Ben's
Training Log
Grandmas Training Archive
Summer 2006 Archive
Houston Marathon Training Archive
BOSTON MARATHON TRAINING
Jan 29 2007 - April 16, 2007
"11 weeks to Boylston Street"
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
"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, as runners we live in these little worlds called seasons or segments or cycles or whatever it is you choose to call them. We train very hard for one specific race and when we run well at this race, whether its a major Marathon, the High School State Meet, or a local road race we are a happy people. When things go poorly however it is a difficult thing to deal with. For those of you who read my training leading up to the Houston Marathon you know that the race did not go well for me so I had to deal with some difficulty for sure. I spent two weeks pretty bummed about the whole deal, but as is always the case for me once I got a couple runs in I started feeling better. Greg and I have decided to go after it at Boston. I'll be training everyday with Brian Lyons who will be running it as well. We'll see how things go but I know if I can feel like I did heading into Clubs last December that I'll be in a position to run well.
I hope you enjoy this log and feel free to email me at ben@bigriverrunning.com if you have any questions about things that I am doing. I love talking
training and would love to help anyone out with their own goals and ambitions.
So here goes:
Week 1
Mon Jan 29: 4 miles with Lyons. My first 6 am run of many. He has to run that early to get to work on time. I figure if he can do it so can I.
Tues Jan 30: 10 miles. Very cold, very windy. Got Frost Log.
Wed Jan 31: 9 miles
Thurs Feb 1: 9 miles
Fri Feb 2: 10 miles - felt good.
Sat Feb 3: 9 miles- missed Lyons because of a train. Pretty windy and cold.
Sun Feb 4: 15 miles with Adam, Zac and Brian at Castlewood. Nice run. Very pleased to get the long runs off to a good start. Fernandez ran with us for the first 6 as well.
Weekly Total: 66 miles, 7 runs.
Mon Feb 5: ran the Monday Afternoon with the hard core kids that showed up in the cold from Sluh and Parkway West!! Ended up hammering pretty good with Lawder and Fernandez. Geez, those two are in shape. I was just along for the ride, got 10 in.
Tues Feb 6: 30 minutes warmup/ 12 x 20 seconds hard, 1 minute easy/ 1 mile cooldown. The first workout of the segment, albeit an easy one. Did it up and down Skinker in the first of many attempts to train on ups and downs to mimmick the Boston course.
Wed Feb 7: 11 miles with Brian and Mike. Felt good, but not quite there yet. I can tell I'm on the verge of feeling good but I still have some tightness in my legs to deal with.
Thurs Feb 8: am 8 miles with Brian pm 4 miles on the treadmill for a change of pace. Felt good to be in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. Again, had that feeling of being almost there- my right leg just ain't quite right.
Fri Feb 9: am 25 minutes warmup/ 12 x 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy/ 20 minutes cooldown. Felt okay. Kind of disheartening to run the same workout (albeit a little one) that I was just ripping into last November and knowing I wasn't going near as fast.
Saturday Feb 10: only managed 6 miles today. Don't know if it was something that happened yesterday or if it was a compensation issue from my right leg hurting the other day but my left hamstring was crazy tight today- could not extend.
Sunday Feb 11: 14 miles. Again, had to cut it a bit short. Just can't stride correctly and was having to compensate if I got down in the 6:30 range even.
Weekly Total: 70 miles, 8 runs.
Okay, I'm not even really going to write in the daily log for this week. I had to take a couple of days off to fix the hamstring and I was in a general funk all week running-wise. On a good note, Jen and I got engaged!! I don't need to broadcast the details on the internet but let's just say I was super smooth with the whole proposal thing. We are both pretty excited and shooting for a New Year's Eve wedding. Should be quite the party. Back to running, things did come around at the end of the week and I had a nice 2 hour long run with Zac at Castlewood where we hammered pretty good on the way back once we hit the section where the snow was packed down. Then we finished it off by running the hilly Grotepeter Trail- getting those quads ready for Boston!
Week 4
Monday Feb 19: am 6.5 miles with Mike. Felt very tired from yesterday. pm 9.5 miles with Eric, Matt, Tyler and Adam at the last of the Monday Afternoon High School Runs before Track starts. It was nice to run in warm weather!
Tuesday Feb 20: 3 mile warmup/ 8 x 2 minutes hard, 1 minute easy/ 3 miles cooldown. Did this one on the track in the hopes of feeling somewhat fast. Felt pretty rusty but it was a step in the right direction. I'm hoping things start clicking.
Wednesday Feb 21: 15 miles with Zac in Forest Park. Had to add on a little at home and ran down Tamm and then back up it- again keeping the Newton Hills in mind. Got the hamsting worked on again afterward at Dr. Cragg's office as it was bothering me a little bit again.
Thursday Feb 22: am 10 miles out and back into Clayton solo. pm 6 miles in Queeny from the store and back. Pretty Standard.
Friday Feb 23: 2 miles up/ 7 mile tempo/ 2 miles down. First big workout of the segment. I definitely was excited and nervous for this one and that's a good thing. I did it on the hilly 2 mile road loop that Mike made up in Forest Park. It goes from Central Fields toward Aviation (slight uphill) then turns left along Aviation (downhill then a steep up and down) before turning left along the lake by the Ice Rink. That is the only flat section (the mile mark is there) then you turn left and go uphill toward the North end of Central Fields. When you get to the Fields you have another big dowhill before turning left for the long uphill back to the start of the loop. I take the time to describe it only to show that it is a perfect loop for Boston training. It's also pretty hard. Anyway, Greg's only instructions were to run how I felt and see where we were at. My splits were 5:04/5:05/5:12/5:10/5:14/5:10/5:07 for 36:02 overall. Considering that I am nowhere near fit yet and that it was super windy I am very pleased with this one. In the coming weeks I'll be doing more and more workouts on this course so I'll be ready for this hills in Boston.
Saturday Feb 24: am 12.5 miles just kind of random in the park watching the Frostbite Races. pm 4.5 mile at the store out and back.
Sunday Feb 25:
20 miles. Very solid long run. Had a nice big group for the Sunday Long Run at Forest Park. We decided with the wind coming from the west to head around the park and do the Clayton Loop so we'd have the wind at our backs coming back toward the park. Zac and I really got movin on Delmar and pulled away from the group. Once we hit the park we were working hard and then had to go into the wind again before finally being blessed with the Skinker downhill. We timed the 18th mile in 5:07, I was pleased with that. Cooled down 2 miles to make it 20.
Weekly Total: 105 miles, 10 runs
Monday Feb 26: am 10 miles. Expected some fatigue from yesterday's run but actually felt pretty good. Did have a little niggle behind my knee that gave me some trouble. pm 6 miles at Queeny. Felt quite good- knee still bugging me though.
Tuesday Feb 27: am 3 mile warmup/ 10 x 20 seconds hard, 1 minute easy/ 3 miles cooldown. Felt very fast. Did them on the track so I'd feel fast so I guess mission accomplished. Knee did bother me though. Took Ibuprofen and iced afterwards.
Wednesday Feb 28: 15 miles. Ran from the store to Queeny, did three loops and added on a mile and then back to the store. Felt very good except for more left leg troubles. Great to do this run on the hills in Queeny. Just another way to prepare for Boston.
Thursday March 1: am 10 miles. Knee
was better but
inside of the left leg was very tight.
Friday March 2: am 2 miles up/ 4 x 1 mile/ 2 miles down. Woke up early to really prepare for this one. Wheeled out a course in the Park that basically was a half mile uphill followed by a half mile downhill. Did the workout with Zac. We hit the first one in 4:51. On number two we started in the wrong spot and hit 4:58 but I think it was probably about a 4:48 or so as we started pretty far back (wrong tree). On number three he gapped me on the first half (he is a great hill runner!) and I couldn't catch back up and only hit 5:00 while he was 4:52. On the fourth one I was determined to stick with him and actually went by briefly at the top of the hill but then we rolled it in together at 4:37. We had the option of a fifth but were both spent. Great workout though. pm 6 miles at Queeny, felt great. No knee problems today either.
Saturday March 3: am 12 miles in Queeny. Three loops. pm 6 miles in Forest Park.
Sunday March 4: 20 miles. Ran the Grotepeter Trail in Castlewood before heading out on the flat trails for the rest of the run. Zac and I hammered the last 40 minutes at breakneck pace (in fact thought I might break my neck on a couple of the dicey parts). Anyway, another great long run which is very encouraging.
Weekly Total: 102 miles, 9 runs.
Week 6
Monday March 5: am 8 miles with Arney (sp?) in Forest Park. pm solo 4 miles at Queeny.
Tuesday March 6: am 2 mile warmup/ 12 x 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy/ 2 miles cooldown. Ran this one on the track with Porter. He had a bit of a rough one. I felt good though. I think I was hitting about 64-65 second 400 pace as I was almost getting back to where I started each time. pm 6 miles in Queeny.
Wednesday March 7: 15 miles in Queeny. Poundin' those quads!
Thursday March 8: am 10 miles easy and random. pm 6 miles in Queeny.
Friday March 9: am 3 miles warmup/ 8 mile tempo on Mike's Hilly Road Loop/ 3 miles cooldown. MY BEST TEMPO WORKOUT EVER! Ran 39:50 overall with splits of 4:58/ 4:57/ 4:58/ 5:02/ 4:58/ 4:58/ 5:02/ 4:55. Stayed under control, really only the last mile got tough. Big thanks to Thomas who rode along on his bike to give me Gatorade and encouragement.
Saturday March 10: am 10 miles nice n easy. pm 6 miles after a busy day at work.
Sunday March 11: 24 miles. This will be my longest run before Boston. Just wanted to get out there and run for 2:30-2:40 and not push too much. I got about 6 or 7 in before meeting the group at the visitor's center. We ran the Clayton Loop and I did get going a bit once we got to north Forsyth and onto Delmar but nothing major. Didn't feel particularly great but made it. Added on to get 24 and was just about to the point of depletion when I finally got done.
Weekly Total: 111 miles, 11 runs.
Monday March 12: am 8 miles nice and easy. pm 4 miles slow.
Tuesday March 13: am 2 miles warmup/ 10 x 800 with 2 min jog recovery/ 2 miles cooldown. Ran this one with Zac on Skinker in the Park. We marked out a course that was about a 250 meter flat stretch and then it began to go uphill and got pretty steep over the last 400 meters. We would go out that way then back the other way so it was basically an uphill repeat followed by a downhill repeat. We hit: 2:30/ 2:14/ 2:28/ 2:12/ 2:26/ 2:11/ 2:26/ 2:10/ 2:25/ 2:10. I was very pleased and felt pretty in control on this one. As always Zac was tough on those uphill ones and dragged me along but I felt like I held up my end of things on the downhills and flats. pm easy 4 miles at the store, left hammy a little tight.
Wednesday March 14: 15 miles in Queeny. Definitely tired for this one, but running those hills tired is great practice for Boston.
Thursday March 15: am 10 miles pm 6 miles with Ryan at the Thursday Group Run.
Friday March 16: am 10 miles in downtown St. Louis. I wanted to run the course for tomorrow's St. Pat's Race. I think that it is a course, much like Boston, that can be fast but only if you run smart. With the major hills early I will try to relax as much as possible for the first 2 miles before really getting after it as we head downhill on Olive St. I don't race very often because when I do I expend a lot of energy and really get into it. Because this race is in my hometown and my family will be there watching I plan on putting on a good show. We'll see. pm 4 miles at the store. I definitely have that day before the race nervousness going. That's good and that's what I'm talking about with races being very important to me. Like I learned from my friend Clint Verran- A race should be a big deal no matter where it is and it's your job to make it a big deal for yourself. Prepare for it like you would any other big race.
Saturday March 17: ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!! am got up and did a 10 minute shakeout run at 5am at my house. Went into the kitchen only to find that we were out of bread so my race day breakfast was a hamburger bun with some jelly on it. Got down to the race-site at 6:45 am to set up our tent- it was COLD! I sat in the car with the heat on for a while after that and warmed up. Our team all met and warmed up together which was fun. I felt really good and just had the sense that it would be a good day. The gun went off and a couple of guys went out real hard but Zac and I kind of stuck together up Market, catching the early leader at the top of the hill. I hit the mile in 4:49 which was a little off record pace but good for that uphill first mile. I started to pull away at that point and from there on was on my own. I got in a good zone though and rolled pretty good all the way to the finish (24:00, PR). Very pleased and had a ton of fun out there. It was great to have people cheering for you as you went by. The St. Patrick's Day Parade Run Committee was great to me and gave me a chance to speak at the awards ceremony. For me to win the mens race and Katie Sutton to win the womens race was a special day for the Store. pm 6 miles at Forest Park- tried to get the race off my legs. Felt good out there and just overall I am really pumped about running right now, probably more than ever.
Sunday March 18: 20 miles at Castlewood. Had a nice group this morning. On the way out it was me, Zac, Brian, Serena, Kozi and Steve. At some point the pace picked up and Zac, Kozi and I got going a bit. Eventually Zac and I were rolling pretty good, maybe around 5:30s, for the last part of the trail. I had gotten a little over 3 in beforehand so I needed 10 more minutes at the end and we went up the big Grotepeter hill which Zac kicked my butt on. Glad it was all downhill from there.
Weekly Mileage: 109 miles, 12 runs.
Monday March 19: am 8 miles with Zac, Arnie and Jason. Nice to have a group. Takin er easy today for sure. pm 6 miles with Keith Kelly at Queeny.
Tuesday March 20: 2 mile warmup/ 20 x 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy/ 3 mile cooldown. Call it 12 for the morning. Ran it with Zac. I think we were both a little tired from the weekend still so we didn't dig down too deep on this one and it wasn't meant for that anyway. Got out of it what I wanted which was a little turnover without too much of an effort.
Wednesday March 21: 15 miles with Mike, Matt, Zac, Aernie, Jason and Keith. Very nice run and nice to have a big group. Took a trip to St. Louis Injury and Rehab in the pm to get adjusted and get the left hamstring worked on a little.
Thursday March 22: am 10 miles solo. No pm run today- just didn't work out. I'll make up for it over the weekend.
Friday March 23: am 2 miles warmup/ 3 x 3 miles "animal style" as my buddies in Michigan call it now./ 2.5 miles cooldown. Had a one mile jog in between each 3 mile tempo run so 15.5 for the morning total. Anyway, this was a good one. Ran it with Zac and we hit 14:45 (4:50/4:56/4:58) 14:50 (4:56/4:55/4:58) 14:44 (4:55/4:57/4:51). We were both on today. I felt very smooth and controlled until maybe the last mile and quarter. Would've rather not hit that 4:51 and just cruised it in on pace but you get caught up in the workout sometimes. Great weather for this one as we beat the rain- only on the last 200 meters did it start raining which was kind of cool. pm 5.5 miles from Sara's apt to Forest Park. Randomly met up with a man who posesses' one of St. Louis' best beards, Matt Stocke. Ran with him for a bit and made my way back to the apt. for some authentice Cajun cookin courtesy o' Mrs. Gaudet. Good stuff.
Saturday March 24: am 10 miles solo- nice an' easy. pm 6 miles real slow. Tired legs from yesterday.
Sunday March 25: 21 miles with Zac. We started at 10:30 from Clayton High School and did the downtown loop and then ran to Kayak's for 21 total. It was 80 degrees and we weren't used to that so it was basically a death march but we made it and at least we can say we had a hot long run in case it's hot at Boston.
Weekly Total: 111 miles, 10 runs.
Monday March 26: am 8 miles with Jason and Aernie. We took er easy. Nice run.
Tuesday March 27: am 3 miles warmup/ 10 x 20 seconds hard, 1 minute easy/ 3 miles cooldown. Felt fast out there on the track. That is a very good sign. I like that I still feel sharp. I run well when I feel like this. pm 6 miles at home after work.
Wednesday March 28: 15 miles at Queeny. Very hot & humid out. Should've probably just gone 12 like my schedule said to do.
Thursday March 29: am 10 miles solo. Felt a bit sluggish. pm 6 miles at the Group Run- we had around 20 people which was awesome. Unfortunately I felt like garbage.
Friday March 30: 2 miles warmup/ workout was 10 mile tempo at 5:05-5:10 pace, but I got out there and hit 5:06/5:04/5:09/5:12 then hit a slow first half mile on the fifth mile and shut it down. I felt extremely heavy-legged and my breathing was really heavy which should not have been the case at that pace/ 2.5 miles cooldown. Started pouring down rain on the jog home to add insult to injury. Took an Ice Bath afterwards so hopefully that helps.
Saturday March 31: am 6 miles easy in Forest Park. Felt tired still.
Sunday April 1: Woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in what seems like a long while. Don't know if it was the nice weather or taking it so easy yesterday or what. Anyway, ran 15 in the trails at Castlewood (first 5 with Bob Chott). I felt better for sure but not good enough to try the fast finish long run that was scheduled originally. I just kept it easy and enjoyed the morning. Hopefully things are on the mend.
Weekly Total: 84 miles, 9 runs.
Monday April 2: ran 7 miles with Aernie in Forest Park. Now I am in kind of full-on neurotic mode worrying about how I feel. I went to the Doc's office for an adjustment and some stretching and A.R.T work. That felt good. I think with 3 easy days behind me now I will feel better tomorrow.
Tuesday April 3: 2 miles warmup/ 6 x 2 minutes hard, 1 minute easy on the track/ 1.5 down. Felt halfway decent warming up but had no zip once the workout got going. Again I was breathing hard at a pace that should be easy for me. Jogged 10 minutes afterwards and called it a day.
Wednesday April 4: 1.5 miles. Greg suggested a day off and I took him up on it save for a 10 minute jog just so I coule get moving. Took an Iron pill this morning in case low iron might be playing a role in this fatigue.
Thursday April 5: 6 miles- It is tought to say without running hard but I felt better- dare I say I felt like my norrmal self out there. Maybe the worst is behind me.
Friday April 6: 2 miles warmup/ 4 x 1 mile with 3 min recovery/ 2 miles cooldown. Did this on the hilly road loop. Ran 4:49/ 4:55/ 4:46/ 4:57. One and three were tailwind, two and four were headwind. Felt MUCH better today. I'd say back to normal. Don't know if it's the iron pills or backing off so much (probably a combo) but I think I'm out of the fatigue cycle.
Saturday April 7: am 10 miles with Brian. Felt great. Nice run. pm 6 miles in Queeny after a busy day at the store.
Sunday April 8: am 4 miles warmup/ 8 x 25 seconds hard, 1 minute easy/ 4 miles cooldown. Felt like a million bucks from the get-go today. Ran with Sam and I was glad to have the company. Just a pleasant morning- wow that sounded very proper of me, "a pleasant morning." pm 4 miles easy to burn off Easter dinner at my Uncle Mike's!
Weekly Total: 60 miles, 9 runs.
Monday April 9: My last fast-finish long run. Ran 6 miles easy/medium then right into 6 miles at 5:10 pace. Ran the marathon pace part on the hilly road loop and ran 30:58. Not as easy as I maybe would've liked but I was in trainers and it is always tough to go from over 6 minute pace to 5:10s with no strides or anything. Cooled down 2 miles for 14 total. One week to go!!!!
Tuesday April 10: am 8 miles pm 6 miles
Wednesday April 11: 10 miles, ran much of it with Aernie and Zac. Nice to get with one more in with the guys who I have done a lot of training with this segment. I certainly think Aernie is the favorite to win St. Louis.
Thursday April 12: 2 miles warmup/ 5 x 1k with 200 jog rest/ 1.5 down. 3:13/ 3:06/ 3:05/ 3:03/ 3:03. Just taking it easy. Turning it over a bit. Very cold and windy.
Friday April 13: easy 6 miles. Felt good.
Saturday April 14: 5 miles with 8 x :25 surges mixed in. Well, I head to Boston tomorrow. The weather looks like crap which I am very much looking forward to. I say give me ideal conditions or give me total crap. I'll just throw out the watch and worry about pace. I want to rock n roll this thing. A big thanks to everyone who has supported me with words of encouragement this week and weekend. St. Louis has a very friendly running community and I certainly wish everyone the best who is running/walking tomorrow and those who will be in Boston with me. Happy Running to all.
Sunday April 15: 4 miles in Boston. Ran from my hotel near the finish line out 2 miles and back. Felt good. Definitely had more pep in the legs than the day before Houston.
Monday April 16: THE 111th BOSTON MARATHON. Woke up at 5:30 am and did a little 5 minute jog in the hallways of my hotel because I didn't want to go outside and run in the rain. Got a ride to the Copley and caught the elite bus to Hopkington. When you arrive they put you in a church gym where everyone just kind of hangs out and waits for an hour and a half until it is time to warm up. I felt a little tired on the bus but after a couple cups of coffee at the church I was feeling pretty excited. Warmed up about 7-8 minutes with the Moulton twins. Felt pretty good. The weather was not near as bad as had been predicted but it wasn't great either. A large lead pack formed and I hooked up with Zac. When that pack brought it down to a 5:10 we backed off a bit and formed a second pack. I just thought that 5:10s (my original goal) would be too fast with the headwind. At that point 3 or so miles in I can't really say that I felt all that great. I just didn't have that "this feels easy thing" going like I've had in my good marathons. I stayed positive though because I've felt kind of rusty at first other times and than gotten better. At 7 or 8 miles though I was just pressing too hard to keep the pace going. Zac, however, looked great and took off from the group we had going and went at it alone. He kept it rolling and ended up in 19th place in 2:21:43, qualifying for the Olympic Trials! Way to go Zac! Meanwhile I suffered a horrible death out there and really hit the wall at about 16 miles and essentially jogged it in from there. After a couple of days of analyzing I think I know what to tweak next time around but for now I'll try to just focus on work and keep my mind off of running for a couple weeks.
Check back for more soon, because I am going to make sure I keep this up-to-date.
- BEN