Progressive Tempo with Bohle

Needing to do a workout, Bohle decided to join in on the action and lead me on a different route, which left his house and meandered up the streets to the trails near Loyola Marymount University. I told him 7 miles would be a good distance, and I wanted the effort to be uptempo. Other than that, we just allowed the run to develop organically into this: 7.31, 7.08, 7.09, 7.09, 6.43, 6.23, 5.57.

The big take away from this run, was that I was very excited I showed the speed to get under 6 min mile for the last one. I haven't run ANYTHING under 6 in a run this year, so even though it was a shorter tempo, it was a positive sign to feel my body get into that next gear.

West Coast easy run

(Marina del Ray, L.A., where I ran)

Got up at 5:30 this morning to get ready and head to the airport for my flight to L.A. at 7:45. Slept on the plane for most of the way, which I useually don't have a problem doing. I also have window seat as my preferred seat, so I can prop my head against the side. Anyway, got to L.A. around 11am, and after my lunch meeting, went over to Chris Bohle's and hung out for the afternoon. After my lunch was digested, I left his place and jogged down the L.A. River which lead me to the Pacific Ocean in about 25 mins. There, I headed south and jogged along the path at the beach down the coast for about 10 more mins before heading back. Finished in 1.04.39 for the run, and figued it was about 8 miles. My legs actually were still pretty heavy and dead, I think from the race, and I chalked it up as a nice recovery run with a beautiful backdrop.

Sunday shake out

Hit up the neighborhood for an easy 5 miles, to get the kinks out from yesterday's race. Kept it nice and slow, which was easy to do, and rolled through in 8 min pace average.

Dowd YMCA Half Marathon

With Mike Mitchell, who beasted it despite treating it as a "training run" as well: 4th place, 1.19.40, for the former App teammate

Splits: 6.23, 6.52, 6.24, 6.45, 6.26, 6.38, 6.22, 6.42, 6.25, 6.37, 6.28, 6.33, 6.28, 1.15(.1).

The plan was to run the first 9 around 6.45-55 and then the last 4 hard - around 6.20s. With the idea of tempoing for the first 9 miles, and then running hard the last 4 miles, I obviously was a little quicker than I wanted to be, and wasn't able to drop my last 4 miles as much as I wanted. Still, throughout the first 9 miles I didn't feel like I out of my comfort zone - and that I still had some in the tank to make the last 4 faster.

After the first mile totally got me off pace, with it being pretty much a downhill mile the whole way, I tried to back off and find my pace. From looking at the splits above, you can see that I really didn't maintain an even pace as I wanted - with big fluctions in pace per mile. I was okay with being faster than planned, as long as I felt like I was still saving some for the end. With the up and down gradual descents and ascents on the course, I hovered around the top 15 for the first 5 miles or so, then found myself around the top 10 going into mile 9. The last half of the race was much more uphill than the first half, and that also made it harder to drop the pace as well. I felt strong and comfortable for 12 miles, with the last mile being uphill - I could tell that I was struggling to really get into that next gear. However, I picked off a couple guys the last 4 miles and moved into 8th place, where I would stay until the finish. There was 2-3 guys ahead that I was trying to work on catching the last 2 miles, but I was only able to close the gap and not pass them.

The conditions were cold - mid 30's to high 30's and probably low 40s by the time the race was over. I consumed 3 energy chews prior to the race, and put 3 in my shorts to take along the way. I had one around mile 5, 9, and 11 - where at that point realized I was starting to feel sick of eating them and spit half of it out.

It was nice to have some support along the way. Dad showed up at mile 6, 9, and 12, and helped me push through the pain. Oelz cheered me on around mile 10, and Jason was on the last mile up Morehead as I fought to the finish.

Result: 8th place, 1.25.54

I was happy with my time, and placed 2nd in my age group. Avereged 6.36 through 10k and 6.33 for the race overall.

With warmup and cool down, I totaled 17 miles for the day.

Results

Maintenance run with Mitchell

Mitchell came over and we ran the same route as Thursday, minus tacking one mile at the end, for just over 6 for the day. Good pace, easy, and the weather was cold and wet.

6 miles
730ish pace

Getting Chilly

While Tuesday's run was the first where it was noticable cool until I was warmed up about a mile or so in, today was the first run that required long sleeves! It was in the low 50s if not already in the high 40s when I set out, and I was definitly cold until about a mile in. Never got warm in the dry fit long sleeve top - and that being said, the weather was perfect for running...once you get comfortable.

It seems like the last few times I've set out to run I start to pysch myself out the first mile or so with thoughts of "I rather be doing something else", "this is going to take too long" "I don't want to keep doing boring runs!" and other such negative vibes. However once I get going, I'm glad I'm out there doing it - and sometimes, like today, I end up tacking on more miles that I planned just because I want to keep going! The thing about running is you have to sometimes just get yourself out there and be patient. Thinking about how long you have to go, how longs its going to take, and other such things can weigh you down - but hardly ever, at least in my case, do I regret it once I'm in the middle of it, if only even at the end of the run.

These temperatures, while to me seem a little unseasonal given this early in November, are some of the best conditions to run. Today I averaged maybe my quicest run, while at an effort that was entirely natural for the called upon routine day. But, with it being 2 days out until my Half Marathon race, I definitly am "training through" whereas most times before a race you want to take off or do the minimal amount two days prior to race day. As Thunder Road is the goal, I'm treating the Half Saturday as a training run, and not sacraficing valuable days of training for the upcoming 13.1 this weekend.

Time: 54.30
Miles: 7.35
Pace: 7.24

Out and Back

After taking yesterday off, I wanted to try and keep my progression going with longer runs, so I chose to take on a new route via an out and back. Went from my house down to the Freedom Park Greenway, down Queens Rd West, to CMC, and back. Plan was to turn around at 35 mins, but went a little longer so as to reach the intersection of East Blvd, in 35.30. First few miles were in the upper 730s, and picked it up a little bit on the way home, making up some time with throwing in pick ups the last 800 meters. Closed with a 7.06 mile.

Mapped out the run and 9.2 was the distance.
Time: 1.09.24
Pace:7.32