It's Friday!

New Nike technology, more with Nike and the Olympics, Meb, Ritz, Sam Adams is partnering with the Boston Marathon (where can I get this beer???), Liliya running in Chi again, Wesley Korir, Haile's last chance to qualify for London, one more Haile article, and the unlikely friendship of Mo Farah and Galen Rupp.

Monday, February 20th - 4.5 miles. Monday group run - back was still hurting, so opted out of the 7 mile loop + drills and did the smaller loop with Pat and Tim. W-I-N-D-Y!!! Went with the group to Southtown Pub for dinner for some delicious BBQ!

Tuesday, February 21st - 7 miles (2 up, reverse ladder (1600, 1200, 800, 400), 2.5 down). Successfully dragged Mike to the track for this workout, and Crystal did her miles and drills to accompany us. Quick warmup on the roads, then decided on this workout. Wanted to get progressively faster as the rep lengths got lesser, which we accomplished. Felt pretty good for the most part - felt a little tired at the end, but successful. Slow cooldown to finish off, then long stretching at home. Splits were: 1600 - 5:52, 1200 - 4:23, 800 - 2:46, 400 - 1:15.

Wednesday, February 22nd - 7 miles. Ran with Megan and Tim at Forest Park after work. Legs were tired (back was better but still a little sore), so ended up pacing Megan through her run. Joey B's for post run dinner - great Lenten menu for Ash Wednesday, and I was STUFFED from fish and pasta! 1:10:48 overall

Thursday, February 23rd - 8 miles (2 up, 4 mile tempo, 2 down). The dreaded tempo run. Perfect night to run (60's and cool), so eventually dragged myself outside to get this workout in. Concerned that my legs were a little tired, but back felt better so I was ready to roll. Ran around the neighborhood for a slow warmup, before jumping into the workout. Started out quick, but settled in. My mind was the biggest obstacle, as I wasn't really focused and it was pushing my body to quit which was annoying. Ended up doing 3+ loops of Village Circle, which was fine but loop courses suck for tempos in my opinion - I get too caught up thinking about how many laps are left, and how tired I am, blah blah blah. Anyhoo, nailed the workout, but came up with an observation that I surge a lot within the miles - I'll start out hard at parts, relax too much, then surge again. I noticed this on the last mile, but maybe because I was tired. Regardless, need to continue to keep building strength and get stronger. Tempo time was 24:51 (6:09, 6:14, 6:15, 6:13). Corework and stretching post cooldown.

Tonight, easy mileage, hillwork on Saturday, then long run on Sunday. A bunch of us are volunteering at the Castlewood Cup (15K trail race), so looking forward to seeing a lot of friends run and giving back to the running community!

Karate Kid/John Kreese Theme

Altitude running, Hanson's Distance Project, and Ritz.

For some reason, I was thinking about the Karate Kid this morning, and realized that John Kreese's dialogue in the movie has a lot of parallels with my weekend running. So here we go:

Thursday, February 16th - 8 miles (2 up, 2x2 mile, 2 down). Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it?!?! Dreaded tempo work on a perfect evening (40's, breezy). Dragged Mike out to suffer with me, since he had 800 meter repeats. Quick warmup on the roads, quick stretching, then right into the workout. Wanted to hit around 6:00 min/mile, but realistically was hoping 6:10's. Mike wanted to hit 3:10's for his 800's, but decided to pace me through. Anyways, felt ok on the first rep with a great split, but definitely was scared of the second rep and had already written myself off as not being able to finish it. 5 minute break, then jumped into it. Well, my worst fears were written off, as I actually felt pretty good on the 2nd rep (tired legs but to be expected), and hit the split. Slow cooldown on the track afterwards. Big thanks to Mike for seeing me through to the end, and I couldn't have hit it without him. 2 mile splits were: 11:55 (6:00, 5:55), 11:58 (Garmin said 5:53, 5:55 which was off, more like 5:58, 6:00 I am thinking).

Friday, February 17th - 8 miles. Defeat does not exist in this dojo, does it?!?! Legs felt like wet noodles, and contemplated defeat by skipping this run, but ultimately got out there with Crystal after work. Was dragging major butt starting out, but eventually got going towards the turnaround. Did Home Depot route out and back - thanks to the creepy hooded guy that climbed down onto the trail from one of the bridges, that consequently scared Crystal into speeding up. I don't remember the splits, but we started in high 8's and finished in low 8's.

Saturday, February 18th - 8 miles (2.5 up, 10 x hill, TRUFFLE SHUFFLE 4 MILER). Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it?!?! Early morning to St. Charles to run the Big River Running Truffle Shuffle - Crystal and I weren't racing competitively, so decided to get in our hill workout beforehand. Jogged the last mile of the course and back (scout it out for the others), then found a good hill closeby the start/finish of the race, then settled into do the workout. Legs were still awful, and I am not going to lie when I said I was hurting on the warmup. Hilly course + dead legs = not fun. Anyways, hit the hills at mile pace (2-3 miunte rest in between reps), then went to change and meet up with Megan, who I was running with. The course had changed from last year, and was now a big rectangular loop with some nasty hills on the last couple miles. Had a lot of fun running this race, and was happy to help Meg PR by a minute and a half! Congrats to Pat, Timmy, and Mattie (and Crystal too) for their respective PR's, and a great post race celebration complete with Bailey's and hot chocolate! Ran over to Ferguson Brewing Company for lunch afterwards, then stopped by Soulard Mardi Gras to survey the fun/damage.

Sunday, February 19th - 10.5 miles. We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Long run with Crystal, which was not very fun. Tweaked my back a bit, so wasn't feeling too great. Decided on Old Faithful/Home Depot loop, so started out ok but had to chase down Crystal (she had gotten a bit ahead) which was a little tiring. Then we hit the Meridian Hill, which got progressively more painful as we went further along. Finally we reached the top, where I had to stop and stretch out for a few minutes before starting again. Crystal showed no mercy to me, as we proceeded to negative split the miles coming in, which really sucked, but quite honestly just wanted it to be over. I think we ran 1:25 something total. Afterwards, lots of stretching - lower back felt like it was locked in the joint, which was causing some major pain. 50 miles this week, 119 for February, 284.5 for 2012.

Back is a bit of a mess today, so I'm hobbling around a bit. Easy mileage today and drills, then we'll see how I feel tomorrow before jumping onto the track and destroying myself.

Everyday I'm Shuffling...

Ricky Flynn and his great race in Houston, Blake and Bolt, World Marathon record holder Patrick Makau, and a great article about the evolution of the marathon.

Monday, February 13th - 4 miles. Had a nice snow storm during the day/night, and skipped group run to get home as quickly as possible. Met up with Pat and Crystal to run on the trail - snow was coming down pretty hard, and the wind made it difficult to see. Trails were covered pretty good, so tried to stay near the trees to avoid as much of the pelting snow as possible. Glad I got in a snow run this year, but a little frustrating to run also. 36:35 overall/

Tuesday, February 14th - 5.5 miles (2 up, 10x400 meters, 1 down). Happy Valentine's Day! Decided to spend some good quality time at my 2nd home, the track. Quick warmup made me discover there were some black ice splotches here and there, so had to be extra careful hitting these repeats. Well, shortened the stride as well, and made it a little more difficult. Halfway through, decided to try the roads (since I had some traction problems on a few spots), and did a few reps out there. Traffic and the hills made it absolutely brutal, so jumped back on the track for the final 2 reps. Really had to push to hit the splits. Supposed to have 3 minutes rest in between reps, but was impatient and wanted to get home so did more around the 2 minute range. Cut my cooldown in half, because I was pretty exhausted. Overall pleased with the workout, but it was definitely work. Splits were: 1:17, 1:17, 1:17, 1:15, 1:15, 1:18, 1:15, 1:16, 1:16, 1:15.

Wednesday, February 15th - 6 miles. Ran this one late at night with Megan. Legs were pretty much garbage, so wanted to keep easy. Got here through 3 miles hard, then slowed it down. Last mile, I took off a little bit. Ran on the trail (towards Troy), then looped around Village Circle and the neighborhood to finish it out. 58:00 on the dot.

Back to the track today for some tempo work. Running the Truffle Shuffle race for fun on Saturday, then long run on Sunday!

USA XC Championships Recap

Centro, Rupp's new record, Shalane and Kara, Kiplagat is fast, USA XC, the photo finish in the race (see above), and an interview with the champion, Sara Hall.

Lots to catch up on, so here we go:

Saturday, February 4th - 8 miles. Ran with Pat on a overcast and drizzly afternoon. Original plans were to do some xc work, but the heavy rain all night and morning was going to make the course unrunnable, so opted for mileage. Felt pretty good out there. Don't have the overall time, but splits were all around low 9's/high 8's.

Sunday, February 5th - 8 miles. Ran with Crystal - perfect conditions to run. Felt pretty good out there, but legs were a little tired. Home Depot route, which flew by. 66 something overall, I believe. 47 miles this week, 31 miles in February, 196.5 miles for 2012.

Monday, February 6th - 4 miles. Ran easy at home pretty late. Parents were in town, and spent all night cleaning but managed to sneak out late to do this. Don't remember time, but was pretty exhausted. 270 loop plus a little extra - sloooow.

Tuesday, February 7th - 6 miles. Forest Park run with Timmy after work. Misty conditions, and my legs felt like complete garbage. Just really tired, and felt like I could barely lift my feet up. Tim was awesome - had already run his 6 miles, and joined me for another loop. Stomach was in complete knots, so was a painful run on top of my dead legs.

Wednesday, February 8th - 0! Fell asleep into a deep coma after work, and just couldn't get myself out the door. Really disappointing, but the rest wasn't a bad thing.

Thursday, February 9th - 8 miles - ran with Candace at Forest Park. We were both running the USA National Cross Country championships on Sat., and wanted to preview the course. Pretty chilly night - jogged to the Central Fields from the visitors center, then tried to figure out where the course was. It had flags and posts to mark the trails, but had difficulty following them with the chilly conditions and darkness. Anyways, ran a few loops before Ben saw us and told us we were going the wrong way. Ran one more loop the "right way", then did a few more around FP before calling it a day. Course was in good condition - they had been working on it with all the rain, and there were a few muddy spots but very tolerable. Hilly as always, but that's Forest Park.

Friday, February 10th - 0! Immediately after work, went to a sports panel discussion at SLU High School to listen to Ryan Hall and Desi Davila speak! Lots of fun - they had a big pasta dinner sponsored by Onesto's Pizza, and we had a nice group there to listen to the speakers. Ryan Hall was really funny - told a few hilarious stories, and had some interesting insights on running. Got to meet both briefly, and got some autographs. Very cool when Hall asked me about Boston (wore my Boston 1/2 zip), and funny when Crystal called him out on the "supposed tailwinds" from 2011 Boston. She will hear that one for awhile.

Saturday, February 11th - 10 miles (USA XC CHAMPIONSHIPS 4K - 15:49, 40th place). Coldest day of the year by far - 16 degrees, 20 mile per hour winds, and just FREEZING. Drove out to FP early, and parked at the Visitor's Center since the bastards were trying to charge me for parking. Warmed up the course, and ran a little more just to get some feeling in my feet since I literally couldn't feel them. My race was pretty early - went ok, but just rough conditions to run with the cold and the wind. First quarter mile or so, you run in a flat open field before turning around and looping around the perimeter of the park, which is moderately hilly - you come back up a huge hill, then back onto the flat portion before looping back around. Anyways, started out pretty quick, but literally had the winds taken out of my sails because of the wind. Nasal passages were completely clogged, and felt like I was having an asthma attack (very reminiscent of 2010 Fast and Flurryous XC race) so slowed down a little to catch my breath. Eventually got it back, but was hurting from the wind and cold. Had a few footing issues on the back stretch, but then hit the 2nd loop and really had it in cruise control where I was working but not killing myself. Couldn't really get myself to go into the next gear, which was disappointing, but what can you do? Time was ok, nothing great, but got in a nice workout at the very least. Afterwards, cooled down, ran back to my car to change and bundle up, then proceeded to watch the next 6 races running all over Forest Park and hiding in the warm tents when I could. Ran into Desi in the Big River section and hung out with her for a bit (super cool!), then Pat and I ran into Ryan Hall out on the course, who was cheering his wife. Talked with him for a few minutes, and got a picture with him. Watched Crystal run the women's race - very proud of her performance, and she represented STL very well! Watched a thrilling ending to the women's race, then cooled down with Crystal before watching the end of the men's race. Ran a few more miles looking for my car since I forgot where I parked. All in all, a very fun day, and can't wait till next year when the USA XC Championships are back!!!

Sunday, February 12th - 10 miles. Ran with Pat (and Crystal and Candace - well sort of) on a cool afternoon on Old Faithful. The plan was an easy run, but Pat and I knew that wasn't going to happen with the Killer C's, so hung back and formed our own "chase pack". Anyways, felt pretty good out there, and helped pace Pat to a solid run. Ran back on the trails to catch Megan at the end of her long run, and ran her in. 7 mile time (with Pat) was 1:01:24, I think. 38 miles this week, 69 miles in February, 234.5 miles in 2012.

So had a really fun week with some decent running. With that said, all focus is now on gaining speed and strength for my aggressive March racing schedule.

Coming down the stretch in the USA XC Champs

Crystal tearing it up on the first loop

Desi and I

Hall and I

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle

Watch out Meb!, Desi, Hall, Hall's coach, Ritz, and how I am going to get my 6-pack back.

Fell way behind on blogging, so lots to catch up on so bear with me and my short-term memory!

Friday, January 27th - 4 miles. Ran late at night after a wonderful dinner at Farmhaus with Megan (paid for by my mad fantasy football skills). If you ever have a chance to try some amazing food, check it out. Served almost like tapas and very fresh, organic food (try the "breakfast"!). Anyways, getting back on the subject, ran the 270 loop and tacked on a little extra. Don't remember time. Felt a little sluggish.

Saturday, January 28th - 5 miles (1 up, 3x1 mile, 1 down). Went to SIUE Mud Mountain course to get in some XC work for the USA National Cross Country Championships in a couple weeks. Obviously not much time to prepare, but wanted to get my legs reacquainted to xc running. Too lazy to get up early to run the Forest Park course with the group, so figured that Mud Mountain (very tough and hilly) would suffice. Basically ran the 5K course with 3 minute breaks in between reps. The course was a muddy mess, with a ton of debris everywhere. Had to stop a couple times because of fallen limbs, and a rotweiller who jumped all over me at the end of my 2nd rep (why the dog wasn't on a leash is beyond me). Other than that, the workout really sucked. Forgot how goddamn hilly Mud Mountain was. Hard to get any grip on the terrain since it was so slippery, and I was taking any downhills and corners very cautiously for fear of completely wiping out. Effort felt a lot harder than it should have, but it was pretty slow conditions. Splits were: 6:22, 6:39 (dog gets credit for messed up split), 6:21.

Sunday, January 29th - 11 miles. Ran with Crystal in the morning. Home Depot to Meridian to Old Faithful, good weather, tired legs. Supposed to be 90 minutes, but we had picked the pace up and didn't let up. Finished out the last mile since we have about a quarter mile left to round it out, and felt pretty good. 92ish minutes, overall - negative split fo shizzle. 37.5 miles this week, 133.5 miles for January, 133.5 miles for 2012.

Monday, January 30th - 8 miles + drills. Ran the Big River group run 7 mile loop with Crystal, Justin, and a few others. Branched off to get some drills in, then a nice group dinner at the Mack postrun. Felt ok, but tired overall. 1:06:27 overall...

Tuesday, January 31st - 8 miles. Ran after work with Crystal on the trail. Her headlamp is starting to pay off. Nothing special here - felt pretty good and in control. Legs were tired starting out, but felt progressively better as we kept going. Hit the last mile hard. 1:06 something overall. 149.5 miles for January - not too great, but not bad considering how much time I took off.

Wednesday, February 1st - 5 miles (3x(2x200, 1x400), 2 down). Major traffic jam on I-270 East going home caused me to be uber late for my track workout with Crystal. Got to the track, then immediately jumped into a fast 400 meter repeat which we went out too hard, so had a hard time trying to get in sync with the pace (mile effort: ~5:05). Effort felt really hard, and it's clear I don't have much turnover nor strength. But the lack of warmup probably hurt too. Couldn't keep up with Crystal, so tucked in behind her and worked off her - much, much better. Slow cooldown afterwards felt awesome. Splits were: 36,37, 1:16, 35, 37, 1:14, 35, 36, 1:15.

Thursday, February 2nd - 6 miles. Got Mike to come out for this. Felt like poop. Did Village Circle Loop, then 270 Loop to finish it out. Just felt like I was pushing it most of the way. Talked nonstop sports, which always makes time fly by. 50:56 total.

Friday, February 3rd - 4 miles + strides. Early morning with Crystal, first one of the year. Not a happy camper getting up at 5:40 a.m. (assist to Franklin for kneading his paws into my shoulder and stomach for attention), and begrudgingly drove to the track in pitch black. Both of us forgot our Garmins, so ran 2 mile loop nearby, then 2 miles on the track. Strides afterwards (6 total on the straightaway) - focused on form mainly. Felt like poop overall, but glad this was over with. 34:40 overall for the run.

Some XC work tomorrow, then long run Sunday (Happy Super Bowl!). Hoping the rain stays away, and the weather stays exactly as it has in the 60's...