faster with age

     8 mile run. I ran a 3 mile warmup at 8:17 pace then did 4 miles of fartlek. I did 5x1000 with 400 recovery. I averaged 6:18 pace on the 1000s and 8:02 on the rec. then finished with 1 mile cooldown. Pace for 4.1 fartlec was 6:41. overall pace for 8 was 7:21.

     Was planning a PM run but never got time. It's been a busy week. Hard to find time to squeeze in some running let alone blogging.

     I started out on an early run and it was perfect running weather but 1/2 mile in it looked like rain could be coming and I still had work to do in the fields before it hit so I ran back and ran the tractor until it got too muddy. I got back out later after the rain for 10 miles. 8:13 pace.

     Ran 10 miles this morning with the last 3 at 7:28 pace. Overall pace for 10 was 7:59.

     PM  5 mile run at 8:52 pace. I did this run after dark on a 2 track road on my property with my dogs. They got into a skunk at about 2 miles so I got to enjoy the aroma for the last three miles whenever the dogs ran near me. It wasn't just the smell you get when you drive past one that was hit on the road but a real in your face make your eyes water strong smell. I never even touched any of the dogs but when I came in the house my son complained all evening about the smell coming off me just from being near them.

     25 mile bike ride this morning. It was raining and muddy so I took the my road bike. Not too far into the ride the rain quit and it was nice.

     PM   I seem to be making a habit of late PM runs the last couple of weeks. It seems I've been having a hard time finding the time. Tonight I got home around nine and should have gone right out but found the couch comfortable and felt very unmotivated to do anything other than go to bed.. A little after 10 I finally got out the door for 5 easy miles. It was nice once I got going with a full moon and temps in the 50s. Glad I got out. 8:35 pace.

     I ran 8 miles with the first 5 at around 8:45 pace then did a 2 mile fartlec run of 8x200 at a little under 6:00 pace [some uphill some downhill ave. 44 sec ea.] with 200 recoveries at around 8:00 pace. Overall pace 8:18.

     PM   another late one at 11:00 pm nice easy 3 mile jog with very slight rain at 9:14 pace.

     15 miles on the mt bike.

     4 mile run 8:27 pace.

     I'm definitly not in race shape right now. I haven't run much under 7:00 pace since my ITB injury in January and very little under 6:30 pace but the race was not to far from home and cheep so I figured it would be some good faster miles. On their website it said the 10k started at 7:30 and the 5k and the mile would start soon after. I didn't have much time to warm up so I was just running back and forth behind the crowd waiting for the 10k to start then move up to the start line and get a good spot to start the 5k. I couldn't hear what they were saying on the bull horn about the race while warming up. The 10k started and I realized everybody was going. They had started all three races at once. So I was behind over 500 people running the 5k, 10k, and kids doing the mile on a narrow road. It took me 14 seconds to get to the start line. I started my garmin as I crossed the start line [it was not chip timed] and started trying to get through a mass of people and strollers that were walking in the rear and running slowly farther up. By the time I was getting faster than 8 min pace and could see some daylight the lead vehicle was way ahead. The race was mostly uphill climbing 208 feet net until the turnaround and then back down the same course. After the slow start I finished the first mile in 6:40 after passing tons of people all the way. The second mile I finished in 6:35, a bit slow since it was only half uphill but I think I used a lot on the first mile trying to make up for the bad start. By the end of 2 miles I just had a guy and girl in sight ahead of me that didn't seem to be coming back to me at all. I knew from the turnaround that there weren't any old guys in my age group ahead of me so I was content to just hang out there. They seemed too far ahead and I didn't feel like pushing to hard today but as we got down to the last 1/2 mile they started coming back and I passed the 1st place female [kept from getting chicked]. I finished mile 3 in 5:47 and I continued to gain on the other guy and passed him with about 200 to go. Right after I passed him he had several buddies holering and shouting for him to pass me back but I decided that wasn't happening and kicked it in hard and ran the final .1 at 4:30 pace beating him easily. My final 1.1 was 5:37 pace. Final time on my garmin was 19:25. Clock time was 19:39. This had to be a PR for me for most people passed in a race. I figure I passed around 500 without getting passed by anyone. I finished first in the 40 to 49 age group and won free entry into next years race and 5th overall according to card they gave me at the end. I thought I was 10th at the turn around and I expected to be 6th or 7th.

     Ran 11 miles this morning up around the reservoir. Super nice morning. 8:16 overall pace.

        PM ran 5 miles. First 2 I ran in my five fingers. This was the first time I've gone 2 and I felt like going farther but want to build up gradually. I just went out to run  around 8:45 pace but  felt like running faster in the 5 fingers and averaged around 7:40 then switched back to shoes and ran another 3 at around 8:45 pace.

     I didn't seem to feel any affects from Saturdays race and I'm planning to do another 5k this weekend that is even cheaper and closer than last Saturdays. It's free without a T-shirt [free to women who pre register with t-shirt] and it's right here in Preston.

     30 miles on the mt bike this morning mostly dirt roads and included a 2 mile climb of over 600 feet.

     PM ran 6 easy miles.

9 mile run this morning. The road I like to run on up around the reservoir was graded yesterday and made the running on it slow. They really dug it up and some stretches were covered with 3 to 6 inch rocks [and larger]. I had to run some parts in the grass along side the road which was softer but very lumpy. I was thinking my legs were feeling a bit sluggish this morning but when I got back to the last 1.5 miles of pavement I suddenly felt much better. Overall pace was 8:32.

     PM  ran 5 miles after dark. Expected to run slow after feeling tired on this mornings run but felt fresh. Started with 8:19 1st mile and got faster with each finishing with 7:38 and 7:09 for last two. 8:52 overall pace.

     5 easy miles 8:34 pace.

     This race is put on every year by the hospital in Preston. It was very close to home and free and even has good food at the end. Can't pass that up. There was about 188 people total that showed up but a lot of them were kids doing the bike ride. One of the local guys that can beat me was injured and was there to watch his wife and the other one wasn't there. The High School track stars got home from state in Boise that morning at four AM so none of them showed although the injued guy there to watch his wife run is the teams athletic trainer and he said Colby Wilson [who just broke the Idaho State High School record the day before in the 3200  running 9:20] might be there but he didn't show either. So that set the stage for a possible win for me. They let the bikes go first then the runners. The first 100 yards I had to get past the sprinting kids then I led the rest of the way. I think I passed 80 % of the bicycles along the way. This is a loop course and after 3/4 of the first mile I was running comfortably at 5:57 pace [according to the 1 mile lap pace setting on my Garmin]. Then I hit the biggest hill on the course [ you actually lose about 75 feet crossing a ravine Then you climb back up the other side. I guess I lost some momentum at that point because I finished the first mile in 6:12. The route turned north and I looked back and I had about 100m on the next two runners. The next stretch  was into a bit of a breeze. I always seem to have a poor 2nd mile anyway and slowed to 6:25. When we turned the next corner I looked back and saw that one of the next runners had gained a bit on me. I finished mile 2 in 6:23 and started to pick up the pace. I ran the final mile [.88 on my Garmin] in 5:08 [5:50 pace] to finish first in 17:43 gapping the next two runners by a lot more on that last mile. I'd love to have that time on a full distance 5k . I like my time starting with 17 something but that will have to wait. I've measure this course with my bike computer which is very accurate and have gotten  2.9 for distance. My Garmin said 2.88 this time.

Had a very busy day out in the almost 90 deg sun the entire day until dark. Had an irrigation pipe blow out and other problems that needed fixing. I didn't get a chance to run until after 10 pm. I only went for 5.5 miles and felt like I was running around 8:30 pace in the dark but whenever I checked I was around 9:25. I just really didn't feel like speeding up so I didn't. ended up with 9:38 pace. I think I was just exausted after the long day in the heat [not to mention being short on sleep].

     I had things that needed to be done this morning before I ran so the temps were already getting into the 70s by the time I ran. I didn't have any energy just like last night and the pace was slow. I usally let how I feel dictate my pace and I was running over 9:00 min pace and didn't feel like going faster. after a couple of miles I ran 7:30 pace up a hill for 1/4 to see if that would give me a jumpstart. It did for a while but not long. I finished that mile in 8:12 and ended up over 9:00 min pace on all but 3 of the other miles of the run. I had planned to go 11 if it felt alright but at about 4.5 miles in I was thinking of turning back. I was up by the reservoir and took of my shirt and soaked it in the lake and put it back on wet. This was invigorating enough that I felt like going far enough to finish the planned distance. Of course by the time I did turn back I was feeling lousy again and this turned into the hardest run I have done in recent memory. I was very thirsty, hot, hungry, my feet were hurting from running on all the rocks and gravel on the road from it being graded last week, and I was just plain worn out. I think I was very dehydrated and getting around five hours sleep the last 2 nights probably didn't help either. I had the race 3 days ago also but I usually recover from 5ks very quickly. I had to stop and rest a few times on the way back. I had weighed myself this morning when I got up and I had lost 4 pounds by the time I was done so I must have been very dehydrated. Hopefully with some refueling and rehydration and some better sleep, tomorrow will be better. Overall pace for 11 miles was 8:58

     I may take today completely off [unfortunatly thats just from running or cycling] and see if I can recover a bit. If I do anything it may be an easy short run or bike ride later.

     What a difference a day off[from training] can make. With a little more sleep and better hydration, I felt back to normal this morning. It probably helped to have the temp at 47 to start out too. I ran 10 miles running the first 5 at 8:24 pace and the next 5 at 7:46 pace. I felt good at thwe end and ran the last mile in 6:59. I was sweeting like crazy at the end and was sure the temps must have climbed into the 70s, but it was only 57 deg. Going to have to get used to the heat.    Overall pace for 10 was 8:04.

     PM  2 miles after dark around 9 min pace.

     20 mile mt. bike.

    Had to travel 2 hours to a wedding and diddn't get time for a PM run.

     I got a chance to sleep in a bit and catch up on some sleep this morning. However that ment running in the heat of the day after ball games and some other things. It was 84 degrees when I headed out so I figured I'd just play it by ear on how far or fast to go. I had a breeze that helped and I stopped and soaked my shirt 3 times in the lake and stream. I had also stashed some water. I guess I was being cautious after the horrible run I had on Tuesday. I felt great all the way and just ran how I felt. I started out slower and ran the first 4 miles at 8:16 average. I continued to pick up the pace and ran the next 7 miles at 7:31 pace. Overall pace for 11 was 7:47.

     Morning run 12 miles. Temps were in the 40s to start which felt good but did get up close to 70 by the end. There were still a few muddy spots from yesterdays rain which builds up on the shoes and makes them heavy.  Pace 8:10

     PM   Ran 2 miles in Five Fingers at 7:54 pace then switched to shoes and went 3 more at around 8:45 pace.

     Mt biked 30.33 miles. 17 miles on dirt roads and a 2.5 mile 600 foot climb. I finished in 1:55:19 which is a fast time for me on this route. It usually takes me an hour or more.

     PM    5 easy miles around 9:00 pace.

     Ran 8 miles this morning starting at 8:30 pace progressing to around 7:30 pace. Overall pace was 8:04.

     PM   ran 3 miles at around 9 min. pace. Felt sluggish.

     I'd like to do the Cache Valley Biathlon in June that I have done the past couple of years and it dawned on me that it is 2 weeks from Saturday and I've only been doing 1 or 2 bike rides a week and they have all been easy on recovery days. That just leaves the rest of this week and next week, if I don't want to do much hard riding the week of the race, to get in some intensity. I did do a bit more intense ride than most on Tuesday but I wanted to get in a good one today. I went on my road bike since that's what I'll be racing on and went 25 miles pretty hard. I expecially pushed it on the last 15 and tried to keep it at a tempo effort. I got my best time for that route which has 3 large climbs. Then I rode another 11 at a much easier pace for 36 miles total. I felt very good until the last couple of miles then I suddenly hit a bit of a wall. I guess I was getting close to that 2 hour mark which is about 40 min. longer than most of my rides.

     Ran 10 miles progressing from 8:28 first mile to around 7:40 pace for later miles. I felt a little fatigue from yesterdays hard workout but not as bad as I expected. Overall pace for 10 was 7:57.

     PM   ran 3 miles in Five Fingers.  My feet don't seem to be getting any more used to the gravel in the Five Fingers so today I avoided the gravel sections of the road as much as I could.

     I was planning to run 12 or 13 miles but my hip [that I have had off and on troubles with] was a little sore after running yesterday and a bit this morning so I decided maybe an extra day off [from running] would do more good than running. I went 26 miles on the mt. bike with 10 miles at moderate intensity, 7 miles harder and 8 really hammering.