August 25: A one-mile run, timed

Very, very good news...

This evening my wife and I jogged down to the track where she would time my mile run. My plan was to run a sub 5:15 mile tonight, then go for sub 5:00 on Monday, August 31.

All day I had been nervous, and before I started the run I was even more so. I jogged two laps to loosen up, then did a couple short sprints. My wife was getting bored, so I had to get over to the starting line and get going. Plus it was getting pretty dark.

I counseled her on shouting out my lap times, then lined up and and waited for her to say "go." I pushed hard my first lap, knowing a good time would save me seconds on my next two laps.

Apparently my wife didn't know she needed to actually shout my lap times, because I couldn't hear her say my time after the first lap. Heavy footsteps and breathing cancels out a lot of noise.

My pace through lap two felt great, but again, as I passed through the end of the lap I couldn't hear my wife say my time. I yelled for it, and I thought she said 2:17. If it was true, I knew I could do it.

Lap three, which I thought would be the most grueling, actually felt pretty good. My stride felt very efficient and my breathing capable.

At the end of lap three I heard 3:35 or 3:45. I couldn't tell which one my wife had said, but I knew I could meet my goal even if it was the latter. Assuming the latter, I put my all into the last lap. At the 200M mark I amped up for an all-out sprint. I was worried my legs would give out early as my muscles lost all energy, but the thought of meeting my goal kept me going full bore.

I crossed the finish line and collapsed on the track. My wife walked over to me and read my time. 4:46.8. I managed to pull myself up and we took a victory lap in the dark, in front of empty bleachers.

So... I guess that's it.

August 24: 3-mile run, after a few days off

I actually went out for an easy 3 or 4-mile run on Thursday last week, I just didn't bother to post it. After that I had a little time to relax over the weekend and put running aside.

Now it's Monday though, and I'm back to work. This evening I ran three miles in 19:11; not bad for an evening run. A month ago I couldn't run that time in a 5-K race. I'm definitely getting faster, but am I getting fast quickly enough?

I'll find out tomorrow, when I go for another 1-mile attempt. My wife has agreed to time me and shout lap times. I'm eager to know what my splits will be. I'm not expecting to break 5 tomorrow, but I think I can hit 5:15.

August 19: ASU Ciruit Workout, and a fast 400

Tonight I did the Arizona State Circuit Workout, or so it is called by my "trainer." The 1st lap is 100 jog, 100 sprint, 100 jog, 100 sprint. The 2nd lap is 200 jog, 200 sprint. The 3rd lap is the same as 2nd, and the 4th lap the same as the 1st. Then you jog two laps and repeat.

The workout wasn't as exhausting as last night's, but I did feel like it worked up my fast-twitch muscles and my ability to speed up in the middle of a run. After all that I sprinted 100 yards on the football field, four times. It felt good to run on the grass.

After the workout I got on my bike and started to ride home, then stopped, realizing I still had some juice left in me. I turned around and went back to the track where I ripped out a 1:05 400M run. My new record!

I'll be taking the next few days off, which might be good a time for my muscles to rest and repair.

August 18: 400M intervals and a 200M race

I did my trainer's favorite workout today: six 400M intervals with only a 60-second break in between. Dang him to heck for coming up with it.

I felt pretty burned out after just my first two, and you can see I kind of took a dive on just my second interval: 1:13 - 1:17 - 1:13 - 1:16 - 1:15 - 1:14.

My times weren't any faster than last week, but my sixth 400 was 3 seconds faster than it was last week. That's a good sign. I guess I'm learning to handle lactic acid; like an old cowboy learns to handle old whiskey.

After my 400s I did a couple 200M runs. Then I started chatting with some guy that was also doing 200M intervals. His name was Ariel, from Uruguay, and he's 46. He was actually a semi-professional runner back in the day, taking third place in the marathon in the Uruguay nationals.

We raced in the 200M twice, and I humbly mention that I beat him both times. Anyway, nice guy.

August 17: Sore muscles and an 800M run

I had plans to do a pretty hard workout today, but I woke up this morning with some very sore muscles. Saturday was a light running day, but I did play two games of basketball so that must have done me in.

I considered taking the day off, knowing an injury would put an end to this thing (actually, that might not be so bad). Instead, I went for an easy jog down to the track, where I ran an 800. My time was 2:29.92, good for a sub 5-minute mile pace. I really didn't run all-out, so I was happy with the time. I think I could have run another lap at that pace.

I've got two tough interval days planned for this week, and I'll recover this weekend. Then next week I'll take another swing at my mile time. Batters up!

August 15: Runnin' in the rain

Today's workout pretty much got botched. First off, it was only about 55 degrees and raining when I started out.

I had plans to do some tough intervals at the track, but after I ran down to the high school track I found they were holding a pre-season football game. The track was closed to running. So I ran over to the junior high school, but was surprised to find no track there. I then ran back to the high school track, but the football game was still going on.

I spent 2-miles of running just looking for a stupid track, so I walked up to the main road and went on a 1.5-mile run back home. I guess I'll be back at it on Monday.

(By the way, I looked at Google Maps when I got home and there IS a track at the junior high--the dang thing is just hidden behind a hill!)

August 13: 6.5-mile run

Tonight I went on the longest run of my training, since July 1. The route was just over 6 1/2 miles. It actually felt really good, it was a nice night and it smelled like rain (which had fallen earlier in the evening). Tomorrow will be a day off, then I'll punish myself at the track on Saturday morning.

August 12: Another lactic acid test, via 400s

I've complained about them once and I'll complain about them again... I hate 400M intervals. Per the suggestion of my trainer (again, he's some random dude that's been giving me tips on an internet forum) I ran six 400's today, but here's the kicker: I only took a 60-second break in between.

My trainer said a shorter break in between my intervals would better test my body's ability to handle lactic acid.

Without doing this workout, 60-seconds seems like plenty of time for a break. But let me tell you what, it goes by very fast and suddenly you're back at the starting mark, running hard through another blasted lap.

It was definitely the hardest workout I've done in my training. The first four 400's weren't too bad, but the last two were wretched. By the sixth, my muscles felt like jelly and I couldn't see straight. In other words, there was no way I could have passed a sobriety test.

Here are my times: 1:12 - 1:15 - 1:14 - 1:14 - 1:15 - 1:17. (The first four laps add up to a 4:55 mile; hot dog!)

August 11: Just a run

I'm not sure how far I ran tonight. Probably about 3 miles. I wanted to take it easy because my "trainer" has me lined up for a rigorous workout tomorrow at the track. Tune in tomorrow night for details on that.

I should run more at night. It's very refreshing, running amongst the city lamps and car lights.

August 10: 1-mile run

What I wanted: 5:20. What I got: 5:28. It's obviously my best time ever, but I still have a long way to go if I'm gonna make 4:59. My unofficial deadline is still August 31.

I'm definitely dragging the most in my second and third lap, the third especially. I'm just too hesitant to go very hard on either of those because I'm worried about not having enough for a strong finish in my final lap.

What I wish I had was a good way to figure out my times at the end of each lap. The "lap" feature on my iPod stopwatch is just too hard to use without slowing down my pace for a few strides.

Accomplishing this feat is going to be A LOT harder than I ever thought it would. It's going to be very difficult to break 5 minutes outside of a race; it's just too easy to hold back when I'm running on my own. We'll see what happens over the next three weeks...

August 8: 5K race

I tested my endurance in a 5K race this morning. I came in at 18:55. That's good progress from my 5K time of 19:33, two weeks ago. I went out plenty fast, probably too fast. I've always had a problem restraining myself immediately after the starting gun; it just seems that the right thing to do is sprint off.

I got passed by a couple runners at about 1.5 miles, but then I passed a couple runners in the final 1/4 mile. After all was said and done I finished 6th. I was happy with the kick I had at the end of the race; for that I'll thank all the blasted 400M intervals I've done.

Here's the funny thing about competitive running... I'm pretty sure it's the only sport where the competitor enjoys the end of the event more than competing in the event. No runner really enjoys running a race as much as they enjoy finishing it. The actual act of competing is grueling, but it's nice when it's over.

On the other hand, no basketball or football player is thinking "I can't wait until this is over" in the middle of the game. They enjoy the time they're competing. They enjoy shooting or passing a lot more than they enjoy walking off the court or field at the end of the game.

Now you have an idea of what was going through my mind during today's race.

August 6: 4-mile run

Despite a couple tough days of intervals this week, I still managed to hammer out a 4-mile run this evening. The only real highlight of the evening was getting flipped off by a car full of idiots. I was hoping to catch up to them so I could kick their car door in, but I couldn't run 40 mph.

My time was 27:17 (about 10 days ago it was 29:49), and I was happy to have stayed under 7-minute miles.

I have to admit I'm not real happy with my running shoes. It seems like my feet go in and out of numbness near the end of 3 or 4-mile runs. I think they lack some cushioning, possibly a trade-off for them being a lighter shoe. Expect me to be on the look out for some inserts.

August 5: A full track, and some good news

Usually the track is fairly empty, but this evening seemed like "bring your kids and heavy-set friends to the track day." I had to dodge kids on bikes and large adults throughout my intervals. I don't mean to sound like a pompous runner, but what happened to track etiquette? If you're not running, get the heck out of lane 1!

Anyway...

Good news! I ran an 800 today in 2:29.32. I usually round up, but there's no need to in this instance. It's the longest I've run at sub 5-minute mile pace--my last 800 was around 2:42.

The 800 tired me out very much--I went out for another one but got tired and decided to make it a 400 instead. I ran a total of four 400s after my 800, and the times are as follows: 1:15, 1:13, 1:14, and 1:15. Then I finished the workout with four 100s, untimed.

August 4: 3-mile run

I'm getting to be pretty happy with my 3-mile times. I went for a not-so-hard run tonight, mostly as a cool-down from yesterday's intervals, but I still came in at 20:11. Knowing that I could run under 20 minutes at will is pleasing.

I'm starting to really wish I had a 1-mile race to compete in. It would be so much easier to meet my goal in a race; it's just too dang easy to ease off on the pedal when I'm running alone.

Random mile trivia:

The current American record-holder in the 1600M run is Alan Webb with a time of 3:47. In 2001 he ran a sub 4-minute mile, being the first American high school runner to break the mark in 36 years.

August 3: More 400Ms and an acid test

My trainer, i.e., some guy I've been talking to on an internet forum, said I need to run at least six 400s to test my "ability to handle lactic acid." I've never run more than four 400s in a single workout.

I'm not 100% sure what lactic acid is, but by my sixth lap this evening it felt like satan's vomit was running through my veins. Here's how I handled it, though:

1:10 - 1:15 - 1:14 - 1:13 - 1:14 - 1:12.

I was pretty happy about getting my time down as much as I did by my sixth lap. On July 7 my fourth 400M was 1:21, so I'm excited about such progress. However, it should be noted that my trainer said to try this workout with only a 60-second break in between intervals. My breaks were more like 2 minutes... but he doesn't need to know that.

August 1: Heel striker

I did quite a bit of reading last night on running techniques. It seems the cool thing to do is run on the balls of your feet, which is the natural tendency when you're running barefoot. That's why people say it's "more natural" to also run that way with shoes on.

I'm a heck of a heel striker, I realized. What I read said you want to limit the amount of time your feet are on the ground, so if you hit heel first you've got to roll all the way to your toes before you take off again. Plus you "hit the brakes" for a split second when your heel hits in front of you.

This morning I ran down to the track and then ran four 400M's to see if I could run on the balls of my feet. My first 400 came in at 1:13--a bit slow. On my next 400 I worked on landing more on the middle of my foot, rather than the ball or the heel. 1:11. I continued that technique for the next two and came in at 1:12 and 1:13.

So I'm not sure which way is best. After my 400's I ran the stairs in the stands for a little bit, then ran home. Then I had two basketball games to play in, so today was a pretty active day. I celebrated by drinking some pop. Canada Dry ginger ale.