Wheeler Farm Loops

OktoberFAST 5K!

Awesome morning... our little track event turned out to be a great time. We ended up having 9 runners, several volunteers, and a handful of awesome spectators!

My race recap... I thought I'd be able to crack 15 flat, but it turns out that is a more difficult task than it seems! My kilometer splits were 3:00.1, 2:59.8, 3:02.2, 3:03.4, and 3:03.9. Total time was 15:09.5. For another solo effort, I'm not exactly thrilled with the time, but I have to be happy with it. Its 13 seconds faster than my time trial about 5 weeks ago, and in reality its the fastest 5K I've ever run (Draper Days was probably short this year, and the Fight for Air doesn't count b/c it was aided). I fell off the pace in the last mile and didn't really muster any type of kick. But, in the past week I've time trialed 5K and 10K PRs. I'm looking forward to the half marathon next weekend... I think I'm ready to really pop a good one... hopefully an honest PR on a fair course. [~9.5 miles w/ warmup & cooldown]

Here's the results:

Jake 15:09.5
Adam C 17:07.3
Andrea 17:16.3
Adam W 17:40.7
Chad 18:17.4
Dave 18:31.1
Sandy 19:01.9
Kam 20:09.1
Ashley 20:32.6 

Allie did an excellent job taking photos. I've put all of her pictures on my picasa site: OktoberFAST 5K

Paul and his kids came out to spectate, as did Adam W's family, and Kam's son (who helped me with the timing... thanks!). 

Afterwards we had some chocolate milk and then ran a couple laps around Sugarhouse to cooldown. 

We are definitely going to do this again - October 29th - Spooky Fast 5K. Mark your calendars! (It was originally the Boo Fast 5K, but Andrea decided to change the name, and I don't argue with her! :-) Sorry Adam!)

Thanks to everyone who came out this morning. You all ran great, and that was a lot of fun! 

 
The whole crew after the race

 
First lap

 
17:16?!?! I am really impressed by another big PR for Andrea. That's sub 17 at sea level!

Check the Picaca link for more actions shots... there are pics of everyone.  Saucony was awesome to hook us up with some race bibs, stickers, and some token prizes, so that was really nice of them.

PM - 3 miles shakeout. Legs feel really good. 

AM - 9.5 miles at Liberty Park w/ Andrea. Easy pace, soft surfaces.

I was doing a little googling this morning and found this article about the Long Beach 1/2 Marathon... apparently there are ~20 guys trying to hit the OTQ, and a few guys who have already hit the time are going to be pacing. Somehow the elite coordinator who setup our entries neglected to tell me this... haha! Honestly I figured there was a 50/50 chance that I'd even have a group to run with, based on previous years' results. But now that there appears to be a huge pack trying to run sub 5:00 pace, that changes my strategy a bit. I may just have to go out with this pack, tuck in, conserve energy, and see how long I can hang. 

PM - 2 miles shakeout. I'm ready for it to be next Sunday already! I feel like I didn't even do anything this week and still hit 90 miles. I'm gonna go nuts in the next 6 days! 

AM - 10.5 miles, up to work. 6 w/ Andrea. 

PM - 4.3 miles down to Sugarhouse.  

AM - 3 miles on campus. The light rain this morning is a sign of things to come... its a good weekend to head to California! Last tuneup workout before the Long Beach 1/2 this afternoon. I didn't feel like doing it in the dark, and figured I might as well get as many 10 hr nights of sleep as possible this week, so I slept in.

PM - 8 miles. Track workout - 5 x 1000m + 5 x 200m (400m "float" b/w 1Ks, ~45 secs b/w 200s) Warmed up 2 miles and did some strides, then got rolling. The plan was 1/2 marathon pace (or slightly faster) for the 1000s, then "fast but relaxed" for the 200s. Splits were 3:05, 3:05, 3:04, 3:04, 2:59, 33, 31, 31, 31, 28. Cooled down with a mile jog.

AM - 7.3 miles, easy recovery run. Legs are feeling great. Andrea was doing a workout this morning on the track, and I didn't like the idea of her running alone in the dark, so I went with her. I ran her warmup/cooldown with her, and ran laps around the perimeter of the track while she was doing her reps... yelling "LAST CHANCE WORKOUT" the whole time :-)

PM - 2 miles, rain shakeout. 

Did you know the accuracy of the running course in a triathlon only has to be accurate to 10%?! (Link to story) So technically the "marathon" portion of an Ironman can be 2.5 miles short and that is perfectly within the rules. I don't necessarily have an opinion on the matter, or really even care at all, I just find it interesting the so much margin of error is allowed.

AM - 6.7 miles. A cold and rainy run w/ Andrea, Allie, and James through Sugarhouse. 

PM - 1.8 miles, quick shakeout after work. Just trying to stay in the normal routine. 

Not running-related, but worth a watch: 60 Minutes segment on Alex Honnold. My hands start to sweat just watching him on a video.

AM - 4.4 miles. Ran the horsepark loop w/ Andrea, then did six quick strides. We'll do our pre-race 200m reps tonight. I feel strangely relaxed this morning... maybe even calm. I've had highs and lows this week as I mentally prepare for the race on Sunday (as everyone does)... but now I feel balanced, I've visualized what is going to happen a thousand times, and physically I am as ready as I can be.

PM - 2.5 miles. 8 x 200m on the track in ~35 seconds w/ 200m float in between. We went to Granite High (since there are HS football games at the tracks we usually use)... an old 4 lane track with super tight turns and extra long straightaways.

Oh, and I quit Diet Mountain Dew about 3 weeks ago. Maybe the lack of caffeine is why I feel calm :-) Here's a blog post on my history with diet dew. 

AM - 4.4 miles, horsepark loop w/ Andrea, then 8 quick strides. Now we're off to the airport. I make no promises about tomorrow other than I'm going to give it my best shot. I don't really feel that much pressure because I only began to have illusions of qualifying in the half a few days ago, and Philly is still "Plan A". So this will be fun!!!

"And Cassidy stood tall there in the dark, while a cool breeze ruffled the ragged lock of hair on his forehead, knowing that for one instant there would be a kind of calm in the midst of all that pounding, roaring furor, a moment of serene calm before an unholy storm. There would be a single instant of near disbelief that it would finally be happening in a fraction of a second; finally happening after the months, the miles, the misty mornings; finally happening after the eight or ninth now forgotten interval along the way somewhere that broke your heart once again. He would be leaning over tensely with the rest of them while the white lights burned down on them and for an awful split-second he would feel as if his legs had no strength at all. But then his heart would nearly explode when the pistol cracked." 

Live results w/ 10K and 10.8 mile splits will be here: http://liveraceresults.com/LBM
My # is 14790, Andrea is 14873 

Full Report... this is a longer one! :-) 

Pre-Race: When I found out 5 days ago that Long Beach had assembled a very competitive field for this race, I adjusted my race strategy from a negative-split race, to just going with the fast guys and seeing what I could do. All along (which actually means since July), my plan had been to qualify for the trials in Philadelphia, so this was just a "bonus" attempt. Equaling my time from Top of Utah was something I really wanted to do... and there were 2 ways of doing that - either a conservative start and negative split, or just run the OTQ pace as long as possible and risk blowing up. I took the chance on the latter, on the chance that I might catch lighting in a bottle and have a magical race. I figured it was worth taking the chance; I'd regret it if I ran 1:05:15 off a conservative start.

We ran from our hotel to the starting area, then did some strides, typical pre-race stuff. Since we were staying so close, we didn't even have to bother using the bathrooms at the starting area. It was nice. This race was HUGE (~25,000 runners). After the wheelchair athletes took off, we lined up at the start. The announcer tried to keep the crowd of people trying to get up to the front of the line off the heels of the "elites", so he yelled out "If you paid for your own your shoes, stay behind the rope!" That was pretty funny to me.  

The Race: It was nice and cool at the start, and it was light outside, but the sun wasn't on us yet. When the gun went off, I just felt amazing... I knew it was a fast pace right away, but I told myself I was staying with the pack as long as I could. It was a solid pack of probably 12-14 runners up front, and we were led out by a couple motorcycles, several cars, a truck, and a half dozen guys riding along on Elipti-Gos. I felt like I was in the Tour de France!

The first 6 miles of the course looped around through the waterfront area of Long Beach. Lots of turns, but only one really sharp one. I tucked into the back of the lead pack (probably around 8th-9th place) for most of this time. We were moving... opening mile was 4:56, then 9:46 for the next 2 miles (2nd mile marker was way off so I didn't even click my watch). Miles 4-6 were 4:52, 4:55, 4:54. My 10K split was 30:26. That's 68 seconds faster than I've ever run for 10K, and I'm fairly certain that I equaled (or came very close to) my 5K PR during the some of those early miles. 

Once we got past 10K, we started an out & back along the beach. At this point the pack really started to fall apart. I knew the pace was not sustainable, so I settled into a "comfortably hard" pace. Still, a few guys fell off me during these next 2 miles, and I think I moved into 5th place. I missed the mile 7 marker, then hit 8 miles in 10:20 for the last 2 miles. Ouch. I'm paying the pace for the really fast start. Need to re-focus, but its getting hard. I make a goal to catch the guy in front of me, and get him by mile 9, which is 5:01. My 15K split is ~46:17. That's another PR.

At 9.6 miles we turn around, off the beach, and back on the road towards the finish line. I'm closing in on the guy in 3rd place. I really want a podium spot. The 10 mile split was 5:06... too slow, but I actually closed the gap. He was dying worse than me I guess. 

I missed the 11 mile mark, so the 2 miles from 10-12 was 10:18. Ugh! Fading. This part of the course has no spectators and it quite lonely. The second place guy is 10-15 seconds in front of me. I tried to muster up a little fight, but only managed 5:03 for the 13th mile, and then 28 seconds for the kick to the finish.

Final time was 1:05:45 for 3rd place.  [Update: Don't you hate it when they give you a time (1:05:43) and then 8 hours later they just randomly add 2 seconds to the official results??? Apparently I ran 2 seconds slower. Oh well... same difference I guess]

Post Race: Found my aunts, uncles, and grandmother who had come to watch (they live in the LA area), then we cheered Andrea in. Holy freaking moly... her 1:17:03 was incredibly impressive. She is an absolute superstar. Then we got escorted to the VIP area... but since they weren't giving out awards for quite a while, we cooled down by running back to out hotel, took a shower, then came back to (wait around forever and eventually) get our awards. Went out to a great brunch with my family, then went to the aquarium, walked around the waterfront area, etc. A very fun day. Now we're relaxing in the hotel for a bit and will head back out to watch the sunset on the beach tonight. We're flying back to SLC tomorrow morning.

Quick Analysis: I am proud of myself for taking a chance and going for broke today. I mixed it up with some very accomplished runners and beat most of them. I also paid the price for going out so hard. With more conservative pacing, I think I could have run ~15-20 seconds faster. But that's ok... I am very confident that I can run under 2:19 in November. I'm so excited to get into this last cycle of marathon training!!! 

Not that there is anything wrong with aided courses (especially considering the level of competition we have in Utah), but it feels really good to run what I feel is a very honest PR. There's no altitude / downhill conversions for this one... it is what it is, and I like that.  

While we were walking around all afternoon, Andrea and I talked about our plan for the next month. We feel very confident... we have an excellent training plan... we'll support each other through this last push towards Philly, we have amazing family who believe in us (I think my parents have already booked their hotel for the Olympic Trials!), and we have the encouragement of this amazing community of runners on the blog, which means an awful lot to us. 

Now, lets get ready for Philadelphia!!!

PS - Our Spooky Fast 5K is going to be October 29th. Everyone is invited, and I hope a lot of you will be able to make it. E-mail me for details.

There were about a hundred photographers on the course, so hopefully we'll get some good action shots... here's a few from my camera after the race... 

 
Post race w/ Andrea... we are pretty happy!

 
Top 3 men

 
With the extended family after the race

 
C'mon, you knew this is how we'd refuel!

 
Long Beach harbor - the course wound all around this area... it was actually quite a scenic course, which we realized when walking around afterwards... during the race I wasn't paying attention to anything other than running.

AM - 8.7 miles easy. Early start (4:45am) before our flight back to SLC. Ran along the waterfront in Long Beach, looping back to the hotel and picking up Andrea for the last 4 miles. The fog moved in as we were running, which was both cool and creepy. 

PM - 7.3 miles easy. 

Some race photos I stole from the web... 

AM - 13.1 miles up to work. Same distance as Sunday morning, 40 minutes slower! :-) I started to feel a little bit of a sore throat last night. Getting sick is always a risk when you run really hard and then spend time in an airport / airplane. I think when we travel to Philly I'm going to wear a surgical mask on the plane, Galen Rupp style. Dorky but effective. Luckily I don't have any hard workouts on the agenda this week if this does end up affecting me at all... the primary objectives are to get the volume back up, do a token MP workout on Friday if I am feeling recovered, then an easier long run over the weekend.

PM - 7.3 miles home, easy. 

AM - 10.4 miles up to work. Beautiful morning... full moon and a very colorful sunrise just as I was turning onto Sunnyside. My legs are feeling good, although I definitely caught a cold.

PM - 9 miles home... met Andrea and ran the last 5 w/ her. 

AM - 17 miles. Ran 11 w/ Andrea, Allie, and James. I hope this becomes our standard Thursday morning because its fun to have a group. Then I went straight into 10 x 200m (Avg 35 seconds) on the track to get my legs moving a bit, and ran home from there.

PM - 8 miles easy. I called in sick to work today because I'm trying to shake a cold, so laying around all day had me feeling pretty good by the afternoon. 

I put up some race photos and a little video footage of the finish at Long Beach on my blog:  Long Beach Action Shots ... Andrea's kick at the end was mighty impressive.

AM - 7.5 miles, up to work. Opted to sleep in an extra hour this morning and do my workout this afternoon. 

PM - 14 miles. Ran 4.5 miles down to Sugarhouse, met Andrea, changed shoes, and got going on my workout. The plan was 2 x 5K @ marathon pace + 8 x 200m @ 1500m pace (600m jog after the 5Ks, 200m jog between the 200m reps).

Splits for the 5Ks were 16:37 (5:23, 5:19, 5:17, 38), 16:33 (5:23, 5:17, 5:15, 38), then for the 200s they were 31.5, 32.5, 31.9, 31.9, 32.5, 31.6, 31.7, 31.9 (Avg 31.9).

Felt good and recovered from the race last weekend. Nice warm sunny afternoon... can't beat this weather for fall training! 

Run Utah magazine has done profiles on lots of runners from the blog; the last couple issues have featured Paul, Fritz, Walter, and Andrea. The newest one came out yesterday, and I have a profile in there. I get asked from time to time about my background and training philosophy, so I hope this answers some questions and potentially useful or interesting information. You can download the PDF here, and if that doesn't work you can get it through my blog as well. 

AM - 24 miles. Long Run on the Park City rail trail. Nice mix of dirt and bike path. This was Andrea's longest run of the buildup, so I ran 22 w/ her, then did a faster mile at marathon pace (5:18, net uphill. I'm glad I'm not running a marathon at 6500 feet!), then one more to cooldown. Absolutely perfect running weather today. Afterwards we went for brunch at Wasatch Bagel.

PM - 3.5 miles shakeout. I swear I don't do these short shakeouts to pad mileage... I really feel like there is a huge benefit in doing them to expedite recovery. Seems to work for me. Legs felt excellent. 

AM - 10 miles easy w/ Andrea on a beautiful Sunday morning, then treated my legs to an ice bath.

PM - 4.7 miles easy. Spent the day watching football (stupid Bills!), reading, and alternating between laying on the couch, floor, and bed. My job on weekends (during non-training hours) for the next month is to be as lazy as possible. 

We went to see Like There's No Tomorrow last night. It was entertaining, but wasn't as good as last year's Warren Miller film. That's actually a good thing because I am consciously trying not to get excited about skiing yet. I want to enjoy this perfect weather as long as possible! 

AM - 12.6 miles, up to work... first 7.5 w/ Andrea.

PM - 8 miles. Ran down to Sugarhouse, then did 8 x 300m @ 5K pace (Average 52.9 seconds) w/ 100m between reps.

Need some feedback on the Spooky Fast 5K we were planning to do on Halloween weekend. After some tinkering w/ the training schedule and thinking about the overall plan, Andrea and I really need to use that Saturday morning for our "dress rehersal" 13 mile tempo, since its 3 weeks out from Philly. Plus, Andrea isn't allowed to run faster than half-marathon pace until her hamstring is totally healed up. So for those of you that want to run, there are a few options...

1. Have the race on the afternoon of the 29th (I'm happy to sit in a chair and do the timing)
2. Do it one of the following Saturdays (Nov 5th or Nov 12th) 

Maybe we can just try to come to a group consensus? Any input is appreciated!

AM - 8 miles on campus, slow and easy.

PM - 12 miles. 10 Mile Tempo Run in 52:30. Average pace = 5:15 / mile.

Andrea and I did this workout as an out & back out on the Frontage road along I-80, past the airport (where the SLCTC does the winter series). I felt really smooth and controlled on this run. Very nice confidence booster. Splits were 5:20, 5:21, 5:20, 5:18, 5:17, 5:11, 5:13, 5:13, 5:11, 5:06. I guess I got a little excited at the 180 degree turn after 5 miles, then just kept it rolling. A few more solid marathon-pace workouts like these over the next couple weeks, and I'm going to be feeling really good about my chances in Philly.

Warmed up 1 mile + strides, cooled down 1 mile just as a gorgeous sunset was kicking into high gear.

AM - 11.8 miles. Campus/Sunnyside/Wasatch. Nice easy run in the dark. Our fire alarm or carbon monoxide detector decided to start doing the "low battery beeping" at 4am this morning... c'mon!!! Didn't they know we did a big workout last night?? Now none of them have batteries! Take THAT stupid machines!

PM - 8.6 miles. Watched the last 4 races of the state XC meet, then Andrea and I went for a run around Sugarhouse Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.

AM - 10.2 miles, JAJA run!

PM -10 miles. Short workout to bridge the gap between the Tuesday tempo and this Saturday's long run - 5K Tempo + 4 x 400m. Splits were 16:22 for 5K (5:16, 5:16, 5:13, 37), then 70, 69, 68, 67 for the quarters.

Last month's Running Times had a nice article about "citizen runners"... guys working full time who are still at the upper echelon of the sport. There was even a little sidebar that mentioned Paul as one of the very few USA guys who had qualified for the trials while working a full time job. The main article, though, was about Yuki Kawauchi. Its filled with awesome quotes...

If you train two or three times a day and have free time between runs then you just waste it playing video games... people can't survive just doing one thing all the time, so I think it's important to have a balance between hard work and hard running.

...I'm old-school. I run, I work hard, and I like it. I read up, thought about what I needed to do, and found what works for me. There's no reason Americans can't do the same thing. It's worthwhile spending money on things that will help your training, but spending money itself isn't going to make you better.

AM - 9.3 miles, nice and slow. Ran 4 w/ Andrea, then up to work.

PM - 8.3 miles home. 

She's baaaaaaaaack.... 

AM - 22.1 miles, Long Run / Tempo Run on the Jordan River path. Had a great crew this morning - Chad, James, Andrea, Emily B, Devra, and Mae (not sure if I am spelling her name right). The first 11 miles were pretty easy as we ran as a group (7:01 per mile average), then I did a 10.5 Mile Tempo on the way back. This was originally intended to be a progression run on the way back, but I hit marathon pace almost immediately, and since it felt smooth I just kept it rolling.

Splits for the second half of the run were 5:29, 5:20, 5:21, 5:19, 5:17, 5:14, 5:15, 5:24 (had to come to a complete stop to get out of the way of some bikers), 5:14, 5:12, and 2:35 for the last half-mile. Total time for 10.5 miles was 55:40 (Average pace = 5:18 / mile). Then I added on a little bit more to run back to Andrea, and ran back in with her as she was finishing up the last quarter-mile of her tempo finish.

This was another excellent confidence booster for me. Once again, it felt very smooth and controlled. I love tempo runs! They are definitely my strength, even when I'm cranking out 140 mile weeks. And the fact that I am hitting sea-level marathon goal pace at altitude is a good sign. My legs will be ready for the pace, but it should feel even easier at sea level.

Four weeks from tomorrow!!! 

PM - 3.4 miles shakeout 

AM - 10 miles. Soft surfaces and easy pace were the goals for this morning, so we went to Dimple Dell park. It was a really nice run. I may have kicked the 5:20 guy's butt yesterday, but the 9:00 guy almost got us today :-) 

PM - 5.5 miles easy. What a nice afternoon! 

Let's develop everything! Seriously, a 200 home development in Cardiff Fork? Has anyone that supports this idea ever been in Cardiff Fork? It is paradise... especially in the winter. I get so mad about this stuff!

AM - 10.8 miles. Ran 6 w/ Andrea, then headed up to work. Feeling recovered from Saturday's workout. 

PM - 12.8 miles. Ran 4.5 miles down to the track, then rolled right into the workout - 5 x 1000m + 5 x 200m. Wanted to keep the 1Ks somewhere b/w 5K/10K and Half-Marathon pace (since there is not much difference between those paces!). Splits were 3:07, 3:05, 3:05, 3:04, 3:01 (400m jog b/w reps), then averaged 32 seconds for the 200s (with a 200m jog b/w reps). Cooled down 2.8 miles in the park with Andrea. 

AM - 12.2 miles. Ran the horsepark loop w/ Andrea, then up to work.

PM - 8.1 miles, easy. Down to Sugarhouse and around the perimeter of the track while Andrea did her workout. Just took it really easy today, after 4 of the last 8 days have had some quality miles.

AM - 8.2 miles up work, easy. Chilly outside this morning! Brrrr

PM - 7.4 miles, down to Sugarhouse and ran 3 miles on the grass w/ Andrea. 

We're going to do the 5K track race on November 12th. Since we'll be past Halloween at that point, we can't call it Spooky Fast... so I think Turkey Trot Tune-Up 5K will be the official name unless someone thinks of something better. For now, lets plan on ~9:30am... that way it will hopefully be slightly warmer outside and someone won't pull their hamstring a week before Philly. :-)

AM - 5 miles easy on campus. Another 10 hour night of sleep. I am racking these up lately! This afternoon is the "dress rehersal" half-marathon tempo. I basically got the idea for this workout from the Hanson's standard 26.2K @ MP, although I feel like 16 miles is a bit too long at altitude in terms of recovery... so for the sake of symmetry I scaled it back to 13.1. 

PM - 15 miles. The BIG tempo run, as described above, out on the frontage road between the airport and Saltair. I ran 13.1 miles in 1:09:16 (Average pace = 5:17 / mile).

I am ready. The cake is done baking, and its out of the oven now. All that's left to do is let it cool off, then add some frosting and sprinkles over the next couple weeks.

I really didn't want to crush this workout, just run it nice and controlled. My splits were: 5:21, 5:21, 5:20, 5:19, 5:18, 5:18, 5:13, 5:16, 5:17, 5:18, 5:18, 5:14, 5:13, :30. Very even effort. When I accidentally hit a faster mile in the middle, I was able to ease right back to the proper pace. As soon as I finished I drove back along the route and made sure Andrea and Emily B were doing OK, and drove alongside them as they ran their last couple miles. They had a great workout as well! We cooled down a mile in the dark together once they finished up.

If you told me at the beginning of May that I'd run 1:09:16 in a half-marathon RACE this year, even on an aided course, I would have been pretty happy with that. To run that fast during a workout, without pushing it too hard, during a stretch of 140 mile weeks... well, that's just cool! And it makes me feel very confident about my ability to execute a great race in 3 weeks. 

AM - 9 miles. Started w/ Andrea, then up to work. I wasn't feeling too trashed this morning, which is somewhat surprising after what we put our bodies through last night! I'm definitely going to wear the Fastwitch for the marathon... I hate giving up the 1.5oz (compared to the Type As), but it will be worth it when my feet aren't hurting at mile 23. We did a comparison of all our racing flats recently on the blog.

PM - 9.5 miles, home from work. Great run... beautiful outside, perfect weather, really enjoyed it... looking forward to the long run tomorrow. 

*Long Run tomorrow, all are welcome! - 8am - Jordan River Trail... meet at James Madison Park (3300S 1100W). We'll have people going 14-22 miles, easy pace until the very end.*

Here's some video I shot last night. If you get past my first minute of rambling, there's some good footage of Andrea running...

AM - 22 miles. Long run on the Jordan River Parkway. Had another great crew this morning - Andrea, Emily B, Devra, AdamRW, ACorn, Chad, and Bryan. Chilly at the start (had to use hot hands in my gloves this morning). We ran the first 20 miles at a pretty good clip (~6:57 average pace), then I added a faster 2 mile effort in 10:01 (5:01, 5:00). The stretch that I did the faster effort on had a good little hill in the middle of it (out & back so I hit it twice), so I was pleased to be able to accelerate to that pace at the end of the run without having to crank it up too much. Great run, great company, great conversations... it just flew by! Really enjoyed myself this morning. 

PM - 4.4 miles, horsepark loop.

She says I'm a tough coach... but marathon training is not easy! :-)

A) Andrea after the long run this morning, B) Andrea after the tempo run on Thursday night, C) Now she is officially becoming a marathoner!

AM - 12 miles easy w/ Andrea, then added on a couple more.

PM - 3.6 miles shakeout. 

Another 2:03 marathon in Frankfurt today. Kenya is going to have to leave a 2:03 guy at home for the Olympics next summer... they have 4 now! Unbelievable. Inspiring to see this new generation of marathoners who simply attack the distance. This is exactly how I am approaching Philadelphia from a mental perspective... no fear, no limits.

AM - 7.5 miles up to work. I've run 425 miles in the last 3 weeks, so I'm starting my gradual taper now. I don't want to cut back too much this week, but there is also no point in running anymore big mileage weeks. I'll probably run ~100 miles w/ three workouts planned. Say a prayer for Andrea... when I run fewer miles I have lots of extra energy, and therefore I'm extra annoying :-)

PM - 10 miles. Shorter workout today. Ran 4.5 miles down to the track, then did a 5K Tempo in 16:22 (5:17, 5:15, 5:12, 39), jogged a lap, then 8 x 200m in 33.2 seconds. Jogged another lap and then called it a day. Andrea shot a bunch of slow-motion video of me running, so I'll get to see how my form looks.

Here's arguably the best Halloween costume I've ever made... this was 2007, obviously, since robot technology has improved so much since then...