Where is the Garmin pace level entitled "trudge"?

This morning, I felt like I was wearing full leg casts as I started out on a surprisingly cold, Wednesday-morning 8-miler. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Monday night's 11.5 mile slog was relatively intense (although my pace does not indicate it), and my legs were still a little stiff this morning from the hilly outing (and the horrible sleep I got that night as a result).

I began my run this morning at a pace I can only describe as a "trudge." I headed west on the Creek, starting at Garnett, and when I hit the "Sidewalk Closed" sign at Mingo, I seriously considered just turning around and heading back to my car. Knowing that the sign was most likely there because construction workers had forgotten to remove it, and knowing that weary runs are some of the most important runs to embrace, I trudged on. Indeed, the Trail was completely intact and free of any impediments. (Someday, I will rail about how the Creek Turnpike Trail is the red-headed stepchild of Tulsa's civic fitness efforts, but not today.) One good thing about this morning's run: every mile except one (the hill at Sheridan at mile 4) was a little faster than the previous mile. My initial average pace was much slower than 8:30 min./mile, but by the end of the run, I was able to salvage things and come in barely under that bar. I keep telling myself that really, all I need to do is keep it at or under 9 minutes in order to hit my goal at my next marathon. However, it would be nice to soundly beat 4 hours.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 695 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 03/03/10 Up/Downhill: [+534/-534] Time: 05:45 AM Difficulty: 4.2 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 25 F temp; 84% humidity 25 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 8.00 miles Time: 1:07:49 Speed: 7.1 mph Pace: 8' 29 /mi Heart Rate: 158 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1039 197 bpm (Peak) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 45 +0' 16 6.8 -0.2 +42 ft 2 8' 37 +0' 08 7.0 -0.1 +52 ft 3 8' 31 +0' 02 7.0 -0.0 -52 ft 4 8' 44 +0' 15 6.9 -0.2 +62 ft 5 8' 24 -0' 05 7.1 +0.1 -59 ft 6 8' 22 -0' 07 7.2 +0.1 +49 ft 7 8' 21 -0' 08 7.2 +0.1 -56 ft end 8' 11 -0' 18 7.3 +0.3 -40 ft Versus average of 8' 29 min/mile

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108 Hours Later

Having not run since last Thursday morning, I was ready for a run of decent distance and effort. I missed Saturday's 20-miler after having stayed out too late the night before (best friend's 40th birthday), and knowing that I would not have enough time to get in any more than 8 miles before work on Monday morning, I decided to wait until Monday evening to run. This is the longest break I have taken from running since my recovery week following the Las Vegas Rock n' Roll marathon, and I was getting antsy.

My goal was to run 14 miles on my own on the Creek Turnpike Trail headed east starting at 145th. This section is particularly hilly. I headed out around 8:30ish, just in time to avoid being subjected to the DVR'ed final episode of The Bachelor that was being aired at the Posey residence.

I was tired, but started out at a decent pace. Despite the hills, I was feeling good all of the way to my hitherto uncharted territory a mile east of County Line, a path which took me all of the way to the NSU-BA campus. Once I hit NSU, the Trail ended. I looked down, and I had only run about 5 1/2 miles. I looped wide around the campus and decided to head back.

My overall pace was not as quick as I'd hoped, but I was well-winded and a little worn out, so I decided to head back to the car at 11.5 miles. Not really the distance I was looking for, but it did the trick.

Apparently my brain mistakenly thought that it was a morning run rather than an evening run, as I could not fall asleep for hours last night. Finally, after a middle-of-the-night rerun of Community, I dozed off for maybe 4-5 hours of less than restful sleep.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 663 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: -4 ft Date: 03/01/10 Up/Downhill: [+734/-738] Time: 08:34 PM Difficulty: 4.0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 40 F temp; 59% humidity 40 F heat index; winds N 9 Performance Distance: 11.55 miles Time: 1:37:12 Speed: 7.1 mph Pace: 8' 25 /mi Calories: 1499 Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 07 -0' 18 7.4 +0.3 +10 ft 2 8' 26 +0' 01 7.1 -0.0 -20 ft 3 8' 21 -0' 04 7.2 +0.1 -39 ft 4 8' 30 +0' 05 7.0 -0.1 +43 ft 5 8' 24 -0' 01 7.1 +0.0 -10 ft 6 8' 37 +0' 12 7.0 -0.2 +17 ft 7 8' 27 +0' 02 7.1 -0.0 -50 ft 8 8' 13 -0' 12 7.3 +0.2 -6 ft 9 8' 17 -0' 08 7.2 +0.1 +19 ft 10 8' 41 +0' 16 6.9 -0.2 +52 ft 11 8' 24 -0' 01 7.1 +0.0 -17 ft end 8' 29 +0' 04 7.1 -0.1 -3 ft Versus average of 8' 25 min/mile

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A Tough Reminder and a New Experience

Saturday's 18-miler served as a tough reminder of my first marathon last year in Oklahoma City. Those who know me know that it was not a great marathon experience. The run took me over 5 hours to complete. It was, to say the least, frustrating. The reason: I went out too fast.

On Saturday, the same thing happened, and while my takeoff was not nearly as careless as it was in OKC, I still ended up regretting it a little around mile 13. The first 5 miles of the run was a flat loop through Jenks. I could tell we had started out maybe a little quicker than usual, but it was not until the 4th mile that I glanced down at my Garmin to see that, at that moment, we were running 7:44. Obviously, that was not our sustained pace, but considering we were not even coming off of a hill, our average pace was, for me, uncomfortably faster than my marathon pace. (Maybe that's a good thing?)

Dave and I pulled back a pretty decent amount as we headed east down the Creek Turnpike Trail. After the turnaround on Garnett, my legs started feeling a little fatigued. I slipped on ahead of Dave at a water stop on Memorial (not because of my speed, but just because I did not stop and chat for very long). He quickly caught up with me, and I told him I was going to hang back, that I had already used up too much.

Once I had topped the hill west of Sheridan and had regained my composure headed toward Yale, I started to feel a little more energy. Trying hard to just ride this late burst, I focused on maintaining a steady, consistent pace, so as not to use it all up again.

In the end, I was content with my average pace--extrapolated, it still would have gotten me to the finish line in under 4 hours--but I think I could have attained the same pace a little more comfortably had I started out a tad slower and reserved more strength for the later miles. Doing so might help me through the last 6 killer miles of a marathon.

This morning, I decided to go to the Y for some treadmill time. This, once complete, affirmed my long-held belief that I do not like treadmills. I ran for 30 minutes (3 miles according to the display), and that was all I could take. I considered running another 3 miles around my neighborhood after I got home, but decided against it since I was wearing a now sweaty short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Also, I was missing another garment of clothing I typically wear (especially in the winter), but forwent this morning in order to experiment with what seems to be a clothing norm among Runners World Tulsa Facebookers--at least, among those who responded to a recent Facebook poll posted by Brian. My thoughts on this new experience? In a word: liberating.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 665 ft Location: Jenks, OK Elev. Gain: -10 ft Date: 02/20/10 Up/Downhill: [+925/-935] Time: 08:02 AM Difficulty: 3.9 / 5.0 Weather: Light Rain Fog/Mist 42 F temp; 92% humidity 42 F heat index; winds NE 5 Performance Distance: 18.33 miles Time: 2:35:26 Speed: 7.1 mph Pace: 8' 29 /mi Calories: 2183 Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 06 -0' 23 7.4 +0.3 -3 ft 2 8' 06 -0' 23 7.4 +0.3 +3 ft 3 8' 12 -0' 17 7.3 +0.2 -6 ft 4 8' 06 -0' 23 7.4 +0.3 0 ft 5 8' 22 -0' 07 7.2 +0.1 0 ft 6 9' 17 +0' 48 6.5 -0.6 +6 ft 7 9' 18 +0' 49 6.5 -0.6 +95 ft 8 8' 29 +0' 00 7.1 -0.0 +26 ft 9 8' 18 -0' 11 7.2 +0.1 -62 ft 10 11' 24 +2' 55 5.3 -1.8 +26 ft 11 8' 14 -0' 15 7.3 +0.2 -52 ft 12 8' 25 -0' 04 7.1 +0.0 +23 ft 13 8' 28 -0' 01 7.1 +0.0 +46 ft 14 9' 06 +0' 37 6.6 -0.5 -49 ft 15 8' 28 -0' 01 7.1 +0.0 +13 ft 16 8' 48 +0' 19 6.8 -0.3 +30 ft 17 8' 25 -0' 04 7.1 +0.0 -49 ft 18 8' 40 +0' 11 6.9 -0.2 -66 ft end 8' 23 -0' 06 7.2 +0.1 +3 ft Versus average of 8' 29 min/mile

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Racing Against the Clock

Last night, I had to charge my MP3 player. To do so, I use the same cable that I use to charge my Garmin (you can already see where this one's going). So I unplugged my Garmin and plugged in my MP3 player. This should not have been a problem, had I thought to turn my Garmin off when I unplugged it. But I didn't. So I woke up this morning to the "low battery" message on my Garmin. I plugged it in while I got ready for my run, hoping that it would provide just enough juice to get me through this morning's 6-miler. I checked it regularly over the course of my run, and every time I looked, it was indeed tracking me. Back at the car, I looked again, and fortunately, it stayed alive for my entire run.

I was happy with this morning's pace. One of my goals this morning was to keep my pace from dropping as I went ran my 5th mile. Mile 5 on my out-and-back on the Creek Turnpike is the section between 161st (Wal Mart) and 177th (not sure of the Broken Arrow name equivalents). There is a 79 ft. (~8 house stories) net gain that occurs over a relatively short section of the path. When I hit it on my return, I am headed west right into it. This elevation is one of the primary reasons I have shifted my running path to 145th starting east. I want to get to where running it requires less and less effort. I was able to maintain my pace, but my heart rate did jump a decent amount as a result of the section (and my speed dropped .1 MPH). Something to work on. As I hit this elevation, I normally think about the hills in OKC, and one particularly nasty hill I remember that immediately follows a pretty sharp right turn in the middle of a neighborhood, relatively early in the race. I remember hitting it last year. It sapped my strength pretty good. I hope to be better prepared for it this year.

This past week's runs (Monday, Wednesday, and today) have been pretty uneventful. This past Saturday, I decided to forgo the Poker Run, and I just did my own thing--11 miles to the Harvard hill and back. I ended up with an 8:13 pace for the 11 miles, which made me happy. If I could just stretch that pace across 26 miles!

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 667 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 02/18/10 Up/Downhill: [+508/-505] Time: 05:46 AM Difficulty: 3.9 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 25 F temp; 80% humidity 25 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 6.41 miles Time: 0:51:52 Speed: 7.4 mph Pace: 8' 05 /mi Heart Rate: 156 bpm (Avg) Calories: 760 190 bpm (Peak) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 10 +0' 05 7.3 -0.1 +13 ft 2 8' 14 +0' 09 7.3 -0.1 -19 ft 3 8' 09 +0' 04 7.4 -0.1 -39 ft 4 8' 09 +0' 04 7.3 -0.1 -7 ft 5 8' 09 +0' 04 7.4 -0.1 +79 ft 6 7' 53 -0' 12 7.6 +0.2 -26 ft end 7' 44 -0' 21 7.8 +0.3 +3 ft Versus average of 8' 05 min/mile

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A Revealing 18 Miles

Saturday's run started off...off. We forewent our traditional Veteran's Park HQ and started (and ended) down by the Riverwalk in Jenks. That off-ness was fine--actually good. It was a really nice change. The other off-ness was not as pleasant--at least, not for those who had to run with me. Typically on cold Saturday mornings, I will do everyone a favor and wear shorts over my tights. During my lonely weekday runs in the pitch black of 5:30 in the morning, I will skip the shorts. Apparently Saturday morning, I was still in weekday-mode, because I realized when I was about a mile from our new starting point that I had indeed forgotten my shorts. I considered turning around and making up my run on Sunday, but with last weekend's solo 14-miler fresh on my mind, I knew I did not want to have to do 18 on my own. So I stuck it out in my tights--my apologies to anyone who had to witness that.

The run was challenging. Dave's group is still pretty fast for me, and it took most of what I had just to keep up. At about mile 13.5, we hit the sharp incline on the turnpike trail just on the west side of Harvard. It pretty much sapped my remaining strength. Add to that the steep dips between Harvard and Yale, and my pace dropped significantly. I turned around at Yale and headed back to the Riverwalk. I got another little burst as I approached Harvard, and then coasted back to the tent. When I hit the tent, I looked at my Garmin: 17 miles on the dot. I was mentally prepared to run 18, and I knew I needed to hit 18, so I jogged into the Riverwalk parking down to the new construction a half mile and turned around.

I think my legs were still tired this morning, as I noticed a steady slowing and coasting. I had to tell myself to pick it up numerous times. My route was a little different this morning: a three-mile out-and-back starting on the Creek Turnpike Trail at 145th and going east. I think I'm going to run that route more frequently, as it is a very hilly few miles. I think I have gotten used to the hills at Memorial and Sheridan, and this morning, my body was having to kick in at different times, and that's a good thing.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 625 ft Location: Jenks, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/06/10 Up/Downhill: [+528/-528] Time: 08:00 AM Difficulty: 4.3 / 5.0 Weather: Overcast 37 F temp; 78% humidity 37 F heat index; winds N 5 Performance Distance: 18.07 miles Time: 2:33:58 Speed: 7.0 mph Pace: 8' 31 /mi Calories: 2145 Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 35 +0' 04 7.0 -0.1 -3 ft 2 8' 32 +0' 01 7.0 -0.0 -3 ft 3 8' 37 +0' 06 7.0 -0.1 +7 ft 4 8' 24 -0' 07 7.1 +0.1 -6 ft 5 8' 32 +0' 01 7.0 -0.0 -3 ft 6 8' 24 -0' 07 7.1 +0.1 +9 ft 7 8' 20 -0' 11 7.2 +0.2 -13 ft 8 11' 15 +2' 44 5.3 -1.7 +10 ft 9 8' 17 -0' 14 7.2 +0.2 +3 ft 10 8' 01 -0' 30 7.5 +0.4 -10 ft 11 8' 18 -0' 13 7.2 +0.2 +10 ft 12 8' 29 -0' 02 7.1 +0.0 -10 ft 13 8' 23 -0' 08 7.2 +0.1 +4 ft 14 8' 43 +0' 12 6.9 -0.2 +99 ft 15 8' 30 -0' 01 7.0 +0.0 0 ft 16 8' 19 -0' 12 7.2 +0.2 -91 ft 17 8' 51 +0' 20 6.8 -0.3 0 ft 18 9' 08 +0' 37 6.6 -0.5 -10 ft end 10' 00 +1' 29 6.0 -1.0 +9 ft Versus average of 8' 31 min/mile

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