Easy Run

Today was supposed to be a day off for me, but Carla convinced me to do an easy run with her. We did the loop around the school with a little extension out toward 1826. We had another nice run with some nice conversations.

Stats - 4.17 miles/48:30/11:37 pace
AHR - 108
MHR - 136

Longer Run in SW Austin

Today was my usual Thursday run with Wish. Depending on the route we usually go 8 - 8.5 miles. I was really tired and my legs would not get moving. I think it is because I have run 5 days in a row on top of the 1000 repeats yesterday. I think I slowed Wish down today, but we still had a fun run.

Stats - 8.15 miles/1:12:07/8:51 pace
AHR - 133
MHR - 149

1000s at Zilker

It was back to the speed work this AM. I met the group at 5:45 and we had a nice jog over to the Zilker soccer fields for some 1000s. We did our drills and then broke into groups. The goal was 5 repeats and G wanted us to start at 4:00 pace. I knew that was not possible so I trailed the main group for the 5 repeats, but did a good job running with Anne and Marcy and got faster with each repeat.

Repeats - 4:18, 4:19, 4:08, 4:07, 3:59 - 4:10 average

The average was 7 seconds faster than a few weeks ago at AHS and I am feeling really good.

Stats - 7.73 miles
MHR - 168

Gym and Weights

I headed back to the gym for some cardio, running, and weights. I rode the elliptical trainer for 20 minutes, ran for 45 minutes, and then did my leg and arm exercises. My shoulder is still bugging me from my basketball injury, but shoulder exercises seemed to help. I am still avoiding my abs due to my neck, but need to get back on the wagon.

Run Stats - 5.16 miles/45:00/8:43 pace

Recovery Run at Home

My body was a bit sore from the race yesterday so I did an easy recovery run in the neighborhood. I did my 4 mile out and back route and did it really easy. I just wanted to get the blood flowing again.

Stats - 4.1 miles/38:47/9:28 pace
AHR - 133
MHR - 166

2008 Capitol 10k

Today was the annual Capitol 10k. I missed the race last year, but can't remember why. I was supposed to leave for Europe today, but my trip got canceled so I got to race this year after all. My training has been sporadic at best so I had no idea what to expect today. It definitely wasn't PR weather with warm and humid conditions. I met the gang at RunTex at about 7:30 and then we did about a mile on the trail. We did some drills in the parking lot at Auditorium Shores and headed to the start. I lined up with Brian, Anne, Marcy, and Rachel. They were talking about paces that I didn't think I could do. There was a brief rain shower which cooled things off and then the gun went off. I shot out pretty fast and was thinking they are all going to pass me. I was able to go pretty quick out of the blue corral and didn't hit too much traffic. The Congress section wasn't too bad and I did the first mile in 7:27. The next couple of miles were the climbs. The first section on 15th wasn't too bad, but doing downhill and towards Lamar was very slick. I had to slow to make sure I didn't fall on my butt in that section. The climb up toward Mopac wasn't too bad. I covered miles 2 and 3 in 7:33 and 7:40. The climb up to the Meriden cutoff wasn't too bad and then we had a nice downhill piece to pick it up. I was starting to tire at that point and it became a mental race for me. I was just pushing and telling myself not to quit. I did mile 4 in 7:10 and mile 5 in 7:17. I was dead tired with 1.2 miles to go and the uphill on Cesar Chavez ahead of me. I broke the remaining distance into 400s and counted down. I slowed to a 7:24 for mile 6 and then kicked it up over the last .2 miles at a 6:30 pace. I ended up with a 46:03 which is 1:32 off my course PR from 2005. I haven't been mentally strong in a race since the debacle at Chicago last fall so it was nice to battle mental demons and win! Given my training and the weather I am really happy. I finished ahead of my training buds and even beat Wish by 6 seconds!

Stats - 6.2 miles/46:03/7:25 pace
AHR - 166
MHR - 179

Finish -
Overall - 453/6567
40-44 Age Group - 65/448

Mileage for the Day - 7.53

Catch up - 3/22 - 3/29

3/22 - Cap 10K Course Again

We ran the Cap 10k course again today. I ran with Brian and we went faster than last week. It was a nice run. We averaged 7:54 for 6.5 miles. We finished with a 1.5 mile cool down.

Stats - 8.1 total miles
AHR - 150
MHR- 170

3/26 - Easy Run with Carla

I did a very stupid thing on Saturday night and tried to play basketball after a couple of bevvies and I messed up my neck and right shoulder. I had to see the chiropractor on Tuesday and did some tweaks and therapy to loosen it up. I haven't been able to run for the past 3 days and had to get out today. I decided to take Carla on a tour of the Circle C trail. It was nice to run with her and take a slower than normal jog.

Stats - 4 miles/48:15/12:04 pace

3/27 - Run with Wish

Today my neck felt a lot better and I was able to do my normal Thursday run with Wish. We did the usual up north and back route and had another fun conversation.

Stats - 8.17 miles/1:11:03/8:42 pace
AHR - 139
MHR - 158

3/28 - Pre-Race Run

Today I did my pre Cap10k run at home instead of going to the trail. I was able to sleep in a little and save a little gas.

Stats - 4 miles/34:09/8:32 pace