Craziness in my life continues, but running hasn't stopped! Last blog post before Berlin - here we go!
Sunday, September 7th – 6 easy. 64 miles last week, 64 miles in September, 1617 miles in 2014.
Monday, September 8th – 6 easy
Tuesday, September 9th – 6 easy
Wednesday, September 11th - ~12 miles. 30/30/30 workout, which was 30 minutes at
8:00 min/pace, 30 minutes at 7:30 pace, then 30 minutes at 7:00 pace. Did on the roads - looped around Village Circle, did 270 loop, then more or less ran back roads to St. Boniface Church on the other side of town (ran the Bonifest 5K course), and came back. Rainy evening, and was pretty soaked after awhile. On the marathon pace loop, my shoe insole kept slipping out (same shoes and same problem as on treadmill run), and eventually had to stop because the sole wouldn't stay in. So ended up jogging back roughly 20 minutes into the last 30 minute segment. But felt pretty strong for the most part, and was very pleased all in all. Averaged 7:55/7:25/7:03
Thursday, September 11th – 4 miles with
Crystal. She was doing a neighborhood
loop, and I met her out there and joined her for some miles. Pretty pooped from the workout, but made it through just ok. Averaged low 8's, I believe.
Friday, September 12th – 5 miles with
Crystal. Neighborhood and Old Faithful
loop, out and back. Outside of having to
hop on a few wooden planks from the bridges being rebuilt, was a fun run to do
and it has been a while since we hit up Old Faithful. Humid afternoon with a hint of rain, but had a fun time cruising back. I love easy runs. 7:54 avg pace, overall.
Saturday, September 13th - ~10 miles (2 up,
SUNSHINE 10K 39:50, 1st OVERALL, 2 down). Perfect morning for running, and picked Pat
and Crystal up to head to sunny, picturesque Alton, IL to go defend my title at
the 4th Annual Sunshine Run.
Out and back on the trail, starting from the museum which is literally
right on the river. Small hills on the
trail, but otherwise pretty flat.
Crystal and I warmed up on the actual race course for a couple miles,
then did some stretching before heading to the start. The race is to help fundraise and promote
childhood cancer, and definitely puts things into perspective once you really
think about it and see the children.
Every year, they highlight a family, and this year the little boy
(cancer survivor, healthy now) was running around and high-fiving the Gateway
Grizzlies Bear Mascot, and was awarded a first place medal. Very cool little ceremony, and gave me some
good, positive thoughts at the start line. Goal
today was to give a good effort, but not 100%.
Wanted at worst a top 3 finish, and would battle for the win up to a
certain threshold but was thinking more about my long run on Sunday. Start hard, then try to level off in the 6:45
range to finish it out. Went out pretty
hard, and not a good idea to be within 10 seconds of Crystal, who was tempoing
the 5K. Kept going on and was more or
less in the lead the entire way out, and maintained a comfortable pace. Had
to come to a complete stop to open a gate (this happened last year!), and
cursed to myself before resuming onwards.
Made the turnaround, and had a guy that wasn’t too far behind and
realized I couldn’t let up as much as I wanted to. So kept the strong pace going, and wanted to
leave energy to unleash the holiest of kicks if challenged. Fortunately, that never happened, and was able to
more or less go into cruise control on the last mile. Made my way back onto the actual road where the race began (and finished), where
I could see my entourage who was screaming at me to break 40. So much for me jogging it in, so kicked the
last 100 meters or so to get comfortably under 40 and the W. Very solid time, and was happy to defend my
title! Crystal won the overall 5K by
almost 5 minutes, and zoomed through the finish line and onwards to complete her 4 mile
tempo. Afterwards, sped over to
Augusta Brewing Company (far, far away) to celebrate with my buddy Gibbs who
got engaged!
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| Champs |
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| Me, Crystal, and Dr. Clint |
Sunday, September 14th – 16 miles. Ran 3 solo on 270 loop, then headed to
Crystal’s to get in 70 minutes (she mercifully extended to 10 miles for
me). Absolutely perfect morning to be
outside, as we got a later morning start for once. Did trail out and back towards Marine, and
felt pretty smooth going out. The trail
is pretty covered out there, so was very cool and comfortable out there. Coming back, started to get pretty tired, and
made it through ok but was a little beat up.
Did 270 loop when I got home (slow) as a shakeout, to get me closer to
my desired mileage (scheduled 18). The
10K took a little out of me – tough to do workout/long run back to back! 10 miles with Crystal was right at 8:00
min/pace, first 3 solo was ~8:20 pace, last 3 was not timed and pretty slow. 50 miles this week, 114 miles in September, 1667 miles in 2014.
Monday, September 15th – ~3 miles. Got in a car accident on Hampton/Columbia on
my way to group run. A little old Asian
lady rear ended me when I was at a complete stop, and was consequently late to
group run while dealing with her, the police, and my insurance. No one was hurt, most importantly, and both
cars are drivable. Very irritated, and
missed out on the Run for the Hills course preview with Crystal and Timmy
(Crystal is racing on Saturday). Ran to
Dubourgh on the backwards loop, then looped Francis Park before coming
back. Dealt with misty rain, so I
couldn’t see out of my glasses and almost wiped out a couple times to add to my
frustrating evening. But dinner
afterwards at the Mack calmed me down, and was glad to get in some sort of
mileage, albeit very little. Morale of
the story: Beware of Asian drivers! The
stereotype is true! ~25 minutes total.
Tuesday, September 16th - ~6 miles. 50 minutes with Crystal before work. Chilly morning, but got warmer when the sun
eventually came up. Neighborhood loop
twice, then out and back on trail towards Home Depot. Kept the pace extremely honest (~8:30 pace)
for the first 5 miles, before turning on the jets a little for a 7:13 last mile
to try to hit 6 miles. Crystal started
surging a bit after the 5th mile, and I knew exactly was on her mind
as I was thinking the same thing when I looked at my watch – 7:48 to go, and
one miles left. I guess that’s what
happens when you run with someone for 7+ years!
No issues at all, as I felt pretty comfortable at the end. ~8:12 average pace, felt terrible starting
out (joints were a mess, and was hobbling like a 100 year old man), but worked
out the kinks.
Wednesday, September 17th – 10.5 miles (1.5 up, 8 miles at
marathon pace, 1 down). Recruited Colby
to help pace me through this last “tricky” workout. We started pretty early, and jogged to
Village Circle and did a quick warmup before starting the workout. Dark and cool, and was definitely trying to
wake up. We did 2 loops of Village Circle,
before jumping on the trail towards Home Depot and doing an out and back. Started a little fast, but got into a good
rhythm once we got on the trail despite my apparent surging. Colby was given specific instructions to keep
around 7:15 pace for the first 4 miles, then we could pick it up later if we
felt good. Felt very comfortable on the
way out, and we turned around and headed back.
Slight uphill grades at a few areas, and felt myself having to shift
gears slightly, but still conversational effort. Made it through no problem, and jogged back
to finish out the mileage. Very pleased
with the workout, and definitely a confidence boost. ~57:10 for the 8 miles MP, ~7:08 average
pace. ~7:55 warmup pace, 7:37 cooldown
mile.
Thursday, September 18th – 6 miles. Early run, I don’t remember much of this.
Friday, September 19th – 4 miles. 1 up, 10 x (20 sec hard, 1 minute easy), 1 down. Did in Crystal's neighborhood, and felt pretty sluggish but smooth (does this make any sense??). Travel day to NYC for my friend’s
wedding. Considered an easy shakeout run
at night, but decided to get engaged instead J She said yes!!!
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| Post engagement bliss |
Saturday, September 20th - ~14 miles. This is a complete estimate, as I ran for a
little over 2 hours pretty easy. Our
hotel was a mile and some change from Central Park, and I ended up doing 2
loops on the perimeter of the park.
Soooo crowded and so warm, and struggled through the hills of Central
Park. Stopped at every water station
known to mankind (should not be this warm in late September in NYC!), and kept
the pace honest and easy. Lots of pedestrians out there, and was a bit nuts Made our way to Long Island, and enjoyed one of the nicest weddings I have attended. Beach wedding on a gorgeous night with a perfect sunset - tough to beat!
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| Central Park |
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| Training for next year's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Challenge |
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| Megan and I |
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| Mark and Sonja's Beautiful Wedding |
Sunday, September 21st – 0! Dead tired, and travel day back home. We did walk about 5 miles throughout the
city, and spent some time in Central Park getting pictures at our engagement
spot. Long day spent in traffic,
LaGuardia, and the plane. Happy to be
home with the cats! 43.5 miles this week, 157.5 miles in September, 1710.5 miles in 2014.
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| The pond we got engaged at in Central Park |
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| Roughly 50 feet from where I dropped on one knee |
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| The Future Mr. and Mrs. Kim |
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| Awaiting for us when we got home |
Monday, September 22nd - ~5 miles. Happy Birthday to me! Birthday run at group run, and Craig,
O’Connor, and I did about 1.5 miles before group run. Tim and I ran a few miles with Craig before
he peeled off, and got in a little over 5 total. Gorgeous day to run, and felt like crap but
mainly from the long weekend. 45 minutes
total.
Tuesday, September 23rd – 5 miles. Ran with Craig and Tim at Forest Park. Another gorgeous evening to run, and Tim and
I ran a couple easy before meeting Craig after this workout. Ran in from the zoo, and cut across the bird
sanctuary and some soft paths we never run on typically. Fun times, felt better than yesterday. Taper week is awesome! ~44 minutes total.
Easy pace workout today, then leaving for Berlin
tomorrow! It is almost all over…
I
want to take the opportunity to thank my team for their help during this
training block to get in shape to complete this marathon: Coach Kyle and I have accomplished a lot over a short period of
time, and he has gotten me into decent shape for Berlin. Dr.
Clint has gotten me the start line completely healthy and without losing
significant time in training. Crystal, Jon, and Colby (and Joe should get credit too – he did the
majority of my long runs with me, most of which started before 4:30 a.m.) did the heavy lifting for me, mentally and
physically, and have rejuvenated my passion in running and competing through
their own amazing accomplishments. I
couldn’t ask for any better training partners, and you have no idea how much
easier it is to run some difficult miles with good friends who won’t let you
fail. And lastly, to my wonderful
fiancé, Megan. She has put up with me in every facet
possible, and has supported me every step of the way. Thank you all so much, from the bottom of the
soles of my shoes!
These last 4 months have been a little eye opening for me,
as it was my re-introduction to the marathon.
It’s been 3.5 years since I last ran one (Boston 2011), and I realized
quickly how difficult it is and how much training sucks. It’s been a struggle, but I’ve worked hard
and gotten in a lot of the training despite not being as disciplined as I
like. My main goal was to get to the
start line healthy and capable of running a marathon, and I have accomplished
that. I feel like with some luck, some
magic can happen but I don’t have high expectations, timewise. I plan on running 7:15’s as long as it feels
comfortable, then we’ll see what happens.
I’m excited to run my 7th marathon, and hope that I can keep
motivation up after this trip to get better as a runner!
Thanks to everyone for their support!
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