Random Inspirational Quote

Lunch Track Workout: 2.5 mi. jog w/ strides to WU. 

3x(800/600/400) LT w/ 40sec jog/3min. btwn.

2:50, 2:09, 1:24 / 2:50, 2:07, 1:24 / 2:52, 2:06, 1:23

jog back to office from track.  9.8 total - 1:10

TM at gym - lunch time - 6miles w/ 5xhills and 5xstrides - 46:26

AM: easy 8 over to Menards and back.  6xstrides at the end. about 65 minutes

7:30 am race in downtown Lexington, KY.  I really enjoy this race in my old home town - Lexington, KY.  Its pretty competitive, but, the 3:30 am wake up time required to drive down morning of the race is not ideal, but, totally worth it.  66 deg. and very humid.  Met up with Nathan in a parking lot downtown before the race and we go to find a couple other buddies who have graciously picked up our packets the night before.  Great to see these guys and totally geek about running stuff.

WU with some jogging and strides close to start line.  The start is nuts.  A lot of high schoolers and younger guys take off (along with the legit folks) at about 5:20 pace for the first half mile.  Its hard to tell where I actually stand, but, I guess about 50th.  Through mile 1 right around where I want to be and feel fine - 5:45.  The second mile is a sneaky uphill and is followed by the always difficult and less subtle uphill of mile 3 - 5:52, and 6:07.  I am slowly picking off people, still, and hit the downhill fourth with a decent effort - 5:45.  I see that I am in about 20th at the turn around, but, know that mile five is coming up and is the slowest of the race (the worst hills of the race).  A big effort is required for a 6:01 on this mile, leaving me a bit gassed for the net downhill last mile and finish.  The familiar sick stomach strikes again.  My heart rate was gets high for the uphill battle of mile 5 and now my stomach gives me fits the rest of the way. Hang on to 5:43 for mile 6 and 1:19 for 0.24 partial, only to be blown by in the last 100m by a young gun.  10k - 36:30, 22nd place.  Course PR

Hung around finish shute chatted with some other familiar faces.  Long recovery run with Nathan and Tim, running the course.  Hang around for awards and get a cool star shaped trophy for winning AG.  Cool street festival in downtown for fourth of July.  Those guys took off and I went back to car grab handheld and run some more miles.  

Tour de Lexington - run around UK campus over to Arboretum.  Lots of construction on campus - looks like a major facelift is well under way on campus dorms and buildings.  Its about 3 miles from downtown to Arboretum (thru campus) Arboretum is a 2 mile paved loop with some nice scenery and apparently lots of people.  I had found a strava segment for the loop CCW and thought I'd give it a crack.  Made about a mile behind pace, and gave up on that idea.  Still, nice to run a couple loops and people watch.  Getting hot!  Jogged back thru campus to downtown festival.  

12.34mi. - 1:42:19 

AM Long Run - 9 min. Miles for 4 hours.  Explored some cool little trails around town.  Found some down by the river.

26.6-4hrs

PM - 30min. Cycling and 10min.if core

Lunch TM run at gym - 6x0.5miles, 2x0.25 LT. This was 10.5-10.7 mph for 800s and 11 & 11.5 mph for 400s. 7miles - 46:40

Easy jog of Mill Race Mar finish. 4.6 miles - about 40min.

Lunch TM run at gym : 1.5 / 1 / 0.75 mi. @ TH with 0.25 jog btwn.  10 mph, 10.1mph, 10.2 mph

6 mi. Total - 41:40

AM : TM at gym - feeling pretty sick, so, some uphill power hiking and jogging - 2 miles - 26:00.  Cold like symptoms.

Lunch run - 4.2 miles on CR behindWal-Mart -  about 9min. Miles

PM - TM lunch run at gym - 10x0.13mi. LT. W/ 0.15 jog - 2x10.6mph, 2x10.7, etc.

5miles. Total - 34:00

Sick as a dog - cold like symptoms - achy and sore throat.  Not doing 2x5k races planned this weekend.

Slept in and got up with an extremely sore throat.  Breakfast and coffee and tried to tough it out.  Nope - Nyquil and laying around this morning.

AM - easy 6 - slow and still recovering from sickness.  Hacking up green nastiness still.

PM - 90 degrees and sunny. Over hot - real feel about 100. Run from house over to meet up with series race director for some miles. Taking it really slow.  The poor guy can't make it 5 miles at 9 min. Pace.  

I continue on and leave him to suffer on his on as he instructs.  I don't do much better - never break 9 min./mile.  13miles - 1:58

PM Lunch run - run about 1 mile in some serious heat over to the gym under sunny, hot skies.  hop on TM and run 7:30 pace for 5miles in about 20 degree cooler indoor temps, and then hop off and out the door and back to work.  I was amazed that the temp had dropped 15 degrees and really started clouding up in a matter of 45 minutes.  No kidding, 30 minutes after I returned to work, a very strong storm blew through and knocked out the power in about 4 counties and split some utility pole around us in 2!  

LAter that afternoon, I get home to discover we aslo have no power (and no AC) and the kids and wife are ready to get out. 

3PM   TM run at gym after another day without elec. at the office. - built up .  started at 1mi. MP ~ 9.0mph - 9.2 mph for a mile and into 9.8 mph for last 2 miles ~HMP.  Worked in to a comfort zone at that pace, but, really took some coaxing to get the heart rate up and get "comfortable".

4.1 mi. total - 27:45

PM2  Track "workout" at Southside track.  The fair is actually in town at the fairgrounds, so my normal loop reserved for 1mile reps was occupied by carnies.  2mi. WU w/ a couple strides from house and into: 3.5x1mi. @ LT.  Goal was five reps - no go today.  5:51, 5:47, 5:45, and killed myself for 2:48 for half mile.  Called it quits and jogged home. 7.4 total - 55 min.

Easy 3mi. TM at gym right afterwork - can't shake this cough and upper respiratory crap.  7:30 pace

AM before work: started off on TM at gym, but, it was just really hot in there and too nice outside.  Ran down usually CR behind Walmart.  Threw in random strides mostly on hills: 10x random strides.  7.2 miles total - about an hour

PM Lunch run - easy hour - 7.1 miles.  Much warmer outside.

8PM shakout - slow 5ish miles - 52:44

Feeling really sluggish on this last run.  Still coughing and feeling this respiratory crap in my lungs.

Lunch run in the heat.  About 90-95 and sunny.  Ran over to track from work and did 8x200m strides - about 5k effort made me want to puke in this heat.

7.1 miles total - 58:54

AM: series race across town.  8 miles easy from house over to race with some strides at the end.  Ate a couple gels along the way for breakfast and stopped for a bathroom break at Kroger.  Chatted around and did some more strides 10 minutes before race.

Only one high schooler going out too fast today.  5:30 pace for a half a mile and then he slowly died and came back.  While he was in the lead, however, he took a wrong turn and led the top 5-6 guys astray with him.  When all said and done we went 3.55 total.  Fortunately, the top 3 were able to catch back up to the non-lost folks and finish 1-3.  I didn't run that well, anyway, so it was probably agood thing to have that to blame.  Been battling upper respiratory crap for the last week and half it seems like.  Feel okay, but, go in to horrible coughing fits.  Lungs feel inflamed (?)...  5:37, 5:51, 6:09, 3:26.

Took long way home and took it real easy.  Assessing flood damage and dodging muddy slick spots.  missed one and took a nasty spill removing the skin from knee and hand. 10.32 mi. - 90 min.

AM - 2 hour Long Run with some moderate effort thrown in there.  Extremely humid and heat building.  Entire handheld drained and one gel choked down.  Still hacking up stuff, but, improvement on tht front.  At some point, I need to start with some serious MP long runs. 

15 mi. - 1:58

PM -TH efforts on the bike. 10.66miles - 39min.

PM - lunch run - 7 mi. slow, but, not easy in the heat - 61min.  Depleted.

PM - road bike over to Mill Race Park for 1mile series race.  Integrated the race in to the end of today's workout: 1,1,2,2,3,3,2,2 TH + strides + 1mile race.  Workout was fartlek type workout (?): 2x(1min. TH, 1 min. rec.), 2x(2min. TH, 2min. rec.), etc.  Pretty poor efforts looking back at splits.  1mile race went okay - 4:57 on a slightly short road course in downtown.  GPS - 0.96 and showing about 5:12 pace.  Jogged back to bike and sprinted (bike) home. 

7.87 total on bike, 6 miles total run

AM: slow and easy hour - house up Carr Hill and back.  6.61 miles - 56:34.  Decent weather, pretty sore.

PM Lunch run up close to Indy - Fort Ben State Park.  Consultant meeting right across the street and JSE.  awesome new wooded path to run.  Fun to see some "23", "24", and "25" mile markers on the portion of the marathon course.  Took a number break back in a secluded wooded area, and finished the run feeling much better.  Perfected the No. 2 and run technique for these wooded runs.  7.12 miles - 60:08

Lunch run over to mutton creek and back again - nice lake neighborhood.  Witnessed a minor car accident as I was entering the neighborhood. Some elderly lady turns right in to someone turning in to the neighborhood.

7.2 miles - 54:46

PM: run to marina and back - nice outside - about 75 degrees.  7.8 miles - 1:05:55

PM lunch run - easy 3.6 miles at Muskatatuck Wildlife Refuge. About 3 miles from work in the car.  34:18.  Strange pain in my back.

Lunch run from work - out CR behind Walmart and back.  6mi. AT.  Not encouraging - ~7 min. pace and I am taxed and breathing pretty hard.  8.3 total - 59:45

AM : Series Race in Scottsburg, IN.  Materfest 5k - farmers market and street fair type thing.  These are abundant in the summer/fall in Indiana.  Got there a little late and only got about 1mile with strides for WU.  About 70 degrees and lower humidity than it has been.  All alone after 2 of the youngsters' sprints wear them out in 200m.  I feel okay for 5:40 mile 1 and make it to the turn around of this straight out and back feeling decent.  5:40 for mile 2.  This is where I have struggled all year and continued that trend today.  Just a sick feeling in my stomach and whacked out breathing.  I don't understand - 10k on July 4th was in the 5:45/mile range. 5:40's in a 5k should be easy?...  I don't know. I run 6 something for mile 3 and go to my knees at the finish line and take about 2 minutes of non-movement and rally hard huffing and puffing to recover.  I feel like my fitness should put me around 17:15-17:20 in a legit 5k effort, but, have yet to even come close.  5k - 17:57

Continued on (after recovering) with post race planned workout - was going to be 3x3mi. AT, but wound up being 4M+3M AT w/ 1mi. jog recovery.  I am at least happy to find myself in the 6:20 range for first rep.  And then back to 6:50ish for AT for 3M. 

AM Long Run - 2xGrand View loop as part of Marathon distance LR.  

Kept it nice and easy on some sore legs from yesterday.

3 x gels eaten, 2 x handhelds of water (not enough) consumed.  Quads are destroyed

26.2 - 3:45:36

Lunch run - quads shredded after yesterday.  Heating up outside and barely moving most of the run.  6.23 mi. - 57:40

AM before work - 3.75 miles TM - 30 minutes.  Quads slowly coming back

PM lunch - Hot!!  Heat Index = 109.  6mi. - 50:09

PM after dinner and kids to bed - much cooler outdoors.  6.4 miles - 55:10.

Pretty dead still.

Lunch TM at the gym.  ITs 105 heat index again.  5x4:00 @ 10k w/ 90 sec rec. at MPand

4x15sec @ 1mile

10k pace was 10.4 mph, MP was 9.4mph, 1 mile was 12mph

Alot of sweat and a brokeb Stop button on my TM, but, a good strong feeling on these and not killing myself in the heat.

PM after dinner - easy 4.5 miles - 40 min. dead legs and back in the heat.  I struggled with 8:30 pace

AM before work - TM hill workout - 7x0.25mi. @ 8%/8mph - These were TH efforts.

5.5 mi. total - 42:38

PM Lunch run - WU on TM at gym and 15 min. of some leg stength stuff. 2mi. - 17:30

PM to White River Run store after getting off work alittle early.  Got some gels and electrolyte powder mix with some store credit.  5.27mi. - 43:30

PM2 with Nathan - bike over to Clarion to meet Nate.  Run on People Trail toward downtown around and back.  Nice to catch up with Nathan.  5.1 miles - 44:50.  Weather final gave us a bit of a break.  Lower humidity and only about 80.  Bike home - blew out another tire on the CR 200 bridge over I-65.  Think that makes about 6 or 7.

AM run during kids' nap.  Off work today for wife's pre-surgery blood work.  15.1 miles easy out to Harrison Lakes and back - 2:09:40.  Digging the new (to me) electrplyte drink mix from Cliff.  Lots of sodium.  midnight 5k tonight at Mill Race Park - Glow in the Park - should be fun.

11pm jog and WU for midnight 5k - 4.7 miles worth.  REst of the story is on Saturday's entry.