Weekend Update

Another weekend has somehow flown by, and here I am on Monday once again! Luckily, short work week with 4th of July, so should go by fast. Congratulations to Kara Goucher for winning the U.S. Track and Field 5000 meter final! Great shorter race, before she gets into intense marathon training for the World Championships in Berlin. My buddy Stephen Pifer finished 4th in the 1500 finals - slow start, and he took the lead with about 600 meters left but couldn't hold on. Lopez Lomong (08 U.S. Olympian) and Leo Manzano surged ahead at the end and finished 1-2. Awesome race, wish I could have seen it but crappy St. Louis programming didn't allow for it!

Weekend was pretty good - the highlight being my friend's golf tournament on Saturday. Friday night, passed out hardcore after work, but stumbled over to Pat and Crystal's for a night of ping pong. Wanted to get a run in, but completely failed in that endeavor due to heat and just fatigue from the long work week. Saturday morning, attemped to wake up early before golf but didn't make it. Spent most of the hot day beating balls around and after sticking around for the awards (our team finished 1 stroke behind the B Flight winner) and clean up, we stumbled over to my friend Nick's house for some post-tourney celebration (pics coming soon). Needless to say, it was a loooong night and was feeling the effects on Sunday. Another 0 mile day, not too pleased about that.

Woke up to more heat, so postponed my long run until later. Stopped by Barrel's new apartment to hang out (awesome new place!), then headed over to South City for my running team meeting/bbq. Had a fun time telling war stories of previous races with fellow teammates, ate some good food, and ordered a pair of Brooks Adrenaline (like I need more shoes) since we were getting a 40% discount due to mass order! Got home later, realized it was very cool and just gorgeous outside (heat wave temporarily gone!) so strapped on my mp3 player and away I went. Did a loop around Glen Carbon/Edwardsville - rolling hills, pretty hilly in some parts, but pretty flat in others. Decided to go out by feel and wanted to run a little harder due to missing so many runs this week. First 3 miles, was just cruising - didn't realize how fast I was going until I saw on my Garmin I had hit sub 7 the first 3, so was forced to slow down. Hit Meridian Road, the home of many grueling hill workouts, and shortened my stride to try to ease the "fun" of the hills. Got back out to a main road and got into a great rhythm. Ran through the university literally on the roads (gotta love the summer) and was feeling great - settled into BQ pace which felt very easy - the weather conditions were completely helping out - cool and breezy :) Went through the 10 mile split feeling like I had only run 5, and continued on. Last 3 miles were a gradual uphill, so started to tire a bit - started to play some mind games to pass some time. Made it back to my neighborhood, and finished the last mile and got back home in record long run time. Short cooldown, showered and stretched. Total mileage: ~14.5 miles - splits were: 6:49, 6:48, 6:57, 7:05, 7:16, 7:23, 7:11, 7:22, 7:09, 7:20, 7:24, 7:14, 7:15 (half marathon split was 1:33:58), 7:11.

Wow, where did that come from?! Perfect weather conditions = happy runner, so was ecstatic to hit those splits running by myself. Average pace was 7:11, so was pleased to have basically gotten in a long pace run like that. Wasn't thrilled that I only ran 4 days this week, but somehow got in 30 miles and obviously yesterday's long run was one of my best training runs ever so it all balances out. This week is race week, so will prob take it easy on effort. My last speed work is on Tuesday, so will push a little there but otherwise take it easier and just try to accumulate easy mileage.

Macklind Mile Prep/Weekend Plans

My blog posts are always so much more colorful with Kara :)

Awesome article I found concerning racing as prep for future races. Totally agree with the concept, as you never really push your body to the limits you would in a race. I think there is something in your brain that instinctively knows to push you in a different gear on race day as opposed to normal workouts. I have never PRed in a training run nor even close quite honestly despite putting in what I thought was maximum effort. I am just faster on race days, and working on speed by pushing your VO2 Max levels will only increase speed for you. In March, I prepped for the 5 mile race with a 5K which I PRed - the next week, my 5K split was almost 20 seconds faster, so proof that it actually works :)

Speaking of races, I have been preparing for the Macklind Mile road race that my running team sets up - it's a 1 mile road race through the streets of south St. Louis next Saturday on the 4th of July. Very fast race, great competition, and looking forward to only busting my butt for 5-6 minutes :) I haven't raced a mile since high school, so will be interesting to see how it goes. Been doing minor speed work the last couple weeks to prepare for this race, and going ok I think - would have loved to have a few more weeks, but we signed up kind of at the last second. Haven't really assessed time goals, but I'm thinking sub 5:30 should be doable. I hit 5:40's in the first mile in a couple races so as long as I don't completely burn myself out early (which I tend to do in shorter races), hopefully I'll have enough for a huge kick at the end. The 200's on Tuesday (and 400's last week) were pretty helpful in gauging the speed I want to run, and hopefully enough for me to drop a nice PR next weekend.

So a quick recap of my running activities over the last couple days. Wednesday, had a pretty rough day so decided to go burn off some frustration with a nice run immediately after work. Temperature wasn't as blazing hot as it has been (low 90's) and was overcast so thought it wouldn't be too bad. Big Mistake. Half a mile into the run, I was feeling pretty good but it all went into the crapper shortly after. Had thoughts of going out longer, but were quickly dispelled by my overheated body which was rebelling on the spot. Stumbled the last 2 miles in, was going so slow I thought I might actually be moving backwards. A 4 mile easy run should not feel like a 10 mile tempo, so I will blame this lackluster performance on the weather. Total mileage: 4 - didn't bring a watch, was 32-35 minutes I think. Went over to Jared and Nicki's house afterwards to hang out, play with their kids, and play wii.

Yesterday, scheduled tempo run. The weather was blazing hot, high 90's and HUMID, so opted for treadmill running at Pat's. Was in a rush to get the workout over with, so just jumped on the treadmill and away I went. Legs were feeling eh, so wasn't the easiest. Didn't really warmup (big mistake), and struggled through the first mile. Plan was to slowly increased the speed as I went - 2nd mile went by quicker, but was definitely watching the mileage screen on the 3rd and 4th. Put in a hard effort, felt I shouldn't have to work that hard to hit fast splits but maybe just a bad day. I'm happy I fought through it and hit my time goals. Short cooldown and stretching afterwards. Total mileage: ~4.5 - splits were: 6:46, 6:35, 6:35, 6:24.

Helped Jared move a bed into his house, then chilled for a bit playing some more wii. Kind of nice not to bring work home (although I should have) the last couple nights and actually function as a regular human being instead of a work robot! Had a few adult beverages, then got roped by Tim into a satellite game of drinking wii bowling with him and his roommate. 3 games later, I felt no pain and it had somehow turned into midnight! Tim pressed for more games, but my liver said no. My star pupil is trying to take me out - very sad, indeed. This should be a "great" day being hungover and all at work with much to do - luckily it's my running day off, although thinking about getting an easy few later to make up for short mileages this week. Long run is getting pushed back to Sunday now, so will try to get up early to do 6 tomorrow.

We are currently on our 10th consecutive heat advisory, and doesn't look like it's going to cool down much until later next week. Supposed to play in a golf tournament (again) on Saturday with a forecasted heat index of 110 degrees. Wondering how bad it's going to be next month if it's already this hot now?!?! Also this weekend, be sure to tune into the USA Outdoor Championships to see my buddy Stephen Pifer race - he qualified for the finals in the 1500. Not sure when they are televising his event, but I think on Saturday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. or on Sunday on NBC at 3-5 p.m. University of Colorado website is reporting it will be on Sunday at 3:31 p.m. (mountain time?) Good luck, Stephen!!!

One final note - was devasted to hear the news that Michael Jackson passed away yesterday. He was one of my childhood heros growing up, as most kids in my generation, and was truly one of the greatest musicians that will have ever stepped foot on this earth. His Thriller record was the first of any type of music that I owned - I remember begging my dad to buy it for me in a mall when I was young. One of my fondest childhood memories was playing that record in our family room, Anne and I singing all the songs while dancing like maniacs. You will be missed, Michael.

Article Day!

Today is article day - found quite a few articles I wanted to share with everyone:

First one deals with using sleep to improve your performance for sports. Basically, they did a study where people improved on their tennis drills (accuracy of serves, speed, etc.) after changing their sleep schedule to get 10 hours per night. I'm sure there is a huge cross over in running and being sleep deprived 95% of the time, I will use this as an excuse to sleep in more :)

Next article is an interview of one of the marathon greats and former world record holder Paul Tergat by the Running Times. They talk about him being the first man to break the 2:05 barrier in the Berlin Marathon, and what his career has become now that he in the twilight years. Exciting to hear he will be suiting up for the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in Seattle very shortly, as well as making another run at a marathon title in the fall!

Last one talks about running strategies in training. I paid a little more attention to this article since I am in flux with my training and sort of confused as to what kind of effort I should be putting into my workouts. Currently, I have adopted the Kenneth Williams "run how you feel that day" methodology, but may wean back to putting the pedal to the metal on certain workouts since I've been experiencing a plateau of sorts lately. Regardless, there is no wrong way to train and certainly there are many solutions to get the same end result so I will just keep experimenting until I find what works best for me.

Last night, dragged Crystal out to the track for our Tuesday night speed workout. The plan was 16X200 at hard but controlled pace, breaking the reps up to 4 sets with small water break in between. Weather was hot, but cooled off a little by 9 p.m. (low 80's, high 70's) so wasn't completely uncomfortable. Did a 1 mile warmup, then we were on our way. First set was kind of a struggle - a little physically, but more to get into a rhythm. Fluctuated with times a bit, but felt a little more comfortable in the end. Second set, finally settled in and everything became really easy. Was recovering fast, and my stride felt awesome on the last straightaways. Splits were consistent and on the faster end of the range we had set for ourselves. Third set was pretty much the same - felt very smooth, and relaxing. Crystal at this point wasn't feeling well so bailed on me, so did the last set solo. Wanted to push it a little, so went out with what felt like a harder effort but was still getting the same times - didn't realize how much it helped to have someone to run with. Last 2 reps, picked it up and tried to max out on those. Succeeded, did a one mile cooldown and stretched. Got home, got in an extra couple miles to make up for missing Monday, then stretched some more. Total mileage: ~8 (everything included) - 200 splits (don't have them on hand, but making educated guesses) were: 37, 33, 36, 36, 35, 36, 35, 34, 36, 35, 37, 34, 34, 34, 32, 30.

Easy run tonight, might tack on a couple miles to completely make up for my Monday miss. Feeling pretty good this week so far :)

St. Peters Rec Plex Triathlon Recap

Ugh, another weekend has blazed by before I knew it, and here we are on Monday. Here is a recap of running and activities:

Friday night, set forth on a long run with Crystal. We left right around 8, and decided to run on the bike trail as long as there was some light in the sky - I was thinking we might get 4 miles tops, then would have to do road running. Weather was hot and humid with a slight breeze - about 85 and didn't really get much cooler as the night progressed. Started out on the trail headed out towards Troy, which has one major hill/bridge but relatively flat. First couple miles were rough - tired from the long work week, and had problems loosening up in the nasty conditions. We got about 2 miles out and I asked Crystal if she thought we should turn back, but she nixed that idea and said let's just run in the dark since there was enough external light (from houses, lightening bugs, moonlight) to see so we progressed on. Turned around a mile later, and finally started to get into a decent rhythm. Made our way back to the beginning of the trail but decided to keep going and ended up going out 1.5 miles the other way. Wasn't feeling too bad, but was stuffy in the wooded areas of the trail which made it uncomfortable. What was cool was a storm was coming our way, so could see the lightning in the distance. Headed back into the wind (absolutely refreshing!), and was definitely pretty dark at this point. Got back off the trail and finished the final 3 doing loops around her neighborhood. Was drained running the last 2 miles, but felt ok otherwise. Total mileage: 12 - splits ranged from 8:05 to 8:18 (first mile was 8:27, but statistical outlier). Glad to have a relatively consistent run on a HUMID evening.

Saturday, played in a golf tournament over in a local course in town. Not much to report - hit the ball pretty poorly, and our team underachieved in general and we walked off the course in disgust. Found out later that we somehow won the B Flight (and a nice cash prize), and my eagle putt on our second hole won all the skins (another nice cash prize), and one of our team members won the long drive contest so we ended up cleaning up a bit! Ended up playing some more golf after the tourney and melted away in the sweltering heat. Dinner and ping pong later, and I was done.

Sunday morning, woke up bright and early to go with Crystal to run the St. Peters Rec-Plex Triathlon. She and a few coworkers run this every year, and the event is a team sprint triathlon - 500 meter swim, 20.5 mile bike, 4.5 mile run. I ran last year as a rabbit for Crystal, and their team finished 7th overall, with Crystal finishing 3rd overall runner. Pretty fun event, great to see so many athletes roaming around. Course is on a narrow trail through some neighborhoods and around town, and pretty hilly. The trail is a bike/running trail, and is very narrow, windy, and hilly. The swim portion started at 6 a.m., so we warmed up about 45 minutes later doing a mile shakedown. Weather was already starting to get pretty nasty - hot and humid and very sunny. Crystal's teammate Linda started the swim and absolutely blazed through it, passing a ton of people to establish a great position. Her other teammate Tom ended up killing the bike portion, which put their team at 4th place when Crystal and I started. The original plan was to go out in 6:40 and try to hold the pace through the rolling hills of the course. Immediately passed 2 runners at the start, then we were off. Felt pretty good going out, and had to slow down to conserve energy for later. First mile has a ton of sharp turns, and runs mainly through the woods. Passed through a water stop, but the volunteer wasn't ready so was a little frustrating to miss that. Second mile, started to feel the heat, and was having trouble tracking my pace because of all the trees blocking my garmin signal. At this point in the race, Crystal and I were running side-by-side and we saw a water stop coming up - I signaled for the volunteer to splash me with a cup - well she did, and in the process Crystal missed her water and we weren't in a position to stop and come back. I felt absolutely terrible and was bad communication on my part - should have dropped back instead and let her handle the water stop. Hit a huge hill going through a neighborhood, and we had to stop for a quick walk break but were quickly on our way. 3rd mile was a lot of hills back in the woods, and finally got our water (cold, thank you!). I was trying to gauge how Crystal was running to set pace, as we weren't going to hit 6:40's on this day because of the heat. Was tough to rabbit for her because the trails were so narrow and we kept running into runners coming the other way, so was a little frustrating. Last mile, was watching an approaching runner trying to move up, so we surged at a few points to create a gap and took a walk break towards the end. Hit the home stretch hard, and held off the opposing runner by 20-30 seconds. Kind of a bittersweet run, as the time wasn't great but we did what we could given the conditions and had good effort, so I guess in that sense it was successful. Total mileage: 5.5 (1 mile warmup) - splits were: 6:42, 7:13, 7:18, 7:17, don't remember last part but 6:40 pace. Walk breaks the last 3 miles skewed our splits.

Bridge at the beginning/end - sadly, the trails weren't much wider than this!!!

Finish line of the race

Found out later that the team finished 2nd overall of 36 teams, so was extremely excited to have helped out as a rabbit! Crystal was the 4th fastest runner - very impressive on a tough running day. More hardware for the Harriss household - Congratulations Linda, Tom, and Crystal!!!

Last week's running was ok - got about 30 miles, felt good about all the workouts in general. Didn't hit great mileage so need to pump that up a bit before the true marathon cycle begins. The weather is getting hotter and hotter every day, so most of my runs will be extremely early or extremely late...

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a good article about the one and only Miss Kara Goucher I found on Universal Sports talking about her season thus far and preparation for the World Championships this fall. It sounds like the work she is putting in thus far is going great, and she will be ready to bring home a championship. Also, RW had an interview with Deena Kastor talking about the state of her running and her goals for Chicago.

Also found this concerning the Olympic Marathon Course in Chicago if Chicago is selected for the 2016 Summer Games.

A Chicago Olympic Marathon Course Would Look About 88 Percent Familiar
Bank of America Chicago Marathon Executive Director Carey Pinkowski said Wednesday that the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid committee's proposed marathon layout is "really using the Bank of America Chicago Marathon course, starting in Grant Park, using approximately 23 miles of the existing course.... The only difference is when we get to Michigan Avenue, which is about mile 23, instead of going north on Michigan Avenue into Grant Park, the route will go South on Michigan Avenue into Washington Park, where the Olympic Stadium will be."

How cool would that be for Chi to get the Olympics? And with a flat course like that, definitely a good opportunity for records to be broken! Summer heat might be a huge deterrant, but Sammy Wanjiru proved it can be overcome when he ran 2:06 in a sultry day in the 08 Games...

Wednesday night, got in a quick easy run on my friend's treadmill. Started pretty easy, and progressively sped up. Legs were a little tired from the heavy track workout the night before, but overall felt fine. Ran for for about 40 minutes total, stretched afterwards and did some corework. Also jumped in my buddy's pool and did a few laps, felt AWESOME to be in water again. Total mileage: ~4.5 - splits were: 8:14, 8:03, 7:52, 7:41. Took yesterday off due to the ridiculously hot weather and working so late, but talked over the weekend schedule with Crystal. Tonight, long run - try to hit 12, really depends on the weather. Saturday, something light early on, then I have a golf tournament in the morning to attend. Sunday, I will be rabbiting for Crystal in her leg of a team sprint triathlon. I actually did this last year, and had a good time. The course is hilly, and will be challenging especially if the weather is as hot as it has been but will be a great opportunity to be a race situation and get in a great speed workout.

Deena is running Chicago!!!

Deena is coming to Chicago!!! Press release is here.

"The terrible timing of my injury in last year’s Olympic Games left me with a hunger to perform well on the world stage," explains Kastor. "Chicago sets itself above other marathons in the U.S. in that it is the fastest, which is a big reason I am returning this fall.” Kastor continues. "The familiarity and comfort level I have with the course, the staff and their attention to detail certainly will allow me to concentrate on my goals while the enthusiastic Chicago crowds provide the constant support every athlete needs to perform their best."

Pretty exciting to have one of the big marathoning names come back to Chi, especially in light of the upcoming Chicago Olympic bid for 2016. She has also declared she is gunning for sub 2:18, which would lower her American record - I guess she is trying to make it harder for Kara in the future ;) She hasn't run too many races since her ill-fated Olympics injury in Beijing, and chose the Shamrock Shuffle this March as her comeback, which she won. Deena actually won the 2005 Shamrock Shuffle and 2005 Chicago Marathon (do I detect a pattern here?), so would be pretty cool if she could pull off yet another victory this fall.

And for those who aren't familiar with one of the greatest American distance runners ever, go purchase Spirit of the Marathon and watch Deena's quest for her first marathon title. Absolutely amazing documentary that truly captures the essence of marathoning - I will post a review about it later this summer. Great preview on Youtube below:



Last night, dragged Crystal out to the track for our 400 repeats. Was pretty hot outside during the day, and was in the process of cooling down when we started - sunny, in the 70's, and humid. Strategized to break up the 400's into 2 sets of 4 (several minute break in between) while alternating the inside lane, then pushing 2 more reps at the end. Did quick warmup, and we were on our way. First few reps didn't feel too hot - legs were tired, and turnover wasn't where I wanted it to be. Crystal was flying around the corners, and looking good. Was trying to stay on her heels, but she was clearly dictating the pace. Hit pretty aggressive splits for the first set, so "tried" to slow it down on set 2. Got into a much better rhythm, and seemed a lot easier. Legs were heavy, but pretty much felt that way all day so just went with it. Last 2 reps were fun, wanted to hit sub 1:20 on those. First one, I led us through a decent pace through first 200 meters, then slowly accelerated and kicked the last 100. Last rep, pretty much the same philosophy, only the last 100 I saw a couple walkers about 15 meters from the finish line and my competitive drive just took over and went flying down the straightaway to catch them and pass them right at the end - I think I hit 33 seconds on the last 200. Fun way to end a good workout - did 1/2 mile cooldown afterwards then went home to shower/stretch. Total mileage: ~3.5 miles - 400 splits were: 1:23, 1:21, 1:21, 1:20, 1:24, 1:21, 1:27, 1:21, 1:18, 1:13.

Legs feel ok today - joints are still a little sore, but will take it easy tonight with a light 3-4 easy run. One final note concerning track etiquette - if you are walking or jogging while others are running, please do not use the inside lane. Leave that lane open for the faster runners. On one of the earlier reps, had to completely run off the track into the grass to avoid two girls who were walking at snail's pace, while we were trying to execute a rep at 5:20 minute/mile pace - no need to push effort even further when already going that fast. I think people got the clue later as we didn't have any further problems, but still an unnecessary thing to encounter on a track workout.

Tuesday Ramblings/Easy Run

This is a pretty cool article I found this morning concerning NBC's relationship with the New York City Marathon. In summary, NBC signed on to exclusively broadcast the NYC marathon for three more years and will expand converage nationwide from one to two hours. I am totally excited to hear this, as I think marathoning is actually underrated as a live sport being telecasted. Last two years, I have been glued to the computer on Universal Sports watching streaming coverage of the major marathons - I just can't get enough of it! Not sure if any of you guys watched the 2008 Olympic Marathon, but was glued to the tv and the compelling story lines that were breaking out during the race. Great job by the commentators to keep up with solid analysis of the runners and the race and good segments during the race to keep everything fresh. Pretty amazing that something that seems to boring to watch (running) can actually be very entertaining. A wonderful decision by NYC, and one I hope will increase marathon awareness across the country.

Last night running was a scheduled 4 mile easy run. Kind of bummed around my place all evening doing miscellaneous errands before forcing myself outside around 8ish. Weather was sort of cool, but humid - I saw 74 on the bank clock when I passed it. Did an out and back on a somewhat flat terrain through Glen Carbon (first 1/2 mile downhill, last 1/2 mile uphill, rest pretty flat). Felt soreness in my right knee, so took a little bit to shake it out. Started off ok - just wanted to keep an easy effort and not push myself too hard. One of my buddies saw me on the roads and was honking his horn/shouting obscenities at me as he zoomed by me, so kind of woke me out of my funk. Started to pick up the pace, and felt myself holding back almost the entire time. Felt awesome and effortless throughout the run, but was a little tired at the end, prob from the uphill finish. Why can't all runs feel like this?!?! Total Mileage: ~4 miles - splits were: 7:29, 7:00 (oops), 7:09, 7:09.

I felt like this runner all week until yesterday

Was completely soaked from the humidity, soooo nasty outside. Did some good stretching, corework, and some foam roller time. Knees were sore, but they feel better this morning. Probably need to load up on some glucosomine, it's been a while since I've taken that. Tonight, scheduled track work (blah), but actually kind of looking forward to it despite the torrential downpour in the forecast this evening. Good opportunity to just hammer out a solid workout on the track - it's been a while!

Weekend Warriors

Back from a very relaxing weekend, and not ready to be back at work! First of all, let me give a well deserved shout out to some members in our running crew. Shane ran a 10K on Saturday in Georgetown, and had a very impressive 2 minute PR (41:38)! Tim ran a half marathon in Denver and PRed by 6 minutes!!! (1:54:01). And finally, a big shout out to our friend Ken, another high school buddy who is my running mentor and basically introduced me to running in high school. We ran the Chicago Marathon together last year, and he was on running hiatus after his son was born. Ken has been putting in some secret training over the last couple months and decided to see where his level of fitness was at on Sunday. He ran a very impressive 1:27:59 in his half marathon in Chicago, almost a 2 minute PR, and has decided to make his comeback official by throwing his name into the Chicago Marathon mix with us this fall (previously registered "just in case"). So that makes it an amazing 3 for 3 in PR's by my boys this weekend - Congratulations Shane, Tim, and Ken!!!!!!

The rumors are true, the Ken-Dogg is back!!!

Really quick, for treadmill runners, here is an awesome chart I found online detailing a conversion table with inclines and whatnot. Rule of thumb says to put the treadmill on a 0.1 incline to simulate true outdoor running. With the temperatures starting to get higher, and the humidity beginning to get ridiculous, I have a feeling that treadmill running during the weekdays is going to be more prevalent!!!

Weekend running was ok, still pretty wore down from the lackluster training this week. Saturday, Crystal and I set forth on our long run, neither of us feeling too hot. Was overcast outside, and kind of humid - in the 70's. We did an out and back on the bike trail - didn't feel particularly good starting out. Took a while to get into a rhythm, but finally did in the mid miles. Around the 6th mile, we ran into several groups of runners which lifted the mood, so the pace picked up. At mile 9, made a bad decision to drop pace about 10 seconds and save for a last half mile kick. We should have just kept up the current pace and finished strong that way, since neither of us weren't feeling too hot. Last mile was definitely tough, but we finished nonetheless. Total mileage: 10 - splits were: 8:04, 7:46, 7:47, 7:49, 7:52, 7:48, 7:36, 7:34, 7:43, 7:24 - 1:17:28

Saturday afternoon after the run, ended up playing golf with Pat and a couple other guys over in Alton - weather got pretty humid later on, but was fun to get out and play despite pretty crappy golf shots all around. Ended up getting a great night's sleep after a long day, and felt well rested on Sunday. Went to go see the Hangover with Barrel on Sunday afternoon - absolutely amazing movie, just HILARIOUS! Had a nice dinner with Pat and Crystal (she made yummy pasta - thank you!!!), ping pong and tv afterwards, then attempted my 5 mile pace run at 9 p.m. Weather was kind of cool, but the air was definitely heavy. Never really felt right, was hard to really pace myself at night (difficult to see the Garmin) and I made the mistake of picking a pretty hilly route around town. 2nd and 4th miles were pretty uphill, so struggled through those. Ended up going a little faster than I wanted to (sorry Crystal, I didn't mean to!!!), and legs were pretty tired. Stretched afterwards, fell asleep watching tv pretty fast. Total mileage: ~5 miles - splits were: 7:04, 7:08, 7:00, 7:09, 7:01.

So got about 30 miles this week - supposed to be a light week of running to help recovery from last week's heavy race week, but I feel even more beat up! Joints are a mess this morning, so hobbling around quite a bit. This week, will probably take it easy, just trying to get my legs back. Pretty fatigued from heavy running, and need to get back to 100%.

I.T. Band Fun

During the last two years, I have been combatting sore knees during training, which I correctly diagnosed later as IT Band Syndrome. With a little research online, I found a few stretches that have limited the frequency of the soreness, but it does come back from time to time and usually affects the mobility in my knees. Here is a little info concerning this "wonderful" condition that affects runners frequently.

IT Band Syndrome (ITBS) is one of the leading causes of lateral knee pain in runners. The iliotibial tract is a superficial thickening of tissue on the outside of the thigh, extending from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee. The band is crucial to stabilizing the knee during running, moving from behind the femur to the front while walking. The continual rubbing of the band over the lateral femoral epicondyle, combined with the repeated flexing and extension of the knee during running may cause the area to become inflamed.

Below is a good video on some stretches to help out IT Band issues. And an article here detailing some other stretches. A must-buy for runners is a foam roller - amazing tool that aids in stretching and working out soreness/stiffness in your leg muscles. I bought one last fall, and has helped substantially with muscle soreness. It completely beats you up, but totally worth it!!!



Tuesday, got home really quick and dragged Crystal out for a quick 6 - another easy day, as both our legs were still pretty sore from the heavy running weekend and in major recovery mode. Weather was pretty gloomy - cool but humid, and we were racing a pretty heavy rainfall according to weather.com. Did an out and back flat, tried to keep pace somewhat easy. Nothing major to report, felt like a 100 year old man at the beginning, and definitely took a little bit to feel comfortable. Run went by pretty fast (I LOVE easy days), and last mile we picked it up a bit when the rain drops started to fall. Hit the last quarter at 6:20 pace, felt pretty decent. Total mileage: 6 - splits were: 8:19, 8:22, 8:25, 8:19, 8:18, 7:39.

Wednesday, ITBS was rearing its ugly head, and was noticeably hobbling around work. Didn't get home until pretty late due to late meeting with dinner with Stacy and on top of it, started RAINING (will it ever stop?!) so opted for a night's rest and stretching. Thursday, more ominous clouds in the air, so wanted to get the workout in pretty quick. Left knee was still pretty sore, but could run ok. My right knee was starting to bug me as well, so am starting to get concerned if this is from lack of support from my new shoes or just crappy stretching by me. Another possibility is general soreness from the hard mileage from Saturday to Tuesday (~32 miles, including race and long run). Anyways, wanted to get in a tempo run quickly - weather was cool and windy, probably in the low 70's. Out and back towards the trail, pretty hilly route at the beginning but flattens out. Didn't feel particularly good starting out, and felt myself definitely working a bit. 2nd mile, felt better but had the comforts of the trail and the trees to block out a lot of the wind, albeit downwind. After the 2nd mile, the trail opens up from the woods (I ran a little more out, just so I could adequately cooldown coming in instead of running further out later) so a quarter mile into it, turned around, ran straight into a swirling winds. My God, my legs pretty much were zapped after the 3rd mile, then completely gutted out the last mile. I have never wanted a run to end so badly. Total Mileage: ~5 (with warmup and cooldown) - splits were: 6:30, 6:33, 6:27, 6:23.

Felt pretty awful, in fact, worse than when I raced over the weekend. Pretty discouraged that workouts I did easily in March are so difficult now but with the actual marathon training segment coming up, I guess I should just concentrate more on being efficient in training and taking care of my body until I transition to endurance training. Legs feel ok today - left knee better, right knee sore but not too bad. This weekend, long run scheduled for Saturday, and pace run on Sunday. Nothing too crazy, just want to rest up and get my legs back into good working order!

What is on my Ipod?

A common question that is asked by many people to me is "What is on my Ipod shuffle?" Runners World has been profiling people's playlists every so often, so I thought I would contribute my own little playlist. Quick music background - I have a pretty simple taste in music - I like pretty much everything, except for country. I played the cello since 2nd grade, so classical music is actually a strong favorite. The station on my car radio is stuck on 107.7, which plays the popular hits on the radio, so able to keep up with most of the current trends. My Ipod is full of everything, so picked out everyone on my current shuffle that I could think of. As you will see, very eclectic:

"1812 Overture" - Tchaikovsky: My prerace song that gets me in complete focus. I am ready for battle once the trumpets start blaring.

"Bye Bye Bye" - N Sync: Not quite sure how this song made my Ipod, but it did and I got used to it. Great song to start a run off with

"I Ran" - Flock of Seagulls: My running theme song - poignant and nostalgic, and summarizes the reason I started running again.

"Olympic Fanfare and Theme" - John Williams: Totally inspirational, who doesn't get chills listening to the Olympic Fanfare? It symbolizes excellence, only the best of the best can be considered Olympians.

"Your Love" - The Outfield: Don't know what it is about 80's music, but always a picker-upper for me. This song is one of the more underrated 80's songs out there

"Summer Love" - Justin Timberlake: Fun song, great beat. Ran to JT a lot last year, quite honestly can listen to any of his stuff while running

"Alive" - POD: song that makes you feel good

"Without me" - Eminem: I don't think any song list is truly complete without Slim Shady

"Beautiful People" - Marilyn Manson: Angry song, very intense - makes me run a lot faster when I hear it

"Pon de Replay" - Rihanna: Really clubby feel to it, definitely gets me going. Actually have quite a few songs of her

"Toxic" - Britney Spears: Britney got me through some of my earlier races - she is a piece of work, but her music is amazing to work out to.

"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" - Starship: Another cheesy 80's song that I actually like. "Take it to the good times, see it through the bad times, whatever it takes is what I'm gonna do"

"Turn Me On" - Kevin Lyttle: Total dance song - not a big dance song fan typically, but perfect for running

"Send Me on my Way" - Rusted Root: Goofy song, but fun as well. Great for the middle of the run as a pick-me-up.

"Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand: Entertaining song, completely different style but somehow very fascinating to listen to

"Fort Battle" - Last of the Mohicans Soundtrack (Trevor Jones): If you can't heard this, go buy this CD immediately! An intense, nonstop orchestration and I'm ready to run through walls after hearing this theme.

Last night, waited through a pretty nasty rain storm to get in an evening run. Weather was cool, breezy, and slightly humid. Crystal and I were both extremely sore from the hard weekend running, so decided on a flat out and back on the trails. Did 4 total, don't have the splits handy but I think something like: 9:02, 8:58, 8:47, 8:38. Legs were very tight, took a bit to get going but felt pretty decent towards the end. Light corework and stretching at night. Tonight, will do 6 easy, no desire to bust my butt on the track so will keep a nice, easy pace to get legs back to normal. Still sore, but definitely getting better!

Run for the Stars 10K Race Weekend

Whew!!! What a whirlwind of a weekend! Busy times with the Run for the Stars 10K, friend’s wedding, and miscellaneous errands. Friday ended up being a pretty long day with the rehearsal dinner for my friend Jody’s wedding, so ended up missing my scheduled run. I wasn’t too overly upset about this, because the race was the next day, but was pretty disappointed in general with erratic running this week, not to mention terrible diet. That WILL change moving forward. Got home late on Friday from the wedding rehearsal, completely passed out on the couch.

Race Morning

Woke up bright and early, ate a quick breakfast of yogurt and peanut butter crackers, then headed over to Pat and Crystal’s to ride together for the race. Decided to give my old 903’s one more shot at glory before race retirement - hadn’t touched them since the STL Half Marathon mess so cleaned them up for their final performance. Got situated, surveyed the scene, and started warming up. Crystal, Stacy, and I did a 10 minute shakeout run, then a few strides right before the race. Weather was in the 70’s and pretty sunny – slightly humid, but all things aside pretty nice conditions considering how St. Louis usually is in June. The race was in Forest Park, right by the St. Louis Science Center, and had a pretty decent turnout of around 600 runners - the course was pretty much light rolling hills, and got a good idea of the start/finish during our warmup.

At the Start

Lined up in the front, talked race strategy with Crystal. Talked with one of the guys from my running team that was running, and exchanged pleasantries with a few other runners that were closeby. Watched an eclectically dressed runner warm up in front of us, and whispered to Crystal that there was no way we were going to let this guy beat us (he didn't). Set my MP3 player to radio, and tried to get focused for the race. Had a few butterflies since I hadn’t raced in a couple months, and was nervous since I didn’t know what to expect never having raced this distance before.

Weird runner guy

Mile By Mile Report

Mile 1 – Gun went off, and away we went! Went off with my team member and two other guys, and pretty much blazed through the first mile. Stride felt relaxed, but was kind of worried since I noticeably felt dehydrated. We started on long, slight downhill, and worked into a flat area before making our way up a longer hill. Saw my pace was pretty quick (~5:30) and kind of chastised myself for running with the 5K lead pack, and made myself slow down and run my own race. [Mile Split - 6:03]

Mile 2 – Watched the 5K leader break off and completely separate himself from everybody, and settled in following a couple runners. Legs still felt ok, and the faster pace felt fine at this point – still a bit dehydrated. We were weaving through Forest Park, and had some decent scenery to distract us while we were running. Hit a few steep hills that slowed me down, but recovered from the most part. I think two people passed me at this point, but kept my position behind my “pacers”. [Mile Split – 6:07]

Mile 3 – Hit a few hills, legs started to get heavy. My pace group was starting to speed up, so was struggling to keep the aggressive pace. The 5K and 10K broke off a little past halfway of the 3^rd mile, and I was in 2^nd or 3^rd place at this point. I had evil thoughts of just running the 5K since I was on 5K PR pace and had a bit left for a massive final kick, but motored on the 10K route. At this point, the turnoff became a really small, rocky trail, so was a lot different than running on the road and had to adjust my stride. The leader of the pack was pretty far ahead of me, so was pretty much pacing myself at this point. Kind of running into a slight wind, so felt myself slowing down trying to settle into a better rhythm. A couple runners passed me at the end of this mile, and my hopes and dreams of a top 3 finish were rapidly disappearing. [Mile Split – 6:29]

Mile 4 – We finally exited from the rocky trail, and made our way back onto the roads again but right into an uphill. Definitely wasn’t feeling too good, and heard a couple runners gaining ground on me. Was slowly passed by three runners, and hung on the coat tails of that group. Crystal was behind me about 30 seconds behind, and I found out at this point that those runners were working off me for a while - race tactics, I would have done the same thing. Pretty tired, slowed down a bit on the straightaway but regrouped and caught back up to the pack on a long uphill. [Mile Split – 6:40]

Mile 5 – Was feeling like crap at this point, and was still working with the same group. Ran stride for stride with one of the runners for a while, and I checked behind and didn’t see anyone too close. I asked him what age group he was in, and he said he was about to ask me the same thing – he was in the 40-49, so I told him “have fun”, and dropped pace. Wasn’t really feeling it, and didn’t want to really kill myself and suffer through the last 1.5 miles, so fell back to a serviceable pace. My goal of top 3 overall was pretty much doomed at this point, so that factored in my decision. We merged with the remaining 5K runners/walkers partway through, and had to weave a bit but felt a little better for the most part. [Mile Split– 6:37]

Mile 6 and Finish – Felt pretty tired, but was motoring along. Saw Pat and his parents on the side of the road which was very nice to see some friendly faces. My friend Dave and his girlfriend (they ran the 5K) were at the last quarter mile as well, so glad to see them too. The pack that I let go was about 100 meters in front of me, but didn’t have much of a kick to catch them especially with the uphill finish (almost half a mile) so just cruised in. [Mile Split – 6:37, 2:01 for last 0.2]

RESULTS
Peter Kim M29
Clock Time 40:38
Chip Time 40:34
Overall Place 8/230
Gender Place 8/?
Division Place 1/17

Pace 6:33/Mile (Garmin had 6:27 pace, course might have been 0.1 miles long)

Final Thoughts

Had mixed feelings about the race, but overall was pleased with the result. Probably should have tried to hang with the pack at the end, but most likely would have been outkicked at the end anyways as my legs weren’t feeling it that day. A little disappointed in the time, but ran hard so it is what it is. Immediately after the race, went to get some water then watch everyone else finish. Crystal came in shortly after, and we walked to get some refreshments. One of the race directors came running up after us, and got her name and hometown – turns out she was the first female finisher, and she won the race!!! Awesome job by Crystal, and I was absolutely ecstatic for her and thrilled she brought home a victory! We went back towards the course, and waited for Pat’s brother Jeff (his first race as well) and Stacy to finish. I totally missed Jeff, but did see Stacy – ran in with her with Jeff and Crystal, and she kicked hard to finish. Fantastic effort for her, and she broke her own personal time goal! (so did Jeff!). Way to go, Jeff and Stacy!!! Stayed around for the awards ceremony – Crystal got a nice plaque for her win, and I found out later that I won my age group (a plaque also) so was nice to bring home some hardware :)

Group photo

Proud winners :)

Hung out in the parking lot for some celebratory beers, and went to get lunch in the University City Loop at a pizza place called Dewey’s – great pizza! Afterwards, went home and got ready for my friend’s wedding, and had a very nice time at a beautiful wedding and reception. Stayed out somewhat late, and had quite a few adult beverages throughout the night.

Sunday morning, got some early texts from Crystal trying to get me up for our long run. Definitely wasn’t feeling too hot, but decided it was better to get it over with. Weather was warm – overcast, and prob in the 70’s. We did an out and back loop, running towards Glen Carbon. First 3 miles, I felt like complete crap and was worried about the three miles of uphill that was approaching. Got into a better rhythm, and got to the turnaround without any problems and was cruising. Enjoyed coming downhill on the way back, but was starting to feel it by the 9^th mile. Started laboring a bit the next couple miles, as the terrain leveled out. Last 4 miles were uphill, and was WORKING to get home – the sun came out, and was starting to get pretty humid so didn’t make it much easier. Happy with getting in the run, but legs were pretty much done. Total Mileage: 15 – splits were 8:15, 7:51, 8:01, 8:08, 8:12, 8:06, 7:59, 8:04, 8:06, 8:06, 8:07, 7:51, 8:01, 7:47, 7:41.

So the week’s running was very inconsistent, but somehow plentiful - 4 days, 39-40 miles, with an awesome 22 miles on Saturday and Sunday. Next week will be a lot more light, as we definitely worked our butts off at the end. Calves are pretty shot right now, so am going to enjoy a couple easy days we decided to schedule to start the week.

NYC Marathon Lottery

The New York City Marathon Lottery is being held today!!! It brings back some exciting memories for me a couple years ago, when I beat the 7 to 1 odds and officially became an entrant for the 2007 NYC Marathon. I remember checking my bank account that morning, and noticing a $120 withdrawal from "NYRR", but excited to what it might have been. I was going out to an off-site meeting but had my sister, Barrel, and Shane check on the site to see if my name came up in the lottery. It was pretty exciting to get their texts confirming my entry, and the rest is history. Tim actually applied for the lottery, so hoping he too beats the odds and gets the opportunity to race in the greatest marathon in the world! Congratulations to Jeff Mead of New York, and Anette Hagen of Virginia Beach, Va, who were the first 2 names selected in the lottery this year!

Here is another interesting article I found on the New York Times website concerning marathoners. Marathoners are a pretty strange breed - our will to complete our goals is something that most others don't have, and it is pretty difficult to explain in words why that is. I will say it would take a major injury for me not to complete a race, no matter how bad I was running - there is no other option. It is interesting to see the amount of pressure runners put on theirselves for these big races - I have done the same with myself, and hopefully I can work hard enough and motivate myself to see it to the end.

So last night, went out for an easy run around town. Temp was 60 - breezy, and cool - absolutely perfect! Didn't really push pace, went pretty easy and just ran on the sidewalks/shoulders in Glen Carbon and Edwardsville. Felt myself picking up the pace on the 4th mile, and had to slow myself down. Legs felt good - pretty light, opposite of the run earlier. At the end, saw a couple walking that were about 200 yards ahead of me and pretty close to my street so practiced my finishing kick and picked them off - in the process, scared the crap out of them :) Felt awesome, quite frankly could have ran another 5-6 miles without breaking a sweat. Total Mileage: ~5 - no splits to report, didn't wear a watch.

Tonight, scheduled small tempo but subject to change. Left knee is starting to act up, so considering taking the day off especially since I'm on pace for almost 45 miles this week. But if weather is perfect again tonight, will do some sort of run. Basically, there won't be too many more days like yesterday night with the oppressive STL summer humidity dangerously looming, so need to take advantage of this...

Happy National Running Day!!!

Happy National Running Day!!! Hope everybody got out and celebrated with a nice, relaxing run today :) Articles are everywhere concerning this national holiday - here's one and another...

So last night, passed on a good opportunity to run on a nice, cool evening due to overall laziness (and a sore right knee), and decided to do a 2-a-day workout in today's honor. Just came back from my fartlek, out and back on a HILLY venue - weather was windy and COOL, high 60's and rainy, actually better than the crap I've been running in all week. Didn't wear my Garmin, but brought my Nike watch to keep track of minute intervals. Did kind of a hard warmup, then went at it. Hard efforts for my minute hard (high 5, low 6 minute pace), and I swear I started every single time on an uphill! At my turn around, had to stop for a minute to catch my breath - hills were absolutely killing me! Suffered on my way back, walked half my cooldown, and jogged in. Amazing how easily I can have bad days, I don't understand it at all. Total mileage: ~5 in about 40 minutes. Ugh

Tonight, going to do a very slow run, mainly to work on form and run out any kinks in my legs. Knee feels less sore, but not 100%. Probably an intense session with the foam roller, and good corework to end the evening.

National Running Day is tomorrow!

From Runner's World this morning:

Yes, Wednesday Is Going to Be National Running Day

It's the first time around for what we're told will, by next year, be World Running Day, and there are major activities planned in Boston, New York, Atlanta, Houston, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Little Rock, and....okay, name an American city! Go to www.runningday.org to find out what's happening near you. In Cambridge, you can warm up with four-time Boston Marathon king Bill Rodgers and run a mile with him at a meet on MIT's track. More . In New York, Deena Kastor will run with a Mighty Milers group of youngsters in the morning and do a slow run (I think it's called a jog) with adults in Central Park later in the day, and there are other events on tap in the mysterious "outer boroughs."

Pretty cool there is an actual National Running Day. Unfortunately, not too many activities planned in our area according to the website, but I definitely encourage everybody to get out and get in a run! While we're on that subject, here is an AWESOME Nike commercial I found on youtube:



Fun little theme they have, and I am thinking about signing up! Pat and Tim, we're counting on you to bring up the count for the males! I think Crystal and I are pretty much going to cancel each other out, but Stacy is getting in some impressive miles herself :)

So last night after a wonderful dinner of grilled vegetables and jalapeno burgers (thanks Pat and Crystal!), did our Monday run. Weather was pretty humid, and there wasn't much of a breeze at all. We started pretty late in hopes it would cool down, and it was still nasty outside - at 9 p.m., it was still 82 degrees!!! Did a loop around Glen Carbon - started out first 4 miles on the trails (out and back), then traversed around town. First half was ok, kept up a pretty easy pace, and found ourselves having to slow down a bit. Animals were out and about everywhere on the trail - raced a rabbit who jumped on in front of us, almost ran over a meandering frog early on, got stared down by a deer who clearly didn't know what to do when he/she saw us approaching (we thought for a second the deer was going to run into us!), and ran past the monstrous villain, Pat who was doing a shorter loop :) Barely made it off the trails before it was pretty dark, and the still, humid air didn't really help much. Felt ok on miles 5,6, but last 2 miles were eh. Picked it up on the final mile, and felt ok but overall pretty tired and worn out. Had a dog jump at us in the neighborhood, so was a nice way to jump start our hearts at the end of a run. Total Mileage: ~8 - splits were: 8:02, 7:58, 8:11, 7:55, 7:47, 7:52, 7:38, 7:18.

Legs are beat this morning, so today's scheduled fartlek may be interesting, especially with another 90 degree day in store for us. Race week, so was looking thru some old race pictures to get me pumped up!

Pre-Disney Marathon

NYC Marathon Alumn :)

Post 08 Chi

Is it really Monday already?!?!

Starting to find that the weekends are going by waaaaay too fast - pretty busy every day, and basically wore myself out! Fri night, hung out with Pat and Crystal and watched Role Models which was absolutely hilarious. Saturday, wedding day for my friends Mike and Tiffany, and had a pretty crazy night at the reception! Beautiful wedding and lots of fun to hang out with friends. Sunday, got invited to an impromptu golf tournament over in Caseyville, so enjoyed a beautiful day out on the links. Tournament took forever though, and was literally gone from noon until 9 p.m., so pretty much collapsed in heap after a long, hot shower at home.

Weekend running went ok - Friday, was scrambling to get things done after work, so forced myself to get in my tempo as soon as I got home from work. Temp was 80's, and it was pretty hot and a little humid outside. I guess a little part of me was interested to see how my body held up in averse conditions, so away I went. First mile was a lot faster than the effort felt like, so that was good. 2nd and 3rd mile in the shade of the trail, so ok but was definitely tiring a bit from the heat. Last mile, completely crashed, had to really suck it up and kick hard to keep the splits even. Felt like complete crap, and legs were pretty drained. Total mileage: 4 - splits were 6:22, 6:25, 6:25, 6:29.

Saturday morning, went for long run with Pat and Crystal. Weather was ok, sunny and a little humid, but cool. Was raining earlier in the morning, so a little soggy on the trails. Hit up a different loop on the trail going towards Troy, which is pretty flat but has a gradual decline in the further miles. Started out decent, felt ok for the most part. Pat parted ways with us 3 miles into it, and we picked it up a little. Felt hard picking up the pace, and then started to rain so made things a little interesting. Fortunately, never rained too hard, and felt absolutely awesome the last 5 miles - kind of kept us refreshed. Steadily picked up the pace, and started to target and pick people off on the trail. Legs weren't feeling too good at this point, and really had to give myself a mental pep talk to get through it. Progressively got faster, then dropped the hammer the last half mile. Legs were pretty fried at the end. Total mileage: ~10 - splits were: 8:49, 8:58, 9:05, 8:24, 8:02, 7:44, 7:28, 7:29, 7:13, 6:43.

Took yesterday off after long wedding night and looooong golf tournament. Talked it over with Crystal and decided to do an easy 8 today, and figured out this week's workouts for race week. Legs feel pretty good this morning, and got in a great night's sleep so thinking the decision was correct. Got in 32 miles despite the 2 days off - a little pissed at myself for missing yesterday, but probably better off in the overall picture as any run last night would have been a struggle and just rough. Mileage could have been better, but this week will definitely make up for it with a race and a 15 mile long run on Sunday.

My "dates" :)

Group photo

Just for fun :)