The Other Half Registration

Bill and I registered for The Other Half today. It's a half marathon being held on October 19 in Moab, Utah. This is a race that some folks at Jen's work have run in the past. I'm not sure if they're doing it again this year, but I thought it looked fun so I went ahead and signed up.

It's about a 450 mile drive from Phoenix up to Moab:


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We anticipate driving up to Flagstaff on Friday and stopping for the night, and then driving the rest of the way on Saturday morning.

The race course looks absolutely stunning:




I can't wait!

Spinning Again

I'm fairly certain now that there are 2 different teachers in these spin classes I have been taking. It's hard to tell because A) it's frickin' EARLY and B) they dress exactly the same (black bike pants, white top, black Gold's Gym visor). I suppose I could just ask 'em, but that would take the fun out of it. I'm sure I'll someday look back and wonder that I ever thought they looked anything alike.

Today's class seemed much harder than Tuesday's. That could be this nagging sickness I've been feeling (didn't run yesterday either), or the different teachers (if, indeed, they are different). Whatever, I left a good-sized puddle under my bike today. Several participants bailed before the class was over. I'm definitely thinking this is going to help my running performance.

More Spinning

I did another 1 hour spin class at Gold's Gym in North Scottsdale at 5:45 AM this morning. I think this was a different teacher, but it was hard to tell in my early-morning blear.

The class was hard again, but not nearly as tough as the previous session I attended. I hoping this is my increased cardiovascular fitness and not the case of an easier teacher, or me doggin' it.

I've been feeling a little under the weather, so I didn't run yesterday. Hopefully I "sweated this out."

Central Phoenix 10.5-miler

Usual running partner, Bill, was unavailable this week, so Barry and I planned a little bit longer-than-usual run along the Bridle Path and the Canal. We would meet at the God-awful time of 5AM (I can't WAIT til the weather cools off so I don't have to set my alarm for 3:49AM on a Saturday!!). I planned to drop some water where the Canal crosses 12th St. I took the SR-51 up to Glendale, and immediately saw a line of flares and police cars blocking the intersection of 16th St. and Glendale. (Turns out there was a fatal 2-car accident about 20 minutes before I got there.) After some unanticipated driving around, I dropped the water and got to Barry's house about 10 minutes late. Today's theme would again be: pace, pace, pace. I, again, wanted to maintain a pace between 9:00 and 10:00. The subtheme would be: hot, muggy, sticky and gross. It's still hot and humid in Phoenix. The first half of the run was pretty good, and uneventful. We managed to maintain a consistent 9:00 to 10:00 pace the whole way. Writing this afterwards, I can't think of anything unusual that happened. At the 5.2 mile point, we stopped briefly to pick up our water. I believe this was the hottest and sweatiest I have ever felt. (I think I say that every week.) My shirt was already completely soaked through. After a brief respite, we were on our way again. The run back was uneventful as well. We continued to maintain our pace. At no point did I feel exhausted or like walking. When we finished, I felt like I could have continued for several more miles. A quick dip in Vicki's pool provided a much-needed cool-down. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Phoenix, AZ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 07/26/08 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:21 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 10.31 miles Time: 1:39:01 Speed: 6.2 mph Pace: 9' 36 /mi Heart Rate: 171 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1626 196 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 45 +0' 09 6.2 -0.1 141 -- ft 2 9' 09 -0' 27 6.5 +0.3 168 -- ft 3 9' 23 -0' 13 6.4 +0.1 168 -- ft 4 9' 19 -0' 17 6.4 +0.2 171 -- ft 5 9' 36 +0' 00 6.2 +0.0 174 -- ft 6 17' 02 +7' 26 3.5 -2.7 168 -- ft 7 9' 35 -0' 01 6.3 +0.0 175 -- ft 8 9' 50 +0' 14 6.1 -0.2 176 -- ft 9 9' 49 +0' 13 6.1 -0.1 175 -- ft 10 9' 53 +0' 17 6.1 -0.2 176 -- ft end 9' 37 +0' 01 6.2 -0.0 177 -- ft Versus average of 9' 36 min/mile

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You Spin Me Right Round

The FIRST training program, as described in Run Less, Run Faster, advocates a 3plus2 training regimen. The "3" is running (which I've been doing for a year and a half) and the "2" is 2 days of cross-training per week. The book suggests biking, swimming, yoga, or other low-impact exercise. The thought is that your legs have time to recover, but you're still working on your cardiovascular and overall fitness. As someone who constantly seems to fight shin splints (maybe it's my spindly legs!), not running 5 or 6 times a week seems to be just what the doctor ordered.

I haven't used my Gold's Gym membership much in the past 6 months, so I decided to see what they offered in the way of spinning classes. I've heard from several people that they're tough, so I thought I'd give it a try. I found a 5:45 AM class that fit perfectly into my schedule, and today was my maiden spinning voyage.

I have only 2 words to describe this class: Freakin' hard!

I love how hard it is, and how much energy I use. And yet, just as the book suggested, my legs didn't feel dead when I was done. I somehow managed to break one of the bikes (whoops!).

I think I've found something to keep me occupied on my non-run days!

First Track Workout

I semi-officially started my training for The Other Half half marathon in Moab, Utah this morning. Or maybe this past Saturday. I'm going to give the FIRST program a try. It advocates running 3 times a week, and cross-training twice a week. The runs should be a long run, a tempo run and speed-work on a track. The different runs have different benefits (more on that later). I don't have the training program all figured out yet, but I figured I would start easy since this was the first time I was going to do work on the track. I jogged the 3/4 mile over to the FK track (FK = Phoenix College) at an easy 10:00 - 10:30 pace, and then did an easy lap around the track. Then I ran 3 400m laps (at 1:43, 1:40 and 1:39) with about a 90-second walk break in between (which I guess is abbreviated 3x400m / 90sec R). I felt awesome after the speed laps. I was tired, but that kind of running felt much different on my legs. And after months and months of just short, medium and long runs at roughly the same pace, the variety felt good. I then did an "easy" jog back to my house. I looked down at one point and my "easy" pace was a little quicker than 9:00, which usually feels pretty intense. I guess the speedwork is already paying off! :) I spent the next hour trying to stop sweating since it's STILL ridiculously hot and humid. It's like we moved to New Orleans or something! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1100 ft Location: Phoenix, AZ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 07/23/08 Up/Downhill: [+9/-9] Time: 06:43 AM Difficulty: 2.4 / 5.0 Weather: Mostly Cloudy 87 F temp; 46% humidity 89 F heat index; winds SE 6 Performance Distance: 3.15 miles Time: 0:28:53 Speed: 6.5 mph Pace: 9' 10 /mi Calories: 541 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 50 +0' 40 6.1 -0.4 +6 ft 2 9' 19 +0' 09 6.4 -0.1 0 ft 3 11' 04 +1' 54 5.4 -1.1 -6 ft end 10' 00 +0' 50 6.0 -0.5 0 ft Versus average of 9' 10 min/mile

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Mid-week Encanto-Palmcroft Sweat-Fest

Today was even hotter and more humid than last week. It's brutal to run in these conditions, but I want to get the miles in. The Other Half-Marathon is about 12 weeks away, and Bill and I intend to run it. The run this morning was just a random route through the Encanto-Palmcroft neighborhood. There are lots of beautiful homes, most of which have mature landscaping. It makes for a pleasant place to run. My shins were still a little sore from the 10 miles we did on Saturday, but otherwise this was a typical mid-week run. I just noticed that this wireless run tracker thingy assigns a difficulty rating for each run. It gave this little jaunt a 0 out of 5. It obviously ignores the weather-- 87 degrees with 53% humidity. That made this at least a 3 1/2 out of 5 for me! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Phoenix, AZ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 07/21/08 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:41 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Weather: Mostly Cloudy 87 F temp; 53% humidity 91 F heat index; winds SE 3 Performance Distance: 3.26 miles Time: 0:29:57 Speed: 6.5 mph Pace: 9' 11 /mi Calories: 474 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 00 -0' 11 6.7 +0.1 -- ft 2 9' 22 +0' 11 6.4 -0.1 -- ft 3 9' 32 +0' 21 6.3 -0.2 -- ft end 9' 30 +0' 19 6.3 -0.2 -- ft Versus average of 9' 11 min/mile

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Central Phoenix 10-miler

Bill and I discussed our weekly run at length on Friday (somewhat to the chagrin of the other halficle denizens near us). After much discussion, we resolved to run 12 miles in DC Ranch. It would be a hilly, challenging run. But then we started talking about a meeting time. In order to beat the heat, we would need to start by 4:30 AM. ...START! Which would mean I would have to leave my house at 3:45 AM. Yikes! Which would mean I would have to wake up at... GULP! Never mind! So I suggested, "Maybe we can save that run for when it's a little less hot and humid. Let's run with Barry." I asked Barry if he were up for a 10-miler, and he (somewhat reluctanly) said sure. Bill and I agreed to meet at his house at 5:00. We would run the length of the Murphy's Bridle Path, and then add a 1 1/2-mile out-and-back canal segment. I stopped at the end of the Bridle Path on the way to the rendez vous and stashed a bag with some bottles of water. I made it to Barry's house (more or less) on time. We agreed to reign in the pace and keep it between 9:00 and 10:00 the whole way. That would allow everyone to finish the run without feeling beaten to death. It was about 87 degrees with 50% humidity when we started. We set out, and started off good-- restraining our early-run enthusiasm and starting off at about a 9:15 pace. Bill realized his Garmin was on the fritz, but got it working after a half mile or so. We got to the Bridle Path and fell into a really nice groove. (The new Podrunner podcast I got from the Podrunner website was definitely helping.) We got to the end of the path, and I felt fresh and strong. We hung a right onto the Grand Canal. We thought briefly about continuing down to the end of Central Ave., but thought the canal would be a little better. The air next to the canal was unbelievably humid. You could almost drink it with a straw! Blech! We continued our rhythmic pace (Podrunning still helping me focus) until we got to the turnaround near 12th St. We stopped there to drink some water and talk about the first part of the run. While we were standing around, Barry's first-generation shuffle went on the fritz. I've run tuneless before (a result of forgetting to charge the iPod) and it sucks! Having to listen to your own breathing makes it difficult (for me) to get into a good rhythm. After a couple minues, we resumed the run and ran back to the Bridle Path. I unplugged an earbud to keep Barry company, and we talked about this-n-that for a mile or so. We stopped briefly at the end of the Bridle Path to pick up our water. I wanted to make sure Barry finished his first 10-mile run strongly (so we can talk him into longer and tougher runs in the future), so I gave him my iPod for the rest of the run. I think the high energy dance music recharged him, because he set out like an unpenned colt! It was difficult to keep up with him for the rest of the run! High BPM dance music should be used with caution. :) Without music, it took a little while to find a good rhythm, but I did eventually manage to find a good groove. I thought about picking up my pace to keep up with Barry, but I figured he would only pick up his, and then me mine, ad infinitum, until we were running at a 6:00 pace. But I was determined to stick to a mid 9:00 pace. I'm reading Run Less, Run Faster and the authors make a point of not running every run as fast as you can. Long runs at a manageable pace are good for building your endurance. Indeed, I finished this run feeling like I could have run another 5 miles at that pace. After the run, we went to our co-worker Vicki's house for a dip in her pool. The water was a tepid 92 degrees, but it helped get my core temperature back down quickly. On the drive home, I was amazed at how good my legs felt. I love a good run like this one! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Phoenix, AZ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 07/19/08 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:12 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Weather: Mostly Cloudy 87 F temp; 48% humidity 89 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 9.97 miles Time: 1:35:20 Speed: 6.3 mph Pace: 9' 34 /mi Calories: 1610 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 55 +0' 21 6.0 -0.2 -- ft 2 9' 28 -0' 06 6.3 +0.1 -- ft 3 9' 38 +0' 04 6.2 -0.1 -- ft 4 9' 39 +0' 05 6.2 -0.1 -- ft 5 9' 35 +0' 01 6.3 -0.0 -- ft 6 20' 00 +10' 26 3.0 -3.3 -- ft 7 13' 55 +4' 21 4.3 -2.0 -- ft 8 9' 18 -0' 16 6.5 +0.2 -- ft 9 9' 23 -0' 11 6.4 +0.1 -- ft 10 9' 53 +0' 19 6.1 -0.2 -- ft Versus average of 9' 34 min/mile

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Mid-week Sweat Fest

It's still hot and HUMID in Phoenix. I sure hope we get some rain out of this. I Ran a quick 2 1/2 miles this morning. I thought I might do more, but the humidity was just unbearable. There are usually a handful of people out running the same time as me, but I only saw 2 other people. I got home and it took a good half hour to stop dripping sweat. Yuck! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Phoenix, AZ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 07/15/08 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:35 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 2.62 miles Time: 0:22:48 Speed: 6.9 mph Pace: 8' 42 /mi Calories: 376 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 44 +0' 02 6.9 -0.0 -- ft 2 8' 45 +0' 03 6.8 -0.0 -- ft end 8' 35 -0' 07 7.0 +0.1 -- ft Versus average of 8' 42 min/mile

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DC Ranch 10-miler

This morning's run was back on my home turf. I always enjoy running in Washington, DC, because of the vibrant running community and the great scenery, but the humidity there is unbarable for a desert denizen like me. Apparently the DC weather stowed away in my suitcase, because the forecast for this morning was 85 degrees and 60% humidity. Yikes! We planned to do a 10-mile loop at DC Ranch (cutting through West World to spice it up a little). To beat the heat, we arranged to meet at Bill's house at 4:45 AM, which meant my alarm went off at 3:50. "Holy cock-a-doodle-doo, Batman!" To help beat the heat, we planned to stash some extra water along the route. This proved to be a good idea since my Fuel Belt was completely empty by mile 6. We had a suprise guest runner this morning. Trudy decided to run 5 miles this morning, and she was there stretching when we arrived at our meeting place. The name of the game today was pace. To survive the conditions, we needed to keep the pace between 9:30 and 10:00. Despite the steep downhill for the first few miles of the run, we managed to rein it in and keep to our plan. That wasn't easy because it's possible to shave a couple minutes off your pace because of the steepness of the hills on this route. We waved goodbye to Trudy at the 2.5 mile point, and continued down Thompson Peak Pkwy. to McDowell Mountain Ranch Rd., where we headed west. This was already over 4 miles, and I began to wonder if I had been duped into running a longer than advertised. Bill assured me that this was, indeed, a 10 mile loop. And, of course, he was right. We stopped for a bit at the back entrance of West World. The scenery there was a little desolate. I noticed a paved multi-use trail crossing the road here. We'll have to investigate this for future runs. We cut through West World, which their website advertises as "a premier, nationally recognized, user-friendly equestrian center and special events facility serving our community and target market visitors." I think that's a lot of fancy words for "they hold rodeos there." We exited the front gate of West World and continued up 94th St. This was a gradual ascent up to Bell Rd. I thought of an article I just read in the August '08 Runner's World about the mental part of running. It suggested, instead of fearing the hill, "...to spin the negative thought into a positive one--think of adrenaline as fuel that will push you up the hill." I fixed my vision on the top of the hill, and focused on bringing my knees up and pumping my arms, imagining my adrenaline pushing me up the hill from behind. It worked-- instead of being scared of the hill, it made we look forward to the even steeper hill ahead! We stopped on Bell Rd. to retrieve our water, and headed up the slight incline to Thompson Peak Pkwy. When we turned north onto Thompson Peak, the hill got immediately steeper. I continued to focus on my form and channeling my adrenaline. I imagined saying, "Is that all you got! Bring it on!" There are several level spots on this incline, followed by an even steeper slope on the other side. I felt strong and under control through here, and felt great when we got to the top. After that it was just a smooth cruise back to our starting point. It was a great run, and I felt really good about our performance on a pretty challenging hill. We also managed to perfectly maintain our goal pace, averaging 9:47 for the run. High five! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Carefree, AZ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 07/13/08 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:24 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 84 F temp; 56% humidity 87 F heat index; winds SE 3 Performance Distance: 9.93 miles Time: 1:37:14 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 48 /mi Calories: 1707 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 55 +0' 07 6.0 -0.1 -- ft 2 9' 35 -0' 13 6.3 +0.1 -- ft 3 9' 46 -0' 02 6.1 +0.0 -- ft 4 9' 46 -0' 02 6.1 +0.0 -- ft 5 9' 58 +0' 10 6.0 -0.1 -- ft 6 12' 20 +2' 32 4.9 -1.3 -- ft 7 14' 09 +4' 21 4.2 -1.9 -- ft 8 9' 52 +0' 04 6.1 -0.0 -- ft 9 9' 45 -0' 03 6.2 +0.0 -- ft 10 9' 07 -0' 41 6.6 +0.4 -- ft end 10' 46 +0' 58 5.6 -0.6 -- ft Versus average of 9' 48 min/mile

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