High-Octane

Today was a good day running!

No pain and lots of gain! I finally felt like I was accomplishing something even though it was only 4 miles. This is the first run in a while where I was actually able to accelerate up the hills and cruise down the hills. I hope this is the start to some better training!

10/1/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:33:00	137	70%
2	7:23:00	156	83%
3	7:13:00	160	86%
4	6:45:00	165	89%
Total	28:54:00	155	82%
Pace	7:13:30
Out and Back
66Âș , High Humidity
Target: None

Romans 5:3-4 

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

My bike is in the shop for a tune-up. I've put about 3500 miles on it in about a year. Most all of the miles were ridden between July and September. They are putting a new chain and front sprocket on it as both are worn out.

Today I decided to run a longer, slower run. I forgot to turn on the auto-lap on my Garmin so all the miles are together. I stayed at a pretty steady pace except I sped up for about 2-300 yards every couple of mile to keep my legs from feeling stagnant. Compared to some of my past runs, this seems reasonable in regards to pace and HR. As always, at the end, I couldn't imagine 17 more miles :-(

10/2/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	1:15:58	142	74%
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Total	1:15:58	142	74%
Pace	0:08:26
Small Loop + Smallville
62Âș , 50% Humidity
Didn't have my lap setting on my Garmin.

Today was a good day to run! Only 4 miles but I'm finally feeling like a runner again.

10/3/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:10:00	144	75%
2	7:18:00	156	83%
3	7:08:00	160	86%
4	6:51:00	165	89%
Total	28:27:00	156	83%
Pace	7:06:45
Out and Back
56Âș , 60% Humidity
Target: None

2 Corinthians 4:16

 . . .Therefore we do not give up, but even if the man we are outside is wasting away, certainly the man we are inside is being renewed from day to day. . .

Today's goal was to run for 1:30 so I decided to go for 10 miles at 9:00 pace. This run reminded me that I hate to run slow (that's a relative statment). Anyway, 9:00 pace is just not comfortable for me. I achieved the goal and doing so kept my HR, on avg, below 140 which is a recovery HR for me.

34 miles running so far this week, not that I'm counting, but things seem to be good. I will run tomorrow but not Saturday as I have a roping event to go to.

I found a local 5K that's in a couple of weeks. I think I will try and run it to see if I can break the illusive 20:00 goal. I'm not sure fitness wise I'm ready but what the heck, I'll go for it!

My bike is still in the shop so I haven't been able to ride. I wore out the chain and the front sprocket. Hopefully it will be fixed in the next couple of days.

10/4/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	9:40:00	125	62%
2	9:32:00	130	65%
3	9:28:00	135	69%
4	9:15:00	136	70%
5	8:50:00	137	70%
6	8:50:00	140	72%
7	8:48:00	143	74%
8	8:36:00	144	75%
9	8:35:00	146	76%
10	8:20:00	149	78%
Total	89:54:00	139	71%
Pace	8:59:24
Birdsong Loop
70Âș - Humid.
Target: To run for 1:30

Proverbs 21:19 
It is better to live alone in the desert than with a crabby, complaining wife.

Ha ha...this does not describe mine :-)

38 miles for the week and things are feeling fine. In the last two weeks I have run a variety of distances, from 4 to 10 miles, at varying speeds.

Here are my four 4 mile runs:

9/27  -  7:42 Pace  - 155 HR

10/1  -  7:13 Pace  -  155 HR

10/3  -  7:06 Pace  -  156 HR

10/5  -  7:18  Pace  -  153 HR

Today's run:

10/5/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:34:00	136	70%
2	7:26:00	155	82%
3	7:18:00	158	85%
4	6:56:00	164	89%
Total	29:14:00	153	81%
Pace	7:18:30
Out and Back
70Âș, 93% humidity
Target: None

1 Corinthians 15:58 

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Wow...what a perfect day for running. After two days off I was ready to run :-) I would like to be running longer but I know I shouldn't. I guess I was so excited I completly forgot my HR monitor. At mile 3 I though "man, I'm feeling pretty good" and looked to see what my HR was and then realized I didn't have the monitor on. These 10 miles felt really good. I didn't struggle at all and walked off, at the end of the run, with my legs still feeling good. I would like to have the HR readings but I'll take the "good" feeling and log it as a moderate effort :-)

Two weeks and I will run the Chosen "half" Marathon for Adoption. I'm hoping to run as fast or faster than I did last year.  It's hard to tell where my conditioning is compared to last year as I wasn't running consistant last year and most of the miles were on the treadmill. Total milage per week was only about 30.

Here's today's run:

10/8/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:43:00	Forgot HR Monitor :-(
2	7:45:00
3	7:40:00
4	7:51:00
5	7:23:00
6	7:40:00
7	7:47:00
8	7:42:00
9	7:12:00
10	7:16:00
Total	75:59:00
Pace	7:35:54
Birdsong Loop
51Âș - 56% Humidity
Target: Run Comfortably

Isaiah 43:18-19a
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Easy run recovery day.

10/5/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	8:38:00	127	63%
2	8:38:00	135	69%
3	8:21:00	137	70%
4	8:36:00	143	74%
5	8:14:00	142	74%
Total	42:27:00	137	70%
Pace	8:29:24
Out and Back
61Âș,70% humidity
Target: Slow Recovery >140 HR

“Follow the Lord your God and fear Him. Keep His Laws, and listen to His voice. Work for Him, and hold on to Him.” Deuteronomy 13:4 

Sometimes a run just makes you mad!

10/10/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	6:50:00	145	76%
2	7:14:00	160	86%
3	7:05:00	161	87%
4	7:40:00	163	88%
5	7:43:00	162	87%
6	8:00:00	160	86%
7	8:09:00	163	88%
Total	52:41:00	159	85%
Pace	7:31:34
Small Loop
70Âș -80% Humidity
Target: 7 Fast

James 1:20

For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

I got my bike back from the shop a couple of days ago. My legs were a little tired from running so I decided to bike today. I haven't biked in about 3 weeks. The effort seemed a little hard for the speed.

10/11/12 (Morning)
Miles	Time	Speed	HR	HR %
15	0:49:36	18	138	71%
7.5	0:23:50	18.7	143	74%
22.5	Total	18.3	140	72%
Miles	1:13:26	Speed
Rode Staples to 1339 Loop. 71 Degrees, Humidity 90%

Deuteronomy 25:11-12
If two men, a man and his countryman, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals, then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity

Oops...Friday I blogged that I was running a 5K today, but I looked at the calendar worng. The race is next Saturday (10/20).

I decided to do a Brick workout but I didn't plan and rush my transition as I should have.

35 Miles Cycling  -  then  -  7 Mile Run

Nothing too hard: 16.8 mph and 8:20 Pace

John 3:1-36

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ...

This was the same run I did last Monday with about the same results. Below is a comparison between the two runs and the same run done 11 weeks into my last marathon training schedule. The temperature was 45 degrees then and I weighed 5 lbs less. I am very happy with my HR (in red) as it's 10 beats per minute slower on todays run than back in Januray. That's has to indicate some good improvement. The average pace is very close on all of the runs.

	10/8/12		10/15/12		1/26/12
	Time	HR	Time	HR	Time	HR
1st 5 Miles	38:22:00	No Monitor	39:01:00	146.8	36:54:00	157.6
2nd 5 Miles	37:37:00	No Monitor	37:27:00	157.2	38:32:00	165.4

I ran the first 5 miles a little slower this week and the second 5 miles a little faster. I wasn't trying to set any PR's or anything, I was just curious how the two runs compared.

10/15/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:47:00	135	69%
2	8:02:00	147	77%
3	7:52:00	148	78%
4	7:51:00	153	81%
5	7:29:00	151	80%
6	7:40:00	152	80%
7	7:35:00	155	82%
8	7:37:00	158	85%
9	7:18:00	158	85%
10	7:17:00	163	88%
Total	76:28:00	152	80%
Pace	7:38:48
Birdsong Loop
61Âș - 75% Humidity
Target: Same run as last Monday.

5 Miles easy recovery with HR @ 70%. My legs were a little stiff but nothing hurting.

I'm running a 5K on Saturday. What should I do for the rest of the week? I am committed to bike 25 miles Wed. afternoon. Any advice?

10/16/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	8:54:00	125	62%
2	8:45:00	137	70%
3	8:34:00	139	72%
4	8:47:00	141	73%
5	8:26:00	140	72%
Total	43:26:00	136	70%
Pace	8:41:12
Out and Back
64Âș, 64% humidity
Target: Slow Recovery >140 HR

Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

Bike ride in the evening with John. Easy speed.

10/18/12 (Evening)
Miles	Time	Speed	HR	HR %
22.5		16.5
22.5	Total	16.5
Miles		Speed
Rode loop to Staples and then 1339 home with John F.

I was hoping it would be a little easier than it seemed. My legs were somwhat dead feeling before the run but actually felt better after. I'm worriedI may not be able to drop the pace another 20 seconds per mile for the race on Saturday :-(

10/17/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %	Max HR	Elev. Change
2	10:00	124	Warm-Up
1	6:45:00	149	78%	157	- 63'
2	6:49:00	163	88%	169	+ 50'
3	6:47:00	171	93%	173	+ 53'
2	10:00	138	Cool-Down
Tempo Miles	20:21:00	161	86%
Pace	6:47:00			Total Miles	7
Small Loop
66Âș -80% Humidity, very foggy
Target: Tempo Run - 2 Easy, 3 Miles @ 6:45 pace, 2 Miles Easy. Notes: A little harder than I hoped.

Proverbs 12:25
Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

Rest day...it was nice to sleep in :-)

Proverbs 3:24

If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Prep day for race tomorrow. The weather show to be 60 degrees and clear for the race :-)

10/18/2012
Mile	Time
1	8:17:00	(w/400 @ Race Pace)
2	9:35:00
3	9:09:00
4	8:13:00	(w/400 @ Race Pace)
Total	35:14:00
Pace	8:48:30
Out and Back
46Âș, 36% Humidity
Target: Slow w/ (2) 400's @ Race Pace

Philippians 2:16 

Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

So close to my sub 20:00 goal....Ahhh...!!!!

The race was a small local event that raises money for the area fire department. Since the race was only 15 miles from my house I decided to ride my bike there instead of driving. I got up and left at 7:00 am and arrived at the race a little before 8:00. I believe there were a total of 60 entries in the race when I signed up. The weather was great at 60 degrees and no wind. The course was an out and back with some rolling hills along the way. 

As the race began, I lined up right on the starting line as if I were some sort of elite runner, toe to toe with a couple of high school boys and another young runner who all looked fast. The starting line was very narrow so we were the only ones on the starting line. Behind us were a few others who acted like they were planning on a fast race but I didn't give up my spot for any of them.

As the gun went off the four of us took off and within 50 yards had establisted the running order that would be held throughout the race. The first mile has about an 80 drop on the second half of the mile. As I hit the slowly sloping downhill I realized I was run this mile a little faster than planned but thought, "this is okay, I feel pretty good". I didn't realize that the second mile started with a 100' climb through the first half of the mile and at the end of that climb I wished I had concerved a little more energy on the first mile. Nedless to say I had to slow down after the turn to somewhat catch my breath. The turn-around is the highest point on the course (elevation) so I was hoping to be able to pick up a little time at the end of mile 2 but never really could. The last mile had the 80 climb and with that I just couldn't muster the energy to make up the few seconds needed. The final sprint was very short as you had to turn a 90 degree turn about 40 yards from the finish line. As I rounded the turn I saw the clock and it still read 19:--- . I though I was going to make it under 20:00 but saw the timer click to 20:-- just as I entered the finish chute. I stopped my Garmin right on the finish line and looked down. It read 20:05 and a distance of 3.12 miles.

The finish placing was:  high shool boy, 30 something track coach, high school boy then me. Fourth overall, no PR but I lived to race another day! Thank you Lord for giving me the ability to do this.

Rode my bike home 15 miles and spend the rest of the day with Kirby (my son), what a great day!

I'm wondering now, as I look at my times and HR, if I left a little on the course. I ran the entire race by myself with no one pushing me. My HR only maxed at 174 and I know I can get it to 180. I was also wondering how long it takes to run an extra .02 miles :-) ...maybe I really did run a sub 20:00 :-)

Fall Fiesta River Run  -  Fentress 5K
10/20/2012
Mile	Time	Heart Rate	Max HR
1	6:19:00	152
2	6:35:00	165
3	6:33:00	171
0.2	0:39:00	174	174
Total	20:06:00	163
Pace	6:26:00
Fentress
60Âș
Goal: Sub - 20:00 (6:25 Pace) Notes: 1st in Age Group, 4th Overall (60). Rode my bike 15 miles to the race and then 15 miles back home.

Colossians 3:17 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Day afer race and biking. I decided to run my long run today instead of Monday since I'm running a Half Marathon on Saturday. This run was just to get the miles in and it was hot and humid! I'm hoping, but concerned that I can cut 45 seconds per mile off my time in the Half. My legs feel good but my cardio seems to be struggling.

10/21/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	8:48:00	133	68%
2	8:40:00	139	72%
3	8:15:00	140	72%
4	8:47:00	146	76%
5	8:18:00	143	74%
6	8:24:00	144	75%
7	8:47:00	146	76%
8	8:38:00	146	76%
9	8:27:00	145	76%
10	8:33:00	148	78%
11	8:31:00	152	80%
12	8:03:00	152	80%
13	8:06:00	158	85%
Total	110:17:00	146	76%
Pace	8:29:00
Big Loop & Out Lonley Road to Old Church
75Âș - 75% Humidity
Target: Long run.

Job 33:4

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Decided to mix it up a little this morning and run a couple of fast half miles with some slow warm-up and recovery in between.

 

10/22/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:41:00	133	68%	1/2 mile Slow, 1/2 @ 6:00 Pace
2	9:34:00	135	69%
3	9:51:00	133	68%
4	7:51:00	151	80%	1/2 mile Slow, 1/2 @ 6:00 Pace
5	2:15:00	144	75%
Total	34:57:00	139	72%
Pace	8:44:15
Out and Back
75Âș, 85%Humidity
Target: (2) 1/2 Miles @ 6:00 Pace & Slow Recovery

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

No running today. Rode my bike over to Martindale to feed my horses. I planed for it to be an easy ride but after about a mile I got board and decided to ride faster. the further I went the faster I got, so needless to say the first 10.5 miles wasn't an easy ride. After feeding the horses I did slow down a little bit on the way back. I kept thinking: "why am I riding so hard I've got a race this weekend". That's why I didn't run this morning, because I really think I need rest instead of more running right now.

There: 10.5 miles @ 20.7 MPH, 151 HR

Back: 10.5 @ 18.2 MPH, 137 HR

I had to go out of town yesterday so I didn't get to run. Today I took it pretty easy and ran 4.2 miles with two 1/2 mile sections where I ran at 7:15 pace. Overall pace was 8:42.

Tomorrow is the Chose Marathon for Adoption. I am running the Half and hoping to beat my 1:35:55 time from last year. Last year the temperature was 42 degrees, this year is is supposed to be 48 so the conditions should be good. I feel like I am in better shape this year but I'm a little unsure based on my training times and efforts. This will be a good assesment going into my real marathon training in a couple of weeks. Next year I might try and be ready so I can run the full marathon instead of the half.

They had 1,000 runners last year in the half marathon. I won 1st in my age catagory, out of 40, so it wasn't that competative. Maybe it will be more competative this year. The course is really nice as it runs along the Guadalupe river most of the way. This will be a fun race!

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

1:33:44 "Official Time" (7:08 pace) but I was actually a little faster as they missed my start time and had to use the "gun" time for my start. 1st in my age group and maybe 14th overall.  

First of all, this is a great race run for a great cause. If you are at all interested in running a race for a good cause this is one you should consider!

This was an interesting race to run for me. After a long summer of only biking (because of my hip problem) I was able to average 32 mile running the three weeks prior to this race. Last year I did a similar training pattern because of another injury. In this report I'm going to do some anaylisis, since I've been running 2-1/2 years and have seen some interesting improvement. This specific race I would say was one of my best in regard to feel, speed, preformance, etc.

Here's a comparison of the 6 Half Marathons I've Run:

The interesting thing is the HR comparison. 165 is 90% of my HR reserve so it looks like I've run all of my races at a consistant overall effort while my times are dropping considerably.  (I discount the Orange Leaf race as it was over 80 degrees and 97% humidity.)

Here's the Race Report:

My plan going into this race was to try and run faster than I did last year. Last year was a 7:19 pace. I got to the race about 30 minutes before the start and decided to sit in my car as long as possible so I wouldn't get cold. I wore my light tights, arm sleeves, light gloves and a scull cap which all ended up being just right. With the reynolds syndrom I have even 48 degrees can be painful if I'm not clothed properly.  When I heard the nationl anthem being played I headed up to the starting line. The full marathoner started immediatly after the anthem and the half marathoners were supposed to start 15 minutes later. The race actually started late so they let the half marathoners go 5 minutes after the full. This posed a problem just a few miles into the race when all of the faster half runners caught up with the slow full runners. I guess I'm becoming a running snob because I was very irritated having to weave in and out of all of the slow full runners for several miles. They were just jogging along, yapping and laughing with no concern some people were trying to run fast! Anyway, back to the start. I got to the chute and was working my way up to the front when the gun sounded and the race was off. I had thought I would have 15 minutes to get to the front but because the full runners started late they decided to start the half runners early. I was about 20-30 yards from the start line when the race began.  This was another problem because my start time was missed and they had to use the gun time as my start adding several seconds to my time since I was so far back in the pack.

As I began to run the first mile my goal was to try and run the first three miles below 7:20 pace. I guess I must have been stiff and not warmed up on the first mile as my pace read 7: 33 after the first mile. I was thinking as I ran that it shouldn't seem this hard. I guess I limbered up on mile because it was a 7:08 and felt much easier. Mile three has a pretty good incline and I slowed down a little to a 7:19 pace. Mile 4 is a long downhill and I was able to catch my breath and begin to pick up the pace and ran it and 5 at 7:03 and 7:00. Mile 6 and the turn around were good at 7:08 and I was feeling good. Mile 7 has another slight uphill so I just kept the same effort and ran a 7:13. At mile 8 I was thinking, I feel pretty good, my breathing is steady and I had a couple of miles before the dreaded climb at mile 10 so I picked up the pace a little more. Mile 8 was 6:58 and mile 9 was 7:09. Last year I ran mile 10 at 7:55 and remember how tired I was when I got to the top. This year I ran it at 7:43 and my HR didn't raise at all. At this point I knew I could finish the race strong so I began to pick up the pace again and rand a 6:53, 7:11 and 6:29 on my last three miles.

***Now here's a footnote to ponder: How could I run a 6:29 on mile 13 of a half marathon and last week only average 6:26 on a 5K race? Hummm? My fastest track mile is 5:35, why can't I break 20:00 in a 5K.***

I ran the last .1 in 49 seconds. I'm not sure what that pace is but there's a 90 degree turn that slows you down right at the end.

Overall I was very pleased with this race. Negative split for the two halves of about a minute.

When it was over I felt like I could have run it 5-10 seconds faster per mile. Maybe next year I can average under 7:00 for the race.

James 1:27

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Just felt like I needed to post something: My daughter and my wife :-)