Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 40:50
Pace: 10:12 min/mi

Comments: This was a warm muggy effort. There's a cold front scheduled to move through in a couple hours that will drop temperatures and bring a ton of wind. Snow is possible. So I figured getting this one in when it was still warm would be best.

Nothing fancy here. The most important note is that none of the aches I was concerned about from the race on Sunday are still hanging around. There is still a little soreness in my quads but that's about it.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 41:05
Pace: 10:15 min/mi

Comments: I was pretty sore the day after the race but it certainly wasn't as awful as I was fearing it might be. By the end of the day I was getting around pretty well. I felt a bit stiff this morning but nothing that really impeded my run.

The one thing I'm really needing to focus on as we enter the last phase of training for these January races is slowing the hell down. I did great with that in the first half of the race. Now I need to do it consistently through training.

Today I started out a bit on the fast side but deliberately focused on keeping it in check the rest of the way. My last mile was about a minute slower than the first (mainly downhill) one. That feels weird but it's what I need to keep doing.

Dallas Half Marathon

Distance: 13.1 miles
Chip Time: 1:59:50
Gun Time: 2:30:38
Pace: 9:09 min/mi

Comments: I signed onto this one mostly as a barometer for my training for the races in January. I have been spotty to negligent in getting out there and getting runs in since Hartford and this was a chance to see how much trouble I am in for when I get to Walt Disney World.

The expectations for the race were, understandably, low. I planned to run this overslow and without any real time or pace goal. Just take what the course gave me and see how my legs felt. And if things went well, maybe put a little mustard on the last few miles.

To start, it was cold. Right above freezing. I did what I could to stay in warm areas until the start and then screwed up by getting cut off from my corral when they actually did start. I tried to loop back around but was told I'd have to get into the last corral instead. Wonderful.

So I ended up running this whole race in a crowd. It was a mess to get started but never really thinned out like I am used to. I guess that's fine. It helped me keep the pace down at the start. But it's not what I am used to.

The first 10K was almost entirely uphill. I just tried to roll along and keep up the cadence while not overdoing it on exertion. It took a good three miles to warm up where it wasn't uncomfortable and at the halfway point I took off the hat and gloves. I took a bathroom break after that which took awhile due to the lines but though it would be no big deal.

Since I was going downhill after that, I started upping the pace a little. Mostly trying to ride the descents somewhat. They had speakers set up along the course at spots and when I hit the long straight shot at Gaston Avenue, Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" came on. Time to crush some fools.

I really opened it up and was just cruising along. It felt good to just run for once. I had to slow down for the turns in the course but on the last couple miles into downtown, I decided to keep the effort up and see how it felt.

I passed one dude and, moments later heading past the final turn, he passed me back. Not today, son. I opened it completely up for the last 200 meters or so and hit the finish line full speed. It was really nice to have that kind of juice at the end of a race for once.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:52
Pace: 9:27 min/mi

Comments: Didn't get out until later in the afternoon. It was pretty cold early, dropping near freezing, and still pretty chilly for the warmest point of the day. It's looking like mid-30s for the race this weekend so I might need to do a run or two in this crap at some point.

This one went pretty well otherwise. I thought I was slowing down some but still ended up with my 9:30 pace overall. Given my lackadaisical training, that will be a problem come raceday if I don't get it addressed.

Training Run

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 20:23
Pace: 10:07 min/mi

Comments: Welp. It's race week. I'm hardly ready and there really isn't anything I can do at this point to prepare better. The goal then is to put in some good miles and run it slightly fatigued; treating it as a training effort for January.

I ended up deciding on a short run this morning and I'll try to get something long-ish in tomorrow. I actually was working on slowing it down today and did alright at it. I probably need to drop the pace even more, to be honest.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:32
Pace: 9:37 min/mi

Comments: After the sadness of yesterdays pathetic effort, this was a bit of an improvement. My initial intention was to crank out eight miles but, getting into it, I realized I was just punishing myself for the bad run yesterday. That doesn't do any good.

So I stuck with the regular four miles and tried to keep things consistent and even. This new route has a bit more uphill so my pacing and cadence are pretty erratic. But the heart rate is keeping out of the maximum zone despite the challenges so I think that's getting it done for now.

Training Run

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 18:36
Pace: 9:16 min/mi

Comments: Well. A least I ran something.

Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 59:35
Pace: 9:55 min/mi

Comments: Alright, finally back on the weekend training train. After going back and forth on where to do this, I decided to just go around the neighborhood and find a new route. Which worked out pretty good, except for the damned hills.

I worked on keeping a pretty constant effort rather than cadence, or pace or anything else. I wanted to run the whole thing comfortably even with all the uphill portions. That worked pretty well as my heart rate wasn't in the highest zone except for about 10% of the run, but all the rest of my metrics were all over the map.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 39:45
Pace: 9:55 min/mi

Comments: After another busy morning in the kitchen, I got out the door and did the run. Since it is Thanksgiving Day there were few cars but lots of other runners. I guess they were taking advantage of not having to do their runs before/after work.

I wasn't really enthusiastic about this effort and kind of wanted to get it done with. I kept it a little slower and tried to keep on top of my overall exertion. My heart rate wasn't as high as during yesterday's run so I guess I took care of that well enough.

Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 57:21
Pace: 9:32 min/mi

Comments: OK. Got an hour-long run in. I had to wait until early afternoon, though. The temperatures were cool but not cold and the humidity was reasonable. So it was about ideal in terms of conditions.

I tried to slow it down some but slipped into that 9:30-ish pace I got used to over the summer. I guess with the improved weather, this is what an easier run is like now. Still, a heck of a lot of this was in a higher range heart rate so I was putting in work.