80 degrees, low humidity, 20-mph wind.
My Dr Scholl's Moleskin conformed to the shoe's sole a little too well and made for more irritation. I'll have to try some orthotic inserts and try it out before next week's run or go to the older shoes.
Tonight was by far, the best run I've experienced since I started this program. None of the gremlin variables raised their ugly heads during the run. The stomach calmed down and was good, knees held out during and after the run, clothing wasn't a problem and the new watch recorded the time...40:10.40 for the 4.5-mile Town Lake Trail loop. Even the Dr Scholls Moleskin Plus worked to correct an irritation in the right arch of the new shoes. I'm not close to being a gazelle but it's an improvement (8:53/mile) over my previous comfortable pace of 9:15/mile. And that's even with stopping and giving directions to some tourists to the where the bats can be seen at the bat bridge. Cool!
Maybe there's something to the weights I inserted into the program, as I lifted last night. I also ate lunch this time which helped the stamina.
My run for the afternoon of Christmas Eve was supposed to be 18 miles in preparation for the Runtex 20-miler Jan. 8. Twenty-to-thirty mph winds became a variable that cut back on the miles to 15. I ran for three hours which was the main goal so that was accomplished.
Today's run was at the Bowie H.S. track. I chose six miles of warm up, 400-meter sprints, with a 400-meter jog inbetween and a half-mile cool down. Total runtime was 1:06:48. Splits: 1:57, 2:34, 2:04, 3:30, 1:58, 2:40, 1:55, 3:09, 1:54, 2:44, 1:56, 2:45, 1:55, 3:01, 1:59, 3:02, 1:53, 2:45, 1:51, 3:12, 1:56 + .5 mile cool down.
Half of the features are unnecessary. All I need is an easy way to split the lap times, a large display, and for it to keep track of the overall time. I'll probably need the 100-meter water proofing next year if I do some swimming, but that's it. I could have asked for one with the heart rate monitor but constant feedback or downloading capability isn't that important at this stage. My current HRM with the finger press works just fine to check when I'm past my workout zone.
I'm shooting for 154 pounds at the time of the Freescale Marathon. More weight will be ok, if the fat percentage comes down. The last few days it's been dropping so maybe there's a tradeoff between fat and muscle as the new schedule including weights, whey protein and creatine play into it. I would like to be there before the Jan. 8, Runtex 20-miler but it may involve too much dieting before then. It may happen though if I back off of the holiday leftovers.
The summer is so much easier to build a schedule around. In Austin it's hot, hot and more hot June through September. The only thing to adjust is whether to run in the morning, when it's cool, or wear next to nothing and run in the afternoon. Though, most of my runs last summer were in the evening when the temperature had dipped below 90 degrees.
Late fall and early winter have thrown a monkeywrench into my plan. This weekend the temps will get into the seventies, with the mornings in the thirties. A couple of weeks ago I decided to cash in on a free one week at the gym. This was great for the one or two ice days we had, but I noticed that I'd need something that lasted for more than a week. The last two weeks I've been working out at a neighborhood gym. Nothing fancy, a couple of treadmills, an elliptical, some free weights and a couple of other machines. This has added so much variety to my training, that now I have to rework my training schedule from now until the Freescale Marathon.
I went out to Town Lake with a co-worker last Monday. We had planned for a single loop around at 4.5 miles and I let him pick the pace. He started out at my 5K pace and never let up. By mile three I let him keep going and I slowed it up a bit. My heart rate at the point we split was 94% max. It was a good speed workout and one I needed to work on as I needed to expand my lactate threshold. My areobic threshold has been pretty good, so a speed workout once a week should only be beneficial.
tags: running, marathon, heart rate monitor, Freescale Marathon,
Nothing special about the last few runs. Intervals at the Bowie track for five miles, 8-mile run at Town Lake last night.
I keep going to the track when there's something I need to work on. Usually, it's form or pace. The other night when I ran my intervals, the slapping left foot reappeared. In times past, this was due to my lack of stretching but I had stretched thoroughly this time. I noticed my left shoe wasn't as tight as my right. I tend to wear the shoes really loose. In fact, I don't tie them all the way to the top. Tightening the laces a little helped and the slapping disappeared.
Running Town Lake last night was a treat. I got there thirty minutes before sunset and set out over the south side of the lake so I'd get a good view of it on the flip side. Spectacular, running next to the trees with their changing colors and the sun reflecting off the water. Instead of the six miles slotted for the day, I decided to do another pass in the dark. The Trail of Lights was starting up and I got another view of the trees changing color. This time it was with strings of light wrapped around the trees and with the displays below the trees. What a treat.
I've been adding much more core exercises this week to see if I can, 1. strengthen the core muscles, but also 2. drop below the 160-pound threshold I've been at for a few weeks. I've been out of my morning walk routine and my metabolism isn't getting the boost several times per day as it once was. Also, since Thanksgiving my runs at lunch have been fewer. On a positive note, my waking heart rate is now hovering around 57, rather than the mid-sixties as before.
After my last race and bonking at mile ten, I looked at various drinks that contain protein. I'm trying out Boost this week to see how my body reacts to it during a run. So far, so good. I didn't have any of the stomach twitching last night like I had too much or not enough in the boiler. I'm trying the high protein product, which boosts the protein by twice the grams as the regular product.
I ran Tuesday in the cold, 20F temperatures, and got in five miles. Yesterday was another matter with 30F and 15-mph winds. I was going over to Mom's to use her exercise recumbent bike when I thought I'd check the local health club to see if they were offering any trial memberships. They always do don't they?
Sure enough they were. I hadn't finished filling out the online form, when fifteen minutes later, a trainer called from the gym. I said I could be there in fifteen and off I went.
I had heard that this particular gym franchise had a high level of testosterone floating around the facility. Grunts, groans, clanking weights and the beefcakes strutting their stuff. Not so. Maybe with some of the other locations, but not this one.
I warmed up on the recumbent bike for three miles and then ventured over to the treamills. Access to the equipment seemed abundant, except for the treamills. I waited for 20 minutes until one became available. While I waited, I pondered how I felt about the four or five individuals using the treamills as a walker. I mean, on the one hand, they could easily be at the mall circling the shops and get the same workout. On the other hand they paid their dues, I'm there as a freeloader using the equipment because it's too chilly outside. I decided not to put too much effort into the thought and switched my attention to Vince Young winning two awards last night on ESPN's College football awards show.
It had been over fifteen years since I had been on a treamill. They have much more electronics than I remembered. The again, everything has more electronics built into these days. It was pretty straight forward to get the thing going, select a session type and adjust the speed.
Early on I felt the old left foot slap come back. I thought I'd worked it out on Tuesday at the track. It seems to show up when I haven't stretched enough. I hopped off the treadmill sides and stretched the left shin and calf some more and hopped back on. I got my form back in order and continued with the mileage. I enjoyed seeing the mileage and miles per hour displayed. After about two miles I felt really comfortable on the machine. I put in six miles and called it a day.
Now it was time to pay for my freebie. I had to talk to the sales guy and go over the various "specials" they had going. Even though they say it's a one week free membership, they mean one day and get a sourpuss look on their face when you tell them you need to check out the club a few more days. I imagine I'll have to repeat the procedure each time I go back this week. Oh well it beats 30F, with a wind chill of 15F.
--1st 10K--
Place Rnk Time Pace
641 513 53:44.3 8:40/M
--2nd 10K--
Rnk Time Pace
743 1:00:47.7 9:48/M
--Overall--
Gun Time: 1:55:55.2
Chip Time: 1:54:32.0
Diff.: 1:23.2
Pace: 9:14/M
Place Chip Time Points Age Group 362 6:35:04 3522 40-44
This is where I write about my attempts to rearrange my body's atoms to compete in triathlon events in Central Texas. From nutrition to wrenching the bikes, it's all still a learning experience.
| Race | Distance | Date |
| 13.1 Miles | Jan. | |
| 26.2 Miles | Feb. | |
| Surfside Beach Marathon | 26.2 Miles | Feb. 9 |
| Capital 10,000 | 10K | Mar. 30 |
| CapTex Tri | Olympic Tri | May |
| Austin Triathlon | Olympic Tri | Sept. 1 |
| Longhorn | Half Ironman Tri | Oct. 5 |
| San Antonio Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon | 13.1 Miles | Nov. 16 |
"Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind."
--da Vinci