Doing What I Can

first run of 2011 and the weather was absolutely brutal. temp was 10, but windchill was -10. 25 mph winds out of the west hurt. splits:

1- 7:24.2

2- 7:23.6

last .5--3:45 (7:30 pace)

TOTAL--18:33, 7:25 avg

second "long run" of the year. All the way up to 5.5 miles. temp was 22, wc was 15, not too bad for a night run this time of the year. Felt really smooth throughout and conciously picked up the effort on the 4th mile to GMP. Splits:

1- 7:12.1

2- 7:21.3

3- 7:21.2

4- 6:54.1

5- 7:22.9

last .5--3:42, 7:24 pace

TOTAL-- 39:54, 7:15 avg

easy 4 this morning. Not too bad outside, 15 with light winds. Splits:

1- 7:23.2

2- 7:09.4

3- 7:13.1

4- 7:11.3

TOTAL-- 28:57, 7:14 avg

2 mile tempo today. Much better than last week's tempo. temps were near 40, so felt good weather wise. Legs wise, i was a bit tight, but still managed even splits:

1- 6:00.6

2- 6:05.8

TOTAL-- 12:06, 6:03 avg

plus weights

broke out the old shoes for a run today. 4.5, sposed to be recovery pace but my splits were pretty normal. I felt really easy and like i slowed it down, just had a little more today i guess. No worries, splits:

1- 7:17.7

2- 7:08.8

3- 7:12.7

4- 7:11.0

last .5-- 3:41 (7:22 pace)

TOTAL-- 32:31, 7:13 avg

5 x 800 today. The footing sucked as it had snowed about 2-3 inches overnight and the streets were still pretty covered. I made do tho, temps were mid 20s with winchills around 15 at the start of the workout and 10 by the end. The wind was really picking up out of the north. Took 2 min recovery for the first 3 800s and 2:30 on the last two. Splits:

1- 2:46.7

2- 2:44.2

3- 2:45.5

4- 2:44.6

5- 2:43.9

Overall, I was very happy with this workout. I was hoping to be between 2:50-3:00 honestly. I figured on no speed work I'd be in trouble. Although I was gassed by the 5th rep, the splits were very even and not too bad for 3 weeks of running.

Afterwards, did weights and took some protein.

super easy 2.5 today. was pretty sore and had just rolled outta bed. 19:55 total time, or 7:58 avg. i was happy to slow it down. bout 8 degrees with windchill of -6.

cold run today, temps around 10, windchill near or just below 0. felt the wind everytime i turned east, so i was pretty frozen at the end of the run. 6 mile "long run" as i continue to work my way up in mileage. Splits:

1- 7:13.9

2- 7:21.8

3- 7:07.9

4- 7:20.4

5- 7:19.3

6- 7:05.7

TOTAL-- 43:29, 7:15 avg

did 6 x strides + protein shake after

Absolutely terrible running conditions today. Got 9 inches of snow from yesterday and overnight and although some was plowed, the footing was horrible everywhere. I slid all over the place and had to slow it way down and be cautious. On top of it all, I have a sore throat and stuffed up head. All told, 4.7 (kind of got off track with all the snow) in 34:51, 7:25 avg pace.

very cold outside today, winchills below 0 so i went to the indoor track facility at iowa state and did some repeat miles. Struggled a little bit, but it was nice to get 3 reps in. Splits:

1- 5:54.9

2- 5:50.6

3- 5:51.6

Took 3 min break between each. had a decent cooldown and warmup. Did weights and took protein afterwards.

4 tough miles today. 10 degrees with windchill at -5. definitely not fun weather to run in. trudged through 4 miles in 30:31, 7:38 pace. footing was terrible throughout still and i am battling sickness.

Great workout today. Went inside on the indoor track and did a 3 mile tempo run, 16 laps on that lil 300 meter track. Definitely had to push through the last 1200, but still nailed my pace each lap and was quite steady throughout the workout. Not only were my GHMP miles very even, my warmup and cooldown mileage was done in 7:11 pace. splits:

1- 6:04.7

2- 6:04.9

3- 6:05.6

TOTAL-- 18:15, 6:05 pace; note that all my miles were within 1 second of each other, definitely an encouraging sign going forward.

after the workout took protein and hit the weights

almost jumbo jet day, not only did it feel like I had one on my back, but my first two mile splits were 7:47 and 7:37--a 7:27 or 7:57 on the last mile and I'd of had the airplane trifecta, instead my last one was 7:31 for a total time of 22:56, 7:39 avg. I  needed slow today and thats what I got, so i should be good to go on tomorrow's long-ish run of 7. Around 14 degrees with wc around 2 today.

"long" run today of 7 miles. Footing was still terrible in places. The super cold weather lately has prevented any melting on the roadways and sidewalks so anything left unplowed is now tough sledding. temps around 10, with windchills also 10. Could have been worse with a lot of wind. Splits:

1- 7:20.8

2- 7:20.5

3- 7:12.8

4- 7:21.0

5- 7:24.5

6- 7:27.0

7- 7:07.6

TOTAL-- 51:14, 7:19 pace

overall, a decent run. I have found lately that 7:20 is my long run pace. I can lock in on 7:20's and just stay right around there all day.

very cold today, around 10 degrees with -7 windchill. Going north was rough...footing is still bad too, snow melted yesterday but then we got a ton of ice and now that its cold again, many roads are just a sheet of ice. Splits:

1- 7:28.1

2- 7:02.7

3- 7:13.9

4- 7:10.1

5- 7:20.7

TOTAL-- 36:15, 7:15 avg, splits were all over the place tho

Kind of a makeshift speedworkout today. Went indoors due to the bitter cold. Was gonna try for 3.5 tempo, but stopped abruptly at 3350 meters or 2.1 miles. Then decided to run a mile and an 800 afterwards in repeat fashion with about 3 min break between each. Splits:

2.1- first mile=6:01.6, second= 6:08.3 (12:09, 6:04.5 avg) last .1--:35 total: 12:45

mile- 6:02.0

800- 2:49.1 (5:38 pace)

windchills below 0 today. ran 4.5 in 34:34, 7:41 avg. Felt pretty tired. Overnight tonight the actual temp is going to drop to -12 degrees, while the windchills will be -20, so tomorrow mornings workout will be indoors for sure.

weird but solid workout today. Went indoors as the temp is 0 and the windchill is -15. the main track is preparing for a track meet, so i went upstairs on the elevated track. wanted to do a fartlek, but with so  many people on that track i decided just to run relatively hard. Ended up running faster than GMP, but slower than GHMP, almost exactly right in the middle. did a warmup and then went right into the run without stopping to stretch...almost thought my first mile would count towards the workout, but ended up hittin that in 7:09, still relatively higher end of GMP but too normal of pace to count as anything other than a warmup. Splits:

1- 6:31.4

2- 6:34.5

3- 6:33.8

4- 6:29.9

TOTAL for 4 miles-- 26:09, 6:32 pace

did weights afterwards

heat wave, 17 degrees with 9 windchill...3 miles in 23:36, 7:52 avg.

Side note, this week's total mileage was 2.9 miles more than last week's which was 28.7 or almost 29, which represents an increase of almost exactly 10%, so my buildup is going exactly according to plan! 

8 brutal miles in the bitter cold. temp of 0 with windchills near -10 for the entire run. Definitely froze during the run. splits were pretty good though:

1- 7:05.6

2- 7:12.0

3- 7:11.2

4- 7:14.8

5- 7:09.1

6- 7:31.8 ?

7- 7:12.4

8- 7:11.2

TOTAL-- 57:48, 7:13.5 avg pace

felt like running today so i did. 5 miles in pretty decent pace. Weather was a little better, 25 degrees, wc around 15. Splits:

1- 7:10.0

2- 7:05.0

3- 7:16.2

4- 7:04.6

5- 7:04.3

TOTAL-- 35:40, 7:08 avg

did weights afterwards

horrible run today. Decided to go outside, but the temp was steadily dropping and the winds were picking up. 18 degrees with wc of 5 with flurries by the time i was all done.just felt really sluggish and was battling side cramps. splits:

1- 6:13.6

2- 6:17.5

3- 6:27.8

4- 6:29.6

TOTAL-- 25:28, 6:22 pace

definitely not the tempo i was shooting for, but i gutted it out and finished the workout anyways.

weights

5 sluggish miles today. weather is nice, near 30 degrees. Wore shorts. Splits:

1- 7:14.7

2- 7:09.7

3- 7:22.5

4- 7:14.9

5- 7:14.1

TOTAL--36:15, 7:15 pace

had planned to do 14x400 today but ran short on time so had to just do an effort based workout. Did fartlek for 6.5 miles with 4x3x2x1 on with 1 min off between reps and 2 min between the sets. Did 2 sets of that with a final 5 min on at the end after just a final 1 min set break. Estimated it to be around 4 miles hard. ran for a total of 44 min and 37 seconds for what was measured at 6.5 miles. which amounts to 6:52 pace overall with on and off included. felt pretty sluggish and legs were definitely tired, next week will be a much needed cutback week.weather was great! around 35 with light winds.

3 miles this morning at very easy pace. mid 20s with wc around 15, not too bad of weather for this time of year. Splits:

1- 7:42.8

2- 7:40.9

3- 7:37.0

TOTAL- 23:00, 7:40 avg pace

7.5 today, it was pretty cold compared to last week. temp around 12 with wc at or just below 0. Starting a cutback week, so instead of moving my long run up to 9 or 10, i dropped it back half a mile and just ran easy. will try to keep my mileage below 30 this week. then time to ramp it back up. Splits:

1- 7:08.6

2- 7:14.8

3- 7:20.9

4- 7:10.2

5- 7:19.7

6- 7:11.8

7- 7:11.5

last .5-- 3:43, 7:26 pace

TOTAL-- 54:20, 7:15 avg

epic blizzard outside today, so i ran 400s on the indoor track. Kept it between 1:17-1:21, total time added up was 5:11, 5:16, 5:20 for each mile, roughly 5:16 avg. took 1:15 recovery between reps. 

wind chills at -20 so decided to go inside today. wanted 5 miles ended up having some GI issues after 4. SPlits:

1- 7:06.6

2- 6:50.7

3- 6:52.4

4- 7:16.8

TOTAL-- 29:06, 7:02 avg

4 easy miles in 30:16, 7:34 avg. Felt pretty sluggish and out of it. temps didnt help, 10 degrees with wc of -5

3 easy miles today right after i rolled outta bed. temp 15, windchill 0. Total time was 22:39, 7:33 avg pace. 

Kicking off the first race of the 2011 season tomorrow doing a 5k in story city. Ideally I would be under 18 minutes, but anything reasonably fast would constitute a good speed workout and thats super important at this stage in my training. Weather should be a little better also, predicting 25 degrees with wc near 18-20.

12th annual rosy cheeks run today, my 1st. Temps at race time were good for this time of year, right around 20 degrees with no wind. The roads were still covered in snow and ice so the footing was rough throughout. Didn't run a great time, but i also havent done much speed work and the footing was bad. I have worked more on tempo pacing which unsurprisingly my average splits today were about right on my tempo pace. So I'll take the positive out of it. only split I got was my first mile in 5:48. Total time was 18:31, 5:58 avg pace. Got a nice little trophy for winning my age group. Once again nothing to write home about, but it's a good gauge of where I'm at and I also didn't feel too bad running. So i think my half marathon pace is pretty solidly engrained in my mind. next week i will run a 5 mile race and my goal is to hit 30:00 exactly. Should be an interesting race.

10 early this morning right after i woke up. got about an inch of snow overnight so the roads were slick in spots but overall pretty manageable. had some rougher miles in the middle of the run, but pushed through and ended with a nice run. Temp was 26 with wc at 18. Light snow showers during the run, but i was wearing shades to protect my eyes. Splits:

1- 7:18.5

2- 7:14.5

3- 7:20.2

4- 7:20.6

5- 7:22.1

6- 7:10.2

7- 7:34.1

8- 7:14.7

9- 7:26.6

10- 7:08.8

TOTAL-- 1:13:10, 7:19 avg pace

Very good workout today. Went indoors as the temp will remain below 0 today and windchills are between -15 and -20. did 6 x 1000 with 2:15 break, then at the end threw in a 400. First mile of my warmup was GMP. Splits on the repeats:

1- 3:29.9 (5:35 pace)

2- 3:30.8 (5:37 pace)

3- 3:27.4 (5:31 pace)

4- 3:28.0 (5:33 pace)

5- 3:30.1 (5:36 pace)

6- 3:28.8 (5:34 pace)

400 on the end- 1:17, 5:08 pace

Overall a very good workout, i am very happy with a workout at those paces.

6 miles today in the bitter cold. 8 degrees with the windchill at -10. Definitely felt the cold anytime i turned north and west. Splits:

1- 7:25.3

2- 7:14.1

3- 7:16.0

4- 7:17.6

5- 7:16.8

6- 7:09.3

TOTAL-- 43:39, 7:16.5 avg pace

4 easy miles today. Weather was better. 19 degrees, wc of 6. It was still cold but not biting like the last few days. Definitely a relief. Felt really calm and easy on this run. splits:

1- 7:26.3

2- 7:28.2

3- 7:25.0

4- 7:12.5

TOTAL-- 29:32, 7:23 avg pace

2 miles in 14:18, 7:09 pace. Felt really easy and fresh. Weather is getting better too, mid-30s with wc's in the high 20s. Should be similar temps for race time tomorrow. Gonna run a 5 mile road race in Des Moines. Although I have run 27:33 for an 8k before, tomorrow my goal is hit 30:00 exactly. It'd be a great achievement to hold that pace for 5 miles and hit that time right on. It would definitely be a boost for my sub 1:20 half hopes later in the spring.

Ran the Red Flannel Run today, my first time running this annual event. About 700 people ran the 5 mile and about 1300 ran the 3 mile. Its becoming a very big event. My goal was to hit 30:00, however I missed it by 26 seconds. I started off a little fast, probably ran the first 2 mile in 11:30-11:45, then slowed considerably as I found no one to run with. Didn't get any real splits cuz the miles werent marked. my 30:26 is good for 6:05 avg and is still a great effort for this early in the year. I started out at what felt easy and went from there. Two things of note: weather was around 30 degrees and it felt awesome and so did I, felt really fresh. Also, after the first half mile i did not get passed, instead I picked off people from there to the finish, its a nice feeling to go out easy and reel in everyone who went out too fast. a good training run, very happy with the results.

12 miles today. Didnt feel the best, had some GI issues and some overall soreness that hampered my effort. I still turned in a pretty decent run though. The weather was great, temp of 43 with windchill of 37, i wore shorts and it felt awesome. Splits:

1- 7:09.5

2- 7:09.4

3- 7:09.5

4- 7:16.6

5- 7:09.1

6- 7:07.1

7- 7:07.5

8- 7:21.7

9- 7:24.6

10- 7:16.7 (1:12:11, 7:13 pace)

11- 7:25.4

12- 7:10.5

TOTAL-- 1:26.47, 7:14 avg pace

Overall, decent splits. My first 3 miles were dead even, pretty cool. I definitely gave some time back on the second half, but i was definitely feeling the mileage + the race from yesterday at that point.

uninspired run today. 5 miles in 36:51, 7:22 avg pace. weather was nice.

5 mile tempo today. Felt really sluggish and my legs had no pop in them. Still managed to struggle through and put up a decent average. My splits were all over the place, but I think my mile markers were off, most notably i think my first, third, and fifth were short which threw all my splits off. Weather was nice though, mid-40s. Splits:

1- 5:58.4

2- 6:20.5

3- 6:07.5

4- 6:17.0

5- 6:00.0

TOTAL-- 30:43, 6:08.5 avg pace

5 easy miles today. Absolutely great weather, an even 60 degrees! Strong south winds though so that was a challenge. Splits:

1- 7:30.7

2- 7:13.7

3- 7:23.7

4- 7:23.9

5- 7:09.4

TOTAL-- 36:41, 7:20 avg pace

GMP run today. weather was near 50 and pretty nice. All my splits were at the lower end of GMP and one was technically tempo. Also, my GMP miles today were more indicative of what i hope to run in the middle to end of the marathon, not at the start. If i start out at the paces I held today, ill prolly tank. So I needa go out right near 7 and hold that on race day. Splits:

1- 6:56.4

2- 6:37.3

3- 6:48.8

4- 6:46.7

5- 6:47.4

6- 6:47.1

7- 6:50.3

TOTAL-- 47:34, 6:48 avg pace

overall, i felt really good on this run. Despite being sick lately, I was able to settle into this pace and actually felt quite comfortable on this run.

3 easy after work in 22:18, 7:26 avg pace. weather was nice- mid-40s.

long run today, 14 miles. Felt pretty decent, even hit 3 miles below 7 so GMP. weather was ok, 39 degrees, wc around 35. accidentally stopped my watch after mile 6 instead of hitting split so for my 7th mile I felt it best to just give myself a split right at my avg pace. Otherwise i managed to get the rest of my splits:

1- 7:24.7

2- 7:18.8

3- 7:14.6

4- 7:12.5

5- 6:58.4

6- 7:05.9

7- (7:10) avg

8- 7:22.4

9- 7:13.4

10- 7:11.0

11- 6:59.1

12- 6:56.0

13- 7:11.2

14- 7:08.7

TOTAL-- 1:40:26, 7:10 avg pace

makeshift uptempo run today, decided to go out hard-"ish" the first 3 miles and hit GMP. My schedule is messed up this week with added hours at work so i have to change my speed work up. Gonna just do one hard tempo on thursday so i decided to supplement today's easy run with some faster stuff. 25 degrees, splits:

1- 6:59.6

2- 6:50.7

3- 6:42.3

4- 7:33.9

5- 7:20.4

TOTAL-- 35:26, 7:05 avg pace

6 easy miles today. felt really good and smooth throughout the run so that was nice, even hit my last 2 miles at GMP. weather was mid 30s and pretty nice out. Splits:

1- 7:19.7

2- 7:06.0

3- 7:08.43

4- 7:08.44

5- 6:58.8

6- 6:57.3

TOTAL-- 42:38, 7:06 avg pace

I put miles 3 and 4 all the way out to the hundredths spot to show how close they were. I think that indicates how steady I was running today.

Not a great workout today. Was going to try for 6 mile tempo, but due to several factors, i ended up with just enough energy for 2x3200, individual mile splits at 6:04, 6:11, 5:58, 6:20. The limiting factors were running on an empty stomach, running soon after waking up, and weights yesterday. Just kind of a perfect storm of negative factors and to top it all off, the weather is in the mid20s with windchill at 14. I still put up a lot of miles because after being frustrated with my workout I decided to bury my legs with mileage. No more morning speedwork or at least not without breakfast.

4 slow miles in 30:36, 7:39 avg. 14 degrees, windchill -2.

5 slow and easy miles in 38:41 (7:44 avg pace) today in the snow. temp 13, wc 5. 

had a really good workout today, 10 miles all at GMP. temp was 32 with light winds, slick in spots. Felt pretty decent and was really  happy with how this one turned out. Splits:

1- 6:59.0

2- 6:48.5

3- 7:00.8

4- 6:46.5

5- 6:59.7

6- 6:48.3

7- 6:57.7

8- 6:51.1

9- 6:43.4

10- 6:42.6

TOTAL-- 1:08:37, 6:52 avg pace

cutback week, 4 easy miles today, weather was nice. splits:

1- 7:18.1

2- 7:22.0

3- 7:25.4

4- 7:15.6

TOTAL-- 29:21, 7:20 avg pace

Great workout today. got a 5 mile tempo run in very good pace. My warmup mile was sub-7 so GMP. weather was ok, temp 30, wc 22. Splits:

1- 5:57.6

2- 6:01.3

3- 6:02.5 (18:01, 6:00 avg)

4- 6:00.4

5- 6:00.5

TOTAL-- 30:02, 6:00.5 avg pace

Overall, very happy with this workout. I was pushing it towards the end and had to have a great kick to bring in the last mile, but all told, I nailed my paces today!

4 easy in 30:09, 7:32 avg pace

tough workout today. It was cold and rainy so I ran on the indoor track. I did 6x800 and felt pretty sluggish. Splits:

1- 2:45

2- 2:46

3- 2:47

4- 2:48

5- 2:49

6- 2:46

Overall, pretty even times, it was weird how I added a second for each consecutive 800 for 5 in a row. Took 2 min between each until the last one, took 2:30. Hitting the ice bath to soak my tired legs.

2 easy pre-dawn miles straight outta bed. 15:23, 7:41.5 avg pace. pretty cold and windy..and dark. tested new flats.

disappointing 8, wanted to go 16 but just fell apart at 8. Was dizzy and spent for some reason...

made up for yesterday with a long run today. 14 miles with no gu or gel or anything, purely unaided. weather mid-30s with light snow and sleet. Splits:

1- 7:18.4

2- 7:07.6

3- 6:57.3

4- 7:09.2

5- 7:12.3

6- 7:14.8

7- 7:12.2 (50:11, 7:10 avg pace)

8- 7:16.7

9- 7:15.9

10- 7:02.6

11- 7:10.2

12- 7:11.8

13- 7:15.8

14- 7:22.1

TOTAL-- 1:40:46, 7:12 avg pace

6 in 45:12, 7:32 avg pace.

6 mile tempo today. right around 30 degrees with light winds. Felt pretty good through 3 miles, had to make a conscious effort the last 3 to keep the pace. Still happy with the workout. One of my warmup miles was GMP, splits:

1- 6:03.9

2- 6:05.7

3- 6:05.2 (18:14, 6:05 pace)

4- 6:02.5

5- 6:13.8

6- 6:01.7

TOTAL-- 36:32, 6:05 avg pace

5 easy and early miles in 38:09, 7:38 avg pace.

4 easy after work.

1- 7:26.5

2- 7:16.2

3- 7:19.5

4- 7:10.6

TOTAL-- 29:12, 7:18 avg pace

Overall, today was one of the best workouts I've ever had. I ran 16 with a fast finish and pulled it off flawlessly. Very happy with how it turned out. Weather was good cuz there was no wind, it was a little cold tho, around 30 degrees. Splits:

1- 7:14.9

2- 7:12.3

3- 7:15.8

4- 7:16.1

5- 7:18.6

6- 7:17.1 

7- 7:20.1

8- 7:13.6 (58:08, 7:16 pace)

9- 7:11.5

10- 7:20.5

11- 7:16.1

12- 7:09.5

13- 6:43.0

14- 6:45.1

15- 6:53.5

16- 6:43.7

TOTAL-- 1:54:11. 7:08 avg pace

Overall, super happy with this run. My negative split was huge. First 8 miles were 58:08, 2nd 8 miles were 56:03, negative split of -2:05. Last 4 miles (my fast finish) were run in 27:04, 6:46 avg pace, not a bad way to end the run!

weights

6 easy this morning. Felt really easy and nice and controlled. Weather was good, mid 40s and no wind. Splits:

1- 7:24.4

2- 7:47.5

3- 7:35.6

4- 7:30.7

5- 7:39.1

6- 7:20.9

TOTAL-- 45:18, 7:33 avg pace

wanted to do a 7 mile tempo today but after the first 3 miles my legs were shot. So I decided to throw down some repeat miles. Weather was amazing, 60 degrees and sunny. Splits:

1st 3 miles-18:38, 6:13 avg pace

1st mile repeat- 5:59.2

2- 5:42.6

3- 5:50.4

Took 3 min break between each. 1 of my warmup miles was a GMP. total of 10 miles on the day.

6 mile death march today. 46:30, 7:45 avg pace. Rolled out of bed and ran, felt very sluggish.

3 easy today

fartlek tonight. ended up 10  miles total, ran it by total distance. Fartlek was 5x4x3x2x1x1x2x3x4x5x6x3x3 on's with 1 min off between each. Felt pretty decent and it was a good workout.

broke out the new shoes today, felt like i was running on clouds. 5 miles in pretty decent weather. Felt awesome! Splits:

1- 7:20.3

2- 7:13.4

3- 6:44.7 (oops)

4- 7:20.4

5- 7:16.9

TOTAL-- 35:55, 7:11 avg pace

terrible workout today. 6x800 in 2:51-2:54. Last one was in 2:47. Was just very tight and had absolutely nothing.

5 in 37:23, 7:31 avg. Felt horrible, my hamstrings were so tight that they were starting to hurt towards the end of the run. Just had no energy. not a great way to start off a race-week with 3 bad workouts. Gonna ice bath today.

4 easy in 29:53, 7:28 avg pace. cold.

2

Ran the March for Malawi 5k today. I was signed up for a 10 miler in lincoln, nebraska, but the forecast of snow scared me away. i didnt want to travel 3 and a half hours to get in trouble in the snow, so i just ran the local 5k. It was bitterly cold cuz the east wind was blowing, it was 28 but wc was like 15. Ended up at 18:29, there were no mile splits, but they couldnt have been great. I did get better as the race went on. They had the kilometers roughly marked and i did run faster the last 3. I even caught the 3rd place guy in the last K. He made the mistake of looking back at me which I know is the kiss of death. After that, i picked it up and passed him with about 400 to go. not super happy with the time, but it was a good effort given the conditions.

wanted to do 18, but that turned to 13. I was just dead at 12 for some reason, my legs were hurting. 

first 11 miles in 1:19:35, 7:14 avg pace

Last 2 in 15:45, or 7:52.5 avg pace

TOTAL run 13 miles in 1:35:19, 7:20 avg pace

4 easy today, felt pretty good. Splits:

1- 7:30.6

2- 7:23.0

3- 7:21.2

4- 7:11.0

TOTAL-- 29:25, 7:21 avg pace

You could tell I was loosening up as the run progressed as all my splits were negative.

pretty killer workout today. 20x400 with 1 minutes off between each, about the most self-imposed torture you can put on yourself! 

Hit all my splits between 1:18-1:20, was very steady throughout. The last 2 repeats I hit 76 and 74 seconds respectively as i opened it up just a little to see what i had left--not much it turned out. Below are my mile splits all added up:

5:17, 5:16, 5:16, 5:16, 5:08

26:13 total, a little under 5:15 avg pace for each of the 400s.

weights afterwards, and im spent!

4 super sore and slow and tired miles today. rolled out of bed and ran cuz i have a busy day, defending my masters thesis today actually! Following that up with 5.5 hours of work. time today was irrelevant, it was 31:26, 7:52 avg pace

Weird workout today just because of how it all transpired. Originally, today was to be 4x1600 day, however i was really tight upon starting my warmup so i just decided to hit 7 easy and do speed work tomorrow. About 10 minutes in to the run i decided to ramp it up and here is what happened:

1- 7:05.5

2- 6:48.8

3- 6:03.6

4- 5:59.0

5- 5:45.5

Took about a minute rest here, first 5 miles, 31:42, 6:20 pace with big time negative splits!4 and 5 were huge!

6- 6:38.8

7- 7:24.7

Total run time- 45:46, 6:32 avg pace, weights afterwards

2 easy, 15 min, 7:30 avg

wow..fell apart completely today. wanted a long run, just didnt have anything.

6 miles in 44:40, 7:27 avg pace. very windy and hard to run in today. plus sore from basketball yesterday.

13x400 in 76-80 seconds. Added up, my miles were 5:15, 5:12, 5:11, last one was 73 seconds. 1 min breaks between each set. Total time 16:51 for 3.25 miles, 5:11 avg pace.

just felt completely horrible today so i turned in after 2.5. ice bath

6 even paced but slow miles today. Splits:

1- 7:28.9

2- 7:29.8

3- 7:25.9

4- 7:28.9

5- 7:33.6

6- 7:23.2

TOTAL-- 44:50, 7:28 avg pace

3

Not a great overall time, but there were a lot of positives to take from this race. My first mile was 5:38 and it felt easy, which is nice, then we hit the hills and my times fell off even though i felt i was maintaining...definitely need to continue to build speed. somehow my 18:27 was good enough for 2nd place which netted me $25 cash, so with the entry fee (15) i came out $10 ahead. not too shabby for a foggy april morning.

AM- hot and humid today. Expecting big storms later, but the heat is tough right now cuz its 20-25 degrees above normal for this time of year. Just 2 weeks ago, i was running in tights and hats and gloves. 7 miles in 51:11, 7:19 avg pace. weights after.

PM- an unprecedented and unplanned 2nd run this evening. Since I have been struggling with my long runs as of late i decided to instead do two runs. I had even done weights and eaten a pizza after my first run. Plus, i had just topped off an iced coffee and a pb & j sandwich, and yet the thought hit me to go run again. The results were phenomenal, I absolutely killed it and i felt tremendous..which was surprising given 7 previous miles plus weights earlier. Here were my splits for the 9 mile nightcap:

1- 6:55.8

2- 6:34.4

3- 6:48.3 (20:18, 6:46 avg pace)

4- 6:40.6

5- 6:52.7

6- 6:47.4 (40:39, 6:46 avg pace)

7- 6:58.4

8- 6:41.7

9- 6:15.5

TOTAL-- 1:00:34, 6:44 avg pace

Just an incredible run, felt like i was flowing, and ripped off the 6:15 at the end like it was nothing. 16  miles total on the day.

The only thing i had to worry about today was my tired morning legs. everything else was good, felt great, the weather was perfect, mid-60s no wind, just the kind of sunny day i was dreaming of when it was -10 out 3 months ago. Splits:

1- 7:33.7

2- 7:14.6

3- 7:12.7

4- 7:28.0

5- 7:26.1

6- 7:10.7

TOTAL-- 44:05, 7:21 avg pace

total of 7 today. Fartlek. 5,4,3,2,1,5,4,3,1 with 1 min off between each and 2 min off between the 1 and the 5. Didnt feel great at all, had absolutely no energy. weather was nice, but i was dead tired.

7 sore and tired miles today in 51:55, 7:25 avg pace

awesome workout today. it is pouring rain and cold and really windy so i went on the indoor track. Did 4x mile repeats. Warmup mile was 6:51, so GMP, one of the cooldown miles was under 7 also so another GMP. Felt really good and felt pretty smooth during the repeats. Splits (with 3 minute rep breaks):

1- 5:42.9

2- 5:35.6

3- 5:38.5

4- 5:35.6

Overall, it felt great to hit all my miles within a cluster of 7 seconds. Very even paced workout. I didnt feel like I was pushing too hard either, so technically i felt as if i was doing tempo, but since I havent had a workout of this caliber in a while, ill call them VO2 max miles.

dos

12.2 today in 1:29:50, 7:22 pace, felt pretty crappy, just really sluggish. was theoretically going to go for 20 today but couldnt get there, my marathon attempt for this spring has been dashed and i will now focus on shorter races.

5.5 miles easy in 7:18 avg pace today, total time, 40:11. windy cold and rain/sleet.

epic workout today, 11x1000 with 1 min rep breaks. I read that marathon great German Silva does 10-15 1000s as a key workout for the half-mary. The kicker is to hit them all at GHMP, and that is what i did today. Splits:

1- 3:40

2- 3:47

3- 3:38

4- 3:45

5- 3:39

6- 3:45

7- 3:37

8- 3:47

9- 3:41

10- 3:46

11- 3:38

1 min between each. the odd numbered reps were with the wind and slightly downhill and the even numbered ones were into the wind (15 mph) and slighty uphill so they evened out. total was 11k, 6.9 miles in 40:43, 5:55 avg pace, well under GHMP. ice bath afterward.

5.5 today in the cold and wind. managed pretty good pace. splits:

1- 7:19.9

2- 7:09.3

3- 7:07.2

4- 7:07.4

5- 6:49.0

last .5-- 3:37 (7:14 pace)

TOTAL-- 39:10, 7:07 avg pace

4 in 30:17, 7:34's, cold and rainy...

didnt have much energy today, so i only turned in 5 miles. Now time to cut back for next weekend's half-marathon. 1:19:59 or bust!

started off with a whimper this week. had 6 planned, felt super crappy after 2 so i just turned it in for the day..discouraging start to race week...

4 mile tempo today. Hit most of my warmup and all of my cooldown at GMP. Splits on the 4 mile tempo:

1- 6:03.4

2- 6:02.3

3- 6:01.0

4- 6:08.4

TOTAL-- 24:15, 6:04 avg pace

Felt okay, kind of tight, but the wind and cold didnt help. Should be good to go on the HM this weekend.

nice 6 today, felt pretty easy. Hit the 5th mile in GMP. splits:

1- 7:08.4

2- 7:02.5

3- 7:07.6

4- 7:06.3

5- 6:59.5

6- 7:07.6

TOTAL-- 42:32, 7:05 avg pace

easy tuneup today, 3.5 in 25:37, 7:19 avg pace.

2 pre-race systems check miles today, everything felt good. 14:18, 7:09 avg pac. Half marathon tomorrow. Goal is sub 1:20.

Horrible race today. Worst half-marathon I've ever run. Don't wanna dwell on it, but i did start off very well. Felt comfortable the first couple miles. 6:03, 6:06, 6:09, 6:03, 6:16, 30:37 through 5 miles, then the wheels came off. Hit a 6:48 for the 6th mile and just completely fell apart. Felt like walking off the course and taking a DNF. had to struggle with that decision for the last 8 miles. Had a golden opportunity and almost took it but decided I would finish. Im glad I did in retrospect, because I am not a quitter. However, I basically jogged in and finished in 1:28:03, 6:43 pace...my worst half-marathon by 6 minutes. I have run faster than this in training. Moral of the story, sometimes you just dont show up and today i didnt. I think i am going to focus on shorter races...i felt great through 5...just had nothing after. Need to forget this one quickly.

great weather today, mid 50s, lil windy but felt really good. Splits:

1- 7:08.0

2- 6:59.9

3- 6:59.5

4- 7:17.2

5- 7:15.6

6- 6:58.3

TOTAL-- 42:38, 7:06 avg pace

5 easy today after an awesome 2 hour nap! 36:48, 7:21.5 avg pace.

good workout today. 1.5 up and 1.5 down with 12x400 in between. Hit them all between 76-79 seconds with 60 second breaks between each rep. here was each 400:

79, 79, 76, 76--5:10 pace

77, 77, 77, 78--5:09 pace

76, 77, 77, 76--5:06 pace

TOTAL time added up-- 15:25 for 3 miles, 5:08 pace

ice bath after

5 easy in the rain today. Rained pretty much the whole run. Splits:

1- 7:20.8

2- 7:10.2

3- 7:06.2

4- 7:10.0

5- 7:02.5

TOTAL-- 35:49, 7:10 avg pace

broke out the old blue shoes for my pre-race 3 miles today. beautiful weather, 63 and sunny, felt like summer! 3 miles in 22:16, 7:25 avg pace. 

Tomorrow marks the start of a rash of 5ks that I'll be running this summer. My ultimate goal is to PR by the end of the summer (16:38). My dream goal would be to break 16:00, that is a long ways off though. For tomorrow, I just want to get back under 18:00 and build some speed.

Ran a local 5k today, not much competition showed up as there are something like 25 races throughout the state this weekend i heard. Upon seeing the rather thin crowd I decided that my strategy would be to lay waste to the field with a good 1st mile. However, my victory was not a crushing one nor was it predestined. Right before the start I saw an older guy show up that I had seen before and knew he was fast. So I figured it'd be a 2 person race, unless I could drop him. Weather was great, 55 at the start with light wind. I went out and led through the first mile with a 5:30. I could still hear the older guy breathing behind me, so I kept my pace up to try to shake him, rolled through the 2nd mile in a 5:50, and he still sounded the same distance back based on his breathing (i never look back cuz its a sign of weakness and it always give the other person a confidence boost, so i never did see how far he was back, just had to gauge it by hearing). The third mile had two pretty decent uphills including a long gradual incline to the finish which was actually quite taxing given my lack of hillwork. I closed the last 1.1 in 6:27 (roughly 5:50 and :37 for the .1). I ended up winning with a time of 17:48 and the older guy, who i figured out later was 49 years old! ran a 17:52 to finish a strong 2nd. I lead wire to wire and although the 2nd place guy pushed me to keep a good pace and made it hurt, he never got close enough to pass me. Although not a blazing time, it is a nice step in the right direction, and I felt pretty good also. It was also nice to win, especially given the award was a $50 gift certificate to a local running store where I will now be purchasing my next pair of shoes!

hot and humid today for early may-- 82 degrees with 64 degree dew point, pretty muggy. Hit 6 miles in 43:01, 7:10 avg pace. Was thinking about maybe doing 2 or 3 more but was pretty beat down by the heat at 6.

bad workout, 9x400 pretty slow. 

4 easy

little uptempo today.

1- 7:07.7

2- 6:51.7

3- 6:59.6

4- 6:54.7

5- 6:48.2

TOTAL-- 34:41, 6:56 avg pace

2.5 easy today in the wind and rain. 19:02, 7:37 pace. 5k tomorrow! going for sub-17:30...unless the weather sucks...which judging from the forecast right now is a possibility.

Local 5k today for a great cause. Childserve is an organization in Des Moines that assists kids with disabilities. This race was especially important to me because my wife's step-brother, mason, has cerebral palsy and gets assistance from Childserve. I've been wanting to run this for the last few years and finally got my chance today. A little cold for mid-may as it was high 40s with strong north winds and light rain making it feel colder. Met up with my good friend from high school, andrew minear, at the start line. We were really close freinds in hs and he inspired me to get into cross country and running. Today was his day as he ended up beating me.

The Race:

Woke up at 5:55 am, did the normal pre-race routine. Met up with andrew at the start and got caught up as i havent seen him in a few months. He informed me that he and his wife are expecting, which is awesome. Got to the start and took off. andrew pulled away in the first mile, i laid back in a chase pack of about 3 guys to try to conserve some energy going nto the wind. My strategy was to outlast andrew and catch him on the return trip where the wind was at our back. First mile flew by in 5:37.6. At this point i threw in a surge and broke up the chase pack. It was now a 2 person race between andrew and I. I closed within 5-7 seconds of him at one point during the 2nd mile but could just never get close enough to get him. 2nd mile was a negative split at 5:30.8 (11:08). I tried to rein him in during the last mile, but had no such luck. Final mile split was 5:40.1, with the final .1 being 32.8 seconds. Crossed the line in 17:21, andrew had finished in 16:51, a very good race for him. Official results said 17:22 and the online results are all messed up cuz they moved everyone back a place so those results arent correct. Overall, very happy to have run such even splits on a great course for a great cause. Very well organized as well. Also, if im going to lose i couldnt be happier that the winner was a good friend. After the race, i stopped by my father-in-law's house and gave mason my 2nd place medal. He thought that was the coolest thing ever, which made my day and helped put into perspective how awesome of cause this race was for.

near perfect spring weather today. 55-60 degrees during the run with light north winds. Felt amazing to run in ideal conditions. Went 10 today to tap into some of my awesome base-work from earlier this spring/winter. Splits:

 1- 7:15.1

2- 7:02.5

3- 7:05.9

4- 7:22.8

5- 6:56.2

6- 6:59.0

7- 7:08.7

8- 6:57.9

9- 7:01.4

10- 6:50.1

TOTAL-- 1:10:39, 7:04 avg pace

36:34, 7:19 avg pace. great weather!

mile repeats today. had no pop in my legs, kind of dead so i had to get it started on no adrenaline. Still ended up with a decent workout, 5:35, 5:36, 5:31, with 3 minutes off between each.

6 easy this morning in 44:10, 7:22 avg pace.

Woke up to the sound of rolling thunder, usually a comforting morning sound. Thought I might be able to beat the rain, but i was way wrong. very light stuff through about 3.75 then with about 1.25 to go it just opened up and i got completely soaked. Kind of fun but kind of not. Lightning got a little to close for comfort as well.explains my last mile's pick-up in speed. splits:

1- 7:33.6

2- 7:13.2

3- 7:07.9

4- 7:09.8

5- 6:55.1

TOTAL-- 35:59, 7:12 avg pace

hills today. very hard workout. did 2 massive uphill sprints of about .3 mile in length, then ran 8x400 on rolling gravel roads. Then finished up with 2 more giant uphills. Completely beat after the workout, ice bath was in order.

8 miles this morning in beautiful weather. 75 degrees and a lil breezy to keep me cooled off. felt really easy. splits:

1st 3 miles- 21:15, 7:05 avg

2nd 3 miles- 21:27, 7:09 avg

7- 6:59.0

8- 7:02.4

TOTAL-- 56:43, 7:05.5 avg pace

progression run today. pretty happy with it given the fact that i just rolled out of bed and went. pretty warm and humid already at 7:45 am. Splits:

1- 7:17.2

2- 6:44.2

3- 6:03.2

4- 6:05.8

5- 7:27.6

TOTAL-- 33:38, 6:43.5 avg pace

4 in the windy and cool weather.29:02, 7:15 avg pace.

repeats today. great weather. hit my warmup mile in 6:55, GMP splits:

1- 2:44.5

2- 2:43.1

3- 2:42.9

4- 2:43.5

after these 4x800s with 1:30 rest (cept for 2 min between 3 and 4), i decided to pick it up the last mile and do 4x400. here are those splits at 1 min rest:

76, 77, 75, 74, 5:02 mile pace

ice bath

4

3 mile pre-race systems check, all systems are go. 21:58, 7:19 pace.

Ran a local 5k today, pretty good prizes on the line, 1st-3rd got 200, 100, and 50 dollar gift cards to a local running store, respectively. I ended up 3rd. I ran terrible though, just had one of those races where my legs were dead. I was hurting before the first 1k and couldnt muster any surges later in the race. Was actually pretty lucky to hang on to 3rd. first mile was 5:42, 2nd was 5:52, third was 5:48 and last ".1" was :29. Total was 17:54, they had me officially at 17:56. moral of the story, i kind of trained through this one and even though it wasnt a great race, ill take the 50 dollar gift card...goes well with the other 50 dollar gc i won to the same store earlier this month.

this coming saturday, the 4th, represents my first true goal race of the season as i set to break a local 5k record. taper will be occuring.

broke out the old flats for some speed work today. pretty warm, mid-80s but hit some awesome splits. Workout was 13x400 at 73-77 seconds with 1 min break between each. Here were the splits:

75, 75, 74, 76 - 5:00 pace

74, 76, 74, 76 - 5:00 pace

74, 76, 73, 77 - 5:00 pace

73- 4:52 pace

total time was 3.25 miles in 16:13, 4:59 avg pace

Overall, a very good workout!

4 in 29:32, 7:23 pace

three in 22:26, 7:29 avg pace

dos

Won my 2nd straight Conrad race today. My goal this year was the same as last year--to break the course record and win 50 bux. It's such a challenging course. 5:25, 5:54, and 6:50 for the final 1.1. I asked the race director after the race why the course was so tough, he said the last 1.1 is a 2 to 3 degree incline based on an old railroad incline. So its deceptive because its not a huge hill to the eye, but it slowly breaks you down.

Splits were not too reliable, and overall time was 18:13. The only thing I really took from this race, besides the win, was the strategy that played out as I raced the 2nd place guy. He led the first mile, i surged at the marker and led the 2nd mile, he hung on and took back over in the 3rd mile, but i stayed on his tail. I was waiting until 600-400 meters to make my final move, but about 800 to go, he simply stopped. I dunno if he just gave up or my strategy of baiting him just broke him, but it was nice to win a tactical battle like that--although it was discouraging to not have anyone to push me through the final half mile, would have made for a much better time.

AM- 6 today in the heat and humidity. at 10:30 am it is already 87 with heat indices near 90. Splits:

1- 7:12.7

2- 7:08.0

3- 7:08.1

4- 7:16.4

5- 7:15.7

6- 7:03.1

TOTAL-- 43:04, 7:11 avg pace

PM- wasn't satisfied with my 6 earlier, so i decided to go out for more. Went at 3:30 right in the heart of the day, temp was 102 with heat index prolly at 105-110. Splits:

1- 6:49.0

2- 6:31.2

3- 6:30.3

last .5--3:15 (6:30 pace)

TOTAL-- 23:05, 6:36 avg pace

another hot and humid day this morning. at 10 am for the run it was 87 with heat index of 90..dew point was 67 so it was sticky. Made it very difficult. Today I was definitely in workhorse mode..nothing pretty or finesse, just pure guts mileage in the heat.

1- 7:12.2

2- 7:18.0

3- 7:03.2

4- 7:24.8

5- 6:56.1

TOTAL-- 35:54, 7:11 avg pace

4 this morning in the heat and humidity for a 3rd straight day. 29:04, 7:16 avg pace.

speedwork tonight in the on and off rain, finally cooled off tho. did 2xmile with an 800 after. splits:

1- 5:33.8

2- 5:24.0

last .5-- 2:39 (5:18 pace)

3 min breaks between each.

slow-ish 33:56, 7:32 pace

borderline unconscious 2 early this am, i was barely awake. 5k tomorrow

I don't usually denote a course being long but today was at least .05 long if not a full .1. Put up a good battle with a high school standout but still led wire to wire to win the race. first mile was slow in 5:37, 2nd was 5:58, threw in a surge at the third mile which dropped my competitor for good and hit 5:50, closed total in 18:05..once again, not a great time but i did enough to win and i do believe the course was a tad long. I also did not feel up to par today, just felt sluggish and couldn't really find that next gear. on the bright side, i was awarded $50 for my efforts, which is always nice. I also feel good about being able to negative split the last mile.

felt good the first few repeats and felt bad the last few. Think i was dehydrated. 5x800--2:40, 2:39, 2:38, 2:41, 2:45, then 2x400, 82, 79.

3

5 on a nice sunny and warm day. first half mile and last half mile were GMP. 35:36, 7:07 avg pace

was very tired when i woke up so just did a quick mile and strides.

Ran the clive race today. i've run this race in 2008 and 2010 and ran really well both times, but they completely moved the race to a different location and thus a different course. I know ive complained about courses lately, but this one was the worst. It was probably close on actual distance, but it was hillier than hilly. I don't do hills well haha! first mile was 5:34, 2nd was 6:05 and last 1.1 was 6:50 or something. I dunno, i did not enjoy this race and just felt tired the whole time. 70 degrees with 95% humidity also hampered efforts as the winner only ran 17:05 and 2nd and third were 18 and 18:02 respectively. Slow times all around, mine included.

5 humid miles after work in 35:55, 7:11 pace

solstice fartlek today, it was difficult in the wind, my legs felt horrible but i gutted it out. got an "on" up a huge hill which was good for training purposes. went 5,4,3,2,1,5,2:30,3:30 with 1 min set breaks and 2 minutes between sets. estimated my vo2 and threshold miles based on being "on" for 26 total minutes and off for about 20

1 slow early, then 6 decent later. 44:50, 7:29 avg pace. however i held 29:08 for 4 miles, so that was 7:16, last 2 miles were super slow cuz it was into 20-30 mph winds.

4 easy in 29:17, 7:19 pace 

mile repeats today after work. 

1-  5:28.5

2- 5:39.2

3- 5:31.0

took 3 minutes between 1 and 2 and 4:30 between 2 and 3 because stomach issues forced me to find a bathroom. all told, decent workout.

decent run today, cept i got absolutely poured on the entire time. splits:

1- 7:14.9

2- 7:14.3

3- 6:59.3

4- 7:08.6

5- 7:16.9

6- 7:13.9

7- 7:21.8

8- 7:15.5

9- 7:10.9

Total--1:05:56, 7:13 avg pace

nothing great, just was kinda there.

12x400 tonight after work. 1min break between each

79, 80, 77, 77, 77, 78, 77, 79, 77, 80, 77, 77

total 3 miles added up were 15:35, 5:12 pace