Saturday, January 31, 2009

Lake Benbrook Half Marathon 2009

Despite the excellent weather (mild and sunny), with the tough hilly course and being on the same day as DRC's Tal Morrison 15K, the turnout for today's Benbrook Half was limited to locals and runners who like hills.

I had a pretty good race - all things considered - and completed the 13.1 mile course (13.32 per GPS) in 1:57:46 for a 8:59/mi pace (8:50.5/mi per GPS). I wasn't expecting to PR and a sub-9:00/mi pace is very respectable (for me) for this course, but I think I could have done a little better if I didn't have the calf issue (see below). My time placed me exactly in the middle of pack - 123rd out of 246 finishers - and 14th out of 16 in my age group (the competition was tough today).

The run started off uneventfully. I tried to keep a slower pace to not burn out before the big hill, and everything seemed to going well, albeit at an unexciting speed. However, right around Mile 3.5, I felt a sharp pain in the muscle just below my left calf. "Oh, not again" ... I pictured walking back to the start as I did last year.  It was very strange - it didn't occur on a hill, I hadn't slipped or landed funny - and very painful.

I stopped by the side of the road and massaged the area for a few minutes and then started walking to see if the pain would subside. My leg/calf did feel a little better as I walked (the sensation moving from sharp pain to dull ache) and a few of my fellow "Ranch View Gang" members passed me with quick hellos. A couple more minutes of hobbling and I felt good enough to try running again as Roberto, Leah, and Randy approached. I ran with them for the next couple miles and really appreciated their company as we approached "Nice Hill".

For those of you who are not familiar with the park roads of Lake Benbrook, in addition to the smaller hills and banked curves in the road, there is a steep hill with a 12.5%+ grade about 5 1/2 miles from the starting line. Luckily, it's only about a 1/4 of a mile from base to top so the trek was over in less than 3 minutes, but with a ~75 foot climb, it certainly felt like it took longer than that.  Anyway, as we approached the "summit", waiting for us in blue spray paint were the words "Nice Hill" and smiley face right below.

After going down the back side of the hill, I felt a lot better and started speeding up.  Grabbed some water at the turnaround/aid-station started heading back to the start/finish line.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Nice Hill wasn't too bad (at least no worse) the second time and I kept a solid 8:15-8:30/mi pace and took a short gel/water/walk break at Mile 8.75.  I grabbed some more water and sports drink at the final (through Mile 11) aid-station and tried to push hard for the finish, but I was definitely running out of gas at the end and averaged a 9:15+/mi pace for the final miles.  Guess I need to work on my endurance a bit more - in my defense, this was my longest run since the DRC Half almost 3 months ago.  So, all-in-all, I am very happy with my performance.

Next up, the Cowtown Half!



[Update: I'm thinking I pinched a nerve or something freaky like that at Mile 3.5 because the pain (which was horrible right after the run and later Saturday night) was mostly gone by Sunday afternoon - just sore legs/quads from the hills - and completely gone on Monday. So, anyway, everything appears to be A-Okay.  Phew ...]
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Sunday, January 25, 2009

Tough Weekend

Saturday: 11.11 mile run with Ranch View Gang.  A tough run with 19+ MPH winds in our face for the first 5.75 miles as we run north on the Trinity Trails.  Took walk breaks approx every 2 miles and a 5-minute bathroom stop at the Braum's on University Ave.  So the overall time was 1:52:39 for a 10:07/mi pace but during the bulk of the run we were averaging 8:45-9:00/mi which is pretty good for that nasty wind.  With the breaks, my average heart rate was 159 BPM, but during the run segments was generally between 165-172 BPM - solid exertion, but not the torturous race effort.

MotionBased info: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7505283

Sunday: "Slept in" until 7:00 AM - after waking up at 4:00, 5:00 (6:00 Eastern), and 5:00 the previous three mornings (due to early morning flight for business trip, morning workout before meeting, and yesterday's run).  Arrived at the gym shortly after 8:00 and did 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, 15 minutes of rowing (3,100 meters), and a little strength training before entering the cycling classroom.  15 minutes by myself before the 1-hour spin class began and 15 minutes afterwards for 90 minutes total - avg hr 154 BPM.

My legs are still a little sore from yesterday's run, but not too bad.  I think I'm ready to increase the distance two more miles next weekend for the Lake Benbrook Half-Marathon.

My tough weekend is complete.  Relaxing this afternoon and indulging in a little Maki Boy sushi.  So nice! ...
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Friday, January 23, 2009

Longish Swim, Redline Spin, Getting It In (When I Can)

Mon (1/19): After taking yesterday as a rest/recovery day (still in euphoria over my Too Cold To Hold performance :-), I headed to the pool at lunch. The goal: To swim at least 2,000 yds. Mission accomplished (in 43:39) but it wasn't easy. By the end of the fourth 500 yd set, I was feeling dizzy. I can't believe that I got motion sickness in a pool! You would think that I was swimming in the Atlantic or something with the way the room was spinning when I exited the water. Sigh ... I guess I need to take a Meclizine before any swims longer than 1,000 yds - for now anyway until I get this thing licked. Maybe I've just been out of the pool for too long. My splits:
  • 1st 500 yds: 10:24
  • 2nd 500 yds: 10:49
  • Water/AccelGel break: 0:47
  • 3rd 500 yds: 10:47
  • 4th 500 yds: 10:52
This is about 2 minutes slower than my PR pace, but definitely not too bad. Will work on increasing speed and adding distance in the weeks ahead.

Tue (1/20): Normal 60 minute spin class - average heart rate of 158 bpm. Maxed out my heart rate (to 183 BPM and held it there for almost 2 minutes) during Seal's ("Guy who sleeps with Heidi Klum" -Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock) "Crazy". I'm glad I made the push, but I was so beat up after the effort that I had to take it easy for the last 10 minutes of the session. Afterwards, instead of a brick run, I had to settle for a "brick inclined walk" on the treadmill - 1.5 miles at 4 MPH with the first 1 mile at a 10% incline which was gradually lowered during the final 1/2 mile. Total time: 22:15. Total vertical distance: 645 feet. Total calories burned: 235.

Wed (1/21): Had to take my parents to the airport (leaving Texas after an extended visit over the holidays) so I missed my normal spin class. So I dragged myself to the LA Fitness near my office and did my own spin session. 45 minutes of cycling at an average heart rate of 151 bpm. Not too bad. Afterwards, a quick 500 yd swim - 9:54.40 - definitely one of my faster pool sessions in recent memory.

Fri (1/23): I'm finishing up a two-day business trip to New Jersey.  I surprised myself when I was actually able to get up early and do 30 minutes on the hotel elliptical trainer and a little bit of strength training.  I was even able to squeeze in some breakfast before starting my morning with a 9:00 AM meeting.  It's the small victories ...
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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Too Cold To Hold 2009


Woo-hoo! A new PR for the 15K distance. I think we can confidently say that my stress-fracture recovery is now complete!

I finished this morning's Too Cold To Hold 15K (9.41 miles per GPS) in 1:17:42.8 (8:21/mi official pace; 8:16/mi per GPS).  This is more than two minutes faster than the FWRC Labor Day 15K and just shy of my "target" 8:15/mi pace.  Looks like I'll have to set a new goal pace soon. :-)

Don T and I carpooled and met up with Wilhe at the race site.  Many of my other running friends were doing the Houston Marathon on Sunday so I wasn't expecting to see a huge turnout at the race (whether I knew them or not).  It was a crisp January morning with cloudy skies.  Overall, the weather was nearly perfect with cool temperatures - a bit of headwind (13.5 MPH average from the south) was the only part that could have been improved.



I didn't really know what to expect going into this race as 9.3 miles is the farthest that I have run in over two months (since early November's DRC Half and my shin injury).  My plan was to start off with a slow pace, take walk breaks at the water stations, and finish strongly.

I worked hard at keeping a steady pace in the opening miles and I did accomplish it with a 26:02 split at the 5K mark.  The next 3.1 miles were completed in 26:37 and the final 25:04.  So I did finish strongly.  Full (per mile/5K) splits from my Garmin Forerunner 305:


Though it may seem like I slowed down in the middle of the race, the times are actually deceptive because (1) there was a lot of headwind as we ran south down the west side of White Rock Lake and (2) there were 2 water stations (and thus walk-breaks) during that stretch - there was only 1 each for the first and last 5K segments.

Speed chart - only walked at the 1.8-mile, 4.1-mile, 6.1-mile, and (briefly) 7.4-mile water stations:

I felt very good for the two big hills of the course - the ramp heading up to Mockingbird at Mile 2.9and at the south end of the lake at Mile 7.5.  For both of them, I was able to bear down and make it to the top without slowing significantly.  Elevation chart below.

Finally, here is my heart rate chart.  Good drops during the walk-breaks at Mile2 4.1 and 6.1.  I was actually planning to keep my heart rate (and pace) lower, but during the race, I felt really good - even running at a 8:16/mi average.  I was a little worried (surprised) that I was going too fast, but it just didn't feel too fast.  I guess it just goes to show that heart rate is just one factor (along with weather, course, and overall "feel") in determining the optimal speed and effort for the day.


With my time of of 1:17:43, I placed 28th out of 57 for my age group (M 35-39) and 159th out of 632, overall.  My finish time was also nearly 3 1/2 minutes faster than last year's race when I was nursing my IT band injury (uggh, bad memories).  But that's in the past, today is a great milestone - both for injury recovery and just an awesome race overall.  :-)

At the finish line, I cheered in Wilhe and Serena (who also PRed!) - somehow I missed Don - must have been grabbing water - before heading up to the Winfrey Point clubhouse for some breakfast tacos (yum) and rehydration.  The weather for the day lived up to the race's name, but solid performances and scrambled eggs, salsa and tortillas made us warm inside.

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Friday, January 16, 2009

A Run, 3 Spins, 3 Swims

Mon (1/12): 7.9 mile run in 1:09:05 (8:44/mi pace).  My fastest pace yet of my last three runs (6.55 miles on Dec 31 & 8.3 miles on Jan 9).  I don't want to be overconfident, but I'm feeling good about this Saturday's race.  No more running this week (actually, planned to do some treadmill work but never got around to it - maybe subconsciously that was on purpose :-P)

Tue (1/13): Bike - 50 min spin class; 151 bpm avg hr.  Swim - 500 yd in 10:19.5

Wed (1/14): Bike - 75 min spin class; 152 bpm avg hr.  Swim - 750 yd in 15:48.  Good workout!

Thu (1/15): Bike: 1 hr spin class (no stats - left the Garmin on the charger- but I think I pushed it fairly hard).  Swim - 500 yd in 10:42.  I wanted to do 1,000 yd swim, but my arms actually started getting sorry after the first set, so I decided not to risk it.  Three straight days of swimming (even though they were of short distance/duration) after being out of the pool for the better part of two months was a good jump start in and of itself.

Fri (1/16): No workout today.  Resting up for tomorrow's Too Cold To Hold 15K race!
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Sunday, January 11, 2009

2009 is Gonna Rock

Happy (Belated) New Year!  My blogging took a serious hit with the holidays and the first week back from work after two weeks of well-deserved vacation time.  Luckily, unlike my blogging, I was able to keep up my workouts, and I can say with a straight face that my fitness level is at the same level or better than before the holiday madness began.

On the stress-fracture-recovery front, things are looking very good.  On December 31, I did my first  post-injury, non-treadmill run since November's DRC Half - a "quarter-marathon" in my neighborhood - 6.55 miles in 59:30.  I followed that up this past Friday with an 8.31 mile run in 1:17:32.  So my shin rehab is going well and I should be all set for next weekend's Too Cold To Hold 15K (9.3 miles) and the Lake Benbrook Half-Marathon at the end of the month.

Despite what I just wrote, the majority of my workouts for the last three weeks were not runs; they were spin class sessions.  2-3 hours during the week. On Saturdays,  two one-hour spin-classes with a 15-minute cycling warm-up and either more cycling or a quick treadmill brick-run for the 15 minutes between the classes.  All of the sessions were more-or-less the same, with average heart rates between 152-156 bpm - fairly intense (effective).

Swimming is definitely an area that needs more focus.  I did a couple swim sessions, but the longest distance was about 1,250 yards.  I need to get back into the pool with more frequency and longer durations/distances.

But, overall, I am feeling strong and very excited for a new year of fitness and competition! 
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Thursday, January 1, 2009

2008 Events

Just for future reference.
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