August 2008 Training:

July 28th - August 3rd:

• Monday - 9.72 mi @ Fenton FF - ran after work out to Westside Park, then out to Fenton City Park and back via the cobblestones, so made a figure 8 loop.  Some good hills on this route.  Warm!
          7:02, 6:59, 6:37, 6:20, 6:33, 6:30, 6:22, 6:27, 6:55, 4:31 (6:18pace) = 6:37 avg
• Tuesday - 0 mi, thought of running but took day off instead
• Wednesday - 12.5 mi @ Fenton FF - after work ran to Westside Park, then headed out Bowels towards 44 and over to the Soccer Park and headed north from that to a park, then back south to Fenton City Park and back via the cobblestone way.  Great run, overcast and cool.  Started to rain while running, but not heavy - that came later tonight!  My garmin missed the first .28mi of the run, so the first split is actually 1.28mi and not 1 mile.
          9:11 (7:10pace), 6:57, 6:12, 6:13, 6:12, 6:20, 6:26, 6:19, 6:16, 6:22, 6:42, 6:24, 1:25 (6:19pace) = 6:29 avg
• Thursday - 5.3 mi @ Castlewood - 1.87mi warmup before practice to see how the body felt, and then 3.43mi loop during practice.  Went to Six Flags all day before hand, ate food about an hour before practice and decided to try and run - didn't feel so hot.  Took it real easy, and by the end of the second run started to get the stomach cramps but finished.  Got the feeling that I wanted to throw up but just couldn't.  Later out to eat with the other coaches and headed home to crash.
          7:49, 6:21 (7:19pace) = 7:35 avg for 1.87mi
            7:29, 7:06, 7:05, 2:58 (6:54pace) = 7:11 avg for 3.43mi
• Friday - 0 mi
• Saturday - 0 mi
• Sunday - 12.89 mi @ Apt - AWESOME weather!  70 degrees and overcast, huge change from the 90+ degrees the last couple days, so took advantage of it.  Made a new loop from my place by heading out to Big Bend through the back roads, then to Sappington and on to the Grant's Trial.  Took that to Gravois, which along the way ran past Matt K. out on his 13mi, and took Gravois back to the River Des Peres trail.  That segment however was the most boring, 3 miles of it.  By about 10-11 miles I needed a restroom so veered off into the woods along the trail thankfully.  Then continued my way back home.  Felt great the whole time, just nice and relaxed.
          7:29, 6:54, 6:39, 6:39, 6:34, 6:29, 6:20, 6:29, 6:33, 6:32, 6:42, 6:35, 5:42 (6:26pace) = 6:39 avg
  • Weekly Total - 40.41 miles

August 4th - August 10th:

• Monday - 6.33 mi @ Apt - Ran w/ Proctor who was in town this weekend from my place early morning.  Headed out to Francis Park and did a loop, then down to Wilmore Park and back to my place via the gravel service road.  Good run, but very hot and humid already which felt just sticky.
          7:24, 6:38, 6:34, 6:45, 7:16, 6:43, 2:17 (6:50pace) = 6:54 avg
• Tuesday - 7.32 mi @ MHS - ran w/ Brad from practice.  Ran part of a Lix loop but then cut over to Westridge loop and back via Kehrs Mill.  Weather dropped several degrees since the start of the run to the finish, and then the storm moved in after we had finished up.  Perfect timing.  Run felt good overall, despite needing the bathroom at the finish which Brad took advantage of that situation by pushing the pace on me.  Pay back I guess for all the times I got him on a run!  :)
          7:22, 7:06, 6:44, 6:38, 6:34, 6:39, 6:14, 1:50 (5:44pace) = 6:43 avg
• Wednesday - 0 mi, body just tired.
• Thursday - 6.5 mi @ Castlewood - practice ran w/ Brad, Cameron and Justin.  About 1mi into the run a thunderstorm opened up and just poured, which made the run much more exciting as the trails all became like little rivers pretty much, footing was bad.  Plan was to go out and do the 10mi loop, I opted to take the "Mickey Mouse" loop back and cut my run short in hopes to get back to the start before the HS kids started to leave, to make sure no one got stuck out there.  The rest of the guys continued on.  Felt good overall though despite slow times.  Drills and strides afterwards in the grass.  Ran let up by the end, and then it was perfect outside.  It was a nice break though from the heat and humidity.
• Friday - 4.87 mi @ Missouri River Greenway - after work ran the new path out in Chesterfield Valley, and actually took it all the way back around to the FF store, and then took Boone's Crossing bridge back over to the path and back to the start.  Very cool trail as there is a gravel path/road that runs right by the paved trail, so I took that which was nice on the legs.  Very flat - hopefully they don't pave over the gravel in the future, as this trail is supposedly going to be about a 12 mi loop all around the Valley.  Felt very good and took it easy since I decided to jump in a 4 miler tomorrow, so wasn't intending to go long as not much turn around time for the legs.
• Saturday - 8 mi @ Delmar - 2mi warm up and cool down for 4 total there.  Ran in the Ghisallo's Scorcher 4 Miler, first time putting this one on, and had an awesome time!  Walked away with a 5 second PR @ 20:35 and just felt so smooth and relaxed the entire way.  Tucked in behind eventual winner Dusty Lopez and was on his shoulder up till just before 3 miles before he got a gap on me.  He finished in 20:12 as I took 2nd overall, 1st in my age group.  Didn't look at any splits for the run till the 3rd mile when I saw 15:30 on my watch.  Everything else was just on feel - every time Dusty picked up the pace I was right there.  The course was VERY hilly, and I think that was ultimately did me in near the end when Dusty got away - I hadn't done much training with hills lately so I was concerned a bit on how I would respond, but overall I was very excited.  I think had I prepared for a hilly run things might have gone much better.  I am still pumped to have run a PR with no hard core training, just been getting in the mileage here and there on how I feel...so this was a huge surprise for me.  I look forward to once Tim and I set up an organized training plan for either the end of 2008 or starting 2009!
          5:09, 5:15, 5:05, 5:04 = 5:08 avg
• Sunday - 10.91 mi | 5.71mi @ Forest Park - easy recovery run around the park, just took it easy to shake out the legs and ran how I felt.  Looked at the splits afterwards and was very happy with the run as it felt very good and smooth, was not expecting those times today.  Worked the store today 1-5pm and then decided to join Billy on a run and show him the new loop along the Valley, Jared joined us.  We took this nice and easy...so much slower than the morning run which still felt good - the legs though didn't feel good till after .75mi into the run, a lot of it I think was just from working most of the day mixed with the morning run.  Felt good though.
          7:01, 6:23, 6:10, 6:16, 6:02, 4:19 (6:04pace) = 6:20 avg for 5.71mi
          7:54, 7:06, 6:58, 7:09, 6:57, 1:31 (7:33pace) = 7:14 avg for 5.2mi
  • Weekly Total - 43.93 miles

August 11th - August 17th: XC practices starts the 11th, school resumes the 13th

• Monday - 9.38 mi @ Missouri River Greenway - 1st day of practice @ 6:30am, then after practice ran on the gravel trail from the ice rink and headed out West till the end and back.  Probably not the best time to run as there was a truck spraying some chemical on the gravel road so I doubt that was healthy to breathe in, but the run felt good.  I was heading into the wind on the way back though.  31:14 at 4.7mi out, and 29:15 at 4.68mi back.
          7:33, 6:35, 6:21, 6:19, 6:20, 6:19, 6:12, 6:16, 6:19, 2:20 (6:10pace) = 6:28 avg
• Tuesday - 0 mi, rest day for the legs and got in the ice bath after work.
• Wednesday - 8.76 mi @ Laclede Station loop - easy run after work from the apartment, debated on what loop to run and made a new route up.  Got stuck by the train at the end though, otherwise felt good after 2 miles - till then the legs were a bit rusty.
          7:34, 7:00, 6:40, 6:33, 6:22, 6:32, 6:32, 6:45, 4:55 (6:28pace) = 6:43 avg
• Thursday - 4 mi @ MHS - got in mileage by running around the loop I created for the kids on their fartlek.
• Friday - 0 mi
• Saturday - 5.63 mi @ Chubb Trail - ran after work easy and took the Castlewood loop section.  Felt pretty good, better after 2 miles in and felt like I could do more but forced myself to just do the loop and call it a day.  Did drill afterwards on the road.
          7:43, 7:22, 7:06, 6:39, 6:43, 4:53 (7:48pace) = 7:11 avg
• Sunday - 5.23 mi @ Chesterfield Greenway Trail - run before work w/ Karey from the FF store, heading out over Boone's Crossing bridge and taking the new trail by the levee and back around under the highway and took Edison back to the store.  Felt great overall despite the weather warming up as we ran.
          7:32, 7:22, 7:38, 7:46, 7:38, 1:44 (7:43pace) = 7:36 avg
  • Weekly Total - 33.02 miles

August 18th - August 24th: Alumni race Saturday @ MHS

• Monday - 7.19 mi @ Francis Park/RDP Trail - after closing at work ran from apt to Francis Park for 2 loops then took Jamison to Gravois and back on the River Des Peres (RDP) trail.  Drills and strides afterwards.  Perfect weather!
          7:41, 6:52, 6:26, 6:18, 6:08, 6:09, 1:11 (6:09pace) = 6:32 avg
• Tuesday - 5.87 mi @ Francis Park - after practice ran from the apt, heading up to the Metro Link first and back along the gravel path and over to Francis Park for one loop.  After that I broke off and ran loops around in the grass before finishing one final loop and back home the normal way.  Drills afterwards, felt good.
          7:09, 6:33, 6:11, 6:10, 6:12, 5:19 (6:04pace) = 6:24 avg
• Wednesday - 6.87 mi w/ Tempo - after working close, went to the parents place for some laundry and decided to try my luck at a tempo run while I waited.  Ran 1.26mi for a warm-up and then just jumped into the tempo with no real game plan other than to not look at the watch and go by feel.  Figure maybe shoot to aim around 5:40's on this one, as it was my first workout back really.  Things were going great till the final mile (4 mile tempo run) which was mainly due to the lack of eating today (worked 10-2, coached, and worked 6-8...ran out of fuel on this one).  Ran 1.61mi for a cool down.
          5:37, 5:35, 5:32, 5:52 = 5:39 avg 4M tempo
• Thursday - 3.65 mi @ 24HR Fitness - ran a Denwoods loop from the gym as a warm-up/shakeout and did some lifting then got in the pool for a total of 300m worth of swimming.
• Friday - 1.89 mi @ MHS - ran around campus making up the course for tomorrow, so little mileage.  Opted out of run after working late.
• Saturday - 8.02 mi @ MHS AM and Creve Coeur in the PM - Alumni Race!  Team photos in the morning, which was followed by the parent meeting and then the race.  My warm-up consisted of putting on my shoes and jogging to the start line.  Alumni squad was definitely down this year, but we finally had one from '97 which was a first, Matt Stocke.  Race went well for the most part, I basically was the rabbit.  I started out slow behind some of the guys, but eventually took over the lead and made sure they knew where to go.  Just sort of cruised along, and had a cushion over Ben who was chasing me down.  Different course from past years due to some construction on campus and the fact that our track was torn up.  In the afternoon I went out to Creve Coeur Lake to get in some more mileage (5.52) which I broke out the iPod again and just relaxed as I ran to the music to take the mind off things and not focus on pace - worked out well!
          5:30, 4:07 (5:30pace) = 5:30 avg for 1.75 miles
            7:04, 6:25, 6:21, 6:11, 6:01, 3:00 (5:45pace) = 6:21 avg 
• Sunday - 11.86 mi @ Chubb Trail - ran after work starting from Lone Elk and headed out to West Tyson.  Bathroom break at 5.52mi upon reaching West Tyson.  Felt pretty good for the first half, then my body pretty much shut down on the return and my focus was then to watch the footing and keep the legs moving.  Wasn't pretty.  At 11.7mi was the start of the final long uphill so I decided to walk a little bit till I hit 12mi then jogged in the final bit to finish at 12.16mi total - 11.86 of which I ran.  I desperately needed some food and drinks to replenish the system afterwards as I was exhausted!  Perfect day for trail running though!  3.7mi was the beginning of the big hills which lasted through just before mile 9 - this run kicked my ass today.
          7:32, 6:47, 7:02, 7:12, 7:44, 7:46, 8:12, 8:31, 7:53, 7:47, 7:51, 6:57 (.86mi) = 7:41 avg
  • Weekly Total - 45.35 miles

August 25th - August 31st:

• Monday - 7.73 mi @ 24HR Fitness - Dierberg's loop after closing work.  TOok it nice and easy running out along Claymont to Sudbury, Kehrs Mill over to Holloway, cut through to Baxter and then behind Dierberg's to Henry and back to Clayton and finish at the gym.  Nice run overall felt relaxed.  Getting much better at not checking the watch for splits while I run and waiting till after to look - I try and guess what my pace felt like and typically can get right on or within 1-2 seconds...or I guess really slow than what I ran.  After run I went in to do some lifting.
          7:37, 7:03, 6:43, 6:36, 6:36, 6:40, 6:31, 4:41 (6:25pace) = 6:47 avg
• Tuesday - 8.46 mi @ MHS UNO's loop - ran after court tonight from school, running on feel, which was pretty good.  Drills after in parking lot.
          7:19, 6:49, 6:35, 6:21, 5:52, 5:52, 5:48, 6:07, 2:40 (5:51pace) = 6:19 avg
• Wednesday - 3.9 mi @ Francis Park - ran after work from apt, up to Metro Link and over to Francis Park for one loop then back home.  Short and easy shakeout.  Wore my Nike Sportband on this one to compare with the garmin - what a POS.  It had me at 1.27mi in 22min compared to the garmin 3.9mi in 25:39...at least it was free so can't complain I guess.
          7:08, 6:32, 6:25, 5:33 (6:12pace) = 6:35 avg
• Thursday - 7.81 mi @ Lindbergh - track workout 4 x 2K w/ 4min rest - first track workout since the marathon, and it showed.  Goal was to hit 4-6 x 2K's @ 10K pace w/ 4min rest.  The first one I could use my watch to check splits and aim for 80.? each lap, establishing that feel.  After that one I had to just go by feel and not look at the watch as I ran...see what happens.  Did a mile warm-up on the track and some drills, then got underway.  A bit fast on the first lap (76-77) but then on pace the rest of them as I split 5:17 for the mile and 6:38 for the 2K, right on.  The second one I didn't look at the watch, as tempting as it was, and nailed it again at 6:38 with a 5:16 mile split (I took the split as I ran but didn't look till I was done).  The third one I was good till about 400-600m left when my body faultered a bit and split 6:45 with a 5:20 mile.  My body really ran out of gas on the fourth one as it was like running in slow motion the whole time and split 6:51 with a 5:28 mile.  I opted to call it after that with a mile cool down on the roads.  Weather wasn't terrible but it really heated up quickly with a decent breeze, but no shade hurt.  Later in the day grabbed went to Fuddrecker's for a pound burger which went down nicely!  : )
• Friday - 7.97 mi @ Francis Park/Wilmore Park/RDP Trail - ran after work from apt again with the Nike Sportband along w/ the garmin.  Still not correct as it had 6.12mi instead of the 7.97mi.  Ran the same loop as Wednesday but instead of heading home went South along Jamison towards Wilmore Park and continued South of Gravois till I hit the bridge that crosses over for the trail, then took the RDP trail back home.  Overall it was a great run, but now the garmin 405 is acting up as it froze up later that night while I was home....not having the best of luck with electronics right now...
          7:10, 6:33, 6:17, 6:07, 6:01, 6:04, 5:50, 5:45 (5:54pace) = 6:15 avg
• Saturday - 0 mi, wasn't planned as an off day but went home and watched Hero's season 2 the rest of the day.  Felt nice to give the legs a break.
• Sunday - 6.2 mi @ Forest Park - Nike Human Race put on by FLEET FEET.  We were hosting a 10K run along the path this morning so I decided to join in and get in a 4mi tempo run in the middle of this, since it wasn't really a "road race" but rather more just a big group run.  I ran easy for the first mile as my warm-up and then from there started the 4mi tempo and used the final 1.2mi as the cool down.  Ran the whole thing in 36:44 nice and relaxed - and yet the Nike sport band still was jacked up as it read 4.49 miles.  Maybe someday I might figure this thingy out...oh well.  Good to know I am not the only one who has issues with this as several others did.  On the flip side at least there were those who it worked fine for.
          7:00, 5:38, 5:28, 5:33, 5:33, 6:19, 1:13 = 5:55 avg for 6.2mi
            (5:38, 5:28, 5:33, 5:33 = 5:33 avg for 4mi tempo)
  • Weekly Total - 42.07 miles