East Side, Town Lake

Time: 60:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.

A very easy morning run from Brian, Carmody and Ring's place on the East Side with Burnham, Carmody and Joe. We weaved down the streets on the East Side to Town Lake and then back up. It wasn't the prettiest run, and my legs are totally shot. I probably haven't recovered properly and am dehydrated, but I'm not sure why they feel quite this bad. I think tomorrow will be a day off.

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 92:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Fairly easy longish run with Joe from his house. We headed down to Town Lake and the Greenbelt, just going out and back. My legs (and body in general) feels pretty tired, but the run went well.

Modified Possum Trot, IF

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map

I started with Erik, running down to campus where he had weights. After I dropped him off I headed down towards Town Lake when I ran into Joe, so I ended up with running companions most of the way. Possum Trot worked well for Joe, who was heading around back to his house, off Exposition, so we modified it a little bit and I dropped him off there before heading home. I was near the house at about 80 minutes and was feeling okay, so I decided to add a bit on IF. My legs were tired by the end, and my right glute is sore. I desparately need new shoes, which I will try to take care of today.

Barton Springs Loop Speed Play

Time: 72:00
Distance: 11.5 mi.
Map

Target: fartlek with 5 sets of 3:00 hard, 1:00 easy, :30 harder, 2:00 easy (based on this pre-Big 12 XC workout)
Workout: felt a bit stiff getting started, but we were rolling by the last two sets



Ran from Joe's house down to the road loop at Barton Springs. The loop is about 1.25 miles, so I figured that each set would be close to one loop. It came a bit short on most of them, but we did get closer near the end as we were running harder. The total workout was 4+ loops. I was happy with the effort that we were able to get in. We headed out to Town Lake for a slightly longer cooldown.

Daisy 5k, TNT 2-Mile

Time: 95:00
Distance: 15 mi.

Target: get a good long-ish effort in; close to 15:00 for the 5k and 9:40 for the 2 mi. with as much running between as fits
Workout/Race: 15:12 for 2nd (behind Joe), 9:52? for 2nd (behind Bernard); 40 minutes on Town Lake as "rest"


15:12? Ouch!

I wasn't planning on this at all, but was offered a comp entry for both by the Austin Runners Club, so I decided to use this as my longer workout for the week. By the time this came around I had some serious sleep deprivation, so it was an effort to even get up, but it was a beautiful morning and fairly cool. I didn't know quite what I'd be able to do, so two hard efforts were my only real goal. Both races (which shared the first and last mile) were downhill out and uphill back, and I positive-split both pretty well. In the 5k Joe was able to beat the first woman, who started 3 minutes earlier, to win the "Daisy Challenge." Dave ran down to watch me flounder, and we ran 40 minutes on Town Lake in between. By the time I started the 2 mile my legs were pretty beat, which showed in the second uphill mile, where I was over 5 minutes.

By the time I was finished, I was totally beat. It wasn't a terrible outing... 5 miles of good effort and decent volume. I hit the cold pool and lay down outside afterward before getting ready for more SXSW.

Also, Wish, who I saw at the race, did a nice recap (with one weird quote from me about running 14:20).

Pease Park Hills

Time: 13.5 mi.
Distance: 90:00

Target: hard effort-based hill workout with decent volume, make myself tired/hurt
Workout: 16 x Pease Park hills (up and over, alternating sides); from ~60 down to ~54 (the far side is longer but less steep, so they work out to be about the same time)

Warmed up with Ian who was just running easy up Shoal Creek a bit, and Joe met us there. We started by doing two hills up the shorter and steeper side before deciding to use both sides. We ran the hills pretty well, and Joe started to push the pace on the last 4, which was good as I needed a little kick in the ass. On the last one I had him wait and run to catch me, as he was definitely feeling better than I was.

I was pretty tired from being up late last night, as South by Southwest is getting started and Brian, Ian and I were up late last night seeing a few shows.

4 Mile Tempo, 300s

Time: 81:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 4 mile tempo at ~5:10; 6 x 300m in a good effort with 100m quick jog
Workout: 20:46 (5:12, 5:10, 5:15, 5:08); 48, 50, 48, 49, 48, 47 (8:10 for 1.5 mi.)


Mile 1 on Town Lake is on the bridge near Barton Springs

Chilly, windy morning in Austin. Joe and I ran from his house down to the Austin High track. We dropped off our flats and met Stanley, who had run from campus. The tempo was from the 2 mile mark to 0.0 and back. There was a fairly strong wind from the west, so the way out wasn't too bad, but we were fighting it all the way back. I was pretty stiff for the first mile of the tempo, but settled in. If the wind hadn't been so bad it wouldn't have been terrible to make this 5 miles, but the 5:08 at the end was a fight.

Joe and I jogged for 10 minutes and switched into flats before starting the 300s. We knew that one straightaway would have a lot of wind, so we didn't focus on the time other than to try to run even throughout.

Overall, it was a good workout despite the Oklahoma-esq wind. Unlike Oklahoma, however, there has been minimal leg bitage.

Scenic, Stratford, Town Lake

Time: 120:00
Distance: 18 mi.
Map

Early morning long run with Joe. We met near his house and made up this loop as we were going. I was pretty tired and my legs were a little beat, but I was able to get rolling along after we got off Stratford. It felt good to get back on the 2 hour train. I was very dehydrated.

Update: I forgot to mention that my right hip was sore near the top of my IT band at the beginning of the run and seemed to loosen up. By the end of the run I seemed to have some soreness on the top/inside of my left foot.

UTSA Diploma Dash 5k

Time: 55:00
Distance: 9 mi.

Goal: Finish in the top 3, run under 15:00
Race: 4th in 14:58*; mile splits: 4:40, 4:47, 5:00?

Joe and I headed down to UT San Antonio for the Diploma Dash 5k. The main appeal was decent 3-deep prize money. I saw that last year it had gone about 15 flat, so I figured it would be worth a shot. I am hoping to race more regularly, so this fit with that as well.





It became clear fairly quickly that there were five guys seriously in it and (by the mile) that it was going to get strung out. Westly Keating led it from the get-go and never looked back. Joe led and tried to fight off Klbet Cherop but couldn't overcome his kick in the final straight. I felt a bit over my head coming through the mile in 4:40 (which I was) so I settled in 5th for most of the race. In the last half mile I was able to track down and outkick Derek Yorek, which gave me some satisfaction given that the race was far more competitive than we were expecting. It was deceptively humid given that the temperature was pretty mild.

1 Keating, Westly 465 14:02.1 14:02.1 4:31 1 1 Pharr TX
2 Cherop, Klbet 891 14:26.5 14:26.9 4:39 2 2  
3 Thorne, Joe 752 14:27.2 14:27.2 4:39 3 3 Austin TX
4 Washburn, Owen 797 14:56.0 14:56.0 4:48 4 4 Austin TX
5 Yorek, Derek 887 15:01.2 15:01.2 4:50 5 5  

Check the race site for full results and more information.

I was going to run a shakeout in the afternoon, but ended up playing a few hours of volleyball instead. It was a fair trade.

*I am listed at 14:56 in the results, but this picture shows that is clearly not true. They messed up the results and I think took my guess of "14:56-14:58" right after the race to put in a time.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

6 Mile Tempo, 200s

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 6 mile tempo in 5:25 down to 5:00 on Town Lake; 200s or 300s on the track
Workout: 5:21, 5:15, 5:22 (5:12?), 5:28 (5:18?), 5:08, 5:05 - 31:41 (31:21 adjusted, 5:13s); 4 x 200m in 32

I may be uptight about this stuff, but I find it a little bit annoying that we don't tend to go by the mile markers on Town Lake, despite the fact that they appear to be right. We start our normal 4 mile tempo course a bit back from the 4 mile marker, we split the next mile a bit back from the 3 mile marker, and then we split 2, 1 and 0 right on the markers. Almost every tempo that I have done on that loop has had a long second mile... which is exactly what you would expect from this setup if the mile markers are, in fact, right. Now, this may not matter for the most part, as we all know what a good time for these "4 miles" is, and we're talking about it being ~10 seconds off. No big deal, right?

Well due to construction in the first mile of our normal 4 mile loop, Joe and I started at 0.0, ran out to mile 3 and back. The only thing is that we ran past the mile 3 marker so we could hit the "normal" spot. This added on 10ish seconds on both miles 3 and 4. Maybe this is just a stupid rant, but I really don't see the point of that when we have good markers. Anyway, this at least somewhat explains the splits (though mile 4 was definitely slow regardless... I got a bit unfocused as Joe ran away from me a little bit).


A nice section of Town Lake near the boathouse... part of the "long mile"

This was definitely a better workout than saturday, so I was happy about that. Workout stomach afterwards seems to indicate that I was a bit over my head (and that I ate a Snickers bar a few hours before)... but it always takes one or two of these to get back into things. Belly of left hamstring and both calves sore afterwards.

Hancock, Exposition Loop

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.
Map (approximate)

Easy 90 minute run with Hanley and Joe. Joe ran up to our place from his, Hanley ran with us around Hancock and then headed home. I ran back to Joe's place off Exposition, down to Enfield and back up Shoal Creek. I was thinking of doubling, but once we got down to Joe's, I thought I could get a pretty good loop in and be productive for the rest of the day.

The cold rain was annoying at the start, but felt a bit cleansing at the end.

Good Water Trail, Lake Georgetown

Time: 140:00
Distance: 18.5 mi.



For a chance of pace (literally, it turned out), Brian, Joe, Dave and I headed up to Lake Georgetown in Georgetown, TX. We found the start of the "Good Water Trail" that runs 26 miles around the lake and started out. We immediately realized that while these trails are somewhat similar to the Greenbelt, as we heard, it mostly resembled the rockiest and most twisted sections. There were mile markers on the trail and we were splitting 8+ minute pace, which seemed reasonable. We went out-and-back and got back to the car at 104 minutes (12.5 miles?). We then ratcheted it down for about 6 miles at close to 6 minute pace on the nearby roads and across the dam to get in the right distance and a good effort while tired.

I'm not sure I'd head out to this section of the trail again, but it was great to go exploring with the guys.

On an unrelated note, articles like this, while basically true, will convince a bunch of people to replace a run with standing on one leg. Great.