Friday, August 9th – 0! Is this a surprise? By the time I was able to even consider
running, it was already over 100 degrees.
Opted for a Dos Equis, and headed back to the craps tables. Vegas
Saturday, August 10th – 5 miles. Tim and I made it up and did a loop around
Vegas! We have said for the last three Vegas
trips that we were gonna run at some point, and we finally did! Of course we pick a 100+ degree day, but what can you do? Ran around our hotel (Planet Hollywood), and
tried to avoid the Strip because there was just too many people, so found a road
running parallel that followed the Monorail which ran in the direction of the Strip.
Turned left, and headed away from the Strip (towards the Hard Rock
Hotel/Casino) and made our way eventually onto UNLV’s campus (~2 miles away) which we looped around before
heading back. 0 shade and super hot, but
the dry heat was much better than the humidity we encounter in the
Midwest. Fun run, scenic, and glad to
get in some miles.
Sunday, August 11th – 11 miles. Last day in Vegas – had a lot of problems
sleeping that night, and woke up and decided to get this run over with. Already in the 90’s when I started in the
morning, and ran the same route as the previous day before continuing
onwards. The roads twisted and took me
through the city, and I headed out towards the Stratosphere on a basic road before turning
around. The area was getting pretty
sketchy, as I continued to see more prostitutes and I’m fairly certain I saw a
drug deal go down so I headed back before I got shot by some junkie. Needless to say, those miles during that
stretch were the fastest! Soaked in the
cold shower for a loooong time, and was very, very happy to get in some
semblance of a long run. Was supposed to
get in 15 miles, but with 11 miles on the last morning of a long Vegas weekend
is the equivalent of 20 miles. 45 miles this week, 79.5 miles in August, 1479.5 miles in 2013.
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| Chillin at Diablo's |
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| Boom! |
August 12th – August 17th – 40
miles. I don’t remember all the details
other than the mileage I logged. My
workout was 6 miles at tempo, which I did solo at night on the trails. Ran Troy to Old Faithful, and basically ran
all the way down to almost the Judy Inn.
It was getting pretty dark, so was nice to have that “adrenaline” to
work through any tired feelings I had.
Felt pretty controlled initially, but I settled into 6:32-6:33’s in the
middle miles which is a little unsettling because I want to be about 5 seconds
faster. The last mile and a quarter were
really tough, but pushed through that wall.
Very happy with the workout.
38:59 for the 6 mile tempo.
Sunday, August 18th – 15 miles. Death run with Crystal and Jon. Crystal and I were both feeling like crap,
and made it out there starting around 5 p.m. or so. Nasty humidity and sun – we did Old Faithful
to Home Depot for 12, then Jon and I doubled back to get in a few extra. I knew this was going to be a really bad run
when the low 8’s early felt like low 7’s, and the pace kept slowing down more and
more until we settled in the mid 8 minute/mile range. The plan was to hit a fast finish for the
last 3, but I don’t think I could have broken 8 minutes let alone run 6:30’s,
so just finished the mileage instead. It
was quite a brutal run, but got done which was the main thing. 55 miles this week, 134.5 miles in August, 1534.5 miles in 2013.
Monday, August 19th – 6 miles. A.M. run solo around town. I don’t remember much, but ran Home Depot
route on the trail out and back. 50
minutes or so total, then headed into work to work a half day. Picked up Sean and Mayumi who are in town
visiting for the first half of this week!
Walked around a ton downtown, then went up the Arch which I haven’t done
in quite a long time. I forgot how
cramped those pods get and with my wonderful fear of heights, I doubt I do this
again for a long time.
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| My STL Tourist Moment in the Arch |
Tuesday, August 20th – 6 miles. Ran with Sean on the trails at home. Troy route on a hot, muggy morning. Averaged 8:30’s overall. Headed to the Zoo for the afternoon, went to
Forest Park and the Cathedral Basilica.
Pretty pooped when I got home – amazing how much walking you can do when
sight-seeing!
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| Sea Lion Tunnel at the STL Zoo - very cool and a must see! |
Wednesday, August 21st – 11 miles. Actually made it up bright and early for a
track workout before it got too hot.
Megan made it out there too, and we warmed up before I jumped into my 10
x 800 (2:50-2:55 goal time, 200 meter jog in between reps) workout. A little humid outside, and got warmer as the
morning went on. Took a couple reps to
wake up/shake off the rust, but got in a good rhythm before really having to
push at the end. I found that I had no
problem hitting my opening quarters, but was difficult to maintain the speed
towards the end which makes me worry a little about my strength. But then again, I haven’t really done much
speed stuff this block so nothing to worry about for the meantime. Splits were: 2:57, 2:57, 2:54, 2:53, 2:54,
2:53, 2:52, 2:48, 2:57, 2:54.
Afterwards, headed out to the Pere Marquette trail to do a nice hike. Very cool to do, as I hadn’t been back since
the infamous Pere Marquette Trail Race last December. The hike made me not want to run there again
– some of the hills were pretty brutal!
Hiked an additional 7 miles, so made for quite a long day of activity.
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| Hiking in Pere Marquette |
Thursday, August 22nd – 6 miles. Ran solo at home – 270 to Old Faithful route
on a very sunny, hot, and humid morning.
Added on 2 more miles slow around the neighborhood, and definitely was
hurting a bit towards the end. Legs were
pretty beat up with this recovery run, and was feeling every step of
Wednesday’s activities. Somewhere in the
50-60 minute range total. Had PI Pizza
for lunch (big mistake), and flew to Chicago at night for an impromptu weekend
of fun!
Friday, August 23rd – 16 miles. The dreaded long run, but felt this would be
easiest to get out of the way since Anne and Ben were both working, and I had
the time to knock it out. Slept in a
little bit, and finally got out around 8:45 a.m. which was a HUGE mistake. It was ridiculously sunny and almost 80
already. Headed north on Lakeshore, and
ran to the end of the path before heading back.
Stopped at the Fullerton water fountains at mile 10, then proceeded
south towards Navy Pier but turned around slightly before because the sun was
just that brutal and wanted to run away from it. Was getting very tired towards the end, and
made a few water fountain stops to soak my body and hydrate. Very, very, very glad to have this long run
over with and although I exactly hit my time goals, I figure the direct sun and
heat was worth roughly 5-10 seconds/mile so I’m pleased. 2:08 total.
Saturday, August 24th – 8 miles. Ran with Megan on her long run in
Lakeshore. Made the mistake of sleeping
in a bit (again) and starting this run at 9 a.m., so it was already really hot
and sunny by the time we started. Ran 4
out going south, and turned south of Navy Pier before turning back. There were TONS of people out and about, and
we were constantly dodging people from Castaways to Navy Pier (roughly 2
miles). Megan almost had a monumental
meltdown, but we made it through. Ate
dinner at Takashi’s restaurant in Bucktown – upscale but laid back Japanese
cuisine, and quite tasty!
Sunday, August 25th – 7 miles. Fartlek on Lakeshore on another sunny
day. I switched this workout with the
long run, and was glad to only have 7 miles instead of 16. Headed north on Lakeshore and ran for roughly
3 miles before finding a nice, shaded, soft path near a small park close to
Montrose. Workout was 12 x (20 seconds
hard, 1 minute easy), and had no issues hitting the workout. Notable moments of this run included trying
to shake the girl who was working off me during my warm up (which ended up
inadvertent fast finish to my freaking warmup), and the bum who was sleeping on
the bench in the park as I kept running past him in both directions. Cooldown coming back was slow, and the sun
was brutal. Glad this was over. Sad to leave Chicago, but I’ll be back soon
enough. 60 miles this week, 194.5 miles for August, 1594.5 miles for 2013. 31 miles in Chicago,
which may be an alltime high for me! (not counting marathon weekends). Great week of running!
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| I ran till the end! |
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| 16 miles on Lakeshore on a hot, sunny day |
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| Is this heaven, or is this Lakeshore? |
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| Spoils of war at Orange! |
Monday, August 26th – 6 miles. Ran in the evening with Crystal. Humid outside, but we jumped on the trail
towards Troy and did some miles before it got too dark. Finished off with 2 miles in the
neighborhood, and pretty much hit the negative split. Very pleased with the run – was pretty tired,
but we were rolling low 7’s by the end with little discomfort. 46:45 total (24:05/22:40 splits). I was a little worried about this run –
coming back from Chicago, my knees were sore and my right ankle felt like it
could have been sprained, but most of those ailments were gone for this run.
Tuesday, August 27th – 4 miles. BLAZING hot after work, and this was the only
time I could do any running since I crapped out waking up in the morning (you
notice any reoccurring themes here???).
Hot, sunny, and humid – mid 90’s if not higher. I don’t know how slow it was, but I was
crawling. Annual fantasy football draft
with Timmy at the 5th Quarter in Collinsville. Another successful outing!
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| A typical picture on my way home from work |
Wednesday, August 28th – 0! Fantasy draft at Gibbs' place. Couldn’t get up early, and just crapped out
since I got home almost at midnight.
Bah. Workout postponed.
Thursday, August 29th - 7 miles. I don't remember this - did sometime at night.
Friday, August 30th - 10 miles. Mile repeats on the treadmill because of the evil heat. Easy warm up before jumping right into it. The home gym I worked out in had very little air flow, and it was getting very, very warm almost immediately. Put the dreadmill at 10.3 mph setting with 1 degree incline and plugged away until this was done. It was so hot at the end that I did my cooldown outside, which felt cooler than the inside if that's possible. I thought the conversion for my pacing would be 5:46 min/mile pace, but everything I am reading says 5:53 pace so I guess that was my end result. I don't understand the math involved (shouldn't 10 mph be 6 min/mile? thus 0.3 mph should be more than 7 seconds per mile!!!!), but the workout got complete within the desired range (5:45-5:55). Very, very tired at the end, as these workouts on the treadmill are very challenging. 227.5 miles in August. Pretty solid considering all the travel.
Saturday, September 1st - 6 miles.
Sunday, September 2nd - 16 miles. This was a trainwreck run done late afternoon, and I did not even come close to hitting the desired pace. Out and back towards Troy, and just plain evil. Was not happy to do this, and very glad to have done. 49 miles this week, 22 miles in September, 1643.5 miles in 2013.
September 3rd-7th - 30 miles. I don't remember much during last week - I just have mileage written down. Actually, just checked my phone and have unraveled a few details. Tuesday, did Forest Park loop in 44 minutes on a gorgeous day after work. Outside the History Museum, they are doing some music festival on Tuesday nights, so it was packed with people! Started out conservative, but really pushed it with the Skinker Hill and sustained pace. Wednesday, I did 7 miles in 53:39 (7:54, 7:52, 7:42, 7:48, 7:45, 7:18, 7:18). Troy route and some change for the mileage. Warm evening, but got in a good groove at the end. That's all I remember for now.
Saturday, September 8th - 16 miles. 5 a.m. start at Forest Park for the Arch Loop, then a little extra in Forest Park. Ran with Tim, and boy did I feel like crap. It was already a little sticky outside, and navigated our way down Lindell into downtown. Ran the Arch Grounds loop then headed back. My lack of dinner the night before and lack of breakfast in the morning absolutely killed me, and I was bonking out towards the 7th-8th mile. We hit almost every water stop coming in, and ran into a ton of runners running the I Love Forest Park 5K which helped inspire us to finish. 2:30 total, and felt like I was doing marathon pace effort. Horrible run, but got done which I guess has to count for something. Loufest (2 day music festival in Forest park) in the afternoon/evening which was great, and ended it with a great Wilco show! Standing all day was brutal though, as my lower back/legs were killing me by the end.
Sunday, September 9th - 4 miles. Woke up early to some rain, and decided to knock this one out early. Felt like crap from the Loufest concert the day before, which I was on my feet all day after a 16 mile run. My lower back was killing me, and I hobbled through most of this run. On a brighter note, football is back!!! 50 miles this week, 72 miles in September, 1693.5 miles in 2013. Mileage is dropping, diet is suffering (I think I ate fast food 6 times over the weekend :( ), and I feel like crap all the time. Need to get my act together this last month!!!
Monday, September 10th - 0! Bad way to start the week. Missed early wake up call, then got home late after work. Ate a late dinner, then popped my head outside. It was still disgusting, and I was exhausted so opted to take the rest. Pretty disgusted with myself, as I feel like I'm letting it all slip away. It all starts again tomorrow for me - one more hard month to get into a good groove and be ready for this race!!!
Tuesday, September 11th - 7 miles SLU track. As punishment for missing early morning run, I met up with Crystal and Craig after work on a ridiculously hot/humid day. I ran 1.5 miles on the track before deferring to the roads, then ran on Compton all the way to Gravois Park and back for roughly 4-5 miles. Road conditions were crap, but at least it was shaded in a lot of parts. Drills/strides, then 1 mile cooldown on the track to finish it out. I felt super sluggish, and stopped sweating roughly 20 minutes into the run which is never a good thing. The pace was S-L-O-W. Breakfast - eggs, sausage, banana, apple. Lunch - Salad, pizza. Dinner - Fish Tacos
Wednesday, September 12th - 6 miles early a.m. with Crystal. Out and back on the trail towards Home Depot. Another disgustingly humid morning, albeit it was kind of cool starting out. Very sluggish early, but tried to keep consistent form. Very, very, very happy to have this one over with, as it was pretty muggy later in the day. 47:30 total (24:08/23:22 splits). Breakfast - banana, apple, hard boiled egg. Lunch - fried swai, green beans, pineapple and cantaloupe. Snack - banana, apple. Dinner - chicken thigh, spaghetti,
Easy run today after work, then marathon pace run tomorrow morning. Intentionally pushed back because of the crappy weather, and it's supposed to be in the 40's. This next month is going to be all business for me. I need to get locked in, and already feeling a change of culture for me.
Saturday, September 1st - 6 miles.
Sunday, September 2nd - 16 miles. This was a trainwreck run done late afternoon, and I did not even come close to hitting the desired pace. Out and back towards Troy, and just plain evil. Was not happy to do this, and very glad to have done. 49 miles this week, 22 miles in September, 1643.5 miles in 2013.
September 3rd-7th - 30 miles. I don't remember much during last week - I just have mileage written down. Actually, just checked my phone and have unraveled a few details. Tuesday, did Forest Park loop in 44 minutes on a gorgeous day after work. Outside the History Museum, they are doing some music festival on Tuesday nights, so it was packed with people! Started out conservative, but really pushed it with the Skinker Hill and sustained pace. Wednesday, I did 7 miles in 53:39 (7:54, 7:52, 7:42, 7:48, 7:45, 7:18, 7:18). Troy route and some change for the mileage. Warm evening, but got in a good groove at the end. That's all I remember for now.
Saturday, September 8th - 16 miles. 5 a.m. start at Forest Park for the Arch Loop, then a little extra in Forest Park. Ran with Tim, and boy did I feel like crap. It was already a little sticky outside, and navigated our way down Lindell into downtown. Ran the Arch Grounds loop then headed back. My lack of dinner the night before and lack of breakfast in the morning absolutely killed me, and I was bonking out towards the 7th-8th mile. We hit almost every water stop coming in, and ran into a ton of runners running the I Love Forest Park 5K which helped inspire us to finish. 2:30 total, and felt like I was doing marathon pace effort. Horrible run, but got done which I guess has to count for something. Loufest (2 day music festival in Forest park) in the afternoon/evening which was great, and ended it with a great Wilco show! Standing all day was brutal though, as my lower back/legs were killing me by the end.
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| Wilco - great show! |
Sunday, September 9th - 4 miles. Woke up early to some rain, and decided to knock this one out early. Felt like crap from the Loufest concert the day before, which I was on my feet all day after a 16 mile run. My lower back was killing me, and I hobbled through most of this run. On a brighter note, football is back!!! 50 miles this week, 72 miles in September, 1693.5 miles in 2013. Mileage is dropping, diet is suffering (I think I ate fast food 6 times over the weekend :( ), and I feel like crap all the time. Need to get my act together this last month!!!
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| Welcome back, NFL! |
Tuesday, September 11th - 7 miles SLU track. As punishment for missing early morning run, I met up with Crystal and Craig after work on a ridiculously hot/humid day. I ran 1.5 miles on the track before deferring to the roads, then ran on Compton all the way to Gravois Park and back for roughly 4-5 miles. Road conditions were crap, but at least it was shaded in a lot of parts. Drills/strides, then 1 mile cooldown on the track to finish it out. I felt super sluggish, and stopped sweating roughly 20 minutes into the run which is never a good thing. The pace was S-L-O-W. Breakfast - eggs, sausage, banana, apple. Lunch - Salad, pizza. Dinner - Fish Tacos
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| Brutally hot, but at least a nice view |
Easy run today after work, then marathon pace run tomorrow morning. Intentionally pushed back because of the crappy weather, and it's supposed to be in the 40's. This next month is going to be all business for me. I need to get locked in, and already feeling a change of culture for me.
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