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Location:

San Antonio,TX,

Member Since:

Dec 13, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K PR - 18:01 - Nov '14

10K PR - 38:37 (workout) - Oct '14

Half-marathon - 1:22:43 - Jan '14

Marathon - 2:58:43 in Boston! - Apr '13

50 mile - 7:49:30 (2nd) - Nov '15

Short-Term Running Goals:

- Balance

- Run more trails, volunteer, more social running, run with a team

- Race a lot more.  learn.

Race results / possible schedule:

Apr 2 - Hells Hills 25k trail - 4th

Apr 9 - Toughest 'n Texas 20-mile Trail - 2nd

May 7 - Paleface - Trail Marathon - 3rd

May 29 - American Hero road 25k - 2nd

Jun 25 - Pedernales Falls 30k nighttime Trail - 5th (sick)

Jul 16 - Muleshoe Bend 30k nighttime Trail - 3rd

Jul 23-24 - Fossil Valley 9-hour nighttime Trail - 2nd

Aug 6 - Colorado Bend 30k nighttime Trail - 4th

Aug 27 - Reveille Peak 30k nighttime Trail (entered)

Sep 10 - Franklin Mountains 50k (entered - not all-out effort...I hope)

Sep 17 - Lighthouse Hill 20-mile trail (entered)

Sep 24 - J&J 50 mile trail

Long-Term Running Goals:

Compete in a few more ultras without going off course (again)

Sub-18 in a 5k

One.  Good.  Marathon.

Personal:

I started running at age 30, in late 2009.  I have 2 daughters (10 and 8 yrs old).

  

 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony A5 Lifetime Miles: 1054.70
Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Lifetime Miles: 1551.08
Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Lifetime Miles: 1244.23
1160s Lifetime Miles: 888.70
Saucony A5 Red Lifetime Miles: 565.10
Saucony A6 - Yellow Lifetime Miles: 214.00
Saucony A6 - Red/blue Lifetime Miles: 61.50
NB MT101 Trail Lifetime Miles: 302.00
Fastwitch 6 Red #1 Lifetime Miles: 286.50
Fastwitch 6 Red #2 Lifetime Miles: 267.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
196.3045.70242.00
Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 52.00Fastwich Miles: 32.00Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 27.00Saucony A5 - Blue Miles: 23.00Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Miles: 24.00Saucony A6 - Yellow Miles: 49.001160s Miles: 13.00Fastwitch 6 Red #1 Miles: 10.00Fastwitch 6 Red #2 Miles: 11.00
Weight: 145.32
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

35F, drizzling.  10 @ 7:39 AP.  Legs not ready for a workout...or much of anything lately.

Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 10.00
Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.001.0010.00

6 in the morning, 4 in the afternoon

Fastwich Miles: 10.00
Weight: 147.60
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

39F, 6 @ 8:03 AP.  Workout tomorrow and Thursday - hoping to get a glimpse into fitness level...

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 6.00
Weight: 146.60
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.006.0016.00

43F, 16 @ 6:55 AP.  A little too windy for the track so I headed to the creek trail to do a 4 x 1.5 @ LT, 1/4 mile recoveries.  I stacked the deck in my favor by running upstream for the 8 warmup miles (7:30 AP) and then downstream for the workout.  Going downstream it drops 15-20' per mile -- almost imperceptible while running but believe me it makes a difference.  I needed the confidence boost.


Splits: 1.5 legs in bold, (1/4 mile rec. time) -- 9:03, (1:59), 9:08, (2:04), 9:02, (2:06), 9:00

Works out to 6:02 AP for the LT miles - a little skewed thanks to the downhill, and distance was measured with garmin of course, not on an accurate track, but I'll take it.  This is the kind of workout I would've turned in before the December mess.  Actually, one of the most encouraging parts of this run was the 1.25 mile cooldown @ 6:44 AP...and it recovered me.  Last 8 miles in 50:46.

I have to be one of the most bipolar runners around.  In December I barely ran, injured myself, got sick, worked ~60 hrs/week, boozed way way too much, ate horribly and gained 5 pounds.  Now on January 4th I've just done maybe one of my top 10 all-time workouts @ 5 lbs fatter.

Saucony A5 - Blue Miles: 16.00
Weight: 149.40
Comments(7)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

AM: 30F, 6 @ 8:35 AP.  I think that actually might have been the coldest run of the year so far.  Really mild winter for us, even by our warm standards.

PM:  4 TM miles, slow

Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 10.00
Weight: 147.60
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.001.0010.00

AM:  38F.  6 @ 8:19 AP.

PM:  4 TM miles w/ 6 x 1 min @ 5k

Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Miles: 10.00
Weight: 145.80
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

44F.  6 @ 8:21 AP.  That's probably it for today.  Last big workout tomorrow.

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 6.00
Weight: 146.80
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.008.0014.00

AM:  29F.  14 @ 6:57 AP.  I did 6 easy, then 8 tempo @ 6:24 AP.  Splits were 6:39, 6:29, 6:27, 6:25, 6:21, 6:21, 6:23, 6:06.  Confidence in 2:55 increasing.

Saucony A6 - Yellow Miles: 14.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(5)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

40F.  5 @ 8:23 AP.  Today: peaceful, easy.  Tomorrow: Running With Crazies.

Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 5.00
Weight: 145.20
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
22.000.0022.00

Saturday I did the last 20 or so miles of the Bandera 100k with April, plus a warmup mile and a "bonus mile."  It was crazy, and a lot of fun.  Heard several seasoned ultra runners remark about how this was one of the toughest days/courses they've run.  It was the ridiculous mud combined with a very technical, very slippery course.  April had already run 42 miles by the time I started running with her, but she kept an amazingly steady effort.  Tough as nails - she's an absolute beast.  Other than that I don't want to give away anything, I'm sure she'll put up a good race report!

Fastwich Miles: 22.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(7)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

4 slow with the dog after dinner.

1160s Miles: 4.00
Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

37F.  6 @ 8:20 AP.  Legs feel pretty good, maybe a tad heavy.  Hip flexors are a little sore going upstairs, but feeling good while running.  Saturday was the perfect time-on-feet kind of day that I was lacking in this cycle.  I'll be in pretty solid shape for Houston, just wish the forcast would start showing me some lower temps and DP.

Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Miles: 6.00
Weight: 146.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

37F.  5 @ 8:00 AP.  Included 2 strides

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 5.00
Weight: 146.20
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.003.008.00

38F.  8 @ 7:04 AP.  Included 3 @ MP.  I didn't write them down but they were faster than I need to go (I think the 3rd one was 6:20) and felt really good.  Got a spring in my step and the weather is looking a bit cooler too -- low 50s for most of it, with a moderate wind.

Decided to go with a 1-week taper this time instead of the usual 10-14 days.  When your build up is only 2.5 weeks, a long taper is kinda dumb.  I have a good feeling about this race.

 

Saucony A6 - Yellow Miles: 8.00
Weight: 145.60
Comments(8)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.000.005.00

50F.  5 @ 7:36 AP with a few strides.  Ran right after pizza for dinner... that always hurts a little.

Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.000.003.00

41F.  3 @ 7:31 AP from my parents' in Houston.  My youngest was sent home with a fever on Friday, so my only worry at this point is catching her virus (drove 3 hrs in the car with her yesterday).  I feel fine so far.  Weather will be good -- upper 40s and low 50s.  

My plan is to hit the half in 1:28:00, a little conservative.  I figure if I'm really in 2:55 shape, I'll be able to fight my way down there with a negative split.  If I'm not in 2:55 shape, I think I can still pull off a PR with a slight fade in the second half.

Bib # is 1099 - appropriate for tax season!

Oh and maybe this is a good sign - every year I park in the garage next to the expo to get my packet.  It is free for 0-30 minutes, $4 for 30-60 min, and goes up from there.  I've never made it back to the exit gate in sub-30, but today I walked to the expo, got my bib, got my shirt, bought some gu and made a bathroom stop in 28 minutes, entrance gate to exit gate.  Free parking!

1160s Miles: 3.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(9)
Race: Houston Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:00:10, Place overall: 123, Place in age division: 24
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.8026.2027.00

49-58F.  Another bonkathon unfortunately.  Although I was in good spirits after a couple good workouts, I knew this was a possibility based on the lack of any buildup or decent block of training.  It's now been almost 2 years since I've had a solid buildup before a marathon - no surprise, that was also my last PR.  Even so, this one still kind of stings.  I wasn't really close to 2:55 shape after all.

3 sentence race report:  In the first half I'd originally planned to let the 6:40 guy get ahead of me but I kept up with him instead, to my detriment, hitting the half in 1:27:30.  Then stupidly led the 2:55 pack (6-7 guys) into the wind the next 4 miles and the wheels came off from there.  Missing sub-3 at the end was the cherry on top.

I'm starting to wonder if maybe it's time to find a new challenge in running.  I do think I owe myself one more shot at the marathon with a real training cycle.  But I was pretty inspired by the ultra runners at Bandera last weekend.  Cowtown 50k could be a good intro, and a way to dip my toe in the water a bit.  One of the things I fell in love with about running was reaching new distances, taking chunks of time off my PRs, etc.  Not saying those days are over with marathoning, but they are certainly few and far between.  I don't know, maybe I'm not being patient enough?

Tentative short-term plan is to just put in miles.  And more miles.  Have fun in the 50k with no expectations.  Fewer track workouts and more long runs for fun.  Next running season will probably have a marathon and maybe a 50-miler, we'll see.  Excited to shift gears a little.

Saucony A6 - Yellow Miles: 27.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(15)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

52F.  4 @ 8:58 AP.  Going to be a quick marathon recovery thanks to the underperformance.  I'll probably take tomorrow off during the deluge we'll get and pick up daily runs on Friday.  I finally started catching my kids' virus yesterday but the timing is good.  Thankfully the running gods spared me from getting it before the race!

1160s Miles: 4.00
Weight: 144.20
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.000.004.00

Still sick but slogged through 4 on the TM this morning.  Woke up dehydrated and cruddy.  I'd planned on 6 miles, but, no.  

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 4.00
Weight: 141.60
Comments(12)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.000.007.00

34F.  7 @ 8:03 AP.  Woke up feeling crappy again but the tylenol kicked in around mile 3 and I enjoyed it from there.  Really nice morning, clear skies, calm winds, thin layer of frost...perfect.

Saucony A5 - Blue Miles: 7.00
Weight: 145.00
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

40F.  10 @ 7:54 AP.

PM:  1 with my oldest...her first continuous mile running!  She was pretty excited.

Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 10.00
Weight: 145.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

42F.  6 @ 8:15 AP.  Keeping it easy this week but I'll pick up the volume.

Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 6.00
Weight: 144.80
Comments(7)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.509.00

49F.  8 @ 7:30 AP.  I was feeling pretty good so I did a little half-mile pickup to MP and my legs instantly felt heavy.  Guess those particular muscles are still tired.  More yogging in my near future...

1 with Elle in the neighborhood.  Thinking we'll stick with 1 mile for a couple weeks, then go for 1.25!

Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Miles: 8.001160s Miles: 1.00
Weight: 145.40
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
12.000.0012.00

AM:  44F.  12 @ 7:37 AP.  More perfect winter weather.

Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 12.00
Weight: 144.20
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

AM:  51F, foggy.  6 @ 8:23 AP.  New shoes!  I get a pair of Type A's once a year but hadn't bought new trainer shoes in >2 years so I was due for some new ones.  Decided on the FT 6 since my 5's lasted through ~1200 miles.  Took awhile for them to go on sale but I finally found them for $47.99 so I bought a couple pair.  All the other colors were $60+ but red was on sale for some reason.

PM:  71F.  4 @ 8:26 AP.  Had time for a nice shirtless afternoon run on the trail under the blazing January sun.

PM2:  1 mile with Elle.

1160s Miles: 1.00Fastwitch 6 Red #1 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 143.20
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

AM:  50F.  7 @ 8:24 AP.  Had a weird stomach thing yesterday and didn't eat or drink much.  So a weak/dehydrated run this morning but feeling better now.  Better to get all these bugs out of the way now I guess.

PM:  63F.  4 @ 7:53, mostly on trail.

Fastwitch 6 Red #2 Miles: 11.00
Weight: 140.80
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

Forced day off, just me and the kids from 5am-9pm with Danielle out of town.  Looking forward to maybe picking up the pace a little tomorrow though.

Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
196.3045.70242.00
Kinvara 2 - Gray/red Miles: 52.00Fastwich Miles: 32.00Kinvara 1 - Blk/orange Miles: 27.00Saucony A5 - Blue Miles: 23.00Kinvara 3 - Gray/red Miles: 24.00Saucony A6 - Yellow Miles: 49.001160s Miles: 13.00Fastwitch 6 Red #1 Miles: 10.00Fastwitch 6 Red #2 Miles: 11.00
Weight: 145.32
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