Trot for Tots Race Recap

Turkey Trot participation up this year, Rock N Roll Vegas growth, that's it.

Wednesday, November 23rd - 4 miles. Crystal and I did a late run. Pitch black outside, and Crystal wanted to try out her new head lamp, which made her look like coal miner. As she was adjusting it, I kept making mechanical sounds and calling her a Transformer which I'm sure didn't please her. Anyways, to avoid any traffic, suggested going on the trail since it would be open and we could truly utilize the light. Got onto Old Faithful and wanted to work our way towards Home Depot route, since that trail is paved and pretty flat. So we're running on the trail, and I was commenting on how cool that headlamp was (since it was like a damn spotlight and we could see everything), when the light went out and I heard a huge thump! Crystal tripped over some uneven pavement, and just bit the dust. Fortunately, she wasn't seriously hurt, and we laughed for the rest of the run. But when we got back and took off her gloves and coat, she was a bloody and bruised mess! Regardless, it was truly a "Warrior Princess" moment, and Crystal earned her stripes that night. 32:31 outside, which includes a good minute of non running from her fall and checking on her.

Thursday, November 24th - 5 miles. Happy Thanksgiving! Did my parent's neighborhood loop, then tacked on some more in a closeby neighborhood. Long, rolling hills - not the most fun, but nice to get in especially with dinner coming up. Felt ok, but hills definitely make you work harder. 37:59 total.

Friday, November 25th - 7 miles (1 up, TROT FOR TOTS 2 MILER (10:52 - 5th place (out of ~350)), 1 down, 3 p.m.). Drove over to the Peoria Riverplex with Anne and picked up my number and warmed up around downtown. Windy and cool, and legs felt very tight so spent a good amount of time stretching. Waited inside for a while before we all shuttled out to the start line. I've run downtown before, so had an idea of the course which proved to be correct (uphill first mile, downhill second mile). Found out that the Santa Claus parade took place immediately after this race, so we had spectators galore which is always a nice touch. Talked with a few college runners who were home for the holidays, before lining up and taking off! Those 3 college runners were immediately gone, so came out hard. Got immediately passed by an overzealous runner, so just waited and caught him within a half mile. Another guy zoomed by, and I lost him immediately so was running solo most of the way. First mile, we ran through most of downtown (uphill) and made a few turns before it flattened out. Hit a good first mile split, before making a turn down a pretty big hill. Almost crashed into an idiot woman and her children, who decided to cross the street without looking, so exchanged some unpleasantries with her before taking off. Caught up to one of the parade cars, and got a ton of encouragement from the many spectators and high-fived as many of the children as I could. Turned onto Hamilton St. (same enormous downhill as Steamboat), then shot down that hill hard before turning onto the river trail which is a slow downhill. Could sort of see the finish, so kicked hard and blasted through the finish with no one else in sight behind me. Great time/PR, and was on cloud nine! Jogged back to cooldown, then ran Anne in who ran a huge PR herself (17:10!). Garmin had 1.96, so might have been slightly short but I'm taking it nonetheless. 3 miles solo in the p.m. - legs were tired, but kept it slow for 25 minutes.

Saturday, November 26th - 4 miles. Travel day home, crappy weather, made it out for 4 slow miles. Out and back on the trail, poop. ~36 minutes, I think? Our friends Mick and Anne were in town, so had a long night celebrating Pat's birthday.

Sunday, November 27th - 12 miles. Long run with Crystal on Old Faithful. Cold, breezy, and overcast. Felt tired and wanted to keep it slow, but immediately started out pretty fast and never slowed down. First long run in a long time that felt pretty easy, and the night before certainly didn't help but oh well. 1:37 something - all our miles except one mile coming in was sub 8 minute pace.

43 miles this week - decent mileage, and a great race so I'll take it!

So a month of running with no workouts have passed, and feel pretty good. Had a few good races, and have generally felt decent on a lot of my runs. The Houston workouts start this week, so hoping we didn't lose too much half marathon fitness during this time. But it begins today, so time to get to work!

Thanksgiving Eve

Tera Moody, Haile, NCAA Championships, Brett Gotcher, Jordan Hasay, and Desi.

Monday, November 21st - 7 miles. Big River Monday group run with Matty D, Ryan, and Brad. Didn't feel too particularly good, and struggled when the group picked it up with a couple miles to go to try to catch one of the other runners. Caught up to him at the end, but felt like crap. 51:25 for the total time, definitely negative split this one.

Tuesday, November 22nd - 6 miles. Ran in Forest Park after work on a dark, windy day. Not too many people out there, except the crazies like me. Went pretty slow and felt better. Out there for 50-60 minutes, not sure exactly.

So Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I successfully found a race in Peoria that my sister and I will run on Friday. There are a billion turkey race options in STL, but almost none in Peoria - so frustrating. So hopefully I don't gain 8 lbs. on Thursday night, and hopefully I can put together a nice performance assuming a flat course. Will run at 5K pace as a workout is the plan. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Turkey Day Week

Geb wins! Racing world is pretty quiet, so I got nothing else other than Miss Goucher :)

Monday, November 14th - 7 miles. Big River Monday run with Gabe, Matt, Kyle, and Pat. Nice showing out there for the 7 mile loop, and a chase pack formed behind the others that went out blazing. Eventually, we caught them and picked it up coming in. Legs felt like garbage, and wasn't feeling the best in general but made it through ok. Total time was 50:40.

Tuesday, November 15th - 6 miles. Looped around town late at night solo, and did my Glen Carbon covered bridge route. Lots of traffic, so definitely was running faster to get back home. Felt ok for the most part - weather was ideal fall weather, so helped a lot. Ran for 43:01 (23:01, 22:29 were my splits).

Wednesday, November 16th - 5 miles. Ran around town late at night. Parents were in town, so had dinner with my mom, then ran late. Another nice evening to run - 37:57 total.

Thursday, November 17th - 5 miles. Ran with Pat after work around Boeing. Nice and hilly, and windy outside as well. Found a nice monster hill, that will be a good candidate for future hill workouts. Ran for around 40 minutes.

Friday, November 18th - 0! Travel day to Rockford, then late night trivia. Blah

Saturday, November 19th - 10 miles. This will be named the Survival Run. Big River group run at Forest Park. 20-25 mph winds made this run very difficult. Started with a big group, but whittled down to Crystal and I. Tried to keep it slower, but failed miserably. Last couple miles, we looped back up Dinosaur Hill by the Science Center - running uphill into the wind was just crazy. Negative split hard, but a great workout nonetheless. 1:20:32 overall.

Sunday, November 20th - 10 miles (5 miles a.m., 5 miles p.m.). Trail out and back in the morning - overcast and cool, felt ok going out but kept it slow. At night, wanted to make up for previous mileage I missed, so did the 270 loop and ran to the trail and back. Was flying for the first few miles (sub 21 first 3 miles), but basically jogged the last 2 coming in.

43 miles this week, will take it.

Looking for a Turkey Trot in Peoria for Thanksgiving, but can't find much. Alton 10 Miler is a possibility (pace run), so need to think about what I am going to do since I have some itchy legs and want to bust one out before the hard training begins...

Girls on the Run 5K Recap

Shalane wins!, Kim Smith, prize money issues in San Antonio, Verzbicas and his triathlon calling, funny story about a guy losing his car after the NYC Marathon.

Friday, November 11th - 0! Tried to get a run in the morning with Crystal, but failed miserably. My sister was in town over the weekend, so had to pick her up after work so that added with the morning race = unscheduled rest day. Went to a great restaurant called Farmhaus - highly recommended. Congrats to Crystal for her 2000th mile of 2011!

Saturday, November 12th - 6 miles (1.5 up, GIRLS ON THE RUN 5K (19:20, 8/~4000, 6th male, 1st age group 30-39), 1.5 down). Nice day to run in Forest Park. Got there early to warm up around the course, and stretch. There were a crapload of people participating in the event, so lined up front thinking we had to get ahead of this angry mob. Nice to have a course tour the night before, so great to know the lay of the land (not too bad 1st mile, uber hilly 2nd mile, downhill finish). Game plan was to run a hard first mile, then drop back to tempo pace the rest of the way since the course sucked and just wasn't feeling it. Got out of the blocks ok, and blazed through the first mile. First time in a while that it was feeling easy. Had a girl who was shadowing Crystal's and I's every move, so "tactically" got her off our butts because it was getting pretty annoying. Dropped pace a bit on the 2nd mile - a little too much, as I missed the desired split badly. Crystal was moving ahead, chasing the first female, and I was in my own world with the next runner a good 20 seconds behind me. Last mile, just cruised in - completely thought there was one more major hill but there wasn't so next thing I knew, I was cruising towards the finish. Totally hammed up to the crowd, and finished the race. Fun times, and felt great! Cooled down, picked up our awards (C and I won our age groups, 7th and 8th overall (C was 2nd female)), then headed home. Mile splits were: 6:01, 6:31 (jesus), 6:00. Ate at Bailey's Range at night, located downtown. Great burgers, but the wait time was a little ridiculous. Would still go back though!

Sunday, November 13th - 10 miles. Long run with Crystal and Mike on Old Faithful. 75 and windy, not the best combination. Shirt came off 20 seconds into the run, and the sun was definitely making it warm. Was pretty tired from not much sleep, and not very focused. Took awhile to get into rhythm, but eventually did. Last few miles, was dragging a lot, and we (meaning Crystal - we got strung along for the ride) definitely picked it up trying to catch Megan and Cristina on the trail, who were running ahead of us. Soooo hot, legs felt like poop and glad to get that over with. 1:20:44 overall (41:38, 39:06 were our 5 mile splits). 41 miles this week - not bad.

That might have been my last race of the year, but a lot of fun nonetheless and some pretty cool bling. Another week of basic mileage, but may throw in an impromptu workout in there if my legs are feeling good.

Happy Friday!

Verzbicas leaving Oregon to train for the triathlon!, Lisa Koll, Kebede finished 3rd in NYC with minor training, and some awesome NYC blogs.

Thursday, November 10th - 6 miles. Ran in Forest Park with Pat, Crystal, and Megan, and looped around for the course tour for tomorrow's race. Cold weather, but perfect for running. The course is pretty hilly, and there will be no time goals tomorrow other than survival. The second mile has a few steep hills, but has a fast finish coming in to the end, so the game plan is to save a little bit of energy, then unleash whatever kick I have left. Sub 19 would be awesome, but really no pressure other than get in a good workout.

Crapped out this morning on the early run - supposed to run mile 2000 with Crystal (Congrats to her!), but just couldn't get out of bed and slept through my alarm. Need to get in a few miles tonight, race tomorrow, then long run Sunday. Happy Weekend, everybody!

History Stands

History Stands, Olympic trials to be telecast (super cool!), rumor that Verzbicas is leaving Oregon, Shalane, and Lauren Fleshman part 2.

Obviously, the Paula Radcliffe marathon record is a very important milestone in running. Pacers or not, she still had to hit the time. London 2003 was one of the greatest performances ever in the sport - one that should be celebrated, not scrutinized. Bravo to the IAAF for reversing their decision!

Wednesday, November 9th - 7 miles. Forest Park run with the Big River Group. Started out with Crystal, Tim, Gibbs, Craig, Ryan, and Hillary. Ran the FP Loop starting at the Visitor's Center. Kind of chilly at first, which got us out fast, but we settled into pace. Fun with the group, and Gibbs took us on a detour which added a little extra length. Ran a little more to even out the mileage (you're welcome, Crystal), but felt pretty good all in all. Long stretching afterwards, then Timmy and I hit up Cicero's for dinner and a bucket of 312! 57:49 total, felt really good.

My new stretching program has me feeling pretty good and fresh, and I no longer feel like a crippled old man every morning. Although we haven't had too many killer workouts lately as well, so enjoying the easier mileage and perfect weather. Group run in Forest Park again tonight, and the weather looks perfect again!

More NYC

Evolution of a fast marathon, how did the celebrities fare in NYC?, Marathon Majors winners, Mutai the best?, Patrick Makau, Lauren Fleshman, and the lovely Miss Kara Goucher and her marathon tips.

Monday, November 7th - 6 miles. Francis Park loop with Timmy. Started from his house, and ran to the park and did loops. Tim was having some stomach issues, so dropped out a couple miles into it so I finished solo. Ran with a group of people for a little bit, but took off and kept a decent pace. Felt pretty tired, but more from a hard weekend of running. Ran for 50 minutes.

Tuesday, November 8th - 6 miles. Forest Park loop with Cristina. With the time change, not as many runners out there anymore. Ran pretty conservative, and reversed the usual route which seemed to make it go by faster. Felt ok, long stretching afterwards to loosen up. Abs are still screaming with soreness from Sunday's workout, so deferring corework to Wednesday night. 57:51 total.

Tonight, going to do FP with Crystal. Enjoying the fall running, as the weather is absolutely perfect outside :)

NYC, Lung Cancer Connection 5K Race Recap

Geoffrey Mutai - NYC Marathon Champ, Meb PR's, Americans from NYC talk, Sara Hall wins, Lauren Fleshman, Shalane to Rock and Roll in San Antonio, and James Kwambai wins in Seoul.

What an amazing NYC Marathon this year! Women's race was pretty crazy with Mary Keitany going for broke, but ultimately fading at the end. The men's race was not too surprising, but showed that Mutai's performance in Boston was legit. NYC's course is a beast, and he took it to a level that was not ever dreamt of. Very strange that NYC's course record is now faster than the much flatter Chicago's, but I foresee that changing in the next few years as the assault towards a sub 2 hour marathon seems a lot more feasible now more than ever. Geoffrey Mutai has established himself as the man to beat (assuming Kenya picks him for their Olympic team), and will be a force to be reckoned with for many more marathons to come.

Friday, November 5th - ~3 miles. Ran after work - was stuck in traffic forever due to a major accident on I-270, but was anxious to shake out the legs a little since I hadn't felt all that great lately. Definitely did the trick and felt pretty relaxed afterwards. Ran for 20 or so minutes easy.

Saturday, November 6th - 7 miles (1 up, LUNG CANCER CONNECTION 5K (1st place!), 1 down, 2 miles). Saw this race via a flier hung up at work, so decided to run since one of my colleagues has lung cancer and it was definitely for a great cause. Crazy morning, and crazy race. Woke up early and drove to Creve Couer Park to get my race number and warm up. Only there wasn't anyone there except for a clueless volunteer who had no idea where anything was, what direction we were running, and most likely he wouldn't have known his own name had I asked. Right before I was about to start warming up, he comes running towards me and tells me the race is on the other side of the park. Crap. So I hightail it to the location, where there were several hundred people already there engaging in the festivities. Make it in time to get my race shirt and number, run back to my car to change (parked a good half mile away since I had gotten there late), ran back and met up with some friends for a few minutes. The race was not organized very well, so when I saw the cluster of runners walking towards the start (not marked), I ran over really quick to line up front. Asked the starter where our turn around was - he said just follow the signs, then immediately started the race. Thanks buddy. One other guy came shooting from the blocks, and was seriously sprinting like it was nobody's business. I thought he was gone, but a half mile out I was already reeling him in (he was turning around every 10 seconds to check on me, so figured he was already tiring), so just waited and tried to settle into pace without losing him. At the halfway point, he blazed through the turn around cone, and I shouted for him to turn around (should have just let him go lol), and me being a good sportsman, waited for him to catch up and ran with him for awhile. Felt ok at this point, then started to strategize where I would lay the hammer down. At the 2nd mile marker, picked it up and never looked back. Definitely gapped a bit, then was settling in for victory when suddenly I noticed the upcoming trail had about 20 ft. of water that was a good 6 inches deep coming up. So I was going to wrong way, and didn't know what to do! Ran through the water, ran into some muddy field and came to a stop trying to figure out where the hell I was. Saw the parking lot, so started running through there, then saw the trail a bit ahead and started running for that. Seriously stared to panic, because I thought I was going to lose because of the idiot race director who didn't mark the turns correctly. Eventually made it back despite my long detour around the course, and crossed the finish line amazingly still in first place. Had a "nice chat" with the race director about not marking the course (seriously????), went to cool down and change, then went to hang out with friends and coworkers afterwards. Cool for my coworkers to see me win, and poignant to win for Chuck (see picture above) who is my coworker/friend that is battling lung cancer. Definitely the strangest win I have ever had, but a win nonetheless. Got home, ran 20 minutes more, but stopped because my right foot was killing me (probably from running through the "adventure course" trying to get back onto the actual course, which was uneven as it gets). 5K official time is unknown, but definitely wrong since I ran a good extra quarter mile, but I am going by my Garmin splits which were pretty accurate on the course (hit all the mile markers dead on) - 18:44 (5:50, 6:10, 6:08). Lots of R&R on Saturday, but had a mini celebration at night with dinner at a nice restaurant in Central West End called Salt, then a few cocktails at various places in the area.

Sunday, November 7th - 10 miles. Glad for the extra hour of sleep with the time change, and wasn't feeling too hot from the night before. Crystal dragged me out nice and early for our scheduled long run. Not the best weather - windy, overcast, and cool, but warmed up during the run. I overdressed, so was a bit uncomfortable later in the run. Felt like garbage and my foot was still hurting, but eventually snapped out of it and my foot felt better on the second half. Out and back on Old Faithful, but hit a pretty nasty headwind by Casey's which made Crystal and I laugh at how ridiculous it was outside. Pretty exhausted by the time we finished, but we kept it nice and slow thankfully. Ran into Pat on the way in - so squeezed in a mile or so before finishing. Ran for 1:27:27, laid on the couch the rest of the day, then did a good 20-30 minutes of stretching and corework at night which has caused some unwelcome soreness all over my body today. NYC Marathon afterwards - awesome race, and so happy to watch. Really want to run there again someday. Big congrats to my buddy Gabe who ran 3:02!!!

40 miles this week, I'll take it.

So trying to make a concerted effort to work on flexibility and corework for this block, and nutrition and rest as well. Happy about the race for the most part, but still don't have very good strength which is something to work on. Nothing crazy this week, but did sign up for the Girls on the Run 5K in Forest Park this Saturday, which will make for a good speed work session.

Happy Birthday Crystal!

NYC favorite Mary Keitany, Ritz, Deena, NYC preview, great story about a runner and some divine intervention, and Kenya will pick their Olympic marathoners after Sunday.

Thursday, November 3rd - 4 miles. Got home from work on a nasty, rainy, windy evening and busted out a quick 4. Out and back on the trails - legs felt ok, but needed to get this in because of dinner plans with Pat and Crystal. Afterwards, went to Global Brew and Tap to celebrate Crystal's birthday. Happy Birthday Crystal!!!

Racing tomorrow. I have a small run I want to get in after work, then relax for tomorrow's race. Would like to run something strong, as this will probably be my best attempt at a 2011 best 5K time so we shall see. I know the course pretty well, and it's flat so I'll give it a go. At the very worst, a good opportunity for speedwork. NYC is this Sunday - best of luck to the runners, and a special shoutout to my buddy Gabe who is shooting for an aggressive time. GOOD LUCK RUNNERS!!!!!!!

3 more days!

Kim Smith, NYC nostalgia, Mary Wittenberg, Sam Chelanga joining OT Elite, NYC Marathon over 2 days?, Jen Rhines, Bobby Curtis, dropping pacers hasn't hurt the NYC Marathon, more Kim Smith, and the evolution of the marathon.

Tuesday, November 1st - 6 miles. Nice and easy in Forest Park with Timmy and Cristina. Lots of people out on a nice, fall day. Sadly, probably our last run with much daylight with the time change this weekend. 58:22 total.

Wednesday, November 2nd - 6 miles + drills. Team Sullentrup reunion, as Mike joined us again. Finally had a run that felt ok, and I got yelled at a few times for pushing the pace. Part of it on the trail, the rest in the neighborhood as we did 4-5 loops around. Drove to the track to do drills afterwards. Total time: 50:35 (negative split every mile, I believe).

Running a 5K this weekend in Creve Couer park with some coworkers. Not much time expectations, but would like to run well as I know the park and it's pretty flat.

NYC this weekend!

Meb's preparation, NYC elites, where to watch the marathon this weekend, Deena wins in LA, 2:03:42 for Wilson Kipsang, Kenyan Olympic debacle, bad weather in NYC.

Tuesday, October 25th - 6 miles. Ran Forest Park loop very slow. Amazing how dark it is getting after 6 p.m. Legs felt like poop - ran for 56-57 minutes.

Wednesday, October 26th - 0! Rain + couch's strong gravitational pull = no run.

Thursday, October 27th - 4 miles. Ran with Pat and Crystal on the trail, then around the neighborhood. Definitely tired, ugh. I think we ran for 33:21.

Friday, October 28th - 1 mile. 1/2 day at work, then slept for a while. Went to Game 7 with Timmy, which killed my evening and any hopes of running. But I left my bag at Papa Johns, and had to run back there which was a good mile so I'm counting that.

Saturday, October 29th - 0! Slept forever, then Halloween party at night.

Sunday, October 30th - 0! Rams game bright and early, then got home in the late afternoon. Was too exhausted to do anything. Very sad.

15 glorious miles this week, and at least 5 lbs. gained. God bless the off-week!

Monday, October 31st - ~4 miles. Big River Halloween costume group run. Fun times, but tough trying to run around Francis Park in my Batman mask. Awesome to be running with the devil, Mario (from Super Mario Brothers), Joe Dirt, the Riddler, Mr. and Mrs. Kara Goucher, and the pregnant Chi Marathon runner. Nice day to run, drills at DuBourgh afterwards, which were painful. Ran 4.2 miles in 35:16. Congrats to Pat for winning the Big River Costume Contest - he was dressed up as a gigantic beer bottle lol

139.5 miles for October. 1707 for 2011. Can't screw around too much, or I'll miss 2000 this year.

Back to a new block. Trying really hard to work on corework, good nutrition, and a lot of rest. Hoping I can pull through this time around, and give it a good go for Houston in a couple months.