Making the Most of the Master Years

6 mi in 55:23

recovery run from the house to Brookwood Baptist and back.  Was supposed to be an easy run but turned into a recovery run.  Started out feeling ok.  Didn't push and  had the typical post long run lack of zip for the first mile.  But wasn't feeling weak or really all that tired, just a little stiff particularly in the quads.  Form was good without over much concentration.  First mile ended downhill.  Realized that I was running sub 8 pace at the end of it with only making sure that my form was good, no pushing.  Still, too fast!  Backed off the throttle.  Somewhere in the second mile I noticed a slight twinge or cramp in the left hamstring.  Backed off the pace some more.  The cramp continued off and on for the rest of the 2nd mile and the subsequent 2 miles.  Realized that it was happening on the inclines.  Changed the route to take all the big hills out of the run.  No cramp for the final 2 miles.  Stayed at a recovery pace.  Tried to get as many soft surfaces as I safely could running in the dark. 

8 mi in 1:11:12

easy run.  Dumped the long repeats due to the left hamstring issue.  Didn't want to strain it.  Felt good today.  Some twinging in the left hamstring twice during the 7th mile.  Some mild discomfort in the left SI/IT band area in the middle of the run.  Pain in the tendons on the top and inside of the right foot (under the tie of the shoe laces).  stride and pace were great though I didn't push at all and took it extra easy on the inclines.  ran with Marybeth and Annabel for a mile coming back on Webb Gin.

8 mi in 1:09:52

easy run.  Felt good today.  Legs maybe a little heavy.  Left hip flexor sore and right foot under the shoe laces hurt at first (maybe 0.1 of a mile).  Maybe one slight twinge of the left hamstring in the 6th mile or so.  But it may have just been my imagination.  I was closely monitoring it for any sign of trouble.  Stride and pace were fine.  Ran the hilly Dogwood road loop with some extra side streets to make it 8 miles.  Foggy and damp but no rain or mist and the temp was perfect.

7 mi in 51:48

tempo run.  Felt really great today!  Ran Tribble Mill.  2 mile warm.  4 mi tempo in 7 mpm.  I forgot my GPS but the course was marked at the 1/4 miles.  I was running 1:45 btwn the quarters during the tempo portion.  1 mi cool down.  Light rain in the last mile.

5 mi in 43:13

easy run at Alexander on the soft surfaces.  Felt great today.  Stride and pace were great.  No pains.

24 mi in 3:29:03

long run at Stn Mtn.  Felt good today.  Some twinging of the left hamstring on two inclines.  But didn't push and it never went further.  Felt very strong today.  Thought I might cut the run short when I turned for the final out and back at 21.25 mi.  But close to the turn, I met Patrick who had been running the other direction.  Ran with Patrick for 3/4 of a mile.  Ran faster to keep up with him and the legs responded very well.  Felt good after too.  Spent more than 50% of the run on the soft surfaces around the mtn.  Right foot 2nd toe nail next to the big toe is turning black.

5 mi in 46:12

recovery run from the house to Brookwood Baptist and back.  Felt ok.  Little sluggish and heavy legged.  Sore left hip flexor.  Right foot tendon pain under the laces at the very end of the run.  Finally warmed up after 3 mi.  Rest of the run was fluid and easy.  No more heavy legs.  Still didn't push though.

8 mi in 1:10:28

easy run.  Felt weak at first.  Head a little swimmy.  After the OM finished in the 3rd mile, I perked up.  Miles 4 through 7 were great.  Felt strong, fluid and the running was easy down at the 8:15 mpm pace.  Should have stopped at 7.  8th mile was very weak again though not at all swimmy like the first 2.5. Feel very depleted afterward too.  Should have stopped at 7 today.  Probably should have eaten more yesterday too.

7 mi in 55:25

race pace run.  Felt good today except for a little soreness in the left hip flexor and a strong tugging almost a pull on the left outside quad going up the steep incline from Ronald Reagan to Dogwood and then again up Webb Gin before Moon Pl.  Targeted a pace of 7:27.  Actual splits were: 7:47, 7:42. 7:39, 7:24, 7:44.  Little bit of a miss, but I wasn't pushing at all. so I guess it was more of an easy run.  Plus I backed off some because I'm still feeling a little bit depleated and because of the possible quad injury.  Didn't want to push the pace and complete the tear or pull or whatever it is.

15 mi in 2:08:45

long run at Stn Mtn.  Felt good today maybe even great.  No pains or twinges or anything.  Held form well.  Fluid almost the whole time.

Ran 5 miles total in 37:16

0.5 miles warmup.  Failed to hit the lap button at the end of the warmup, So the first half mile of the race was on the split with the warm-up.  Therefore, I had to estimate the time of the first half mile based on the average pace of 0.1 mi increments on the Garmin Training Center display.  Estimated the first 0.5 mi at 3:35.  Adding that to the splits of 6:49, 6:23 and 3:53 (for the final 0.6 mi) makes the estimate race time of 20:40 on the hilly course beginning and ending at Turner Field in Atlanta.  The course runs up through Georgia State Campus, the Fulton County admin building and the State Capitol.  Actually ran it as a tempo run targeting 6:50 pace.  20:40 averages to 6:40 pace.  Even more please b/c it followed a longish run of 15 miles the day before.  The weather was really good.  It was a balmy 68 degrees at race time with a slight breeze that made it feel cool on the course.  The race wasn't officially timed.  So the result cannot be confirmed.

6 mi in 53:12

recovery run.  Felt pretty good today though a little sore from the race yesterday.  Some discomfort to mild pain in the left SI/IT band area.  But the stride and pace were good.  Finally loosened up in the last mile.  Enjoyable run on the Crews Craig loop.

11 mi in 1:26:09

race pace run, medium long.  Felt really good today.  Still a little bit sore from the race on Sunday, but I warmed up well.  No pains or discomforts on the run.  Little bit of burning in the left SI/IT band connection after the drive to work.  The stride and pace were very good today. Was able to hold form well throughout.  Ran the Brookwood Manor route turning right on Dogwood out of the neighborhood going uphill toward Scenic.  Through shopping center over RReagan thru Eastside front lot and down Tree Ln over thru the front part of Brightwater and ending the pace part on Webb Gin at Raintree.  Ran 7 miles at pace with splits: 7:34, 7:30, 7:23, 7:22, 7:22, 7:20, 7:20 (both the 7:20s were downhill) and 7:30 - avg of 7:25.  Great run today under clear skies.

3 mi in 26:11

Running club at the Elementary School with 17 3rd-5th graders.  Felt good today.  No pains, soreness or after effects.  68 degrees with a slight cooling breeze.

21 miles in 2:54:35

fast finish long run at Stone Mountain.  Ran easy for 11 mi.  Then attempted race pace for the next 9 mi.  Splits were 7:37, 7:55, 7:38, 7:42, 8:08, 7:42, 7:47, 7:48 for an avg of 7:47.  Target was 7:27.  Felt good for most of the run.  Tried not to strain but run hard.  Was straining the last pace mile so I shut it down at 20.  Recovery cool down pace for the final mile.  Some burning sensation in the left SI/IT connection in the later stages of the run.  Form broke down a little about halfway through the pace miles.  Had to concentrate to stay relaxed in the stride and keep form. Wasn't entirely successful for long stretches.

6 mi in 52:31

recovery run.  Felt good today.  Only issue was a little tenderness in the lower left achilles tendon.  Stride and pace were good.  Thought that I was pretty loose from the beginning but I could tell a difference after a little more than 2 mi.  Even had some power going uphill on Moon Pl from 5 Forks.  Pace got easier and quicker as the run went along.

7 mi in 58:54

easy run.  Felt good today.  Took a long time to warm up, more than 3 mi.  Seemed tight, not fluid.  Quads not feeling strong.  Maybe a little bit sore.  Otherwise good run.

11 mi in 1:24:50

10 x 800m on the BHS track after 1.9 mi warm on the roads.  Felt really great today.  Quads still a little tight during the warmup but all systems were go on the 800s.  All the repeats were relaxed and fluid with good form.  Had to concentrate/push a little on some of the curves to keep from slowing and had to concentrate on the last repeat but it wasn't too hard. Didn't actually have to push on any of them except for maybe the last 50m on about 3 of them, including the last one. Target was 3:05/800. Splits were 3:09, 3:09, 3:05, 3:06, 3:04, 3:06, 3:06, 3:03, 3:03, 3:05 with about 2:35 recovery at 9:10 pace in between.  Average was 3:05.6 per 800.  I think I'm ready for the Marathon. 

3 mi in 27:39

recovery run.  Felt ok but no energy.  Stride was good but had no power to generate any pace.  Wasn't pushing since it was a recovery run and the pace in the first 1/2, at least, was 9-high mpm to 10-low mpm.  Toward the end the same effort level resulted in 8-high mpm.  Even so, I felt spent by the end of the very short and slow run (really it was all the way through, but even more so by the end).  I didn't eat anything but a rice cake ahead of time and yesterday's intake wasn't very good refueling.  Some if not most of the lethargy was probably due to poor eating yesterday.

11 mi in 1:29:32

med long run.  Felt good today.  Stride and pace were easy.  Probably pushed just a little but wasn't trying too.  Just was trying to keep good form and a good cadance.  And probably was a little worried about the time and being late for work since it was going to be a longer run and I started a little bit later than I meant to.  Second half of the run felt much easier and better than the first and it was quicker per mile.

6 mi in 49:35

easy run at Alexander on the soft surface.  Very windy and overcast today.  Felt good in running.  But woke up feeling bad.  A bit depleted, with a mild headache.  Sorta like the beginning of a migraine.  Hadn't eaten well the day before.  Not enough fuel.  Also took some ibuprofen.  Head felt better by the time I started running.  The stride and pace were good.  Each mile was quicker than the one before it without any more effort.  The last two miles were slightly sub 8 pace and it all felt like a slow pace in terms of effort.

26 mi in 3:53:14

long run at Stn Mtn.  Felt good today.  Maybe a little bit tight in the quads at first.  2 momentary twinges in the left SI/IT band connection 7 or 8 miles apart in the middle of the run.  But other than that felt good.  Splits were very consistent too, not varying too far from the avg of 8:58.  Max was 9:23 and min was 8:36.  Body glide between the toes seemed to have helped my feet survive the miles.  Nutrition worked out well today but the hydration did not.  Had to stop for the restroom after 10 miles. Drank coffee first.  Had a 12 oz protein shake and two waffles (with light syrup) before I left the house.  Small amount of gatorade (maybe 8 oz) on the way to the mtn.  1 gel at 13 mi and 1 gel at 20 mi.  Plenty of energy and no hunger pangs through the entire run.  Finally at 25.75 miles I felt a little bit of pulling inthe the hamstrings and general fatigue in the rest of my legs.  Might have been a cramp if I'd been pushing the pace more.  Ran last 6 miles with Ryan and Neal who provided some good distraction from the effort I was exerting.  Had plenty of energy left after the run too.  Immediately downed 2 handfuls of salted peanuts and a banana and 10 oz of UCAN in water.  All in all, a great run today.

6 mi in 52:11

easy run.  Felt good today.  Stride and pace were easy and fluid.  Little bit sore in the quads from Saturday's run.  Had to concentrate on keeping good form b/c any slight pulling through the gait cycle at the foot strike resulted in an increase in discomfort in the lower inside quadraceps on both legs but particularly the left.

8 mi in 1:09:00

easy run.  Felt ok today.  Some sharp pain in the lower quadraceps of both legs right above the knees.  Almost aborted the run, but the pain went away at the end of the warm-up.  Stride and pace were just ok today.  One flare-up of the left lower quad pain at about 4 miles and the left posterior knee tendon hurt after the drive to work.  Still recovering from the long run on Saturday.