February 2009 Training
 

January 26th - February 1st:  SURF CITY MARATHON SUNDAY!

• Mon - 9.43 mi @ FE store before work
  • 6:44, 6:48, 6:31, 6:26, 6:20, 6:45, 6:33, 6:10, 6:00, 2:27(5:43pace) splits - starting from the store ran out the same way as the social run, then went right on Bowles to Fenway instead of left.  The 6 mile mark was right when I rejoined the social run loop at the top of the final uphill and then ran it in reverse, excluding the little out and back section.  Good run overall, just kinda took it easy.
• Tue - 4.76 mi @ 24-Hr Fitness w/ Serena
  • Weather was really bad as snow/sleet moved in late Monday and then heavy snow all day long - roads really bad to drive on so ended up running on the treadmill with Serena at the gym - I hate treadmills, at least this way I would have company.  I got there late due to traffic and having to grab some clothes so I only got in the final 30min with Serena as she already had been running when I got there.  Just jumped on and ran first mile @ 9mph, then bumped it up to 9.5mph for a few minutes before raising it to 10mph and left it there the rest of the time - felt nice and easy as we talked most of the time.  Also ran into Jay Orr towards the end of my run.
• Wed - 3.09 mi from apt before work
  • 7:48, 6:36, 6:17, 0:36(7:09pace) splits - Started out along the paved path but that was entirely covered in shin deep snow so worked my way over to Watson and took that to Jamieson and ran along there and back since the roads were pretty decent. 
• Thu - 0 mi, Leave for CA!
• Fri - 5.89 mi @ Laguna Canyon Conservation
  • Intended to get in a nice easy run on some trails but after 1.5mi into it that was not gonna happen - the path basically went straight uphill after that.  Fun and cool run to go on, but was definitely a quad killer as I had to come back down the hill - I later grabbed the camera at the end of the run and went back up it to take photos!  I threw time out the window after seeing it took me 11+ min for one of the miles...so I just ran distance basically.
• Sat - 5.57 mi @ Santa Ana from cousin's apt
  • 6:52, 6:24, 6:32, 6:42, 6:37, 3:43(6:31pace) splits - Grabbed breakfast then headed to the expo.  After that I ran from Steph's place and kept it flat along the sidewalks, towards the end I found a park that had about .5mi perimeter gravel/dirt path before heading back to finish.  Good run although I could really feel it in the quads from yesterday!
• Sun - 26.36 mi - SURF CITY MARATHON!
  • 6:12, 5:59, 5:43, 5:47, 5:38, 5:29, 5:31, 5:34, 5:50, 5:44, 5:48, 6:01, 5:54, 5:49, 5:51, 5:41, 5:46, 5:58, 6:19, 6:13, 6:01, 6:06, 6:00, 6:10, 6:00, 6:01, 2:03(5:39pace) splits - 94sec PR @ 2:35:20 for 3rd overall and 1st in my age group.  After 3 miles I was on my own the rest of the race, 5min back from 2nd and 7+min ahead of 4th.  Felt very comfortable and relaxed on this run as I enjoyed watching the waves along the ocean until miles 18-19 when I got the feeling to use the restroom - that forced me to slow my pace a bit to fight that off as I wasn't going to stop at that point.  That feeling came and went the rest of the way but somehow I managed to fight it off.  They had chip timing as well so below are the splits I got from that - some of their mile markers were way off, either too far apart or too close at times and they had no half-marathon split which kinda sucked, but I think I was around 1:15:50-1:16:00 range based on my pace through 13 miles.
    • 3 mile = 18:02 (6:01pace)
    • 6 mile = 34:53 (5:49pace) - 16:51 3mi split
    • 12.2 mile = 1:11:19 (5:51pace) - 36:26 10K split
    • 20 mile = 1:56:43 (5:51pace)
    • 26.2 mile = 2:35:20 (5:56pace) - 38:37 10K split
  • Weekly Total - 55.1 miles

February 2nd - February 8th:  VEGAS!  :D

• Mon - 0 mi, vacation in Vegas!
• Tue - 0 mi, drove back to CA and played on Newport Beach till sunset
• Wed - 0 mi, spent most of the day @ Crystal Cove on the beach
• Thu - 0 mi, relaxed after spending day in Laguna
• Fri - 0 mi, fly back to STL early morning
• Sat - 0 mi, back to work...weather is nice here though, can't complain
• Sun - 0 mi, legs and body feel great and fighting the urge to run - if still feel this good tomorrow will run some on trails
  • Weekly Total - 0 miles

February 9th - February 15th:

• Mon - 6.04 mi @ Creve Couer Lake
  • 6:55, 6:40, 6:42, 6:27, 6:23, 6:05, 0:13(5:43pace) splits - Great run!  Weather was 68 degrees, got up to 71-72 today...sweet.  Thought about running on trails originally but opted to just run at Creve Coeur Lake since hadn't been there in awhile and it was nice out despite the insane wind.  Parked by the waterfall and ran counter-clockwise and included the little out and back path to make it 6.  Wore the iPod on this and just ran listening to the music and not worried about pace - first run back so just had some fun.  Felt awesome out there and not like I just ran a marathon a week ago - after about 1.5mi or so I was running against the wind all the way till I hit just over 4 miles, then I finally had it at my back - it sucked but at least I could crank up the tunes and just listen to that.  Felt like I was running in place and slow but looking at the splits later I was surprised.  It just felt so good to be back out there.  I wore my Mizuno Precisions 9 to find out if I might go back to running in those since my Haywards are no longer being made - figures, every time I find a shoe I love they stop making it, idiots.  I was able to track some down so I plan on ordering as many as possible to stock up if I can but until then I am not sure how much longer I can get on my current pair - the Mizuno's held up fine but they are no match to my Haywards so I think I may go back to the Nike's for a bit. 
• Tue - 5.9 mi @ Fenton FF loop
  • 6:43, 6:31, 6:11, 5:58, 6:00, 5:17(5:52pace) splits - Another awesome day as it got up to the 70s again!  Thought about running at the social run in SC around 7pm but wasn't sure about the rain so decided to just run right after work at 4pm when it was still sunny and warm outside.  Made a new loop basically combining parts of the social run loop there with some other roads....I had a hard time finishing as I really wanted to go longer today but capped it off close to 6 miles, since 5 was really what I had planned to run today, the rest was bonus.  Legs feel great and I wore the Haywards again on this - felt so much smoother than the Precisions....why do shoes wear out?!  Oh well, eventually they will need to be replaced but I may squeak out a few more miles from them before they die!  :)
• Wed - 4.38 mi @ home
  • 7:08, 6:47, 6:38, 6:31, 2:25(6:18pace) splits - Easy run in the rain from parents place, pretty simple loop.  Ran this before work with a light rain - the heavy stuff moved in later.  Feeling good but wanted to take this run even easier to give the legs a chance to just plod along.  Little bit chillier out today compared to the last two days, but not bad. 
• Thu - 13.03 mi | 8mi @ MHS - Target loop / 5.03mi @ FF Social Run
  • 7:20, 7:01, 6:44, 6:50, 7:06, 6:54, 6:52, 6:35 splits - Ran w/ Nick and Scott after school on the Target loop.  Great run and perfect weather!  Took a quick 5-8min ice bath afterwards before heading to the social run later that night.  Also had run a half mile warm-up and drills prior to meeting them for the run.
  • 6:44, 6:18, 6:06, 5:56, 5:48, 0:09(5:54pace) splits - Easy run on my own since no one went with me at the start.  Legs felt really good on this one as I just got into my cruise mode and pretty much thought about running in CA along the ocean, as the path pretty much reminded me of that only minus the ocean.  Little cooler out, but still nice, and afterwards over for pizza and drinks!  YAY, missed this tradition the last 2 weeks.  :D
• Fri - 0 mi
• Sat - 5.22 mi @ Fenton Social Run
  • Small crowd today due to other local races, so decided to run with the group as we had half new people.  Easy run with a couple loop backs to make sure people didn't get lost. 
• Sun - 0 mi, resting the legs from yesterday
  • Weekly Total - 34.57 miles

February 16th - February 22nd:

• Mon - 0 mi, still resting the legs to make sure they are fine
• Tue - 13.51 mi | 8.68mi @ MHS w/ Billy and Serena after work, then 4.83mi @ SC Social run
  • 7:26, 6:57, 6:34, 7:08, 6:53, 6:36, 6:58, 6:45, 4:39(6:50pace) splits - UNO's loop w/ Billy and Serena.  Paces were all over the place, even though it has some good hills, just didn't feel fluid.  Struggled at the end with the stomach as needed to use the bathroom, wasn't fun.  Billy ran with us till we hit Country Ridge and Baxter on the way back before parting to hit his house.
  • 6:38, 6:29, 6:14, 6:11, 5:35(6:42pace) splits - Social run in the evening about an hour or so after my other run.  Hoped some faster guys would be there but nope, so it was just me again.  Someone ran up right behind me just before the mile mark (which was downhill) so I thought I had some company but after the next uphill I was all alone as they slowed way down.  I felt really good on this run tlil that final mile, then my stomach acted up again and I barely made it back to the store, having to cut the run a little short running to the bathroom!  Otherwise it was a piece of cake run.
• Wed - 10.66 mi @ Queeny w/ Serena FARTLEK
  • Off work today, so ran workout w/ Serena around the park.  25min warm up, 5 x 5min fast w/ 1min rest / 25min cool down.  She started before I got there so I ran the 20min warmup with her and then we got going - my legs felt great on this run.  During the cool down we stopped at one of the buildings, and then resumed running - I should have known that was bad for me as my stomach got me good later on with about 10-15min left to run!  It sucked.
• Thu - 5.03 mi @ CH Social Run w/ Billy
  • 7:36, 7:10, 6:47, 6:44, 6:41, 0:13(7:00pace) splits - very easy run w/ Billy on the paved path.  Planned on running with my iPod since I had been running by myself on these the last few times but he showed up so I ditched it.  Good run as we talked the whole time, and once again my stomach acted up at the end.  What the hell, guess it is something I am eating this week?  Pizza and drinks afterwards as usual!
• Fri - 0 mi, rest day
• Sat - 5 mi @ FE Social Run
  • 7:07, 7:13, 6:32, 7:10, 6:22 splits - easy run as the weather was crappy for the most part.  Snowing hard with wind gusts up to 20-29mph and in the 20s.  Thankfully the wind was going out so the first 2 miles were the roughest as I felt like I was getting blown all over the place...then at 3.5mi the stomach once again made its presence known and I just barely made it back to the store.  This is getting annoying, although I do admit to eating pretty crappy yesterday at work - they had so many tasty treats sitting there though!!!  :D
• Sun - 13 mi @ Creve Coeur Lake w/ Serena - PROGRESSIVE RUN
  • 7:25, 7:06, 6:55, 6:47, 6:34, 6:18, 6:09, 5:59, 5:51, 5:56, 5:54, 6:03, 2:59(5:58pace) splits on progressive run @ 12.5 miles / 4:18 split on cool down .5mi - Serena had an 80min progressive run that I joined so she could get an idea of what paces she was running with my garmin.  We started out at the Sailboat Cove parking lot and ran counter-clockwise including the little out-n-back section to make one loop of the park 6mi and ran that twice plus an extra half mile out to complete the time.  We jogged back slowly for the cool down to our cars.  Ran went perfect - we talked most of the way and I had her carrying on a conversation relatively easy till just before mile mark 9, then she went silent the rest of the way.  Miles 6 and 12 were straight into the head wind as that was running from the waterfall parking lot back to Sailboat Cove parking lot where we started so we were out in the open by the lake on that stretch.  Mile 12 I had slowed up a bit to let her get behind me so she could draft off me heading into the wind.  I felt very good on this run and she looked very strong the whole time.  Funny how this is actually my longest run since a year ago if you don't count my half-marathon and marathon races!  I wore my new shoes on this as well and wow what a difference those made - well worth the 2 hour+ drive to pick them up!  : )
  • Weekly Total - 47.2 miles

February 23rd - March 1st:

• Mon - 0 mi, took the day off working 10-8
• Tue - 14.39 mi | 9.37mi w/ Serena's FARTLEK, then 5.02mi @ SC Social Run
  • 7:22, 7:01, 6:07, 5:39, 6:20, 6:12, 6:07, 7:05, 7:18, 2:44(7:30pace) splits - Joined Serena for her workout which consisted of 15min warm-up / 10 x 2 min on with 1 min rest / 15min cool down.  We ran from her place, and due to traffic went 17min for the warm-up before starting, and I just left the garmin going on mile splits and not actual splits of our workout.  The first two she took them pretty fast which I definitely could feel it, but then we finally established a pace for each one after.  When we finished the last surge we split 7.26mi overall, and going back over the splits on my computer with the garmin we were covering anywhere between .31mi to .37mi for each 2min segment, and around .12mi to .17mi for each 1min, then we just continued easy running back to her place along Manchester road.  Decent weather, but dropped 10 degrees in the time it took me to drive from 141 to her place!   Was 55 but then was 45-47 degrees during the run. 
  • 7:14, 6:57, 6:40, 6:22, 6:28, 0:09(6:38pace) splits - Decided to go ahead and run at the social run in Saint Charles that evening, and started off with AJ, Josh and Jeff for the first half mile till Jeff took off so I went with him and then it was just the two of us the rest of the run talking.  Felt good.  Got drinks later
• Wed - 5.08 mi @ Metro Link to Francis Park loop
  • 7:08, 6:34, 6:25, 6:28, 6:19, 0:24(6:11pace) splits - very easy run before work, basically a shakeout.  Felt a little sluggish which I figured was more from yesterday's two runs than anything else.  Ran up to Metro Link station via the paved path and back down the other side on the gravel one before heading over to Francis Park for 2 loops in the grass and then back to the apt the basic way.  Relaxing run overall and great weather!  Warming up...
• Thu - 15.15 mi | 8.29mi w/ Serena TEMPO, followed by 1.86mi trail run, then Social Run
  • Serena had a 45min tempo run where we ran out along the paved and gravel paths by Glencoe Mini Train Station.  We took the first 5min as a warm-up before starting the 45min.  I had her talking the whole time till perhaps the final 2 miles or so when it was just me talking, but overall I felt great - pretty much like a normal run which is good.  Serena ran very well and kept things nice and even so she is getting stronger each week now - our 6:12 split should have probably been more closer to 6:00 but that involved a brief slow down with our turn around to head back, otherwise the rest felt smooth.  Weather was awesome as it got sunny towards the end and in the 60s!  Only got 1:14 in for a cool down as she was pressed for time, so after she left I chose to run this dirt trail nearby that said it was 2 miles (garmin had it short)
        5:01(7:10pace) warm-up @ .70 mi
        6:15, 5:58, 5:54, 6:12, 5:54, 6:02, 5:57, 2:44(6:03pace) tempo @ 7.45 mi
        1:14(9:12pace) cool down @ .14 mi
  • 8:36, 5:44(6:42pace) splits - Ran the Turkey Ridge Trail from the parking lot as my cool down.  Nice trail - first .5mi is all up hill and lots of zig-zags, then you get .25mi downhill which is great footing, then another .25mi uphill.  From the mile mark back to the start is basically all downhill but thankfully very little to no zig-zagging.  Weather was perfect on this as clear skies and sunny, made for a very cool trail run!  Posted sign says it is 2 miles but garmin had it 1.86 miles.
  • Planning on running the Social Run again tonight with Serena for an easy 5 miler...
• Fri - 5.16 mi @ MHS Library loop
  • 8:29, 8:00, 7:11, 7:11, 7:13, 1:10(7:13pace) splits - easy run w/ Nick, Scott and Jake from school - Jake ran with us for first 2 miles before splitting off then Nick, Scott and I continued on.  Worked 10-2 then 6-8 so ran between work.  Also ran .5mi before plus drills.
• Sat - 5 mi @ Fenton Social Run
  • 7:10, 6:13, 6:14, 5:58, 5:45 splits - Ran loop in reverse, liked this route better.  Wore the iPod on this and just cruised along, felt good.
• Sun - 12 mi @ Creve Coeur Lake w/ Billy and Jeff
  • 7:15, 6:48, 6:39, 6:46, 6:37, 6:34, 6:22, 6:16, 6:13, 6:17, 6:21, 6:16 splits - ran before work, 2 loops around the park.  Billy ran 1 loop with us, then it was just Jeff and I the second loop.  Felt good, very windy on the final 2-3 miles of each loop.
  • Weekly Total - 56.77 miles