Shillelagh 4 Mile Race

Start of the Race...



I decided to run the Shillelagh 4 mile race in flushing, I did It a couple years ago where I I got 2nd place in 21:20. This year I thought I might be able to run 22:00 If I was feeling good and if it wasn't to cold/windy.

I had to work the night before the race so I wasn't sure how I was going to feel with only a couple hours sleep. I got up and was really tired, luckily I didn't fall right back to sleep after my alarm went off. I picked up my buddy scott, and I wasn't feeling all that good. We got there, I warmed up 3 miles and my legs didn't feel real bad but I knew there was some competition there so I wasn't even thinking about winning it. I got to the starting line and saw there was more competition there then I had thought there would be. Now I was thinking "great I might get 3rd or 4th place if I'm lucky."

The race started and I decided I was just going to go with the leaders for however long I could and just try to finish from there. We hit the mile in 5:03 and I wasn't feeling real bad but I knew I couldn't keep that up so I decided to let them go and I sat back 5 or so seconds. The second mile I hit in 5:18 and they were coming back alittle so I decided to try to get back up to them, I caught the second place guy around 2.5 miles and the other guy was 5-10 sec up then. I hit the 3rd mile in 5:13 but the whole last mile was into the wind, which was very gusty and knocked me back a couple times. I kept that distance on the leader till the last 1/2 mile where I was staring to get closer but he still beat me by 6 sec. I finished the 4th mile in 5:33 and 21:09 offical time. The winner won it in 21:03... I P.Red and was happy even tho I didn't win, I wanted to see what kind of shape I was in and I'm in better shape then I had thought.

Cool down with Jerome who got 3rd place for 4 miles .... My next race will be about a month from now in April at the Memorial Steps for Courage 5k ....just a little race but it was fun last year.

Finishing...

Starving for a Race...

Well I need to start updating this more...

I've been super tired the last few months now that I've been working more at Krogers. I'm all alone now on 3rd shift so I've been really busy every night plus I've been puting in on average 65-70 miles a month. Doesn't really sound like a lot of miles but the past few years I've average around 55-60 miles. I haven't put any speed work in yet except a few tempo/steady state runs when I feel good but nothing really to write about. It's getting harder and harder to get out and train, myself and my buddy are going back to Flushing in a few weeks to run the 4 mile shillelagh run in on March 10. I ran it a few years back and got second place by less then a second. I feel like I'm in great shape right now and can't wait to see what kind of time I can get!!!

I'm getting excited for High School Track season to start up in a few weeks... The winter hasn't really been the winter this year, its been more like fall... It's felt like track season ever sence XC season was over.

-I also just found out we have been invited to the Greater Lansing XC Race which only took 4 years. I'm just glad we are able to run in it. I feel like this will help are kids get more competition and push to be like the elite teams in are league. Each year we are getting closer and closer and with the girls getting back to the state meet, I feel the guys will be there with the girls next year and Owosso will be talked about how fast they are instead of how slow they are.

Run Happy Every one!!!

Winter Has Arrived in Michigan!!!

Quick little update on my training from the past few days... Last week I finally got back up to 75 miles. This week I plan on going down to 70 for a "recovery week" then back up to 80 miles next week. I decided to do a few extra things to help stay healthy with the increase in miles. Doing push-ups daily and some kind of core work and using my foam roller when I start to feel extra sore or more tired then normal. I feel like all this is helping me with my running form, now that we have snow and ice we have to deal with.
Congrats to all the Olmpic Marathon Qualifier from this past weekends race!!! Hall,Meb, Abdi and Flanagan,goucher and davila

“The unspoken and shared understanding of what it means to be a runner can be seen in the kinship between runners. When 40,000 people line up to run the Chicago Marathon, or when 130 line up at a high school cross-country race, they can look each other in the eye with a certain respect, awareness, and comprehension that is prohibitively elusive for the non-runner. Before, during, and after the race, the fellowship between runners is tangible and real. The brotherhood and sisterhood of the running community can be felt in the air as they inhale a collective like-mindedness. To be a runner in the midst of other runners just before the start of a race is a mystical experience that can no more be captured in words than can the color blue.”

Jan 6th 2012 and it's over 50 degrees!!!

I decided I'm going to start writing in this again. I don't remember what I wrote about the last time I updated this. I'll use this as a update about my running the past few months.
I haven't really raced much after the Crim 10 miler. I ran with the Playmakers B Racing team at the Detroit Marathon Relay which was a lot of fun. We had 2 teams in the Open Division which we took 1st and 2nd place, we had a team in the girls race which they won, and we had a team in the Co-Ed Division and they also won. The team I was on took 2nd in the Open Division, I ran the longest leg 6.7 miles or some weird distance. I had no Idea how fast I was going, I just wanted it to be over and keep my place for the team. Overall I was happy with the race, my legs kinda cramped up the last mile but I averaged around 5:10-5:15 pace. With getting 2nd place are team won 500 dollars so each of us got 100 dollars. I guess I'm not a recreational runner any more and now I can be consided a Pro or sub pro runner.
After that race I got sick so I took a couple down weeks and now finally getting my mileage back up to 70 this week. I'm feeling great with long runs again and getting some longer tempo/fartleks and legs are healthy. I had a lot of problems in college with my legs and injuries so I'm going to keep increasing my mileage but taking it easy and not pushing myself to much.
-I hope I keep updating this and I'm thinking about running a marathon so if anyone has any that they think should be my first please let me know.