Ohhhhh, sometimes I get a good feeling...

Meb and hitting the wall, running doesn't suck, Top 10 travel marathons, Bernard Legat, Ritz is moving on, how will the U.S. marathon team do in London?, Mo and Paula training in Kenya, more on that, interval workouts and rest times, Paula running a half in Vienna, Ryan Hall, Abdi, Hendrick Ramaala qualifies for his 5th Olympics, and Ethiopia dominance in Dubai.

Thursday, January 19th - 4 miles. I can't remember this. I do remember getting yelled at by Coach Crystal about taking some time off to recharge, plus more importantly getting healthy again.

Friday, January 20th - 0! Time for a break

Saturday, January 21st - 0! Break continues

Sunday, January 22nd - 0! I can get used to this. 16 glorious miles this week, 96 miles in January, 96 for 2012.

Monday, January 23rd - 4.5 miles. Group run with Crystal and Tim. Ran a couple laps around Francis Park, then headed back in. Felt pretty good out there, and I was probably pushing the pace more than I'd care to admit, but it felt good to be out there. Back felt better but still tender on the lower right side. 34:21 total time.

Tuesday, January 24th - 6 miles (1 up, 8x400 meters, 3 down). Ran with Tim over at DuBourgh. Target to hit around 5K pace (1:25-1:27 lap pace), and it felt much better than the 1:17-1:20's we were hitting before. Legs felt generally good, but I could tell that I need to build on strength since they were getting tired the last 100 meters or so. 1 minute in between reps, 3 minutes in between sets. Had some major stomach issues, so ended up calling it a day early. Got a little lost running back in, which was fine but was worn out at the end. Battling a cold/sore throat, so energy level was low. Splits were: 1:26, 1:23, 1:25, 1:25, 1:24, 1:25, 1:26, 1:24.

Wednesday, January 25th - 0! Rain + 30 degree temps = no run. Not the end of the world since I still felt like poop, so went to bed early instead.

Thursday, January 26th - 7 miles. Got home a little early, so decided to try to hit the Troy route on the trails since there was still some daylight. Well, miscalculated a bit, and it was pretty dark once I turned around. Then it started to rain. So running in the dark with foggy/wet glasses in the rain and into the wind = sucks. Not surprisingly, booked it home with all these awful conditions. Good part of this run was running with an mp3 player - got a good signal to FM 107.7 (ohhh sometimes, I get a good feeling!!!), and was listening to a great mix they were playing. Bad part - in my dancing/running, started too fast, then really had to hightail it the last few miles to get home. Dead legs coming in, and 0 energy. Crawled into the shower, I was so tired. 48:20 total; splits were: 7:15, 7:13, 7:04, 6:52; 6:45, 6:37, 6:33. And yes, I will inevitably be yelled at, but was just in a good mood and should have checked my watch to regulate.

Signed up for a few more races - USA Cross Country Championships in a couple weeks (open 4K), and Crystal, Mike, Gabe, and I signed up for the GO! St. Louis Marathon relay! Should be a fun time, and works in perfectly in my schedule to hit a good 6 mile tempo. Going to run at SIUE this week to get in a little XC work, then easy long run on Sunday.