TEXAS Paul - Out to Pasture - Healing

What a great evening in Austin, TX.  During the afternoon the temperature was over 100 degrees, then some rain clouds came in and dropped the temperature over 20 degrees and hid the sun with clouds.  The humidity was still really high, but it made for a great night of running at McNeil High School track.

We had 40 of us there again tonight.  After 1.5 miles warmup we did drills and then Donnie had us do 1 mile medium hard, 100 meter recovry, the 800 meters faster, then 100 meter recovery, then 400 meters faster, then 100 meter recovery, then 200 meters faster. 

I ran with Gordon and Veronica and another guy.  Three or four others started out with us but couldn't keep up.  We did the 1 mile at a 7:24 pace, then the 800 meters at a 6:52 pace, then 400 meters at a 6:08 pace, then 200 meters at a 5:20 pace.  During this workout I got my heart rate up to 178 which is as high as I have ever seen my HR so that was fun, just a great workout.

After the workout we did a cooldown mile and then did the stretches with Donnie and the group.

Today is my grand-daughter's 9th birthday.  She called me at work to tell me about all the fun things they were doing in Colorado Springs, CO today, for fun.

Tonight it was 95 degrees and humid as I met Tom H at Lake Georgetown where we ran the trail that goes over to Jim Hogg Park.  We tried to keep a pace that would hold our heart rate steady, mine in the mid 140's and Tom's in the low 160's.  We did an out and back.  At the end of the out Tom's HR got going up to 179 and mine was up in the 160's, so we backed off to get things back under control.  Tom tripped 3 times and I tripped 4 times, but neither of us fell.  A nice run. 

A nice warm evening in Florence, TX, with temps in the low 90's and the sun setting and the moon rising.  I did 4 sets of the track and the stadium bleachers while Lynn walked the track.  Two other guys on the track tonight which is unusual for Florence HS. 

What a great 16 miles on the Hill of Life today.  Lynn and I met Tom at 6:00 AM at the top of the Hill of Life, temperature at that time in the 70's with high humidity, but it felt great.  By the time we were done the temperature was in the 90's, but with great hydration the heat was no big deal.  After the run we went down to Barton Springs and joined the people and the dogs in the spring to get cooled off and cleaned up.  A great day.

During the run we saw the two guys who are training for the Mt. Whitney climb, and the guy who is training to climb the Grand Tetons in Wyoming and then do the rim to rim hike of the Grand Canyon.  We also met two guys, Andrew and Chris, who are training for their first Pikes Peak ascent.  Met a young lady who is from Colorado who was biking the trail, she said she didn't take up biking until she got down here to Austin.

Our heart rates today were behaving very well with mine running 155 on the first 1/4 mile of the ascent and 145 to 149 during the rest of the ascent.  I enhanced the electrolytes with the Nuuns tablets added to my sports drink.  On the descent we have really picked it up over the last few weeks as our footing and pace have been feeling easy and smooth.  In the past our descent was typically 5min 15sec but today on the last 8 descents our times were running from 4:09 (the last descent) to 4:12, 4:15, 4:32, 4:38, 4:39, 4:40, 4:42.  Just a really nice workout where we felt strong the entire workout and walked away still very confident about our training.

Next week is the big one, 26 miles starting at Barton Springs Pool 7.5 miles up the greenbelt to the top of the Hill of Life, then finish 12 HOL, then return back to Barton Springs Pool..  That is going to be a great workout.