Last Speedwork...

Cool little article on reigning Olympic Champion Sammy Wanjiru. He is going to roll out in Chi-town, and it is going to be freaking awesome! Also, a Ryan Hall interview talking about his preparations and expectations for NYC. So many stories during the fall marathon season - my absolute favorite time!!!

Yesterday after work, met up at the high school track for our final track work (4X400). Middle school track was occupied by the school football team practice, so went to the high school only to see the girls lacrosse team roaming around. Decided we didn't want to deal with any of that, but conveniently the trails are really close by so jogged over there. I actually like doing speedwork on the trails mainly because it is more of a true indicator of actual conditions since I don't race on tracks at all. Definitely more difficult, and you have to adjust for any road elevations. Weather was cool, windy, and overcast - prob mid 60's. Did quick 1 mile warmup, and during the process measured off a quarter mile, then off we went! First quarter felt kind of rough, and we had to navigate some positive grade on our marked quarter. Quick rest, hit our 2nd rep waaaay too fast. For some reason, felt a lot easier, probably because my body had adjusted and slight downhill too. Last couple reps, tried to control a little more but did faster than I would have liked. Was aiming for 90 second quarters, didn't get anywhere near that. Did 1 mile cooldown (0.75 on track), then called it a day. Total mileage: 3 miles - quarter splits were: 1:24, 1:19, 1:23, 1:20.

So final speedwork is done! Rest of the week's running will be about 5-8 easy miles spread out over the next 4 days - can't wait to get in a good jog on Lakeshore! Lots of healthy food, stretching, and praying for good weather...

Back to the list...

19: Friday Night Laurie's - Traditional meal before long run. I think I have ordered the exact same thing (blacked tuna sandwich) over the last 2 years, and we have kept this tradition alive over 2 summers of marathon training. Factor in a pitcher (or 2) of Blue Moon, and incessant conversation about running, and welcome to our world!

18: Spirit of the Marathon - if you want to watch an awesome documentary about running, watch this one. Coolest scene ever - the start of the 2005 Chicago Marathon when they pan through the participants crowd. Absolutely breathtaking, and we have watched this movie before any of our big races for motivation. Pretty cool that we actually ran the 05 Marathon as well, and brings back some great (and not so great) memories!

17: Running during travel - best way to see a new city is to run through it. You see things you would normally just blow by in a car, and truly appreciate the surroundings. Some of my favorite runs that come to mind are the run with Shane in NYC last year for our baseball trip where we ran through midtown, run with Tim this summer through Denver to go pick up his car, and countless Chicago runs with friends.

16: Aggressive Goals/PR's - Everyone needs a goal to aim for, one that gives them proper motivation to get your butt out the door and nail your workouts. PR's in races are just the icing on the cake, and just an amazing feeling anytime you accomplish one :)

15: Fellow Bike Trail Runners/Bikers - Always motivation and more fun to see others on the trails, and makes it sooo much easier to see people out there when you are busting your butt. Thanks to all for the encouraging words and the countless hello's and waves - never fails to brighten my day.

14: Race Volunteers - Without you guys, it would be impossible to have races. Thank you for all the hard work you do and the encouragement you give. I'm sure many have been yelled at during spectating, but it is typically for your own good and safety. Thank you again!!!

13: Group Runs - Sooo much fun to do. Our group jogs in Orlando this January were awesome, and anytime we had friends joining us for runs this year made it that much easier to do. The 22 miler with Shane and Crystal was one of my favorite to note this year...