M'kay

LM warmup, 2 miles in 15:24, 7:42/mi, HR 147 with 0.5 mile 10K effort.  10K race in 38:22, 7:11/mi, HR 168.  2 mile cooldown in 17:07, 8:33/mi, HR 130.

Cool morning and foggy (~48F).  Race started at 8:30, so a 5:45 wakeup and 1 hr drive to the race.  Uneventful warmup.  Race goals were to PR on this flat course, and try to get under 38:00.  Lined up in the front, and noticed at least 2 really fast-looking runners in the area.  Turns out there were 3.  On-time start, and I went to about 8th right out of the gate.  Had a bit of a fast start, but not as bad as some.  Got passed by one more runner after the start (about 0.5 miles in), but I reeled him in before too long and wound up passing a few more, so I'd say my start was good.

Garmin splits were 6:07, 6:12, 6:08, 6:06, 6:17, 6:01, & 1:28 for a garmin distance of 6.27.  The slow miles were on the Chehalis Western Trail, which it turns out at this time of year, it completely covered in leaves for most of the length we ran.  Not too slippery, but traction wasn't ideal.  Reeled in a couple of runners in the first mile or so, another on mile 2, a third on mile 3, and the last one late in the 6th mile.  The last one to real in was the hardest, but the one I worked hardest at....I really didn't want to get beat by a guy 16 years older than me!  Fortunately, I managed to suffer a bit more towards the end, and got him by about 10 seconds.

Felt pretty decent all things considered throughout the race.  Breathing was pretty well controlled for the first 3 miles, then went to just hard for the next 2.5.  Only the last 0.7 was it really starting to feel stressed, and that's about when my form really wanted to come apart (but didn't)!

So, happy to get the PR.  Wished I could've gone under 38, but that leaves a nice juicy goal for my next 10K.  The next fastest runner was the 3rd place guy in 35:20, so I've got quite a bit of work to catch him :).  Now, only a nice sunny day where I get to fix my fence that took a hit from a tree knocked down by the winds last Friday.

LM warmup, 6 miles in 45:09, 7:31/mi, HR 154, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints. 1.5 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs with 1/4 mile jog. Stretching.

Beautiful day.  Sunny and mid 50s.  Feel pretty good from yesterday's race.  Legs got a bit tired on the hill sprints, but could be that I moved from 12 x 10s to 12 x 12s.  In any event, slowed me down a tad on the return but still felt really good.  Hope I didn't overdo things for tomorrow, but this has been a really good stretch of training and racing, so I'll just try to enjoy it.

LM warmup, 10 miles in 1:13:13, 7:19/mi, HR 158, 1 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Another beautiful day (56F).  Legs just wanted to go today.  Even with the faster pace, breathing was well under control and effort easy.  Legs started feeling the effort about 7 miles in but not too badly (just striding out more than normal) and it felt good the whole time.  Even the last uphill mile felt really good and I wound up accelerating into that one more than I'd intended.  Just one of those days that feels great to run.

LM warmup, 6 miles in 45:47, 7:37/mi, HR 153, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints at mile 3 hill, 1.5 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Felt pretty good today.  After the hill repeats, legs were pretty dead, but managed to carry me home.  All of yesterday's mysterious post-run foot and leg pain that cropped up a few hours after a glorious run seems to have disappeared.

LM warmup, 10 miles in 1:10:19, 7:01/mi, HR 160, with 6 tempo miles in 6:43 (up), 7:04 (up), 7:16 (up), 6:09 (down), 6:11 (down), 6:08 (down), 6:35/mi average. 

Managed to get started during a bad patch of weather with gusty winds and slashing rain.  Yippee.  Wind was worse going uphill (of course) and I had some mental motivational issues with this run.  Wound up taking 2 15 sec pauses, one at the 2 mile mark and a second at the 3 mile mark.  I don't feel too badly about taking them, since the weather was really beating me up and making things miserable, but on the downhill return, I got my focus back and really pushed to not fall off-pace to make up for it.  Surprised that the average pace was so close to flat HM pace (6:31/mi) once I got to the tallying stage.  Couldn't bring myself to go back out for a walk w/ the dogs today (although the rain stopped during my 2 cooldown miles).

LM warmup, 4 miles in 30:18, 7:34/mi, HR 147, 2 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunch 3-stage ladder & stretching.

Waited for a break in the rain and rewarded with some sun (47F).  Somewhat (pleasantly) surprised at the pace today....didn't look at the watch until Garmin downloaded the workout and after a gentle 1st mile, everything was pretty quick for easy.  Felt pretty good throughout too.  Hope that holds for the 15 miler tomorrow.

LM warmup, 15 miles in 1:52:14, 7:29/mi, HR 156, with last 2.5 miles hard in 3:08 (down), 6:22 (down), 6:48 (up).  1.5 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Finally succumbed to the fact that Saturday's are too busy to get my long run in....spent the better part of the morning and afternoon at appliance & home stores, so by the time I got back home, I was in no mood (and had no energy) to get a 15 miler in.  So an unscheduled rest day it was, and I just shifted my entire schedule to the right one day. 

Today's weather was nicer, so just overcast, intermittent sprinkles, cool (46F).  Ran up into the state forest lands, so a good steady climb for the first 6.5, steepening (is that a word?) the last 1.5 of those miles, reverse the next 6.5, and the fast finish over 2.5 miles with some slope but pretty tame.  Felt weak the first 3-4 miles, got a good (first) wind going to finish off the climb, decent the next couple of miles on the downhill until about 9 overall when my legs started feeling tired.  Pushed thru until the 12.5 mark, then unleashed what I had left.  Felt like legs just wouldn't go any faster but the lungs wanted too for the first 1.5 (downhill), then the last 1 was just hard.

LM warmup, 6 miles in 46:33, 7:45, HR 147, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Rainy & cool (47F).  Started gimping around this morning unexpectedly.....left quad/hip flexor was causing some pain.  Nearly punted on the run but decided to give it a go and see if things would sort themselves out, figuring it was the pounding of yesterday's downhills.  Sure enough, by a mile or so in things had pretty much resolved.  Hill sprints weren't great but not terrible.  Nothing much else, aside from I'm already tired of this rain.

LM warmup, 7.65 miles in 56:59, 7:27/mi, HR 155, w/ 2 miles warmup, 2 sets of Strides/Drills, 5 x 1K w/ 90 sec rest in 3:34 (up - 5:46/mi), 3:45 (up - 6:04/mi), 3:40 (up and down - 5:55/mi), 3:34 (down - 5:46/mi) , 3:32 (down - 5:42/mi), average 5:51/mi, 2 miles cooldown & stretching.

From sunny to rainy (47F).  Left leg still doesn't feel right.  Not really pain, but certainly discomfort.  Mostly along the outer thigh and quad....just kinda feels funny.  Attacked with the roller this morning and will do so again tonight.  Once again, after the warmup, didn't really notice it again.

Quite nearly a puke run.  First 1K was way too hard and fast....#2 wasn't much better but was the only one below predicted flat 5K pace (5:57/mi).  Third one included a brief unschedule dry heave stop of about 10 seconds, and also included the turn around to head back down.  Holding pace on the flats and even going faster on the downs was not nearly as bad as trying to run fast uphill....do I need a set of refresher strength hill repeats?  Anyway, averaged well below and pretty close to my best predicted 5K pace (5:50/mi, from my last flat half-marathon), so I'll just chalk it up as a good sign.  Now I remember why I prefer longer races....these speeds hurt.

Today, the final 365 day countdown to becoming a Master's runner begins.  Ugh.

LM warmup, 12 miles in 1:29:38, 7:28/mi, HR 156, 1.5 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Sunny and cold (46F).  Felt pretty good throughout....let loose a bit on the last 4 mile downhill.  No uphill mile over 8, last 4 downhill miles under 7.

A big thank you to all of our veterans on Veterans Day, especially those still defending the freedoms we so easily take for granted.  Thank you one and all!!!

Traveled to VA today.  Arrived in the remnants of Hurricane Ida...combined with the long flight, lack of sleep and meetings all day tomorrow, decided to take today off.

LM warmup, 8.77 miles in 1:02:02, 7:04/mi, HR 159, w/ 2 x 15 minute Tempo Intervals in 6:29/mi (HM) & 6:18/mi (10K), & stretching.

Weather still nasty in VA.  Headwinds bad for the first 2 warmup miles & intermittent thru the tempo intervals.  Stopped at ~ 12 minute mark briefly in the 2nd interval because of a bad stitch in my right side that basically forced the pause.  Surprised this workout went as well as it did given the weather, lack of rest & travel induced stress.  I'll take it.

LM warmup, 6 miles in 45:06, 7:30/mi, HR 152, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 2 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Flew back home early this morning.  I think I ran this easy run quickly just to get it over with.  Hill sprints went pretty well.

LM warmup, 13 miles in 1:35:19, 7:20/mi, HR 154, w/ last 3 miles hard in 6:07 (down), 6:01 (down), 6:48 (up).  1 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Breezy and cool.  Really didn't feel like running today.  Even after I got going, just wasn't feeling it today.  Managed a decent run despite all that.  Had to stop at mile 11 for a pit-stop, so the 2nd hard mile was probably faster than it would've been without the break.  Last mile was just hard....glad to be done.

LM warmup, 6 miles in 46:22, 7:43/mi, HR 149, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints at mile 3 hill.  1 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Rainy & breezy (50F).  Still feeling tired and lacking energy.  Sprints strong but uninspired.  Last 3 miles legs were tired from the sprints.  Walking the dogs in the rain wasn't so much fun either, but they needed the exercise.

LM warmup, 10.68 miles in 1:17:21, 7:14/mi, HR 156, w/ 2 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 5 x 2K @ 10K effort in 7:57 (up - 6:25/mi), 8:15 (up - 6:39/mi), 7:50 (up & down - 6:19/mi), 7:18 (down - 5:53/mi), 7:24 (down - 5:58/mi), 6:15/mi average, 2 mile cooldown, & stretching.

Rainy (44F).   Dreading today's workout....just feeling a bit tired and lacking energy.  After a nice 2 mile warmup, the rain started again, not helping the motivation at all.  Fortunately, I used all my jedi mind tricks to get thru the first 2 repeats....after that, I was soaked thru and O2 deprived, so no energy to give to those negative thoughts.  Couldn't feel the legs much since I'd worn shorts & they were numb from the cold rain.  Uphill repeats were really tough.....10K pace is ~ 6:10/mi, so with the hills added in, a 6:15/mi average is pretty good.  One of the hardest workouts I've done in a long time, befitting peak week.

10 miles in 1:17:06, 7:42/mi, HR 145, 1.25 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Cool (45F) but dry (finally).  Other than overall tiredness and yet another emergency pit-stop partway thru the run, nothing special.

LM warmup, 6 miles in 46:23, 7:44/mi, HR 146, 1 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Breezy but dry (46F).  Still tired.  Strong hill sprints today, best in a while.

LM warmup, 13.55 miles in 1:37:18, 7:10/mi, HR 160, with 2 miles warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 3 x 5K @ HM in 21:32 (6:57/mi - uphill), 20:25 (6:35/mi - 1/3 up, 1/3 flat, 1/3 down), and 19:21 (6:14/mi - downhill), & 2 miles cooldown.  Average pace for repeats was 6:35/mi.  Followed up with 1 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Some scattered rain drops but mostly dry and cool (45F).  No desire to go running today, much less a 3 x 5K HM paced workout, but this is peak week so I guess I'm not supposed to feel like doing it by this point.   First 5K felt surprisingly good, even while headed uphill.....got more difficult towards the end (as the grade gradually increased) but I think the faster 10K paced repeats earlier in the week helped to make this seem easy(-ier).  Second repeat was a bit more difficult...probably the last uphill mile on top of the 3 previous uphill miles took their toll....but a good pace overall.  Last 3 I was tired and fought not to fade, mostly dealing with leg tiring issues, not really breathing issues.  Glad I ran this workout.....very difficult, especially after Tuesday's 5 x 2K @ 10K pace workout, so I think this gives me a good confidence boost that I'm ready to race next weekend.  I think given the hilly nature of the course and the last few workouts, I'm probably looking at the 1:25-1:26 range, so probably no PR, but this isn't really a PR type course.  Now it's time to enter taper week and get some rest. 

LM warmup, 4 miles in 29:52, 7:28/mi, HR 148, 2.5 mile brisk walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Cool & breezy but still dry (44F).  Felt pretty decent today.  Dogs were raring to go for their walk, their longest yet.  Now back to stoke the fire.

LM warmup, 12 miles in 1:29:57, 7:29/mi, HR 150, 1.5 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Cool (42F), breezy & some trace rain.  Not feeling it again today but run went okay.  Waiting for the desire to run to return.

LM warmup, 6 miles in 45:25, 7:34/mi, HR 148, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints at mile 3 hill, 1.5 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Nice fall day, partly cloudy with no rain (49F).  Felt a bit tired on the run, but the hill sprints were strong.  Actually, didn't feel so hot for most of the run, but nothing to get excited about.

I'm not officially a hill sprint believer.  I can tell I've made a significant progression over this training cycle in leg strength.  Much of the increased speed is because my strides are longer at the same (180+) turnover.  Even heading uphill, my legs have really started feeling strong.  Most of all, I've kept the hip/groin injury I battled with for several months at bay and I daresay it's much better now than when I started the training.  Much of which I attribute to the steep hill sprints I've been doing twice a week fairly religiously.  I've also found they're a decent predictor of how I'll do in my hard workout the next day (as advertised).  So yes, I'm a fan.

LM warmup, 7.87 miles in 57:40, 7:20/mi, with 3 x 1 mile @ 10K in ~ 6:14 (up), 6:13 (out and back), and 5:58 (down), 1.5 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs, & stretching.

Warmer and mostly dry (55F).  Garmin lost the workout data, so time and splits are from memory.  What I cannot forget is that I felt like crap throughout the workout......the "on" paces felt horribly hard.   It happens.

LM warmup, 8 miles in 58:32, 7:19/mi, HR 156, 2 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Gorgeous day...partly cloudy and 58F.  Even more tired this morning....pushed a bit on the run despite tiredness and made really good time.  Tonight I must start resting more, although with the holidays, it'll be difficult.  Nice long walk w/ dogs to enjoy the fleeting weather.

LM warmup, 6 miles in 44:36, 7:25/mi, HR 154, w/ 8 x 12 sec Hill Sprints at mile 3 hill, 1.5 mile cooldown walk w/ dogs.

Rainy and cool (44F).  Still feeling tired.  Okay hill sprints.  In a bit of a rush to get done for thanksgiving activities.

LM warmup, 7.12 miles in 50:00, 7:01/mi, HR 156, w/ 2 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 3.1 miles in 20 minutes @ HM pace (6:27/mi), 2 mile cooldown.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Sunny and pleasant (47F).  Lackluster warmup, decent effort & feeling 20 minute tempo at HM pace....felt very doable.  Faster cooldown.  Still a bit tired, especially the legs, but starting to come around.

LM warmup, 4 miles in 30:52, 7:43/mi, HR 146, 3 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Registered & picked up packet yesterday, so today is just lazing around the house and trying to shed my headache. 

Decent race....not earth-shattering but not disastrous.  I simply had problems really getting psyched for this race and it certainly showed in the prep....had just started the car to leave the house this morning when I realized I'd forgotten my running shoes.  Enough said?  No?

Ever since I ran the full marathon in 2007 here, I really haven't been too enthused about this particular race.  I recall saying I'd not run this one again because the post-race runner support was shoddy (I had to find *the* lady with the bananas before I was rationed my single banana).  But, times change and in my post-injury race planning, this was the only half marathon I felt would give me enough time to prepare without rushing back.  So Seattle it was.

A very nice day.  Too nice.  Weather forecast to hit 52F, so I figured at 7:30, it'd be in the mid 40s.  Knowing some showers were possible, and a stretch or two with some wind likely, I choose a thin long sleeve shirt under my singlet and my CW-X tights.  Well, the temps were already 53F on the drive up at 5am, so it was definitely on the warm side.  Of course, I'd decided against packing the shorts in my bag, deeming the recent weather cold enough that I'd never wear them.  Oh well.

Arrived in plenty of time, and managed to squander it on 2 trips to the bathroom & multiple trips back to the car for things I'd forgotten.  Timing chip?  Oops.  Small minor details.  So, by the time I finished my 2nd potty break, the starting chute was completely full.  I managed to work to within sight of the start banner and hopped the rails lining the side, but I was still behind the 2 hour pacers and that far again to the start.  This will haunt me later.

Prompt 7:30 am start.  85 seconds later, I finally hit the starting mat.  Spent the next few miles weaving around folks, surging to catch the gaps and trying to stay loose and leverage the nice gradual downhill on mile 2.  Not too successful, but I finally got far enough up that the crowds weren't a big factor anymore.  Going by chip time, I was about 30 seconds behind my target 6:30/mi pace by the 5K point.  Speaking of target pace, I figured a 1:24-1:25 finish would be nice, but perhaps unrealistic, given the hilly nature of the course.  I simply didn't remember how hilly it was, but was quickly reminded in the 2nd half.

The middle miles were okay.....I really wasn't running by pace so much as effort.  Could I have given a bit more here?  Perhaps, but I had a healthy fear of pushing too hard and dying the last few miles.  Better to race a bit conservatively and finish strong.  Or perhaps this was the part of me that really wasn't into the race today.  I had been feeling a bit under the weather the past few days, but the holiday's can be a stressful time, so I wrote it off to that.  Maybe it was more?  Dunno.

Okay, so the last 5 miles are the climb up thru the arboretum, over, under, back under I-5, then a steep downhill and some more up and down into the stadium.  It really started hurting here and my limiting factor seemed to be my ability to get enough O2, not my legs.  They hurt, but my body just wasn't processing O2 fast enough and I was on the ragged edge of getting a nasty side stitch.  I was desperately trying to reel in a few people ahead of me that were making the flats look too easy.  I was gaining on the uphills and blew by on the downhills (only to be caught again on the flats).

Hit the redline with about 1 mile to go and figured I'd be at the back of the little pack of 5 or 6 I just couldn't catch.  Then we hit marathon 26 marker (.2 to go) and I hit the jets for the finishing kick.  Where did *that* kick come from?  I blew by a bunch of folks heading into the stadium and across the field like I was running a 100 meter race....no, faster than I run the 100.  Not sure what training I've been doing that's helped with my kick, but that part was awesome. 

So a 1:28:05 finish time, 1:26:40 on the chip.  Given the hill course and the time I lost on the first few miles, I'm satisfied with the result.  Of course, I was 11th in my age group, having been beaten by 2 guys that ran slower than I did (in the 1:27s for their chip time).  That'll teach me to dawdle at the start!  Time to take a few days off and then start prepping for my return to the marathon.  In the meantime, I think I want to run a few shorter races and just have enjoy them.

2 mile walk w/ dogs.

Still tired, but a lunch-time walk w/ the dogs broke some of the fog loose.  Hamstrings and left quad seem to be the most sore, although my left shoulder and lower back are both a bit tight.  This week is just whatever I feel like running whilst I plan the next 16 weeks.  I hope to feel like something!

Side note:  At the recovery area yesterday, got approached by a Univera rep hawking RegeniFREE.  Long story short, supposed to aid recovery.  Agreed to take 2 immediately after race, 2 before bed, and 2 this morning, then field the follow-up phone call either today or tomorrow.  Well, after taking all the doses, I have to say they're worthless to me.....no effect whatsoever.  Maybe they'll help someone else.