Week Recap

Good luck on Sunday, Kara!!! Will be looking for you in Chi while I am up there this weekend! Sorry once again for the huge delay on the blog. Next couple weeks are sticky with crazy work and massive travel, but I promise it will get better :) A couple articles here – first one details the history of running shoes from the 1930’s to the 1990’s. Pretty crazy stuff, first known running shoes were roughly 8.5 oz. heavy, and pretty nonsupportive. Next article deals with the NYC Half Marathon coming up in August. Ryan Hall has entered the fray, as well as other star runners such as Hendrick Ramaala (previous NYC Marathon winner), Jaouad Gharib (08 Olympic Silver Medalist), and Abdi Abdirahman. Women’s side will feature Deena Kastor and Catherine Ndereba (2 time Olympic Medalist). Should be an amazing race, I hope it is televised on Universal Sports at least :)

Time for running updates. With this week being a mess due to work, Chicago this weekend for a wedding, and just ridiculous busy-ness, I have had to really mess around with my schedule to get in a good running week. Next week should be the same with a Denver trip with Barrel to see Tim and Trisha. Arghghhg!!! Monday night, went for an easy run with Crystal. She opted to do her long run on Monday, so she did the first 11 on the treadmill and I went along with her for the final 5 miles on the G.C. Trail. Weather was cool but humid, legs were tired from the 17 mile mess the day previous. First mile was slower, but ended up picking it up a little. Last 2 miles were definitely tiring, but kind of nice to get in a little quicker which really loosen up the lactic acid buildup in my legs. Can’t remember the splits off the top of my head, but will try to estimate. Total mileage: 5 miles – splits were: 8:20, 7:48, 7:30, 7:23, 7:20.

Tuesday, both of us were feeling pretty beat so it was pretty clear it was going to be a slow day. Weather was acting really weird all day – storming like crazy in STL, and windy in Glen Carbon. Temps were cooler, but still a little humid. Got home, decided to wait an hour for the weather to calm down and hopefully push away any potential rain. Hit the really flat gravel route we do at times at a pretty conservative pace. Not much to report, splits were pretty consistent, legs were tired and was nice to get it out of the way. Pushed it at the end when the rain started to fall (felt sooo good). Total mileage: 8 miles – splits were 8:26, 8:26, 8:35, 8:33, 8:37, 8:20, 7:54, 7:13.

Wednesday – 0 miles! Tired after work, was hanging out with Barrel at night, so didn’t find the time to get it in. Wasn’t happy about missing a run, but will make up the mileage so not too angry. Thursday, scheduled long run. Early morning runs don’t happen without Crystal, Saturday morning would be pushing it w/wedding later (still plan on running with New Balance group, just shorter distance), and weather was as cool as it was going to be all week so decided to go with it. Was raining slightly when I got home, so waited a little bit for the weather to clear up and cool down. Was overcast and about 80 (ugh) but kind of cool, so away I went. Legs were ok, wasn’t feeling too hot in general though and pretty tired. Ran the Troy route, which is my bread and butter and my exclusive long run route for NYC training in 07. Started out kind of fast, and was feeling it definitely so tried to slow it down a little. At Mile 4, got into a good rhythm and just stuck with it. I knew I was cruising when I started passing a few bikers! Hadn’t run past the 6 mile marker of the Troy Route in forever, so was kind of nice to traverse back there, plus it was downhill here on out till the turnaround. Turned around at about 7.5 mile marker, saw a couple people jump on the trail a little ways up so perked up and passed them and kept the steady pace going. Stopped at Troy Park for a water break, got passed by those guys, passed them up again (one of them remarked to the other, “didn’t he already pass us?!” which got a laugh from all of us), and kept going. Started feeling it a little bit at the 12^th mile, especially having run the last 4-5 miles uphill, and realized I was really going a lot faster than I should have but felt ok overall. Did a small loop off the bike trail to make up some more mileage, then got back on around mile 13. Began trying to simulate the marathon experience and how I felt, and made my mind think it was mile 23 and I couldn’t let myself slow down and just keep it up. Getting off the bike trail was fine, but the mile back to my place is very hilly with a few big hills, so really started to struggle. Last mile was overall downhill, but rolling hills. Made a turnaround close to a mile out and wanted to finish the last 0.2 uphill to simulate that last hill before turning onto Jackson Street in Chicago. UGH the pain, but finished strong! Jogged/walked it in for a cooldown. Total Mileage: ~18 miles (w/1 mile cooldown) – splits were: 7:14, 7:00 (Garmin must have gotten a little ahead), 7:09, 7:17, 7:21, 7:17, 7:19, 7:14, 7:18, 7:10, 7:14, 7:08, 7:08 (1/2 marathon split was 1:34:35), 7:12, 7:17, 7:14, 7:02 (7:13 average).

I have mixed feelings about this run. First, the negatives. Was quite honestly stupid to try to push this long of a pace run so early (the big run I want during this 12 week segment is a 16 mile pace (roughly about 4 weeks out till marathon)). The purpose of going slow in a long run is to train your body to burn carbs efficiently – by staying out longer, you are making your body work a different way. I finished this run in a little over 2 hours, when in reality it should have been closer to 2.5. Dangerous to be pushing it this hard this early, although I should be able to handle it as have done a few long runs of 15 already. And lastly, am really in danger of peaking WAY too early, as might have been my problem last year with all our fast long runs (never THIS fast though!!!). Some of those 20 milers are going to have to be done slllooowww.

Ok, now the positives. 17 mile pace?! Didn’t hit this in the marathon last year! In 08 Chi, started to fade at mile 16, officially started walking by mile 18. 80 degrees, hilly at parts, was EXTREMELY pleased to hit those splits. All very consistent, and really up to mile 15 felt very strong. Really felt great about getting into a good rhythm on a bad day and I feel good about ingraining 7:15 pace to my legs. Training right now is going amazing with this crowned jewel under my belt – two awesome long pace runs already, and over 2 months to work on a little more endurance. I can honestly say I am in the best shape of my life, and excited about things to come!

This weekend, in Chitown for a wedding. Going to try to hit up Lakeshore for a few runs, and try to see some friends and family over the weekend!!!

Mud Mountain 5K Recap

Just wanted to give a quick weekend update before jumping into this busy week. This is going to be a crappy blog entry because I still feel like poop from the weekend and quite frankly don’t remember all the details. Tim was back in town, so we did it up like we know best – 188%. Friday, met up with him for dinner and drinks, stayed out WAY too late especially with the race early next morning.

Race Morning

Saturday morning, was awoken by Stacy’s phone call, then got ready for the race. Weather was sprinking all morning and was a bit overcast. The Mud Mountain 5K is over at SIUE – typical cross country race which starts on a huge grass field, then navigates through the woods and some pretty crazy hills. They had an amazing turnout this year, in fact a record of 647 runners, so was excited to see so many people.

At the Start

Did a quick warmup with Stacy and Tim at the start, was not feeling too hot, drank a ton of water and lined up towards the back. Was already starting to get humid and sticky outside despite the clouds, so wasn’t happy about that. Lined up, got ready for a painful race, and away we went!

Mile By Mile Report

Mile 1 - First mile is actually more of a downhill grade, but weaves around a ton. Kind of regretted lining up so far in the back, as we were running through a mob trying to establish position. About halfway through the first mile, watched a girl lose her breakfast right in the middle of the race, so swerved to avoid that. Went up a small hill, then went down a pretty steep decline where Tim completely kicked into 5th gear and zoomed ahead. Looked down at Garmin and realized we were going much faster than I anticipated, so was trying to get myself mentally prepared for this. Settled into a more rhythmic pace, felt ok. [Mile 1 – 7:30]

Mile 2 - Started to feel more looser, but then this is where the course gains its reputation for being one of the toughest in the region. Punishing hill after hill. At this point, we were still passing a lot of people, so was weaving in and out. Tim had started to slow down a little, so was trying not to get too carried away. Hills didn’t feel too terrible, but were still punishing. Was counting down the minutes till the end. [Mile 2 – 8:13]

Mile 3 and Finish - Last 1.1 miles, finally stopped having to weave in and out, hit the hills slow but gained back speed on the straightaways. We actually jumped on the bike trail for a second, then weaved back to the final stretch where you have to run up a long slow hill to the finish. Passed the 3 mile marker, was yelling at Tim for a closing kick. He got the message, picked it up pretty well, hit the finish hard and he outleaned me for the victory. [Final Time – 25:19.3 (Tim was 25:19.1)]

RESULTS

Peter Kim M29
Clock Time 25:19.1
Overall Place 239/547
Gender Place ?
Division Place ?

Pace 8:02/Mile

Final Thoughts

Happy having run a tough 5K that morning, accomplished my task of getting in some miles for the day. Course was difficult as I remembered it, and will be back again someday to give it a go. Fun to run with Tim and Stacy, she was not too pleased about the hills but finished in a respectable time. Wasn’t terribly happy about getting outkicked by Tim at the end, but fair is fair and he gets props but don’t rest on your laurel’s too long Timmy, because I’m coming after you ;) We hung out afterwards talking with some friends, then stayed for the awards ceremony and took off.

Headed back to my place for a victory bloody mary and some wii, hung out for a little bit and got cleaned up. Went over to Tim’s parents house for a pool day and BBQ. Last year we did this, and had awful weather – completely opposite this time around, as the sun came out and we enjoyed a really fun day just hanging out. Got scalded by the sun, drank waaaay too much sangria and bud light, but still had an amazing time. Thanks to the Allison’s for hosting us!!!!

Woke up the next morning pretty much regretting life. Had left my car over at Tim’s the night before and caught a ride home with Pat, so decided since I was scheduled to get in 16 miles that day to try to get some of it out of the way. Weather was SUNNY and hot – mid 80’s, ugh. Ran to the bike trail, and headed towards Maryville/Troy area. Started out at a decent pace, but nothing too crazy. Felt like crap, but running surprisingly didn’t feel too awful. Right around the 3rd mile, the sun started to take its toll on me, and contemplated slowing down. Went over a bridge, saw a couple runners way ahead, then my competitive instincts took over and I guess my stupid body decided I was going to catch and pass them. Well I picked up the pace, and a mile later succeeded in catching them but at a great cost as I officially felt dead. I thought Tim’s place was about 6 miles away, but was more like 7 and just struggled the last 2 miles. Wasn’t much shade once I got off the trail, and the weather was just punishing me. Walked/ran in certain places, was completely out of gas plus legs were just done. Finally made it over, got my car, grabbed a quick lunch, then back to bed. Total a.m. miles: 7 miles - splits averaged 8-9 minute miles

Slept for a few hours, didn’t feel too much better but really wanted to get in my 16. If I cheated on the first week, that would just be BAD. Around 7ish, it had cooled down some so decided to brave the elements. Felt considerably better starting out, but legs felt like I had done 7 grueling miles earlier so was trying to be conservative. Ran the same route I did in the morning, looped back and had thoughts of getting in 13 miles. At mile 7, legs started to get that really heavy feeling, so had to walk a little. Started to really feel crappy, and was losing the fight with the sun, so was forced to pick it up so I wasn’t stranded in the dark on the heavily wooded trail. Walk/ran the last mile, started to feel a little dizzy and ended my run abruptly. Total p.m. miles: ~10 - splits factoring in walking averaged about 9 minute miles.

So I got in 17 for the day, I guess somewhat impressive considering my condition but not happy I had to split it up. Have a long run of 17 miles this week, but in a wedding in Chi so need to get it in sometime on Thursday or Friday because it isn’t going to happen over the weekend. After run #2, showered and stretched, and watched Entourage with Pat and Crystal. So got in about 41 miles last week, pretty good for week 1 of marathon training but could have been better.

Friday night Shenanigans


Pool Party!

Hall Interview/Yoga Review

Great interview by Ryan Hall - talks about the New York City Marathon and his experiences on the big stage. Totally looking forward to watching him run this fall - it's always nostalgic to watch people in the New York Marathon since that is and will be my most memorable race ever :)

When I got home from work yesterday, decided to put in the Yoga DVD that Pat and Crystal copied for me - Yoga for Runners: The Essentials. Not completely sure this is it, but check it out. I consider myself to be moderately flexible but after watching these Gumby-like figures bend into positions I thought only Olympic gymnasts could do, I downgraded myself to "stiff as a board". My posture is terrible to begin with, so this wasn't going to be any easier. The DVD is about 45 minutes long, and focuses on 4 areas - total body, lower back, hamstrings, and hips. They put you through several yoga stretches in which you mainly focus on breathing to those specific areas and relaxing your muscles. I found that even the simple stretches I had problems with, and was shaking like crazy trying to sustain them. I almost found myself having to get into a meditative state to endure these workouts (sort of like during a long run when you have to really dig down deep and focus to get through those last few miles), and it helped a ton. Anyways, I really enjoyed the workout, and immediately felt the effects of it throughout the night as well as this morning. There is great value to this in strengthening the aforementioned areas and developing mental toughness as well, and could even feel myself correcting my back posture during my run later in the evening.


Last night, made myself go out for some speedwork. Now that I am in marathon training, it's kind of weird to be limited to only 1 day of this so there are no excuses to miss out. Contemplated running this morning, but I know that wasn't going to happen because I am just too lazy to run early before work!!! Examined the skies, kept hearing thunder in the background and it looked slightly overcast with some ominious clouds in the background so wasn't sure what it was going to do. Temps were in the 70's, so felt nice - put on a hat, talked myself into going, and away I went! Crystal was going to treadmill it last night, so I decided to go look for some different hills, so ran towards downtown Glen Carbon. Felt pretty good, and got a little carried away with a long warmup (3 miles). About 2 miles out, the rain started - never fails, my furthest point away, and it just starts to come down. Had to make a decision quick, so ran into a local neighborhood where I knew there would be a medium sized hill, and scouted out a route roughly less than a quarter mile. The grade was steep at the beginning, but starts to level out at the end - have run on steeper hills, but I was battling Mother Nature at this point. Did 5 reps at a hard but manageable pace, felt ok for the most part but wasn't thrilled that I was soaking wet by the 2nd rep. Would have liked to have cooled down a little more, but ended up taking off home and ran a pretty hard mile, most likely in the 6:30-6:45 range. Stretched, ate late dinner, then passed out. Total Mileage: ~5.5 miles

Tonight, Tim is back in town! Going out to dinner then probably out and about town. Tomorrow, Mud Mountain 5K! Weather looks decent, and should be a fun race. Will get in 5 miles before or after the race to get in my 8 for the day, then we have a long run scheduled for Sunday of 16 miles - our longest this year to date! Have a great weekend!!!

Ryan chooses NYC!!!

Not surprising news, but exciting opportunity for Ryan Hall to win one of the most prestigious races in the world. Not to mention the U.S. Marathon Championships will be held in conjunction with the NYC Marathon, so he and Brian Sell will take their best shots at a national title as well. So a lot to look forward to this fall in the marathoning world - Geb vs. Kibet in Berlin, Wanjiru in Chi, and Hall and Sell in NYC. I can't wait!!!

Last night, did an easy 4 with Crystal on the trails. Weather was pretty cool and slight breeze - mid 70's, another beautiful evening :) Both of us were feeling a little worn down and tired, so didn't hit it too hard. First mile was pretty slow, but then settled in a nice rhythm and hit consistent splits all the way home - my favorite type of run :) Felt ok overall, was glad it was an easy day. Total milage: 4 miles - splits were: 8:52, 8:23, 8:23, 8:22.

Got home shortly afterwards, stretched, at dinner, then completely passed out! Pat and Crystal just recently bought a new DVD, Yoga for Runners, and they burnt me a copy to give a try so I will attempt to do later and give a review!

Evil tendencies of the brain

Great article which talks about how much your brain can actually affect your running. Your brain is almost a safety valve which determines how much your body can take given the feedback from your muscles during rigorous exercise. Basically, your body will send warning signals to your brain which then attempts calculate the amount of fuel left in your body – if it deems that a “danger zone” is being approached, it will basically send word to your leg muscles to contract which consequently leads to slowing down. But it is possible to talk your brain out of this safety mode, so important to really focus hard when your body feels like it is going to break down and talk your way through it – we have all been there and all had runs that seems harder than before, so use a running mantra or play mind games to get out of this funk!

Last night, Crystal and I did our run on the GC Trails. Weather was nice – mid to low 70’s, overcast and breezy. Decided to go towards the University which has rolling hills and some elevation. Legs felt a little tired, so started out slow. Felt ok, could feel the pace progressively getting faster. By the third mile, was right on marathon pace, and made a comment about possibly slowing down but we went against it since the pace felt pretty good. 4^th mile is slowly uphill – at this point, we actually turned onto a different part of the trail which runs through a local neighborhood and behind the high school heading towards SIUE. Hit a lot of traffic over here, a ton of people were walking their babies and pets, and started to feel a little fatigue but most likely from the gradual incline. Pretty much flew on the turnaround, and was feeling ok until the 7^th mile where the rolling hills started to beat me up a bit. On the last mile, started to really feel it on the last half mile, but later found out we had picked up the pace substantially. Legs were spent post run, but could have been from not eating dinner and just being a bum all afternoon and taking a long nap. Went home, stretched, ate a 5 dolla footlong, laid in bed forever. Total mileage: 8 miles – splits were: 7:51, 7:29, 7:19, 7:24, 6:58, 7:11, 7:03, 6:49.

Tonight, easy run. Made a few schedule adjustments for running since Tim is in town this weekend and don’t want to worry about 5 a.m. long runs since we will most likely be having some fun nights :) Just signed up for the Mud Mountain 5K, looking forward to a relaxed race and being a rabbit for Timmy.

Marathon Training Officially Begins!!!

Well it looks like the Chicago Marathon is going to lose Ryan Hall, but this is a nice consolation prize - the reigning Olympic Champion Samuel Wanjiru! Pretty cool news, and hope that he makes a serious attempt at the World Marathon Record. Has been a while since Chicago has produced a 2:05 time (Khalid Khonnouchi in the late 90's), and I think Wanjiru will undoubtedly achieve that assuming conditions are decent.

“My plan for the fall is to lower my personal record, and the Chicago Marathon course is the best opportunity for me to achieve that." - Samuel Wanjiru

Yep, let me know if you need a pacer - I can lead you for the first 100-200 yards before your Kenyan legs completely eviscerate anything in your path.

Last night, started the marathon training cycle with a nice little run. Weather was cool and breezy, in the low 70's. Crystal and I hit the trails , did an out and back, and kept a pretty easy pace. Really not much to report other than legs felt tired from the race still but servicable enough to keep up the pace, and executed the run perfectly. Total Mileage: 3 miles - splits were: 8:12, 8:11, 8:12 (how's that for consistency?!)

Tonight, 8 glorious miles. Tuesday track work has been replaced for this training cycle, so looking forward to a nice medium sized run on yet another glorious weather day :)

Summer Sizzler 5K Race Recap

Apologies once again for crappiness in my blog updates – was my self-imposed week off, so didn’t run too much but did remember the few times I ran. This week flew by despite the limited running, but ended up enjoying every moment. Was still on my high of last week’s 40 miles and awesome weekend running in Chitown as well as the end of the 12 week maintenance schedule being completed, so felt that the scheduled week off was well deserved. First of all, as promised, a couple pics from Monday's All Star Game Home Run Derby with Barrel:

Had wanted to get in some track work on Tuesday, but ended up calling an audible and not running at all. Wednesday, ended up running roughly 3 miles. Didn’t have a watch, just ran to Pat and Crystal’s (2 miles) and another mile afterwards and got in an easy workout all together. Thursday, didn’t want to run but with the Summer Sizzler 5K on Saturday, wanted to get in some semblance of a speed workout so decided to do a fartlek. Since I hadn’t run much this week and felt lethargic in general, decided on an easier 20 seconds on/1 minute easy for 2 miles – got in 5 miles total, was pretty tired overall because of the humid weather that evening. Hit mid to high 5 minute mile pace and legs weren’t there at all so started to worry a bit for my lack of conditioning and just hoped it was a bad day. Heavy corework and stretching afterwards, felt better. Friday, a cold front pushed all the crappy weather away, and all of a sudden we had fall weather! – 70’s and cool. In celebration of the wonderful weather, decided to do an easy 3 miles before going out to dinner with Pat, Crystal, and Stacy, and felt pretty good at the easy pace. Corework and stretching afterwards, very relaxing. Felt somewhat prepared to run pretty hard for the race the next morning, definitely glad to have gotten some good work in.

Maryville YMCA

Race Morning

Saturday morning, woke up around 7, ate a quick yogurt and a cup of fruit, and was on my way to meet up with Pat, Crystal, and Stacy (who decided to run the race bandit, impromptu). Weather was high 60’s and overcast – absolutely perfect for running, and shocking weather for St. Louis in mid July! One of the advantages of this race was the close proximity to home (~5-10 minutes away), so had the luxury of sleeping in more than usual. I haven’t run a 5K since March when I felt like I was in fantastic speed shape, so really didn’t have great expectations for this race. A couple of tempo runs I had done during this maintenance schedule hit 6:20 pace, so I figured that a good run today would most likely result in a low 19/high 18 minute time. Another factor was the level of competition – when I signed up for the race, the race director had told me only 34 people had signed up, so was thinking there wasn’t going to be a great turnout. With a faster group going out, could use them to pace myself better and work off some of the other faster runners to my benefit. We arrived at the Maryville YMCA shortly after to a sea of cars in the parking lot – turned out that the last week of registration netted a lot more runners, and definitely a good amount of race day registration as well. Did a short warmup, with strides in the grass. Ran into my buddy Mike who was running the 10K, and he pointed out a few of the really fast local runners that were competing. Not to mention, some of the members of the Triad High School Cross Country team were racing as well, so although my aspirations of a very high place disappeared like a puff of smoke, I tried to look at this situation as an opportunity to work off of others and run more tactfully than normal. My typical 5K’s usually have me going out way too fast, burning out during the 2^nd mile, then trying to hang on for dear life on the last mile – this time, strategized to try to run a more even race and listen to my body more.

At the Start

We found out the course layout at the race registration – actually ran this course in a race 3 years ago, not to mention it is on the bike trail Crystal and I run quite a bit, so felt more confident since I knew almost every step of the course. Lined up at the start with roughly 120 other runners and got ready to run. Actually felt a few nerves, talked with Crystal about going out with a high 5 minute mile, and she was going to pace herself a little bit behind me (this was her first 5K, and she was aiming for sub 20 minutes). Gun went off, and the race was on its way!

Mile By Mile Report

Mile 1 - Got stuck behind a small group of overanxious runners that lined up way too far up front, but weaved around them to start out with the lead pack. Looked around for Crystal, actually saw her ahead of me, so surged to catch up with her. We started out in the parking lot of the Y, then headed down a small hill to the trail (roughly a quarter mile from the start). Hit the downhill hard, found myself behind right behind two high schoolers and felt pretty comfortable running behind them so settled into a rhythm. Pace was quick, but stride felt good and breathing was controlled – right exactly where I wanted to be. [Mile Split - 5:42]

Mile 2 - Started to really gauge myself and how I was feeling at this point, since my weakness in this distance was usually about halfway into the race. Didn’t feel too much different – my legs were starting to get a little heavier, but still felt strong. The first half of this course was actually on a slight uphill grade which I was aware of, so I knew coming back would be easier due to the downhill. The turnaround came pretty abruptly, but was expecting it since I saw the leaders make their turn and head back. I was in 5^th place at this point, and had my two high school runner rabbits slowly start to gap me. Didn’t really feel too great literally having to turn on a dime at high speed, but tried to adjust as best as I could. The two guys definitely separated themselves a bit from me, so struggled to keep them close enough where I could pace off them. Saw Crystal, Mike, and a small group of runners on my way back – Crystal looked pretty good and was in first place for the women with a girl hot on her tail. Downhill felt great – was feeling much better than I usually do at this point. [Mile Split - 5:55]

Mile 3 - Legs were feeling a little weary now and was trying not to look at my Garmin to psych myself out. I was feeling pretty comfortable knowing all my landmarks and knew I wasn’t too far away, and started to give myself a little pep talk to get through the last mile. Helped to see all the other runners coming back, and they were all fantastic cheering us on towards the finish. Saw the signs for the Y, made an abrupt left turn right into a hill which suddenly felt a billion times steeper since I was getting pretty tired, and slowed down a tad to avoid a total burn out. Fought coming up, saw Pat cheering the runners on which was a pick-me-up, and saw the finish not too far up. [Mile Split - 5:54]

Finish - Made one last turn onto the final straightaway, and saw the big LED timer which said 17:40 something on it. I thought that can’t be right, but hadn’t paid any attention whatsoever to my Garmin other than the first mile and once on the last mile to see where I was. Competitive instincts took over, kicked hard, zoomed across the finish line in complete and utter disbelief. [Final Time - 17:57 PR]

RESULTS

Peter Kim M29
Clock Time 17:57
Overall Place 5/70
Gender Place 5/40
Division Place 2/11

Pace 5:47/Mile (Garmin had 5:51 pace, course might have been slighty short?)

First Mile

Final Thoughts

WOW, couldn’t believe what had happened, and emotions were going crazy in my head. Spent a minute trying to catch my breath, then walked back towards the course to see Crystal finish. She ended up getting passed in the 2^nd mile and finished 2^nd overall, but did achieve her goal of breaking 20 minutes and ran an awesome PR time of 19:43. Congratulations Crystal!!! Went to watch Stacy finish, caught her on the final straightaway – she kicked on the last 200 meters, totally picked off a girl that was ahead of her most of the race, and finished in a spectacular 2 minute PR! Turns out later that she would have finished 2^nd in her age group, so she was kicking herself a bit for not registering. But regardless, a fantastic showing for all of us, and we were all feeling pretty good about ourselves. Stayed for the awards ceremony, took home a little hardware with a 2^nd place showing my age group, and Crystal winning her age group. My friend Mike got 2^nd in his age group for the 10K as well – congrats to him! Did a 2 mile cooldown run at home with Crystal and Stacy, and enjoyed the rest of the weekend pretty much laying low.

Still couldn’t believe I broke 18 minutes in the 5K, and was trying to figure out how this could have happened. Probably a combination of perfect weather, great rest during the week, knowing the course inside and out, and running a very tactical race with runners to work off of. Don’t think this is going to happen again anytime soon, but am beyond ecstatic to drop another PR this year and run one of the best races I have ever ran.

Bringing home a little hardware :)

Thus officially ends my speed season, and today officially begins my Chicago Marathon training with an easy 3 miler. I feel mentally and physically refreshed, a little sad that I am going to lose some speed since endurance training is now my number 1 priority, but not going to miss the intense speed work needed for it. Looking forward to the final leg of my journey for my ultimate goal, and getting in some good miles. In this last training segment, I have learned to be patient with my running, and trust that the hard work I have put my body through will work off in the end. I had my up and down weeks, but it all paid off in the end with good endurance and spectacular speed.

Scheduled to run the Mud Mountain Cross Country 5K this weekend, but not going to race it competitively – will enjoy a nice race with Tim and Stacy (and hopefully Pat if he decides to run it) and support the roots of my running with this event run by my former high school cross country team.

Team Harriss

Weekend Update - sorry so late!

Sorry once again for the delayed blog update! Spent a pretty crazy weekend in Chicago, full of baseball and running! Enjoyed an amazing time up with my sister, my friend Dave, Pat and Crystal, and Barrel. Can’t wait to get back up there! Caught an afternoon train up to Chicago after work on Thursday, was amazed with the amount of coolers that people brought on the train so Dave and I fixed a few drinks for ourselves, and enjoyed watching episodes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, HILARIOUS show! Got in a little early, got dinner in Oldtown with Dave’s friend, then went out for a bit in Lincoln Park before calling it an early night.

Friday, woke up early to get in a run at my home away from home, Lakeshore Bike Trail. Felt pretty good, although a little tired from the long night of travel, but ready to get it on. Did a quick warmup on my way to the trail, and headed south towards the city – most amazing scenary I can find in this area :) Was sort of breezy, but felt ok through the first mile. Realized I was going faster than I wanted to, but tried to keep up the pace. Right before my second mile split, my shoelace untied so had to stop for a minute to retie it – took a quick 30 second break, then was on my way back. Third mile was a little tiring, but picked it up on my last mile. Felt pretty awesome overall, and celebrated my good run with a little cooldown back to Anne’s apartment. Total mileage: 5 miles (w/warmup and cooldown). Splits were: 6:27, 6:22, 6:21, 6:14.

Afterwards, went to Wrigleyville to get ready for the big Cards/Cubs game! Met up with Pat and Crystal, watched the Cubs get beat down, then hung out in the city for a while afterwards. Went to a nice Vietnamese restaurant called “Le Colonial” to help celebrate Dave’s birthday, then actually called it an early night – tired from early morning and day drinking at Wrigley!!! Woke up early Saturday to join the New Balance running group. I had been in email contact with John, one of the runners, and talked about doing 14-15 miles that morning. Started on our way headed north towards Lakeshore – weather was a little warm and humid, but quite honestly nothing compared to what STL weather typically is! I was completely amazed with the amount of runners on Lakeshore that morning! I counted at least 20 running groups of 20+ runners (marathon training season!), and who knows how many bikers/walkers/joggers besides that?! Just amazing, I wish we had that type of participation around here. First couple miles felt like complete crap. Probably was from all the day drinking and debauchery the day before, so was worn down and struggling. Spent a lot of time running around groups, puddles, etc., so felt like I was running a fartlek the entire time because of all the impromptu surges. A few of the other runners in the NB group caught up to us, so enjoyed good conversation and letting the group dictate the pace while I coasted along. Went almost 6 miles out, then took a quick water break, then headed back. John had to be in South Bend, IN for a family birthday party, so we picked up the pace a bit since the clock was ticking. Hit a few low 7 minute miles, and started to get really tired. Stopped for a bathroom break about a mile from our start point, and realized that time was an issue with John so we called it quits. Jogged back to Anne’s, hung out with Barrel for a bit (who had just arrived), dragged Dave outside later on for a quick 3 to finish my workout. Didn’t go too fast, was able to enjoy the scenery and properly cooldown. Awesome long run, happy to get it done nice and early before the long day. Total mileage: ~15 – splits were all over the map ranging from 7:08 to 8:20, averaged 7:55, I believe.

Headed down to Wrigleyville for Day 2 of Cubs/Cards, enjoyed a beautiful day in the bleachers with friends and family, and an amazing Cubs victory :) Didn’t make it out too long, partied myself out after the game and was pretty much out like a light! Sunday, had early breakfast with Dave before he left (rode back with friends), lunch with Anne and Ben at Café Ba Ba Reeba (breakfast tapas – heavenly!), then headed back to the Lou. Got back to humid weather, but was cooling down a bit, and headed out for a quick 6 with Crystal. Wasn’t feeling too hot from a long weekend of partying, so was hoping to keep a pretty easy pace on the GC trails and just enjoy the evening. Started out ok on the first mile, but was getting tired fast. Hit faster second mile, then realized Crystal wasn’t slowing down (wtf?!). She was starting to gap me on the third mile, and I realized we were hitting low 7 minute pace when I was expecting to run high 8’s, so had to put in some effort to try to keep up. Was starting to feel pretty sorry for myself, but then my competitive urges snapped me out of my funk at the turn around and pretty much announced we were picking it up, much to Crystal’s chagin. Proceeded to blaze through the next couple miles and push it a little, but felt great. I guess if I was going to suffer through a run, might as well work for it, right?!?! Slowed down on the last mile as the last 3 miles were uphill. Afterwards, Crystal and I yelled at each other for running with other people over the weekend (she did her long run with her brother-in-law Chris on Sat. morning), and had a nice laugh. Stretched, watched Entourage season premiere afterwards. Total mileage: 6 – splits were: 8:20, 7:47, 7:07, 6:51, 6:35, 7:48.

This week was proclaimed our week off, so enjoyed not having to run last night :) Actually had the opportunity to go see the All-Star Game Homerun Derby at Busch Stadium, and enjoyed a beautiful evening with Barrel enjoying the sights and sounds of baseball’s all star break. Awesome times, will post pics soon. Tonight, actually doing track work, wanted to get in a couple workouts this week but keep it light because of our “week off”. The 12 week maintenance cycle was successful, as I feel I retained a lot of speed but definitely improved back to good form on endurance. 5K this weekend in Maryville, should be fun!!!

Chicago Bound!

A couple articles I ran across yesterday when reading - first one deals with how the unemployed deal with running - they are embracing the time off and taking the ball and literally running with it!!! Couldn't imagine how great of a runner I could become if I had literally the entire day to dedicate to this wonderful sport :) Awesome to see marathon participation and times get better, albeit at the cost of people's jobs, but still more proof that running is recession proof.

Next article deals with the next great womens U.S. runner., Jordan Hasay, who pretty much dominated high school prep running. She is committed to run for the University of Oregon next year, and is inevitably a force to come. She was given the distinct title of SI's Girl Athlete of the Year. Congrats Jordan!!!

Last night, went for an easy run on the trails. Did out and back on the flat portion of the trail - weather was warm and STEAMY. Felt good throughout the run, slowly increased pace throughout the run and felt easy. Totally hit good stride down the last half mile, peaked out at 5:45 pace and felt great. Stretching afterwards. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were: 8:22, 8:16, 8:15, 7:48, 7:17.

Missed my planned run this morning, and won't get in a run today due to travel but not too mad at myself because I will make up for it on tomorrow's day off by running a tempo on my home away from home, the Lakeshore Drive bike trail!!! Headed to Chi after work to see my beloved Cubbies on Friday and Saturday - should be a great weekend with Pat and Crystal there as well as my friend Dave (whose birthday is tomorrow!) and possibly Barrel who is still considering her options for the weekend. Also looking forward to a long run with either Ken or the New Balance group on Saturday morning - fun, fun, fun!

Mizuno Precision Fit Analysis/Ladder Work

Yesterday after work, my running store Big River Running hosted Mizuno's "Run With Us" campaign which is pretty much a mobile running tech lab designed to provide expert analysis and recommendation for runners of all skill levels. It features a grand scale technical van housing a couple of Mizuno’s state-of-the-art "Precision Fit" terminals where runners are provided an innovative and thorough biomechanical analysis of their foot type and running needs. The "Precision Fit" procedure determines which type of running shoe best suits the runner’s foot type, running style, and running goals. Runners are also given a chance to "test ride" footwear and go for a run with a Mizuno program coordinator knowledgeable about the biomechanics of the foot in motion to provide expert advice tailored to the consumer.


Pretty cool stuff actually, so Pat, Crystal, Stacy, and I met up after work to give it a whirl. The Mizuno people had us step on a little terminal which sort of resembled a really fancy scale. There, we gave our physical information to put into the computer, then we did a few drills such as balance exercises and squats to determine motion analysis, then went for a walk outside so the Mizuno people could take a look at our strides. After a few minutes, the computer spit out a report for us that gave a ridiculous amount of information. Here are the highlights of my report:

Foot Rotation: The foot clearly rotates outwards during movement. This causes the heel to pronate.

Foot strike while running: If the heel makes first contact with the ground during a normal running strides, the individual is categorized as a "heel striker".

Flexibility in the upper ankle joint: The deep squat position was achieved with ease, this indicates normal flexibility in your upper ankle joint.

Static leg axis: Under static observation a 'varus' leg axis was determined (bow-leg, genu varus).

Dynamic leg axis: Your static 'varus' leg axis inwardly rotates during the dynamic mid-stance phase. This causes high rotational forces between the tibia plateau and the femoral condyle of the knee.

Recommendations: During the stance phase, you slightly over-pronate. This occurs as the foot collapses medially more than is necessary on impact and throughout the stance phase. Consequently, your optimal footwear must offer additional stability and support to the foot. You may benefit from an orthotic if there is not a shoe that will adequately control this slight over-pronation.

So the moral of the story, I over-pronate and I'm slightly bow-legged (wtf?!?!)! But it's true, and I saw documented proof on video of this - me versus normal. At least I'm more flexible than Crystal! (she is going to kill me for that remark) Afterwards, stayed in the area and went to McGurk's, a bar/restaurant in South St. Louis which has an amazing patio and a very popular place to eat/drink in STL. Had an awesome dinner (complete with appetizer and dessert!) and great company not to mention good weather, and headed back home. Stopped at the Maryville YMCA to sign Crystal and I up for the 5K race in a couple weeks - looks like a smaller race, and I am pretty familiar with the surroundings so looking forward to running a good time and hopefully placing in my age group!

Got home at 8:45 p.m., forced myself to go do my track work, which Crystal had proactively already done earlier that afternoon. The workout was a full ladder - (400,800,1200,1600,1200,800,400), and the plan was to hit the first half at 5K pace, then pick it up on the tail end of the ladder. Was eyeing the mile and curious to see what I could hit, so wanted to save a little for that and give it a somewhat decent effort. Weather was 75 when I started, and not very breezy which made the evening very humid - ugh. Wasn't feeling too hot when starting, so did a warmup hoping to loosen up. First 400 was ok - didn't put in too much effort, cruised through it. The 800 was getting a little tiring, but kept up the pace I wanted. 1200 was better than I thought it would be, but could feel my legs were already getting tired. At this point, had taken very minimal breaks in between the sets, mainly due to the humidity and I was insanely sweating! The mile was good - felt strong, didn't take it out too hard and kept a controlled pace. Put in good effort, but not too hard. Took a little break after this, then finished up. The 1200 coming in was actually my hardest one, just felt like it was taking forever. Picked up the pace a bit overall, wanted to hit fast splits coming home. 800 was harder, but last lap starting talking to myself to try to relax. 400 - awesome. Had dead legs, but hit it hard, and totally coaxed my body into gliding through the finish with hard effort but not all out. Splits were all good, executed the workout to a T. Very pleased. Cooldown and stretching afterwards. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were: 1:27, 2:57, 4:25, 5:46, 4:19, 2:46, 1:12.

Legs feel surprisingly good right now, prob better than yesterday which is a good sign :) Was considering switching my long run to tonight, but not sure it's a great idea. Will probably do something very easy tonight to help recovery, then try to suck it up with the New Balance Running group this weekend in Chicago.

4th of July Weekend/Macklind Mile Recap

Geez - it's been a little bit since I've updated this, so let's get on with a FAST recap. Happy Belated 4th of July everyone! Friday, ended up taking the day off of work and doing errands/bbqing/hanging out with friends. Didn't get a run in like I would have liked, but that was fine with the Macklind Mile the next morning.

Macklind Mile Recap

Saturday morning, woke up to pouring rain. Went to weather.com and saw it wasn't going to stop for the next few hours. Got changed, ready, ate a light breakfast of fruit and juice, and headed over to Crystal's. She was still in her pajamas and didn't look overly motivated to race. After 15 minutes deliberation, she got ready and we sat there deciding whether it was worth 3 hours in the rain for a 1 mile race we barely trained for. To make a long story short, decided not to run, mainly factoring in our last rainy race experience, so a huge disappointing DNS/DNF for me. Felt AWFUL about skipping the race, and was just disappointed in myself period. There isn't much much more to talk about concerning this race other than I suck.

Went home, fell back asleep for another few hours, then went back to do a treadmill pace run which is what I was originally going to do before the race. Didn't feel too hot, after the first mile just felt like I was struggling. 4th mile was a beast, just felt like crap overall. Last mile felt better, but was definitely relieved to be done. Short cooldown/stretching afterwards. Total mileage: ~6.5 - splits were: 7:08, 7:08. 7:08, 7:08, 7:08, 7:08.

Sunday morning, was dragged out for a morning long run. Weather was cool, but it was HUMID. Chose the bike trail out and back loop towards Glen Carbon - Crystal's coworker Tom (who biked the team triathlon portion) ran with us, and we got on our way. To make a long story short, never got in a good rhythm and struggled almost the entire way. Fortunately, got a little second wind on the 4th mile and was able to make it up the hill to the turn around. Felt like crap on the 8th mile, and had to play mind games with myself to make it back. Forgot my Garmin, but remember we hit faster miles early and settled in around 8:15 pace the rest of the way. Total mileage: 12 miles - average split was 8:11.

Cursed Crystal under my breath during the entire two hours of running, but was pretty happy to get it over with. Went home, showered/napped, then watched an absolute amazing Wimbledon final followed by Tiger winning his own tournament in D.C. Good day for 2 of my favorite athletes :) Monday night, got in an easy 4 miles. Weather was in the 80's and humid, struggled through the "easy" run. Prob would have been ok, but ran into so many people on the trail so my stupid competitive self picked up the pace. Felt like crap at the end, ran anywhere from 30-36 minutes, forgot when exactly I left.

So the 12 week maintenance cycle is coming to an end and despite the crappy running week I've had, I feel pretty decent. In complete guilt of missing the Macklind Mile, found a local 5K in a couple weekends that I will most likely run now. Haven't really done the speed stuff I would have liked to prepare for a 5K, but will come up with some workouts over the next couple weeks to get my legs geared up. Also running a 5K Cross Country race with Tim when he is back in town at the end of the month, but not running competitively.

Tonight, doing a Mizuno shoe technology seminar thingy at my running store, then hitting the track for a ladder workout. Might move the long run to tomorrow since I will be in Chicago for a long weekend to see my beloved Cubbies!!!

TGIF!!! (sort of)

Quick update before my long weekend begins! Found this article detailing marathon training - they talk about little things to get over marathon plateaus. I was doubtful about whether the work I was putting in was working during this training cycle, but proved that it is all coming together following Sunday's run. The crazy thing about this is I've been running seriously for almost 3 years now, and quite honestly still don't have a clue as to what type of training benefits me the most, but maybe that is half the fun of it :) This article give some good tips to consider during training, and was very interesting to me seeing we are about to start our marathon training block soon!

Last night, went for an evening run with Crystal. Absolutely gorgeous outside, high 60's/low 70's, breezy and maybe slightly humid. Did an out and back on the trail, nothing too crazy. Started out slow, but started to struggle a bit in the mid miles. Made a remark to Crystal that I was trying to slow her down, but she gave me a pretty dirty look which meant we weren't slowing down. Picked up the pace on the last mile, and amazingly felt a lot better despite the uphill grade. Hit low 6 pace on the last half mile, felt like I was gliding. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were (no watch, trying to remember what Crystal called out): 8:24, 8:05, 8:03, 7:48, 7:16.

Afterwards, hung out with Pat and Crystal on their patio and had a beer while enjoying the nice evening. Played another few riveting rounds of ping pong, then was night night for me. Had ambitious thoughts of running before work this morning, but completely failed due to my inability to sleep well last night (afternoon naps are evil). So did my scheduled fartlek after lunch at work - weather was hot outside (mid 80's), but a little breezy. Ran an out and back with warmup and cooldown, didn't feel particularly good and legs had that leadened feeling in then. Did 20 seconds hard, 1 minute off and executed the workout, albeit with great effort. Stretched out a bit, pretty tired - got in about 4 miles total.

Ball game tonight with Barrel, and looks like a glorious night :) Race day is Saturday morning, so getting pumped up for that. If legs are feeling better, might get in 2-3 easy tomorrow morning to shake out any cobwebs but otherwise will do some corework and heavy stretching plus foam roller session. But all the hard work is over, and ready to run a tactical, fast race this Saturday! Wish me luck!!!

Palin Interview

A couple fun articles I found on RW this morning. First one details a runner I ran against in high school, Zac Freudenburg, finishing 2nd in the USA Mountain Running Championships this week. I raced with Zac a few times this year, and he won every race but the St. Patrick's Day 5 miler where he got outkicked at the end and finished runner up. Zac is an amazing runner, and qualified for the U.S. Olympics Marathon Trials in 2007 when I ran NYC so got to see him run then. Exciting times for an amazing runner! Also in this article details the U.S. Men's Marathon Championship will be held in conjunction with the NYC Marathon this year. Great news, but will probably pull a lot of the elite men over to NYC this fall so a little bummed out for selfish reasons :)

Next article details my former employer, Governor Sarah Palin, in an article talking about her passions about running. Pretty interesting stuff, and this is my favorite question/answer from this interview:

Q: Is running nonpartisan?
A: Oh, thank God, it's nonpartisan. It doesn't matter your background, your demographics, your race, your political affiliation, it's such a uniting, healthy, fun, awesome activity. It cracks me up going to some running event and seeing some dude who campaigned so hard against me, or a lady who's been blogging some mean comments about me. But we're all there together and we're smiling and we're having a good time because we're going to do something healthy and active. We need more of that. That's what sports are able to do. It's a wonderful kind of diversion from the divisiveness that is politics or that is life. And my parents, they've got so many friends from so many different political bents because of all their years participating in races and organizing races. I was lucky enough to have been brought up in that atmosphere where I see the value in that.

Running this week has gone ok - went to the Cardinals game on Monday night, which was completed ridiculously fast due to the Cardinals getting absolutely smoked by reigning Cy Young Award Winner Tim Lincecum (10-0, game took 2 hours and 6 minutes!). Got home early, squeezed in a quick 2. Legs were a bit tired from the Sunday late run, so went pretty easy. Last night, Crystal and I hit up our last track work before the Macklind Mile. Weather was absolutely gorgeous - 70's, cool and a bit breezy. I think we are being rewarded for crappy June weather with an absolutely amazing holiday week weather - I will run every night in this! Stole this workout from my running team leader - 3X(400,300,200) with 200 meter jog after 400, 100 meter jog after 300, and 3-5 minute breaks in between sets. Did long warmup (had just woken up from a nap), and away we went. First set felt ok - definitely groggy and tight, and went out faster than I would have liked. Got into a better groove on the 2nd set, was on the outside lane so worked a little harder. On the final turn coming in, ran into a couple girls hogging the inside lane, and avoided what would have been a nasty collision. I have said this before and will say this again - if you are using a track, be sure to use proper track etiquette and give up the faster lanes if there are people faster than you running! Last set, picked it up just a little, stride/turnover felt great. Missed the last 200 split by a couple seconds, but didn't put in 100% effort either - just wanted to feel acclimated to running low 5 minute pace. Legs had that leadened feeling, but probably from residuals from Sunday's hard run. Quick cooldown, went to Pat and Crystal's afterwards for some post-workout beers and ping pong. Total mileage: 4.5 - splits were (don't have my watch onhand, but pretty sure these are accurate): 79, 59, 38, 78, 58, 37, 75, 58, 38.

Tonight, easy mileage and corework, going to get legs back to good condition in prep for this weekend! A couple photos below from the golf tournament last weekend: