Days of the Phoenix

Thanks, Matt.  It's been a tough realization for me to accept, but when I finish a 7.5mi run and feel like I just ran 15-20mi, I have to remember that last time I ran 15-20mi, that was only a quarter to a sixth of my weekly total...  And 7.5mi is about a fifth of what I'm doing weekly now.  Hindsight is a bitch, but I probably shouldn't have ever stopped.

The saga continues, but the mystery may be solved:

I might just be slow.  

4mi @ 9:23 pace, HR ave 138.  Again, the numbers point to a 3:30 rather than a 3:00 marathon.  I guess that takes the pressure off, though.  Time to revamp the training plan, set a more gradual build up, and really treat the summer as a prolonged base period... with some ill-advised fun thrown in.

Ah, why do the best times always come at the end of an era?  This weekend was our last in Sacramento/northern California, as we're doing half our moving this week/end.  

Headed out to the east bay on Saturday for a 8mi hike/run in Redwood Regional Park, which turned out to be a beautiful use of two hours.  Aileen vowed she'd never hike with me again somewhere along the mile-long slog out of a canyon, complete with gradients of up to 30%...  Of course, this was one of the miles we were running.  

Sunday brought a 7mi run along Big Break paved trail, during which the goal was to keep the HR @/~ 145, regardless of pace.  After a 2mi warm-up, I was able to pretty easily hone in on that effort level, averaging 143 @ 8:43 pace for the remainder.  Happier about those numbers than the 150s I was seeing last week, but still going to keep the next month or two extremely conservative.

EDIT: Oh, I guess I kind of ignored the whole "best times" thing in this post, huh?  After the run, we headed to Lodi with Aileen's cousin for some wine tasting.  I guess spending 6hrs at the place would say enough, but the highlights included a singing winemaker (the namesake of one of the wineries), a sommelier that Aileen confessed my love for... before I did, and a Deaf employee that stayed out with us well past closing.  Is it really Monday?  Does it have to be?

Sounds like a great weekend, with the requisite bittersweet touch of getting ready to move cross-country. Soak it up!

BTW, don't freak out about your perceived "slowness" quite yet. You're running muscles are out of shape. They'll come back. Just try to be patient.

You're young, Mike and you have a lot going on right now. So you are running a bit slower right now  - whatever, last time I checked, TCM was in October.  Enjoy the heat and humidity of running in DC in the summer (did I just say that? )

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:You're young, Mike and you have a lot going on right now. So you are running a bit slower right now  - whatever, last time I checked, TCM was in October.  Enjoy the heat and humidity of running in DC in the summer (did I just say that? )

and hydrate (Yes, she just said that.    ).

I'm at complete peace with my speed right now.  It makes logical sense; therefore, I accept it.  I'm a lot of fun at parties, trust me.

4mi with Aileen after work today.  She wanted to make sure it would be slow, so I assured her it would.  She then proceeded to push the pace the whole time.  I kept her to a 9:30 average and kept my HR ~130 most the time.  Kind of bonky run, as is the norm during the afternoon, but no complaints.  

Off day (but 10hrs of billed work) tomorrow.

Sometimes, my job has its perks.  Like no shows with a less than 24hr cancellation notice.  Which, in this case, allowed me to get a lot more packing done on Tuesday than I otherwise would have.  And nap.  

Had a bittersweet day yesterday as I finished up my stint at my favorite job location and said goodbye to my favorite clients.  It was the first time that this moving thing has really sunken in.  

Before work (yesterday), ran 5mi with a HR goal of 150 after a mile warm up.  I wish I could tell the metrics here, but my Garmin decided to bonk out after my run and I lost the data.  I do remember seeing paces in the high 7s and low 8s during the 150bpm miles, and I think the average pace was close to 8min.  That felt nice.  I'll have to get around to a baseline Maffetone test one of these days.  

Back in southern California today through Monday, then doing the final move-out on Friday the 30th.  Sunday June 1st is my childhood best friend's wedding... I somehow agreed to give a speech at it.  Shit.

8.3mi run this morning with a HR target of 145bpm.  The course is basically a big W, with the first and last mile-ish having an elevation change of ~200' and the middle bump having a gain/loss of 300'.  Despite the undulations, still averaged 144bpm for the run at a 8:50 average pace.  May gray kept the temps down and sun away, which made for pleasant running.

Nice job and it does sound like pleasant running conditions.

4mi recovery yesterday.  Tough to keep the HR super low with all the hills around, but still stayed in the zone.  Aileen says the reason my heart was going so fast was because I was thinking about Melin (my nickname for her) during the run and how much love I have for her.  Verbatim quote.

7mi easy today.  First half downhill (ave 1.8% gradient), 2nd half back up.  HR 145ish for the first half, 150ish for the 2nd half.  

I think I'll start incorporating some vVo2max workouts in the next couple weeks/June.  30-30s, 60-60s, then 3min-3mins.  Couple weeks each.  Also, still trying to line up a good day for a Maffetone baseline test.  Hopefully in the next week or so.

The sun is finally out.  While I enjoyed the May Gray - and the fine misting it brought on yesterday's run - I can't argue with a spring day, either.  Breezy, mid-70s...  Why am I moving to DC, again?

My dad's half marathon is tomorrow, although at this point, the race itself has become secondary to his journey.  He went from barely trudging through a 3mi solo run to a sub-2hr attempt (which he should easily accomplish), all within 5 months, at age 62 (I think).  I'm proud of him for committing to the program (finally) and doing this.  His race day mentality, however, is hilarious and leaves something to be wanted.  Didn't know where to get his packet, didn't know what time the race started...  Oh boy.  

That said, I'm still gonna surprise him on course at the 10ish mile mark and help pace him to victory.  I guess that's just how I roll as a coach, since I've done it with Aileen, Rachel, and now my dad.  

On my running front, did 4.7mi today around the local lake.  Some of you may remember this lake - it's a super hilly 5k, with some sections around a 6% gradient.  Super popular, super pleasant, and hey, I happened to pass a very cute girl who got in my way and gave me a kiss...  Okay, it was Aileen.  But still, the look on the faces of passersby as we just ran into each other and smooched was pretty funny.  A few seconds too late, I thought of how perfect it would've been to shrug and say, "I don't even know her!"  

Ave HR for the run was 149 with some sections as high as 166 (uphill, slight tailwind, sun in face), but overall the "feel" was easy and smooth.

EDIT:  Gonna try this thing out...  Oh, fun!  

And he's done!  Coming in at a time of 1:57:58 (unofficial), Dan's completed his first half in under 2 hours.  I got to see him out on the course quite a bit (start, mile 3, mile 10-finish), so that was fun.  Personally ran a total of 8.6mi bouncing from place to place.  Good times had by all.

Woohoo! Congrats to your Dad on his first sub-2!

Thanks, Michele.  Yes, thanking you for my dad/taking credit

Maffetone test today following the old 180-Age formula.  My results, I think, were affected by GPS data (running on a track - instead of clicking miles at 4 laps-10m, it was clicking them off at 4 laps-50m or so), but that didn't affect the "trend" of the data, which I was most pleased with.

Date	2mi warm	Mile 1	Mile 2	Mile 3	Mile 4	Mile 5	Weight	Weather	Notes
28-May	18:29 @ 141	8:07 @ 153	8:03 @ 152	8:06 @ 152	8:10 @ 151	x	155	70F(feels like 76F), 30% humidity, steady wind , full sun	track - data may be a little fast

Ugh, let's just ignore that weight column, too, ok?  

Anyway, as you can see, very little drop off in pace, and the last quarter mile of the whole test was a slight uphill, so we're looking at only seconds per mile drop off.  I'm happy with the numbers all around, even if they may be off by 3-4%.

7.1mi total.

Had my last visit to Davis, my old digs, last night.  Ah, nostalgia.  

9mi run this morning - my last in Sac for a long time.  Just kept it nice and easy at LSD pace/HR.  Highlight of the run was seeing a huge group (200?) of cyclists, kids and their parents, cruising down the trail.  One kid gave me a high-five.  

We move out tomorrow.  Time for a million trips to Goodwill to get rid of stuff.  Eep.

Wow, I've been so out of touch with all things 365 that I didn't even realize there was news that you are moving here to DC!  That's great and we look forward to seeing you around. TONS of races and great places to run here.  And, yes, I saw the comments on JFK crewing and I'm in as long as the youth soccer stuff is not a conflict.  I was conflict free in 2013 for it but in past years couldn't go to JFK. But if I'm available in 2014, count me in as a support team runner.  And yes, you should sign on too as well for support team duties.  Its really fun and a great event. 

Figure out when the Army 10 Miler is (sometime in October) and sign up for that. Or is that when your Fall marathon is?  And the biggie that you MUST run is the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in April.  Lots of other smaller races in and around DC but those two 10 milers and of course Marine Corps are the 3 "must dos" on the DC race scene.

Let us know when you are here and Kevin and I will take you on his 20-mile loop which runs from his house down to the Georgetown waterfront and then all through Rock Creek Park to loop back without covering any of the same ground twice.  Its a bear of a run (all the downhill is too early) but great site-seeing and we often head out to get some chow afterwards.

Chris, sounds great man.  I hope I'll be up for 20 by the time I get there - should be, as long as the summer continues to go well.  My fall marathon is October, so I'll have to hold off on that one, but I'll sign up for April's race for sure.  I'll miss MCM this year, but maybe next year I'll get on board in time.

Gratz to your dad!  And the coach, too, I guess.  

Safe travels on the cross country jaunt.  Turn the page.

Leg one of the journey is complete.  After a surprisingly easy move and drive (the former largely due to Aileen's ridiculous work ethic while I took way too many breaks; the latter largely due to the gods being with me and keeping traffic to a bare minimum for a Friday afternoon through LA), we're in southern California.  The birthplace of my marathoning career

To celebrate, I ran a tough 9.5mi today with the middle 4.5mi as a sort of simulated trail race (100% race effort uphill, 75% flat/down) and a 5min wanna-puke interval at the end.  I'm nowhere near as fast as I used to be, but it felt good to let the legs hurt a bit, enter the pain cave, beg for mercy, and survive.  

My buddy's wedding is tomorrow.  I think my speech is decent, now.  We'll see.

Congrats to your dad! I can see where you get your speedy legs. Nicely done.

Enjoy the lack of humidity in SoCal while you can, my friend. You're bound for the swamp.   

I'm sure you'll knock 'em dead at the wedding.

Low humidity?  I think you're thinking of non-coastal southern CA, Mark.  Most of my runs here have been ~50%.  I know, not the sauna of the east coast, but way more than Sac (20-30%).  It's noticeable, for sure.  But yeah, I'm not looking forward to that part of DC.

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Legs were pretty shot yesterday, and with a slight hangover + being stationed in West Hollywood... I wasn't really stoked to go out for 5mi.  Aileen was begging for an Egg McMuffin, too, so I found a McDonald's and ran there/back to get us breakfast.  20min, ~2.3mi, just enough to shake out the legs.  

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and felt the way weddings should.  Speech went well (got the bride to tear up, so I considered it a success) and got a lot of compliments about it after.  

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Finally home and have time to NOT manage a to-do list.  Kind of nice.  Looking forward to catching up on sleep over the next few days.

Also, my brother had his first ultramarathon on Saturday.  He was racing against Anton Kupricka (sp?) and was in a chase group of 5.  They all ended up going off course and tacking on 5mi to a 50k, adding an hour and 20min detour + the additional carnage of the miles/elevation in their legs.  He finished mid-pack, unhappy about it, but after running a 1:20 half, I hope he realizes that this wasn't at all a fair reflection of his abilities.  Gonna have to tell him my Boston experience and make sure he doesn't go down the same road.

I bet Chris shows you some great trails to run on. It really is pretty runner friendly, but I think the summer running weather there is worse than Chicago, which isn't a picnic. The couple of times I was out there a few years back I ran with Chris and KB and the heat and humidity was tough. Be careful if you run with Chris that he doesn't push you down like he did with me  

I'll just have to force them up and out of bed at 4am or something.  Thanks for the warning

5mi recovery yesterday on what felt to be very fresh legs.  Slow, smooth, and pleasant run.

7.7mi today with a goal HR of 150bpm.  First half downhill, second half uphill.  Felt clunky and not at all coordinated, but HR was very low and pace was good, so I guess that's a good thing.  Never quite got the HR to average 150 for any sustained time, but slower is probably better.

Yes, it is.  Looks like you're adding another gear to the transmission.

As far as the humidity, expect slower times for the rest of the summer and a little higher HR for a week or two.  AND squishy shoes.