December 28 2017

The end of the year. Time to think about past accomplishments and propose new goals for the new year. I already signed up for two marathons, St. Louis and CRANDIC.

St. Louis, April 8, 2018
CRANDIC, April 29th, 2018

I also would like to run all the CorridorRunning races they have for the year.

FreezeFest 5K, Marion, February 17, 2018
Shamrock Shuffle, March 10, 2018
Fifth Season Races, July 4th, 2018
NewBo Run, September 2nd, 2018
SwampFox Festival, September 29th, 2018
Timber Trek, October 2018
Indian Summer Classic, October, 2018

Omaha Marathon 2017

This was the first time I officially paced a group in a marathon. I paced the 4 hr 40 min group. It was a small race, only 270 runners finishing the Full marathon. But, there were about 700 runners doing the Half. Pacers met around 6:00 AM near the start line and we got to know each other a little bit. Weather was excellent. A little bit cold early in the morning, but once we started running, we forgot about the cold weather. Tried to maintain the 10:40 pace in every mile, but of course, I was slightly faster than that, so I tried to slow down or walk during the water stops.

I was happily surprised I was going to pace a group of runners. They were all very nice people, and we talked while we were running the first few miles. I think some of them knew each other and were from Omaha.
The problem was that I ran for 26.5 miles and not 26.2 miles, so, even though my pace was 10:40 mpm, I finished about 1 min 30 sec late.

Garmin Connect

Alternator Workout

Track workout for Friday, September 1st, 2017

distance	pace	Time	Real Pace
1 mile	warm-up	10:11	10:11
800 m	10K	3:54	7:51
200 m	recovery
300 m	5K	1:13	6:31
300 m	recovery
800 m	10K	4:00	8:03
200 m	recovery
300 m	5K	1:17	6:53
300 m	recovery
800 m	10K	3:42	7:27
200 m	recovery
300 m	5K	1:15	6:42
300 m	recovery
800 m	10K	3:37	7:17
200 m	recovery
300 m	5K	1:03	5:38
1 mile	cool-down	8:41	8:41

Maraton CDMX

We met our Psique Runners friends the night before the marathon. Had carb-loading dinner at Italianis in Reforma 222.

(Doc Alex, Mitzi Herrera, Alejandra Taboada, Moises Romero, Enrique, Horacio O).

I guess I was planing on running the marathon under 4 hrs. That is a pace of 9:10 min/mile. We took the metro from Sevilla station to Metro Pino Suarez and walked to 20 de Noviembre Ave. There, we tried to find the corral we belonged to. We also met some of the psique runners.

Well, I was going a little bit faster than that for the first 8 miles. Not a good idea.  I also had a bowel problem, so I had to find the appropriate place to do my thing around mile 10. Everything else went just down hill. I tried to figure out what I could do. So, I decided to try to run for three minutes and walk one.

I guess this picture was taken at Reforma Avenue. 

Here, we are by the Angel de la Independencia. I met Betty there, and she gave me a Garmin bracelet, so I could get a Garmin t-shirt after the marathon.

GARMIN CONNECT

2 miles warm up + Ladder down + 2 miles cool down

I know there are about ten days before the CDMX Marathon and I need to slow down distance and pace. But, couldn't miss out Friday AM Workout!

distance	time	pace
1 mile warm up	9:53	9:53
1 mile warm up	9:17	9:17
100 m	26 s	7:35
100 m	26 s	6:46
100 m	26 s	7:03
100 m	26 s	6:35
1600	7:26	7:26
1200	6:11	8:15
800	4:14	8:08
400	2:02	7:47
2 mile cool down	9:32	9:32
1 mile cool down	9:22	9:22

Two races tomorrow, races?  I should call the "workouts." Donor Dask 5K and Packpocket Run 5K. Can I keep a 9:00 MPM pace?

Speed Track Workout

Completed the speed workout at the track this morning. Having several excellent runners inspired me to do my best.

1 mile warm-up

interval	time	pace
200m @ 10K Pace	38 sec	5:53
200m Recovery
400m @ 10K Pace	1:38	6:30
200m Recovery
600m @ 10K Pace	2:32	6:39
200m Recovery
800m @ 10K Pace	3:14	6:29
400m Recovery
800m @ 5K Pace	3:39	7:14
400m Recovery
600m @ 5K Pace	2:38	7:08
200m Recovery
400m @ 5K Pace	1:31	6:04
200m Recovery
200m @ 5K Pace	34 sec	5:13

1 mile cool-down

Garmin Connect

My new Forerunner 920XT

It arrived!  It took almost no time for me to receive my new Garmin watch from Amazon. It cost about $280 dlls, and I believe it is a really good deal.
I hope I will have no need to correct things anymore in Garmin-Connect or Strava when I go for a bicycle ride or a run. Also, this watch has Virtual Partner. It should help me maintain the pace in my races.

Bix7

The famous Bix7 race in Davenport will be tomorrow. The race is often run by more than 12,000 runners and it is the most famous non-marathon race in the mid-west.

I have run this race a few times in the past.  The first two miles are pretty crowded and it is hard to run a PR when you are behind lots of slower runners. However, it is a lot of fun to be running with so many people. Brady St. has an 8% grade and it is a tough first mile. This will be the fourth time I run this race. I was planing to run it with my friend Salvador. Unfortunately, he will not be running it this year, so I will need to change plans. Maybe, I will practice my CDMX Marathon pace. Don't want to get too tired if I am running a long distance run on Sunday. 

July 29, 2017		9:00 – 9:09 est.	1:03:00
July 30, 2016	54/356	8:13	57:36
July 28, 2012	60/424	7:56	55:35
July 30, 2011	56/517	8:01	56:07

BeastPacing @ Omaha

I learned about BeastPacing.com and decided to join them. Fortunately, I will be able to run the Omaha Nebraska Marathon on September 17. That's about three weeks after the Mexico City Marathon. I plan to pace the 4 hr 40 min group. I am sure I can finish a marathon in that pace group (about 10:40 min/mile). But, I am not sure how much training I need to do. Hopefully, I will figure it out. We shall see. I am excited. 

BeastPacing-Horacio

4th of July

I am writing this blog one day after the 4th of July. Got to see my daughter and she made my day as usual.
I have been thinking about my running after volunteering at the Fifth Season Races in Cedar Rapids and signing up for the Mexico City Marathon. The question I keep hearing is, why do you run?
A quick answer is I run because I want to stay fit and healthy. But, there are more deep thoughts about this.
I run because I experience something deeper when I run. It's not the adrenaline and it's not the endorphins. It's some strange feeling about connecting with other fellow runners. Isn't running an individual sport. Not really, It is more like a team sport. We help each other, we encourage each other. We keep each other accountable.

TrekFest 5K June 24, 2017

This is a small-town race in Riverside, IA, the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk.

The national anthem was sung and the race started at 8:00 AM. We were not given electronic chips. Fortunately, a Gator truck was leading the way to the fastest runner. There were just enough volunteers to tell the runners when they had to make a turn, which were almost twenty turns!!!

So may turns confused some of us. I believe I ran the correct course, but ended up with 2.90 miles, instead of 3.1 miles. The course was a difficult one. The race started in the south part and headed north where a hill is. The good news is that the race finished going downhill. 

There were no more than 100 runners. Medals were given to first and second place in each age category, and trophies were given to the overall winners (male and female). 

Parking:  I would say plenty of parking close to where the race starts (and ends). 

Food after the race: bananas and energy bars. 

A t-shirt was given to all participants. Nice blue cotton t-shirt. 

GARMIN-CONNECT

Marion Arts Festival Half Marathon

Wasn't sure how to get to the start line and where to park my car, but I made it. Put on my shirt with the bib number and met with Jeff and Shawn. I told them my goal was to keep a pace of 8:20 or so during the race. The gun was shot and I started following Jeff, but I saw he was going a little bit too fast for me, so I let him go and try to run my own race.

The weather was not the best. It was raining and cold. In some points of the race, the wind was hitting hard. There were more than a thousand runners, so it was easy to follow some good pacers. Realized I was going faster than my goal time, so I kept the pace and tried to do better the second half.

There were 415 runners in the half marathon (223F and 192M). I guess many runners decided not to run because of the weather conditions. Zack Baker finished in 1 hr 10 min, that's a 5:19 pace!  This guy is fast!  I wonder how much he improved in his last trip to Kenya. 

GARMIN

Red Shoe Half Marathon 2017

Didn't know how fast to run this race, as usual. I met with Jeff and thought about running with him. He started too fast, first mile at 7:49 and second mile at 7:09 min/mile. I knew that was way too fast for a half marathon. But, tried to maintain the pace. Then, I saw Shawn, so I thought about keeping her pace.  She was running a little bit too fast for me. But we helped each other and stayed together until the end.
Got second place in my AG. Robert Cornell got first. Jeff got third place! He was not too far behind us. I got two medals in this race!

GARMIN

Kewash Nature Trail Half Marathon 2017

There were more runners this year than last's. The first part of the course was new and had to run in some streets of Washington, IA. Running on the trail was the best part.  You can feel the difference once we finish the trail and have to run on the street asphalt.

I was able to run faster this year than the previous ones. Very pleased with my time. However, the last mile was painful running uphill on the streets. 

2017       PACE: 7:45 MPM              TIME: 1:41:30     DATE: 04/23/2017

2016       PACE: 8:23 MPM              TIME: 1:49:54     DATE: 05/21/2016

2015       PACE: 8:09 MPM              TIME: 1:46:48     DATE: 06/06/2015

2014       PACE: 7:59 MPM              TIME: 1:44:40     DATE: 07/07/2014

GARMIN

Now, the question is, can I recover enough so that I can run well again in two weeks for the Red Shoe Half Marathon?  I need to be smart.

Sunday Long Run

Training for Kewash Nature Trail Half Marathon next Saturday. I have run this race since it was started in 2014. I think I should be able to PR this race (really? faster than 8:09?).

2016	1:49:58	8:23 MPM
2015	1:46:52	8:09 MPM

I feel like I can do better than the last couple of years. I know, I am tired from last week. But, I guess I am pretty fit and haven't been hurt lately. Ran about 9.6 miles this morning (avg pace: 8:32 mpm). I wanted to run 8:45 pace, but it was hard. I ran faster the second half.