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

2007 OLYMPIC TRIALS TRAINING SEGMENT

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
10 Weeks Out
9 Weeks Out
8 Weeks Out
7 Weeks Out
6 Weeks Out
5 Weeks Out
4 Weeks Out
3 Weeks Out
2 Weeks Out
1 WEEK OUT!!!!

"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, where to begin? This is it. Since the moment I crossed the finish line at the 2004 Olympic Trials my goal has been these 2008 Trials that are now almost upon us. Many things have changed since 2004. I moved back to St. Louis in the summer of 2005 and in the summer of 2006 I opened up the store. I have much more responsibility now than I did back then and I definitely work many more hours than I used to. However, I am older and stronger than I was back then. Since that race I have pr'ed at 1 mile (road) 2 miles (track), 5k (track), 4 miles (road), 5 miles (road), 10k (track), 15k, Half Marathon and the Marathon. I have had many great blocks of training including two recently, one at the end of 2006 leading up to the US Club Cross Country Champs and one in early 2007 leading up to the Boston Marathon, where I felt I was in the best shape of my life. Now I have to dedicate myself one more time, for the next 16 weeks, and reap the benefits and the cumulative effect of all the training I've done since I was 14 years old. This is it.

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 July 30 - 10 miles with the Monday Morning High School Run group. I was tired from a weekend where I ran the Mississippi Mile on Saturday and ran 4:19 (surprising myself a bit) and taking down Matt's course record!! I also ran a 400 that night after our high school camp 5k taking down Mike Nelson and (Intern) John Oliver!! Mostly though it was a tough 17 miles in the heat on Sunday that had me pretty tired. Oh, and after that I won the Header 7 tournament, certainly a crowning achievement in my athletic career. (Header, a mix between water polo and soccer, is a game we play in my parent's pool and the tournament is now 7 years old). Anyway, was that enough excuses to let high schoolers beat me on the morning run? I think so- oh..and I'm old.
Tuesday July 31 - 10 miles at night with Mike McCafferty around the beautiful streets of South City.
Wednesday August 1 - 10 miles with Intern John at Queeny. Felt not good.
Thursday August 2 - 10 miles with Blake Boldon and the first 5 with Matt as well. Nice and easy run.
Friday August 3 - 10 miles in New Lenox, IL. First 5 with JCR and my buddy Mark. Nice crushed limestone trail. Enjoyed the change of scenery.
Saturday August 4 - 5:30 am 10 minute shakeout run. 2 up/ Cross Country Kickoff/ 3 down. This is the second year in a row we've done this race as a team and it was a lot of fun. I am in nowhere near the shape I was in last year when I ran 14:46, but I still wanted to put on a good show. I kind of had a solo go of it this year but ran 4:56/ 4:54/ 4:56, plus the .1 for a winnning time of 15:12. I stayed pretty controlled so that was good. Mostly it was just fun to be doing a team event. We always have fun doing those sorts of things and it was nice to have the mens, womens and mens masters teams all win. Also- props to Eric Fernandez who ran 15:40 for second place. He put those old men in their place!! Next week is 12 weeks out so my training will get much more serious at that point.
Sunday August 5 - 15 miles at Castlewood. Pretty darn hot outside so I did not do my scheduled 2 hours but I hammered as hard as I could for 15. The bottom kind of fell off with 20 minutes left but it was good while it lasted.

Weekly Total- 74 miles

Week 2

Monday August 6- 12 miles total. Ran the mile warmup with the kids over to the park. Ran 10 miles with Cookson and Kujo and jogged the mile back to school. Ridiculously hot.
Tuesday August 7- 11 miles total. One mile warmup. 10 mile run with Kujo and Cookson again. Ridiculously hot again as well.
Wednesday August 8- BIG FAT ZERO. I'm mad at myself and the old Ben would have never missed a day but old Ben didn't have to work from 8:30 am to 9:00 pm. I had planned on getting a run in after work but couldn't bring myself to it.
Thursday August 9- 12 miles total. One mile warmup. Ran 10 miles with Matt Lawder and we ran at a decent clip which was good for my legs. Felt pretty quick doing some strides afterwards. Mile cooldown.
Friday August 10th- am 10 miles pm 4 miles with Rob Davidson at Queeny.
Saturday August 11th- 2 miles up/ SLUH XC ALUMNI RACE 1st place- 9:54/ 6 miles cooldown. This is always a fun day. I tried to lead the boys through the first mile in 5:15 but went a little quick and was 5:08. I picked it up the second mile and ran a 4:46 for a 9:54. Props to John Oliver for kickin' Lawder's butt and getting second and props to the alumni who put it to those young kids for the big win!
Sunday August 12th- ANOTHER ZERO. Had a huge day yesterday with the alumni race and then a big day at the store and then Jen and I's engagement party. Needed a rest.

Weekly Total: 59 miles. Obviously this was not the week of someone training for the Olympic Trials but I still have plenty of time.

Week 3

Monday August 13th- 10 miles. Ran at a decent clip
Tuesday August 14th- ZERO. Rock Bottom. Very down today mentally. I had that feeling like the world was crashing down on me. Don't know how to explain it but I just had so much to do and I felt overwhelmed. I'm going to try and get a good night's sleep and start over and just forget about these last couple weeks.
Wednesday August 15th- 1 mile warmup/ 7 mile cutdown tempo on the grass on Central Fields/ 2 miles cooldown. Helped the boys through their 5 mile tempo and then added on 2 miles on my own. Splits: 6:22/ 6:13/ 6:02/ 5:56/ 5:27/ 5:14/ 5:01. I was pretty darn pleased with this one. It was nearly 100 degrees when we ran this thing and I felt good. It has me in a much better mood.
Thursday August 16th- 8 miles
Friday August 17th- 10 miles
Saturday August 18th- 3 mile warmup/ 12k fartlek on the grass/ 2 miles cooldown. Another workout with the SLUH team. I helped the boys through their 10k fartlek going 1:30 hard/ 3:30 medium, then I tacked on 2k on my own and really picked up the pace. Felt pretty good.
Sunday August 19th- 15 miles at Castlewood. Old Ben came out today. Adam and I ran out 7.5 miles on our normal out-and-back course and then shortly after the turnaround ran into Kozi and Serena. Kozi and I kind of got rolling and my competitive juices got going a bit and I really dropped the hammer coming in the last 5 miles. I ended up running the return 7.5 miles 2 minutes faster than I ever have. Kind of an estimate but I'd say the last 5 miles were around 5 minute pace. It felt great to be pushing hard on a long run, albeit not that long of one. Thanks to Kozi for pushing me along.

Weekly Total: 65 miles. Disregard the total. From Wednesday on my love for running has been coming back. That will certainly be the key over the next 11 weeks.

Week 4

Monday August 20th- 12 miles in the rain! Felt great.
Tuesday August 21st- am 10 miles, slow. Felt very tired. pm 4 miles in K'wood after speedwork. It was really fun to have some of the folks asking about my training and encouraging me as I prepare for the Trials. Made it much easier to go do the 4 miles that I wasn't exactly looking forward to.
Wednesday August 22nd- am 4 miles to Frances, around it and back. Love running around that park. pm Cutdown Tempo Run. 2 miles up/ 9 mile cutdown tempo on my hilly road loop in Forest Park/ 1 down. Interesting workout. Wanted a fitness check so planned on going 6:00/ 6:00/ 5:50/ 5:50/ 5:40/ 5:30/ 5:20/ 5:10/ 5:00. Couldn't find the pace for anything though so here were my splits: 5:45/ 5:42/ 5:55/ 5:42/ 5:40/ 5:13/ 5:21/ 5:06/ 5:06. Adam did the first 6 with me. Overall, I am pleased event though I was all over the map it felt really great to be out there working hard.
Thursday August 23rd- am 4 miles from the house, just bummed around Shrewsbury. pm 10 miles at the store at about 8:30. It was dark out so I had to do the ol' parking lot loop, so named because I just run around a bunch of parking lots by the store. I would rather run in the streets of course, but for some odd reason that I have never understood there are no street lights in the county.
Friday August 24th- am 4.5 miles. pm 9.5 miles, parking lot loop again. Ran the first 5 with JCR after watching the World Champs Marathon on the internet. My boys Kyle and Mike ran well (32nd and 23rd!).
Saturday August 25th- am 4 miles pm 9 miles with Lyons and JoeCon in South City through Tower Grove Park. Nice run.
Sunday August 26th- 20 miles!! Finally. I haven't gone 20 since Boston. It was a beautiful morning. Lyons and I got 45 minutes in before meetin the group at the Visitors Center for the Sunday Long Run. Ended up going 2:10, finishing up with Tim and Dusty. Really enjoyed the run.

Weekly Total- 103 miles. Good Week. I'm back mentally and that's the biggest thing.

10 Weeks Out

Monday August 27th- Crazy busy day. Got to the store at 6:30am to clean up after the big Tent Sale (THANKS to all who cam this weekend by the way!). Anyway, that took much longer than I thought and couldn't get my morning run in. Then only had time for about 7 miles at Forest Park before I had to get back to the store. Oh well. I can't really feel bad about it. Didn't get home until past 10:00 so what can you do?
Tuesday August 28th- More of the same. Got in 4 miles. That was it. Again, this wasn't like a couple weeks ago when I didn't feel like it- I just didn't have time. On the plus side- I had a blast at the last Speedwork Session of the summer. Everyone did great and I couldn't be happier with how things went. I am pretty sure that I'll get all my runs in the rest of the week. These should have been the craziest days.
Wednesday August 29th- am 6 miles at Queeny. Got to the store at 8am to watch the World Champs 1500 final live on the internet (yes I am a track nerd) and ran right after that. pm 12 miles total. met up with Brian and Adam at Forest Park after work for a night workout. We did about a 17 minute warmup, then a fartlek on the bike path- 2 minutes/ 3 minutes/ 4 minutes/ 3 minutes/ 2 minutes/ 1 minute hard all with 2 minute recovery jogs in between. Can't remember how long the cooldown was but I know we got in 12 total. Definitely pleased with the workout. I felt fast and strong.
Thursday August 30th- am 7 miles at home. pm 9 miles at 8:30 pm. Really tired, but I'm trying my best to get all of my miles in.
Friday August 31st- am 6 miles at Queeny before we opened. pm ZERO. My third 10 hour work day in a row was just too much. Had absolutely no energy to do my workout and actually worked until 10:45pm so make that a 13 hour work day.
Saturday September 1st- 10 miles with Brian and Adam at Forest Park. Felt like garbage.
Sunday September 2nd- 21 miles at Castlewood. A good run! Finally got 8 hours of sleep for the first time since Monday. That makes such a difference. Brian and I got 41 minutes in before meeting the group for the long run. He and I and Adam did the 'ol out-and-back 15 to give us 21 or so for the day. We ran at a pretty good clip, especially on the way back. I am definitely not where I need to be but I am not too far off once I can string some actual training together.

Weekly Total: 82 miles. Had good days on Wed. and Sunday. The marathon is about putting together a lot of cumulative miles though so I have to find a way to get in a better pattern. This next week will be tough with the Festival coming up but after that it should be smooth sailing.

9 Weeks Out

Monday September 3rd- am 9 miles with Brian through Webster Groves and Shrewsbury. Just ran random for an hour. Talked about how tired we were from yesterday's long run. pm 6 miles with Tim.
Tuesday September 4th- 10 miles from the store into Queeny, around it twice, and back. Not a bad run. Then proceeded to work non-stop all day until 8:30 pm on the Forest Park Cross Country Festival. I would feel confident in saying I have never worked harder on anything in my life (outside of running and the store that is) so I sure hope it turns out well! Needless to say, no second run.
Wednesday September 5th- am 7 miles. Bummed around Shrewsbury Park and the Seminary. pm 3 miles up/ 8 x 2:30 hard/1:30 easy with Adam and Brian/ 4 miles down. Nice workout. We alternated leads and it was pretty quick by the end. 13 miles total for the afternoon and 20 on the day.
Thursday September 6th- am 10 miles in Queeny. Sore and tired from last night.
Friday September 7th- ZERO. I knew this might happen so I'm not really bummed about it. Basically I had to work all day on the meet and there was not a spare second to do anything else. I didn't get home until after 10pm so running then when I had to wake up at 4am didn't seem like a viable option.
Saturday September 8th- ZERO. You can pretty much read yesterday's explanation. Of course, today was the MEET! We pulled it off and the hard work was well worth it because I think the kids had a great time and I hope we made some cross country fans for life!
Sunday September 9th- 17 miles. Ran the downtown loop with Adam, Tim and Dusty. Took er nice and easy. Wasn't sure how I'd feel after two days of no running. Not bad actually but didn't want to push on for 20 and risk diminishing returns.

Weekly Total: 72 miles. Going in the wrong direction mileage wise. Not a big deal though. I knew this week would be tough. For the next 8 weeks I will be a runner first and foremost, probably for the last time.

8 Weeks Out

Monday September 10th- am 6.5 miles solo to Frances, a couple times around, and back. pm 8.5 miles at night. Did the South City Loop where I take River DesPeres over to Morganford and then come back up Eichelberger.
Tuesday September 11th- am 5 miles solo. pm 9 miles with Brian around South City. Really draggin ass today. I think the lack of sleep over the weekend combined with the stress of putting on the meet and trying to train just really caught up with me. I was in a very unpleasant mood which is unlike me.
Wednesday September 12th- 3 mile warmup/ 8 x 1k, 3 x 200, all with 200 jog in between/ 3 miles cooldown. This one was Brian and Adam and I. I was kind of nervous going in because I had been feeling tired from putting on the meet, but I must say I felt much better during the day today. I had hit this workout before Clubs last year all between 2:56 and 3:00 so I was hoping to hit that again. We alternated leads and here were the splits: 3:01/ 3:00/ 3:00/ 3:00/ 2:59/ 2:58/ 2:56/ 2:56/ 34/ 31/ 29. The nice thing was that it felt super easy. Never felt in any danger of not hitting it. Only bummer was that I ended up with a nasty blister on my right foot. 12 miles total.
Thursday September 13th- am 6 miles pm 9 miles, pretty tired.
Friday September 14th- am 6 miles pm continuous run at Queeny of 30 minutes easy then 12 x 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy, then 30 more minutes for 13 total.
Saturday September 15th- am 10 miles in Queeny. pm 4 miles at the hotel in Decatur with Brian, Adam and Justin.
Sunday September 16th- One of my favorite races ever today- The Shoreline Classic 15k in Decatur, IL. Woke up at 5am for a 10 minute shakeout with Adam, Brian, Kris and Justin. 3 mile warmup/ 15k race, 4th place, 46:52 (PR)/ 3 down. Very fun race as always. I got out in pack of seven with Matthew Chesang, Matt Downin, Matt Hooley, Mario Macias, myself, Brian and Justin. We hit splits of 4:57 and 4:51 for the first two and the pack was down to five. At three (4:58), Chesang and Downin pulled away and a pack of three formed with me, Justin and Macias. We hit mile 4 in 5:06 and I started feeling good again. Justin and I got back on it and hit mile five in 4:58 for 24:52 at five miles. I picked it up and caught back up with Macias on mile 6 (4:57) but he pulled back away on mile 7 (5:20- big uphill). Mile 8 was spent recovering from mile 7 (5:09) and then I hit 5:01 from 8-9 which I was pleased with and brought it home in 46:52. I would have liked to run 46:30 but when you look at my lack of any form of consistency over the last few weeks I think I feel good about the day. The post-race festivities were first class as per the usual at this race. The Big River Racing Team had a great day for the store by placing all four men and all four women that we brought in the top 10. To top it off Bruce Bennnett (race director) inducted me into the Shoreline Classic Hall of Fame. It was a big honor and I really appreciated it. pm 5 miles easy with JCR.

Weekly Total: 110 miles. Now that was a real week of training.

7 Weeks Out

Monday September 17th- traveled to Flagstaff, AZ where I'll be training for the next three weeks with my coach Greg McMillan and his team, McMillan Elite.  I got to Flagstaff at around 2:00 and met the guys.  We went for an easy run (30 minutes) at 5:00.  I ran with Brett Gotcher (Stanford grad), Mike Hanlon (Colgate Grad) and Andrew Middleton (Texas grad). Greg is having me run easy for the first three-four days I'm here just to acclimate to the altitude.  At night we had a pizza party at the house I'm staying at and played some ping pong (at which I got destroyed by Greg but I vow to get on my game by the end of my stay and avenge the loss!) and also played my first ever session of Guitar Hero.  This is a video game for those of you who don't know (I sure didn't).  The young bucks destroyed me and I think I'll just focus on ping pong.
Tuesday September 18th- am 44 minutes (call it 6.5) Ran with the whole group today minus Mike H. So today we had Martin Fagan (Providence Grad) and Andrew Lemoncello (FSU Grad) with us as well.  Andrew just got here as well so he and I just had 40 minutes.  After breakfast, he and I had to go to the High Altitude Training Center at Northern Arizona University to get a blood test to see what our iron levels were.  Greg says you have to be careful when you are at 7,000 feet about your levels getting too low.  I got to meet one of the most famous and respected distance coaches of all time, Jack Daniels whille I was there.  I also met Abdi Abdirahman.  Both are great guys.  I'll get to run with Abdi when I'm here at least a couple of times.  He is one of the favorites to win the Olympic Trials. pm 34 minutes (4.5 miles) with Mike in the trails.  Very nice run, did some drills and strides afterwards and had done some pushups and situps beforehand.
Wednesday September 19th- am 50 minutes. Ran to the track with Martin, Andrew, Mike and Brett.  Andrew and I turned arund at 25 minutes and headed back, which is all uphill.  I pushed the pace just a bit and could definitely feel the altitude on the hill.  Legs felt good though.  I am chomping at the bit to do a workout.  Call this morning's run about 7.5.
pm 30 minute run into the trails, solo.  Very peaceful run.  I can't believe how lucky I am to be here and training with some of the best runners in the country and in the world for that matter.  I really want to make the most of this opportunity.  I kind of had an epiphany today reading my emails from folks in St. Louis who had run Lewis and Clark and were letting me know how they did, etc.  Even though what I have here in Flagstaff is great and what I had at Hansons was great I know that having the store and making a difference in my hometown running community is what I was meant to do.  Okay, that was a corny deal right there but when you go for a run in one of the most beautiful places on earth you end up getting all philisophical.
Thursday September 20th- am 60 minutes. Thursday in Flagsatff is Bagel Run day.  Everyone meets at Biff's Bagels (Biff is the owner's dogs name but Biff is dead, sadly, and you get a free bagel if you bring in a picture of your dead dog. Not after he died you sickos. When he was alive).  Anyway, on the way out I kind of put myself up front with Mike Smith and Ryan Shay.  Good thing I had to turn around at 30 minutes though, because the pace was making my lungs burn a bit. Still not used to the altitude yet for sure because it really wasn't that fast.  Anyway, finished it up with Brett and Andrew.  My post run bagel sandwich was quite good if you wanted to know. pm 30 minute run in the trails with Andrew.  Good thing I had a partner or I might have bored you with another sappy post-run log entry like yesterday.  One more thing- played a little ping pong this afternoon and was markedly better than Monday night.  Til tomorrow all....
Friday September 21th- am 3 miles up/ 6 x 3 minutes hard/2 minutes easy/ 3.5 miles down. My first workout at altitude!  First off it was a great atmosphere as Martin and Brett had a 10k time trial, Mike H had an 8 mile steady state and Andrew M and I had a fartlek. Greg was out there coaching with his wife Tracy video-taping everything for the www.mcmillanelite.com website.  Little plug there! Also, Mike Smith and Andrew Lemoncello rode their bikes to give us encouragement.  I felt great for the first two hard segments and actually gapped Andrew a little. We were together on the third and fourth.  He had a few steps on me on the fifth and about ten seconds on the last one.  Perhaps I should have realized that he knows what he is doing at altitude and I do not.  That thin air definitely had my lungs burning by the end.  All in all though I was very pleased.  Took a well-deserved nap when we got back.  Played some great ping pong in the afternoon against Brett and Andrew M.  We are planning a tourney next Saturday at the house to crown the King of Flagstaff ping pong.  I like my chances!!  pm 30 minutes easy with Andrew M.  Ran this a bit too close to my lunch of Ramen Noodles and had a wicked stomach cramp but other than that it was fine.
Saturday September 22th- am Ran one of the most beautiful runs of my life this morning up in the mountains of Flagstaff. Me, Mike, Martin, Andrew L. and Rob (an Olympian from Papa New Guinea) drove up to do a run called Waterline.  The run is an out and back and you basically start at 8000 feet and climb to nearly 9000 before turning around and coming back down.  It's a dirt road with unreal views from the mountain side the whole way.  Unfortunately, it was raining so the views were not nearly as good as they would have been but I really like running in the rain so that made it better in my opinion.  Got 70 minutes in, call it 10.  Also, I felt really good today.  Breathing felt good, legs felt good.  I had that fit feeling today.  Played some solid ping pong in the afternoon.  Hopefully more to come tonight.  Last night Greg threw a surprise party for his wife Tracy and it was a lot of fun.  All the "big-time" runners were there and the eats was good as they say in Lyons' hometown (cheap shot).  pm 40 minutes.
Sunday September 23th- Long Run Day, my favorite.  This was probably one of my favorite long runs of all time.  Of course I had a ton of big ones at Hansons so those are up there as well.  Anyway, we met at Greg's and all the big dogs in Flagstaff were there. Greg set up a 4.5 mile loop complete with every half mile marked and a water stop each loop.  Myself, Mike and Andrew M. were supposed to take the first two loops easy and then run marathon pace for the last two loops.  I definitely took it easy on loop one as it took me a while to get loose.  I ran the second loop a bit too quick probably but I had to catch up to Andrew so we could run together.  By that time I was actually feeling really good.  We started the fast part with a 5:38, we were shooting for 5:37's which is 5:20 with the altitude conversion.  We actually caught up to Abdi who had been up ahead so that was kind of cool.  We hit mile 2 in 5:28.  I can't remember the next two splits but they were around 5:30.  Abdi took off on the last loop but we had a nice group with me, Andrew, Mike, Austin Bailey (CU grad), and Pete Gilmore still rolling along.  We got down to 5:20 on mile two of the last loop and then hit another 5:22 or so. From 3.5 - 4 I dropped off and really struggled into the wind. With a half mile to go, Martin caught up to me and made me pick it back up and I ran a 2:38 last half to finish about 10-15 seconds back of my group.  Overall, I was pretty pleased.  I ran 1:47 for 18 miles so sub 6 pace overall at 7,000 feet.  I'll take it.  Great brunch afterwards at Greg and Tracy's! One more thing- Ryan Shay looked great, running five loops and he was way out in front the whole time.

Weekly Total: 75 miles. Low mileage only to get use to the altitude, looking forward to the next two weeks!

6 Weeks Out

Monday September 24th- am 60 minutes easy with the group on the single track trails.  I was pretty beat up from yesterday so was more than happy to take er easy.  This group is really good at that and I think everybody was pretty much on the same page.  pm 40 minutes easy, first 30 with Hanlon.  Legs still a bit beat up.
Tuesday September 25th- am 80 minutes. Ran into the trails with Andrew M. As we got out about 20 minutes we passed some obvious animal fur.  Andrew checked for blood which he informed me was to make sure there wouldn't be any mountain lions around.  This concerned me.  I am not much of an outdoorsman.  Anyway, he turned around at 30 and I went it alone from there and turned around at 42 minutes.  Luckily, no mountain lions.  pm 40 minutes with Hanlon.  Legs a little heavy as I had taken the bus into town and walked around all afternoon checking out Flagstaff. Did get to watch the season premeire of HOUSE, but there was no Cameron in this episode so I was a little unfulfilled for those of you who even know what I'm talking about.
Wednesday September 26th- am 3 miles up/ 5 x 2k with 3:30 recovery/ 3 miles down. Was definitely a bit anxious about this one.  Mike, Andrew M. and I were supposed to hit 5:00 mile pace which is 4:50 at sea level, so 6:15 for the 2ks.  That workout shouldn't be that bad but I'm still getting used to the altitude and I'm still getting fit.  Anyway, my times were 6:18/ 6:12/ 6:10/ 6:11/ 6:09.  Very pleased to hit the 6:09 on the last one because I was pretty tired after number 4.  Mike rolled this one pretty good and was about 5-10 seconds up on me on the last 4. pm- as I write this I am still digesting my ramen noodles but I plan on heading out for a very easy 40 minutes this afternoon.
Thursday September 27- First off I did indeed run my 40 minutes yesterday afternoon and felt quite good actually. Then we went over to the other house and at pizza and played UNO.  Yes, UNO, the game for 7 years old and up. Don't laugh it was very fun.  Unfortunately, my skills were rusty and I was outdueled by Mike Smith, Greg, and Abdi. Anyway, today was the bagel run and I took it nice and easy for 75 minutes.  Ran most of the run with Jon Little. We talked some Missouri HS running (he coached at St Teresas in KC).  My legs felt very good which is a great sign after a workout yesterday. pm- I once again am writing this before my run (actually I'm watching the US-Brazil womens soccer game on DVR) but I plan on going 7 miles to make sure I get my 18 in on the day.
Friday September 28th- am 3 mile warm up/ 12 x 1 minute hard/ 2 minutes easy at Buffalo Park/ 3 miles down.  12 miles total for the morning.  I love these workouts.  They are not too taxing but they allow you to feel some turnover even during a 130 mile week.  Andrew M. and I did this one together.  pm 50 minutes solo on the trails.  Felt pretty good.  Really starting to pile up some mileage.  Had a great dinner tonight at Greg and Tracy's.
Saturday September 29th- am 80 minutes. Ran 60 minutes out and back on the trails with Lemoncello. I tacked on 20 more minutes to get my 12 for the morning.  Felt a little tired. pm- going a little stir crazy at the house so I took the bus to the NAU campus and ran from the track on the urban trail for just under 50 minutes.  Did some strides on the track when I was done.  Still tired from the long week.  Also, had a weird little pain in my left shin on downhills.  Don't know what that was about.  I'll try to make sure I ease into tomorrow's long run.
Sunday September 30- 20 miles. Well,this is the first day that I've been disappointed in.  I was supposed to go 22.  We ran out on Bellemont Rd, which is a dirt road with marked miles through the National Forest.  Great run.  It's out and back with the way out being net uphill and the way back being net downhill.  Anyway, I felt tired at the start, but did get feeling good after a few miles.  Me, Pete Gilmore, Lemoncello, Austin Bailey and Eric Heins were rolling along pretty good by the time we got to 11 miles.  At 13 the bottom just dropped out for me.  Felt like hitting a wall in a marathon, just bonked.  Slowed it down for a few mile and the group pulled out of sight.  At 18 I stopped and drank some gatorade and then ran the last 2 miles pretty good somehow.  I still ran 20 miles in 2:10 which isn't terrible.  Just wish I would've felt good.  I'll take it a bit easier tomorrow to get ready for a 10 mile marathon pace run on Tuesday.

Weekly Total: 127 miles. Overall, a great week.  I think the one thing I need to work on these next five weeks is just having better long runs.  That's what it's all about.

5 Weeks Out

Monday October 1- am After yesterday's long run where I felt really dead Greg just had me go 45 minutes this morning.  I felt tired but not totally dead.  pm 4 miles with Jon Little.  Did some strides afterwards- did NOT feel quick.
Tuesday October 2- Not a good day.  Drove down to Camp Verde which is at 3,000 feet to get in a marathon pace run of 10 miles.  OR at least that was the plan.  From the start I just felt like Sunday's run had never ended.  Made it 4 miles at 5:20 pace before hitting two 5:30s and calling it a day.  What a weird sport.  Last week I was hitting 2ks at sub 5 minute pace at 7,000 feet and feeling pretty good. Today I couldn't even run 5:20 pace for miles, a pace I've run faster than for 26 miles.  Oh well, just gotta move on.  I think I just needed one more day of recovery from Sunday.  I didn't do an afternoon run and I took an ice bath to help the legs recover. Back to business the rest of the week.
Wednesday October 3- am easy 60 minutes, still in a little bit of recovery mode.  Watched the guys nail their 1ks in preparation for the US 10 mile champs this weekend.  pm 40 minutes, 20 of it with Little and one of the NAU guys. Afterwards we went to the NAU dining hall and ate a ridiculous amount of food.  Let me preface this by saying that I weighed myself after the run and was 133 which is a good weight for me so I felt like I had some room in there. Anyway, I started 'er off with a salad, then progressed to the 'ol bacon cheeseburger and fries. Then the mongolian BBQ caught my eye (this is the best university dining hall I've ever seen by the way- of you are a high schooler and reading this you should go to NAU just for this aspect alone). I put away a bowl of beef, rice and veggies topped with that hot chili sauce stuff you get at Chinese restaurants. I was prepared to stop at this point but Little pressed on so I couldn't be outdone.  I topped it off with a Stromboli from the Italian section.  Very good stuff.
Thursday October 4th- am Bagel Run. 70 minutes. Felt much better today.  Must have been that dinner last night! pm- decided not to run. The most important thing before I leave here is to leave on a high note and I want to run well tomorrow morning and Sunday morning.
Friday October 5th- am Progression Run. Mike Smith and I ran 30 minutes easy, then 30 minutes medium at Buffalo Park (ran around 5:55 pace), then 4 miles hard at Buffalo. I ran my hard miles in 5:25/ 5:44/ 5:38/ 5:28. I was pleased. The course there is gravel so not fast and it has a tough hill. I think 22:17 for those 4 miles was about equal to marathon pace with the altitude and the surface. Mike ran very well, coming in at 21:42 for the last 4. pm 6 miles. Ran with Mike, Gilmore, Lemon and Fernando Cabada who just got to town. Felt very good. Another trip to the dining hall tonight!
Saturday October 6th- am 70 minutes with Mike, Lemon and Fernando at Observatory Mesa. Very nice run. Wasn't super into it mentally though. Already looking forward to tomorrow's 24 at Waterline. pm- did not run. Saturday was a big day in Flag as it was the annual Fat Tire Festival. Everyone in town pretty much goes and dresses like crazy people and they ride funny tricked-out bikes. It's all very bizarre. So obviously Mike, Lemon and I made an appearance. Lemon had on his kilt with a pink shirt and pink tie and some type of raccoonish hat complete with ears. I had somewhat of a pimp-type outfit with red velvet women's pants, a creme-colored puffy shirt, red vest and a big dollar sign chain, all of which I collected from the best thrift store in town- Mike Smith's closet. Mike, of course, was Spiderman. Long story short a good time was had by all. (Click here for a pic and a detailed description of my week that I did for mcmillanelite.com)
Sunday October 7th- 24 miles at Waterline Rd! This is a run I had been looking forward to since we ran here the first Saturday I was in Flag. The road winds its way up and up and up starting at 8100 feet and if you go out 12 miles like we did then you get to about 10,000 feet. An absolutley great aerobic stimulus and great for the quads. I ran with Gilmore and Mike Smith. I felt very good going up and even pushed a bit the last 10 minutes before we turned around. Pete and I rolled it pretty good on the way down with him eventually pulling away the last three miles or so. Overall I ran for 2:38 which was probably a little over 24. Happy to leave on a good note. Also- props to Martin Fagan for his great run at the BAA Half, Bret Gotcher on his 6th place at the US 10 mile Champs and Andrew Middleton for a valiant effort at Chicago. He made it 21 miles on the worst day of weather the race has ever had.

Weekly Total: 99 miles. Had to cut back on the mileage to freshen up from what was probably a little too much last week. In the end though I will leave Flagstaff much fitter than when I arrived and very hungry to do well at the Trials.

4 Weeks Out

Monday October 8th- am 45 minutes with the gang one last time before driving to Phoenix and flying home. I am a bit sad to leave the great weather and great training partners but excited to come home and see Jen and rock my last few workouts at Sea Level before the Trials. pm- travel. no afternoon run.
Tuesday October 9th- am 10 miles at Queeny. pm 6 miles at Queeny.
Wednesday October 10th- 3 miles up/ 10 x 800 with 2 min rest/ 3 miles down. I decided to do this one of the grass at Central Fields. The HS Team had 800s as well so I did it on the same loop which was pretty tough with tight turns and a tough hill on each loop. Anyway, splits were: 2:29/ 2:28/ 2:26/ 2:24/ 2:22/ 2:22/ 2:21/ 2:22/ 2:20/ 2:20. Really pleased. Recovered quickly after each repeat and felt better as the workout went along as evidenced by the splits. Call it 13 for the day.
Thursday October 11th- am 10.5 miles. Ran into South City kind of random and stopped by the parent's house where I woke up JCR with some annoying doorbell-ringing and coaxed him into running with me for a few miles. We bantered about drugs in the sport as we traversed our way up Nottingham and around Francis Park. Prett standard. pm 5.5 miles at the group run at the store. Sadly this is the last Thursday Group run for a while as the sun has left us.
Friday Ocotber 12th- am 6 miles random around Shrewsbury Park and Kenrick Seminary. pm 4 miles up/ 10 x 20 seconds hard/ 1 minute easy/ 4 miles down. Felt pretty quick. We had had a really great morning at the store with lots of customers and some fun people to talk to so I was kind of pumped from that. Then I watched the boys nail a mile repeat workout so I got even more pumped. Almost wish I would have had a harder workout to do I felt so good. As it was I accomplished getting some leg speed in and my form felt good.
Saturday October 13th- am 10 miles in Queeny. pm 6 miles in Queeny with Mark Palm who had stopped by the store. I talked him into going for a run with me. Ah...the advantages of having the store!
Sunday October 14th- 22 miles in Castlewood at the Sunday Group Run. Jen and I got to the park at about 7:20 so I could get in 5-6 miles before the group started. Alas, I had forgotten an energy gel so Jen was nice enough to drive to the store and get me one. Again, the advantages of the store.. and of a fiancee'! Anyway, I took it nice and easy until we started and even then the group took it out slow which was what I wanted because I was supposed to run the last 7.5 miles hard (marathon pace/effort). I tried my best to roll the last 7.5 as planned and I did a pretty good job. It was hard to stay focused by myself but I ended up 5:26 pace for those last 7.5. Considering that it was on trails which were quite windy at times and there are a couple places where you have to slow down or risk falling I think it was a pretty good effort. Uncle Bill's afterwards with the usual suspects. I ordrered corned beef hash n two eggs, why do they even ask anymore?

Weekly Total: 105 miles, 11 runs. Not bad with a day that was just 6 miles on Monday.

3 WEEKS OUT

Monday October 15th- 8 miles with Joe Porter in Forest Park. CHECK OUT this LINK for a video of me training in Flagstaff that's up at www.mcmillanelite.com.
Tuesday October 16th- am 75 minutes random around South City. pm 45 minutes in Queeny. I went to Dr. Cragg today and I found out why my stride hasn't been feeling good the last few days. My right hip flexor was way tight. After some A.R.T. I hope it will be better for tomorrow's workout.
Wednesday October 17th- am 3 miles up/ 5 x 1 mile in 4:40 with 3 minutes recovery on the track/ 3 miles down. Going in I was pretty nervous about this one. I have hit this workout a few different times over the last few years so I definitely wanted to hit it today and show myself that I am at least in as good of shape as I have been in before. On the first one I felt okay but not light and quick. That never really changed the whole time but I felt stronger as I went and was never really in danger of not hitting it. My splits were: 4:39/ 4:39/ 4:40/ 4:39/ 4:37. Thanks to Porter for timing me. pm 6 miles with JCR out and back on the River DesPeres Trail after the big AAA conference meet. Way to go St. Mary's!!
Thursday October 18th- am ran the first 40 minutes with Tim and the last 30 minutes with Mike Nelson who is in town for the weekend doing some recruiting. Definitely a bit tired from yesterday. pm 45 minutes. Ran into Ben Murphy and ran with him for the loop around Queeny.
Friday October 19th- am 30 minutes warmup/ 10 x 1 minute hard/ 1 minute easy/ 30 minutes cool down. Felt okay. Not as good as I felt last Friday.
Saturday October 20th- 6 miles. Missed my second run. Long story- don't want to talk about it.
Sunday October 21st- 18 miles. Ran with Zac, Brian and Dusty. Those were the only three I could talk into doing what I wanted which was to run my hilly 2 mile road loop at Forest Park over and over again to simulate the Trials course. It was interesting. Zac and I went 8 loops plus the mile over there and back for 18 total. We got faster each loop but never really that fast. Definitely got an idea of the cumulative effect of the constant up and down though.

Weekly Total: 95 miles, 10 runs. Part of the "Long Story" that I mentioned in Saturday's post is that I get really down mentally sometimes for no apparent reason and I felt like that for most of this week. As I write this on Monday though I feel much better. Can't really explain it but I'm on the right track now.

2 WEEKS OUT

Monday October 22- am 6 miles with Matt in Queeny. pm 30 minutes solo on the parking lot loop. I felt very good today on both runs and just had a lot of energy overall.
Tuesday October 23- am 45 minutes around Francis Park. Felt great. Fall has arrived!! pm 40 minutes at Forest Park.
Wednesday October 24- 2.5 miles up/ 7 mile tempo/ 2.5 down. Did this one on the hilly road loop (same as Sunday) but it was really windy today (30 mph) so I wasn't sure what to expect. Going in I thought that if I felt really good I might rip into it but with the conditions as they were I just ran 5:10s. Splits were 5:12/ 5:10/ 5:06/ 5:09/ 5:08/ 5:10/ 4:57. Ran the last one hard just to blow out the legs a bit. 39:54 overall. Also of note today was the fact that on the way to the store the woman in the full-length penguin suit who has been jumping up and down advertising for a halloween store this whole week was not jumping up and down today. Instead, she was making out with her boyfriend (or someone who is just very attracted to penguins). I've never seen that. I've never seen a penguin making out with a dude on the side of a busy road. I've never seen that.
Thursday October 25- am 8 miles at Queeny with Matt. We rarely get to run together- it felt the old days in Kirksville. pm 6 miles with Lyons. Felt really good tonight. Just rolling along sub 6 and feeling very smooth and easy. Best I've felt on a recovery run in a long time. Taper working?!!
Friday October 26- 30 minutes up/ 10 x 20 seconds hard, 1 minute easy/ 30 minutes down. Did this on the track and felt nice and fast. After feeling so great last night and then again this morning I have a really good feeling with one week to go. The past 4 marathons I've run I've been really ragged one week out just hoping to taper enough to feel good by race day and it only worked one time (Twin Cities '05). This time I feel like maybe I haven't done as many killer workouts where I can say 'hey look at that. I must be really fit' but I've had a pretty good string of weeks now and I feel really fresh. It reminds me of Cal International in '04 where I felt like I didn't really do enough and then I went out and ran great.
Saturday October 27- am 55 minutes at Forest Park, watching our Racing Team do their tempo run. pm 30 minutes with Chirs Haag out and back into Queeny before the Big River fashion show (it will be up on the website soon!).
Sunday October 28- 15 miles. Ran the Sunday Long Run at Castlewood with the group. Ran 40 minutes out on the trail and then turned around and ran marathon effort on the way back. Brian and Adam ran the first 10:30 with me but they had done a workout yesterday so I was on my own from there. Came back eight minutes faster than I went out so I figure I had to be around 5:10-5:20 pace. Cooled down three miles with Adam and Brian.

Weekly Total: 85 miles, 11 runs. Feeling GREAT! Best I've felt at this point in a long time.

1 WEEK OUT

Monday October 29- am 45 minutes solo on the River Des Peres loop. pm 30 minutes from SLUH and back.
Tuesday October 30- am 30 minutes. Felt okay. I'd lik to go in and see Dr. Cragg tomorrow to make sure everything is in alignment. pm 30 minutes out and back along River Des Peres. Felt a little sluggish.
Wednesday October 31- 3 miles up/ 4 x 1k at 3:00 with 200 meter jog/ 3 miles down. Felt very good warming up and very light and fast doing strides. The 1k's went pretty well. It was a bit windy so I had to use a little bit of effort to hit the times but not much. On the last two I had to dodge a bunch of kids doing what I assume was a gym class mile but everyone seemed to just be walking around the track in groups talking to their friends. I hit: 2:59/ 2:59/ 2:57/ 2:59.
Well, I'm off to NYC. I'll save the long post thanking everyone and all that stuff for after the race. I feel ready to go. Let's hope for a good one!!!
Thursday November 1- am 30 minutes solo at home before getting on the plane to NYC. pm Ran 40 minutes with Brian Barclay and Mike Nelson. We ran the loop in Central Park that I'll be running on Saturday. It is definitely difficult and there is no flat part. It is either up or down the whole time. Ate dinner solo at the Olive Garden in Times Square. I found it wierd that there was an O.G. in Times Square but I certainly wasn't complaining when I got down to business on that unlimited salad and breadsticks.
Friday November 2- Ran 40 minutes or so from the hotel to the park and back with my roomate for the weekend James Nielsen. Today was a pretty cool day and I definitely got the atmosphere that surrounds the Trials. First of all I want to thank my sponsor, ADIDAS, for giving me tons of cool gear to wear around New York. Though this will be my last race as a professional they were kind enough to outfit me in style for the Trials and I feel forever indebted to them for their kindness. As if the cool stuff wasn't sufficient enough to get pumped we had a technical meeting/lunch where we went over everything that surrounded the race. All the runners and coaches were there so it was pretty exciting to see all of the big names and all of my friends from over the years. At 5:00 we had to turn in our special fluids bottles and again it was cool to see all the runners in one place nervously getting their bottles ready. I ate dinner with Jen, Thomas and Nick Cordes and his sister and niece. Had a little trouble getting to bed but not much.
Saturday November 3- THE OLYMPIC TRIALS. Well, if you are reading this you probably know everything that happened but I will take you through it in chronological order including hearing about the tragic death of fellow competitor Ryan Shay. 4am- I woke up at 4 to go for a little walk/run to shake things out a bit. I felt pretty good and got about 7 minutes of jogging in. I had a couple of bagels for breakfast when I got back and then a clif bar about an hour and a half before the race. James and I walked over to Rockefeller Center where the race started. I warmed up about 8 minutes, half of it with my buddy Jacob Frey. It is a very amazing scene before a race of this magnitude with all the guys in one place preparing in their own way, their own unique routine. We were all downstairs inside the building until 7:05 when they made us come outside. The race didn't start until 7:35 but I think they wanted us out there so the cameras could get pictures of us warming up. One funny scene was about 40 of us standing in line for the porta potties for about five minutes before everyone just decided to "find their own bathroom" if you know what I mean. Anyway after the Start Spangled Banner and some last minute intros we were off. The race went out slow for the first couple miles as we ran through Times Square on our way into the park. I felt okay I guess. It was hard to say at that point. When we got to the park the crowd greeted us with a huge ovation and the pace picked up a bit. I found myself in a pack with my old teammates Nick Cordes and Terry Shea. I trust both those guys and figured that was a good place to be. Our spltis were kind of all over the map and I did not feel in a good rythym yet. Near the end of the first loop Nick and I both noticed a runner had gone down along the course but we had no idea what was wrong. We would later find out that it was Ryan Shay. On our second loop of the park I remained with that group and we had about 15 or so guys with us I would say. Near the end of that loop I was already feeling a bit heavy-legged and some negative thoughts were definitely entering my head. By 11 miles I had to decide whether or not to let the group go as I was sturggling to hit sub 5:20s. I let them go and ran with James Lander and Jon Little for a couple miles. I was trying to hold on and get back into a groove but unfortunately I had to let them go as well. James went on to really run well and it would have bee great to work with him the whole way but it just wasn't there. By 16 miles by day was pretty much done. I don't know why I felt so ill-prepared out there and I don't even want to go into it. The only other thing worth mentioning about my day was that after 20 miles I decided to drop out and began walk/jogging back toward the start but another old teammate, Marty Rosendahl ran by and made me keep going. I owe him big time because in the end I am glad that I finished. When I finished I learned that Hall had won, Ritz was second and my old teammate Brian Sell was third. That was certainly great news and he is as deserving of the honor as anyone who has ever donned the Red, White and Blue.

The most important news of the day though was unfortunately also the worst possible. Ryan Shay, who had collapsed just past five miles had died. I met Ryan only briefly in Flagstaff but, along with everyone in the running community, I knew well of his legendary work ethic. My thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his wife Alicia, his family and his friends. Let us all hope that his next life be filled with endless long runs through the hills of heaven. He will be missed.

MEMORIALS: The Ryan Shay Memorial Fund 5873 Leisure Lane East Jordan, MI 49727

- BEN