Second Wind

Just 2 slow miles today to keep the engine idling before the Fontana half tomorrow.  I am excited about the race and as always have butterflies in the stomache.  I have confidence that I can PR tomorrow but by how much remains to be seen.  The weather in Fontana looks to be mostly cloudy in the morning with some clearing later in the day and temps during the race in the 60-70 degree range with light 5-10 mph winds.  Sounds like a great day for a run.  Body felt good today and I can almost feel the healing in my calfs as I have tapered this week.  Amazing what cutting back on intensity and distance will do.  Will also try to work on my mental strength tomorrow during the race in telling my body to keep going even when it gets tired.......not to sure how that will go either, sometimes I turn in to a real case by the finish line.  Should be fun....can't wait!

Time:  8:38/mile

Wow!!! What a great day for a race.  The weather was close to perfect at the start.  I have no idea what the temperature was but it was perfect.  Very light breeze......just enough to shimmy the leaves on the trees a tiny bit.  Lots of friendly runners and a very helpful staff of volunteers who ran a very organized race from my perspective.

Boarded the buses at about 5:30 and got up to the camp ground around 6:00 and well....you all know what happens before the race.  Spend time in lines waiting for the POPs (at least twice).   Anyway......I ran a bit and stretched...you know.....the other important pre-race stuff.

Finally....the horn sounded and we were off and running like the wind (or at least it felt that way as we began cascading down the hill back to the Inland Empire).  Heard several friends telling each other to "slow down we are going out to fast" and as it turned out many of them did as we passed several walkers with beat up calfs and shins along the way.

Mile 1:  6:53
Oops!! Went out a lot faster than anticipated!  I was hoping this wasn't going to kill me later in the race.

Mile 2: 6:59
Still didn't learn from the first mile and decided to try and put on the brakes a little just to conserve energy.

Mile 3: 7:09
Much better......this is the pace I like and and as you can tell tried to stick to it for the remainter of the race.

Mile 4: 7:11

Mile 5: 7:09

Mile 6: 7:08

Mile 7: 7:04

Mile 8: 7:04
End of the down hill and now a stretch along the loneliest road in the world.  The field is so spread out and there is nothing but weeds and bushes for the next 2-3 miles.

Mile 9: 7:09

Mile 10: 7:08
Finally back to civilization and decided to walk through the aid station to hydrate, power gel and gear up for the last 5K.

Mile 11: 7:19
Can tell body is starting to feel the miles and decide to take one more drink at this aid station.

Mile 12: 7:37
Starting to lose it here.  Should have skipped the drink, stomach is now feeling it.

Mile 13: 7:23
Ran past a business cooking something that didn't agree with my nose but they had the music turned up and it helped me to refocus a little bit.  Are those balloons getting any closer?

Mile .17?: 1:09
Not sure what happened with the Garmin but ended up with 13.17 miles.  I imagine running through canyon may have messed up the signal here and there.

Over all felt really good throughout the entire run and am totally excited about the new PR.  Not really sure if a generally downhill course really counts for a PR but I never even dreamed of averaging 7:13/mile so I don't really care if it counts or not.  Old PR was 1:45:58.

Much needed rest day after Fontana.  whew!!

Very slow 5 miler today due to recovery from Fontana.  Quads, Calves, and Butt are still a bit sore and the first mile was really rough.  Once we got the warm up out of the way we slowly picked up the pace and the rest of the run felt really good.  Hal Higdon's "Advanced I" marathon training program started for Meg and I today but we are moving a few of the days around and will be running slow in order to recover properly and without injury.  Should be a fairly easy week to start the big push for St. George and then time to start ramping up the mileage and intensity.

Time: 9:27/mile

Today was a short run with some cross training.  Since my wife and I have a triathlon coming up next week we decided to go out and ride our bikes for about 8.4 miles and then run the 3 miles required as part of the training plan.  We did okay with the riding, nothing really hard just a moderate pace.  Then we tried running the last 100 yards or so with our bikes to get used to the transitions since I don't think you are allowed to ride your bike in the transition area.  Then we ran our required 3 miles.  It's a bit strange getting off the bike and trying to find your running legs.  I really thought we were running at about a 9:00/mile pace but we ended up running an 8:27/mile pace which was nice to see.  We are still running a bit easy trying to recover from Fontana and the rest of the week should be fairly simple accept for the 5 mile run on Friday at marathon pace.  I think I will try to run those race pace days at a 7:30/mile pace even though that might be slightly faster than I can run the whole marathon.

Time: 8:27/mile

Hill training today.  We are limited in the number of hills available near our place in Las Vegas so we decided to run the Azure overpass at I-95.  It is about a .2 mile run moderate hill that today happened to be directly into the wind also.  According to Hal Higdon, the grade of the hill is not that important just the fact that you are running hills and training to run them better and faster.  We did the Azure overpass 3 times and warmed up and cooled off with about 2 miles each.  Miles were slow today due to winds and hills but felt good overall and gave a good effort considering the conditions.

Time: 9:02/mile

Still running a bit slow coming back from Fontana.  The wind was bad again today and the temperature had dropped a bit from yesterday too, I think it was in the low 60s....Chilly for Vegas in June.  Anyway, still felt pretty good and will be looking to run a hard run tomorrow with 5 miles at marathon pace.  I still have a slight pain in my right upper calf and knee area but if it doesn't get any worse I will continue to train hard.  If it does get worse I will back it off now while I still have plenty of time to heal up before St. George.

Time: 8:46/mile

Nice run today.  Felt really good and feel like I am making a great recovery from Fontana.  Decided to cut back on the training plan prescribed 5 miles at marathon pace and did two miles at marathon pace.  Both miles were right at about 7:25/mile.  The rest of the run was also at a faster pace than normal for me but it felt really good, like I could go for a long time at that pace.  Weather was also very nice this morning, 63 at the start and little to no wind.....finally.  The nice thing about Vegas is the number of fair weather days far outweigh the number of poor ones.

Time: 8:09/mile

Long slow run today.  Legs felt like they were full of lead.  I am pretty sure that is due to swimming a half mile yesterday afternoon with my wife just to see if I am capable of completing the swim portion of the sprint triathlon we will be participating in next Saturday.  I hate swimming I spent most of the swim doing the side stroke with some crawl and backstroke mixed in.  My problem is I have never learned the breathing technique and always end up with a mouth full of water.  I was glad to find out that I can make it that distance but not very fast to say the least.  Oh well, it shouldn't be hard to find my bike when I finish the swim because it will be the only one left in the rack.  Anyway, back to the run, I did not feel well at all, everything was tired, my legs, my head, and my whole body.  We started later than usual so we finished the last few miles in about 85 degree temps.....Blaughghghg!  Remind me not to go to Cafe Rio on friday night before a long run either, I would much rather stick with the pasta al dente thank you very much.  Save Cafe Rio for Saturday night.  Overall, not a terrible pace for a long run but boy it wasn't easy.

Time:  8:49/mile

Rest

Tempo run today.  Hal Higdon calls for a 30 minute tempo run today.  His idea of a tempo run is easy pace for 10-15 minutes, pick it up over the next 10-15 minutes with near max speed for 3-6 minutes and then a 10 minute cool down.  In speaking with other runners I decided to go with their idea of a tempo run.  Today I started out with a slow first mile and then ran 4 fast miles at my suggested tempo pace then finished up with an easy cool down mile.  McMillan Calculator suggests I run my tempo runs between 6:55 and 7:13/mile.  My pace for the 4 miles today was about 7:05 with the following splits: 7:00, 7:02, 7:10, and 7:10.  I was really feeling it by the last mile and was glad to be done.  The legs felt pretty good today, no real pain in the knees, calfs or shins.  I think last weeks recovery went pretty well.  I think we are going swimming again today, yuck!  Oh well, I could probably use the practice since we are only 5 days away from the St. George triathlon.

Time:  7:34/mile

Easy 3 miler today.  It was good since last night we went to the pool again to get some swimming in before the big tri coming up.  Swimming is a real pain, I hate it!  I will be glad when this tri thing is over and I can go back to focusing on running.  Felt a bit tired today probably due to the swimming last night and a little bit to the tempo run yesterday.  I sometimes wonder if these short runs are doing me any good but I am going to stick to my training plan and see how it all works out.  They are nice to slip in between the hard days and treat it almost like a rest day.  Weather was very nice today, high 60s at the start and no wind.

Time:  8:30/mile

Easy 5 today.  According to Mcmillan my easy miles need to be in the 8:00 to 8:30 range so that is were I tried to keep them today.  I also tried to concentrate on maintaining good form throughout the run.  Run felt good today despite the continued discomfort in my right upper shin area.  Once I get warmed up things are fine but those first few minutes in the morning are a little tough.  Also if I stop and then start again I have to go a couple minutes before the area numbs up again.  Symptoms seem to indicate a minor shin splint and my tight calfs could be the explanation.  I continue to work on stretching and massaging to try to heal the area.  I counted my stride rate a couple of times during my run and found that I was right around 180 steps per minute.  I read in runners world that 180 is the number to shoot for and I appear to be about right on.  I'm not a really fast runner and I have a fairly short stride length with minimal vertical bounce so maybe this explains why I am right around 180.  The weather was great again today and temps are on the rise for another hot sweaty summer (even at 5:00 a.m.).

Time: 8:14/mile

Another 5 easy miles today.  Easy is a relative term.  I am trying to go a little bit faster on my easy runs and stay within the 8:00 - 8:30 pace recommended on the McMillan calculator.  To me this pace should feel easier than it does and maybe over time it will become easier, but some days it feels too much like work.  Today felt okay and once again increased my 5 mile PR, which isn't saying much.  Started out with a couple of slower miles and then picked up the pace just a little when Meg needed to stop.  She hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days.  The last 3 miles I ran right at about an 8:00/mile pace which is where I would like to be on my "easy" days.  Only one more day until the USG triathalon in St. George, can't wait until that is over with.  Blaughghgh!  Warm weather today about 76 at the start of the run.

Time: 8:10/mile

Nice run today.  Got up a bit late so had to endure the extra heat, luckily it was only for 3 miles.  Run felt good but body feels a little tired.  Wife and I seem to coming down with a small bug of some kind but it's not severe enough to take us out of the game, just make us fatigued.  Tomorrow is the USG Triathalon in St. George and then it will be time to really get serious about training for SGM over the next 16 weeks.

Time:  8:10/mile

Thank goodness that is over with.  Endured the USG Triathalon today and I really stink at swimming.  I was very slow.....like almost the last one out of the water.  The bike wasn't much better and by the time I got to the run I was too tired to really push the pace.  One thing I know for sure now, I can check triathalon off my list and never come back to it.  As if running isn't challenging enough, learning to bike and swim well are very difficult.  I have much more respect for the athletes that participate in this sport now that I have tried it (my hats off).  From now on I will just support my wife from the crowd instead of on the course.  I guess this will have to count as my long run this week and I will have to pick it up again next week.

Rest

Ran 4x800 meter repeats today.  This is my first time doing this type of work out so I was excited to see what is was like.  Bottom line, this is a pretty tough work out.  Higdon's marathon training plan works up to 8x800 meter repeats near the end of the plan so I don't imagine this will be getting easier any time soon.  Without easy access to a track I decided to use the interval training option on my Garmin 301 and set if for 4x1/2 mile intervals with 3:15 rest between each interval.  The splits for the intervals were:  3:16, 3:20, 3:15 and 3:22.  Since my goal pace for these intervals was 3:15 I feel like I was was in the ball park with my goal.  Having an equal amount of rest time as the interval seemed to work out about right.  I walked/jogged between each interval and things felt pretty good.  I warmed up and cooled down with 2 miles of easy running.

Ran 3 easy miles today and added some strides just for the fun of it.  Finally learned what strides are and what they are used for.  I really tried to focus on staying relaxed and maintaining good form for the small stretches of faster pace.  It was fun to see how much I could relax and still maintain a pace near marathon pace.  All the little aches and pains are starting to diminish which is a good thing since this is really the last "easy" week of this training plan.  These first three weeks on the plan have been great for gradually building fitness but more importantly healing up and preparing for the real hard work in the weeks ahead.  Weather was nice again, a little on the hot side in the high 70s at the start and low 80s at the finish with no wind.

Time: 8:30/mile

Another fairly easy day with six miles and a few strides.  Lower back muscles have been tight the last few days.  Have been trying to focus on doing more stretching in the evenings to alleviate the pain but still end up tight in the morning.  Maybe it's time for a new matress.  Faster pace of the strides feels more comfortable but then again it is only for 100-200 meters.  Warm again today, the heat of summer is definately here.  Ran 1 mile with the boys in the evening.

Time:  8:18/mile

Scheduled for 3 easy miles today, decided to run 3 easy and 1 fast.  The one fast started out as a set of strides but decided to keep the pace up for the whole mile.  Felt pretty good the whole way.  Really working on form and running relaxed and in control at the faster pace.  Started to break in a new pair of shoes today, Saucony Grid Trigon 4 Guide.  It is a stability shoe which is the type of shoe I have run in for the last two pair.  Just retired the Pearl Izumi SynchroGuide and before that it was the New Balance 767ST.  Really enjoyed the feel of the Pearls but for the price of the shoe I can't afford to shell out that much every 2-3 months.  That is why I am running in the Trigon 4 and not the Trigon 5, they were on clearance.  The 767s were good also and I may go back to those again if I can get them at a decent price.  So far the Trigon 4s are good but a new pair of shoes always seems to start out good.  We'll see how they are in 200 miles.  Glanced at the temp this morning when I finished at 6:20 a.m. it was 90 degrees.  ouch!

Time:  8:24/mile

Ran 6 miles at marathon pace today.  Average pace for those six miles was around 7:25/mile.  I can't say that it was easy and there is no way that I could maintain that pace for 26 miles at this point but I can say that it is getting "easier" to maintain that pace.  I am starting to learn how to run more relaxed and control my breathing.  Everything felt really good for the entire run, no real aches or pains to speak of just the fatigue factor and mental factor of maintaining that pace.  These runs will be good tests for me in the coming weeks to measure my progress, there are 9 more of these leading up the marathon and they eventually build up to 10 miles at marathon pace.  Also ran a mile warm up and a mile cool down.  Temp was 82 degrees at the start before the sun was even up.

Time:  7:48/mile

The long run for the week.  Easy 10 today.  Felt really smooth from the start all the way through to the finish.  After the first five miles decided to run reverse splits for the next four and ran 8:29, 8:23, 8:21, 8:13 and then cooled off with an 8:40.  Started a little later than usual today (6:00 a.m.) and by the time I was done the sun was in full force.  This week's weather has been great for running with no wind and moderate temps.  With nearly 39 miles for the week things are slowly ramping up in the program.  There are only two more week remaining that are under 40 miles, the rest are all over 40 with 4 week over 50.  I have never passed 44 miles/week in training and look forward to the challange and to see how my body will handle it.  Only 15 week to go until St. George!

Time: 8:36/mile

Rest day.

4x hills today.  Don't have many hills near my home in Vegas so I use a nearby freeway overpass to do hill repeats.  It is a moderate climb of about a quarter mile.  Today I focused on running fast and relaxed and it seemed to help with the overall pain.  I also tried to go fast coming back down the hill as St. George marathon is a downhill course and the down hill training will only help in the race.  Ran the repeats at the same intensity that I would run a 400 meter repeat and ended up doing one of the miles at sub 8:00 per mile, thus the one fast mile today.  The fast mile was not intended it just happened as a result of running fast and relaxed.  The legs and body are all still feeling really good at theis point in the training.  This is a remarkable transformation for me since last  year at this time (my first couple months of running) I was suffering from severe shin splints.  Running is not completely pain free but I have noticed of late that the pains are less intense.  Beautiful weather today, not sure what the temps were but it felt comfortable.

Time:  8:36/mile

Easy 3 today with some strides.  Good run, felt good and nice break in the action.  I enjoy this plan that has me running 6 days a week with a couple of easy days of 3 or 4 miles each.  The 3 mile days eventually build up to 5 mile days in the next few weeks but they are still easy runs.  For me, it is a good day to recover from speed or hill work and avoid injury.  Today is also my baby's birthday, she is 7 and she was up at 5:00 a.m. and was very excited.  Wish I could get that excited about my birthday.  Great weather again today, 75 at the start 81 at the finish.

Time:  8:23/mile

Easy 6 today.  Decided to run negative splits about halfway through this run and finished our fifth mile in just under 8:00, thus the 1 fast mile.  After mile 1 we shaved about 15 seconds off per mile and then cooled down with a slow mile 6.  Everything is feeling pretty good except my lower back.  I can run with it and it's not bad pain it just kinda nags at me as I run.  I'm hoping that losing the excess belly fat and strengthening my abs will help support my back better in the future.  Temps seemed a little cooler today at the start and the weather was perfect again.

Time: 8:27/mile

Decided to go 4 instead of 3 miles today.  Ended up doing reverse splits today and it felt better and better with each mile.  Pace wasn't really that fast I just think my body is really slow to wake up in the mornings.  Considering my slow wake-up time in the mornings, when it comes time to run the marathon I will need to be sure to have a good pre-race warm-up in order to be able to go out strong at marathon pace (or at least close to marathon pace for the first mile).  Weather was again perfect today, 75 at the start with no wind.

Time:  8:31/mile

Ran 8 miles with 6 at marathon pace.  The marathon pace I am shooting for is 7:28 per mile, so I kept all six miles under 7:28 and ran the 8th mile (a moderate cool down) under 8:00 as well as I was trying to catch Meg.  After I caught her I jogged with her for another quarter mile to complete my cool down.  The pace felt easier this week than last week which was a repeat of the same run.  The overall run was fater today by over a minute yet my average heart rate was 167 compared to 170 last week.  I don't know if this is a fluke over the course of just one week but I know that my fitness has improved greatly over the last several months (lots of room for improvement).  The best part of today was knowing that I could have kept going at that pace.  I don't know for how far but I definately could have kept going.  Putting additional atttention toward relaxing and controlled breathing during training has also helped a great deal as well.  I am finding it easier to relax and just run.

Time:  7:37/mile

Long run today of 13 miles.  Legs were still a little tired from yesterdays marathon pace run so the first few miles were a little labored.  Once we got settled in it was time for a bathroom stop at about mile four.  Finally got back out and felt pretty good for the next few miles but the muscles continued to ache there were other places I would have rather been.  I can tell my endurance is really lacking.  Hopefully the long runs over the next several week will help to build that area of weakness.  This completes another month of running and another PR for most miles in a month.

Time:  8:48/mile