4.30m at work (Hills)

4.30 miles @ 8.64 pace w/ avg HR of 167 (Zone 3, 85.9% of MHR)

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8.65/152 - Kept pace under control on this long downhill.
8.40/159 - 2/3s of this was downhill but that remaining third was tough!
8.67/175 - Rolling hills spiked the HR
8.85/179 - More of the same.
2.58/182 (8.60 pace)
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I skipped the treadmill and decided to brave the elements (85 degrees with 70% humidity, and really sunny). Probably not a good idea but at least it got me off the treadmill.

LOE was pretty high on this especially on those hills. I tried to recover on the downhills, but the heat/humidity/bright-sun punished my efforts.

New Annual Mileage PR...and counting.

I just noticed in the running log that I've eclipsed my personal annual mileage PR *already* for 2009.

The log shows 539 miles so far in 2009, with 2008 only totaling 472 from Jan to Dec. Not interested in looking up the previous 7+ years mostly because I know that the total won't even come close to the 2008 one, since my running schedule pretty much ended for the most part after CRBR each year due to burnout.

Weekly mileage for the year so far is right at 20mpw on average too, compared to about 11.25 in 2008. I know that number is going to go up even more once Marathon training starts in a couple of weeks.

6.14m Trail Run (EZ)

6.14 miles @ 10.05 pace w/ Avg HR of 152 (Zone 2, 78.2% of MHR)

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9.32/141
9.75/150 - Entered the trail halfway thru this split
9.90/150 - Downhill trail portion
11.23/155 - Serious uphills on Trail
10.48/155 - More uphills
9.70/161
1.33/166 (9.29 pace)
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This was a run from my house, to the trailhead at H Forest, then the 3 mile loop, and then back to the base of my neighborhood.

I was determined to make this an "easy" pace and consequently keep my HR in the 150's or below. I significantly slowed down on the trails just for that reason.

Only saw 2 people on the trail this day: A jogger that joined in at the parking lot about half way through, she didn't pass me despite my sloooow pace in that section...and a mtn biker who I kept hearing behind me for a good quarter mile before he finally "on yo left" and passed me. He was really creeping me out just hanging around back there, but I suppose I could've heard him way in advance of his catching me. Still I kept an eye on him as he went by.

Running log shows this as my second best jaunt on this particular course yet according to my HR Efficiency score . I ran it 2 weeks ago "fast" and recorded my best showing, but running it slow this time wasn't far behind. I guess the ol' ticker is really shaping up.

8.50m at Lost Creek (LSD)

8.5 miles @ 9.34 pace w/ avg HR of 156 (Zone 2, 80.1% of MHRR)

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No splits here again, but suffice to say we slowed down on some of the hills in the middle and screamed down LC on the way home with the last full mile at 8.83 pace, with the last half mile at sub 8mm pace.
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When we awoke early Saturday morning, I checked the weather channel and saw that the the current temp was 75 (decent) with humidity at 94% (very bad). We were out of milk so I subbed my normal cheerios breakfast with a PB&J/H instead. Had a cup of coffee and off we went around 7am.

It was a decent enough run, I managed to keep the pace in check but the gravel roads in H Forest were more rough than normal and we had a lot of difficulty "finding a line" through it. I was glad to be out of it and up on Broad River before coming down LC. We took watered-down Gatorade at about 4 miles (half) and finished it at around 5.5 miles. We experimented with adding about 1/3 can of Red Bull to it this time and though I could still taste it, it wasn't too bad.

Eventually I'm going to get us to where we don't take fluids until every 45 minutes, but right now it's so hot, that I'm doing it at the roughly halfway point.

Jen did very well in this run and even kept up with me in that tempo-ish final mile and a half that we did.

Wildlife count: 5 thumpers and 1 bambi

6 miles at the Dam (Tempo)

6m at 8.54 pace w/ Avg HR 166 (Zone 3, 85.3% of max)

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8.70/151
8.48/163 - Thus concludes the warmup, which of course, was faster than it should be.
8.05/168
7.82/176 - Hitting 10k pace here, with the subsequent spike in HR.
8.68/172 - Trying to cooldown.
9.48/169 - Ditto

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Felt like this run had a high LOE. Wasn't jazzed about it to start with and that followed through the run, despite the fact that I turned in some decent numbers in the middle tempo portion. I think I'm overdoing the speedwork again and I need to either change this Thursday run to a true Easy workout, or do that with the Sunday run. Despite the fact that the pace I'm running Saturdays is "easy," it's still a long run so that's stressing my system in itself. I think I'll start doing the Sunday runs as easy and stick to the FIRST plan for Tues/Thurs/Saturday.

4.50m on Treadmill (Repeats)

4.50m at 8.52 pace w/ Avg HR of 157

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9.52/141
7.27/168
8.40/159
8.40/164
4.73/154 (9.50 pace)
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This was a 1/1/.50/1/1 repeat run where I did the fast repeats at 7:19 pace (Why the odd number? That's what the treadmill had between 7:26 and 7:13.)

I basically did this exact same run last Tuesday except the repeats were a hair slower (repeat 1 was at 7:30 pace instead of 7:19). This was a better speed this time because it worked my HR a little more, as would be expected out of interval/repeats.

6.21m on Lost Creek (LT)

6.21 miles at 8.10 pace w/ Avg HR of 162 (Zone 3, 83.1% of max)

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8.12/149
8.45/159
8.37/162
8.13/164
7.96/166
7.63/170
1.66/175 (7.90 pace)
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I had planned to do only 6 here, but was feeling so good that I made it an actual 10k. It was around 845am when I left, having let Jen do her run first in the morning. It was still pleasantly cool/dry at this time and I'm sure that's why I was running so well. I wore my new Brooks running shorts (no shirt) and they performed very well. They really seem to do a better job at wicking the sweat away and were drier than my normal shorts are. I'm going to hold off on final judgement until I run longer and in hotter conditions, but I'm encouraged.

8.26m at Sandhills (LSD)

8.26m at 9.17 pace w/ Avg HR of 157 (Zone 2, 80.6% of max)

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Not gonna do splits on this long run but needless to say the last few miles were fast, with the last clocking in at 8.68 (HR - 164)
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This is the run where we leave the wife's mom's house, meander around the neighborhood a bit, and then hit up Sandhills and head back to the house. This is usually a hot and difficult course, in which we usually do poorly, but I'm not exactly sure why. The elevation profile is not that bad, maybe it's all the concrete running and the consequent heat.

Anyway, it wasn't as hot and wasn't as difficult this time, as this was the fastest and longest run of the pre-plan season. Jen did extremely well, even "pulling" me along for a bit around Sandhills. She's really made a lot of progress from the first time we ran this particular course (4/19/09) when we only did 5.23 miles. Each week has been a little longer, but this time we made big strides in pace.

It was sunny, so I wore my halo headband, white running hat, and shorts (no shirt). I was soaked afterwards and was really tired while trying to mow the lawn.

5m at the Dam (Tempo)

5 miles @ 8.38 pace w/ avg HR of 167 (Zone 3 or 85.5% of max HR)

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8.77/152 - A little too fast for a proper warmup.
8.18/161
8.00/170
7.70/179 - The heat & humidity finally got to me and spiked my HR. Nice pace though.
9.23/173 - Even this slow cooldown couldn't bring my HR down to Zone 2.
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This was a bit of a rough morning. Things didn't go as planned, had to back to the house TWICE for things I forgot, etc. So, I didn't arrive at the running spot until late and decided to bag the 6 miler and do 5 instead. Wasn't entirely motivated to run either which helped that decision.

It was hot and humid out, much more humid than my run here last Thursday. I wore shorts and a short sleeved tech t and both were completely soaked by the end of the run. Seemed like there was a headwind in both directions too...hate when that happens.

Took me forever to cool down too and I was still sweating while trying to work at my desk a full 30 minutes later.

Oh well, I got the miles in.

4.50m at the Treadmill (repeats)

4.50m @ 8.61 pace w/ Avg HR of 153 (Zone 2 or 78.2% of max)

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9.53/154
7.53/164 - Repeat interval of 1m @ 7.5 pace
8.50/158 - First half was recovery (9.5), second half was first half of next interval (7.5)
8.43/158 - First half was interval, with the last quarter mile increasing in speed up to 7.25, 2nd half was recovery
4.74/152 (9.48 pace) - Recovery

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This was the 2nd highest HR Efficiency number that I've ever recorded (3/30/09 was top).

Interesting that the HR numbers never really climbed, even though I pushed that 2nd interval some at the end. I've sort of wondered about these treadmill workouts being too easy, and even if the 'mills themselves are calibrated properly. My best runs from an "HR efficiency" perspective have all been treadmill runs. There's something to be said for being indoors in a climate controlled area and having the machine set the pace for you...and I've always found running on a treadmill "easier" than outside.

Still, I think I'll try to rotate around to different ones and see if I notice any difficulty changes.

5.90m around CH (free run)

5.9m @ 9.54 pace w/ avg HR of 161 (Zone 3 or 82.5% of max)

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9.25/145
9.58/152
10.22/159 - Spent time here dropping ollie off at the house, he was spent.
9.48/165
9.43/170
8.35/176 (9.28 pace)
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I probably could've run this faster but was very conscious of my pace and HR and didn't want either to spike.

This was just a free run where I did whatever and even took the pooch along with me. He was done at the end of the 2nd mile and I managed to get him dunked at the lake and then home by 2.5. Ran the rest just meandering around the hilly neighborhood and the heat and bright sunshine just took it all out of me. It was only around 10am when I started but it was already that bad.

For comparison sake, the 8mile run I did the day before was at about the same pace but a full 13bpm lower.

Was looking forward to joining the fam at the pool afterwards but the wife caught up to me and told me they didn't open for kids until noon. The kiddie pool in the backyard was not as good, but would have to do.

8.04m LSD Lost Creek & Harbison Forest

8.05 miles @ 9.42 pace w/ Avg HR of 148 (Zone 2 or 76% of Max)

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Not gonna do splits here, but the run started out solid at 9.30, slowed down on the hilly gravel section in the middle (9.88 & 9.83), then finished up fast down the long downhill of LC with the last mile clocking at 8.62.
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This was the exact same course as last saturday (7/4), but a tiny bit slower (9.42 vs 9.37) but with a better HR average (148 vs 151). The temp was about the same both days, but the humidity on this run was higher.

I again carried a 22oz bottle at the small of my back, but chose the shorter version this time and had no trouble at all with it. We did the half-strength Orange gatorade again.

I was most proud of the wife though because she responded to my challenge at the end to push that last mile and she hung on with me all the way until we cooled down for the final stretch.

6m Tempo @ 8.39 Pace on LM Dam

6miles at 8.39 pace w/ avg HR of 167 (Zone 3)

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8.67/151
8.42/165
8.25/166
8.22/172
7.97/176
8.78/174
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I got up early and took the girl to daycare as soon as they opened and was at the dam by 650am, ran toward Lexington for 1 mile in order to add 2 miles to the normal dam 4 total. Unlike the dam, there were some rolling hills on this first section and it took a while for my legs to respond. They were a little stiff and flopping a little I thought. At this point I had worried about whether I had locked my truck and with reported break-ins in the area I thought I might stop and check on the way back. Decided against it when I got there though.

By the time I was on the dam I was in a groove and at that point where I was hurting just a little but knew it was just right for a Tempo run. The 5th mile was at/near my 10k pace so that was encouraging.

I really aimed for a 1/4/1 here with clear warmup and cool down miles. Could've done a little better I guess, but at least there's clear demarcation between the WU/CD and the tempo work.

Temp was about 70 and I was okay with my running tank and no hat/sunglasses. Shirt was soaked at the end and I didn't cool down fully until an hour later at my desk.

4.22 @ 8.44 @ TSFG (hill workout)

4.22 miles at 8.44 pace w/ avg HR of 167 (zone 3)

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8.23/154
8.40/160
8.45/177
8.63/176
1.92/177 (8.73 pace)
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When I went to get my gym bag from my truck, it was overcast out and the temp didn't feel too bad so I decided to avoid the dreadmill and do a hill workout outside instead. You really can't do anything BUT a hill workout near my work so that's my only option.

I hammered out the hills pretty well, but the course is an out and back with the out downhill and the back just the opposite. You can see that uphill hit on my 3rd split above with that crazy spike in HR. I was proud that I was able to at least hold onto my pace though.

As usual, I started out this run too fast but it's hard to do when flying down a series of long downhills. Temp was about 77 and I was okay with a running tee shirt and no hat/sunglasses.

6m at 8.89 pace @ Harbison Forest

6 miles at 8.89 pace w/ avg HR of 169 (Zone 3) on half road and half trail.

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8.03/153
8.40/167 (entered the trail at the 1.5 marker)
8.65/170 (all trail)
10.28/170 (took some walk breaks so my HR wouldn't get out of hand)
9.42/174 (a few more walk breaks)
8.58/178 (all road downhill back home)
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This was a mid-morning run (around 930am) so it was starting to heat/steam up outside so I opted for a trail run, sacrificing pace for hopefully some cooler conditions. I started out way too fast though and paid for it on the trails. I had to take a few walk breaks as the steep trail hills were killing my HR (was hoping to stay in zone 3). I sweat a lot and it took me a long time to cool down at home while I watched the Roddick/Federer wimbledon final.

I don't think I saw a single other person on the trail on this run, which is rare on the weekend.

Independance Day Long Run - 8.02 @ 9.37

8.02 miles at 9.37 pace w/ avg HR of 151 (Zone 2)

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Not going to do splits as they were all pretty even with the last mile being a little faster at 8.72/154
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Jen and I left around 715am in order to avoid the heat. Ran up Lost Creek, then veered off onto a gravel road into Harbison Forest in order to add some distance to the normal 7m out-and-back. This was my first run on this particular course. Wasn't bad. There was a lot of gravel so you had to pick your lines to avoid the really rough sections but I'd do it again. We didn't see a single person, but did spy 1 deer, and 3+ rabbits. No snakes though. There's another offshoot of the main gravel road that we chose that we can use to add on even more distance next time.

I carried watered down gatorade in a 22oz bike bottle which was a mistake. We didn't really need the water (unusally cool and dry for July 4th in SC) and the bottle was so tall that it rubbed my back. I solved the problem by moving my wrist band to cover it, but that fell off once.

Pace felt fine and we actually did a little more distance than planned (7.75). Stopped short of home and walked the remaining mile or so to cooldown.