Ben's Training Log

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Summer 2006 Archive

Houston Marathon 2007 Training Archive

Boston Marathon 2007 Training Archive

Early Summer 2007 Training Archive

Olympic Trials Training Archive

Indoor Track 2008

Summer 2008

Fall 2008 XC

Indoor Track 2009

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

"Hello everyone. Since we are opening the store soon I thought I would start posting my log on the site to give people a little bit better idea of who I was and to give people who are interested a little insight into some high level training. A big reason that Matt and I are opening this store is so we can give back to the running community. For me, an easy way to do that is to share my training. American Distance Running has seen a huge resurgence over the past few years and I believe that the internet is a big reason for that. I know that when I was in college I was constantly reading interviews from the nation’s best runners and trying to figure out what they were doing that made them so good. It was because of the information that I read that I began to experiment with higher mileage. When I did that I became a lot better runner. It is important for today’s high school runners to see what is out there at the elite level. I am not saying that high schoolers should be running the amount of miles that I am running, but I just want them to know that it is a big world out there and kids across the country are doing some amazing things and they can too." - summer 2006

UPDATE: Well, I never really got going on my last log hence the fact that there is no Fall 2009 archive. Come to think of it there is no spring of 2009 archive either. If you think that makes it seem like I was hurt or my motivation started to wane you'd be exactly right on both counts. I started off the spring by winning the St. Pats race on one week of running after having taken three weeks off after the indoor season. Two weeks later I finished 12th at the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago. Not a great performance but not too bad. My focus then became getting ready for the Festival of Miles race that we put on here in Saint Louis. Unfortunately one week out from the race I pulled my hamstring and was unable to race. It ended up being an unbelievable event with Leo Manzano running 3:55 and two others going sub 4 as well. I wanted to be in that race vary badly and even after I got healthy I never quite got over that disappointment.

Then I turned my focus to trying to get ready for a marathon, something I hadn't done since the Olympic Trials in 2007. Again though, I got hurt (hamstring again) and missed two very important weeks of training so the marathon was out. After that I kind of went through the motions of trying to get fit again but I cut a lot of corners and even though I thought I was coming around right before the US Club Cross Country Champs I went out way too fast in the race thinking I was more fit than I was and I ran terrible. Very emabarrassing. A big part of me wanted to throw in the towel at that point but I couldn't bear the thought of that being my last race. So here's the plan; I've started working with a coach for the first time since 2007. SLUH coach Joe Porter now writes my workouts and I run every morning at 6:30am before work (no excuses) and do core work/weights/plyos after the run depending on the day. I'm off to a good start so we'll see. I'm cautiously optimistic that my motivation level will stay high and very optimistic that I'll stay healthy as he has me paying more attention than I ever have in my whole career to the little things (stretching, flexibility, hamstring strengthening, etc.)

Anyway, I'm excited about getting my log going again. For a long time it was one of our most visited pages on the store website and I'm determined to keep you guys updated on how my training is going. I am hoping to do some pretty cool things later this Spring.

WEEK 1

Monday Jan 4- Day one of working with Joe. Ended up on the treadmill for my mile warmup. Then did my plyos inside and then three more miles on the treadmill. Did an abbreviated weights session because I had jury duty at 8am.
Tuesday Jan 5- Ran 8 miles in FP with 4 x 10 sec hill sprints.
Wednesday Jan 6- Ran 4 miles in the am in FP plus weights and core work. pm ran 5 miles solo.
Thursday Jan 7- Ran 7 miles at the Y. 4.5 on the treadmill, then 1 on the indoor track (19 laps to a mile...geez) and then 1.5 more on the treadmill.
Friday Jan 8- Ran 7 miles at FP with Carter. Did a full set of weights and core. Thought my stomach muscles were going to rip.
Saturday Jan 9- Ran 9 miles with Brian in and around South City. Cold but not as bad as the weather people would have you think. You listen to them and you'd think your nose is going to fall off if you are outside for more than 10 seconds.
Sunday Jan 10- 12 miles with Carter, Brian and Ryan. Slow going with the snow but nice to get 12 in. We had 25 people for the first day of the Training Team...great group of people and it was awesome to see them brave the cold temps!

Weekly Total: 67 miles, 8 runs

Not a bad first week. More than anything I got my motivation back and that is really the key for me at this point.

Before I get on to week 2 I have to do something I've done every year on my log and that's my end-of-year favorites for 2009. My buddy Terry Shea always does this on his log every year and that's who I stole the idea from and then I read my friend (and Big River white team member) Peter Kim's blog and he had done his which reminded me to get my act together...thanks Peter!

Here Goes:

Favorite Song: Neon Tiger, The Killers This song is from their Day and Age album which I think technically came out in late 2008 but I got it for my birthday in January and listened to it all the time for the next couple of months.

Favorite Movie: The Hangover

Favorite Concert: The Killers at the Fox

Favorite Training Run: Probably my run on the Leif Ericson Trail in Portland's Forest Park in June. Their Forest Park is just miles and miles of wooded trails. Most are single track but the Leif Ericson is a little wider, the surface is crushed gravel and there are mile marks. I was up there visiting Jen's friends but originally the trip was supposed to also be for me to run the Portland Track Festival 5k. I had gotten hurt in May though so I couldn't do it. I had just started running again when we got to Portland so hitting the trails and actually feeling like myself for the first time in weeks was an awesome feeling. I ended up hammering up the trail getting faster every mile down to like 5:02 and then taking it easy back down. Very fun.

Favorite Workout: I went to Tennessee for a "warm weather" training week before my indoor mile in Boston but it ended up being really cold so one of the days I had to go to Tennessee State for an indoor workout. I ran 4 x 200/ 3 mile tempo/ 4 x 200. Not a crazy hard workout or anything but it was just really fun to be on the track by myself cranking it out.

Favorite Race as a Spectator: A total no-brainer...the Festival of Miles! Watching Leo run 3:55 and hearing the crowd go absolutely nuts was almost surreal. Might have been my favorite race of all-time as a fan.

Favorite Race: Michelob ULTRA St. Patrick's Day Parade Run 5 mile. I took three weeks off after the indoor season and had only been running for one week but felt pretty good so I decided to run the race. It came down to a battle between myself and Zac Freudenburg for the win. I was hurting pretty bad but I pretty much willed myself to stay with him until the last quarter mile and then kicked home for the win in 24:11. I was just proud of myself for digging down really deep.

WEEK 2

Monday Jan 11- Ran 6 miles in Forest Park. Ran into Ryan and Natalie so got in a few minutes in with them. Did plyos, 2 sets of weights and my core routine afterwards.
Tuesday Jan 12- 8 miles with Matt random around the suburbs of Manchester. Did 4 x 10 second hill sprints at the end. My rib was killing me. Some big dude ran into me full steam in my indoor soccer game on Sunday. FYI- I only play indoor soccer because in 2007 after my terrible Olympic Trials performance I vowed to retire so I did something I never would have done when I was training....signed up for soccer. Of course, then I decided to keep running but I liked soccer so much that I've kept playing. Probably a dumb idea but oh well.
Wednesday Jan 13- My birthday!!! I turned 30 today and promptly had to switch my off day from tomorrow to today since my rib is killing me every time I take anything more than a normal breath. I wish I could have run because I am up in Kirksville (my old college town) where I am speaking at a class tomorrow morning.
Thursday Jan 14- I'm taking Alleve for my rib thanks to the recommendation from Ed Heidbrier. He's a runner, a doctor and a friend...not a bad combo! Anyway, the rib felt bearable today. I ran 9 miles with JCR random around South City. We hit up Carondelet for a couple loops. Legs felt good.
Friday Jan 15- 2 up/ 10 x 20 seconds hard, 1 minute easy/ 4 down. Ran with Matt. He hadn't done anything fast in a while but he made it.
Saturday Jan 16- Ran 8 miles with Matt again. Felt like poo after what has been a long week at work and Jen and I are moving into our new house this weekend as well. Just too much going on and the body didn't feel like running but I made it so that's a good sign. I must be feeling motivated!
Sunday Jan 17- 12 miles at Castlewood with Adam, Mark, Matt and a new guy...Troy. Couldn't hit the trails (too muddy) but had a nice run on the roads.


Weekly Total: 51 miles, 6 runs

A little bit of a draining week overall with traveling and moving but got through it I guess.

Week 3

Monday Jan 18- Big day today as David Carruthers challenged me to a duel! Not a duel to the death like back in the day...a 400 meter race. We did it at the group run so a bunch of the runners came over to watch. I must admit I thought it would be fairly easy but the "old man" took off like a bat out of hell so I had to pick it up a bit more than planned on the backstretch. Once I got to 200 meters though I had it. Cruised it in just under 60 seconds. David ran 63. Fun stuff! ran 2 miles warmup and 6 miles cooldown.
Tuesday Jan 19- 7 miles at Forest Park. Felt a little banged up. I don't think it was from last night really. That's just how it's been these first few weeks...I'll feel good for a day and then feel bad for a day. Hopefully soon I'll have more good than bad.
Wednesday Jan 20- am 7 miles at Forest Park followed by weights and core. The rib is still giving me trouble so I had to skip a few of my lifts. pm 4 miles with Brian.
Thursday Jan 21- am 8 miles at Forest Park pm 4 miles from the West County. Parking lot loop as it was dark out so couldn't hit up Queeny.
Friday Jan 22- 2 up/ 4 x flying 200s/ 5 down. These 200s are a staple of Joe's training plan. It's just a 200 with a 200 jog revoery. I will be doing them every week or two just to work on form and touching the speed without going overboard. Today I ran 32/32/31/30. Not a big deal, just trying to stay smooth.
Saturday Jan 23- 10 miles with Lyons. Ran the reservoir loop. I felt pretty banged up. Not sure if it was the 200s or just the continued cycle of sometimes feeling good and sometimes feeling bad.
Sunday Jan 24- 13 miles. Ran to the arch and back on the Sunday Long Run. Not a good one for me. I really was hoping to feel good but it just didn't happen. Not sure what the deal is.

Weekly Total: 69 miles, 9 runs

I don't feel like I really made a lot of progress this week because I still feel out of shape and my stride still feels "off" but I did the work so I trust that when things do come around this week of toughing through it will pay off.


Week 4

Mon Jan 25- 7 miles at Forest Park followed by a set of plyos, weights and core work. I could only do leg presses, toe raises, hamstring curls and shoulder presses as everything else bothers my rib too much. The core work was good but I kind of strained my neck doing it last Friday and I think I re-aggravated it today.
Tues Jan 26- OFF. Switched my day off from Thurs to today as my neck was completely stiff when I went to bed last night. Dr. Cragg worked on it as well as on my tight IT band and quad and I feel markedly better.
Wed Jan 27- 2up/ 6 mile steady state run/ 2 down. Joe had an 8 mile steady state on my schedule but I told him I was worried about the distance and he said as long as I got 6 good miles in that would be enough. I ran it on what we call the road loop at Forest Park which is a hilly 2 mile loop that goes around Central Fields, Aviation Field and along the lake in Forest Park. One mile is easier than the other so keep that in mind when you read the splits: 5:20/ 5:23/ 5:00/ 5:25/ 5:02/ 5:19 for 31:31 overall. I was very pleased. I haven't done a workout since Clubs in early December and this felt pretty easy. It was supposed to so nothing groundbreaking there but I was worried I'd be dying out there. Probably could have gone 8 but my form was breaking down. I still have a ways to go to improve my core and fix my stride a little bit so I can stay strong throughout a workout.
Thurs Jan 28- am 7 miles pm 4 miles with Adam and Joe (Adam's dog).
Fri Jan 29- 2 up/ 6 x diagonals/ 6 down. Diagonals are where you run a hard stride across a soccer field and jog across the end line as your recovery. I actually felt quite fast today. On the cool down I ran into Aerni, Zac and Dusty. They said I now joined the special guest Friday club. Weights and core afterwards.
Sat Jan 30- 8.5 miles. Ran at the Saint Louis Community Run for Haiti with Lyons. Supposed to go 10 but ran out of time.
Sun Jan 31- 90 minutes on the Clayton loop at the Sunday Group Run. Felt much better than last week.


Weekly Total: 59.5 miles, 7 runs

This week was a step in the right direction for sure. It felt good to do a workout and it felt good to feel fast on Friday.

Week 5

Mon Feb 1- Down week this week. Joe has me on a 4 week on/ 1 week down schedule. Today was 6 + plyos, weights and core.
Tues Feb 2- 4 miles with Joe.
Wed Feb 3- 7 miles, weights and core
Thurs Feb 4- 5 miles in Chicago on the Lakefront path. Did plyos as well.
Fri Feb 5- 6 miles in Chicago. Supposed to go 4 but got lost a little bit exploring downtown. That's pretty standard for me. Weights and core.
Sat Feb 6- 4 miles + plyos with Lyons
Sun Feb 7- 5 miles with Carter at the Group Run.

Weekly Total: 37 miles, 7 runs

This down week was a weird one because I didn't feel like I needed it but at the same time I think that's a good thing because I don't want to get too fit quite yet.


Week 6

Mon Feb 8- 7 miles, plyos, weights and core.
Tues Feb 9- 2 up/ 3 x 2 miles with 4 min recovery/ 1 down. Ran this one on the treadmill due to the snow. Ran 5 minute pace for all three. Felt pretty good.
Wed Feb 10- am 8 miles + plyos, weights and core. Super icy on the path in Forest Park but I was tired from yesterday anyway so I didn't mind going slow and watching my step. pm 4 miles. Easy around South City.
Thurs Feb 11- 8 miles. Forest Park loop + out and back on Wydown. Felt much better than yesterday.
Fri Feb 12- 2up/ 6 Osslerians/ 2 down. Osslerians is a fartlek workout that Dusty Lopez has his kids do at Webster U. He explained it at Big River Camp a couple years back and Joe now uses it at SLUH. Anyway, the workout is 3 minutes hard, 3 minutes easy but the 3 minutes hard are broken up like this; 1 min at 10k effort, 1 min at 5k effort, 30 sec at 3k effort, 30 sec fast. I really liked the workout and nailed it pretty good. Ran on the hilly road loop at Forest Park.
Sat Feb 13- 10 miles to the reservoir and back with Adam, Brian and Strack. Nice run. Felt quite good.
Sun Feb 14- 15 miles. Ran at Grant's Trail...it was time trial day for the Training Team so we had the miles marked which was nice. I went out 7 with Bak and Lyons and we hit mostly 6 flat pace despite the snow. We tried a 3 mile fast finish at the end. I went 5:22/ 5:17/ 5:28. The last one is a pretty good uphill. They dusted me on the fast finish but I was still pretty pleased. That was pretty good considering the conditions.

Weekly Total: 72 miles, 8 runs

This was a very good week. My stride feels back to 100% and the workouts went well, especially Friday. Mileage was decent as well.

Week 7

Mon Feb 15- 7 miles at the group run. Hamstrings sore from yesterday so no plyos. Did weights and core though.
Tues Feb 16- OFF. Switched Thursday's scheduled off day to today to further rest the hamstrings after Sunday's romp in the snow.
Wed Feb 17- 2up/ 8 mile steady state/ 2 down. Ran this one with Bak on the 2 mile hilly road loop in Forest Park. It was cold and windy. Splits were: 5:08/ 5:25/ 5:07/ 5:21/ 5:06/ 5:20/ 5:04/ 5:15. You can tell which mile was hillier. Very happy with this one. Felt controlled.
Thurs Feb 18- am 8 miles + plyos/weights/core. Actually got to do a full set as my rib, which has hurt for weeks, finally feels better. pm 4 miles with Carter
Fri Feb 19- 2up/ 12 x Art Hill Repeats/ 2 down. Ran each one between 1:21 and 1:25. Tougher than I thought it would be.
Sat Feb 20- 10 miles with Lyons. Went out and back to Forest Park. This was the first day over 50 degrees since December 1st! Even though it wasn't quite 50 when we ran it was still warmer than in a long time. Did plyos, some weights and core afterwards.
Sun Feb 21- 90 minutes in the rain at the Sunday Group Run. So much for the nice weather. Ran to the arch and back plus a little add-on. Nice group with Adam, Brian, Carter, Brad, Juan and special guest Zach Edmonson among others.

Weekly Total: 65 miles, 7 runs.

Very pleased with both workouts this week. Everything feels great.


Week 8

Mon Feb 22- 10 miles Plyos, weights and core afterwards.
Tues Feb 23 2up/ 5 x 1 mile on the track with 3 min recovery/ 2 down. Ran with Brian and Adam and switched off leads every 800. The somewhat aggressive plan was 4:48/ 4:44/ 4:40/ 4:36/ 4:32. After the first one we could tell we weren't quite ready for that but we did squeeze out a pretty good one: 4:46/ 4:47/ 4:42/ 4:38/ 4:35.
Wed Feb 24- am 4 miles pm 8 miles with Carter plus plyos. Did weights and core at home.
Thurs Feb 25- am 8 miles at Forest Park. Felt like poo. pm 5 miles with Lyons and felt quite good. What a difference a few hours makes.
Fri Feb 26- 2up/ 4 mile tempo + 4 x 200/ 2 down. Ran this on the hilly road loop. Ran the first mile on the uphill mile. Splits were 5:03/ 4:57/ 5:07/ 4:50 for 19:58 total. Ran all 4 200s in 31. Felt very good this morning. In total control.
akes.
Sat Feb 27- 10 miles at Castlewood before the Castlewood Cup. WHAT A FUN DAY!! Everyone seemed to have a blast and with the sun finally out the after-party was a big hit. Big thanks to Kleinco for the barbecue and Lone Wolf Cofee Co. for the food.
Sun Feb 28- 15 miles at the Sunday Long Run. Me, Adam, Juan, Mark and Matt ran downtown and toured the St. Pats Run course. It's changed a bit but mostly the same terrain. I ran the last 3 miles of the run hard with the last two on the hilly road loop in 5:15 and 5:00. Felt good.

Weekly Total: 79 miles, 9 runs.

Really just roling right along. No complaints.


Week 9

Mon March 1- 10 miles at FP. Ran into John and Jason for a couple of miles. Did plyos, weights and core afterwards.
Tues March 2- OFF DAY. Really exhausted after a long weekend so I switched my day off from Thursday to today.
Wed March 3- am 2.5 up/ 20 x 400/ 2 down. Ran this one with Bak at Cardinal Ritter. We ran sets of 5 with 200 jog between repeats and 400 jog between repeats. Sets were at 72/ 70/ 68/ 66. Hit all of them spot on or just a hair fast. Last 5 were 65/ 66/ 65/ 65/ 64. Calves a little beat up afterwards.
Thursday March 4 - am 8 miles in FP. Weights afterwards. pm 4 miles with Lyons. Felt pretty good. Core afterwards.
Friday March 5 - am 4 miles pm 2up/ 8 x 1k/ 2 down. Me, Ryan and Brian did this one on Skinker hill with one minute rest. Ran uphill, then downhill. The uphill is pretty tough! Hit 3:03/ 2:51/ 3:01/ 2:49/ 3:01/ 2:52/ 3:01/ 2:45. VERY PLEASED.
Saturday March 6 - 10 miles. Ran with Brian at Grants Trail. Nice and easy out and back.
Sunday March 7 - 15 miles at the Sunday Long Run. Ran with the whole group downtown and toured the St Pats course one more time. I definitely know it inside and out.

Weekly Total: 73 miles, 8 runs.

This week really showed that the training I've been doing since the beginning of January is paying off. I felt very strong and fast on these two workouts. In fact, the 8 x 1k on Skinker was better and I felt more relaxed than a very similar workout I did on that same path before I ran 24:00 at St Pats in 2007. Hopefully that means I'm in better shape than I was then (at least for a 5 mile race).

Week 10

Mon March 8- 6miles at FP. Did plyos, weights and core afterwards.
Tues March 9- 5 miles with Jeremy followed by 4 x 200 in 30/ 31/ 29/ 29. Felt pretty fast for the first time this segment.
Wed March 10- 8 miles in Queeny with Matt