Finished my 5th 60-mile week. Today I ran threshold mile intervals, goal was 6:20, but I averaged 6:18. They felt pretty easy all along. After the 6th interval I felt my legs got tired, but my cardio system felt just fine. I finished with 4 x 1/8 miles, which were supposed to be 40 seconds each; I was about 1/2 second too fast on average.

Next week is going to be haphazard; I may just run what I feel like each day.

Very miserable workout on December 24th in cold steady rain. 6 x (200 + 200 + 400) with some recovery jogs. Gusting winds so strong that once it blew me out of my lane! 1/8 miles average at 39.8, and 1/4s at 1:21.6. Given the imperial track and the soaked shoes and wind, these are more than fine. (Daniels wants me to run 40 and 81 seconds respectively, but on metric track.)

Looking back at the training log, I see that I had a running streak from 11/26 to 12/15 with at least 4 miles every day. It wasn't intentional; in fact if anything, it was the result of not being able to do long enough runs, so I had to run on my rest days to get the mileage in. In any case, that is 20 days or running every day. Maybe that's why I feel guilty even on my scheduled rest day now.

I finished my 4th 60-mile week in a row: I've never had this consistence high mileage in all 2014, in fact I'm not sure ever.

Week 5 of Phase II

Sun: 8 E
Mon: 15 L
Tue: Rest
Wed: 2 E + 6 x (200 R + 200 jg + 200 R + 400 jg + 400 R + 200 jg) + 3 E = 11 miles
Thu: 8 E
Fri: 2 E + 6 x 1 T w/1 min + 4 x 200 w/200 jg + 2 E = 11 miles
Sat: 7 E

I did my second hard workout (oh my #2 below) today instead of Saturday, because I felt good, and sun was out. Though it was cold, it is always better for me work out in the sun during winter - somehow it works for me psychologically. Also, I knew that if I did the workout on Saturday, it would be unlikely that I could do a long run on Sunday, which is actually quite desirable considering the approaching Christmas week.

Anyway, I nailed my paces, and the workout didn't even feel very hard. I constantly had to hold myself back. Probably the best part was a 4800 meter tempo in the middle, which I did in 18:57. This was after 4 x 200 repeats, and before two more tempo intervals and 4 x 200 repetitions!  That would have been a 19:44 5K, and it felt truly easy. In fact I cruised the last lap telling myself that there are more intervals ahead.

With this in hand it's a bit of a puzzle why I couldn't run faster than 19 minutes in my clinical trial TTs. That was all out effort. Maybe the circumstances did work against me big time.

Only 7.13 easy tomorrow and another 60-mile week with three quality workouts is finished.

I ran 2 x 200 plus 10 x 400 last evening on the track. I also wanted to finish it with 4 x 200, but I ran out of time. It shows that you are training hard, when 90 minutes is not quite enough to finish your workout. Anyway, I ran 4 x 40 seconds of acceleration on my way home.

It was cold, and the 9th and 10th 400s were definitely unpleasant. But I still nailed the splits. As a positive surprise, a soccer team was practicing, so I had light! As a negative, the soccer players dumped their bags on the track (inner lane, of course). I didn't say anything, just ran around the bags. It's their field after all. I was hoping they would notice my inconvenience and they would move their bags, but no.

4 more days of darkening, and then we will get more light!

I finished week 3 just fine, handled the repetitions today well, though they felt harder than in previous weeks. At least the paces were spot on.

Week 4 of Phase II

Sun: 8 E
Mon: 15 L
Tue: Rest
Wed: 2 E + 2 x 200 R w/200 jg + 10 x 400 R w/400 jg + 1 E + 4 x 200 R w/400 jg + 2 E = 12 miles (oh my!)
Thu: 7 E
Fri: 7 E
Sat: 2 E + 4 x 200 R w/200 jg + 3 T + 3 min rest + 2 x 1 T w/1 min rest + 4 x 200 R w/200 jg + 2 E = 11 miles (oh my #2)

I managed to run worse this morning than last week. 19:02. I ran the first 1600 in 6 minutes exactly, and then essentially just managed the same pace as last time, but 5 seconds behind all my splits. I think the timer guy said 18:20 at 200 to go, but I was unable to run a finishing 200 is 40 seconds. That's really bad.

I certainly started with zero motivation, I felt zero adrenaline at the start line, and I was also 0.8 lbs heavier than last time. Which already explains the 5 seconds difference. I thought I had some good training, but apparently it is not helping me in this phase.

It's still getting colder and darker. I'm in my winter slump. Running sucks.

Surprisingly to myself I was able to run 10 miles at 6:43/mile tonight in training without too much discomfort. I changed to a 2-1 breathing pattern for the last two miles, but even that wasn't painful at all. My 10-mile PR is 1:06:49. Tonight I hit the 10-mile mark at 1:07:17, and the effort was definitely not race effort. Another comparison that I hit the 10-mile mark in the Urban Bourbon Half at 1:04:39. Not a whole lot faster than tonight, and that was definitely race effort, tapered, perfect temperature, (though with some tough hills). In any case, it seems like I at least maintain my form. Good signs all around.

Jack Daniels says that the psychological value of marathon paced longer runs is important. I get it. It's nice to know that I can.

I had a fine track workout today. 5 x 1 mile repeats at LT pace (6:20), and 6 x 1/8 mile repetitions (40 sec). The miles averaged a little below 6:19 (I spent all of that part trying to talk myself into slowing down), and the 1/8's were average of 40.8 - that may seem too much, but I always ran into the (fairly strong) wind, so it's perfectly fine. I was surprised to be able to do this only two days after the 5K time trial. Especially after I was so sore on Friday that a fart would send around waves of lactate in my body. :)

Week 3 of Phase II:

Paces: M - 6:43/mile, 200 R - 40 sec, 400 R - 81 sec

Sun: E

Mon: 1 E + 10 M = 11 miles

Tue: E

Wed: E

Thu: 5K time trial + E afternoon = 9 miles

Fri: E

Sat: 2 E + 4 x 200 R w/200 jg + 8 x 400 R w/400 jg + 4 x 200 R w/200 jg + 2 E = 10 miles

The four easy days will get a total of 30 miles as time allows. Try 10 miles each to be able to rest on Wednesday.

There was a 5K time trial this morning in the clinical trial with the most adverse conditions possible...

1) We showed up at 5:00am. On December 4. The sun didn't even start to consider rising.

2) It was freezing (0 Celsius).

3) We were not allowed to consume any calories starting 5pm the previous day.

4) And no caffeine!

5) Work is busy and stressful. I had no time to run all day Wednesday, so I did my daily run (only 6.6 miles) after 9pm, already fasting for 4 hours. I wasn't allowed to eat anything after the run. Just 8 hours later I ran the time trial. And I only slept 4.5 hours.

6) They draw blood before you run.

7) They messed it up and so they played around in my vein for a while before they decided to use my other arm.

8) There were only 8 runners, and they are almost all faster than I.

I wanted to run 18:45 at 1:30 per lap. Went out a bit fast, but I still ran at last place for a few laps. Then passed one guy, who slowed a lot. I ran the first 1600 just under 6 minutes (that's fine), but started to melt down for the second 1600, and I arrived to 3200 at little over 12 minutes. I continued fading and I arrived to 4600 at 17:30. I pushed for a last lap to get in at 18:57. In my penultimate lap I got lapped by the winner, and I finished 7th out of 8 runners.

The plus side is that it seems like I can run sub-19 in the worst circumstances. The minus side that it is a whopping 1 minute slower than my goal time by the spring... I hope at least it was good training. We're up for a repeat next Thursday. Conditions will be pretty much the same.

Jefferson Memorial Forest Siltstone Trail kicked my butt this morning. I finished the run because I reached the 2-hour limit imposed by Daniels, and it only took me to 12 miles. I'll have to run on Tuesday to get to 60 this week.

Interval training today, and I made a few mistakes. First, I wanted to run to the track as warmup, but I on the way I realized that I looked at the wrong week for training, so I had to run home to figure out what to run. Then I drove to the track, finished the warmup. Then I miscounted the 200s after the cruise intervals, and I ran an extra. I didn't even realize that until I downloaded my splits.

4 x 200 w/200 jg + 4 x 1 mile w/1 min + 5 x 200 w/200 jg

200s average: 39.8 (perfect, I was aiming for 40)

Mile average: 6:18 (just a bit fast, I was aiming for 6:20)

It was a hard workout, but not painful at any moment. Quite happy with it, especially at the end of a 60-mile week.

Week 2 of Phase II. Total of 60 miles.

Sun: 12 L trail
Mon: 8.5 E + 10 ST
Tue: 4 E
Wed: 8.5 E + 8 ST
Thu: 5K time trial; add second E to get to 8.5 miles
Fri: 8 E + 8 ST
Sat: 2 E + 5 x 1 T w/ 1 min rests + 6 x 200 R w/ 200 jg + 2 E = 10.5 miles

I ran repetitions today at Iroquois High School track. It was a long workout with 4 x 200 + 6 x 400 + 4 x 200, so with warmup and cooldown, I ran a total of 40 laps, or 16 kilometers.

The 200s were an average of 38.5 sec, the 400s were 80.1 sec. It should have been 40 and 81, and I'm not happy that I ran too fast. I'm worried that it may have taken too much out of me. But I did try to slow down! In fact as the workout progressed, it felt easier to run my times. So every time I decided to take it easier, it was still too fast. I hope this won't hurt my training.

In any case, this was easier than I expected. I wasn't any more tired at the end than at the end of any 10 mile run. It was never painful, hardly any discomfort. I clearly ran in my anaerobic zone, but always short enough that I never struggled.

After the "rest" week after the piggyback 5K, it's time to resume real training. I decided to try something different this time. I finally bought Daniels' Running Formula, so I'll try to use that one. I picked the specific 5K plan for 60-70 miles/week; at the beginning I'll be probably at 60 for at least few weeks. I'm also not entirely sure I want to move up from there given the 3 (!) workouts per week. I do have some base, so I'm starting on Phase II. Plus I want to be ready by early spring.

Paces for VDOT=55:
E: 7:21-8:18 min/mile
200 R: 40 sec
400 R: 81 sec
T: 6:20 min/mile

60-70 mpw 5K plan, Phase II, Week 1:

Sun: 15 L
Mon: 9 E + 10 ST
Tue: Rest
Wed: 2 E + 4 x 200 R w/200 jg + 6 x 400 R w/400 jg + 4 x 200 R w/200 jg + 3 E = 10 miles
Thu: 9 E + 8 ST
Fri: 7 E + 8 ST
Sat: 2 E + 4 x 200 R w/200 jg + 4 x 1 T w/1 min rest + 4 x 200 R w/200 jg + 2 E = 10 miles

I've just read about the Morris Island Lighthouse again, and I realized that my first race was the "Save the Light" 5K in 2009. I went back and read my race report. I ran the race in 22:03, about which I was satisfied, and I wrote: "One day, I may be able to run a sub-20 5K." Isn't that funny that running sub-20 is now very easy for me, and I'm working on sub-18? Even though I'm more than 5 years older.

Run with our Heroes 5K Race Report

Goal: sub-19:00 and winning my age group

I signed up for this 5K because I decided to go into 5K mode over the winter, and three weeks out of my half marathon I wanted to gauge my 5K shape. I chose this one, because this was the weekend when I had time on Saturday morning (isn't that crazy?), and especially because the location was the UofL campus, and UofL participated in organizing the race. The race course actually went by the building I work in, twice!

The course was looping around campus with *lots* of turns, but the final version of the course had no u-turns. It was mostly flat, but there were two somewhat significant inclines: we went over an overpass right after the start, and then under one in the last mile.

It was uncharacteristically cold in the morning: temperature was 22F, which went up to about 25 by start time. Still too cold to race. I also had problems with my training the week leading up to the race, because I was too busy with work. I didn't run on Tuesday and Thursday, and I only ran after 8:00pm on Friday: a brisk 4 miles at 7:20/mile, which might have been a bit too fast considering that I was about to race within 12 hours. So given the cold, the turns, the training, and my not so great last track workout (November 9, see my notes there), I decided to aim for a sub-19 minute finish time. However, driving to the place in the morning, I decided to give myself a chance to PR and not to be afraid to run a sub-6 minute first mile if I would feel up to it.

I arrived around 7:30 for the 8:00 start, and ran 1.5-2 miles easy in my coat and sweatpants (over tights). Got back to my car at 7:45, shed the coat and the pants, so now I was in long sleeves (over a shirt), tights, and shorts over them, gloves, my warm hat, and my trusted Virratas. Meanwhile my family had arrived, and watched me run a few strides. After the opening ceremony (it was a Veteran's Day event), we lined up at 8:05. It was a small event with probably less than 100 runners, so I lined up in the front. At 8:07 we were off.

Two kids jumped out in front of me, so I had to run around them after 200 yards when they realized the race was a bit longer than that. :) A guy on my right went out even faster than the kids, but he seemed to keep a good pace; I was running behind him up on the overpass in second place. I checked my pace on the top and it was just below 6 min/mile, which is a bit scary given that we went uphill. I dialed back a bit, and the leader started to pull away.

At the half mile point we reached the end of the overpass, and it seemed like the leader was slowing drastically. What a jackrabbit! First I wanted to hang behind him a bit, but he got so slow that I worried that others will catch us, so I passed him. Then it was only the "lead car", which was an ATV in front of me. Unfortunately ATVs don't have to pass strict emission standards (I guess), and the exhaust did bother me when he let me close. But they had to use one, because we were using campus walkways where cars could not pass through. Maybe I should suggest a bicycle for next year.

Mile 1: 5:55

Good pace. I looked back and I saw the second place runners at least a hundred meters behind me. I gave him this distance in like 600 meters. So at this point I knew a few things: (1) I'm racing to win this race now, or at least to place high in the overall; (2) the original leader is probably not a factor; (3) people are probably coming behind him, who'd love if I blew up. So I changed to a somewhat more conservative pace. This was a flat portion; we went into the heart of campus, to the car free walkways; ran under the breezeway of a building. Straight visibility was more limited, so I waited for a longer straight walkway to glance back, and I saw nobody behind me. The driver of the ATV saw me glancing back, and he shouted back: "You're all alone, buddy!"

Mile 2: 6:05

We had the hardest incline still ahead. I glanced back a few times, but I never saw anyone. I did keep some reserve power in case somebody would show up. We went up the hill, where I ran pretty slowly, turned a corner, and to my surprise, the lead ATV went straight ahead toward the finish line. I remembered an extra loop from the course map (I am very familiar with the area), but the volunteers directed us clearly to the road. Later I learned that they did this on purpose: the original course was determined to be too long, so they cut out the loop. Well, this made the course too short then... After a few moments I realized that this meant that the course would be under 3 miles. So I glanced back (still nobody), started my kick; then I had to slow back down a bit, because I started too far out. :) Of course I was in pain, but then I saw the finish line, and then I didn't feel the pain any more. I scanned the crowd and saw my wife and kids, cheering, and I couldn't help but smile; raised my hands, and ran through the finish in the 1st place.

Mile 2.94: 5:30 (5:51/mile pace)

Total time: 17:30ish for 2.94 miles.

It's kind of a bummer that it was short, but I have no chance of winning any serious race anyway. It was a great experience to win my first race outright. My older daughter, who is 11, told me that she almost cried, she was so proud to see her dad being the best of a crowd of runners. That alone was worth it.

This pace projects to about 18:30 for 5 kilometers, which is right at my PR. Meaning that I'm in as good shape for the 5K as I have ever been. I received a beautiful glass (or plexiglass) trophy in a very nice award ceremony.

So the work is just starting now. The cold is not a problem, if one only has to run a few miles. I'll train hard, I'll train smart, and I'll go below 18 minutes by this spring.

PS: Official results are now posted. My time was 17:31. Curious fact that the original leader finished at 4th place with 18:38.

Week -1 is finished with 49 miles, and the quality workout on Saturday was OK. I ran 2 x 1.25 miles on a blacktop high school track. I had to try two tracks to find one that was available... I really do hate scrambling for tracks on a Saturday... And it was a busy day with the kids with me, who were just nice enough to entertain themselves for an hour at the track facility while I was running my total of 33 laps for about 1 hour.

So the fast splits were 7:19 and 7:23, and this is OK, given that the goal was 7:26 or better. But it's a bit of a scary thought that I'll need to run this pace for a PR for 3.1 miles on Saturday. I might just need to be satisfied with a sub-19 time, especially given that the course has a crazy number of turns, and at least one of them seems to be a 180 on a walking path.

Race week plan:
Mini taper, and the Pfitzinger plan really doesn't apply well. Also, Thursday will be forced rest day.

Sun: 7 miles.
Mon: 8 miles.
Tue: 4 miles.
Wed: 8 miles.
Thu: Rest.
Fri: 4 miles.
Saturday: Race.

I did a laid back recovery week after the race by only running when I felt like it. With the busy week I had, I only ran 20 miles. (I did swim 30 minutes on Wednesday.) I did a workout today at the track: 3018 meters (1.875 miles) in 10:59. Quite a weak performance. I wasn't into it at all: I went out too hard, then I couldn't get myself to push, it was too cold, etc. Goal was sub-11, so I did that, but it was hard as hell with the last two laps deep in the paincave.

Next week I'm getting back to regular running. I'll follow the last 3 weeks of Pfitzinger's Schedule C with added miles to make 70 miles = 100%.

Week -2: 49 miles

Long runs: 9 and 7 miles.

VO2 max: 2 x 2K at 5K goal pace. That is 5:57/mile (for 18:30) or 1:29/lap, 7:26/rep on imperial track, 1:28/lap, 7:22/rep on metric track. This should be doable. My 3K today was run at 5:52/mile pace. So if the first feels easy, I'll push the second a bit harder.

Easy runs: Average 8.25/day. Ideally doubles.

I realized that I wrote nothing about post-race yesterday. So after the finish line I felt remarkably human, and I chatted with Ryan a bit. He said he isn't into road running these days, and he is certainly not as fast as he used to be. Very nice, modest guy (also unitarian minister). Then I waited for Gerard, and we analyzed our races a bit.

I only had one banana - that is all I could eat right away. I did some bourbon tasting, but even good bourbons tasted bad after this run... I had a bowl of Kentucky burgoo: that was good. Walked back to my car to put on some clothes and exchange my shirt I got in my packet (it was the wrong size). I waited for awards, which was low key, and as I mentioned, only winners were announced. Congratulated the male winner, and I left. It was very crowded by this time, and I thought it would be hopeless to find my teammates. Also, before I left, I confirmed it with the announcer that other awards won't be announced.

This was a well organized race, better than in the previous years. The greatest improvement was that finally they used paper cups at every aid station, so I could drink! I wish they announced my feats of performance, but I can't let my pride take over, so I'll say this was just fine.

Urban Bourbon Half Marathon Race Report

Goal: 1:25:00

The course was a rather difficult one, probably more so than it was in the past 3 years. Here is the elevation profile.

The first 5 miles are  flat to rolling hills, but nothing major. Miles 5 to 10 have the four big hills of the course, one after the other, never flat. Then from 10 to the finish line it's flat again. My plan was to run slightly faster than the required 6:29 pace for the first 5 miles, slow down as needed on the hills, and reassess the race at mile 10.

I was also running for the UofL team in the Corporate Challenge of the race. In this competition 5 team members, who work for the same company, run the race as normal, and the best 3 times are added together to compute positions. I was definitely one of the 3 fast runners, so I knew that my time counted. Therefore, I couldn't take too much risk here, because if I fail spectacularly, it hurts the team, too.

My morning routine was as usual. Since the race started at 8:30, and the start was only 20 minutes from our house, I had the luxury to sleep until 5:30. I had my usual egg breakfast, got to the place early, warmed up by jogging around. The weather was perfect: 50F, cloudy, and no wind. We made a team photo at 8:00, then we wanted to line up at 8:15...  except I needed to pee, and the line for the port-a-potties was about a mile long. I almost panicked, and I started to run around the blocks to find a place relieve myself, when I found a White Castle that saved me! I went back to the start, and lined up with teammate Gerard.  He was also aiming for 1:25, so we decided we would go out together.

After the trumpeter played My Old Kentucky Home and The Star-Spangled Banner, the race started exactly on time. Running with Gerard helped me avoid my bad habit of jackrabbit starts. I carefully monitored our pace for the first mile to keep it around 6:20-6:25. The field thinned out quickly: by the time we reached the first mile we were separated from other groups with around 20 people ahead of us.

Mile 1: 6:22 (splits are Garmin splits)

Interestingly, the Mile 1 marker was quite a bit farther than my GPS indicated, but the rest of the markers lined up with the GPS so well that I have to suspect it was the marker that was at the wrong place. But of course I didn't know that, which made me want to push the second mile. I decided to try to keep the pace in the low 6:20s for the first five miles.

Shortly after the marker we saw Ryan Althaus, the inaugural winner stepping off the road, but restarting after a stretch. Everything was good until the first water stop at around 1.7 miles. I didn't need water yet, but Gerard slowed down to get a drink, and I maintained the pace. I was waiting for him to catch up, but he only got farther behind. By mile 2, it looked like I would have to slow significantly to let him catch up. This was weird: we absolutely needed this pace here to get to 1:25 (knowing what was ahead), and it seemed like he just couldn't do it. I felt bad about leaving him behind, but it would have been foolish to wait for him. Plus, we agreed at the beginning that we are not tied to each other. (Nevertheless, I still feel kind of guilty...)

Mile 2: 6:21

I was maintaining a steady pace, and passed a few runners who went out too fast. We hit some hills, and the pace felt a bit hard, which was a really bad sign in less than three miles into the race. I slowed a bit. Somebody was catching up with me; I was hoping it was Gerard, but it was somebody else.

Mile 3: 6:24

I took water at the aid station after the marker. We were entering Cherokee Park, where we spent the next 4+ miles. This is a really gorgeous part of the course. Cherokee Park is beautiful all year long, but it's stunning in the fall. The organizers advertise this race as having "Louisville's best course". I have to agree with them. Not PR friendly, but it's a great course. We hit some downhills, and I felt better.

Mile 4: 6:16

After running a flat portion of the park's Scenic Loop, we ran an out-and-back portion on the road by Beargrass Creek. I generally don't like out-and-back, but at least I saw the leaders, and counted myself to be at 18th place (I think I counted wrong and in fact I was 19th here). I also saw Gerard when I was running back, and he was about a minute behind. I gave him the thumbs up and he yelled "Keep up the pace!". (At least I think that's what he said.)

Mile 5: 6:22

We hit the first hill. This one was a new addition to the course, and I've never ran it before, not even in training. And it was a beast. Steeper and longer than any of the other three. I tried to control my pace but I still felt lactate accumulating in my muscles. Then steep downhill on the other side. Then we hit the bottom, and the next hill started. A guy in an orange singlet in front of me slowed a bit on these hills, and I got closer to him. Mile marker was midway up the second hill.

Mile 6: 6:55

By the time we hit the top of the second hill, I was right behind the orange singlet. The top of the hill has a water fountain called Hogan's Fountain, and I saw my trail runner friends finishing their Saturday morning trail run there. I shouted: "Trail Runners!" They recognized me and shouted back my name. It gave me a boost and passed the orange singlet guy.

All these times I saw Ryan Althaus from time to time on straight parts of the course. Now he was the guy just ahead. He kept his distance of probably 200 yards (despite my efforts), but it gave me energy to think that the inaugural winner is just one position ahead. Clearly, he was not as well prepared today as the year when he won, but still...

The hills were not over: two more to go (some people might argue that there were three left, but the last is easy and I don't count it). Next up was Doghill with a rock'n'roll band playing at the top. I was doing fine.

Mile 7: 6:35

Down on Doghill, and out of the park. This was a long stretch of downhill that lead us out of the park. I was all alone, but I saw Ryan in the distance. I took water at the next aid station (only for the 2nd time in the race). I started to feel tired, and then we hit the fourth big hill. It started to get really hard.

Mile 8: 6:25

We climbed the last big hill and then the small one that doesn't count. I was out of breath but I knew the hills were over. I kept Ryan at a constant distance. I didn't push hard on the other side, because I had to recover before the last push.

Mile 9: 6:40

I was focusing on recovering. The time of truth was at the 10th mile. I had to be on pace or very close to it to have a chance for 1:25. But 3 miles is an awfully long distance after 10 fast miles of which 5 is very hilly. So I just let my legs go easy (but no braking). I also took my last water at the next aid station.

Mile 10: 6:20

I was on pace with about 15 seconds to spare. So I knew I had run run the last portion at about 6:30/mile. Oh boy! But I also knew I had sub 1:30 for sure, so there won't be any big disasters today. Hence I decided to risk a little, and go for 1:25.

I was running a steady 6:30 pace, but somebody still passed me. The guy seemed to appear from nowhere, and he was so much faster that I had no chance of keeping up. I saw Ryan passing a guy ahead in a blue shirt, and since our distance was still the same, it was clear that I was also faster than the blue shirt guy. I made it my goal to catch him.

Mile 11: 6:30

Right on pace. I kept steady. We were back in downtown. I focused on the blue shirt, and I got really close... but then I heard somebody coming from behind. An older guy with short, white hair passed us both, while I was passing the blue shirt guy. Gain a position, give a position. I was still 19th. I just kept my steady pace.

Mile 12: 6:28

A right turn, and a few blocks later another right turn, and we were back on Main Street, which means finish line (very long). I tried to pick up the pace, but my body fought back. Only half mile from the finish I felt terribly weak and I thought I would collapse. It was like finishing a 5K. I don't think I slowed, at least not much, but it hurt like hell.

Mile 13: 6:23

The magic finish line was in sight, the magic finish clock just turned to 1:24 when I first caught a glimpse of it. I knew I could still lose it, because it was a bit far, but my pain disappeared and I was flying to the finish. I ran the last portion at a sub-6 pace, as usual.

Official finish time: 1:24:36.36

I was so happy, I clenched my fist at the finish line. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos.

Overall 19th out of 2776, age group 1st out of 194. This race only announces the male and female winners, so nobody heard my age group victory. :( Nevertheless, I'll get a $100 coupon in the mail to be spent toward a running shoe purchase in the local Fleet Feet.

The course is hard enough that I believe this performance equals my half marathon PR. I am in as good a shape as ever. Time to race some 5Ks next.

Gerard ran 1:27:51, which is still a good time, but it's 15 seconds per mile slower than my performance. The point is: it was a good decision not to wait. He has a new baby and he had a rough night before the race. He is plenty good runner, and his PR is better than mine, but this wasn't his best day.

The third member of our team ran 1:46:05, and this year this was enough to take the 1st place trophy for the Corporate Challenge. We'll get individual and team trophies for that.

I finished the week with the planned 54 miles, including the 3 x 2000 meters today. I ran it at the imperial track, so I ran 3 x 1.25 miles instead. At this distance the difference is getting significant: about 2-3 seconds per interval. My fast intervals were 7:24, 7:25, 7:22, and no pain cave, except for the last half lap. But even then, I only did it, because I *wanted* to experience it - I would have run a fine interval without it. It's also telling that my cooldown was at 7:25 pace.

I'm in as good shape as I have ever been. My plan is solid: I go out slightly below 1:25 pace for the HM (maybe 6:27 or so) for the first two miles, and I'd like to gain a total of 15-20 seconds before the Cherokee Park hills. Run the hills sensibly, and reevaluate at the bottom of Baxter Avenue. It's flat from there. I hope to hit 1:25.

The hay is in the barn. A sensible taper with all easy runs next week is what follows.

Last long run (12 miles) completed last night at 7:15/mile. It's fast for me, but it felt easy after the rest day on Tuesday. I stopped for a drink once at mile 8, and I also dropped off my HRM (didn't work - I think the battery is out), and my MP3 player (finished podcasts), so I lost about 45 seconds there. I count that off for my average pace.

Now I'm in the finish line of training. Here is the strict plan for the rest of the cycle:

10/16 Thu: 8 miles easy.
10/17 Fri: 8 miles easy.
10/18 Sat: Track workout: 3 x 2000 meters at 6/mile; a bit slower is acceptable.
10/19 Sun: 9 miles long.
10/20 Mon: 7 miles long.
10/21 Tue: 6 miles easy.
10/22 Wed: 5 miles easy.
10/23 Thu: Rest day.
10/24 Fri: 3-4 miles very easy.
10/25 Sat: Race.

I've just read this:

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/the-uncomfortable-truth-about-recovery

Interesting how much this fits my "stupid" theory about your body is just giving up. Let me explain my theory. I noticed that when I ramped my mileage to a previously unfathomable level, instead of getting extremely tired, sometimes, especially *before* rest days, I felt really good. It was like during the ramp-up, my body was screaming at me, begging to stop, but when I didn't, my body just "gave up". It didn't scream any more - with a bit of nagging pains and tiredness, it resolved to do the regimen. Then I took a rest day, and I was hardly able to get out of the bed the following day. Like my body thinking "oh, there *is* a chance of getting rest - give it to me now then!"

Of course I assumed this was just a stupid mind game - anthropomorphising my body - but now it seems like it actually may be true.

Finish line of training (a.k.a. semi taper a la Pfitzinger):

Week -1: total of 54 miles.

Long runs: 12 and 9 miles.

VO2 max: 3 x 2K at 8K-10K goal pace. That is 6:05-6:08/mile if the goal HM pace is 1:25. But it would be nicer to run them at 6:00/mile pace to match my HM PR. That is 7:30 for 5 laps. That is still slower than my last similar workout a year and a half ago. Total mileage is 8.25.

Easy runs: 8.25 each.

I had a very decent track workout today. On the 440 yard high school track I ran a 6 mile time trial. I held back in the beginning, and I think I could do better in a race, because I wasn't really in the pain cave except for the last 300 meters or so, but even that wasn't too bad. Anyways, here are my mile splits: 6:13, 6:16, 6:11, 6:18, 6:16, 6:10. Any 5K in this is under 20 minutes. Corresponding 10K time would be under 39 minutes, though I wouldn't PR.

All this at the end of  a 60 miles week. If my body holds up, I should be able to run 1:25 in two weeks. I'm going out no slower than that pace for sure.

As an added bonus, my kids came out to the track to root for me. (OK, in all fairness, I was in charge taking care of them, so they had to come with me.) They did give me a boost.

Week finished with 64 miles! I'm back in business. If my body can take it, I might just be able to finish the training plan miles. I'm actually suprised I was able to get back to this mileage after so much missed training. It must be my solid summer base that did it.

Today I ran to my usual high school track, and they had football games there. I'm so appalled to see those fat, beer drinking, cigarette smoking adults encouraging their kids to get brain damage... I ran home (already 4.3 miles), and then I tried to scout out a nearby high school track hoping to find it open with no football game. I did find one (though it wasn't exactly open - but the fence was not much of a barrier), and - as tradition have it (see April 25, 2013) - I had a good workout.

The high school track has very similar markings to my usual one, and it's asphalt, probably built around the same time, so I'm pretty sure it's a 1/4 mile track. I ran 4 x 1 miles at 6:01, 6:01, 5:57, 5:52. As it's pretty clear, I held myself back in the first two intervals. No pain cave, either! I was supposed to do these one seconds per lap slower my 10K pace, which is 6:08, if my HM pace is 1:25, but it felt too easy. This makes me optimistic. My race is still 3 weeks away - I should be able to run 1:25. I just must not mess up at the end.

Week -2 is 60 miles total.
Long runs: 14 and 10 miles.
Easy runs: 9 miles each.
LT: 8K or 10K race, or time trial or 6-mile tempo (9 miles total).

Despite real life obstacles, I had a decent week. I ran every day since Monday, though I only ran less than 6 miles on Tuesday (firefighter training all afternoon), and I only ran 6 miles on Thursday (but I swam 30 minutes, so that counts like 3 miles equivalent of cross training). Finished the week with 56 miles (59 counting cross training). I can attempt to get back on track now.

Best of all is the 5-mile tempo today. It was warm, and I ran barechested, and I was a bit hungover, but I still managed 6:29, 6:28, 6:29, 6:27, 6:30 miles, and it's not even completely flat (though not a lot of elevation change). I pushed the last mile (it was mostly uphill), but I still wasn't entirely spent. In fact I managed to run a 7:38, 7:16, 7:01 miles in cooldown. Altogether 6:58 average on 10 miles with warmup and cooldown, and I ran a sub-42 10K in it with some warmup and cooldown miles included!

It's surprising how fast I am with so much training missed. Makes me wonder what could have happened if only...

I was so busy last week that I lost another week of training. Just trying to play catch up again. This cycle is doomed.

I ran a good 10-miler on Monday at 7:15 average, and it didn't feel very hard. But I know this is just the by-product of not running. It will bite me back on race day.

I ran a 4 mile TT on the high school track close to our house. This was supposed to happen last week, but I had a horrible fallout last weekend, and for personal reasons (family life) I was unable to complete my Friday and Saturday key runs. So I ran my Saturday on Sunday, and I'll try to do the next week in 6 days.

The TT was not horrible, but it wasn't great either. 24:56 for 4 miles. It's 6:14/mile - more of a tempo pace than TT. In fact for a 1:25 marathon, the corresponding 4 miler should be sub 24 minutes. Well, of course, that assumes perfect preparation for a 4-miler. So maybe this is OK. I did set out to run 25 minutes, and I was able to do that. And I only spend the last half mile in the pain cave.

Even if I add this workout, my last week ended at 61 miles - quite short of the planned 72. I'll try to run 70 miles in the next 6 days - we'll see how I fare. Here is the plan:

Monday: 12 miles long run.
Tuesday: 11 miles somehow. Probably double is appropriate.
Wednesday: 15 miles long. Don't leave for the night (ough).
Thursday: 11 miles in double.
Friday: 10 miles somehow. Double would be best.
Saturday: Track session. Add to cooldown to round out the week. If all goes as planned, this day should also be 11 miles.

The track session: 5 x 1200 meters with 1:32.75/lap, 4:38.25/interval. Goes down to 1:33.28/lap, 4:39.84/repetition on the yard track.

So I've discovered that the high school track close to our house is almost certainly a 440 yard track. Not that it matters all that much after all. The difference in time is about 1/2 second per lap, which is probably unnoticeable at the interval lengths I run.

I'm not 100% sure, but I discovered staggered yellow lines in the lanes, and the innermost starts about 2 meters ahead from the finish line. What are they? Not finish lines for sure. So if they are start lines, they are start lines for what? Not 100 or 200, because they would start somewhere else on the track. The only possibility is 400.

So I will call my intervals 1000s here, even though they really are 1006 meters. Here are my splits:

3:40, 3:40, 3:39, 3:38, 3:36

These are decent intervals, and I love that they got faster! The last one was painful, but I wanted it to be. I could have run another 3:40 with little pain.

The only worry is the lack of miles in my training. These low weeks may bite me back on race day.

The busy schedule and the hot weather made me slack out again. I stopped running for more than a week. This seems like this is the recurring story of fall training.

Trying to get back to the fold, plus withdrawal kicked in hard yesterday, so I ran 6.6 miles. I felt like I ran nothing, it was so easy. So I'll try to pick up my training plan as I didn't stop. We will see if it works - probably won't.

Here is the rest of the plan.

Week -06, 09/07, 72 miles
Week -05, 09/14, 70 miles
Week -04, 09/21, 62 miles
Week -03, 09/28, 64 miles
Week -02, 10/05, 60 miles
Week -01, 10/12, 54 miles
Race week, 10/19, 44 miles

Tomorrow I'll try a 5 x 1000 track workout. Today I should run at least somewhat long, but it's hot, so I'll probably skip it. Maybe just 10 miles or so.

The cool weather is coming next week. No more excuses. So 10 miles today, track workout tomorrow, and then I try a 72 mile monster week. Probably not going to happen, but we can hope, right?

So the week wasn't great, because I missed two days of running and thereby it was impossible to get to my mileage goal, but I had a decent VO2 max workout today. I ran 5 x 800 meters at around 2:55 each. Given that it was 81 F and insanely humid (right after lots of rain), I'll take it.

Yesterday I ran with my running body, Gerard, who made me work way too hard. Of course one of the problems was that I ran to his workplace (already 2.7 miles) in a very hot weather at around 100 degrees heat index (and sunny), then we ran 5 miles together, then I was supposed to run back to campus. So he was fresh when I already was at mile 3, and the heat was a major factor. After a while my body can't fight it off when it's that hot. I had to walk the last mile back. Given this just some 30 hours before my workout, it's even better.

Tempo went surprisingly well. It was fairly cool, 78 F, and cloudy, so quite ideal circumstances, and I ran in Seneca Park, a good course. Fast splits were 6:23, 6:36, 6:33, 6:23, and for an average of 6:28.85. Still slower than in my peak, but much better than recently. I guess it does matter that my weight came down nicely below 150 lbs. I don't need to lose any more. I need more VO2 max and LT training. My base seems solid. I need 8.63 easy miles tomorrow with some strides to get to 62 this week.

Next week:
Total: 66 miles.
VO2 max: 5 x 800 meters.
Long runs: 15 and 10 miles.
Daily average is 10.25 miles for non-long runs. That is so much that it will probably be easier to throw in a 5-miler on my rest day and run only 9/day on the remaining days.

Today I'm planning a 4 mile tempo. Probably post later about how it went. Probably not well... :)

My training is OK, but I do miss a bunch of runs, so not ideal. I'm too busy to even post usually. No. 1 priority is to run, then come all the other stuff, like posting.

Sunday, Monday: long runs in Saucony.
Tuesday: 9-miler in Inov-8.
Wednesday: Saucony again.

Plan for this week: real simple: one 13-miler and the rest is all 9 miles for the total of 58 miles. The nature of the 9-milers is different: one long run (that means not a double and of at least somewhat decent pace), one tempo consisting of 2 x 2.5 miles fast (ouch!); the rest is arbitrary. In fact I'll probably do an easy 4 today in preparation of tomorrow's hard tempo, and I'll take no rest days. With only 4 today, and, say, 5 on Saturday, my body should be sufficiently rested for next week.

I know the miles don't add up from my plan... Anyway, I meant there was also a rest day. Which I had on Tuesday.

Tempo yesterday went better than expected. I ran it after sundown, so it was a bit warm, I was a bit unfocused, overworked, and after dinner. Surprisingly, I still did better than last time. Splits were 6:39, 6:39, and then after one mile of easy (7:47), 6:35, 6:32. It does seem like that my cool weather, ideal circumstances LT max is about 6:30. That corresponds to ~1:27 HM, which is not terrible at this stage with no specific LT training. I'm going to have to take the workouts seriously if I want anything better in October.

Week of 7/13 could hardly be worse than it was... I didn't realize originally that I was flying over the Atlantic back to the USA this week, and this did wreck havoc on training. The time it takes, the jet lag, the different climate, the stress: all take its toll.

My total mileage was only 11.59 for the week, and I just can't seem to run fast. I attempted a tempo on Saturday after only running one 4-miler during the week, and I failed pretty badly. It was supposed to be 2 x 2 miles at LT. The first interval was OK with 6:22, 6:32, but the second one was 6:49, 6:50. It wasn't even too warm. I have no excuse. Maybe I should rethink my goals.

But first, I'll attempt to do another tempo on Wednesday. I'll try to do this 2 x 2 miles again. If I can't even maintain 6:30 pace for that, I'm in big trouble. I won't be able to get even close to my PR then.

Plan for week of 7/20:
Week -13: total of 54 miles.
Sunday: 13 miles easy in the evening. Probably go to some nice place like Floyd Forks.
Monday, Tuesday: 8 miles easy in doubles. Start to get up at 6am.
Wednesday: 9 miles LT: 2 mi warmup, 2 miles fast, 1 mile recovery, 2 miles fast, 2 miles cooldown.
Thursday, Friday: 8 miles easy in doubles. Thursday 2nd run with the group.
Saturday: Group trail run fartlek with 5 x 3:00 at VO2 max. Round it up to 8 miles.

Finding the Northeast Passage

This one is between Felsőörs, Hungary, and Szentkirályszabadja without going through Balatonalmádi. I've spend several days now trying to find a route through the woods, and yesterday I finally succeeded. But the result was much like the real life Northeast Passage - it exists, it is theoretically passable, but it is hardly practical...

In any case, I am 49 miles for this somewhat hectic week, and I have a day left. I ran no tempos unfortunately, but it's OK at this stage of training.

57 miles last week is finished! Considering that I'm not in my regular environment, not even on my regular continent, this is great. Especially that my tempo was decent: with fairly even pace I managed to do 6:30/mile for my 2 x 1.5 miles of tempo. The only blemish is that due to technical reasons I took a lot of recovery (2.5 miles) between the intervals.

Week of June 29th (starting today):
Total: 58 miles.
Long runs: 14 and 11 miles.
LT: 2 x 2 miles at threshold, 8.25 miles for the day.
Easy runs: 3 x 8.25 miles.

It won't be easy, especially because one day is basically out (Wednesday).

The June 8th week had a few mishaps. First, my tempo was lousy. I ran the first block of 1.5 miles fine, but I died after 1/2 mile in the second block. It was a bit warm and I just ran around the block for technical reasons, or I'm just in bad shape. In any case. I gave all I had, but I still couldn't maintain a 6:30 pace, not even for twice 1.5 miles.

Then I was flying across the Atlantic on Thursday, arriving on Friday, and I got sick with a stomach bug, and I had fever on Saturday. I didn't run for several days, so I finished the week slightly short (some 47 miles), and I resumed training carefully in the second half of the June 15th week finishing that week with only about half of the required mileage, and no long run.

I'm trying to resume normal training this week. I already ran 14 miles yesterday. Here is the week's program.

Total: 57 miles.
Long runs: 14 miles and 11 miles.
LT: 2 x 1.5 miles of LT intervals, total of 8 miles. Try 6:30 again.
Easy: 8 miles each.

Finished the 52 mile week with a bit of extra (maybe 1 extra mile), because I miscalculated the mileage and didn't want to run less than 25 minutes today. (I read it somewhere that it is not worth it to train less than 25 minutes.)

Next week (theoretically):
Total: 54 miles.
Long runs: 13 and 11.
Tempo: 2 x 1.5 miles LT intervals. Add a half mile easy jogging in the middle and some warmup and cooldown to reach 7.5 miles.
Easy runs: 3 x 7.5 miles.

That's right folks. We're starting hard work. I'll try to do my LT intervals at 6:30/mile. It really shouldn't be a problem. But I haven't done workouts for ever, so we'll see.

Finished my 50 miles Saturday night. My running buddy, Jim, was running 24 hours to raise money for autism treatment of children, and I joined him for two laps. I don't count those, because they are too slow, but I got in 5 miles between two of his laps in the middle of the night. If I count slow miles, I ran 16+, so I felt a bit beaten up today, and I took a rest day.

Next week (6 days left):
52 miles.
Long runs 13 and 10 miles.
Easy runs: 4 x 7.25 miles.
Speed: 8 x 100 meters strides.

Potential tune-up races:

4 weeks out, 09/27: There are a few possibilities, Coach Hathaway's Running South 10K seems to stand out. Unfortunately it's in Indianapolis, but otherwise it seems like a nice race.

2 weeks out, 10/11: Spotlight on Nursing 10K, Indianapolis (again).
It seems that the 10K is a serious event, so no winning of this one :) but it seems to be very well run.

Of course Indianapolis races are flat - another disadvantage - but not a huge deal.

A bit of a reason to be optimistic: 7 miles easy on Sunday and without effort I ran sub-7:30 miles. I tried to slow down, but the run felt very easy, almost effortless. The weather was nice and cool.

Then on Monday (Memorial Day) in hot weather (88 F), I ran 12 miles with trail and hills in Seneca park - the overall pace is meaningless, but I was strong at the end and finished with sub-7:30 splits. Also, this was my 8th day of running in a row.

Week of 5/25: 50 miles total. First time since last summer.

Long runs: 12 and 10 miles.
Easy runs: 4 x 7 miles.

I plan to run 7 easy today, and be ready for the long tomorrow.

10.6 miles today in 1:18:44. A bit speedy, but I ran without my Garmin (battery is behaving funny), so I didn't know I was so fast. I ran across the Ohio to Indiana though the newly open Big Four Bridge.

5.67 miles today with striders in the middle. It was again quite hard, because it was freaking 85 F. Ran in Altras. I'm now almost two miles behind my week's schedule.

Plan for October 25. I'm changing to Sunday based weeks, because the race is on a Saturday.

Base building:
Week -8, 05/18, 49 miles
Week -7, 05/25, 50 miles
Week -6, 06/01, 52 miles
Week -5, 06/08, 54 miles
Week -4, 06/15, 56 miles
Week -3, 06/22, 57 miles
Week -2, 06/29, 58 miles
Week -1, 07/06, 60 miles

Race training:
Week -14, 07/13, 50 miles
Week -13, 07/20, 54 miles
Week -12, 07/27, 58 miles
Week -11, 08/03, 58 miles
Week -10, 08/10, 62 miles
Week -09, 08/17, 66 miles
Week -08, 08/24, 62 miles
Week -07, 08/31, 68 miles
Week -06, 09/07, 72 miles
Week -05, 09/14, 70 miles
Week -04, 09/21, 62 miles
Week -03, 09/28, 64 miles
Week -02, 10/05, 60 miles
Week -01, 10/12, 54 miles
Race week, 10/19, 44 miles

I ran the Iroquois circle today with the full horse trail. It was 80 F and I had tired legs, so it was pretty hard, but not as hard as last time. My time was 1:30:18 - I didn't wear a Garmin so I'll have to guesstimate the mileage.

It seems like this will work. I ran 47 miles this week, and I'm quite satisfied with how I feel. Rest day is Sunday.

Next week is Week -8 of base training. Total of 49 miles with 12 and 9-mile long runs. That leaves 28 miles for 4 runs; 7 miles each. We can probably start with the 12-miler on Monday, unless I break my back building the brick walkway to the garage this weekend.

12 miles in the rain, 70 F, Inox-8. I ran it pretty hard, but I needed it.

It seems certain now that we will be running another installment of the LSC Half Marathon - this time renamed as Urban Bourbon HM, and will be held a bit earlier than usual: October 25. With my 15 week preparation, I would have to start specific training on July 12. Just perfect. The time I'm coming back to the USA.

I have 9 weeks till then to ramp up mileage. It would be nice to push over 50 mpw for a while, cut back for a week or two, then start specific training at 50. If I could get to 45 this week and 47 next week, I may be able to do this by following Base Training C by Pfitzinger. then I would go up to 60 mpw before cutting back to 50 for the start of training.

I ran 11.5 miles today in 88 F sunny weather. I usually have this "first really hot day of the year when I want to run something hard" that is bound to happen about once a year and ends very miserably, sometimes downright dangerously. At least it wasn't dangerous today. Also, I ran my Iroquois Park trail circle, which means there was some water on the course. Good thing. I did not bring any water myself.

I didn't really want to do such a long run, but I just love that trail, and got carried away. Of course at mile 4 at my second water break I still felt great. Really, the "only" problem was dehydration that didn't hit me hard until mile 8. And I did find more water (in bathroom of a car mechanic) at mile 9, but it was a bit too late by then.

Note to log: I ran in my Altras today, and in my Inox-8's yesterday.

The 40 mile week didn't happen until this one, but now I've hit 41. Hip pain is back on and off, but it's managable. I don't care. I run until I can't.

This week is basically all easy, but my last few miles today on my 6-milers were at 7:15-7:20 pace and it felt easy. So that's a good sign.

38 miles this week with a 10 mile long run and no hip pain. Great! It's pathetic how tired I got after just running 10 miles, but it was at the end of a week that counts as "big" now, and it was 83 F, probably the hottest so far this year.

Maybe for the first time next week I can try a specific goal: 40 miles. Let's try 5 x 6 miles during the week and 10 at the weekend. If it'll bee sufficiently dry weather, I could run the Clark park loop, with an extra lap by the creek - that should be about 6 miles.

It's been quite a while since my last post... and I haven't been training very hard over the winter. In fact I barely got out: mostly one or two runs a week, and those are only 4-5 miles. Keep in mind that we had the coldest winter in decades, e.g. we had a day when the high temperature was 1 F. We had snow and ice covered roads very often. It was quite brutal.

But my main reason of not training was the never healing hip. I basically gave up on it. But when I realized at the end of winter that I'm up to 160 lbs (in my peak I was 147), I decided that I had to train, even if just for fun, even if it ruins my hip. I just need this for my physical and mental health.

I've been regularly training for a few weeks now again. I ran 30-40 miles a week; not a whole lot, but more than all winter. My weight didn't budge yet, but that's quite normal. And actually my hip is a bit better since I've been training again.

I'm dreaming of a sub-3 hour marathon. I should do it before it's too late; before I won't be able to run any more.