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5ksandcabernets: September 2010

5ksandcabernets

Monday, September 27, 2010

The morning papers....

Newspapers may be a dying breed, but these institutions still employ a lot of talented writers (hey, I'd like to think I used to be one of them when I was at the Star-Telegram).
 
Anyway, there is nothing like crusing the internet on Mondays to read the various accounts of Sunday's NFL action.
 
I loved this line from Thomas Boswell in the Washington Post on the Redskins loss to the pitiful St. Louis Rams:
 
"Entering Sunday, St. Louis had lost 28 of its previous 29 games. Until the Redskins got here, Rams fans were so depressed that when they tailgated, they took turns sitting next to the exhaust pipe. Now it's Redskins fans who'll need to be talked off the ledge."

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Yasso 800s

We are winding up training for the Chicago Marathon, working on leg turnover and doing marathon pace runs so that we will be comfortable with that pace on race day.
 
Today we did Yasso 800s, which in laymans terms is 1/2 mile intervals in the time you think you can run the marathon. For instance, I need to run Chicago in 3 hours and 20 minutes to qualify for Boston. This means I should be able to do each of my half mile intervals in 3:20 or better (Thats 3 minutes and 20 seconds for the non-runner types who hit this blog).
 
Coach Gilbert told us in the begining we'd just do 8 of the 1/2 mile intervals with a two-minute recovery.
 
Then, as I'm completing the 7th, he tells me I should do 10 intervals. Argh.
 
Here were my splits.
 
3:14 - faster than I needed, but it felt easy, so I didnt fret about the pace.
3:06 - again, faster - ok way faster, but I felt ok.
3:08
3:13 - not sure what happened here
3:06 - feeling good
3:07
3:03 -
3:06 - Just noticed I'd done four straight under 3:10 and this is when Gilbert made me do two more.
2:53 - Thought if id run hard enough I wouldnt have to run the last one
2:38 - I'll never run a 2:38 marathon, but it was nice to see my Garmin after this interval.
 
So, thats an average of 3:03 for the 1/2 mile intervals. Which converts to a 3:03 marathon.
 
NO WAY AM I FRIGGIN GONNA TRY TO RUN A 3:03 MARATHON.
 
NO WAY!!!!

Yasso 800s

We are winding up training for the Chicago Marathon, working on leg turnover and doing marathon pace runs so that we will be comfortable with that pace on race day.
 
Today we did Yasso 800s, which in laymans terms is 1/2 mile intervals in the time you think you can run the marathon. For instance, I need to run Chicago in 3 hours and 20 minutes to qualify for Boston. This means I should be able to do each of my half mile intervals in 3:20 or better (Thats 3 minutes and 20 seconds for the non-runner types who hit this blog).
 
Coach Gilbert told us in the begining we'd just do 8 of the 1/2 mile intervals with a two-minute recovery.
 
Then, as I'm completing the 7th, he tells me I should do 10 intervals. Argh.
 
Here were my splits.
 
3:14 - faster than I needed, but it felt easy, so I didnt fret about the pace.
3:06 - again, faster - ok way faster, but I felt ok.
3:08
3:13 - not sure what happened here
3:06 - feeling good
3:07
3:03 -
3:06 - Just noticed I'd done four straight under 3:10 and this is when Gilbert made me do two more.
2:53 - Thought if id run hard enough I wouldnt have to run the last one
2:38 - I'll never run a 2:38 marathon, but it was nice to see my Garmin after this interval.
 
So, thats an average of 3:03 for the 1/2 mile intervals. Which converts to a 3:03 marathon.
 
NO WAY AM I FRIGGIN GONNA TRY TO RUN A 3:03 MARATHON.
 
NO WAY!!!!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

I am Kenyan, even if only for 200 meters

Speed workout with Gilbert's Gazelles this morning.
 
1.5 mile warm up, leg drills, then 6 times around the track at 5k pace, rest, then 12 x 200 meter intervals with about a 30 to 45 second cool down between each interval.
 
My specs....
 
It took me 9:04 to get around the track six times. I pretty much ran on the second lane from the inside, and the total distance wound up being, according to Garmin, 1.54 miles, which gives me a nice pace of about 5:53 min/mile.
 
Blink. Deep breath. Smile.
 
I quickly had to recover for the 200 meter intervals. Wasn't sure how fast I'd run them. Just concentrate on leg turnover. The first few were in 45 seconds or so. And then my lungs felt better, and I stayed around 40 seconds for the next 7 or 8 intervals. Finally, the last two, I completed in under 40 seconds, with the last 200 meter interval taking me 35 seconds to complete.
 
I was sucking air after that last one. 35 seconds to run 200 meters doesnt sound real fast when you consider Usain Bolt ran 200 meters in 19.19.
 
But if you take my 200 meter time and extrapolate it over a mile, that gives me a pace of 4:30 min/mile.
 
That's Kenyan pace, baby.
 
 
 
 

Monday, September 6, 2010

2010 Fort Worth Labor Day 15K Run

My time was 1:05:45 for the 15k, an official pace of 7:01 min/mile, though my Garmin read the course at 9.41 miles (and a pace of 6:59 min/mile).

I ran this same race last year and compared my times.

Mile---2010.........2009
1 - -----6:52..........7:30
2 -------6:50......... 7:11
3 -------7:01......... 7:12
4 -------7:01......... 7:07
5 -------7:11......... 7:16
6 -------7:06........ 7:08
7 -------7:15......... 7:29
8 -------6:58........ 7:05
9 -------6:56........ 7:12
.4 -------2:31........ 2:38

A few observations...

1) On the Saturday before this race in 2009, I ran 24 miles. This past Saturday, I ran 16.
2) In 2009, I was averaging about 55 miles per week in the 18 week period of training before the Portland Marathon.
3) I've averaged 45 miles per week in in training this year leading up to the Chicago Marathon.
Is less more?
*For this race, I decided to hang out around 7:00 min/mile pace and see how long I could hold it. As you can see, the first two miles, I was ahead of the pace. Miles 3 and 4 I intentionally dialed it back. Miles 5, 6, and 7 - the middle miles - I kind of lost my focus mentally.
*Probably had something to do with being passed by a guy pushing a baby stroller. Seriously. From behind me I could hear this baby crying or cooing or whatever, and I thought it was somebody on a bike, so I veered off to the side so he could pass (OK, first of all, what would a bike be doing on our race course, right?) - well, it wasn't a bike. It was a guy pushing his kid in a stroller, and he was moving.
*I finally started feeling good again around the end of Mile 7 and put together some nice splits for the last two miles. Weird. Its like I didnt get "warm" until the last two miles of the race, and by then, the race was over. I sucked it up and poured everything I had on the coals the final half mile or so and almost caught up with the baby stroller guy, but he nipped me at the finish - and then it took all I had not to throw up everywhere.

This time winds up being a 15K Pr by more than 2 minutes.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

August 2010 mileage

Number of runs in August 2010 - 23

Miles run 208.22

Total time: 28 hours, 12 minutes, 23 seconds

Ave pace per mile: 8 minutes, 7 seconds per mile