5:15 am. Plan was to do a 10 mile General Aerobic run. 4 mile TM 6 miles trail.
After about 2 miles on the treadmill I started feeling a little bit frisky. Started out at a 7:00/mile pace and then every 5 minutes I bumped up the speed about 10 sec/mile for 1 hour. So by mile 9 I was at 5:43/mile pace and then finished the final 1/2 mile at 5:30. essentially this turned out being an 8 mile Tempo run. This is a workout I used to do all the time training for Ogden but since I have been running more outside it is very hard to simulate something like this. Definately the fastest 10 miles I have run in training I think.
Over all 10 miles in 1:02:30 6:15/mile average pace. I figure if I can run at this same effort on Saturday at Provo River 1/2 taking into account downhill and tailwind I should be able to hopefully run a 1:18. According to the Race Time Predictor I need to run 1:16 to pull off a 2:40:00 at TOU. Not sure I have a 1:16 half in me yet.
HR. Started out at 140,
Avg. HR 158
Max. HR 172 (LT zone)
11:45, 6 mile recovery run for lunch, with a peanut butter/honey sandwich, and Muscle Milk to wash it down.
5:15 am.10
Mile VO2 Max run.Definitely out
of my comfort zone this morning.As opposed to just going for a long run, with some short sprints
schedule had me do 6X1200’s today.First time I think I’ve ever done “formal” 1200’s.My new least favorite workout, I do
feel really good now that it’s over.
¼ Mile splits looked like this.
1-79.7, 81.9, 84.01200 total 4:06Max HR 167
2-82.2, 84.0, 85.91200 total 4:12 Max
HR 170
3-82.9, 84.2, 85.91200 total 4:13Max HR 171
4-83.1, 85.1, 84.91200 total 4:13 Max
HR 173
5-85.2, 85.7, 84.91200 total 4:15 Max
HR 172
6-81.6, 83.0, 83.91200 total 4:09Max HR 172
At the airport on my way to Anahiem now, hopefully I can
find a good run tomorrow morning.It looks like there is a river trail about 3 miles from the hotel, I
think I’ll drive down and try it out.
5:30 am. Probably one of the coolest things about Garmin Connect is that you can look up other people runs and bike rides. So I knew I was going to be in Anehiem California today and did a search around Disney and found a bike trail about 3 miles away by the Honda center and the Angels field. So I drove out and found a nice safe place to park and took off running the unknown. It's amazing how in an urban city you can find a trail that is continuous for 20 miles without stops. Plus it had drinking fountains about every 3-5 miles which was nice.
Was planning on going 15 miles but at 7.5 I got to a pretty big park, I wanted to find a drinking fountain before I turned around and ended up going 8 miles to water. Worth the extra mile. Not especially scenic route but nice morning for a run, cool, light breeze, a little humid.
16 miles in 1:49:00
6:50/mile avg pace.
I'm suppose to run 5 for lunch, but doubt it will happen since I'm on a work trip and have lunch plans with a client.
5:45 am. General Aerobic run. Back in Utah, got a late start cause I was going to run outside but decided it was too muddy to do my normal 10 miler. Went to the gym and did 4 miles on the treadmill in 29:15. 7:18/mile avg. Then I went out to the trail, after about 1/2 mile of eating bugs decided to leave the trail and find a new route. Ran up to the South Jordan Temple and looped around the golf course and back to the gym. Ended up being 6.5 in 47:00 7:15/mile avg.
Question, does a 13.1 mile race on Saturday equal an 18 mile run? Or do I need to run 5 more miles after I'm done.
11:15 am. Went with Ryan on the river trail for lunch. He was doing 10 but we decided to do 6 on the trail and then he finished up on the treadmill. It was a little bit hot and a little bit windy but a good run overall.
4:45 am. 10 Miles Recovery. I woke up earlier than normal this morning cause I knew that a running group meets at the gym on Friday mornings at 4:30. There where actually about 10 people waiting in the lobby, I asked if I could go with them, they said sure. They said they were slow, I said great. I ran with them really, really slow for about 5 miles and then when I saw they where going back to the gym I split off and went by myself for another 5.
10 miles in 1:20:12 7:56/mile avg pace.
400 meter swim in the pool after and a soak in the hottub to loosen up.
Legs feel pretty good, I got a really good massage from Britt last night so hopefully I can perform tomorrow. Is anyone else out there going to be at Provo River 1/2?
Provo River 1/2 Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:19:00, Place overall: 10
Easy Miles
Marathon Pace Miles
Threshold Miles
VO2 Max Miles
Total Distance
2.00
13.10
0.00
0.00
15.10
I'll do a more detailed report later, just wanted to give a quick update. Pretty good day, I have had a side ache the last 2 days which I was worried would act up today but I held up pretty well. My legs felt amazingly well after another almost 85 mile week so I felt good going in. There was a lot of confusion at the start line this morning so I just hung out with Sasha figuring the race wouldn't start without him :). We got started about 10 minutes late which was amazing it started that close to on time considering how confused everyone was.
I did about 2 miles of warm up in the hour and a half I had to wait, just ran up and down the canyon a few times and up the hill for bathroom breaks a few times.
My plan was to just go for it from the start, I figured I do 13 miles everyday so worse case if I blew up I could just slow down to a normal run pace and still finish good. I did start out very fast for me, but felt good and kept the pace up through the entire canyon to Vivian park, slowed down a bit there and then going back up the canyon was really slow, partially on purpose mostly because of the wind. At the turn around I picked it back up which I was glad I could do, I was afraid the slow pace going up would cause me to slow down.
Coming back down the canyon it started to get uncomfortably hot, I was hoping to hit the 10 mile marker in under 1 hour, but I hit it at exactly 1 and knew I didn't have an 18 minute 5 K left in me. I pushed as hard as I could for the last 5K but frankly was pretty shot, I think because of the heat. I don't run in the heat enough. Actually managed a sprint finish trying to catch the guy in front of me, but I didn't take off soon enough. He probably got me by about 5 seconds. Anyway, 10th place overall (again) my wife thinks I'm in a 10th place rut. Not a bad rut all things considered. My Garmin said 1:19:00, the timer was off at the finish so I don't know official time yet.
Splits went like this
Mile 1-5:34.66Most likely my fastest mile split ever.
Mile 2-5:48.86
Mile 3-5:57.62
Mile 4-5:42.17
Mile 5-6:07.42
Mile 6-5:59.74
Mile 7-6:24.96Not as bad as I thought going up the
hill.I guessed 7:00
Mile 8-6:25.51
Mile 9-5:57.18
Mile 10- 6:00.91
Mile 11- 6:05.78
Mile 12- 6:09.29
Mile 13- 6:13.75
Last 0.1- 1:19.04Garmin says I hit 4:40 pace on final sprint, I felt fast :)
Total time according to Garmin 1:19:04
Side note: I ran this race last year as someone else in 1:40:?? at the time I thought I totally rocked it. So I figure all I have to do is improve my time by 21 minutes for next year and I'll break 1 hour. :)
5:45am, 6 Mile slow recovery run with Nelle around the neighborhood trails. 6 Miles in about 50 minutes. ~8:00/mile avg. Very nice cool morning with a nice breeze to keep things cool.
5:00am. General Aerobic 10 Miler day I decided to repeat last Mondays treadmill workout with my 5 minute ladders. I start at a 7:00/mile pace and then bump it up about 10 sec/mile every 5 minutes. I did this for 8 miles in 52 minutes. (actually did an easy last mile to cool down for 10x100's) 6:32/mile avg pace.
I then did my modified treadmill version of 10x100m repeats. Basically just to keep track of which number I'm on I start at 13.1 miles/hour for the first one 4:35/mil pace 13.2 for the second, 13.3...... up to 14 miles/hour for my last one. I run for 0.1 of a mile each and jog for 0.1 mile in between, I figure the time it takes the treadmill to get up to speed I'm pretty close to doing 100's at ~full speed. It's not really about the time, just getting the speed work in.
11:45am. Recovery run 6 Miles. Kind of a strange workout, went to the gym decided to be lazy and just do the treadmill as opposed to the river trail in the wind. Started out very slow and just felt "weird" not sore, not tired, just kind of almost dizzy. At 3 miles I really needed to go to the bathroom so I stopped, got a drink and went down to my locker and grabbed a left over gel pack from Saturday, shot the gel got a drink and then went back to the treadmill for another 3. Felt much better the second half.
5:00 am, Ran to work today, we went to the Bee's game last night so I had my wife follow me to the gym and I dropped my car off there so I could run in today.
The Bee's game was fun but the late night plus all the ice cream and candy I ate was a very bad thing the night before a long run. I really wanted to try and maintain a 6:45/mile pace, with the tail wind and downhill start I thought it would be easier, but between my ice cream belly, dodging cars, and stopping at stop lights I just couldn't keep a steady pace going. Plus at mile 3 I twisted my ankle trying to get off the shoulder of the road as a big truck wizzed by me which slowed down what should have been my fastest section. Anyway, no complaints I got it done, I'm over 1/2 way through my race schedule from hell and I think with the exception of the week I decided to throw in an improptu marathon, this is my longest mileage week of the schedule.
15 Miles in 1:44:00 6:55/mile avg.
What a crazy day, 21 miles in the middle of the week? Anyway,
12:00pm went to the gym and hit the treadmill for a 6 mile recovery run, started out a little bit stiff but worked it out. Ryan showed up about 10 minutes into it so it was nice to have someone to talk to. Decided to do a little something crazy at the end which I think I'm going to incorporate into all my treadmill recovery runs from now on as just kind of a personal challenge. After my 6 miles I put the treadmill on 15 miles/hr just to see how long I could go. It takes about .05 miles just to ramp up to full speed so I didn't run the whole thing at 4:00/mile pace but I made it 0.2 miles. I'll try for .25 next time.
Ahhh! Much needed recovery day. 5:15 am, ran 6 miles on an absolutely perfect morning on the river trail, got back to the gym and went and did 400m in the lap pool. Sat in the hot tub for about 15 minutes and stretched. Feeling very refreshed now, I was pretty trashed after the last few days since Saturdays race.
6 miles in 47:30 7:55/mile avg.
11:30 am. 6 miles on the treadmill, I listened to my music extra loud today just cause it was fun. I don't necessarily agree with people that say people that need music to run must not like running. I just happen to like both, and sometimes I like my music loud and my pace fast. :)
6.18 Miles in ~46:00 7:25/mile avg.
Did my experimental 15 mile/hour thing at the end of my run, only made it .18 miles today, you'd think at that speed it would be easy to go a little extra further, but my legs couldn't take it.
4:45 am. 12 Mile run with 6 mile Tempo, Ouch!!!. Started from my house went down the flight park road back on the frontage road, up to Cabellas and then out the trail to Bull River road. (4 mile warm up). Decided to do my Tempo run in Ryan Hall style and ditched my shirt. Started out conservative since I knew I had blown up in the past on my Tempo's going out to fast, plus the first 1/2 is slightly uphill with a headwind out of the canyon, ran Bull River road out and around Smith's and then turned around at 3 miles and ran the same reverse route back. Ran negative splits due to the return being slightly downhill with a tail wind. Thought the whole no shirt thing would somehow make me run 4:50's like Ryan Hall, I was wrong. :)
Tempo Run Splits went like this. Mile 1 - 6:24 Avg HR-154 Max HR-161 Mile 2 - 6:24 Avg HR-161 Max HR-165 Mile 3 - 6:27 Avg HR-164 Max HR-167 Mile 4 - 6:11 Avg HR-165 Max HR-170 Mile 5 - 6:20 Avg HR-165 Max HR-170 Mile 6 - 6:13 Avg HR-165 Max HR-167
Total Tempo - 37:59 Avg HR-162 Max HR-170
2 miles, very slow up the hill back home.
Total 12 Miles 1:23:30 6:55/mile avg.
Very nice morning, saw a ton of shooting stars. I sure like that the temperatures are going down. I don't like winter, but love fall.
5:30 am. Met at Ryan's house this morning, since he is going camping tonight he talked me into doing our long run to work this morning. This is actually my longest run until TOU, not sure why it's 5 weeks out instead of 3 but it is. We decided to run without headlamps which made the first 3 miles very slow, dodging construction cones and dirt holes in the dark, Averaged around 7:30/mile for the first 3, Went down around Thanksgiving point and headed out on the River Trail pace picked up to closer to 7:00/mile. Headed out to Redwood road and up and over Camp Williams, that was rough but it was still coolish so not horrible. Coming down Redwood from Camp Williams was very nice, we made up lots of time there. Went and found the River Trail again and followed it in the rest of the way to work, there was a point at mile 19 where the trail ended and we had to go back up a huge hill through neighborhoods, very cruel joke.
Ended up at the gym at 22.1 miles in 2:37:05, 7:05/mile avg pace. Not to bad considering the slow start and all the uphill. Very happy to have this run done and under my belt. I can tell my high mileage is paying off, normally I bonk around 18-20 miles but even though I was definately tired by the end I never did bonk.
6:00 am. 10 Mile General Aerobic. Went out for my yesterday's run. Now I know why the long run should come after the medium run, not before. I felt OK, a little bit drained from yesterdays run, but the perfect running weather helps a lot. Followed the Bullriver trail out and around Smiths and back.
10 miles in 1:15 7:15/mile avg.
I will try and take the kids to the school for some 8x100's later today just so I can log a full 100 miles this week. Wouldn't want to be short 1/2 a mile.
OK, I finally made it to the school with my 8 year old, Bradin after a busy day. We layed out 100M on the pavement. I had him time me using my iPhone clock which I know is not as accurate as electronic gates but hey, a 8 year old is cheaper than gates. Ran 8 x 100's with a 100 m jog back to the start each time for a total of 1 mile. My splits went like this.
15.4, 15.7, 15.0, 15.2. 15.6 15.9, 15.4, 15.3. I was trying really hard to break the 15 second barrier but just couldn't muster it. So according to these (very accurate) splits, and Sasha's calculator the fastest marathon my body will ever be capable of is a 2:30:00.
I think I would be OK with that, but I would love to prove him wrong.
Forgot to mention, Bradin's best time was 20.2 seconds. Which I thought was pretty good for an 8 year old. I didn't keep track of all his splits since 1/2 of them where on a scooter, and the other 1/2 he was a "rocket ship" which ironically slowed him down quite a bit.
Promised my wife I would not run on this Sunday, so I lived up to my word and took a true day of rest. Hopefully the day off will prepare me for some good quality training this week, mileage is down to 85 from 100, hope to get some good speed work in.
5:00 am. Did my whats becoming weekly Monday 10 mile progressive ladder workout. Started the treadmill at 8.5 mph (7:00/mile) and every 5 minutes bump it up .2 mph for 10 miles. Ended up doing my last mile in 5:40. Heart rate never got above 165 even at top speed, so I felt really good about this workout. It was on the schedule as being a 10 mile General Aerobic run but I felt good and like to start my week out with a good tempo run.
Hit the weight room after my run, I haven't done that in quite some time, did some leg presses, leg extensions, and leg curls. I think doing weights is good not just for the strength aspect but it also seems to stretch me out more then just normal stretches.
I have alot of work today getting ready for a month long trip to San Francisco next week so I'm not sure how I will fit in my 5 mile recovery run today, but I'll try.
4:45 am. 6 Miles on the treadmill in 41:00 6:50/mile pace avg. Then I went outside and ran the rest of my 15 miler. 9.1 miles in 1:03:00 6:55/mile avg.
I sure like the cool weather, but don't care for the dark. And I hate running with a headlamp for long distances, it gives me a headache.
11:45 am. Ran 6 miles on the River trail with Ryan for lunch. Very hot, very windy. The heat made it feel much harder than a normal recovery run about 95 degrees out, but I always say I need to practice running in heat. Although I think I should have worn sunscreen.
4:45 am. 9 Mile general aerobic run on the treadmill. I've been trying to run these general runs a little faster than normal, did the first 7 miles in 46:30 6:38/mile avg. I then did my treadmill version of 8 x 100's. Starting at 13.1mph (4:34 pace) incrementing up to 13.8 mph for my last stride (4:20) with 0.1 mile jog in between. The speed work was pretty rough going the first few sets but seemed to get easier as I loosened up. Felt pretty good about the workout.
9 Mile total run in 1:00:15 6:41/mile avg pace.
I then swam 600 meters in the pool in about 20 minutes, didn't actually time it, I have no real concept of how fast I "should" be swimming. I just do it to relax when I have spare time.
11:45am. 5 Mile recovery run. in 39:10. 7:50/mile avg.
5:00 am. 8 Mile very slow recovery run. I've decided a slow 8 miles is just as hard if not harder than a 10 mile fast run. It takes the same amount of time but seems to drag on forever.
I started out very stiff this morning just couldn't get things to start moving, I went out in the dark with my headlamp on and went South on the River trail instead of North, you have to go up through some neighborhoods because the trail does not go all the way through, which is a very steep up hill for about 1/2 mile. Got to the park at 123rd South and really needed to stop for a restroom break but the doors all had code locks on them. Just because I was desperate and upset they where locked I typed in my ATM pin code to see what would happen, and sure enough the door opened right up for me. Craziest thing ever, when I was done I tried other random codes and none of them worked, an absolute miracle. So anyway, after that I felt much better and was able to pick up the pace a little bit but was still sluggish. I was glad the whole run that the schedule said recovery run today so I didn't have to feel bad I was running slow, cause I sure couldn't have gone much faster. Once you get set into a pace it's really hard to pick it up.
Tomorrow is suppose to be a 10 mile race simulation day, anyone know of a 10 mile race tomorrow at 5:00am? I'm planning on just going to the treadmill and trying to run my fastest 10 miler ever.
5:45 am. So the schedual wanted me to do a 10 mile race simulation today, I'm not exactly sure what that means, I was planning on just going the the gym and trying to do a sub 1 hour 10 miler. Then last night my wife reminded me that my 3 year olds preschool open house was this morning and I should go. So I took advantage of this and slept in till 5:15 :). I wandered around the house for a bit stretching out and then when there was a shimmer of light outside I went off for my run. Decided to just do my normal easy 10 mile loop around Smiths and back but to try and do it as fast as possible. The first 2 miles went really fast down the hill averaged about 5:40's for the first 2, then I hit the construction on 92 and had to slow down through the mud, when I got to Bull River road (my normal tempo run route) I picked it back up again trying to hover around 6:00/mile. Couldn't quite maintain that pace the whole way by mile 5, the turn around I was at about 6:15 average. Coming back is normall faster, with the tail wind and downhill but I was pretty spent and could only keep it around 6:15 - 6:20 pace. At mile 9 my overall average was 6:18/mile. Coming back up the hill back home always slows things down a bit, I tried to just keep it around 7:00 pace but I think I was probably slower.
Ended my total run in 1:03:00. 6:22/mile pace. I feel pretty good about this, it's not an easy run my any means and I feel that I kept my HR up at tempo range the whole time. (didn't wear a monitor though)
Tomorrow I have to do my long run alone since Ryan is doing Hobble Creek. Good luck all you Hobble Creekers. I wish I could be there but my wife wouldn't allow it since I'm leaving on business for the next month.
5:15 am. Decided to run my nemesis 18 miler today, down around the point of the mountain, up the Draper side of Suncrest, down the Utah County side and back home. 2500 foot climb in 4 miles. Felt OK the whole time, my legs were a little soar but didn't really feel like it was keeping me from running at a pace I wanted. Going up the hill was pretty tough this morning, strong headwind the whole way up, took a quick gel and water break at the top and then started back down. I started down the 8% grade pretty fast (5:30/mile pace) and felt like it was beating me up a little to much, I tried to slow it down to around 5:50 pace just cause I didn't want to pay for it to much later in the run. I did pick up the pace when I passed the cyclist coming up, just to look cool :).
Did the whole run in 2:10:?? 7:16/mile avg pace. Which I thought was pretty good, but I just looked back at the last time I did this run in April, training for Ogden and I did it 2 minutes faster back then, so now I feel bad. There are a lot of other factors but it looks like I did the downhills a lot faster back then but I did the uphill faster this time. If I remember correctly I thought I was going to die after that run in April, I'm going to go mow the lawn now. I did say just the other day, that I feel like I was faster back training for Ogden but I have a lot more endurance now. Hopefully the trade off will work in my favor 4 weeks from today.
Just found out that my training partner Ryan Jonson who just turned 40 2 weeks ago took first place in the Masters Catagory at Hobble Creek. 1:14:07. That's pretty dang fast for an old guy. Since I can't convince him to blog I thought I'd put in a word for him, good job Ryan. Hope I don't slow you down to much in Logan.
6:00 am. Very easy recovery run with Nelle on the dirt trails. Nelle is my geriatric Border Collie, and she is getting very slow. She used to be a great running partner when I was slower and she was younger but now she has to be dragged up the hill the last 2 miles of our runs. Good arm workout for me I guess.
5:00 am. Had kind of a Wow! where did that come from? workout today. I did my Monday treadmill ladder workout today except instead of starting at 8.5 mph I started out at 9 mph (6:40/mile pace) then bumped it up .2 mph every 5 minutes. I did cheat by starting at -0.5 decline but just wanted to get the speed in. I honestly didn't think I would be able to get through the whole work out like this but every 5 minutes I kept bumping it up and was surprised that I kept finding it in myself to keep going faster. At 50 minutes I hit 11 mph (5:27/mile pace) which was pretty much my max, set the treadmill at -1.5 decline. and hung on for 6 minutes at this pace, which I'm sure is my fastest mile ever and that was 8 miles into the run. at 56 minutes I just couldn't hang on any more and finished the run at 5:42 pace. Entire 10 mile run in 59:42. 5:58/mile avg.
Glad to get in a really good run to start the week, I'm at the airport now headed off to San Francisco for 2 weeks, home for 3 days and then back for another 2. Hope to get some great runs across the Golden Gate bridge in. I'm going to try and get one more 100 mile week in before my taper.
4:30pm, 5 miles on the Parc 55 Gym treadmill, horribly hot and muggy, I thought it would never end. Hopefully I can get most my running done early mornings outside.
5:15 am. Absolutely perfect morning for a run here in San Francisco. Ran down Market Street to Peir 1, along the Embarcadaro street around all the peirs to the beach, over Fort Mason Hill and down along the beach to Crissy park. Awesome views of Alkatraz, and the Golden Gate bridge all lit by a full moon. Temperatures where perfect probably low 60's. I'm going to really enjoy my time here if the mornings stay like this the whole time. I just hope being at sea level for 4 weeks doesn't mess with me when I get back home.
Muscle Milk for breakfast and now I'm off to work, we seem to already be ahead of schedule on work so I should be able to get in some short afternoon runs too.
12.4 miles in around 1:26:00. 6:56/mile avg. My Garmin was a little confused in the city until I got to the Embarcadaro.
Well, now I feel stupid. I set my alarm for 5:00am, woke up went for my run and 2 hours later I realized I set my clock for 5:00 Utah time. I actually went for my run at 4:15am this morning. Duhh!! I could have slept in a whole extra hour.
1:00 pm, 5 Miles on the hotel treadmill for lunch. That gym is awful, it's so hot and muggy if I where just deciding to start running and started in this gym after about 1 week I would decide running is way to hard and would just give up and do something else. 5 miles is an eternity in this place, I'm glad I only have to do my recovery runs here.
4:15 am. Same route as yesterday except I continued on across the Golden Gate Bridge today. Big hill going up to the bridge but running on the bridge is amazing. Great views, cool sea breeze and very fast. Made it about 3/4 away across before I hit 7.5 miles to turn around. Was pretty slow the first 1/2 of the run, 7:23 average on the way back I tried to make it up by running around 6:45. Came pretty close to that ended the whole 15 mile run in 1:46:20. 7:05/mile avg pace over all.
Pretty busy today probably wont be able to get my double in.
4:30 am. Same route as the last 2 days and probably the same route for the next 3 weeks. Just such a great run that early in the morning, it's nice and lit the whole way, and no stopping for traffic after you get off of Market Street onto the Embarcadaro. Nice and cool morning around 55, and a nice San Francisco misty fog which feels really nice. Just kind of took it easy for the first 1/2, was planning on taking it easy the whole run but then I decided since work seems to be keeping me from getting my doubles in and I didn't really want to go further this morning that I would just run faster coming back. Averaged 7:21/mile pace for the first 5 miles, and then on the return I started out fast, 5:56 for the first mile, 6:16/mile average for the entire 5 mile return.
I was flying up Market Street back to the hotel, which isn't easy since there is traffic, homeless people to dodge, and slightly uphill. People where looking at me like I just robbed the bank, but it was fun.
I doubt I'll get my 100 miles in this week, but I wont feel to bad with 90ish.
7:00pm, Went to the hotel Gym after a pretty successful day at work to try and get in a quick easy 4 miles before bed. Absolutely struggled from the start, couldn't catch my breath, got dizzy and just had sore legs that wouldn't loosen up. I guess my body isn't use to working out this late. I just wasn't having any fun at all and gave up after 2 miles in 17 minutes. Pretty pathetic. Did some core excersises and stretches and ate an apple from the gym basket. Off to bed nice and early, hopefully I feel better in the morning.
4:30 am. Another nice morning, seems to be getting a little cooler everyday. It's kind of strange, you would think that clouds would make it darker but they actually reflect the city lights and create a glow everywhere so I have stopped wearing my headlamp, even going over Fort Mason there is light enough to see pretty good.
Took it pretty easy today since I have a long run tomorrow which I'm fairly nervous about, I'm probably going to have to leave at 3:30 am to get back in time for work. I did get in some ~100M strides, I called them lamppost strides, I calculated that up the Embacadaro every 5 lamp posts where about 100M so on the way back I sprinted 5 jogged 3, I think I got 8 of them in but lost track.
3:30 am. So apparently there is a buffer somewhere between 3:30am and 4:30am where the Early morning risers and late night bar crowd can stay clear from each other. There is way to much of a culture shock if the 2 groups meet. I made the mistake of encroaching in on the buffer, I couldn't believe all the people out at 3:30, they were everywhere.
Anyway, I was pretty disappointed with my run today, I have been thinking about todays run for the last month trying to figure out how I was going to get my long 3 week out run in right in the middle of my biggest work conference setup of the year. Luckily I got to bed at a decent time last night and woke up at 3:15, had everything ready to go and was on the street by 3:35. Had the whole 21 miles mapped and planned out which included going across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was very windy this morning which slowed me down a bit but I knew I could make it up coming back, got to the bridge at 4:30 only to find that the sidewalk is closed until 5:00am. ahhh! So I had like 30 minutes to waste, found a great little dirt trail that ran along the coast line but it was to un-even and dangerous in the dark, would love to run it in the day sometime, went back down the hill, mostly just wasting time. Finally at 5:00 the gate opened right on time and I took off across the bridge, my wasting 30 minutes slowed my average time down to 8:00/mile so I knew I was going to have to run the rest of my run fast to make it up, got across the bridge took a gel pack and quick drink of water at the rest area and headed back. Had a nice tail wind and pushed as hard as my tired legs would carry me all the way back to the hotel.
My total run ended up only being 18.6 of the planned 21, I easily wasted 2.5 miles screwing around waiting for the bridge to open. Actual run time was 2:19:30 7:30/mile avg. Really wanted to get my full 21 in today, but I can't complain, I somehow managed to get in over 90 miles this week while putting in 12 hour work days on our biggest job of the entire year.
Lower miles next week, and then 2 weeks of tapper. Looking forward to the lower mileage.
Took a day of rest. Ironic since I have to work anyway, I wouldn't have even know it was Sunday except my legs hurt like it's Sunday :)
So I guesstimate that I walk 10 - 15 miles on these conferences each day. I bought myself some Sketcher Shape-Ups, you know to get in shape. Seriously though I am very impressed with them, excellent walking shoes for a long day of conference support.
4:30 am. Ran the Embarcadaro route this morning just over Fort Mason Hill and back for an easy 6.5 mile run. On the way out I mapped a straight path on the Embarcadaro that was 1/2 mile long since today was a 5 x 800's day. I was really dreading speed work today but really wanted to get it in since I feel like I've slacked on it with all the long weeks lately. On the way back I hit my start marker at exactly 6.5 miles so my Garmin must have been right on. Wasn't quite sure what pace I could do 800's at, probably started out to fast on the first one and but finally figured out a pace I could maintain for 1/2 mile. Ran back and forth 5 times for a total of 2.5 miles. I kept waiting for other joggers to get about 1/4 mile in front of me before I started each one and used them as a rabbit. I was able to catch all of my rabbits before the end of my stride each time, so that made me feel good. Granted none of them looked like they were very fast and where just out for a morning jog, but still, it helps to have a target.
Actually had no idea what my times were until just now, I'm actually a little surprised to see them written down. I was just trying to be under 6:00 pace so I'm pretty impressed with myself. I really don't like speed work, I'm more of a just go out and run for a long time type of guy.
4:00 am. Had to get an early start since we decided to start work at 6:00am this morning. 16,000 people attending this conference. By far the biggest conference network I have ever deployed and supported.
Ran my normal route out to the Golden Gate overlook park. ( don't know what it's called, it looks like an old military base) When I started out while I was waiting for my Garmin to find satellites some guy went flying past me, so as soon as my Garmin started I took off after him. Ran my first mile in under 6:00 but still never caught him, he turned off at Peir 39 and I kept going, but he got my average for the whole run up.
Was planning on 13 miles, but I ran out of road and didn't feel like running circles to make up the difference.
12.5 miles in 1:23:57 6:43/mile average.
Good quality workout, kept my pace pretty steady the whole run.
Conference food is killing me. Blah!! hope I can run tomorrow, I'm going to gain 10 lbs
