Broke 4 hours - what's next?

10.2 mile trail run this morning. You know how some days everything just clicks and it feels sooooo nice and easy? Today was one of those days. Pace was in the low 9's and it just felt great...gotta love days like that.

Nice run, Tim! There is nothing quite like the feeling when everything falls in place.

Sweeeet Tim, I love it when that happens!  Looks like you are hitting the right milestones at the right time in this training cycle.  Says good things about race day potential.  Keep it up!!

12.2 today, 9:21 pace. 130 average HR and 169 cadence. Slightly fatigued from 10 in the hills yesterday but overall smooth and easy.

I have 1 more 20 next week then taper to race day, 4 weeks from today. No aches or pains at all, which is nice...

I'm sure hoping our ridiculously warm weather turns pretty soon. Unfortunately the race doesn't start until 7:30 (although we do move to daylight savings the week before) but still, I don't want to be running the last few miles in the heat we've been having.

At least you'll be heading towards the ocean...  Right?  You guys are getting some insane temps there lately.  This has gotta be the warmest fall/winter ever in OC.

I hear you on the warm temps, Tim.  Who woulda thunk we'd be dealing with this in February.  I never thought I'd be hoping for cooler temps but with races coming up, let's hope so!

Tom H wrote:I hear you on the warm temps, Tim.  Who woulda thunk we'd be dealing with this in February.  I never thought I'd be hoping for cooler temps but with races coming up, let's hope so!

I'll make a special request to send some below 0 air west!

Mike MacLellan wrote:At least you'll be heading towards the ocean...  Right?  You guys are getting some insane temps there lately.  This has gotta be the warmest fall/winter ever in OC.

Yup, last 6 miles down San Vicente straight towards the ocean.  Scenic and mostly slightly downhill.  As you know, we typically get temps like this in Jan & Feb, just not consistently like this.  Lived hear all my life and have to believe this is the warmest for the longest period of time.  Strange as much of the country is dealing with colder than normal temps....

Tom H wrote:I hear you on the warm temps, Tim.  Who woulda thunk we'd be dealing with this in February.  I never thought I'd be hoping for cooler temps but with races coming up, let's hope so!

Got my fingers crossed - not much else you can do when it comes to the weather.  I was up in the Bay area last Tuesday - pretty toasty up there for this time of year.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:

Tom H wrote:I hear you on the warm temps, Tim.  Who woulda thunk we'd be dealing with this in February.  I never thought I'd be hoping for cooler temps but with races coming up, let's hope so!

I'll make a special request to send some below 0 air west!

Michele - sorry, you can keep those temps.  I'm such a wuss I doubt if I could get outside much at all.  We had one week here where it got down in the low 30's for a few days.  Frost on the lawn and all.  Shoulda seen us all bundled up for our Saturday morning run.  I suspect that many of you would have just laughed at us hopping around in the parking lot bitching about how freaking cold it was...

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:

Tom H wrote:I hear you on the warm temps, Tim.  Who woulda thunk we'd be dealing with this in February.  I never thought I'd be hoping for cooler temps but with races coming up, let's hope so!

I'll make a special request to send some below 0 air west!

Michele - sorry, you can keep those temps.  I'm such a wuss I doubt if I could get outside much at all.  We had one week here where it got down in the low 30's for a few days.  Frost on the lawn and all.  Shoulda seen us all bundled up for our Saturday morning run.  I suspect that many of you would have just laughed at us hopping around in the parking lot bitching about how freaking cold it was...

No way - that is exactly how we were in Atlanta.  I just figure if I send over 0F weather, it will mix with your 80s and give you the perfect temps.

I definitely prefer running in colder weather...within reason.  Hope the temps are reasonable for race day.

So Wednesday the schedule called for 8 miles.. Headed out the door at 0-dark-thirty with no plans as to where to go or how fast to run. Felt good at the start so figured I'd pick it up to MP (8:55 ish) for a bit. Run felt so good I finished at an 8:40 pace overall and that was with slowing down the last mile. Nice...

Ran an easy 5 yesterday and today is a rest day. Schedule calls for 5 @ MP tomorrow and then my final 20 on Sunday. Supposed to rain here Sunday which could make that run suck, but I know none of you are feeling too sorry for us here in SoCal...

With the temps you've been running in, the rain might feel good.  And you know how it goes with rain here in CA, seems like the build up is often more than what we get.  Last 20 in your sights, time to start getting excited about the race!

Tom H wrote:With the temps you've been running in, the rain might feel good.  And you know how it goes with rain here in CA, seems like the build up is often more than what we get.  Last 20 in your sights, time to start getting excited about the race!

Problem is, Tom, I'm already excited. And I still have 3 weeks to go (and this last 20...).

I hear ya on the rain, they'll build it up and 50/50 chance we won't get any rain at all.

Had a really nice run this morning - 6 miles @ 8:40 pace.

Tomorrow is my last long run - 20 big ones... It's supposed to rain a bit, which might be a nice diversion.

Man, 20 miles is a loooooong ways..... Had a nice route planned out, started under clear skies although 50% chance of rain (yeah, right). Ran with 2 good friends, ran into a 4th for a few miles. Temps about 55 and it was just nice except for the downhill from miles 2-4, which meant uphill from 16-18 on the way back. Oops.

Finished with the last couple of miles at MP but that finish was tough. Twisted my already bad knee with about 3 miles to go so I was pretty hobbled at the end. 3:11:40 for 9:35 pace, 136 average HR but obviously higher the last few miles.

Started raining just as we finished, but honestly we got a few drops and it stopped again. Figures...

Stretched some but legs were just junk for a while. Iced the knee, took some ibuprofen and watched the last of the Daytona 500 with my legs propped up. Lo and behold, after a couple of hours, and some food, it's back to normal again.

Race is 3 weeks from today and I hope taper does me well because I was pretty much toast at the end of this run. Glad tomorrow is a rest day!

That's just about how you should be going into taper.  Minus the potential injury.  Keep that knee healthy and you'll be set for a good race.

Mike MacLellan wrote:That's just about how you should be going into taper.  Minus the potential injury.  Keep that knee healthy and you'll be set for a good race.

Thanks, Mike.  The knee will be fine, I'm sure.  Sometimes I get lazy at the end of a long run and I let it roll in coming out of a construction area and tweaked it pretty good.  It already feels fine.

Ibuprofen and then a couple of Coronado Brewing Co Mermaid Ale's did me wonders....

Easy 5 yesterday and 6 at a faster pace this morning. These runs were hard.

Please tell me that taper will make my legs feel strong again because they're pretty heavy right now...

Hmmm, think you should get used to the heavy legs during taper as that seems to be a common phenomenon.  Think of it as your legs storing up energy that you will be able to unleash come race day.

Taper will not only make your legs feel strong again... it will MAKE your legs even stronger than before.

I'm sure you guys are right but it's somewhat disconcerting for a simple 5 or 6 mile run to feel difficult.  I kept reminding myself that I did just run 20 a couple of days ago....

Ran another 5 on Thursday which felt kinda bleh but not too bad. Rest day yesterday and did a spirited 12 mile trail run this morning - lots of hills - and legs felt great. Quite a confidence booster after a pretty so-so week following my 20.

Only another handful of runs left before race day so it's getting down to crunch time...

6 this morning at 8:30 pace, 20-25 seconds faster than MP. Very surprised that this pace felt so comfortable after yesterdays 12 in the hills but it did.

Unbelievably nice weekend of running. We were supposed to get a ton of rain, instead we got a little last night and ran under cloudy skies in nice cool weather both days. Hoping the weather in 2 weeks is just like today!

Good to hear your runs are feeling better.  It's hard to judge our fitness during taper sometimes.  Sounds to me like those legs are ready to run!

nkrichards wrote:Good to hear your runs are feeling better.  It's hard to judge our fitness during taper sometimes.  Sounds to me like those legs are ready to run!

Thanks - the runs ARE feeling good but the weather.... maybe not so much. Started checking the long range weather and it looks like it will be warm. Like 80 in Los Angeles and 76 where we finish in Santa Monica. I really hope that changes somewhat the next few days or I may need to adjust my expectations. Damn...

No middle ground I guess. Brutally cold in much of the country and 10-12 degrees above normal here... Double damn...