4 Mile Taper

A nice cool run after work with temps in the lower 60s.

Still tapering:

Mile (#)	Time (m:s)	Distance (mi )
1	8:12	1.00
2	8:17	1.00
3	7:35	1.00
4	7:43	1.00

Sweaty One

p (#)	Time (m:s)	Distance (mi )	HR (bpm)
			Avg	Max
1	8:10	1.00	133	150
2	8:15	1.00	152	156
3	8:26	1.00	155	159
4	8:48	1.00	156	159
5	8:48	1.00	156	158
6	8:21	1.00	161	165
7	7:37	0.86	163	165

It was hot and sweaty this evening. 5 pm it was 86 F. I ran alone trying to maintain a reasonable pace and heart rate. I ran without water. This became a problem during mile 4. I was gagging on nothing so stopped and walk for about 45 seconds. I was fine then. I still couldn't cool down though. My heart rate stay up because I was hot. Suddenly it rained huge drops for 60 seconds! I was still hot. A bit of water down the gullet might have allowed me to run slightly faster.

All in all I finished with an 8:31/mi pace for almost 7 miles in the heat. Not too bad.

Taper Twelve

56 F degrees at 6 am this morning. I met Bill, Mike and Paul for a 12 mile taper run as three of us have a marathon fast approaching.

The cool weather was nice. Allowed me to run the first three miles at a 7:57/mi pace. I knew that was a bit fast. I slowed to an 8:17/mi pace for miles 4, 5, 6. Heart rate avg 151/bpm.

I was trying to find a comfortable heart rate for the marathon. Keeping my heart rate averaging 152/bpm, miles 7, 8, 9 were at an 8:24/mi pace.

Mile 10 was a turn around. I met Mike and Paul there. We paused to wait for Bill since he was running easier. My avg heart rate was 139 for this mile. It was a 10:00/mi pace since we stood around and walked a bit talking. Probably did this for 2 mins.

Mile 11 was up a long uphill grade. I wasn't thinking about running. Caught myself shuffling up the hill instead of focusing on getting up it. 9:22/mi pace. Heart rate only 146/bpm.

Final mile 12 was all 4 of us together. Avg heart rate was back to 152/bpm and the pace was 8:08/mi.

Early AM start was rewarded with a hammock snooze!

Mile	Time (m:s)	Distance (mi )
1	7:59	1.00
2	7:48	1.00
3	8:05	1.00
4	8:18	1.00
5	8:16	1.00
6	8:18	1.00
7	8:21	1.00
8	8:25	1.00
9	8:27	1.00
10	10:01	1.00
11	9:22	1.00
12	8:08	1.00

Slower 5

Temp was around 85F. I ran with Bill for a casual 5 miles. Planned to run a 9:00/mi pace, but we ran slightly faster than that.

1	8:47
2	8:42
3	8:53
4	8:53
5	9:16

We had to wait for some traffic during mile 5. I was pretty hot.

Speed

Lap (#)	Time (m:s)	Distance (mi )	M Spd (mph)	HR (bpm)		Energy (Cal)
				Avg	Max
1	7:58	1.00	9.6	138	156	117
2	7:46	1.00	8.7	159	162	121
3	7:51	1.00	8.9	164	168	119
4	8:06	1.00	8.3	166	169	119
5	8:12	1.00	8.3	170	172	119

With the temp around 77 F, I ran a 7:59/mi pace for 5 miles. Had to really work at it up the hill that last 1/2 mile. My heart rate was up.

It's the fastest I've ever run this 5 mile route!

Still Summer

It was mid-80's this afternoon for my 7 mile run. Humidity was around 60%. A hot 7 mile run without any water. Ran it in an hour!

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)	1:00:37	8:28 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s)	1:00:37	8:28 pace
Distance (mi )	7.15
Moving Speed (mph)	7.1 avg.	9.0 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+963 / -996
Avg. Heart Rate	156 bpm	Zone 4.4

5 Miler - 20 days

75F with 60% humidity this afternoon for a five mile run with Mike and Bill.

After running a slower 23 miles two days ago, it felt good running a faster pace. We did 8:34/mi for the first two miles then 8:24/mi for the next 2 miles. We finished with an 8:15/mi for the final mile.

I could have done this pace for many more miles if it had been a bit cooler. Actually I could have run for another five miles at this pace with the same temp. So there!

Count down to marathon...20 days!

Jet Lag 23

I ran zero miles Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday. I was planning to run, but I went from Chicago on a quick trip to Helsinki. I didn't run while I was there. I did walk 3-miles with two laptops one day, but I don't think that counts. I also walked what seemed like a mile at London Heathrow and again at Paris Charles de Gaulle, but still not the same as a running workout.

Note: lots of unfit people at airports!

With 3-weeks until the marathon, Bill planned a final LONG run for us. Bill, Mike, Chaz and me for a 23 miler. I was a bit concerned that my lack of running might really hamper me. Bill and I met at 5 AM at his house. It was still completely dark (night time with stars) and 39 F, 84% humidity. Chaz and Mike were starting an hour later since their faster runners.

I worn a winter hat, three shirts and gloves...and shorts, socks, shoes and water belt.

First 4 miles were in complete darkness. We ran a 9:10/mi pace. The next 6 miles were around a 9:25/mi pace. No specific reason for the slow down. We were talking. I thought it was faster, but we were just strolling alone.

Mile 11 was a 10:26/mi. We stopped for water.

Mile 12 & 13 were back to a 9:15/mi pace

Mile 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 were a 10:00/mi pace. This was all an uphill grade. We stopped for water once. I didn't realize at the time it was so slow. Heart rate was only 141 bpm so I wasn't working too hard. We were talking and not paying attention to the time.

I joked to Bill that we should mock "the wall" and pick up the pace. We both felt good. No wonder with a 10:00/mi! We picked it up. Mile 19 was 8:58/mi

Mile 20 was very hilly and 9:26/mi

Mile 21 was beyond hilly AND included a 40 ft stair climb up a look-out tower. A bit insane with total time of 12:41/mi for 230 FT vertical climb over that one mile. I snapped a picture with my Treo 650 from the top.

Back down the stairs and down a curving road we did mile 22 in 8:05. What a crazy way to finish a long run.

Oh not done yet, mile 23 had another nice big hill but we could taste chocolate milk waiting in the cooler. 9:09/mi pace. It really is a pretty good size hill.

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)	3:40:28	9:33 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s)	3:37:45	9:26 pace
Distance (mi )	23.08
Moving Speed (mph)	6.4 avg.	10.0 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+3,176 / -2,959
Avg. Heart Rate	143 bpm	Zone 3.7
Temperature (°F)	38.8°F avg.	42.8°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)	SSE 2.0 avg.	SSE 4.6 max.

It was a good way to start a Saturday and a good final long run prior to the marathon!

Brilliant 13

59 F, 80% humidity at 6:07 AM Bill, Paul and were down the trail on a 13 mile semi-long run.

We shortened up the long run today after doing a 22.5 miler last weekend. Might seem odd that 13 miles could be a shorter run, but for anyone training for a marathon with a marathon only 4-weeks away, you get the idea.

• Ran an 8:50/mi pace
• Avg 147 bmp heart rate
• Drank 33 oz of water
• 13.1 miles (1/2 marathon)
  
• 1 hour 56 1/2 mins
  

Next run will be from some foreign location.

Lap (#)	Time (m:s)	Distance (mi )	M Spd (mph)	HR (bpm)		Energy (Cal)
				Avg	Max
1	8:56	1.00	7.6	133	145	115
2	8:51	1.00	8.1	143	149	117
3	8:27	1.00	7.8	148	154	119
4	8:24	1.00	7.8	149	154	118
5	8:49	1.00	7.8	148	154	118
6	8:58	1.00	7.8	147	152	117
7	8:47	1.00	9.2	147	160	116
8	8:48	1.00	7.8	146	150	118
9	9:00	1.00	7.6	147	152	117
10	9:08	1.00	7.6	146	154	116
11	8:56	1.00	7.8	150	153	117
12	9:07	1.00	7.4	151	154	117
13	8:45	1.00	8.3	155	157	118
14	1:33	0.18	7.6	154	155	21

No Time

Another hot an sweaty after-work run today. It was humid and upper 80s or maybe 90s. Hot whatever the case.

I remembered my running gear, but forgot my watch...so no time today.

Ran 5 miles. Probably in the 43 min range. I felt strong the whole way, but very sweaty.

After Work Loop

Lap (#)	Time (m:s)	Distance (mi )	M Spd (mph)	Energy (Cal)
1	8:09	1.00	8.3	116
2	7:59	1.00	8.3	120
3	7:51	1.00	9.2	118
4	8:22	1.00	7.8	118
5	8:50	1.00	7.6	119

Upper 80's for an after work run with Bill and Mike. I ran out of steam after 3 miles in the heat. Overall pace was 8:22/mi

Rested!

I didn't run all week. I mountain climbed. I slept in a tent. I cycled around Seattle, but I didn't run.

This morning I took care of the running.

I'd planned a month ago to run a local 20k marathon buildup race today. 20k is 12.44 miles. A nice long way. Just slightly less than a 1/2 marathon.

Bill had suggested a 10 MILE warm up prior to the 20k race. We'd substitute the combined warm up and race as our weekend long run. Seemed like a good idea to me! ha!

We started the 10 miles at 6:19 PM. Completed that in an easy 93 mins. Nice easy run. A little slow, but it felt good. But my legs/body felt pretty tired.

Now we had a 20k race. Paul was waiting with Bill, Mike and my race numbers. We had less then 10 mins before the race started. I ate part of an energy bar. Pinned my number to my shorts. Took off my shirt and walked to the starting line. I had a 30 second rest before it was go time!

First mile 8:11/mi pace. It felt reasonable. I could see Bill and Paul just a bit ahead of me. I thought about catching up, but decided to conserve some energy.

Mile 2 was 8:35/mi up and down a few little hills.

Mile 3 & 4 were 8:55/mi pace. I decided this was the pace I should run the rest of the race at. Just a nice steady pace.

Mile 5 & 6 were 9:30/mi pace. Ok I'll run this pace. It seems about right.

Mile 7 & 8 were 9:55/mi pace. I realized had actually run 17 & 18 miles now. No wonder I was tired. I also needed water really bad, but there wasn't any.

Mile 9 was a 10:26/mi pace. My left calf was cramping slightly. I finally got some water.

Mile 10 was 9:13/mi pace. I'd gotten enough water. I figured I'd just run this pace to the end. Maybe drop to 8:30 for mile 11 & 12. I had visions of passing a bunch of people I could see in the distance ahead of me.

Mile 11 & 12 were 10:17/mi pace as my left calf spasmed on the edge of cramming. Since it was just a muscle I knew continuing wasn't going to damage anything unless I fell on my face. No option of going faster.

I passed 3 people on the final 100 yards just for good measure. I told myself I was finishing 22.4 miles as they were finishing 12.4. So there!

Finished the 20k in 2 hours 30 seconds. It was a very sucky race!

My calf never completely cramped, but both spasmed after finishing for the next 15 mins as I drank some water, ate a banana, drank some root beer and munched a few cookies.

Bill, Mike and Paul ran great races!

I came home, showered and slept for 4 hours.