6 miles with a fartlek

2 mile warm up

3 mile fartlek, 30 seconds slow, 30 seconds fast - 16:45

1 mile cool down

Felt good, ran well.

2009 HBU Husky Hustle 5k Results

The Husky Hustle results page is kind of hard to find so I figured I would post it here in case anyone ran the race and was looking for the results.

http://hbuhuskies.com/article.asp?articleID=687

6 Miles Easy

Mile 1	7:21
Mile 2	6:40
Mile 3	7:02
Mile 4	6:39
Mile 5	6:48
Mile 6	6:26

Sunday 7 miles recovery

7 miles recovery. I ran it at 7:20 pace. Felt ok throughout the run.

Husky Hustle 5k 1st Overall - 9 miles total

I've raced this race twice before. As a matter of fact this was the first 5k that I had ever raced. This happened way back in 2001. Recognize me in the picture below?

This was my first ever 5k. After this race I raced a couple other 5ks in 2001 but then I quit for many years until 2006. I could never seem to run faster than 20 minutes for a 5k.

Fast forward 8 years later and things have changed. I now have many many races under my belt, including many other types of races . I arrived early at the race and quickly realized that today would not be a good day to run a fast time. It was pretty cold, in the 40s, but in the 30s with wind chill. Speaking of wind, there were probably 25-30 mile an hour winds. I started my warm up way early because I thought the race would start at 7:30 am. Then Ryan, a kid I used to train with (Kenyan Way), laughed and told me the race started at 8 am. That kind of threw me off a little but I was ready to run. The race was rather small and there were no other local elite guys at the race. There were a few guys I didn't recognize at the front of the race but I guessed it would probably be just Ryan and me for most of the race.

After a few announcements the gun sounded and we were off. The course had changed from previous years and now would be around the campus for the most part. During the first mile I started slowly as usual. There was a guy at the front that I didn't recognize who led for most of mile 1. I could feel the strong winds hitting us directly. Not a good sign, as far as fast times go. By about 3/4ths of a mile into the race I shot out to the lead. The guy that led for most of the mile tried to keep up but I could hear him breathing too hard so I knew that he would have problems keeping up with the pace. There was a girl at the 1st mile marker who called out my 1st mile at 5:02. I was in disbelief of that because my Garmin had said I was running about 5:12 pace and the mile hadn't even clicked off yet. A little while later my Garmin clicked and said 5:11 pace. I had trouble going any faster than that because of all the wind.

During mile 2 I started breathing hard. This was very abnormal because I usually don't breath hard until the end of mile 3 in a 5k. So by now I was really working to stay consistent. I tried to go faster but my body couldn't respond. So I just maintained pace the best I could. The person at the 2nd mile marker called out my time at 10:10. I was pretty sure this was wrong. A little later the Garmin fired off and said 10:24 for my second split. 5:12 pace.

We turned around on the course and I could see that I had built up a huge lead so there would be no one pushing me today. Boy was it windy and boy was I winded! I ran as fast and as hard as I could, fighting the wind all the way. I eventually ended up finishing mile 3 at 5:10 pace.

I turned the corner and I could see the finish line. I sped up as hard as I could and stepped on the chip mat and looked my Garmin. It read 16:23. To tell you the truth, this was a great shock to me. I didn't think I would run anywhere near this time. I felt the worst case scenario would be a 16:10. After analyzing the data a little closer I realized that this time wasn't bad, not bad at all. The Garmin said I ran the whole race at 5:11 pace. That would mean that the course was a little long because I ran the Rockets 5k race at 5:09 and finished in 16:01. My Garmin said I ran 3.16 miles. I don't really know if the course was long or if I ran a very inefficient race. It was also very windy, so that also played a big factor as well. To make a long story short, this was not going to be a race to PR in for me. I'm still pleased with my results and I am now able to make a better judgment about what I can do next Saturday for the Bellaire Trolley Run next Saturday.

Here is a picture of me and Ed Borges, an old friend of mine at HBU.

Here are my splits:

Husky Hustle 5k

Mile 1	5:11
Mile 2	5:12
Mile 3	5:10
Last .16 Mile	5:04 (48 seconds)
Total Average Pace	5:11

Finishing time: 16:23

7 Miles Easy...Race tomorrow

I ran 7 miles at 7:14 pace. I purposely held back a little. I didn't want to do tomorrow's race today. Now what is this race you may be asking? No its not the Law Week 8k, but rather the HBU Husky Hustle. It's a small 5k race at my alma mater. I'll stop by and give this race a go and maybe say hello to some familiar faces.

If you are desperate to race there seem to be plenty to choose from tomorrow. Check out the tornados race calendar http://www.tornadosrunningclub.com/Tornado_Outlook/Running_Events.htm

There are 5 races tomorrow and 3 races on Sunday.

Time to go get some sleep.

Good Night,

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Thursday easy 7 miles

My writing has been a little sparse the past few days. But hopefully that will change soon. I did 7 miles easy for total average pace of 7:12. The legs felt better today, as a matter of fact they felt pretty strong but the pace said otherwise.

8 miles recovery

Today I did 8 miles in recovery mode(skipped speed work). I ran during lunch and the weather was very good. I'm still curious as to why I still had cramps today. The first thing that comes to mind is it is probably nutritional. I used to feel like this all the time when I first started Kenyan Way. I finally figured it out when I adjusted my nutrition. I didn't really have cramp issues anymore. The puzzling part for me is although I have slipped a bit in recent weeks with my nutrition it hasn't been that bad. Oh well. I did 8 miles at 7:03 pace with the last few miles at sub 7 pace. I was able to get into a little flow and finally my legs started feeling a bit better. Hopefully by tomorrow they will feel even better.

Off to sleep...

Bill

7 miles easy

Today was fairly inconsequential except for a couple of things. I had cramps today after the hill workout yesterday. I am fairly surprised by this since I feel that the hill workout was probably one of the easier workouts I've had recently. So I'll probably skip my scheduled workout tomorrow. I did 7 miles easy at 7:45 pace.

Hill repeats and 8 miles

Did about 24 hill repeats in 25 minutes. Actually I did 24 hill repeats in 22 minutes. I arrived at the Kenyan Way workout a little late and jumped right in there. I liked this workout even though I don't really have any workout metrics to report about. Afterwards I jogged in Memorial park to finish at 8 miles total, but I didn't lose my key this time :)

Easy 9 mile run

Last night I went to Blockbuster. While I was waiting in line, a girl looked at me and smiled. I smiled back politely and then she told me she was looking at my shirt. I had forgot that I had my "No...I'm not Obama" t-shirt on. Finally she told her Dad who looked at me and then my shirt and started laughing. He asked me where I got that shirt, and I told him I made it. Then he asked if he could take a picture of me and I said sure why not. We all started chuckling and laughing. When I reached the Blockbuster checkout counter the Blockbuster guy told me that other guy and his wife were huge Obama supporters. They went to the inauguration and the guy's wife even had custom made Obama clothing. Don't ask me what that is because I don't know. He also told me that the guy was enlisted and had come back home recently. Right now I'm wondering how far that picture will make it around the net.

Today I was to do 9 miles easy. My legs were feeling great. I started out my 1st mile at 7:07. Eventually the legs picked up speed rapidly and I was running in the 6:20's for a good portion of my run. I have to admit, running your easy runs fast is almost as fun as racing. I wasn't pushing at all today. I believe it is just an indication of how strong my legs have got recently. Eventually the humidity and heat creeped in, and I slowed a bit at the end. As far as running was concerned, this week was stellar, as I completed 69.57 miles of running for the week. Here are my splits for the day:

9 Miles Easy

Mile 1	7:07
Mile 2	6:25
Mile 3	6:25
Mile 4	6:22
Mile 5	6:25
Mile 6	6:23
Mile 7	6:33
Mile 8	6:31
Mile 9	6:43
Total Average Pace	6:33

Long Run - 2 hours

Today I didn't really have any mileage requirements other than the fact that I would run for 2 hours. Sometimes it is good to just look at the total time ran instead of the number of miles ran. Sometimes you may run faster and not get the full aerobic benefit that you are looking for. And sometimes you may run slower but get the full aerobic benefit you are looking for. So this was the theory behind this run.

Starting out the run my legs felt extremely sluggish as I started out at near 9 minute pace. The second mile was also pretty slow. I was attributing this to issues I had the day before and the extra loop and all that other jazz. But pretty soon things started to loosen up. And at the end of the run I finished at a low 6 minute pace. No extra issues, no hamstring issues, life is good.

2 Hour Long Run

Mile 1	8:54
Mile 2	8:07
Mile 3	7:56
Mile 4	7:45
Mile 5	7:21
Mile 6	7:10
Mile 7	7:06
Mile 8	7:05
Mile 9	6:55
Mile 10	7:07
Mile 11	7:01
Mile 12	6:54
Mile 13	6:51
Mile 14	6:41
Mile 15	6:48
Mile 16	6:38
Last .57 Mile	6:15
Total Average Pace	7:14

Bad Luck Bill - Stranded at Memorial Park + 7 miles easy (Friday)

If you have been reading the blog for the past week or two then you have probably noticed that I've been going without sleep, struggling to fit my runs in my schedule, etc...etc. Well keeping with the theme, I had a situation to top them all. Let's start with my run.

I did 7 miles easy. There was nothing really special about the run. I was still feeling the effects of the speed work from the day before, but my hamstring wasn't giving me any trouble. I ran 7 miles at 7:40 pace and I was greatly relieved that I only had to do 7 miles. Or so I thought...

So after my run I did my stretches and was now ready to leave. So I looked for my key that was supposed to be in the pocket inside my shorts. Nope, not there. Hmmm...no need to panic I probably put it in the bed of my truck. Nope not there. Well maybe I put it on the ledge by the light post. Not there either. Hmmm...where else could it be? Maybe I dropped on the ground while I was stretching. Not there. Maybe I dropped it in the port o' potty. Ewww disgusting, but not there. Ok now I'm beginning to get worried. So I search the ground area around and under my truck. Nothing. Uh oh, the unthinkable may have just happened. The key may have fell out of my shorts in the park. There is no way in heck that I'm going to retrace my footsteps around the trail. No way. I did not feel like doing another loop. I just need to retrace my steps near the truck one more time. I still found nothing. I ask around for a phone and no one seems to have one. Somehow I begin to suspect that maybe people think I'm suspicious, or maybe they don't want anyone to interrupt their run. Anyway I found 2 guys, one of them one was gracious enough to let me use their phone. I called my wife but it went instantly to voice mail. I called my job and left a message. I thanked the guys and resigned myself to doing another loop around the trail in search of my key. I did another loop and no luck. So I flagged down a lady who initially told me she didn't have a phone. When I told her I lost my key and was stranded, she said she had a phone in her car. So once again I called my wife and once again it went to voice mail. Wow. My wife usually always answers the phone and now I can't reach her. And even if she did want to reach me she couldn't because I didn't have a phone! So anyway I did a couple more scans around the area close by and still didn't find it. One of the two guys I talked about earlier saw me and ran towards me. He said he had my wife on the phone. So I told my wife the situation and so she was on her way. She told me she didn't answer the phone because the numbers looked unfamiliar (Just my luck!).

About 45 minutes later my wife arrived and gave me a change of clothes (I finished my run at 8:30 and she arrived at 10:40). She was going to have to drop me off at work for a little bit because I had to take care of some things there. My wife couldn't find my spare key so I was calling dealers about a duplicate key. So not only would I have to get a duplicate key, but I would also have to get a locksmith to unlock my truck. Boy, what a pain.

Later my wife called me at work and told me that she had found my key. What!? Somehow I couldn't imagine my wife going back to the park and retracing my footsteps to find my key. Where in the heck did she find my key? She found it underneath my shorts, to add insult to injury!

Speed work and 9 miles total

When I started my warm up miles it looked like I was going to have a fast day. But then my hamstring started feeling weak. This issue came out of nowhere because I have not been feeling a thing the past few weeks. The issues continued into my speed work as I had trouble hitting my splits. The work out was 6x800 meters @ 4:48-4:56 pace (2:24-2:28) with 3 minutes rest. I was thinking that this work out would be relatively easy, but with the hamstring weakness that was not the case. Here are the splits:

Splits	Pace	Time
Split 1	4:56	2:27
Split 2	5:00	2:29
Split 3	4:54	2:27
Split 4	5:00	2:30
Split 5	5:00	2:30
Split 6	5:03	2:31

The hamstring issues are kind of weird because I have been running relatively slowly after the Bayou City 10k. But I have been doing a lot of speed recently with the races and speed work so maybe that is the reason. The hamstring didn't feel like anything serious and felt like one of those things that go away but I'll have to be smart about it.

Wednesday 10 miles easy short recap

I ran 10 miles. Postponed speed work till Thursday. Ran at about 7:10 pace. I wrote a post about this run but evidently it didn't post. So here goes the second post.

9 miles easy

My world of order has been challenged. I'm still trying to get back on to my regular schedule. The Memorial Tennis center is under some construction. Sleep is at a premium these days. But you know what? The weather was nice. I'll take that as my positive for the week. I also saw a funny exchange today at lunch. I was at Whole Foods for lunch and there weren't any tables to eat lunch on because it was so crowded. This lady had found the last table and had set her things down. She was afraid that someone would move or take her things while she left briefly. So she did the usual thing. She asked the guy seated next to her if he could watch her stuff while she was gone. Here is the exchange:

Lady: "Excuse me."

Guy: Ignores the lady. Eating a sandwich with his head totally down in his sandwich.

Lady: The lady thinks he just doesn't hear her so she repeats "Excuse me."

Guy: Guy continues to eat his sandwich, face downward.

Lady: Now the lady leans over next to his ear and asks "Excuse me could you watch this for me, I'll be right back."

Guy: Still facing away he says, "I take no responsibility."

Honestly, I chuckled inside. Usually people are much nicer than this. And even if they aren't really nice, they are self conscious enough to say "Yes" even when they want to say no. This man made no qualms about saying no and didn't skip a beat. He just kept on eating without a care in the world. The lady paused, looked a little puzzled and finally resigned to leaving her items and hoping for the best. I mean how do you respond to something like that?

Anyway on that note here are my splits:

9 Miles Easy

Mile 1	8:05
Mile 2	7:39
Mile 3	7:37
Mile 4	7:25
Mile 5	7:29
Mile 6	7:15
Mile 7	7:16
Mile 8	7:12
Mile 9	7:10
Total Average Pace	7:28

2 day short recap

Sunday I did my long run in the rain. I had to take my Garmin off because it has started to act up after getting wet. So I don't have any numbers for that run. My friend Josue showed up in the middle of the run and we had a good time talking about some things. I believe I ran somewhere between an hour and a half and an hour and 45 minutes.

Monday I did a 9 mile recovery run at 8 minute pace. Nothing much to report on this run. The park was empty, wet and pretty much uninspiring but I still got the run out of the way. Monday evening went to the rodeo with Josue and family. I'm so disappointed that I don't have a cowboy hat, big belt buckle, and boots. And I call myself a Texan :(

Bayou City Classic - 33:18 PR

Well it looks like my previous post jumped the gun a little. I assumed that because I had a bad week that my race would have to be affected. The results say otherwise.

I arrived Downtown and did a 2 mile warm up. During my warm up I was surprised that I didn't feel too cold. I brought two sets of clothes depending on the elements. I eventually decided to go shirtless with my regular racing shorts. This choice would shock a lot of people because as I approached the starting line I was the only one that was shirtless and many people called me crazy. Hey, I already knew I was crazy. The funny thing is when I arrived at the starting line it started to get really windy and cold. I was thinking, "What the heck is this?" I was having second thoughts about my shirtless decision. But I knew I would heat up when the race started.

At the starting line I noticed that there were quite a few more serious runners than at any other race I have been at recently besides the marathon. Everybody was there basically, plus some out of town coaches from some colleges that were competing in the running competitions locally. The coaches looked like they were recently post-collegiate runners. Basically the race was stacked. I didn't even mention that the race also included our local favorites: Sesar Figueroa, Adam Davis, Luis Armenteros, and John Hedengren.

I had no idea how I would do because the warm up didn't make any revelations. I still felt a little tight. That went away at the starting line though because the adrenaline was pumping and I was ready to roll. I could tell that the other runners were pumped up too. The gun fired and we were off. Because of the depth of good runners at the front of the pack I felt that everyone took off at a nice measured pace. I could still see the leaders at the .75 mile mark and it looked like they were just feeling things out. There was probably a group of maybe 10 runners at the front of the pack. I was in a group about 10 to 15 seconds away. I picked the pace up slightly for the last quarter of a mile. I ran 5:28 for mile 1.

At mile 2 I could see Jose Lara ahead of me. He was moving pretty smoothly. I was picking up the pace and eventually we were running side by side. He surged a bit and built a nice lead on me. I just kept my pace steady. It was still early in the race. There was no need to start making moves at this point. I basically followed Jose to close out mile 2 at 5:23 pace.

During mile 3 we hit a couple of hills which slowed us up a bit but we still caught up to Junior Mitchell. Eventually we formed a 3 runner pack with Jose and Junior side by side and me right behind them. We ended mile 3 at 5:27 pace. I was not content with this split so I decided I would need to decidedly pick up the pace before my race would get away from me. So that is what I did.

I picked up the pace and shot ahead of Jose and Junior. I could feel the guys follow me closely. I just gradually started picking it up steadily. I put a couple of bursts in there but they were controlled. I then saw my coach, Sean Wade, and he gave me some words of encouragement. "Hang in there" is what he told me. By now I was even more motivated. We made the turn around and by this time I was in my groove. I received even more encouragement from many friends who saw me on the turn back up Memorial and yelled out my name. My adrenaline pumped up even more. I cannot state how much easier the race feels when your friends motivate you. I finished mile 4 at 5:19 pace and I was sure I was by myself now.

I was moving pretty good when I noticed a guy with a green neon racing outfit. He was very noticeable in the distance. I was positive I could catch him because he looked to be fading. Eventually I caught up to him and he offered me some words of encouragement. "Good race" is what he told me. I offered him some encouragement and thanked him as well. Mile 5 finished at 5:18 pace.

I was really pumped because the race was almost over and I was feeling great. There was one last major hill to go up on and I felt I had more than enough strength to battle through it. But there was a more immediate problem on my hand. I could hear foot steps. What? Who the heck could be putting in such a strong finish that they could be gaining on me at the end? Not that its impossible to beat me or anything but I definitely was not fading and plus I was putting in negative splits in the process and I could still hear footsteps. Luckily I had enough energy to speed up even more and make it harder for the guy behind me. Was this Jose? I came up to the last hill and I sprinted up the hill and powered through it. Then I picked up the pace a little more. I could still hear the footsteps. I finished mile 6 at 5:20 pace.

Now there was only .2 to go. Good, now to unleash anything I have left and make it even more difficult for the guy behind me to catch me. This is what I did and I finished the last .2 at 4:37 pace. I looked up and the clock said 33:18. A PR by 1 minute and 23 seconds. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. The guy behind me wasn't Jose. I can't say I recognized the guy. He was pretty tall and congratulated me on my finish. I also congratulated him on his very strong finish.

As far as the race was concerned Sesar won the race running in the mid 30 minute time range. Adam Davis was not too far behind and also PR'ed. Congrats to him. There were a couple of other guys in the 30 minute range and a bunch of guys in the 31 and 32 minute range. The race was so stacked that I ended up finishing 9th overall. Here are my final splits minus the fractional numbers.

*One final note - The race results seemed inaccurate. It said I had a 33:02 chip time. While impressive I don't feel that it is accurate and results for other runners may be off by 16 seconds as well.

Race splits

Mile 1	5:28
Mile 2	5:23
Mile 3	5:27
Mile 4	5:19
Mile 5	5:18
Mile 6	5:20
Last .2 mile	4:37
Total Average Pace	5:21

Time 33:18

3 miles easy

Not much to report except that this week has been really tough on me. The good news is that I'm 100% healthy. The bad news is that I have not had much sleep, not eaten well, and the quality of my runs have not been what I expect of myself. So I'm not going into this race with high hopes, nevertheless I have raced well under less than ideal conditions. So I go into this morning's race just looking to see what happens. Also, I enjoy a good race. I'm hoping that next week I get back on track and things smooth out.

9 miles recovery

Nothing much to report today. I ran slow. Real slow. Hooray for me! I made a concerted effort to take it slow, but then my body fell in love with the pace a little too much. My legs just felt tired. Hopefully they feel better this Saturday. Here are the splits:

9 mile recovery

Mile 1	8:06
Mile 2	7:45
Mile 3	7:48
Mile 4	7:43
Mile 5	7:50
Mile 6	7:50
Mile 7	7:45
Mile 8	7:44
Mile 9	7:45
Total Average Pace	7:49

Speed work

Wow, has this been a tough week. I really have not been treating my body effectively. Lack of sleep ,rushing my runs, and running too fast doesn't add up to a very effective week. Therefore I'm going to make a better effort starting tonight to get some sleep in. I'm going to need this because the Bayou City Classic is this weekend and I have a feeling a few fast guys will be there.

Today I was supposed to do 4x1200 meters at 5:07 to 5:12 pace with 10 miles of running total. This proved to be difficult today since I arrived at the park late and I had to get to work. So I basically rushed everything including my speed work. I cut down on my warm up, stretching, and strides because I had to hurry. I cut my total mileage for today from 10 miles to only 7.25 miles. Mentally I felt bad about this but I had to do what I had to do.

Even with the rushing and the fatigue I felt, I was still able to hit my workout marks. Here they are:

4x1200 meters with 3 minutes rest

1st Split	5:11
2nd Split	5:12
3rd Split	5:11
4th Split	5:10

Something to note. I felt bad about not getting all of my mileage so I was going to try and make it up throughout the week. But Sean wisely told me not to try and make up the mileage. It probably would have affected my race this weekend. Also this isn't the week to start pushing my body.

9 miles easy for real

The last few days have been extremely busy for me at work. So running has been a challenge to say the least. Yesterday I made a concerted effort to take it easy. The day before, I ran a tad bit too fast in order hang out with my friend Mahta on a run. I could feel it the next day. With speed work coming up it was imperative to relax and take it easy. The run went well, here are the splits:

9 miles easy

Mile 1	8:01
Mile 2	7:13
Mile 3	7:13
Mile 4	7:14
Mile 5	7:12
Mile 6	7:00
Mile 7	7:09
Mile 8	7:01
Mile 9	7:06
Total Average Pace	7:15

9 miles supposedly easy

Yesterday I did my run in the evening. I had work commitments so I had to adjust my schedule a bit. It's been a while since I've run in Memorial park in the evening. It was so crowded it was a tad bit uncomfortable. The day before I did 15 miles so I was going to take it easy. That is, before I saw my good Ethiopian friend Mahta Mesfun. He was running the opposite direction so I switched directions and caught up to him. It looked like he was just taking it easy. But looks can be deceiving, because it took me a while to catch up to him. He told me he was doing 6:40 pace. Oh ok, I'll go ahead and do that since that is what I have been running these days. I found out that he was doing 20 miles at this pace. Pretty sick pace for a 20 miler but to his credit he was doing it pretty easily. When I joined in, the pace quickened and we ended up doing 6:30's. Not exactly the pace I was looking for, but whatever. It was good running with him and afterward I had a chance to hang out with him and Brad - 2:49 Houston Marathoner. Good times. Today I'll definitely take it a little easier. I have a speed workout on Wednesday and the Bayou City Classic on Saturday. Here are my splits:

9 Miles Supposedly Easy

Mile 1	6:49
Mile 2	6:35
Mile 3	6:34
Mile 4	6:36
Mile 5	6:39
Mile 6	6:36
Mile 7	6;36
Mile 8	6:36
Mile 9	6:21
Total Average Pace	6:36

Long run 15 miles

Nothing special today. I put in my 15 miles. Right now I believe I definitely have increased my fitness level in recent weeks. A couple of weeks ago I started running my easy runs in the mid 6 minute range once or twice a week and wondered whether I had an increased level of fitness. Well the results seem conclusive and I surmise that I'll probably be running most of my easy runs at 6:45 pace or lower. Today I ran 15 miles at 7 minute pace and there was absolutely no way I should be running at this pace in weeks past at this effort level (Given how tired my legs felt). But there I was doing it effortlessly. Okay I wouldn't say effortlessly, it was hot and humid and my legs were tired the last 3 miles. Here are the splits:

Long Run 15 Miles

Mile 1	7:46
Mile 2	7:17
Mile 3	6:59
Mile 4	6:54
Mile 5	6:45
Mile 6	6:49
Mile 7	7:00
Mile 8	6:51
Mile 9	6:43
Mile 10	6:54
Mile 11	6:49
Mile 12	6:57
Mile 13	7:03
Mile 14	7:04
Mile 15	6:54
Total Average Pace	7:00

Bunny Hop For Trees Mile Race

Today I was supposed to do a 15 mile long run. I decided to push that back to tomorrow and do 9 miles with a 1 mile race sandwiched in between. This was the Bunny Hop for Trees 1 mile road race. I won the same race under a different name a year and a half ago when I first started running. The event was called the Turkey Trot for Trees. I ended up winning the race with a course record 5:07.

There was a write up about it here. Would I be able to break 5:07?

The Bunny Hop for Trees is a very small family-oriented race located off of Memorial and Dairy Ashford, near Terry Hershey park. The organizer, Ginny Ebben is a pleasant lady who has been real gracious to me. She asked if I would be able to do the race and I said of course!

The race is filled with families and guys and gals with racing strollers and such. It was pretty cool. One thing I am hoping for is that some faster local area runners give it a try next year. Hopefully this race will grow in the future.

I don't really get a chance to run 1 mile races so whenever they come up always try and see if I am able to run it. I hadn't run a mile race since this one in 2007. I did a cross-country style 1 mile time trial last summer in the Kenyan Way and ran a 4:57. That's been it. Other than that its been mile repeats for speed work.

Oh yeah, that 5:07 course record went down. I ran a 4:40 this year.

I'll take that. I didn't really prepare for this race as a race and was just using it to giving me a general gauge of what types of things I can do in the mile right now. Anyway it was nice to get a quick one in and I'll spend the following week getting prepared for the Bayou City Classic 10k.

Mile Quarter splits

1st qtr	70
2nd qtr	69
3rd qtr	72
4th qtr	67
Total	4:40

* The reason the splits don't add up perfectly to 4:40 is because the fractional parts of the splits have not been included.

9 miles easy

I got off to a bad start this morning when my truck had a flat tire. So I had to borrow my wife's vehicle. Physically I felt fine when I arrived at the park and I was anxious to get going.

I started the first mile and my legs felt a little dead and a little slow. So I thought to myself here we go again, I'm still recovering from being sick. I looked at my watch to see what my first mile ended up being and I realized that I forgot to turn it on. Being a little peeved I continued my second mile and it clicked off at 6:50. Not too bad, I thought to myself. The 3rd mile ended up at 6:56. The next mile is what really shocked me. I didn't think I was moving all that fast. As a matter fact I thought it was going to be a grind it out type of day because my legs just didn't feel right. The next mile was 6:32 pace. I thought to myself where did that come from? The rest of the miles were more of the same. Here's a look:

9 Miles Easy

Mile 1	???
Mile 2	6:50
Mile 3	6:56
Mile 4	6:32
Mile 5	6:39
Mile 6	6:27
Mile 7	6:34
Mile 8	6:26
Mile 9	6:28
Total Average	6:37

I'm still not 100% but I'm close! Tomorrow I'll probably do a mile race. I'm about to go to sleep so I'll talk more about it tomorrow.

Good Night,

Bill

Easy Run 9 miles

I'm still not a 100%. Once again I didn't have any power or endurance in my legs today but I still managed to squeeze out a 7:07 pace for 9 miles.

10 Miles including speed work

The past few days I have been having flu like symptoms. Yesterday it got bad enough that I decided to skip the run. I still went to work though so I don't think my body got the full rest it needed. Last night I had the worst sleep I've had in months. I kept waking up to cough up some really yummy looking stuff :P Even though I didn't sleep too well, I felt a whole lot better than the previous day. Good enough to give speed work a go.

I got to the park a little later than normal and started my first warm up mile. I felt pretty good. Hmmm, maybe my speed workout will be ok. At the end of the 1st mile I saw Sean and he recommended that I do the speed work tomorrow. I told him that I think I could do it and be fine. During my second warm up mile I could clearly see that I wasn't a 100% physically. It didn't matter because psychologically I had already committed to doing the work out.

Today's speed workout would consist of 4x1 mile at 5:05-5:11 pace with 3 minutes rest. On a healthy day I think I could do this workout. But could I do it today? I started my first rep and everything seemed fine. I seemed to run on pace except at the end I fell off pace just a little bit. I sped up to make it in at 5:10. I didn't feel too winded or tired. So I thought to myself, I have a chance.

The second rep went in similar fashion to the first rep. I ran on pace until the end and had to speed up to make it in at 5:11. I felt some fatigue but mentally and physically I thought I had some more in the tank to hold me through the workout.

During the third rep fatigue clearly set in. It wasn't noticeable physically but I noticed that I wasn't running on pace despite similar effort to the first two reps. I managed to speed up to keep it close 3 quarters to the end but I just didn't have anything at the end and finished at 5:17.

I did my best to stretch and keep loose for the fourth rep. I knew that I probably didn't have a good chance at hitting my mark but I thought maybe I could hit 5:17 again. So I started the last rep. Boy was it very clear that I didn't have anything in the tank. Breathing-wise I wasn't having any difficulties. But my legs lost a lot of their power and were not carrying me as far per stride as they were previously. I realized that this rep was hopeless a quarter of the way in but it is very hard for me to give up what I start. So I just kept plugging away making sure I wasn't over straining to the point of injury. I finished at 5:24.

It's pretty clear to me that I wasn't physically up to the task of speed work today. Maybe if I had done it tomorrow I would be in better shape physically to do it, or maybe not. Right now as I type I definitely still feel a little weak but I think I'm on my way to getting over this bug. Here are the splits:

4x1 mile @ 5:05-5:11 with 3 minutes recovery

Mile 1	5:10
Mile 2	5:11
Mile 3	5:17
Mile 4	5:24

Skipped run

I decided to skip my run today. I felt under the weather and its been a while since I took a day off. Tomorrow I will try and do a speed workout. I hope I'll feel better.

Hill work - 9 miles

I got a good hill workout today and was really pushed by one of my running partners, Geoff. As a matter of fact he kicked my butt at the end. I still was able to squeeze in a good workout and ran a total of 9 miles. Here are my workout stats.

Hill work

Mile 1	6:34
Mile 2	6:25
Mile 3	6:31
.1 Miles	6:28
Total 3.10 miles	6:30 Average

22 reps over 20 minutes

This is definitely the hardest effort I've put forth since I started recording my hill work.

Difference between world class marathoner and recreational runner

A couple of weeks ago I was talking with Sam and Andrew about the difference between the stride of a world class marathoner and the recreational runner. I used myself as the example of the recreational runner. I was looking at a profile picture of myself (at the end of the Houston Marathon), great picture by whoever took it(Houston Striders). At first I looked at the picture and I said to myself good job, Bill. The form isn't that bad especially since you were pretty beat up at the end. I was feeling kind of good about the picture. Then I saw a great picture of Merga and I was humbled. His form was closer to my 5k profile or 1 mile profile if you were to take a picture during my run. What I mean is look at the lift and power he is generating at the end of the race. He is traveling a good distance with each stride. This is why the marathoners must have a light frame. They absolutely can't afford to be carrying dead weight. If you think that marathoners are just puny little weaklings, you may be right about the upper body. But their legs are like powerful pistons. Take a look and compare my stride and Merga's powerful stride.

Now the whole point was not to be too critical of myself or compare myself to Merga as if we were similar. The point was to appreciate the skill these guys have honed over the years and to watch a master at work.

7 miles easy

Nothing special to report today on the running front. I did 7 miles at 6:57 pace. Not bad considering it was 30 something degrees, windy, and I don't run very well in cold weather. I feel the speed work has sped up my turnover and I feel that I am running faster. But this was only one week and it was my down week so we will see how I run the next few weeks when I get back up to 68 miles.

It looks like the Rodeo Run was a big time race. A couple of pro guys came down from the Hanson-Brooks distance project and put down some 30 minute times on a non-fast course in windy conditions. Then some of the local big guys put down some 31 and 32 minute times. It looks like it would have been pretty entertaining to watch. The results can be found here.