11/07 – Sunday – Neighborhood – 8.1 miles – 81 minutes – R/W
11/08 – Monday – Neighborhood – 4.5 miles – 49 minutes – R/W
11/09 – Tuesday – Class – 13.9 miles – 128 minutes – R/W
11/10 – Wednesday – Neighborhood – 4.2 miles – 43 minutes – R/W
11/11 – Thursday – Class (new shoes) – 7.0 miles – 69 minutes – R/W
11/12 – Friday – off – n R/W
11/13 – Saturday – Long Run – 1.9 miles – 29 minutes – no R/W
Weekly mileage: Expected 40, Actual 39.6 miles
Shoe mileage: 8.9 miles
R = Roller
W = Weights
Loops in the dark
Boy getting up this morning was tough. I was not looking forward to this practice. All I kept thinking about was this past Sunday on the track. Those 24 laps. Those drop downs. The exhaustion and cramps afterwards. I know. I know. It was to simulate the end of the marathon. The time when you have to gut it out and get ‘er done. When you have to push, push more and push beyond. So I feared this morning and repeating those laps on the track with drop downs. Lap upon lap. In the dark. Missing those stupid holes. Around that loop again and again. I wondered if I had it in me. The self doubts were devils in my brain. But I’ve learned that if you’re told to do something you give it a try. I’ve also learned that Steve is a great coach. He builds you up so you can achieve what he’s asking. So I do it. I follow orders. I run the loops. I count the laps. It’s too dark to read my watch. I’ll do my best unknowing the time and check when I get home. I’ve got no group to help me, to run with me today. Kim offered to follow, but I didn’t want to be responsible for anyone else today. I was worried. I wanted to crawl into a hole. The running starts, the laps go by, the traffic gets bad. I keep going. I decide to run it straight. No breaks, no 400m recoveries, just 24 laps making each one faster. 4 done, 8 done, 12 and halfway, they blur one after the other, only 4 more, only 3/4 lap, finished. Get water, jog slowly back to the pool. At home I check the times. I can’t believe them. Was the Garmin off? They’re much faster than I expected considering my MGP is 9:10, HMGP is 8:42, 10K is 8:13, and 5K is 7:55. My results were mile 1: 8:22, mile 2: 8:24, mile 3: 8:00, mile 4: 7:58, mile 5: 7:42, and mile 6: 7:44. And I was supposed to start at MGP. And not go under my 5K pace. Oops. If I add up my times and include a tenth of a mile (48:10+0:74=49:24) it’s only 40 seconds over my 10K PR (48:44). What? Unbelievable! I lean back, smile and wonder what the future holds…
Running log week of 2010-10-31
10/31 – Sunday – Race Prep 3 – 26.1 miles – 267 minutes – R/W
11/01 – Monday – Neighborhood – 4.7 miles – 67 minutes – R/W
11/02 – Tuesday – Class – 9.7 miles – 109 minutes – R/W
11/03 – Wednesday – Neighborhood – 7.1 miles – 77 minutes – R/W
11/04 – Thursday – Class – 9.3 miles – 87 minutes – R/W
11/05 – Friday – off
11/06 – Saturday – Long Run – 14.6 miles – 160 minutes – R/W
Weekly mileage: Expected 60, Actual 71.5 miles
Shoe mileage: 351.1 miles
R = Roller
W = Weights
Counting Laps in Binary
This past weekend I had to count 24 laps, 4 per mile times 6 miles. So to keep me busy as I ran around the loop over and over again I decided to count on my fingers. However, instead of using base 10 I used base 2 or binary. This allowed me to easily count to 8 on one hand. I used my thumb to hold down 3 of my 4 fingers. A finger up is a 0 and a finger held down is a 1. My index finger is the 1s place (2**0 where ‘M**N’ means M raised to the N power), my middle finger is the 2s place (2**1), and my third finger is the 4s place (2**2). But enough of the math, here is a table of the number and signs as I counted.
| Laps Completed | Finger Position |
|---|---|
| 0 |  |
| 1 |  |
| 2 |  |
| 3 = 2 + 1 |  |
| 4 |  |
| 5 = 4 + 1 |  |
| 6 = 4 + 2 |  |
| 7 = 4 + 2 + 1 |  |
I could have counted to 16 with all 4 fingers, where my pinkie is the 8s place (2**3), but it wasn’t worth it. Anyways this kept me busy enough as I struggled to concentrate on just running and counting to 8 three times.
Race Prep 3 – Soul Buster
I’ve been worried about this one. I even took off yesterday in preparation. We were to do a 4 mile warmup, then 5 miles at MGP, then 1/2 mile recovery, then 5 more miles at MGP, then hills and more hills, then the Town Lake Trail, then 6 miles on the S. F. Austin track (2 miles MGP or 9:06min/mile, 2 miles HMGP or 8:42min/mile, 2 miles 10K or 8:13min/mile). Here is what came to pass (courtesy of my Garmin whose accuracy might be suspect): first MGP set: 8:39, 8:51, 8:46, 8:53, 8:43 (too fast); second MGP set: 8:45, 8:53, 9:21(?! Pecos hills maybe), 9:09 (Scenic hills maybe), 8:59 (just right); track MGP miles: 8:49, 8:34 (too fast); track HMGP miles: 8:18, 8:13 (too fast), and track 10K miles: 8:15, 8:09 (just right). So I’ve got to say that I did OK. Sigh. I’ve got to stop worrying! I’m in good shape and what will be will be.
Running log week of 2010-10-24
10/24 – Sunday – Neighborhood – 8 miles – 89 minutes – R/W
10/25 – Monday – Neighborhood – 4.5 miles – 49 minutes – R/W
10/26 – Tuesday – Class – 11.9 miles – 117 minutes – R/W
10/27 – Wednesday – Neighborhood – 4.5 miles – 51 minutes – R/W
10/28 – Thursday – Class – 12.0 miles – 124 minutes – R/W
10/29 – Friday – off – R/W
10/30 – Saturday – off (in prep for Race Prep tomorrow) – R/W
Weekly mileage: Expected 40, Actual 40.9 miles
Shoe mileage: 279.6 miles
R = Roller
W = Weights
Running log week of 2010-10-17
10/17 – Sunday – Warmup & IBM Uptown Classic 10K (Ran/Walked with Katie) – 8.3 miles – 103 minutes – R/W
10/18 – Monday – Neighborhood – 4.4 miles – 42 minutes – R/W
10/19 – Tuesday – Class (no Garmin; it got reset again; sheesh) – 14.9 miles – 130 minutes – R/W
10/20 – Wednesday – Neighborhood – 4.2 miles – 46 minutes – R/W
10/21 – Thursday – Class – 12.8 miles – 132 minutes – R/W
10/22 – Friday – off – R/W
10/23 – Saturday – Long Run – 22 miles – 243 minutes – R/W
Weekly mileage: Expected 60, Actual 66.6 miles
Shoe mileage: 238.7 miles
R = Roller
W = Weights
Running log week of 2010-10-10
10/10 – Sunday – Neighborhood (Garmin reset – ugh!) – 6 miles – 73 minutes – R/W
10/11 – Monday – Neighborhood – 4 miles – 47 minutes – R/W
10/12 – Tuesday – Class (Easy, Josh’s Eastside) – 10.5 miles – 113 minutes – R/W
10/13 – Wednesday – Neighborhood – 4.4 miles – 50 minutes – R/W
10/14 – Thursday – Class (Reran Pecos/Scenic at tempo, last time I was hurtin’) – 12.6 miles – 124 minutes – R/W
10/15 – Friday – off – R/W
10/16 – Saturday – Long Run (ran with Jen, Brenda and Amy, had fun) – 16 miles – 174 minutes – R/W
Weekly mileage: Expected 40, Actual 53.5 miles
Shoe mileage: 172.1 miles
R = Roller
W = Weights
Race Prep 2 – 2×10 @ MGP
Although I was at the far back of the pack trailing everyone, I did what was requested – 2×10 miles at MGP or better (9:06)
Here is the first set from the Garmin 101 geekometer (if that can be trusted). I really tried to slow it down. The mile at 9:00 is the water stop at mile 5. Note: The Garmin only said we did only 9.8 miles.
Split Time Dist AvgPace
05 00:08:37 1.00 08:37
06 00:08:53 1.00 08:54
07 00:08:42 1.00 08:42
08 00:08:40 1.00 08:40
09 00:09:00 1.00 09:00
10 00:08:49 1.00 08:50
11 00:08:34 1.00 08:34
12 00:08:58 1.00 08:58
13 00:08:53 1.00 08:53
14 00:07:39 0.86 08:51
Here is the second set. Again the 9:50 mile was the water stop at mile 5.
Split Time Dist AvgPace
17 00:08:43 1.00 08:44
18 00:09:09 1.00 09:09
19 00:09:20 1.00 09:20
20 00:09:00 1.00 09:00
21 00:09:50 1.00 09:50
22 00:08:53 1.00 08:53
23 00:08:43 1.00 08:43
24 00:08:48 1.00 08:48
25 00:08:32 1.00 08:32
26 00:07:10 0.85 08:27
There were a couple of miles on the second loop where I was over 9:06, but overall I felt satisfied with the results. I walked the last mile (mile 11) after completing the set and was very stiff and cramping in my lower legs so I’ll need to work on that.
Running log week of 2010-10-03
10/03 – Sunday – Neighborhood – 8 miles – 80 minutes – R/W
10/04 – Monday – Neighborhood – 4.4 miles – 51 minutes – R/W
10/05 – Tuesday – Class – 14.3 miles – 141 minutes – R/W
10/06 – Wednesday – Neighborhood – 4.1 miles – 49 minutes – R/W
10/07 – Thursday – Class – 11.2 miles – 107 minutes – R/W
10/08 – Friday – off – R/W
10/09 – Saturday – Long Run – 24.5 miles – 235 minutes – R/W
Weekly mileage: Expected 60, Actual 66.5 miles
Shoe mileage: 118.6 miles
R = Roller
W = Weights
