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.

Long Run

Distance: 12 miles
Time: 1:58:21
Pace: 9:52 min/mi

Comments: I spent a good portion of the week trying not to obsess over the amount I had riding on this run. I've been shooting for a number of unspoken goals recently and this was where I had to make them happen.

I got started a little later than I like and paid for that with a much more crowded course. Mostly it was runners and the usual asshole cyclists, neither of which impeded my efforts. I got a powerbar down pre-run as well which seemed to help my energy levels.

The first part of the run was the usual slog. I just focused on each section as it arrived. I was still on track at the halfway point so that's where I really started focusing on keeping the pace up. I tried to keep increasing the effort slightly for each of the last four miles with some success. I finished feeling worn out but not completely fried like in the past.

So I hit all three run goals; 12 miles, negative splits and sub-two hours. I hit my training goal of a pace run and long run back-to-back. And I hit my monthly goal of 100 miles for the first time. All-in-all not a bad effort.

Pace Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 33:24
Pace: 8:20 min/mi

Comments: Yesterday was a good rest day. I was a little tired but not exhausted and worn down. I got my steps goal without adding to the fatigue significantly. Slept hard.

Today I wanted to get a trial run of the race next week. Not as fast (hopefully) but pushing the effort consistently the whole way without going overboard. I'm not exactly sure what my actual race pace is yet, but this will suffice for now.

Looking at the heart rate I seem to have hit my goal. Most of it was in Zone 4 and only 1% creeped into Zone 5. My splits, after the first 'warm up' mile, were all within three seconds of 8:16 pace so the consistency was strong as well.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:26
Pace: 9:21 min/mi

Comments: Really working hard to make my personal goal for the month. I've got to make every run for these last few days count. This one went pretty much perfect.

I slept very hard but woke up before the alarm. I got out to run pretty quickly but decided to skip the burpees to get the running started. The warm-up portion was unpleasant; I felt like I was running in water. After that it went very smoothly.

I felt pretty dialed in to the pace for most of the run. Even though I was checking the Garmin, I felt comfortable just holding steady with the rhythm. The last mile and a half was very comfortable for me.

Recovery Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 39:08
Pace: 9:46 min/mi

Comments: My intention was to do this recovery run yesterday and see how it might work immediately after a long run. I felt really exhausted when I woke up and had other issues (see below). As a result I opted for a rest day and, in retrospect, that was probably the correct course of action.

So today was a recovery run. Just tried to keep it in the 10 min/mi range. As expected, I felt sluggish getting started and had to battle a lack of pep the whole way. But I really didn't have soreness and the strength in my legs was more than enough to get me through the effort.

Long Run

Distance: 12 miles
Time: 2:08:39
Pace: 10:43 min/mi

Comments: The plan was to do the long run yesterday; stacking it on top of a pace run Friday. Instead it turned out I was so tired I slept for 12 straight hours and it was way too warm to get the run in when I got up. So I took the rest and pushed the long run back to today.

The goal was 12 miles at any pace. And I started overslow to make sure I didn't get myself into trouble early. With the distance, the heat and the humidity, this turned out to be the right move.

So I didn't set any land speed records today but I did get the distance and, more importantly, I didn't feel like I was killing myself doing it. The back half of the effort was challenging but not like the run a few weeks ago when I went out way too fast on the first few miles. And, afterward, I didn't feel completely burnt out like on that occasion either.