Ben's Training Log

Grandmas Training 2006 Archive

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
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Week 19

"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
Thurs March 11- 6 miles followed by some diagonals on the infield at SLUH. Felt fast and smooth. 1 mile cooldown.
Fri March 12- 6 miles
Sat March 13 - 5am- 10 min shakeout run. 9am- Michelob ULTRA St. Patrick's Day Parade Run. Ran about 3 miles for my warmup. I was very amped up for the race. When the gun went off a lead pack quickly formed but no one wanted to go to the lead. It was pretty windy out there. We hit the mile mark in 4:29 but it was clearly way off because I thought we were actually going too slow. I injected some pace at that point and Bak and I went to the front for about a half mile on Market. As we began hitting the steepest part of Market I tucked back behind Zac and tried to relax as best as I could. We hit 2 miles in 9:47 which was probably close to correct. When we finally headed down the hill on the far west end of Market and then turned right onto Compton I went back to the front with Bak. We pushed hard from 2-3 and as we headed up Olive he and I pulled away from the rest of the group just past 3 miles. Unfortunately for me he continued to accelerate as we crested the hill and headed down toward Jefferson and I could not match him. By the time we hit 4 miles be probably had 7-10 seconds on me and I admittedly sort of gave up at that point which I am not proud of. I finished second in 24:33, a full 21 seconds back. Not sure how to evaluate the race. Losing to Ryan is certainly nothing to hang my head about but I just don't think I made it hurt out there. Luckily I'll get another chance next weekend. After the race I cooled down a couple of miles and then had a blast, as always, enjoying the festivities downtown!
Sun March 14- Jen and I got up much to our chagrin and made the trek out to Castlewood for the Sunday Long Run. Daylight Savings did not treat me kindly. Ran 10 miles SLOW.

Weekly Total: 54 miles, 7 runs.

This week was a down week not because of the race but just because that's how the schedule worked out as I'm going 4 weeks on, 1 week down. I do wonder if I would have felt a little stronger on Saturday with more of a workout mid-week but who knows. I still feel like I'm very fit....just not quite the race I was hoping for.

Week 11

Mon March 15- 10 miles followed by weights, core and plyos. Hit the wall later in the day from such a long and exhausting week last week at the stores and from the race.
Tues March 16- Switched my off day to today to recover and get back to my normal self.
Wed March 17- 2 miles up/ 10 x 1 minute hard/ 1 minute medium/ 2 miles down. Did this one with Ryan at Cardinal Ritter. We made it 15 laps in 19 minutes so 5:06ish pace or so. Not bad going fartlek style. I'd guess our minute "on" segments were 67 pace or so.
Thursday March 18- am 8 miles pm 5 miles with Carter. Got a massage this afternoon and felt better because of it I think.
Friday March 19- 10 miles + weights, core and plyos
Saturday March 20- am 8 miles with Lyons. Felt like grabage pm 1 mile shakeout run in Chicago with the team. Felt much better than this morning.
Sunday March 21- 10 minute shakeout run at 6:15am. Shamrock Shuffle 8k, 24:09, 10th place. Race got going and I was determined not to go with the very lead pack even though that's what I like to do because I wanted to make sure I didn't bomb for the sake of the team. Lyons and I went out together and came through in 4:46. I felt smooth and relaxed just like I wanted to so I felt like it was going to be a good race. We hit 2 miles in 9:35. At that point Eric Hartmark, a former teammate of mine from my Hansons days, came by and pushed the pace. We sort of worked together for the next two miles hitting 3 miles in 14:30 and 4 miles in 19:16. The only bad part of my race was the first half of that last mile. I just let the pain get to me a little bit and let Eric and a couple other guys get away a bit. I pulled it together for the last 200 meters with a kick that caught a guy and I held off my new Nike rep as well! Anyway, I was pretty pleased. It's hard to come to grips with the fact that IF I was training 100 miles a week and IF I was training like I used to I maybe could do much better in a race like this but at the end of the day I had a blast and that's what it was all about. Our team ran great. Bak was 5th in 23:55, Brian was 15th in 24:32 and Kyle was 22nd in 24:48 which put us at second overall to Wisconsin Runner Racing Team by just 13 seconds. We won $2,000 bucks between us which is nice!


Weekly Total: 60 miles, 8 runs.

This week was pretty good. The race was markedly better than last week's and I competed well for all but about 2 minutes. Plus, it was so great to have the team together for a trip. That makes it worth it to get up in the morning and train before a long day of work.

Week 12

Mon March 22- 10 miles followed by weights, core and plyos. pm 5 miles at the Monday Group Run
Tues March 23- 8 miles at FP.
Wed March 24- 2 miles up/ 4 mile tempo on the hilly road loop, jog to the track, 1 mile on the track/ 2 miles down. Did this one with Ryan again. Ran the tempo in 19:39 with splits of 4:54, 4:51, 5:00, 4:51. Ran to the track and put my spikes on. 6:30 total rest. Hit the mile in 4:30. We hit 67/ 2:15/ 3:24/ 4:30. Far and away this is the best I've felt since I started my training in January. The workout really felt very comfortable. I feel like the workouts from before St Pats are finally kicking in.
Thurs March 25- am 7.5 miles plus plyos, weights and core. pm 5.5 miles with Carter
Fri March 26- 2up/ Crappy track workout/ 2 down. Workout was supposed to be 1600/ 400/ 400/ 1600/ 400/ 400. Just didn't have it though. It was cold (30 degrees) and I know I just had the workout Wednesday that was hard but more than anything I think I'm just tired from putting in a ton of hours at work. That's just my life though so what can you do. Anyway, I ran the mile in 4:40 but it was a struggle than I ran 64/ 64 on the 400s and was dying but started the second mile and came through in 2:26 for 800 and called it a day.
Sat March 27- After a long day at the Wash U HS Meet I cut my 12 miler in half and ran an easy 6 with Carter and Brian, then had some beverages and some mexican food and relaxed. Just what I needed!
Sun March 28- Ran for 1:40 with the group at the Sunday Long Run. Felt markedly better than Friday and Saturday. It was nice to have had a full night's sleep for once.

Weekly Total: 73 miles, 9 runs.

This week was split in half. Felt great Monday through Wed. Felt crappy Thursday through Saturday. I did feel okay on Sunday though so hopefully next week will be good all the way through.

Week 13

Mon March 29- ZERO. This was the first day since I began training with Joe in January that I took a day off that I wasn't supposed to. I had switched the off day in a given week a couple times but never officially missed a run. So I guess all things considered it's not that bad. Just couldn't bring myself to do it today. I was going to try and run after work but didn't leave the store until 8:45 and dinner sounded too appealing at that point.
Tues March 30- 2up/ 12 x Art Hill Repeats/ 2 down. Ran the same workout I did back on February 19th. Hit all my times faster than that day. 1:23/ 1:19/ 1:22/ 1:20/ 1:22/ 1:21/ 1:20/ 1:19/ 1:20/ 1:18/ 1:19/ 1:18. Felt very good.
Wed March 31- am 8 miles + Plyos pm 5 miles
Thurs April 1- am 8 miles pm 5 miles + weights & core
Fri April 2- am 10 minute easy shaekout run pm 2up/ Wash U Invite 5k, 1st, 14:29.61, jog 1 mile to the park for 4 x 200 uphill/ 2 down. Decided on Tuesday to run this race since the weather looked like it was going to be pretty good. Of course, being Saint Louis, that changed and it ended up being rainy and windy for the race. I just wanted to get out on the track and work on my race instincts, do an overdistance race since I'm training for the mile and kick hard. Pretty much went according to plan. I just sat in the pack for 7 laps or so and then went to the front as we were slowing down. We hit 4:40 for the mile, then 9:24 for 2 miles. I hit the next couple laps in 69 to get it going again, then moved outside and let the other guy take about a lap and a half so I could avoid the wind a bit. Then I went back to the front with a quarter to go and started moving. Didn't really go all out until 200 to go as the backstretch was the windy part. Closed in 29 for the last 200, 63 for the last 400. Didn't feel taxed so we kept with the plan to have me go run some 200s after the race. I ran them uphill on Skinker and I went 32/ 31.8/ 31.1/ 31.0. With the uphill factored in I was cranking those pretty good.
Sat April 3- 90 minutes with Zach Edmonson at Forest Park. We switched the group to today because of Easter.
Sun April 4- 10 miles. Felt a little sore in the calves from Friday night.

Weekly Total: 68 miles, 8 runs.

This week was solid. Just putting good work in.

Week 14

Mon April 5- 10 miles + plyos and an abbreviated weights session.
Tues April 6- 1 mile at Blazers practice with the kids. Took my day off this week today to get rid of the calf soreness.
Wed April 7th- am 3 miles. Wanted to run this morning to shake it out before this afternoon's workout. pm 2.5 up/ 8 x 1k w 200 jog recovery/ 2.5 down. Ran this one with Ryan. We were looking to hit 2:55. Hit the first one at 2:50 (my fault) and the rest were 2:53-2:54 with one 2:55.1 in there somewhere. About what I was expecting. Never felt like I wasn't going to hit it but it wasn't exactly easy either. Lifted and did core afterward.
Thurs April 8- am 8 miles + plyos. pm 4 miles at Blazers practice.
Fri April 9- 2up/ 6 x hill repeats/ 2 down. Ran these by Carter and Julie's house in Dogtown. The hill was about 30 seconds hard uphill, followed by a 100 meter hard sprint at the top. Basically 6 x 300. Definitely moved pretty fast. Rob W. helped me out on three of them.
Sat April 10- 6 miles easy with Rob W. Starting 6 days of down-time to re-charge before the final training block before the Festival of Miles.
Sun April 11- GO! St. Louis Marathon Day. I was going to try to sneak in 8 miles at some point but getting up at 5 to get downtown and then doing my course monitor duties until 1pm, followed by our post-race BBQ at 2pm didn't really allow for that to happen. I did run about 2 miles on the course cheering for people though including booking it down Market to see Julie finish as the winner of the marathon!! Congrats to all who ran!!!!

Weekly Total: 51 miles, 8 runs.

I was happy with the week seeing as it is a very time-consuming work week for me.


Week 15

Mon April 12- 8 miles
Tues April 13- 5 miles + plyos & 4 x 200 in 28.8/ 28.4/ 28.3/ 27.8. 1 mile cooldown. I am still on a down week to make sure I recover from the long work weekend. Joe just had me do the 200s so I wouldn't get rusty. I was surprised how fast I felt. pm 2 miles at Blazers practice
Wed April 14th- 6 miles easy at Queeny with Matt and Andrew. Did a solid weights session later at Golds Gym.
Thurs April 15th- am 6 miles at Queeny solo
Fri April 16th- 2.5 up/ 5 x mile/ 2.5 down. Ran this one with Bak at SLUH. Goal was 4:44/ 4:40/ 4:36/ 4:43/ 4:28. It was windy on the backstretch so we weren't sure we'd hit it. We came pretty dran close though. Actual splits were: 4:40/ 4:38/ 4:36/ 4:31/ 4:31. Wish I could've hit that last one in 4:28 but just couldn't quite do it. Still, I was very pleased with this workout.
Sat April 17th- easy 12 miles. Felt good.
Sun April 18th- 15 miles at the Sunday Long Run. Took about an hour to loosen up but felt good by the end.


Weekly Total: 67 miles, 8 runs.

The big thing here was that I survived the Marathon weekend (literally) and did a good job recovering to the point that I feel right back on track. Friday's workout was a good one for sure.

Week 16

Mon April 19th- am 7 miles + plyos, weights and core. pm easy 3 miles in Kirksville with JCR.
Tues April 20th- GRAND BLUE MILE. Ran 1 mile easy in the early afternoon on the course just to get a look at it. Warmed up 2 miles for the race. There were only six of us in the elite mile. Me and five guys who've all broken four minutes. The race went out pretty hard from the gun (at least for me!). It was tough to tell what we were running because there were no 1/4 mile marks and no clock on the lead vehicle. I sort of felt early on that this was going to be a tough one. I stayed right in it through halfway and then started to fall back a bit with Rob Myers. The only thing I am disappointed in is that I had about a 30 second lull where I just sort of gave up before getting my act together over the last 150. I think I could've gone about 2 seconds faster. Anyway, I ended up sixth out of six but when the winner is Boaz Lalan, an Olympic semi-finalist and he goes 3:54 what can you do? I thought I ran 4:07 but the results have me 4:09. Either way it was a good rust-buster as I haven't run any mile workouts yet.
Wed April 21st- Ran 8 miles in the morning with JCR and my old teammate from college, Jacob Kaemmer (old as in we used to be teammates not as in he is old!). Felt a little banged up from the race. Was supposed to run again when I got home but felt like garbage after the long drive and called it a day.
Thurs April 22nd- am 8 miles at FP + plyos and abbreviated weights. pm 5 miles
Fri April 23- 2up/ 4 x 800/ 2 down. Not good. Supposed to start at 2:10 and cut down. Hit 2:08/ 2:07/ 2:11 and then just did a 400 for the last one as I was already dead. Ran a 60 for the 400 but it felt all out. Something is not right about my stride. The rest of the day my right leg, sort of hamstring-related, hurt pretty bad.
Sat April 24- jogged around a bit in the morning but the hamstring didn't feel right so I chose to take the day off. At this point I just cannot risk yanking that thing again. It's already happened twice in the last year and a half and I can't risk it again.
Sun April 25- 82 minutes at the group run with Adam, Carter, Brian, Matt and Dickson. Took it easy the whole way. Should have gone 90 minutes but stride still feels goofy so I didn't want to push the distance for no reason.

Weekly Total: 58 miles, 8 runs.

Well, this week sure did not go well. The race was just a test to see what I could run off of no mile specific workouts. It wasn't that bad considering how good the field was. In retrospect I probably should have stuck with the original plan of opening up with a low key 1500 but oh well. I just hope this hamstring doesn't get worse.

Week 17

Mon April 26- am weights & core. got a massage in the afternoon from Balanced Body Massage. Deb did a great job! pm 8.5 miles at the Monday Group Run + plyos with Carter.
Tuesday April 27- 2 miles up/ 6 x dog museum hill + 100m stride/ 2 down. Well, the good news is my hamstring felt much better after the massage. The bad news is I pretty much ruined the workout by ripping the first repeat way too fast. I basically ran all out and the rest of the repeats got slower from there. Not the way you want to run a workout. I guess I got something out of it.
Wednesday April 28- am 5 miles + plyos, weights & core. pm 8 miles with Lyons. Felt good.
Thursday April 29- Day OFF
Friday April 30- 2.5 up/ Did 400/300/200 x 3 with 200 jog after the 400, 150 jog after the 300 and 3-4 minutes between sets/ 2.5 down. Hit 60/ 45/ 29. 60/ 44/ 29. 60/ 45/ 30. I was definitely pleased. Stride felt good. It's such an unbelievable difference when things feel right as opposed to last week's 800s when something was off. To switch topics the Kentucky Derby is tomorrow. I like the favorite, Looking at Lucky, but he has a tough draw trying to win from the 1 post. Especially since he comes from behind. I'm afraid he may get trapped. Still, I'm gonna key him on top and wheel a bunch of horses in a big exacta bet. Then I'll throw some cash down on Jackson Bend across the board. He's placed the last three times out.
Saturday May 1- 10 miles. Pretty slow after the workout yesterday.
Sunday May 2- 90 minutes in Ferguson/Florissant during the Blazers meet. Ran random up and down Florrisant road.

Weekly Total: 60 miles or so. I don't know. I don't really feel like counting them anymore.

I'm just happy I was able to feel sharp again. Friday was a good workout for the mile.


Week 18

Monday May 3- Ran 10 miles with JCR at 10:20pm. Long Day!
Tuesday May 4- 2 up/ 15 x 400 with 200 jog between repeats and 400 jog between sets of 5/ 2 down. It was really windy and hot today which made things difficult. Hit 63/ 64/ 64/ 64/ 64/ 64/ 64/ 65/ 65/ 64/ 65/ 65/ 66/ 66/ 63.
Wednesday May 5- am 5 miles pm 8 miles + plyos, weights, core
Thursday May 6- OFF. Trying to see what it's like to take a day off before a race.
Friday May 7- Got up and did a little shakeout in the morning. Felt quite sluggish. pm Billy Hayes Invite 1500 DNF. Had some work to do in the morning and didn't leave til 11am and my race was at 5:10. You lose an hour going to Indiana so we didn't get there until 4:25. I felt like crap on my warmup and felt no better doing strides. The race went off and I was in about 6th or 7th. We hit 59 for the 400 and 2:01 for the 800. I moved into 4th or 5th with 600 to go but as we came down the homestretch my legs and my mind were just not in it and I stepped off with a lap to go. I hate doing that but it just wasn't happening.
Saturday May 8- 2up/ Run For The Stars 5k/ 2 down. The plan was to do a 3 mile tempo run either after the race last night or this evening. Obviously, feeling like I did yesterday I wasn't going to do it then so I did it tonight. Ran 14:53. Felt pretty good. Was looking to just hit 4:50 pace but I went a little faster than that. Don't know why I felt better today than yesterday. I think I just needed one more day to get those 400s off of my legs.
Sunday May 9- 80 minutes at the Sunday Long Run. Felt like I was still cooling down from last night,


Weekly Total: 58 miles. I remember the days when I'd have 58 before my week was half over!

I can't say I was super-pleased with this week. I think the stress of putting on the Festival of Miles event, combined with trying to get this third store open really has me feeling mentally exhausted. I've rarely been less pumped for a race than I was on Friday and it showed. Just have to find a way to get some gosh darn sleep over the next two weeks.

Week 19

Monday May 10- Lifted weights and did my core work in the am. PM ran the group run and did plyos with Carter. 8.5 miles
Tuesday May 11- 2 up/ 3 x 3 x 300/ 2 down. The workout is 3 300s with 100 jog rest followed by a 3 minute rest between sets. Wanted to do a set at 47, a set at 45 and a set at 43. Hit 48/ 49/ 46/ 45/ 44/ 44/ 42/ 44/ 45. This is very similar to what I ran in 2008 a few days after I ran 4:01 at the Macklind Mile. It doesn't look great on paper for a faster type miler or 800 guy but for me it was alright.
Wednesday May 12- 8 miles. Beat up pretty bad from last night. I feel like such an old man.
Thursday May 13- am 8 miles + plyos, weights and core. pm 2 miles. Supposed to be 5 but Blazers practice got cancelled due to lightning and so I got 2 miles in before it looked like I might get struck and bailed.
Friday May 14- 2up/ 2 x 800 with 5 minutes rest/ 2 down. FINALLY FELT GOOD. Hit 2:00/ 2:00. Carter led me through the first one and we were dead even and smooth all the way through. He took me through one lap of the second one and I had to pick up the effort quite a bit on the second lap but hit another 60. It was great to have that pace feel nice and easy for three of the four laps tonight. Rested and ready to go next week I think I can definitely run fast.
Saturday May 15- 50 minutes with Carter and Brian after a LONG day at the store during Macklind Days.
Sunday May 16th- 80 minutes with Brian in the evening. Poured down rain on us halfway in but I like running in the rain so it made for a good run.

Weekly Total: 57 miles.

I am really pleased how I feel one week out!

Week 20

Monday May 17th- 7 miles + plyos
Tuesday May 18th- 2.5up/ 10 minute cruise tempo, 8 x 200 uphill/ 2 down. Ran this at FP with a little help from Jeremy (but not much...ha ha). Ran just less than 2 miles for the 10 minute tempo out and back along Lindell on the bike path. Ran the 200s on Skinker heading south starting just as it begins to incline. Hit 30/ 30/ 29/ 29/ 29/ 32 (had to slow to avoid traffic)/ 29/ 29. Felt very fast. As fast as I've felt since I ran 4:03 for sure.
Wednesday May 19th- Took the day off. That's been the pattern for 20 weeks now to take a day off every two weeks so I figured no need to change now.
Thursday May 20th- am 6 miles pm 4 miles. Hamstring did not feel good and actually felt pretty darn bad on my pm run.
Friday May 21st- 4 miles easy with Lyons, Bak, Carter and Jeremy. Felt a little better than yesterday. I'm just hoping it won't be a problem after I warm up tomorrow.
Saturday May 22nd- Festival of Miles! Well, the event was great. We raised $5,500 for Mike's family. We had a great slate of races including Emily Sisson's 4:48 which was awesome. In the Saint Louis Track Club Elite Mile we had two guys go under four minutes, neither one of which was me. I went out in the back but came through in 60 and 2:00 just like I wanted to. I was right behind Strack and he went around some guys on the beginning of lap 3 but I stayed put mostly because I didn't want to risk redlining and we were on pace. The problem was the pace slowed way down on that lap and I didn't realize it. I hit the bell in 3:03 or 3:04 and that really took the wind out of my sails. I tried to move on the backstretch but just didn't have the heart. I sort of threw in the towel over the last 200 and ran 4:09. In retrospect if I would have just kicked home with all I had and ran 4:06-4:07 I would have been really happy as some really good runners finished right there. Not a great effort for my last track race but you know what...I had a great night so I can't really be too mad. Looks like 4:03 will be my PR. Not bad for a 4:28 high school miler.