4/23/12 (Monday) Activities

Today I ran 5.25 miles in 40:34.  I did my usual Monday run but did not take the 200 yard strides in the last mile as fast as usual  I did not want to chance injuring myself coming off the race.  I did the first one at 9.0 mph, second at 9.2 mph, third at 9.4 mph and fourth at 9.6 mph, though I ran the last 100 yards at 10.0 mph.

In the evening I cycled for one hour.

4/21/12 (Saturday) Activities

Today I ran a total of 17.15 miles, but the real highlight was the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon (13.15 miles according to my GPS, which the extra mileage might be because of the weaving around people).  I completed it in 1:35:26.  My goal today was not to set a PR, it was to pace myself and push when I got tired.  I wanted to average a 7:10 mile overall, but I averaged a 7:16 mile overall.  I was still pleased with this.  Remember, I really did not taper for this.  It was just part of my training plan.  For six of the miles (not consecutively) I averaged a 7:10 mile or faster, with the third and fourth miles both at a 6:54 pace.  I was very pleased that the 9th and 11th miles I ran at 7:01 and 7:12, respectively.  I was not exhausted, but feeling somewhat tired.  Sometimes I demotivate myself at these points, but I was able to keep strong.  So much of this is psychological.  That's what this race really was for me, to prepare psychologically for the Ogden Marathon next month (that's my real race : ).  At the very end, with .15 miles to go, me and another guy were running down the chute (to the finish).  Independent of what he was doing, I thought that I would just finish strong.  I always try to do this, which is why I always finish my training runs strong.  It really does train your body (muscle memory).  Well, this other racer could obviously hear me so he started running faster.  Nobody likes to be beat at the very end, and there is a part of me that does not like doing it.  But I have to remind myself it is part of the game and I never have bad feelings towards those that beat me at the end.   Normally I do a lot of quick negative talk at this point and all too frequently let the other guy go.  This time was different.  I just thought I was going to give it everything I had.  I literally ran as fast as I could, which the Garmin shows it was 12.6 mph for that stretch.  It was all I could do to keep my balance and stay upright.  I beat him though! : )

So the other miles I ran today included a pre-race mile at 8:31, a post race cool down mile at 9:57, and then two miles once I found my sweetheart who was also running the half.  I always go back and support her by running the remaining distance she has back in with her. She did amazingly well.  She thought today was going to be horrible because she did not prepare like she wanted to do.  Turns out it was her second best time ever.  Way to go sweetheart!

So my final results for this half was a time of 1:35:26.  I came in 132 overall out of 3,496 finishers (top 4%).  I was in the top 8% for all male finishers, and 9th out of 168 in my age division (males only) (top 5% for my age group). Top 3% for all runners (male and female) in my age category.  Their was one female in my age category that beat me.

After arriving home, I cycled for one hour.

Total running miles for week = 47.50
Total cycling minutes for week = 1 hour 42 minutes

4/19/12 (Thursday) Run

Today I ran 5 miles in 38:28.  I ran the first four miles at 7.5 mph then for the last mile I did 100 meter sprints at 12.0 mph at the end of each of the first three ¼ miles, but for the fourth quarter I ran .09 of the last .15 miles at 10.3 mph and then the last .06 miles, or 100 meters, at 12.0 mph

I did not cycle tonight in an effort to rest my legs a little more.  I thought about it though ; )  I will not run tomorrow.  It is a day of almost total rest.  That is difficult for me to do, but I train so hard that I need to let my body rest before a race.

4/18/12 (Wednesday) Run

Today I ran 10 miles in 1:18:30.  Today was just an easy run, mostly at 7.5 mph for the first half and 7.6 mph for the second half, with a little speed thrown in here and there for good measure.

4/17/12 (Tuesday) Run

Today I ran 9.60 miles in 1:12:49.  Today I ran north along Lake Michigan.  It was a beautiful morning, so nice that I wish I had time to do 20 miles.  The winds had greatly died down and there was barely a breeze nor a cloud in the sky.  It was great to see so many runners out; probably 100 or more.  This was my day to do interval work and the assignment was, after my warm-up mile, to do 5X1.25 mile intervals with a two minute recovery at 7.5 mph in-between each interval.  I was lacking confidence without the treadmill to push me, but pleasantly surprised myself, averaging around a 7:20 pace for those intervals.  Not as fast as I should have run it (7:00 pace) but still faster than I thought I would run and it was an important confidence builder for this Saturday's race.

4/16/12 (Monday) Activities

Today I ran 5.75 miles in ~47:00.  My GPS would not work near the tall buildings at first, which is why there is not an exact time (got an exact mileage by running the distance back to where the GPS stopped). 

A friend and I from work went running along Lake Michigan.  Pretty spectacular as you pass the museums and the aquarium.  Nice run.  Nice morning, but it was windy.  It got MUCH windier during the day.

During our long lunch break I cycled on the hotel's recumbent bike for 42 minutes (all I had time for). 

4/14/12 (Saturday) Run

Today I ran 6.0 miles in 47:20.  I had to start running just before 5:00 am in order to get ready to get to the airport by 7:45.  The gym was not open yet, so I could not do my normal hill run.  I thought that might be for the best since I have the half-marathon next week (a way to rest my legs).  I ran what used to be my usual Saturday morning run.  The first mile is mostly flat, and then there is a gradual incline for the next 1.90 miles, becoming about a 6% incline for about 200 yards at the end of this part.  Then coming back it is mostly downhill, and that is always fun : )

Though this was not part of the original plan, after we went to a White Sox game in Chicago the line to get back on the "L" was so amazingly long we decided to just walk back to the hotel.  That was a little over 3 miles and then we walked another mile as we went to find a place to eat.

Total running miles for week = 56.25
Total cycling minutes for week = 3 hours 5 minutes