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.

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.

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.

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?!).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Week In Review

Time: 480:30
Distance: 84 mi.

This turned into a bit of a recovery week... just 6 days and one workout. I wasn't very aggressive about this cold, though as I ran close to full days, and thus it is still lingering a week later. Not too worried about training and fitness as I've gotten almost 930 miles in the last 10 weeks.

Hopefully if I focus on good sleep, good nutrition, and keeping hydrated I'll kick this thing for good.

Bastrop State Park

Time: 120:00
Distance: 17.5 mi.

Went out to Bastrop State Park for a change of pace. A few of us went to Kyle's ranch nearby for the night before, which was fun... very Texas, which I really haven't seen from the confines of Austin. Had a pretty big group going 90 and then a few of us tacked on another 30.



The trail was very nice almost everywhere... soft and sandy most of the way, with a few rockier sections. Weren't able to bang it out as it was mostly single file, windy and hilly, which is exactly what Vig wanted. The sand is the right soil for pitch pines which gave the area a very Cape Cod or Goddard Park near-the-ocean look, which I liked. It almost feels like fall... except that it's 90+ and humid.

The cold still lingers somewhat, but seemed somewhat better. Right glute/hip continues to be sore.

15th, Shoal Creek, IF

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Solo morning run. Woke up still feeling more congested than I'd like... started taking some new cold meds yesterday, hopefully they'll finish this thing off. The first bit I felt very tight and stuffy, but by the time I was on Shoal Creek heading back north it was looking to be a beautiful morning and I perked and loosened up. Just over an hour back to the house/IF, and I did about 2 miles there. Despite this lingering cold, feeling good.



The tailgate scene just south of campus is pretty real. People were already setting up when I ran by this morning at 8am for the Texas vs. Kansas State game this afternoon.

6 Mile Tempo, 300s

Time: 100:00
Distance: 15 mi.

Target: 6 mile tempo on Town Lake in ~5:20 pace; 6 x 300m (50 sec) with 100m rest (25 sec)
Workout: 32:10 (5:22); 6 x 300m all in ~49.5

Overall a good workout, but not feeling quite as good as I wanted to. Having a bit of a hard time breathing on the tempo and some mild stomach issues. We got out very slow (5:45) due to some miscommunications, but we were able to get back on it. Felt good on the 300s back on the track, and it was good to get in spikes for pretty much the first time. It was pretty humid and I was feeling it. Erik, Jake, Habben, Kyle and I ran as a really good pack, though.

Shoal Creek, Town Lake

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Pretty similar to the last two days, a very easy 90 minutes. This is pretty much exactly what I think I should be doing right now. Still feeling congested and not as recovered from the cold as I'd like, so I'm not taxing it too much, but still getting in some volume. Ran from the house with Stanley down to Leo's place, over to Shoal Creek to MoPac, a little bit on Town Lake and then back Trinity, through campus and Hyde Park.

Dehydrated, tired, and still congested.

Town Lake Loop

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

A bit of a different Wednesday run... ran from the track and just went an easy 90 minutes. I guess this made it a bit easier for everyone to meet and recover from their workout yesterday. Definitely feeling better again today, but still quite congested.

Other stuff:

• It was relatively hot this morning compared to how it has been, but the weather looks quite good in the next week or so.
  
  
• Got a "random" UT drug test after the run. Yahoo!
  
  
• Had a massage in the evening on my right adductor which had been consistently tight over the last week or so.

Town Lake East

Time: 90:30
Distance: 13 mi.

Back on the horse. Feeling quite a bit better than yesterday morning, though still a bit of the nose-throat head stuffiness remains. Definitely not ready to breathe really hard and do the tough workout that the guys were doing. They did 16 hills at the golf course and then 3 miles on the track just under 4:30 with a full 5:00 recovery. This is similar to a workout that we did last year, and I was sorry to miss it.

Good chat with Vig in the afternoon about the rest of the season. Can't wait for things to start heating up... We'll get to see almost every good team this weekend.

Day Off

One of my rules of thumb for training is that I don't really like planned days off. Taking "planned" days off, for me, discourages taking days off when I really need them. Thus, my rule of thumb for days off also stipulates that I take "unplanned" days off when the time is right.

My mild feelings of a head cold from yesterday have been realized and I've had a headache, congestion, and a bit of a sore throat. Time for a day off. If I feel great tomorrow, I'll do the workout. If not, I won't, which is fine. First day off in almost exactly a month.

Week In Review

Time: 686:30
Distance: 104 mi.

Another very good week with solid volume, strong intensity, and quality recovery. Getting into a pretty good pattern, which is good, because before we know it we'll be in the thick of the season. We should have at least another two weeks at this quality/quantity before backing off somewhat for the North Carolina trip.

Mt. Bonnell, Scenic, Stratford

Time: 120:00
Distance: 19.5 mi.
Map


Middle of Stratford hills (via Vig's phone)

Back to the hills. Ran this harder than a few weeks ago, which it was time to do. Good pace through Mt. Bonnell, Scenic and Stratford and picked it up to finish Town Lake to the I-35 bridge, Trinity and with ~2 miles on the track. Pace for the end ranged from 5:35-6:00 (faster on Town Lake and the track than on Trinity). Didn't feel fantastic (a bit tired), but very controlled despite the decent pace. Rob Wetzel, one of the freshmen who seems like he has a lot of potential and a good head on his shoulders, made it the whole way with us which was good to see.

Starting to feel some head cold symptoms... rest and hydrate.

Scenic, Town Lake

Time: 91:07
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Easy 90, most of it with Brian down Scenic and on Town Lake to where he left his car downtown. A bit dehydrated and we went a little late (left the house around 9:15) so it was hot. Kept the pace easy, though. Starting out my right hip flexor and hamstring were both pretty sore, but they loosened up well.

On Scenic we ran past the filming of "The Sno Cone Stand, Inc." which apparently features Tony Sirico from the Sopranos.

Also, the Brown guys opened up their season at Iona, finishing second behind the hosts. Looked like a decent showing on a slow-ass day.


Schmaloner leads the pack

2 x 4 Mile Tempo, 300s

Time: 97:00
Distance: 15.5 mi.

Target: 2 x 4 mile tempo with 2 min rest on Town Lake, both in 22:00 (5:30s); 6 x 300m with 100m jog in 50
Workout: 21:40, 21:20; 6 x 300m in 47-49

Very good workout... an improvement from the tempo two weeks ago and far better than when we did a similar workout at this time last year (8 miles straight, which turned into the pain train). The first 4 (with most of the guys) felt very relaxed and was still totally under control for the second 4 (with Jake, Habben and Stanley). Had to do a little work to keep us together on the second half, which was definitely worth it as it was very good to finish together.

The track work was also good and controlled. Ran together and felt good to get the legs going. Calves and achilles a little sore afterwards, but nothing serious. Right piriformis/glute also a bit tight throughout.

IF

Time: 35:00
Distance: 5 mi.

Easy evening 5'er with Hanley around IF. First serious rest day in a while, which I wasn't really feeling like I needed, but it certainly can't hurt. Been putting in good work.

Legs felt nice and spry.

IF, Hyde Park

Time: 42:00
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy morning run with Jake and Kyle around IF and then a loop through Hyde Park. Supposed to meet up with a couple more guys, but that didn't materialize. Feeling fine.

New shoes! Another pair of Elite 3s. Definitely due for them.

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 100:00
Distance: 14.5 mi.

Wednesday medium long run on the Greenbelt, though we had to start on Town Lake because it was too dark to see the trail. Nice fun atmosphere out there with the guys and we had a good time splashing around on the trail where the water is still very high. Had a weird and somewhat concentrated soreness on my right shin towards the beginning, but it seemed to subside. Definately time for some new kicks.

Got a hamstring and calf massage in the afternoon which helped release some tightness.

Hancock Golf Course

Time: 31:30
Distance: 4.5 mi.


Hancock Golf Course

Easy double run with Hanley and James Valadez from our house down and around Hancock Golf Course and back. Nice and relaxed. Happy to do this, but came up a little short this morning as I had to head off to class.

Scenic, Enfield, Strides

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Just a morning run, no Tuesday workout this week. Ran 70 minutes with Stanley, Kyle, Habben and Birdsong over Scenic and back on Enfield. Back at the track we did 10 diagonal strides on the infield and I ran about 5 minutes to cool down before heading off to class.

Shoal Creek, Bull Creek

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.


The Shoal Creek trail near Lamar

Morning run with Stanley down through campus and over to Shoal Creek, then up to Bull Creek for a loop there. Ran into Rob and Jay on Shoal Creek and ran with them for a little bit, which was nice. Legs a little dead by the end.

CVS Downtown 5k

My alternate running plan from this 6th year business was the CVS Downtown 5k and hopefully the Ivy League Ekiden trip to Japan for the top Ivy League grads at the race. The race was today, and I was happy to see ex-teammates Pat Tarpy and Jordan Kinley run quite well. Brian Hanley was hurting, but I'm still pretty jealous of his trip back to Providence. Hopefully somehow next year I'll make it there and on the trip.

Jordan

Brian

See results and more photos.

Week In Review

Time: 685:35
Distance: 104.5

The third consecutive week at "exactly" 104.5 miles. That's what happens when you shoot for minutes rather than miles. Overall another great week. Need to get a bit better rest, but other than that have been doing things right. Excited about the team and excited about my own fitness.

Town Lake Loops

Time: 119:30
Distance: 19.5 mi.
Map


A lot of Town Lake this morning

Long run from the track mostly on Town Lake. Got on a decent pace pretty early and by the time we were rolling on Town Lake we were running just about 6 min pace. By an hour we were dipping a little under, but Vig (smartly) told us to back off a little bit. Legs a little bit tired, contributed to by The National show last night, which was my one Austin City Limits indulgence. Having a few digestive issues towards the end, which resulted in pretty serious workout stomach afterwards... first time I've gotten this bad this season, which is a good sign.

South Congress, Shoal Creek

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.


The view downtown from South Congress

Morning run with Erik through campus and downtown to the South Congress area, back with a little loop on Town Lake, Shoal Creek and finishing at the track to give a hand at the Marathon Kids event. Legs definitely tired and it started getting hot by the time we were done around 10, but definitely made it a good recovery run.

Morris Williams 1ks, Track 300s

Time: 89:00
Distance: 14.5 mi.

Target: 8 x 1k with the first and last quicker and the middle ones about 3:05-07 and 75-90 sec. rest; 6 x 300m in 52 with a quick 100m jog
Workout: 2:55, 3:06, 3:00, 3:05, 3:03, 3:06, 3:04, 2:45 (avg. 3:00) and rest about 80 sec. for all; 52.6, 52.7, 51.5, 52.3, 51.5, 48.5 (avg. 51.5)

Great workout... headed over to Morris Williams to hit 8 x 1k on a relatively flat loop. Felt strong from the get-go and under control the whole way. We're running together as well as (probably better than) we have since I've been at Texas. Very humid, but the cool weather continues, which keeps things bearable. Calves a bit sore after getting 7.5 miles in flats (and doing hills Wednesday) but got them flushed after.

On an unrelated note (unrelated because these things seem to have very little connection to reality, as we went from 5th to unranked to 24th and then finished 7th during the course of last season) we've entered the season ranked 9th.

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 43:23
Distance: 6 mi.


The beginning of the Town Lake trail (0.0) near the store

Another recovery run... went from RunTex to the Greenbelt on Town Lake. Happy with the decision to split the run up and it was nice to just relax out there.

Field Loops

Time: 62:13
Distance: 9 mi.

Easy morning run with Hanley, Dave and Raul. Ran around IF, Handcock Golf Course, and the loop near Central Market. Felt fine. Quads still a little sore.

Morris Williams Hills, Track Tempo

Time: 104:00
Distance: 15.5 mi.

Target: 16 steady to hard hills; 3 mile tempo at 5:05 pace
Workout: 16 hills, 42 down to 34 sec.; 3 miles in 14:55

Unlike yesterday, this was a beautiful morning for a workout. The skies were a little overcast and the temp was a balmy mid-70s. Easy 20 minutes over to Morris Williams to do 16 hills (increase of 4 from last week), which felt decent though I was missing a little bit of "pop" in my legs (probably from running a hilly run yesterday evening). Ran back for 3 miles on the track, and I recovered very quickly from the hills. Five minute pace felt very good, and I was happy to get in flats and work my calves a bit. Definitely a better workout than last week for pretty much everyone. Felt very relaxed.

Got a general massage in the evening, which was nice... some work on hamstrings, IT bands and piriformises.

Aimless

Time: 87:30
Distance: 13 mi.

Feeling a bit scatterbrained and the run reflected it. Ran somewhat aimlessly northwest over Mt. Bonnell without even really realizing it. Got stuck running back part of the way on 2222, which really sucked. Have sore quads fom Sunday and this didn't help. Found myself missing Rock Creek Park.

We were supposed to work out this morning but Vig called it off due to lightning. We'll get the workout in tomorrow.

Town Lake, Lake Austin, Scenic

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map

Early morning run from the house with Stanley down to Town Lake and then over on Lake Austin to Scenic and back to the house. This loop is nearly EXACTLY 90 minutes at easy run pace.

Week In Review

Time: 701:35
Distance: 104.5

Another very solid week of training. 90 minute runs are feeling pretty good, and starting to get back on the workout train. The team still has a little way to go to really feel like a coherent group, but we're coming around. No significant physical complaints this week. Still could be sleeping and hydrating better.

Mt. Bonnell, Scenic, Stratford

Time: 120:00
Distance: 18.5 mi.
Map


The view from Redbud just before we hit Stratford

A very solid but a little more laid back long run. First time I've done this classic run in a long time. The two hour group was Stan, Jake, Habben, Kyle and me. The pace got going but not until the middle of Scenic, and we put a good effort in over Stratford and on Town Lake where we were on just about 6 min. pace. Finished going all the way to I-35 on the south side of Town Lake and then back to the track to finish with about a mile on the grass on bare feet.

San Marcos Meet

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.
Map

Went down to San Marcos to watch some of the guys race. Ran around for about 45-50 minutes pretty slow during the race and for some of their cooldown, and then Stanley and I headed to get some more decent running in and finish up our running in one session for the day. Went through a golf course, over a railroad bridge, and through the Guadeloupe river which was high enough to be over the road so we splashed through it. Pretty tired and dehydrated by the end, but glad to have it over, and it was fun to go exploring. I was interested to see how different the environment seems there than in Austin... almost reminded me a bit of the old Brown preseason camp runs.

IF

Time: 24:00
Distance: 3 mi.

Easy run on IF with Craigger just after he got in town... He's on a streak on his vacation which works out great for a doublerun for me. Very hot and humid, and still dehydrated from this morning.

4 Mile Tempo, 300s

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Target: 4 miles on Town Lake in 21:00; 5 x 300 in 52, 200 in 50
Workout: 21:20; a few pacing issues, but mostly on it

Pretty good workout despite being a little off on the tempo... Paul and Stan were on it about 30 sec. ahead but Brandon, Darren, and Jake all were back a bit. It was VERY humid which contributed to me being in the tank early (especially stomach-wise). Bounced back pretty well for the track stuff though, and felt pretty comfortable for that.

(Posted from my iPhone... wooo!)

Hyde Park, Town Lake

Time: 91:30
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map

Early morning run with Brian and Dave Burnham from our house, meeting Dave at his place just south of Hyde Park. Ran through campus, down to Town Lake, did one loop, and came back. Nice to have this run, which is pretty good the whole way, be about 4 miles longer than from the old house. We kept the pace pretty chill, which was fine for me.

Now here is some old-school stuff... glad I kept a few old pics around for things like this. Here is Dave and me at the Footlocker Northeast race in 2001... the face of another ex-Ivy guy, Frank Macreery, is unmistakable:



I was thinking of doubling today, but decided not to towards the end of the day as I was tired and hungry. Haven't been sleeping great.

Greenbelt

Time: 104:20
Distance: 15 mi.


The water is very high in many areas from a very wet summer in Austin

A pretty slow med-long run on a pretty messy Greenbelt. The effort felt decent, but a combination of parts of the trail being a bit overgrown, flooded or muddy slowed us down. Nice to swim across a few of the sections, though, and the guys who went out on it (Stanley, Harkins, Darren, and Hanley for a bit) all seemed in pretty good spirits. Still very sore and stiff from now a combination of strength work monday and the hills yesterday. Other than that no physical complaints.

Morris Williams Hills, Track Tempo

Time: 90:00
Distance: 14 mi.

Target: 12 steady to hard hills; 2 mile tempo at 5:05 pace
Workout: 12 hills, 40 down to 35 sec.; 2 miles in 9:59 (5:00, 4:59)

The good ole' tuesday morning workout. Ran from the track down to the Morris Williams Golf Course (just about 3 miles), ran 12 hills there, and headed back to the track for 2 miles in just over 5 min pace. Started off feeling pretty stiff and sore from the strength workout yesterday afternoon and only loosened up a little bit. Adducters and hip flexors on both legs are pretty sore, as well as both arms. Other than that I felt pretty good. Most of the guys ran really well together, which was good to see.

Tuesdays are a little tough because I have a 9am class that I need to rush to, so no stretching or therapy right after the workout. I was still feeling sore after class, so I headed back to Moncrief to contrast bath.

West Campus, MoPac, Town Lake

Time: 91:45
Distance: 13 mi.
Map

Stanley, Wilson, Darren and I from our house on Ave B down to West Campus to meet Habben and some of the freshmen. Headed down MoPac for a loop on Town Lake and back up to their house off Shoal Creek on MLK. Everyone seemed pretty stiff leaving our house and the first mile or so was a shuffle. After that I loosened up some, but my quads are pretty sore particularly up on my hip flexors. Close to 80 mins I also started to get some pinpoint soreness along the base of the vastus lateralis part of the quad.

Shooting for another relatively high milage week.

Went to DL-8 for strength in the afternoon. That workout will make me sore for sure... little ways to go on hip, core, arm strength.

Week In Review

Time: 689:00
Distance: 104.5


The University of Texas

Great to be back in Austin and have really been happy to be training with some of the guys and be in our new place. It has taken a little bit of time to get used to running a bit faster and more focused... some general aches and pains but nothing to complain about. This is the highest milage week I think I've ever done.

Long Town Lake

Time: 123:28
Distance: 20 mi.
Map


The 1-mile bridge on Town Lake

First long run back with the team, and the Texas XC long run is something to get used to. Started out easy, but within a few miles we were running close to 6:00 pace. Hit 10 miles out in ~64:50 and thus made it back just under an hour. The two hour group was Stanley, Darren, Kyle, Jake and freshman Rob Wetzel. Supposed to really run the last 4 miles, and we were 5:57, 6:00, 5:49, 5:45. Overall felt okay, but was pretty beat by the end. No workout stomach, which was nice as it usually comes up on the first few runs like this. Some back/hips/hamstring tightness, particularly on the left side.

Incidentally, Town Lake is now officially called Lady Bird Lake, but I'm sure no one will call it that for a while...

Town Lake, Lake Austin, Scenic

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map


Dam at the end of Lake Austin near the end of Scenic Dr.

Morning run with Stanley from the house. Headed south through Hyde Park and campus down to Town Lake, over to Lake Austin Bvd. and then back on Scenic. Started off pretty chill which was okay because I had run hard less than 12 hours ago and was pretty tired.

Post-run pool is amazing. Have been doing some very light water jogging for a few minutes after a few runs that I've finished at home.

Baylor Twilight Invitational

Time: 55:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.

Target: "Don't hurt yourself."
Workout: 6k (3.73 mi.) in 19:00 (3:10 per 1k, 5:05 per mile)



Headed up to Baylor in the afternoon for the first "meet" of the season with a bunch of the guys who have already taken a season off. After a lightning delay we were finally able to start warming up at about 7:45 for what was now an 8:15ish race. The course was 2k loops on an intramural field, and by the time we were running they had to put the lights on, which was a little bit surreal. Felt okay running about tempo pace, but my stomach acted up a little bit (probably due to some food pre-run). Ran with Darren a good bit of the way (until he kicked), Jake and Kyle went after it a bit from the get-go and Wilson and Harkins were a bit back. Didn't get home until pretty late, and I was pretty beat.

TexasSports Recap | Results | Photos

Shoal Creek, Infield

Time: 45:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.
Map

Morning run... ended up being a little bit harder than probably made sense. Did the standard Shoal Creek loop and then added on a little bit (this was really probably 6.75 mi.) on the track and barefoot on the infield.

IF

Time: 35:00
Distance: 5 mi.
Map

Easy evening double with Stanley, Hanley and Paul on the Intramural Fields (IF). Nice to shake out a little bit. Have been feeling a little out of it all day, probably a combination of lack of sleep and being a little scatterbrained. The linked map is the normal IF loop... almost exactly 1.5 mi.

TexasSports has a preview of our "race" tomorrow at Baylor.

Hyde Park, IF

Time: 60:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.


Monk Parakeets are all around IF

Nice easy morning run with Erik. Headed for a loop of Hyde Park to meet Erik's friend Gary on his bike. After about a 5 mile loop with him headed up to IF where we ran into Jake, Kyle and James Valadez. Nice to shake out a bit.

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 101:00
Distance: 15 mi.


Cliffs lining the Greenbelt trail

First mid-week medium-long run morning practice at the Greenbelt of the season. Jake had the idea of starting with a loop of Town Lake, which was okay, though we didn't get quite as far on the Greenbelt. Once we did get on it though we ended up on a section of the trail with a great view over most of the ground we covered, which I hadn't been on before. Legs not feeling great... 6:30s on Town Lake felt a bit faster, and finishing up on the trail seemed a little tough too. Splashed around in the river a few times along the way and jumped in Barton Springs at the end.

Woke up very early again this morning. Weighed in at 156 lbs post-run and post-hydration.

Bull Creek, Balcones

Time: 90:00
Distance: 14 mi.

A bit of a mixed up run that was not planned well from the start. Noted to a few guys that we should be planning runs together that make sense for everyone... there was general agreement. Started up Red River and looped around north of IF to Bull Creek (or at least what we call Bull Creek, as there is another Bull Creek park in Austin, and park-area doesn't seem to have an official name, it is just on Bull Creek Rd.). Some of the guys going ~60 mins headed back and those of us going longer looped around somewhat aimlessly until we hit Balcones and headed back the beginning of the Mt. Bonnell run. Finished with about 1/2 mi. on the infield.

Legs feeling a little dead, but woke up feeling generally much more rested.


The "Bull Creek" Park

New shoes! Back in the Nike Elite 3.

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

First team practice (for me) of the season. Headed from the track down to Town Lake and the Greenbelt. Nice to get out there again with the guys. I was pretty tired the whole way.

Therapy: stretching, ice bath

Started back on the strength routine with Tray.

Week In Review

Time: 397:50
Distance: 60.5 mi.

The transition week (with just 5 runs) wasn't too bad, though by the end I'm still feeling like I'm pretty beat. Long run + another 6 hours of driving today couldn't have helped that. I don't think we're working out / "racing" until the end of next week, so hopefully I can just bang out some relatively easy miles early in the week. Excited to be back in Austin in the new house, and looking forward to practice tomorrow morning. Two basic things to focus on next week: hydration, sleep.

Lake Draper

Time: 120:00
Distance: 18.5


Lake Stanley Draper

Got up pretty early in Norman to head out to Lake Draper for a long run. Ended up meeting up with some of the guys from the OU team and running the first part of the run with them. We were on the red dirt trails through 5+ and then Jordan and I hit the road that goes the rest of the way around. It was... a bit like running in a desert. Not terribly hot, but no respite from the shade. Between being somewhat dehydrated and pretty tired, I was dragging a little bit by the end.

2007 Texas XC Schedule

2006 Texas Invitational

I already had a pretty good idea, but TexasSports has posted our schedule for the fall:

08.31	Bear Invitational	Waco, TX
09.08	Texas State Invitational	San Marcos, TX
10.12	Appalachian State Invitational	Boone, NC
10.26	Big 12 Championship	Lubbock, TX
11.10	NCAA Regional Championship	Fayetteville, AR
11.19	NCAA Championship	Terre Haute, IN

5 Mile Tempo

Time: 75:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Target: 5 miles at 5:15-20 pace maybe finishing a little faster
Workout: 5:15, 5:16, 5:13, 5:11, 5:03 - 26:00


John Jacobs track

Warmed up from Jilane's house with Jordan to the University of Oklahoma track, which is about 3 miles. Shooting for something similar to last week's 4 mile tempo, but a little longer. We hit the paces pretty well, but it took a little while to get settled. It is pretty humid here, as I assume I'll be getting used to in Austin the next few weeks. Ran 1 mile easy on the track and then did 8 diagonal strides on the inside of the grass before heading the 3 miles back.

OU Golf Course

Time: 80:05
Distance: 12 mi.


The University of Oklahoma

Ran from Jordan's place in Norman pretty early in the morning. No real aches or pains from the drive, but still very tired. It was decently humid too, and I am dehydrated. Went through the OU campus over to the school's golf course for a couple loops.

Day Off

Planned day off for the first (and by far the longest) section of the drive back down south. Washington, DC to Norman, OK... 1350 miles in 20 hours and 30 minutes.

Goodbye Rock Creek Park

Time: 73:30
Distance: 11 mi.


The side of the Pierce Mill barn

Met up with Ben Peisch at the Klingle bridge for my last run in DC. A nice cool morning run, headed up the Western Ridge Trail for a bit then back down the middle trail. About 70 runs since I got here, and over 800 miles.

Day Off

Planned day off. Tomorrow is my last day in DC.

RCP Short Valley Trail, Beach Dr. Loop

Time: 49:18
Distance: 7 mi.

Start of a down week... ran after work with Colin. Nice to take an easier day, as I was pretty tired from a big running / little sleeping weekend. Easy loop just a bit up the Valley Trail and then back on Beach Drive. Calf feels almost back to normal and the rest of the body feels good.

Week In Review

Time: 676:22
Distance: 100 mi.

"Runners like to train 100 miles per week because it's a round number. But I think 88 is a lot rounder." -Don Kardong

Overall a very good week of training... 100 miles on the dot (I promise I didn't plan that) in just 8 runs. I've been counting miles pretty conservatively, as shown by the pace average for the week being about 6:45, but as has been the case for the entire summer I have been actively trying to keep the pace relatively chill while I'm building up and the hilly trails aren't conducive to killing the pace. Running with guys like Nick, Bogden and Peisch definitely helps, and even better, it's been great to have such good running company. Not sure how things will go next week, but I'm not going to try to push it too much. It will definitely be a lower week, and I'm totally cool with that. Take it a day at a time, and get in a good long run and hopefully a workout.

One more week 'til Austin and things really start rolling. Getting very excited... the workout helped that.

Rock Creek Park

Time: 123:51
Distance: 18.5 mi.

Morning run with Nick, Bogden and Reinauer starting from Pierce Mill. The weather couldn't have been more cooperative... a bit overcast and fairly cool. Kept the pace relatively chill, which was good, as we were up pretty late last night and I want to keep feeling good even bumping the milage again. Started with the Superloop (with a brief detour into Maryland), and then did an add on up Beach Dr. together and then I tacked on a little bit by myself down near the zoo. Calf definitely better today despite the workout, so I'm pretty happy about that. Staying in the Motos for the time being to protect it. Last long run in DC.

4 Mile Tempo

Time: 90:35
Distance: 14 mi.

Target: 4 miles in 21:15 (~5:18 pace)
Workout: 5:15, 5:17, 5:13, 5:02 - 20:49


The Cardozo High School track and view towards downtown DC

First workout of the cross country season! Couldn't have been a more beautiful day. Was a bit worried before the workout because yesterday's ankle pain has moved up to the inside of my inside calf, but after two miles of warming up it seemed like it was getting looser rather than getting tighter. Nick is in town, and I convinced him, Seth and Colin to come down to the Cardozo High School to run around a little bit. They ended up jumping in for some "pacing by committee" which was nice and made it more fun... a bit of a high school running reunion. I stayed focused though and felt very good the whole way, despite being up late picking up Nick from the bus stop. Left calf very tight afterward, but tried to ice it and keep it loose. In total had about a 4.5 mile warmup, 4 mile workout, and 5.5 mile cooldown.

RCP Western Ridge Trail

Time: 81:39
Distance: 12 mi.

"We are speaking of human endeavor and delusional systems. Everyone likes to think they have their own little corner, it can be anything; needlepoint, lawn bowling, whatever. Some guy may gratify himself by thinking he's the best goddamned fruit and vegetable manager the A&P every had, which is fine. It gives people a sense of worth in a crowded world where everyone feels like part of the scenery. But then mostly they are spared of any harrowing glimpses into their own mediocrity, Pillsbury Bake-Off notwithstanding, we'll never really know who makes the best artichoke souffle in the world, will we?" - Quentin Cassidy

More of the miles of trials in Rock Creek Park. Inside of left ankle got pretty sore very quickly in the run. Stopped to stretch and work it out a little bit at about 15 mins and at the turnaround at 42 mins. Tightness and soreness extends up into the inside of my left calf. This is almost certainly the result of switching almost exclusively to the Tangents, which have a very low heel.

The summer seems to be rapidly coming to a close... less than a week remaining in DC.