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.