35, 5, and 2

I hadn't run since last Thursday, due to family commitments. So tonight's PIM (Power in Motion) was a 3 mile fartlek. Run 2 power poles, slow down 2 power poles, rinse & repeat. Back in week 1, I qualifed to move up a group from last Fall's edition. I was 11th of 14.

So tonight, I wanted to see if I could stay up with the front of the group and volunteered to lead the group. We ran along and my HR on the fast parts were around 80% at the start and 86% as the miles added. I was doing well, up until 2 miles when I was not able to stay up at the front, but I was only 10 feet behind the leaders. I wasn't running conversationally after mile 1 and there were two people behind me that were carrying on a conversation as we were running. At least I know I have some room for improvment.

It was a very good run and trial for me. 2.89 miles, 29:11, 10:05 pace, avg HR of 158 and max of 173 bpm.

1. 9:49, 150 bpm, 164 max
   
2. 10:18, 159 bpm, 165 max
   
3. 10:03 (pace), 165 bpm, 173 max
   

Separately, I found during my time off where I didn't run, that my craving to eat disappeared. I had been running 18-25 miles a week for the past 4 weeks or so. I haven't been losing the weight I have been wanting to lose and I figure the craving was part of it. Now I know it was the 18-25 miles were creating it. So, I'm going to cut back on the miles for 6 weeks or so, until I get in to training for my October 6 marathon.

When I run, I'll be running for speed because I probably have a 5K race on March 31.

Ooo! Nice to see the underside of 10, isn't it? Good job on the workout.

I've had a heck of a time getting my eating in sync with running, too. I'll be interested to see if your approach works out. Good luck!

Mark B wrote:Ooo! Nice to see the underside of 10, isn't it? Good job on the workout.

I've had a heck of a time getting my eating in sync with running, too. I'll be interested to see if your approach works out. Good luck!

Yes, it is nice to be in the sub-10 range again. And I'm looking to see more of it, in the next few weeks.

I was going to run 4 miles, this morning before CrossFit, but I was really tired when the alarm finally woke me up. So, I reset the alarm to do just CrossFit.

Strength

Deadlift at 195 pounds

3-3-3-3-3

Conditioning

Run 300m, then do

21 deadlifts at 95 pounds, then 21 pushups followed by

15 deadlifts at 95 pounds, then 15 pushups followed by

9 deadlifts at 95 pounds, then 9 pushups, then

Run 300M.

I forgot to post what the CrossFit workout was that I did on Thursday.

Strength

Strict Press sets of 3 with 55 pounds, I think

Weighted Step ups sets of 5 Right, then 5 Left (with Uneven kettlebells of 20 and 26 lbs)

Lacrosse ball shoulder area

Conditioning

3 timed rounds of

10 43 lb Stone to Shoulders

20 Box Jumps to a 20" box

300 m Run

This conditioning bit I did well enough to be 4th of 5 after the first round, then finished in 1st because of the endurance that running distance provides.

My appetite never goes down. When I don't run, I have more time to eat. I am glad yours is more in sync with your needs.

Well, Liz, I guess we'll find out if I can keep it in sync.

Anywho, this morning I ran 4 miles at a fast pace to get my legs used to the turnover. I have a 5K race on the 31st and I want to do good. My perceived exertion seemed slower than what the times were for mile 3 and 4, so I was pleased with that and the fact that all 4 miles stayed well under 11 minutes.

Here's the data. 4 miles, 41:50, 10:27 pace, avg 147 HR, max 164 HR

1. 10:19, 136 bpm
   
2. 10:28, 146 bpm
   
3. 10:29, 150 bpm
   
4. 10:31, 157 bpm
   

Back on February 15, I ran 4 miles with the goal of running as many of them sub-11 minute. I could only run one mile at sub-11 (10:20 & 144 bpm). I was thinking along mile 3, this morning, how much I'd like to run more sub-11 times. I guess I was, but didn't realize it at the time.

I was going to do CrossFit after the running, but I was too gassed.

At the weight loss competition at work that I direct, Wednesday was a 24 hour walking competition where the participants can choose to use a pedometer to count their steps. So, I usually go pretty hard on this day because my team can use the prize of -2 pounds on our total weight.

I ran 14 miles that morning, plus the walking during the day, then 3 miles at the Power In Motion running clinic, that evening. I ended up with 43K steps and led the field.

The 14 miler was a good, but tiring run. The weather started at 58 degrees and ended up at 51 degrees, with a 10 mph north wind. It also showered during the run. That, coupled with the north wind, got a few of my fingers numb. I did a negative split and rather enjoyed it.

Here are the figures. 14.13 miles, 3:00:24, 12:46 avg pace, 133 avg bpm, max hr of 170 in mile 1, first half pace of 12:57, 2nd half 12:36 pace.

1. 12:40, 143 bpm
   
2. 13:01, 132 bpm
   
3. 12:55, 130 bpm
   
4. 13:04, 126 bpm
   
5. 13:02, 123 bpm
   
6. 13:04, 125 bpm
   
7. 12:52, 125 bpm
   
8. 12:30, 126 bpm
   
9. 12:36, 130 bpm
   
10. 12:28, 136 bpm
    
11. 12:43, 136 bpm
    
12. 12:41, 140 bpm
    
13. 12:50, 142 bpm
    
14. 12:20, 145 bpm
    

Wait. You cold cold and numb at 51? Even with rain, that sounds positively tropical to some of us!

Mark B wrote:Wait. You cold cold and numb at 51? Even with rain, that sounds positively tropical to some of us!

I'd already acclimated to 70 degree mornings & I was out there for 3 hours.

Separately, one thing I didn't mention I did during the run was to try out a new food item to replace the Fig Newtons I've been taking for 8 years to give my brain a little glucose for mental clarity. I bought a bag of Animal Crackers. They don't break as easily as Vanilla Wafers, they serve the same purpose as Fig Newtons and are cheaper. Cheaper always works for me, when it does the same thing.

My Wednesday activities caused my left calf a lot of strain from overuse. Hopefully the weekend will heal it up. It never hurt during the run, just afterwards.

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Wait. You cold cold and numb at 51? Even with rain, that sounds positively tropical to some of us!

I'd already acclimated to 70 degree mornings & I was out there for 3 hours.

Separately, one thing I didn't mention I did during the run was to try out a new food item to replace the Fig Newtons I've been taking for 8 years to give my brain a little glucose for mental clarity. I bought a bag of Animal Crackers. They don't break as easily as Vanilla Wafers, they serve the same purpose as Fig Newtons and are cheaper. Cheaper always works for me, when it does the same thing.

My Wednesday activities caused my left calf a lot of strain from overuse. Hopefully the weekend will heal it up. It never hurt during the run, just afterwards.

If you really want to boost your performance, go for the frosted animal crackers, with the pink and white frosting and little sprinkles.

Mmm. (But messy if it's warmer than, say, 40. )

Rest up that calf! Do you stretch much?

Nope, don't stretch. I imagine doing 12- 30/30's (30 seconds fast, 30 slow) wasn't doing me any favors on Wednesday night.

I'll check the calf out tomorrow.

Nice 14 miler! Yeah, I imagine animal crackers would be good fuel for your run...

How does your calf feel today?

KathyK wrote:Nice 14 miler! Yeah, I imagine animal crackers would be good fuel for your run...

How does your calf feel today?

Hey, Kathy. The calf is back to normal, thanks for asking. So, it was just overworked, of which I am pleased. I ran about a mile and a half of four scheduled, this morning. I just didn't feel like running today. My body felt heavier than normal. I walked back home and went to CrossFit. Today was my day to not want to run.

I did find out from the animal crackers that eating only 1 at a time is important, because eating two restricts proper breathing.

Good news about the calf. Mine tighten up from time to time and I try to keep them stretched.

6.7 miles or 8 miles. Which to do? Always is good to do the farther distance, but I have a 5K on Saturday, therefore it'd be good to run 6.7 a little faster and see what happens.

6.7 it is.

60 degrees with 60 degree dewpoint. Still comfortable, but sweating more. Carrying a little of the funk from yesterday, so if I could leave that on the road, that would be the best part of the run. 6.69 miles, 1:19:01, 11:48 avg pac, 131 avg bpm, 152 max bpm in the last mile. First half 11:58 pace, 2nd half pace of 11:38.

1. 12:12, 119 bpm
   
2. 11:50, 129 bpm
   
3. 11:55, 127 bpm
   
4. 11:45, 135 bpm
   
5. 11:52, 134 bpm
   
6. 11:49, 137 bpm
   
7. 10:59 pace, 139 bpm
   

I dropped the funk after mile 3, when I was running sub 12 miles. It seemed like I was giving more effort than the heart rate was expressing, which means the circulatory system is working just peachy.

My 5K PR is 29:26, set this past October. Tomorrow night's PIM class is going to prep me for the race, so I'm looking forward to it.

Glad you left your funk on the road! I'll bet you set a new 5K PR this Saturday!

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Good news about the calf. Mine tighten up from time to time and I try to keep them stretched.

I was glad it was just overuse. I've been blessed that I haven't had any significant niggles or injuries in the past year.

KathyK wrote:Glad you left your funk on the road! I'll bet you set a new 5K PR this Saturday!

Thanks, K2. There will be more people, but the weather should be the same.

And I get having numb hands at 51F - it was cold this morning to me when I ran at 7:30 am and it was just 60F. I even wore a long sleeve shirt

I ran the Bellaire Trolley Run, this morning. It's a 5K race in an incorporated city in near southwest Houston. I was hoping to break a PR that was set last October in Dallas with a time of 29:26. The race probably had less than 1,000 runners. It was 70 degrees with high humidity, overcast skies and a light southeast breeze.

This past Wednesday at PIM, our task was running 7 rounds of 200/200's. I wanted to run these hard, so maybe the faster running that night would be remembered by my legs for today's race.

So the gun sounds and we're off! It took only a 1/4 mile to get past the slower runners, so I could get into stride. I also wanted to get up to 80% hrmax as soon as possible. I don't know if it's logical, but I thought if I got up to 80% sooner, I could have a faster first mile and hold the pace longer. I found and ran with one of the people in my PIM group. She was figuring she wouldn't be able to hold the pace, but we ran together through mile 2.

Mile 1 came in at 9:31, averaging 157 bpm. I was feeling good and trying to run as straight a race as possible. I was probably 10 feet off on the first mile. The second mile was giving me some cause for concern, as I felt that I wasn't going to be able to sustain the pace. But I put that thought out of my mind by speeding up a little to stay with my PIM buddy.

Mile 2 came in at 9:13 and I averaged 170 bpm (85%). Whew, 1.1 miles to go. I was pushing the envelope a little more, in lieu of slowing down. I started to pick out people to pass during the last mile. That didn't work too well because we were all pretty much at the same pace. But, I was able to keep going, hitting a HR of 184, at one point.

Mile 3 came in at 9:10 and I averaged 175 bpm. When I crossed the mile 3 timing mat, I downshifted and hit the gas. I crossed the timing mat at an 8:15 pace at an average HR of 184, in a final time of 28:57. This is my new PR by 29 seconds. I was thrilled, but felt I didn't quite put everything into the run during mile 3. But I'm still thrilled! And my body took it without complaint.

Really psyched about it. This will be my last race until October. And that's my 3rd PR in a row. Nifty. Thanks for your time.

Great Job!!!!!!!!! That is a really good improvement and you should be proud - training paying off!

John Kilpatrick wrote:Great Job!!!!!!!!! That is a really good improvement and you should be proud - training paying off!

John, thanks much.

I will note the difference between what my FR305 said was my pace and what the timing mats recorded. My 305 said I did a 9:15 pace for 3.12 miles and officially I was at 9:20 pace. What is noteworthy about the 5 second difference is that is the same difference I had for the Houston Marathon in January between my Garmin and the course.

So, I'm going to have to plug in to any race I do a 5 second tax.

Nice running, Doug! Remember your HR should be elevated during a 5K - that means you're giving it your all, and those were tough conditions. Keep up the good work.

Nice PR, Doug!

I couldn't agree more with Michele about the heart rate. Races like the 5K are meant for pushing the envelope and, somewhere at Mile 2.75, glancing at your HR monitor and thinking: "Omigawd. My heart can beat this fast?" It's an awesome moment.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Nice running, Doug! Remember your HR should be elevated during a 5K - that means you're giving it your all, and those were tough conditions. Keep up the good work.

Mark B wrote:Nice PR, Doug!

I couldn't agree more with Michele about the heart rate. Races like the 5K are meant for pushing the envelope and, somewhere at Mile 2.75, glancing at your HR monitor and thinking: "Omigawd. My heart can beat this fast?" It's an awesome moment.

Thanks, y'all. The Wednesday night workout of 7 200/200's really set me up well to know I could run hard for a while. (I would've posted the figures, but sometimes think too many figures detracts). Anywho, the first and last 200 I did around a 7:15 mile pace. The last one, I got my heart up to 190 or 95%. THAT was cool.

I also had one of Houston's fastest female masters pacing me, too.

Yay! Congrats on the PR! I felt certain you'd do well!

KathyK wrote:Yay! Congrats on the PR! I felt certain you'd do well!

I'm taking applications for Ouija board owner.