High-Octane

I have no Idea how it happened but I put this entry on Nov. 26 of 2012... Thanks JG for noticing it. Now it's corrected :-)

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I was out of town (at my parents) and today was a Cross-Training Day but I didn't have anywhere to bike or elliptical so I decided to do an easy run instead. This is the first "easy" run in at least 8 weeks. All my runs have been Repeats, Tempo or Long runs, all with very specific paces and distances. The RLRF program makes every workout a very exerted effort (maybe that's because I chose the 3:15 marathon plan...ha ha). I probably should have picked a slower goal based on the fact that my one and only marathon time was 3:38:09 (there are excuses :-( , Anyway, back to the subject at hand... I decided to just run hard enough to keep my HR at 140. There are a few rolling hills so I did have a little fluxuation, but not much. The run was very plesant and seemed very easy!

I went back and compared this "easy" run today with my first ever 8 mile run back on 8/29/10, my pace back then was 9:40 and my HR 136...quite a difference in the two runs :-)

I've got some tough Repeats today (Tues. as I write this) which may knock the wind out of my sail but for now I'm very pleased with my progress.

1/2/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	8:12:00	145	78%
2	8:18:00	139	74%
3	8:41:00	138	73%
4	8:50:00	140	74%
5	8:18:00	138	73%
6	8:24:00	140	74%
7	8:37:00	142	76%
8	8:17:00	141	75%
Total	67:37:00	140	74%
Pace	8:27:07
Ran in Gatesville Out & Back Route
35Âș to 45Âș - Calm and Clear
Recovery Run - Target was HR of 140 or Less

Track Repeats today...!

Today was another good day of running for me. Again, I wasn't sure if I could do what was on the schedule but when I was finished I very pleased. I beat all of the paces and had time to spare. I even ran one of my recovery 400's at an 8:00 pace! Sorry...I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging, I'm more amazed that I'm able to do this and have made so much progress :-)

1/3/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %	Max HR
2	Warm-Up @ 9:00 Pace
1600m	5:58:00	164	89%	171
400m	Recovery
3200m	12:34:00	166	90%	175
800m	Recovery
800m	2:54:00	158	85%	168
400m	Recovery
800m	2:57:00	156	83%	173
2	Cool-Down @ 8:36 Pace
		161	87%
			Total Miles	9
High School Track
50Âș - Light Breeze
Target: Repeats - 10-20 Min. Warm-up, 1600 @ 6:12 (6:12 pace), 400m Recovery, 3200 @ 12:40 (6:20 pace), 800m Recovery, 2 x 800m @ 2:58 (5:56 pace), 400m Recovery, 10 Min. Cool-down. Note: This was a good/hard workout. Beat all paces slightly and felt good afterwards.

John 1:17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Boaring Cross-Training day at the gym.

21 miles on the stationary bike in one hour, then lifted a few light weights.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Tempo Run Day :-) :-) :-)

I'm not sure why but today was a planned easier day on the RLRF program. After contemplating it I decided to make it a little tougher by running 5 Tempo miles instead of 4 and drop the pace a few seconds. The run went good. I think I maxed out my ability on the distance. Another mile or so would have really killed me! I did forget to put on my HR monitor so I don't have those numbers for the chart.

1/5/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %	Elev. Change
1.8	Warm-up @ 8:50 Pace
1	6:47:00	No HR Monitor		- 126'
2	6:48:00			+ 41'
3	6:57:00			+ 13'
4	6:49:00			+ 53'
5	6:54:00			+ 62'
0.2	Cool-Down
Total	34:15:00
		Total Miles		7
Tempo Miles	34:15:00
Pace	6:51:00
Small Loop
50Âș - Calm and Clear
Target: Tempo Run - 1 Easy, 4 Miles @ 7:00 pace, 1 Mile Easy Forgot to wear my HR monitor. Decided to run 5 instead of 4 and push the pace a little bit. Ran 1.8 miles then stretched, then ran 5 at Tempo.

1 Timothy 6:6-7

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and[a] we cannot take anything out of the world.

Since Friday is an "Off" day for me I thought I would use it to post a link to Callie's (my daughter) Blog. As you may know she is in Africa on a mission trip. If you're interested at all, read her blog entry for Jan. 5th. Although she's only 20, she has insight most of us will never see.

Here's the link:

http://callie2011.blogspot.com/2012/01/toothpaste-gospel.html?spref=fb

Long run day! I was a little dissipointed with my run today but I probably had too high expectations.  I was expecting this to be easier after my successful long run last week but for some reason I struggled in accomplishing my goal. My plan was to run every mile a few seconds faster than last week but I became skeptical soon after I started because my HR jumped immediatly to 155. I know, from experience, below 155 is a comfortable effort for me I can sustain the effort for a long period of time but when my HR get to 160 I begin to labor. I can maintain above 160 for about 13 miles (while running a half marathon) but that's about the limit. There are a couple of factors that probably contributed in a negative way today such as the weather being 10-15 degrees hotter and the hard tempo run on Thursday. Even being a little dissipointed I still consider this a good run since it's way beyond what the perscribed pace was for today's RLRF schedule.

1/7/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:42:00	164	89%
2	7:46:00	157	84%
3	7:45:00	159	85%
4	7:32:00	154	82%
5	7:34:00	154	82%
6	7:33:00	154	82%
7	7:47:00	156	83%
8	7:42:00	156	83%
9	7:44:00	155	82%
10	7:43:00	158	85%
11	7:44:00	157	84%
12	7:46:00	157	84%
13	7:46:00	160	86%
14	7:43:00	163	88%
15	7:43:00	163	88%
16	7:37:00	160	86%
17	7:37:00	162	87%
18	7:56:00	166	90%
19	7:56:00	163	88%
20	7:29:00	169	92%
Total	154:05:00	159	85%
Pace	7:42:15
Big Loop (clockwise) to Smallville to Lonely Road to Old Chruch, Back to Smallville and Finished Off Big Loop.
60Âș to70Âș - 5-8 mph Wind
Target: Long Run - 20 Miles @ 7:56 I was a little disappointed in this run compared to last week's 20 miler. I planned and expected to run every mile slightly faster than last week's run but at mile 18 I strated to slow down. For some reason my HR started out quite a bit higher on this run and when it peaked at 160 I really started feeling fatigued.

Callie's Home...!!!

Cross Training day in the Gym. I didn't want to lift weights today so I did an extra 30 minutes of aerobic (bike and elliptical).

Bike 5 Miles @ 20 mph, Elliptical 2 Miles @ 8:15 , Bike 5 Miles @ 20 mph, Elliptical 2 Miles @ 8:15, Bike 5 Miles @ 20 mph, Elliptical 1 Mile @ 8:15.

Total: 15 Miles Bike & 5 Miles Elliptical (No breaks in between)

I was still a little tired yesterday from my 20 miler on Saturday but looking back I think my main mistake was going out too fast at the start allowing my HR to jump too high. I also lost/dropped my two Gu packs during the run and had nothing but my water and Gatorade. I probably needed an energy boost near the end.

Track Repeats today on the RLRF program. I'm beginning to really like the track workouts!

Got some new shoes and wore them the first time today. They are Saucony Kinvara 2. My thinking is to use them in my marathon races but keep training in my Saucony Ride 4. The K2 does not have near the support the R4 has but my feet seem to be fine after this run. I also have a pair of Brooks Racer ST 5. So now I have R4 @ 11 oz,  K2 @ 8 oz and BR5 @ 6 oz. I should be covered for anything now :-) ...Unless I want to go shoeless like some believe is the best...?

1/10/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
2	Warm-Up @ 8:40 Pace
1200m	4:34:00	No HR Monitor
2 Min	Recovery
1200m	4:31:00
4 Min	Recovery
1200m	4:31:00
2 Min	Recovery
1200m	4:28:00
4 Min	Recovery
1200m	4:31:00
2 Min	Recovery
1200m	4:27:00
2 Min	Recovery
2	Cool-Down @ 7:56 Pace
			Total Miles	8.5
High Schol Track
55Âș - Calm
Target: Repeats - 10-20 Min. Warm-up, 3 x (2 x 1200m @ 4:33) (6:04 Pace), (2 Min. Recovery) (4 Min. Recovery between Sets, 10 Min. Cool-Down. Note: This was a good workout. Hit all of the paces without excess effort. Fastest 400 = 1:27 and slowest 400 = 1:34 (Both were in the 1st 400).

Luke 3:16

16 John replied to them all, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than me is coming. I’m not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Today was another good day of running. As you can see I exceeded the RLRF program a little but I don't think it was too much. I felt good throughout the run so decided to pick up the pace on the last couple of miles. It felt good to finishe the 10 tempo miles,  slow down for a few seconds, and then feel like I still had a lot of spring in my stride. I won't be able to run for the next couple of days so I should be rested up for my long run on Sunday. I was only able to cross-train one day this week,  and I didn't like that!

Hope you all have a good weekend...Expecially SlowJoe!!!

I guess you also know that we've lost  JG on the Blog for a while. I'll really miss his friendship and his helpful coaching advice!

1/13/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
	1 Mile Warm-Up @ 8:30 Pace
1	7:30:00	153	81%
2	7:29:00	158	85%
3	7:17:00	155	82%
4	7:14:00	156	83%
5	7:21:00	156	83%
6	7:27:00	159	85%
7	7:34:00	163	88%
8	7:21:00	163	88%
9	6:51:00	166	90%
10	6:46:00	168	91%
	1 Mile Cool-Down @ 8:30 Pace
Total	72:50:00	160	86%
Pace	7:17:00
Small Loop & Smallville + Birdsong Road to Make 12 Miles
50Âș - Light Breeze
Target: Tempo Run - 1 Mile Easy, 10 Miles @ 7:26. This was another good run.  I felt good throughout the run so I picked up the pace on the last couple of miles. The paces vary a little due to the rolling hills.

 Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

I was a little tired on this run after two days of roping in Waco at a USTRC Event. I have a little mess-up on one steer or I could have won pretty well in one event. I still won the Incentive which paid all of my fees back for the weekend and a very nice trophy buckle. I'll try to post a picture tomorrow of the buckle.

1/15/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:46:00	152	80%
2	7:35:00	149	78%
3	7:36:00	151	80%
4	7:40:00	150	79%
5	7:58:00	152	80%
6	7:44:00	153	81%
7	7:48:00	154	82%
8	7:39:00	156	83%
9	7:34:00	158	85%
10	7:47:00	155	82%
11	7:45:00	159	85%
12	7:38:00	160	86%
13	7:42:00	159	85%
14	7:39:00	161	87%
15	7:24:00	164	89%
Total	115:15:00	156	83%
Pace	7:41:00
Gatesville - To Church
40Âș - Clear
Target: Long Run - 15 Miles @ 7:46 I was a little sluggish on this run but was also tired from a long day roping on Saturday. No problem with this pace and distance but still don't have confidence to maintain for another 11 miles at 7:26.

Ecclesiastes 4:9
It's better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there's no one to help, tough!

Cross-Training day at the gym.

15 Miles on the Stationary Bike

2 Miles on the Elliptical

Boaring, but good since my legs were a little sore from the long run on Sunday. I think they were sore because I basiclly sat around all day after the run (sitting and visiting my parents and driving).

Revelation 21:4
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Ahhh...Ha ha...made a mistake reading my workout plan today and didn't realize it until I went to put these number in my spreadsheet. I was suppose to run two 1000m after the 200m but I only ran one. Oh well...things have been going well and I don't think it will hurt that much to miss one 1000m run. I'll probably just run an extra Tempo mile on Thursday to punish myself for making the mistake!

1/17/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %	Max HR
2	Warm-Up @ 9:00 Pace
1000m	3:38:00	151	80%	163
400m	Recovery
2000m	7:38:00	164	89%	175
400m	Recovery
1000m	3:42:00	159	85%	169
200m	Recovery
2	Cool-Down @ 8:19 Pace
		158	84%
			Total Miles	6.5
High School Track
65Âș - Drizzle
Target: Repeats - 10-20 Min. Warm-up, 1000m @ 3:44 (5:58 Pace), 2000m @ 7:50 (6:04 pace), 1000m @ 3:44 (5:58 Pace), (400m Recovery between each), 10 Min. Cool-Down. Note: Made a mistake
should have run two 1000m at the end and not just one :-(

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Cross-Training Day...

16 Miles on the Stationary Bike and 3 Miles on the Elliptical.

Here is the trophy buckle from my win last Saturday:

Temp Run Today on the RLRF program. Scheduled was 5 miles Tempo but I went ahead and ran 6 to make up for my slacking on Tuesday :-) It's funny because when I finished the run I was thinking..."this run should have been a little easier", but as I now go back and look at my times and HR I realize that I ran a faster pace on this training run than I did in my 10K race last summer (7:00 @ 93HR  pace vs 6:54 @ 87HR). I also know that I could have gained several seconds per mile if I were really racing. I was really spent when I finished the 10K race and after this run I felt great.

I ran in my new Kinvara 2 shoes. They feel good but I can tell the difference in lack of cushioning on the sole. I think my feet will be a little sore after running in these shoes.

1/19/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %	Elev. Change
1.8	Warm-Up
1	6:49:00	140	72%
2	6:54:00	157	84%
3	6:57:00	164	89%
4	6:59:00	166	90%
5	6:58:00	169	92%
6	6:52:00	171	93%
1	Cool-Down
Total	41:29:00
		Total Miles		8.8
Tempo Miles	41:29:00	161	87%
Pace	6:54:50
Small Loop + Smallville
55Âș - 10 mph Wind
Target: Tempo Run - 1 Easy, 5 Miles @ 7:00 pace I decided to add 1 extra mile on the Tempo since I shorted my Repeats by 1000m on Tuesday.

I don't know if I should be happy or unhappy with this run. Although the scheduled pace was 7:56 for 20 miles and I ran a 7:49 for 20 I still didn't feel it was sucessful. I just felt heavy throughout the run, my legs seemed to get really stiff and I felt like I ran out of energy near the end and I almost feel like my body temperature started dropping too. The effort to finish the run was very difficult even though my HR actually began dropping after mile 15. To run a 7:29 pace for 26.2 miles seems impossible right now!

1/21/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:39:00	142	74%
2	7:54:00	156	83%
3	8:01:00	153	81%
4	7:48:00	148	78%
5	7:51:00	147	77%
6	7:43:00	149	78%
7	7:50:00	152	80%
8	7:42:00	152	80%
9	7:34:00	154	82%
10	7:42:00	154	82%
11	7:39:00	152	80%
12	7:39:00	153	81%
13	7:44:00	156	83%
14	7:47:00	157	84%
15	7:45:00	157	84%
16	7:52:00	154	82%
17	7:46:00	154	82%
18	8:24:00	154	82%
19	8:21:00	153	81%
20	7:48:00	156	83%
Total	156:29:00	153	81%
Pace	7:49:27
Big Loop (clockwise) to Smallville to Lonely Road to Old Chruch, Back to Smallville and Finished Off Big Loop.
55Âș - Ran at Night (6-9)
Target: Long Run - 20 Miles @ 7:56 I don't think I fuled up properly on this run. I felt heavy from the start. After about 14 miles I felt like I just didn't have any energy and my legs got really heavy and stiff. At about mile 18 I started to feel a little sick and after the run I continued to feel bad a while.  Notice how my HR started dropping at mile 16 also.

Another Ho-Hum day at the gym. I left my usual puddle of sweat under the stationary bike and the elliptical machines.

Bike/Elliptical - 6/1.5/6/1.5/6 = 18 Miles Bike @ 20 mph & 3 Miles Run @ 8:00 Pace

Another day at the track. I've been doing my track workouts in the evening but we have a storm coming this afternoon so I decided to go ahead and get it done.

This workout was very similar to the workout I did the first week (10 weeks ago) for my Track Repeats on the RLRF program. On that run I ran a 6:10, 6:22, 6:26 and when finished I was worn out. Today I increased the speed quite a bit, lowered my HR, ran extra and walked away feeling pretty good. I'd say it's been good improvement.

I'm running the 3M Half Marathon this coming Sunday but just filling it in as a training run. I'm not sure exactly what I'll shoot for but hopefully a slight PR...we'll see how it goes!

Oh...I also ordered some Hammer products to see if that will help me on my long runs and races. I ordered: Hammer Gel, Endurolyte capsules, Race Day Boost and some Whey Protein. I've done some reading and am formulating a better plan for pre-race and race fueling.

1/24/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %	Max HR
2	Warm-Up @ 8:52 Pace
1600m	6:05:00	154	82%	164
400m	Recovery
1600m	6:06:00	159	85%	169
400m	Recovery
1600m	6:03:00	163	88%	171
400m	Recovery
200m	0:30:00	156	83%	156
200m	Recovery
2	Cool-Down @ 8:26 Pace
Total	18:14:00	211	85%
Avg. Pace	6:04:40	Total Miles		7.75
High School Track
55Âș - Humid
Target: Repeats - 10-20 Min. Warm-up, Stretch, 3 x 1600 @ 6:12 pace, 400m Recovery between each, 10 Min. Cool-down. Note: This run was challanging but very doable, I ran a farily fast 200 just to see how much spring I had in my step after the 1600 repeats.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

I probably overdid it on this Cross-Training day....!

30 Miles @ 20 mph  = 1.5 Hours

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,

Well, after a hard day of running on Tuesday and a hard day of cycling on Wednesday I think it all caught up to me on mile 8 of this run so I just slowed down and finished with what my body wanted to do. I could have pushed through but know I have a race on Sunday I eased off.

1/26/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	Warm-Up @ 9:00 Pace
1	7:16:00	152	80%
2	7:25:00	159	85%
3	7:21:00	159	85%
4	7:28:00	158	85%
5	7:24:00	160	86%
6	7:26:00	166	90%
7	7:26:00	166	90%
8	7:29:00	168	91%
9	7:40:00	166	90%
10	8:31:00	161	87%
Total	75:26:00	162	87%
Pace	7:32:36
Small Loop & Smallville + Part of Birdsong Road to make 11 Miles.
45Âș -Light Wind
Target: Tempo Run - 1 Mile Easy, 10 Miles @ 7:26. Note: Decided to let off at mile 9. I cycled hard for 30 miles yesterday and I think I was just out of energy at this point. I still consider this a sucessful run.

Psalm 127:2

It's useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?

Change of plan...NO DAY Off ... Callie (my daughter) came home this afternoon. We are all going the Walk for Life in Austin tomorrow. Callie wanted to run this evening so I ran 2 miles with her at 9:40 pace. I don't think this short/slow run will do any harm. Tomorrow will be easy with only an hour or so of walking.

Resting for the 3M half marathon on Sunday. I started looking at the race and figured out it's a point to point race and not a loop. It is also a net 315' elevation drop. This will be interesting as all of the races I've run so far were loops and mostly hilly. I'm really not sure what I can do on a downhill course like this but I'm thinking about aiming for a 7:15 pace but would really like to run a 7:07 pace. The first four miles seem to be a net 0' elevation drop and then the decent begins. If I can stick at about 7:15 for the first four miles I might be able to pull off the 7:07 avg. If I bonk it's ok since this is only a training run anyway :-) I'm also not sure how well I can do with only a couple of rest days after several hard workout days.

1 Timothy 6:11

But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.

Where do I want to begin
..WOOO
HOOO
.. big PR in the Austin 3M Half Marathon!!!

PR’d by almost 6:00 minutes

Okay I got that out of my system. This was a GREAT race for me. I’m on the 13’th week of the 3:15 marathon pace training program of Run Less Run Fast program. This was supposed to be a 15 mile run @ 7:26 pace but I substituted this race for the training run.

I’m sure most people know that this is a very fast race since it has about 350’ elevation drop from the start to the finish. I really wasn’t sure how drastic that would be but I found that course felt more like long flats and a few rolling hills. There were only a couple of stretches where it really felt like enough downhill to really get you going.

I started out with the intention to run between a 7:00 and 7:15 pace throughout the race but after my first (and slowest) mile at 7:07, I decided to drop my plan to a 6:?? Pace on as many miles as I could. Come to find out I kept that pace fairly easy and believe I could have dropped it a little more with better race knowledge and planning.

At the beginning I lined up about 30 yards behind the 1:30 pace group. I was thinking I would never be able to keep up with them. I paid attention to them until mile 2 or 3 and then forgot all about them
I’m not sure where they ended up but I know I passed a lot of the people in the original group.

Mile 1: Just tried to keep an even pace and get my heart pumping and my breathing consistent

Mile 2: Decided to go out a little faster and see how long I could sustain

Mile 3: Had one decent hill and some small rollers-easy

Mile 4: This shows on the map to be a decent down hill but I didn’t notice it much, maybe because of the turns. Slowed to a walked to get a drink.

Mile 5: Another slightly downhill, at this point I was amazed at how good my legs felt.

Mile 6: Just some rolling hills here. My breathing was it’s usual heavy by this time.

Mile 7: Another rolling hill area. Stopped, walked and got a drink.

Mile 8: At this point I started to get a little tired.

Mile 9: Ate a Gu but probably should have taken it a little sooner. Slowed twice to a walk, got a drink and took the Gu.

Mile 10: Revived a little realizing it was all down hill from here!

Mile 11: Picked up the pace. Probably could have gone a little faster.

Mile 12: A little faster but not any kick yet.

Mile 13: Started to kick a little halfway through.

Last ÂŒ: Kicked here and pass a whole lot of people. The crowd was screaming “Go 1347” (that was my bib #). I probably passed a dozen people. My fastest pace dropped down to 5:41.

After the race I recovered for a few minutes and then was very surprised how good my legs felt. Now (this evening) they don’t feel any different than after a normal (fairly hard) workout.

I used the Hammer Nutrition method of preparing (fueling) for the race.

Race Day Boost 4 days before the race.

2 Endurolyte Capsules before and after the race.

1 Hammer Gel before and 1 Hammer Gel after the race.

Hammer Recovery when I got home (3:30).

1/29/2012 Austin 3M Half Marathon

Mile Time HR HR %

1 7:07:00 157 84%

2 6:47:00 160 86%

3 6:53:00 164 89%

4 6:52:00 166 90%

5 6:54:00 165 89%

6 6:49:00 166 90%

7 6:55:00 165 89%

8 6:46:00 166 90%

9 6:59:00 165 89%

10 6:56:00 167 91%

11 6:50:00 169 92%

12 6:47:00 169 92%

13 6:40:00 172 94%

0.1 0:50:00 175 96%

Total 90:05:00 155 90%

Pace 6:52:36

Psalm 139:13-16

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

you formed me in my mother's womb.

I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

The days of my life all prepared

before I'd even lived one day

I love Track Repeats....! Today was 10 x 400 @ 1:27 Pace on the RLRF program with 400m active recover, 2 miles warm-up and 2 miles cool-down.

I decided to begin picking up the pace after the 4th one and then I ran 2 extra just because I felt good and wanted to. Slowest 400m (1:27), Fastest 400m (1:07).

1/31/2012
Mile		HR	HR %			HR	HR %
2	Warm-Up @ 8:47 Pace
400m	1:26:00	141	73%	400m	1:24:00	163	88%
400m	Recovery			400m	Recovery
400m	1:26:00	159	85%	400m	1:19:00	166	90%
400m	Recovery			400m	Recovery
400m	1:26:00	162	87%	400m	1:19:00	165	89%
400m	Recovery			400m	Recovery
400m	1:27:00	161	87%	400m	1:18:00	166	90%
400m	Recovery			400m	Recovery
400m	1:23:00	162	87%	400m	1:16:00	166	90%
400m	Recovery			400m	Recovery
400m	1:24:00	162	87%	400m	1:07:00	167	91%
400m	Recovery		2	Cool-Down @ 9:50 Pace
Avg Repeat Time	1:21:15
						Total Miles	9.75
High School Track
62Âș - 100% Humidity

Proverbs 30:18-19
There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman.

Cross-Training Day:

Today was the first day in...Uh, I don't know? The weather was good, about 70 degrees. 

26.5 Miles @ 19.1 MPH  -  HR = 142 Avg.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       I'm curious how my legs will feel in the morning when I go out and run my Tempo Run. Hopefully they will feel okay. That's one problem with biking as the cross-training day (before a key workout), it's always the evening before and doesn't allow for a full 24 hours of recovery.

John 15: 1-2

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardner. he cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." 

Let's see... Race on Sunday, fast track repeats on Tuesday, 26 fast bike miles Wednesday evening, BIG steak Wednesday night, 65 Degrees and drizzling, soaking wet and  carring 32 oz of water on my Tempo Run = Hard Tempo run this morning.

But...I did meet the perscribed pace and distance for my Tempo Run!

Target was: Tempo Run - 1 Mile Easy, 7 Miles @ 7:26.

2/5/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1.82	Warm-Up @ 9:00 Pace
1	7:13:00	143	74%
2	7:19:00	158	85%
3	7:26:00	164	89%
4	7:36:00	165	89%
5	7:23:00	166	90%
6	7:21:00	166	90%
7	7:23:00	172	94%
Total	51:41:00	162	87%
Pace	7:23:00
Small Loop + Smallville
65Âș - Drizzle

Today didn't start out very good. I got up at 5:30 to go to the gym only to find that my truck wouldn't start. I had some problems with it a few weeks ago and, at that time, put two new batteries in it. After a few minutes I decided to put the battery charger on it and go back to bed for a little while and call todays workout off.

I went back and looked at the results of my 3M Half Marathon race on Sunday and found that they revised my time to 1:30:09 (it was 1:30:10)...woo..hoo...! I also figured out that, because the official timing was "gun time" and not "chip time" that I actually beat the guy that ran in 7th place. I also realized that there was only 2 min between 7th and 14th place. Now I'm thinking all of those guys (in my age group) started running with the 1:30:00 pace group and just picked up the pace after a while. That's probably why I never saw the 1:30:00 pace group. Anyway...next year I'll be 1:25:00 and be in the top three!!

Tomorrow is my last 20 miler before the Cowtown Marathon on February 26. I really need to do well on this last long run to feel confident for the race. It appears it will be raining when I run in the morning so that will add a slightly negitive factor to the run. The RLRF program has a gradual 3 week taper starting after this run. I'm getting a little nervous  about the race and already thinking I shouldn't be tapering off so early...But I'm going to stick with the plan, see it through, and access the overall success of the training after the race.

I really don't know if I should be happy or unhappy about this run. It seems I haven't been pleased with any of my Long Runs lately. Not that I missed the pace very much (I was supposed to run a 7:41 and I ran a 7:43) but it was more of the way I felt at the end of the run. I again felt like I couldn't have kept the pace up for another 6.2 miles much less drop it to a 7:26 for the entire run. Oh well, it is what it is! I did try and keep my paces slower at the beginning of the run but the wind and the hills in combination still made it somewhat hard. I put my HR monitor on upside down and didn't figure that out until mile 10 so I didn't get an heart readings for the first miles. This was my last 20 mile run before the marathon... I was really hoping to nail it with confidence.

2/4/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	7:58:00		#N/A
2	7:52:00		#N/A
3	7:57:00		#N/A
4	7:37:00		#N/A
5	7:33:00		#N/A
6	7:36:00		#N/A
7	7:44:00		#N/A
8	7:44:00		#N/A
9	7:43:00		#N/A
10	7:57:00	151	80%
11	7:32:00	154	82%
12	7:52:00	153	81%
13	7:40:00	157	84%
14	7:58:00	160	86%
15	7:56:00	156	83%
16	7:43:00	154	82%
17	7:33:00	155	82%
18	7:51:00	159	85%
19	7:41:00	160	86%
20	7:26:00	165	89%
Total	154:53:00	86	#N/A
Pace	7:44:39
Big Loop (clockwise) to Smallville to Lonely Road to Old Chruch, Back to Smallville and Finished Off Big Loop.
Target: Long Run - 20 Miles @ 7:41

Cross-Training day at the gym today. I took it pretty easy and just biked 18 miles and ran 2 on the elliptical. I'm just giving my body a little more time to rest after my 20 miler on Saturday. Tomorrow I will get back to it with a hard Track workout.

3 weeks until Cowtown marathon. I'm really hoping for good weather. It can be so unpredictable this time of year in Texas (80 degrees one day and 30 degrees the next)!!! The next three weeks are tapering, except for maybe tomorrow's Repeats. They are fairly intense. All my workouts, until the marathon, are fairly fast but shorter in distance.

I also have a big roping coming up this weekend but I haven't been able to practice, because of all the rain, for the last couple of weeks... We'll see how that goes next weekend!

18 Stationary Bike Miles  -  2 Elliptical Miles

I wonder how many runners die each year running marathons?

Another good day on the track but a little tougher than last week. Aerobically I struggled a little more on these 800's even though my legs were fine.

2/7/2012
Mile		HR	HR %			HR	HR %
2	Warm-Up @ 8:24 Pace
800m	2:57:00	151	80%	800m	2:54:00	160	86%
1:30	Recovery			2:00	Recovery
800m	2:54:00	155	82%	800m	2:56:00	160	86%
1:30	Recovery
800m	2:55:00	158	85%	2	Cool-Down @ 8:19 Pace
1:30	Recovery
800m	2:52:00	159	85%
3:00	Recovery
800m	2:52:00	156	83%
2:00	Recovery
800m	2:53:00	158	85%
2:00	Recovery
Avg Repeat Time	2:54:08
Max HR	172					Total Miles	8
High School Track
60Âș - Great Weather
Target: Repeats - 10-20 Min. Warm-up, Stretch, 8 x 800 @ 2:58 (5:56 pace), 1:30 Recovery Between Each, 10 Min. Cool-down. These repeat were a little difficult near the end. I had to take a little more time to recover after the 4th one. Legs were good but aerobic was tough.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

I complety forgot to enter this workout yesterday. I guess I was just too busy :-)

Corss-training at the Gym  -  Boring ...!

9 Miles Stationary Bike then 2 Miles on Elliptical then 9 Miles Stationary Bike

Thessalonians 1:3

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.” 

Tempo Run .... Yeah ...!!!!

This was a good challanging workout but not too taxing. I ran the same workout 3 weeks ago with about the same outcome. I was not feeling great as I seem to have a head and chest cold.

2/9/2012
Mile	Time	HR	HR %
1	Warm-Up @ 8:39 Pace
1	6:47:00	144	75%
2	6:52:00	160	86%
3	6:55:00	166	90%
4	6:45:00	166	90%
5	6:49:00	170	93%
0.25	Cool-Down
Total	34:08:00	161	87%
Pace	6:49:36
Small Loop & Smallville
38Âș  -  Calm and Clear
Target: Tempo Run - 1 Mile Easy, 5 Miles @ 7:00. Notes: Head and chest cold. Legs felt good.

Matthew 4:23

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

Taper Long Run today. Burrrr it was cold and windy. 38 degrees, 20-25 mph wind and a chill factor of 25 degrees. I put on a lot of clothes :-) Even though I fell short of the goal pace slightly I still think this was a good run considering the conditions. The head wind on some of the hills made it a little tough so you can see the slowdown and the HR rise when the two were together.

Matthew 8:23-27

 ²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

 ²⁶ He replied, â€œYou of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

 ²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”