Race for a Child 5K Recap

Great articles today - Top 10 reasons to own Brooks racing flats, controversy at the World's (Bolt's DQ), is Rupp fast enough to medal in London?, Ryan Hall and his new training (also running Virginia Beach this weekend), Mo Farah and a thrilling World Championship 10K final, Bekele pulls out of the Worlds, Symmonds advances to the 800 meter finals, more Bolt, and a Japanese running tribute to Steve Jobs LOL.

Saturday, August 27 - 8 miles: 2 up, RACE FOR A CHILD 5K (18:52 - 8th overall), 3 down. Ridiculously sunny and a little warm morning - headed to Soulard to go run a 5K for the heck of it, but more importantly a test to see where my level of fitness was at. Not too much expectations after a hard week and tired legs, but felt pretty strongly I was back to sub 19 5K shape after Thursday's hard workout. Top 5 male and females got cash prizes, and there were some cool attendance prizes like a 32" LCD TV. Got there early with Pat, Crystal, Megan (late addition to our group per Crystal's cajoling) to register, then warmed up on the first couple miles of the course. Many turns, very hilly, legs felt very tired and not good. C led us out in 7:59, 7:52, so felt a little better as to why I felt tired. Saw O'Connor and Gabe, and did drills and stretching before the race start. 5 minutes before, totally remembered that I forgot my inhaler so sped back to the car to get a few puffs. Shot of adrenaline, and was ready to go! First mile, ran with Crystal and Gabe and cruised through the many turns around Soulard. Felt pretty good surprisingly, and was holding on ok. Caught a nice long hill on the 2nd mile, and cruised down it as a gap opened up between Crystal, Gabe, and I. Was 5th male at this point, with a guy roughly 5-10 seconds behind. Hit the 2nd mile with a great split, and was feeling ok before we started up a long slow hill which didn't seem to end. More turns, headed towards the Brewery, and I made it a point to surge hard on these turns to try to lose the guy chasing me. Halfway through the 2nd mile, had opened up a considerable gap and realized I was closing in on Gabe. Started working towards him, but was running out of time and my legs were pretty shot from the uphill last mile. Cruised on in - a little aggravated that I didn't break 18:50, but just nitpicking at this point. 1 mile cooldown solo, then 2 miles with Gabe. 5K splits were: 6:07 (my split was called at 5:56, so my Garmin was off a little - updated firmware FINALLY at night), 5:59, 6:23 (straight uphill). Very happy with this race, definitely showing some progress in training. Crystal and I were both pretty thrilled at hitting good times with dead legs and hot and hilly conditions, so celebrated at Pi afterwards with Pat and Megan :) Big River Dominance at this race - O'Connor won overall and set a course record, Gabe 3rd male, me 4th (and $35 prize!), Crystal 3rd overall female (6th place overall in 18:35), and Megan won the t.v.! Welcome back to the sub 19 minute 5K club, me!

Sunday, August 28 - 14 miles (1:49:59). Forest Park run with Pat, Crystal, Mike, Megan, and I. Gorgeous morning for a run (60's and sunny, not humid), and had a decent showing of people out there. Had talked about doing arch run, but the group was doing the Clayton loop so tacked on some extra and joined the others. Harry joined Mike, C, and I and we looped around the park before running through Clayton. Hilly, and legs felt tired at first but never got any worse. Kept yelling to slow down, but no one listened and we just cruised through the run. Last 9 miles, definitely got faster and faster but felt exactly the same. Intended 9 minute/mile pace run became 7:51 minute/mile. Forgot how hilly STL could be, but definitely happy with this run. Splits were: 7:58, 8:01, 7:55, 8:10, 8:03, 8:05, 7:52, 7:53, 7:47, 7:42, 7:38, 7:40, 7:47, 7:27. 51 miles this week - great week!

Easier week this week with travel week (D.C. for Shane's wedding). Will do a workout tomorrow night to make up for last Tuesday, but cruising with easy mileage the rest of the time. Definitely going to enjoy it!

Tempo Thursdays

100 Days of Real Food blog (wicked cool), World Championships start tonight with the Women's Marathon!, Bolt wants to be a legend (he isn't already?), start lists for Daegu, women's 10K preview, a day in the life of Meb, and see the video above on Ryan Hall pre-Boston.

Thursday, August 25 - 6 miles (1 up, 3 mile tempo, 1 mile easy, 1 mile tempo). Important workout for me in my mind to see where I was at speedwise and to help with confidence. Met up with Pat and Crystal at the Village Circle Loop pretty late at night on a pretty nice evening. A little still for my tastes, but the temps were pretty nice. Quick warmup, dynamic stretching, then laid out strategy for the workout (3 mile tempo, 3 minutes rest, 2 miles tempo, 2 minutes rest, 1 mile tempo). Crystal wanted to hit 6:20-6:29 range pace; I was thinking more 6:25's, and secretly hoping to hit 6:15's. Started the workout, and my Garmin battery died 0.18 miles into the tempo. Dropped a few f bombs, then decided it was best to sit on Crystal and hope for the best since I had no watch and didn't want to fall too far behind. Fast first mile, but felt really good and kept going. Fast second mile, but felt really good and kept going. Last mile, had to work a little harder, but found out we killed the last mile so was pretty happy. I deviated from the workout (wanted to save a little for Saturday's 5K), ran a mile, then caught up with Crystal to hit the 2nd part of her 2 mile (much harder effort), and the first part of her hard mile so I could get to my car since I was running uber late for dinner plans. Paced her through the second half of her mile in my car, which was much more fun than running. Pretty happy with this workout, and Crystal absolutely annihilated her end as well. Props to Pat for hitting his tempo. 3 mile splits: 6:15, 6:12, 6:05. 1 mile split: 5:50. Crystal hit 5:49 before that, then 5:41 for her mile - ridiculous.

Friday, August 26 - 4 miles. Bright and early for recovery run with Crystal on Old Faithful. Recovery run, but we ended up speeding up naturally. Analyzed the heck out of yesterday night's workout, then talked small strategy on tomorrow's race. Ran through 3 disgusting spider webs, and still picking out web remains from my hair as we speak. 35:43 total (2 mile splits - 18:09, 17:34 (including complete stoppage for running face first into a huge spider web))

Legs are tired but feel ok. Hoping I have some juice for tomorrow's race, and praying for cooler weather for tomorrow morning!

Mother Nature is a hooker

Kara running at the World Championships despite injury, Martin Lel is back, Ryan Hall and the extra 1%, Hanson's Mike Morgan talking about the upcoming World Championships, David Rudisha, Asafa Powell all talk, and great 5K workouts from prominent high school coaches around the U.S.

Monday, August 22 - 6 miles and drills. Big River group run with Pat, Crystal, Stacy, Tim, and I. Did Francis Park loop, then headed to the track for drill work. 34:19 with Crystal, then finished Megan and Lara's track work to round out around 6. 8:15 pace for most of it - pace felt easy, but legs didn't respond very well.

Tuesday, August 23 - 3 miles. Track work was scheduled, but couldn't get up in the morning. Ended up treadmilling quarter mile repeats at 5:52 min/mile pace, and it wasn't very easy. Fantasy football draft with Tim killed my evening, but it was a scorcher out there. Kudos to Pat and Crystal for braving it out in that slop and hitting respective great workouts.

Wednesday, August 24 - 10 miles: 6 miles a.m. treadmill, 4 miles p.m. trail. A small heat wave has moved back to the Lou, so opted for treadmill and air conditioning. Amazing how awesome the cool air feels and having ESPN to watch. Started at 7:30 pace with all intention of slowing down, but felt so easy. Flew by this workout and some long stretching to try to activate my hop flexors which have felt jammed for a little while now. 45 minutes, 7:30's all the way. P.M. - jumped in on Pat's 3 mile run (also with C), and did the trail towards Marine and back for the first time in forever. Very humid outside, and got attacked by a swarm of these grasshopper/butterfly hybrid looking creatures. C and I looped around the neighborhood to finish out the run. 36:12 for the 4 miles, felt pretty good albeit a little tired.

Well crapped out on the a.m. tempo, so planning to get that in at some point today. Off-week next week, so will try to work the track workout in that day before heading to D.C. for Shane's wedding. Possible 5K this weekend - praying for cooler weather!!!

Is it Fall yet?

Mo Farah, Liliya for a Chicago 3-peat, Asafa Powell gunning for Usain, and RIP to John Kelley - 1957 Boston Marathon winner. Also, a cool training tip video on stretching from Big River Running's Ben Rosario and Julie Bokermann.

Wednesday, August 17 - 0! Got home late, missed the run. Going to switch with Friday off-day.

Thursday, August 18 - 8 miles (3x2 miles tempo, 3 down). Late night at work, managed to coordinate this workout with Crystal. 2 mile repeats at tempo, 2 minute break in between. Not a fun one, and a pretty warm and humid evening for it. Crystal's tempo repeats are at 6:15/mile pace, so I figured I was good for 6:20-6:25 to be safe (still developing strength at this point). We started out together, but she quickly got ahead and I was content lagging back slightly thinking we were on pace. Felt really good the first mile, but was definitely getting tired on the second mile and tried to keep it honest. Pretty tired, and the 2 minute break felt like 2 seconds. 2nd rep, just pain and tiredness. Fell way behind Crystal and was struggling all the way through the first mile. Got a quarter mile into the 2nd when I dropped off. This workout was going to be done without a break. Jogged/walked back to the rest point, then jogged back to catch Crystal and run her in. Last rep - made it a mental point to try to hit 1/2 marathon pace (6:30/mile) and call it a day. Felt much more relaxed, and zipped through the first mile. Had tired legs, but enough to make it through no problem and was very pleased with the final split. At this point, had gotten very dark and I had taken off my glasses due to the sweat (sooo humid), so at some point made a wrong turn and ended up on some street I had never been on before. I finished my rep then realized I had no idea where I was! And I am blind, so even worse. To make a long story short, jogged in circles for about 20 minutes before finding someone to give me directions. Found Crystal (who was off looking for me), then jogged 1 mile cooldown. Didn't hit the workout 100%, but pretty happy nonetheless. Splits were: 12:25 (6:08, 6:17), 6:27 (eek!), 12:31 (6:16, 6:15).

Friday, August 19 - 6 miles. Worked from home today - ran out and lunchtime with Pat and Crystal to get in a quick run. Uber sunny outside, hot and humid. Legs were pretty beat from the hard workout, and kept this one pretty conservative on the G.C. trails. Legs were officially toast on the turnaround, so had to work to get back home. Ugh. 50:07 total time, probably a little quicker than I would have liked.

Saturday, August 20 - 4 miles. Didn't have enough time to get in the 8 miles I wanted because of busy day, but managed to get out for a quick run. Out and back on the trails, sunny and hot but kept it slow.

Sunday, August 21 - 10 miles (1 up, 8 mile 1/2 marathon pace, 1 down). Big River Group Run at Grant's Trail. Early morning over in South County, and was pretty muggy at the start so knew this would be rough. First time on Grant's Trail - very nice path that is pancake flat and shaded. Crystal and I's goal pace for this run was 6:29/mile, which I thought was going to be very challenging. To make a long story short, started out pretty quick, and struggled the rest of the way. Quick water stop at the 2nd mile, mile splits were all over the place and didn't feel too hot. Coming back in, hit a few long patches that were exposed to the sun, so was dying in those areas. Another water break, traffic light stop, and kicked my butt making it back. Ugh, not the best run, and definitely worked for it. 8 miles - 52:45. Time was ok - I'll take it, but wish it wasn't that hard. Hammerstone's for brunch afterwards, then a much deserved nap! 40 miles this week - eh.

Another toughy this week - thinking about Race for a Child 5K this weekend, which will be nice to see where I am speedwise.

Back to the grind...

Stretches in the pool, Shalane interview Part 1, Shalane interview Part 2, "winning is contagious" claims Mo Farah, Falmouth recap, and the much anticipated return of Kenenisa Bekele at the World Championships.

Friday, August 12 - 4 miles treadmill. Travel day for me to Chi, so squeezed in a quickie during lunch. 35 minutes I think?

Saturday, August 13 - 0! Got in uber late on Friday night, stayed up till 4 a.m. or so having a few adult beverages and catching up with the sister. Late start to the day, missed a Lakeshore opportunity so was kicking myself.

Sunday, August 14 - 4 miles. Lakeshore , my favorite place to run. Enough said. Nice group run with Ben, Megan, and I on a pretty windy day. Headed north with a strong tailwind - on the way back, was pelted by sand and ended up detouring through the park and zoo. Fun to get out, felt pretty good albeit we were going really slow. 36:38 total time I think?

32 miles this week - not very good, but had some solid workouts so not too mad at myself considering travel weekend.

Monday, August 15 - 6 miles and drills. First run with Crystal in what seemed to be an eternity. Nice evening to run, typical track work and drills. Felt pretty good for the most part - a little concerning that 8:20 pace feels like I'm going fast, which means I'm doing my easy runs too slow. 49:35 total time, picked up the last mile a bit for fun.

Tuesday, August 16 - 6 miles? (1 up, 3 x (2 min on, 2 min off, 1 min on, 1 min off, 30 sec on, 30 sec off), 2 down). Nice group to the track (Pat, Crystal, Megan, Lara, Tim and I), as we ran with a bunch of people and the middle school football team practicing on the field. Legs felt like poo, so opted to do C's workout instead of the grueling 1200's (plus some hard workouts scheduled later this week and need some juice for the legs). Easy warmup with Tim, hit the workout pretty easily. Didn't feel too bad, and spent the majority of time chasing Crystal as she took off like a moped. Last set - started to have some massive GI issues, which are never fun. Paces for the hard portion of the fartlek were 5:30-5:50 range, so happy. Ended up leaving the track to go to the bathroom, easy 2 mile cooldown around the neighborhood with Tim to finish the workout.

Legs feel like garbage today, as does my body probably from allergies which have been severely acting up as of late. Easy tonight, Thursday 3X2 miles at tempo will be rough.

Who's the man?

This guy. Lolo - pay special attention here. I think could be an amazing match (just sayin')...

U.S. World Championships roster in South Korea, and Jordan Hasay. Lots to catch up on my running world, so let's just get to it.

Wednesday, August 3 - 0! Impromptu day off, quite honestly don't remember why but will make it up.

Thursday, August 4 - 6 easy. Felt like complete crap. Now I remember why I took Wed off is because Timmy and I went out at night. Hit the easy mileage, went straight to bed.

Friday, August 5 - 10 miles (5K 19:38, 3 min rest, 6:03 mile, 2 easy, 4 easy). Crapped out in the a.m. to meet Crystal, so ended up breaking up this crazy workout. Heat was a huge factor (again), so opted for the cooler indoors. Didn't have enough time to hit the actual workout (2x2 miles tempo, 1 hour easy, 3 miles tempo), but improvised and did what I could. Did speed on the treadmill (new treadmill at my buddy's place!), hard effort but felt really good. The 5K split was definitely a confidence booster, as I had a decent amount in the tank. The mile hard, I definitely worked for. Came back in the p.m. to hit an easy 4 to get me to 10 for the day.

Saturday, August 6 - 10 miles (1:25-1:26). Watching Pat and Crystal's cat while they are out of town, so took the opportunity to get in some easy treadmill miles since it was beyond ridiculous outside. Started watching Lord of the Rings: Two Towers and Unnecessary Roughness on t.v., lost track of time and next thing you know I had blown past the intended 6 miles. Finished at 10, easy effort and felt good.

Sunday, August 7 - 15 miles. Early group run at my place with Mike, Candace, Devin, and I. Broke the run into 2 parts so we could refill on water and gatorade. Another hot and humid morning. Intended on doing 8 and 8, but was feeling good and extended the first portion to 10 miles keeping 8:30's pace. Did Troy route out and back (impetus being we could handle the open roads earlier than later when the sun would be a factor). Felt pretty good until the 9th mile or so, when the legs started to feel weird. Got back in for a refill and quick breather, then headed back out. Took a different, hillier route to the trail towards G.C., and pretty much crapped out on the group 2 miles into it. Jogged half a mile, then started back because I was done. They caught up to me, ran it in with them. Legs had nothing in the tank, just another horrible death on the trails. Not sure the overall time, but 8:30 pace overall. Talked with Candace and Mike afterwards - they suspect I might have iron deficiency? Not sure why I have crapped out the last couple long runs - I have trained in awful heat before, so this isn't anything different. Hoping it was just fatigue from the high mileage weekend...

53 miles this week! Very pleased.

Monday, August 8 - 3 miles. Late night run (270 loop), actually cooled down a little bit so was nice to get out. Plan was 6 miles and drills. Couldn't feel my legs by the end of the 1st mile, and considered walking by the 2nd. Wasn't going very fast, but was just dead. Called it a night and went right to bed.

Tuesday, August 9 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMMY!!! - 5 miles (1 up, 3X1200, 1 down). Got together a nice group to the track (Timmy, me, Megan, Lara) to do our respective workouts. Plan was to do 4x4 minutes at 5:46-5:52/mile pace, but was so close to the end of the lap that I just finished it out. Legs still felt like wet noodles, but pushed through. Small breaks in between reps, really a nice evening to run. Been nice to have hardly any humidity this week (thus far). Blazed through the last rep, very pleased with this workout even though I was pretty tired. Splits were: 4:21, 4:19, 4:19, 4:13.

Wednesday, August 10 - 6 miles (1:00:08?). Absolutely gorgeous outside, and successfully recruited Tim to get in a few miles. He biked over, then we started late but was high 60's/low 70's at that point. Ran through town, but traffic was a mess and detoured through the backroads heading towards Edwardsville. More traffic back there, was definitely hugging the shoulders the entire way. Legs felt like garbage, and Tim had a sore hammy so we kept it very slow and enjoyed a nice run on the nicest evening this summer thus far.

Thursday, August 11 - 10 miles total. 6 miles a.m. Had to talk myself into doing this workout (was considering pushing to Friday because I still felt like poop). 5 mile tempo at 6:30-6:35 pace. Big indicator workout (see where I am at), and a decent mileage tempo which really hasn't happened much this summer. Legs felt like garbage, and struggled out of the gate but found my rhythm after the first mile. Played a ton of mind games coming back in, and coasted through the second half. Picked it up slightly on the last mile for fun, felt pretty decent for the most part and very thrilled at the end since I hit the workout despite not having my best day. Annnd, had some in the tank, so thinking my fitness level is definitely improving! 1 mile cooldown (needed to get to work), need to get in a few more this evening. Splits were: 6:45 (oops), 6:31, 6:30, 6:31, 6:24. 4 miles p.m. Tim came over, and we did out and back on the trail pretty slow. Felt pretty good at the end, but legs definitely felt like wet noodles.

Headed to Chi this weekend. Not sure I am going to get in a long run, but would love to get in some basic mileage tomorrow and a couple easy runs on my favorite running trail!!!

Bix 7 Recap

More suffering heat in the Midwest, but have worked hard despite Mother Nature's efforts to derail all. Ran the Bix 7 this last weekend for the first (and probably not last) time, and had a great time hitting up one of the biggest road races in the nation! More Bix recap, Geoffrey Mutai continues to dominate, Emmanuel Mutai to run in England, Meb signs with Sketchers (had no idea they had a running line), Bolt, Adam Goucher, and his lovely wife.

And finally Lolo, if you read this blog, I have a friend for you that I want to hook you up with. Solid runner, smart, funny, handsome, and perfect for you. He has houses all over the nation, so we'll make sure to get Baton Rouge on the rotation :)

Lots of work travel, and Bix weekend but kept up with some good running despite the awful conditions. Here we go...

Wednesday, July 27 - 6 miles p.m. (50:32) Cleaning and packing before my trip, did this one really late on a nasty humid late night. Did G.C. road loop but ran a slight variation down a hilly road I hadn't done before. Pushed it coming home, felt like crap quite honestly. Splits were definitely more aggressive then I intended, but it was late and wanted to get home. Splits were: 7:52, 7:22, 7:30, 7:28, 7:31, 7:04.

Thursday, July 28 - 6 miles treadmill. Made it to Rockford, IL for work. Hopped on the Hampton Inn treadmill in hopes to get in a few miles before dinner. Had a few engage me in a treadmill pace competition, which made the monotonous running a lot more fun. Broke 3 people overall, while watching Man vs. Food on the television (perfect motivation!). Last guy kept picking up the pace, but I made it a point to pick it up twice as much as he did. I broke him when I started texting my sister while running, and literally threw in the towel at 2.73 miles of his run lol. Fun times, felt a lot better running inside in controlled conditions. Splits were: 7:53, 7:53, 7:30, 7:30, 7:30, 6:46.

Friday, July 29 - 2 miles. Made it to Bettendorf, IL for work and Bix. Met up with my buddy Ryan, and did an easy 2 miles (well more like 1.6) on the roads. Hot and humid like everywhere else, made it a point to run pretty slow. Felt ok, but breathing was definitely an issue with the thick air.

Saturday, July 30 - 10 miles - BIX 7 - 7 miles - 50:59. Made it downtown bright and early for the 37th running of the Quad Cities Bix 7! Weatherman predicted "hot and miserable for the runners", and he wasn't kidding. Just nasty hot and humid and sunny outside, and knew it was going to be a rough going. Walked to the start with 18,000 other runners and squeezed into the back of my corral. Tried to work my way closer up front, but pretty much couldn't and sweated away a few lbs. waiting for the start gun. Bix is a pretty hill course - you start on Brady street, and run up a HUGE hill (9 degree grade) to start the race, before weaving through a hilly neighborhood and coming back. Really reminded me of the Newton Hills of Boston - same type of scenary and tough hills. Anyways, the plan was to go out in 6:20-6:30's and see how long I could hold on, but knew it would be tough with the weather. Had many problems trying to work my way through the massive crowds, and after a 7:56 first mile I knew my competitive race was already over. Really aggravated at some of the people in my corral who clearly had no business being in there, and consequently made it much more difficult for the serious runners. Picked it up on the 2nd mile, but hit a nasty hill on the 3rd mile and just cut back on the pace and into survival mode. - legs were just done and I felt like garbage. Got hip checked into the water station volunteers who broke my fall. Battled through the next few miles which was all rolling hills, then a long steady uphill grade for a while, and hit the huge downhill on Brady street. Saw I could probably break 51 with a fast last mile, so took off. Turnover felt great, flew down the hill but very cautiously as the grade was ridiculous and I had just clipped a runner at the top of the hill (sorry!) and a wipe out would have been pretty bad. Kicked to make my mini-goal - pretty awesome finish with a big crowd. Cooldown, soaked in the misters while waiting for Ryan and Megan to finish. Really fun race and great support all around - just wish it wasn't so damn hot but it is the Midwest in July. Splits were: 7:56, 6:57, 7:30, 7:28, 7:27, 5:58. Fun night in Davenport - they had an estimated 60-100K extra people with the race and some big bike ride across Iowa finishing that day, so lots of people out and about.

Sunday, July 31 - 7 miles (56:02). Back to the Lou - intended on long run, but came back late to some miserable heat and was pretty tired from driving home. Crystal had us over for dinner and Entourage, so after a long nap jumped onto their treadmill and nailed some good mileage. Wanted to get 6, but felt good and ended up picking up the pace steadily and squeezed in an extra mile. So much more easier running in a cool basement and having a fan blow cold air on you while watching the Hangover. Started at 8:30's, ended up at 7:30 pace.

43 miles for the week (woo-hoo!), 149 for July (eek!), 1191 for 2011. Fallen off pace, need to pick it up.

Monday, August 1 - 6 miles and drills. Evening run with Crystal - had taken a week sabbatical from drills, and definitely could feel it halfway through. Legs felt tired and definitely rubbery on the way back, but picked it up pretty naturally. Ironic that our total time was 50:59, which was my Bix finishing time.

Tuesday, August 2 - 6 miles (8x800 at half marathon pace). Because of the 100+ degree temperatures, Crystal's 5k time trial was cancelled and she was given a new workout to do, which I also jumped in to as well. Nasty humid evening, had a nice group out with Pat, Crystal, Tim, Megan and I. Quick warmup, jumped into the repeat. Goal pace was to hit 3:14's for the splits (much easier than the 2:40's we had been hitting), and felt really good for the first half of the reps. Did 200 meter jog in between, and traded off the inner lane. Took a water break 4 reps into it, then started it back up. Started to feel a little queasy after starting back up, and tailed off after the 5th rep to take a 2 minute rest in between reps instead of the jog. Finished the rest of the set, then jumped on Megan's last rep. Cooled down with the group, happy to hit the workout especially in awful conditions. Felt very controlled, but legs were pretty rubbery towards the end. Splits were: 3:11, 3:10, 3:09, 3:10, 3:09, 3:06, 3:06, 3:06.

Easy run today - methinks I will find a treadmill to give my body a rest from this heat, rather than sweat it out. Not holding up as well during this heat, but definitely getting in some good outdoor mileage despite it all...