5 Miler

Back at running. 5 miles in St Charles with the FFRC. Ran 2.5 miles out, and 2.5 miles back. Total time of 52:35, average pace of 10:31, splits of 10:36, 10:50, 10:27, 10:20 and 10:20. Average heart rate of 167, so even at a slower pace, I was having to push it. Cold but not very windy, was good to get back out there.

Phoenix Marathon 2009

Finally made it to marathon day. Weather in Phoenix was fantastic, about 50F at the start, then getting up in the 70s by the finish, so a bit warm, but it felt good. Air was very dry, sweat was evaporating as fast as I could produce it, drank quite a bit of water, but tried not to overdo it.

Judy and I got up early, grabbed some breakfast at the hotel, then grabbed the hotel shuttle to the starting line. We wandered around for a bit, got some water, killed time, went to the bathroom, and them headed for the start line. There were 9K+ Marathon starters that signed up, but apparently there were quite a few that switched to the Half Marathon (which started later) so that they could watch the Phoenix Cardinals football game. I'm sure the race director never ever figured on the Cardinals playing football in Phoenix on January 18th, heh. 

Race started around 7:40am, just as the sun was coming up. We generally ran north for a while, then east towards Scottsdale, then south to Tempe, then west to the university. The first several miles there were enough buildings that we were mostly shaded, but as the day went on, and the sun got higher in the sky, it got more sunny and windy. I believe the heat and getting over a cold combined to sap energy from me, because I could never seem to get in a groove pace wise, it was a struggle to run in the 10s for the first half of the race. The second half, my pace got a bit slower and I was really getting tired, taking more and more walk breaks. I stuck with it though, and ended up finishing in an official 4:46:33, middle of the pack for marathons for me. I then got some food, rested for a bit, and then headed back over to the finish line to watch Judy finish. 

Splits were as follows, first 7 miles were 10:00, 10:11, 10:21, 10:41, 10:20, 10:22 and 10:24 as I tried to find my stride. Next 6 miles were 10:24, 10:13, 10:49, 10:16, 10:13 and 10:21. I was at 2:15:54 at the half way point, but I knew I most likely couldn't keep up the pace to finish under 4:30, I was getting pretty tired. The next 7 miles were 10:44, 11:00, 11:53, 11:25, 11:54, 11:25 and 11:25. At mile 20 I was at 3:34:30. The final miles were 11:26, 11:47, 10:59, 12:17, 11:28, 11:32 and 2:58 for the final .30 miles (Garmin had course .10 mile long, pretty accurate). Overall I finished 4061 out of 6440 finishers, 2463 out of 3461 male finishers, and 410 out of 535 in my age division. My average heart rate was 162, but it was somewhat low because of all the walk breaks.

Overall a good marathon, expo was good as well, and Phoenix was a nice town. I would recommend it to others.

One More 3 Miler

3 miles up at the lake, same course as yesterday, not quite as cold, but still bundled up. Splits of 9:39, 9:31 and 9:31, total of 28:41, pace of 9:33, average heart rate of 161. Time to rest up for the marathon.

Another 3 Miler

3 miles up at the lake, same course as yesterday. Cold out, windy, wore the mask thing Judy got me for xmas, seemed to help keep the air I was breathing a little warmer. 29:41 total time, 9:53 pace, 9:59, 9:57 and 9:45 splits, average heart rate of 156.

3 Mile Marathon Prep Run

3 miles up at the lake, running south from the restaurant, thru the woods, then returning the same way. Still running a bit quicker, 9:44 overall pace, splits of 9:53, 9:41 and 9:38, total time of 29:12, average heart rate of 157. Still have a bit of a cough, but it doesn't seem to be affecting my running now. With luck, everything will be cleared out by Sunday.

8 Mile Run

8 miles, running the old FFRC course in St Charles. I started running with Bruce, who was going a bit faster than I might have if I was solo, and the hills were making it tougher, heart rate was a bit high. Bruce was running 10, so at mile 4, I headed back. Walked 1.5 miles on the Katy Trail while waiting for Judy. Splits of 10:33, 10:11, 9:55, 10:16, 10:31, 10:38, 10:28 and 9:58. Average heart rate of 161, overall a decent run.

3 Mile Run

3 miles up at the lake, running south from the restaurant, thru the woods, then returning the same way. Picked up the pace a little, trying to run what will hopefully be my marathon pace(ish) in Phoenix. Splits of 9:50, 9:41 and 9:29, average heart rate of 163, a little high, but given how I've felt, a decent run.

5 Mile Run

5 miles up at the lake, running from the restaurant up to the sailboat cove and back, going a bit past the sailboat cove. Walked a little at the start and at the end. Run felt all right, but still fighting the last of a cold. Splits of 10:23, 10:22, 10:19, 10:20 and 9:57, average heart rate was 159.

3 Mile

3 miles up at the lake, running south from the restaurant, thru the woods, then returning the same way. Was a little icy out, so had to run carefully. Temp was right around freezing, no wind, so didn't feel too bad. 32:09 total time, 10:43 average pace, splits of 10:59, 10:36 and 10:33. Average heart rate was 157, a bit high given my pace, but still battling a cold a little bit, so that's probably the reason. Tapering down, but legs still feel a little tired.

20K Snowball Series

Third Snowball Series run, 20K (12.4 miles, though it was long, garmin said 12.79), starting at Marathon Sports, going east on Olive, then north on Creve Coeur Mill Rd, then out on Waterworks Road a ways, backtracking around a bit, then finally heading back. Mid 30s with a northwest wind that wasn't nearly as bad as 2 weeks earlier, probably 20mph gusts and such. First 7 miles were between 10:00 and 10:46, then the next 5 miles were between 9:45 and 9:57, so I was finding a groove. Last .79 miles was slower, but most of that was into the wind and uphill on Olive, so pretty good overall. 2:10:22 total time, 10:11 average pace, 159 average heart rate.  We'll be missing the 4th race of the snowball series because of the Marathon, but I'm guessing it's the same course again anyway, so not a huge deal.

5 Mile St Charles Run

5 miles with the FFRC out at the 'old' St Charles course. Ran most of if it with Amanda, and we missed the turn off of 2nd Street, so we ended up running mostly the Flat 5 course. 5 miles in 50:09, average pace of 10:01, splits of 10:16, 9:56, 10:04, 9:55 and 9:57. AHR of 160 but a bit higher the last few miles as I was trying to keep up a conversation and I'm not use to that, heh. Overall a decent run.

Lost Valley Run

FFRC New Years Day run out at Lost Valley. Not as cold as last year, but still not too warm. Ran with Bob most of the way, though he did get ahead of me a few times. Walked up the worst of the hills. Splits were 9:59, 10:03, 11:07, 11:12, 10:35, 9:24, 11:30, 11:12 and a 9:43 pace for the last .48 miles. AHR of 160, so was pushing it a bit. Fun run.