Watt's Running

Today we were to run 12 miles with each mile being faster that the previous. This is nothing new, I’ve done it many times before. We were to start at our 10K pace plus 2 minutes and 15 seconds which for me now is starting at 10:30/M. Then each mile is to be 15 seconds faster until the last three miles should be: two at 10K pace, and the last one as fast as you can run. Well when I walked out of the house to drive to the start the temperature was hot (about 78 degrees) and very humid. Not good running weather. It was even sprinkling then raining as I drove out of the development and down MoPac. However that all stopped by the time I got there. Nevertheless it was still humid. The first mile was too slow at 11:05 and the next few were too fast at 9:45. By the time I got to the halfway point I was beat and my heart rate shows it. The heat and humidity had gotten to me. So I just decided to run the last half ignoring my pace. Even that was still hard. Halfway back I stopped once for water and a stop light or two, and to walk the last hill. I completed the 12 miles in 1:58:32 or about 9:50/M.

Mile	Expected	Actual	Slow/Fast
1	10:30	11:05	too slow
2	10:15	9:34	too fast
3	10:00	9:35	too fast
4	9:45	9:17	too fast
5	9:30	8:59	too fast
6	9:15	9:22	too slow
7	9:00	10:10	too slow
8	8:45	9:11	too slow
9	8:30	9:20	too slow
10	8:15	9:45	too slow
11	8:15	9:46	too slow
12	FAST	10:12	too slow

This is not very good, but I don’t care and at least I completed it. Afterwards a few of us went to Deep Eddy Pool (a first for me) to cool down in the water and talk, which was nice.

This is a recovery week, so we only had to do 10 miles. I started with Ed B., but soon he sped ahead and I let him go. Something inside me pushed me to catch him which I did at the 3.5 mile water stop. He was with a faster group but I kept up with them to the 7 mile water stop. Then on the trail shortly afterwards I went ahead of them, got a bit lost, they turned another way, but finally I made it back to RunTex in 1:37:35 (9:45/M) within a few minutes of the bigger group. Ed felt he ran faster than that and I agree, so maybe the distance was longer. Nevertheless Ed felt that this was the group for him. I don’t know if it’s the group for me since I’m trying not to push so hard. He wants to do a 3:45 at Chicago. I just want to finish it. You see in the heartrate chart below where I was slow to start (<140beats/min) and then sped up to (low to mid 140s) to be with the group.

Well I had to again wake up at 4 AM (sheesh!). I got dressed, ate breakfast and drove downtown. We started at 5 AM to beat the heat. Running in the dark is fun, and there were plenty of street lights to see. It was a smaller group than normal because of the holiday weekend and people out of town. I ran with Ed B. and Kevin. Heading south we climbed gradually from about 450 feet above sea level to about 850 over the 10 miles outbound leg, then returning it was down hill and easier. What was nice to see is that my heartrate was lower (mostly under 140/min), but then again I completed the 20 miles in 3:28:30 or about 10:30/M. That’s not very fast, but then again this is LSD running – long-slow-distance. Overall I feel OK after this distance, although I iced my left ankle afterwards.

I woke at 4 AM. We started at 5 AM from Barton Springs pool. I tried to run slow and steady keeping my heart rate down. We ran to the top of Mount Bonnell and then over to the back side, then again on the return. I completed about 17 miles in 3:10 – quite slow – 11:10/M (this includes water stops). I finished at about 8:20 AM. Afterwards I was tired, and sore. I felt my ankle some of the time. I didn’t really run with anyone. At the end I walked a bit – exhaustion had set in, but I did keep my heart rate down. I put an ice pack on my ankle before driving home. I had to get home to give Kathy the car so I didn’t go in the pool or stay for the potluck. And why do I do this? I’m starting to wonder. Oh wait, because it’s good for me. Yeah, right.

I forgot to turn off the HR recorder until I got home.

Today was a trail run. This is a recovery week so the run was only 60 minutes. We ran the Barton Creek Greenbelt starting at Spyglass Hill. There were so many people on the trail that several times we had to walk. We ran out and back about 2.5 miles. On the way back I got separated from the group and lost my way. The next thing I noticed was a few of the runners running torward me which meant I was running the wrong way. Whoa! So I turned around and got reoriented and finished the run OK. Afterwards we all stopped at Tacodeli for a few eggs and bacon breakfast soft tacos. In addition I downed three Cokes which tasted so good. The conversation was good and I talked to Ed and John, then Dan and Larry. Unfortunately I left my wallet when I was talking to Dan and Larry. Luckily Dan picked it up for me and later in the afternoon we met and I got it back. I really appreciate having good running friends like him. Thanks so much Dan.

Well I did it. We were starting an hour earlier. I went to bed at 9 PM and woke at 3:30 AM before my alarm and laid there until 3:55 when I got up. We started at 5 AM. I finished 18 miles in 3:07:25 or about 10:25/M. I didn’t push it and tried to do it easy and consist. My heartrate was in the 140s most of the time which is good. Afterwards I was one big ball of sweat. I must have drunk 1 gallon of soda or water.

So I’m thinking for Chicago marathon that I’m just going to enjoy myself. No PRs, not fast, just a very long run with 40,000 of my running buddies.