wednesday, may 01, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 35:09
Pace: 8:46
Comments: The weather was very warm today but there's a cold front slated to head through pushing the temperatures down again. I actually wanted to get out for a hot weather run to get a bit of a taste for what to expect in a month or so.
So while it was hot and the whole run felt a bit of a slog, I didn't have any real doubts about finishing it or a pressing urge to cut it short. I wasn't looking at the Garmin except for distance and so I was actually a little surprised to see I finished it with a sub-9 minute pace.
Anyhow, a good preliminary effort for the hot weather and we'll see if I can translate the cooler temperatures later this week into matching brisk paces.
Conditions: Hour: 5:20 p.m. read moresunday, april 28, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 6.0 miles
Time: 54:28
Pace: 9:04
Comments: OK. Not a very consistent week due to work and the process of moving. Today is my last day in this place and I can bid the fucking yap dogs goodbye. I won't be too far from the lake in my new place so I expect to keep reasonably close to the same running routes.
This was just a nice sweatbreaker. I'm still in the "reverse taper" following the marathon so I'm not overly sussed at not having a ton of miles this week. Still, if I want to build on the conditioning I paid for so dearly two weeks ago, I have to get back into the routine. I put in six solid miles at a reasonable pace. Felt strong the whole way.
Conditions: Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete read moremonday, april 22, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 35:31
Pace: 8:52
Comments: After a day off and nary a single ache that would cause anxiety I am feeling reasonably good about my race recovery. It has warmed up a bit but isn't overly humid so today's run was another preparatory effort for the summer slog.
I started out with the intent to have a solid pace the whole way and didn't have too much trouble falling into the groove. I avoided the hills last outing but went after them as usual today. My goal was to keep it under 9-minute-mile average pace and I got that pretty easily. A very nice run.
Conditions: Hour: 5:20 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 79 degrees
Humidity: 43 percent read moremonday, april 01, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 36:12
Pace: 9:03
Comments: At this point it is clear I am in deep doo doo. With two weeks left before the race the taper is upon me but I've already been tapering for two weeks due to my intermittent running. Having the 20 miler is some consolation but I didn't finish it with flying colors by any means.
This was a good little run despite the first real sweltering heat I've faced this year but nothing special. Not surprising given how rested I am. I really need to get my regular runs in the rest of the way if for no other reason than to help me mentally prepare for this race.
Conditions: Hour: 6:00 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 81 degrees read morewednesday, march 27, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 6.0 miles
Time: 56:56
Pace: 9:29
Comments: The bad news is that I woke up with a stuffy head and all the signs of an incipient sinus infection. It hasn't really arrived yet, but the signs are all there. Probably the LAST thing I need with just more than two weeks till the race.
I decided to do a longer run today in order to keep my weekly miles up but not put all the emphasis on the long run this weekend. Going out I could tell whatever is messing with my head wasn't overlooking my legs. I felt sluggish and uncomfortable the whole way. No pushing the pace here, just trying to keep it from being too ugly looking.
Still, got it done and felt reasonably good afterward. Here's hoping I can keep the creeping crud at bay a few weeks. read moremonday, march 25, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 34:15
Pace: 8:33
Comments: Well, this is not good. I went almost a full week without running due to a number of different factors. It's not like it imperils my ability to run the upcoming race but it plays hob with the taper, that's for sure. I'm gonna have to play the next three weeks by ear and hope for the best.
This return to the pavement went reasonably well. A cold front has things on the chilly side but doing an afternoon run meant I missed the real cold in the morning. I sped up each of the first three miles, turning in a 8:07 when some woman I passed got pissy and tried to pass me back. Sorry, that's not gonna happen.
Finished with an 8:33 average pace. About what I should expect for this kind of return effort. read moretuesday, march 19, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 35:41
Pace: 8:54
Comments: Was not into this one at all. I didn't feel particularly bad but just kinda not wanting to do the run at all. But I got out there and got it done.
I started off a just more than a nine-minute-mile pace and kept upping the tempo as I went along. I got it down to the eight-minute-mile range for a bit toward the end but the final hills slowed me down a bit. In the end, a nice little effort for a dour day.
Conditions: Hour: 6:00 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 68 degrees
Humidity: 32 percent
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence
read morewednesday, march 13, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 5.0 miles
Time: 44:43
Pace: 8:56
Comments: Weird run. I started off a bit later and felt a bit stiff. I decided to just try and keep it steady and not worry overmuch about the pace. While I didn't feel necessarily bad I certainly wasn't as sharp and on top of the run like yesterday. And it felt like a bit of a slog at the end.
So I was a little surprised to find I actually ran the five miles faster than yesterday. Obviously not significantly so but I was expecting to drag in at least a half minute slower. I guess that's a sign my legs are getting strong enough to bull my way through the unpleasant workouts.
Conditions: Hour: 6:00 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear read moretuesday, march 12, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 5.0 miles
Time: 44:59
Pace: 8:59
Comments: The 20 miler was so brutal I decided to take two days off to let my legs recover. The day of the run I was flat worthless but I bounced back quicker than I expected.
This effort went pretty well. I started slow but dropped into a rhythm pretty quick. I'm still not even close to my old speed but I'm certainly stronger than I've been in quite awhile. I sustained the effort the whole way through the run with little difficulty. Now to do it again tomorrow.
Conditions: Hour: 5:30 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 70 degrees
Humidity: 19 percent
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas read morethursday, march 07, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 5.0 miles
Time: 46:00 (est)
Pace: 9:12 (est)
Comments: It was very nice to get a run with my legs feeling decent underneath me. After the brutal long run and awful recovery run that followed, it felt great just to get out there and get it done.
Of course my Garmin went kablooey for some reason. I looked down a mile and a half in and was doing a 12 minute pace and slowing. I restarted it and was doing a 39 minute pace. Beating it against a fence post got it working. So I had to use my start and finish time to get an idea of my pace, something over nine min/mi. Not bad. But the most important part was feeling good running it anyway.
Conditions: Hour: 5:30 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy/clear read morethursday, february 28, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 5.0 miles
Time: 44:06
Pace: 8:49
Comments: Hoped for the best going out for this one. My legs seemed fine during the day but I had no idea if that would hold true on the run. The start was slow as I expected but I warmed up better than I expected. By the end of the first mile I felt trying to keep the pace under 9 min/mi was a realistic goal for the effort.
As usual with this route, the return was the tough part. It's almost entirely uphill particularly on the last mile. There was a delightful surprise with the wind gusts that waited until that part of the course to blast me as well. Still, I pushed the effort to get my fastest mile of the run that mile so it was a good effort.
Conditions: Hour: 5:24 p.m. read moretuesday, february 12, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 35:29
Pace: 8:51
Comments: The long run this weekend really took it out of me. I was pretty sore Sunday as well as yesterday. So when it rained this morning I used the excuse to push back today's run till noonish. The conditions -- cool and wet but not rainy -- were about perfect for a run.
But the run went rather well actually. I was a little achy getting started but warmed up nicely and felt pretty solid the whole way. I was aiming for sub-nine-minute mile pace and came in well under that without pushing myself inordinately hard.
Conditions: Hour: 11:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 48 degrees
Humidity: 92 percent read morefriday, february 08, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 24:12
Pace: 8:03
Comments: I decided to do a shorter, faster run today for two reasons: 1) I want to do another longer run this weekend and don't want to overdo things and 2) I haven't done it in awhile. The results were about what I expected which is good news. But, yeah, speed still sucks. That's for sure.
I ended up doing the three miles in just over 8 min pace. That's pretty good if you factor in the hills involved in the course and the lack of a warmup. I did stop and rest for a minute or two at the halfway mark but I figured that was fair game due to the speed element of the workout.
Conditions: Hour: 9:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 50 degrees read morewednesday, february 06, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 6.00 miles
Time: 53:53
Pace: 8:59
Comments: Got out very late but due to an incoming front I thought I could afford to. That turned out to be a bit of a mistake. The weather was cool and overcast on the way out but it was sunny and warm on the way back. Oh, and then there were the hills at the end.
The run Monday whipped my ass a hell of a lot more than I expected. I was dragging the rest of the day and sore on Tuesday. Things were better this morning though. While I did have to battle a bit to keep from cutting this one short, I felt pretty strong the whole way. Well, at least to the gigantic hill at the very end.
Conditions: Hour: 10:45 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast/partly cloudy read morewednesday, january 02, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 32:55
Pace: 8:12
Comments: My first freezing run in a long, long time. I picked up a pair of tights at the marathon expo last month and this was my first chance to use them. They worked about perfect.
I decided on four miles as a reasonable distance to see if I can handle a controlled increase in the pace. Since I am just getting over the sinus infection, I don't want to push myself too hard and have another week-long bout. The effort turned out to be about where I wanted although I'd have been happier to have it closer to 8:00 flat.
Most importantly, I felt strong the whole way and didn't have any of those "just get me through this" moments. I need to work on my concentration, though. I wandered a bit more than probably is good. read morewednesday, december 19, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 25:20
Pace: 8:26
Comments: Lots of adversity today. It was a bit warm, a lot humid and the wind off the lake was a right bitch at times. I was shooting for four miles but settled for three at a stronger tempo.
So my first mile was right under 9:00 but I slashed it by 20 seconds each mile after. Which was a bit of a feat given the blast of wind at the turnaround and the uphills at the end.
Temperatures are supposed to dip pretty seriously today. I'll play it by ear to see if my next outing is tomorrow of Friday.
Conditions: Hour: 7:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 65 degrees
Humidity: 84 percent
Wind: 10 mph gusts read morefriday, december 14, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 5.00 miles
Time: 42:58
Pace: 8:35
Comments: Easily my best run since getting restarted. I hadn't been on the pavement since the race due to the extremely cold (for Dallas) temperatures and the chaos that ensued from that. The furnace in my new place died so I spent much of my spare time dealing with that.
When I got out today, the temperatures have gotten reasonably warm for a run but still cool enough to keep it from being a problem. I just wanted to get five miles but felt very strong when I got going so I just tried to hit a good consistent pace the whole way.
The result was a steady improvement every mile pacewise. My first one came in at 9:00 and each one after that was faster than the one before. I finished the last one at 8:14 pace even though it was uphill the whole way -- and significantly so at the last bit. read moretuesday, october 16, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 35:04
Pace: 8:45
Comments: After the terrible effort yesterday I wanted to at least get in a decent run today. Nothing fancy, just a solid effort from start to finish. And that's pretty much what I got. Four miles at half-a-minute faster pace than yesterday's BLAH performance. Now the temperature was a lot more accommodating since I got out the door earlier and I made sure to eat something decent later in the evening. But the key thing was mindset -- a good run after a bad run and I now feel the balance has been restored. A little bit, anyway.
Conditions: Hour: 7:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 57 degrees
Humidity: 55 percent read morewednesday, october 10, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 34:11
Pace: 8:32
Comments: Was thinking about doing five miles but started off pretty quickly and decided to try and keep the brisk pace. While I was not wanting to push things too much I figured cutting the final mile off was sensible.
The middle two miles were a good 8:30 pace and the quicker final mile made up for the slower starting one. But what actually mattered was the consistency of the effort. I focused on keeping the turnover rapid and the posture strong. At the end I felt I could have put in that fifth mile but we'll see about that tomorrow or Friday.
Conditions: Hour: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 72 degrees read moremonday, september 03, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 36:29
Pace: 9:00
Comments: It was a delightfully dreary morning with a bunch of thunderstorms moving through. Thus the run was posponed until late morning. That wasn't too much of a problem since the temperature was rather agreeable once the rain stopped.
I just wanted four miles but with a bit quicker effort than last week. I got the four miles but the effort wasn't substantially quicker. Still, I felt a lot stronger on the uphills and not nearly as sore on the downhills. We'll see how things go tomorrow (if the weather cooperates, of course).
Conditions: Hour: 11:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 75 degrees
Humidity: 85 percent read morewednesday, july 18, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 24:04
Pace: 8:00
Comments: Since I ran abbreviated efforts on Monday and Tuesday I decided to put in a third one today to make it a trial balloon for endurance efforts down the road. Since I knew it was going to be a shorter effort I also decided to push the tempo a bit and see what I had in the legs.
I ended up cranking out the first two miles at 7:42 and 7:25 pace or, roughly, the old marathon goal pace. And it was about all I could manage. I stopped at the end of two miles, rested and then did a slower final mile (8:53). So now I know the goal pace is still there in the legs but getting at it is gonna be a lot of work.
Conditions: Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete read moremonday, july 16, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 2.28 miles
Time: 18:36
Pace: 8:09
Comments: Went out way too fast in far too much heat with only a modicum of the nutrition this would require. After two miles I walked the rest in. I'll try and make it up later in the week.
Conditions: Hour: 6:20 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 99 degrees
Humidity: 24 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada. friday, july 06, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 32:19
Pace: 8:04
Comments: An extremely irritating morning turned into a rather good run. Getting up I found I had to take care of a number of little chores online that turned my mood to piss-poor right fast. So I got out the door a little earlier with the idea of burning off the irritation. It seemed to ahve worked.
Of course I also made a point to eat something substantial pretty late last night and was dealing with substantially less humidity than yesterday (although temperatures were about the same). The result was a very tidy little run with an average pace right above 8 minutes per mile. Pretty much the idea for me at the moment.
Now lets see if I can carry that positive vibe through the rest of the day. read moresaturday, june 23, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 24:56
Pace: 8:17
Comments: Too hot, too fast and not nearly enough fuel in the tank. I was hoping for at least four miles but it was pretty clear by the end of the first mile that wasn't too realistic. I stopped at the 2.5 mile mark. Cooled down a bit. Did another half mile and walked it in. Try again tomorrow.
Conditions: Hour: 8:40 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 91 degrees
Humidity: 14 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.thursday, june 14, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 32:15
Pace: 8:03
Comments: Now the temperature was supposedly 90 degrees this morning when I got out to run but I swear it was a lot cooler than that. Of course I also did the loop that put me in the shade first so that might have had something to do with it as well.
In any case, I figured I'd put in four miles and try to get out to South Mountain tomorrow. As a result, I wanted to get my pace a bit quicker than I have the past couple of runs. After starting pretty slow I was able to put it in the 8 min/mile range and hold it there without much difficulty.
I finished without feeling completely drained so that's a good sign. A great little run, overall.
Conditions: Hour: 8:00 a.m. read morefriday, june 01, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 48:00
Pace: 8:00
Comments: Since I was in San Francisco I took advantage of the cooler temperatures to get a good run in and simply burned up the pavement to my surprise. The stop/start of the streetlights was kind of distracting at first but I found they created a nice short interval effect. By the time I reached the water I was nicely warmed up for the continuous run along the Embarcadero.
What surprised me was that I found myself keeping up the pace as I ran along the shoreline. I went down to AT&T Park, looped around it and then went all the way to the Port of San Francisco building. Add to that the imposing swoop of the Bay Bridge above and I certainly had no complaints about the view.
Heading back I found there was a bit of hill to struggle through but even that didn't impede my pace overmuch. Dunno if it was the cooler temperature or a good diet but this was a fantastic run. read moresunday, may 13, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 32:09
Pace: 8:02
Comments: I was tres sore after the trail run on Friday and abled around tenderly all of yesterday. But I bounced back pretty well this morning, it felt like so I was curious how the run would go. Pretty well, actually.
I jumped to pretty brisk pace from the start but really tried to keep to a steady and consistent turnover more than any intent to run faster. I felt pretty much in control the whole way and even though the heat jumped on me toward the end, I felt strong enough to push through it.
And hot it was. Temperatures have started their climb into the unholy heat of Arizona summer. It won't be long and even mid-morning runs will be out of the question. For now, though, it's a nice option to have read morethursday, may 03, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 3:89 miles
Time: 31:17
Pace: 8:03
Comments: A much better effort than yesterday. I went out a good bit earlier so the temperatures were significantly cooler. To keep it even, I tried to hit the same pace I was using yesterday and hit it just about perfect.
The 18-day layoff has me feeling a bit sloppy but it seems the strength and conditioning hasn't eroded too terribly much. I'm thinking of hitting the South Mountain trail tomorrow and that will give me a better sense of where I am at.
Conditions: Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 75 degrees
Humidity: 27 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
read morethursday, march 29, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 7.01 miles
Time: 58:39
Pace: 8:22
Comments: With the 10K on Saturday, I wanted to get the race distance down but at a reasonable enough pace that it wouldn't overtax my legs. Once again that "natural" pace for me right now seems to be almost exactly at 8:20. My earlier miles were a bit quicker and the later miles a bit less but none so far off the mark as to be concerning.
Again, I feel very strong and in control of my runs now. I've still got serious questions of my stamina but that will take a much longer time to get where I want to be. One positive sign was that I had plenty in the tank after mile five today, unlike Saturday where that's the point my run became a grind.
In fact, things went so well I tacked an extra mile on this run for the hell of it. A very good workout and an encouraging one as well. read morewednesday, march 07, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 6.02 miles
Time: 50:21
Pace: 8:21
Comments: Good lord this was brutal. I got out about noon hoping the winds from overnight had died down a bit. They had... a bit. The temperature was certainly cool enough to make this a reasonable effort but the second half against the wind was horrible.
Going out I knew I was in trouble because of the waves on the canal and the ease of hitting a sub-eight pace. I felt pretty good but not that good. I figured I would stick with it while I had it and that's about all that kept this from getting really ugly.
After the turnaround at mile three it was a battle the whole way. The weather said 15 mile gusts but the canal corridor served as a funnel for the breeze to whoosh down unimpeded. And the water was whitecapping at this point. read moretuesday, february 21, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 33:49
Pace: 8:27
Comments: I was very sore this morning after last night's speed workout. I was intent on getting a four-miler in today but the day started out looking like it would be a very slow recovery run at best. I got out just after noon and, by then, my legs were feeling much better but still pretty sore.
During the week I put together a playlist of songs with 170 beats per minute or more. My plan was to run this workout with my footfall turnover pretty close to whatever was playing but with whatever length stride I could handle. So, as you can expect, my run started out with pretty ridiculous looking baby steps.
By the time I got a mile into it I had found a nice rhythm and was chugging along pretty well without exhausting myself by pushing the speed. Still, I ended up holding pretty close to an 8:30 pace the first three miles with that quick turnover. I pushed the stride a bit further the last mile (but still trying to hit the BPM) and the pace dropped a good half minute. read morewednesday, february 08, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 31:40
Pace: 7:54
Comments: I negative split the hell out of this one. Heading out I just wanted to do a brisk four miler and see how my legs responded from the speed workout on the track. It seems they are doing pretty well.
I did the first mile in 8:11 and several times on the first part I made myself slow it down a bit. While I felt good out the gate, I didn't want to fade completely on the end. The second mile I reeled in at 8:03 and, by that point, I was just trying to keep the thing steady but avoid an all-out race-level effort.
But all the way through mile three I felt great and turned in 7:49 pace with an effort that felt about equal to the mile before. On the last mile I deliberately pushed it a little bit in order to see how much I had in the tank. 7:35 pace's worth, it seems. read moremonday, january 30, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 32:33
Pace: 8:07
Comments: After the 5K this weekend my legs were a little sore but in a good way. With Sunday off I had time to recover and I wanted to see how well my legs were after all that. Pretty good, actually.
I considered putting in a six miler but then decided to try and do four at a strong pace. Nothing insane but hit a good stride and keep on it the whole way through the run. Essentially, running as fast as I could without having my breathing getting labored.
Turned out that was right in the ballpark of that 8 minute mile pace. I did the first mile about as fast as in the race, slowed by maybe 15 seconds for the middle two and then honed back in on the eight mile mark for the finish.
I finished feeling I had done a solid run but not absolutely wiped out. While the speed is clearly a long way from where I want to be, the consistency of the effort is encouraging. read morethursday, january 26, 2012
Mile Run
Distance: 1.0 miles
Time: 8:13
Pace: 8:13
Comments: This one didn't work out at all like I had hoped. Although I didn't have a day off the run yesterday was more like a jog. So I wanted to do this at a little faster pace.
It started well enough but I found myself falling into an 8 min/mile pace that felt pretty good but, honestly, was certain to be trouble long before I got to three miles. I figured I'd just go with it and see how far I could but at about 3/4s of a mile I started getting a pain that was unpleasantly reminiscent of my little health scare last week.
So I pushed it to the mile mark and called it a day. It was a nice short little speed(ish) workout on a week I'll be running five days without a break. I'm OK with that.
read moresaturday, june 25, 2011
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.50 miles
Time: 36:12
Pace: 8:02
Comments: This run was a godawful mess. I blew off the 10K because I felt like crap and didn't get out the door till 8 a.m. meaning it was scorching when I got to the canal. I intended to do six miles. Fat chance. The run started decently enough but I was working pretty hard at the planned halfway point. It pretty much fell apart after that. Horrible run. The only good thing about the thing is it's over.
Conditions: Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: clear
Temperature: 90 degrees
Humidity: 20 percent
Wind: 5 mph
Location: Western Canal, Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: New Balance 760
Injury update: The right upper hamstring started acting up after mile four.friday, january 08, 2010
Running Log/Tempo Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 28:00
Comments: With my beloved Crimson Tide playing in the BCS National Championship game in the evening, a workout with the group wasn't about to happen. But I wanted to get some kind of workout in - if for no other reason than to burn off the anxiety.
So I settled on a kind of fartlek/interval workout hybrid. I set out to do a mile at a good pace, accelerate over the next two and do the last flat out. That was the plan, anyway.
The first mile came in at 7:15 and was really uneven pace-wise throughout. I rested three or four minutes and set off. In the second mile felt a lot stronger and more consistent and hit 6:49. On the third I started very fast and flagged considerably on the back side, the last portion was guts alone. 6:30 flat. read morethursday, october 01, 2009
Running Log/Tempo Run
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 36:26
Comments: The initial plan was to do this run at the high school like normal but there was a football game on and we were obliged to go elsewhere. And elsewhere turned out to be the Arizona Canal by the YMCA (a big further west than were I do my long runs).
This is a decent stretch to run long intervals on except for the fact it has zero light. And since there has been some construction work adding sidewalks, the ground is uneven in spots. Which jumps out at you outta nowhere in the dark.
But it was almost full moon tonight so it wasn't as bad as it could be. Dean had us do a two-mile run at 10K pace to start. This would mean I needed to do it in 13:20 and I was 15 seconds slow on that. That was from the first mile which I finished in 6:53, I hit the second one 6:40 on the nose. read morewednesday, january 21, 2009
Running Log/Goal Pace Run
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 45:45
Garmin link
Comments: Got out there a bit late due to an avalanche of busy work this morning but felt pretty motivated when I did. Initially I was just planning to put in six miles at better-than-easy pace but things went much better than that.
I got the first mile in pretty smoothly and felt strong as well as consistent in the effort. I knew it was a bit fast pace-wise but I decided to keep it going and try and make a stab at goal pace without looking at the garmin. Turns out I was relatively close.
I averaged 7:22 per mi on the middle four miles - right under goal pace. That's leavened by the fact those miles got progressively slower, from 7:08 down to 7:36 (the same pace as my first "warm up" mile). Condition looking good, stamina and strength less so. read morethursday, january 15, 2009
Running Log/Track Work
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 23:25
Comments: After getting abused by the physical training I can't say I was overy excited to go and run this puppy but what the hell...
I waited to get the warm-up started until I talked a bit with coach dean about the afternoon analysis and then took off for a pretty short preliminary run - about a mile. Getting started was it's usual unpleasantness in the hips. I kind of crept along the first twenty yards or so till they got with the program.
The run was slated to be a three-mile tempo run up and down the canal at 10K pace. I thought that was optimistic at the onset but gave it a stab anyway. I got the first mile in at a respectable 6:50 but almost immediately at turn around it all went to hell.
My hamstrings - which had been under duress for much of the afternoon - went into full rebellion and the left shin wasn't really pleased with developments either. I held it together for an 8:05 second mile and called it quits. read moremonday, december 22, 2008
Running Log/Tempo Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 28:53
Garmin link
Comments: The plan was to run at the track last night but the rains yesterday messed that up (although nobody told me until I got out there). So I decided to push the pace a little during today's run.
The goal was to beat marathon pace for as long as my legs felt good with it. It turned out I got into the 10K pace range - 7:13 per mile - and was able to hold it pretty good the entire four miles. In fact, I actually pulled in every mile faster than the one before it - which was a nice surprise. read morethursday, december 18, 2008
Running Log/Track Work
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 22:21
Comments: First time at the track for reals in quite some time. Coach said he wanted to do a workout to get a gauge on where we are at so the recipe was three miles at a bunch of different tempos.
We started with two mile warm up then idled about moaning about our various post-race aches and pains. The workout was one lap at a jog, one at marathon pace, one at 10K pace and one at 5K pace. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Overall it felt alright. I've certainly lost my polish but I was able to do it. As usual, we ran most of the marathon pace laps at almost 10K pace. But that's not overly surprising at this point.
We had to run in the dark and amongst the hordes of kids like the last few weeks. One of the little bastards cut me off on the last lap and I almost taught him why Tiny Tim got to use those crutches. read morewednesday, november 19, 2008
Running Log/Goal Pace Run
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 60:00
Garmin link
Comments: Not fun in the least but not a disaster either. The two days off made me sluggish as expected and getting this one done was a chore.
Most of my reading has suggested it'll prolly be better to start the race slightly slower than goal pace so I tried to get the first half of this in at a pace hovering in the 7:30s per mile. I then shot for the 7:20s on the back half.
The individual laps were kinda all over the place but the 7:30 average pace suggests I was pretty close to my target overall.
The knee is still a problem but not nearly as bad as this same time last week. It felt mostly like a bad bruise getting started and went stabby once or twice but for long stretches I just kind of forgot about it. My hope is the reduced mileage helps it recover some but i'm doubtful it'll be completely resolved by the time of the race. read morefriday, november 14, 2008
Running Log/Goal Pace Run
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 58:02
Garmin link
Comments: Agony on a stick. As usual the right knee felt stiff and unpleasant to start and somewhere between 2.5 and 3 miles it graduated to actual heavy discomfort/pain. I simply hung int there and tried to focus on the exertion of the run rather than the protests from the joint.
Still, I was able to hold to my pace bringing it in with an average pace of 7:15/mi and not going over the 7:27 ceiling once. But, once again, keeping to that over a whole marathon with the knee issue is going to be a tough challenge.
Conditions: Hour: 9:00 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Weather: sunny
Temperature: 60 degrees read moretuesday, november 11, 2008
Running Log/Goal Pace Run
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 58:17
Garmin link
Comments: And the battle with the knee continues. After talking with Coach Dean we decided to shear away everything but what is absolutely necessary in the schedule and hope for the best.
So I took two more days off after the long run this weekend and suffered through both of them. The knee is now sore as a matter of course, which is NOT a good sign. It felt much better this morning but not good by any stretch of the imagination.
I decided to go back to the nearby park in order to keep on a somewhat forgiving surface and because I would be able to kill the workout at any point if there was significant pain. There was significant pain, but it stayed below the teeth gritting level. read morewednesday, october 15, 2008
Running Log/Goal Pace Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 30:16
Comments: This was supposed to be a goal-paced run and I think I got it in the ballpark but it is a very inspecific science given the situation. The route has a couple of spots where traffic necessitates a pause so I took a minute off the final time to account for it but that's just a guess.
More importantly is the amount of hills on this route. It's damned undulating and there is one huge one that drops down on the way out but is a beast on the way back. That's certainly skewing the numbers as well.
Still, the 7:34 per mile average pace the time works out to is likely a bit conservative and the overall effort for the run is where I need to be. At least that's what I hope it is.
Conditions: Hour: 6:00 p.m. read moresaturday, october 11, 2008
Running Log/Goal Pace Run
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 42:25
Comments: Today called for a goal pace run that I considered doing in the morning but, given the intensity of the run last night, reconsidered. Giving myself the better part of the day to recover made more sense given the difficulty of this week.
Of course, I'm not helping things by running my workouts just too damned fast. I started off with the specific intention of keeping it slow and steady and in the range of the pace. Even accounting for the indefinite distances of the particular blocks, this was still WAY too fast to come out with. read morethursday, october 09, 2008
Running Log/Interval Training
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 19:57
Comments: My first run with the RxRunning group. Exiled from our usual track due to post-class events we headed over to the canal to abuse ourselves. Coach Dean's horrorshow was a 3-mile run at 10K or better.
I put in about a mile before the effort and then put myself right behind the coach for the whole damned thing. It was less trying to dial into my proper pace but giving myself as thorough an effort as possible.
Hurt. Oh my - did it hurt. But mostly from the exertion and not from any of the scary muscle pains that bode badly for my training effort. Needless to say, the hot/dry conditions are proving more formidable than I expected. read moremonday, september 15, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 43:30
Comments: And an unexpected change in departure plans from central Argentina gave me yet another opportunity to squeeze a run in. I had a bit more time so I decided to go for a regular mid-week run at about goal pace.
So I found this sort of park by the hotel and started whipping my way around it. It was very weird running in sun and warm weather but downright glorious at the same time.
Although I didn't give it the brutal pace of yesterday I still got going at a pretty good clip. I did my first two circuits in about 17:30 and the last three in 36:00 so I slowed considerably. But, that said, I never got down into easy/recovery run pace. read morethursday, september 11, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 27:23
Comments: OK. How come I seem to always run better the day after getting a haircut? It completely puzzling.
Procrastinated hard today. Got up feeling the miles and woozy from sleeping hard. Knew I could do today's run but didn't look forward to it since, as a goal pace day, it was going to hurt a bit.
But it wasn't too bad. I felt pretty strong and in control the whole way. Dropped my intensity a bit over the third fourth as usual but kept a good hard effort the whole way.
Conditions: Hour: 10:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: cloudy
Temperature: 64 degrees
Humidity: 83 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru read morethursday, september 04, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 26:49
Comments: Again revisited the original schedule to upgrade the run for today. The "new" schedule called for four miles easy but I swapped it out for a goal pace run (although Coach Dean had a somewhat complex track workout penciled in). Knowing it would hurt I found myself procrastinating like a mofo all morning but I finally got the shoes on and out the door by 11 a.m.
And, my yes, did it suck. Instead of my projected marathon pace I ended up getting nearer my 10K pace - which goes to show how screwed up my pacing is right now. Still I held the effort up for a massive chunk of the run, which is a good sign.
That third quarter of the run was a bit rough especially with that hill that pops up right when you feel your worst. I tried to recollect the drummers from the race and draw on that but my imagination can only do so much when exhausted. read morethursday, august 28, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 27:32
Comments: Getting up I felt less slapdash crappy than any day this week and actually was able to get going pretty well. So instead of just putting in the miles I decided to take a stab at the goal-pace run prescribed by coach.
Needless to say, it was somewhat brutal. Speed remains a painful bastard and I've got a good way to go in order to hold this pace over the full course of a marathon. But still, I held up better throughout than I would have expected even a day earlier.
Conditions: Hour: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: concrete/asphalt
Weather: cloudy
Temperature: 65 degrees
Humidity: 93 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru read moretuesday, august 26, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 32:54
Comments: The last two days have been rather unpleasant. The nine-miler on Sunday simply left me shot. I took a 90-minute nap after it, then slept 12-hours and had a 90 minute nap yesterday.
Moving around for the last 24 hours has been done in a very ginger manner and waking from my 10-hours of sleep last night I was drained.
But I got out the door and down to the Malencon. I started easy and then got up to a decent little pace and then, in the middle section, turned on what I had. Coach Dean called for 1.5 miles in the middle at 10K race pace. I think I gave him 2 miles at 3/4 pace or so.
Afterward, I felt a bit better but I'm expecting to be moving kinda slow for the rest of the day.
Conditions: Hour: 8:00 a.m. read morefriday, march 28, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 37:30
Comments: This was a rough workout to finish. I got going pretty good and all but the heat and humidity made the second half real work.
The schedule called for five miles at goal pace. Now I still haven't figured out a regular route for these runs yet and I'm also still concerned with my pacing. So I decided to take it back to the track and concentrate on keeping the individual splits as close to the speed required as necessary.
The 7:20/mi goal pace breaks down to 1:50 per lap and :55 per 200. I got started and tried to get it as close to that groove as possible. If I rounded the back and was looking at :57 I tried to step up a little but nothing dramatic. read morethursday, march 20, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 7 miles
Time: 43:14
Comments: A very good workout and a very disappointing one as well.
Coach Dean wanted us marathon masochists to run a serious tempo effort. Two miles at marathon pace (7:40 per mile) then three at 10K pace (6:50 per mile) then a final two at marathon pace again.
I've been running a lot of goal runs too fast so I thought this would be in the realm of doability but the wear of the last few weeks plus the hot weather simply took too much of a toll.
I held with the group for the first two miles dialing in at 7:36 for both (thanks Rob) and then pushing the envelope and hitting 6:47 and 6:48 for the next two. But that was it. I had to stop.
I sat out a 400 and when the group came back I got back into it and tried to get on the pace with Rob but he had slowed and fell out the next lap. So I was solo. read morewednesday, march 19, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 27:42
Comments: Well, that was as fast a four-miler as I've run this year outside of an actual race. Which is great on one hand but somwhat disappointing in another.
It seems my ability to cope with the fatigue of these weeks of work is going OK but my ability to pace myself isn't getting significantly better.
The target today was marathon goal pace - 7:20 per mile -but, instead, my average pace overall was a blistering 6:55 per mile.
In fact I ran two of the miles at just about Half Marathon pace (7:05 per mile) and two at just about 10K pace (6:45 per mile). read morefriday, march 14, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 35:31
Comments: Last night, after the hard track run, I got home and gave my upcoming schedule a gander. It was not a pleasant surprise. Turns out today included a five-mile goal paced run.
I woke up at 5 a.m. or so feeling sore and exhausted but decided to just get up and get the thing done. If the intent is to have me running goal paces on sore legs, the sooner is probably better. And it gives me as much time as possible to recover for Sunday's long run.
So I got the shoes on an popped out the door and it was still o'dark thirty. Well, the blue was starting to show to the east but sunrise was still a good hour down the road. read moretuesday, march 11, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 28:47
Comments: Right back into the thick of things. The schedule called for a tempo run - four miles at goal pace - so I headed out in my sorry state and made a stab at it.
I've been pretty shot since the race. Sleeping long and hard and walking around gingerly. The excessive downhills have led to achy upper quads as well. But that's part of the deal so I put in a mile warmup, more of a jog really, and then got into the effort.
Once again, I was moving at a faster clip than the 7:20/mi I was aiming for but not as badly askew as the last time read moretuesday, february 26, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 28:35
Comments: And now for the tempo runs. One of the key 'problems' with my last marathon training schedule was the lack of "quality" runs throughout. This was fine for my goal then but insufficent for maximizing my running ability for a BQ effort.
One key to resolving that is the use of tempo run - runs that are at or slightly faster than race paces. And today was one of the first. And no, it was not pleasant.
The schedule called for a four mile run with the middle mile-and-a-half at my 10K pace - roughly 6:40/mi. My goal was to get that portion at under 10 minutes which would be that pace on the button.
I started off pretty good, not great. I just didn't feel smooth or into it. And I was a bit apprehensive at what was to come. At the start of the tempo section I cranked it up and it was about as unpleasant as I feared. read moresunday, february 24, 2008
Running Log
Distance: 13 miles
Time: 1:44:31
Comments: A very solid long run. The schedule called for running the last three miles at my target marathon pace - 7:20 per mile. Got very close indeed.
Since I am trying to be more studious about my pace, I got a ton of data on this one. The 1:44:31 run works out to about an 8:02 pace overall. That's about right.
I hit the halfway point at 53:29 and got the negative split I was trying to run with a 51:02 second half (including piss break). I averaged 8:09 per mile on the first half and 7:55 per mile on the second.
The splits were all over the freaking place. This is partly due to the fact I had zero idea where the damned mile points were on the canal and had to guess most of the way. read more
