I only run on days that end in a "y."

Happy New Year everyone.

 Ran the 8 mile loop from my house with the killer hills on the last 2 miles.  Had a good pace going but needless to say I faded on the hills.   I figured with a full 7 days off my legs would be raring to go and they were until around mile 5-6.  Not sure when I will be 100% again but this is getting old.  Almost a full month since the marathon.

7:50's AP for the run.

Got some free time so headed to the gym.  I ran 8 miles on the treadmill - which was good for me since I could force myself to stick to a steady and easy pace.  Most at 7:53 - 8:10 pace.  Legs felt a bit sore at first but it was a good run.  I think that my red Kinvara's are shot cushioning wise and that has been part of my issue as of late.  I am retiring them.

I ordered the Saucony cushioned version of the Kinvaras for long runs and recovery runs.  It will be interesting to see how they work out.

Chilly am - temps in low 30's.  I ran the hilly out and back from the house. Hopefully I can get some solid mileage in this week and then start going back to the workouts next week.  7.25 miles - AP 8:15.

Woke up a bit early with enough time for a quick run before needing to be home to get the kiddos ready.  Going out at lunchtime for a nice double.  Legs feeling better day by day.  2k repeats tomorrow - should I or shouldn't I?

 Quick 5.2 mile run at lunchtime on a soft park trail - had to run it twice.  AP 8:06.

I decided I would take the leap and do a hard workout.  I figured even though my legs have not been feeling that great that surely they must be fully recovered by now.  Besides, I have found sometimes what my legs need is a good hard workout to make them all better.

I showed up at the group this morning.  There is a separate Boston training schedule that differs from the regular group.  After the coach cut that group loose there were only 10 or so of us left.  I looked around and was worried - it looked like I would be running by myself because no one else would be running faster or at my training paces.  I thought about the 3 months to come and how this could be a very long and lonely training period.  Fortunately Russ showed up at the last minute. He is a super strong runner.  Even though my marathon PR is faster it is not due to a lack of talent.  Russ can throw down a 3:05-3:10 marathon on 4 days a week of training and minimal mileage.  So I think we will both benefit from each other - I am trying to talk him in to committing the time to training to run a sub-3 and he can push me in the workouts.

We did a warm up to Zilker park and then 4 x 2ks on the road around the park.  I guess the time off did me well because 2 and 3 are the fastest 2Ks I have ever run I think.  The 4th was painful and I fell off due to lack of aerobic conditioning.  I know it will come back in a couple weeks though.  Russ took off and finished 15 seconds in front of me on the last one.

1.5 miles warm up to Zilker at 8:20 pace.

1. 2k in 7:38 (6:08 pace)

2. 2k in 7:16 (5:51 pace)

3. 2k in 7:23 (5:56 pace)

4. 2k in 7:32 (6:03 pace)

1.5 easy @ 7:30 pace back to the annex.

Went out for a recovery run - 7 miles in 60 minutes for 8:34 AP.  Hit some good trails that I have not been on before so it was somewhat of an adventure.  I have a hard time getting my legs to slow down the cadence on the the open road though - running 8:00-8:10s before looking at my watch and slowing down.  

Tried out the Cortanas today.  The jury is still out.  They are definitely roomy.   I had to stop a couple time to tighten up the shoe laces as my feet were moving around.  Definitely pretty well cushioned and only 2 more ounces heavier than the Kinvaras.  The plan is to wear them on my easy days and some long runs.  Hopefully it will reduce a bit of the pounding, which in turn should lead to quicker recovery and the ability to run more miles.

The group did a point-to-point course today.  It's a great course but always a hassle arranging a ride back and finding a group to run with.  The groups tend to get splintered and I usually find myself running alone.  

I met up with a small group for 16 miles and ran with them for 2 before picking up the pace.  From then on I was by myself but passed a lot of runners that had started and different times and different starts depending on how many miles they were running.  

 All in all it was a solid run and a good week.  The legs are feeling good again. The last 2 miles were hard but expected at this point.

8:42, 8:23, 7:12, 7:22, 7:25, 7:10, 7:12, 7:16, 7:16, 7:24, 7:12, 7:03, 7:05, 6:41, 6:58, 6:59, .25 @ 6:30.

8 easy around town lake trail this morning.  It was quiet and peaceful.  Legs felt good - maybe the shoes?  Only time will tell.  I think the legs are now ready for some punishment - let the fun begin. :-)

Windy and cool - had big storms overnight but it was not raining when I headed out.  7 recovery miles - 8:40's - nice and easy - saving my legs for tomorrow.

40 degrees and windy this morning.  I ran 1.5 miles easy and then met the group at the annex. We ran the lollipop route this morning.   It is called this because if you looked at it on a map there is an out and back with a big loop in the middle.  It goes through a section of town called Barton Hills - it it is pretty dang hilly.  We ran up Robert E. Lee road which is a straight up incline, then got off track a bit which required another good climb, and then finally made it over to the lollipop which has some really good rollers.  The paces don't seem that hard but the course made it so. We turned it into a pretty good progressive run. 

Ran some strides after the run.

8:26, 7:59, 7:55, 7:54, 6:59, 6:47, 6:44, 6:44, 6:35, 6:25.  w/.5 cool down @ 8:15.

Very easy out and back from the house - no watch.  

4 easy at lunchtime.

30 MPH gusts, 36 degrees, windchill in the 20's - call me a wimp but I decided not to run 1000's on the track this morning.  I have done it once before in similar conditions and it was just terrible. Fortunately, I got an email late last night from Russ asking if I was going to go to the workout.  We kinda both talked each other out of it with the intention of running Saturday's long run hard instead.  

I went the the gym and ran on the indoor track.   7:30s according to the lap clock and then picked it up on the last 2 to around 6:30 pace.  Nice run even though it was rather long to be running around an oval - still prefer it to a treadmill.  At least when I am running I generate a breeze which helps keep the heat down.  I usually start to overheat running on a treadmill.

Holy moly this was a tough run - especially the last 4 miles. The plan was to run this hard since we skipped the hard workout on Thursday.  I did not have a set number of MGP miles but I thought at least 10 would be good.  This training I am trying to run MGP miles at 6:50 or below to get my legs use to the pace needed. We ran the 14 mile Grove route but had to do an out and back at mile 12 - it was tempting to keep on the trail and finish at 14 but we pushed through and added the extra miles on.  My legs were getting tired.  I think the soft trail takes something off the pace so we were probably working harder than what the paces say.  Russ and I managed to stick together the entire run which was great.  It was cold but no wind so it did not feel that bad.  The sun coming up was a welcome sight indeed. 

Overall average pace was 7:01.

 8:32, 7:41, 7:13, 6:59, 6:55, 7:10, 7:12, 6:55, 6:49, 6:59, 6:45, 6:48, 6:38, 6:27, 6:42, 6:20.  followed by 4 x strides.

Have the day off so I took advantage and got a medium long run in.  I ran the hilly Scenic route for 12 miles - first 2 super easy and then 7:40's - 7:50's.  Could still feel Saturday's run a bit.  Tomorrow is 1000m repeats on a hilly course.  

Booked by hotel room for Boston - I think I need to take out a second mortgage to pay of it! LOL

warm - humid - something like 70 degrees this morning.  After today and yesterday it has dawned on me how luck all those Houston marathoners were - one more day and it would have been disaster.  Thankfully, the weather stayed cool.  Anyway, this does not bode well for the Austin marathon, but one never knows.

So today was a 3 mile warm up followed by 1000m intervals around a hilly neighborhood, and I mean hilly.  Wow - it was crazy. The last 100m was up a nice big hill. I have not done this workout in a couple of years and now I remember why - it hurts.  In fact, it was a big time crash and burn, I can't remember a worse workout. 

Could be the 12 mile run yesterday on the hills, the lingering effects of Saturday's hard run, the hot weather, or all three.  Not to mention that I probably ran these too fast to start with.  I wanted to do 5 but all I could manage was 4.  The fourth one I missed a turn and had to find my way back so I don't even know if that counts.  I had to sit on the curb after that one to let my heart rate come back down.  I was not a happy camper.

The only smart thing I did was wear my old Brooks shoes as I have been having bit of achilles/calf soreness - no problems today with the big heel.

1000m @ 6:10 pace

1000m @ 5:52 pace

1000m @ 6:15 pace (legs going away at this point)

1000m @ ?? pace

Finished with 3 mile run back to the annex.

Went out at lunchtime and without a watch.  Ran pretty relaxed and tried to stay on the trail or grass when I could for the first 2.5 miles or so and then hit the street.  Took a round about route and headed back.  I am guessing 8.5 miles for the time I was gone, probably a bit more.

I was a nice sunny day with a cool breeze which felt pretty good.

50 degree start but humid.  Tomorrow will be close to 80 degrees - this does bode well for the summer!  I still predict this area will be like Arizona in a few years.  I am thinking about creating an AZ type front yard, too.  I don't see how we will have the luxury of wasting water on keeping grass alive.  Oh well, back to running.

I did the Jollyville out and back and to be hard on myself I took the Morado Circle loop on the way back - this is a very steep down hill that circles around and then comes back up.  Doesn't matter which way you run this the result is the same.  Anyway, I thought it might be good to start doing some of this stuff for Boston.

Nice run overall - average pace for the run was 7:23.  I still felt the last couple miles were harder than they should have been.  Not quite at the level I was before CIM.  I am also getting burnt out a bit - so all of you out there please give me some encouraging words to keep this up.  I am definitely taking a break after Boston.

8:37, 7:43, 7:30, 7:29, 7:16, 7:30, 7:30, 7:16, 7:17, 7:15, 7:10, 7:10, 6:39, .25 @ 6:29.

5 easy recovery miles for the day - 8:38 AP.

Cool morning -44 degrees and a pretty strong wind.  The temp gauge at the house read 50 degrees so I am not sure what happened but it got colder.  I showed up in a singlet - I was a bit cool but I survived.

We ran the Austin marathon course so lots of hills.  Russ and I ran with Mike Woo - one of the most knowledgeable runners in the group.  The entire run was filled with tidbits and insights into running Boston. We ran the Expo hills hard as he wants to get us ready for the Newton hills.

Overall, this run was tough but I figure if I can keep hanging with him I will do OK.  He said we should get to a point where 6:50's seem easy - and he thinks we will get there in the next 2 months.

So, 18 miles with AP of 7:03 (that's a 3:04 marathon) and the first mile was 8:40.  So we ran 17 miles probably at an overall pace of under 7:00.  Next time I will run in my Kinvaras.  The Cortanas are nice but definitely take some pace off.

8:30, 7:39, 7:15, 7:10, 7:08, 7:06, 6:56, 6:55, 7:09, 7:05, 6:57, 7:07, 6:43, 6:37, 6:33, 6:40, 6:34, 6:38.

Met up with some others at the annex at 7am for a recovery run.  Ran super easy on the trail.  Great morning - low 50's and foggy.  

8:40's overall pace.

Quick trip to the gym - 40 minutes spinning with some core.

The plan this morning was to run a tempo run on the hilliest part of the Austin Marathon course.  This was suggested to Russ and I to prepare for Boston.  We will be doing this several more times.  I got to the annex a bit early so I ran 1 mile warm up then met up with Russ.  Then it was 2.5 easy to the bottom of the course.  This is rolling hill after rolling hill with an elevation gain for 2.75 miles.  At the top at 35th street we took a quick break and then headed back.  This was a baseline run to judge our current fitness and to be able have a measurement stick to progress against.  I have a ways to go, the hills still cause me too much trouble though we made it.  There is a nice stretch at the end with a nice long down hill to practice hammering the quads.  

I am not sure how wise this run was after running these same hills on Saturday at the pace we did, but we survived.  Next time we will run this the Tuesday after a long recovery run instead of a hard long run.

3.6 miles easy followed by 5.5 tempo miles (6:41, 6:38, 6:28, 6:30, 6:25, .5 @ 6:06) followed by 2.5 easy just under 8:00 pace.

6 recovery miles at the gym.  Nothing special.

Got to the annex early and ran 1.5 easy and then 1.75 easy to Austin High track. Cool morning but the wind was fairly strong. On the schedule was 8 x 800m.  Coach said to run them at 10k pace but heck, I can't run that slow on the track.  I thought if I could run them at a controlled pace around 2:50 that would be good.  Not as fast as I have run them in the past but enough to get some good stimulus and turn over without killing myself.  We eased into the first 2 and then got into a pretty good groove.  We ran very consistent and right on 2:50 each time.  They felt pretty good though I felt like I was working a bit by number 6.  Decided to pick it up on the last one and open up the stride on the last 400m.  I think 2:35 is the fastest I have run an 800m during training. It felt good and this is just the confidence workout I needed.

3.25 easy warm up on the trail followed by 8 x 800m

800m in 2:57 (5:56 pace)

800m in 2:59 (6:00 pace)

800m in 2:50 (5:41 pace)

800m in 2:50

800m in 2:50

800m in 2:50

800m in 2:50

800m in 2:35 (5:11 pace)

2.75 easy miles back to the annex on the trail - 7:20's.

Just enough time for a quick recovery run at lunchtime.  Ran around the soft trail near the office.  Ever have one of those recovery runs where is seems like you are running at least a minute per pace faster than you actually are? Today was one of those days for me.  Overall average pace 8:40.

So much for a good solid recover week - still going to get in 56 for the week.  I would like it to be closer to 50 or high 40's.  Oh well.

Lots of hills again today - I was content on trying to run long run pace - 45-60 seconds off of marathon pace.  I wanted to try to run a real recovery type long run. Seemed to pretty much according to plan until the last few when I picked up a tad.  8:20, 7:40, 7:28, 7:28, 7:28, 7:31, 7:50, 7:31, 7:42, 7:32, 7:42, 7:20, 7:11, 6:58, 6:58, 6:45.

Had to hurry home and get in the car for a 3 hour drive to Corpus.  Somehow I managed to stay awake. 

Nice cool morning.  It's been a while since I have felt this good so I hope it is a sign that things are starting to come together.  Nice and relaxed.  First mile 9:00 then 7:30's - 7:20's - solid aerobic base miles.

Went out for a quick 4.5 at lunchtime on the soft trail - 7:50 warm-up and then 7:35's across the board.  

60 degrees and very humid out this am.  Ran from the house.  Not a soul to be seen.  I don't think many runners in Austin are training for the Austin marathon.  Normally I would see some out in the neighborhood - and I only saw one.  Some in my running group have mentioned that Austin has become a "destination" marathon since none of locals want to run it anymore.  Maybe there is some truth to it. 

Anyway, today was a less than stellar workout. The paces don't show how much I struggled at some points. I decided to add some hills on the end and I was doing pretty good until that point.  I seem to have lost some power in my legs - hills were always my strength.  Maybe it was a combo of the miles yesterday and the warm weather, but my heart rate started to climb - max out about half way up Rain Creek - this is probably about a mile from the bottom to the highest point with some pretty good steep sections along the way.  The road kinda makes a big 3/4 loop, both sides starting high with the middle a the lowest part.  I came down one side at a pretty good clip and then started the climb on the other side.  I thought this would be good training for Boston.  From the top there are a couple of small rollers on the way home, with another significant climb about a mile from the house.  This last climb was hard, I was shuffling pretty bad, but able to drop the pace at the top, added a mile loop when I got to the house to make it 13.  Not sure what to think about the loss of power on the up hills. 

8:47, 7:40, 7:24, 7:20, 7:20, 7:25, 7:22, 7:22, 7:07, 7:48, 7:31, 7:31, 7:22.  

7:33 overall average - not including the break I took when I paused my watch catch my breath on Rain Creek.