Blog of Champions

IVS Half-Marathon Relay

2008-09-07T16:52:00.003-04:00

Raj and I had fun doing the Half Marathon as a relay team today. It was in Peoria and VERY hilly. I thought it was comparable to Grand Haven, probably harder hills, but a little easier weather. I'm not sure of my exact time, but I know it was 60: something. I think about 60:30 or 60:40. I didn't stop the watch (I was handing it off to Raj in the relay zone) and then after I handed it off I had to run about 15 more feet, so I have no idea what the actual time was. We did not get an award :( The third place H & W team got 1:55:55, and we finished 1:58:something. Raj was faster than me, which was apparently his main motivation! :) I was very proud of him. He did a great job. I was a little disappointed in my time, but with those huge hills, overall I am not upset. I for sure wanted to get below 62:00, but was secretly hoping to break 60:00, which I did not do.

3.5 miles up tempo

2008-09-07T09:11:00.002-04:00

Ran 3.5 miles this morning up tempo. Wanted to do 4, but I ran out of gas after 2 1/2 miles. First mile was 9:40; second was 9:50; and third was 10:18. Finished in 34:53 (9:58 ppm). Long way to go to get into the shape I was in in July; however, I was encouraged I could do 3 1/2 miles under 10:00 ppm.

2 miles race pace

2008-09-06T08:15:00.002-04:00

I thought I would change the pace today so I did 2 miles at my current race pace, which is about 30 seconds per mile slower than July's. Time was 18:56 (9:28 ppm). 2 miles is my max at this pace at the present time.

6 mile run

2008-09-06T00:13:00.002-04:00

It rained all day Thursday. Literally. From the moment I woke up, until the moment I went to bed. Thus, I skipped working out Thursday. As a result, I had some pretty fresh legs today for a quick 6 mile run. It was a little fast, but everyone was waiting for me to go to dinner at Puran, so I had to hurry home!

Splits: 9:21, 9:49, 9:29, 9:34, 9:35, and 9:31. Total time: 57:12.

My goal for Sunday's race is 62:00. It's 6.55 miles.

3 miles easy

2008-09-05T09:57:00.002-04:00

Hey, the old man is back. I found out this morning that taking 26 straight days off isn't the ideal way to maintain fitness. Anyway, I went out on the road this morning for a 2 mile easy run but stretched it into 3 as I felt decent after a 9:52 first mile. I was deceived by the first mile as I quickly deteriated after that. Finished the 3 miles in 31:27 (10:29 ppm). It did feel good to start again, however. I just have to be patient. Lisie and I will be in Seattle the weekend after this. Hopefully, we can get in some treadmill work at the hotel.

5.5 miles easy on treadmill

2008-09-03T23:56:00.002-04:00

Had to take it easy tonight and do another treadmill run. It was tough, since I was screaming at the television pretty much throughout the run. (I watched the RNC while jogging.) It was big mistake, given I already had stomach problems...

Lisa's workouts

2008-09-02T22:21:00.002-04:00

Wednesday: 5-6 easy

Thursday: Constitution Hills x 8 (new course)

Friday: 6 easy

Saturday: whatever you do

Sunday: Race

7 miles easy

2008-09-02T11:52:00.002-04:00

Gastrointestinal distress forced me to run on the treadmill today. I couldn't be more than 10 feet from a toilet, since I spent quite a bit of last night and this morning on one. No idea what I ate, but it obviously didn't sit well...

Took it easy - 7 miles in 70 minutes.

Rite of Summer

2008-08-31T11:57:00.002-04:00

Last night I did a sunset run to Lake Michigan and back over the dunes. Time was 25:37, which is one of my better times all-time. My PR of like 21 something the year I had the XC team up is untouchable. Reached the lake in 12:10, but veered north on the way home somehow. Overall it was a good run. I've now done this every year since sixth grade.

9 miles easy @ Silver Lake

2008-08-31T09:30:00.003-04:00

Great run at the lake this morning with Raj. We celebrated together at mile 6.75 when I hit the 300 mark and earned the T-shirt. The descending splits were Raj's idea. His foot has been hurting so he wanted to start out slow and see how he felt. We both finished really strong and felt good. Splits: 10:31, 10:22, 10:08, 9:55, 9:52, 9:52, 9:31, 9:39, 9:02. Total time 1:28:51.

5 easy at Silver Lake

2008-08-30T10:22:00.003-04:00

It feels great to be back at the lake. A change of scenery can really help when you're running. I thought about dad the whole time, since I had to do the run by myself with him being in China. I got a late start, so it was pretty hot when I finished. Nothing like Bloomington though! My total time was 48:50. Splits: 9:57, 9:48, 9:49, 9:35, 9:39.

easy 5

2008-08-29T14:10:00.001-04:00

Easy five this afternoon on the treadmill. About 7:45 pace.

Easy 5

2008-08-28T13:06:00.001-04:00

I did an easy 5 on the treadmill this morning. My legs were tired from yesterday. I did an easy pace, 10 minute miles.

easy run

2008-08-28T12:02:00.003-04:00

4.2 easy this morning before my 8 a.m. class. 31:05. I was planning on going farther but got the spell at about 3.5 miles in and it's a good thing that the house was nearby. I prairie-dogged the last .5 mile and then dropped about a six pounder in the basement facilities.

Speed Workout @ IWU

2008-08-27T23:03:00.002-04:00

6 x 1000m with goal of 5:20 each, with 2:30 rest in between. Very hot day, and I was breathing harder than I can ever remember. I couldn't really feel my legs most of the time. It was exhausting. I didn't think I could do 6 of them, but with coach Chippens on-site, I knew I had to finish!

My splits: 5:01, 5:10, 5:12, 5:21, 5:22, 5:30. A wee bit inconsistent...

Speed workout

2008-08-27T20:36:00.002-04:00

6 x 1000 repeats w/ 2:00 standing rest at IWU track. 3:28, 3:27, 3:28, 3:31, 3:33, 3:31. AVG=3:29.6. Happy to have the average under 3:30. When I ran this workout on July 21, I averaged 3:32 and did just five of them.

It was hot today, mid 80s. Went in early evening. Did it with LRC. She needs to work on her pacing!!!

Mile warm up and mile+ cool down. 5.75 miles total.

Easy run

2008-08-26T22:52:00.000-04:00

6.6 easy this morning at 6 a.m. 50:19. Nice and cool to run.

Easy 5

2008-08-26T09:41:00.002-04:00

Did another morning run and really noticed an increase in energy with the cooler temperature. Ran 5 miles and tried to maintain a steady pace, but didn't do that well. Pacing is apparently not my strong suit. Splits: 9:20, 9:45, 9:49, 9:58, 9:38. Total time: 48:22. Probably a little fast for an easy run, but I didn't feel like I was pushing it too much.

Another near puke

2008-08-25T09:43:00.002-04:00

8.4 tempo run in 54:49 (6:31.5 ppm). Did the 4.2 loop around the block twice. First loop was 27:30, second loop 27:19. I ran hard the last half mile to try to break 55, and that made my stomach a little uneasy at the finish. First mile of first loop was 6:30 flat, first mile of second loop was 6:30 flat. Made it to the corner of streid and irish grove in 19 minutes flat on the first loop and 19 minutes flat on the second loop. Ran really even pace the whole way. Best morning yet for running, under 60 but still quite humid.

8 mile run - up tempo

2008-08-25T08:47:00.002-04:00

I felt good this morning when I did my run. It was nice and cool at 6:30 a.m. when I left the house. I think the temperature really helps in terms of my energy level. I still have problems with pacing myself, as evidenced by my splits. Chip said to try and keep it up tempo, around 9:40 per mile. My splits were: 9:17, 10:03, 9:30, 9:29, 9:22, 10:02, 9:41, 9:00. Even though my splits were not consistent, overall they were pretty fast, so that makes me happy. Total time: 76:41.

4 easy

2008-08-24T21:50:00.003-04:00

Ran 4 easy tonight with Raj. Felt like crap. Calves still sore from Saturday. Had no speed at all, even if I had wanted to. I am exhausted from the weekend. I need to get back to work where I can sit around all day! :) Time 40:53. Going to meet with dietician at 7:00 p.m. Monday.

Workouts

2008-08-24T20:56:00.004-04:00

LISA:

Monday: 8 miles up tempo (shoot for 9:40s or better)

Tuesday: 5 easy

Wednesday: 6 x 1000 w/ 2:30 standing rest in between. Shoot for sub 5:20 each. That's 1:04 per 200 meters or 2:08 per lap. Pace yourself accordingly.

Thursday: 5 easy

Friday: Mile warm up, 20 minutes hard, 2 mile cool down

Saturday: 5 easy

Sunday: 9 mile long run, easy.

Eureka trail run on Saturday

2008-08-24T20:52:00.003-04:00

Eureka Trail Run. Mile warm up, appox. mile cool down. 5 miles total. Not sure on time yet. Race results haven't been posted. I was second in my age group. I think my time was around 19:54. Course was quite slow with several sharp turns and narrow paths. It was horribly humid out. Had a hard time breathing.

update: title is linked to results

Eureka 5K Trail Run

2008-08-24T19:16:00.002-04:00

Saturday's race sucked. It was very hot and humid, and I forgot how hard a trail run is to do. I never really felt like I had my breath. I was tired from the very first steps. The course was full of twists and turns, wet grass, steep hills, and tree roots. It was fun though. I really felt it in my knees. After .77 miles on the Garmin, I said to myself, "thank God this is only 3 miles." I need to do a lot of work before the 8 mile trail run in October.

My time was pretty bad 30:51. You really cannot compare a road race time to a trail run time, but it still seems pretty horrible.

easy run

2008-08-23T00:05:00.002-04:00

2.4 easy in 17:31. Ridiculously humid. Felt ok though. Would like to break 6 minute miles tomorrow.