Costume run a day early

Sure, it's not Halloween, but as our friends will mostly be leaving town for Florida tomorrow, we opted to do it today instead. Besides, when's the last time anyone ran with Jimmy on Thursday? It was the usual list of costumes... nothing out of the ordinary. The sad part was the number of runners who opted out of the costume. No sense of adventure, I guess.

We ran 5, most of us. A few runners, those preparing for the marathon on Saturday, only ran 3. Well, Jimmy and Haley aren't running a marathon, but they also ran 3. I stuck with Miller and Rowan, and we hit a very slow one. Can't blame Miller - he ran 15 miles this morning. Me? I just needed an easy day.

I did get my lift before the run, so that's something. I think I'm getting used to the new pattern of coming right home and getting to my training. I sure am tired though, more so than I've been in a long time. That I think is an adjustment to pace and distance. I'm doing a lot more running than I have in some time.

Haven't seen Galloway in a while. There are only two possibilities: A) he's preparing for the zombie apocalypse, or; B) he's hurt. I'm leaning towards A, but I texted him just in case. Ah! Just got a return text. "Nursing hamstrings. Zombie-proof shelter nearly complete. Collecting supplies." You know Galloway - man of few words, he is.

So, Ironman Florida is this weekend, and we have several going down to be minions for the race in the hopes of getting picked for next year's race. Well, good luck to you all. Hope it's all you've dreamed of. 

Busted up, but running

As expected, the run yesterday had some lasting impact on the rest of my day. I was tired and sore, and today I awoke even more so. It was hard to hobble around work all morning, and any time I stopped for even a few minutes, the sore started all over again.

I wanted to run 8 miles in the afternoon. It was difficult to imagine how that was going to be possible, and even harder to imagine how it could be done under 8-minute pace. That may not seem important, but to me it is. Running fast starts with the mind, and you have to decide a bottom level for what you accept. If I'm going to run a BQ, all my stuff should be under 8.

Being that it was the first day after cross season, there was no rush to get out to the high school and start practice. This freed me up to hit the gym right away and get my lift done. After that, I came home and started my run. The plan was to get in 3-4 miles before the group run. I figured by then I would be warmed up, and Scott could drag me around like a rag doll if he wished.

The first part of the run didn't hurt as much as it was hard to get my balance right for the first half mile. After that, things opened up, and I was comfortable right at the 8 mark. As the run progressed, the pace dropped more and more. This appears to be a pattern.

Bartlett, Roy, Scott, John T., Jesse Schofield, and Trey Pemberton (two of the boys' cross members) were there, and we took off after we discovered Jimmy would be delayed. This I knew would be trouble because A) they would be faster than us, and; B) I would chase them. Never mind the long run yesterday, or how sore I'd been all day, or whether or not it was the smart thing to do - it would be done. I might get dropped, but I wasn't just going to let it happen.

They broke away about the church, and I let them go a bit. I was talking with John T. and Roy, but I watched the distance growing. As we returned to U Street, I knew it was now or never. If I didn't move then, it would be too late and the gap too large to cover.

So I caught them. I started asking them about mileage and goals, and meanwhile the pace kept getting faster and faster. We got back to the office, and still the pace got faster. I told them they needed to get comfortable at the 7-minute per mile or under level, and simply expect to do that all the time. And we went faster and faster. Finally, we were down by the salon, preparing to make the final turn.

I didn't know how much I had left, but I wasn't feeling too poorly. I decided to press the issue. I pushed the pace down hard. It wasn't full-out, but there wasn't going to be any talking going on. Jesse began to struggle to hang in there, but Trey... he was right there. I didn't have a lot left in reserve, and had he possessed the confidence to break away, he could have easily done so. We carried it into the finish, and it was a solid effort for both of us. Jesse came in shortly after.

Now here's the thing.. these guys have goals for the team next year, and the team needs them to be great. Talent isn't going to be their enemy, confidence will. Hopefully they will continue to run with us over the winter. If they do, well, we're going to produce a couple of very different looking runners for the team...

Not Buddha, Beddha

That's how I named the run today. Back up 24 hours...

Miller came to Nashville to watch the Brown County Semi-State. After the race we met up at McDonald's to eat lunch and talk a bit, and the conversation soon turned to today's run. I related I needed to get a 20-miler in today, and he offered to run it with me. Never mind he'd run 40 miles the day before (that's 40 miles, not kilometers) - he was willing to go. We talked about courses and times. Inside, I hated the idea of a Double-Dear, but the alternative was... Buddha?

"No way, no way I'm doing Buddha" I told him. He sat there silently looking at me. I don't know if it was because he didn't know where the comment came from or if he knew what would follow - both are equally possible. "Okay, screw it, I'll do Buddha!"

All that was left was time. He couldn't tell me when before checking with WinD, so all I could do was start wrapping my mind around the where. The when would come later.

We landed on 7 AM. There was a bit of time constraint due to church and our expected slower pace, so we set it up in parts and stayed in town. That worked out better anyway because it was pitch-black outside. So... we started the Dear Loop.

The pace was a bit slow, but that was expected. My hips hurt, but I hoped that would change over the first few miles. Right away I noticed I was leading out here and there, something I really didn't need to do. Noticing Miller, I fell back in line. The brain won this time, because the realization was if anyone knew pace, it had to be the guy running 150 miles per week.

The first 10 flew by pretty quickly. Near the end of the first loop, Miller started picking up the pace. We'd started the first 5 miles in the 8:05 range... by the end of 10 we were at 7:55. What would the second loop bring?

Miller needed to be done by 9:30, giving him time for 8 more miles. I took him on the Optimist 8 to give us options. I might have picked the course, but he picked the pace. Right away the pace dropped down to the 7:30-7:40 range. Maybe he was warmed up, or maybe he was trying to squeeze in as much as possible - either way I was game to give it a shot. I'd wanted to press the pace on this run to see if a sub-3:30 marathon was realistic. I'd been thinking a 7:50 overall pace would be a good target, though I hadn't told him this. As it turned out, we were quickly headed that way.

Here's the weird part... as the first 10 ended, I'd begun to notice a pinch in my neck. As we did the next loop and picked up the pace, I completely loosened up. Even my hips felt better. By midway through the second loop I was dialed in and coasting. There wasn't much talking anymore, but I wouldn't call it difficult in any way. After dropping Miller off at 18 I even considered running 26 total. I decided things had gone pretty well, no reason to get greedy.

Of course the rest of the day the hips were tight, but other than a little fatigue, I feel great. This was a great confidence booster, and I know now I can and should run a BQ. Thank you Miller for a great run!

Third 50 in three weeks

Man, it's a struggle. Every single day. Running is not the joy it once was, and every time I start a fresh running season I'm reminded how quickly my body's betrayal has advanced. My comfort zone used to be in the mid-6 range. Now I can run comfortably in the mid-7's. True, I'm not really in shape yet, but man, it's sure a lot harder to run harder than I'm used to.

Take the segments, for instance. The last couple of days I've run, I've come up on known segments and pushed. Let me correct myself: I pushed, but when I saw how far off I've been, I've flat-out gone for it. And still I am woefully short.

It's not like the times are fast - they aren't. I'm slow. Very slow, and getting slower all the time.

This is going to take some focused work to address, and a lot depends on how much training my body will absorb before breaking down... but I'd like to be able to run in the lower 6's in the 5-mile segment of Terre Haute next year. I'll accept 6:15 as close enough. That's probably a pipe dream, but it's a target, and that will help me train.

I'm running 20 on Sunday, and that I hope will confirm what I already believe - that I can run a BQ at Huntsville. 8:02 pace is all it will take. If I can discipline myself to hold 7:50 for the first 15-20 miles, I should be golden. That would be 4 minutes up, and after that it would take a total disaster to undo the work. But... I know a thing or two about disasters...

No running tomorrow. Going to Semi-State with my runner.

A compliment... I think

It happened the way I figured... it's been way too warm for fall. We've had precious few cross-country meets with great weather, very unusual this year. It all added up to exactly what happened - no transition of seasons, just summer to winter. SNAP!

Any of you catch that sleet storm about noon today? Uh-huh. That's what I'm talking about.

It's been bitterly cold the last two days, with the hard wind from the north/northwest. Being outside has been less than... comfortable. Tomorrow looks like it could be worse. On both of the previous days, my girls have finished practice with no clothes to keep warm until their rides arrived. This meant I had to put them in my car. Of course if THEY were in the car, I couldn't be... so I got to stand in the cold wind and wait for their rides. This has not been very fun.

Now if you're lucky enough to run in this, it's perfect running weather. I went out tonight for an 8-miler knowing it wouldn't be tough to run, at least on my lungs anyway. I went ahead and pressed a little bit on the first 4 miles, holding a bit above 7-minute pace. I still didn't feel too badly in the lungs, but my calves were twinging every now and then. Since I've taken mileage and speed up quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, I decided to back off for a bit.

I did console myself with a thought... I was on Hillcrest Circle when I backed off. I would rest, thinks I, until I hit Industrial Park. After that, I would go after the segment up the hill. I was way overdressed, I'm fat, my calf hurt, I'm fat, I'd already pressed the early part, I'm fat... I didn't care. I'd try anyway. What's to lose?

Lester made a tricky segment, because it doesn't end at the top of the hill. It turns north and continues until the next street. You have to remember this when you try, because most people will lay off as soon as they hit Washington Avenue. I was quite aware of the turn, just as I was quite aware my heart was about to explode at the turn. I kept pushing my fat body anyway, and hoped for the best.

That done, I backed off for a little bit again. My breathing came back down in short order, my pace still wasn't too bad, so I decided to go for Miracle Mile (the segment from Haircut Co. to Torphy Insurance). I was still fat, I'd pushed up Industrial, I'm fat, it was late in the run, I'm fat...

It started off better than I thought. The problem would come with my endurance, I knew. The speed was good enough, but was I too tired to top the hill by First Baptist and pick it up again? Apparently not. I hit the same time I hit a couple of weeks ago. I suppose I could be happy with that - I've piled a lot of training up since then. Anyway, it's not important that I have that kind of speed at the moment. I only need to hold 8:02 per mile for the marathon to get my BQ, and I think I can easily make that.

Oh, the Industrial segment? I was 2nd to Lester. He still owns it by 2 seconds. I suppose in the grand scheme of things I'm happy about that one, too. After all, if I DID manage to get it, Troy would have to figure out a way to run fast enough to take it away!

After the run, I went to the gym. It wasn't a lifting day, rather a core day. I was doing some core exercises, some of which I'm sure I'm doing wrong because I don't feel anything. I was a bit crowded into a small space between two fellows doing their thing, and I was crunching down on my abs when I heard a voice behind me:

"You're so damn skinny!"

"What?! You talking to ME?" I asked the guy. He assured me he was. Standard ex-marine, cranking the big weights, good size to him, but some of it was less than complimentary body fat. I think he meant it as a compliment, but I didn't care either way. He followed up with a line I think most of you would find hilarious.

"I bet you don't eat anything!"

Ha! Now THAT is funny! As Greg pointed out, I always super-size my meals. No, VO2 workouts for hours a week give you some leeway about how you eat, even at my age.

I guess I don't have to worry about getting too big just yet...

Getting harder and easier at the same time

Dang! What a great graphic! How'd I forget this one?

The body is old. Every morning I get up feeling sore and tired, and yet by the end of the day someone will show up and drag me through another hard segment. Overall this has had the effect of pulling my pace average way down from a month ago - which is a good thing, considering what lies around the corner. Huntsville is only about six weeks away.

I ran 4 with the girls team this afternoon, and it didn't feel all that great. The pace was way too slow, and the vertical pounding became unbearable. No matter - there would be another run later, and it would certainly be faster.

See, it's Wednesday, and for the past few weeks Greg has been pulling the pace down on the last couple of miles. To top it off, Scott would be there, and for the past few weeks he's been pulling the pace down on... every mile. Yup, the second run would be the hard one.

If that wasn't enough, the temperature has plummeted in the last few days. It was 45 degrees and the cold northwest wind cut right to the bone. The first run left me with a chill; hopefully the second run would be warmer.

Jimmy joined us, and surprisingly went the whole first three. Rand stayed with him, as did Roy, eventually. That left Scott, Greg, Miller, and myself launching off the front. I had no choice. If the gap opened too wide, I'd never cover it, because the pace was going to go up, up, up, and I knew it. Best to get on a heel and hold on.

Wit' da' Boyz

As the run data illustrates, once Scott dropped the hammer, the break was absolute between groups. The only surprising thing was Greg's unwillingness to go hard today. He had a schedule change of sorts, or so I understood, and he wasn't interested in hard tonight. Thank goodness for Scott, I guess.

It feels good to run that pace. Even as he dropped it under 7 minutes, it was so easy. I just wish I still felt good 5 minutes after stopping. Man! Even jogging across the street to go home... hurt. The price, I suppose.

Going to run after practice tomorrow. I'm taking whatever I can get.

So now it's Robin's turn

Sure, when Scott said he wouldn't be running tonight, I'll admit it, I thought, "Well, it should be an easy night". Robin had asked me how far I would run, I told her I'd like 8 miles at least, and she agreed to go - if I ran slowly. That pretty much locked it in, I thought. I was wrong.

The weather was the first thing to go awry. The forecast changed from rain overnight to rain in the evening, or possibly at the tail end of our run. I'd checked the radar at 3 today (wondering about practice), and sure enough, it was already raining/snowing north of Indy. It was only a matter of time until it reached here.

I began thinking, it wouldn't take much to change Robin's mind about going longer, and a bit of cold rain might be enough. There was also time to get a few in early (practices are shorter this week), so there was little to do for it but go ahead. There was about enough time for 3 early miles, perfect for the plan. John T. would want nothing more than 5 miles I was sure.

That part I got right. The only other runners to show tonight were Robin and John T., and he only wanted 5 miles. Robin offered no resistance, so off we went toward Hillcrest Circle.

Funny thing happened... I intentionally ran off and behind Robin's shoulder (she'd taken the early lead). I was very careful to not pass at all - the lead was all hers. It was her chance to run as she wished. Robin must have felt good, because the miles kept getting faster. Maybe it was the topic of discussion, maybe she was excited to be running with two such studs, but she ran harder and harder.

The conversation had been easy for most of the run, though John T., accustomed to running with his girlfriend at her pace, was working to keep up. With a little over half a mile to go they both got very quiet. We had dropped under 7-minute pace, though Robin didn't want to be told. This actually played into my favor, because the faster they ran, the better I felt. Rounding the final corner, heading into the finish, Robin was pretty much flat-out... or at least it sounded that way.

We finished under 40 minutes, which doesn't sound that fast until you consider we ran an 8:40 first mile. Robin spent the rest of the run making that up and more. I asked her if she still wanted more, to which she replied, "Not after I've run THAT fast!"

I assume there will be a group at Jimmy's tomorrow at 5:15. I also assume Greg will want some kind of quality work on the end. Just make sure you lace 'em up tight!

Scott's gonna kill me yet!

I've always believed the best thing to elevate one's running is to find someone just a bit faster and try to keep up. It's how I got started - who am I kidding, I chased guys a lot better than me! I guess it depends on one's appetite for pain. I've always had a big appetite (ask anyone who's eaten with me!), but as I've gotten older, even I've grown tired of the menu.

So I find myself chasing someone younger and faster, knowing full well the arcs of our careers are heading in wildly different directions. Still, sometimes you have to live in the moment, grasping what you can while it's within reach.

For whatever insane rationalization (is that an oxymoron?) currently motivating me, I have signed up for Rocket City Marathon. Why? Silly reasons. First, I've done at least one marathon a year since I started running again over a decade ago. Second, and this is a really silly one, I have the delusion I might qualify for Boston. The second one is all the sillier because I really don't want to go back to Boston at all. However, I've always been a person that likes to keep his options open until the end, and I would like to be able to change my mind later if there is just cause.

So though I'd already run 5 miles with the girls' team before arriving at Jimmy's (albeit very slowly), and even though my hips hurt like crazy (it's been a big week of training), when Scott launched off the front of the pack at the jump, I followed. Sure I cursed it, cursed myself for doing it, but I was completely unable to stop myself from doing it. This is where I actually acquire a bit of clarity in my thinking.

You see, if I really am going to try to qualify, I have to be able to run a much faster pace than I'm accustomed to for the entire race. We've trained as a group in the 8:45 range for a long time. My BQ is in the 8:02 range. I have to learn to run longer distances, and at pace. There is precious little time to get it all in. So if there's a guy on the front that wants to run faster, it makes it that much easier for me to do it. That's an opportunity I cannot let pass.

Scott's Run data

This run follows a typical pattern for our runs - a bit slower start, then each mile gets faster and faster. We're talking the whole time - at least, we were until the very end today, probably the last quarter was pretty quiet. Talking is extremely easy at 7:30, very easy at 7:15, somewhat easy at 7:00... you get the idea. That's terrific news for me, very encouraging - it tells me the VO2 is already there. I'm also beginning to find my quick step and stride, degraded though it is with age. It's getting easier to run faster than slower. And a lot less painful.

As I write this, and though I've run 10 miles today, I feel as if I could go back out right now and run another 10, no problem. I honestly believe I could. Giving myself another month of training, I can only imagine where I'll be then. My only problem now is working in a couple more long runs, preferably in the 20-mile range. My Holy Grail would be 20 miles at 7:45 or under... then I'd know for sure I was ready.

Gotta get up for that mentally...

It's been a big training week!

So let's see... in the time since I've been on break:

• I've run a 20-miler
• I've run two fast 8-milers
• I've ridden twice
• I've exceeded 50 miles in a week for the first time this year

Yeah, that's a big week. And yeah, I am sore in places, but for now, in a completely manageable way. Tonight Scott and I went on an 8-miler, and though it started out easy, it became a moderately-paced run, the back half being a smooth negative split. And it felt great.

I don't know for sure where it goes from here. I'm thinking I can do a marathon with not too much effort, so now the question moves to... how fast? To qualify for Boston again I think I have to run sub-3:30. I can't do that yet, but... could I by December? Right now, I think... yeah. Yeah, I really think I can. 

So the next couple of days will be about finishing the miles for this week. If I can stay healthy, by this weekend I pull the trigger on Huntsville. After that, the goal will be to get smooth running distance in the sub-7:30 range. That would give me more than enough to hit the number I need to keep options open for 2015.

YOU are no Bill Deckard!

It's been a weird week in a lot of ways, and I've juggled quite a schedule both at home and at school. I started to post the other night and got sidetracked - and obviously the post never happened. Here's the post I started:

"This week is jacked up with cross events. I had the meet on Tuesday, and tomorrow night is the middle school invite. I got no miles on Tuesday, and it doesn't look promising for tomorrow.
Tonight featured Rand, Greg, Bartlett, and myself. We ran the regular route from the office, though only Rand and I went the full 5. I originally thought I'd run a bit longer after, but Rand had some chores for me, so I opted to cut it short. It's no problem - I already have two 10-mile days this week, and as many miles total as I've run per week since forever. I'm running Saturday anyway, so I'll make up whatever I need then. 

I do feel good about where things stand in my running. I think I'm actually going to be able to pull off a slow marathon at least. I have two months until the race, so yeah, there's still time to get there. Next week will tell the tale. I think waiting beyond that point would be a mistake. I checked the Rocket City Marathon site today, and the signup list has over 1200 people in it already. It will close before long."

My line of reasoning was I wanted to wait until I ran at least a 14-mile long run before I considered signing up. If I couldn't pull that off, I would have a hard time putting together a schedule that would have me ready in time.

So I arrived this morning for the run, and the thought was weighing on my mind. My schedule was cleared for the morning because of injury on my running team... I felt it was better to get to the line more rested Tuesday than to risk another injury on a workout that can't do anything but calm nerves. With the extra time, it seemed a good idea to advance the schedule a bit and go for 14 today.

I'd spoken to Miller last night, and he said he was going 22 this morning. That was my ticket to the long run I felt. The morning was cool and clear, and there didn't seem to be any reason to wait until next week.

We had a bunch there - Allen, Denny, Rand, Roy, Scott, Bartlett, Robin, and of course Miller all started with me. Most were planning for 10, though Denny and Robin peeled early for 5. Allen's leg began to bother him early on, and he finished with around 8. That left the others to go for the 10.

So Miller and I started out for the second loop. I initially planned to run down to Mikels, but said "screw it!" and we turned for the 10. I reasoned I could always return straight down Washington if trouble started, or worst case scenario, walk. Little by little, the segments came and went, and pretty soon we were on the circle. At that point I felt if I could get up Industrial without too much trouble, I'd go the whole way.

We stopped for water, and starting again was hard, but soon the rhythm was re-established. Down 35th we went, and yes, we finished the full 20 miles - actually, the Garmin listed me at 20.35, which likely was more like 20.5. This was officially the longest run since Boston 2012.

Was it smart? Not at all. My longest run so far this season is 9 miles. My weekly total has been right at 30. With today's run I have almost 55 miles for the week. Stupid on every level, no doubt, but with this compressed schedule, I have little choice.

There is some logic to this. I have been keeping a relatively good level of daily training, though the bulk has been riding. As I've moved from riding to running, I've been able to run an equivalent amount of time. My VO2 is fine - it was never a problem at all today. My legs are sore, very sore. This is a big gamble I know, but I think it's the only way to make it work.

The next two days will tell the tale. If I can continue to train, I'm pretty much golden for the marathon.

Two, two, two runs in one!

I'll bet most of you aren't old enough to remember those commercials - and those that are can't remember them.

Biking is over. I put the back seats back in my Element, a sure sign I don't plan to load up the Kestrel again any day soon. Nope, it's time to turn attention away from the bike and onto the running paths. There is still time to pull one more race together by the end of the year, and I think I'll focus energy there.

Huntsville is less than 10 weeks away. With little time to accumulate miles, it appears now is the time for the ultimate test of a little theory I've held for years regarding the equivalency of training vis-a-vis biking and running. If my supposition is correct, the biking miles I rode over the summer should translate on a 3-to-1 basis to running. By that logic...

150 mpw biking --> 50 mpw running, added to 30 mpw running equals 80 mpw training.

If that logic indeed works, I should be fine if I can get my long runs extended enough.

Before you shoot holes in the argument, let me do that for you. Yes, running muscles and biking muscles are different - similar, but different. There is not a direct translation here. However, cardio fitness is a very good translation, and that indeed does seem to be carrying over. I have no trouble going distance at all as far as breathing or effort is concerned. I do get sore from running though, and that's where the trouble will come.

Good news though... so long as the weather is cool, I have no trouble even with the muscular part. There is no strain at all to go out and put in miles. Tonight I did two runs pretty much back-to-back. I ran 5 miles with the girls, then drove to the group run and ran 5 more. There was a short break between, at most half an hour, so this was a pretty good overall workout. It was no trouble at all.

Fast? No! But I could have run 5 more miles with no difficulty. Beyond that I can't say, but I have total confidence I could have. I went to the gym later and lifted for 40 minutes of continuous motion. Even now I feel good enough to run more.

The big question then remains, will my calves and back hold up to this crash course of mileage? If they can, I feel very confident I'll be ready in December. 

The pics are in

Is it just me, or does it seem Rand never gets in a hurry for anything? I mean, I see at least two other guys in the photo that are taking this race thingy kinda seriously.

There are a couple of things here I would note...

One: I seem awfully happy. Looking at the photo, my form is good, I look fit, and there's no stress on my face. I remember this guy being out there in a couple of places, and this was the first photo, probably around 5 miles or so in. The road is still damp from the rain that only stopped right before the race began.

Two: notice no blur on the spokes. This was a high-end digital SLR camera, and you can see how well the shutter speed worked despite low-light conditions. It looks as though I am posing there in perfect balance, when in fact I was cruising by him at over 26 mph. Pretty remarkable pictures, I must say.

Observation here: Rand looks perturbed. No "Happy Warrior" here, Ol' Charlie Brown of Biking seems consigned to fate.

Seriously, I don't know if it's the ride or the photographer making him scowl. Maybe both. The ride wasn't too tough at this point, so maybe the paparazzi cheesed him off.

Okay, by now the wind was starting to pick up, and was in our faces. It wasn't so easy now, and you can see by my grimace I was starting to work. You can call this a smile if you like, but it wasn't.

Observation: This photo was relatively late in the race. Can you see anything wrong in this photo? Look closely at the drink system. See how much Gatorade is still in the bottle? Had the sun come out, I would have been in big trouble. This is something I'll have to watch in the future.

This is Rand at the finish, and behind him, the guy who would outsprint him in the gate. I was yelling, "He's coming, go!"

That's a lie.

I was actually yelling, "And now, from the city of SPRINGVILLE, IN-dee-ANAH, RAND (and and) HAMMEL (ammel ammel)!"

THEN I yelled the guy was coming. Rand let the guy get right on him before he cut loose. I thought at first he wasn't going to try to fight back, but eventually he did. It was too little/too late, because the guy outleaned him in the end.

Observation: The run through the pasture was tough, at least at first, because the terrain wasn't very even. It did eventually get better though, although the last little rise at the end was most unwelcome. In spite of that, I was able to clear it and finish smoothly, if not strongly.

If I'm being honest, I could see the clock, and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw 2:11:00. That would have been fantastic all by itself, but the realization that I was actually 6 minutes faster blew my mind. Sure, later on I would realize the distances were a bit off, but at that moment, it didn't matter at all. It was a keeper, and still a great way to end the triathlon season.





Upon reflection, here are some final observations:

• Jumping into races last-minute generally isn't a great idea, but this sure worked out.
• Sometimes a confluence of events can bring you unexpectedly into a great performance. What am I talking about? Strava. Chasing Troy and KOMs the last few weeks actually acted as sharpening activities for a taper. I hadn't really thought of it that way until Miller commented on it. I said I'd backed into the whole thing and wondered aloud how that worked out. Miller said, "You were tapered." Spot on. In taper, you go fewer miles and less quality, but you still do sharpening activities - exactly what the KOM search did. I'm going to have to study this, because I may have stumbled onto something here.
• It may simply be that I didn't have time to set any unrealistic expectations for myself. With no goals comes no disappointment. How could a guy expect to do well this late into the season?

That's enough of that. Onto the next goal... can I get a marathon by the end of the year?

When does it get easy again?

We promised to take Greg to Industrial today, and we kept our word. Rand, Roy, Scott, Greg, and I headed south down Washington, a break from the ordinary, and headed to Hillcrest via Industrial. The target was 6 miles, first 3 easy, second 3 hard. Greg wanted sub-7 minute pace for the second half.

I didn't know if that was possible. I still feel pretty busted up after the weekend. I hoped after a warm-up I would loosen up. It worked, sorta, last night. The first part of the ride wasn't very easy for me, but it got better as it went on. Maybe lightning would strike twice.

We got down to the circle, which we did twice, and on the second loop we were off. I have no sense of pace at the moment, and since I'm so sore, I just knew I had to run hard. I took off and immediately separated from Greg.

This was not intentional or even desirable. I tried to use the Garmin to regulate my pace, but the instant pace feature doesn't really work for nearly a half mile after you take off. I couldn't trust the reading from the start, and anyway, they were jumping all over the place in a crazy fashion. I decided to just run hard and let it sort out.

The first mile rolled by and the Garmin said 6:13. Whether that was the pace at that moment or for the mile I cannot say. I just kept going. It was all over the place the second mile too, and I thought I saw something like 6:34. That was more like it. This mile was up Industrial, so I was very happy about that one. Finally, the last mile said 6:43 I think, which kept me around the 6:30 mark on average.

This was not easy, but it was not all-out. I felt confident it was a solid run, so it was with a great deal of surprise when I got home and uploaded the data. Man, the device isn't all that accurate, or at least it wasn't tonight. In that last three miles it had me at paces as slow as 12:11-minute mile. That. Didn't. Happen. The run was unbroken by any traffic or obstruction.

Anyway, assuming the run was a bit longer than it reported (considering two laps around the circle), and the crazy spikes notwithstanding, the final 5k time was 21:05 - way faster than the 7-minute pace Greg wanted, but slower than it felt like. What I'm going to have to do is run on the tempo course and see how it measures up to that. Then I'll know. 

New Ways, Old Plays

There was no way to make county line, and we all knew it. Darkness would catch us no matter what we did, so the only thing for it was to modify. Instead of riding southeast, we started off by going west, then south. Yes, we did the Amish Super 2.

Scott took over early. Well, John T. at first. We were on the Super 2 and John jumped on the front. Next thing we knew, we were clipping along headed south at a brisk pace. It was becoming clear that we would be riding line most of the night.

Instead of turning east at the end of the segment, we continued south. I graciously volunteered to lead the downhill section here (felt like Jimmy!), and after a bit we turned east. This took us south of our regular route, but not by much. We eventually wound up riding through Orleans near Huck's, then passed onto another of Scott's adventures.

We'd done most of this last week (or was it two weeks ago?). I think we went a bit further south this time, because I don't remember the hills. Or maybe I'm just sore, I don't know. It was pretty, and the traffic was nice. I will have to start including this area in my rides in the future.

Once back at 337 we decided we had time to go back to the Super 2. That would give us 25 miles (at least), which was better than the 20 we started on. Thanks to the urgency of Scott and John T's pacing, we were ahead of the daylight a bit.

In the end we made it in just in time - again. We weren't quite as fast as last week, but who cares? A couple of us raced over the weekend, so there wasn't much left in the tank anyway. It was a fun ride capped off with a visit to Jimmy's favorite Wendy's manager. We all ate, and then the party broke up early.

Tomorrow is a run. We're going to take Greg onto Industrial Park, which he claims he's never run. Of course he told us he'd never seen the Super 2 either - until he got on it.