Funkadelic Happening

Sounds like good preparation, and a good plan.

Ready to release the kraken?

Can't wait to hear the results of all your hard work this summer...

Go Doug Go!

Mark B wrote:Sounds like good preparation, and a good plan.

Ready to release the kraken?

Me no comprende 'kraken', paleface.

nkrichards wrote:Can't wait to hear the results of all your hard work this summer...

Go Doug Go!

Thanks, Nancy.  I really appreciate it.

New PR.  2:22:45, 10:57 pace, average HR 171 (85%), avg cadence 171 (171? hadn't I been going at 165 or so?  Yes, you had), avg stride length 0.86 m (86 sl?  Isn't 81 about your best SL?  Yes, it was.), 1st half pace 10:50, 2nd half pace 11:04.  58/58 degrees at the start, but running in the daylight at 171 bpm produced a sweat pattern equivalent to 75/75 degrees in the dark.  When I first wrung out my sweatband, a woman told me that she thought I dropped a water container, until she saw the sweatband.

Previous best was 2:40:something in 2004.

I had the gnome on, but so low that i could hear it, but I was more interested in keeping the pace.  I'll post the splits later, but my first 7 splits were all sub 11 minute, and 10 of my splits were 11:01 or less.  First split was 10:32.  I was like, "wtf?  Is this going to come back to haunt me?"

My thanks to Reina for her encouragement, Michele for the stellar race strategy plus the mantra of "Uncomfortably Numb" going through my head, and Nancy for reminding me that all that endurance training during the summer should pay off today.

Now, I have to eat, bathe and drive to Warda.

Way to go! Congrats on the PR and a great race!!

Woohoo!!!!!  I'm glad that you sir are now "comfortably numb".  Revel in a great race!

Tom H wrote:Way to go!  Congrats on the PR and a great race!!

Thanks, Tom.  It sure seems like a great race.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Woohoo!!!!!  I'm glad that you sir are now "comfortably numb".  Revel in a great race!

I really don't know how I was doing a 171.  I guess maintaining the pace as long as possible trumped a whole lot of things.  You put the bug in my mind, 1L.  Thanks.  Sadly, though, the pace I needed for the race in January was what I ran, today.  Not worrying about that right now.

How were you doing a 171? Easy. You were racing.

And you raced very well, sir. Nicely done!

Mark B wrote:How were you doing a 171? Easy. You were racing.

And you raced very well, sir. Nicely done!  

Thanks, O Master of the Naked Feet.  Thanks.  I guess racing was how I did it.  There were many times when I could hear the gnome and I was off cadence, but I was concentrating on the splits and really holding it.

Nice job Doug!  We knew you could do it...we were just wondering when you would realize that you could do it.

You've got time and you're in a great position to be ready for January!

Mark B wrote:How were you doing a 171? Easy. You were racing.

And you raced very well, sir. Nicely done!  

Exactly!  I think I mentioned before that when I race I can get close to 190

That is great!!

nkrichards wrote:Nice job Doug!  We knew you could do it...we were just wondering when you would realize that you could do it.  

You've got time and you're in a great position to be ready for January!

Thanks, Nancy.  I checked McMillan (I know it's not completely reliable) with the Half time and it said a marathon of 5:00:32 is the equivalent, which was much faster than I thought 2:22:48 would be.  My point is maybe 5 hours isn't such a far flung idea, after all.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:

Mark B wrote:How were you doing a 171? Easy. You were racing.

And you raced very well, sir. Nicely done!  

Exactly!  I think I mentioned before that when I race I can get close to 190

1L, do you think that cadence is similar to HR, in that we do LSD's at/around 70-75% HR but a race at 80-85%, so is it with cadence that I do 165 in training and 171 in a race...you at 180 and race around 190?

Jim Lentz wrote:That is great!!

Thanks, Jim.  I was sure comfortably numb.

-30-

Driving up to Warda to walk the Wild Hare 50 course of 7.8 miles after a Half was an interesting challenge.  Warda is 100 miles from Houston and is about halfway to Austin.  Reina is doing the full 50, next month, and I was to do reconnaisance on the course.  It was about 85 degrees, Sunday afternoon.  I'm just very glad not to have done this on Saturday, before the Half, because I would've spent some of the energy used to PR.  This course is regularly used by mountain bikers and I can see where they get their kicks by riding it.

There are no mountains in this area, just rollers (as I hear people in California call gentle ups and downs).  This course is nothing like the American River 50 in California and doesn't have a 4,000 feet climb in the last 4 or so miles.  The tallest hill on this course is going downhill.  And for this Gulf Coast boy, it was the kind of downhill where you want a flattened box and a shove to really have some fun.

The most interesting part of the afternoon was when I was on the same side of the fence as about 25 genuine Texas Longhorns...the 4 legged kind.  As a matter of fact, one was standing right on the trail.    Cows will move very easily by just walking towards them (except maybe a bull), but the addition of long horns to a spookable animal is a different horse altogether.  I took a couple of steps towards her, and she dropped her head and all I could see are the points on those horns.  So, I went around her.  The second and final encounter was with two more.  I didn't bother trying to get to know them and I just went around them.  I'm told the cattle will be in another pasture on race day.

There were numerous switchbacks and was more shaded than not. 

I've registered for the 50K, so I can be out on the course prior to when the pacers can be out there at 2 p.m.  I probably won't try to finish a 50K.  I can't say that it will be a 'fun' day on race day, but I will do all I can to get Reina her first 50.

Way to go, cowpoke!



Just don't, you know, poke the cow. Especially if it's a bull.

For realz, it's very cool that you're scouting out the ultra course for Reina. Hope you took photos and/or video to give her a sense of the terrain (if not the flora and fauna). And it'll help you, too, of course. Both as a pacer and... who knows... a future 50K finisher? You'll be there anyway, after all....

Nicely done, sir!

And whether that McMillan number is correct or not, keep in mind you've got an entire training cycle to get tuned up and even if you're in 5:05 or 5:10 shape now, good weather, a solid training cycle and race day magic can do amazing things.

Mark B wrote:Way to go, cowpoke!



Just don't, you know, poke the cow. Especially if it's a bull.  

For realz, it's very cool that you're scouting out the ultra course for Reina. Hope you took photos and/or video to give her a sense of the terrain (if not the flora and fauna). And it'll help you, too, of course. Both as a pacer and... who knows... a future 50K finisher?  You'll be there anyway, after all....  

I'm getting better at checking out the differences. 

Well, I didn't take any photos or videos, but I sent her the link to a YouTube video for a bike race at this ranch.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWYmP9j9jS4  Please note the course in the upper right hand corner, when you get a dark background.

Yeah, I've thought about doing the 50K, but after walking the course and knowing that I'll need to mind after Reina, post-race, I very much doubt that I'll do the 50K.

mul21 wrote:Nicely done, sir!

And whether that McMillan number is correct or not, keep in mind you've got an entire training cycle to get tuned up and even if you're in 5:05 or 5:10 shape now, good weather, a solid training cycle and race day magic can do amazing things.

Jim, Jim, Jim.  Thanks for stopping by with your pearls of wisdom.

Here are the stats from the race.  It was 58 degrees and 58 degrees dewpoint, with the oncoming southeastern breeze and dewpoints rising as the temperature rises and a clear, blue sky.  I believe the last time I ran in the daylight was back in February for a 10K.  

This race starts in downtown.

13.1 miles, 2:22:48 (official), 10:54 pace (official), 171 avg bpm (86% of max), 185 max HR during mile 12, 171 avg cadence, 0.86 m avg stride length, 1st half pace 10:50, 2nd half pace 10:58.
1.  10:32, 162 bpm, 173 spm, 88 sl
2.  11:01, 164 bpm, 170 spm, 86 sl
3.  10:41, 167 bpm, 171 spm, 88 sl
4.  10:55, 171 bpm, 172 spm, 86 sl
5.  10:58, 171 bpm, 173 spm, 85 sl
6.  10:59, 172 bpm, 173 spm, 85 sl
7.  10:52, 170 bpm, 173 spm, 86 sl
8.  11:30, 169 bpm, 171 spm, 82 sl
9.  10:47, 173 bpm, 172 spm, 87 sl
10. 11:01, 173 bpm, 168 spm, 87 sl
11. 11:15, 173 bpm, 169 spm, 84 sl
12. 10:44, 177 bpm, 171 bpm, 88 sl
13. 11:07, 176 bpm, 169 bpm, 86 sl

I'm rather pleased that my HR stayed in that 171 zone for so much of the race,  even though that's a bunch higher than I'm used to seeing.  Of course, I've never raced a half before.  Comfortably numb ruled the day.  I knuckled down and concentrated.  I saw the 10:50 split and started running the numbers on doing a sub-11.  That helped the day, too, by thinking go, go, GO!  Plus that 11:30 mile 8 split also sort of motivated me to not let it happen again, even through the roughest part of the course of miles 10-12.

My thoughts of a 5 hour marathon have been resurrected.  More than just a hope or a stretch goal.  A real possibility.

I went lift weights, this morning.  Mostly upper body, but threw in some core work on the lower stomach muscles, a soft piece of foam to do ankle strengthening/balance positioning, and work the phase muscles in the back.  I also warmed up with rowing.

I believe I'll be ready to continue training, tomorrow.  I'll start out slow to test the muscles to see if there is any residual pain or if it's just trash in the muscles.  Looking forward to getting back out there.  A cool front is supposed to pass through tomorrow morning with a 30% chance of rain.  This morning it was 74 degrees with a dewpoint of 69.  SO very glad it wasn't this way on Sunday.

Hopefully the run went well this morning.  I'm glad that you realized you could push yourself and yes, the reward is tired, sore legs, but boy do they let you know you are alive!  Once again, well done.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Hopefully the run went well this morning.  I'm glad that you realized you could push yourself and yes, the reward is tired, sore legs, but boy do they let you know you are alive!  Once again, well done.

Trash in the legs in spades, but it's always a beneficial run, even if it's not speedy.  Thanks again, Michele.  As far as pushing myself, I didn't have anything to lose other than just slowing down later in the race.  But I was shocked at the first split of 10:32, really shocked.  I just don't do those types of time on a mid-distance race.  I guess I do, now.

Now, I think I can do Michele's 10 mile exercise where two miles are MP-30 to 45 seconds, 1 rest, 2 MP-30, etc.

Separately, this is the extract from last year's 30K race.  I'd like to know if the objectives for this year's 30K are the same, albeit faster?  I PR'd last year's 30K by 26 minutes off a 2004 time, so I won't PR as much in December.

Mile 1 - Start out slow.
Mile 2 - Quicken the pace juuuuust a bit.
Mile 3 through mile 14 - Don't get stupid.
Mile 14 to end - If you feel good, increase to a pace you can sustain to the end.
Overall - Don't injure or re-injure anything

Ain't that something. Based on my understanding of all the recommendations, it seems I ran the table on this 30K race. But y'all can analyze and let me know if I'm off base on something, please.

18.76 miles, 3:43:22, 11:54 pace, 154 avg bpm, 180 max bpm during the last 3/4ths of a mile. 1st half pace 12:16, 2nd half pace 11:32.

1. 13:18, 132 bpm
   
2. 12:33, 140 bpm
   
3. 12:08, 147 bpm
   
4. 11:54, 153 bpm
   
5. 12:00, 151 bpm 40 second pee break
   
6. 11:54, 153 bpm
   
7. 12:00, 151 bpm
   
8. 11:54, 153 bpm
   
9. 12:07, 150 bpm
   
10. 11:40, 154 bpm
    
11. 11:53, 155 bpm
    
12. 11:58, 155 bpm
    
13. 12:11, 155 bpm
    
14. 11:48, 158 bpm
    
15. 11:42, 160 bpm
    
16. 11:46, 162 bpm
    
17. 11:10, 167 bpm
    
18. 11:02, 170 bpm
    
19. 10:20 pace, 175 bpm
    

Thanks.

VERY good data, Ounce, and a solid plan. If you can maintain in the 171-HR range and not start building lactate, that's fabulous. You probably want to keep it from going higher, though, because once you cross that lactate threshold, you're cooked.

Thanks, Mark.  I would imagine that I couldn't maintain 171 bpm (or cadence) for a marathon.  I think I was starting to falter at mile 10 (lower cadence), but would you think that I was hitting the threshold?  I could've ran another mile or two, that morning.

We have to see if we can speed up those pee breaks

Jim Lentz wrote:We have to see if we can speed up those pee breaks

lol.  I didn't have any during the Half.  I guess I was sweating so much, nothing remained.

ounce wrote:Thanks, Mark.  I would imagine that I couldn't maintain 171 bpm (or cadence) for a marathon.  I think I was starting to falter at mile 10 (lower cadence), but would you think that I was hitting the threshold?  I could've ran another mile or two, that morning.

Actually, I imagine you could keep up the higher cadence in a race, though you may fall off in the last couple of miles.

Based on how you said it felt out there, I'd say you may have been very close to your lactate threshold. If you hadn't pushed the envelope, you would have finished the race feeling like you could have done it all over again. Which for a marathon, is what you would be doing.

That might suggest targeting a slightly lower heart rate in the race, if that's what you're planning to use as a pacing tool, but there's also something to be said for living on the edge -- and the fact that your half marathon had a terrific training effect on your body, so you'll be fitter come the big day than you were when you did the half.

All in all, signs of very good progress. Attaboy!