#percy warner

Great weather + Over 3,200 ft of cumulative elevation gain + Just over 18-miles completed + 8:11 average pace per mile = one of the best tough long training runs of my running life.

Today the group planned to run the 16.5-mile loop in Percy and Edwin Warner Parks, which is one of the toughest road routes in this area. My scheduled called for 16 to 18-miles at easy pace, so Nathan and I added a little bit here and there to end up with just over 18-miles completed for the day. I ran the entire way with Nathan, but after starting off with the entire group we ran at different times with either Marc, Aine, or Paul.

We had great weather with starting temps around 63º, and the humidity began to burn off about 45-minutes into the run. The 16.5 starts off with an almost 250 ft climb during the first mile, so our pace was very, very chill starting out. This included our first two miles which were just under 10:00 min pace, and our second two miles which were just under 9:00 min pace. After the fourth mile, 10 of the next 14 miles were completed under 8:00 min pace, and 5 of those were under 7:45 pace (our final two miles were 7:25 and 7:06).

Nathan and I both felt fantastic, and for me the run felt really comfortable, even going up the big climbs throughout the route. I'm still fighting a little twinge / strain in my right quadriceps muscle, but this was litte more than an annoyance today. Overall my legs felt great, and I was in one of those rhythms where I felt like I could run all day.

We also had a lot a great conversation today which ranged from Victorian Poetry to computer programming to great guitar players. After the run we headed out to our normal breakfast spot, Bread & Company, and a great morning was topped off because they were serving my favorite coffee, Bongo Java's Immaculate Percolation.

The weather this morning was GLORIOUS, with temps around 64º and a slight break in the humidity. This made a BIG difference today.

My original scheduled called for 16 to 18-miles at easy pace, but yesterday afternoon I got the OK from John to do the marathon workout with our group in Percy Warner Park. The plan was to do 4 x 3-mile repeats around marathon pace. I still wanted to get in 18-miles, so Nathan and I met at the Beech Grove picnic area in Percy Warner around 5:20am for a little extra.

We were able to get in just over 4-miles before beginning the workout with the group. I noticed during the warmup miles that my Garmin 405 was having a lot of trouble keeping up with our pace since we were running under heavy tree cover. My goal for the repeats was to land somewhere between 7:16 (BQ Pace) and 7:05 (Goal Marathon Pace). For repeats 1, 3, and 4 we ran a loop between the 7 & 8-mile markers on the main drive.

This loop starts off with a sharp incline that lasts for about half a mile, so I told Nathan I wanted to start conservative and then pick-up the pace once we crested the hill. The whole way up the hill I had a hard time getting the pace on my watch below 8:00, but it felt like I was killing myself. Once we reached the top, Nathan told me that our average pace for interval was 6:58, and I knew that my watch was going to be worthless today.

From this point forward Nathan kept our pace on his Garmin 305, and we slowed down our pace considerably for the remainder of this interval. We finished the first 3-miles with an average pace of 7:15 per mile, and I felt FANTASTIC. Between each of the repeats we ran easy for just over a quarter mile before beginning the next one.

For interval number two we actually left the park and ran and out-and-back route on Chickering Road. The way out was much easier than coming back due to the inclines, but we still ran a negative split and finished the second 3-miles with an average pace of 7:10 per mile.

We returned to the loop for our third interval, and I told Nathan that I wanted to get a lot closer to 7:05 for this one, but wanted to take the big hill fairly conservative. When we crested the hill our average pace was around 7:35, and over the next 2.5-miles we lowered this average to 7:04. I honestly could not believe how good I felt today. 7:05 pace felt very comfortable, and this was a BIG confidence boost.

For the final interval we were joined by Tyler who was visiting our group. We started on our normal loop, and crested the hill with a 7:19 average pace. I had told Nathan that I wanted to shoot for 7:00 pace on this one, and by the time we reached the end of the first mile we were almost there. Instead of looping back to the cars we turned out of the park again and finished up on Chickering Road with an average pace of 6:58 per mile.

We ran just under a mile back to the cars, as a cool-down, to finish up our 18-miles. I feel like Nathan and I CRUSHED the workout today. I don't think I've felt this good since the Rock n' Roll New Orleans Marathon in March. This was WAY easier than the 18-miles I ran last Saturday, and our average pace was almost 45-seconds per mile faster today.

In total we finished exactly 18-miles with an average pace of 7:45 per mile with warmup and cool down. Our average pace for the 12-miles of tempo intervals was 7:07 per mile, and our pace progressed almost exactly the way I would want for a marathon. We got a big boost from the weather conditions today, but this was not an easy course with over 1,500' of cumulative elevation gain.

In addition to getting a big confidence boost out of today's run, I'm also extremely proud of Nathan. He is killing it this summer, and I'm convinced he is gonna obliterate his marathon PR at the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon this November. Our average pace today with warmup and cool down is 15-seconds per mile faster than his PR. I'm excited to see what he is capable of.

Even though my right shin has been doing better than last week, I've been trying to be as cautious as possible. To that end, Nathan and I did today's scheduled 40-minute, easy paced, run on the grass surface at the Steeplechase course in Percy Warner Park.

This course is a great surface for running and is the site of the annual Iroquois Steeplechase equestrian race, which is one of the oldest and most prestigious steeplechases in the country. The ground is very soft and consistent, with no rocks, roots, or holes. The only downside is that the grass is EXTREMELY thick, which forces you to work a bit harder than on the road.

Overall the run felt great, though we did have to deal with very humid conditions and soggy turf (from the dew). By the end of the run my shoes and socks were completely soaked through, but my Dry Max socks again kept me from getting any blisters. In total we ran just under 4.5-miles during our 40 minutes, with a pace right around 9:00 average per mile. At the end we did 6 x 100m stride outs on the grass, which felt a little strange in high grass with wet shoes. Our final total with strides was 4.81-miles completed at a 8:51 average pace per mile.

Friday

This morning I just couldn't get myself out of bed early enough to get my run in. Nathan is out of town for the weekend, and sometimes it's really hard for me to get up and get going when I know that no one is going to be waiting on me. I owe a lot to Nathan and Paxton for my running improvement/success over the past two years.

So, as punishment for my lack of morning motivation, I ended up running in the late afternoon when the temperatures were right at 90 degrees (nasty). My schedule called for 30 to 40 minutes at easy pace with 6 x 100m stride outs at the end. I started my run at the Edwin Warner Nature Center, and for two reasons did the first and last mile on the flat part of the blue trail instead of the road: (1) It always feels cooler on the trails with all of the tree cover (2) I've been feeling a bit of soreness in my right shin over the past couple of days and wanted a slightly softer surface for my easy run.

After a first mile around 9:00, I settled into a very nice 8:30ish pace for the remainder of the run, and felt pretty good considering the heat. I completed my stride outs in the parking lot of the nature center (in full sun) with a pace a little below 6:00. Final total was 4.86-miles in 40:36 with an 8:22 average pace per mile.

Saturday

Today's planned group run was the 11.2-mile main drive loop in Percy Warner Park, which is quite challenging. Since my schedule called for 14 to 16 miles total I got there a little early and completed just over three miles in Belle Meade before joining the group in the park.

I mentioned on Friday that I had been feeling some soreness in right shin (shin splints), so this morning I decided to run in my old clunky and cushy Nike Vomeros since we would be doing so many hills in the park. This turned out to be a good decision and my leg felt pretty good. However, for the record, I now hate how these shoes feel compared to my Saucony Kinvaras. Gotta be diligent in my leg exercises so I can get out of these things as soon as possible on hilly runs.

Dan led our group run, and his strategy today was to run very easy on the downhill and flat portions, but push the pace on the uphills to build strength. Also, right at the start Dan told the group that he would be counting the hills we ran the loop today. This led to a persistent debate about what counted as a hill. As you can see from the elevation chart below, Percy Warner Park is not lacking in hills...

Even though the humidity was very high this morning after rains last night, I felt fantastic throughout the run today. I pushed pretty hard up most of the hills, even the daunting, named ones like 3-mile-hill, 7-mile-hill, and 9-mile hill (miles 6, 10, and 12 on the chart above). This was very encouraging after my miserable trail run earlier in the week in the same park.

When we came to end Dan and the group had counted 21 total hills in the park (very unscientific), which is pretty good in only 11.2-miles. For my entire route (including warmup miles) this equated to over 2,000 ft of cumulative elevation gain. My final total was 14.29-miles completed with an 8:48 average pace per mile.

Today was another great marathon workout put together by the illustrious Dan Ashmead. These bi-weekly workouts have become a staple of our group, and have really kicked my training up a few notches over the past 2+ years. We switch between interval marathon workouts and long easy runs on alternating weekends.

Today's workout was in Percy Warner Park, and featured plenty of hills. As with my workouts earlier this year, I tried to push them much faster than goal marathon pace (7:26) in my never-ending quest to increase overall speed. The workout contained approximately 8-miles of marathon pace (or sub) intervals with hill repeats directly in the middle. The hill repeats are designed to rapidly tire out your legs, simulating the feeling at the end of a marathon for the remainder of the workout. The following is what we did today along with my splits:

15-minute warmup

2-miles at goal marathon pace (13:57)

1-mile under goal marathon pace (6:38)

1-mile under goal marathon pace (6:41)

4 x 30 sec hill repeats

2-miles at goal marathon pace (13:59)

1.9-miles at goal marathon pace (13:15 - 6:58 pace)

1.75-mile cooldown

Earlier this week I posted about my frustration with recent tempo runs not exactly being up to pace. Well today everything felt like it came together. All of my intervals were completed at sub 7:00 min pace, and I was able to maintain my consistency through to the end. All morning I felt like I had an extra gear that had been missing the last couple of weeks.

This morning also featured a humorous barrage of "constructive" criticism thrown my direction. During our second interval (1-mile), I heard the following within a few seconds of each other:

Dan Ashmead - "Tim, you're starting this one off too fast."

Marc Dedman - "Tim, you need to work harder on running the tangents."

Paul Scalisi - "Tim, you need to get up on your toes more."

Feeling like this clearly wasn't enough, I asked John Thorpe if he had anything else to offer. He smiled and responded with "You look really silly in those clothes."