Christmas Eve Workout in Tucson with the "Grinders" - (posted 1/3/06)

Today I got up to meet the Hill's running group for a tempo workout. I was supposed to do 20 miles, but didn't feel like doing it by myself, so I figured a hard workout with some people would be fun. I did a two mile warmup and met the group at the designated meeting spot. Michele and Dave introduced me to the whole group...the were great hosts, and I met some really nice people. The workout was a 3x4 minute tempo run with 1:30 in between sets followed by 45 minutes at "pace." Most of the group was training for the Rock and Roll half in Phoenix in January. We started out by doing 10 minutes of strides which was kind of interesting. It was 15 seconds on and 15 seconds off on kind of an out and back street.

We started the workout on a new loop that took us NW towards the mountains. It was a really pretty route. I think Michele stuck me with the slowest group which was OK since I was battling a cold. The first part of the workout went by pretty quick and then we were off on the 45 minute part. I was doing great, but had to make a hydration adjustment really bad. I jumped off into the bushes and the whole group passed me. I came out and had to run really hard to catch up. I passed my original group and a few more folks along the way and finished the workout about mid-pack with Michele. She was having an off day with tired legs. I chatted with a few folks after the workout and then Dave handed out little stockings with candy and running socks...they even gave me one which was really nice. Another lady gave me one of her homemade granola bars. I wished my new running friends Merry Christmas and wished them all well on their training and headed back to my brother's house. It was a really good workout with some great folks. Some people say us runners are crazy. That may be true, but we are also a very hospitable and welcoming group of people. I hope to return the Hill's hospitality if they ever make it out to Austin.

I ended up running 10 miles for the day and was happy with the effort.

Stats - 1o miles/1:22:45/8:16 pace (includes warmup, workout and cool down)

The rest of the day was nice. We took the girls to hit tennis balls with my Dad, went to mass at 4PM, and then had Mom's Chile Colorado for dinner...awesome stuff! I wasn't feeling so hot after dinner so I fell asleep on the floor around 9 and went to bed shortly after that. The kids were ready for Santa and I knew they would be up early. I really needed the sleep!

Tucson - First Running Workout - (Posted 1/3/06)

After two days of driving from Austin to Tucson, we arrived at my brother's house yesterday afternoon. We stayed in Fort Stockton Weds night and it was a long night in a crappy hotel. We stopped to visit my Aunt and Uncle in El Paso and to pick up the sacred "asadero" cheese for my Mom. It was nice to see them. We were out of there by 11AM and on to Tucson. We finally hit Tucson around 3PM and my folks were already there. We were really tired so just had some pizza and turned in early.

On Friday morning I woke up at 6:30 so I could meet Michele and Dave Hill for a run around my brother's neighborhood in NW Tucson. The Hills run a group called the "Grinders" and are both very accomplished runners. They are both in their 50s and dominate their age groups in Tucson. Dave is the #1 masters runner in Tucson at 54. Michele missed qualifying for the olympics by a few minutes and Dave's best marathon was a 2:20 after being knocked down in the opening mile in Beijing. They took me on some nice routes as the sun rose in Tucson. I know Austin has a great sunsets, but Tucson has great sunsets and sunrises that no city can touch. They are simply glorious. I digress...anyway, we ran a nice pace and Michele peeled off after about an hour. Dave and I continued on up a really nice ranch road toward the mountains and then back around to a point where Dave turned off and I kept on going back to my brother's home. It turns out Michele had heard about the Gilbert and the Gazelles from a person that trains with the Grinders who used to be a Gazelle...what a small world!

Stats - 9.39 Miles/1:22:18/8:47 pace

Later that day we took the girls to see the University of Arizona campus. It really brought back some memories. We spent way too much in the book store and then headed off to the Sausage Deli for lunch. I used to live at the Sausage Deli when I was in campus and it was really weird eating there with Carla and the girls. The sandwiches were just as fresh and tasty as they were 20 years ago when I first started at the UofA.

We celebrated Dad's 60th birthday a couple of weeks early that evening and we were in bed by 10 since I needed to get up at 6AM to do a speed workout with the Grinders in the morning.

Mile Repeats at Zilker

On a pretty cold morning I met the group for repeats at Zilker. I didn't feel the best this morning. I woke up with a sore throat and kind of tired. Hopefully it's nothing since we are leaving for our vacation today. We ran over to Zilker by the pool and then did the drills before we started. I actually had like 6 people in my group today which was nice. I was the laggard of the group, but I like it that way so I can chase people. All of my repeats got progressively faster except for the last one. My right knee felt weird about half way through so I slowed down. My work team went bowling yesterday and I think I tweaked it there...all that weird bending.

I ran back to RunTex with Jason and Sean and then was able to say Happy Holidays to G and my friends before I headed to the office.

Repeats - 6:55.8, 6:49.6, 6:43.4, 6:37.8, 6:58.0 - 6:49 average

Stats - 8.94 miles

I checked my times from last year when we did mile repeats on 12/28. My average then was 7:07 and my fastest one was 6:56. It's nice to see YOY improvement in my daily workouts.

Easy Run at Town Lake

Today I met Jay for an easy 7 around Town Lake. There were some other Gazelles there, but I guess they either didn't want to run with us or wanted to go really, really slow. We went clockwise and yacked about various topics...kind of catch up stuff between two good friends. I decided to add a few miles after we got back to First Street so I ran to the Pfluger bridge and then back around to Congress, and back to RunTex. I know I can't make up the workout I missed yesterday, but it was nice to get some additional easy work in.

Tomorrow we have mile repeats in the AM and then we hit the road to Arizona for the holidays in the afternoon.

Stats - 9.2 Miles

Tempo Run

I got back really late last night from San Jose, but still wanted to get up early and do a tempo run. Jay and Marci were there as well so it was just like the M/W group. We did a two mile warmup this today, did our drills, and then took off. I wasn't expecting much since I was so tired, but I wanted to be within range of my PR. I ended up running about 30 seconds slower than my PR and ran a good negative split. I think my first mile was really slow, but the last two were pretty quick based on the time.

Total Time - 28:21.47
First half - 14:27.9
Second half - 13:53.6

We did a couple of mile cool down afterward for a nice, long running day.

Stats - to come

Nice Run in the Bay Area

After flying and being stuck in an all day meeting yesterday I woke up very early and went for a run as soon as the sun came up. I drove from my hotel over to the Sunnyvale Baylands preserve to run. The weather was in the 30s and there was a really cool, ground-level fog along the paths. I ran mostly on dirt paths around various ponds along the southern San Francisco bay. There were some very cool birds and lots to see in a very quiet sitting. I did an out and back loop and then stopped for a potty break with about two miles to go. I ended up running 7 miles before I called it a day. It was one of those special runs that we runners live for...no stress, not a lot of people, and definitely some great scenery.

Circuit Training

Today we did our circuit workout at AHS. We took the long way to AHS from RunTex which was about 2.7 miles. We did the usual stuff with 1200s in between. We had time for two sets and then moved onto the fast feet exercises. We did two sets of those and then headed back to RunTex via the long way again. It was a lot of mileage for circuit day which is nice.

Stats - to come

First Freescale 20 Miler

Details to come!

Arctic Run in the 'Hood

Well the storm arrived and we did get a little bit of ice. It was 20 degrees outside with a wind chill around 10 degrees this morning. They cancelled school so the kids were excited. I knew I had to run in this cold weather so I went out for a short run. I wore a long sleeve shirt and a Nike microfiber top, snow hat, gloves, and long pants. It wasn't to bad outside until the wind caught you. Then it was really frigid. I could feel it on my face. Usually there are many people out when I run on Thursdays, but today I only saw two walkers and 3 runners. I guess we are the die-hards.

Anyway, I ran the loop around the school and back and kept it short. I was going to add another couple of miles to the trail, but my hands were numb and my face was getting there. It was a really nice run...but I wouldn't want to be that cold all the time!

Stats - 4.35 miles/36:35/4.36 miles

PS: My legs felt great after a hard speed workout yesterday, and again no foot pain. I must have just hit a rock or something at Decker.

800s at AHS

Well today is one of those weird Texas days where the weather starts out at a higher temperature than it ends. When I left the house for RunTex this AM it was 48 degrees outside. It is now 2:40PM and it is 32 degrees and falling. Good times!

As for the workout, it was raining lightly when we left RunTex for the warm up jog. We did the drills and then I headed out with Sean, Marci, Jerry, and a new guy that just joined us. We were told to do 8 repeats at 3:15-3:20 pace. The first split was really slow and we missed by almost 9 seconds. We picked it up for the next two and then my legs came alive for the last 5 repeats. I was trying to hit under 3:00 for the first time ever, blasted out a 3:02.7, and came up 2.7 seconds short. We did 3x200 afterwards and then headed back to the store. It was a really good workout and the best part was that I didn't have any foot pain at all.

I hit the gym on the way to work and did some upper body weights, stretching and some ab work in the Roman chair.

Splits - 3:29.4, 3:22.2, 3:21.7, 3:16.1, 3:12.7, 3:11.4, 3:09.5, 3:02.7
Average - 3:16
Average for last 5 repeats - 3:10

Total miles - 9.23

A Very Cold Easy 7

After a day of rest yesterday, I met Sean and Jan for an easy 7 miles on the trail. I actually did try and run yesterday, but my foot started hurting about a half mile out so I turned around. I iced my foot all day and it seemed to help. It is a very weird little pain on the ball of my right foot.

It was 24 degrees at RunTex when we started out. I had to wear my ski hat, two layers and a vest on top, pants and gloves. I guess this is the just the start of our cold weather. They are predicting frozen precipitation tomorrow evening and night. It should be fun!

Anyway, we headed out counterclockwise on the familiar loop yacked about varoius topics. I was really focusing on my form so my foot would strike heel-toe to take the pressure off of my pad of my foot. I didn't have any pain and still feel fine now so that is good news. I will ice again tonight just to make sure.

We ran into G when we finished and he was not sure about running in the cold. He is tough as nails, but the cold is his achilles heel. I did my leg exercises at the gym and did the full stretch routine.

Stats - 7 miles/very slow...about a 9:44 pace

2005 Decker Challenge

Today I ran my 4th Decker Challenge and 2nd as a 12k. It was a cold, blustery morning. It was really warm yesterday and the weather guys were forecasting that a front was coming through. I was hoping for the cold, but not the nasty wind.

I got to the course around 6:30 and ran into Marci on the way to the bathroom. I was able to take care of my stomach issues a couple of times before the warmup. It was so cold that I changed into pants for the warmup and was really cold with just one layer on top and gloves. We ran about a two mile warmup and then did our drills inside the barn area. We had private bathrooms and were able to get out of the wind. After the drills I headed over and stripped down to a singlet, shorts, and gloves...very cold!

The first mile went really quick and then we hit the big uphill and the winds as we headed out onto Decker lane. The other splits went up and down with the rolling hills. I drank a whole package of Enervitene at mile 4 with water and I drank at mile 6 too. The Gazelles had a water stop at the 10k mark, but I didn't get a chance to see too many folks since I was looking at the big hill at the turn and trying to get some water at the same time.

First 10k splits - 7:32, 7:57, 7:16, 7:37, 7:37 (average - missed the 4 mile split), 7:14
First 10k Time - 46:47/7:33 pace

The second 10k was really good. I ate another Enervitene at mile 8 and drank water at mile 8 and 10. I got into a good rhythm until the turn after mile 8. As soon as we headed west, it was like getting hit in the face and it was really hard. I think it was harder in my mind than it really was since my last 3 mile splits were all dancing around 7:30 and I really picked it up for the last .43 miles over the hill, through the gravel, and across the rutted road. Decker has a really crappy finish. I was really cold and just wanted to get some warm clothes on so I blew off the cool down run.

I visited with the gang in the building and everyone had a really good day with a bunch of PRs. I met Alex, Jay and his guests from NC, Jeff and Andy, for some Mangia and beers in the evening. It was the perfect ending to a good race day.

Second 10k splits - 7:46, 7:14, 7:42, 7:32, 7:25, 7:33, last .43 3:05 (7:10 pace)
Second 10k Time - 46:43/7:32 pace
Overall Time - 1:33:30/7:32 pace and it was a PR by 3:24 over last year
Overall place 187

My left foot was hurting on the outside ball of my foot. Hopefully it is nothing!

Pre Race Run

I missed the group workout/stretch today so Carla could head out for some shopping in Wimberly. I did a 4 mile out and back with part on the trail in our neighborhood. It was really warm this morning but I guess that will change prior to Tomorrow's race. I went faster than we usually do for these runs, but I was on the clock. I did 4 strides when I got home and plan to rest for the rest of the day.

Stats - 4 miles/33:41/8:24 pace

Moderate Run

Today I ran at home and cut my usual 7 miler down to 5 miles since it's race week. The weather was still nice. I was able to go with a long sleeve shirt and shorts. I ran out to my new trail and back. I went at a pretty good pace and was feeling really good. My last two miles were the fastest.

Stats - 5.07 miles/41:14/8:08 pace