Kazrak's In My Day We Had A Kessel Run Training Journal (Comments Welcome)

New goals is what it’s all about! Congrats on your shiny new PR. I’m going to have to get preeeeeeety old before I run a 10k in few minutes than I have years. Neat to think about though.

Right now, I'd need to age by 25 years without losing any speed to do a 10k in less than my age.

Hey is Bay to Breakers the race with all the naked people?

I believe so. I saw somewhere it's on the list of events that's explicitly exempted from the ban on public nudity. I'm planning to run fully-clothed.
 
Running a 10K under my age would be aggressive. I definitely need to age up a few decades. No way am I running a 10K under 31 minutes.
 
Week 25 update:

Took the week off to recover, and because it's been pouring rain for most of the week. I decided to get up and get some running in before going to breakfast with younger son today.

I found myself running too fast to start, at an under 10:00 pace, so I backed off to somewhere between 12:00 and 13:00. Initial plan was to the trailhead and back (a mile), but it was going well enough that I pushed to the barrier and back (1.6 miles). Results, 1.58mi in 19:20, 12:11 pace.

It's still wet out there, and there's a massive puddle I need to avoid on the greenbelt. Hoping that dries up soon - there's no significant rain in the forecast this week, so there's a chance.

Weight's about where it was last weekend. Need to focus some more on not being stupid.

Plan for the week: Back to MWF with younger son, probably week 3 again. Tuesday, barrier and back, again at a 12-13 minute pace. Saturday, aim for looping the college (about a 5k). Next weekend, I fly to Austin for business for the week.
 
(Slightly late) Week 26 update:

MWF with younger son, C25K week 3 again, kinda slow. Which is fine.
Tuesday, 10m/2m/10m, no target speed. Ended up at about a 12:00 running pace, which seems to be about where my casual runs are now. 22:02, 1.73mi, 12:40 average pace.
Saturday, aimed for about a 5k with 8m/2m intervals x4. Ended up with 3.05mi, 12:23 average pace. Strava is claiming 37:51 moving time, should be about 38:00. Again, had issues with starting off too fast (around 10:00) and having to back off.

I'm in Austin this week, so exploring new running options. Trying to decide if I can get a run in tomorrow morning, or if I want to wait until I've had a chance to explore the area a bit first. Thinking I'll just go for the run and figure it out from there. I'm staying downtown, and apparently there are some trails along the river I can run on. Goal is to get about 1.5 to 2 miles, 3 times this week, and then maybe another 5k on Saturday after I get home.
 


Week 27 mid-week update:

The trails along the Colorado River in downtown Austin are fantastic. A bit confusing in spots - ended up on the wrong path a couple times - but well-managed and beautiful.

AustinRiverside.jpg AustinDucks.jpg

I got up early yesterday, and went out for 8m/2m x3. Forgot my running hat, so my daily-wear hat got pressed into service.

2.31 miles, 28:03 total time/27:46 moving time (per Strava), pace 11:59. Planning the same again on Wednesday, and then I think I'm moving the 5k (4 intervals) up to Friday.
 
Week 27 update:

Wednesday's run was much like Monday's. A little slower due to lack of sleep - 2.23mi instead of 2.31.

Friday, I had to hustle to get checked out of the hotel, and didn't have time to get a run in.
Saturday, it's pouring rain outside. So, no run today either.
Tomorrow, I should have 3 extra 18-to-20-year-old young men in the house that I'll be taking to breakfast. And it's likely to be raining.

So, I think we call this a week.
 


Week 28 update:

Monday and Friday, the usual with younger son. Kinda slow. Wednesday was rained out.
Tuesday: Not pushing too hard, 1 mile run. 12:03 pace.
Saturday: Goal was 8m/2m x4, with a hope of hitting 5k distance, but not paying close attention to the pace. Interval paces: 11:31, 11:30, 11:06, and 10:44. I realized with about 3 minutes left in the last interval that my pace had picked up, and I decided to see if I could push to hit 5k. And...yep. Final distance, 3.12 miles, overall average pace 12:05.

I was supposed to meet with a trainer for the first time on Thursday, but he got into a car accident and had to cancel. We meet on Tuesday this week.

4 weeks until the challenge. I'm thinking I try out 4m/1m intervals this Tuesday, and then try 2 laps around the college (5 miles or so, probably 8m/2m x6) next Saturday. I'm thinking push for 3 or even 4 laps the Saturday after, and then back down to 1 the week before the races.
 
Early week 29 update:

Monday: C25K week 3 with younger son, as usual. 0.96mi, 15:39 pace.
Tuesday: Tried 4m/1m x5 to see if I like it better than 8m/2m. Nope. The 1m rest is too short. Back to 8m/2m. 1.87mi, 12:45 pace.
Tuesday afternoon: First session with personal trainer. Ow. Goal is to work on core muscles, and get to the point where I can do a pull-up. (I have never in my life been able to do a pull-up.)
Wednesday: Very sore from yesterday. C25K week 3 with younger son, slow. I forgot to start the Garmin until a minute into the run. 0.81m, 16:59 pace.

Looking forward to not running tomorrow. Planning 2 laps around the college still for Saturday, but may adjust if I'm still sore.
 
Week 29 update:

Still sore from training, although nowhere near as much. I think Thursday was probably the worst day. I'm feeling very glad that I don't see the trainer the week of the race. (Because I'll already be in Orlando.)

Friday: C25K week 3 with younger son, slow. 0.93mi, 15:54 pace.
Saturday: Plan was twice around the college, but I mis-set the Garmin to only 5 intervals instead of 6. Decided that I was tired and running slow, and went with it - went a loop and a quarter or so, then turned around and headed back. 3.75 miles, 12:52 pace.
 
Week 30 update:

Training was less painful this week, which is good.

I decided I needed a third serious run per week, so I talked to my younger son and we're dropping the Wednesday run. (I suggested he run solo, which he wasn't interested in.) Instead, I'm doing another solo run on Thursdays.

Monday: C25K week 3 with younger son. 15:55 pace, 0.94mi.
Tuesday: 8m/2m x3. 2.23 mi, 12:34 pace.
Thursday: I was able to take the car to work today, which gave me the time to do a full loop around the college. 8m/2m x4, 3.07 mi, 12:22 pace.
Friday: C25K week 3 with younger son, in the rain. (Whee.) 15:36 pace, 0.95 mi.
Saturday: Long run - 3 loops plus some. 8m/2m x9, 7.17mi, 12:12 pace. There was another guy doing loops in the opposite direction, so we passed each other 5 or 6 times.

Strava claims the long run was faster than the one I did before my last half marathon by 0:05/mi. So, looks like a good spot to be. Pace for the running segments was fairly consistent, between 11:03 and 11:18 except for the first (11:29) and the last (10:42).

Two weeks to go until race weekend. Current plan is to get up about 15 minutes earlier on Tuesday and Thursday to get a full 3-mile loop in, and then probably do a 5 mile run next Saturday. And then a Monday morning run with my son, and...time to go to Orlando.
 
Week 31, final update before the races:

Holy carp, we fly out on Tuesday. I'm not 100% sure I believe that.

Monday: C25K week 3 with younger son. Forgot to start the Garmin until halfway through. Garmin says 0.41mi, 14:29 pace; probably about 0.95mi as usual.
Tuesday: 8m/2m x4. 3.10 mi., 12:14 pace, 38:02. Foggy and misty, and still kinda dark at 6:45am, so it looked a bit creepy.

Mist.jpg

I sent this off to the family with the comment, "That's not ominous at all."

Training session Tuesday afternoon, a bit tired on Wednesday but not really sore.
Thursday: 8m/2m x4. 3.12mi., 12:10 pace, 38:01. Light rain, kinda icky. I'm not really liking getting up at 6:30am for longer runs, but I think by the time we get back, it'll be lighter out then and it won't be quite as bad.
Friday: C25K week 4 with younger son. Convinced him to step it up a bit because he has a 5k in a week. 1.42mi, 15:05 pace, 21:27. Better than I'd feared.
Saturday: 8m/2m x6, twice around the college. 4.72mi., 12:17 pace, 58:01.

I'll probably get a run in with my son on Monday, and then...we're at Disney World.
 
...and we're back.

Monday, C25K week 3 with younger son.
Lots of walking at WDW.
Friday, wife and younger son got drenched at the 5k.

Saturday, 10k. Long wait for the bus - the dispatcher at Beach Club was getting pretty frantic about getting us a bus. "I've got an entire bus full of people here!" Finally got to the starting area at 4:30. Met up with disboard folks briefly by the medical tent, then went over for the start. Started about the middle of corral C, did 8m/2m all the way through. I skipped all the pictures on this cycle. It was warm and I didn't push too hard. Final time 1:17:28 - about 5 minutes slower than PR, but not bad for the weather.

I was dragging all day Saturday. Instead of resting up, I grabbed a quick shower and went to MK with my family. Good day, but tiring, and really warm.

Sunday, half marathon. Got to the bus stop just as the bus was filling up - four more people got on after me, and then it was full and we left. Met with disboard folks again, then got ready for the start. I launched in the first batch of corral E and decided to get any picture I wanted - I knew that I could stay ahead of the balloon ladies if I somehow ended up falling back that far, and I had at least half an hour of slack before they'd launch. I spent about half an hour total on photos - about 12 minutes for the wampa cave, 6 for the garbage compactor, and dribs and drabs for the Imperial throne, the Emperor with Darth Vader and Kylo Ren, a rebel pilot I didn't recognize but had a short line, a speeder bike, the Pandora waterfall... Final time 3:19:51, and Strava says my moving time was 2:51:42. Given the heat, that would be a phenomenal time, just about 3 minutes off my half-marathon PR. I didn't do strict 8m/2m this time, and late in the race I wasn't able to sustain 8m runs so I dropped to 6m/2m.

Overall, it was a good weekend. Still planning out what to do next. In the short term, Bay to Breakers is in a little over a month, and then Bridge to Bridge 3 months after that. We're currently thinking the Wine and Dine race isn't an option, so I'm eyeing next year's Princess or Star Wars half.
 
First: new avatar! Updated with new medals, because.

I'm planning to keep this journal active, but I haven't run since the half marathon. I intended to take a week off, and then at the beginning of this week, the travel crud finally caught up with me. I didn't get it as bad as my son did - he's completely lost his voice - but I still wasn't up to much running. Hoping to get back going on Saturday.
 
And, we’re back.

Took the whole week off after the last post, and got back to running this past Monday. Son was still sick, so I went solo. 8m/2m x2, 1.36mi, 13:12 overall pace.

Wednesday, I had to skip so I could take the laundry in to work. (Our washing machine died last week, but my employer has laundry facilities on-site that we can use.)

Friday, ran solo. I really felt like I was dragging - barely managing better than 13:00 pace on the run intervals. 8m/2m x2, 1.30mi, 13:43 overall pace.

Today, Western Pacific 5k. I wouldn’t normally have run this one so soon after Star Wars, but this is the one time that Brazen does a full marathon, so my wife decided to try her first half marathon here. (So she had extra time - 7 hours instead of the usual 4.) We’ve never run this exact course, but this is the same site that they do the NYE race at. It’s a really nice, flat course around a couple lakes. The half marathon and marathon courses are right at the right distance, but the 10k and 5k courses are a bit long due to physical constraints. 5k distance was supposedly 3.22mi.

I was worried that I’d be slow like yesterday, but it turns out that wasn’t an issue. I kept to 8m/2m intervals, after an early push that had me briefly considering trying to run without breaks. I got to 7:45 and decided that changing up my plan in mid-race was probably unwise.

After the first walk interval, I took off. I looked down after a bit and saw I was running at an 8:40 pace - waaaaay faster than I had planned. I toned it down to about a 10:00 pace and figured that, worst case, I hit a wall and had to walk the rest of the way. Oh no, I only have 6 hours 15 minutes to finish the race in. However will I manage?

Pace was relatively high for the rest of the race, trending down toward 11:30 as I hit the end of an interval.

Preliminary time isn’t out yet (I’m posting this from my iPad as I wait for my wife to finish), but Strava says 36:30, 3.18mi, 11:28 pace. I finished right around the same time as the half-marathon winner. Grabbed some snacks and a bottle of water, and a park table by the trail so I can see the runners coming in.
 
Slow week, in more ways than one.

Younger son decided to get back to running. We did C25K week 2 on MWF, slowly.
Today, got up to do a longer run, but really wasn't feeling it. Got a couple minutes in and realized I hadn't started my watch, and...motivation just left. Walked back home from there.

Need to get things moving again. Planning to run with younger son Monday/Friday, get in some longer solo runs Tuesday/Thursday, and a longer one (possibly with my daughter, who gets home on Friday) on Saturday.
 

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