Back from Arkansas

I spent the last few days up in Arkansas at the foothills of the Ozarks.  While there, I ran in the Little Rock Firecraker 5K on the fourth of July.  It was the best 5K for me this century and it was a masters PR.  I broke through the seven minute pace barrier and finished at 21:12.  I can almost smell a sub 21 minute 5K.  It was a good race.  There were over 1000 entrants.  The course was a little crowded at the start.  The course is a fast one, however, the hill at the end is a killer.

Otherwise, it was nice running up in Arkansas.  The weather was pleasant in the mornings.  It is hilly up there.  It’s nice to run up there for a few days, but I don;t think I can do it everyday.

Big Track Turnout

We had another big turnout at the track.  There was an even dozen of us out there.  We ran a simple 8X400 meter at 5K pace with a 200 meter recovery.  Although my legs were tired and felt a little dead, I was able to keep the pace at just at or under my 5K pace goal.  Running with people that are faster than me is a real challenge.  And, I’m worried that it may set me up for injury if I’m not careful.  Anyway, it was another good night at the track.

A year or so ago, I use to dread track workouts.  Now that I have a steady group of folks out there, the track workouts have become fun.  I’m working just as hard or harder, but my enjoyment is much higher.  I think warming up, cooling down and stretching with folks has made the workout become much more social.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we can keep up the momentum out there.

My Legs are Dead

I don’t know if it’s the weather or if it’s the miles.  But, my legs are dead.  I went out this morning for a hopeful14 miles.  But, I was whopped after about 9 miles.  The sun was up and my legs just felt bad.  Anyway, I turned around on the trail and packed it in for an 11 mile run.

Not only are my legs dead, but my whole body is tired.  After I ran, I came home and took a three hour nap.  I’m going to try to hang in there.  The holiday weekend is next weekend, I may roll back the miles for a little while.

Long, hot run

It was not that long of a run.  I ran a little over 11 miles today with the GCRC.  I started a little late then the main group.  I wound up with an overall pace of 8:20 min/mile.  I was also able to hammer out the last two miles at an 8 minute flat place.

It was certainly hot out there.  And although I started before 6AM, it warmed up rather fast.  My legs also feel tired from this week’s workouts.  I plan on running very easy for the next couple of days.

Three more passes over thee Bridge

It’s not tradition yet, and with the holidays and travel coming up, it may not be a tradtion for awhile.  However, myself and few like minded folks made it out the Bridge early this morning for some hill work.  My legs are still tired from this week’s track and trail workouts.  However, I kept the pace pretty easy and made it over the bridge for three roundtrips and I honestly felt good.  It’s good to have company out there.

Trails

I finished my training week at the Jack Brooks trails.  Although it was hot, on the trails it did not feel too bad.  My legs were tired from yesterday.  Sam and I got a little lost at the end and ran an extra couple of miles.  But it was all good.  For the week, I finished over 50 miles again.    Always enjoyable to get in some miles on some real off-road trails.

Hot Track Night

The heat was on full blast at the track.  I’m almost thinking that 6:30PM is too early.  We had a great turnout at the track.  Some folks ran 400 meter intervals, others were doing 30 second intervals.  As for me and a few others, we ran a cut-down workout of a 1600, 1200, 800, 400, 200 and then finish with a 1200.  Other then messing up on the first 1200, the workout was great.  The finishing 1200 is tough, but I ran it under my goal pace. 

The weather was brutal, but I stayed hydrated and was able to complete this workout with little problem.  I’m likely going to cycle in some shorter intervals and do a cut-down maybe every three weeks.   There will be no 800 meter workouts anytime soon. 

Best part of the track workouts lately is having so many folks out there  running it.  All sorts of different people.  Some faster and some slower.  Regardless, the company really is making it worthwhile.

Brutal

The heat is on!!!  For the last 8 months, I’ve been driving down to the Seabrook trails to meet BARC for their Sunday 6:30AM run.  With it getting so hot, I decided to leave from my house at 5:45 to meet everyone at the trail at 6:30.  The first 12 or so  miles were OK.   But when leaving from the trails and going back to the house, it was rough.  The sun was up and I just started to melt.  The good new is that I held on to an 8:31 pace.  It slipped a little, but during the last two miles, I was able to run an 8:20-8:25 pace.  I put in just over 17 miles.  If I want to run any longer, I’ll need to leave the house earlier. 

It is Father’s Day.  After I came home from my run, I made a nice breakfast for myself and son (pancakes and eggs).  I had to wait for the other kids to wake up.  In the meantime, my wife went out to get Whataburger.  I indulged myself with a bacon cheeseburger and a chocolae shake. 

When the kids all got up, I got my father’s day presents.  I got a Wii – Crash Bandicott game and a grill.  I had to put the grill together.  My wife got some really good steaks.  So, I took over the chore and cooked them myself.  I was even able to find a little time for a nap.  So, in the morning I burned about 2500 calories on my run.  With Whataburger, pancakes, eggs, steak and pie, I likely broke 5000 calories on the intake side.  In all, it was a good day!

Old Friends

Well, I met up with some old friends today.  I was asked to help mentor the marathon group for the GCRC.  They’re a good group of folks.  It’s a very diverse group of folks as well.  Some of the guys and gals in it are far better than I, however, a number of them are beginners.

Anyway, with my main training partner gone for the summer, it will be good to meet up the GCRC for their Saturday morning runs.  They like to start early, and with the summer heat, the early start fits my lifestyle.  I hope that I can help them out along the way.

Simple Enjoyments

I think not racing is best for me.  I put way too much stress on myself.  The last couple of runs have been pretty high on the enjoyment scale.  On Wednesday night, a few of us BARCers went down to Rice University to run with the Bayou City Road Runners (BCRR).   And, today was an easy run around the neighborhood

 On Wednesday, we joined the BCRR on their weekly run that also included a social afterwards.  Although it was very hot and running down at Bray’s Bayou is not exactly scenic, it was fun to run somewhere new, and to run with another group.  And, it was equally nice to run with some of my BARC friends.  The BCRR was very cordial and welcomed us very warmly into their group.  The night was topped off with us BARCers having dinner at the Berry Hill.  BARC’s new social director is doing a magnificent job.    

 This morning’s run was nothing special.  It was just an easy early morning run before work.  I got lost in my run on a few occasions.  Some of that may have been due to how tired I was, or maybe it due to my complete relaxation, maybe I was having a Zen moment.