It's been a while.

It's been a while since I've posted in this blog. Mainly because I've been so busy that I haven't had time to blog. In that time not much has happened out of the ordinary. I have been blessed to run a lot, well, a lot more than I was last year at this time! :)

My wife is now coaching me, which is weird, but takes the thinking out of it for me. It's been good thus far and the program is basically what I would have assigned myself. She's been just doing a great job of giving me the paces, saving me from doing the math, and the intensity levels, which is good because I probably would never give myself easier weeks when needed!

As far as my athletes, we've recently upped the mileage quite a bit. We had been being way too conservative for our talent levels. We've also done some "big boy" workouts such as 12k tempo, 10 x 1 mile, etc.

I'm thinking of writing a summary of the training philosophy and reasoning behind what we are doing, but that will come with time.

Until then...

Catching Up...

Wow. It's been a while.

I found this new website (well, at least new for me) called Log-A-Run and it's changed my training world. It actually tallies the mileage for you and the pace. So all I have to do is just record it, so it makes life easy. And there is a note section for each day which serves as a mini-blog.

However, no matter how great that is, it can't replace this. And while I can't promise that I'll be better about blogging, I can report about phase one of the fall.

I ran a half marathon this past weekend. It was a PR - 1:09:30 exactly. 5:18 pace. I was on pace to run sub 69 minutes but fell apart over the last 3 miles. I'm actually very pleased with my run. I hadn't trained specifically for it and so the fact that I ran a PR is great!

I took yesterday off (Sunday) and only ran 4 miles very easy this morning. I'll probably take relaxed until Friday and then maybe try a light progressive.

The thing that I've learned is that I don't do well with a planned out schedule. I do much better planning on the fly. Like I know how much I want to run each week (within a range) and so I just try to get that mileage in and then I do workouts that can't fail. I do tempo runs and long reps and high volume workouts and every once in a while I do something faster and shorter.

It all seems to work out and I don't even panic about it. I run twice per day and run a lot.

Anyhow, maybe it'll all fall apart, but for now it works for me.

So, until then...

...and beyond.

Had a very solid week last week in terms of volume and workouts. Looking forward to a 5k this coming weekend and then a build up to my 2nd marathon!

October 9th - October 15th

Sunday - Medium Long Run
11 miles
75:10 in the pouring rain and lightning. Actually was in quite a panic as we were 37 minutes out away from the car when the lightning started striking! Wanted to get in closer to 15 miles, but obviously had to get in what we could with the storm! Enjoyed the run, even though it was quite scary running from the lightning! Ran at Terry Hershey Park and think I found my new training venue.

Monday - Double
7 miles AM + 3 miles PM
Wanted to run much more, but had a crazy day that I am so thankful for!

Tuesday - Double w/ strides
9 miles AM
9 miles at Terry Hershey Park before driving to Dallas. No double because of travel.

Wednesday - Light Progression
9 miles AM + 4 miles PM
9 miles w/ Kurt in the storm on Merrifield in the morning. Great run and glad to be back. 4 miles with some of the guys in the afternoon around campus.

Thursday - Double w/ strides
11 miles AM + 4 miles PM
11 miles at fish creek trail in the morning with a lot of different people. 4 miles in the afternoon with zach around campus.

Friday - Double
12 miles AM
2 miles warm up + 8 miles starting at 5:45ish pace and cutting down to 5:25ish pace + 2 miles warm down. Great run at White Rock Lake.

Saturday - Race
8 miles AM
Just did 8 easy as my hips are a bit tight. Just need to take care of the small things with all of the adjustments in living right now!

Stepping up.

Decent week last week. Wanted to be closer to 90 miles and would have if we would not have missed our Thursday double do to storms and our Saturday double do to a family event. Needless to say moving up this week if all goes to plan!

October 2nd - October 8th

Sunday - Easy Run
10 miles
10 miles in 71:14 - wanted to go long but couldn't stomach it, literally. My stomach was super upset after lunch and just had enough around 10 miles. Was helping Rachel with her "go" miles and then was going to continue with the cut down, but called it. Too uncomfortable! Will try to go 2hrs tomorrow.

Monday - Long Run + Double
18 miles AM + 4 miles PM
2hrs this morning - calling it 18 miles as it was a bit more than 6 loops. Ran the 1st nine miles with Jose, then added on three miles on my own, before finishing out with Sean Wade for the last six miles. 4 miles this afternoon with Rachel at the park near our house. 22 mile day!

Tuesday - Double w/ strides
10 miles AM + 4 miles PM
Ran w/ Rachel this morning on her workout. Did the warm up alone to go a bit faster, but ended up getting in 10 miles in about 67 minutes total. Not bad. Had 3 x 2 mile splits of 12:25, 12:20, 12:19. 4 miles this afternoon; or really just 30 minutes. Probably got in more than 4 miles. Ran around Blalock and Piney Point. 14 mile day.

Wednesday - Medium Long w/ up tempo segment
10 miles including 6 miles up tempo
62:04 for 10 miles. Included 6 miles in 32:14 (5:22 pace). Solid run, considering I was trying to be lazy and put it off until the afternoon. Warmed up for three miles before running the 6 mile segment. Only cooled down 1 mile as I was bored/hungry/had a headache. Might double this afternoon. Who knows? 4 miles this afternoon with Rachel around the tempo loop. 14 miles total.

Thursday - Double w/ strides
9 miles AM + 4 miles PM
74 minutes this morning with Rachel. Felt miserable and calling it 9 miles though it was more...I think closer to 10 miles. 4 miles this afternoon around the neighborhoods. Hot and windy. Boring. But done! 13 miles on the day.

Friday - Double
10 miles AM + 4 miles PM
1hr 8 min 50 sec this morning for 10 miles. 6:53 pace. Miserably boring run around the tempo loops, but glad it's done! Felt flat until the 3rd loop (miles 6-9). 4 miles very easy w/ Rachel in Hull. 14 miles on the day.

Saturday - 12 x 400 w/ 45" rec.
7 miles total w/ 12 x 400.
Ran 67-69 on all the reps. Felt good. Wasn't bad - little windy, but could have done many more in this range.

94 miles total

Long.

Had a great week last week; now onto the next.

September 25th - October 1st

Sunday - Long Run
16 miles
1hr 50 min 58 sec. 16 miles. Ran with Joe, Jose, Carlos, Acosta, and one other guy. Nice run. Kept it relaxed and picked it up as we went along. Got a little tired around 13 miles, but finished it out!

Monday - Double
8 miles AM + 3 miles PM
55:56 for eight miles around Memorial Drive and surrounding neighborhoods. Decent run - very warm and humid this morning. Liked the path/paths I took, but need to figure out what is going on with my stomach and right lower half! 3 miles this afternoon at the park near my house. Ran first two miles with Rachel. Nice and relaxed. Enjoy these evening jogs!

Tuesday - Double w/ strides
10 miles AM + 3 miles PM
10 miles with middle 6 miles in 6:09, 6:09, 6:07, 6:05, 6:05, 5:55. 3 miles this afternoon solo in 21:04 at the park by my apartment. Much rather run those with Rachel than solo! 13 mile day.

Wednesday - Progressive Run
12 miles
1hr 14 min 21 sec - 12 miles - 6:11 pace. Ran 5 miles easy, then ran 7 miles up tempo. 7 mile segment took 38:44; 5:32 pace. Good day.

Thursday - Double w/ strides
8 miles AM + 3 miles PM
8 miles very easy w/ Rachel at the Rice Loop. Like 63 minutes easy! Had some good strides though! Wasn't able to double this afternoon because of lightning/thunderstorm!!!

Friday - Double
10 miles AM + 3 miles PM
Switched today up and did the shorter run in the AM. Ran 3 miles easy with Rachel this morning before doing 10 miles with a good middle 6 miles this afternoon. Last 2 miles did alternating 400's - 72/67/72/69.

Saturday - Steady State
10 miles w/ steady state
2 miles easy warm up + 10k progressive steady state type of run + 2.5 miles warm down.
Really weird day - my calf started bothering me last night on Rachel's workout, and so I iced it last night and woke this morning and it wasn't too bad. During the steady segment of the run I wanted to go 10 miles but wasn't sure if I should. Felt great aerobically, but worried about the calf. Also, feel like I could have pressed it down more on the last loop. Just a weird day.

Mileage: 83.75 miles

Patience.

Had a great week of running/training. Now time to keep that rolling.

September 18th - September 24th

Sunday - Medium Long Run
12 miles easy AM + 3 miles easy PM
1hr 24 min 32 seconds. Miserably humid and hot. Got it done and glad to be finished. 12 miles with Joe and Jose. Ran really easy this afternoon, mainly because my stomach was overly full from lunch, and because I only got in 12 miles this morning.

Monday - Easy Run
9 miles AM + 3 miles PM
58:23 for nine miles. Wasn't a great run at all. Tired of running at the park. Got started late as it was storming like crazy this morning! Ran around 10:30AM, but wasn't hot out at all. Got warm towards the end of the run. 3 miles easy this afternoon. Ran 21 minutes and change on a 5 lap to a mile dirt trail. Nice easy effort, had Rachel with me for the first two miles.

Tuesday - Easy Run w/ strides
10 miles + 6 x 100m AM + 3 miles PM
Ran Rachel's workout with her which was 10 miles including 6 x alternating miles of 6:45/6:15. Our middle 6 miles were 38:43 which is sub 6:30 pace. Not a bad day at all. Included 6 fast pick ups in the cool down. Great day of running. Unsure of total time, but 10 miles total. 3 miles easy this afternoon. Ran at the park near the apartment. Very nice and relaxed run.

Wednesday - Medium Long Run
13 miles w/ 5 miles up tempo
10.5 miles w/ last 5 miles at 5:35ish pace. Garmin was off but finished ahead of Jose who ran 5:38 pace. Had 13 scheduled, but was hungry and ahead of my mileage for the week so called it at 10.5. This is a "down" week in terms of my long run so just figured it was okay. Next week will have to get back to the 12-14 mile medium long runs! Felt great this morning.

Thursday - Easy Run w/ strides
8 miles + 6 x 100m AM + 3 miles PM
55 minutes around Voss/Memorial and surrounding neighborhoods. Really pretty area, just wish I would have taken a right instead of a left. Also added 6 x strides with a slight uphill. Good morning for a run. 3 miles easy this afternoon at the park by my house. Ran the first two miles with Rachel and then tacked on a 3rd on my own!

Friday - Easy Run
10 miles AM
10 miles in 69 minutes and change. Ran 2 miles easy and then joined Rachel for her workout. She did 15'/10'/5'/3' w/ 3' easy jogging in between. She ran 6:11, 6:03, 5:51, 5:29 pace for the segments. We then did 1.5 miles cool down to get the 10 miles total. Good day! 3 miles this afternoon easy at the park near our house. 13 miles on the day.

Saturday - Cross Country Relay
3 miles shakeout this morning. 3 miles warm up + 2 miles (10:20; 4:43 first mile) + 2 miles warm down.

85ish miles this week.

Carry on...

Very good week in terms of mileage and good aerobic work. Feel like if I can stay healthy that this will be the best "base" that I've ever put in.

September 11th - September 17th

Sunday - Long Run
15 miles
Wanted to go 16 miles originally, but felt pretty crummy. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I started feeling pretty good. We were going to only do 12, but ended up doing 15 instead. Ran 7 min pace for the overall average, but that's because we started out pretty slow.

Monday - Easy Run
10 miles
10 miles natural progressive - started around 9 min pace and cut down to 5:40ish pace. Nice and relaxed. Just a good run.

Tuesday - Easy Run w/ strides
8 miles + 6 x 100m strides
10 miles total. Middle 6 miles at 6:32 pace w/ Rachel. Included 6 strides in the last mile.

Wednesday - Medium Long Run
13 miles
90 minutes w/ middle 5 miles progressive in - 6:32/6:16/5:56/5:42/5:33. Felt miserable this morning. The progression was hard when it shouldn't have been. Had a lot of stomach issues, but got the mileage in.

Thursday - Easy Run w/ strides
8 miles + 6 x 100m strides
56 minutes on the Ho-Chi-Min Trail. Very nice/relaxed run. 6 x strides afterward felt very powerful and fluid. Good day. 8 miles.

Friday - Easy Run
10 miles
Ran with Rachel. She did 3 x 10' (6:11 average), 4' rec. 72 minutes or so for the 10 miles. Can remember the exact total time but was wearing a garmin so know that I got in 10 miles.

Saturday - Easy Run w/ strides
14 miles w/ 10 miles steady
2 miles warm up + 10 miles in 5:50 pace (really got rolling the last 4-5 miles) + 2 miles cool down. Met up with the guys for this run. Figured it was going to be too long this early in the season, but started out with the goal of finishing. The one thing that I'm learning this base period is to be patient and to be tough by finishing no matter what. In the past I would have called it when the guys dropped, but luckily Vaughn was game to keep it going and we just kept rolling. Good sign at this point in the season on my highest mileage week, in singles.

Total Miles - 80 miles

Built on a rock.

Had a great week of base. Got in some very solid aerobic training and felt decent on my strides. Time to really focus on getting everything done and to continue the building.

September 4th - September 10th

Sunday - Long Run
15 miles
1 hr 43 minutes with Joe and Jose around Houston and the park. Nice run as it wasn't hot out. Got a little tired on the way back as the wind was right in our face. Faster than last week, but was ready to be done. Good start to the week.

Monday - Easy Run
10 miles
Ran nice and easy this morning with Joe, Jose, and Vaughn. 69:11 for 10 miles. Ran the first 30 minutes on my own and then added on the rest with those guys. Nice weather out - breezy, but cool.

Tuesday - Easy Run w/ strides
7 miles + 6 x 100m
7 miles in 46ish minutes. Did the strides afterward. Very cool morning - could have worn gloves. Saw a lot of people out today, but just kept my run relaxed.

Wednesday - Medium Long Run
12 miles
4 miles easy + 4 miles steady + 4 miles easy = great medium long run. Ran for 80 minutes, but had my 4 mile steady segment at 5:34 pace. Felt like I was jogging - actually thought about finishing out the whole run at that pace, but didn't want to get ahead of myself.

Thursday - Easy Run w/ strides
7 miles + 6 x 100m
Ran on the Ho-Chee-Min (spelling?) Trail this morning. It was 90% awesome, 10% poor footing. I really enjoyed it and can find myself doing a lot of easy runs there, given I have the time to start at 7AM every morning? Ran 20 minutes easy, then did 6 x relaxed strides, then finished out the 7 miles, with the last 10 minutes moderate.

Friday - Easy Run
10 miles
Got in 81 minutes of running. Ran Rachel's workout with her and got more than 10 miles in, though I'm not sure of the total distance. Had a middle five miles of 6 min pace in there, so a good aerobic effort, but mainly just a good run.

Saturday - Easy Run w/ strides
12 miles w/ progressive segment
29 minutes easy + 7 miles in 43:09 (6:55, 6:39, 6:29, 6:10, 5:55, 5:40, 5:19) + 9 minutes easy. 12 miles total.

73 miles total

Time for a turn around.

I don't have a base. Time to start building.

August 28th - September 3rd

Sunday - Long Run
15 miles
1:44.23 with Joe and Jose around Houston. Progressed the entire run and averaged 6:57 pace for the total. Not bad. I like keeping these relaxed.

Monday - Easy Run
9 miles
59 minutes around Memorial Park Loop and Trail. Really don't like the loop, but enjoy the trail. If only it were a bit longer than 1.5 miles one way. But beggars can't be choosers. Have no clue on pace, other than I know I got in 9 miles in the 59 minutes.

Tuesday - Easy Run w/ strides
6 miles + 6 x 100m
39:11 around Memorial Park Trail. 6 miles. Enjoyed running on the trail today - can do that for these shorter runs, but not for the longer runs. Strides were good - felt decent going fast.

Wednesday - Medium Long Run
12 miles
Met Joe and Jose at the Picnic Loop for my medium long run. They wanted to do 4 miles "tempo" at 5:45ish pace. I ran about 5 miles before joining them for the tempo. We ran 22:37 for 4 miles (5:39 pace) and then I added on another 3 miles to make my 12 for the day. Awesome morning and glad to have gotten in the run with some good friends.

Thursday - Easy Run w/ strides
6 miles + 6 x 100m
Nearly overslept this morning. But still got in the run in a bit more humid and hot of conditions. 40+ minutes, which I am equating to 6 miles, plus 6 x strides.

Friday - Easy Run
9 miles
65 minutes around the trail at Memorial Park. Had a middle 5 miles in there at sub 6 min pace. Good day of running - felt good.

Saturday - Easy Run w/ strides
8 miles
2 miles warm up w/ Joe, Jose, Jose, and Vaughn. 6 miles progressive in 6:37, 6:26, 6:06, 5:50, 5:44, 5:09. Was almost like an early fall morning out as a cool front was blowing in, but just kept it relaxed with the guys until the last mile. 8 miles total on the day. 36 minutes for the 6 miles.

Total Miles - 65 miles

Fall Training Segment - Week Six

August 21 - August 27

Sunday - Long Run
15 miles easy w/ Joe and Jose. Started at Memorial Park and ran all over Houston. Nice and relaxed. Averaged 7 min pace.

Monday - Easy Run w/ strides
46:30 which was probably 6.5 miles or so. Calling it seven with strides. Ran the first loop with Raymond which was great as I was feeling a bit beat up. Not a bad run, but nothing to really blog about.

Tuesday - Fartlek - 12 x 1' fast, 2' easy
Did 2.3 miles for a warm up (two loops of the picnic loop) before changing into my flats. Did 12 x 1' fast with 2' easy. Came through the 5 mile marker in 29:50. Felt okay on the pick ups, and am glad to have been sub 6 through 5 miles because I was jogging the recoveries. Stopped after 12 as I began to get a blister on my big toe. Just wanted to be sure not to screw things up before this weekends race. 9 miles total with cool down.

Wednesday - Medium Long Run
10 miles easy. Ran with Rachel for the first 9 miles and averaged 7:22 pace then added on a mile. We were definitely rolling after the first 5 miles. Felt good and natural.

Thursday - Easy Run
45 minutes easy from the apartment this morning. Got sprinkled on a bit as it stormed last night. Good run. Long day ahead of me now.

Friday - Pre Race Day w/ strides
30 minutes very easy from the apartment. Not a fan of running from the apartment but it allows me to sleep at least an extra 30 minutes and on a day like today an extra hour. The run felt good. Did 6 x strides and increased my pace as they progressed in number.

Saturday - Race Day
2 miles warm up + 3 miles hard (15:38ish) + 3 miles warm down.

Fall Training Segment - Week Five

August 14 - August 20

Sunday - Easy Day
7 miles AM + 4 miles PM
7 miles very easy with Rachel. Ended up being a great run. Ran about 51 minutes for the total distance and started very easy. But a good relaxed run the day after a very long day.

Monday - Recovery
Moved into our new apartment yesterday and think I strained my IT Bands or something with all of the up and down stairs with full loads. Not very happy about this, but not worth risking being out for several weeks for an easy run.

Tuesday - Workout
6 miles steady state
2 miles warm up + 6 miles in 6:00, 5:49, 5:39, 5:40, 5:39, 5:39 + 1 mile warm down. Not bad at all. Glad I got this in.

Wednesday - Easy Day
10 miles easy
Ran 8 miles with Rachel and then added on two more. 10 miles total. Nice and relaxed.

Thursday - Easy Day w/ strides
7 miles + 6 x 100m strides
46:22 for at least 7 miles, if not more. Ran 6 x strides afterward. Decent run. Ran a new path for half of the run before doing a loop to make the 7 miles total. As you can tell I'm not running doubles this week as it's a down week for me.

Friday - Workout
4 miles tempo
2 miles warm up + 4 miles hill tempo (21:57) + 2 miles warm down. Was going to run just a 4 mile tempo this morning but with an upset stomach opted for the treadmill. Our apartment complex treadmill only runs at 5:25 pace at the fastest, so I just jacked up the incline and made it a hill tempo at 5:25ish pace. 8 miles on the morning.

Saturday - Easy Day
7 miles AM
8 miles with Joe and a few of his friends. Ran 2 miles very easy as warm up before running 5 miles progressive - 6:15, 6:13, 6:00, 5:40, 5:26; plus an easy mile for warm down. Not bad, didn't want to run that fast, but just tried to help those guys out. Fun to actually run with a group again.

Total Miles: Weak

Fall Training Segment - Week Four

August 7 - August 13

Sunday - Workout
4 miles tempo
I decided a few days ago that there was no point to do a 9 mile progressive run when I haven't been able to run 9 miles easy yet. So I adjusted the workout. I wanted a faster tempo, but didn't want to go as far as five or six miles. I ended up running 2 miles as warm up and then ran 4 miles tempo. My total time was 21:01 which is about 5:15 pace. Was a great run. Very warm out (I won't call it hot) and very humid, but nonetheless a good effort. Glad to get it in. Will do a shakeout this afternoon before doing my strength routine. Ran an easy 3 miles this afternoon and did my strength work. I originally had 9 miles scheduled this morning but with a few mishaps only got in 6. So 9 total for the day.

Monday - Easy Day
6 miles AM + 4 miles PM
6 miles easy this morning at Memorial Park. First loop was in 20:55, next loop was in 18 minutes. Ran around a bit more to make 40 minutes. Did drills and core afterward. Good morning. Need to learn to keep it under control a bit better. I get too caught up in finishing hard. 4 miles out at Memorial Park. Ridiculously windy. Ridiculously dusty. Felt good muscularly. 10 miles on the day.

Tuesday - Easy Day w/ strides
6 miles + 6 x 100m strides AM + 4 miles PM
1/2 mile warm up to GBPT, then 6 miles in 40:44. Last mile in 6:00. 1/2 mile warm down to the apartment. Drills, then 6 x 100m strides. Was an okay run. Got bored with GBPT. Had a very upset stomach at 22 minutes. But got it all in. Another day another dollar. 4 miles this afternoon in 26:33. Ran at GBPT because the Loop at Memorial has been too dusty in the afternoon. Much nicer run at GBPT with the whole thing being shaded. Still dusty though, even out here. 11 miles on the day. 10 of which are really countable.

Wednesday - Workout
3 miles easy + 8 x 2' fast (4:50 pace), 1' easy (6:00 pace)
3 miles very easy (22:50ish) + 8 x 2' fast, 1' easy. Ended up getting in 4 miles total for the fartlek which means I averaged 6 minute pace with the very slow 1 minute jogs. Sort of mixed emotions about it - I definitely didn't run as smoothly as I wanted and probably not as fast as I wanted, but definitely put in the effort. This was surprisingly a very tough workout. 7 miles total.

Thursday - Easy Day
6 miles AM + 4 miles PM
6 miles at Memorial Park. Ran the first loop in 20:26, and the second loop in 17:59. I then tacked on a bit to make it an even 40 minutes. Not a bad run at all considering the night that I had. Felt good muscularly. Getting bored with the loop. 4 miles this afternoon in 26:53. 10 miles on the day.

Friday - Easy Day w/ strides
6 miles + 6 x 100m strides AM + 4 miles PM
40 minutes around Katy, Texas. Very nice run. Had to change it up a bit and get off of Memorial Park and GBPT. Best run I've had here in Katy. Did 6 x strides afterward with 2 being relaxed, 2 a bit more up tempo, and 2 fast. Skipped my double tonight as I'm worn down from a tough week.

Saturday - Long Run
11 miles
Went 12 miles in around 77 minutes. Awesome run. The past two days have been very good as far as running is concerned.

Total Miles: 65 miles

Fall Training Segment - Week Three

Struggled this past week on the long run, but had some very solid days on top of each other. Ready to move onto this week and be in our new training environment! Already taking advantage of the softer surfaces. Now just have to keep it rolling. Trying to be patient. Have to be patient.

July 31 - August 6

Sunday - Easy Day w/ strides

5 miles + 4 x 100m strides AM + 3 miles PM
5 miles out at GBPT with my beautiful wife in 36:15...7:15 pace on the money! Kept it relaxed on the beautiful soft trail and then did 4 x 100m strides. Strides felt powerful and fast. My right arch has been aching bad every morning when I wake but seems to go away once I warm up. Might be the softer surfaces; just have to get adjusted. 3 miles this afternoon in 20:04. Very hot out...in fact, almost ran on the treadmill. Finding that once I walk over to the trail (about 800 meters) I get adjusted pretty well. Felt good and glad to be done. Recovered with a double stack turkey burger with spinach.


Monday - Workout
6 miles progressive
6 miles in 34:57. Went 6:54, 5:53, 5:45, 5:28, 5:25, 5:31 for the progressive tempo. Pumped because my last 3 miles were faster than my 3 mile tempo last week. Definitely wanted to ease into this a bit more, but just got ahead of myself. Not a bad run at all considering all things. About 5:50 pace for the total run and that's with the 6:54 first mile. Did drills and general strength and mobility after the run. Ran at Memorial Park. (5: 36 pace for the last 5 miles.)

Tuesday - Easy Day
6 miles AM + 3 miles PM
40 minutes easy at Memorial Park; 2+ loops to make sure I got in 6 miles. Did some recovery exercises after the run and made sure I went through my drills. Seems like the racing scene is going to be more competitive here and I'm excited about that. Just have to make sure I am ready when it's time to race. 3 miles this afternoon at Memorial Park. Very tired. Super dusty and crowded out...fajitas to recover from a long day of work!

Wednesday - Easy Day w/ strides
6 miles + 4 x 100m strides AM + 3 miles PM
40:02 this morning - calling it 6 miles. Ran out for 21 minutes and came home in 19 minutes. Definitely got in 6 miles, but even if I didn't I ran a half mile to the trail as a warm up anyhow! Tried to stay as relaxed as possible on the way out and did so! My strides were terrible as I was pretty tired - but I plan on recovering as much as I can today. Beautiful morning at GBPT. 3 miles not timed on GBPT. Hot and stomach was a mess, but other than that it was good. Actually the heat doesn't bother me; but the stomach certainly did. Loving the softer surfaces.

Thursday - Long Run
11 miles
9 miles in 61 minutes. Was supposed to be 11 miles but was totally depleted by 7 miles. Rachel even commented that before I reached 3 miles I was throwing sweat all over her (I ran my 1st three miles as her last three miles)...just totally bonked. Lu Armenteros joined me for the last 6 miles or so of my run. I actually stopped at 8.6 miles to get some fluids. Then jogged until I saw 9.0 on the garmin. Did the strength exercises afterward and was still wobbly...

Friday - Easy Day
6 miles AM + 3 miles PM
Ran 1/2 mile to the trail before doing drills and running 39:00 for 6 miles. Last mile was 6:13. Felt really good, especially compared to yesterday! Ran 1/2 mile back to the house. Was a good day as I felt fine physically and really booked it back home as my stomach was unsettled. Nice to have a good effort the day after a bad one! 3 miles hammer session this afternoon around Memorial Park. Long day at work. Just glad I was tough enough to get this in.

Saturday - Easy Day w/ strides
6 miles + 4 x 100m strides AM + 3 miles PM
40 minutes and some change in and around Memorial Park. My stomach nearly imploded after my first loop but the restrooms weren't opened yet, so I ran out 5 minutes and turned around to make it back by 7AM (the time the restrooms open). I had to sit down about 2 minutes from the restrooms as my stomach was giving me the worst kind of fits. Anyhow, ended up getting in just over 40 minutes and felt great in doing so aside from my stomach. I wish the stomach would have been fine because I was rocking the run. 4 x 100m strides afterward were uninspired. 3 miles this afternoon, quickly around Memorial Park. Stomach was uncomfortable, but that's starting to be expected on my doubles. Just need to figure out the fuleing throughout the day and the hydyration.

Total Miles: 60 miles

Fall Training Segment - Week Two

Great week last week. Looking to move along, in the same direction! This week I've got a long run and a fartlek on tap. Excited about the fartlek. Moving to Houston Friday.

July 24 - July 30

Sunday - Easy Day
5 miles AM + 3 miles PM
5 miles at the Trinity Park in Fort Worth. 33:13, which my garmin called 6:38 pace. Took a bit to warm up as usual, but once I got rolling it was good! 3 miles easy this afternoon at Town Park in Mansfield. Hot out and not much of a breeze today, but good run nonetheless. Stomach was a little shaky towards the end, but no complaints. 8 miles on the day.

Monday - Easy Day w/ strides
5 miles + 4 x 100m strides AM + 3 miles PM
5 miles in 32:41 this morning...7:26, 6:26, 6:21, 6:16, 6:05 (off of memory, so might not be totally correct)...felt good aside from a slight ache in my arch. Took a while to get rolling again. Felt good on the strides. Ran them at a slight uphill. 3 miles in the heat this afternoon. Probably the hottest day thus far of the summer. Felt okay; inside of my left ankle ached a bit this morning and this afternoon. Going to ice, ice, ice and stay off of it tonight. 8 miles on the day.

Tuesday - Long Run
9 miles
Miserable run this morning. When I left my house at 5:25AM the temperature read 91 degrees. We went out at a normal pace, but should have run much easier as I got overheated by around 5 miles. At one of the water stops I forget to restart my watch, so there is no time for the run. Luckily Zach had his garmin and let me know where to stop at 9 miles. For sure under 7 minute pace, but miserable, miserable, miserable. Just thankful that I got it in.

Wednesday - Easy Day
5 miles AM + 3 miles PM
Awesome run this morning at Fort Worth Trinity Park. Much much much better than yesterday's disaster! I finished in 32:38, which is about 6:32 pace. Glad to feel better. 3 miles this afternoon - wasn't as hot as usual...felt good on the double. Glad to have a good day of running. 8 miles on the day.

Thursday - Easy Day w/ strides
5 miles + 4 x 100m strides AM + 3 miles PM
5 miles in 32:03 this morning. Felt great. Really thankful for these past few "good" runs. Ran 4 x 100m strides afterward and felt quick and smooth. Excited for the momentum gained in training. 3 miles this afternoon at Town Park...not hot at all. Been blessed with overcast afternoons!!! 8 miles on the day!

Friday - Workout
3 miles easy + 10 x 1' fast (4:50 pace), 2' easy
3 miles in 20:29 + 8 x 1' fast, 2' easy. Stopped after 8 as I was near 7 miles of running and haven't gone that far aside from our long run and had run a solid workout. Realized about half way through that I can't force fitness and need to be patient. Just because there is an end date for a race doesn't mean I can make the workouts match what I want. I've got to be patient and build. I feel like I did that today. Started at about 4:58 pace for the first 1' segment and got down to 4:40's by #7. My eight one was the slowest, but that's because I knew I was finishing and didn't want to get too far away from my car, so there were a lot of turns which slowed down the time, not the effort. 7 miles in 46:09.

Saturday - Easy Day
5 miles AM + 3 miles PM
5 miles this morning in 33:47. Ran out 18 minutes and came home in 15:47. Very solid run. Really felt good on the way out and back which never happens. Stomach was full from last night, so that wasn't great, but no complaints otherwise. Beautiful George Bush Park Trail. Got in the double this afternoon in the heat. Wasn't too bad. Ran on GBPT again. Nice and soft and beautiful. 8 miles on the day.

Total Miles: 56 miles

Fall Training Segment - Week One

I've had a great week off and have some big changes coming up. Hopefully one of those changes will be better training and tougher racing! Here's to a new training cycle.

I'll be training on a similar pattern that the Hanson's runners train on, where you have either a long run or workout scheduled every 3 days. The pattern is Long Run, Workout, Workout, and repeating. So some weeks you might have all three scheduled, and some weeks you might be missing one of those elements. The pattern is to ensure proper recovery between efforts.

All of the easy days will be naturally progressive.

July 17 - July 23
Sunday - Long Run
7 miles easy
7 miles in 44:48 - mile splits (from memory) were 7:08, 6:28, 6:07, 6:06, 5:58, 6:12, 6:39...was anything but easy. Ran too hard, but felt so good muscularly when I started that it was easy to crank down so quickly. The lack of sleep from two nights ago really caught up to me. Glad to be started on this training cycle. 6:24 pace.

Monday - Easy Day
4 miles AM + 3 miles PM
4 miles this morning in 27:18 or 6:49 pace. I'm pretty sure that my Garmin was off since it's an extremely wooded area. Probably got more than 4 miles and probably ran quite a bit faster than 6:49 pace. 3 miles easy this afternoon. Super hot out so kept it very relaxed. Took a while to cool off. Until the temps change I am going to have to hydrate very well!!!

Tuesday - Easy Day w/ strides
4 miles + 4 x 100m strides AM + 3 miles PM
4 miles in 27:35. Ran 7:44, 6:55, 6:40, 6:14 for the splits. Started much slower than yesterday and felt really awful throughout the run. I think I just really tried to run my long run too hard. I need to take my own advice about not forcing things. I did the strides up a slight incline which always makes me feel like I'm running with proper form. 3 miles easy this afternoon in the heat of the day. Feel like I am accustomed to the heat. Still think you should take extreme precautions in 100+ degree temps, but in the shade and relaxed I have been okay. 7 miles on the day.

Wednesday - Workout
3 miles easy + 3 miles tempo (5:35 pace)
3 miles in 21:41 (8:00, 7:00, 6:41), followed by 3 miles in 16:52 (5:37, 5:36, 5:37)...was getting pretty worried on the warm up as I felt really beat, but once I started the tempo segment I felt under control and comfortable. Weird how that happens? Anyhow, had compromised with myself on the warm up to only run about 5:50 for the first mile and then progress if I could, but glad I ended up running the pace I had originally planned for. Good day.

Thursday - Easy Day
4 miles AM + 3 miles PM
4 miles easy at Fish Creek Trail (7:48, 6:41, 6:30, 6:14)...27:16...about 6:49ish pace...Felt very relaxed this morning and was glad to get it out of the way early. 3 miles this afternoon...have gotten very used to the heat thus far. 7 miles for the day.

Friday - Easy Day w/ strides
4 miles + 4 x 100m strides AM + 3 miles PM
4.14 miles in 6:47 pace. Went through 4 miles in the same time as yesterday (27:14ish)...Felt slow at the beginning but smooth throughout. Strides were good. Enjoy not being rushed in the morning. I like being able to go through everything and enjoy it all! 3 miles easy this afternoon. Really getting used to the heat. Enjoying these doubles. 7 miles for the day.

Saturday - Workout
3 miles easy + 3 miles tempo (5:35 pace)
3 miles very easy in 22:55....3 miles in 16:30 exactly! 5:30 pace. Much better than Wednesday when I ran 5:37 pace. Felt easier, but still was in a good rhythm. I have some "body" work to do, but seems like everything is coming along. Very pumped.

Total Miles - 47 miles

The plan.

So in light of making changes I've done some research onto what has worked for me in the past. I've always done well off of higher mileage - it doesn't have to be 100+ miles per week, though I do enjoy logging those triple digits. I want to be running at least 90 miles per week the majority of this next build up.

My goal race for this build up will be two-fold. There is a popular 10k in Dallas in the middle of September that I want to win called the Tour de Fleurs 10k. That race is scheduled 9 weeks into my build up. I'll have 8 good weeks of build up before relaxing a week for that. After the TDF 10k I'll have 6 weeks until the DRC Half Marathon.

The DRC Half is my number one goal this fall. After that I'll reevaluate to see where I am, but for the 16 weeks leading up to the DRC Half Marathon I'll be focusing on trying to run as close to 1hr 6 min and 30 seconds as possible (5:05 per mile pace).

Just a few notes about the plan:

• 16 weeks long.
• 4 weeks of Alpha Phase.
• 4 weeks of SWEP Phase.
• 8 weeks of Race Specialization Phase.
• Mileage Build Up: 40, 55, 65, 65, 65, 80, 90, 90, 70, 90, 96, 90, 90, 95, 85, 60

This is a very similar plan to what I followed in 2007; in 2007 there were a lot of interruptions and the Half was not my focus; hopefully more 10k specific and more half marathon specific work will prepare me to lower my personal best and reach my goal.

Week One: ~40 miles
Sunday - 7 miles - easy

Monday - 5 miles - hilly + 6 x 100m strides

Tuesday - 7 miles - easy

Wednesday - 5 miles w/ 8 x 60" uphill surges

Thursday - 7 miles - easy

Friday - 5 miles w/ pick-ups of 1', 2', 2', 1', 2', 2'

Saturday - 5 miles - easy + 6 x 100m strides

Changes

Changes have to be made.

Rachel and I are home now from New York and neither of us are pleased with our results from the USATF Club Championships. Looking back on our results, we both know that we should have finished higher. It would have taken a miracle for Rachel to win, but if she would have had the day we planned on having months ago she would have finished 3rd and come home with a bronze medal. My PR would have won the men's 5k, and though most championship races aren't run in that manner, this one could have been and I planned to run it that way. So we are not happy with our results.

Looking further into my season, this is the slowest year that I've had in some time. Obviously last year I was out all year and obviously this was a comeback year, but the results weren't where I believe they should have been. I only managed the following results:
8:54 (3k)
9:30 (2Mile)
15:17 (5k)
32:30 (10k)
1:12.00 (13.1M)
*I eclipsed my 3k and 2M bests for the year in the race yesterday but faded badly and ran slower than my season best for 5k.

When Rachel and I were in Austin in May for the state track meet we went for a run around Town Lake and decided that we would do whatever it took the next four years to see if we could qualify for the USA Olympic Trials. We both understand that being an Olympian is something that most people are born into (they have something deep within them that the normal human being does not), but being a trials qualifier is something that a talented, hard working runner can achieve. And so for these next four years we are holding each other accountable and we're going to do all that we can to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Trials.

We've spent the past being selfless about our running and now it's time to be a little selfish. You only get a small window of time before this sport will run away from you and we can't afford to wait any longer. Changes will be made. These next few months will be vital as we get ourselves into new routines, into better training, and honestly into another mindset regarding our training and competing.

Runners are different people. We've always been different. And no one understands the mindset of a runner and why we chase the things we do, or why we put ourselves through the agony and pain that we do, and so for those that don't understand the sacrifices or decisions that we will be making over these next four years will hopefully understand when they see the smiles on our faces when we reach our goals.

Our new journey starts now, oddly enough with a week of rest, relaxation, recovery, and planning.

Summer Training Week #5 - Championship Week

Championship week...we'll see where it goes!

July 3 - July 9
Sunday - 6 miles AM + 4 miles PM
6 AWESOME MILES at the Seabrook Trails. Best run I've had in some time! 4 miles this afternoon at Town Park. Felt good, wasn't hot!

Monday - 10 miles AM
9 miles this morning at White Rock Lake in 57:53. Really got rolling the last few miles - ran around 5:40 pace one last 2-2.5 miles. Very good run. Very solid morning. Glad to be feeling good going into Nationals.

Tuesday - 6 miles AM + 4 miles PM
6 miles easy at Fish Creek Trail. Ran 41:19...took it as easy as I could. 4 miles this afternoon. Ran 27+ minutes and called it four as my stomach was sloshy...

Wednesday - 2 miles w/u + 4 x 200/200 + 2 miles tempo + 4 x 200/200 + 2 miles w/d
2 miles in 14:46 + 4 x 200 (32.52, 31.00, 31.47, 31.65) + 2 miles in 10:35 + 4 x 200 (31.33, 31.51, 31.26, 31.75)...skipped the warm down as I was bored to death and hungry...good session, calves were a bit sore/tight but muscled my way through what should have been a very easy day.

Thursday - 4 miles easy
30 minutes easy at Town Park...pre-flight shakeout. Ready to get to New York and let effort triumph!

Friday - 4 miles easy
4 miles around a turf soccer complex. Awesome run, awesome facility. If I had this facilty would do absolutely all of my workouts here.

Saturday - USATF Club Outdoor Track and Field Championships 5k
22 minutes warming up + 5k in 15:27 (7th overall)...no warm down. Honestly, felt great through about 3k and thought I could win the race; still think I could have won the race. Then just lost everything. I don't think I over-heated, but I definitely didn't feel right. Definitely motivated. Changes are going to be made.

Summer Training Week #4

Very pleased with this past week of training. Now just putting another notch in the belt!

Jun 26 - July 2
Sunday - 6 miles easy AM + 4 miles easy PM
40 minutes easy this morning at Town Park in Mansfield, TX. Definitely got in 6 miles relaxed. Another beautiful morning. 30 minutes easy this afternoon at Town Park. Pretty much have to do all of my doubles at Town Park because it is nearly 100% shaded. Played basketball afterwards.

Monday - 10 miles easy
68:52 this morning at the Trinity River Trail in Ft. Worth. Awesome soft surface trail. I've heard it goes out about 20 miles, but I just ran a small loop around the park that was probably just a tad over 2 miles (maybe 2.15?) - my splits were 15:42, 13:42, 13:07, 13:00, 13:23 with an average of 13:46. Calling it 10 miles though it was probably much more.

Tuesday - 6 miles easy AM + 4 miles easy PM
6 miles progressive w/ Rachel - 7:44, 6:58, 6:43, 6:25, 6:18, 6;00 (40:09)...4 miles easy at Town Park. Ran easy, but enjoyable.

Wednesday - 3M w/u + 1600m, 1200m, 800m, 400m cut down w/ 400m jog rest + 3M w/d
2 miles very easy + 4 x 100m strides + 1600m (4:38), 1200m (3:28), 800m (2:15), 400m (64)...1 mile very easy for cool down. Great workout. Felt terrible warming up and wasn't sure I could hit what I wanted to, but I was perfect as far as what I had in mind! Great confidence and now just have to get to the starting line ready to go mentally!

Thursday - 10 miles easy
10 miserable miles around White Rock Lake. Slow. Like 69 minutes slow.

Friday - 6 miles easy AM + 4 miles easy PM
6 miserable miles around Hull, Texas. Got in 3 miles in the PM on the track in 21:38...ran the first mile really slow with Rachel and then progressed from that point.

Saturday - 10 miles easy
Awesome run in Seabrook, Texas on the Red Bluff Rd Trails. Was an awesome run.

Summer Training Week Three

Did not have a great week last week, so moving on to this week's training. Seems like a big week.

Jun 19 - Jun 25
Sunday - 45 minutes easy AM + 30 minutes easy PM
45 minutes easy around the grass field. Still not feeling great. 30 minutes smooth around Town Park in Mansfield. Much better than this morning. Wasn't even hot in the shade!!! 10 miles for the day.

Monday - 1 hr easy AM
10 miles progressive this morning in 65:23. 7:39, 7:03, 6:59, 6:42, 6:36, 6:23, 6:17, 6:04, 5:53, 5:46...solid effort.

Tuesday - 45 minutes easy w/ 6 x 100m strides AM + 30 minutes easy PM
6 miles on Merrifield - 7:07, 6:34, 6:23, 6:07, 5:49, 5:50...nice run. Actually ran about 44 minutes, but this was the split on Merrifield for the 6 miles. Moving strides tonight because of looming storm! 4 miles relaxed at Town Park. Was supposed to storm so I was hoping it would be cooler, but it wasn't! Got it done, and enjoyed it!!!!

Wednesday - 3M w/u + 4 miles tempo + 3M w/d
3 miles very slow for warm up + 4 miles in 21:16 (5:26, 5:15, 5:16, 5:17) + 2 miles very slow for warm down...Good tempo at Fish Creek Trail. Best I've felt since I've been back from Brazil.

Thursday - 1hr easy AM
10 miles easy around the lake in 1:05.23...humid but good temps out. Felt good.

Friday - 45 minutes easy w/ 6 x 100m strides AM + 30 minutes easy PM
6.3 miles this morning in 42:28...started really slow but began to roll at Fish Creek Trail. Enjoyable run. Humid, but enjoyable. 30 minutes easy this afternoon around Town Park. Calling it 4 miles though I definitely got more!

Saturday - 80 minutes easy
80 minutes this morning at Town Park in Mansfield, Texas. Ran at least 12 miles. First out and back segment took 41:30, on the 2nd circuit ran 4 minutes faster.

72 miles - total