Happy Thanksgiving!

Cool interview I found with World Record holder Zac Freudenberg. Still amazing he could run 2:32 with a stroller - wow!

Quick recap of my running over the holiday week. In a nutshell, my entire week was run, sleep, eat - pretty disgusting. Wednesday, slept in and woke up to get in an easy run. This was my designated easy day, so didn't push too hard. Did a small loop around town, was very groggy and it was overcast and windy. Middle miles were flat which was extremely nice as the area around my parent's house is all long hills. Cruised through it all, felt pretty good. Total mileage: 4 miles - splits were: 8:32, 8:24, 8:14, 8:04. In the p.m., did a quick 4 mile run. Since it was dark, stuck to the sidewalks and pretty much ran through all hills. Legs were tired, so didn't push very hard. Was slightly raining, never fun but this workout needed to be done with the huge day of eating which awaited. Total mileage: 4 miles - total time was 35 minutes flat.

Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving! Slept in again, Anne made it in and we all hung out for a while. Ate a ton of food early, and pretty much vegetated through the day. Shane texted me, and he ran a 5 mile Turkey Trot in 32:27 PR which is absolutely amazing! Congrats Shane!!! So got my lazy butt up later in the afternoon., and decided to get in a hard tempo. Weather was cold and windy, low 40's/high 30's. Legs felt ok, but certainly wasn't looking forward to the nasty hills. First mile felt pretty good, but hills started to get me by the 2nd mile. Completely lost my desire and shut it down after the 2nd mile which I was not pleased about. Jogged the next few miles, and pushed it hard the last 1.5 miles. Happy to get in some miles, not happy with the effort. As it has been over the last month, made the excuse of it being a holiday and already running a ton this week, plus the monster hills. I wish I was more motivated right now. Total mileage: 6 miles - splits were: 6:12, 6:34, next few miles were 8 something, last mile was 6:30's.

Ate a billion lbs. of food, spent some quality time with the family, very nice holiday. Friday, slept in, woke up to get in a quick run. Needed to work off some of the calories from Thanksgiving, plus was a little mad at myself for lack of running effort in yesterday's tempo. Supposed to be my scheduled day off, so didn't really push it. Did an out and back, ran slow and just enjoyed the nice sunny day, despite the cold. Total mileage: 2 miles - no watch, but slow.

So still on pace for a monster week, have done some good corework and good stretching, so feel pretty decent right now. Would like to get in some miles after work today (yes I am at work). Just got word that Ken is not in town, so sucks I won't be able to see him/run with him, but still on track for now for a 15 miler. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Long update...

Let's blaze through this update, I have been running around like a mad man trying to prepare for the holiday week, and in Peoria to hang out with the family for the week. Here's a great article from the Wall Street Journal on Meb. A very interesting local story on local elite runner Zac Freudenberg who recently set the world record in running a marathon with a baby stroller - he ran it in 2:32 with baby Liam, and beat out the former world record holder by 2 minutes! And by the way, he won the overall race too :)

Friday, very crazy day. Got home from work, got in a quick 4 mile run to make up for the crappy beginning of the week. Just did a loop around the neighborhood which was hilly, but never pushed too hard and felt solid all the way around. Total mileage: 4 miles - time ran was 23:33. Stretched, then headed to South County to pick up my new car! I bought a black 2009 Nissan Altima, absolutely beautiful :) I love the car, and it is awesome - not much more to be said.


Had a few celebratory beers with Nick, then crashed out early. Saturday morning, woke up bright and early to do a long run with Crystal and Mike. Met at Crystal's - weather was nice and sunny and cool, and felt awesome. Did the Glen Carbon trail, and started out fine and slow. Felt good, but the Crystal decided we should navigate the hilly Meridian Hill route (blah!), which was not expected. Could feel us pushing the hills, and our splits were getting faster. I tried in vain to yell at Paula Radcliffe/Crystal to slow down, but never really succeeded. Kept getting faster and faster, and I finally gave up and went with it. Legs weren't feeling that bad, but not great either, and I knew it was only going to get better once we did the 4 nasty miles on Meridian. Finally got off the trail, got a second wind and started to cruise. Was pretty much locked in at this point. Could feel the pace slow down on the 11th mile, but pushed it at the end to finish strong. Legs felt good, but probably couldn't have done much more. Total mileage: 12 miles - splits were: 8:46, 8:02, 8:12, 8:21, 7:54, 7:55, 7:36, 7:29, 7:30, 7:36, 7:47, 7:18.

Happy with the workout, but was harder than anticipated. Hung out with Pat and Crystal for a while, then had a quiet evening at home. Sunday, went and played golf with a couple buddies on an absolutely gorgeous day. Played arguably my best round of the year, and had a great time. Didn't get in a run, but walked a ton on a hilly golf course so got in some cross training. Hit 31 miles this week, wish it was more. Monday, worked a short day, then hit the trail for a quick run. Weather was overcast and cool, and windy. Hit the trails towards Troy, made it a point not to push it at all and just let my body get in a good rhythm without too much stress. First couple miles were ok, 3rd was dead into a wind which sucked. Came back home and could feel my body wanting to go, but restrained myself. On the 5th mile, let myself speed up a bit but to the point where I was totally fine and could easily conversate with someone - last mile, just let my legs have fun and take off. Breezed through the last mile, felt so easy. Very pleased to see a great split to end the run. Total mileage: 6 miles - splits were: 7:33, 7:30, 7:44, 7:28, 7:08, 6:38.

Hung out with Pat and Crystal for dinner, ping pong, and wii, then home to bed. Woke up this morning to another overcast, crappy day, and got in a quick morning run despite my body begging me not to. Did a quick 4 on the trails, nothing special to note other than I felt pretty good and ran pretty slow. Drove home to Peoria, ate a crapload of food, then set out for an evening workout. Wanted to do track work, but it was raining so settled for hill work since the roads around my parent's house are pretty hilly. Did 1 out easy in the rain, found a nice hill a little less than a quarter mile long, then did repeats. Once again, nothing special to note - made it a point to not overly push it, try to keep good form, and just run smart. The reps went flying by, and definitely felt like it wasn't too bad of a workout. Did roughly 4 miles, felt great.

This week, will probably hit 2-a-days when I am home since I will have a ton of time to do so, then gear back for a good long run tentatively scheduled with Ken and Crystal.

Kara Goucher and Crappy Tempo Runs

Here is a nice interview from the lovely Kara Goucher (we miss you!!!!). The running world is less without her presence, so nice to find this! And an interesting interview by the Boston Athletic Association executive director Guy Morse talking about Boston closing for the earliest time ever! They have considered two options moving forward, neither of which I particularly agree with. Adding more runners to the mix, and lowering the qualifying time. I think by limiting the field to a smaller number, it gives the race a more elite feel and just the struggle of getting in and competing with the world's best runners is something that one can't do everyday. Boston is bragging rights, and not primarily a running spectacle like New York or Chicago. Of course by saying this, I would be absolutely livid if Chi filled up, and I couldn't compete in 2010 so I may be slightly biased. As for the qualifying time, I have mixed feelings too. The qualifying time for men is difficult, but doable, and amazingly sweet when you hit the number. It's the hard work you put in when you look back at after hitting a great time that makes it all worth it in the end, especially trying to hit a BQ which is the top of the mountain. If they were to soften the standards, they couldn't do it more than 5 minutes, but I think it's fine the way it is.

Last night, got in my scheduled tempo run. It FINALLY stopped raining, but was a bit chilly (40's). Bundled up, strapped on my Ipod, light jog to start out, and away I went! Did a loop around my neighborhood (hilly), then wanted to settle in on flat roads to get into a good rhythm. Went through the first couple miles somewhat comfortably but slightly slower than I usually go on tempo runs, wanting to save energy for the later miles. Had to stop at a stop light, which sort of killed momentum but conversely allowed me to catch my breath for a second. Took off down Glen Carbon Road, saw my 3rd mile split was 10 seconds slower despite harder effort. For some reason, that mentally killed me and just let my mind win over my body from that point. Tried to pick it up on the 4th mile, but was getting really tired and started to feel like garbage. Hit a decent split, but was done. Walked/jogged a mile, was sort of in the dumps and questioning myself why was I doing this? Reamed into myself for a few minutes, picked up the pace, then decided to hit the last mile hard. Ran a controlled effort but hard, and wanted to hit my fastest mile here - of course, it ended up being my 2nd slowest, and was royally pissed off because of it. Stretched, had a few beers afterwards in complete frustration. Total mileage: 6 miles - splits were: 6:37, 6:38, 6:48, 6:34, something slow, 6:42.

Not at all pleased with the workout, but later realized that bad days do happen. I think I was more mad at myself for letting me quit during the actual workout, which I don't want to happen again. Hit my 5 mile tempo last week a minute faster than my timed 5 miles this week, so I know I'm capable of more - just need to stick with it and work hard. Last week, I said I thought that a hard tempo run (when feeling good) might be my favorite workout - well, after last night's debacle, might now be the workout I least look forward to!

Almost the weekend!

Hilarious new Sportscenter commercial with the fastest man alive, Usain "Lightning" Bolt!

Last night, waited around for the rain to let up and went out for my easy run. Tacked on a couple extra miles since I had skipped Monday and had low mileage on Tuesday. Did an out and back towards downtown Glen Carbon, and was raining slightly and cold (40's). Felt ok starting out, and was probably moving a little faster than I would have liked. Funny how the rain has ways of speeding you up! I was pretty bundled up, so decided to let my body temperature gauge if I was going too fast (i.e. if I was getting hot, then slow down!). First mile, hit low 8's which felt phenomenal, and kept plodding along. Was getting faster on the 2nd mile, and 3rd mile has a pretty long downhill and I ended up hitting a fast split which was to be expected with the downgrade. Hit the hill coming back, and pushed through without trying to get too out of control. Totally let up when it flattened out, but still ended up going fast. Put myself in cruise control over the last couple miles and just coasted home - was pretty damp, but could have been worse. Thank God the rain didn't pick up, would have been a miserable run. Total mileage: 6 miles - didn't wear Garmin, but total time running was 46 minutes flat (8:09 first mile, roughly 7:40 average total so picked it up in the middle).

Planning on tempo tonight if weather cooperates, then something easy on Friday to make up for Monday's 0. Hopefully can pull my head out of my butt and get in a solid weekend running for once, before the holiday week (aka 5 lbs. weight gain). Headed to Peoria early in the week to hang out with the family, and would love to get in some solid miles in hilly Peoria.

Playing Catchup

Quick Q/A with Meb, and an interesting piece from the Wall Street Journal about compulsive running. They compare compulsive running to any other obsession like drinking or doing drugs - unreal! A picture from Sarah Palin's Runners World shoot made the cover of Newsweek in controversial fashion might I add - we will be hearing a TON about this, I'm sure. And finally, the Boston Marathon registration is closed in record time!!!

Weekend running went pretty well, but ended up on a crappy note. Friday, went for a quick, easy run after work. Legs felt good, and the weather was cool and breezy. Basically tried to not push it at all, but surged on a few points because of oncoming traffic and hills. Never got out of control, was a little shocked to see the time of the run which was a few minutes faster than I thought it would be. Legs are getting stronger. Total mileage: ~4 miles - total time running was 30:41. Surprise birthday party for a friend that night, had a TON of fun hanging out with a good group of buddies and certainly ate/drank more than I would have liked.

Saturday, weather got HOT all of a sudden. Ran some errands, decided to go for a run in the early afternoon. Because it is November and has been cool, wore a long sleeved shirt but within 20 steps called an audible and changed into a short sleeved shirt. Sun was BRIGHT, and there was a small breeze but really not much. Temp was in the 70's, so felt like a spring day. Did the Troy route, wanted to make it a not so hard effort with the long run looming on Sunday, so started out moderately slow. Hit the trail, started hitting faster splits which wasn't planned but hardly felt any effort so kept plodding along. For some reason, started to get really fatigued around the 3rd mile, but still felt like I was slow jogging even though my splits were good. Was running into the wind and into the sun, so maybe that took a lot out of me? At the turnaround, decided I wanted this run over with since I was just felt like garbage, so exorcised any evil thoughts of stopping and just headed back. Coming home was more of the same - felt like I was running on fumes, but really the run was easy. Pretty much my body was failing me, was the weirdest feeling. Happy with the run though, even though I struggled a ton. Total mileage: 8 miles - splits were: 7:49, 7:26, 7:27, 7:22, 7:13, 7:15, 7:12, 7:07 (avg. 7:22).

Stretched a ton, took nap, then headed over to Pat and Crystal's for game night (Stacy joined in too!). Fun times as usual, slept in forever on Sunday and headed to see the St. Louis Rams game with Pat and some other friends. Wanted to get in an early run, but it didn't happen. When we got home, the weather had turned completely the opposite - cold, windy, and rainy! Since I wasn't feeling too hot, completely missed a run which was a shame because I had a great running week going - ended up with 32 miles with some decent workouts in there.

Monday, 0 miles!!! Started raining, and didn't stop (and actually hasn't stopped in 3 days!). It wasn't sprinkling either, which made it impossible to run outside. Spent the majority of the evening car shopping, so pretty much ran out of time. Yesterday, got home a little later, had scheduled track work which quite frankly wasn't going to happen with this type of weather. Finally got a slow pocket of weather where it was just slightly raining, so got in a really quick short distance run. Ran to the trail and back, which is hilly. Wanted to run fast, but controlled, which I thought would be around half marathon pace. First mile felt pretty decent, and didn't push too hard. Coming back was fine too - started to get a little tired from the hills, but didn't feel too much harder than a tempo run which I didn't want to push past that effort. Rain was not ideal, but glad to get in something small and quick. Very pleased with my splits. Total mileage: 2 miles - splits were 6:10, 6:06.

So here I am, pretty much on a weird running schedule but getting my legs back. As long as the weather cooperates, plan on getting in a monster long run this weekend which I desperately need right now!!!

Thursday Tempo Work

A few quick articles I found - first, a goodbye of sorts to Brian Sell from his Hansons teammate and friend Patrick Rizzo - very well written, might I add. Second, a NY Times piece on running in the winter and the "shocking" allegation that it is tougher to run in the colder conditions. And lastly, marathon legend Catherine Ndereba intends on becoming the oldest marathon winner at the 2012 London Games at age 40.

Wednesday night, gave in to feeling like crap and general laziness and postponed my easy run until tonight. Sort of regretted it, but I slept so well that night that it was probably in my best interest to do so. Yesterday, got home after work and immediately pushed out thoughts of waiting to run. At this point, it is so easy to take a nap when I get home since it gets dark so fast, and the longer I wait the less likely I am to run. Put on my shoes, ate some raisins, and got ready to run. Weather was nice outside - 60's and breezy. Sort of following the Runners World 1/2 Marathon Training plan developed by Toby Tanser for the next couple months, which should help me develop speed again, but with faster splits. So the plan was 5 mile tempo, and I intentionally picked a somewhat hilly route to help develop strength for my legs.

First mile, felt pretty decent and the legs were responding well. Ran out towards the trail, and was really aggressive the first half so had to slow it down a bit. Made an impromptu decision to hit a couple miles on the trail despite it getting pretty dark, but figured it would motivate me to keep up the fast pace if I was racing the sun/moon. On the trail, it's a lot more flat so settled into a good rhythm and just got lost in my own world. Breathing was under control, turnover was also good. Made the turn around, which is never fun to literally come to a complete start then restart, but got back into it pretty fast. Freaking animals scurrying in the dark always make me a little antsy, so pushed it midway on the 3rd mile to get the heck off the now dark trail. Made my way back out to the "wonderful" 1.5 mile hilly finish, and was feeling pretty decent. Pushed it a little and had fun with the run in general. Last half mile stretch is net downhill, so picked it up even more and hit my fastest mile split. Did one mile cooldown, stretched out a bit, felt awesome. Total mileage: ~6 miles - splits were: 6:26, 6:34, 6:39, 6:27, 6:17.

I think when I'm having a good day, the tempo run is my favorite run to do - conversely, if you're feeling like crap it's the most strenuous and evil run of all, but I nailed it today. Hit 6:29 average, and had plenty left in the tank to have pushed it more so the last couple weeks of speedwork is starting to show. I am still looking for a 5K to do within the next couple weeks, but will continue on with my current schedule. Wanted to do the Alton 10 Miler on Thanksgiving weekend, but not going to fit in my schedule so will find some other race to do. Tonight, will do my Wednesday easy run (legs feel fantastic right now), then hit up a long run and a medium sized run over the weekend. TGIF!!!

Change of Season...

is messing up my system. With the time change, soooo difficult to get motivated to run, so I am thinking I need some race in the near future to get myself going. I promised myself this week would be the official beginning of my new training segment, and it has happened despite my body fighting against it!!! Hopefully I can snap out of this funk and get myself into gear, frustrating not to have that burning desire to push myself!

Monday, got home and checked the mail to see that the Boston Athletic Association had sent me my official confirmation for the 114th Boston Marathon, so that was very exciting news! In celebration, went out for a short run. Legs were pretty sore from Sunday's race, so didn't want to push too hard. Weather was pretty much perfect and a bit breezy, so did an out and back through town. Took about a mile for myself to feel pretty good, and never pushed it too hard. Nothing special to note, stretching afterwards felt heavenly. Total mileage: 4 miles - total time was 33 minutes.

Tuesday, blah. Am starting to get sick, so was a complete zombie at work all day despite a solid 8+ hours of extreme hibernation. Got home from work, completely passed out. Woke up, and had evil thoughts of pushing the run back which I knew would never happen. Had scheduled track work, but changed it up to medium distance run with strides at the end. Finally got my lazy butt outside, and felt decent. Weather was cool outside and windy. First mile felt pretty easy, and pushed it the 2nd mile. Stepped on a log which I couldn't see due to the complete dark, and twisted my ankle slightly which wasn't cool. Worked it out though, and slowed it down the next couple miles since was starting to breathe heavier than I would have liked. Felt better after the 4th mile, and decided to push it coming home. Hit the last 2 miles in what I thought was a fast clip, only to find out in complete disgust that I was running in low 7 minute pace which is just unacceptable for hard effort. Maybe being sick slowed me down? Who knows? But was happy with the run and decent effort, and will take it for now. Cooled down, then did 10 strides afterwards at hard effort, stretched like a madman. Total mileage: ~7 miles - the 6 mile run was roughly 44 minutes.

Tonight, something easy then will do more speed on Thursday pending how I feel. Still on schedule for 40+ miles!