Another Birthday and Planning a Run

It didn't occur to me that Facebook would publish my Birthday so I was surprised to find the first of many birthday wishes in my inbox yesterday. As much as I don't like the fuss, it helped to make it a great day. Topping it all off, Ruth Anne and Eileen took me to the new Flemming's in the Domain and I had a perfectly prepared Fillet with grilled asparagus and a salad. Not the best meal to eat before a 16 mile run but worth every bite!

In my last post, I mentioned that this week marks 5 years since I took up running. Team Rogue is running the marathon as a training run this year. As a coach, I feel that I should be on the course offering encouragement to my runners so I'm not running the marathon again this year. In fact, I enjoyed cheering so much last year that I have been looking forward to cheering again this year. But, I do need to get in my long run this week and I have to keep up with the team SO, I am planning a 24 mile run starting at 4am Sunday morning on my own to reflect on how marathoning has changed my life. My plan is to run from my house hooking up to the RunTex 2 RunTex route at Gateway, then jumping onto the Marathon course (backward) at Bull Creek to Enfield then cutting over to Rogue Equipment by 6am to meet up with my runners. Then accompanying the group to the marathon start before heading out Congress/Speedway and back on the course at 46th over to the Thunderbird Coffee House to meet up with Ruth Anne and Eileen for breakfast. Then we will find a spot somewhere around IMF to cheer for the runners. I am looking forward to being out on the course early watching the crews setting up water stops and putting out cones and barriers. I am really looking forward to the energy I'll get back from cheering for everyone racing.

Now I'm going for my 16 miler with hills. UPDATE: Whoo Hooo! I rocked it today! Heading out the door, I decided to run the route so that Raincreek and Floral Park came near the end (like Boston). After 2 miles of warming up, I began to push the pace and clocked 8 miles at 6:55 pace! Cruised through the Raincreek and Floral Park hills and finished 15.8 miles in 1:58:54 for 7:31 average pace. There were 2 runners going up Raincreek and I blew by them like they were standing still. Better yet, I was able to get back to a 7:10 pace for the final 3 mile stretch. While running, I finalized my plans for marathon day cheering. If you are running the Austin Marathon this Sunday YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS IT!

Its Raining!

I'm preparing to go for my Monday 10. It's raining. The only change I will make is to wear my oldest pair of active shoes. And wear a hat. I'm hoping to have a good run like last Friday. I will update this post when I finish. Good run. Ran into a friend of Ruth Anne's who we've seen running in the hood. I slowed down to her pace to tell her I have noticed how much her running has improved since she started running. I think I made her day! I guess I ran 3/4 mile with her then picked up the pace to finish out my run. It took quite awhile to get into a comfort zone but once I did I was doing 7:15-7:20s. I loved the rain!

I attended the Rogue Pep Rally for the Austin Marathon last night. For me the best moment was when Steve asked to see the hands of first time marathoners. He also raised his hand. Like most of the old timers around Rogue, I have been pushing and pulling on him to run a marathon for some time. I don't know of a single person who has run the marathon that hasn't been changed in some profound ways. I very much look forward to seeing what changes are in store for Steve.

This week will mark the 5 year aniversary of Ruth Anne's first marathon and the day of my first run toward my first marathon. It marks the 4th year since my first marathon. Running my first easily rank among the 5 top Life Changing events of my life. Getting married, the birth of my kids and running a marathon. The top 5.

That was easy

I was prepared for 20-24 miles this morning only to discover that the big boys were going 14. I checked my log and 14 still gets me to 80 miles this week, so I jumped in with the group and hoped I could stick. Most of the group is running all or part of the Austin Marathon next week and took it easy. I will be cheering again this year so I'll need to plan a 24 mile run on Saturday. Anyway, I started out at an easy 7:30ish pace with Bruce and the main group. Ken was running off the front. At the first water stop, I left with Ken and decided to see how well I could hang at his 6:50-7:00 pace through the big hills. I fell behind by 4-5 strides on a few hills but managed to stay with him for 4 miles or so. I knew he would plan to close the final 4 miles faster than I could hope to maintain so I let him go. I then tried to maintain sub 7:00s the rest of the way in and did so easily. With about a mile to go, Derrick tried to blow by me. I had some gas left and decided to see if he had it today. It took about 3 surges to finally drop him for good. Even though this was a short run and the big boys were taking it easy, it was a huge boost to have a good solid run with plenty of gas left for a foot race at the end. I'm going to start timing my 10 milers and looking to get back to my 7:20 average pace or better.

On the subject of feet, I experienced some 2nd toe joint pain during my long run last Sunday that reminded me of my Boston experience. That was the first long run in my new Hyper Speed 3 shoes and very disappointing since I've grown to really like that shoe. In an effort to see if the problem was my feet or the shoes, I took out the Piranhas that I'd given up on for long running and tried them out on Monday. I ended up running all week in them and my feet really responded well. I love these shoes. I run without socks and just slipping these bad boys on before a run gives me goose bumps. I've now had runs of 14 and 16 miles in them with no blisters and no foot pain. I'll keep going in them next week and see how they feel on a 20+ mile run. My evolution toward minimal footwear continues. Maybe next I'll just brush on some rubber cement and go barefoot. (I'm still a tender foot off the grass).

A Little Taste of MOJO

My "tempo" run yesterday was pretty dismal. I did a 3 mile warmup then attempted 4 miles of tempo pace and a 3 mile cool down. I never got into a rhythm and didn't get a single mile even close to my 6:35 goal pace. This morning, I was feeling a little sore but right off the bat I felt comfortable. I did my out and back route and clocked a 35:58 outbound or 7:11 pace. Feeling even better I cranked it up a notch and averaged a 6:43 pace for the inbound 5. I didn't create mile splits but glancing at my watch I clocked a 6:30 mile and a 6:22 mile. I will probably regret it on tomorrow's run, but I needed a good run like this.

The January Comeback

I started my current comeback on January 6 with a six mile run. I missed 4 days of running due to life getting in the way. Finished January with 236.9 miles in 22 days averaging 10.8 miles per day. I still have no goal for Boston other than finishing. My running plan consists of running 10 miles on my own 4 days per week and whatever mileage the team is running on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. From what I've seen of the schedule so far, that will put me at 90 MPW give or take.

Today, I ran my usual 10 mile run. I actually remembered to charge the Garmin yesterday and took it on its maiden voyage today. Finally figured out how to put average pace on the screen instead of instantaneous pace. The mileage didn't agree with my mapping so I don't really know my pace. I'll play around with it over the next couple of weeks and see if I want to re-incorporate Garmin into my training.

A Good Run

Saturday got away. Ruth Anne was running her first long run in nearly 2 years so I kept Eileen while I manned my water stop. Later, Ruth Anne was showing lake properties to clients so I had Eileen for the day. Made the best of it though. Eileen and I put up a barn for storing hay and my little tractor. Had a little trouble getting Eileen to put away her Gameboy but once she did, she was a big help. She handed me nuts and bolts and even held the corners of the cover as I pulled it over the frame. The cover must weigh 100# and I nearly pulled her off the ground a few times but she held on! Once the barn was up, I moved all of the hay inside. By the time I went to bed, my back and legs were complaining. I was glad my Sunday run was scheduled to start at 7am instead of 5 or 5:30. I had heard that Steve and Kristen were planning a 24 mile run. I asked if they would mind me tagging along. I've been hearing how fast she is running right now and was a little concerned that I would get toasted before we even got going. Anyway, Kamran and Jason showed up to run 10-12. I was a little pissed when all 4 of them tried to pull some intervention at mile 5 and get me to turn around, or take a water, or take some gels. Whatever. Jason and Kamran turned around and I had to keep pace with Steve and Kristen as much as possible. I kept them in sight to Carmen's house where they refilled water bottles and tried again to get me to drink. Steve tried to explain the route back but it was a few turns more than I could retain with streets I wasn't familiar with. I asked them to hold back until we got to Westgate and promised I could find my way back from that point. That worked and they dropped me at that point. I stopped twice to re lace my shoe, but other than that I pushed it home. I ended up cutting off a bit and ended with 22.6 miles in 2:47:52 or a 7:25 overall pace. That ranks as my best long run since August of last year. Ended the week at 78.8 miles. I'm charging my Garmin and plan to start incorporating it into some of my weekly runs. It'd be nice to capitalize on this good run and get back a little of the ground I've given up to the group.