New Orleans Bound!

Desi, Suzy Favor Hamilton, Stephen Pifer, US Olympic Trials preview, Morgan Uceny, and Diamond League preview and results.

Tuesday, June 5th - 6 miles (0.5 up, 12x300, 2x400, 1x300, 2 down).  Speedwork at the track with Crystal and Megan.  Scheduled workout was 12x300 at a little faster than 5K pace, but ended up jumping in and helping Crystal out at the end of her workout.  Felt decent through my workout, and was taking time in between a couple reps to time Megan and Crystal through their workout.  Jumped in afterwards the pace Crystal through 400 of her 800 meter rep, then just finished the workout with her because apparently I like pain.  2 mile cooldown, very pleased.  300 meter splits ranged from 57-63 seconds.  Hit 71, 72 with Crystal, then 51 for the last 300.

Wednesday, June 6th - 6 miles - Happy National Running Day!  Nice night outside, and did solo on the trails when I got home.  Out and back towards Troy, legs felt like rubber starting out but definitely loosened up.  Felt pretty good by the end.  47:10 (8:06, 8:07, 8:02 (24:15), 7:47, 7:45, 6:51 (22:55)).

Thursday, June 7th - 6 miles.  Trail loop with Timmy, who was in town.  Felt tired starting out, but definitely loosened up.  Was warm outside, but tolerable.  Out and back on the trails - coming back was uphill, but we inadvertantly negative split - probably my fault.  Got onto the trail at a different point which I'm not used to, but was a nice change of scenary - ended up about 1 mile down towards Old Faithful.

Headed to New Orleans tomorrow morning for a work conference.  My hopes are to get in as much mileage as possible, whether via roads or treadmills.  The weather looks awfully hot and humid down south, unlike last year's conference when I was in sunny, beautiful Anaheim.  These conferences tend to be an eating fest, so will make it a priority to get in some great mileage!

Summer Days

Meb wins at RNR San Diego, Mo Farah runs 12:56 5K at Prefontaine Classic, Kenyan 10K Olympic Trials, 5 things about Desi, Nick Symmonds going after Paris Hilton, Pre recap (hell of an event), Bernard Lagat, Mo Farah focuses on the 10K at the Olympics, Mary Keitany, a nice story in the high school state meet, and former Olympian Bob Kennedy.

Friday, June 1st (continued).  8 miles total; P.M. - 6 miles (1 up, 5x1000, 4x200, 2 down).  Track work at the middle school.  Not sure what my deal was, but wasn't really with it in the head for this workout.  Warmed up, then hit the 1000 meter repeats trying to hit 5K pace (~3:40), mile pace for the 200's (~37).  Started fast every rep, but levelled out.  Legs were ok, but seemed like more work than it should have been.  A big thumbs down to the walker and her kid, that decided to walk opposite way towards me on the fast lane.  That's just ridiculous.  1000 meter splits: 3:36, 3:338, 3:38, 3:36, 3:38.  400 meter splits: 34, 33, 36, 35.

Saturday, June 2nd - 12.5 miles.  Perfect morning outside to run - was this close to racing, but opted to get the mileage in.  Went to Forest Park with Pat and Crystal, and met with the Wolfpack at the Visitor's Center.  Ran the Clayton/Delmar loop (detoured to Gannon St. where we ran more residential vs. the infamous Delmar mountainous hill), then part of the Forest Park loop to finish it out.  Legs felt like jello, and was glad to get this over with earlier than later.  8:15 average pace.

Sunday, June 3rd - 6 miles.  Old Faithful with Pat and Crystal.  Hot outside, and just felt like poo.  Legs had nothing once again, but Crystal was pretty dead too so we kept this leisurely.  Speedwork/long run back to back in less than 12 hours sucks.  54:47 total.  45 miles this week, 26.5 miles for June, 900.5 miles for 2012.

Monday, June 4th - 5.5 miles.  Group run in Francis Park.  Started out with O'Connor and Crystal, and looped around the back end of the park a couple times before ending up at the track to do modified drills.  Still recovering a little from the busy weekend of running, but made it through everything ok.  43:37 total.

Back to the grind - speedwork tonight at the track, then trying to hit up some good mileage before heading to New Orleans this weekend for a work trip.  Lots of eating planned, so need to get in my mileage now!

Soldier Field 10 Mile Recap

As reminded by Crystal, I am very behind in my updating so here we go:

Wednesday, May 22nd - 6 miles.  Ran with Mike and Justin downtown after work.  It was hot, and I definitely lost a few lbs. of sweat in the process.  Started at Bailey's Range (9th and Olive), then worked our way towards Busch Stadium and basically ran the St. Pat's course loop (not exact streets but relatively close).  I definitely didn't miss the Market St. hill much, but it was nice coming back down it.  Justin and I dropped Mike off at his place, then looped around the Arch grounds to finish it out.  I take downtown for granted since I see it all the time, but it really is a nice place to run when it's not too crowded.  Legs were pretty dead, unfortunately, but the good company made the run go by faster.  Low 8 pace average.

Thursday, May 24th - 5 miles?  I don't remember this at all, but I do remember running.  This is what was on my schedule, and I'm sticking to it.

Friday, May 25th - 0!  Travel day to Chicago bright and early.  Took a 4 a.m. bus and got into the city by late morning.  Met up with my sister, got settled in, then walked around the city.  Ended up walking for an hour through the Lincoln Park Zoo to see the new nature trail that was constructed, then walked over to Castaways which is an awesome outdoor bar off Lakeshore/Lake Michigan about 2 miles away from Anne's place.  While I didn't get in my scheduled 4 miles running, I walked a good 5-6 around the city so that has to count for something. Weather was perfect - low 80's and breezy.

Saturday, May 26th - 14 miles (2 up, SOLDIER FIELD 10 MILE, 2 down).  Woke up early, and cabbed it down to Soldier Field to run one of the races on my bucket list.  Pretty surreal to walk in the stadium, which I sadly have never been to (despite the fact of being a Bears fan my entire life!).  Weather was cold and windy, and actually not bad to run in.  Checked my gear in, then warmed up for 20 minutes outside the stadium.  Legs were heavy, which sucked, but with the weather cooperating I wanted to at least give it a few miles at pace to see how I felt.  Lined up in the second corral (behind the elites), listened to a nice Memorial Day tribute, then took off.  We basically headed south on Lakeshore, and there was a good 25 mph tailwind, which unfortunately meant we were coming back into this wonderful "breeze".  Felt ok through the first mile, but then my legs just died about halfway through the second mile and  I made the decision to drop pace.  Just jello.  So I split 6:22, 6:30 for the first 2 miles, then fell back to marathon pace and cruised in and enjoyed the sights and sounds.  We made the turnaround, then literally ran on the Lakeshore path back towards Soldier Field.  The wind was pretty brutal, and I found a lot of people drafting off me coming in.  At around the 8 mile mark, you can start to see the city line and the stadium, and I definitely got excited and picked it up a little.  Last mile, started picking people off, and made the entrance into the tunnel before heading onto the field.  Awesome experience, and I tried to soak up as much as I could.  Finished somewhere in the 300-400 range out of 12,800+ people, and I believe my time was 1:10:52, which included a few extra seconds to do the Heisman Pose on the 50 yard line.  Met up with a couple friends postrace, before picking up my medal (a football helmet!), blanket, and meeting Megan and Anne to head back to shower.  Cooled down with Anne, Ben, and Megan on Lakeshore for a couple miles to call it a day.  Nice to get in some good mileage before 10 a.m.  Congrats to Larry for running a great PR (1:03:14)!  A great race, and I definitely want to do again someday!  Had a nice day around the city, which included an awesome brunch at Orange (rosemary french toast), and concluded at 3Forks Steakhouse (prime rib - I can still taste it!) where we sat next to Barry Manilow.  Such a small world.

Sunday, May 27th - 0!  Had all intentions of getting up to do this, but was completely a waste of space.  It got too hot during the day, and heat is my kryptonite.  But Ben proved to be a much tougher man than me, as he got in a good 5-6 Lakeshore miles in the middle of the afternoon which had to be brutal.  Instead, I ended up at John Barleycorn (bar in Lincoln Park) where we had a few beverages and enjoyed the nice day.  Walked the equivalent of a 4-5 miles - does that count???  38 miles this week (ugh), 153 miles for May, 855.5 miles for 2012.

Monday, May 28th - 14 miles.  Met up with Larry bright and early on Lakeshore.  Ran a couple miles beforehand, and we got in roughly 11 miles headed north on Lakeshore.  Didn't feel too hot from staying up too late, and the 80+ early morning temps, but made it through ok.  Hit every water station coming back, and couldn't drink enough water.  Saw quite a few runners out there, but was nice to be on my favorite running trail.  Averaged right around 8 minute miles, was done before 9 a.m. which was nice.

Tuesday, May 29th - 4.5 miles.  Was completely tired from travel, so skipped out on the Mile Time Trial at Big River Speedwork.  Went home, and Tim texted me that he was running at the Collinsville High School track, so headed up there to help run and time him.  They re-did that track, and was in very good shape so was pretty impressed at the conditions of their track - may be the home of a future workout, albeit may also be a mosquito/buy deathtrap since there are woods closeby.  Warmed up with Tim, then timed him through the first couple quarters.  He asked me to rabbit his third lap, but I felt ok and rabbited him on the fourth as well.  He hit a pretty decent time (~5:50), so was glad I could help.  Cooled down to finish the workout.  Warm evening, but cooled down a bit which was nice.  Still trying to get acclimated to summer, ugh.

Wednesday, May 30th - 0!  Came home and went to bed.  Just exhausted.  Slept 14 hours straight.  I apparently needed it.

Thursday, May 31st - 0!  Headed towards a deadly cycle here, but I did have an excuse because of the Festival of Miles!  This event is put on every year, and showcases many of the local high school runners, as well as some of the nation's elites as they come to race for a sub 4 minute mile.  Had a quick dinner at Local Harvest Cafe, which specializes in all local and organic foods.  Headed over to SLU High School to watch the festivities and watch my buddy Stephen Pifer make a run at the Elite Mile event.  Well, the weather Gods were not in our favor, as it was rainy (well misty) and 50's - yes 50's!  Just about the worst conditions you could ask for a track meet.  Anyways, Pifer lead the charge through about 1300 meters or so, before he fell back.  I believe he ran 4:02 - a great time for such an awful day.  Anyways, another awesome event run by Big River Running, and for a great cause.  Got home too late, and the rainy weather deterred any late running.  171.5 miles for May, 874 miles for 2012.

Friday, June 1st - 2 miles (a.m.).  Got up for a tortuous 2 mile run.  I am just not a morning person.  Planning on doing track work tonight to finish out the day.  I think I ran 17-18 minutes?  Actually pretty cold this morning, and contemplated busting out the tights.  What is going on with this weather?  Tights in June???

Because of the unseasonably cold weather, I contemplated racing tomorrow but opted not to basically because I'm a little burnt out and need different speedwork other than a 5K.  So I will be enjoying a nice long run around the STL area instead.

Last week, I finally received my Illinois Marathon Age group prize.  Wasn't overly thrilled with this award, as I have a billion of these bags, but I guess it's better than nothing and it is somewhat practical.  I hope that this race changes their awards someday - such a fun, well-ran race, but mediocre prizes.  And I'm not the only one!!!

Solder Field 10 Miler!

Me, Stephen, and Abe

Grant Illini and Ferguson Twilight 5K Recap

Leo hoping to improve, crazy ending at the Fargo Half Marathon, this idiot woman got caught in her workman's comp claim when she was actually running the Boston Marathon, another weird runner news story, Mo Farah is a stud, don't count Haile out, Bak and the lovely Miss Kara Goucher triumph in Portland,  Shalane (sha-love), and Abel Kurui wants to follow in Sammy Wanjiru's path.

Friday, May 18th - 5 miles easy.  Did after work on the trail.  Don't remember the splits, but it was slow.

Saturday, May 19th - 13 miles (A.M.: 2 up, GRANT ILLINI 5K (19:15) - 1st Place!, 2 down.  P.M. 1.5 up, FERGUSON TWILIGHT 5K (24:15) - ? place, 1.5 down).  Pretty crazy day of running, and decided to double up for fun and hoping that I could get good morning weather for a potentially fast day since it was going to be hot that evening.  Got to the first race pretty early and warmed up with Tim before running the race.  Already sweating bullets, and uber-sunny.  Not good.  Not much competition, and literally led wire to wire.  We started at the school, and looped around a neighborhood before coming back in (out and back).  Anyways, went through the first mile in 5:50 and felt ok but the sun was brutal.  Neighborhood was fine, but the volunteers were not quick on the uptake of directing me, so wasted some energy shifting directions and having the guess on where to go.  Towards the turnaround point, went down the steepest hill I have ever raced on, and there was loose gravel everywhere so eased up substantially to avoid wiping out.  Well, thought I was going to keep going on the same road to loop around (since it was curving back towards where we came from), but then was yelled at by the volunteers to turn around (seriously, tell me before I get past you!!!), so had to climb up that mountain.  Just brutal, and it effectively ended a great time for the day because I had to slow down so much.  2nd Mile split was 6:45, if that's any indication.  Last mile, had a huge lead and literally soaked it in.  Thanked all the volunteers, put it on cruise control, posed for the cameras, and coasted in for the win.  Cooled down with Timmy (he finished 2nd and won the age group - congrats!), and enjoyed the spoils of war.  Quick meal, engagement party, then off to Ferguson for round 2.  Was pretty hot at this point - warmed up with Pat, Crystal, Matty D, and John Fenley.  Legs were just dead - earlier race, being on my feet all day, and the feat just zapped me.  Started out with Crystal, but half a mile into the race, I knew I was pretty much done (legs were noodles), so fell back and ran Pat in for a good PR.  Tough course, and it did cool down during the race but was still a little warm.  Cooled down with Crystal, Matty, and Joe Lyons and celebrated into the night.  6 Row Brewery for dinner, then guy's night out in STL!  Congrats to Crystal on her HUGE P.R. and win in the morning (17:09), and doubling back for the win at night!  3 wins for Team Sullentrup in 1 day - I consider that a big success :)

Sunday, May 19th - 0!  Late night plus early impromtu golf tournament in Lake St. Louis equals 0 miles.  The round took almost 6 hours, then we had a huge crawfish boil and hung out.  Didn't get home till almost 10 p.m.  Was completely dead by then.  42 miles this week, 115 miles for May, 817.5 miles in 2012.

Monday, May 20th - 6 miles.  Didn't feel very well and worked from home so missed group run.  Ran in the evening - just perfect outside and a lot of people on the trails.  Ran the first 1.5 miles with Megan, then finished out my workout.  Was flying coming in (not intentional), but always nice every now and then to let go.  47:28 total (25:57, 21:31 (7:40, 7:32, 6:19)).

Tuesday, May 21st - 7 miles (2 up, Reverse Ladder (1600, 1200, 800, 400), 2 down).  Megan and I did on the track after work.  Felt really sluggish, but wanted to get in some good work.  Reverse ladder is my favorite track workout - start with a mile, then keep working down in distance as you speed up.  My intention was to hit 5:50-6 on the mile, but went a little too fast.  1200 was fine, 800 was fast but felt pretty easy, and I let it loose on the 400 when I realized I was waaay ahead of pace on the 200 meter split (34 seconds).  Fun times, cooled down afterwards and did some mega-stretching.  Splits were: 1600 - 5:44; 12:00 - 4:16; 800 - 2:39; 400 - 1:09.

Easy running the rest of this week, then headed to Chitown for the weekend.  Running the Soldier Field 10 Miler on Saturday - effort depends on weather, which looks hot so far.  Looking forward to getting up there, and enjoying a fun Memorial Day weekend on my favorite trail, Lakeshore!

Timmy and I leading the charge

Victory Stroll

Post race

Franklin with his new toy

Ferguson Start

The Killer P's - Pat and I

Ferguson Eve

US Male Olympic Marathon Team, Ethiopian Team announced, Mutai wins 10K, and the lovely Miss Kara Goucher races in RNR Portland!

Thought the Ethiopian Marathon selection was a little bit of a joke.  I understand their process of rewarding the most recent best times, but to exclude Geb Gebremariam and Tsegay Kebede, both recent majors champions and possibly both the best marathoner alive for a certain amount of time, was a little shocking.  Both have competed in some ridiculous fields and have some great majors experience and have competed with the best.  I think it makes it tough for countries like Ethiopia and Kenya to not tell their athletes the selection process, so that they can properly prepare for it.  As little as I favor the U.S. selection process, at least it gives the athletes an opportunity to prepare for something.

Went to the doctor this week.  I am a mess - high blood pressure, need to get some blood work done, and now getting a sleep study done as well next month.  I may have sleep apnea, which may explain why I never have any energy, so we shall see how this all turns out.

Wednesday, May 16th - 5 miles.  Ran the Ferguson Twilight 5K with Matty D after work.  Nice night to run, but a little warm in the sun.  There was a huge running group out touring the course as well, so ended up catching up with them later on.  Course is fair, but there are a few tricky parts - first mile and a half is a climb with some rolling hills before levelling off, but then you hit one more nasty hill with about half a mile to go or so. After that, it's a nice decline and a long, flat straightaway to finish.  Should be fun, if the weather holds up!

Thursday, May 17th - 6 miles.  Out and back solo towards Troy on the trails.  Was on a time crunch, and also trying to acclimate myself a little better in the heat.  Felt really sluggish the entire time, but ended up running faster than it felt which was nice.  I'm trying to incorporate stretching and corework post run these days.  Back was a little sore, but can still move around fine.  45:01 total (23:10, 21:51).

Easy run today, then races on Saturday!  Doubling up with an early morning 5K in Fairview, then Ferguson. Weather does not look to be cooperating with some massive sun and heat headed our way, but what can you do?

Tour de Grove Recap

Janji article by Ben Rosario (turn to page 13-14), grandma collegiate athlete, Sammy Wanjiru, more Wanjiru, Geoffrey Mutai let down by Olympic selection team, and Shalane.

Friday, May 11th - 4 miles.  I vaguely remember this, but I know it was easy.

Saturday, May 12th - 7 miles (2 up, TOUR DE GROVE 5K 19:47*** (14 overall/~200, 4th age group), 2 down).  Drove down to the Grove, which is an area not too far from the city, for the Tour de Grove 5K.  I signed up impromptu - mainly for the speedwork since I missed this week, and I was already going to be down there spectating Crystal (she was shooting for a PR (sub 18)).  2 loop course around a pretty flat course with a few turns, and a somewhat decent temperature day (60's but pretty sunny).  No mile markers which was strange, but tried to make a few mental notes.  Warmed up with Crystal, Brian and Margaret, and Matt before doing some dynamic stretching and strides before we got started.  A pretty good showing by some good local runners (as well as a couple Kenyans), since the prize money was good.  The lead pack went out pretty blazing, and I went out pretty hard myself before settling down.  Was working with one guy and a Mich Ultra team girl, and went through the first mile at 5:47.  Crystal and the pack of girls she was running with were so far in front (they had to go through the first mile in the 5:20's), so was worried she went out too hard.  Anyways, got settled in, hit the first loop feeling good and moving.  Worked with the same guy for awhile (dropped the Mich Ultra girl) and we caught a few more people coming in before I dropped back a little bit.  Hit the third mile split according to Garmin in 17:59, but realized I was nowhere near the finish which meant the course was off.  Was stuck in between a couple guys, so ran it in easy and was pretty frustrated when I confirmed with a couple others that we were all almost a quarter mile long.  Later on, we found out that we weren't started at the correct spot, which lead to even more frustration since our times were all wrong, not to mention a perfectly good race day and some potentially awesome times were all erased.  Estimating I would have been right around 18:30, on a correctly marked course.

Crystal finished 3rd in a great PR of 18:01, and battled for the win - see pic below, all 3 girls were within a second of each other!  Guessing she was, at worst, low 17's and quite possibly below.  Disappointed for her  that she was robbed of a career day, but a hell of a PR nonetheless and proof that sub 18 is a moot point now and it's just a matter of how low she dips below the mark.

Sunday, May 13th - 9 miles.  Ran with Pat, Crystal, and Kyle.  Legs were pretty shredded, and was pretty beat from a long night with some friends.  Beautiful day outside, but the sun was pretty intense.  Did out and back on Old Faithful, hit 1:15:32 total, I believe.  35 miles this week, 73 miles for May, 775.5 miles for 2012.

Monday, May 14th - 7 miles.  Ran group run, and Justin talked me into doing the 7 mile loop with him.  Nice day to be outside, but pretty warm.  Legs were pretty dead, but made it through the loop ok.  55:30 total.

Tuesday, May 15th - 6 miles (1 up, 2x1000 tempo, 1x1200 5K pace, 4x200 mile pace, 1 down).  Track work with Megan, Pat, and Crystal at middle school track.  Coach Crystal got this fun track workout from Coach Tim, so through it in there since I was racing again this weekend.  Warmed up, then hit the first rep before having to make a pit stop for some major stomach issues.  Finished the workout without much problems, and really liked it.  Had to work, but not too hard, and got some good turnover work as well.  Cooled down with Megan afterwards - splits were: 2x1000 - 3:48, 3:44; 1x1200 - 4:15; 4x200 - 36, 36, 35, 35.

Tonight, running the Ferguson 5K course for a preview.  Easy running the rest of the week, then racing over the weekend!

                                    

Chilling with Crystal prerace                                                                                   

                                   

Lining up at the start

Going through the first loop

Dramatic female finish

Podium - congrats Crystal!!!

Stupid back

New type of workout?, Shalane, Kenyan Marathon team, Makau versus Geb, book on Sammy Wanjiru, US Olympic Marathon team running the Healthy Kidney 10K this weekend, Bekele is doubling up, and Lopez Lomong.

Monday, May 7th - 4.5 miles + drills.  Ran with Crystal at the Big River group run. Decided to try a different route around Francis Park instead of looping around like usual.  Back was really bothering me, but eventually loosened up.  No idea the pace, but probably 8:15-8:30 average, overall.

Tuesday, May 8th - 0!  Back was in agonizing pain.  Here we go again.  Wanted to go to speedwork, but went home instead of stretched for awhile and rested.  Not ideal

Wednesday, May 9th - 6.5 miles.  Ran with Matty D in Forest Park.  Back was a little better, but not much.  Really stretched hard in the Visitor's Center before he arrived.  The STL Track Club series had started, so was a packed house.  Nice day to be outside, but the sun was making it warm.  Averaged 7:30 pace all around - fun times.  Congrats to Matty for successfully defending his thesis earlier that day and graduating with his Masters degree from SLU!!!

Thursday, May 10th - 4 miles.  Bright and early with Crystal.  Out and back towards Home Depot on a cool morning.  Back was stiff, but a little better.  34:57 total.

Signed up for the Tour de Grove 5K impromptu on Saturday, so we'll see how it goes.  Just trying to get in a nice workout - nothing more than that.  Weather should be ok, so if I feel good I'll go for it!