David loaded me up with 3 consecutive days of running over the holiday weekend, and I made the most of it logging 18 miles out at Town Lake in Austin.
I've said it a half a dozen times over the past year plus on this blog, but Town Lake is hands down my favorite place to run in the world, period.
There are a few other places that come close. Running on the Timberman course in New Hampshire on a crisp late summer morning, maybe with a little fog is hard to beat. Running after work at the Memorial Loop at Memorial Park in Houston with a pare of shades on so you can people watch to your hearts desire is a good way to pass the time too.
But nothing tops Town Lake. You've got musicians, political activists, Asian Buddhists meditating, fast people, slow people, beautiful people (lots), ugly people (not many), pairs rowers, canoers, dancers, swimming dogs, leashed dogs, unleashed dogs, 2 cold water stops about 2 miles apart hosted by Run Tex, the local legit running store. It has it all!
The trails are crushed clay so they are good on the joints, and they dip down to the water line, then up about 20 feet above the water line and back down, so it is flat, but there is enough variability to give yourself a total body workout with no risk of an overuse injury. There are miles of trails, but the most popular sections run from the pedestrian bridge underneath Mopac down to 1st St. It makes for about a 4.2 mile loop. I ran this loop twice this morning.
The leaves were turning with lots of yellows, reds, and oranges. The temps were perfect. It was amazing.
I ran a hard 4.5 mile tempo run on Thanksgiving morning, a 5 mile recovery run on Friday, and a long 8.5 mile run this morning.
A funny thing happened this morning. I was very stiff starting out and my lower legs from the knees down were tight. My workout was 20 mins base pace, the 3x20 mins (15 mins base pace, then 5 mins marathon pace).
As the run went on, my HR in both the three base pace intervals, and the three marathon pace intervals got lower. In the base, it started at 158, then 156, then 154. Each interval also got faster starting at 10:00 pace, then 9:48 pace, then 9:32 pace. In the marathon pace intervals, it started at 162, then 160, then 155 and the speed of the intervals was 9:15, 9:09, and 9:12. A very strange phenomenon. I guess it was me just getting warmed up, and my lungs opening up as the run went on. It obviously felt good and not only did it feel like it was getting easier as I went on, but I guess the data would say, IT WAS getting easier. Weird, but I'll take it.
On Wed and Thursday, I headed over to Barton Springs, the spring fed public pool in Zilker Park to soak my legs in the constant 68 degree water which aided in recovery.
I'm back at home now hoping for some upsets in the top 4 of the BCS, but it isn't looking good.
At least my Owls are giving U of H all it can handle.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
San Antonio Rock'n Roll Half Marathon
The SAT RNR Half Marathon is in the books. I'm back at home on my couch getting caught up the USC game from yesterday just trying to enjoy the rest of the Sunday.
The race went very well for me. I managed to exceed my expectations again which I've been doing a lot of lately for a change.
I was lucky enough to be able to spend some time with my buddies Tim and Darren from Houston. We met up for the race expo on Sat, grabbed lunch and dinner together afterwards, and carpooled to the race together this morning.
The race had over 30,000 people in it, with 20K doing the half marathon, and 10K doing the full. Packet pickup was at the Alamo Dome and as you'd suspect with that many people, was chaos.
Race morning went pretty smooth. We got dropped off real close to the start, got in a few pit stops in the bushes near by, a small jog in, and we just chilled out. It was about 38 degrees, but it didn't feel too bad.
The gun went off, but it took us over 12 minutes to hit the start line. They were good about staggering the corals, so we were able to get up to pace straight away.
The three of us ran together for the first mile, then everyone started doing their own thing. Tim took off, and I slowly pulled away from Darren. By about mile two, I lost sight of Tim, and just settled in to a good clip while trying to force myself to hold back a bit.
The highlight of the race for me came early on as we ran right past the Alamo. There was a 20 piece mariachi band banging away out front, huge crowds, picture perfect back drop. It was awesome. I'm Texan!
The course was nice and fast. Pretty much flat the hole way with only one small rise around the 4 or 5 mile mark as I recall, but benign in the grand scheme of things. The scenery was pretty good, and it was well supported as you'd suspect.
I started off with a couple of low 9 min miles before dropping under the 9 pace for miles 3-5. At mile 5, I took in my first gel, then dropped the pace down below 8:30.
I felt real good at mile 8 and 9 where I clocked my fastest miles, both 8:11. Mile 10 is where I first started to feel some of the pain. My pace crept up to the low 8:20s, and I had to slowly layer in additional effort just to hold it there the rest of the way.
I came through an aid station at about 10.5 miles and caught sight of Tim about 30-40 yards up the road for the first time since the opening minutes of the run. I just held my pace in the low 8:20s and he slowly came back to me. I know he'll read this so he'll get a kick out of this.
I probably fully closed the gap to Tim at about the 12.5 mile mark, but didn't want to pass him for fear that he would drop the hammer, and I'd have no choice but to go with him. I decided I had about a quarter mile of giddy up in my legs, so I wouldn't say hi to him until I felt we were within the last quarter to go. I didn't want to smack it, but probably could have at the expense of the rest of the upcoming training week.
We hit a slight hill right at the very end outside of the Alamo Dome, Tim slowed a bit, and I pulled up beside him and mumbled something like hello to him. I think he said "shit" or something like that.
I wasn't going to drop the hammer on Tim, and he was kind enough not to drop the hammer on me. We rolled across the finish line side by side. It was pretty awesome. A PR for both of us.
Darren PR'd too with a 2:05 and a solid effort.
Here were my mile splits:
mi 1 - 9:11
mi 2 - 9:07
mi 3 - 8:48
mi 4 - 8:54
mi 5 - 8:53
mi 6 - 8:26
mi 7 - 8:24
mi 8 - 8:11
mi 9 - 8:11
mi 10 - 8:22
mi 11 - 8:21
mi 12 - 8:21
mi 13 - 8:21
mi 13.1 - 1:43 (8:03 pace, my watch had the distance at 13.21, probably due to weaving)
Time: 1:53.10 official (1:53.19 on my GPS)
HR: 173 avg
I'm pretty happy with the pacing. The goal was to negative split the run, and while I don't have a half way point split, my last 6 miles were 3 min 32 secs faster than the first 6, so that is good.
My sciatica in my left leg is pretty painful post race. It was nagging and sapped some of my power starting at about the half way point of the run. I'm going to have it looked at pretty soon, just to see if I can start managing the discomfort a bit better. I've had the pain for years, but with the recent focus on running, it is more of a nuisance than it has been.
Other than that, I feel okay, just a little beat up from the hard roads and the fast miles.
The trip was fun, it was good catching up with my friends. We'll have to get some of those other Houston guys out at the next one.
The race went very well for me. I managed to exceed my expectations again which I've been doing a lot of lately for a change.
I was lucky enough to be able to spend some time with my buddies Tim and Darren from Houston. We met up for the race expo on Sat, grabbed lunch and dinner together afterwards, and carpooled to the race together this morning.
The race had over 30,000 people in it, with 20K doing the half marathon, and 10K doing the full. Packet pickup was at the Alamo Dome and as you'd suspect with that many people, was chaos.
Race morning went pretty smooth. We got dropped off real close to the start, got in a few pit stops in the bushes near by, a small jog in, and we just chilled out. It was about 38 degrees, but it didn't feel too bad.
The gun went off, but it took us over 12 minutes to hit the start line. They were good about staggering the corals, so we were able to get up to pace straight away.
The three of us ran together for the first mile, then everyone started doing their own thing. Tim took off, and I slowly pulled away from Darren. By about mile two, I lost sight of Tim, and just settled in to a good clip while trying to force myself to hold back a bit.
The highlight of the race for me came early on as we ran right past the Alamo. There was a 20 piece mariachi band banging away out front, huge crowds, picture perfect back drop. It was awesome. I'm Texan!
The course was nice and fast. Pretty much flat the hole way with only one small rise around the 4 or 5 mile mark as I recall, but benign in the grand scheme of things. The scenery was pretty good, and it was well supported as you'd suspect.
I started off with a couple of low 9 min miles before dropping under the 9 pace for miles 3-5. At mile 5, I took in my first gel, then dropped the pace down below 8:30.
I felt real good at mile 8 and 9 where I clocked my fastest miles, both 8:11. Mile 10 is where I first started to feel some of the pain. My pace crept up to the low 8:20s, and I had to slowly layer in additional effort just to hold it there the rest of the way.
I came through an aid station at about 10.5 miles and caught sight of Tim about 30-40 yards up the road for the first time since the opening minutes of the run. I just held my pace in the low 8:20s and he slowly came back to me. I know he'll read this so he'll get a kick out of this.
I probably fully closed the gap to Tim at about the 12.5 mile mark, but didn't want to pass him for fear that he would drop the hammer, and I'd have no choice but to go with him. I decided I had about a quarter mile of giddy up in my legs, so I wouldn't say hi to him until I felt we were within the last quarter to go. I didn't want to smack it, but probably could have at the expense of the rest of the upcoming training week.
We hit a slight hill right at the very end outside of the Alamo Dome, Tim slowed a bit, and I pulled up beside him and mumbled something like hello to him. I think he said "shit" or something like that.
I wasn't going to drop the hammer on Tim, and he was kind enough not to drop the hammer on me. We rolled across the finish line side by side. It was pretty awesome. A PR for both of us.
Darren PR'd too with a 2:05 and a solid effort.
Here were my mile splits:
mi 1 - 9:11
mi 2 - 9:07
mi 3 - 8:48
mi 4 - 8:54
mi 5 - 8:53
mi 6 - 8:26
mi 7 - 8:24
mi 8 - 8:11
mi 9 - 8:11
mi 10 - 8:22
mi 11 - 8:21
mi 12 - 8:21
mi 13 - 8:21
mi 13.1 - 1:43 (8:03 pace, my watch had the distance at 13.21, probably due to weaving)
Time: 1:53.10 official (1:53.19 on my GPS)
HR: 173 avg
I'm pretty happy with the pacing. The goal was to negative split the run, and while I don't have a half way point split, my last 6 miles were 3 min 32 secs faster than the first 6, so that is good.
My sciatica in my left leg is pretty painful post race. It was nagging and sapped some of my power starting at about the half way point of the run. I'm going to have it looked at pretty soon, just to see if I can start managing the discomfort a bit better. I've had the pain for years, but with the recent focus on running, it is more of a nuisance than it has been.
Other than that, I feel okay, just a little beat up from the hard roads and the fast miles.
The trip was fun, it was good catching up with my friends. We'll have to get some of those other Houston guys out at the next one.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Back in the Water
My Masters swim team has been swimming at an alternate facility at super early times for the past 3 weeks while the bubble was being installed over the regular pool at Northlake Community College. It was supposed to be a 1 week install job, but they bought a new bubble for this winter and with it came installation troubles.
So I've only been in the water twice since Longhorn on Oct 5th, and only one of those swims was a propper workout.
This morning was the first day that the normal pool was back and business, which meant I was too.
I've got to say, I felt terrible in the water. Slow, weak, and sloppy. But I managed to get in 3,800 yards, and feel like it will come back quick.
When my swimming is going well, it is always a sign that the rest of my training is going well. I'm not sure why, and could probably spin a chicken and egg story if I had the time, but the two always seem to go hand-in-hand.
Here was the workout:
400 swim, 400 pull, 300 kick, 100 swim
5x200 swim even paced for all 5 (30 secs rest)
4x300 swim with fins descend 1-4 (30 sec rest)
400 warm down
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advice of the week:
I think airline stocks are severly undervalued right now, and see a buying opportunity. The only thing to be weary of are airlines that hedged over the summer in a manner that puts their price floor on their collars $20+ above the prompt month price. They will have liquidity problems in 1Q09.
So I've only been in the water twice since Longhorn on Oct 5th, and only one of those swims was a propper workout.
This morning was the first day that the normal pool was back and business, which meant I was too.
I've got to say, I felt terrible in the water. Slow, weak, and sloppy. But I managed to get in 3,800 yards, and feel like it will come back quick.
When my swimming is going well, it is always a sign that the rest of my training is going well. I'm not sure why, and could probably spin a chicken and egg story if I had the time, but the two always seem to go hand-in-hand.
Here was the workout:
400 swim, 400 pull, 300 kick, 100 swim
5x200 swim even paced for all 5 (30 secs rest)
4x300 swim with fins descend 1-4 (30 sec rest)
400 warm down
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advice of the week:
I think airline stocks are severly undervalued right now, and see a buying opportunity. The only thing to be weary of are airlines that hedged over the summer in a manner that puts their price floor on their collars $20+ above the prompt month price. They will have liquidity problems in 1Q09.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Florida 70.3
I just signed up for the Florida 70.3 race on May 17th. I was looking for a big race to get excited about in the Spring, and hope this will be the one.
I realize there will be challenges with getting in the riding necessary to excel at this thing. The weather doesn't typically get enjoyable here for riding until late March, and there isn't enough light in the day for me to do many mid week rides outside until around the middle to end of April, so that is going to be my challenge, but I'll do the best I can.
I'm looking at the possibility of doing a week long camp in a part of the country where the weather is a bit nicer, and will allow me to pack 2-3 times my normal weeks swimming and biking volume over the course of a week to take my riding forward a few levels, and to get me right for something as challenging as a 70.3, but that is all just a thought at this point. Not sure if I'll make it happen.
The Florida trip sounds awesome. We just used hotel points and will be staying at the Swan Hotel on the Disney property. We got two rooms, and are asking my in-laws to come down to help us with the kids. Our newest addition to the family joins us in a little over a month, so Elise will be very little when we are there and having an extra set of hands and someone to stay back at the hotel while we are park hopping with Reagan and maybe Jake will make the weekend more enjoyable for all.
Should be a good time. For now, I'm focussed on the running, and David is guiding me through this phase. We'll keep the swimming and biking on low for now, but will try not to neglect it despite colder weather.
I realize there will be challenges with getting in the riding necessary to excel at this thing. The weather doesn't typically get enjoyable here for riding until late March, and there isn't enough light in the day for me to do many mid week rides outside until around the middle to end of April, so that is going to be my challenge, but I'll do the best I can.
I'm looking at the possibility of doing a week long camp in a part of the country where the weather is a bit nicer, and will allow me to pack 2-3 times my normal weeks swimming and biking volume over the course of a week to take my riding forward a few levels, and to get me right for something as challenging as a 70.3, but that is all just a thought at this point. Not sure if I'll make it happen.
The Florida trip sounds awesome. We just used hotel points and will be staying at the Swan Hotel on the Disney property. We got two rooms, and are asking my in-laws to come down to help us with the kids. Our newest addition to the family joins us in a little over a month, so Elise will be very little when we are there and having an extra set of hands and someone to stay back at the hotel while we are park hopping with Reagan and maybe Jake will make the weekend more enjoyable for all.
Should be a good time. For now, I'm focussed on the running, and David is guiding me through this phase. We'll keep the swimming and biking on low for now, but will try not to neglect it despite colder weather.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Four Seasons Cool 10K
This morning I did the Four Seasons Cool 10K in Las Colinas, TX.
My friend and coach David and I headed over there this morning, and the race went well for me. I hadn't done a stand alone 10K road race since I did the Peach Tree Road Race on July 4, 2002, so I didn't really know what to expect, other than it would probably hurt like hell, and it did.
I ran a 49:54 averaging an 8:06 pace and 180 HR for the event. I sort of figured I'd be somewhere in the low 8 minute mile area, but probably thought 8:15 was more likely, so this was a pleasant surprise. Cracking the 50 minute mark was satisfying as well.
David and I were hoping to use the race to get a good benchmark we could use to set up pace and HR zones that will guide my training over the fall and winter. We'll test every month, so this is the first stake in the ground.
I had no idea what the course would be before hand, but it turned out I was very familiar with it and I am glad that I was. About 80% of the course was on my Wednesday night Dallas Athletes group ride. We basically started out with a steep climb, then it is pretty flat until mile marker #1. Then it was down hill for the next 11 minutes dropping about 110 ft. I looked across the street as we headed down and saw cones across the island, and knew I had to climb back up this thing at the end of the race. This climb is hell on a bike when hammering on my group rides with the DA studs, so I knew it would be worse on foot. Once your at the bottom of that hill, it is pretty flat until you hit some sharp rollers at the turn around before you are at the base of the climb at mile 4.1 ready to head back up to the finish.
I've got great graphs of my pace and the elevation, but can't figure out how to import them to my blog. I'll add them later if I can figure it out.
My splits were:
mi 1: 8:02
mi 2: 7:53 (lots of downhill)
mi 3: 8:06
mi 4: 8:12
mi 5: 8:33 (lots of uphill)
mi 6: 8:02
mi 6.2: 1:03 (7:04 pace)
Not much to report. It was weird having the race over so quickly. I paced it pretty well, didn't really die anywhere, ran with some folks for a while, and seemed to pick up more people at the end than there were people passing me.
I feel pretty good this evening. We'll see if I'm stiff or sore tomorrow morning, but I'm not anticipating it being too bad. The weather has been nice this weekend, so I'm looking forward to getting in a good ride tomorrow.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Garmin 405 is on it's Way
I couldn't make it to XMAS, so my gift is on the way. This will mean good data this fall, and more time to help my kids open and set up their toys on XMAS morning! A win-win!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
10/18 SNL
Not sure if anyone else caught last night's Saturday Night Live, but it was probably the best one they've had in years.
Highlights included cameos from Oliver Stone, Sarah Palin, Alec Baldwin, and Mark Wahlberg, and the host was Josh Brolin, who I didn't realize was the big brother in The Goonies, an all time fav of mine.
Top skits for the night included:
This show was probably one "A" list musical guest and host away from an all time classic. All of the memorable skits had little if anything to do with Brolin. This show goes to the writers and cast. It was nice for them to take half a step back from the political topic, and sprinkle in some of the economy as their undertone. It was also nice for the political commentary not to be the typical sledge hammer to face pro-Obama anti McCain stance it has been the last half a dozen episodes or so. I guess having Gov. Palin on the set was enough for them to bring it down a notch.
Highlights included cameos from Oliver Stone, Sarah Palin, Alec Baldwin, and Mark Wahlberg, and the host was Josh Brolin, who I didn't realize was the big brother in The Goonies, an all time fav of mine.
Top skits for the night included:
- The opener with Tina Fey doing Palin, only to be walked in on by the real Palin
- MacGruber skits where MacGruber realizes that his stock portfolio has taken a hit which distracts him from defusing the bomb
- A scene with Andy Sandberg and Mark Wahlberg building on last week's hilarious imitation of Wahlberg by Sandberg where he talked in a classic Wahlberg style to animals. This week, Wahlberg was at 30 Rock to get revenge on Sandberg only to be interrupted by people (and a donkey) and recite lines from last week's imitation
- A Honkie Tonk bar scene where Brolin is hitting on a seated Amy Poehler only to realize when she stood up to come over that she was extremely pregnant
- The weekend update where the real Palin joined Seth and Amy, and Amy did a rap Palin was "supposed" to do that she at the last minute thought better of that included background Eskimo dancers, a guy in a snow machine racing suit playing Palin's husband, and someone in a moose costume - all the while Palin is bobbing her head along with Myers off to the side.
This show was probably one "A" list musical guest and host away from an all time classic. All of the memorable skits had little if anything to do with Brolin. This show goes to the writers and cast. It was nice for them to take half a step back from the political topic, and sprinkle in some of the economy as their undertone. It was also nice for the political commentary not to be the typical sledge hammer to face pro-Obama anti McCain stance it has been the last half a dozen episodes or so. I guess having Gov. Palin on the set was enough for them to bring it down a notch.
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