Met Adam the Boring Runner out at Camelback High School for some early morning track speed work. I ran out to the track from home as a warm up since it is only about 2 miles away. We searched the perimeter of the school and then found a service entrance that led up to the athletic fields.
Adam had decided to run 800 meter repeats and I wanted to try some 400 meter repeats (with 200 meter jogs in between) at a prescribed pace (9:00) to see how well I could stick to that pace. Because I'm relatively new to running, I have a difficult time running at a prescribed pace and/or knowing what that pace 'feels like', so this is good practice.
I did a warm up 200 on the track and then spent the next 30 minutes running and looking at my Garmin like it was suddenly going to pop up the winning Powerball numbers. My splits were 9:11, 8:53, 8:40, 8:42 rest rest rest, 8:39, 8:47, 8:42, 8:07. Faster than 9:00 for sure, and a bit up and down, and I finished feeling like I could have done more and happy that I was in the ballpark of my pace. Last week, when I finished, I realized that my paces varied by a lot and I was really beat. So this week I wanted to run closer to 9:00 (my 5K pace) and see if I could finish and still stand up. Mission somewhat accomplished, but some of my running buddies are saying that my 5K pace should be faster at around 8:30 to 8:40.
This Saturday is race #4 in the Arizona Road Racers Summer Series. A 5K through Kiwanis park in Tempe that I last ran two years ago finishing in 32:43 with mile splits of 10:00, 10:54, 11:09, and the last .1 in 10:29. I looked at the walk breaks and I took 3 out of 4 of them going DOWNHILL! I think I can improve on this and will try for a PR 5K this Saturday. My best all time 5K is (and you know this from studying my blog) 28:07 which is a 9:03 average pace. I remember having trouble in the second and third mile of that race, so my strategy is to go out the first mile at about 9:15 and get the time back in mile 2 and 3 and finish in the 27's. Also, just before the race starts, I plan to inject a nervous system boosting bolus combination of heroin and cocaine known on the streets as a 'speedball'. Just a little.... aboooouuut that much. And then I'll quit again. Really.
We drove up to the Sedona house on Sunday for couple of weeks, and Norman the dog finally decided that his neck problem needed to manifest itself in a big way. He looked like Stallone and Mike Tyson teamed up to pummel his jaw. He was so swollen and infected in his neck area that the vet said he would only have lived another three days or so.
Someone please fill this radar dish with hotdogs.
Norman
We submitted him to their surgical care and they found foreign objects lodged in his tonsil area. He chews on everything so it wasn't a total surprise. One of the objects was a piece of blue plastic and the other two were barbed seeds of some sort. They installed drainage tubes for the abscess and packed the area with antiseptic. So that has kind of thrown a damper on things but he is on heavy duty antibiotics now and is mending rapidly. The vet said that he is not allowed to run, jump, splash, or do anything else you would normally do her in the northern AZ area (he is already trying to do all of those things and trying to yank out his tubes and stitches). Crap. There are really beautiful trails that start out right at the top of our street. If you ever need a vet in Sedona, we have a great one.
from the patio
Coffee Pot in the distance
some crappy weeds that I need to get poisoned and bulldozed
Feeeeeeeeeeeel the crystals glowing in your vortex (twss)
I'll go out tomorrow and take some photos from a runner's perspective. Everything here is super hilly so the Garmin will have some elevation recording to do, and I'll be running the SYTO 5K from here on Saturday so there will not be a 5K PR this weekend, but I will be running it at temps 15 degrees cooler than Phx! Who cares about that because we all know Adam is going to win his precious little race again because Adam always gets whatever Adam wants! My route will incorporate some roads and some trails and did I say hills?? At elevation??? Enough excuses, you get the idea.
I turned 45 on Monday. Yep, 6/6/66. Now I'm in this 45-49 age bracket which is full of mid-life crisis-enduring speed demons intent on retaining/regaining their youth of 20 years ago *. Thankfully this is a passing phase and most men move on into acceptance by about age 73 or 74. And this cohort conveniently lies on the boundary where a fast race time equals an assured 'fountain of youth' return to a time when everything looked like a Prefontaine movie, while a plodding ass-strained limp through mile two of a community 5K fun run can be tossed away with a casual, "All these kids with their flashy smiles and bandanas!! I couldn't get a rhythm going and the damn music is melting my ears!"
Seattle's Prefontaine Building. Thanks for nothing Google!
I'll tell you what else has been melting some ears - the sound of me yelling "I'm rich!!" Generous relatives sent me $150 in Roadrunner Sports gift cards. I think they want me to run myself into the ground so I'll stop impregnating Maria. I perused merchandise obsessively online, then headed over yesterday to claim my looty. Within a few minutes of entering the store, I figured out that they do not carry nearly as much stuff in the store as they advertise online, and the employees are hopelessly tuned to the beginning runner. Samples of parlay (as overheard)....
"you have a slight pronation on the left that is causing you to push that foot further out as you run. It may result in strained running and injury. I recommend these pronation-reducing inserts" Hey Dr. Scholl, stop screwing around with people! or check out this priceless bon mot "I've been running nearly three years so I decided to get a job here and eventually run in my first marathon"
My salesperson received free one on one coaching by yours truly: I helped her locate the Scape sunscreen, identify its purpose, and discern that there is no difference except there are two types of packaging. I also helped her understand that the lip balm is not a child-sized sunscreen container, but meant to be applied to the area that surrounds a persons bubble gum hole. She then showed me the two racks that hold visors. I patiently showed her that one rack holds nothing but full hats while the other is reserved for the visors. I didn't see the Asics visor that was advertised on the website, so I asked her, and she said that she was pretty sure Asics only makes shoes. I met up with Suzanne right then (she was buying winter close-out stuff) and the sales person wandered away, I'm sure she went to read Teen Beat or Twitter or some such crap. I found an RRS visor, some RRS shorts, and settled on the el cheapo Nathan 10 oz handheld. It was between that one and the Fuel Belt, and have you seen the Fuel Belt 10 oz? POS. So is the Nathan, but the gift cards were burning my ass and triggering all my purchase peptides. I also got 6 packs of Gu, some running socks, some Accelerade and went past the $150 mark without breathing hard. I had to put back the Salt Stick tabs because I was over my limit. Holy batshit running stuff is expensive.
So tomorrow morning is ARR Summer Series race #2 on what looks like a flat course as seen on satellite. My PR for a 5K is 27:30, but it was run at the FYTO 5K in January. There were several things wrong with that race: Garmin only measured 3.03 miles, it was Directed and WON by Adam, my calf blew up in the last quarter mile, and Adam was the Director and WON the fucking race. So tomorrow I want to try for a sub 27:00 which is 8:41/mile. I'm going to try a warm up 3/4 mile pre-race, and also be a bit more awake than usual for the first mile (coffee and race atmosphere). I want to hold 8:50 for the first two miles and drop the hammer in mile three. I've prepped today by only eating hint-o-lime Tostidos( I would pay extra for Tostidos that were dripping with lime powder. Don't you just love that one chip in the bag that got stuck on the conveyor belt and was sprayed with lime chemical for 45 minutes? I want a whole bag of those!) and drinking expired Cytomax. I also pinned my race bib with only three pins a la Nitmos (2 diagonal and one smack in the middle, all three under the shirt ninja-style!!!), and I'll sleep in the park tonight a la Runlaur. If none of that works, then I'll claim my social security and refuse to vote for anything that doesn't directly benefit my senior living community.
* To be fair, it is also almost exclusively comprised of men and women who have been running most of their lives and have worked hard to get to this level. Almost all of the people out running at 6:30am in sanctioned races are serious runners.
Ran this morning 6 miles in 58 minutes w/Norman. He almost got a duck!! It was a nice run without incident. Plantar is talking bit on the left but no big worries. Calves fine, pulmonary fine.
Not dead dead, just dead drunk.... AGAIN!
Got home for my typical weekend post-run coconut water and had two big gulps before realizing something was.... wrong with the stuff. Not 'dead mouse' wrong, more like a dying mouse had taken a swim in the can before crawling off somewhere else to die --possibly in a Golden Arches product. A couple of small gags later, I was past it and moving forward in my morning recovering with water and coffee.
Pat's Run is coming up next weekend. 4.2 miles around Tempe with about 25,000 other meatheads. There are a few choices for approaching a run like this: Race, commemorate, socialize, other.
RTP's Strategy choices for Pat's Run 2011:
!. Go for a PR. Last year was 38:33 which is a 9:12 avg. pace. Uugggh, that's a fast time to beat, but doable. I was heavy into a 'roid phase this time last year, but this year I'm a better runner.
2. Run for fun with Harrison in stroller and finish in exactly 42 minutes to honor Officer Tillman. (option 2.1 is to handicap race against Adam and his man-child)
3. Run for fun then run 4 more miles after to get a long slow run in for the weekend. Fuck that I can tell you right now.
No matter what, this is a fun time each year and I'm looking forward to it. I'm definitely one of those runners who loves the atmosphere of a foot race of any type. I love the pre-race rituals and the waiting in the corrals, and all the post-race analysis. I don't care that I'm slower than most, I still can't believe that I can run at all. It's been a good Spring for me. Not as many miles as I has planned, but I'm healthy and heading into the Phoenix summer with a base that will carry me into the start of Marathon training in late August.
I got in a solid 10 miles this morning, and it felt really good to have all systems working. No bronchial troubles, no calf issues, and only a minor plantar irritation. The weather was perfect and the route is familiar with a slight rise for the first half and a slight downhill trend in the second half. After yesterday's run, I thought I might have a good run today and that's what it was.
Some of those stops were traffic stops, and some were rests, but overall pace is right where it needs to be for a 4:30 marathon pace training plan. I ran the first 7 miles alone then Suzanne jumped in for the last three and drove the pace in that last fraction. My first three miles were too fast but felt effortless so I just went with it.
Suzanne's plantar is still bothering her and she is wondering what to do for the ARR 20K next weekend. I know what I'm doing: Getting a sassy haircutplaying submarine in the bathtub running a very hilly 20K race on South Mountain. I'm a little nervous about the hills. Typically in Phoenix, runners need to seek hills to get that type of workout (or watch hill running videos). South Mountain is a beautiful area and especially this time of year when everything is blooming. Part of me thinks that I won't notice that as I stagger in a forward direction gasping for breath on those hills.
No need for a pre-race report other than to say that I will continue to run this week and see about finishing in less than 130 minutes.
This will be (notice the font change? I knew you would!!) the second running of this event for me. I showed up last year with high hopes of coming in first place overall, but 2:22 is just not fast enough no matter how you slice and dice it. I limped through the last couple of miles with a hammy cramp and an asthmatic wheeze that would make Darth Vader retire.
It's a low-key 1/2 marathon, a simple route, I ran it with Runlaur,and for all that I vowed to run it again this year. And it has snuck up on me. But I've been training for the January Marathon, so I feel like I'm as ready as I can be. I've had a head full of cold for the past week or so and have not felt good, but I'm on Bactrin, tea, and medical marijuana -thanks Arizona voters! Runlaur and I have promised to keep it slow and steady as a training run. I don't know why, but it seems that whenever we run, we push each other into faster paces than planned. so tomorrow, we will likely set course records. Weather is supposed to be perfect and I'm bib number 299 for whatever that's worth. And I got my new shoes today. Very springy and new.
This past Thursday marked the first time in the plan, and the first time in my wretched running life, I have attempted Yasso 800's. The Yasso 800 is an interval plan that calls for a warm up, followed by sets of 800 meter Tempo runs and 400 meter cool down runs. The theory is that the time used to complete the tempo 800 can be used determine marathon finishing time. Thus, 4 minutes 27 seconds to run 800 meters should equal 4 hour 27 minute marathon. We did 4 sets of these, and the target pace for the tempo was 4:27. Nailed it, but it was not easy. I have my doubts Bart!
look at those nursing home cool downs!
I did get the news while running that the stork finally came for Adam and Tiffany! So cool and I'm proud to be a friend. Hayden is cute, Adam is funny, Tiffany is the most patient spouse on the planet --we all know that. Now can we please get the center of attention back to me??!? Congrats to the Ricklef's!! :)
I've enjoyed reading your blogs lately. You really are a creative bunch and I appreciate your style and humor. I do have a running partner who could use a few followers and maybe some fellowship. If nothing else, she needs support for choosing me as a running partner. Her name is Suzanne, but I call her Johnson. Join her at http://suzannejohnson81.blogspot.com/
This will be my third running of The Moon Valley Grasshopper Bridge 5K. It was the first organized race I ever ran in and was a big part of what hooked me into running.
First year, I ran 36:25 pushing the little almost one year old. Last year, I ran 30 even (my current PR for 5K) pushing the almost 2 year old. This year he won't have much to do with his stroller so he will get to spectate along with his mommy. My goal is to have fun and come in under 30 minutes. I plan to run a 1/2 to 3/4 mile warm up about 30 minutes before the start time with some strides as recommended by coach Adam. No Nathan belt, no hat, no GU one GU, maybe one water grab at mile 2 maybe not, and try to hold 9 as long as I can and speed up if at all possible in the last mile. My mantra for the race? Glide.
Helen aka Pat
I am also going to line up closer to the front to try to be ahead of the militant walkers. You know the types: "lets get seven friends and intertwine our arms in solidarity of Helen. Helen couldn't be here today, and we are walking in her shoes for her. Helen can't even leave her house today because..... (dramatic music crescendo) Helen can't dump!!! Helen ate cheese all week and bound herself up, then tried laxatives. But she hates ersatz flavored lax, so she substituted M&M's which further impacted her colon. Then she tried a more serious approach, the tried and true 'sit on the pot until it happens'. And she has been there since Thursday. And we love Helen, and fuck you runners who think you need to pass us because you should know that Helen is sitting there right now on the throne red-faced with sweat pouring down her forehead grunting and squirming (ass cheeks completely numb) and possibly causing internal micro-tears from the pressure. WE WALK FOR HELEN!!
This 5K usually has about 1,000 entrants and is a fun family race with lots of different abilities from slow walkers to 15 minute jackrabbits. Straight, gay, tranny, and Adam.
Standard pre-race equipment check, but notice the sparity this time. No Nathan belt, no hat, medium shirt instead of large. Regular shorts --chickened out on the compression shorts (plenty of time girls, plenty of time), Black, yes BLACK, socks. This fat cat is set on sub 30.
