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...

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.

Houston 1/2 Marathon/Olympic Trials Recap

Kara, Meb, Amy, Gotcher, Wardian, SI pics, Ritz, Desi, US Men, Mens race analysis, Women's race analysis, Nick Symmonds selling ad space on his shoulder, US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Jenny Simpson, competition can be kind, great places to train, Blake targeting Bolt, and Kenyan Olympic marathoning teams.

Back after a long week of travel. One of the biggest weekends in running ever so without further adieu, here we go:

Monday, January 9^th – 4 miles. Ran the Big River Monday group run with Crystal, Pat, and Timmy. Kept the pace honest, nothing crazy here. 9-9:30 pace, I believe.

Tuesday, January 10^th – 5 miles. Ran in Tower Grove Park with Tim after work. Pretty cool park to run in, and have never ventured in that area. Chilly outside, and we looped around the perimeter and through the park. Had a nice pond, and some cool light displays. I’ll be back there. Last mile, was looking for my car – felt like it was taking forever to find it, and I was pretty pooped. Back was still pretty sore.

Wednesday, January 11^th – 0! Plan was to run mile repeats early. To my defense, I was up and ready to go, but rain in the morning killed any chance of running, mainly because of the fear of slipping and wrenching my back even further. Time to take some time off to heal up. Bring on some Advil!

Thursday, January 12^th – 0! Feeling about the same as yesterday.

Friday, January 13^th – ~2 miles. Travel day to Houston. Flew out of Lambert in the morning with Pat, Crystal, Tim, and Megan. Got settled in during the afternoon, then Tim and I stepped out to get in an easy 20 minutes. We were staying downtown, very close to the start and finish of the races. Ate lunch at the Grove (yummy), then went to go do packet pickup. Tim and I squeezed in a quick run, and looped around downtown. Ran around Minute Maid park, and hit about a billion stop lights. Seemed like an ok part of town, and the architecture reminded me of STL a lot (little big city).

Got dinner at some small bar at our hotel bartender’s recommendation, then met up with Ben and the rest of the Big River crew over at the Hilton, where all the athletes were staying. Had a few adult beverages to celebrate Ben’s birthday, then hung out with Adam before he turned in for the night. Sounded like he was amped and ready to go for the marathon on Saturday. Went out to the Flying Saucer for a quick nightcap, and hung out with some of the BRR crew. Ran into Brian Sell over there – super cool.

Saturday, January 14^th - ~2 miles. Looped around downtown with the group during the afternoon. Nothing crazy to note, and felt ok but still sore as heck. Woke up bright and early to meet up with the Big River crew at the Hilton. Waited for the group to come down, when I noticed Bill Rodgers standing behind me. Super cool! Went over and talked to him for a few minutes about the Trials, saw Joan Benoit and Meb’s brother walking around the lobby, before we left.

Walked over to the convention center, where we literally ran into Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan doing some dynamic stretching. Totally in heaven now! Made our way to the start, and watched the men’s start. Kind of cool where they released the men into the corral right before the start of the race, which sort of reminded me of the running of the bulls in Pamplona. After the start, made our way to the 2 mile marker, where we watched Ryan Hall lead the pack of men through. Amazing how fast those guys are in person! Anyways, ran back for the women’s start, then set camp around the 10/18/26 mile mark where we could watch everything. With the staggered start between the men and women, we saw people every 20 minutes or so, so it was virtually nonstop.

Coolest things I witnessed were (a) Meb passing a group of women on his way to the win – the women cheering for him as a group, then him cheering right back and pumping his fist. Gives me goosebumps just writing it. (b) towards the end, Adbi checking over his shoulder at what seemed to be every other step, looking for a charging Ritz who had closed a 30 second gap to 8 seconds. Ritz gave it everything he had, and you could totally tell given his body motion and his face, which was absolutely contorted because of the effort he was giving. (c) Watching Adam, who was a machine. We got an “Adam” chant started on his last lap, and it was great to see him run a PR and finish in the top 40. Very thrilling to watch, and an amazing accomplishment. Went to dinner at McCormick and Schmidts, and had a good meal of stuffed salmon. Watched the NFL playoffs, then turned in early.

Sunday, January 15^th – 14 miles – HOUSTON ½ MARATHON – 1:28:27 (296/~9400 overall). Woke up early and did a 10 minute shakeout run with Tim and Crystal. Back was very tight, so wanted to loosen up a bit. Walked down to the start, and lined up in place with Crystal not too far from the front. Got very annoyed at the many runners that were trying to force themselves up to the very front, even though we were about to squashed in tightly as possible. Was very cramped up from standing in place like a statue, so the start wasn’t very pleasant. Quickly weaved our way into position, then tried to settle in. First mile, you go up this huge hill over the Elysian Viaduct, then work your way into some neighborhoods. Felt ok on the first mile (fast), then about a half mile further, grabbed some water. Next thing I knew, I was a few seconds behind Crystal, and we hit a fast second mile. She was looking smooth and in a zone, and I wasn’t going to hit anything much faster than what I had been, so tried to get myself locked into pace. Made it through the next couple miles fine (split 19:48 5K, 25:32 4 mile), but started to have some problems with my back. Fell a little off pace, but was still trying to hold on. So around mile 5-6, you weave through a few long rolling hills, and then I started to fall apart. Tried to adjust my form, but really just ended up ruining myself and killing my legs since I was running very flat footed with this adjustment. Split the 10K in 40:34, and it was pretty much over – I couldn’t believe how fast it took to fall off pace. I just couldn’t move my legs the way they needed to at this point.

Contemplated dropping out, but I was so far out that I would have had to walk back anyways, so just tried to hang on for the sake of the team competition. Got passed by at least a million people, and glumly trotted forward in my low 7 minute miles. There is a hairpin turn around the 9.5 mile mark, so you got to see the leaders run by for a mile or so – saw Crystal later on (she was about a half mile ahead of me at this point), which helped perk me up. When I looped around, started looking out for Tim, Pat, and Megan which really helped me concentrate and focus on something positive. Timmy looked great, and I tried to calculate where he was at after we fistbumped, and thought he might be on pace for his goal; missed everyone else, then we took a right hand turn and run towards the city. Made it through mile 11, and was just a mess – quads were shredded, back felt like knives were stabbing me every step, and I just tried to focus on making it through these last couple miles. Calculated that I needed to run the last 2.1 in 14 minutes to break 1:29 – I tried, I really tried. Last mile, I was running to the cheers of the crowd, and did everything I possibly could. I couldn’t feel anything - it was the weirdest feeling ever and don’t know if it was just adrenaline or what. Passed a few runners going in (probably the only runners I passed all race), then finished the race.

Found Crystal, who set an amazing PR (1:23:37 – CONGRATS), and was so happy for her – she worked so hard for this, and ran extraordinarily well. We went back to the hotel to change and grab clothes for the others. Found out that everyone else PRed (CONGRATS Pat, Tim, and Megatron!), and started the celebration! Watched more of the runners finish, then headed to Lucky Strike Bowl – met up with Adam and Brian there, bowled for a while, ate dinner at Guadalajara (Tex-Mex) for some yummy Mexican food, then bar hopped around downtown. Ran into Josh Cox and Amy Hastings at the Flying Saucer which was very cool – both super nice people, and would have liked to have hung out with them all night.

27 miles this week, 80 miles in January, 80 for 2012

Monday, January 16^th – ~3 miles. Last night’s celebration took its toll, as Tim and I were a complete mess. Got up eventually to run around town for a bit. Ran through downtown on a very warm and sunny day (70’s), and just felt like complete garbage. Flew back in the evening – sad to leave Houston, but was a very fun weekend.

Tuesday, January 17^th – 4 miles. Uber cold outside. Ran very slow, and very bundled up. Looped 270 then tacked a little extra.

Wednesday, January 18th - ~5 miles. Ran with Tim around Francis Park after work. Freezing cold. Ran for about 41 minutes - legs were sore, but felt a little better afterwards.

Well, the race was very disappointing on many levels, and I wish I could have done better. I physically couldn’t have done much more, so that is my saving grace. I usually try to take something out of every race, but I didn’t really achieve anything so not sure what to think. I know I’m somewhat fit, and I know I can do better. My legs are still a bit of a mess, so plan on some light running for the next week or 2, then start on the speed block for AOH 5K, Shamrock, and hopefully blaze through a good PR in D.C. for Cherry Blossom. I split high 1:06’s in Houston despite virtually jogging the last 4 miles of that, so I know I can PR there on a decent day. I think I am going to sign up for the USTA Cross Country Championships in February, which is being held in Forest Park – it would be great speedwork, and fun to do the course that the pros are running the next day.

I talked with Crystal today, and going to start working with her on my running plans and training for the next few months with her as my consultant/coach. We train together, so it won’t be difficult to work out, but there are a lot of other areas I need to improve on, starting with doing better corework and nutrition. I need better accountability moving forward in my running and training, if I hope to improve. I’ve been better at being disciplined over the last couple months, but quite honestly there is still a long way to go. I want to PR in the ½ before this year is over – I know I can do it, and just need to work hard enough for it.

Hello Houston!

The lovely Miss Kara Goucher in person

Shalane stretching prerace

Bak leading the chase pack

Here comes Adam!

Quite the duel

Megan and I

Crystal and I coming between Miles 1 and 2

Hello?

Tim, Amy Hastings (the future Mrs. Timothy Allison), and I at Flying Saucer

6 more days!

Rupp withdraws from the Trials, Meb gets ready, Hall, 12 Fun Facts about the Olympic Trials, Makau talks about his record, Tips for racing at the trials, and Brent Vaughn.

Friday, January 6th - 7 miles. Ran after work around. Got in a pretty good rhythm and later on found out I negative split every mile. I sensed a little frustration in myself during that run from Thursday's failure, but felt decent for the most part. Splits were: 7:54, 7:43, 7:38, 7:28, 7:15, 6:36.

Saturday, January 7th - 5 miles (4 miles - 25:22). Last opportunity for a pace run before it was too late. Slept all afternoon, then got up early evening to hit this. With a little bit of yesterday's run lingering in me (and technically the 2 miles at pace on Thursday), I just wanted to hit 4 miles at pace and feel comfortable just for my own confidence. Ran a little hillier to make it more challenging. Well, mission accomplished. Had a lot more energy (more sleep and eating more iron/protein foods helps amazingly), and felt pretty good out there. Could have kept going, which is always a great sign. Perfect weather to run (40-50's and cool, barely any wind), and ran in my flats which I decided I'm going to run with in Houston. Splits were fast because my Garmin was jumping around so damn much, and it was dark outside - 6:22, 6:20, 6:21, 6:17. 10 minute jog to cool down. Wrenched my back, so was in discomfort all night.

Sunday, January 8th - 8 miles (1:08:27). The Twinkie Run. Mike came over in exactly the same shirt, so we hit the trails for an easy run. Back was still a mess, but not as bad when running. Kept it pretty steady, and felt ok for the most part. Long stretching postrun, then literally sat on the couch the rest of the day. Had visions of running again easy at night, but failed miserably. 45 miles this week, 53 miles in January, 53 miles in 2012.

Back is still really sore, but getting a little better. Easy running all week, LOTS of stretching, LOTS of eating good food, and LOTS of rest. Fly out on Friday morning with everyone, and super excited!