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saturday, may 18, 2013

Long Run

Distance: 9:00 miles
Time: 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.

The course turned out to be almost precisely nine miles and I finished with an average pace of 9:33, pretty much my regular run speed these days. I'd like to have that down by at least a minute by the fall and my race speed at least 30 seconds faster than that.

Conditions:

Hour: 6:30 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 73 degrees
Humidity: 83 percent
Wind: 15 mph gusts on north shore
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence 3

Injury update: Nada.

monday, may 06, 2013

Tempo Run

Distance: 3.0 miles
Time: 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.

The result was my first "real" tempo run since Arizona. I did the first two laps at sub 8:30 pace and decided to push it on the last one hitting 7:47 pace, the first sub 8:00 mile I've done in a workout in quite some time. And, yeah, speed still hurts like hell.

Conditions:

Hour: 5:20 p.m.
Surface: asphalt
Weather: clear
Temperature: 78 degrees
Humidity: 38 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Swiss Avenue, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence

Injury update: Nothing.

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.
Surface: asphalt/concrete/gravel
Weather: clear
Temperature: 81 degrees
Humidity: 60 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Santa Fe Trail, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence

Injury update: Nothing.

sunday, 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
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 59 degrees
Humidity: 80 percent
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence

Injury update: During the week I had a soreness on the outside of my right foot up towards the toe. It wasn't enough to cause a limp but persistent enough to take notice. No issue during the run though.

monday, 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
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence

Injury update: Nothing at all.

saturday, 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.

Since my schedule is about to get stupid busy I'm probably not going to be able to do anything close to a regular workout routine for the next few weeks but that will just give me a bit more time to recover from this race. I'll still try to get a run in every few days, even if it's just a few miles.

Conditions:

Hour: 7:45 a.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 45 degrees
Humidity: 61 percent
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence

Injury update: See above.

sunday, april 14, 2013

Big D Marathon

Race: The Big D Marathon
Official Time:5:21:52 (27.3 miles)
Watch Time: 4:49:54 (26.2 miles)

Comments: This was not my finest race effort by any stretch of the imagination. I knew going in that I was undertrained and the odds were enormously against me but I didn't realize how terrible this race was going to be.

First off lets address the issues that shouldn't have been part of the deal. The folks who put this race on, Mellew Productions, were absolutely awful. They sold this race as a smaller, by-the-basics event. I liked that. It was something I had gotten used to in Arizona where there are a number of distance races with a thousand or so entrants.

Instead of being frugal, they turned out to just be cheap. I passed a lot of it off as part of the deal but it turns out the issue extended to the way they managed the race.

Somehow these geniuses screwed up leading the runners out of the Fair Park area and succeeded in adding more than a mile to the course. Then, for the rest of the day, when we mentioned it to any organizer on the way, they just blew it off.

(I tried contacting Mellew Productions by Twitter and email to get an explanation and refund but, predictably, they have completely ignored my requests.)

Now adding a mile to any marathon is a serious problem but doing so on this course was downright dangerous because the conditions turned out to be extremely challenging.

It was cooler earlier in the week but by Sunday we kind of knew what to expect -- start line temperature of about 60 degrees and, depending on how long it took you, about 80 at the finish. Add to that the course went through an industrial area the final two miles you had to contend with the sun beating on you the whole way. And this is what ended up happening.

I got out very well at the start. I knew a fast beginning would be disastrous so I tried to keep myself in the 10 minute mile range. Of course, I was going about thirty seconds better than that most of the first third of the course. The tree lined neighborhoods and a bit of cloud cover kept the sun from being too much of a problem at this point so I tried to take advantage of any downhills to conserve energy. I was walking though the aid stations and making it a point to get a good drink of fluid at each one.

Things got ugly when we got to the lake. As the course wound around White Rock Lake it gave it's first long gradual ascent. Then, it threw the first big hill at as as it led into the Lake Highlands neighborhood and the host of the uphills I was concerned about followed soon after. Seriously people, they call it "Lake Highlands" for a reason. I tried to take the ascents easy and ride the descents but I could tell my reserves were going quickly and my quads were taking a lot of abuse.

At the "halfway point" I told the timer that he was at the 14-mile-mark. He said a lot of runners were telling him that but "this is where they told me to set up." I know it's not your fault dude, but you could let one of the idiot organizers know. A guy in a Mellew Productions shirt at the 20 mile marker (but 21 miles into the race) was similarly unhelpful.

Coming out of the neighborhood and back around White Rock Lake was when the course started to turn the screws. I knew I was going to have a tough battle on my hands at about the 15.5 mile mark but then things got ugly. There was a 10 mph wind coming off the lake that simply battered me. It was at about the 18 mile point I walked for the first time. There was no way I could keep up against that and the rolling incline of the lake trail and get to the finish.

When the wind lessened and the trail leveled off I was able to get back into my 11 minute mile pace but then the course went into the Lakeland area and threw another series of hills at us. About 100 feet of ascent in less than a mile. And, by now, the temperatures were well in the 70s and enough overhead the trees only gave limited protection. The neighborhoods were pretty but I wasn't really able to appreciate them.

At this point I started walking the uphills and trying to "run" down the descents. But because I was nearing the end of my energy reserves and the agony of my quads, my "running" was little better than a shuffling jog. Going down Swiss Avenue, which is a long easy descent, I had to walk every quarter mile or so. The hope was to conserve enough for the end which, by now, I was reasonably sure included the extra mile courtesy the incompetent race director.

Even though there were no more hills the heat was my undoing at the very end. I mustered enough energy to shuffle run most of mile 23 and 24 (at an electric 12+ minute mile pace) but after that I was done. There was nothing left in my legs. Nada. My walking pace was reasonably decent for mile 25 but at mile 26 I was even struggling with that.

And, sure enough, there was an extra mile to complete at at the very end. And it was simply awful.

In the end, my watch time came to 4 hours and 50 minutes or so. That was minus the extra distance and the bathroom breaks. My official time was a good half hour more than that but who cares? This was a pretty complete disaster with the single saving grace that I don't think I injured myself in the effort.

My goal was just to finish another marathon and that I accomplished. The strategy now is to rest up and ease back into general training over the next month or so. Then segue into strength work over the summer. As awful as this race was, I have to have some conditioning as a result of it. The hope is I can build on that over the summer and then translate that into a good marathon effort in the fall.

Conditions:

Start: 7:30 a.m.
Surface: concrete/asphalt
Weather: clear
Temperature: 62 degrees
Humidity: 79 percent
Wind: calm
Location: Fair Park, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Everything hurt at some point.

sunday, 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
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Nada.

monday, 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
Humidity: 28 percent
Wind: calm
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence

Injury update: Nada.

saturday, 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
Humidity: 93percent
Wind: calm
Location: Santa Fe Trail, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Injury update: Nada.

wednesday, 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.

Conditions:

Hour: 6:00 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 40 degrees
Humidity: 54 percent
Wind: gusts
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence

Injury update: Nada.

monday, 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.

Conditions:

Hour: 6:00 p.m.
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 54 degrees
Humidity: 21 percent
Wind: 10 mph gusts
Location: White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Adidas Sequence

Injury update: Nada.