Friday, February 29, 2008

Sunshine

Time: 30:00
Distance: 4 mi.

Brian and I ran west on North Loop and then into the neighborhoods on Sunshine to a track off of 47th. Easy double run. We talked about doing a "tracks of Austin" workout--like the tracks of Amherst workout which involved doing intervals on the Amherst High School, UMass and Amherst College tracks. Here it which could involve this track, the UT track, the Austin High track and the sweet track we found on the east side. That could be a very solid distance workout.

15th Street Loop

Time: 60:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.

Joe, Dave, Darren and Raul met at the house for a morning run. We did the standard 15th Street loop coming back up Shoal Creek. Raul and Dave started from their houses and peeled off early to get home. Not a fast run at all, and I ended up deciding to split the run today rather than add on as my legs were tired from yesterday's workout.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

2k Buildup, 400s

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: 800m (2:00 rest), 1200m (3:00), 1600m (4:00), 2000m (4:00), 3 x 400m (1:00); long intervals at 70 pace, 400s under 65
Workout: 2:20.5, 3:31.0, 4:39.9, 5:53.3, 66.5, 64.5, 64.2

Brian suggested a Barry Harwick workout, as I didn't really know what I wanted to do this week and was just going to run the workout alone (yeah, I need a better plan soon). I was happy with his suggestion and it turned out well.


The Austin High track (since redone with red rubber) right on Town Lake

I decided to head down to the Austin High School track as a change of pace--it was nice to be able to warm up and cool down on Town Lake and I was hoping it would be empty. Instead, however, I had the Hot Middle-Aged Women's Track Club doing repeat miles in 7:00. At first I was annoyed, but it turned out they provided good targets to run down during the workout. It took a little time to settle in--the mile probably felt the best of all the intervals--but it was a good combination of strength and speed. It was good to get in a faster gear to end it. I got in a 25 minute warmup and a 30 minute cooldown to keep the volume up.

I have signed up for the Diploma Dash, a 5k in San Antonio this weekend, but am not planning on tapering for it.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Bull Creek, Hancock

Time: 47:40
Distance: 7 mi.

Darren ran from the track and met me at our place. We ran up to Bull Creek and did 1.5 loops there and then went down to 38th, across to Hancock and the I ran home. Another easy run and my legs feel good. I'm a bit tired from the last few days, though, and have to run back to school for my night class.

Also it looks like I might be back on the trails and roads Rock Creek Park by this summer...

Long Ridgetop

Time: 45:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Early morning run with Dave and Brian. This might be what Jordan would call getting in "time on my feet." Did a loop around the outside of IF before running 30 minutes with them.

Monday, February 25, 2008

IF, 15th Street Loop

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Joe came over to run from the house, and knowing that he would want to go a bit shorter than I would, I started with 20 minutes around IF. We did the standard 15th Street loop down Shoal Creek and back up through campus and Hyde Park. I felt surprisingly good given the beating my legs have taken the last few days. I do have a little strange tightness in my left IT band and my left shin was a little sore, but I don't think either of these things is major.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Week In Review

Time: 537:30
Distance: 81 mi.

Not a bad week getting back into things. I was a bit run down in the middle of the week, which resulted in just a 6 mile day on Thursday, but at least I got in all the rest of the miles this week in singles. Maybe I can start adding some evening doubles into my schedule after class / before dinner to get the milage up close to 100 mpw without killing it. Now it is time to make a plan and get on two quality workouts per week that aren't so ad hoc.

Town Lake East, Hancock Loop

Time: 105:00
Distance: 17 mi.

Met the guys at the track for their 80 minute taper long run (Big XIIs is next weekend). We ran easy down to Town Lake (1.5 mi), then ran 30 minutes out and back at 6 minute pace or under (10 miles) and back up to the track easy (another 1.5 mi.). I then did a 25+ minute add-on up around Hancock and back on Speedway (4 mi.).

I didn't feel too settled at the uptempo pace on Town Lake, but it will take a few of these type of runs to get back on it so I was happy to ease into it with only one hour really hard. It was easy to run 6:15ish pace for my solo add-on.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Reverse Exposition Loop

Time: 71:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.
Map

Dragged myself out of bed for a loop on Exposition beginning with the section down Shoal Creek and then coming back up on the roads. Legs are pretty tired from yesterday, but it was a beautiful morning so I was happy to be out.

Friday, February 22, 2008

4 Mile Tempo

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 4 mile track tempo in 19:30 (4:55, 4:55, 4:50, 4:50), though honestly I was just hoping for a good effort over 4 miles
Workout: 4:55, 4:55, 4:55, 5:00 (19:45)

Overall not a bad workout, but I was hurting a bit running with Leo (who the target splits were set up for... he ended up running 19:20 by dropping it to 4:45 the last two miles). Darren had run the first 3 miles with Leo and then jumped in for the last half mile to help me out, which was, well, quite helpful. It was pretty warm out on the track. I finished up with a 30 minute cool down with Darren and then 10 minutes barefoot on the infield, including 8 x diagonal strides decently hard.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Tower Loop

Time: 40:00
Distance: 5.5 mi.
Map



Woke up pretty tired this morning so I was going to try to get in half my run in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. I ended up skipping the afternoon one in favor of a nap, as I was almost feeling a cold coming on. I haven't been sleeping great, so this was hopefully a good choice.

The run was pretty good, and I was setting out to make a new "set" loop. This may only be good for the morning because of the section through campus and on Guadeloupe that are often very busy during the day. The run loops through neighborhoods to Guadeloupe, loops around the UT Tower, and heads back past Hancock. I've added it to my list of Austin runs.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Campus, Shoal Creek Loop, IF

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Early morning run with Burnham. I'm having short term memory loss on this run, but we ran a variation of the Shoal Creek and Campus loop with a loop around Handcock and then I added some time on IF. Legs a little heavy again and feeling tired.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Scenic, Enfield Loop

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Ran with Joe and Darren from the track. Decided to not work out today, but will hopefully get back on that at the end of the week. It was a beautiful day and I felt pretty good. Legs still a little dead, but not too bad.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Campus Loop, North Loop

Time: 71:30
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Evening run from the house. Started south and picked up Dave, did a loop of campus and dropped him off again (it was his double run) and then headed west and north up upper shoal creek up to North Loop finishing down Guadeloupe to IF (where I ran into Raul). Body felt surprisingly good, and it was good to get the run in. I should get back into the morning routine, though, ASAP.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Week In Review

Time: 302:30
Distance: 46 mi.

Well this week somewhat concluded this "season" or probably more accurately the "build up" to the Spring. The US XC race actually made me a bit nostalgic, as I feel that the end of my serious running (as I've known it) really is near. I'm nostalgic for the belief that I really could accomplish almost anything I set my mind to in running. Even if my thoughts were unrealistic (and I knew it) they were just in the back of my mind, which was comforting. That being said, I'm also losing the feeling of jealousy that I have sometimes gotten for other people's athletic accomplishments. I think these feelings will be more settled when I figure out what I'm doing after graduation (which will hopefully be soon). Neely's race really psyched me up, too.

I need to set a spring racing schedule soon that will be fun and give me something to focus on. For the next week I think I am going to get mileage back up and do a long workout. I tend to enjoy competing more the more often I do it.

Also, my knee problem seems to be better, so I should be able to build back to some real training during the next two weeks.

Biking the Austin Marathon (Day Off)

I had a great morning biking all around the Austin Marathon (15-20 miles) watching Neely, Brian and John Welsh run. Neely ran an inspired race, starting off fairly conservatively and then ratcheting it down and picking people off in the second half of the race to finish 6th in 2:24, including one very quick pit stop.


Neely running through Hyde Park with under 5 miles to go

Brian's race may have been more unbelievable, however, as his training pretty much consisted of hanging out, complaining about work, and two long runs. He managed to run (banditing) 2:46 (is that right Brian?).


Hanley and John Welsh on the Congress Ave. bridge

I'm not sure when it would make sense, but I actually want to run a marathon now.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

USA Cross Country Championships

Time: 80:00
Distance: 13 mi.



Well, given that I really didn't know what to expect, I am happy enough. The race itself was a good experience-the loops were definitely more fun than tedious. I wasn't as aggressive as I would've liked in the last 2 laps, but I was fighting off a side stich most of the race (I definitely wasn't hydrated enough). I don't know many of the splits, but I think we were through the first 2k under 6:10, which was about the pace that I thought I might be able to run... that was definitely aggressive, even though we were out the back. I tried to hang with Joe after that but had a hard time. I lost to a guy with grey hair in a Columbia jersey. My total time for 12k was 38:29, which breaks down to 3:12.5/k and 5:08/mi. For more, see full results at USATF.org.

I doubt Tarpy or Gaudette were particularly happy with their races. The Brown guys were up at Dartmouth. And the Texas guys have had a great weekend at the Tyson Invitational, with Jake and Kyle running 4:00, Jacob running 1:47 and the DMR breaking the NCAA (and world) record, running 9:25.

We got in an early shakeout in the morning, as well, down to the water in La Jolla where we got a peak at the seals.


The La Jolla seals

I'm taking a late flight through Las Vegas back to Austin to see Neely and Brian's friend John Welsh (and maybe Brian?) run the Austin Marathon.

Photo courtesy of Madeline

Friday, February 15, 2008

Mission Bay Park

Time: 40:00
Distance: 5.5 mi.

Easy run on the course at Mission Bay Park with Joe, Tarpy and Nick Weidman. The first kilometer of the loop is totally flat, but a little wind-ey and narrow. The second kilometer has five "hills" which are more like bumps.

Body is a little stiff, but the flight wasn't too bad and I was able to get a ride to the hotel with Joe's parents, which was really nice.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

USA XC Preview

Tomorrow morning I'm taking off for the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego. I think my goals for this race are pretty simple: run hard and really compete in the last 1/3 of the race. Looking at the entrants there are a bunch of guys that it would be nice to beat... but who knows how it will go.

I don't have a great idea what to expect time or place-wise, but my traning has gone fairly well and my fitness (based largely on milage) is good. My long run two weeks ago was 100 steady minutes really dropping down the pace in the last 5 miles to mid-5:30s and I felt comfortable doing it. I also felt very strong and comfortable on a tempo run with the boys a few days before that where we averaged mid-4:50s. Even Tuesday's 1k repeats felt easier than I expected after some off days dealing with the tendonitis in my right knee.


The course map laid over satellite view

The course consists of a simple 2k loop that appears to be just in an open field. Of all the many cross country races I've run I've never been on a looped course, which will add to the experience...

Upper Shoal Creek, 29th, IF

Time: 41:00
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy morning run with Erik down upper Shoal Creek, back up to our place and a short loop on IF. Knee was a little bit tight, but not painful. I wouldn't really be tapering like this except I'm just worried about it. I'll be sure to get back on the miles as soon as it makes sense.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Ridgetop, IF

Time: 40:00
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy evening run with Brian (and Dave for a little bit). I really must have shocked my knee better somehow because I have had zero pain since the workout on Tuesday. I also managed to do this somehow last year with my IT band which was bothering me until I did a tempo run. Anyway, I'm not complaining. The run was easy and felt good.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Track 1ks, 200s

Time: 66:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Target: 5 x 1k in 3:00 with "full" jogging rest; 4 x 200m in 30-31
Workout: 2:56.9, 2:56.7, 2:59.3, 2:54.5, 2:57.3 (avg. 2:56.9); 29, 31, 32, 30

I really felt like I had to get at least some sort of workout in this week even if it aggravated my knee. Given that I didn't know how the knee (or the rest of my body) would feel getting back on the track, this went well. Some other guys were doing fast 400s and Jake was doing a tempo, so Joe and I did our own workout. I felt totally comfortable in the 1ks and would have with significantly shorter rest, as I felt recovered pretty quickly. Knee was tight on the warmup, but once I started running hard I didn't feel it much at all. I ran the first 3 1ks in flats and then the rest in spikes, which made my calves pretty tight almost immediately. Hopped in the ice bath afterward for the first time since December... hopefully the knee feels okay tomorrow.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Town Lake East

Time: 35:00
Distance: 5 mi.

Evening run from the track after flying in the morning and then heading straight to class. I was pretty tired heading into the run after a long day of travel, but it was fairly nice out so I got into it once I was out there. I definitely felt my knee more than yesterday, probably because of being on a plane and then sitting in class all day without getting a chance to warm it up. It wasn't too bad, but a bit stiff throughout the run and maybe a little sore towards the end. Also, I get the "I must be out of shape!" feeling pretty quickly after resting/tapering.



One thing I like about running on Town Lake is seeing the crew teams that row up and down the river. There was a boat out surprisingly late this evening, and it was cool to see them glide through the dark water... they tend to go fairly close to our running pace.

Week In Review

Time: 252:30
Distance: 37.5 mi.

This week was hindered by some tendonitis flaring up in my right knee. Ultimately this wasn't disastrous timing-wise, with the race coming up next weekend, but it has been a bit frustrating. Per Johnny G's advice, you either taper for two weeks or two days... I tend to prefer the latter, but a longer forced taper shouldn't kill me. Hopefully I can get one decent effort in before the race, and run roughly 40-60 minutes per day for most of the week.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Norman Loop

Time: 45:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Jordan ran down to Jilane's to pick me up for part of his long run. I was apprehensive about how my knee would feel, but was pleasantly surprised. Only the slightest stiffness, so it seems that taking it easy is paying off. I warmed it up well beforehand and iced it afterward.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Day Off

Planned day off in Norman, OK to rest my knee.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Warmup Loop

Time: 20:00
Distance: 3 mi.

Warmed up to see if I might be able to work out with Joe and Rob. Unfortunately my knee did get sore on the workout, and rather than it warming up and feeling better, by the time we were at the end of the warmup loop it was sore. I did get in spikes to do 8 strides on the infield just to keep my legs as sharp as possible. This is frustrating, but I'm trying to keep my mind on other things.

Joe did 6 x 800m in 2:20 and under with 2:30 rest.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Day Off

Planned day off to rest my right knee.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Ouch! My Leg!

Time: 15:00
Distance: 2 mi.

I got about 8 minutes out with Joe running from his house and turned around. My knee is quite sore after yesterday. Resting it today and will take tomorrow off as well... commence ice and ibuprofen as I acknowledge that this is really an issue.

Brian and I wanted to start a running injury wiki. We got pretty much as far as the name: Ouch! My Leg!

I should be bowling more to keep up that part of my log. I am reinvigorated by this article, that Colin sent me:

Gilbert Arenas: Washington Wizards guard. Bowled in leagues in Los Angeles as a teen. Still bowls throughout the summer months. Claims a high game of 277. Owns three balls - two 16 lb. balls and a 14 lb. translucent ball with a boxing glove in it. "When I bowl I have special bowling names. They call me Black Fever and Hurricane. My favorite nickname is People's Champ, which is why I have a bowling ball with a boxing glove inside," he says.
That is amazing.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

RunTex Team


Sign above RunTex Riverside near Town Lake

I'm happy to finally be able to say that the RunTex's (the running store that I've been working at part time since I've been in Austin) post-collegiate team is (slowly) picking up steam. The details are undecided and up in the air, but the ultimate goal is to support and produce regional and national caliber athletes in Austin. For the moment, the team consists of 2007 UT graduate Joe Thorne and me, but I would forecast a lot of change as the program hopefully develops in the next 6 months. At the moment the arrangement is informal as we work to develop a workable long-term plan for a program.

What I am now sure of is that we will be making our "team" debut at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego, CA on February 16th, which I am getting very excited about. The only other detail I have for the moment is that I think we'll be in some slick all black uniforms that will look something like this:

Zilker Speed Play

Time: 83:40
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: 8 x 3:00 hard with 1:00 steady jogging rest
Workout: 6 x 3:00 hard, bathroom break, 2 x 3:00 hard

Meh... overall it was a good long-ish effort, but plagued by annoyances: digestion issues and serious wind out on Zilker. We ran down to the park from the track, did very big loops around the perimeter for the Fartlek, and ran back. The wind was pretty serious, similar to what Jordan gets on a bad day in Oklahoma. Right knee was quite sore afterwards.

Monday, February 4, 2008

IF

Time: 44:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Evening run after class with Hanley on IF. We ran into Raul, as well, and it was nice to catch up with him. Hanley had multiple Ian Marcus experiences. Knee felt about like it did this morning.

Ridgetop

Time: 45:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Morning run on Ridgetop with extra loops around Hancock and IF to round it out to 45 minutes.

My right knee has started bothering me a bit more than I would like, mostly post-run in the last few days, but definitely from the first step this morning. Seems to be right in the patellar tendon, and a dull ache rather than a sharp pain or real tightness.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Week In Review

Time: 617:30
Distance: 94 mi.

This was a great week of training. Got all the miles in 8 runs. The tempo on Tuesday was a little rough, but I was really happy with Friday's workout which helped me get psyched to hopefully race in two weeks. It looks like I've been able to finalize plans to run at USA Cross Country in San Diego with RunTex's sponsorship.

Go Pats!

Town Lake

Time: 100:00
Distance: 16.5 mi.

Solid, hard Town Lake run with the boys. Got off at a decent clip quickly and headed out into the woods past Pleasant Valley Rd. We turned around at 50 minutes and then really started rolling... we were under 6 minute pace by 5 miles to go and ran mid-5:30s the last 3 miles. I tried to help Rob out who was hanging tough in the last mile and Erik, Leo, Kyle and Jake took off on us a little bit. Finished at 0.0 in 95 minutes and then jogged 5 more minutes easy.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

15th Street Loop, Ridgetop

Time: 85:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Ran with Brian from the house... picked up Burnham and headed out on the 15th Street loop and then Dave and added on the Ridgetop loop. Legs and body a bit tired and calves a bit sore from yesterday's workout, but right hamstring felt surprisingly good.

Friday, February 1, 2008

IF

Time: 30:00
Distance: 4 mi.

Easy jog on the intramural fields before dinner. Legs tight, but not too sore.


Nike Air Zoom Elite 4

Broke out a new pair of shoes: Nike's new Air Zoom Elite 4. The construction of the shoe has not changed much since the last version, which I've been wearing since last spring. The upper is slightly remodeled, but does not change the fit significantly. The midsole is almost (if not completely) identical. After one run it feels like this model runs slightly longer--good for me, as my left food is ever so slightly longer than my right.

For my Asics, Brooks and Mizuno wearing friends... yes, I do agree that in general your preferred brand makes higher quality running shoes than Nike. However, this shoe (while not the most durable I've ever worn) fits great and is a good combination of cushion and lightweight support. When Nike screws this shoe up in its next incarnation I'll be back in the Landreth or try out the Axiom or Elixer, I'm sure.

4 Mile Tempo, 2 x 1k

Time: 64:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Target: 4 mile track tempo, 76 pace down to 72 (19:48 total); 6 min rest, 2 x 1k with the first in at least 2:50 and the second one faster than that, 200m rest.
Workout: 4:53, 4:54, 4:56, 4:52 (19:38); 2:51.0, 2:51.7.

This was a very encouraging workout. I met Erik, Kyle and Leo in the morning because one of them had a class conflict, which I much prefer to afternoon workouts. Their plan was the tempo and then a hard 800 after, so Vig gave me something different that would hopefully be more geared for a longer race. The tempo felt great... Leo took the first mile out about 10 seconds too fast, so it changed from being a progression run to being an even, quick tempo. I felt great the whole way--when the pace slacked a little bit in the last mile, I felt good enough to get up to the front and push it some. This is a complete change from the other workouts I've done in the last few weeks where I've really been hanging on. The 1ks weren't terribly hard, but definitely felt uncomfortable and I didn't really settle at all, probably because I haven't run anything near that pace. So far my training has been tempo pace or 200s in 30ish. Next week I should do a 1k repeat workout, or something similar. The other guys ran fairly well for their 800s (run separately)... Leo went 1:53 easing up a bit at the end. Not too shabby, eh?

It was a beautiful, clear morning. The air was cool, but the sun was warm. The wind picked up some by the intervals, but wasn't too bad for the tempo. This is close to the fastest (maybe the fastest?) that I've run for 4 miles in practice--we were through 5k near 15:10.