Must Have Had a Screw Loose

I must have had a screw loose to go running in the ice and snow this morning. The ice and six or so inches of snow, seems to have scared off most of the runners Saturday morning. It was just Sam and me for the 16 miles. Several dozen others showed up for the six miles and a few went 10. Here we are at the start. This gave me another chance to do a run in my screwed shoes (shoes with screws in the soles to aid traction). At the end of the run I noticed I was missing a few screws, hence the title of this blog. The shoes gave me excellent traction on the ice and packed snow, but they were not so good on the unplowed snow. Here is a picture of Sam's screwed shoe before the run. By the way, we did the planned route, but before we took off running, Brian asked me what the route was. I suggested running on the plowed trail on the east side of the river, but Kathy seemed determined to have us run in the snow. Those of you who were out for the run know what I am talking about when I say that running on the west side wasn't very much like running at all. It was more like hiking, like trudging through the snow. The Midland Valley Trail, which I warned would not be very runnable, wasn't very runnable, but it was better than the west side of the river. At 26th Street we decided to detour to the roads, and that was much better. During this run, I thought about a shirt that I haven't worn in a long time, but perhaps it is time to bring it out. Okay, I am joking about the down with Coach Kathy, but if any of you have complaints about the route, you know where to go. Sam did really well on the run and left me in the dust the last couple of miles. He said it was the endorphins kicking in. I said it was my fatigue kicking in. I am glad I made it out for the run. Although we didn't quite make 16 miles, it felt like much more. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 665 ft Location: Tulsa, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 01/30/10 Up/Downhill: [+613/-613] Time: 08:01 AM Difficulty: 4.9 / 5.0 Weather: Light Snow 22 F temp; 80% humidity 22 F heat index; winds N 5 Performance Distance: 15.62 miles Time: 2:22:21 Speed: 6.6 mph Pace: 9' 07 /mi Heart Rate: 150 bpm (Avg) Calories: 2006 164 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 161 - 179 0h 05m 3%  0.57 mi Zone 4 143 - 161 2h 10m 91%  14.11 mi Zone 3 125 - 143 0h 15m 10%  1.73 mi Zone 2 107 - 125 0h 00m 0%  0.05 mi Zone 1 90 - 107 0h 02m 1%  0.04 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0%  0.02 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 41 -0' 26 6.9 +0.3 143 -20 ft 2 9' 31 +0' 24 6.3 -0.3 153 +10 ft 3 10' 38 +1' 31 5.6 -0.9 154 -9 ft 4 9' 35 +0' 28 6.3 -0.3 154 +33 ft 5 9' 11 +0' 04 6.5 -0.1 154 +33 ft 6 8' 48 -0' 19 6.8 +0.2 149 -46 ft 7 9' 45 +0' 38 6.2 -0.4 144 +66 ft 8 9' 02 -0' 05 6.6 +0.1 143 -4 ft 9 8' 47 -0' 20 6.8 +0.2 147 +6 ft 10 9' 03 -0' 04 6.6 +0.0 148 +33 ft 11 9' 16 +0' 09 6.5 -0.1 146 -20 ft 12 8' 31 -0' 36 7.0 +0.5 147 -92 ft 13 8' 42 -0' 25 6.9 +0.3 151 -16 ft 14 8' 40 -0' 27 6.9 +0.3 154 0 ft 15 8' 38 -0' 29 6.9 +0.4 158 0 ft end 8' 17 -0' 50 7.2 +0.7 161 +27 ft Versus average of 9' 07 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

A Windy and Rainy Saturday

It was a windy and rainy day today, but as always we survived. We started out with Sam, Brian, Fred, Chris, and Eric in the lead, and Jill and I following not far behind. After a short potty break Eric fell back and ran with me and Jill. Rachel was running with us this week after a running a marathon personal best of 3:53 in Houston last week. I think she ran with Larry, Patty and the rest of the Dominators, but then she dropped out early. I also saw Shana and Kayla, and it seems like maybe a few more of our "Elite" group, but they got lost (to me) in the crowd. Curtis ran with the group on Turkey Mountain. Going south against the wind we kept a steady pace until we got to where I44 crossed the trail. All but Eric and I turned back there. Eric and I continued until the trail crossed the railroad tracks. We picked up the pace on the way back and kept below an 8 minute pace the whole way. It was a good run, and after we got back to Veterans' Park I went out for a little over 3 miles to make it an even 15 for the day. My training this week: Monday: 6.5 miles @ 8:13 pace Tuesday: run 1 was a fartlek, 6.1 miles averaging 7:57. run 2 was an easy 5.1 @ 9:11 pace Thursday: run 1 was a slowish tempo, 3.8 miles @ 7:43. run 2 was 8.2 miles with Eric with 4 mile repeats (6:50, 7:00, 6:56, 6:53) Saturday: 15 miles Total: 44.7 miles Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 625 ft Location: Tulsa, OK Elev. Gain: -4 ft Date: 01/23/10 Up/Downhill: [+475/-479] Time: 08:00 AM Difficulty: 3.4 / 5.0 Weather: Light Rain Fog/Mist 50 F temp; 92% humidity 50 F heat index; winds SE 10 Performance Distance: 11.91 miles Time: 1:38:35 Speed: 7.2 mph Pace: 8' 17 /mi Heart Rate: 151 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1533 169 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 161 - 179 0h 05m 5%  0.70 mi Zone 4 143 - 161 1h 26m 87%  10.36 mi Zone 3 125 - 143 0h 09m 9%  1.04 mi Zone 2 107 - 125 0h 01m 0%  0.10 mi Zone 1 90 - 107 0h 01m 0%  0.03 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0%  0.02 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 05 +0' 48 6.6 -0.6 134 -17 ft 2 8' 32 +0' 15 7.0 -0.2 146 +7 ft 3 8' 28 +0' 11 7.1 -0.2 150 -13 ft 4 8' 24 +0' 07 7.1 -0.1 153 +6 ft 5 8' 38 +0' 21 6.9 -0.3 149 -3 ft 6 8' 50 +0' 33 6.8 -0.5 145 +3 ft 7 8' 21 +0' 04 7.2 -0.1 151 0 ft 8 7' 57 -0' 20 7.5 +0.3 151 0 ft 9 7' 57 -0' 20 7.5 +0.3 154 -6 ft 10 7' 51 -0' 26 7.6 +0.4 156 0 ft 11 7' 53 -0' 24 7.6 +0.4 157 +7 ft end 7' 22 -0' 55 8.1 +0.9 162 +14 ft Versus average of 8' 17 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

How to Run Faster

Every now and then a runner asks how they can get faster. One way is to just run more - even at a relatively slow pace. That works pretty well, especially if you are new to running. But if you are serious about getting faster, you need to incorporate some faster running in your training. That doesn't mean to do every training run at a fast pace. What it does mean is that some of your training should be faster. That could take many forms. For instance, you could do interval training on a track, or do anaerobic threshold runs, or incorporate hill running in your training.

One way to get faster is to just add some faster bits of running during your normal run. The distance of the fast portion doesn't have to be a set distance. You can make it up as you go along. For instance you can decide to run fast to the next street light, and then ease off. And then you can repeat the pattern if you feel like it. In my first run today I ran 6 miles. The first mile and a half was fairly quick. Then I slowed down for a half mile, and then I decided I would run a half mile fast, then a half mile slow, and repeat as long as I felt like repeating. My half mile splits were: 3:25, 3:11, 3:44, 4:24, 3:10, 5:23, 3:16, 4:35, 3:07, 5:04, 4:20, and 4:11. I really didn't have any goal pace I was trying to hit. I just ran what felt like a fast pace. Then I ran at a slow enough pace to recover. It was a hard run, but I had a lot of fun. I averaged a little faster than an 8 minute per mile pace, but it tired me out like I had run much faster.

My second run today was an easy 5 miles , averaging about a minute and a half slower per mile than my first run. I could have run faster, but not all my running needs to be fast. It is good to get in a nice, slow recovery run sometimes.

A Long Fast Run

With warmer weather, we had a much larger group show up this Saturday. It started out with a drizzling rain and at about 40 degrees, so I thought it was going to be a miserable run. But the rain mostly stopped, and the temperature actually felt good after I removed my jacket. We took the first couple of miles fairly easy, and then waited for most of the group to catch up at the water stop at Woodward Park. After that Eric, Chris, and I ran at a pretty good pace until we caught Curtis, Chris, David, and Fred at Centennial Park. From there Fred kind of set the pace back to Veterans' Park. Along Riverside Chris turned back because he was only doing 12 miles, then Fred turned back at 41st (probably ended with about 13), and then Eric turned back (probably ended with close to 14). I am the only one who ran all the way to the construction fence. On the way back I tried to keep close to an 8 minute pace, and then dipped below 8 minutes for the last mile. It was a good, satisfying run. My training for the week: Monday noon: 5.1 miles @ 7:23, evening 4.3 @ 9:43 Tuesday: 3.9 @ 8:09 Wednesday: 4.1 @ 8:06 Thursday: 4.0 @ 8:02 Friday: 5.2 @ 8:30 Saturday: 17.0 @ 8:18 Total: 43.6 miles Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 667 ft Location: Tulsa, OK Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 01/16/10 Up/Downhill: [+698/-695] Time: 08:02 AM Difficulty: 3.7 / 5.0 Weather: Light Rain Fog/Mist 43 F temp; 89% humidity 43 F heat index; winds N 3 Performance Distance: 16.99 miles Time: 2:20:58 Speed: 7.2 mph Pace: 8' 18 /mi Heart Rate: 152 bpm (Avg) Calories: 2178 174 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 161 - 179 0h 28m 20%  3.57 mi Zone 4 143 - 161 1h 38m 69%  11.28 mi Zone 3 125 - 143 0h 21m 15%  2.40 mi Zone 2 107 - 125 0h 03m 2%  0.30 mi Zone 1 90 - 107 0h 05m 3%  0.08 mi (none) out of range 0h 01m 0%  0.05 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 05 +1' 47 6.0 -1.3 130 +62 ft 2 9' 37 +1' 19 6.2 -1.0 139 +23 ft 3 8' 20 +0' 02 7.2 -0.0 147 -17 ft 4 8' 13 -0' 05 7.3 +0.1 145 +3 ft 5 8' 20 +0' 02 7.2 -0.0 152 +7 ft 6 8' 11 -0' 07 7.3 +0.1 150 -10 ft 7 8' 08 -0' 10 7.4 +0.1 150 -14 ft 8 8' 05 -0' 13 7.4 +0.2 156 +3 ft 9 7' 57 -0' 21 7.5 +0.3 146 -59 ft 10 8' 03 -0' 15 7.4 +0.2 147 -17 ft 11 8' 00 -0' 18 7.5 +0.3 154 -3 ft 12 8' 12 -0' 06 7.3 +0.1 153 +7 ft 13 8' 09 -0' 09 7.4 +0.1 157 -9 ft 14 8' 01 -0' 17 7.5 +0.3 160 +10 ft 15 8' 06 -0' 12 7.4 +0.2 162 -10 ft 16 7' 59 -0' 19 7.5 +0.3 165 +10 ft 17 7' 28 -0' 50 8.0 +0.8 170 +16 ft Versus average of 8' 18 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com