Ben's Training Log

Grandmas Training Archive


Summer 2006 Archive

Houston Marathon Training Archive

Boston Marathon Training Archive

SUMMER 2007 TRAINING

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7

"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: Wow. I am beginning to feel a little bit like the boy who cried wolf. I get in great shape. I tell people I'm getting ready to run 2:16 and then as the race nears I get tired and worn out and end up running like crap (i.e Grandmas, Houston and now Boston). As I once again entering a new training block coming off of a huge disappointment I do so with a better mindset than either of the last two times. During my Boston training I ran some of the best Tempo Runs of my life and I ran a nice 5 mile road PR at the St. Pats Run. I think I was close. I feel very confident that the only thing I did wrong was that I ran those workouts a bit too fast. I treaded too near the edge of the proper training zone and this time I fell off and got very fatigued two-three weeks out from the race. For the Trials I just need to make sure I don't go below 5:00 pace for any of my tempo work and leave all workouts feeling like I could have gone another mile or two. In the meantime I am excited about getting back on the track for some faster stuff and I'll probably race three or four times in June and July with a special emphasis on the Steamboat Classic 4 miler in Peoria, IL and the Peachtree 10k in Atlanta on July 4th. One last thing and that is that I am just hugely excited about the sport right now and in particular about American Distance Running. Ryan Hall's amazing Marathon Debut, Galen Rupp's 10k and the overall vibe that Americans are reaching a level and a depth never before seen in this country have me super-pumped about my own races as well as the Marathon Trials which will no doubt be the most exciting race experience of my life.

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

Monday April 30- ran 3.5 miles easy after work through the streets of Dogtown. Felt like a hot summer night with the weather. I had run 10 miles yesterday at the Sunday Long Run in Castlewood so I was afraid the legs might be a little beat up but they weren't.
Tuesday May 1- 10 miles easy. Ran with Jason- nice enjoyable run. I just may be able to pull this pacing job off on Thursday.
Wednesday May 2- 9 miles with Mike, Jason, Zac Danny and Aerni. Felt not as good as yesterday.
Thursday May 3- am 10 minute shakeout run. pm 2 miles up/ Battle of the Sexes 2 mile- paced Brian through 4 and a half laps. Came through the mile in 4:28 with splits of 64/ 2:12/ 3:18/ 4:28 so not very smooth but I felt pretty good./ 1.5 miles down.
Friday May 4- 8 miles solo in the pouring rain. I actually really enjoyed this run. I don't mind the rain when it's not cold. No ill effects from last night. I'm getting excited to get on the track again for some faster stuff.
Saturday May 5- 8 miles with Brian in South City. Haven't run in the ol' stompin grounds in a while so that was nice. After the run had a fun day off from the store that included betting on the derby (which I lost), going to the Cards game (which they lost 13-0), and getting a new tattoo (which thankfully went as planned).
Sunday May 6- 6 miles with Brian at the Sunday Group Run. Felt not good. I think being on my feet all day yesterday left me pretty darn tired. I figured I'd listen to the body and take er easy one last time. I feel like training really starts next week anyway.

Week 2

Monday May 7- am 8 miles in the park with Jason, Zac and Aerni. Nice run. Felt tons better than yesterday.
Tuesday May 8- Sunday May 13th - Fell behind in the log. Can't really remember all that I did. It wasn't a whole lot. Just some more easy runs. Still don't feel quite ready for big-time training yet.

Week 3

Monday May 14- am 9 miles in the park with the usual suspects. Felt good for once! pm 6 miles at the Store/Queeny.
Tuesday May 15- am 10 miles in the park with Jason pm 4 miles + Tim's famous agility drills and strides with Tim, Mike, Brian and Mike B. after Tuesday Night Speedwork
Wednesday May 16- am 4 miles pm 3 up/ 8 x 2 min hard, 1 min easy on the track with Lyons/ 3 down. Bit of a rude awakening but really wanted to get on the track with a 5k track race coming up in 4 weeks.
Thursday May 17- am 7 miles with Jason pm 6 miles at the Group Run
Friday May 18- 8 miles with Matt and Mike in the park. Had to run a half hour early due to a meeting so missed the other guys. Felt a bit tired. pm 6 miles at Queeny.
Saturday May 19- 10 miles
Sunday May 20- 17 miles. Did the downtown loop which is now 17 since we start at the visitor's center and have to add on a bit to avoid construction of the new arena at SLU. Nice group with Zac, Jason, Brian, Tim and Serena who is quite fit.

Weekly Total: 94 miles, 12 runs.

Week 4

Monday May 21- am 10 miles with Zac and Jason and Aerni (his last run before heading to South Africa where he will now be running with people who have much cooler accents than us.)
Tuesday May 22- am 9 miles pm 3 miles + agility drills and strides (I am getting better at these though I still look like a very uncoordinated 12 year-old when doing them)
Wednesday May 23- am 4 miles pm 2 up/ 12 x 400 with 200 jog recovery/ 2 down. Did this with Lyons and we had a little trouble settling into a pace and hit a 64 a 68 and a couple of 66s before locking in to 65s for the last few and a 63 closer. Did 4 x 100 meter barefoot strides afterwards. Very pleased.
Thursday May 24- am 4 miles easy pm 10 miles with Mike, Ben B., and Ryan Mee at the Group Run.
Friday May 25- 2up/ 5 mile tempo/ 2 down. NOT good. I felt like crap. Too quick a turnaround from Wed. night's 400s. No big deal though. It wasn't meant to be a terribly difficult workout anyway. I ran 28:24 for 5 miles. I knew from the get-go that I didn't have it so I just kind of did an up-tempo run and didn't worry about splits.
Saturday May 26- am 4 miles. pm- 0 meant to run twice but was absolutley wiped after a long 2 days taping the State Track Meet. Just a busy time in life right now and I can't worry about missing a run here and there.
Sunday May 27- 15 miles at Casltewood with Zac. It was super muddy so we had to take er easy for the first 3 miles and the last 3. The rest of it was at a pretty good clip.

Weekly Total: 77 miles, 10 runs.

Week 5

Monday May 28- am 10 miles with Brian. Watched some of the U City Memorial Day Race. Very humid out.
Tuesday May 29- didn't run in the morning. Had an early meeting and felt exhausted from such a long weekend. pm We'll call it 3 miles doing a little warmup and then a bunch of agility drills and then a cool down.
Wednesday May 30- am 4 miles with the kids at Castlewood Cross Country Camp. Also played some Sand Volleyball. Had a lot of fun. pm 2 up/ 6 x 800 with 400 jog recovery/ 2 down. Brian and I did this one together with Tim and Mike pacing us through the 400. We hit: 2:13/ 2:12/ 2:13/ 2:13/ 2:12/ 2:11. I was pleased. These were all under 5k race pace.
Thursday May 31- am 8 miles easy.
Friday June 1- am 10 miles pm 4 miles in Harrisonville after the long drive. Did some strides at the end. Felt pretty good.
Saturday June 2- am 3 miles up/ Hospital Hill 10k/ 3 miles down. 1st place, 31:00. Woke up with a wicked sore throat which I was worried about because Jen had been sick all week. Felt good once I got up and moving though. Didn't want this to really be an all-out effort so I figured I'd wait a couple miles before making any moves. Unfortunatley no one else seemed keen to lead either so after mile of 5:14 and 5:28 I picked it up and my next 4 mile splits were 4:57/ 4:56/ 4:54/ 4:30. Felt pretty controlled the whole way which is what I wanted. The course is pretty hilly too so I'm happy that 4:55ish pace felt that easy. The 4:30 last mile was a combo of a lot of downhill and me just ripping into it a little. pm did a 4 mile shakeout in the pm back in Harrisonville.
Sunday June 3- 14 miles. Ran for an hour and 35 minutes in the 'Ville.

Weekly Total: 77 miles, 10 runs

Week 6

Monday June 4- Ran 10 with the kids at the Monday Morning High School Run. Really nice day to run, no humidity. Felt quite good despite my sore throat now having turned into a full-fledged, snot-riddled head cold.
Tuesday June 5- am 4 miles pm 4 up/ 1600/1200/800/400 with 400 jog recovery/ 2 down. Did not have a good one. Had high hopes for this workout coming off a solid track workout last night and a good race on Saturday. Unfortunately the cold I have really had me zapped. I went 4:32/ 3:25/ 2:11/ 61. All things considered not that bad but would've rather had 4:28/ 3:18/ 2:09/ 60.
Wednesday June 6- I am writing this two weeks later and can't remember what I ran on this day. I think I did an 8/6 double or something like that.
Thursday June 7- I don't remember what I ran in the morning but I know that in the evening I jogged 3 miles over to the Wash U Track and did a full set of plyos, agility drills and strides on the infield. Jogged 3 miles back home.
Friday June 8- Ran 8 in the morning and then flew to Michigan.
Saturday June 9- am 4 miles. pm Saturn Midwest Distance Solution Meet. 5k. 8th place. 14:42. Well, what can I say? I hate to make excuses but in this case I have two very good ones. For one thing I had the worst cold I've had in about 5 years. The second thing and it was just as big of a problem was that my big toe on my left foot was infected from a blister gone bad and it hurt every time I landed. All that said, I had fun. It was a BEAUTIFUL night. 65 degrees or so. No wind. Good field. Brian and I tried to work together and came through the mile in about 4:32, 2 miles in 9:10 and then bombed big time. I was 14:42. He was 14:38. Margaret ran 16:52 though which was great!
Sunday June 10- NO running. Travel day and needed to get my toe fixed. Cleaned up the infection real well.

Week 7

Monday June 11- 10 miles with the kids at the Monday Morning High School Run. Legs felt good and cold is much better but my toe still hurt a bit.
Tuesday June 12- ran about 3 miles in the evening after the Tuesday Night Speedwork and did plyos and drills. Toe is fine now.
Wednesday June 13- 2 up/ 12 x 400 with 200 jog rec./ 2 down. Cold is finally gone. Ran the workout with Brian and Justin. We went 68/ 68/ 67/ 69/ 67/ 65/ 65/ 65/ 63/ 62/ 61/ 60. I felt very controlled and fast. Felt like I just might be able to pull it together for Saturday.
Thursday June 14- 4 miles. Ran with the kids at Parkway West Camp. Would have gone farther but ran out of time. Traveled to Peoria in the afternoon.
Friday June 15- am 8 miles with Justin and my old Hansons crew. Ran the course and added on. Felt good. There is a lot of great atmosphere here. I'm getting very excited for the race. pm 4 miles. Ran the course again with Justin and Tim. Pumped for tomorrow.
Saturday June 16- 3:30 am 1 mile shakeout run. Wasn't going to go so early but couldn't sleep. Peoria has quite the nightlife. I went out and there were still people spilling out of the bars all over the place. As for the race- I warmed up only 2 miles. It was pretty hot so we wanted to stay in the air conditioning as long as possible. I got out in the lead pack but at about a half mile I felt the pace pick up so I dropped back and joined the next pack with Jeff Gaudette and Ryan Sheehan. At the mile (4:40) Sheehan pulle away from us. Gaudette and I worked together over the next mile (4:41) to hit halfway in 9:21. He gapped me a bit in the third mile (4:52) but I stayed about ten meters back in the last mile just hanging on and knowing that the last 800 is downhill. With a quarter to go I saw that I needed a 66 to get under 19:00 and get the $200 bonus so I laind into it pretty good. I passed Gaudette with about 50 meters to go and ran 18:59. I was really pleased. I mean, it's not a great time or anything but I think I got the most out of my body on that day which is all you can hope for. 13th place, 18:59.
Sunday June 17- The tradition at Steamboat is that the elites stay Sat. night and get up in the morning to go for a run called the Boredom Run with the runners from Peoria. It was a lot of fun. It's a 12 mile course with some nice hills and some great views of the river. I enjoyed running with some of my old teammates from Hansons. It was like the old days. I kind of got carried away and picked up the pace and ended up running 1:10:40 for the loop. It really capped off a fun weekend of running.

Check back for more soon, because I am going to make sure I keep this up-to-date.

- BEN