Term Limits?

I'm glad your surgery went OK. Yes blondes and red heads are supposed to be more sensitive to pain. Sounds like you've been doing a nice job with the training. If you get past 13 or 14 miles, do you have a longer race in mind for next year? I'm sorry if I just missed it.

Julie wrote:I'm glad your surgery went OK. Yes blondes and red heads are supposed to be more sensitive to pain. Sounds like you've been doing a nice job with the training. If you get past 13 or 14 miles, do you have a longer race in mind for next year? I'm sorry if I just missed it.

Hey, Julie!  Thanks for checking in.  

Yes, the things one finds out when a scalpel is on your head.  At my request, he did inject a little more of the local anesthesia for my drive home and a stop at the grocery store.  I wanted to be home and settled, when it wore off.

I would love to get past 13 or 14 miles by the time of the January 16 Half race, not for an additional race, but for confidence.  And, no, I do not have another race in mind.  However, I would like to keep the endurance in place because I do want to run another marathon in January 2023.  That's been an elusive, whack-a-mole kind of target.

-30-

I am fully released to lift and run, now.  I was planning on running, this morning, but it was going to be 74 degrees in advance of a cold front.  Soooo, 74 degrees or 56 degrees tomorrow?   I went to lift.  I would say my weight lifting time off from November 18 to today only caused about a 5% loss in strength.  I was thrilled.  I still only did 2 sets, instead of 3, but the weights were about the same.

I wish I only had a 5% loss in the running department.

Tomorrow, I'll go for either 6 or 7 miles.  Probably 7, no matter the pace.  Thanks, y'all.

Last Friday, I ran 5 miles as the first run since my 9 mile run on November 22, the day of my surgery.  Last Friday's run was tedious.  I'll hit the high points, then go on to today's run.  157 cadence goal
5 miles, 1:19:07, 15:48 pace, 129 avg bpm, 140 max bpm, 147 average cadence, 72 stride length

As mentioned in the previous post, I could have ran on Monday on 74 degree weather or today with 55 degrees.  

SURPRISE!!  I ran today.  Target was 157 cadence.  55 degrees.

I still have the 1.5 mile lug through a warmup to get the cobwebs out.  But today was better than last Friday.

7 miles, 1:44:41, 14:56 pace, 130 avg HR, 143 max HR, 152 avg cadence, 
1.  15:18, 117 bpm, 156 spm, 68 sl
2.  14:42, 131 bpm, 156 spm, 71 sl
3.  14:55, 133 bpm, 153 spm, 71 sl
4.  14:54, 131 bpm, 153 spm, 72 sl
5.  15:09, 132 bpm, 149 spm, 71 sl
6.  15:07, 132 bpm, 148 spm, 71 sl
7.  14:58, 132 bpm, 149 spm, 71 sl

HR zones
Zone 3 (126 to 143)  1:28:48
Zone 2 (108 to-125)     13:47

I was pleased about the improvement of time & cadence, but especially happy about not having a split a couple of ticks from 16 minutes.  HR was a little higher than usual, but the times were a little better to compensate.  I always enjoy making it to Memorial Park and running on its crushed granite.  I've spent so much time there since 2003 and it's like visiting an old, dusty friend.

Having a better cadence is a process of just running.  Friday, I could only run mile 1 at 157.  Today, I did 156 on miles 1 AND 2.  The cadence will come as I run more and more.  I'm not concerned about the HR.  A higher cadence requires a beating heart.  I'll guess a 135 HR will give me a 156 avg cadence.

Thursday, I'll run, then not again until Sunday, when it's supposed to be in the 40s.  I'll settle for 50.

A good resumption of the running.  thanks.

Yesterday morning, I had to do some work early, so I didn't get the chance to go to the gym.

This morning, I was to head over to the parking garage for some ramp training.  It was foggy and 71 degrees.  I figured that I could run over there and get the work in, but it was not to be.  I guess I just have to have some form of coolness to let the body cool.  I guess the radiator fan isn't turning fast enough to keep the engine cooler.  I ran to 1 mile and walked home.

But the good thing is that I get to run on Sunday morning, when it's supposed to be in the lower 40's.  A front comes through on Saturday morning.  I imagine that Julie has already seen this front come through.

So, I will work on lifting tomorrow and run on Sunday.  I will be unable to run from Dec 16-21.  After that date, I'll run on the 22nd and on Christmas.  I'll keep plugging along.  January 21 is the race date.

That's all I have.  Have a good weekend.

I went to lift, this morning.  I have returned to my pre-Thanksgiving weights & reps.  Still doing 2 sets, which appears to be maintaining what I have achieved.  That's a good thing.

Sometimes, brevity rocks.

Sorry for not checking in more often...looks like I returned just in time for your break from running. 

I'll try and do better.

Stay safe and have a Merry Christmas.

Hope the running break is because you are doing something fun.   Happy Holidays, Doug.

Thanks, Nancy.  It was a calm New Year for me.

The heat in December really screwed my ability to run the Half, this month.  We had something like 14 or 15 days with 80 degrees or higher.  One day was 87, which represented the highest temp in December...ever in Houston.  Seasonal is 63.  So, the high temps caused the lows to be in the 70s and I don't do well in the 70s.  Plus I was off about 8 or 9 days where I wasn't able to run, even if it was in the 40s.

Last week, I couldn't run a mile because of the morning 70s.  So, I tried to adapt by running a distance, then walking a distance to a total of 3 miles.  I did that for the possibility that on race day I would have to walk a good portion of the half.  Maybe at least, my body would cooperate.  It's the backup plan.  I have to execute an average pace of 17:45 to have an official finish of less than 4 hours.  So running some of the distance will assist in that goal.  The race is January 16.

On New Years Day, it was 85 degrees which also was the highest temp in January ever.  But all of last week, the TV weather folks were saying that a really cold front was coming on New Years night.  In fact, a 50 degree drop from Saturday's high to Sunday at sunrise was forecast with 20-30 mph north winds and gusts to 45.

That happened.

So by Monday morning, the winds were down in the 5-10 mph and the temp was 32 degrees.  I layered up and headed out.  I was almost able to run the whole 3 miles.  That was nice.  Sort of re-validates what happened in the Summer of 2020, when I couldn't run far in the 75-80 degree mornings, but when it got cool, I had so much stamina banked that I could almost run 6 from the get go.

I slept in this morning because I wasn't going to run and wanted to rest, instead of lifting weights.  Weights are still important to me, but letting the body recover seemed to be more important, right now.  I'll run on Wednesday morning.  Haven't decided whether to run 3 or 4 miles.  but for the race, it'll definitely be a run/walk execution.  Just don't know the split of distance for each.

It was 44 this morning (seasonal) and should be 55, tomorrow morning.

So sad that I can't brush off the heat in the mornings.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:

We had those weird temperature swings and wind here as well.  75F on Saturday (New Years), pouring rain on Sunday, and then 32F with 20 mph winds on Monday morning.  Always makes for interesting training in the winter.

Are you still planning on running the half at Houston?  Hopefully the weather will cooperate as I have several friends from here that are planning on running it as well.   Only a week or two away.

Hey, Michele.  Yes, I am still planning on running the half.  

As far as weather, last Saturday's front was the start of a weather change into a more normal Houston Winter.  While it's way too far out to nail something down, patterns for the next 10 days are showing trends of multiple fronts coming through with a favorable timing for that weekend.  One TV station that does 10 day forecasts had the Friday before the marathon's High and Low temp as the same 66 degrees.  ALWAYS, when there is not much difference between the low and high for the same day indicates a front coming through that day.

I was able to confirm my suspicion this morning, when one of the weather blogs (who is a marathoner), that's pretty popular with people on anti-depressants, predicted a 40 degree starting temperature for the start of the race.

So, I will go out on a limb and say no rain, 10 mph north or ENE winds, and a high between 53 and 60 depending on cloud cover.  Higher the temp, fewer the clouds.  Any change can happen, but if he is predicting 40 degree at the start, the rest just falls into place.  But figure a possibility of rain Friday night into Saturday morning for the frontal passage.

Next Tuesday or Wednesday can provide a higher comfort level for the 16th.

Yesterday morning, it was 54 degrees.  I wore a short sleeved shirt and planned to run either 3 or 4 miles.  I hit the snooze button one too many times and only had time for 3.  Cadence was set at 157.

3 miles, 44:17, 14:44 pace, 125 avg bpm, 133 max bpm, 156 avg cadence, 0.71 m avg stride length
1.  14:59, 120 bpm, 156 spm, 70 sl
2.  14:35, 129 bpm, 157 spm, 71 sl
3.  14:25, 127 bpm, 152 spm, 72 sl

HR zones
zone 3 (126-133 bpm)  28:41
zone 2 (108-125 bpm)  13:19

The last half mile was where the cadence was bleeding, but that was acceptable, considering how little I could run in December.  Plus it lets me know that 4 miles would have been an acceptable run, as well, even with a 140's cadence on the 4th mile.

To me, it's odd that the 3rd split was the fastest in time and the lowest in cadence.  But, I didn't stop at all and I think I can run 6 either tomorrow or Monday.  The morning temps will be 40, tomorrow, and 55 on Monday.  So this week hasn't been a fluke regarding the weather.  We are finally seasonal.

thanks for stopping by.

No 6.  I'll just have to do what I can, next Sunday. I can officially finish the race.  The weather will be nice.  Partly cloudy, 40 at the start and 55 for a high, +/- 2 degrees.  Frontal passage, right now, is the overnight hours of Friday night.

Today, i was going to go lift, but I overslept my alarm by 30 minutes.  Which reminded me to set my phone, my old Apple 3G, and my alarm for Saturday morning and Sunday morning.  For Saturday, I'm volunteering again for the 5K race, downtown.  I did it in 2020.  Afterwards, packet pickup.  Chance of rain for Saturday, but I don't know if it's morning or afternoon.  I'll be fine either way.

So, if I hear the alarm tomorrow morning, I'll either run 3 or 4 OR lift.  I've been away from lifting for about a month and I want to get back to that task.  Actually, this week was to start my post-Half recovery by lifting 3 times and running two times.

Everything is cool.

ounce wrote:No 6.  I'll just have to do what I can, next Sunday. I can officially finish the race.  The weather will be nice.  Partly cloudy, 40 at the start and 55 for a high, +/- 2 degrees.  Frontal passage, right now, is the overnight hours of Friday night.

Today, i was going to go lift, but I overslept my alarm by 30 minutes.  Which reminded me to set my phone, my old Apple 3G, and my alarm for Saturday morning and Sunday morning.  For Saturday, I'm volunteering again for the 5K race, downtown.  I did it in 2020.  Afterwards, packet pickup.  Chance of rain for Saturday, but I don't know if it's morning or afternoon.  I'll be fine either way.

So, if I hear the alarm tomorrow morning, I'll either run 3 or 4 OR lift.  I've been away from lifting for about a month and I want to get back to that task.  Actually, this week was to start my post-Half recovery by lifting 3 times and running two times.

Everything is cool.

Sorry I haven't had time to stop in more.  This is supposed to be our slow time but I've been going constantly!

Glad to hear that race weather is predicted to be cooperative.  Running with people is so much more exciting than training solo.  Hopefully the crowds will help carry you a bit farther and you can enjoy the day no matter the speed.

It's cool that you volunteer for the 5K.  I've never volunteered at a race.  I think I'd enjoy that.

Enjoy the race!  And yes, everything is cool...

Thanks for stopping by, Nancy. I haven't made time to post either, so no apologies needed.

I ran 4 miles Tuesday morning at not a great pace, but I didn't stop, except to pee. I agree that running with other humans would be a good distraction and I'll probably find a few to shadow/be my rabbit.

Temps for Sunday are sliding cooler, with the front blowing (and I mean BLOWING) through Saturday morning with a small chance of rain for the 5K, but very windy out of the NW. The winds relax to only 10-15 mph on Sunday with a temp in the mid-30s. 46 degrees by 11 a.m. and sunny.

The NW winds will be almost like a tailwind for the last 2 or so miles into Downtown.

Only the pickiest runner will not like the weather, but it sure beats the warmth.

ounce wrote:Thanks for stopping by, Nancy.  I haven't made time to post either, so no apologies needed.

I ran 4 miles Tuesday morning at not a great pace, but I didn't stop, except to pee.  I agree that running with other humans would be a good distraction and I'll probably find a few to shadow/be my rabbit.

Temps for Sunday are sliding cooler, with the front blowing (and I mean BLOWING) through Saturday morning with a small chance of rain for the 5K, but very windy out of the NW.  The winds relax to only 10-15 mph on Sunday with a temp in the mid-30s.  46 degrees by 11 a.m. and sunny.

The NW winds will be almost like a tailwind for the last 2 or so miles into Downtown.

Only the pickiest runner will not like the weather, but it sure beats  the warmth.

Stay warm and dry Saturday.  Fingers crossed that the winds relax a bit for Sunday and the temps stay in a comfortable range.  More importantly have fun!  Enjoy the return to in person racing.

Here's to a tailwind carrying you to the finish...

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:Thanks for stopping by, Nancy.  I haven't made time to post either, so no apologies needed.

I ran 4 miles Tuesday morning at not a great pace, but I didn't stop, except to pee.  I agree that running with other humans would be a good distraction and I'll probably find a few to shadow/be my rabbit.

Temps for Sunday are sliding cooler, with the front blowing (and I mean BLOWING) through Saturday morning with a small chance of rain for the 5K, but very windy out of the NW.  The winds relax to only 10-15 mph on Sunday with a temp in the mid-30s.  46 degrees by 11 a.m. and sunny.

The NW winds will be almost like a tailwind for the last 2 or so miles into Downtown.

Only the pickiest runner will not like the weather, but it sure beats  the warmth.

Stay warm and dry Saturday.  Fingers crossed that the winds relax a bit for Sunday and the temps stay in a comfortable range.  More importantly have fun!  Enjoy the return to in person racing.

Here's to a tailwind carrying you to the finish...

The cold front is suppose to blow through downtown Saturday morning around 3 a.m., along with a thin line of rain.  So by 5 a.m., the rain is gone.  The winds arrive.  The high temperature for Saturday will come between midnight and 3 a.m. at or around 54 degrees, then just slides throughout the day to about 41 by sundown.

My job, tomorrow, is Course Marshal, so I'll be standing outside on a downtown street for around 3 hours.  Hopefully, I'll have the wind at my back, while I'm looking south at the runners fighting the head wind.

-30-

This morning, I woke up and was motivated just enough to get dressed to lift weights.  Once I got that little bit of motivation, I was back in the groove of going to lift.  Arriving at the gym, I backed off of my last weights about 10-20% and was able to do 2 or 3 sets.  Sitting here, typing, I have no soreness.  I will tell you that the motivation was born last night when I was putting on a pair of jeans and had to let out 1 hole on the belt.  I'll get that back.

Hopefully, I'll be able to lift weights on Monday.  This weekend will be my last free weekend for quite a long time.  I believe that I'll do better than 'just' an official finish of 4 hours.  Maybe 3:30.

I believe my Smartwool socks will be appropriate for Sunday.  Saturday, I'll wear my hiking boots.  I'll try to post tomorrow afternoon on my Volunteer Report.  I'll go to packet pick up, after my volunteer time is done.

Thanks, Nancy.

Bib 42701.

Very blustery, today, sustained winds at 20 with gusts to 40. Took a 2 hour nap, this afternoon.

Clear with 10-15 mph winds, tomorrow morning at the start, with 36 degrees-26 wind chill. Should be 5 mph at 10:00. Figure to cross start map at 8 CT and be inside by noon CT. Sunrise at 7:18.

Thanks, Mayor Kevin, for posting the splits! Awfully kind of you.

The race went better than I thought, by a little. I got to the 12K marker and need to walk. The goal was to run as far as I could (4 miles was the tactical target), before walking.
I had the race in the bag, strategically, at mile 10. I did the quick math of dividing the 90 minutes remaining by 3.1 miles. Then, I just had to do it.

Clothing choices were spot on for 34 degrees with 10-15 winds that died off at mile 10 as was forecasted on the TV.

Was it a great race? No, because I didn't get to train in November and December.

But it was truly the best that I could do.

ounce wrote:Thanks, Mayor Kevin, for posting the splits!  Awfully kind of you.

The race went better than I thought, by a little.  I got to the 12K marker and need to walk.  The goal was to run as far as I could (4 miles was the tactical target), before walking.  
I had the race in the bag, strategically, at mile 10.  I did the quick math of dividing the 90 minutes remaining by 3.1 miles.  Then, I just had to do it.

Clothing choices were spot on for 34 degrees with 10-15 winds that died off at mile 10 as was forecasted on the TV.

Was it a great race?  No, because I didn't get to train in November and December.

But it was truly the best that I could do.

Very well done!  I'll admit that your inability to train as much as you would have liked had me a bit nervous.  You rose to the occasion on race day!!

Cheers.

Now take some time to recover.

Well, knowing that I have done 4 other Halves on that course helped out.it was very brisk, before the race.  That dry kind of cold that bites.  I was able to find a place to sit in the last corral, waiting for our turn to walk to the start mat.

Some little factoids on my execution:
1.  I peed 3 times, but once was before crossing the start mat.  In this line of Porta potties were three-4 place urinals.  I hit another one around mile 3 and the last one before mile 7.
2.  I played a mind game with myself by keeping track of the Km markers I was passing.  They happen more frequently and I was able to say 7km!  One-third done!!
3.  I had mentioned my clothing selection was spot on.  I wasn't overly warm the entire race.  Past mile 6, the wind was an irritant by blowing in the shade, etc.  I didn't take off my dry cleaning bag until almost mile 12, when I was sure the remaining breeze on my back wasn't going to chill me.
4.  I didn't take any fluids until mile 8.  That won't work for a marathon,  but it helped today.

I do have 3 goals on being able to run the Full, next year.  Run,  make a genuine effort to lose weight, as that is my biggest hindrance, and lifting.

Hope ain't gonna cut it.  I need to give my body the best possible chance to succeed, next year, by starting tomorrow.

Thanks, Nancy

ounce wrote:Well, knowing that I have done 4 other Halves on that course helped out.it was very brisk, before the race.  That dry kind of cold that bites.  I was able to find a place to sit in the last corral, waiting for our turn to walk to the start mat.

Some little factoids on my execution:
1.  I peed 3 times, but once was before crossing the start mat.  In this line of Porta potties were three-4 place urinals.  I hit another one around mile 3 and the last one before mile 7.
2.  I played a mind game with myself by keeping track of the Km markers I was passing.  They happen more frequently and I was able to say 7km!  One-third done!!
3.  I had mentioned my clothing selection was spot on.  I wasn't overly warm the entire race.  Past mile 6, the wind was an irritant by blowing in the shade, etc.  I didn't take off my dry cleaning bag until almost mile 12, when I was sure the remaining breeze on my back wasn't going to chill me.
4.  I didn't take any fluids until mile 8.  That won't work for a marathon,  but it helped today.

I do have 3 goals on being able to run the Full, next year.  Run,  make a genuine effort to lose weight, as that is my biggest hindrance, and lifting.

Hope ain't gonna cut it.  I need to give my body the best possible chance to succeed, next year, by starting tomorrow.

Thanks, Nancy

Sounds like you did a lot of things right!

Love that you're already setting your goals for next year...hmmm...sounds like someone else I know.     Don't forget to rest up before you hit the gym and the roads.  I was amazed at how long it took me to recover from my race.  My resting heart rate is just now getting back where it should be.  And running is finally feeling good again.  Getting old is tough!!

Glad you had decent weather and a good race!

Sorry a little late to post, but I was indeed stalking you.  Excellent job as you got it done!  I hope you are pleased.

In the light of how much I wasn't able to train, yes, I am pleased.

-30-

I lifted, this morning.  When I woke up, I didn't have any residual stiffness from Sunday.  I was thinking of running, this morning, but it's supposed to be pretty durn cold on Friday morning (20s wind chill), so I opted to lift today & Friday, with running on Thursday when the wind chill is in the 30s.

The lifting went well, although at a lighter weight, e.g. 80, instead of 90 lbs, 25 instead of 27.5, etc.  But I did 3 sets of each, though.  I expect to return to my November weights over the next 6 weeks, maybe sooner.

Tomorrow, I'll work on running 3, 4, or 5 miles.  Thanks.