10 K Race Simulation

I met Brian King tonight at 7:15 for a 10K as fast as we could go. I have a 6.2 mile course in my old subdivision that consists of 3.1 miles out and back.

Brian hung right behind me until we hit the split in 19:28. Then he took the lead for the return. By the time we were within a mile or two of the finish he was a good 20 seconds ahead of me, though it never got any worse than that. He finished in 38:36 and I came in at 38:56 for an exact even split.

Brian is going to join me for the 10K race Saturday morning. Do you think that him eclipsing his 10K PR tonight by about a minute had anything to do with his decision to tag along Saturday?

Total distance Wednesday (09/25) - 6.2 miles + .5 warm-up and .5 cool-down, 38:56 (6:17 pace).

Monday Tempo (Sorta)

Met Steve at the Greatwood Loop at 5:45 PM yesterday for our normal Monday tempo run of 7.1 miles. I knew it wasn't going to be too aggressive, not like it normally is, due to the long-run I did Sunday night. Two 3.55 mile loops. Splits were: 26:55 and 26:52.

Total distance Monday (9/24) - 7.1 miles, 53:47 (7:35 pace).

No run today, Tuesday. Needed to recover and also be 100% for tomorrow. Brian King and I are going to do a 10K race simulation tomorrow evening.

16.2 Mile Tempo Run?

Yeah, I don't think tempo runs are supposed to be 16.2 miles long but tonight my long-run fit the bill.

Starting around 7:55 PM I did a mile out and back before starting the Greatwood loop. Doing this then doing 4 loops would give me 16.2 miles. The mile out was 7:22, then 6:52 coming back. Yeah, things were feeling good. The first loop went well and I fell into a pace I felt I could hold indefinitely. I posted a 24:41 (6:57 pace). Brian King was going to try to meet me toward the end of the 1st loop but I didn't see him and started loop 2 alone, with hopes of seeing him somewhere in that second loop.

Brian joined me with about .7 miles to go before the end of the 2nd loop, which came in at 24:47 (6:59 pace), and boy was I glad to have some company. I was not looking forward to two more loops alone. I had planted a 20 oz bottle of Amino Vital at the beiginning of the loop and thought about picking it up after the 2nd loop but decided against it. I wasn't really parched but I began to struggle a bit in that 3rd loop and my form got sloppy. I had to pick it up at the end of the loop just to get in at 25:01. Man, did that bottle taste good. I sucked it down quickly, costing myself just 1:06 on the watch, and then set out to do loop 4.

It didn't take long for the recovery drink to kick in and I felt better. Our splits on the last loop were about where they were on loop 3 but I wanted to try to go sub 25 if possible so we picked it up toward the end and posted a 24:46. I'm not sure I'd have done that 4th loop if Brian hadn't been there. I've got the two best training partners around.

Total distance Sunday (9/23) - 16.2 miles, total time - 1:54:35 (7:04 pace).

Steve, I'm gonna be worthless tomorrow for our Monday tempo run. But I'll be there and will bring whatever I have left.

A Screwy Week

Because of a race on Thursday and then the CC relay on Saturday I've had a light training week this week, to say the least. No running on Wednesday in anticipation the Marathon Kick-Off 5K, then no running on Friday in anticipation of the relay yesterday.

The Marathon Kick-off 5K was another disappointing performance for me, at least according to my time - 19:09. I've only gone above 19:00 twice in the past two years so that time is unsettling. I did take consolation though in the fact that two runners who were just behind me with Garmans said they measured the course at 3.19 miles, which works out to an 18:39 for the official 5K distance of 3.107 (did you know that officially 5 kilometers works out to 3.107?). I also managed to pick up 3rd in the 40-44 year male age group.

The relay yesterday went well. I ran as hard as I possibly could and it hurt like a mother the entire way. I knew that the majority of the 1st mile would be relatively flat and the majority of the 2nd mile would be very hilly so I figured mile 1 was where I'd call on my cardio fitness and try to hammer it as fast as possible, with mile 2 being all, or mostly in the legs. That first mile wasn't exactly flat, and the surface was defnitely not even, so I felt pretty good posting a 5:54, but man, it hurt. The mile back was more agony as I just tried to hang on. I clocked a 6:23 mile coming back for a 2 mile total of 12:17. Not the 12 minutes flat that was my stretch goal but I'm fine with it, given the terrain. I handed off to Bill Schroeder, who handed off to Steve Schroeder (no relation to Bill), who handed off to Doug Schroeder (Steve's brother). Doug hammer his leg in 11:55 to get our team home with a 48:35, and 3rd place among male master teams. I also think we were the 2nd fastest Strider team.

I have a long-run with Brian KIng on the schedule this evening. I need the miles.

5K Tomorrow

Did a light workout last night (3.25 miles easy) with the wife and boys. Will take today off and race the Marathon Kickoff 5K tomorrow. Looking for redemption.

7.1 With The Team

Did 2 Greatwood Loops with Steve and Brian today. 1st loop time - 24:56 (7:01 pace), 2nd loop - 23:57 (6:45 pace).

Total distance Monday (9/17) - 7.1 miles, 48:53 (6:53).

Recovery Sunday

No long run today as I'm in recovery mode from the smokin' 6.2 I did last night, and I want to be fresh for my normal Monday tempo run with Steve. I did manage to do 6.7 miles at an easy pace.

Training 10K

Did 6.2 last night. Very fast but not sure of the exact time - had a watch malfunction. But my split was 19:26.

Thursday 400 Repeats

Speedwork today with Brian and Steve at 5:30 PM at the track. 9x400 meters. Lap times were:

1:19, 1:17, 1:16, 1:17, 1:17, 1:17, 1:18, 1:20, 1:15

The Shape Of Things

I realize I haven't blogged since last Thursday. It's because I don't have anything positive to say about my running right now and I'm going to focus on getting the train back on track. So until I do that my posts may be intermittent and brief.

At the Bearkat Bash 5K this past Saturday I posted an 18:57. Heck, I ran that fast back in early June at the Heights 5K, with considerably less training. I placed 1st in the 40-44 age group (Steve Schroeder was overall master with an 18:42) but I'm not pleased with that AT ALL.

I've done some training runs since then and am definitely focused on regaining peak performance but like I say, I probably won't have a lot to say about my training until things start heading in a positive direction again.

I am signed up for the Marathon Kickoff 5K next Thursday so we'll see if I can make any measurable improvement by then.

Been Very Busy, I'll Update Tomorrow

I Must Be Getting Old

I met Steve today for our weekly tempo run that we normally do on Mondays. We moved it due to the race this past Monday. I must be getting old because I don't think I have fully recovered from that long hard run I did Monday night. I asked Steve before our run how he felt, thinking that after my puny 3.6 miles last night I'd be ready to really get after it and he indicated that he was stiff and would just try to hang. I suggested we extend the distance a little since we might end being on the light side in terms of milage this week with a race Saturday. We settled on two loops (7.1 miles) plus the mile out and back for 9.1 total. I was already envisioning a 25 something minute first loop, maybe a 25 flat second loop, and a strong 2 miles at the end. That turned out to be optimistic.

We started off at a pace that was a little faster than easy conversational, but we were still slower than my 1st loop Monday night at one of the marks. We finished the 1st loop in 25:37 (7:13 pace), which wasn't bad, but we were working pretty hard for that number. I figured we'd turn a faster 2nd loop (we almost always do), and be right about where we wanted to be going into the final two mile tack-on. But the 2nd loop just felt really tough - no fun at all. I told Steve that the way I was feeling it was probably going to be the .5 mile mark of the last mile before I'd be able to pick up the pace. He said he didn't think he'd be picking up the pace at all. I posted a 25:40 (7:14 pace) for loop 2, an extremely rare positive split. Steve had dropped back just a bit but I knew he wasn't going to quit until he finished the 9.1.

Now I had to somehow dig down and try to go faster for the last two. Why? Because it's the way we always do this 9.1 mile course. I got out to the mile turnaround in a respectable 6:49 and really wanted to go just a little faster back in. But it was going to be gut-check time. Nothing was in sync and I was just having to battle for every step. I was a bit ahead of schedule at the 1/4 mile mark but about even at the 1/2 mile mark. I had to somehow pick it up. So I did what I could and came in with a 6:34 final mile. Steve came in a bit later and we both agreed that it was a tough day out there. But we were glad we did it.

Total distance Wednesday (9/5) - 9.1 miles, 1 hour 4 minutes, 39 seconds (7:06 pace).

Nothin' Special

Got in 3.6 miles tonight. Nothin' special, didn't even time myself. I'd plan to go further but I hadn't recovered from last night as well as I had hoped and I have a hard tempo with Steve tomorrow.

Total distance Tuesday (9/4) - 3.6 miles, no time logged.

Just Once A Month

I went out this morning to the Fired Up 5K here in Sugar Land. Not as a participant but as a spectator and cheerleader. Watched several Striders turn in fine performances on a tough morning that was anything but PR material. I left the race, like I leave all races, inspired and wanting to run. But family came first. I managed to catch about a 30 minute nap before we loaded up the boys and headed to grandma and grandpas' house in Spring.

After spending a few hours with the in-laws we headed south again, with a stop at Target, where I slept in the car with our 22 month old while my wife and our 4-year old shopped. I was still tired when we got home and so was my wife but she, like any dedicated runner strapped on her shoes and headed out for 4.2 miles while I watched the boys and gave them their baths. When she got back and finished her shower I pulled my semi-frozen bottles from the freezer and headed over to Greatwood for what I hoped would be 4 relatively fast trips around the 3.55 mile loop. An apology goes out to Steve Schroeder. Steve, I know I told you I'd give you a call but I wasn't sure when I'd get to run until the last minute, and wasn't sure what I'd be up to doing tonight. Shoulda called anyway - my bad.

I planted two 20 oz bottles of Amino Vital at the start but the temperature was very agreeable tonight, with a slight breeze. I felt well enough from the first step that I wanted to focus on doing something more agressive than easy, conversational pace even though I was doing a long-run. My split for the first loop was 25:02 (7:03 pace). I was encouraged because it was a pace I knew I could hold indefinitely. And I usually turn negative splits on the Greatwood loop, though I wasn't sure I could turn three negative splits with a 25:02 for a start.

The 2nd loop came in at 24:42 (6:57 pace). I knew I could probably match that on the 3rd loop but was iffy on doing that for two more. I tried not to think about it. One loop at a time, right? At a coupIe of markers on the 3rd loop I was right on top of my times from the 2nd loop but I had resigned myself to being happy to equal the 24:42 I had done in loop 2. I was surprised to look down as I hit the end to see a 24:34 (6:55 pace) on the watch for loop 3, and total time for 3 loops (10.65 miles) of 1:14:17 (6:58 pace).

I was pretty whipped at this point but knew I had to keep going because I'd hate myself if I didn't. I also had decided a couple of other things during loop 3. I was thinking about what constitutes a "long-run" and I decided that it's not the distance but how long you continuously run. Now even that's probably relative to what you're training for. A miler probably doesn't go any farther than 10 miles at one shot and I'm sure they're doing that in less than an hour. But for me I think at least 90 minutes is probably a good rule of thumb. This little conclusion meant that adding just a mile out and then back onto the end of my 3 loops wouldn't get me to 90 minutes. Thus I had no choice but to do the 4th loop. The second thing I realized during the 3rd loop was that I wasn't going to stop for a drink (and I hadn't up to that point). I really wanted 4 loops at a sub 7 pace and I wasn't sure I'd have enough breathing room if I stopped for a minute or more to down some fluids. And I really didn't think it was going to affect my performance anyway.

For the 4th loop I had essentially resigned myself to not getting a negative split but staying below a 7 minute pace. Through the first couple of markers I was at about where I'd been on loops 2 and 3 so that was encouraging. And at my last marker (.8 left to go), I was about 5 seconds ahead of loop 3. Time to let the dogs loose and empty the tank. My final loop came in at 24:19 (6:51 pace). I'd managed to do four loops fast, and turn negative splits on every one of them. It was an awesome run for me which brings me to the title of this post. Just once a month I need to have a run like this. But they're damned hard to come by. Minken, you shoulda been there.

Total distance for Monday (9/3) - 14.2 miles, 1 hour 38 minutes 37 seconds (6:57 pace).

10K Then a 10 Mile Recovery

I raced a 10K this morning then did a 10.65 mile recovery run tonight. And no I'm not craaaaazy (dripping with sarcasm).

For the race this morning it was The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The Bad, and most important item was my finishing time. With a 39:15 in training this past week I marked that as my minimum acceptable time. Didn't happen. I went 39:37. That was the bad. The Good was that I still managed 3rd overall, and was first master. The Ugly was that there was no recognition for master. I was also the first American citizen across the finish line, as Junior Mitchell (Trinidad) won, and Juan Carlos Vielma (Venezuala) was 2nd. I guess an adendum to The Good was that I managed to hold off the fine masters runner Kurt Pepper from here in Sugar Land.

My strategy was to go no faster than a 6:15 first mile and that's what we did. I say "we" because Kurt and I kind of partnered for the first 4 miles. We hung right with each other, but not in a competive way, more as teammates. We even joked that we had our own little peletan going. I would draft off Kurt then he'd motion for me to take lead then he'd draft off me. We hit the 2nd mile in 6:16 but mile 3 strangely ballooned to 6:30 when Kurt and I both felt like we had maintained pace. In fact, mile 4 was 6:19, so maybe 3 was a bit long, who knows. Finally, just after mile 4 Kurt said he was going to hit the water station coming up and would try to catch up if he could. I kept going and didn't hear any steps behind me to indicate that he'd fallen back in stride. I took it as a lucky break at the time but Kurt told me later that if he wouldn't have stopped he'd have dropped off the pace anyway. This course was a big square that we had to run twice so it was a while before we made a corner and I could glance back to see behind me. Kurt was back there chugging along, maybe 50 or 60 feet behind me, but definitely not on my heels. I posted a 6:23 mile 5 but was hurtin', and was also having to deal with no one anywhere in sight in front of me. Just before the 6 mile mark we had another turn and I could see that Kurt had closed a little but was probably too far back to get me if I could just muster something respectable for the final .2. My mile 6 had been 6:30 or so. I did my best on the final .2 but really didn't speed up much according to the watch. It showed a 1:15 for the final .2 but it was good enough. Kurt came in about 4 or 5 seconds behind me. Then a young guy, about 18, then Avi Moss with a nice 40:twenty something. This is a good race that I recommend. Chip timed, not alot of turns, and totally flat.

Tonight I went over to Greatwood for a few laps around the loop. I was kind of targeting 4 loops (14.2 miles) but decided I'd had enough after 3 - 10.65 miles. The legs were spent and were stiffening up. I had a little left but probably not enough for another loop. I wish like hell though that I'd thought to do the mile out and back, for 12.65 miles. I don't know why I didn't think of that. It would have been perfect. Anyway, I never even thought of pushing the pace and was truly running what I felt like was a comfortable recovery pace but my splits were a bit faster than what I'd consider recovery pace. They were 26:09 (7:22 pace), 25:53 (7:17 pace), and 25:19 (7:08 pace). If the legs would have cooperated I might have gone negative on loop 4 for what would have been a heckuva 14.2 mile training run. But I'll take the 10.65 I did on the heels of the 10K this morning.

Total milage for Saturday (9/1) - 1 warmup + 6.2 + 10.65 = 17.85 miles.
10K time - 39:37 (6:23), 10.65 mile training run - 1:17:21 (7:16 pace)