An easy 6

Today's weather was once again ideal for running. After school, I ran the "Chasselle" 6 mile loop. The pace today was a litter slower, about 8:50 per mile as I was a little sore from yesterday's strength training. Up next, an easy 4 tomorrow morning.

First "Long Run"

The first "long run" on the plan called for 8 miles. Long is a relative term as 8 miles is not really that long of a run, however is it the longest run I have done in months. I ran with Kevin, Kati and Liz and cruised along Grant's Trail at about 8:30pace. The weather was ideal for running except for the wind as it was about 50 degrees. It felt great to get out there and run for more than hour.

So, the first of 14 weeks is completed with a total of 32 miles. I am starting to feel a bit stronger but I know that the plan's real challenges lie ahead...

An easy run in perfect condition

Yesterday was one of only four schduled off-days in the next three months so I was looking forward to getting back out there.
The conditions were perfect today. It was about 68 degrees with no wind. I ran about 8:30 pace around Kirkwood and felt pretty good. Up next...8 miles tomorrow with Liz, Kati and Kevin at Grant's Trail.

CHESTERFIELD TURKEY TROT 5k

Today was the first day in a number of weeeks that it has been cold and windy. I raced in a hat, gloves and running tights. I probably was a bit overdressed but actually raced fairly well. I came through the first mile in about 6:20, then hit the two mile in 12:45, which is sub 20:00 pace. I felt like I was maintaining that pace but a large hill in the last mile got the best of me. I ended up running 20:22 which is only about 20 seconds from my PR (post high school PR, that is). I placed 9th of 110 in my my age group of 30-34 year old men and 72 of 2357 overall (this includes walkers etc.)

What a great way to start Thanksgiving. We ran with many friends and went to Joe and Waff's house after the race for bagels and juice. It was great to see everyone. Liz also ran a PR of 26:41 and Kati and Kevin raced faster than last week as well. Congrats to Klug for winning the De Smet division with a time of about 19:35. Way to go!

Looking forward to the rest of the day, Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday - Gearing up for tomorrow's Turkey Trot

Numerous errands and a little bit of school work combined with the packet pick up, meant that this four miler took place in the dark around 5:00. Once again, the weather was great for running as I ran a two mile loop, near my condo, 2 times. I ran at a 9:00 pace in an effort to save my legs for the morning. Looking forward to running tomorrow morning with Liz and many friends - Josh, Liz, Joe, Waff, Rob, Josh, Jenny, Kati, Kevin and hopefully a few others. No real goals for tomorrow, I just plan to get out and an aggressive pace and see how fit I am.

Tuesday, November 24 - Off to Grant's Trail

Liz and I met up with Kati and Kevin for a 6 mile run on Grant's Trail, beginning at Big Bend. We ran in the dark, but the weather was actually pretty nice, a little cool, but a good temperature to run in. Kevin and I cruised along at about 8:20 pace. Felt great, certainly much better than yesterday. The post-race soreness is gone!

Monday, November 23 - Let the training begin!

I started following my 14 week plan developed by Tim Bradley, SLU assistant cross country and track coach and Big River Running personal coach. The plan is designed to prepare me to run a sub 3:30 marathon (8:00 min per mile) at the end of February. My current PR is 3:39 (8:22 per mile)from Memphis in 2006. The plan starts off with mostly easy runs. As a matter of fact, most of the runs, I will do during this training segment will be between 8:00 - 9:30 per mile. However, I will be running 7 days a week (for the most part) and several times per week, I will have to run between 6:30 and 8:00 per mile.

The first run on the plan was an easy 4 mile run. I certainly ran at an easy pace as I was still pretty sore from yesterday's St. Louis Track Club Marathon Relay. Liz and I raced the marathon with our friends and new training partners, Kevin and Kati. We each had to run 2 legs of 3.26 miles. I ran 6:43/6:50/6:50 per mile then 75 minutes later, I ran 6:59/6:59/7:07 per mile. Not too bad, considering I had not raced since late August due to a busy XC season at De Smet. All four of us had a blast and plan to make it a yearly tradition.

Anyway, I ran the 4 miles at a unusually slow place, but I am feeling motivated to get this thing started!