on the results I just might try a Boston Qualifying run at the Mardi Gras Marathon in February.

Cheaha - pronounced YeeHa

I know that I have been AWOL from the blog-o-sphere for a little while. I guess that I am languishing a little bit without a clear cut plan in place. I really need that framework to help guide my training. I enjoy looking at the program and knowing what I need to do tomorrow. Without out this framework I have been just going through the paces with no objectives. Now, I have been having a lot of fun but without that direction I believe that it is hard to see real progress. My fitness is being maintained but all of the principles of periodization and progressive overload have been thrown out the window.

Cycling: Having a good time is the name of the game. A group of guys went to Cheaha State Park in Alabama last weekend. This is the highest point in Alabama. We stayed in a swanky cabin on a lake. There were challenges everywhere – the cabin had a pool table, ping pong table and foosball table. The mountain was also quite a challenge. We all had doubts on whether we would complete the climbs. We attached the peak from the east. This is by far the steepest climb – only lasting about 3 and a half miles. We are talking low –low gear and spinning along at 5 -6 MPH. Tough stuff. We then rode down the south side of the peak and gained speeds approaching 50 MPH (my highest speed recorded was 48.6 MPH). This road going south comes to an end (end of pavement that is) at Adam’s Gap. We turned around and tackled the peak once again. This was more of a gradual accent. We also got another ride in the next day. On yeah, I took my wetsuit and did a cold 20 – 30 second swim. It took longer to get the wetsuit on than the actual swim. It was hard to swim in the cold water after a hard ride – especially while all of your friends are on the dock having a post ride adult beverage or two.

We raced to the top of the climbs so that we could take pictures of the back of the pack.  All in good fun.

Running: Two weeks ago I ran a half marathon (ran not raced) on about 5 miles of running per week. It was a fun race. I found some guys to chat with and had a fun time. I finished 3 minutes slower than my PR (but to be fair this last half marathon was a little short – by two tenths of a mile). Well, I have another half marathon in two weeks and I have only run twice since the last half marathon. I am going to do this half marathon with another bunch of guys – we might run a 5K the night before. I am sure that we will all have a good time.

Gulf Coast Half Marathon

It rained and stormed all night last night. Thunder and lightening and the works. Woke up at 5AM and did the morning routine plus oatmeal. The Gulf Coast 1/2 Marathon would start in about 3 hours so I filled the tank. Checked the weather for the Stennis Space Center and it said that there was a 1% chance of rain at 8AM. You have to love these 'Rocket Scientists' - I am sure that they thought that there is never a 0% chance. Hit the road right on time at 6AM and headed south for the just over one hour drive. They checked our ID's at the guard station to enter the 'Space Center'.

Registration went quick and we lined up for the start of the race - the 5K, 1/2 marathon and Full marathon all would start at the same time. I took a gel with caffeine just before 8AM, however, due to some late arrivers they delayed the start of the race by about 15 minutes.

Jodie and I walked around for a little bit and then lined back up at the start and we were off. I intentionally started very slow. I surely did not want to get caught up in the 5k fast group and burn out. I watched my heart rate and kept it low and slow. Even though the pace was slow my right hamstring started to feel tight and ache just a little - this was in the first mile!

I was clicking along at 7:30+ / mile pace. I was trying to pace off of one of the fast women - I believe that she was in first or close to first place. She looked serious - running belt with numerous gels and a GPS watch that she was pacing off of. I was not going to let her slip away and tailed her for most of the race.

So I started slow and then by about the 4th mile I picked up my heart rate just a little. I was trying to keep it under 170. I would back off every time it jumped up. I kept this up until right around mile 8 (just under an hour). I allowed my heart rate to increase to the low / mid 170's. I still felt strong but did not want to bonk or to have to slow the pace. In retrospect I should have increased my heart rate much earlier in the race. I was pacing myself off of training heart rates and not race heart rates. During a race my heart rate automatically goes up by 5 - 10 beats per minute. I had been slowly passing people along the way

At mile 12 it was time to go for broke and I gave everything. I ran as hard as I could and passed several more people. Terry, local fast guy from the pine belt pacers, passed me at the water station at this point. I tried to hang with him but he calmly and smoothly pulled away. He had finished second in the 'Hobble then Gobble' race 2 days prior. The thing is - these are training runs for Terry. His race is next weekend - the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon. Terry is just fast.

Okay, back to me. I saw Terry pulling away and I kept my pace up and continued to pass people in those last miles. I tried and tried to pull in this one person that was right in front of me. However, it was to no avail - I finished just a few seconds behind this guy (I mean like 4 seconds). Come to find out that he was in my age group and it looked like I placed 19th overall and 4th in my age group - no awards / no prizes.

During the post race party someone pointed out to me that I had counted the age groupers wrong. One of the people that I counted was female and so that bumped me up to 3rd in my age group - a medal after all!

Shortly after I finished and while Jodie was still on the course it started to rain. And rain hard it did. I had already changed into my dry clean clothes and I got soaked. I can not imagine what the people running the full marathon were thinking when that rain came.

All in all it was a very good experience. My hamstring is hurting again - I will still have to nurse it for a while. I will keep the miles up on the bike and take the running slow and steady.

For the good ol' American life -- for the money, for the glory, and for the fun. Mostly for the money.

I worked a short day on Friday. I has some pressing things that needed to be attended to and, in addition, I just was in need of some time away from the office. I never got any exercise in even though I had the time.

I felt I was spinning my wheels. I had a lot to do but was not sure of the best way to get it done. I am trying to prioritize the things that are important to me. I had a job that was all about responsibility and accountability at one time. It was hard and people always looked to you for the right answers. Decisions were a part of the job. I never had any problem making decisions at work. It was by the book - very little grey area (unless you really looked. And you never had to look - that was also part of the job).

At home it was different; it was personal. Decisions are harder when they are full of grey and have a seemingly permanent impact. but I digress, the reason that I brought up work was the lessons that I learned. In priorities there are two attributes to consider - urgency and importance. Sometimes they seem like they are the same but there not.

urgency - the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity

importance - Strongly affecting the course of events or the nature of things; significant

"What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important." - Eisenhower

Only if it meets both of those criteria then it has to be done now. However, what one person thinks is important (The water in the break room is getting low) and someone else thinks is urgent (There is a huge sale at the dirty-mart that only lasts to 3PM we have to go now - or virtually any phone call I get at work) may not be either to you. (Not good examples I know, sorry.)

Anyway, I have been trying to prioritize my objectives for the coming year. Going over these I first had to look at importance and rank everything. Then I had to look at what steps were necessary to achieve these goals. And finally look at what was important and was also urgent and needed immediate attention. These objectives were taken care of today.

These are grown up ways of looking at things and the decisions can be hard and not immediately gratifying. Being a grown up is tough work sometimes.

I slept late on Saturday and really did not know exactly what kind of run I wanted to do - the day off of exercise did my body good so I decided to run a hard 10 miles. I had wanted to do 12.9+ (or 13) miles but I was not sure if I would be successful considering the pace that I was planning.

I took the first mile out at a medium effort at my comfort level (a little less than 7:45 pace) then picked up the pace to LT. I cruised the next mile and felt pretty good. Not Green-Goblin-god-like good but doing okay. (By the way, I love the Green-Goblin-god-like feeling!) That second mile was at 7:17. This mile included some acceleration and I knew more speed was to be had if I wanted it. My slowest mile was the third mile simply because I saw a few comrades and stopped to speak with them for a minute or so (8:42 pace). The next 8 miles were all less than 7:15 with the fastest mile clocking in at 7:01.

The total time of the run was 1:14:09 (74 minutes and 9 seconds for a 7:24 minute / miles pace). If I deduct 3 minutes for the warm up and talking I get a much closer to my goal pace. 1:11:00 equals 7:06 minute miles.

To meet my fantasy goal for the 1/2 marathon all of the miles need to be 6:56. Sub seven minute miles for 13.1 miles is such 'a long way to go with a short time to get there'.

As a side note - Big Lots is out of tuna pouches...

Running ragged

Have really stepped the running up this week in preparation of the half marathon at the end of next month. Rode the bike in Monday morning. It was brisk and although I did not time the ride I feel that it was rather fast. I have made this mistake before - time trialing every ride. There is no recovery for the wicked. I had to stop timing the rides - I always tried to beat the last one. Not doing that anymore, but the ride was fast!

Decided to increase the time on the "alpine trail" treadmill run for Monday. Max 8.5 MPH with an incline of 12 units (units because I really do not know what it measures but 15 is the highest) for 40 minutes. This comes out to a very challenging 4.5 miles in 40 minutes at near constant incline. There is no decline on the treadmill just less incline. After the first hill the flat section at 8.5 MPH gets you going.

Ran home from work in the afternoon (6 miles). It was a steady pace and felt good. Saw Lance out on the trace on his bike. We slowed and we chewed the fat a bit. He rehashed and relived the recent Heritage Triathlon. I was jealous of his war stories - I missed this race. It is always hard to talk to someone on a bike when you are running. At even the slowest pace on a bike you are trying to keep up on foot. We talked for maybe a mile and I was wearing down.

That gave me 10.5 miles for the day. Not too bad. Since I left the bike at work I knew - and was prepared - to run back into work in the morning.

Another brisk morning so I wore some light gloves and a log sleeve technical shirt under a cycling jersey. I was dressed just about right. For fun I pushed the pace when I encountered the dots. Not a fast pace but I did pick it up a bit.

Saw a guest lecturer at lunch so no workout. Still have to run or ride home - have not made my mind up yet but I have nearly 30 miles in 3 days. I like to push it when I feel it but sometimes I need to temper myself.

A very gratifing hurt but hurt none the less.

Thursday night was another all night session at work (the last for a few months). Worked all day Thursday and rode the bike home at around 4:30 PM. Drove back to work at 8PM and ran some errands with Kyle.

Kyle ended up buying a bathtub full of tuna at discount retailer - something line 60 pouches of plain tuna in water. As a side note he would have to have all of this fishy food in his carry-on bag for his flight home on Saturday.

Got back to work at about 9:30 PM and did not wrap up and finish until 5AM. I drove home just in time to grab the first cup of coffee. I was able to get about 2 1/2 hours of sleep that morning. Friday was also going to be a demanding night at work. I arrived at work at around 1PM and did not leave until after 11PM. To decompress we went to a local tavern to have a drink - I only had a Diet Coke. Got home just before 1AM.

Slept like a rock until 6AM. I had agreed to do a 'Coastal Clean up' in Gulf Port about 60 miles away. I'm just glad that I did not have to drive. Made it to Gulf Port and picked up trash for about 2 hours and then I had to go and lie down in the car. I was exhausted, my stomach hurt and just did not feel well. So much for exercise and working the plan for Friday and Saturday.

I was also damn sore from the weight traingin work out from Thursday. The chest was aching, the shoulders were damaged. A very gratifing hurt but hurt none the less.

Got back on the horse on Sunday with a brisk (55 degree) run to Epley and Back. This run is just over 12 miles. Started out with a comfortable pace (Heart rate in the 140's) of about 8 minute miles. I ran this for the first 6 something miles and picked the pace up just a little as I turned to home. Ran the next 4 miles at 7:30 - 7:40 minutes per mile (150's). On the home stretch I again pushed the pace a little with close to 7:00 minute miles (160's). I ran past the house to get a full 13 miles - I stopped just short at 12.9x miles. I finished the run at 1:39:41 for an average pace of 7:44/mile. I do not believe that I will be able to finish the Gulf Coast 1/2 Marathon at my goal pace.

Just for clarification, I always pick my goals in a fashion. I pick the Gold Medal - this is out of reach, it will take a miracle to achieve this goal, it will not happen but it is the ultimate goal. The Silver Medal is achievable but everything will have to go as planned, no mistakes, just hard work and perseverance. And the Bronze Medal - Train hard and smart and this one is possible, but not a given, it will require work.

My Gold medal goal for this 1/2 marathon (which I have not taken as serious as I should have and only have 5 weeks left) is a 7:00/mile pace and finishing at or below 1:31. I guess I also have a super goal of finishing just below 1:30. I am going to use the results of this 1/2 marathon to plan the paces and workouts for a full marathon early next year. A Boston qualifing time is a dream in a full marathon but once again that is a gold medal goal.

The Silver medal is the low 1:30's. Finishing at 1:35 or less. This is going to be damn hard. I am really going to have determine my max pace for 13.1 miles and execute to achieve this goal - I can do this one.

The Bronze medal is 1:40 or less. Not a given but I think that I can do this one with a hard but not killer effort. I have never run a foot race of anywhere near this distance but I do have confidence.

I am trying to catch the excitement for this race. The water is hot but not yet boiling. Waiting for the steam.

Working the plan.

I ran 3 easy miles Tuesday morning with Jodie. The weather was nice but my Achilles tendon on my right foot was aching horribly. I was foolish and strayed to a different brand of shoe. I have tried New Balance in the past and I believe that they are good shoes but they just do not fit me well. Everything is fine with the shoe except the back of the shoe is too stiff. I put about 15 miles on them and my Achilles felt, not stranded or pulled, but bruised. These shoes have been shelved. On a related note I also bought a pair of light and fast Adidas running shoes. Also not a normal shoe for me. These shoes are working great. Against my own advice I continued to run even with the pain just not in the New Balance shoes.

I also ran at lunch with Vic and Chad however I did not participate in the "Dot Race". I ran the course but not the race. I started slow and tried to increase my speed at each 1/4 interval. The last 1/4 mile was an all out 1:22. Pretty good considering the pain and already have run 3/4 of a mile at a 'good' pace.

Woke up this morning feeling good and wanted to run a light tempo run (faster than normal but not all out). I was shooting for about 5 BPM below lactic acid threshold (LT - also called aerobic threshold - this is the level you can sustain without going anaerobic). So after a short 1/2 mile warm up I started at the 5k start / stop point of a known out and back course. I accelerated to a comfortably hard pace. Clicked off the first mile at 6:38. Not anywhere near 1 mile records but feeling strong. During training I have so much difficulty sticking to the PLAN. As I said I was feeling strong and pushed just a little harder - maybe to just above LT. Hit the half way point and charged home. The ground was wet from a light rain the night before and the sun was still not all the way up. I missed the last mile marker so I was unable to get my splits. With about 3/4 mile left I pushed the pace higher. I was now well above LT. Breathing was labored. Still strong but having to push hard. Was about to cross under the final bridge with a 1/4 mile left and I gave everything. Arms were pumping, my stride increased (not always a good thing), and I focused on the goal. Crossed the finish line feeling like I had accomplished something. My day was made. Ended up with an unofficial personal best 5k time of 19:42 - 15 seconds better than my race times. For the record I will add about 10 seconds because the start/stop is not marked exactly - but I will take it.

I guess the time off probably really helped - I tend to have a difficult time taking the easy days easy and I rarely train smart. Something that I have to work on.

I am getting inspired for the 1/2 mary coming up. I had previously only been going through the paces. It is now time to put the goal in permanent marker and work the plan.

Back to the grind

Was out of town last weekend. Had a good time but was unable to get much exercise in to the mix. Had to be in the car for much of Friday and Sunday.

Went for an easy 3.5 mile run today at lunch and then hit the weights. I am sure the weights will make me a little sore tomorrow.

Only six weeks to the Gulf Coast 1/2 mary. I have not started to train for this event at all. I can go the distance without much difficultly, however, I am sure that this will not be my best time.

I am thinking about hitting the last 6 weeks of an intermediate 12 week 1/2 mary training plan. That would be challenging. A lot of tempo and speed work with a weekly long run. Keep the volume within reason.

Need to start working the plan!