Who's the man?

This guy. Lolo - pay special attention here. I think could be an amazing match (just sayin')...

U.S. World Championships roster in South Korea, and Jordan Hasay. Lots to catch up on my running world, so let's just get to it.

Wednesday, August 3 - 0! Impromptu day off, quite honestly don't remember why but will make it up.

Thursday, August 4 - 6 easy. Felt like complete crap. Now I remember why I took Wed off is because Timmy and I went out at night. Hit the easy mileage, went straight to bed.

Friday, August 5 - 10 miles (5K 19:38, 3 min rest, 6:03 mile, 2 easy, 4 easy). Crapped out in the a.m. to meet Crystal, so ended up breaking up this crazy workout. Heat was a huge factor (again), so opted for the cooler indoors. Didn't have enough time to hit the actual workout (2x2 miles tempo, 1 hour easy, 3 miles tempo), but improvised and did what I could. Did speed on the treadmill (new treadmill at my buddy's place!), hard effort but felt really good. The 5K split was definitely a confidence booster, as I had a decent amount in the tank. The mile hard, I definitely worked for. Came back in the p.m. to hit an easy 4 to get me to 10 for the day.

Saturday, August 6 - 10 miles (1:25-1:26). Watching Pat and Crystal's cat while they are out of town, so took the opportunity to get in some easy treadmill miles since it was beyond ridiculous outside. Started watching Lord of the Rings: Two Towers and Unnecessary Roughness on t.v., lost track of time and next thing you know I had blown past the intended 6 miles. Finished at 10, easy effort and felt good.

Sunday, August 7 - 15 miles. Early group run at my place with Mike, Candace, Devin, and I. Broke the run into 2 parts so we could refill on water and gatorade. Another hot and humid morning. Intended on doing 8 and 8, but was feeling good and extended the first portion to 10 miles keeping 8:30's pace. Did Troy route out and back (impetus being we could handle the open roads earlier than later when the sun would be a factor). Felt pretty good until the 9th mile or so, when the legs started to feel weird. Got back in for a refill and quick breather, then headed back out. Took a different, hillier route to the trail towards G.C., and pretty much crapped out on the group 2 miles into it. Jogged half a mile, then started back because I was done. They caught up to me, ran it in with them. Legs had nothing in the tank, just another horrible death on the trails. Not sure the overall time, but 8:30 pace overall. Talked with Candace and Mike afterwards - they suspect I might have iron deficiency? Not sure why I have crapped out the last couple long runs - I have trained in awful heat before, so this isn't anything different. Hoping it was just fatigue from the high mileage weekend...

53 miles this week! Very pleased.

Monday, August 8 - 3 miles. Late night run (270 loop), actually cooled down a little bit so was nice to get out. Plan was 6 miles and drills. Couldn't feel my legs by the end of the 1st mile, and considered walking by the 2nd. Wasn't going very fast, but was just dead. Called it a night and went right to bed.

Tuesday, August 9 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMMY!!! - 5 miles (1 up, 3X1200, 1 down). Got together a nice group to the track (Timmy, me, Megan, Lara) to do our respective workouts. Plan was to do 4x4 minutes at 5:46-5:52/mile pace, but was so close to the end of the lap that I just finished it out. Legs still felt like wet noodles, but pushed through. Small breaks in between reps, really a nice evening to run. Been nice to have hardly any humidity this week (thus far). Blazed through the last rep, very pleased with this workout even though I was pretty tired. Splits were: 4:21, 4:19, 4:19, 4:13.

Wednesday, August 10 - 6 miles (1:00:08?). Absolutely gorgeous outside, and successfully recruited Tim to get in a few miles. He biked over, then we started late but was high 60's/low 70's at that point. Ran through town, but traffic was a mess and detoured through the backroads heading towards Edwardsville. More traffic back there, was definitely hugging the shoulders the entire way. Legs felt like garbage, and Tim had a sore hammy so we kept it very slow and enjoyed a nice run on the nicest evening this summer thus far.

Thursday, August 11 - 10 miles total. 6 miles a.m. Had to talk myself into doing this workout (was considering pushing to Friday because I still felt like poop). 5 mile tempo at 6:30-6:35 pace. Big indicator workout (see where I am at), and a decent mileage tempo which really hasn't happened much this summer. Legs felt like garbage, and struggled out of the gate but found my rhythm after the first mile. Played a ton of mind games coming back in, and coasted through the second half. Picked it up slightly on the last mile for fun, felt pretty decent for the most part and very thrilled at the end since I hit the workout despite not having my best day. Annnd, had some in the tank, so thinking my fitness level is definitely improving! 1 mile cooldown (needed to get to work), need to get in a few more this evening. Splits were: 6:45 (oops), 6:31, 6:30, 6:31, 6:24. 4 miles p.m. Tim came over, and we did out and back on the trail pretty slow. Felt pretty good at the end, but legs definitely felt like wet noodles.

Headed to Chi this weekend. Not sure I am going to get in a long run, but would love to get in some basic mileage tomorrow and a couple easy runs on my favorite running trail!!!

Bix 7 Recap

More suffering heat in the Midwest, but have worked hard despite Mother Nature's efforts to derail all. Ran the Bix 7 this last weekend for the first (and probably not last) time, and had a great time hitting up one of the biggest road races in the nation! More Bix recap, Geoffrey Mutai continues to dominate, Emmanuel Mutai to run in England, Meb signs with Sketchers (had no idea they had a running line), Bolt, Adam Goucher, and his lovely wife.

And finally Lolo, if you read this blog, I have a friend for you that I want to hook you up with. Solid runner, smart, funny, handsome, and perfect for you. He has houses all over the nation, so we'll make sure to get Baton Rouge on the rotation :)

Lots of work travel, and Bix weekend but kept up with some good running despite the awful conditions. Here we go...

Wednesday, July 27 - 6 miles p.m. (50:32) Cleaning and packing before my trip, did this one really late on a nasty humid late night. Did G.C. road loop but ran a slight variation down a hilly road I hadn't done before. Pushed it coming home, felt like crap quite honestly. Splits were definitely more aggressive then I intended, but it was late and wanted to get home. Splits were: 7:52, 7:22, 7:30, 7:28, 7:31, 7:04.

Thursday, July 28 - 6 miles treadmill. Made it to Rockford, IL for work. Hopped on the Hampton Inn treadmill in hopes to get in a few miles before dinner. Had a few engage me in a treadmill pace competition, which made the monotonous running a lot more fun. Broke 3 people overall, while watching Man vs. Food on the television (perfect motivation!). Last guy kept picking up the pace, but I made it a point to pick it up twice as much as he did. I broke him when I started texting my sister while running, and literally threw in the towel at 2.73 miles of his run lol. Fun times, felt a lot better running inside in controlled conditions. Splits were: 7:53, 7:53, 7:30, 7:30, 7:30, 6:46.

Friday, July 29 - 2 miles. Made it to Bettendorf, IL for work and Bix. Met up with my buddy Ryan, and did an easy 2 miles (well more like 1.6) on the roads. Hot and humid like everywhere else, made it a point to run pretty slow. Felt ok, but breathing was definitely an issue with the thick air.

Saturday, July 30 - 10 miles - BIX 7 - 7 miles - 50:59. Made it downtown bright and early for the 37th running of the Quad Cities Bix 7! Weatherman predicted "hot and miserable for the runners", and he wasn't kidding. Just nasty hot and humid and sunny outside, and knew it was going to be a rough going. Walked to the start with 18,000 other runners and squeezed into the back of my corral. Tried to work my way closer up front, but pretty much couldn't and sweated away a few lbs. waiting for the start gun. Bix is a pretty hill course - you start on Brady street, and run up a HUGE hill (9 degree grade) to start the race, before weaving through a hilly neighborhood and coming back. Really reminded me of the Newton Hills of Boston - same type of scenary and tough hills. Anyways, the plan was to go out in 6:20-6:30's and see how long I could hold on, but knew it would be tough with the weather. Had many problems trying to work my way through the massive crowds, and after a 7:56 first mile I knew my competitive race was already over. Really aggravated at some of the people in my corral who clearly had no business being in there, and consequently made it much more difficult for the serious runners. Picked it up on the 2nd mile, but hit a nasty hill on the 3rd mile and just cut back on the pace and into survival mode. - legs were just done and I felt like garbage. Got hip checked into the water station volunteers who broke my fall. Battled through the next few miles which was all rolling hills, then a long steady uphill grade for a while, and hit the huge downhill on Brady street. Saw I could probably break 51 with a fast last mile, so took off. Turnover felt great, flew down the hill but very cautiously as the grade was ridiculous and I had just clipped a runner at the top of the hill (sorry!) and a wipe out would have been pretty bad. Kicked to make my mini-goal - pretty awesome finish with a big crowd. Cooldown, soaked in the misters while waiting for Ryan and Megan to finish. Really fun race and great support all around - just wish it wasn't so damn hot but it is the Midwest in July. Splits were: 7:56, 6:57, 7:30, 7:28, 7:27, 5:58. Fun night in Davenport - they had an estimated 60-100K extra people with the race and some big bike ride across Iowa finishing that day, so lots of people out and about.

Sunday, July 31 - 7 miles (56:02). Back to the Lou - intended on long run, but came back late to some miserable heat and was pretty tired from driving home. Crystal had us over for dinner and Entourage, so after a long nap jumped onto their treadmill and nailed some good mileage. Wanted to get 6, but felt good and ended up picking up the pace steadily and squeezed in an extra mile. So much more easier running in a cool basement and having a fan blow cold air on you while watching the Hangover. Started at 8:30's, ended up at 7:30 pace.

43 miles for the week (woo-hoo!), 149 for July (eek!), 1191 for 2011. Fallen off pace, need to pick it up.

Monday, August 1 - 6 miles and drills. Evening run with Crystal - had taken a week sabbatical from drills, and definitely could feel it halfway through. Legs felt tired and definitely rubbery on the way back, but picked it up pretty naturally. Ironic that our total time was 50:59, which was my Bix finishing time.

Tuesday, August 2 - 6 miles (8x800 at half marathon pace). Because of the 100+ degree temperatures, Crystal's 5k time trial was cancelled and she was given a new workout to do, which I also jumped in to as well. Nasty humid evening, had a nice group out with Pat, Crystal, Tim, Megan and I. Quick warmup, jumped into the repeat. Goal pace was to hit 3:14's for the splits (much easier than the 2:40's we had been hitting), and felt really good for the first half of the reps. Did 200 meter jog in between, and traded off the inner lane. Took a water break 4 reps into it, then started it back up. Started to feel a little queasy after starting back up, and tailed off after the 5th rep to take a 2 minute rest in between reps instead of the jog. Finished the rest of the set, then jumped on Megan's last rep. Cooled down with the group, happy to hit the workout especially in awful conditions. Felt very controlled, but legs were pretty rubbery towards the end. Splits were: 3:11, 3:10, 3:09, 3:10, 3:09, 3:06, 3:06, 3:06.

Easy run today - methinks I will find a treadmill to give my body a rest from this heat, rather than sweat it out. Not holding up as well during this heat, but definitely getting in some good outdoor mileage despite it all...

Heat Wave Continues

Kara, Galen's fall in Monaco (ouch!), Lagat didn't win but he's still really fast, what a track meet last weekend in Monaco!, is Bolt in trouble?, London is awesome, new Nike sportswatch review (not impressive to me quite honestly), Hall, running in heat, running in heat, and more running in heat.

Big River Running has a small group trying to hit the Olympic standards for the Houston Marathon in mid-January. Awesome to see Ben making a run at it for an unprecedented 3rd straight time, and BRR's page has a section dedicated to it that I think everyone should follow.

Been a whirlwind last week and a half, and a lot to catch up on. Went to Austin, TX on a bachelor party, where I am pretty sure I got sick as this last week or so has been tortuous. Not to mention the current heat wave that we have experienced, so quality workouts have been few and far between. Here we go...

Wednesday, July 13 - 6 miles + drills. Ran with Crystal, quite frankly don't remember much of this.

Thursday, July 14 - Sunday, July 17th - 0! Heat + bachelor party + crazy weekend = bad

19 miles this week, awful.

Monday, July 18 - 6 miles + drills. P.M. run with C, instanely hot outside and felt like complete garbage. Drills were rough as my legs felt like complete rubber. Something is definitely wrong with my body.

Tuesday, July 19 - 7 miles (2 up, 4x(2x200, 1x800) (improvised), 2 down). Another insanely hot day (how many 115 heat index days can we possibly have???), started at 8:45 p.m. and sweating bullets within 3 minutes of the warmup. Very little air movement on the track, so just tough to be outside. After the first speed rep, determined I wasn't going to hit the 800's going in so changed to 400's. Tim and I traded off 400's to pace Crystal through, and made it but felt rough doing so. Splits were: 200's - 38-40 seconds, 400's - 1:18-1:20, 800 - 2:39. Pace felt fine, just felt like garbage and the intense heat/humidity didn't help.

Wednesday, July 20 - 6 miles. Saw Harry Potter 2 with Pat, Crystal, and Megan after work. Got dragged into a late 6 mile run with Crystal in discussing the movie (pretty awesome!). Hot and humid, felt a little better but definitely was swimming in the heat. Amazing that it was still 85 degrees (95 degree heat index) at 10 p.m. Just disgusting. 50:32 was total time out there.

Thursday, July 21 - 0! Intended on treadmill, ended up passing out for many hours. Still feel sick.

Friday, July 22 - 0! See above. Sleep > running. Ken and Erin were in town, but was able to catch up with those guys on a night out. Sad that I can motivate myself to drink a few, but not run a few. But to my defense, I still felt pretty crappy.

Saturday, July 23 - 3 miles. Ran at 9:45 p.m. in yet again disgustingly hot weather. 270 loop, lost a few lbs. in sweat I am guessing. Ran anywhere from 21-25 minutes, surprisingly faster than it should have been.

Sunday, July 24 - 14 miles. Ran with Crystal, Candace, and Devin. Met up around 5:45 a.m. (already 83 degrees and getting sunny), started out pretty slow trying to get into a rhythm. Lost the girls pretty quick in, but not really surprised and tried to keep a somewhat even pace. Turned around, made a pitstop at Miner Park to splash some water on me, but a fateful mistake as the stopping and going kind of killed me. Last 4 miles were pretty tortuous, as the heat/fatigue was getting to me. Averaged high 8's, low 9's total, threw up all my Gatorade afterwards. Gross.

36 miles this week, crap but all considering not bad.

Monday, July 25 - 4 miles. Done late, and quite honestly not sure why I even attempted this. Really hot outside, and felt like crap. Ran very slow, not sure the pace.

Tuesday, July 26 - 6 miles cutdown tempo a.m. Treadmill, not my favorite but needed to be done with busy evening and oppressive heat. Thought about quitting a few times, but I have determined that I have been the biggest baby and need to make it hurt every now and then, so blasted through and hit the workout I wanted. Last mile, the treadmill wouldn't go any faster, so I jacked the incline up. Definitely felt that, but blew through it. Feel pretty good. Splits were: 6:57, 6:57, 6:46, 6:46, 6:40, 6:28.

Going to try for for a later run this evening if I can get to it. Easy mileage, nothing too crazy.

So race week is this week,

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Shalane interview, Andrew Wheating and Leo Manzano hit the "A" Standard for the World Championships, Galen Rupp and Mo Farah continue to impress, more on Mo, Deena on the comeback trail, and Walter Dix's bold statement.

Thursday, July 7th - 7 miles (1.25 up, 4x(2x200, 1x800), 2.75 down. Flew back into STL on a crazy rainy evening. Got up late to the track to do Crystal's workout, which was predictably going to be tough. Quick warmup, crapped out in the middle reps of this workout just from dead legs. Just couldn't hit to 800's, and not used to doing speedwork at 5:20 min/mile pace. Really put all I had into the last rep to come close; long, slow cooldown on the track afterwards. 200 splits were 36-39 second range, 400's (2nd and 3rd rep) were 1:18, 1:19, 800's were 2:40, 2:41. All in all, gave it a great effort, so I'll take it.

Friday, July 8th - 0! Scheduled off day.

Saturday, July 9th - 12 miles (1:33:06?), last 4 at marathon pace. Out and back on a sunny day on the G.C. route. Felt somewhat decent, and we were cruising after a small bathroom break at Casey's roughly 3.75 miles into it. Started picking it up coming home on the downhill, so the transition to marathon pace wasn't too bad. As usual, overachieved and picked it up more than we needed to. Last mile, was getting really tired but wanted to keep it in check and nailed the fastest mile split of the run - always fun when that happens :) Lots of people on the trail, was nice to have company. Very pleased with this run. Average pace was 7:46 min/mile, last 4 were 7:00, 7:10, 6:58, 6:50.

Sunday, July 10th - 8 miles. Heat wave started on Saturday and lingered on. Tim and Devin joined for Troy loop out and back, then Village Circle mileage. In a nutshell, this run SUCKED. Started at 8 p.m., 89 degrees and 110 Heat Index. Seriously almost died out there. Averaged low 9 minute pace, just felt awful the entire way. 46 miles this week - woo-hoo!

Monday, July 11th - ~4.5 miles + drills. Big River Running group run, Crystal talked me into running on a 100+ degree evening and 115 Heat Index. Still didn't feel right from the night before, and running at 6 p.m. with the sun still out wasn't very wise. Started out with group, but struggled the entire way, literally from the first step. Not a day to be a hero, so sloooooow pace. Stopped at the track to do drills, very little air flow and literally felt like we were roasting out there. Did drills on the curve (hint of a breeze), and finished these drills faster than we ever have. No conversation, only the random curse word here and there. Made it back, drank a ton of Gatorade, then headed to Buffalo Brewing Company to drink literally a pitcher of water and have a fantastic meal with Pat and Crystal. Glad this was over, and this run will go down as a "remember when" moment. Total time out was 39-40 minutes, 8:46 average pace.

Tuesday, July 12th - 7 miles (2 up, 8x400, 2 down). Supposed to be Big River Time Trial, but after the last couple days, rescheduled back home. Crystal was supposed to hit 11 minutes for her 2 mile run, so recruited a group to pace her through while we improvised our workout to shorter distances (not a good heat runner). Mother Nature granted us a reprieve, as a storm rolled in and lowered temps to 80's (sad when 80's feels sooooo good). Nice wind, great night to run but still humid. Pat, Mike, Tim, Megan, Crystal, and I rolled out to the track and conducted this workout. I ran every other 400 to pace Crystal, and Mike and Tim ran every other after me so she had pacers the entire way. Led her out a second off on the first rep, but got all messed up on time and worked with her for the rest. She started to get tired on the 2nd mile, but regrouped to finish really strong so we were all proud of her for running a great time on a hard day (11:33). Warrior princess she is, she jumped in after her cooldown and hit 2 more fast 400's with us. Last rep, turned into a race between her and I, with Pat running the last 100 meters with us at full speed. Couldn't catch him, but a valient effort and hell of a split. Fun times, great group workout! 400 splits were: 1:24, 1:24, 1:26, 1:30, 1:20, 1:21, 1:18, 1:15.

Leaving for Shane's bachelor party in Austin on Thursday, so trying to get in as much mileage as I can before then!

G.I. struggles

A shout out to the super masters runners in the World Championships in Sacramento, Ed Whitlock continues to amaze, a Runners World chat with Matt Gabrielson, and Berlin with Geb and Paula.

Tuesday, July 5 - 9 miles (7 miles - 56:04, 2 miles at 8:30 pace on the track). Warm evening to run, but was nice and shady on the trails. Out and back on the G.C. loop which was littered with randoms here and there, always nice to see. Started with Pat, but Crystal and I picked it up after he turned back. At the turn around, my stomach started acting up and considered running to the gas station bathroom but figured I could work through it. Note to self - always go with your first instinct. Started having some major G.I. issues with a little less than 2 miles to go, which didn't help with the picked up pace. Dropped the hammer the last half mile, which was one of the most miserable experiences in a while for me since my stomach was literally about to explode. Not fun keeping up a low 5 minute pace in absolute misery and half a stride (for fear that any movement would cause a really bad accident). Good news is the run felt really easy. Nice negative split on the way back (splits were: 29:02, 27:02). Ran up to the track to work with Megan on her 800 meter repeats. Paced her through a few at 5K pace, she hit good splits (4:09-4:15) so good workouts for everybody!

Wednesday, July 6 - 6 miles (50:03). Crystal dragged me out this morning for run and drills. My purring cat, Franklin tried to drag me back to bed for cuddling. Crystal won, but barely. Legs felt a little sore/tired, so not as easy a run as Tuesday night. A little surprised to see quite a few people at the track (including a runner doing drills (I thought Crystal was going to elbow him for working on our turf)), but nice to have company. More G.I. issues on the way back, which totally sucked. Legs felt like jello coming back home - with stomach issues, I was once again in misery. Happy to get this in, despite all my whining this morning (sorry Crystal).

So headed to Detroit for work today. Quick trip, nothing much to miss, but hope to get in a small, easy run just to explore a new area since that is one of my favorite things to do! I am guessing that my ridiculous 4th of July weekend and awful eating/drinking has been the main reason behind my recent G.I. problems - as any runner can attest to, it absolutely SUCKS running with stomach issues. On a brighter note, with my recent casino earnings, I ordered my new Garmin Forerunner 610 yesterday! After extensive research, I determined this was the one, and am anxiously awaiting its arrival! More to come...

Macklind Mile Recap

Paula Radcliffe interview, Jordan Hasay interview, and Sammy Kitwara wins Peachtree again on a nasty, humid day.

Friday, July 1 - 0! Scheduled day off - wanted to run for some extra mileage, but didn't work out. Timmy and Mattie are back in town!

Saturday, July 2 - 4 miles. Waited until the last possible minute to run, just suffocatingly hot/humid outside. Did a quick 4 miles from Tim's place on the trail towards Drost Park and back. Shade helped, but on the parts that were exposed to the sun felt like roasting in an oven. Surprisingly, didn't feel awful and when we sped it up, felt perfectly fine. Spent the rest of the day in the pool, the reward for a hot, hot run. Splits were: 9:00, 8:30, 8:04, 8:14.

Sunday, July 3 - 1 mile. Supposed to get in 20 minutes easy, but the residuals of a late night out plus some awful storms cut this one short. The good news is our late night visit to the casino ended up being a great idea (99.9% of the time, it isn't), and I won enough money to pay for a new Garmin!!! 31 miles this week, ugh.

Monday, July 4 - MACKLIND MILE - 2 miles, 5:25 mile time. Great morning to run in South City, and was pretty pumped to be part of this fun race! Not my best effort by any means, and really not much to say. Forgot my inhaler before the race, which pretty much spelled doom for my day. But had a very even split run, and held on as much as I could. Legs felt great, so the work we had put in coming up to this race is clearly working. Congrats to Tim for a fat PR (5:20), Pat for a fat PR (6:34), and Crystal for a fat PR (5:04!) and winning the women's open title!!! Long celebration ensued afterwards.

Great 4th of July weekend with some great friends, but absolutely exhausted from the craziness. Have a pretty full week of work coming up, but will manage to get in some quality runs in between!

Is it really July already?

The Boston Marathon, Allyson Felix the savior of US women's racing?, Asafa Powell rounding into shape with a 9.78 100, 80 year old Ed Whitlock continues to amaze, and Lukas Verzbicas is not only a great runner but a great friend.

Thursday, June 30 - 5 miles. Funny thing happened to me at work on Wed - sampled some meat with bourbon peppercorn seasoning, then all of a sudden started breaking out into hives which led to an emergency hospital visit, some heavy medication of benedryl and steroids, and consequently me passing out for 12-13 hours. Crystal dragged me out of my coma the next morning to meet her and Candace for scheduled 2x2 miles at tempo pace. Because of my grogginess, met them up at our Ebbets Field loop instead of subjecting myself to a fast warmup, which it typically is with those two masocists. To make a long story short, was a rough workout. Didn't feel too great, and was running on empty. Hit the first 2 miler in better than tempo pace, but the Killer C's had gapped me quite a bit so was pretty much running solo. Completely dead, started the 2nd rep but suffered a horrible death halfway through the first mile and knew I was done. Slowed it down for 5-10 seconds, but regrouped to finish strong and hit the goal pace. Jogged to meet them so I could run them in for their last quarter, and successfully did so. 2 miles down, did what I could with what I had so happy all in all. Splits: 12:45 (6:25, 6:20), 6:36.

Summer weather officially hit later this afternoon, so was very happy to get that out of the way.

170 Miles in July, 1042 for 2011.

Hopefully get in some deecnt mileage this weekend. Macklind Mile on Monday, and Timmy is back in town! Happy 4th of July everybody!