Update on the Knee

My left knee started to hurt shortly after finishing the marathon on Sunday. It never gave me any indication of being overused, or sore, or in any pain until AFTER the finish. I worked my way thru the finish chute and met Bonnie at the exit of the chute. I was still standing at that point and looking around for perhaps an ice pool but didn't see any for this race.

I did spot a food tent for finishers and told her that I wanted to head that direction. She asked if I wanted to sit down but I said no I felt that I needed to walk. The food tent was across a field so we started that direction, slowly. I took my time letting my legs and body get back to some semblance of normal vertical activity. I went into the tent and had two orange slices then moved on to find all they had left was pepperoni pizza, which at the time sounded like a 16 oz prime rib to me. I took a very large slice and walked out the other end of the tent.

I could see Bonnie waiting on me at the entrance and thought I would get her attention to come to me rather than me walk back to her. Then I did my biggest mistake.....I sat down in a chair to eat the pizza. I sat there long enough to eat it, and Bonnie eventually saw me and came over and sat down too. I finished the water that I had and began to realize that my knee was hurting all of a sudden.

I was panicking that I had done something to it in the race but could not remember anything that caused any problems on the course.

Well, my coach says that by sitting down too soon and bending my knee at a 90 degree angle that quickly and for a prolonged period of time I was pushing my thigh bone into the knee cap and aggravating the cartilege there. He says that the running naturally aggravates it some but as long as you don't sit too quickly after the race or sit with your leg bent 90 degrees or more that you shouldn't have alot of pain.

Today it continues to feel much better. I just have to remember to not sit that same way even now as it brings the pain back when I do. I will take his advice and not run until at least the weekend and maybe into the middle of next week. It's again my taper time for Honolulu anyway.

Race Photos

The Night Before: Our race gang, well at least part of the Edmond Running Club, Lissa, Julie, William, Cindy, yours truly and Bonnie. We met at a quaint Italian restaurant off the corner of 15th and Peoria and enjoyed pasta and good conversation. Some innocent bystander going in agreed to take our photo as we were coming out.

A loving couple enjoying time with great friends. We were both excited about the upcoming race, Bonnie running the Route 66 Quarter Marathon and me running the Route 66 Marathon, my first leg towards Marathon Maniac status in January 2008.

Race Prepartion: Remember crib notes in school? I decided that my feeble mind wouldn't be able to accurately remember the various paces that I felt I had a potential to run in this race, so I decided it was time for a bit of descriptive artwork. Tattoo artist I'm not....but they didn't run....while I was running and sweating.

At the Start Line: Papa Bear is ready for the gun on Sunday morning. I ended up not needing the headband/ear warmer for this race and it was lost along the way...it didn't make for much in the photo either. I do have to admit the smile was an unusual thing for me to show.....I can't remember what Bonnie said to get it. We started in the same chute that we would finish the race in a few hours later.

The Finish Line: Time lapsed photography and a wonderful wife brings this finish line dash to you. I don't honestly remember "dashing" to the finish. Somewhere just before this was taken I could tell I wasn't going to have my gun time be under 5:30, but I was pretty certain that my chip time would be...and it was 5:29:34.

The Medals: And...here's the end result, they have some of the nicest medals. The lady at the finish line asked if this was my first marathon. I explained to her that it was my first Tulsa marathon and first Oklahoma marathon. That at my one previous marathon they didn't have such a finisher's medal. She said with the effort I had made she felt I should have this to hang in my collection. She wished me well in my quest to run a marathon in all 50 states.

I'm equally impressed with Bonnie's Quarter Marathon Finisher's Medal too....it's very impressive and really more "shiny" than the one that I got. I'm so proud of her efforts and all of her support during this year. She has evolved into much more than what she termed early on as my "atheletic supporter"...yes she does know what that is.....she's my cheerleader, my coach, and most importantly....The Love of my Life....

The Long Report - 0ne Day Beyond

Well a quick check on what I posted yesterday, my knee seems to be better this morning thanks to alot of ice and ibuprofin. More ice today at noon I think and ibuprofin.

As for photos, I still don't have them downloaded yet and the cable to get that done must be in the bedroom and I'm not going to wake Bonnie again. I promise later today.

Start Line: I talked with a couple of folks from the Edmond Running Club (Joanne and Maurice) that were running the full that I knew would be up in front of me.I lined up with the 5:00 pace group for the start and at 8:00 sharp.

Mile 1 - 11:15
The start of the race was great. They let the elite runners go out about 2 minutes ahead of us, then it was our time...."Runners Set"......then the shotgun blast and we were off. I was able to run with the 5:00 hour pace group with real ease over this first mile. We ran over a bridge spanning the Arkansas River, so that was the first of many hills for the day, and was probably one of the smaller hills. After the bridge we ran west for a ways then turned north on a part of "old Route 66" the historic American highway, the namesake of the race, so we can say that we "Kicked it on Route 66" as our finishers shirts would later indicate. Toward the end of Mile 1 my bladder made it's one and only stop of the race, throwing me about 30 seconds behind the pace group.

Mile 2 - 12:19
Mile 2 started near the center of the second bridge that I believe was the Southwest Blvd Bridge, we were headed east back over the Arkansas River and would be turning right onto Riverside Drive. Riverside Drive is the long stretch of the race that will take us all the way to just past Mile 11. Mile 2 was catch up time to get back with the 5:00 pace group. My pace had fallen to around 11:40 if my memory serves me right. But try as I may I couldn't catch those guys again. I would keep them in sight up to mile 15 though. Still running strong.

Mile 3 - 11:47
During Mile 3 we completed a loop that took us back under the first bridge that we had run over. The significance here was that I got under that bridge before the half and quarter marathoners took off at 9:00 AM. Actually I was hoping to maybe see Bonnie but it was not to be. Again continuing to run strong. I was running between water stations and not feeling any discomfort at all. I started to notice bronze looking statues of wild animals in the grassy way between us and the river that was now on our right. I wish I had a portable camera to take photos of them as I noticed several other people doing. I remember deer, big horn sheep, bears, a seal, antelope, and others that apparently escape my still tired memory. I remember passing the turn around point for the quarter marathoners (Bonnie) during Mile 3 and saying a prayer for her and the other racers in that group.

Mile 4 - 11:46
Somewhere in Mile 4 I think it was we saw a woman standing in a large picture window with a very large cat. She had the cat standing on all fours and was waving with its forepaws to all the runners as we went by. A stranger sight indeed. There were also a fair number of spectators along this part of the course and near the water stations. Still keeping up a consistent pace to this point.

Mile 5 - 11:57

Mile 6 - 11:42

Mile 7 - 11:54

Mile 8 - 12:03
Somewhere during this mile I had a couple of guys catch up with and we leapfrogged for a bit then ran together until we were in Mile 11 crossing the bridge over the Arkansas River again. One had run many marathons and had heart surgery (stents) and the other...this was his first marathon. I asked them what time they were shooting for and the older gentleman said 5 to 5:30. The younger guy said he was shooting for 5, but he was looking at 5 PM. We got a good laugh from that. They were very complimentary of me when they learned of my quadruple bypass surgery 2 years ago.
Mile 9 - 11:44
I think it was during Mile 9 that I saw the marathon leaders coming back in from the turn around point. They looked awesome.
Mile 10 - 11:58

Mile 11 - 11:54
Once again we crossed the Arkansas River as we would near the turn around point for the race. I saw Maurice, Casie, and Joanne all running strong but going the other direction on the bridge. I'm glad I saw them it gave me a boost to keep going. The funny thing about seeing the runners ahead of me coming back in it seemed to pump me up some to run strong. For a while I wasn't just running with those around me at or near the same pace I was doing.
Mile 12 - 11:56

Mile 13 - 11:40
When I crossed the halfway point, my Garmin indicated 2:34:52, ahead of my pace that I did in the Lewis and Clark Marathon in September by about 2 or 3 minutes. Still running and feeling pretty strong at this point. I knew that I wouldn't be coming in with the 5:00 hour group so was now focusing on a 5:15 pace and this seemed very "doable" at the time. I didn't realize at the time that this was to be my last sub-12 minute mile.

Mile 14 - 12:23
Things slid a bit here with the pace, I think I was now moving into the 11:50ish area for a race pace. I was getting a little tired but still felt strong overall.

Mile 15 - 12:04
This mile felt like a bit of a struggle at times. By now we were back on Riverside Drive again going north this time. I was again running alone, chasing shorts in the distance, passing some, watching others pull further away. When the relay runners would zoom by it played havoc with my mind, at first wondering...how can these people be so fast so far into the race...the answer...they were alot fresher than we were.

Mile 16 - 12:02

Mile 17 - 13:03
The first 13 minute mile that I would do in the race, but definitely not the last. I could see the 5:15 pace passing me by even though there was no 5:15 pace group for this race. I made a vow to stay close to the 12:00 minute/mile pace that was needed for that though.

Mile 18 - 13:04
I'm not sure if it has any real significance or not but I was able to "clump" my times all pretty close together....running earlier in the 11:40's, then the 12:05 range, and now low 13's. Another significance of starting mile 18 was that Bonnie was supposed to try and meet me near the 18.5 mark where Riverside Drive intersected 61st Street. Well 61st came and went and no Bonnie. The next big intersection also went by, and I'm getting a bit worried about her race now...did she finish...was she hurt....but she made contact with me between Miles 21 and 22 and said she was at 61st street asking where I was and I told her...she said oops, it took her longer than she thought to get out of our hotel after showering and changing so she missed me, but I assured her that was ok and I was just glad to hear from her. She would meet me at the finish. Finally I have started to throw in some additional walk breaks in between the water stations, but I'm still running considerably more than walking.

Mile 19 - 13:22
5:15 was now definitely slipping away. I was beginning to think about the hills to come and hoped that I could maintain some sembleance of pace for them. During this mile we ran past a belly dancer providing entertainment but to be honest I can't even remember what she had on as we went by.

Mile 20 - 13:38
Each mile is getting to be more and more of a struggle now. I'm having to talk to myself mentally to keep going....to keep running when my body wanted to walk. I walked quite a bit this mile it seemed. The end of Mile 20 took us onto Peoria Avenue. We had been on Peoria 3 weeks ago for the Tulsa Run 15K race, so it was familar ground for me. There were again crowds of people out to cheer us along. It always felt good when someone would pay attention to the bibs and call out your name...Run Randy Run....well ok Forrest Gump I'm not.

Mile 21 - 13:54
Definitely doing some walking here. This mile saw the first of the hills, though the Peoria incline was very gentle compared to what was to come...the "Hills from Hell".....

Mile 22 - 13:52
This mile was spent on Woodward Blvd and Owasso Place and these people all must have problems during ice storms. The fun part of this mile was running thru all the colored leaves on the street. Fall has made it to Oklahoma and the leaves are painting the area in a beautiful array of Thanksgiving colors. I walked up most of the hills starting in this area. I thought I had seen the worst of them, but ohhh nooooo.....

Mile 23 - 14:06
We crossed over Peoria doing a weave up a hill that would make you think once you got to the top you had to be King or Queen for the moment, you wanted to stop and do a Rocky Balboa victory dance with arms raised...but there was no time...there were more hills yet to come...but this one indeed proved to be the worst of the group.

Mile 24 - No data
The tree coverage in this area was still pretty thick and for the first time ever my Garmin registered only limited data showing that I only went 483 feet for this Lap or mile. My Garmin stayed on track though overall for the chip time that I knew I was running, so it was strange to see this when I had finished. This mile started with a climb for maybe a quarter mile up to Utica Avenue, then a downward turn, with a rolling hill at the bottom then another climb up towards 15th Street.

Mile 25 - 14:03
It's funny, at Mile 25 we passed the Italian restaurant where we had eaten the night before, but I was sooooooo focused on trying now to stay under 5:30 I never saw it. I knew that 5:30 was going to be a battle...there were times that my mind would say..."just slack off you aren't going to make it any way"...that had to be the left side....then the right brain would kick in and say " don't back off you can still do it...we have some kick left, show them you are capable". I think I failed to mention earlier that I was altermating talking to God and talking with those Nigerians and Kenyans that often I find running with me as I zone out or hit a runners high....I was being pulled along by fierce competitors and a wonderful Higher Power, I decided I could do it. 15th Street had one last hill to climb and then it was down hill to the turn onto Boston I think it was. As we turned to Boston I could hear the finish line, basically 2 turns away. I was still struggling with the 5:30 pace though.

Mile 26 - 13:27
One more turn, the finish line could definitely be heard, the streets were somewhat lined with spectators again, many that had finished the course ahead of us cheering us along. I turned the corner and could see the finish line, the same chute that we had run thru over 5 hours ago. The clock was ticking it's red numbers at us, the seconds were winking by as we got closer. Still short of the mat I could see the blink of 5:30:00 and kind of lost it a bit thinking I had failed. I hit the mat at 5:30:39, but the chip time was 5:29:32. My Garmin read 5:29:34, close enough for government work and since I don't consider myself one of the elite that has to follow gun time, I give myself credit for finishing under 5:30...just barely.

At the finish line
I struggled to the lady that would give me my finisher's medal, then was a bit confused as to who took our chips and she pointed me in the right direction. Some guy in a red t-shirt shook my hand and wanted to know if I needed to sit down...I tolk him no I needed to walk for a bit. I struggled to put my foot up on the bar they had for the chip removers and thankfully they had a higher bar for us to lean on. Then someone gave me one of the thin space blankets, but I was hot and didn't feel like I would cool down anytime soon so I soon lost that. But before I took it off I went to the tables where they were giving out nice finishers shirts and asked for a Large. The man behind the table was told by someone else that these shirts were only for those that finished the full marathon. I looked at him and said I may not have alot of strength left but I would fight him for the shirt....I then moved the space blanket to let him see my bib and he quickly apologized and I got my shirt. He said that he was confused by the green ribbon attached to my medal. I got a "My First Marathon" medal since it was my first marathon in Oklahoma, there wasn't that kind of option in Missouri and another race buddy said that I should take it if they offered it to me. The lady that gave it had no problem with it.

Overall I feel good. This morning my knee doesn't hurt, I'll exercise it some today, walking but no running and icing when I can. What a taper run for Honolulu....here we come....!!!!!!!!!!!

Route 66 - Short Report

Well here's the skinny for tonight. We are back home, it was a beautiful day to race, it started out at 45 degrees at the start and finished in the mid 60's I think, little to no wind, AND it stayed mostly cloudy the entire time. Now if you could have just gotten rid of the Hills from Hell between Miles 23 and 25 it would have been near perfect. There were like 6 hills in that span that just kept coming at you....very overpowering to the mind.

Before I forget, Bonnie ran the "Quarter Marathon" there today and did a very respectable 1:27:32 which equates to a pace of 13:21. She actually ran this 6.55 miles faster than she ran her 10K (6.2 miles) back in October (1:28:22 pace 14:13). I'm just waaaaay proud of her for her tremendous efforts. She does all this while juggling work and putting up with me.

Me on the other hand, well I did ok. I finished going across the finish line vertically, which as I mentioned above the last hills were worse than the worse sex I've ever had.

Total Distance: 26.2 miles
Total Time: 5:29:34 (chip time)
Pace: 12:34
Avg HR: 153 Max HR: 167

I was hoping for a time around 5:15 but I'll take this time, it's 26 minute improvement over the marathon time (5:56) that I did in September. Even with the hills I can't really say that I saw a wall today, not like I did in September. I did get tired and I had to talk myself thru a few points but overall I had fun. Tonight I do have a sore left knee. I've been icing it and will ice again when I get done here.....what should I do with it tomorrow....more ice?

I do have a few photos that I'll try to get up with a longer report tomorrow sometime. The first leg of the Marathon Maniac quest is now history!!!!

Route 66 Race Day!!!!!!!

Well it's here, and it's 6:00 AM and I believe I'm ready. We are going down stairs at the hotel to grab a bit of breakfast at 6:30 then Bonnie is driving me to the start line. The race starts at 8:00 AM. We are planning on trying to get me to the start line about 45 minutes before the start.

Bonnie is running the quarter marathon (6.55 miles) and they start at 9:00 AM. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers this morning. We've also got a number of other friends that are running the half marathon that starts at the same times as Bonnie's race (Bill, Lissa, Cindy, Julia, Karan, Cara, and perhaps others).

Running the full marathon with me are Casie (she finished the Chicago Marathon earlier this fall), and Joanne (Joanne is our club marathon maniac and has run a number of marathons this year).

The jitters come and go, but I'm ready. Today as always I just want to finish the race without injury and secondary to that I would like to finish under 5:30:00.

Full report later today. Good luck to anyone else racing today.

Jitters and Confidence

Yesterday I ran with my run/walk buds and stayed with them the entire hour that we ran. They wondered if something was suddenly wrong with me. They seemed to have forgotten that I'm running a marathon on Sunday....yes as of today it's a mere 5 days away.

I'm getting nervous jitters...I know they will go away at the start line, or certainly by the time the first mile is history. I can close my eyes and see myself on the course and I don't see any struggles, even with the hills that are at the end of the course...these are the same hills we struggled over just over 2 weeks ago in the Tulsa Run 15k and I got thru them just fine then.

I close my eyes and see that dreamweaver taking me down the road, the tapestry is one of mile after mile filled with the jubilation of the effort, knowing that success is only steps away....I see that the pace is new, it doesn't come without some effort but it's there pulling me closer and closer. This feeling is so incredible, the journey to get here has been difficult, but the reward is like no other...what is truly incredible is that the journey is truly just beginning...moving forward, looking for ever to the front, knowing that I'll reel someone else in.

I pray each day for a safe race, not just for me but for all others, I pray for a complete race, and I also pray that I am allowed to run my best whatever that is for that day. I pray for peace and healing, feeling that by my running I am making a difference somehow, somewhere for others.

Is it possible to find that runner's high yet not even be on your feet? Not even sweating? In closing my eyes the visions that come are real, they feel so true, I am there, I hate to keep using the word incredible....but it's the single word that best describes what I feel. Is this a sign of training done to sufficient length to prepare for who knows what?

Yes I'm prepared for Sunday, yes I'm ready, yes I am jittery, but most importantly, yes I have the CONFIDENCE that I can compete and finish.

Monday's Easy Efforts

Total distance: 4.43 miles
Total Time: 1:03:01
Pace: 14:13
Avg HR: 120 Max HR: 141

Interesting Race Today - Strange Results

Today was a really different day, it started out in the low 50's with 95% humidity and very very foggy. By race time the fog had only lifted slightly and the temps still hovered around 55. It just wasn't quite heavy enough to say it was raining but you could feel the water particles floating around in the air, very different.

They started the 5k and 12k groups off together, don't ask me where they came up with the idea of a 12k race. I just know it was a good distance to include in my taper before the hunt begins next week for Marathon Maniac status.

I was surprised at the .5 mile point to have one of our quicker club runners shout my name...from BEHIND me!!! Well seems she had been out running before the race and had done 4 or 5 miles already. She ran with me for about half a mile making me feel good...that "I" was running with her at "her" pace. But alas, she said I'm going to take off now....and left me in her dirt...drats!!!!! In looking at things when we finished though, she only finished 8 minutes ahead of me.

I was able to run to the turn around point for the 5k folks and at that point I walked thru one of the two water stops, the other being waaaaaayyyyy out at our turnaround point, at the 6k marker. I ran at least a mile and then walked for a minute or less from that time until the turnaround. I did the 6k turnaround in exactly 40 minutes. I knew though that I had started very very fast for an old fart and I would have to really find something deep to get equal or negative splits today.

Well it wasn't to be. I did meet another runner that surprised the dickens out of me. We were between the 8k and 9k points and she came up on my left and said "Come on you are doing great". She surprised me to the point that I had to walk for just a short bit..it was unnerving. Then we seesawed to the 10k marker and she caught up again and we introduced ourselves and from that point we ran in together, finishing with the same times I believe. As it turns out her boyfriend was a former employee of my company and while we had never met face to face we both recognized the others name....strange yet again. He ran the 12k and finished in 1:05 I think.

Anyway as I mentioned the negative splits weren't to be for me today....my chip time was 1:24:09. Just 4 minutes off the pace for negative splits. My pace for the day was 11:10 and with the exception of the recent 5k training runs that I've been doing without any walking, this is the best pace time for a race that I've had since mid-May when I PR'ed at a 5k with a pace of 10:40. I calculated my 5k pace today and discovered that I had a 32:30 for the first 5k for a pace of 10:27. When you see the times you will see....again..for an old fart I was moving faster than I normally do.

Before I post my times...I want to say that Bonnie also ran the 12k with me today, she did a time of 1:48, though we don't knwo what her official time was and are waiting on final times to be posted. She did great, even though her pace today was slower than the 15k she did two weeks ago...I attribute that to the humidity that we ran in.

My numbers:

Total Distance: 7.53 miles (according to Garmin)
Total Time: 1:24:09
Pace: 11:10

Lap 1: 9:51 (woohoo...too fast a start..but it looks good and felt good too!!)
Lap 2: 10:53
Lap 3: 10:42
Lap 4: 11:44
Lap 5: 11:17
Lap 6: 11:41
Lap 7: 12:23 (this seemed to be all uphill on the way back to the finish line)
.53 Mi: 10:25

Overall, I had a PR since this was the first time I've run this distance....but I think more importantly was the significance of the pace I was able to maintain, that made me feel really good.

One Last Short Race

Today Bonnie and I have decided to run a local race that will be a new distance for both of us...a 12K. It's part of my taper as next weekend is the Tulsa Route 66 Marathon...yes I'm getting some of the race jitters already. I haven't run this week since Monday morning, but I'm looking forward to the race today. I'm hoping to run with a club friend, at least for part of the way. She's younger and faster than I have been in the past, but I'm going to make a bit of an effort to stay with her and see what happens...my plans are to run except for the water stops and to not overdo things.

Next weekend the Maniac in me starts to work it's way out...the first of 3 marathons within 90 days....OMG....am I truly doing this??? I'm insane....crazy...I know maybe even a MANIAC...I hope so....one step at a time...one breath at a time...

Mary...I have to apologize I got so busy on this trip to Colorado and had more people to deal with than I thought I would....several folks that I worked with when we lived in Midland that I totally spaced giving you a call. I will be back in Denver in a couple of weeks it looks like and I promise I will call then. That cup of coffee...especially Starbucks if you have a hankering for that sounds sooo good. I hope you continue to get beyond the ailments....

Bonnie...I can't wait to see you crossing the finish line today...you do so well in your runs and seem to find such great energy lately...it's truly impressive...to see my TrophyBride in these races.

Saturday Stroll

We did our last long run yesterday, a 20 mile repeat of a route we did in August as our final long run before the Lewis and Clark Marathon...this time I'm two weeks away from the Tulsa Route 66 Marathon. I feel like I'm ready. I had thought of going beyond 20 miles but I felt good when I got to the 20 mile point, tired but good.

The run was pretty much uneventful, I ran with one of my normal buddies for about 1.5 or so miles. We did a 1 minute run/walk interval up to that point and I was warmed up and ready....so I took off. We had water spotted at roughly each 3 mile point.

I was able to run to the first water stop from that 1.5 mile point, roughly 1.75 miles further. I only stopped for a bathroom break on the next three mile stretch and then walked again to get water. Things progressed that way until I got out to the 17 mile point and I started to get a bit tired...I never felt the "wall" like I had done in our 20 mile training run in August and during the marathon in September, but our temperatures were alot cooler yesterday, mostly in the 40's and low 50's.

***Run Update*** - I was just informed that I failed to mention that my biggest supporter joined us at Mile 14 and ran the last 6 miles with Clyde. She is such a trooper, even if she did get to sleep later than I did...Bonnie has come so far so quickly...she's registered now to run the Quarter Marathon at the Tulsa Route 66 event on November 18.

In August I completed the 20 miles in 4:55:14....yesterday I did the same distance in 4:15:31.....40 minutes quicker!!!!

Today the bottom of my feet are a bit sore, behind the 5th metatarsal on both feet, not sure what is going on there and I leave town tomorrow morning before I can talk to my coach.

Results:

Total Distance: 20 miles
Total Time: 4:15:31
Pace: 12:46 (woohoo....not as fast as some..but better than 14:37 in August!!!)
Avg HR: 143 Max HR: 160

Lap 1: 14:49
Lap 2: 17:50
Lap 3: 11:12
Lap 4: 11:49
Lap 5: 12:38
Lap 6: 12:10
Lap 7: 11:32
Lap 8: 11:40
Lap 9: 13:59
Lap 10: 11:36
Lap 11: 11:47
Lap 12: 12:13
Lap 13: 11:56
Lap 14: 13:15
Lap 15: 13:48
Lap 16: 13:20
Lap 17: 12:28
Lap 18: 12:12
Lap 19: 12:47
Lap 20: 12:21

***One More Update*** Splits for this run....1st half 2:09:15...2nd half 2:06:07

I've got to pull a 12:35 or better pace out of some pocket somewhere to get in under 5:30:00 in Tulsa. Can I do that? That is 10 seconds faster per mile than what I did yesterday. I felt strong to the end....my heart felt good, I never felt like I was every overtaxing anything....so we shall see what happens.

New Training 5k PR!!!!!

Wow do I feel good. I did this run this afternoon...one of the non-stop 5k efforts that I've been working on over the past few weeks on Tuesday and Thursdays. Well I finally managed to best my previous 5k time. I ran a race back in May where I did 33:05, it was an early morning race and since it was after the OKC Memorial HM I must have run it using the run/walk that I had started to do back in mid-April.

Today though I ran the entire distance. Granted this wasn't an official timed event, just the World According to Garmin.....I did the 5k in 32:33.....still no sub 30 run on the books yet...but just I did shave just over 30 seconds off my previous best. AND there were some hills involved with this run, not gargantuan hills but none-the-less inclines. Still not a "Marcy" paced run, but not bad for an old cardiac-fart.

Total distance 3.1 miles
Total Time: 32:33
Pace 10:30 (oh baby yes!!!)

Lap 1: 10:03 (almost a sub 10 mile...I've got it in me....)
Lap 2: 10:23
Lap 3: 11:00 (why couldn't I have shaved a second off this)
.1 Mi: 11:13
Avg HR: 155 Max HR: 168