Memorial Park with Jacques

2.88 miles, 21:12, 7:21 pace, Max HR = 151, Avg HR = 142, 89% Z3, balance below

I didn't intend to run today, since I can't gain any fitness by running at this juncture and the worst case scenario is that I could re-strain my Achilles. But I've been trying to get Jacques to run with me for several weeks, and when he asked me to join him today I couldn't say no. We sit side-by-side at work, so there is plenty of talk about running.

He's like a bunch of us who find ourselves out of shape after a lifetime of relative athleticism, so I didn't expect he would push me too hard. But right out of the gate we hit a 7:12 mile and I started to wonder if it was a good idea to accept his offer. Mile two brought us a 7:15 mile, but my fears of re-straining my leg disappeared because it felt better than it has in many weeks. The remaining .87 of our run was at a 7:42 pace. Jacques could have pushed faster, but he was holding out for a round of tennis on the heels of his run.

Overall he impressed me. There is no way I could have kept up with him one year ago.

The big story is that my Achilles didn't bother me, which validated my decision to drastically reduce my mileage and intensity over the past two weeks. I probably didn't need any further confirmation after last Saturday's long run, but it still feels good knowing that I'm going to be ok for the Ogden Marathon in four days.

Other notes:
I rode my bike with Julie on 5/11/08 and 5/12/08 for some leisurely miles.

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TDLY - 5/11/07 - rest - Blog Entry Last Year.
5/12/07 - Run to Onion Creek for Breakfast, 6.03 miles, 53:49, 8:55 pace, max HR = 177, avg HR = 158, 14% Z5, 59% Z4, 22% Z2. I can remember this run like it was yesterday. Julie and I headed out from our apartment in the Museum District and ran to the Heights for breakfast, where we left a car. It was a daunting task to think about going six miles in one direction, without a safety net of a place to stop if I couldn't make it. I figured I could cover the distance, but I wouldn't have tried it without Julie as company because I KNEW she could make it. The worst case scenario would be that she could leave me behind and drive back to pick me up. It got tough at the end, particularly after mile 4, but that was one of the sweetest beers I've ever had on the patio of Onion Creek afterwards. Blog Entry Last Year.
5/13/07 - Negative Splits around Rice, 2.87 miles, 24:24, 8:30 pace, max HR = 176, Avg HR = 156, 19% Z5, 34% Z4, 31% Z3 This run is proof positive that Jacques in in better shape than I was one year ago. For roughly the same distance run, I averaged more than a minute per mile slower and I red lined on my heart rate (Zone 5) for more than a quarter of the run. But the positive takeaway from this run is that I ran almost every quarter mile with negative splits and the last .86 miles was a 7:25 pace. Even though I wasn't in shape, I was showing toughness that day. Blog Entry Last Year.