The Long Run

Scheduled day off, no running but I did manage to get over 13,000 steps

10.54 mi, 1:34:09, 8:56 avg, elev gain 388 feet

Another hill workout.  2 mile warm up, then 10x(400m uphill @10K pace, 45 second jog, 400m downhill @goal marathon pace, 90 second jog between sets), then 2 mile warm down.

I woke up feeling slightly lethargic.  Got going and had a decent warm up, ending up near the corner of Lakeview and Sandy Hook where I set my drink bottle down.  The first repeat went ok as I gradually sped up even while going uphill.  But, after the first one, mentally it seemed like a figurative mountain to climb to do 9 more repeats, but without too much worry I did the second one, then things seemed better.  When I finally made it halfway at number 5 I thought about taking a slightly longer break, but instead I kept going.  Finally, when I finished the 7th one I did take a slightly longer break in order to refill my water bottle from the cold drinking fountain.

Then with just 3 left, the 8th one was easier, the 9th one was a little harder but the 10th one I felt like I didn't have to pace myself.

So, paces for the 10 repeats, up and then down, were:

1. 6:40, 7:23
2. 6:37, 7:30
3. 6:40, 7:22
4. 6:37, 7:19
5. 6:38, 7:20
6. 6:39, 7:16
7. 6:29, 7:14
8. 6:33, 7:30
9. 6:49, 7:22
10. 6:29, 7:06

Then , finally the 2 mile warm down.

I was hoping that the cooler fall temperatures would be here, but it was still 76 degrees at the start.  Getting better and it's going to be a few degrees cooler in the morning later in the week.

Also, I somehow thought that this was the most number of hill repeats on the schedule.  Nope.  In two weeks this workout will be 12 times up and down the hill.  The workout after that will have less repetitions but will be on an uphill that is 800m long.  Scouting around for possible locations now, might have to be on a treadmill.

7.04 mi, 1:02:47, 8:55 avg, elev gain 131 feet

Easy run day (scheduled called for 5-7 miles).  Ran out and back from Westlake Village to a little bit past the entrance to Pop Stansell Park.  Slightly cooler morning at the start.  First mile was slow at 10:24, last mile was 8:02 but the overall average was in the easy range.

I saw Kenny while running, he asked where Stella was (I often run into him while walking Stella and he sometimes gives her one of his dog's treats - one time they were fancy duck dog treats) - I need to get her out on some more runs.

Tomorrow is a farely rare mid-week day off. Still feeling like my legs are fresh.

10.44 mi, 1:21:21, 7:48 avg

Today's workout was 3mi@half mar pace, 3 minute rest, 2mi@half mar pace, 2 minute rest, and then 1 mile @10k pace, sandwiched between 2 miles warm up and 2 miles warm down.

It's getting slightly cooler but it's still barely under 75 degrees at the start and into the high 70's at the end of the run.  It doesn't help that I'm not getting started while it's still dark but the little bit of extra sleep helps also.

Run was still difficult, but the splits were all just a little bit better than previous similar runs, and for the last fast mile I knew I could do 6:45 or better and ended up with 6:35 (although that turned into a bit of a struggle for the last 0.25 mile).

First 3 fast miles: 7:02, 7:00, 6:53

Next 2 fast miles: 6:56, 6:51

1 mile @10k: 6:35

I even felt a little better on the warm down this time than last time with 8:22 and 7:57 which both felt pretty easy.

I was thinking about last year when I tried a tempo run of 4 miles at 7:00/mile and quickly realized I couldn't do it.  I think I'm getting a little bit better but it's been a slow enough process.

5.34 mi, 47:55, 8:59 avg, elev gain 96 feet

Shorter, easy run on the schedule.  Started a little bit later in the morning but it was much cooler than last week's run.  Jacob did not have a meet and wanted to run with me - we haven't had too many days that line up where we can run together.  Ran down Lakeview Dr and out the south entrance of Westlake Blvd and headed west via Pennsylvania Ave and made our way down to Pop Stansell Park.  Got a drink from the fountain and turned back.  I saw a guy that looked famililar but couldn't quite remember then he called out my name.  It was Ken from Tae Kwon Do.  He was out walking his dog on the Pinellas Trail.  Stopped and chatted with him for a couple minutes then got going again.  Picked up the pace a little bit.  As we got close to getting back into Westlake, Jacob said he wanted to run about 7:30 pace once we turned the corner.  I followed behind him and the pace kept on getting a little faster, finishing that last mile at 7:10 (with Jacob a few steps ahead of me), then he wanted to sprint up the last hill.  I held back a bit since I had my big run coming up tomorrow and this was supposed to be my easy day.  The 7:10 felt easier when following someone vs running it myself.

Capping off another 50 mile week.  Feeling pretty good but keeping an eye on my right foot with some PF starting.

18.07 mi, 2:28:51, 8:14 avg

Today's run called for 8 miles easy, 6-8 miles marathon pace, 2 miles easy.  Run was supposed to be on rolling hills but I didn't want to try this in Westlake and didn't want to drive to Brooksville and figured I've been doing extra rolling hills on most of my runs.  Weather was just a little bit cooler, start temps in the low 70's.  Stashed my cooler a few miles into the run, drove back to the start and got going.

Started from Longleaf, running up Starkey Blvd bike path for 4 miles and then 4 miles into Starkey Park.  Passed by Tom and waved to him while I was starting out and he was coming back from his run.  First 8 miles went ok, slow starting mile at 10:04, then was running about in the 8:40's.  As I approached the turnaround and the start of the marathon pace miles I was afraid it was feeling harder than it should have.  Decided not to let it get in my head.

Hit the turnaround and was able to step on the gas and run next mile in7:35, one down seven to go.  Left the park and started heading south down Starkey Blvd.  Got to where my cooler was and refreshed my drink bottle, 2.4 miles left to go.  Able to keep it below 7:30 after that and finished that last mile at 7:16.

MP miles were: 7:35, 7:27, 7:30,7:35, 7:28, 7:25, 7:27, 7:16

Crossed the street back into Longleaf and ran 2 more easy miles to finish off the run.

So, this was the first run in a while with marathon pace miles where I didn't have to cut it short.  Back in mid-August I had 4x3 miles @MP which I did manage to finish.  I had initially tried that run on Friday, scrapped it and retried on Sunday which was lucky since I ran into my friends that were starting out with 1.5 miles @7:40 pace so I had some help getting onto pace that day.

9.66 mi, 1:19:11, 8:12 avg, elev gain 122 feet

Workout of the day 4x1 mile @10k pace, then 4x400m @5k pace, with 2 mile warm up and 2 mile warm down.

I am beginning to dread these workouts a little less each time even though the schedule keeps slowly increasing the difficulty.  I was hoping for cooler weather but temps have gone back up slightly, but no worse than what they have been.  I was feeling slightly less than excited but just wanted to get it done (however I'd end up feeling great at the end).

I used the Westlake loop consisting of Lakeview and Village Way which contains 3 small hills.  Ran the first repeat clockwise, next one counterclockwise, and then repeated.  The mile finishes up about a quarter mile from the house so I use the jog back to the house as the rest portion (and grab a quick cold drink from the bottle I left in the driveway).  One direction is a little harder than the other.

Splits for the 1 mile repeats: 6:38, 6:44, 6:35, 6:48

Next up were the 400's: 1:35, 1:32, 1:34, and 1:27

The last one felt great because it was the last one and running under 6:00 pace for a little made me feel fast.

Finished off with the 2 mile warm down which I had to cut slightly short due to a meeting at work.

5.18 mi, 48:05, 9:17 avg, elev gain 77 feet

Back to easy days, scheduled said 4-5 miles.  Ran out the south entrance of Westlake, to Nebraska, then 18th and Pa Ave, then reversed the course back.

My first mile was kind of slow (10:46), but my last mile was faster at 8:13.  I can run a little faster on the first mile with a more extensive warm up but instead I used the first mile as part of the warm up.  

5.08 mi, 46:24, 9:08 avg

Warmer today, 81 degrees and humid at the start.  Did one big loop Alderman, Omaha, Nebraska, Belcher, back to Alderman, then a smaller loop inside Westlake to finish off the 5 miles.  First mile 10:43, last mile 8:17.

Had dinner at Fireside pizza later in the evening.  Did not get the pizza this time but had the spaghetti and meatball (it's singular on the menu, a second meatball is extra), it was pretty good but I think not quite as good as Brick Oven (but Fireside's pizza is a little better than Brick Oven's).  Longer run tomorrow with 2x3 mile repeats.

10.18 mi, 1:26:09, 8:28 avg

Had company today for my hard run, Joe ran with me, starting from Longleaf.  It was cooler this morning, not yet chilly but at least cool enouogh to not be warm at the start (although would be kind of warm on the return trip). We warmed up with 2 miles easy, out and back from the little church.  Then headed out for the repeats.

I had to make a brief pit stop shortly into the run, told Joe to go ahead, then had to make a second stop because my shoe was loose and it was aggravate the heel of my right foot, so figured I'd make one more quick stop.    Got going again and did not stop again until finishing the three miles.  Caught up to Joe finally just after two miles.

First three mile repeat: 7:09, 7:06, 6:53

Rested and jogged a little and looked to see if Joe was nearby, decided he must have turned around early.  Got going again and this time did a little bit better both pace-wise and not stopping.

Second three miles: 7:02, 6:56, 6:51

Stopped back at my car for fresh drinks in my handheld then did two easy miles in Longleaf for the warm down.  Went kind of slow, right foot bothering me a little.  I shouldn't have worn these older GoMeb shoes and stuck with the Brooks Launch instead, oh well.

But, pretty good run overall with 2 out of 3 hard runs finished for this week.

3.34 mi, 34:11, 10:14 avg

This run almost did not happen.  I had aggravated my right heel enough yesterday that I thought I might have to take a couple of days off.  But, then I tried taping my foot and it made a big difference.  Started out really slow - 11:42, still slow next mile but a little faster at 9:59, then 9:30.  Was supposed to do 4-5 miles easy, but was ok with at least getting something in.  Foot was not any worse afterward.  Tape really helped but will have to be careful until it's more back to normal but I think I'll be able to do my long run tomorrow.

13.15 mi, 1:55:35, 8:47 avg

Had some nice cooler temps but did not get started until almost 8:30 by the time I had my cooler in place and warmed up, then ran into Jenny and chatted with her a few minutes.  Plan was 60 minutes easy, then 6x(3 minutes @10k, 2 minutes @MP), followed by 20 minuntes easy.  Took it kind of easy for the easy part, averaging a few seconds faster than 9:30, including a pretty slow warm up mile.

So, the first pick up was not good at all, I was stuck in the low 8:00's but should have been running about 6:45, finally edged a little faster but not much, averaging 7:57 for the first one (which was slower than what the slower part was supposed to be at about 7:30).  So, I decided this would just be 6 x 3 minute pickups and then the cool down.  Next couple were better at about 7:00 pace, then, for the last 3 I was closer to 6:45 pace and even followed the last one with 2 minutes at 7:55 (faster than the first 3 minute pick up).  Felt better at the end, and I still didn't mess up my right foot.

After the run, had lunch with the boys at BJs and then visited with Sammy for a little bit when I dropped them off.

11.14 mi, 1:39:08, 8:54 avg, elev gain 358 feet

Today was hill repeats day, scheduled for 12x400m uphill @10k pace, 45 second jog, back down the hill @MP (7:30).  Two weeks ago I did 10 of these, at the time it seemed like an impossible feat, today's seemed worse along with the fact that my right foot is runnable and getting better but  I don't want it to get worse.

Warm up, two easy miles ending at the base of my friendly neighborhood hill.  First repeat was not good.  I had that problem where I start out, feeling like I'm going fast but stuck running a lot slower than I thought, so instead of being at a 6:45 pace right away, the watch is stuck at 8:10.  As I keep climbing it gets a little better, ending at 7:42 average for uphill number one, downhill was at 7:27 which was a bit backward.

But, the next one was better, although still a little slow up (7:05 up, 7:29 down).

Finally, the third one I was at 6:40 average for the uphill, and I was 1/4 done.  It was also in the high 70's pushing toward 80.  I had to keep bargaining with myself - ok, at least do 6, then with warm up and warm down miles it's still a pretty good run.

I somehow make it to 7.  I take a little bit longer of a break than the proscribed 90 seconds as I freshen up my water bottle with cold water.

Back at it and then 8, 9, and 10 are done and now I'm at least tied with what I did two weeks ago.  After multiple times of tricking myself into keep going I finally decide to follow through and only do 1 more for a total of 11 which puts me ahead of two weeks ago and makes this a harder run.  My foot is doing ok and I think this will help keep it that way.

Summar up uphill paces: 7:42, 7:05, 6:40, 6:42, 6:46, 6:38, 6:37, 6:37, 6:28, 6:25, 6:27

Downhills were all good, ranging from 7:16-7:30

Finally, the two mile warm down which seemed to drag on a bit long but otherwise went pretty well.

I will reward myself tonight with Taco Tuesday at Tijuana Flats with two tacos and a side of guac.

6.89 mi, 1:02:35, 9:05 avg, elev gain 121 feet

Ran with Jacob this morning bright and early at 5:28.  I was a little surprised he wanted to get up, the last one or two times we tried something like this he wanted to sleep in.  He has to leave for school about 7:00 am so we needed to be done around 6:30.  Stella was nice enough to wake me up at 5:00 (5 minutes before my alarm would have gone off) - let her out and fed her, then called Jacob who got right up.  We were a little slow the first mile (10:43) meaning I was a little slow, my legs were a little stiff from yesterday's hill repeats but soon loosened up.  We ran around the edge of the neighborhood and out the south entrance making our way to Pop Stansell Park.  I had a small handheld light which was definitely necessary in some places to see at all and other places for cars to see us (although traffic was pretty light).

Faster return trip and as we approached the last mile, Jacob said he wanted to pick it up, told him I'd try to follow close by.  Last mile in 7:32 and back to the house just after 6:30.

In the evening, went to Starkey Park to watch the cross country conference meet.  Tom gave it another try but the breathing problems shut him down again.  Saw him at the 1 mile marker, coming by in 5:43 but shortly after that had to stop.  Glad he gave it his best shot.

7.08 mi, 56:23, 7:58 avg

Ran in Foxwood and down Trinity Blvd from my house.  Today was scheduled for 5-7 miles aerobic run which plan calls for 8:00-8:30, ended up a little bit faster due to last couple of miles.  First mile was 8:38 which I needed to warm up for a little first so I wouldn't go too slow for the first mile. Cold front is coming through soon but warm weather is hanging in there.

It was a pretty good run overall.

14.55 mi, 1:56:43, 8:01 avg

Cooler morning, 7:20 am start in Starkey Park.  Plan for run was 2 miles easy, 10 miles @7:30, 2 miles easy warm down.  I had not done a run starting in Starkey Park for a little while.  Missed most of the Striders that had already started before 7:00, but Keith was there who I hadn't seen for a while.  So, we set out together and ran a little bit past the big power lines (just past 2 miles). 

Started the faster miles not knowing exactly how it would go.  Did a pretty good job getting on pace with 7:32.  Tried to relax into the run.  Next 4 miles were good, taking me to the end of the Starkey Park trail and onto the Suncoast trail and a little past the water stop.  Turned back and did a quick stop to top off my water bottle and take a gel.  Now, only 4.5 miles left.  

Turned back into the park and continued on.  Once I got to the 4 mile water stop, just 2 miles left, so picked up the pace a little bit and did last two miles in 7:22 and 7:12.

Felt good for the last two miles, slowed down a little bit but kept pace right around 8:00 which felt easy after having run the 7:30's.

Going to run the PHSC 5K race tomorrow instead of the scheduled 8-10 easy miles.  Missed it last year for first time in a while, didn't want to miss it this year.

5.56 mi, 47:35, 8:33 avg

Race splits: 6:42, 6:45, 6:38, 0:37 (0.1 mi @5:58)

Today's race was good.  Although only a few seconds faster than the Lutz July 4th 5K, and only 6 seconds faster than the Turkey Trot last November, the splits were more even with the third mile the fastest.  I raced it a bit conservative, not knowing what I had to work with and having done a long run with some faster miles yesterday.  But, the weather was good with temperatures dropping slowly from when we left the house to when the race started (front was moving in).

I missed this race last year for the NYC marathon and boys and their mom were in Texas for their grand father's funeral.  I wished I could have raced this one last year, but I was determined to race this year.  Tom was considering running this one but decided on a long run instead of racing.  But, Jacob was excited to run this one having just wrapped up his first cross country season.  Also, I had previously given him one of my shirts from a previous race here and he was looking forward to getting his own shirt.

We warmed up a bit, a little over a mile and discussed race strategy.  Jacob was hoping to break 22:00.  We said we'd go out at 7:00, try and do at least 7:15 for mile 2, and pick it up and run mile 3 faster.  Plan changed once we got started, running in the 6:40's instead.  We stuck together for the first mile.  I told him to just go with that and hang on.  After the first mile, we drifted apart maybe around 1.5 miles, but he wasn't far behind.  I did slow a little for the second mile.  But, the third mile felt good and without having to scrape found a little more speed and gradually went below 6:40 pace.

Jacob finished in 21:25, a good bit better than he had hoped for and also good for 3rd place in his age group.  10-14 can be competitive sometimes, and today there was freshman cross country runner from River Ridge HS running an 18:21, and Jolene's 11 year old son was there running a 20:47.  I was way off from getting the master's award since Ryan was there and had one of his best 5k's in a while at 18:59, and apart from him there was Jason W coming in at 19:51 (and taking top PHSC Staff catagory).  Ryan was wearing his new fancy Nike racers which he said were only good for 100 miles so it comes out to $2.50/mile, so right after the race he switched out of them to run a cool down.

Maybe next year for Tom and/or Andy and a repeat from Jacob.

For me, it felt like with some 5k focus I could be eyeing sub-20:00 again soon, maybe at the Turkey Trot.

8.14 mi, 1:06:00, 8:06 avg

4x1 mi @6:44 pace

Hotel treadmill, Austin, TX (Hyatt Lone Pine resort).  Tough run for a travel day but for the most part got it done.  Was supposed to be 5x1 mile with 2 mile warm up and 2 mile warm down, but cut it short a little bit due to time.

Warm up was good, then I switched to 6:44 pace and ran for a mile.  Breathing was a little ragged at first but soon relaxed into it and got into a pretty good rhythm about a half mile into it.  Next mile started out better and stayed pretty smooth.  3rd mile was similar.  For the 4th mile I went a little bit faster and ended up doing the last mile in 6:35.

I sometimes have really bad runs on hotel treadmills after spending time sitting on the airplane the night before.  Fitness room was pretty busy with only one treadmill empty when I got there (but was pretty cleared out by the time I finished).  Was chilly and a little rainy outside so glad to have treadmills available but they did have some good running trails on property which could have been nice to run on.  They've been having lots of rain so the river was pretty high and was causing problems with the drinking water so parts of Austin were under boil water advisory.

5.52 mi, 48:15, 8:44 avg

Day 2 Austin treadmill running.  Scheduled easy run.  Treadmill had a pretty big screen where you could select a course to run on.  I did a tour of New Zealand.  It would automatically change the incline between 1.0 and 4.0 with an average of 2.0%.  The terrain looked kind of rocky and twisty at places.  When the trail was going downhill the incline was still greater than 1% but it still kind of felt dowhill because it had been more uphill, so the less amount of uphill felt like downhill along with the visual of going downill.  Ran out of the New Zealand scenery and it switched to Pacific Crest Trail for the rest of the run.

The run itself felt good but I was otherwise feeling the effects of being up too late at the after meeting dinner and a little bit of overindulging.

Very early morning flight back from Austin and a somewhat long workday once getting back in town, so I did not squeeze in my scheduled 5 mile run today.

8.25 mi, 1:05:45, 7:58 avg

Not a bad run but a little bit short of goals.  Was supposed to do 2 easy, then 5 @7:08 pace, followed by 2 easy.  Ran on Starkey Blvd bike trail, much too late start by which time the cooler morning had disappeared (but fortunately the clouds were hanging around to block the full sun).

Tried my best but had trouble getting onto pace and holding it.  Considered scrapping the run but I needed the miles with yesterday's missed run.  Decided I'd at least go by effort.  Finished the first mile in 7:19, and then did a little better on the second mile at 7:13.  Ran into Aristida neighborhood, turned around a little past 2.5 miles so that I'd hit 3 miles as I returned back to the bike trail.  Decided I'd take a quick stretch break to regroup (so, ok not completely a tempo run now, more like two longer intervals).  Got going again and had trouble getting back on pace, ending up at 7:15 for the 4th mile.  Finally, last mile, tried a little bit harder and was soon on pace and then some, finishing the last one in 6:54.

Overall, the numbers weren't bad, it was just a little choppy feeling.  Sunday's and Tuesday's runs were very good, Wednesday was pretty good but for today's I was feeling some effects of the week's travel.

5.28, 47:18, 8:58 avg, elev gain 72 feet

Cooler morning today and was able to sleep in so did not run until leader.  Legs a little tired feeling from yesterday's tempo run along with the travel.  Felt better as the run went on.  Typical pattern of slow first mile (10:20) and faster 8:19 last mile.  It doesn't make the run any harder if I start out running in the 8:00-9:00 range for the first mile, I just have to warm up more (and not count the running during the warmup).  Route was an out and back winding through the streets out the south exit of Westlake Village and then just a little bit past the Y.

Went into work during the afternoon for a few hours trying to get ready for end of month deadlines.

Longer run tomorrow, hoping to run on Suncoast trail near Brooksville.

19.04 mi, 2:38:01, 8:18 avg, elev gain 393 feet (garmin) or 595 feet (strava)

Longest run in a little while, headed up to Suncoast Parkway near Brooksville.  Something always tells me I need to come up here at least once during a training cycle but the more times the better.  Weather was the best it has been, so good I slept in a bit without worry, high 50's at the start.  Only a couple of cars in the parking lot.  While I was getting ready a family came by on their bikes and stopped for a break, with their little boy riding in a bike trailer.  I also saw one guy on a bike packed up like he was riding a long distance carrying all sorts of gear in saddle bags.  Wondered where he was going.

Got going and did the first climb, a small one up and over the pedestrian bridge.  Started slowly and slowly got less slow finishing first mile in 10:24, then next one in 9:05, then settled into the 8:30-8:55 range.  Saw some more groups of bike riders including the sTRIders (the subgroup from the Striders that train together for Tri's), a few of them called out by my name and I was able to figure out who each person was just after they had gotten out of shouting range.

When I reached the 6 mile hill I was wondering how it be able to go faster once I got to the turnaround point.  Legs were already feeling tired.  But I guess that was the point.  I was going to run the 9 miles back at hopefully about a 7:30 pace and hopefully with a strong finish.

I ran down the backside of the 6 mile hill which crosses the road while still going downhill.  There's a warning sign on the trail.  One time I was riding bikes with the kids when they were younger and I yelled at them because I wasn't sure if they were going to stop at the sign and look for cars. Probably one of the few times when it's ok to yell at someone.

I reached the 9 mile point and went just past it.  The sun was out full force but the air was still cool and there was a slight breeze.  Still not feeling fast I bargained with myself to just keep it under 8:00, ok if I'm not right at 7:30.  So, did the next mile in 7:46, then next one after that in 7:47.  Did a quick gel stop, felt better and next mile was 7:28.  With the rolling hills, the run is literally up and down, so was slower the next mile (7:44), but after that was on a roll - 7:23, 7:15, 7:31, 7:27, and 7:17.  Was back at the rest area now, headed south another 1/2 mile at easy pace before turning back.  During the warm down I felt some cramping twinges in my legs.  This was good in a way.  

So, the overall run average was 8:18, but I felt like I hadn't raced my workout, just did the job. 

5.27 mi, 47:16, 8:58 avg

I finally signed up for a marathon - Jacksonville on 12/15.  This is one week after my current training plan ends.  I missed a little running last week due to travel and missed yesterday's run due to work related stuff.  So, I'm going to sort of redo the second half of last week this week and then continue with the plan so it will wrap up one week later.

So, back on track today with an easy run.  Out and back run to just past the Y.

Ended up being just shy of 200 miles for the month, but still a pretty good number of miles.

Had more work stuff to do for end of month deadlines so worked late tonight but I did get out of the office after dinner to help pass out Halloween candy (with some help from Stella).