A Week in the Life of Simply Stu

We're continuing our look into the typical daily/weekly/monthly life of Team Evotri. So far, we've had Sarah, Sara, Michelle, JP, Charlie. and Chris. Now, Simply Stu takes us through his week leading up to an early season half marathon.

Tuesday - Since this was race week, I finally got to take a break from my usual Tuesday speed work. Today I only had 5 easy miles on my schedule. After working a full day and running my scheduled miles at lunch, I had to teach spinning. This was such a great way to end the workday. After class, I packed for my trip to Mississippi for my half marathon.

Wednesday - Today was an off day of running. I almost felt guilty for not running, but did enjoy the day off. After work, I picked up the family and we headed towards Mississippi.

SNOW!

Thursday - We woke up early to beat the snowstorm that was heading directly towards us. It was another 6-hour day in the car, but it felt so nice to finally be in Mississippi to see my son. I miss him so much while he is away at college, so any excuse (like a ½ marathon) to travel south works for me. After a quick 3 mile run to shake out my legs, we headed out for a family dinner at our favorite place on the square.

Baseball? In February?

Friday - Friday was all about visiting the university and taking in a baseball game. Can you believe baseball has already started? After the game, I drove the marathon course. I was certainly prepared with my last 16 weeks of training, but this was one of the hilliest routes I have ever seen. I averaged between 35-40 miles of running during my training, so I felt really prepared to race. My goal was top three in my age group.

Rowan Oak - Home to William Faulkner

Saturday - My wife drove me to the start line so she could have the car. The plan was for the family to see me at the grove on campus. After a nice warm-up, the race was on. The first half-mile was straight down a hill. While it was a great way to start, the course finished up that same hill. My pace was right on schedule for the first 4 miles, but I started to feel a bit sluggish at mile 5 and 6. At mile 7 I saw my family, and this made my day! After seeing my family I negative split each of the last 6 miles. I didn't discover the negative split until I looked back at the data from the race. I attribute this to the training mileage I put in over the last 16 weeks. It was amazing to feel as good as I did. I finished 20th overall and 2nd in my age group. I have run faster half-marathon times, but it is really hard to compare since this route was so incredibly hilly!

UMiss Basketball vs. Auburn

We finished the day with a basketball game against Auburn and a family dinner. We walked back to the car and said our goodbyes. I can tell you that I hate goodbyes – it never gets easier. Oh, how I miss my son while he is away at college.

Sunday - We got up early on Sunday and headed back to Wisconsin. We drove 11 straight hours back to Wisconsin with only short stops.

Monday - It was back to work day. A long day in the office, but felt good to be back. After work I drove home, had dinner and prepared for my Rev3 Radio show on Tuesday with guests Lauren Goss and Heather Jackson.

With my run focus over, I will break for 2 weeks before I start a 10-week preparation for the Syttende Mai 10 miler. I will also get back on my Quintana Roo in preparation for the Evotri Chattanooga training camp!

Stu's QR CD0.1 ready for action