Kara rocks Chitown!!!

Congratulations Kara!!! Overall winner of the inaugural Rock 'n Roll Chicago Half Marathon!!! Good weather conditions, nice, flat course = dominant performance by perhaps the best American woman marathoner today! Pretty awesome she beat all the males and just cruised though. Unfortunately, I missed the race but was there in spirit!

Here is a cool article detailing the state of the union in running in general with some pretty cool statistics including the neat little statistic that women have now surpassed men in the amount of runners participating in road races! Awesome to look at if you like numbers...

Quick weekend update - was in Chi for a wedding this weekend, ran 0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No excuses, not overly pleased with it and got in a "whopping" 31 miles on 3 runs last week. I guess the rest was nice, but need to pick it up this week. Monday evening, ran over to Pat and Crystal's and got in an easy 3 miles with her on the trails. Hit 8:21, 7:55, 7:45 for our 3 together, then I ran back home and tacked on a couple more around town. Felt good to run again, but was certainly getting tired at the end. Weather has gotten nasty in this area - very humid and hot. Total mileage: 7 miles - splits averaged around 8 min/mile.

Early this morning, got in some good miles on the trails. Was disgustingly humid, and never felt good at all. Started kind of slow, but picked it up just a tad after a couple miles. Never really got into a rhythm, although the middle miles kind of went by fast. Last mile was pretty awful, as my legs felt like concrete blocks and just had trouble breathing in general. Crystal was calling out the splits (didn't bring my Garmin), so don't them on hand but I can guess. Total mileage: 9 miles - splits ranged from 7:47 to 8:20.

Glad to get that run out of the way, it was just awful. Ideally, want to get in my long run tomorrow evening, and if I'm lucky my pace run on Thursday morning. That would give me a ridiculous 37 miles, only needing to get in 8 in Denver which would be pretty easy. Might save the pace for Friday morning while Tim is at work, but I will figure something out!

Week Recap

Good luck on Sunday, Kara!!! Will be looking for you in Chi while I am up there this weekend! Sorry once again for the huge delay on the blog. Next couple weeks are sticky with crazy work and massive travel, but I promise it will get better :) A couple articles here – first one details the history of running shoes from the 1930’s to the 1990’s. Pretty crazy stuff, first known running shoes were roughly 8.5 oz. heavy, and pretty nonsupportive. Next article deals with the NYC Half Marathon coming up in August. Ryan Hall has entered the fray, as well as other star runners such as Hendrick Ramaala (previous NYC Marathon winner), Jaouad Gharib (08 Olympic Silver Medalist), and Abdi Abdirahman. Women’s side will feature Deena Kastor and Catherine Ndereba (2 time Olympic Medalist). Should be an amazing race, I hope it is televised on Universal Sports at least :)

Time for running updates. With this week being a mess due to work, Chicago this weekend for a wedding, and just ridiculous busy-ness, I have had to really mess around with my schedule to get in a good running week. Next week should be the same with a Denver trip with Barrel to see Tim and Trisha. Arghghhg!!! Monday night, went for an easy run with Crystal. She opted to do her long run on Monday, so she did the first 11 on the treadmill and I went along with her for the final 5 miles on the G.C. Trail. Weather was cool but humid, legs were tired from the 17 mile mess the day previous. First mile was slower, but ended up picking it up a little. Last 2 miles were definitely tiring, but kind of nice to get in a little quicker which really loosen up the lactic acid buildup in my legs. Can’t remember the splits off the top of my head, but will try to estimate. Total mileage: 5 miles – splits were: 8:20, 7:48, 7:30, 7:23, 7:20.

Tuesday, both of us were feeling pretty beat so it was pretty clear it was going to be a slow day. Weather was acting really weird all day – storming like crazy in STL, and windy in Glen Carbon. Temps were cooler, but still a little humid. Got home, decided to wait an hour for the weather to calm down and hopefully push away any potential rain. Hit the really flat gravel route we do at times at a pretty conservative pace. Not much to report, splits were pretty consistent, legs were tired and was nice to get it out of the way. Pushed it at the end when the rain started to fall (felt sooo good). Total mileage: 8 miles – splits were 8:26, 8:26, 8:35, 8:33, 8:37, 8:20, 7:54, 7:13.

Wednesday – 0 miles! Tired after work, was hanging out with Barrel at night, so didn’t find the time to get it in. Wasn’t happy about missing a run, but will make up the mileage so not too angry. Thursday, scheduled long run. Early morning runs don’t happen without Crystal, Saturday morning would be pushing it w/wedding later (still plan on running with New Balance group, just shorter distance), and weather was as cool as it was going to be all week so decided to go with it. Was raining slightly when I got home, so waited a little bit for the weather to clear up and cool down. Was overcast and about 80 (ugh) but kind of cool, so away I went. Legs were ok, wasn’t feeling too hot in general though and pretty tired. Ran the Troy route, which is my bread and butter and my exclusive long run route for NYC training in 07. Started out kind of fast, and was feeling it definitely so tried to slow it down a little. At Mile 4, got into a good rhythm and just stuck with it. I knew I was cruising when I started passing a few bikers! Hadn’t run past the 6 mile marker of the Troy Route in forever, so was kind of nice to traverse back there, plus it was downhill here on out till the turnaround. Turned around at about 7.5 mile marker, saw a couple people jump on the trail a little ways up so perked up and passed them and kept the steady pace going. Stopped at Troy Park for a water break, got passed by those guys, passed them up again (one of them remarked to the other, “didn’t he already pass us?!” which got a laugh from all of us), and kept going. Started feeling it a little bit at the 12^th mile, especially having run the last 4-5 miles uphill, and realized I was really going a lot faster than I should have but felt ok overall. Did a small loop off the bike trail to make up some more mileage, then got back on around mile 13. Began trying to simulate the marathon experience and how I felt, and made my mind think it was mile 23 and I couldn’t let myself slow down and just keep it up. Getting off the bike trail was fine, but the mile back to my place is very hilly with a few big hills, so really started to struggle. Last mile was overall downhill, but rolling hills. Made a turnaround close to a mile out and wanted to finish the last 0.2 uphill to simulate that last hill before turning onto Jackson Street in Chicago. UGH the pain, but finished strong! Jogged/walked it in for a cooldown. Total Mileage: ~18 miles (w/1 mile cooldown) – splits were: 7:14, 7:00 (Garmin must have gotten a little ahead), 7:09, 7:17, 7:21, 7:17, 7:19, 7:14, 7:18, 7:10, 7:14, 7:08, 7:08 (1/2 marathon split was 1:34:35), 7:12, 7:17, 7:14, 7:02 (7:13 average).

I have mixed feelings about this run. First, the negatives. Was quite honestly stupid to try to push this long of a pace run so early (the big run I want during this 12 week segment is a 16 mile pace (roughly about 4 weeks out till marathon)). The purpose of going slow in a long run is to train your body to burn carbs efficiently – by staying out longer, you are making your body work a different way. I finished this run in a little over 2 hours, when in reality it should have been closer to 2.5. Dangerous to be pushing it this hard this early, although I should be able to handle it as have done a few long runs of 15 already. And lastly, am really in danger of peaking WAY too early, as might have been my problem last year with all our fast long runs (never THIS fast though!!!). Some of those 20 milers are going to have to be done slllooowww.

Ok, now the positives. 17 mile pace?! Didn’t hit this in the marathon last year! In 08 Chi, started to fade at mile 16, officially started walking by mile 18. 80 degrees, hilly at parts, was EXTREMELY pleased to hit those splits. All very consistent, and really up to mile 15 felt very strong. Really felt great about getting into a good rhythm on a bad day and I feel good about ingraining 7:15 pace to my legs. Training right now is going amazing with this crowned jewel under my belt – two awesome long pace runs already, and over 2 months to work on a little more endurance. I can honestly say I am in the best shape of my life, and excited about things to come!

This weekend, in Chitown for a wedding. Going to try to hit up Lakeshore for a few runs, and try to see some friends and family over the weekend!!!

Mud Mountain 5K Recap

Just wanted to give a quick weekend update before jumping into this busy week. This is going to be a crappy blog entry because I still feel like poop from the weekend and quite frankly don’t remember all the details. Tim was back in town, so we did it up like we know best – 188%. Friday, met up with him for dinner and drinks, stayed out WAY too late especially with the race early next morning.

Race Morning

Saturday morning, was awoken by Stacy’s phone call, then got ready for the race. Weather was sprinking all morning and was a bit overcast. The Mud Mountain 5K is over at SIUE – typical cross country race which starts on a huge grass field, then navigates through the woods and some pretty crazy hills. They had an amazing turnout this year, in fact a record of 647 runners, so was excited to see so many people.

At the Start

Did a quick warmup with Stacy and Tim at the start, was not feeling too hot, drank a ton of water and lined up towards the back. Was already starting to get humid and sticky outside despite the clouds, so wasn’t happy about that. Lined up, got ready for a painful race, and away we went!

Mile By Mile Report

Mile 1 - First mile is actually more of a downhill grade, but weaves around a ton. Kind of regretted lining up so far in the back, as we were running through a mob trying to establish position. About halfway through the first mile, watched a girl lose her breakfast right in the middle of the race, so swerved to avoid that. Went up a small hill, then went down a pretty steep decline where Tim completely kicked into 5th gear and zoomed ahead. Looked down at Garmin and realized we were going much faster than I anticipated, so was trying to get myself mentally prepared for this. Settled into a more rhythmic pace, felt ok. [Mile 1 – 7:30]

Mile 2 - Started to feel more looser, but then this is where the course gains its reputation for being one of the toughest in the region. Punishing hill after hill. At this point, we were still passing a lot of people, so was weaving in and out. Tim had started to slow down a little, so was trying not to get too carried away. Hills didn’t feel too terrible, but were still punishing. Was counting down the minutes till the end. [Mile 2 – 8:13]

Mile 3 and Finish - Last 1.1 miles, finally stopped having to weave in and out, hit the hills slow but gained back speed on the straightaways. We actually jumped on the bike trail for a second, then weaved back to the final stretch where you have to run up a long slow hill to the finish. Passed the 3 mile marker, was yelling at Tim for a closing kick. He got the message, picked it up pretty well, hit the finish hard and he outleaned me for the victory. [Final Time – 25:19.3 (Tim was 25:19.1)]

RESULTS

Peter Kim M29
Clock Time 25:19.1
Overall Place 239/547
Gender Place ?
Division Place ?

Pace 8:02/Mile

Final Thoughts

Happy having run a tough 5K that morning, accomplished my task of getting in some miles for the day. Course was difficult as I remembered it, and will be back again someday to give it a go. Fun to run with Tim and Stacy, she was not too pleased about the hills but finished in a respectable time. Wasn’t terribly happy about getting outkicked by Tim at the end, but fair is fair and he gets props but don’t rest on your laurel’s too long Timmy, because I’m coming after you ;) We hung out afterwards talking with some friends, then stayed for the awards ceremony and took off.

Headed back to my place for a victory bloody mary and some wii, hung out for a little bit and got cleaned up. Went over to Tim’s parents house for a pool day and BBQ. Last year we did this, and had awful weather – completely opposite this time around, as the sun came out and we enjoyed a really fun day just hanging out. Got scalded by the sun, drank waaaay too much sangria and bud light, but still had an amazing time. Thanks to the Allison’s for hosting us!!!!

Woke up the next morning pretty much regretting life. Had left my car over at Tim’s the night before and caught a ride home with Pat, so decided since I was scheduled to get in 16 miles that day to try to get some of it out of the way. Weather was SUNNY and hot – mid 80’s, ugh. Ran to the bike trail, and headed towards Maryville/Troy area. Started out at a decent pace, but nothing too crazy. Felt like crap, but running surprisingly didn’t feel too awful. Right around the 3rd mile, the sun started to take its toll on me, and contemplated slowing down. Went over a bridge, saw a couple runners way ahead, then my competitive instincts took over and I guess my stupid body decided I was going to catch and pass them. Well I picked up the pace, and a mile later succeeded in catching them but at a great cost as I officially felt dead. I thought Tim’s place was about 6 miles away, but was more like 7 and just struggled the last 2 miles. Wasn’t much shade once I got off the trail, and the weather was just punishing me. Walked/ran in certain places, was completely out of gas plus legs were just done. Finally made it over, got my car, grabbed a quick lunch, then back to bed. Total a.m. miles: 7 miles - splits averaged 8-9 minute miles

Slept for a few hours, didn’t feel too much better but really wanted to get in my 16. If I cheated on the first week, that would just be BAD. Around 7ish, it had cooled down some so decided to brave the elements. Felt considerably better starting out, but legs felt like I had done 7 grueling miles earlier so was trying to be conservative. Ran the same route I did in the morning, looped back and had thoughts of getting in 13 miles. At mile 7, legs started to get that really heavy feeling, so had to walk a little. Started to really feel crappy, and was losing the fight with the sun, so was forced to pick it up so I wasn’t stranded in the dark on the heavily wooded trail. Walk/ran the last mile, started to feel a little dizzy and ended my run abruptly. Total p.m. miles: ~10 - splits factoring in walking averaged about 9 minute miles.

So I got in 17 for the day, I guess somewhat impressive considering my condition but not happy I had to split it up. Have a long run of 17 miles this week, but in a wedding in Chi so need to get it in sometime on Thursday or Friday because it isn’t going to happen over the weekend. After run #2, showered and stretched, and watched Entourage with Pat and Crystal. So got in about 41 miles last week, pretty good for week 1 of marathon training but could have been better.

Friday night Shenanigans


Pool Party!

Hall Interview/Yoga Review

Great interview by Ryan Hall - talks about the New York City Marathon and his experiences on the big stage. Totally looking forward to watching him run this fall - it's always nostalgic to watch people in the New York Marathon since that is and will be my most memorable race ever :)

When I got home from work yesterday, decided to put in the Yoga DVD that Pat and Crystal copied for me - Yoga for Runners: The Essentials. Not completely sure this is it, but check it out. I consider myself to be moderately flexible but after watching these Gumby-like figures bend into positions I thought only Olympic gymnasts could do, I downgraded myself to "stiff as a board". My posture is terrible to begin with, so this wasn't going to be any easier. The DVD is about 45 minutes long, and focuses on 4 areas - total body, lower back, hamstrings, and hips. They put you through several yoga stretches in which you mainly focus on breathing to those specific areas and relaxing your muscles. I found that even the simple stretches I had problems with, and was shaking like crazy trying to sustain them. I almost found myself having to get into a meditative state to endure these workouts (sort of like during a long run when you have to really dig down deep and focus to get through those last few miles), and it helped a ton. Anyways, I really enjoyed the workout, and immediately felt the effects of it throughout the night as well as this morning. There is great value to this in strengthening the aforementioned areas and developing mental toughness as well, and could even feel myself correcting my back posture during my run later in the evening.


Last night, made myself go out for some speedwork. Now that I am in marathon training, it's kind of weird to be limited to only 1 day of this so there are no excuses to miss out. Contemplated running this morning, but I know that wasn't going to happen because I am just too lazy to run early before work!!! Examined the skies, kept hearing thunder in the background and it looked slightly overcast with some ominious clouds in the background so wasn't sure what it was going to do. Temps were in the 70's, so felt nice - put on a hat, talked myself into going, and away I went! Crystal was going to treadmill it last night, so I decided to go look for some different hills, so ran towards downtown Glen Carbon. Felt pretty good, and got a little carried away with a long warmup (3 miles). About 2 miles out, the rain started - never fails, my furthest point away, and it just starts to come down. Had to make a decision quick, so ran into a local neighborhood where I knew there would be a medium sized hill, and scouted out a route roughly less than a quarter mile. The grade was steep at the beginning, but starts to level out at the end - have run on steeper hills, but I was battling Mother Nature at this point. Did 5 reps at a hard but manageable pace, felt ok for the most part but wasn't thrilled that I was soaking wet by the 2nd rep. Would have liked to have cooled down a little more, but ended up taking off home and ran a pretty hard mile, most likely in the 6:30-6:45 range. Stretched, ate late dinner, then passed out. Total Mileage: ~5.5 miles

Tonight, Tim is back in town! Going out to dinner then probably out and about town. Tomorrow, Mud Mountain 5K! Weather looks decent, and should be a fun race. Will get in 5 miles before or after the race to get in my 8 for the day, then we have a long run scheduled for Sunday of 16 miles - our longest this year to date! Have a great weekend!!!

Ryan chooses NYC!!!

Not surprising news, but exciting opportunity for Ryan Hall to win one of the most prestigious races in the world. Not to mention the U.S. Marathon Championships will be held in conjunction with the NYC Marathon, so he and Brian Sell will take their best shots at a national title as well. So a lot to look forward to this fall in the marathoning world - Geb vs. Kibet in Berlin, Wanjiru in Chi, and Hall and Sell in NYC. I can't wait!!!

Last night, did an easy 4 with Crystal on the trails. Weather was pretty cool and slight breeze - mid 70's, another beautiful evening :) Both of us were feeling a little worn down and tired, so didn't hit it too hard. First mile was pretty slow, but then settled in a nice rhythm and hit consistent splits all the way home - my favorite type of run :) Felt ok overall, was glad it was an easy day. Total milage: 4 miles - splits were: 8:52, 8:23, 8:23, 8:22.

Got home shortly afterwards, stretched, at dinner, then completely passed out! Pat and Crystal just recently bought a new DVD, Yoga for Runners, and they burnt me a copy to give a try so I will attempt to do later and give a review!

Evil tendencies of the brain

Great article which talks about how much your brain can actually affect your running. Your brain is almost a safety valve which determines how much your body can take given the feedback from your muscles during rigorous exercise. Basically, your body will send warning signals to your brain which then attempts calculate the amount of fuel left in your body – if it deems that a “danger zone” is being approached, it will basically send word to your leg muscles to contract which consequently leads to slowing down. But it is possible to talk your brain out of this safety mode, so important to really focus hard when your body feels like it is going to break down and talk your way through it – we have all been there and all had runs that seems harder than before, so use a running mantra or play mind games to get out of this funk!

Last night, Crystal and I did our run on the GC Trails. Weather was nice – mid to low 70’s, overcast and breezy. Decided to go towards the University which has rolling hills and some elevation. Legs felt a little tired, so started out slow. Felt ok, could feel the pace progressively getting faster. By the third mile, was right on marathon pace, and made a comment about possibly slowing down but we went against it since the pace felt pretty good. 4^th mile is slowly uphill – at this point, we actually turned onto a different part of the trail which runs through a local neighborhood and behind the high school heading towards SIUE. Hit a lot of traffic over here, a ton of people were walking their babies and pets, and started to feel a little fatigue but most likely from the gradual incline. Pretty much flew on the turnaround, and was feeling ok until the 7^th mile where the rolling hills started to beat me up a bit. On the last mile, started to really feel it on the last half mile, but later found out we had picked up the pace substantially. Legs were spent post run, but could have been from not eating dinner and just being a bum all afternoon and taking a long nap. Went home, stretched, ate a 5 dolla footlong, laid in bed forever. Total mileage: 8 miles – splits were: 7:51, 7:29, 7:19, 7:24, 6:58, 7:11, 7:03, 6:49.

Tonight, easy run. Made a few schedule adjustments for running since Tim is in town this weekend and don’t want to worry about 5 a.m. long runs since we will most likely be having some fun nights :) Just signed up for the Mud Mountain 5K, looking forward to a relaxed race and being a rabbit for Timmy.

Marathon Training Officially Begins!!!

Well it looks like the Chicago Marathon is going to lose Ryan Hall, but this is a nice consolation prize - the reigning Olympic Champion Samuel Wanjiru! Pretty cool news, and hope that he makes a serious attempt at the World Marathon Record. Has been a while since Chicago has produced a 2:05 time (Khalid Khonnouchi in the late 90's), and I think Wanjiru will undoubtedly achieve that assuming conditions are decent.

“My plan for the fall is to lower my personal record, and the Chicago Marathon course is the best opportunity for me to achieve that." - Samuel Wanjiru

Yep, let me know if you need a pacer - I can lead you for the first 100-200 yards before your Kenyan legs completely eviscerate anything in your path.

Last night, started the marathon training cycle with a nice little run. Weather was cool and breezy, in the low 70's. Crystal and I hit the trails , did an out and back, and kept a pretty easy pace. Really not much to report other than legs felt tired from the race still but servicable enough to keep up the pace, and executed the run perfectly. Total Mileage: 3 miles - splits were: 8:12, 8:11, 8:12 (how's that for consistency?!)

Tonight, 8 glorious miles. Tuesday track work has been replaced for this training cycle, so looking forward to a nice medium sized run on yet another glorious weather day :)