Mitch's
Training Log
2008 WINTER/SPRING TRAINING SEGMENT
Goals: St. Pat's Run and GO! St. Louis Marathon
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 1
Mon. 12/31 - Ran at 10:15 am, ran in Pearl Izumi. Best year end run since 92 or 93 when I did a 4 mile race in Ft. Collins, CO. 2 loops at Queeny from the Store. Nice relaxed pace on the first loop, picked it up a bit on the second. Always good to run with Coach Nelson. 74:27, 10 miles.
Tue. 1/1 - Ran at 11 am, ran in Reeboks. Was going to run twice, but when it is cold and windy it is tough for me to get out twice. Started with the Industrial park loop figuring I could cut it short at 6 or 7, or keep going down 5th Street to the Riverfront Trail for an 11 miler figuring the trees would block some of the wind on the way back. Well I felt pretty good so I went 11. First time in a long, long time that I have gone 10+ miles in singles on back to back days. 86:03, 11 miles.
Wed. 1/2 - Ran at 11:15 am, ran in Mizuno Precisions. Intended to do a fartlek or tempo, but the wind and cold discouraged that plan (I am getting to be such a wuss). Ran Lion's Lake loop and since I was feeling ok, did another loop around the lake so the run would be at least 7. Got back to school and was moving pretty good, so I did a mile on the track (7:13, felt very easy) to make 8 for the day. 62:00, 8 miles.
Thu. 1/3 - Ran at 3:45 pm, ran in Cumulus. Did not feel good at any point durning this run. Riverfront Trail via South Point + end of Front St. and back to the HS. Ran a fast (ok, 2:48) 800 from 2.5 to 2 on the trail. Would have kept going had I felt good, but things just weren't clicking. 60:00, 8 miles.
Fri. 1/4 - Ran at 3:30 pm, ran in Mizuno Precision. Recovery day since I want to go long tomorrow. Started Long Borgia, then turned right on Pottery, and right on Grand to do a loop around Lions Lake. Ran back to and continued Long Borgia but turned left on Stafford instead of right, then right on Oriole to get back to 8th st. then returned to HS. Needless to say, this was a new route so I wore my Garmin GPS. 55:00, 7 miles.
Sat. 1/5 - Ran at 7 am, ran in Reeboks. Time for a little marathon training. The plan was to start with the McRunners then run 7:00 pace on the RFT (3 miles). Then turn around and run back on the trail at 6:40 pace, then run the trail 1 more time at 6:20 pace. It kind of worked out. I am going to blame the watch. I had just passed the 1/2 mile mark (on pace) when I hear a beep, look down, and see that the watch has decided to take another lap. I'm upset but figure I will just hit it again at the 1 mile mark and go from there. Get to 1 mile, hit the button and nothing. Try all the buttons and get nothing. So now I haven't looked at the time, my split has started in a random spot (and I would get another random split in another 1/2 mile or so) so I am ticked. Get to the end of the trail, hit the split, and I get one. Cruising along (remember I am a bit upset and expecting another random split at any time) and hit the 800 in 3:10, 10 seconds faster than planned. Remarkably the watch works for the rest of the run, but I end up running too fast for all 3 - 3 mile segments and ended up feeling pretty ragged at the end. Splits were (20:40, 19:35 and 18:30 when they were supposed to be 21, 20 and 19). 98:30, 14 miles.
Sun. 1/6 - ran at 11:30 am, ran in Cumulus. How is it I always seem to have to run at Campbellton the day after a long run? Despite the wind and the hills managed a pretty good effort today. 63:50, 8 miles.
66 miles for the week, 56 for the year.
Mon. 1/7 - No run. Threw up last night and stayed home from work today. Felt fine during Sunday's run, but that afternoon I could feel it coming on. Doesn't feel like it will last very long and hopefully will be able to run tomorrow.
Tue. 1/8 - Ran at 3 pm, ran in Reeboks. YMCA loop. Stayed home today with the wife and a couple kids. Run was fine, though I felt a little weak. 4 miles, 32:30.
Wed. 1/9 - Ran at 4 pm, ran in Cumulus. Was going to run the Riverfront Trail to 2.5 and back, but hooked up with Coach Storrs (from Borgia) running in the opposite direction at 2 so I turned around and ran back with him. Added on the extra mile on High, 3rd, Rand and 2nd. Talked about Ultra's (he has done a few) and working with Coach Russell. Good run. 6 miles, 48:00.
Thu. 1/10 - Ran at 3:45, ran in Precision. Our first setback. Wanted to do a track workout or Tempo, but just had nothing when warming up. Chest was tender, head was pounding but not hurting, had zero energy. Warmed-up to Jefferson adding in the Sunnyside, 9th, Shepard loop, got back to the track and did 3 laps of stride 200 jog 200 hoping to wake things up, but was not successful. 3 miles, 24:00.
Fri. 1/11 - Ran at 3:45, ran in Cumulus. Riverfront Trail via South Point from WHS + 2 laps on track to even things out. Felt fine and, despite the week, in good spirits for the Frostbite 20k tomorrow. 7 miles, 52:50.
Sat. 1/12 - Warm-up at 8:15, Race at 9:00. Let's see how many mistakes we can make in 1 day. I felt very up mentally on the way and and felt great physically too. My only goal is to go out and see what happens. First mistake: As I am warming up, I don't like the way the Reeboks are rubbing my foot, even though I have applied a good layer of Body Glide. So 10 min. before the race starts I switch to Precisions. Not a big deal right now, but it would be a factor. Race starts and I fall into a nice rythym hitting the first mile in 5:55 (whatever). Mistake #2 comes at 1.5 miles when my main age group competitor passes me. Now at the 10 miler 2 weeks before I caught and passed him at 8 miles, so I am surprised to find he has started out much easier. He starts moving away from me inch by inch, and instead of just going with him and seeing what happens, I just let him go. He has about 30-50 m on me at the first turn around so I figure I will use the upcoming downhill section to try and close the gap. Well, he has the same idea and puts in a really strong surge. Then mistake #1 catches up with me. I have been having some issues with a weakness in my lower leg. At times it feels like my ankle does not have the stength to support my body. The problem is worsened by shoes that have a taper on the lateral edge of the heel, and Precisions do big time. Normally I just try to run through the "weak" feeling, but today it was persistant through miles 5 and 6. And since there was no way of catching Mr. Vanderbeek and I didn't feel like putting up with the "weak" feeling for 6 more miles, I dropped out. Cool down 15 min. or so with Mark and Abby Palm and Pete Palumbo. 10 miles total. 6 in 37:40, Warm up and cool down total of 35 min.
Sun 1/13. Ran at 11:30, ran in Reeboks. Camp-Sunny-Orchard-185 and back. Another disappointment. Wanted to go 10, but was drained going up the hill to 2. On a positive note, picked up the pace on the way back and felt fine (running with the wind probably had something to do with it). 6 miles, 47:28
36 miles for week, 92 for year.
Yikes. What a week. We all go through weeks like this. In the past a week like this would have provoked complete shut down on my part. I think I dealt with the events pretty well, though I am still thinking about bagging St. Pat's. I am way behind where I was last year at this point and I really don't do well when I have to rush my training. The best plan would be to establish some sort of consistency and just see how things go.
Mon 1/14 - Ran at 3:45, ran in Cumulus. HS-47-8th to Jefferson and back + 1 lap warm-up (16:00) 4 x 1200 with 2:55 recovery (4:13.7, 4:11.7, 4:13.9, 4:10.2). HS-47-3rd-Market to High St. and back cool down (30:40). Perhaps a break through? I have been bad as far as blowing off speed work lately so today was nice. I even set it up so the last 100m was into the wind. Was only going to do 800's, but was feeling good at 800 on the first one, so just bumped them up to 1200. Will be interesting to see what the rest of the week holds. 9 miles total.
Tue 1/15 - Ran at 3:45, ran in Reebok. Old 100 to 4.5 and back. Used the GPS to measure the route. Felt decent. I think the long cool down yesterday helped. 9 miles in 67:43.
Wed 1/16 - Ran at 3:45, ran in Cumulus. Riverfront Trail via South Point, then Front-Tiemann-Veterans-up lake by dam-cut through Fairgrounds-N. Park - Tiemann- Front - Market - Zig Zag - 3-47-HS. Middle 4 miles in 5:57, 5:57, 5:51, 5:55. Another good workout. Felt in control the whole way. GPS'ed this run too and was glad to find it to be another 9 mile route. 9 miles in 62:33.
Thu 1/17 - Ran @ 12:30, ran in Reeboks. Industrial Park loop. Cold and windy. Nothing special, just a recovery run. Weather not going to be very nice the next couple days. Good thing speedwork is done for the week. 6 miles in 47:00 Thu 1/17 - Ran @ 5:00, ran in PI. YMCA loop. Cold and windy, imagine that. Go for a second run later in the day and the weather is the same! 4 miles in 32:00
Fri 1/18 - Ran @ 3:30, ran in Cumulus. Started at Middle school. Long Borgia - 3 laps on HS track - Short Borgia. Was feeling kind of BLAH. Both of the Borgia loops are kind of hilly. The 3 laps on the track were at 7:30 pace, so I guess it is nice to still be able to run a decent (for an old guy) pace even when you aren't feeling so great. 8 miles in 65:00.
Sat 1/19 - Ran @ 7:00 am, ran in Reebok. McRun + out Front St. 1 mile and back. Quite cold, wind chill near 0. Running groups are a blessing and a curse. Yeah there were other people there this morning to share the misery, but it was still dang cold. I was alone after the mile mark, though I did catch a couple of guys (most people do an 8 miler) near the end. 10 miles in 76:00.
Sun 1/20 - Ran @ 3:00, ran in Reeboks. With Drew on the Katy Trail. Started out from Dutzow towards Augusta. The plan was to run 4 out and back, get a quick drink, then head towards Marthasville for another 4 miles out and back. Had a quick pit stop at 4 miles, a longer pit stop around 5.5 and then a drink at 8. After first mile we were hitting upper 7:30's. Wind was definately noticable when running east so I knew running to Marthasville for the next turn around was going to make things a bit uncomfortable on the way back. Drew decides he is only going out 3 since he has been sick and hasn't run much the last 2 weeks. I decided to push the pace a bit after he turned around and hit 6:47, 6:46, 6:58, 6:55, 6:45 for the last 5 miles. Longest run since training for Las Vegas Marathon in '04 and I was pleased. 16 miles in 1:58:41.
71 miles for week, 163 for year. I had to double check my math when adding up this week. It has been a long time since I've had a 70. Throw the 2 nice hard efforts in there and this was the exact opposite of last week. Let's hope the roller coaster stops here and I can build consistently for a couple of months. On another note, it is great to see Katie's training log. My mother succumbed to breast cancer in 1982 so it is great to hear that Katie's treatment has been successful and she is getting back into the swing of things. Reading about Katie's comeback I can't help but reflect on the fact that on March 2 of this year I will be 1 day older than my mother lived to be. On just about every run I can't help but to compare our lives on a day by day basis. Here I am able to run upwards of 10 miles a day and 26 years ago my mother was in a hospital room getting closer to passing. Keep up the good fight Katie, we are all pulling for you.
Week 4
Mon 1/21 - Ran @ 8:30, ran in Cumulus. 2nd-Olive-Front-Market-Zig Zag-3-Zetta-5th-RFT-Front-Olive-2nd to distance. Always interesting to see how the body will respond after a long run. Today the left knee was really stiff for the first mile (8:30). Started feeling better after 3 miles or so and was even running 7:30 pace on the RFT. Odd east wind made this run a no-brainer. 7 miles in 55:00. Mon 1/21 - Ran @ 12:30, ran in PI. YMCA loop. The quintessential recovery run. Don't like running slower than 8:00 pace, but sometimes there isn't much choice. At least it was warmer this afternoon. But, I feel like I am getting sick again. Roller Coaster here we come. Going to try 1200's again tomorrow if I am just tired instead of sick. 4 miles in 32:12.
Tue 1/22 - Ran @ 3:30, ran in Reeboks. 2 mile warm-up (16:41), 4 x 1200 (4:11.8, 10.3, 8.8, 9.6) with 2:55 mixed walk/jog recovery, High St. cool-down (4 miles, 31:18). Caught Josh Buschling in the parking lot as I was finishing my warm-up and he agreed to run with me. Sort of. Ran the first 2 together and the first lap of the next 2, then he took off. Still, it was nice to have someone to at least start with and I think it was a better workout than it would have been had I gone solo. 9 miles total.
Wed 1/23 - Ran @ 3:45, ran in Reeboks. Old 100 to Pig Farm and back, then out 8th to Jefferson and back, then 4 laps and a little extra on the track. Nothing special today. Pace never felt right. Even when I tried to pick it up a bit splits were still the same. Oh well. 9 miles in 69:34.
Thu 1/24 - Ran @ 3:40, ran in Cumulus. RFT via South Point, then down Front St., loop through Fair Grounds, back towards HS, little loop off of 8th St., finish to time on Bluejay Dr. Tempo for 4 miles from South Point (6:00, 5:58, 5:58, 5:58). Strange workout. The effort was definately there, but the mile marks seemed to be off from where they were last week (using auto lap feature on GPS), so I was a little miffed. Glancing at my watch during the first mile it claimed my pace was sub 5:50 for most of the time. Then I get to where I think the mile is and I still have a way to go. Again, no big deal because I definately could have gone faster. 10 miles in 70:00.
Fri 1/25 - Ran @ 11:30, ran in Pearl Izumi. RFT to 2.5 and back from home. Total recovery day since we are hitting the road to the Quad Cities for Ravi's wedding. 6 miles in 46:45.
Sat 1/26 - Ran @ 7:30, ran in Reeboks. From Ramada in Bettendorf to Davenport/Bettendorf
bike path for out and back. What a great sat. morning in Iowa. Light breeze and temps. in the mid 20's. Jocko lead the way and carried the conversation. Pace was just right (we were under 7:00 for the last 4 or 5 miles) and it was an all around great run despite getting "lost" on the way back. 17 miles in 2:03:18.
Sun 1/27 - Ran @ 8:00, ran in Cumulus. Same run as yesterday, but not as long. Ran with my brother Drew. Most amazing thing about this run, aside from the great weather, was the bathroom at 3 miles was NOT locked! And it was warm and had plenty of supplies! Heck, around here you are lucky to find a port a potie on the trails. 8 miles in 62:42.
70 miles for the week, 232 for the year.
Another nice week. Still feeling great and happy with the long runs and speed work.
Mon 1/28 - Ran @ 3:30, ran in Reebok Premier Road Cushion KFS. Old 100 to 4.5 and back + 4 laps on track. Today was supposed to be a speed day, but I had hiccups and a rumbly tummy while warming up. Factor in the winds that literally blew me off the road at one point (I must be losing weight) and it was too easy to put off speed for another day. 10 miles in 74:47.
Tue 1/29 - Ran @ 3:45, ran in Cumulus. Ran Long Borgia loop twice plus 500m on track. Let's see, how to put a positive spin on this run? Got it. This run was definately in my top 7500 runs of all time! Seriously, when traveling west I was probably not running faster than 9:00 pace. Very windy and snowy. 9 miles in 70:00.
Wed 1/30 - Ran @ 3:45, ran in Reeboks. 2 mile warm-up on track (15:12). 4 x 1200 (again) in 4:09.1, 4:07.9, 4:07.1, 4:08.2 with 2:55 mixed walk/jog recovery. South Point cool down (30:40). Nice to see the speed, but I need to go farther. The good news is I was able to run fast this week as it looks like tomorrow and Friday are going to be worse than tuesday. 9 miles total.
Thu 1/31 - Ran @ 1:30, ran in Reeboks. Ran from home. RFT to South Point and back - Front St.-Industrial Park- Highway 100 to Washington West Elem. to time. 1/2 day of school due to snow. Snowing pretty hard during run, but the roads and trail weren't too bad. Kept track of 4 measured miles and they were all 7:15 or faster so very pleased with this "recovery" effort today. 11 miles in 82:30.
Fri 2/1 - Ran @ 2:15, ran in Pearl Izumi. Camp-Sunny-Orchard to Lazy Creek and back. Hey, guess what? Hilly runs on icy/snow covered runs are no fun. Almost fell 3 or 4 times and had a general feeling of blah the whole run. Did negative split by nearly 2 min., though. 8 miles in 64:17.
Sat 2/2 - Ran @ 7, ran in Reebok. 10 mile McRun w/ Doc Colter. I guess I could mention that there is a group run from the Washington McDonalds every (and I do mean every) sat. starting at 7:00 (and I do mean 7:00. If you get there at 7:00:20 you will have to catch up). Basically we run briefly on highway 100 and then head north on highway 47. Cut through by the Doctor's Building to 8th St., then to South Point. Pick up the River Front Trail and head toward Downtown Wash MO and make our way back to McDonalds. That loop is 8 miles. Heading down Front St. for an out and back to make longer runs. This group has been meeting for the last 16 or 17 years and we have run on Christmas and New Years Eve, in heavy snow and smothering heat. Then we eat Mickey D's afterward. 10 miles in 78:20.
Sun 2/3 - Ran @ 10:30, ran in new Reeboks. Thank you GPS. Ran Industrial Park-Highway 100-5th st.-RFT loop and then a bunch of out and backs and circles to hit distance. 3 nights with very little sleep and an unbelievably crappy diet finally caught up with me. Wanted to do a cut-down long run, so after running 7:45-7:30 for the first 4 miles, I picked it up on mile 4 hoping to go 3 @ 7:00, 4 @ 6:40 and 4 @ 6:20. Well of course I ran 6:42 for mile 5 and 6:27 for mile 6. And I felt like crap. So I just slowed down. And still felt like crap. As I was running the RFT I was calling myself all kinds of names for the 2 dozen or so cookies I at the night before (A Charity Trivia Night AND poker with the guys) and not getting any sleep the last 3 nights (sick kids/ trivia/ poker) so I was ready to bag the run at 11 miles. But then, and I know this is stupid, I thought I didn't want to end with 68 miles for the week because I have run over 70 for the last 2 and I really wanted to hit 70 for a 3rd week. So I pressed on, and started to feel better. I figure it was good practice for the marathon talking myself into each additional mile. 16 miles in 1:57:15
73 miles for the week, 306 for the year. Big week coming up. I really want to run fast ath the 15k Frostbite race on sat., so I will probably back off on the miles a little.
Mon 2.4 - Ran @ 4, ran in Grey KFS. 4 Lake loops, then continue down Front St. - Market- Zig Zag-3-Market-Front-Olive-2nd. Nice run. Finally wore the GPS on the 4 Lake Loops and found it is about 6.25 instead of 6. Ran from home today because I stayed home with a sick kid. 8 miles in 60:00.
Tue 2.5 - Ran @ 5, ran in Cumulus. Warm up - Home-Stafford-Front-Market-Zig Zag-3-47-HS +100m. 16 laps, tempo. 6:00.2, 5:55.0, 5:51.1, 5:43.0. Walk 100m, then cool down reverse of warm up. Got lucky here. Monsoon when school was letting out. My wife doesn't like to drive in bad weather, so I picked up the kids. By the time everyone was home and settled, the weather was just a light drizzle and not much wind. Wind and rain picked up during the last half of the work out, but considering what could have been, I was very lucky to get this one in. And the splits were pretty nice too. 8 miles total. 16:17 warm up, 23:29 Tempo, 16:06 cool down.
Wed 2.6 - Ran @ 3:45, ran in Navy KFS. High School - South Point - RFT - end of Front St. and back - Market - Zig Zag - 3 - 47 - High School. Just a run. Nothing great or terrible. Surprised by the end time, though. Didn't think I was running that "fast". 8 miles in 60:45.
Thu 2.7 - Ran @ 3:30, ran in Navy KFS. Warm up - High School - 47 - 8th to Mile mark past Jefferson and back. Couple of strides, then 10 x 600 (avg. 2:01) with 2:00 mixed walk/jog recovery. Cool down - to start of "s" curve past tennis courts on the way to South Point. Well, here is what I am thinking. I still want to run fast today, but I have a race on sat. So, what can I do that will be fast but won't wear me out too much. The solution was short and fast with long recovery. Work out didn't seem that hard, though I did, inexplicably, suffer from bouts of just dreadful mechanics. If you had seen me at those points you would have expected me to fall down. Thanks to Josh Buschling for pacing help. 9 miles total. 15:52 Warm up, 38:04 for intervals, 26:10 cool down.
Fri 2.8 - Ran @ 4, ran in Navy KFS. Out RFT to 2.5 and back from home. Had to get to Grandpa's in Fenton for a sleep over. And so I wouldn't have to drive so far tomorrow morning. It looks like the FAM might even try to make it to the race to cheer on Dad. I always enjoy that. 6 miles in 47:02.
Sat 2.9 - Race at Forest Park. Warm up and cool down in Navy KFS, random for time around the park. 20:08 warm up, 20:26 cool down. Frostbite 15k in 55:10. 17th overall, 2nd in age group. Originally quite happy with the race. Ran with Kraig Vanderbeek for the first 4. We ran pretty quick from mile 2 to mile 3, but he seemed to be struggling by the time we reached 4. There was a group a little ways ahead of us and I was feeling ok, so I left him. Caught a couple guys between 4 and 6, then really struggled on the rolling 7th mile. Got passed just after 7, so I tried to pick it up and the course really lent itself to fast running at that point. Didn't move up any places, but felt the last 2 miles were pretty strong. Then I got home and entered my time in a prediction calculator and was not happy. Has me going about a minute slower than I hope for St. Pat's, but right on for the STL marathon. I guess we will wait and see. 14 miles total. Sun 2-10 - Ran @ 2:20, ran in Cumulus. Ind. Park Loop - MacArthur - 3 - Market - Front - Olive - 2. Not mentally with it on this run. Physically fine. Good cool down with Brian Lyons after the race yesterday and I am not sore at all today. Still, in the back of my mind I wanted an easy week so I cut this planned 12 miler short. Will get after it tomorrow. Hopefully. 7 miles in 53:42.
60 miles for the week, 366 for the year. While I couldn't find any written proof, I am almost certain that while living in Laramie I once ran 3 weeks in the 60's, then and easy week; 3 weeks in the 70's, then an easy week; and finally, 3 weeks in the 80's and an easy week ending with a sub 17 5k at 7200 ft. So that was the plan here. 3 weeks in the 70's and then an easy week. I would love to run in the 80's for the next 3 weeks, but it will be tough to do in singles. Still a bit chilly to get out there at 5 am for a morning run. I should be able to run 10 a day, then a long run of 20 and there you have your 80 miles.
Week 7
Sorry to all my fans out there. Busy holiday weekend. Those of you with 3 or more kids can probably sympathize.
Mon 2.11 - Ran @ 12:45, ran in Grey KFS. 3.5 laps on track, old highway 100 to 4.5 and back, .5 laps. 1/2 day of school due to impending storm. Windy, cold and sleeting during run. Felt ok, though. Must have been the easy week last week. 10 miles in 75:00
Tue 2.12 - Ran @ 3:10, ran in Navy KFS. Home - Industrial Park - 100 - 5th - 47-3rd-Zetta-5th-RFT-Front-Olive. Still cold and windy and a little light snow. Tried this variation last week and will probably keep it. 3rd street adds a couple hills to the run. Marked miles on the RFT were all 7:20 or faster. 11 miles in 81:30
Wed. 2.13 - Ran @ 3:30, ran in Cumulus. 2 mile warm up on track (15:12). 4 x 1600 (5:40, 5:36.2, 5:34.2, 5:32.4) with 3:57 mixed walk/jog recovery. HS-47-5th-Klingsick-8-Shepard-9-Sunnyside-8-47-HS cool down in 30:27. Went out way too slow on the first 400 of the first interval (1:27), but things went nicely from then on. Thanks again to Josh Buschling for the pacing effort. To make things a workout for Josh we started each interval together but he ran 5 laps instead of 4. Since I always mention the bad weather I will note that the weather today was very nice. 10 miles total.
Thu. 2.14 - Happy Birthday to my wife, Molly. 37 years young and still as hot as the day I met her. Ran @3:40, ran in Grey KFS. HS-South Point-RFT-Front-long way around Lion's Lake-Front-Zig Zag-3rd-47-HS track to distance according to GPS. We used to use this as our 10 mile run from school. Turns out it is a bit short according to the GPS. 10 miles in 74:10.
Fri. 2.15 - Ran @ 3:30, ran in Navy KFS. HS-South Point-RFT to .5 miles they return. Was going to do a Tempo on this run, hence the RFT 2 days in a row, but was not happy with my first .5 mile split, so you know what happened. 9 miles in 65:54.
Sat. 2.16 - Ran @ 7:00 ran in Grey KFS. 4 5mile loops at Shaw Nature Reserve. I could try to explain the route, but it would be very lengthy. I like doing long runs this way. 5 miles is long enough to be interesting, but short enough to know you can finish the loop. Ran with Doc Colter and Coach Stores from Borgia. Since I invited them I let them pick the pace. It was much slower than I ever run. We were 45 min. for the first loop. Overall averaged 8:25 for the run and it certainly felt like a 21 miler (according to GPS) when we were done. Coach Stores did at least 1 more loop. The man has caught the ultra bug hard. I know it was probably not 21, but I extend a lot of my other runs just so they end at a convenient time. I'm confident it all evens out. 21 miles in 2:56:38.
Sun. 2.17 - Ran @ 6:15 am, ran in Cumulus. 2nd-Olive-Front-Zig Zag-3rd-South Bend-South Point-9th-Camp-8th-High-5th-Grand-N. Park-Bernard-W. Main-Front-Olive-2nd-Rand. This was not an easy run. Had plans for the afternoon (Blues game) so I had to get it in early. Seeing the wind, I am glad I got the run in when I did. Measured this run using the mapping feature on USATF.com and it came out as 8.8. Whoops. See explanation above. 9 miles in 71:09
80 miles for the week, 446 for the year. Very good week. Felt good on most of the runs. The key now, stay consistent.
Week 8
Mon. 2.18 - 2 runs 9:20 am in Navy KFS and 1:30 pm in Cumulus. Early run RFT to 2.5 and back from home. Windy. 2 measured miles into wind on way back in 14:10. 6 miles in 45:53. Second run 4 Lake Loops. Still windy. 6 miles in 47:22. (see, this course is 6.2 but I only record it as 6).
Tue. 2.19 - Ran @ 3:40, ran in Grey KFS. HS-47-3rd-Market to train depot and back warm up in 24:04. 6400 tempo run in 23:18 (5:56, 5:52, 5:47, 5:42). South Point and back + 100m on track cool down in just over 30:00. Must admit I was feeling it in that last mile, but I will still take it considering. Was in a foul mood most of the day at school because the kids were crazy after the holiday weekend, and our bleachers are broken and were left in the out position so they can be repaired which cut down our floor space by about 1/3. And I got a scare this morning. Tweaked my knee while holding the boy and trying to get his breakfast together. I limped badly most of the morning, but it came around by lunch time. 11 miles total.
Wed 2.20 - Ran @ 3:40, ran in Navy KFS. 2 x Long Borgia Loop + 2 laps on track. For the first time in a long time I forgot to start my watch on a run. Remembered right after I ran 2 laps on track (which I did right at the start) so the final run time is more of a guess. Run, save for 14th st. hill, felt good. The hill was not so good. Why do I always pick hilly runs the day after a hard run? 9 miles in approx. 70 min.
Thu 2.21 - No run. That sleet or whatever it was was just crazy. I could not get any traction no matter where I tried to run. Thought about going to the YMCA or Doc Colters for some treadmill time, but just ended up with the ZERO.
Fri 2.22 - Ran @ 3:30, ran in Grey KFS. Long convoluted route that involved 3rd st., 8th st., 5th st., Grand ave and others. Roads were decent so after 16 min. or so ran 6 x 4 min. hard 3 min. easy. Felt pretty good. Only had 1 real mile mark to go by, and that ended up being close to the end of a segment, but was surprised I was able to get so close based on where I started. Last one finished up on some flat so I simulated a "kick" and while moving pretty good and feeling pretty good I still felt like I had another gear if needed. 10 miles in 71:41.
Sat 2.23 - Ran @ 11:15, ran in Navy KFS. 2 x Ind. Park-100-5th st.-RFT loop. Interesting run. Had a small sip of gatorade at the end of the first loop and felt pretty good for the next 2 miles or so. Dealt with some foot cramp issues for most of the run, but they cleared up near the end. Definately had to concentrate to hold form near the end, but could have held on for a couple more miles. Bottom line is I went 1 mile farther 11 min. faster than last weekend. I have never gone more than 2 or 3 months with regular 20+ mile long runs and during that time each run gets either longer or faster (or both). My question is, do long runs ever get easy? If I continue to go 20+ after the marathon will I feel better at the end of the run? 22 miles in 2:45:00.
Sun 2.24 - Ran @ 2:00, ran in Cumulus. Camp-Sunny-Orchard to 185-Orchard to Lazy Creek-Orchard to Sunny-Camp. Did not feel good. I wonder why? Seriously, do I not read my own training log? Why do I insist on running the hilliest routes around the day after a hard/long run. Just dumb. Don't follow my lead folks. 9 miles in 74:52.
73 miles for week, 519 for year. Considering there was a 0 in there a pretty good week. Well except for my poor route choices. Next 3 weeks should be interesting as track season will definately affect training time. Looks like I might have to run after the kiddos are in bed. Also, the Vancouver Marathon is out. I can't spend that much time away. Right now I am thinking about jumping in the STL marathon on April 6. That way the family can come watch. A little worried about the 3 week turn around between St. Pat's and the marathon. Aside from long runs all training has been focused on St. Pat's. Not many long hard runs in the last couple months (a few long races). Not exactly the way I like to prepare for a marathon, but I don't really like the race anyway.
Mon 2.25 - Ran @ 7p, ran in ?. 2-Stafford-Front-Zig Zag-3-47-HS-100m then 25 laps at 6:20 pace. 100 walk then 200m on track and reverse warm-up for cool down. First day of track practice. Running after getting the kids in bed is going to be tough. And I still don't feel that great to begin with. 10 miles total.
Tue 2.26 - Ran @ 7:30p, ran in?. 4 Lake Loops. Just over a mile into run my right leg gave out with no warning. Can't believe I didn't fall. Leg kept cramping up the rest of the run and did give out a few more times. This is not going to be good. 10k in 49:00.
Wed 2.27 - Ran @ 5:30, ran in ?. Industrial Park-100-5-RFT loop. Wife let me run before putting kids to bed. Felt better. Ran 7:30 pace. 11 miles in 82:30.
Thu 2.28 - Ran @ 5:30, ran in ?. 2 x Long Borgia loop + 5 laps at WHS track + down and back KC Hall driveway. Ran from Borgia to WHS and was going to do 1200's. First one was in 4:15. Last time I ran 1200's I averaged 4:08. Stopped speedwork and just ran. 9 miles in 69:00
Fri 2.29 thru Sun 3.2 - No running sick. Work and coaching and training and getting sick is just too much. I need some recovery time.
Disappointing to have a week like this so close to St. Pats. Thought for sure I would be able to run 27:30, now I don't know if I will be running at all. Hopefully the rest will clear things up quickly.
Week 10
Mon 3.3 - No run. Decided to be smart and take the extra day to make sure I am ready to go.
Tue 3.4 - Ran @ 9:15, ran in Grey KFS. Fair race loop to and from home. Starting to snow as I headed out. While my memory isn't perfect, this was the best I can remember feeling after a layoff. Even ran 3:37 for a marked 1/2 mile on the race course and it felt easy. 5 miles in 40:00
Wed 3.5 - Ran @ 5:30, ran in Cumulus. On RiverFront Trail to 2.5 and back. Dumb run. Checked my splits at miles 1 and 2 and discovered I ran them in 7:50 and 7:40. Then mile 3 was magically 7:30 so why not try to run the last 2 in 7:20 and 7:10? Because you have already started coughing, that would be one reason. Felt like dirt at the end and not because of the pace. 5 miles in 37:19.
Thu 3.6 thru Sun 3.9 - No running. Started taking a 5 day antibiotic treatment to try and at least knock out this sinus infection.
When you are sick, you are sick and it's probably best not to push things. Sucks that I won't be competing to the level I had hoped at St. Pat's. Will just have to see how things progress before I decide to give the STL marathon a shot.
10 miles for week. 566 for year.
Week 11
Mon 3.10 - No run. Felt ok, but kind of tired after practice so again, take the extra day of rest.
Tue 3.11 - Ran @ 6:15pm, ran in Cumulus. From home to 2.5 mile mark on RFT with my brother Drew. Ok. I don't know if anyone else gets this, but when I break a sweat for the first time after being dormant for a while, my skin gets this weird detatched and itchy feeling. It's like the outer 1/2 inch of my body feels like it is not a part of me, but it is still really itchy. Oh, and seasonal allergy season is starting. If it's not one thing it is another. 10k in 49:44.
Wed 3.12 - Ran @ 3:45, ran in Navy KFS. Long Borgia loop. Half day for Borgia so no practice. Felt like I was walking up 14th St. hill. 4+ miles in 33:56
Thu 3.13 - Ran @ 5:30, ran in Cumulus. Fair Run course from home. Middle 3 miles in 22:45. Feeling a bit better? 5+ miles in 41:27
Fri 3.14 - Ran @ 8:45, ran in Grey KFS. Lion's Lake + 2 laps on track + to wrestling room and back at Start. District Wellness day, so I got paid for going on a run. Ran with Coach Ohm and felt great. Maybe this is good news for the race tomorrow. Oh, in the contest the district was having to see who would get the most exercise minutes between Dec. 1 and March ?, I came in 3rd and Coach Ohm was in first. #2 also works at the middle school so we easily won the building competition. 7 miles in 54:00
Sat 3.15 - Ran in the morning in a variety of shoes. 15 min. warm up on and around the course. 5 mile race in 28:55. 31st place overall, 3rd in 40-44 age group. 15 min. cool down similar to warm-up. No one was more surprised by this result than me. I told my wife last night that I would be lucky to break 30:00. 5:52 first mile was easy. Picked it up a bit in miles 2 and 3. In the 4th mile I could tell the group in front of me was coming back so I threw in some surges to catch them. Legs felt dead (that never happens) but I kept moving up. Had to throw down at the end to catch and pass the last guy, then he peels off to the non-competitive finish! Very satisfying day. 9 miles in 58:55
Sun 3.16 - Ran @ 4:00, ran in Navy KFS. Industrial Park Loop. Tired all day. Didn't think I was going to run. Wife pushed me out the door. Not much to enjoy on this one. 6 miles in 47:39.
37 miles for week. 603 for year. Race was a surprise, but most of the rest of the runs were pretty lousy. At least I feel healthy (except for the allergies). Just going to take some time to get back into the swing of things.
Week 12
Mon 3.17 - Ran @ 5, ran in Navy KFS. Long Borgia, from Borgia + 2 laps at WHS track. Felt a lot like yesterday, tired and unmotivated. 5 miles in 40:00.
Tue 3.18 - Ran @ 3:15, ran in Grey KFS. RFT to 1.5 and back. Middle 2 in 13:08. That ain't bad and it felt easy. Home for 1/2 day with a sick kid. Parent teacher conferences tonight so had to squeeze the run in after Molly got home. Skipped practice. Oh, and it was raining. 4 miles in 29:20.
Wed 3.19 - Ran @ 5, ran in Navy KFS. Fair Run course (sort of) from and to Borgia. On the way back I did not go up by the dam the way the race finishes. Just ran back the way I went out. Didn't feel great, but didn't feel that bad either. 7 miles in 54 something.
Thu 3.20 - Ran @ 4, ran in Cumulus. From WMS out Old 100 via South Point to Seco and back. Another 1/2 day for Borgia so no practice for me. Felt tired. 5+ miles in 39:09.
Fri 3.21 - Ran @ 9:45, ran in Saucony Racers. Ind. Park loop. 6 miles in 46:44. Again, didn't feel great and was wearing racing flats. Pause for commentary: While I like the fit and feel of these flats I would have a hard time recommending them. Have only run 8 miles in the shoes and there is visible wear in the forefoot. Sure blown rubber is good for cushioning, but come on, the outsole needs to last more than 8 miles.
Sat 3.22 - Ran @ 7a, ran in Navy KFS. McRun. With Docs Colter and Marchiando. Felt good. I wonder if it has something to do with running with other people? 8 miles in 60:00.
Sun 3.23 - Ran @ 3:15, ran in Navy KFS. Camp-Sunny-Orchard to 185 and back. Blizzard like conditions last 3.5 miles. Seriously. I could barely see in front of me. Was covered with snow when I finished, then less than an hour later only the shaded areas still had snow on them. Weird. 6 miles in 46:38.
41 miles for week, 644 for year. I guess I did better this week. No real speed work. Endurance doesn't feel like it is coming back either. Gonna take longer than I thought. I don't see how I can run the STL marathon in 2 weeks, but then again, I didn't see anyway I would break 30:00 at St. Pat's. Marathon is different than a 5 miler, though.
Week 13
Mon. 3-24: Ran @ 1:00, ran in Saucony Fasttwitch. Industrial Park Loop. Wanted to go 11, but had no motivation. 6 miles in 46:38
Tue. 3-25: Ran @ 5:20, ran in Navy KFS. Long Borgia. Tried to run fast. Not much success. 4+ miles in 33:28
Wed. 3-26: Ran @ 5, ran in Navy KFS. From home. RFT to South Point-South Bend-International and back. Raining, but felt pretty good. 8 miles in 59:55.
Thu. 3-27: No Run. Forgot that on track meet days I need to run in the morning.
Fri 3-28: Ran @ 4:30, ran in Cumulus. Fair Run to and from Borgia. Ran the entire route this time instead of cutting up by the dam. 7 miles in 53:08.
Sat. 3-29: Ran @ 7:00 am, ran in Navy KFS. McRun. Started late with Greg Curran (waiting for his GPS to link up) and we caught Doc Marchiando and the new guy just before 5. Ran with them to the Zig Zag then the new guy picked it up (he is goint to run the STL marathon next week). Really flew, I mean like sprinting flew, down the big hill on 47 to the finish. 8 miles in 59:20
Sun. 3-30: Ran @ noon, ran in Navy KFS. Camp-Sunny-Orchard to Lazy Creek and back. Sore groin at the start, but other than that best I have felt out here in a long time. 8 miles in 62:05.
Felt a little blah especially early in the week, but at my age I no loger hope to feel great, just hope I don't feel like crap. 41 not bad considering there was a 0 in there. Will likely run the 1/2 next weekend.
41 miles for week. 685 for year.
Week 14
Mon 3-31: Ran @ 6, ran in Cumulus. Industrial Park Loop. Raining. 6 miles in 47:15.
Tue. 4-1: Ran @ 4, ran in Saucony. RFT to 2.5 and back. Middle 3 miles 1 min. hard/ 1 min. easy. Think I ran 10 min. hard total. Last one was about 1:20 because I wanted to finish at the mile mark. 6 miles in 43:47.
Wed. 4-2: Ran @ 5, ran in Navy KFS. Long Borgia + Seco + add on to time. Longest run in 6 weeks, but still 4 miles short of what I will be RACING this weekend. 9 miles in 70:00.
Thu 4-3: Ran @ 5, ran in Navy KFS. Start @ Borgia, ran up and back through the 3 streets in the subdivision there-Stafford-Oriole-8th-Sunnyside-WHS track in 16:43 for a warm up. 16 laps cutdown tempo style (6:27, 6:17, 6:10, 5:43). Track-BlueJay-47-8th-Oriole-Stafford-Meadowlark-High-Borgia +add on to time for a 15:00 cool down. Great workout. Now what the heck am I supposed to run on sat? Still don't feel like I have any endurance, but the first 3 miles today were easy and I can't believe I ran 5:43 for the last. 8 miles total.
Fri. 4-4: Ran @ 5, ran in Glycerine. On RFT and Front. Was going to go out and back for 6 but hooked up with Coach Stores just before the mile mark so ran with him down Front to Stafford and back. Continued out on RFT to 1.5 miles and back. 6 miles in 48:00.
Sat. 4-5: Ran @ 11a, ran in Cumulus. Loop around Forest Park with Drew. Nothing special here. 5.5 miles, untimed.
Sun 4-6: Go St. Louis 1/2 marathon. 15 min. warm-up around Kiel Center and Union Station. 1/2 marathon in 1:21:43. 4th in age group, around 33rd over all. I am happy. I knew going in that I had no endurance. 5 mile time from St. Pat's predicted 1:20:39, so that is a bit disappointing, but see previous sentence. Hooked up with a guy around 4 and we ran the rest of the way together. Caught 2 people in the last mile and I some how managed to out sprint all of them, so that was nice. 14.5 miles for the day.
I think I raced as best I could and I still feel like I have some good races in me. Time to spend the summer building up for the Lewis and Clark Marathon.
55 miles for week. 740 for the year.