Denouement

Ran approx 11.5k in the morning. Then we went wakeboarding.  I had so much fun.  It was my first time successfully wakeboarding behind a boat.  I did four major faceplants so my neck (whole body really) was quite sore.  Core workout in the pm.  Sore!

Went to Aberdeen for a morning track workout, because it is a national holiday. Did breakfast with some afterward because it is Kate's birthday! Fun to hang out with so many running friends.

 The workout is not really "hard", just 12 x 400m, with the 3rd, 7th, and 11th ones "hammered" or much faster.  

4 miles warm up

splits for the 400's were: 82, 83, 74, 81, 82, 81, 73, 81, 82, 79, 75, 80, then 4k cool down

did 7k as part of a JJ run.  He ran really well, and I ran during his breaks. 

20 min elliptical in the AM, then 2.5k in the afternoon to drop mickie something at school, then I did 45 min elliptical 

AM: ran 18.01, including 15 x 1 min on/off fartlek. 4.87k warm up at 4:48/k warm up. 3:30 ave pace for fast bits.  

PM: ran 5 miles on the tm 

10.05 k

easy run.  Have race tomorrow. 4:59 ave pace.  Stretching

DUDE! Why did my splits and half my race report disappear.  I am reentering. 

This is a race I rocked last year, 37:03 despite it being rather warm still. Warmed up 5.56k then did some strides, and stretched.

I wanted to do each k about 5 seconds slower than last year, which would put me under 38 minutes.  

	This year's split	Last year's split	Note
1	3:42	3:41	I feel good, flat
2	3:52	3:43	Still feeling good, flat then uphill
3	3:45	3:43	Still feeling good, rolling
4	3:57	3:53	uphill, being patient, but still passing people
5	3:55	3:45	feeling good, rolling
6	3:47	3:46	feeling great, thinking I might be able to get down to 37:30 since the course is net downhill from the turnaround, I am still passing people, take a gu toward the end of this k, I am cresting the hill, excited for long downhill in 7th k but get a side cramp as I crest the hill, I start yelling NO to try to get rid of the cramp, doesn't work
7	4:08	3:34	The downhill is wasted, I am in pain from the cramp, almost jogging
8	4:00	3:43	The cramp is still here, getting less severe, but when I try to speed up it feels horrible, but by the end I feel like I can speed up
9	3:42	3:35	I accelerate and find I can handle it, pass a few people who passed me
10	3:31	3:30	I pass one more guy and finish strong

 So the bad news is the 7th and 8th k killed my chance for breaking 38.  The good news is I felt good in the race mentally.  I had the eye of the tiger, never once asked myself why am I racing, or any other such nonsense.  I felt strong and that is a big change from the Coca Cola race two weeks ago.  So though the time was mediocre, I am left excited after this race.  Excited for the next one. BRING IT ON!

I won $4200HKD (just over $500USD) in New Balance gcs plus a huge trophy and a gc for a pair of shoes, so similar to last year, this christmas will be a new balance christmas :D 

Ran 12.4k easy, 4:56 ave pace, core workout in the evening.  Under my rib where my cramp was still sore, could feel it when running

AM: I have no training schedule starting this week (waiting to get results of LT and VO2max testing Thursday and will create training schedule after that), so I chose my own workout.  Since my calf has been niggly since the race, I wanted to do something less risky.  I did a medium long run with a 3k fast finish.  It ended up being a bit of a progression run.  Here are my 5k splits: 24:21, 23:32, 23:38, 23:03, then 11:15 for 3k, 3:45 pace, then .31k jog to get to the mtr.

I think it would be great to do this type of workout every other week and increase the number of k's I do fast, by 1k and try to keep 3:45 pace.  If I could eventually do 8-10k at 3:$5 in a tempo at the end of a long run that would show some serious fitness. 

PM: ran 4 miles in the afternoon, also ran 3k with my kids at night though this is not in my running total 

Ran 11.75k at 4:40/k ave pace, then did 8 x 20 sec strides, 14k total

PM: 40 min elliptical, and half a core workout (keeping it easy after abdominal work done by massage therapist last year, still sore from race cramp then massage). Stretching 

AM: 5 miles on the tm.  So excited!  Tonight I get to do a vo2max test and I think a lactate threshold test, for the first time in my life.  Then my coach says I will get to choose between a "mare" workout and a "nightmare" workout.  Sounds scary.  The tests will build a solid foundation for my marathon training cycle.

PM: vo2max test.  Did a 2 mile warm up, then they did a calibration ramp up without the mask, then I got masked up, way fun, and off we went. 3 min at 7.0mph, 1 min at 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0 in here I felt like the mask was getting in the way of breathing and coach told me to breathe fully. one min at 9.5, 10.0, 10.5, then added 1% grade a minute and I ended at 14 minutes (10.5 pace at 4% grade).  I let out some cries and moans in the last minute, but I really should have gone another minute, but I was afraid I would get launched off the treadmill in delirium.  Ali did a very similar performance but her heartrate never got as high as mine, so I think she'll have a higher score.  My heartrate got up to the high 170's per the tm.  There was no workout after the vo2max, thankfully.  So I cooled down 2 miles on a tm while Ali warmed up, then I watched her test, then I breathed into a machine, then we went out for 10.2k run at about 4:50/k ave pace.  good times.  I hope to get the results tomorrow. 

Ran 11.43k with Ali in the early am, including 4 strides.  Then core workout in the afternoon

Warmed up 6.2k nice and easy including two strides.

The course looked a bit hilly, and a lady I have talked with a couple of times indicated that in the past they had them run on the beach in the sand.  

The first one k is uphill the first half then downhill the second half.  I wanted to take the uphill a bit aggressively, and did, was 3:46 pace at the top of the hill then slammed down, it was rolly but mostly down for the next k, sub 3:40 pace at this point, then at repulse bay they did have us run on the sand.  Incredible.  I hadn't run in sand since high school and I didn't push too hard, then up some stairs to get to the road and then it was rolling and up for the rest of the course until 500m to go.  I took heart from some cheering and passed two guys on the way back, tried to care all the way back though I was a bit mushy for some short stretches, I generally held it together and finished well.  17:52, but the course was short (4.84k per my watch, or 5:56 pace).  Not bad for a hilly course and about 150-200m of sand.   This was a series and I won each race so thus the series, but only won $800HKD in vouchers, which will buy me one overpriced pair of shoes (7.77 hkd is approx 1USD). 5k cool down.

I ran 17.05k at 4:42 ave pace, then 8 x 20 sec strides with 1 min jog between. Core workout in the evening.

AM: was going for 8k but stopped at 7 eleven and got a 32 oz coke zero at 7k, so that was the end of that run. Felt good in the morning. Watched a bit of a movie while I stretched and rolled afterward.  Big workout this evening.

PM: A bit fried from too much caffeine and too much working on my research proposal. Plan was 5-6 x 1600m at 5:40 pace.  I suspected my vo2max results would show that pace was too fast for me, at least for the whole workout.  But the lab hasn't released the results yet.  My coach compromised and let me start at 5:45, then finish at least the last one at 5:40.  I thought I could probably do that.  My son is a bit sick and I feel like it's trying to get me.  We took off at 8 minutes, so just over 2 min rest, except for in between #3 and #4 he gave us 4:18

1	5:43	I led the whole way
2	5:42	Ali led for 2.5 laps
3	5:43	Ali led for 2 laps, during rest I hit the bathroom, and ate an ANS (australian nutrition systems) gu.  It is a new product they have given to the Italia running club.  It was lemon lime flavor and tasted weird compared to what I am used to.  It also a bit bigger than a gu, so it was a lot to take.  I kept it down though
4	5:37	The rest did me some good, the strategy on the last three was to let ali lead at 85-86 for two laps then I open up, I went a little crazy on the third lap here
5	5:36	Same as 4th mile
6	5:26	A 1500m female athlete did some of the reps with us and coach told her to go with me and race me starting on the third lap.  So I pass Ali on the second straightaway of the second lap and take off.  I though this girl Sarah was on my tail but I guess she wasn't.  I hit the 4:10 and coach tells me I am on track for a 5:30.  I don't think I have broke 5:30 on the flat since college so I gun it.

What can I say?  This workout was awesome.  I am in good shape and feel so grateful.  I think the three pounds I have lost in the last three weeks since I have taken the no sugar vow have really made a difference.  Go healthy eating! 

4:57 ave pace

Core workout in the pm 

Got bad sleep second night in a row. 3.15k warm up. Did 16 x 2 min on/ 1 min off.  3:40 ave pace for the fast bits. 18.12k total

Easy afternoon run. 

Easy run plus 6 strides.

Ran about 5 miles, including 4 strides.  Also did core workout in the am and stretching both morning and night.  

Worked my brains out on my research proposal, drinking too much caffeine in the process, then took a quick dinner date break. About an hour before dinner I took my anti-inflammatory, my antibiotic and a vitamin.  Normally I can take things like that on an empty stomach, and I had been snacking on sesame crackers, so I thought no problem. Paul and I went to the Festival Walk food court, I ate a Korean bbq chicken meal too fast.  Then I felt sick and vomitted in the public bathroom til I was empty and then some.  I thought as I vomited--this can't be good for my double-header tomorrow (5k and 10k on the track, the HK track finals for the year).  Paul and I went home.  Felt ok after vomiting, just weak in general and weak to my stomach. I think it was a combination of the carbonation, the medicine and wolfing down my food.  

I had a bowl of oatmeal later. 

This is the Hong Kong track and field championship.  Yiu Kit Ching, the only one who could beat me, did not run 2 of the qualifying races (she just ran one, and had the fastest time of 17:34) so she did not qualify.  Ali was not there, she was running a road 10k her sponsor sponsors, so I was on my own in this race.  I thought I was in shape to do 17:34, but that it would be hard without anyone to push me.  I thought keeping 85's then kicking at the end would get me there.

warmed up 4.34k, stretching, strides.  I took a 200m split, then 400s.  Coach Paul was there and I was happy about that because he called splits and encouraged me.

200m	42s
1	85
2	85
3	84
4	86
5	86
6	87
7	86
8	86
9	87
10-12	4:11

I guess I didn't need that third column. Not much to say, just couldn't quite dig in and get the job done on my own, but I am pretty happy with the race.  I know I would have beat 17:47 with a competitor.  I did 17:47 twice in the spring but the temperatures were cooler in the spring (22C for one and colder for the other).  There was a thermometer at the track.  It was 24C at the start and warming, only 70% humidity.

400m cool down, quick shower, awards, then I caught a long taxi to church so I could teach my primary kids.  They liked my shiny trophy :D 

I put my 10,000m race on Monday, just because I want to enter them as separate race reports, but they both were on Sunday. 

I jogged perhaps 3k before the race, and perhaps 2k after.  It's hard to say when you have let your GPS watch die on you.  So I was running watchless, and it was hot!  It got up to 29.3C, but was down to 28.8C by the time we lined up to start at 3:50pm.  It was sunny too, no cloud cover, but only 60% humidity so not as bad as it could have been.  I didn't think keeping 90 sec/lap was possible in the heat, but I didn't want to start slower, so Coach and I agreed I should just try to keep 90's as long as possible.  Yiu Kit Ching doesn't do track 10k's (she steeples) so it was Ali and I, and I knew I could beat her so long I didn't blow up.  Which as fast start could do, esp if I got a cramp.

I convinced my family to come and they cheered me in the stands.  Coach is a Mormon, so his kids and wife came and cheered me: Go Sister Lowry. I have never been called Sister Lowry while showing my bare midriff and sweating like a pig competing on a Sunday.  It made me smile until the pain made smiling a luxury.  I took drinks of water 4 times in the race, I think. 

I don't have splits from my watch but I think I did 89 for the first three, then settled into the 90's for the most part.  At halfway I was still under 6:00 pace overall by 5 seconds, which I could watch on a screen with a timer as I crossed, plus Coach was yelling splits to me.  I was thinking, wow, I could break 38 maybe, even if I dropped to 92's.  As the race went on, it was a bit of tailwind on the hot side of the track, but a shadow crept into lane 1 2/3 through the race, if not sooner, to make the headwind side also a cooler side.  It was kind of fun to wonder what my next split would be (since I didn't have 200m feedback) and to see how long I could hold on.  Turns on I held on pretty much the whole way.  I did three 91's and one 92 (lap 5, I thought I had four laps to go and to find out I had five took a bit of wind out of my sails).  As the race wound down I could see Ali and I was getting closer to lapping her, and I was in striking distance with 200m to go, so I apologized to her in my head and kicked it in, passing her with 150m to go.  She did well, considering her times from the past, with a 38:4something.  I got 37:07, my best 10k time since last fall, and under pretty hot conditions.  I was so happy with my performance.  

Monday:

AM 16.18k (10.05 miles) at 4:56 pace.  Started slower and felt dead for 4k then perked up. My weigh in is my lowest in 11 months.  I was dehydrated, but I will take it. My month of no sugar treats is paying off.

Met Ali at 7am at HKSI for 2-4 x 5k at HM pace on the track.  We are both pretty tired and sore still from our weekend races, but I wanted to do 3, since that is a step up from the 2 x 20 min tempo we did a couple of weeks ago.  I thought I like 92's but I would start at 93's and try to drop to 92's on the second and third rep. 92 straight through would get me a 19:10, while 93 would get me 19:23.  Ali started the first one but dropped off after a couple of laps and dropped out after 7 laps.  My first was 19:24, so right at 93's.  I jogged a lap rest (just under 4 minutes), then started again (Ali started with me but didn't even last a lap) and got 19:22.  I just tried to stay in the sustainable hurt place.  Another rest of about 3:45, then did the final one for 19:11.

Legs were quite shot during the warm up and I am sure they are pretty banged up now, though they are in a post workout zombie mode.  I want to get a massage since some areas around my left knee are hurty, but I am not sure when I can get one.  Better email Anthony, my sports massage guy, and get the ball rolling.  

I would like to do the elliptical this afternoon instead of a second run, but it is some type of HK holiday today, so the gym is not open.   

 PM: core workout and 6.6k run.   

Met Roberto and ran 10.55k at 4:52/k ave pace.  Then went home and took a nap, then was gone all day.  1.5 hour massage, shopping and a research seminar.  Lots of walking and stairs.

Met Roberto for a tempo workout.  Did it at my supposed lactic threshold.  My vo2max results have been given to my coach but he has been out of town and mia, so I don't know what it is, and this infor would have been really useful this week with all the tempoish workouts.  Anyway, Roberto said it should be 3:56 pace.  So we warmed up 3.74k at 5:01/k pace, then did the 45 min tempo.  First 5k was 3:56 pace, then, next 5k I was wanting to push and he wanted to hold me back so he asked me about who I was voting for and we talked politics while tempoing.  It worked and the pace for that 5k was 3:55/k.  Last bit was 1.48k at 3:53/k pace.  3.48k cool down at 5:01/k pace.  

No afternoon workout because I was at Disneyland HK all day with the family.  Lots of walking and standing and my feet were so tired by the end.  We left the park just before it closed at 11pm. 

Ran 12.41k including 8 strides at the end.

PM: core workout and 40 min elliptical 

Plan was 25-30k with a 12-14k MP tempo in the middle. My current MP is about 4:00/k, probably about a 2:50.  I went to bed with a little sore throat and woke up with it.  My legs felt good as I ran to the MTR station, but as Roberto and I warmed up we both felt pretty dead.  Perhaps Thursday was still with us.  I wasn't sure I would do the tempo at all, but I knew that I tend to need a warm up before feeling good so gave myself the space to warm up nice and slow.  Our first 5k was 4:52/k pace, but the first 3k were slower than 5:00 pace, so we were starting to warm up. Second 5k was 4:24/k pace, feeling much better.  Took an ANS gu at around 10.5k, then at 11.83k we started our tempo (4:29/k for the 1.83k).  We were going right into headwind for about 4k, so the pace was off.  Roberto was also feeling awful and dropped out of the tempo after 4k so I put in music.  First 5k of tempo was 4:03/k ave pace, second was 3:56/k pace, and last 2 k were in 7:49, so exactly 3:59/k ave pace for the whole tempo and slightly progressive.  My legs felt shot for the approx 6k cool down.  It very much felt like how a 20 miler felt at the end when you are just starting to do them, even though this wasn't a 20 miler.  The tempo and the mileage in this week have added a bit of wear and tear on the legs.  

Had a great weigh in, I know some of that is dehydration but some of it is real.  It's been over a month of no sweets.  It matters. It feels like a game now.  I will be breaking my no sweet fast on Nov 6th when I am in charge of desserts for a friends baby shower: choc raspberry cake, cream puffs, and homemade english toffee and peanut brittle :D

Ran 14.63k at 4:53 ave pace, then did 8 x 20 sec on/ 60 sec off strides.

AM: 7k run in the am, felt gross, a bit dizzy at the beginning, perhaps a side effect of taking a whole ambien the night before.  I took it 8.5 hours before my wake up time so I am not sure why it effected me.  A bit tired during the day.

PM: Met coach before my workout.  My vo2max is 53.2 and one other output number was 96.4 and some lactate number was 10.2 (I think, it was above 10), and I got to 91% max heartrate and my maximum heartrate is estimated at 180.  My coach said that the results means my half is between 1:19:30-1:20:30.  I feel like I have 1:20:30 in me.  I would love to break 1:20 on a flat course--have never done that. Alison Chow, the HKer I train with and the top marathoner (2:48) got 54 and outscored me on the other items as well.  She was there and I mentioned that I thought she needed some more aggression, to be more carnivorous.  Then coach told her to lead the odds and me the evens on our fartlek.  She is typically slower than me in speed workouts, but she took our feedback to heart and pushed me on half of the ones I was supposed to lead.  The goal pace for the fartlek fast bits was 3:40.   After 20 min warm up, we did the following paces (the first two were messed up-my watch shows them way fast, I will put an A by the ones Ali led, M by mine): 3:43 (A-uphill), 3:24(M - downhill), 3:25 (A-flat, the rest are flat), 3:31(M), 3:32 (A), 3:40 (M), 3:33 (A), 3:35 (M), 3:39 (A), 3:34 (M), 3:37 (A), 3:33 (M), 3:35 (A), 3:26 (M)

I averaged 3:33 if you don't include the downhill one, 3:34 if you don't include the last one (me showing her who's boss).  She averaged 3:34, 3:33, if you don't include the last one, so I guess that makes us just about even doesn't it (but who is counting, right?)

Ran very easy 10.03k run, 5:15 pace out, 4:59 pace back.  Sang some songs while running, though I did have that dizzy feeling the first half of the run.  Skipped strides. Did core in the am, since it is Halloween.  

And what a Halloween gift!  It was 19C, cool enough to keep my tank on!