Scott's Running Blog

Did five on the treadmill after work.  Had a one mile warmup and one mile cooldown and ran the middle three at a 7:54 pace (7.6 mph).  Total time was 42:58 (8:24 avg pace)

Ran west from Novell past Footprinters Park, out to Center Street and then west to the Subway (2000 west).  Looped back to Novell for a total of eight miles.  I did stop at the park for drink breaks on the way out and the way back, but didn't include that time in what's listed below.

Finished the eight miles in 69:53 (8:44 avg).  Split times were 9:02, 8:51, 9:00, 8:51, 8:27, 8:29, 8:16, 8:56. 

Ran the Art City Days 5k in the morning with my family. I ran with my 8 year old daughter and had a great time.  Only thing I would change is arriving on time - We arrived about five minutes after the start gun had sounded.  We stayed for the prize drawing and my daughter won a Kindle.  She's been reading all weekend. :)

Later that afternoon I ran 7.15 miles in 63:11 (8:50 avg).  Splits were 8:56, 8:57, 9:01, 8:52, 8:53, 8:23, 8:53, 1:15 (.15 mi).   It felt kind of hot (78 degrees), but wasn't too bad.  I hope the WBR doesn't get any warmer than that.

Ran inside on the treadmill.  After a one mile warmup I did three one-mile repeats at 7:35 pace (7.9 mph).  The recovery between the three segments were half of a mile.  Aerobically I felt okay, but my legs felt a little heavy during the intervals.  Dropping a few pounds could help with that. :)

Ran eight easy miles on the treadmill.  I don't remember the total time.

Ran on the treadmill again.  I did a 1 mile warmup, 3 at a 7:54 (7.6 mph).  I then started my cool down, but did run the last .35 miles at a 7:19.  Total time was 42:16 (8:27 avg)

Ran the SF riverbottom trail and then looped Powerhouse Road before heading home.  Total time was 1:38:02 (9:10 avg pace).  Splits were 9:14, 9:15, 9:05, 9:14, 9:20, 8:54, 9:19, 9:15, 8:52, 8:57, 6:37 (0.7 mi).

I ran 4 easy miles on the treadmill.  I had meant to run the day before and a little longer today, but was pressed for time both days and didn't schedule my time well enough. :(  WBR on Friday!

Ran 4.75 miles up the Snow Basin Road.  The first 3 or 3 and a half miles had a climb of about 900 feet, then it fell 300 feet over the next mile before climbing 100 feet in the last half mile.  Total elevation gain was 995 feet, total decline was 460 feet.  I finished in 46:08, with splits of 9:26, 10:07, 10:51, 9:08, 6:37 (.76 mi).

Plugging it into the famous Ragnar accelerator/decelerator table, that supposedly translates to a 51:45 10k (8:21 pace).  It was warm, but not overly hot. 

WBR Leg 24 - 6.9 miles

This leg was 6.9 miles, following a moderate climb into the town of Oakley.  Total elevation gain was 589 feet, with the majority in the first 5.5 miles.  Total elevation loss was 199 feet, most in the half mile between 5.5 and 6 miles.  The remaining distance had a very moderate incline.  Total time for my run was 59:52 (8:52 avg), with splits of  8:37, 8:54, 8:58, 9:23, 9:24, 8:22, 6:17 (.75 mi).  Plugging the time into the famous ragnar spreadsheet equates that time to a 51:15 10k (8:16 avg).  The run started at 6:41 a.m., and the temperature was perfect (mid 40s, I think).

WBR Leg 36 - 7.2 miles

I was feeling pretty tired come this leg.  Sleep deprivation was really catching up to me.  The leg had a 500 foot drop between miles 1.5 and 3.5, but much of it was on a dirt path with lots of loose gravel and rocks so I had to watch my pace.  There was a 250 foot climb between mile 3.5 and 5.5 followed by a slight downhill and flat finish.  Total elevation gain was 410 feet, total loss was 801 feet.  I finished the 6.96 miles (by my watch) in 1:03:25 (9:07 avg).  Splits were: 8:32, 9:24, 8:17, 8:56, 10:05, 9:27, 8:46 (.96 mi).  Plugging into the spreadsheet equates that pace to a 56:20 10k (9:07 avg).  I knew this run was slower than the first and second, but I didn't think it was that much slower. :)

Ran from my house down to the riverbottoms and explored the new dirt (soon to be paved) trail that leads to the trail near the river.  I looped around the trail before coming home for 4 miles.  Splits were 9:05, 9:09, 9:03, 9:16.  I think my last mile was actually the fastest if I account for running back up the riverbottoms hill.  It felt good to run again.

Ran an easy 3 miles on the treadmill.  I felt really tired, I think because of how little I'd slept the night before.

I ran six quarter-mile repeats on the treadmill at 8.6 mph (6:59 avg), with a quarter-mile slow job in between each.  Add the two mile warmup to get a total of five miles for the day.

I guess shorter repeats like this help to adjust to faster paces, and they certainly help to breakup the monotony of a treadmill, but it doesn't feel like the workout accomplishes much.  The distance is short enough that it doesn't do much to me aerobically.  Maybe I need to do more intervals, speed up my recovery pace or shorten the recovery distance?  Something to research...

Had a nice run in the morning.  I ran down to the River Bottoms and across the dirt trail that the city is paving.  Once I connected to the River Trail I ran up Powerhouse Road (looped Canyon View Park) and came down Canyon Road.  Total time was 1:09:27 (8:41 avg).  Splits were 8:37, 9:11, 9:01, 8:44, 9:12, 8:08, 8:49, 7:47.

I felt like my effort level for the first six miles was pretty consistent, so I was surprised to see the swing in times.  Much of the variance, I think, was caused by going up or down hills and whether my face or back was to the wind.  I ran mile 7 a little slower on purpose, and mile 8 faster on purpose.  The 7:47 was harder than I would have thought it should be.

I had a hard time sleeping last night when the rain and thunder started.  I have a son at a week-long scout camp who gets really nervous around lightning and I kept thinking about him.  I hope he's doing okay.

It was raining when I woke up this morning, but it had stopped by 6:30 when I finally decided to go out.  I ran on the SF High track so that I could get a feel for an 8:00 pace on a flat surface.  There was a great rainbow when I started.  The rain came and went as I ran, and there was lightning that drew closer during my last mile.  Lightning doesn't bother me too much, but there are a lot of tall, metal structures around the track.  I left pretty quickly after a finished - better safe than sorry. :)

The plan was to do a one mile warm-up and one mile cool down, with the middle 3 miles at an 8:00 pace.  My splits were 9:16, 8:01, 7:57, 8:00, 9:21. &nbs