rest of: week of last GPX race. LungStrong 15k

Tuesday (10/4) met Brinkley (he jogged over) at my house and headed out for an 8 mile tempo. Not much of a warm up (for me), as we went right into the first mile at nice but conversational clip. The route was going to be hilly, as we were going to go out towards Huntingtown Farms, but do the standard loop in reverse. The second mile we brought the pace down a good bit, and started to hold it and ride it for the hills in miles 2,3, and 4. Mile 5 was pretty flat, as we were on the greenway, and mile 6 was the beast of Colchester Hill (which is .3 miles long and rises over 100 feet. Still, we held a strong pace, and miles 7 and 8 we dropped the hammer a little bit for our fastest splits of the day. The run was almost a progressive tempo with the splits, and with the hills, it was a GREAT workout. Found myself hurting, and having to push - something I haven't had in a while, and no doubt, it helped train me mentally as well. CHECK OUT THE SPLITS AND ELEVATION CHANGES. (9.12 miles for the day in total)

6.32 average ppm (for 8 mile tempo)

Wednesday (10/5) arrived in Dallas, checked into my room, and headed out the door for a warm easy recovery run. Legs were tired, and a slow pace was in order. Garmin stats.

6 miles, 7:55 ppm

Friday (10/7) got home, and slipped on my new racing shoes and jogged around for a few miles, making sure they felt alright. Shoes felt fine, and so did my legs. Ready for a good race.

3.19 miles, 7:54 ppm

Saturday (10/8) LUNGSTRONG 15k.
Last race of the Charlotte Run For Your Life Grand Prix 2011 series. I was 4th going into the event, and it seemed I would settle there unless I would run out of my mind and win or something.
The weather was perfect, and I had a decent week of training, sleep, and nutrition leading into the race. Warmed up with David and went to the line for a couple strides to loosen the legs. The gun went off, and I got with David and we settled into a nice comfortable pace of just over 6 mins. The first few miles clicked by easily, and it was actually conversational as David and I and the group would converse just a little bit as we got into the meat of the race. I was ahead of my time after 3 or 4 miles, from last years race, and I was feeling okay. In the back of my head though, I felt I might be pushing it a little hard if I was going to have a second half of the race that was just as quick or faster. I wasn't suede, and in the 4th mile I started to pull away slightly and only momentarily from David and the group. We started passing the group ahead, and once I was alone, I looked back and called up David to come join me. We ran side by side, with only Eric Bilbrey up ahead in our sights. I said, "let's go get him," and we focused on trying to reel him in. We encouraged one another until about 6 miles, when I started to fade and David got some gap on me. I could tell I was starting to hit my wall, and wasn't able to go with him. Now, I just was going to have to make sure I didn't fall apart. As the 7th mile split passed, I looked at my watch and thought I would have really slowed down, but was pumped up when I realized I hadn't fell off too much. I closed my eyes as I ran right into the sun going up the hills on the 8th mile, and felt as if I could have drifted to sleep, while my body kept being pulled to the center of the road. I was just trying to hold on here, and not let the group behind me, have an easy time catching up. The 9th mile, 2 guys behind me came up. The first guy I went with for mabye 200 meters, then he got a little gap on me, and I tried to keep it as close as I could. With less than half a mile to go in the race, another guy came up with me and this time I went with him about 300m and he pulled away. Here, we clicked the 9 mile split, and had .3 miles to go. I remembered last year I fell off at the .3, and decided I was going to have an all out kick. I started my kick and immediatly passed the guy who had just passed me, and started reeling in the other guy who had passed me about a mile ago. I caught him on the last turn to the finish, and sprinted in the last 100 meters with everything I had, and came across the line in a new 50 sec PR. I was happy.

My pace for the run was the same as my pace for the Hit the Brixx 10k race, so that is something right there (although I was sick with strep thoat that race). I felt I ran as best I could, and I was happy.

Splits: 6.10, 6.14, 6.06, 5.59, 6.10, 6.03, 6.13, 6.20, 6.18, 1.47 (.3)       for what it's worth, I didn't wear a GPS watch, and recorded my splits as I hit the mile markers on the course. David, who was wearing a GPS watch, recorded the course as 9.44 miles. Also, I was in a group who went the long way around an island in the road as we made a turn, not taking the inside lane as the course intended, no doubt extending the distance we ran.

Cooled down 4 miles with John Compton and Brian Baum, and went and had a nice breakfast at Toast afterwards with the guys. It was a great day of running.

miles for day: 15  ;    race: 6.10 pace

last year's post: http://danjeggers.blogspot.com/2010/10/lungstrong-15k.html

Sunday (10/9) didn't get to my recovery shake out run until almost 8pm. Just did the standard 4 mile loop at just a hair under 8 min pace. Needed for the legs.

4 miles, 7:59 ppm

Miles for week:  41

San Diego, Sickness, and a Race (Recap from 9/11 to 9/19)

9/11 Sunday - Flew to San Diego for a company meeting. The airport was quite and thin. Flight was fine, Thank God. Good day of rememberance and realizing the Panthers have a franchise QB!! No running

9/12 Monday - After the day's meeting, got out for a light run around San Diego. Had to watch the clock so I could make it back in time for the evening's events, but was able to squeez in 4.5 miles of running around the hills.

9/15 Thursday - With two days off (Busy and Tired as hell are my excuses!) I really needed to exercise the legs. Trying to salvage the week with a good race, I didnt' want to overdo it - as I normally like to take the day off 2 days before a race anyway. Just ran 3.5 miles easy, but could tell there were some cobwebs.

9/17 Saturday - Hit the Brixx Race 10K - So the day before I knew I wasn't being the smartest in terms of preparing for the race by going to the Incubus concert at Verizon Ampetheater, but with 11 races I'm not the kind of guy to let running ALWAYS get in the way. And on top of that, I started coming down with a sore throat Friday afternoon. The last couple days in San Diego whiped me out as I didn't get enough rest, and I just felt run down. But on to the concert I went, and had a very late bed-time!

So after 4 hours of sleep, and with a throbbing sore throat I get out of bed and hazily put my clothes on and get out the door. I was so tired, I just sat in a booth at Brixx Pizza (pre-race site) and watch others warm up, until 15 mins before the race where I sauntered out and forced myself to warm up for 10 mins.

That allowed me to at least get warm, and when I toed the line, I was just hoping for the best. The first mile was sort of downhill, and I felt alright as I settled in behind the faster runners and knew I really had to watch my pace given my condition. Hit 6.03 for the first mile, and that felt fine. Started to climb the second mile a little, but while I thought I was upping the pace, I actually slowed a tad and hit 6.08 for a 12.12 two mile. Rolled to another downhill, and as Vincent Arey came flying by I tried to mimick his light stride and pick it up. Didn't feel like I was able to drop a negative mile here, but was thinking I was just maintaing pace and could maybe drop a negative split for the second half of the race. A little disappointed when I hit 18.20 for the 3 mile mark (6.08 split).

The 4th mile saw a good climb in elevation, as well as a couple racers who passed me. This is when I got focused from Jason Martin who said "worry about the guys in front, don't look back." This stuck with me the rest of the race. I wasn't going to care who passed me I was going to keep my focus up front. The oldest trick in the book, but if you don't remember to do it, a race will get away from you in a heartbeat. Only with focus did I manage to hang on, because that 4th mile started to get me. Came through in 24.34 (6.13 split). The 5th mile we were on roads winding around Elizabeth where I had an awful performance earlier in the GPX series at the Skyline 5k, so I was keyed in to running these streets with a vengence. I started to gain on the runners ahead who passed me, while we also reeled in a couple from the pack way ahead who were slowing down. Throttled the 5th mile pretty good, and was getting geared up to stay strong the last mile. Came through 5 in (30.49 (6.14 split ??? Approx. trying to recall as my watch deleted my splits)). The last mile was a BIG climb up 7th Street, and I was fighting the whole way. I was probably most proud of my fight in this race than all the other races of 2011. I was moaning as I was climbing, trying to catch the guys in front, and not let the ones in back catch me. I was able to get 1, and keep off another. Hit 37.08 for 6 miles, 6.19 split (maybe toughest mile on the course). With .2 to go, I came up to Greg Shore and we really kicked it in. We were stride for stride, both building speed the the whole .2 until about 50 meters from the tape he got up on his toes a little quicker and got me by a second. Still a 1.07 for the .2 I will take anyday.

After the race, I was totally done for. I slept for 3 hours, and layed around the house until I decided I needed to go to Urgent Care because I believed I had strep throat. So after finding out I had a fever and my throat looked awful, I got a shot of penicllin in the buttox to cap off the day. Awesome.

Time: 38.15
Place: 23rd
Pace: 6.09

Miles for day: 9
Week: 17 (last week was 46!)

9/19 Monday - Still recovering, I got antsy and wanted to run. I meant to run about 4 miles, but go into a route which didn't let me once I got past a certain point, and ended up running 50 mins around the hills behind my neighborhood. Felt okay, but got real weak the second half of the run.

Miles: 6.5~
Time: 49.13
Pace: slow

Race Recap: Greek Fest 5k

Good morning blog readers. Allow me to give you the story of the Greek Fest 5k...

This being my first ever full season of Run For Your Life's Grand Prix series, I can say that just getting through the season healthy is nice, but I had visions of myself breaking the 17 min mark back when I signed up in late winter. With two 4 mile races, the rest of the events have been comprizsed of 5k's. And I can say that the 5k's have been a struggle for me. I have run the 4 mile races at paces better than the 5ks, and just haven't had a good 5k all season. That all being said, I was really geared up to finish the last 5k (This Greek Fest) on a high note. Of course, given my race times this year, sub 17 was out the window as far as goal, but sub 18 was definitly something I wanted to accomplish, along with just competing against the field.

Since the last 5k nightmare, I have put in 3 good weeks of training. I am proud that I stuck to my plan, and stayed focused. I did 3 long runs every sunday morning with company in the morning; accomplished my work outs for the week; and hit my weekly mileage goals.

Now time to race. With the work being done, I needed to make sure I came up with the mental preparation that would allow me to squeez all the juice I could from the lemon. Noticing that I have done much worse when going out too hard the first mile (Blue Pts, Skyline, Twilight) and better when I went the first mile conservativly (Great Harvest, RFYC) I decided I would stay comfortable, and use David as a gauge whereby I would keep him in front of me to make sure I stayed in control. After that, I would try and negative split the second mile, and then give it all the last mile.

The week up to this race, I was in L.A. and didn't get back home until Friday night. Now, this was to be an Easy Week, as I was trying to really be rested after 2 solid weeks of high intensity/volume training, so with me missing my runs Thursday AND Friday I was sort of okay with it, although I would have liked to had a shakeout run one of those days. Along with that, the jet lag had me a little worried, as my body clock would feel like 3:30am when I needed to wake up for the race, since I was adjusting back to East Coast time from Pacific Time.

Pre race dinner: pizza...no complaints there. Pretty good nights sleep night be fore, can't complain. So the gun goes off...

I feel relaxed as I start off on the race, and happily find David up in front and from here just try and settle in. I felt way in the back, but I was sticking to the plan and would trust I would be passing a lot of these people in the not too distant future. The first mile felt more relaxed like I wanted, but I can't say I was exactly ready to hit it hard once I started on mile 2. My split was maybe still 5-10 seconds faster than I wanted, but it wasn't too bad. During mile two I tried to press the gas, but felt like I was just maintaining. However, I didn't feel like I was slowing at all, and still felt in control. Perhaps I fell asleep a little at the wheel, but David stayed equal distance ahead, and I was just trying to keep it that way until I made a final push. Also, I wanted to see what my second mile split was, before I set off too soon. Since I didn't feel as good as I wanted here, I was focusing on not loosing ground.

mile two was slower, but still not bad, and I started to really gain focus here. I recalled the workouts I have done and tried to get up on my toes more and work on my turnover. My areobic capacity is large, and I felt no trouble breathing. I did feel a little faster than my other 5ks here, but still never felt like I tapped into that next gear, which I still remember so well from my highschool and college days (the kind of gear where you start knocking off sub 5:30 miles). Anyway, I started to reel people in, and David came back to me some, but I could tell he was having a good race too and was fighting hard. The course turned us up East Blvd, and I could see the finish. See, yes, but it was very far away. Kind of a mirage, as you start to instinctivly pick it up, but then realize damn it's far away...I passed a few more people, but couldn't catch David, and tried to hold off the recent passings I just had done. As I saw the clock tick up as I approached, I dug deep and realized I was very close to accomplishing my time goal.

Okay, so, not a bad race, and it looks like the training paid off. Wasn't able to catch my friend/competitor, but was at least satisfied to end these dreadful 5ks with this performance. Very happy about the last 2 races on the circuit: a 10k then a 15k! Let the training continue...

Splits: 5.44, 5.50 (11.34), 5.43 (17.17), .40 (maybe a shade long?) = 17.57

2011 5k PR and 45 sec improvment from race 3 weeks ago.

Frustration (Re-cap of Blue Pts 5k)

I'm writing this days after the race, so it's hard to capture the true emotion I felt right after the race.

Had a good speghetti dinner and beers and wine the night before, and was in bed and asleep by 10:30pm. That's good. My legs felt fresh from my most recent easy jog on Thursday. That's good. I got to the race on time, and was able to warm up exactly how I watned. That's good. However, the weather was warm, and VERY humid, as we had a storm blow through the day before. That's not good.

As the gun went off, I found myself try and find my pace, yet I noticed I was in the group of runners who useually are in the low to mid 17s. That's probably not real good. Anyway, I didn't back off too much, and low and behold I hit the fastest 1 mile split I have had this year by 10 secs (5:30). Good, I thought at the time, not good now looking back.

As the group I was just behind started to move on, and I started to back off, I could tell that the first mile was going to give way to a tough rest of the race. I don't know how long I felt "okay", maybe a mile and a half, but as soon as we turned up Morehead (long hill of a road) I already knew I was done for. Having this kind of thought didn't make matter any better. People started to catch me, and pass me. In the last race, when the one person who came up to me got beside me, I went with him and was able to race the rest of the course. Opposite of that was true for this 5k.

Still, I hit 11:30 at the 2 mile mark, and my pace at this point combined put me in good posistion for a seasonal PR, but I knew before I hit that 2 mile split that I was fading. More people passed me, and slower I became.

I wasn't able to fight, and mentally I threw in the towel. It wasn't racing. It was aweful. I would pass people cheering and taking pictures, and would joke arounud with them as I passed. I was not into it after mile 1. Yea, the first mile was a mistake and took out my legs, but I think my up and down training gave way this race, which can't be avoided from time to time. At three miles the clock hit 18:09, and I immediatly thought back to my 3 mile split in the RFYL 4 mile race where I hit 17:30, and realized what a sad performance this was.

Thinking back, at Great Harvest and the RFYL 4 miler a few weeks ago, when I hit the first mile, I knew I had another gear and could start racing. At this race, when I hit the first mile, I knew I couldn't go faster, and could only HOPE to hold on. So, again, I need to learn to be true to my training (which isn't much) and respect that and go out slower, and try and keep it more even. That's part of it. I think the other part is that I was able to skate by and run off fresh legs at Great Harvest and the RFYL 4Miler, because my training during those weeks leading up to it was very minimal.

My training recently has been a little more consistent, with-out bachelor party and 4th of July trips, so my legs might not be ready for peak performances, and when you combine that with too agressive first miles, not to mention some of the worst racing weather we have had with the humidity, it kind of gives reason as to why I couldn't keep my legs going.

But mentally, it was not a good effort. So, I have 3 races left, and I am focused on finishing the series on a high note. Dedication to long runs, and consistant training, and workouts and keeping my mileage higher and still looking to build, as there are still a couple of months to go.

With .1 to go in the race, more people came up to me, and this time I fought them off. I closed in 32 secs, which is my best .1 of the year, so that right there tells me I just folded mentally.

Miles for day: 7
Race: 18.42
Pace: 601 (530, 600, 639, 32)

Recap of RFYL RFYC 4 Miler

Fueled up on Mellow Mushroom pizza and a couple pints of beer at dinner, then while watching a movie in bed - decided to snag one more slice before i went to sleep. This was all done so I could sleep in and not have to eat breakfast!

I purposefully did a shorter warmup (1 mile), as I was thinking that perhaps I could save some energy and be just as warm as I would with going 2 miles (typical). It seemed to work. I got this idea after I felt like I ran better at Great Harvest 5k with no warm up.

Gun went off, and I found a comfortable pace posistioned accordingly amoungst the field. The people who should be in front of me were, and I just settled in. The first mile was uphill, and luckily my internal pace clock was on target as I hit 5.58 (just where I wanted to be). With the effort not feeling too hard, and having the climb out of the way, I made a push to drop the pace. I felt smooth as I ran down East Blvd., and here my racing partner for the day would come along side and really help me stay focused the rest of the race. An older man with a blue tank top, grey hair, and neon yellow shoes came up on me quick, and I just went with him. We both settled in after I decided to go with him, perhaps as he just wanted to do a surge and see if I would drop. I came through in 11.30 for 2 miles (5.32 split), and was pumped as I was running well and feeling well. The next mile sort of rolled along, and David Dye (His name I would later find out) and I ran side by side to bring home the third mile in 17.26 (5.56 split). I noticed that had this only been a 5k, I would have run a seasonal PR. With a mile to go, and my pace faster than expected, I battled with David the next half a mile as we rolled up our last hills. On the uphill I pulled ahead, and on the down hill he caught up and we ran together. He seemed to make a move with about a half mile to go, and I followed suit, opening up my larger stride and passing him back. Here I realized I was closing in on another runner, and tried to make up as much ground as I could. I seemed to have started my kick a little bit early, and the runner in front of me started his kick late....right when I got near, so I couldn't catch him. But I did stay ahead of David Dye. Closed the last mile in 5.53...not really fast, but the last half mile had to be much faster. Happy with my kick.

32 second improvement from the 4 miler back in March, so I'll take it.

18th overall out of 450+
Finishing time: 23.20

8 miles for the day (w/u+c/d)

Summer Breeze 5k

I remember when this race was called the BB&T Summer Breeze. It used to be run downtown. Also, back in highschool, I garnered awards for the two times I did it. Today would be a different result. Funny how it seems I work a lot harder, but am running pedestrian like times, compared to highschool. I knew my training was light the last few weeks (9 miles, 9 miles, 18 miles), and that being at a Phish concert the night before is never the best pre-race preparation, and that I had been running relatively quicker this week in an effort to drop my pace...so I didn't think anything reall fast was in the books. But I was hoping I would be where I should (Sub 18!?!) Anyway, after a warm up - I was lined up, and let my buddies take it out quick. I knew Mitchell wouldn't be reachable probably at all, and Jason and David shot out a little quicker than normal - so I let them go. I held on and was right where I wanted at mile 1. 6 mins. Just like last race, I was at 6.04 and then was able to drop my splits significantly. This time, I would feel like I was upping the pace slightly, but the clock indicated otherwise. The field was pretty packed, so that was nice to work off others, and I made a good move the second mile to not fall off, especially since I clicked off a 6.15 for that mile. The next and last mile was supposed to be fast, so I tried to open up, but just wasn't happening. When we got to the Lake at Freedom Park for the finish I sped up so, realizing guys were breathing down my back, and I didn't want to get totally passed by everyone. I was able to ride it out and finish strong. My time kind of sucked (19.09) but it wasn't the worst race ever.

Time: 19.09
Pace: 6.10
place: 35th
Results:

Shamrock 4 Miler

Results

I went into the race with maybe too lofty a goal, but nonetheless I wanted to be very close to 23 mins, if not under, for the 4 mile race. After a nice 1.5 warmup with David, I was feeling good and ready to get going. I made my way up front rather quickly from the gun, and found myself in the second pack of runners the first mile. The leaders were way out in front, and a few making up the first pack were pulling away from me and my pack after half a mile. The first mile was pretty much a downhill portion, so the quick pace felt pretty easy. I split the first mile pretty much right on time at 5.46

After that, the pack started to thin out, and I found myself singled out by 10-20 yards from people in front of behind me. The second mile rolled along, and I split 5.53. I didn't feel like I fell off, but the course flattened out and rolled up and down so this makes sense.

After doing the U turn to come home the pace slowed as we started to climb the gradual hill that is Ballantyne Commons. Clicked through in 6.12. Wow - big fall off. Still, no one was coming up on me or passing me and I felt more focused that the last race.

I managed to bring the pace down to a 6 flat 4th mile, and finish strong staying in the same posistion I had found myself from the first mile on.

14th place

the 5.58 pace is not where I thought I would be, but I guess due to the hillier course than I expected and my unrealistic presumptions, it is where I am. Definitly an improvement, and I hope to keep building on it.

Shout out to Bob, David, Oelz, Alecia, and Megan Polovick - and my old highschool rival John Compton, on the win!