virgin pavement

connect.garmin.com/activity/117864836

i called dan last night to see if he'd like to go on a ride this morning. i think he groaned, but he kindly agreed to humor his early-rising friend. we met up at his house at 6:00 and headed toward the bank to gauge the wind direction. the flag wasn't any help hanging limp, so we headed north toward iuka.

just north of the city limits, we hit brand-spankin' new pavement which took us all the way out to iuka. it was beautiful. something to make grown men cry. they hadn't cut new rumble strips into the shoulder yet, so it was even better. we rolled along it happily chatting.

at iuka we turned east and spun around the corners toward the evergreen rest area. we got there, turned around and headed back home. same corners. same awesome pavement. same route back to school street and my driveway.

it was really enjoyable to ride with dan again and to take a break from running.

6.35 miles in 50:01

connect.garmin.com/activity/117650859

hal said run for 50 minutes. i ran for 50 minutes. he said, run tempo. i did my best to run tempo, but my middle splits were a bit slow. sorry, hal. i'm pretty happy with my run though. i ran out on highway 54 to the first dirt road headed north. i ran on it until the second road headed west. ran back over to highway 61 and took it south back into town. i turned at maple and hurried down it. i knew i was close to a new PR for 10K again. i hit the lap button at 6.2 miles. the clock read 48:49 - a new PR by 28 seconds! woohoo! i kept running until 50 minutes and stopped to walk home for my cool down. i mentally set a goal of breaking 48 minutes on a 10K early this year. it was unimaginable at that time. i'm beginning to think it might be within reach. time will tell.

Dasturdly Duo

Note to self: Some foods were not meant to be combined. Skittles and M&Ms for instance. Separately, they are delicious. Mixed together in the mouth? Awful! I learned this while learning to administer medications during my EMS transition class. Duly noted.

3.10 miles in 23:49

connect.garmin.com/activity/117424448

i was going to take it easy this morning after yesterday's speedwork, but after i started out my run scaring my friend, tami, and her dog, sasha, my heartrate was already elevated (can't believe it hit 206 at some point! yikes!) so i pushed it a bit. i ran out around the cemetery, over to highway 61, turned on maple and ran halfway up the evil hill, turning on terrace to head home the easier way. when i hit 3.1 miles i was just under 24 minutes. not my fastest 5K ever, but decent for me...and would you look at those negative splits! i'm happy. i'm sweating. i'm going to walk around to cool down.

5.27 miles in 39:57

connect.garmin.com/activity/117202032

my brain tells me it's a good idea to warm up before a hard workout. every monday, my legs beg to differ. they argued for staying in bed today. they lost. i took a new route from home to the track this morning, running through the hospital parking lot to third street. it seemed like a more direct route and i didn't have to deal with the sharp downhill or uphill on second street.

connect.garmin.com/activity/117202028

the pain of running back to back to back miles was about what i thought it would be. awful! i did fine for the first half mile or so and then oxygen deprivation set in. it happened every, stinkin' time! ugh! i'm pretty pleased with my splits, though. i hit 6:46 on my first, 6:52 on my second and 7:00 on my final mile. the first one was a PR for the mile, so i guess i can't complain.

connect.garmin.com/activity/117202019

nothing to report, really. i ran hard on the track, walked for a bit and then ran home. not much else to say.

12.00 miles in 1:45:52

connect.garmin.com/activity/116630452

this morning's run started with a short warm up with good company. my friend, alicia, and two of her friends came running around the corner just as i was about to hit start on my garmin, so i hit it and ran with them for a little while. they were on a 10-miler. when they stopped to walk, i ran on, wishing them well.

on my own, i continued on around town. i'd wanted for a long time to figure out how to get from the east side of town to the west without dropping clear down to highway 54, so i crossed the railroad tracks at maple and continued on to the west. i wound my way around, made a wrong turn that took me through a hay field and ended up coming in to the north side of town by jumping across a little ditch. on the other side was the trailer court i thought i'd end up in. success!

as i continued on running the streets of the west side of town, the urge hit me. ugh! i was less than 30 minutes into what was supposed to be a hour and forty-five minute run. thankfully, i was close to kwik shop. i stopped in, took care of business and was on my way in less than five minutes.

from kwik shop, i circled around the south side of town, taking lake road to country club and winding through another trailer park before running past wal-mart. running north from wally world, i took a spin around the pratt community college campus before running up to younie's landscaping and heading west toward the cemetery.

from the cemetery, i ran south and then backtracked along the same route i'd taken earlier. i was running stronger at this point, finally dropping under 8:00 pace. when i hit 1:45, i was just under 12 miles, so i ran it out before i stopped. i must admit, i was sorely tempted to continue on to 13.1 miles. i'd have easily been under two hours. i'm happy with what i could get done. more speedwork on monday.

report in baiku

today's dailymission on dailymile required me to post my workout in haiku. i worked mine out in a series of baiku.

dark and lonely road,
stained patchy black by rainfall,
awaiting sunrise.

cyclist rides slowly,
seeing only fifty feet
by dim headlamp glow.

downhill then up,
wheels and cranks spin round and round.
no effort. peace. bliss.

connect.garmin.com/activity/116213537 (21.38 miles @ 15.3mph)

5.52 miles in 45:02

connect.garmin.com/activity/116004331

over the past couple of days, i've been developing pain in the arch of my foot, so i put more arch support in the green swarm to see if it would be relieved some. i felt a few twinges at first, but they soon dissipated and i was able to run as i wished.

i still have not mastered the tempo run. that much is plain to me. i love to run fast when i start out. my first three miles were under 8:00 pace. then the wheels fell off and i struggled for the next two miles. only the last half mile or so felt good again. i thought about continuing on to 10K, but did not feel like it would be of any benefit, so i stopped at hal's prescribed 45 minutes and walked a bit to cool down.

i'm in now, mostly cooled off. breakfast is in oven - apple cinnamon coffee cake! i'm off to get cleaned up and ready for work. have a great day!

3.10 miles in 26:53

connect.garmin.com/activity/115792812

perfect. that's what this morning was. 59 degrees. barely a breath of wind. what more could you ask for?

hal's plan called for a three mile run, so i gave it to him with a little extra. i ran east and took the little hill off terrace down and circled around the run up the hill on maple. i was going to do another loop, but decided to switch things up and run back around to take maple down and the other hill up. i did that and then reversed directions again. i never really got very far from home.

on my last loop as i turned to run down from terrace, i spotted a group of runners ahead of me. i picked up my pace a bit and caught them at the corner. i tried not to startle them, but how does a man not startle a group of ladies in the dark? not sure it's possible. anyway, i said hi and ran on around the loop and up the hill to my finish line.

5.24 miles in 49:40

connect.garmin.com/activity/115569625

woke up feeling a lot better this morning than i did last monday. i ran this warm up at a good clip, making sure my legs were good and buzzed before my speedwork began.

connect.garmin.com/activity/115569620 

speedwork hurts. that's all there is to it. push as hard as you can and die. repeat again and again and again. last week's 400m sprints weren't as bad as this week's 800m sprints. on a 400m i knew what to expect having run that distance in high school. the 800m was harder. the first one wasn't so bad, but each one after that got a little bit worse. still, i made it through them. even saw a couple of other runners at the track this time. the guy said he was just starting to run again after several years off.

connect.garmin.com/activity/115569616 

i walked away from the track a bit and then ran a nice little 1 mile cool down which finished with a "hello" from sasha the bulldog. she's a nice dog, but pretty protective of her owners.

6.20 miles in 49:17

connect.garmin.com/activity/114941285

at last year's run for missions 10K, i ran the first mile of my 10K race in 7:20 and it did me in for the rest of the race. i finished barely under my 54 minute goal. today i ran a 7:26 first mile and felt relatively good. i still slowed down some in the middle of hal's prescribed 10K, but i never really felt like i would have to quit. it was kind of crazy running out on the highway north of town, but the traffic was sparse and the shoulder's wide, so it was actually pretty nice. i ran mostly uphill going out with the wind at my back. finished the first 5K in less than 24 minutes. a good time at that distance for me. i turned around and ran downhill back into town. there were two points at which i felt a little nauseous during the return trip, but it never got bad enough to force me to slow down. i kept pushing it hoping for a new PR and i got one. 49:17 is a full 1:02 faster than the PR i set just 10 days ago. i'm happy with that!

A Brief Note

Note to self: Never agree to head up a product review for men's undergarments. Let me briefly explain why? The offline (and online) conversation between male reviewers quickly deteriorates into junior high locker room humor full of puns and euphemisms. It's a package deal. Duly noted.

3.76 miles in 30:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/114260746

the streets we slick and shiny after last night's rain showers. there were puddles here and there, but nothing i couldn't get out and around as i ran. hal's plan called for a 30-minute tempo run today, so i pushed play on the loud, obnoxious music (not really) and set out to rip my legs off. my way out there goal was to hit four miles in thirty minutes. i pushed it hard at the beginning, but in the end couldn't maintain that pace. still, i don't feel bad about what i was able to do. it's better than man runs i've taken.

Drinks to Avoid

Note to self: Caffeinated drinks are not the only kind you should avoid late at night. If you drink a quart of Gatorade in less than an hour right before you go to bed, you are NOT going to sleep for long. You will have to...ummm...get up to see a man about a horse. You might even have to go back and check the horse out more than once during the night. Duly Noted.

3.10 miles in 26:38

connect.garmin.com/activity/114035818

after yesterday's speedwork, a nice easy recovery run was in order. i started my garmin at my house and didn't look at it except to glance at mileage for the rest of the run. i didn't want to see my pace and feel pressure to speed up or slow down. i just kept it in the "feel good" range. i did the same loop - a new one for me - twice. almost twice really since my 5K distance came up a block or two short of the second lap's completion. that gave me a nice cool down walk back home. it was fun running under pratt's "hot" and "cold" water towers.

Who are you praying for?

“Jesus went through all the towns and, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” (Matthew 9:35-38)

There are two groups in this story for which you and I ought to pray. First, we ought to pray for those who are harassed and helpless in our community, those without a shepherd, those who don’t know Jesus, who haven’t experienced his compassion, those who are lost! Pray for that person living next door who in desperation is calling out to God, “Help me and I’ll get my life straightened out!” Plead the case of the person down the street from this building who’s thinking, “God, if you want me to go to church, work it out.” Weep over the person who is rebelling against God with all their might! See the lost as Jesus sees them and have compassion! If that is not your usual reaction to the pain that sinners are experiencing, pray for yourself. Pray that God would give you his heart for the lost! He loved lost people so much gave his Son to die for them. He still loves them with that same “at all costs” love today! Let his love change you and your attitude toward those without salvation.

The second group we’re supposed to pray for is harvest laborers. We’re not talking those custom cutter guys with their multiple combines. I’m not telling you not to pray for them. I’m just saying that’s not who Jesus is talking about here. He’s talking about those who will take the good news to others. He’s talking about those who will be compassionate toward the lost. He’s talking about you and me and all those who have chosen to follow him.

You see, here’s the truth! When you pray that the Lord would send out harvesters, you’re volunteering. Don’t believe me? Check out the beginning of chapter 10. Assuming Matthew’s account is chronological, we see the twelve sent out to do ministry in chapter 10. Jesus says, “Pray for laborers because there are so few.” The next thing you know, the disciples go. Did they pray for harvesters? It doesn’t say they did, but it could at least be implied.

When was the last time you prayed for either the lost or for God to send harvest hands out? Are you willing to go to a world in need of a Savior?

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

5.28 miles in 1:00:46

connect.garmin.com/activity/113807840

i walked to work out the early morning stiffness and then ran down to the track at pratt high for some speed work. nothing really exciting to report. it's a warm up.

connect.garmin.com/activity/113807832

after warming up and stretching a bit, i set out to conquer hal's workout for the day: 6 x 400m sprints. i walked around the track to the starting line from where i'd been stretching and took off on my first sprint. it felt amazing to be running fast. everything felt great. my breath was under control. my arms were pumping in rhythm. then i hit the 200m mark. ugh! i'd forgotten how hard the second half of a 400m sprint is. i pressed on and finished strong. my first sprint came in at 1:24. that skinny kid was in the grandstands laughing at me. punk! i jogged and walked another 400m and then hit the gas for my second sprint. my time on the second one...1:30. four more to go. i jogged less and less during my rest laps and came in with times of 1:32, 1:28, 1:27 and 1:29. i'm pretty pleased with those times. i'm even more pleased that i kept the puke down when it wanted to escape.

connect.garmin.com/activity/113807824

i walked a little ways from the track to cool down and then ran the mile back home. nothing to say besides that. cool downs aren't that exciting.

10.00 miles in 1:32:25

connect.garmin.com/activity/113359087

i had a small twinge in my right hamstring last night. enough of one to make me limp a bit. i decided when i went to bed that i wasn't going to get up and run. better to rest than to risk further injury.

by this afternoon, i was stir crazy! my leg wasn't bothering me anymore, so i decided i could put in my 90 minutes and not disappoint hal.

i geared up and headed out, promising my wife that i'd run back by after an hour so she could accompany on her bike for the last thirty minutes.

i felt really good at first. my "take it easy" pace was under 8:00. i ran around the south side of town and then headed west out of town for a bit. when i'd gone a little over a half hour, i turned around and took a varied route back into town.

i made it home about two minutes early, so i ran around the block so my wife could get out. she was there when i swung back by the driveway. she rode with me for a little while, but i was running slower than she wanted to ride, so she sped away leaving me to suffer alone.

for the last thirty minutes or so, i made short out and back trips close to home. i hit the 90-minute mark at 9.75 miles or somewhere around that so i just kept going. i was close enough to 10 miles that i "had" to get there.

i was about .15 miles from the 10-mile mark when dan came riding up. he cruised along with me until i hit stop on my garmin and stopped to walk it off. when i got back to the house with dan in tow, i ran inside and grabbed some gatorade and then talked with a friend of dan's who is training for a half marathon in october. he has my number now and we're going to try to get together to run sometime next week. hope he doesn't rip my legs off.

Only One Day Off

Note to self: Double check, no make that triple check your schedule. A friend of mine showed up for a funeral a mere 24 hours late because he thought the email he got from the pastor said Friday at 10. It didn't. It read Thursday at 10. Oops! Duly noted.

3.10 miles in 23:32

connect.garmin.com/activity/112959550

i got up at o' dark hundred again this morning. it was 50 degrees with a light wind. perfect running weather! i played a little higdon says and higdon said, "run three miles at race pace." i grabbed my tunes and headed out.

i was feeling kind of sluggish before i started running, a little groggy even, but when i started running what i planned to be an easy warm up i hit sub-8 pace. crazy! since i was already running that fast, i just kept going. i figured this pace was probably higher than i'd do in my half marathon, but it's hard to hold back when you feel good.

it's also hard to keep going when you feel awful. that's what i felt during my second mile. as i climbed up the hill headed east on school street, i suddenly felt nauseous. i slowed up a bit, but refused to stop. after a minute or two the "i've gotta puke" feeling passed and i was able to finish strong.

as usual for me, i couldn't stop at just three miles. i had to add the extra tenth to make it a 5K. it's that distance that i have previous times in. so i did it and this run ended up being one of my best 5K times ever.

Prayers God Will Answer

Note to self: Think about what you're saying when you pray. I had a friend who wasn't a believer who prayed, "God, if you want me to go to church, work things out so I can!" If God wants you to be a part of his church?! Do you think he's going to say no?! I can almost hear a divine snicker at that one. Duly noted.

Choosing a Therapist

Note to self: Choose your therapist carefully. I got unsolicited relational advice from a friend last night. He assured me I was in charge of my marriage and my wife should do what I say regardless. I am glad he's a car salesman and not my counselor. Duly Noted.

6.20 miles in 50:19

connect.garmin.com/activity/112550338

remember that skinny kid i beat last year in the run for missions 10K? no, not Kevin J. my high school self. well, he's crying today. laying on the floor sobbing becaue he got beat by almost four minutes! my 50:16 today is the fastest 10K i've ever run! take that, skinny kid!

so how did i do it? hal's plan called for a 45-minute tempo run. i knew from last week about how hard i could push it for 40 minutes, so i just chose that pace and ran east. i wanted to see if i could get out of town and run a little dirt since there will be some tall weeds and dirt in the run for missions half marathon next month.

i made it to the edge to town and hit the dirt in less than 15 minutes. i ran through the dark shadows, past farm houses. the only sound was the crunch of my feet tapping out a steady beat. there's nothing better!

when i hit west river road, i turned south and ran across highway 54 to fifth street which took me back into town. i ran fifth street on the bricks all the way past main street and then turned north to see if i could figure out where my new friends troy and Amy S live. i think i ran past them on oak. good morning, everyone!

from there i ran back up to school and headed for home. i hit the 45-minute mark just after i past the house. i'd covered 5.52 miles. i just kept going. i'd figured out quite some time before this that a sub-50 minute 10K might be possible and i wasn't going to stop just because hal said 45 when something like that was within reach.

i did a bunch of circling around until, just a block or so south of my house, near Dan M.'s, i clicked over to 6.20 miles. i stopped my garmin. missed a sub-50 by 20 seconds. i'm not complaining. i'm super pumped about my new PR! it's going down in the next few weeks! the scariest part of this whole thing...i think i could've run for another 45 minutes at this pace. i felt great! look out haviland!

3.10 miles in 25:47

connect.garmin.com/activity/112331668

hal asked me to run three miles. i ran 3.1. i ran over to stout and up to the greenlawn cemetery on the north side of town. i turned in at the entrance while it was still dark and ran along the outside roads. greenlawn is a big cemetery. wow!

i ran the loop and then ran south down stout to highway 54 where i turned east. i ran through the dillon's parking lot and around on random to edgeford, finishing my 5K right in front of my house.

i was cold almost immediately after i stopped running. the sweat combined with the 52 degree ambient temperature made it a bit chilly. still, i walked a block or so before stepping inside. no sense in stiffening up without a proper cool down. my heart rate was down to 107bpm by the time i turned the knob on the front door to go in.

5.44 miles in 51:42

connect.garmin.com/activity/112254885

i timed my first hill repeats perfectly. i was at camp quaker haven south of arkansas city. the grounds sit several hundred feet above the arkansas river. the road to and from the camp is crazy hilly! woohoo!

i set off with a fuzzy plan to run my eight hill repeats on the same long hill to the east of the camp. i ran down it and then up. when i got to the top, i just kept going. i figured the next couple of miles out to the pavement were hilly enough to count, so i ran west.

up and down and up and down i went, the gravel crunching beneath my feet. the flash, my kinvaras, did remarkably well at shielding my feet from the sharper rocks. the green swarm lets me feel every tiny pebble. still love them for speedwork on pavement, but the flash will be my go to shoe for rougher terrain.

just before my turn around at the pavement, a bit white dog came out to greet me with a loud bark or two. he was pretty tall and didn't show up until i was pretty much past his driveway, so i had to go on. i turned around less than a minute later and kept a wary eye out for him. he was elsewhere on the property and didn't come to say hi again.

i ran back to the camp and on east down that big hill again. i ran up it and then circled around the heart. i was going to make a second loop, but the camp director's dog came out after me and i decided to call it quits. i'd had a decent workout already and i didn't want to keep moving and tempt a bite.

8.75 miles in 1:24:22

connect.garmin.com/activity/111443866

i set out to run 90 minutes this morning as prescribed by mr. higdon. i ran the first half hour alone and then was joined by my good friend mike for three loops around lemon park.

everything was going fine until i left lemon park in search of a final 30 minutes of running. climbing up the incline on 8th street, gastric distress hit. i ran through it. it hit again. i ran through it. finally, after several attacks, i had to stop to walk. it was that uncomfortable. i walked for a bit and then ran again. i had to walk again. ugh! i hate running sometimes.

i don't remember how many times i had to walk to keep the bear at bay, but i finally decided enough was enough and took the most direct route i could home. even as i approached the house, i toyed with running the final six minutes. about that time urgency returned. i quit. there will be another day.

cool down

connect.garmin.com/activity/111225570

i got home from my run, dripping with sweat. i changed quickly into my cycling gear and headed to dan's house. he had told me that he was riding with brandon this morning, so i wanted to get in on at least part of their ride.

i rode past dan's house. his lights were on. i rode past brandon's house. no lights. i rode back to dan's. he was almost ready by that time. i turned around and the two of us rode back to brandon's. brandon was out and ready to go, so we circled around and headed south on stout.

we followed the route of least resistance, the one we do almost every day. i rode with my companions until we got to the turn on lake road. there we parted company and i rode north toward the highway. an 18-wheeler slotted in behind me as i was climbing the short hill up and over the railroad tracks. i'm telling you, the economy must be bad. he drafted off of me all the way to 54. hope i helped his gas mileage.

i headed west on 54 with just enough time to get back home before my 6:30 deadline. the light was timed perfectly for me at 61. it changed just as i was hitting the intersection. woohoo! i rode down and then up and turned on howard to go home. i pulled into my driveway at 6:28. (7.32 miles @ 15.6mph)

3.10 miles in 25:16

connect.garmin.com/activity/111225578

i started out my morning with a little 3-miler. i ran down to lemon park by a slightly different route than usual, working my way through sixth street park on my way. i think the city needs to add a few more lights along their walkways in the parks. i nearly ran over a guy twice this morning. of course, it's not the city's fault he was wearing dark colors while walking through their park. more lights would be nice though.

i finished my outbound journey and headed back home by basically the same route. i varied it only after i finished running through the parks. i ran back through the hospital campus and crossed at lawrence because there wasn't any traffic. i could've stopped at my house since the plan only called for a 3-miler, but i always have to go that extra tenth to make it a 5K.

a rest day ride

connect.garmin.com/activity/111001395

my half marathon training plan called for a rest day today, so i went for a nice easy bike ride. the wind was predicted to be out of the southwest, but when i went past several flags early in my ride, they all said the wind was clearly out of the southeast. i adjusted my plan and rode southeast toward glendale.

everything was going along fine until i turned south at the lake. i first noticed a reflective yellow sign in the ditch. as i approached, i stared at it. it read, "loose gravel." a few feet beyond it, there was indeed loose gravel. i'm not sure how long it went on, but it was long enough to make me wonder if the county had completely destroyed my road. then, just about the time i had decided i'd better turn around, it ended.

i rode out to glendale and turned around. the lights of pratt were pretty spectacular this morning. with a clear sky and a view for miles they were brilliant.

i rode back, taking the crown of the road downhill through the gravel, hoping not to fall. i took a spin around the lake and then rode over to lemon for a second little loop before heading home.

tomorrow i've got a 3 mile run on tap and on saturday i've got to get a 90-minute run in before the volleyball tournament begins at 9:00. anyone want to run with me? (20.33 miles @ 15.6mph)