Rest Day One Before Race

I rested today. I'm psyched about the race this weekend, and my ambitious goal of shaving more than a minute off of my 5K PR time.

Postponed KW

Rain and lightning passed through Houston this afternoon, and I got an email that Kenyan Way was postponed until Thursday. Julie and I took this opportunity to meet up with the Power in Motion Group, who continue to meet informally on Wednesdays at Memorial Park. They were also smart enough not to run, so Julie and I headed to the treadmills at our apartment complex.

This is the last day I want to work out before the Houston Heights 5K on 6/2. Before today's run I didn't have a good idea what my goal will be for the Heights 5k. So I ran 2 quick miles on the treadmill to see if I could maintain a 7:00 pace.

Mile 1 = 7 minutes
Mile 2 = as low as 6:00, and as high as 7:00.

Overall results 2 miles, 13:35, 6:48 pace.

After running this, I decided to set my goal as 22 minutes for the upcoming 5k.

Max HR = 182, Avg HR = 164

Hermann Inner Loop (x2)

4.03 miles, 32:32, 8:04 pace, Avg HR = 154, Max HR = 179

I ran two inner loops of Hermann Park today while my wife rode alongside on a bicycle to help me keep up my pace. I ran each mile faster than the prior one.

8:49, 8:12, 7:49, 7:26

Rain, Rain Go Away

It rained all day today, so we met at the base and ran around the softball field in lieu of hills. The workout was simple: a .37 loop divided into a medium run, hard run, and jog.

I felt good, and averaged 7:43 minutes/mile over 2.92 miles. I ran in my "mudders", an old pair of shoes, and I could really tell the difference between those and a good pair of shoes.

I'm pumped up for a great performance on Saturday's Heights Run. If all goes well, I will easily set a PR.

Max HR = 174

Detour through Rice

4.35 miles, 38:33, 8:52 pace, no HR info (I forgot my monitor)

Well the back was bothering me again today. I took a couple of pills, did some stretching, and took it easy for a few minutes before picking up the pace. It felt great when I finished. I took a detour through the Rice campus (instead of around) and saw some of the classrooms and dorms. When I hit the loop again, I saw a friend from work. All in all it was an enjoyable run.

9:43, 8:46, 8:50, 8:44

Memorial Run for Memorial Weekend

6.06 miles, 56:11, 9:16 pace, Avg HR = 144, Max HR = 156

My back started hurting early this morning. I'm not sure what caused it, but this happens too frequently. If I did some "Superman" exercises when I do my core exercises then I probably wouldn't have this problem.

So it bothered me a bit when I ran two laps around Memorial Park this morning. Couple that with some pretty intense workouts over the past few days, and I was looking forward to a slow pace.

9:27, 9:12, 9:08, 9:13, 9:23, 9:14

Kenyan Nights #8 - Progress During Progressives

Today we had a progressive run -- slightly more than half mile laps run progressively faster for 20 straight minutes. It's unlike any other KW run to date, in that this taxed my endurance rather than my speed. Of course hills were involved, but there was only one hill to climb on the course, so it didn't factor in significantly.

Lap 1 = 4:40 for 8:58 pace
Lap 2 = 4:20 for 8:30 pace
Lap 3 = 4:18 for 8:26 pace
Lap 4 = 4:00 for 7:51 pace
Lap 5 (partial) = 3:15 for 7:23 pace.

I almost finished Lap 5, and would probably have finished faster if I completed the entire lap because the rest was downhill. But at that pace, the lap would have taken 3:46.

I'm happy with this run, especially since Wednesday's run was so challenging, and Thursday's run did nothing to help my body rest. I've been sore since Wednesday, but I can tell I'm making some serious progress with my running.

Max HR = 181

Check out the cool HR graph below. The fist part is the warmup, and the second part gives you a good idea how I felt.

Trail of Tears

3.22 miles, 35:08, 10:54 Pace, Avg HR = 164, Max HR = 174

I finally found a free Thursday to join a friend on a trail run in Memorial Park. These trails were meant for bikers, but I don't know how they do it. I had a hard enough time with the sheer drops, mud, sand, low lying branches, and other hazards. It's amazing I didn't get hit by a bicycle.

I don't think the Garmin did a good job of tracking my distance. Others say it's a 2 mi out and back (4 total), but my watch recorded it as 3.22 miles. I think it's probably somewhere between those figures.

Like I said, don't let those numbers fool you because only the time seems right. I was kicking butt and I know my pace was faster than that based on my heart rate. I ran 30 minutes in zone four and 3 minutes in zone five, for quite a workout. At the end I was dripping sweat as I completed my core exercises -- it was so bad that I looked like I was crying.

Kenyan Nights #7 - 30 Seconds is a Long Time

Today we ran 30 seconds hard in one direction, took a 30 second break, and ran 30 seconds back and took another 30 second break. Do that four times (8x30 second runs), with a 5 minute break, followed by 8 more 30 second runs. (16x30 second runs total.)

I wanted to give this my utmost effort today, and I'm certainly more tired than after any other KW run. This felt very similar to race conditions. I noticed I trailed off a bit during the second set, but I managed to make my last 30 second run on par with all of the first set. The bottom line is that I'm beat.

Max HR = 178

Rest Day

I finally decided to take a rest day, and I didn't even take a short, easy run. I've been going without enough sleep the past few days, and I plan on giving it my top effort at KW tomorrow, so I decided to take the day off.

My goal at some point in time is to break 20 minutes for a 5k. Everyone wants to talk about marathons, but that's not my thing. I just want to be fast. That being said, I know 20 minutes is a laughable time for more serious runners. I'll never win a 5k and I probably won't even place in my age group, but if I can break 20 minutes I will consider that an accomplishment.

Kenyan Nights #6 - Round and Round We Go

Today's Kenyan Way consisted of four very short loops (up and down a hill). We ran up the hill quickly, and down slowly for five minutes per hill, with a 2:30 break between loops. I found myself in the fast group, and got lapped a few times by the pros, but I was still in the top half. Sean said this was the hardest workout to date, so I may have been taking it a little to easy until the last course.

Max HR 176

LSU Lakes

6.75 miles, 1:00:08, 8:53 pace, Avg HR = 151, Max HR = 177

I ran around the LSU lakes today for the first time. Julie is a pro at this, but I was suprised that it took me until the age of 33 before I completed the entire course.

9:28, 9:06, 9:03, 9:11, 9:10, 8:21, 5:35 for .75 miles for 7:27 pace

Easy Run before Road Trip

2.4 Miles, 21:49, 9:03 pace, Avg HR = 139, Max HR = 150

I went on a road trip this AM, so I only got in a short run around Hermann Park.

1/4 mile splits:
2:21, 2:24, 2:10, 2:13, 2:30, 2:04, 2:12, 2:20, 2:12, 1:18 for .15 miles

Kenyan Nights #5 - Holy Cow it's Early

I joined the AM "Beat the Heat" Kenyan Way today for 3-speed fartleks. We ran hard up the 2 hills on the course, easy down,and medium on the flat area. I took it easier than normal(except on the hills) because my legs are weak from yesterday. It would seem the AM group is more hard core than my evening group. But it was nice to run in the cool weather, even though I had to get up with the rooster.

Max HR = 172

Early Morning Run

7.33 Miles, 1:04:33, 8:48 Pace, Avg HR = 150, Max HR = 158

As usual, my 1st mile was slow, but I followed it with an unusally steady remaining pace. This run was a milestone for me, because it's longer than any other run I've ever done, except for an excrutiating 8 mile I did a month ago. This run was relatively easy, and my HR stayed low. I'm sure the morning cool air helped out. I really feel like my training has turned a corner within the past week or two. I'm running faster, longer and it's easier.

Splits:
9:16, 8:46, 8:43, 8:47, 8:51, 8:42, 8:41, 8:23 for remaining .33 miles

Kenyan Nights #4 - 1 Mile Time Trial

I chickened out and only ran 1 mile instead of 2, but I'm glad I did, because my legs were tired from a lot of running lately. I was tired after only 100 meters. The mile measured .98 on my Garmin, so I might have cut some corners. If it really was short my 6:40, would have been 6:48

1/4 mile splits
1:37, 1:55, 1:39, 1:29
Total Time 6:40
Max HR 180, Avg HR 165

Rice Loop

4.95 miles, 41:58, 8:28 pace, Avg HR = 157, Max HR = 178

I ran around Rice and part of Hermann Park. I really concentrated on short strides, quick cadence and running on the balls of my feet, and I couldn't believe what I saw for my splits.

9:06, 8:26, 8:26, 8:10, 8:14 pace for last .95

Kenyan Nights #3 - Almost Late

I was almost late to Kenway Way because work ran long. I ran the warm-up faster than normal because I wanted to get to the site in time to start. I gave my strongest KW effort to date, but still faded a bit on the final 2 minutes of the second 10-minute rep.

Max HR 178

In the graph below you can see my warmup, two reps of 10 minutes, and warm-down run. Data comes from http://www.Motionbased.com, thanks to my Garmin 305.

Rice University Loop

2.87 miles, 24:24, 8:30 pace, Avg HR 153, Max HR 176

I had to be coaxed into running by Julie. . I started out real slow because my legs hurt, and ended up really fast. Concentrated on running on balls of my feet.

1/4 splits and mile pace:
2:36, 10:24 min/mile pace
2:34, 10:16
2:20, 9:20
2:12, 8:48
2:09, 8:36
2:11, 8:44
2:00, 8:00
1:54, 7:36
1:49, 7:16
1:53, 7:32
1:54, 7:36
0:47 (.11 mile), 7:07

Run to Eat

6.03 miles, 53:49, 8:55 pace, Avg HR 158, Max HR 177

I ran with Julie from home to Onion Creek for beer and a bite.

9:07, 8:59, 8:58, 8:53, 8:46, 8:47

Rest Day

A bit about me:

I moved to Houston recently and joined Power in Motion on 3/7/07 to spend some quality time with my wife. She's a runner and I'm a couch potato. I never liked running, but I figured I could stick it out for just 10 sessions of PIM. Instead of just "sticking it out", I really got into it and advanced all the way to the fastest group by the end. On 3/7/07 I could barely run a mile, and now I'm running 6 without any major difficulties. My 5K times are improving and I dropped about 17 pounds of fat so far.

Urban Warrior

5.2 miles, 50 minutes, 9:38 pace, Avg HR 149, Max HR 162

I ran home from work today.

9:36, 9:49, 9:35, 9:41, 9:32

Kenyan Nights #2 - Birthday Run

Took it a bit harder on KW today, but still not full effort. Trying not to fade out too quickly

Max HR 178

Memorial Park

4 Miles around Memorial Park Area, 36:02, Avg HR 150, Max HR 179

9:34 (some mud), 9:27, 8:57, 7:55

Kenyan Nights #1

Took this one easy to make sure I didn't get in over my head with this program.

max HR 174