And here are mine - Barrel (real name "Cheryl") and Trisha. They are my two good friends that reside in downtown St. Louis, and hanging out with them typically results in a good story (after half a day of conversations to figure out what exactly happened the night before) and a monstrous hangover. They continually test my drinking tolerance, liver functionality, sleep schedule, and usually afterwards I need a reminder that I'm 29, not 21 as we typically hit up nights like it's our first time out in Vegas. Regardless, they are fun friends who I have AMAZING times with, big supporters of my running career (when it doesn't interfere with their social obligations), and will be mentioned frequently throughout my blog in their many attempts to derail my marathon training. Barrel has even kindly offered her coaching services to me, consisting of driving in a car with a megaphone, rapping Nelly to me, while offering me beer as I run - an amazing offer, one that I may someday take up.
Weekend running was pretty successful. Saturday morning, Crystal and I hit up our long run on the trails of Glen Carbon. We are very fortunate to have some of the nicest running/bike trails in the St. Louis metropolitan area, and the majority of our training runs over 8 miles are usually done on these trails. Another nice perk of these trails is there are several intersection points within a mile of our start, giving us multiple options to consider when planning out a route for the day.
The plan was a 10 mile run: weather was nice - cool and a little sunny, and we laid out a nice, challenging loop where the first 4 miles were downhill, next 3 miles were uphill, then the final 3 miles were rolling hills. Still a little weary from the after-effects of being sick, I was continually monitoring my breathing, leg conditions, and basically how my body felt in general. I had initially thought we would be sustaining a conservative pace (high 7/low 8 minute/mile), but that was quickly washed away as we hit 7:23, 7:07, 7:29 for our first three miles. Fourth mile split was 7:30, as we prepared for the long uphill 3 miles that awaited us. Legs were starting to feel jelloish at this point, and definitely was feeling a little tired, so was focusing on good form and just trying to get myself through any potential mental roadblocks. The uphill splits, we hit in 7:26, 7:27, 7:30, and was extremely pleased with running consistent splits while feeling pretty decent. Crystal started to cramp a bit a little afterwards, so we slowed it down a tad and coasted home in 7:36, 7:47, 7:35. My right hamstring and hip flexor were a little tender afterwards and legs a little sore, but felt great otherwise. So overall, 10 miles in 1:14, a good effort and I was pretty stoked that I am definitely getting closer to full recovery.
Immediately afterwards, traveled to Okawville, IL (roughly one hour east) to participate in a golf tournament with a couple friends/former coworkers. It rained pretty consistently last week, so the golf course was basically a swamp, making it a pretty interesting day to say the least. Play was erratic (and messy!), but was a fun day to spend with friends. My highlights of the day were pitching in from 30 yards away for birdie (ironically, on the "Win the Car with a Hole-In-One" hole), and stuffing a wedge to a foot from 120 yards out for a kick-in birdie. Word of advice - if you ever decide to do a long run, make sure you STRETCH afterwards - the hour long car ride was a nightmare for my legs, and spent the first 15-20 minutes of my Okawville experience hobbling around like a 90 year old man.
Sunday, headed out to the trails with Pat and Crystal for a quick run in the later morning. We did an out and back at a pretty leisurely pace, first half downhill, coming back uphill, and legs felt pretty smooth the entire time. During the last mile, Crystal and I got a little carried away, and hammered out a pretty aggressive pace the last half mile - stride felt good, turnover was decent, and legs overall were fine. Splits were 9:08, 8:56, 8:34, 7:59, 7:30. Corework and stretching tonight, and probably will work 15-20 minutes on the foam roller on my right hamstring and hip flexor which are still a little sore.
So Week 1 of the Maintenance Cycle was overall successful, ~30-31 miles total. Still working out some kinks, and building back conditioning. I can't believe in one week of being sick that you could lose so much, but I guess it is what it is. Runs got progressively easier as the days went on, and the weekend running was just about perfect. Next week, will probably keep the intensity level somewhat honest, concentrating on building back good conditioning, maintaining good mileage, and aggressive corework. Tomorrow, easy 4-5, then going to see the Killers at the Fox Theater with Trisha!
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