track fan

AM: (8.5, 1:10:43).  34:24 wu 6 x ~250m hill repeats 22:42 cd.  Did a much harder workout than when I did this two weeks ago.  I ran the first 3 in about 1:03 average (one was actually 1:05, but it was because I stumbled in the sand at the beginning of the ascent) I then dropped it to 1:01, :59, :58.  I was concentrating on my form and driving through to the very top of the hill (the last one was very very hard - not cardiovascularly but muscularly).  Pretty happy.

PM: (at least 4 miles).

My talk went really well yesterday, I was surprised, especially since I barely had time to practice it this week before I gave it ... I wish my lecture had gone as well.   The students (and I) are having a tough time with the current material. 
 

1:02:43 (32:04/30:39). Felt a little tired today, so I just took it pretty easy.

Very very busy week, but has been efficient and I have gotten a lot of important things done (besides teach). Three papers revised and out the door, a protocol finished and ready to go to the clinical trials office, some programs written to begin analysis of a study that uses a new technology for measuring expression levels of small pieces of circulating RNA. whew, I am tired just remembering it. Today is a day of meetings and late this afternoon is the inspection on our new house!

I really need to clean up the house tonight since McMillan athletes are coming in tomorrow afternoon (and I will be working all day -- at least I get to eat dinner with them, if I can get home early enough - I don't think I will make them wait until 9PM the night before a race just to eat with me ;-) ).

Happy Friday bloggers, be safe and have fun!

GOOD LUCK all you weekend racers!!!

AM: (9 miles, 1:19:38).  8 miles + 8 x ~100m strides.  Beautiful day!!  I think the heat wave (the one that lasted 5 months) is gone -- highs today of 87F!!!!

PM: (4 or 4.5 miles).

I can't wait to read the race reports!  Run the the wind bloggers!

15+ miles. 2:02:02 ... cool, huh? So ... what a beautiful day - I decided it was cool enough to go back to the desert route ... I got an early start because the Mcmillan athletes got up to get ready for the race ... the desert is beautiful early in the morning.
 
It is a very hilly (about 4% ascent over the first 3 miles and then a gradual decent of about 2% with a tiny (about 1/2 mile) in the middle of the descent. I ran ~ 2 miles out and back before hand, (18:21) and since the loop itself is slightly under 6 miles I add on a portion in the middle to a trailhead and back (3/4 of a mile). Mapmy run says it is almost 6.2 miles. The first loop was about 57:06 (9:02 pace) and the second was 46:33 (7:47). The second loop was pretty hard pace (especially the uphill). I was pretty happy with the run.  Even though it meant that I missed the awards ceremony for the 8K race. There were only 3 Mcmillan Elite athletes in the race and they took 2nd place (males, he ran a 24:xx something) and I think 3rd and 5th place in females (they ran in the mid-29s).  They all got $ and gift certificates. 

We all went out to breakfast before they left to go home ... it was fun!

Happy Sunday bloggers!

AM: (9 miles, 1:19:52) ... no "turn-around" splits, somehow I missed the button on my watch.   I ran faster the last 20` (even faster than I usually do) -- since that is what Greg told me to do ;-).  Felt pretty tired the first 40 mins.  Sunday was a little harder than I meant to run (I realized later as I went through my entries from last spring that I ran 2 mins faster than I usually run -- and that was WITH the extra mile added in the middle -- which means I ran nearly 10 mins faster than I have ever run this course ... that is way too fast -- Dean runs the non-added on course in 45 mins and he is way way faster than I am ...).  Anyway -- I really need to make sure I recover in time for a good race on Sunday.

PM: (4 miles, very very easy).

1:02:32 (31:32/31:00).  Pretty even split.  The "out" split included a little time on the ground and wound assessment - so actually it was a little faster than shown.  I hit a gopher/ground squirrel hole that was obstructed by desert ivy or some such thing.  It was right next to the curb so I flew through the air and slid on the street.  Luckily, the car that was there had just gone past ... so I did not hit the car, nor did the car hit me (they did stop though, to make sure I was not hurt).  Being the studly runner that I am, I just looked at my bloody knee and hand, flexed my wrist and went on my way.  Worst thing was that as I was airborne all I could think of was, "save the shorts".  Dean got me a very cool pair of shorts for my birthday from a company that specializes in womens running.  They are a couple of women who were in his running group in Seattle - they are so cool - and they make me look (or maybe just feel) very fast ;-).  I really did not want to tear my new shorts ... then, just before I hit the asphalt, all I could think of was, "oh no not my wrist" - I landed, yet again, on the wrist that I broke trail running in Salt Lake City a couple of years ago (not the arm that I hurt mountain biking here in Arizona).   Still lucky, I get the glory of two bloody "war wounds" without any serious damage.  My ankle is sore, but I don't think it twisted or anything, I think I just landed on it funny when it sunk into the hole.

Happy Wednesday bloggers!! 

AM: (8.5, 1:13:31) 7 miles + 6 x ~200 meters w/200 recovery.  Felt remarkably good today -- except for the hamstring and hip area from my fall yesterday -- wasn't related to running (I don't think) ... but I was pretty sore this morning.  My knee looks marvelous -- red, scabby, just plain gross ;-).

PM: (very easy 3-4 miles ... just want to run 30 or so minutes).

Happy Thursday bloggers ...  

40:18 (20:09/20:09) ... pretty cool eh?  

 My quad is killing me ... I can't tell if it is from my fall or something else.  I am sure I won't feel it on Sunday - I am so out-of-fast-running shape my legs will be the least of my worries.  I have to say, it is likely that I will only barely run faster than I did 4 years ago.  I am in better shape now than I was then, but I just haven't done any speed work yet and I am pretty sure that even 1/2 marathon pace is going to feel pretty darn hard.  I am calling the race my "rust buster 10 miler". 

Happy Friday bloggers.

31:26 ... nice and slow.  Am feeling a little sick today - my throat hurts a little and it feels like I am coming down with a cold.  I was planning on going and signing up for the race this afternoon, instead of waiting until tomorrow morning ... but I am not sure now whether I might wait and see what happens after I take some vitamins and stuff.  In any case, I might jog a couple of miles this PM.

My first race at 47 years old. Not a bad start, 9th woman (60th overall out of 307). I won a nice technical shirt and a $25 gift certificate.  It was a lonely race, we got strung out by about mile 2 and though there were people in front of me, and people behind me, for the most part I was running all alone.  A little windy in some sections.  Cool race though through the downtown "Barrio" section of town across the freeway on this new pedestrian bridge and on a bike path for a while.

Overall, I am very happy with this race. I wasn't sure what to expect after coming off of nearly 5 months of only base mileage. I also have a sore throat and almost did not go to the race this morning. I asked Dean, "what would you do?" (if he was feeling a cold coming on), he said, "at this point I would probably run it". I think what he meant by "at this point" was "since you already got me up at 5AM on a weekend so you race this thing" ;-).

I really expected to run in the 7:25 pace range -- I knew that I wasn't in shape to run the expected time based on my 1/2 marathon last January, but I knew I was in better shape than my old 10 mile PR ... but, it is hard to judge just how things were going to go. It was actually a very hilly course, and it was a little hot for racing (sorry Carolyn in Colorado -- it was not snowing here, rather it was in the mid-to-high 70's at race time). I went out conservative and hoped I would either be able to hang on or speed up!

Splits:

7:32 (uphill)

7:35 (pretty flat but lots of turns)

7:19 (downhill)

7:13 (flat)

7:32 (flat - I was a little worried about my pace, I wanted to slow down and make sure I wasn't breathing hard)

7:18 (long uphill -- there were three women in front of me that I really did not want to beat me -- I started trying to catch them here)

7:13 (rolling - some downhill, some uphill, lots of wind)

6:27 (this is wrong I think the mile marker was in the wrong spot - it was uphill, I passed about 3 guys during this mile)

7:19 (very hard stretch - slightly rolling the worst uphill as we went underneath the railroad tracks)

8:03 (split was wrong the last 400 meters was downhill and I was trying to hold off a guy that was right behind me, he got me 100 meters from the finish, I am absolutely sure we weren't running 8 min pace here -- if you average the last 3 miles it is 7:16 pace, which is probably correct)

No chip timing -- my gun time was 1:13:39, I started my watch as I hit the start line. I missed overall masters by 30 seconds (the cheating woman from the cross-country race got it, she is almost 5 years younger than me!).

Not bad, I definately think that with a month or so of training I can get my 10K goal ... so I am happy. I also think with a month or so of training I could have beaten cheating woman too, I just didn't have the speed today.

I can't wait to see how everyone did in their races this weekend!

Happy Sunday bloggers.

AM: (9 miles, 1:20:45 (40:37/40:08)).  Easy recovery run.  I decided to take my 60-year-old-woman legs out today -- they haven't been out on a run in a while ;-).  Felt much better than I had anticipated.  I actually hit my first "landmark" a bit too fast ... slowed down a lot.  Still a little tired by the end of the run.

We are heading to Flagstaff to celebrate Dean's 50th birthday (on Thursday).  We both have to work this morning -- hopefully we will leave Tucson in time to make it to Flag before dark - in which case I will go out for a short jog tonight -- if not, well, I never feel guilty missing a 2nd run in recovery weeks ...

Have a great day bloggers!
 

1:03:52.  Beautiful run on a trail that is right outside the back door of the house we are renting in Flagstaff.  Pretty much straight uphill for 3.5 miles -- we were huffing and puffing up the hill -- we are at about 7000ft and were almost at the 8000ft peak of the mountain range closest to us.  A nice way for Dean to start his newest decade!

Hope all is well bloggers!

AM: (9 miles, 1:20:29).  Ran up the trail to a forest service dirt road to another trail -- footing was difficult in some places, but much better than simply running up 4.5 miles and down 4.5 miles ... healthier on my legs anyway!  I am sure it was pretty, but I had to concentrate on the trail so not to do a face plant (Dean fell yesterday on our run, his heel got caught on a rock -- nothing broken, but he is very scraped up).  Beautiful weather!

PM: (4 miles, nice and easy on the Urban trail downtown - I have a massage appointment this afternoon downtown, so I will just run afterward). 

I am taking Dean out for his birthday tonight --

Happy Running bloggers!

1:03:11.  Found another trail today -- this one was not a nice as yesterdays -- not that I am complaining, mind you -- it was still beautiful.  The footing was really treacherous and it was tough going ... my legs were tired today (probably both because I ran too hard on my second run last night - and because of the massage).  Probably a good thing that the footing was bad, it made me slow down a lot!

After spending hours and hours of my vacation this week working on an institutional grant (similiar to the one I submitted to NIH last Spring) - I just found out there are some "politics" involved with some data I was planning on using for preliminary studies ... so, now I can't include it ... I am not sure I can submit this thing without this stuff, so things are up in the air now about whether I should spend any more time this weekend working on it.  DARN IT!

I hope all is well with you bloggers!

AM: (8 miles, 1:12:32).  Showed Dean my trail from a couple of days ago -- he liked it.  He also kicked my behind - I think he is getting in shape again, I know he doesn't think he was running "fast" - but he was running faster than I could run easily. 

PM:(4 miles easy).

Having some folks over for dinner tonight - I can't believe it is our last night here ... I have to work a little this afternoon, so I can enjoy the evening!

Happy weekend bloggers.

2:02:43. Ran in the flattest place we know of in Flagstaff ... still at 8000ft, but except for a few rollers, pretty nice and flat. I ran the last 20` - 30` hard, probably not as fast as last weeks run, but hard.

Sad to leave Flagstaff ... we really love it there. Had a great dinner with Greg and his family on Saturday - talked about running, coaching and life.

Have a great week bloggers.

AM: (10  miles, 1:27:07) 9 miles pretty easy and then 8 x 100 m strides.  Didn't feel very comfortable today, I was going a little fast to my first landmarks, finally got it down to a reasonable pace, but still didn't feel like I was "in the groove".

PM: (4 or 4.5 miles easy, in the park, likely in the dark).

Have a great day bloggers. 

1:02:23 (31:48/30:35). 

Felt a little better today, though I am very tired.  I am just so busy at work these days.

Have a great hump-day bloggers!

AM: (8.5 miles, 1:13:47).  6 x ~200 m hill repeats.  30:33 wu/29:29 cd.  Even though I felt like I was crawling up the hill this was actually my best hill workout on this hill.  The first and last were :59 seconds, most o of the middle ones were 1:00 (with one 1:03 -- I think I fell asleep ;-) ).

PM: (4 or 4.5 miles, easy).

 
I have meetings all day, but I hope to get caught up on blog comments today ... I miss you guys.

1:02:53 (31:53/31:10 -- second split included a short bathroom break).  Felt very good today.  I am a little surprised since I ran pretty hard yesterday morning and I wore my Nike free's for both runs (I am having shoe difficulties right now - since all of the shoes that usually have in my rotation have been "upgraded" and don't seem to work as well for me - why do they do that?). 

I got even more stuff piled on my plate yesterday -- there are a couple of very big grants that the cancer center is submitting and I am in charge of a couple of analytic parts of them.  And, supposedly two papers that we are working on have to be submitted very soon, as there are some of our competitors from MD Anderson that are getting ready to submit similar results.  The first one to print "wins" ;-).

Happy Friday bloggers.

AM: (9+ miles, 1:22:07).  8 miles easy + 8 x ~100 m strides.  Felt pretty good, a little stiff, but ok.  Dean went up to see the magic ART guy today.  I wanted to go ... but, as usual, I have to work, and I want to get started packing a little.  We are closing on our new house next week and moving in 2 weeks!! yikes.

PM: (4 - 4.5 miles).  I want to go to my favorite place to run this evening, but I am not sure I will have the time ...

Happy weekend bloggers.  Best wishes to the racing bloggers!! 

14+ 2:10:00 (wow ... look at that).  I tried a trail near our new house today - since we were meeting to do the walk-through this morning.  The run I was supposed to do was a 5.3 mile loop.  My plan was to do 2 loops and then add on to get 14 in - this was a good idea, I thought, because then I could get some water in at least once.  Well, the plan went awry immediately when I couldn't park in the campground that the trail-guide showed as the trailhead (they will only let campers park there).  So I went up the road about a mile and parked in another pull-out and ran from there.  Then I seem to have taken a wrong turn -- so, I ended up doing an out-and-back route instead ... with no water.  Luckily it wasn't too hot (about 80F right now), but by the end it was hot enough believe me ;-).  

The good news was the trail was awesome -- and obviously there are lots of trails out there.  A few steep sections, but the footing is really good and for the most part it was great for running (not many ankle grabbers).  I did get nicked by a cactus -- a cute little "teddy bear cactus" -- they look all soft and furry - but they are not.  It grabbed my stomach and I have a neat scratch - mainly it just scared me (because it hurt).  

Well, I  have to grade mid-term exams ... happy family day bloggers! 

AM: (10+ miles, 1:27:07).  Ran my usual 9 or so miles + 8 x ~100m strides.  Felt super good today -- probably because it was cold, gloriously cold!

PM: (4 miles at the track).  I might run more, it depends on a couple of things.  Dean and I rode in together today (because we had to sign some loan documents for our new house) - he is going to the track to do some drills tonight, so I figured I can get my second run in then.  But, first 4 miles slow on the track is really boring so 4 might be all I can bear, and second, there is a huge weather front coming in today and they are forcasting up to 45mph wind -- that would be horrid on the track!! We have had record highs the last couple of weeks -- and in one day it is supposed to drop to record lows!  wow.

1:02:45 (31:23/31:21).  Felt pretty good this morning, despite the 30mph winds (and I am not exaggerating).  I watched some nature in action ... two coyotes trying to get breakfast - they were cornering a rabbit.  I actually wanted to hope for the bunny to win, but then I realized that if it did the coyotes wouldn't get to eat.  We do have a lot of bunnys here ... so then I hoped for the coyotes. Life is like that, often there are competing interests on any issue, and most of the time for one to succeed another needs to fail.  Can you tell I am over-educated?

Have a great day bloggers! 

AM: (9.5 miles, 1:19:11).  28:33 wu 4 x 5` @ 1/2 marathon pace w/1` recovery 24:31 cd.  Ran on the Rillto path, it is marked every 800m, so I could get some splits.  I was planning on hitting the 800s at somewhere between 3:40-3:45 (7:20-7:25 pace).  Did pretty well on the first one (3:42) missed the second mark (they are pretty small), 3:44 on the third one and 3:20 on the last one (I thought it felt fast).  

PM: (easy 4).

 Beautiful day today -- 38F and sunny for my run.  Had a really bad day yesterday, I am going to try to make up for it today and move on. 

Run well, be happy bloggers!
 

1:01:17 ... it is a recovery day, but I tell you bloggers the cool weather is just making me frisky as all get out on my runs.  I have just felt awesome during every run the past couple days.  It is amazing how much difference 50 degrees makes.  This is particularly true for weirdos like me who love colder weather much much more than hot.

Dean and I have a date at our new house tonight ... yippee.

AM:(9+ miles, 1:20:52).  8 miles + 8 x ~100m strides.  Nice day ... I got out late so it was cool, but warm in the sun.

PM: (~4 miles easy).

Date was great -- we are trying to figure out how to put furniture in, and arm wrestling for the closet space.