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.

5m LT from YMCA

5m at 8.66 w/ avg HR of 176

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8.18/167 - Think I started out too fast?
8.43/172
9.03/176 - Total bonk city.
8.43/180
9.22/185 - Blah

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This course was from the YMCA and through the RW neighborhood and then home. It was too hot (80ish with high humidity) for these types of hills. Compounding the problem, I came out of the gate way too fast and was done about mid way through. I slogged through the rest as best as I could but was really hurting by the end, as evidenced by that last mile's avg HR which was close to my estimated MAX.

It also didn't help that I ran with my new C9 hat, which, while vented, is black. Don't think that's going to work on sunny days which is the entire point of wearing a hat. Ah well, it looks cool at least.

Back in the Saddle...

First run since the Cooper (4/4) and first since the "procedure."

4.52m @ 8.36 pace w/ avg HR of 169

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1 - 8.20 @ 158

2 - 8.38 @ 168

3 - 8.57 @ 170

4 - 8.50 @ 175

.52 - 4.13 (7.94 pace) @ 176

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Not a bad LT run for the first time back out. Probably could've gone a little farther, but I didn't want to push it considering A) it had been 2 full weeks since I last ran, and B) I was still having a few complications from the "procedure" only 8 days prior (i.e. some incisions were still bleeding and there was still some sensitivity). I figured 4.50 would be about right.

6.75 m from Y to Home (LT)

6.75 miles at 8.25min pace w/ avg HR of 162

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1st mile in 8.37 @ 150

2nd mile in 8.73 @ 161 - Some pretty good uphill sections here, and I was trying to slow my HR/pace down.

3rd mile in 8.32 @ 168

4th mile in 8.15 @ 165 - Speeding up considerably as I head down Lost Creek

5th mile in 8.08 @ 165 - Ditto.

6th mile in 7.85 @ 162 - Wow, that's fast for an LT run. My HR was nice and low though and I felt fine.

remainder in 6.17 (8.23 pace) @ 164

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This was the first run of my last week "taper." I was up to 9.5 miles on this run last week, reducing that considerably this go round.

I ran from the Y after my boy's soccer game all the way home, basically the same route I did on 3/21 without the loop around the H trails. The temp was comfortable but it started to rain pretty steadily the last couple of miles or so. Still, I was comfy in my new long sleeve running shirt (C9 from Target) and shorts. Starting getting some shin-splint soreness late into the run though, must have been all those big up/down hill sections.

Still, the fast time and low HR is giving me all sorts of confidence for Saturday.

9.50 miles LT - Misc Route

9.5 miles at 8.43 min pace w/ avg HR of 166

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1st mile in 8.13 @ 166 - Whew, started out too fast

2nd mile in 8.43 @ 163 - This is more like it.

3rd mile in 8.43 @ 167 - Pretty good consistancy.

4th mile in 8.50 @ 166 - Ditto

5th mile in 8.98 @ 165 - Pretty good uphill section here.

6th mile in 8.80 @ 169

7th mile in 8.38 @ 167 - Starting back on the long downhill

8th mile in 8.08 @ 166

remaining 1.50 in 12.37 (8.25 pace) w/ 166 HR

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This was an LT run where my pace should be 10k pace (sub 8min-miles) + 30-35 seconds. For me, that should be about 8:30 or 8:35 second miles, but I obviously ran a little faster. Felt good though.

Temp was in the 50's and I wore a running shirt and some shorts and was pretty comfortable. The route was back from D's soccer match at the Y. I took a detour through the Harbison trail network to add on a little mileage.

I tried out for the first time actually carrying some Gatorade with me. I have a fanny pack with a built-in water bottle holder, so I cut some low-cal Gatorade with some water and used that. After fiddling with the fanny pack adjustment to keep it from bouncing, it really wasn't too bad. I drank about half the gatorade at the halfway point, then some more at about three-quarters, and saved the remainder to drink on my cooldown walk home.

I still got cramps later though. :(

9 Miles LT on Lost Creek

9 miles at 8.36 pace with avg HR of 166

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1st mile in 8.33 @ 158

2nd mile in 8.38 @ 164

3rd mile in 8.57 @ 166

4th mile in 8.23 @ 174

5th mile in 8.32 @ 170

6th mile in 8.50 @ 169

7th mile in 8.62 @ 166

8th mile in 8.15 @ 165 - Obviously started on the steep downhill section

9th mile in 8.15 @ 165 - Loving that consistancy

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This was the LT run (10k pace plus 30 to 35 sec) for the week. It had been raining and I jumped on the opportunity to get my run in when it broke. It was still very wet out and cool at about 43. I doubled up my shirt and wore a hat, but no gloves. My hands were cold at first but warmed up pretty quickly.

As for the route, I added on a quick section in CH at the beginning and then did the normal LostCreek run.

9 miles on LostCreek - LT

9 miles in 8.43 pace w/ avg HR of 170

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1st mile in 8.55 @ 150

2nd mile in 8.50 @ 168

3rd mile in 8.43 @ 172

4th mile in 8.57 @ 173

5th mile in 8.38 @ 173

6th mile in 8.38 @ 173

7th mile in 8.20 @ 173 - Loving that HR consistency

8th mile in 8.32 @ 171

9th mile in 8.57 @ 175

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This was a new distance PR for me, eclipsing the one I set a week ago (I expect to eclipse this one next Saturday 3/14).

I felt fine during this LT run and had good energy at the end of it. Weather was great, sunny and in the mid 50's at the start of the run. I was comfortable in shorts and a sleeveless running shirt. Pace was pretty much where I wanted it to be and I really felt like I could continue on at that pace for another 4 miles at least (i.e. a half-marathon).

8.07 m @ Lost Creek - LT

8.07 m @ 8.38 pace with avg HR of 172

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1st mile in 8.18 @ 155

2nd mile in 8.57 @ 174

3rd mile in 8.38 @ 174

4th mile in 8.32 @ 174 - Nice consistancy here on HR/LOE

5th mile in 8.50 @ 175 -

6th mile in 8.32 @ 175 - HR still pretty consistant

7th mile in 8.08 @ 172 - Significant downhill section here.

8th mile in 8.80 @ 179 - Big uphill here, running up to my house, hence the pace/HR spike.

extra .07 in .47 (6.71 pace) @ 179 - Guess I had some energy left over!

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This was an "LT" run where I add on about 30-35 seconds onto my expected 10k time. The most interesting thing about this run is that it was raining out (and in the 50's temperature wise) but I didn't let that deter me from running. In fact, towards the latter half of the run, the bottom really fell out and I was soaked to the bone, but felt great! I had a really euphoric experience where I felt invincible out there, especially with all the cars going by and seeing the "crazy guy out there running in the cold rain."

7.83 miles on LostCreek (LT run)

7.83 miles at 8.47 pace w/ avg HR of 170

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1st mile in 8.27 @ 150

2nd mile in 8.50 @ 171

3rd mile in 8.68 @ 173

4th mile in 8.68 @ 174 - Nice consistency here!

5th mile in 8.38 @ 172

6th mile in 8.15 @ 173

7th and remaining distance in 8.57 avg pace @ 174

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I've been reading about the Furman "FIRST" training method which claims you can improve your race time with only 3 "key" running workouts per week. Here's the link:

http://www.furman.edu/first/fmtp.htm

One of those "Key" workouts is a long run at an "LT" pace. This LT pace translates into about your 10k pace + 30 to 35 seconds. For me, that's about 830 to 835 (or 8.50 to 8.58 since I used decimal) pace at what I plan to run my next 10k at. Since I run my "long" run of the week at about 8.50 anyway, I figured I'd call this my "LT" run of the week.

(The other 2 "Key" workouts include a hard speedwork day and a medium speedwork day and I'll talk about those later.)

Despite this being my normal pace for this run, it seemed to take more out of me this time. I was more tired and sore afterwards than I normally am. This is either psychological, or maybe I just wasn't "feeling it" and pushed myself beyond what I would normally run comfortably otherwise. This was also a longer distance so that may have had something to do with it.

Anyway, I'm going to continue to do "LT" runs on these saturdays the rest of the way in my training.