Excuses
Ran 17 miles Saturday morning almost 10 minutes slower than I did three weeks ago so I’m looking for excuses. Here is what I have come up with so far…
- Still recovering from the all out effort at Tom King.
- Still recovering from the crud/cool that I came down will last weekend.
- It was humid
- I’m getting old (this is always a good one to use.)
Even though these seem rather lame, sometimes any excuse will do.
Woke up Friday night to the sound of thunder (sorry Bob Seger) but the rain had moved to the East by the time I got up to run. Felt good for most of the run but just knew that the pace was slower than the last few weeks and didn’t have the energy to pick it up. The last two miles my legs were getting tired.
This week is the last week before the taper and my hope is to run my last 20 miler over the first 20 miles of the Country Music Marathon course next Saturday.
Here are the splits from Saturday’s run….
Splits
| Mile | Pace (min/mile) | Speed (mph) | Heart Rate |
Elev Gain |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| actual | +/- avg | actual | +/- avg | |||
| 1 | 10′ 09 | +0′ 35 | 5.9 | -0.4 | 134 | -27 ft |
| 2 | 9′ 56 | +0′ 22 | 6.0 | -0.2 | 130 | +6 ft |
| 3 | 9′ 53 | +0′ 19 | 6.1 | -0.2 | 133 | +46 ft |
| 4 | 9′ 51 | +0′ 17 | 6.1 | -0.2 | 141 | +62 ft |
| 5 | 8′ 52 | -0′ 42 | 6.8 | +0.5 | 139 | -128 ft |
| 6 | 9′ 58 | +0′ 24 | 6.0 | -0.3 | 142 | +49 ft |
| 7 | 9′ 09 | -0′ 25 | 6.5 | +0.3 | 145 | +7 ft |
| 8 | 9′ 29 | -0′ 05 | 6.3 | +0.0 | 145 | +20 ft |
| 9 | 9′ 36 | +0′ 02 | 6.2 | -0.0 | 146 | +42 ft |
| 10 | 9′ 12 | -0′ 22 | 6.5 | +0.2 | 144 | +3 ft |
| 11 | 9′ 20 | -0′ 14 | 6.4 | +0.1 | 140 | -112 ft |
| 12 | 9′ 40 | +0′ 06 | 6.2 | -0.1 | 143 | +20 ft |
| 13 | 9′ 20 | -0′ 14 | 6.4 | +0.1 | 145 | +33 ft |
| 14 | 9′ 12 | -0′ 22 | 6.5 | +0.2 | 145 | -36 ft |
| 15 | 9′ 11 | -0′ 23 | 6.5 | +0.3 | 146 | -49 ft |
| 16 | 9′ 59 | +0′ 25 | 6.0 | -0.3 | 146 | +33 ft |
| 17 | 9′ 34 | +0′ 00 | 6.3 | -0.0 | 149 | +26 ft |
| end | 10′ 25 | +0′ 51 | 5.8 | -0.5 | 149 | +6 ft |
| Versus average of 9′ 34 min/mile | ||||||
Training for the week
Sun: Rest
Mon: Rest
Tues: 8 miles – 1:13:12, 9:08 pace
Wed: 4.15 miles – 6 x 100m strides, pace 9:04
Thur: 11 miles – 1:38:38, 8:58 pace
Fri: Rest
Sat: 17 miles – 2:42:22, pace 9;34
Total for the week: 40.15 miles
March 30th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Even with a slower than desired pace, it looks like a good run. It was the culmination of a hard week. Also, from your heart rates, it looks like you pushed enough for a solid, hard run.
And, yes, “age” is always a good excuse. At our age, we can use it both ways: (1) “That was a great run for an old geezer” or (2) “You know, we’ll have to take it a little easier today because of my age”.
March 30th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
You aren’t doing Kroger to Kroger?
Good luck next weekend with your last long run.
Maybe you’ll be totally recovered by then.
Don’t beat yourself up over one training run…you’ll be fine!
March 31st, 2008 at 11:18 am
I had a slow run this weekend, too. Must be in the air. Don’t worry about it, and get some rest – I see a sub 4 in yours and Michele’s future!!
April 1st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Good luck!! Can’t wait to read the race report!
April 6th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Sometimes runs happen…sometimes they don’t. I’d bet on the “crud” as the main culprit.
Thanks for your comment this morning…yes, that was my Rocket City hat in my hand. Further, on Rocket City, I wore my tech shirt in the race and, in the portajohn line just before the race, met a guy who had his Rocket City shirt on! We only had a minute or so to talk but he crashed there like most of us did, sinking to a 5:30 in the humidity. I was hoping to find him after the race and get a photo of Rocket City Alums, but it didn’t happen.
Thanks for noticing!!!!!
April 7th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Love the excuses. I’ve used a couple of them myself. The post from your daughter a while back was cool.