Wesley Hunt

18 Miles in 2:01:50 (6:46/mile) on a 9-mile out-and-back along the Little Rock River Trail and through downtown Little Rock.  I very much enjoyed the warmish, 75 degree weather, with a pretty good breeze coming off the Arkansas River for the first 6 miles and final 6 miles of the run.  

Mid-morning/afternoon runs by the river are nice and refreshing.  I start tapering this week for the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday, April 20.  

Wesley 

With the termperature hovering around 90 degrees and wind gusts between 30 and 40 mph, I had a challenging speed workout today at a local high school track (wind was far worse than the heat).  I worked hard and ran through it, however, during a workout that included:

2 Miles at 6:36/mile, including two striders during final 400m;

4X400m Repeats at 76, 76, 79, and 79 seconds, respectively;

2X800m Repeats at 3:05 and 2:57 respectively; and

4X400m Repeats at 79, 81, 82, and 79 seconds, respectively;

Including 200m slow walk/jog after each 400m repeat and 400m slow walk/jog after each 800m repeat, I ran 7 miles total.  Sure, I'm not thrilled with my 800m repeat splits, but given the fact that wind gusts almost stood me up at times, I managed the best that I could. 

Wesley

5 Miles Easy (7:30/mile), including 6 striders during Mile 4, on treadmill. 

Wesley

Quick, MP-5K progression workout that hopefully provided a needed tune-up for my second consecutive 5K this Saturday.  Splits included:  

Mile 1: 6:58;

Mile 2: 6:40;

Mile 3: 6:18;

Mile 4: 6:00; and

Mile 5: 5:52

.25 Mile cool down for 5.25 total miles.  I ran strong on the treadmill today, approaching "puke pace" toward the end of Mile 5.  But it was just what I needed... 

In addition to celebrating my 10-Year Class Reunion this weekend in beautiful Fordyce, Arkansas (home of the mighty Redbugs!), my goal is to win my first 5K with a sub-18:30 time (which would also be a PR).  I finished fourth running an 18:34 in a considerably larger race in Little Rock last weekend, and unless a ringer decides to enter the 50-60 person, small town race for the hell of it, I should have a pretty good shot.  In fact, two years ago, I finished second to just such a ringer (who, in hindsight, wasn't so much a ringer).  

The fact is that this race has a lot of sentimental value for me given my father's past success as a local, elite short-distance racer.  He won the Fordyce on the Cotton Belt 5K (it's part of a week-long festival celebrating the town's historic link to the Union Pacific Railroad "Cotton Belt"), setting a course record of 16:38 in his mid-30s.  My dad, who is now 57, and just qualified for Boston in his first Marathon, will be running the race as well, and it would be great to win one for him.  After all, he's coached, pushed and motivated me for the last 28 years.  The least I can do is provide him with a little fatherly pride on what should be a beautiful Easter Weekend.  

And he may finish second... 

Wesley 

On a warm, humid morning approaching 80 degrees, I set off with my Dad in the annual 5K race in the small, Arkansas town where I grew up.  Competing primarily against myself in a a race that fielded approximately 60 runners, I set a new PR and achieved my target finish time of sub-18:30 (5:52/mile).  In winning this sentimental race, which my Dad won several times in the early 90s, I also received a preety awesome throwback trophy that's about three feet tall. 

My Dad, Mark, also ran well on Saturday, winning the Master's Division and averaging a 7:00/mile pace.  Many thanks to my brother who made a special trip down to cheer us on.  He's in town to see his father-in-law, who is recovering from open heart surgery, and I really appreciated having him there at the finsih line for my first victory.  Incidentally, had he chosen to run, I have no doubt he would have finished...second!

Wesley