The Long Run

Croom Zoom 50K

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Location:

FL,

Member Since:

Mar 20, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

PR's:

  • 1 mile : 5:43 (3/2017)
  • 5K : 18:34 (12/2011)
  • 5 mile : 32:03 (5/2010)
  • 10K : 39:29 (11/2013)
  • 11K: 46:47 (July 2008)
  • Half Marathon : 1:26:47 (11/2012)
  • Marathon : 3:06:34 (02/2010)
  • 50K Trail: 4:34 (01/2012)
  • 50 Mile: 8:34:48 (4/2012)
  • 100K: 11:06 (2/2012)
  • 100 Mile: 24:19:44 (1/2022)

Marathons:

  • Treasure Coast Marathon (FL) - 3:39:51, Mar 2021
  • Towpath Marathon (OH) - 3:35:26, Oct 2019
  • Jacksonville Marathon - 3:31:10, Dec 2018
  • NYC Marathon - 3:49:12, Nov 2017
  • Marine Corps Marathon - 3:27:00, Oct 2016
  • Utah Valley - Jun 2016
  • Marine Corps Marathon - 3:28:12, Oct 2015
  • Pocatello Marathon (ID) - 3:32:25, Sept 2015
  • Chasing The Unicorn (PA) - 3:31:20, Aug 2015
  • Run for The Red (Poconos) - 3:30:40, May 2015
  • Boston - 3:24:42, Apr 2015
  • Clearwater - 3:27:04, Jan 2015
  • Clearwater - 3:16:17, Jan 2014
  • Boston  - 3:27:00, Apr 2011
  • DesNews - 3:10:57, Jul 2010
  • Gasparilla  - 3:06:34, Feb 2010
  • Space Coast - 3:11:29, Nov 2009
  • Estes Park  (7500' and up) - 3:52:19, Jun 2009
  • Boston - 3:17:22, Apr 2009
  • Niagara Falls - 3:19:21, Oct 2008
  • San Diego RnR  - 3:24:18, Jun 2008
  • Jacksonville Marathon -3:21:24, Dec 2007
  • Chicago Marathon - 3:35:08, Oct 2007
  • Disney Marathon - 3:52:34, Jan 2007

 

 

 

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

 

  • Sub 40:00 10K
  • 2:59 Marathon
  • 1:25 Half Marathon
  • 18:30 5K

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Maintain my health and continuously seek to improve my fitness. Maybe someday get under 3:00 for marathon. More importantly, I'd like to figure out what my maximum ability is and reach that.

I'd also like to find the right balance in life and use running to enhance and improve myself.

 

Personal:

Dad of  three (welcome Charlotte Dani on 8/10/20) awesome kids and stepdad to three almost as awesome as my own kids.

I have a brown dog named Stella, and three cats - Catty, Tortie, and Esperanza.

  (old lines that were a little out of date but couldn't quite bring myself to removing them completely:) Also, have one wonderful brown dog named Sammy and just added a grey tiger cat (Catty) whose life started out rough but now has a better home.

I've recently started another blog so I can easily add lots of pictures and so other non-FRB users can leave comments:

Forward Progress!

 Also, for 2012 I started a blog to write down each day one thing that I am grateful for

Grateful Blog

 

Love living in Florida but love to travel and see the country and rest of the world.

 

Favorite Blogs:

Click to donate
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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 188.22
Brooks T7 Lifetime Miles: 202.78
Brooks ST5 Lifetime Miles: 403.91
GoMeb Speed3 Lifetime Miles: 483.77
Brooks Pure Flow Lifetime Miles: 160.60
Brooks Launch(lobster) Lifetime Miles: 782.98
GoMeb Razor Lifetime Miles: 468.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1752.17276.9971.5216.850.000.000.002117.53
Nimbus15 Miles: 7.62GoRun Ride3 Miles: 332.49GoRun Sonic Miles: 509.32Pearl Izumi II Miles: 129.03GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 171.46Brooks T7 Miles: 26.35Brooks ST5 Miles: 209.80Skechers Go Run Miles: 4.05Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 366.87
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.620.000.000.000.000.000.007.62

Ok, trying to get back on track with blogging.  The more I blog, especially on this blog, the better my running seems to go.

First run of the year.

7.62 mi 01:02 08:11 pace

Simple run in the neighborhood but I didn't feel like running and thought I wouldn't enjoy it but knew I had to. Why do I always think that? Run was good. Cool humidity, slow start until I built up some momentum. 50K tomorrow here I come.

Nimbus15 Miles: 7.62
Race: Croom Zoom 50K (31.068 Miles) 05:29:19, Place overall: 6, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
31.590.000.000.000.000.000.0031.59

Croom Zoom 50K Trail race report

31.59 mi 05:30 10:26 pace

This was my second time running this race. Three years ago this was my first ultra marathon and first big trail race. I ran it in 2012, that year it started at 7:00 am (optional) or 6:00 am and it was the coldest day of the year. This year, it was about 70 degrees, start time 6:00 am. I had no race anxiety going into this one but had developed a non-stop runny nose two days earlier for which I had to break down and resort to sudafed (the good stuff you have to ask for behind the counter).

First mile - this one is the easiest. It is 70% on unpaved but hard surface road and mostly downhill, then turns onto a softer fire road. Of the dark miles it's the lightest one because the starting group is together, so everyone's headlamps sort of pool together. (8:52 pace)

Miles 2-7 were the mainly dark miles, going from pitch black, to the first hints of light through the trees to full light. I had one headlamp and a handheld light, hoping to make it through this section without tripping on a root or a rock. I mainly stayed behind people (miles 2 and 3 were in the 11's which included the very rooty section up tucker hill, then 4,5,and 6 were low to mid 10's). Finally, just before mile 7 point it was fully light and I decided to pull ahead of the three people I had been following in a comfort zone and was finally under 10:00 (9:55).
Miles 8-12 finish up the first big loop. The next 4 miles were in the low 9's, felt pretty good but also maybe a little worried I was exerting myself. The 12th mile was another trip back up tucker hill and a brief stop to ditch my hat and handheld light.

Miles 13-19 were all pretty good, mainly in the 9's with two miles in the 8's. Things were still going pretty good until about mile 20. I started having this feeling that one of my ankles was going to give out from under me (how am I going to finish this?, please go away unexpected ankle problem!!).

Miles 20 and 21 were in the mid 10's, those "easy" 9ish miles had disappeared and my heart rate had climbed. Mile 22 was another climb up tucker hill and a quick stop to grab a muscle milk as well as some encouragement from RD Andy Matthews who always makes me feel good by publicly announcing that I'm a Western States 100 finisher. Also some good-natured ribbing from trail running zen master Patrick Bene.
So, I finish up mile 22 someplace early on the start of the third loop. The first half of the big loop is peaceful, the runners are far and few between. My legs are aching and it's difficult to keep going. I want to quit but no I can't, it's not an option but I still want to. I calculate how long it would take me to fully walk it (too long), how about 15 minute miles, or 12 minute miles? I settle on goals of 12 minute miles doing a 3:1 run/walk strategy with adjustments for hills as needed. I pass a woman walking at a brisk and determined pace who seems to be fully enjoying the day. I'm going to do that if I have to. The new goal works and the running feels easier (but still a struggle). I count down the miles until I'm finally climbing up Tucker hill one last time and can hear people at the finish line. I come charging in, greeted by my own personal cheering squad of Jessica and her three kids who made the drive up just to see me finish.

Nice to see Clark and Cindy at the finish who had done the 25K. Saw Rob Fulton finish - he hadn't run at all for three weeks, had been battling a cold and his garmin fell apart but he still finished.

In addition to thanking Jessica for driving up and Andy Matthews for being an awesome race director and great guy I'd also like to thank the kid at the 5 mile aid station who rang the cowbell every time I ran through there. Also impressed that the woman who was running behind me during the dark miles knew which shoes I was wearing (Pearl Izumi Peak II's) and complimented them. They are pretty nice shoes, light enough to not feel weighed down but tough enough to protect from roots and rocks (thanks for recommending them to me Scott Vaughn back during the good 'ole days of Suncoast Running).

Splits: 8:52, 11:09, 11:43, 10:20, 10:34, 9:55, 9:12, 9:18, 9:07, 9:52, 11:18, 9:20, 8:43, 9:37, 9:18, 8:55, 9:37, 9:44, 10:26, 10:41, 13:38, 10:59, 11:20, 12:05, 10:17, 11:07, 11:26, 10:36, 10:39, 11:53, 0.59@12:56

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.250.000.000.000.000.000.003.25

Ran in nbhd, trying shake off "marathon legs" from Croom Zoom 50k, I think it helped.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.140.000.000.000.000.000.005.14

5.14 miles, 31:12

Ran at the Y with the Striders

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.580.000.000.000.000.000.006.58

58 minuts, 8:46 average

Feeling a little run down today, felt better as I warmed up.

Ran from my house out to Trinity Blvd for a bit then turned back.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.180.000.000.000.000.000.006.18

6.18 mi, 47:34

Ran in the nbhd

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.090.000.000.000.000.000.004.09

4.09 mi, 34:15, 8:22 avg

Ran in the neighborhood.  Trying to get my head and chest cleared out.  It helped.  I wasn't as slow as I thought I'd be.  First mile was 9:16 which is pretty good for a first mile easy run (they can sometimes be well over 10:00)

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.410.000.000.000.000.000.006.41

6.41 mi, 48:43

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Mostly ran easy but did the three "classic" Tuesday intervals which vary in length but are more or less about 1km each.  Felt a little better today than yesterday.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.403.500.000.000.000.000.006.90

6.9 miles, 53:54

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.   Easy warm up of just over three miles, then picked up the pace.  Brought down the 4th mile to 7:20 then did next 2.5 miles at a bit under 7:00.  Practiced gradually increasing the pace from a slower pace rather than immdiately jumping on a new pace just to remind myself I don't have to get continually slower if I feel like I've gotten into a pace rut.

Wore new shoes I just got - Skechers GoMeb Speed 2

This was a good run considering how the last week ended with a cold, feeling run down and some chest congestion.  Feel like I'm mostly back now and ready for Sunday.  Clearwater marathon here I come again.

Comments
From jtshad on Wed, Feb 04, 2015 at 13:41:03 from 141.221.191.225

Hey! Good job with the 3:27 at the Clearwater Marathon! Where is the report?

From Mark on Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 18:45:02 from 96.252.190.179

Thanks Jeff! It was on my to-do list, finally finished it. Boy, am I ever behind, thanks for the nudge.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.810.000.000.000.000.000.003.81

3.81 mi, 8:14 average pace

Quick run in nbhd, day before Clearwater Marathon

Race: Clearwater Marathon (26.219 Miles) 03:27:04, Place overall: 16, Place in age division: 3
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.220.000.000.000.000.0026.22

Clearwater Marathon Race Report

(better late than never)

(Garmin stats: 26.46 mi, 03:27:06, 07:49 pace)

Miles 0-5: 7:50, 7:20, 7:27, 7:30, 7:09

Last year I ran the first mile too fast, so this year I was hoping that if I ran the first mile a little slower I might have a better overall race.  I also had a goal to make the first mile the slowest mile of the race.  Other problem I had last year was cramping in my calves starting about mile 17, goal was to avoid that also.  First goal was easy enough except I had to run a little faster than I wanted after stopping to retie one of my shoes.  First mile finishes at the top of the Clearwater memorial bridge and then has about a 1/3 mile downhill for the start of the second mile, so it felt easy to get onto a faster pace.  Third mile was flat and fourth mile was mostly flat except for the end where it finishes part of the way up the Sand Key bridge.  Fifth mile had a good section of downhill on the bridge followed by the big group of Striders manning the Sand Key water stop, loudest cheering second only to Boston near Wellesley College.

Miles 6-16: 7:24, 7:26, 7:25, 7:20, 7:27, 7:32, 7:32, 7:16, 7:26, 7:29, 7:48

These were all pretty good miles.  I was running behind a pack and feeling pretty good, eventually caught up to many of them.  I went over the Park Blvd bridge back to the mainland and new there were a few slightly uphill miles ahead but was feeling pretty good. 

Miles 17-26: 8:21, 8:16, 8:18, 8:43, 8:31, 8:31, 8:46, 8:30, 8:24, 7:59, 0.35 @7:13

My pace dropped and I couldn't seem to get it back as I approached the Pinellas trail.  Honestly, it was a nice day out and I was overcome with the urge to enjoy the day and just take it easy.  But only half of me thought that, the other half wanted to continue on.  At about mile 20 I heard a voice from behind, "are you ok buddy?" - it was Joe, cruising by on his way to a big PR.  I was also playing tag team with a guy doing a run walk, which helped.  Everytime I thought I was way ahead and come back and pass me up.  And then there was Oliver, who has been beeting me throughout the year at various races.  But really no nicer guy out there.  When he passed me I managed to stop slowing down after I hit my slowest at 8:46.  Towards the end of the last mile it felt like a real race.  Running up the street, getting close to the helix back down toward the finish line:

 

Summary notes:

Great conditions, started out reasonable (7:50 pace), then picked it up. Got faster during the mid miles, until about mile 17. My pace dropped and it became hard to hold the new pace. Finally, at about mile 21 I actually used my math brain which said keep it under 9:00 for the rest and I'll stay under 3:30 which became my new goal. I tagged team with a guy doing run-walk for the last 10 miles and eventually stayed ahead of him but he later thanked me for helping him speed up each time I past him.

Great to see Joe breezing by me about mile 20 and finishing 4 minutes faster than me. Cheering support was awesome with the Striders water stop on Sand Key, the mobile cheering squad who intercepted me about 5 times with two little ones along to help. Boosted by seeing Chris Coffin at mile 22 who I was too dazed to see and finally Jamie and Cynthia at mile 24.

Late in the 20's Ollie passed me and I managed to keep him in sights until the end - it was a good tow to the finish with last mile at 7:58.
Also, I didn't cramp up this time, just 11 minutes slower than last year.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 19:18:32 from 24.10.247.181

January 18th!

Good to see you're still at it Mark.

From Mark on Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 06:00:23 from 96.252.190.179

Thanks Rob! Still at it, just haven't been very organized.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.130.000.000.000.000.000.005.13

5.13 mi, 42:00, 8:07 avg

Give it a try and let's see how it goes run.  Ran at the Y, felt surprisingly pretty good for being only a couple days after marathon.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.580.000.000.000.000.000.007.58

7.58 mi, 7:52 avg pace

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.100.000.000.000.000.000.006.10

6.1 miles, 8:27 avg

Friday morning run in the nbhd

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
12.240.000.000.000.000.000.0012.24

12.24, 8:29 average pace

Ran in Starkey Park.  Easy warm up for three miles, then the rest of the miles under 8:00 pace

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.750.000.000.000.000.000.004.75

4.75 mi, 8:20 average pace

Ran in the nbhd

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.250.000.000.000.000.000.007.25

7.25 mi, 7:41 average

Ran at the Y with the Striders

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.540.000.000.000.000.000.006.54

6.54 mi, 7:59 avg

Ran in the nbhd

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.160.000.000.000.000.000.008.16

8.16 mi, 7:50 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders for Strider Thursday run.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.370.000.000.000.000.000.006.37

7:55 avg

Ran in the nbhd.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
16.330.000.000.000.000.000.0016.33

9:36 average

Ran at Croom with the Striders for the periodic "off campus" trip away from Starkey.  Ended up with Dixie and Mike Husband for last 7 or 8 miles, got a little bit lost then back on track. 

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.660.000.000.000.000.000.007.66

7.66 mi, 1:07:26, 8:48 avg

Day off, so started a little bit later.  Ran in the nbhd.   Tried out new GoRun Ride3's as a non-speed shoe.  I'll have to give them another try but so far like the other Skechers models I've tried.

Run was pretty good overall. Ran into Joe about 2.5 miles into the run and stuck with him for next 5 miles.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 7.66
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.720.002.350.000.000.000.008.07

8.07 mi, 7:40 avg, 1:01:51

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Started out kind of easy but not completely slacking.  I ended up doing 4 intervals of random distances, the first was a mile that started out slow that I steadily picked up, finishing at 6:56, then three shorter ones (0.33, 0.5, 0.52), with paces of 6:16, 5:55, and 5:54.  I could feel my lungs working on the last two.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.07
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.150.000.000.000.000.000.009.15

9.15 mi, 01:16, 08:16 pace

Crisp. Looped around nbhd, out to Duckslough to Trinity, then past Fox Hollow and out and back onto Trinity Blvd and home. somehow managed a couple of blisters on my left foot, not sure how that happened.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.150.000.000.000.000.000.009.15

9.15 mi, 01:16 08:16 pace

Started out with the intention of just plodding along but it turned into a pretty good run despite the chilly wind. Ran to the Y, stopped for water and a gel and then ran back.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 9.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.260.000.000.000.000.000.008.26

8.26 mi , 01:09, 08:23 pace

More of the same. Chilly, ran through the nbhd and a bit more on Trinity Blvd with stop at the water fountain for a gel. Saw the same gathering of sandhill cranes I saw earlier this week.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 8.26
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
12.126.000.000.000.000.000.0018.12

18.12 mi, 02:21, 07:46 pace

Nice, comfortably cool weather this morning.

Got started about 8:30, trail was pretty empty (many people were running the Gasparilla races this weekend) after passing the turning point for the 5K taking place.

After 4 miles, I decided I'd run the rest under 8:00 pace. I had two miles right at 7:01 including the last mile. It's been a while (apart from races) that I've run a training run of this distance at this pace.

I usually just like to run these easy except for maybe a pickup at the end but I wanted to try something different.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 18.12
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.640.000.000.000.000.000.007.64

7.64 mi , 01:22, 10:41 pace

Drove up with Cynthia, Renee, and Jessica. Nice morning, low 50's. Started out together for about the first mile then Cynthia and Renee pulled ahead. So, then it was my first time navigating the course, only made one wrong turn and only about a 1/4 mile out of our way. Slowed down a bit after mile 4. Did the last mile by myself after getting back to the car.

I was very happy that my legs did not feel anything leftover from yesterday's faster long run.

 

Had breakfast out at the Country Kitchen restaurant.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 7.64
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.080.000.002.000.000.000.008.08

8.08 mi, 01:03, 07:50 pace

Ran at the Y with the Striders, started out with Joe and Renee and ran w them to the water stop. Then I did 4x800m intervals with 400m jogs between.

Did 6:12, 6:00, 5:55, 6:15 for the paces (they were actually each a little bit longer than 800m).

It felt hard and I need to add on some more, but it's a place I can start from.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.08
Race: Long Play 33 1/3 Ultra (33.333 Miles) 06:18:33, Place overall: 16, Place in age division: 5
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
33.460.000.000.000.000.000.0033.46

Long Play Ultra Marathon 33 1/3 Miles, Race Report

Official Time: 6:18:33

The main goals of the race today was to cover some miles, help my friend Dixie run his first ultra marathon, and experience the ups and downs of running 33 miles.

The race started at 6:30, just as it was about to get light out.  We had arrived about 5:30 after a drive of just under an hour (almost took two cars because Dixie called at 4:25 to say he would be almost 15 minutes late, I said I'd wait, 5 minutes later he was waiting for me at the meeting spot - fortunately traffic is pretty light at 4:30 am).

Just before 6:30, the race director Andy Matthews was going over the course and things to look out for (like the water crossings) and how not to get lost.  Dixie was back at the car getting some last minute things.  10 seconds before the race started he was back and ready to go but noticed he didn't have his Garmin.   I said I'd run slow and he could catch up -  I didn't want to lose sight of the runners and risk taking a wrong turn.  It all worked out.  He was soon caught up and we were running a nice easy pace in the back of the pack and slowly working our way to the middle.

Start to Tucker Hill (6 miles) - 10:59, 9:44, 10:44, 10:20, 9:57, 11:55

I think this section was pretty uneventful, running was good and it seemed to go by pretty quickly.  There was a 2.5 mile aid station (turnaround for the 5 mile race) which we didn't stop at.  This section had a combination of packed dirt road, paved road (very briefly), paved bike trail, sandy fire road and finally single track.

Tucker Hill to Croom Road Aid Station (Miles 7-14) - 12:02, 10:15, 10:32, 9:55, 9:03, 9:32, 9:44, 10:06

The back side of Tucker hill is covered in roots and a bit tough (for me) to run on and there was a few muddy spots but not too too terrible.  There is also a fun ravine to run through.  After the ravine, we started picking up the pace and had some good miles through this section.  In hindsight, maybe we went a little too fast, but nothing crazy at lesat.  It was all pretty much single track until we reached Croom Road which is paved.  We weren't on it too long before hitting the aid station and getting back onto single track.  I think at about mile 10, I noted we were averaging a 10:28 pace.  Thought that if we could hold this pace, bank a few faster miles here and there we would be in good shape.  Unofficial goal was under 6 hours which seemed very reasonable, 10:00 pace would get us about 5:30, 11:00 pace would make us just miss it.

Croom Road Aid Station to Course Turnaround (Miles 15-20) - 10:59, 10:10, 17:24, 10:14, 10:26, 10:38

Headed back onto the trail, wound through some woods and then I could hear the highway nearby (I-75), where we should have gotten onto a sidewalk underneath an overpass with a rive next to it.  But the sidewalk was under water.  The flags were there marking where the route should have been.  It didn't look too safe (although I think it would have been ok since there was a guardrail hidden underwater which would have prevented us from falling into the river.  But, there was a way around, over a fence, scrambling through some brush and along a steep embankment, then over another fence and back next to the water again.  So, all of this meant a pretty slow mile.  But, it also meant Dixie had a chance to recharge and catch a second wind.  There was an aid station in the Silver Lake campground, quick stop there and then onto the turnaround.  Through some more cypress then into some open areas near meadows until finally getting to the turnaround aid station just past 20 miles.  They had gels there, so I took one because you never know if  you really can have enough gels.

Course Turnaround to Croom Road Aid Station (Miles 21-26) - 11:40, 11:31, 12:25, 13:05, 15:33, 19:02

This was some of the most serene looking terrain and I felt good that we were finally heading back and were more than half way done.  Dixie was struggling a bit so we talked different strategies such as 3-1 or 4-1 run-walk and just concentrated on what we could do.  Eventually made it back to the campground aid station where I had run ahead a little faster to try and save time, filling up Dixie's water bottle and encouraging him to keep going.  Got going again and then back to the flooded out overpass.  He got ahead of me and is better at scrambling across that sort of thing so I figured I'd catch back up once running again.  But, by the time I had gotten past the flooded bridge aread and over the fences the trail came to a fork.  I was pretty sure we needed to take a slightly different path back.  Dixie was nowhere to be seen, but another runner who we had run into earlier had caught up.  He was pretty sure we should go right, so right it was.

For a while the trail looked like what I thought it should.  There were periodic orange flags put up by the race director, along with the blue blazes painted on trees to mark the existing trail.  Then, the trail was no more.  I could still see the orange flags but instead of ground was a flooded cypress swamp.  RD did mention something about water crossings.  Ok, here goes.  Water was ankle deep, then thigh deep, and then waist deep.  Almost looked like it would keep going.  I knew that this was actual trail most of the year so the ground under the water was fairly solid but also rooty.  And then, eventually the trail was back again.

Trail wound on some more and then it disappared again.  But, with all of the zigging and zagging and what looked like a road nearby it almost seemed like I had taken a wrong turn and was on the wrong side of the water.  So, I looked at my garmin and pulled up the little line drawing map and sure enough it showed that I would complete the loop if I kept on going forward.  So, back in the water.  This one was a bit more open looking with fewer trees and it also bordered closer to the river.  But, then after maybe 4 or 5 minues (which seemed like forever), the trail was back.

So, that was the 15 and 19 minute miles.  And soon after the trail was back I came out of the woods I was at the 26 mile aid station.  And, not only that I was congratulated by the volunteers for actually following the correct trail (they had been making the people that went the wrong why run out 0.2 and back 0.2 miles to make up the lost 0.4 miles  (although they also missed all the fun and lost time of slogging through the swamp water).  I had just missed Dixie by about a minute.

Croom Road Aid Station to Finish Line (Miles 27-33.333) - 11:26, 9:35, 11:45, 12:42, 11:27, 9:10, 8:55, 0.46@8:15

I left the aid station, making up some of the lost time and eventually caught up to Dixie.  He seemed to be on a second wind and was running strong for a while and also running with a woman named Crystal (who had herself gotten lost and had run an extra several miles somehow (and also missed the swamp crossing)).  We had a few slow miles and stuck together until I got to the mile 31 aid station.  Stopped there and when I looked back realized I had gotten ahead farther than planned.   The sun was being kept mostly behind clouds but it was still a bit warm at around 78 degrees.   Decided it'd be ok to go ahead.  I felt good and picked up speed as the course changed from single track to fire road and then eventually paved bike path until finally back to dirt road.  About a mile away the RD had put up a series of signs - "You're almost there!", "Keep Going", "There's BEER at the finish line", and then "Say YES", followed by  "Say YES" repeated 48 more times.   The last "Say YES" sign had a drawing of an engagement ring on it.  The RD's girlfriend was running her first ultra marathon and apparently was in for a big surprise at the finish line.

I finished up, grabbed some refreshments and headed back to the finish line to catch a photo finish of Dixie and Crystal.

Also got to see the proposal - she said yes fortunately!

Overall, it would have been nice to run this a bit faster even though I was mainly wanting to just pace Dixie, but he did finish and with the obstacles and warmer temps it could have been worse.

But, maybe the best part was how easy the last 7 miles felt for me after I hit the 26 mile mark and how good it was to experience so many things I would never have seen or done.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.090.000.000.000.000.000.008.09

Ran at the Y, 7:41 average pace

Looking back, I thought I must have run some intervals, but I did not, just a little bit faster than normal run.  Feeling good after only one day off after Sunday's ultra.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.09
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.220.000.000.000.000.000.008.22

8.22 mi 01:10 08:33 pace

Basic. Actually, it's Friday today and I don't remember too much about this run. But I think it was pretty good.

The above comment was from Daily Mile, I was even behind there.  I need to consolidate blogs.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.22
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.050.000.000.000.000.000.007.05

7.05 mi 00:57 08:05 pace

Neighborhood run. It feels like the run that almost wasn't. Started late and thought about doing 4 or 5 but it turned into 7 fortunately.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 7.05
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.170.003.000.000.000.000.0011.17

11.17 mi, 01:27, 07:47 pace

Looped around the block, then out past the golf course and headed to the Y. Did three one mile pick ups which were planned for 7:00-7:10 range, but I felt better on each one and instead did 6:32, 6:35, 6:26. There were long breaks between the fast miles. The idea was to practice breaking out of a slower pace at any time. Whether or not this is effective it still felt good and I got the mileage in.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 11.17
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
14.166.000.000.000.000.000.0020.16

20.16 mi, 02:37, 07:47 pace

6:50ish start in Starkey Park, ran a bit with Dixie and Jamie, and then a short stint with Jackie B, Randy and Josh out to 5 miles. Continued on alone and picked up the pace. Ran next three at about 7:50 pace, then last 11 ranged between 7:06 and 7:33. Wanted to get some practice holding a pace on tired legs. Pretty good overall but a few times it felt like my lower back was twisting so there were a few miles which could have been faster. The wind was good because it was mostly at my back for the return trip.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 20.16
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.260.000.000.000.000.000.008.26

8.26 mi, 1:08:30, 8:17 pace

Run around the nbhd, out to Duckslough to Trinity Blvd, then Robert Trent Jones Pkwy with stop at golf course fountain, back onto Trinity then reversed back home.  Coolish at the start and overall the run felt pretty good.  Almost always feel renewed but until I do I forget how powerful it is.  I've written it down before and it's always helpful to remember it somehow when it is forgotten and you just don't feel like getting up early and heading out the door.

Yesterday's run also gave me a bit of hope for a good race this weekend and maybe even a good race at Boston this year.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 8.26
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.522.001.000.000.000.000.008.52

8.52 mi, 01:09, 08:02 pace

Starkey Park bike trail, out and back run with the out portion at easy pace and then pick up on the way back with 7:32, 7:22, 7:56, 6:46

Good run overall

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 8.52
Race: Florida Beach Halfathon (13.11 Miles) 01:32:22, Place overall: 27, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.2513.290.000.000.000.000.0014.54

(Garmin Stats 13.29 mi, 01:32:26, 06:57 pace)

Official: gun time 1:32:27, chip time 1:32:22

Pretty good race where

I finally broke my streak of progressively slower half marathons,

beating my BDR half of 1:33:11 with a 1:32:22. Good solid first seven miles with splits: 6:44, 6:36, 6:32, 6:49, 6:51, 6:51, 6:56.

But, then the rest were not so good with mile 8 at 7:13. No more splits under 7:00 after that, worst one was mile 12 at 7:28 and then a little bit of a comeback at mile 13 with 7:02 and finally a good kick at the end meaning some of the slow down was mental since there was still some gas in the tank.

Race was delayed by 37 minutes so perhaps could have been better with more cool temps running. There was a little bit of a breeze which helped.
Managed second place age group and not too far off from 1st AG.


Stuck around for awards for the half but left before the halfathon series awards which it turns out I earned a second place award there for: Holiday Half 1:30:53, 1st half of Clearwater Marathon 1:38:02, and today's race at 1:32:27 (gun) for total of 4:41:28, about 8 minutes behind Dr Cottrell's time for 1st AG for series.


Jessica made it down to see me finish and then hang out for a bit, rode down with Renee and then hung out with Ryan, Suzan, Tracy, Denise and a couple other Striders while awards were going on.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 14.54
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.320.002.000.000.000.000.008.32

8.32 mi 01:04 07:41 pace

Ran at the Y with the Striders. Mixed bag of running - some easy miles, two miles under 7:00 and 5 strides at the end trying to hit sub 6:00 and succeeded on two of them.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 8.32
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.720.000.000.000.000.000.007.72

7.72 mi 01:05 08:24 pace

Out the door pretty much on time for a change, looped around the nbhd and out and back around the golf course. Back to cool this morning.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 7.72
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.770.005.500.000.000.000.0010.27

10.27 mi, 01:17, 07:31 pace

5:30 start at Longleaf.

Ran with Jamie for first 4.4 miles, out to the bridge, had averaged about an 8:41 pace. She turned back and I continued on with some tempo miles, had the following

splits: 6:37, 6:31, 6:25, 6:40, 6:36 and 0.51@6:36


Very happy with these and more so how they felt and also good to stretch it out a little longer at the end. Going to try and get in a 7 mile tempo some time before Boston. Felt like something might be starting to click back on (no, not a clicking in hips or knees, but a good kind of click!).

Also, this was only my third run in the GoMeb Speed2 shoes, one training run, the Clearwater marathon, and now today.  The shoes felt good today, much better than the last two times.


Got back to parking lot just as the two last Striders left, Clark and Cindy were about to pull out of the lot. They broke the coffee back out and poured me a cup before leaving.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 10.27
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.710.000.000.000.000.000.005.71

5.71 mi 00:48 08:21 pace

Shorter run in the neighborhood this morning, enjoyed the nice and cool air.  I was a little less than motivated to run this morning but finally got out before it was too late.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 5.71
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.2112.000.000.000.000.000.0020.21

  Suncoast Bike Trail, Brooksville

20.21 mi , 02:38 , 07:47 pace

Couple problems delayed getting started, but it was cool enough to not matter.  I hadn't been up here in a while.  The first left after going through the light is no longer there, need to drive down farther west on SR 50, do a u-turn and take a right now.  Parking is $3, but I forgot they don't have a fancy ticket machine that takes cash, visa or mc, just some envelopes for check or cash.  Parking lot was desserted so I drove to a nearby 7-11 to get change (and a chocolate milk) and came back.

Did an out and back to the south then did the main part of the run out and back north. Averaged 8:18 for the first 8 miles, then picked it up and averaged 7:27 for the last 12 miles. Had a couple of miles where I slowed down a bit (7:40 and 7:51), due to some sort of imbalance pinging my lower back. Stopped and stretched a bit and did the last two miles faster - 7:12 and 7:07. Legs and aerobic both felt good and the rolling hills there are a pretty good Boston trainer.

Miles 9-20 splits: 7:29, 7:32, 7:33, 7:23, 7:10, 7:18, 7:33, 7:26, 7:40, 7:51, 7:12, 7:07

It was good to come back up here.  There were 0 other runners out, a few walkers and a good amount of bikes on an organized ride or race (autism benefit I think)

This run capped off a pretty challenging week of running after a hard workout/race on Sunday, a good mid week tempo run and then a hills and distance workout.  I'll try for some good miles next week before looking at tapering for Boston.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 20.21
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.630.000.000.000.000.000.007.63

7.63 mi 01:03 08:18 pace

Run around the neighborhood. It felt pretty good overall. My right knee has something going on though, not much but keeping an eye on it, related the to lower back thing also going on.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.570.000.000.000.000.000.006.57

6.57 mi 00:58 08:53 pace

Decided to skip the intervals and take it easy. Ran with Joe. Good run, knee was feeling better except for one random stabbing pain at the start of the last mile, then ok again.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 6.57
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.011.000.000.000.000.000.0010.01

10.01 mi 01:21 08:05 pace

Looped around the nbhd, out to Trinity Blvd and back to Tamarind, then up and down Robert Trent Jones with stop at golf course water then back to Trinity Blvd heading south before coming back home. This run was better than expected. Was planning on going slower but the pace I ended up with felt easy. Slowed a little on purpose the second to last mile, then pushed the last mile a little faster down to 7:12
Knee was incrementally better, concentrated on good form which helped.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 10.01
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.370.007.000.000.000.000.0010.37

10.37 mi 01:15 07:11 pace

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders- well, sort of as I was a few minutes late - so didn't actually run alongside anyone but I did criss-cross paths and saw a few people at the end of the run who hadn't left yet.

Easy paced warm up out to the water stop, just over 3 miles. Then, did 7 mile tempo run with the following splits: 6:46, 6:34, 6:33, 6:37, 6:43, 6:36, 6:29. Good confidence building run. It's been a little while since doing more than a 6 mile tempo run.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 10.37
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.630.000.000.000.000.000.007.63

7.63 mi 01:04 08:23 pace

Ran out to Duck Slough, onto 54 then turned right onto Corporate towards Trinity. I noticed a new wooden bridge and saw it was part of a new trail going around a small lake, so I ran out to it. It's the new sports park. The trail is marked with 1/4 mile measurements, there's a real bathroom and two reasonably cold drinking fountains. After this detour, headed back down Trinity then ran along golf course out and back a bit.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 7.63
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
13.150.000.000.000.000.000.0013.15

13.15 mi 01:56 08:48 pace

Rode up to Spring Lake with Cynthia and met Chris there. Good easy pace but not too slow with a few pick ups. Weather was great. Saw Laura Cole for a bit. Someone stole Cynthia's cooler which wasn't stashed too well. Breakfast at Country Kitchen before heading home.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 13.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.140.000.000.000.000.000.006.14

6.14 mi 00:51 08:20 pace

Easy feeling run, woke up in time for 6 miles. No sluggishness to start with which was nice.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.14
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.970.000.003.100.000.000.008.07

8.07 mi 01:00 07:24 pace

Ran at the Y with the Striders. Although dreading it a bit and not sure if it was necessary, did 5x1km workout, paces: 6:07, 6:05, 5:53, 5:54, 6:01. This was an improvement over last time, especially the first one which I usually have more trouble with. Slowest split today was faster than my fastest one last time. Rest of the run was good. Still cool this morning but a bit humid.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 8.07
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.100.000.000.000.000.000.006.10

6.1 mi 00:52 08:28 pace

Easy run around the nbhd and out and back past the golf course.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 6.10
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.550.004.000.000.000.000.008.55

8.55 mi 01:01 07:11 pace

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders. Warmed up 1 mile, then 3 miles under 8:00, followed by 4 mile tempo run, goal was sub 6:40, splits: 6:27, 6:23, 6:21, 6:18. It was hard but I didn't feel like I was struggling the whole time. I haven't seen these splits for quite some time.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 8.55
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.630.000.000.000.000.000.004.63

4.63 mi 00:39 08:23 pace

Shorter run in the neighborhood this morning, tapering and low on time.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 4.63
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.021.000.000.000.000.000.0010.02

10.02 mi 01:27 08:39 pace

Started from Diane's house at 6:00 with Jamie and Cynthia, ran towards the park, inside for a few miles then turned back. Easy conversational pace most of the way, picked up the last two miles to 7:40 and 7:17

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 10.02
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.180.000.000.000.000.000.006.18

6.18 mi 00:52 08:25 pace

Ran at the Y with the Striders. Caught up to Joe at the water stop and ran the rest of the way with him. I slowed down a bit the last mile, but it was ok.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.18
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.412.000.000.000.000.000.004.41

4.41 mi 00:35 07:56 pace

Easy pace at first, then picked it up the last mile (slightly more than planned). Went from my house out to the last nbhd before Robert Trent Jones hits Trinity. 4th mile was a 6:42 but I was aiming for 7:10-7:15. Accidental speed, I hope it's a good sign.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 4.41
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.183.001.000.000.000.000.005.18

5.18 mi 00:39 07:27 pace

I did a one mile warm-up at 8:46, and then thought I'd do one or two miles around a 7:30 pace, I did 7:19, 7:11, 7:19, and 6:46, followed by a short cool down. The faster miles felt pretty good.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 5.18
Race: Boston Marathon (26.21 Miles) 03:24:42, Place overall: 8382, Place in age division: 1236
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.210.000.000.000.000.0026.21

Boston Marathon race report - better late than never

(Garmin Stats: 26.54 mi03:24:44,  07:42 pace)

Official Splits:

  5k 10k 15k 20k Half 25k 30k 35k 40k
0:23:18 0:45:46 1:08:45 1:32:07 1:37:16 1:55:50 2:21:14 2:47:25 3:13:46
Finish: Pace Proj. Time Offl. Time Overall Gender Division
0:07:49 - 3:24:42 8382 6787 1236

Can't believe Boston has come and gone already. Was looking like it might have been very rainy and miserable, but instead the rain wasn't so bad and not at all miserable. First half was 1:37:16 which should have been ok, but the second 5k was a bit too fast.

Just before mile 9 I started thinking I should slow down a little bit. I didn't slow down much and going through Wellesly college I felt good of course from all the cheering but not super.

Next two miles were just a little slower, followed by one faster for mile 16. Then, for the rest of the race I'd only have one more mile under 8:00 pace (but fortunately didn't get into the 9:00's). As always, getting to the Citgo sign was a great feeling, almost got under 8:00 for mile 26, and then kicked it in the rest of the way. I had a similar pattern to Clearwater, but was a minute faster the first half and about a minute and a half in the second half. When I got to the point of slowing down I just kept on trying to make sure I'd beat my last Boston time (2011, 3:27:00). And this time, at 3:24:42 it was technically a BQ time. Maybe I'll take another shot at it before September.


Before the race, I had plans to try and meet up with a group from home racing at a 3:15 goal. They hit the half at 1:36, not sure if I would have fallen apart more if I would have hung on better. The Striders "herd" group started in wave 3 and stuck together, helping each other to run a solid 3:25:25, they had much more even splits. Here are my splits (I tried to sync up the garmin and mile markers a few times but gave up eventually):

 

  1. 7:49
  2. 7:24 (+:09)
  3. 7:12
  4. 6:59 - a little too fast, too early
  5. 7:18 (+:06)
  6. 7:06
  7. 7:16 (+:09)
  8. 7:23
  9. 7:19
  10. 7:31
  11. 7:29
  12. 7:22 (+:14)
  13. 7:28
  14. 7:41 - these two miles I slowed down a little on purpose
  15. 7:42
  16. 7:16 (+:14) - after this I gave up trying to sync up garmin and mile markers
  17. 8:12
  18. 8:19 - at the start of this mile I dropped a gel on the ground and fumbled around a bit to pick it up
  19. 7:47
  20. 8:01
  21. 8:31 - heartbreak hill
  22. 8:35 - a bit of a sidestitch
  23. 8:13 - then felt a little bit better
  24. 8:45 - but slowed down again
  25. 8:05 - until the last two miles
  26. 8:02  and 26.2 - 6:50@0.43

Blessing in disguise that I stopped trying to stay sync'd up with mile markers since it made my final kick a little longer, wish it was even longer than that!

Of all the things that could have been much worse I'm grateful for all that did go well. Enjoyed the time before and after the race, seeing friends, wandering the city and just taking it all in. Really hope I can come back next year!

Comments
From jtshad on Thu, May 21, 2015 at 09:57:24 from 141.221.191.225

Congrats on a strong race (BQ!) in tough conditions. You are running well right now.

Race: Run for the Red Poconos Marathon (26.21 Miles) 03:30:40, Place overall: 108, Place in age division: 14
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.210.000.000.000.000.0026.21

Run for the Red Marathon

This is potentially a fast course, a pretty big net downhill (1400 feet), but with enough rollers and hills between miles 18 and 24 to make it challening.

Weather called for much warmer than average and also humid.  They had 3:15 and 3:25 pace groups.  Decided I'd start with the 3:25 group and pull ahead at some point in the race.  I had a pace tatoo from Taz Running which showed suggested 3:20 splits based on the elevation profile. Warmed up a little bit on the HS track with a little less than a half mile including a couple easy strides.

Miles 1-6

First 6 miles went pretty well.  Stayed close to the 3:25 pacer guy and the group clustered around him and hit some pretty steady splits - 7:41, 7:41, 7:41, 7:45, 7:49, but the 6th mile I'm not sure because I missed the mile marker and only have the time for miles 6 and 7 combined which averaged 7:37 but that was due to mile 7 being faster.  The first few miles of this section I didn't feel great.  Although the temperature was not terrible (high 60's) it felt pretty muggy.  These miles were also almost net flat but kind of rolly.  I knew I'd feel better, at least for a while after getting some miles in and I did, maybe after about 4 miles it started feeling easier.

Miles 7-13.1

The big downhill section started about mile 6 and I was feeling better also.  My 3:20 pace tatoo said I should speed up also.

So, after 6 miles of running with the pace group I pulled ahead.  Some of these miles felt easy.  There was also plenty of shade during these miles.  Lots of downhill mixed in with periodic uphills, but way more down than up. Just before the 13 mile point was a bridge with a metal grate for its deck - glad I wasn't wearing super light shoes.  Crossed the half way point at 1:40:05 which seemed perfect.  Although in retrospect it felt like I was already pushing the pace for the conditions.

Miles 13.1 - 19

After cruising by the clock at the halfway point I felt energized for a bit and there was still some pretty significant downhills until at least mile 17.  Jessica had dropped me off at the starting area and I told her not to wait there so she could get back in time to start the 5K race at 8:30 and it would be better to see me on the second half of the course than the start where I was still fresh and in good spirits.  The race website discourages trying to spectate on the course due to congestion on the roads and many of the places being hard to reach.  But, the information people at the expo had some good suggestions on where to view the race and there was a good spot right at the mile 16.   As I ran down the course, was wondering if she made it and if I'd actually see her.  I could see a lot of cars lined up on the cross street.  Just past the corner saw her taking pictures of me and shouting out some needed-to-hear "go Marks!"

Feeling pretty good now, two more miles under 8:00 pace.  It was getting harder but I knew it would, just wanted to keep it under 8:00 even if just barely.  Mile 18 finished after going through a tunnel where the road passed under train tracks.  Then a few tenths of a mile into mile 18 was a pretty good sized uphill.   I knew it would slow me down some going up it but thought I could make up the time going down the other side.  Not quite able to do that.  So, mile 19 would be 8:28.  Still not terrible.  BQ was in danger here but still not out the window.

Miles 19-26.2

3:25 group passed me around mile 21 and couldn't pull myself back together enough to try and hang on with them.  It turns out that the pacer for that group actually finished 3:23:59 which would have been pretty close to getting be back into Boston. 

Mile 23 and 24 had some walking involved.  The shade was mostly gone, the temperature felt like it was getting close to 80 (although it wasn't really).  I stopped for ice to try and cool down.  We had turned off the main road onto a parallel side street where all of the sudden, a LOT of people were walking.  One person was collapsing while two of her friends tried to support her on each side.  Lots of walking can be contagious.  Mile 24 finished right at the bottom of the last hill.  Fortunately I didn't succumb to walking the rest of the course and instead picked up a little speed back on the downside of the mile 24 hill and finished mile 25 back under 9:00.  After mile 25 I just kept plodding along and took one more short walk break.  Turned off of Main Street into the high school campus as I headed to mile 26 just outside the stadium.  3/4 of a lap around the track and finally it was over.   Had a few leg cramps as I turned the corner but overall the cramps had mostly held off.   Jessica was right near the finish line cheering me one more time.   I crossed under the finish arch and stopped my watch but I think I might have actually walked across the finish mat.

After finishing I had a craving for a coke, but they didn't have any for post race refreshments - but they did have a concession stand nearby for spectators and I was thankful I had tucked a $20 in my pocket in case of an emergency.  I collapsed on the field for a while after drinking the coke and a nurse from the med tent wandered by to make sure I was ok.

Miscellaneous:

Despite the highs and lows of the day, not reaching my goal, and feeling like giving up I reached one conclusion.  I love running marathons.  I love the training, the planning, the pre race nerves, the pasta dinner the night before, the aid stations, the mistakes, the things done correctly and the reminiscing afterward to name a few things.

Did I fall apart?  It's all relative.  I counted about 13 people who crossed the halfway point after me but finished before me (i.e. they passed me).  However, there were about 40 people who crossed the halfway point before me but I finished before them (I passed them).

This was my first attempt at not using auto-lap, I think I like it.  The laps weren't all exactly a mile, but on the plus side I knew exactly how much there was left to run after reaching 26 miles and I didn't have to worry about what my "real pace" was at any time.

(garmin stats: 3:30:39, 26.35 miles)

  1. 7:41
  2. 7:41
  3. 7:41
  4. 7:45
  5. 7:49
  6. 7:37
  7. 7:37 (15:14/2) - missed mile marker
  8. 7:09 (8:11 ,1.14 mi) - missed again but hit lap anyway
  9. 7:28 (6:26 ,0.86 mi) - back on track
  10. 7:46
  11. 7:42
  12. 7:45
  13. 7:34
  14. 7:45
  15. 7:39
  16. 7:17
  17. 7:53
  18. 7:44
  19. 8:28
  20. 8:31
  21. 8:15
  22. 8:47
  23. 9:26
  24. 10:19
  25. 8:43
  26. 9:06
  27. 0.18 @7:23

 

Brooks T7 Miles: 26.35
Comments
From Drew on Tue, May 19, 2015 at 03:04:48 from 24.92.19.68

Nice race, Mark! I noticed you are in New Port Richey - I'm in St. Pete. Looking at your races, we must have crossed paths a few times.

From Mark on Tue, May 19, 2015 at 19:13:26 from 71.180.75.11

Thanks Drew! We have probably seen each other at various races, it looks like we have been at several of the same ones, although looks like you are usually a number of places ahead of me! I'll look for you at the next local race and say hi.

From jtshad on Tue, May 19, 2015 at 19:18:02 from 69.20.183.178

Good report. Tough race, good to see you out there!

From Mark on Thu, May 21, 2015 at 09:35:50 from 24.129.132.75

Thanks Jeff! It's good to be out racing - always something new to learn.

From JimF on Mon, May 25, 2015 at 12:08:03 from 98.222.218.233

Nice race. Great attitude about the race and racing in general. Makes me want to get back in another marathon.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.040.000.000.000.000.000.001.04

1.04 miles @11:23 pace

First attempt back at running - started out walking, then run walk, and finally running a little bit at the end.  Felt better.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 1.04
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.820.000.000.000.000.000.003.82

3.82 mi, 36:37, 9:35 pace

Second day back running.  Creature of habit - went to Longleaf to run with Striders because it is Thursday.  Ran with Dixie until he went on after the water stop.  Legs felt a little bit better today.

In the evening did some weights and elliptical at the Y while the boys did swim team.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 3.82
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.650.000.000.000.000.000.005.65

5.65 mi, 53:10, 9:24

Day 3 back running, a little bit faster and farther.  Felt pretty good.  Ran with Jamie.   Warm and humid which is actually good.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 5.65
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.116.000.000.000.000.000.008.11

8.11 mi, 1:01:25, 7:34 pace

Ran in Starkey Park, cooler than yesterday.  Days are in transition towards humid and warm mornings.  Started out easy but didn't want to run lazy, so first mile was 8:39 and second 7:55.  Picked it up and the rest were 7:05 to 7:32.  Missed the start with Renee and Jamie but saw them on the way back at least.  Also saw two deer running across the trail.

Legs feel pretty much back to normal with just a little tightness in my left calf.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.11
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.030.000.000.000.000.000.008.03

8.03 mi, 1:10:13, 8:44 avg

Ran at Longleaf for the annual Memorial Day run.  Got there a little early and ran with Jamie and Cynthia for 2 miles, then met up for the group picture and ran another 6 miles.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 8.03
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.073.000.000.000.000.000.007.07

7.07 mi, 54:13, 7:39 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  I felt a bit creaky at first but soon felt loosened up.  3 of the miles were between 7:12 and 7:21, the rest a bit slower.  Humid and warm which I'm appreciating as I want to get adjusted to the warmer weather as soon as possible!

GoRun Sonic Miles: 7.07
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.551.000.000.000.000.000.007.55

1:01:08, 7.55 mi, 8:05 pace

Mostly easy miles, running in the neighborhood and some adjacent ones.  Started out later than planned but had cooler than expected temperatures so ok.  Slowest mile was 9:37 (first mile) and fastest was 7:19 (6th mile).

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 7.55
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.320.000.000.000.000.000.006.32

6.32 mi, 52:15, 8:16 avg

Warmer this morning but still breezy.  Started out in the neighborhood, ran to 54 to Corporate back to Trinity and then around the pond in the new park to see how far it is (almost exactly 0.75 miles with 1/4 mile increments measured on the path).  Ran a good bit on the grass on the way back and picked it up a little for the last mile (7:36)

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.32
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.030.000.000.000.000.000.009.03

9.03 mi, 1:20:13, 8:53 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood.  Was able to get started at 6:00 becaause I was meeting someone.  Kept the pace easy but with a slight and steady pickup throughout the run.  Nice coolish weather again this morning.  Goal was 8 miles but kept going for 9.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.03
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
12.622.000.000.000.000.000.0014.62

14.62 mi, 2:07:46, 8:44 avg

Started at Longleaf with Jamie and Cynthia about 6:00 just as it was getting light.  Nice and cool at the start and didn't get too hot even at the end.  We ran pretty steady and even for the first half, got slightly faster, and I started picking it up with miles 13 and 14 under 7:00 pace.  Last half mile was about a 7:45 pace.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 14.62
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.330.000.000.000.000.000.008.33

5.21 mi, 42:26, 8:08 avg

Easy paced run in the neighborhood, still nice and cool.  Need to get a few more miles in tonight.

PM

3.12 mi, 25:56, 8:19 avg - Plan was to take the boys to swimming at the Y and then zone out on the treadmill to get to 9 miles.  Swimming was canceled so ran from home, caught a little bit of rain but almost got in what I set out to do.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 8.33
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.052.000.000.000.000.000.009.05

9.05 mi, 1:09:35, 7:41 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Felt pretty easy going to start, not sluggish at all.  Cooler temperatures were still holding as well.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 9.05
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.061.000.000.000.000.000.008.06

8.06 mi, 1:03:12, 7:50 avg

Ran in the neighborhood and after a slower first mile stayed pretty steady.  I originally was planning on a tempo run today but decided to postpone by one day and run easier today.  Felt pretty good and once again enjoyed some very cool (for June) weather.

Last day of school today for the boys so for the summer I won't be on such a tight morning running schedule so no more excuses for running out of time.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 8.06
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.150.006.000.000.000.000.009.15

9.15 mi, 1:07:52, 7:25 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  I forgot to set my alarm, which should have been for 4:52.  However, I woke up on my own at 5:08 a little bit confused.  Got going and out the door almost on schedule.

Did about 2.5 easy miles for warm up and then started the tempo portion.  It was warmer today than yesterday - almost 75 degrees.  First mile was pretty good, second mile was harder and at about 2.6 miles I paused for a few seconds to regroup mentally.  Got going again and fought my way through it.  Finally with 0.45 miles left I crossed paths with Jenny who was out with her dog, so I stopped to say hi and then continued on.  So, not actually a non-stop tempo run but seemed pretty close.

Splits: 6:50, 6:52, 6:49, 6:52, 6:58, 6:44

GoRun Sonic Miles: 9.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.270.000.000.000.000.000.009.27

9.27 mi, 1:21:26, 8:47 pace

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood.  Steady conversational pace throughout which gradually increased as we ran.  Cool air was gone but it's not yet hot.  Run went by pretty quickly and it was good to have the company.  A running week can get long if I do all of the weekday runs by myself.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.27
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
14.044.000.000.000.000.000.0018.04

18.04 mi, 2:35:09, 8:36 avg

I started out at Longleaf at about 5:30 with Jamie and Cynthia.  I felt good at the start of the run, usually I feel slow and clunky for the first few miles.  I actually didn't sleep too well last night.  When I came home for work I had a Baja Blast Mountain Dew with dinner - I don't drink very much soda and can't remember the last time I had a Mountain Dew (a Dr. Pepper now and then is more likely).  By about 10:30 I felt too jittery, went to bed had some trouble falling alseep and woke up a few times.  Didn't feel tired when I woke up and felt like I was already warmed up.

 Anyway, kept the pace pretty easy but I kept finding myself in front of the group.  Picked up Renee and Craig and Diane's house (which is also Craig's house), ran into Starkey Park for a bit until we got to the power lines and then turned back.

On the way back, with about a mile to go to get out of the park I told everyone we should do indian drills.  They reluctantly agreed be we kept on it for about a mile and a half and was kind of fun.

At about mile 13.5 I stopped and stretched briefly while Cynthia ran ahead.  Got going again and picked up the pace and was able to focus on her in the distance until catching back up and passing her.  Mile 14 was 8:02, and then the last 4 miles were 7:04, 6:54, 7:16, and 6:56.

So, although a good part of the run was at an easy pace (bonus that it also felt easy), had a pretty good fast finish.

It was a relatively cool morning at the start but pretty warm at the end.

Had a chance to have coffee with several other runners at Havana Dreamers, then headed home and cooled off in the pool.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 18.04
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.152.000.000.000.000.000.0010.15

10.15 mi, 1:19:18, 7:48 avg

Ran in the neighborhood.  Late enough start where most of the run was warm except for shaded areas almost cool.  I have two schedules printed out, one with 9 miles, the other with 10, so was going to settle for 9 if things weren't going well but was able to stick with 10.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 10.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.550.000.000.000.000.000.009.55

9.55 mi, 1:15:40, 7:55 avg

I was wavering about doing 8 miles or 10 miles and was feeling a bit more tired than usual so I decided to settle on 9 which turned into almost 10 miles.  I ran at the Y with the Striders but was mostly by myself.  Temperature I think was 76 degrees or so which means it felt warm to me where 75 or below feels much cooler for some reason.

The other good thing about not doing 10 miles was when I got back they were just packing up the coffee and snacks so was able to grab a half a banana and a cup of coffee.

Overall, it was a good run and ended up being almost 10 miles.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.55
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.600.001.500.500.000.000.009.60

9.6 mi, 1:14:57, 7:48 avg

After missing yesterday's run, including a second chance evening run, and getting a later start this morning I started worrying about what if I never run again.

Bur, fortunately that didn't happen.  I started out feeling like I would just plod along for 6 miles if I had to.  First mile was slow, but then as usual soon felt better.  Yesterday was also supposed to be speed work day.  So, I decided I'd at least do a little bit today.   Did 400m, 800m, and 1 mile with about 0.2 mile rest between.  I was thinking about repeating this a second time but decided not to push it.  I did do 4 x 25 second strides at the end as well.  The rest of the miles were pretty good as well.  More importantly I pulled myself out of panic mode, got the miles in and did some better-than-nothing speed.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 9.60
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.170.000.000.000.000.000.009.17

9.17 mi, 1:25:16, 9:18 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood at 6:00.  Weather was good and the miles went by pretty quickly.  Conversational pace throughout with a slight and gradual pick up throughout the run.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 9.17
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
14.332.000.000.000.000.000.0016.33

16.33 mi, 2:25:56, 8:56 avg

Ran from Longleaf at 5:30 with Jamie and Cynthia.  We ran up to Diane's to meet Renee but just missed her.  Ran into the park and when we got to the shelter Jamie decided to turn back early.  Cynthia continued out to the power lines before turning back.  It was extra humid this morning and it made the forest look like a jungle.   Had been running between 8:50 and 9:30 for most of the run until I picked it up for the last 3.33 miles to 7:49, 7:21, and 7:12.   Not quite the pick up I did last week but still good to switch gears and finish strong.

Lots of people were doing the RAP River Run 5K this morning.  I ran that race 5 years ago with the family while I was getting ready to run the Deseret News Marathon.  That morning I ran from my house to the starting line, did the 5K with my kids and then ran the course again to round out 20 miles for the morning.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 16.33
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
11.231.000.000.000.000.000.0012.23

9.16 mi, 1:14:44, 8:09 avg

Ran in the neighborhood, delayed start a couple of times and didn't get going until 7:45.  Sluggish the first mile and then pretty good after that.  Three water fountain stops to cool off.  Last mile 7:11.

Will try to get 2 or 3 more miles in tonight.

PM - ok I did it

3.07 mi, 24:23, 7:57 avg

Out and back to the golf course water fountain.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 9.16GoRun Sonic Miles: 3.07
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.090.000.000.000.000.000.009.09

1:10:52, 9.1 mi, 7:47 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Warm and very humid but this was all before the sun.  Warm up first mile at 9:06, then the rest between 7:22 and 7:50

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.10
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.670.005.000.000.000.000.008.67

8.67 mi, 1:06:05, 7:37 avg

Plan called for 6 miles @ 7:00 pace.

But, it was very warm and humid this morning, partially due to me not getting out the door soon enough.  Toyed around with moving today's run to tomorrow but that doesn't seem to work out to well except when it's for a reason more beyond my control.  Also, feeling a bit sluggish during warm up.  So, I bargained with myself.  I decided I'd do 2x3 miles.  Also, would see how I felt after the first mile and if I could hang onto that pace the workout was on.

And so, after 1.5 mile warm up I started out and it wasn't that bad.  Felt like I could do it.  First mile was good, second came and went and the third mile looked like it was going to be a success.  Water fountain was about a half mile away from where the third mile would end so I figured I'd keep going, then the second half would only be 2.5 miles.

But, after the water fountain stop I realized I wasn't doing so good.   Got going anyways but then called it off after a half mile.  Slogged through the next mile but it turned out it wasn't that slow (8:22), and finally decided to finish up the last mile.

So, splits were: 6:54, 6:55, 6:55, 6:57, 8:22, 6:50

Got to keep hoping it's the heat acclimitization and the miles will get easier.

 

Brooks ST5 Miles: 8.67
Comments
From jtshad on Thu, Jun 18, 2015 at 08:21:28 from 141.221.191.225

Nice...run not weather!

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.400.000.001.700.000.000.008.10

8.1, 1:08:41, 8:28 avg

I ran with Cynthia and some with Dixie.  Started at 5:30 at Longleaf.  Warmed up for about 2 miles.  My garmin started flaking out and said I was running a 3:30 pace, so I've had to do some estimating about what I really ran.  But, I fixed the problem by power cycling it and then it seemed to behave.

After the warm up did 10x1 minute intervals with one minute rest.  Ran into Dixie after the third one and then he joined us for the rest.  After getting back, headed out for about another mile and a half to hopefully get over 8 (garmin distance was 8.87 which included the flakeout section).

Felt much better today than yesterday - starting out just  before dawn makes a huge difference!

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.10
Comments
From JimF on Thu, Jun 18, 2015 at 07:27:21 from 68.60.236.232

Nice run!

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.070.000.000.000.000.000.009.07

9.07 mi, 1:13:18, 8:05 avg

Ran in the neighborhood, kind of warm out but I think I've pretty much adjusted to it by now.  Slower start at 9:45 and typical faster last mile at 7:14.  Good run overall.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.07
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
20.060.000.000.000.000.000.0020.06

20.06, 2:40:23, 7:59 avg

Except for a slight glitch, this run couldn't have gone much better.

Met up with Beka, Andrea, and Dixie at 5:00 in Longleaf.  Beka and Andrea are both training for same race I am - Chasing the Unicorn in mid August in PA.  Dixie was along to see how far he could go.

We started off from the parking lot and headed inside the neighborhood so I decided to ditch my fuel belt since we'd be back to the same spot in about 3.5 miles.  After starting again needed to catch up the ladies so first mile was a little faster than planned (8:05 instead of 8:30).  And then the next few miles were right about 8:00.

Grabbed my fuel belt and a swig of gatorade from my car.  I could see the ladies on the trail not too far up ahead and was about to pick it up to catch them but then saw I had dropped my ipod that had been on my fuel belt.  Thought about getting it later but then afraid maybe I had droppped it someplace it might have gotten run over.  Ran back toward my car just as another group was starting out.  Dixie decided to switch groups so he went with them.  I finally found my ipod and it definitely could have gotten stepped on if left on the ground where I dropped it so glad I went back.  But, now all alone I decided to drive ahead to Diane's house where they'd be going, and then run towards them until meeting back up.

It worked, and soon intercepted them with Jolene now with them, and soon we picked up Melanie. 

After that, the run was pretty steady with most miles right at 8:00 or up to 10-15 seconds faster.  I had one extra mile to finish once the rest of the group was done so I just did a short out and back by myself which ended up as my fastest mile at 7:13 pace.

And then, time to head up and finish up packing followed by about 11 hours in a car (to be followed up by a second day in the car of 11 hours!)

Brooks ST5 Miles: 20.06
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.140.000.000.000.000.000.008.14

8.14 mi, 1:17:06, 9:28 avg

8 nice and cool miles with my brother Jim in Webster, NY.  Ran from his house onto Klem Rd for a while and then turned onto a trail.  I saw a sign but didn't read the name correctly.  While running through the woods saw that there was a ravine on either side and then realized this must have been a railroad.  Asked Jim who said it had been the old Hojack Line.  When I looked carefully I could see remnants of old railroad ties, but most of the old gravel bed was gone and now it was just nice packed dirt.  Took the trail to the railroad bridge that crossed Lake Road which was pretty much the end of the trail since the homeowner's along the lake quickly snatched up the railbed right of way a long time ago when the line closed.

Turned back and came home the same way.  Nice treat with the cool weather, the wooded trail and running with my bro.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 8.14
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.560.000.000.000.000.000.008.56

8.56 mi, 1:12:09, 8:25 avg

Same route as yesterday but much later in the morning (10:30), and by myself.  Woke up earlier when it was still raining.  Promised the kids Donuts Delite so did the donut run first then did the actual run part.  Nice route again, from my brothers house to Klem Road and out and back on the Hojack Trail but went slightly farther - down the bridge to Lake Road at the end of the trail so I could run back up the hill.  Also, kind of breezy out this morning which was nice.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 8.56
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.00

No running miles, but did do a nice 6.2 mile hike up Wright Mountain in the Adirondacks.  Well, at least most of the way up.  Sammy was struggling a bit once the trail got extra steep and very rocky.  Even with help things were getting really slow, so Jim and the boys continued the remaining 0.8 miles or so to the peak while Sammy and I turned back.  I took my time and stopped a few times and eventually they caught back up to me with about a mile to go. They said the trail became even more difficult just after I had turned back.

Fun and challenging time overall, would love to come back here again some time.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.000.000.000.009.00

9.0 mi, 1:16:16, 8:28

Felt good about this run for a few reasons.  Third run of the week, good for a vacation/travel week, glad to see I'm not too dinged up from the hiking and it was a really nice day.  Started from the cottage, ran a short distance to the end of the road (only a few houses but a good steep hill), then headed out past the mailboxes, past the little bridge and golf course and then onto old County Road 100 which has less traffic and a much better view of the river.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.200.000.000.000.000.000.008.20

8.2 mi, 1:04:45, 7:53 avg

Similar route as yesterday but didn't do the initial out and back to the start of the island.  Another nice day, late morning run with cool temperatures.  Ran about the first mile with Jim before he split off onto a different route for a shorter run.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 8.20
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.120.000.000.000.000.000.006.12

6.12 mi, 51:04, 8:20 avg

Drove over to the Thousand Islands Bridge and parked near the base.  Ran up and over to the visitors center on the other side, headed back over and ran a bit in the grass.  Did one more complete up and over but on the second trip turned at the base and ran down to the river before heading back up.  Stopped at the top for a selfie and to enjoy the view, saw one ship and several fishing boats.  When I reached the bottom I ran up one more time almost to the top and then back down, so about two and a half full trips.

It had been looking like it was going to rain for a while so was trying to finish before the rain but the rain never did show back up.  Got back to the cottage in time for the start of the scrabble game and then dinner.

Last day at the cottage with Jim and Brian, and then the boys and I would leave on Sunday morning.  It was a great visit.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 6.12
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.070.000.000.000.000.000.005.07

5.07 mi, 40:34, 7:59 avg

Ran in the neighborhood.  Avoided a goose egg for the day after two days driving in the car.  Home by 6:30, made dinner, unpacked the car and cleaned a bit and then went out for a run just before it got dark.  Back to the warmer weather so evening run was a pretty good transition.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 5.07
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
10.790.000.000.000.000.000.0010.79

8.54 mi, 1:10:37, 8:16 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders. Joe was there, ran with him most of the way.  I was feeling a bit stiff and slow at first but warmed up nicely.  The air was already warm but there was a nice cooling breeze about 6:00.  Could not get all 9 miles in because I needed to get back to wake up Andy for volunteering.

PM - 2.25 miles, 19:12, 8:32 avg

Did a short easy run in the neighborhood to make up for this morning and some of yesterday, feeling mostly back on track now!

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.54GoRun Ride3 Miles: 2.25
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.150.004.000.000.000.000.009.15

9.15 mi, 1:12:25, 7:54 pace

It was supposed to be a 6 mile tempo run but it didn't quite work out.  Started too late to avoid the sun.  Route is somewhat shaded but not quite enough.  Warmed up and then did 4 miles at tempo pace: 6:48, 6:59, 6:59, 7:06

I finished the fourth mile and thought I might start again to finish the last two after cooling off at the water fountain but I felt almost dangerously tired and overheated so decided just to finish out the rest of the run the best I could.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 9.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.073.001.000.000.000.000.009.07

9.07 mi, 1:11:50, 7:55 avg

Today's run felt much better.  5:30 start at Longleaf with the Striders.  Ran with Joe and Jamie for first 4.5 miles then did the rest on my own.  Miles 6,7,and 8 were 7:21 and below and 9th mile was 6:53.  This morning's 6:53 felt so much easier than the same pace yesterday.  No sun makes huge difference.  Temperature was 80 degrees and pretty high humidity - felt like swimming!

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.07
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.090.000.000.000.000.000.009.09

9.09 mi, 1:20:55, 8:54 avg

Ran with Jamie in the nbhd at 6:00.  It looked like Raj might show up but couldn't make it at the last minute.  Run was good, not too hot out or I've really gotten used to it.

First mile was about 10:25, last mile 8:07 but they all kind of felt the same.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 9.09
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
22.120.000.000.000.000.000.0022.12

22.12 mi, 2:57:36, 8:01 avg

Great run with Beka and Andrea for 22 miles (plus some miles with Brian, Melanie, Diane, Jason, and a few others).

Training plan had 20 miles but was better to run with others and they have a different running style from me where they like to get on pace right away and run pretty even (I usually have more drastic variations with very slow starting miles, highs and lows and a few faster miles at the end).

Starting temp was 77 degrees, mid 80's for humidity but didn't feel bad.  Looped in Long leaf for 3 miles, then Starkey bike trail to Diane's house, into the park several miles and a quick stop at the shelter for gatorade refills.

Pace plan - 1 mile warm up, 10 miles at 8:15, 10 miles at 8:00 and 1 mile cool down.

Great feeling to finish this run and grateful to have so many different types of runners to run with, can learn something from each one.

Two more 20's and six weeks total until Chasing the Unicorn in August.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 22.12
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
11.110.000.000.000.000.000.0011.11

11.11 mi, 1:30:43, 8:10 avg

Monday seems like it came too fast, but at least I was ready mentally and had no dread of running 11 miles in summer alone.  Made a big loop from my house out to SR54, then turned into the road that runs through the edge of the Trinity hospital campus out to Little Rd, then a side trip down Photonics pkwy to the Y for a bottle refill in the 10 oz handheld I was carrying, then back through Kinsmere toward my neighborhood via the golf course.

First mile was 10:15 and last one about 7:30.  Only 5 more runs left, or in other words I get to do 5 more runs this week!

GoRun Sonic Miles: 11.11
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.230.000.000.000.000.000.006.23

6.23 mi, 50:45, 8:08 avg

Got a little bit rained on and ran a little bit short on time so did not get all 10 miles in but at least did 10 kilometers! Will try to get some more in later.  I started out with no shirt and the rain actually felt cold which made me think how lucky I was to feel chilly on a run in Florida in July.  Rain slowed down and then stopped and the air stayed pleasant, I finished before it turned to steamy as it warms up.  After a slower warm up the miles got faster with the last one about a 7:20

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 6.23
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.050.000.005.000.000.000.0011.05

11.05 mi, 1:26:55, 7:51 avg

Late start, slow first couple of miles for warm up as I ran out to the new park which has a path around some ponds with 1/4 miles marked out to 1 mile which covers about 1 1/3 times around the loop.  Goal was 5 x 1 miles at 6:23 and I really didn't think I had it in me but the training and adapting to the heat must be paying off.  First mile I was quickly on pace and finished a few seconds ahead of goal.  Second mile I was much faster, third mile was like the 1st and so on.

Paces: 6:19, 5:51, 6:19, 6:05, 6:25

Last one a little slower, but I felt pretty much done after the fourth one (done in a good way).

Today's run was a big boost since the last time I did repeats they didn't go so well but today the warm air and humidity didn't seem to bother me.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 11.05
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.114.000.000.000.000.000.0010.11

10.11 mi, 1:17:45, 7:41 avg

5:30 am run with the Striders at Longleaf.  Easy paced first mile, followed by 8:06 second mile, and then the rest under 8:00.  Felt a bit cooler this morning, maybe right about 75 or 76 degrees.  Ran a little bit faster than planned.  Felt good overall.

When I finished the run there were a few of us left, maybe 6 or 7.  A very mature high school student decide to share a devotional thought for the day about mentoring and being mentored and went around the circle.  I thought it was pretty impressive the way she led it.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 10.11
Comments
From JimF on Thu, Jul 09, 2015 at 14:25:59 from 68.60.236.232

Great run! Good pace for that distance.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.270.000.000.000.000.000.009.27

9.27 mi, 1:24:47, 9:08 avg

Ran in the neighborhood with Jamie at 6:00.  Good relaxed pace which was a good break after the last couple of days of running harder.  Warmer and maybe a small notch more humid though.  I successfully completely gate-game which is where I try to make it to the gate of this one nbhd before it closes, good pick up.  Made it just after gate was starting to close but still had plenty of room so as not to be that dangerous.  It's maybe been a couple of years since doing that.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 9.27
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
14.062.000.000.000.000.000.0016.06

16.06 mi, 2:24:48, 8:59 avg

Ran with Jamie and Cynthia from Diane's house.  Jamie was doing 20 and Cynthia was keeping her company.  They started at Longleaf and I did bag pick up for them.  Another day of running a bit slower but again it felt like I needed it.  About 10 miles into the run, while inside Starkey Park, Cynthia kind of ran out of gas and ended up walking to the shelter.  Jamie and I continued on and just outside the park we split up and I did a little bit of a pickup for the last two miles, 7:18 and 7:23.  Sun was out in full force by this time but I felt like I could run through it.

Cynthia had just finished the walk back to the shelter so we headed up there to pick her up.  Jamie said it was a good confidence boosting run for her.  Her race is several weeks after mine at Presque Isle Marathon in Erie, PA.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 16.06
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
10.210.000.000.000.000.000.0010.21

10.21 mi, 1:22:40, 8:05 avg

This morning felt like one of those "get the job done" runs.  Ran from my house to 54 to Corporate Pkwy and then to the new park and one loop around the water, then down Trinity and then towards Heritage Springs and up and down Robert Trent Jones Pkwy.  First mile was 9:33, second was 8:20 and then the rest were mainly between 7:40 and 8:00.  Heat and humidity were as expected.   Felt pretty good most of the time.  I thought back to Thursday's run where I felt great the whole time and appreciated it.

 

Brooks ST5 Miles: 10.21
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
10.210.000.000.000.000.000.0010.21

10.21 mi, 1:25:39, 8:23 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders, 5:30.  Ran about 6 miles with Joe, then did another 2.5 miles by myself before I had to head home and make sure Andy was awake to get to his volunteer hours.  After that, did another 1.7 miles running the neighborhood loop.  Felt a  bit sluggish again today but part of that was due to chatting with Joe while running.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 10.21
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.020.006.000.000.000.000.0011.02

11.02 mi, 1:24:12, 7:38 avg

Started out finally about 6:50, warm and overcast.  Weather.com said it was 79 degrees, but there was a slight breeze.

Warmed up with about 1.6 miles easy pace (feeling slow and clunky), ran out to 54 so I'd start the tempo portion just around the corner from Starkey Blvd.

Started the tempo portion and was wondering how far I could make it today.  I haven't had one fully successful tempo run so far this training cycle.  First mile was ok and I was making it through my second mile ok, and then into the third mile and it was starting to feel tough and I wanted to stop.  The thing with stopping by choice during a tempo run is that it can really ruin it for me.  However, if I stop for some reason outside of my doing then I seem to be ok.

And soon, I saw Beka running toward me, looking a bit tired and discouraged.  She was running a 20 mile training run since she'd be travelling on Saturday and the heat had gotten to her.  Stopped and said hi and said some words of encouragement, but secretly I knew she had just saved me.  She told me where they had stashed a cooler in case I needed water, I wished her a good vacation and then went on my way.  The rest of the miles weren't easy but I knew I'd get them done.  One of the miles was a little slower but not far off and the average of the tempo miles was good.

Splits: 6:46, 6:53, 6:45, 6:51, 7:02, 6:49

After the tempo miles I still had a bit over two miles to get back home.  Felt good on the final mile with 7:25 pace.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 11.02
Comments
From jtshad on Wed, Jul 15, 2015 at 09:33:13 from 141.221.191.225

Great workout, nice job getting the full tempo section completed. You are stronger than you think!

From Mark on Sat, Jul 18, 2015 at 10:24:21 from 96.252.192.166

Thanks Jeff! This run helped me feel I've been building some more fitness over this past few weeks. Good to have friends to run into on the trail and on the blog!

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.031.000.000.000.000.000.0010.03

10.03 mi, 1:24:18, 8:24 avg

Longleaf with the Striders at 5:30.  A few drops of rain before the run and then nothing, just some pretty pre-rain humidity (rained a couple hours later).  Joe and Jamie were both there this morning, ran with them almost to Aristide neighborhood (about 5.5 miles), I kept going a bit more so I'd have 10 miles when I got back to the start.  Picked it up the last few miles with the final mile at 7:13.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 10.03
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.360.000.000.000.000.000.009.36

9.36 mi, 1:25:20, 9:08 pace

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, 6:00 am start.  Not too hot and muggy and then started to rain a bit part of the way into the run.  Ranged between light and medium with a bit of wind.  Wet, but at least it was no longer close to hot.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 9.36
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
20.120.000.000.000.000.000.0020.12

20.12 mi, 2:46:55, 8:17 avg

Pretty warm and muggy but with a breeze here and there.  5:45 start at Longleaf with Jamie and a bunch of others.  Ran up  Starkey Blvd, brief stop at corner of Aristide neighborhood for water top off, started again but Jamie forgot her ipod so we doubled back about a quarter mile, grabbed it and then started up again.  A little bit later Joe caught up to us.  He had left a little later than us but was also running a little faster.

We ran into Starkey Park and then at almost 8 miles, Joe and Jamie turned back.  It was my plan to pick up the pace for the rest and that's what I did.  At that point I had about an 8:48 average pace for the run.  There was no water in the water coolers on the trail so I was careful with what I had.  Headed out a little past 10 miles and turned back with a stop at the Striders shelter for some gatorade and water.

Now, only 5 miles left, got going again.  Kept on a pretty good pace but it sure was getting hot, really feeling it when out of the shade. 

With three miles left I kept it under 8:00 and did the last mile at 7:33.

Stopped at Havana Dreamers after the run for a big coke with lots of ice.

Now, only one more 20 miler to go.  I feel like I've done a consistent job this time of following the plan with the paces and distances even when I feel like running a bit slower, not running as far or skipping the tempo run.  They haven't all gone as planned but I think the effort was there for each one.

When I drove home I saw Jamie jogging in the neighborhood with her husband biking next to her.  Her return trip was kind of rough and she cut it short but decided to finish up once she got home.  Good that her husband offered to bike alongside her.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 20.12
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.120.000.000.000.000.000.009.12

9.12 mi, 1:16:43, 8:24 avg

Had trouble getting out early and then felt really sluggish the first few miles, but second half of the run was faster and came close to evening things out.  Ran in the neighborhood, solo.  I'll put this run in the overall good column.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.12
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.060.000.000.000.000.000.009.06

9.06 mi, 1:11:31, 7:53 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Better run today than yesterday.  First mile was 8:43, then the rest were all faster.  After the water stop I ran with Ben for about the next three miles and then did another Kinsmere loop before heading back and also stopped again at the water stop for another drink.  Warm and humid but dark for a lot of the run which makes a bigger difference than I used to realize.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 9.06
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.150.000.000.000.000.000.009.15

9.15 mi, 1:22:04, 8:58 avg

Ran in the neighborhood with Joe, met about 6:15 kept the pace pretty easy, a little bit faster.  Weather was typical hot and humid.  Good to have the company on a Wednesday run.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.150.000.000.000.000.000.009.15

9.15 mi, 1:15:50, 8:17 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  Got there just after 5:30, but saw Joe waiting just across the street, he figured I was running late.  A bit more humid than yesterday.  Ran with Joe until just past the bridge where he turned back and I told him I was waiting for him to turn back so I could have my melt down.  Fortunately, found a second wind and found some faster miles on the way back with last mile at 7:07.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.120.000.000.000.000.000.009.12

9.12 mi, 1:14:14, 8:08 avg

A little bit later start than hoped.  Ran in the neighborhood and also seriously thought about doing a "good enough" distance instead ended up with 9 miles and felt pretty good at the end.  There was a little bit of light rain so that helped cool things off a little bit.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 9.12
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.870.000.000.000.000.000.008.87

8.87 mi, 1:16:03, 8:34 avg

Ran in the evening, finished just before it got dark, still pretty humid out.  Found some hills and nice scenery.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 8.87
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
11.160.000.000.000.000.000.0011.16

11.16 mi, 1:34:13, 8:26 avg

Felt like an impossibly long distance when I started and of course it was a bit hot and humid.  But chipped away at the miles.  Ran around the neighborhood and up and down past the golf course finally finishing up running past my house until I'd get in enough miles.  Cooled off in the pool a little bit and as I left for work it began to rain again.  Running 11 miles on a Monday can be one of the toughest workouts.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 11.16
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.000.000.000.0011.00

11 mi, 1:31:40, 8:20 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders, a few minutes late for 5:30 start.  Rain sounded heavy when I woke up but figured it might stop or lighten up.  I finished 7 miles before I had to head back home to wake up Andy.  Finished up the rest of the miles at home with an out and back past the water fountain.  But, on the way out my garmin battery died so I'm estimating the pace but I'm pretty certain of the distance since I've run the exact route a bumch of times.  More rain but not heavy, just enough to keep it cool.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.860.006.000.000.000.000.0010.86

10.86 mi, 1:23:11, 7:39 avg

Ran from my house to Starkey Blvd to run on the bike path.  Almost felt cool at first but the humidity caught up with me eventually.  Also, ended up dodging more puddles than I expected and the grass on either side was pretty saturated and spongey.  But, did the best I could and pretty much made my goal of 6:54 average for 6 miles (although did take one break to mentally regroup at 2.4 miles).

Splits: 6:52, 7:02, 6:45, 6:54, 7:00, 6:48

Pretty big mileage week and now I'm halfway done.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 10.86
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.080.000.000.000.000.000.009.08

9.08 mi, 1:13:29, 8:05 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders at 5:30.  At first it looked like hardly anyone was there, but because they moved the meeting spot to across the street and I was apparently in the group that did not check facebook the night before.  Bike trail has gotten even more flooded so all the run consisted of extra loops inside the neighborhood and none on the bike trail. 

Ran first loop with Michelle and Fernando, and then joined by Ben on the second loop. Third loop was mostly by myself.

Coffee had all leaked out of the pot so none left when I finished.

Run turned out better than expected, was afraid I'd be dragging the whole time.  Last three miles were all in low 7:30's and felt good.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 9.08
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
20.020.000.000.000.000.000.0020.02

20.02 mi, 2:41:28, 8:03 avg

This was a very tough run for me but also a great confidence booster.  Since Starkey bike trail and park are getting more and more flooded we ran in Lansbrook nbhd.  Met up with Beka, Andrea, Ryan and Jason at the Y down there.  They like to start out faster than I usually start out and I felt like I was struggling for the first few miles.  It was also 5:00 am, it's a Friday instead of the usual Saturday long run, it's warm and humid and I wasn't sure what route we were taking.  Seemed to zig and zag throughout.  I've run down here before but it was very dark and it was a new route.

We got back to the parking lot after just under 10 miles for drink refills and to start the second half.  Jason was only do 10 so he took off and Beka was really struggling and wanted to run alone for a bit.

So, I followed Ryan and Andrea as we headed across East Lake to another neighborhood where we were going to go straight for 2.5 miles, turn back and then head out again from the parking lot.  I felt a little bit better now that it was light and I knew the route but still trailed behind them until we arrived at the turn around, then I was running with them.  At 13 miles seemed like a long way to go still, wasn't sure how I'd keep going, but I kept on moving along with our small group.

At 15 miles I was getting ready to make my short speech about how I was going to stop and stretch and drop back for a little bit.   Instead, I took my powerbar double latte gel, waited for it to kick in and soon found myself out in front.  We had been hovering around an 8:00-8:10 pace, now we were around a 7:40.  Altered the route again so we'd be done by the time we got back.  Also, as we were returning, saw Beka again who looked like she was back and running strong.

It was a good effort and a valuable mental exercise in keeping on.  Hoping for some cooler temps (should be as it will be PA instead of FL) and a little race day magic in two weeks.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 20.02
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
10.390.000.000.000.000.000.0010.39

10.39 mi, 1:34:22, 9:04 avg

Since I did my long run yesterday, still needed an "easy" run today.  Jamie needed to do 18 miles and wasn't sure what route to talk and in desperation thought she might just run the close neighborhood 10 or 11 times.

So, alternate plan was for her to do a few loops for 5 miles, then she and Joe would swing by my house and we'd do an out and back to the Trinity Y where we could get some cold water and run back. 

Heard a good amount of rain at 5:00 am and was wondering if I'd get a text saying she wasn't running.  But, the rain stopped, I waited out front.  Saw Joe and then a few minutes later Jamie showed up after her 5 miles.  I led the way on a meandering course to the Y to get there just after 7:00.  Got there and headed back.  There was some very light rain that kept things cool.  Took it easy and felt good.

Biggest week for me in a while with some solid effort.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 10.39
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.050.000.000.000.000.000.004.05

4.05 mi, 34:07, 8:24 avg

Heard it raining and thundering early in the morning, thought maybe it would stop soon, but it didn't and eventually I was running out of time.  Put on an older pair of shoes because I knew they'd get wet.  But, it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be.  It had died down a little.  There were some pretty impressive puddles and little rivers running down the road, but overall not terrible.  Was supposed to do 6 miles but this was at least better than nothing.

Skechers Go Run Miles: 4.05
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.364.000.000.000.000.000.005.36

5.36 mi, 40:02, 7:28 avg

Busy morning so I had to do my run in the evening.  Still pretty warm out but ended up getting onto a pretty quick pace after a mile warm up for the first mile at about 8:30 pace which is a pretty fast warmup mile.  Rest of the miles were all below 7:20 pace.

Slightly short on distance but it was fun to do a shorter and quicker run.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 5.36
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.310.000.000.000.000.000.006.31

6.31 mi, 51:08, 8:06 avg

Finally, a run that turned out to be the planned distance and pace.  Ran in the morning in the neighborhood (although still slightly on the late side).  Steady pick up from 9:30 first mile to 7:20 last mile.

Well, actually tempo run was scheduled for today but decided to postpone it one day.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 6.31
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.630.003.000.000.000.000.006.63

6.63 mi, 51:03, 7:42 avg

Yesterday's planned short tempo run which was postponed until today almost didn't happen.  Pretty warm out this morning but figured I could push through 3 miles at a 6:41 pace.

After the mile warm up I switched into tempo gear and felt ok at first, but then didn't and started thinking about postponing again. Pace had slowed down to 7:08 and then I decided if that's all I could do with the effort I had then that's what I'd do.

Then, little by little pushed the pace back down and finished the first mile at 6:45, then did the last two at 6:36 and 6:31.  Done!

Starting to wrap up week 1 of the taper, then there's another taper week next week and then race day.  Fingers crossed that I'll be able to beat back any doubts on race day like the one that almost took me down today.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 6.63
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.630.000.000.000.000.000.008.63

8.63 mi, 1:14:18, 8:36 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood at 6:00.  Joe stayed with us most of the run but headed back a little bit early.  Warm and humid but about average for what it has been.  Overall a good run and always nice to have some company.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 8.63
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.420.000.000.000.000.000.005.42

5.42 mi, 44:11, 8:08 avg

Ran by myself in the neighborhood.   Waited too long to start so it was one notch more humid than most other days.  Had a slow start at first, but ran the last 3.5 miles at a pretty good pace.

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 5.42
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.321.000.000.000.000.000.004.32

4.32 mi, 35:01, 8:06 avg

Taper week, just a short run.  Went to the Y to run with the Striders for the company.  Ran with Joe for a bit.  Started out at very easy pace and finished with last mile at 7:07.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 4.32
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.150.000.003.000.000.000.006.15

6.15 mi, 46:30, 7:33 avg

Taper week with one hard workout, today.

3x1mi @ 6:18 pace.

I ran at the new park again with the marked path around the small lakes.

6:09, 5:50, 6:18

I've noticed an anomaly here and at the high school track.  When running clockwise my pace shows faster.  At this park the 1/4 mile marks out to a mile are only counterclockwise so hard to tell.  But I'm guessing they first two were close to the same.  It was a good run for being about 80 degrees already.

Brooks ST5 Miles: 6.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.470.000.000.000.000.000.004.47

4.47 mi, 37:05, 8:18 avg.

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, only 4 miles today but wanted the company.  Ran with Joe and Jamie for most of it.  Saw only one meteroid from the shower.  I saw two on Tuesday.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 4.47
Race: Chasing the Unicorn Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:31:20, Place overall: 46, Place in age division: 5
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.370.000.000.000.000.0026.37

Chasing the Unicorn Race Report

 

(see bottom for stats if you want to skip to stats)

My fourth marathon this year and coming off of some of my most solid training, especially for summer.  Put in some good miles, some easy and some fast.  Enjoyed running some tough long runs with Beka and Andrea as they prepared for the same race so was feeling pretty ready as the race approached.

However, the weather forecast did somewhat deteriorate as race day approached, with the low temperature climbing and the projected high climbing even higher.  But, I also reasoned that since I had done a lot of training in Florida summer weather I still might have an edge and with a little race day magic could still pull it off.

Met up with Beka and Andrea the evening before the race and for packet pick up at Washington Crossing Park, PA (took me a while to realize that yes, this is indeed the spot where G.W. crossed the Delaware River on Christmas for a much needed victory).  Walked out onto the canal path a little bit to check it out and then headed for dinner in the nearby town of Newtown at a Chinese restaurant called "Duck Sauce"

The weather was looking not so good, skies had been clear a lot and day time highs were in the 90's.  Mornings were still cool so that helped.  We met back at the park, warmed up a little bit and then had another runner get a picture of us.  We had goal times about 10 minutes apart (hopefully) with 3:20 for me and 3:30 for Beka (Andrea was there for moral support).  Small waves of about 50 runners were 30 seconds apart.  I was in the 2nd wave and my two friends right behind me in wave 3.  I think the start  temperature was about 65 degrees, humidity a bit high somewhere in the high 80's  (about 10 percent lower than Florida summer humidity).

Race starts at 7:15 in a parking lot, then on the road out of the park but turns onto the Delaware canal path which has a crushed fine gravel on top of packed dirt.  There is a very slight incline as the path heads north (one small lock and a very small climb to the turn around point).  There are also 7 "camelback bridges" that arch over the canal with the path dropping down below the bridge and then back up.  Taller runners might have to (or feel like they have to) duck a little bit.  Most of the path is as wide as a single lane dirt road but a few spots narrow down to the width of a single track running trail which gets a little tight when there are runners coming the other way.

First mile I felt pretty good although didn't quite have that bouncy feeling I sometimes have at the start of a good race.  Not all good races have this feeling, so I'd wait a few miles.  I hit the first mile at 7:58, hitting the lap button on my garmin instead of relying on garmin splits.  I thought that pace seemed reasonable and planned on trying to keep all miles after that faster.

With Andrea and Beka starting 30 seconds after me, and with a goal pace about 20 seconds slower I wanted to be about two and a half minutes ahead of them after the 6.6 mile turn around where I'd see them.  First 5 miles went by, still not quite feeling that fast, but then all of the sudden, after mile 5 the running felt easy.

Hit the turn around, felt good and in a couple minutes saw Beka and Andrea both looking strong and happy.  The whole return trip back felt pretty much like it did just after mile 5.  It was still relatively cool, and the shade definitely helped.  There was a pretty tall bald guy wearing dark shorts that I started to follow.

I was hitting all of the aid stations to grab a water or gatorade so I wouldn't fall behind.  At the turn around, went through the aid station, grabbed a cup, and went to toss it in the trash can.  As I was trying to do that, a volunteer was telling another volunteer (maybe his son), that the trash can was in the wrong spot and starts to drag it away as I'm trying to throw out my cup.  It was frustrating in a slow motion sort of way.  Didn't really cost me any time but it would be the start of a slower second half.

Crossed through the halfway point with a gun time just over 1:41, so right about 1:40:30 net which was 30 seconds slower than at Poconons, but with this being a flat course and having just run the first half and knowing what exactly was in store thought I had a good chance of running an even split or at least a small positive split.  I really wanted to be under 3:23 for a decent shot at getting into Boston.   Soon saw the ladies again, both looked good and the gap seemed to be about right.

On the second half, the course markers are at 0.1 mile offsets, so 14.1, 15.1, 16.1, etc.  I knew this because I saw those signs on the first half.  But for some reason my running calculation brain had not caught up and I was waiting to hit the lap button at the 14 mile sign.  So, the lap time made it look like I had slowed.  While I was trying to sort this out, my pace slowed a little bit.  I recovered some of the lost pace but missed getting under 8:00 for mile 15.1

Also around this time I lost sight of the taller bald guy when I got a side stitch (I chatted with him at the end of the race, he finished with 3:25, good for a 55 yo age group award).  16.1 was now way slower than 8:00.  But, not to be defeated, I would try to pick it back up again once I could shake the side stitch.

So, next mile was faster, back under 8:00, but just a little bit.  then slower, and then one more faster as I approached the 19.6 mile turn around.  I was now on my way back and was feeling a little bit faster and soon saw Beka and Andrea approaching their last turn around, but shortly after seeing them slowed down again by the time I got to 20.1.   Next mile was faster but could no longer get back under 8:00.  Except for the goal of finishing, the race part felt pretty much over.

Finally, just before the 25.1 marker I looked at the total race time which I hadn't looked at for a while (probably not since the halfway).  Time was 3:21:20 (or was it 3:21:40, can't quite remember).  So, with 1.1 miles I mustered up a little bit of steam and got back under 8:30.  There was an emergency vehicle on the canal path a little bit before the turn off back into the park.  Ran past it and soon saw the turn off, soon was at the 26.1 marker with the finish arch in sight.

I walked around for a bit, grabbed some gatorade and sat on the ground.  Calf seized up once I was on the ground and seemed to stay locked forever (or maybe it was a minute).  Soon, was back up on my feet and hung out at the finish line until Beka and Andrea approached and came across looking pretty strong.

Ok, so another missed BQ but it was ok, there was a little less giving up and falling apart at the end than my last race even though temperatures were even higher this time.  I think the first half was about as fast/slow as I could go without being too far out of reach of my time goal.  Also, a lot of fun to hang out before and a little after with my running friends and of course a visit to my favorite Aunt and Uncle that live in New Jersey after the race before flying back home the next morning.

 

Official Race stats:

Start offset: 39:06  (I was in the second wave.  Waves were 30 seconds apart to keep congestion down)

6.55 miles: 0:51:17.42  1/2 Marathon: 1:41:11.82  19.65 miles: 2:34:45.47  Gun Time: 3:31:59.49  Chip Time: 3:31:20

Garmin Stats: 2.37 mi, 3:31:22, 8:00 avg

Mile 1-13 Splits: 7:58, 7:44, 7:39, 7:47, 7:42, 7:28, 7:33, 7:34, 7:39, 7:27, 7:31, 7:37, 7:42

Mile 14-19.1 splits: 8:47 (7:38 pace, 1.1 miles to 14.1 miles, second half of course was marked at mile + 0.1), 8:05, 8:26, 7:56, 8:30, 7:59

Miles 20.1-26.2 splits: 8:57, 8:12, 8:44, 8:42, 9:11, 9:00, 8:25, 0:50 (0.12 @ 7:15 pace)

NJ

 

 

 

 

Brooks ST5 Miles: 26.37
Comments
From jtshad on Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 06:35:43 from 173.198.176.201

Keep pushing and training like you are doing and the BQ is there. Hard to deal with the issues at marathon such as weather besides just doing your best.

Let me know if you are coming to Idaho next week!

From Mark on Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 07:32:42 from 24.129.132.75

I'm in! I signed up on Sunday night and got my plane ticket. I've been reading as many race reports as I can find and trying to come up with a strategy. I'm thinking of going out with the 3:15 group to pace the first half and not go out too fast, stick with them up and over the 15 mile hill and hopefully hang on to the 21 mile uphill and have enough cushion by then to be ok if I need to slow or maybe keep going without slowing if I'm feeling really good.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.180.000.000.000.000.000.001.18

1.18 mi, 14:10, 12:02 avg

First attempt back at running to get my legs thinking about running.  Short and slow and also the first day of trying out MAF training, running at or just below maximum aerobic only pace.  I think part of the problem with that today is it was a very clunky run and heart rate was all over the pace.  It will take some getting used to.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 1.18
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.300.000.000.000.000.000.002.30

2.3 mi, 26:48, 11:39 avg

A little bit farther than yesterday, slightly faster and day two of maf running.  Yesterday heart rate was all over the place.  Today it was more steady and run felt smoother all around.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 2.30
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.230.000.000.000.000.000.006.23

6.23 mi, 1:03:38, 10:12

I ran with Joe and Jamie today in the neighborhood, and for most of the run I just ran what they were running.  So, I didn't stick as closely to the proscribed heart rate range.  However, the miles I did run with them (4.23) had an average heart rate of 132 which is at the top end of the range.  That section was a 9:41 pace.

For the last two miles I kept it within range (122-132) and averaged about 11:15 pace.

I am feeling fully recovered and refreshed now with just these three easy runs so far.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 6.23
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.130.000.000.000.000.000.007.13

7.13 mi, 1:10:26, 9:53 avg

Ran in Starkey Park, missed seeing Joe and crew at the start so headed out by myself.  Another day doing heart rate training.  I ran next to a friend named Tracy, we chatted and ran for just over two miles.  My heart rate stayed below 132 for the entire time with an average pace of 10:24 which is the best pace so far. 

Then I saw Joe, Jamie, and Cynthia at the water stop.  Ran with them for 3.45 miles not looking at my heart rate, 8:51 pace (later saw heart rate shot up).

Turned back at the park entrance and ran back to the parking lot on my own at about an 11:30 pace for 1.4 miles to get back in heart rate zone.

Felt really good after the run.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 7.13
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.300.000.000.000.000.000.006.30

6.3 mi, 1:02:22, 9:53 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.  Warm up first mile, part of it by myself before joining the group.  Just ran what they were running.  Did not look at heart rate while running, just know averages after the run for each mile. 9:24, 9:02, 9:01, 9:26.  Stopped for water at the end of the 9:26 mile and heartrate average was 142 bpm for that mile, higher than planned.  Ran the rest of the way alone (sent Joe and Jamie ahead), averaged about 11:25 pace to keep heart rate low enough.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.30
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.420.000.000.000.000.000.006.42

6.42 mi, 1:07:13, 10:28

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  Did all my miles by heartrate (except for last one).

10:04, 11:44, 11:17, 10:42, 11:10

Then did last mile at 8:29 with HR average of 170 - way higher than I wanted.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 6.42
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.550.000.000.000.000.000.006.55

6.55 mi, 1:05:48, 10:02 avg

Ran in the neighborhood solo, another heart rate run, a bit better than yesterday.

10:28, 10:00, 10:26, 10:26, 10:23, 10:38 (and 0.11 @ 9:40)

Kept heart rate under 132 for all of these miles, felt smoother, too.

Ran in new pair of Brooks Launch which just arrived, one of my old favorite shoes (had my three fastest marathons in a row wearing them)

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.55
Comments
From jtshad on Mon, Aug 31, 2015 at 09:59:33 from 141.221.191.225

Love the Launch! Ran in them for HTC this past weekend.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.040.000.000.000.000.000.007.04

7.04 mi, 1:06:26, 9:25 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders (Joe and Jamie for the first half).

I did not run by heartrate but did have some good miles. 8:59 (122), 8:32 (134, close, but a little high), 8:24 (140 - too high!), 9:33 (132 - but it did include a brief stop)

Then, was by myself for a bit so as to not slow down Jamie (doing an MP run).  I ran 10:14, 10:13 (both at 130 bpm), and 10:02 (131).  During the 10:13 mile I saw Anthony who ran along with me.  He's also been doing heart rate training and getting ready for his first marathon (Chicago) and soon an ultra marathon someplace.  He's been putting in a ton of miles for a new runner (as high as 90 mpw), but running very smart and by the book.  It was good chatting with him.

I also noted how my last mile got faster at about the same heart rate while chatting.  It's as if my actual effort decreased as well as my perceived effort decreasing, interesting.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.04
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.150.000.000.000.000.000.006.15

6.15 mi, 57:05, 9:17 avg

Best maf run so far.  It was a little cooler and less humid (enjoying it but feel guilty because the cause is the nearby hurricane sucking out some of the moisture).  Ran with Joe and Jamie.  First mile was 10:16, and next mile was 9:16.  I was suprised to see my heart rate stay low.  Ran together the whole time.  Had two miles under 9:00 and a pretty good average.  Part of this is the slight temperature drop and part might be adjusting to the slower running.  Pace is picking up to what my normally stated easy pace is.  If nothing else, this is good recovery from last marathon.  Feeling extra rested.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
12.020.000.000.000.000.000.0012.02

12.02 mi, 1:54:54, 9:33 avg

Met Joe, Cynthia, Jamie and a few others at Diane's house.  Stuck to heart rate training again.  Weather was also nice - 74 degrees and a drop in humidity making it feel much cooler than usual. First mile 9:29, then 9:09, and 8:58 (heart rate averaged 131 for last mile), slowed down a little bit after that.  Let Joe and Jamie go ahead and Cynthia stayed with me, ok with the slower pace.  Cynthia went ahead when there was just under two miles left to go.  Stayed under 10:00 pace until the last two miles which were just over 10:00.  I wanted to pick it up as it was starting to feel tedious but I held back.  Felt great again when finished and happy with progress so far and feeling more fully recovered than I have in a while.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 12.02
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.200.000.000.000.000.000.006.20

6 .2 mi, 1:04:13, 10:21 avg

Ran in the neighborhood.  A little bit slow and clunky feeling and interestingly enough heart rate pace was slower than last couple of runs.  I guess it's not surprising.  Still, a pretty good run, just getting in some slow and easy miles.

 

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 6.20
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.550.000.000.000.000.000.006.55

6.55 mi, 1:02:35, 9:33 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders, first 4 miles with Joe, and then joined by Anthony for two of those miles and most of the last two miles were alone.  Pace was better, still keeping the heart rate down.  Running felt easier, maybe partially due to the nice cushiony feeling Brooks launch worn again today.  Also, it feel cooler today for some reason even though it was 78, maybe a slight drop in humidity.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.55
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.010.000.000.000.000.000.003.01

3.01, 30:43

Ran in nbhd, looped inside of foxwood.  Wore HR monitor with 131 bpm average.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.160.000.000.000.000.000.001.16

1.16 mi, 9:55, 8:32 avg

Thought I had better run something to make sure my legs would work for tomorrow's race.  Did some easy jogging and a few striders.  As ready as I'll ever be.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 1.16
Race: Pocatello Marathon (26.21 Miles) 03:32:25, Place overall: 52, Place in age division: 8
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.210.000.000.000.000.0026.21

Pocatello Marathon is an awesome course, great scenery and every detail is taken care of.  Starting line is at a small farm.  I had one small glitch, though with my garmin.  I turned it on and it was taking forever to get past the start screen.  This happened to me one time before, about a year ago, for some reason it was updating every stored run to today's date.  So, I waited and hoped and eventually it was ready.  While that was getting ready I was waiting for a trip to the POP, but somehow got in the slowest line.  Then with just two minutes left to start, I dropped off my bag at the UPS truck and squeezed into the second to the front group near the 3:15 pacer.

 

I had a TAZ running 3:20 pace tatoo which showed about a 1:37 for the first half so I thought I'd go out with the 3:15 pace group and stay behind them to make sure I didn't go out too fast just in case it was feeling easy.  Unfortunately, for whatever reason (partially at least due to getting no warm up due to time miscalculation) the pace did not feel easy.  But still, first mile was 7:24 for me and I quickly fell behind the 3:15 group.

The downhill was pretty windy at first and fairly steep but not scray steep.  Turning the first corner, it was still dark but with a faint hint of light just a few minutes into the race.

(former college runner Aaron to the left of me, marathon maniac Bob to the right of me (I'm in middle, #234))

I had driven the course on Friday and knew it was pretty easy to follow but was a little worried about what the first hill on the out and back ending at the 7 mile marker.  But, it wasn't that bad.  Also there, I could see that the 3:15 group wasn't that far ahead and I had a pretty good lead on the 3:25 group (which was the other plan I had thought about, just hang in with 3:25 group from the start, pick it up at the end if I could and if not just stay with them, miss the BQ but get a better time than the last two marathons and maybe even pick up a couple seconds from my Boston time if I could even pull ahead a little bit or if the 3:25 pacer came in a little bit early - like they did at Poconos).

Miles 7-12 felt pretty good, mostly easy and gentle downhill with a few spots flattening out and a few slight, short uphills here and there which felt pretty good.

I slowed down a little bit before mile 13 as I went by an aid station and couldn't seem to easily get back on the pace I was at and ended up with a 7:54 for mile 13.

Still under 1:40 at the halfway point - but I was also picking it up instead of cruising through, held the new pace through mile 14 which came in at 7:30.  But, that was going to be it as far as 7:30ish pace as I headed into the "rollers".

Not sure of the exact point, but maybe around 18 or so the 3:25 group came cruising up behind me.  Pacer Ryan encouraged me to keep up.  I didn't at first and thought I'd just try to keep them in my sight.  As they were maybe 100 or 200 feet in front of me I found a burst of inspiration and decided I'd catch back up.  And, at first it worked.  I must have been holding something back until then because it didn't seem that hard to catch up and once I was there I could slow down a little.  The slight drop in pace and running with the group made it feel easier.  The view of the road also was encouraging, it looked like downhill for a pretty good stretch.

But it didn't last long enough, they had pulled ahead a bit by the time I got to mile 20, but still not that far.  Mile 21 is almost at the top of the last big uphill (not that big, about 69 feet up).  Getting up to the 21 mile marker and staying under 9:00 was a little encouraging.  Was hoping that the switching back to flat to slightly downhill would help.

Unfortunately, hill went up a little bit more and didn't go down right away (mile 22 went up another 35 feet, not a huge uphill but not downhill either).

Earlier in the race I ran a little bit with a 20 something guy named Aaron, former collegiate runner doing his first marathon, originally wanting a 3:00 until a hamstring injury late in training derailed that plan.  But, he had been running pretty strong and had a pretty good lead on me.  Ran next to him for a while but we ended up splitting up at an aid station.  Also, came up to 55 year old marathon maniac Bob who I had also chatted with early on in the race.  I had been trailing him for some time.  Miles 22 and 23 were much slower.  Then, another runner from early on, Lisa, came up behind me and slowly cruised by me.  I was about a minute ahead of her at the half so the slower first half paid off for her with a good lead on me at the end.

Finally, miles 24 to the end were a nice and steady slight downhill.  But, there was also a fairly strong headwind (rare for this part of the course which usually has no wind or a slight tail wind due to the terrain).  But, the wind didn't bother me since I was already slower than originally planned and just wanted to finish.  Actually, I was thinking about how the wind was kind of nice at keeping it cool (temps were still in the 50's but sunny).

Sometime during this last few miles, a runner from another race (maybe 10K or half marathon) told me I looked like the happiest marathoner she had seen all day.  Definitely a nice thing to hear.  I must have been enjoying the race!

Finish line was wonderful with great food and lots of places to sit on the grass or on picnic benches and a DJ for entertainment.

garmin stats: 26.37 mi, 3:32:28, 8:03 avg

  1. 7:24
  2. 7:27
  3. 7:31
  4. 7:36
  5. 7:23
  6. 7:30
  7. 7:31
  8. 7:40
  9. 7:32
  10. 7:27
  11. 7:28
  12. 7:21
  13. 7:54
  14. 7:30
  15. 8:04
  16. 8:43
  17. 8:37
  18. 8:13
  19. 7:54
  20. 8:34
  21. 8:55
  22. 9:36
  23. 9:25
  24. 8:46
  25. 8:51
  26. 8:26  and 26.2 1:39 (7:36)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1:39.0

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.100.000.000.000.000.000.001.10

1.1 miles - first run after Pocatello

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.170.000.000.000.000.000.002.17

2.17, 22:59

Second run after Pocatello, one more mile

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.460.000.000.000.000.000.005.46

5.46, 50:25

Ran in Longleaf with the Striders.  Feeling back to normal.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.090.000.000.000.000.000.004.09

4.09 mi, 41:32, 10:09 pace

Ran in the neighborhood, out and back past golf course to Trinity Blvd.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.010.000.000.000.000.000.007.01

7.01, 1:14:25, 10:37 avg

Ran in Starkey park with the Striders.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.100.000.000.000.000.000.006.10

6.1 mi, 1:05:01, 10:39 avg

Ran in the neighborhood, started a little bit late and montiored heart rate, keeping at 132 or below which meant a bit slower than usual today but not my worst heart rate run.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.10
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.410.000.000.000.000.000.006.41

6.41 mi, 58:30, 9:07 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  I wore an old pair of Skecher's Gorun.  Ran slower on purpose but took a break from the preciseness of heart rate monitoring and decided a good compromise was to not go faster than 9:00 pace.  Weather was pretty decent and I felt pretty good throughout the run.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.250.000.000.000.000.000.003.25

3.25 mi, 32:29, 9:59 avg

Ran just under two complete loops around the neighborhood.  Kept heart rate at 132 or under, with an average of 128 bpm (spiked a little bit here and there but quickly brought it down) so this was a pretty good run as far as pace vs heart rate goes.  Hopefully will see some more gains in heart rate pace.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 3.25
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.760.000.000.000.000.000.006.76

6.76 mi, 58:32, 8:40 avg

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, specifically ran with Fronasty (aka Fro-fro the barber among other names).  Did not wear heart rate monitor and also my ipod was dead so happy to have someone to chat with.  We seemed to get progressively faster.  Last mile was about a 7:30 pace. 

I'm thinking maybe of doing heart rate training every other day.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.140.000.000.000.000.000.007.14

7.14 mi, 1:14:10, 10:23 avg

Ran in the neighborhood and stuck to heart rate monitored training.  Average pace ended up being a little bit slower than Wednesday, including the first mile. Pace mostly stayed the same vs keeping heart rate at or below 132.

A few things I've noticed, besides being at a slower pace, I have no desire to stop for a drink or anything like that.  I'd rather just keep going and I have no big desire for a gel or gatorade, and finally once I'm done I have an urge to do a second run later in the day (which I haven't done yet, though).  Usually a second run is more like because I have to, but now I've been wanting to do one because I want to.  Definitely has been interesting.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.14
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
10.090.000.000.000.000.000.0010.09

10.09 mi, 1:33:12, 9:14 avg

Ran with Jamie at Starkey park as well as criss-crossing many of the other Striders for the big group run.  Also, ran into Dixie on the way back who turned around a little early so he could run with us. 

Did some very easy miles at first, then a little bit faster, and then the last 4 miles were 8:30ish.  Legs felt very fresh today and felt like I wanted to keep going.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 10.09
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.130.000.000.000.000.000.006.13

6.13 mi, 1:00:45, 9:55 avg, 128 bpm average

It was a pretty good run.  Ran in the nbhd, got started at a decent time and stuck to heart rate training today.  I felt a slight improvement from the start and was happy to be under a 10:00 average for the run.  Tomorrow I will run socially and not worry about heart rate but not push it either (except maybe a little bit at the end).

I did five miles, then stopped at home to wake up Andy for school then did one more mile.

Weather was pretty nice this morning, too.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.13
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.190.000.000.000.000.000.007.19

7.19 mi, 1:04:44, 9:00 avg

Ran at the Y with the Striders.  No heart rate monitoring today.  Just wanted to run easy with no monitoring so decided I'd keep the pace at 9:00 or slower (which I did for the most part except for a little bit just faster than 9:00).  Able to run a little bit more natural feeling this way.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.19
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.320.000.000.000.000.000.006.32

6.32 mi, 1:01:30, 9:44 avg, HR 129 bpm

Ran in the neighborhood.  Extra nice out with cooler temps (but still a long ways to go to cold).  Use HR and stayed below 132 most of the run except when I noticed it was too high and would slow down right away.  Ran just over 5 miles, stopped home to wake up the boys, and then ran about one more mile.  I think this might be my second best HR run and maybe best since Pocatello.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.32
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.600.000.000.000.000.000.008.60

6.07 mi, 52:00, 8:34 avg

Ran with Striders at Longleaf, specifically ran with Jamie and a couple of miles with Michelle H.  Somewhat coolish morning.  No heart rate monitoring, mostly conversational pace though.

PM - 2.53 mi, 27:30, 10:52 avg

Ran at the Y on the treadmill while Thomas was doing swim team.  First heart rate run on the treadmill, was using my watch instead of garmin chest strap and sometimes used the built in heart rate on the treadmill, it was all over the place so I just ran kind of easy.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 2.53Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.07
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.550.000.000.000.000.000.008.55

8.55 mi, 1:19:26, 9:18 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood which meant I was able to start a little earlier than usual since I had to meet someone.  Ran pretty easy.  Finished about 7.5 miles when I was back at my house.  Woke up Andy then went back out and did another mile up and down the street.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.55
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
18.100.000.000.000.000.000.0018.10

18.1 mi, 2:52:05, 9:30 avg, HR 136 bpm avg

Met Jamie at 6:00 and ran from Longleaf, heading to Starkey park to meet Cynthia and Renee for their 8 mile run.  I wore my HR monitor but wasn't going to look at it until the end of the run.  There was a big cross country meet going on in the park so we ran passed hundreds of HS runners in their staging areas, warming up and getting ready.

Found Cynthia and Renee ok and had a  good 8 miles with them before heading back out of the park and towards longleaf.

Heart rate was good for the first 5 miles or so but would spike here and there and steadily climbed even with the even pace.

Overall a pretty good run.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 18.10
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
9.230.000.000.000.000.000.009.23

7.09 mi, 1:05:40, 9:16 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.  Joe had been missing for a bit due to a family loss so was good to have him back for a run.  Nice conversational pace, about 6.5 miles together, then I woke up Andy, then went back out for a short cool down.  No HR monitor for most of the run.

PM

2.14 mi, 22:28, 10:29 avg

Went to the Y to take Thomas to swim team.  Did a short weight work out and did a short run on the treadmill wearing the heart rate monitor.  Went much better this time.  Start out slow, ramped up to about 9:40 pace until HR went to 133, then backed off.  Eventually settled into a 10:10 pace which I did most of the run.  After hitting two miles, slowed down to reach a 120 HR which was about 11:20 pace.

 

GoRun Sonic Miles: 7.09Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 9.23
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.070.000.000.000.000.000.007.07

7.07 mi, 1:08:48, 9:44 avg, 128 BPM

Ran at the Y with the Striders, but mostly on my own.  Wore HR monitor and kept it under 132.  Felt pretty good and glad I was able to stay in the 9:xx range while keeping my HR.  Very light rain on and off for most of the run which was more pleasant than annoying.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.07
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.250.004.000.000.000.000.007.25

7.25 mi, 58:35, 8:05 avg

First tempo run in quite some time.  Warmed up with about 1.5 miles easy, then ran 4 miles with a goal of anything under 7:00 pace.

First mile was good, stopped briefly to open a gate on the second mile (maybe a better route next time), hung on through the third mile ok, and then at the beginning of the 4th mile had to get through the gate again which was easier leaving so I didn't stop my watch and just made up the time.  During most of the 4th mile I was slower than 7:00 pace but gradually picked it up and was at about a 7:05 pace with about 0.1 left to go, then I concentrated on "quick feet" and out of nowhere threw in "happy feet" into my internal chant and then found myself finishing mile 4 at 6:55 (although it seemed much harder than it should have been).

Tempo splits: 6:46, 6:53, 6:50, 6:55

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 7.25
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.210.000.000.000.000.000.007.21

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.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.21
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.560.000.000.000.000.000.008.56

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.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
20.300.000.000.000.000.000.0020.30

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.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 20.30
Comments
From jtshad on Mon, Oct 05, 2015 at 09:51:49 from 141.221.191.225

Great run! Looks like you are doing well!

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.440.000.000.000.000.000.008.44

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.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.230.000.000.000.000.000.007.23

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.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.23
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.753.000.000.000.000.000.006.75

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.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 6.75
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.150.000.000.000.000.000.008.15

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.

 

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 8.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.320.000.000.000.000.000.006.32

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)

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
13.000.000.000.000.000.000.0013.00

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!

GoRun Sonic Miles: 13.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.700.000.000.000.000.000.008.70

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.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 8.70
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.260.000.000.000.000.000.008.26

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.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.26
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.230.004.000.000.000.000.007.23

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.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 7.23
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.540.000.000.000.000.000.006.54

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.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.54
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.220.000.000.000.000.000.007.22

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.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 7.22
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.250.000.000.000.000.000.008.25

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.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 8.25
Comments
From JimF on Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 11:26:43 from 68.60.236.232

Good luck in the marathon. I have always wanted to do that one.

From jtshad on Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 14:02:43 from 141.221.191.225

Good luck at MCM!

Race: PHSC Run with the Quistas 5k (3.107 Miles) 00:24:23, Place overall: 37, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.523.110.000.000.000.000.003.63

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.

 

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 3.63
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.040.000.000.000.000.000.005.04

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.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 5.04
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.570.000.000.000.000.000.005.57

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.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 5.57
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.133.000.000.000.000.000.006.13

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

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.13
Race: Marine Corps Marathon (26.219 Miles) 03:28:12, Place overall: 904, Place in age division: 90
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.220.000.000.000.000.0026.22

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)

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 26.22
Comments
From JimF on Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 10:16:50 from 68.60.236.232

Congrats on a great race! You you very consistent throughout and finished strong. This is a marathon I have always wanted to run and it sounds like it was a good one.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.150.000.000.000.000.000.002.15

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.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 2.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.190.000.000.000.000.000.003.19

3.19 mi, 32:56, 10:20 avg

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

GoRun Sonic Miles: 3.19
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.030.000.000.000.000.000.004.03

4.03 mi, 40:30, 10:03 avg

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

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.180.000.000.000.000.000.008.18

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.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 8.18
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.630.000.000.000.000.000.005.63

5.63 mi, 51:59, 9:12 avg

Ran with Joe, Jamie, and Lisa in the neighborhood.  Conversational pace throughout although it sometimes felt like I was going faster than I was.  Nice to have the company.

 

GoRun Sonic Miles: 5.63
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.060.000.000.000.000.000.006.06

6.06, 57:57, 9:34 avg, 123 bpm

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders.  They have decided that the traffic near the Y is too busy in the morning to be safe.  Probably a good idea but I'll miss Tuesdays there.

Ran mainly with Joe and a little bit with Tom C.  Wore heartrate monitor and was happy to see that the pace I felt like running happened to coincide with 122-132 bpm range.  Weather was good (was a bit warmer and humid yesterday).

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.06
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.710.003.000.000.000.000.005.71

5.71 mi, 47:15, 8:17 avg

I decided to do a little bit of a tempo run.  I was short on time so had to split it up so actually it was more like tempo intervals.  Did about 1.5 mile warmup and then did three faster miles at: 7:01, 6:39, 6:53

The break was in the middle of the second mile (stopped my watch, woke up Andy, then started again).  Couldn't seem to keep my legs moving fast enough during the first mile but not too bad for just over a week after marathon.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 5.71
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.090.000.000.000.000.000.006.09

6.09 mi, 57:57, 9:30 avg, HR 127 bpm

Ran with the Striders at Longleaf, ran mostly by myself, up and down the Starkey Blvd bike trail, but I did pass coming and going several runners I knew.  Heart rate run today which looked like it was going to be a little faster at first but then I had to back off a little to stay under 132 bpm.  But, still, it's a good HR run pace compared to where I started at.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.09
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.040.000.000.000.000.000.005.04

5.04 mi, 48:36, 9:38 avg

Ran in the neighborhood with Joe.  Had to cut it short a little bit to get back on time (and because bathrooms I was hoping to use were locked - needing to go while on a run is a pretty rare occurrence).

GoRun Sonic Miles: 5.04
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
15.500.000.000.000.000.000.0015.50

15.5 mi,  2:25:57, 9:25 avg

Ran up and down Starkey Blvd, also in Aristide neighborhood and a little bit in Starkey Park.  Time and distance a little bit of guess work since my garmin died about 5 miles into the run but was able to reconstruct from other people's times.

Started out with Renee, Cynthia, Joe, Michelle, and Jamie.  Group up after the out and back in Aristided.  Michelle, Cynthia and I ran into the park and then picked up Rob for a few miles before he split off..  Morning started out nice and cool (best day so far this week), but got kind of warm during the last few miles where I slowed down a little bit.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 15.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.110.000.000.000.000.000.006.11

6.11 mi, 54:24, 8:54 avg

Ran with Joe and Lisa in the neighborhood.  We started off easy then did some 1k repeats at Lisa's 5k goal pace - at least that was the plan.  Was aiming for about a 7:20 pace, what we got was:  7:04, 7:03, 7:23, 7:04, 7:38

The fourth one was actually a little bit short because after slowing down on the third one I said lets just run to the water fountain, so that one was more like a fartlek and was 0.45 miles instead of 1k.  Kind of faded on the last one.  Was hard to keep her on an even pace because she wants to take off quickly out front and doesn't do as well following next to or behind.  But, still a fun run. 

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.11
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.220.000.000.000.000.000.007.22

7.22, 1:09:58, 9:41 avg, HR 128 bpm

Ran at Longleaf with the Striders, used HR monitor and kept rate at or below 132 bpm.

I still had my garmin set to kilometers for the splits from yesterday's run.  Other than that I don't remember too much about that run but I guess it was pretty good!

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.22
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.700.000.000.000.000.000.007.70

7.7, 1:12:47, 9:27 avg, HR 124 bpm

Another easy day of running.  Ran by myself in the nbhd - usual suspects were unavailable to run with but I did end up crossing paths with Lisa towards the end of the run.  Pace vs heart rate was pretty good with easy feeling pace matching up with  in range HR.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 7.70
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.210.000.000.000.000.000.008.21

8.21 mi, 1:16:57, 9:23 avg, HR 127 bpm

Ran on Starkey bike trail with the Striders.  Was able to get in a little bit longer for my run.  Wore heart rate monitor and kept rate at 132 or below.

While on Alico Pass a dog ran towards me but stopped at the edge of the yard, most likely invisible fence.  HR briefly spiked until I realized the dog was stopping.

When I got back to the parking lot everyone had left except for Clark and Cindy who were about to pull out, but Clark had a cup of coffee waiting for me, then he left.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 8.21
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.630.000.000.000.000.000.005.63

5.63 mi, 55:05, 9:47 avg

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood.  I almost slept in after falling back asleep but waking up about 5 minutes before I was supposed to meet her.  Get ready quickly and out the door.  Ran easy which was good because I seemed to have some soreness in my legs which wasn't going away which I think I finally was able to shake.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 5.63
Race: Shipyard Half Marathon (13.109 Miles) 01:34:00, Place overall: 10, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.9313.040.000.000.000.000.0013.97

This might be my favorite half marathon - definitely one of my top favorites.  It's somewhat lowkey, has a nice route through "old Florida" neighborhoods and near the water, and I actaully kind of like the two loop course, and then there is the nice refreshments at the end.  This is also my PR course (2012).  Last year it was my fastest half between November and March.  Hopefully it won't be my fastest this year.

The past week my legs had been feeling tired, with no bounce.  It seemed to start the week before with the long run on Saturday and then some moderate speedwork on Monday pacing Lisa for some repeats.  During that run I stepped off the curb incorrectly and felt a warning pain in my hip/groin area, so the rest of the week I took it easy.  Was originally going to try and get a six mile tempo run on Wednesday but skipped it out of caution.  I knew that doing the tempo run could do more harm than good.

Race morning, still feeling mentally unprepared, but fortunately that slowly wore off.  Rode down to the race with Jessica and ran into Cynthia and Joe and then eventually Jamie and Renee.  Easy jog with Jessica about a half mile then I did some strides.

Race started and I took off after Ollie and Bill Cottrell (the Dr. that almost always beats me).  I was happy when I saw my pace was about a 6:45 halfway into the first mile.  Held that pace through the mile and a little bit beyond.  Hit the first bridge ascent, slowed a little on the way up but got most of it back on the way down and managed a 6:58.  These first two miles were better than I had expected.  I decided I'd do my best but not worry about pace for the rest of the race.

About mile 3 or so I think I passed a woman wearing a black and white top, I'd see her again.

Heading back into Ozona on the first loop I saw Jessica running the 5k, actually she saw me.  I was looking but missed her until right when we were crossing.

Hit the halfway point and then a little past it as we were heading back out to the trail I felt pretty good and managed one more mile under 7:00.  I came up behind the first place female, pulled ahead of her and kept a pretty good gap until just past mile 10.  I felt myself slowing down and now she was right behind me.  I didn't want to mess up her pace so I slowed to have her get back in front of me.  It seemed to help a little as we both sped up.  Just before the mile 12 marker, the woman in the black and white top came up behind us both running at a steady pace.  So, I tried to pick it up.

There was a man walking his two dogs on leashes and then another woman with two dogs not on leashes.  The two dogs briefly went after the black and white top woman until the owner could get them back in control.  I closed the gap a little at this point but she pulled ahead and took off even faster once at the 12 mile sign.

I turned the last corner and saw 1:33:53 on the clock and tried my best to sneak in under 1:34.  It felt like a slow motion dream as I saw each second tick.  Thought maybe I had made it but no, it would be 1:34:00.

The black and white top woman's name is Lois, and she always seems to beat me no matter how fast or slow I run by just a little bit.  30 seconds today.  The former first place female ended up with second place, coming in about 20 seconds behind me.  Lois was about 30 seconds ahead. 

Last year I was 10th overall and 2nd place age group - same rankings this year, just a little bit slower pace.

Jessica was waiting for me at the end and then we watched Joe, Renee, Cynthia, and Jamie come through the finish line.

For what I was feeling before the race started, I was pretty happy with how I ran the race

Splits: 6:43, 6:58, 7:02, 7:07, 7:09, 7:30, 7:10, 6:59, 7:09, 7:31, 7:45, 7:26,7:13

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 13.97
Comments
From JimF on Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 10:01:19 from 68.60.236.232

Nice race. You are very consistent and good to be getting out their racing a lot. I need to do more of that.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.140.000.000.000.000.000.007.14

7.14 mi,  1:08:32,  Avg 9:36 min/mi
 
This is actually a catch up post.  Ran on Starkey Blvd with the Striders, wore HR monitor with average of 125 bpm for the run.  So, it sounds like it was a pretty good run!
 
 

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.14
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.960.000.000.000.000.000.005.96

5.96 mi, 52:22, 8:47 avg

Ran with Joe and Victoria on the Suncoast trail, leaving the Target parking lot and heading south and partially on the new section which is getting close to connecting to the Upper Tampa Bay trail.  Got a weird pain in right side of my hip area which made me walk a bit.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 5.96
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.480.000.000.000.000.000.007.48

5.44 mi, 53:18, 9:48 pace

Ran at Longleaf with Striders.  Out and back on Starkey bike trail.  Ran with heart rate monitor keeping rate at or under 132 bpm.  I arrived a few minutes late, so everyone had already left but I caught up with several and said hi on the way out and back.  I had to run a little short to be back home before 6:45

PM 2.04 mi, 19:05, 9:18 avg

Ran on the treadmill at the Y while Thomas did swim team practice

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.480.000.000.000.000.000.005.48

5.48 mi, 50:56, 9:17

Ran in the nbhd, easy pace (catch up post)

GoRun Sonic Miles: 5.48
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
10.390.000.000.000.000.000.0010.39

10.39 mi, 1:34:30, 9:04 avg

Met Joe and Jamie at Diane's house which is also Craig's house who also ran with us today after being away in New Zealand forever (about 6 weeks).  Ran into Starkey park, stopped briefly at the shelter then continued out far enough to get 10 miles ish for distance.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 10.39
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.630.000.000.000.000.000.005.63

5.63, 53:06, 9:26 avg

Ran in the nbhd, easy post (finally posting this on 12/24 to see where I'm at for the year, Ive missed a lot of blogging days).

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 5.63
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.510.000.000.000.000.000.007.51

7.51, 1:05:59, 8:47 avg

Ran on Starkey Blvd with the Striders

From 9:56 pace first mile to 8:14 pace last mile

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.51
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.510.000.000.000.000.000.005.51

5.51 mi, 51:01, 9:16 avg

Ran inside Starkey park on the bike trail with Jamie and Cynthia because everyone had a little extra time.  Nice run, was relaxing.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 5.51
Race: St. Pete Time Turkey Trot 5k (3.107 Miles) 00:22:57, Place overall: 350, Place in age division: 200
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
0.503.110.000.000.000.000.003.61

Ok, I have no idea what my actual place was because tjhey only do times for the first 125 overall males and females.  I was pacing my friend Lisa from the neighborhood who I had last paced in May of 2012.  Her old PR was a little over 24 minutes so she wanted to break that.  Looking at last year's times I was pretty sure she could be in the top 125 as well (and earn a  coffee mug).

Last time I paced her we went out too fast and faded a lot.  Did much better this time with splits of 7:14, 7:19, and 7:24

Warm up consisted of some easy jogging and a few strides a little bit before the race started.

Starting line is a madhouse, but it gets manageable about a quarter mile into the run.  There's no chip timing, just a gun start and race cards at the end.  She takes off quickly especially once we are through the thickest part of the crowd.  Slows a little bit for the second mile but still ahead of goal.  During the third mile I thought she was going to fade a lot.  There's an uphill of 46 feet which is a "monster" hill for these parts.  I hear her yell at herself a few times which seems to help.

She ended up about 75th place overall for females, so earned a mug and smashed her old PR.  I had a ton of fun which was good since I wasn't feeling quite race ready but happy to help someone out.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.550.000.000.000.000.000.005.55

5.55 mi, 49:25, 8:54 avg

Ran in the nbhd, easy run, then need to finish packing for the trip this afternoon.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 5.55
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.750.000.000.000.000.000.003.75

Philadelphia Adventure

3.75 mi, 36:00, 9:36 avg

I'm totally guessing on the distance, I just know the time and pace is what it felt like.

Ran in downtown Philadelphia with my brother from near city hall to the art gallery, the one with all the steps that Rocky ran up.  Saw one guy doing a selfie video running up the steps doing his best Rocky.  Would have been fun to stay longer and count how many people did the same thing. 

Sort of meandered a bit back through the streets.   Thought about running to the Ben Franklin Bridge but decided to get back to the kids.

Did a walk later where we met up with my parents and saw Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  Then headed to Ben Franklin Bridge with my brother, his daughter and my two boys.  Google maps said it was only 1.1 miles to the USS New Jersey museum.  What I failed to notice is that was taking the ferry and not walking over the bridge.  Actually a bit over 3 miles.  Toured the ship and then took the train back.  Enjoyed the walking tour of Camden from the waterfront to the City Hall train stop!

Brother's fitness tracker said the walking total was 7 miles.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 3.75
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.150.000.000.000.000.000.006.15

6.15 mi, 54:43, 8:53 avg

Ran on Starkey bike trail with the Striders.  Arrived a couple minutes late so mostly ran by myself but did enjoy a few minutes of social hour at the end.  Mostly easy pace running with a short pickup at the end.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.15
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.120.000.000.000.000.000.005.12

5.12 mi, 47:43, 9:18 avg

Ran in the neighborhood solo.   I was originally going to meet Jamie to run but she texted saying she wasn't going to make it but at least I was already up.  Easier to roll out of bed on time when meeting someone.  Cool weather is staying scarce but it is at least coolish.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 5.12
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.400.000.000.000.000.000.005.40

Ran with Jamie and the Striders on Stakey Blvd.  I stopped my watch at the turn around and forgot to start it again but since it was out and back, pretty easy to figure out the total distance!

Pace was about 9:15 average.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 5.40
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.160.000.000.000.000.000.006.16

6.16 mi, 58:39, 9:30 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie this morning in the neighborhood.  Joe turned back after a couple of miles (his first run back since Sunday's Space Coast Marathon).  Continued on with Jamie.  Was at a 10:00 average pace at the water stop and then went a little bit faster on the way back.  Saw Andy just as he was leaving to go to Busch Gardens (it's "Physics Day" event through his school).

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.16
Race: Little-Markou 5K (3.107 Miles) 00:20:32, Place overall: 12, Place in age division: 3
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.360.002.171.000.000.000.005.53

This was my third year running the Little-Markou 5K in honor of Mike's daugher who tragically passed away way too young in a tragic car wreck with funds going towards scholarship money in her honor.

My legs have been feeling sore/dead the past several weeks and I was really just looking to show up today and support a good cause.  However, my legs and rest of me had some life in them, more than I expected.  The course was new this year, running through the Longleaf neighborhood in one big loop with 27 turns compared to the past two years where the course was on SR 54 and Trinity Blvd with only 3 turns.

Warmed up beforehand with a total of 1.31 miles mostly easy running and 4 30 seconds strides.

Plan was to just go out and see what I could do.  Swept up in the starting group and did the first mile in 6:19, with the last quarter of that mile passing 5 or 6 runners.  At about 1.5 miles caught up with Jean who looked like he was going to run with me but then dropped back and said he just didn't have it today.  Now I was pretty far back from the next set of runners and might have slowed a little, finishing mile 2 in 6:33.  During mile 3 I caught up to another couple of runners and wasn't too far back from Stan.  I think physically I might have been able to dig in and pass him up but I wasn't there mentally.  Mile 3 finished in 6:31, and finishing up the last 0.17 maybe a little faster.  (Ok, maybe not really 0.17, officially it would be 0.107, but with 27 turns that's not too far off).

So, Stan was number 2 in AG at 20:30, and the next fastest 45-49 guy was 20:24, so the three of us were grouped pretty close.  Ryan had an awesome run with 18:51 taking 1st Masters which I won last year but he won two years ago when outkicking me and beating me by 0.1 seconds.   Jolene was about 20:12 good for first place female master but was about one minute behind her 14 year old daughter.

Race was really well put together, attendance was pretty good but I hope they can get even more next year.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
11.310.000.000.000.000.000.0011.31

11.31 mi, 1:47:23, 9:30 avg

Ran with Cynthia and Jamie on Starkey Blvd.  Had to make a little detour at the start because the top on my drink bottle was leaking red gatorade all over my hands, what a mess!  Got going again, ran into Starkey Park to the shelter and then turned around and headed back.  Picked up Scott along the was and finished the last few miles with him. Very pleasant morning.  Lots of other runners out, many making up their long run from yesterday due to the race.

GoRun Ride3 Miles: 11.31
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.130.000.000.000.000.000.007.13

7.13 mi, 1:10:33, 9:53 avg

Started in Longleaf with the Striders.  Most everyone had alread left.  I ran to the water stop point and then started running with Fernando for most of the rest of the run.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.13
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.443.000.000.000.000.000.006.44

6.44 mi, 57:56, 9:00 avg pace
 
Ran with Lisa in the neighborhood.  Helped her with some mile repeats, we did 7:11, 7:11, and 7:10 which is right around her goal 5k pace.
 
Did some easy miles for warm up and cool down.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 6.44
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
4.200.000.000.000.000.000.004.20

4.2 mi, 40:00, 9:31 avg

Short and easy paced run with a garmin that ran out of batteries 1.7 miles into the run but I'm pretty familiar with distances now on and out and back.  Time is pretty close so the pace is derived.

 

GoRun Sonic Miles: 4.20
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.720.000.000.000.000.000.005.72

5.72 mi, 57:12, 10:00 avg

Easy run in the nbhd with Jamie.  Legs were feeling pretty dead at the start but much better at the end.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 5.72
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.000.000.000.0012.00

12.00 mi, 1:50:25, 9:12
 
Ran with Jamie and new girl Daisy in Starkey park.  Very small group this morning.  Saw Keith there and he asked how far we were going and introduced us to Daisy who said she was doing 10 but figured she'd go along for an extra mile out.  Good run, nice conversational pace, beautiful morning.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 12.00
Race: Holiday Halfathon (13.109 Miles) 02:39:08, Place overall: 830, Place in age division: 59
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
13.110.000.000.000.000.000.0013.11

Holiday Halfathon Race Report

Views from the middle back pack with some pleasant takeaways.  Since the Shipyard half marathon a few weeks ago my legs have been somewhat dead.  I did not feel like I was close to PR shape or even getting closer to breaking 1:30 than what I did at Shipyard Half.  I had signed up my SO Jessica to run this race again like last year.  But last year we each ran our own races.  This year she had trained a little bit less than last year (although this year and last year her longest run was 5 miles, she had a few more shorter runs in addition to her 5 mile run).  This race is also typically the morning after my work Christmas dinner party.  It all added up to taking it easy and running slow.

Morning was not cold, and just cool enough to not be warm at the start.  The Madeira Beach town hall where the race starts was completely unrecognizable.  The old building which looked typical of a small town beach community town hall was replaced by a very modern looking 21st century building.

Race plan was to run/walk at a 2-1 ratio.  Crowd thinned out after a mile or so and we found ourselves passing and getting passed by more or less the same sets of people.  There was a couple running in long sleeve running shirts which had a Christmas sweater design that gave the illusion of Christmas sweaters that made me feel hot watching them run.  First three miles especially were very comfortable.  We tried a couple of 3-1 ratio runs but Jess decided that 2-1 would be better.  At the 4 mile mark we are on top of the Park Blvd bridge crossing from the beach islands across the inland waterway to the mainland and on our way to the Pinellas trail at mile 7.   At this point she said she was starting to feel the run a bit but was still ok.

There is a little park where we wind around a small lake and then join the Pinellas trail heading north.  There's a restroom there where I said I was going to stop as there seemed to be no line (at least in the men's side).  Women's side had a small line so we suffered about a two minute delay for the stop.  Up until then we had been keeping our miles under 12:00, maybe 11:30's to 11:40's.

Next up was the first pedestrian bridge which we walked up and resumed running at the top.  Jess lagged behind a little bit, so for the next one I had an idea.

Weather was warming up a little but still felt very nice.

I think about mile 9 or so, Jess asked if we could switch to a 1-1 ratio.   It really didn't hurt our pace that much.  We had slowed down to right about a 12:00 pace, and the 1-1 ratio slowed us to about a 12:30.  But the goal was to finish.  Here and there, when we were getting close to the next mile but would not hit it during the run portion I'd say "let's just keep running until after that mile marker up ahead".

Comming up the next pedestrian bridge, we walked and I took Jess's hand and gave her a little tow up the bridge.  On the other side of the bridge, a 50ish woman with long grey hair, very fit , and wearing candy cane stockings and Santa hat remarked about how sweet looked and how this is what running was all about.

Not long after the last bridge, the course turns off of the Pinellas trail and into Taylor Park where you can see the finish area but then you run back out to a road before coming back into the park.  After the 12 mile sign we increased our running intervals a little bit.  As the plan evolved and we settled around a 12:00 average pace I was thinking around 2:36 would be good.  But we had slowed and lost a little bit of time at the restroom so new goal was stay under 2:40.

Finish line finally just around the corner, I encouraged Jess to run ahead to finish before me.  But she kind of foiled my plan by slowing as we went under the finish arch but before actually crossing the timming mat so I inadvertantly beat her by 0.2 seconds.

My first time running this race Dec 2006, just before turning 40, so I've been here for nearly every one of the 10 races as either a runner or a spectator with this being my first year as pacer.  The course is every bit as good running in the back two thirds as it is running in the top 5%.  They've added more aid stations since the first year I ran it.

I did still get a chance though to walk up to the podium to pick up awards - not my awards, but still - speedy Jolene placed first female Masters and comeback kid Mike (who blogged here for a while) picked up 2nd place Grand Master.

I still need to look out for and introduce myself to two super fast local FRBers Mike M and Andrew who also ran this year.

And one gift I received (among other things) was my dead leg feeling has completely gone away, re-intro to back-to-back long runs (12 miles yesterday, 13.1 today), run-walk practice (will come in handy for Georgia Death Race).

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 13.11
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.340.000.000.000.000.000.007.34

7.34 mi, 1:04:15, 8:45 Pace (min/mi)
 
Ran at Starkey bike trail with Striders, nice out and back, easy start and a little bit faster on the return trip.  Kind of back to being warm out.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
3.752.500.000.000.000.000.006.25

6.25 mi, 1:00:05, 9:37 avg
 
Ran in the nbhd with Lisa.  Did some intervals with her.  Plan was to try 6x800m.  Made it through 5 of them but she was starting to fade.  Hit the first two very hard.  Difficult to get her to go even, but still a good run.  She does seem to do a little bit better with mile repeats.
Fortunately, she's just back into running recently enough that it seems like just about anything will help her improve and she's good and putting in 110% effort.

GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 6.25
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
5.610.000.000.000.000.000.005.61

5.61 mi,  51:10, 9:08 min/mi
 
 
Longleaf/ Starkey Blvd run with the Striders.  Nothing fancy, just a pretty decent run.
 

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 5.61
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.330.000.000.000.000.000.006.33

6.33 mi, 56:04, 8:51
 
Ran in the neighborhood, about 5.5 miles easy and then did some strides up and down the street near my house just for fun.  It was warm out this morning but later in the day suddenly got chilly, will be good long run weather tomorrow.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
23.010.000.000.000.000.000.0023.01

23.01 mi, 4:11:05, 10:55 avg
 
Ran at Croom, mainly on the "B" loop which is the course for the upcoming Croom Zoom race (25k, 50k, 100k, and new for this year 100 mile).  It's basically a 10 mile loop.  I will do the 50k, so three loops for me.
I had a half-baked idea to run 49 miles this morning in honor of my birthday yesterday but decided that since I hadn't run trails in so long and wanted to run this race decently I'd better not risk it.
Showed up about 7:00, hoping to see the race director who was attempting to run the full 100 miles by starting at 11:00 pm Friday and attempting to finish before evening tonight.  I missed him by a little bit but there were two random guys getting ready to run 12 miles so I asked to join them.  Clint and Larry.  Larry was a big tri-guy who seemed to know everything about tri's and things like how many watts of power he expended at 18, 22, and 25 miles per hour.  Clint was a recovering "meathead" from the gym who had just started running in the past year.  So, run was certainly not boring and was great to have some people to run with although the solitude of the woods is sometimes nice. 
We ran into another group who were also looking for Andy the RD.  This group was several women and a guy named John who had run across the country a few years ago carrying a giant US Flag.
  Said goodbye to Clint and Larry, and there was another guy who was going to run the 100K race.  He had just finished one loop and wanted to do two more.  So, headed out with him.  He had to stop for a bit and I went ahead until getting back to the parking area.  Contemplated about starting one more loop but legs were getting a little tired, so just finished up one more mile on the road and decided to call it a morning.
  Was great to be back up on the trails and also my legs felt more trail ready this time than the last time I had come up after not having been here for a while which was when I did the Croom Zoom a year ago.  So, definitely looking forward to it now.
  Cool temps were very nice (about mid 40's)

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 23.01
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.620.000.000.000.000.000.007.62

7.62, 1:07:59, 8:55 avg

Ran about 4.5 miles with my son Andy who has recently joined the track team and needed some easy miles this morning.   It was great running with him.  I'm hoping that after a season of track with structured workouts he'll be able to smoke me in a 5k.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.62
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
8.110.000.000.000.000.000.008.11

8.11 mi,. 1:12:34, 8:56 avg

Ran at Longleaf/Starkey Blvd with the Striders.  Went out easy, declined doing intervals with Dixie and Anthony.  Caught up to Jorge just inside Aristide nbhd and ran with him.  He wanted 8 miles so we continued far enough then turned around.  Mostly a steady pickup with first mile at 10:07 and last two at 8:16.  Back to being warm again.  Said hi to Jenny and her dog NiKYO.  Then, quick breakfast with Dixie and Anthony at McD's and brought home cinnamon melts for the boys.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 8.11
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.010.000.000.000.000.000.007.01

7.01 mi, 1:08:14, 9:44 avg

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the nbhd.  Good to have my running buddies back.  Joe was on extended post marathon break and Jamie has been traveling a bit.  Easy conversation pace.  Weather was warm and humid again, but kinda nice.

Noted the sort of odd (but in a beautiful way) color sky just before the sun came up.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 7.01
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.010.000.000.000.000.000.007.01

7.01 mi, 1:01:09, 8:44 avg

Christmas Eve morning run with the Striders.  Kind of like a regular run but start at 7:00 instead of earlier and people bring lots of goodies for afterwards.  I showed up a few minutes late so picked up the pace trying to catch up with my friends.  Eventually found Joe and Jamie at the water stop at about 2.7 miles.  Ran out to 3.5 miles and then turned around.  Air felt soupy on the way back but turned nice after getting back and feeling a light breeze.  Caught up with several people I hadn't seen for a while.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 7.01
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.550.000.000.006.55

6.55 mi, 59:05, 9:02 avg

Christmas morning run (almost afternoon).  Ran out to Trinity Blvd, along the grassy shoulder, a bit past Little Rd before turning around and coming back through via Robert Trent Jones Pkwy with a stop at the fountain.  Got back to my house, saw the boys weren't here yet so ran to the end of the street and around the corner, headed back to the house but this time my truck was in the driveway.  Now, time to relax a bit with the boys before my parents head over at 4:00 for dinner.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Pearl Izumi II Miles: 6.55
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
14.610.000.000.000.000.000.0014.61

14.61 mi, 2:14:23, 9:12 avg

Ran with Cynthia and Jamie from Longleaf to Diane's house then in and out of Starkey Park and then straight back to Longleaf.  Coolish temperatures (much nicer than Thursday), but still a little bit humid.  Had coffee at Havanah Dreamers with a few of the other runners, headed home and then decided to run two more miles around the neighborhood loop.

 

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 14.61
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1.030.000.000.000.000.000.001.03

1.03 mi, 9:48, 9:31 avg

Just a very quick run out at back from my house before taking Sammy for his Sunday morning car ride and grocery store run.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 1.03
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.710.000.000.000.000.000.006.71

6.71 mi, 1:01:34, 9:10 avg

Ran with Andy for 5.05 miles (I think maybe his longest run so far), nice morning and glad to get a chance to run with him again.  Distance seemed no problem at all to him like he could have added on a few more miles with not much trouble.

After getting back to the house, continued on by myself for another loop around the neighborhood.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.71
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
7.160.000.000.000.000.000.007.16

7.16, 1:06:47, 9:20 avg

Ran with Joe and other Striders at Longleaf, up and down Starkey Blvd bike trail. Remembered to bring the case of water I bought at Costco to support our water stops.  Overall a pretty good run.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 7.16
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.080.000.000.000.000.000.006.08

6.08 mi

Ran with Joe and Jamie in the neighborhood.

Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 6.08
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
6.110.000.000.000.000.000.006.11

Ran with Jamie in the neighborhood, later start than usual (8:00) because no reason to rush this morning.

GoRun Sonic Miles: 6.11
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
1752.17276.9971.5216.850.000.000.002117.53
Nimbus15 Miles: 7.62GoRun Ride3 Miles: 332.49GoRun Sonic Miles: 509.32Pearl Izumi II Miles: 129.03GoMeb Speed2 Miles: 171.46Brooks T7 Miles: 26.35Brooks ST5 Miles: 209.80Skechers Go Run Miles: 4.05Brooks Launch (aqua) Miles: 366.87
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