Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time:36:19
Pace: 9:04 min/mi

Comments: Busy with a ton of kitchen projects today and didn't know if I would be able to get out the door for the run. Turns out I was able to make an escape in the late afternoon, which worked because it was decidedly chilly today.

No big plan for the run today other than the mileage. I was feeling pretty sluggish getting started but warmed up pretty good. Since the temperature was as good as I'm likely to see until October, at the halfway point I decided to try and get negative splits and upped things a bit. On the last mile I really tried to push the pace to ideal race conditions. Overall the effort felt pretty good.

Long Run

Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1:19:13
Pace: 9:54 min/mi

Comments: I was finally feeling reasonably good yesterday after almost a week of post-race fatigue. Still, I didn't make the call to do eight miles until I actually started this one.

The weather was very good this morning except for the wind. While the temperatures warmed significantly during the run, humidity dropped. But the second half was into a headwind which got pretty brisk on miles six and seven. My splits very much reflected it.

Still, I kept the total average pace under ten minutes and that's about all I was shooting for given the condition of my legs recently.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:31
Pace: 9:37 min/mi

Comments: So I was pretty much a mess after the run and workout yesterday. Just beaten down tired. It has been more than the follow up to the last two races so I'm not exactly sure what is going on.

So I decided to stick with the back-to-back runs this week and then leave the run this weekend open. I'll make a call on it depending how I feel after today.

This run didn't feel as bad as yesterday but was also a good bit slower. The sun came out for the first time this week and, added to the humidity, made things a little unpleasant. Still, I didn't feel overheated like I did yesterday and doing the race.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:08
Pace: 9:16 min/mi

Comments: So the race Sunday really did a number on me. I was sore up to and including this morning. I just don't bounce back from heavy efforts the way I used to. I probably could have put in two easy miles but caution seemed to be the best strategy after that beating of a race.

At one point on Sunday we passed by the entrance to Trinity Overlook Park or, as I know it, the Trinity River bottoms. I've been meaning to do a run in this area for awhile so it seemed like a good day to try it. I overlooked the fact it has rained for the past two days.

So this ended up being a bit of a muddy slog. Luckily the trail wasn't a bog or, worse, underwater. I battled through it and finished significantly faster that I had any reason to expect.

The 2018 Dallas Rock n' Roll Half Marathon

Race: Dallas Rock n' Roll Half Marathon
Watch Time: 2:01:22
Official Time: 2:04:10
Pace: 9:29 min/mi

Comments: This did not go at all as I hoped. After the Cowtown Half Marathon last month I felt I could get a sub-two-hour race if I added a bit of distance. That wasn't the case. At all.

I got a 15 miler in two weeks ago and had been doing regular runs under the target pace I would need to hit for my time. I knew this course threw a few ugly hills into the mix but I hoped I could get ahead of the clock enough while mitigating the slowdown to make it. For the most part, I held to that strategy for the first half of the race.

The problem was the humidity. Temps got into the 70s during the race but the 90+ percent humidity made it a nightmare. I had sweat through my shirt by the first 5K and it didn't get better from there. The humidity zapped my energy as I tried to battle through the two big uphills and, like last month, I got to the final four miles with nothing in the tank.

Once again, I was just hanging on for the very end of this one. The battle was in not stopping and walking the end of it. So not only did I not reach my race goal, I finished a half minute slower than last race. Wonderful.

Fitness Run

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 46:51
Pace: 9:22 min/mi

Comments: Having done the reconnaissance on the Coombs Creek Trail last run, I wanted to do the full five miles to get a feel for the uphills it includes. Basically, this course is out-and-back with all of out going down and all of back going uphill.

I just tried to keep a constant but not overfast pace on the first half and then slugged it out on the second. There are some steep sections that are not too fun but, overall, I think my performance was reasonable for a first attempt. Still, it's not fun to see my pace fall precipitously on the final mile.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:32
Pace: 8:52 min/mi

Comments: The plan was to put in six miles over the weekend but that didn't happen. I was feeling really worn down and took two days off, planning to go on Sunday. But, on Sunday, I felt awful. It turned into my first three-day layoff.

With a race this weekend, putting the long run in today didn't make much sense so I tried a different route for my run. This is an out-and-back run that actually ends up being about 4.7 miles all the way. I just put in four since it was an exploratory effort. Felt pretty good and got under the nine-minute-mile threshold.

Fitness Run

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 18:17
Pace: 9:07 min/mi

Comments: The plan today was to get back-to-back runs in this week. The other goal was to try the trail along the Trinity River which I recalled as being pretty straight and flat. It's been a few years so I needed some reconnaissance before making it a permanent part of my running schedule.

The good news is the trail was pretty much as I recalled. The bad news is I forgot what a battle running it in Texas-style wind could be. I had to work a lot harder than I expected for what I thought was going to be a straightforward effort. Since this was an "extra" run this week, I chose to cut it short at the halfway point and chalk it up to experience.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:47
Pace: 8:56 min/mi

Comments: I felt a bit anxious trying to get out the door for this one. The long run really knocked me for a loop this week and I had real concerns it would continue to be a drag on my performance. And, as expected, I felt a bit stiff and uncomfortable getting started.

But it didn't take long to drop into a good rhythm right at my target pace. The individual mile paces were all over the pace but all in the range I wanted and got me the sub-9 overall pace for the run. Most importantly, I didn't have a late run dropoff in performance like I was concerned about.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 39:04
Pace: 9:45 min/mi

Comments: I was pretty sore the past two days due to the major long run on Saturday. There wasn't any specific pain that would make me concerned but the miles definitely took a toll on my legs. So I expected a certain degree of difficulty once I got out there today.

Overall, this wasn't too bad an effort for a recovery run. I had a reasonable pace for the first half of the run although it deteriorated over the last two miles. The final average pace was in the ballpark of what I hoped and, certainly, nowhere close to the death slog that followed the 10K.