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Forest Park Step N Stride 10k

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Location:

New Palestine,IN,USA

Member Since:

Oct 23, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

5k - 18:59 (3/09)
4M - 25:06 (9/09)
10k - 41:01 (11/07)

Half - 1:25:58 (11/09)

Marathon - 3:06:33 (12/09)

Short-Term Running Goals:

1:25 for the half marathon
Sub 39:00 for the 10k.
3:07 marathon
18:30 5k

Upcoming Races



Long-Term Running Goals:

Break 3:00 for the marathon.

Personal:

Married, two daughters (18 and 15).  Masters runner trying to get competitive in my age group.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Ride 5 (Red) Lifetime Miles: 372.70
ASICS Excel 33 Lifetime Miles: 152.00
Saucony Ride 7 Lifetime Miles: 249.00
ASICS DS Trainer Lifetime Miles: 212.20
Asics Cumulus 16 Lifetime Miles: 241.30
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
39.200.006.203.0048.40
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

Just an easy run today. Weather was windy and around 40. Felt ok throughout the run. I have been having a little pain in my calf but seems to get better as I go along.

8 miles, 64:08, 8:01

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.003.007.00

It has been a long time since I have been on the track so today I wanted to do an interval workout to see how my body has been responding to the training. I planned on doing 5 x 1000 in 3:57 with around 2:00 recovery. It was very windy and cool today (32) so not the greatest day for the workout but after a 2 mile warm up I got into the intervals. The first one seemed a little tough as my legs were still getting loosened up and adjusting to the faster pace. I finished it in 3:55. The rest of the intervals went by without much problem. The forth and fifth I started feeling like I was pushing a little but not to the point of struggling. Here are the splits:

3:55, 3:55, 3:54, 3:53: 3:52

I was happy that each one went faster and that the total for the 5k was 19:29. This is a much better result than a similar workout that I did a couple of months ago. I was faster and didn't feel like I struggled as much.

7 miles, 56:05

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

Today was the first run of the fall below freezing (27 degrees). Even though I don't mind the cold much I am wondering why I complained so much about the summer heat. I guess I still perfer the cold over those hot and humid days.

I did an easy 10 mile run on my normal route so not much to report. Only thing I noticed is that my heart rate was about 6 or 7 beats higher than normal for the pace I was running. I am not sure if this is a result of the cold or maybe just a little tired.

10 miles, 1:21:30, 8:09

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

Today I did an easy run with some strides at the end. I think I am going to run a local 10k on Sat if the weather stays good and my schedule stays open. I didn't want to push it to much today if I am going to race on Sat. I did pickup the pace for about a mile in the middle of the run just to see how the legs would respond. Everything felt good so hopefully I will be able to make it on Sat. If I get a chance to run I am not planning anything big. I will probably treat it more like a workout. So tomorrow I will probably keep it easy as well and then see how Sat goes.

7 miles, 55:08, 5 x 20 sec strides

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.200.000.000.006.20

Today I did an easy run on the local XC course. It was a good change to get away from the road, cars and into the woods. I should do this more often but usually it is faster and easier to just head out the door and run on the road.

Tomorrow I am running a 10k so I didn't want to do to much today. I am keeping the 10k low key. I want to treat it more like a tempo training run. I have not run many 10ks so my PR is pretty weak. I have actually ran faster in a half marathon than I did in my 10k PR so unless I am totally off tomorrow I should be able to manage a PR. I want to see how I am progressing on my fitness but other than that don't have any real goals for the race. I think I will be for something around 43:00. We will see how it goes.

6.2 miles, 52:39, 8:30

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Race: Forest Park Step N Stride 10k (6.2 Miles) 00:41:00, Place overall: 21, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.006.200.0010.20

Today I ran in the Forest Park 10k. It was a beautiful morning driving to the race. The temperature was 38 degrees and there was very little wind. I have not done this race before so I wasn't sure what to expect from the course but I noticed a few hills as I was driving into the park but nothing bad.

I did a 2 mile warm up before the race and felt pretty good. I was thinking about what to shoot for in the race since I didn't have a lot of plans for this race. I thought if I could hit something between 6:45 and 6:50 pace I would be happy. I have not run a lot of 10ks but ran one about 3 months ago in 44:12 which was not long after I had started training seriously again. So a PR seemed inevitable but I really wanted to see how my training has been progressing since I have consistent picked up my training.

There are a 5k and a 10k race and it seemed most people were doing the 5k. It seemed like there was around 200 runners doing the 10k. We started right at 9:00 and I tried to settle into a comfortable pace. I was trying to hold myself back but I felt easy and smooth. Part of the first mile was down a hill so I expected it to be quicker. I hit the first mile in 6:17 which was a real wake up. This was much faster than I had planned. I thought don't worry to try to settle into a comfortable pace and see where it would take me. I latched on to a couple of runners and tried to run with them for a while. One of the guys amazed me because he was breathing so hard it sounded like he was coming in for a sprint finish instead of just going by the first mile. Anyway the second mile felt good and I didn't feel any real strain at this point so I calmed down after the fast first mile. I came through the second mile in 6:31 which was better but still faster than I had planned. I was now running closer to 5k pace than 10k. I tried to just stayed focused on the pace on not panic. I still felt good so I thought I would see if I could hold it. The 3rd mile was pretty much the same. I didn't feel like I was pushing but it was getting harder. I came through the 3rd mile in 6:33. Now I started thinking about a big PR and wanted to see if I could hold the pace to the finish. I got my answer about a half mile later as I really started feeling the strain of the pace. I was able to hold it together pretty good and came through the 4th mile in 6:41. I didn't feel like I was crashing but I knew that I couldn't run anymore 6:30's at this point so I focused on trying to stay in the 6:45 range to the finish. The 5th mile was the hardest mile so far and I was starting to struggle some. It was also more difficult since the field had strung out and I was running by myself. I tried to focus on the runners ahead of my to see if I could make up some distance. Even with these issues I managed a 6:48 for the 5th mile. Now I was focusing on the finish and wanted to see if I could hold my pace and not slow down anymore. Another runner passed my just after the 5 mile mark and he looked pretty strong so I just focused on trying to go with him. He was pulling away a little from me but we were also passing some other runners which lifted my spirits. I knew at this point that I was paying for the fast early pace but I also knew that if I could keep it together it would be a good time for me. I was really glad to see the 6 mile mark and more glad to see that I came through in 6:36. The last .2 was up a decent hill and I wanted to push in as fast as I could. I got back in the park and rounded a curve to the finish. This was the first time I got a chance to see the clock. It was getting very close to 41:00 minutes and I thought if I can sprint I might be able to get under 41. I started pushing hard (I can't say sprinting because it was definitely not sprinting) but it was looking like I would lose the battle. I hit the line right as the clock switched over to 41.

Regardless I was very happy when I finished. This was much better than anything that I imagined and much better than all the predictor calculators that I played around with last week. It was very satisfying to see the results of sticking with a consistent training plan. This really pumps me up to stay with the plan and see where it takes me. I never kept my mileage consistent through the winter. I have always cut way back and it shows in the spring. I really want to focus on building a good base this winter that I can build from.

Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
39.200.006.203.0048.40
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