Wednesday, October 31, 2007

There's a reason why you wear this uniform...

This isn't exactly running related, but I can't help but be pumped up by it. I had heard that the "turning point" of the postseason for the Red Sox was before game 4 of the ALCS when David Ortiz held a team meeting to get the team focused.



Sports Illustrated has published some details from the players-only meeting, including this:

"Listen," designated hitter David Ortiz began, "we're not just a good team. We're a great team. And don't you fucking forget that. And let's go play one at a time and go prove that. Because let me tell you something...."

Ortiz pulled on the sides of his gray road jersey. "There's a reason why you wear this Red Sox uniform...."

Ortiz paused for a beat, letting the suspenseful silence fill the rapt room.

"Because you're a bad motherfucker."


Update: More on it (and more) in Papelbon's interview with Letterman.

IF, Hancock

Time: 93:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

A very easy mid-week medium long run. Stayed on the soft surfaces with Erik and it was good to run the whole thing with him. Sore from yesterday and the legs (especially quads/hip flexors) were pretty tired by the end of the run.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Morris Williams Hills, 300s

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Target: 16 steady to hard hills; 6 x 300m in ~48 sec with 100m rest in ~25 sec (~7:20-25 total)
Workout: 16 hills from 42 down to 35ish?; 300s from 48-49 down to 46 (7:26 total)

An okay workout, but I was feeling a little off of it on both the hills and the 300s (especially the last one that the guys blazed). Tried to keep under control on the hills, which meant getting dropped a little bit up and then catching up across the top of the hill. These are never my best workouts, and both hamstrings were very tight so I wanted to make sure not to over do it.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Town Lake Loop, Infield

Time: 81:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Ran in the afternoon after spending the morning studying for a mid-day exam. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to try to clear my head. Some mild stiff/soreness and digestion issues, but overall it was a good run. Did a loop on the east side and ran back around to the Lamar bridge and back on Congress. Finished with about a mile on the grass.

Week In Review

Time: 495:30
Distance: 74.5 mi.

Overall it was an okay week. Training-wise it was pretty light with just one easy workout and low milage, but it was nice to get in one last two hour run. Still thinking about the Big 12 race and feeling mixed about it, but trying to consider things I can take from it: trust yourself and your fitness to run more conservatively and work on focus before the race. It has basically taken me 2 years to really get back on the horse.

The Brown guys got 6th at Heps on Friday, which is certainly worse than they were shooting for. Unfortunately for them, it does not look like the coaching situation has settled down much which undoubtedly doesn't help. I wish I could say I was surprised.

Maybe most importantly, though, the Red Sox sealed the deal as 2007 World Series Champions.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Town Lake

Time: 120:00
Distance: 18 mi.

The last 2 hour jaunt of the season... not going after it too hard. Headed out starting slow (it was hard to see at 6:30) but settled in to about 6:30s and then 6:00-6:10 on the way back. Definitely more sore than yesterday, but not too bad--mostly just tired hamstrings.

Summer running partners Steve Bogden, Ben Peisch, and Eric Reinauer ran in the Marine Corps Marathon today. Not sure if they were all happy with their times, all in the 2:50s, but it does make me excited to do a marathon at some point. Plus, it looks to me like Jordan must be sneaky-training for a marathon (why else would you do 30k of work in a morning?!).

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Shoal Creek, Road Loops

Time: 81:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Easy run starting running down Shoal Creek with Dave and Brian who were doing a hill workout near Duncan Park. Did some loops near that part of Shoal Creek and then headed back up through Hyde Park. Body felt surprisingly good after the race and a late night... guess I'll just have to see if it's delayed-onset soreness. The weather is great, which allowed us to go in the afternoon.

Erik sounds pretty excited about the regional meet!

2007 Big 12 Cross Country Championship

Time: 70:00
Distance: 11 mi.

Goals: run for top-10 individually and for the win as a team; give 100% effort.
Race: 14th (25:10), fairly good effort/race; 3rd as a team behind Colorado and Oklahoma State, who both ran well.


Stan, Jake and Me

An okay day, but a little frustrating to be third. We were a little too aggressive early in going for the win as a team (we were leading at 3k and in second just past 6k), which probably kept us from getting second as we all faded a bit after 5k. Leo sacked up bigtime after falling a bit back in the middle, and Kyle and Stan were both solid. I would've really liked to be in the top ten, but felt flat over the last 3k. Overall, though, this still ranks as one of the best cross country races I've run and there is still a lot of room for improvement in our races in the next few weeks. Our team performance was almost undoubtedly better this year than last (despite getting 3rd), with 4 in the top 15 this year and just 1 in the top 15 last year.

The rumor is that the course was 160m long in the last mile, which seems to make sense from my splits: first two miles were about 4:45, hit 4 miles at under 19:40 (~5:00?) and finished the race in 25:10 (5:30 for 1600m, just about 5:00 for 1760m). The course was surprisingly difficult: all those little bumps added up to making it hard to get into a rhythm. Also, it was dry as hell... and the altitude shouldn't be totally ignored.

Place   Team            Score   1   2   3   4   5   6   7
===== =============== ===== == == == == == == ==
1 Colorado 34 1 2 4 11 16 17 24
2 Oklahoma State 48 3 8 10 12 15 25 40
3 Texas 58 6 7 9 14 22 45 55

Place Bib # Name Team Time
====== ====== ================= =============== ========
1 52 Brent Vaughan Colorado 24:22.30
2 45 Kenyon Neuman Colorado 24:36.50
3 225 Ryan Vail Oklahoma State 24:35.80
4 47 Stephen Pifer Colorado 24:64.30
5 110 Colby Wissel Kansas 24:51.05
6 243 Erik Stanley Texas 24:53.05
7 241 Kyle Miller Texas 24:55.20
8 217 David Chirchir Oklahoma State 25:02.60
9 240 Leonel Manzano Texas 25:04.00
10 220 Sean Fleming Oklahoma State 25:04.10
11 43 Peter Janson Colorado 25:04.30
12 222 David Jankowski Oklahoma State 25:08.50
13 302 Edwin Sang Texas Tech 25:09.60
14 244 Owen Washburn Texas 25:10.05
15 215 Matt Barnes-Smith Oklahoma State 25:11.80

22 242 Jacob Morse Texas 25:30.75
46 238 Jay Heller Texas 26:19.40
57 237 Darren Brown Texas 26:33.50
61 236 Habben Berhane Texas 26:37.45
84 245 Robert Wetzel Texas 27:24.80
Coverage: Flotrack Video | TexasSports

Lubbock is pretty out there, but now I can't say that I've never seen prairie dogs of cotton patches.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Rawls Golf Course

Time: 38:00
Distance: 5.5 mi.


Checking out the course

Shakeout run on the Big 12s course after an easy flight from Austin. Body feeling pretty good, despite random soreness in my left foot (as Hanley observed, everything has been going too well... You can't race like that) and the usual stomach business.

I think we're ready. Not much more to say than that.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Short Possum Trot

Time: 70:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Morning run with the guys on the Possum Trot loop, cutting it a little sort on Enfield to get back to the track for some strides. Right hammy and piriformis tight/sore, but other than that feeling good.

Also, upon showing Colin the somewhat absurd picture that TexasSports is running right now he offered some fantastic wishes:

May your dominaysh be swift and thorough.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Morris Williams Speed Play

Time: 56:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.

Target: 3 sets of 3:00 (1:00) :30 (2:00) - long intervals at just under 3 min 1k pace and short intervals in about 32 sec 200m pace
Workout: Ran decently hard together and felt good, completed the fartlek


Morris Williams Golf Course

A chilly and clear morning in Austin. Got up early to finish an exam and while I was pretty tired heading to the workout, I'm happy to be done with everything up to Big 12s. Did the fartlek approximately on the 1k loop that we've used earlier in the season which at least gave us an idea how hard we were running... from what I could tell we were just about on the target pace. Everyone ran together well. Stomach continues to be an issue, but I was able to run through it fine.

Shoal Creek, 15th

Time: 60:30
Distance: 9 mi.
Map

Didn't end up getting out until the evening... busy day and my stomach was feeling pretty off in the morning. It ended up being a pretty nice run, especially because we've finally gotten some really chilly weather (under 50 F!) and it almost felt like a Brown afternoon practice run. Brian waited until I was done with class and other stuff and we headed out around 6:30.

Stomach still a little weird and right hamstring is very tight.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Week In Review

Time: 572:50
Distance: 85.5 mi.

Starting to taper somewhat with Big 12s coming up on Friday. Felt good all week with no major physical complaints and good workouts.

The goals for the upcoming week (Big 12s) are clear: we are very fit and need to run together to challenge every guy on the course, especially over the last 3k. When the point of decision comes, as it inevitably does in every race, it's time to be confident and aggressive.

Town Lake

Time: 82:00
Distance: 13 mi.


The east side of the Town Lake trail

A reduced Sunday run with Big 12s just 5 days away. Just looking to go 80 minutes at about 6:15 pace. A bunch of the guys inexplicably seemed to have trouble running together, which was annoying, but I was happy to run with Jake and Kyle the whole way. The weather was great and we were in good spirits... autumn is actually upon us (just a little bit of a warmer autumn than I'd like). Both hamstrings and right glute got sore... will have to pay special attention to these to get them worked out in the next few days.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.


The Greenbelt is almost completely dried up

Drove down to Barton Springs with Jilane and did a small loop on Town Lake before the crowds were more than I could bear and then headed back to do most of the run on the Greenbelt. Nice to get out there as we haven't been doing the Wednesday runs there too much this year, but ended up wandering a little bit when I tried some new and somewhat overgrown trails about 25 minutes out on the trail. Right glute/hamstring tight again as on most recent post-workout days, but they loosened up over the course of the run. Really nice to see JR have a good run too!

Infield

Time: 30:00
Distance: 4 mi.

Easy afternoon 4 miler before weights (which I incidentally missed due to new draconian rules in DL-8). Loosened up a little bit and got a chance to stretch and roll out, which was good. Right hamstring getting tight again.

2 x 4 Mile Tempo

Time: 65:00
Distance: 10 mi.

Target: 2 x 4 mile tempo, 21:00-21:20, 90 sec rest
Workout: 1 x 4 mile tempo, 21:07

The target was a repeat of the Sept. 21 2 x 4 mile tempo on Town Lake, but with no 300s at the end and a little faster. Vig cut it short after the first one despite everyone being on because... "trust me, you guys are fine." He was a little bit ambivalent about two decently hard workouts this week when I talked to him about training last weekend, so I guess I'm not really surprised.

I would've liked to have done the whole workout and was definitely ready to do it, despite a few of the guys looking a little flat coming off travel last weekend and Tuesday's workout. We were a little slow through the mile, and I took the pace through most of the rest of it keeping us right on track... it would've been significantly faster than we did it earlier if we had finished it out.

Right glute was pretty sore, and I was stretching it out during our rest when Vig called the workout.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

15th, Shoal Creek

Time: 63:00
Distance: 9 mi.
Map (approximate)

A little bit of a hodge-podge easy run... Stan and I left our place and picked up Leo and Dave on the way down towards campus. Stopped at the track because I couldn't do a whole run in the Victory's that I am (trying to) wear-test. Not sure that shoe is built for me. Then ran down to 15th, and over to lower and upper Shoal Creek and back to the house. Fine run, but a little disjointed... never got into a rhythm. Left hamstring/glute feeling better today.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.


The fog over the track when we arrived at 6:30

Very easy 90 minute run from the track across Town Lake to the Greenbelt and back. Everyone seemed to be a little lethargic or sore after yesterday's workout, and it was pretty muggy out (with a surreal fog). My right upper hamstring / outer glute was very sore again today, which resulted in some hip flexor tightness as well, all as a result of yesterday's harder stuff... not too worried about it coming around by Friday, as it has done this a few times this fall.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Zilker 1ks, Track 300s

Time: 91:30
Distance: 14 mi.

Target: 6 x 1k in ~2:45 with 3:00 rest; 6 x 100m/300m in 25/48 (7:30 for 1.5 mi.)
Workout: 2:50, 2:44, 2:44, 2:43, 2:43, 2:39 (avg. 2:43.8); 7:31


Downtown Austin, Town Lake, and Zilker Park (bottom left)

Headed out to Zilker with a small group (Jake, Kyle, Stan, and Rob and Jay for a few) for some quick 1ks with solid rest, then back to the track for 300s with quick rest. Overall a very good workout... meant to target an area that we haven't done much training on: intervals pushing VO2 Max with decent recovery. I have a great aerobic base, but didn't feel on Friday that I could push beyond that, which is exactly what this workout was for--and I felt it just as I expected: I recovered quickly, but I had heavy arms and was rigging a bit by the end (got dropped by a few seconds by Jake, Kyle and Stanley on the last one). Happy with the work we put in, though, and definitely an indication that we're in great shape.

The rankings got shaken up a bit this week after pre-nats, but conference weekend is when things will get really interesting.

Monday, October 15, 2007

15th, Shoal Creek, IF

Time: 71:20
Distance: 10.5 mi.
Map

Easy morning run from the house. Ran the 60 min. loop down through campus to 15th, across to lower and upper Shoal Creek and back on 40th and up to 45th across Lamar and Guadeloupe. Finished with a loop of IF. Felt stiff starting off, but not as bad as the last few Mondays, which is probably a good sign especially given that right after the run yesterday I was sitting in a van and plane for about 7 hours.

Still hot in Austin, but now it feels like we might be on the verge of Texas fall weather.

Week In Review

Time: 669:30
Distance: 100 mi.

Overall a very good week... we got in a good workout on Tuesday and despite my legs feeling like trash Monday-Wednesday and some annoying stomach issues, got in a good race and am feeling great by the end of the week. It was great to meet Jon and Ryan and see Brendan (who has a Flotrack post up about the week) and good to be out of Austin and clear my head (both physically and mentally).

Just two weeks to Big 12s. Time to cut back on the milage and be very focused about what we have to do. Also, maybe most importantly, I'm back in civilization to watch the ALCS, which resumes tomorrow night.

Song of the week: Dwight Yoakam, A Thousand Miles From Nowhere

Some more pics of the trip from Leo:


The main Zap Fitness building


On the side of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Moses Cone

Time: 121:30
Distance: 19 mi.

Fantastic run at Moses Cone Park, which is just a short drive from Zap, and in fact, I believe it is the primary reason that Zap settled where it is. Miles and miles of dirt and light gravel trails winding through the woods and open fields. We started by Bass Lake, ran past the Manor House and Trout Lake to a fairly high point in the park (someone said we climbed from about 3400 to 4200 feet) at about 65 minutes and then we turned back to backtrack most of the way down.

Maybe it was the cool autumn air, or the beautiful scenery, but I felt great. I'm totally recovered from the race, and we all seemed to be enjoying ourselves out there, despite pressing the pace pretty much the whole way. Ryan Warrenburg and Jon Pierce guided us along the whole way, and were also shooting for a two hour run.


The carriage trails wind through the woods and pastures

The Manor House

After the run we had to make a pretty quick exit, throwing everything in the cars, saying goodbye to Zap, and heading towards the airport...

Saturday, October 13, 2007

State Farm Fields, Daniel Boone Dr.

Time: 75:00
Distance: 11 mi.

Easy recovery run back at the State Farm Fields and some of the surrounding neighborhoods. Feeling very recovered with few physical complaints... hips a bit sore and still some stomach issues. Did 4x100m strides at 60 min. that were good to get the legs going and shake 'em out a little bit.

In other racing news, Jordan apparently pulled off a decent 5k 10k double this morning, and most of the other top teams in the country ran at Pre-Nats.

Blue Ridge Open

Time: 83:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Goals: don't be afraid to run hard and go to the well a little bit, be positive, run together
Race: 24:21 for 7th overall, 3rd on the team, team won handily; splits - 4:47, 9:32, ?, 19:32


The Zap Fitness guys led from the beginning and there were over 200 people in the race

Overall a good day for the team and me personally. Jake, Kyle and I ran together well through about 3.5 mi. I had a little bit of a hard time being aggressive and going for it at the end, probably a combination of some continued stomach trouble (suck it up) and not having raced in a while. That being said, I felt pretty good most of the way. Tried to go after Tamas Kovacs (?!) but had the feeling of... Wasn't dying but couldn't seem to turn it on and go faster.


Place Name Year School Avg Mile Points
===========================================================
1 451 Warrenburg, Ryan ZapFitness 4:50 23:59
2 327 Stanley, Erik SR Texas 4:50 24:02 1
3 289 Kanyaruhuru, Daniel SR Queen's 4:52 24:09 2
4 450 Pierce, Jon ZapFitness 4:52 24:11
5 324 Miller, Kyle JR Texas 4:53 24:15 3
6 150 Kovacs, Tamas JR High Point 4:53 24:15 4
7 328 Washburn, Owen SR Texas 4:54 24:21 5
8 325 Morse, Jake SR Texas 4:55 24:27 6
9 66 Waggoner, Bo FR Duke 4:59 24:45 7
10 320 Brown, Darren SR Texas 5:00 24:49 8

17 319 Berhane, Habben FR Texas 5:04 25:07 15
23 323 Manzano, Leo JR Texas 5:06 25:18 20
45 329 Wetzel, Robert FR Texas 5:12 25:49
46 321 Heller, Jay FR Texas 5:13 25:53
49 330 Wilson, Ryan SR Texas 5:14 25:56
61 322 Lowry, Bradley FR Texas 5:17 26:13

Team Scores
===========================================================
1 Texas 23 1 3 5 6 8 15 20
Total Time: 2:01:54.00 Average: 24:22.80
2 Duke 85 7 14 18 22 24 28 37
Total Time: 2:05:43.00 Average: 25:08.60
3 Appalachian 98 10 13 23 25 27 30 32
Total Time: 2:06:04.00 Average: 25:12.80
4 North Carolina 109 12 16 19 29 33 45 51
Total Time: 2:06:35.00 Average: 25:19.00
Recap at TexasSports, full results at GoASU, and more photos at Flotrack.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

State Farm Fields

Time: 61:00
Distance: 9 mi.


The somewhat harrowing drive from Zap to Boone

Drove up to Appalachian State to see the race course, about 20 minutes from Zap. The course at State Farm Fields seems quite nice and not too difficult: a few field loops and then a section of trail that winds into the woods a little bit with a moderate hill. Finished up with some strides in spikes. Body feeling good, but not too good. Annoyingly still having some digestion problems.


The open field section of State Farm Fields

Goals for the race: don't be afraid to go after it and hurt, run together, be confident and positive.

From Harlot's Ghost, which I'm currently reading:

I had reached a point where I was ready to live in the maelstrom. I no longer wished to quit. Blessed feeling! Damn the damage! Whatever little futures were being wrecked in me forever were not going to count against this fortification of my ego.

Zap Fitness Trail Loop

Time: 23:00
Distance: 3 mi.

Easy morning shakeout at Zap. It is beautiful here... We ran through crunchy leaves and could see our breath. Amazing. Sciatic was pretty sore on my right side, probably the result of tightness on that side along with flying yesterday. Stretched and rolled out with Brendan when he got back from his workout. Looks like he's ducking me tomorrow!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Boone Bound

We're headed to Boone, NC this afternoon for the Blue Ridge Open and to get some training in at Zap Fitness. I was able to make it there once about a year and a half ago when Craigger and I were driving down to Austin to visit Brendan.

We got in a good run at Moses Cone Park, and explored the local scene (sometimes frightfully at the hands of Brendan's driving)


Also, Flotrack has a few videos from Zap this fall.

Town Lake, Lake Austin, Scenic

Time: 93:30
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map

No practice this morning because we're traveling this afternoon to Boone. Ran with Stan from the house and met up with Kyle at the track. Did the standard loop, but it was a little longer than usual because we got started a bit slow, stopped at the track and I think we were all feeling yesterday's workout a bit. My legs felt a bit dead overall, and right hamstring/adducter/piriformis tightness returned as it did last week after the Tuesday workout.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

IF

Time: 37:40
Distance: 5 mi.


IF at night

Very easy evening jog with Hanley for the first part of his run on the Intramural Fields. Good way to pad the milage just a little bit and shake the legs out after this morning's workout. We were running pretty slow, but I'm glad that he's committing to getting back on his shit.

Morris Williams 1ks, Track 300s

Time: 95:00
Distance: 15 mi.

Target: 9 x 1k in 3:00-3:05 with 60 sec rest; 6 x 300m in 50 sec. with 100m rest in 25 sec. (7:30 for 1.5 mi.)
Workout: First in 3:09, middle 7 were 3:01-3:03, last was 2:57; 300s in 49-51, 7:29 total

Very good day... just the right effort and we were running together well. The 1ks were all very under control, and after the first few we settled in and found a good rhythm (I've gotten pretty good at getting us right on it and took control in the third one). Had no problem recovering in 60 sec... legs felt a little dead, though, still probably a result of going hard on the hills on Sunday. The 300s on the track were also under control, and we were together well. Legs (esp. calves) pretty tight by the end... we were in flats for the 1ks and spikes for the 300s.


Myers Stadium

I very much like finishing up with the 300s on the track... keep the legs from getting the lethargic feeling I sometimes get after tempos and longer interval workouts.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Possum Trot

Time: 80:00
Distance: 11.5 mi.
Map (approximate)

Met some of the older guys at the track for a run. Looking to do something a little different, so after getting off Town Lake past MoPac we headed north into the neighborhoods and onto Possum Trot. Running pretty slow most of the way, as people seemed a bit stiff and lethargic. Fine for a recovery run though. Finished up on the grass of the infield for the last 10+ minutes. This could be a decent regular run... there are some pretty roads in that area.

Week In Review

Time: 605:20
Distance: 90 mi.

Decent week with two very good workouts. Feeling a little dead in the middle of the week, and a bit frustrated with the long run. Really, though it wasn't that bad. Time to get out of the focus-on-training mindset and into the prepare-for-racing mindset with races coming up every other week for the rest of the season. Now it's not just what we're doing, but how bad we want to go after it.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Mt. Bonnell, Scenic, Stratford

Time: 94:17
Distance: 15 mi.

Yowza. A bit off today... Just going 90+ minutes, so Vig wanted us to not "dilly dally." We got out the door hard and kept the pace pretty real the whole way (I think we were 62ish mins at 10 miles near the end of Stratford). I wasn't feeling great, but we had our likely "top 7" running together decently well until Darren fell off a little bit. Vig had me drop back with him when we hit Town Lake, as I told him earlier in the year that I thought the super-hard long runs were hard for me to recover from. I was happy to slow up a little bit and help Darren out, but getting out of the rhythm (at least I think that was it) was rough on the body. I think my body was set to "hang in there" until we got back but once I slowed it thought "okay, done now" and I had to try to hit two bathrooms and ended up pretty much jogging back on Trinity. Not surprisingly, this resulted in some workout stomach issues.

In one of the strangest single running experiences I've ever had, a young buck deer charged across the road at me. I juked him and he jumped right in front of me at about eye-level. Crazy.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Zilker Loop

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.
Map

Easy 90 minutes to try to keep the volume up for the week. Ran down to Zilker and did a loop there and back. It's nice that Town Lake is a little bit farther away than last year from the house, as it makes a few of these same runs a bit longer.

Not feeling spectacular after being up a bit late last night, but got it done. Pretty tired most of the day.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Zilker 4ks

Time: 90:00
Distance: 14 mi.

Target: 2 x 4k in 12:10 and under 12:00, with 4 min. rest.
Workout: 12:05, 12:00.

Something of an 8k "simulation," which I think was very well-placed with our first real race being a bit later than most teams, next week. Physically felt very good throughout with the exception of some mild stomach issues on both, and calf tightness on the second when I put on spikes for the first time for anything long. Hamstring was tight on the warmup and a bit on the cooldown, but not bad on the intervals. I expect it and my calves to be pretty sore tomorrow.

Stanley, Kyle and I were together for the whole thing, Darren dropped off a little bit on the second one (but looked good), and Habben was a bit off on both. Leo was doing a boatload of 400s and Jake took the workout off. I think Vig was looking for something a little faster on the second 4k (11:50?) which would've been very doable, but for whatever reason we just settled in and didn't go to the well at all. He seemed happy with us being fairly comfortable in the end. It was moderately cool (low-70s) but humid anyway. The workout was on the same 800m loop we ran on Tuesday, which meant for a moderate hill every lap.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Terrytown, Downtown

Time: 60:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.



Easy recovery day. Met a few of the guys and ran from the track. Hamstring felt surprisingly good... the massage must've helped, and we were running on flatter surfaces than yesterday. Ran across Shoal Creek into Terrytown and then looped back to the track through Downtown and past the Texas Capitol (which is based on, but 7 ft. taller than the U.S. Capitol).

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Balcones, IF

Time: 90:30
Distance: 13 mi.
Map (approximate)

We've abandoned the Greenbelt on Wednesdays, for the moment at least. Headed out towards Mt. Bonnell, but turned on Balcones... followed it a ways before turning back towards IF and then running through Hyde Park and to the track, where we finished on the grass.

Feeling a bit beat up from yesterday's workout. Most notably, my right hamstring is VERY tight, especially at the upper insertion. Felt this throughout the run, and the hills on Balcones were not ideal. Adductor and glute involved somewhat, but the hammy is really the issue. Luckily I was able to get a massage in the afternoon, but not sure that really flushed it out.

Finally, the ALDS started today, which makes me really know that it's getting to be XC go-time (especially in a climate that doesn't have seasons), as I have many Red Sox memories (2004 much?) that are inexorably linked with cross country. Beckett rocks under pressure.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

300s, Tempo, 300s

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map (warmup/cooldown)

Target: 6x300m (50 sec) with 100m jog (25 sec); 3 mi. tempo (5:05); 6x300m (50 sec) with 100m jog (25 sec)
Workout: 300s averaging 52ish, jogs were a little slow; 5:02, 5:05, 5:03 (15:10); 300s at 50 down to 47 (with one 54), jogs again slow



First workout at Zilker Park this year. Warmed up about 26 minutes (3.75 mi.) to the park where Vig had marked out an 800m loop (with each 100m marked). For the 300s we did three loops taking off two 100m sections on each. For the tempo we just did 6 loops. It was very humid, reminding me of our 1ks workout out there last year.

A bit of shuffling of groups, and who was running what, but Erik, Jake and I stayed together the whole way, which was solid. This seems like a workout that would've floored me last year, so I was pretty happy with it. Right hamstring/adducter/glute was tight, but not terrible. Calves/achilles sore by the end as well, as I did it all in flats.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Town Lake, Lake Austin, Scenic

Time: 90:30
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map


Bridge on the north side of Town Lake

Easy morning run with Stanley on the 90-minute loop. The pretty serious humidity continues so it almost doesn't matter that the temperature has been down somewhat. Having some soreness in my right leg... hamstring, adducter, glute... that seems similar to what I've had in my left leg for the last few years. Might be related to hip balance, so I'll get that checked out. Stopped twice to stretch. Cold lingers.