Bouncing GPS

I was actually supposed to run yesterday. Now, I will have to run 3 days in-a-row to get back on schedule. It was a nice, sunny 84 degrees for this 4 mile run.

I wasn't expecting this to be my fastest 4 mile run, but it was - by about a minute - 33:28, a pace of 8:22. As in a FB conversation with cousin Todd, the faster I complete a run, the sooner I'm home watch TV and eating supper. I do not do anything that is suggested to improve speed, such as running up hills and some kind of sprints. I don't do any other exercising at all. I just try to keep my times from being "way" slow, while hoping to better my time in each mileage category. As Todd pointed out when he was urging me to run a marathon, It's about finishing the race, because I will never win one. Since I still haven't ran a marathon, I'm not sure of a goal, but I'm thinking about 4.5 hours. I also want to keep half marathons under 2 hours. I've been struggling with my long runs and the Clarksville Half is just under 2 months away.

Back to this run... Miles 1-3: 8:21, 8:31, 8:56. I decided I wanted an 8:30 pace after I checked my time while completing Mile 3, so I picked up the pace. I picked the pace up so fast (or maybe it was because of my flat-footed lumbering) that I ran out of my GPS. I was pushing along when I heard a "dijt-dijt-dijt". I looked down and there was my GPS unit bouncing alongside me, until it left the road for the grassy shoulder. I made a quick u-turn to pick up the unit and a part of the clip - I was in a hurry. The other part of the clip was still sandwiched between my hip and shorts, because the drawstring was tight. I ran the last 1/2 mile carrying it in my hands. Mile 4 came in - and I was quite surprised - at 7:41! Maybe the GPS malfunctioned, but it did say I ran 4 miles.

Heart rates: 169 avg, 183 max, 70 rest. Recovery 182 to 128.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Unfortunately, I believe this was the hottest day of the week, and I did not get out the door until 11:00 am. The thermometer read 92 degrees when I went out the door and 97 degrees when I got back home about an hour and 15 minutes later. I drank about 16 oz of PowerAde beforehand and then ran the entire 7 miles without a drink. I got a little thirsty, but nothing like I had the previous, shorter runs.

It took me 1:10:38, a 10:05 pace. Heart rates: 168 avg, 188, max, 80 rest (high). Recovery 188 to 171 (still breathing hard).

Thirstier

Today, I was thirstier than I was yesterday. About a half mile into the run, my mouth was completely dry. During the day, I drank 2 cups of coffee, 2 Dr. Peppers, 64 oz of water, and then 16 oz of PowerAde before I walked out the door. The water was the thing that mostly changed - it's usually none or little - and it didn't seem to help. Although, I guess the dry-mouth experience may have been worse if I hadn't drank the water. There was a time I was hoping to swallow a gnat, just to get some moisture. Then I thought, "It would be my luck it would hit me in the back of the throat and I would choke to death, because I couldn't wash it down."

I finally got out the door at 6:15 pm. (Sherri is out of town, so I fed Morgan, checked her water, and did some other stuff, before I left). It was sunny and 82 degrees, and I got a little chill around Mile 4, but it quickly went away. I tried to run a consistent pace, but, as usual, that didn't happen. Or did it? Mile 1 (8:29) was close to my overall pace of 8:31. Miles 2 and 4 were about the same pace, 8:16 and 8:13, while Miles 3 and 5 were 8:48 and 8:49. That would make Mile 1 8:29, Miles 2 and 3 averaged together = 8:32, and Miles 4 and 5 averaged together = 8:31. Pretty consistent.

HRs: 172, 188, 68. Recover 179 to 128.

Thirsty

I have been quite thirsty all day. I had 2 coffees and 3 Dr. Peppers. I didn't carry water with me to work and I will not drink water out of those faucets. Still, that is more than I usually drink during the day. Most of the time I have 2 coffees and am still working on a Dr. Pepper I left home with in the morning when in leave work.

When I got home today, I drank 16 oz of PowerAde before I headed out at 6:00. I thought I would get the urge to pee during the run, but I didn't. In fact, it is 9:15 right now and I still haven't peed, even after drinking another 16 oz of PowerAde and a little Dr. Pepper after the run.

It was a warm 84 degrees with a nice breeze. I ran 5 miles in 44:03, an 8:49 pace. Times: 8:46, 8:45, 8:52, 8:13 (what?), and 9:27. Heart rates: avg. 170, max. 187, rest 66.

I am planning on trying ton quench my thirst tomorrow.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Today marks the official start of my Clarksville Half Marathon training. After mowing the backyard, I ran 3 miles. It was a nice sunshiny 83 degrees at 6:30 pm.

I was already feeling tired and wondering if I was going to complete the run before I had even reached the first quarter mile. For some reason, I got an adrenaline rush and ran Mile 1 in 7:53. During Mile 2, I think my GPS lost the signal for a short time. I ran about 1/10th of a mile past the usual place that the GPS beeps 2 miles. Mile 2 was 9:24, which is another reason I feel the signal was lost. Since it was 9:24 and I knew I would not be setting any personal records, I lost my "drive" for mile 3. So, Mile 3 had to be slower than 9:24, right? Wrong. It was 8:38.

I have wondered before about some times and distances especially since the Oxford Half Marathon in February - I think my watch said 13.6 miles. Now, I don't know if anything has ever been right. Was my best run really my best run? Was the worst the worst? I know the GPS isn't always exact, but it should prove to be close. I know it sometimes takes a little time to relay signals from the satellites to the GPS and watch. For this reason, when I reach a turnaround, I slow down a little. Hopefully, the last few feet I ran will be recorded. If I do it too fast and the GPS takes some time to relay, it may pick up when I reach a place on the return trip. I just have to use the times and distances as "approximates". It is not like it is for official use anyway.

Back to this run. My overall time was 25:55, for a pace of 8:38. Heart rates: 172 avg, 186 max, 64 rest. Recovery 178 to 136.

Rough 6

I didn't get up until 9:00. That gave me about 11 hours of sleep and I still felt very tired. I also awoke in the middle of the night with a throbbing headache. Luckily, it didn't last until I got up as it did last weekend. After I went to the dump, got a hair cut, got the oil changed in the Xterra, and went to Foodlion, it was 2:00 before I got a chance to hit the road. At 9:00, it was 82 degrees, but the humidity made it feel a lot warmer. There were dark clouds that hinted of rain, but then the sun broke through - no rain. I think it rained all around us - again. It also has clouded up several times during the day, but still no success. It was 94 when I finally headed out.

I had planned on taking it easy today, and I did. A little too easy, though. Running 6 miles today would give me 20 miles for the week. That is less than what I have had scheduled, and I didn't want to go below 20. I think my Clarksville Half Marathon training schedule starts Monday, so I am a little ahead of that as of now. I have had such trouble with the 10 milers that I decided to cut back today and get closer to the Clarksville Half schedule. The bad thing is that today's 6 miles were just about as bad as the 10 milers had been. It took me 01:04:54, a pace of 10:49, to complete it. My times are just all over the place.

Heart rates: 158 average, 178 max, 54 resting. Recovery. 166 to 144.

Too Fast Too Soon (and Other Excuses)

I originally planned to run 5 miles today, but after 2 miles, I was worn out. The temperature was 10 degrees warmer (87) than yesterday at the same time, which also contributed to my failure. I think the main cause of my failure, though, was trying to better yesterday's pace. I kept telling myself during the day that I had to ease up a little when I ran this evening, because I would be running back-to-back days. However, once I was on the road, it was "Go, go, go!" to be faster than yesterday.

Well, my over all time for 4 miles was 36:17, a pace of 9:04. One thing that makes the 9:04 even worse is that I ran Mile 1 in 8:17 and Mile 2 in 8:31. So, in my demise, I ran Mile 3 in 9:31 and Mile 4 in 9:58. My running ego is in the ICU, only time will tell if it will make a complete recovery.

Heart rates: 167 avg, 183 max, 56 rest. Recovery 172 to 135.

The one plus of today's run is that when I tried to sprint the last 1/10th of a mile, the tank was empty. I had not saved anything - I gave it all I had.

Not bad. (if I say so myself)

The sun had just popped back out after a real good rain, when I headed out about 6:00 pm. It was a nice, warm 77 degrees, with some more clouds slowly moving in.

As I posted Monday, I need to get more consistent with my times. I tried that today, and I think it went pretty well. I didn't just try to maintain an easy pace to ensure myself of accomplishing that goal either. I tried to maintain a pace in which I was putting effort into the run. I wanted to be closer to the 8:16 of my last and fastest mile on Monday rather than the 9:00 mark. However, I did expect it to be closer to the 9:00 than my dream, but... Dreams do come true!

After checking my time at Mile 1, I thought, "There is no way to keep up this pace for 4 more miles" - 8:22. I was going to try, though. I was at least going to try pushing for as long as I could. I thought maybe Mile 5 would end up being 15 minutes, but the first 2 or 3 miles were to be around 8:22 - I hoped.

Mile 2 was just 1 second behind Mile 1. So far, a steady pace. Then Mile 3 came in at 8:38. I was slowing down. At this rate, Mile 5 (maybe even Mile4) would definitely be over 9:00 minutes. I had to pick up the pace. And I did, a little. Mile 4 was at 8:27. Now, for the home stretch mile, I decided I wanted to make sure I kept the entire run in a pace under 8:30. I was thinking it would be close. I had 2 miles in the low 8:20's, 1 mile close to the middle, and 1 at about 8:40. If being tired from pushing the first 4 miles slowed Mile 5 to over 8:40, I probably wouldn't make the goal. So, as I did on Monday, I pushed Mile 5 like I was running against other people. And again, as on Monday, it was my fastest mile of the run. Are you ready for this? I was shocked! I hope my GPS didn't go haywire. Mile 5 was a blazing (for me) 7:58! That really made me think that I have not been putting forth much effort lately.

My overall time was 41:48, a pace of 8:22. My fastest 5 mile pace, beating my previous personal record of 8:32 set back on October 7, 2009.

My heart rates: 170 avg; 184 max; 56 resting. Recovery 181 to 140.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Saturday morning, I had a throbbing headache. I took an aspirin and thought I would wait awhile before I ran. Well, I never made it out the door. Instead, I ate and watched TV all day. I thought I would try to run off some of that junk food on Sunday. Another plan that bit the dust. I did not get up in time to run before church, and after church, I didn't want to run. Another day eating and watching TV.

On Monday, the temperature was 89 degrees when I headed out for a 5 mile run. The humidity was not as bad as it has been lately and there was a nice breeze. It felt (to me) 10 degrees cooler than the 89. My legs seemed quite tired not to have ran since Thursday. I did Mile 1 in 9:02, and Mile 2 in 8:52. My legs began to loosen up during Mile 3, so I was disappointed to find out that I ran it in 9:49. I managed 9:17 for Mile 4.

Then I decided to try to kill myself. I had skipped the weekend's long run; I was just "going through the motions" of running today - I mean, I felt like I wasn't accomplishing anything. I was sweating, had aches and pains, and it did hurt a little, but I needed to do more. I thought, "If I was at practice of some sport with other teammates, I would be running harder than this. I need to run like that." So, I ran Mile 5 to the best of my ability. My mouth was now completely dry and my breathing was more like wheezing. Mile 5 in 8:16!

8:16 tells me one thing: I'm not pushing hard enough during miles 1-4. I don't want to start too fast and not be able to complete a run. And, it does feel good when you have a little extra to sprint at the end of a run - makes you feel like you dug deep and gutted it out, although you've been saving up energy just for this reason. However, the difference between my slowest mile (9:49) and 8:16 is a little ridiculous. The average of the fastest and slowest is 9:02. My pace for the entire 5 mile run was 9:03. Comparing the averages, I did okay. The thing lacking is consistency in the time of each mile. Also, if I hadn't pushed the last mile, my overall pace would have been closer to 9:30.

My heart rates: avg. 166, max. 189, rest 74. Recover: 186 to 128. I thought my max would have been higher. The 58 points between recovery tied for my second highest difference, but, of course, this was due to the push at the end.

How Could I Have Forgotten? Belated Birthday

I forgot to mention that I started running 1 year ago on August 10th. Cousin Todd and brother Shane urged me into training to run a marathon. I wondered, "Why would I want to go through the torture of training for a marathon?" Sure, I wanted to run a marathon, if for nothing else, just to be able to say I did it. I thought about it for a week or two. For some reason, I got up early one morning and ran 1 mile in 10:07.

It has been a roller coaster. In November 2009, my knee began hurting during a run. According to everything I read. it was iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS). This sidelined me for about two months. Then in March 2010, after running 16 milers on consecutive Saturdays, I ran 17 miles the following Saturday. I was totally exhausted, so I took a month off, except for two 3 milers I ran during that time. It has been a year and I still have not ran a marathon. On the bright side, though, I have run a few 5K's, a 10K, and two Half Marathons. And, the best thing, I feel much better.

Hopefully, I will conquer a marathon in the near future.

Because I was tired of it!

I have been mad at myself for the poor performances the last few weeks. Today, I decided I would try to turn things around.

Even though the sun was shining, it was sprinkling. I thought the rain was coming and that would be another incentive to push it. However, at Mile 1, in which I ran in 8:38, it was all sunshine. There was also some heat relief - 84 degrees. With the agreeable weather, I continued to push. Mile 2 was a little faster - 8:31. The first half of Mile 3 was not too good, so I tried to make up for it on the second half. I pushed until my side hurt. My right arm was also hurting. When these pains arose, I tried to maintain that pace. I just did finish Mile 3 in under 9:00, at 8:56. I didn't look at my watch during Mile 4 - I just ran. I felt my pace slipping, but I was trying to maintain my "pain" pace. Unfortunately, it was over 9:00 at 9:12. My total time was 35:17, a pace of 8:49. Not blazing, but finally something under 9:00 again.

My heart rates: avg. 169; max. 185; rest 74. Recovery 182 to 129.

Still Going Backwards

Only a few weeks ago I was blogging that I felt as though I was flying during my short runs. I felt I was really making some progress. Not so much in the area of speed, but that I felt I could run 4 or 5 miles without it being a major struggle. I could find a comfortable pace and just run without really having to think about it. Lately, I have been wondering if I would even be able to complete 4 or 5 miles. It has really been a struggle to finish the short runs. I can't seem to find a comfortable pace; I am huffing and puffing like it is Day 1; I'm feeling soreness in places that should not be getting sore anymore; My times are getting slower.

I finished off a dreaded bottle of water (something I've been avoiding lately) about 3:00. I peed, as usual, before leaving work. I had been on the road for about an hour when the urge hit me again. And I wasn't sure if I was going to make it home! Well, I did and hurried to the bathroom. I'm sure I emptied the whole bottle of water and more. I began changing clothes for today's 5 miler. Before I could get completely dressed, I had to pee again. It seemed I peed more than the first time. I was thinking, "I didn't drink this much all day." I suddenly began to feel thirsty, so I drank about 16 oz of PowerAde. As I headed out the door, I felt a little sick at my stomach. I took my time lacing my shoes and syncing my gadgets. I was still feeling thirsty and sickly. The two did not feel to be related. Two strikes - maybe I shouldn't run today. Since I only had two strikes, I hit the road.

As I said before, my runs are getting worse. Mile 1 was my fastest mile at 9:30. On July 19, my pace was 9:28 for a 5 mile run; on July 20, my pace was 8:58! Today's pace was 10:32, as I ran 9:30, 10:21, 11:40, 11:11, and 9:56. Two miles were over 11:00! What is going on? Today, I wasn't feeling my best, but the previous two 5 mile runs were 10:09 and 10:37, which also happen to be the two 5 milers after July 19 and 20. I know it has been hot, too. It was 97 degrees when I left out today. I'm not sure what the heat index was at that time, but it was to reach between 103 and 109 during the day. Still, the times shouldn't be that much slower.

My hearts rates: avg. 166, max. 190, rest 70. Recovery 187 to 150.

Monday, August 9, 2010 (aka 8/9/10)

I usually take a day off after a long run, but I want to try to get back on schedule for this week. I really felt the effects of yesterday, though. My legs were tired, my knees a little sore, and my hips were beginning to feel some pain. This led me to run my slowest 4 miler since February - 38:21 (9:35 pace). The first mile was okay at 8:50, but then I had 9:21, 10:07, and 10:03. Two miles over 10:00 on just a 4 mile run! I sure hope this drop in performance was because of yesterday. If not, I am only getting slower and less out of shape. My heart rates: 166 avg, 185 max, rest 76 (not sure why so high). Recovery was from 185 (my max, so you know I only pushed at the end) to 136.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Well, I failed to run my long run on Saturday for the second week in a row. So, it was Sunday or never.

I headed out around 12:30. Our thermometer had 100 on it, but it was actually 96 degrees with lots of sunshine. After last week's breakthrough of running the whole 10 miles, I failed on this 10 miler. I had to walk most of the last 3 miles. I think I could have jogged them, but didn't feel the "urge" to do so. My desire to keep running vanishes after I reach my pit stop. The pit stop is usually just over the halfway point, but today it was at around mile 6. A quick towel-off and the pickup of a cool beverage has me refueled and feeling good for the next mile. After that, though, the feeling goes away, and I'm struggling to keep up the jog. I know it's all in my mind, so I should be able to overcome it and keep running. Right?

My time slipped back to over 2 hours at 2:05:11, a pace of 12:31. My average heart rate was 155 (Since I've been keeping up with these numbers, this is the lowest avg HR and I did it once before on a 3 miler - proves I wasn't doing much), max 188, rest 62. Recovery was 170 to 123 (these 2 numbers also prove I wasn't getting much out of the run. The 123 is another record low).

I also have to admit that I think the run got the best of me. Even though I didn't push at any time and had to walk most of the last 3 miles, I paid a little price later. I was tired, of course, but later on I got a terrible headache. I took aspirin and Tylenol without any relief. After I went to bed, I woke up a few times with the pounding still in my head. Finally, I awoke covered in sweat, but without the headache - kind of like breaking a fever.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Well, after days (maybe weeks) of 90 degree temperatures and the hottest day of the year yesterday, I finally got to run when it was a "cool" 86 degrees. I'm afraid the coolness won't last long. The forecast is for Tuesday to be at 100.

Usually, Mile 1 is my fastest mile. Today, however, it was my slowest at 9:07. Each mile got a little faster - 8:52, 8:49, and 8:34, for the final 3 miles of my 4 miler. A total time of 35:22, an 8:51 pace. It seems I am on a running roller coaster. Yesterday's 5 in 10:37, today's 4 in 8:51. It's almost a 2 minute difference in time for just 1 more mile.

Heart Rates: avg. 162, max 186, rest 58. Recovery from 186 to 133.

Good news! Our neighbor has leased-to-own his house. The tenants have until January to buy, so it is probably at least rented until then. So, no mowing! We only had to mow it 4 or 5 times.

Hot! - Wednesday, August 4, 2010

According to news stations, today is to be the hottest day of the year. And the hottest day since 2007. The official temperature hit 101 degrees. There was also an "excessive heat warning" alert. I'm not sure what the heat index reached in our area, but I'm sure it was over 110. Yesterday, the heat index hit 121 in Memphis and 116 in Jackson. I saw the weatherman just before I headed out the door at about 6:30 pm. He said it was 98 degrees with a 107 heat index, at the moment.

Since I did not do my 10 mile long run until Sunday, I did not run my 4 miler on Monday. I also took my regular Tuesday rest day. So, extreme heat or not, I had to run today's 5 miler. However, the heat was not the thing that was making me most uncomfortable during this run. It was ALL the JUNK I've eaten the last couple of days. Monday, a CPA was at the office checking out the books. The owner's wife fried some chicken and cooked some other things for the occasion. Although I didn't any of "that" food, I did eat more than I usually do for lunch, especially the Cheetos. That same night, I ate 7 biscuits, ice cream, and some other stuff. On Tuesday, the CPA and I went to O'Charley's. That night I had pizza, ice cream, and Cheetos. I'm used to a a few peanut butter and crackers or cereal for lunch. I usually eat more than I should (and later than I should) for supper, but I'm usually not already stuffed. This eating binge weighed heavy (no pun intended) on my run.

I took it easy - easier than I should have. I let the combination of heat and extra weight convince my mind that I should be struggling. So I struggled. When, in fact, I could have been running faster. I finally overcame the feeling of "this is the last 5 miles of 100 miles through the Sahara" with about 1/4 miles to go. Mile 1 was fine - 9:26. Then 10:28, which I thought I could live with considering the heat index, and I didn't want to suffer heat exhaustion. Miles 3 and 4 were really slower than I should have done - 11:07 and 11:19. As I said, I picked up toward the end of the run, but the damage was already done, and Mile 5 was at 10:43. Overall, it took me 53:03, for a pace of 10:37.

I did keep my average heart rate down - 161. I didn't want to have a heat stroke. My max heart rate hit 186, but that was only because I tried to "run" some during the last quarter-mile. My resting heart rate was a LOW 50, but I'm not sure if that is right. I need to watch the heart rate numbers; the battery may be dying. My recovery went from 184 to 130. Again, the first number is because of the push at the end. Still, it dropped 54.

No Walking! Sunday, August 1, 2010

This 10 mile run was supposed to be ran on Saturday. I've been so tired lately that I didn't get up until 9:30. It was already 86 degrees and getting hotter. I just kept putting it off all day. I thought about calling Shane to see if he was running, so I could go run with him - that would more likely "force" me to run. Later on that evening, I was totally out of the mood to run and was glad that I didn't call him. Sunday, though, I had to run...

I pushed myself out the door about 3:30. It was sunny and 91 degrees, but didn't feel all that bad. The first 5 miles I carried a bottle with less than 8 ounces of PowerAde. Last week I only used up about 8 oz during the first 5 miles and the liquid was already sloshing in my belly. If sloshing was to occur, I wanted to be be after I was half way through.

About Mile 6.2, I reached my vehicle for my pit stop. I toweled off my face and head, but didn't change shirts as I had planned. I had tied up the sleeves on the shirt I started off with, but not the replacement shirt. I had already decided before I got there that I wasn't changing shirts, because I didn't want to fight with trying to keep the sleeves on my shoulders for 5 miles. I picked up a 32 oz bottle of PowerAde and continued on my way. I only lost about 30 seconds at the pit stop.

I carried the PowerAde bottle like it was a football. I had frozen half a bottle and filled the rest before I left home. It had already melted some before I picked it up, but there was still a chunk of ice. I occasionally swapped it from side to side to help keep me cool. It wasn't long before it was completely melted, though.

My times gradually increased the first 7 miles (9:28, 10:10, 10:14, 10:21, 10:39, 11:07, 12:08). Miles 9 and 10 went down from Mile 7 at 11:18 and 11:00. I was ready to be finished, so my pace picked up a little. My total time was 1:47:03 for a pace of 10:42. The time was 20 minutes faster than last week's 2:07:33 (12:45). It was also faster than 2 other attempts in July - 1:55:57 (11:36) and 1:52:45 (11:17). The reason for a better time: "No Walking!" I kept up a slow jog for the entire run, except for the pit stop and to take a few swigs of PowerAde when the bottle was mostly full, so I wouldn't spill it all over me - and those were just a few steps.

Heart rates: 166 avg; 187 max; 62 resting. Recovery from 187 to 151.