New Shoes: Brooks Glycerine 18

With a strong first two months of the year behind me and plans for marathon training about to begin, the time has come for new shoes. I wanted to get another pair of the Brooks Glycerine 17's I've been training in the last year or so. But, as usual, they are being phased out for the next edition of the line.

So, the Brooks Glycerine 18 it is.

As usual, the folks at Fort Worth Running Company gave me a good rundown of the shoe. Basically, this edition isn't a wholesale rebuild so it's very similar to the version prior. They feel basically the same although I need to put a few dozen miles on them to really get a feel for how they run.

I'll probably keep the old pair around for another month or so for long runs but, by the end of training, I should have phased them out completely.

Fitness Run

Distance: 2.04 miles
Time: 24:35
Pace: 12:03 min/mi

Comments: A two miler to put my month total at 80 miles. It was also a good opportunity to run with Emily and work on one of the paces I expect will be required in the training plan.

With the half-marathon tomorrow, I didn't want to push anything too hard. The weather was pretty much ideal with cool temperatures that are expected to extend into tomorrow.

Although I didn't feel my exertion level was elevated, I spent half the run in the Zone 5 heart rate. Not sure what is going on with that.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 44:38
Pace: 11:01 min/mi

Comments: Meant to do this run yesterday but didn't get it done due to a variety of reasons. Still, the weather was about perfect for this kind of effort so it didn't work out so bad.

Once again, I tried to hit that slower, 11 min/mi pace and, once again, it was a complete pain in the ass. I did pop it on the nose the first two miles and kept within a reasonable range with the hills on the second half of the run.

Heart rate was mostly in Zone 4 which is much better than the last time.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.04 miles
Time:45:29
Pace: 11:15 min/mi

Comments: One of my resolutions this year was to run another marathon. After reviewing my progress thus far it seems about time to decide what one exactly. If I start training now, I should be set to take on the Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon which is in late May.

So I got hold of Billy at Blaser Coaching Services to see about coming up with a plan and he said it seems reasonable.

This approach will inevitably result in doing a lot of runs slower than I usually do. So today I deliberately went out trying to keep the pace under 11 min/mi. I achieved that but it was a major pain in the ass.

And, even though it was far slower than my usual runs, I spent almost 60% of the effort with Zone 5 heart rate. So this will be fun.

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.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 38:35
Pace: 9:31 min/mi

Comments: Chilly again but not absolutely freezing. So, that's an improvement, right? I know the sweltering heat that makes running an absolute chore is around the corner but I'm ready to put away the hoodies.

Felt better with a day of rest but the miles are still pretty good at making themselves felt. I worked on cadence today and expected a quicker run. The performance level was a lot better, half of the effort in Zone 4 and only a quarter in Zone 5.

Headed out of town for a couple days so another break should help recovery even more.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 40:02
Pace: 9:53 min/mi

Comments: Final day of a three-in-a-row and I'm ready for a break. My legs are holding up well but I certainly can feel the drag on my energy levels.

I dialed back on cadence but still pegged the exertion levels. Almost half of the run was in the Zone 5 range and more than 80 percent was in Zone 4 or higher.

Add to that I haven't been eating particularly well and, yeah... not ideal.

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.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.07 miles
Time: 42:42
Pace: 10:30 min/mi

Comments: I've fallen into an every-other-day running pattern of late and that routine got me out the door today. It was pretty damn cold in the morning so I waited until after noon to put the shoes on and get out the door.

My legs have been a bit sore after the two hard workouts so I really concentrated on taking it easy with this one. Even on the downhills, I made an effort to slow down and keep from falling into a fast tempo.

Overall, I was never really into this effort but, once it was over, I didn't have any real issues with it either.

Fitness Run

Distance: 6.02 miles
Time: 1:00:09
Pace: 10:00 min/mi

Comments: So with a wide open schedule for the foreseeable future, I need to get serious with the running effort. I considered a regular four-miler today but changed course and went for six. Not a great idea.

After two superb runs, my legs decided to bring me back down to earth. Add to that it was cold and wet and miserable and you have a delightful slog of a run that makes you question why you do this in the first place.

Still, got it done.