Wow

I’m not sure what else to say.  Temps were in the 50s, humidity was low.  Anyway, JUlie and I got up early due to other commitments for the day.  The first five miles were relatively slow at just over 9 min/mile.  However, for the middle 9, we simply lit it up.  The plan was for the middle 9 to be at marathon pace.  However, we were much closer to tempo pace.  In the last 4+ miles, the average pace was at 8:20.  I ran the last mile at 7:53.  It felt great.  Overall, the 18.5 miles were at 8:15 pace.  This is again near my previous 30K race pace.  Awesome!

The hamstring felt good the whole way.  Julie looked great.  I have a feeling that White Rock will be a great race for her.  I just hope the weather works out for her.  As for me, I’m looking forward to a very nice half marathon next weekend.  I would love to earn an official PR.

I hope that the hamstring keeps healing.

Big Track Turn-out

No complaints about last night’s track workout.  We ran a 3X1 mile with 600m recoveries.  Considering we just finished a 10 mile race, I had my goal set to run the miles at about 10 mile pace.  I had no problem with that and frankly I was right at or just above my 10K pace.  My right leg is still uncomfortable.  However, the last interval was my fastest and I ran a sub 8 min/mile cool down with Kerry.  And, each day the hamstring seems to feel better. 

 I saw the Doc on Monday.  She really worked my hamstring and did some “scraping” on my right ITB at the knee.  It hurt like a son of a gun, but it’s worthwhile.  I’m still icing and stretching, but I’m backing off it a little.  It feels great today.  In fact, it feels better than usual following a track workout.  It will be an easy run or cross training tonight.  I’ll see the doc again on Friday.

 The fall racing schedule is busy.  I think my plans may have been too ambitious.  I think the 50K race in the middle is the real monkey wrench.  To get ready for it, I will like to do an 18-20 mile run this weekend.  However, I really need to be careful with the Houston half coming up in less than 2 weeks.  The Houston half is another target race for me.  And, I would like to be healthy for it.  With my base, I’ll just need to take it “easy” at the track and not run the long runs aggressively. 

 Regarding the track, I’m amazed at the turn-out we are getting.  Last night we had 16 folks show up.  A year ago it was just me.  Then, Julie showed up.  Before long there were 3-5 of us showing up.  Now, we are hogging the track.  It was nice to see a few new faces.  One of the best parts is to see the improvements some of the folks have made.  Some are just now learning how to “pace” themselves.  Others are improving their time by leaps and bounds.  Although my days of improvement are coming very slow (no pun intended), I do enjoy getting out there and running fast and hard.

USA 10 Miler

Considering everything, I’m pretty happy with today’s performance.  I finished just over 73 minutes.  The hamstring hurt most of the way, but it was manageable.  Very positive that for the last 2 miles, I was able to run at a 72 minute pace.  In summary, I was too fast early, too slow in the middle, and picked it up in the end.

All my running friends had good days today.  And, I really was not too far off of my goal.  I wish that I would have been un-injured to see if I could have stuck a mid 71 race.  But, I just did not have the confidence.  I was worried the whole way about the hamstring.  It stinks to run with fear.

I took off 5 minutes from last year’s time.  Best 10 miler since 1998.  So, I will take it.  If it feels good, I’ll try to stick a half-marathon in a couple of weeks.

All revved up but no place to go….

I spent a good deal of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning wallowing in self-pity.  However, it’s time to get back on track.  It was nice hanging out with some BARC folks on Wednesday night.  I went in to see the Doctor for some treatmnet yesterday.  Nothng new, poor muscle balance, ITB is tight, quads and hamstring are tight.  She worked it pretty good, but she could have went in harder. 

It was nice to get out this morning and go for a run.  I have to admit though, the first few miles were tough.  My whole right leg ached and the hamstring really did not feel very good.  However, I was able to push some at the end.  For the last mile, I pushed the throttle down and was running at an 8:03 pace.  Running that mile felt good and it felt easy.  I have a couple of days that I can self treat with some ice, stretching, rolling, and sticking.  I’ll head out to the trails tomorrow for another easy run. 

Taking a couple of days off was tough.  But, I think it was the wise thing to do.  I also have come to realize that goals are great to have, but I can’t be consumed by them.  Socializing Wednsesday was great for my spirits.  And today’s easy run with Julie was very nice.  I realize that the running goals and accomplishments are nice, but the real joy is in the people I’m with and the time with them.

And the beatings will continue

After feeling sorry for myslef for half a day, I took the Stick out and began beating my right leg.  Yes, the hamstring is tight and hurts, but the quad has some major knots in it.  I worked on the hamstring, the ITB and the quad.  Working the quad certainly hurt the most.  I really could feel the knot in it.  After hitting it with the stick, I started to work the knot with my thumbss, it hurt like a son of a gun, but it felt good

For work, I did get a chance to do some walking and a fair amount of stair climbing.  It felt good.  Nothing really hurt, just sore and tired.  I made an appointment with Dr. Taylor.  She fixed me up last time.  I don’t know if I’ll be ready for the 10 miler, but if my runs go OK on Friday and Saturday, I’ll give it a try. 

I’m going to stay positive, and who knows.

Ouch

Tonight’s plan was for 8X800 meters at the track.  WIth the 10 mile race, my plan was to run the 800s fairly easy.  I got thrrough the first 4 with no problems.  I was running them at 3:30-3:32.  Halfway through the fifth interval, something let loose in my right hamstring.  Very disappointed that once again my hamstring is hurting.  And, with just a few days before the 10 mile race, I’m not sure what to do.  Should I get treatment, should I just rest, do I run the race hard????  Anyway, it just stinks, I’ve been running so well and now the race season is here.  I had high hopes.  I really thought I could run a PR this fall. 

Time to re-think.

Recovery Run

It’s so nice to have BARC set up on Sunday mornings.  I almost feel obligated to go out there at 6:30AM.  Joe did a great job setting up.  With it still dark at 6:30, Lisa and I headed out to the Kemah Bridge for the first five miles.  We both agreed to run easy today.  However, I have no discipline.  We ran the first five miles that included a trip over the bridge at an 8:10 pace.  Although my hamstring was tight, it did not feel too bad.  And running a little fast did not bother it, and it really did feel easy.  For the the last 6 miles on the trails, we actually ran an easy  8:30 pace.

The humidity was way up there.  And, the mosquitoes were horrible.  But, it was an enjoyable run.  A great way to end the weekend!  Now, I need to “taper” going into the 10 miler.

Long Fast Run

I ran a little over 18 miles today.  I met a group of folks at Clear Lake.  I was out there early to run five miles.  My first five miles were fast (8:15 pace).  I was worried about not making it back in time, so I was running fairly fast for me.  For the next 13 miles, we started a little slow.  My goal was to run the middle five miles at marathon pace.  The middle five miles were very fast.  The target was to run them at MP (8 min.mile) I hit the miles a little fast.  With everyone there, it was hard for me to dial it back, in fact, we soon were dropping 7:40 minute miles.  After the middle five, we kept the pace fairly hard for the balance.  I ran the last mile at 7:53.  However, I was a little tired.

I have to admit running with Lisa, Kerry, Virginia, and Les is pretty challenging for me.  I really wanted to slow down more after the middle five.  Instead, we kept a pretty hard pace of 7:55 to 8:10.  They are all much better runners then I am.  It was an awesome run.  The weather was OK, but it was humid.  Very happy with today’s 8:05 pace.

Track work and more

I thought I made an entry for the Tuesday night track workout.  Well, here it goes.  I’m jumping into the BAA marathon schedule.  I went with a 5X1000 meter workout.  The goal was to hit a 10K pace.  As usual, I exceeded it.  I ran a little faster and best part was to run each one a little faster than the previous one.  I was hitting the 1000s in about 4:15 to  4:20.  The weather was just about ideal, in the low 70s with low humidity.  We had another great turnout.  My training partners keep getting better.  Lisa is way ahead of me, and Julie has caught up to me.  I’m very happy for them.

Today was a terrific run.  Julie and I got up early for a run at the bridge.  As luck would have it, the cold front was passing right as we were starting the run.  Windy, cool, hard pelting rain, thunder and lightening greeted us.  We ran around Kemah and Clear Lake Shores.  I’m impressed that she showed up.  We are committed or we should be committed.  Either way, it was an electrifying, fun run.

Look forward to another cool day of running in.

X-Country

After some easy runs last week, I finished off the week running in a cross-country relay race.  The race takes place in downtown Houston along Buffalo Bayou.  Although it’s only a 2 mile leg, it’s a tough one to run.  Lots of ups and downs and the the footing in the grass with tree roots and holes is kind of tough.  I could never find my racing gear.  I did manage to run it faster this year than last, however, I was really hoping to hit something like a 14 minute flat or less.  My time in the two miles was a 14:50.  Our team did OK, but we did not place.  Unfortunately, our best runner had car problems and could not make it. 

BARC did very well this year.  Last year, BARC finished empty handed.  This year was another story.  We had 14 teams at the race.  We won the Open Female.  I was very happy and pleased to see a couple of my training partners win the big sombrero.  The Open Male took second.  I’m unsure but I know the Female Masters and Veteran Females took home some hardware.  All in all, it was a job well done. 

My Sunday run was an uneventful 10 miler.  Nothing hurt and I was running a pretty good pace.  The heat and humidity returned in a vengance.  Of note, we came across a truck that had overturned on Toddville Road.  Ugly accident, thankfully it was a single vehicle accident.  But, it looked like the driver was pretty banged up.  Today’s early run was a little longer than normal.  Julie had off from work today.  So instead of the typical 5 miles, we ran a little over 6 today.