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

travel day back - no run.

7.25 easy miles - the knee held up pretty good.  Going to try the workout tomorrow am and see how it goes.

Met up with my old training group for 1000's.  It was low 30's but compared to NE is felt like the bahamas.  Pulled my hoodie off at the track and ran in a base layer and long sleeve shirt. 

I held on with the lead pack for 5 and then had to take a bit of a break. These guys are peaking right now for the Austin marathon so I knew I probably couldn't hang for 8 repeats so I told myself I would do 6.   I tried to jump in on a 6th but my knee - which had been a non-issue - acted up.  I worked on it a bit with some strong pressure - it's really lower left side of knee coming up the side of the calf.  This worked and I did a 6th 1000m with no issues.  However, when I attempted the 200m strides it was a no-go.  I hobbled back the 1.75 miles to the annex and then hit the foam roller pretty hard.  I don't think it is serious and with some rolling it should be OK.  I will have to stay away from speed for a while though.

6 x 1000 - 3:50 to 3:40 ish (6:00 ish pace) with 200m recovery in between.

Met up with the group at 5:45 with the plan of running 16.  Fortunately the first 6 miles was a loop - 3 up and 3 back down - so I could drop out.  The injury started hurting when I tried to take off again after getting water.  It is a strange one - it doesn't hurt while running but if I stop and then try running again it starts hurting.  

So I got back in the car and drove to the gym for a fun 1:10 hours on the eliptical.  At least I got in 2 hours of cardio work.  Then did some core work since I was there.

I may have to stick to this routine for a few days and try again.  Bad timing to say the least.  I am so out of marathon shape it is not even funny.

6 miles - 7:40's. 

3 easy miles on the indoor track at the gym followed by 60 mins spinning class with sprints, and then 2 fast miles on the indoor track.  Knee felt fine until I pushed it on the last mile.  Different spot this time - so in a way that's a positive since the part that was bothering me didn't.  

6.5 miles on the trail at lunchtime.  No knee issues!!  I will try for 10 miles tomorrow.

Woke up to 40's and a bit of rain.  Really hard to get out the door but I did it.  

Ran the hills through Great Hills - my go to course for hilly marathons.  My injury started acting up at mile 6 but I ran through it and by the last couple miles it was better.  I had to let up on the pace a couple times and then picked it up again.  Pretty sure it's my legs getting used to my new shoes, which I absolutely love.  

No Garmin but ran the miles at a pretty good clip.  I will start working on getting these runs back up to 14 miles. 

Just had enough time to squeeze five super easy miles in after work.  

Met up with the group of 2 miles warm up followed by 3 x (3 min hard, 1 min easy, 2 min hard, 1 min easy, 1 min hard, 1 min easy) on the trail.  Paces for the hard parts were 6:40 down to 6:17.  2.25 miles after for bonus mileage.  Legs felt heavy towards the later stages but it was good to get some turnover.

6 super easy this am.

14 miles - assalt on Mt. Bonnel.  Just happy to have made it through.  Big bump in mileage this week over last week so legs were pretty heavy towards the end. Not a great run but it is in the books.  7:30s-7:40s.

Late night last night so slept in today.  Didn't get a chance to go down and root for my friends at the half.  Did manage to run 8 easy miles when I finally got out the door at 9am.

Cold, windy, light rain, dark, 5 am, all reasons to stay in bed.  Somehow I got myself dressed and out the door.  Met up with the group at the annex but had to get started early so I took off before the huddle.

2.3 miles warm-up to Spring Creek.  Then 6 x .32 mile hill work - long gradual climb the first half then steep hill followed by a bit of a flat stretch to the end.  Was working on the second one before the rest of the group showed up.  Coach arrived early and caught me after my first one.  He told me to run these at 2:15 - first one was 2:24 and that was hard enough. So I pushed it and got down to 2:12 but most were around 2:16 - 2:18, with the last one back to 2:22 because my legs were on fire up that steep part.

Then 3 x backwards up the steep bit.  No time for hill strides as I had to get going to make a 7:30 work meeting.  Would have liked to add a couple more miles back at the end, too.  Oh well.

2.3 miles back to the annex - 7:30's or so. 

Went out for a double - I decided I better start getting ready for Boston.  LOL.  

4.75 miles easy on the trail at lunchtime - a solid 13 mile day. 

5 recovery miles at lunchtime on the trail.  Low 8:00's for the pace.

Met up with the group for 8 miles with some fartleks.  Nice and cold.  We ran most of the fartleks on the road today which definitely helps compared to the trail.  

3 x 3 mins fast with 1 min recovery in between, then 3 x 2 mins with 1 min recovery in between, then 5 x 1 min with 1 min recoveries.

Nice progressive effort - 3 minutes on bits @ 6:30's-6:40s,  2 minute fast bits run 6:10-6:20's, and 1 minute fast bits run at sub 6 pace.

Legs are feeling strong again which is a welcome relief.  Also, my heart rate seems better since I started taking a iron supplement every day.  I didn't have my blood checked but though it might be the culprit.  We will see.  A lot of the symptoms listed in this article I have been experiencing - http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports/iron.shtml

Added some easy miles in after the workout in order to put in a solid 10 mile morning.

First run in my brand new Saucony Fastwitch which are awesome shoes.  On clearance at runningwarehouse so I may need to pick up another pair or two. 

5 miles at lunchtime around the trail.  Feel like I am coming down with something - I hope I will be able to get my long run in tomorrow.

Woke up not feeling too good, but felt that getting this long run in was critical.  I paid the price later in the day as I had to rest a lot and take a good nap.  I definitely have a respitory infection and felt dizzy after the run.

Met up at 6 am and started out with a new guy who is also running Boston and has run sub 3 before.  He wanted to do 16 but since he didn't know the route he was stuck with me doing over 18.  We ran along the Austin Marathon course.  Of course my watch died on the first mile but I checked in with Collin several times and we were running 7:07 one mile and 7:15 the next, so staying in the low 7's.  When we got to Duval with 3 miles left a group of runners that were pushing it started to run by. We hung for a while but I could tell my legs were getting tired.  I told Collin to follow those guys in and I just kept going at the regular pace.  For me the goal was to get the legs used to the mileage again before I worry about pace.

8 ish with no watch over a moderate hilly course.  Felt terrible but better than yesterday.

Met up with the group for 2k's around Zilker Park.

Wasn't sure how I would do since I haven't been feeling to strong lately.  We did 5 of them but the first was fairly slow and we used it as a "warm-up".  We ran these progressive except for the last one - my legs were dead and it was hard to keep going.  Happy with the result.

2 minutes active recovery, i.e. a little jogging or walking and getting some gatorade or water.

These are a little short of 2k so I will use miles:

1.22 miles in 7:50 (6:30 pace)

1.22 miles in 7:40 (6:17 pace)

1.22 miles in 7:20 (6:06 pace)

1.22 miles in 7:12 (5:55 pace)

1.22 miles in 7:18 (6:05 pace)  legs were burning on this one!

3.27 easy miles back to the annex. 

A solid 5.6 miles of fast paced stuff.  Most likely run a medium long run with fast finish on Thursday. 

7 on the soft trail at lunchtime.  A balmy 67 degrees out.

Over 60 degrees this morning.  Met up with the group after a quick .75 mile warm-up - wanted to get a couple in but woke up to some work issues so that made me a little late.  We ran a 10 mile progressive run on the trail - very disheartening - because the paces felt much harder than they should have - not running anything super fast but it was a grind.  We kept telling ourselves our legs were still recovering from the 2ks. and I am sure there was some truth to that.  I then ran a 1.75 miles easy after the 10 miler to make it a 12 mile day.  Trying to get the legs use to the mileage again.  They are not too happy about it.

8:22 first mile, then 7:30s, 7:20's, last 5 miles sub 7 - 6:50's down to 6:40s, followed by some easy mileage.

I think this is an interesting read:  http://www.rundreamachieve.com/marathontraining80miles/

 4.5 at lunchtime - it's hot out there!

4.5 easy around on the trail at lunchtime - another warm day - 75 and sunny.

Met up with the group at 6 am.  Most were doing 14 miles but I wanted to continue to work on endurance so I opted for 16.  We ran parts of the Austin Marathon course.    Took it easy the first 3 miles as it is almost all a climb.  Kept the pace reasonable considering miles 1-3 and then 6-11 were gradual climbs.  When I hit the turnaround point I dropped the pace to MGP for 5 miles.  It felt good and pretty easy.  Best long run of the season, I hope I can build off of it.  Things seem to be coming together.

Mostly 7:30's-7:20s then 5 at 6:50 pace, last mile 6:30 ish.  

Funny, I couldn't get those paces on Thursday and today it felt easy. 

Met up with some guys for a run on the trail.  8 easy miles.  

5 recovery-ish miles on the trail at lunchtime.  

Medium long run day - the plan is to add a mile a week until I get them up to 13-14 miles and then try to run some fast miles at the end.

It was warm and humid out - 70's, and I will need to get started earlier if I want to get a longer run in.  I got out the door around 5:15 am and made it back just in time to get ready and then it was out the door to drop off my son and then go to work.

 I ran the Rain Creek hills out and Jollyville back.  Time to really start getting some good hill work in.  It went OK, wasn't able to pick it up as much as I wanted to towards the end. 

7:20;s-7:30s and 7 to sub 7:00 at the end.  Don't have my watch but will look up the splits later.

Did 6 x 20 second steep hill sprints after the run and then called it a day.

Just enough time this morning for a quick recovery run.  

4.5 easy on the trail at lunchtime.

Met up with the group at the annex after a short half mile warm up.  I thought we were going to be doing 8 x 800m but the coach said that was changed to 20 x 400m.  This was to be broken up in 4 sets of 5 x 400m with a 200m active recovery between repeats and a 400m recovery between sets.  The intent of the workout was more endurance and turnover based than pure speed.  Therefore, the plan was to start the first set pretty slow and finish fast.  Run the first set too fast and it would get pretty ugly. 

I ran with 3 other guys who kept saying that my recoveries were too fast, but I ddin't think so as they were 56 seconds to 60 seconds almost on the nose.  All in all I thought it went pretty good - this was a continuous workout - no stopping!  Afterward the other guys were like, "are you sure there was not stopping?  We saw a lot of others taking walking recoveries."  I was like, well, yes, a lot of people do that, but the group that I came from always ran active recoveries, and anyway, if you are going to run a marathon I think you need to run these type of workouts without stopping.

So - 2 miles warm-up followed by

5 x 400 @ 1:33-1:36's with 200m active recoveries

400m active recovery

5 x 400 @ 1:27 - 1:32's with 200m active recoveries

400m active recovery

5 x 400 @ 1:26-1:27's with 200m active recoveries

400m active recovery

5 x 400 @ 1:20 - 1:22's with 200m active recoveries

2 x 200 @ 35s

1.75 cool down.

My 4 miles at lunchtime was interrupted by a crisis at work.  Fortunately I had my phone with me.  So I only got 3 miles in.

Had to hit the road early today so I showed up at the annex about 5:40.  While I was putting my stuff in a locker Colin showed up so we decided to get through this together.  It was a wise move since the course was Scenic Mt. Bonnell plus the hills of Balcones, and then a turn around and do some hills over.  At mile 16 we added a climb up Robert E. Lee road which is another great climb.  We definitely got our fair share of hills today.

First couple of miles were 8:00's and then down anywhere from 7:05 to 7:35 - paces were really all over the place because of the hills.  

Anyway, it was a solid 20 miler.  We will start working in some MGP paces in the next few weeks.  Right now it 's just to get the endurance.

7:25 AP for the run.

Met up with a group at 7 am for an 8 mile easy run on the trail.  Simply beautiful morning for a run.

Going out for a lunch time run today.

Thought I would post this about Heart Rate:  http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/heart_rate_monitor.html

5.5 miles easy around the trail during lunchtime.

Got on the road by 5:15 for a good 13 mile run progressing down to MGP for the last few.  I ran the Jollyville route which is net downhill going out and net uphill coming back up.  Trying to get the legs used to the turnover now.  Nice cool morning, quite a few runners out.

First couple easy 8:00's and then 7:45, 7:32, 7:27, 7:15, 7:15, 7:00, 6:54, 6:55, 6:50, 6:48, 6:29.

5.5 easy on the trail at lunchtime.

Well, another switch-a-roo on the training calendar.  It took me a day to mentally prepare for the 2400m time trial and he switched the workout for Boston peeps to 2ks at Zilker park.  I had even put on my racing flats.  Oh well.  The 5k/10k people got to go run the 2400m time trial and 200's.  So I had to mentally prepare for that because the last time a couple weeks back it was a grueling workout.

Anyway, did a mile warm up and then met up with the group - learned of the workout switch - and then did another 1.6 easy to Zilker.

No one else at my pace level at the workout, though a couple guys did start out with me but I pulled away during the last 400m on the first one, and after that we got separated so I was on my own for the next 4 repeats.

Used the first 2k to get the legs used to the pace and to warm up a bit so I didn't run it too fast.  The goal was 10k for all 5 - which would have been comparable to running a 10k, albeit with recoveries. 

2ks a the park come up a little short and I didn't continue on to get the full 2k.  So the paces below reflect the true distance that I ran.  2 minute recoveries.

2k in 7:40 (6:20 pace)

2k in 7:28 (6:07 pace)

2k in 7:22 (6:05 pace)

2k in 7:20 (6:04 pace)

2k in 7:15 (6:01 pace)

Well,  I felt so much better this time around so I think the mileage is starting to pay off.  I was able to finish strong and on the 2ks a couple weeks ago my last one fell way off.  Signs of progress.  I am actually starting to get excited about Boston.

3 miles cool down @ 7:40 pace back to the annex.

4 easy miles on the trail at lunchtime.

super easy recovery run on the trail at lunchtime.

14 was on the Boston schedule but I did not think that was good enough.  I like to keep these recovery week long runs around 16 miles.

Russ sent me an email yesterday asking if I was doing 14 and I talked him into the 16 mile route.  Met up with the group at 5:55 am and saw Russ there.  After a lengthy talk from the coach for all the Austin marathoners - it's next week - we took off.  We ran the full 14 mile trail loop and added Exposition and Enfield on at mile 12 for 2 extra and then had 2 miles left on the trail, but somehow we ended up long so after we hit the annex we kept going a bit to get a full 17 in with 6 x strides.

Didn't have auto lap set for the first 4.5 miles but AP was 7:30's and then we dropped down in to an easy conversational pace of 7:05-7:15 and then dropped the last 2 for a couple MGP, AP for the whole run was 7:15.  The legs could definitely feel the 2k's from Thursday on those last couple miles.

It was good talking the whole way as it made time fly by.  Great run.

8 recovery miles in the neighborhood.  Could feel the soreness in the legs from the last few days - which is good.

5 ish recovery/easy miles on trail at lunchtime.  Cloudy, 50's, and breezy, perfect running weather in my book.  I had rained earlier and the trail was quite deserted.  Funning how many fair weather runners there are.

Russ and I exchanged a few emails last night about if we were going to make it this morning.  There was a 60% chance of thunderstorms forecasted.  But when I got up at 4:50 am there it was pretty calm.  I parked at the Y to get in some extra miles and also so when I was done I could go take a shower and get ready for work.

I met up with Russ at the main starting point and we ran to the hills.  This workout is called Meriden because that's the main street's name.  I will never know how they heck the coaches discovered this route.  I think they just like to torture us.  It amounts to a 1000m course (actually .65 miles so it's longer than 1000m) that takes off on a steep decline - 6 min pace is no problem here, then it turns left into a nice hill and then another, then another steep decline followed by a very steep incline back to the start.  Obviously, 1000m track pace is not something that can be done on this course.  The coach wanted Russ and I to start around 4:15 for the first repeat and work our way down, but the first one came in a bit fast and and so did the second one.  When we finished our last repeat he was like - I want you guys to run a 3:45 on the last one the next time you run this.  That ought to be fun.  

To finish if off we did 3 x backwards on the big hill, and then 3 hill sprints all the way up.  My legs were like Jello.

So -

2.75 miles warm up followed by 6 x 1000m on a hilly course with 90 sec recoveries -

.65 miles @ 4:07 (6:20 ish pace)

.65 miles @ 4:06 (6:18 pace)

.65 miles @ 4:05 (6:16 pace)

.65 miles @ 4:02 (6:10 pace)

.65 miles @ 3:56 (6:03 pace)

.65 miles @ 3:56 (6:03 pace)

then 3 x backwards and 3 x long hill sprints

2.75 miles easy back to the Y. 

LUNCHTIME run - 5 miles with 4 on the trail and 1 on the grass around Zilker park.  58 degrees and sunny! 

I figure I will take a day off every 10-11 days, and today is the day.  Even slept in.

Met up with the group at 5:45 after I squeezed in an extra mile or so.  Hooked up with Russ for the long trail loop for 4.5 easy and then 20 mins at MGP. 2 min recovery, 10 mins at HMGP, 2 mins recovery, and then 6 x 1 min at 5k pace.  We started the MGP with 5.5 miles to go but should have started earlier as we quickly ran out of trail.  After the HMGP part we only had 3/4 mile, so we took our recovery to run back a quarter so we would have a full mile to get some of the 5k paced stuff in.  Still did not get it all in, oh well, still ended up being a 12 mile morning.  I was happy that the legs felt good because after Tuesday I wasn't sure how they would hold up.  Last time we ran this loop after a hard workout we could hardy break 7:00 miles.

Easy miles working up to 7:50 pace and then

3 miles at MGP - 6:59, 6:46, 6:42

1.52 miles at HMGP - 6:16 pace

1 min @ 5:45 pace

1 min @ 5:42 pace

2 mins @ 5:35 pace

LUNCHTIME RUN:  4.5 easy on the trail and 2 miles on grass at Zilker.  Amazing how the stride improves after coming off of grass back to a hard surface.

5 + recovery miles at lunchtime.  I ran to Zilker Park on the trail and grass when I could and then did 2 full loops on the grass - no watch but each loop is about 2k.  My hamstrings are sore so they better recover quickly or tomorrow's 20+ miler won't be any fun.

Met up with the group around 5:45 for another hilly long run. This time we headed south with some good climbing and then did what we call the lollipop loop through Barton Hills, then back down to the trail for a mile and then back up Expo to Enfield, to the hills of Pecos, up to the top of Mt. Bonnel then back down the other side with Scenic added in on the way back.  Ugh.  We ran the stairs to the very top of Bonnel for the obligatory view of downtown.

Went super easy the first few until settling in to some mid 7:00s and then picked it up after Mt. Bonnel down to 7:00 pace for a couple and then last 5 @ MGP -6:49, 6:37, 6:41, 6:45 and 6:10.  We then tacked on super easy cool down mile and then 6 x 75m strides on grass to finish up. 

Wore my compression socks again and the legs felt good.  I may be wearing these on all future long runs and the marathon itself.  

6 recovery miles early then I went down to cheer on friends running the Austin marathon.  I parked at the mile 20 marker and then jogged up to almost 19 when I ran into some other friends in the cheering section.  We hung out there watching the first runners through. 

I ended up running at least 4 more miles helping a couple runners along.  If I hadn't run 21 miles yesterday I might have been able to take one all the way to the finish.  

5.5 super easy/recovery miles on the trail at lunchtime.

Got up early in order to get in a 13 mile progressive run.  I ran the Rain Creek route out - some steep declines to pound the quads and some very taxing climbs, then added a mile before turning around and taking Jollyville back up towards the house.

First mile was a 9:30 but quickly dropped to low 8:00s for the next 2 and then down into the 7:00s progressing down to 6:50's for 10 and 11, then a 6:40 and ended a 6:20 for the last mile.  

Finished with 5 x 20 second steep hill sprints. 

PM - 4.5 easy at 8 pm - there is a crushed granite trail in the back of my son's school that I ran 3.5 miles on.  It took a quite a few loops but better than the road.

18 miles for the  day.

5.5 easy on the trail at lunchtime.

Couldn't go down to join the group as I had an early meeting up north.  I got out of the house shortly after 5 for 3.5 easy miles to the track. Honestly, I thought of just continuing my easy run as my legs were feeling kinda of heavy.  But I have felt that before and they came alive once I started my workout so I thought I would give it a try.

It was warm and muggy out and that affected my HR a bit.  Other than that it was just tired legs that I had to try and work through.

On the schedule: 1 x 3k at HMGP, 1 x 2k @ 10k pace, 1 x 1k @ 10k pace and 4 x 400 @ 5k pace.  I ended up rounding off the 3k to 8 laps so I made it a 3.2k.  I wanted to add some more 400's at the end but the school cross country team showed up early so I got off the track and headed home.

3.2k  in 12:50 (6:25 pace) 

2k in 7:30 (6:02 pace)

1k in 3:30 (5:37 pace)  way off 10k pace!

400m in 1:23

400m in 1:21

400m in 1:20

400m in 1:21

400m in 1:13

2.2 miles back to the house

PM - 4 easy miles on crushed granite trail after work. 

To run or not to run today? - that is the question.

Did a warm up mile then met Russ at the annex for a point-to-point course.  He drove up to the start and left his car and then I drove him back up after the run.

We started a mile further up than the rest of the group as we wanted to get a full 16 miles in vs. 15 the rest of the group was doing.

My goal was to run some MGP but I did not have a real plan on how much or for how long.  The first 7 miles were flat or nice decline, then we hit the hills on Expo, a mile on the trail, then a nice steady climb up to the Barton Hills and the lollipop loop, then back down and finished the last mile on the trail. We felt really good and talked most of the run but the last mile wasn't easy and I was happy to be done!  4 x strides after the run.

9:12 warm up, then 7:35, 7:10, 6:54, 6:49, 6:49, 6:50, 6:50, 6:40, 6:45, 7:06, 6:58, 6:39, 6:49, 6:42, 6:44, 6:27.

Going to take it easy the next couple days as we have a 9 mile MGP run on Tuesday through the hills.  Fun stuff. 

6 miles recovery.  My legs felt like they ran a marathon yesterday.  Well, not that bad, but they are pretty sore.

7 super easy miles before work.  Legs still feel pretty sore.

1.5 mile warm up and then met up with the group at the annex.  Temps around 43 and a bit of wind.  Today was a 9 mile MGP run through the hills on Expo, Enfield, Pecos, and then back via Scenic with the last 3.5 miles somewhat flat.  One of the coaches had a table set up at mile 5 I think for us to grab water and keep moving.  I grabbed one water and one gatorade - the gatorade didn't sit with me too well.  I will need to remember to stay away from that stuff during the race.

Anyway, both Russ and I felt so much better this year compared to last year.  The miles weren't easy but they weren't hard either.  Now, could I do this for 26 miles?  Not too sure about that one. :-)  Still, when you can talk at a 6:30 pace, especially through the hills, I think that is a good thing.  I need to talk Russ into coming to Boston to pace me.  lol.

3.8 miles easy and then 6:54, 6:39, 6:31, 6:38, 6:29, 6:32, 6:33, 6:42, 6:35.  One mile cool down.

PM run - 4.5 miles on the trail at lunchtime.  Legs finally felt good during the last mile. 

On vacation north of Phoenix for a few days, then off to Sedona and then the Grand Canyon.  This works out well as I wanted to take a recovery week. 

Didn't run today - slept in and had a great day with the kids. 

Found an area by accident north of the resort.  There were a lot of ATV and motorcross trails and I ran a few miles through the desert which was cool.  Saw a wonderful sunrise.

14 miles - 10 on the trails again.  On the road to later today.  Not sure I will run tomorrow.  The terrain is not really great for running.  Heading to the Grand Canyon later.  We have a room right on the rim.  I do plan on running there.

After 2 full days off I expected my legs to feel better.  Early morning run in mid 7:00s followed by 6 x 100m.  Had fun freaking out the deer in front of the house :-)

Will go out for a lunch time run - going to cram 75 miles in 6 days.

4 @ lunch - 7:40's - 85 degrees and sunny - reminded me of Boston 2012.

Somehow I talked Russ in meeting me at my house for a med. long run through Great Hills and wonderful Rain Creek road.  Then headed back up Jollyville fighting the wind for a few miles.  We ran mid to low 7's with last 2 @ 6:50 and 6:30.  

4.75 miles at lunchtime on the grass and trail. 

5 easy on the trail and grass - after work run.

Got to the annex early for a quick 1.2 mile warm up and then ran 1.6 miles with the rest of the group to Austin High track.

Today was 1 x 2k, 3 x 1k, and 4 x 400m.  Felt very relaxed and pretty strong through out the workout.  Was able to lay down a 65 for the last 400m and it was not completely all out. Feeling good about where I am in my training right now. 

2 min active recoveries between 2k and 1k's, 1 min active recovery between 400's. 

2k @ 7:25

1k @ 3:35

1k @ 3:38

1k @ 3:35

400m @ 83'

400m @ 84'

400m @ 84'

400m @ 65'

3 miles easy back to the annex via the long way. 

PM - lunchtime run of 5.25 miles on grass, mulch and trail.

Nice lunchtime recovery run on the grass and trail in the rain.  

Ran the 14 mile Lake Austin trail loop and added the 3 mile triangle with Enfield and Expo hills at mile 12.  Finished pretty strong on a warm and humid and windy morning.  Picked it up on the hills dropped the pace in the 6:40s and the last .65 miles @ 6:20 pace.  6 x 75 m strides afterward.  Overall AP for the run 7:15.

Ran in my new pair of Kinvaras that I picked up at Academy last night for $44.  I stopped by to look for new running shoes for my son and left with new shoes for me instead.  :-) 

Due to the SXSW fest going on here in Austin there a tons of events happening.  Today there was a PBS sponsored 4.2 mile run on the trail with Peter Sagal - the host of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me.  Met up with some other friends and got a free T-shirt, coffee, OJ, copy of the U.S. Constitution, and breakfast tacos after the run.  I am guess there were about 150 runners that showed up.  Did a nice easy run for the first 3 miles and then sped up a bit on the last one.  This was purely for run and was not a race or timed event.  Afterward I ran with Dan on his way back to Barton Springs - I added about 2.5 miles.  

Anyway, it was fun to do something completely different. 

Shooting for close to 80 miles this week.  The plan is to do back to back 80 mile weeks and then taper down from there.   

6 miles easy on the grass and trail at lunchtime.  Sunny, dry and 52 degrees.

Met up with the group after a 2 mile easy warm up.  The route was an 8 miler that included the long climb up through Barton Hills and then the lollipop loop, then back down on Barton Skyway back to the trail.  The workout was do run the first three easy and the last five under half marathon pace.  This is a pretty tough workout and  I remember last year I struggled a bit.  It went better this morning - temps near 40 helped, too.  I ran the easy miles with another runner but soon dropped him when we dropped the pace.  No one in front so it was just me for the remainder of the run.   The lollipop loop is grueling and there are a couple steep hills before and after the loop - so one gets double the fun.  I felt pretty good during this run.  I could have pushed harder but I kept telling myself just run by feel and try to stick to the intent of the workout.

So - 5 miles easy then 5 hard - 6:25, 6:23, 6:07, 6:15, 6:10, then 2 miles easy. 

5.4 easy at lunchtime on the grass and trails.

5.6 recovery miles (8:50 pace) on the grass and trails at lunchtime.  Another beautiful day - 60's, dry and sunny. 

Wow, my hip flexors are sore from yesterday's hills.  I may have to dial back by expectations for tomorrow's 1000's.

Great morning - low 50's and dry.  Arrived a bit early for a 1.4 mile warm up then met up with the group at the annex at 5:45am.  Then another 1.6 easy to Austin High track.  8 x 1000 with 200m active recovery but a full 2-3 minute recovery in between repeats - strict orders from the coach here.  First 5 @ 10k pace and then drop the last 3.  3 miles back to the annex.

1000's felt nice and easy - didn't feel hard until the last one.  But according to the coach that was the whole point of the workout.

5 x 1000m @ 3:45 (6:02 pace)

1 x 1000m @ 3:35 (5:46 pace)

1 x 1000m @ 3:33 (5:42 pace)

1 x 1000m @ 3:20 (5:21 pace)

3 easy back to the annex. 7:40's. 

5 recovery paced miles on the grass and trail - no watch but the miles felt slow - my legs hurt. :-) 

5 super, super easy recovery miles - tired legs for sure.

Met up with the group at 9 am.  The coach wanted to simulate the late start at Boston.  It was warm - 60 degrees.  We had some cloud cover for the first hour so that was good.  But then it was full sun, 25 MPH wind from the south, and 80 degrees and hot during the last few miles.  The coaches had put out ample water stops so that was nice.  I wanted to run 3 hours, but alas we could not keep the pace high enough to make that.  By mile 7 we had a good group of 6 of us and the conversation made the miles go faster. 

The pace wasn't blazing but that wasn't the intent of the workout.  3 runners broke away with 3 miles to go and I stayed at my pace.  With the mileage and the workouts this week I didn't think it was necessary.  I'll save it for next week's long run when we do 10 @ MPG. 

Glad to be finished.  My legs feel good now.  During the run I started to get a little sick to my stomach but I think that was because of the heat.

24 miles in 2:57:00 - 7:22 AP for the run.

Quite a big turn out for the Sunday morning easy run.  Met up at 7 am and did the 8 mile trail loop around Town Lake.  

Legs hurt for the first mile or two but got progressively better.

4 x 50 m strides after. 

14 days of running = a day off today.  May go to the gym for some core work.

Wow, did I want to keep sleeping this morning.  Somehow I got myself up and out the door.  14 mile run today but wasn't sure if I would be able to run some faster miles towards the end or not.  Surprisingly my legs felt pretty good by mile 2.  I checked the mileage at mile 7 to see where I had to turn around and didn't start my watch again.  I missed recording 4 miles but the pace was close to MGP.  Mostly 7:20's and 7:30's after mile 2, then MGP for last 4 or so.  6:50's - 6:40s then 6:30 last mile and 5:50's for the last quarter.   

5 miles easy at lunchtime on the grass and trails. Legs feel good.  This will be the last week of doubles I think.

Quick recovery run after work.

Ran 2 warm-up miles before the meet-up.  We met up north at a new location instead of doing this on trail.  The only problem with this route is that it was an out and back on Shoal Creek from 38th - this was a considerable portion of our 24 mile run this past Saturday, so I was kind of hoping to be done with this street for a while.  Oh, and we had no water support.

Met up with the group and then ran another 2 miles easy and then 10 mins at HM pace, then 3 x 5 minutes at sub 10k pace, and we were supposed to do 10 x 1 minute but we ran out road at the end - we should have gone a bit further up before turning around.  We ran the last one for 2.5 minutes so that counts as 3 1 mins in my book.

10 mins @ 6:20 pace

2 mins recovery @ 8:00 pace 

5 mins @ 6:00 pace

2 mins recovery at 7:54 pace 

5 mins @ 6:04 pace

2 mins recovery @ 8:00 pace 

5 mins @ 6:00 pace

1 minute recovery @ 8:00 pace 

1 min @ 5:50 pace

1 minute recovery at 8:20 pace 

1 min @ 5:50 pace

1 minute recovery at 8:20 pace 

2.35 mins at 5:43 pace

Short cool down - did not do my normal 2 plus miles cool down.  Only 10 miles this morning but I will run 5 + later today. 

6 miles at lunchtime at a pretty good clip - no GPS though. 

Think I am going to run the marathon in the Fastwich.  I like them more and more.  Besides, the bottom heels say "U R Losing" on one shoe and "I'm winning" on the other.  What's not to like about that?! 

5.25 easy at lunchtime.  

Point to point course this morning with the wonderful hills of the lollipop loop at the end. This part can be seen in those paces where I had 2 x 7:00 min miles towards the end.  The course was marked at 19 miles but somehow we ended up with 20, plus I had run 1 easy mile before meeting up with the group.  That should do it for the 20 milers!!  

I wanted to run 10-12 @ MGP and did pretty good I think after another solid week of training.  Started with the group and took off with another guy and we ran together for most of the way.  I lost him on the hills at the end - caught me at the water stop - but then I pushed the pace for the last three miles and dropped him again.  Felt pretty good overall but I am happy these runs are over for now.

8:50, 7:50, 7:21, 7:06, 7:08, 7:10, 7:08, 7:01, 7:04, 6:50, 6:47, 6:50, 6:50, 6:48, 7:05, 6:52, 6:50, 7:00, 6:35, 6:25, 6:27.

6 x 50 strides at the end. 

Going to try a new taper method this time around.  75% of peak milage for 2 weeks and then 50% for last week.  So I will shoot for around 55 miles the next two weeks.   

Nice easy run at lunchtime.  

14 miles - hills on Rain Creek out and Jollyville back.  Nice and cold - 35 degrees.  No wind so it felt pretty good.  

A couple super easy to warm up and then 7:20s, 7:00's for a couple and then 6:50, 6:47, 6:36, 6:37.

7:20 AP.

No double today - what to do for lunch?  Maybe I will hit the gym for some core.

6.4 miles on the grass and trail.  Nice breezy afternoon with temp at 61 degrees.  I miss running downtown at lunchtime.  Much more to look at and I would always see someone I knew.

1.25 miles warm-up and then met the group at the annex.  Boston peeps were doing 8 x 1000m @ HMP with 400m @ lap pace plus 15 seconds.  Russ and I ran together - we did the first few at HMP and then dropped it a bit from there to 10k pace. No stopping during the workout so it was a good mental challenge as well.  

2.9 miles warm up and then 8 x 1000m continuous.

1000m @ 3:56 - 6:18 pace

400m @ 1:55

1000m @ 3:55 - 6:18 pace

400m @ 1:50

1000m @ 3:50 - 6:10 pace

400m @ 1:50

1000m @ 3:50 - 6:10 pace

400m @ 1:50

1000m @ 3:45 - 6:02 pace

400m @ 1:55

1000m @ 3:45 - 6:02 pace

400m @ 1:55

1000m @ 3:45 - 6:02 pace

400m @ 1:55

1000m @ 3:30 - 5:37 pace

2.8 miles cool down.

nice easy recovery run during lunch.  trying to stay below 60 miles this week.

Last longish run before the marathon.  Ran a bit over a mile and then met up with the group.  Today was the hills of Expo and then the accent up Mt. Bonnel hill.  It was Russ, me and one other runner running together.  Once we got to the top, after after we ran the 109 steps to the top to see downtown, we started to drop the pace. We had to run Scenic and Enfield hills on the way back. 

  All of our legs were still feeling tired from Thursday's workout.  Somehow we managed to gut it out and finish pretty strong.  It was warm - 65 plus - and very humid.  It was tough.  

8:58, 8:20, 8:02, 7:36, 7:10, 7:03, 7:02, 7:25 (mt. bonnel), 6:44, 6:48, 6:50, 6:33, 6:32, 6:45, 6:31. 4 x 100m strides.

4.5  recovery miles to get some blood going through the legs.  They are still pretty sore from Thursday/Saturday combo.  Wanted to cut it short anyway so I could be home in time to see the kids get their Easter baskets.

6 easy - 7:28 AP with first mile @ 8:48.  Legs are feeling better.

"Super" fartlek day.  20 mins @ MGP, 2 min recovery, 10 mins @ HMGP, 2 mins recovery, 3 x 5 mins @ 10k pace with 1 min recovery, 5 x 1 min @ 5k pace, 1 min recoveries.

There were 5 of us and we pretty much stayed together - a few faded on the last 10k portion. I got stuck at a light and wait for a car so I had to play catch up a bit.  

We stuck to the trail until after the mgp stuff and then headed out to Lake Austin Blvd for the 10k stuff - had to double back once in order to stick to the road vs. the trail.  Hit the trail for final 2 miles and 5 x 1 mins with some trail left over for a cool down.  It started raining on us during the last 10k bit - we all celebrated - it's been a long time since we had rain, much less ran in it. 

3.25 miles warm-up

20 mins @ MGP - average 6:50 on the trail and in the dark.

2 mins active recovery

5 mins @ 10k pace - 6:15 (a tad slow)   

1 min recovery

5 mins @ 10k pace - 6:05

1 min recovery

5 mins @ 10k pace - 5:49 pace (closer to 5k on this one)

1 min recovery 

5 x 1 mins on - one minute easy - 5:55 ish pace.

13 miles in total - not a bad day at the "running" office.

5 recovery miles during lunchtime.  Perfect running weather for me - overcast, 50, a bit misty.

I had to start at 5:30 because I had an early 7:30 am meeting this morning.  Somehow I talked Russ into meeting me early and running another track workout!  It's the most he has been on a track in a long time.  He's a good sport, for sure.

We did a 2 mile warm-up (added a little on to wake up our legs) to Austin High.  We then did 8 x 800m with 400m active recovery.  This is the Yasso 800 workout that the group traditionally does as the last real workout.  This is where you run the 800's at your projected marathon finishing time - so 3:00 for a 3 hour marathon. The one thing that the group does though is they don't do active recovery - they stand and get water, etc - but if you read the true way to do these it is with the 400m in between which amounted to 2 minutes for Russ and me.  So I also talked Russ into doing active recoveries.  It ended up being a taxing workout, mostly because I started to  drop the pace as we progressed.

We were on our 5th one by the time the rest of the group showed up.  Having others on the track helped getting through the last 3 for sure. 

800m @ 3:00 (6:02 pace)

400m @ 2:00 (7:48 pace)

800m @ 2:58 (5:58 pace)

400m @ 2:01

800m @ 2:58 (ditto)

400m @ 1:59

800m @ 2:53 (5:48 pace)

400m @ 2:00

800m @ 2:55 (5:52 pace)

400m @ 2:00

800m @ 2:53 (5:48 pace)

400m @ 2:00

800m @ 2:47 (5:35 pace)

400m @ 2:10

800m @ 2:42 (5:25 pace)

3.25 miles easy back to the annex.  Good solid workout to work on turnover.  Didn't feel easy but it wasn't really hard, didn't kill it on the last one either.

Easy street for the next 10 days! 

took the day off!

Last "long" run until the marathon.  Parked over at Barton Springs pool and then ran over to meet up with the group at the park.  The plan was to run the 10 mile loop with an out and back that made it 13.  It was Russ, me, and another runner who has been tagging along.  We took it pretty easy the first few but then let the legs feel the pace.  Legs are feeling good right now but that is what they are supposed to feel.  We were chatting along when I looked at my watch as say a 6:30 pace.  Seems like a good sign to me.  

8:50, 8:06, 7:50, 7:18, 7:02, 7:03, 6:44, 6:38, 6:50, 6:53, 6:44, 6:50, 6:38, .5 @ 6:50.

Soaked the legs in the Springs for 15 minutes.   

Just 4 easy miles in the morning.  I almost got talked into the Cap10k.  I had a bib but decided not to run it.  It would have been with some guys running it fairly slowly, but still, I didn't see the point.  

Warm and muggy morning - parked at the Y and ran a mile to Austin high.  The coach gave his Boston speech and then we headed over to Zilker park for a 3k@MGP, but I just made it 4k.  Seemed a lot harder than it should have been.  Honestly, my legs feel better with more miles.  Not sure all this resting is good.  The temps didn't help either.  

It was hard going easy on the way back - probably hitting close to MGP - the muscle memory is there. 

2.5 mile warm up -

4k (2.5 miles) @ MGP

2.5 mile cool down 

Quick run at lunchtime.  No watch but know the course/distance.  Felt pretty good.  45 degrees - I can't believe I am wearing a long sleeve running shirt in April in Texas.

Ran an easy mile then met up with the group at Austin High.  The plan was some fartleks for turnover - 10 x 1 min with 1 min easy in between.  

2 easy then 10 x 1 min on at 5:50 pace down to 5:30 pace for the last few. 

Couple miles cool down. 

4 easy on the trail after work.

My race seems insignificant at this point.  All 45 runners that made the trip from my running group are safe and sound, although a couple were very close when it happened. One was sitting in the medical tent at the finish and another was just coming in.   It was a tragic and sad day.

7:07,  6:54, 6:56, 6:50, 6:56, 6:52, 6:53, 7:03, 6:56, 6:53, 6:54, 6:47, 6:52, 6:47, 6:50, 6:48, 7:01, 7:07, 7:25, 7:06, 7:45, 7:03, 7:08, 7:22, 7:35, 7:55, .42 @ 2:47

Met up with a couple other runners for 8 easy on the trail - probably could have taken it a bit easier - most miles below 8:00.  Russ is training for his marathon so he met up with us after running a point-to-point 15 miler - he hit 13.1 in 1:27:30 - he is definitely ready for a great marathon.  He then added the 8 with us.  

Legs felt a bit sore but not too bad.   

Core workout at the gym - my summer goal is to get stronger and leaner.  That five to ten pounds of extra fat needs to go.

5 at lunchtime - legs feeling pretty good.  It was warm and humid out there.  8:20 AP.

Ankle is playing up again - lucky to have made it through the marathon.  

6.5 miles at lunchtime.  Legs were fine until mile 5 when some lingering fatigue became evident.  6.5 miles in 48 minutes.

My wife is training for a triathlon in June - so my Saturday morning runs are no more until then.  Made it to the gym later on and did 6 miles on the inside track.  Pretty good clip.  Legs are feeling better.   

Had quite a turn out for our easy run.  It was good seeing some friendly faces.

8 miles easy on the trail with strides, and then a half mile run to see the Bun Run 5k peeps go by at the halfway mark, then back.

9 miles for the morning. 

Running the Chuy's 5k next Sunday.  Hopefully my legs will be ready.

Went out for a lunchtime run - sunny, hot and humid.  Struggled a bit towards the end.  

6 miles in after work.  88 degrees and sunny.  It was warm for sure.  Ran from work down to the trail loop.  No GPS so no pace.  The heart was working pretty hard on that last mile.  Legs still not feeling all that great.  

50 and windy - went out for 6 miles an lunchtime.  Seems like a lot of effort - maybe my body is still in recovery mode?

Only had enough time to squeeze in 5.5 miles. 

Went out in the heat of the day- nice breeze made it feel a bit cooler than it was.  7:20 AP.

Got to the springs a bit early so instead of standing around I got a mile in, then 8 miles with the fellas.  Small group today but it was good.  7:50 AP - last mile at 6:25 to get the legs going a bit. Strides after too.  52 degrees at the start - that should do it for cool mornings until October.

Got up early to get in an easy 6 mile run.  It's going to get hot this week so I don't want to count on the lunchtime run.  Would like to get to 50 miles this week.  8:20's or so.

I had some meetings at HQ downtown so I went down early to run on the trail.  It was good to see so many familiar faces.  I did a solo 8 miles on the trail.  No watch but the pace was good - low 7:00's?  

I will probably show up for Thursday's workout - 15-20 300's - I think the legs are ready. :-)

6 miles at lunchtime - warm but some clouds and a strong breeze made it feel not so bad.  

I decided I would drive down and do a workout with the group - it's getting kinda boring running by myself.  I guess I am a boring person.

So did 20 mins warm-up and then 20 x 300m in 63-65 seconds with 100m active recovery between each, with a quick stop for fluids after every 5th one.

These felt pretty good - I figured I would start a group back since it was my first workout back.  I think that was a good idea.  The group ahead started at 60 seconds - but no need to push it - although I did run number 20 - the last one - in 50 secs. :-)

Nice and easy 2 mile cool down.

Got a run in before the rain - legs were feeling it from yesterday - ran my 7 mile route without a watch - but the pace was slow.

We traveled down to Galveston today.  Didn't get a chance to run. :-(

9.5 easy along the seawall in Galveston.  Strong breeze so I chose to run into it for the first half so I could enjoy the wind at my back.  Nice to run along the coast with the sun coming and the sound of the waves crashing.  

Up early again for 8 miles along the coast - windy again so I took the same course as yesterday.  

The wind shifted and much more humid and warmer.  Gave me a chance to run in the other direction though so it was a nice change of scenery.  

Squeezed in a lunchtime run.  Warm and humid - fun!

Decided to meet up with the group for a fartlek on the trail.  20 x 1 min fast and 1 min easy.  70 degrees at 5:45 am and humid.  First 10 @ 5:50 ish pace and then I had to drop out of the group for an emergency potty break at the public loo.  Note to self - don't eat 3 large plates of greens the day before a hard workout.  I ended up making a total of 3 stops which really messed up my rhythm!  

Anyway, it was pretty hard to finish up the last part of the workout but I managed.  I added on a bit at the end to get over 8 miles.  

 I feel out of shape!  This workout always gets me.  I need to work on starting out slower.

8 easy - it wasn't easy though - my 8:30 miles felt like 7:00 pace - maybe the heat?  Or maybe my grand experiment of eating a minimal amount of calories is catching up with me. At least I am losing the extra weight.

8 easy on the indoor track - too hot out by the time I had a chance to run.

Busy day - but finally had a chance to get in a late run - 7 miles on the indoor track.  It's tedious but the alternatives - running in 95 degrees or the treadmill - are worse.  Ankle is still not 100% but I'll continue to run through it and see what happens.

Mile warm up - legs are still not back yet - my first mile was like 10 minutes - then met up with the group.  Though about doing the workout but continued on with a small group that ran Boston for a slowish easy run as the main group split off.  Ended up running a bit extra at the end as well.  I'll just keep trucking along until I get my legs back.

Nice cool morning - easy 7 miles.