6 Mile Tempo (9 Miles)

Just got back from California in time for a 6 mile tempo with Wade and JP. I had missed a couple of running sessions in California so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Well, I ended up running this workout faster than I ever have. The previous best tempo workout was done a few months ago at 5:26 pace. But this was under optimal conditions (for Houston!). I was able to best this and complete it at 5:22 pace this time. Sean really helped out a lot at the end since he ended up pacing the last 2 miles. The first 4.5 miles went by pretty easy but the last 1.5 miles I had to focus a little bit and we ended up hitting 5:18 for the last mile. Here are the splits:

Goal: 5:25 pace
Actual: 5:22 pace
Splits: 5:22, 5:20, 5:26, 5:23, 5:23, 5:18

The Japanese Tsunami From Inside A Car

This is sort of unrelated to running. I saw this and I sort of had to share this with everyone. What would you do? This is kind of bizarre. Any kind of hesitation and you could be dead!

9 Mile Progressive Run (10 Total Miles)

This ended up being a solo effort. I was hoping I could run this workout with a few guys as it is one of the tougher workouts. But I ended up doing this solo.

6:59, 6:43, 6:17, 6:12, 6:00, 5:45, 5:32, 5:20, 5:01

1 mile cool down 8:57 pace

This was an extremely tough workout. I was doing ok until I had to hit 5:15 pace and quicker. That's when I had to really work. This is probably because I have not been doing any workouts quicker than 5:25 pace in a long long time. Hopefully this and other quicker workouts can get me in decent racing shape (5:00 minute pace and under). I was huffing and puffing after the last mile more than I can remember in a long long time.

Kenyan Way Long Run 15 Miles

I ended up running much of these miles with JP and Lu. It was a decent low key run. My most important objective was to get 15 miles in and not over do it since I have a 9 mile progressive run next Tuesday. Here's how it shaped out:

7:16, 6:22, 6:13, 6:10, 5:49, 5:51, 6:04, 5:56, 6:09, 6:13, 6:25, 6:23, 6:30, 6:59, 6:44 Total Average Pace: 6:21

Lu ended up injuring his Achilles again which sucks. Hopefully he can get healthy and string a few good weeks together.

Top 10 Excuses Heard Before A Race

I was on http://www.letsrun.com/ and I found a pretty funny thread. I have heard many of these and have even given some of these myself. The funny thing is even after giving some of these LAME excuses the person will often times run GREAT! Here are some of the responses I've noticed

10) "This is only a training run" or "I'm going to tempo this race."

9) "I haven't done any speed work so I'm not expecting much."

8) "I just decided to run this race 11 o'clock last night."

7) "I may not finish the race as I'm having bad shin splints."

6) "I only got 2 hours sleep. I was out drinking last night."

5) "It's too hot/cold/windy/rainy/sunny to run today"

4) "I'm not sure how I'll do today. I'm too well rested."

3) It's an 8am race start and the person says "You don't have to worry about me, I already ran 16 miles this morning."

2) "I had 2 BM's this morning. I wish I had a 3rd one."

AND THE NUMBER ONE EXCUSE HEARD BEFORE A RACE, drum roll please...

1) "I just got out of jail 30 minutes ago, long night. I'm not expecting much."

The thread

Have You Seen My Keys?

Here is a quick summary of my treadmill training so far. I run on the treadmill. I watch a woman who searches for her keys for 20 minutes every day. She walks to each treadmill and asks each person have they seen any keys? She looks under each and every treadmill and cycle. She then leaves. Pretty amusing. It helps the time go by.

8.62 Miles

This run was made a little tougher due to the fact that I did a really tough hill session yesterday. Ran with the Wade and he felt peppy so I tagged along.

7:01, 6:45, 6:35, 6;34, 6:13, 5:55, 5:59, 5:59, 5:55 for the last .62 miles
6:21 Total Average Pace

Hopefully Sean gets in shape soon. I will be needing someone to do some workouts with in the coming weeks.

Jogged With Andrew Lemoncello The Other Day

We had a chance to jog with him as was getting himself acclimated to the humidity he will be experiencing at the World Championships in a few weeks. Post is here

The 3 Different Running Energy Systems

I found this interesting article about the different energy systems. I became interested in the different energy systems concept when I kept hearing different people talking about doing different types of training depending on whatever types of energy system they were trying to strenghten. Basically these energy systems are divided into 3 different ways to produce ATP.

• Fast sprints - 100-200m (3-4 minutes recovery)


• Middle sprints - 400-800m (2x ratio, so if you sprinted for 60 secs you get 2 minute recovery)


• Long distance - anything above middle sprints (just run a tempo or an easy run)

The above statements are an oversimplification of the article so I would recommend reading the article if this stuff interests you. I must warn you it can get a little scientific for those of you that shy away from this sort of thing.
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=7792&CategoryID=&PageNum=2

Dark Chocolate A PED?

Just some "food" for thought. Could dark chocolate help on race day?
http://www.delish.com/food/recalls-reviews/dark-chocolate-improves-physical-endurance-study-ucsd?gt1=47001

Kenyan Way Long Run 14.34 Miles

Today I had the opportunity of running with a world class runner, Andrew Lemoncello. He is preparing himself for the humidity at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea by training in Houston. He runs for England and is going to run the marathon. He's already run 2:13 but is looking to better that in the future. We were fortunate enough to be able to get a long run in with him. He was amazed at how hot and humid the Houston weather is. It seems training in a sweat suit doesn't adequately prepare oneself for such extreme weather in a place such as Houston. The only advice I could give him was not to overdo the heat acclimation as he may end up wearing himself out before the World Championships. But then I trust he already knows this. He was a pretty grounded and affable dude. The kind of guy you would enjoy doing a long run with. He will be jumping in the "Hottest Half" half marathon in Dallas next weekend for a tempo. I will be wishing him well and will keep a look out for him in the World Champs and the Olympics next year. Here is how the long run turned out. We took it nice and easy as he was still acclimating himself coming down from altitude and the humidity.

7:17, 6:38, 6:36, 6:34, 6:31, 6:34, 6:26, 6:22, 6:11, 6:10, 6:02, 6:20, 6:13, 6:04, 5:43 last .34 miles
Total Average Pace: 6:25

A Few Helpful Running Tips

Just read an article written by Pete Magill, the fine masters runner. He gives a bunch of helpful tips on things we all experience as runners, heavy legs, quad pain, Achilles tendinitis, and colds and race-day sluggishness.

The interesting thing about the article is that a lot of the advice is counter intuitive. For instance if you have dead legs, go do a 2 and a half hour run!

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22635

6 Mile Tempo (10 Miles Total)

Training is still alive and well although I am having motivation issues at the moment. These issues kind of hung with me all of last week which is why I put this 6 mile tempo carrot out there. With so much time between races it is very hard to stay focused.

• Met J.P. at the park and warmed up for 2 miles and then did the workout.
  


• 5:30, 5:31, 5:31, 5:34, 5:33, 5:20 - Avg 5:30 pace (33:02)
  


• 2 mile cool down

Afterwards I ran into Jacob Phillips, a really nice guy. He moved down here from Dallas and he is the former head track coach at Dallas Baptist University. He's hooked up with Finish Strong Sports and will be doing some good things over there. I look forward to getting some runs in with him as he is a pretty decent runner.