Freethinker ~ Freerunner

Long run of 17 miles at a 7:32 AP.  57 degrees.  

There was an isolated thunder storm that started to develop at the beginning of this run.  I lucked out and did not get rained on, but the wind was whipping around like crazy from the North.  Fortunately it had died down somewhat towards the latter half of the run. 

I took the Creek trail to the West this morning, which I haven't done in a while because it has been closed for several months.  I knew the wind would not be as bad if I went that way so I decided to risk running on construction.  It turned out to be safe and passable, but there was one muddy spot that coated my shoes in mud that I did not see in the dark. 

Last five miles: 7:22, 7:14, 7:15, 7:11, 6:48.  I felt strong near the end so I finished a little faster. 

VO2 Max workout.  11 miles with 5x1200's.

It was lightly raining and the wind was blowing hard out of the north east.  I made sure that I was running in to the wind as little as possible on the 1200's, which meant that I got a short warmup and a long cool down due to the direction of my out and back route.

2 mile warmup: 7:27, 7:45.

1200's: 4:38, 4:43, 4:42, 4:40, 4:37.

I jogged for quarter miles between repeats, which ended up averaging about 2 minutes of recovery.  This was about the the amount of time it took me to get back to 70% of my maximal heart rate. 

I ended up running 4.25 miles at the end of this workout.  I would have balanced this a little better in ordinary circumstances, but I knew if I didn't get most of the workout done up front I would have been running the 1200's directly in to the 20 mile per hour north winds.

My "cool down" went like this: 8:13, 8:20, 8:15, 7:54.

Recovery 6.75 miles with 6 100's.  

I skipped my MLR yesterday because I felt a weird twingy feeling in my right ankle.  I've got the Aquarium Half on Saturday and I really didn't want any weird injuries cropping up last minute.  This morning I went nice and easy at a 7:55 AP and then ran some 100's at the end.  I can't say I didn't feel the ankle at all, but I only felt it slightly during the last mile.  

I will take it nice and easy tomorrow and hopefully be 100% Saturday morning. 

Recovery run.  Nice and easy 8:12 pace. 

My Garmin malfunctioned somewhere about the one mile mark.  I looked down at my wrist and it was on the clock screen. I had to reconnect to the satellites and start it again.  When I got home the original activity had just been lost, which I thought was really weird.

My right ankle feels much better today than two days ago, but now my lower back feels like I pulled a muscle.  This has been a hard cycle on me, but I'm going to make it.  I'm really looking forward to writing my half marathon PR race report tomorrow!  

The Jenks Aquarium Half Marathon has now officially come and gone.  I am both happy and slightly disappointed.

My goal was to run this in under 1:30:00.  My chip time came in at 1:30:17.  17 seconds is all I missed it by.  The course was a nice flat out and back.  I knew I should have no trouble making my time, but I didn't count on the South wind for the entire 'back' 6.5 miles throwing a wrench in the works.  

Miles 1-5: 6:32, 6:33, 6:33, 6:36, 6:40

I felt really good for the first five miles.  I initially planned on going out in 6:49's and then gradually picking it up depending on how I felt.  When I realized that the wind was blowing from the South I knew I would need to bank as many miles as I could in under 6:49.  That way if I couldn't hack it running in to the wind I would have some breathing room.  

Miles 6-10: 6:44, 6:41, 6:50, 6:56, 6:59

All of these miles were run into the wind, but fortunately there were lots of trees that helped to damper it.  Half way through mile 9 the course veered to the right and headed directly into the south wind.  Miles nine and ten completely through me off my game and I never fully recovered. 

Miles: 11-13.2: 7:07, 7:17, 7:10, 1:42

We finally got a little break from the wind just over halfway through mile 11 as the course changed direction several times from this point until the finish.  There was a hard right turn that went under a bridge at mile 12.  I was running with two other guys and we all ran along the street instead to the sidewalk.  A course marshal directed us back onto the sidewalk, which meant chugging up a grassy hill.  I wonder now that I'm thinking back on this if that isn't what cost me my 17 seconds.  If we had not gotten slightly off course I would not have had to kill my self going up the hill.  Or if I had just stayed on the street until it met back up with the sidewalk I probably also would have had an easier time keeping my pace.  It was not a short cut, just an eventual turn that meant you needed to be on the sidewalk to get to. I talked to others after the race that got caught off guard by this same point in the course.

Conclusion: My watch says that I ran 13.25 miles in 1:30:26 at an AP of 6:49.  6:49 would have been fast enough to make it in under 1:30.  If I had only run a few less tangents I think I would have made it.  

I am thrilled with my time overall.  I took 9:02 off of my previous half marathon time.  That was two years ago so I should have improved quite a bit, but I'm still feeling good.  I will not go in to Oklahoma City lightly.  I will run smart through the taper and hope there is not too much wind to deal with.