Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Today Cody, Dan, and I did a 2-mile time trial on part of the Landfill Loop. The purpose of this was to give me an idea of my current fitness and an estimate of an appropriate 5k pace for the upcoming Striders 5k in 9 days. The time trial course is very flat, and the weather was very nice with no snow or wind, and not too cold either. Other than an isolated splot of ice and slush on the first mile, road conditions were good. Did a 2-mile warmup with 4x100m strides.

I was hoping to run 10:00, but ended up at 10:27. First mile was around 5:04, so the second was 5:23, very lopsided. This was measured with my Timex GPS, so give or take a couple seconds.

I had forgotten how much it hurt to fun that fast, so this was good to do before the 5k race. I think with proper pacing, competition, pushing myself harder, and some "raceday magic" (adrenaline), I can probably hold 5:15 pace for a 5k (16:20). The Ogden course will be slower due due a sizeable hill, so I think I will be happy with under 16:40 for that race. Regardless, I did learn today that I shouldn't go out in 5:00, which will be key.

I cooled down with Cody and Dan and then turned off on 1400 N, and did 4x100m strides, which felt good. In all, my recovery from the time trial was pretty fast, a good sign. Tried to keep the pace under 7:00/mile the last two miles of the run.

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I have added a new (original) entry to my personal blog regarding the upcoming Striders Series. 

Easy day, North Logan out-and-back. Caught the 7-minute guy with 2 miles left and said, "Smell ya' later!" 6:57/mile pace for entire run.

I can feel yesterday a little, but not too much. Ave HR 153.

Jogged around the block with the dog, and then met Cody for a 13.2-mile jaunt up and around Millville, Prov-town, and River Heights. Followed the new Wasatch Back Relay course on the way out, then got up on the bench for the return trip, and some running on the TOU course as well. 7:15/mile pace for the run. Felt okay, but a bit stiff. Nice morning.

65 miles total for the week, the same schedule for next week. 

Out and back route to Logan Canyon River Trail. Trail had packed snow, with pretty good footing. 6x100m strides on the way back. 6:51/mile pace for the run.

Ave HR 154 

Beautiful, warm day in Logan; wore short sleeves and sweat a lot. Did a 5-mile Tinman tempo, with splits of 6:00, 6:00, 5:59, 5:48, 5:50. Felt easy. HR stayed around 164 for the tempo. Followed it up with 4x 30-second hill surges up Country Rd. HR peaked at 173 at the end up each surge. Ave pace for entire run was 6:31; ave HR was 155

AM - Inspired by Sasha and Ted, I decided to try running before noon. I only managed to do 6:30AM, so I still have a ways to go. Easy jog around block with the dog, followed by an out-and-back to the end of the paved river trail. 4.5 miles total. It was a very nice morning, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it growing light before 7AM. Legs feel great, but the top my left foot to my lower shin feels very irritated. It don't feel it when I wear sandals or go barefoot, just with shoes. I'm wearing my birks for work today; hopefully this is nothing more than a distraction, but I'll keep tabs on it. I have an afternoon run scheduled as well.

PM - easy 7.5 miles with Cody, Dan, and Jon. 

For all those interested in the Striders 5K coming up this Saturday, I've posted some maps and profiles on my personal blog.

Ran 10 miles from work (Providence Hill Loop). Did 8x100m strides on the downhill part to help calibrate my legs to the trashing they're going to take on Saturday. 6:49/mile average pace for the run. Ave HR 150.

Top of my foot felt a little better today, but still some irritation.

Day off. Wore birks all day to let my irritated foot heal.

Ran an easy 7 miles with Jon at 7:58/mile pace. Landfill Loop. I laced my shoe differently (didn't go all the way to the top) and between that and wearing sandals the last three days, it feels fine again. I'm pretty sure what was happening was that the tendons at the top of my foot were being aggravated by tying my shoes too tight.

I'm ready to go in the 5k tomorrow. The course will be brutal, but fortunately success in a racing circuit is measured not by how fast you run, but by where you place. And we all run the same course! 

Striders 5K this morning. Abnormally warm day for early February, mid-40's for temp, overcast, no wind. In other words, perfect. I arrived to the Start about 50 minutes before the race, checked in, and warmed up for a few miles. I knew from my elevation profile that this race would be very hilly, as we will essentially run up and down the highest Bonneville Shoreline terrace. I was rather dreading it.

At the start line, it appeared that there was a very good field: Joe, Corbin, Bob, Steve, Sasha, Leon, Nate, and so on and so on. Basically all the usual suspects, and then some. I put Top 3 and money out of my head and decided to just focus on running smart and "my race".

The first mile felt pretty easy and had a good amount of flat and slightly uphill terrain. Sasha's GPS beep cued me to look at my watch at 0.5-mile, which I hit in 5:34. The gradient increased substantially by the end of the mile. Went through the mile in 5:23, which was right where I wanted to be. I was in 5th place at that point, further up than I expected given the field.

By the end of the 1st mile and into the 2nd mile, things got really steep. I focused on trying to stay smooth, not make any foolish moves, and keep from going too anaerobic. The crest of the big hill came sooner than I expected, and I was still feeling quite good, so I knew at that point that I was going to have a good race. I moved into 4th, passing Leon at some point, and then Joe started falling off Corbin and Bob. I realized that if I kept my pace, I would pass him. The downhills were like roller coasters, and I just flailed my arms for balance and let gravity chunder me down at high speeds. I passed Joe on the downhill, and I was then in 3rd. If I could hold that, I would take a home a little cash which is always nice. Mile 2 split was 5:39 (11:02 2-mile).

The last mile had mixed up and downs, but mostly downhills. I just tried to keep momentum going and my form good. With about half a mile left, I realized that no one was going to catch me, plus I was starting to gain on Bob and Corbin. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get enough oxygen into my gaping mouth, but still tried to push it the best I could. Corbin made a move up front, dropped Bob, and put more distance on myself as well. Bob came back to me a bit, but I ran out of road, and he ended up finishing a couple seconds ahead. I finished strong, but it wasn't exactly a blazing sprint either. I would describe the race in general as a steady effort without too many surges, very even "pacing" and effort given the terrain. Last mile split was 4:59. Last 200m was 35 seconds. Overall time was 16:36. 3rd place. Also noteable: a 1-2-3 finish for the Wasatch Running Center. Overall results are here.

I was VERY pleased with this race. I did not expect to finish in the top 3 in that particular field, and was quite tickled to finish that close to speedsters like Bob and Corbin. This is a great start to the season!

Cooled down a few miles with everyone afterward.

PM - Did an easy 5.5-mile afternoon run to get some more mileage and shake the race and car trip out of my leg. Felt pretty good.

Crummy rainy day. I decided to wait for a day not so crummy to run.

Recovery from the race has been good. Very little residual soreness and I don't feel "pounded" at all (partially due to wearing lightweight trainers rather than racing flats).

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For those interested in the Wasatch Back Relay, I have posted an entry on my MarathonGIS blog describing the 2007 course changes, and a link to some sweet flash maps. 

Tinman Tempo on Landfill Loop. Did a couple miles at 6:20-6:30, and then held 6:00-6:10 for the 6-mile tempo duration. HR was in the upper 160's up to 170 for the tempo. Did 4x100m strides afterwards. Ave pace for run was 6:28/mile.

Ran to gym and lifted weights this morning. Today was supposed to be "bagel Tuesday" at the gym, but there were no bagels there. Needless to say, I was vexed. After lifting, I ran home and scarfed a cliff bar, then continued with my run. Very easy pace day; not a whole lot of energy. 7:30/mile pace for the run. I did my run on the canal trail loop, and there was no snow to be found. It's been a very strange February. I bought some trail shoes (Brooks Cascadia) at the WRC last Saturday, so I may be able hit some trails sooner than later!

Weighed in today at 128 lbs. That was before breakfast, but still, oh my! I actually need to put on a few pounds now. However, I know that the general weight loss has been key to improving my race times and staying injury-free. I was 145 lbs last year at this point, and fighting knee and back problems. According to my blog, I was 143 lbs a couple days before I PR'ed in the half marathon last April; I am now 15 lbs lighter than that. Just running a quick, generic calculation, since V02Max is a volume (mL) divided by mass (kg), if my oxygen volume is roughly the same, given the fact that I've dropped 6.5 kg, my V02Max could be up to 7 units higher due to just dropping weight. I know that's a simplistic calculation, but the general idea holds true. I think the fact that I just ran a 5k about a minute faster than at this point last year adds some validity to the calcualtion as well.

All that being said, I'm already chowing down as it is, and am still losing weight, so I need to chow down some more. I added an addition PB&J sandwich to my lunch today as a start. 

North Logan out-and-back, easy pace. 6:53/mile. Did 6x100m strides in middle. Feeling totally recovered from Saturday, and ready to work again.

CV fartlek, 5x4-minutes, 3 minutes rest. Overall 5:20 pace for intervals. 6:28/mile pace for entire run. Millville out-and-back route. Did 2x30s hill charges at end. Ave HR for intervals in low 170s, maxed at 186 on last interval.

Met Dan, David, and Jon at the Logan Canyon River Trail (ran from work). Ran the trail from the gate to Spring Hollow campground and back. Very easy pace. The trail was very muddy, and icy in some spots still. The single track was especially slick.

Awesome, warm sunny day today; ran in shorts in t-shirt. Did a 15-miler, with Dan and Cody for most of it. We held 6:57 pace for the first 11.5 miles, then dropped off Dan. Then Cody and I did  2 miles of loops in the LHS grass field at around 7:20/mile. It was good to get on the softer surface. I finished off the run with my dog. I took my dog to the vet today for a routine checkup, and he weighed in at 98 lbs, almost 20 pounds heavier than last year. I told him afterwards he needs to get his butt into shape, so I'll try to take him out for longer runs to help him accomplish that.

Easy distance today. Started out with a few miles on the track to calibrate the Suunto Foot Pod that I'm testing. I did 6x100m strides on the track, and decided to time them just see to see how fast I'm running. The strides were all between 14.5 - 16.0 seconds. They were very hard, but not all-out, so I reckon I can probably run 13.5 in an all-out sprint right now.

Went out after that to the paved river trail and back, then grabbed my fat, out-of-shape dog and dragged him the last three miles through some neighborhoods. Gil went out hard, but after one 6:30 mile, he was sucking wind, and I had to work to get him under 8:00/mile pace the rest of the way. Pretty sad; he used to do 13-milers with me.

Nice day, wore short sleeves and shorts. Ave HR 139. Got up to 179 on the strides. 

Did 6.5-mile Tinman tempo on First Dam Run course. 6:00/mile pace for the first 3 miles, 5:45/mile pace for the remainder. Felt kind of lazy before the run, but it ended up feeling really good, especially biomechanics. Did 4x30-second hill charges up the Boulevard after then tempo. Cooled down with the dog. He made it two miles this time without bonking out, so some improvement.

Lots of snow this morning, but roads were quite clear by the time I ran at 3PM. 

Averaged 6:30/mile pace for the entire run. Ave HR for entire run was 166. 

AM - ran to gym, lifted weights, and then ran home via TOU course. Did another half mile with the dog. 5.5 miles total at easy pace. Weighed in at 130 lbs.

PM - 7.5 easy. Landfill loop at 7:00/mile pace, then a couple miles with the dog. 7:15/mile pace for entire run. Ave HR 134, max 148.

The Suunto unit is a much better, more stable HR monitor than anything else I've used. It has yet to give me a weird reading, even on cold days.

North Logan - Campus Loop. 7:00/mile pace. Did 6x100m strides. Ave HR 136, max 166.

Day off. My work for the week is done. Now it's just time to freshen up my legs for the 10K this weekend.

Speaking of Striders10K this weekend, I've posted an entry and some maps today on my MarathonGIS blog. Check it out if you're interested.

Easy distance for mini-taper. I wanted to do 7 miles, but ran out of time due to dinner obligations. It's unfortunate when having a life butts into my running. I should have planned better.

Striders 10-K. I got up a bit early and used TP Massage Ball to work over my lower back, which had been bothering me a little over the last few days. Weather was a little chilly, but sunny with no wind to speak of. Good racing weather. The competition was the same as last time, with the addition of Dennis. I was not sure what kind of race Dennis was going to run, but decided not to worry him too much and worry about myself instead. Warmed up 2 miles.

For details of the 10k course, click here. By the way, my memory during races tends to be a bit fuzzy, so some of the following may be slightly inaccurate.

Because of all the hills, I wanted to go out rather conservatively, but still keep contact with the lead pack. The pack accomodated this by going out quite slow, so I found myself right up front without expending much energy. There was about a pack of 6-10 during the first half mile, which thinned out to a group of 4 by the end of the second mile: myself, Joe, Corbin, and Bob.

The third mile featured a very large climb (~300ft) that kicked my butt, and made me go anaerobic. This worried me a little, as I have done zero anaerobic or V02Max training (besides the 5k race). Fortunately, I stayed close to the leaders through this stretch. At the 3-mile point (18:03 for the split), it was Bob and Joe, and then Corbin, followed by me. On the downhill, I recovered a bit and started moving. I caught and passed Corbin by 3.5, and then caught Bob and Joe by the 4-mile point (or so, I can't remember). Traded leads with Bob and Joe during the 5th mile, and at one point I tried a weak attempt of breaking away (I was feeling pretty good still), but with no success. Passed the 5-mile mark still feeling decent, but it's hard not to feel good when running downhill. The last climb with about a mile left took the wind out of my sails, and it was a struggle. Bob had made a really nice move just before that and broken away, and continued to pull farther from everyone going up the hill. Joe was a few seconds ahead of me, and I retained the spread, but felt myself getting weaker as the hill went on. Once we got back to the downhill, I struggled to regain my speed, and Corbin went by me into 3rd place. Corbin soon passed Joe as well, but Bob was a ways ahead. Joe was still in striking distance for me, but I could not close well, and the gap widened a little. Meanwhile, Corbin was still closing like a madman. Apparently he ran a 4:21 indoor mile last week. But Bob's earlier surge had put enough distance on the rest of the field to secure his win without challenge. Bob - Corbin - Joe - Me - Dennis - Someone - Sasha. Nice race everyone.

My final time was 34:47. Mile splits were 5:57, 12:05 (2-mile split -- missed mile 2), 4:58, 5:02, 5:36. Several people suspected the first mile was long, and perhaps the course was a little long (although we all took horrible tangents due to snow/ice), but it's a race, so who cares? This was more like a cross country race in some ways; time didn't matter, just place.

I was pretty happy with this race. I was off my predicted time by about 20 seconds, but the winners were much slower than my predictions as well. Thus, I can assume that the prediction was wrong. In the 5k I was 11 seconds behind the winner; today in the 10k I was 19 seconds behind the winner. Looking at it in this light, I probably ran equal to or slightly better than my 5k performance two weeks ago. I enjoyed mixing it up and racing with Joe, Corbin, and Bob, and I don't feel like I made any strategical errors. My only downfall was not being able to hold it the last mile and finish off the race with a surge. I'm still missing a little bit of the "killer racing instinct" as well, that is required to win 5k's and 10k's. But all things considered, it was a pretty good race for me, and I look forward to the 10-miler.

Cooled down ~3.5 miles immediately after race.

Official race results are up impressively quick. Click here. 

Ran another 4 miles around 2PM to get some more mileage and work the race and car ride out of me. All body parts feel intact. Pace: 7:45/mile. Ave HR 145. This heart rate is high for the pace. I must be fatigued or dehydrated....hmmm...I wonder why!

67 miles total for this week. I will bump it up to 70 miles for the next two weeks.

AM - Woke up and my legs felt like I ran a hilly 10K yesterday...quads a bit tired and sore, outside of the calves battered, and general fatigue. I ran an easy mile with the dog to test things out. No pains, just the usual effects of a hard 10K, so that's good. The legs felt better after the little jog. I'll try another short run later today to continue to work the race out.

PM - Easy 4 mile out-and-back on paved river trail. Legs are feeling better. 7:40/mile pace. Ave HR 137 - a sign of good recovery.  

Easy 10 miles (Millville out-and-back) at 7:30/mile pace. Did 6x100m strides midway through the run, and stopped at the gym near the end and lifted weights. Finished up with a block with the dog. Ave HR 141. Max 169 during the strides. Still recovering from the race, but I think I'll be ready for a workout tomorrow.

I've posted a new entry on my personal blog about a cool race result database called Athlinks. Check it out if you're interested in that sort of nerdy stuff.

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Snow this morning, so I waited until 3:30PM to do my run. It's nice having a very flexible job, and I actually owe some of my winter fitness to being able to wait around to run on good footing. Indeed, the snow today had melted, and roads were wet, but grippy. The sun came out as well, and it was actually very nice out. Good day for a workout.

I had a 7-mile Tinman tempo scheduled, but I wasn't sure how it was going to go due to some of the 10K still being in my legs. I wanted to work on hills some, so I did the 12-mile Millville-Providence-River Heights loop, which goes up and down the benches. I warmed up for three miles, then started the tempo. I was sluggish the first miles, but then things clicked during the remaining 6 miles, and it ended up being an excellent workout that felt good. I was able to work the hills, but still feel fast and strong on them, so I think the races have served to increase my fitness over the last couple weeks. Tempo mile splits were 6:08, 6:00, 6:26, 6:12, 6:03, 5:47, 5:52. First two miles were rolling, the next three had a lot of uphill, and the last two had a lot of downhill. HR stayed in the 170 range during the tempo, and peaked at 180 on the hills. Average pace for entire 12-mile run was 6:24/mile.

North Logan out-and-back. 7:10/mile pace. Did 6x100m strides midway. Ave HR ~145.