And It's Only Half a Weekend So Far!
Saturdays are days to rest, kick back, take a load off, pop a brewski, and generally recover from a hard week of work.Unless you're an architect and your work is fun.
In that case, Saturdays are times to pay the piper, do your penance, suffer, and relearn some self-respect.
Howard ran another 5K race today in Laramie, Wyoming... at 7,200' altitude. (He is pictured here during pre-race warmup.) Howard was wondering if the altitude would have much affect on him since he already lives and "trains" at 5,000' above sea level. He found out. Just 200 yards into the 3.1-mile race, Howard's heart rate shot up to 171 and he couldn't breath.
So there's our answer. A little altitude change goes a looong way.
Howard knew he was in for a good hard suffer-fest, but he did his best anyway. He finished 25th out of some 100+ runners with a personal best of 24:37 (7:56 per mile), snagged 8th in his age group of 35-49 (ribbons only extended as far as 3rd place), and... he DIDN'T DIE!
Afterwards, Howard, his best girl, and his youngest son ate some Chinese food with a new client couple who live in Laramie, and talked about upcoming weddings, travel experiences, and custom dreamhome design progress.
Then Howard rode his bicycle home from Wyoming to Colorado. Well, not the whole way... just the second half which was mostly downhill... and included amazing 25 mph tailwinds or crosswinds. Howard's average speed for the bike ride was 24.0 mph, eclipsing his previous fastest long ride by a bunch.
So what did YOU do this weekend, huh?
posted by Howard at 5:21 PM
3 Comments:
Dude, Howard my man... 24:21???
Seriously, that is really, really great! Congratulations!
Once again, John, thank you. I cut off seven seconds from my 5K time of a couple weeks before, but this time it was at 7,200' above sea level and the pain started right away. There were times when I didn't know if I'd be able to keep running. But my aerobic training from cycling paid off well as I was able to keep the big train rolling. Of course, there were others with times in the teens -- 17 or 18 minutes -- but those guys and gals probably run as much as I cycle, huh?
That'd be my guess... I think you gotta have a slightly different "build" to run those kinda times too. All lungs and legs seems to be the pattern.
Post a Comment
<< Home