A New PR...

So, my goals were not exactly matched - I ran the final 5K of my half-marathon in 20:22 - but I was pretty pleased. I set a new personal record - 3 minutes and 15 seconds until my running shoes were water logged. Oh, I also ran my half-marathon over 4 mintues faster than my previous best. I came in at 1:31:29. Wee pee!!! Now, I am very, very, very tired.

(Did I really just write "Wee pee"?)

Another Test...

In five minutes, I leave for a half-marathon in Wilmington, MA. It is called... the Wilmington Half-Marathon - original. I have been putting in quite a bit of distance runs lately, which would seem contrary to the purpose of getting faster in the 5K. I should say, however, that I notice my legs and my engine are definitely stronger. I think this is strengthening the base on which my 18:59 will come this year. I do not want to lose site of the 5K, though, so today I will put together another test - I want 1:35 in the half-marathon. I would like to do that by putting in a 20:00 final 3.1. Realistically, I probably won't get it, but if I set the goal, and reach for it, then I should be able to approach it, right? We'll see...

In preparation, I have already run 33 miles this week, with a couple of off days.

Monday - 15 miles - 1:50
Tuesday - 5 miles - medium
Wednesday - 8.3 miles - fast - 0:58
Thursday - rest (worked too long of a day)
Friday - 5 miles - easy
Saturday - rest

So, what could be better - the Red Sox are going to the play-offs, the Phillies won the division, Penn State won convincingly last night over #22 Illinois and the Eagles should win their third game tonight against the Bears (hopefully). Seems like a good day to go racing... except for the constant down pour that has been flooding the streets for the last two days and is to continue through tomorrow morning.

Congrats to CGB

CGB is really putting on a training clinic. He's racking up the miles and layin' out the blistering times. The relay sounds like fun. 65 minutes for a very hilly 9.3 miles is very impressive. My 19:12 is in serious jeopardy once CGB turns his attention back to short speed work.

I continued to save my knees by cross-training last week, doing both my speed work and my distance work on the bike, running the middle-distance workouts, and mixing in a swim. As I get closer to my next race date, October 11, I'll need to get back on the track. But for another week or so, I'm enjoying the variation.

Sunday & Monday: rest (too busy)
Tuesday: swim 1/2 hour; run 5m
Wednesday: run 3m tempo
Thursday: ride intervals, 10 x 1/2 mile (26 mph), 1/2 mile (16 mph)
Friday: run 5m
Saturday: ride 32m

What a Relay!!!

Today, I ran the Fred Brown Lake Winnipesaukee Relay. It is the same one that I ran last year - 65 miles around the Lake - and I ran the same leg - 9.3 miles. I wanted to conquer the 350 foot climb at the beginning (over 0.5 miles) and the immediate descent - followed by more climbs and immediate descents. Last year, I ran it in 72 minutes and destroyed my legs. I did not get into a groove until after miles 3. This year, I made the climb with "relative ease" and sustained stride and momentum down each descent. The climbs were fluid and I felt great. I passed people one-by-one, a Bill Rodgers-type passed me, and drove my legs up the final ascent to the transition point passing one final competitor with a final sprint. I felt good and my legs were moving like I wanted more. My watch this year? 65 minutes. SWEET!!! It must have been all of those hill repeats over the last couple of weeks and a relatively light week this week serving as rest = 30 miles so far. I think I will sign-up and run a half-marathon next Sunday. Then, I will focus on speed intervals. After cheering for my teammates today, and having them cheer for me (all while hanging out of the moving van), hanging in good humor and with smelly bodies, and running with positive attitude and results (we won our division by 13 minutes), the best part of the day was, obviously, the shower.

Why Does a Great Week Have to End That Way?

For the last few weeks, I have been consistently getting good, quality runs in. I have been packing on the miles and getting faster and stronger. I have been recovering well and therefore, running well. It has been fun as evidenced by my desire to build each week. Enter last week.

My mother was visiting, so I had already projected that I would be in bed late and awake late; I would feel bad going out for runs while my mom was hanging at home; I would just easily find the whole week a good excuse to let the week drop. Instead of these things, I was up early everyday and got in good sold runs for the third or fourth consecutive week. I continued to run well, putting in good times, more miles and an impressive long-run:

Tuesday: 5 miles moderate
Wednesday: 4 miles fast
Thursday: 9 miles in 1:03
Friday: 3 miles easy
Saturday: 6 miles moderate
Sunday: 15 miles in 1:59 including 8 repeats up long and steep hill

However, just as things seem to continually go well, Donovan McNabb fumbles the ball late in the fourth quarter and the Cowboys score a touchdown to take the lead. Then, just when I think the Eagles can pull off the upset, anyway, McNabb decides he does not want to run for the first down leading to an impossible 4th down and the Cowboys win. This sucks. I need to go for a run and clear my head.

My secrets, revealed!

Drats! CGB uncovered my secret weight loss program. The fact is that since moving to Alabama I've had no difficulty keeping the weight off. It's not because I'm in great shape; the ubiquitous fried and sugary foods have seen to it that I maintain a fluffy cushion around my middle. I keep the weight off because I am perpetually dehydrated. And my dehydration is not for lack of fluid intake. I spend as much time consuming water and salty foods and I do engaging in all my other activities combined. Yet somehow all that water ends up in my clothes. When I undress in the evenings I can squeeze enough water out of my clothes to refill Lake Powell, and still there is enough left to replenish a couple dozen acres of the Sahara Desert.

Cross training the last couple weeks, as I have mixed in the laps in the pool and miles on the bike (including for speedwork) and I accepted an invitation to play basketball with some former students.

Sunday, Aug. 30: 5k tempo (20:55)
Monday: 5k race (19:59)
Tuesday: ride intervals, 10 x 1/2 mile, 1/2 mile
Wednesday: run 5m
Thursday: run 5m
Saturday: ride 32m

Tuesday: swim 1/2 hour; run 5m
Wednesday: basketball
Thursday: run 5m
Friday: run intervals, 4 x 400 (88 sec. ave.), 300
Saturday: run 4m

Great Weight Loss Program...

On Saturday, I went for a long run (planned 13 miles) at around 1:45 in the afternoon. What was I thinking? The temperature was 80°C and the humidity was ~100%. It felt like I was running through a swimming pool or a bathtub, only there were no rubber duckies floating in the air. It was so humid and hot, that my sweat left a trail on the ground. It was a good thing I didn't rob a house; the cops would have been able to stop by the Dunkin' Donuts (or Starbucks - it is Andover), then still be able to follow the trail because the moisture in the air would have prevented any attempt at evaporation. Believe me, I am not exaggerating; every step felt like I just put my feet down in a puddle after a torrential down pour. (I know, I know. Disgusting, but I never claimed to be a romantic). At any rate, it was so hard and slow, that I cut it short and ran only 12 miles. On the plus side - I lost 7-8 lbs. only to drink from the garden hose to replenish the fluids.

Here are that stats for last week:

Monday - 5 miles moderate
Tuesday - 4 miles moderate
Wednesday - 8.3 miles in 57:27 (the last 3.2 miles in 20:17)
Thursday - 4 miles fast
Friday - rest
Saturday - 12 miles
Sunday - 6 miles easy-moderate
TOTAL = 39 miles

It was a good week. I would love to say that I am ready to build on that this week, but my mom will be visiting all week, so no guarantee. I will keep you posted.

Keep Up the Good Work...

Well, 80°C, humid weather is not easy to run in. It seems like AJMac is keeping in shape and setting up for a productive 6 weeks. Seems like the perfect training schedule. Keep up the good work.

In Massachusetts, the weather has not been so oppressive, very beautiful in fact, and so I have been taking advantage of it. Last week I posted some big numbers without really doing speed work (that will come later):

Monday - 4 miles moderate
Tuesday - 3.5 miles hard
Wednesday - 10 miles fast = 71 minutes flat - this includes the final 2.5 miles in 15:45 (6:18 pace)
Thursday - 5 miles moderate
Friday - rest
Saturday - 12.5 miles moderate = 1:32 - this includes the final 3.4 miles in 22:45 (6:41 pace is not bad for the end of a 12 mile run.
Total = 35 miles

Oh, by the way, I biked into work and home every day last week, so my legs were not super fresh. I am trying to keep up the good work this week (minus the biking - time to take the oldest to school every day) and even improve on my last numbers. I want to be able to start out a race at 6:20 pace, improve to 6:15 over mile two and then book it home, leaving it all out on the course, by averaging a 5:50 pace over the next 1.1 miles.

19:59

When I awoke this morning at 5:00 AM to start loosening for the race, the temperature was already 80 degrees. And with the cloud bands from Hurricane Gustav passing overhead, it was wicked humid. It got muggier from there. The course incorporated nearly every hill in downtown Montgomery, just to slow things down a little more. So I am pleased with my 19:59 time and my 4th-place finish.

Given the conditions, I paced myself perfectly. My first mile was 6:25, my second mile was 6:25, and my average overall pace was 6:26.

Now I know what I need to do. I have six weeks before my next race, which I plan to target. By then the air should be cooler, if not drier. It won't be my last chance in 2008 to break nineteen minutes, but why wait until the last minute?