Last down week before we taper

This was the last down week before the marathon on October 4th. Next weekend is the last race prep after which it’s a two week taper. Long run was right under 16 miles averaging a 7:44 min/mile pace. Leg’s definitely don’t feel snappy but the race is three weeks away so hope they’ll be ready by then.

2 Soul Busters Down, 2 to Go before Portland

Today was our second “key workout” or what used to be called the Soul Buster for the Team Rogue. The last one was a 22 mile run with 10 at marathon goal pace (MGP). Today’s was quite a bit tougher. The total run was between 20 and 24 miles. After a 2 mile warm-up we ran alternating 3 mile sets at MGP and half marathon goal pace (HMGP). I’m aiming for a 2:55 marathon in Portland which puts my MGP at 6:40 min/mile and my HMGP around 6:20 min/mile

Going into today I wanted to start at those places and then run each set 5 seconds faster to see if I can get down to a 6:30 min/mile pace for my last three miles. I think I’m just where I need to be for Portland, as long as I don’t get injured I should be on track for a good chance at a 2:55 marathon. The workout today ended up being:

.            Mile 1  Mile 2   Mile 3   Avg Pace
MGP       6:37     6:33     6:50         6:40
HMGP    6:22     6:11      6:15         6:16
MGP       6:35     6:23     6:34         6:31
HMGP    6:13     6:20      6:12        6:15
MGP       6:23     6:22      6:26        6:24

That’s 2 soul busters down and 2 to go. The next one is one I’ve never managed to complete successfully in previous training seasons so that one will be interesting.

The route for the 22 miler

As my last post said, it really was hilly

Hills From Heaven

Hills, hills and more hills

I’ve never run the full version of “Hills to Heaven” before, coming off injury or starting on a different schedule from others. Jason, Mus and I ran 2 miles ahead of time and then joined the group for the fun on the hills. I ran the 20 mile version, here’s a link to the 18 mile version that includes the 2 mile adder from the Rogue maps page. Overall pace was a 7:52 min/mile pace with a very easy warm-up and once we got through the hills it was a consistent effort that put me right around a 7:30 min/mile range:

9:04
8:17
8:26
8:13
8:04
8:02
8:06
7:39
8:05
7:35 (Down Far West)
9:04 (Ladera Norte with 4 walk breaks
7:46
7:24
7:29
7:28
7:30
7:33
7:29
7:29
7:43
7:29
7:18
1:48 (quarter mile)

The other good things with the run was I didn’t feel any pain or soreness in either of my legs. Need to keep icing the legs and stretching the calfs and hope I can keep going without injury.

Humility and learning to survive on a long run

Today’s 22 mile long run was not easy by any means, it was slow but not easy. Last week after our long run Steve was ragging on us for using the word slow run, reminding us that in our base building we’re all running easy not slow. Well today, there was no easy no matter what pace I tried to run … so it was just plain old slow. I’ll go into a little more on the run but before I do I have to thank Mus, Damon, Ramon, Andrew and Ken for keeping me alive on today’s run. If they weren’t running in front of me today I would have walked a lot of the run today.

We started at 5:30 and I forgot my electrolyte pills and sun glasses at the Rogue Annex so I ran back right as we started to grab both. The guys were a little under a quarter mile ahead of me and I never really caught up for a while. After a mile it was obvious to me today would be a tough run, I was drenched with sweat and knew I’d need to hydrate well and would make use of the extra thermolyte pills I packed in case it was hot. Just when I’d have the guys in sight I’d see a water fountain and take a quick drink. Between Rogue and the the Mopac Foot Bridge I stopped twice for water, when we got to the water at the Mopac Foot Bridge I finally caught up with the guys since they stopped for water. That was the first of 2 thermolyte pills from a set of 4. I figured I should just take them now and plan on 2 every 40 or so minutes so I would absorb any water I took in well. The run was a pretty standard up Lake Austin Blvd, then Scenic, Mount Bonnel, Balcones to Hancock … on the way back taking Pecos. I could never really keep up with the guys, I tended to fall of the back on each section after the water stop, catch up at the water stop and then off we’d go again. I’d set my mind on just running today based on effort, not closing or pushing and was glad I did otherwise it would have been a disappointing run. I’m not sure I could have pushed even if I wanted to … and if the price I’d pay the rest of the weekend or week would be worth it.

The temperature wasn’t to bad, under 80 degrees but the humidity was rough. This is for me the first true summer weather run and it’ll take a few of these to get acclimatized so in 2 weeks I hope a run like today’s isn’t as … well death marchish mentally. It was good run to realize that there is only so much you can control and just chugging along with what you can do on any given do is all you can ask.

Thanks again for the run folks.

Current Wins: First 22 mile run of the season, work trip to Berkeley

Current Losses: Humdity, little to no cooking

Good 27+ mile run with the team

This was my first week back up on my mileage in the 70 mile per week range and my second run over 14 miles since January. February was spent dealing with my left leg which had a lingering injury that moved down the outside of the leg, around to the tendon sheath and then into the posterior. This has left my endurance and speed off where it needs to be so the 27+ mile run today was going to be a challenge. It was even more challenging for the people doing the real workout.

The “real workout” was a downhill run from North Austin down to some hills that included Red Bud, Stratford and Barton Hills. At mile 20 you hit the track at Austin High and ran 6 miles on the track. The first two miles at marathon goal pace, the next two at half marathon pace and the last two at 10 k pace … followed by a cool-down and soak at Barton Springs.

Since I’ve recovering from injury Steve gave me an out and wanted me to run the 6 miles at marathon goal pace. I’m still not sure what exact shape I’m in. When we did this workout for CIM I couldn’t keep my paces after a mile and a half, I mean I couldn’t keep MGP, I was running close to 8 minute miles towards the end instead of my 10k target of 6:10 … so let’s say that in addition to the injury/recovery phase I’m going through I also had some mental demons today.

I’ve decided I’m not in a 2:50 marathon shape, probably somewhere between a 2:52:30 and 2:55 marathon on a good day and a good course so I decided to try for the 2:52:30 based marathon pace which is 6:35 minutes per mile, or around 1:38 minutes per lap on the track. Here’s how the 6 miles went:

Lap1   Lap2  Lap3   Lap4   Mile Time
1:38    1:38    1:39    1:40    6:35
1:38    1:40    1:38    1:39    6:35
1:37    1:38    1:38    1:38    6:33
1:40    1:38    1:38    1:38    6:34
1:38    1:38    1:39    1:38    6:33
1:40    1:40    1:37    1:35    6:33

When I was running the miles I didn’t really feel like I was hitting the paces. I knew that Mike and the 3 hour train were going to be going from a 6:50 to a 6:30 to a 6:10 pace so I expected them to start passing me and Mike did come charging by the last couple of miles. The support on the track was great, Ruth, Steve and Karen were spread out on the track with words of encouragement and some tips (move your arms … thanks Ruth). All in all I’m happy with where I am, I wish this pace felt easier but this is where I am, a little over a month left for Boston and to figure out my plan.

Also, thanks to Mike, Damon, Kristen, and Jason for the company throughout the run. There were others there too but these are the folks I ran most of the run with together. The positive thoughts helped me with the miles on the track as the mental demons surfaced. I couldn’t give up on my 6 miles at MGP when everybody was giving everything they had for the “real workout”. Nice job out there today. And remember we just ran a sub 3:30 marathon today on our long training run … ok if you don’t include the water breaks

First long run since the marathon

Today was an easy 10 mile run with the Team. It was nice to loosen the legs up. Overall it felt good, a little humid but otherwise comfortable. My right calf is still a little tight which then impacts the Achilles but I think it’s under control. Looking at my gradual build up back into base phase I’m hoping to do run 50 miles this week with a 14 mile long run, then a 16 miler before heading back into the 20 mile weekend long run area. Barring injuries I’ll peak at the end of Jan and then try and maintain a base between 70 and 75 miles a week from Feb till Boston in April.

Last long run – check

Today was a 13 mile run, we’re one week out now from CIM. It was a easy long run with us closing the last 15 or so minutes. Total run was around a 7:30 pace and I’m guessing I was in the low 6 min pace range for my last two miles.

Today was also another test of the race gear. I wore the Team Rogue singlet and shorts, race socks, pinned Gus as I would (had an extra one to pretend) and also the termolytes. For the termolytes I used Mike’s patented technique which worked great … thanks Mike for the technique and the baggies. Everything seems to be in place now as far as those logistics go, now it’s a matter of going out and running the race according to plan.

Current Wins: Aches and pains maintained at the same level, 4 day weekend, blue

Current Losses: Overcast sky, swelling on underside of right foot

Good run but not the smartest

Today was our last long run, another Soul Buster. The idea was to warm-up around a mile and a half before running hard on a track, some people went all out, I’ve got some lingering tweaks from compensating for my foot soreness so I decided a 5:30 mile would be good to get lactic acid built up but keep my stride in control. The mile ended being at 5:30 exactly so that was good.

Then a 2 mile recovery followed by 10 miles at MGP. The 3 miles points (3, 6, and 9) were marked out by cones and I’d gone into gmap last night to see were (round about the 3 mile marks were) since I don’t wear a garmin. My overall pace was good but my mile paces and effort seemed erratic. I’m usually very good about running my own run but got sucked in by the guys I was running with … lesson learned, CIM will be a solo effort mentally. I realize there may be folks running with me at the 3:00 goal but our running styles are way too different and I need to keep trusting myself.

During the 10 mile MGP I was hoping to use each 3 mile set as kind of a way to model the race at CIM, running the first 3 at the pace my first phase of close to 18 miles would be (6:50) then a little faster till 22 (6:47) and then 6:45 or faster. Those are pretty close to each other but really it was about the slight increase in effort and gauging it.

That was not what I did, each mile was erratic and I ended up at:

3 Mile Splits    Pace
20:21             6:47
20:22             6:47
20:03             6:41
6:47 (last mile)

Over all 10 Miles: 1:07:33 at 6:45 Pace

A good run from an overall pace perspective but wasn’t what I was mentally trying to do so I have some work to do there. The end of the MGP run put us at the Rock and then it was up through Barton Hills and winding our way back to Rogue.

Overall run had my pace right between a 7:20 and 7:25 pace.

Current Wins: Injuries and tweaks getting under control, cold(er) weather, thermolytes seem to work for me, box of GU for the race

Current Losses: Nutrition, little time with family,

Feeling the pain I should after a 50k run

Today marked a pretty nice milestone. I ran for a longer time and distance than I ever have before. 4 hours, 6 minutes and 21 seconds for a distance of 31.33 miles … a pace around 7:52 min per mile. My first marathon in 2002 was in a time of 3 hours and 57 minutes (a little over 9 minute miles). A training run of this distance seems insane but we’ve been regularly running 20+ mile Saturday runs this season so this was a run that really did bring about the fatigue I remember from earlier training seasons.

From ‘04 to ‘06 when I was training with Rogue for marathons I remember how after every run over 16 miles I’d finish the run all tight, sore and waddling. This time with Team Rogue, we’ve been training for almost 25 weeks, we’ve had lots of runs over 20 miles and because of the big base mileage phase those haven’t really resulted in the tightening and soreness I remember from previous training seasons. Today’s 30+ miler brought all those fond memories back.

I was glad to have Bruce, Damon, Charles, Jason, Ken and Mike’s company on during the run. This was one where having people there to run with made a huge difference. There were lots of ups and downs, feelings of “I can’t go on” followed by “this is fine” … goes to show that with long distance running how you feel at any given time isn’t really a make or break issue, many times you can just hold on, get through whatever is bothering you and come out the other end stronger.