"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail"

Ran my first miles of 2011 in my VFFs (because I forgot to pack my regular shoes when I packed my running clothes)

Ran on the MWRT alone -- 4 out and 4 back. Felt good.

44F, E10

AP: 7:29

I decided to ramp it up a little on my last vacation day before heading back to work. My plan was to run with Darin and Dave at 7:00AM for 7 miles, then run some more on my own. I got a flat tire on the way to Darin's so, I got there as they finished. So, my run today was solo.

I'm running a 15K race on Saturday, so decided to go run the course -- twice. First time, forward, second time in reverse direction (not running backwards -- but running forward from finish to start :)

I made a wrong turn and ended up adding almost 2 miles to the first 9.3 miles (7:54/mi for 11.25 miles). I stopped at the car, downed a bottle of water and a Honey Stinger, then headed out for the second pass. I was making mental notes of various distances (2 miles, 1.5, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25) from the finish line (just in case I have some kick left on Saturday..so I'll know exactly how much real estate I have left to cover)

I did quite a bit of walking on the the second 9.3 miles--especially when my total got above 17 miles. (keep in mind that my last marathon was June at Utah Valley---and my last run over 15 miles was at the end of July 2011 - El Scorcho). I had forgotten that stiff/tightening feeling -- and the sore feet. I guess there's a reason we ramp up for marathons. I took it easy -- today was about finishing the 20 miles, not about speed. I have about 7 weeks to be ready to run a 3:40 marathon at Cowtown (I'm pacing for the 3rd consecutive year...and it's not a gimme this year!) :)

45-53F, partly cloudy, light wind

AP: ~9:00

I didnt' sleep well last night. Woke up at 3AM to my dog barking. Decided to skip the run with Darin and Dave, and got an extra 2 hours of sleep time.

Ran at lunchtime alone. Weather was great. Felt pretty good -- but only had time for 4 miles. Will take another rest day tomorrow in prep for 15K race on Saturday morning.

AP: 7:21

55F, sunny, 5S

It was a perfect day for a race. 38F, sunny, slight breeze.

Had no idea how I was going to do. I have been ramping up the miles this week, and even ran this course twice on Tuesday to become familiar with the terrain.

Someone said "Go", we started running, and about 10 seconds later the gun went off  :). I got into a good rythm early on, and felt pretty good. The plan was to go out at 7:30 first mile, then try to speed up -- and like 100% of all my other races, I DID NOT stick to the plan. I hit the first mile at 6:55, and felt fine. A few of my buddies were running with me, too. I was with Dave and Scott for the first 3 miles, then let them go ahead of me (It is much better to be passed by your friends early in a race, rather than late in the race). I kept about 50 yds behind Dave and Scott for the next few miles. Dave started pulling away, and I was kind of resigned to finishing right with Scott. But with 1 mile to go, I started gaining on Scott (this was an uphill section). Before I knew it I was passing Scott.

I finished strong -- passing Scott and 1 other runner in the last mile. Though Scott is in a younger AG, the other runner I passed was in mine -- which allowed me to take home 3rd in the 45-49 AG!!! Woohoo! Dave finished 1st in our AG about 40 seconds ahead of me.

My final time of 1:05:23 is a PR for 15K!! (My Garmin had 9.4 miles, AP: 6:57)

It was a fun race, and it was fun to see a few of my running buddies take home some hardware.

38F, 5MPH N

6:55,6:50,7:04,6:53,6:55,6:59,7:10,6:59,7:00,

Solo lunchtime run from home. Was a little chilly for me, but the run felt comfortable. Toes were a bit numb for the first 4 miles (I think I might need looser shoes)

31F, S 2MPH, cloudy

AP: 7:24

7:38, 7:38, 7:22, 7:35, 7:10, 6:59

7AM run w/ Darin and Dave. It was a good solid run -- a little colder than anything I've run in thus far this season. Finished strong. Need to run tomorrow -- at least 5 or 6 to make up for missiing yesterday. I can't afford to NOT run, now that the count down to Cowtown is less than 50 days!

25F, SE 3, clear

AP: 7:30

Ran 5.3 w/ Darin and Dave. About the same pace as yesterday's 8 miler, but felt tougher. It was also 10 degrees warmer than yesterday. Plan to run 18-20 miles Saturday morning.

34F, S8

AP: 7:28

Met Ty at the trailhead at 9AM. Ran the first 13 w/ Ty (7:50/mi), then he left. Motivation dropped, ended up walking quite a bit -- but still finished the 20 miler w/ AP about 8:50. I've got about 40 days to be ready to run 8:24/mi at Cowtown! :)

41F, W 5, cloudy

AP: 8:50

Enjoyed a day off of work, and got in a nice 10 miler this afternoon. 

54F, S 10

AP: 8:10

Solo lunchtime run from home. Wasn't very motivated to get out there, but after the first few miles it wasn't too bad.

AP: 7:40

52F, 12 NNW, sunny

Almost identical run to yesterday's.

Lunchtime solo run. 

AP: 7:38

51F, sunny, S10

Only had time for a quick 4 miles at lunchtime. No watch.

35F, S10

Drove about an hour to run with Darin, Dave, and Scott this morning around Lake Grapevine. The plan was to finish the 20 miles at AP 8:15 (including stops). The weather was almost ideal - about 32 F, 5MPH wind, no clouds when we started at about 8 AM. The sun warmed things up nicely.

I decided to stop my watch ever time we stopped for drinks just to see what our actual running times were--the other guys kept their watches running through the stops.

Scott dropped out after 16 miles (he wasn't planning to do 20). Darin, Dave, and I finished our 20 miler at an AP of 7:54/mi -- and my Garmin logged 7:43/mi while we were running. I believe this might have been my fastest 20 mile training run ever -- and I didn't walk at all. This was quite a confidence builder for me -- as there are 35 days until Cowtown where I need to average 8:24/mi for the 3:40 pace group.

Next weekend is a step-back week -- where we're all running a half marathon in Dallas.

32-38F, 5 S, sunny

AP: 7:43 running   7:54 including stops

I took another "use or lose it" vacation day today. My wife droppe me off a Lake Weatherford while she went to a massage appointment. That gave me about 75 minutes to run before she'd be back to pick me up.

The weather was great. about 45, sunny, little wind when I started my run aroun 12:30pm.

I finished 1 lap around the lake and got about 1/2 mile into the next lap when she picked me up (1 lap is about 8 miles).

We ran some errands, then picke the boys up from basketball practice. I had her drop me off 2 miles from home so I could get in at least 10 miles for the day. I ran these last 2 at about 7:20/mi pace--quite a bit quicker than my leisurely pace around the lake.

AP: 7:50

45F, sunny, 5MPH

A fast 4 miler w/ Mike at lunchtime -- dodging the cars and running back into a 10 MPH wind.

AP: 7:18

45F, 10 NW, sunny

Ran at lunch w/ Darin, Mike, and Curtis. Curtis hasn't been running much, so we ran the first mile a little slower than normal -- and Curtis turned around and finsihed 2. Darin, Mike, and I found a new route, ran to a little pond with a sidewalk around it (0.6 mile loop). Finished fast with 2 sub 7:00s -- I was trying to get a feel for race pace at this Saturday's Half Marathon. Felt good.l

Happy 8th Birthday, Ethan!

Ran before work w/ Darin and Dave. From the start I felt sluggish, and let Dave and Darin go ahead. I'm missing my every-other-day rest days. I used to feel revived when I only ran every-other-day -- this is what marathon training is all about! :) As sluggish as I felt, I still managed the same 7:18/mi that I did on the past few days.

Friday will be a rest day, followed by a half marathon in Dallas on Saturday.

AP: 7:18

36F, 5S

I had another great run this morning in Dallas. I got up at 4:15, got dressed, drove 40 miles to Darin's house. Ate a banana and a piece of toast with honey and peanut butter for breakfast. Got the race at about 7:20 (8:00am start), picked up out bibs and event shirts, jogged a little and at about 8:01 we were off.

The weather was great. It was supposed to be about 45 at the start so I wore shorts, a singlet, and gloves. Not much wind at all.

The course circles White Rock Lake in Dallas, and has a few excursions back and forth through some various trails to make up the 13.1 mile course. For the most part it is flat. A few small ups and downs, and a .2 mile climb at the finish.

Before I started I was thinking that I would try to run around 7:00/mi for as long as possible. (my PR run at White Rock in December I ran about 7:08/mi -- so I figured with all the training I've been doing and the ideal weather conditions, I should at least try to beat that) (I also wanted to see if I could beat Darin and Dave, who both finished ahead of me at White Rock -- we're very evenly matched--on any given day, any one of us could win our little 3-man race)

After dodging a few walkers and joggers during the first mile, I managed a 7:03 -- it felt comfortable, so I picked it up a little and settled in with what I felt was a good pace. At about mile 5 Darin and Zachary (Darin's 17 yo son) caught me, and started to pass me -- as I settled in behind another guy..who I guess was slowing down without knowing it. So when D and Z went past, I decided to stick with them. About a mile later, I found myself ahead of them again and from the lack of breathing noises and foot pounding, I must have put a little distance between us (I never look back in a race).

At about mile 9 Zachary came flying by - he must have went from 7:00s to 6:30s -- I knew he would probably finsh ahead of me, so I wished him luck.

The last 4 miles seemed to take the longest. I was determined to maintain the pace. According to my Garmin I was at about 7:02/mi. I passed about 4 people in the last mile and finished that final .2 mile uphill climb feeling pretty strong with a 1:33:12 (NEW PR!!)

Zachary finished about 30 seconds ahead of me, and Darin, then Dave finished within a minute or two behind me. Today was my day.

It turns out I placed 3rd in our AG!!!! (which put Darin and Dave 4th and 5th..out of the hardware)

I took home a glass plaque that says "Age Group Winner".

It was a great day here in Texas - as I write this it's about 75F outside! I need to get outside and enjoy this little taste of Spring.

Splits:

7:03,6:49,7:08,7:10,7:03,7:01,6:54,7:03,7:08,7:10,7:07,7:10,7:05, (6:40/mi last .2)

According to my Garmin:

13.20 miles/1:33:12 

AP: 7:04

Rest day. Left Achilles tendon is a little tender from Saturday's half marathon...