Hot Chocolate 15K Dallas

Distance: 9.3 miles
Chip Time: 1:27:12
Watch Time: 1:27:24
Pace: 9:19 min/mi

Comments: The first race in quite some time for me and I went in with pretty conservative expectations. Just get it done. Nothing fancy. Negative split if at all possible.

I started pretty slow, partially due to the congestion at the start of the course. There were a lot more folks in this race than I expected and some of the turns were pretty tight. No biggie.

For the first 5K I just kept it at a slow comfortable pace, hitting it at just over 10 min/mi. A ton of folks passed me but that was fine. The only times I sped up was to get in front of the morons wearing speakers. It turned out that a lot of the first third of the course was uphill, so my strategy was even more sound than I expected.

For the second 5K I still kept it in my comfort zone but focused more on cadence. The course crested in this portion and I started riding noticeable downhills. I crossed the 10K mark with a 9:45 min/mi overall pace.

The last 5K was all about pushing it a bit. I increased both cadence and effort to not-quite-race-pace level. The first and second mile of this 5K were at 8:40 min/mi pace. For the final mile, I tried to get at race pace effort -- my goal was to ensure nobody passed me through this part. This mile was under 8:30 pace.

I finished with a pretty good time (90 minutes was my ballpark guess for a solid race). My legs didn't feel wiped out afterward but were definitely tired from the effort. I didn't make any major mistakes like going out WAY too fast. Overall, a very solid effort.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 39:13
Pace: 9:40 min/mi

Comments: I was not keen on running in a possible sleet storm so nixed the possibility of a workout on Wednesday given the forecast. Turned out we just got cold rain. The skies cleared today by noon and, though it was a bit brisk with the wind, it wasn't an awful day to run.

Got delayed at the start helping a guy catch his dog that got loose but no biggie. Really tried to keep it relaxed but found myself pushing it on a few occasions. About a fifth of the run was in Zone 5 -- a bit longer than necessary given the race on Saturday.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.02 miles
Time: 38:42
Pace: 9:37 min/mi

Comments: When I left for work, the temperatures were in the 60s. When I got home for lunch and ready to head out for the run, they had dropped almost 20 degrees. Good times.

The forecast of sleet and wintry weather was revised to push the bad stuff to the late afternoon and  evening if at all. So the lunch run was the only window to get it done.

I probably ran this one too fast due to the cold but, in honesty, it felt pretty good. I had a solid effort and didn't feel drained after finishing.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 40:51
Pace: 10:08 min/mi

Comments: Made it out for a lunch run, so that part went as planned. I knew it was going to be a little bit of a challenge because of the run yesterday. It turned out to be a bit more than I expected.

My legs felt tired (but not sore) pretty much from the start. I tried focusing on cadence but it just got kind of sloppy the further I got into it. By the last mile I was back to the slogging through it from a month ago. Needless to say, the last hill was not pleasant at all.

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.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.04 miles
Time: 39:43
Pace: 9:50 min/mi

Comments: The work schedule nuked my running plans for the week so getting this one in was a priority. I took the long lunch and got it done. It's been a tad chilly but the intermittent sunshine kept the edge off for this run.

Once again, I focused on cadence and, again, I cranked out almost the whole thing in sub-long-run effort (Zone 3). Honestly, I thought more of it was going to be in Zone 5 but whatever.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 39:19
Pace: 9:41 min/mi

Comments: Initially, I planned to do a run the day after the long run as a recovery effort. I was pretty achy yesterday and decided to pass on that attempt and do the run today. That probably was the right idea.

Despite the soreness/tiredness of the past day or so, I felt pretty good about this one. My legs felt strong from start to finish and my conditioning seems to be better as well. This turned out to be a bit more effort heart-rate-wise but, conversely, didn't feel nearly as hard to complete.

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.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 43:43
Pace: 10:47 min/mi

Comments: The last of a three day stretch of runs and I was really feeling exhausted at the end. As a result, this one was slooooooow and felt it. From the start I just tried to crank it out. Zero style points today.

Despite feeling like I was just hanging in there, my heart rate stayed right in the super long run mode (Zone 3) and none of it at the highest level. I can't decide if that's progress or not. I really just need to see how I recover on this next off day and come back for the long run.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 37:59
Pace: 9:25 min/mi

Comments: I've felt kind of tired/exhausted the last day or so and starting this run, my hopes weren't high. Most of the first mile my legs felt empty and I was worried the whole effort might become a slog.

I decided to just focus on cadence and grind out what I could and just hang on to the end whenever the fade hit. Weirdly, it didn't. When I got to the hills on mile three I was doing pretty good so I really focused on attacking them.

The result was my fastest effort since May of last year. Not bad for a mid-week run.