Recovery Week 2

I am in recovery week two and still feeling OK. I have some hip/glute soreness, but that never really went away after Chicago and I guess I just have to deal with it. Today I left the house a little after 7AM for another 45 minute run in the neighborhood. I did the soccer field loop plus some additional on the road to finish with a little over 5 miles. I did some abs and push ups when I got home. My weight is pretty much the same as pre-Freescale so my week of eating like crap didn't hurt me much. I am going to run every other day this week and then get back to the Gazelles on Monday to prepare for my spring races. I know I need work on some quick turnover in the next few weeks to get ready for the shorter races.

Upcoming Calendar -
- Hall of Fame 1ok - 3/11
- River City 10 Miler - 3/19
- Capitol 10k - 4/2

Crosstraining

Today I cross trained for the first time at lunch time. It was weird to be at the club when it is all busy. Usually I have the place to myself when I stop by after my morning run. I got there a little after 11AM and hopped on the sitting bike for about 5 miles/125 calories. I then got on the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes and went 3 miles/500 calories. I was sweating like a pig, and wasn't really enjoying the inside thing at all. I did some weights for my arms, some abs, light stretching and then headed out. It was a nice break from the office, but I would take time on the trail over his anytime. I do need to find some type of cross training activity that I truly enjoy so I can cut back my running days until I start my fall marathon training in June.

I am contemplating running the Go for the Gold 10k on 3/11. My sister in law is running her first 10k so I may run and then run her in.

Easy Run

I took yesterday off and decided to run today. My right hip was bugging me a bit after Friday's run. The goal was to run for 45 minutes. I did a different loop in Circle C since there isn't any traffic on Sunday morning and it was nice to break the monotony of my normal loop. The loop is usually like a freeway on school days since it is the main drag to the elementary school from the east side of the neighborhood. I think I am going to rest again tomorrow and then hit the trail for 7 miles on Tuesday morning.

Stats - 5.2/45:02/8:40 pace

Back to the Streets!

Today I got out and actually ran. I spent the last two days traveling to and from San Jose so I got some extra rest, ate too much, and did nothing exercise wise at all. All the pain in my legs was gone yesterday so I figured I should test the legs out today. The plan was to go for about 4 miles and do some time on the dirt around the soccer fields by our house. I felt pretty good for the first mile and actually did an 8:41. I started to tire after that so I naturally slowed down. I went around the park and headed back toward the house. I ran a little over 4 miles at about an 8:59 pace.

It was a nice enjoyable run, but I know I still have some healing to do. I won't run on back to back days until the week of the 7th, and hopefully I will be ready to run a solid race at the River City 10 Miler on March 19th.

The Days After

Well it's post Freescale day two. I took yesterday off and just spent the day putzing around the house doing some things that I blew off last week. My lower legs feel pretty beat up...especially my right shin area. My calves are also hurting and feel really hard to the touch. Today I got on the treadmill at home and walked for 30 minutes at a 3MPH pace. It turned out to be a mile and a half. My legs felt a little better after the walk, but since have stiffened up again. I am sure it is only a matter of time for them to heal up. I think I got through this race injury free, but I will only be doing some light jogging for the next two weeks to make sure. I think I might venture out on Thursday or Friday this week for a few miles and then maybe hit the trail this weekend. I am not rushing anything...I want to be healed and ready for the short season!

2006 Freezescale Marathon

Pre-Race

Well it's finally race day. After a restless night where I watched TV for about an hour at midnight, I woke up for good at 4AM. I had seen the weather reports at midnight and it looked like ice was going to occur. I downed my 34oz. Gatorade Endurance, ate a bagel with peanut butter, and then ventured out into the cold to get to RunTex to catch the shuttle. Little did I know that I would be living three pre-marathon nightmares before I got to the starting line.

Nightmare number one (can't get to the starting line part one); It was 27 degrees outside and it turns out the ice had settled on the bridges and elevated roads. I headed North on MoPac as usual to get to RunTex. About a mile down the road, there was a fire truck blocking the road due to ice. I had to turn around and figure out how to get to RunTex and avoid any bridges. I called Alex to tell he and Jay that I was going to be late. He told me how he got to RunTex and I followed that path. I had to detour one more time, but got to RunTex about 5:10 and jumped on a bus. I was already stressed at this point, but felt good to get on the warm bus.

Nightmare number two (can't get to the starting line part deux); the buses were driving slow as hell due to the road conditions and it took us over an hour to get to the start line. The bus was hot as hell inside and the stress level was climbing thinking that I only had 45 minutes to do all my pre-race stuff. Once I got off the bus, I hit the can to drop a deuce, and heard over the loud speaker that the race would start 30 minutes late. The heart rate decreased and I headed towards the Freescale plant to get warm. I ran into Rich, Shannon, Richard, and Kelly there. We did a brief warmup, did a couple of hydration adjustments, stripped down, dropped my bag off, and got in line near Marci.

I stood for a couple of minutes and realized nightmare number three (you got to the line with no food)...I checked my food belt! I got back out of the chute, ran over to the bag check, and with terror in my eyes asked if I could get my bag back. The people didn't know what to say. My bag was long gone and I was hosed. I was thinking screw it, I am going home. I then took another hydration adjustment and got in line. I had trained and was going to go as far as I could and hope that someone would help me out with some food along the way. Worst case I would stop for Powerade at every stop and hope that those calories would sustain me.

I pushed my way back into the chute between the 3:15 and 3:20 groups just before the gun went off. I moved towards the middle of the pack and let it go. The one good thing about all the pre-race panic was that I didn't have time to get too cold. I didn't have too much problem running a decent early pace in the crowds. I just wanted to get out without falling or too much time damage. We headed out onto Anderson Mill and it opened up even more. I started my gel scavenger hunt and actually started to see unopened packets on the ground. Now I had to look far enough ahead to spy one, snatch it up and not trip up anyone. I was moving pretty well and had a good mindset even though I was still stressed about the food situation. Before we crossed over 183 I was able to pick up a couple of gel packs within a few feet of eachother. Things were looking up! I shoved them inside my gloves to warm them up. I crossed over 183 and onto the part of the course I know from our training runs.

Mile 1-5 Splits - 8:06, 7:44, 7:44, 7:41, 7:27

As we headed down Jollyville, I ate one of my packs at mile 5 and started to look for Rudy thinking he might have some more gels. I saw him just past mile 6 and he said he didn't have any extras. A few minutes later, he comes flying up to me with a Gu in hand. What a lifesaver! I was now good to go through about 20 miles if I ate one every 5 miles. My strategy was to eat every 4 miles, but this was better than nothing. I was on cruise control now and the miles seemed really easy. I was within my pace range and feeling good. I caught up with Diana and Charlene and ran with them for awhile. As we rounded onto Great Hills I felt the need to pee...and was not happy about it. The bushes along the start of the old course were coming up so I figured I would hop in there quickly. The bad part is when your boys are that cold, things don't want to come out quickly. I probably wasted a minute there and as I was going, Patrick, Diana, and Charlene passed me. I finished my business and caught up with them. Patrick gave me a bag of those Gel cubes so I was good to go until the end. We were cruising along now kind of ebbing and flowing like in Chicago. It's always nice to be around friends during the race.

Mile 6-10 Splits - 7:35, 7:47, 7:38, 8:03 (pee), 7:43

The next section we all knew like the back of our hand except we have been running it a little wrong. We went an extra block in the industrial section and then headed across 183 to Shoal Creek. We did the boring section next to the railroad tracks and it was nice to be so much further along than in previous years. I was still feeling really good and the miles were flying by. I tried my first gel blocks in this section and they were a bit challenging to eat since they were so cold. It was hard to breath and chew them at the same time. They were actually pretty good.

Mile 11 - 15 Splits - 7:44, 7:48, 7:46, 7:51, 7:48

We were back on Shoal Creek for a mile and then over to the eastbound part on North Loop. I had to make my second potty stop right at 2222 and Shoal Creek. This one cost me over two minutes and once I got started again I knew my BQ was out the window. I still wanted to finish strong and reach my second goal of 3:30. I wasn't looking forward to the North Loop part, but my hip was hurting a bit and I thought the hills might help my sore muscles. With the exception of the long potty mile all my splits in this section were under 8 minutes. I actually slowed a bit when we turned down Duval which is weird. It may have been that I was on my own now.

Mile 16 - 20 Splits - 10:16 (deuce), 7:56, 7:53, 8:05, 7:59

The last 10k is where the race really begins and it is usually my downfall big time. I was so glad to be heading through the University/Downtown/Congress area during this part instead of the old out and back on Lake Austin Blvd. I have always enjoyed this area of town to run in since I moved here. I ate my last gel at mile 20 and actually had one left over that I tossed. I passed Charlene and Erine during mile 22. Charlene was having an awesome race and poor Erine was struggling again. I remember passing him in Chicago before I crashed and burned. Carla and the girls made it to the race which was really a nice surprise. I didn't think they would make it since the weather was so bad. They were at 2nd and Colorado and screaming strong. They gave me a little boost and I knew the next 4 miles were going to be a real bitch...the out and back on Cesar Chavez. Mile 24 was the slowest running mile of the whole day. I felt really fatigued and this was the climb up the freeway ramp. Shannon passed me in this section and we saw Pete who was cheering us on. Once I got to the turnaround point I tried to pick it up. I knew I was going to be close when it came to the 3:30 goal. On the back portion of Cesar Chavez, the 3:30 pace group passed me, but they were a bit ahead of schedule. Sean and Rich passed me and I tried to keep up with them, but couldn't. I ran how I felt the rest of the way...which was tired, but I didn't quit and crossed the line strong.

Mile 21-26.2 Splits - 8:14, 8:07, 8:12, 9:01, 8:33, 8:44, 1:41

The last 6 miles really doomed my 3:30, but it was the potty stops that really cost me. All in all I was really happy with the day given my pre-race stress. I PR'd by almost 3:30 and I am within 10 minutes of my BQ time. I have to admit my training for this race was not as good as Chicago, but I think I am mentally stronger than in previous races. I didn't walk at all today and my worst non-potty split was 9:01. I really believe that my next marathon will be the one that gets me into Boston.

RunFar is still trying to figure out my chip time, but I think it is somewhere between 3:31:05 and 3:31:07. I know I didn't hit my watch as soon as I crossed so there may be a few second variance...not a big deal. As for the winter season, I PR'd all the races including the marathon. I didn't race Pervasive so no Distance Challenge results this year.

Easy Jog and Stretch (posted 2/21)

After two days of rest, other than some ab work, I met the group for our last little jog before tomorrow's race. The cold and rain blew in yesterday afternoon so it was freezing, literally, this morning when we started out. G said to run for 20 minutes total so we headed out on the trail and then came back to Auditorium shores for some strides. I did 7 and then we headed back for stretching. We started outside, but the rains came so we stretched inside RunTex with Jay up on the "table" so to speak leading us in our stretching. I finished up to head to Caroline's soccer game which was cancelled at the last minute.

Diet for the Day -

I drank 12 oz. of Endurox after the run. I ate two english muffins with 2 boca sausage patties for breakfast. I ate a turkey sandwich and bowl of brown rice for lunch. For dinner I had two chicken breasts with a tablespoon of Asian chili sauce over a bowl of brown rice (4:30PM). I snacked throughout the day on Sweet Tarts, rice crackers, and goldfish. I drank 3 bottles of 34oz. Gatorade Endurance as well as lots of water.

I stayed off my feet as much as possible and didn't take a nap so I would be nice and tired at bed time. Mentally I felt good, but was a little worried about the weather since they were forecasting ice on the bridges and some roads.

Diagonals at Auditorium Shores

Today was our last "workout" before the race. We have a little 20 minute run left on Saturday, but today was pretty much it. The weather changed again so it was in the high 50s and really humid this morning. I had on long sleeves and was really warm. We did a two mile warmup and then got on the grass at auditorium shores for some diagonals (run diagonally across the grass fast, and do. G wanted us to do them for 20 minutes, but he claims we were doing them wrong and cut us off after 15 minutes. I was fine with that because I was burning up. We got a little pep and logistics talk and then did a quick group stretch. I spent some extra time chatting with the guys at RunTex and then headed off to the gym where I did some ab work and ten arm extended pull ups. Those really loosen my back.

Stats - 4.05 Miles

Tomorrow and Friday will be total rest days although I will still do my ab stuff. I feel really relaxed and good heading into this race. The weather is looking good so far, but might be a little on the cold side. I weighed in today at 203 so I lost another pound. I had some brief sleep issues last night so I guess it is weighing a bit on my mind. I still slept good and plan on some good rest between now and race day. It's always nice to sleep in your own bed the few days before the race.

30 Minutes in the Hood

Today I ran for 30 minutes easy in the neighborhood. I ran about 15:15 out and back on my usual 4 mile course. The weather was cool, but not really cold. I was really warm when I got home and wished I ran in shorts. I did a quick stretch and headed off to work.

I was able to get in to see my chiropractor to get my back popped this afternoon. He manipulated my legs as well. Hopefully it will be enough to keep the nerve that messed me up in Chicago in check.

Tomorrow is a really easy workout and then two days off. The weather is looking cold, overcast, and in the low 50s for Sunday...perfect. If it holds, it will be time to make an attempt!

Stats - 3.61 miles/30:23/8:24 pace

1x3000 at Zilker

Today most of the Gazelles from all the groups met for a pretty quick workout at Zilker park. It was really cold again this morning after a glorious day for a marathon yesterday. I ran over in the pack, did the drills, and then got the directions from G. We were supposed to do a loop and a half...approximately a 3000 at marathon pace or a little faster. I took off in a group of that had some folks from Jay's group and my normal training partners. I kept checking my watch to check pace and we were going a bit quick. The first mile was at a 7:16 pace and the last .82 was at a 7:09 pace for an average of 7:13. That is a bit faster than 7:40, but I felt good and pretty smooth.

I went to see Lucy to get my final massage and she found a few knots, but nothing major. I feel really good and am looking forward to the race. I weighed 204 on the club scale this AM which is about 8 pounds heavier than Chicago...oh well!

Stats - 5.64 miles total
Repeat 1.84 miles/13:10/7:13 pace

Last LSR Before Freescale 06

Today was our last LSR of this marathon season. 7-12 miles doesn't seem like a really long run these days, but that was what we were supposed to do. A cold front finally blew through for the first time this winter so it was really cold this morning. It was in the low 30s with a north wind. We got to sleep a little later than normal and start at 6:30 which was nice. We ran the scenic loop and took off in a big pack. I ran most of the way with Diana and Thon with some other folks going in out of of the pack. We stopped for a break just past the Hula Hut, but the water was shut off. There was a water jug for another group at a point along the top of the scenic loop at about mile 5 so we made another stop there and I ate my one pack of Carboom. We decided to take Pecos back which at that point was just the three of us. We stopped for PowerAde at O'Henry and then headed back to Auditorium Shores. I picked it up a bit there and finished by myself. I joined the group for stretching and did my ab exercises at home.

Splits - 9:52, 9:08, 9:18, 9:15, 8:47, 9:06, 9:13, 9:32, 8:53, 8:37, 8:03

Stats - 11.07/1:40:15/9:03 pace

Easy 4 in the Hood

After dropping off the kids at school, I headed out on an easy 4 miler. I did the usual out and back to highway 45. The weather was in the mid 40s so I wore shorts and two layers on top. I took my MP3 player and really enjoyed the run. My legs felt pretty good other than some weird pain in my upper right leg. I am going to write it off as "weird pre-marathon" pains. Hopefully it will disappear wtih tomorrow's day off. If not, then I may hit the chiropractor before the race to get re-aligned.

Stats - 4.1 miles/35:01/8:32

Fartleks...A Week Early!

Today I met the group for fartleks on the trail. This is our last longer speed workout before the race. The weather was in the high 30s, no wind, and perfectly clear. We did the 7 mile loop and started out with about a two mile/20 minute warmup and then started out on our 2 on/1 off fartleks. I let my small faster group take off and I settled into Jay's larger group with Marci and Sean. The group ended up doing 10 fartleks before we did the last mile as a cool down. I did 5 strides and headed home to get on a conference call. I was able to squeeze a brief stretch and then did 2x50 crunches and 2x25 leg extensions.

Stats 7 miles/~1:01:00 for the whole workout.

I am up in the air about my workout for tomorrow, but will probably just do 4-5 miles in the neighborhood before resting on Friday. I scheduled my massage for Monday and I should be good to go after that. The race day weather keeps changing, but I think for the better. The latest is cold, some rain, and wind out of the NE. That's a lot better than humid as hell and temps in the high 60s. I have done all I can do to prepare for this race and it will all come down to how I feel on race day and how we are blessed as far as weather goes. I am not going to nail down a specific goal until race day. Until then I will stay loose!

Short Recovery Run

Today I met Jay for a short 5 mile recovery run at Town Lake. The morning was really cool with a little breeze. The kind of morning you want for marathon day. We went counter clockwise and talked about the upcoming race and the very early hot weather forecast for race day. We stopped by AHS and visited with the T/Th Gazelles as they were in the middle of their 800s. We finished up the loop and I headed off to the gym. I did a some pull ups, my ab work and stretched. I also did some arm swings with the 10 pound dumb bell. I felt like doing more, but not a good idea.

My mind is starting to drift so I am not getting a whole lot done at work and am going into the zone at home. I feel like eating everything in sight which isn't good since I am trying to remain near 200 pounds. I am probably about 3-5 pounds heavier than Chicago right now, but am not too worried about it.

Stats - 5.17 miles/47:54/9:16 pace

800s at AHS

After a rest day yesterday, we met this morning for 800s at AHS. I pretty much jogged alone the long way to Austin High and joined the group for our drills. I lined up with Sean, Jerry and a couple of other guys I don't know too well. The goal was to run 8 repeats in the 3:10 - 3:15 range with 2 minutes rest in between. There was a wicked wind coming out of the NW so it was brutal for half of each lap...as Jay said as we passed eachother during the repeats, "shades of the 20 mile race." The first few didn't realy feel that good and I was going to bail at 6 repeats, but I pressed on and the last 4 were in the range that I needed. The wind must have sucked at least 5-10 seconds per repeat. I did 2x200 afterwards and then headed back to RunTex with Jay and a few other folks.

Repeat times:
03:20.9, 03:23.4, 03:20.0, 03:22.3, 03:15.2, 03:16.7, 03:18.6, 03:16.0
3:19 average

In December I averaged 3:16 for 8 repeats with a fast repeat of 3:03, so I am happy with today's results. I worked hard, stayed consistent and focused, and finished strong. I headed to the gym, did 2x25 crunches in the Roman Chair and then did 2x50 crunches on the floor. I used the assisted chin up machine and did a couple of sets of chin ups and then did 2x30 arm swings in running pose with the 10 pound dumb bells. The arm exercises are just to open up my chest a bit. I did the full stretch routine and headed to the office.

Stats - 10 Miles

15 Miles on the Freescale Course

Today we started at Gateway for a 15 miler to RunTex. G called it a RunTex to RunTex run. I drank a half a bottle of Gatorade Endurance and ate a Clif Bar at home. The weather was in the 30s at my house so I wore tights and two layers on top. It turned out not to be so cold at the top so I was a little warm during the run. I ran with different folks throughout the run and everyone seemed to be very loose and ready for the race to be here. There was water about every 5 miles so I ate a Carboom and drank at each stop. My legs felt pretty good and I was able to pick it up for the last 5 miles. I had a stomach problem at the north end of campus so I pulled into the coffee shop to take care of it. (Note to self: NO Pei Wei the night before any future race) When I ran out I ran into Jerry who took a few wrong turns and was bringing up the rear. We ran in together and caught Bob who was taking it slow. We also encountered a lot of traffic from the Rogue folks who were also doing a final course shakedown run.

I did 4 strides on the trail, headed over to stretch, but didn't have time to do the drills that G was filming so I did a brief session by myself outside RunTex. It was a good final tune up run. I guess we have a couple of speed sessions this week and a 10-13 miler next Saturday. I ended up with 57+ miles this week which is more than I expected, but it started with 3M and ended with today's run.

Splits - 15.04 Miles/2:07:19/8:28 pace
Last 5 miles - 8:10, 8:12, 8:01, 7:30, 7:50

Run in Circle C

Well Carla has the flu now and Emma is on her way back to school. I got up and got the girls ready for school and put Carla back to bed. I dropped them off at school and then got ready for my run. I planned to go 7 miles on my usual out to 45, north to Davis, and back home. The weather was really nice and I felt really good running so I went a little longer. I ran into Wish about two miles in and chatted a bit. He was trying to get me to go run some hills with him, but my Thursday runs are now my peaceful, music-wearing runs so I declined. I headed off and did my turn around to start heading north. I forgot to stop my watch during our talk, so my pace was way off after starting again...showing 9:30 average pace. I enjoyed watching it drop as I ran the last 5.5 miles of my run. I crossed over Slaughter, dropped down to Davis and headed west for about a quarter mile. I did my last turn around and then headed home. I was still feeling really good which is a good sign after my poor tempo run yesterday.

Stats - 7.5 Miles/1:04:41/8:37 pace

Surprise..It's a Tempo Run!

Today G changed the workout from 800s to a 4 mile tempo run. I don't think it would have mattered either way...my legs are tired and I am tired. Emma has the flu, Carla is getting the flu, and Caroline looks sick too. I got some Tamiflu from Emma's doctor yesterday so hopefully I don't get it too.

Anyway, we did a two mile warmup and then our drills. We bunched up and took off. I was hoping to at least do 7 minute miles, but I was a little leery of running hard a few days after a hard race and I was afraid to hurt something in the dark. I started out with a 7:12 pace then dropped down to 7:18 for mile two. I was chasing Sean and Thon, but they pulled away and then it was just me and Jerry. He went ahead at the turn and I never caught him. I ran a 7:11 for mile 3 which was a good start for a negative split, but I totally fell apart during the last mile running a 7:23. I crossed the line and headed home to care for Emma. I did some stretching and ab work at home.

I am going to run 7 miles at home tomorrow and then hopefully join the group on Saturday.

Stats - 6.41 miles for the day
4 Mile Tempo Run - 29:11 - (7:18 pace) 14:31/14:40