shocked

Good run with Shan this morning.  We did the 7 mile in 1:18.19!!  The reason for the exclamation marks is that I'm throwing my hands up when it comes to finish time expectations.  I would have bet money our run was 4-5 minutes slower than that.  Our pace didn't seem like much and we took 3 significant walk breaks.  I was truly shocked when I looked at my watch when we finished.

best gal

2 miles this morning with my best gal in our 'hood!!

visualizing

Pretty good 10 miler @ LBL this morning in 1:52.  Mixed in a lot of walking so running pace must have been pretty good.  Today also marked 100 miles for the month.  I'm really happy with that.  2 more runs this month should easily give me 120 for the month!!  That'll be my biggest month since probably sometime in 2010 I bet.  That total will give me a 25 mile average for the last 2 months (9 weeks).  Very pleased with that.  During my runs I've been visualizing the 100k in Bandera in Jan, getting my mind right for a great run.

kismet

Good 10 mile run in the Barton Creek Greenbelt this morning in 2:20.   I had 4 total stops that probably took 30 min.  2 stops for gels, 1 pretty good fall and 1 stop when I encountered Jim B.  It's uncanny how he and I come upon each other in Barton Creek.  Today I encountered him where the main trail meets Shan's.  1 minute later and we wouldn't have seen each other.  Weird stuff.  His Mom passed away a few weeks ago and we mostly talked about that.  My running circle is pretty small and I'm really glad he's a part of it!!

Oh, and I visited with Rick a bit too!!!

chance

After abusing the hell out of my body Saturday/ Sunday I've rebounded well with a 19 mile work week!!  This morning I started at the Mopac footbridge with a headlamp and ran to the Zilker trailhead and did an out and back totaling 7 miles.  When I was almost back to the pool parking lot I ran into Steve F.   He was headed out on a run.  We stopped and chatted for a few minutes.  I sure enjoy chance meetings like that with good running friends!!

faster

Excellent 5ish mile run this morning!!  Shan, Mark and I ran the Mopac- Congress loop in 48:17.  Shan and Mark were both unable to run tomorrow on our usual Thursday and I'm early guy on Wednesday mornings so we had to make due with the shorter loop.  I really enjoyed the shorter loop.  We were running 30 secs per mile faster than our usual 7.4 mile loop so I could really feel a difference.  I really liked it for a change, felt like a real runner.  I'm going to suggest that we run the faster shorter loop and then add on a couple of super easy miles as a cool down.  That'll be a nice change I think my running pals and palletes will like.

There's been a thread going on on the Tejas Trails FB page the last couple of days in regards to ultra runs getting too big and overloading the trails.  That got me to thinking about something I've always wrestled with a bit.  Take the ego out of  participating in events and just run for the sake of running.  No events, no races, just run.  I've never been brave enough to actually do it and I probably won't be anytime soon.   Races give me the motivation to train (play), eat right (some of the time) and spend time with the few people I still know at races.

Another thing that really bothers me is the prices of races these days.  Lots of events now have numerous distances, 50 mile, 50k, 25k and even 10k.   Lets say the 50 mile costs 90.00.  It seems a bit unfair to me that the 50k that is 19 miles shorter and is 80.00 and even more unfair that the 25k is 70.00!!  The 25k people are going to consume very little if anything at all at the aid stations.  So basically they are paying for a shirt and finishers medal that may have cost the RD 15.00  That's gouging plain and simple.  It's become a business and I don't like it at all.

There are few races I may continue to participate in because I have a history I'd like to continue but in the future I'm going to be very selective about the races I enter.  I may even try to come up with my own special personal events to get ready for.

super easy

Made it thru a super easy 7 this morning.  I took it very easy because I'm still recovering from whooping it up big time in SA this weekend.

18

Another awesome run with Sam V Saturday morning.  We did all the main Bull Creek trails (18 miles) in 4:45.  I'm very happy with that time.  I need to research but of the 3 times I've run that I'm pretty sure it's the fast I've done it.  And it's always a great day with my brother Sam!!!

staying power

Good 7 miler this morning with Mark L. in 1:19.17.  I'm trying not to be disappointed in that time.  It felt much faster than that.  I was expecting a time several minutes faster than that.  Oh well, it's still good in the early morning humidity.  I felt great again today on the Camelbak Elixir (yes, that's the name).   I'm really beginning to believe that this stuff really does inhibit lactic acid buildup.  I'm not experiencing any of the typical fatigue that I usually do.  This Saturday will be another good experiment with the Elixir.  Sam and I are doing a 19 miler in Bull Creek Saturday.  We'll see what kind of staying power it gives me!!!

camelbak

Had a great Thursday morning run with Shan last week.  We did the Pleasant Valley- Lamar loop in 1:16.54, a full 2 minutes faster than the previous week!!  With less than a mile left Shan commented about what a good run we were having.  I told her I had planned on surprising her at the end of our run with the secret to my faster running.

Camelbak brand electrolyte tablets.  I first used them on my run Saturday before last when I had such a good 2 loop Kens.  I could definitely feel the difference on one run.  My plan for last Thursday was to drink one tab with water when I got up and then have a 2nd one in my run bottle.  Well, it worked perfectly.  It was just Shan and I and I was able to talk the entire way and never really felt any lactic acid buildup like I normally do on Thursday mornings.  It was truly amazing and made the run so much more enjoyable.

I had Thursday off work so I decided I may as well add on a couple of more miles so I did an easy Lamar- 1st street loop for a total of 9 miles.   It was a great morning of running!!

This morning I did an easy Mopac- Congress loop (5ish miles).  I hope to get in a high 30's mileage week before blowing out my liver at Joe's Ice House in San Antonio this Saturday.  This will be the 2nd straight year for a Lee 'hood reunion at an old watering hole in our old neighborhood.  Last year was at The Texan Ice that was very close to the house I grew up in.  Joe's is a bit farther down West Ave.  My uncle Jimmy told me uncle Bud used to drink beer at Joe's 50yrs ago!!!!

buzz/ limped

Ran an excellent 2 loops at Kens Saturday.  I ran almost even splits for a total of 2:50.  It was one of those days.  My endorphins were blasting so hard I sat on a rock with less than .5 mile to go and sat there for a minute and basked in the buzz.  Another incredible running experience for the books!!!

Limped through a weak 4 miles early Sunday morning.

next week

Another great Thursday morning 7 miler with Shan.  Mark is crewing for a guy doing Ultraman Canada.  Should be some good stories from him next week.  Yeah!!!  Someone else to share the talking duties!!!