Sean's Running Blog

Felt pretty good today except that it snowed yet again over night. It was actually the perfect kind of snow. The wet stuff and the perfect depth to actually get good traction on. It was sunny as well which made for a very beautiful run. Pretty tough workout coming tomorrow.

Today was my second workout back and first workout with other people in months. It felt great. It was an 8 mile tempo run along the Samammish River Trail in Redmond. The four miles out were at 5:04 and the four miles back -- into the wind -- were 5:15s. Considering how hard 5:22s were for six mile on Wednesday, i was very happy with today's workout. It makes a world of difference running with others.

10 miles in the morning. We got yet another coating of snow overnight for like the 4000th night in a row. Roads were mostly clear though by the time I ran at 5:30.

6 more miles in the evening.

Pushups after both runs plus some side leg lifts and some crunches.

A windy but balmy 53 degrees in Redmond for my late afternoon jog along the eastern shore of Lake Sammamish. The clouds and wind were far more omnious than the rain. Just a few drops.

Did some stretches, push ups and hamstring exercises afterward. This will be a huge focus of my training over then next five months.

Today was supposed to be a speed workout but let's just say I would need an ark to get to the track in Snoqualmie. We've had ridiculous amounts of rain over the last 36 hours and combine that with temps in the low 50s and freezing levels above 7,000 feet and you get massive flooding. In fact, it looks like it will be historic flooding.

I set out with the intention of still trying to do the speed workout but it turned out that every road into town was completely closed. It was really eerie. Peoples homes were under water. Cars from the lower ground lined the streets of the higher ground. People were slogging through 2-3 feet of water to get to higher ground. It was sobering. Here I was in shorts out for a run. 

The weather this winter has been unprecedented in it's warmth, its bitter cold, its rain, its snow and now the flooding. I love 600 higher than the lower part of town but I saw first hand today the sobering reality of mother nature...yet again.

Here is a picture of Snoqualmie Falls two weeks ago during the frigid week of Christmas:

Here it is today just two weeks later:

This last picture is taken from a one-way bridge in Snoqualmie. The road the water is covering is mile 2 of the 5k and 10k I host in August. Crazy.

Well...today was supposed to be the make-up day for my speed workout missed Wednesday due to flooding. I couldn't run until late afternoon and one rep into the workout, it was raining so hard and it was so cold I called it an afternoon. Later that evening I ran 5 miles but will have to do the workout tomorrow.

Not sure what it is about workouts at the Redmond High School track but I consistently have bowel issues in the middle of workouts. The workout was 3x 400/400/800 in 67/67/2:21 with 2 mins after the 400s and 4 mins reast after the 800. Should have been easier than it was but the issues didn't help any especially on the last rep. I found myself a bit dizzy afterward. I really need to hydrate better even in the cold weather.

Today was a fairly sobering run. It was my longest in a while -- 16 miles -- but it was the route that caused me a lot of angst. I ran down Snoqualmie Parkway half way before cutting over to the ole miner's trail on the eastern border of Snoqualmie Ridge. Much of the trail was all mut washed out and will take some work to make it safe again. A mile down the path and I was in lower Snoqualmie which was hit very hard with flooding. There was, fittingly, a steady drizzle falling during the whole run which made it even harder to watch hundreds of people begin the difficult cleanup of their inundated home. By all accounts, this was the worst flood on record for a town that has seen it all. Homes that have never seen flood waters were engulfed this time around.

The flood waters were completely receded today, but the damage was just beginning to be seen. Virtually every house I ran by had what could very well have been the entire collection of furniture, carpet, herilooms, etc, piled high in the driveway waiting to be hauled off to the dump.

There is a wood carver in town who does those large tree-stump sized carvings. This is his living. The flood waters scattered his many wood carvings across a very large field and beyond. Several people were out looking for them. I spotted a few and pointed them out to the guy. It almost brought tears to my eyes.

Two short weeks ago I was complaining to myself about the thrice-daily show shovelings and the 3-4 foot snow drifts at my house. At least my family was warm and safe.

Anyway...this is a running blog, but running today seemed a bit secondary life altering effects of the most recent weather here.

A slow 8.25 miles this morning. Planning on doing about the same tonight.

Another 8.25 this evening in a balmy 50 degrees and no rain...finally. I brought my iPod along for only the second time ever. It was kind of nice to have some company.

Went the Dempsey Indoor at the UW for a workout with some of the other guys on the team. It's the first time I have worked out there in over a year. It was very nice to be in a wind-free, relatively warm buliding to do a workout. Even better was the fact I got to run with someone, something I rarely am able to do but will be doing with greater frequency. Brett Winegar and I were paired together to do 6x800 with 2:30 rest in between. The target times alternated between 2:21 and 2:18. I'm never very good and the fast-slow repeats as I can't much tell the difference between 2:21 and 2:18 over 800m. My times were 2:20, 2:18, 2:18, 2:17, 2:19, 2:21. I doubt I would have hit these times on my own.

After 5 reps I was ready to call it a night. I was tired and the original workout called for 5-6 800m reps. I wanted to opt for the 5. But my coach encouraged me to do one more and given I was running with Brett, whom I compete against on a regular basis in local races, I didn't want to leave any impression that I was quitting. This was another benefit of running with someone else: Accountability.

Easy ten miles along the shore of Lake Sammamish. Cool cloudy day made it feel colder than the 41 degrees showing on a sign I saw. Did a bunch of stretching and some strenghtening exercises as well.

A very foggy and cold run this morning. It was boring too. Just had a hard time getting excited about running this morning. What I would do for a daytime run in the sunshine...

Another morning of very dense fog except this morning it was only 29-30 degrees so the roads were slick in spots which made the leftover gravel on the side of the road from the big snowstorm very helpful.

I really solid workout this morning. In keeping with my goal of doing more workouts with other people I was able to cajole John Timeus to come up from Kent and run the workout with me this morning. Even one person makes a workd of difference.

The workout was a 9-mile run with the first 6 miles at 5:25, the next two at 5:15 and the final one "all out" hoping for a 5:08.

We finally had some sun but the temp was 29 degrees to start so I decided to wear double gloves, a long sleeve shirt with a fleece pullover and running pants. Not exactly conducive to a fast workout. But I was warm!

I shed the fleece just after mile 1 and had no warmth problems the entire way. I even shed the outer glove layer at mile seven.

We ran the fix six miles on my RR Days 10k course which, except for a bridge crossing, is very flat. There is a turnaround just before mile 4 which accounts for the slowest of the six miles but it's a good course to workout on with very little traffic. First six splits were: 5:28, 5:22, 5:18, 5:28, 5:19, 5:19.

I was feeling pretty strong at this point despite having taken the lead position the whole way. There was no real wind to speak of other than what I was creating myself but it is nice when you can trade off the lead.

We reached the 6-mile mark and ran at basically the same speed back to the start line of the 5k/10k and hit it hard again for the final three miles. The final three splits were 5:17, 5:12, 5:14. I was very happy with the the 5:17 and 5:12 but knew going into the final mile that 5:08 was going to be very improbable. That said, I was perfectly fine with the 5:14 to finish up a strong workout in less then ideal weather and clothing conditions.

I was also very grateful to John for making the 30-minute trip up to run with me.

A beautiful morning. It was breezy but the temperature was a balmy 49 degrees. We are barely above a very strong inversion layer which has Issaquah, a town just 10 miles down the road at 29 degrees and freezing fog this morning. I took advantage of the nice weather and flexible holiday work schedule and ran long this morning. Planning on another 8 tonight which will give me a good jump on breaking 80 miles for the week.

Another eight miles tonight.  

Another Tuesday meant another workout at the indoor track at UW. The same track and Kara Goucher ran on over the weekend at an UW invitational.

Workout was 5x1000m @3:00 or better with 2:30 rest in between. Hit 2:57-2:59 each time which was nice and even had a little left over at the end. First time that's happened in a while.

I realized after the third rep that I had forgotten to change into my racing flats. Oh well.  

It was nice once again to work out with others, especially in a relatively warm environment like the indoor track.

A nice run this morning at about 6:40 pace. Faster than I wanted given a solid workout less than 12 hours earlier. Chilly morning but at least we were above the fog.

A cold and, at times, very foggy run this morning. I need to get better gloves. It even took a while for my toes to get warmed up.

A cool but beautiful sunny run through Marymoor Park and along the Sammamish River trail. After three days of running in dark and foggy morning weather, a sunny reprieve felt very nice indeed.

A great ending to a really solid week of training.

35 degrees and a light breeze under beautiful sunny skies. No one to workout with today so I was on my own.  

Workout today was 6M in a 2:2:2 format. Warmed up for 3+ miles before hitting the Mt. Si track. Times to hit were 5:20:5:12:5:04. The 5:20s felt great, as they should. I hit both in 5:18. The 5:12s felt pretty good as I hit them in 5:12 and 5:13. I was admitedly worried about hitting the 5:04s but focused on just getting the first one under my belt and then trying to gut out the last one. First one came in at 5:06. I would have been ecstatic if the final mile would have come in at that. Surprisingly though, through the first two laps I was right on pace at 2:32. Third lap had me a second off at 3:49 and I was definitely tired, but I managed to pull it all together and hit a :73 on the final lap ending the mile in 5:02. I was thrilled if not surprised I had it in me.

Anyway, a great week first time I'm back into the 80s for a few months and I'm feeling strong. I've also lost all of the excess holiday weight and now just have another seven or so to go. Those will be the hardest.

Yikes. It was frigid this morning. 19 degrees when I left the house at 4:30am. One week ago at this time it was over 50 degrees. My plan was to run 14 this morning and then 8 tonight. About three miles in I was contemplating flipping that and doing 8 this morning. I just couldn't get my fingers and hands to warm up despite the double gloves. Once I got to 8 miles I kept saying "just one more" and before I knew it, I was passing 12 which will make this evening's double that much easier. What I would do for a 50-degree run under sunny skies.

Another 10.25 this evening. It was a balmy 28 degrees. Didn't know what to do with myself in such warmth.

Tuesday workout at the Dempsey Indoor at the UW. Perfect weather in there. :-)

The workout was 5x1200m alternating between 3:39 (73s) and 3:36 (72s). The first one was in 3:39 on the dot. The rest were fast. All 3:34 or better. I was quite happy and I felt strong on every rep. Again, it helps to run with someone else on these even if it was just one person. Going to try and do at least 12 tomorrow and maybe 14 if I can break away long enough.  

48 degrees and mostly cloudy with a few sunbreaks and a couple of rain dribbles. Almost felt like spring in Seattle.

Ran through Marymoor Park and along the Sammamish River Trail. It's a great blessing to have so many trails and paths nearby.

38 degrees and a few sprinkles this morning at 5am. It was slow going this morning -- ~7:00 pace for most of it except for the 5k stretch where I was remeasuring a new course for the St. Patty's Day run I am doing. I must have been in race mode as I unknowingly picked up the pace a smidgen.  

Perfect day for a workout. Upper 40s and sunny around noon. Started with a 4-mile warmup and then hit the track for a 3x2M set with 5 minutes rest in between each two mile repeat. Goal time was 10:10-10:12 for each rep. 

First set was in 10:06. Second was in 10:07 and the final one was in 10:05. I was very pleased with how things went. No one mile segment was slower than 5:05 and I had a couple 5:02s as well. I thought going in that this was going to be a tough one to do alone but I managed just fine. As I write this, it's now rainy and breezy. Glad I didn't wait until Saturday to do the workout. Shoul break ninety for the week.  

A cool but beautifully sunny morning run this morning on Snoqualmie Ridge. Manged to find 17 miles of winding and twisting through the streets and trails. Also finalized my route for the St. Patty's Day run I am hosting here on March 14th.

Broke 90 miles for the first time in several months.

A very early 3:20am start this morning and 16 miles. A pretty nice morning. Didn't see a single car until the 1-hour mark. It was the paperboy.

8 more this afternoon under beautiful sunny skies. It was almost warm...~53 degrees.

Well...today's workout I had been dreading for a week. I knew they were mile repeats but I didn't know what pace my coach would put me at.

3x1M @4:48-4:50 (72s) w/2:30 rest. Hard. But to make it worse, I couldn't make it to the indoor track tonight to run with the group so I had to do it on my own in the 36 degree sunshine this morning.

If I had been asked to wager money on whether I could have hit the times by myself, I probably would have bet $100 against it happening.

I was down in Auburn for a meeting in the morning so I found the nearest track I could (Kent-Meridian HS) and ran there. The frost from overnight had burned off and the sunshine was bright but the temp was not exactly warm. Fortunately, the breeze was light.

4-mile warmup around the track and then rolled right into the first mile. As always, the first lap was too fast: 70 seconds. As usual, I overcorrected on the second hitting 73. Finshed the first mile in 4:48. I was happy not only because I hit the lower end of the time range, but because I wasn't completely wasted. One very slow lap around the track and a drink of water was what the 2:30 rest got me and I was off for #2. Finished that one in 4:47 and was tired but knew that a final mile in 4:50 was not crazy.

Another very short 2:30 of active rest and mile 3 was underway. First 200 was in 35 seconds...way too fast but I corrected and finished the first lap in 72. Second lap was the hardest of all. One of the challenges of running speed workouts by yourself is that it takes total and constant concentration. There's no one else there to keep you on pace and focused. Lap 2 was evidence of that. It was a 74 putting me two seconds behind with two laps to go. All I wanted to do on lap 3 was make up one of those seconds and not do anything crazy. Lap three was in 71 so I got one of the seconds back. The first 200m of the last lap was in 35. Not sure how I did that because at this point, I was wasted. The final 200 was all about gutting it out which I managed to do finishing in 4:49.

I was very happy with another solid workout. It would have been a challenging one even indoors and with other guys. This was a real confidence booster because now I know I can do it by myself if I need. to.

What is crazy to think about though is the pace I ran my 3x1M intervals at today is the pace the best marathoners run their marathons at. Absolutely insane.

Six mile this morning under clear skies and 39 degrees. Another 10 this afternoon under mostly sunny skies. It was supposed to be 60 degrees again today, which is why I saved the bulk of my run until the afternoon, but 49 is all we've managed so far.

36 degrees and clear skies this morning at 5:15am. Cool but beautiful morning for a run. Slowly but surely the sun is creeping up earlier and earlier.

It felt like it took forever to get moving this morning. First few miles were slower than 7:00 pace but i finally got going halfway through. Today's run marked the retirement of my first pair of Brooks Infinity shoes. They have served me well. Not sure which new pair I will break out tomorrow. The Trance 8s or another pair of Infinitys. Also retired another pair of ST3 racers this week.

A more typical winter weather day this morning with temps in the low 40s and drizzle. It actually felt kind of nice. Decided to go with the Trance 8s as my new pair of shoes. Not sure I like them as much as the Infinity.

Great workout today. I waited as long as I could for the weather to warmup. It was 40 degrees when I got started under beautiful blue skies. Four mile warmup before hitting the track for a 3x1.5M interval workout. My coach told me to do a slow:fast:slow @ 7:31:7:27:7:31 with ~4 minutes rest between each repeat.

Hit the first repeat in 7:23 (4:55 pace). Oops. I knew after the first lap I was going to be fast but I felt fine so I kept pushing. Second repeat I commited to taking a bit slower. Hit it in 7:28 which was still fast but slower still. During my two laps of rest I was thinking about doing an extra repeat but wanted to see how the third one went first. Third one felt good all the way through although the last 800m I could begin to feel the muscles burn a bit. But hit 7:24 nonetheless.

I was pretty spent so I didn't commit to a fourth repeat until the second rest lap. There's a lot of mind games that go into these workouts and I was determined to prove to myself that not only could I do these alone but that I could go farther and faster than the workout proscribed.

By the fourth repeat, the wind had gone from calm to 10mph. Didn't prove to be all that big of a deal but it was noticeable. I finished the fourth repeat in 7:28. I was very pleased. There wasn't a single mile that wasn't under 5:00.

I also learned to really love the 1.5M repeat and I think it's is my favorite. I like it because it breaks up into vey manageable chunks which is important for me when I'm working out, esepcially alone. At the 800 mark you have a mile to go. After three laps you are halfway done. At four laps, you have one mile down and just a half to go. These frequent check-in points are helpful.

Grest finish to another strong and long week.

Woke up to an inch of snow and heavy snow showers for most of the run. It was beautiful. Hoping to get at least 8 more miles in this evening and maybe even 10.

Almost 10 more this evening. I'm hating my Trance 8s now. They seem so much heavier and more rigid than my Infinity's. I will give them another few days to break in but may switch back tot he Inifinitys.

Tomorrow I turn 36. I felt every bit that old and more tonight at the UW Dempsey Indoor track. After several consecutive awesome workouts, tonight was a real stinker.

The workout was 4x1000m @2:50 (4:33 pace) with 90 seconds rest. Aftet the fourth 1000m, I was to jog 8 minutes before doing 2x600 @1:39 (4:25 pace) with 90 seconds rest and then 2x400m in 65 (4:21 pace) with 90 seconds rest. Let's just say things didn't go so well.

John Timeus and I warmed up together for about 5.5 miles, most of it outside. After stretching and changing into racing flats, we began the workout. I led the first one with the intention of trading off the lead each rep. After the first 200m we were 1 second slow. Not a huge deal except I ended up dropping another second every 200m after that for a finishing time of 2:55. Ugh. And to think I had three more of those. Second one was also in 2:55 and i was stinkin up the joint while John (albeit 11 years my junior) was right on. Getting gapped by five seconds never looked so bad. Third one was getting worse as I was really tired: 2:58. The fourth and final one came in at 2:57 and I was ready to pack it up and go except that would have been the only thing more embarrassing than botching my expected times.

After an 8-minute jog filled with "what the heck happened" we rolled into our 600m repeats. The shorter the distance the worse I am, but 2 laps (it's a 307m track) seemed doable even at sprint speeds (for me).

First one was in 1:42. Ugh. What a day. Second one: 1:43. I was ready to call a cab.

The good news was that I was only 2x400m plus a cool down away from going home and to bed. Oh...the thought of my pillow was searing my brain.

The two 400s came in at 66 and 67...the only two times remotely close to what I was supposed to hit. Keep in mind I have never broken 1:00 in the 400m. So 66 and 67, under the circumstances, were just fine by me. So was the nice 2M cooldown outside to my car.

Feeling old tonight.

Today was one of the hardest mornings in recent memory to get out of bed and go for a run. Normally on Wednesdays I run in the daytime hours to give myself some extra time to recover from my Tuesday evening workouts. But my schedule today is crazy so to get my run in I needed to start at 4:45. The first several miles felt slow and straight uphill which is to be expected. I really didn't enjoy my run until about mile 10.

I had a lot of time to think about last night's workout and after doing some math, I realized the times my coach set out for me were extremely aggressive. Doing repeats of 1000s and 600s at 4:30 pace or better is probably at the very edge, if not beyond the edge of my capability. I have never run the mile, but I think under the most optimal conditions, 4:30 would be a real stretch. I'm also back to running high mileage so I'm probably a bit tired. It probably also didn't help that the very tasty Qdoba burrito from lunch was still churning in my belly. Perhaps these are excuses but I was trying to cut myself a bit of slack after a very frustrating performance last night.

This morning I also unretired my Infinity's for one more morning. I am really hating my Trance 8s and my the new pair of Infinity's I have were upstairs and I was too lazy to get them so I just used my recently retired ones.

A glorious 14 miles along the East Lake Sammamish Trail. I wore my new pair of Infiniti's and I will never go back to the Trance. Felt really strong.

A chilly but beautiful morning run through the more rural parts of Snoqualmie and North Bend.

This morning the family and I went down to the Husky Classic, one of the largest and most contested indoor track meets in the country. Rohatinsky looked like an old man in the mile. The winning time in the 3000m was a ridiculous 7:47, a record in that facility.

By the time we got back home and I was able to start my run it was 2:30. I hadn't eaten anything but a bagel all day because I thought I was going to do my workout at the UW.

After a short 2-mile warmup, I jumped into the 3x2000m interval workout. 4 minutes was the rest period. The time to hit was 6:08 (4:56 pace). The first one was 6:07 and I felt fine. 2000m meters is a weird distance.

The second and third reps were in 6:05. On the third rep I apparently fell asleep on the second lap and spent the remaining three laps making up for it. Oh well. I thought about doing an extra repeat but opted instead to pick up the pace a bit for the cool down miles...hanging around 6:20s or so.

Despite a disappointing Tuesday workout, it was all in all a good week. Highest mileage in many, many months and feeling great.

A gorgeous day for a run in Seattle. 52 degrees and clear blue skies. i ran 14 miles along the east side of Lake Sammamish and I did it without a jacket and gloves. It's supposed to be this nice all week.

What a difference a week makes. Last Tuesday my indoor workout was a disaster. This week, things went much better. I met my coach and John Timeus and Uli Steidl for a "Ks" workout: 7x1000m in a fast:slow alternating format with 90 seconds rest. The fast time was 2:57 and the slow time was 3:00.

The four fast ones were all either 2:55 (4:41 pace) or 2:56. The "slow" 3:00 repeats were all in 2:58 or 2:59. So I beat all my times and did it feeling like I had a quite a bit left in the tank. I probably could have done each a couple of seconds faster and done a couple more reps without any trouble.

So last week was simply a stinker workout that everyone has from time to time.

 Ran another 11 tonight. Half way thorough I realized how dehydrated I was from the morning workout. I grabbed some water and that seemed to help.

Another gorgeous day in Seattle. 54 degrees and sunshine for my run along the East Lake Sammamish trail. The first three miles I felt really tired and dehydrated and I was getting farther and farther away from water so I turned back and headed toward Marymoor Park where there are water fountains. I felt OK most of the last several miles but I need to drink more water.

30 degrees and clear skies this morning at around 6am when I began my run. I actually got to finish my morning run in the daylight for the first time in a long time. It was a pretty slow start this morning. First mile took almost 8 minutes anf the next six were in the 7:00-7:05 range. But I'm healthy and feeling pretty strong. I drank a lot of water last night so hopefully I'm getting myself rehydrated.

A chilly 26 degrees this morning but another gorgeous sunrise. Seemed like it took forever to get warmed up and actually getting my legs to move. Shooting for 20-22 tomorrow.

Ate way too much last night but got some good sleep. Another stunning day. 51 degrees at 10:30 when I started my run this morning. That was the good news. The bad news was that the winds were strong...sustained at 20mph with gusts to 35mph. Not exactly ideal for a track workout. I considered going down to the Issaquah or Sammamish tracks but that was 30-40 minutes of driving I didn't want to do. So I just set expectations for a slower than expected workout.

The workout was 4x1M alternating slow/fast -- 4:56/4:53 with 3:30 rest between each interval. With the winds, I kind of figured five seconds slower on each would be acceptable.

But to my surprise, I was able to hit 4:57, 4:54, 4:56, 4:55. I was extremely pleased. My final 200m was in 72 so I ran strong through the end. The wind made things more difficult but it was a huge mental boost to have basically hit my times despite the conditions.

I then headed out for a 13-mile "cooldown." I averaged 6:25s which is quite a bit faster than I would normally do after a hard workout but it felt fine and the bright sunshine made everything a bit easier.

Gearing up to run my first ever indoor 5,000m race at the UW Last Chance Qualifier meet on March 7th. Hopefully there will be several desperate college guys trying to qualify for the NCAA championships. Not only will this be my first indoor 5,000m, but it will be my first 5,000m on a track of any kind. 16+ laps of pure enjoyment. :-)

It's supposed to be much colder and rainy all next week so I had to soak up the sun as much as I could today. First run of 20+ miles in probably 5 or so months. Felt really good. I got to remind myself of how terrible Gu tastes. Ick.

Snuck in 13+ this morning before my flight to SFO. Looking forward to a nice run this evening along the Embarcadero.

A very enjoyable 11 miles along the Embarcadero. It was dark by the end and it started to rain but it was pretty warm so it actually felt good.

You know you are spoiled when it's raining outside and 48 degrees and you wimp out and get on the treadmill. Well, that lasted about a 1/4 mile and then I couldn't stand it anymore and braved the elements. I was supposed to do a speed/hill workout, but two hours on a plane and nasty weather made me think otherwise. It was hard enough just running easy miles today after enjoying more than a week of gorgeous sunny, rain-free weather last week.

I felt like a postal worker today. Neither sleet, nor rain, nor wind, nor hail, nor snow could keep me from my workout today. All of the above were part of my 15-mile adventure this afternoon in what turned out to be miserable weather.

The workout was a 3M tempo run @ 5:09s followed by a 10-15 minute jog followed by 7x one-minute hills with 2:30 rest between hills. It was a good workout. It had been a while since I did hills. The 2:30 rest was probably overkill.

Man things felt slow this morning. They weren't really but they felt slow. Woke up this morning at 5 to run but the roads looked slick so I waited until after I dropped my daughter off at school. 31 degrees and snowing for the first half of the run. It was pretty as I ran the backroads of Snoqualmie and North Bend.

A stunningly gorgeous afternoon in Seattle. Not a cloud in the sky and 50 degrees. I love the sunshine. Ran from work through Marymoor Park along the Sammamish River trail all the way to Redhook Brewery which is where the Super Jock and Jill half marathon starts and finishes. Lots of people out enjoying the nice weather. One more nice day and then back to the rain.

It was very windy today on the Ridge so I went to Sammamish to the Eastlake HS track. Unfortunately, it wasn't much better there. The workout was 6x1200M slow/fast @ 3:39/3:36 with 2:30 rest. I hit 3:37, 3:37, 3:38, 3:37, 3:37, 3:39. So I hit the times but it was tougher going today than I had hoped. I just didn't have quite the energy I had hoped for.

After the workout I left the track and ran another 13...just enough to break 100 for the first time in months. There's no substantive difference between 96 miles and 100 but 100 just sounds cool.

10 miler this morning through marymoor park and along the Sammamish River Trail. The first 1/2 mile was sunny and warm. The next nine were in a pouring down rain squall but still warm. Last half mile was warm and sunny. We must be getting close to spring.

Evening run was at home. Avoided the rain.

Well...today was humbling. I worked out at the Dempsey Indoor with three of the four fastest guys in the state today: Uli Steidl, John Timeus and Mike Sayenko. Man they are fast.

The workout we did was particularly challenging: 2000m w/3:00 rest, 1600m w/3:00 rest, 1200m w/2:00 rest, 800m w/2:00 rest. Their goal was to run each set starting at 70 second laps dropping one second per 400m with each cutdown in distance. So 70s for the 2000m, 69s for the 1600m and so on. In other words...fast.

I knew going in that I would need to add a couple of second to that which is what I did. I did the 2000m in 5:58 (4:48 pace); the 1600m in 4:43 (4:44 pace); the 1200m in 3:33 (4:45 pace) and the 800 in 2:20 (4:41 pace).

I was wasted at the end. Hopefully not too wasted to recover in time for my 5,000m race at the same location on Saturday. I am admittedly doubtful that breaking 15:00 is doable but we shall see.

12 slower than normal miles this morning in cool but dry weather. First mile was in 8:15 or so and I didn't get below seven until the final 6 miles. My glute is showing signs of flaring up to I'm taking an extra long time to warm up especially when running early in the morning. Going to see the PT today. My left quad is also tender and I'm not sure why.

Woke up to snow this morning so waited until lunch to run. Nice easy run along Lake Sammamish. A cool 40 degrees but the rain had stopped. Saw the PT last night as I feel like I'm on the brink of another glute injury like this time last year. Someday I will learn that hitting 100 miles is bad news for me. This week was going to be a shorter week anyway because of my 5,000m run at the UW on Saturday but I will probably stay in the mid-80s for the rest of the season. The fewer10-15 miles will allow me more time to do the stretching and strength work I need to do to stay free of injury. 100+ mile weeks mean nothing if you get injured doing it.

Just a few miles this afternoon in prep for my 5000m race tomorrow at the UW. Gorgeous weather today. I went to the Redmond HS track to try out my spikes as I'm contemplating whether or not to use them or my racing flats. The first couple of laps they felt weird but I got used to them. I will probably go with them as I will need every bit of help I can get.

I was pretty nervous going into today and not exactly confident of meeting my goal of sub-15 minute 5000m.

The UW hosted a "Last Chance" meet to help mostly local collegiates qualify for next weeks indoor NCAA championships.

The Dempsey Indoor is a wonderful facility. 307 meters of fast track and temperate climate. I decided to go with the spikes and I am glad I did.

Warmed up for a couple miles outside with some other guys from the race. It's great to see people you know but don't get a chance to train with much. There were about 15 or so in the race. They stacked us two deep in a waterfall start. The start was 88 meters from the finish line so once we got to the finish line it was 16 laps from there. 1/4 mile splits were given but I had already committed to tracking my own splits after each lap (307 meters). I wanted to be right around 54 seconds per lap which would be 14:45.

Here are my split times:

53.91
55.2
54.13
54.7
55.78
54.03
54
55.03
55.77
54.6
55.53
54.85
55
54.77
2:02.0

I missed the last two so the 2:02 was for the final 702 meters which was 4:39 pace.

So I was very pleased with my consistency. I didn't get caught up in anyone else's race but my own. The lead pack went out fast from the get go which was fine with me. I wasn't there for place, I was there for time. Fortunately, there was a pack of 4-5 of us that hung together for most of the race. I wanted to make a move with about 6 laps to go but waited until four laps to go. This turned out to be a mistake of sorts and I had quite a bit left in the tank at the end. Experience is huge in these races and I don't have any. It's only my second race at this distance and first ever on a track of any sort. 15:35 was my PR on the road so I can be nothing but excited about how things went today.

That said, there is always something to learn. I feel like I could have pretty easily shaved another second per lap off of my time. I never at any point went anaerobic in the race which was also a mistake. On the final lap I really didn't have anyone pushing me from behind or pulling me from ahead so I was all alone which makes it hard to really put in a good kick at the end.

The indoor season is now over but I hope to do more of it next year. I really think I have a decent shot at 14:30. I'm pretty excited for the 10,000m I will run next month in Bellingham with another good pack of guys to run with. Hoping to break 31:00 there.  

11 easy miles this morning. Pretty cold here. Heading to SoCal for an overnight business trip after my Tuesday workout tomorrow.

I was going to do my workout here in Snoqualmie prior to departing for my business trip to LA but the weather was so cold here I took an earlier flight so I could enjoy the warmth of SoCal. With the help of Google Maps, I was able to quickly find a high school track within a half mile of my hotel in Santa Monica. School was still in session so i had an abnormally long 7-mile warmup before I was able to get on the track. The workout was 3M@5:03-5:05 followed my a one-minute rest then one mile at 4:56. I was 1/2 mile from the beach so the onshore winds were definitely noticeable but I was able to hit each of the three miles at 5:02 despite fairly breezy conditions. The 65 degree temps really felt nice as we've spent the last few days in an icebox in Seattle. Finshed up with a nice cooldown along the beach.

13 wonderful miles in SoCal this morning in Santa Monica. I opted for the quiet city streets rather than than the boardwalk. It's hilarious to see other runners bundles up on hats and coats and complaining about how cold 50 degrees is.

Only time for 11.5 miles after dropping my daughter off at school this morning. I'm hosting a 5k fun run in Snoqualmie on Saturday so my time is all tied up in that right now. Beautiful morning albeit quite cold.

Back in Seattle and it's warmed up a bit. I moved my workout from Saturday to today to ensure I got a solid workout in prior to the race I am organizing tomorrow. The workout was a bit of a different one than I am used to. My coach had me put in 9 miles of easy running (6:40-6:45 pace) before jumping into a 2x2M workout. The prescribed time was 10:15 for each with a 1/2 mile float in between. It was pretty breezy and warm ahead of an unfortunately cold and rainy weather system coming tomorrow. But I'm certianly used to a little wind. The first rep was in 10:13 and the second was in 10:12. Didn't have to strain too much and finished the workout without feeling wiped out.

An exhausting 12 miles today. I got exactly 75 minutes of sleep overnight. Today I hosted the 1st annual St. Patty's Day Run in Snoqualmie and so I was up very late and up very early this morning preparing for that. Not sure exactly how I managed even 12 miles, especially in the cold, driving rain.

11 miles along the shore of Lake Sammmamish. It poured for the last two miles. Temp dropped five degrees during the run. Can't wait for Spring.

Had to return all of the barricades and cones early this morning before work which meant an early 4:45 start to a 9.25 mile run. It was raining for the first half and then the snow just dumped. I haven't seen flakes this big in a long time. When I got back I was very cold and soggy. When I got back outside after getting ready. the roads were coated with snow so at least I beat out the traction problems. Did I mention I am ready for Spring?

Another 11 miles this afternoon along Lake Sammamish. Quite a different gig from this morning. 50 degrees and some sunshine poking through the clouds. Not ready to delcare it Spring yet.

Well today was a comedy of errors. I went to Redmond HS to do my track workout out and as I was getting dressed realized I forgot my racing flats which I always run my speed workouts in.

To make matters worse, I forgot socks as well. I have never run without socks. i know many do, but not me. I thought about waiting until I got home to run but the rain and wind were on their way so i wanted to get it done. As I laced up my shoes (without socks) I noticed a pair of my son's socks under my seat.

I tried them on and they were just big enough to creep over my heel. Not great but better than nothing.

The workout was short but tough, especially since my efforts to avoid the wind did not work out so well.

2x1.5M@7:20 (4:52 pace)with a 3 minute rest in between.

First one came in at 5:22. Not bad all things considered but I was pretty spent. the wind was coming down the straightaway rather than the turn whic I hate. Oh well. 3 minutes of jogging later, I was back for the second and final repeat. First 800 I was 5 seconds slow. Ugh. But I hung in there and finished in 7:27 which means I held on to the correct pace for the final four laps. Small victories.

Lovely run along Lake Sammamish. Spent a lot of time this week on gravel which has been good. Got a massage tonight which really helped. It's something I will be doing weekly now.

Out and back along Lake Sammamish. Went out on the gravel then back along East Lake Sammamish Pkwy. I think I was moving faster than traffic.

A beautiful day in the Northwest. We've earned it. Sunny skies and about 50 degrees.

Workout today was a "cutdown." I forgot how hard cutdowns can be.

It was a 9-mile cutdown in a 6:2:1 format. 6 miles @ 5:30; 2 miles @ 5:15 and the final mile in 5:06. I used my 10k and 5k courses to do them on rather than use the track. 36 laps would have been pretty boring.

First 6 came in at 5:29, 5:20, 5:26, 5:28, 5:26, 5:25. So fairly steady considering I was on the roads and not the track.

Next two were in 5:17 and 5:11. Last one was in 5:08. Pretty happy with the workout although cutdowns are always harder than they appear on paper.

Finshed up with a 13+ mile "cooldown" mapping out a 1/2 marathon course for a run I will put on next April.

Short run this morning after dropping my daughter off at school. Headed to SF tomorrow for the rest of the week. looking forward to some nicer weather.

Arrived in beautiful sunny SF this morning and ran from the hotel to Embarcadero down to the GG bridge. Since i didn't have access to a track, i did a fartlek workout. 5:30 hard followed by 3:00 light; repeated 4x.

According to my watch, the two "outs" into the wind toward GG bridge I covered 1.1 and 1.09 miles. The "backs" away from GG covered 1.13 and 1.1. That tranlates into 5:01, 4:52, 5:04 and 5:01 paces. I was hoping for sub 5s but oh well. The beautiful weather made up for it.

12 glorious miles along the embarcadero from my hotel to the GG Bridge. I think I am going to stay here until it stops raining in Seattle....

Another gorgeous run along the embarcadero. Went all the way to the GG Bridge. Just perfect weather here. 50 degree and sunny ay 7am.

Today was easily one of my top 3 runs of all time. I ran from my hotel across the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Just over 16 miles. The view from the bridge as the sun was rising was unbelievable. At the apex, you are almost a football field above the ocean and you can see for miles in all directions. On the way back, I stopped about halfway acros and just enjoyed the ocean breeze looking out over one of the most beautiful skylines around.

Back to the rain this evening.

A yucky rainy and cold morning in Snoqualmie. Fortunately the wind was calm or it would have made a yucky day into an unbearable one.

The workout was a marathon focused one: Run 12 easy miles (6:45s or so) and then jump right into a 3x2M interval workout with a 1/2 mile float in between each. Target time for the 2-mile segments was 10:20.

I didn't feel all that great during the 12 miles. Several days enjoying the food of San Francisco left me feeling pretty heavy and bloated. Plus I was soaking wet and pretty cold.

The first two mile segment came in at 10:13 as did the second. Everything felt pretty comfortable. The final repeat was in 10:06. I decided to run that one a bit harder just because. A really solid workout heading into my rest day tomorrow.

Still feeling very heavy and bloated. 14 miles along Lake Samammish. A few light rain drops but no complaints here.

I was planning on my mid-week speed workout to be on Wednesday, but with the weather forecast for Wednesday being what it is, I thought I better sneak it in today. I managed to beat the nasty weather by about 30 minutes. Calm winds, cloudy skies and relatively mild at 52. Degrees. 30 minutes after my workout, it was 34 degrees and snowing at my house. I'm so done, but at least I managed to get my workout in prior to that mess.

The workout was 8x1000m. These are always tough. The target was to alternate between 3:03s and 3:06s with 90 seconds rest. My times wound up being:

3:04; 3:02; 3:04; 3:02; 3:02; 3:03; 3:04; 3:02. The 7th one was the hardest as the lactic acid built up and the fact that I hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast was catching up to me.

12 wet, freezing miles along the Sammamish River. Glad I did the workout yesterday.

Another cold, soggy run...this time in the early morning hours. First dark morning run I've had in a couple weeks. Nice to see it's getting lighter sooner.

6.75 more this evening with my daughter riding along side. Miserable weather again but great to have my daughter along.

Finally!!! A sunny, reasonably mild (50 degrees) run. Man the sun feels good. The sun makes the run along Lake Sammamish even prettier. Gorgeous weekend ahead.

A chilly start to a beautiful morning. Had to get my workout in early today but by the end, my gloves, hat and coat were all off. 3.5 mile warmup followed by 4M at 5:10. Hit them all and the last one was in 5:06. Then a 15 minute jog before jumping into 6x1:00 hills with 2:30 rest in between. So I picked the steepest part of the Snoqualmie Parkway and hit it hard. The another several miles afterward. Just a gorgeous day. Finally.  

A.M. Still chilly enough this morning that I needed long sleeves and gloves but it was just beautiful as the sun rose to crystal clear blue skies. Looking forward to a warm run this afternoon. Got in 11 this morning.

P.M. Had to take my son to baseball practice so I ran another 9 under sunny skies and 74 degrees. Oh...I can't even describe how good the warmth felt.

One more warm one tomorrow before a couple of rainy days. But its supposed to be OK weather for my first 10,000m track race at the Western washington University Invitational on Friday. Running 25 laps under the lights at 9pm. It should be fun.

One more workout today before the 10,000m race in Bellingham on Friday. 6x1000m with 90 seconds rest. Goal was to alternate between 3:00-3:03. I hit :00, :00, :01, :00, :01, and :02. I planned very poorly hydration wise. It was fairly warm (70 degrees) and by the time I was done with this relatively short workout, I was as salty and a Salt Lake salt flat. I need to pay more attention to that especially as we finally head into warmer weather. My coach suggested taking tomorrow completely off and then maybe 4-6 on Thursday before the race on Friday.

Rest day. Weird

5 easy miles this morning around the neighborhood in prep for tomorrow evening's race. 5 miles in two days. Weird. Just retired my Inifinitys. On to a new pair.

What a difference two seconds makes. This evening I achieved my second of four goals I have for the year...I ran a sub 31:00 10,000m in a time of 30:58. How heartbreaking 31:01 would have been. But I was not to be denied.

[Full results here: http://wwuvikings.cstv.com/sports/c-track/stats/041109aaa.html]

The race was supposed to start at 9:15pm but was delayed until 9:45pm which made a late evening even later. It wasn't a big deal for me but my parents came to watch as did my wife and kids so it was pretty late for them.

The weather was simply perfect. 48-50 degrees. No wind and occasional light drizzle although by race time I think it had stopped.

There were about 15 people in the race. Western Washington University hosted the race in Bellingham. It is a D-II school and some of the other schools were CCs. So the competition wasn't top notch. The meet record for the event was 32:30 or something around there.

When I signed up to do the race a month ago, there were supposed to be five of us running it all with the goal of breaking 31:00. But three had to bail out so it was just me and Steve DeKoker, a WWU alum who also happens to run Brooks’ awesome Brooks ID program...something many on this board should check out. Great discounts and some get free gear and shoes.

Steve and I agreed on a strategy during our warm up. We would switch off the lead every four laps and just try and hit 74s the whole way. Unfortunately, we got stuck in the second row of the waterfall start. In hindsight, it would have been better to be way out in lane 8. The first 150 meters Steve and I were totally boxed. Just before the 200 meter mark, I found a small hole and went for it…just in time to see that the first 200 was in 40 seconds…WAY too slow. It should have been in the 37 range. By the 300m mark Steve had made it out of the pack and took over the lead as we had planned. Lap 1 was slow (76 seconds) but not as bad as it could have been. I didn’t get too uptight about it. Frankly, running a 76 was better than coming out in a 71.

By the 800 meter mark, the race was over in terms of place. Steve and I had gapped everyone and it was pretty clear that we would finish ahead of everyone. But neither of us was there to place. We wanted sub 31:00. The first 1600 came quickly (4:57) and right on pace. I took over the lead from Steve and led the next four laps which went smoothly but somehow a bit slower than we wanted (5:01). I’m not sure what happened because I felt great and was having no issues at all. Oh well. Steve then took over for his second set of four laps which we covered in 5:00 flat…still a second or two slower. I was back in the lead and carried us through the 5k mark, which is when I began to get a bit worried. We crossed the 5k mark at 15:38. Eight seconds over pace is manageable but not a gimme, especially with the hardest (at least mentally) part of the race yet to come. My goal at that point was to try and make up one second each lap. Mission accomplished as we crossed the 6400 mark (9 laps to go) in 4:56. That was more like it. We picked up three of the eight seconds with nine laps to go. Then another bit of bad news…Steve began having GI issues and told me he was going to back off and couldn’t take over the lead for his third and final segment. Ugh. Steve is 6’4”. I am 5’8” with shoes on. I really enjoyed drafting behind him. Oh well. So with nine laps to go, I knew I was on my own in a race I had never competed in before and still five or so seconds over pace. First lap all on my own (#19) was in 74. OK, but I needed a few 73s or even a 72 to get back on pace. 20^th lap (the 8k mark) went a little better in 73 crossing the 8k mark in 24:48, shattering my previous 8k PR of 25:03. That turned out to be a pretty huge confidence booster that I really needed with 5 laps to go. I was really starting to hurt and have some doubts as I was doing fuzzy math in my head about what it was going to take to reach my goal. Lap 21 came in at 75. Not good. The first two hundred of this lap was in 37, the worst split I had had all race at the 200m mark so I knew the lap was going to be slow. So with four laps to go, I had given back another second. Ugh. But lap 22 I found some strength somewhere and pulled in a 74 with the cumulative clock at 27:07. So I needed to cover 1200m in 3:52 or better. Lap 23 was perhaps the most difficult. My sub 31:00 was still in jeopardy and I was running out of gas and had no help. I had lapped several people throughout the race and that serves as some motivation and help but nothing like having a 6’4” wind shield. Despite how hard lap 23 felt, I managed a 73. This was HUGE. With two laps to go, I was sitting at 28:30. In other words, I need a 2:29 final 800m to reach my goal. I knew I could do this. I began to pick it up a bit in Lap 24. I consciously made the decision to not leave any work undone for the final lap. So I kicked it up a notch. It turned out to be a smart move. Lap 24 was a 72, just the second 72 I had all race. With one lap to go, the clock read 29:46. I still needed a 73 to get the job done and that was no gimme. The first 200m of the final lap was in a “blistering” :35. With 200 to go, I simply needed a :38 to break 31:00. With 100 to go, I could see the clock and just gave it everything I had. I crossed the finish line in 30:58…barely a second to spare. I was so thrilled. I think my dad may have been even happier. He was there at the finish to congratulate me which meant a lot.

As it turns out, the time was a meet record.

Some have said the 5000 meters is the most grueling distance. Maybe. But I found the 10,000 and its 25 sometimes monotonous laps to be pretty grueling.

One more thing about running in a pack. There are definitely very real and measureable physical benefits to running with a group at any distance. But there is a mental benefit that is every bit as meaningful. The key to any distance race is being able to break the race up into sections whether its miles, laps or even minutes. The 10,000 meters became much more mentally manageable to me because Steve and I broke it up into 1600m segments. There was something very powerful in trading the lead every four laps that really made the race one of segments not simply a 25-lap race.

So what can I improve on to do even better next time...:

• Lapping -- one of the challenges of such a long race around a track (unless you are running at something like a Stanford Invite) is you are inevitably going to lap people. My coach's estimate was that I lapped 25-30 people over the course of 25 laps. Unfortunately, many of those occured in the turns. I tried to avoid running in Lane 2 as much as possible but I spent more time there than I would have liked. Not sure what there is to do about that but it was a small factor.
• Faster front half. Only after thinking about my times more yesterday did I realize the huge differential in the 5k splits. 15:38 for the front half and 15:20 for the back half. A negative split isn't necessarily all that bad but one of 18 seconds is a bit much. Next time, I will go out in 15:20-25 and then try and hold that for the second half. It was my first 10,000m so I didn't want to do anything silly on the front half that would cost me later, but now with one under my belt, speeding up from the front 5k would be my first place to look to bring down my time.
• Bigger Pack -- I outlined above the benefits of a pack. Laws of physics support this and real-life experience validates it. If I run a track 10k again, I will make sure it's at a meet where there is a larger group of guys to do what Steve and I did, but do it for the entire race. Losing Steve with 9 laps to go was noticeable and it could have only helped to have had someone else to trade off with for those final 9 laps.

Today was a very hard day to get out of bed and run. I needed to get an early start because we had family plans the rest of the day. So I took off at 6:30 for a beautiful run along the seashore near Blaine, WA where we stayed the night at Semiahmoo Resort. First mile was in 9:00. Second was something like 8:30. I was very tight and sore from the race just 8 hours prior. But everything loosened up and I managed to get in 16 which made for a low, but respectable week of mileage considering ai was optimizing for the race last night. Looking forward to my rest tomorrow.

NIce morning for a run. I little tight ans sore still from my race late Friday night but the energy level is back.

10 miles this afternoon along the Burke Gilman trail in Seattle. What a wonderful trail system that is.

A nice run a long the Sammamish River trail. The sun even peaked out a few times.

Another beautiful run along the Sammamish River trail. 55 degrees and mostly sunny. Perhaps we are finally turning the corner.

Just another stunning spring day in Seattle. Sunny and pleasant temps. I have the slightest of strains in my left calf so I backed a bit off of the planned mileage today. I am supposed to do a workout tomorrow with Mike Sayenko and Uli Steidl but I'll wait and see how the calf feels. As much as I would like to run the workout with other guys, I may give my calf one extra day of rest.

Wound up trying the workout with Mike and Uli. Uli's wife Trisha, who coaches Seattle University, joined us for the warm and cool.

The clouds parted and we had a bit of sunshine at the start and end of the workout. We ran from Marymoor Park along the Sammamish River Trail past Redhook Brewery in Woodinville. For those familiar with the Super Jock and Jill 1/2 marathon, we ran on the last part of the course.

The workout was a tempo run. 10 miles with the first few at 5:30 and then working our way down to 5:05 for the last couple.

We went out too fast. First 1/4 was in 75. Oops. My bad. First four miles were in the 5:18-5:20 range and they felt fine. The reason they felt like the easiest four miles in history was because the wind was at our backs out of the south. The last four miles were brutal. Dropped a 5:28 into a stiff wind on mile 7. The rest were all in the 5:18-5:22 range. Times weren't there because of the wind, but the effort was.

Looking forward to an easy 20 tomorrow.

A beautiful day today although it didn't warm up as much as expected. That didn't stop me from getting sunburned. Oops. Forgot what it was like to run for 2+ hours in the sun. Lesson learned.

I ran the first 13 miles of my run testing out the course for the half marathon I will be putting on here next April or May. It's going to be a rare blend of flat and beautiful, something that doesn't exist in half marathons out here.

About five miles into the run, I looked at my watch and realized I was running about 6:10 pace, much faster than I normally run my easy runs. It felt fine though and I didn't really look at my watch again and just ran what felt right. Good training week. Two weeks until the Indy Mini.

Probably the nicest run I have had in six months. Clear skies. 75 degrees. It's days like this that make the winters worth it.

If there is one thing we Seattleites don't know how to do, it's run in the warmth...especially early season warmth. I've seen it time and time again. Runners from Seattle venturing unto other climates and absolutely getting it handed to them in races of any length with a temperature of 65 degrees or greater. I think we are just so used to running 8 months out of the year in the 50s or less that we don't know how to hydrate and our bodies aren't used to what our friends in the South are so accustomed to.

To be clear, I am not complaining. Anyone who lived through our winter would be insane to complain about a sunny day in the upper 70s. In fact, there could not have been a nicer day for an easy run anywhere on earth. It's just doing things at race pace or faster makes the warmth all of th sudden uncomfortable. Ironically, I did my workout today because tomorrow calls for an end to our beautiful weather and brings back the rain.

The gauge at Redmond High School said 81. I don't think it was that warm, but it was over 75 degrees when I got started. The workout was 2x2M @4:52 pace. First mile went well (4:51) but I knew as surely as I know the sky is blue, that the rest were going to be uuuugly. Second mile was 4:57. After a four-minute rest and 10 ounces of water, I jumped into the last 2M repeat with the simple goal of hitting each mile in 5:00. The first one was right on and the second was 5:01. Good enough for me.

Nice easy run today along Lake Sammamish. Light drizzle and nearly 30 degrees cooler than yesterday. In hindsight, I should have done the workout today. Oh well.

A nice easy stroll through the rural roads of Redmond. I thought I would change things up a bit and try a different route. It was beautiful. Redmond goes from commercial to rural pretty quickly. Temp was mid 50s with a nice breeze.

I got an email from the race director of the Indy Mini with the list of elite athletes being hosted by the race. I've included the list below sorted their 1/2 PRs as best as I could find them on the Web. Other than a couple of ridiculously fast guys, there's quite a pack of 1:07-1:12 runners. Should be fun. Paul...I hope I got your time right.

Bib	First Name	Last Name	City	State	1/2 Time
7	Elijah	Nyabuti			1:02
49	Festus	Langat			1:02
8	George	Towett			1:03
9	Mohamed	Fadil			1:04
5	Jason	Lokwatom			1:05
10	Abdelaziz	Atmani	Indianapolis	IN	1:07
14	John	Poray	Indianapolis	IN	1:09
16	Jesse	Davis	Indianapolis	IN	1:09
20	Sean	Sundwall	Snoqualmie	WA	1:09
53	Paul	Petersen	Logan	UT	1:09
41	Matt	Blume	Fort Wayne	IN	1:10
52	Antonio	McDaniel	Carmel	IN	1:10
57	Jerome	Recker	Lansing	MI	1:10
48	Nick	Krus			1:11
51	Mark	Manz	Kiel	WI	1:11
67	Scott	Spitz	Indianapolis		1:11
19	Jacob	Rhyner	Indianapolis		1:12
13	Eric	Ade			1:12
62	Chris	Teague	Holliston	MA	1:12
15	John	Agnew			1:13
50	Tristan	Mannix	Evansville	IN	1:13
12	Aaron	Harding	Indianapolis	IN	1:15
18	Tim	Mylin	Noblesville		1:15
45	David	Forsee	Indianapolis	IN	1:15
56	Jason	Ream	Chicago	IL	1:15
66	Gregory	Verdo	Chicago	IL	1:16
3	Jason	Crichton	Toronto	ON	1:18
65	Josh	Trisler			1:21
46	Gerry	Groothuis			1:23
44	Thomas	Dever	Terre Haute	IN	1:25
11	Aaron	Moody	Indianapolis	IN	1:26
64	Ian	Thomas	Pennville	IN	1:26
43	Scott	Colford			1:32
42	Rick	Britton			1:33
59	Gary	Romesser	Indianapolis		1:35
61	Michael	Smith	Brownsburg		1:35
63	Mitchell	Thomas	Pennville	IN	1:35
60	Tyler	Small			1:42

I checked the weather there today and I would be gitty if this is what we had next Saturday. Updated: 7:28 pm EDT

69.6 °F Mostly Cloudy Humidity: 17% Dew Point: 32 °F Wind: 2.0 mph from the SE   Wind Gust: 8.0 mph Pressure: 29.33 in (Falling) Visibility: 10.0 miles UV: 1 out of 16 Clouds: Few 7000 ft Scattered Clouds 13000 ft Mostly Cloudy 20000 ft (Above Ground Level) Elevation: 735 ft

 Utah-like humidity, relatively low temperature considering it's late afternoon there and light winds with some clouds thrown in for good measure. The long range forecast for Saturday May 2 calls for showers and a low of 46 and a high of 67 with humidity at 53%. That's what I'm talkin about. I know...the forecast will change a hundred times between now and then. But can't a guy dream?

A cold but beautiful 12-mile run through the streets and neighborhoods of Snoqualmie and North bend. Not a cloud in the sky and a fresh coat of snow in the mountains made for a gorgeous run. I felt really good thorughout the whole run.

Woke up this morning pretty tired and stuffed from a long night of crazy twelve year old girls over for my daughter's birthday party. I ate way to much and got too little sleep.

During my warmup I was a little worried about being able to do the workout as my stomach was giving me issues. Temp was cool and it was mostly cloudy but good weather for race pace running.

The workout was essentially a race simulation for next weekend. Six miles total with the first 5 at race pace (5:08-5:10) with the final mile being as close to 5:00 as possible.

Mile 1 -- 5:08 -- Tight and tired but hit the number

Mile 2 -- 5:11 -- Umm...what happened? I lost concentration I think and wasn't paying attention.

Mile 3 -- 5:10 -- Focused on trying to get in a rhythm and just relax

Mile 4 -- 5:09 -- This was my water lap and the wind started to kick up. Just focused on my stride and using my arms.

Mile 5 -- Stomach issues still in check and finally started feeling OK.

Mile 6 -- 4:59 -- I was pretty happy with hitting this once. After the first two miles I was feeling like I would have been happy to just complete the six miles let alone hit the final one in sub 5:00. This was by far the easiest mile. Not sure why but I felt good the whole way.

A really good penutlimate workout before Indy. Feeling ready.

Turned out to be a really nice day. Sunny and mid-60s by the time I got out the door this afternoon. Easy run along the Sammamish River. I think the morning weather scared people off as I was almost all alone on a trail that can get pretty busy in nice weather. The Indy Mini officials updated the elite entry list and they've added a 1:01 half marathoner and a few other fast guys. Here's the updated list. It will be really cool if the secondary pack of 1:07-1:09 guys can hang together for a long time. I just realized I'm the oldest guy among the Top 21 people. From a running perspective, 40 can't come fast enough. I'm in this no-man's land of mid-30s that doesn't get you jack.

Bib Number	First Name	Last Name	Age	PR
4	Moses	Kororia	32	1:01
7	Elijah	Nyabuti	30	1:02
49	Festus	Langat	24	1:02
8	George	Towett	24	1:03
9	Mohamed	Fadil	27	1:04
5	Jason	Lokwatom	24	1:05
6	Joseph	Mutinda	34	1:05
10	Abdelaziz	Atmani	27	1:07
14	John	Poray	28	1:09
16	Jesse	Davis	27	1:09
20	Sean	Sundwall	36	1:09
53	Paul	Petersen	29	1:09
41	Matt	Blume	27	1:10
52	Antonio	McDaniel	24	1:10
57	Jerome	Recker	25	1:10
48	NicK	Krus	23	1:11
51	Mark	Manz	35	1:11
67	Scott	Spitz	32	1:11
13	Eric	Ade	30	1:12
19	Jacob	Rhyner	25	1:12
62	Chris	Teague	40	1:12
15	John	Agnew	47	1:13
50	Tristan	Mannix	24	1:13
55	Jake	Quagliaroli	31	1:13
12	Aaron	Harding	26	1:15
18	Timothy	Mylin	49	1:15
45	David	Forsee	40	1:15
56	Jason	Ream	27	1:15
66	GREGORY	VERDO	30	1:16
3	Jason	Crichton	27	1:18
65	Josh	Trisler	30	1:21
46	Gerry	Groothuis	26	1:23
44	Thomas	Dever	51	1:25
11	Aaron	Moody	30	1:26
64	Ian	Thomas	22	1:26
43	Scott	Colford	38	1:32
42	Ricky	Britton	27	1:33
59	Gary	Romesser	58	1:35
63	Mitchell	Thomas	22	1:35
60	Tyler	Small	33	1:42
17	Aimad	Bouziane	26	2:30 Full
58	Brad	Robinson	24	2:38 Full
69	Ernest	Kimeli	22	30:33 10k
47	Matt	Ingalls	23
54	Dan	Pinter	22

Temperature: 56

Humidity: 54%

Wind: 5-10mph

These were the conditions today at the Redmond HS track where I did my final workout before Saturday's race. That just so happens to be almost exactly the conditions forecast for Saturday in Indy.

As for the workout...4M@5:10-5:12 + 1/2 mile at 2:30 or better.

First mile was in 5:08 and every mile thereafter was at 5:11 with the final half being in 2:28. The problem is that it took way to much effort to do it which was a bit frustrating. Saturday's workout which was of the same ilk but longer went much better. I just never felt relaxed today and it just took more effort to run that pace than it should have. Oh well. It's all the more incentive to run with a pack of guys at Indy.

Indy Forecasts:

Intellicast: Mostly cloudy; 51-65; 60% humidity; light winds

Wunderground: Partly sunny; 54-65; 85% humidity; light winds

Weather.com: Mostly cloudy; 53-66; 60% humidity; light/moderate winds

NOAA: Partly Sunny; 45-65

Nice easy run along the Sammamish River. Cool but gorgeous day. Rest day and travel day on Thursday then I will run the last 4-5 miles of the course on Friday.

Race day weather is shaping up to be ideal.

Nice day in Indianapolis. 64 degrees, overcast and 76% humidity. I ran from the Indy Speedway to the finish line which is where our hotel is. The only thing flatter is a track. I did notice the humidity but it's supposed to be 15 degrees cooler when the race starts tomorrow and it shouldn;t go much above that for the first couple of hours in the morning. Looking forward to seeing Paul tomorrow morning. Our plan is to run together as long as we can.

UPDATED TOP 20 Results Below

Race Start Weather:

46 degrees

Thin overcast

NO WIND

I have never raced in better weather...period. It was absolutely perfect.

Woke up at 6am after a pretty good night's sleep. I brought my two boys and my dad along for the ride. My oldest son has the amazing ability of not falling asleep before 11pm, but once he was asleep, we all slept great.

By 6:20 I was out the door walking over to the NCAA Headquarters which was the Elite staging area. The race organizers were great and all the pre-race stuff went perfectly.

I felt slow, bloated and heavy during my warmup. This is very typical though so I didn't think much of it.

The start countdown was done by soldiers in Kuwait via cell phone. Kind of cool. As seems to always be the case, this race had its own "Michael Wardian" jumping out to an early lead for some good camera time. By Mile 2 we caught him.

The biggest surprise of the first mile was how slow the Kenyans went out. Paul and I were right together as we crossed Mile 1 in a very slow 5:23. That was really disappointing since it was a full 13 seconds slower than my desired mile pace. Even with 12 miles to go, that's a lot of time to make up. So I spent Mile 2 focused on hitting the desired split time. I wasn't going to try and get back any of my lost time, just get back on race pace. Mile 2 came in at 5:09. Much better. At this point, I think the "chase" pack was me, Paul and some young dude with floppy hair. I will refer to him as floppy from here on out.

The Mile 2 water stationn was staffed by well over 100 LDS missionaries. That was cool to see. They were probably very glad the weather was so cool.

The lead pack was still in sight at this point but they did begin to pick up the pace. I commented to Paul though that 1:02 wasn't going to happen based on the first two mile splits.

Mile 3 I still was feeling heavy and bloated. I had taken a few sips of water but was concerned I wasn't getting enough. Temps were low but the half is just long enough that hydration can be a concern especially with humidity. Mile 3 was 5:08. Perfect.

5k time -- 16:12

Mile 4. Don't remember anything exciting happening here. Me, Paul and floppy were still together. Floppy and I swapped the lead a few times but he seemed willing to take it back each time so I felt willing to let him. :-) Mile 4 5:08. Nice.

Mile 5..the last mile before entering the Speedway. We slowed a touch to 5:11. This was my first (and only) full swig of water and I tend to slow a bit when i take water. Maybe that was why. Who knows.

The Mile 6 marker is inside the Speedway just before you actually get on the race track. I had no idea how incredibly massive the Speedway was. A 400 meter track will forever seem very short. Mile 6 was in 5:07. I was starting to feel a little bit better about things although I was reserving judgment until Mile 10 which is 5k to go. The 10k marker was on the back straightaway of the Speedway. Crossed in 32:15. It wasn't too long ago that this would have been a 10k PR. Mile 7 was inside the Speedway as well. I commented to Paul afterward about how slow this mile was. We did it in 5:16. By this time Paul had dropped back but me and Floppy were still together. We were both wondering what happened.

Mile 8 was almost entirely on the final straightaway of the Speedway and this was the only time during the race I felt anything resembling wind. Despite the slow Mile 7, I was content to let Floppy bear the brunt of the wind. Mile 8 was in 5:14. Slow but not too bad.

As we left the track it was good riddance from my standpoint. It's such an enourmous facility that it felt at times like we weren't covering any ground. So the Mile 9 marker was back out on the streets of Indianapolis. Crossed Mile 9 in 5:11. A smidgen slower than I wanted but I was just happy to be feeling good. At this point I was in 9th place and I think Paul was still in 10th. There was a Kenyan that me and Floppy were reeling in which was particularly motivating. Nothing quite like beating a Kenyan.

Mile 10 -- 5:12. Still slower than I wanted but the beauty of Mile 10 is that mentally, it becomes a very manageable race. 5k to go. I can get my head around 5k and I have a good idea of what i have left in the tank and how much to push it with 5k to go. It was right about at Mile 10 that Floppy and I passed the Kenyan. He put up a fight for about a 1/4 mile but we gapped him hard after that.

Mile 11 -- The biggest challenge which this mile is that you can see the Mile 11 marker from the Mile 10 marker. It's a really long straight stretch that felt like it went on forever. Crossed Mile 11 in 5:08. Beautiful. I was back to running my pace.

Mile 12 had us finally leave 10th St. and turn on to White River Parkway. I could see the marker early on and at this point, it was me and Floppy battling for 7th place. There was a slight breeze, but at this point, I wasn't even thinking about it. 5:12 was the time for Mile 12. 1/10 of a mile later you make the turn onto the New York Street bridge. They call it the Miracle Mile. At this point I had passed Floppy with the intention of never seeing the back of his head again. One of the great things of this course was they marked every final 1/4 mile. As I made the turn onto NY Street for the final mile, I made my move. I knew a sub 1:08 was still possible but it was going to take some real effort. I also knew there was money and pride on the line and I didn't want to let Floppy pass me. BTW...Floppy couldn't be older than 22 or 23.

With 3/4 to go, I was going to look back but decided not to. I told myself that I don't "get" to look back unless I hit the 1/2 to go mark on pace for a sub 1:08. So with 1/2 to go, I was on pace and looked back. I had gapped Floppy by about 100 meters. I kicked it into a higher gear telling myself I had only two laps to go. With a 1/4 mile to go I looked back again. Floppy had not closed at all. So I focused on trying to hit a 75 second quarter to the finish line. Crossed the 13 mile mark in 5:03! Wow...the extra effort really paid off.

The final 1/10 was awesome. I was really running hard and I could see the clock the whole way. One final look back and Floppy hadn't made any progress. 7th place was mine.

Finishing time: 1:07:53 (official)...a pace of 5:10.5.

In January I had set my 1/2 goal at 1:07:30. But that was a bit unrealistic. This past week I was going to be ecstatic with anything under 1:08 which I did. Mission accomplished.

The winning time was a high 1:03:55 by Festus Langat. The Kenyans really wasted an opportunity to take advantage of perfect weather.  Joseph Mutinda was second in 1:04:28.

A couple of observations/learnings:

• I continue to be astounded by how many elite runners do NOT run the tangents. This course had numerous opportunities to be lured off the tangents making the course longer than it needs to be. I just don't get it.
• Improvement? The first mile was ridiculously slow. I'm terrible at gauging pace off the track but my watch said we were at 80 seconds at the quarter which turned out to be about right. I could have easily had 10-15 seconds back if I had run that correctly. I also want to start pushing it even sooner. I have never died at the end of a race, something I always have feared. So I almost need it to happen so that I know my limits better.  
• This is such a weird distance. It's only my fourth half and I feel like I have so much experience to still gain. Hydration is a fuzzy area. Pace wise it feels more like a 10k. It's just a weird distance.

***Not sure why the race hasn't figured out how to post the Top Results but here they are:

First

Last

Bib

DIV

5M

10M

Chip Time

GunTime

Pace

OVERALL

AGE

CITY

STATE

Festus

Langat

49

Males 20-24

0:24:23

0:48:38

1:03:55

1:03:55

4:53

1

24

West Chester

PA

Ernest

Kimeli

4

Males 20-24

0:24:27

1:04:08

1:04:09

4:54

2

22

Marietta

GA

Joseph

Mutinda

6

Males 30-34

0:24:28

0:48:54

1:04:26

1:04:26

4:56

3

34

Santa Fe

NM

Jeff

Powers

70

Males 25-29

0:25:08

0:49:51

1:05:07

1:05:07

4:59

4

25

Bloomington

IN

Elijah

Nyabuti

7

Males 30-34

0:24:47

0:49:51

1:05:22

1:05:22

5:00

5

30

Maineville

OH

Abdelaziz

Atmani

10

Males 25-29

0:24:47

0:50:02

1:05:33

1:05:33

5:01

6

27

Indianapolis

IN

Sean

Sundwall

20

Males 35-39

0:25:59

0:52:01

1:07:53

1:07:53

5:11

7

36

Snoqualmie

WA

John

Poray

14

Males 25-29

0:25:59

0:52:00

1:08:00

1:08:00

5:12

8

28

Indianapolis

IN

Nick

Krus

48

Males 20-24

0:26:29

0:52:18

1:08:11

1:08:11

5:13

9

23

Memphis

MI

Jason

Lokwatom

5

Males 20-24

0:25:30

0:52:00

1:08:32

1:08:32

5:14

10

24

Troy

OH

Paul

Petersen

53

Males 25-29

0:26:03

0:52:18

1:08:35

1:08:36

5:15

11

29

Logan

UT

Mark

Manz

51

Males 35-39

0:26:14

0:52:53

1:08:55

1:08:55

5:16

12

35

Kiel

WI

Matt

Blume

41

Males 25-29

0:26:29

0:52:55

1:08:59

1:08:59

5:16

13

27

Fort Wayne

IN

Jerome

Recker

57

Males 25-29

0:26:30

0:52:56

1:09:01

1:09:01

5:17

14

25

Lansing

MI

Aaron

Moody

11

Males 30-34

0:26:28

0:53:07

1:09:24

1:09:25

5:18

15

30

Indianapolis

IN

Eric

Ade

13

Males 30-34

0:26:29

0:53:02

1:09:41

1:09:41

5:20

16

30

Fort Wayne

IN

Scott

Spitz

67

Males 30-34

0:26:28

0:53:26

1:10:28

1:10:29

5:23

17

32

Indianapolis

IN

Jacob

Rhyner

19

Males 25-29

0:27:07

0:53:53

1:10:31

1:10:32

5:23

18

25

Indianapolis

IN

Josh

Trisler

65

Males 30-34

1:10:51

1:10:51

5:25

19

30

Carmel

IN

Jesse

Davis

16

Males 25-29

0:26:27

0:53:42

1:10:58

1:10:58

5:26

20

27

Indianapolis

IN

An easy 10 miles this morning near Mt. Si after dropping my daughter off at school. There were some aches and tightness, but nothing I didn't expect. Good to be back on my feet after a weekend of lounging around, traveling on airplanes and eating too much food.

This morning it was pouring rain and gusty winds so I waited until things mellowed a bit. The skies parted and for most of my run, it was dry and windy. But the last three miles were a soaker. Forutnately, even with the wind it wasn't too cold. Went out along the Sammamish River trail and when I got to the turnaround for more planned 12-miler, I decided to take a different route back which ended up tacking on an extra 1+. Good thing I'm in good enough shape that the extra mile didn't kill me. :-)

49 degrees and a steady rain this morning. Didn't seem to bother me really. Each day there is less soreness and decreased tightness.

Cool but rain free run this morning. Left from Snoq. Middle School after dropping off my daughter and went into North Bend before going out to the country roads of North Bend and Snoqualmie. Very little traffic. I swear that the headwind was in every direction this morning.

A fairly nice day today. Mostly cloudy but warm enough to enjoy a run along the Sammamish River trail.

A cool but gorgeous morning for a run. I ran from home, to North Bend and then down to my son's baseball game in Fall City. The middle five miles I decided to do a random tempo sort of run. No real time goal in mind. Just wanted to run faster than easy. First two were in 5:47 and 5:46. The last three ranged from 5:25-5:28. Felt good to run sort of fast for a bit.

11 drizzly miles this morning but the temperature was relatively mild. Even left the gloves at home. To be fair...I couldn't find them or I would have worn them. But my hands were fine during the run. With six weeks to go until the marathon, I'm back to 90-mile weeks which means today is double day.

PM. Another peacful 10 plus miles this evening. The skies cleared which made it colder than it was this morning.

Today was one of those classic Seattle spring days where at one moment, the clouds are covering the sun and you're glad you have gloves and a long-sleeve shirt. Then five minutes later, the sun peeks out and you feel like stripping down to your shorts. Don't worry...I didn't.

Today was a rare mid-week long run. 10 days after the Indy Mini I was feeling ansty and ready to get back into things. So my coach gave me a Race Simulation workout focused very much on prepping for the June marathon.

The workout was run 12M at regular easy pace and then roll right into a 5M run at marathon pace (5:16-5:18) and then a 2-mile cool down. With the way my work and personal schedule was shaping up, the only time to do this was at 5:30 in the morning. Not exactly my favorite time to do a workout, but at least it wasn't raining. It was chilly, but no rain.

The idea behind a race sim is much more than just hitting marathon pace times. It's about trying to make as much of the workout exactly like a race as possible.

So I wore the shoes I am going to wear. Same shorts. I didn't wear a singlet because it was so cold. The biggest thing, for me anyway, is simulating the hydration. This is always an issue for me and it will likely be the make or break factor in Duluth in five weeks. So I did the 5 miles around the track so I could have two water stations within those five miles. I drank at Mile 1 and Mile 4. Drinking is hard at that pace especially when your fingers are frozen and you have to unscrew a lid. But I managed to get some good fluids down which was probably the most important part of the race sim for me.

Something else about the race sim is it trains you to run hard miles deep in to a run. While 12 miles at easy pace (6:45) isn't exactly exhausting, it's amazing how challenging it is to (a) change speeds after doing so many miles at one pace; and (b) run at marathon pace after 12 miles at a slower pace.

The concept of "cutdowns" teaches a similar thing.  

My times were 5:20, 5:17; 5:16; 5:17; 5:17. That first mlie was by far the hardest. It's really hard to rachet down after humming along at 6:45s for 80 minutes.