saturday, may 18, 2013
Long Run
Distance: 9:00 milesTime: 1:26:02
Pace: 9:33
Comments: Work has entered the "full on insane" stage and running has been curtailed severely. I haven't run at all since that speed/hill workout almost two weeks ago. I wanted to just put some miles on the legs and see how I've recovered from the marathon a month ago.
I figured a loop around White Rock Lake would do the trick. It's warmed up considerably and is really humid but things haven't got as bad as they will in a month or so. This is probably the best time to start getting acclimated to the challenge of training in the North Texas summer.
It started pretty well (except for the barner who gave me a "war eagle" about a quarter mile in). This run wasn't a very polished effort, just a steady slog to get the distance. The hills and the humidity were challenging but not to the point of whipping my ass. Still, this certainly wasn't an outing I felt in control of like when I'm in race shape. read more
monday, may 06, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 3.0 milesTime: 24:39
Pace: 8:12
Comments: First run at the new place. Since Swiss Avenue is a block away I figured I would start things there even though it was one of the sources of my suffering a few weeks ago.
I went down Swiss at a pretty hurried pace with the intent of just figuring out how far I could take it. There is a pretty busy street just past the half-mile point so I decided to do mile "laps" for the workout and, since I was pushing the pace a bit, settled for three miles.
Swiss has a bit of a slope, changing about 40 feet over the course of a quarter mile then gradually leveling off. It was nice starting out and going down but the uphill was a bit of work. Not "hill workout" hard but certainly a challenge to keep the pace down. read more
wednesday, may 01, 2013
Tempo Run
Distance: 4.0 milesTime: 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 moresaturday, april 20, 2013
Recovery Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 39:13
Pace: 9:48
Comments: After my brutal marathon experience, I was planning on running very little this week. Although I was extremely sore, I felt reasonably good. Then, the day after, I took a step and felt a tweak in the front of my left ankle. That tendon was then very sore for the next few days making me limp around quite a bit. It hadn't given me a peep prior to that.
By Friday it was stiff but not painful anymore so I decided to take a stab at a very easy run this morning. The weather was about as absolutely perfect as you could hope for a spring morning, cool, bright and delightful. I kept my pace at a very comfortable point right above a jog. While I kept track of how the ankle was doing, it didn't prove to be an issue. read moresunday, april 07, 2013
Long Run
Distance: 8:00 miles
Time: 1:17:03
Pace: 9:37
Comments: With a week to go until the race there really isn't anything more I can do to get ready. At this point what is (not) done is (not) done. So I basically wanted to get a good hour plus run in to keep me up to condition as I enter the final countdown. This wasn't a bad run, actually. Felt pretty good the whole way and didn't have any issues. But I certainly didn't feel so in control that it eased any of my anxiety about next Sunday.
Conditions:Hour: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 62 degrees
Humidity: 56 percent
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas 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 moresaturday, march 30, 2013
Long Run
Distance: 10.64 miles
Time: 1:45:11
Pace: 9:53
Comments: Not as bad as I thought but I was expecting it to be pretty awful. After a short week last week and a sinus infection this week, my miles have withered. I wanted 12 miles but ended up settling for 10.64. Uneven diet, limited sleep, sickness and the humidity conspired to make it a very unpleasant slog toward the end. I probably should have hydrated better and got out the door earlier as well. With the marathon in two weeks, I'm pretty much out of time for training but I'll try and get another ten miles tomorrow and hope that does the trick.
Conditions:Hour: 9:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 60 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.read more
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 68 degrees
Humidity: 32 percent
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequencesunday, march 17, 2013
Long Run
Distance: 12:00 miles
Time: 1:50:45
Pace: 9:14
Comments: This has been my "recovery" week. While I ended up with about the same total weekly mileage I did a relatively reasonable 12 mile long run (and not in a race setting). And after the struggle the five miler on Friday proved to be, this one went extremely well.
I started pretty early to avoid the crush of weekend warriors on the trail. Since the temperature and humidity are expected to stay pretty static all day, that didn't make a ton of difference conditions-wise. I honestly was just aiming to keep my miles under ten minutes but the first mile at 9:26 proved my slowest. I hit a very comfortable groove and rode it the entire length of the run.
At the end I felt tired from the effort but not completely destroyed like after the super-long-runs of the past few weeks. With luck I can rest up, get a nice week of work and knock out my last 20 miler next Saturday without any major problems. read morefriday, march 15, 2013
Recovery Run
Distance: 5.0 miles
Time: 47:57
Pace: 9:35
Comments: Awful. Just awful. I have not slept a complete night due to the landlord's yapping dogs and the squeeze on my available time has curtailed my eating regimen. It all came together today in a five miler that sucked from start to finish. All I want is a shower and a full nights sleep but these fucking dogs are probably going to keep me from the latter.
Conditions:Hour: 5:45 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 81 degrees
Humidity: 25 percent
Wind: 10 mph gusts
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence
Injury update: Nada.wednesday, 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 moresaturday, march 09, 2013
Long Run
Distance: 20:00 miles
Time: 3:19:27
Pace: 9:58
Comments: My first time to run 20 miles since Dec. 2010 and it was just about as tough as I remember. I was a little worried that I might not have recovered from my awful long run last week but that didn't seem to be the case.
Since it was a good bit warmer this morning and a chance of rain, I got out the door pretty early. I decided to loop the lake and then go up the White Rock Trail to get the miles. It took me a few miles to get warmed up but after that I kept hitting paces between 10 min and 9:30 per mile. About what I wanted.
I felt a lot better than last week and crossed the 18 mile mark fourteen minutes earlier. But the last four miles, again, were a battle and none worse than the final mile which was absolutely brutal. I kept the pace under 12 minutes but it was everything I could do to manage it. 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 moremonday, march 04, 2013
Recovery Run
Distance: 3.0 miles
Time: 29:51
Pace: 9:56
Comments: I knew the long run on Saturday beat my legs all to hell and today's run bore it out. I was actually surprised to keep my average pace under 10 min/mile given how much of a slog this was. Of course the temperatures suddenly deciding to climb to 80s degrees didn't help things either. But the fact I seem to be avoiding injury thus far is good news and I'm damn happy about that.
Conditions:Hour: 5:45 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 80 degrees
Humidity: 57 percent
Wind: 5 mph gusts
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence
Injury update: Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.saturday, march 02, 2013
Long Run
Distance: 18:00 miles
Time: 3:11:55
Pace: 10:40
Comments: OK. I should just say from the start this run was awful; a long brutal slog that never seemed to end. It was an ordeal from start to finish and I feel a bit of satisfaction just knowing I survived it.
First of it was cold when I started. Freezing cold. And windy. Of course I had my short sleeves and shorts on since I knew it would be warm enough by the end (and it was) but I really paid for it the first four miles. By the time I got through that I could already tell I was working harder than I expected for a slower time than I hoped.
Things got difficult at the turnaround but the last fourth of the run was downright brutal. I simply was hanging on for dear life and didn't give a damn about the pace. If I was looking to get fatigue training -- whoo boy, did I ever take care of that today. Needless to say, the analytics Garmin spit out for the run are appalling. I'm just hoping I recover a bit for next week's long run effort. 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 26, 2013
Recovery Run
Distance: 5.0 miles
Time: 50:03
Pace: 10:00
Comments: As strong as I felt I ran the race Sunday it really knocked me for a loop. I had to get in a post-race nap and then slept ten hours, hard. I wasn't a creaky as I have been after other long runs but certainly vied with some post-race soreness. The run today, as you might expect, was a recovery effort in every sense of the word.
It was a long slow slog. My legs felt leaden and there was zero bounce to my step. I didn't even make a pretense at looking at my pace and was actually surprised to see I ran the whole five miles in less than an hour. On the upside, getting the run done wasn't ever really in doubt and there weren't any injury-level pains to keep it from happening at all.
Conditions:Hour: 5:20 p.m. read moresaturday, february 23, 2013
Easy Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 36:326
Pace: 9:07
Comments: I really wanted to take this one very easy with the race tomorrow but the chilly weather and extra day off found me pushing the pace a little bit. The new work schedule doesn't leave me much extra time to run and that was whittled down to none at all this week as I was trying to get organized. I decided to run the Cowtown half-marathon but wanted to get a third four miler in for the week. So this morning it was. Overall a nice effort. We'll really see how the legs are doing tomorrow.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 38 degrees
Humidity: 60 percent
Wind: 5 mph gusts read moretuesday, february 19, 2013
Recovery Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 37:30
Pace: 9:22
Comments: Things are promising to get weird this week so I put in this run in the afternoon when I had a chance. If I can squeeze in another four miler sometime between now and the weekend, I should be set.
Since I'm still feeling the long run a bit I didn't push the pace too much today but I took the hill route to give it a bit more challenge. Producing the sub-9:30 pace with the incline issues was a pretty respectable effort. Overall it was a nice run.
Conditions:Hour: 5:20 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 60 degrees
Humidity: 23 percent
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas read moremonday, february 18, 2013
Recovery Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 41:16
Pace: 10:18
Comments: This one was supposed to be slow and that it certainly was. I was pretty creaky after the long run this weekend and didn't want to do more than get the legs warmed up a bit with this effort. I wasn't overly sore like I expected but there wasn't a lot of pep in my step either. There was a bit of hills and wind that complicated things but I just wanted to keep a reasonably steady effort and not do anything stupid. Mission accomplished.
Conditions:Hour: 7:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 59 degrees
Humidity: 74 percent
Wind: 5 mph gusts
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas read moresaturday, february 16, 2013
Long Run
Distance: 16.0 miles
Time: 2:34:32
Pace: 9:40
Comments: I looked at the calendar during the week and realized I've got just ten weeks to be ready for the Big D Marathon in April. Or, more to the point, just two months of training when you count the taper. With that limited amount of time, I had to see if I'm ready to put the miles on the legs and so I decided to take a stab at a 16-miler which is further than I've run in a year-and-a-half. So yeah, no pressure.
It was pretty cold this morning. Right at freezing. So I waited until the temperatures got to about 40 degrees. Basically, I didn't want to go out having to wear any gear that would be too hot and hour or so into the run. My timing was pretty good but I probably could have started a half hour earlier. read morefriday, february 15, 2013
Easy Run
Distance: 3.0 miles
Time: 27:08
Pace: 9:02
Comments: Very chilly this morning. It wasn't so much the actual temperature as the wind making it extra brisk. Needless to say, I ran this a bit quicker than I intended in an effort to get it over with.
Basically I just wanted a nice three miler to finish up the week but not wear me out for the planned long run over the weekend. The legs felt pretty good with a day's rest even with the hills on this particular route. I'm hoping I'm ready for the big effort on Sunday.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 46 degrees
Humidity: 64 percent
Wind: 10 mph gusts
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas read morewednesday, february 13, 2013
Easy Run
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 37:12
Pace: 9:17
Comments: My first back-to-back workout days in some time. I want to keep my weekly mileage in a reasonable range but if I start heaping on the long run miles I gotta have rest days around them to survive. So it's better to get in the swing of this while the distances haven't gotten out of hand.
This was a slog of a run. I think the miles are starting to add up on my legs a bit. There was no bounce in my run and I felt worn out the whole way. On the plus side, I didn't have to battle the nagging desire to cut the run short so that's a good thing.
Conditions:Hour: 11:20 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy/clear
Temperature: 47 degrees 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 moresunday, february 10, 2013
Long Run
Distance: 13.13 miles
Time: 2:07:54
Pace: 9:45
Comments: There was a half marathon this morning that I had idly considered running in last December. I couldn't afford it and it's three hours down the road so I had to pass. Which worked out well since it turned out the thing was hit by a major thunderstorm.
But I decided to run the distance anyway and see how my legs would handle it. The good news is they did alright. I certainly finished in better shape than the actual half marathon in December. The bad news is I was woefully slow. Like barely-qualified-as-jogging slow.
I know that the two-hours on my feet is what really mattered about this workout but, still, it's a bit disheartening to realize just how much I've lost off my racing form in the last year or so. Sure, that'll improve with more consistent workouts but the days of 7:30 race pace seem to be in the past now. 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 moremonday, february 04, 2013
Recovery Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 34:56
Pace: 8:44
Comments: Something of a slog. I was reasonably sore yesterday due to the long run and there was still some of that hanging around this morning. Nothing that would qualify as actual pain or injury-related but sore.
I ended up taking a few minutes rest at the halfway point and, as I expected, was noticeably slower on the second half of the effort. It wasn't a "bad" run in the sense that I kind of expected this was going to happen but I didn't feel the wind beneath my wings either.
Conditions:Hour: 9:40 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 57 degrees
Humidity: 78 percent
Wind: breezy
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas read moresaturday, february 02, 2013
Long Run
Distance: 10.00 miles
Time: 1:36:59
Pace: 9:41
Comments: The plan was to do four five-mile runs this week for a total of 20 miles. Work intervened yesterday so I decided to try a ten mile long run this morning.
It was cool enough to delay starting till mid-morning but that meant there were tons of folks out on the trail. It's not as bad as Arizona where nobody puts their dog on a leash but Tour de France-dreaming cyclists are an issue. I'll probably go out earlier in the future.
I started overslow to give myself a chance at finishing and that worked out pretty well. My pace was reasonably steady the whole way (well, up to the very end) and I felt pretty good physically from start to finish.
There was a bit of a problem though. Turns out the lake circuit is about 8.8 miles not ten. So I had to make up the last bit of the run in the nearby side streets. This was a mistake since all these streets are on pretty steep hills -- the last thing I wanted to cap off this run. read morewednesday, january 30, 2013
Easy Run
Distance: 5.00 miles
Time: 43:56
Pace: 8:47
Comments: Second day out running this week. That's a start, anyway. With the temperatures a good 25 degrees cooler than Monday conditions were a hell of a lot better for running and I whittled almost a minute off my pace as a result.
It was chilly getting started but not insanely so but the real problem reared it's head as soon as I got near the lake. Wind. There were very strong gusts from the Northeast. This was an annoyance going out but downright brutal on the way back. The last mile was uphill and against 30 mph headwinds at points so, as a result, it was considerably slower than the rest.
Still, a good run and a very satisfying effort.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m. read moremonday, january 28, 2013
Easy Run
Distance: 5.00 miles
Time: 48:25
Pace: 9:40
Comments: My ability to stick with a running routine is simply awful. Once again I build up a bit of consistency and then end up taking a week-or-longer layoff. There are a bunch of reasons of course; work conflict, inclement weather, mentally not into it. But I've got to bear down and get it done if I've any hope of reaching my goal of running a marathon this year.
It is a bit warm and humid today. Almost 70 degrees. About what it was for the half marathon earlier this month. I sweated and suffered much the same. My pace was a woeful 9:40 and I felt like I was slogging through syrup the whole way. But I got it done. And that's the most important thing.
Conditions:Hour: 10:20 a.m. read moresaturday, january 12, 2013
Easy Run
Distance: 5.00 miles
Time: 45:11
Pace: 9:02
Comments: Instead of getting right into a running routine to start the year I went promptly into a 10-day layoff. Not a very auspicious start, to say the least.
I got out the door reasonably early. It was very humid and wet but reasonably cool. It's supposed to get unreasonably cold again next week so this was probably the best day to get back into the swing of things. The run went reasonably well. No major issues and about the pace I expected.
I wore my new "Back to Back" Alabama shirt. Needless to say, as much enjoyment as I get from going full Gump, the material isn't exactly moisture-wick. It will likely have to be designated for half-an-hour runs or less.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m. 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 moremonday, december 31, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 25:48
Pace: 8:35
Comments: Between Christmas and another sinus infection, I didn't run a step last week. It was chilly, breezy and very wet this morning but I had to get out there and make some progress. The one blessing was that it wasn't actually "raining" just drizzle or so.
While I wanted to just do this one slow and steady, the brisk temperatures had me going a bit faster than that. I ended up with as good a pace as I've had any shorter run these last few months. I'm probably going to have to start pushing harder on this at least one a week going forward.
The legs felt good, my sinus didn't over react. It was an uncomfortable but solid run. Nice way to finish off 2012.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m. read moresunday, december 23, 2012
Long Run
Distance: 8.00 miles
Time: 1:14:18
Pace: 9:17
Comments: Another uneven week with just two runs. I'm putting up with the slacking off only because it ain't gonna fly when formal marathon training starts in a few weeks.
This was a reasonably leisurely effort for a not-completely-insane distance. I started with a pretty good pace and, after mile three, slowed down every mile afterward. The last mile was more than 10 minute pace. Not a spectacular performance.
But the run felt pretty good and the legs seem to be in good shape. I'll try and get a full 20 miles in next week and see how it goes.
Conditions:Hour: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 54 degrees 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 moresunday, december 16, 2012
Long Run
Distance: 10.00 miles
Time: 1:33:15
Pace: 9:19
Comments: I didn't really have a plan for this effort but wanted to get a substantial run in due to the amount of days I had off during the week. Getting out the door I wasn't really motivated and even a good two miles in I found it was more of a chore than I expected.
But I kept hacking at it and, eventually, decided to make a stab at my first full loop of the lake. Turns out it is, as I had seen mentioned somewhere, almost exactly 10 miles. It's actually a little less but counting the approach I use, you can nail it on the dot.
This wasn't a fancy effort by any means and most of my miles were a bit sluggish. I picked it up a bit toward the end in an effort to finish strong but still, for the most part, only got up to the recent race pace. 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 morefriday, december 07, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 2.00 miles
Time: 22:12
Pace: 11:04
Comments: A super easy run. Barely more than a jog. Just wanted to get out and break a sweat and make sure there weren't any lurking issues as I prepare for the half marathon on Sunday. I've been trying to eat well this week, get enough sleep and avoid spending too much time on my feet. I know this isn't a marathon effort coming up but this is a pretty steep challenge given my lack of training overall. I'm pretty confident I can finish the thing, the more important goal is to avoid injury in doing so.
Conditions:Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 54 degrees
Humidity: 89 percent
Wind: calm read morewednesday, december 05, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 26:53
Pace: 8:57
Comments: I guess this counts as my taper. I gave myself two days rest after the ten miler on Sunday and just did three miles on this outing. I just tried to keep the pace reasonable and got it right under 9 min/mi which I kind of expected with the brisk temperature. Most importantly, there was no residual aches and issues from the long run.
Conditions:Hour: 7:23 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 45 degrees
Humidity: 60 percent
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nothing.sunday, december 02, 2012
Long Run
Distance: 10.00 miles
Time: 1:32:28
Pace: 9:15
Comments: So with a week until the Dallas Half Marathon, I wanted to put a good number of miles in but not destroy myself for the race. I figured I could get eight but would go for ten if I felt good toward the turnaround.
I spent a good bit of time farting around online in the wake of Alabama's SEC Championship Game win and got out the door a little later than I wanted. It's been pretty warm the last few days and this morning wasn't breaking the pattern. It wasn't Arizona hot, of course, but considerably warm for my longest distance attempt of the year.
The way out went well. I tried to keep my pace in the nine minute mile range but found myself going a bit slower than that. The irregular hills had a bit to do with that as well as my disinclination to push things to hard. It was a tough run but not really a slog till the final two miles. I just tried to concentrate on turnover to get through the final part. read morefriday, november 30, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 29:16
Pace: 9:44
Comments: I slept horribly and woke up dragging. I knew the run would be a slog and it certainly was. I figure this is the sudden ramp up of exercise coming home to roost at last. So I let myself take it pretty easy, just pushing a bit on the uphills to keep from hitting an absolute walk.
As unpleasant as this run was, I was certainly expecting it. The hope that by not pushing overhard this morning and by getting a good 48 hours rest before my planned long run on Sunday, I'll bounce back strongly. If not, it'll be a long long ten miles that morning.
Conditions:Hour: 7:40 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 57 degrees read morewednesday, november 28, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 33:11
Pace: 8:17
Comments: I'm calling this one a recovery run since the miles I've put in over the last week really took a toll on me yesterday. I was achy and tired all day and slept a solid ten hours last night.
But I woke up feeling pretty good and although I considered giving myself an extra rest day, I decided to do the planned run anyway. I also couldn't be sure my hesitance was due to the fact the temperature was just above freezing when I stepped out the door.
The start of the run was as unpleasant as I expected given the temperature but, as I expected, I felt pretty good after I got into the run and warmed up a bit. Also as I expected, I was hitting a much quicker pace with relative ease during this effort. Despite that, I very much concentrated on consistency of effort rather than pushing the pace. read moremonday, november 26, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 6.00 miles (plus .5)
Time: 53:28
Pace: 8:54
Comments: So last night I went looking for another race to enter figuring there would be a nice 5K or something nearby in the next month or so. Turns out the Dallas Marathon is in two weeks and, idiot I am, I signed up for the half.
Which, if nothing else, means the season of blowing off runs is officially over. Obviously there ain't time to get in good enough condition to do a decent time but I should be able to finish the thing if I don't slack off.
So today I went out for a six mile run to get a feel of how the legs were holding up. I really cannot emphasize enough how wonderful it is to be right next to White Rock Lake and the running trails there. They are reasonably level and damn picturesque. Moreover, folks are all accommodating for everyone else using the pathways (even if they don't wave all that much). read moresaturday, november 24, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 33:48
Pace: 8:26
Comments: It was just above freezing this morning so I decided to pass on the run until it warmed up a bit. I've been a bit stiff -- understandably -- since the race and I wanted as few obstacles to getting this run in as possible. It was just under 60 degrees when I finally left the house and that turned out to be about right.
I didn't have too much trouble getting into a comfortable pace that was slightly faster than what I did for the race on Thursday. This is understandable since while there were a few hills on this course, it was nothing like the ascents from the Trinity River into Oak Cliff and downtown.
There were a number of runners on the lake trail and, I'm very happy to say, every single dog was on a leash. See idiot Arizona runners, it's not that hard to abide by the leash law. The big upshot with having a number of runners on the trail was simulating race situations and using them to keep my pace up. read morethursday, november 22, 2012
Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot
Race: Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot
Official Time: 1:13:13
Actual Time: 1:13:17
Comments: Once again, real life has pretty much brought my running to a complete halt. After making a game effort while in Alabama, the difficulties of work and a cross-country move simply absorbed all of my time. But, by last week, I was finally ensconced here in Dallas and thinking about re-starting the running again.
My new place is near White Rock Lake where running trails are plentiful but I couldn't seem to get the motivation to get out the door. So, since I knew I would be doing the Thanksgiving holiday solo this year, I decided to sign up for a turkey trot race. And, since the one in downtown Dallas was close, it seemed logical. 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 moremonday, october 15, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 2.00 miles
Time: 18:31
Pace: 9:14
Comments: Well that was a horrible effort. It was a bit hotter than I thought and I had a hell of a lot less in the tank than I expected. The plan was for five miles or so but I was slogging three minutes into the thing and it only got worse from there. Finally just cut it short at two miles. Although I took two days off after the Friday trail run, my legs have been pretty sore the whole time. I probably could be eating better as well. I'll try it again tomorrow.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 80 degrees
Humidity: 27 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona read morefriday, october 12, 2012
Trail Run
Distance: 6.00 miles
Time: 1:08:59
Pace: 11:29 m/mi
Comments: I've been wanting to put in a six mile/hour run for awhile now but never seemed to find the right excuse to fit it in. With the temperature dropping I figured I'd head out to South Mountain and do my six-mile loop. The time would suck but I would force myself to just get through it instead of worrying about the pace.
I decided to do it today rather than tomorrow since the weekend crowd is godawful. Good choice, it turned out. Only ran into one idiot dog owner with their animal off the leash. And the few bikers on the trail were extremely alert to hiker/runners.
At the start I kept it slow and then pretty much kept it at whatever pace my legs would allow. Since this was an endurance test I did the super steep route up Mormon Trail and, boy did I ever pay for it. My time was almost exactly where I was after my layoff in the Summer. Anyhow, the effort felt good and it was a nice run all around. 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, october 08, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 5.00 miles
Time: 47:22
Pace: 9:28
Comments: Had a bout with the grippe this weekend and wasn't about to take a step out the house for most of it. I felt better yesterday but woke up with a persistent headache this morning. But I wanted to get back in the routine so I decided to get the run in anyway.
I kept the pace pretty slow but added a mile to the effort as a trade off. For the most part the run was a consistent effort but it really felt like a slog the whole way -- like I was running on sand or something. Just no bounce to my step at all. I'll take it easy the rest of today and see how I feel tomorrow.
Conditions:Hour: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy read morethursday, october 04, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 35:34
Pace: 8:53
Comments: A day to recover and significantly cooler conditions made this one a lot less painful. I wasn't impressively faster or anything but felt a lot more in control. Most of the way I went back to concentrating on quicker turnover rather than the pace (or the fatigue). The biggest difference was I never got hit by that "give it up" feeling that pops me when I'm not good to go. Which is something of a relief.
Conditions:Hour: 9:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 85 degrees
Humidity: 25 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.tuesday, october 02, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 36:20
Pace: 9:04
Comments: So I got out the door a good half hour earlier today and the temperatures was a whopping five degrees less. Ugh. Still, I felt a bit better on the back end of the effort and got in all four miles I was hoping for. Basically I need to eat better and get back into the routine. Tomorrow I'm off and we'll see how well the legs respond.
Conditions:Hour: 10:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 90 degrees
Humidity: 16 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.monday, october 01, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 27:22
Pace: 9:09
Comments: And oh am I ever back in Arizona. Temperature was pushing the century mark as I finished the run and humidity just 11 percent. Delightful.
It has been a few weeks since I last run due to the bizarre schedule my research trip imposed on me. So I really had a tougher time with the weather changes than I usually would. I decided to trim my planned four miles back to three as a result.
Conditions:Hour: 10:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 96 degrees
Humidity: 11 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.sunday, september 09, 2012
Fartlek Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 37:00
Pace: 9:15
Comments: Well, this turned into a horrorshow because it seems dog owners in Birmingham are absolute idiots. I'm guessing it was four miles and there were a lot of hills. Given the stop-and-start running I was forced to do, I'm calling this a Fartlek workout and letting it go at that. The more important lesson is that I'm carrying mace from now on -- and that's as much for the owners as for the dogs themselves.
Conditions:Hour: 7:30 a.m.read more
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 65 degrees
Humidity: 70 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Homewood, Alabama
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3monday, 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 moresaturday, september 01, 2012
Long Run
Distance: 6.00 miles
Time: 54:48
Pace: 9:07
Comments: Seeing as how I have been reasonably consistent in running this week, I figured I'd try to make it a little more like a regular training week and go for a longish run to cap it off. So I headed out looking to find some sidewalks to run on and avoid the traffic but not with a specific route in mind. The result was a pretty interesting course with more hills than I necessarily would have wanted but not insane either.
Overall I felt as good as one could expect for running on hills like this with the humidity. The hard part was not letting the fatigue take over and giving in to the slog. Again, the newness of the course was a feature in my favor. In the end I got it done in a reasonable time and feeling pretty good about the effort. read morewednesday, august 29, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 26:41
Pace: 8:53
Comments: With Hurricane Isaac coming ashore I expect this might be my last chance to get a run in for a day or two. The storm hasn't arrived this far north yet but the uncomfortably warm humidity in Birmingham is a testament to its impending arrival.
I felt pretty good despite the return to regular running on the hilly streets of Homewood and tried to increase the pace somewhat for this effort. That worked fine for the portions of the run that were relatively flat but I slowed considerably on the hilly portions. Still, it was a solid effort and considerably faster pace than the previous efforts. Moreover I felt pretty good after it.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m. read moremonday, august 27, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 37:56
Pace: 9:28
Comments: Although I was still a bit sore from yesterday, I decided to try and get in a full four-mile run. This meant a double dose of that 100-foot hill in the middle of my little course. As a result I concentrated more on resilence in the effort than anything to do with pace.
The temperature was not insanely hot but the transition to the high humidity is still ongoing. My shirt was completely soaked by the two-mile mark and fatigue was a real issue the whole way. The advantage of running a new course was my secret weapon though. In the end it was a solid run and a step closer to my return to training form.
Conditions:Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete read moresunday, august 26, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 25:15
Pace: 8:23
Comments: Got into Arlington late last night after driving in from El Paso. It has been a week or so since I have been able to get a run in so I made it a point to get up early to get the miles in. As I expected, the humidity was a formidable issue but thankfully the heat wasn't too bad and I had a fighting chance.
I was planning to just run the sidewalk around Cowboys Stadium but found the path down to the Johnson Creek linear park and decided to take that instead. This is actually a pretty nice course; a wide concrete path with the underbrush trimed well back from the trail. There was one spot where the mud (and beer cans) had overwhelmed the trail but it wasn't too bad. The weirdest thing about it was an absolute absence of any other runners or cyclists. read moremonday, july 30, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 36:38
Pace: 9:09
Comments: Got going a bit late and it was pretty hot as a result. And as has been the case of late, the humidity was what made it really bad. I just tried to keep it steady and surprised myself with a reasonable overall pace (I was expecting something more in the 10 min/mi range). My legs have been pretty sore since the long(er) run this weekend so I'll chalk this one up as a success.
Conditions:Hour: 9:14 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 87 degrees
Humidity: 59 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.saturday, july 28, 2012
Long Run
Distance: 6.50 miles
Time: 1:03:52
Pace: 9:50
Comments: With the extra days off this week I was determined to make this a long run (or long-er run since six miles has been my max of late). The heat and humidity made it a battle but I simply kept trying to hold a steady pace rather than set any records. I did make an effort to pick up my feet when I found myself starting to shuffle. Weirdly enough, that helped quite a bit. I got this done under the 10 min/mi mark which pleaed me a bit.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m.read more
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 90 degrees
Humidity: 37 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3wednesday, july 25, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 26:41
Pace: 8:53
Comments: Another battle with the heat and humidity. Became a real problem afer 2.5 miles so i decided to cut it short rather than do anything stupid.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 90 degrees
Humidity: 42 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update:saturday, july 21, 2012
Long Run
Distance: 6.00 miles
Time: 57:27
Pace: 9:34
Comments: Took two days off after the three-straight so I wanted to put in a sixer today. It was already pretty hot when I got out the door but not insanely so. As the usual precaution, I tried to start slow.
I ended up doing the usual slow down every mile deal but held the fourth and fifth mile right above that dreaded ten-minute-mile mark. For the last mile I turned it on and cranked out an 8:42 mile to push my overall pace to a reasonable level. Not a bad effort at all.
Conditions:Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 92 degrees
Humidity: 42 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona 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 moretuesday, july 17, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 25:55
Pace: 8:37
Comments: Just wanted to make up the difference from yesterday. It was pretty warm when I got out but I made it a point to keep from going out too fast. Still, I hit a pretty good stride and held it most of the way. Considered going for four miles but decided to play it conservative and, possibly, do a repeat tomorrow.
Conditions:Hour: 10:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 93 degrees
Humidity: 25 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.monday, 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 13, 2012
Long Run
Distance: 6.00 miles
Time: 57:25
Pace: 9:34
Comments: I've been getting those four milers in pretty regular so I thought it would be good to go for six. As a result I started off at a slower-than-normal pace and hung with it the whole way. It was a long tough run but I got through it.
Conditions:Hour: 10:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 93 degrees
Humidity: 45 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.wednesday, july 11, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 33:58
Pace: 8:24
Comments: My Garmin went completely gang aft agly today. According to it, my first mile was a 3,000-foot descent at 5:18 pace. Um... not quite.
I got out at the lowest temperature of the day: 88 degrees. And as I expected, the trade off was the joy of enduringthe highest humidity of the day: 42 percent. Still, the additional shade made a difference and although I know my stats are goofy for this one, it was a lot faster effort than earlier this week.
Conditions:Hour: 6:20 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 88 degrees
Humidity: 42 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona read moremonday, july 09, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 37:52
Pace: 9:27
Comments: I knew it was a bit hot when I went out to run this. It was later than I like and the temperatures have been noticeably warmer over last week. Turns out I should have checked before I ran. It was 102 degrees.
Needless to say, my initial disappointment at the pace and performance seems a bit premature. I'm going to have to be a lot more careful over the next month or so or a stunt like this could prove dangerous.
Conditions:Hour: 9:30 a.m.read more
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 102 degrees
Humidity: 22 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3friday, 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 morethursday, july 05, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 35:13
Pace: 8:48
Comments: Skipped running on the fourth due to the rain even though it was spectacularly cool in comparison with the recent temperatures. Today wasn't overly warm but the humidity was deserving of the deep south in August. Given that I wasn't expecting anthing like a record effort but I was determined to get at least four miles in.
Weirdly enough, even though I was whipped at the end, it turns out I actually got this one done at a reasonable pace. Of course my first mile was almost a minute faster than my last one but that's understandable in these conditions. I'll see if I can at least duplicate this effort tomorrow.
Conditions:Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete read moremonday, july 02, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 6.00 miles
Time: 52:23
Pace: 8:43
Comments: Now the temperature and humidity were, supposedly, the same as my last run and with the overcast conditions the sun wasn't an issue either. Yet it felt a lot cooler and I didn't really struggle with the heat as much as I thought I might.
Starting out I actually got rained on for about ten minutes but then the shower passed over and was gone. The cloud cover remained overhead until the last mile or so but, even then, it was early enough that it wasn't brutal as it can be .
The goal was to get six miles and, if possible, keep the pace under 9 minutes the whole way. Mission accomplished and, more importantly, I really didn't feel completely wiped out at the end as has been the case most runs lately. read morefriday, june 29, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 5.00 miles
Time: 48:08
Pace: 9:37
Comments: I was up at just after 5 a.m. and out the door by the bottom of the hour. That bought me an extra seven degrees and substantially less sunlight but it didn't seem to help much. I found myself slogging through this one from the start.
There really wasn't any energy in my legs and as the run progressed it became less an effort to get my pace each mile lap down to 9 min/mi than under 10 min/mi. And what relief the slightly cooler temperatures brought me the humidity too back in spades. I finished this one feeling totally beat.
Conditions:Hour: 5:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 83 degrees
Humidity: 44 percent read morethursday, june 28, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 5.00 miles
Time: 45:17
Pace: 9:03
Comments: It was about as hot and horrible as I expected this morning. I got up and didn't really feel like going out and putting the workout in, particularly since my recent runs haven't been anything to really start cheering over.
Then I took a look at these two guys and got my ass out the door. It wasn't a pretty effort and sure as hell wasn't pleasant but I damn well don't need to waste my time with the "poor me" nonsense when there folks out there who wish they just had the option to run that I do.
Conditions:Hour: 7:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete read moretuesday, june 26, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 35:12
Pace: 8:47
Comments: The usual disaster. Too hot, to little energy, pathetic effort.
Conditions:Hour: 8:00 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 97 degrees
Humidity: 21 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.sunday, june 24, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 4.50 miles
Time: 39:19
Pace: 8:44
Comments: Still got out too late and still didn't have much in the tank. But I did about twice the effort of yesterday (both time and distance) and that's pretty much the goal I had set for myself. As much as the heat sucks, the fact is things have reached the point it's never pleasant. The low this morning was 84 degrees.
As you might expect, I started off pretty strongly but faded as the distance increased. The frontage road section -- with the unrelenting sun -- proved to me my undoing. Hopes of six miles and then even five faded every step in the searing brightness.
Conditions:Hour: 8:20 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 94 degrees 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.monday, june 18, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 35:13
Pace: 8:47
Comments: Insanely busy morning that kept me from getting out on the pavement as early as I wanted. By the time I started the run the temperature had hit the century mark. Now I had only planned to do four miles so I sort of justified it in my head but, hoo boy was this a tough one to finish.
But despite the struggle, I kept a pretty good pace the whole way and I never got that godawful "just quit" feeling that has sometimes led me to throw in the towel early. In fact, the pace surprised me since I tried to go a bit slower than normal starting out in order to ensure I would get the miles in but found myself comfortably falling into the quicker pace.
Conditions:Hour: 10:00 a.m. read moresaturday, june 16, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 5.10 miles
Time: 43:48
Pace: 8:36
Comments: Getting warmer and warmer and putting off the run even an hour or so is not that bright a move. I was planning on a full six-or-so miles but got to five and decided to leave it go at that rather than do anything stupid.
I started out really well with a ton of energy. It was tough to reign things in but doing so turned out to be the right move. It was pretty tough going from the three-mile point on. Heat, sun and not eating as well as I should conspired to make it a slog past that. Still, I kept the pace up reasonably well and didn't feel completely wiped out at the end.
Conditions:Hour: 7:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy read morethursday, 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 moremonday, june 11, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 53:27
Pace: 8:54
Comments: Got up early and got out the door in the dusk for the first time. I was about as creaky getting started as I expected but battled through that pretty well by the two-mile mark. The temperature wasn't a hell of a lot better than some of my mid-day runs a month ago but not facing the full-on sunshine made a heck of a lot of difference. It turned out to be a good solid run and one I need to start doing with regularity.
Conditions:Hour: 5:00 a.m.read more
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 75 degrees
Humidity: 28 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3friday, june 08, 2012
Trail Run
Distance: 6.00 miles
Time: 1:08:55
Pace: 11:28 m/mi
Comments: So after a week back, it seemed like a good time to test the legs out on the trail and the result was less than spectacular. Easily one of the most woefully slow efforts on this route for me.
I kind of knew what I was in for when I got started and there just wasn't a lot of push in the legs. But this workout is more about endurance so running on weary legs is helpful too. It wasn't unreasonably hot since I got out pretty early but the sun and the humidity took their toll.
The uphill was a slog but I got my legs underneath me a lot better than I expected going downhill. I certainly didn't sent any pace records but I cruised to a respectable 9:18 final mile. So, in the end, I'll call this one a win and try and prepare myself better for the next one. read morewednesday, june 06, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 43:20
Pace: 8:34
Comments: I probably should have tried to get another run in while I was in California but between the grind of the conference and the miserable weather on the last day, I just blew it off. So getting back to Phoenix I was resolved to get back in the routine. The good news was the temperatures were significantly warmer than in San Francisco. The bad news is that the temperatures were significantly warmer than in San Francisco.
I got a five mile effort in but could really feel the heat toward the end of it. I really need to try and get out at least a half-hour earlier. But the run went well, I felt strong and didn't really fade that much. On the contrary, I actually picked up the pace to a medium sprint for the last quarter mile. 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 morewednesday, may 30, 2012
Long Run
Distance: 6.66 miles
Time: 1:05:27
Pace: 9:50
Comments: The opportunity to run over the next few days will be unpredictable so I put in a consecutive day workout and went for the longer loop. I started fine but kept it a little slower in order to finish the whole run. I did, but my pace slowed significantly at the end due to the mounting heat.
Conditions:Hour: 8:50 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 80 degrees
Humidity: 20 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.tuesday, may 29, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:20
Pace: 9:19
Comments: Waited till noon to run and paid the price. It was very hot and I could tell from the start it would be a battle. I got two and a half miles in and really could tell I was heating up. Finally, at the 3.3 mile mark I stopped and walked. When I felt a bit cooler I finished up the last two-thirds of a mile and called it a day.
Conditions:Hour: noon
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 90 degrees
Humidity: 9 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
Injury update: Nada.sunday, may 27, 2012
Tempo Run
Distance: 6.17 miles
Time: 52:12
Pace: 8:32
Comments: There was a bit of a cool snap and I got out the door pretty early so this was about as ideal conditions as I could possibly have hoped for the run.
I pretty much just wanted to get in six good miles but found myself having no trouble dropping into the slightly faster pace I was doing a few weeks ago. Instead of pushing things with a longer stride I went back to focusing on the faster turnover.
Pretty much the whole run went well and there were no problems with overheating or exhaustion. Just a nice smooth automatic workout. Delightful.
Conditions:Hour: 6:40 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 57 degrees read morethursday, may 24, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 57:57
Pace: 9:38
Comments: At this point, I've really given up even the pretense of training for any kind of race and am just running every other day or so to keep from letting my conditioning evaporate completely. The heat is starting to get ugly. Even though I was out the door reasonably early, it was already pushing it temperature-wise.
This one was slow, plodding and unartful. I didn't make any attempt to pretend it was anything else. But I got it done and now can get some work taken care of today.
Conditions:Hour: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 86 degrees
Humidity: 17 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona read moretuesday, may 22, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 34:53
Pace: 8:43
Comments: The day after my last run, I got up exhausted and just couldn't seem to shake the lethargy. I chalked it up to the heat but instead of bouncing back during the day I just kept feeling worse. The next morning it was clear I done caught some kind of bug or mild sinus infection.
So I've pretty much felt like crap the few times I've been able to pull myself out of bed. I finally didn't feel horrible when I got up this morning but I'm a good ways from being perky and whatever. So this run was just a slog to the end.
I felt like ass the whole way and was stunned to see that I kept my pace under nine minutes per mile when it was over. Hopefully my next outing will be back in the routine.
read morefriday, may 18, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 53:31
Pace: 8:55
Comments: Woke up a bit earlier than I expected and took advantage by getting the run in first thing. As usual, it was tough getting started but the cooler temperature was really nice.
I didn't eat well yesterday and so there wasn't a hell of a lot in the tank. On the upside, that kept me from running this too fast as I sometimes am wont to do when I feel I've got the legs for it. I really just need to get my distance back into a reasonable range before trying to hit faster paces.
So it turned out to be a solid, if unspectacular, effort and a nice start for these earlier runs I need to make an integral part of my routine.
Conditions:Hour: 5:15 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete read moretuesday, may 15, 2012
Recovery Run
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 44:33
Pace: 8:53
Comments: This was a bear of a run. I got woken up at 4 a.m. with a charlie horse. Delightful. It was still sore when I got up a few hours later. I had a couple of interviews that kept me from getting out the door first thing. By the time I got on the pavement, it was already pretty hot out.
Between the heat, the sun, a pretty stiff breeze and my soreness, this was a battle from start to finish. I felt strong enough to make it the entire way but it certainly wasn't easy, particularly on the final mile when all three elements hit me full on. A recovery pace but not a lot of recovering on this one.
Conditions:Hour: 9:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear 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 morefriday, may 11, 2012
Trail Run
Distance: 6.00 miles
Time: 58:47
Pace: 9:47 m/mi
Comments: It's been a good six weeks since the last time I was out on the South Mountain trail loop and, lordy, has my conditioning eroded quite a bit. I was almost ten minutes slower than I was in mid March. Yeesh.
Not that I was overly surprised. It's been a battle just getting the miles in the last two weeks and when you add the rising temperatures (and woeful diet) on top of that... well, excellence isn't really in the cards.Still, this was a very good run considering. I slogged my way through a lot of it but there weren't that many people on the trail and the saguaro cactus were all in bloom. There was a drencher of a storm earlier in the week so I expect it will be even greener next time I go out. read more
wednesday, may 09, 2012
Easy Run
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 55:21
Pace: 9:13
Comments: Temperatures are getting rough. I went out significantly earlier today but the heat was about the same. I'll be battling sunrise before too long.
After settling for shorter runs than I had hoped the past few outings I was determined to get six miles today. As a result, I went out WAY slow and let myself get even more glacial with the pace as the course demanded. I was pretty damn hot the last mile and a half but shuffled in at just about 10 min/mi.
Conditions:Hour: 9:00 a.m.read more
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 88 degrees
Humidity: 18 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3
