Long Run at Memorial Park

I've been growing tired of running hills lately. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the hills here in Huntsville, but like anything in life, it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

I drove down to Memorial Park in Houston today for my long run. My original plan was to just go down to The Woodlands for my run, but I didn't want to run then entire route on concrete, so I decided to go down to Memorial Park in Houston. I've never been there before, but I've heard great things about the gravel running path so I decided to give it a shot. I met up with one of my former athletes (Allison) who still runs recreationally and we ran 4 loops (~11.6 miles) of Memorial Park. We started are extremely easy and probably averaged about 9:00/mile for the first loop. We picked it up a bit on the second loop and by the time we got to the third loop we were running pretty quick. I don't know our exact pace, but judging by my respiration rate and the effort I was putting in I'd guess we probably averaged 7:30 to 7:40 per mile from miles 6 through 10. We backed off a bit in the last 1.5-miles to finish in 1:37:12. It was a good run and it was nice to get off the hills for a bit. I also enjoyed catching up Allison. It was well worth the two hour round trip.

I went out and ran again in the evening; covering my 3.05-mile loop in 24:35. My mileage has been quite high for a while (530 miles in the past 10 weeks) and I can really feel it from time to time, but all-in-all it's going well. I need to be sure to not run my easy mileage runs too fast so that I can continue to have good quality workouts when they're scheduled.

Thundercloud Subs 5-Mile Turkey Trot

I love this time of year as it seems like there are a wide variety of road races to run every weekend. I had been debating which one to run for a while, and a few weeks ago I decided to run the Thundercloud Subs 5-Mile Turkey Trot in Austin while I was home visiting my mom.

My lead up to the race was pretty normal. I didn't back off my training any and I was really feeling that the last few days prior to the race. My legs have been a little sluggish and unresponsive due to the consistent 60+ mile weeks I've been logging. I didn't feel any different in my warm up Thursday morning, but that's the way it goes some times.

There were over 14,000 people registered for the race (not all ran 5-miles or were timed) and it looked like it at the start line. I made sure to get close to the start so that I would spend the first 1.5-miles weaving in and out of slower runners. I probably started a little too close to that start as I was passed immediately by a slew of runners, but about 800m into the race I found myself running with a group that was running about the pace I was looking to maintain. I hit the first mile in 6:43, a little slow for what I was hoping for, but there was a serious climb in the first mile. I didn't see any mile markers the rest of the way, but I was I had. All I know is that I ran my last 4 miles in 26:08 (6:32/mile) for a total time of 32:51 (6:34/mile). My ambitious goal was to run under 32:30, but I thought that would be a bit out of my range, especially considering the hills on the course (steep hills!) and how my legs had been feeling. My realistic goal was to run under 33:00, which I did. After the race I ran the entire course backwards with a friend to get in a little over 12-miles total for the day.

I was....
*121st overall finisher (out of 2857 timed finishers)
*113th male finisher (out 1556 timed male finishers)
*18th in my age group (out of 171 timed male 25-29 yr old finishers)

Body and Mind

I've noticed more and more people (particularly my athletes) running with headphones, and besides the fact that it's dangerous, I feel it is a big hindrance to the competitive athlete. I'm not a huge fan of psychology, bu I do feel that running with headphones detaches the runner's body from the runner's mind; and since a large component of endurance running deals with the relationship between the body and the mind it is vital that these two entities spend as much time together, to work out "their issues," as possible.

I keep contemplating a team rule that will ban headphones and ipods at practice. I haven't taken the step to initiate this yet, but I feel I'm getting closer and closer to doing this.

We Run Because We Must

"We run because we must
Through the great wide spaces.
Within each man exists a demon
Some men are able to quiet it,
Other men are driven by it.
In being driven
They encounter loneliness.
But, they discover themselves
And find exhilaration,
they find too, a peace,
Which many men seek,
But few attain,
I congratulate the long distance
Runner for his self discipline.
I share with him his loneliness,
I envy him his peace." -Pierre Elliott Trudeau


*Training has been going well. I ran 66.4-miles this past week and 241.6-miles in the past 4 weeks. Both are personal bests. I ran 6x1600m w/3 min rest on Saturday night. I averaged 6:32 with my fastest one being 6:27 and my slowest one being 6:37. Other than that, not much else going on. Just taking training one day at a time.

Good Times!

Training has been going quite well and I must give partial credit of that to the weather. It seems everyone, but runners especially, seem to get little extra bounce in their step once the weather cools.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a milestone for me in several ways. In the morning I ran a 4 Mile Threshold Run on the track. I ran 27:38 and negative split each mile. I followed it up with a few "quick" 400s in 85-seconds. It was a good run, but I'm mostly proud of the fact that after the first mile of the threshold run I crossed the 2000-mile mark for 2009. It took me 321-days to get there, but I did it. I'd like to hit 2400-miles by the end of the year, though that will be pushing it.

In the evening we had the SHSU Chocolate Milk Mile. Now that the cross country season is over, we decided to have a little fun by putting ourselves through unnecessary pain for a few laughs. For those unaware of what a "Chocolate Milk Mile" is, it consists of 4 x (12oz of chocolate milk + running 440-yards). I proud to have established a chocolate milk mile personal record of 6:28. Hopefully their will be a video up on youtube soon :)

I had a nice run on the dirt roads at Sam Houston National Forest this afternoon. I got in 12.35-miles in 1:38:57. It was quite dark the last 4-miles, but it got done. I felt pretty good.

6 Mile Tempo Run

“Running to him was real, the way he did it the realest thing he knew. It was all joy and woe, hard as diamond; it made him weary beyond comprehension. But it also made him free.” —John L. Parker (Once A Runner)

Training has been going so well lately that as soon as I'm done with a run/workout, I immediately start thinking about the next run/workout. I anandoned my highly structured (translation: obsessive cumplusive) training program a few weeks ago and I've been running off of feel. I've been putting in 60-65 miles per week with two quality workouts a week and a Sunday long run. So far it's going well. This model gives me the freedom to adjust things as my work/personal schedule changes. At the present moment I am looking forward to the Winter Break. I've made plans to do absolutely nothing. I'm going to run, eat, sleep, and watch football. I hope to be able to get 3 consecutive weeks over 70 miles.

I decided to do a 6 Mile Tempo Run this morning. I've never done a tempo run this long, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I did it as an out-n-back on the feeder road by the state park. I ran my first mile a bit too quick and hit 6:35, I backed off and hit 7:15, 7:00, 7:11, 7:07, and 7:02 for my last 5 miles. My final time was 42:12.6 (7:02/mile). This puts me on pace for a 10k PR. All that really means is my current 10k PR is not accurate, as is my 3200m PR. It may be time for me to run a time trial to see exactly where I'm at from a fitness standpoint.

8 x 2000m @ 20k Race Pace

I went back home to Lockhart Friday night. I had been planning on going to the UIL Region IV Championships for a few weeks, but due to a family emergency as well I needed to go back to Lockhart. Fortunately the first race wasn't schedule to begin until 12noon, so I was able to get my Saturday morning workout in without having to wake up at some ridiculous hour. I decided to do 8x2000m @ my 20k Race Pace with a 2 minute rest. Aerobically, the workout was not all that demanding and I average 8:46 for all of them. However, I could really feel the muscular fatigue in the last 3 reps, which was the focus of the workout. I wanted to do something long and fatiguing. I feel I can manage 6:50 to 7:00 per mile for 13.1 miles without too much difficulty; however, the muscular fatigue over the duration of the race is what worries me and I feel is my weakness. It was a good workout though and I was pleased with it.

I ran 8 miles this morning. I originally wanted to run 12, but my legs were a little dead from yesterday. I still may go out to run another 4 miles tonight, we'll see. At the present moment, I just completed a 62 mile week and I have 232 miles during the past 4 weeks. Feeling pretty good.

Run, eat, and sleep....

”We ran twice a day, sometimes three times. Twenty miles a day, sometimes more. There were a couple of 170-mile weeks.... All we did was run - run, eat, and sleep.” —Frank Shorter detailing his training with Jack Bacheler and Jeff Galloway prior to the 1972 Olympics (Frank won the gold medal in the marathon)

I've made a conscious effort to put a greater emphasis on my total mileage and long runs lately. After running the half-marathon last weekend, I realized that aerobically, the pace was not overly difficult (as it shouldn't be). My greatest weakness was my muscular endurance. I'm going to subscribe to the philosophy I always stress to my athletes -- RUN MORE! I ran 230 miles in the past 4 weeks (57.5 mpw) and I plan to try to keep my mileage between 60 and 70 mpw through the end of the year. If I feel I need a recovery week, I'll take it.... but only if I need it. I've also been increasing the duration of my weekly long runs. I ran 14.5-miles on the road Sunday night. I wasn't too excited about running it on the road and I was extremely sore on Monday, but it got done. I hope to be able to get in two runs a day at least 2 or 3 times a week until the end of the year.

This morning I ran a 4-Mile Tempo Run on a course around campus. I wasn't feeling that great and during the second mile my legs felt extremely heavy (and I'm sure running up cemetery hill didn't help). However, I put in a big surge just after the 2.5-mile mark and finished pretty well. I ran 27:56 (6:55-7:16-6:55-6:49). I followed it up with 4x200m uphill with a jog back recovery and got 8 in this morning. I hope to get out and run 4 this afternoon along with 15 to 20 miles on the bike.