Almost forgot...

...I got my taxes done yesterday.  As always, careful planning on my part have assured me a large refund!  Also have out done myself on the work front...hired a fresh out of school nurse for night shift...seems eager to learn...let's hope he likes the jail.  Also renewed my CPR card after it had been expired for 2 years, renewed my nurse license, got my annual cont. ed. done.  Wow, I'm kicking ass...I deserve a raise!

Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Had an OK steady state run on Thursday...temp about 90 degrees.  Feels good on the legs but not on the lungs.  Averaged about MGP but it felt like tempo pace.  No complaints about the temperature.

Took Friday off (as usual).  Surprisingly tired.  2 hour nap in the afternoon when I should have been riding Riley.  Oh well.

Did not want to get up on Saturday.  Could hear the wind howling outside.  Did only 14 miles as my L foot was more sore than usual and I essentially hit the wall at mile 12.  Team aspect came into play today.  After 4 miles with the fast crew, I slowed up and waited on Tara who had gotten dropped a few miles back.  We ran together the rest of the way.  At mile 12 I told her to go ahead as I was feeling like laying in the ditch and taking a nap.  She stuck by my side and kept me moving for the last few miles.  Thanks Tara.

Got home and took a 30 min soak in the tub - almost fell asleep and then slept for 2 hours.  Feeling better now but have a new pain in my right calf.  Will attend to my legs tonight.

Good night

It's funny...I am so ingrained in my routines that I don't even notice them anymore...until I think about the things I do.

I always say good night out loud to the horses before I turn the barn lights out, I always pet Riley while I'm feeding him and tell him I'll see him tomorrow, I always say good night to the dog (who is in her crate) and cat and tell them to behave, as I head off to work. Sometimes I'll even suggest to the cat that she can clean the house, do laundry or wash dishes if she is bored. Weird but the animals are my family so I guess it's OK.

Wednesday's run was uneventful but I felt pretty good...ran a bit slower than Tuesday but still at an acceptable pace. I am starting to feel fit. This warm weather helps because I'm not battling cold, stiff legs. Not too many aches and pains. Left foot doing well...really well.

Thank goodness my weekend starts in 2.5 hours - your fellow citizens are not acting right!

Need to try

So while I have given myself permission to run a little slower on the long runs (so I finish strong instead of fading), I need to try and hang onto a faster pace on our mid week runs. Today was an easy 7 miles with the last mile a little faster. Somewhere along the way I turned off my Garmin so lost 1.5 miles. But the part I did record averaged 8min/mile with the last 1/2 mile at 6:25 pace. Very good for me. It was hurting a little at the end but an OK hurt.
Put a little hurt on Jim Gelb and Javi on the hill on Greystone - Jim had 2 comments..."what the hell are you doing?" and then "maybe you will beat me at Boston". Hate to break it to you Jim, but Boston is my own race - I have a race plan and a plan if things aren't working as I would like them. Whether I beat you or not is not part of any plan.
Practiced my form during the run and mostly tried to be more effective with my arms on the hills.
A little sleepy right now.
I'm liking this warm weather!!!

End of week summary

Grrr...my wifi at home sucks. There is nothing wrong with my laptop and the internet connection appears to be good but my email is unreliable and internet connection is crappy at best. Guess I'll have to call the guy who set it up and get him to sort it out.

Thursday - 4 miles easy, 4 miles steady state. Silver dog came along and hung on pretty good - if I recall it was a little warm that afternoon so she was lagging by the end. Had a great session jumping Riley - he has really come along and is very relaxed about the whole thing.

Friday - off

Saturday - Soulbuster. Woke up with my alarm at 4:15 am. Lay there for a few minutes trying to remember why I was getting up and what day it was. Got up and got myself together.
Ran the first 10 miles or so conservatively so I would be strong in the hills and have a decent run on the track. Ran up Mt Bonnell faster than anyother time. Cautious on the steeper downhills because they just kill my feet. Got passed by 2 ladies just flying up Mountain Climb. Ran almost the entire run alone with just my I Pod for company - worked just fine. Carried my own water - big difference not having to stop for water - I did stop twice for power ade though. Was able to GU when I wanted to - not just when there was water. Felt great on North Hills on my way back to the track. None of the usual aches and pains. Hit the track right away and nailed each of the 4 miles - first 2 7:37 each, 3rd 7:33, 4th 7:23. Yay!! Total redemption for the crappy soul buster we had in December. Got wet in the rain cheering the last runners in.

Sunday - Ran 6.45 miles with Silver dog. First 4 miles tough but the last 2 and change felt great. Nice sunny day with a light wind.
Went to Karen's chi running clinic in the afternoon in my quest to improve my running mechanics. Helpful but it is going to take a lot of focus on my part to break som of my old habits.

I'm tired...

...but not sore. Had a hard time getting up today and considered blowing off today's run. Slept an extra 30 min, got up and checked my email where there was a nice little pep talk from Karen so threw running clothes on and ran 4 miles. Silver dog had a good time and I can't say I didn't. Just takes me twice as long to get anything done because I am physically and mentally tired.

I know I'll be tired in the run tomorrow and I'm going to try and get to the morning one. Have my I Pod packed to help me out. I plan to get to bed early on Thurs and Friday but expect to be tired on Sat. Will fit that expectation into my plan of how to get the soul buster done.

My internet service at home is still working like crap (I live out of city limits so choices are very limited) so I'm a little hit or miss about everything that my computer deals with.

Marathon - kinda half ass effort by organizers

The volunteers at this years marathon get a perfect score from me.  From the expo to the water to the finish they were amazingly efficient.

The marathon organizers seemed to put in a half ass effort.  Race started late for no obvious reason.  They need to seed the corrals because I was passing people going at a snails pace up Congress who should have been behind me.

There were some great bands, there were some crappy ones but overall for the live music capital of the world, there weren't many at all.  The winners were the kids at the turn on the 1st and the kids on the Mopac Bridge.  Awesome.

The course itself sucked.  The alley was poorly thought out and seemed like the easy way out for the organizers.  The finish was fine for me because I was fresh but I guarentee you for people who were shooting for a BQ, a PR or just to finish it was a kick in the face - again it was just the easy way out for the organizers since UT didn't want to cooperate.

They need a warning sign for the earlier aid stations because with the packed roads, it was impossible to see when they were coming up.

Thanks to the folks in the neighborhoods who came out to cheer and hand out oranges, gummi bears and kleenex - y'all are the real heros of the marathon.

Austin Marathon

The goal of this race was not to run a PR - not even get close to one.  I wanted to get out a shake the long run demons that have been underfoot on my long runs for a while.  So, for the 3 days prior to the marathon I made a special effort to make sure I was getting in enough carbs and getting enough rest.  I did not cut back on miles except on Thursday karen had us run 8 miles instead of 12.  To make up for that I ran a progressive pace type run for the first 6 miles and then put in some hard bursts on the last 2 miles.  Kinda stressed Javi out - he doesn't like people to pass him!  Legs felt great.

Spent plenty of time at the Expo on Saturday and actually bought some stuff.

Had pizza for lunch, pasta for early dinner and in bed by 8:30.  Pretty much had everything organized for the next morning.

Up at 4am.  Took a shower and ate 1/2 an apple and a bagel.  Drank 12 oz accelerade on the way to Rogue.  Got to Rogue at around 5:30am - one other racer there.  Relaxed, made a couple of potty visits and contemplaited whether I would take my ipod or not.  Decided not too.  Since it was cloudy out with a light north wind, I wore my glasses with yellow lenses to keep the wind out of my contacts.

Planned finish time - 3:45.  I actually planned to run with the pace group.  In reality I caught the 3:40 group by Austin High and then let them go by visiting a porta potty.  Never actually ran with the 3:45 group at all.  Felt good from the start thru Enfield - high fived some kids and a dog.  Made an effort to try and slow myself down.  Took a GU around mile 9.

Mile 11 JimGelb hopped in and ran the rest of the way with me.  His job was to keep from running to fast and to motivate me if I hit any low spots.  Coming out of Exposition, my legs felt a little tired and it felt like I had a wrinkle on my sock.  I focused on keeping my legs underneath me and bending my knees. 

Great Northern - BLAH - I told Jim that if my car had been there I'da hopped in it and driven home.  This was a key moment in the run because I have moments like that a lot in the long runs and I always give up and drop back.  Since Jim was there I just kept plugging on at the same pace and amazingly once we passed North Cross mall I felt fine!  Had another GU somewhere around mile 15.  Now Jim was repeatedly telling me to slow down that I would thank him in the last few miles and next Saturday at the soulbuster.  This was good because my legs felt strong and the tightness and soreness in my left glute was gone.  At mile 15 I wondered how I would get 26 done and at mile 18 I was loving life.

We just maintained pace until mile 24 (we were definately sub 3:45 now) and then pushed up Dean Keaton, on Guad and then flew down MLK to San Jac.  Everyone else was running to the left - I stayed in the middle of the road until I had no choice but to go on the marathon side of the barrier.  Still working well but keeping pace under control.  Once we hit 11th - I just kicked it up and we sprinted down to the finish.  My legs were fresh and there was no pain.

Jogged back up to Belevederes and then back to Rogue.

With my warm up jog and cool down jog  - total 28 miles!!

That was my 2nd slowest marathon ever but I learned a lot.

- I can recover from a low point if I am patient.

-I need to run in the middle of the road - I did not cut across the tangents at all - took the longest route around the turns.  Taking the tangents actually slows me down and hurts my feet.

-having a pacer makes a big difference - I had someone to talk to the whole way and someone to either motivate me or slow me down when needed. 

I ran about 2 min slower than last year but felt much, much better at the end.  I ran the 2nd half 1 min faster than the first, so pretty much even splits the whole way - last year I ran a huge negative split and while I felt OK at the end, I felt great this year.  I was not at all sore on Monday except for a spot on my right quad and was able to run up and down stairs with no pain at all.

Boston - I will be shooting for even splits again.  I will lose a little time in the hills but hopefully this year will be strong enough to make it up in the last 6 miles.

I passed over 300 people in the last 6 miles of Austin!!

Add 20 degrees and it would have been August

It was very warm and humid tonight. Let's hope the weather gets this out of it's system before Sunday. We had a 4 mile steady state run tonight - I was careful and monitored my effort. Ran at exactly the same pace as last week on the same course. MGP!! I felt like I was working a bit on the hills but was able to recover very quickly on the flat and down hill parts. Sweating like crazy. Warm up with Stewart was a little fast, cool down with Josh was just right. Legs feeling better today. Easy run planned for tomorrow and a 8 mile run on Thurs with a fast finish.

Completely oblivious to the thunderstorm as I was trapped in my office at work - no windows - only concrete block walls.

Took advantage of my 5 hours of paid workout time today and left an hour early to get some extra sleep. Considering doing that on Thursday too.

Trying for a slightly easier week

My legs are feeling tired. I can't imagine racing Austin on Sunday let alone running it at a long run pace. I try to remember how my legs felt coming up to Austin 2 years ago when I ran my first marathon. I think my legs felt bad then too and somehow, I was able to run at a pace I didn't think possible and qualify for Boston. I just finished reading Mike's blog and remembered that I must have passed him while he was "resting" with a mile to go.
Last year, I too ran Austin for fun like I am this year - no big workout for me. I'm getting old and just don't recover all that fast. Last year was a good example of that. Hopefully I will snap my self back into shape after the effort this weekend and be ready for the sole buster - whatever that will bring.
I'll be curious to see how the blood draw thing works out on Sunday as the Marathon organizers wouldn't let the Biophysical people have a small spot at the finish...we are going to walk down the street to a men's spa for the labs. Aren't allowed to stop for water or food - I hope I get my finishers shirt since I paid for it!! I did mention that minor problem to the lab draw people and I guess they are working on that.
Time to get to work...

Weekly update

For some reason, I am having trouble accessing anyone's blogs on my computer at home. Of course, no problem at work.
Wednesday I ran an easy 7.5 mile run with Silver dog. Nothing special but felt OK.
Thursday - 12 mile medium long run. Decided after last weeks not so good long run that I would try starting at a ridiculously slow pace and then pick it up after a few miles. Ran slow for 3-4 miles, slowish for 2-3 miles and then pushed the pace for the last 6 miles. Went well and I felt strong at the end.
Saturday I was going to be disciplined and do it again. Ran a 10min mile for the first mile. By mile 2 was in the 8's but it felt relaxed. Ran for 8+ miles with Sadie's Tara. We had an enjoyable run chatting. She had an awesome run at St. George last year. Stopped at CVS for a bathroom break and then started to pick up the pace through the hills off Far West. She dropped back after 8 miles and I just continued to press the pace on my own. It was very windy but I was pleased to see whan was all said and done, I was able to knock out some 8 min miles on Shoal Creek into the head wind without killing myself. After a quick drink and stretch at the Park, I headed back out for the final 6 miles. For an instant it was mentally tough but I focused on just getting back to pace. Made it back to the Park without any major problems this time - averaged 8:36/mile. Went for breakfast and a massage. All good. 18 miles.
Sunday - trail running with Debbie and the dogs. My legs felt a tad tired so our pace was slow. The dogs had a great time and will Silver dog had a few minor skirmashes with some dogs, overall she was pretty good. At the end I just kept her on the leash so I didn't have to worry about her. Tripped over some roots - fell down once. I really need to practice picking my feet up!! Home - thought about doing my taxes but took a 2hr nap instead. 7.66 miles
Total for the week 54.6 miles or so.

I am my own worst enemy

I was driving to the workout today, listening to NPR. They had a piece on some baseball athletes including A-Rod and talked about how some of these athletes got in their own way by putting so much pressure on themselves. As I am listening to this, I am thinking..."that is me - always has been". I quit mountain biking 13 years ago cold turkey because it was becoming a full time job training so that I could perform at a level I thought was acceptable. I hated it and started DNF'ing when things weren't going right in the races. Classic case of overtraining and if I had backed off for a year or so and then ramped back up carefully I probably would still be racing my bike. I need to avoid that happening again.
Talked to coach Karen about it tonight and she agreed with my plan to back off a little on the long runs - start slower and run faster at the end. Would I like to be running with the faster people in our group - absolutely. I have been in this boat before and I think did better in the long run when I backed off and ran slower.
Mid week runs are going great - I feel like I am on target with them. Felt strong and smooth on the steady state run tonight - much hillier than last week.
Best of luck to Mike on his ambitious plan for Austin Marathon...we need to have a video camera follow you for the race so we can all see how it goes. Looks interesting to say the least!!
I'm still planning an easy run with a pick up for the last few miles - something to give me a mental boost.

Something different

One of the newer members of Team Rogue North enjoys running with her dog like I do so we have been doing some Sunday runs together.  Today we went to Walnut Creek Park.  I left Silver dog at home because she has already done 15 miles this week and because I want to check out the trails without the stress of her maybe having an altercation with another dog.  She likes Debbie's dog so that's half the battle won.  Next time I think I'll take her, I think she would have been fine.

I have lived in Austin for about 15 years and have mountain biked everywhere except Walnut Creek Park.  What a pleasant surprise!!  It was also nice running with someone that is a good match for my running pace.  I can see how trail running will make me a much better, well rounded runner.  It is much easier on my feet and legs - no never ending camber.

I  enjoy Mike and  Julia's blogs in particular because they have chronicled how they blend the trails into their road schedule successfully and done some neat sounding trail races.  I am going to continue my quest to Boston - I have renewed my energy after today and will continue to seek out alternate places to run on my easy days.  After Boston, I am going to make the next focus race something off road.

Of course it didn't hurt that it was fabulous weather - this is why I live in Austin!!