Hotty

4.2 hard this afternoon in 25:57 (6:10.7 ppm). 7:31 at 1.2, 17:55 at corner of Streid & Ireland Grove. Pushed it last .2 to get in under 26.

It was 87 degrees when I set out at 5:20, but it was only 42% humidity, which seemed to help a little. It was still hot though!

Felt better than I have in a while, and I'm happy with my time considering the conditions.

Tibits

I was wheezing like Tibits this morning on my run. I don't know if it was allergies or my exercise-induced asthma or what. It happens to me every once in a while. It feels like I'm breathing through a straw and makes it very difficult to run. My legs actually felt good this morning.

Anyway, I got up early and ran 6.2 in 42:48 (6:54 ppm). Mile 1.1 was 7:26, then I ran the next two in 13:40. I was halfway at 21:06 and ran each of the next two miles in 7:01. My last 1.1 was 7:40.

Since I averaged under 7 ppm, it counts as a tempo run and long run. I tried to go a little faster because I figured I wouldn't get in a hard workout tomorrow.

Hard Run

2.4 hard in 14:48 (6:10 ppm). 7:13/7:35. Course Record. Old record was 15:18 on May 4, 2009. It was a good day for running today. Not too hot or humid. Legs felt good today but the heart and lungs were laboring. Still, I was happy to take 30 seconds off my time in just one week! Did a one mile cool down VERY slow in 8:52.

First hard run

First hard run of the season. 2.4 miles in 15:18 (6:22.5 ppm). I'm a long way from the 6:01 per mile I ran to win the Cornhole 10k last August. Hopefully I'll get there, though.

Was 7:33 at halfway. The way back has a long uphill.

Another near puke

8.4 tempo run in 54:49 (6:31.5 ppm). Did the 4.2 loop around the block twice. First loop was 27:30, second loop 27:19. I ran hard the last half mile to try to break 55, and that made my stomach a little uneasy at the finish. First mile of first loop was 6:30 flat, first mile of second loop was 6:30 flat. Made it to the corner of streid and irish grove in 19 minutes flat on the first loop and 19 minutes flat on the second loop. Ran really even pace the whole way. Best morning yet for running, under 60 but still quite humid.

hard workout

1 mile warm up (7:35), 20 minutes hard -- made it probably just a shade under 3.2 miles. I was 18:45 at the three mile mark. Splits were 6:15, 6:07, 6:23. Happy with 6:15 average but wish last mile was faster. .8 cool down for five miles total in 33:39. Ran continuous with no breaks between sections. Frosty cup and back.

Didn't really feel shin until I finished. I think ice bath last night helped. Taking another one right now!

I'm satisfied with this workout, especially since I only had about a 12 hour turnaround from my run last night, so I've run 11 miles in the last 12 hours.

High tempo-ature run

It was 90 degrees today but low humidity, but then at 4 pm a thunderstorm rolled through. The sun came back out, and by the time I ran at 5 pm Bellaire was like a sauna.

Ran 4.5 in 28:35 (6:21 ppm), which is a course record (old 28:50 on 6/26/08). Felt crappy throughout the first mile but was surprised to see I clocked a 6:02. I was 14:20 at the church turnaround and 22:15 at 3.5; I clocked a 6:20 final mile.

The heat was a killer today. First mile I felt bad because I was not warmed up. The rest of the time I felt a couple moments of energy but those were quickly tempered with the high temperatures. In the middle 2.5 miles of this run I go up 5 big hills, and that sucks even worse in the heat. I hope the fremont race is flat.

4.5 mile tempo run

Ran 4.5 miles at Silver Lake this morning at an up tempo pace. First mile 9:19 and second mile 9:34. Lost track of the time for the middle 1 1/2 miles. Last mile was 9:24. Total time was 42:33 (9:27 ppm).

Richard Tompkins says the Fremont race is always hot and humid. He was the race director for several years.

Suicide run

So I was kind of ticked off about my overall time on Monday (52:47), so I decided I'd run the same seven mile course today as a tempo run. I got up at 7:30 a.m. to do it. The original plan was to try to break 7 minutes per mile.

Then I re-realized that this is an incredibly difficult seven mile course. I ended up finishing in 51:30 (7:21 ppm) after basically limping back the last 3.5 miles. The first 3.5 was 24:02 (6:52 ppm).

The first half mile back is straight uphill and that was an absolute dagger. I was basically out of commission after that. There's one downhill on the way back and then the last 2.5 miles is basically uphill. That one downhill is an incredibly steep, all-you-can-do-to-not-just-walk and very long uphill on the way out and that is the first dagger of this run. On the way back it is so steep that it actually hurts more than helps you.

This is only my third run of 7 miles or more since the half-marathon, and all three of those runs have come in the last five days. I simply don't have the base right now to recover from the hills during the run. Also I can never do these runs after just waking up.

Tempo run

4.5 miles at tempo pace, although I was going pretty hard. 28:50, CR (course record); old 28:59 on 6/2/08. 1st mile was 6:15. 14:25 at church turnaround; 22:24 at 3.5; 6:26 last mile. Got the spell with about a quarter to go and nearly crapped my pants. Went at about 8:15. Was still warm, 75 degrees and humid.

This is a tough course with the first and last miles being flat but the middle 2.5 is very hilly.

6/2/08

4.5 miles in 28:59. First mile 6:11, 14:25 at church turnaround, 22:30 at 3.5, 6:29 last mile. Back/hamstrings sore from shoveling all day yesterday at lake.