Merry Christmas Everyone! Happy Running!!!

Last weekend was a solid weekend. Kimi and I finished off a 70+ mile week with 5x1 mile repeats. After the way this year shaped up, something clicked in my mind making a mile simply start to feel short. I think it all happened during my training cycle for the Twin Cities Marathon. I remember a workout vividly that seemed to change the way I view some of the shorter workouts. It was a 10 mile tempo run followed by an additional 1 mile which I ran in 5:19. That was the day that seemed to have changed everything for my speed training. Going into this weekend's 5x1mile repeats, I realized that running a mile hard just doesn't seem to be as daunting a task as it used to be. Kimi and I started out with a mile in 5:38 which was okay. It wasn't great but the first one hardly ever is. The second and third repeats were much better as they were starting to approach the pace we wanted them to be at. They both clicked off right around 5:33.  I really wanted to get these repeats down to closer to 5:25 miles which I knew would be a true challenge as that starts to really reach a challenging pace for both of us. We started to gain confidence heading into the fourth and fifth repeats knowing that we had the speed in us and just had to go get it. The fourth mile was a 5:24 and our fifth was 5:23.  Our confidence was right where we needed it to be. We cooled down to the car which was just over a mile away and then quickly went home to shower so we could go watch people finish at the Run for the Ranch half marathon.

On Sunday, we added another 16 mile long run that was marathon specific meaning it had some 90 second pushes during the last 6 miles. This was an interesting long run style that we're trying out a bit.  This should help simulate the latter stages of the race helping us remain strong through the final 10k which is typically the hardest part of a marathon. This is even more critical for me as it is usually where I have my races blow up leaving me just shy of reaching my goals.

This week has been a tough one so far as I've been battling a bit of a tooth ache which is limiting my training a bit. I'm hoping to be back at it today so I can at least maintain my streak of 60+ mile weeks. We have a critical 20 mile workout this weekend that I really don't want to miss. It's a 5,4,3,2,1 mile workout with each segment getting faster as they get shorter. We shall see how it goes.

8 mile tempo success!

This week has been interesting so far and has great potential to get even better as the weekend is quickly approaching. Last week, Kimi and I had a 20 mile long run to complete. We were determined that this run was going to go much better than the 16 from the week before. It was a bit of a windy day and the wind was blowing out of the southeast so we decided to park all the way in Willard and then venture towards Springfield first. We also decided that we would simply run an extra out and back stretch in familiar territory between Springfield and Willard so that we would be able to better avoid fighting the wind without any covering.  The run wasn't anything incredibly special but it was definitely solid. 

Saturday afternoon, we were in for a real treat. My parents came over to visit for a few hours.  It was a lot of fun simply spending time with them without any specific plans.  We had to cut their visit a bit short so that we could go to Derek and Lindy's wedding that evening. It was a very nice ceremony and I'm extremely happy for the two of them.

Kimi and me at Derek and Lindy's reception

Me before the 8 mi tempo

Kimi before the 8 mi tempo

On Monday, I decided to cut the run short a bit because my legs were still not recovered from the 20 on Saturday and I knew we had an 8 mile tempo run scheduled for Tuesday afternoon that I really wanted to succeed in. Unfortunately, the wind early in the week was really strong.  This meant that Kimi and I had to get out there and fight the wind during the 8 mile tempo.  The first mile and the last mile were both directly into the wind which made keeping them on pace quite difficult. 

At no point during the run did either one of us actually feel all that great but we managed to keep every mile right on pace.  Our first mile clicked off just under 6 min @ 5:59 and then we kept all the rest between 5:52-5:56 until the final mile which crept back up to a 5:58. Following the tempo, we trotted for a half mile, stopped and prepared to start rolling again. We added an extra 1/2 mile in 2:48 which we were pleased with since the darkness had officially set in for this one.  

Smiling after our 8 mile tempo workout (12/15/2015 and we were wearing shorts and short sleeves)

Our goal for the rest of the week is to knock out some mile repeats on Saturday to start generating some more foot turnover followed by a 16 mile marathon specific long run on Sunday (details about this one will be in my next post).

Reindeer Run 5k - quite surprised actually

In preparation for our LA trip, we scheduled a few races strategically into our plan. The first one was to be the Reindeer Run 5k last Friday night. The week leading up to it was set to be a challenging one with a 7 mile tempo run on Tuesday just a few days before the race. We usually do workouts on Wednesday mornings but I made a change to have our workouts actually be on Tuesday afternoons so that we might be able to complete some of them with at least some daylight. Our tempo run was awesome. I think the fact that we were racing the darkness helped us keep the pace rolling. We started out with a 5:50 ish first mile and we were both concerned that we may have started a little fast. Fortunately, we were able to find a groove and just kept the pace rolling. I honestly thought that we'd have to run the last 3 miles in the dark, but we were actually able to get through about 5 of the miles before darkness set in. The remaining 2 miles were a real challenge. We had our headlamps on to light our way and then it was just up to pure determination. For those of you that haven't given it much thought or have much experience with running in the daylight vs darkness, it's much more difficult to run fast without daylight.

We were quite please with our tempo run effort but I was definitely unsure just how quickly we would bounce back for a race only a couple days later. On top of that, it was going to be a Friday race (usually our rest day) which means it would come after a long work week, and on top of that, it was scheduled for 7:00. Bring on the darkness! The weather on Friday was awesome. I was able to wear shorts, a tank, and arm warmers.  Kimi and I were both venturing out with our own race goal in mind. My goal was to break 17 minutes and Kimi's was to simply run as fast as she could.  The race was basically an out an back style course which means that at the half way point, you make a 180 degree about-face and head back the way you came. When I reached the turn around, I was quite surprised to see how many fast runners were still fairly close behind me. At two miles in, I made a quick glance over my shoulder to see what was happening right behind me. Unfortunately, I couldn't see that Kimi was almost right behind me. She must have been hidden behind another runner. That's when I decided that I thought I could still get 2nd place overall. I quickly turned up the pace. With a half mile to go, I had caught the 2nd place guy and pulled even with him. He was a younger runner than me and with that in mind, I figured I had better get a gap between us prior to the final straight away sprint or he'd probably be able to out kick  me. I really poured it on at this point and pulled away far enough that I felt like I had a comfortable lead. I never really let up the pace all the way to the finish and was able to run one of my fastest times for a road course ever. I've only run faster a couple other times actually. I crossed in 16:38.  It wasn't long and Kimi came strolling across the line. She crossed in 17:12 which is an awesome time for her as well.

We were both a bit shocked with how it turned out.  Our next race won't be until January. We intend to run the Cabin Fever Reliever 20k on January 16. We have a scheduled 10 mile tempo plus 1 all out mile scheduled for that day so we thought that this race would actually work out perfectly for us to do the workout during.

Got our Christmas Lights Up!

L.A. Training is Picking Up!

Training for L.A. is really starting to get fully underway now. We've started adding in a few tempo runs and our long run last week was 14 miles. Our 4 mile tempo run last week was just mediocre. We managed to average 6 min pace but it wasn't near as easy as they usually are. I think the main reason for this is that we just haven't done much speed or hard efforts since prior to the Bass Pro half so our bodies are just having to get back into a groove. Our long run was pretty solid though so that's definitely a good thing.

Two weeks ago, I met with Cassie Dimmick (dietitian) from Achieving Your Best to discuss how I can eat better to achieve my sub 6 minute pace marathon goal.  We decided that I might be better off on a Ketosis diet which will help me to sustain my energy levels better because I would primarily use fat to fuel rather than carbohydrates. When we talked, I had 14 weeks until the L.A. marathon. I knew this transition would be tough, but I didn't know just how difficult it was going to be. I was actually doing really well with my eating habits but my running was suffering extensively. This was an expected thing, but I just didn't realize how long and how badly I would suffer. I was having difficulty simply completing my runs.  After a week of doing the ketosis diet, I pulled the plug. I was too concerned that I wouldn't be able to get in shape in time for L.A. I'm not against trying the diet again after L.A. We discussed it and decided that I would have more time to adapt to the diet before the Grandma's Marathon so if I don't reach my goal in L.A. I'll give it another try.

This week should be an interesting one. We're scheduled to do a 7 mile tempo run Tuesday afternoon and then we're going to try and race the Reindeer Run 5k in Republic on Friday night. It should be interesting to see if we can manage to run some decent times since it will be after work, in the dark, and on what is usually our easy day.

Christmas came early! L.A. here we come!

Following our Bass Pro half, Kimi and I were gearing ourselves up for a loaded training cycle leading up to the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials to be held in L.A. on February 13th!  My intentions were to train with Kimi so that she wouldn't have to suffer in the cold and miserable temperatures all alone, but I didn't intend to actually run the L.A. marathon the day after hers.  The next thing I know, I was being told that for my Christmas gift this year, my in-laws wanted me to run in the L.A. marathon. Immediately, my focus changed and I started gearing myself up for what will be an exciting race! 

I took 5 days off following Bass Pro to simply have a mental and physical hiatus and I'm sure glad I did so. Now I am mentally ready to go!  Kimi is focused and now I'm focused completely as well which usually makes for a great training cycle. We're now under 14 weeks away from our next marathon adventure. For those of you that have run a marathon, you know that 14 weeks of preparation never seems like enough time to get into tip-top shape!  We've quickly added in strength training and started building mileage back up.  

Our goal is to get up near 90-100 miles per week for a few weeks so we can give it everything we have headed into what should be one of Kimi's lifetime achievement highlights!  She's running in the Olympic Trials for crying out loud! How sweet is that!  

I want to take this time now to set everyone straight for what Kimi's realistic chances of making the Olympics are.  There will be approximately 100-150 girls in her race. And of those girls, only the top 3 finishers make the Olympic Team!  Don't get me wrong, I think Kimi can still improve upon her prior best, but to make the team will be a slim opportunity.  However, with that in mind, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't encourage Kimi over the next 3 months!  Every chance you get to encourage her through this training cycle, I simply ask that you tell her to keep her focus and to do the best she can.  Most of all, encourage her by letting her know that you're excited that she's made it this far and that you're excited to see her improve some more over the next 3 months!  

I know that last paragraph may seem like a downer, but trust me, it's not!  I'm very proud of Kimi and her discipline and I am truly blessed and honored to be her spouse and training partner.  I do have to say one last thing, I just hope we both come home from L.A. with new personal bests and who knows, perhaps we will both finally reach our dream goals in the marathon!

Bass Pro Recap

The Bass Pro half marathon arrived and went. Kimi and I woke up Sunday morning at 4:45 so we could eat and get ourselves fully awake prior to toeing the line at 7:00. In an ideal situation, it would be nice to be awake for 3 hours before the start of the race but I wasn't about to get up at 4:00.  It was difficult enough to get up at 4:45 since my KC Royals were playing in the World Series the night before. Thankfully, it was daylight savings weekend.

Anyways, we made our way to the race around 6:00 so we could get a good parking spot and then wouldn't feel rushed getting ready.  We always start our warm up about 45 minutes before the start of the race. This helps us get any last minute restroom stops out of the way prior to the start as well. After the warm up, we changed our shoes and did a couple strides so we could start getting the go fast juices flowing. 

Then we walked across the street to the start for the the national anthem and then off we went. I always find it interesting how they do the start at this particular race. There is no gun sound, horn, or anything exciting for the start. They simply count down and say go.  

I quickly surveyed the guys at the start and thought I might have a shot at the top 3 until the gun went off. You just never can tell sometimes when people are just standing around. It was incredibly foggy this particular morning and by about 1.5 miles into the race, the leaders were already starting to fade into the fog ahead of us. I knew I didn't have a shot unless one of them came back to us at some point. With that knowledge, I decided to run the race with Kimi and help her finally push through this particular event with a great effort. It's a good thing I did too.  When we finished up, Kimi and I were about 5 minutes behind the 3rd place male and about 4 minutes ahead of the 5th place male (that means I was 4th male). Kimi ran awesome and was 1st Female with a time of 1:17:36!  Smoking!!

Next up for us is to start focusing all of our efforts on Kimi's Olympic Trials Marathon which is coming up quickly in February. The biggest challenges for Kimi's training will be the winter weather and lack of daylight.  Hopefully, we'll be able to figure something out so that we can continue to get her mileage completed and have her as fit or better than she was back in June.

Is it really Bass Pro weekend already?!

Seems like just a few days ago I was writing about my recovery from the Twin Cities Marathon. Now I'm writing about my next race.  It was an interesting 4 weeks as for the first time, I had to cram recovery time and training all into a short amount of time. I knew it would be difficult both physically and mentally but much to my surprise, the physical side actually has gone pretty well. Mentally, it's been a grind.  I've made it through for the most part. I wasn't able to stick to my plan 100% but pretty close. I just added in one extra rest day earlier this week.

Kimi and I crushed a 6 mile tempo run 2 weeks ago which really boosted my confidence to think I might have a legit shot at running fairly well this weekend in the Bass Pro half marathon.  This is the one race each fall that we pretty well don't miss. This race is where I have my P.R. for the half marathon. Everything just clicked together beautifully in 2012. The last few years, I'm still run my 2nd and 3rd fastest half marathon times at this race but each successive year has slowed slightly. I think the majority of the reason for that is that we have been running a June marathon each year which just seems to throw off summer and early fall training a bit.

I really think Kimi is ready for a great race this weekend. We're both running the same race but I'm not sure if we'll be running it together or not just yet. I like to compete for a top 3 spot if possible at this event. That means I'll have to wait and see how the competition shakes out before I determine if I will drop back and roll with Kimi or whether I leave her to do her own thing.  I'll probably give it a good 2-3 miles to determine how the race is going and see what happens. I'm just looking for this to be a good springboard race for her into her Olympic Trials training over the next few months.

As of now, the weather is looking extremely promising for Sunday morning which could allow a great race.

I just wanted to take a moment now to wish all of you out there that are running a race this weekend good luck! Remember one thing going into your races, HAVE FUN AND GREAT THINGS HAPPEN!