Of Mice and Marathons

Old Standby - 6.5 miles, no watch

Elmwood/Greenbush to Creasy to Union - 5.5 miles, averaged 8:10

Did a long hill climb up Greenbush to get the legs moving. Went through most of the gears on the way back. 

Jefferson High School loop - 6.3 miles, average 7:55

A little bit fast for a race week, but I got a late start and a small coffee in me (something I haven't had for weeks), so I figured let the legs kick a bit in the cool breezy air. 

Old Standby, classic version - 5.25 miles, no watch

Ran part of the way around Old Standby before some kids yelled something immature out the window and I started to chase them. Of course they were gone, and I was running too fast so I cut the run a bit short for tomorrow's race - 4 miles, averaged 7:51

First 15k in the morning. Seems like a good distance and an excellent indicator for the half in 2 weeks. 

My first 15k, which is part of the 500 Festival Series leading up to the half marathon. Race day packet pickup is super helpful, and the organizers ran this race pretty much the same as the 10k. I warmed up for 2 miles on the last mile or so of the course, did some strides, drills, and stretching. Got up somewhat toward the front but too close because I don't want to slow down faster runners. The course was similar to the 10k course, but this time we took a left out of the gate (I think it was a right last time because we had a turn around before. I had to dodge a lot of folks and a few trees (!) going into the first mile, which was a bit faster than goal pace. 6:56, so I backed off just a bit to get back to schedule. A few smallish hills, but the course is quite flat overall so I settled into the plan. Miles 2, 3, 4, & 5 (7:03, 7:09, 7:07, 7:08). I picked it up a bit going into the 10k mark, so Miles 6 &7 were (7:03, 7:02). I started to feel it after mile 7. I only took a few sips of water just after mile 6, and even though it was cool (about 40), a bit of whiskey tasting last night wasn't my smartest move :), but Mile 8 was 7:06. Form was starting to sag, so I remembered to "get tall." Mile 9 was supposed to be my fastest mile, but I try not to underestimate the finish, whatever the distance is. Still 7:01 was the second fastest mile. Once I hit mile 9 I went for it, and chased down the women in front of me. Decent finish at 6:12 average pace for the partial mile. Walked for a bit and got some water. Cooled down on the Canal Trail for 2 miles.

The goal was to break 66 minutes, but really 1:05:30 :) and maybe 1:05:00 :), and I was pretty close at 1:05:12 (7:00 average). Great race series. $30 for the 10k + 15k can't be beat. These races will be on my schedule next year for sure. 

Jefferson High School reverse loop - 6.5 miles, averaged 8:03

Old Standby - 6.5 miles, no watch

Golf Course/Wabash Trail/Union (new loop) - 6 miles, averaged 8:35

Old Standby with a smallish detour for a funeral party - 6.6 miles, no watch

Little loop around the south side. Probably add it to the list for pre-race day, watchless runs - 4.25 miles, no watch

Old Standby, Classic Version - 5.25 miles, no watch

Old Standby - 6.5 miles, no watch

18th street and around the north side to N21st/Union/N26th - 5 miles, averaged 8:20

Old Standby (classic version) - 5.4 miles w/ few strides, no watch.

Day off yesterday to get some rest for a hard effort for the first half of the season on Saturday. 

Looped around the north side without specific direction - 4.25 miles, averaged 8:15

Half in the morning. Should be a great race, considering the race results this year, the shape I am in, and my last half was during marathon training and the Sunday before I ran 22+ miles. 

Carmel Championship Weekend Half Marathon. Even with some signage issues and poor volunteering (but also plenty of excellent volunteering as well), this was a great race. Hillier than I expected. Most races in the area are flattish, but this one had some rollers and overall net gain. I lined up closed to the front, but behind the 1:30 group. I was tempted to go with them, but I knew it was slightly out of my reach. Still, I set close to a 6 minute PR. 

Only had time for a bit over a mile warm up before jumping into the corral.

First 4 miles were primarily downhill into a turn around back up a portion of the hill (7:10, 7:02, 7:18, 7:13.) We went through some nice neighborhoods and a few folks were out spectating, which was nice even though it was a smallish race (about 2000 for both half and full). My race memories are never that clear, but I think we entered the paved trails around mile 7 or so (were the "fun" began), but splits 5-7 were (7:14, 7:27, 7:10). At one point in the race I was running with one person and we couldn't see anyone up ahead, and we came to a fork in the road. No indication of direction! We guessed and there was a guy playing a guitar up ahead and we asked him. Of course he was singing and he kind of smiled before letting us know we were on track. Some tree cover, so I think the pace was a bit off but still close: 8 & 9 (7:10, 7:18). Another spectator told us we hit the last hill, which was a sharp turn uphill to get to the end of the woods section (he was very wrong about it being the last hill I might add). Around this point we exited the woods and got to an intersection that had a weird turn that went down another path (possibly this was earlier), but the point is the volunteer had her dog and iPod and was a little slow to give the direction (we had to ask), so I had to change my direction. Mile 10 was 7:18. I planned to run the last 5k in 22:00. I was tired by this point and the guy I ran several miles with pulled away a bit, even though I thought I had more energy than he did. We ran the last few miles through a downtown area back to the start 11-13 (7:03, 7:04; 6:56). As usual, the finish was just around a corner, and I always think it is farther than it is, but it was down hill and I ran around the 5-minute mark for the remaining partial split trying to catch the guy in front of me (25 seconds for the partial). After I hit the finish I was moving 4:45 so I kind of missed my medal at the end of the chute :) I heard "You forgot your medal!" Yes, yes, I did! I couldn't slow down because it was a nice downhill. Someone was nice enough to meet me when my parachute finally slowed me down. Some day I will learn how folks run at that pace in a controlled fashion! 5 minutes and 53 second PR.

 Heard a voice call my name after I got my goodies. It was another grad student I know, who ended up winning. I guess there was some discrepancy about a missed turn when he was in 2nd and the guy ahead was lead the wrong way around a roundabout (rotary, traffic circle, circus, whatever folks in the mid-west call it!), but the times weren't close enough at the end for a minor detour to matter. 

 1.75 miles for the cool down

Old Standby recovery run - 5.3 miles, no watch. Legs feel pretty good. Thought my upper legs would be beat up from the hills yesterday, but they feel fine.

Jefferson High School Loop (new, longer version that runs to Beck before turning around) - 8 miles, averaged 8:30

Golf Course/Heritage Trail Loop (included 18th street hill for a good 2.25 mile climb from the base of Union) - 7.5 miles, averaged 8:36

Up Union around the neighborhood after Courtland, Creasy to Greenbush, through Munger Park, picked up part of my usual route from there, back home - 9.25 miles, averaged 8:20

Old Standby - 6.5 miles, no watch

Old Standby - 5.6 miles, no watch

18th Street to Teal and back - 8 miles, averaged 8:29

West Lafayette High School track - 9.09 miles, averaged 7:58

 6 x 1000m (5k-10k pace) with 2:30 recovery jog. 2 mile warm up and cool down. 

1. (4:09.7), 2. (4:08.5), 3. (4:08.3), 4. (4:04.1), 5. (4:02.8), 6. (3:52.1)

First few repeats were right on, but still felt a bit slow. Good progression throughout, however, so this session was successful. First shorter interval session in a little while, and first official track session of the season. Glad to be running faster sessions off the road.