St. Pat's Recap

Patrick Smyth interview (he is running NYC 1/2 this weekend, then London next month), Kenenisa Bekele is working back to form, Rock n Roll Vegas at night (super cool!), Titans running back Chris Johnson's contingency plan if the lockout continues, Jordan Hasay is a competitor, Mo Trafeh continues his great year, Lukas Verzbicas hits the triple crown, Hansons-Brooks project expands, and finally the lovely Miss Kara Goucher.

Friday, Mar 11 - 5 miles. Jogged the St. Pat's course with Crystal after work. Nice evening to run, a little scary running on Olive at night with some crazy bums around, but made it through ok. I always forget how hilly that course is. Really fun to run around downtown, great city to be outside when it's nice.

Saturday, Mar 12 - St. Pat's 5 Miler - 8 miles: 2 up, 5 mile race (32:26 (105/8988)), 1 down. Gorgeous morning to run, and the sun was pretty intense. Goal today was to run smart, pace Crystal effectively, and have fun! Met up with the other Big River runners, and warmed up as a group around downtown. Did a few strides, warmed up with some dynamic stretching, then lined up. First time I have ever had no issues with the start, and we bounded down Market in a huge pack. Hit a pretty strong headwind, so was tucking in as much as I could. Massive hill on Market slowed us down, worked pretty hard to get up before turning onto Compton then Olive for the way back. At this point, felt controlled, but a little tired (lack of hill work was showing). Last hill on Olive before the downhill, my right calf started to act up, and the downhill was just killing me. My right calf felt like a gigantic knot/boulder. Right before the 4 mile mark, had to pull off - told Crystal I had to stretch bad, then tapered off to the side to stretch it out for about 15-20 seconds. Started back up (C was pretty far ahead), then worked with a small group to move back up. Last mile, much less wind, felt pretty good and enjoyed myself through the finish. Overall, felt decent and had a really fun time. Nice to hit the last mile fast - easiest mile I have felt in any race this year, so maybe speedwork is starting to kick in. Splits were (6:10, 6:45, 6:31, 6:45, 6:07).

Crystal finished 4th in her division, and ran a stellar 32:05! - wish I could have brought her in, but was proud of her strong finish, especially only 12 days off the marathon. My Big River teammates Kyle Cameron and Margaret Lyons won the race, keeping the St. Pat's crown in the Big River family. Awesome job to everyone!!! Celebration ensued afterwards. Lots of friends, lots of postrace beverages, and perfect weather all around. Another successful St. Pat's Day :)

Sunday, Mar 13 - 10 miles - 90 minutes. Long run with Crystal, Mike, and Pat. Did out and back on the trail, kept the pace relatively slow and enjoyed a fun run with Team Sullentrup. Crystal whipped up some strawberry smoothies afterwards which were amazing - can't beat that after a run!

42 miles this week - lower mileage, but a couple strong workouts so very pleased all around.

Crystal and I post race with her "winnings"

Kyle and I - 2011 St. Pat's Day winner

Ben and I

Pat, Crystal, and I