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.

Last run before race.

I ran my last run before the marathon this morning. I had brought clothes to the gym earlier in the week so I was able to run straight. The training plan only called for an easy mile and then 2 miles at race pace.




I tried to play it safe but work is 6 miles from my house. I did an easy 2 mile warm up (about 8 minutes per mile) and then ran two miles at right 7 minutes per mile. This was about 7 seconds per mile faster than race pace. I wrapped up with another couple of 8 minutes per mile.



I felt pretty good other than the cold. When I left the house it was about 29 degrees. My feet were blocks of ice for about 1 ½ miles. They were very uncomfortable. I had run a half marathon in early January when the temperature was 23 degrees. It is funny how I do not remember the pain of the cold feet from that run but I am sure that my feet were frozen for much of the race.



The pace was not difficult but it was only for 2 miles. I cooled down for another 2 miles at 8 minutes per mile. My heart rates at speed have definitely dropped. 7 minute miles are in the mid to high 160’s BPM – I can maintain this cardio effort for a very long time while running (cycling is a different story). This race will be much more about muscular endurance!

Strength to weight bench marks!

I jumped back into P90X again and did the chest and back workout on Monday morning. As you know, it is a lot of body weight exercises. I really like the workout.


At lunch, to continue to rest the legs – I have no kick after all – I swam 3000 yards in the pool. This was an easy swim with just 2 x 1500. My times were a little off from my best (less than a minute) but the swim felt good. I need to get in the pool on a more regular basis and pick my swim up. I am ready to get in the open water!

Tuesday I did my last speed session before the marathon and I did it on the treadmill. I had done a similar workout a few weeks ago and this one seemed better. After an easy mile warm-up I did 6 repeats of quarter miles at a 5:42 minute per mile pace (10.5 MPH). Now, the treadmill takes a second or two to get up to speed and a second or two to come back down but it was a solid workout. The recovery consisted of quarter miles at an 8:00 minute per mile pace. The total was 5 miles in 40 minutes with 3 of those mile taking 20 minutes.

After the speed session I did my pull ups.

About 8 years ago I set a goal for myself. At the time I could not do ANY pull ups. I had just started to embrace fitness and a healthy lifestyle. I laid down the gauntlet and wanted to be able to do 30 pull ups (I quickly revised the goal to be 30 pull ups in 3 sets). I used to run around this park that had a jungle gym and I would stop on many of my laps and try to crank out as many as I could. I would then walk a short path for about a minute and crank out some more. I tried all variations of the number of repetitions. Once I was able to get 10 pull ups in a row I add a few more. Maybe a combination of 12 / 10 / 8 would be the secret or maybe 14 / 10 / 6. Nothing worked. I remember the first time I was able to get 20 reps and then 22. I was stuck for a long time.

About 3 years ago I finally achieved my goal. I got my 30 reps in 3 sets. Now that has become my bench mark for my strength to weight ratio. I started doing them again this past month. Eight pounds ago I was topping out in the high twenties.

Twice this past week I have had success -2 out of 2 actually. The first time was 15 / 9 / 6 and then yesterday after my speed work I got the 10 / 10 / 10 (and then added 5 more in a fourth set).

It might be time to try the 40 in 4 – I love a challenge!

A Chink in the armour?

I Saturday I woke up and volunteered at a new 5k race. This race was a brand new race in the community and I really like to support people taking the initiative. I would have like to have run the race and I think I could have PR’d but I thought better of it. I needed to get a last good tempo run in this weekend and I did not want to compromise my recovery. So instead I just showed up to see if I could help out. There were a lot of pacers at the event and it turned out to be a huge success!


After the race I was going to get a nice bike ride in – there were 2 scheduled. One was at 11AM and the next at 1PM. In my foolish mind I actually thought about doing both of them. I showed up at 11AM and although there were a lot of cars at Jackson Station there were no cyclist. Not to be discouraged I set out on my own. I made this a good tempo ride and pushed a little harder than I would have on a normal solo ride. My bike fitness has really suffered. On the way back I ran into Raland and Lance. They were getting a few extra miles prior to the 1PM group ride. I turned around and added 10 extra miles to my 20. I enjoyed catching up with the guys. At this point I knew better than to jump on the 1PM ride.

I went to a wine tasting on Saturday night and had a good time. I did not go overboard but it was definitely not in the race plan.

On Sunday I was going to run a comfortable 10 mile tempo run at marathon race pace. This would be at a 7:06-ish minutes per mile. I was not looking forward to the run. I dragged my feet for about an hour waiting to see if the rains were going to come. It was in the low 40’s and I did not want to be caught in the cold rain. The skies did open up and it poured for about an hour. I was glad I waited.

My enthusiasm did not increase but after the rains stopped I did venture forth. I was tired from the night before and overdressed for the run. The rains had brought much warmer temperatures and coupled with the humidity – I was burning up. That is a fear that I have been having – training in the cold and then the heat gets turned up. Fifty degrees and 100 percent humidity takes precious seconds away from my pace.

I started the GPS watch and lined up with my ‘virtual nemeses’. I have been running a lot faster than 7:0X and this show have been confidence boosting. The run was hard from the first mile. Not cardiovascular wise but muscle fatigue. I was getting worried. I completed the run the appropriate time span but all I could think about was 16 more miles… 16 more miles… I took some post run nutrition and relaxed. I did not want to take any chances and grabbed an afternoon power nap. I was tired and enjoyed the rest.

Five weeks ago I did a very similar run. 10 miles at 7:0X pace. It was a hard effort. It was challenging. It gave me so much confidence to be able to run a hard effort in training. This was the same run but this time it was demoralizing. Looking back at the data I actually ran this 10 mile tempo at an average heart rate that was 6 BPM lower (Jan 14 – 171 BPM / Feb 21 – 165 BPM). That is encouraging.

I don’t like to make excuses, however, I do like to analyze the data and make corrections. I believe that the harder than normal cycling played a large role in my legs feeling fatigued. I also think the night out and the alcohol played a factor. And last I believe the weather played a role. The good news is that I can completely control 2 of the 3 prior to race day.

Race ready!

After work I actually got on the bike trainer. The hour of power if you will – well the 45 minutes of warm up / cool down and 7 intervals. But the HOUR OF POWER sounds so much better. It is so hard for me to get motivated to do a session in the evening. It is something that I really need to work on – I would like to make some time for a few quality sessions in the evening. As always, I felt better for having done the workout.


On Thursday morning I went to the gym for a tempo run on the treadmill. Once again you have to take the treadmill with a grain of salt. I don’t really know how fast the belt is moving or the equivalent pace. I do, however, always try to use the same machine. My training plan, the FIRST plan that I have been roughly following, only called for a 6 mile run. It would be a good warm up / cool down with the working set being 3 miles at a 6:45 minute pace. If you remember I ran 8 miles on the treadmill last week with the working set consisting of 6 miles at a 6:40 minute pace. So today’s workout did not seem sufficient. I know that this is part of the taper but – come on – this is where I prefer to work harder. And just to justify my working harder - the FIRST workout plan that I am following is for a 3:15 marathon time – I am going to try to be quicker than that!

So I did my easy 1 mile warm up at 10 minutes per mile and then cranked the treadmill up to a 6:40 pace. The first mile was easy so I decided to increase the pace each mile for a total of 4 miles in this working set. I increased the speed by 0.2 MPH and the splits came out as follows (mile number / time / Ave HR):

Mile - 01 Time - 00:09:58 Ave HR - 129
Mile - 02 Time - 00:06:40 Ave HR - 158
Mile - 03 Time - 00:06:28 Ave HR - 168 
Mile - 04 Time - 00:06:20 Ave HR - 175
Mile - 05 Time - 00:06:13 Ave HR - 181
Mile - 06 Time - 00:09:51 Ave HR - 145

Although the paces did indeed quicken, I continued to feel strong. The 6:40 pace was as if I could go forever (forever being about 10 miles - maybe a little longer). The 6:28 wasn’t much harder. The 6:20 could have been a solid 5 mile effort. At the 6:13 pace it got harder although I could have pulled this off for a 5K – and who knows, with a kick at the end I might have had a new 5K PR’d. After the 4 working miles I shut it down. I think I could have held the 6:13 for another mile (but my average heart rate was creeping up – 181 was what I averaged for a 12K – 7.5 mile – run back on New Year’s day – so I know I have a little more top end). But I played it smart. I know that I will not gain any speed or physical fitness these last couple of days before the marathon. This is the time that you are more likely to mess something up!

I never got out of my hard comfort zone. The intensity was up but the recovery should be quick and easy. I am not going to push too hard this late in the game. I am ready for the race!

This weekend I am running 10 miles at race pace.

Speed work tapering

Giving the legs a break I did another P90X Chest and Back DVD on Monday morning. I decide to wear one of my racing unitards for the P90X session. You know what? I actually liked working out in this outfit. I hate doing pushups when your shirts dragging the ground. In addition, some of these workout sessions involve a lot of jumping around and such – the unitard works great.


During lunch I did an easy swim. I started with a warm up and then cranked out 10 x 100 yards. It felt pretty good. My first few repeats were quicker than average but quickly leveled off.

No workout on Tuesday morning.

During this taper I am trying to cut my volume substantially while maintaining my intensity. The idea is to have my body recover from all of the training during the last 2 months while also not losing any of my fitness. Therefore I continued speed work this week. Due to the Mardi Gras Track on Tap on Tuesday night I had to fit my speed work in during lunch. This was not a problem because there were no classes on Monday or Tuesday – that’s right, there are no college classes for Mardi Gras.

I did the indoor track at the Payne Center. It is an eighth of a mile track and the turns are pretty tight. I warmed up with 1 minute per lap (8 minute miles) for 1 mile and then did 800’s. I clicked off 6 of these 800’s – all less than 3:00 minutes. It was a good workout and I never left my comfort zone. There is only one conclusion. The track is short. These were too easy. I am going to borrow the distance wheel from the pacers and measure this track. I am not being modest – the track is short…

The track on tap was a lot of fun but there were no actives going on for Mardi Gras. The town was dead. We started at the Keg and Barrel and then hit downtown. We all had our masks on and were decked out in beads but there was no one to throw them to. There was a beer wagon and a stage for a band but nothing was going on at 7PM. We were not going to stand around in the cold for a couple of hours waiting. We ended up running only about 3 miles. Oh well, we all still had a good time.

I did a P90X abs workout on Wednesday morning and plan on doing the bike trainer thing tonight.

Snow Day?

Thursday, before I even left work, Friday was called as a snow day. Here in Mississippi people to not understand the concept of a snow day. The magical quality of the snow day is the anticipation. You still had to get up early and start getting ready for school. You did get up just a little bit earlier so that if the day was yours you would not waste any of it! You turned on the radio or the television and watched the scrolling ticker, waiting with enormous anxiety for your school name to scroll across. None of this knowing you had the day off – what is that – that is a holiday weekend – not a snow day. Now I lived in Indiana for about a dozen years and all of the kids would watch this ticker scroll across the bottom of their televisions – I lived in ‘Vigo’ county at the very end of the alphabet. It was excruciating watching all of the Clay, Daviess, Dubois, Fountain, Gibbson, Green, Own, Parke, Putnam counties go by not to mention all of the private schools. It would take forever and then when the child’s school came up they would hope and pray for the day off. These days off were super rare – the most likely outcome was simply a two hour delay. Nice but no cigar.

Back to my snow day. The campus was shut down on Friday. I knew it in advance but I still could not take full advantage of it. I was already planning on running long on Saturday and the roads and trails would be too wet and cold for the bike. I just took it easy. I took care of some school work and rode the trainer. I did not leave the house at all on the snow day – there was no need.

There were three or four groups running on Saturday morning. I did not really have a plan I just wanted to go out and be sociable. I met Steve (the postman) and Keith at Jackson at 6:30AM. Steve only ran a few miles with us but Keith and I continued on towards Epley. Charles would be running towards us. Keith and I chatted along while running mid 8 minute miles. The distance accumulated quickly and by the time we got to Charles I was at about 8 miles. We turned back towards Jackson. The fresh snow was beautiful but due to the ground down south being so warm there was almost no ice or snow on the trace. It was perfect running conditions. We were able to watch the sun rise as we ran along. As we neared Jackson I broke away from the guys. I needed to head by the house to grab a few gels – I had simply run out of the house without planning ahead. These three miles were the fastest of the day – I dropped down to 7 minutes per mile while trying to sprint ahead and then catch back up with the crew. Keith had his 12 miles in back at Jackson and Charles and I continued towards campus. Charles was having some knee issues and the pace had slowed to right at 9 minutes per mile. We turned around just before campus and we were going to meet another group back at Jackson. At Jackson I started running with Kim. She is also trying to Boston Qualify in two weeks. I was at mile 10 at this point and we started running 8 minute miles. This was solid. It was not intentional and probably not smart but I had a great day of running. All said and done I racked up the longest training run ever with 24 miles @ 9 minutes per mile pace.

That night I went to a birthday party extravaganza with smoked brisket, homebrew and tons of desserts. I did not go completely nuts but I did partake. I was in bed prior to midnight – I was tired.

On Sunday I decided to jump into the group ride for the first time this year. It was raining just prior to leaving the house and I was hesitant. I am so glad that I persevered. It was a same group due to the temperature and the wet weather but I had a good time. I accumulated the most miles of the year at 42 (I have not ridden outside much this year) and did notice my lack of cycling fitness. It is very true – cycling helps running but running certainly does not do much for running. When the ride was over I jumped off of the bike and had a quick meal (quinoa and grilled chicken) then showered. Within 30 minutes we were headed for Beer Club. Back to back bad food and good beer is tough on the weight.

I guess do to the volume my weight is down this Monday morning!

Confidence boosting tempos

The start of the taper is tough on me. I feel like I am not doing enough. I have said before that I use exercise not just for the physiological aspect but for the psychological as well. On top of all of this I am trying to maintain my weight and the reduced activity does not help.


I did a swim on Tuesday morning and then some treadmill intervals that evening. The intervals were not too hard – but I did cut them short. I was on the treadmill and I planned on doing 10 x ¼ miles at faster than 6 minute miles. I started the intervals with the treadmill set at 10.5 miles per hour (5:43 minutes per mile). I did five intervals and they were not a problem. However, my evening hard running gastrointestinal pain returned. Having a belly full of food (from eating throughout the day) really starts to jostle around. The discomfort was not unbearable but that was all that it took to call it a day. If someone would have been playing racquetball or another game I doubt I would have given up.

On Wednesday I only got a morning swim in – but it was a great swim. Not because it was terribly long or that it was astonishingly quick. It was just a solid swim that I enjoyed. It was a good pace and a good distance. I did a ladder up and down. It was not as structured as I have done in the past. The paces were about the same for all of the legs so I did not get the full benefit. I did 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 / 500 and then down back to 100. A total of 2500 yards – the longest since ironman. I was not over extended. Once again it felt solid.

That was it for the day. I had hoped to get some time on the bike trainer but it just did not happen.

Thursday morning brought a tempo run. It has turned cold here in Mississippi and I headed to the gym. Funny how a little bit of rest and the legs are no longer tired. I do not have the crazy legs that I sometimes get – my legs were just just there. Not roaring to go – not fatigued – just legs. That is a funny feeling.

Although I know that the treadmills are all over the place when I t comes to pace I have to believe that they are fairly close. I remember when I used to run with my Polar footpod that the treadmills were close. I do not remember the pluses and minuses but it was close. There is also no wind on the treadmill. I do however, always set the incline to 1 (whatever that means) to simulate the outside.

I did an easy warm up for a mile and then I decided to run the tempo. I was not sure of the pace I wanted to go. I did not want a super hard work out where I might blow up – I did not want the frustration. At the same time I wanted a challenging workout. I turned the treadmill to a 6:40 minute per mile pace. This is the pace that I ran the Steam Whistle 12K at the beginning of the year. That was a hard 7.45 miles. That was the ‘hardest’ race that I had run up to that point. I was pleased with the results. My heart rate averaged 181 beats per minute. I remember pushing hard for most of the race.

So this should be a solid workout – pushing hard. I did the warm up nice and easy and just set the treadmill and motored though. The workout felt easy for the first few miles. Well, not easy but definitely not hard. I was able to click off 6 miles at the 6:40 minute per mile pace without ever having to push to redline. This was a real boost to my confidence (which had deteriorated the last couple of days). I also cooled down for a mile and finished the 8 mile run in just under an hour. The average pace for the working set was 6 miles in 39:48 @ 6:38 pace with an average heart rate of 168 beats per minute. I have really increased my LT level these past 2 months!

Summary 0:59:33 @ 156 beats per minute

- - - - Time- - HR Ave
01 - 0:09:49 115
02  - 0:06:40 154
03  - 0:06:38 165
04  - 0:06:37 168
05 - 0:06:37 172
06 - 0:06:37 174
07 - 0:06:39 175
08 - 0:09:52 149

Swimming and biking - break throughs

Let me just say that my weight fluctuates – a lot. I hit my race weight over the weekend – and then I did the Super Bowl thing. I have come to the conclusion; everyone says that they eat pretty good most of the time. What does this mean? I’ll tell you, I know the answer because I eat REALLY, REALLY good most of the time – it means that sometimes I eat like crap. I mean that sometimes I REALLY, REALLY eat like crap. So that being said, I went from my race day goal weight (I weighed in at 154.8 this weekend) to a Monday morning weight of 163.0. Yes, that is right an overnight weight gain of 8.2 pounds. That is about a 5 percent change in weight over night. Now I am not in the weight range of the biggest losers’ – I am pretty lean (meaning I have some body fat to lose) – 5+ % overnight. I do realize that it is mostly water weight (I am down 2 pounds today) but I am still amazed at how my body fluctuates. It did this last summer on long training days and it still does it today.


Anyway, my upper body is sore from the P90X from Sunday morning – a little tender. It was especially noticeable in the pool at lunch on Monday. I could really fell my arms and back from all of the pushups and chin-ups. Speaking of the pool – it is coming around. I did an easy warm up and then for some intensity I did 10 x 100 yards with 30 seconds rest. I know that is a lot of rest but … I was pushing semi-tough and my times were a few seconds lower than last week. I was about 5 seconds per 100 quicker than my last years 500 and 1000 averages. And then it happened. It has happened before and I am always awe struck. I decided to slow down my stroke and really stick the arm out there. Stick it out and hold it out there for a long pause. I was holding it out there long enough for my other arm to start entering the water. Total Immersion calls this ‘front quadrant’ swimming. I have such a difficult time with this whole counter-intuitive swimming thing. Slow down to go faster. For the last 3 100’s my times were 2 – 3 seconds faster and I was swimming easier. I know that I am not a speed demon in the water but I’ll take these little victories.

Strangely, my legs were tired on Tuesday morning. I did no running on Sunday or Monday. Why were they tired? I don’t know (accumulated fatigue – probably ready for a taper or maybe I am just being a wuss). I jumped on the trainer for more intervals and the legs came around. It was comfortably hard. I did not get off the trainer and need to lie down or anything – just a solid session. I am doing speed work tonight after work – not too much just 10 quarters.

Ready to taper?

That last race (the 30K) took a more out of me than all of the previous races. Last year it seemed as if it took me forever to recover. My first half marathon in November of 2008 – I think it took me a full 2 weeks to bounce back. I was sore and did not have a top gear. Well, I have raced much harder and at greater distances these past two months and I have bounced back week after week. In fact, on the weekends that I did not race I picked up the volume – I had several 3 day blocks of forty plus miles and even a 3 day block of 50 miles. However, this last race was different. I am not sure if it was the distance (18.6 miles), the intensity (6:55 minutes per mile) or the building fatigue of racing. This had me worried.


On Saturday I ran an easy 15 miles with the guys. It was at a comfortable pace for me (9 minutes per mile – that has become low zone 1). I really enjoyed chewing the fat and just getting outside. The “training plan” had called for something more substantial (20 miles @ 7:41). I am sure that I could have gutted that out but I don’t think that it would have done much for my overall run fitness. I stuck with the easy, fun run. I took about an hour break after the run and grabbed something to eat (toast and oatmeal). I then met some other guys for a bike ride.

There had been a ‘fast’ bike ride at 7AM on Saturday but I knew that I probably would not have been able to hang – well maybe… But I wanted the running miles.

So I met up with the late Saturday ride. There were only 3 of us. I am not sure if it is due to the lack of bike fitness, the 15 mile run, or the strength of Dan – but I could not hang with him. I am sure it is a combination of all three. I did try to hold his wheel for a few miles but my heart rate (as well as perceived exertion) were topping out. I dialed it back and just rode my 20 miles. Dan is going to be tough to beat. He also happens to be in my age group.

I was going to run on Sunday morning but the legs were tired again. Not wanting to skip a day I put in a P90X DVD. I have not done any of these since October. I was able to hammer out disc 1 without any problems. The sessions are solid and tough! I will feel this in the chest and back!

At a super bowl get together I was talking with some more knowledgeable runners and asked them about my recovery from this last race. They were reassuring. They said that going into a taper you should be spent – that the training was coming together and time for the body to rebuild. I looked at my training schedule for the next 3 weeks – yep just 3 weeks away – and they are indeed much reduced. The intensity is still there but the mileage is dwindling.

Pulling the swim back in

Friday was another good swim. I swam 1000 x 2 and recorded my times. They are, of course, a good deal slower than last year when I was swimming a lot. But I am feeling good about the swim. So far, it has come back easy. I do not fight the water. The 1000 yard times were off by about 45 seconds. That is nearly 5 seconds pet 100. I have some work to do but on the bright side I was not pushing anything hard. It was not like I treated these as time trials. They were just 1000 yard swims. If I swam these hard I think that I would be pretty close to my TT times.


Right now it is Saturday morning and it is 45 degrees in Mississippi. I will be heading out the door for a long run. I hope to be able to get on the bike a little bit later in the day (easy group ride – not too fast)!

Swim, Bike, Run, Recovery

I went to the track on Tuesday evening – just as I have for the past 6 weeks. My training plan called for 10 x quarter miles at 1:27. I am faster than this but the 10 seemed daunting. I started warming up by myself and my legs were tired. My legs have been tired every track night. After the first interval they loosen up some. I am sure that this would have been the case. As more pacers started to show up I walked, ran and talked with them. Charles showed up and he said no speed work for him!


It was easy to talk me out of the speed session. I decided to let the legs recoup. Charles and I ran a couple of miles on and around the track. Low and behold, Jim showed up. He ran with us for a couple of more miles. It was a fun run and I am very glad that I did not blow off the entire night just because I was not feeling speed work. I ended up with about 7 and half miles of easy running finishing the run at an all out sprint with Jim. We decided to do one last lap hard – well I decided to do one last lap hard. Jim came with me – he is quicker than me and had fresher legs. I increased the speed three times during the sprint. Jim was on my shoulder the entire time. I think he could have overtaken me but just let me run. At the last push to the finish line we were deep in the 5’s (the watch had deep in the 4’s – but you know how that current pace thing works on the GPS). The last 100 yards was all out and it felt great.

Wednesday would be early swim work. I am getting back into the groove of the pool and I actually extended my planned workout some. My nose was all stopped up and, I know this is gross, but the swim always clears me out – if you know what I mean. I alternated sets of 250 yards with and without paddles. With the paddles I can really feel the muscles in my back. This is so different from when I first started swimming. My arms used to get so tired with the swim. Anyway, I only swam 1750 yards but it felt good. I still would like to do the masters swim thing but I may have missed my winter window. Before too long I will be back on the bike in the mornings.

I had planned on hitting the trainer after work on Wednesday but I was under the weather. The nose was stopped up again and I was going through tissues like it was nobody’s business. I scrapped the trainer ride.

If you remember my trainer ride was also compromised on Tuesday due to a flat tire. Well, I did change that tire when I discovered it so the bike was ready to go on Thursday morning. I loaded the new interval training plan. Last week the intervals were 1 on / 2 off times 7. I changed the ratio some so that it is now 1:15 on / 1:45 off – a small change – increasing the working set by 25 percent. This was a solid workout. I was drenched when I completed it! The trainer is a solid workout but I am ready to get back outside.

Flat tires and calculators

After the race on Sunday I attended a running club meeting. Shortly after the meeting I went to bed. I was dog tired after the race. It was a combination of getting up at 3:30AM and running a solid 30K.

Monday I let the legs rest and slept in a little bit. At lunch I had a swim. An easy 250 warm up followed by 10 x 100 alternating using paddles. I could really feel my back muscles during the swim.

After the swim I did a quick circuit training round. Nothing much.

On Tuesday morning I was going to jump on the bike and extend the intervals that I started last week. I want my get my bike back in shape – I have been concentrating on the running for the past few months. I programmed the trainer – the intensities would be the same but instead of 1 minute on / 2 minutes off I was increasing the on and decrease the off. The new intervals would be 1:15 on / 1:45 off. I was excited. When I did the intervals last week they were comfortably hard – it felt solid. When I got on the trainer the tire was flat. Don’t get me wrong, I would rather have a flat indoors at home than out on the road – but it did put a damper on the training session. I changed the tire quickly even though I had to remove some of the trainer attachments (cadence sensor, etc.) but there was just not enough time to complete the session. I made a mistake and tried to do a much harder, shorter workout. This was not to be. I am still planning on hitting the track after work. I will get my running intervals. Maybe I can get an easy ride tomorrow.

I have talked about the “McMillan Running Calculator” before (turn your volume down), but this thing continues to impress me. When I first started looking at it a couple of years ago I would input my 5K times and it would spit out fantasy half and full marathon time. I mean they were nowhere even close to what was possible. My real half marathon times would equate to a 5K time a minute slower than actual. Well, as I have updated my time the calculator, it is coming into line – perfectly. Updating the tool with my latest 30K time – my 5K time is now ‘projected’ to within 2 seconds of actual and my 25k time is within seconds. This calculator projects my marathon time to be 3:06:19 at a 7:07 minute per mile pace. It also says that I have been sand bagging my half marathon time – it wants me a minute faster. I will try to prove the calculator correct.

"THE WALL" 30k Race Report

What is hard? As these races have increased in distance, my average heart rate has degreased appropriately. Over the past two months I have made a dramatic shift from running / racing by heart rate to running / racing by pace. In the short distance races I have seen average heart rates that would have had me holding back – scared to blow up. In these longer distance races I am trying to stay at a pre-defined average pace, never looking at my heart rate. For these longer races it is the muscles in the legs that fatigue well before the cardiovascular system is tapped. So, in all of these races over the past 2 months I have walked away from each of them thinking that each one was the hardest race I had ever run. I chalk that up to racing smarter and racing better. My average heart rate for the various distances is as follows:

MILES - PACE - HR AVE
7.45 - 6:39 - 181
13.1 - 6:50 - 178
15.5 - 6:53 - 172
18.6 - 6:55 - 168

This was a hard race but not as hard as the previous races. This makes me think that I could have raced harder – should have racer harder. But, I believe that I was racing the correct pace. I slowed a little bit during the 2nd quarter of the race and that cost me a few seconds. This was, however, running directly into the wind. I think it is becoming easier to race at distance. Maybe I am just better suited for running further.

On to the race report.

I awoke at 3:30 AM and it was in the high 20’s low 30’s. That is damn cold for Mississippi – the spring like temperatures left us on Friday. In fact, I went for a brief walk on Saturday and the wind plus the cold made the outside miserable. I know I am soft when it comes to the weather but I did live in the Midwest for a dozen or so years so I do understand miserable. I had several layers of clothes picked out for the race. The last race that I did in New Orleans was two weeks ago and it was windy but the temperature was a good 10 to 15 degrees warmer. In that race I wore shorts and a short sleeved shirt. At the Mobile half I wore shorts and a short sleeved shirt with a long sleeved shirt on top (with gloves) – that race was 23 degrees. For ‘The Wall’ 30K it felt colder than Mobile. I know that is not possible but we were chilled to the bone. I wore the same outfit that I wore in Mobile and that proved to be about perfect.

I arrived at Charles’s house at 4:40AM and Terry met us there a few minutes later. He joked that he had brought a propane heater for the trip. Charles and I were laughing until he pulled one out of his car. The drive to New Orleans was uneventful and we talked race strategies and what not. Terry had been ill the past couple of weeks and was using this as a training run (Terry PR’d the half marathon last month with a 1:23: XX). Charles and I would be running the race hard – in part to test the paces and, just as important, to build the confidence required for our marathon goals.

We arrived an hour early and checked in. We stayed in the car and kept warm. Terry fired up the heater and kept warm outside. It was cold and windy. This would be a tough race. Terry donned a disposable poncho while we waited for the race start.

I had set my ‘virtual nemesis’ for a fast pace. In fact, I was hoping to improve upon my 25k time. I wanted to run somewhere between my half marathon PR (6:50) and my 25K pace (6:53). I set the pace at 6:50. I started out near the front and tried to run an evenly paced race. The first mile clocked in at 6:49 – I really have learned about going out too fast. There were a ton of people in front of me at the start of the race but I knew that they would come back to me. I was cold and I could not feel the asphalt. My feet were like blocks of ice. This was uncomfortable. The wind was also alternating between blowing right in my face or on my left side. The levy that we were running on follows the Mississippi and sways back and forth – causing the wind to have the effect of an oscillating fan. A fan in a deep freeze that is.

During mile 2 I had to speed up a little bit to get out of ‘no man’s land’ There was no wind block and I did not want to be all alone. I sped up some and caught a shoulder of a runner. I think this was much more psychological than physiological. The wind was from my front left and I did not get much of a drafting effect. However, holding this shoulder cost me some time – it is hard to tell whether it was the wind or me just slacking off but mile 4 – 7 were some of the slowest of the race. It was during these miles that Terry passed me. Terry asked me jokingly if “I would be pushing the second half of the race?” He was insinuating that I was running easy. I passed a couple of people and caught someone running close to my goal pace. I hung with him for the rest of the race. I always say that I am too chatty during these races but the intensity is such that I can maintain most of a conversation. Mike and I talked for the rest of the race. We tried to gain on Terry and tried to keep any would be attackers at bay.

The leader of the race passed us on the out and back course. The leader had covered 10 miles in about 59 minutes. I was pleased to see the turnaround coming up and hoped for some relief from the wind. Terry was still just ahead of me. The rest of the race I would watch Terry pull away and he eventually passed the next racer in the last few miles. After the race he told me that he ran the race completely even and that I must have slowed down some. I did not feel like I had slowed but looking at my splits post-race he was correct. My pace crept up by a few seconds per mile even though the wind was not as tough. The cross wind was still brutal but it was not in your face. At the end of the race the next competitor was just out of striking distance but the guy that I was running with put in an attack. He would not even remotely catch the next guy but he did gain the position from me. I did not have much of anything to kick with – I thought I did and for a few seconds I managed a 6:30 pace. Terry finished in 7th place with at 2:06:xx with an average pace of 6:46. Charles had one of the best races that he has ever had - his confidence is running high. I finished the race in 9th place with at 2:09:21 for a 6:56 pace. I wanted to be a couple of seconds per mile faster but this was a tough race. With 4 weeks until the Mardi Gras Marathon my confidence is high. Now time to determine my pacing for the best possible marathon I can run.

Spring time in Mississippi

Thursday I regrouped on the bike trainer front. I did the same 7 intervals (1 minute on 2 minutes off – warm-up / cool down of course). But this time I dialed back the intensity a fair bit. The working sets were conducted at 16% less than before. A little bit of a letdown but a complete workout is better than an aborted workout any day. And besides, it was good for my mental health as well. These intervals might have been just a hair too easy but I can always add to it later. I needed to have the success on the trainer.


At lunch I did a nice 5 miles outside. The weather was beautiful. An easy warm-up followed by progressively faster miles. I was running with some work mates and just enjoying the spring like air (it will turn cold again - but not like the midwest or all points North). The miles progressed as follows:

1. 7:40
2. 7:02
3. 6:55
4. 6:43

And on top of that I was running easy. It felt good. Now I just need to put together 18.6 of those last miles for this weekend’s “THE WALL” 30k. Sunday will be a challenge. This race will set up my paces for the marathon. I am going to try to excel and leave it all on the levy!

Clockwork mornings

Tuesday morning I hopped on the trainer. I had a bright idea to start adding some intensity. I plotted out a workout that would involve a warm up followed by 7 – 1 minute intervals at very hard intensity with 2 minutes of easy recovery. I stopped after the first interval. I just do not have the intensity on the bike right now (or the tired legs – or whatever). This is where my training has always suffered. How do you fit 3 hard bike workouts while doing 3 hard run workouts? Which follows which? I am still working on that – I can do either hard bike workouts or hard run workouts – it just breaks down when I want to do both.


I had class at lunch and I was planning on doing some run intervals at the track after work. I was not looking forward to the track but I knew that once I got there it would be cool. And it was. I decided on the fly that I was going to run a couple 1200’s and call it an easy day. I ran a mile or two with Charles and the crew and then started the intervals. These would be challenging but obtainable. I wanted to round the track every 1:35 – this would put me at a slower 6:20 minutes per mile or 4:45 for each 1200 interval. I was a little bit fast the first two at 4:39 (6:12 pace). These were feeling easy – well not easy but not all out either. I felt good. Then it hit – “IT” has hit me the last 3 times at the track. Major GI distress. This is simply not like me. I have a cast iron stomach. Nothing much bothers me. But when I have been running hard in the evening (and only when I have been running hard in the evening) I feel like I am going to crap my pants. This is not much fun. So I completed the third 1200 and feeling like a deer in headlights I headed towards my vehicle. Charles and the crew asked me if I was done and wanted to run a few cool down laps – NOPE – I headed towards the elementary school – it looked like there was an open house or something – maybe I could slip in and do my damage. While walking towards the school – in just a minute or two - everything was better – no, I did not go into the school – the pain and discomfort subsided. I think that since I am a morning type of guy – between first and second cup of coffee – like clockwork – when running hard in the evening, the food that I eat all day just gets jostled around. I have been eating a pound plus of carrots during the day. I have only ran on afternoon / evening race in the last year and that race was not a problem (5KPR 19:09). I wished that I would have gotten one more 1200 but I have given myself a pass.

I hit the gym on Wednesday morning feeling great. I ran around the indoor track with Jodie for a few laps warming up and just chatting. I then made it to the treadmill where I wanted to do a set of Tabata Intervals. If you remember, these are 8 sets of 20 seconds on / 10 seconds off. The on is at an all out / break neck pace. Getting all 8 sets is hard. I set the treadmill and the stopwatch up and prepared with a little more warm up running. I started at 8 minutes per mile – this was easy stuff. I inched the speed up to a 6:18 minute per mile pace. This also was not too hard. I was feeling good. I set the treadmill for 12 MPH (5:00 minutes per mile pace) and began the Tabata Intervals. I completed all 8 sets without problem – sure they got harder but this was the easiest that they have ever been. Afterwards, feeling pumped, I hit the weights. But still feeling strong, I ran some fast straight-aways on the 200 meter indoor track. I had a great workout!

Easy swim and recovery

I slept in on Monday. I needed it. My legs were tired. I watched the Colts and Saints at the Keg and Barrel on Sunday. They had an all you can eat BBQ buffet. After logging the miles I was first in line. On a positive, I did not have a single beer. I have noticed that alcohol really does affect my recovery – so I am getting smarter.


At lunch I went to the pool for an easy swim. Chris was there and we talked for a minute or two. He had a swim workout that he found somewhere. It was challenging – a ladder up and down progressively faster. I attempted the workout but it got too quick for me. I need to work on the swim. I had forgotten how much better I swim with a structured workout – the time few by!

3 DAYS = 50 MILES RUNNING

On Friday I got up early and put together a good, solid 8 mile run. I started at a 7:30 minute per mile pace and tried to increase the speed each mile. I finished up the run at just about 7:00 minutes per mile with an average of 7:12 for the 8 miles.

I was planning on running again at lunch but got wrapped up in a racquetball game. It was good fun and probably a good idea to skip the run – I was already committed to running after work.

I wanted another 8 miles after work. I met Jim at about 5:15 and I was running home. Jim was going to run the first couple with me. This run was at an easy pace. I did, however, cut the run short. It just plan got dark – QUICK. I got 6 miles and called it a day. After I cleaned up - my legs were sore. Much more sore than they would have normally been. I guess it was just from the accumulating fatigue of 3 exercise sessions.

Jim came over to the house early on Saturday. We had planned on putting together a pretty long run. There was also a group ride a little bit later in the morning that I had wanted to do.

We went out at an easy pace. It took about a mile for my legs to loosen up. Jim dropped off at about mile 9. At the 10 mile turn around point I stopped and spoke with some cyclist. Jim never showed up. I turned towards home and put together some of my fastest miles – even up hill. This was the best that I had ever felt at the 10 mile mark. This feeling kept up and I felt great at 12 miles. At mile 14 I was still feeling pretty good – then it started to hurt. The last six miles were tough. I kept the pace up and I even ran mile 19 deep into the 7 minutes per mile area. I was a little sore after the run. I got 20 miles for the run and 34 miles in 2 days. Jim was waiting at my house when I finished. He got about 18 miles.

Sunday I was going to do the group cycling ride but laced up the shoes again. I headed out on the trace and my legs were slow and sore. I was thinking about only running 3 miles. Then I saw Neil heading my way. I turned around and ran with him for 2 miles. He had just finished up an 8 mile tempo run. I did the 2 mile ‘cool down’ at about a 7:20 minute per mile pace. I was now headed towards campus and would end up with 12 miles. I kept running and I was doing the numbers in my head. This was an easier run than the 20 miler the day before and if I just got 16 miles total I would complete 50 miles running in 3 days – a long weekend if you will. And that is what I did. 50 miles for Friday / Saturday / Sunday. I did something similar to this over the winter holiday and had a minor peak for the First Light Half Marathon. I am hoping for the same for “the WALL” 30k next weekend. So much for training smart.

Short, fast, hard – FAIL

It has been a little while since I failed at one of my exercise sessions. It is frustrating but that is part of the game. I went outside this morning and wanted to put together a 5 mile run at a 6:30 minute per mile pace. McMillan says I should now be able to run it at a 6:22 pace (in a race and all of that) – in addition my 5k times are in the low 19’s (sure it has been a year but I am sticking to it). I set up the GPS ‘virtual nemesis’ guy for said distance and pacing. He did not start out as slow as he usually does but at a manageable pace. I thought, “Not too bad”. My legs were still sore from the speed work on Tuesday night but I have seen sore legs before. At the start of almost all of these races over the last 6 weeks my legs have been sore at the starting line. I have had my doubts at each of these starting lines but the legs have not let me down. And today it was a little warmer - the temperatures in Southern Mississippi have returned to normal – 65 degrees and 100% humidity.

I was just not on game today – not physically or more importantly mentally. At the mile and a half mark I was holding steady but then I let me slip away. I pulled up – I let the digital nemesis go – he had been holding my shoulder and waiting for a break - he passed with authority and never looked back. I turned around at headed back to base camp. I was a dejected. During the much slow run I was able to pick myself up by my boot straps. FAILING is part of the process. Every night I push that trophy just a little further away. I remember when I thought it was too far out of reach in the past. I look at those lines in the sand. Some of them took years to cross (breaking the 20 minute barrier in the 5k) – but I step over them regularly. They are easy now. Some of the milestones are now easy training days. I remember the fear and trepidation of swimming 10 laps in a row in the pool much less the panic of my first 1/3 mile swim in a triathlon. I failed in the pool way back when. I failed at my first open water swims. Those are nothing now – I mean not even a warm up!

We like to succeed. We like to succeed all of the time. It feels good to accomplish things. However, these days it seems like so many accomplishments now are so easily achievable. They require no real work and therefore they have no real value. The successes are only worth the effort involved! If I don’t push the trophy a little further away each day then what value does a trophy have if you only have to walk across the run to get it?

I failed today – I pushed the limit and came up short. I like to say – “I’m never down. I’m either up or in the process of getting back up!” Today I am getting back up.

10 YASSOS!!!

With an extra day off I rested. My legs were tired after the race. I got up early but took a nap in the early afternoon. However, the weather was beautiful and I took the bike outside for the first time all year. I put together an easy 30 mile ride. My legs were a little tired but the day was so nice.


I got up early on Tuesday and wanted to get in the water. I got to the gym early but the pool lights were off. I was not the only one wanted to swim. I guess the pool guy slept late. Having this happen to me in the past I had a contingency plan. I changed into workout clothes and went up stairs and put together a tough strength training workout.

I did quite a few sets of chest, back, legs and abs. I am sure that I will be sore for a couple of days. There was no workout at lunch do to classes starting up.

After work I went to the track. I saw several pacers but Jim was absent – he was a no show. The plan was for 10 Yasso 800’s! This would be hard. The original plan was to do them at marathon pace – but that is a moving target right now. Last week I was able to do several at below 3:00 – that would be my mark tonight. I started out too quick – the first one clicked off at 2:51 – way too fast.

I tried to slow it down a bit but the second clicked off at 2:55. I now had to slow it down or I would blow up. I slowed it down and was able to complete the set. Slowing down made the sets challenging but achievable.

01. 2:51
02. 2:55
03. 3:00
04. 3:06
05. 3:05
06. 3:04
07. 3:05
08. 3:03
09. 3:06
10. 3:02

Ten Yasso’s were the goal when I started and I can check them off the list. Now I just need to get a little faster or extend these repeats out to 1200’s!

Larry Fuselier State Championship 25K Race Report

I got up early this Sunday morning following a wonderful Saints playoff win. I went over to Jim’s house and watched the game. Charles was there also. Jodie made a kick ass Saints cake for the game. I ate too much and drank a couple of beers.


For the 25K race in New Orleans I had to get up at 3:10 AM. I thought to myself – Who’s idea was it to do these races. Such an early morning after a Saints playoff win – remember, you have to celebrate these – this has only been the 3rd win in history.

So, we got to New Orleans at 7:00 AM about an hour from the start of the race. I was definitely not feeling good for the race. I was a little scared about the distance. Sure I had run 15 miles before but I have never raced the distance. I was unsure of my pacing.

I decided to set the GPS watch for the same time as last week – 6:55 minutes per mile. This would be a challenge. This 25K race (15.5 mile race) is on a levy along the Mississippi River. This means that there will be a wind – a strong wind. I started out and tried to follow the virtual trainer and I was successful for the most part. The wind was brisk but tolerable. I soon found myself in a group of strong girl runners. I tucked in behind them to break the wind. I kept with them for several miles. They started to break up and slow just a bit and I had to take the wind on by myself. This was brutal. I got caught up in no man’s land. I trudged along. As I neared the half way point the wind got even stronger. It was in your face. Another runner caught up with me. He was wearing a 70.3 New Orleans shirt from last year. I started to get chatty. We talked about the race for a couple of miles. I asked him his age to make sure that I would not get beat out – he was 30 – 34.

As we rounded the turn around the wind just stopped. There was no wind on the way back – the air was still – it almost got hot. As we talked he said he was from Hattiesburg – we had not really looked at each other but I quickly realized that this was Chris S. – a local triathlete – I know this guy. This is a small world.

I had been chasing a guy in a purple Louisiana shirt for all of the race and he was a few hundred feet ahead of me. Chris and I had run along for a couple of miles but I picked up the pace with 4 miles to go – Chris fell back a little bit.

I was on my own but my pace quickened. I was making good time and gaining on the man in purple – just not gaining quick enough. According to the virtual trainer guy I had lost 200 feet to him at the turn around but I was making time now. At mile 11 or so I broke even with the virtual trainer guy. And I just tried to put more time into him. I never caught the guy in purple – he finished 15 seconds ahead of me but I did put 300+ feet into the virtual guy. I finished 10th overall with a 1:46: xx time for the 25k averaging 6:53 minutes per mile. I saw one of the girls after the race and thanked her for breaking the wind the on the way out – she got a kick out of that!

Jim was not happy with his run at 2:01 but Charles beat his time of 2:20 by a minute. These races have been hard but they are paying off!

Mid week tempo

Wednesday was an easy day – my legs were tired after the Yasso 800’s from Tuesday. So I only did an easy bike on the exerbike during lunch. I did this just so that I could read a book. I followed the short bike with some strength training.


Thursday, I did the bike trainer in the morning and I prepared for a tough run workout during lunch. I had arrived at work early so that I could take a little longer at lunch. My training plan called for a short warm up with a tough 10 mile tempo run. Working the FIRST training plan all of the workouts are challenging. The pace in that the plan called for was at a 7:26 minute / mile pace. This is for the 3:15 marathon training plan. This pace seemed too easy. I flipped to the 3:10 marathon training plan and it demanded a 7:15 minute / mile pace. This was also not as challenging. I was perplexed as to my pace.

I decided to go out at a 7:10 minute / mile pace. This seemed comfortable – almost conversational. Heading out from the university is very slightly uphill. I tried to stay at the designated pace but it quickened at the turn around. It was hard turning around. I was about an eighth of a mile from my house. The pace topped out at 6:50 minutes / mile – the pace that I ran Sunday’s half. I finished the run with an average pace of 7:02. It did get hard. This was a solid run for the middle of the week.

I am reevaluating my pacing for the marathon. I can play it safe or hug the edge.

More Yasso's

Monday was a ‘recovery day’. I got in the pool for lunch and did an easy 1500 yards (3 x 500). This was much better than last week. I did not time any of the repeats but the swim is coming back. It has still been cold at work so I took it real easy and jumped in the sauna for about 10 minutes. It felt awesome.

Tuesday was back to the plan. I woke up and the legs were tired. Trying to get back into the routine following the holiday – I jumped on the bike trainer for a 45 minute spin. As I said, the legs were tired but I was glad that I did it.

Lunch time was going to be another easy workout. I was either going to jump in the pool again or do easy spinning on the exerbike (read a book). However, I ended up playing racquetball for 30 minutes. After the racquet sports I headed upstairs for just a little bit of strength training. This would be easy stuff. I have not worked out with weights in a while and wanted to take it easy so that I am not so sore that it affects my running. I did three sets of the bench press and then a couple sets of stiff legged dead lifts. Nothing heavy but I did feel it – and I am sure I will continue to feel it for the next couple of days.

The real workout for the day was right after work – at the track. I wanted to increase the Yasso 800’s by two. I completed 6 sets last week with an average time of 3:05 for the 800 meters. I met Charles and Jim at the track and we worked out the details for the 25K race this Sunday. It looks like we will be driving down the morning of the race. The temperature should be much better than last week’s race – more like 40 degrees. This will be perfect weather. This race is along a levy near New Orleans – the wind could be a factor. Looking at the McMillan Running Calculator (turn down your speakers) my times are falling into line. It indicates that my 25K pace time should be 6:56 minutes per mile – and on top of that my marathon time is now projected at 3:08:41 at a 7:12 minute per mile pace – we will see about that!

Back to the track workout– I wanted to complete 8 of the 800 meter repeats at 3:05. I started out too fast, as usual, and completed the first set at just under 3:00 minutes. These were hard but achievable. I tried to keep the pace up. My times were as follows:

WU - 800 repeats
1. 2:59
2. 2:58
3. 2:59
4. 2:59
5. 3:01
6. 3:02
7. 3:00
8. 2:59
CD

First Light Half Race Report - PR

My legs were tired on Saturday. There would be no running prior to the race on Sunday morning. I did, however, jump on the bike trainer for 45 minutes. It was cold in the house (good for the trainer) and I did not turn a fan on me. This was a mistake. Even at a comfortable pace I was dripping sweat within minutes. I took off my shirt and continued to spin away.


For the First Light Half Marathon I left the house at 4:00 AM and picked up Jim at his house. It was COLD. I brought 2 large mugs of coffee with me for the 2 hour drive and even picked up a third cup during the drive. At packet pick-up I even topped off my mug. I picked up a couple of extra race packets for people that were not able to make the race. The race people asked me if it was because of the temperature – I’m sure it was a factor. It was in the very low 20’s at the race start. I ran a few warm up miles (a couple of blocks – not miles) to determine how much clothing to wear. I had compression socks (knee highs) on my legs, compression shorts covered with tights, a compression shirt covered with a long sleeved zipped shirt, some old socks with the toes cut out for arm warmers and an ear warmer type headband thingy. Although my feet were frozen – and would stay frozen for a couple more hours – I decided to ditch the tights and put on shorts. This would work out well. Prior to the start we ran into Neil and Aaron. They were both at the Ole Man River race. At that race I tried to hang with Neil (who went out at a 6:35 pace) and I blew up at about mile 2. That was a tough race – a PR but a tough race. Today I would race my own race!

This race does not use timing chips so I inched my way towards the front. I had set my gps watch for 6:55 minute miles (for 13.15 miles – just to be safe). I was going to try to follow my pacing as close as possible. I started off and made my way through the crowd. There were people passing me but I was working the plan. I did not see Neil or Aaron at all. So the weather was cold – and it was also very windy. Working my own pace, it soon left me in no man’s land – and into the wind. I saw a group of runners a couple of 100 feet ahead of me but it would have been too hard to close the gap without blowing up. At about mile 3 I could hear foot steps behind me. I was pleased that someone was passing me and I jumped on their shoulder and let them carry me to the pack ahead. In this pack I got a little chatty – I was running at my goal pace and I was still chatty. One of the guys had a Boston Marathon jacket and I said that I was working on getting one of those. This guy and one other were running the marathon and shooting for a sub-3. Just about my pace. I jumped in line with them. At mile 7 we passed Neil. He had gone out much slower than in the last race – I had seen him just head for a long time. I tried to get him to jump on as we passed but he was hurting a little bit. He said he was going to try and log some 7 minute miles – I was a little faster at this point.

I enjoyed the ride from these marathon guys but had to leave them at mile 8 – where the half and full split ways. I was alone again and I would have to pace myself now. I was all alone for about 2 miles and about 2 tenths of a mile ahead of my ‘virtual trainer’.

At mile 10 a strong runner in his 20’s passed me. I grabbed his shoulder and got pulled along. This was a hard pace. At the water stops I had to slow and walk a step or two while I drank – he was able to drink on the run. I mustered the strength and got back on him again. However, he started pulling away. I had also heard someone behind me with much labored breathing. They were slowly gaining and that encouraged me to keep the pace up. I knew it was not Neil – it was a girl. I tried to keep her from passing me but she was persistant. I never slowed she just steady gained on me. As she overtook me with 2 tenths of a mile remaining she said – “Come on” – or something to that effect. I dug deep and tried to sprint out the end but it was just not there (my last tenth of a mile was at a 6:30 pace – just not fast enough). If it had been Neil I might have been able to pick it up more – but…

This was the smartest race I have ever run. The first half of the race felt too easy. It was very hard to maintain this ‘easier’ pace. The race did get hard and it was tough but SO MUCH EASIER than all of my recent races. The splits were much more even and the heart rate had few spikes. This is how you are supposed to run these races. I am glad that I decided to race so much for this marathon training. Not only are these races more valuable than training runs in fitness – they are much more valuable in race experience and strategy. The plan is coming together.

I ended up in 14th overall and I won my age group with a sub-1:30 (1:29:38 – I also think the race was a little long – not by much – but several people recorded 13.2 miles – no biggie). By my watch I ran a 6:47 pace and by official time it was a 6:50 pace. It was evening paced with one slow mile and one fast mile - back to back.  There might have been a small hill.  My average heart rate was 179 beats per minute- three beats per minute faster than my last half. This is interesting because I went out so much easier. My confidence is building for a Boston Qualifying Mardi Gras Marathon.

Next weekend is the 34th Annual Larry Fuselier RRCA Louisiana State 25K (15.5 miles) Championship.

Splits for the First Light Half

01 0:06:44
02 0:06:52
03 0:06:42
04 0:06:52
05 0:06:38
06 0:07:01
07 0:06:29
08 0:06:53
09 0:06:52
10 0:06:46
11 0:06:45
12 0:06:47
13 0:06:48
0.15 0:06:31

First Light Prep

It has been a hard week getting back into the groove of work. First, the gym was closed on Monday and Tuesday. This threw off my schedule. I only ended up making it to the pool on one occasion. Second, the cold weather that has moved into Southern Mississippi has been brutal. I know that this is not like other parts of the country but it has been difficult this week – my office at work has finally warmed up some – I still wore my jacket all of Friday while at work.


On Friday at lunch I was supposed to go for a run outside with Jim – to make up for the missed tempo run from Thursday (freezing temperate and heavy rain). I suited up with a couple of base layers as well as tights. I almost never wear tights but thought that they might be a good idea. After I was completely dressed I ran into Jim – he said that we would have to run indoors – he did not have the proper clothes for an outside run. I offered him some of my extra base layers and extra jackets and even the tights. No go! So we ran on the indoor 1/8th mile track. This track circles above several basketball courts and is always cold. To simulate the colder temperatures that I would experience on race day I wore thin running shorts and a running singlet. It was pretty cold. We warmed up for a couple of miles in and around 8 minutes per mile. I’m not sure why but I pushed the pace on the 3rd mile to 6:40. The fourth was slower but mile five was faster. It ended up being 6:35 for the final mile.

This was a good effort but not too hard. It was comfortably hard for me. The highest that my heart rate monitor read was 178 – not that high. For example, a week prior, at the Steam Whistle 12K (7.45 miles) my heart rate averaged 181 for the race (6:39 minutes per mile).

I felt strong during this short indoor track run. I have been working on my pace stagey for Sunday’s half marathon in Mobile (the First Light half and full marathon). My last half I PR’d with an average pace of 7:09 and at the Steam Whistle I had an average pace of 6:39 (7.45 miles – a little over half of a half). Both of these races I went out a bit fast. I am wondering if I just try to run my goal half pace of 7:00 or if I should be a little more aggressive and try to hang on again. That is what I have done for all of my races and it is HARD – it is NOT FUN – and it probably is not the fastest way to run the race.

On top of the pace concerns, the temperature at race start looks like 23 degrees. I am debating whether to wear the tights.

Body fat scan ...

My legs were still tired. Not so much from the running on Tuesday but from squats this week. This always happens. Anytime that I do any strength training with my legs – it takes days for them to recover. And these weren’t like I was pressing a ton of weight. On Monday and Wednesday I did several sets of ‘body weight’ squats. Just body weight squats. My legs were just tired.


I stepped on the scale the first thing in the morning and I weighed 159.0 – this is the lowest I have been in months. This was encouraging. I felt good about my sticking to my diet and seeing results. With my legs tired I skipped the morning workout. Jim and I had already planned for a good tempo run at work.

I walked over to the HPR building to meet Chris. We talked a bit and then he did the Dexa Scan. As I had mentioned earlier, my body fat scale reads 8.x in athlete mode and 18.x in normal mode. I would be happy if it split the difference. I was very frustrated with the results. The Dexa Scan indicated that my body fat was 17.5 percent. I was surprised that it was that high. Chris was surprised that it was that high. I mean I can see my ribs and some of my abs (very vague but they can be seen in just the right light). There is slight definition. But the Dexa Scan is very accurate. What are you going to do?

Chris and I talked for a bit about diet and exercise. We have talked before. I always eat too few calories and I need to work on this area. When I want a calorie deficiet I cut too much.

The run got skipped at lunch. The weather has been cold and rain started to move into the area. Lunch brought cold temperatures and rain. Jim and I both passed on the run. I thought about doing the tempo on the treadmill. I actually wanted to do the tempo run but my legs were still fatigued. I played racquetball instead.

Body fat? I wonder...

I got up on Wednesday and all that I knew was that I did not want to go for a run in the 25 degrees. Having run the Yasso 800’s the night before the legs needed a rest. The fitness center would be opening back up toady and I had trouble deciding just what I wanted to do today. I could ride my trainer and watch some television on the internet or I could go to the gym and ride the exercise bike and read a book. I have been enjoying reading but with my race bike on the trainer it is difficult to read - I am in an aero position in the aero bars – it just does not work well for the reading. Watching television is not a problem.


Anyway, I weighed the pros and cons and it cost me valuable time. I do so much better when I actually work a plan and just follow it. With the running I have not been following a plan but there is some structure. I am doing my main workouts – intervals, tempo and long runs – with several races spaced throughout the plan. It is the cross training where I am having difficulties.

So I decided to just stay home because driving to the campus and then walking to and from the gym would eat up even more minutes. I only rode about 20 minutes on the trainer – it was a little more intense but I should have managed my time better.

At lunch I got in the pool for the first time in about 2 months. I took my wetsuit but, fortunately, it was not necessary. I do wish that swimming was like a bicycle. I feel like I have lost a lot of swim fitness. Sam and Chris were also in the pool and we just worked on drills. I only got about 1000 yards (20 minutes or so) but it was productive – the numbers are just not impressive. I spoke with Chris about a Dexa Scan – so that I could get a baseline on my body fat. I have a Bioelectrical Impedance scale but it is not accurate, however, I do believe that is precise. I have always just used it to track trends. Used in this method it is functional. But, I would like to know the offset. In the athletic mode the scale reads my body fat in the 7’s but in the normal mode it reads about 20 – big variance. I had calipers done a year or so ago and it was around 15 or 16. Before the ironman they had a Bioelectrical Impedance scale at check in and it read 12 percent. So I do not know where I am – with the Dexa Scan, the new gold standard for body fat analysis, it will give me the offset – I will know how much to add to the 7.x. Much better tracking.

I had some time on my hands after work and I hit the gym again. I wanted to run on the treadmill at a 7 minute pace – to see how that felt and make a determination if that is the pace that I want to run this weekend’s half marathon. That was my gold medal pace for the Ole Man River Half. I ran that at a 7:09 but I went out way too fast. I think that I have some more speed – just not sure if it is 7 or FASTER. The last race that I ran – the Steam Whistle 12k – I was able to ‘hang on’ for the 7.45 miles at 6:39. I have been thinking – wondering – if I could have held on for another 5 miles. The answer is NO – but what about a 6:50? Not sure on that one but I would love to see a 1:29: xx!

The run did not work out – my legs were just too tired. In addition, I lack motivation in the evenings. It is much harder to get the job done. I canned the run after mile and did a little strength training. I then called it a day.

I am still working the health eating plan and I am having success. I weighed in at 159.8 – the first time that I have been in the 150’s since just before my ironman (just prior to the taper in fact). I have been eating very well and it has been easy. I do very well when bad food is out of sight – it truly is out of mind. This is what my dinners have been looking like – good stuff.

Frozen tundra -

I rode the bike trainer for 30 minutes on Tuesday morning. I was planning on do a short warm up and then do a 20 minute TT. I just could not hold a decent pace. I aborted. The legs were burning. I do need to start upping the cycling intensity but with the running it has been hard. Something I need to get under control.

At work it was Day 2 of the frozen tundra. Let me explain. The university campus shut down for the holiday. The furnaces were shut down. So we got back to work on Monday and the physical plant was coming but out to each building and restoring the heating system. It was cold in the buildings. My building is one of the oldest on campus and I have a wall of not very insulated windows.  It was 50 – 60 degrees cold inside. I realize that it does not sound that bad. But, when you come in from the 30 degree outside and then sit at a desk for 8 hours in 60 degrees – YOU NEVER WARM UP!

In addition, the fitness center’s heat would not come back on so the facility is still not open (should open tomorrow). I thought about going for a run outside at lunch but I backed out. I was worried about coming back to the office a little sweaty and then not being able to warm back up.  I know that the pool will be super cold.  I am going to take my wetsuit with me in the morning.

After work I met Charles at the track. The sun was going down and it was COLD - the temperature was in the low 30’s. We did a warm up for 1.5 miles and then we each did out own 800’s. I was playing it smart. The Yasso’s call for 800 meters at 3:15 (a 6:30 minute per mile pace). I almost always go out too fast but this time I was going to just do the time. The last time I did these I only did 4. I was going to add to that – I completed 6 800’s – the slowest being the first:

1 0:03:10
2 0:03:03
3 0:03:05
4 0:03:06
5 0:03:07
6 0:03:05

I have another half marathon this weekend and it should warm up to the 30’s for race day. Perfect conditions.

On the food front – it has been going great. I have been doing very well. I have been very good food – both taste and nutrition. This is falling into place.

No SWIM for you!

I got back to work today –not real excited about swimming but ready to get back in the pool none the less and guess what? The fitness center here at the university was closed. The heating is broken and the center will not open back up until Thursday. Bummer – I was planning on getting back to the swim. It has been freezing here in Mississippi (actually in the 30’s – I know it is not that cold – I did live near Chicago for a dozen or so years so I do know the cold). The pool is going to be a block of ice! I think I will have to bring my wetsuit.

With no fitness center – what was I to do? Jim wanted to go for a run at lunch but I am trying to be smarter than usual and I said “No way” to the run. My legs feel fine but I know that the recovery time is when you make your gains. I really want to bank some of the “Holiday Running Camp” miles. I did get a few body weight exercises done in my office. A couple of my co-workers joined in – it was just 3 sets of 30 pushups / squats (super set) with 1 minute of recovery. That does not sound like much does it? It was tough and none of us completed the pushups. To be fair these were REAL pushups – controlled and slow. But still – we all should have been able to nail these.

It was also nice to see the bulletin board wiped clean and several people had already updated their weights. There are lots of unhappy people this time of year - I know because I am usually one of them. It is always back to the grindstone. As they say – you can manage what you measure!

I am looking forward to my body mass getting back into line. I have been doing very well with eating health and enjoying the results. I brought 5 lunches and 10 snacks to work and I will follow through. I have also started the diet log once again. I was even tempted to start a diet photo log - take a picture of everything that you eat. That is real motivation - it is a lot harder to put some crappy food in your mouth if you have to show everyone exactly what you are eating. I'm not sold on the idea yet but it will be put into place if necessary (you will have to put up with the boring pictures if I go this route).

Holiday Running Camp

Well, with the holidays officially over I have not only been able to maintain my weight, I have actually lost a little bit. I have been watching what I eat and avoiding my trigger foods. I have also upped my exercise during this holiday.

I decided to take advantage of my time off (2 weeks –and no travel). I did go to New Orleans the first weekend for a race (Ole Man River Half Marathon– 1:33:53 PR) and I behaved for the most part. I did have two ice creams for dessert at lunch post race. I also had a few drinks in the French Quarter the night after the race. But other than that I have been on task regarding my diet.

Further taking advantage of the holiday, I conducted a little running camp. I thought that this would be a good time to really up the mileage and increase some of the paces. Without having to go to work it gave me time to get some time to do some long runs without having to run in the dark hours of the morning or evening. Even more importantly, the time off, has giving me time to recover from these endeavors. I have been impressed with my recovery this past 2 weeks. This is an area that I have really struggled with in the past. I remember my first half marathon in November of 2008 – 14 months ago. It took me nearly 2 weeks to recover from that race alone. I tried to run a little bit and push the pace and it just was not there. So during this time off I was able to successfully race twice by meeting or exceeding my goals. The chart below shows my running for the 2 weeks – 16 days. I took a total of four complete days off from running and had two days where I ran really short but pushed the pace. These short intense sessions were to decide on paces for the upcoming races. I also did the longer runs in groups of 3 and then took a day off (on these off days I rode the bike trainer – total time on the trainer during the holiday was 6 hours). The three day run groupings broke down as follows:

1. 28.71 miles / average 9.57 miles per day
2. 33.16 miles / average 11.05 miles per day
3. 43.13 miles / average 14.37 miles per day

I finished up the holiday with  12 miles (7.45 miles at race pace), 16 miles and then another 15 miles - back to back.  I never felt any discomfort while running – sure the legs were tired and a little sore immediately following the runs and also during the morning the next day – but it was manageable.

2009 Weight - a year in review

I have been weighing and recording the number for nearly 7 years now. I like to look at the data at the end of the year. I know that you are not supposed to weigh everyday and I do get frustrated when my weight is up. For example, I seem to be really influenced by salt. There would be many occasions this year where I would go and do a VERY HARD session consisting of an hour open water swim followed by 50 or 60 miles on the bike (in extremely hot and humid conditions) followed by a 10 + mile run (same damn hot humid conditions). I would be drinking a lot of water and a lot of sports drink. I would eat a healthy dinner and I would wake up weighing 7 – 10 pounds more than the day before. Yes -  frustrated would be the word. I know that it is water weight but – come on. Anyway, I do like to record the data and try to ‘nip it in the bud’ when my weight rises. Easier said than done – and it seems like it is getting harder and harder. You read all of the year end 'lose 10 pounds' diet advice. They always say just cut out the full strength soda and go for a walk for a few minutes a day.


It gets harder when you have already done all of that. Looking at the chart below, It always looks like this - this is the trend. My weight will peak in the winter and gradually go down as the race season progresses. I have made a commitment to my self to lose 10 pounds (I would like for my race weight to 155) prior to the Mardi Gras Marathon – that gives me 8 weeks!

Stats:

2009 Ave – 163.8
MAX-         169.6 (10/19)
MIN –         158.0 (08/12)

New Year 2010 and Steam Whistle Race Report.

Closing out 2009 – This was a year of many firsts. I stepped into the deep end and signed up for my first ½ ironman as well as my first full ironman. I enjoyed the experience of both races. I also increased my volume in all three disciplines – the swim / bike / run. While increasing my volume I was able to achieve a Personal Best in almost all of my races (actually all of my races except for the Jazz Half Marathon – I ran this race for fun). I believe that this is typical of your third year in endurance sports. I am hoping to continue this trend by dipping into my ironman base.


Races in 2009:

Run for Love 5K – 19:19 PR
St. Thomas Irish Italian 5K – 19:09 PR
April Fool’s Duathlon – PR – 57:07 ***
70.3 New Orleans – 5:30 PR ***
Heatwave Triathlon – 2:09 PR (by 5 minutes)
Dragonfly Triathlon – 1:36 PR ***
Sunfish Triathlon – 1:17 PR (by 6 minutes)
Heart O’Dixie Triathlon – 2:13 PR (by 10 minutes)
Ironman Louisville – PR – 11:18 ***

Jazz Half Marathon – 1:40 (NO PR)
Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon- 1:37:07 PR (by 8 seconds)
Ole Man River Half Marathon – PR – 1:33:53 PR (by 4 + minutes)
*** First time at this distance

2009 Totals –

Bike:        4459.58 Mi - 249h 19m 14s Pace: 17.88 Mi/hr
Run:         1023.25 Mi - 148h 28m 31s Pace: 08m 38s Mi
Swim:  231014.00 Yd -   76h 31m 30s Pace: 01m 59s /100 YdAvg

As you can see in the chart below – my volume for October and November really dropped off of the map. I did not meet any of my mileage goals for the year (5000 bike / 1200 run / 300,000 swim) but I count this year as a huge success!  On a side note, last month was my biggest running month for the year – I guess that is what happens when you shift to a running based goal (to BQ at the Mardi Gras Marathon).

Now onto The Steam Whistle 12K New Year’s Day race.

This race is on the trace just out my back door.  Jodie and I rode our bikes down to Jackson Station and picked up our race packets.  I programmed my GPS watch to run at a 6:40 minute / mile pace. This would be a reach for me. Last week I ran a strong 4 mile tempo run with the last 3 miles being at 6:40 pace. I though that in race conditions I could, maybe, push this pace and last for the entire 12K (7.45 miles). This would be tough. It was a cold morning lining up at Jackson Station and we were all anxious to run. I spoke with Steve C. before the race and hoped that I could pace off of him. He was not sure of the pace that he would be running. I stuck to my plan and ran off of the ‘virtual partner’. He was set for exactly 6:40 minutes per mile which should allow for me to finish the race at just under 50 minutes. This would be my Gold Medal goal for the race.

First the first 2 K’s I was in fourth place – first and second being way out in front and pulling away fast. I was running a little too fast and quickly got about 180 feet ahead of the ‘virtual partner’. This guy just goes out too slow – or maybe I was a little too fast. I tried to slow down just a little bit and run even pace. I was slowing during the middle part of the race – Terry and Robin paced me easily. They were just doing a ‘training run’. They passed me easily. I was able to pick up the pace towards the end of the run and achieve my goal time. I finished the race in 49:38 with an average pace of 6:39. I met my goal and I am going to continue to try to race myself to a Boston Qualifying Time of 3:14:59 (7:28 minutes / mile pace). I ran this race hard with an average heart rate of 181. I ended up finishing 6th out of 97 and first in my age group. Everyone that beat me was years older (8 of the top 10 were older than 42). These guys were always fast and have just gotten older.  After helping clean up and getting Jim's truck unstuck (a huge effort by many pine belt pacers) - Jim and I decided to get a few more miles under our belts.  We got another 4.6 miles to end up with just over 12 miles for the day.