French quarter
Originally uploaded by escapevelocity

It's a beautiful day today. Btw, those two cars nearly hit each other.

NOLA
Originally uploaded by escapevelocity

Flying over swamps just outside New Orleans.

All caught up

Ok, I think I've finally caught up with my running logs.  I've rearranged the posts on this page so that the running logs are in the actual order I ran them.  I think. 

New Old Shoes

This whole season, I've been training in a pair of New Balance 767s.  I've really enjoyed them - they fit well, my legs seemed OK, and they were MUCH more cushiony than the Brooks.  Well, over the past 2 weeks, I started developing some stiffness and eventual pain in my achilles tendon (first left side, and now right).  I though the symptoms meant my shoes were reaching the end of their useful life, so on Saturday I went to Luke's Locker to get a new pair of the 767s…..with just enough time to break them in for NYC.  I ran in them on Sunday and Tuesday with no problems.  But on Wednesday, I started developing a blister on the joint of my big toe.  And, my achilles problems were back in full force.  I have no idea why I was suddenly having so many problems - the last time I had a blister was when I was trying out a pair of Asics two years ago.  

So, long story short, I'm back in the Brooks Adrenalines.   I'm really not thrilled.  These are good shoes in the sense that they do the job and have never given me any trouble……but they're SO stiff and hard.  I've even tried looking for inserts or something that I could use to make the shoes feel softer.  Comparing the Brooks to the New Balance, the Brooks feel like I'm running on plywood while the New Balance feel like little pillows.  

But, the sudden achilles pain and random blister got me nervous about wearing these shoes for NYC.  I don't want to find myself at mile 10 with a painful blister on my toe.   I'd end up obsessing over the blister, and the rest of the race would suck.  So, after a long discussion with the guy at Luke's, I decided to play it safe and go back to the Brooks. bleh. 

My longest long run

Another reason I wanted to switch back to the Brooks ASAP is because I'm doing my 21-mile long run on Saturday, and I didn't want to run in bad shoes.   I'm nervous about the run - I was sick the weekend of my scheduled 18 mile run, so the longest distance I've done so far is 14.5.  Plus, if I want to finish NYC under 5:00 (4:59:59 hee), I need to maintain a 11:20 pace throughout.  Can I do it?  I guess I'll find out on Saturday.  

My planned route will be three loops around Memorial (9), then up Allen Parkway to George R Brown and back (~12 to 13).   I got more gu (Accelerade gu), a red blinky thing to wear on my butt (I plan to start at 6am, so I'll have an hour of darkness), and some Wrightsocks (known to prevent blisters).  I'm loading up my little MP3 player, and trying to take things easy before Saturday.  I'm flying to New Orleans tomorrow for work, but it's not a big meeting so I'll still be able to take it easy.  

Oh, and I need to read that damn Garmin manual again.  

(click here for full route map) 

Location:  Memorial Park –> Allen Parkway catacombs –> Sabine Bridge
Distance: 8.34 mi
Time: 1:31
Avg Pace: 10:56
Avg HR: 164
Temp: 75, humidity 54% (yay!) 

Tonight's run was one of my best this year, thanks to the cold front that came in this afternoon.  The temperature was a cool [x], with such little Houston humidity, you could *almost* feel some fall crispness.  The park was busy and crowded with people training for various fall races or just taking advantage of the cool weather.  

A little after 7pm, our group of about 10? Striders headed out.  Most were doing the 6-mile Jackson Hill route.  Chip and Matt were doing 8 miles to Sabine, so Maureen and I decided to tackle it too.  Thanks to the weather, I had a good start, keeping the pace around 10:00 (pretty good for me).   We crossed the bridge over Memorial and after a quick water stop, headed towards Sabine.  I turned on my trusty hat-lamp-thingy and took a deep breath before as we crossed under the disgusting Waugh bridge - 100ft filled with the stench of bat guano, and the sounds of millions of bats chirping.  Yuck. 

The cool weather was still working for me - it's amazing how high humidity drains me of energy.  I can't wait till winter.   We got to the catacombs - a stretch of gravel among huge concrete pillars, under the Memorial Dr bridge.  There aren't any lights, so it's pitch black and creepy as hell.  It would be impossible to run through there without any sort of light.  

By the way, everytime I run through the catacombs, I think of these homeless guys I surveyed for a research study at work.  I went to Sam Houston Park one night with the outreach team from SEARCH to administer health surveys.  Two guys were trying to be funny all night, cracking corny jokes and making marriage proposals to me and my intern.  Eventually they got bored and one announced, "Hey Joe - let's go down to the Bayou and scare some of those lawyers jogging down there."  (Don't know why they specified lawyers).  I said they shouldn't be scaring people, it wasn't funny and they started giggling like kids.  I asked why they liked scaring joggers and they said, "It's easy!  All we do is stand there, and those lawyers get freaked out."  One stood completely still like a statue, while the other started jumping and waving his arms around, mimicking a scared jogger/lawyer. Then they hurried off, saying "We have to go - it's almost 7pm.  All the lawyers are coming out."   Great.  In the spectrum of the homeless population, these guys were harmless….but I definitely made a mental note: do not jog along Allen Parkway alone.  At 7pm.  Especially with lawyers. 

Back to the run.  We made it to Sabine, stopped for a quick water break, then headed back to the Park along Allen Parkway.  Whenever we stopped at an intersection, I tried marking the stops on my Garmin by pressing LAP…..but got confused and gave up.  I guess it's time to RTFM again.  But otherwise, my energy level was still pretty good.  We skipped our usual water stop at Shell, thanks (again) to the cooler weather.  During the last half mile, I felt a surge of energy and was able to push the pace to 9:30!  Where the hell did that come from? 

So, it was a good end to a great run.  But, now two problems (which are hopefully minor): 

- Around mile 5, I felt a blister starting on my right big toe joint.  I thought my shoe might be too loose, so I stopped at Sheperd to tighten the laces.  No help.  I was wearing my usual socks, but I was in a new pair of shoes.  Maybe they need more breaking in?  I'm going to try some WrightSocks to see if those help.   I really hope it's not the shoes, especially this close to the Marathon. 

- Achilles tendon pain.  My right calf is painfully stiff.  I had been having problems with my achilles, so I got a new pair of shoes in case the pain was from wearing down my old pair.  I ran in the new shoes on Sunday (Conroe hills), and my legs felt great.  But tonight, the run was easier than Sunday but my achilles is throbbing.  Hopefully it's just because I was compensating for the blister with my right foot during the run.  I've been slathering Icy Hot on my leg, and now I smell like menthol.  My cat took one whiff, and disappeared under the bed.  ha. 

Location: Memorial Park track
Distance: 5.7 mi
Temp: 85, dripping humidity. 

Ok, they wasn't actually called Death Bursts, but that's pretty descriptive.  The workout was 800m kick-yo-ass intervals.  Run 600m at 800m pace, then recover for 100m, and then do an all out sprint for the last 100m.   Do 400m for recovery, then repeat. 8 times.  I barely managed to eke out 4.  

We started out with a 2 mile warmup, then arrived at the track.  It was so humid, I was already soaked by the time we finished the warmup.  

Started the workout. The first one was difficult, but I managed to get through it.  By the end of the second one, I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to 8.  After the third one, I decided I was going to stop at 4.  

My paces for each 800m:
1: 8:46
2: 9:33
3: 8:43
4: 10:19

When I started on my 3rd 800m, Matt ran next to me, coaching me for the final 100m.  He said to use the 100m recovery, and as I begin the final 100m sprint, to imagine a train conductor slowly increasing the speed so that I'm at my max at the end.  And remember to pump my arms.  So, as I started the final 100m, I focused on the gradual increase in speed and pumping with my arms…..and suddenly I was running really fast.  I mean, like reaallly fast (for me).  Like run from the cops fast.  I totally surprised myself.  I crossed the line marker, and started my recovery (aka, gasping for air and fighting the urge to lie down in the grass).  Matt ran past, and I'm pretty sure he said something really encouraging, but my brain wasn't registering.   He's really a great coach, and I really appreciate the motivational instructions/tips - he really helps me pull out more effort that I didn't know was there.  I'm sure when I'm finishing NYC, I'll hear him saying "pump those arms!"  

I tried a 4th interval, but I was done.  The last interval was more of a recovery lap than anything else, and while the last 100m was nowhere near the effort of the previous one, I started seeing spots at the end.   hmm, not good.  I flopped onto the bench and stayed put until everyone was done.  The humidity, and that crazy sprint, zapped everything out of me.  Even Hoang said he was drained.  I would have been happy to lie down on the bench for a quick nap. 

Despite the humidity, it was a good workout.  I partly dread Chip's workouts because they're usually really hard - but ultimately, I know those will make me a better runner.   

Check out the super-cool speed graph generated by Garmin for the intervals.  Notice the overall drop in speed over each interval.  Garmin rocks. 

This is one of the best purchases I've made in a long time, thanks to fellow SMARTies Maureen and Bessie.  It's clips securely onto a hat visor, and uses 5 super-bright LED bulbs that are prefect for running along dark, bumpy trails at night.  Plus, it helps me be more visible to cars, which is important since for most Houston drivers, the only things on the roads are them, small mammals (which are usually smushed) and other cars.   Check out a great review at one of my favorite gear sites.  

Location - Conroe, TX
Distance - approx 9.5 (had Garmin woes again)
Temp - 74
Avg HR - 151
Pace - 12:43

Went up to Conroe for some hill work.  I was late getting to Memorial, so I headed on up to Conroe.  I made it to the meeting spot at the church parking lot, but didn't see any cars…..worried that I was in the wrong place, I drove further up the road but found no other church. I turned around and the others were arriving just as I pulled back in.  Turns out Matt and Bill (?) had waited for me back at Memorial (sorry!!!).  

Barb and I decided to start before the others.  But before we left, Steeeve gave a warning about the route - "there's no shoulder, and you'll probably get yelled at by angry fishermen."  Ok, I thought, this is going to be interesting. 

So, when Barb said there were some big hills in Conroe, she wasn't kidding.  The first two hills were a little intimidating - they were so high, cars would appear on one peak, then disappear for a minute until they reappeared on the next peak.  Definitely not the hills we have in the city. 

But, I actually didn't mind the hills as much as the drivers.  Steeve was right about the lack of any shoulder to run on - it was either the road, or bumpy grass.  And while we didn't encounter any angry fishermen, we did dodge a number of pickup trucks speeding past us.  The scariest parts were the tops of the hills - I kept worrying a truck would come flying over top, giving us miliseconds to scramble off the road.  

The group of fast runners veered off to do more hills (showoffs :P), and Barb and I turned off into a neighborhood with pricey-looking homes.  The neighborhood was built on a slope, so although we didn't encounter any more steepish hills, it was still an effort.   The neighborhood was peaceful and quiet - at one point, we saw a mother deer with three babies crossing the road.  Later on, Carrie spotted another deer munching on grass in someone's yard.  Made for a nice run. 

After we finished the run, my legs felt great.  No pain in the achilles.  I figured it was the worn out shoes after all.  Too bad it wouldn't last, though.  

Afterwards, we went to Ryan's for breakfast buffet.  I ended up missing the exit on the way there.  Great.