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By BrianFlash, on June 30th, 2009
The Thursday session with Fleet Feet is being prempted this week so that I can attend the Bob Dylan concert. He’s appearing with John Mellancamp and Willie Nelson – three legends appearing in a minor league baseball stadium general admission concert. I’m pumped – these are three guys I would like to see before they die. While Bob is fairly incomprensible at this point, he can make me happy forever if he just performs ‘Highway 61.’
God said to Abraham “Kill me a son.”
Abe said “Man are you putting me on?”
God said “No.”
Abe said “What?”
God said “Abe you can do what you want but the next time you see me coming you better run.”
Abe said “Where do you want this killing done?”
God said “Out on Highway 61″
Genius.
So as to not miss my lovely intervals, I did my workout yesterday. 12 x 400 meters. Without a Garmin, I would never be able to keep track of running that many laps. My average time for the intervals was 6:49/mile pace, or about 1:42.25 per 400 for you mathmatically challenged. By the eighth interval I felt like I was crawling around the track, but even my slowest interval was faster then 2:00. The MLB All Star Game 5K is in 2 1/2 weeks and I’ve got 22 minutes on the mind!
By BrianFlash, on June 25th, 2009
Okies – we knocked out our near oven condition intervals tonight. Jason and I went over to the track and ran into 125 of our closest friends. How all these people keep showing up for this self abuse is completely beyond me. Runners are masters of self inflicted agony.
Given the heat, my intervals were amazingly good. My per mile paces for the 1000 meters of death were 6:58, 6:59, 7:08, 7:17, and 7:24. Jason admittedly didn’t have a good evening, but he stuck with it and ran all five.
I’m getting faster I think – after the somewhat poor easy workouts, its good to know I can still turn over some decent intervals. Maybe that 22 minute 5K is in my future!
By BrianFlash, on June 24th, 2009
A rule of thumb I’ve heard is that after 10 workouts, you become acclimated to the climate. I’ve always questioned just what the heck this means. No matter how ‘acclimated’ I get, there is no way I’m running as fast in 90 degree heat that I can run in 50 degree cool. And I’ve wondered about those 10 workouts. Do they have to be consecutive? “Damn – a cool day – there goes all that work!” Do I need to reacclimate when the weather cools off? I call shenanigans on this whole acclimation thing!
One thing for sure though, when the run is over, I’m amazed at how cool it is. Any little breeze is fantastic and the shade is like standing in a walk in cooler in Yellow Knife. Also, I mowed my grass yesterday and it was a cool paradise – even though the temp was over 90 while I was pushing that mower around masticating my multi specie lawn. As long as I don’t run, I love the heat…
That said, today was my fifth consecutive high heat run. I did a 4.5 mile hilly route at a 10:03 pace. Still slow, but my heart rate was better then this weekend and the pace was a bit faster. Jason and I will go for hot workout #6 tomorrow. We’ve got 5 x 1000 with the Fleet Feet crowd. Should be like our own little slice of Hades…
By BrianFlash, on June 22nd, 2009
On Saturday morning in our lovely Midwest weather, Jason, Kathy, and I did a six mile jaunt thru Forest Park. Jason and I ran together with Kathy doing her own pace. The heat about killed me – I just couldn’t stay on a reasonable pace without the heart rate creeping into the “no longer good for you” zone. While this was my first ‘long’ run (if six miles is a long run) since the St. Louis marathon, it was still way too difficult. My average pace was 10:10 per mile – ugh. Since this is probably only about my third hot workout, I’ll blame the heat.
Team Flash then took the Flash patriarch (and Mom also) out for dinner on Saturday night. We went to a Brazilian style steakhouse, Bacana, to indulge. For those of you who haven’t eaten at a Brazilian steakhouse, I’ll give you a heads up. Be ready to eat meat! The sides and salads are in a buffet. Then servers continually roam around the restarant with hunks of meat on sticks. They just keep the flesh coming as long as you leave your table sign as a go! So, I had chicken, beef, lamb, pork, shrimp, and pineapple from the skewers. Enough protein was ingested by Team Flash to ensure any muscle related damage would be repaired. For myself, the meal added substantially to the goo mass conveniently located on top of my abs. I also had Xingu, a Brazilian dark beer that went very well with the meat, that is scientifically designed to increase your body fat percentage. A good time was had by all, but especially me as I talked Jason into picking up half the bill.
By BrianFlash, on June 18th, 2009
Well – Team Flash (Jason, Kathy, and I) braved the heat and went out to run intervals with the Fleet Feet interval crew this evening. At 7 PM, outside temperature, 90 degrees F; humidity – pretty high. The humidity and heat was high enough to push the dreaded heat index to 102. Did that keep the crowd down? Nope! Still over 100 people came out to abuse themselves on the burning oval of hell.
We knocked the workout out though. The intervals were 400, 800, 1200, 1200, 800, 400. My per mile paces for the intervals: 6:05, 6:45, 7:11, 7:37, 7:42, 6:32. Note that the second 1200 and 800 were pretty slow – I just had to back it off because the heart was approaching somewhat unsafe levels and the heat was really oppressive. My average heart rate for the second 1/2 mile was 180. Just a bit slower overall then last week, but the weather conditions had everything to do with that.
Am I getting faster – who knows? I’ve got a 5K in mid July and we have a one mile time trial for the last workout of the summer. The results of those should be telling…
By BrianFlash, on June 17th, 2009
Since I’m planning to bang out two Service marathons this fall, I thought I should develop a little more structured training program. I think more structure is a pretty natural evolution of training for me since I’m data and detail oriented. However, when I started running again (after my two decade hiatus), my training plan was unsophisticated. In fact, while training for the Country Music 1/2 Marathon, my training basically consisted of attempting to run more miles (and at a faster pace) then I did the week before. So, for example, if I knocked off 5 miles on Tuesday, I tried to run 5.5 miles the next Tuesday (and at a faster per mile pace if possible). While this did get me thru the half marathon, it probably wasn’t the most effective training technique.
So, while getting ready for the Austin Marathon, I had a more specific plan. I used the ‘Runner’s World’ online calculator to put together a four day a week running plan. So I followed that, until my IT band saga. Then I just tried to get miles in without hurting myself too much. Between the Austin marathon and the Go! St. Louis run, I followed a training plan I wrote up on a McDonald’s restaurant napkin while driving to work one day. Literally, I used the steering wheel as a support for the napkin while cruising interstate 64 to work. Here’s that master work of training planning:
But, it got me to the finish in a sub 5 hour time so I’m not complaining.
Now, though, since I’m training for races honoring our nation’s military, I thought I should have a more structured approach. So, here’s the most detailed training plan I’ve put together to date (using that noted planning software, Excel):
There’s more detail behind this plan such as the heart rates and paces that I want to achieve, but what you are looking at is what is on my refrigerator! Note that those off days on Tuesday and Friday will contain some cross training activities – notably core strengthening routines and/or yoga. Kathy is training in parallel – not quite as many miles but still aiming for that 5 hour Marine Corps Marathon.
By BrianFlash, on June 15th, 2009
After some fits and starts we have an official Team Flash race schedule for the fall, before the Marine Corps marathon.
Kathy and I were thinking about going to Ireland for a 9 day September vacation and Brian had his sights set on the Dingle marathon. But it kind of seemed like nine days weren’t enough to give Ireland a fair viewing and I don’t have enough vacation days to extend the trip any further. So, we’ve wiped it off the list. Not to worry Dingle, as the governator says, I’ll be back!
With that cleared up, all routes point to the Lewis and Clark half marathon right here in St. Charles, MO. It is perfectly scheduled, six weeks before the Marine Corps marathon. Jason was already thinking about this race and Kathy definitely wanted to take part. By running in it during the same calendar year as the Go! St. Louis race, you get an additional medal for appearing in both races. Three medals for the pain of two – nice.
Only one problem – I don’t know how many marathons/half marathons are in these legs. Yes – I’ve rested them for 24 years, but who knows how many more races are in those pins? I hate to miss the opportunity to add another state to my ‘ran-in’ column. So, I turned to Marathon Guide looking for a marathon that meets two simple criteria: 1) Not in Missouri or Texas, and 2) Easy driving distance from St. Louis. Well, there is a nice race near Dayton, Ohio, about a six hour drive away, The United States Air Force Marathon. So, my plan is to run that marathon as fast as I can (and use that time as my Comrade’s qualifier), then five weeks later help Kathy cruise thru the Marine Corps Marathon. Two service marathons in five weeks – pretty sweet!
Now its time to put together a training plan. I’ve already got the germ of one, but now it needs a little refinement. I’ll work that bad boy up and present it here in a few days.
Oh yeah – five tempo miles this evening in 80 degree weather with 90% humidity. 8:33 pace. That sucked.
By BrianFlash, on June 13th, 2009
Kathy and Brian participated in this event today. For those of you living in Lower Slobovia and who haven’t heard of this charity, this foundation raises money to support awareness, research, and treatment for brest cancer. It was started in 1982 in memory of Susan G. Komen by her younger sister and has raised over $1 billion in its 27 year history. Quite an impressive growth for a charity!
This race was the eleventh annual held in St. Louis. Over 66,000 runners showed up this year for the event! Unbelievable I know, but media verification here. Talk about a crowded 5K! We got downtown at about 7AM and the crowd was already unbelievable. Without going into a lot of detail, our main goal after arriving was to get to our team (Team Boeing) rendezvous, participate in the team picture (with 999 other team Boeings), and then get over to the starting area for the 8:35AM runners start. There were tons of sponsers giving out free stuff, but the only thing I got was some eye black stickers from New Balance that were pink. Eye pinks? I was fierce regardless of the questionable utility of such items. After maneuvering through the crowd, we slotted ourselves into the 10 minute pace area and got ready to go. You runners already know what happened, but I’ll detail below:
Race start! Surge toward start. Come to complete stop. Walk a bit. Surge toward start again. Start walking until crossing the starting line. Begin running. Stop almost immediately. Begin zigzagging around human pylons like an aircraft carrier avoiding dive bombers! People walking after 100 yards of extreme effort. Stopping. Walking. Running. Repeat. Hence my title above – this was less a race and more an effort to get thru the course. However, after 1/2 mile the crowd began to break up and we were able to start cruising at about a 9:30 pace. Starting at 14th Street, the course was a nice out on Olive and back on Market. For those of you that know St. Louis, this course has two nice little hills. Kathy and I finished in 31:08, almost dead nuts on our anticipated 10 minute mile pace.
This was a long way from a competitive race (no chip timing, no age awards – just survivors and others), but it was quite a spectacle just seeing 66,000 people piled into the streets of St. Louis and a great charity to support. Next year I’ll start closer to the start to avoid the worst of the human pylons and I plan to dress in a pink frock and pink wig, or some other majorly pinkish costume.
By BrianFlash, on June 12th, 2009
I absolutely love Viper‘s referral to the track as “The Circle of Doom.” Intervals are not fun and that pretty much sums up the agony associated with them. That said, running with the Fleet Feet’s summer interval program makes running them fairly entertaining. As I explained last week, this summer program features speed workouts on a local track every Thursday. For some completely crazy reason, around 150 people show up for these workouts. People had asked me what 150 people running intervals looks like. Well, here’s you go:
To be fair, the intervals hadn’t quite started yet – otherwise, how could I have taken a picture? I ran these bad boys too! Jason joined me for this workout, which consisted of warm up and then 2 x 1200, 2 x 800, and 2 x 400; creatively named ‘ladder downs.’
My minutes per mile pace for the intervals:
1200s – 7:13 and 7:08, 800s – 7:00 and 7:03, 400s – 6:33 and 6:10
Jason also had good runs – not quite as fast as me – but as he ‘forgot’ his Garmin, there is no evidence of his good workout; except for sore legs today.
As a point of order – most people have no idea how to run intervals. As you all know, you are supposed to jog around and recover between runs. In fact, the Fleet Feet coach in attendance made this very point in the preworkout pep talk. But at least 80% of the jokers out there blast their interval, then stand around, towel off, drink water, etc. until the next interval starts. Jason and I timed our recovery runs to perfection, finishing the recovery up just before the next interval was to start. In fact, on most of them we were jogging up to the starting area when the gun went off for the next interval. Total perfection on the part of Team Flash. We might not be as fast as these other runners, but we know what we are doing!
By BrianFlash, on June 8th, 2009
Team Flash had a pretty nice weekend of activities leading up to a nearly superhuman effort in the Make Tracks for the Zoo 5K.
On Friday night, the Team (in order to build camaraderie), went to Shakespeare in the Park in Forest Park. Each year, for a three week period, the fine citizens of St. Louis are presented with nightly free performances of one of the bard’s plays. This year the play was the Merry Wives of Windsor, a comedy featuring Falstaff. While this isn’t one of the best of his works, it was entertainingly done and a nice excuse to drink in public and enjoy the beautiful evening. The bugs weren’t that bad and the weather was actually a little cool. That is just inconceivable for June!
Saturday, Brian and Kathy hosted a little get together for our relatives in the St. Louis area. Of course, Jason and Rocio came out, along with my cousins, Cynthia, Kimberly, and Wes. Cynthia brought along her beau Harold and Wes towed in wife Val and son Noah. We had a good time listening to Brian’s music collection prominently featuring Bob Dylan (is that ipod really on shuffle?), eating slow cooked St. Louis style ribs, grilled brats, potato salad, cold slaw, baked beans, and of course, brownies, and playing washers (a game similar to horseshoes, seemingly only played in the St. Louis area, using washers and boxes instead of horseshoes and stakes). But the food and activities were secondary to the good conversations. We also kept the attendees lubricated with tequila, beer, supercharged sangria, and wine. Rocio showed off her paloma making technique, using the grapefruit soda, lime, salt, and tequila to good effect. The weather was absolutely beautiful for the day – nice breeze, low humidity. So my feet (and bald spot) got a little burned – what did it matter? Jesus sandals just aren’t the best clothing to wear if you want to protect yourself from the sun.
    
On Sunday morning, Team Flash gathered near The Living World for the Make Tracks for the Zoo 5K. There was some question about the capabilities of the team after all that unhealthy food and drink the day before. Kathy was just shaking off a cold and I was starting to get it. And my feet hurt – that sunburn wasn’t helping the tootsies feel good in my shoes. But we were in good spirits as evidenced by this photo taken shortly before the start.
The race was well organized with a very nice flat out and back course. The PA system failed before the race, so all the prestart speaches were given without amplification, saving all 1300 racers (except for the 20 closest to the speakers) from the meaningless droning. When the gun went off, we all went racing for ourselves. Personal records were on the line. After I sped around the triangle turnaround at the halfway point, I saw Jason coming on – knowing he was running a solid race. He gave a shout out, but I didn’t have the wind to respond, just a quick thumbs up. I looked for Rocio and Kathy but didn’t spot them.
In the last half mile, I was starting to feel it. When a young woman pushing a stroller blew past me, I knew that I didn’t have a lot left. But she was really flying! But I sucked it up and pushed it on in to the finish line – letting the stroller momma have her day – she’s probably still talking about how she dusted off someone arrogant enough to put the comic character ‘The Flash’ on their shirt! I busted through the finish line in 23:31 – nearly 1/2 minute ahead of my 24 minute goal. I got water and then headed back to the finish. As I was walking back, Jason came up to me – he had rocked the course in 26:13 – much faster then I gave him credit for. We then got water and went back to see the ladies finish. We ran into Kathy, after her 29:51 finish. She beat her pre race goal of 30 minutes and then we all started looking for Rocio. Jason said that at the halfway point, she wasn’t very far behind me, so we couldn’t figure out what had happened to her. He didn’t believe he passed her. Finally, we spotted her near the finish line, waiting for us to finish! It turns out, she blew the doors off of the race, finishing in 25:00!
So, every Team Flash member set a PR during the race! And Rocio finished 5th in her age group on very little training! She showed that she has the best chance to actually be a fast runner amongst us. This event was the first Team Flash 100% participation event and will be well remembered because of it. The Zoo had a nice breakfast waiting for us at the end of the race along with plenty of vitamin water and other goodies. We then finished up our recovery by strolling around the zoo and checking out the inhabitants.
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