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.