Pace Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:17
Pace: 8:48 min/mi

Comments: I've been pushing the miles this week but really focusing on complete efforts rather than just burning it as hard as I can. The target today was to hit race pace after the warm up of the first mile. Not only did I nail it, I probably had the most control over a run since I've restarted training this year.

The first half mile was nothing but warmup but, by the half-mile mark, I was getting into the groove of the thing. From that point on I was dialed into at 8:45 pace, with all of my splits within five seconds of that. More importantly, I was keeping on pace by effort more than by checking the GPS. That's a key improvement I'll need to have as I get deeper into race training.

Recovery Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 59:23
Pace: 9:53 min/mi

Comments: This is getting classified as a recovery run due to the pace but, getting started, I decided to try and put in six miles on it. I'm going to need to add the long(ish) mid-week runs at some point. Additionally, it was a good opportunity to check my heart rate over the hour time period, similar to the race.

Overall, this one felt like a recovery run. I kept it very comfortable and only pushed things as I encountered uphills on the way. I did give a bit of a kick on the last mile to keep the overall pace under 10 min/mi but even that never felt out of hand. I was completely in control of the run from start to finish. Which is a bit of a breakthrough, in and of itself.

New Shoes: Brooks Ghost 11

With the prospect of marathon training looming, it is time to consider the the miles I'm about to put on my shoes. The current pair is holding up well but the lack of "rest" days are likely to age them in dog years.

So, being in Fort Worth today, I popped into The Fort Worth Running Company and picked up another pair. This time it's back to Brooks with the Ghost 11. This is another neutral sole shoe but it feels like it offers a bit more support than the Saucony's. There is also a bit more cushion in the heel, something that might matter as I start putting in much longer runs.

I'll try the new pair tomorrow but go back to the old pair for this weekend's long run. After that, the plan will be to alternate them day-by-day to give them time to recover between workouts.

Tempo Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 33:42
Pace: 8:25 min/mi

Comments: So, yeah, I was still pissed off about the race yesterday. I got up about an hour later than normal and didn't get out to the trail until 8 a.m., pretty much the same time I started the race yesterday.

I wasn't about to do another six miles (or a warm up) but I did want to see how much the weather impacted my effort.The Trinity River Levee Trail has minimal shade so I figured it would be about the same conditions. I started with the intention of putting in a regular training run but kept pushing the pace as I felt I was able.

I basically treated it as a Tempo run, starting with a steady pace and pushing a bit harder each mile. I finished with a better overall pace than the race and feeling a hell of a lot less burnt out. More to the point, my heart rate never got into the higher zones. So, I guess, going out too fast was the real culprit yesterday.

Liberty 10K

Race: Liberty 10K
Watch Time: 53:21
Official Time: 53:19
Pace: 8:35 min/mi

Comments: The goal of this race was to get a gauge of where I am at to better set my pacing as I go into marathon training. My personal goal was to go sub 50:00 but that turned out to be a bit unrealistic given the conditions.

Weather could have been worse. Temperatures dropped a bit overnight from the ridiculous recent highs. Still, it was plenty hot. And since the race started a good hour after I have been wrapping up my daily runs, I had to contend with sun. This took it's toll on the second half of the race when the shade wasn't available.

I started out hard. Usually this is inadvisable but I was deliberately pushing things. I didn't let my breathing get labored so I was hoping I had it under control. And, for the most part I did... through the 5K. I'm guessing my 5K time was right around 24:00 which would have been 7:45 pace. That's what I was hoping for the full 10K.

After three miles I began slowing considerably. I lost about 30 seconds each mile after that point. There was no break from sun and things were pretty miserable. I struggled with the impulse to walk at several points over the last two miles. And it was not easy to keep from giving in.

The 53:19 official time is still almost four minutes better than the 10K I did back in February with only a month of running under my belt. Temperatures were better for racing but the hills were an ugly complication I didn't have today. I think the bottom line is I have a lot of work to build stamina over the next few months if I am serious about this marathon effort.

Marathon Training Summary: Week 1

Distance: 26.02 miles
Time: 4:07:38
Pace: 9:31 min/mi

Comments: It's 16 weeks out from Oct. 13 so, by default, this is the first week of marathon training. I feel I have put in enough miles to have a solid base to start working from but I don't know if enough of them are of sufficient quality to prepare me for the challenge.

Several runs this week were with the upcoming 10K in mind. It's not the ideal part of the year to get in a race (and it was damn tough to find a decent one as well). My hope is that race will provide a benchmark for my workout pacing over the course of the training.

I have little confusion about that since I seem to have been gravitating to certain paces but my heart rate isn't showing a maximum effort. I need to know when to increase the effort and how much to make the gains race training requires.

I was able to hit the century mark in miles for June. That's an important threshold to have met given the uptick in total miles training will require. I have also added the Strava app and hope to use some of the detailed run analysis to help guide my training.

Recovery Run

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 19:18
Pace: 9:38 min/mi

Comments: I was pretty exhausted yesterday afternoon following the long run. I kept my activity at a minimum and tried to rest. I felt a bit stiff this morning but not really sore. I decided to try a short recovery run to see how the legs are doing.

I deliberately did a course with a few elevations and tried to keep my steps consistent but not overfast. I was expecting a 10:30-ish average pace but blew through this almost a minute per mile faster. Not sure if that's just bad pacing or good fitness.