Happy MLK Day!

Josh Cox just misses the world record in the 50K, and Kara finishes runner up in her return back to running! Thought this was a cool GPS side by side that RW did with Garmin and Timex. I love my Garmin and am very biased, but interested in the new Timex watch - maybe I will try it out in the future...

A quick shout out to Timmy and the new blog he created for our group (Ihavetheruns.com). It is pretty much a forum of blogs that you can follow about my friends and their training and goals as this year carries on. Fun times to come, as we are in talks of some upcoming group trips in 2011 so please follow along in our respective quests!

So as usual have fallen behind in my own blog, but playing massive catchup. It's been an up and down year already as I've missed some runs here and there, but putting together some decent mileage and starting to build some good strength. I will start to transition to some speed work by the end of this month for some march races, but feeling decent about the mileage I have been putting in.

Monday, Jan 3 - 8 easy, don't remember the run.

Tuesday, Jan 4 - 8 miles - 2 up, 4 x 1 mile, 2 down. Ran up to Ebbets with Crystal, hit mile repeats with 1 minute rest in between. Perfect night to run, and felt amazing out there. Mile splits were: 6:26, 6:23, 6:20, 6:26.

Wednesday, Jan 5 - 0! Worked till almost 10 p.m., unfortunately run was not able to be done.

Thursday, Jan 6 - 0! Home late, push back to Friday.

Friday, Jan 7 - 0! I suck, decided that a greasy dinner and blue moon pitchers > workout, so went that route. Strong weekend running can save this week.

Saturday, Jan 8 - 18 miles. Long run with Crystal, typical trail run. Cold outside, went moderate/slow pace started out. Felt pretty decent throughout the run which was nice. Hit last 2 at marathon pace, and was cruising doing so. Had to slow down without making this workout too ridiculous. Avg pace: 8:24 - last 2 at 7:05, 7:03.

Sunday, Jan 9 - 10. Out of back on G.C. trails. Went slow, was pretty tired. Hit high 8 pace. 44 miles I believe, not bad.

Monday, Jan 10 - 6 - easy around town, was starting to snow and wanted to get in a run as soon as possible. Was getting pretty slick outside when I finished, lucky there wasn't much traffic because the shoulders were covered and I ran on the roads a bit. Went pretty easy because of slick conditions, no idea of pace.

Tuesday, Jan 11 - 0! Road conditions were awful.

Wednesday, Jan 12 - 6 - ran around town, snow everywhere. Lucky to get this much in, worked harder than I should have for an easy run, thus the lesser mileage.

Thursday, Jan 13 - 0! Roads were still a mess, but getting better. Got home late, just didn't make it out. Not happy with myself, made it a point to get up early for some mileage.

Friday, Jan 14 - 13 miles: 4 miles a.m., very easy and slow, 9 miles p.m. - 2 up to Ebbets Field neighborhood, 5 tempo (well really 4, did a little of Crystal's workout at the end), 2 down. Ate some chicken wings before the run and a nap, and it did not settle very well - got major cramps going up, then started to feel it into my tempo. Was supposed to hit 5 at tempo, had to stop to work out the cramp after a mile and a half, then finished the workout at 4. Splits were all over the place, not happy about that. Caught up with Crystal who was doing a fartlek, finished with her. A shame to waste perfect running weather. Tempo splits were: 6:11, 6:38 (bad cramp), 6:23, 6:09.

Saturday, Jan 15 - 10 miles - Out and back on the snowy trails with Crystal. Nothing crazy to note, felt pretty decent and we went pretty slow which was nice. High 8 minute pace, was a little chilly outside.

Sunday, Jan 16 - 18 miles - long with Crystal in Forest Park. Met up with Big River group at the Visitor's Center bright and early, pretty decent turnout (70+). Did Arch loop and back, then tacked on a bit through Forest Park. Loved that the roads through the city were clear; hilly route, but not too hard. Nice that my legs at the end felt the same as halfway through, so definitely getting stronger. 8:02 average pace, but big negative split. Hit last 2 in 7:43, 7:26 pretty comfortably. 53 miles this week - not bad considering I missed 2 runs (shame on me).

Scheduled for 6ish tonight. Legs are feeling the heavy weekend, so will be nice and slow. Going to try for some good speed work this week, so cross your fingers!