Wesley Hunt

Firecracker Fast 5K

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Member Since:

Oct 19, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Arkansas Traveller 100: 1st Place; October 7, 2017

Arkansas Traveller 100: 1st Place; October 1, 2016

Arkansas Traveller 100: 15:36:33, 1st Place (Course Record);  October 3, 2015

Arkansas Traveller 100: 15:59:12, 1st Place; October 4, 2014 

War Eagle Tail Twister 50K: 4:07:12, 2nd Place; June 3, 2017

2017 New York City Marathon: 2:53:59; November 5, 2017

2013 Boston Marathon: 2:59:11; April 1, 2013

PR, Sleeping Bear Marathon: 2:45:41, 1st Place; October 7, 2012

PR, Soaring Wings Half Marathon: 1:20:33, 8th Place; October 29, 2011

Personal:

Pride necessarily sprouts and grows; a pride that can only come from relentless kneading of unwilling flesh, painful months of grinding and burning away all that is heavy, all that is strength-sapping and useless to the body as a projectile. --John L. Parker, Jr., runner/author

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
280.4062.001.0014.60358.00
Night Sleep Time: 160.50Nap Time: 0.50Total Sleep Time: 161.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.001.000.000.009.00

9 Miles in 1:07 with Dave at noon on the North Little River Trail; threw in four 200m striders during Mile 5 to stretch my legs out a bit.  

Good run.  Very impressed with some tough miles by Dave as well.

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 4.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 4.50
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Race: Firecracker Fast 5K (3.11 Miles) 00:17:19, Place overall: 13, Place in age division: 3
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.003.108.10

Really happy my old man, Mark, dragged me to the Firecracker Fast 5K this morning.  One of the bigger 5Ks in Arkansas, with a rich history, this year's race was the 36th annual running.  Two things are fairly unique about this race.  First, with the exception of a half-mile climb during Mile 3 near the Little Rock Zoo, this race is almost entirely downhill, hence the name, Firecracker "Fast" 5K.  The second unique feature is the awards.  Because of the size of the field (nearly 1500 runners), only the first 100 males and first 100 females receive trophies shaped like afirecracker (or piece of dynamite on a trophy base!).  No age groups.

I am very proud of my Dad for his final kick, which placed him 96th overall, good enough for a top 100 firecracker trophy!  He ran 21:00 even (6:47), and I came in at 17:19 (5:35) for 13th overall. 

 

After the race, we ran the course in reverse, uphill, for a three-mile cool-down.  So, including my two-mile warm-up, I got in 8.1 Total Miles.  

Finally, Dad and I topped off our morning with a great breakfast at the home of a coworker who lives nearby the race start.  All the Entergy runners were in attendance, and we very much enjoyed ourselves as we stuffed our faces with fresh fruit and avocado, eggs, bacon, and cinnamon bread.

Happy 4th to all.  Eat a hot dog!  And don't feel guilty about it!

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
14.500.000.000.0014.50

A Harvest Moon last night and a beautiful morning in Little Rock!  Met Dave at 5:15 am for a medium-longish run of 14.5 Miles in just under 2 hours.  Temperature check at 5:00 am:  80 degrees...

Ran There-- along the North Little Rock River Trail to Big Dam Bridge-- and Back Again.

I'm in a good place with my running right now.  

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.007.000.000.0013.00

AM:  2 Miles at 6:58/mile and 3 Miles at 6:40/mile on the treadmill set to 1.0 incline; 5 Total Miles in 34 minutes.

PM:  6 Miles in 45 minutes (8:00 - 7:13 pace) and 2 Miles at 6:58/mile; 8 Miles in just under 59 minutes, including 4 striders during final mile.

Finally raining here (as I type), and oh how badly we need it.  Life and Arkansas weather have much in common.  Expect the unexpected, embrace the good, respect the not-so-good, and always look forward to the Spring.

Total:  13 Miles, lots of paces, over half good stuff. 

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.405.000.000.0015.40

15 Miles in 1:56:10, starting at 3:00 pm with heat index hovering around 105.  Headed west on Hwy. 171 from my parents house with a bottle of water, then turned south toward Hot Springs at Mile 4; not my typical medium-long run route when in Malvern/Hot Springs, but it did take me by my old stomping grounds, Camp Tanako--a United Methodist Youth Summer Camp--where among other things I (1) Performed "You are my fire" by the Backstreet Boys, along with 3 friends, at the Camp Talent Show; (2) Wrote and distributed an anonymous essay entitled "Camp Love" that really sent the female campers (not to mention the counselers) over the edge (as I inteded); and (3) Became a stronger Christian, man, and human committed to helping those less fortunate than myself.

Thanks to the fireman, Paul, at the County Fire Station, for being kind enough to give me a bottled water.  This allowed me to finish today's run with minimal stoppage time.  

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.501.000.000.0010.50

10.5 Miles in 1:19:36 (7:35) on the gravel/grass shoulder of Hwy. 171; started out west on 171, turning south toward Hot Springs and circling back after a quarter mile down Camp Tanako dtiveway.

Hot and really humid with a front moving in; however, there was a nice breeze out of the southwest, which allowed me to get by with only 8 ounces of water.

Wesley

 

 

 

Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.502.000.000.008.50

8.5 Miles in just under 64 minutes on the treadmill set to 1.0 incline; ran Miles 7 and 8 at 6:35/mile before cooling down for a half mile.  

Pretty effortless running despite lots of miles over the weekend.  Feeling pretty good physically, better mentally, and strong emotionally.

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

7 Easy Miles with my Dad along Hwy. 171 on a nice mrning, 73 degrees, despite the 90+% humidity.  Good running, Pops!

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.002.001.002.0015.00

AM:  2 Easy Miles followed by approximately 1 Mile at 6:15 and approximately 1 Mile at 6:00.  Why were Miles 3 and 4 approximate you ask?  Well, the treadmill shorted out, ironic given it's in a gym owned and operated by a public utility.  So I switched outlets, only to have it die on me again as I was hammering away at a 6 minute mile.  I may have hit--rather, lightly struck--the treadmill at this point, and I do recall considering how good it would feel to throw the treadmill out the 28th floor window...otherwise, that part of my workout was excellent.  

After the second breakdown, I went outside and ran 2 Miles pretty hard, probably around MP, settling for 6 Total Miles before running to a 1:00 pm meeting.

Frustrating, but I'm down from the bridge.  Feeling too strong to let it get me down.

PM:  Half-mile down the drive, 8 Miles in 59:41 on the dirt/grass shoulder along Hwy. 171; half-mile up the drive; jumped on the pavement and ran timed Mile 8 right at 6 minutes.  

I needed this run to clear my head.  Locked back in.

Total:  15 Miles.  Interesting day. 

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00
Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

8 Miles with Dave on a humid, but nice, morning; North Little Rock River Trail was full of cyclists because we started a little later this morning (6:00 am). 

I think I could only get into cycling if my age or health prevented me from running.  Am I a running snob? 

Wesley

Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.000.000.000.0016.00

16 Miles in 2:11:58 on a warm and muggy afternoon in the Ouachita National Forest about 35 miles west of Little Rock.  Parked at the Lake Winona Spillway and ran an out-and-back on Forest Service Road 114, carring only a 16 oz bottled water; rolling hills with several tough climbs; deer to human ratio was about 20 to 1.

No doubt, this was a tough run, particularly given my poor planning with respect to fuel and a relatively low energy level.  That  said, ask and ye shall receive...at Mile 14, battling borderline dehydration, I prayed for rain.  Honestly, I shouted to the heavens, and not 10 minutes later, the heavens parted and emptied a perfect, beautiful shower on my head for the remainder of my run, cleansing my mind, body, and soul.

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.50
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.006.000.002.0015.00

AM:  8 Miles in 55:56 in a light, cool rain along Highway 171 near my parents' home between Malvern and Hot Springs, Arkansas; last 6 Miles at approximately 6:40/mile.

PM:  7 Miles in 54 minutes and change; mostly ran in the grass along my parents quarter mile driveway; mixed in 8 striders. 

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 8.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

5 Miles on a steamy afternoon on the trails on my parenys' land.

Pretty rough and rugged for a recovery day!  But enjoyable nonetheless...

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.000.000.002.0017.00

AM:  10.5 Miles with Dave on the North Little Rock River Trail on an overcast morning that held the temperature down around 80 degrees, which was nice and manageable.  

Picking up some good mileage over the last few weeks, and I plan to continue the trend, targeting 80 miles/week to see how my legs handle the load.  Need to do a little better job with my diet and a lot better job with my hydration on longer runs in the summer heat.  I am sticking with my plan to forego racing this summer (with the exception being the July 4 5k I ran with my Dad after some prodding on his part), and with this in mind, I'm starting to consider my fall/winter race calendar.  A couple trail ultras seem promising, and I would like to work in one road marathon in as well.  Boston 2013 is in the back of my mind because of last year's massacre...but no firm decision on that front.

PM:  3 Easy Miles to warm up followed by 4X800m repeats at 3 mins/repeat on Booker T. Washington track in southeast Little Rock; including 800m easy jog after each repeat, I ran 6.5 Total Miles.

Total:  17 Miles; both runs outside! 

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.252.000.000.2510.50

10.5 Miles in 78 minutes on treadmill set to 1.0 incline; Mile 9 at 6:58, Mile 10 at 6:31, and a fast quarter before a final quarter to cool down.

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.253.000.001.2515.50

AM:  Excellent, Whole Hog Cafe Championship BBQ last night with my Dad, so there was no way I could handle a 5:00 am run.  Settled for 7.5 Miles on the treadmill set to 1.0 incline at my office prior to an 8:30 am meeting.  Like yesterday, I ran a couple of hard miles during the latter part of the run, knocking out Mile 6 in 6:58 and Mile 7 in 6:31; ran a fast quarter around 5K pace and a final quarter to cool down. 

PM:  8 Miles in 60 minutes on treadmill set to 1.0 incline; Mile 7 in 6:58 and Mile 8 in 6:00.

Total:  15.5 Miles, lots of SportsCenter (am) and NFL Live/Around the Horn (pm).  if anyone has a question about Dwight Howard's drama, Jeremy Lin's 25M contract, RGIII's signing, or Mike Trout's chances of winning Rookie of the Year and/or MVP, then I'm your man.  Oh, and Michael Vick wrote a book, "Finally Free", hopefully metaphorical. 

Wesley

Night Sleep Time: 5.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.000.000.000.0015.00

AM:  8.5 Miles with Dave on a hot morning on the Arkansas River Trail.

Arkansas Summer finally in full swing--forecast calling for 110 degrees and 115 heat index.  Could be worse...I think.

PM:  A few more easy miles (6.5) on the treadmill because I wanted to see how El Tigre did across the Pond this morning (-3, tied for 6th). 

Total Miles:  15 Easy Peasy, which is good because legs didn't have a lot of pop today. 

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.005.000.000.008.00

2 Easy Miles to warm up followed by 5 Miles in 33 minutes (6:40 - 6:27 MP range) and another easy mile to cool down for 8 total miles.

Hitting the Ouachita National Forest Forestt Service Roads and trails with some local ulter runners tommorow morning for a long run; very much looking forward to learning from some talented and experienced runners; and I have a good shot of hitting 90 Miles for the week.  

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
29.000.000.000.0029.00

AM:  20.25 Miles in 3:56 in the scenic Ouachita National Forest with a great group of local ultra runners.  It was different for me, walking up hiils, then pounding down, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Most of today's run was along the course of the Arkansas Traveler 100, which most of these folks have run (and for one person in the group, won).  It takes place the first weekend of October each year.

PM:  8.75 Miles (+ 91.25 = 100) in 61 minutes along Hwy. 171 on a triple digit scorcher; ran Miles 3, 4, and 8 (gradual downhill) in sub-7:00 pace.

Total:  29 Miles.

Good mileage week.   

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.002.000.000.0011.00

11 Miles just under 85 minutes (7:40 average pace) along Hwy. 171; back toward Malvern rather than my usual run into Garland County and Lake Catherine State Park.  Very hilly start, which meant downhill finish; managed the downhill miles easily at sub 7:00 pace.  Good start to the week despite high heat, for which, thankfully, I'm beginning to develop a better resistance.  

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.503.000.000.5015.00

AM:  11 Miles in 80 minutes on treadmill set to 1.0 incline.  Ran Miles 8, 9, and 10 at 6:40/mile, followed by a half-mile at sub-5k pace and another half-mile to cool down. 

PM:  4 Easy Miles on shoulder along Hwy. 171.

Total;  15 Miles. 

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 4.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 4.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
14.000.000.000.0014.00

14 Miles on th Arkansas River Trail on a pretty nice morning in the greater Little Rock metroplex; not sure that I was fully conscious until Mile 6 or 7, but I labored through it.  Good miles, but I'm feeling a bit fatigued.  I could really go for a super-charged smoothie...

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.004.000.000.0012.00

12 Miles in 89 minutes on treadmill set to 1.0 incline; Miles 9 and 10 at 6:58/mile and Miles 11 and 12 at 6:29/mile.  

Feeling pretty good...progressively stronger throughout workout.

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
19.001.000.000.0020.00

AM:  13 Miles with Dave on the Arkansas River Trail.

PM:  7 Miles in 52 minutes on treadmill set to 1.0 incline.

Total:  20 Miles.

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.005.000.000.0013.00

13 Miles in 1:39 on treadmill set to 1.0 incline; Miles 9-13 at sub-700 pace.

Finally going to take a day off tomorrow after logging 280 Miles over the last 21 days.  I actually feel okay, but there's really no reason to push my threshold given my complete lack of training strategy, racing plans, and long-term goals.  Really just running high mileage the last six weeks because I can and I like it.  

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 6.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0013.000.000.0013.00

13 Miles in 1:30:46 (6:59) on an afternnon run along the South Trail of the Arkansas River Trail.  Parked at Two Rivers Bridge and ran 6.5 Mile out-and -back, which included a couple of miles of pcked trails; pleased to run a -90 second negatice split with only 10 ounces of water in 99 degree heat (103 index) at the start of the run.

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.50Total Sleep Time: 5.50
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.000.000.000.0013.00

13 Miles along South Trail on the Arlansas River Trail, starting at Austin Brothers Tires (where I had my oil changed), heading west and crossing over Big Dam Bridge, two miles into North Little Rock, turning around at Burns Park.  Averaged around 7:50 pace this afternnon on a day that saw the thermostat rise to 107 degrees.

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.500.000.003.507.00

Random strip of service road off highway near Entergy Service Center in Hot Springs.  Very busy, but productive, day at work and limited time after work because I met my parents at the aforementioned service center to help my parents unload some things that they brought back from Charlottesville.  They have been in VA the  last couple of weeks to help my brother (and) family get settled in for a life of academia (Luke starts PHD thid fall).  But I digress...

3 mile repeats at 5:41, 5:44, and 6,00; equal distance jog before each repeat; quick 800m repeat to close out 7 Total Miles.

Wesley 

Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
280.4062.001.0014.60358.00
Night Sleep Time: 160.50Nap Time: 0.50Total Sleep Time: 161.00
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