LBTT 20 Miler

This was a really good run for me today. After getting called by work Monday night to be in Mountain View the following morning, the week kind of got thrown off. So, I missed two runs, and also shifted this run out a day. It was important to me that I succeed in my first 20-miler before Chicago. Which, incidentally, is exactly six weeks from today. The goal was to work down to marathon pace (8:24) and not go below 8:20. At first, I was disappointed that the run was slower overall than I'd expected (8:31 pace avg.), but then I see that I did a nice job of going out comfortably slowly, and then my pace did work down to where I wanted it to be. The fact I was getting much faster at the end is a signal I was getting tired. I stopped looking at my watch, and allowed myself to be pulled along a bit. But, I had it in me, and could have gone longer had the need been there. It did turn out that four of my miles were below the 8:20, but, I was just plugging along and really couldn't help it. All in all, it was my best 20-miler. I only consumed one and a half hammergels and one bottle of Gatorade during the entire run. This was perfect, except I had a voracious appetite when I got home, and made a huge batch of biscuits and gravy. Yum! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Blue Springs, MO Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 08/30/09 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 07:33 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 61 F temp; 62% humidity 61 F heat index; winds NE 7 Performance Distance: 20.00 miles Time: 2:50:11 Speed: 7.0 mph Pace: 8' 31 /mi Calories: 1737 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 04 +0' 33 6.6 -0.4 -- ft 2 9' 00 +0' 29 6.7 -0.4 -- ft 3 8' 44 +0' 13 6.9 -0.2 -- ft 4 8' 40 +0' 09 6.9 -0.1 -- ft 5 8' 35 +0' 04 7.0 -0.1 -- ft 6 8' 26 -0' 05 7.1 +0.1 -- ft 7 8' 31 +0' 00 7.0 -0.0 -- ft 8 8' 26 -0' 05 7.1 +0.1 -- ft 9 8' 35 +0' 04 7.0 -0.1 -- ft 10 8' 27 -0' 04 7.1 +0.0 -- ft 11 8' 31 +0' 00 7.0 -0.0 -- ft 12 8' 23 -0' 08 7.2 +0.1 -- ft 13 8' 26 -0' 05 7.1 +0.1 -- ft 14 8' 18 -0' 13 7.2 +0.2 -- ft 15 8' 22 -0' 09 7.2 +0.1 -- ft 16 8' 27 -0' 04 7.1 +0.0 -- ft 17 8' 18 -0' 13 7.2 +0.2 -- ft 18 8' 29 -0' 02 7.1 +0.0 -- ft 19 8' 11 -0' 20 7.3 +0.3 -- ft 20 7' 58 -0' 33 7.5 +0.5 -- ft end 11' 40 +3' 09 5.1 -1.9 -- ft Versus average of 8' 31 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Vroooom, Vrooom!!

The first comment I got this morning when I came downstairs was, "You look like a German Race Car." I laughed and said, "Well, not just ANYONE can buy the Brooks Hanson singlet!" The reply? A predictable, "No, you have to go to Germany to buy that." I nearly had coffee come out my nose!

What a great run with Rick Troeh, Travis Bailey and Dave Dawson. The goal was a 3 mile warm-up, nice and easy, 7 miles at 8:20 pace and then 3 mile cool down. Which translated into: 3 easy, 7 below 8:20 pace and 3 miles at whatever I was feeling.

Dave caught up to me at about 11.3 miles, and really pushed me (read: raced me) for the final mile. For the record, he beat me! But, hey, I ran the last three miles at sub-8:00 pace feeling fantastic, and was laughing my butt off for that last mile taunting Dave while running on his heels the whole way. I though I had him with 0.3 miles to go. Maybe if I'd shut up and concentrated on running instead of joking around and laughing I could have beat him!

What a fun run, I haven't laughed that hard in a while. This entire run was pure joy, and I am feeling great! Thanks guys!!

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Blue Springs, MO Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 08/22/09 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 07:16 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 63 F temp; 80% humidity 63 F heat index; winds N 8 Performance Distance: 13.00 miles Time: 1:47:17 Speed: 7.3 mph Pace: 8' 15 /mi Calories: 1133 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 26 +1' 11 6.4 -0.9 -- ft 2 8' 56 +0' 41 6.7 -0.6 -- ft 3 8' 52 +0' 37 6.8 -0.5 -- ft 4 8' 13 -0' 02 7.3 +0.0 -- ft 5 8' 03 -0' 12 7.4 +0.2 -- ft 6 8' 12 -0' 03 7.3 +0.0 -- ft 7 8' 07 -0' 08 7.4 +0.1 -- ft 8 8' 13 -0' 02 7.3 +0.0 -- ft 9 8' 05 -0' 10 7.4 +0.1 -- ft 10 8' 05 -0' 10 7.4 +0.1 -- ft 11 7' 54 -0' 21 7.6 +0.3 -- ft 12 7' 54 -0' 21 7.6 +0.3 -- ft 13 7' 10 -1' 05 8.4 +1.1 -- ft Versus average of 8' 15 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

No Compromises

"..because that's it right there: the thing itself is the absence of compromise. There are no... deals available. I wish there was [sic] some way to explain that. The thing... doesn't dilute."
--Quenton to his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, Andrea, in John L Parker's novel, Once a Runner.

Now, I am no world-famous miler, nor even a remarkable running talent. Nor do I truly stand out amongst greats in other facets of my life.

But if you know me, you know that I am driven. Driven beyond what is rational at times, and I cannot give less. It has been suggested to me (not just in running) that I tone things down, or take something less seriously. It is just not in my nature. When I commit; I am fully committed to the extent of my limitations and beyond. It's an all-or-nothing sort of deal. It... "doesn't dilute."