Long Run

Distance: 8.1 mi
Time: 1:27:09
Pace: 10:38

Comments: I was feeling pretty worn out on Friday and, out of an abundance of caution, I decided to take Saturday off as well. So I should have been pretty fresh going out for this one. And I was, kinda.

First off, I was noticeably dehydrated. An issue that became more of a problem as the run went on. My legs felt pretty strong at the start and held up nicely through 2/3 of the run or so. The last couple miles with the hills were tough though. 

Finally, the GPS went to shit at some point so I'm sure I ran farther than the 8.1 miles it guessed and I'm absolutely certain that pace is flat wrong. There is no way I did the last two miles sub 11 min/mi. 

Long Run

Distance: 6.75 miles
Time: 1:15:57
Pace: 11:15 min/mi

Comments: Wanted to get a longer effort today but didn't really have more of a goal than six miles/10K. The first two miles were rough. The fatigue in my legs is real. I was honestly considering cutting it short but things started feeling better (but certainly not good). 

I did the extra extension down Coombs Creek and was at 3.3 miles at the turnaround. I tried to figure a route to get to the six mile mark but finally just said  "fuck it" and decided to make it a there-and-back. I finished a quarter mile shy of seven miles and as worn out as I have been in quite awhile. 

Long Run

Distance: 6.9 miles
Time: 1:14:00 (approx)
Pace: 10:43 min/mi

Comments: Welp. I was being patient with Garmin due to this system outage but today was the last straw. The GPS on my device now doesn't function. It's basically an over expensive stopwatch. Except for the fact you can get the information from a stopwatch. I can't even do that with this piece of shit.

Probably time to go find a new fitness tracking device handled by a company with a commitment to reliability and accountability. Garmin clearly doesn't care that much about those things.

Tough run. Very warm and the sun was brutal on the final mile.

Long Run

Distance: 8.03 miles
Time: 1:26:12
Pace: 10:44 min/mi

Comments: Much better. Finally got in the long run I have been meaning to do the last few weeks. Not fancy in any way, shape, form or fashion but a solid run nonetheless.

Got out earlier than yesterday but later than I intended as I had to go vote. The temperature was a few degrees cooler but, more importantly, the shade was substantial up until the final mile or so. Also, got my hair cut for the first time in five months and it feels spectacular.

Really focused on cadence for this one and the amount of exertion. Really didn't look at the pace at all. Still, it fell in that regular range I've been hitting. Heart rate was in that same range as well with only a small portion in the highest zone.

Long Run

Distance: 6.77 miles
Time: 1:09:32
Pace: 10:16 min/mi

Comments: I keep complaining about the heat and humidity thinking it can't really get worse... and then it does. I didn't help myself by waiting till later in the morning to get this done. And then it was one of those wonderful runs where you get rained on in the sun.

Anyhow, the first portion of this actually went quite well. I felt pretty strong and in control of the effort. It got tougher on the second uphill half but I never felt completely fatigued. Well, the last half mile was kind of shitty, but other than that.

About a third of the run was in Zone 5 heart rate and almost a half was Zone 4 so I feel that was a pretty good long run effort. We'll see if I can keep that balance as I try and up the mileage in the next few weeks.

Long Run

Distance: 6.64 miles
Time: 1:08:50
Pace: 10:22 min/mi

Comments: Final run of the month. May total: 101.3 miles. My first 100+ mile month since Sept. 2018 (prior to the Hartford Marathon).

I went for the medium long route even though five miles would put me over. Prolly got out a bit late. It wasn't stupid hot but the lack of shade and uphill on the second half got pretty tough.

That said, almost two thirds of this one was in the Zone 4 heart rate and just a fraction in Zone 5. So the intensity wasn't overly absurd.

Long Run

Distance: 9.05 miles
Time: 1:33:26
Pace: 10:19 min/mi

Comments: Once again, I probably bit off a bit more than I could chew with this one. I planned on getting eight miles but, when it came time to add that extra fifth of a mile to the course I decided to make it an extra mile.

The run was rough for a bunch of reasons; tired legs from yesterday, a shit-ton of hills and the onset of formidable heat and humidity. I honestly thought I was going to finish with 12 min/mi pace or worse given how rough the second half was.

Instead it's a solid pace and about half of the effort was in Zone 5 heart rate. That's work, but work I probably needed to put in. Now to rest.

Long Run

Distance: 6.6 miles
Time: 1:12:28
Pace: 10:59 min/mi

Comments: I took an extra day off yesterday given how worn out I was feeling earlier in the week. I'm doing a decent job keeping my conditioning going but not much in terms of building up my strength and stamina.

I did the same big loop today as last week, just the opposite direction. It's a nice course except for the fact the first half is going down and the second half is all uphill. At least the sun wasn't beating me down this morning.

I ran this one significantly slower than last week and almost the whole thing in heart rate Zone 3. That's pretty much ideal long run effort. Although I would prefer it on longer distances than a 10K.

Long Run

Distance: 6.64 miles
Time: 1:10:00
Pace: 10:33 min/mi

Comments: Zero enthusiasm for this one. Got out the door finally, but a bit later than I would have liked. The result was one of the more formidible heat/humidity combos in awhile. Oh, and since I stayed on main roads, the sun was a beast as well.

I was really feeling all of it on the second half  which was almost completely uphill. By the end I was pretty beat.

So it was a bit of a  shock to see only a sliver of the effort was in the maximum heart rate zone. Two thirds of the effort was in Zone 4; something more common for recovery runs.

Long Run

Distance: 6.08 miles
Time: 1:04:39
Pace: 10:38 min/mi

Comments: Another longer Sunday run on nearly empty streets. Decided to take a different track using streets I typically avoid due to high traffic. But I was not going to go far afield and put in too many miles like last week.

The weather was significantly warmer and more humid today but not like it is going to get when summer arrives. I was sweating pretty good by the end though.

About half this run was in Zone 4 and a third in Zone 5. So I probably was pushing a bit harder than necessary. Still, I wasn't burnt at the end like last week.

Long Run

Distance: 9.22 miles
Time: 1:36:44
Pace: 10:30 min/mi

Comments: I really wasn't sure about how far I was going to run today when I walked out the door. But with the lack of traffic and reasonable temperatures I decided to head to downtown and back. The result was what I have dubbed, The Easter Morning Zombie Apocalypse 15K.

The lack of traffic really was creepy. I've never seen these streets so empty in the daytime. The upshot is I really wasn't too concerned about my safety for a change. And the different route was a nice change of pace.

The run itself went fine. I really wasn't planning on pushing it. The heat and humidity ganged up on me along with the hills on the last three miles. So that wasn't a lot of fun. I thought I was taking it pretty easy but heart rate was in Zone 5 for about half the effort.

Long Run

Distance: 6.28 miles
Time: 1:09:31
Pace: 11:04 min/mi

Comments: I was not motivated for this one in the least. The cold snap allied with the dreary weather really didn't help my already sagging spirits. I went out and did it anyway, but it really didn't ever get much better.

I varied the course a little, like I did last week and that seemed to at least keep me distracted a bit. My legs felt fine but I never really pushed myself; just plodded along to get it done.

At the end, it turned out I spent a third of the run in Zone 5 and a third of it in Zone 4. That was a bit more exertion than I expected. Still, I finished it.

Long Run

Distance: 6.22 miles
Time: 1:06:34
Pace: 10:42 min/mi

Comments: With traffic at the key roads markedly less, I decided to go a bit off the usual route today. The plan today was a six-miler but I chose to toss in the extra .2 in order to go a 10K distance. The variety was a welcome change and the little goal was nice as well.

The downside of this plan was the introduction of a lot of extra hills and a new annoyance; jackasses who let their dogs run loose in the front yard. Needless to say, these animals don't really respect the property line when you run by.

I finished this one a bit under the target long run pace of 10:29 but that is probably due to the extra hills messing up my rhythm. Overall I kept it in the range I wanted and felt pretty comfortable doing so.

Long Run

Distance: 6.03 miles
Time:1:02:05
Pace: 10:18 min/mi

Comments: The training schedule I intend to use does not call for super long "long" runs. Instead it uses back-to-back weekend ones with one a bit longer than the other. So my plan this weekend is to simulate that.

The question is which day should be the long run? Usually it's the second day but I decided to get it done today. The cold front brought significantly cooler temperatures back and rains had moved through for the day. Might not be so lucky tomorrow.

It went well. I'm not trying to dial in the pace for now; just get the distance. My heart rate was very controlled until the end.

Training Run: Long

Distance: 6.68 miles
Time: 1:09:04
Pace: 10:20 min/mi

Comments: The long run today consisted of two out-and-back laps of the Gatlinburg Trail. Even though we went early when it was still very chilly, there were a number of folks out walking. Only one or two runners, though. Perhaps they got their workouts in early.

I ended up doing this a bit faster than the required long run pace. That's partly because of the cold and partly because it's tough to hold pace with the changing elevation. Still, I never got to the point of pushing fatigue, the effort was very constant.

The scenery on this trail is really very nice but I still wish I could have done some of the more challenging trails while in Tennessee.

Long Run

Distance: 8.21
Time: 1:25:12
Pace: 10:23 min/mi

Comments: The plan was to put in a four miler on Saturday and a six-miler today. Got busy yesterday so, instead, I got three days of rest. With the half-marathon one week away, I'll count it as part of the taper.

I didn't want to put in a really long run with the race so close and eight miles seemed to be a reasonable distance. I changed the route slightly to ensure I got that late uphill to prepare for the Mile 9 nightmare in Fort Worth.

Kept the whole thing slow and steady. The cadence was strong but I kept the speed down on purpose. The result was almost the whole thing in Zone 3 and zero in Zone 5. Exactly my plan.

Long Run

Distance: 12.04 miles
Time: 2:09:54
Pace: 10:47 min/mi

Comments: With the half marathon just two weeks away, this was my last opportunity to get at race distance effort in. After the 15K last week, I'm feeling confident I can finish the race but in what condition is an open question.

Started early enough it was uncomfortably chilly but a few miles in and it was fine. The sun got a lot brighter than I expected it to but that was mostly on the east side of the lake where there is shade.

My pace was pretty slow the whole way and I never got that turn-it-on impulse like at the race last week. The distance was the goal today, though. So I got done what I wanted to.

Long Run

Distance: 6:18 miles
Time: 1:00:54
Pace: 9:51 min/mi

Comments: Despite dang near perfect weather, the four miles yesterday didn't happen given the amount of shit that had to be done around the house. So the six miles for today had to happen.

Like my last few runs, I simply focused on cadence and holding the effort steady the whole way. About two thirds of this run was Zone 4, a pretty good long distance pace. I guess the Zone 5 was the hills.

With cold weather predicted next week, tomorrow and Tuesday might have to be run days.

Long Run

Distance: 10.16 miles
Time: 1:49:34
Pace: 10:47 min/mile

Comments: First double-digit-mile run in, yeesh... months. March 24 of last year, to be exact. The goal today was just get the distance. The secondary goal was to negative split. So I got out early and started slooooow.

The uphills on the start of the White Rock Lake course kind of make a slow start necessary but I wasn't taking any chances. Even when it started leveling out, I didn't do anything crazy.

At the halfway point I let myself up the pace but that got tempered by the hills on the east side of the lake. For the last few miles I opened it up a little bit, but not a hard run by any means. In any case, I got the ten miles and I got the negative split so, bully me.

Long Run

Distance: 8.05 miles
Time: 1:28:10
Pace: 10:57 min/mi

Comments: Got the eight miles I planned which, it turns out, is the longest single distance I have run since March of last year. Yeesh.

Nothing fancy here. Just focused on an easy, regular cadence without pushing it too hard. At the end, it turned out I put in almost 85% of the run in the Zone Three heart rate effort. That's pretty much perfect for long running in my conditioning level.

I'll put in a recovery run tomorrow and then start working on the 10 miles I'd like to get next weekend.