Keep running

I ran the trails 5k right outside my home here in Vegas, and then added on 2.0 miles.  I am trying to recover from an achillies pain, since May of 2009.  It is starting to feel a bit better, i am hoping to race a 5k here in Vegas on May 22nd.  I am hopeful of no wind!

Very windy.  Ran 3.1 on the usual Trails 5k course here in Vegas right outside my home.

I wanted to do a speed workout this morning, but the wind was really tough, so decided to delay it until tomorrow morning.  I ended up doing the usual, 5.1 miles, which includes the Trails 5k course, and then added on two extra miles. I did the total mileage in 37.24, so about 7.24 per mile pace.  Felt easy.

I made it to 40 miles last week, so i am feeling better.  The achilles still hurts, actually most of the day, but once i get it warmed up, it doesn't feel too bad while i am running.   I am feeling like i am getting back in shape.   I am looking forward to the 5k on the 22nd of May, i hope the wind is non existent and the course is measured accurately, i want to break 18 mins, and maybe close to 17.30.  Hey, you can only hope for so much at my advanced age of 42.

Cheers

It was a beautiful morning, so I went ahead with a speed workout.  I did 16 x 400's with a 45 sec rest after each repeat.  I do these repeats at a soccer park in Vegas, the total length of the park is about 0.53 miles.  The upside of the park is the repeats are on grass, which helps my recovery, but the downside is the terrain and distance.  The footing is not bad, actually quite good, but a few tough spots.  Each repeat is about 3-4 secs longer than a true 400, as i looked for a common solid start/finish line "marker".  I did the workout with my friend Stacy Ross, and also, Erica was there for timing and coaching purposes :).

The first 400 is slightly uphill, the next is slightly downhill, and they i reverse course back to my original starting line.

My repeats were:

1st 4 400's (mile) were 89.34, 83.49, 87.75, 87.02     total mile time 5.47.60

2nd repeat was 91.58 (ugh, lost focus), 83.16, 86.88, 86.15   total time  5.47.77

3rd repeat  was 87.79, 83.68, 88.00, 85.55   total time   5.45.02

4th repeat was  86.28, 80.23, 85.98, 82.33   total time 5.34.82!

I was pleased, as my fourth repeat total time of 5.34.82 was a PR, and also, my last repeat of 82.33 was a PR for that particular 400, and also my 2nd to last repeat of 85.98 was also a PR for that repeat.

Well, that was good, i want to continue on with picking up my speed looking forward to the 5k on the 22nd of May.

Cheers

I ran the same 5.1 as the others this week, the Trails 5k and 2 additional miles, total time of 36.52, pace about 7.16 per mile, and it really felt very comfortable.  Most of this is running on grass and dirt, dodging rocks, roots, dogs on leashes, immobile dog owners, so i was pleased.

Headed to St.george tonight, as my oldest daughter, Stefani, is going to do her final Panthera performance, as she is a senior at Pine View High School, and is headed to BYU in the fall!!And i still think she is supposed to be in 2nd grade......

Cheers

I ran at Dixie College, just randomly around the grassy areas between some of the bldgs.  I did a loop that i made up 5 times, each loop a little more than a mile.  Nothing hard, just an easy run.

Cheers

I try and do my "long" run on Sunday, and went a bit uptempo during the 9.84 miles.  I have a loop that is 1.23 miles down at the Little Valley soccer fields and schools.  I wanted to run quick today, and break my PR of 71 mins 22 secs there.

I ran 8 loops, and my per loop times were:  8.30.46,  8.39.24,   8.37.50,  8.31.41,  8.34.02,  8.30.09,  8.33.10,   and 7.57.13 on my last one.  I didn't feel so good on my first 3, but after that i was into a good rhythm and felt ok.  My total time was 67.52, new PR, pace of about 6.52 per mile.  It is all on grass with so-so footing, so i was very pleased.

Cheers

I only had time for 3.1 Trails 5k, time was about 23.50.

I went to St. George on Monday night, so it was a late drive back to Vegas, we got home around 11pm, so Tues morning, i was dead tired, and wasn't going to run at all, but decided to jog the Trails 5k to shake out the cobwebs.  I ran 23.20.  

And, bummer, the forecast for this Saturday right before the 7am race time is 31 mph winds!!!   I think i am cursed.

I went back to the Community Park to do a speed workout, but, as i am planning on doing a 5k race this Saturday, decided to do 3 uptempo miles, and not my usual 4.  I decided to do 3 reps of a 4,4,8 workout, 400, 400, 800.  My rest is short, 45 secs after the 400's and about 90 secs after the 800.

At the park, the distance is a bit more than a 400, or an 800, as i have mentioned before, i pick landmarks to start and stop to make it easier.  Also, this is all on grass, the footing is good but not great.  My friend Stacy was also there, and also my live in coach, Erica, was giving me pointers and and timing me as she walked the course

My first rep went 85.74, 81.71 and then a PR on the 800 of 2.49.19.  Nice start, as i felt good, and i did push it to get a PR on the 800, but now the rest of the workout might suffer.

Second rep went 86.84, 82.37 and 2.57.10.   I did suffer a bit here.

Third rep went 80.19, 84.94 and 2.55.17.  I was happy here as I accidently shortened my rest period by 30 secs after the 2nd rep 800 before i ran the 80.19 400, which is a PR on that particular 400, so that was good.

Overall, i felt pretty good, i didn't leave everything on the grass, i felt i could go some more.
Cheers

I ran the trails 5k plus 2 miles.  I ran it in 36.30, or a pace of 7.11 per mile.  I gave a little effort, but didn't really push much.

All week i have been thinking about the 5k this Saturday and hoping for no wind.  The forecast was calling for winds of 36 mph a few hours before the race, but when i checked the forecast this morning, it now says 14 mph at race time.  Not great, but not as bad as it could be.  And please, no speeches that it is the same for everyone on the course,  i am not worried about any competition, i am focused on my time, i want to break 18 mins.  A great example of that is the Laughlin 5k this year in March.   I actually got lucky and won the race (by one second), but my time was 19.58, which is what you get with 30+ mph winds.  It is my slowest 5k race ever in 15 years of running, by about 75 secs!!

Cheers

I ran the Trails 5k just to shake out the cobwebs, getting ready for the race tomorrow.  I ran 24.09.  The wind is supposed to be 20+ mph tomorrow.  Still hoping for sub 18.

Well. the race was finally here.  I had been planning on sub 18 for this race for awhile as i try to get myself back in race shape.  Of course, I have been looking at the weather forecast, as the worst thing for me is wind, and it was projected at race time to be 20+ mph.  During the night, i woke up, and the wind was howling very bad, trees shaking, it was easily over 30 mph.  I thought great, race is not going to go well.

I woke up at 515am to walk the dogs, and surprisingly there really wasn't much wind.  Wow, it had died down.  Good.  I left at 555 am to get to the race, and we got there around 615am.  I had about 20 co-workers also running the race, so we took a picture, and then i finished my warmup.  I ran about 2.5 miles before the race, about 0.5 of it in surges and sprints.  The wind was now about 12 mph, not too bad.

As we lined up to the start line, i noticed Devin Mancuso there, he is a solid runner and should be under 17 mins, but other than that, i didn't see anyone real quick.  I was hoping for a few good runners to help me with the sub 18, but i knew Devin was too quick for me.  We took off, and Devin started out fairly slow, and so I definitely wasn't going to pass him.  He finally took off at about 0.5 miles in, and i stayed back in 4th place as I hit the mile in 5.46.  I was ok with that, as the 12-14 mph wind was a headwind in mile 1, also it was very slightly uphill.  As we turned off of Jones and onto Oakey, it is now slightly downhill and the wind at our back.  I caught 2nd and 3rd place, one was a high school runner that fell of the pace, and the other was a young runner, Victor Bautista, that i knew was a solid runner.  I had beat him by a few seconds at a 5k in January.

We hit mile two in 11.26, so a 5.40 2nd mile.  Erica was there cheering me on.  I felt good, but i knew as we turned off of Oakey, and onto Decatur, it was going to be a headwind.    We made the turn, and it was a bit of a struggle, but, not bad, then we turned right back onto Sahara to finish up.  Victor and I ran together from about mile 1, and i think as we came up to mile 3, we were both just hanging onto each other.  As we came up to the final turn, i thought we had another block, so i backed off, as the pace was getting a little quick.  Then i realized that we were turning right then, and it was the 3 mile mark.  I quickly caught back up to him, and then for the last 0.1 miles, we started to surge and sprint.  Now, he is 22 and I am 42, so I figured I was in trouble.  He finally surged with maybe 10 secs to go, and i backed off, cause that was it for me.  Well, he sensed that, and then he started to coast into the finish as the 2nd place runner.  When I saw him do that, I surged again, and went by him and got him by 1 second.  He shouldn't have coasted, you got to finish strong, even against old guys like me.

So I ran 17.54.  I was happy.  I was glad to have Victor with me from mile one, or i probably wouldn't have broke 18.  The foot felt ok.  The wind was tough, but not as ridiculous as i thought it could be.

Cheers

Mike

I ran my long run, which is 8 laps at Little Valley School/Soccer fields.  I went easy today, as i just wanted to listen to the Ipod and relax after yesterday's race.  Each lap is 1.23 miles, and my lap times were 9.52, 9.45, 9.32, 9.25, 9.28, 9.10, 9.03 and 8.38.  Total time with another 0.14 to finish up ten miles was 1:16:08, or 7.37 per mile.

I was pondering different changes in life, as we had a grad party last night for Stefani, my oldest daughter that is graduating from Pine View High School and headed to BYU in the fall.  Wow, that went fast, she really should be in 4th or 5th grade now.  Also, i could have a job change soon, so things keep changing. 

Then i started focusing on something i have noticed since i run in the parks, and it is a problem both in Vegas and St.George.  Why do people litter so much?  As i do each of my loops, i notice all the trash lying around, and there is literally, a garbage can less than 10 feet away.  It really bugs me.  I try and pick up 4 or 5 pieces of trash, and i think of it as an "admission" fee for letting me jog on the field. 

Cheers

Mike

Just the trails 5k today, very slow, 24.35.

Mike

I ran my speedwork today, 4 miles total.  I did 16 400's, with a 45 sec rest in between.  I did this at the soccer park, each repeat about 2-4 secs more than a 400.  I was not feeling it today, maybe left over from the race on Saturday.  I have told many runners that have worked out with me, "if you aren't feeling it, at least complete the workout".  Well, today, i was telling myself that same thing.

1st mile, 90.53, 86.09, 90.54, 88.33

2nd mile   92.37, 87.12, 89.76, 88.05

3rd mile  94.16 86.70, 87.58, 87.56

4th mile  91.37, 86.26, 88.03, 84.52

At least i ran my fastest 400's during the last mile, but overall, yuck.

Cheers

I was in St. George, as the high school graduation for Pine View is today, so this morning, i drove down to the old road on the Arizona Strip, and just ran for 1 hour.  I ended up doing 7.8 miles.  I was trying to figure out a route for some possible marathon training this summer, if I run a fall marathon. 

I am signed up for St.George marathon, and I am also considering the top of Utah marathon in Logan.  I won't do both, at least not seriously.  And i might not do either, it all depends on the achilles.  I really want to go to Boston next April, but to do that, I need a qualifying time, which is why I am looking at either Logan on Sept 18th, or St. George on Oct 2nd.

Cheers

Mike

I was going to do my speedwork today, but I arrived home very late from St.George last night, so to turn around 6-7 hours later and do a speed workout doesn't work at my advanced age, so i will do it on Friday.  Today, just 3.1 in Trails 5k in about 24.20.

Also, I feel ok after running 8 miles yesterday, most of it on pavement, that is a good sign as i contemplate a marathon in the fall.

I did my 2nd speed workout for the week at the soccer park, a good 20 mph wind, great, this will be good training for my races in the wind.  I decided to do 2 X 2 miles.  All on grass, most of it in the wind.   Each lap on the grass is about 0.53 miles, so I do 3 laps and then on the 4th, i almost complete another lap to get to 2 miles.

1st time I went 3.29, 3.28, 3.25, and 2.31 for a total time of 12.53.  I was ok with this, the wind was a drag, and i just wanted to do it a bit uptempo.

Of course the next time, i really just wanted to be close to the first try.   My PR for 2 miles is 12.38, but that was done on a stand alone basis, not in the midst of 2X2Miles.

2nd time I went 3.28, 3.22, 3.26 and 2.32 for a total time of 12.48.  Good enough.

My friend Stacy also ran the workout, and of course, Erica was there walking the course, timing me, and giving me lots of encouragement.  She is taking a break for awhile, but at some point, she will be back out there tearing it up!

PM - ran from my house to work to get my car.  4.7 miles

Cheers
Mike

I like to as much trail running as i can.  Especially fairly level trails.  I have been running off of the sidewalks and asphalt roads for about a year, and staying on softer surfaces, mainly because of my achilles, but also, my overall body just feels very sore and almost arthritic.  Now that i have stayed off the roads for almost a year, i am feeling much better.  One of my favorite trails is called the "balloon loop" and is in the Spring Mountains in Las Vegas, near hwy 159.  I decided to go hard on the trail, and my PR is 51.17 for the 6.4 miles, however, the day i did that PR, my dog Peyton, who was running with me, got distracted and cost me about 2 mins, so i really consider 49.17 to be my PR.

Peyton was there again, but this time he was walking the trail with Erica.  I set out on a steady pace, but uptempo.  I don't have any mile markers to compare, but I do have certain spots that i look for.  At the spot "90", I was at 9.21, at the spot "two trails", I was 10.52, at the "Y", I was 13.15, at the spot "back end", i was 24.54, which was about 9 secs off my PR, at the spot "far pt curve" i was 33.01, then back to the "Y" i was 38.29, "two trails" 40.34, at "90", I was 41.45, at "rocky top finish" I was 46.55, and I finished with a PR of 48.41.  I was very pleased.  It was funny, with about 60 secs to go, my good friend and former running partner Dan Kempf was out hiking with his good buddy Doug.  Dan was actually the one that showed Erica and I this trail.  He was just hiking, and he needs to get his act together and get back out there running.

Cheers

My long run.  11.0 miles.  I did 3.2 of it on the roads, and 7.8 at the Crossing Park, which was 14 laps of 0.56 per lap.  I did the whole run in a little less than 8 min pace.  I don't know how to assess where I am at with my achilles.  I am slowing putting miles back out on the road, and I cannot seem to tell what the impact is yet on my foot.  This morning, it was a bit sore, which I don't like.  It has been about 1 year now of this achilles stuff, and I am frankly sick of it.  I really took most of the last 6 months off, and had it treated in various ways.  I can now run on it, but it still just aches all of the time.   After I run for a few minutes, it doesn't seem to hurt to bad, but other than that, it just aches.  Oh well.

Cheers

5 slow miles at the Fields at Little Valley.  I am going to do a 1600 tomorrow night at the first installment at the Las Vegas Track Club summer track series.  I am hoping for sub 5.15.

Cheers

Mike