Tuesday 31JAN2017 January is in the books

10.1 on the day.  Tired and so I took it easy.  80 minutes.

That is a wrap on January.  329.7 miles, 46.7 hours, 18165 feet, 2530 squats of some sort, 2 Greens, one day off, 2 camping nights, and some work done at tempo paces, and faster stuff to move fitness forward.  It might be the best January I have had in a few years.  I have averaged 11 miles a day one the days I ran and 10.64 overall or 74 miles a week.  My average pace has only been 7mph, but the slogs up Green impacted that significantly.   I am encouraged by that but I also realize I need to be a bit careful in not overdoing it – and setting up for injury (March and April seem to ring as months that mess me up).  I have some business travel in February so that might temper my efforts a bit (which I will look to keep on the positive).

Monday 31JAN2017 Shad’s Hills

Shad put the email flag up for a run and I took it, but him know that his plan for hard hills was not something I was really game for.  My stomach was none too happy.  I enjoyed a bit too much pizza last night and I was feeling it. 

Shad mentioned that we did this same workout nearly a year ago to the day so I had to go look it up.  I recalled the run and I was pleasantly surprised to see that while I was not feeling the groove today, my half hearted attempts to move with some effort up the hill were significantly faster this go around over a year ago (even though I think I was trying a bit harder last year).  I’ll take that.  And it helped the stomach as well.  7 miles.

Great photos from the NB meet over the weekend from Dave Albo.

I connected up with the HS squad in the afternoon (and then Neeraj joined us) and did more hills:  2 x 1 minute, 4 x 40 seconds, 4 x 20 seconds with the jog down as the recovery.  I had little “pop” today as the legs were not “popping” with the Saturday tempo effort, the longish effort yesterday and a hill run this AM.  Still – I ended up breathing hard.  5.5 miles.

I ended up chatting with Neeraj a bit about “running principles.”  I am pretty sure that I have posted this sort of thing before but I will give it a shot here again.  First, I think it is important to note that such principles are general considerations … in other words, the broad approach that applies to most people.  But the applicability of principles is almost a thing that never happens because you take these and then make them appropriate for the individual.

I first started thinking of these when folks would come to me around this time of the year and ask something like, “last year I ran the Bolder Boulder in 60 minutes.  This year I want to break 50.  What should I do?”  I’d probe back with a few questions like, “how much do you run?  do you have an injury history?  how important is this to you?” and I’d hear things like “I run 3 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes.”  It made my advice back to them painfully easy and almost so blunt it was probably sometimes received as unhelpful. 

1.)  Run more.

That principle holds true not just for the weekend warrior athlete looking to improve their 10k in May but for most of us.   The HS athlete who is just starting needs to run more as does the HS senior needs to comparatively to their frosh self (remember the principles are broad and not always true for all individuals). 

The other principles that come into play …

2.)  Mix the speeds.  There is probably a host of posts here in strides to short speed work to V02 work to tempo work to long run work to easy run paces.  Touching all of these in your training at the right time is necessary for improvement.

3.)  Do hills.  It is sort of a corollary to 1 and 2. 

4.)  Do a longer run.  It does not matter if you are running 5k or a marathon – you need a longer set of stimulus (also a corollary to 1 and 2).

5.)  Everything else.  This is all those other things:  diet, altitude training, ketosis, forefoot running, cadence, HR, metabolic rate, ketosis, etc … this is not to say there is not an importance in these things as they may be very important to the individual, but I think for most the other things are of greater importance (and in fact, a lot of people go with this principle first … which probably sets them up for a bit of failure in reaching optimal results).

Clearly it is MORE specific than this.  But that is where you get into the needs of the individual:  training a competitive HS female is different than training a newbie runner masters male (and even within those stereotypes there are differences) …

Yeah, I have posted this previously.  At least twice.

Sunday 29JAN2017 Week in Review

12.3 today on 90 minutes.  I didn’t feel so hot as my stomach was not happy about something but as is often the case … getting a run in helped. 

80.1 miles on the week, with two Greens in there.  I only mention that because it has been over six months since I have been up there.  But I got the desired miles, some turn over work and tempo work.  Just keep on plugging. 

I am 2400 squats on the month, so a bit short of my 3000 goal but I skipped some days and I went after some days with weights.  I have definitely seen a benefit to doing what I have done and so I will look to keep these a part of my regular routine.

Here is video of the master’s mile at the New Balance Grand Prix meet this past weekend.  Straka leads some 1450 meters of it at 67, 68 pace before running his last 200 in 33 … but then two guys behind him run 31 and 30.  That’s wheels for an old guy.

Saturday 28JAN2017 Burros on the Colorado Trail

Headed down to Waterton Canyon with Bob to help introduce some new comers to pack burro racing.

It was fun.  The new folks had the right mindset:  get to know your burro, go with the process, learn how this game works and be ready to laugh. 

It served as a nice little six plus mile warm up for Bob and me.  Afterwards, and once the burros were trailered up we got on a 3 mile tempo run back up the canyon followed by 4 x 45 second strides.  I split 6:30, 6:24, 6:33 for the tempo (watching Bob float away over the last mile).  12.7 miles on the day over an hour forty five. 

I am thinking I am needing to and ready to toss a second effort similar to this (the tempo) into the week to drive improvement a bit.  I have established a fair base of miles (and want to continue that as I can) but need to touch these speeds more frequently (over the 7:45 to 8:15 stuff that regularly comes out).  Edging in another 20 minute effort like this seems appropriate now.

Friday 27JAN2017

In the AM I met up with JV for a round of Green.  The route from Chatuaqua via the Baseline – ASG to the summit and then back down Ranger – Gregory seems to be measuring in around 6.1 miles and 2680 feet of vertical these days.  There was some ice, but nothing bad.  I went with the Ice Bugs this go around, having learned the error of my ways on Tuesday from going in the ice storm with Dave on HOKAS!

I ran in the afternoon (4.4 miles) but skipped doing the workout with the team as it was busy enough that it made more sense for me to help with timing than to run with them. 

Thursday 26JAN2017

Brad Wann did an interview on Pack Burro Racing and the recent passing of Curtis Imrie on local AM radio station KHOW yesterday.

Mountain Vista coach Jon Dalby did an interview this past XC season and I am just catching up on it.

Easy 5 before practice on the Ridgeview loop (40 minutes) and then another 5.7 with Dan V at practice on “coaches loop” with 4 x 100 strides (48 minutes).

Wednesday 25JAN2017 Muzzle

Blasting this in my ears today.

I have tried to dig later reincarnations of the Pumpkins, but it is not just quite the same as it was with that line up.

Pretty sore today … mostly in the additional work I have added for quads with some weight on the squats.  10 very easy miles today, split across two short runs.  More gym work afterwards including another 150 squats (60, 20w, 30, 20w, 20w).

Tuesday 24JAN2017

AM – I got a round of Green with Dave M and Bryan D.

It was Dave’s first Green since his accident last year. 


The weather did us no favors.  As we hit the summit, the fog started to freeze.  It laid a greasy coat of ice on everything, making it one of the slickest days on Green I have ever seen.  Not the best for a guy testing out his new foot.  On the way home I saw further evidence of how nasty it was as there was a dozen something car pile up at the 36 South Boulder Road exit.  Traffic was backed up for a bit … until it wasn’t as they closed the highway at some point.

In the afternoon I got an other half dozen, doing 8 x 30” hard uphill.  I was feeling a bit tanked on these after twenty something seconds … so I guess I was getting after it pretty hard on the front of it.

150 squats today.  70 lightly weighted, the other 80 just body weight.

Monday 23JAN2017 Sub 5 day dreaming

This sort of thing motivates a bit for a sub 5. 

Todd Straka is a master’s runner who is going pretty dang quick in the mile these days.  He just did a 12 x 150 diagonal jog back workout that caught my eye on FB.

Todd is well under five for the mile, and recently ran a 93 600 meters and a 58 quarter.  He has put up miles under 4:30 in recent years.  I watch Todd with interest because a dozen years ago he was a guy I regularly beat on the local 5k circuit.  Todd got faster, I got slower.  And now he is age group national class fast.  So there is absolutely a bit of the ego “hmm, if he can do it, I can do it in there.”  While at the same time recognizing he has done a lot that I have not done.  His times as a 49 year old are faster than my best at any age.  While most of us get slower, Todd has got faster over the last decade.

In the same thread where Todd posted that workout, Dave Albo posted how he did a similar workout to break 5 as a 50 year old.

11.6 miles in the afternoon with a handful of slightly uphill strides at the end.  95 minutes.  Some good gym work post, including 150 squats on 3 sets, with 2 slightly weighted. 

Good ATC:  and yes, “***hole is indeed a swear word. 

Sunday 22JAN2017 Piling up weeks still

12.2 today in 95 minutes, with about 7 of that with Bob over on the Davidson Mesa loop.  78 and change on the week.  Last six weeks have all been 65 or better – but this week felt the best in terms of how I felt, some nicer weather, gluing in some faster work (fartlek stuff on Wednesday), some tempo work (Saturday) and fair miles.  I just need to keep inching this ball forward a bit … consistency with mileage, consistency with some turn over work (faster stuff) and consistency with the strength (tempo runs).

600 asq on the week.

Curtis Imrie

I woke up early (3:15) and found myself reading on Facebook that Curtis Imrie had died.

Curtis.  When I speak to people who are interested into getting into Pack Burro Racing, there comes a time when we discuss the community.  I have often said that PBR is its own reality TV show waiting to be made, with a mix of characters that seem straight out of a movie.   And Curtis was one of the guys at the top of that “characters” list in my mind. 

From what I heard, he was combing his burro Sanjurro for a show at the National Western Stock Show, sat down, closed his eyes and quietly succumbed to a fatal heart attack.  I don’t know if that is true but if it is, it does bring some comfort that Curtis’ last moments were adjacent to one of the animals he so much loved.

I met Curtis in 2010 at Fairplay in my first pack burro race.  I had sort of met him before that because you could not browse anywhere on the internet regarding pack burro racing too long before you came across Curtis and his donkeys. 

He was some combination of politician, actor, cowboy of the west, activist, hippie, elder statesman and pack burro racer.  He had won the Fairplay World Championship 3 times, was one of the people that got the WPBA going on its feet, had been running burros for over 40 years including the Fairplay race (29 miles up to 13000 foot plus Mosquito Pass), and was a historic glue to the old days of the “sport” to the new.  He had jean jacket that had more patches on it than a Boy Scout Merit Badge Sash.  There were stories of him riding a motorcycle through a dorm at the Yale campus. 

And he was eager to talk about it, make videos about, blog about it.  Half the time his stuff sounded like some mixed up babble on the event, but it was part of his charm – his enthusiasm was infectious. 

It pissed people off too.  He was not all positive cheerleader all the time for everyone.  He was a competitor.  He got in my craw a bit last year after Jack and I lost Fairplay by a nose to Kurt Kordcamp and Mary Margaret.  Mary Margaret was his burro.  He announced there was a new sheriff in town on Facebook.  My ego felt a bit bruised.  His “endorsement” mattered to me because he was a guy that had done it.  The next week Jack and I won and Kurt and Mary were well back.  When I found him I teased Curtis by singing to him “I shot the sheriff.”  He laughed at me and grinned, “got in your head there a bit, eh?” like he knew what was going to happen all along. 

Age was catching up to him, as his knees increasingly were a problem for him when running.  But he was still looking to run anyway, acting truly as if he knew there were no bonus points for showing up at the end of this race looking pretty or having shiny parts. None of us in the burro community expected him to go like this … I sort of thought that non thinking thing that I’d see him at Fairplay’s start line for as long as I’d be in the sport.  Life reminds us otherwise. 

Hal Walter said today, “he truly outlived us all.”   Thanks for the memories Curtis, you were a good one. 

Saturday21JAN2017 Tempo and track work

I felt less than stellar this AM as I had filled my belly with some pretty rich pizza and beer last night.  There was a small contingent of kids (many were off to the SAT) for practice and I rolled in with a group for 15 minutes of tempo on the track.  As they finished up I kept rolling through to make it an even 5k (or 20 minutes), slightly progressing from 6:30s to under 6:20.   I took a short break and then moved into eight 200s, also progressing this from 38s to 36s.  11.5 miles.

It was not a stellar workout … but I was glad it came about.  And as I pressed through it, it became a better workout … and certainly better than doing another easy run.  Getting out and getting on it makes things happen.  And it helped get that pizza out of my system as well. 

I was in a bit of doubt today as to if I could round myself into having a reasonable crack at 5 for the mile this year.  If 36s are near my top end at the end of a 20 minute tempo run, holding 37s continuously seems out of reach.  Nuthin’ ventured, nuthin’ gained.

Friday 20JAN2017

11.6 miles, 6 of it solo and then the rest with Greg, a handful of strides at the end to round things out.

1780 on squats on the month.  More have been slightly weighted as of late.

Thursday 19JAN2017

11.7 easy miles in the slush and the slop as everything melts out.

Wednesday 18JAN2017 Sticking to it

Afternoon – a gorgeous day for a run.  I got over to the school and did a couple miles to warm up, and then started a variety of fartlek work that continued with the kids.  My longest reps were 300 meters – anywhere from 55 to 60 seconds, but there was shorter stuff in there as well.  10 miles.

I actually did not feel great today … meaning I could tell I was down a gear but decided to roll with this run anyway.  If I wait to run faster only when I feel good, it will become its own battle.  Obviously if I am feeling completely thrashed that is different, but when I feel a bit off, I think it is better to stick the routine (race day may not be a day where I feel great).

Tuesday 17JAN2017 Feelin’ spry

Mid day – an impromptu jog with Greg around the open space through the snow.

Afternoon – another 7 in 54 that included almost 2 handfuls of strides.  Felt good.

Monday 16JAN2017

Broomstock (and most the Front Range) got belted with a nice round of snow again today.  It will probably be gone by this week with snow eating winds, but there is some comfort taken in that snow pack up high is above historical averages.

No school for JZ today because of MLK day, and so he had morning practice.  I headed over with him and jogged with Greg in the thick of the storm.  We saw one of those mini sidewalk plows completely bite it on a drain gutter.  It hit hard enough that the driver punched his forehead into the glass front and the whole window shattered open – right in front of us.  Amazingly the guy was okay, and mostly embarrassed at the whole scene.  5.3 miles.

I got out for another 5 in the afternoon, feeling a bit heavy legged … probably a bit from the weekend, a bit from the cold and snow.  Just kept it easy. 

Really interesting read on alcohol and an abstain experiment.

My challenge of squats is sort of screwed for the month in that I am not getting 100 a day but I am getting them in with some regularity.  I can feel a difference already in how I am performing them … in the ease of the movement, in how my heels are more firmly planted to the ground in the rep, and that I can more easily do reps of 50 instead of 30.

Saturday 14JAN2017

No running today as JZ and I were out in the field for the Okpik program.  Great weekend with awesome snow and weather. 

Friday 13JAN2017 Some tempo

It turned out to be one of those days that should not be a Friday, but a Monday:  the inbox was filling faster than the outbox.  Busy day …

I got out for a lap of the Lake Link / Ridgeview loop before heading over to practice.  Then over at practice, I played pacer for some of the kids in doing 2 x 10 minutes on 4 minutes of rest at tempo pace, slowly increasing the effort (which tends to mean little increase in pace, but in this case we did a bit on each rep).  The first rep came through at 6:20, and it picked up a touch, and then the second rep came in at 6:11 and we moved it down to sub six over the remainder.  Good workout for me and I felt great.  Managing this effort on the track was nice, and having folks to run with and work with made it fun.

In the evening, JZ and I headed up to instruct for the Okpik (winter camping / snow cave) program at the Scout camp outside of Ward / Brainard Lake.

Thursday 12JAN2017 Another day at the office

Chilly day as a front blew in.  I got in an handful and change easy before practice and then headed over practice and got another half dozen.  A few kids that graduated last year are back on break, and I ran with one of the kids from last year’s 4 x 8 state team.  It was good to catch up with him.  I finished the run with 8 100 yard ish up hill strides.  11.

In the evening, Greg swung by and I got another 4.7 with him as the light snow came in. 

Wednesday 11JAN2016

TZ has a cousin that just turned 40.  This is the cake his family got him.

Mid day – I got out with Neeraj for 12.6 (96 minutes) that had a few hill strides at the end. 

Lots of great topics discussed with Neeraj, training, form, diet, etc.  I find a lot of my conversations in this regard is this back and forth of the BIG – meaning the broad principles that can be leveraged for most of the people most of the time – versus the small – the tweaking of principles and items to focus on for the individual in regards to an individual pursuit.  For example, when discussing how to approach the training of a high school athlete, I’ll start with the activities to develop the aerobic system.  This is the big:  build the base, be consistent, build on the runs in terms of time, etc to demonstrate fitness.  But then with a particular kid it gets small:  how to approach that kid differently based on their ability, goals, focus, number of sports they do, etc.  I think a challenge we often face is that we hear about the specifics of a small and then translate that to the large.  That is “hey they did x workout, so that is the key to success!”  Or “such and such person dialed in their sweat sodium loss rate as such and that prevents cramping!” and worry about that at a level greater than focusing on the bigger picture hitters.

Tuesday 10JAN2017

The day got away from me a bit with work items and so my run window was a bit short.  I got in 5.2 on a fartlek, with the upbeat sections being about 30 seconds in length. 

Monday 09JAN2017 Wind eating snow

Big winds today but they died down to some sort of level where you did not want to scratch your skin to bleeding by the afternoon.  I got in a slow heavy legged 10k (51 minutes) around the Ridgeview loop just before heading over to the HS.  There I tacked on another 4 and change with Dan and then did 8 x 100 strides.  10.9 on the day.  Almost all the snow we got the other day is gone.

There is no such thing as bad weather just poor clothing choices

Yesterday when I saw the weather report for today predicting temps to hit 60, I knew we were due for winds.

So it has been averaging in excess of 40mph in the neighborhood for a bit, with gusts over 60.  I imagine folks over in Boulder are getting this plus another 15 to 30. 

Gonna make for some fun running this afternoon.

Sunday 08JAN2017 Week in review

11.2 miles in 86 today.  It got a lot warmer – warm enough for shorts and short sleeves.  The roads were soup snow slop so I stuck to the sidewalks.

72.2 on the week, just over 10 hours and 2705 minutes.  Most of the week was pretty slow given the cold blast and the snow.  Given 70s have been the exception rather than the norm as of late, I was happy to get the miles in.  I did look to address some of the slower work with a track workout yesterday and it worked in that I felt that in the legs a bit today. 

720 squats on the week and 870 on the year. 

Latest shots from KZ in Germany

A little more on predictions and Horwill’s rule

Extending a bit more on the predictor that Willis put forth for a four minute mile (12 second flying start 100 speed, 20 minute 4 mile tempo run strength) and my take on it for a 5 minute mile (15 second flying start 100 speed) 25 minute 4 mile tempo run strength) …

… I am not the only one that lives in this house that is eyeballing a five minute mile.  I am pretty JZ is a heck of a lot closer to 15 speed than me (without the straining that I’d bring).  I might be a bit closer to the strength end of the equation but I am leveraging 35 years of running … he’ll win that battle soon enough if he keeps training.  Additionally, I have “eyes on” kids regularly competing at this distance.  It will give me some data points to consider.

Perhaps the grand daddy of all predictors is Horwill’s rule, or basically the premise that as you double distance you slow by 4 seconds for each 400.  Some interpret this as each classic jump in distance rather than just a doubling (so 2 mile to 5k would have the same effect).  Again, it depends and the evidence is pretty clear on that … no one thinks that 400m WR WVN is going to take his 43 400 speed, slow that to back to back 47s or 48s and suddenly run 1:36 for the 800.  But if you consider Rudisha’s 800 (1:40, or 50 per lap) and the current WR for the mile (El G, 3:43 or just under 56 a lap) to the 2 mile (Komen 7:58, or just under 60 a lap) – regardless if those are clean records or not, you can see the pattern.

In HS, if a kid wants to break 10 for the 3200(75s for 400) , it is pretty well expected they need to be under 4:40 for the 1600 (70s) … a bit closer to 5 seconds for lap, but younger or lesser trained athletes, tend to move the Horwill rule up in the 5 or 6 or even higher seconds per lap.

I am personally curious about my 800 speed because if I can only manage a 2:25 right now – or 72.5 a lap, the rule would say I am going to put up 77s for a 1600 – or a 5:08 to 5:10.  Again, working the enticing game of the predictor, I sort of feel I need to get to under 2:15 speed (67 a lap) to have a good shot at breaking 5.  Hypothetically I could be as slow as 2:20, but I think that is cutting it a bit too close for me.  70 a lap sounds not so bad, but when I consider that I was doing 300s at 74 pace and that felt pretty fast … well, I have work to do.

Again, predictors can mean nothing.  Or a bit of something.

Willis mile prediction thoughts

For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed “predictor workouts” in running.  I recognize they have their shortcomings, and are not a guarantee of race days success.  But, it is often fair to say “hey, if I can do this, I ought to be able to do that.”

One of my favorites (as I have written here before) was 6 x 800 on a minute rest, 3-4 seconds per 800 than 5k race pace.  That seemed to work well for me.  I also liked 3 x 800 at mile pace on a 3 minutes rest to predict mile performance but that never played out in a race for me as well as it did in the workout (maybe I left the race in the workout).

I got dozens more, including even guesses at what a run up the SAG route on Green Mountain in Boulder does for predicting a Pikes Ascent time.  I love them.  So when I recently heard elite miler and 2x Olympic medalist and miler Nick Willis provide a predictor of sorts for the mile, I got really interested.

In response to one of the questions on a podcast, Nick mentioned to be a 4 minute miler you needed to be able to run the 100 on a rolling start in 12 or better and a 4 mile tempo run in 20 minutes or better.  I found this pretty thoughtful.  A strong mile race requires both speed and endurance and these tests that Nick put forth were hitting right on that.

His idea reminded me of a discussion I have had with Lucho and Bob over the years about how to prepare for a distance race like a 5k.  When jumping into runs with Lucho, he’d often want to do diagonals on a soccer field.   That is sprint the diagonal (corner to corner of a soccer field) and take the hard turn on the end zone to jog that distance to the next corner.  Do that 20 times and you’ll get pretty ripped up of you are not used it and Lucho thought it was good for helping him get in shape.   Conversely Bob thought this sort of work did little to prepare for a 5k race and that this sort of work was not necessary until you demonstrated some ability to hold a good pace over a 20 minute tempo run.  Where was it best to spend the training “buck?”

So who was right?  Both, neither and “it depends.”  The first “it depends” is it depends on what you are a responder to (and probably what you enjoy).  Another “it depends” is it depends on what you are weak at.  Those could be the same thing … or not.  I have felt that while it depends on the athlete, a blend of training both of those ends is necessary to get you best prepared for a goal race – speed and endurance (in fairness to those guys, they do to, and the discussion was probably more a debate about what we wanted to do that day to play to our strengths so that we could hurt the other guy a bit more … Lucho would crush on short stuff, Bob would vampire grind us on long stuff … as long as it was not too hot).

Willis’ proposal seems to hit on both ends as well.  I asked BrHS coach Greg Weich what he thought and I could see he was quickly going a review of the athletes he has known over the years in his head.  The answer:  it depends.  There were guys who were speed guys that could go 50 in the quarter (and thus likely faster than 12 on a rolling 100) but would not be able to go sub 20 in a 4 mile tempo run.  He knew of guys who’d go 19 on a tempo run but be lucky to run 13 in the 100.  These were guys really close to the 4 minute mile so it seemed that Willis equation was in the ball park – or like a lot predictors, it worked for a lot of people some of the time but not all of the people all the time.  The old George Box adage is “All models are wrong but some are useful.”

The Willis pitch got me thinking if his prediction points could be extrapolated for a 5 minute mile – or a goal that I have been thinking about.  A 12 second 100 is 25 percent faster than the 15 second 100 that a runner needs to hold for a 4 minute mile (yes, I know that a mile is a bit longer than 1600 meters but for the simplicity of this work, go with that for now).  A five minute mile pace for four miles is 80 percent the speed one needs to hold for a four minute mile. 

Willis did not describe what he meant by a tempo run in the interview.  Very classically, I think of a tempo run as an effort that you’d be able to hold for an hour – as in it is your race pace for 1 hour  but usually are only doing for 20-40 minutes to get stimulus without a full on race effort.  I am not sure if Willis mean that he expects 4 minute milers can also run a 12 mile effort in an hour race (or a 67 half marathon).  In some regards, that seems appropriate … but that would be a stretch for some as well (it depends!).

More to the point here I think it is important to note that this is a tempo run for 4 miles – NOT an all out race effort. 

In regards to what it means for a 5 minute mile effort – since a runner holds 18.75 per 100 there (or slightly faster because of the 1609 meters of a mile over 1600), 25 percent faster than that is 15 seconds.  And following the 80 percent modeling for the tempo run, that would be a 6:15 pace or 25 minutes for the tempo run (check my math, I might have messed it up).

And now the fun of the predictor:  can I do that and what do I need to improve (later followed up by the question – if I have done that can I do what I need to for the goal race)?  A 15 second 100 is probably a bit out of reach for me at the moment.  I might be able to do it but it would be very risky (injury).  It seems do-able with some work, but that might just be an overactive imagination of an aging man.

On the other end, a 6:15 paced four mile tempo run … I think I could do this but today that would be well above tempo range.  It is probably a bit above my abilities straight up for four miles (based on recent 5k times) but I think I could hit it … but hold that pace for an hour?  Yeah, not likely.  6:30?  Maybe.  6:15?  Not right now.

Anyway … I need work at both ends – the strength and the endurance.  And I don’t know if I am going to be able to get to that sub 5, but the Willis thought experiment has me chewing on how to get there a bit more.

(PS – I did not ask Bob or Lucho their permission on any of this so I am probably horribly misrepresenting them)

Saturday 07JAN2017 Back at the track

JZ had a meeting for Scouts down in Denver.  He has his license so I let him drive but I was not ready to let him fly that solo just yet.  It is not worth it for me to buzz back home so I made time by getting in an hour jog down there.  7 miles.

The cold snap has allowed me to just jog easy with some sort of excuse.  My brain fired a bit today that I needed to get past that and get some turn over work in.  I hit the track in the afternoon:  mile warm up over to it, four 100 meter strides (started at 19+, cut down to 16.7 … really just opening up) and then 6 x 300 on full rest.  Thankfully the in ground track heaters were working.

The 300s … I wanted these to feel a bit quick, more like 800 pace than mile pace.  I guess they were, but I guess it means I am probably in 2:20-2:25 800 pace.  Work to be done:  55.6, 55.2, 55.3, 55.4, 55.3, 55.5.

I have been musing on this idea of top end speed and aerobic speed and how it correlates to the mile (not new ideas, just my thinking about what others have said about it) that I will get up in a post later this week (hopefully)

The afternoon work was 4 miles.

Friday 06JAN2017 More snowy sidewalk slogging

Mid day I got out with Neeraj for seven around Broomstock.  It was still pretty cold (low teens) so not a real zippy pace. 

I did another 5.1 with Dan V at the team practice.  The roads are just a mess.  If you can get a good sidewalk it is usually much better than the mess of the snow in the back roads. 

I missed squats the last two days and got back at it a touch today with a set of 40 and then 3 sets of 30. 

Thursday 05JAN2017

Good snow here last night and today.  I got out in the afternoon for an hour and a half, 10.3 miles, with about half of those with Greg.  It was probably 10 degrees.

There were three cars to push out of the snow on the run.  I probably got in about 90 minutes of shoveling today too.

Wednesday 04JAN2017 Baby it’s cold outside

It was single digits today with a light fluffy blowing snow.  That was sort of nice but whenever my run turned me into running a north direction, there was enough of a breeze and bite on the air that I am sure it was sub zero. 

I ended up with 10.5 on the run today – about half of that before connecting up with Greg and Dan at practice.   With the cold and the snow, I just let any idea of pushing it go, as it feels the risk reward teeter totter points more to the problem end. 

I was bundled up fairly well, doubling the gloves with mittens and a thicker outer shell, so it was actually pretty nice to run in this – sort of like a novelty as long as it only is a week or two out of the year.

And it was one of those runs where Garmin Connect barfed on it and said, “yeah, no thanks.”  So I guess it does not really count.