Catching Up: Weeks 9, 10, and 11

I've been busy with the power plant finishing its refueling outage and then the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm also still somewhat discouraged with my training.

73¼ miles for Week 9 (November 9th to 15th)

M AM - 6¾ miles recovery run at 8:37 pace, 70°F at 4AM
M PM - missed
Tu AM - 6¾ miles recovery run at 8:32 pace, 64°F at 4AM
Tu PM - 4 miles on the treadmill at the power plant, 8:08 pace
W AM - 11 miles general aerobic at 7:15 pace, 62°F at 4AM
W PM - 7 miles on the track, average pace 6:46, 69°F at 7PM, plus another 1¼ miles to pick up my wife's van
Th AM - 6¾ miles recovery run at 8:23 pace, 59°F at 4AM
Th PM - missed
F - 13 miles medium long run at 7:16 pace, 71 to 74°F starting at 9AM (home waiting for the power plant to heat up)
Sa - 7½ miles easy at 8:11 pace, 79°F at 9AM with a Gulf breeze
Su - 9 miles at an average 7:21 pace, 78°F from 4PM after working all day at the power plant; came home too late for a long run



73¾ miles for Week 10 (November 16th to 22nd)

M AM - 4¾ miles recovery run at 8:16 pace, 75°F at 4AM
M PM - missed
Tu - 7¾ miles general aerobic at 7:09 pace, 46°F at 4AM first 40s of the season!
W AM - 7¼ miles hard general aerobic at 6:54 pace, 47°F at 4AM
W PM - 6 miles on the track, 6x600 with 200 recoveries, sped up on each 600, from 2:10 to 2:04, average pace 6:59, 65°F at 7PM
Th AM - 4 miles recovery run at 8:01 pace, 64°F at 4AM (woke up late)
Th PM - missed
F - 13 miles medium long run at 7:23 pace, rain all day with deep puddles, 66°F starting at 4:30PM
Sa - 9 miles easy at 8:44 pace, overcast 58°F at Noon
Su - 22 miles at an average 7:21 pace, 57 to 62°F from 9AM

Running in the cool 40s on Tuesday and Wednesday morning felt wonderful.


75 miles for Week 11 (November 23rd to 29th)

M - 10 miles recovery run at 8:54 pace, 71°F at 10AM (vacation day)
Tu - 10 miles recovery run at 8:30 pace, 66°F at 11AM (vacation day)
W - 11 miles medium long run at 7:17 pace, 64°F from 4:20PM, started too late to finish scheduled 15-miler (vacation day)
Th - 10 miles recovery run at 8:32 pace, 58°F from 10AM (Thanksgiving Day)
F AM - missed a 12-miler with 7 miles at LT; just felt bad
F PM - missed 4 mile recovery run, busy with family
Sa - 10 miles easy at 8:22 pace, 71°F at Noon with a Gulf breeze picking up
Su - 24 miles at an average 7:37 pace, 76 to 75°F with the dewpoint in the upper 60s°F starting at 10:45AM


There were some decent long runs, but I was disappointed I didn't even attempt the hard LT run on Friday. I don't know whether it was from Thanksgiving dinner or just apprehension about a long, difficult run, but I felt horrible that morning. At least there's another two weeks before the Sugar Land 30K.



We're getting pretty close to race time:

Week 8: New Shoes But Same Old Racing Rut

My new Nike Air Zoom Elite-4s arrived Friday. Here they are with my Mizuno Elixirs (916 miles) and Saucony Tangents (894 miles).





81¾ miles for Week 8 (November 2nd to 8th)

M AM - 6¾ miles recovery run at 8:50 pace, 55°F at 4AM
M PM - 4 miles on the treadmill at the power plant, 8:23 pace
Tu - 7¾ miles general aerobic at 7:15 pace, 57°F at 4AM
W AM - 10 miles general aerobic at 7:12 pace, 57°F at 4AM
W PM - 6 miles on the track, average pace 6:34, 66°F at 7PM, these miles felt so much better with the cooler temperatures
Th AM - 6¾ miles recovery run at 8:18 pace, 59°F at 4AM
Th PM - missed
F - 8¾ miles easy general aerobic at 7:37 pace, 58°F at 4AM
F - 4 miles on the treadmill at the power plant, 8:11 pace
Sa - 7½ miles easy at 8:42 pace, 78°F at Noon with a Gulf breeze picking up
Su - 20¼ miles with a 25K race at an average 6:55 pace, Hobby Airport had 70 to 71°F with the dewpoint 66 to 67°F (YUCK) at least it stayed overcast

The weather was beautiful this week, EXCEPT for Sunday's 25K race. Even considering the warm weather, I wasn't happy with my performance. I was encouraged by this week's training and thought I had a good shot at a decent 25K. At least there's another four weeks before the Sugar Land 30K.

These first three races don't project any glimmer of a new marathon PR:

Marathon Equivalent Performance
10M: 3:09:51
Half marathon: 3:08:03
25K: 3:08:08

Karen Thibodeaux has some good pictures, I like the ones rounding the corner leaving downtown. Stupid water-saving washing machines!

Week 7: Inspiration!

I watched Meb tear up Central Park Sunday morning and then I got the chance to run my first 22-mile long run under a beautiful deep blue sky in nice cool, dry air. You'd have to be dead to not be inspired.

75¾ miles for Week 7 (October 26th to November 1st)

M AM - 5¾ miles recovery run at 8:45 pace, 78°F at 4AM
M PM - missed
Tu - 7¾ miles general aerobic at 7:25 pace, 56°F at 4AM but not feeling very good (blew off a planned tempo run)
W AM - 10 miles general aerobic at 7:24 pace, 70°F at 4AM
W PM - 6 miles on the track, average pace 7:24, 80°F and very humid at 7PM, added another 1¼ miles to pick up a car
Th AM - 4 miles recovery run at 8:44 pace, 81°F at 4AM, just before I went out to run I heard a noise in the garage and found the hose to the washing machine spraying water into a flooded garage
Th PM - missed (replaced the washing machine hoses and valves)
F - 10 miles general aerobic at 7:27 pace, heavy rain and deep puddles, but a nice cool 57°F at 4AM
Sa - 9 miles easy at 7:38 pace, 69°F at Noon, very nice and sunny!
Su - 22 miles averaging 7:38 pace, very nice and sunny, 71 to 72°F from 11:30AM with the dewpoint in hte upper 40s!


I'm hoping this inspiration and nice weather will carry over to Sunday's 25K race.
I still need a new pair of shoes.