"Fartleks and Honeystingers"

Finally getting caught up here after a whirlwind of a week!! Some increased stress at work fueled a series of good runs, that along with a lot of cross training at the Y left me a little pooped to post the last couple runs. I’ll go over the last three runs below…

THURSDAY – 14.6 Miles – 5 miles of Fartlek, followed by a 9 mile loop.

Thursday was just an awesome workout… Scott and I started about a 5:15pm and did 5 miles of fartleks. I got 2 full tempo miles in at a 6:30 and 6:07, taking the rest miles at 7:30. Then the last ½ mile right around a 6:05...  I’m feeling pretty good about the pacing, even though I haven’t worked on speed much this winter all the hill running definitely helped.  The temps were warm Thursday night and a little humid, I ended up shedding some layers quick at the end of the speedwork and we proceeded for the group run.

For the group run we did a 9 mile loop route I created a couple months ago. Part of the run was on a road with no sidewalks so I’ve been hesitant to ask the group out there until the snow as gone and conditions a bit safer. It turned out to be a great run, despite the thunderstorm soaking us around mile 7 haha. We did some rolling hills with an overall negative decent until the last two miles, at this point we turned back up and hit about 400 feet in a couple miles which was a great ending.  I remember just feeling great about the quality of the two combined workouts.

SATURDAY – 13.1 Miles - Paced Rob and Thomas on a half marathon time trial.

We started a little early Saturday, leaving the coffee shop at 7am… it was a pretty warm morning and I was able to break out the shorts once again. I had only planned on clocking in about 5-6 easy miles but it sounded like fun to join Rob Thomas and Luke on their time trial so I joined up. We did a fairly flat ½ marathon route with a couple decent hills thrown in for good measure. The guys all did great and it was very cool to see them set and hit their goals once again. Marion is just a couple more weeks off and I’m getting increasingly excited to watch everyone run.  The miles Saturday went by so fast we hit 9 miles before I even knew it and as we finished I remember thinking my legs felt better than when we started... a great feeling.

SUNDAY – 18.1 Miles - Sunday long run with Bill and Shannon

Sunday we had planned on cutting back the mileage. With a pretty high mileage week I was really hoping to cut back to around 12 miles but as the day went on Saturday I felt pretty good and my inner coach was telling me to give the 17 we previously talked about a try. After some discussion we decided we would do the 12 but leave our options open…. come about 10 miles in, with the sun shining and good conversation we all agreed to extend the run. It is really amazing how much nicer the runs can be in 45 degrees vs -10  We ended up turning back down Grandview to Southern which would give us 18 total, that’s when we got to witness Shannon’s outstanding last couple miles… he steadily increased the pace with great form over the last two (uphill) miles and dropped a 7 minute finishing mile!! It was really cool to watch him do so well and again just reminded me how much fun it will be to watch everyone drop time this year! We joked that it is Shannon’s honey stingers he used for fuel that helped him to do so well, and although we all know it is his hard work and training, I’m not saying I won’t pick some up on Amazon.com today :) All joking aside it was cool to see him perform so well and I really wish he could run Grandma's with us, I know he would do great.

"Tuesday Night Hills"

Man, it was cold tonight!  Although it was up to 20 degrees, the windchill really cut right though me.  Scott and I started a little early tonight and cranked out some hills, we did Loras, Locust and part of North Grandview, then we circled up with the group.   We started off down Grandveiw but Shannon and I got talking and decided to veer off on Southern and do the reverse of a hill loop we've done quite a few times.

The run ended up totaling a little over 13 miles which  puts me at nearly 30 for the week so I'm sitting good.  The best part is my foot feels awesome... I have been concerned for the last couple days that it might got worse, sure glad it didn't.  Also the run topped out over 1,000 feet of elevation which was another plus.

So tomorrow I'll probably take one more rest day just to make sure my foot has no lasting issues, I'll do some cross training and foam roll a bit... then Thursday I'll get ready to hit it hard.

"26.2 Mile Weekend"

Well it’s about three weeks into marathon training and the miles are rolling right along now!  This week started slow as my Sunday run was nearly 10 miles short of my average but I ended with a bang topping 10 miles per run on every day this week.   That totaled up last week over 50 miles again and I set myself up for another good week with Sunday mornings 16 mile long run with Bill and Shannon… let’s get more into that.

I woke up Sunday Morning with both ears clogged shut, sore throat and burning legs and hurting right foot.  Not exactly the combination I would have wanted for a 16 mile long run (my longest ever).    I’ve had a cold for the last week or so and not surprisingly the previous 4 days and 40 miles had taken its toll wearing me down.   Needless to say, going into the run I was a bit nervous, the fact it was once again down to zero with the wind chill added to my anxiety.  Once into the run the first 5 or 6 miles were not very fun as I still felt like crap and kept thinking of my foot.  Lucky for me, as it normally does, the run got better close to mile 7 as I let loose and stopped worrying so much.   We ran a new route heading west of town toward the industrial center and looping back hitting some new hills.  I was impressed with the nearly 1000 feet of elevation as the route didn’t seem so bad (until the end haha).    I finished the run feeling just awesome that I did it and feeling even more of an accomplishment knowing I did it in less than ideal conditions… I’ve said it time and time again but it’s on days like today when you don’t feel like getting out of bed that it’s so important to have running partners to keep you accountable and encourage you to hit your goals. 

Lastly, on a totally different note, my buddy Scott gave me a heads up on a great deal on a Xterra Wetsuit.   I’ve been shopping for a good triathlon wetsuit for months and I really struck gold with this one.  I got the Xterra Vector Pro, listed as the #1 wetsuit for ironman and ironman 70.3 events, it has great buoyancy and flexibility which will help keep a natural form; with the coupon code I got it for about 60% off ($260 savings)!!   I’ve been slowly accumulating my own tri gear over the last couple years, I’m advancing from Sprint to Olympic distance this year with the goal of doing the 70.3 ironman in 2015.   It will be nice to have my own gear to train with rather than having to worry about borrowing supplies as I did in the past.   Now I’m just waiting for Trek Fest in April to land my new road bike and I’m off to the races!

"First Day of Spring"

So tonight was an unexpected great run.  After the past two days running over 10 miles of hills and decent speed my feet were feeling pretty sore this morning.   Sore feet is a new one for me, I’ve had plenty of soreness before but not in the my toes and balls of my feet like I experienced today.   I was actually debating about cutting out my run completely tonight and resting up for Saturday, I’m glad my stubborness prevailed today.

We ran modified version of a hill loop Shannon created last year when we were running at Hempstead, it’s amazing how small the hills on Pennsylvania feel after doing so many runs up and down the bluffs lately.  Not to say I went out feeling great, the first two miles were near pure torture… first my glutes and hammies were on fire and then progressed into my calves.  Luckily about 2-3 miles in the pain vanished, as it normally does and I felt pretty great the rest of the run.   Considering that run put me well over 2,000 feet of elevation this week I’m pretty happy with the way my body handled the runs.  Also my feet felt pretty great during the run so I’m hoping they just needed to stretch out a bit.    I also want to point out it was the first day of spring today and the weather was great!   It felt amazing running in 45 degree weather and wearing shorts once again, we had actually only planned on 7or 8 but it felt so great to be outside we did some bonus miles; I sure can’t wait for the spring/summer weather!  

So overall I’m feeling very strong finishing back to back to back runs over 10 miles, I will take the day off Friday (hopefully) to rest of for the weekend which is bound to bring another 25 miles or so…  I’m looking forward to Saturday’s run, Shannon and Chuck have been out of country/town and I look forward to hearing about their experiences there.

"Mostly Easy Run"

After the hills last night I was pretty happy to have a rest day scheduled today, my legs and feet were feeling a little sore from yesterday's workout.

Well... about half way through my day at work I pulled up my miles to check on the weeks total and tomorrows plan; I discovered I had a 6 mile easy run scheduled today but even with that I was still putting myself a few short of this weeks goal.  After a little debating I settled on a 10 mile easy run with the option to cut back to 6 if I felt too wiped out.

From the start I was surprised how well my legs felt despite the sluggishness throughout the day today, I settled in a 7:30 pace and did a fairly good job of keeping it there through the first 6 miles...  currently 7-7:30 seems to be a very comfortable pace where I can get into a nice rhythm without exerting too much effort, running this pace puts me just around 150 HR.  After mile 6 I did a self check and felt pretty good and warmed up so I started dropping negative splits ending at a 6:30 final mile feeling strong.

So all in all it was a nice run with surprisingly decent elevation, the best part is I'm back above what I need for my miles so I can take it easy for the rest of the week without feeling guilty.

Hill Night!

After a couple nice easy runs following Saturday's race, today I turned up the intensity a bit.  The afternoon started with a 3.5 mile warm up at a 6:59 pace, pretty much a flat down and back on Asbury Road.  Then I met Bill, Rob and Nate at 6pm for a 7.5 mile hill run in which we tackled Loras, West Locust and West 3rd.  We kept at a decent pace but climbing that bluff the third time on mile 10 I was feeling the burn big time. 

It was an awesome run and another new spin on some familiar hills and routes. The combination of the length of West Locust, different pitches of Loras, and the sheer steepness of West 3rd gave this run a particularly nasty flavor :)   I can remember when tackling one of the hills on the bluff would make me lose my lunch, now we zig zag the bluff from 3rd to 32nd, these Tuesday night hill runs have been awesome!

So I topped off the night with my lifting routine which tonight consisted of back, chest and abs, then I cooled down with a 1/2 mile swim in the pool.  As a result I am pretty wiped, I'm going to wrap this up as I have to get to spin class in about 7 hours so I need to get some rest...  another fun and challenging day of training in the books! 

Gaelic Gallop 2014

WOW... What a race!!   The Gaelic Gaelic 2014 was great time once again... the Gallop is an annual 8K road race held in Dyersville, IA coinciding with the city's St. Patties Day celebration.  Temperatures were chilly right around 31 degrees but that did not stop over 500 people from getting out and enjoying a good time.  We had about 25 runners from the Dubuque Running Club out today, it is great to see so many of Dubuque's runners becoming antiquated through this group with new faces arriving every run... just two years ago most of us were at this same event by ourselves and man is it much more fun now as a group.

So just when I thought I was starting to get a handle on my paces I went out and really surprised myself today.  Going into the race this morning I had planned on hitting a 6:30 with a pace in the back of my head around 6:21 which would be a minute drop from last years 7:21 pace... well my legs had another plan.  Right from the start I kicked off around a 5:30 pace, a little over a 1/2 mile into the race I forced myself to slow down, bringing my mile 1 to a 6:04 pace... mile 2 I slowed down to a 6:21 thinking I could in no way keep up a 6 minute pace for 5 miles, however I felt so strong at the turn around I dropped back down finishing the last three miles at a 6:04, 6:10 and the final mile at a 5:54 pace.  The best part was as I ran through the finish line I felt strong enough to keep going... I feel very happy on the 6:06 finish pace and know I can step it up.  I've always thought that running sub 6 minutes on race day was out of my league but I can say today I'm fully confident before long I'll be busting the 6 minute barrier and charting new territory.

So other than just me and my race, it was a great event and an awesome time to watch the other Dubuque Running Club members PR their races.  I am so proud of every DRC member and the effort they put into their training, I can say for certain that my inspiration for getting out and crushing my workouts comes from those around me doing the same.  It's exciting to see this group of runners progressing as they are...  I believe the credit is due to our pack as a whole and the motivation we provide each other to keep pushing hard.

So as I reluctantly hit the reset button on my Garmin I remembered once again that the race is over and the stage is reset for the next challenge, I can say with confidence I'm up for the challenge and more excited for 2014 with each passing stride!

Tuesday Night DRC Wash

Had a nice run tonight with the crew, the last couple days have been great with some warmer weather giving us a chance to shed extra layers.  Tonight Shannon, Bill and I ran down to Mt. Carmel and did a couple 800's, sort of one last speed tune up before the race Saturday.  I got to be honest I wasn't looking forward to the tempo part of the run tonight, mostly because I ran last night when I was supposed to take a rest day and I pushed a little harder than I should have on the last couple miles, this resulted in me feeling pretty drained today but still managed to pull off a couple pretty quick 1/2 miles.  I'm on about a 10 day stretch so I will be taking a break tomorrow and prep for the race weekend by cutting back the miles and running intensity a bit and doing more cross training.

Sorry I hit split so many times it would have taken too much space to post all the routes, my stats are below...

Monday "Rest Day Run"

Here is my Monday "rest day run".  Now I know I just said Sunday night that I was going to learn my lesson and take some rest but it was 50 degrees out!  After such a long winter I owed it to treat myself to a nice run in warm weather.  It was awesome for the first couple miles until I overheated not used to the temps :)  Still I appreciated the weather break and had a couple nice splits for a casual run.

Click Link Below to See My Run
Warm day - solo run enjoying the nice weather by Cory_Hall at Garmin Connect - Details

25 mile weekend

Wow, miles are really adding up fast and Saturday was no exception! Saturday morning I woke up planning on dressing in my "street clothes" and just joining the crew for coffee, I already hit 45 miles for the week and my plan only called for 32 so there was no shame in my mind in taking a rest day for the Sunday long run. Unfortunately for me once again my legs had another plan. They started by first sneaking the thought into my head, "just run a slow mile early".  Well by the time I finished the thought I was laced up and standing at OMB a half hour early, my legs really have a way of tricking me but I'll get more into that another time.

 So I cranked out 3.5, running down the upcoming Opening Doors 5K route on Clarke drive, the route was slushy and covered with ice so I was glad to be wearing my backup Virrata's as to save my good shoes for the Sunday long run. Distracted by the thoughts of racing, by the time I got back to the coffee shop the idea of a rest day was left miles behind. I had a great run with the crew, Shannon and I broke off early at 3 miles to total six and he was kind enough to join me for an extra 1/2 mile at the end to round off a great 10 mile morning and a 55 mile week!

 Sunday turned out to be another great run, Bill designed a 15 mile "surprise" route to keep it interesting and it sure was! I was crazy nervous going into this run, as previously described about I had just rounded off a 55 mile week and was feeling good but had a few minor aches and pains going, I believe these are mainly stemming from the 1 mile race Friday night. I was a little stiff for the first few miles but overall felt great... the route was awesome and took us from the west to the north, south side of town and back. Sunday runs have become my favorite, as the distances increase we get to see such awesome parts of the city, especially since we've increased elevation... when hills are no obstacle I can't think of many other places to run with such great views! It was all together an awesome run on another beautiful Sunday with the sun shining down.

So in closing, while I'm very happy with the way my body has handled another heavy week, I am kicking myself a little knowing that my excitement about marathon training caused me to run at a nearly 20% increase this week, I really should know better. I will not get too down on myself though, I had a great week of running and feel good so no harm done and lesson (hopefully) learned. I am super excited to race the Gaelic Gallop next weekend and look forward to another fun week of training ahead!

The Mile

Tonight was a really fun time. The University of Dubuque hosted Hempstead's indoor track meet and added a 1600 meter adult open race. Bill, Rob and I ran in it along with several familiar faces from the running community. I got to say that my nerves really got to me today, the combination of running such a fast paced race combined with a pretty large crowd had my stomach spinning pretty well. Standing in the field among hundreds of athletes and coaches, listening to the race announcements and the crack of the gun all brought me back to highschool again... it was a lot of fun to experience that one more time.

So onto the race... there were about 12 of us shuffling around at the start, most of us looking at each other trying to figure out where to stand without letting anybody notice :) There was one quick announcement by the official "smile and have fun because the crowd loves this event" (haha) and the gun blows. We all take off into the first turn where I fall into third place, I wasn't quite sure how to pace myself so I let the first two run ahead knowing the pace was a little quick. I heard the first split called out at 37 seconds (200 meters) and figured I was about on track but kicking myself that I didn't write down my splits as Bill did. For me that was where I stopped paying attention to my watch as I fell into race mode and drifted around the track, so focused on the race I completely tuned out the crowd. I kept it steady and didn't lose ground to the first two and felt pretty well, with two laps left I picked it up a bit and on the final lap I dropped the hammer and full out sprinted the 200 meters... I knew I was pushing hard and it was verified by Allison who said my facial expression looked pretty scary :) My finish time was 5:22 (3rd place) which gives me a good starting point. I immediately knew I could have pushed it harder but I was not disappointed at all, just glad to have run it and learned something from it, I'll be excited to come back next year and improve my time. Also pretty impressed I felt so well after already running nearly 45 miles this week... so now to rest a bit for tomorrow mornings run with the group, it's been a good week to run! :)

A couple more good nights of running this week, feeling very comfortable running more days in a row while slightly cutting back mileage before the big ramp up. I a bonus mile or so then a group run with the crew on Tuesday which consisted of a 5 mile loop heading downtown and back up 3rd. I still struggle with the steep grade but I feel I'm making improvements slowly. Wednesday I headed out solo right after work for another 5 or so, I stuck to the marathon schedule which called for hills and cranked out nearly 550 elevation in just over 5 miles, not crazy high but enough for sure. Glad to say my legs feel great and no soreness worries at the moment, looking forward to another fun tomorrow with the club then the mile race Friday night.

Marathon Training is here!

Today marks the first day of training for Grandma's and it started off pretty easy with a 4 mile run. I guess that is nice since I ran a little over 14 yesterday but I got to say my legs felt just fine. The run went very well, I went out a little too quick but caught it just before mile 1 so I slowed down a bit. I'm happy to see while running sub 7 minute pace my heart rate did not break 170, a definite improvement from a year ago. I also extended the run a mile because 4 just seemed so short, I swear I won't make a trend out of changing the plan as that is a slippery slope! After reviewing the data I found I unknowingly beat my Gaelic Gallop 8K time from last year on a route with similar elevation... it's funny because I remember struggling through that race last year and today I was just having fun on a run with avg HR of I good sign of things to come I think... now to foam roll, rest and get ready for bed. I've got to hit the gym early as it's going to be another busy day at work, I've got a feeling I'll be needing that west 3rd hill climb tomorrow to relieve some stress! :)

1 Year DRC Anniversary!

Had a nice long run this morning despite the temps being negative and the last night bringing another round of snow.  The different routes that Bill has been making up for Sunday make the runs go by much quicker as compared to running up and down Grandview and Asbury the whole time.  I took a shot block an hour in and it powered me through the rest of the run, I'm going to start making a habit of fueling mid-run in anticipation for marathon training.

So Bill, Shannon and I were chatting post run at One Mean Bean and I realized today marks one year to the day since my first run with the Dubuque Running Club.   Looking back I am so grateful that after months of debating I decided to get out of my routine of running alone and join the DRC crew.  It's amazing, what started as a group run with a few strangers has progressed into countless hours of fun and accomplishment with great friends. I am truly thankful for each friendship I've made and consider myself a very lucky guy for finding such a great group... even Hunter :)

So lastly, tomorrow marks the first day of training for Grandma's Marathon in Duluth Minnesota on June 21st this year.  I'll be following a 12 week plan peaking around 70 miles a week and 4-5 20+ mile long runs.  I'm very excited to get going but a little nervous moving to a 5-6 day running week... I've been very comfortable getting around 40 miles per week running 4 days but I'm sure I'll adjust to 5; I'm just going to trust the plan and listen to my body...  now if this snow would only melt we would be set!!

Happy Running!

Saturday Morning Run

DRC OMB - Easy run by Cory_Hall at Garmin Connect - Details

Saturday Morning Easy Run with the crew - This was a nice easy run after my tempo with the DRC crew.  Snow covered sidewalks left my legs a little sore toward the end but overall felt well.  

Saturday Morning Speedwork

Speedwork 4 mile tempo by Cory_Hall at Garmin Connect - Details