Second Wind

Tough workout today!  I haven't done 800s in quite a while, but today was the day.  Did a one mile warm up and then did five 800 meter repeats with a 400 meter recovery after each one.  My schedule called for repeats at 3:10 each and figured it was within my range so I decided to go for it.  Here are the splits:  3:07, 3:09, 3:04, 3:13, 3:05.  The second and fourth intervals were into the wind and were really tough, the other three were with the wind and were not as tough, but still pretty hard.  I jogged each of the quarter mile recovery sections at about a 9:00/mile pace.  The I cooled down with 1.25 miles to come up with an even 6 for the day.  The body felt pretty good for the most part.  My legs and lungs felt pretty worked by the end but that is a good thing I think.

Time:  46:25  7:44/mile

Did another 2.64 miles in the evening of speed walking practice which I will count as slow running because they are about 10 minute miles.  Man that speed walking is brutal on the legs when you don't do it very often.  Got a small blister on the inside of each of my heals as a result of walking, I don't think it will effect my running much.

Meg is in surgury as I type this.  I dropped her off at the surgical center and had to get back to my daughters school to video tape her doing a performance of Emelia Earhart (sp?).  Hope everything goes well.  The doctor seem optimistic so I think it will.  Run went fine today.  Legs were a little dead from the speed walking yesterday but nothing major.  Short and sweet today.

Time:  57:52  8:16/mile

Lazy man syndrome today. No Running. Stayed home from work today so I could take Meg back to the surgical center and to her first brief physical therapy session. The surgury went better than expected but the tear was a little worse than thought. Meg is in a lot of pain and the pain meds really upset her tummy so she also gets to deal with the nausea and the pain, blaughghgh! We found out that Meg will probably not be able to run again for about 12 weeks. She will be in a sling for 6-8 weeks and can probably expect an almost full recovery in about 6 months. It's going to be a long painful process but if anyone can get through it, she can.

Nothing again today.  Just slept in late, did chores all day, took the girls to softball and tried to take care of Meg.  A nurse in our ward came over and gave her an I.V. with some anti nausea medicine and it really helped her to feel better and get a good nights rest.

Rest.

Back at it again today.  It really sucks to get up every morning and face the cool dark morning alone.  It sure made running a lot easier when Meg was going with me.  At least I knew there was someone depending on me to be up and ready to go running every morning.  Without her getting up every morning it's easier to make up an excuse to cheat ant not run.  I look forward to the day when she is back by my side again.

The run went good and I felt good.  I guess I should feel good after 3 days off.  The shin muscles finally feel better.  They were really sore up until yesterday due to the walk race practice last Wednesday.  I'm sure glad I went to practice or would really be hurting come race day.

Time:  1:06:16  8:17/mile

Don't even get me started about this run.

32:55 8:13/mile

When I walked out the door this morning I was afraid this tempo run would not go well due to the high winds.  When I rounded the turn going south for the first time during my run the wind was so hard it kinda scared me.  Since my longest stretch of road runs from north to south (directly into the wind) I decided to run my normal course backwards today to minimize the time going strait into the wind.  The plan called for a 5 mile tempo run at 7:11/mile.  I figured I would stay as close to that as possible.  Here aree the splits:  7:06, 7:09, 6:37, 7:06, 6:48.  I'm sure my Garmin lost me on that 3rd mile because I really don't think I ran that fast.  I did decided to pick it up on the last mile and I think the 6:48 is pretty acurate.  The wind was a factor for the first couple of miles but them seemed to lighten as the run went on, thank goodness.

Time:  59:14  7:24/mile

I went to walk race practice after work today again.  Man that walking is tough.  I did feel better than last time but I could tell the legs were still a little sore in the walking muscle areas.  I counted the extra 2.65 miles of walking as slow miles.

Slow and easy today.  Last night I want to the walk race practice again and the legs were feeling a bit fatigued this morning.  Good thing today was supposed to be a recovery day anyway.  Nothing too exciting today.  Windy as usual.

Time:  1:07:21  8:25/mile

Took the day off work to hang with the kids a bit for the last day of Spring Break. Ran a little later than usual and it was actually light during my run. Not sure of the reason today, but I ran a bit faster than I was intending and the pace felt slower than usual. Just one of those good days I guess. Actually a really nice day with very little wind for once.

Time: 1:05:22 8:10/mile

Got up at the usual time today for the Saturday long run and was only able to manage 1.5 miles before there was too much wind and rain.  Went back in the house to sit it out for a while and see if it would pass.  A couple of hours later it finally blew over and I was able to go out and finish the run.  I did get sprinkled on a bit but nothing like when I first started.  The run went well although I did start to feel some fatigue and pain toward the end but I guess that is to be expected since it is one of my longer runs for the year.  This was the last build up week for the 5K which is coming up next Saturday.  I would like to try for a sub 20 minute 5K but I don't think my fitness is there is this is not a really great course for doing it since it always seems to come up on the garmin a bit long.  I think for the course, anthing close to 21 minutes would be good for me.

Time:  2:01:58  8:08/mile

Rest.

Doing a bit of a taper this week to prepare for the 5K on Saturday.  Everyday this week will be a 5 mile regular run with some 800s on Wednesday just to remind the legs what it feel like to run fast a couple days before the race.  Legs felt pretty heavy and slow at the start today but things warmed up well after a couple of miles.

Time:  41:23  8:17/mile

This run looked almost like yesterdays run only the temps today were really warm. It was 66 degrees when I walked out the door this morning. This might be the first day in the 60s this year that early in the morning. Anyway, it was warm with nice breeze coming out of the south. I am still feeling a few aches and pains from last weeks mileage which is the first time I have gone over 50 miles in a week this year. Hopefully with the Yoga and lower mileage this week I can find some healing and recovery and be ready to go on Saturday.

Time: 41:02 8:12/mile

Temps this morning were night and day from yesterday at 48 degrees, breezy, overcast and drizzly.  Today was the last real workout until the 5K this weekend.  Training plan called for 4 800 meter intervals at 6:20/mile pace or 3:10 each with a quarter mile recovery between each one.  The last couple of days I have felt a bit fatigued and beat up on my runs so I really didn't know what to expect from these intervals today.  After a 1 mile warm-up I got into the intervals and here are the splits:  3:05, 3:07, 3:06, 3:01.  I really wanted to try and push the last one and it went well, into the wind and all.  My recoveries were at about a 9:00/mile pace and my warm-up and cool-down miles were right around 8:40/mile pace.

Time:  38:41  7:44/mile

Another nice moderate speed recovery run today.  Legs are starting to feel good again after feeling kinda crappy for the first couple of days of the week.  Even after yesterdays semi-hard interval workout things seem to be feeling better.  I just realized that this Saturday's race marks the beginning of a very busy two week stretch of races ending with the Hurricane half marathon on May 2.  The two other races are the 1600 a week from today and the walk race the Tuesday before Hurricane.  That should be an interesting week of recovery from that blasted event.  Not much else exciting today, usual wind and unusual cooler temps which should be really warm by Saturday morning.

Time:  41:17  8:15/mile

Really nice run today, short and sweet.  Added in a couple of 200 meter striders during the 3rd mile at about 6:30/mile pace just to keep the legs thinking....fast.  Still a bit windy this morning, the weather is supposed to shape up really nice for tomorrow so I hope the predictions are true and the wind is minimal.  Nothing else too exciting just a nice easy shake out run.

Time:  24:51  8:17/mile

Came up just a little short of my top goal for this race of going under 21:00 but overall I can't feel too bad about a 1st place (GOLD MEDAL BABY) age group award and a 6th place overall in the "B" division (about 160 runners). 

About 20 minutes before the race I jogged a mile and ran a couple of fast 200 meter strides at about 6:30 pace to warm up.  As expected, the course was just like last year with the whole hairpin garbage can turn (it was a tall orange cone this year) and running on and off the sidewalk throught the dirt and shrubs as you manuver your way through lots of oncoming runners.  As I got to the hairpin turn about 3 guys in front of me practically stopped going around the turn and at a 6:15/mile pace they come up pretty fast.  I almost crashed into them but I was able to bust it hard around those few guys and was quite glad to have that obstacle out of the way.  The first mile came in at 6:16 which is a bit fast for me but I guess it's to be expected with all the adrenaline and race day excitement.  The next two miles were a real struggle contending with oxygen debt and a slight headwind for part of the two lap course.  Miles two and three were slower but they were pretty consistent at 6:41 and 6:45.  I finished off the last quarter mile.......yes you heard me "quarter mile" at a 6:15/mile pace with a decent kick to the finish.  I looked down at my watch at 3.1 miles and noted that I was at 20:20.  So my goal of running a 5K in under 20 minutes is oh so close.  If I can stay healty, I might be able to make it there this year.

I don't know why these guys can't get the course distance right, it's 3.26 for each of the 4 times I have run it, say what you will about GPS but that seems pretty consistent to me.  Mister "I measured this course myself" can just BITE ME!

I had plans to run a few extra miles today but decided to bag it and just enjoy some time off.  HAPPY GOAL - MET!

Rest.

Lazy!  Stayed home with sick daughter and didn't do much of anything constructive.

Felt like crap during this run.  Don't know if I am still feeling some aches and pains from the 5K but I really didn't feel good for the first 3 miles.  The forth mile felt better but by then I didn't have time to keep running.  Ended up staying home again today with my sick daughter.  I'm sure my boss is sick of all my sick days.

Time:  33:03  8:16/mile

Was going to do 6 miles today, then Meg suggested I do 7, so I went out and did 8??  Whatever!!  Felt so much better than yesterday and really need a good longer run to get back into the swing of things.  Tomorrow is the 1600 meter race so I hope I didn't overdo it today with 8 miles, I doubt I did.  Plan to run about 4 tomorrow morning and then a couple miles before the race tomorrow as a warm-up.  My plan is to run even split laps with the first lap no faster than 88 seconds.  Hopefully I can maintain that pace or improve it for each of the next three laps.  That would get me my sub 6:00 mile that I have been trying for for a long time now.

Time:  1:05:08  8:09/mile

Well Rhett, I read your advice too late and got up and ran 4 miles this morning. I hope it doesn't cost me too much time. I really haven't been feeling good the last couple of days so I am a little worried about today performance despite this mornings run. My legs felt like they were full of lead this morning when I ran. I tried to do a couple of 200 meter striders at a fast pace but felt like I was really laboring to go fast. I may have picked up my daughters bug from staying home with her the last couple of days, I hope not. Anyway, there isn't much I can do at this point except try to eat smart and just try and relax until the race this evening.

Time: 34:00 8:30/mile

Corporate Challenge 1600 Report

Arrived at the track about an hour before the race time and got registered and then got horizontal on the stadium bleachers for about 30 minutes.  About 20 minutes before the race I did some really easy jogging with 2 x 200 meter striders at a pretty fast pace.  Then I planted myself near the starting line and did some light stretching.  I hadn't felt very good this whole week and even up to the time of the race I felt like I had a ball of glub in my stomach.  If there was ever a race where I could possibly puke, I was convinced that this could be the one.  They ran the mens race in two heats by age groups.  My heat had 24 runners from various age groups.  I don't know who was in my age group so I just had to run as fast as I could and hope for the best.  We lined up for the race and I was in lane 4 on the waterfall.  The gun went off and I made my way to the inside lane as quickly as possible and tried not to get caught up in the excitement of the start.  My plan for the race was to run 88's and see what happened.  the first lap came in a bit fast at about 83 seconds but that was expected with the quick start.  The second lap I came in about 2:53 so I was still under my 6:00 pace.  The next lap came in at about 4:25 so I knew I was going to have to step it up on the last lap to get in under 6:00.  I had a ton of road kill on all laps after the first and I had about 3-4 more kills on the last lap as I brought it home in 86 seconds.  The wind during this race was brutal as we had a head wind on the finish line stretch for each of the 4 laps.  I always wonder what could have been but I am incredibly pleased with a 5:51 and 6th place finish out of 24.  I don't know the results of my age group yet so I will have to wait and see if I ended up with the gold or not.  Feels good to finally get a sub 6:00, especially under these conditions.

This is the final stretch of the race and I am in pain!!

Nice and super easy recovery run today. I only have one more long run tomorrow before Hurricane next week so I wanted to take it really easy today, besides the fact that I am still feeling it a bit from yesterdays mile race. The wind had died down a bit from last night but it was still hanging on a little bit today during my run, although it really didn't bother me at all, I was just happy to be out running. Hopefully we will get the AG and team results today from the track and field event yesterday. I just hope we beat Zappos.com and all their super track athletes.

Time: 52:03 8:40/mile

Corporate Challenge Track and Field Update

Well we won the team gold running away, pun intended.  Second place was so far behind it wasn't even a contest.  Zappos.com finished in 6th place....HA!  I ended up getting the silver medal in the 1600 meter race losing by only 1.5 seconds.  The sad part is I don't think the kid that beat me was in my heat because there was really no one close in front of me when I finished.  When they called the first heat together they cut it off at 24 runners and that was right in the middle of the 35-39 age group.  Kinda stinks, maybe I could have squeezed out 2 more seconds if I had known.  Oh well, what are you gonna do, silver it is.  Two years ago when I ran it I got 4th and no hardware, so I can't complain too much.

13.1 long miles of drudgery on the dreadmill. When I woke up this morning it was blowing like no other. I know when I can hear the wind over the sound of the fan in our room that it is pretty bad outside. So I slept in. Meg and I then went to the YMCA around 9:30 and I started my fun on the treadmill. Pretty much ran the whole way at zero incline except for mile 12 which I bumped up to 2 percent to try and simulate mile 12 at the Hurricane half. It was tough. I had some good tunes but had a heck of a time keeping the dang ear phones in my ears. I finally had to wrap the cord around my big ear and then shoved it in the ear canal. It finally stayed in, thank goodness. I couldn't do 13 miles just staring at the wall. This was the last long run before Hurricane so I threw in some miles at race pace just for the fun of it. Those miles were at about 7:15/mile pace. Will do a bit of a taper next week with maybe one run in there that will have a couple of miles at race pace, maybe. I have one more event on Tuesday in my Corporate Challenge trifecta...the walk race. Hopefully that doesn't leave me hurting for the Half Marathon on Saturday.

Time: 1:45:40 8:04/mile

Rest.

My quads were a little bit sore this morning for some reason. I suppose it probably has something to do with running on the treadmill on Saturday. It wasn't a really bad soreness so I was able to run without much problem. I am planning to taper off later this week with some lower mileage runs on Thursday and Friday and then hopefully be ready for a PR effort on Saturday at Hurricane. I think a PR on that course would be pretty difficult but I think I am going to give it a shot and see how it goes. I have only run the course once but I have driven it countless times going up to Zion National Park. The race is generally down hill but there are some rollers throughout the first several miles and a nice little incline in the last mile or so. But there is also a really steep down hill section around mile 7-8 for about a mile which should be pretty fast. A PR would be my super happy goal and something better than Painter's would be good as well.

Time: 49:04 8:11/mile

Another moderate pace 6 today.  It was fairly windy coming out of the South today.  the longest stretch of my run goes from north to south so I spent a good portion of the run going into the wind.  I am still feeling a little soreness in my quads today which is surprising because I don't usually feel much soreness there.  It probably won't help that I have the walk race after work today either.  That race seems to work muscles I didn't even know I had.  My biggest priority starting after todays run is to get some high quality recovery and hopefully get some of the soreness out of my legs before Saturday.  I finally put away all my winter running stuff last night so hopefully it doesn't cool off again.  The weather has been warmer than normal this winter but it has really fluctuated between warm and cold days a lot more that seems normal. 

Went and watched the end of a high school track meet last night because some kids in my ward are on the team.  It was kinda fun remembering back to what it was like to run track in high school.  I wish they held the meets later in the day so I could go watch more often.

Time:  48:41  8:07/mile

I just noticed my year to date mileage total........holy crap!

Okay, the walk race distance gets my annual mileage total off of 666.66.....thank goodness. 

Corporate Challenge Walk Race Report

It has become a Southwest Gas tradition that our walk race team will bring home the gold medal every year.  This year was no exception as we clobbered the competition.  Our overall team score was more than double that of the second place team.  Our team received 7 gold 7 silver and 3 bronze medals.  We really had a good turnout this year and really put together a good team.

Walking fast is not the easiest thing to do.  If you ever have any doubt just go out and walk a couple of miles as fast as you can and then see how your hips, butt and shins are feeling over the next few days.....not good.  You literally work muscles you didn't even know you had.  Luckily I was able to get in a couple of good practice sessions before this years event so I was past the soreness and hopefully won't feel much of the effects of todays race.

The race takes place out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway near Nellis Air Force Base and they have us walk on realtively small gran prix style track.  There are judges throughout the course who decide weather you are violating the rules and if three judges note your number then you are disqualified.  Needless to say, you make extra sure you are walking as you pass the judges.  Well there were no DQ's today on the Southwest Gas team so life was good.

Our team usually arrives early enough to secure a place at the front of the starting line so we don't have to fight our way through traffic.  We always have the strongest walkers so it's a fair strategy I think (9 of the top 20 were from Southwest Gas).  So our team bolted out to a fast start and it was our rabbit who wins the overall every year, our old guy who walks every day and really uses his hips and then me until I got passed by a couple of other walkers that I just couldn't latch on to.  Luckily only one of them was in our division so I ended up in 4th and not 5th.  As far as the race details go, it was windy and hot and a lot of hard work.  I didn't really have anyone near me for most of the race so I was out there chugging along all by myself.  Near the finish I could hear someone breathing down my neck trying to pass me but I was able to hold him off until the finish, but just barely.....fun stuff.  After that we hung out, cheered on the rest of the team and then collected our hardware.  Collecting some hardware always makes the effort worth while.

Nice and easy 6 today.  Not feeling too much pain after the walk race, hopefully it doesn't get worse tomorrow like it sometimes does.  Just looking for a complete recovery over the next few days in preparation for Saturday.  Nothing too exciting today, just a nice easy run.

Time:  51:43  8:37/mile

Today was the start of winding it down for Saturday.  I did put in one more fast mile just because I haven't really run any fast miles this week.  The pace for that mile was my goal pace for the half marathon which is 7:10/mile.  That mile felt pretty good but then again, it was only one mile.  I am feeling a bit more stiffness and soreness in my glutes, hamstrings and calfs today due to the walk race.  Usually the second day after the event is the worst for me and hopefully by tomorrow morning it will be gone.  At least the soreness isn't as bad as it was in years past and once I got warmed up today it really didn't hinder my running.  I'll just keep chowing on some protien between now and the race and I should be all healed up.  I've been getting some extra sleep the past couple of day, waking up a little later than usual, hoping that the extra rest will help as well.  Tomorrow I will do a short little three mile run and then head up to St. George in the late afternoon.  I'm barely sending in my St. George marathon application today, I hope it gets there by Monday.

Time:  39:17  7:51/mile

While last month was my highest mileage month this year, April has turned out to be my lowest mileage month.  I guess that is to be expected with the several races I had and the mini tapering I did before them.  I am ahead of last years cummulative total by about 50 miles so I guess that is a good thing.  No real injuries yet this year and that is definitely a good thing.