The Long Run

7.21 mi, 1:15:43, 10:30 avg, 134 BPM

Ran in the nbhd.  Did HR pace under 132 for first 4 miles and part of 5th, kept on getting slower and slower so just decided to run easy-by-feel.   So, still an easy run overall, just not as "scientific" or measurable.

8.56, 1:13:51, 8:38 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie and also was pacer for Jamie's 4 mile tempo run which was supposed to be at 7:50 pace for 4 miles.  Somewhere in the 3rd mile we took a short break and then started up again with the last 2 miles being a bit faster than planned: 7:44, 7:48, 7:37, 7:31

Then did some cool down miles and I ran the long way around the loop to get over 8 miles.

I felt really good about this run because the 4 miles where I was doing the pacing felt really good and easy.  Although Wednesday's run was at a faster pace I felt better about this run for some reason.

20.3 mi, 2:59:18, 8:49 avg

Ran on the Suncoast trail near Brooksville, starting from the SR50 parking lot.  It was a great slightly cool and overcast morning and the parking lot wasn't desserted so it didn't look eerie this time.  Ran south for one mile, then turned around, quickly grabbed my fuel belt without stopping my watch and continued north for 9 miles.  Plan was to keep it slow and steady until turning around.  First mile was 10:15, next 10 miles were between 9:07 and 9:41. 

Once I hit the turn around picked it up to 8:30, then just stayed steady, until last two miles which were 7:39 and 7:38.  I took no stretching breaks or any kind of stopping.  I did slow down to a walk twice when taking power bar gels but just long enough to open it up and swallow it without spilling.

Overall, it was a pretty good run.  Not my fastest 20 but maybe one of my steadiest.

AM - 6.18 mi, 59:45, 9:40 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood for about 5 miles, stopped home, woke up the kids then did one more mile on my own.  No HR monitor for the morning run, felt pretty easy overall.

PM - 2.16, 21:00, 9:43 avg

Took Thomas to swimming at the Y, while waiting, I did a short weight workout followed by an easy run on the treadmill while wearing HR monitor, keeping HR under 132 bpm, felt pretty good and happy to stay faster than 10:00 while keeping HR in range.

7.23 mi, 1:05:52, 9:07 avg, HR 129 bpm

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Nice cool morning with starting temp of 69 degrees, first time below 70 in quite some time.  Wore my HR monitor, had my best HR run so far with two miles under 9:00.  Slowly working to the point where perceived easy pace and HR pace are almost the same.  Hopefully this leads me somewhere.

6.75 mi, 1:02:32, 9:12 avg

I ran with Jamie in the neighborhood and said I'd pace her for the three 1 mile repeats on her schedule, with a goal time of 7:30 for each one.  We ran 7:12, 7:20, and 7:23.  The first one was fast because at first the pace was too slow so I ended up over compensating.  But, at least they all turned out to be faster than goal pace.  Good confidence boost for her marathon this weekend in Chicago.

Also, good confidence booster for me that I can run a good pace while running controlled when I need to despite the mainly slow miles I've been doing.

AM - 6.12 mi, 56:27, 9:13 avg, 127 bpm HR

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  I was a little bit tight on time due to an appointment at 7:15 but wanted to get some miles in.  Wore HR monitor again and once again, another good run as far as pace vs HR goes with this hopefully showing that Tuesday's run was not just a fluke (my previous best HR run at the end of August would be an outlier for quite some time).

PM - 2.03 mi, 20:17, 10:00 avg

Ran at the Y on a treadmill after a short weight workout while Thomas was doing swim team practice.  Hopefully these little extra runs here and there will help.

6.32 mi, 59:04, 9:20

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, last run for her before heading to Chicago.  Conversation pace, then stopped home to wake the boys and out for about one more mile cool down which I wore the HR monitor.  The good thing I noticed this time was I actually had to put some effort to get my HR into the 122-132 range (not a lot of effort , but still).  When I first started, it seemed like almost anything resembling running at an "easy" pace according to feel would require me to slow down.  Hoping this stuff really works.

(wore old pair of Skecher's GoRun 3 which I had retired from shoe manager already which turns out to be premature because I still have good runs in them)

13 mi, 1:59:34, 9:12 avg, 129 bpm HR

Ran with Joe, Cynthia, and Renee from Longleaf this morning starting at 6:00.  Ran up to Aristide neighborhood and inside there because it has street lights, then back onto Starkey Blvd and into Starkey Park to the bike parking lot for quick bathroom and fluids break before heading back.  Somewhat cool but still humid.  I wore my HR monitor but decided I'd just run by feel.  I'd look at it now and then and saw I was keeping the rate down until mile 11 when it went up which I was ok with at first, but then decided to keep it easy and back down the pace even though it meant falling behind for a bit (but not too far behind). 

Average HR was good and happy with the easy feeling pace miles.

Happy birthday to Renee!

8.7 mi, 1:23:13, 9:34 avg, 128 bpm

Ran easy in the neighborhoods while wearing HR monitor.  Felt pretty good, but a little bit slower at the start but was able to maintain a decent easy pace while keeing HR at or below 132.

8.26 mi, 1:15:49, 9:10 avg, 131 bpm

Ran at the Y with the Striders.   Felt really good at the start and thought I might have my best heart rate run ever so far.  First two miles were 8:54 and 8:51 while keeping heart rate at or below 132.  However, HR went up a little bit and next miles were 9:19-9:29 range.  Still pretty good and not too long ago those miles would have been my best. 

At the end of the run I did 5 strides of 25 seconds each just for fun.

7.23 mi, 54:53, 7:36 avg

After almost taking too long to get out the door and with evil thoughts of postponing this hard run until tomorrow (i.e. good chance of not doing it), I decided I would try.  4 mile tempo at something below 7:00 plus warm up and cool down.

Did about 1.5 mile warm up then got going.  I was quickly on a good pace and was able to hold a pretty even pace throughout with no real big ups and downs.

6:34, 6:38, 6:38, 6:38

Although it felt really hard, it was faster and more consistent than the last 4 mile tempo I did on 9/30. 

So, all the slow running has not slowed me down and maybe I've expanded my aerobic capacity just a little bit.  I will continue this leading up to Marine Corps Marathon in a week and a half and then beyond that as I start gearing up for Georgia Death Race (68 miles) in March and whatever is in between that.

6.54 mi, 1:06:51, 10:13 avg, HR 129 bpm

Another gorgeous day for running.  However, compared to the first three runs this week, this run was a little blah and a little frustrating.  I thought my HR pace had "shifted" and would now be faster but it's still kind of up and down, although a "bad" day is still better than what I started with.  Started out good with first two miles in the 9's, but remaining miles were progressively slower (by choice) to keep HR within 122-132 range.

7.22 mi, 1:12:42, 10:04 avg, 128 bpm HR

Today's run was better than yesterday's run for a few reasons.  The pace was more consistent, the overall pace was faster, and the last 3 miles became progressively faster (although just by a little bit), with the last mile the fastest (9:48).

"Fast" is all relative to what type of workout or length of race or what kind of terrain.  Today's run again is in the context of heart rate training.

Also, for variety, instead of the usual out and back t-shaped route to/from the golf course, I first ran to the new park on Trinity Blvd and did a lap around the small lake where I have started doing mile repeats because it has a marked mile on the path.  A man was walking his dog off leash (wasn't sure if it was his dog at first).  The dog chased me a little bit although I was 99% certain it was a playful chase I always have that little tiny fear going back to when I was little and dragged down my driveway by four dogs running through the neighborhood.  The man scolded his dog to behave and their walk continued once I was far enough ahead.  A woman playing tennis called out to warn me about a big alligator in the pond.  I looked for but couldn't find the alligtor.

8.25 mi, 1:05:38, 7:57 avg

Ran in Starkey park but started kind of late because it was a nice morning and I wasn't meeting anyone.  Goal was 8 miles, 3 easy and then the remain 5 under 8:00.

Run turned into a nice progression run, with first three warmup miles at 10:25, 8:57, and 8:24

Then picked it up, at first the pace felt harder but I'd speed up and it didn't feel much harder.  Last 5 miles were: 7:39, 7:22, 7:15, 6:50, 6:36

Marine Corps marathon is next week.  I've been doing most of my runs a lot slower except for the one or two faster ones where I can still go as fast as I need to.

The real test will be to see what happens to me at about mile 17-19 where I've lately been slowing down.

Almost annual tradition (since 2010 except for 2011), ran the Run with the Quistas 5K at PHSC (Pasco Hernando State College, formerly Pasco Hernando Community College).

Warmed up with some easy jogging and a few strides.  The boys hadn't really run much in almost a year but they've both been doing swimming (Andy 5 days per week with HS).

Andy told me he didn't want to run fast this year, so I said we could just enjoy it, but then he said not too slow, so I said how about an 8:00ish pace?

We started out together and Tom stayed with us for almost the first mile then said he was quitting (by quitting he meant running his own pace).  So, Andy and I stayed on a pretty even pace until the end when Andy took off on a pretty good kick finishing a few seconds ahead of me.  Garmin splits for Andy and I were 7:39, 7:39, 7:36, but were off by about 0.1 miles, so actual pace was a little slower, but it was a pretty evenly run pace.

Tom said he only took one walk break and picked it up to finish just under 28:00 (which happened to be good for an age group award).

Happy to run with the boys one more time and have a fun morning out.

5.04  mi, 48:31, 9:37 avg

Easy run in the neighborhood with Jamie.  Ran into Lisa on the way back, so we ran together about a half mile before I split off to head back home.

Beautiful fall weather.

Saw one faint shooting star.

5.57 mi, 51:37, 9:16 avg

Ran with Jamie and Lisa in the neighborhood.  Good run, just easy conversational pace and some more really nice weather.

6.13 mi, 56:09, 9:09 avg

Helped Lisa run some 1 mile repeats.  Goal was 3 at 7:45 pace.  She was a little bit ahead on each one.  During the first two when she'd get too far ahead I'd have her back it down a little bit.  For the last one she wanted to go faster, so we were at about a 7:20 pace for the first half but then had to slow down a little, but still splits were all pretty good : 7:37, 7:39, 7:34

I thoroughy enjoyed running the Marine Corps Marathon for many, many reasons - the Marines volunteering on the course as well as all of the volunteers were extremely courteous and helpful, the race as a whole is one of the most well-run races, the scenery running in and around DC can't be beat, I enjoyed spending time with my brother, loved seeing many of my Strider friends during and after the race, and I also managed to break my 3 race in a row slowing down streak.

The weather was also helpful, nice temperatures, not much wind, just a little bit of drizzling rain before and during a good bit of the race.  I had no expectations for this race, other than to try and enjoy it and finish it.

Started out at a pace (I was a little worried that I was going out too slow and would end up being stuck at that pace the whole time) I felt like running.  First mile was an 8:36, and fortunately that would be my slowest mile of the race.  The fastest mile would be mile 24.  The first and second half splits were pretty close as well (first half: 1:43:34, second half: 1:44:38) - I have to go back a long ways to find a race where 1st and 2nd half were that close.

Anyway, mile 2 was 8:19 and that was also pretty much at the top of the only really big hill of the course (about 200 feet or so), followed by a nice downhill leading to the bridge from Virginia to Georgetown in DC.  After that it was either slightly rolling or pretty much flat.

From mile 3 to about mile 14 I didn't really look at my pace while I was running other than the average pace for the entire run every now and then and would sometimes see the mile splits when my watch beeped.  I regularly would be off from the mile markers, so I'd sync up again when I reached the actual marker and knew my average pace on my garmin would need to be faster to match up to the actual pace.  However, this race I wasn't trying to be that precise.  Mainly running by feel, I had some hopes of catching back up to the 3:25 pace group if I could.

Mile 12 was the very moving "blue mile" which was first lined with pictures of fallen service members, followed by a flag for each picture with each flag pole held by a volunteer who was a family or close friend of the service member.  I was thankful for the sacrifices and moved by the tribute, that mile felt almost surreal.

The half way point came and went and I saw that my clock time was a little under 1:45.  Then to mile 14 where I was still under 8:00 pace and was thinking that if I could stay steady maybe I could actually run a negative split.  At about mile 16 I was feeling a little tired and was having some negative thoughts about mile 17 ("oh no, here we go again" thoughts).  I decided that no matter what I'd run through mile 18 on pace (under 8:00) even if I was tired.

But then, I had some good luck.  At about mile 18 I saw three familiar figures ahead and as I got closer I recognized the zebra patterned shorts, it was "the herd" (aka Melanie, Beka, and Andrea).  I came up alongside them and called out "Great job herd!", to which Melanie replied a very polite but slightly generic, "You too, finish strong".  Then all of the sudden they were like "It's Mark!", followed by a slightly more robust "finish strong!".  I thought about falling in alongside them but since I had picked it up a little to catch them I kept on going.  Mile 18 and 19 were a little bit of a rally with paces of 7:37 and 7:35.

Next, on was on my way to the 14th Street bridge and on my way back to Virginia.  The bridge crossing is a timing checkpoint which closes to people who don't maintain a 14:00 minute mile pace.  I wasn't in any danger of that but it did feel good to get that past me.

Across the bridge led to a stretch of highway running and a little bit of a slowdown, but still under 8:00 (although just barely).  Finishing mile 21, I was thinking about how I really just needed to make sure I didn't go any slower than 8:30 pace for the next 5 miles and I could still make it sub 3:30.

I'd get a little more help from a friend.  Up ahead a little I saw a pretty big guy running shirtless with alot of him covered with tattoos - so that must be Mike, and it was.   It took a while to catch up to him.  We were nearing the last turn around in Crystal City.  I could see him wave to a runner who had already made the turn (Brian) and then another runner we knew (Stan).  Right by the turnaround I finally caught up to Mike.  This was his first race of any kind in about two and a half years and he was running with no GPS.  We stayed together for a bit.  Mile 23 was almost my slowest mile, but it was a few seconds faster than mile 1 (8:32 vs 8:36).

I'm not sure exactly what happened next, but mile 24 was my fastest mile of the race at 7:19.

With only two miles left I felt pretty confident of making it in under 3:30.  Ok, just hang on I thought as I cruised past the Pentagon.  Finally, I hit the mile 26 sign and was soon at the bottom of the very last hill, not a very tall hill, but definitely the sharpest one.  The entire race I had run with no cramps, but as I tried to power up the hill I could feel my calves getting close to locking up.  So, no spectacular sprint through the finish line, just keep it together and cross.

Just over the finish line, they had these jackets (some sort of paper material) to keep warm with (much warmer than a space blanket - although it soon warmed up enough to not need them).  They had plenty of snacks and goodies and kept the line moving along.  Saw a few more of my Strider friends, many of them with new PRs or very solid races.

Eventually, found my brother's wife, Nancy (who had adventures tracking us around the course on foot) and then found my brother Jim.  We were able to celebrate with a free beer at the beer tent.  They also had some really awesome cut-up watermelon in individual boxes (had a couple of those) before getting onto the metro and heading back to the hotel.

(garmin distance: 26.67 miles, it's kind of a winding course with enough crowds to prevent really good tagent running).

The numbers in parentheses is where I periodically would sync back up with the mile markers.

1. 8:36
2. 8:19
3. 8:02 (+ :22)
4. 7:52
5. 7:43 (+ :28)
6. 7:31 (+ :18)
7. 7:32
8. 7:22 (+ :26)
9. 7:32 (+ :08)
10. 7:21
11. 7:38  (+ :13)
12. 7:37
13. 7:37
14. 7:45
15. 7:38
16. 7:44
17. 7:53
18. 7:37 (+ :12)
19. 7:35
20. 7:47
21. 7:59
22. 8:23
23. 8:32
24. 7:19
25. 8:03
26. 7:55 (+ 1:13)  26.2 1:57 (0.23 @8:28)

2.15 mi, 23:21, 10:51 avg, 122 bpm

First run back after MCM.  Just something to start with, slow and steady and kept heart rate at or below 132.

3.19 mi, 32:56, 10:20 avg

Run #2 post-MCM, a little bit farther and slightly faster than yesterday.

4.03 mi, 40:30, 10:03 avg

A little bit farther than yesterday.  Nice cool morning, ran in neighborhood.

8.18 mi, 1:17:28, 9:28 avg

Saturday run in Starkey Park with Cynthia and Jamie, easy paced out and back from the bike parking area.  Legs are still feeling a little bit heavy (but by later in the day felt much better).  Not too much exciting, just a good, not too far run in the park on a Saturday.  Looking forward to getting back to a little more regular training next week.