Run Goal Check in…

Well, as you can see in the pic above, my run pacing is right on. ;) As you can see, Tim DeBoom and I were running together at the Boulder Reservoir. And if you didn’t look closely, Tim was grimacing at the blistering pace I was setting as I had a smile on my face...oh and this was the 3rd lap of the 5.25 course around the “res.”

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……BOOOOOOMMMMM, WHAAAAAMMMMMMM dream, reality check. Yeah right, the pic that I haven't included was about 1 minute later. I think if I would have gotten a pic, he wasn’t actually even in sight. It is interesting how pics tell a thousand words. The Bobby McGee running clinic we do weekly has been great, but I have some much more technique to work on. Just take a gander at the pic. Look at the difference between a true runner at the IM distance and a wann-a-be. Foot strike, drive, arm position, upper body slightly tilted forward, vertical movement of the arms instead of across the body horizontal movement...just to a name few. All of these things are techniques we work on at Bobby’s clinic, but they have been very difficult for me to put in to “play.” I hold quite a bit of running stress in my upper back/lower neck b/c I am not relaxed up top. This can be helped by getting rid of the horizontal/across the body arm motion that I have a bad habit of doing. I remember from time to time, but just not automatic yet. Another thing that happens when I get tired and something you can see in this pic is I “brake” with my heel. My center of gravity shifts backwards, I run more straight up instead of a tad of forward lean, and I loose effective push off for the next foot strike. Now let me say first, this are my interpretations and I may not be totally correct. But I can tell you, my pic confirms a few bad habits. It is always interesting to compare what you think you are doing and what you actually ARE doing. This is also very effective teaching tool in swimming. In any case, I am working on it, we’ll see what I look like later this summer.

So for a check in on my current run pace. My goal is to run 3:29:59. That is an 8:01/mile pace. I did my long run yesterday at the Boulder Reservoir (BR). It is a 5.25 mile loop. The plan was to run no longer than 2 hours with a heart rate cap of 150 since we have had such a large training week. Instead of start at the “res” with the fellas, I chose to run to the “res” and then do two loops. Here are the numbers.

Time Distance(miles) Avg HR Pace(min/mile)
House to BR 42:03 4.75 137 8:51
Lap 1 45:28 5.25 146 8:40
Lap 2 43:19 5.25 152 8:15
Totals 2:10:50 15.25 8:34

So what does this all mean? Well, number one, I am way off pace as of today. Number two, the amount of effort it took to do Lap 2 was quite high. It was difficult and took quite a bit of focus. I was talking to Nick yesterday about my run and I told him I feel like I am about 10K behind pace from where I need to be. If Lap 2 was a Lap 3, I will feel a little more comfortable. That would put me at 21 miles and I think with time, I would be able to "huff" the last 5. The problem is, I am 10 miles out at my current running fitness. To be honest, I am quite worried that I won't get there to drop well over 30 seconds per mile. This might be a goal for the next IM. I think it is just going to take time and consistency over the next year to get the durability necessary to run this strong. Never the less, it is my goal and on race day, I will try and give myself the best shot at being successful. If I don't, no worries, it will roll over to my next IM.

One nice thing that we have near our house is a the Boulder Creek. The creek is a great place to go post-workout and go for a small dip. Not quite as cold as a true ice bath, but close enough.

Resting up,
John