Quick 5k at the dog park

20:48 with mile splits of 6:41, 6:44, 6:42. A bit of speed practice, fun to see the dogs at the park, close to home - a nice little workout.

Also tried out some new Adidas Megabounce trainers that were on sale at the Finish Line and I'd say they're basically the same as the Nike Shox but with a little less support in the upper and a little more cushioning in the sole. Good shoes, they do the job. My fourth pair this year (2 shox, 2 megabounce) - all still in use, I rotate, they say it makes them last longer, I aim to get 400 to 500 miles on each pair. I like that both shoes have a big fat heel - I don't know for certain that this equates to more cushioning, but it sure looks and feels that way, and I'll take a good placebo effect any day.

Garmin Connect

5.8 miles at 6:58 pace at 103 degrees

First 4 miles under 7 min pace, 5k time of 20:39, at 103 degrees at 1 pm. 6:31, 6:44, 6:49, 6:57. So that was a good workout considering the heat. Only problem? I had nothing left at the end of the run and the last 1.8 miles were at 7:30 pace or so. It would be nice to be able to maintain 6:45 through a 10k in this heat. That would set me up for maintaining 6:45 through 13.1 at normal temperatures which I will need to be able to do this fall.

Garmin Connect

Excerpt #2 from "Once a Runner"

"An interval workout," Cassidy once explained to a sportswriter,"is the modern distance runner's equivalent of the once popular Iron Maiden, a device as you know used by ancient truth seekers." Although overdistance laid the foundation, intervals made the runner racing mean. Quenton Cassidy liked them. Others preferred bamboo splinters under their nails. Everyone, the winner in his painful glory as well as the loser many seconds behind in his equally painful anonymity, suffers the physical bankruptcy of total oxygen debt." -p. 217

Arrgh interval workouts. None for me this summer - too hot. I'll cruise along at marathon race pace in my more intense workouts and hope that is enough to get me to a good place for the fall races.

10 miles at 7:08 pace at Wetlands Park at 101 degrees

Even though it was 7 pm when I started this run it was still 101 degrees out here - effin Vegas! Still after the first 3 miles I got used to the heat and was moving fast enough that there was a little breeze.

Mile splits: 7:17, 7:24 - Ack! It's 100 degrees!, 7:30, 7:13, 7:00 - making the adjustment, 7:05 - feeling better, 7:07, 6:45 - feeling the flow!, 6:52, 7:10. 1100 calories burned, brought the hydration belt and used it at mile 8, feel pretty good with this run on a hot summer evening at the devil's porchlight:

Garmin Connect

They say it's a dry heat - but you know what else is a dry heat? An oven.

Excerpt from "Once a Runner"

Props to Bill for his post on the merits of this fine novel which prompted me to pick it up again. I had read the excerpt from "The Runners Literary Companion" but I didn't really get the section they had chosen to highlight. Looking at it now from the beginning, it really is a thoughtfully crafted story and well worth the free time of anyone who's ever run. An excerpt:

"Quenton Cassidy was six foot two, his meager 167 pounds stretched across his frame in the manner dictated by the searing daily necessities of his special task. Beneath the tight skin, a smooth musculature glided with fluid ease, giving the impression of elastic, lightweight power: a featherless view of a young falcon.
There were no inefficient corners or bulges; the form was sharply chiseled as if from sand worn driftwood, fluted with oblique angles and long, tapering ridges, thin products of his care. Even now, as he stood perfectly still in the early morning glow, inverted tear drop thighs and high bunched calves suggested only motion: smooth effortless speed.
Stretching with a lovely kind of pain, he turned from the window and sat again on the edge of the rumpled bed to put on his worn Adidas Gazelle training shoes, and was out the door and gone.
Quenton Cassidy was a miler."

A Hot and Hilly Race

The Run with the Devil race turned out to be hotter and hillier than I had hoped, even at the 7 AM start time for the 10k. I then made things more difficult for myself by starting out too fast, trying to hang with the frontrunner - a 5:57 first mile split - ouch. Then 6:23, 7:02 - crashing, 7:05, 7:15, 7:34 out of gas. So I really fell off near the end. Still managed around 43 minutes and 6th place out of about 50, I believe. So not as fast as I wanted - 42 was my goal - but I'll chalk it up to the heat and hills and jackrabbit start.

I volunteered the rest of the day and that was fun. They had a half, full marathon and 50 miler going on in the 108 degree midday heat. Quite brutal, entertaining to watch though.

The tooth fairy was on hand kicking some assphalt:



This lady was running 50 miles on one leg, very inspiring:

10 miles at 6:54 pace at Pittman Wash

I need to start posting my Garmin info again. It's the mile splits that I find most interesting. This most recent run had very consistent 6:55 splits, which is what I've been aiming for. Well, 6:45 splits.

Similar weather and terrain to the race tomorrow, so I think this run bodes well.

The long run puts the tiger in the cat.