Wow, just looked at the calendar, and realized we have only 11 more days left in 2010! Runners World realized that, and developed a nice year in review for 2010. Kara has ramped up her mileage for Boston, Haile signs with Johnnie Walker, and what the McMillan athletes are up to these days. In the next week, I will be developing my own year in review (personal and running world), my Brooks Adrenaline shoe review, and my plans for 2011.
Wednesday - 4 easy at night. Got home way too late, roads were still nasty and didn't do too much. Poor excuse, I know, but better than nothing.
Thursday - I am drawing a blank. I think I ran 4-6? I seriously don't remember.
Friday - 0! Got home at 9, late dinner, decided to save all my efforts for heavy weekend running.
Saturday - 16 at 7:38 average pace. Decent day, but the trails were a bit of a mess. Did Troy loop, went a different way because the ice that was around and ended up looking around the city of Troy. Didn't realize that I was going too fast, not the best idea especially in crappy conditions. Looped around my neighborhood, then stopped at home after 13 miles to grab some water and a quick bite to eat, and finished up afterwards. Felt great starting out, but felt like complete garbage at the end.
Sunday - 10 at 8:30 average pace. Ran with Mike (Crystal has been shelved with some nasty bug (get better soon, Crystal!)) in the early morning. Did a similar loop to the day before, had been snowing lightly in the morning, and trails were s-l-i-c-k! Shortened up the stride to combat potential slipping. Hip flexors/joints were a mess by the end of the run, really felt beat up.
On a brighter note, got my renewal from Brooks for 2011. I actually got upgraded to the P.A.C.E. Brooks team (Performance and Coaching Elite), which has some extra, nice perks so super excited and motivated to keep running hard for my sponsor for 2011! Thank you Brooks!!!!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Kara/Massive Update
Guess who's coming back to Boston next year? Pretty awesome news :) London is beefing up their marathon as well, and a cool Runner's World chat with Mary Wittenberg.
As usual, have fallen massively behind. I last left off on the week of Dallas, so tried to piece together my workouts since then.
Wednesday (Dec 2) - 8 easy. Did with Crystal on the trail, and wasn't too bad. As usual, picked it up coming home but got through it ok. Average low 8's
Thursday (Dec 3) - Scheduled 6 with form drills, but I feel like I missed it for some reason.
Friday (Dec 4) - Scheduled off/traveled to Dallas for the White Rock Marathon weekend! Ken was running the full, Pat and Crystal the 1/2, and I was running the 5K for fun and pacing Ken the last 10K or so. Got in late, relaxed in our hotel, I had to get up early for my race.
Saturday (Dec 5) - Mayor's Race 5K - 19:02, 1st Place! Woke up early with the group, headed to Fair Park where the race was held. Nice morning, pretty warm and sunny. Warmed up 1 mile with Pat and got a quick tour of the course, which just looped all around the Park. Lined up up front, and went out with a small group. Was third after a quick first mile (5:43), and slowly worked my way up. The purpose of this race was to get in a decent workout and not overly kill myself, so just sat on the leaders for a while. Coming down early on the last mile, made a move but the leader covered it. Had made a mental note during warmup to kick when the finish line balloons were in sight (roughly 1/3 mile to go) and opened up a pretty big gap. The former leader tried to cover, but it was too late and I cruised in for the win. Did 1-2 mile cooldown with Crystal afterwards, relaxed the rest of the day around downtown Dallas which was just erfect weather - 70's. Total mileage - 5-6 miles: 5K splits were: 5:43, 6:14, 6:15. See picture above, one of the coolest pictures ever taken of me!
Sunday (Dec 6) - 7 miles on the White Rock Marathon Course. Got to play spectator for everyone, and jump in with Ken at the end. We didn't see Pat, but he was busy taking care of business and killed it on a great weather day (30-40's, sunny) and ran 1:55:32 PR!!!! Crystal also ran an amazing race (1:26:36) on tired legs for 3rd overall female - just an amazing racing year for her! She looked good when we saw her, and had some hamstring issues but battled it through. Ken, unfortunately, had some issues, but worked hard to finish a tough race. Proud that he gutted it out when he could have quit, and we had fun the last 10K just yucking it up and enjoying the scenary. Congrats to all on a great race! 34 miles for the week, not bad but certainly not good.
Monday (Dec 7) - 4 miles, 8:30ish pace. Off to Parsippany, NJ for a work conference! Made it in to the cold, dreary, east coast, and battled the evil treadmill in the hotel gym that had no air circulation.
Tuesday (Dec 8) - 8 miles, drills. Conference all day, started a treadmill run around 9 p.m. but gave up a mile into it because it was so hot. Strapped on some running clothes, got moving down the road. Was dark and a really creepy road with abandoned buildings, and was getting a bit freaked out since it looked like a setting for a Stephen King novel. Battled some stomach issues, had to stop in some weird dinner to use the bathroom and got a lot of nervous looks since I was dressed head to toe in black. Finally got out of there, almost had a panic attack with the scenary, messed up intersections, and the 55-60 mph cars whizzing by and just high tailed it back to the hotel. Hit 5:29 on that last mile, which is just ridiculous. Did drills outside, and finished my run on the treadmill with 2 at marathon pace.
Wednesday (Dec 9) - 8 miles. Refused to go outside again, suffered on the treadmill. Thank goodness there was some good college basketball on.
Thursday (Dec 10) - 0! Travel day - made it back late, decided to switch it up with my Friday day off since I wasn't working.
Friday (Dec 11) - 7 miles, drills, strides. Absolutely gorgeous day to be off. Ran on the trail to Pat's place and did 4 with him, then ran back home and did drills and strides on my neighborhood road. Nice to get that out of the way earlier in the day.
Saturday (Dec 12) - 14 miles, 7:30-7:40 pace average. Cold and rainy outside, waited till early afternoon to get out there and battled it out on our G.C. trail long loop with Crystal. Came back into the wind and rain, and was pretty miserable. At that point, we picked it up and hit 5 miles or so around marathon pace. Felt pretty good till around mile 10, when my legs were getting really tired. Slowed it down the last couple miles which helped, but my legs felt like complete garbage at the end. Kudos to Mike and the other crazies that battled it out on the St. Louis Track Club Frostbite Series. Absolutely crappy conditions (rain, wind, cold), and Mike ran a pretty solid race.
Sunday (Dec 13) - 0! The snow and 30-50 mph gusts made it almost impossible to run outside. Plus, legs were dead, exhausted from a full week of work travel and running, and my couch's gravitational pull/vortex won. 41 miles this week. Getting better, I guess.
Monday (Dec 14) - 7 miles, no idea the pace. Crappy conditions, started with my 3 mile G.C. loop but the sidewalks were covered in snow. Ended up going to the trail, which had some snow but was light. Had a Forrest Gump moment since the trees were blocking out all the wind, and was a pretty, starry night. Just a very nice, peaceful setting. Criused home, stretched out massively afterwards since my legs were sore.
Tuesday (Dec 15) - 0! Was ready to run and was on the couch texting with Crystal since she was bailing out on our tempo run. Made the mistake of laying down while I texted her, and Franklin was purring next to me all cuddly and next thing I knew it was 2 hours later! Pretty angry at myself, just poor discipline.
Wednesday (Dec 16) - 7 total, 3 tempo at 6:28, 6;19, 6:19. Crystal had mapped out a 1 mile loop in her parent's neighborhood, located conveniently about 2 miles away. Jogged up there, roads were slick and had some slight precipitation. Started the tempo into a pretty stiff wind, and half the roads were covered in slush. Was just a rough run, and my hip flexors weren't firing at all not to mention traction was a bit of an issue. Felt like I was looking 1/4 of a stride at certain points. Anyways, battled through it - highlight was passing the guy riding his bike/walking his dog 3 separate times. He did a double take each time, but he gets credit for me surging through because I was not a happy camper out there. Cooled down on the way home, roads were starting to become a mess at that point, and barely made it back before it was getting really nasty. Took a hard spill on the sidewalk later that night walking to check on my car, which means no run outside for a while.
Tonight, hope to get in the scheduled 8, probably via treadmill!
As usual, have fallen massively behind. I last left off on the week of Dallas, so tried to piece together my workouts since then.
Wednesday (Dec 2) - 8 easy. Did with Crystal on the trail, and wasn't too bad. As usual, picked it up coming home but got through it ok. Average low 8's
Thursday (Dec 3) - Scheduled 6 with form drills, but I feel like I missed it for some reason.
Friday (Dec 4) - Scheduled off/traveled to Dallas for the White Rock Marathon weekend! Ken was running the full, Pat and Crystal the 1/2, and I was running the 5K for fun and pacing Ken the last 10K or so. Got in late, relaxed in our hotel, I had to get up early for my race.
Saturday (Dec 5) - Mayor's Race 5K - 19:02, 1st Place! Woke up early with the group, headed to Fair Park where the race was held. Nice morning, pretty warm and sunny. Warmed up 1 mile with Pat and got a quick tour of the course, which just looped all around the Park. Lined up up front, and went out with a small group. Was third after a quick first mile (5:43), and slowly worked my way up. The purpose of this race was to get in a decent workout and not overly kill myself, so just sat on the leaders for a while. Coming down early on the last mile, made a move but the leader covered it. Had made a mental note during warmup to kick when the finish line balloons were in sight (roughly 1/3 mile to go) and opened up a pretty big gap. The former leader tried to cover, but it was too late and I cruised in for the win. Did 1-2 mile cooldown with Crystal afterwards, relaxed the rest of the day around downtown Dallas which was just erfect weather - 70's. Total mileage - 5-6 miles: 5K splits were: 5:43, 6:14, 6:15. See picture above, one of the coolest pictures ever taken of me!
Sunday (Dec 6) - 7 miles on the White Rock Marathon Course. Got to play spectator for everyone, and jump in with Ken at the end. We didn't see Pat, but he was busy taking care of business and killed it on a great weather day (30-40's, sunny) and ran 1:55:32 PR!!!! Crystal also ran an amazing race (1:26:36) on tired legs for 3rd overall female - just an amazing racing year for her! She looked good when we saw her, and had some hamstring issues but battled it through. Ken, unfortunately, had some issues, but worked hard to finish a tough race. Proud that he gutted it out when he could have quit, and we had fun the last 10K just yucking it up and enjoying the scenary. Congrats to all on a great race! 34 miles for the week, not bad but certainly not good.
Monday (Dec 7) - 4 miles, 8:30ish pace. Off to Parsippany, NJ for a work conference! Made it in to the cold, dreary, east coast, and battled the evil treadmill in the hotel gym that had no air circulation.
Tuesday (Dec 8) - 8 miles, drills. Conference all day, started a treadmill run around 9 p.m. but gave up a mile into it because it was so hot. Strapped on some running clothes, got moving down the road. Was dark and a really creepy road with abandoned buildings, and was getting a bit freaked out since it looked like a setting for a Stephen King novel. Battled some stomach issues, had to stop in some weird dinner to use the bathroom and got a lot of nervous looks since I was dressed head to toe in black. Finally got out of there, almost had a panic attack with the scenary, messed up intersections, and the 55-60 mph cars whizzing by and just high tailed it back to the hotel. Hit 5:29 on that last mile, which is just ridiculous. Did drills outside, and finished my run on the treadmill with 2 at marathon pace.
Wednesday (Dec 9) - 8 miles. Refused to go outside again, suffered on the treadmill. Thank goodness there was some good college basketball on.
Thursday (Dec 10) - 0! Travel day - made it back late, decided to switch it up with my Friday day off since I wasn't working.
Friday (Dec 11) - 7 miles, drills, strides. Absolutely gorgeous day to be off. Ran on the trail to Pat's place and did 4 with him, then ran back home and did drills and strides on my neighborhood road. Nice to get that out of the way earlier in the day.
Saturday (Dec 12) - 14 miles, 7:30-7:40 pace average. Cold and rainy outside, waited till early afternoon to get out there and battled it out on our G.C. trail long loop with Crystal. Came back into the wind and rain, and was pretty miserable. At that point, we picked it up and hit 5 miles or so around marathon pace. Felt pretty good till around mile 10, when my legs were getting really tired. Slowed it down the last couple miles which helped, but my legs felt like complete garbage at the end. Kudos to Mike and the other crazies that battled it out on the St. Louis Track Club Frostbite Series. Absolutely crappy conditions (rain, wind, cold), and Mike ran a pretty solid race.
Sunday (Dec 13) - 0! The snow and 30-50 mph gusts made it almost impossible to run outside. Plus, legs were dead, exhausted from a full week of work travel and running, and my couch's gravitational pull/vortex won. 41 miles this week. Getting better, I guess.
Monday (Dec 14) - 7 miles, no idea the pace. Crappy conditions, started with my 3 mile G.C. loop but the sidewalks were covered in snow. Ended up going to the trail, which had some snow but was light. Had a Forrest Gump moment since the trees were blocking out all the wind, and was a pretty, starry night. Just a very nice, peaceful setting. Criused home, stretched out massively afterwards since my legs were sore.
Tuesday (Dec 15) - 0! Was ready to run and was on the couch texting with Crystal since she was bailing out on our tempo run. Made the mistake of laying down while I texted her, and Franklin was purring next to me all cuddly and next thing I knew it was 2 hours later! Pretty angry at myself, just poor discipline.
Wednesday (Dec 16) - 7 total, 3 tempo at 6:28, 6;19, 6:19. Crystal had mapped out a 1 mile loop in her parent's neighborhood, located conveniently about 2 miles away. Jogged up there, roads were slick and had some slight precipitation. Started the tempo into a pretty stiff wind, and half the roads were covered in slush. Was just a rough run, and my hip flexors weren't firing at all not to mention traction was a bit of an issue. Felt like I was looking 1/4 of a stride at certain points. Anyways, battled through it - highlight was passing the guy riding his bike/walking his dog 3 separate times. He did a double take each time, but he gets credit for me surging through because I was not a happy camper out there. Cooled down on the way home, roads were starting to become a mess at that point, and barely made it back before it was getting really nasty. Took a hard spill on the sidewalk later that night walking to check on my car, which means no run outside for a while.
Tonight, hope to get in the scheduled 8, probably via treadmill!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Catchup
Sorry, have fallen behind. Here is my concise running update - more to come!
Tuesday - 0! Sore, just ran out of time in the day to get in anything productive so opted for rest
Wednesday - 0! Drove home to Peoria in a niec rain storm which stretched all the way up north. By the time I was done with all my work, it was 7 and time to meet the family out for dinner. Still raining when we were done, excuses, excuses, I know, but I was just too tired at that point to try to gut it out.
Thursday - 8, drills. Happy Thanksgiving! A little chilly, but not awful. Ran 8 around my parent's neighborhood and vicinity which is by no means flat, and my calves were just screaming when I was done. Hit 7:40 pace average, which I was pleased about but probably worked a little too hard. Ran out around Weaver Ridge, which is a really nice golf course/community about 3 miles away. Measured out 40 yards afterwards, and had some perplexed looks by the neighbors as I was doing form drills. Undid virtually everything with the Thanksgiving meal performance I put on later that night, but it was truly worth it!
Friday - 5 easy, long day since I had to drive to work in STL in the morning, and was just pooped.
Saturday - 8 easy with Ken. Met out in Alton for the Alton 10 miler, where I had a few friends running (Mike and Crystal included). Did an out and back on the course, which was dead flat. Brisk, but very sunny and a slight wind (into the wind going out, with the wind going back). Hit roughly 8:20 pace, last 2 miles were at marathon pace. Forgot my inhaler, but survived. Got pretty warm going in, and both of us were just having fun out there. Watched the race, to make a long story short, AMAZING PR performances from Mike and Crystal, and both got some nice bling (Mike was Top 35 male, Crystal was 2nd overall female!). Crystal's time was most particularly disturbing for me, as our hard runs this winter are going to be excruciating since she is getting faster by the day.
Sunday - 9 with Crystal. Forgot my inhaler again, dah! Cool, but sunny so was nice to get out there. Both of us were sore and tired, and just did an out and back on the G.C. trails. Looks like they finally repaired the other side of the trail, which will open up more options later. Felt ok for the most part, nice to get that over with early on. I think 8:30-8:45 average pace? 35 miles for the week, eek!
Monday - 6 with Crystal. Did my G.C. loop at night, had been raining all day/night but wasn't bad at all. Got pretty warm in my jacket, and almost ripped it off at a few points. Felt sore starting out, but felt pretty decent towards the end. I think it was about 8:10-8:20 average pace?
Tuesday - 7 total, 3.5 up, drills and strides, 2.5 down, 1 more afterwards. Cold and windy, winter is right around the corner. Bundled up for this one, was getting cold on the track doing drills. Strides felt ok for the most part, nothing too special, but didn't push at all and felt very fluid in my running form. Pretty curious to see how things go on Saturday for my 5K in Dallas...
Tonight, planning on 8 easy. and the weather looks nice and cold tonight. Stay warm, everyone!
Tuesday - 0! Sore, just ran out of time in the day to get in anything productive so opted for rest
Wednesday - 0! Drove home to Peoria in a niec rain storm which stretched all the way up north. By the time I was done with all my work, it was 7 and time to meet the family out for dinner. Still raining when we were done, excuses, excuses, I know, but I was just too tired at that point to try to gut it out.
Thursday - 8, drills. Happy Thanksgiving! A little chilly, but not awful. Ran 8 around my parent's neighborhood and vicinity which is by no means flat, and my calves were just screaming when I was done. Hit 7:40 pace average, which I was pleased about but probably worked a little too hard. Ran out around Weaver Ridge, which is a really nice golf course/community about 3 miles away. Measured out 40 yards afterwards, and had some perplexed looks by the neighbors as I was doing form drills. Undid virtually everything with the Thanksgiving meal performance I put on later that night, but it was truly worth it!
Friday - 5 easy, long day since I had to drive to work in STL in the morning, and was just pooped.
Saturday - 8 easy with Ken. Met out in Alton for the Alton 10 miler, where I had a few friends running (Mike and Crystal included). Did an out and back on the course, which was dead flat. Brisk, but very sunny and a slight wind (into the wind going out, with the wind going back). Hit roughly 8:20 pace, last 2 miles were at marathon pace. Forgot my inhaler, but survived. Got pretty warm going in, and both of us were just having fun out there. Watched the race, to make a long story short, AMAZING PR performances from Mike and Crystal, and both got some nice bling (Mike was Top 35 male, Crystal was 2nd overall female!). Crystal's time was most particularly disturbing for me, as our hard runs this winter are going to be excruciating since she is getting faster by the day.
Sunday - 9 with Crystal. Forgot my inhaler again, dah! Cool, but sunny so was nice to get out there. Both of us were sore and tired, and just did an out and back on the G.C. trails. Looks like they finally repaired the other side of the trail, which will open up more options later. Felt ok for the most part, nice to get that over with early on. I think 8:30-8:45 average pace? 35 miles for the week, eek!
Monday - 6 with Crystal. Did my G.C. loop at night, had been raining all day/night but wasn't bad at all. Got pretty warm in my jacket, and almost ripped it off at a few points. Felt sore starting out, but felt pretty decent towards the end. I think it was about 8:10-8:20 average pace?
Tuesday - 7 total, 3.5 up, drills and strides, 2.5 down, 1 more afterwards. Cold and windy, winter is right around the corner. Bundled up for this one, was getting cold on the track doing drills. Strides felt ok for the most part, nothing too special, but didn't push at all and felt very fluid in my running form. Pretty curious to see how things go on Saturday for my 5K in Dallas...
Tonight, planning on 8 easy. and the weather looks nice and cold tonight. Stay warm, everyone!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Week Update/Philadelphia 1/2 Marathon Recap
Haile is running Tokyo in February, Shalane is leading the U.S. Women's revolution in long distance running, Brad Hudson analyzes Ritz, and a weird tidbit from the crazy Boston registration this year.
Playing some catchup, so bear with me.
Tue - 7 miles with drills - went out with Pat and Crystal, did 4.5 up, 20-30 minutes of drills at the track, 2.5 back. As usual, sped up coming in and blazed through the last half mile (low 8 minute pace overall). Felt pretty good overall.
Wed - 0!!! Couldn't really work it into my schedule due to cold weather + rain, started rethinking my objectives with the upcoming 1/2 marathon since I was feeling better, and reasoned that it was race week and needed to get a little rest
Thur - 7 miles with drills - did solo around town, legs were really tired and sore and took it very easy. 5 up, did drills right outside my neighborhood, paced out 40 yards and went right down the line and nailed the workout. 2 easy to finish it out. Legs felt much better when I was done.
Fri - 0 - travel day to D.C., considered doing a few miles in the morning but the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the consequent 2.5 hours of sleep killed that thought.
Sat - 5 miles - ran a loop with Shane around Washington D.C. - did his monument loop which starts at the Capitol Building and loops around the Washington Monument, FDR Monument, and Lincoln Monument. Super scenic, tons of people out, actually passed by a 5K in the Mall that was being held for the homeless. Just reinforces my theory that the best way to see a city is to run through it. Weather was high 60's, just ridiculously perfect.
Sun - PHILADELPHIA 1/2 MARATHON - 13.1 miles - 1:25:18 PR Since this race was an important one for me (for many reasons), will revert back to the old format of race reporting.
Drove into Philly the night before (roughly 2-3 our drive sans traffic), hit massive traffic jams on I-95 due to some 50+ car pileup which consequently shut down BOTH lanes. Started considering whether this was worth the 5+ hour drive since we were coming close to missing the expo. Using Google Maps, hit some side roads, drove through the side roads of Maryland, and eventually got back onto the interstate and into Philly. Made it to the downtown Philly with roughly an hour to spare at the Expo, hit up Hard Rock Cafe for a late night dinner, got to the hotel and repelled any bad notions of visiting Harrah's Casino down the road from our hotel, and went to sleep.
Race Morning
Woke up super early, the lack of sleep from the previous nights plus the hour time difference being on Eastern Time Zone was taking its toll. Made our way downtown, had slight problems finding parking and was definitely running late. Walked to the start, pretty scenic downtown and saw a lot of buildings that I recognized in various shows/movies. We started in front of the Art Museum and looped our way around the city. Was scrambling to get to the bag check off, and back to the start, and definitely was starting to panic slightly.
At the Start
Had 10 minutes to spare by the time I got to the bag drop off, and had to work my way through a few thousand people to get to my start corral. Absolutely 0 warmup, 0 stretching, was going into this cold. Legs felt ok though, and the weather was cold (38, would eventually get up to the low 40's), but really perfect to run since there was minimal breeze. Barely made it to the start to watch the wheelchair participants go off, and get my shoes tied up. Made my way up, was getting really anxious and actually had some butterflies, and tried to visualize the race and get into focus.
Race Report
Gun goes off, and here we go! Quite a few people were surging forward, and was a little perplexed to see everyone starting hard. I knew this was supposedly a fast course, but everyone seemed to be hauling. Kind of a weird feeling, since I hadn't done much in a while so the speed took a little bit to get adjusted to. Kept monitoring my Garmin, was definitely going out pretty fast. Looped around downtown, pretty scenic and had some decent cheer zones. I always go out freaking hard in these races and tried to dial it in - the cold didn't help. Fortunately, I felt pretty good and it was a pretty flat start and I had a good group of people to run with. [Miles 1-3 splits: 6:14, 6:17, 6:22]
Definitely went out a bit hard, but was still ok. Started to dial in a pace, and tried to get settled in. Looped back and started leaving downtown alongside the river towards some outer neighborhood like areas. Had a goofy looking guy with a funky stride clearly single me out, and he had it in his mind not to let me pass him because he kept surging forward. Felt bad because he was breathing waaay too hard for that early in the race, and he had a friend that was biking/taking photos yelling at him to slow down. Not surprised to drop him hard at the 5th mile. Started to feel a little tired, but tried to push those evil thoughts and get settled in. Found a group of runners to work with, and tucked in behind. Pretty awesome to run through this area which had Independence Hall, and a few coffee shops/retail shops. Great scenary, and was appreciating seeing Philly like this. Lots of cheering around, lots of fun. [Miles 4-6 splits: 6:30, 6:29, 6:26]
Started hitting some rolling hills a bit later. Ran through the 10K at 40:00 (would have been a PR sadly), and felt pretty good. Looped around this neighborhood like area, and hit a few long hills. Had to adjust my stride a bit, and started to labor over some of the long climbs which felt like eternity at times! I was still running in a group at this time, and had to battle to get my heartrate and breathing back to normal since they were surging out as soon as they hit the flats. I really didn't want to lose them, so had to adjust and really talk to myself to get back into form. Defintely starting to struggle a bit, but the downhills helped a little. [Miles 7-9 splits: 6:10 (I think this was short, but this was a really downhill mile, 6:37, 6:26]
I had done my homework for this race, via the Running Laminator, and knew to expect some painful hills around here. Hit one of the nastiest uphills around mile 10 around the zoo area, which pretty much took all the wind out of my sails. Pace dropped substantially, and my entire group was staggering up this mountain. Decided to just slow it down and try to make it up without expending too much energy, but it definitely took its toll. The others took off, and I tried valiently to keep up but started to get gapped. Legs were dead at this point, and the lack of training was pretty evident. Eventually got my breath and legs slightly back, and made my way back up. Started looping around back towards the city at this point, and could see the runners behind us. Ran around a circular drive, and started to lose my mark (one of the women marathon runners), and the group was officially done at this point. Started getting some really dark thoughts, and the girl was gapping me again, but vanquished all the negativity and pushed back forward. The Running Gods rewarded me with a nice downhill and was able to get back into pace a bit. Started visualizing the final 3 miles as my G.C. loop back home, and tried doing the math to see where I was at since I was on PR pace. Headed back towards downtown, pretty cool to see the River and the city as we approached it. Started talking to the girl a little bit that I was working with, found out she was aiming for low 2:50's and she was just in cruise control. A bit demoralizing since I was pretty tired, but we encouraged each other and I started to pick it up with a mile and a half to go. Started to get a little excited when I saw the split from the half and full marathoners, and picked it up a little. Worked with 2 others and pushed it towards the end. [Miles 10-13.1 split: 6:47, 6:21, 6:25, 6:22, not sure the last because my watch was messed up]
RESULTS
Peter Kim M31
Clock Time: 1:25:28
Chip Time: 1:25:18 PR
Overall Place: 94/9500?
Gender Place: ?
Division Place: 12/?
Pace: 6:30/Mile
Final Thoughts
Pretty stoked, had no idea where that came from with virtually no training and being slightly overweight, but it was clear the fresh legs helped me though and all the work I gave my lungs when they were pretty much closed helped a bit. Definitely recharged and motivated to push forward, still completely speechless. The stars may have aligned for that one day, but there is still much work to be done. Shane finished shortly after at 1:31, just missing his PR but still a great time. Marc finished a little after at 2:03, he was using this as a workout and had a good run until his IT bands started to flare. Good races all around!
In D.C. for another day, hoping to get in one more workout with Shane before heading back tonight. All in all a solid week, hit around 40 miles which was good, and hoping the holiday week doesn't derail me too much from hitting some good miles!
Playing some catchup, so bear with me.
Tue - 7 miles with drills - went out with Pat and Crystal, did 4.5 up, 20-30 minutes of drills at the track, 2.5 back. As usual, sped up coming in and blazed through the last half mile (low 8 minute pace overall). Felt pretty good overall.
Wed - 0!!! Couldn't really work it into my schedule due to cold weather + rain, started rethinking my objectives with the upcoming 1/2 marathon since I was feeling better, and reasoned that it was race week and needed to get a little rest
Thur - 7 miles with drills - did solo around town, legs were really tired and sore and took it very easy. 5 up, did drills right outside my neighborhood, paced out 40 yards and went right down the line and nailed the workout. 2 easy to finish it out. Legs felt much better when I was done.
Fri - 0 - travel day to D.C., considered doing a few miles in the morning but the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the consequent 2.5 hours of sleep killed that thought.
Sat - 5 miles - ran a loop with Shane around Washington D.C. - did his monument loop which starts at the Capitol Building and loops around the Washington Monument, FDR Monument, and Lincoln Monument. Super scenic, tons of people out, actually passed by a 5K in the Mall that was being held for the homeless. Just reinforces my theory that the best way to see a city is to run through it. Weather was high 60's, just ridiculously perfect.
Sun - PHILADELPHIA 1/2 MARATHON - 13.1 miles - 1:25:18 PR Since this race was an important one for me (for many reasons), will revert back to the old format of race reporting.
Drove into Philly the night before (roughly 2-3 our drive sans traffic), hit massive traffic jams on I-95 due to some 50+ car pileup which consequently shut down BOTH lanes. Started considering whether this was worth the 5+ hour drive since we were coming close to missing the expo. Using Google Maps, hit some side roads, drove through the side roads of Maryland, and eventually got back onto the interstate and into Philly. Made it to the downtown Philly with roughly an hour to spare at the Expo, hit up Hard Rock Cafe for a late night dinner, got to the hotel and repelled any bad notions of visiting Harrah's Casino down the road from our hotel, and went to sleep.
Race Morning
Woke up super early, the lack of sleep from the previous nights plus the hour time difference being on Eastern Time Zone was taking its toll. Made our way downtown, had slight problems finding parking and was definitely running late. Walked to the start, pretty scenic downtown and saw a lot of buildings that I recognized in various shows/movies. We started in front of the Art Museum and looped our way around the city. Was scrambling to get to the bag check off, and back to the start, and definitely was starting to panic slightly.
At the Start
Had 10 minutes to spare by the time I got to the bag drop off, and had to work my way through a few thousand people to get to my start corral. Absolutely 0 warmup, 0 stretching, was going into this cold. Legs felt ok though, and the weather was cold (38, would eventually get up to the low 40's), but really perfect to run since there was minimal breeze. Barely made it to the start to watch the wheelchair participants go off, and get my shoes tied up. Made my way up, was getting really anxious and actually had some butterflies, and tried to visualize the race and get into focus.
Race Report
Gun goes off, and here we go! Quite a few people were surging forward, and was a little perplexed to see everyone starting hard. I knew this was supposedly a fast course, but everyone seemed to be hauling. Kind of a weird feeling, since I hadn't done much in a while so the speed took a little bit to get adjusted to. Kept monitoring my Garmin, was definitely going out pretty fast. Looped around downtown, pretty scenic and had some decent cheer zones. I always go out freaking hard in these races and tried to dial it in - the cold didn't help. Fortunately, I felt pretty good and it was a pretty flat start and I had a good group of people to run with. [Miles 1-3 splits: 6:14, 6:17, 6:22]
Definitely went out a bit hard, but was still ok. Started to dial in a pace, and tried to get settled in. Looped back and started leaving downtown alongside the river towards some outer neighborhood like areas. Had a goofy looking guy with a funky stride clearly single me out, and he had it in his mind not to let me pass him because he kept surging forward. Felt bad because he was breathing waaay too hard for that early in the race, and he had a friend that was biking/taking photos yelling at him to slow down. Not surprised to drop him hard at the 5th mile. Started to feel a little tired, but tried to push those evil thoughts and get settled in. Found a group of runners to work with, and tucked in behind. Pretty awesome to run through this area which had Independence Hall, and a few coffee shops/retail shops. Great scenary, and was appreciating seeing Philly like this. Lots of cheering around, lots of fun. [Miles 4-6 splits: 6:30, 6:29, 6:26]
Started hitting some rolling hills a bit later. Ran through the 10K at 40:00 (would have been a PR sadly), and felt pretty good. Looped around this neighborhood like area, and hit a few long hills. Had to adjust my stride a bit, and started to labor over some of the long climbs which felt like eternity at times! I was still running in a group at this time, and had to battle to get my heartrate and breathing back to normal since they were surging out as soon as they hit the flats. I really didn't want to lose them, so had to adjust and really talk to myself to get back into form. Defintely starting to struggle a bit, but the downhills helped a little. [Miles 7-9 splits: 6:10 (I think this was short, but this was a really downhill mile, 6:37, 6:26]
I had done my homework for this race, via the Running Laminator, and knew to expect some painful hills around here. Hit one of the nastiest uphills around mile 10 around the zoo area, which pretty much took all the wind out of my sails. Pace dropped substantially, and my entire group was staggering up this mountain. Decided to just slow it down and try to make it up without expending too much energy, but it definitely took its toll. The others took off, and I tried valiently to keep up but started to get gapped. Legs were dead at this point, and the lack of training was pretty evident. Eventually got my breath and legs slightly back, and made my way back up. Started looping around back towards the city at this point, and could see the runners behind us. Ran around a circular drive, and started to lose my mark (one of the women marathon runners), and the group was officially done at this point. Started getting some really dark thoughts, and the girl was gapping me again, but vanquished all the negativity and pushed back forward. The Running Gods rewarded me with a nice downhill and was able to get back into pace a bit. Started visualizing the final 3 miles as my G.C. loop back home, and tried doing the math to see where I was at since I was on PR pace. Headed back towards downtown, pretty cool to see the River and the city as we approached it. Started talking to the girl a little bit that I was working with, found out she was aiming for low 2:50's and she was just in cruise control. A bit demoralizing since I was pretty tired, but we encouraged each other and I started to pick it up with a mile and a half to go. Started to get a little excited when I saw the split from the half and full marathoners, and picked it up a little. Worked with 2 others and pushed it towards the end. [Miles 10-13.1 split: 6:47, 6:21, 6:25, 6:22, not sure the last because my watch was messed up]
RESULTS
Peter Kim M31
Clock Time: 1:25:28
Chip Time: 1:25:18 PR
Overall Place: 94/9500?
Gender Place: ?
Division Place: 12/?
Pace: 6:30/Mile
Final Thoughts
Pretty stoked, had no idea where that came from with virtually no training and being slightly overweight, but it was clear the fresh legs helped me though and all the work I gave my lungs when they were pretty much closed helped a bit. Definitely recharged and motivated to push forward, still completely speechless. The stars may have aligned for that one day, but there is still much work to be done. Shane finished shortly after at 1:31, just missing his PR but still a great time. Marc finished a little after at 2:03, he was using this as a workout and had a good run until his IT bands started to flare. Good races all around!
In D.C. for another day, hoping to get in one more workout with Shane before heading back tonight. All in all a solid week, hit around 40 miles which was good, and hoping the holiday week doesn't derail me too much from hitting some good miles!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
More on Haile
Didn't realize Haile had a Twitter account; also, one more article via the New York Times concerning his unretirement.
Was running super late for dinner with the Harrisses, so was forced to get in a very quick run. The schedule said easy 6, but I didn't have much time and ended up pushing the pace a bit. Weather was cool and absolutely perfect, and legs felt decent. Chose the trail out and back with G.C. 270 loop, pretty hilly and challenging but fun as well and somewhat scenic. Felt ok starting out, and got into a decent rhythm and was knocking off miles pretty quickly. Pushed it on the last mile coming up that last huge hill, and felt like I was flying. Perfect night to run, and I was really pleased with the splits which I really wasn't shooting for. Breathing was a bit messed up when I was done and had a slight coughing fit which caused some concern, but went away eventually. I wonder if I need to do some track work to see if I can even race a 5K without problems? Something to think about for next week. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were: 6:40, 6:34, 6:37, 6:34, 6:19.
Easy 7 with drills tonight with Crystal. Really happy that I can run at near full capacity again and enjoying the awesome fall weather :)
Was running super late for dinner with the Harrisses, so was forced to get in a very quick run. The schedule said easy 6, but I didn't have much time and ended up pushing the pace a bit. Weather was cool and absolutely perfect, and legs felt decent. Chose the trail out and back with G.C. 270 loop, pretty hilly and challenging but fun as well and somewhat scenic. Felt ok starting out, and got into a decent rhythm and was knocking off miles pretty quickly. Pushed it on the last mile coming up that last huge hill, and felt like I was flying. Perfect night to run, and I was really pleased with the splits which I really wasn't shooting for. Breathing was a bit messed up when I was done and had a slight coughing fit which caused some concern, but went away eventually. I wonder if I need to do some track work to see if I can even race a 5K without problems? Something to think about for next week. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were: 6:40, 6:34, 6:37, 6:34, 6:19.
Easy 7 with drills tonight with Crystal. Really happy that I can run at near full capacity again and enjoying the awesome fall weather :)
Monday, November 15, 2010
That didn't take long...
Haile unretires! Not surprised, he was talking from his heart after a tough race, and I'm glad he reconsidered. The running world is better with him competing, and he is one of the greatest ambassadors ever for the sport. Also, here is an interview with Ryan Hall that was interesting.
Weekend running went pretty well. Friday, got out of work and headed to Crystal's for us to do drills. Picked up the new Brooks Adrenaline 11's from Big River Running, and was pretty excited to try them out. Will write a shoe review later after I get a week or so with them. Ran 4.5 up with a detour around Crystal's parent's neighborhood. Found a nice 1-1.2 mile slightly hilly loop that may serve as a good area for tempo runs. Wide roads, safer than the streets, so we may do work in the future there. Got up to the track, did form drills and ran back. Felt pretty smooth, got faster coming back, not a terrible surprise. Inhaler helped a ton, breathing wasn't an issue at all. Total mileage: 7 miles - averaged low 8's.
Saturday, did long run with Mike and Crystal. Did our typical out and back on the trails. Kind of mentally circled this run - thought if I could get through this run without any issues that I would declare myself on the verge of recovery. Nice weather - slightly chilly starting out, but felt fine later on the run. Didn't really push the pace, and we all enjoyed a nice run. Last mile coming back, kind of let loose and picked it up. Hit 5:45 pace coming in, and just felt smooth. No issues whatsoever, pretty much on the road to recovery. Total mileage: 12 miles - don't have splits handy, but hit 8:11 average I think.
Sunday, crapped out early, got in an easy 8 around town. Legs were pretty tired, but made it through it ok. Late Saturday night and a few cocktails during the day didn't make it easier. No watch, no idea of the splits. 44 miles this week, I think my highest since early summer.
Philly 1/2 is this Sunday, and headed to D.C. to see my D.C. friends and head to the race with Shane and Marc. Also signed up for the Dallas Mayor's Cup 5K on 12/4, which should make for a great speed workout and most likely my last race of 2010. Targetting 45-50 miles this week, would be very pleased to hit that total.
Weekend running went pretty well. Friday, got out of work and headed to Crystal's for us to do drills. Picked up the new Brooks Adrenaline 11's from Big River Running, and was pretty excited to try them out. Will write a shoe review later after I get a week or so with them. Ran 4.5 up with a detour around Crystal's parent's neighborhood. Found a nice 1-1.2 mile slightly hilly loop that may serve as a good area for tempo runs. Wide roads, safer than the streets, so we may do work in the future there. Got up to the track, did form drills and ran back. Felt pretty smooth, got faster coming back, not a terrible surprise. Inhaler helped a ton, breathing wasn't an issue at all. Total mileage: 7 miles - averaged low 8's.
Saturday, did long run with Mike and Crystal. Did our typical out and back on the trails. Kind of mentally circled this run - thought if I could get through this run without any issues that I would declare myself on the verge of recovery. Nice weather - slightly chilly starting out, but felt fine later on the run. Didn't really push the pace, and we all enjoyed a nice run. Last mile coming back, kind of let loose and picked it up. Hit 5:45 pace coming in, and just felt smooth. No issues whatsoever, pretty much on the road to recovery. Total mileage: 12 miles - don't have splits handy, but hit 8:11 average I think.
Sunday, crapped out early, got in an easy 8 around town. Legs were pretty tired, but made it through it ok. Late Saturday night and a few cocktails during the day didn't make it easier. No watch, no idea of the splits. 44 miles this week, I think my highest since early summer.
Philly 1/2 is this Sunday, and headed to D.C. to see my D.C. friends and head to the race with Shane and Marc. Also signed up for the Dallas Mayor's Cup 5K on 12/4, which should make for a great speed workout and most likely my last race of 2010. Targetting 45-50 miles this week, would be very pleased to hit that total.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A Breakthrough!
Haile is supposedly having second thoughts - not surprising for one of the greatest in the world, and arguably one of the most competitive. Simon Bairu had a ROUGH NYC ending - I mean this is almost comedic how much went wrong at the end for him. Usain is AWESOME, and a chat with the NYC and U.S. Champions, and with all thoe hoopla about marathon training here is a guide to training for...spectating! lol
Ran on Tuesday with Crystal after work. We have experienced some pretty nice weather as of late (60-70's), so the evenings are about perfect. Ran to the track and back and did drills. Felt like poop going up, but settled in when we got a couple extra on the track. Drills felt like my legs were on fire, but it is a necessity at this point since I can't do any running strength training. Felt decent running back, and our efforts to slow it down were thwarted because apparently it is impossible to slow it down when Crystal and I both feel good. Total mileage: 7 miles - ran low 8's on average.
Wednesday after work, FINALLY went to go see a doctor. Got checked in, explained to Dr. Hong about my symptoms (shortness of breath when running in general, complete lung shutdown/massive wheezing when pushing any pace whatsoever, complete sinus cloggage), and he listened to me breathe through a stethoscope and pretty much immediately diagnosed me with exercise induced bronchospasm which is basically exercise induced asthma because of severe allergies. Prescribed me a ton of meds for the allergies, gave me an inhaler to use before running which should neutralize the side effects of my bronchi tubes flaring up, and sent me on my way. Went to my pharmacy to pick up the meds, and got home to change and get in my mileage for the night.
Pretty much couldn't wait to try the inhaler (doc said I should be able to feel the benefits from the inhaler (about a week till the allergy meds kick in)), so took a couple puffs and strapped on my shoes on a pretty nice evening outside. Ran towards the trail, and jumped on even though it was pitch black but could see ok on the trail. Legs were pretty tore up from the mileage/drills this week, but got moving ok and didn't suffer through the first mile which was sub 8. Got on the trail which was flatter, and picked it up to see how I felt. Wasn't wheezing and could breathe somewhat ok, and picked it up even more. Was amazing to be restricted from leg soreness/fatigue versus not being able to breathe, and continued to pick it up and flew through a couple miles before shutting it down the last mile and jogging in. Had a fat grin on my face and was tired, but it felt absolutely AMAZING to be able to step on the peddle a bit and take off again. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were: 7:42, 7:21, 6:32, 6:28, 7:43.
Despite all that, my breathing passages are still massively swollen and breathing is still a bit restricted. The plan is to slowly work back to 100% and regain some strength again. Heading to Philly next week and will not be running a kamikaze race, and I will be in Dallas the week after to cheer on Ken on his marathon efforts, and Pat and Crystal for their half marathon. I saw there was a 5K the day before those races with some pretty slow times from the year before - might be a good opportunity to throw in a race for fun and maybe win a prize??
Ran on Tuesday with Crystal after work. We have experienced some pretty nice weather as of late (60-70's), so the evenings are about perfect. Ran to the track and back and did drills. Felt like poop going up, but settled in when we got a couple extra on the track. Drills felt like my legs were on fire, but it is a necessity at this point since I can't do any running strength training. Felt decent running back, and our efforts to slow it down were thwarted because apparently it is impossible to slow it down when Crystal and I both feel good. Total mileage: 7 miles - ran low 8's on average.
Wednesday after work, FINALLY went to go see a doctor. Got checked in, explained to Dr. Hong about my symptoms (shortness of breath when running in general, complete lung shutdown/massive wheezing when pushing any pace whatsoever, complete sinus cloggage), and he listened to me breathe through a stethoscope and pretty much immediately diagnosed me with exercise induced bronchospasm which is basically exercise induced asthma because of severe allergies. Prescribed me a ton of meds for the allergies, gave me an inhaler to use before running which should neutralize the side effects of my bronchi tubes flaring up, and sent me on my way. Went to my pharmacy to pick up the meds, and got home to change and get in my mileage for the night.
Pretty much couldn't wait to try the inhaler (doc said I should be able to feel the benefits from the inhaler (about a week till the allergy meds kick in)), so took a couple puffs and strapped on my shoes on a pretty nice evening outside. Ran towards the trail, and jumped on even though it was pitch black but could see ok on the trail. Legs were pretty tore up from the mileage/drills this week, but got moving ok and didn't suffer through the first mile which was sub 8. Got on the trail which was flatter, and picked it up to see how I felt. Wasn't wheezing and could breathe somewhat ok, and picked it up even more. Was amazing to be restricted from leg soreness/fatigue versus not being able to breathe, and continued to pick it up and flew through a couple miles before shutting it down the last mile and jogging in. Had a fat grin on my face and was tired, but it felt absolutely AMAZING to be able to step on the peddle a bit and take off again. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were: 7:42, 7:21, 6:32, 6:28, 7:43.
Despite all that, my breathing passages are still massively swollen and breathing is still a bit restricted. The plan is to slowly work back to 100% and regain some strength again. Heading to Philly next week and will not be running a kamikaze race, and I will be in Dallas the week after to cheer on Ken on his marathon efforts, and Pat and Crystal for their half marathon. I saw there was a 5K the day before those races with some pretty slow times from the year before - might be a good opportunity to throw in a race for fun and maybe win a prize??
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Post NYC
Still shocked on Geb, as are many of his former colleagues and the running community in general. Will he reconsider? I hope so. He has openly stated his desires to run 2012 London Olympics, and I suspect after a few weeks of healing and deliberation that he may resume his training. We shall see. Here are some of the celebrity results from NYC - impressive all around, and loved that former tennis pro Justin Gimelstob and Andy Roddick had a fun wager going with a happy ending. Pretty impressed with the trapped Chilean miner that finished the race - an amazing story all around, and a fascinating individual in general if you caught any of his press conference before the race (sang some of his favorite Elvis songs). And finally, a bizarre post from Ryan Hall's blog - a little confused to where he is going with this, but actions ultimately speak louder than words and hopefully he knows what he is doing.
Last night, ran a workout solo since I was too late for the Big River Run, and Crystal had already started hers. Perfect day to run - cool, and breezy. Did my GC loop, then jumped on the trail for a couple more. Was hurting after a couple miles, tried to calm down, then finished somewhat strong. Another frustrating workout since it took 500 times more effort than it should have. Total mileage: 6 miles - splits were: 7:42, 7:40, 8:01, 8:09, 7:48, 6:58.
Easy mileage and drills tonight, then to the doctor finally tomorrow and hopefully he can fix me up!
Last night, ran a workout solo since I was too late for the Big River Run, and Crystal had already started hers. Perfect day to run - cool, and breezy. Did my GC loop, then jumped on the trail for a couple more. Was hurting after a couple miles, tried to calm down, then finished somewhat strong. Another frustrating workout since it took 500 times more effort than it should have. Total mileage: 6 miles - splits were: 7:42, 7:40, 8:01, 8:09, 7:48, 6:58.
Easy mileage and drills tonight, then to the doctor finally tomorrow and hopefully he can fix me up!
Monday, November 8, 2010
The King is dead, long live the King
Track and Field Videos on Flotrack
Still shellshocked about the recent retirement by the Emperor. Shalane killed it in NYC, Ritz had a disappointing race, and we have a new champion but completely saddened by this news about Geb. Hoping he is at peace with this decision, and he is back to race one day and doesn't end on an injury like it did at Mile 16 on the Queensboro Bridge.
Fri - 5 easy
Sat - 12 total, 8 with Mike and Crystal on the trails (low 8 pace average), 4 cooldown. Gorgeous day outside. Breathing was crap, struggled a bit coming in but locked in for a fun last mile pickup like the old days. Was nice to hit it harder, albeit for 6 minutes but very frustrating that 8 minute miles feel like 6:30's.
Sun - 4 easy
Mon - 5 easy, drills at the track with Crystal. Struggled going up, but felt decent coming back. Drills were nice to do, but pretty clear my legs have lost from strength.
Tue - 9 total, 6 easy with Crystal, 3 cooldown. Getting dark early but we got on the trail anyways and was actually not too bad. Did Home Depot loop (sort of hilly, nothing too bad), came on strong coming in. 7:45 average, was at marathon pace on the last couple miles. Felt pretty awesome for once.
Wed - 0! Legs felt like crap, then ended up grabbing dinner and drinks for Crystal's birthday. Happy Birthday Crystal!!!
Thur - 0, no excuses, just crapped out
Fri - 2 - melted down a mile into a run and had pretty much an asthma attack or something close to it. My lungs should not feel like peas after a 7:25 mile. Walked/jogged it in from there. At an all time low, and have had it with this awful 4 months.
Sat - 12 with Crystal, GC route with Meridian Hills. Perfect day to run, went out with Pat for 3.5 miles, then picked it up slightly. Decided to hit Meridian Hills for a little more work, and went faster there but nothing too out of control. Breathing started to suffer, but made it through. Legs were a bit tired, felt ok coming back but beat up afterwards. 8:25 average I am guessing? Hit the last half mile at 6:30's pace which was fun.
Sun - 4 easy
Friday, October 29, 2010
NYC around the corner!
Predictions, Geb, Meb - NYC is right around the corner! Getting excited for the last of the World Marathon Majors, and expecting great things. Will offer my predictions later next week. Here are my last 2 weeks of running:
Mon - 4 easy
Tue - 6 easy
Wed - 9 total - 6 with the Big River Group, lungs just died out after 2 miles. Hit 6:42, 6:38, before basically jogging it in.
Thur - 9 easy
Fri - 0
Sat - 2 easy with Tim around Stapleton area
Sun - 0
Mon - 3 easy at the Big River Group Run.
Tue - 3 easy, 2 hard before lungs crapping out (6:51, 7:05), 2 easy
Wed - 6 total, ~4 with Crystal (31 minutes). Trail run at night, hit it harder coming back but felt ok
Thur - 0
Feel like poop still, haven't had a chance to go to the doctor especially since time is nonexistant with the new job. Started taking some antibiotics which will hopefully help! Plan on getting in 10-20 miles over the weekend (incuding today). Weather is phenomenal - my favorite running time!!!
Mon - 4 easy
Tue - 6 easy
Wed - 9 total - 6 with the Big River Group, lungs just died out after 2 miles. Hit 6:42, 6:38, before basically jogging it in.
Thur - 9 easy
Fri - 0
Sat - 2 easy with Tim around Stapleton area
Sun - 0
Mon - 3 easy at the Big River Group Run.
Tue - 3 easy, 2 hard before lungs crapping out (6:51, 7:05), 2 easy
Wed - 6 total, ~4 with Crystal (31 minutes). Trail run at night, hit it harder coming back but felt ok
Thur - 0
Feel like poop still, haven't had a chance to go to the doctor especially since time is nonexistant with the new job. Started taking some antibiotics which will hopefully help! Plan on getting in 10-20 miles over the weekend (incuding today). Weather is phenomenal - my favorite running time!!!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Catch up...
Chi recap, NYC News, Boston shocker, Meb, and elites.
Went to Chi a couple weekends ago to watch a pretty thrilling marathon. Was a super hot day, but still got to see my friends tear it up! Congrats to Candace on hitting a very solid 3:07, and Gabe for just killing it with a 2:55!!! Got to spectate right outside my sister's place, and see all the elites and almost everyone I knew that was running. Jumped in for about a mile or so with Candace, so got to participate somewhat this year :) Pretty thrilling finish with Sammy Wanjiru and Kebede dueling back and forth in some of the craziest tactics I have ever seen, and Wanjiru finishing off his victory with a massive kick!
Well, the big news that is rocking the running community is the 2011 Boston Marathon registration. In order to hopefully accommodate the fall marathoners, the BAA pushed back it's registration time till October 18 (yesterday). Well, as I predicted, there was a mass rush to register, and the inevitable happened. Luckily, Shane, Crystal, and I all registered and were able to get in so it looks like I will be taking my talents to Hopkinton in roughly 6 months! But this is bringing up a pretty big controversy with the marathon filling so fast, and many ideas are being thrown out there - most notably, raising the women's qualification standards by 10 minutes. This, I wholeheartedly agree with, and needs to be done. No way women need a 30 minute buffer - as it is, the elite men are about 15 minutes ahead of the elite women, so 20 minutes is plenty. We shall see how the race directors deal with this, because this situation isn't going to get any easier with the marathon becoming more popular year after year.
Well, a quick update over the last couple weeks. Got in a small Lakeshore run, a tiny bit on marathon day, then headed back home for minimal work to prepare for my pacing duties with Crystal at the Indianapolis Marathon. Headed out there on early Friday to see a few friends, most of whom were running. It was a good day to run, and the course was very pretty with a ton of trees and a decent sized field that wasn't overpowering. Ken, Mick, and Pat all ran the half marathon, and Tim and Crystal did the full. Pretty fun to be on the other side of the ropes, especially since a lot of my friends have come out to support my running efforts so it was nice to be able to reciprocate. Saw everyone at a few different points, then jogged over to the mile 14 marker to catch Crystal. She came out a bit earlier than we had planned, but settled in and started cranking out the miles. Felt pretty awesome, and breathing wasn't too big of an issue.
Went through a trail through the woods around mile 18, then had problems with pacing because of the tiny road and the many turns. Coming back, Crystal started having problems, but worked with her to get her back on track and then engaged in a pretty fun duel with the 4th place girl. Kept passing each other, but finally grabbed control at the end and gapped her pretty good. The last quarter was awesome getting to see everyone, and Crystal kicked hard to drop a nice 4 minute PR in 3:12 and also won 4th overall female! A great effort on a tough day, and I'm proud of her for gutting it out and finishing strong when she was pretty much about to quit.
Came back out to try to find Tim and run him in - ran out a few miles and quickly realized how hilly that course was, especially when I ran the last 2 miles back (pretty much a continuous uphill). He was having some knee problems that hurt his pace, but was able to finish and I got to run him when we decided to stage an impromptu race. He just killed the last quarter mile, and took off like nothing I had ever seen! 4th marathon for him, and a fun one at that - congrats Timmy!
Mick, Pat, and Ken all ran awesome races, and it was great to see everyone and enjoy a fun weekend. Hoping Ken registers for the Dallas Marathon in Dec for his BQ quest, and there are talks about joining him and cheering him on. So I got in almost 19 miles of running around, and ate/drank myself to a stupor over the weekend, effectively undoing everything I had done in roughly a 24 hour span. Back to the grind over here, and hopefully back to some good runs. Going to hit some easy mileage tonight, then hopefully do a workout with the Big River guys after work.
Went to Chi a couple weekends ago to watch a pretty thrilling marathon. Was a super hot day, but still got to see my friends tear it up! Congrats to Candace on hitting a very solid 3:07, and Gabe for just killing it with a 2:55!!! Got to spectate right outside my sister's place, and see all the elites and almost everyone I knew that was running. Jumped in for about a mile or so with Candace, so got to participate somewhat this year :) Pretty thrilling finish with Sammy Wanjiru and Kebede dueling back and forth in some of the craziest tactics I have ever seen, and Wanjiru finishing off his victory with a massive kick!
Well, the big news that is rocking the running community is the 2011 Boston Marathon registration. In order to hopefully accommodate the fall marathoners, the BAA pushed back it's registration time till October 18 (yesterday). Well, as I predicted, there was a mass rush to register, and the inevitable happened. Luckily, Shane, Crystal, and I all registered and were able to get in so it looks like I will be taking my talents to Hopkinton in roughly 6 months! But this is bringing up a pretty big controversy with the marathon filling so fast, and many ideas are being thrown out there - most notably, raising the women's qualification standards by 10 minutes. This, I wholeheartedly agree with, and needs to be done. No way women need a 30 minute buffer - as it is, the elite men are about 15 minutes ahead of the elite women, so 20 minutes is plenty. We shall see how the race directors deal with this, because this situation isn't going to get any easier with the marathon becoming more popular year after year.
Well, a quick update over the last couple weeks. Got in a small Lakeshore run, a tiny bit on marathon day, then headed back home for minimal work to prepare for my pacing duties with Crystal at the Indianapolis Marathon. Headed out there on early Friday to see a few friends, most of whom were running. It was a good day to run, and the course was very pretty with a ton of trees and a decent sized field that wasn't overpowering. Ken, Mick, and Pat all ran the half marathon, and Tim and Crystal did the full. Pretty fun to be on the other side of the ropes, especially since a lot of my friends have come out to support my running efforts so it was nice to be able to reciprocate. Saw everyone at a few different points, then jogged over to the mile 14 marker to catch Crystal. She came out a bit earlier than we had planned, but settled in and started cranking out the miles. Felt pretty awesome, and breathing wasn't too big of an issue.
Went through a trail through the woods around mile 18, then had problems with pacing because of the tiny road and the many turns. Coming back, Crystal started having problems, but worked with her to get her back on track and then engaged in a pretty fun duel with the 4th place girl. Kept passing each other, but finally grabbed control at the end and gapped her pretty good. The last quarter was awesome getting to see everyone, and Crystal kicked hard to drop a nice 4 minute PR in 3:12 and also won 4th overall female! A great effort on a tough day, and I'm proud of her for gutting it out and finishing strong when she was pretty much about to quit.
Came back out to try to find Tim and run him in - ran out a few miles and quickly realized how hilly that course was, especially when I ran the last 2 miles back (pretty much a continuous uphill). He was having some knee problems that hurt his pace, but was able to finish and I got to run him when we decided to stage an impromptu race. He just killed the last quarter mile, and took off like nothing I had ever seen! 4th marathon for him, and a fun one at that - congrats Timmy!
Mick, Pat, and Ken all ran awesome races, and it was great to see everyone and enjoy a fun weekend. Hoping Ken registers for the Dallas Marathon in Dec for his BQ quest, and there are talks about joining him and cheering him on. So I got in almost 19 miles of running around, and ate/drank myself to a stupor over the weekend, effectively undoing everything I had done in roughly a 24 hour span. Back to the grind over here, and hopefully back to some good runs. Going to hit some easy mileage tonight, then hopefully do a workout with the Big River guys after work.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
4 more Days till Chicago!
Just saw Dathan Ritzenhein is doing the Denver Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon for his NYC prep - should be a good workout for him, and any run in altitude is obviously beneficial for hard training. Here's a quick rundown of the Chi contenders - should be an amazing race to watch!!!
Ran last night after eating dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant located over by SLU - pretty damn awesome if I must say so. Did 6 miles (2X3 mile loop). First 3 were really easy and nothing too difficult. Felt awesome, so picked it up - not a good idea. Stomach started to make some awful sounds, and the pain started to come and go. Picked up the pace, and by the end was clenching and almost to the verge of panic as I was nowhere near any facility and didn't have a shirt so couldn't use a public place. It was pretty awful. Hit the last 3 at sub 6:30 pace, my lungs were on FIRE. Barely made it before any accident happened, was sweating bullets. So for all those who read this, never, NEVER eat ethnic foods before any run!!!
Ran last night after eating dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant located over by SLU - pretty damn awesome if I must say so. Did 6 miles (2X3 mile loop). First 3 were really easy and nothing too difficult. Felt awesome, so picked it up - not a good idea. Stomach started to make some awful sounds, and the pain started to come and go. Picked up the pace, and by the end was clenching and almost to the verge of panic as I was nowhere near any facility and didn't have a shirt so couldn't use a public place. It was pretty awful. Hit the last 3 at sub 6:30 pace, my lungs were on FIRE. Barely made it before any accident happened, was sweating bullets. So for all those who read this, never, NEVER eat ethnic foods before any run!!!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
5 more days till Chi!
Chicago analysis, and Shalane. We are certainly in the fun part of the racing season, with NYC around the corner as well! Headed up on Friday for the marathon weekend, and may try to swing by the expo if time permits. Took yesterday off (impromptu) after deciding that I wanted to get in as much Chicago running as possible, so switched off days with Friday since I will be there early morning and will definitely have time for my home away from home, the Lakeshore Drive trails :)
On the heavy recommendation of Pat and Crystal, bought a nutee (sp?) pot from Walgreens last night in heavy hopes of clearing up my clogged sinuses. Pretty gross procedure, but seemed to work slightly at least for a few minutes. I didn't add enough saline solution though, so will try again tonight with a heavier dosage. Did a little research on my potential cat allergies and saw that allergies to litter is a possible problem. I have lived with cats before, so it's weird that I am having problems with Franklin, but never thought of being allergic to litter and Franklin's litter supply is almost gone so time to check that avenue...
Looking forward to some nice, easy mileage later tonight. Weather is nice and cool in the evenings, and hopefully the crisp air will relax my lungs and allow for as little discomfort as possible...
On the heavy recommendation of Pat and Crystal, bought a nutee (sp?) pot from Walgreens last night in heavy hopes of clearing up my clogged sinuses. Pretty gross procedure, but seemed to work slightly at least for a few minutes. I didn't add enough saline solution though, so will try again tonight with a heavier dosage. Did a little research on my potential cat allergies and saw that allergies to litter is a possible problem. I have lived with cats before, so it's weird that I am having problems with Franklin, but never thought of being allergic to litter and Franklin's litter supply is almost gone so time to check that avenue...
Looking forward to some nice, easy mileage later tonight. Weather is nice and cool in the evenings, and hopefully the crisp air will relax my lungs and allow for as little discomfort as possible...
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Rapid Fire September 5K Recaps
Found a quick Ryan Hall article, still bummed he is missing Chicago. Headed up there on Friday to watch the marathon, and watch my friends Candace and Gabe tear it up this weekend. Both are shooting for sub 3 hour races, so excited to see them race! Should be a decent weather day (looking slightly warm), and obviously nostalgic for me to be on the other side of the ropes for the race I have run 3 out of the last 4 years, as well as revisit the scene of one of my greatest running accomplishments (09 Chi BQ).
Wanted to talk really quick about the two 5K's I ran last month in greater detail from what I can recall. Ran Italian Fest on my birthday weekend - weather was pretty nice but a little hot because of the blazing sun. Course is dead flat - out and back, and you finish in downtown Collinsville which was getting set up for the annual Italian Fest parade, so pretty scenic. Warmed up for 10 minutes and did some strides and drills. Saw a few people I knew, and lined up with them. Went out pretty hard, but was tired and definitely having some breathing problems. First mile was 5:47, was gapped by 4 people and was chasing. One of the guys was working with me (Harry) and I called him to come up and work with me. He started to gap me on the second mile, and I pretty much hung on to him coming back. No one really close behind me, and I wasn't feeling it trying to catch Harry since he had gotten a good 10-15 seconds ahead of me, so shifted into cruise control (again - I swear my competitive instincts have gone to the toilet!). Finished pretty strong, was happy for the most part. Time - 18:23, 6th overall out of 300, 2nd in my age group.
Midwest Wing Festival 5K - over in Fairview Heights at Moody Park, which I didn't even know existed. Got there on a pretty cool day, but once again the sun was in full factor. Park was pretty nice - gravel paths, decent scenary with a lake and baseball/softball fields, and pretty much just a park. 2 Loops around this 1.5 mile trek, definitely a few hills here but nothing suicidal. Lined up with the very few people that showed up for the rescheduled event (was rained out a couple weeks ago and rescheduled) and off we went! Went out pretty hard, no one around me. Kind of was feeling tired, but moving ok. Went through the first mile at 5:50, saw absolutely no one around me and decided right there it wasn't worth it to kill myself and shifted from 4th gear to 2nd. If anyone was going to catch up, I was prepared to unleash the unholiest of kicks. To make a long story short, no one was within sight of me even after slowing down, and I enjoyed a fun 2 mile victory stroll. About as easy of a victory as you could ever have in a race. Time - 19:58 (yes you read that correctly). 1st out of 20ish? Awesome trophy :)
Well, those are my quick thoughts in a nutshell. Last night, got out with Pat and Crystal and did an easy 4 on the trail. Gorgeous outside, still having some breathing issues (yes I need to go to the doctor), but felt decent for the most part. Hit 8-9 minute pace throughout and sped up towards the end. Got in an extra 2 solo late at night when it was getting really chilly, but I love running in this weather :) Some sort of speed work tonight (nothing too hard) and easy mileage - plan on getting around 40ish this week if my body cooperates :)
Wanted to talk really quick about the two 5K's I ran last month in greater detail from what I can recall. Ran Italian Fest on my birthday weekend - weather was pretty nice but a little hot because of the blazing sun. Course is dead flat - out and back, and you finish in downtown Collinsville which was getting set up for the annual Italian Fest parade, so pretty scenic. Warmed up for 10 minutes and did some strides and drills. Saw a few people I knew, and lined up with them. Went out pretty hard, but was tired and definitely having some breathing problems. First mile was 5:47, was gapped by 4 people and was chasing. One of the guys was working with me (Harry) and I called him to come up and work with me. He started to gap me on the second mile, and I pretty much hung on to him coming back. No one really close behind me, and I wasn't feeling it trying to catch Harry since he had gotten a good 10-15 seconds ahead of me, so shifted into cruise control (again - I swear my competitive instincts have gone to the toilet!). Finished pretty strong, was happy for the most part. Time - 18:23, 6th overall out of 300, 2nd in my age group.
Midwest Wing Festival 5K - over in Fairview Heights at Moody Park, which I didn't even know existed. Got there on a pretty cool day, but once again the sun was in full factor. Park was pretty nice - gravel paths, decent scenary with a lake and baseball/softball fields, and pretty much just a park. 2 Loops around this 1.5 mile trek, definitely a few hills here but nothing suicidal. Lined up with the very few people that showed up for the rescheduled event (was rained out a couple weeks ago and rescheduled) and off we went! Went out pretty hard, no one around me. Kind of was feeling tired, but moving ok. Went through the first mile at 5:50, saw absolutely no one around me and decided right there it wasn't worth it to kill myself and shifted from 4th gear to 2nd. If anyone was going to catch up, I was prepared to unleash the unholiest of kicks. To make a long story short, no one was within sight of me even after slowing down, and I enjoyed a fun 2 mile victory stroll. About as easy of a victory as you could ever have in a race. Time - 19:58 (yes you read that correctly). 1st out of 20ish? Awesome trophy :)
Well, those are my quick thoughts in a nutshell. Last night, got out with Pat and Crystal and did an easy 4 on the trail. Gorgeous outside, still having some breathing issues (yes I need to go to the doctor), but felt decent for the most part. Hit 8-9 minute pace throughout and sped up towards the end. Got in an extra 2 solo late at night when it was getting really chilly, but I love running in this weather :) Some sort of speed work tonight (nothing too hard) and easy mileage - plan on getting around 40ish this week if my body cooperates :)
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sorry Part 2!
Well, I have pretty much lost control on my blogging the last couple months. The new job and heavy work travel has kept things pretty difficult to keep up, but there are no excuses and I just plain suck. Sorry yet again, and need to give a quick update on what has been going on. Really quick, here is a Berlin Marathon recap, words from Meb, and Ryan Hall isn't running Chicago :(
Well the last ?? weeks have been very inconsistent, and I have been battling lack of motivation and some health ailments that have hampered a decent amount of workouts. I ran the Italian Fest 5K last month in 18:23 (still working on a race recap and pictures), and actually won the Inaugural Midwest Wing Festival 5K over in Fairview, although this race was rescheduled (less people) and the level of competition wasn't too high (still working on a race recap and pictures). Followed that up with a 44 mile week which was solid and got in a good long run with Mike and Crystal after taking a month off of long runs!
This week was going pretty good - raced the Lewis and Clark 1/2 Marathon, so kept the levels down. Did an AWESOME tempo run with Crystal on Tuesday - we did a mile warmup, then did a tempo run (splits - 6:35, 6:42, 6:41, 6:36, 6:32, 6:22) which felt amazing easy. Mile down, then I added a couple later on for a solid run. Got in a couple runs in Memphis when I was there for work, but nothing too great. LC 1/2 Recap - got there pretty early, did a 10-15 minute warmup with Crystal and discussed strategy. Lined up with Crystal, Mike (who was also running), and Tim (Crystal's coach) and got off to a good start. Weather was cold, but gorgeous - perfect to be out. Went out in 6:26 feeling good, but shortly after my lungs started to seriously feel like they were failing, and almost had to start walking because I couldn't breathe. My lungs seriously shut down - it was like racing at altitude, but 1000 times worse. Needless to say, my race was over. Mike was awesome and fell back with me, and ran the rest of the race with me to see me to the end. Worst pain I have ever felt, and it was a suffering run. Nothing more to note but was proud to have gutted through it and finished pretty strong. The crazy guy that started singing really loud to himself around mile 11-12 gets credit for me dropping a 6:22 last mile to get as humanly far away from him as possible even though my chest felt like it was about to explode...
Crystal, on the other hand, dropped a massive PR and ran an amazing time of 1:25:53!!! Great splits, very consistent, and she looked strong throughout. 4th overall female, first in her age group. It didn't surprise me at the very least, and she put in the work to get to that time. Indy should be the icing on the cake, and I hope I can help steer her to her goals as her official pacer of the final 13 miles. 3:10 shouldn't be too much of an issue for her at this point...
My goals have changed considerably with this latest setback, and pretty much shutting down any competitive racing notions for the rest of the year, as well as planning to see a doctor to find out what the heck is going on with my body. No plans to run hard at Philly - looking like a 13.1 mile jog at this point, but not necessarily a bad thing :) 2010 has been a very up and down year, but I will reaccess my goals for 2011 and reflect on what has happened over the last 10 months.
This all being said, I do not have any plans to decrease mileage - in fact, with the fall upon us (my favorite running weather), I plan on enjoying a couple months of easy running and minimizing tough workouts to try to get back to 100%. Will try my hardest to be back in full blogging capacity!
Well the last ?? weeks have been very inconsistent, and I have been battling lack of motivation and some health ailments that have hampered a decent amount of workouts. I ran the Italian Fest 5K last month in 18:23 (still working on a race recap and pictures), and actually won the Inaugural Midwest Wing Festival 5K over in Fairview, although this race was rescheduled (less people) and the level of competition wasn't too high (still working on a race recap and pictures). Followed that up with a 44 mile week which was solid and got in a good long run with Mike and Crystal after taking a month off of long runs!
This week was going pretty good - raced the Lewis and Clark 1/2 Marathon, so kept the levels down. Did an AWESOME tempo run with Crystal on Tuesday - we did a mile warmup, then did a tempo run (splits - 6:35, 6:42, 6:41, 6:36, 6:32, 6:22) which felt amazing easy. Mile down, then I added a couple later on for a solid run. Got in a couple runs in Memphis when I was there for work, but nothing too great. LC 1/2 Recap - got there pretty early, did a 10-15 minute warmup with Crystal and discussed strategy. Lined up with Crystal, Mike (who was also running), and Tim (Crystal's coach) and got off to a good start. Weather was cold, but gorgeous - perfect to be out. Went out in 6:26 feeling good, but shortly after my lungs started to seriously feel like they were failing, and almost had to start walking because I couldn't breathe. My lungs seriously shut down - it was like racing at altitude, but 1000 times worse. Needless to say, my race was over. Mike was awesome and fell back with me, and ran the rest of the race with me to see me to the end. Worst pain I have ever felt, and it was a suffering run. Nothing more to note but was proud to have gutted through it and finished pretty strong. The crazy guy that started singing really loud to himself around mile 11-12 gets credit for me dropping a 6:22 last mile to get as humanly far away from him as possible even though my chest felt like it was about to explode...
Crystal, on the other hand, dropped a massive PR and ran an amazing time of 1:25:53!!! Great splits, very consistent, and she looked strong throughout. 4th overall female, first in her age group. It didn't surprise me at the very least, and she put in the work to get to that time. Indy should be the icing on the cake, and I hope I can help steer her to her goals as her official pacer of the final 13 miles. 3:10 shouldn't be too much of an issue for her at this point...
My goals have changed considerably with this latest setback, and pretty much shutting down any competitive racing notions for the rest of the year, as well as planning to see a doctor to find out what the heck is going on with my body. No plans to run hard at Philly - looking like a 13.1 mile jog at this point, but not necessarily a bad thing :) 2010 has been a very up and down year, but I will reaccess my goals for 2011 and reflect on what has happened over the last 10 months.
This all being said, I do not have any plans to decrease mileage - in fact, with the fall upon us (my favorite running weather), I plan on enjoying a couple months of easy running and minimizing tough workouts to try to get back to 100%. Will try my hardest to be back in full blogging capacity!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sorry!
I've been out of town a ton for work, so that explains my absence from here. A lot more to come with my (lack of) running updates and the Italianfest 5K race recap from this past weekend. Thought I would throw out a few articles I have been saving. First, my buddy Stephen Pifer won his half marathon debut over in Oregon Wine Country! Great run for him, and hopefully someday he will venture into longer distances. Next, Haile is a stud and will be a huge force for NYC after this huge victory at the Great North Run 1/2. For local runners, thought this was awesome - the Lewis and Clark Marathon (in St. Charles) will be converted to a Rock 'n Roll event next year! Finally, the Philly Rock 'n Roll 1/2 was yesterday - disappointing result for Ryan Hall, but still only a step for the ultimate goal - Chicago.
Running has been crap, so I'll go into this more later when I get a free moment. Raced on Saturday - ran 18:23 for 6th overall, 2nd in my age group. Probably should have finished 5th, but was trying not to completely die out there. Pleased with my time nonetheless given what little I have done lately. More to come soon...
Running has been crap, so I'll go into this more later when I get a free moment. Raced on Saturday - ran 18:23 for 6th overall, 2nd in my age group. Probably should have finished 5th, but was trying not to completely die out there. Pleased with my time nonetheless given what little I have done lately. More to come soon...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Long Run Redemption
Congratulations David Rudisha, you're a stud. 2 world records in a week, absolutely incredible! He is definitely the man to beat in next year's World Championships. Here's a nice touching story about a couple runner friends who have a "unique" similarity - one is 10, the other is 70, but are both amputees. Couldn't imagine having to work with that condition, but much admiration for both those two warriors to continue to live a normal life with this speedbump that has been put in front of them. Finally, a more scientific article that questions if the sub 2 hour marathon is attainable?
Well, have suffered through a pretty crappy training week, and there were many doubts to Saturday's scheduled long run workout which was hour easy, hour at marathon pace. Woke up early on Saturday and had a small breakfast of banana, yogurt, and trailmix. Weather was very cool and considerably less humid than in days past. Decided just to do and out and back on our long run route, and walk/jog in whatever we had extra. Got on the trail and started our "8 mile warmup". Felt pretty good and 100% better than I did in the last week, and we pretty much flew through the opening miles with a pretty decent pace. Got Crystal a little worked up through conversation which sped up the pace (we slowed it down), but still felt really easy. Got onto the Meridian uphill, still cruising. Was getting closer to the hour mark, so picked it up to transition to the marathon pace portion. Made our turnaround, pace still felt fine and was in total control. Hit the downhill coming back, was going a little faster than I thought and didn't want to get too out of control since the last part of the run is always the most difficult (uphill, uneven terrain, more sun) and crashing out on that would just kill the point of the workout. The trees were wreaking havoc on our GPS signals, so told Crystal we needed to lock in a pace since our watches weren't dependable for a few miles. Got locked in, kept cruising on while keeping my caged animal running partner in check since she was getting antsy and dropping surges. Saw Crystal's parents on the way back which was a nice pickmeup - in fact, we saw a ton of people on the trail that day which was pretty cool. Gave up on trying to slow down since we were hitting consistent splits, and focused on hitting right at marathon pace since we were going uphill. Well, we kept up the fast pace, and hammered it home. Last mile was a lot more tiring, but was more leg fatigue then breathing which was more tolerable than not being able to breath. Nailed the workout, pretty excited to hit that one since we had both circled this workout as the potentially most difficult one in her schedule. Crystal is looking stronger by the day, and I find I am working a lot harder to keep up with her than in training segments past. She will be ready to launch an all out assault in Indy in October. Total mileage: ~16 miles - first 7 were at 8-8:20 pace, last 9 were: 7:09, 7:04, 7:05, 7:03, 7:01, 6:57, 7:00, 7:00, 7:00.
Felt a lot more invigorated for redeeming myself after my last weekend meltdown, and I guess having an absolute perfect weather day didn't hurt things! Sunday, 0! Crapped out, no excuses other than general laziness, but it was nice to have the impromptu day off to rest my weary legs. Monday, had to go to the vet after work so missed Big River running group. Met Crystal up at the track, did miles and drills with her, and got in 25 minutes or so later on. Weather was hot and super humid, totally the opposite of Saturday. Drills felt ok, but my legs were still mushy. Did some light weights and corework at home, so got in some work. Total mileage: ~7 miles - ran anywhere from 7:20 to 9 minute pace.
Today, trackwork which hopefully won't be too bad since I am feeling pretty tired. Just officially signed up for the Lewis and Clark 1/2 Marathon which is in a little more than a month. I am curious to see what I hit there. We ran last year for Chicago Marathon prep, and hit 1:28 pretty comfortably. Starting to get into good shape, but the workouts we are doing seem harder which leads me to believe I'm stronger this time around, so I'm thinking 1:26 or 1:27 is very possible on a good day.
Well, have suffered through a pretty crappy training week, and there were many doubts to Saturday's scheduled long run workout which was hour easy, hour at marathon pace. Woke up early on Saturday and had a small breakfast of banana, yogurt, and trailmix. Weather was very cool and considerably less humid than in days past. Decided just to do and out and back on our long run route, and walk/jog in whatever we had extra. Got on the trail and started our "8 mile warmup". Felt pretty good and 100% better than I did in the last week, and we pretty much flew through the opening miles with a pretty decent pace. Got Crystal a little worked up through conversation which sped up the pace (we slowed it down), but still felt really easy. Got onto the Meridian uphill, still cruising. Was getting closer to the hour mark, so picked it up to transition to the marathon pace portion. Made our turnaround, pace still felt fine and was in total control. Hit the downhill coming back, was going a little faster than I thought and didn't want to get too out of control since the last part of the run is always the most difficult (uphill, uneven terrain, more sun) and crashing out on that would just kill the point of the workout. The trees were wreaking havoc on our GPS signals, so told Crystal we needed to lock in a pace since our watches weren't dependable for a few miles. Got locked in, kept cruising on while keeping my caged animal running partner in check since she was getting antsy and dropping surges. Saw Crystal's parents on the way back which was a nice pickmeup - in fact, we saw a ton of people on the trail that day which was pretty cool. Gave up on trying to slow down since we were hitting consistent splits, and focused on hitting right at marathon pace since we were going uphill. Well, we kept up the fast pace, and hammered it home. Last mile was a lot more tiring, but was more leg fatigue then breathing which was more tolerable than not being able to breath. Nailed the workout, pretty excited to hit that one since we had both circled this workout as the potentially most difficult one in her schedule. Crystal is looking stronger by the day, and I find I am working a lot harder to keep up with her than in training segments past. She will be ready to launch an all out assault in Indy in October. Total mileage: ~16 miles - first 7 were at 8-8:20 pace, last 9 were: 7:09, 7:04, 7:05, 7:03, 7:01, 6:57, 7:00, 7:00, 7:00.
Felt a lot more invigorated for redeeming myself after my last weekend meltdown, and I guess having an absolute perfect weather day didn't hurt things! Sunday, 0! Crapped out, no excuses other than general laziness, but it was nice to have the impromptu day off to rest my weary legs. Monday, had to go to the vet after work so missed Big River running group. Met Crystal up at the track, did miles and drills with her, and got in 25 minutes or so later on. Weather was hot and super humid, totally the opposite of Saturday. Drills felt ok, but my legs were still mushy. Did some light weights and corework at home, so got in some work. Total mileage: ~7 miles - ran anywhere from 7:20 to 9 minute pace.
Today, trackwork which hopefully won't be too bad since I am feeling pretty tired. Just officially signed up for the Lewis and Clark 1/2 Marathon which is in a little more than a month. I am curious to see what I hit there. We ran last year for Chicago Marathon prep, and hit 1:28 pretty comfortably. Starting to get into good shape, but the workouts we are doing seem harder which leads me to believe I'm stronger this time around, so I'm thinking 1:26 or 1:27 is very possible on a good day.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Battling Something
Well, last few weeks have been very on and off, and I have come to the conclusion that I am battling something which is either a upper respiratory tract infection, severe chest cold, bronchitis, or pneumonia which has affected my running on and off. On some massive drugs, hoping I can cure it myself and giving it another week to get better - otherwise I will be going to the doctor to fix me up. Really quick, found this super cool article online that shows how a marathon affects certain parts of the body - interactive and pretty awesome! Also, Deena is preggos!
Wednesday, got out to the track for my delayed track work. Had crashed out really hard after work and was really sluggish. Had mile repeats - weather was pretty cool and very nice. Pat and Crystal were out there doing their workouts, so was nice to have company. First repeat, thought I was going with decent effort but was surprised to see a 1:30 split - usually go out pretty hard and settle in, but today was obviously going to be different. Was battling, had to push to get in the rep at a decent pace. Quick break, onto the next one. Immediately, something was wrong and my breathing passages were pretty much closed. Struggled through half a rep before quitting - body was on fire from oxygen deprivation and I was coughing/wheezing like a 2-pack a day smoker. Jumped into Crystal's cooldown and struggled through to hit the 8:30 miles. Total mileage: ~3.5 miles - mile split(s) were: 5:59, 3:02 (half mile before I quit), 8:44, 8:22/
Was obviously not pleased with this effort, but impossible to fight when my body is not at 100%. Yesterday, got out after work for some light mileage. Wanted to push it a little to make up for my failed trackwork. Started a new medication which cleared up my breathing passages a little, so thought it might be safe to give it a go. Did an out and back on the trail - started out kind of hard, and was just struggling in general. Slowed it down to marathon pace for a few miles on the trail, then hit the last mile hard. Breathing was impaired but better than the night before. This workout was ok, but shouldn't have felt so hard especially considering I slowed it down for a couple miles. Usually with harder runs, it's my legs that impede my progress, not the cardiovascular portion - very strange to have my legs being totally fine and having my cardio tire me. Light stretching afterwards, felt like poop. Total mileage: 4 miles - splits were: 6:35, 7:15, 7:10, 6:18.
I am going to continue to monitor my body and run with the effort based on how I feel that day. I don't feel awful, but this breathing issue is a major problem that hopefully is getting corrected with medication, fluids, and what little rest I am getting.
Wednesday, got out to the track for my delayed track work. Had crashed out really hard after work and was really sluggish. Had mile repeats - weather was pretty cool and very nice. Pat and Crystal were out there doing their workouts, so was nice to have company. First repeat, thought I was going with decent effort but was surprised to see a 1:30 split - usually go out pretty hard and settle in, but today was obviously going to be different. Was battling, had to push to get in the rep at a decent pace. Quick break, onto the next one. Immediately, something was wrong and my breathing passages were pretty much closed. Struggled through half a rep before quitting - body was on fire from oxygen deprivation and I was coughing/wheezing like a 2-pack a day smoker. Jumped into Crystal's cooldown and struggled through to hit the 8:30 miles. Total mileage: ~3.5 miles - mile split(s) were: 5:59, 3:02 (half mile before I quit), 8:44, 8:22/
Was obviously not pleased with this effort, but impossible to fight when my body is not at 100%. Yesterday, got out after work for some light mileage. Wanted to push it a little to make up for my failed trackwork. Started a new medication which cleared up my breathing passages a little, so thought it might be safe to give it a go. Did an out and back on the trail - started out kind of hard, and was just struggling in general. Slowed it down to marathon pace for a few miles on the trail, then hit the last mile hard. Breathing was impaired but better than the night before. This workout was ok, but shouldn't have felt so hard especially considering I slowed it down for a couple miles. Usually with harder runs, it's my legs that impede my progress, not the cardiovascular portion - very strange to have my legs being totally fine and having my cardio tire me. Light stretching afterwards, felt like poop. Total mileage: 4 miles - splits were: 6:35, 7:15, 7:10, 6:18.
I am going to continue to monitor my body and run with the effort based on how I feel that day. I don't feel awful, but this breathing issue is a major problem that hopefully is getting corrected with medication, fluids, and what little rest I am getting.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Chicago just got a lot more interesting...
Pretty awesome news - Boston Marathon winner Robert Cheruiyot and London Marathon Tsegaye Kebede have also entered the Chicago Marathon! People are calling it the Marathon of Champions, and this is one the strongest marathon fields ever!
Monday, got in a nice workout with Crystal over at the Big River Run. Ran a pretty slow 3.5 miles to the track, did another mile on the track while Crystal did form drills, then jumped in and did about 1.5 sets of circuit training before jogging it back in. Circuits felt pretty awful, especially the sprinting between stations. Legs were pretty fried, and it didn't feel too good. Total mileage: ~5.5 miles - no idea of splits, but it was slow.
Tuesday, was supposed to do track work but my legs still felt like jello and opted to switch to something more low key. The weather has cooled down a bit, and the evenings are much more tolerable than before. Got out around 8 p.m., just did an out and back through town. Didn't push it at all, could feel myself starting to speed up towards the end but made it a point to stay relaxed and not push it at all. Felt pretty good - still a little worn out, but should be good to go again soon. Total mileage: 5 miles - ran for roughly 42-44 minutes.
Right I.T. Band is flaring up, but this could be because my shoes are about finished so need to order some more. Going to try for my trackwork tonight, so we'll see how it goes. Tim is going to be in town in a few weeks, and we found a fun local 5K to participate in so looking forward to the plethora of races that are approaching!
Monday, got in a nice workout with Crystal over at the Big River Run. Ran a pretty slow 3.5 miles to the track, did another mile on the track while Crystal did form drills, then jumped in and did about 1.5 sets of circuit training before jogging it back in. Circuits felt pretty awful, especially the sprinting between stations. Legs were pretty fried, and it didn't feel too good. Total mileage: ~5.5 miles - no idea of splits, but it was slow.
Tuesday, was supposed to do track work but my legs still felt like jello and opted to switch to something more low key. The weather has cooled down a bit, and the evenings are much more tolerable than before. Got out around 8 p.m., just did an out and back through town. Didn't push it at all, could feel myself starting to speed up towards the end but made it a point to stay relaxed and not push it at all. Felt pretty good - still a little worn out, but should be good to go again soon. Total mileage: 5 miles - ran for roughly 42-44 minutes.
Right I.T. Band is flaring up, but this could be because my shoes are about finished so need to order some more. Going to try for my trackwork tonight, so we'll see how it goes. Tim is going to be in town in a few weeks, and we found a fun local 5K to participate in so looking forward to the plethora of races that are approaching!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Hecker Tiki Trot 5K Recap/Long Run Death
Kenyan David Rudisha is a stud -broke the world record in the 800 meters, running in 1:41:09 which is just INSANE! Also, Pikes Peak was this weekend - local runner Zac Freudenburg had some course issues which sucked, but still managed a respectable finish.
On to the weekend running. Friday after work, wanted to get in some easy miles. Was nasty and humid as usual, so laced up the shoes and jumped outside to get in a quick run. Did out and back - my typical G.C. route, then jumped on the trail for a little more. Trail was trapping in the heat, and made it even more humid. Weather was starting to get nasty, and started to storm hard about a quarter mile from home. The rain felt incredible, but made it in before it started to really dump. That storm actually killed the power for 30 minutes or so which wasn't ideal. Regardless, legs felt fine, a good, solid, uneventful run. Total mileage: ~4.5 miles - out there for 35-40 minutes I am guessing?
Race Morning/Afternoon
Saturday morning, woke up and did an easy group run for 20 minutes and got in roughly 2 miles. Did out and back, was hot on the trails but wanted to get a little movement in the legs in the morning. Got back home, napped on and off and just relaxed before getting ready to leave in the later afternoon. Drove out to Hecker, IL which is located a good 45 minutes or so away - Hecker is a small little town with a lot of country roads. Got out to the Community Center where the race was at, and was pleasantly surprised to see a huge turnout. We would find out later that a record number of people registered for this event, in fact over 900!
At the Start
Picked up our race packets, got changed and went for a shakeout run/warmup (~2 miles) and previewed the course. Pretty simple layout - you run on a road which weaves through a neighborhood, which straightens out for a while, make one turn, turn around some cones, and come back. Pretty flat in that area, so expected a faster race. The course is lined with lit tiki torches, and everyone was given a blinking L.E.D. light which had a magnet on it so was a pretty cool concept - even cooler to see when running back in the dark towards everyone and you see a sea of blinking lights surrounded by a firey path! This was the first nighttime race I had ever run, and was looking forward to the theoretical cooler nighttime temperatures. Weather was hot and sticky during the day, and was worried that it wouldn't cool down enough but it sort of did. Wasn't pleased to be almost drenched in sweat after our warmup, quite the menacing omen. Did some dynamic stretching and strides, and talked a little strategy with Crystal and Candace who was also running and was defending her title (3 times over). Ran into Larry Huffman, a stud local runner who was also 3 time defending champion, and caught up with him before the start. Lined up behind a group of kids, hoped to God that they would move out of the way quickly or get ran over by me. Gun went off, and away we went!
Mile by Mile Report
Mile 1 - Immediately, my worst fears were realized as I instantly caught up to those kids, who had formed their own little wall to get in the way of all the other runners behind them. I am going to try my best not to complain, but if you can't run a 5 minute mile you shouldn't be lining up in front of a large group of runners. Predictably, I stepped on one of their shoes - as he was falling, I grabbed his shirt from behind and caught him, then guided him out of the way and surged forward to get away a bit. Kind of an annoying way to start a race and lose some energy. Immediately a lead pack formed, and 5 guys started to break away on that first mile. Candace, another guy, and I pretty much settled into a quick pace and powered through. Saw my half mile split at 2:38, was a bit alarmed at that and tried to settle down a little. Followed the lead vehicle for a bit before Larry and the other lead runners broke away - it had a photographer in the back taking pictures ever 5 seconds, and I thought I was going to have an epileptic seizure from all the camera flashes. Continued to work with those two, was cruising and everything felt really easy. [Mile 1 - 5:34]
Mile 2 - Was mentally cursing myself for going out that fast, a common downfall in my recent races, but felt great and no signs of strain yet. Had slowed down a bit, reeled in 2 guys but were passed by 2 more guys. The guy that was with us fell off, so it was just Candace and I with the next guy a good distance ahead of us. Came to the turnaround, kind of screwed up the turn and had to come to almost a complete stop then restart which was annoying. Passed Crystal, who was looking very strong and in control, and holding strong as 2nd overall female. Turned back on the main road and was caught offguard by the sea of blinking lights streaming from the start of the race from all the runners/walkers in the back. Humidity/general stuffiness was starting to get me, as whatever slight breeze we had wasn't really there coming back. [Mile 2 - 6:09]
Mile 3 - Was still feeling pretty much in control, and debating what I should do - should I surge and make a move, or sit back and work off Candace? Well, I had no hopes of catching the next runner ahead of me, so just sat back and worked off her some more. Still felt ok, not the usual lungs on fire/legs completely shot feeling I normally have, so that was a good thing. She was throwing in some surges here and there, but I matched everything and stayed stride for stride. With a little over half a mile to go, started to tire a bit and the evil thoughts started to creep in if I could keep up, but dispelled them and focused on other things like getting to the next road, to the next tree, and zoned in on the endless chorus of encouragement that was coming in bunches for her which was just like pouring gasoline onto a fire. Ahhh, deja vu from the AOH race! Well, there is only so much I can take (about 1.5 miles of this) before I decided I wasn't going to lose, so just bided my time and waited to make my move. [Mile 3 - 6:21]
Finish - Stupidly, I wasn't monitoring behind us at all at any point on the last mile, and some guy kicked it into ludicrous speed and zoomed by us before the last turn. I awoke from my daze, started my kick early and went after him. Narrowed the gap, but just didn't have it and let him go right at the end. I hate getting outkicked like that at the end! [Finishing 5K time - 18:51]
Peter Kim M30
Chip Time: 18:51
Overall Place: 6/900+
Gender Place: 6/?
Division Place: 2/?
Pace: 6:05/Mile
Crystal finished very shortly after in 2nd, so we grabbed a ton of water and tried to cool off. Talked with some of the other runners, and the guy that got us good at the end. Turns out he was sitting on us before making his move, so I got a taste of my own medicine. We did a 10 minute cooldown afterwards, legs felt ok but was definitely tired. Crystal ended up winning 2nd Female Overall and a huge trophy! I won 2nd in my age group, so accomplished my goal of winning a prize.
Final Thoughts
Well, not my finest effort, but what can you do? Probably could have ran 10-15 seconds faster if I wasn't sitting on the last mile, but it wouldn't have been worth the pain. It was by far the easiest sub 19 minute 5K I have ever run, so the last few weeks of workouts are starting to kick in. Wish I would have run more even splits instead of the ridiculous inconsistency I had. There is a lot of work to be done, but this was a step in the right direction. Even though I ran a crappy time, it was still good speedwork and I will focus on setting the Italianfest 5K on fire next month.
Drove home, didn't get back till 11ish and had to be up pretty early for the long run - UGH Stumbled out of bed after a terrible night of sleep, and my stomach was a mess. Late night McDonalds was a terrible idea, but I had to get something to eat since I hadn't had anything since 4 p.m. on Saturday. Was running super late, so just swigged a 1/4 of a bottled water and ran to meet up with Crystal and Mike. Weather was humid and a little warm but not too bad. Did our usual out and back, and was pretty tired which isn't any different than any other long run morning. First few miles felt pretty rough, once again nothing out of the ordinary, and eagerly awaited for Meridian where I usually get into a good rhythm. Well, it wasn't happening that day, and just felt like garbage. Not good to be grinding 5 miles into an 18 mile run when you're already going slow and it's only going to get hot. Turned towards SIUE, and about 8 miles into it told Mike and Crystal I had to stop at the turn for a small rest break which I don't remember the last time we had to do that. Stopped for a few minutes, had a GU, then headed back. Not the best feeling to have to restart, but the break was nice and felt slightly better since we were downhill for a bit. Tucked in behind Mike and Crystal, and continued to count the steps till the big Meridian downhill. Felt ok, but was on empty and running on fumes using all upper body and gravity to keep going. Was just grinding and grinding, and it wasn't getting any better. I switched leads with them and tried to maintain a pace, but it didn't help. Made our way back on the last 4 mile uphill and hit a few sun patches which felt brutal. With a little under 3 miles to go, I pretty much suffered a horrible death on the trails and had to walk. Let Mike and Crystal go, and pretty much walked/ran it in from there. I haven't hit the wall since 2008 - not a good feeling at all. They were nice enough to wait for me to finish, then we walked back home. Had to stop a few times on the way back, was a little lightheaded and starting to see some spots so erred on the side of caution. Total mileage: 18 miles - splits were: 9:17, 8:43, 8:34, 8:41, 8:33, 8:36, 8:22, 8:27, 8:30, 8:28, 8:26, 8:22, 8:27, 8:35, 8:41, slow, slow, and more slow (turned watch off as soon as I had to stop).
Well, not a good way to end the week, but I am not overly discouraged since I know this was probably more of a product of lack of rest/food/water than lack of fitness. But a solid mileage week nonetheless (44 I think?), and getting closer to starting my 1/2 marathon segment. Tonight, Big River group run, then track work tomorrow!
On to the weekend running. Friday after work, wanted to get in some easy miles. Was nasty and humid as usual, so laced up the shoes and jumped outside to get in a quick run. Did out and back - my typical G.C. route, then jumped on the trail for a little more. Trail was trapping in the heat, and made it even more humid. Weather was starting to get nasty, and started to storm hard about a quarter mile from home. The rain felt incredible, but made it in before it started to really dump. That storm actually killed the power for 30 minutes or so which wasn't ideal. Regardless, legs felt fine, a good, solid, uneventful run. Total mileage: ~4.5 miles - out there for 35-40 minutes I am guessing?
Race Morning/Afternoon
Saturday morning, woke up and did an easy group run for 20 minutes and got in roughly 2 miles. Did out and back, was hot on the trails but wanted to get a little movement in the legs in the morning. Got back home, napped on and off and just relaxed before getting ready to leave in the later afternoon. Drove out to Hecker, IL which is located a good 45 minutes or so away - Hecker is a small little town with a lot of country roads. Got out to the Community Center where the race was at, and was pleasantly surprised to see a huge turnout. We would find out later that a record number of people registered for this event, in fact over 900!
At the Start
Picked up our race packets, got changed and went for a shakeout run/warmup (~2 miles) and previewed the course. Pretty simple layout - you run on a road which weaves through a neighborhood, which straightens out for a while, make one turn, turn around some cones, and come back. Pretty flat in that area, so expected a faster race. The course is lined with lit tiki torches, and everyone was given a blinking L.E.D. light which had a magnet on it so was a pretty cool concept - even cooler to see when running back in the dark towards everyone and you see a sea of blinking lights surrounded by a firey path! This was the first nighttime race I had ever run, and was looking forward to the theoretical cooler nighttime temperatures. Weather was hot and sticky during the day, and was worried that it wouldn't cool down enough but it sort of did. Wasn't pleased to be almost drenched in sweat after our warmup, quite the menacing omen. Did some dynamic stretching and strides, and talked a little strategy with Crystal and Candace who was also running and was defending her title (3 times over). Ran into Larry Huffman, a stud local runner who was also 3 time defending champion, and caught up with him before the start. Lined up behind a group of kids, hoped to God that they would move out of the way quickly or get ran over by me. Gun went off, and away we went!
Mile by Mile Report
Mile 1 - Immediately, my worst fears were realized as I instantly caught up to those kids, who had formed their own little wall to get in the way of all the other runners behind them. I am going to try my best not to complain, but if you can't run a 5 minute mile you shouldn't be lining up in front of a large group of runners. Predictably, I stepped on one of their shoes - as he was falling, I grabbed his shirt from behind and caught him, then guided him out of the way and surged forward to get away a bit. Kind of an annoying way to start a race and lose some energy. Immediately a lead pack formed, and 5 guys started to break away on that first mile. Candace, another guy, and I pretty much settled into a quick pace and powered through. Saw my half mile split at 2:38, was a bit alarmed at that and tried to settle down a little. Followed the lead vehicle for a bit before Larry and the other lead runners broke away - it had a photographer in the back taking pictures ever 5 seconds, and I thought I was going to have an epileptic seizure from all the camera flashes. Continued to work with those two, was cruising and everything felt really easy. [Mile 1 - 5:34]
Mile 2 - Was mentally cursing myself for going out that fast, a common downfall in my recent races, but felt great and no signs of strain yet. Had slowed down a bit, reeled in 2 guys but were passed by 2 more guys. The guy that was with us fell off, so it was just Candace and I with the next guy a good distance ahead of us. Came to the turnaround, kind of screwed up the turn and had to come to almost a complete stop then restart which was annoying. Passed Crystal, who was looking very strong and in control, and holding strong as 2nd overall female. Turned back on the main road and was caught offguard by the sea of blinking lights streaming from the start of the race from all the runners/walkers in the back. Humidity/general stuffiness was starting to get me, as whatever slight breeze we had wasn't really there coming back. [Mile 2 - 6:09]
Mile 3 - Was still feeling pretty much in control, and debating what I should do - should I surge and make a move, or sit back and work off Candace? Well, I had no hopes of catching the next runner ahead of me, so just sat back and worked off her some more. Still felt ok, not the usual lungs on fire/legs completely shot feeling I normally have, so that was a good thing. She was throwing in some surges here and there, but I matched everything and stayed stride for stride. With a little over half a mile to go, started to tire a bit and the evil thoughts started to creep in if I could keep up, but dispelled them and focused on other things like getting to the next road, to the next tree, and zoned in on the endless chorus of encouragement that was coming in bunches for her which was just like pouring gasoline onto a fire. Ahhh, deja vu from the AOH race! Well, there is only so much I can take (about 1.5 miles of this) before I decided I wasn't going to lose, so just bided my time and waited to make my move. [Mile 3 - 6:21]
Finish - Stupidly, I wasn't monitoring behind us at all at any point on the last mile, and some guy kicked it into ludicrous speed and zoomed by us before the last turn. I awoke from my daze, started my kick early and went after him. Narrowed the gap, but just didn't have it and let him go right at the end. I hate getting outkicked like that at the end! [Finishing 5K time - 18:51]
Peter Kim M30
Chip Time: 18:51
Overall Place: 6/900+
Gender Place: 6/?
Division Place: 2/?
Pace: 6:05/Mile
Crystal finished very shortly after in 2nd, so we grabbed a ton of water and tried to cool off. Talked with some of the other runners, and the guy that got us good at the end. Turns out he was sitting on us before making his move, so I got a taste of my own medicine. We did a 10 minute cooldown afterwards, legs felt ok but was definitely tired. Crystal ended up winning 2nd Female Overall and a huge trophy! I won 2nd in my age group, so accomplished my goal of winning a prize.
Final Thoughts
Well, not my finest effort, but what can you do? Probably could have ran 10-15 seconds faster if I wasn't sitting on the last mile, but it wouldn't have been worth the pain. It was by far the easiest sub 19 minute 5K I have ever run, so the last few weeks of workouts are starting to kick in. Wish I would have run more even splits instead of the ridiculous inconsistency I had. There is a lot of work to be done, but this was a step in the right direction. Even though I ran a crappy time, it was still good speedwork and I will focus on setting the Italianfest 5K on fire next month.
Drove home, didn't get back till 11ish and had to be up pretty early for the long run - UGH Stumbled out of bed after a terrible night of sleep, and my stomach was a mess. Late night McDonalds was a terrible idea, but I had to get something to eat since I hadn't had anything since 4 p.m. on Saturday. Was running super late, so just swigged a 1/4 of a bottled water and ran to meet up with Crystal and Mike. Weather was humid and a little warm but not too bad. Did our usual out and back, and was pretty tired which isn't any different than any other long run morning. First few miles felt pretty rough, once again nothing out of the ordinary, and eagerly awaited for Meridian where I usually get into a good rhythm. Well, it wasn't happening that day, and just felt like garbage. Not good to be grinding 5 miles into an 18 mile run when you're already going slow and it's only going to get hot. Turned towards SIUE, and about 8 miles into it told Mike and Crystal I had to stop at the turn for a small rest break which I don't remember the last time we had to do that. Stopped for a few minutes, had a GU, then headed back. Not the best feeling to have to restart, but the break was nice and felt slightly better since we were downhill for a bit. Tucked in behind Mike and Crystal, and continued to count the steps till the big Meridian downhill. Felt ok, but was on empty and running on fumes using all upper body and gravity to keep going. Was just grinding and grinding, and it wasn't getting any better. I switched leads with them and tried to maintain a pace, but it didn't help. Made our way back on the last 4 mile uphill and hit a few sun patches which felt brutal. With a little under 3 miles to go, I pretty much suffered a horrible death on the trails and had to walk. Let Mike and Crystal go, and pretty much walked/ran it in from there. I haven't hit the wall since 2008 - not a good feeling at all. They were nice enough to wait for me to finish, then we walked back home. Had to stop a few times on the way back, was a little lightheaded and starting to see some spots so erred on the side of caution. Total mileage: 18 miles - splits were: 9:17, 8:43, 8:34, 8:41, 8:33, 8:36, 8:22, 8:27, 8:30, 8:28, 8:26, 8:22, 8:27, 8:35, 8:41, slow, slow, and more slow (turned watch off as soon as I had to stop).
Well, not a good way to end the week, but I am not overly discouraged since I know this was probably more of a product of lack of rest/food/water than lack of fitness. But a solid mileage week nonetheless (44 I think?), and getting closer to starting my 1/2 marathon segment. Tonight, Big River group run, then track work tomorrow!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Loooong Update
Been derailed this week on my attempts to blog, so a long update is in order. Has been super busy, so I will try my best to remember everything. But before I get to my running, found some cool stuff in the world of running. Sammy Wanjiru is coming back to Chi to defend his title, which means he will be toeing it up with Ryan Hall in October!!! Hall is pretty psyched about the prospects and I suspect this will be an awesome race as Hall has raced well with Wanjiru in the past (2008 London Marathon P.R.). Here is a cool article on Shalane and her marathoning training - if she can reign it in and be patient, there is no reason to think she can't win in NYC. Runners World released their fall shoe guide. And finally, a awesome flotrack video of Oregon Elite stud Galen Rupp and a workout he did over in Europe.
Wow just flipped back to see where I left off, so it's been a while. Last Wednesday, got out after work and did a quick run. Weather was hot and sticky, and did this run early evening. Purposely didn't look at time, and just tried to keep an "easy" pace. Drove up to the track afterwards - did 10 minutes of drills with Crystal, and ran a few laps with Pat. Pretty solid day if I must say so. Total mileage: ~5.5 miles - ran 31:52 for 4 miles (faster than I wanted given the conditions, but felt very good), 1 mile really easy, ran a couple 400's with Pat on the track - no idea of time.
Thursday, the heat just made it too difficult to do my scheduled workout outside, so treadmilled it at Pat and Crystal's. Had really been suffering through a bad chest cold or something that was causing my breathing to be rough in general, so was hoping to get in a bit extra. Hopped on the treadmill in my attempts to hit 2 miles at race pace, then 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster. Blazed through mile 1 of the 2 mile portion, but just started to really struggle and basically suffered a horrible death on the treadmill. Seconds felt like hours, and I kept falling further and further back and would have to sprint up before almost falling off the treadmill end (this happened many times). My lungs and legs were on fire and it was just pure agony, worse than 5K race burn. Walked a very short distance to cooldown, this workout was done and I was on empty. Total mileage: ~2.1 miles - mile splits were: 6:00, 6:00.
Friday, day off! Saturday, woke up bright and early for the long run. Waited a little bit to go over to Crystal's because of storms (much to Crystal's chagrin) and it was pretty nasty on the trails. Ran through some massive puddles, thus soaking my feet immediately, and making the next few miles very uncomfortable. Took a small detour to get around the mess, but quickly got back on the trail. Trail was really stuffy (mostly from rain and sun starting to come up making it really humid), and I was having major breathing issues. Got onto the climb at Meridian where it opens up a bit, and felt a lot better. Settled into a good pace and felt really good at the turn around. My Garmin was jumping around a bit, so was difficult for me to pace since we started to accelerate a bit to ease into the last 4 at race pace, unlike what we had done in the past where we just dropped into race mode (very painful). Sun was out in full force at this point, and was definitely feeling the heat. Struggled a bit on the last 4, and had to work to hit pace. Didn't help that both our Garmins were jumping around giving us weird splits, but was most likely from the trees and bridges coming back. Really was regretting starting 15 minutes later than usual - was pretty hot when we were done, amazing how much difference it made and we were just BEAT. Regardless, nailed the workout and was nice to be done with it. Total mileage: 16 miles - don't have the splits on hand, but averaged 8:07 overall. 7:11, 7:14, 7:15, 7:08 on the last 4 I believe.
Sunday, slept in, got in my run later in the day/evening. Didn't go too hard, hit 5 easy. I think it was 42-45 minutes. Monday, did the group run over at Big River on a hot day. Crystal and I ran 3 up to the track, then did drills. Was a pretty warm day, but hammered through everything pretty well. Jogged 1 easy back to the store and headed home. Felt good, but tired. Total mileage: ~4 miles - first 3 were low 8 minute average, last mile was prob 8:30-9 I am guessing.
Tuesday - 0! Was really hurting from being sick, and consequently slept away most of the evening. Wednesday, took a monster nap after work, then dragged my sorry carcass to the track to get in my missed workout. Pat and Crystal were up there doing their respective workouts, as well as a few others, so was nice to have company. Was hot and sticky outside, and got right into my workout (2 miles at pace, 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster than pace). Zoomed through the first lap a little fast (1:24), but slowed it down and surprisingly maintained pace pretty well the rest of that segment. Felt pretty good after the first mile, and kept it up through the next mile hitting even splits. Was a lot easier than it should have been, which was an aesome feeling. Highlight was Crystal reprimanding a couple walkers that were hogging the fast lane. The looks on their faces was priceless, but it needed to be done :) Wouldn't have been that big of a deal if I literally didn't pass them on every single turn of the track, which was a slight pain. Took a 5 minute break, then jumped into the mile. Really was getting tired right from the start and had some evil thoughts of breaking it into 2-800's, but dispelled those bad notions quickly. Pushed through that mental barrier which was nice, given I have succumbed to it a little too often recently, and hit a split I was satisfied with. Contemplated another hard mile, but my legs were toast and was just pooped in general. Did a 25 minute cooldown, stretched hard and felt considerably better afterwards. Total mileage: 5-6 miles - 2 mile split was 11:52 (5:54, 5:58), 1 mile spit was 5:49.
Yesterday, took an impromptu vacation day - played golf in the late morning/early afternoon with Pat, then snuck in a quick 3 miler nice and slow. Was pretty beat down from being outside all day, legs felt like crap. Going to try to squeeze in some cheap miles today, then racing tomorrow night over in Hecker, IL for the Tiki Trot 5K! Run at night, the course is lit up by tiki torches on the sides of the road, and supposed to be a pretty fast course. Over 670 have preregistered, so should be pretty fun! Feeling pretty good about nailing my workout on Wednesday, and using this as a hard tempo run/workout so looking forward to seeing where I am at. Sunday, long run with Mike and Crystal, so should be another solid running week...
Wow just flipped back to see where I left off, so it's been a while. Last Wednesday, got out after work and did a quick run. Weather was hot and sticky, and did this run early evening. Purposely didn't look at time, and just tried to keep an "easy" pace. Drove up to the track afterwards - did 10 minutes of drills with Crystal, and ran a few laps with Pat. Pretty solid day if I must say so. Total mileage: ~5.5 miles - ran 31:52 for 4 miles (faster than I wanted given the conditions, but felt very good), 1 mile really easy, ran a couple 400's with Pat on the track - no idea of time.
Thursday, the heat just made it too difficult to do my scheduled workout outside, so treadmilled it at Pat and Crystal's. Had really been suffering through a bad chest cold or something that was causing my breathing to be rough in general, so was hoping to get in a bit extra. Hopped on the treadmill in my attempts to hit 2 miles at race pace, then 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster. Blazed through mile 1 of the 2 mile portion, but just started to really struggle and basically suffered a horrible death on the treadmill. Seconds felt like hours, and I kept falling further and further back and would have to sprint up before almost falling off the treadmill end (this happened many times). My lungs and legs were on fire and it was just pure agony, worse than 5K race burn. Walked a very short distance to cooldown, this workout was done and I was on empty. Total mileage: ~2.1 miles - mile splits were: 6:00, 6:00.
Friday, day off! Saturday, woke up bright and early for the long run. Waited a little bit to go over to Crystal's because of storms (much to Crystal's chagrin) and it was pretty nasty on the trails. Ran through some massive puddles, thus soaking my feet immediately, and making the next few miles very uncomfortable. Took a small detour to get around the mess, but quickly got back on the trail. Trail was really stuffy (mostly from rain and sun starting to come up making it really humid), and I was having major breathing issues. Got onto the climb at Meridian where it opens up a bit, and felt a lot better. Settled into a good pace and felt really good at the turn around. My Garmin was jumping around a bit, so was difficult for me to pace since we started to accelerate a bit to ease into the last 4 at race pace, unlike what we had done in the past where we just dropped into race mode (very painful). Sun was out in full force at this point, and was definitely feeling the heat. Struggled a bit on the last 4, and had to work to hit pace. Didn't help that both our Garmins were jumping around giving us weird splits, but was most likely from the trees and bridges coming back. Really was regretting starting 15 minutes later than usual - was pretty hot when we were done, amazing how much difference it made and we were just BEAT. Regardless, nailed the workout and was nice to be done with it. Total mileage: 16 miles - don't have the splits on hand, but averaged 8:07 overall. 7:11, 7:14, 7:15, 7:08 on the last 4 I believe.
Sunday, slept in, got in my run later in the day/evening. Didn't go too hard, hit 5 easy. I think it was 42-45 minutes. Monday, did the group run over at Big River on a hot day. Crystal and I ran 3 up to the track, then did drills. Was a pretty warm day, but hammered through everything pretty well. Jogged 1 easy back to the store and headed home. Felt good, but tired. Total mileage: ~4 miles - first 3 were low 8 minute average, last mile was prob 8:30-9 I am guessing.
Tuesday - 0! Was really hurting from being sick, and consequently slept away most of the evening. Wednesday, took a monster nap after work, then dragged my sorry carcass to the track to get in my missed workout. Pat and Crystal were up there doing their respective workouts, as well as a few others, so was nice to have company. Was hot and sticky outside, and got right into my workout (2 miles at pace, 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster than pace). Zoomed through the first lap a little fast (1:24), but slowed it down and surprisingly maintained pace pretty well the rest of that segment. Felt pretty good after the first mile, and kept it up through the next mile hitting even splits. Was a lot easier than it should have been, which was an aesome feeling. Highlight was Crystal reprimanding a couple walkers that were hogging the fast lane. The looks on their faces was priceless, but it needed to be done :) Wouldn't have been that big of a deal if I literally didn't pass them on every single turn of the track, which was a slight pain. Took a 5 minute break, then jumped into the mile. Really was getting tired right from the start and had some evil thoughts of breaking it into 2-800's, but dispelled those bad notions quickly. Pushed through that mental barrier which was nice, given I have succumbed to it a little too often recently, and hit a split I was satisfied with. Contemplated another hard mile, but my legs were toast and was just pooped in general. Did a 25 minute cooldown, stretched hard and felt considerably better afterwards. Total mileage: 5-6 miles - 2 mile split was 11:52 (5:54, 5:58), 1 mile spit was 5:49.
Yesterday, took an impromptu vacation day - played golf in the late morning/early afternoon with Pat, then snuck in a quick 3 miler nice and slow. Was pretty beat down from being outside all day, legs felt like crap. Going to try to squeeze in some cheap miles today, then racing tomorrow night over in Hecker, IL for the Tiki Trot 5K! Run at night, the course is lit up by tiki torches on the sides of the road, and supposed to be a pretty fast course. Over 670 have preregistered, so should be pretty fun! Feeling pretty good about nailing my workout on Wednesday, and using this as a hard tempo run/workout so looking forward to seeing where I am at. Sunday, long run with Mike and Crystal, so should be another solid running week...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
I love Heat Advisories
It makes the runs so much tougher and miserable. We were spoiled with such a mild summer last year that it is only fitting we are getting killed this year. But, it has helped morale a bit when hitting a hard workout under said crappy conditions, and hopefully the worst is behind us after this week (all week heat advisory - heat indexes up to 115!). Before I jump into my uber-update, Chris Solinsky continues to amaze - 12:55 in Stockholm, yikes! And Ryan Hall blogs about his diet and constant snacking. Something I need to pay closer attention to myself - you don't fuel a high performance vehicle with junk and expect it to perform at an optimal condition...
Saturday, got up pretty darn early for the long run. Met with Crystal, did our customary out and back. Weather was surprisingly not awful, and we got a slightly later start because it wasn't light out yet. Felt somewhat decent, and it was getting warm as the sun came out. Made a couple bathroom pitstops on the run, but didn't affect anything and the small breaks were fine. Somewhere on the trail, looked at my watch to see how far along we were - saw 6.66 on the mileage, which was the 3rd consecutive weekend that had happened, not the greatest omen. Anyways, never really pushed the pace, which was nice. Ran into Pat the last mile and was nice to have a third out there to finish it off. Total mileage: 16 miles - splits were: 9:13, 8:47, 8:33, 8:35, 8:46, 8:34, 8:33, 8:33, 8:33, 8:43, 8:38, 8:34, 8:36, 8:32, 8:14, 9:22.
Sunday morning, woke up a little later and immediately regretted not getting the run in earlier. Was pretty warm and sunny, but had a decent amount of shade so wasn't too unbearable. Did out and back on the trail towards Glen Carbon - felt tired, and my knees were a little sore. Could feel the pace picking up, but tried to control it. Coming back, could feel that we just wanted to get the run over with and jacked the pace up. Both of us were getting tired and didn't want to overwork, so made it a point to slow down/cool down the last mile. Looked down at my watch at some point to see where we were at, and saw the dreaded 6.66 yet again! Probably not the best idea to tinker with an easy/recovery run, but we never pushed it to the point we were out of control. Glad that was over with. Total mileage: 8 miles - splits were: 8:47, 7:52, 8:24, 7:54, 8:01, 7:53, 7:28, 7:56. Hit close to 40 for the week and was disappointed I cheated away some easy miles, but hit some key workouts.
Monday, forgot to pack shoes and clothes for group run, so completely crapped out on that. The weather was pretty atrocious, so waited until really late to get in a run. Felt really lethargic, and it was just thick outside. Got a couple miles into my easy run (not pushing the pace at all), and just didn't feel right. Actually started to dry heave at some point, and decided to lean on the side of caution and cut my easy run short. Drank about a gallon of water, passed out shortly afterwards. Total mileage: 3 miles - total time out was ~25 minutes
Tuesday, waited until really late for my track work. Tried to think of every possible excuse in the book to not do this workout (20X400), but ultimately got myself out the door and on the track. Helped a ton that Pat and Crystal were up there doing their respective workouts. It was just nasty outside, but there was a slight hint of a breeze which helped a little. Completely crapped out on the warmup/cooldown since I wanted to get out of outside as soon as possible, and also didn't jog in between reps like I was supposed to - instead took 45-75 second breaks, and 2-3 minute breaks in between sets (5 reps). The plan was to start at 10K pace, then gradually speed up each set, trying to hit 2-3 seconds faster per set. Blazed through the first couple sets fine, but had a lot of trouble keeping the slower pace - almost every single rep, I went through the 200 at 40-42 seconds which is just way too fast if I'm trying to hit 1:30-1:32. So I ended up slowing down substantially on the home stretch, almost jogging it in. Pat and Crystal left after 11 reps, so I was on my own to finish it out. Hammered through the 3rd set, but the heat started to get to me and really had to work the last set. Legs were tired on the last few reps and was using arms a lot - felt like my body was overheating, but just willed it out. Temperature was still 90 when I was finished (after 9 p.m.), and the humidity was almost overbearing - not the best conditions to do 400 meter repeats, but pretty proud of myself that I stuck with it and nailed the workout. Total mileage: 5 miles - 400 meter splits were: 1:30, 1:30, 1:29, 1:29, 1:28, 1:28, 1:30, 1:27, 1:29, 1:29, 1:30, 1:27, 1:26, 1:25, 1:24, 1:23, 1:23, 1:22, 1:18, 1:16.
Crapped out yet again on the morning workout, but will get in mileage and some drills tonight with Crystal. Tomorrow, some speedwork, then a much deserved offday on Friday! Gearing towards running a 5K next weekend over in Hecker, IL. Billed as a tiki-torch run, this particular 5K is run at night with tiki-torches lighting the way. Should be a fun time!
Saturday, got up pretty darn early for the long run. Met with Crystal, did our customary out and back. Weather was surprisingly not awful, and we got a slightly later start because it wasn't light out yet. Felt somewhat decent, and it was getting warm as the sun came out. Made a couple bathroom pitstops on the run, but didn't affect anything and the small breaks were fine. Somewhere on the trail, looked at my watch to see how far along we were - saw 6.66 on the mileage, which was the 3rd consecutive weekend that had happened, not the greatest omen. Anyways, never really pushed the pace, which was nice. Ran into Pat the last mile and was nice to have a third out there to finish it off. Total mileage: 16 miles - splits were: 9:13, 8:47, 8:33, 8:35, 8:46, 8:34, 8:33, 8:33, 8:33, 8:43, 8:38, 8:34, 8:36, 8:32, 8:14, 9:22.
Sunday morning, woke up a little later and immediately regretted not getting the run in earlier. Was pretty warm and sunny, but had a decent amount of shade so wasn't too unbearable. Did out and back on the trail towards Glen Carbon - felt tired, and my knees were a little sore. Could feel the pace picking up, but tried to control it. Coming back, could feel that we just wanted to get the run over with and jacked the pace up. Both of us were getting tired and didn't want to overwork, so made it a point to slow down/cool down the last mile. Looked down at my watch at some point to see where we were at, and saw the dreaded 6.66 yet again! Probably not the best idea to tinker with an easy/recovery run, but we never pushed it to the point we were out of control. Glad that was over with. Total mileage: 8 miles - splits were: 8:47, 7:52, 8:24, 7:54, 8:01, 7:53, 7:28, 7:56. Hit close to 40 for the week and was disappointed I cheated away some easy miles, but hit some key workouts.
Monday, forgot to pack shoes and clothes for group run, so completely crapped out on that. The weather was pretty atrocious, so waited until really late to get in a run. Felt really lethargic, and it was just thick outside. Got a couple miles into my easy run (not pushing the pace at all), and just didn't feel right. Actually started to dry heave at some point, and decided to lean on the side of caution and cut my easy run short. Drank about a gallon of water, passed out shortly afterwards. Total mileage: 3 miles - total time out was ~25 minutes
Tuesday, waited until really late for my track work. Tried to think of every possible excuse in the book to not do this workout (20X400), but ultimately got myself out the door and on the track. Helped a ton that Pat and Crystal were up there doing their respective workouts. It was just nasty outside, but there was a slight hint of a breeze which helped a little. Completely crapped out on the warmup/cooldown since I wanted to get out of outside as soon as possible, and also didn't jog in between reps like I was supposed to - instead took 45-75 second breaks, and 2-3 minute breaks in between sets (5 reps). The plan was to start at 10K pace, then gradually speed up each set, trying to hit 2-3 seconds faster per set. Blazed through the first couple sets fine, but had a lot of trouble keeping the slower pace - almost every single rep, I went through the 200 at 40-42 seconds which is just way too fast if I'm trying to hit 1:30-1:32. So I ended up slowing down substantially on the home stretch, almost jogging it in. Pat and Crystal left after 11 reps, so I was on my own to finish it out. Hammered through the 3rd set, but the heat started to get to me and really had to work the last set. Legs were tired on the last few reps and was using arms a lot - felt like my body was overheating, but just willed it out. Temperature was still 90 when I was finished (after 9 p.m.), and the humidity was almost overbearing - not the best conditions to do 400 meter repeats, but pretty proud of myself that I stuck with it and nailed the workout. Total mileage: 5 miles - 400 meter splits were: 1:30, 1:30, 1:29, 1:29, 1:28, 1:28, 1:30, 1:27, 1:29, 1:29, 1:30, 1:27, 1:26, 1:25, 1:24, 1:23, 1:23, 1:22, 1:18, 1:16.
Crapped out yet again on the morning workout, but will get in mileage and some drills tonight with Crystal. Tomorrow, some speedwork, then a much deserved offday on Friday! Gearing towards running a 5K next weekend over in Hecker, IL. Billed as a tiki-torch run, this particular 5K is run at night with tiki-torches lighting the way. Should be a fun time!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Hall begins
his Chicago Marathon training officially. Can't wait to see him on 10/10/10 for his quest at a World Marathon Major! Speaking of Chi, the Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon was there this previous weekend - Patrick Rizzo and Tera Moody won their respective titles. And finally, the future of American running - German Fernandez is healthy and ready to tear it up at OSU this upcoming season!
On to my running week - Monday, did easy 50-55 minutes outside late at night. Weather has been a significant factor this week, and has taken a turn for the worse with some bad conditions and major heat advisories, so has been a struggle to schedule in workouts. Felt pretty good - just did a loop around the streets of Glen Carbon. Nothing much to report, sweated a good 5 lbs. away (seriously). Total mileage: ~5.5-6 miles - total time out was 50-55 minutes.
Tuesday, got up to the track pretty late and did my scheduled track workout. Pat and Crystal joined me to do their respective workouts, so was nice to have company. Because of the conditions, I modified my workout slightly and didn't jog in between reps basically because I was having trouble breathing through the heat/humidity. Thought I would place more emphasis on trying to hit my splits and really rest up in between, so walked 200 meters in between reps. So the workout was 7X600 - kind of eased into the first rep, but immediately got into a good groove. The majority of my workout felt surprisingly easy, which was awesome given the conditions. Hit the splits I wanted (around 5K pace), had a little fun on the last one and took off. Cooled down with Pat afterwards. Total mileage: 4 miles - 600 meter splits were: 2:09, 2:05, 2:04, 2:05, 2:06, 2:03, 1:58.
Wednesday, was just killed at work and so was my motivation. Was wanting to get out after work to run, but it was just nasty outside and ended up completely crapping out on my run. Planned on switching off days with Friday. Thursday, ended up working late, was dead when I got home and decided to switch my workout of 2X2 miles at race pace with 2X2 glasses of wine at dinner. Crap, move this to Friday morning. Woke up this morning and was for some reason unbeknownst to me really sore in my left knee. Dragged my sorry carcass outside, where it was absolutely gorgeous and felt a lot more cool than it has been. Because of time constraints, just started the workout immediately and took off. Felt pretty lethargic and had trouble finding the pace, but settled in ok. Ran towards the trail and the hills kind of beat me up, but really pushed through to finish the first set. Felt like garbage, and didn't want to kill myself with tomorrow's long run so improvised the workout and did a fartlek back home (1 minute on, 1 minute off). Not very pleased with myself for that, but I guess it was better than nothing. Total mileage: 4 miles - first (and only) split was 12:07 (6:03, 6:04).
Well it has been a bad running week to say the least, and I hope a solid weekend will round things out. Still will hit close to 40 which isn't bad, but in a sense still easing into this aggressive session so I am not too discouraged yet!
On to my running week - Monday, did easy 50-55 minutes outside late at night. Weather has been a significant factor this week, and has taken a turn for the worse with some bad conditions and major heat advisories, so has been a struggle to schedule in workouts. Felt pretty good - just did a loop around the streets of Glen Carbon. Nothing much to report, sweated a good 5 lbs. away (seriously). Total mileage: ~5.5-6 miles - total time out was 50-55 minutes.
Tuesday, got up to the track pretty late and did my scheduled track workout. Pat and Crystal joined me to do their respective workouts, so was nice to have company. Because of the conditions, I modified my workout slightly and didn't jog in between reps basically because I was having trouble breathing through the heat/humidity. Thought I would place more emphasis on trying to hit my splits and really rest up in between, so walked 200 meters in between reps. So the workout was 7X600 - kind of eased into the first rep, but immediately got into a good groove. The majority of my workout felt surprisingly easy, which was awesome given the conditions. Hit the splits I wanted (around 5K pace), had a little fun on the last one and took off. Cooled down with Pat afterwards. Total mileage: 4 miles - 600 meter splits were: 2:09, 2:05, 2:04, 2:05, 2:06, 2:03, 1:58.
Wednesday, was just killed at work and so was my motivation. Was wanting to get out after work to run, but it was just nasty outside and ended up completely crapping out on my run. Planned on switching off days with Friday. Thursday, ended up working late, was dead when I got home and decided to switch my workout of 2X2 miles at race pace with 2X2 glasses of wine at dinner. Crap, move this to Friday morning. Woke up this morning and was for some reason unbeknownst to me really sore in my left knee. Dragged my sorry carcass outside, where it was absolutely gorgeous and felt a lot more cool than it has been. Because of time constraints, just started the workout immediately and took off. Felt pretty lethargic and had trouble finding the pace, but settled in ok. Ran towards the trail and the hills kind of beat me up, but really pushed through to finish the first set. Felt like garbage, and didn't want to kill myself with tomorrow's long run so improvised the workout and did a fartlek back home (1 minute on, 1 minute off). Not very pleased with myself for that, but I guess it was better than nothing. Total mileage: 4 miles - first (and only) split was 12:07 (6:03, 6:04).
Well it has been a bad running week to say the least, and I hope a solid weekend will round things out. Still will hit close to 40 which isn't bad, but in a sense still easing into this aggressive session so I am not too discouraged yet!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Week 1 Done
Blazed through a solid first week of training. Weekend running was a bit hectic, but got in some solid mileage. So without further adieu...
Saturday morning, woke up bright and early to do long run with Crystal. Was pretty exhausted from the lack of sleep all week/Friday night, and dragged myself to the trail. We delayed the run for 15 minutes to wait for it to get a little lighter outside, because it was so overcast/dark. Started out on the trail, and felt pretty decent. Weather was very overcast and damp from the previous night's rainfall. Usually, I am dying early then get my second wind, but felt good going out. Made our way out to Meridian, and still felt ok. Coming back, had to keep ourselves in check and not get too carried away. Last 2 miles were scheduled at race pace, so tried to ease into it by gradually speeding up with about 3.5 miles to go. Started getting pretty tired with 2 miles left, and kind of had to pull it together. Could tell Crystal wanted to take off the last mile, so kept her reigned in as long as I could. Took off the last half mile or so, was pretty tired when we were done. Total mileage: 14 miles - don't have splits on hand, but averaged 8:14 overall. Started at 9:14, then basically negative split going in. Last 3 were 7:33, 7:14, 6:57.
Went to the new Big River Store in O'Fallon, MO to do the Mizuno foot analysis. The new store is pretty awesome, and a must-see for any O'Fallon/St. Charles runner. We did this last year, and not much had changed from my analysis. Got to try on some shoes, and really liked a few different pairs but sizing is always an issue because of my wide feet. Did a treadmill running analysis at the store - they hook up a slow motion camera to your feet, and you can analyze your stride. Mine is basically all jacked up - I pronate inwards, run with my feet pointed outwards, but at the point of foot strike manage to rotate slightly outwart, thus correcting the motion. Well, no major injuries thus far (knock on wood), but will make some effort to work on pointing my toes more inward to promote a more efficient running stride.
Sunday morning, got out on the trail with Mike and Crystal. We started a little later, and went a different direction on the trail. Mike was sporting his new Mizuno Wave Elixir performance racing shoes, so was eager to get out there. Weather was sunny and warm. Did an out and back, and kept it pretty conservative. Coming back with about 2.5 miles to go, saw a runner dart in front of us. Well, Crystal and I are pretty territorial about having people pass us, so we quickly strategized to catch him. The guy was about 30 seconds ahead of us, so we started an indian run impromptu (indian run is where one runner will lead the pack for 1 minute, then the person in the back catches up and takes the lead for a minute, etc.). Eased into it, but before we knew it were hitting 6:40's pace. Started to make a little ground, and the guy saw us and we could see him straining to pick up the pace. Realized after a mile or so it wasn't going to happen - he was motoring along pretty quickly. And it looked like he did at least 5 miles at this pace, so he earned it. Slowed down, cooled down the last mile and cruised in. Total mileage: 8 miles - no idea the splits, but was somewhere in the 8-8:20 range overall.
So a solid running week (36 miles I think?). Lost 5-10 miles here and there, but got in all my major work which I am pleased about. Heat advisory the first part of this week, so will be hydrating like mad for a while. Easy run tonight, then track work tomorrow!
On a side note, picked up my new kitten (named "Franklin" by the kids, because they found him on "Franklin Street) yesterday, and got to introduce him to his new home. He was pretty scared at first, but eventually relaxed a bit and did quite a bit of exploring. Very cute, and I think he is enjoying his time so far :)
Saturday morning, woke up bright and early to do long run with Crystal. Was pretty exhausted from the lack of sleep all week/Friday night, and dragged myself to the trail. We delayed the run for 15 minutes to wait for it to get a little lighter outside, because it was so overcast/dark. Started out on the trail, and felt pretty decent. Weather was very overcast and damp from the previous night's rainfall. Usually, I am dying early then get my second wind, but felt good going out. Made our way out to Meridian, and still felt ok. Coming back, had to keep ourselves in check and not get too carried away. Last 2 miles were scheduled at race pace, so tried to ease into it by gradually speeding up with about 3.5 miles to go. Started getting pretty tired with 2 miles left, and kind of had to pull it together. Could tell Crystal wanted to take off the last mile, so kept her reigned in as long as I could. Took off the last half mile or so, was pretty tired when we were done. Total mileage: 14 miles - don't have splits on hand, but averaged 8:14 overall. Started at 9:14, then basically negative split going in. Last 3 were 7:33, 7:14, 6:57.
Went to the new Big River Store in O'Fallon, MO to do the Mizuno foot analysis. The new store is pretty awesome, and a must-see for any O'Fallon/St. Charles runner. We did this last year, and not much had changed from my analysis. Got to try on some shoes, and really liked a few different pairs but sizing is always an issue because of my wide feet. Did a treadmill running analysis at the store - they hook up a slow motion camera to your feet, and you can analyze your stride. Mine is basically all jacked up - I pronate inwards, run with my feet pointed outwards, but at the point of foot strike manage to rotate slightly outwart, thus correcting the motion. Well, no major injuries thus far (knock on wood), but will make some effort to work on pointing my toes more inward to promote a more efficient running stride.
Sunday morning, got out on the trail with Mike and Crystal. We started a little later, and went a different direction on the trail. Mike was sporting his new Mizuno Wave Elixir performance racing shoes, so was eager to get out there. Weather was sunny and warm. Did an out and back, and kept it pretty conservative. Coming back with about 2.5 miles to go, saw a runner dart in front of us. Well, Crystal and I are pretty territorial about having people pass us, so we quickly strategized to catch him. The guy was about 30 seconds ahead of us, so we started an indian run impromptu (indian run is where one runner will lead the pack for 1 minute, then the person in the back catches up and takes the lead for a minute, etc.). Eased into it, but before we knew it were hitting 6:40's pace. Started to make a little ground, and the guy saw us and we could see him straining to pick up the pace. Realized after a mile or so it wasn't going to happen - he was motoring along pretty quickly. And it looked like he did at least 5 miles at this pace, so he earned it. Slowed down, cooled down the last mile and cruised in. Total mileage: 8 miles - no idea the splits, but was somewhere in the 8-8:20 range overall.
So a solid running week (36 miles I think?). Lost 5-10 miles here and there, but got in all my major work which I am pleased about. Heat advisory the first part of this week, so will be hydrating like mad for a while. Easy run tonight, then track work tomorrow!
On a side note, picked up my new kitten (named "Franklin" by the kids, because they found him on "Franklin Street) yesterday, and got to introduce him to his new home. He was pretty scared at first, but eventually relaxed a bit and did quite a bit of exploring. Very cute, and I think he is enjoying his time so far :)
Friday, July 30, 2010
New Addition
Andrew Wheating signs with Nike! Not a big surprise - he went to University of Oregon and currently resides there. He ran the 800 for the U.S. in 2008 Beijing Games and is a stud - looking forward to a successful running career from him for years to come. He's had a solid season thus far, and will undoubtedly flourish as he continues to work hard.
Wednesday, crapped out on the early workout plans due to general soreness, and because of some issues didn't get in a run until super late. Because I had tempo on Thursday and really wanted to hit that workout, went really easy and light. Did 2 miles, out and back around town. Pretty humid, but used to it at this point. Felt ok, stretched a ton afterwards and did some corework and light weights.
Thursday, wanted to do my tempo in the morning when it was nice, but completely slept through my alarm because of general lack of sleep. My smoke detector decided to be evil, and started going off every 15 minutes starting at midnight. After laying around for an hour, tried to figure out the problem and basically lost a ton of sleep in the process. So basically dragged @ss all day, then went over to Pat and Crystal's treadmill to try to hit my tempo run. Not a good tempo treadmiller traditionally, but Crystal had sent me good karma by nailing her workout so felt I could do the same. Left hammie was acting up, but felt ok otherwise. Jumped right into the workout sans warmup (no time), probably not the best idea. Felt tired, but eventually got into a groove. Was watching the Jersey Shore marathon (fist pump!) and the fan blowing on me felt nice. I get bored easily on the treadmill, so started to visualize a 4 mile trail tempo run (one I have done many times). Let me tell you, this totally did the trick, as the digital LED screen numbers actually meant something now that I could visualize the course in my head. Miles ticked off pretty fast, then increased the speed on the last mile for fun. 1 mile cooldown afterwards and stretching. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were: 6:27, 6:27, 6:27, 6:19
Was very pleased to get this done on the treadmill without any problems. I feel that was the equivalent of me hitting 6:15-6:20 on the trails (on a cooler day lol), and I felt very much in control. So my first week in forever of 2 solid speedwork has gone pretty well. Slacked a little on mileage, but not very concerned about that. Long run with Crystal tomorrow, then Sunday group recovery run should round out a very successful week!
On a side note, picking up a kitten that Jared and Nicki rescued later this weekend. Going to see if I can handle the responsibility of a pet, then maybe adopt him! Welcome to my home, Franklin!
Soooooooo cute
Wednesday, crapped out on the early workout plans due to general soreness, and because of some issues didn't get in a run until super late. Because I had tempo on Thursday and really wanted to hit that workout, went really easy and light. Did 2 miles, out and back around town. Pretty humid, but used to it at this point. Felt ok, stretched a ton afterwards and did some corework and light weights.
Thursday, wanted to do my tempo in the morning when it was nice, but completely slept through my alarm because of general lack of sleep. My smoke detector decided to be evil, and started going off every 15 minutes starting at midnight. After laying around for an hour, tried to figure out the problem and basically lost a ton of sleep in the process. So basically dragged @ss all day, then went over to Pat and Crystal's treadmill to try to hit my tempo run. Not a good tempo treadmiller traditionally, but Crystal had sent me good karma by nailing her workout so felt I could do the same. Left hammie was acting up, but felt ok otherwise. Jumped right into the workout sans warmup (no time), probably not the best idea. Felt tired, but eventually got into a groove. Was watching the Jersey Shore marathon (fist pump!) and the fan blowing on me felt nice. I get bored easily on the treadmill, so started to visualize a 4 mile trail tempo run (one I have done many times). Let me tell you, this totally did the trick, as the digital LED screen numbers actually meant something now that I could visualize the course in my head. Miles ticked off pretty fast, then increased the speed on the last mile for fun. 1 mile cooldown afterwards and stretching. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were: 6:27, 6:27, 6:27, 6:19
Was very pleased to get this done on the treadmill without any problems. I feel that was the equivalent of me hitting 6:15-6:20 on the trails (on a cooler day lol), and I felt very much in control. So my first week in forever of 2 solid speedwork has gone pretty well. Slacked a little on mileage, but not very concerned about that. Long run with Crystal tomorrow, then Sunday group recovery run should round out a very successful week!
On a side note, picking up a kitten that Jared and Nicki rescued later this weekend. Going to see if I can handle the responsibility of a pet, then maybe adopt him! Welcome to my home, Franklin!
Soooooooo cute
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
