After Saturday's time trial, I had doubts about a sub 19:00. Glad Speedy and FM2 were there to keep me motivated and driving. This morning I made up a workout to see if I could start on pace or get close. Ran from the house out to the track at Seigel HS. WH was already running the stairs, so I was able to get on the track. Plan was simple, 6 x 200 meters at R pace or :40 seconds with 200 meter recovery and then 6 x 200 meters at race pace or :46 seconds with 200 meter recoveries. First 6 repeats came in at a :39 average. First couple of race pace 200's were a little fast. Finally nailed the last 2 repeats. Decided that wasn't quite enough of a workout, so I attempted a 6:04 mile. Came in at 6:06.
Maybe with my racing flats and a little race day magic, the sub 19:00 is possible. Race is the Saturday after next. I'll have to consult with Speedy and FM2 for their advice on training for the week before the race.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Use to the heat?
96 degrees this evening for our speed workout. Planned on 4 miles of tempo, but did 2 x 2 miles at heat adjusted tempo pace. Usual 2 mile warmup and cooldown. The speed stuff actually felt easy. Maybe I'm becoming acclimated to the heat or we weren't going fast enough?
It's plenty hot, but still not as hot as last year. I know we were doing tempo workouts in August last year and it was in the low 100's. We haven't gotten close to that yet.
Started pricing the guibo/flex disk replacement on my car. $347 for the independent shop. He quoted the job at 3 hours labor. I can buy the part on-line for $54. Pretty sure I could do the job. Sure as hell hope it doesn't take 3 hours. But, last work on Darrell's car was about that much or longer. Typically a beer an hour or two. This time I'll start in the morning when its cooler.
It's plenty hot, but still not as hot as last year. I know we were doing tempo workouts in August last year and it was in the low 100's. We haven't gotten close to that yet.
Started pricing the guibo/flex disk replacement on my car. $347 for the independent shop. He quoted the job at 3 hours labor. I can buy the part on-line for $54. Pretty sure I could do the job. Sure as hell hope it doesn't take 3 hours. But, last work on Darrell's car was about that much or longer. Typically a beer an hour or two. This time I'll start in the morning when its cooler.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Garmin Nuvi 200
Late father's day present. PJ's been talking about getting one of these for quite awhile. Target had it on sale for $149. Great price for a entry level GPS. Tried it out this weekend. It's ready to go almost right out of the box. Touch screen is very easy to navigate. We were headed to the flea market at the fairgrounds in Nashville, found it under attractions and off we went.
Decided to stop at Hickory Hollow, because I knew we could get some food quick at a drive thru and go to the bank and be back on our way. After we ate, we put in the directions for our bank, it wasn't in the same place, it had moved farther down the road. I wouldn't even have seen it except the GPS was telling me it was 800 feet in front of us. Pretty cool. But, the ATM wasn't working. I knew where our bank was on Nolensville road so we got off I-24 at Haywood Lane. The GPS kept telling me every spot where I could turn and make a loop to get back onto I-24 and head in the right direction. Comical, to an extent. After a couple of miles the GPS just recalculated a route straight down Nolensville road. No excuse for getting lost with this thing.
Told PJ I was going to name this thing after her. It's like having a back seat driver that knows where to go.
Flea market seemed almost deserted. The parking lot was only about a third full. Got lucky and got a golf cart ride/shuttle from our van up to the top of the hill. We haven't been to the flea market, since last summer. Same old stuff, but not as many vendors. Lots more of the cheap crap. Paid $2 for one of those floppy hats to keep my bald head from getting sunburned. Didn't really buy much else. Pretty darn hot and hardly any breeze.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Lanterne rouge
Picture from Eric on ParisDailyPhoto
Tour is over today. I'll catch the ride into Paris this evening. Mostly just a ceremonional ride, with a sprinters finish for the last several laps. Carlos Sastre will win the tour. Doesn't seem like much interest in the tour from any of my cycling friends this year. Most haven't watched any or perhaps only one stage.
One term from the tour came to mind this morning, lanterne rouge. (red lantern) This is the person in the tour who comes in last place. That was me this morning. Speedy, FM2 and I went out to Cedars of Lebanon for 14 miles. 10 of those miles are gravel. I was able to hang with them for about 5 miles and struggled to keep up after that. Good workout for me, about marathon pace.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Blah
Already eaten way to much this weekend. Got back from my run this morning and PJ and Dylan wanted to go to Cracker Barrel. Hard not to eat to much there. I had the old timer, scrambled eggs, grits, hash brown casserole, sausage and bisquits. That was just my plate. Dylan didn't eat all of his pancake with peaches, couldn't let that go to waste....
Late lunch after Darrell joined us. We went to Chili's. Blue Cheese Chipotle bacon burger, YUM. Couldn't finish off my fries, probably because of the chips and salsa beforehand.
But, the best meal was at the Golden Eagle friday night. My first time, PJ and Darrell have been before. You pick a bowl of meat, seafood, vegetables, seasonings and sauce and its cooked stir fry style on a giant grill, while you watch. My choices were primarily meat, with red pepper seasoning and some broccoli and fried rice. Very good.
Needless to say, even after riding my bike for 17 miles I'm not really that hungry this evening. Thirsty, not hungry. Threw together a smoothie in the blender. It hit the spot after the heat on the bike.
Late lunch after Darrell joined us. We went to Chili's. Blue Cheese Chipotle bacon burger, YUM. Couldn't finish off my fries, probably because of the chips and salsa beforehand.
But, the best meal was at the Golden Eagle friday night. My first time, PJ and Darrell have been before. You pick a bowl of meat, seafood, vegetables, seasonings and sauce and its cooked stir fry style on a giant grill, while you watch. My choices were primarily meat, with red pepper seasoning and some broccoli and fried rice. Very good.
Needless to say, even after riding my bike for 17 miles I'm not really that hungry this evening. Thirsty, not hungry. Threw together a smoothie in the blender. It hit the spot after the heat on the bike.
Time trial
Watching the time trials on the Tour this morning. A couple more hours before the big names start. George Hincapie just started with his purple glasses, bandages and time trial helmet. Need to check the equipment pages. Noticed George's bike only had one big ring, Shimano Dura Ace. Don't like the look of that chain ring. They were reviewing the newest chain ring the other day and it even looks worse.
Did my own time trial this morning. Speedy and FM2 paced me through 2 miles on the track. Plan was 6:04 miles. Hit the first mile and felt good. Next quarter it started falling apart. Really slowed and felt like crap. Boys yelled at me and I just tried to hang. Lost seconds on each quarter and wanted to quit, but they yelled at me some more. Stuck it out, but it was a pretty ugly last mile, 6:15.
Thursday was a test to see how running before work on the 11.2 at Percy Warner Park would work. Met a couple of the 100 beer/100 miles in a week guys. Ended up running a little over 12 miles after adding the Luke Lea overlook. If someone where foolish enough to run the Harpeth Hills Marathon, they would need to do this run at least once a week, in addition to the traditional long run on the weekend. Maybe....
Friday easy run from the house on the gravel by the equistrian center on Thomspon Lane. On the way back one of the horses ran stride for stride with me along the fence. He stopped and snorted at me when he hit the end of the fence. I stopped and petted him. Love horses, even the smell of them. Magnificent animals. Before the run, I changed the display on my Garmin to give me altitude and GPS accuracy. Don't care for the GPS accuracy, I'll replace it with direction. Use it in the bicycle mode.
Did my own time trial this morning. Speedy and FM2 paced me through 2 miles on the track. Plan was 6:04 miles. Hit the first mile and felt good. Next quarter it started falling apart. Really slowed and felt like crap. Boys yelled at me and I just tried to hang. Lost seconds on each quarter and wanted to quit, but they yelled at me some more. Stuck it out, but it was a pretty ugly last mile, 6:15.
Thursday was a test to see how running before work on the 11.2 at Percy Warner Park would work. Met a couple of the 100 beer/100 miles in a week guys. Ended up running a little over 12 miles after adding the Luke Lea overlook. If someone where foolish enough to run the Harpeth Hills Marathon, they would need to do this run at least once a week, in addition to the traditional long run on the weekend. Maybe....
Friday easy run from the house on the gravel by the equistrian center on Thomspon Lane. On the way back one of the horses ran stride for stride with me along the fence. He stopped and snorted at me when he hit the end of the fence. I stopped and petted him. Love horses, even the smell of them. Magnificent animals. Before the run, I changed the display on my Garmin to give me altitude and GPS accuracy. Don't care for the GPS accuracy, I'll replace it with direction. Use it in the bicycle mode.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Serotta Hors Categorie
Oops forgot to rotate this picture;)
Few shots from my POS, POS and damned if not a single shot without some camera shake. Very amateurish. Other camera, the batteries were dead. First real ride this morning on the bike. Quick ride before work. Left the house before the sun came up. Easy ride, as a recovery from yesterday's speedwork.
This bike has been described as the best descending bike ever made. Don't know about that, I've only ridden a few bikes and nothing that has been made in the last 10 years. My first bike was a Peugot back in the 70's when I was a kid. Didn't get another bike until I bought a Vitus 979. That bike is aluminum with Shimano 600 components, equivalent to Ultegra. It's from the late 80's. It's worked well for me for the last 7 years or so.
This frame is titanium, with a F1 carbon fork and a Campagnolo carbon seat post. All of the components are Campagnolo Record, 10 speed. I've never ridden Campy stuff, much less even a bike without downtube shifters. I put aerobars on the Vitus and moved the gear shifts to the ends of the bars. Having the brakes and gears in the same place is nice, but almost makes you want to shift continually. The crank is a 53/39, guess that's considered a compact crank. I just keep it in the big ring anyway. The ride is plush. I haven't been on any real hills, but it did climb well up the little hill I rode this morning, 3 times. The bike just seems to want to go fast. The ride was great. Heard the buzz of the "angry bees" that's how the rear cassette noise has been described. Just seems make you want to stay on the pedals and keep pushing.
From the Serotta forum:
"size of frame is 55.8 cm and it was the 275 th made", "they were produced from about 1998 to 2002", "about 600 produced in all", "C in the serial number is for custom", mine is serial number CHC 55.8 275.
Stage 17
Image swiped from cyclingnews.com
Image swiped from this website. shows a runner on the road to L'Alpe d'Huez.
Todays stage finishes on L'Alpe d'Huez, the grand-daddy of the HC climbs of the Tour de France. 21 hairpin turns in the final climb. The Hors Categorie climbs separate all of the contenders and determine who will win the race. Yesterdays stage was in the Alps and crossed the highest point in the tour this year, over 9,000 feet. The mountain landscape is breath taking. The climbs are brutal and are captured well on tv. Would be fun to go see one in person sometime. The descent claimed 2 riders. John-Lee Augustyn had a spectacular crash on the final descent. He was the leader at the top of the mountain but was overtaken on the descent. He went into a turn to hot and went over the edge. His bike continued to slide down the side of the mountain and he had to have help from a fan to get back to the road to wait for a team car to bring him another bike. Christian Vande Velde lost time on the climb and then crashed on the descent and lost even more time, he gave up his 5th spot in the overall classification.
EB is back. We did 4 x 1 mile repeats at the Stones River Battlefield. Wanted to do a tempo, but actually the mile repeats went well. Felt really strong throughout. One thing about EB she likes to go negative, complete opposite of the way I run. Hopefully some of that will rub off on me. The final repeat starts on a small rise, so the first quarter is downhill. I bet her she couldn't run it slow, sure enough, 1:28 at the split. Little hotter than 5k pace, but doable. Lost a second or 2 on the next quarter and decided to maintain to the finish. Still comfortable at the 3/4 mile mark. On the final stretch home she blasts by and I'm thinking, she's just pushing to the finish. I maintained my pace. She crossed in 6:04, the pace I thought I'd nailed. I came across in 6:07, relaxed to much on the last quarter and should have just pushed with her. Good to see I was able to hold that pace, number 1 and in the heat, number 2. I may try and get Speedy to pace me through 2 miles at that pace, 2 weeks out before my target race. Hardest thing is not going out to fast and maintaining to the finish.
Monday, July 21, 2008
fast weekend
Made a quick trip up to the farm Saturday morning. We stayed overnight and came back early Sunday afternoon. Little bit cooler out in the country versus Mufreesboro. PJ and her mom picked a crop of beans, cucumbers and squash. Watermelons are starting to grow and quite a few cantaloupes as well. Peppers didn't do well at all. Tomatoes are plentiful, but difficult to pick. Planted them to close together. Bob and I worked on sealing the roof on the camper. Caulk I bought at x-mart was all dried up, both tubes. Ended up using a tube of caulk he had left over. Patched the hole I made with the hammer. Put on a coat of cool seal. We'll put on one more coat next time we come up.
Dug up a cactus to put in Aiden and Thumper's garden. Also dug up some kind of wildflower, similar to a foxglove, but different kind of flowers. Need to ask Trine what the best wildflower book is for middle Tennessee. Next time Dylan and I go to the library we can check out a few and try and figure out some of the flowers. The wildflowers and sunflowers Ryan planted are attracting all kinds of birds. Seems the mocking birds are attracted to the bugs that like the flowers and golf finches just like the seeds?
Moved some rocks from the fence row. Easy to see how someone can get hurt easily on the farm. I was lifting a rock that Bob wasn't able to get into the bucket and damn near smashed my arm between it and the bucket on the tractor. Jeez, that would be one of those farm accidents where a man looses his arm. Dylan got a kick out of the big salamander we found under one of the rocks. Solid black with yellow spots. We put him back under another rock, to live another day.
Sunday morning slept in till 7 am. Real late start for a run. Took it easy and did a 4 mile out and back down Big Creek road. 8 miles total, but the road was about 50/50 shade and sun. I could taste the heat rolling off the road, pretty warm for that time of the morning. Quiet morning, saw lots of butterfly's, more so than the birds. At least 20 different kinds of wildflowers growing on the side of the road. This is the type of run where I wouldn't mind stopping and taking pictures, if I had a small enough camera to bring along.
Saturday before we left for the farm, I was able to get in a 13.1 mile marathon pace run. Ran from the house, almost to Cannonsburg and back. Waited until almost 6 am before I left the house. Busiest the greenways been all year. Lots of runners, walkers, dog walkers and bikes. Really felt good going out. Even had visions of a fast marathon in my future. Reality on the return leg. Mostly the heat and sun in the last 2 miles, but only slowed to a 7:42 coming up the rise towards the house and still able to average a 7:27 pace for the run.
Missed 2 days of the tour. One HC climb on Sundays stage. Pretty steep climb for the finish and a change in the yellow jersey. Dennis Menchov crashed going up the hill, flashback to Lance a few years back. Just don't see how those guys are able to jump right back on the bike and recover as quickly as they do. I've hit the ground twice on the bike. I laid on the ground both times for quite a while before I felt like getting back up. Even after getting back on the bike, the rest of the ride was easy. Not balls to the wall, like these guys.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
feelin' the heat, and I kinda like it...................
Another attempt at a speed work in the heat this evening. Actually made it out of the office before 5 pm for the first time in 2 weeks. Went back out to the Stones River battlefield, I like the shade and the lack of cars. According to Jack this workout was supposed to be 45 minutes at adjusted T pace or 6:42 miles, followed by 6 x 200 meters at R pace with 200 meter recovery.
Temperature gauge on the car said 91 degrees when I started, didn't feel that hot in the shade. Probably 10 degrees cooler? Warmed up for 2 miles, all of it in the shade. The entire 2 mile loop at the Battlefield is probably 85% shaded. First quarter was a couple seconds slow, but made up for it in the next quarter. Still finished the first mile, slow in 6:52. Not a good start, but felt strong. Next mile came in at 6:37, feeling good. Tried to drink from the water bottle I was carrying a quarter mile into mile 3, but didn't get but a swallow or two. Next mile came in at 6:38 still feeling good. Mile 4 was a 6:39. At this point everything was working well. Started up the little rise to the first mile marker and I was off pace by 6 seconds. Not good. No need to panic, I could get back on pace in the next quarter. Nope, actually lost 2 more seconds. Glance at the heart rate and it was at 172, max is 178, huh oh. Drank a little more water, and eased back a little. Two bike riders passed just as I dropped my water bottle. Sheeeit. Almost 3/4 into mile 5, but I stopped to pick up my bottle and called it a day. Almost a mile and a quarter, or really almost 2 miles short of the target for the day. Still better workout than last week.
Still watching the tour every night. Drug cheat number 3 tossed from the tour today. Ricardo Ricco. He won on one of the mountain stages. Saw a thread on bike forums about the Devil, I only caught one glimpse of him this year. Usually I doze off a couple of times every evening watching the tour, but this evening I'm kinda wired for some reason. Couple of great shots of some castles, churches and chateus on todays stage. Field sprint finish and another win for Mark Cavendish.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Hors Categorie
Two things come to mind: the climbs in the Tour and the Serotta bike. The boss has one HC he bought and still rides, plus one he picked up off Craigslist. I'd really like to see if that one fits and see how it rides. They don't make them anymore, but they got lots of great reviews back in the day. The rear stays were the death of the design. It just looks strange. A titanium bike should last a lifetime, don't know about that DKS rear stay. I'm sure Serotta would fix it, should it ever break. That's one thing the Serotta's are noted for, customer service.
Yesterday was the first HC climbs in the tour. This side of the mountains are green and lush, vastly different than some of the climbs. The day before the climbs weren't as high but went up into the clouds anyway. One of the team directors was telling/coaching one of his riders to "ride his pace", "you're riding with the top 10 climbers in the world". Great stuff. These guys really suffer going up the mountains and it's cool to watch the different cadences and attacks and who gets dropped. The descents are just as exciting. One of the motorcycles crashed going down. Kirchen lost his yellow jersey and about 3 or 4 minutes to Cadel Evans. Probably pretty close to how the tour will end in a week or so. Today is a rest day for the riders.
Boss rode into work yesterday on a bright red Vespa scooter. Fun, fun, fun. He was grinning from ear to ear. That would be a blast to live close enough to work to ride that on good days. WW and I were talking last week about going car free and having a scooter for transportation. Would only work if you had only a few miles to commute to work or in his case, only for grocery store trips. Used scooters are hard to find and cost around $1,500 +.
Running has been going well lately. Did 9 miles on Saturday with Speedy on the Stones River Greenway at around marathon pace. Sunday Speedy and I ran on the gravel out at Cedars of Lebanon. We did 14 miles about 10 seconds per mile slower than marathon pace, but still a heck of a workout. The hills out there are just continually rolling, no flat areas.
This morning it was nice and cool, 67 degrees are so. Ran from the house to the track at Seigel High School. WH was already running the stairs. Never did get a chance to talk with him. I was in the middle of my first interval when he left. I'll do my heat speed workout on Thursday evening. Took Monday off completely, no weights, bike or run. Today's workout was a long one, 11.75 miles total with cooldown and warm up. Meat of the workout was the T pace work. Started with 2 x 2 miles at T pace, 2 minute recovery. Then 1 x 800 meter at I pace and another 2 minute recovery. Next 2 x 400 meters at R pace, with 400 meter recovery. Everything went well up to this point, hit my targets or got close enough. Last piece was 2 miles at T pace. Struggled from the start to even get to to T Pace. First mile came in at 6:35, 7 seconds off pace. The next one was tough. Had it been hot, I doubt I'd have even made it this far. Continued to struggle and just tried to keep my form from getting sloppy. Came in at 6:43, touch slower than adjusted T pace.
Yesterday was the first HC climbs in the tour. This side of the mountains are green and lush, vastly different than some of the climbs. The day before the climbs weren't as high but went up into the clouds anyway. One of the team directors was telling/coaching one of his riders to "ride his pace", "you're riding with the top 10 climbers in the world". Great stuff. These guys really suffer going up the mountains and it's cool to watch the different cadences and attacks and who gets dropped. The descents are just as exciting. One of the motorcycles crashed going down. Kirchen lost his yellow jersey and about 3 or 4 minutes to Cadel Evans. Probably pretty close to how the tour will end in a week or so. Today is a rest day for the riders.
Boss rode into work yesterday on a bright red Vespa scooter. Fun, fun, fun. He was grinning from ear to ear. That would be a blast to live close enough to work to ride that on good days. WW and I were talking last week about going car free and having a scooter for transportation. Would only work if you had only a few miles to commute to work or in his case, only for grocery store trips. Used scooters are hard to find and cost around $1,500 +.
Running has been going well lately. Did 9 miles on Saturday with Speedy on the Stones River Greenway at around marathon pace. Sunday Speedy and I ran on the gravel out at Cedars of Lebanon. We did 14 miles about 10 seconds per mile slower than marathon pace, but still a heck of a workout. The hills out there are just continually rolling, no flat areas.
This morning it was nice and cool, 67 degrees are so. Ran from the house to the track at Seigel High School. WH was already running the stairs. Never did get a chance to talk with him. I was in the middle of my first interval when he left. I'll do my heat speed workout on Thursday evening. Took Monday off completely, no weights, bike or run. Today's workout was a long one, 11.75 miles total with cooldown and warm up. Meat of the workout was the T pace work. Started with 2 x 2 miles at T pace, 2 minute recovery. Then 1 x 800 meter at I pace and another 2 minute recovery. Next 2 x 400 meters at R pace, with 400 meter recovery. Everything went well up to this point, hit my targets or got close enough. Last piece was 2 miles at T pace. Struggled from the start to even get to to T Pace. First mile came in at 6:35, 7 seconds off pace. The next one was tough. Had it been hot, I doubt I'd have even made it this far. Continued to struggle and just tried to keep my form from getting sloppy. Came in at 6:43, touch slower than adjusted T pace.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiday
One more day till the weekend. Easy recovery run on the golf course this morning, 8 miles super duper slow. Lots' of work on the course. They've been relocating the tee's for the last several weeks. Now they're starting to tear up all of the greens. They've relocated the cups and flags in front of all of the holes. This will cost a bundle. I know the monthly membership and one time green fee or whatever they called it several years ago was enough to buy a very nice car. They already resurfaced the tennis courts and put up new fence. Must be part of the membership drive? Glad I don't write that check every month.
One of the features of some of the blogs I read is the Skywatch Friday. Great photo's of sunsets and sunrises. That's one benefit of running before the sun comes up, I see a lot of great sunrises. One thing that stands out on the blogs is the quality of photographs. It's very clear which are just the snapshots, versus the professionals and serious amateurs. I only have links to 3 blogs with daily photos, but each is completely different. Follow some of the blog links from any of those for even more great photos.
Dozed off several times last night watching the tour. Commercials come on every 5 minutes. The Saab commercial is great the first time, repetitive the second and just annoying every time it comes on afterwards. Never have liked the looks of any car Saab makes. This was the first stage with any serious climbs. Yesterday's climb was up Super Besse. Yellow jersey was lost after Schumacher crashed within sight of the finish line. Great stuff. Don't have a favorite rider, just fun to watch.
One of the features of some of the blogs I read is the Skywatch Friday. Great photo's of sunsets and sunrises. That's one benefit of running before the sun comes up, I see a lot of great sunrises. One thing that stands out on the blogs is the quality of photographs. It's very clear which are just the snapshots, versus the professionals and serious amateurs. I only have links to 3 blogs with daily photos, but each is completely different. Follow some of the blog links from any of those for even more great photos.
Dozed off several times last night watching the tour. Commercials come on every 5 minutes. The Saab commercial is great the first time, repetitive the second and just annoying every time it comes on afterwards. Never have liked the looks of any car Saab makes. This was the first stage with any serious climbs. Yesterday's climb was up Super Besse. Yellow jersey was lost after Schumacher crashed within sight of the finish line. Great stuff. Don't have a favorite rider, just fun to watch.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Le Tour De France
Yesterday was a complete rest day, didn't even watch any of the tour.(Must have been a rest day for them as well after the time trial.) Even if you don't like bike racing or riding a bike for that matter, check out the tour coverage at least once. The scenery is awesome. Castles, chateaus, churches, countrysides and mountain landscapes. Unlike anything in the good old USA. My favorite stages are in the mountains. I'm beyond all of the doping crap. Supposedly the race is clean this year. I'd imagine not everyone dopes, but its always been there and will never go away entirely. Anyone riding a bike at that level, over a 100 miles a day for 3 weeks needs something to get back up the next morning. Quote I got one time about the tour, typical redneck response, "thems nothing but a bunch a queers". Whatever, watch it for a half hour.
Tried to nab a picture, but first site wouldn't let me. Plus, these shots were from last year's tour. To much time wasted trying to get the right picture. Need to figure out my speed workout for this morning.
Long day at work yesterday. In early, worked late, so I didn't get my bike ride. Lots of thunderstorms rolling through as well. Looks like rain went through again this morning.
Speed workout this morning on the track. WH was there running the stairs. Yesterday he did half mile repeats. He's going to be tough to catch or even hang with at the race in a month.
Q2 from Jack Daniels. 6 x 200 meters at R with 200 meter recoveries. First one was actually I pace, but dialed in by the 3rd repeat and nailed the last 3 at the target of :41. Easy stuff. Next piece was the 3 x 1,000 meters. On pace at 200 meters but slowing by 400 meters. Tough distance, doubled over after each repeat and within seconds of the target of 3:42. Splits were 3:48, 3:49 and 3:51. Not bad, considering the 100% humidity and clouds of gnats. Rose colored glasses kept the bugs out of my eyes, and the vents kept them from fogging. They actually brighten up the pre-dawn morning.
Last set of repeats were 3 x 400 meters at R, with a 400 meter recovery. Target was 1:23, splits came in at 1:25, 1:24 and 1:28. Last one was disappointing. Each one of them, I was to fast for the first 100 meters, relax to much for the next 100 meters, try to hang on for the next 100 meters and then push to the line in the last 100 meters. The last one must have been to relaxed from the start, it was actually just a second quicker than R pace. These were easier at 70 degrees versus the 90 degrees on Tuesday. Actually almost felt cool on the slog down going home. Hit 9 miles about a half mile from the house and went ahead and walked home the rest of the way home. Good workout, though. Pushed through and finished each interval without going sissy, or whatever else you want to call it. No thin skin here, I call it like I see it. (says the old, bald guy with a receding hair line and tattoos:)
Tried to nab a picture, but first site wouldn't let me. Plus, these shots were from last year's tour. To much time wasted trying to get the right picture. Need to figure out my speed workout for this morning.
Long day at work yesterday. In early, worked late, so I didn't get my bike ride. Lots of thunderstorms rolling through as well. Looks like rain went through again this morning.
Speed workout this morning on the track. WH was there running the stairs. Yesterday he did half mile repeats. He's going to be tough to catch or even hang with at the race in a month.
Q2 from Jack Daniels. 6 x 200 meters at R with 200 meter recoveries. First one was actually I pace, but dialed in by the 3rd repeat and nailed the last 3 at the target of :41. Easy stuff. Next piece was the 3 x 1,000 meters. On pace at 200 meters but slowing by 400 meters. Tough distance, doubled over after each repeat and within seconds of the target of 3:42. Splits were 3:48, 3:49 and 3:51. Not bad, considering the 100% humidity and clouds of gnats. Rose colored glasses kept the bugs out of my eyes, and the vents kept them from fogging. They actually brighten up the pre-dawn morning.
Last set of repeats were 3 x 400 meters at R, with a 400 meter recovery. Target was 1:23, splits came in at 1:25, 1:24 and 1:28. Last one was disappointing. Each one of them, I was to fast for the first 100 meters, relax to much for the next 100 meters, try to hang on for the next 100 meters and then push to the line in the last 100 meters. The last one must have been to relaxed from the start, it was actually just a second quicker than R pace. These were easier at 70 degrees versus the 90 degrees on Tuesday. Actually almost felt cool on the slog down going home. Hit 9 miles about a half mile from the house and went ahead and walked home the rest of the way home. Good workout, though. Pushed through and finished each interval without going sissy, or whatever else you want to call it. No thin skin here, I call it like I see it. (says the old, bald guy with a receding hair line and tattoos:)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
heat 2
Did another workout in the heat yesterday evening. Hoped to leave the office by 4 pm to get a 5 pm start. Actually left the office around 5:30. Might have actually worked in my favor. The temperature was still 91 degrees when I started and had only cooled one degree by the time I was finished.
Went to the Stones River Battlefield, lots of shade. Because of the heat, I adjusted my T pace to 6:42 instead of 6:32. First 400 meters were slow purposely, but got back on pace by the half mile mark. First mile came in at 6:37, felt good. Second mile was doable (6:38) but my breathing was really getting noticeable. (forgot the Ipod) Started getting a side stitch on the last mile, going downhill. Slowed for that quarter mile downhill, but back on pace to push out the final mile in 6:36.
Rest of the workout went downhill fast. Tried twice to do the 400 meters at R pace. Only got a 100 meters or so down the road and the side stitch wouldn't go away. Third time, stuck it out till the quarter mile mark to see the pace, 1:35. Little hot for T pace, but not R pace either. Went ahead to try and get another mile at T pace. Unable to hold on till the end, slowed significantly. The mile came in at 6:51. Walked a quarter mile, slogged some more to my water bottle. Heat got me again. First 3 miles were quality.
I'll be glad when EB comes back to run the tempos. She can help slow me on the ups and from starting out to quickly. She's better acclimated to the heat. Most of my runs are before sun up and she runs in the late afternoon or early evening.
Googled snakes in TN and got this link. Seen quite a few copperheads in the woods over the years in Tennessee. Only seen a rattle snake once, seems like it was at Fall Creek Falls. Though when I was younger and we lived in New Mexico, I saw plenty of rattle snakes. Never saw any snakes at all when we lived in Texas. Caught a giant, over 6 foot long black racer in Georgia. It was in our backyard and our dog Tosha was scared of it. Smaller snakes she'd grab.
Went to the Stones River Battlefield, lots of shade. Because of the heat, I adjusted my T pace to 6:42 instead of 6:32. First 400 meters were slow purposely, but got back on pace by the half mile mark. First mile came in at 6:37, felt good. Second mile was doable (6:38) but my breathing was really getting noticeable. (forgot the Ipod) Started getting a side stitch on the last mile, going downhill. Slowed for that quarter mile downhill, but back on pace to push out the final mile in 6:36.
Rest of the workout went downhill fast. Tried twice to do the 400 meters at R pace. Only got a 100 meters or so down the road and the side stitch wouldn't go away. Third time, stuck it out till the quarter mile mark to see the pace, 1:35. Little hot for T pace, but not R pace either. Went ahead to try and get another mile at T pace. Unable to hold on till the end, slowed significantly. The mile came in at 6:51. Walked a quarter mile, slogged some more to my water bottle. Heat got me again. First 3 miles were quality.
I'll be glad when EB comes back to run the tempos. She can help slow me on the ups and from starting out to quickly. She's better acclimated to the heat. Most of my runs are before sun up and she runs in the late afternoon or early evening.
Googled snakes in TN and got this link. Seen quite a few copperheads in the woods over the years in Tennessee. Only seen a rattle snake once, seems like it was at Fall Creek Falls. Though when I was younger and we lived in New Mexico, I saw plenty of rattle snakes. Never saw any snakes at all when we lived in Texas. Caught a giant, over 6 foot long black racer in Georgia. It was in our backyard and our dog Tosha was scared of it. Smaller snakes she'd grab.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
wrap
Quick post this morning before heading into work early. Deal closed on merger at work on Thursday last week. Still playing catch up at work, plus lots of new stuff going on. Been able to get all of my runs done. Tonight may be a challenge. Need to leave work at 4 pm to make it back to Murfreesboro for week 20 of Jacks schedule. I'm modifying the 20 minute T pace to a 3 mile T pace, then 3 x 400 meters at R with 400 meter recoveries. Followed by 2 x 1 mile T pace with 1 minute rest.
Monday was 8 miles of recovery on the golf course. Had to dodge the geese twice, first time at the pond, they wouldn't move and were kinda uptight and again when they were headed back to the river. See were the term goose stepping comes from. They were getting it towards the river, guess the young 'uns can't fly yet. Also, had to make a wide path for the skunk who didn't want to move either.
Sunday was a marathon pace run. Just ran from the house at 6 am. Still warm and muggy, 70+ degrees to start. Did 12 miles at marathon pace and then a 2 mile sweat down. Wasn't a cool down, I was drenched.
Saturday we were still at the farm. We left around 4 pm. Did an easy 8 miles down Big Creek road. This is the road we see the bikes and motorcycles coming down on the weekends. Someone has marked a bike route, but I can't find a map of it anywhere.
Friday, July 4th was a 4 mile recovery in the fields and mowed areas around the farm. Super slow. Bush hogged fields and even field cut for hay aren't very runner friendly. Grass is still high enough that you really need to pick your feet up to keep from tripping. Good workout.
Found more snake eggs or maybe these were lizard eggs in the garden. Bob tilled the garden and unearthed a clutch of eggs about a inch and a half long. Covered them all back up. The birds really like the garden, especially the martins and turkeys.
Refilled my bird feeder at the house on Sunday afternoon and its empty again this morning. Damn grackles and starlings are hogging all of the food. Sure wish there were a way to get rid of them.
Monday was 8 miles of recovery on the golf course. Had to dodge the geese twice, first time at the pond, they wouldn't move and were kinda uptight and again when they were headed back to the river. See were the term goose stepping comes from. They were getting it towards the river, guess the young 'uns can't fly yet. Also, had to make a wide path for the skunk who didn't want to move either.
Sunday was a marathon pace run. Just ran from the house at 6 am. Still warm and muggy, 70+ degrees to start. Did 12 miles at marathon pace and then a 2 mile sweat down. Wasn't a cool down, I was drenched.
Saturday we were still at the farm. We left around 4 pm. Did an easy 8 miles down Big Creek road. This is the road we see the bikes and motorcycles coming down on the weekends. Someone has marked a bike route, but I can't find a map of it anywhere.
Friday, July 4th was a 4 mile recovery in the fields and mowed areas around the farm. Super slow. Bush hogged fields and even field cut for hay aren't very runner friendly. Grass is still high enough that you really need to pick your feet up to keep from tripping. Good workout.
Found more snake eggs or maybe these were lizard eggs in the garden. Bob tilled the garden and unearthed a clutch of eggs about a inch and a half long. Covered them all back up. The birds really like the garden, especially the martins and turkeys.
Refilled my bird feeder at the house on Sunday afternoon and its empty again this morning. Damn grackles and starlings are hogging all of the food. Sure wish there were a way to get rid of them.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Happy 4th
Thursday, July 3, 2008
back to the track
Decided to drop one level on the Jack Daniels tables after mulling about my workout on Tuesday. The heat and humidity, whether its a evening workout or a morning workout need to be part of the equation. I can always adjust on the fly if these times are to easy. (they weren't easy, doable but not easy) To get fast is going to take some work. Relatively speaking, I'm still middle of the pack.
Up at 3:30 am to try and get out the door by 4:30. 4:57 when I headed out the door. Did my warmup by the track to see if WH was running. He was already running the stairs, so I was able to get on the track. Workout seemed easier on the track. For some reason coming out of the turns is like blasting down the on ramp on the interstate, but when I hit the straights I tend to ease up. The 200 meter repeats came in right on target, piece of cake.
The first 1,000 meter repeat was doable but really had to stay focused to keep the splits. Started to fast for the 2nd 1,000 and started to lose seconds on the straight away going into the second lap. Imagined myself in the 800 meter race. (Grady has a great play by play on the strider board) This helped get me throught the second 1,000. The 3rd 1,000 was a struggle from 200 meters, finished it without much gas and didn't even attempt the 4th 1,000.
The final 400 meter repeats went surprisingly well. First one was 80 seconds and the second 81 seconds. I used a different stride than the 200 meter intervals, shorter and less arm swing.
PJ's birthday today. She's not quite as old as me;) but definately looks many years younger than her actual age.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
recovery
Still trying to figure out why last nights speed workout was a bust. Only other thing is maybe the pace was a little quick? Oh well, Thursday should be a better day, cooler anyway.
Slept in this morning. Didn't get on the bike and out the drive until almost 6:00 am. It's was still a little cool for the bike, 64 degrees or so. Needed the singlet under my jersey and the arm warmers. Guess that's the first time PJ has seen the arm warmers. She got a good laugh. Rode an easy 16 miles to Stones River Battlefield and averaged 17.3 mph.
New bike jersey from Google. Boss picked it up on his trip to the Google school. Nice jersey, George Hincapie brand. Tried to get a picture of it this morning, but the lens isn't wide enough. Ended up swiping the image from the Google store.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
part 2
Speedwork was a bust. Don't know if it was so smart to do the quality portion of a double as the second half. Or maybe I was dehydrated. The second set of 2 miles my mouth was super dry.(that plus my pee was bright yellow before I left the house, not good) Or maybe its the course is all out in the open sun versus the shade of the battlefield. Should have been a equal or better workout than last week, it was only 81 degrees, 10 degrees cooler than last week.
Target for the 2 miles were 6:27 versus 6:40 last week. I hit 6:32 and 6:26 for the first 2 miles. Felt good. Dave T. rode by on his Cervelo the last 800 meters and yelled at me. Must have thought I looked bad. I needed it, to get back on track. Next 2 miles didn't came as easy. By 800 meters into the first mile, I was running out of steam. Tried pushing but just wasn't much left. Mouth was like chalk it was so dry. First mile came in at 6:40, I slowed 12 seconds in the last 800 meters. On the second mile, I just decided to gut it out and take whatever I could get. I was only running at a 7:00 mile pace at 800 meters and wanted to quit, but decided it would just be better to hang until the end, even if it was only a 7:00 mile. Did manage to push a little for a 6:57.
Tried to do the 800 meters, but caved after 200 meters, no energy. Tried the 400 meters, same thing. Slogged it home for some homemade spaghetti.
Target for the 2 miles were 6:27 versus 6:40 last week. I hit 6:32 and 6:26 for the first 2 miles. Felt good. Dave T. rode by on his Cervelo the last 800 meters and yelled at me. Must have thought I looked bad. I needed it, to get back on track. Next 2 miles didn't came as easy. By 800 meters into the first mile, I was running out of steam. Tried pushing but just wasn't much left. Mouth was like chalk it was so dry. First mile came in at 6:40, I slowed 12 seconds in the last 800 meters. On the second mile, I just decided to gut it out and take whatever I could get. I was only running at a 7:00 mile pace at 800 meters and wanted to quit, but decided it would just be better to hang until the end, even if it was only a 7:00 mile. Did manage to push a little for a 6:57.
Tried to do the 800 meters, but caved after 200 meters, no energy. Tried the 400 meters, same thing. Slogged it home for some homemade spaghetti.
first part
Round 1
First half of the double went great. Another easy 4.7 miles on the golf course this morning. Nice and cool, around 61 degrees before the sunrise. Actually wore long sleeves. Legs were fresh, almost springy. Maybe a good idea for a real recovery before a quality workout.
Gold Finches
Feeding at the feeder this morning, two males and a female. I was able to sneak out on the deck and watch them for a moment before Lance, Mr. Catdog scared them away. Watched them circle the house several times and come back to feed again. At least until Lance saw them again and chased them away. Shouldn't be to difficult to get a picture of them at the feeder, but I'd prefer a more natural shot.
Round 2
The workout this evening is straight from week 19 of the Jack Daniels 5k program.
2 x 2 miles at T
3 x 800 meters at I
3 x 400 meters at R
Probably try and leave work at 4 pm, to get started at 5 pm. Only obstacle will be whether or not I'm able to get a quick close on for the books for June. Plus, I'll just run from the house, so I can use the 100 meter marks on the road at Siegel High School to make sure I'm on pace.
First half of the double went great. Another easy 4.7 miles on the golf course this morning. Nice and cool, around 61 degrees before the sunrise. Actually wore long sleeves. Legs were fresh, almost springy. Maybe a good idea for a real recovery before a quality workout.
Gold Finches
Feeding at the feeder this morning, two males and a female. I was able to sneak out on the deck and watch them for a moment before Lance, Mr. Catdog scared them away. Watched them circle the house several times and come back to feed again. At least until Lance saw them again and chased them away. Shouldn't be to difficult to get a picture of them at the feeder, but I'd prefer a more natural shot.
Round 2
The workout this evening is straight from week 19 of the Jack Daniels 5k program.
3 x 800 meters at I
3 x 400 meters at R
Probably try and leave work at 4 pm, to get started at 5 pm. Only obstacle will be whether or not I'm able to get a quick close on for the books for June. Plus, I'll just run from the house, so I can use the 100 meter marks on the road at Siegel High School to make sure I'm on pace.
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