Long Possum Trot

Time: 85:02
Distance: 12.5 mi.
Map (approximate)

Took Dave on one of the runs that we made up this fall. Of course, it's not that different from the other loops I've been doing recently, but any change of pace is nice at this point. I've added this to my list of runs, but today we did it a bit differently that we probably should have, ending up on Exposition and heading all the way up to 35th on it before heading back east. This added about 5? minutes onto what the run should be.

My right glute/piriformis is still nagging pretty bad... the first 10 minutes of most runs are a chore as it warms up. I'm not sure exactly what I should be doing about it, but more stretching and rolling couldn't hurt. It was really nice to run with Dave, as I've been driving myself a little crazy running alone every day.

Scenic, Town Lake Loop

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.
Map

Morning attempt at getting in a medium-long run. Got it done, but feeling a bit flat... I felt like I was putting a real effort in every time I headed uphill. I haven't been getting enough hours of sleep or hydrating well enough. I should really focus on these things every day for the next 2 weeks.

We've got some weird weather going on around here: it was cold this morning (26) and should be pretty warm by the afternoon (65), and it is VERY dry and windy.

6 Mile Tempo, 200s

Time: 82:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: 6 mile tempo starting in 5:25 and going down; 4 x 200m in 30 with 45 sec rest
Workout: 5:23, 5:14, 5:12, 5:19, 5:09, 5:00 (31:20, 5:13s); 4 x 200 in 30-31


It was a sunny and relatively warm afternoon on Town Lake

This is pretty damn close to what Joe and I did last week, especially adjusted the way I described. Unfortunately Joe is a bit sick, but Vig sent Birdsong and Habben with me. This time we started at the 3 mile mark and ran to 0.0 and back (starting at the 3 mile mark, rather than the conventional spot). I felt better aerobically and physically than last week and it was much windier and very dry (though it was warmer, too). A little bit pissed that I got dropped again, but this time it was in the last half mile by about 5 seconds. Stomach was feeling pretty bad by the end which makes it hard to fight and feel competitive.

Class after workouts sucks. Mild workout stomach... hopefully by next week I'll be done with this.

Austin Runs

Now that I'm running a lot on my own from the house, I've gotten a bit sick of doing random loops, adding on all over the place, etc. To try to make the solo morning runs a bit easier, I am going to try to get some set runs down from the house that I know the time/distance of. This is the first time I've never really had any good set loops, and I find it mentally distracting. Hopefully I can keep adding to this list as I get more down.



Scenic, Town Lake Loop | 90 min. | Map
Avenue B south; east on 38th; south on Speedway; San Jacinto through campus to Trinity; Trinity south to Town Lake; west on Town Lake to MoPac; west on Lake Austin Blvd; north on Scenic Drive; left on Pecos St; east on 35th / 38th; north on Guadeloupe or Avenue B to 46th.

Long Possum Trot | 80 min. | Map
We made this run up from the track last fall, so this is the longer variant... down to Town Lake through campus and on Trinity; west on Town Lake to MoPac; through Eilers Park and up to cross Lake Austin Blvd.; up Hearn St. and then left to Possum Trot and up to Enfield; right on Enfield, left on Elton, right on Bridle Path which turns into Sharon Ln.; follow the streets next to MoPac up to Westover; east on Westover under MoPac into Northwood Rd.; left on Jefferson, right on 35th, left on West St., right on 38th, left back up Avenue B. The end of this run wasn't set originally, so I have done it a few different ways, but this seems like the best.

Exposition Loop | 70 min. | Map
Avenue B south; west on 38th / 35th; south on Exposition; east on Enfield just past MoPac; through the neighborhoods to Peace Park and up through upper Shoal Creek to 40th; north on Burnet Rd. to 45th; north on Guadeloupe and east on 46th to Avenue B.

15th Street Loop | 60 min. | Map
Avenue B south; east on 38th; south on Speedway; through campus on San Jacinto; west on 15th across Lamar to Peace Park; up through upper Shoal Creek to 40th; north on Burnet Rd. to 45th; north on Guadeloupe and east on 46th to Avenue B.

Play Ball | 50 min. | Map
West on 45th; north on Shoal Creek Boulevard to Northwest District Park; loop around on N Park Dr. and back to Shoal Creek Blvd; back on 45th.

Bull Run | 40 min. | Map
Avenue B south; cut through on Home Ln. to Hemphill; 29th to Jefferson; Bull Creek Rd. and then through the Bull Creek field; east on 45th.

Tower Loop | 40 min. | Map
Avenue B south; cut through to Hemphill Park; south on Guadeloupe to the UT Mall; east past the Tower and stadium; north on Robert Deadman and Red River; west at the end of Hancock and back through Hyde Park.

Ridgetop | 30 min. | Map
Avenue B south; west on 38th to Hancock; trail along the south and east sides of Hancock; north on Red River to 51st; west on 51st through the "Ridgetop" area; under the fence onto IF; south across IF back to Avenue B.

Exposition Loop, IF

Time: 81:30
Distance: 12 mi.
Map

Pretty easy solo morning run. Added on to the Exposition Loop on IF. A bit tired. Mostly uneventful.

Week In Review

Time: 386:00
Distance: 58.5 mi.

Down week... just 5 runs. This made sense both practically (with travel plans) and training-wise, as I have been feeling a bit worn down. Tuesday and Sunday runs were very good though. Need to start trading volume for intensity in the next few weeks.

Next week I should get a tempo and some long intervals in on Tuesday and Friday.

Shoes are well over 300 miles, and should be good for about one more week.

Mt. Bonnell, Scenic, Stratford

Time: 91:00
Distance: 14.5 mi.
Map

Good hard effort on the classic hilly run 'round here. Decided that given that this was a bit of a down milage week and that I really need to start focusing a bit more on intensity that I would do what the guys were doing today. It took a little bit to get settled in, but overall I felt good. The only time I was in a little trouble was on the last hill on Stratford, which I got dropped a little bit on. Felt good after that, though, keeping the pace well under 6 min pace the rest of the way (~3 mi.) back. The first few miles were slower than I've often done this run, which means the end was pretty honest.

Bull Creek, Shoal Creek, Speedway

Time: 67:17
Distance: 10 mi.

After a night without too much sleep in DC and then a flight back to Austin in the early afternoon I waited until just before dinner to do this run. Started somewhat aimlessly toward Bull Creek before heading down to make this something like one of my semi-regular runs. Fine run, no real complaints, but I'm pretty beat from the last few days of travel.

Day Off

In DC with other things to focus on for the day... too bad because it would have been fun to get back to Rock Creek Park.

Day Off

Travel day, from Dallas to Austin to DC.


Jilane and I saw the Foo Fighters in Dallas last night

Run

Time: 57:30
Distance: 8.5 mi.

Very easy run, just trying to recover from yesterday and get through this week.

6 Mile Tempo, 200s

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 6 mile tempo in 5:25 down to 5:00 on Town Lake; 200s or 300s on the track
Workout: 5:21, 5:15, 5:22 (5:12?), 5:28 (5:18?), 5:08, 5:05 - 31:41 (31:21 adjusted, 5:13s); 4 x 200m in 32

I may be uptight about this stuff, but I find it a little bit annoying that we don't tend to go by the mile markers on Town Lake, despite the fact that they appear to be right. We start our normal 4 mile tempo course a bit back from the 4 mile marker, we split the next mile a bit back from the 3 mile marker, and then we split 2, 1 and 0 right on the markers. Almost every tempo that I have done on that loop has had a long second mile... which is exactly what you would expect from this setup if the mile markers are, in fact, right. Now, this may not matter for the most part, as we all know what a good time for these "4 miles" is, and we're talking about it being ~10 seconds off. No big deal, right?

Well due to construction in the first mile of our normal 4 mile loop, Joe and I started at 0.0, ran out to mile 3 and back. The only thing is that we ran past the mile 3 marker so we could hit the "normal" spot. This added on 10ish seconds on both miles 3 and 4. Maybe this is just a stupid rant, but I really don't see the point of that when we have good markers. Anyway, this at least somewhat explains the splits (though mile 4 was definitely slow regardless... I got a bit unfocused as Joe ran away from me a little bit).


A nice section of Town Lake near the boathouse... part of the "long mile"

This was definitely a better workout than saturday, so I was happy about that. Workout stomach afterwards seems to indicate that I was a bit over my head (and that I ate a Snickers bar a few hours before)... but it always takes one or two of these to get back into things. Belly of left hamstring and both calves sore afterwards.

Hancock, Exposition Loop

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.
Map (approximate)

Easy 90 minute run with Hanley and Joe. Joe ran up to our place from his, Hanley ran with us around Hancock and then headed home. I ran back to Joe's place off Exposition, down to Enfield and back up Shoal Creek. I was thinking of doubling, but once we got down to Joe's, I thought I could get a pretty good loop in and be productive for the rest of the day.

The cold rain was annoying at the start, but felt a bit cleansing at the end.

Week In Review

Time: 656:00
Distance: 94.5 mi.

Just a week of getting back in a routine... first track workouts and tempo in a while. Kept the milage up pretty well. Then again, next week I'll be out of a routine for Thursday through Saturday for my DC visit, so we'll see how it all goes. Clearly I've got some work to do.

Good Water Trail, Lake Georgetown

Time: 140:00
Distance: 18.5 mi.



For a chance of pace (literally, it turned out), Brian, Joe, Dave and I headed up to Lake Georgetown in Georgetown, TX. We found the start of the "Good Water Trail" that runs 26 miles around the lake and started out. We immediately realized that while these trails are somewhat similar to the Greenbelt, as we heard, it mostly resembled the rockiest and most twisted sections. There were mile markers on the trail and we were splitting 8+ minute pace, which seemed reasonable. We went out-and-back and got back to the car at 104 minutes (12.5 miles?). We then ratcheted it down for about 6 miles at close to 6 minute pace on the nearby roads and across the dam to get in the right distance and a good effort while tired.

I'm not sure I'd head out to this section of the trail again, but it was great to go exploring with the guys.

On an unrelated note, articles like this, while basically true, will convince a bunch of people to replace a run with standing on one leg. Great.

4 Mile Tempo, 200s

Time: 65:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Target: 19:45 for 4 miles (5:05, 5:00, 4:55, 4:45), try for 2 miles in ~9:30
Workout: 20:18 (5:05, 5:01, 5:08, 5:04), 4 x 200 in 30

Yowza. Welp, I'm not quite there yet. Really unsure how well I would be able to work out because while I have been doing miles (including some steady runs) and the workout tuesday was decent, I haven't done anything at tempo pace. I got dropped by Jake and Birdsong heading into the 3rd mile and it was all downhill from there. I didn't feel terrible but was totally flat. Just had to get it in. Clearly the up tempo 2 miles afterwards didn't make sense, so I jumped in with those guys for 200s just to finish it off. I have to get on some tempos ASAP.

Track, Possum Trot

Time: 89:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

We were originally going to do a tempo today, but it was cold and wet so Vig pushed it to tomorrow. I didn't really care, as I prefer to work out early in the day, but it would've been nice to get it over with (because, you know, I hate running and think that it is something you should just want to get through, ahem). I started with 20 minutes on the track waiting for the guys to get ready and so that I hopefully wouldn't have to add on at the end. That seemed to work out pretty well, as they were shooting for 70 minutes. Headed down to Town Lake and over to the Possum Trot, which we ended up messing up a little bit. It was pretty cold coming back north into the wind, but not too bad. I'm tired from a bad night of sleep last night, but at least feel like I have somewhat of a schedule that will continue for the spring, and I'm happy about that. Workout tomorrow AM.

Shoal Creek, Town Lake

Time: 100:00
Distance: 14.5 mi.

Easy morning run. I wasn't looking for this much, but by the time Erik and I made it down to Dave's, and then Dave and I made it down to Town Lake, this was the way it worked out. I guess I didn't mind because I'm taking the opportunity to get miles whenever I can at the moment (especially with people), and don't have a lot of time to double these days. Ran into Jake for the last 10 minutes of the run, so I didn't even have to run the last bit alone. Legs are pretty beat.

Campus, Shoal Creek

Time: 60:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.

Easy run after class with Dave. Legs are a bit less sore than this morning, but were pretty beat by the end.

Ridgetop

Time: 32:00
Distance: 4 mi.
Map

Very sore, especially right hamstring. Hobbled a bit the first 10 minutes, so I decided to make this my shorter run for the day. This could definitely be a regular short run, that I would hopefully do faster than 32 minutes.

Twenty Twos

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: 20 x 200m in 30ish with 60 sec. jogging rest
Workout: hit it right on, 30-low down to 29-mid

Very happy with this workout. I feel like I'm back on the train of getting ready to race, rather than just slogging away some miles (not that there's anything wrong with that). Started with some of the sophomores and freshmen for the first 16, then finished up the last 4 with Jake and Wilson. Jake in particular was rocking out on the last few (27ish) and I got dropped a bit, but was happy to finish close to 29 for the last few. My calves will be sore tomorrow.

Greenbelt, Back Home

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Went with Erik to meet Victor Gras, who is here on a recruiting trip, down at Town Lake. We ran from 0.0 out to the Greenbelt and back so that they could get 50 min, and then I ran back up Trinity, through campus, past Handcock golf course and through Hyde Park home. I was thinking of adding on for 90 minutes, but decided that this would be fine for today.


The gorgeous Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs

Today marks the last first day of school for me for... ever?

Week In Review

Time: 552:45
Distance: 84.5 mi.

This was the final week of winter break and my cross-country travels. Mid 80s in 6 days isn't too bad at all, as with one more "normal" day I would have been close to my ideal goal. Got my one hard effort in early in the week, which was a good call. Now that I'm back in Austin I should get back on two workouts per week, hopefully with the guys if my schedule works out okay. Great trip, though... I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Mt. Bonnell, Scenic, Town Lake, Track

Time: 120:00
Distance: 19 mi.



Met the guys for a run from the track. They were pretty giddy out the gate (and only going 90+ minutes) and it didn't take long for Hanley, Joe and I (the OBTC) to start bringing up the rear and decide that we didn't want to kill it for two hours. After Scenic we got on Town Lake for a bit and then headed back to the track at about 100 minutes. We ratcheted it down for 10 minutes under 5:40 pace and then 10 minutes barefoot recovery. I felt okay the whole way... a bit tired and my stomach was a little bit off, but this was one of the better efforts I've put in for the last few weeks.

IF

Time: 35:00
Distance: 5 mi.

Finally back in Austin, but I'm sure I'll be missing the road, traveling and visiting soon enough. After the drive from Norman to Austin I got out on IF to shake out a little bit. The archery club was in session on the small field, so I just did 4 loops of the big field. Left glute and hammy very tight.

OK Runner Workout

Time: 50:00
Distance: 7 mi.

Very easy 7 miler on and around the OU track while Jordan was doing one of Tom's workouts (4 x 800-300) in the morning before I left Norman. The workout went well, but I felt pretty stiff (part of the reason I didn't do it with him... the other part is that I'm lazy and tired from traveling).

Dead Presidents

Time: 90:00
Distance: 14 mi.


OU has a (dare I say surprisingly?) nice campus

I ran from Jilane's and Jordan ran from his place and we met near the OU campus to start this run. It's a pretty regular loop of Jordan's, apparently, and is decently nice and keeps away from the major windy sections. I am naming this run for him as he declined to do so, but mentioned that it goes by 5 local schools all named after presidents. Legs were tight and felt tired. My right piriformis/glute was particularly tight this morning. We added on through the campus to get enough time.

OK Runner

Time: 36:43
Distance: 5.5 mi.

Ran Jordan's store in Norman in the evening. Some out and back through neighborhoods. I'm sure he will post something more detailed about the run, as I have no real idea where or how far we went.

Norman Jenkins

Time: 45:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Short morning run from Jilane's house in Norman... an out and back on Jenkins and then a short loop towards campus. Stiff from the drive yesterday, and facing a stiff wind much of the day.

Not to be confused with Leroy Jenkins.

Day Off

View Larger Map

Long-ass day of driving with Jordan and Jilane.

Torrey Pines, UCSD

Time: 86:00
Distance: 13 mi.


The beach where the run started at Torrey Pines State Reserve

Jilane and I drove from Brea to Palm Springs to pick up Jordan and then down to San Diego. Graddy took us to the Torrey Pines State Reserve, which is only a few miles from his house for a run. We started down by the beach and then ran south through the park and then into the UCSD campus. We ran "to the balls" and back, passing the school's "floating" library (which was designed by Dr. Seuss):


The Geisel Library at UCSD

The run started with a very solid uphill section, which we ran fairly slowly, but then flattened out. We got back to the starting point at close to 70 minutes and Jordan and I ran a little ways along the beach to the north.

Santa Ana River Bike Path

Time: 90:00
Distance: 14.5 mi.

Target: 45 minutes out, steady sub-6 minute pace for 6+ miles.
Workout: 5:40, 5:34, 5:40, 5:39, 5:31, 5:36, 5:30 (5:35 avg)



Jilane took me over to the Santa Ana River Bike Path for a flat out-and-back run. Once I started to head out and saw the 1/2 mile markers, I got to thinking... when am I going to work out this week? Sooo... I decided to make it a steady/tempo run and try to roll out a bit once I turned around. The first half was around 6:30s and I didn't really know what to expect on how I would feel on the way back. Overall I was happy with it as I felt controlled pretty much the whole way. I didn't feel great, but my cold is lingering.

Week In Review

Time: 427:30
Distance: 62.5 mi.

The first week of the year had quite a bit of travel which disrupted things... next week might do that a bit as well. Happy to be seeing people and running in different places though. Between having a cold and the travel, this wasn't a terrible week. I will have to play the next week by ear as well, but then I'll be back in Austin and hopefully back in a good routine (and with a plan?).

Day Off

Call me lazy, but I decided to take a rest day in Brea on my first day not traveling since Wednesday. Cold is definitely better and I want to head into next week feeling good.

Palm Springs Is Rainy

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map

It is rainy in Palm Springs. Do you know how I know? Because there was water falling from the sky and hitting me in the face during my run this morning. Jordan is still disputing this point with some sort of "sweat ratio" argument, but as far as I know from my experience, Palm Springs has the winter weather of Seattle.


Palm Springs and the San Jacinto Mountains

Woke up feeling groggy and wondering if I should take another day off to kill this cold. I knew I couldn't let Jordan go while I was just sitting in the house so we headed out. My feeling these days is as long as you're going running at all, you should just go 90 minutes. We ran as close as possible along the San Jacinto mountains on the roads. It is amazing how flat it is here with pretty big mountains so close. Pretty tired and feeling tight, but Jordan dragged me along at a decent pace. This will probably be my long run for the weekend (though I did get a longer one in Central Park early in the week).

Palm Springs

Time: 70:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Woke up in Phoenix and immediately decided that I wasn't up for a morning run. The cold and sore throat is still nagging me pretty well, and I'm tired. Clark did take me out to Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, though, which was fun, beautiful and a good way to start the day.


View of Phoenix from Camelback Mountain

When I reached Jordan's dad's place in Palm Springs he and I headed out for a loop around town. He went 50 minutes and I added on an extra 20. Feeling about the same as the last few days... tired and feeling this nagging cold.


Palm Springs still seems to look a lot like this

Day Off

Time: 840:00 (14 hours)
Distance: 1002 mi.


View Larger Map

Yeah... a run wasn't happening today. Not the prettiest drive I've ever done, especially through El Paso, but really nice to see P. Clark in Phoenix.

Greenbelt

Time: 81:06
Distance: 11.5 mi.

Easy run on the Greenbelt with Hanley in the evening my one day passing through Austin. Body is feeling pretty tired from the last few days and the travel. My sore throat and cold is definitely not getting any better. Racing the sun on the way back in...

2008!

Time: 86:30
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Mid-afternoon run with Neely (and Craig on his bike) in Central Park. Body is pretty beat in general and the sore throat is somewhat worse, but once I get on a semi-normal sleep pattern again, I will definitely feel a lot better. I was a bit under-dressed as well and was pretty cold most of the way. Between the bridal path and the various other paths and the big road loop, Central Park seems like a pretty great place to train.