Found a great article about downhill running (something I need to apply in my own running) and the USA Half Marathon Championship field in Houston for this weekend. Two of my Big River teammates are running the full marathon in Houston this weekend - best of luck to Brian Lyons and Adam Macdowell!!!
Was thinking of a run a couple weeks ago, where Tim remarked about my form looking bad on some of my easier runs. I did a stride analysis at the O'Fallon Big River Running Store last year, and was shocked to see my messed up stride - basically I am slightly bowlegged, and pronate while running which at foot strike, correct at the last second - completely inefficient, and I'm wasting a ton of energy doing so. Also, I noticed that I have had a lot of lingering soreness with my IT band this winter, and noticed that I was slouching a lot on my form which lowers my center of gravity - this combined with me running more flatfooted in inclement, slippery conditions (to prevent possible slipping) has created a ton more of impact in my legs, which has inevitably led to a lot more soreness. Consequently, I have made an effort to try to correct my form - run more upright, legs more inwards, in efforts to learn a more efficient and safer running motion. This is clearly a work in progress, but one that will hopefully make me become a better runner in the long haul.
Tuesday, Jan 25 - 9 miles, 1 up, 2X3 mile at tempo (6:37 pace), 2 down. Shoulders of the roads in town are still blocked with snow and ice (unfortunately might be a while since the weather is so cold), so did our own warmups since I didn't want to run literally on the streets and run the Ebbets loop 10 times. Ate a couple slices of leftover pizza before, which was a huge mistake (need to address this poor diet thing immediately, just clogging my body with gunks of garbage), and could feel it in my warmup. First 3 mile set felt ok, but was tiring big time at the end. 3 minute rest, told Crystal to strap on her Garmin just in case because I didn't think I could make the 2nd rep (she is running sans Garmin to get better feel on her runs, so I was calling out splits). Second 3 mile set, felt better after the first mile, and just hit cruise control to finish it out. Cooldown, then home for a little stretching and bed. Splits: 6:36, 6:36, 6:31; 6:27, 6:36, 6:33.
Felt good about hitting this workout. Have a little cold which zapped some energy, but rallied to hit the splits. Crystal pretty much flew through this workout, a lot better than I did - she is in the final stage of her marathon training, and is in amazing shape. I am going to adjust my schedule to hit pace runs with her for the next 6 weeks to help her through this last stretch.
Things to work on: diet (has been atrocious with nonstop fried food, pizza, and beer), more sleep, and just taking care of myself more. They say your body is your temple, and I have trashed it every day this year. I hope to lose 5-10 lbs. over the next month by jus adjusting to a healthier lifestyle, then hitting it hard for the spring races and Boston.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Off Week
Cool Pre story, and Jenny Barringer/Simpson is awesome!
Monday, Jan 17 - 6 miles. Ran around town pretty slow with Tim. Started raining towards the end, which sucked. Felt ok, was tired from the long weekend workouts and stride felt all busted up.
Tuesday, Jan 18 - 3 miles, 1/2 mile warmup, 8 X 400, 1/2 cooldown. Pretty chilly outside, went to the track with Tim and did a quick 1/2 mile warmup, then went into 400 meter repeats. Hit the repeats from 1:24-1:26, felt really strong all around and had to slow down on every one. Ran into Andy Payne from Metromilers (local running group) and Crystal joined us later to do her workout, so was nice to have some company out there.
Wednesday, Jan 19 - 6 miles. On the eve of snowopalypse, got this one in as quick as I could. No watch, but definitely hit the 2nd half harder. Finished in 45-48 minutes I think, prob too fast but felt ok.
Thursday-Sun - 0!!! Let all the excuses fly, but the 12"+ inches of snow and cold weather didn't help. 15 glorious miles this week :( Weekend shenanigans didn't help either, but was kind of worth it. Feel pretty rested.
Monday, Jan 24 - 6 miles - 5, drills, 1 cooldown. Ran with Tim and Crystal (well sort of, she scampered well ahead of us) on the shoulder of Governor's Parkway, which was pretty cool actually. Looped around, was guiding Tim in at this point and ended up hitting a nice progressive tempo for him. I felt pretty good, and cruised with no issues. Drills were a bit messy on a snowy/icy track, but got through them ok.
Monday, Jan 17 - 6 miles. Ran around town pretty slow with Tim. Started raining towards the end, which sucked. Felt ok, was tired from the long weekend workouts and stride felt all busted up.
Tuesday, Jan 18 - 3 miles, 1/2 mile warmup, 8 X 400, 1/2 cooldown. Pretty chilly outside, went to the track with Tim and did a quick 1/2 mile warmup, then went into 400 meter repeats. Hit the repeats from 1:24-1:26, felt really strong all around and had to slow down on every one. Ran into Andy Payne from Metromilers (local running group) and Crystal joined us later to do her workout, so was nice to have some company out there.
Wednesday, Jan 19 - 6 miles. On the eve of snowopalypse, got this one in as quick as I could. No watch, but definitely hit the 2nd half harder. Finished in 45-48 minutes I think, prob too fast but felt ok.
Thursday-Sun - 0!!! Let all the excuses fly, but the 12"+ inches of snow and cold weather didn't help. 15 glorious miles this week :( Weekend shenanigans didn't help either, but was kind of worth it. Feel pretty rested.
Monday, Jan 24 - 6 miles - 5, drills, 1 cooldown. Ran with Tim and Crystal (well sort of, she scampered well ahead of us) on the shoulder of Governor's Parkway, which was pretty cool actually. Looped around, was guiding Tim in at this point and ended up hitting a nice progressive tempo for him. I felt pretty good, and cruised with no issues. Drills were a bit messy on a snowy/icy track, but got through them ok.
Monday, January 17, 2011
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!
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!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Catchup/Happy New Year!/2010 Year in Recap
Back after a lengthy vacation, let's just get at it! First, don't know what to think about Sammy Wanjiru and his recent scraps with the law, but seriously how hard is it to stay out of trouble? My Number 1 rule in life is not to threaten to shoot anyone with a gun, nor use the butt of a rifle to try to break into my house to attack my wife. Geesh!!! But apparently, all is well in the Wanjiru household and they are trying to make amends. Next, Haile's "comeback" appears to be doing well.
Monday 12/20: 3-4. Had a work dinner at this fantastic restaurant in Town and Country called Cafe Napoli2. Just amazing food, amazing service, recommend to anybody that wants to eat a very nice, intimate dinner. Ran late when I got back, felt queasy starting out and my stomach wasn't pleased. 2 miles into the run, completely threw up all my dinner and at that point my head was spinning. Run was therefore declared over.
Tuesday 12/21 - 0! Sick. Went to bed after work, slept for a good 12-13 hours straight.
Wednesday 12/22 - 0! See above
Thursday 12/23 - 0! See above
Friday 12/24 - 0! Felt a little better, but it was travel day for me. Snow started in STL in the morning, and continued all the way to Peoria. We got 7 inches, roads were unrunnable, gyms closed, therefore 0.
Saturday 12/25 (Merry Christmas!)- 8 easy. Couldn't stand not running anymore, nor the ridiculous amount of food ingested, made my way out late afternoon and braved the tiny shoulders since the town was dumped upon with snow. Not too bad, but cold and windy. Felt decent, but joints were on fire coming back because of the snow running. Mom was shocked at how far out I went (I asked about some Korean Presbyterian Church I saw on my run on some state route headed towards Kickapoo, IL (small city neighboring Peoria). I was yelled at pretty good about it too - seriously Mom, how else do you expect me to prepare for a marathon??
Sunday 12/26 - 0! Travel day back, decided to save up energy for the aggressive running week, joints were on fire and I truly was feeling like a crippled old man. 11 glorious miles for the week!
Monday 12/27 - 8 easy, drills. Vacation this week, as well as Crystal, so a lot of day runs planned. Ran 5.5 up to the track (3 in her parent's neighborhood), drills on the track which weren't too much fun for my old bones, 2.5 back. Cool part was watching all the steam rise from the track because of the sun/temperature change. 8:20ish pace.
Tuesday 12/28 - 8 total, 4 tempo. 2 up to Crystal's parent's neighborhood, 4 tempo (6:34, 6:46, 6:35, 6:36), 2 down. Felt like garbage, struggled to get through this workout. Wind was a bit of a factor, but this run shouldn't have felt this hard.
Wednesday 12/29 - 9 easy. Because of the rain, did laps around Crystal's neighborhood. Mentally was not there, therefore this run felt like it took a good few hours to finish. Almost quit on 5 separate occasions, most notably at the 6 mile marker when I actually turned off to run home only to hear Crystal yell "Wuss!", and sprinted back to finish it out. Needless to say, the last 3 miles were filled with murderous thoughts, but it got done rain and all. 8:30ish pace
Thursday - 0! No biggie, switch with Friday offday.
Friday 12/31 - 8 total, 2 up, 1X10 5K pace, 2 min off, 2 down. Did this on the trail, legs were tired at this point with the higher mileage. The repeats went by pretty quick, but was a lot harder than it should have been. We hit high 5/low 6 minute pace, leg turnover just wasn't there. I guess lack of speedwork is starting to show. On a weird temperature note, was almost 70 degrees. Last run of the year in shorts!
Saturday 1/1 - 16 easy. Did out and back with Crystal on the G.C. Trails, much colder 30 degrees. Another one of those crappy running days where nothing felt right. On the turn back, could feel my hip flexors just locking in and not firing at all, which killed my leg turnovers. Felt like I was running flat footed because of the lack of range of motion, and as a result struggled on the way in. Wind was brutal in a few parts, but got through ok. Picked it up the last 2 miles, glad to have that over with. 8:24 average pace
Sunday 1/2 - 0! Could barely walk, my knees were both locked up and the IT band/tendons were so sore I could barely walk. Painful to move around the house, let alone run 11 miles. 49 miles this week will have to do.
Today, hopefully get in some good miles. Legs feel better, but still uber sore. I am blaming this on my old age and most likely lack of stretching. Time to bust out the foam roller/stick again!
2010 was pretty much the victory march in my running career, and I hit a couple goals that I had set. Racing was mediocre at best, but the main focus of 2010 was the Boston Marathon.
Here are my highlights of running in 2010:
Best run: training, probably the solo 16 mile solo at marathon pace in February as well that was very fun. Had no business hitting a workout like that, but just clicked for that day and was cruising on the trails, just me and Mother Nature. For race, Boston for nostalgic reasons but the Top of the Hibernian 5K in March was my favorite run. Hit a pretty decent time (18:16), but just battling against Candace with everyone cheering against me was fun. Good tactical race run by me, and it was one of the few times this year (sadly) that I was not going to lose. Felt strong the entire way, ran as good as I did all year. A close second was the St. Pat's Day 5 Miler. Another strong performance, but just ran tactically stupid on the last mile and barely missed out on a PR. That course just beats me up.
Best Out of Town Run: Boulder sweeps all the awards. Ran an XC Race in January in arguably the most scenic race I have ever run (mountains in the background, lake, nature at its finest), and BolderBoulder 10K was a race on my bucket list, and it lived up to all its hype. Now if I only I could do something about that altitude. Runner up is Boston, had some fun runs around town, and obviously that nice 26.2 mile jog on Patriot's Day ;) Denver, D.C. and Chi get honorable mentions, because they are all just awesome.
Favorite run: 15 miler with Shane, Crystal, and Mike this spring. Always good to get out on a long run with Team Sullentrup, and enjoyed getting in a good run on a nice day with some good friends. Close second was the hour off, hour on run with Crystal. Big confidence booster for her for her upcoming marathon, big confidence booster (at the time) for me since my running had been suffering due to bad allergies.
Best fast long run: 1/2 in Philly - PR out of nowhere, my welcome back to running after a frustrating summer/fall. I am pretty sure Shane is my lucky charm, I run good races everytime we run together. Hit PR splits at the 10K and 10 mile, and just cruised in. Pretty much salvaged my racing year up to that point.
Favorite workout: TIE- first, track work right around when I was starting to have some bad breathing problems. Failed at completing the workout (2 miles at pace, 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster), but hit the 2 mile when I had no business doing so and felt great doing it (5:54, 5:58). 2nd was the Dallas Mayor's Race 5K. Billed from the beginning as a workout, but turned into a win for me in a decent sized field. Any victory is always fun :)
Favorite race: TIE - Philly 1/2, was obviously a thrill to PR and was an amazing trip with Marc and Shane. Boston Marathon for personal reasons with Shane, Crystal, and I running together, fulfilling the biggest goal of all, and having friends and family there to watch me run.
New PR's in 10: 1 Mile - 5:17, 1/2 Marathon - 1:25:18
Monday 12/20: 3-4. Had a work dinner at this fantastic restaurant in Town and Country called Cafe Napoli2. Just amazing food, amazing service, recommend to anybody that wants to eat a very nice, intimate dinner. Ran late when I got back, felt queasy starting out and my stomach wasn't pleased. 2 miles into the run, completely threw up all my dinner and at that point my head was spinning. Run was therefore declared over.
Tuesday 12/21 - 0! Sick. Went to bed after work, slept for a good 12-13 hours straight.
Wednesday 12/22 - 0! See above
Thursday 12/23 - 0! See above
Friday 12/24 - 0! Felt a little better, but it was travel day for me. Snow started in STL in the morning, and continued all the way to Peoria. We got 7 inches, roads were unrunnable, gyms closed, therefore 0.
Saturday 12/25 (Merry Christmas!)- 8 easy. Couldn't stand not running anymore, nor the ridiculous amount of food ingested, made my way out late afternoon and braved the tiny shoulders since the town was dumped upon with snow. Not too bad, but cold and windy. Felt decent, but joints were on fire coming back because of the snow running. Mom was shocked at how far out I went (I asked about some Korean Presbyterian Church I saw on my run on some state route headed towards Kickapoo, IL (small city neighboring Peoria). I was yelled at pretty good about it too - seriously Mom, how else do you expect me to prepare for a marathon??
Sunday 12/26 - 0! Travel day back, decided to save up energy for the aggressive running week, joints were on fire and I truly was feeling like a crippled old man. 11 glorious miles for the week!
Monday 12/27 - 8 easy, drills. Vacation this week, as well as Crystal, so a lot of day runs planned. Ran 5.5 up to the track (3 in her parent's neighborhood), drills on the track which weren't too much fun for my old bones, 2.5 back. Cool part was watching all the steam rise from the track because of the sun/temperature change. 8:20ish pace.
Tuesday 12/28 - 8 total, 4 tempo. 2 up to Crystal's parent's neighborhood, 4 tempo (6:34, 6:46, 6:35, 6:36), 2 down. Felt like garbage, struggled to get through this workout. Wind was a bit of a factor, but this run shouldn't have felt this hard.
Wednesday 12/29 - 9 easy. Because of the rain, did laps around Crystal's neighborhood. Mentally was not there, therefore this run felt like it took a good few hours to finish. Almost quit on 5 separate occasions, most notably at the 6 mile marker when I actually turned off to run home only to hear Crystal yell "Wuss!", and sprinted back to finish it out. Needless to say, the last 3 miles were filled with murderous thoughts, but it got done rain and all. 8:30ish pace
Thursday - 0! No biggie, switch with Friday offday.
Friday 12/31 - 8 total, 2 up, 1X10 5K pace, 2 min off, 2 down. Did this on the trail, legs were tired at this point with the higher mileage. The repeats went by pretty quick, but was a lot harder than it should have been. We hit high 5/low 6 minute pace, leg turnover just wasn't there. I guess lack of speedwork is starting to show. On a weird temperature note, was almost 70 degrees. Last run of the year in shorts!
Saturday 1/1 - 16 easy. Did out and back with Crystal on the G.C. Trails, much colder 30 degrees. Another one of those crappy running days where nothing felt right. On the turn back, could feel my hip flexors just locking in and not firing at all, which killed my leg turnovers. Felt like I was running flat footed because of the lack of range of motion, and as a result struggled on the way in. Wind was brutal in a few parts, but got through ok. Picked it up the last 2 miles, glad to have that over with. 8:24 average pace
Sunday 1/2 - 0! Could barely walk, my knees were both locked up and the IT band/tendons were so sore I could barely walk. Painful to move around the house, let alone run 11 miles. 49 miles this week will have to do.
Today, hopefully get in some good miles. Legs feel better, but still uber sore. I am blaming this on my old age and most likely lack of stretching. Time to bust out the foam roller/stick again!
2010 was pretty much the victory march in my running career, and I hit a couple goals that I had set. Racing was mediocre at best, but the main focus of 2010 was the Boston Marathon.
Here are my highlights of running in 2010:
Best run: training, probably the solo 16 mile solo at marathon pace in February as well that was very fun. Had no business hitting a workout like that, but just clicked for that day and was cruising on the trails, just me and Mother Nature. For race, Boston for nostalgic reasons but the Top of the Hibernian 5K in March was my favorite run. Hit a pretty decent time (18:16), but just battling against Candace with everyone cheering against me was fun. Good tactical race run by me, and it was one of the few times this year (sadly) that I was not going to lose. Felt strong the entire way, ran as good as I did all year. A close second was the St. Pat's Day 5 Miler. Another strong performance, but just ran tactically stupid on the last mile and barely missed out on a PR. That course just beats me up.
Best Out of Town Run: Boulder sweeps all the awards. Ran an XC Race in January in arguably the most scenic race I have ever run (mountains in the background, lake, nature at its finest), and BolderBoulder 10K was a race on my bucket list, and it lived up to all its hype. Now if I only I could do something about that altitude. Runner up is Boston, had some fun runs around town, and obviously that nice 26.2 mile jog on Patriot's Day ;) Denver, D.C. and Chi get honorable mentions, because they are all just awesome.
Favorite run: 15 miler with Shane, Crystal, and Mike this spring. Always good to get out on a long run with Team Sullentrup, and enjoyed getting in a good run on a nice day with some good friends. Close second was the hour off, hour on run with Crystal. Big confidence booster for her for her upcoming marathon, big confidence booster (at the time) for me since my running had been suffering due to bad allergies.
Best fast long run: 1/2 in Philly - PR out of nowhere, my welcome back to running after a frustrating summer/fall. I am pretty sure Shane is my lucky charm, I run good races everytime we run together. Hit PR splits at the 10K and 10 mile, and just cruised in. Pretty much salvaged my racing year up to that point.
Favorite workout: TIE- first, track work right around when I was starting to have some bad breathing problems. Failed at completing the workout (2 miles at pace, 1 mile 10-15 seconds faster), but hit the 2 mile when I had no business doing so and felt great doing it (5:54, 5:58). 2nd was the Dallas Mayor's Race 5K. Billed from the beginning as a workout, but turned into a win for me in a decent sized field. Any victory is always fun :)
Favorite race: TIE - Philly 1/2, was obviously a thrill to PR and was an amazing trip with Marc and Shane. Boston Marathon for personal reasons with Shane, Crystal, and I running together, fulfilling the biggest goal of all, and having friends and family there to watch me run.
New PR's in 10: 1 Mile - 5:17, 1/2 Marathon - 1:25:18
Monday, December 20, 2010
Wrapping up 2010
Wow, just looked at the calendar, and realized we have only 11 more days left in 2010! Runners World realized that, and developed a nice year in review for 2010. Kara has ramped up her mileage for Boston, Haile signs with Johnnie Walker, and what the McMillan athletes are up to these days. In the next week, I will be developing my own year in review (personal and running world), my Brooks Adrenaline shoe review, and my plans for 2011.
Wednesday - 4 easy at night. Got home way too late, roads were still nasty and didn't do too much. Poor excuse, I know, but better than nothing.
Thursday - I am drawing a blank. I think I ran 4-6? I seriously don't remember.
Friday - 0! Got home at 9, late dinner, decided to save all my efforts for heavy weekend running.
Saturday - 16 at 7:38 average pace. Decent day, but the trails were a bit of a mess. Did Troy loop, went a different way because the ice that was around and ended up looking around the city of Troy. Didn't realize that I was going too fast, not the best idea especially in crappy conditions. Looped around my neighborhood, then stopped at home after 13 miles to grab some water and a quick bite to eat, and finished up afterwards. Felt great starting out, but felt like complete garbage at the end.
Sunday - 10 at 8:30 average pace. Ran with Mike (Crystal has been shelved with some nasty bug (get better soon, Crystal!)) in the early morning. Did a similar loop to the day before, had been snowing lightly in the morning, and trails were s-l-i-c-k! Shortened up the stride to combat potential slipping. Hip flexors/joints were a mess by the end of the run, really felt beat up.
On a brighter note, got my renewal from Brooks for 2011. I actually got upgraded to the P.A.C.E. Brooks team (Performance and Coaching Elite), which has some extra, nice perks so super excited and motivated to keep running hard for my sponsor for 2011! Thank you Brooks!!!!
Wednesday - 4 easy at night. Got home way too late, roads were still nasty and didn't do too much. Poor excuse, I know, but better than nothing.
Thursday - I am drawing a blank. I think I ran 4-6? I seriously don't remember.
Friday - 0! Got home at 9, late dinner, decided to save all my efforts for heavy weekend running.
Saturday - 16 at 7:38 average pace. Decent day, but the trails were a bit of a mess. Did Troy loop, went a different way because the ice that was around and ended up looking around the city of Troy. Didn't realize that I was going too fast, not the best idea especially in crappy conditions. Looped around my neighborhood, then stopped at home after 13 miles to grab some water and a quick bite to eat, and finished up afterwards. Felt great starting out, but felt like complete garbage at the end.
Sunday - 10 at 8:30 average pace. Ran with Mike (Crystal has been shelved with some nasty bug (get better soon, Crystal!)) in the early morning. Did a similar loop to the day before, had been snowing lightly in the morning, and trails were s-l-i-c-k! Shortened up the stride to combat potential slipping. Hip flexors/joints were a mess by the end of the run, really felt beat up.
On a brighter note, got my renewal from Brooks for 2011. I actually got upgraded to the P.A.C.E. Brooks team (Performance and Coaching Elite), which has some extra, nice perks so super excited and motivated to keep running hard for my sponsor for 2011! Thank you Brooks!!!!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Kara/Massive Update
Guess who's coming back to Boston next year? Pretty awesome news :) London is beefing up their marathon as well, and a cool Runner's World chat with Mary Wittenberg.
As usual, have fallen massively behind. I last left off on the week of Dallas, so tried to piece together my workouts since then.
Wednesday (Dec 2) - 8 easy. Did with Crystal on the trail, and wasn't too bad. As usual, picked it up coming home but got through it ok. Average low 8's
Thursday (Dec 3) - Scheduled 6 with form drills, but I feel like I missed it for some reason.
Friday (Dec 4) - Scheduled off/traveled to Dallas for the White Rock Marathon weekend! Ken was running the full, Pat and Crystal the 1/2, and I was running the 5K for fun and pacing Ken the last 10K or so. Got in late, relaxed in our hotel, I had to get up early for my race.
Saturday (Dec 5) - Mayor's Race 5K - 19:02, 1st Place! Woke up early with the group, headed to Fair Park where the race was held. Nice morning, pretty warm and sunny. Warmed up 1 mile with Pat and got a quick tour of the course, which just looped all around the Park. Lined up up front, and went out with a small group. Was third after a quick first mile (5:43), and slowly worked my way up. The purpose of this race was to get in a decent workout and not overly kill myself, so just sat on the leaders for a while. Coming down early on the last mile, made a move but the leader covered it. Had made a mental note during warmup to kick when the finish line balloons were in sight (roughly 1/3 mile to go) and opened up a pretty big gap. The former leader tried to cover, but it was too late and I cruised in for the win. Did 1-2 mile cooldown with Crystal afterwards, relaxed the rest of the day around downtown Dallas which was just erfect weather - 70's. Total mileage - 5-6 miles: 5K splits were: 5:43, 6:14, 6:15. See picture above, one of the coolest pictures ever taken of me!
Sunday (Dec 6) - 7 miles on the White Rock Marathon Course. Got to play spectator for everyone, and jump in with Ken at the end. We didn't see Pat, but he was busy taking care of business and killed it on a great weather day (30-40's, sunny) and ran 1:55:32 PR!!!! Crystal also ran an amazing race (1:26:36) on tired legs for 3rd overall female - just an amazing racing year for her! She looked good when we saw her, and had some hamstring issues but battled it through. Ken, unfortunately, had some issues, but worked hard to finish a tough race. Proud that he gutted it out when he could have quit, and we had fun the last 10K just yucking it up and enjoying the scenary. Congrats to all on a great race! 34 miles for the week, not bad but certainly not good.
Monday (Dec 7) - 4 miles, 8:30ish pace. Off to Parsippany, NJ for a work conference! Made it in to the cold, dreary, east coast, and battled the evil treadmill in the hotel gym that had no air circulation.
Tuesday (Dec 8) - 8 miles, drills. Conference all day, started a treadmill run around 9 p.m. but gave up a mile into it because it was so hot. Strapped on some running clothes, got moving down the road. Was dark and a really creepy road with abandoned buildings, and was getting a bit freaked out since it looked like a setting for a Stephen King novel. Battled some stomach issues, had to stop in some weird dinner to use the bathroom and got a lot of nervous looks since I was dressed head to toe in black. Finally got out of there, almost had a panic attack with the scenary, messed up intersections, and the 55-60 mph cars whizzing by and just high tailed it back to the hotel. Hit 5:29 on that last mile, which is just ridiculous. Did drills outside, and finished my run on the treadmill with 2 at marathon pace.
Wednesday (Dec 9) - 8 miles. Refused to go outside again, suffered on the treadmill. Thank goodness there was some good college basketball on.
Thursday (Dec 10) - 0! Travel day - made it back late, decided to switch it up with my Friday day off since I wasn't working.
Friday (Dec 11) - 7 miles, drills, strides. Absolutely gorgeous day to be off. Ran on the trail to Pat's place and did 4 with him, then ran back home and did drills and strides on my neighborhood road. Nice to get that out of the way earlier in the day.
Saturday (Dec 12) - 14 miles, 7:30-7:40 pace average. Cold and rainy outside, waited till early afternoon to get out there and battled it out on our G.C. trail long loop with Crystal. Came back into the wind and rain, and was pretty miserable. At that point, we picked it up and hit 5 miles or so around marathon pace. Felt pretty good till around mile 10, when my legs were getting really tired. Slowed it down the last couple miles which helped, but my legs felt like complete garbage at the end. Kudos to Mike and the other crazies that battled it out on the St. Louis Track Club Frostbite Series. Absolutely crappy conditions (rain, wind, cold), and Mike ran a pretty solid race.
Sunday (Dec 13) - 0! The snow and 30-50 mph gusts made it almost impossible to run outside. Plus, legs were dead, exhausted from a full week of work travel and running, and my couch's gravitational pull/vortex won. 41 miles this week. Getting better, I guess.
Monday (Dec 14) - 7 miles, no idea the pace. Crappy conditions, started with my 3 mile G.C. loop but the sidewalks were covered in snow. Ended up going to the trail, which had some snow but was light. Had a Forrest Gump moment since the trees were blocking out all the wind, and was a pretty, starry night. Just a very nice, peaceful setting. Criused home, stretched out massively afterwards since my legs were sore.
Tuesday (Dec 15) - 0! Was ready to run and was on the couch texting with Crystal since she was bailing out on our tempo run. Made the mistake of laying down while I texted her, and Franklin was purring next to me all cuddly and next thing I knew it was 2 hours later! Pretty angry at myself, just poor discipline.
Wednesday (Dec 16) - 7 total, 3 tempo at 6:28, 6;19, 6:19. Crystal had mapped out a 1 mile loop in her parent's neighborhood, located conveniently about 2 miles away. Jogged up there, roads were slick and had some slight precipitation. Started the tempo into a pretty stiff wind, and half the roads were covered in slush. Was just a rough run, and my hip flexors weren't firing at all not to mention traction was a bit of an issue. Felt like I was looking 1/4 of a stride at certain points. Anyways, battled through it - highlight was passing the guy riding his bike/walking his dog 3 separate times. He did a double take each time, but he gets credit for me surging through because I was not a happy camper out there. Cooled down on the way home, roads were starting to become a mess at that point, and barely made it back before it was getting really nasty. Took a hard spill on the sidewalk later that night walking to check on my car, which means no run outside for a while.
Tonight, hope to get in the scheduled 8, probably via treadmill!
As usual, have fallen massively behind. I last left off on the week of Dallas, so tried to piece together my workouts since then.
Wednesday (Dec 2) - 8 easy. Did with Crystal on the trail, and wasn't too bad. As usual, picked it up coming home but got through it ok. Average low 8's
Thursday (Dec 3) - Scheduled 6 with form drills, but I feel like I missed it for some reason.
Friday (Dec 4) - Scheduled off/traveled to Dallas for the White Rock Marathon weekend! Ken was running the full, Pat and Crystal the 1/2, and I was running the 5K for fun and pacing Ken the last 10K or so. Got in late, relaxed in our hotel, I had to get up early for my race.
Saturday (Dec 5) - Mayor's Race 5K - 19:02, 1st Place! Woke up early with the group, headed to Fair Park where the race was held. Nice morning, pretty warm and sunny. Warmed up 1 mile with Pat and got a quick tour of the course, which just looped all around the Park. Lined up up front, and went out with a small group. Was third after a quick first mile (5:43), and slowly worked my way up. The purpose of this race was to get in a decent workout and not overly kill myself, so just sat on the leaders for a while. Coming down early on the last mile, made a move but the leader covered it. Had made a mental note during warmup to kick when the finish line balloons were in sight (roughly 1/3 mile to go) and opened up a pretty big gap. The former leader tried to cover, but it was too late and I cruised in for the win. Did 1-2 mile cooldown with Crystal afterwards, relaxed the rest of the day around downtown Dallas which was just erfect weather - 70's. Total mileage - 5-6 miles: 5K splits were: 5:43, 6:14, 6:15. See picture above, one of the coolest pictures ever taken of me!
Sunday (Dec 6) - 7 miles on the White Rock Marathon Course. Got to play spectator for everyone, and jump in with Ken at the end. We didn't see Pat, but he was busy taking care of business and killed it on a great weather day (30-40's, sunny) and ran 1:55:32 PR!!!! Crystal also ran an amazing race (1:26:36) on tired legs for 3rd overall female - just an amazing racing year for her! She looked good when we saw her, and had some hamstring issues but battled it through. Ken, unfortunately, had some issues, but worked hard to finish a tough race. Proud that he gutted it out when he could have quit, and we had fun the last 10K just yucking it up and enjoying the scenary. Congrats to all on a great race! 34 miles for the week, not bad but certainly not good.
Monday (Dec 7) - 4 miles, 8:30ish pace. Off to Parsippany, NJ for a work conference! Made it in to the cold, dreary, east coast, and battled the evil treadmill in the hotel gym that had no air circulation.
Tuesday (Dec 8) - 8 miles, drills. Conference all day, started a treadmill run around 9 p.m. but gave up a mile into it because it was so hot. Strapped on some running clothes, got moving down the road. Was dark and a really creepy road with abandoned buildings, and was getting a bit freaked out since it looked like a setting for a Stephen King novel. Battled some stomach issues, had to stop in some weird dinner to use the bathroom and got a lot of nervous looks since I was dressed head to toe in black. Finally got out of there, almost had a panic attack with the scenary, messed up intersections, and the 55-60 mph cars whizzing by and just high tailed it back to the hotel. Hit 5:29 on that last mile, which is just ridiculous. Did drills outside, and finished my run on the treadmill with 2 at marathon pace.
Wednesday (Dec 9) - 8 miles. Refused to go outside again, suffered on the treadmill. Thank goodness there was some good college basketball on.
Thursday (Dec 10) - 0! Travel day - made it back late, decided to switch it up with my Friday day off since I wasn't working.
Friday (Dec 11) - 7 miles, drills, strides. Absolutely gorgeous day to be off. Ran on the trail to Pat's place and did 4 with him, then ran back home and did drills and strides on my neighborhood road. Nice to get that out of the way earlier in the day.
Saturday (Dec 12) - 14 miles, 7:30-7:40 pace average. Cold and rainy outside, waited till early afternoon to get out there and battled it out on our G.C. trail long loop with Crystal. Came back into the wind and rain, and was pretty miserable. At that point, we picked it up and hit 5 miles or so around marathon pace. Felt pretty good till around mile 10, when my legs were getting really tired. Slowed it down the last couple miles which helped, but my legs felt like complete garbage at the end. Kudos to Mike and the other crazies that battled it out on the St. Louis Track Club Frostbite Series. Absolutely crappy conditions (rain, wind, cold), and Mike ran a pretty solid race.
Sunday (Dec 13) - 0! The snow and 30-50 mph gusts made it almost impossible to run outside. Plus, legs were dead, exhausted from a full week of work travel and running, and my couch's gravitational pull/vortex won. 41 miles this week. Getting better, I guess.
Monday (Dec 14) - 7 miles, no idea the pace. Crappy conditions, started with my 3 mile G.C. loop but the sidewalks were covered in snow. Ended up going to the trail, which had some snow but was light. Had a Forrest Gump moment since the trees were blocking out all the wind, and was a pretty, starry night. Just a very nice, peaceful setting. Criused home, stretched out massively afterwards since my legs were sore.
Tuesday (Dec 15) - 0! Was ready to run and was on the couch texting with Crystal since she was bailing out on our tempo run. Made the mistake of laying down while I texted her, and Franklin was purring next to me all cuddly and next thing I knew it was 2 hours later! Pretty angry at myself, just poor discipline.
Wednesday (Dec 16) - 7 total, 3 tempo at 6:28, 6;19, 6:19. Crystal had mapped out a 1 mile loop in her parent's neighborhood, located conveniently about 2 miles away. Jogged up there, roads were slick and had some slight precipitation. Started the tempo into a pretty stiff wind, and half the roads were covered in slush. Was just a rough run, and my hip flexors weren't firing at all not to mention traction was a bit of an issue. Felt like I was looking 1/4 of a stride at certain points. Anyways, battled through it - highlight was passing the guy riding his bike/walking his dog 3 separate times. He did a double take each time, but he gets credit for me surging through because I was not a happy camper out there. Cooled down on the way home, roads were starting to become a mess at that point, and barely made it back before it was getting really nasty. Took a hard spill on the sidewalk later that night walking to check on my car, which means no run outside for a while.
Tonight, hope to get in the scheduled 8, probably via treadmill!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Catchup
Sorry, have fallen behind. Here is my concise running update - more to come!
Tuesday - 0! Sore, just ran out of time in the day to get in anything productive so opted for rest
Wednesday - 0! Drove home to Peoria in a niec rain storm which stretched all the way up north. By the time I was done with all my work, it was 7 and time to meet the family out for dinner. Still raining when we were done, excuses, excuses, I know, but I was just too tired at that point to try to gut it out.
Thursday - 8, drills. Happy Thanksgiving! A little chilly, but not awful. Ran 8 around my parent's neighborhood and vicinity which is by no means flat, and my calves were just screaming when I was done. Hit 7:40 pace average, which I was pleased about but probably worked a little too hard. Ran out around Weaver Ridge, which is a really nice golf course/community about 3 miles away. Measured out 40 yards afterwards, and had some perplexed looks by the neighbors as I was doing form drills. Undid virtually everything with the Thanksgiving meal performance I put on later that night, but it was truly worth it!
Friday - 5 easy, long day since I had to drive to work in STL in the morning, and was just pooped.
Saturday - 8 easy with Ken. Met out in Alton for the Alton 10 miler, where I had a few friends running (Mike and Crystal included). Did an out and back on the course, which was dead flat. Brisk, but very sunny and a slight wind (into the wind going out, with the wind going back). Hit roughly 8:20 pace, last 2 miles were at marathon pace. Forgot my inhaler, but survived. Got pretty warm going in, and both of us were just having fun out there. Watched the race, to make a long story short, AMAZING PR performances from Mike and Crystal, and both got some nice bling (Mike was Top 35 male, Crystal was 2nd overall female!). Crystal's time was most particularly disturbing for me, as our hard runs this winter are going to be excruciating since she is getting faster by the day.
Sunday - 9 with Crystal. Forgot my inhaler again, dah! Cool, but sunny so was nice to get out there. Both of us were sore and tired, and just did an out and back on the G.C. trails. Looks like they finally repaired the other side of the trail, which will open up more options later. Felt ok for the most part, nice to get that over with early on. I think 8:30-8:45 average pace? 35 miles for the week, eek!
Monday - 6 with Crystal. Did my G.C. loop at night, had been raining all day/night but wasn't bad at all. Got pretty warm in my jacket, and almost ripped it off at a few points. Felt sore starting out, but felt pretty decent towards the end. I think it was about 8:10-8:20 average pace?
Tuesday - 7 total, 3.5 up, drills and strides, 2.5 down, 1 more afterwards. Cold and windy, winter is right around the corner. Bundled up for this one, was getting cold on the track doing drills. Strides felt ok for the most part, nothing too special, but didn't push at all and felt very fluid in my running form. Pretty curious to see how things go on Saturday for my 5K in Dallas...
Tonight, planning on 8 easy. and the weather looks nice and cold tonight. Stay warm, everyone!
Tuesday - 0! Sore, just ran out of time in the day to get in anything productive so opted for rest
Wednesday - 0! Drove home to Peoria in a niec rain storm which stretched all the way up north. By the time I was done with all my work, it was 7 and time to meet the family out for dinner. Still raining when we were done, excuses, excuses, I know, but I was just too tired at that point to try to gut it out.
Thursday - 8, drills. Happy Thanksgiving! A little chilly, but not awful. Ran 8 around my parent's neighborhood and vicinity which is by no means flat, and my calves were just screaming when I was done. Hit 7:40 pace average, which I was pleased about but probably worked a little too hard. Ran out around Weaver Ridge, which is a really nice golf course/community about 3 miles away. Measured out 40 yards afterwards, and had some perplexed looks by the neighbors as I was doing form drills. Undid virtually everything with the Thanksgiving meal performance I put on later that night, but it was truly worth it!
Friday - 5 easy, long day since I had to drive to work in STL in the morning, and was just pooped.
Saturday - 8 easy with Ken. Met out in Alton for the Alton 10 miler, where I had a few friends running (Mike and Crystal included). Did an out and back on the course, which was dead flat. Brisk, but very sunny and a slight wind (into the wind going out, with the wind going back). Hit roughly 8:20 pace, last 2 miles were at marathon pace. Forgot my inhaler, but survived. Got pretty warm going in, and both of us were just having fun out there. Watched the race, to make a long story short, AMAZING PR performances from Mike and Crystal, and both got some nice bling (Mike was Top 35 male, Crystal was 2nd overall female!). Crystal's time was most particularly disturbing for me, as our hard runs this winter are going to be excruciating since she is getting faster by the day.
Sunday - 9 with Crystal. Forgot my inhaler again, dah! Cool, but sunny so was nice to get out there. Both of us were sore and tired, and just did an out and back on the G.C. trails. Looks like they finally repaired the other side of the trail, which will open up more options later. Felt ok for the most part, nice to get that over with early on. I think 8:30-8:45 average pace? 35 miles for the week, eek!
Monday - 6 with Crystal. Did my G.C. loop at night, had been raining all day/night but wasn't bad at all. Got pretty warm in my jacket, and almost ripped it off at a few points. Felt sore starting out, but felt pretty decent towards the end. I think it was about 8:10-8:20 average pace?
Tuesday - 7 total, 3.5 up, drills and strides, 2.5 down, 1 more afterwards. Cold and windy, winter is right around the corner. Bundled up for this one, was getting cold on the track doing drills. Strides felt ok for the most part, nothing too special, but didn't push at all and felt very fluid in my running form. Pretty curious to see how things go on Saturday for my 5K in Dallas...
Tonight, planning on 8 easy. and the weather looks nice and cold tonight. Stay warm, everyone!
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