Mucho Catchup, McKendree HarvestFest 1/2 Marathon Recap

The lovely Miss Kara Goucher

That's all I got - too much to catch up.  Excuse the condensed format, but going off Garmin and what little I remember over the last month or so...

7/28 - 8/3: 60 miles.
Key Workouts:
- 8x1 mile (1 minute rest) and half marathon pace (~6:45-6:50).  Trail workout towards Troy and back on a warm, but nice evening.  Splits were: 6:38. 6:46, 6:40, 6:35, 6:37, 6:37, 6:37, 6:30.  Huge credit to Jon and Ryan Yoch, who joined me for the fun for the last 4 reps.  Felt very pleased with this workout, as I felt tired but managed just fine.
- 10 x (30 sec hard, 1 minute off).  Neighborhood run with Crystal.  Killed it, as we dipped in the high 4's but pretty consistent at 5 minute pace.  We got in roughly 2.2 miles in the deal, which was solid.
- 20 miler.  Joe Lyons get huge props for running it all with me, and Crystal as well as she jumped in for all the middle miles (8 I think?).  Very tired running bright and early, as we did Marine loop before heading back to pick Crystal up.  Did out and back with her, before Joe and I finished up on the trails and on Village Circle.  Scheduled fast finish, which I had originally put off, but Joe made me do it and glad we did.  I felt like complete garbage at the end, but made it through.  These 4:30 a.m. starts are brutal!  2:39:34 total (last 2 miles in 7:36, 6:46), 7:59 average pace overall.
Miles in July: 213 in July, 1318.5 miles in 2014.  

Collinsville track run with Colby and Crystal

Craigers and I post run

8/4 - 8/10: 55 miles.
Key Workouts:
- Crapped out on 3x3 miles.  Weather was killer, and never made it out :(
- 12 mile marathon pace.  Yoch and Crystal paced me on out and back towards Marine on the trail.  Humid, overcast day, and really had issues with this run.  Thought I got settled in, but by the second mile I knew it was gonna be a tough one out there.  Gutted it through Mile 6, before I had to stop and take a walk break.  Caught them on the way back, and did 2 more before suffering a terrible death on the trails.  Walked a little more, then did 2 more hard before calling it a day.  Crystal was kind enough to jog out and meet me, so we literally walked it in the last mile or so.  Rough day in the office, and only got in 10 miles at pace, albeit broken up.  Splits were: 7:01, 7:06, 7:07, 7:07, 7:05, 7:11, 7:11, 7:17, 6:59, 6:51

Here was the email I wrote to Coach Kyle - I am more or less copying and pasting, and will put some notes on the side.

8/11-8/17: 50 miles.  20 miler fast finish 3 (7:03, 6:57, 6:45) was the highlight.  Executed well with the help of Joe Lyons (and Crystal).  Was really hurting at the end, but probably because humidity and lack of hydration.  I have literally run every long run with minimal fluid and food intake, which may be a mental/physical bonus in a way.  But I will be using gels/hydration here on out for workouts/long runs.  2:35:57 total, 7:48 average pace.

Baby sitting adorable nephew

20 miler fast finish

8/18-8/24: 45-50 miles.  Bad.  Missed both workouts, but hit Stan Nelson on the dreadmill - very tough mentally and physically.  The first hour was easy, but was sweating so much and took a quick break every 20-30 minutes to wipe off sweat and hydrate.  I sweated so much that the insoles on my shoes got stuck on the bottom of my feet, and kept slipping out of the shoe – had to adjust literally almost 10 times on the last 30 minutes!  15.75 miles – 2 hours.  I sent you the picture of the damage.  Weather this week was absolutely BRUTAL – heat indexes in the 100-110’s pretty much every day

Longest dreadmill run ever

Suffering from the brutal heat

KT-82 Planning Meeting

8/25-8/31: ~50 miles.  Bad.  Mile repeats were a complete fail after 6 – stomach issues, and had to stop for bathroom breaks twice.  Hit 6:45-6:50 for the first 3, then watch died and guessing about same effort on the next 3 before my second bathroom break and was just mentally fried at that point and quit.  Not good.  Went into Trail Relay with wanting to do around marathon effort, but got pretty caught up in the swing of things and got more competitive, especially since we had a chance to win.

 Trail 1^st leg – CC Park.  Got caught up in the spirit of the competition, and Mike Orrico was on my leg and went out like a bat from hell, and for sure wasn’t going to let him gap me.  He led us out really fast, so sat patiently at my own pace before moving up.  Worked with another guy for 2 miles, as we navigated through another 5K race that was going on and a ton of walkers/bikers.  Picked it up a little at the end to get us the lead, and felt comfortably uncomfortable for that leg.  ~3.6 miles – 6:18 average.  Pleased that speed hasn’t completely left me, and had another gear or 2 if needed. 

Off we go!

Prerace with Mikey

Mikey setting the pace

First handoff to Colby - in the lead!

Trail 2^nd leg – Trail leg.  Just rough.  First mile was relatively flat, before we turned off for trail/trail section.  Jon Carl was volunteering and saw me, and I asked about the upcoming trail and he just pointed up and grimaced.  F*ck.  Climbed for a long time, and was sweating bullets since we were pretty exposed to the sun for awhile, and it had gotten pretty hot and humid.  Caught a few people on the super long hill, and passed the aid station where I snagged a bottle of water which I would use to pour on my head/body every couple minutes.  Made my way down some windy, rocky, downwards sloped path and eventually turned into some single track sections which were very tricky in terms of footing.  The section went by pretty fast, since I basically had to pay attention to the windy turns and changes in the terrain.  Very, very fun, but a few walk breaks up some monster hills and it really tore me up.  ~5.97 miles – 7:45 average pace.  Was not happy with my overall split, but everyone more or less told me that it’s at least a minute or so per mile difference on the trail so felt better.  9:44 5^th mile murdered my average split, but had issues with passing a few people on the single track which contributed to that whopper. 

Gabe handing off for my second leg

Serenity now

2nd exchange to Colby

Trail 3^rd leg – Trail leg, but soft trails and like a bike path.  Legs were pretty dead at this point.  Straight ahead, and felt like an oven in the trees since there was minimal wind out there at that point.  Just tried to gut it out, but had nothing in the tank and my stomach was a mess from nonstop fluid intake from the heat.  Threw up somewhere past the half, and just kept trying to hold course.  ~3.5 miles – 6:58 average pace.  Ugh

Super fun time, and we ended up getting the W which was awesome and cool to do in the inaugural year.  Everyone was pretty wore out though, because the exchanges were so fast and very little time to rest in between.  Relays are fun, but definitely tough and may be a little bit before I do one again. 

Team "Smells Like Team Spirit"

Champs

Franklin with his new trophy

Had to cut back mileage a little because my legs were more or less wrecked from the race.  Ran yesterday night regular, and feel fully recovered – 7:50avg. for 40 minutes, and more or less had to slow down the entire time.  Worried a little bit overall – missed out on a lot of the mileage I prob needed.  Balance (in life) is very difficult right now, but managing my best and trying not to get burnt out in life.  It helps to have friends there pushing me, for sure. This Sat will be a nice test -  I am curious to see how pace feels.  I definitely crapped out on the 12 miler, but the conditions will be better and a more race type situation.  Gonna get my ipod ready to go ,and don’t foresee too many issues.  The cooler weather will help too J

3 weeks to go – need to concentrate on hitting these last few workouts and getting in the mileage.  Need to really concentrate on nutrition and food intake.  I got down to 181 in weight before the weekend (big ugh), so I would love to ideally be at 170 for Berlin but 175 will be serviceable as well.  I’ve cut out juice out of my diet and replaced with a ton of water, and eating as little processed food as possible which has actually helped my energy level a bit.  Work has really worn me out, but I have had good energy on my runs and started doing some runners yoga to really strengthen my flexibility and core.  Crunch time, but ready for the challenge!

234.5 miles in August, 1553 miles in 2014.  Strong month, despite missing a lot of stuff.

My buddy's new puppy - ADORABLE

Monday, 9/1 - 6 miles

Tuesday, 9/2 - 5 miles

Wednesday, 9/3 - 16 miles (3x4 miles at 10-15 seconds faster than marathon pace (adjusted goal pace was 7:00 min/mile).  Email to Coach Kyle below, but pretty happy overall.  This was a tough one.

Very tough.  I missed the last couple workouts (these workouts are progression for each other (i.e. building blocks)), so hurts to miss).  Didn’t hydrate enough, and the humidity got me at the end.  Was going to quit many times, but gutted it out.  It was really dark outside by the time I started, so did all over the place.

Anyways, workout was 3x4 miles at 10-15 seconds faster than marathon pace, so wanted to hit right around 7:00 min pace initially so 28:00 splits desired.  Splits were:

1 - 27:24 (trails).  Not too bad, felt very much in control

2- estimated 27:28 (Village Circle - didn’t start watch correctly, had 6:52 pace for 2.5 miles but did do all 4 miles)  Started to feel it the last half

3 - 26:29 (Crystal’s neighborhood).  Torture at the end – mentally fried and physically my legs were starting to hurt

Thursday, 9/4 - 5 miles

Friday, 9/5 - 4 miles

Saturday, 9/6 - ~22 miles (MCKENDREE HARVESTFEST 1/2 MARATHON).  Yoch talked me into doing with him (defending champion), and got the OK from Coach Kyle since the weather was looking very good (high 60's, overcast/rainy).  Did a 15 minute shakeout when I woke up, then drove out to Lebanon to the University, and did a 3 mile warmup with Yoch to get moving a bit.  Legs felt like crap, and we ran the last couple miles of the course to get a feel for it - rolling hills, which I'm typically not a big fan of.  The race strategy was to do a marathon pace run, since I missed the 16 mile pace run for the KT82 Trail race.  So my target was 7:10-7:15, and felt that was doable given the conditions.  The 5K started with the half, and we looped through the rolling hills on the back of the university before hitting the country roads.  Basically ran by myself the entire way, and was pretty tired before snapping out of my funk and getting locked in.  Mile 9 was "Hill Country", and it was a pretty rough stretch of long, steep rolling hills that definitely beat me up a bit.  Intentionally held back a bit, but regained pace once we got out of that mess.  Split high 1:32 for the half (the course is intentionally 13.25 miles (don't ask)), then more or less jogged in to finish second behind Yoch, who set a new course record!  Cooled down for ~4 miles, before calling it a day.  Had a blast, and was very happy with the effort.  Tough day, but got in some good work.  1:34:38 for the 13.25 miles; 7:08 average pace.

Yoch and I at beginning of the race

Right before the 5K turnoff - was seriously considering taking that turn

Finish!

Bling, bling

1-2

Franklin's new toys

 Fun times - more to come.  2 more weeks till I leave for Berlin!

Big Ten 10K Race Recap

Emma Coburn, Shalane is joining me in Berlin, Meb running NYC.

Fell behind (again), but I have remembered most of the details.  It's been a rough few weeks, but got in some really good work in July!

Friday, July 4^th – 5 miles.  I don’t remember details at all.  Happy Birthday, 'Murica!

Saturday, July 5^th – 16 miles.  Long run bright and early with Mike and Crystal with Coach Kyle biking.  Team Sullentrup Reunion!  Crystal and I did the first 5 miles or so on the trail towards Marine, before catching Mike at the trail entrance.  For old time’s sake, we did the Old Faithful/Home Depot loop with a water break at Township Park.  Legs were getting really tired towards the end, and Mike and I were getting strung out by Crystal’s pace pushing before she finally broke us and scampered away down the stretch.  But in all seriousness, I had a blast and it was hard work but a solid run for me.  2:06:59 total, 7:56 average pace.

Grill time during holiday weekend

311/Urge Concert with my homeboys

Sunday, July 6^th – 3 miles shakeout run late at night.  Legs were dead, and body was beat up from the awesome 4^th of July weekend with Coach Kyle and Schlegel.  270 loop and some change, 25:05 total.  49 miles this week, 44 miles in July, 1149.5 miles in 2014.

Monday, July 7^th – 5 miles.  Easy run with Crystal before work.  Out and back towards Home Depot on the trail, I believe.  I don’t remember this much, but looks like we were feeling decent.  38:48 total (8:02, 7:38, 7:51, 7:48, 7:24). 

Tuesday, July 8^th – 5 miles.  Too hot to do track work, pushed back a day.

Wednesday, July 9^th – 11 miles (2 up, 20x400, 1 down).  Procrastination, as I waited till the last possible second to do this workout.  Workout was 20x400, with 200 m jog in between.  Start at 10K pace (6:15 min/mile – 1:34 per rep), then cut back 2 seconds after each set (4 sets of 5) and a 400 m jog in between sets.  Warm evening, but cooled down once I got started and soon it was pretty dark outside and all the riff-raff cleared from the track.  Tough getting locked into a pace, and started out way too hard but eventually got in a better rhythm.  Last set was pretty tough, and had to suck it up a lot to get it done.  Long workout, but helps to break down the number of reps per set and concentrate on those, rather than the collective whole.  Splits were: (1:29, 1:31, 1:30, 1:32, 1:35), (1;32, 1:31, 1:32, 1:31, 1:32), (1:28, 1:29, 1:31, 1:28, 1:29), (1:27, 1:27, 1:27, 1:24, 1:18).

Thursday, July 10^th – 6 miles.  Easy run with Yoch.  Legs were pooped, that’s all I remember.  It was pretty warm outside, and we did trail loop by his place.  A warm day, and glad I had someone to push me through this slow, recovery run.  49:31 total.  Happy Birthday to my little baby Franklin!

 

Playing with his new birthday presents

Friday, July 11^th – 0!  I don’t have any miles logged, so guessing I skipped L  Actually, I do remember – was feeling beat down, and just straight up missed my scheduled fartlek. Crap

Saturday, July 12^th – 5 miles.  Death run on trails.  Punishment for skipping on Friday.  Waited to last possible second to do run, and did Troy/Old Faithful route on the trail at probably the peak hot time of the day.  90’s, sunny, and super humid, and it was as evil as you could possibly imagine.  Watch died halfway through, but was right at 8 min pace.  Probably slower overall, as I was seriously getting a little light headed at the end and chugged a gallon of water when I got back.

2 miles into my run - doesn't this look fun???

Sunday, July 13^th – 18 miles.  Death on the trails.  Set it up where I’d have the last 12 with Yoch, so started at 5 a.m. and did out and back towards Glen Carbon (turnaround at Covered Bridge).  It was nasty and sticky as soon as I stepped foot outside, and knew this would be a tough day since I was working really hard just to hit 8 minute miles.  Turned around and was soaking wet from the conditions (80 degrees and 84% humidity at my 5 a.m. start, so was getting progressively worse as I went along).  Stopped at mile 4, and texted Jon that I wasn’t sure if I could do this and gave him the green light to bail if he wanted out.  He talked me into staying with it, and met up with him at home where I chugged a bottle of Gatorade.  We set it up where we would split our 12 and come back to hydrate and use the bathroom.  Did 270 loop and Old Faithful, and hit up 8 miles before headed back for hydration.  Note there were a few rest breaks in there, as I was absolutely dead from the conditions and so was Jon since he doubled (races, that is) the day before and was feeling it.  Last 4 were on the trails to Troy and back, and Jon did an additional mile where I took a much needed standing rest break.  Absolutely brutal run, and I was really down on myself for the crappy effort out there.  Just never felt right from the first step.  2:39:55 total, 8:53 average pace, and was lucky to get under 9 min quite frankly.  50 miles this week, 94 miles in July, 1199.5 miles in 2014.

Outsider App says don't run!

Monday, July 14^th – 5 miles and strides.  Group run with Timmy.  Shakeout mile with Crystal and Craig to start it out, then we did our 4 mile loop and strides at DuBourgh.  I’ll tell you what – doing an intentionally slow shakeout really loosened me up, as I felt pretty good afterwards – may need to do that more, especially after high mileage weeks.  42:52 total (9:52, 8:16, 8:27, 8:22, 8:19).  Felt a lot better after talking to people about their weekend running – apparently, everyone died out and the conditions were that bad.  Hopefully next week’s long run feels better.

Tuesday, July 15^th – 5 miles.  Solo after work.  Legs were tired and back was really, really tight, but made it out on a nice evening.  Out and back on the trail towards Troy, with a small detour towards Marine, and picked it up a bit coming back in.  Felt awesome out there!  Dr. Clint gets credit for running a few hundred yards with me when I ran into him on the trail.  38:46 total (7:54, 7:49, 7:52, 7:40, 7:27).  At night, was putting away dishes and sneezed, and my back literally exploded.  Took about 10 minutes before I could get myself in an upright position, and hobbled to bed and prayed that this was just a tweak and that’s it. 

 

Marine Route on Troy - gorgeous night

Wednesday, July 16 – 15 miles (2 up, 6 x 1.5 at marathon pace (0.5 mile in between), 1.5 down).  Was in agony all morning with my messed up back, and Dr. Clint did some emergency work to get me fixed up.  It was a bit scary the amount of pain I was feeling – sharp, knife-like stabs around my lower back, and my back was clenched up so not comfortable at all.  Progressively got better through the day post-therapy, and realized that sitting or bending over was the most painful act for me and standing around and walking felt ok.  It was a nice day, and went out that evening with Megan and Alisha to supervise their mile repeats.  Jogged around and realized that there wasn’t any pain  when I ran so decided to hop in and do some easy pace duty for the girls.  We did a couple miles out and back with no issues, and made the split second executive decision to give the workout a go under the condition that at the sign of any discomfort, I would stop immediately.  It was so nice outside, and I was feeling pretty loose.  Goal workout was 6 x 1.5 miles at marathon pace (10:30-10:45 splits which are 7:00-7:10 min/mile pace) with half a mile jog in between.  Did a couple reps in Village Circle, and felt relatively ok and tried to get locked into pace.  Made my way onto the trail, and did out and back to Drost Park before finishing up in Village Circle.  Felt pretty good when I was done, and slow jog for a cooldown.  LOTS of stretching when I got back, and took my time laying down.  Splits were: 7:52, 8:31 (mile repeats), 10:30, 10:26, 10:28, 10:27, 10:28, 10:20, slow cooldown. 

Thursday, July 17^th – 5 miles.  Solo after work.  Legs were tired and back was creaky, but made it out on a nice evening.  Out and back on the trail towards Troy, and picked it up a bit coming back in.  Felt very smooth, which is a good thing coming of a tough workout and a creaky body.  40:08 total (8:26, 8:09, 8:02,  7:58, 7:29).

Friday, July 18^th – 0!  Supposed to switch workout to easy run, but ended up taking a rest day.  Back was pretty sore, and was on my feet all day.  With an early morning run looming, it was better to get my rest in since I basically would be doubling up. 

Saturday, July 19^th – 18 miles.  Perfect morning for a long run.  Met up with Joe at 4:45 a.m. (ugh), and we ran to Crystal’s house and did out and back on the trail towards Marine to get me halfway through my run.  Felt pretty sluggish starting out, but the pace picked up and got in a good comfort zone.  Dropped Crystal off at her house (she only had 60 minutes), and we picked up Colby who did the last 9 miles with us.  Out and back on Old Faithful, and took a small water break at the Glen Carbon fire station.  Last mile, I could feel myself picking it up, and felt incredibly smooth.  6:56 last mile, and felt very easy.  Just one of those days, but having 60 degree weather helped tremendously!  Complete opposite of last week’s meltdown, and felt very strong.  2:21:40 total (~7:50 average pace overall).  Over 18 minutes faster than last week!  Amazing what 25 degrees and 40% less humidity will do!

Sunday, July 20^th – 6 miles.  54 miles this week, 148 miles in July, 1253.5 miles in 2014.

Monday, July 21^st – 4 miles + strides.  Death march on a nasty day with Timmy at Group run.  Felt like crap, and the track at DuBourgh felt like a furnace.  Didn’t make it to group run on time because of an accident on the interstate, and was scrambling to get the mileage in once I got there.  Because it was so humid outside, we quit when we got back and didn’t finish out the mileage I was supposed to (one mile stort).  8:48 average pace.

Tuesday, July 22^nd – 5 miles.  Change in plans for the week.  Because of the nasty weather, we shifted the workout back a day, eliminated the Thursday workout, now am going to race the Big Ten 10K hard, and cut my long run down to 12 miles.  This actually makes sense on every level, as I have been building up my long run up the last 5-6 weeks, and can now come back down for a week as I should anyways.  Goal is to hit 10K in 40:25 – shouldn’t be too bad, but hoping the weather in Chi behaves for the weekend.

Wednesday, July 23^rd – 7 miles (1 up, 10 x 800 m, 1 down).  Dreadmill day at Pat and Crystal’s.  Bad day outside again, so decided to try on the dreadmill.  In summary, it was quite awful, and was really working hard the entire time. The workout was Yasso 800’s, and instead of doing a 400 m jog in between, I took a standing 1-1:30 minute break which was rough.  Had the dreadmill at 10 mph, which meant I was hitting my repeats right at 6:00 min/mile pace.  The good news was I had American Ninja Warrior on tv while I was doing the workout – very motivating and distracting, and I did fly through my run.

 

10 half mile repeats

Thursday, July 24^th – 6 miles.  Recovery run with Crystal.  Out and back bright and early on the trails towards Home Depot.  Legs felt rubbery, but we got faster as we moved along and definitely loosened up.  It’s nice to see that my recovery runs aren’t at the snail’s pace I was doing before, and relatively closer to long run pace.  This isn’t intentional – just going by feel, but getting stronger.  47:50, overall.

Friday, July 25^th – 0!  Travel day to Chi.  Because of awful traffic, got in late and scrapped the run.  Drinking on the rooftop and eating Mexican at night is probably not the best strategy before a race.

Saturday, July 26^th – 10 miles (BIG TEN 10K 41:00 168/15,136 OVERALL).  Overcast and humid morning in Chi.  Ben and I cabbed down to Soldier Field, and got settled in for our first Big Ten 10K!  A bucket list race for me, and it was a sight to see people adoring their school colors and the bands blaring the fight songs.  One of the cool things about the race were the shirts – people could sign up for whatever Big Ten school they wanted, and you got the race shirt in those colors, so there were a sea of all 14 of the Big Ten schools traversing around the area – quite the sight to see!  The Big Ten had set camp in the parking lots outside of Soldier Field, and had school tents and this NFL combine area which was all interactive to the race partipants.  People could do a football toss (NFL QB challenge-like), 40 yard dash, standing vertical jump, and even try to kick a 30 yard field goal!  There was a concert stage closeby, and all the Big Ten mascots were running around the area.  Very, very cool set up, and we agreed to check things out once we got the race over with.  Did a 15 minute warmup or so, and headed to my corral.  

The route was pretty much the same as the Soldier Field 10 miler – head south on Lakeshore, turn, then come on the bike path on the way back.  Pretty flat and fast, and our conditions were a little sticky but tolerable for late July.  Corral A and the elites started together (staggered start, which I didn’t realize until I saw the telecast later that night), and we headed under McCormick place where I tried to get settled in with the group I was running with.  Coach Kyle wanted me to go out in 6:30’s and hold for the first half, and see how I felt.  Well, I stayed to plan and hit the 5K at 20:18, pretty close to where I needed to be at.  It was getting pretty warm out there for me, and I was dumping water on my head at every water spot.   6:30’s were definitely a struggle, and I let up a little too much after the turnaround.  Hit a couple slower miles, then made our way back to the finish.  The race course looped back around the parking lot area, which got confusing because I kicked a little early and realized we had to loop back around.  Finished up, cooled down for 20 minutes, then met up with Ben and we hung out around the finish area and did all the festivities.  Met living legend and OSU alumni, Archie Griffin (only 2 time Heisman trophy winner), and mingled with the mascots.  Very, very cool event – I will definitely be back.  As for the race, it was pretty disappointing but I get what I deserve for not taking better care of myself pre-race.  In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t shocking to have a slower time with the higher volume I’ve been doing, but still should have ran better.  Splits were: 6:33, 6:33, 6:34, 6:44, 6:46; 6:33, 1:15. 

Set up of the post race festivities

Brother and I post race

Me flicking off Brutus

Wide left!

Living Legend, Archie Griffin!

Big 10 Mascots congregate on stage

Brother and Sparty!

Megan and her first Chicago hot dog

Go Cubs go!

Happy (belated) Birthday Barrel!

Sunday, July 27^th – 6.5 miles.  Lakeshore run at mid morning.  Ran to Navy Pier and back, and met up with Coach Kyle for some of it.  Very hot and sunny, and was a rough going as the humidity level was a lot higher (70%)  Lots of people out and about, but definitely had a death march feel with the sun reflecting off the Lake – still, would take this over anything as it’s my home away from home.  Could feel it in my quads, and cut through the park and Lincoln Park Zoo on the way back to get some much needed shade.  Coach Kyle told me to get in my mileage, then call it a day – with the travel back and the heat at home, it was unreasonable to push myself to get in junk miles, and rest up for the tough workouts for next week.  Happily agreed to all this.  8:17 min/mile average pace.  38.5 miles this week (ugh), 186.5 miles in July, 1292 miles in 2014.

Tough day in the office

More to come.  Should be a 200 mile month of July.  First 20 miler this weekend!

Cool Runnings

Matt Llano moves up to the marathon, and world record assault planned for Berlin.

Tuesday, July 1st - 8 miles (1 up, 6 mile fartlek (2 on, 2 down), 1 down).  Early morning with Crystal, and we warmed up and did out and back towards Troy.  Weather was much cooler, and I learned my lesson for not doing morning runs during the summer.  Goal was to hit tempo like efforts for the fartlek, which translate to roughly 6:30 pace.  First half went ok, but I am not going to lie when I say I was hurting coming back.  The bridge over 162 absolutely murdered me, and had to take a 5 second break until Crystal got me going again.  Not the best feeling, but got done nonetheless.  7:35 average overall, 7:18ish on the fartlek miles.

Wednesday, July 2nd - 5 miles.  3 up with Crystal to the track, then did the tail end of Alisha and Megan's track work (reverse ladder).  Nice morning to run, albeit humid, but did some nice, consistent miles.  Right at 8 minute pace average.

Thursday, July 3rd - 7 miles (2 up, 10 x (20 sec hard, 1 minute easy), 3 down).  Bright and early with Crystal at her neighborhood.  Another glorious morning, and glad to get outside despite trying to think of every single excuse not to.  It was literally 60 degrees and cool starting out!  We warmed up on the trails towards Marine and watched a gorgeous sunrise, before heading back and hitting up the workout.  Goal was to hit mile pace, and this workout was more or less an easy run with strides.  2 loops in the neighborhood, and we blasted through this workout.  Cooled down on Old Faithful out and back, and we were done!  We hit high 4/low 5 minute pace for the hard, and high 7's for the easy.

Team Sullentrup reunion in the works as Mike has tentatively agreed to join us on the back half of our long run on Saturday!  Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Catchup Part 4: Steamboat Classic 4 Miler Recap

Running soccer refs, U.S. Outdoor Championships, poopy mcpoop.

Exhausted writing this blog post.  I did an early morning workout with Crystal, and pretty much got my @ss kicked (on next blog post).  Between the worst run ever at Group Run on Monday and the early morning "fun", I am pooped!  Having fun with the first couple weeks of this marathon cycle, but it's going to be a tough one.  Summer temps to deal with, and I have already run more morning weekday runs than all of last year!

Without further adieu, time to get completely caught up!

Monday, June 9^th – 7 miles + strides.  Rainy run with Crystal after work.  We ran to the middle school track from her place, and did some really hard strides before heading back.  Legs felt ok starting out, but I think I may have overdone it on the strides.  I went almost full effort trying to keep up with her, and that wasn’t the smartest idea.  Cooler temps plus some light rain equals pure blissful heaven for me!  8:15 pace, overall.

Tuesday, June 10^th – 6 miles.

Wednesday, June 11^th – 8 miles.  Duel pacing duties between Megan/Alisha’s workout, and Pat’s workout.  Hot day outside, but managed to knock out a ton of mileage at the track in the process.  Road miles for my warmup – nice and easy.

Thursday, June 12^th – 4 miles.  Don’t remember specifics, but kept mileage short and easy.  Legs were pooped all week!

Friday, June 13^th – 0!  Rest day + travel.  Got up to Bloomington to pick up my sister, then ate a late dinner at Destihl.  Got back to Peoria after 10, and attempted to get as much sleep as I could as the Steamboat Classic was literally right around the corner.  Early races suck, when you aren’t an early riser.

Saturday, June 14^th – 7 miles.  STEAMBOAT CLASSIC 4 MILER 24:48 PR.  Headed out to downtown Peoria bright and early, and got my bib/shirt before warming up.  Temps were beyond perfect –high 50’s/low 60’s, and slightly breezy.  I don’t remember ever having a non-humid day and under 80 degree temps for Steamboat – just too nice to pass up an opportunity for a fast race.  Did a 2 mile warmup, and did basic stretching by the start of the race.  Ran into a few people I knew, and got settled in before we started the race.  The course is pretty simple – you start up a hill, then weave through downtown going north and wrap around some side roads before heading back towards the Riverfront down a big hill.  I had set my A,B, and C goals leading into the race – C: P.R. (26:02), B: Sub 25:30, A: Sub 25.  I felt pretty confident that the C goal and most likely the B goal would be accomplished, as I had gained some speed back and had some good runs over the last month.  Wanted to get locked in right at 6:20’s, and went out a little too hard on the first mile and tried to get settled in and better in control.  Worked with a group for awhile, and we made the turnaround, and was well on pace at the halfway point and trying to get as comfortable as could be.  Split the 5K at 19:19, and relaxed a little since I was getting a little tired and started playing some evil mental games with myself (i.e. I could run a 7 minute last mile and still PR).  I was still working with the same group, and we got strung out on the last straightaway before the downhill.  Once I made the turn, I left gravity take over and coasted down the large hill and soaked in the crowd.  One last turn onto the riverfront, and saw the clock still in the 24’s and kicked it in.  Very happy with the race, and a much better official PR for me as 26:02 was pretty weak for my ability and have split sub 25 many times in training runs.  I’m shut down from racing now according to Coach Kyle, and it’s all marathon training for the rest of summer!  5:58, 6:19, 6:14, 6:08 were my splits.

Post race

Riverfront

Beautiful I-74

Clydesdale Group Winner

Brad and I

Megan and I

Father's Day BBQ

Sunday, June 15^th – 9 miles.  Travel day back home, and spent most of the day on the couch watching U.S. Open golf and the NBA Finals.  Finally got out the door late, and ran to Crystal’s where she joined me for roughly 4 miles on Old Faithful, before I went home.  Ran with my phone for music, and Kyle was texting me and basically told me to go home since I felt like crap, so cut the long run short since it wasn’t getting any better.  Trying to adjust to this heat, but it’s definitely challenging.  8:16 pace average.  41 miles this week, 91 miles in June, 1005 miles in 2014.  Happy 1000^th mile to me!

Monday, June 16^th – 9 miles + strides.  Bright and early with Crystal, and we did Home Depot route towards Edwardsville High School.  Legs were still poop, and definitely was working a bit the entire way but Crystal was merciful and kept the pace honest.  Strides felt hellacious, and kept it a little more moderate.  8:15ish average or so. 

Tuesday, June 17^th – 6 miles.  Ran with Yoch after work on a humid evening.  We ran on the trails towards Home Depot, and it was pretty miserable.  Legs were completely dead, and was just straight up tired.  49:48 total time.

Wednesday, June 18^th – 5 miles.  Ran after work with Pat at the track.  Got up there early, and ran ~3 miles on the roads with some terrible, terrible conditions.  This summer is gonna be brutal!  He had 3 x 800 at mile pace, then dropping, but it was pretty bad outside and told him to concentrate more on effort.  Timed his first rep, ran the last 2 with him, then cooled down.  3:12, 3:12, 3:08 were his splits, and he definitely worked for it as did I.

Thursday, June 19^th – 6 miles

Friday, June 20^th – 0!  Self imposed off day, as I’ve been pretty beat and need some energy.  Plus, being shut down and all, it was encouraged to get as much rest of possible now with some hard workouts coming my way #ominousclouds

Saturday, June 21^st – 14 miles.  First marathon long run!  With Coach Kyle finishing my plan, he informed me I needed to be ready to run 16 miles on the 4^th of July weekend, so needed to get in some longer long runs.  Started at 5 a.m., which wasn’t fun waking up, going to the bathroom, then leaving without any food/water, but wanted to get in as much as possible as early as possible.  Recruited Mike to meet me at 6 for 8 miles, but turned into 9 since I started a tad late.  Ran 5 miles at low 8 minute pace at my Glen Carbon road loop, but was very concerned because I felt like crap and had a long way to go.  It was super humid outside (97% when I started!) and by the time I got back, I was sweating profusely.  Gulped down 2 huge glasses of water, then Mike and I did out and back on the trails.  Looped onto Old Faithful and made our way down a bit before turning around.  The new paved trails look good, and the small bridges still need to be done but glad to be back on here.  Legs didn’t feel any worse on the back half, but was definitely tired once we stopped.  Very pleased to get this in, and was a relatively decent way to kick off my official training as I hadn’t been doing very many long runs lately.  8:20 average pace.

Sunday, June 22^nd – 4 miles.  Slept in, and ran with Timmy at noon which was a stupid idea.  Hot and humid, and just painful every step of the way.  Not a good idea to start a run at noon on a hot, sunny day.  Out and back on the trails towards Troy, and it couldn’t get over fast enough.  36 minutes total.  44 miles this week, 135 miles in June, 1049 miles in 2014.

Monday, June 23^rd – 6 miles + strides.  South City group run with Tim.  Ran 2 miles solo around the store, then did the improvised 4 mile loop with a quick detour at DuBourgh for strides.  Overcast and humid, but the light sprinkling of rain helped a lot.  8:30’s average, overall.

Tuesday, June 24^th – 4 miles.  Track work bright and early with Yoch.  2 miles warmup with Yoch on the roads, then I did drills while he knocked out mile repeats.  Jumped in during his 800 meter jogs in between reps, then also jumped in the last quarter for his last 2 miles, which he absolutely decimated.  Pretty lethargic from the humidity and early morning, but the fast quarters felt good.  78, 79 for my 2 quarter – rest were high 7/low 8 pace.

Wednesday, June 25^th – 8 miles (4 miles a.m., 4 miles p.m.)  Met Megan and Alisha bright and early at the track, and got in some miles running solo and part of their workout.  At night, ran 4 with Yoch at the trails by his place.  Warm, but the trails were nice and cool and we ran for 31 minutes and some change.  My fastest summer run yet!

Thursday, June 26^th – 6.5 miles (4.5 miles a.m., 2 miles p.m.).  Track bright and early yet again, and ran a couple solo before meeting up with Crystal and running the rest with her on the roads.  I think we did a few strides, but I can’t remember – too early for my memory to function.  Crystal and I ran low 7:50’s, which trumped my run with Yoch the night before.  At night, ran with Megan for a couple miles after work on her neighborhood/trail loop.  Because she didn’t get in a good workout, I pushed her to run a couple miles at harder effort.  It was quite toasty and humid outside, and the route she picked was hilly.  We took a 1 minute break in between miles, then hammered the last one which was a long uphill finish.  8:46/8:48 – pretty good for Megan, considering the conditions!

Friday, June 27^th – 0!  Self-imposed rest day.  Much needed, too J

Saturday, June 28^th – 16 miles.  Met Timmy at Forest Park at 5 a.m.  Got there a little early, and ran 2 miles solo to Skinker and back from the Visitor’s Center.  It was dark and super humid, and was sleepwalking through my first 2 miles (7:57, 7:21).  Tim and I proceeded to run the Arch loop, which fortunately went by pretty quickly.  Very scenic, and cruised through the hilly terrain and thankfully had overcast conditions later in the run.  Water breaks at SLU and by Kiener Plaza, and saw a threesome being negotiated between 3 homeless people which is something you don’t see every day.  Made our way back to Forest Park, and looped around the perimeter to find water before heading back to the Visitor’s Center.  Ran the last 1.5 miles solo on the back, soft trail and picked it up, eager to get done.  Legs were pooped, but hit 7:03 pace which didn’t feel too great, quite honestly.  8:35 pace overall.  Afterwards, went down to spectate the Macklind Mile, and saw some fun races including Crystal finishing 2^nd in the elite race!

Sunday, June 29^th – 6 miles.  FOPA death march with Craig.  Slept in for the first time in a long time, and met Craig at the Visitor’s Center late in the morning.  6 mile reverse loop, and it was hell pretty much the entire way.  Humid, but thankfully overcast, and it was still a bit nasty outside.  We took many water breaks, and my legs were complete garbage.  Hit the last mile somewhat harder to break 9 min average.  53:52 total.  46.5 miles this week, 181.5 miles in June, 1095.5 miles in 2014.

Monday, June 30^th – 5 miles + strides.  Death march at group run.  105 degree heat index and sunny – borderline oven like conditions.  Crystal had warned me that it was supposed to be a hot one, but I attempted it anyways.  1 mile beforehand with Craig, and it was straight up disgusting.  Tim and I ran our improvised 4 mile loop, and was struggling every step of the way.  Stopped at DuBourgh for strides, and probably took 3 minutes rest between each stride because it was so hot.  The only part that was shaded on the track was the back curve, so did a couple strides back there and cooled down as much as I could.  Made our way back to the store, and got tired of being tired and picked it up the last mile just to get the torture over with.  I remember why I do early morning runs now – this was straight up ridiculous!!!  43 minutes and some change, overall.  186.5 miles in June, 1100.5 miles in 2014.

Finally caught up!  Quick workout on Thursday, then a looooong run on Saturday to kickstart my 4th of July Weekend! #murica