Congratulations Runners!!!

I say congratulations because I know that everyone must have had a great run this morning. The weather was just fabulous and was my first taste of cooler temps since I started running (again). It sure makes all the difference in the world and gives me hope that as things continue to cool down, I will be able to complete the marathon.

There are some good words from a couple of good coaches regarding Thursday's mile time trial in the post below so go check it out.

Hal's schedule today called for 9 miles. Actually, now that I remember correctly, it's Katy Fit's schedule that called for 9 miles today. I just plugged it into Hal's schedule since I had already progressed further on my long runs. However, since last weekend's 12 miler was such a bonkin' bust, I decided to have another go at the distance today. Jo ran the first 9 with me. We had a great time enjoying the weather and Cullen park. My plan was to finish up 9 with Jo and then tack on 3 more at the end to make up the 12. Here are the stats:

Total time - 2:58:11
Total distance - 12 miles
Mile 1 - 15:29
Mile 2 - 15:30
Mile 3 - 15:16
Mile 4 - 15:32
Mile 5 - 15:18
Mile 6 - 15:10
Mile 7 - 15:14
Mile 8 - 15:20
Mile 9 - 14:54
Mile 10 - 13:45
Mile 11 - 13:39
Mile 12 - 12:58
Average pace - 14:51 mpm
Average temp - 63.8 degrees
Average humidity - 77.7%

By now, one may be wondering what in the world happened at Mile 10, after I dropped Jo off at the parking lot. Was it all downhill? Were hurricane force winds at my back? Was I chasing Miss America? No. No. and NO!!! I had the "opportunity" to stop off for a bathroom break. After that, a couple of my Luke's/Koala Half registrants wanted to combine their registrations and form a team for the relay so I had the forms in the car and walked over to make the corrections. Between the restroom and taking care of the registration, I had about a 4 or 5 minute break, not reflected in my splits, of course. This kind of bothered me as I wanted to just take off after the bathroom break but I needed to take care of this for my fellow Fitizens. After that rest, the cool weather just got to me and I was alone. I took off down the paths behind the parking lot. The paths come out at the bridge and cross over along the big field there. The whole loop is about 1 mile. I was really feeling my oats and thrilled with everything, the pain-free ankle, the weather, the 10-mile race coming up next week, the Bear Creek 10K, the Half, the full, the kids, the wife, and just life in general. I looked down at my Garmin and my pace had gotten down around 14:00 so I said, well, I'll just try to pick it up a little more and see if I can run these 3 miles around 13:45 (that's my goal marathon pace if I'm allowed to have one). Well, you see the results. 40:22 for 3 miles and at the end of a 9 mile long run to boot. Gotta be pleased with that. It was a huge confidence booster. Seem to be having a lot of those lately. Good!!! I need 'em.

Lastly, I wanted to post my HR splits. I must admit I was very, very pleased to see the easy effort I was able to maintain through 9 and then the moderate effort over the last 3.

MaxHR - 182 bpm
Resting HR, week of 10/01/06 - 62 bpm Mile 1 - 135 bpm (61% HRr)
Mile 2 - 139 bpm (65% HRr)
Mile 3 - 141 bpm (66% HRr)
Mile 4 - 139 bpm (65% HRr)
Mile 5 - 139 bpm (65% HRr)
Mile 6 - 140 bpm (66% HRr)
Mile 7 - 142 bpm (67% HRr)
Mile 8 - 143 bpm (68% HRr)
Mile 9 - 146 bpm (71% HRr)
Mile 10 - 142 bpm (67% HRr) [after the 4 or 5 minute rest]
Mile 11 - 157 bpm (80% HRr)
Mile 12 - 159 bpm (82% HRr)

God Bless!!!

11:07 mile. So what?

Someone on the Runners World forums asked me today what the 11:07 mile time trial means to my training. I really have no idea.

I couldn't help but plug the mile time into McMillan's running calculator at work today to see what came out. Here are some interesting predictions based on the 11:07 mile.

Equivalent performance:
5K - 38:31
10K - 1:20:00
10 mile - 2:14:03
Half marathon - 2:58:01
Marathon - 6:15:26

(Do keep in mind that a 5K runner is unlikely to run the equivalent time in the marathon off of 5K training. The runner would obviously need to train for the marathon to accomplish this equivalent time.)

I know I'm overanalyzing but I can't help but know that weather would play a HUGE part in these predictions. Since my 11:07 mile trial was executed in 90 degree temps, it may be safe to say that these times would be even better given better conditions. Still, I think for the conditions that I ran in, I was about as on my game as I could have been for that run. Good nutrition. Good sleep. Good hydration. New shoes. Squishy running track. Definitely optimal conditions except for the temperature.

I think that the training paces that McMillan provides are valuable and I am going to start using them to program my Garmin. Here is a sample of the training paces McMillan suggests:

Long runs - (14:51-15:51) (this happens to be the pace that I do my long runs at)
Tempo runs - (13:02 - 13:36)
Recovery jog - (15:51 - 16:21)
100m intervals - (35.7 - 39.3)
400m intervals - (2:37.2 - 2:49.1)
and so on...

Anyway, I'm don't want to go to being too scientific or rigid as I am enjoying just running and trying to feel it, but I think it's good to learn these paces and how they feel and what various workouts feel like.

So, for the 10-miler, I think this gives me a good idea of what I MAY expect from my performance. I was leaning more toward slogging in at 2:30 as a goal but McMillan predicts a 2:14:03. Runner's World predicts a 2:07:38. Yeah, right!!! Running Times calculator predicts 2:11:46. I think I'll be happy with anything between 2:14:00 and 2:25:00. That's 13:24 - 14:30 pace, certainly faster than any training run to date at that distance.

Well, this is of course just rambling. I have a lot to learn and very little race experience. I am just looking forward to running, racing, losing more weight, and continuting to have a blast!!!

PR

Last night, the Striders/SMARTies were doing 1 mile time trials at Stratford High School so I thought I'd go out and "give it a whirl." Hal's schedule called for 3 miles. Perfect! One mile warm-up, one mile ALL-OUT, one mile cool-down.

I thought most of the day on a goal for the mile trial. This was the first time I've every run 1 mile as fast as I could so I really had no reference from which to set a goal. The only race I've run recently was the Fired Up 5K so I plugged my time (40:51) into the McMillan Running Calculator that I first came across on Bill's site. The predictor said I should be able to run a mile in 11:47, based on my 5K time. Yikes!!! When I arrived at Stratford, Steve asked me what I thought I was able to do. I told him what McMillan said and he said, ok, then you can shoot for 3 minutes for each of the first 3 laps and then kick it in on the last lap and see what you've got left at the end. So, I was shooting for around 12 minutes.

Steve had the clock set up at the start so we could see our time for each lap in big red numbers. That was cool. I did a mile warmup in comfortable fashion and then walked around for a bit waiting for my turn. Just before starting, I did a couple of 50 yard strides and was ready. Steve said Go so I went!

The very cool thing was that by the time I got around to the opposite side of the track (after 200m) There was Steve shouting out, giving me my 200m time. I also had my Garmin so the feedback was way more than adequate. Steve continued cutting accross the field every 200m to keep me going and make sure I knew where I was and how I was supposed to be feeling.

Another VERY COOL thing was that Jim and Rosa paced me the last 3 laps. They were such a big encouragement and pulled me along pretty hard. I must admit I was sucking wind just about the entire mile. As Steve said, the 3rd lap was hardest. I'm sure I slowed down a bit from the first 2. Next time, I'm going to keep my 1/4 mile splits. This time, I couldn't even think about reaching down to press that little lap button on the Garmin. The fourth and final lap is kind of hard to remember. I do remember Steve stepping in to run the last lap with me. As I came aroun the last lap, I think our pack picked some more encouragers. Jim and Rosa continued by my side and Steve was just in front of me. I don't know why or how but I said a few words (probably trying to be funny) but Steve said, Shut up and run!!! I picked it up a little, or at least it felt like I did, going into the last 200m. I was hurting. My chest felt like it was about to explode. About the time I was straightening out of the curve for the last 100, behind the encouragment of what seemed like a stadium full of cheering fans but was actually the awesome 5-10 (I don't know how many) pacers/encouragers we had picked up along the way, I somehow found a little extra from somewhere inside. I honestly don't know where it came from. Heck, I don't even know if I was going faster or if I was simply putting forth that much more effort to just maintain my pace. I don't know if Steve was slowing down but I started to gain on Steve's even pace. I think Steve was just trying to get me in without killing myself but I think he was as surprised as I was that I had a little (very little) kick at the end.

When it was over, I continued to hear all those voices, the crowd of well-wishers sending me congratualtions. The faithful 10 or 15 Striders who were there were such an encouragement to me. I couldn't catch my breath. I remember my baskeball coach from high school would never let us bend over and put our hands on our knees but when Steve told me to do just that, I was all to glad to oblige. After a few seconds, things began to come back into focus. LOL!!! I regained conciousness and remembered where I was. My time: 11:07!!! I never could have done that on my own. Thanks to the Striders who never make me feel as slow and big as I am. I am truly blessed to be part of such a class group. I dont' want to be melodramatic but the Striders are the best. They have meant so much to me over these past 2 years. Never once have I gotten anything but encouragement and camaraderie from this group. It is truly a unique organization.

Stats:
Total distance - 3 miles
Warm-up mile - 14:45
Mile time trial - 11:07 (first time and PR!!)
Cool-down mile - 15:15

Quit thinking about running while I'm running!!

Real good run this morning. 4 easy miles on the schedule. Oh, that brings me to something I've been meaning to post. I switched over to Hal Higdon't novice full marathon training program. There are a couple of reasons why I switched. The primary reason is that it provides a little more flexibility on the weekend long run. Because weekday runs are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I can do my long run on either Saturday or Sunday and it doesn't screw up my week. Also, all the miles in this program are at easy pace. I plan to sprinkle in some quality runs once a week or once every two weeks. Plus I have the HARRA warmup series and Strider warmup series races so I have some variety built in there. Higdon's novice program has a mid-week mini-long run on Wednesdays. Anyway, you can follow the link if you want to see. I do plan on doing some long runs with the Katy Fit group when I can.

So, the run this morning was fun. I thought a lot less about my running while I was running this morning. I tried to just relax a little bit. I'm usually thinking about my stride or my foot/ankle or my pace or the splits... I usually run pretty tense. This morning, about 1.5 miles into the run, I just relaxed and thought about other things and ran.

Despite the pace as shown below, I really was comforatably conversational for all 4 miles. My pace was just up a bit. Can't explain that. Oh, and I strapped on the HRM for the first time in a long time just for informational purposes.

Total distance - 4.0 miles
Time - 56:33
Mile 1 - 14:38 (137 bpm)
Mile 2 - 14:29 (147 bpm)
Mile 3 - 13:55 (152 bpm)
Mile 4 - 13:29 (157 bpm)
Average pace - 14:09
Average HR - 148 (71% HRr)

I saw Lisa F. this morning but for the second time just walked on by, well, ran on by. Hope to have one more chance one day. I really miss her around here. Lisa, if you're out there, miss you!!! You rock!!!

Brain-dead in the wee hours

Made my way to Memorial this morning for my scheduled 3 miles. I guess all the synapses were not firing completely as I forgot to bring my work clothes with me. So, after the run, I had to drive all the way back out to Cypress to shower and change. I was so thrilled to not have to fight traffic this morning. Plus I got done early enough, I was going to get into work a little early which was good because I'm leaving early for a massage appointment. At the trunk, after the my run, I hear my cell phone and it's DW calling to tell me that my clothes were still haning on the chair. CRUD!!!

Had a good run. I was still a little sore from the weekend but the 3 seemed to loosen me up and I actually feel better after the run than I did before. Stats:

Total distance - 3 miles
Total time - 43:58
Mile 1 - 14:47
Mile 2 - 14:42
Mile 3 - 14:28

103 days to Houston!!!

Price of gas down but the cost of living just went up

Well, I paid $1.94 this morning for regular unleaded with my .10 Kroger discount. That's good. But the cost of living just went up dramatically today. Starbuck's raised the price of a venti coffee to $2.00. I don't know why $1.95 was ok with me but $2.00 sticks in my craw big time. I'm going to have to get a part-time job, I guess.

Blogging for granted

"A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not."

A blog is whatever you want it to be. Mmmmm... Whatever I want it to be. I would have to ponder that for a while before I could put down in words what I want my blog to be. However, I don't have to think long about what the others' blogs ant the blogging community have meant to me.

To me, the central theme of life is relationships. My spiritual life is about a relationship with Christ. At the core of my social life is my relationship with my wife and my children. There are relationships at work with my peers as well as those above me. Business relationships, neighbors, close friends, casual acquaintances, family. Life is all about relationships. For me, even though my running and my physical fitness is much about a personal, inner struggle and quest, it's more so about relationships. I really believe that through a healthy lifestyle, I can be a better friend, a better husband, a better father, a better employee, and a better follower of Christ.

So, what do I want my blog to be? I want it to be a vehicle for developing relationships, creating new ones and so far, mission accomplished. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends that I have met and gotten to know through blogging. Thank you for sharing your lives with me, your struggles, your victories, and sometimes what may be Too Much Information. :o)

I know that blogging opens up parts of our lives to the world (literally). Also, blogging can become mundane. It opens us up to ridicule, critisism, flaming. But it also helps build relationships. We get to know each other. We get to encourage each other. I get advice from some pretty awesome runners. I learn from others' victories and from their defeats. By the very vulnerability that opens us up to critisism, we gain so much more in the building of relationships with friends.

So, thank you friends for not taking blogging for granted. Thank you for sharing your lives with me and with the world. Thanks you for opening up your lives to me and the world to see. Thanks for letting me get to know you. I truly count you as my friends.

God bless!!!

12.89 and Bonk!!!

Not a very good job pacing this morning. Mr. Consistency stayed home. I was very pumped up after last night's frivolity at the Cross Country relay and thrilled that my ankle not only survived but felt pretty good. My splits were all over the map. See...

Mile 1 - 14:49
Mile 2 - 15:19
Mile 3 - 15:17
Mile 4 - 15:00
Mile 5 - 15:14
Mile 6 - 14:22
Mile 7 - 15:09
Mile 8 - 14:31
Mile 9 - 16:47
- here's where the walking started, and we had about a 1:15 stop to refill the water bottles.
Mile 10 - 17:56 - Get up and go got up and went.
Mile 11 - 18:54 - Walked most of this mile.
Mile 12 - 18:59 - Same story a mile 11.
.89 - Due to poor navigation and one wrong turn, we ended up .89 miles from our intended finish near the tennis center.

So, actually, through 8 miles, I was pretty good. Sub-15 mpm average and ended up finishing 8 in 1:59:44. Given the humidity and the temps, though, this "speedy" 8 probably did me in for the next 4. Still, tack on my 2 miles at the XC and that's 10 miles at sub-15 average in some pretty wicked conditions temperature and humidity-wise.

Am I disappointed? Just a little. Did I learn something? Yes, I think so. If I had these 12 to do all over again, knowing that the weather was going to be pretty heavy, I would have started out a little slower. Maybe started out 15:30-15:45 and then just try to finish stronger. Even though I felt pretty good this morning, I still think the cross county took a little out of me. Most importantly, I feel like I really stressed the system this morning and look forward to some good recovery tonight and tomorrow.

I'm pretty tired or I'd go on more. Thanks Jo for sticking with me this morning. I'm really glad I had someone to run with. June, Cassie, Jon, Edwin, great to see you all. I treasure our friendships and love seeing you out there on a run. It really helps me.

God Bless!!!

3 miles!!!

Wow!!! What was that all about? I really felt great tonight. I felt good all day for that matter. I really felt like running today while walking around the office. A couple of times I broke into a trot on the way down the hall and had to contain myself. Depending on which schedule I eventually decide to follow for the remainder of my training, I was either supposed to do a 25 minute tempo run or 3 easy miles. So, I decided to do a 1 mile warmup, 1 mile at tempo effort, and 1 mile cool down.

Straight to the stats:
Total distance - 3.0 miles
Total time - 41:05
Mile 1 - 13:53 (I really WAS going easy)
Mile 2 - 12:53
Mile 3 - 14:17
Average pace - 13:41 (that's right at goal marathon pace)
Temp - 82 degrees
Humidity - 60%
Pre-run nutrition - 16 oz. Gatorade and small protein bar

I'm kind of speechless. I don't know what to think about this run. I don't worry much about anomalously bad runs. I usually just blow them off. So, I shouldn't give too much weight to this run but I had fun. I like the results. It felt good. I look at the times and wonder, "Wow, Vic, you must have really been pushing it." But I really executed at the familiar tempo effort for mile 2 and miles 1 and 3 were definitely conversational. I don't know what happened but I'll take it.

Halloween comes early to Fairfield

A taste of Fright Night came early this year to Fairfield residents. No, June, there were no random bat attacks reported. No, Joe, Hugo Chavez did not make a surprise appearance. No, Barbara, no nightmares of a repeat Lidge v. Pujols faceoff in the 9th inning of the Division playoff game. This was much more scary!!! I ran 3 miles this morningm through the streets of Fairfield, SHIRTLESS!!! That's right, shirtless. SHAMELESS!!!

My normal pre-work run at Memorial Park ritual could not take place as I had to take my son to school early (by 7:00) for the See You at the Pole prayer meeting that students take part in every year. So, last night, I mapped out a 3 miler through Fairfield to run when I got up. The plan was to get up around 4:00 am, have a Clif Bar, and be out of the house by 4:30, back by 5:30, and leave the house by 6:30. I woke up with to the alarm at 4 as planned. Snooze. Snooze, again. Thoughts...I'll just run after work. But I'm on call. That's ok, I'll just run with the beeper...I hate to run with the beeper...I don't want to get up...I'm going to sleep until 5:30. So I got up to use the bathroom, set my alarm for 5:30, checked the results of the Cardinals game (Yea!!! They lost!!! poor babies!!!), and went back to bed. I laid there trying to get some motivation to get out there and do what I needed to do. I don't know why but Barbara's comment from the other day about the reason men run with no shirt got me to thinking. Hey, it's early. It's quite chilly. It's dark. Here's your chance to run half-dressed. It will be invigorating, liberating, and IT'S DARK!!!

So, I hopped out of bed, put on my shorts and my Garmin (I feel naked without my Garmin) and headed out. No shame!!! This was the 2nd time I've run in my neighborhood. It's really quite nice. We have a several lakes and greebelts with sidewalks that wind through the community. Also, for some reason, there are not a lot of cars parked on the street. Lots of two car garages, I guess.

I really did not get loosened up until well into the run. I never really got "in the groove." Much of the route and path was dark. It's fairly new and level concrete. Still, my confidence in my ankles just isn't there and I ran "nervous" most of the way. Towards the end, I was on lighted streets and it was much better. I could kind of relax a little. No pre-run nutrition like I usually am able to do on the way to Memorial Park. Overall, a good easy 3 miles. Mission accomplished.

Here are the stats: Total distance - 3 miles
Total time - 43:47
Mile 1 - 14:32
Mile 2 - 14:36
Mile 3 - 14:28
Average pace - 14:18
Temperature - 59 deg
Humidity - 89%

Tips for the USA 10-miler

I came across this article cruising the Houston Fit discussion boards. Hope it's helpful for USA 10-miler noobies like me.

Tips for the United Space Alliance 10 Miler on October 15, 2006

By: Robert Key - Founder of Faithful Soles

As a resident of the Clear Lake City area since 1977, I have run all or part of this course more times than I can count in training (a course map is available by clicking on the link above and going to the race web site), so I am very familiar with what you are going to encounter. I believe what I have to share may help you in this race whether you are a beginner, intermediate, advanced or elite runner, and regardless if you are walking or running. You can have a great day in this event, but as with most distance events, you have to be very smart, put your ego aside, and listen to your body. For those of you doing this distance for the very first time, do not put any pressure on yourself to run a particular time, and remember that no matter how you do, since it's your first race at this distance, you are going to run a PR (Personal Record)!

I really enjoy running in this event. The sponsors put on a great race and it's fantastic to see people from all around Houston come down to our area. As far as the course itself, I personally really Iike the single-loop layout for this distance. With the exception of one very minor bridge at about mile 8.75 or so, the course is basically completely flat, so there is no need to be concerned about "hills" or rolling terrain.

I ran this race in it's inaugural year of 2003 and then again in 2004 (I did not run it in 2005 due to a stress fracture). In both 2003 and 2004, I ran negative splits (for those of you not familiar with this term, negative splits means you ran the second half of the race faster than the first half of the race). In 2004, I finished 17th out of 71 in the 40-44 age group, and of the 16 men that finished ahead of me, only the winner and I ran negative splits. Based on the times I saw for my age group, the vast majority of runners went out way too fast and their pace-per-mile on the second 5 miles in many cases was much slower than the first 5 miles. I was probably in good enough shape that year to have run almost 30 seconds per mile faster than what my pace ended up being, but I was smart enough to know that if I had attempted that type of effort I more than likely would have crashed and burned. I know the only reason I was able to accomplish negative splits both years is because I know and understand the course, and so both years I finished the race having had a positive experience.

To me, especially at this time of year, the biggest factor will be the weather. Of course all of us hope for a cool front, and much of what I have to say here is contingent on the weather being typical, which is warm and humid, not cool and pleasant. The race this year is on October 15, which is 10-12 days later in the month than the first two times I ran it, so hopefully that will make a difference. Having said that, here are the weather conditions at the 7:00 a.m. start of the race as I had them logged in my running journal for both years that I ran:

• October 5, 2003 - 77 degrees, 100% humidity, 83 degrees heat index

• October 3, 2004 - 79 degrees, 94% humidity, 85 degrees heat index

Those are definitely NOT ideal conditions for a fast time, regardless of your ability, so before either of the races started I had made up my mind to leave my ego behind and go out much slower than normal for the first 5 miles and then see how I felt for the second half. This proved both years to be a very smart strategy.

I think where most people make their mistake is by going out too fast in the first 2.75 miles of this course. When I am running this first part of the course, I will always ask the people around me if they have ever run this race before and if they have not, I advise them to slow down and save themselves, especially if I see that the skies are not overcast and the sun is starting to come out. Since a lot of them don't know me, or they feel really good at that point, quite a few of them do not take my advice and surge ahead anyway because at such an early juncture of the race, they feel strong and fresh. The sun is not yet fully out, and you are running through some commercial and residential areas that are still affording you a decent amount of shade, so perhaps you don't realize how warm it is already getting as 7:15-7:30 arrives and the sun is starting to rise. When you turn onto Bay Area Boulevard at about the 0.75 mile mark, the sun is on you for a little bit, then you are back in the shade on and off until about mile 2.75 where you turn off of Bay Area Boulevard onto Red Bluff Road.

In my opinion, the turn onto Red Bluff Road at mile 2.75 all the way to about mile 9.5 is pretty tough both physically and psychologically, but hopefully what I have to say here will help you to be better prepared for this stretch. First of all, from a physical standpoint, presuming it is sunny, the sun is now out in full force and once you get onto Red Bluff Road, there are very few stretches of any type of shade to speak of for the rest of the race. This is where the people who went out too fast start to get into trouble, and usually between miles 5-7 I have passed all those people that I told earlier to slow down. In 2004, I do not recall anyone passing me from mile 5 all the way to the finish, but I passed numerous runners in that stretch. From a psychological perspective, what makes this stretch starting at mile 2.75 so difficult are the LONG stretches of road where you literally can see as far as a mile or more in some places. I try to just keep my head down and concentrate on my pace and not focus too much on looking ahead to the next turn because if you keep looking up for it, it seems like you are never going to get there, and then when you do finally make the next turn, you are faced with another long stretch just like the one you got off of, which in and of itself seems defeating. The last tough test psychologically is after you pass over the bridge at about mile 8.75 and you can see the 9.0 marker up ahead. You will go around a road that curves for quite a long stretch to the left and it starts to seem as if you will never get to the final left turn back to UH Clear Lake and the finish line, so just expect this and be patient.

Again, this is a great race, and you will enjoy it if you are just patient and stay positive. If the weather is warm that day, do not let your time deter you in your training for the rest of the races coming up. The weather will get cooler and you will continue to improve. At the end of this race, you won't just be crossing a finish line, you'll be taking a step towards your next starting line. Good luck on race day!

Recovery jog not working

I normally follow my long runs with 1 day of total rest, per the Katy Fit schedule. This week, after an awesome long run on Sunday, I thought I would do a short, 20-30 minute recovery jog on Monday. I've read that a recovery jog after a long run aids recovery by increasing circulation during the recovery period and generally getting your juices flowing.

I was pretty sore yesterday before the run. But once I started running, the soreness subsided. I kept my pace very slow despite the short distance and the cool temps. Well, I was even more sore during the day yesterday and this morning when I woke up, I still felt like I normally do the day after a long run. Usually, I'm very well recovered after a day's rest. I decided last night that I would not run today and try to catch up on my rest. Kind of funny. I always hear about runners trying to catch up on miles they've missed and here I am trying to catch up on rest I've missed. LOL!!!

I've rearranged the plan for this week to accomodate the rest day today. I was also reminded that this is a big weekend coming up with the relay and a personal record distance long run on Sunday. So, I dialed back the 30/30 workout on Wednesday to 3 easy miles and a short tempo run on Thursday. I consider Tuesday (rest), Wednesday (3 easy), and Thursday (short tempo) to be easy/easy/hard. Then rest Friday, a short 2 miles for the relay on Saturday, and the mother of all long runs, running to GRB for the first time, one for the record books, long run on Sunday morning. That will still give me a bit over 20 miles for the week. Whew!!!

So, the lesson on resting a full day after a long run is learned, at least for now. I will definitely not be running next Monday. I you need me, I'll be sleeping in.

God bless!!!

Interesting predicament !

I wasn't aware of this until this morning after a little research and I haven't heard any broadcasters mention it. If you look closely at the possibilities for the Astros as the season comes to a close, you may notice that the 2nd place Astros are 78-78 with 6 games remaining, a total of 162 games, the correct number of games in a season. The first place Cardinals are 80-75 with 6 games scheduled, totaling only 161 games. So, I'm wondering what gives.

Well, thanks to the internet, I found out fairly quickly that the Cards' 17 Sept. game against the Giant was postponed due to rain and a makeup was never scheduled. It turns out that IF postseason is in question, they will have to make up that game at the end. They have no off days until the end of the regular season so they would have to play this game after the season is over. And if that game results in a tie for the Division, then we would play them in a playoff, probably the next day. As a side, that would be good for us as we could get an extra day's rest for whoever we want to pitch, giving us more options pitching-wise.

So, as we're ciphering and trying to figure out all the possibilities, assume that the Cardinals are playing 7 more games, not 6. That's bad because it gives them 1 extra game to try to clinch the Division. So the Cardinals need 5 wins out of the next 7 games to clinch. Beyond that, it just depends on how many games the Astros win.

I believe the table below spells it out. The first column shows the possible number of games won by the Astros. If they don't win at least 2 games, it's over. The next column shows the number of wins the Cards need to win the Division, given column A and the last column show the number of wins the Cards need to tie, given column A. Hope it's all very confusing! It is for me.

If Astros win	Cards need to win	Cards need to tie
6	5	4
5	4	3
4	3	2
3	2	1
2	1	0

Plan for the week

The plan for the week is a little screwy because of two things, I did my long run yesterday (Sunday) instead of Saturday, and the upcoming Cross-country relay on Saturday afternoon. My hope is that the relay will not turn out to be a hard day. It is just 2 miles. As much as I'd like to "perform" at my best for the relay, I don't want to ruin my 12 miler the next morning. So, nice and easy on the relay. I'll try to pick it up a bit. Afterall, it is a race. But I won't overdo it. Just want to have fun.

Monday - 1.5 mile recovery run.
Tuesday - 35 min. easy run. Rest.
Wednesday - 15 x 30/30 with 1 mile warmup and 1 mile cooldown (Fit schedule calls for 18 x 30/30 but I missed the 14 x 30/30 workout last week). 3 miles easy.
Thursday - 3 miles easy. 25 minute tempo run.
Friday - Rest.
Saturday - Cross-country relay (2 miles)
Sunday - 12 miles (Yikes!!!)

Cool temps and 1.5 mile recovery jog

Normally, I don't run the day after a long run but I was reading in Runner's World that an easy 20-30 minute recovery run after a long run can aid in recovery. So, the purpose of this morning's run was to take advantage of the beautiful weather, play more with the new toy, and get the blood flowing a little bit to continue to recover from yesterday's run.

So I did 1.5 miles at an average 15:07 pace. This is right at long run pace so perfect!!! The weather was beautiful and there were many smiling faces out there. A little less nudity than I've gotten used to over the summer but plenty of sweat to go around.

Going to be a great week!!! Run strong all and God bless!!!

Mr. Steady. or A Real MALE Runer now, or Lucky Guy!!!

I've been pumped up about this 10-mile run all week. I mean really pumped up. Almost raceday pumped up. With the USA 10-miler just 3 weeks away and the Luke's Locker/Koala Half Marathon 5 weeks away, I wanted to really nail a couple of long runs, starting with today. Now don't get me wrong. By nailing a long run, I don't mean running at race goal pace. I just wanted to pace myself consistently and finish stong. I figured with a bit cooler temps, if I could do for about 15:15 pace and finish the last couple of miles strong, I'd be very pleased.

Family time and doing the Tour de Art on Friday night had me putting off my long run until Sunday and skipping Katy Fit. Nevertheless, my faithful partner, Jo, was on hand this morning to run with me. It's just great running with Jo. She's a good chatter and helps keep my mind occupied. Another great reason to put my long run off until Sunday is that June runs long on Sunday and I was able today to introduce her to what's right now my favorite running venue, Terry Hershey Park. And much to my surprise and pleasure, Erica was able to join us too. So am I one lucky guy or not!! Running with 3 beautiful, classy women!! I was on cloud 9.

So call me Mr. Steady. Check out these splits:

Mile 1 - 14:35
Mile 2 - 15:16
Mile 3 - 15:11
Mile 4 - 15:12
Mile 5 - 15:10
Mile 6 - 15:59 (stopped to fill up 2 water bottles and stretch a little)
Mile 7 - 15:05
Mile 8 - 15:08
Mile 9 - 15:00
Mile 10 - 14:28
Total time - 2:31:09
Average pace - 15:07 min/mile

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

I was so psyched about how I finished, I was quite literally yelling out loud, "WA-HOO!!!", arms raised like I was Rocky or something. What a dork!!! It was fun to share that with 3 really cool people, too. I think fun was had by all and June seemed to really like TH Park. Erica, June, and I made our way over to Starbuck's for a little more trash talking and many goose bumbs as the cool breeze blew. I was still drenched from sweat and forgot to bring a change of clothes (dry shirt) like I usually do. Acually, that's the only thing I would have done differently today is bring an extra shirt.

One other thing I'll mention is that I really felt good through this whole run. I felt stronger than ever going up and down the hills and stayed strong and on my toes for much of the run. A couple of times I felt like I was sitting back on my heels but I was strong and corrected it immediately. The little bit of calf work I've been doing along with the wobble foam really seem to be paying off.

Lastly, I'm a real MALE runner now. After the finish and on the way to the car, I look down and notice something. Majorly bloody nips!!! I was actually kind of proud of them and bragged that now I am a real runner. Jo said later in an e-mail that now all I need are black toenails. LOL!!! I greased down the area pretty well with body glide before the run but sustained bloody nippage syndrome (BNS) nevertheless. Guess it's time for bandaids on the next long one.

Later and God Bless!!!

Tour de Fun!!!

I was trying to figure out how to combine "Tour de Art" with "Tour de Fun" and all I could come up with was "Tour de FArt". That's so childish. But quite frankly, that's what I've felt like lately, especially at last night's Tour de Art. I felt like a kid, running around downtown, dodging cars, crossing when I'm not supposed to, giggling with my friends, poking fun at the slow people. (Hey, that's me!!!) Seriously (but not too seriously), we had a blast last night.

Lotsa bloggers were on hand for the event. I think the biggest surprise was seeing Sarah and Jose drive up just as I was putting my shoes on. The second surprise, and not a good one at all, was Sarah's truck "dying" just as she pulled into her parking space. I have no idea what was wrong. It just wouldn't start. I know she and Jose were worried but they were troopers. Sarah just locked her doors (manually) and said screw it, let's go run. Woohoo!!! Other bloggers were June, Steve B, Bill. I'm really enjoying getting to know these great friends better and better. One of the reasons I did this Tour de Art is because of the encouragement I got from Bill some month or 2 ago after his first Tour de Art. I remember his telling me after that run that it would be a perfect event for me. A good workout, visiting with friends, frequent stops, perfect for a slow runner who wanted to run with others and just have fun. Well, Bill, it was everything you promised and more. Thanks, bud! Oh, and Sarah got her care started. Another friendly runner gave her a jump. I hope she made it home ok.

This was a very casual run, a little over 4 miles according to the Garmin. Like I said, there were plenty of stops and time to talk and visit. I think I should be the poster child for this event if it's ever done again. I can see it now..."If Vic can do it, anyone can." Turns out I was the brunt of several "slow-poke" jokes starting very soon upon arrival. One "friend" told me that she invited a hesitant companion to join her for this 5-mile run. I find out he gave in only after she told him that Vic was going to be there so we'll run with him. It'll be fine. Then one "coach" told me, 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time, "ok, Vic, if you're going to finish in a timely manner, you'd better start now. Go!!!" Very funny!!! Seriously, it makes me feel good that my friends can joke with me. With much encouragement must come much abuse. LOL!!! Gotta have thick skin around this bunch. :o)

About the time I was halfway home, I started to think about all the work it took to put on this event and provide some fun for me and the rest of the group. I wonder how early folks had to get there to set up the tent. And how late did they have to stay in the dark to take it down. I just want everyone to know how much I appreciate the work and the effort. I feel bad about not sticking around to help in some way. I'm going to try to be more aware of opportunities to help out. Anyway, I really do appreciate Steve, Barry, Bill, Roger, Lee, and all the others that made this event possible.

Runs with toys!!

Maybe you've heard of Runs With Scissors. Well, as of yesterday, I'm Runs With Toys. Mr. Toys has a new toy as you may already know if you've read Bill's blog this morning. Thanks for stealing my thunder, dude! Just kidding. Anyway, I'm really going to be in trouble for this one. DW is out of town until later on today so I have a short reprieve. So, what is this new toy? Well...

Ta Da!!! Finally, I broke down and got one. My dreams have come true. Never again will I wonder on a new course how far I've gone and how far I have left. It's a very cool toy. Now, I just need to figure out how to use it. Oh, btw, on the Tour de Art, I don't think I lost the signal one time, even running downtown amongst all the tall buildings. Of course, I haven't even read the instructions so I have no idea what it would even do if it lost the signal. I guess it beeps at you. Bill said that the unit would flash a prompt "Lost Signal" if it does and that never happened. I'll have to run a known distance to compare in order to have total confidence. Hey, for the price, it had better make my toast and pour my coffee as well.

Perspective

As a new runner and a heavy runner, I often feel like I am outside of the group looking in, training to "be there one day." There are a lot of groups. USA Fit divides runners into groups by pace. Other training programs place people in groups by experience or ability. There are marathoners, sprinters, walkers, big runners, small runners, fast runners, slow runners, all kinds of groups. IMO, the reason many new runners don't stick with running is that they don't feel that they are part of a group. Or, more likely, they are trying too hard to be included in the "real runner" group or the "fast" group or the "far" group and they burn out early in their running experience. One contributing factor to this tragedy is how new runners PERCEIVE their training and racing. It's our perspective. We are always comparing our pace to other runners or how far we run to how far others run. Perspective can keep us from attaining our goals and from living a healthy life with running as an integral part.

Since working out with the Striders SMARTies last Thursday, my perspective has changed. Coach Steve said something to me after the workout that I've been thinking about a lot and I believe it can be revolutionary to new runners. He said something to the effect of, "Vic, now you've just worked out for 90 minutes with a group of sub-4 and sub-3 marathoners and you fit right in." He said more but this gets straight to my point. How did I fit right in with this group? How can a just-been-running-for-6-months, 15-minute-miler, never-run-a-marathon, overweight, inexperienced runner fit into this group? What makes me like them? What is this great equalizer? The great equalizer is effort! Did you hear that? EFFORT!!! What a revelation. What a revolution. I put forth the same effort that the rest of the group was putting in. They knew it and I knew it.

So I would suggest that new runners as well as experienced runners look at training with this perspective. When comparing yourself to other runners, when trying to find where you belong, when placing yourself in groups, understand that it's the effort you are putting into a run that is important. Effort is what defines the effectiveness of a training session. If I walk/run 3 miles at a conversational pace and it takes me an hour, that's the same effort as Bill running 6 miles in an hour at a conversational pace. I don't have to quit just because there are faster runners out there. I'm training at the same effort as all those runners. Good for me!!

Note to self...Don't get discouraged. Don't quit. Don't set yourself up for failure by having the wrong perspective. Put forth the effort. Purpose each training session. The next time Speedy Gonzales flies past you talking casually to a friend and barely breathing hard, just remember. You're running at the same effort that Speedy is. You are both runners!

3 a little harder than easy

Did 3 miles this evening a little harder than easy effort. No stopwatch. My dial watch showed about 42:45.

Great to see Sam cruising by out there. Sam (and the world, too, I guess since this is a blog and the World Wide Web), I hope this doesnt' sound strage coming from a guy but you are a beautiful runner. You really glide out there. God has blessed you with a gift. Wonderful to see you using it.

God Bless!!!

Mental tricks!!!

I really need to learn some mental tricks to keep me running when the going gets tough. Saturday morning's 8 miler really kicked my pa-too-ty as I ended up walking a lot more than I wanted to. Still, I want to learn from the experience and not get down about one, single workout.

Since my new running buddy, Jo, wasn't available due to illness, I was going to try to run with the 5/1 group. But after a little less than a half a mile, they were out of sight. The 5/1 group must be averaging 12 - 13 minute miles or better. Again, there really isn't a group that I fit into. Am I complaining? No, not really. I'm going to stick with this no matter what. Oh, did I mention that 10 weeks into the program, the head coach has quit (well, she really wasn't there to begin with) because it was interfering with her own marathon training and over half the Red group has pretty much dropped out. I ran by 2 coaches on their return trip yesterday morning, running by themselves at "their own" pace. I don't think I have to complain and speak too badly about the program. These few facts speak volumes. Like Jo said, we were so spoiled by PIM (back in the day). Still, there is some energy left and they may be able to salvage the program for those that remain. The new Red team head coach has a lot of excitement and really seems to care about the new runners and seeing the program head in a better direction. It just hurts me so bad to lose potential entrants to the sport of running. I mean really hurts.

Ok, back to the run. I think in a way, I was still recovering from the SMARTie Hop workout on Thursday. The workout introduced some new stresses to my ankles and lower legs. Good stresses, mind you. But you know how it is the first time you really do a new exercise. It sort of "shocks" your system. Well, I think my ankles and lower legs were kind of shocked from Thursdays workout. Now, I just need to continue those kinds of exercises and continue to improve my coordination and strength in my ankles. Even though I was still recovering, I felt stronger and more stable on my feet and didn't experience the discomfort and imbalance that normally plagues me going up and down hills and slightly graded or beveled surfaces.

Again, I think the trouble I experienced on this run was mental. I never cramped up or felt out of breath. I just got tired. I know the humidity was very high and it felt like a big thumb pressing down on me. At the time I don't think I realized this but looking back and remembering the run, I know my body could have performed better but my mind slowed me down to a crawl. I ended up walking quite a bit, maybe a half a mile or a little more in total.

Still, the one thought process that works well for me is the one where I know exactly how much further I have to go and it's not too far (maybe a mile or a little more) and I say to myself, ok, Vic, you want to finish strong. Now run the rest of the way in and finish strong. That works!! It's just the middle of the run, the tough miles, that give me fits. Interestingly, I think it has something to do with not knowing where I am on the course. Not knowing my pace, not knowing how far I've gone, not knowing how far I have left. That really does something to my mind. I'm still not familiar with TH Park. That stretch between Dairy Ashford and Eldridge is a lot longer than the Kirkwood/Dairy Ashford leg. Well, I just went and looked it up. Eldridge to Dairy Ashford it 1.10 miles. Dairy Ashford to Kirkwood is 1.5 miles. Maybe knowing that will help. But the Dairy Ashford/Kirdwood has some mean hills, too. I can see just from this post that the thinks I am thinking about are not the things I should be thinking about on a run. I need some more mental tricks to practice and try to find some that work for me.

No stats really to report. I didn't even bring my watch at all so I don't even know my total time. I did make it back in time for most of the seminar and in plenty time to make an announcement and collect registrations for the Koala/Luke's Locker Half marathon. Lot's of questions and excitement about the race. Some of the questions I didn't have an answer but I committed to find out and report back next week.

God bless!!!

Hipity, Hopity, Hop!!!

Very fun and exciting time last night as my life (kids, work, training, where I am at any given time of the day) finally afforded me the opportunity to attend one of the SMARTie Hop workouts. It's really what the doctor ordered this week. The camraderie and the workout were a big encouragement to me. I was one of four first time attendees and felt very welcome as I always do around Striders groups

Coach Steeeve coached me through the entire workout, "customizing" it to suit my ability and to keep my ankle safe from harm. No hopping during silly walks (bad for the ankle), abbreviated warmup and cooldown, 1 mile and 1.5 miles respectively were just a couple of examples of how I was able to make this workout work for me. I really appreciate the invite and the extra attention given by Coach Steeeve. Lee and Chris did a great job leading the group. Lee took extra time to explain each exercise before we started so that we newcomers would know exactly what was going on and how to execute each exercise. Remember my first (and last) step aerobics class where the instructor was shouting out "moves" a split second before they were to happen and I just sort of stood there or hopped in place, not knowing what the he** was going on? Well, this was nothing like that.

Two memorable occasions come to me as I reminisce on last night's workout. The first, and one I'll not soon forget, was a drill called greyhounds. Greyhounds are described this way in the SMARTie manual: "4 sets of 100 meters. Accelerate for the first 20 meters, attempting to reach close to top speed, maintain close-to-max speed for 60 meters, decelerate for 20 meters, turn around, rest for a second or two, and repeat in the opposite direction. Complete four 100 meter segments (two in each direction)." The toughest part of this drill, for me anyway, was the "rest for a second or 2" part. Well, I guess the actual second or two wasn't the problem. It was what immediately followed. Truth be told, I rested a good 10 seconds. Still I think my effort reflected the spirit of the drill. Each repeat is supposed to be run while you are still fatigued and you're only supposed to recover briefly from the previous repeat. Fortunately, Steeeve ran my greyhounds with me. We staggered our repeats ahead of the rest of the group, since my slighly-less-than-all-out, ~8:00 pace would have certainly caused some problems with the rest of the group running into me. One of the benefits of this drill is to learn to run when you're tired and believe me. I ran that last repeat tired. I was breathing pretty hard before we even took off on the last repeat. FUN!!!!

The second memorable was a drill named maniacs after Michale Sembello's song, Maniac from the movie, Flashdance. I think everyone was surprised when Sandy Wollangk cranked up the original song on her boom box for this drill. Also memorable were the command performances in the middle of the group by Steve and Jessica followed by "dirty maniac dancing" by a pair Haliburton employees. Oh, and Lee, thanks for the bonus round of maniacs and the extra dose of lactate still hanging around this morning.

The workout summary:
Venue - Terry Hershey Park
1.25 mile warmup - 17:30 (~14:00 pace)
Silly walks
SMARTie Hops including 4x100 greyhounds (pace - ???)
1.5 mile cooldown - 24:30 (~15:40 pace) - my legs and ankles were spent. I just kept chatty on this cooldown and enjoyed the evening breeze on the lighted Blue Jay Trail loop.
Total miles - ~3 miles.

Finally, it was great to put some names with faces as well as see some familiar faces. Great to see Jessica back running and bringing excitement to the group. Jess, you rock!!! Steve B., my inspiration, always great to see you. Thanks for the shout out as you flew past me on the cooldown. That got me over the hump. Spoke with Tim Bowler, a very nice guy. Stacy, Sandy, the list goes on and on. Very nice to meet Miriam. Thanks to all for a great time!!! Where was Bill? Who's the phantom Strider now?

STRIDERS ROCK!!!

90 degrees, feels like 88???

I just checked weather.com for Cypress, TX and it says it's 90 degrees, feels like 88. WOW!!! I haven't seen the feels-like-temp lower that acutal in like, ever. Supposed to be 65 in the morning.

Happy running, all!

Speedwork, if you want to call it that

To date, following the Tuesday night Katy Fit schedule has been hit or miss. During the five "hill weeks", I did one hill workout. Now speed work has started and I missed last Tuesday's 8x30/30. Understand, I haven't been skipping Tuesdays, I've just been doing easy miles instead of the prescribed quality workouts.

Tonight, I wanted to get back on track and do the prescribed workout. The schedule called for 10x30/30 with warmup and cooldown. Not wanting to "jump ahead", I decided to do last Tuesday's 8x30/30 workout.

DS had his first football game (actually it was a scrimmage) so by the time I got home after that, it was pretty late. DW encouraged me to go run as I was seriously considering skipping out. I've been on call Monday and today and I hate to drive over to a venue, get laced up, start stretching, and then get paged. But, I rolled the dice and made my way over to Memorial around 8. I just pulled into the parking lot and guess what? Beep, beep, beep, beep... So, I called the help desk to see what was going on and it ended up being something that required my attention. Drats!!! I went over to Starbuck's, logged in, and attended to the issue. By this time, it was about 8:45. Do I just go home (it was getting to be my bed time) or try again. I tried again.

After some good stretching and thinking about my game plan, I set out on my warmup mile. Don't ask how I came up with this plan but I wanted to do a 13:30 warmup mile, then the 8x30/30's, then a 14:30 cooldown .75, and a .25 walk. This plan was executed perfectly. My pacing was right on. Of course, it's easy when you have markers every .25 miles. But my first .25 on the warmup was EXACTLY 3:23. My .5 time was exactly 6:45 and I ended my mile at 13:27. This was a fun exercise. I then did some stretching and executed 8 30/30's. No measurements or stats. I just set my timer to 30 seconds and let it repeat 16 times. The toal distance by the time I finished was ~2.5 laps. So, not blazing by any means. Still, it felt good and the 30 seconds was a safe and comfortable (well slightly uncomfortable) interval. I'd say I was ~90% of an allout, running from the bad guys, sprint.

After walking the remaining 1/2 lap and then back to the 0 mile marker, I completed my .75 miles at exactly 14:30 pace. It was pretty fun to target a pace and then to see by my watch at each .25 that I was right on. Just exactly 1 minute slower than the warmup.

This is what I put in the log:
Total distance - 2.38 miles
Warmup - 1 mile - 13:30
8 x 30/30 - .63 miles - 8 minutes
Cooldown - .75 miles - 10:53 (14:30 pace)
Walk - .25 miles

God bless!!!

That was it?

Well, I guess unofficially I'm a member of the double digits club as of this morning at 8:30. I say unofficially because when I got home, I found that Mapmyrun.com shows ~9.7 miles, just a little more than last weeks "9 mile run" of 9.4. I ran this morning without the aid of mile markers or my Polar footpod (the distances on that thing are suspect as well). I wouldn't say that I need a Garmin but I will say that I'd like to have one, a 205 if possible.

When I drove up to the parking lot late, Strider Joanne jumped out of her car and said, "Oh, Vic, I'm so glad you are here." Her 2/1 partner, Sashi, could not make it and she was hoping that I would be there so she could run with me. Jo is a small lady but a big runner. She runs faster than me (of course). I think She and Shashi have been running ~14:00 miles on their long runs. Still, she was very eager to have someone to run with this morning and vowed to take it slow. I forgot to tell her she was an answer to my prayers. She was worried about holding me back but the absolute truth is that she pushed me just right. A couple of times she got ahead of me 20 or 30 yards and just doubled back to rejoin me. I know it must be hard to slow down 1:00 - 1:30 minutes from what you do on your slow runs. She has a nice little quick turnover and pretty good form. Oh, by the way, Jo is well in her years but very young at heart.

Overall, I had a great run. Of course, the hills at TH park presented some challenge but I tackled them better than I did last week on Allen Parkway. Of course the weather was nice this morning and I'm sure that contributed to a good run. Jo likes to talk and I enjoyed the conversation. When we turned around at Kirkwood, Jo told me we had 3.5 miles left. I thought, "Is that it?" I think one of my biggest problems mentally is not knowing how far I have left. Am I halfway? Do I need to conserve a little. I guess this will come with experience being at these venues more. Anyway, I was feeling pretty tired about 2:15 into the run and Jo told me it was just 1 more mile. "Is that it?" By this time last week, I was hurting. So, I ran the last mile in with only a short break at one of the runner's showers.

No stats really to report. I know that's so unlike me but you know, right now I'm just trying to finish these long runs strong. Also, I'm just trying to enjoy myself, concentrate on nutrition and hydration. Speaking of which, the Gu's worked just fine today. I took one at :45 and at 1:30. If I were going to be much longer out there, I would have had another but I felt fine. I love the way I feel after a long run. Really sore, broken, barely able to walk around, yet so alive! Not sore to the point that I've hurt myself but just where I know I've pushed my body a little past where it wanted to go. Now rest!!!

I had the opportunity to drum up some interest in the Koala/Luke's Half Marathon. I took one registration but handed out a lot of printed flyers/registrations. I'll bet next week, I'll get a lot of registrations turned in. Did get one today which was good considering it was raining and the two ladies had parked in the I-10 lot. I drove them to their car to get their checks. What service!!!

God bless!!

What a whiner!

Running clothes in the trunk, shoes in the car, hydrated, well fed, the plan for Thursday was to meet up with th SMARTies at the Hwy. 6 levee to do some silly walks and some hills. I was looking forward to this all day. I mean big time!!! The way this was supposed to work, the plan, was that DW was going to pick up the tike from afterschool program on the way in from her trip to Louisiana. She went home to sit in on some pre-trial court stuff for the murderer of her brother earlier this year. Anyway, the plan was to be back in time for me to run after work. Well, between getting a late start and traffic, I knew around 4:30 that she wasn't going to make home at the planned time so I had to pick up the tike.

So, here's where the whining began. I was really being selfish, whining to myself about how I never get to to the training I need to do. I may as well forget the marathon. My meal planning sucks and I ended up in a pity party going to McDonald's on the way home...if I'm not going to do my workouts during the week, I may as well not do my long run since I won't be ready...I haven't lost any weight this week...WOE IS ME!!! Then when DW got home, she apologized for not "executing the plan" (my words, not hers) and I continued to mope around...Woe is me!!! She said, "you want to go run, now?" I said that it was too late...just forget it.

So, I moped around some more and then went to check the blogs. The very first post I read was on June's blog. June linked to a Dick and Rick Hoyt video that I haven't seen before. June posted simply, "For when you think you cant do something, or you just cant take anything more, you might want to take a look at this." It's been kind of funny. Every time during the past few months that I get down, someone out there links to one of these videos. The first to introduce me to the Hoyt's was Coach Steeeve on the HRB forums. Anyway, you just can't whine after watching those two.

I got straight up from the desk, got my shoes and went down to the athletic center for a late 35 minute tempo run on the treadmill. I found my mp3 player and listented to some good tunes. The run was great. I'm so glad I did it. Don't know if the calibration is off or if the 66%/no humidity helped but I was cruising at about 12:30 pace for the last 10 minutes of the tempo portion.

No stats, I just did a 10 minute warmup a around 15:00 pace. Then 20 minutes, easing up the pace little by little, finishing the tempo portion (as I said) around 12:15 -12:30 pace, then an easy 5 minute cool down.

So, that's my pity party. Thankfully, it was short-lived. Thanks, June for the post. Somehow you knew I needed that.

Fired up 5K

Got up plenty early this morning. Had a Clif Bar and about 24 oz. of Gatorade for breakfast and gathered my things. Don't know why but I almost fell asleep on the way. I actually missed the Beltway and decided to go in to 610 instead of doubling back. I was actually entertaining the possibility of taking a quick nap in the car when I got to the race. Very strange though. As soon as I saw the first little orange cones in the street and then some volunteers walking around, I suddenly started to get excited. Then, driving into the parking lot, I started to see all the runners and people I know, no way was I sleepy anymore.

I ran into June just a few moments after I parked. We hung out, got some water and our chips and met up socialized for a bit before stretching. I had a Gu 15 minutes before the start to finish a well-balanced breakfast. I felt good stretching. Lately, the nagging stiffness in my bad ankle that has been there since April wasn't there and I was actually able to get a good, full calf stretch.

Got sucked in a little at the beginning but not as much as I may have had I not been aware that I was susceptible to that. I really wanted to push this 5K as much as I could. I really treated last month's Run the Woodlands 5K like more of a training run although I pushed pretty hard then. But this 5K was pretty close to an allout 5K race for me right now. I still lack experience pacing and "feeling where I am on the course. My thoughts, especially in the last mile, were focused on how far I have left. I really didn't know (remember) how much further we had to go once we rounded the corner and went up that small hill. I was probably too tentative during the last ~.5, just being aprehensive about burning out with a lot of course left. I really was a lot closer to the finish than I judged and could have picked it up more. Thanks to Jon and June who followed the "no blogger left behind" creed and came out to run me in the last ~.3 or so. Seriously, I was just getting ready to take a much needed walk break until I saw Jon waiting there for me to run the last stretch. Then June joined us just before the corner and was a real encouragement. I appreciate that from you guys so much. It made the difference for me. I've really got to find that something inside me to push myself when I'm out there alone, though. I don't know what that thougth process is going to be but I've got to figure something out. Several times now, during a race or a training run, I've just about quit and then someone comes up and I finish strong. So, I know it's mental since my body is responding to the distration of running with someone. I've got to get over that.

Anyway, my time was 40:51. That's about 4 1/2 minutes off my RTW 5K last month. That may sound huge but RTW was not an all out effort for me and it was much hotter. So, I consider this race my first "real" 5K since coming back after surgery. Still, I'm really happy with the 13:11 average pace. I haven't run that fast over that distance during any training run so it's definitely a milestone. I've been able to maintain around 13:30 pace for about 20 minutes during training but today's 5K was definitely a race effort.

Splits, as far as I recorded:
Mile 1 - 13:05
Mile 2 - 12:55
Mile 3 - 13:40 (walk break and short hill)
last .1 - 1:11

Great to see Steve and Steeve and all the Striders, and Jon and Waverly. Just a fantastic group. I like the out and back course too as I get to see all the runners and give a shout out to them.

Oh, by the way, great race organization. 10/10 on registration, packet pickup, pre and post water and food, rest rooms, course management, water stops. And the results were posted for all to see almost immediately after the race. Very well organized race and will be on my list next year.

Big runner tackles new route...

...maybe tackle isn't exactly the right word. More like survived. This week was an "unoffcial" Katy Fit meeting time. What that means is because of the holiday, there was no official meeting, no gatorade and water after the run, and no seminar, but some of the coaches were there and many of the Fit'ers were meeting to run. I decided that this would be a good opportunity to try out one of the other venues in town so I decided to run the Houston Fit 9-mile course with a slight modification. The modification was departing and arriving from the tennis center instead of the HF meeting place. Turns out, this makes the route a little over 9.5 miles. Here's the course, probably familiar to many.

Couple of highlights to report. The first was seeing the graceful and speedy Cassie during my first mile. It was kind of dark but I recognized that perfect stride a mile away. Well, maybe .005 miles away. Then, as if that wasn't enough good fortune, I ran into (almost literally) the strong and beautiful June at the Memorial/Park loop intersection. June is just so much smarter than I was. She started well before 5:30 and was finishing up about the time I was starting. Read about her well-executed run on her blog.

There were a lot of firsts on this run as well as a season/lifetime distance PR. This was the first time I ran with my new Amphipod RunLite Hydration Belt. Steve, you talk about people "running shalessly", that was me on this run. I've never used a hydration belt before for one reason. They don't make 'em big enough to fit my waist. Well, for the first time, I am able to get one around my waist comfortably. That's a victory to me! The shameless part is that despite my shrinkage (quiet, all you Seinfeld fans out there!!) my still ample belly really sticks out when wearing the belt. Hey, at least it doesn't hang over the belt and you can see the belt but it's still "shameless" to be out in public looking like that. Don't get me wrong. This is not a pity party. I'm thrilled that I can fit into one now comfortably. Now I just have to continue to shrink this gut.

Another first was taking a left at the southwest corner of the Memorial Park loop instead of continuing around the loop. I've always sort of envied the folks who would turn left. I always wondered where they were going, what it was like "out there, when will they be back." It was sort of surreal to be venturing out towards downtown. I really did not know what to expect.

I made my way down Crestwood to Blossom and turned towards downtown. The mile or so down Blossom is nice. I saw several runners and bikers. The little townhomes and gated apartments all seem pretty new and must be expensive due to the location. Blossom is very flat. I think that contributed to my poor pacing and going out too fast, too early in the longest distance of my life. I forgot to turn on my mile auto-lap feature until 26 minutes into my run. Still, I don't really trust the polar footpod accelerometer. I don't think it responds well to changes in pace or stride or hills. I think as long as you maintain a consistent stride and pace, it's accurate but when you have to walk up a hill or stairs or want to shorten your stride, it's not accurate. I've gotta get a Garming some time soon. Anyway, I think I was doing around 14:50 pace for the first 2-2.5 miles. I felt really good and continued to be excited about what was ahead.

After turning on Jackson Hill, I consumed a gel and water and trucked on. I didn't mention but I was doing 5/1's for this run. Looks like even with the walking, I was maintaining an good sub-15:00 pace. That is good. Looking back, I should have been a little closer to 15:45-16:00 pace for these first miles and been in better shape by the end. Still, I felt really good, running strong for each 5 and walking quickly on the 1's. The first "hill" I came to was the Memorial crosswalk at Jackson Hill. It's not really a hill but you've got to get up to get over so it was a bit of work. When I got to the other side, I experienced what would become a theme for most of the remainder of the morning. The trails along Allen Parkway and Memorial are not smooth and flat. In a way this is bad on my weak ankle but in another way, I think it helped to work out those accessory muscles in my lower leg. Still, my confidence on the uneasy surface just was not there and I really felt myself working harder with each step on certain parts of the trail, not wanting to twist my ankle. So, this part of the run was really difficult for me. I never really got in the groove like I did on Blossom. Nevertheless, the view was awesome as the sun was coming up through downtown and the adventure was what my running needed at the time.

It seems that I really did get a late start as many of the runners were already off the trails. I did run into several runners. One notable who flew past me with a couple of other guys was Drew Prisner, winner of the 2002 Houston Marathon. I knew who he was because Jon pointed him out to me at HARRA's Party in the Park. These guys were beautiful the way they were running. I passed them at a lower point down by the bayou where they appeared from a distance. The ground they closed in just a few moments was incredible. God definitely made those guys to run. I also ran into a couple of Striders. I'm so bad with names. I believe the man's name is Noah. He was running with his wife. I know I've met them and we recognized each other but I can't for the life of me remember their last name and her first name. Oh, and I passed the kind gentleman from the Woodlands that was so nice to give me all that advice during the HRB RTW 5K. You may remember him from an earlier post. I think his name is Nick. Anyway, he shouted as we passed, "Hey, Do I know you from up north at the Woodlands? Keep it up!!!" I appreciated that. I'll bet I was the last 300+ lb'er he expected to see out in no man's land.

Although this was unchartered territory for me, I did recognize parts of the course. One stretch in particular was part of the Buffalo Wallow 6K Cross Country race, the last race I ran before falling completely out of running and having surgery on my ankle. Well, there I was, kind of back where I left off. Also, I believe I ran part of the HARRA Cross Country Relay course on the calendar for Sept. 30. I think they already had the course marked and it looked like there was a group either running the course or starting to work on the event. Anyway, there was a fairly large group gathered at the start, either getting ready to do something or wrapping it up.

The uneven surface and hills pretty much did me in. I walked a lot up Memorial once I got past the Starbuck's water fountain. I really had no idea if I had gone 9 miles or 7 or 10 or what. My wind was there and my muscles were just sore and tired but my bones and mind were taking a beating. I think it was mostly my mind. I just could not find anything else to think about, no more songs to sing, and regretfully, no more prayers to pray. Here's wher running with someone would have paid off big time for me. Doug, where were you? I know I had more in me though because after I crossed Memorial, back onto the granite Memorial Loop trail, I ran pretty well. After about .7 miles, I was done though and I walked the rest of the way to the car. Of course I stopped at the shower and to sit down for a few minutes first. I had no idea if I made it or not. No idea how far I went, what my pace was. Who cares, right? When I got home and mapped the course, I found it was 9.396 miles plus the walk to the car (doesn't count). So, that's a new lifetime distance PR for me. I did 9 back in 2004 before the Houston Press 5K.

I still have a lot of doubts about the upcoming months. But, I'm just going to keep on digging. As these runs get longer, I'm going to have to find a partner to run with. I've gone it alone up until now but running 3, 4, 5+ hours straight by myself is going to take some mental fortitude and I don't think I'm that strong mentally.

Run@Work Day's Tour de Art Run, September 22

Fired up 5K training run

Well, there are so many cool people running the Fired up 5K on Monday, I just couldn't pass up being there for the festivities. So, I paid my $18 to do a training run. Who knows, I may push it a little bit. Maybe I'll just shoot for breaking my 45:22 from 8/12 RTW. I'm sure the weather will cooperate. SMARTies, I wanna see some hardware!!!

See you all there!!!

My first adventure

A fun thing happened tonight as a hard choice turned into a fun adventure. As evening approached, I was face with either going to watch 2 hours of kids' soccer practice or go for a run. I really wanted to go to soccer practice but I really wanted to run. Torn between two love's. So, I had a wild idea. I actually ran to soccer practice. DW was already there and I told her I would be over when I got home and changes. Then about 48 minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot, not in my car, but under the power of my own two feet.

I didn't know which route to take. Nothing was planned ahead of time. I just thought I'd run to practice. Simple as that. Had a great time and made it for the last 40 minutes of practice.

All I'll say is it was about 3.2 miles. I averaged under 15:00 min/mile. Very easy effort. It was actually cooler than it has been. Had a blast.

3 miles 'cause the training plan is a guideline!

The Katy Fit training plan called for 35 minutes easy yesterday and 45 minute hill workout tonight. I had every intention to run yesterday but life got in the way (DW had to work late, like really late). I also had every intention of doing hills tonight at the Hwy. 6 levee but just did not feel like doing that in this heat. Since the training plan is a guideline, I had no problem doing 3 easy miles this afternoon at Memorial Park. I sure hope this "the training plan is a guideline" doesn't come back to bite me in the rear. :)

Well, it was hot! But I really ran well, IMO! Here are the splits:

Mile 1 - 14:26
Mile 2 - 14:53 (I ran a little through the inner dirt trail and through the woods)
Mile 3 - 14:24
Total time - 43:44
Avg HR - ~85%

Around the 2.2 mark, I heard a voice say, "Vic Kaiser?" It was Steve Schroeder. I met Steve briefly before but did not recognize him. He said his name was Steve Schroeder and the bells went off. Anyway, Steve is recovering from an injury and volunteered to run with me slowly the last .8 or so. What a nice guy. We talked about running, a little bit about family, dieting, smoothies, and racing. It makes all the differenc in the world when I run with someone. I really felt good the last mile as I would have surely bonked in the heat had I gone it alone. Steve, I sure appreciate your running a little with me and it was great to talk to you.

The other pleasant surprise was seeing Sam as he zoomed past me. I forgot that Sam had grown his hair a little and I would not have recognized him had Steve not said, "Here comes Sam Rodriguez." Anyway, great to see Sam in a blur. Look forward to sitting down and talking to you soon, Sam.

So, for right now, I'm just taking what my body will give me. I'm talking more and more to friends about putting the full off and just doing some shorter races through the Fall. I haven't made my decision. I'm still going to wait for the 10-miler and half and cooler weather to see how it goes. But I'm going to be patient and enjoy this ride for a very long time, hopefully.

Started weight training

I started some beginner weight training yesterday. I found a web site that I like called The Training Station, Inc. I'm going to follow the beginner's workout plan. I like it because it starts out slow, with 1 set x 15 reps and 12 exercises the first week. Just the basics. There are printouts for each week (6 weeks for the beginner program). From week to week, the exercised are changed up a bit, too.

Bill was talking about running on a treadmill the other day. For my warmup and cooldown, I did some treadmill running. I actually enjoyed it. Like Bill, I'm not sure if the thing is calibrated correctly. I think Bill was feeling like he was faster than the computer was saying. I felt like I was slower than what the computer was saying. I was running at about 14:30 pace according to the computer but felt like I was running well over 15:00. The effort really felt easy. Another thought is that the temp in the gym was set to 67 degrees. If that's what a little cooler temp and a controlled humidity does for me, well bring on the cooler temps. That's going to be awesome.

This leads me to a question. Should I record my warmup and cooldown in my running log when I lift weights? I ended up running 1.35 miles in the total of 20 minutes warmup + cooldown. I guess I defintely want these miles recorded for my shoes. But should they be recorded as training miles? What does everyone else do? I know, I know. Who really cares, right? Just do what I want to do, right? I'm just curious what others do.

So, the plan for the week:
Mon - 35 minute easy run
Tuesday - 45 minute hill workout (3 McKeown's) at the Hwy. 6 levee
Wednesday - weights in the am
Thursday - 30 minute tempo run
Friday - rest
Saturday - 9 miles

Your career!

Have you gotten to this point in your career? If so, YOU NEED HELP!!!

What a difference a few weeks make!

This week's long run venue was Cullen Park with the Katy Fit'ers. On tap today was 6 miles. This week was a bit of a recovery from last week's 8 miles but we're forging forward strong this coming week.

Stats:

Total distance - 6 miles
Total time - 1:31:43
Average pace - 15:17
Mile 1 - 14:54
Mile 2 - 15:29
Mile 3 - 15:26
Mile 4 - 15:23
Mile 5 - 15:20
Mile 6 - 15:09

I had a few more calories for breakfast than in the past. Had a gel at 30 minutes and at 30 minutes. Flavor of the morning was Carb Boom Strawberry Kiwi and I must say I think I found my gel. It tasted just fine and my stomach tolerated it well. I definitely like the fruity gels rather than the creamy, vanilla, chocholate ones.

The only other comment is that, against my better judgement, I went back 3 weeks to compare the last 6 miler I did. The average pace for that 6 miles on August 5th was 16:15. This week's 6 was 15:16 average pace.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention. I experimented some (well, a lot) with 5/1 run/walk intervals. I really liked it and was able to keep a pretty consistent and faster pace over the last half of the race and finished strong. I'm going to do some more of that during next week's 9-miler. I may consider the 5/1 as a race strategy for the USA 10-miler and/or the Houston Half. If it gets me closer to 13:45 pace over those long distances, I'll definetly be doing that for Houston (if I get there).

I posted before Bar-bar-a!!!

This is just a post before Bar-ba-ra. I really feel like I've accomplised something now. Off to Cullen Park for an easy 6 miles. What's so easy about 6 miles?

Plan B

Last night found me shuttling my son from Cypress to our church for a youth Fall kickoff celebration taking place Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. The event started at 7 pm last night. Plan A was to drop him off early enough to be able to drive out to TH park for the SMARTie Hop workout. This is an easier workout and Coach suggested that I would be able to do it (minus the ). Unfortunately, plan A fell apart as there was a wreck on 290 which caused such a delay that DS was 10 minutes late for his event. So, after dropping him off at Wooday and Voss at 7:10, there's was no way to make it to Memorial and Eldridge by 7:00 without a time machine.

Not to worry, plan B was activated and worked out really well. Plan B was to complete workout at Memorial Park. So, which workout? What to do? I really didn't decide until I got there. I had a lot on my mind thanks to Coaches Steeeve and Bill's talk about "the big picture", having fun, using a training progam as a "guideline", and other things. Also, I had not run since Monday and was concerned about doing a hard run after being "down" a little this past week. So, it that spirit, I decided to do a 30 minute run at easy effort. My schedule called for a 30 minute tempo run. I missed my 20 minute easy run yesterday so I combined the two workouts this way. I took the 30 minutes from the tempo run and the "easy" from the 20 minute easy run to come up with a 30 minute easy run. Like that thought process? Guess I could have had a 20 minute tempo run but with a 10 minute warmup and 10 minute cooldown, where's the tempo? :-)

I had not really eaten since lunch and I figured this was going to be a problem. I did have a Clif bar in the afternoon but that was just supposed to get me through until supper. I was feeling a little hungry. I figured now would be a great time to try a different gel flavor. I picked up a Triple Berry flavored Gu inside the tennis center before heading over to stretch. I liked the flavor a lot better than the Vanilla Bean I took on my 8-miler. Still, to me things taste a little different when you're running so I'm going to have to try this flavor during an actual long run. I'll pick a couple up for tomorrow's 6-miler. I won't need more than 2. Anyway, that really seemed to do the trick, energy-wise.

I did some extra stretching before taking off. I don't talk about it much but my ankle is still stiff and weak. I'm sure the SMARTie Hop and Silly Walks-type exercises are just what the doctor would order for strengthening and engaging those accessory muscles in the foot and lower leg. I need to take a look at the Silly Walk routine and start doing that on my own before workouts or on my days off. Anyway, the stretching felt good. I put away the HRM and just decided to run. I even took that little pod thing (actually called an accelerometer or something) from my shoe. I felt naked. Scary thought! The only stats I recorded were mile splits on my stopwatch. During the run, I did a few very brief pickups. They were maybe 30-50 yards. Just accelerating for a very brief distance to about 85% of an all out sprint. I don't know if you call this a strider or a mini-strider. I don't think that's called a pickup. Heck, I don't know. I just wanted to give my body and especially my ankle a small hint of what it feels like to move a little faster. I think I did 3 of these, two during my first mile and 1 on the second mile. Once, I stretched out my stride a longer. The other two, I exaggerated a faster, shorter turnover. I was just sort of playing around with different strides and seeing how it felt. It was all good.

Overall, for an easy run, it was a bit quicker than usual. Stats:

Total time: 30:03
Total distance: ~2.15 miles
Mile 1 - 13:46
Mile 2 - 14:08
the change(~.15 miles) - 2:07 (~14:00 m/mile pace)

I had fun last night. Didn't feel like I killed myself but didn't walk either. Overall, a pretty good workout. 6 miles on Saturday.

Fit Houston Coach reads my mind

Since my Katy Fit group is still getting organized and a bit light on the communication front, I subscribed to the Houston Fit newsletter and lurk around their discussion boards as well. That gives me a good idea of what's going on over there, what their venues are. I read their newsletter for the Red group and 5/1's and kind of freaked out. Coach Gay must have been reading my mind. Actually, I don't believe in extrasensory perception so I figured she got these thoughts from experience and from trainin many, many first-timers. So, if I'm feeling this, I figure others are and may benefit from the advice. Here's what she said:

"Right now, the marathon may seem a bit like the City of Oz, shining in the distance, so near and yet so far. You may find that you hit a bit of a mental slump at this point-bogged down in that beautiful field of poppies leading up to the Emerald City. While your body is responding to the work you have been doing, your brain may be telling you that the marathon is so far away that you don’t need to work so hard. That inner voice may try to convince you to roll over on Saturday morning and sleep in, rather than coming out to the Park to run. “It’s only 6 miles, we’ve already done that,” it will say. It may tell you “it’s really hot; I think I’ll skip the tempo run on Thursday, it’s only 30 minutes.” Sometimes it is hard to focus when your goal is so big and so far in the future. One trick is to break the big goal (running the marathon) down into smaller goals that are closer in time. Our first big collective goal is the Half Marathon Race (13.1 miles), on Sunday, October 29th, the first race in the marathon warm-up series. (For more information on the warm-up series, check out the Houston marathon website, www.houstonmarathon.com", Event Information, Warm-up Series. Mark it on your calendar. That goal is about 8 weeks from now. Maybe even that is too far off for you to grasp. In just a little over two weeks, we will run our first 10 miler, on Saturday, September 9th. Going into “double digits” for the first time for many of you is a big deal, so that is a great interim goal.

When the voice starts to work on you, remind yourself of these interim goals. It will be a lot harder to run that 10 miler if you let yourself be talked out of that “little” 30 minute run during the week. Our schedule is made up of building blocks. All of the blocks are important-the short, easy runs, the hills or speedwork, the tempo runs and of course, the long runs. Right now, we are still at work on the foundation. If our foundation is strong, the rest of our building will stand tall. If our foundation is weak, we may have some issues with things crumbling down the road. Don’t think that the temptation happens only to you-we all wrestle with it along the way. The one who gets out of bed every Saturday morning is the one who finishes the marathon in January."

I appreciate what Coach Gay says. I have been feeling exacly this way. In fact, I wanted to do my 20 minute easy run yesterday but when life got hectic, I thought, well, it's just 20 minutes. I'll just miss it.

On the other hand, besides feeling confident at times after Monday's 8 miler, I've also felt a ton of doubt. Something is telling me that running the marathon is ridiculous. Something is telling me that it is soooooo far out of reach that it's more of a pipe dream than reality. Seriously, I really should just do the Aramco Half in January and shoot for Marine Corps, 2007 or Houston, 2007. But, I'm not going to make that decision yet. Besides running at the speed of a faster-than-average slug, nothing has happened yet that has caused me to give up or to reconsider a January, sub-6 hour marathon. Is running at the speed of a faster-than-average slug in August enough to make me reconsider? I honestly do not know. So many doubts. I'm still holding on to a couple of blog comments from back in July. Steve wrote:

"Way too early to think about whether a 6 hour marathon is a realistic goal. Not a lot of data for your demographic - big guy pretty much starting from scratch after an injury but with a running/racing background. The race equivalent charts suggest a 1 mile race of 11 minutes and a 5k race of 39 minutes indicate 6 hour marathon potential. You've done that before, so that's a very good sign. You need to do longer races, however, before you have a high confidence indication of your marathon capability. That's still a couple of months away, so you need to hang tough until then. We're all suffering right now in the heat. The only advantage the experienced marathoner has over you is that they KNOW they're going to feel great when the first cool snap hits, and you have to take it on faith."

Doug wrote:

"...now is not the time to wonder if the ditch you're digging is big enough. Just dig and stay tuned."

So, I think I'm going to go hardcore now. By that, I don't mean running more than recommended or faster than the plan dictates or starving myself to lose more weight or anything else that the word "hardcore" may imply. I mean I'm going to make this a priority. The time is now. I can't do this halfway. I will find time in my week to complete every workout, on schedule. I will eat properly. I will get adequate sleep. I will continue to eat right EVERY DAY. Now is not the time to put my training at the back of the line behind fishing or working or taking it easy. This is supposed to be a sacrifice. Nothing worth doing or having comes without sacrifice. I will continue to maintain balance in my life (church, family, work, exercise, recreation, fun) but I recommit today to making marathon training a priority, not for the sake of self but for my family's, my God's, my employer's sake.

This has been a PRA brought to you by me. A prize to the first person who guesses what a PRA is. :)