track fan

Happy November everyone!

1:29:39 (probably a long 10).  Today was my last workout until the race - yea!

6 x 800 w/400 recovery (3:30, 3:31, 3:32, 3:31, 3:31, 3:29)  + 3 x 200 w/200 recovery. 

Pretty stuck on 3:31, even though I really was focusing on 3:30's!  This week and last weeks workouts were the first speed work (5 - 10K pace work versus 15K and higher) I have done in almost 12 months and my very first ever at altitude, so I guess I am happy with it.  In the past I have run these too fast and really struggled the last couple, this time was the first time that I felt like I could have done few more (if I had too ... that is not to say I wasn't happy to finish ;-) ) -- so all and all, I am happy with the effort today!

A fast finish long run this weekend, a few 1000's on Tuesday and then race time, I am nervous and excited ...

I wanted to share a paragraph from the Big Sur 1/2 Marathon instruction sheet. It is cool there are corrals in this race -- though the range is pretty large, it is not often that Dean and I are in the same corral!!  I think the "A" corral are estimated finish times of 1:15 - 1:45 - but apparently they take this corral thing very seriously!

SEEDING AND CORRALS:  Half Marathon runners will be in designated corrals A through D based on predicted finish times.   Your corral letter is printed on the lower left hand corner of your bib.  All participants in the Team Competition will be in Corral       A.  All Half Marathon Walkers and 10-Mile Walkers will be in Corral E.  Look for the signs indicating the area of your corrals.  Except for Corral A these are loosely formed corrals, so please line up accordingly.  You may elect to move back to a different  corral but please don’t move forward.  Corral A will be a “hard” corral; only those with a Corral A bib will be permitted entry.       Be   sure to fill out the emergency information on the back of your bib.

43:28  -- really easy run around Liberty Park.  Nice morning -- crisp and clean, grass was covered in frost.  Was not as tired as I had anticipated, but was not easy either (from a neuromuscular level, cardiovascularly was great).

31:20 easy run down S Temple and back up ...

After a morning of many emotions, I got my run started late today, I did not feel as "fresh" as I had wanted ... luckily it was a very short run.

Congratulations to all the FRB participants in the Olympic Trials Marathon today -- great job getting there and running well.

It was an incredible race today ... stunning victory on the part of Ryan Hall (I was happy to have picked 5 out of the top 10 with 2 in the "right" spots, yea Brian Sell!).

I was so saddened by the death of Ryan Shay.  I was a fan of his when he ran the 10K for ND and also of his wife while she ran for Stanford.  My heart goes out to his family and friends.

1:44:20 - same run as last week except I ran the last two miles at 1/2 marathon pace.  Slower on the way out compared to last week (by about 10 secs), faster on the way back (54:02/50:18; 8:26/7:51) - really do not feel as "zippy" as I would like, I feel sluggish and my legs feel heavy.  The fast part did not actually feel hard, but it wasn't easy either - and I was really tired starting out.

47:43 - same Monday run as usual -- was going to complain about how hard this run was -- I just felt like I was slogging along - until I got home and saw that this was faster than usual (by about 30-45 secs) - it still felt slow!

1:17:00

5 x 1000 w/200 recovery (4:34, 4:35, 4:35, 4:31, 4:36) + 3 x 200 w/200 recovery (51, 52, 51)  -- sea level pace should be 4:25 - 4:31 pace so I planned to add 5 secs for altitude (these were about 7:20 pace).

did not feel as easy as I would have liked - until the last one, because the 4th one was too fast and when I dialed in the appropriate pace it felt pretty easy ;-).  

44:04 

easy run to liberty park 6 x :25 w/1` recovery.

the downhill felt great (to the park) - the uphill felt ok too -- I just took it easy.  I had to go later in the day because of some things that came up at work ... my legs actually feel better when they get a chance to wake up rather than roll out of bed and run!

So, I have no chance of winning this race, it is competitive enough that I will be lucky to be in the top 5 in my age group (I think the age group winner last year was a 47 year old who ran a 1:31:xx) - and still I am excited and nervous, I am writing this down for my own edification more than anything!  I have to realize, at this point, that I have done all I could have done - I was patient when I needed to be, I worked hard when I was supposed to, and I took it easy when it was time ... so, now, I just need to know that I can do is get some rest, eat well (and not trip over anything and break my arm or something stupid like that) and see where I am ... sigh.  The good news, it is only 13.1 miles - and even though I have had some spectacular race "meltdowns" it is not as long to the finish line as you guys who run marathons!

36:28

short run along the finish of the course. Looks like the last mile or two is pretty flat to downhill -- and beautiful, right along the coastline. We saw two deer! pretty interesting seeing we were basically in the city with the beach on one side and the deer on the other side of the coast highway.

Ran a little hard, as I was running with Dean, but not too hard as he was running pretty slow.

on my way out to jog for about 30 mins ... might not get a chance to update the blog until after the race as we are meeting up with some friends today -- the plan is to hang out - sit around and get caught up with our friends!

well, I am a little disappointed, despite being 3rd in my age group . The wind was really bad, and I had an unfortunate emergency pit stop at mile 6 (probably cost me almost 2 minutes as I had to jog to a tree) ... but, I finished. It was hilly, but that did not really hurt as bad as the wind ... at about mile 8.5 or so it turned into a tailwind, but man oh man the first 8 miles hurt bad!

The GREAT news was that Dean ran a 1:19:52 and won 2nd masters (and $300 - so dinner is on him!)! Pretty good for a guy who was complaining about his knee this morning (and almost didn't start) - he looked really strong on the back part of the course!

Splits:

7:46, 7:43, 7:26, 7:42, 7:40, 8:57 (bathroom), 7:46, 15:14 (mile markers missing -- turnaround was at 7.5 miles -- was still windy and uphill until mile 9, which was where the mile markers seemed to be in place again) 7:51, 7:29, 8:13 (up hill again, but thankfully no wind!), 7:31, :43

40:25

Nice trail run outside of my office (had to sneak a run in between many meetings today) it has been a while since I have done much trail running, but it was a beautiful day and I enjoyed it a lot.  Legs felt really good (I guess I did not run hard enough on Sunday!) -- I have a couple weeks of easy jogging before I start doing anything "serious" again -- so I plan to enjoy the time! 

33:10

Ran to Liberty Park and home -- nice day, I love 30F weather!

43:09

 Nice morning - a little cold at the start but really nice near the end.  I actually almost slipped on some ice!  Thank goodness I was running so slowly!

about 43:00 -- ran 2 laps in Sugarhouse Park (31:25) and then helped my friend with a workout at Highland track -- she is getting ready for the Atlanta 1/2 marathon on Thursday and I was calling her splits for a 5 x 1000 workout in preparation.  Ran back and forth on the infield lots of times and ran her 200 recoveries with her.  Maybe longer than 5, but it not by much.

I am getting antsy to run again -- but Greg has me taking 2 weeks of down time ...

41:45

Same run as Thursday - with one loop around Liberty Park.  A little more than 1:15 faster ... I pushed it a little since my mileage is low right now and I figured a little stimulus wouldn't hurt anything.  Felt pretty good. 

32:08 - easy run to Liberty Park and back (ran about 1/2 mile in the park).

46:23 -- BST run - did two very  hilly mile loops in the middle of the run -- felt pretty good after an initial warm-up.  I don't know if it was the cold air, this "virus-cold-thing-whatever" I have been fighting for two months or that I went out too fast, but the first mile I was sucking air like noone's business ...

Nice day though, can't complain.

31:20 -- long 3.5 trying to take it easy because this is the last of my recovery weeks, but since I am not running as much I tend to run much harder! Felt really good! Tomorrow starts the beginning of real mileage again.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

53:03 -- nice run on the BST.  I did 3 of the same loops I did on Wednesday.  I actually kept track of my "splits" (segments actually).  The whole run is a trail run, lots of up and down hills and the footing (though not as bad as some trail runs) is very uneven.  Despite the uneven footing making the run generally slow I really do think these trail runs help strengthen my ankle and foot stabalizer muscles.  I don't have nearly the PF and achilles problems when I run on the trails as I do when I run most of my runs on roads and even worse sidewalks.  But, I do fall and break bones on trails so I guess there is a trade-off ;-).

So, the little loop I do is less than a mile long, sort of down hill on the first part, then flat to very steep at the end (so steep that it is really impossible for me to run up it fast at all) - the last 600 - 800 meters are a gradual to steep incline. However, I do try to use these uphill sections as a "weight" workout, focusing on form and body carriage so that I am using muscles effectively.  A type of mini-hill repeat.  Once at the top, it is a nice downhill recovery and generally feels pretty good (except after doing 2 or 3 of them!).  One thing about being in "recovery" mode the past two weeks, I really do feel I can push myself a little on some of my runs, because I don't have to worry about recoverying from difficult stimulus during the week - and how this would affect my key workouts.

Anyway - I hope to use these little "segment" splits to test my fitness over the next few months.  It took me 15:00  to get to the loop trail then I ran 3 of them in 8:12, 8:15, 8:12, and back to the office in 13:36 (the last mile is a very nice gradual downhill). I am not as concerned with pace per mile, because the trail runs are just so much slower in general for the effort required.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I did, although being alone at work today is not much fun (no one else seemed to come in!).

40:58 - well, after all that "blog talk" yesterday about trail running, I hurt my knee yesterday!  It hurt all day and all night - luckily, it does not hurt much when I run ... so maybe I should just run all day ;-).  I am icing and using arnica gel ... I think it is from my achilles/PF - the bane of my running these days.   Despite the complaining, my legs feel good because of the low mileage and I am zipping right along these days (for me!).

1:02:31 - ran with Dean -- lots of hills up to 11th and then to City Creek Canyon and back.  Nice day!

45:13 easy run on BST (before snow starts falling - actually before the rain/snow mixture starts which is going to be worse!).  Two of the hilly loops.

43:02 -- took it pretty slow today because the roads were icy!  I even wore my wrist splint (that I generally reserve for the trails).  The wrist that I broke in September (on the trails!) has been really sore and swollen the last few days, I wonder if I will forever be able to predict the weather now??

 I hope everyone stays safe on the roads and warm!
 

48:47

Ran pretty easily to Liberty Park, did 2 3/4 loops and then came home.  I have been trying to run the same time from the park (uphill) as to the park and have been pretty successful lately.  It generally just means I take it easier the 1/2 of the run and then work harder (not too much, but  not back off) on the second 1/2.  It is nice to be able to do!  I hope I can keep it up once the mileage picks back up.  I am hoping to hit in the 60s as I rebuild base over the next couple of months.

 Have a great Thursday everyone!

44:58

pretty nice run up Emmigration Canyon -- hilly and tough, but slow enough to be nice.

I am having some issues with my quads ... they are way too tight and it is causing me to have pretty severe knee pain at the end of the day (after I have been sitting for a long time).  I need to use my foam roller and stretch more ... I am writing to embed the idea in my conscience mind!!

Have a nice weekend everyone.