Windy Mile Repeats and Racing

Windy Repeats

This is now 3-4 weeks in a row that Mile repeats have been super windy. The winds have been 20-25mph with wind gusts at 30+ mph. STOP!!!! These mile repeats are not fun and I they are getting tougher each week. The wind isn't helping!!

My body has been feel good!! The hips are great, legs fine and hanging in there.

Chilly Cheeks Duathlon #3 (Saturday)

What a cold start on the bike. My fingers and toes were so numb. It started to warm up a little, but still too cold. I haven't been riding but a few times a month, so I knew my ride wasn't going to be the fastest. I was only 1 minute slower than last year. Not too bad.

I got off the bike and my feet were frozen solid. They didn't start un-thawing until mile 2-3. I felt very strong and in control. I was there to race and I was picked each person off one at a time. I had one runner in mind to catch. I was determined to catch him and at the very end...sprint to the finish, I passed him. He put up a big fight at the end, but I beat him out.

Bike 10.8 mikes: 31:07

Transition: 2:04

Run 4 miles: 25:04

Total time: 58:14

Afterwards I ended up running another 12.5 miles. 3.5 hours I ran another 2.5 miles. My planned called for the short run 4 hours after the long run...

RMRR Trophy Series at Crown Hill (Sunday)

I thought my run time was fast yesterday after the bike. Today was even faster. There was a speed limit sign posted at 10mph. I broke that barrier and was breaking the law!! I ran 3 miles in 17:38. Actually I clocked 3.09 miles... This is the fastest 5k time I have ever ran and this training is coming along great. I thought I was going to fall apart today, but I kept going. I had to catch my friend Dave...and I never did. We had about the same time today.

Mile 1: 5:36

Mile 2: 5:49

Mile 3: 5:39

Mile .09: 0:32

AWESOME!!! Now I will take tomorrow easy and not a tempo run. I deserve an easy day.

Recent Happenings

Lots of stuff going on these days. I ran 50+ miles last 2-3 weeks so I kept pretty busy.

Lots of Running
I have been running 6 days a week. I have been logging in some good miles. It has been tough. I've run lots of miles before...but only 3-4 days a week worth. My body aches, my legs are screaming, blisters on my feet are getting better. I have developed new aches and pains. YUCK.

Shoe Battle
I bought a new pair of shoes recently. Two mistakes I made. First I wore my new shoes (Saucony Stabil CS) with cotton socks...for an hour run on the treadmill. This started the blisters. I ran 2 more times with better socks, and the blisters got worse. I wore them 3 times and gave up. I took them back to the running store. I switched back to the Mizuno Alchemy's. I got the updated version and the blister issue has got better.

I tried everything to help these blisters. I've tried Foot Glide, Vaseline, Duck Tape, Foot Powder, and Aquaphor. Aquaphor has helped the best so far.

No Blog Entries
Shame on me for not posting anything for nearly a month. I am not sure what happened, but I never seemed to find the time to sit down and write...?

Injury Report
Everything seems to be fine. My right hip has improved tremendously. I have a few aches and pains in the legs and other areas, but nothing too serious. I try not to worry too much about this stuff right now.

more to come...

Mile Repeats

I woke up early this morning to help move my grandmothers stuff out of her apartment. I spent 3-4 hours moving, but not all was hardcore labor. There was quite a bit of lifting involved, but we had 10-12 people helping out.

I came back home and I was off to the track. What on earth am I doing at the track?? Mile Repeats. Yuck. I did 5 mile repeats last week and they were all on the trail. I ran about 3 miles to the track. I did a little stretching before and off I went. In between repeats I ran about 1:00-1:30 at a much slower pace.

Mile Repeat #1: 6:08
Mile Repeat #2: 5:54
Mile Repeat #3: 5:53
Mile Repeat #4: 5:59
Mile Repeat #5: 6:07
Mile Repeat #6: 6:18
Average Repeat: 6:03

My goal for each repeat was 6:25-6:30. I did just that. The track seemed to be much faster. I wasn't too impressed with the gusty wind. I feel like I am going to be sick now. I hope that the rest of the day I won't be too worthless.

Am I ready to qaulify for Boston Marathon?? Not sure yet, but I hope to be ready in 75 days.

Awards Banquet

My running club, Rocky Mountain Road Runners, held it's annual awards banquet. Our club is a volunteered based club and is really starting to gain energy. We are hosting a 50th Anniversary week this year and I am helping out with planning.


The banquet was held at the Fox Hollow Golf Course and the food was great.


Here are the awards I received:
9th Place - 2008 Trophy Series
4th Place - 2008 Male Scratch (fast male)
Co-Race Director Blanket
Moving on up. I received 16th place for the 2007 trophy series and 5th place for the 2007 male scratch. RMRR has great members and I love the races every month!!

Hard Workout

Mile Repeats. Yikes.
WarmUp:15 min
5x1 mile:
6:25
6:16
6:25
6:29
6:37
Cool Down: 22 min

Total: 9.75 miles
Avg. repeat 6:26.4

Hard day...but good day. My hip/leg issue still exists :0( But I try to run despite having issues. Should I take time off. YUCK...??...?? Salt Lake City Marathon is only 88 days away. Can't stop now.??

Week Totals (1/12-1/18)
Swim: 0 meters
Bike: 23.69 miles
Run: 39.60 miles
Walk the Dog: 1.28

Am I Crazy?

What in the world? I went on a long run this morning. This is the same as last week?? I have two races this weekend. I have a duathlon on Saturday and a 5Mile race on Sunday. Am I crazy for getting in my long run the day before a race AGAIN???????

Well...the long run is done for the week. Now I don't have to worry about running twice on Sunday.

RMRR Trophy Series 10K

Today was the RMRR Trophy Series 10k race held at Twin Lakes Park. It was a pretty good run. It was very cold to start, but I nearly overheated. I will prepare better next time??

Overall Time: 39:38

Distance 6.19 / 10k

Pace: 6:24/mile

Calories burned: 741

Mile 1: 5:55, Mile 2: 6:14, Mile 3: 6:19, Mile 4: 6:32, Mile 5:6:43, Mile 6: 6:42, Mile .2: 1:11

I think I might have been worn out from yesterday's long run? I felt pretty good, but I just wasn't ready to go so fast. My handicap time was said to be 38:50. I knew this might be close, but that is 6:15/mile. There were several other fast runners in the group, and I might have been 5th fastest??

Afterwards, I went to visit my grandmother and we had lunch together. I came home watched a little football, then took a nap. What a day.

Week Totals (1/5-1/11)
Swim: 0 meters
Bike: 19.32 miles
Run: 39.53 miles

Weekend Long Run

I woke up early today to get in my long run. I bought a marathon plan (advanced) from TrainingPeaks.com. This plan was created by Mike Ricci and I have used a triathlon plan from him. Here is the workout:
Run 1.5 hours on a flat to rolling course. Keep HR in Zone 1-2 for 1:00. The last 30' are at race pace. Think about form and running pretty. Stay hydrated and eat! Stretch when done and add in Core 1, 2 or 3.

HR Zone 1-2 is around 145-156 bpm...or so. I started using a Heart Rate Monitor in 2009 so I can learn how to pace myself better. I am using the Polar F6. It's ok. No extreme bells or whistles.

Cherry Creek State Park Loop
Time: 1:42:28
Distance: 13.1 miles
Avg Pace: 7:49/mile
Best Pace: 5:55/mile
Calories burned: 1648
HR Avg: 181
HR Max: 158

1hr mark - 7.45 miles - 8:03/mile
30 min race pace - 4.16 miles - 7:13/mile
cool down (12:24) - 1.49 miles - 8:19/mile

Good training day for my quest to qualify for Boston. I took a nap after lunch for about 2 hours. I have to be well rest for a 10k tomorrow with my running club. Yuck. Next week will be back to back races too. My body seem pretty warn out.