Another Fast 5

Last night I met up with Annette, Michele, Brenda and Kelly at Michele's house for what was supposed to be your normal everyday run. Annette, Brenda and Michele started a little early and Kelly and I ran about half a mile or so to warm up before we saw them. Then we were off to the races.

Michele was on fire last night. We were all having trouble staying up with her. We were running through Blooming ridge which is nothing but rolling hills. To make things even harder, it had to be 100% humidity or close to it because it was foggy and the streets were all wet. If anyone would have taken a walk break I would have too but we didn't and we all just kept running. Not much conversation going on, we were all gasping for air it seemed. I wrote it off to the humidity then afterwards when I saw my splits I knew I was running at almost 10k race pace. Even towards the end Brenda let Michele go on. They had gotten ahead of the rest of us and they had to be running 8:30 miles.

I finished with 5.01 miles for the night. When we walked the last block as a cool down Kelly said she felt like she was about to get sick. It was one of those runs. Great training though for the upcoming Spa 10K next weekend.

Here are my splits.....I'm still amazed. I have never ran this route this fast. It has some tough hills!
5.01 miles - 49:37 - 9:55 avg.
1-10:25
2-9:42
3-9:46
4-9:53
5-9:48

5 Milers

I didn't even get to blog about last Monday nights run with Annette, Brenda and Jane so I will now. As some of you may know, Annette had just ran the Wynne Marathon on that previous Saturday. So Monday night was her first night to run again. She was determined to get 5 miles and of course I told her she didn't need that many but that was like talking to a brick wall.

We started out from the Community Center at 6:15pm, it was about 55 degrees so not too hot and not too cold. My goal was to do 5 miles and stay around a 10:30 pace. First mile we ended up with a 10:26. Right on pace. Then Annette started getting faster. Second mile was a 10:07. I started asking her what was going on and that she better slow down. Think that fueled the fire maybe. Third mile was a 10:04. Still getting faster. OK, I was starting to feel like I was in a race just to keep up. By mile 4 Jane was thinking the same thing. Of course Brenda runs low 9's so she was comfortable. We started kidding Annette asking her if we made her mad or something. You are not suppose to run like this after just doing a marathon! Well, mile 4 was even faster. 9:46. I guess I started running out of gas cause mile 5 slowed to a 10:01. Thank god it was over! I know that's not that fast for some but it was fast for me just coming off an injury. if I had been racing a 10k, I would have had a PR.

Final time was 5.0 miles in 50:30 for a 10:06 average pace. I loved the negative splits too! Best of all, I never had a walk break or even water. 5 miles solid running and really it was at a comfortable pace.

This is kinda starting to freak me out. I have always been one who liked to run/walk. Now, all of a sudden I can run 5 miles non stop, not even wanting to stop. And my legs and foot felt great which even more so made me question what was going on. Maybe my recovery is over and I'm back in race mode.

Didn't get to run while I was in Vegas but I did get a lot of walking. I roughly figured it up and I walked at least 22 miles in the two and a half days I was there. Didn't run Sunday, my feet and legs were a little sore from all the walking so I figured I would just call it a week. Only 5 miles logged running so that sucked but I think with all the walking it really had no affect on hurting my training.

Tonight i ran 5 miles on the treadmill. And again, non-stop, no water..................this is becoming a habit, and a good one for me I think. Now I'm starting to wonder how far I can go. 6 miles? 7 miles? 10? Do the whole half? Well, I know I will have to walk to drink a little, especially in the half. By the way, I am officially signed up for the Memphis Half Marathon. I will also be doing the Spa 10k in two weeks so that will be a prep race for the half to get a feel of what I can and can't do. My goals for both are new PR's which I think are realistic and achievable. We shall see.

Trying Something New

Ever since I started running I have been more of a run/walk type of runner. A lot of times I would run really fast, then burn out, have to walk, then do it again. Sometimes I just didn't have the endurance. Sometimes I think it was just mental. Sometimes maybe I thought that walking would make my legs feel better, even if it was just a short 30 seconds. Something has changed as of today. Not sure if its endurance, weather, or just some mental block I had to over come but today was different. Today I never even wanted to walk.

This morning's run was suppose to be a recovery run from yesterdays 12 miler. So when I started out I thought I'd just try and stay around a 10:30 pace. I needed 4 miles to hit my goal for the week so to top it off, I challenged myself not to walk during any of it. I didn't take water so I couldn't use a water break for an excuse. The new sweat gutr was even working good so no sweat in my eyes. First mile went good, 10:29. Second mile, slow and steady 10:28. Third mile I decided to pick things up a little at times then ease back some. Had a 10:09 for it. Fourth mile was a 10:15 and I ended up getting an extra .2 on top of that. And it was hot. The sun had gotten up good as I didn't start till about 9 so when I was running without shade I was sweating pretty good. My breathing almost amazed me. It was almost like walking. And no lactic acid build up in my legs. They felt great, no foot pain. I'd have to say this was almost the perfect run. 4.2 miles, 10:18 average pace and negative splits to top it off. I was pretty happy. And that was slow and steady, not pushing anything. Just strictly endurance training. Why can't all my runs be like this?

Recovery has been great so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I have pretty much decided to run the half at Memphis and try to have a big PR. I really want to do the full but I know my best bet is to do the half and keep training for Huntington Beach in February. If things continue as they have, I will have an awesome marathon then. Doing the full at Memphis would not be pretty, but I could do it. And I am still not ruling it out 100%, but at least 90% anyway.

I am off to Vegas on Wednesday to attend a trade show for work so I will be limited on how much I can run this coming week. It's suppose to be a back down week on my schedule anyway but who wants to back down?? I just want to get better and faster. I am hoping slow and steady will get me there.

Saturday Run

Sorry for the lack of posting this week. Annette and I left Monday morning for meetings in Memphis and didn't get back till late Tuesday. Seems like from there on I have been playing catch up. I did manage one mid week run. 4 miles on the treadmill on Wednesday night. Was one of those nights that I was lucky just to get it done. Always seems harder to get my runs in during the week.

Saturday morning I met up with a bunch of the Cruisers at Central Elementary. I wanted 10 miles minimum. Annette, Kelly, Michele and some others were off doing the Wynne Mid-South Marathon as a "suppose to be" training run. Jane did not go so I ended up running with her from the school. Brenda and some of the other fast girls left us in the dust but that was ok. We kept up a great pace I thought. First 6 miles was a 10:23 average and I felt good. Started slowing some after that for some reason but unlike last weekend's long run, I never had any pains in my knees or legs. The foot was ok, not perfect by no means but not painful. More or less just a nagging type of low pain at times. Pretty much what I dealt with before orthotics.

The weather was great, start of the run was 52 degrees and humid at 6am. First 6 miles was pretty much in the dark which is good. We couldn't see the hills! Not many on the route we took but there were a few. Not many walk breaks either. Pretty much only a short water break every two miles and I could have gone furthur. I figured I better practice what I'd do in the marathon though and I will definatly need water every two miles at least.

I'll have to say Jane is a great running partner, helped get me through Tulsa injured last year and today was no different. I know she could have run faster than me today and I was thankfull to have the company. I actually hit the 10 mile mark with a 10:46 average pace, the same as my 10 miler last weekend. We ended up adding on a little at the end to make it 12 miles total. I wasn't sure how I would feel or if I could do 12 but when we had hit 11 I knew I was going to do 12 and I'm glad I did.

Here were my splits, there at the end I should have kept pushing a little harder.
Total Run - 12 Miles - 2:11:10 - 10:56 avg pace
Splits
1-10:17
2-10:12
3-10:44
4-10:08
5-10:45
6-10:28
7-11:04
8-11:28
9-11:27
10-11:08
11-11:28
12-12:00

By the way congratulations to Annette, Kelly and Michele. Finished the Wynne Marathon in 5:28. Good training run!!

Running early in the dark

Started running this morning at 5:00am from the Community Center with Kelly and Jamie. Kelly had mentioned earlier in the week that she needed a long run before work on Saturday, so since I wasn't racing anywhere and needed 10 miles, I volunteered. I was having seconds thoughts as to why I would do such a thing Friday night when I saw that the temps were going to be in the lower 40's. Jamie read a post on the Cruiser forum that we were running at 5 so she decided to jump in there with us.

Getting up at 4am to go run is almost insane. Especially when its 40 degrees outside. The lowest it has been this fall in fact. Once I got there and got started I was glad I did. We just ran a big loop route, looping through various neighborhoods to make our way back. It was almost surreal, no traffic, everything quiet except for us talking as we ran. Pretty much we had the city to ourselves which is pretty cool in itself.

The cooler temps made for one of the best runs I have had all year. We took very few walk breaks, maybe one every 2-2.5 miles if that. I finished with an average pace of 10:46 for 10 miles. I looked back in my training log and that was the best 10 mile training pace I have had all year. Whats up with that?? Must have been the cold, the dark and the other runners helping me push through the pain. And we ran some hills too. Best of all we were done before 7am so the whole day is ahead of us now.

I could feel my foot through the whole run, not bad but I could tell it was still hurting some. Tomorrow will tell how well my recovery is. At this point I guess I am just pushing the foot to see how much it can take or hopefully, make it stronger so it doesn't hurt. Plantar has to be the worst possible running injury there is.

Its all good though when your running early in the dark!

Marathon Maniac?

Maybe.

It's on to training now. Another 5 miles tonight on the dreadmill and .5 walking. I already have 10 miles for the week and can still walk!

I have come to the conclusion that if I can't run fast, I'll just run slow and long and enjoy it. Maybe I'll start using Galloway's run/walk programs.

Memphis will be my projected big marathon on December 6th. I have my schedule made up and I am actually starting right where I started before Nashville. I thought I would be way behind, which I am but I can catch up. Nashville was actually a good marathon for me and I would have finished much better if it hadn't been so hot towards the end. I was injured before that one too.

The Midsouth (Wynne) Marathon is November 1st and that's the same weekend I would have a 20 miler scheduled. Since its a Grand Prix Championship Marathon race, I'm about 95% sure I'm going to run it as a training run. Anything under 6 hours would be fine. Just have fun, and Wynne has water stops every mile on the course. It is a small marathon though so not much crowd support but I am trying to recruit some other crazies now.

Annette wants to do the Surf City Marathon on February 1st in Huntington Beach California. If we somehow were able to do these, we would qualify as Marathon Maniacs. Mmmm.....the schemes begin.

Oh yeah, marathon training has begun. It's on now, bring on the pain!

Taper Madness is here

Saturday I will be running the Nashville Country Music Marathon. This week I am pretty much worthless. With the running of Boston yesterday, I could barely work. We watched the live video on the computer and our good friend Rock finished in just over 4 hours. It must have been an awesome feeling crossing the same finish line where all the great running legends have crossed.

So taper madness is here. All the questions start popping up in your head. Did I train hard enough? Did I run enough long runs? Did I get enough mileage in each week? At least one thing I do know for sure, I can finish. And I have done the distance before, not fast but I have been there and know what lays ahead of me.

So whats my goal? Whats my pacing plan? I'm still bouncing this one around and will be probably until the start. I would love to break 4:45. Which means I need an average pace right at 10:50 per mile. Sounds pretty slow at first, but by mile 15 on things start hurting and the head starts playing games with you.

Then there is the pacing plan. There seem to be two coaching theories on this. One is to just run a steady pace from start to finish. A lot of coaches say this has the best results. The other way of thinking is to run negative splits. Start out slow, then pick it up, then really pick up the pace the last 6 miles. The problem I have with this plan is starting out slow. They want me to run an 11:19 pace for the first two miles and that seems to be impossible for me right now. Only way I could do that is to take at least two walk breaks in each of the first two miles. Maybe I should try it.

What to do, what to do. Then there is what to carry. Water pack or none. I am leaning towards nothing this time, but I have to be able to carry my gels, phone, endurolytes, etc. Shoes I am set. Socks I am set. I will run in the same brand that I did my last 20 in when it rained for 4 hours solid. If I didn't get a blister then those are the socks to wear. Running shorts I am pretty much set. Shirts, could depend on the weather but it will probably just be my Cruiser singlet.

So the other big question that looms is if 4:45 is an achievable goal? Coach Dennis told me that based on my training I should be able to run a 10:45 pace which would put me under 4:45. But, two factors that can affect that will be race course and weather. We know Nashville has some hills, how big and how many I really don't know. I feel like I am ready for them hopefully. Weather, well we have no control over that one. I just hope its not sizzling hot. If so it will be a long slow race. I did run almost 8 miles Saturday afternoon in 80 degree sunny heat. It was tough but good for training.

It would be much easier to not have a goal, just to run. But the competitive side of me kicks in so I'll have several goals. All of which are subject to change as the race unfolds. On to more taper madness!

The Taper for Nashville is on

This morning was officially my last run over 10 miles before Nashville. I guess I could say it was my last long run. I was actually suppose to be in taper mode anyway but today I elected to run 15 miles. Last weekend was suppose to have been my last 20 but since we did the 1/2 Marathon I was a little short. I figured the hills and race counted for added miles though, at least through effort. So really I should have only done 12 today but what's 3 more miles?

My goal was to run 15 miles and maintain a minimum of a 10:40 pace, which if it was a marathon at that pace would get me in around 4:39. I know thats not going to happen but I have a long shot at a 4:45 I think.

We met the cruiser group at South Side at 7am. There was a large group this morning and there were several new runners from the Women Can Run Clinic. Of course they were not doing 15. Brenda, Annette, Michelle and I were really the only ones trying to do 15. Gary, Curtis, & Rock were doing 10 plus and Cindy and Lisa joined us along the way. We did what I call the big loop around town. Hwy 321 to Mean Pig, then down S. First to Elm, then Left to the High School and right on Belemy to Linda Lane, Dietrich, then Bradley and back on 89 to the school. I like this route as its pretty flat but there are a few smaller hills and one bridge.

I ran this one pretty hard. Annette and Michelle didn't even go down 321, they opted to cut down Kerr and meet up with the others on S First. I didn't realize till later that the other group with the new runners took a different route. Gary, Brenda, Rock and Curtis were flying at the start. David and Rick joined them for the first couple miles then they turned back. Eventually Curtis came back and ran with me. Then after a mile or so he decided he would try to catch the others and he would take off. He would catch them and then come back and run with me some more. I met up with Annette and Michelle about half way down S First. However, I took off just after meeting up with them. I was trying to maintain a pace so I kept pushing.

I pretty much ran by myself through most of the 15. About 10.5 I hit the parking lot and refilled my water bottle. Then I took off looking for Annette and Michelle. I ran a couple miles and couldn't find them. Then shortly after mile 13 there they were. I ran with them till about 14. Then I looked at my garmin and I was 2 minutes behind pace. I told them I was going to have to burn this mile to hit my goal so I took off. Well, I barely missed my goal time but it was still .50 seconds per mile faster than my last 15 miler about a month ago.

Final stats - 15.02 miles in 2:40:17 with an average pace of 10:42. Could I hold that for another 10? Tough question. I was not motivated today other than trying to hit the time. If I had not had my Ipod I would have probably been slower since I was running alone and when I do that I usually end up taking way too many walk breaks. I took too many today, but it was getting pretty warm. Between walks, I would many times be running a consistent 9:35 pace. The more I do it the more I can stretch it out. My 1/2 marathon time for today was 2:19 which was just a minute slower than the race last weekend. Probably the fastest 1/2 I have ever done in training anyway.

I am paying for it this evening, my legs are sore and my feet hurt. Its nice to know that the miles will be considerable less until the marathon on the 26th. I think I'm ready, though you never know what the marathon will hand you on that day.

Quarters

If you want to get faster, you might as well get used to them. Last night at the running clinic Coach Dennis told us that from here on out we would pretty much be doing 400's at interval pace and extending those out to 800's and on. Last weeks 400's were hard. My legs were tight and sore from Sunday's 20 miler so I was a little apprehensive about doing more. Since I'm really not in the advanced group Annette and I kinda did the intermediate workout along with Kellie. The workout called for a 1.5 mile warm up plus strides and 2 high knees. Then 2-200's, 3-400's all at interval pace, plus 2 more 200's and then strides with about a 1 mile cool down.

We started our warm up and Annette and Kellie were flying! My legs were crying and I was trying to talk to Josh along the way and I could barely talk. We ended up with the first mile at a 9:35 pace. Way too fast for a warm up when 400's were on the schedule.

The 200's seemed relatively easy. Annette and Kellie were basically suppose to run the same time as me so we stayed together. However Kellie is very young and even as a new runner, she is fast. Well, go figure, her husband came in third place at the Spring Fling and is on the verge of becoming an elite runner so it runs in the family! Both 200's were too fast. :55 each. Pretty much the same as last week. I was suppose to be hitting about a 1:05.

400's are always interesting. I would feel really good at first. At about 300 meters the speed and distance would hit and I would be huffing and puffing wanting more air. First 400 was way too fast. A 1:53 when it should have been about a 2:10. I told Annette that we would try to slow down on the next one. I guess I was dreaming. Next 400 was 1:55. Still too fast. Poor Annette was feeling them too, especially after that fast warm up they did. Third 400 hit another 1:55. Ok, something is up here. I am running the same on everyone. By the time I was done I was breathing as hard as I could. This should have been where we were done. The advanced group was doing 6 400's. No 200's for them. Annette said lets do one more. I thought no way, but I was still alive even though my lungs were screaming at me. So we did. Last 400 I hit at 1:56. Dang, still too fast, which I thought was not good.

Since we did an extra 400 we didn't have to do those last 200's. Coach Dennis had been watching everyone really close and said we all looked really good. He did complement us about our breathing. Annette mentioned to him that she felt like she couldn't catch her breath at the end and he kinda laughed and said, thats what this workout was suppose to do. If you didn't feel like that you weren't running hard enough. I told him the times on mine and he said that was great. My breathing was right where it should have been so I guess it means I'm getting faster. I know last weeks 400's were not as good and I had fresher legs. Last week I ran all of them between 2:00 and 2:15. Dennis mentioned that there is a method to the madness and I am really starting to see what he is talking about.

We finished up with our strides and Dennis cautioned us to keep moving. The object of the strides at the end was to slowly lower our heart rate. He said just stopping and walking was not good as thats what kills some elite athletes at the end of races because your heart rate drops down too fast. He said its much better to come down slowly. Mmm, this is all starting to really make more sense.

The other cool thing we did before our workout was hear everyone's race stories from the weekend. The amazing thing is that everyone keeps getting better and faster. Thank you Dennis for being a great coach to all of us. Tuesday Night Flyer's Rock!

Hilly Hilly Wet Wet 20 Miler

Today's 20 mile training run was probably one of the hardest and most challenging runs I have done. Weather conditions were pretty much the worst I have ever ran in. It rained the whole time. And I'm not talking sprinkles, we had torrential downfalls, thunder, lightning, and a little wind. On top of that the route was VERY Hilly. I named this the suicide run earlier in the week because I knew the hills were going to kill us. Actually some of these were really mountains.

We met at 11:00am at the old Austin meat packing factory. This allowed everyone to get a little extra rest after yesterdays Spring Fling 5k. The crazies for today consisted of Brenda, Cindy, Annette, Michelle, Gary and myself. Kelly H. joined us a little later in the run. We were blessed to have Jackie and Bailey crewing for us. They were life savers. Driving the van from one stop to the next to see if we needed anything. This is how elite runners are treated! I have to say we were very lucky to have them today. They probably felt they were lucky to be in the van!

As I said earlier, this is a very hilly route. We climb a hill before we even have a mile ran. just over 2 miles in the run and we have a really big one, then a long downhill. I don't know which is worse. With the wet roads and rain, you had to be careful going downhill. The route followed Ed Haymes Road probably just over 3 miles until it connected with Lewisburg. At Lewisburg we turned left and headed towards Highway 5, then across 5 and on to Indian Head Lake where we made a loop and came right back the way we came.

This hill was about a mile or so into the run. Gary, Annette, and Michelle

After we turned on Lewisburg, it wasn't long before the rain started coming down heavier. It was actually pretty nice at first, just a light drizzle and I actually made a comment that my shoes were not even wet yet. Well, that didn't last long! As the rain increased in intensity, the road would have run off water running down it and across it. Probably before mile 5 we were soaked from head to toe. I guess the only thing that saved us was that the temperature was not too cold. It was just comfortable, probably upper 50's, maybe low 60's. I ran fairly good up until about mile 7, then I started wanting more walk breaks. The rain really was beating me up mentally.

Brenda and Cindy took off from the beginning. Gary ran probably 4 miles with us and then took off to try to catch those two. Annette and I had already planned on running this one pretty slow. With the hills and rain, that seemed to be the order of the day for me. I will have to say that on the way out I think all of us ran up every single hill. At times I would be ahead of Annette and Michelle and then I'd take a break and they would pass me. When running alone my left brain was giving me fits, wanting to walk, wishing I was somewhere else and on and on.

Michelle and Annette taking out a hill on Lewisburg

At times the run was very nice and beautiful. We were out, running in the rain and actually enjoying it at times. Some of the scenery was awesome. We ran by some donkeys that were under a shed and they were just looking at us like we were nuts. It was such a look, I had to stop and take a photo. However when I got ready to take the picture they came outside. They still just looked at us like we were nuts. I guess we were!

"them there runners must be crazy"

The girls were very good about circling back or I would catch up to them when the van would stop. Michelle was running very strong. When Kelly joined us the girls got faster so I just took my time. I really didn't care what my time was today, I just wanted to survive the run!

Gary ended up having to leave early but he was able to do half the run. He is running the full marathon at the Hogeye next weekend so he did not need 20. We ran into Brenda and Cindy as we entered the loop at Indian Head Lake. They looked good and strong like they were on a Sunday stroll. Those girls are awesome runners!

Annette, Michelle and Kelly seemed to be gaining speed or maybe I was losing it. By the time I made it to the other side of the lake I was pretty much talking to myself. My left brain was saying "I hate this" then my right brain would say "no you don't, you love running". It was just like that Nike youtube commercial. Somehow I convinced myself to keep going. Which really I didn't have much of an option at that point. The rain was really coming down again. It was probably raining 1-2"s per hour at the rate it was going. Water was running off the hills like crazy and the lake was almost flooded. We had to cross several low water bridges which soaked our feet again and again. Thank god I had the right shoes and sox today!

I got ahead of the girls again for a little while when they took a potty break at the lake bathroom. It didn't take them long to catch me. My walk breaks were getting more frequent. It wasn't that I really needed them, it just made me feel better with the miserable conditions we were having.

I did pretty good with my nutrition I think. I had bought some accelerade mix yesterday and had that in my water bottle. I would take a gu about every hour and usually an electrolyte every hour on the half. I also had some peanut butter crackers that seemed to always give me a good boost.

When we got back to Highway 5, Annette wanted to run to the store to use the potty. Kelly and I ran on. I called the van crew and told them so they went to pick them up at the store to catch them back up with us. It didn't take them too long. Probably halfway down Lewisburg on the return trip my upper quads started hurting. It wasn't intense pain but more of an aching sore type thing. Must have been all those damn hills! This started slowing me down more. I'd run for a while then I would walk a little. The girls got ahead of me again, Kelly with semi-fresh legs and then Michelle running strong. Annette was dropping some from those two at times. Then she would turn around and come run with me for a while. A few hills later my calves seemed to be tightening up. I started having flashbacks to when I got injured. I didn't want to go through that again so I would walk the hill. We saw the van crew a little later and they told us that when we turned back onto Ed Haymes Road we only had 5k left. Wow...almost done.

Well, the return trip on Ed Haymes Road was interesting. One BIG hill after another. They didn't seem as big going the other way. I told Annette that Tulsa didn't have crap at the end compared to these hills. A couple of these were so steep that running up them was almost a waste of energy. I ended up just shuffling my feet up a couple. It was easy to stop and walk though at this point. This had to be the longest 5k in history. I did not think it was ever going to end.

This is what we saw at about mile 18!

I hit mile 20 on my garmin about half a mile from the start. I was very happy when that happened. But, we still had one more BIG ass hill! Yep, one more then we were done. I didn't realize that the end was at the top till we got there. When I saw the short gravel road to the parking lot I took off in a dead sprint. I was ready to be done!

20.5 miles later, soaked from head to toe, I was a very happy camper. We all commented that if we could run this route in these conditions, we could do anything and we were defiantly ready for Nashville! I'll have to say I feel pretty good afterwards. My legs are more stiff now than sore. I'm sure I will be paying for it tomorrow. After a big steak dinner at Colton's and sinsations for desert, it made it all worth it. Yep, we must be crazy to be doing this. But the feeling after you have completed a challenging run like today is priceless! That's why we do it!!!

I almost forgot, but the stats are not that great but here they are. I won't list all the splits.
Total Wet and Hilly Miles - 20.5
Average pace - 12:06
Total Time - 4:07:59
Calories burnt - 2599
Average heart rate - 159

An under 5 hour marathon is doable!

Sunday Fat Burn

After running 22 miles on Friday I took Saturday off as a rest day. I still needed 6 miles to hit my marathon training mileage so Sunday afternoon I elected to do something different. My feet were still a little sore from Friday so I decided to ease the impact a little and try to get some miles in on the treadmill. In most cases I HATE the treadmill. But today I got the Ipod going, cranked it up and just ran. I wasn't really worried about a pace, I just wanted a recovery run and a few miles.

My treadmill is in an upstairs bonus room so Sunday it was fairly warm up there. I am trying to lose a few pounds before Nashville so I figured an added benefit might be some extra fat burning. The miles clicked away before I knew it. I guess after 22 miles 6 or 7 was nothing. Most of this run was around the 10-10:40 minutes per mile pace. I would have to stop every now and then to drink water. I have not been able to drink and run on the treadmill very well unless its a very slow pace.

It was so hot, I ended up taking my shirt off. It felt pretty good sweating from head to toe, why I don't know. I guess I knew that I was shedding some needed pounds and every pound lost equals added speed and less impact on my feet.

By the time I hit the 6 mile mark I was so pumped that I kept going. I turned my Ipod over to some Marine Cadences that I had recorded and this helped me get through that last mile. I could have kept going, but I didn't want to push it and risk injury. It really feels good to have my endurance back, even if its not super fast.

Monday was a planned rest day, actually I had to mow grass! I skipped Tuesday nights clinic as I had a fire department meeting that I needed to attend and on top of that we had torrential rainfall coming into the area. I think only 4 people showed up to run. Tonight I have to run, inside or outside depending on weather, at least 4-5 miles. If its not raining I will go to the track and do Tuesday nights speed workout there.

Fun Running Weekend

This has been a fun filled running weekend for sure. Yesterday we raced the Chase Race 2 miler and it was awesome. The best part was not really my time but the team spirit that we have with our group. When one of our group members would win an award we would all yell and clap. Not many of the other running clubs had this going on. We ALWAYS have this with the Cabot Cruisers!

Here are some photos from yesterday:

This was the majority of the group that raced

Me, Curtis & Gary

Sunday:
This morning Annette and I met Bailey at the shop and then drove down to the River Trail to meet Gary and Curtis for a 15 mile run. Today we decided we were just going to have a fun run. No pressure, no worries about pace, just run, have fun and enjoy the day. Well, if you knew Gary and Curtis you would not think this is possible as they are very competitive and they love to run fast. They changed their plans today for us.

Here is the gang, Gary, Bailey, Annette and Curtis

We started at the dog park and headed toward the Big Dam Bridge. Just before crossing, we found out that Bailey had never been across the Big Dam Bridge. Of course we had to take photos! This is an awesome place to run and the views are spectacular.

Bailey - her first time to experience the Big Dam Bridge

After crossing the bridge we headed down the part of the trail that all marathoners hate. Mile 20-24 of the Little Rock Marathon. This part of the river trail can get a little boring but it still beats running the streets of Cabot. This was like a stroll in the park for super fast Gary and Curtis, but they hung with us the whole time. We were averaging about a 10:25 pace most of the time but we would take a walk break every couple miles just to get a drink. The weather was about 38 when we started running but it was warming up fast. I was starting to sweat.

As we ran into downtown Little Rock, we all started picking up the pace. Annette wanted to make a pit stop at the River Market and you would have thought we were running for a finish line. I looked down and checked my Garmin and we were running about a 9:15 pace.

Almost to the River Market

After making a brief stop at the River Market, we headed across the Main Street bridge back to North Little Rock so we could get back on the River Trail. I guess we stopped too long because once we hit the trail, I started feeling like I was slowing down. Annette and Gary too off. Must have been Annette's bathroom break. We let them go for a while and just before turning down the trail towards the skate park, Curtis took off after them. Bailey followed and I was behind. We ran pretty hard trying to catch them, they had to be running a 9 minute pace or faster because it too Curtis a little while to catch up to them. I eventually caught up.

Annette, Gary and Bailey posing downtown

When we were almost to the boat ramp area we noticed a trailer set up that was doing demo's for Specialized Bikes. For some reason, something was said and Bailey took off in a sprint with me and the guys trying to catch her. She is very fast! We stopped at the demo for a few so Gary could look at a new Tri Bike. Gary is training for Ironman Louisville so he is in the market for an expensive tri bike.

After heading back towards the dog park, I think Annette talked Gary and Bailey into racing it in the last mile. They took off and disappeared in no time. We found Bailey's water belt up ahead and grabbed it to take back to her. After we finished Gary was telling about the FEAR he had when he heard the velcro on Bailey's water belt come loose. He knew the race was on then! I don't know who won but I know they were running super fast. 5-6 minute per mile pace. They were having fun though and thats what it was all about today.

We all had fun, got our 15 miler done and enjoyed a beautiful day. On top of that the stories and conversation along the way are priceless. The really strange part for me is this 15 miler was almost faster than the ones I did training for the Tulsa Marathon when I was trying to maintain a certain pace. This was a fun day and it was nice to just be back at no pressure running and enjoying being outside.

Me, Annette, Curtis, Gary and Bailey after 15 miles of fun

Afterwards we went back to the bike demos and watched Gary test drive an $8000 tri bike. He said it was super fast. Then we all took off for a recovery drink at Starbucks. Chocolate milk was the order for the day with most getting coffee too. No sweets so we were all good. I know Curtis and I were sure looking hard at the Hardees across the street but Gary said NO..lol. I had grapes for lunch when we got home and by 6pm was ready to eat a cow. We opted for some pasta with shrimp in it. I burnt 1988 calories on the run today so I was still short of this by a long shot which is good.

Here were my stats from todays stroll in the park run, actually not bad:
Total miles - 15.0
Average pace - 11:32
Time - 2:53:03
1-10:33
2-10:16
3-12:23
4-10:56
5-10:26
6-12:15
7-10:35
8-11:56
9-12:21
10-10:31
11-13:46
12-11:51
13-11:02
14-11:42
15-12:42

Training Update for Friday

This week has been pretty much a recovery week but I have gotten some good miles in. The weather has been CRAZY here. After 75 degrees Sunday, Tuesday morning we actually had about an inch of snow on the ground. Then today they have been calling for 2-6"s of snow during the day. This is March isn't it?? Things sure are weird.

As far as training goes, Monday night was cross training. I did some core exercises, worked arms and legs on the weight machine. I have been doing some core strengthening exercises that are basically yoga poses. Some of these were feature in one of the recent Runners World magazine. I can say they work. Annette and I have also been trying to eat lighter this week and that has seemed to pay off a little. I think I'm down 3 pounds from last week so I'm happy.

Tuesday night was our running clinic. Coach Dennis just had us do a recovery run since 95% of the people raced on Sunday. I ended up with 4.5 miles. It was hard getting Annette to slow down though. We kept having to remind her that this is a recovery run. My times were skewed a little since I didn't stop my garmin once when we were talking to Dennis but average pace would have been about a 10:20.

Wednesday night we were out at Krooked Creek, part of our normal neighborhood route we run but this time we were on the other side. A little flatter. Annette, Brenda, Michelle and myself ran to the high school to meet up with Rock who was going to do hill repeats. When we got there we did a few laps around the track before heading back. On the way back we just ran around the neighborhood streets. The girls ended up getting about half a mile more then me because I stopped to talk to Tim (Rock's husband) at the track. I even got him to run a lap with me! This also was suppose to be an easy run but again we kept having to tell Annette to slow down! I think she was pushing it because she thought she had a bad race on Sunday. Bottom line, the race on Sunday was hard for everyone and very few did what they expected. Here are the stats for that run.
Total Miles - 7.51
Time - 1:18:44
Avg pace - 10:29
1-10:08
2-10:38
3-10:42
4-10:39
5-10:06
6-10:29
7-10:42
8-10:01
1015 calories

Thursday night I opted to stay in. My legs were a little sore so I ended up doing my cross training with the core exercises, arms and abs. Then I jumped on the treadmill for a slow 2 mile jog. Actually I ended up getting 2.2. Slow and easy so it wasn't bad other than I always get too hot on the treadmill since there is not much air circulating.

Saturday we have the Chase Race 2 miler in Conway. This is a Grand Prix race and I have been really looking forward to it to test my speed. However, now with the snow coming in, who knows how it will be. Tomorrow morning the temps are suppose to be in the 20's at race time. If we do get the snow they are predicting we may not even be able to get there or they may cancel the race. One thing that is possible, if they don't cancel the race I'm pretty sure I can get there so if we can get our team to show up, we could rack up on the awards since a lot of people may not show up. Sort of a number game, but when your as slow as I am you need all the help you can get, especially in these Grand Prix races. The past two races new state records have been set so that just tells you the level of competition out there. That is motivation for me, and being out with our running group is even more.

1.5 Days till the 1/2

About a day and a half till the Little Rock 1/2 Marathon and Marathon. I have my goals and expectations set, not really sure how it will turn out. Last year was my first ever 1/2 Marathon and I ran a 2:28. This year I would really like to run between 2:12 and 2:15 which I think is realistic. A 2:18 would be my bottom number. I'll be highly disappointed if I get anything below that. I am not too worried about this one as much as I was last year. Once you have done a full marathon, a 1/2 is more like a fun run which I hope this one will be.

You just never know till race day how things will turn out, especially for marathons and half marathons. Sunday, race day is calling for warmer weather than what we have been training in. Right now, 8am race start will have temperatures of about 53 degrees which will be nice. Humidity may be a little higher than normal. For the full marathoners temps will get into the upper 60's to near 70. Not so good. Not being accustomed to warm weather running will hurt some times. We might get lucky in the 1/2 but it looks like shorts and short sleeve tech shirt weather for sure.

Speaking of weather, last night I ran 4 miles in Magness Creek and it was HOT. The temp was about 62 degrees at 6pm and I'll have to say this was probably one of the worst runs I have done in a while. I don't know if it was the temperatures or just the fact my legs were tired and I was running alone. In either case, I had to push myself just to get my 4 miles in. My left foot was hurting me some which I probably should have taped it and I didn't. Come race day I will be taking all the proper precautions. I really don't know how I ended up with the times I had last night as I walked probably two times in each mile after the first one. I just felt sluggish and really couldn't push it. Here are my times:
Total miles - 4.0
Time - 42:41
Avg. Pace - 10:40
1-10:17
2-10:45
3-10:48
4-10:49

Wednesday night I ran with Annette, Brenda and Michelle in Blooming Ridge. They all wanted a slow easy run. I usually laugh when they say this because it never happens. Or maybe their slow and mine are different. Either way we had a great run. I did feel good on this one and ended up with 5.1 miles. I did a few fartleks during this run, i'd let the girls get ahead and then I would run hard to catch up. I did this right before mile 5 and almost wiped out when a car blinded me and I ran up on the curb. I was really having fun with this at that time, probably running a low 7 pace catching up to the girls. The great thing about this run was there was little or no wind. Temps were in the upper 40's so it was nice. We have run in bad wind so much lately it just wears you down after a while. I would love to run this same pace through the half Sunday. Here are my times:
Total Miles - 5.1
Avg. Pace - 10:01
1-10:00
2-9:55
3-10:10
4-10:25
5-9:49

I love the fact that mile 5 was the fastest mile.

Tomorrow we will be going to watch the "Little Rockers" kids do their final mile of their marathon in Little Rock. Then a bunch of us are going to the Expo and then out for some carb loading at Corino's. It's going to be a weekend full of running activities it looks like.

What Hills?

Yesterday Annette and I met with some of the Cruisers at South Side Elementary for our long run. My original goal was to run 12-13 miles. We had a pretty good group when we arrived. Brenda, Cindy, Lisa, Michelle, Bailey, Joan, Annette and I. Joan only wanted a slow 6 and picked what I call the Mt Tabor Loop or some call it the Big Loop. We started at the school, headed south on Hwy 89 to Mt Tabor. Then took Mt Tabor to Dogwood. Dogwood over to Mt Carmel/321 and back to the school. This is right at 7 miles so we figured we could add on to get our mileage afterwards.

Brenda, Cindy, and Lisa took off fairly fast and the rest of us sort of hung back and ran with Joan for a while. Joan is very fast in races but likes to do most of her long runs at a much slower pace which was nice today. Our first mile was an 11:06, much slower than I intended but very comfortable. About 1.5 we turned on to Mt Tabor and by about 2 we started hitting the bigger hills. Bailey hung with Joan and I ran ahead for a while with Michelle with Annette alternating between groups. It wasn't long before Annette and Michelle were ahead of me. We were still trying not to push the pace that much but I could really feel the hills today. I was thinking that Saturdays speed work helped add to this.

Let me tell you, Mt Carmel/Hwy 321 has some hills on it. This whole route is hilly. When you get done running on this route you dread seeing another hill. Here is what the elevations look like on this run:




When you hit about the 4.5 mile mark, all you can see is the last hill looming down the road. You have a somewhat downhill section but then just past mile 6 its one last hard uphill. This one may not look so bad on the chart but let me tell you, it is. I have biked it several times also and I could walk up it faster than I can pedal up it. It is steep. We have nicknamed this one Heart Break Hill because its just tough, especially when its at the end of a 17-20 mile run. Been there done that!

I tried to capture the steepness of this little monster in this photo but it really doesn't show it. It's still way up the road there. Thats Annette and Michelle out in the middle of the road.


Michelle has had IT problems so she tries not to run on the shoulder that much so everyone was constantly yelling when cars were coming so she would get out of the road.

Just before the school we saw Brenda and Cindy coming back to run everyone in. Then a little dog ran across the road and started following me. I couldn't get rid of it. Annette, Bailey and Michelle headed for the bathroom while I waited in the parking lot at the school to finish our run. I had finally gotten rid of the dog but it followed Bailey to the parking lot when they came out of the store. Brenda looked at the dog and determined that it had to belong to someone so she took it upon herself to go find the owner. I told her it had to come from one of the houses just across from the Church. So she loaded the dog up in her car and went to find its home. Latter we saw her and she said it was one of the houses across from the church and the owner was very happy to see their dog again.

When Annette and Michelle got back we took off to finish our run. Everyone was complaining about their legs. By this time we had more or less settled on doing 10-11 miles. We sort of made up a route as we went, crossing over to Deitrich. Before we got to the end Annette was not feeling it. She turned around and said she was done. Michelle decided she would run back to her house and Annette was going to drive her car there so Bailey and I kept running. I was not feeling it either at this point. My upper legs were hurting and I know it was all those dang hills. We also did 8 miles of hills on Wednesday night so it all made sense. I think the extended break in the parking lot cooled my muscles down because after about a mile I was feeling better. It might have been my Apple Hammer Gel too.

Bailey and I ended up running down by the Jr High and Middle School. By the time we got back to our parking lot we were just under 10 and got the final .1 in the parking lot. I wish I had done more but the hills had to be worth some extra mileage. I know they were a good workout thats for sure. The Little Rock Marathon's motto is "what hills?" Well, today we had hills. And Cabot has some hills that would compete with anything in the Little Rock Marathon. They may not be as long but some of them are straight up. It is good training and in my head, it will make me stronger and faster for running them. The crazy thing is now that some of us have learned the proper way to run hills, we sometimes run faster uphill than in the flats. Now thats weird! I think its the fact we just want to get them over with.

Here were my slow, hilly times from Sundays run:
Total Miles - 10.04
Time- 1:49:29
Avg pace - 10:54
1-11:06
2-10:23
3-10:57
4-10:27
5-10:50
6-10:31
7-10:45
8-11:33
9-11:48
10-10:42
1361 calories

Next up - 1 mile time trial on Tuesday night.

Little Rock Half 8 Days Away

The Little Rock 1/2 Marathon is 8 days away. This time last year I was a nervous wreck. I had never even run 13.1 miles in my life and I was going to attempt it? Was I crazy? My longest training run last year at this time was probably 10.5 miles. I did race the 15k and had a couple other a little over 9 miles. I can still remember when I hit the 11 mile mark and I thought, I have never been here before. I have no idea whats going to happen. Will I die? Can I make it to the finish? Will my legs give out before hand?

Well, lucky for me I did finish, and at the time it was pretty tiring, about the same feeling I had when I finished my full marathon at Tulsa in November other than I could walk better. Last year I ran a 2:28. This year I have some goals but I really don't know what I will run. I'm thinking a 2:15 is my worst scenario but even though its just a 1/2, you never know what will happen on race day or how you will feel. This one could be a surprise to me if I do as good as I did at the 15k last weekend.

Annette and I just got back from eating at Olive Garden so now all I can think about is those 4 or 5 pounds I wish I didn't have slowing me down. If I could lose 10 I could be really fast maybe. But I really don't have the good willpower to diet. I can burn it off though, if it was only summer I would be 5 pounds lighter because I'd be sweating more.

I did a 2 mile tempo run last night on the treadmill and tomorrow I really don't need but 3 or 4 miles if that. Sunday we are planning on 12-13 and the weather is looking great for it right now. That means tomorrow I can run pretty much whenever I want. No early run for me:)

Windy Monday Night

I did the Monday night run with Annette and the girls in the Blooming Ridge subdivision. They have been running here for a couple months now and Monday night they should have called it windy ridge. We had some pretty high winds to deal with and yes, there are hills here and many of them. You go up one and down another. We basically loop around the neighborhood in the dark but it is well lit. This is a great training route.

Yesterday afternoon I went to Academy Sports to get me another pair of Brooks Adrenalin 7's but wouldn't you know it, they were out of my size. Ever since I was injured I have had it in my head that the Saucony Hurricane 9's that I have wore some were not the right shoe for me. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Irregardless, I have it in my head that they are causing me injury. Since they were out of the Adrenalin 7's, I decided to try something different. I tried on a pair of Asics Kayano Gel 13's which Annette has had good luck with and a pair of Nike Air Structure Triax 10+. I have a pair of Ascis GT2120's but they have always seemed to hurt my left heal. Something about the heel cup. Well, the Kayano 13's were about the same way. The Nike's felt great and had better cushioning. The Kayano 13's were almost twice as much as the Nike's so I decided to try a pair and see how they would do. I figured if nothing else I would have a nice pair of shoes to kick around in.

The Nike's actually felt really good on the run last night. They seemed to have more forefoot cushion than some. They seemed to keep my feet at a better angle than the Hurricane's do. If they don't work out I will be back to the old standby Brooks. The aggravating thing on shoes is the fact that about the time you like one, they change it and go to a new model.

More on the run:
When I got to Michele's house to start our run I was joined with Annette, Brenda, Kelly, Heather and Michele. The first thing we noticed was the temps were warmer than we had been used to but the wind was terrible! There must have been a 16-25 mph wind blowing directly from the south which made it feel much cooler than the 58 degrees that it was.

We crossed over into Blooming Ridge and all we could feel was a direct head wind. We commented that this was wind like the Rivertrail 15K had last year. We were running but it almost felt like we were standing still. After a couple hills we turned left and got out of the wind. Then it got hot. It was hot and cold all night depending on which direction we ran. I struggled a little bit but stayed with the group. When I hit 3.1 miles I decided that I was taking a walk break. Especially since this was the first time in forever that I had done 5k non stop. The girls kept going. So I would sprint to catch up, then slow or walk again. I only wanted about 4 miles anyway so I knew I didn't have far to go. Kelly was on fire last night pacing the group and looking very strong. The last 1/2 mile I ended up running very hard and fast to catch up. I looked at my garmin later and It showed me at about a 5:58 pace. Just wish I could hold that longer but I can't. Overall I was pretty happy with the run. Especially considering the hills and the wind we had to fight. We all hate wind and most hate hills so running what you hate makes you stronger.

Here are my splits from last night:
Total miles - 4.11
Avg. pace - 10:33
1- 10:49
2-10:41
3-10:17
4-10:29
.1-10:20
560 calories burnt
Avg HR 166

Tonight is speed work at the track. I am looking forward to it though the weather is calling for 25 MPH winds. Could make for an interesting run. Afterwards I have to attend an emergency vehicle driving class at the FD. This is a boring class that I have done probably 13 times but it is a requirement to have at least once a year. Add another certificate to my collection!

Saturday 7+

After having icy conditions Friday in the area I wasn't sure how Saturday's run would be. I had went out on a car accident at 3:30am so that messed my sleep up. Annette was running with Cheryl at 6am but I opted to run with a later group at 7:45am. Why everyone has to start so early I don't know. Some just want to get it done and over. In the summer you start early to beat the heat. I haven't figured out all the reasoning behind the early starts in the winter other than people having other obligations they need to get to.

The late group decided to do what we call the Mt Tabor loop. It's about 7 miles around and that was exactly what I needed. It was a cold 30 degrees when we started with little or no wind. Somehow I ended up leading the group down Hwy 89 towards Mt Tabor. It wasn't too far down the road when I found the first icy patch on the road. This made the run a little hazardous. We actually moved over to the grass on some of this section as we sure didn't want anyone falling down on Hwy 89.

After we turned on Mt Tabor I started slowing down. About 1/4 mile down the road we encounted another icy patch where the road crossed a small creek. These were pretty tricky and if you ran across them you were probably going to fall or slide. I think one of the ladies at the back of the group did fall on one of these but luckily she wasn't hurt.

After about my second water break I fell to the rear of the main group. There was still a couple ladies behind me a pretty good ways. It just seems I cannot hold any kind of good pace anymore. In October and November it would have been nothing for me to be maintaining a 10:20 pace on this run. Now I was hovering around 11:20. What gives?? I did have a little foot pain on my left heel which I always have but I also was starting to get some pains in my left knee. My right leg that had the stress fracture felt great. So this kind of messed with my head a lot. Was it the shoes?? I keep thinking the shoes are messing me up. But that really should not be the case. I was running in Saucony Pro Grid Hurricane 9's that were almost brand new. These are super cushioned and made for over-pronators. The leg doctor had given me inserts to use while my leg was healing so I thought maybe these were causing the twinges in my knee. I had actually taken them out for this run just to see how it would feel. Maybe its just old age. Maybe I should just bike.

The run continued. Mt Tabor has some nice rolling hills and I ran up every one of them. We turned on Hickory and more rolling hills. I just ran an easy pace but It really wasn't that easy. Maybe it's the extra 4 pounds of holiday weight. I need to lose this and get back to my marathon weight goal of 170 but I have never had the best eating habits. It's much easier in the summer for me.

After I turned on Dogwood I heard someone running up behind me and it was Bailey. She had gotten to the school late and had run about a 9:00 pace trying to catch up to us. I could see the two lead groups slightly ahead of us. Bailey said she was having some knee issues so she ran the rest of the way in with me. It was nice having someone to talk to and finish out the miles. Hwy 321 has some huge hills on it with the last one we all nicknamed "Heart Break Hill". Well, let me tell you we ran every hill on 321 and conquered Heart Break Hill with no problems. I may have lost speed but my hill climbing ability is still there if not better. It's just hard to not be where I was 3 months ago.

Afterwards a bunch of the runners went to "The Diner" which is a new restaurant in Cabot for breakfast. This seems to be a tradition on some runs and the Cruisers try to eat at different places in town, not that we have many choices at all. I will have to say the food at The Diner was good but their service was somewhat lacking. They were packed with people and the cashier didn't even know how to collect money on two tickets together. They are a new business only being open a couple weeks so things should get better hopefully.

Here are my splits from Saturdays run. I am not happy with them but they are what they are.
Total miles - 7.6
Time - 1:28:10
Avg. Pace - 11:36
1-10:54
2-11:26
3-11:05
4-12:03
5-12:08
6-12:10
7-11:20
.6-11:46
1034 calories

Birthday Run

Well today was my birthday. Yes, I am 29. (I wish) I had originally planned on riding with the group on a 50 mile bike ride today but the weather and work changed that. I was taking a vacation day today but ended up having to work on some audits so that blew that. The bike ride wouldn't have been too much fun anyway, it was about 30 degrees with a 24 degree wind chill at ride time. There was 4 riders that rode though. All I can say is they are animals! You have to be truly dedicated or training for a major event to brave the cold like today on a bike.

Annette and Brenda talked me in to having a birthday run with them. I only needed about 2 miles and Annette talked me into 3 so I said ok, i'd go. I'm glad I did. We ran the Blooming Ridge subdivision where Annette runs almost every Monday and Wednesday night. The route is well lit and very little traffic. But there is one catch. There is a bunch of hills. These are not big hills, but the kind that creep up on you. The girls claimed that they wanted to run a slow, easy pace but I knew better than that with these two. I figured they would run off and leave me but I hung with them and they were running slower than normal. I could tell I was still trying to get my conditioning back to where it was but I was able to run every hill. We ran a solid 2 miles before we took a quick walk break. About 3 hills later I was walking a little but I'd speed up to catch the girls. It felt pretty good but I was working harder than normal. This easy run for the girls was probably a tempo run for me. I'll be glad when my conditioning comes back. Here are my times, not bad I guess for my second week back running.

Total run - 3.5 miles - 36:32
Avg. Pace - 10:26
1- 10:12
2- 10:39
3- 10:30
.5- 10:22

The workout for tomorrow night's clinic is hill repeats. I hope my legs feel up to it!

Saturday's Run

Saturday was my longest run for the new year and longest since Tulsa in November. I met the Cruisers at the school as usual at 7am. There was a pretty large group, probably 12-15+ and it was about 27 degrees. We also had a pretty good north wind blowing right at us. Annette was running with Cheryl, Michelle and the Little Rock Marathon group doing 16 in the hills.

I started out good, running with the pack for probably a tenth of a mile or so but they quickly left me in the dust. For some reason the group runs always start out super fast. I looked down and I was doing about a 10 minute mile and getting left for last. Oh well, I was recovering from an injury. Andrea and Kelly were suppose to run with me but they stayed in the pack. It wasn't long before Kelly dropped back and started running with me. I never saw Andrea again as she stayed with the fast group. It was nice of Kelly to slow down and run with me as I knew she could run much faster. I used to be faster but I guess the time off took its toll. I still had some endurance as we ran non stop for probably 2.2 miles or more before having a walk break. The majority of the group was doing 11-16 miles but I only needed to do 6 or 7. We ran into Rock and Kirsten when we turned off of Hwy 38. They were looking to hook up with the other group so we directed them on the direction they were traveling. Kelly ran the whole way with me and it was very much appreciated.

All in all I had a decent run I guess. We ended up with 6.1 miles. I was much slower than my normal 6 miles but I guess thats just the price you pay for an injury. I know it will get better the more I run. Coach Dennis has cautioned me not to do too much too soon so today is another rest day. I will still end up with right at 15 miles for the week so thats a good start. I'll be trying to add a little more each week.

Here were my slow splits:
6.1 miles - 1:11:04 - 11:39 average pace
1- 10:15
2- 11:31
3- 12:02
4- 12:00
5- 12:22
6- 11:48
.1- 11:02
164 average HR - 840 calories