Ok, this is going to make me sound like an idiot, but last night I finally figured out how to use the lap timer on my heart rate monitor (which I’ve had for almost two years) and more importantly, recall the data afterwards. Better late than never, right?
I did my second speed workout, and changed things a bit from the first one that I did two weeks ago. Then, I did 5×400 with 400 recovery, with the speed 400s at ~1:50 and the recoveries ~4:00 walking. Last night I did 7×400 with 400 recovery, but changed my pacing. I did the speed repeats in ~2:10, and jogged the recoveries instead of walking them.
I did discover afterwards that my measurements are a bit off. I run on a trail between the 1-mile and 1.25-mile markers, and it turns out that the 1.25-mile marker is short by about 20 meters. So…my workout was really more like 7×380. Close enough.
(Rich had suggested the marker was off on Tuesday, and it turns out he was right according to Gmaps pedometer. But the 1-mile marker and the 1.5-marker, where I turn around when I’m doing 3 miles, are both correctly placed.)
1 mile warmup – 12:05
7×400 speed intervals / 400 jogging recovery
2:05 / 3:17
2:05 / 3:20
2:10 / 3:24
2:09 / 3:22
2:08 / 3:28
2:09 / 3:23
2:06 / 3:12
1 mile cooldown – 12:02
My average heart rate over the entire 1:02:23 workout (5.5 miles which actually comes out to 11:21/mile — which is actually not a bad overall average! — perhaps I should run all my races as “speed” workouts!) was 176.
Others are starting to answer Jon‘s end-of-year running questionnaire, so I’ll take a shot as well:
What were your top 10 events in 2005?
Ten is a lot, and will include more than half of the races I’ve done this year (since I’ve done about 15). The links will take you to my blog entry about the event. My rankings are far more based on my particular feelings about an event and how I ran than how well the event was organized. Oh, and a couple of them aren’t running.
1) Houston Marathon (January 16, Houston). First of all, I did it!! My first marathon! And I met my goal time of 5 hours! I’ve never been prouder of myself than I was that day. 🙂
2) Rodeo Run 10K (February 26, Houston). I set my 10K PR at that race, a performance that came more or less out of the blue. The weather was crappy, I almost missed the start, and yet I still set a PR. Weird.
3) Marine Corps Marathon 8K (October 30, Washington DC). I always love doing races in other cities because the change of scenery is so nice. The course for the 8K wasn’t very exciting (mostly it was a long route around the Pentagon) but I really liked the finish. Climbing the hill to the Iwo Jima memorial was exhilirating, even if the hill itself sucked. After finishing the 8K I watched a lot of the marathon, which was also fun.
4) Yuri’s Night 5K (April 9, Webster). Shameless bit of self-promotion for the race I organize. 😉 In 2005 we had ~120 runners. In 2006 I’d love to hit 200.
5) St. John’s Reindeer Run 5K (December 3, Nassau Bay). Ok, this run hasn’t actually happened yet but I’m listing it anyway because it’s one of the runs I look forward to most each year. This will be my 4th year to run it. I enjoy the course (the neighborhood is one of my two favorite places to run in Clear Lake), I like the foam reindeer antlers they give you, and it’s well-organized. It also has sentimental value since it’s the race where I set my 5K PR back in 2003. Haven’t matched 29:18 since.
6) Uptown Turkey Trot 10K (November 24, Houston). The first race in Houston that I’ve done 4 times, i.e. every year since I moved here. I think the course has changed every year, but I like the festive atmosphere on the morning of Thanksgiving as everyone is happy to be with friends and family and have the day off work.
7) MS150 (April 16-17, Houston to Austin). Not running, but still a great event. It was my second year doing the ride, and I rode with Team Mission Control. It was just as fun as the first year, and I’ve already signed up for 2006.
8) Houston Urban Adventure Race (July 30, Houston). This would rank higher on the list if the weather hadn’t been so awful. Just imagine: July. Houston. Even though the race began in the evening and finished after dark, it was HOT and HUMID. I walked more than I ran, I think. Regardless, it was still a really fun event that involved running, biking, and figuring out the fastest way to get from place to place to pick up clues. Oh, and it started on the field at Minute Maid Park! I definitely want to do it again in 2006.
9) Seabrook Marathon Relay (March 13, Seabrook). I’m not sure I’d want to do the full marathon since it’s four laps of the same thing. But doing one lap as a member of a relay team was quite enjoyable. The Seabrook trail is one of my two favorite places to run in Clear Lake even though I don’t run it very often.
10) Koala 20K Relay (October 16, Houston). This race finally got me running again after a long summer of slacking off and being completely unmotivated. The course is boring, but I turned in a good performance, 11:00/mile, and I finally met Cassie.
What one person – or more than one, if necessary – inspired you to achieve more this year or to perservere or endure more as a runner?
This is a tough one because after about March, it really wasn’t a very good year for me and running. For most of the summer I was really suffering from lack of motivation, lack of inspiration, and a general feeling of being burned out after working so hard up to and just after the marathon. But getting to know the group of people now known as the Houston Running Bloggers inspired me to start running regularly again this fall. So that’s something.
What are some of your goals for 2006?
+ Run the Houston Half Marathon on January 15 and finish under 2:30:00. This is a far cry from my 2:15 half marathons in early 2004 (in Houston and Austin), but I haven’t trained as well this year.
+ Ride the MS150 and actually train for it this time. That means doing at least a couple long (40+ mile) training rides instead of just gutting through the two days without training. I figure training will make my butt and legs much happier come the actual ride.
+ Do at least one triathlon, hopefully Olympic distance (I’ve only done sprint distance before). Hopefully more than one triathlon. I really enjoy them.
+ THE BIG ONE: Maintain at least some level of running fitness over the summer (unlike the past two summers) so that when October rolls around and I want to start running regularly again, I can do so without all the pain and agony and frustration!!
