Weary Week 13

Here's my thirteenth week of training for Houston '11:

77 miles for the week (December 20th to December 26th)


M AM: 5¾ at 8:49 mpm, 66ºF at 4AM
M PM: missed
Tu: 7¾ at 7:25 mpm, 67ºF at 4AM
W AM: 6¾ at 7:34 mpm, 65ºF at 4AM
W PM: missed
Th: 11 at 7:18 mpm, 59ºF at 10AM (day off from work)
F: 15 at 7:10 mpm, 65ºF at 10AM
Sa: 9¾ at 9:03 mpm, 38ºF at 10PM very easy after eating all day
Su: 21 at 7:32 mpm, 48ºF from 2PM

This was not a very good week. I messed up running four days fairly hard in a row, but missing the hard runs I actually need (namely 6x1,000 on Wednesday). My left knee has started bothering me again and I've been hesitant about running fast. This week's schedule calls for a race Saturday, but there are no New Year's Day races down here. The local college kids are talking about a 2-miler on the track Saturday afternoon; I might have to try and run that one with them. I really need to bear down and run a decent LT this week.

Houston Marathon Training Week 12, 6 More Weeks to Go

Here's the twelfth week of training for Houston 2011:

84 miles for the week (December 13th to December 19th)

M: 10 at 8:25 mpm, 53ºF at Noon (day off from work)
Tu: 10 at 8:27 mpm, 68ºF at 11AM (day off from work)
W: 15 at an average of 7:13 mpm, 73ºF at 3:30PM (day off from work)
Th: 6¾ at 8:22 mpm, 67ºF at 4AM
F: 15 at 7:10 mpm, 59ºF at 1PM
Sa: 10 at 8:27 mpm, 48ºF at 9AM
Su: 17¼ at 7:19 mpm, 63ºF from 9PM after Christmas shopping all day

This was another week of deviating from the old Pfitz schedule. The30K race last Sunday is a big stresser and I didn't want to risk pushing too hard too early. I blew off the 600s scheduled for Tuesday and substituted another recovery day. The schedule had an 8 to 15 Km race scheduled for Saturday, but substituted a fairly hard medium long run on Friday. Sunday's long run took some motivation. I'm glad that one's done.

It's race preparation time. I think I need to focus on completing more of the LT and interval runs. I just haven't felt comfortable running faster than MP and running them solo down here even makes seem even more difficult.

Week 11, 30K Race, and Choosing a Goal Marathon Pace

Here's my eleventh week of training for Houston '11:

82¾ miles for the week (December 6th to December 12th)

The eleventh week is the toughest one of the 18-week old Pfitz plan I sort of follow. The plan has 93 miles with a 24 mile long run and another day with 16 miles including 7 miles at LT. But I had a 30K race Sunday, so I deviated quite a bit from the plan.

M: 10 at 8:33 mpm, 54ºF at 3:30PM (day off from work)
Tu: 15 at 7:10 mpm, 60ºF at 1:30PM (day off from work)
W: 12½ at an average of 6:59 mpm with the last few miles at about 6:20 to 6:30, 50ºF at 3:30PM (day off from work)
Th: 5¾ at 8:22 mpm, 39ºF at 4AM, First run under 40ºF this Fall; I had to search hard to find some gloves
F: 12½ at 7:51 mpm, 72ºF at 12:30 windy and humid, planned on an easy day at this pace, but felt awful and had to push hard to stay under 8 mpm
Sa: 7½ at 8:21 mpm, 74ºF at Noon, very windy and humid
Su: 19½ with a 30K race at 6:30 mpm, 43ºF at 7AM with the wind picking up from North 9 to NorthWest 16 with 25 gusts

Sugar Land FLS 30K
I felt good about this race early in the week. The runs Tuesday and Wednesday felt great and 6:20 miles seemed effortless finishing Wednesday's run. I was thinking sub-2 was a very reasonable goal for the 30K and was actually hoping I would be closer to 1:58 with decent weather. But Friday's run was awful and my left knee was giving me strange pains most of Friday and Saturday.

The temperature Sunday morning was near perfect for me. The wind wasn't bad as predicted either (but it did pick up during the race). With the cool temperatures, I thought I had an excellent shot at the last Houston Marathon local invited runner spot. These invited runner spots have great perquisites: a comp'd entry fee, a lunch on Friday, flush toilets with no line before the race, starting on the line with the real elites, warm-up clothing pickup from the starting line, fluids on the course, .... But Houston has a very competitive field of 50 year old runners. SimC, el Tigre, picked up the spot for the 10-miler, RichardP earned his spot in the half marathon, and RichF got a spot in the 25K. When I saw RobW at the starting line, I knew the 30K invited runner would be far below the required qualifying time.

1) 6:30 I felt as though I was breathing way too hard for a 6:30.
2) 6:23 - 12:53 settled into a decent pace, running with HeidyL and KerryL
3) 6:27 - 19:20
4) 6:25 - 25:45 start the first Palm Royale loop, saw RobW was just behind
5) 6:25 - 32:10 got in a good group with RichardP, KerryL, and HeidyL up ahead
6) 6:30 - 38:40
7) 6:26 - 45:06 RobW pulled into the group
8) 6:29 - 51:36 end of the first loop
9) 6:17 - 57:53
10-11) 12:52 - 1:10:45 RichardP pulled away while KerryL and HeidyL dropped back
12)6:31 - 1:17:17 RobW pulled me most of the way into the wind, end of the second loop
13-14)12:59 - 1:30:16 led RobW into the water stop starting the third loop, but left the corner with a big gap behind RobW
15) 6:38 - 1:36:55 heading back into the wind on the third loop
16) 6:46 - 1:43:41 lost contact with RobW in the crowd of second loop runners
17) 6:45 - 1:50:25 caught up to JosephR as we left the third loop
Picture by TuanN

18) 6:39 - 1:57:05 JosephR pulled away from me, but RobW was coming back
30K 4:10 - 2:01:15 RobW was just too far away to try and catch him

RobW picked up the invited runner spot by 15 seconds.



Congratulations Rob!


Rob and I both lived on the 5th Floor of Sid Richardson College at Rice U back in 1978 (before I was bald):

Here's a hint to tell who's who.

Choosing a Marathon Pace
Choosing the right pace to run a marathon isn't easy. If you just go by what feels sustainable on race day, you're doomed to crash around mile 18 or 20. It takes so long to recover from a marathon, you can't just run a time trial a few weeks before the race. So we're stuck with using performance from a shorter race and scaling it to the marathon. There are several different methods to calculate equivalent performances, but the basic approach relies on correlating pace versus distance raced for a standard population.

Here's how the Finish Line Sports 30K has correlated to my time in the Houston Marathon:

30K Race	Equivalent Marathon	Houston Marathon	Comments
1998 2:13:48	(3:12:44)	3:21:12	Upper 60s to low 70s and humid marathon
1999 2:12:01	(3:10:09)	3:29:47	Sunny Marathon day, 58-73ºF, dewpoint 57-61ºF
2000 2:08:54	(3:05:40)	3:56:23	Had the flu; ran a 3:19 at Austin
2001 2:08:55	(3:05:42)	3:15:24
2002 2:03:00	(2:57:10)	2:58:53	Higher mileage marathon training
2003 1:59:28	(2:52:05)	2:55:46
2004 2:00:31	(2:53:36)	2:57:51
2005 1:57:07	(2:48:42)	DNS	Injured one week after the 30K
2006 1:57:57	(2:49:54)	2:54:33
2007 2:04:53	(2:59:53)	2:51:42	71-74ºF and humid during the 30K
2008 missed		2:58:02
2009 2:03:44	(2:58:14)	2:57:37
2010 2:01:15	(2:54:39)	?	We'll see

Weather has an enormous influence on how I race. The early years also show that at lower training volume, I lacked endurance. The extra eight miles of the marathon took more out of me than the 30K would predict. In 2002 I increased my training volume and the marathon times started coming out closer to the 30K equivalents.

So what's my goal if the weather is decent on January 30th?
I always wanted to run under 2:50, but that's not realistic.
2:50:59 would give me Two Hours Plus Age, but that's not going to happen.
2:51:41 would be a PR, but that won't be threatened.
I guess I'll go for a first corral time at Boston. It's a moving target (2:54:37 in 2010, 2:55:10 in 2009, 2:55:20 in 2008, 2:55:56 in 2007,....a 2:55:46 gave me bib number 1834 in 2005) so I'll probably need about 2:54 (6:38 mpm). I might be able to get vacation in April 2012. When the power plant has refueling outages they don't allow vacation. April 2012 will be my first chance at an April vacation day since 2005. Starting just behind the elites at Hopkinton is pretty cool.

Houston Marathon Training Week 10

Here's my tenth week of training for Houston '11:

85¾ miles for the week (November 29th to December 5th)

M AM: 6¼ at 8:27 mpm, 73ºF at 4AM
M PM: missed
Tu: 9½ at 6:57 mpm, 63ºF at 3:45AM
W: 13 at an average of 7:13 mpm with 6x600/200 recoveries, 59ºF at 3:30PM (day off from work)
Th: 10 at 8:39 mpm, 67ºF at 3:30PM (day off from work)
F: 15 at 7:28 mpm, 73ºF at Noon
Sa: 10 at 8:28 mpm, 75ºF at Noon
Su: 22 at 7:20 mpm, started at about 7:40 and worked down to about 6:40 for the last two miles, 57ºF from 2PM

Next Sunday is my big test: the 30K race. Unfortunately, the weather forecast shows Saturday and Sunday as warm and humid.

Houston Marathon Training Week 9

Here's my ninth week of training for Houston '11 (Half-Way):

74¾ miles for the week (November 22nd to 28th)

M AM: 6¾ at 8:37 mpm, 74ºF at 4AM
M PM: missed
Tu AM: 6¾ at 8:03 mpm, 74ºF at 4AM
Tu PM: missed
W AM: 11½ at 7:05 mpm, 73ºF at 3:30AM
W PM: missed
Th: 10 at 8:36 mpm, 79ºF at 1:30PM
F: 14 at 7:23 mpm, 51ºF at 4:30PM
Sa: 7¾ at 8:56 mpm, 53ºF at 5PM
Su: 18 at 7:20 mpm, 70ºF at 3PM

Some nasty warm and humid weather until a cold front blew in Thursday evening. My shoes went completely sweat-soaked Wednesday morning. I hadn't glued the insoles in place in my new Saucony Tangent 4 shoes, thinking I could get away with leaving them alone through the winter. But my shoes were so sweat-soaked Wednesday morning the insoles slipped and rolled up with three to four miles left in the run. They're glued in place now.

This was supposed to be an 85 mile week, with a 15-mile/4-mile double on Wednesday and 16 on Sunday with 12 miles at marathon pace. Even waking earlier than normal on Wednesday, I couldn't finish 15 miles before work. I also blew off the MP run today. I just didn't feel ready for that long at marathon pace on a warm day.

Catching Up

I had to work nights last week at the power plant; six 12-hour nights in a row. The only good thing about working nights is your morning run is in the afternoon sun.

Here are my seventh and eighth weeks of training for Houston '11:

73 miles for the week (November 8th to 14th)

M AM: 5¾ at 8:35 mpm, 53ºF at 4AM
M PM: missed
Tu: 8¾ at 7:03 mpm, 69ºF at 4AM
W AM: 6¾ at 7:19 mpm, 71ºF at 4AM
W PM: 9 mile progression run averaging 7:00 mpm, 69ºF at 7PM
Th: 5¾ at 8:24 mpm, 70ºF at 4AM
F: 12½ at 7:48 mpm, 78ºF at 11AM
Sa: 7½ at 8:58 mpm, 58ºF at noon
Su: 17 with a 25K race at 6:32 mpm, 52ºF from 8:12AM, unfortunately the race started at 7AM
My official time for the 25K is 2:52:33

83¼ miles for the week (November 15th to 21st)

M (1): 7¾ at 8:40 mpm, 63ºF at 3PM
M (2): 3 at 8:47mpm on the treadmill during my "lunch", 11:30PM
Tu: 8¼ at 8:14 mpm, 66ºF at 3PM
W: 11 at 7:22 mpm, 75ºF at 3PM
Th: 10 at 8:12 mpm, 63ºF at 3PM
F: 13 at 6:58 mpm with 6 miles at LT, 65ºF at 4PM
Sa: 8¼ at 8:23 mpm, 75ºF at 1PM
Su: 22 at 7:44 mpm, 78ºF from 2:30PM with the dewpoint in the upper 60s...fortunately it cooled down some during the run

If Ifs and Ands Were Pots and Pans....

There's no point in going into the "would've" and "could've"s from today's HMSA 25K race. My official time was 2:53:33 and I had 1:41:25 on my watch. I worked 12 hours Saturday night/Sunday morning and started the race 72 minutes late.
It's not a great time, but I'm pleased I was able to hold a fairly even pace. I was tempted to quit each time the course came back to downtown, not because I wasn't enjoying the race but because I felt foolish pushing the pace so late in the race. The first 5 miles were 32:29, the next 5 were in 32:23, and the final 5 were 33:04.

Waaa

All of the time I spent at the power plant last weekend ended up worthless, as the problem worsened when the pump was restarted this week. So now I'm scheduled to work from 6 in the evening Saturday to 6:30 Sunday morning. Yes it's this Sunday, the day of the 25K race. After disappointing races in the 10-miler and the half marathon, I was hoping for a decent race with some cooler temperatures.
The weather forecast looks good with the temperature in the low 50s, light rain, and a moderate north-northeast wind.

If I leave the power plant in Matagorda County at 0630 Sunday morning, I'll arrive in downtown Houston over an hour after the 7AM race start. I might be able to leave earlier, but I doubt they will let me go before 5AM, giving me enough time to make it to the starting line before 7AM. If I work the full shift, it will just be a race to beat the crew disassembling the finish line.

If I were smart, I would just drive home and go to sleep Sunday morning.

Missing Week 6

Here's my sixth week of training for Houston '11:

51¼ miles for the week (November 1st to 7th)

M AM: 5¾ at 8:38 mpm, 78ºF at 4AM
M PM: missed
Tu: 4¾ at 7:35 mpm, 78ºF to 66ºF at 4AM cut the run in half due to lightning
W AM: 6¾ at 7:15 mpm, 56ºF at 4AM
W PM: missed...reactor at the power plant tripped
Th: 5¾ at 8:24 mpm, 58ºF at 4AM
F: 6¾ at 7:27 mpm, 11 miles scheduled but this was all I could fit in before a 12-hour work day, 49ºF at 4AM
Sa: missed...worked another 12+ hour day at the power plant
Su: 21½ at 7:32 mpm, 68ºF to 67ºF from 1PM with the dewpoint near 50ºF

Between Tuesday's thunderstorm and working extra hours because of the power plant trip, this week was a real bust. 25K race coming up Sunday.

Week 5 of Houston '11 Training

Here's my fifth week of training for Houston '11:


81¾ miles for the week (October 25th to 31st)

M AM: 4¾ at 8:34 mpm, 77ºF at 4AM
M PM: 5¾ at 8:40 mpm, 80ºF at 8PM
Tu: 9½ at 7:14 mpm, 80ºF at 4AM
W AM: 5¾ at 7:30 mpm, 79ºF at 4AM
W PM: 9 at 7:16, 81ºF at 8PM
Th: 6¼ at 8:30 mpm, 74ºF at 4AM
F: 13 at 7:37 mpm, with 6 miles on the Surfside Intracoastal Bridge, 69ºF to 71ºF from 1PM
Sa: 7¾ with a local 5K race at 6:14 mpm, 50ºF at 8AM
Su: 20 at 7:51 mpm, 10 miles on the Surfside Intracoastal Bridge, 80ºF to 81ºF from 1PM with the dewpoint at 63ºF to 64ºF

There were three or four dolphins swimming in the Intracoastal under the bridge Friday (you might be able to see one jumping...I just had my phone with me):


The Gulf looked nice Sunday:


After running 1,064 miles in the Adidas Tempos, I finally got a new pair of shoes. Here are the Tempos and a brand new pair of Saucony Tangent 4s:

It's hard to believe the Tempos were once white.

The Tangent 4s seem pretty much the same as the Tangent 3s I've used several times. The Tangent 4s weigh 10⅝ ounces for my size 12½ (a little lighter than the Tangent 3s); pretty light compared to 11⅞ for the Tempos. But the Fastwitch still reign with only 8¾ ounces.
The Fastwitch shoes now have 605 miles. The uppers look new, but the soft rubber on the forefoot has taken a beating:

Houston '11 Week 4 and the Houston Half Marathon

I'm a little late, but here's my fourth week of training for Houston '11:


73 miles for the week (October 18th to 24th)

M: 6¼ at 8:36 mpm, 74ºF at 4AM
Tu: 9½ at 6:58 mpm, 72ºF at 4AM
W AM: 6¾ at 7:23 mpm, 70ºF at 4AM
W PM: 8 at an average 6:59 progression run from 7:19 to 6:38, 77ºF at 8PM
Th: 6¼ at 8:32 mpm, 69ºF at 4AM
F: 12½ at 8:22 mpm, 81ºF at 11AM
Sa: 7 at 8:55 mpm, 81ºF at 4PM
Su: 16¾ with a half-marathon at 6:52 mpm, Hobby Airport had 71ºF to 75ºF from 7AM with the dewpoint at 69ºF to 71ºF....It was 78ºF in Clute.

The half marathon was craptastic. I have to admit I partially torpedoed it, running the full scheduled runs on Friday and Saturday. I knew the forecast was warm and humid, so I lost interest in pushing this race. But I wasn't expecting to not even be able to maintain marathon pace. Very disappointing.

Houston'11 Training Week 3

The warm and humid weather returned this week. It wasn't too bad, and I was happy with the LT run Wednesday and Tuesday morning's run even though my shoes were soaked in sweat. But Sunday's long run was a struggle and it wasn't even that bad: 79ºF with the dewpoint in the upper 60s. I was looking forward to a half-marathon next Sunday, but the forecast for the 24th is even worse with the dewpoint near 70 in Houston.


75¼ miles for the week (October 11th to 17th)

M: 6¼ at 8:34 mpm, 78ºF at 4AM
Tu: 9½ at 6:58 mpm, 74ºF at 4AM
W AM: 6¾ at 7:30 mpm, 66ºF at 4AM
W PM: 7 at an average 6:43 with 4atLT (6:28-6:24-6:22-6:14), 75ºF at 8PM
Th: 6¼ at 8:08 mpm, 67ºF at 4AM
F: 13 at 7:19 mpm, 78ºF at 1:30PM
Sa: 8½ at 8:46 mpm, 77ºF at 11AM
Su: 18 at 7:51 mpm, 79ºF at 10:30AM

Houston Marathon Training Week 2 and 10M on 10-10-10

After a long hot summer, marathon training started with two straight weeks of beautiful weather. Monday started off with the first morning low below 60, four days ahead of the median. The cool weather even held on through Sunday's 10-mile race.

69¼ miles for the week (October 4th to 10th)

M: 6¼ at 8:38 mpm, 59ºF at 4AM
Tu: 8¼ at 7:08 mpm, 58ºF at 4AM
W AM: 7¼ at 7:12 mpm, 57ºF at 4AM
W PM: 6 at an average 6:58 mpm progression run from 7:34 to 6:28, 70ºF at 7PM
Th: 6¼ at 8:30 mpm, 59ºF at 4AM
F: 11 at 7:50 mpm, 82ºF at noon
Sa: 7 at 8:43 mpm, 78ºF at 11AM
Su: 17¼ with 10M at 6:27 mpm, 57-59ºF and foggy at 7AM

I had low expectations for the Space City 10-Miler. The race turned out OK. I'm looking forward to a stronger effort for the half marathon in a couple weeks. The new out and back course should be interesting; no more getting lost in the crowd of lapped runners while heading toward the finish.
Splits for the 10-miler:
6:10 felt easy but too fast, I was expecting 6:30s
6:33
6:23
13:05 (6:32)
6:33
6:30
6:31
6:33
6:13

2011 Houston Marathon Training: Week 1 of 18

The 18-week training plan for Houston '11 started just in time with a cold front and another reinforcing cold front over the weekend. My biggest concern this week was not running too fast :)

66 miles for the week (September 27th to October 3rd)

M: 4¾ at 8:41 mpm, 67ºF at 4AM
Tu: 8 at 6:55 mpm, 62ºF at 4AM, running in the cool air felt so nice!
W AM: 7¼ at 7:05 mpm, 66ºF at 4AM
W PM: 5 at 6:42 mpm with the middle 3 at 6:22-6:20-6:13, 80ºF at 7PM
Th: 6¼ at 8:06 mpm, 70ºF at 4AM
F: 9 at 7:17 mpm, 83ºF at 10AM
Sa: 7¾ at 8:27 mpm, 79ºF at 11AM
Su: 18 at 7:32 mpm, 72ºF at 10AM


I usually start each marathon training period with a goal, but I have no idea what to shoot for this year. This has been a difficult Summer for me and I wonder if my old age precludes any chance of seeing a PR again. The Space City 10M race is rapidly approaching on 10/10/10. I was really worried about this one, but the faster pace running with the cooler temperatures this week, I'm a little more hopeful it won't be a complete disaster.

HARRA Cross Country Relay and Our First Cold Front

No, the cold front didn't come in time for the relay, but it did make it all the way to the coast this morning. 66 degrees at 4AM! The first 60 degree day was a little late this year, but at least it's still September. And the cooler weather is just in time for starting the 18-week Houston Marathon training plan.

The HARRA Cross Country relay is always a challenging race, with steep uphills and downhills along the bayou. My team did quite well, 2nd place in the Veterans category, second to another Tornado's team. I guess being placed on the second team isn't bad if you beat all of the other clubs (especially when your time was in the lower half of the second team). Here are a few pictures:










I was dripping so much sweat, the camera wouldn't work after this picture, so I missed getting a picture of my team's third and fourth runners. Here's a picture of the sombrero plaque:



Here are a couple pictures taken by Bert:

"El Tigre" SimC tears it up for the first Veteran's Tornado team (the fast one). Runing in this age group isn't getting any easier.





Me

The End of Summer and the Beginning of Marathon Training

The sun says summer is over, but the weather hasn't agreed yet. But there is hope. A strong cold front is expected to come through late Sunday. From the NWS:
THE AREA IS STILL ON TRACK TO SEE A COLD FRONT MOVE THROUGH THE AREA SOME TIME SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. EXPECT DECREASING RAIN CHANCES BEGINNING LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON UP NORTH...AND THEN AREA WIDE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY MONDAY MORNING. A NORTHERLY FLOW AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT IS ANTICIPATED FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEK...AND THIS PATTERN WILL BRING COOLER TEMPERATURES (ESPECIALLY WITH OVERNIGHT LOWS) TO THE ENTIRE AREA. THE COMBINATION OF A REINFORCING FRONT OR TWO AND THE CIRCULATION AROUND NEWLY FORMED TROPICAL DEPRESSION FIFTEEN (LIKELY SOON TO BE BECOME TROPICAL STORM AND POTENTIALLY HURRICANE MATTHEW) COULD POSSIBLY KEEP A VERY DRY FLOW ACROSS SOUTHEAST
TEXAS THROUGH THE END OF NEXT WEEK AND ON INTO NEXT WEEKEND. HELLO FALL!

It's supposed to be in the 60s Tuesday morning,, even down here along The Gulf!


Just as summer ends, marathon training begins. With the Houston Marathon on 30 January, the 18-week training period begins on Monday the 27th. The cool weather should arrive just in time. I think I'm ready to start some serious training. I've been running over 50 miles per week for about a month now. But it has all been very slow due to the hot and humid weather. I have no idea if I can pull off another fast marathon. I'm worried I will crash during the Space City 10-Miler. 10/10/10 is coming up so fast.

I Am NOT a Morning Person

I am not a morning person. But with a work schedule that requires me to leave the house at 0530 and return home around 1900, I have to run early in the morning. I set alarms on my phone and my watch to help me wake and then to help me know how long I can run and still leave for work on time. The first wake-up alarm is 0345 on the phone. Then my watch alarms at 0348 to really get me out of bed. The watch also has alarms at 0430, warning me I have about 20 minutes left to run, a ten minute warning at 0440, an alarm at 0450 tells me I need to get home, and finally an alarm at 0500 warns me I need to be making my lunch. I have a second back-up alarm on the phone at 0445 to ensure I get out of bed in time to get to work if I miss a run.

I woke up this morning to the 0348 watch alarm and the sound of heavy rain. Assuming I missed the phone alarm, I staggered out of bed and checked the weather radar on the computer. Despite being in the path of nothing but orange and yellow returns, I decided to suck it up and run through the downpour. My street was flooded from curb to curb in some areas, but I splashed along. I ran about two and a half miles when the 0430 watch alarm sounded, so I figured I could push the pace a little and complete 5.75 miles. The rain stopped for a little while and I was close to four miles when the 0440 alarm went off. I was surprised I hadn't seen a single car yet. I guessed I was the only one foolish enough to get out and brave the rain. The rain started up again and I made it home a little after the 0450 alarm. I was pushing the clock on a garbage day, but I was happy to finish a decent run.

I had to hurry to clean out the litter box and get all of the garbage bagged. I dragged the garabage bag out into the torrential downpour and set it on the curb just as the last 0500 watch alarm sounded. I hurried inside to start making my lunch and turned on the TV to check the news. The local station was running a decent world news story...very odd....something's wrong. I flipped the channel over to 2 to check Jennifer's traffic report. But channel 2 had a national news story...uh oh. I looked at the oven...the clock showed a little after 4AM.

I'd figured out a way to shift my watch over to Eastern Time Zone while sleeping and I'd just spent the last hour or so running in the rain at three in the morning. No wonder I didn't see any cars.
S-T-U-P-I-D!

35 Years Ago

Here's a picture from 1975 of the North High School Cross Country team in Riverside, California. Can you tell which one is me?



I'm still struggling through the heat and humidity. After a couple nice days at the end of August, even the 16-day forescast doesn't show anything below 70 through the end of September. At least the 18-week Houston Marathon training starts late this year.

Hope for September

August really was pretty bad. From the National Weather Service:

.CLIMATE...
THE PERSISTENT COMBINATION OF STRONG UPPER RIDGING AND DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE RESULTED IN A RECORD SETTING HOT AND HUMID MONTH ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS. AUGUST 2010 WILL RANK AS THE WARMEST OR SECOND WARMEST MONTH OF ANY MONTH ON RECORD FOR ALL THE MAJOR CLIMATE SITES. WHILE HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE ELEVATED...OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES WERE WELL ABOVE NORMAL DUE TO THE HIGH DEWPOINTS. HEAT INDICES WERE HIGHER THIS MONTH THAN SEEN IN RECENT SUMMERS...WHICH IS WHY THERE WERE SO MANY HEAT ADVISORIES.

ALL-TIME WARMEST MONTHS ON RECORD:

COLLEGE STATION (RECORDS SINCE 1901):
1. AUG 2010/JUL 2009 - 89.1 DEGREES
2. JUL 1998 - 88.6 DEGREES
3. AUG 1951 - 88.5 DEGREES
4. JUL 1996 - 87.9 DEGREES
5. AUG 1962/JUL 1925 - 87.7 DEGREES

HOUSTON (IAH) (RECORDS SINCE 1889):
1. AUG 2010 - 87.9 DEGREES
2. JUL 1980/AUG 1962 - 87.5 DEGREES
3. JUL 2009 - 87.4 DEGREES
4. AUG 1951 - 87.1 DEGREES
5. AUG 1999/AUG 1902 - 86.8 DEGREES

HOUSTON/HOBBY (RECORDS SINCE 1931):
1. AUG 2010 - 87.0 DEGREES
2. JUL 2009 - 86.7 DEGREES
3. JUL 1998 - 86.6 DEGREES
4. AUG 1999 - 86.4 DEGREES
5. AUG 2009/JUN 1998 - 86.2 DEGREES

GALVESTON (RECORDS SINCE 1871):
1. JUL 1875 - 87.4 DEGREES
2. AUG 2010 - 87.3 DEGREES
3. AUG 2005/JUL 1996 - 86.6 DEGREES
4. AUG 2009 - 86.5 DEGREES
5. JUL 1876 - 86.3 DEGREES

WARMEST MAY THROUGH AUGUST PERIODS FOR HOUSTON (SINCE 1889):
1. 2009 - 84.4 DEGREES
2. 1980 - 84.1 DEGREES
3. 2010 - 84.0 DEGREES
4. 1998 - 83.8 DEGREES
5. 1962 - 83.7 DEGREES

NUMBER OF DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES TIED OR BROKEN THIS MONTH:
COLLEGE STATION - 10 (HIGHEST - 81 DEGREES ON THE 11TH)
HOUSTON/IAH - 4 (HIGHEST - 83 DEGREES ON THE 12TH AND 18TH)
HOUSTON/HOBBY - 11 (HIGHEST - 81 DEGREES ON THE 18TH)
GALVESTON - 7 (HIGHEST - 85 DEGREES ON THE 30TH)

ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES TIED:
HOUSTON/IAH - 83 DEGREES ON THE 12TH AND 18TH (LAST SET JUL 30 2009)
GALVESTON - 85 DEGREES ON THE 30TH (LAST SET JUL 20 2005)

HEAT INDEX IN HOUSTON:
DAYS WITH HEAT INDEX 105 DEGREES OR HIGHER - 20 DAYS
DAYS WITH HEAT INDEX 108 DEGREES OR HIGHER - 8 DAYS
MAXIMUM HEAT INDEX - 114 DEGREES ON THE 14TH (HIGHEST SINCE AT LEAST 2000)

I hope September is better.

Hallelujah!

From the National Weather Service discussion for Houston/Galveston:

DISCUSSION...
AT LONG LAST...THE NEVER ENDING HEAT ADVISORY SAGA IS COMING TO AN END! CONSIDERABLY DRIER AIR WILL WORK INTO THE NORTHERN HALF OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS OVERNIGHT AND FILTER INTO THE REMAINDER OF THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY. SFC DEW PTS WILL FALL INTO THE LOWER 60S OVER MUCH OF THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL KEEP HEAT INDEX VALUES CLOSE TO THE AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE. THE HEAT ADVISORY WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 00Z.

הַלְּלוּיָהּ

Of course it's still plenty warm in the power plant.

I Registered for the 2011 Houston Marathon

Well, I'm going to try again. I registered for my 14th Houston Marathon. I can't really say my last two marathons have been disappointing, both were better than any of my Fall warm-up races, but I haven't been happy with my performance. I know the aging process is against me, and I don't have much of chance to run faster now than what I ran in my 40s. But I still haven't given up trying.
The marathon is later this time, very near the end of January, so the 18-week training period starts September 27th. I think that will help my training. It also moves the Sugar Land 30K back to Week 11, so there should be more time to recover from the 30K and peak for the marathon. I wish Houston had more races around New Year's day. The Space City 10-Miler is also going to be difficult, coming up at the end of the second week of marathon training.

I spent last week in Chicago, attending an industry meeting with nukes from across the country and Canada who also are responsible for their plant's cooling water systems. I really enjoyed Chicago; it's now on my list of interesting cities worth visiting. Running each morning along the lakefront was a wonderful break from the South Texas summer. On Monday morning, I even got to run with the temperature in the 60s!

The run-bike trail along the lakefront was one of the busiest places I've ever run..up there with the Charles River in Boston and Houston's Memorial Park. Nobody would say hello to me though.
I ran a 5K Thursday evening at Soldier Field. The race was enormous for a 5K: over 2,400 people. I didn't run well, not even breaking 19. But the field was surprisingly very weak and I ended up placing in my age group.

I ran across this great video of elite runners at the Boston Marathon (from G.I.M. from Joe). It clearly shows the differences in foot-strikes. When I started running in high school, I tended to overstride and heel strike. I'm not really sure what my form is now, but I have noticed my stride is shorter and I think I'm more of a 'neutral' runner.

Just a Cruel Tease

I went to Vermont last weekend and was able to run in some nice cool temperatures. But my trip was shortened and I wasn't able to run much. I did run a very disappointing 19:02 at a little 5K Saturday evening. It was a relatively flat course (for Vermont) and I really should have run much faster. The temperature was a nice cool 63*F with a few light sprinkles. My fingers even felt cold while running!

I was able to squeeze in a run Sunday evening on some mountain bike trails in Colchester Vermont.



Monday morning I ran a few miles to Burlington and got to see Ethan Allen's gravesite.




My original schedule had me watching one of my pumps from the power plant get reassembled Monday and Tuesday and flying back Wednesday. But the pump was finished early on Monday and with Alex we decided our time in Vermont was over. I missed my Tuesday run, spending much of the day changing my flight to get back home. I didn't get home until early Wednesday morning and by Wednesday evening the storms from Hurricane Alex had rolled into the area, so I blew off another run.

The wonderful cool Vermont weather ended up just being a much too short tease. I'm back in the South Texas tropical sauna, getting doubly soaked with the warm rain from the remnants of Hurricane Alex. I'd hoped the Vermont trip would lift my spirits and help motivate me through the rest of the summer. But I feel as unmotivated as ever now.

I Hate Summer

I hate Summer....and Summer hasn't even started. I enjoy running, but running in this oppressive heat and humidity challenges any sense of enjoyment. Every run, no matter how slow or how early in the day, seems to be a struggle with heat exhaustion. I've only suffered dehydration and heat exhaustion (I landed in the hospital after a long run on a very warm and humid December day), and consider myself very fortunate to have avoided the heat stroke reported here. Very scary!

I have been able to manage some decent, albeit slow, mileage:
52.75 miles the week of June 7th to 13th
M: 7 at 8:24 mpm, 86*F at 1PM
Tu: 7 at 7:21 mpm, 85*F at 3PM
W: 6 at 7:46 mpm, 89*F at 3:30PM
Th: 7 at 8:23 mpm, 88*F at 3PM
F: 7 at 7:39 mpm, 87*F at 5PM
Sa: 7 3/4 at 8:40 mpm, 88*F at 10AM
Su: 11 at 8:31 mpm, 89*F at Noon with the dewpoint at 80
I worked nights all week, so most of the runs were at 3PM before going to work.

49.25 miles the week of May 31st to June 6th
M: 7 3/4 at 8:34 mpm, 86*F at 10AM
Tu: 4 3/4 at 6:57 mpm, 79*F at 4AM
W: 4 3/4 at 7:37 mpm, 81*F at 4AM
Th: 5 3/4 at 7:46 mpm, 71*F at 4AM with light rain after some heavier storms
F: 7 3/4 at 8:31 mpm, 84*F at 10AM
Sa: 7 1/2 with The Heights 5K race at 5:59 mpm, 77*F at 7:30AM up in Houston
Su: 11 at 8:24 mpm, 86*F at 9AM with the dewpoint in the fog-your-glasses upper 70s

48.5 miles the week of May 24th to May 30th
M: 4 3/4 at 8:53 mpm, 80*F at 4AM
Tu: 5 3/4 at 7:16 mpm, 79*F at 4AM
W: 5 1/2 at 6:46 mpm with the middle 3M a little quicker (6:39, 6:37, and 6:27), 85*F at 7PM
Th: 5 3/4 at 8:31 mpm, 74*F at 4AM
F: 9 at 7:18 mpm, 88*F at 10AM but the dewpoint was near 70
Sa: 7 3/4 at 8:30 mpm, 89*F at 11AM
Su: 10 at 8:27 mpm, 86*F at 11AM but the dewpoint was way up in the upper 70s

I'm now up to 14 days of running since I've run in temperatures less than 80*F.

Heights 5K

I ran The Heights 5K Saturday. It's a simple down and back on Heights Boulevard, 18th Street to 5th Street and back to 18th Street. The 13 blocks going down the street go fast, but the same 13 blocks coming back up the other side seem to take forever. I ended up with a 5:53 first mile, a 6:01 second mile, 6:09 third mile and the last bit in 33 seconds to average just under 6:00 per mile. Dale Lee passed me just after the turnaround (he's been a great competitor this past year) and Angrunner pulled me in to finish. It was warm and humid (Hobby Airport recorded 77°F with a 74°F dewpoint) so I was happy with my time.




Here's my nephew hitting a home run in a NCAA Regional Playoff game:


He's been hitting the ball hard lately.

Now That's an Ultra

7,100 miles in nine days?

New York Times story about migrating birds

New Shoes: Adidas Tempo

I bought a new pair of Adidas Tempo shoes. I don't know much about them, but they're relatively light stability training shoes and they were only $50.


Here's the lineup, left to right:
Saucony Fastwitch, 427 miles, 9 ounces;
Adidas Tempo, 16 miles, 11¼ ounces;
Saucony Tangent, 1087 miles, 11⅜ ounces


The Tangents will go back into retirement. I brought them out to help save the Fastwitches for fast runs and races. They were good for another 200 miles, but lately my lower legs have been telling me those shoes are about shot.

Bayou Bash Relay

It was a last minute team, but we won the 50-59 division of the 4x1.92M Bayou Bash Relay. I think I ran pretty hard. My throat was burning after my leg. I checked the ozone and it wasn't too bad: 42 ppb, just high in the good range.




Team Pictures by Hardeep Thind.

Sim out on the beer-bike track running the first leg

KeithW running the stadium concourse

and the finish

Running down this ramp to the football field was tough on my old legs


The race was at Rice Stadium, so I had to take a quick tour of the campus. I can't believe it's been over 29 years since I left Rice.

My desk was in the top-center window box in 1980-81

LP Run

I was sent home Wednesday afternoon to get some sleep before having to get back to the power plant sometime early Thursday morning after the plant was heated up to full temperature and pressure. So that gave me the perfect opportunity to drive to Houston and race the LP Run! With it's Wednesday evening start time and working way out in Matagorda County, I've only been able to make the LP Run twice before. It's a timed race, 33⅓ minutes (hence the LP) on the track. I managed to end up with 5.419 miles. Not great, but it's consistent with my times from the Bellaire 5K and the Law Week 8K. Heatup at the power plant was delayed a little and I didn't have to go into work until 0530. And this week I go back to working a 4x10 schedule, so I'll be able to run longer on Fridays.

We got our first taste of high humidity Friday and Saturday. I was pleased to be able to run 10+ late Saturday morning under 7:20 pace. We had a nice cool front come through Sunday morning and I was able to get in a very pleasent 15-miler. I couldn't help but stop and eat a few blackberries:


How about Chris Solinsky?
**Chris Solinksy American Record FInish Video** | 2010 Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational on Flotrack






Sub-27! And he's 6'1" and carrying 165 pounds (of course that's still not that close to this big nuke). Let's hear it for a BIG Guy!

The entire race.

Boston Twice as Fast

Boston proved to be another excellent marathon. And I missed it again. We are refueling Unit 2 at the power plant, so no vacation is allowed. Unit 1 has a refueling outage next April. I might be able to get vacation in April 2012.
Enough of my whining. Boston was very special again this year with Robert "the younger" blowing away the course record, Meb valiantly fighting with the best despite an injury plagued training period, and a Houston Marathon winner taking the woman's race.

You're not seeing double. These twins finished in 2:28:35. Their splits were identical except at the 15K and the half marathon point, where they were one second apart. Here's their story in their own words first one and then the other.


Pictures from Jim Rhoades.
First photo at Mile 20 by Ted Tyler from Coolrunning
Second photo at 30K by Frank Georges from Coolrunning

I ran the Brazosport College Gator Gallop Saturday. I can't say the race was very well run, either by the organizers or myself.

I did get to take some pictures of a three-toed box turtle:




Fountain at the College:


The running trail:


South Texas view from the trail:



The Jim Rhoades pictures give me a chance to run Boston vicariously rom the warm and humid Gulf Coast. Here are a few of my favorites:








Ryan Hall didn't live up to expectations, but he did beat Bob Kempainen's record for the fastest American time on the Boston course. It seems as though he's airborne in each picture.





Houston's Heidy Lozano had a seeded number and took 2nd place in the 45-49 division with a 2:59:01 after a 1:25:43 first half




Mile 20 photos by Ted Tyler from Coolrunning
30K photos by Frank Georges from Coolrunning