Track 1ks, 200s

Time: 66:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Target: 5 x 1k in 3:00 with "full" jogging rest; 4 x 200m in 30-31
Workout: 2:56.9, 2:56.7, 2:59.3, 2:54.5, 2:57.3 (avg. 2:56.9); 29, 31, 32, 30

I really felt like I had to get at least some sort of workout in this week even if it aggravated my knee. Given that I didn't know how the knee (or the rest of my body) would feel getting back on the track, this went well. Some other guys were doing fast 400s and Jake was doing a tempo, so Joe and I did our own workout. I felt totally comfortable in the 1ks and would have with significantly shorter rest, as I felt recovered pretty quickly. Knee was tight on the warmup, but once I started running hard I didn't feel it much at all. I ran the first 3 1ks in flats and then the rest in spikes, which made my calves pretty tight almost immediately. Hopped in the ice bath afterward for the first time since December... hopefully the knee feels okay tomorrow.

Town Lake East

Time: 35:00
Distance: 5 mi.

Evening run from the track after flying in the morning and then heading straight to class. I was pretty tired heading into the run after a long day of travel, but it was fairly nice out so I got into it once I was out there. I definitely felt my knee more than yesterday, probably because of being on a plane and then sitting in class all day without getting a chance to warm it up. It wasn't too bad, but a bit stiff throughout the run and maybe a little sore towards the end. Also, I get the "I must be out of shape!" feeling pretty quickly after resting/tapering.



One thing I like about running on Town Lake is seeing the crew teams that row up and down the river. There was a boat out surprisingly late this evening, and it was cool to see them glide through the dark water... they tend to go fairly close to our running pace.

Week In Review

Time: 252:30
Distance: 37.5 mi.

This week was hindered by some tendonitis flaring up in my right knee. Ultimately this wasn't disastrous timing-wise, with the race coming up next weekend, but it has been a bit frustrating. Per Johnny G's advice, you either taper for two weeks or two days... I tend to prefer the latter, but a longer forced taper shouldn't kill me. Hopefully I can get one decent effort in before the race, and run roughly 40-60 minutes per day for most of the week.

Norman Loop

Time: 45:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Jordan ran down to Jilane's to pick me up for part of his long run. I was apprehensive about how my knee would feel, but was pleasantly surprised. Only the slightest stiffness, so it seems that taking it easy is paying off. I warmed it up well beforehand and iced it afterward.

Day Off

Planned day off in Norman, OK to rest my knee.

Warmup Loop

Time: 20:00
Distance: 3 mi.

Warmed up to see if I might be able to work out with Joe and Rob. Unfortunately my knee did get sore on the workout, and rather than it warming up and feeling better, by the time we were at the end of the warmup loop it was sore. I did get in spikes to do 8 strides on the infield just to keep my legs as sharp as possible. This is frustrating, but I'm trying to keep my mind on other things.

Joe did 6 x 800m in 2:20 and under with 2:30 rest.

Day Off

Planned day off to rest my right knee.

Ouch! My Leg!

Time: 15:00
Distance: 2 mi.

I got about 8 minutes out with Joe running from his house and turned around. My knee is quite sore after yesterday. Resting it today and will take tomorrow off as well... commence ice and ibuprofen as I acknowledge that this is really an issue.

Brian and I wanted to start a running injury wiki. We got pretty much as far as the name: Ouch! My Leg!

I should be bowling more to keep up that part of my log. I am reinvigorated by this article, that Colin sent me:

Gilbert Arenas: Washington Wizards guard. Bowled in leagues in Los Angeles as a teen. Still bowls throughout the summer months. Claims a high game of 277. Owns three balls - two 16 lb. balls and a 14 lb. translucent ball with a boxing glove in it. "When I bowl I have special bowling names. They call me Black Fever and Hurricane. My favorite nickname is People's Champ, which is why I have a bowling ball with a boxing glove inside," he says.

That is amazing.

RunTex Team

Sign above RunTex Riverside near Town Lake

I'm happy to finally be able to say that the RunTex's (the running store that I've been working at part time since I've been in Austin) post-collegiate team is (slowly) picking up steam. The details are undecided and up in the air, but the ultimate goal is to support and produce regional and national caliber athletes in Austin. For the moment, the team consists of 2007 UT graduate Joe Thorne and me, but I would forecast a lot of change as the program hopefully develops in the next 6 months. At the moment the arrangement is informal as we work to develop a workable long-term plan for a program.

What I am now sure of is that we will be making our "team" debut at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego, CA on February 16th, which I am getting very excited about. The only other detail I have for the moment is that I think we'll be in some slick all black uniforms that will look something like this:

Zilker Speed Play

Time: 83:40
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: 8 x 3:00 hard with 1:00 steady jogging rest
Workout: 6 x 3:00 hard, bathroom break, 2 x 3:00 hard

Meh... overall it was a good long-ish effort, but plagued by annoyances: digestion issues and serious wind out on Zilker. We ran down to the park from the track, did very big loops around the perimeter for the Fartlek, and ran back. The wind was pretty serious, similar to what Jordan gets on a bad day in Oklahoma. Right knee was quite sore afterwards.

IF

Time: 44:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Evening run after class with Hanley on IF. We ran into Raul, as well, and it was nice to catch up with him. Hanley had multiple Ian Marcus experiences. Knee felt about like it did this morning.

Ridgetop

Time: 45:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Morning run on Ridgetop with extra loops around Hancock and IF to round it out to 45 minutes.

My right knee has started bothering me a bit more than I would like, mostly post-run in the last few days, but definitely from the first step this morning. Seems to be right in the patellar tendon, and a dull ache rather than a sharp pain or real tightness.

Week In Review

Time: 617:30
Distance: 94 mi.

This was a great week of training. Got all the miles in 8 runs. The tempo on Tuesday was a little rough, but I was really happy with Friday's workout which helped me get psyched to hopefully race in two weeks. It looks like I've been able to finalize plans to run at USA Cross Country in San Diego with RunTex's sponsorship.

Go Pats!

Town Lake

Time: 100:00
Distance: 16.5 mi.

Solid, hard Town Lake run with the boys. Got off at a decent clip quickly and headed out into the woods past Pleasant Valley Rd. We turned around at 50 minutes and then really started rolling... we were under 6 minute pace by 5 miles to go and ran mid-5:30s the last 3 miles. I tried to help Rob out who was hanging tough in the last mile and Erik, Leo, Kyle and Jake took off on us a little bit. Finished at 0.0 in 95 minutes and then jogged 5 more minutes easy.

15th Street Loop, Ridgetop

Time: 85:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Ran with Brian from the house... picked up Burnham and headed out on the 15th Street loop and then Dave and added on the Ridgetop loop. Legs and body a bit tired and calves a bit sore from yesterday's workout, but right hamstring felt surprisingly good.

IF

Time: 30:00
Distance: 4 mi.

Easy jog on the intramural fields before dinner. Legs tight, but not too sore.


Nike Air Zoom Elite 4

Broke out a new pair of shoes: Nike's new Air Zoom Elite 4. The construction of the shoe has not changed much since the last version, which I've been wearing since last spring. The upper is slightly remodeled, but does not change the fit significantly. The midsole is almost (if not completely) identical. After one run it feels like this model runs slightly longer--good for me, as my left food is ever so slightly longer than my right.

For my Asics, Brooks and Mizuno wearing friends... yes, I do agree that in general your preferred brand makes higher quality running shoes than Nike. However, this shoe (while not the most durable I've ever worn) fits great and is a good combination of cushion and lightweight support. When Nike screws this shoe up in its next incarnation I'll be back in the Landreth or try out the Axiom or Elixer, I'm sure.

4 Mile Tempo, 2 x 1k

Time: 64:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Target: 4 mile track tempo, 76 pace down to 72 (19:48 total); 6 min rest, 2 x 1k with the first in at least 2:50 and the second one faster than that, 200m rest.
Workout: 4:53, 4:54, 4:56, 4:52 (19:38); 2:51.0, 2:51.7.

This was a very encouraging workout. I met Erik, Kyle and Leo in the morning because one of them had a class conflict, which I much prefer to afternoon workouts. Their plan was the tempo and then a hard 800 after, so Vig gave me something different that would hopefully be more geared for a longer race. The tempo felt great... Leo took the first mile out about 10 seconds too fast, so it changed from being a progression run to being an even, quick tempo. I felt great the whole way--when the pace slacked a little bit in the last mile, I felt good enough to get up to the front and push it some. This is a complete change from the other workouts I've done in the last few weeks where I've really been hanging on. The 1ks weren't terribly hard, but definitely felt uncomfortable and I didn't really settle at all, probably because I haven't run anything near that pace. So far my training has been tempo pace or 200s in 30ish. Next week I should do a 1k repeat workout, or something similar. The other guys ran fairly well for their 800s (run separately)... Leo went 1:53 easing up a bit at the end. Not too shabby, eh?

It was a beautiful, clear morning. The air was cool, but the sun was warm. The wind picked up some by the intervals, but wasn't too bad for the tempo. This is close to the fastest (maybe the fastest?) that I've run for 4 miles in practice--we were through 5k near 15:10.

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.

Year In Review

3640 miles

That's exactly 70 miles per week, and just about 10 miles per day. That's 500 miles farther than the distance from Portland, ME to San Diego, CA. Definitely my highest milage year ever. The only part I had to estimate was the month of May at the end of track season that I didn't log. January through April were in my Flotrackr log.

Central Park

Time: 100:00
Distance: 14.5 mi.

The morning after arriving in New York I ran from Craig's place in Midtown up to Central Park (6-7 mins) for a run with Ari, Neely, Sarro, and Jeff and Lena (for part). Most of those guys were running a bit less, but Neely (who is training for the Austin Marathon) was up for a longer effort. No real plan... we just looped around in the park. Starting to get a bit of a sore throat and I was pretty tired, but was happy to get this much in. Don't know how easy it will be to get milage later in the week.

Week In Review

Time: 642:00
Distance: 95 mi.

Good week of milage with no physical complaints. After deciding not to run the race on Saturday in Boston, things feel a little up in the air as to what I want to do. Feeling a little bit overwhelmed with travel and the job search, but (at least potentially) excited about what both will bring. Until I'm back in Austin for good at the beginning of the semester (in about two weeks) I'll focus on milage and get in some intensity whenever I can. There's a good chance that at least one day in each of the next two weeks will be lost due to travel, but I'll just do my best and accept if I miss a little bit of training.

Providence Loops

Time: 70:00
Distance: 9.5 mi.

Morning run in Providence after last night's Brown Cross Country alumni dinner. Wasn't feeling too sharp and I wanted to run with/encourage some of the guys to run, so I went on a 3? mile loop with Craig and Hamel which was about 8 min. pace. When we got back, I picked up Coste for 6+ miles down and back the Boulevard toward St. Ray's.

Moody Bridge, Bay Road, West Street

Time: 119:11
Distance: 18.5 mi.
Map

Quality long run. Switched this to today to keep from interfering with travel plans tomorrow. Headed out not knowing quite where I was headed but I figured out a good run on the fly that ended up being damn close to 2 hours. It took a little time to get warmed up and going, but once I got out to Moody Bridge I started rolling along at a pretty steady place, probably just a bit over 6 min. pace most of the way back. The notoriously fast downhill Station Road mile was 5:45.

To break up the monotony of doing this run alone I took along some music, which I usually don't really like, but was a nice diversion. I just put the iPod on shuffle with everything that is on it, which was a bit weird because I would get a pretty random collection of songs (e.g. Notorious B.I.G. followed by Wilco).

Amherst Loop

Time: 59:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.
Map


On the town common facing Amherst College

Met up with Mr. Gould (Amherst High School coach) for our biannual run from his house, around the center of Amherst and back. Great to catch up with him and get a decent run in. Legs are a little bit tired, but not too bad.

Decided to take it a little bit easy this afternoon and not put in a second run. I'll get a long run in tomorrow before I head to Providence and then a normal distance run on Sunday there.

Update: I forgot to mark when I got new shoes, but it was sometime around here. More Elite 3s.

Pelham Warren Wright Hills

Time: 93:00
Distance: 14 mi.

Target: stready/tempo up the Pelham hills (a classic AR/XC workout)
Workout: 5 x Warren Wright hills (~1100m) (the last one was 100+m short)

Things were not working in my favor this morning... Matt's dentist appointment was earlier than he thought so we left his car at the top of the Pelham hills so that he could drive straight to it, then we realized that part of the road isn't maintained during the winter, then we realized that most of the rest of that hilly road was really icy there so we ran on the other side of Rt. 9 to run on flat roads, then when I dropped him off and went to finish up my run (and hopefully get a good effort in) I was interrupted near the end when a train came through in the middle of the long hills.

I got 40 minutes in with Matt before I had to drop him off and then did a few minutes to get back into it before I started the hill on Warren Wright. I did the first hill in low 3:50s and was mid 3:40s on the rest of them. I measured the last 800m of the hill and was hitting it in 2:50ish. Legs felt stiff and I was rigging a bit on the steep part at the end. Overall it was a little mediocre, but all things considered it was fine. Right now I think I just need to get back running hard.

Leverett Pond Loop

Time: 91:30
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map

Evening run from Matt's house after breaking the "don't postpone runs until the afternoon, you'll regret it" rule. While I did regret it for much of the day, and my stomach was a little f'd during this run, it was fun running through the woods in the dark. We got going at a decent clip for the conditions and had a good chat.

On further reflection and after a chat with John today I decided to scrap the 3k this weekend. I've got other stuff to focus on, including training, and do not need the hassle or distraction for a low-key meet.

Pelham Hills

Time: 84:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.
Map

Pre-Christmas gathering morning run back into the Pelham hills not far from the hilly sections of my Sunday run. Definitely still feeling the effects of that this morning as my quads seemed totally shot, especially coming back down. Turned around at the church at Amherst Road.

Johnny G used to give us Christmas off, and there was some debate about whether we should really take it off or not...

Echo Hill, Harkness

Time: 48:00
Distance: 7 mi.
Map

Easy evening run with Taylor and John Tyson. Legs were a little bit dead this morning so I was wondering how they might feel this afternoon, but they were definitely better after being "warmed up."

Rosen Loop, etc.

Time: 77:30
Distance: 11.5 mi.

Easy morning run with Matt and Ian. Nice to catch up with both of these guys (and definitely worth dragging Ian out of bed for). Matt and I added on 10+ minutes around the South Amherst common during Ian's pit stop making it longer than the usual loop. Legs pretty stiff/sore from yesterday.

Week In Review

Time: 688:00
Distance: 100 mi.

First of two weeks in New England went well. I got the milage up, hitting 100 miles on the dot and got one okay race in. I need to get at least one good workout in this week if I am racing on Saturday at the 3rd BU Mini Meet and two if not... tempo on Wednesday maybe? Christmas will be a shorter day, so I will need to add some longer runs or more doubles. Will be happy to stay +/- 5 miles of this.

Pratt Corner Loop

Time: 126:15
Distance: 19.5 mi.
Map

"The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat." - Bill Squires

Back up to the two hour mark with a long run through Amherst, Pelham, Shutesbury, Leverett on the roads the run the periphery of Amethyst Brook. The first half of this run is almost relentlessly uphill--never super steep but almost no steps down and coming back down on Pratt Corner was a bit dicey in sections as the dirt sections still had a lot of snow on them so despite a pretty good effort the whole way it wasn't too fast. The pounding coming down wasn't terrible, but my legs started to get pretty tired at 90 minutes. I hit 2 hours exactly at the one mile mark from home on Old Farm Road and ran the last mile in 6:15.


Elevation of the first 8 miles of the run

BU Mini Meet #2

Time: 77:00
Distance: 11.5 mi.

Goal: 3k - get a good race effort in without focusing on time (but seeded myself at 8:20)
Race: 2nd in 8:25

An okay racing experience all things considered. I would've liked to have been under 8:20, but the pace was a little bit all over the place... we were 2:12 and 2:18 for the first 2 800s (Hanley dropped out at about 1400m) and then I led until about 600m to go when Mark Miller (of Mohawk High School fame) took the lead and ran away from me. I wasn't very focused and didn't go to the well to go after him.

I wasn't really mentally ready to go after it and was out a bit late last night, but still a better start than last year. Got in a nice long run afterwards with Ian and Brian around Fenway and down Comm Ave.

Mixed 3000 Meter Run
===============================================
  Name                        Finals
===============================================                                        
Section  1
1 Mark Miller                 8:21.06
2 Owen Washburn               8:25.73
3 Jed Christiansen            8:33.46
4 Chuck Woolery               8:37.67
5 Adny Mccarron               8:40.89
5 Steve Meinelt               8:42.33
7 Harry Norton                8:47.43 

Full results here.

Rosen Loop

Time: 69:06
Distance: 10 mi.
Map

Easy morning run on the Rosen Loop with Ian before we took off for Boston. Added on a little bit before I met him to make it a round 10'er. Legs stiff and back tight... I really think I need a chrio adjustment. Looking forward to the weekend... I got a surprise message from Brian and apparently he will be in Massachusetts for the week! Good deal.

UMass, Hadley Farms, Puffer's

Time: 92:30
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map


Frozen waterfall near Puffer's Pond

Ran with Matt Lacey from his house in North Amherst through UMass into Hadley and then back with a loop out by Puffer's pond. The roads have finally (mostly) cleared, so we were able to run a bit more easily, though I was pretty tired getting out of bed this morning. It was nice to catch up with him and have a running partner who was up for a good long-ish run. He ran the blazing hot Chicago marathon and did not fare well, fading badly in the second half and walking some in a delirious state... apparently after the race he was so out of it that he was berating the medical staff trying to help him saying things like, "God dammit! I'm going to die here and you're just going to forget about me and drink beer with your friends!" Yikes. More incentive to avoid the marathon.

My body is generally stiff, but no specific complaints. The weather has also gotten a bit nicer, up to the mid-30s which makes a big difference in feeling good.

Riverwalk, Brown

Time: 31:00
Distance: 4.5 mi.
Map


Brown's Main Green

Easy solo run in the evening in Providence. Most of the guys were finishing up work or at practice (Lord knows I wasn't going to make it there). It was nice to cruise through the dark streets, get down to Riverwalk where I have done a great many morning runs and then get a chance to head through the campus, which was really nice in the evening. The weather is definitely getting better than it was early this week, which is great. Legs a little stiff but nothing too bad.

Short St. Ray's, 200s

Time: 77:30
Distance: 11 mi.

Nice morning run in Providence with Ari, Graddy and Jacob down the Boulevard for 8 mile St. Ray's. I was looking to do some sort of workout this week, despite the weather, so I figured this morning might be a good time to do it (on Brown's mediocre indoor track). The guys were doing 8 x 200m in 33 with 200m jog so I decided to get in on some of it. I ran 5 x 200m in 33 in flats and then 5 x 200m in 30 in spikes. They felt fast and my legs felt a bit heavy, but I haven't gotten much rest in the last few nights.

Rosen Loop, Kestrel

Time: 88:12
Distance: 12.5 mi.


Woodlot Road... most of the roads in town are still covered in snow

More slogging along on snow-covered roads. Dragged Ian out of bed to hit the roads in the morning and took off on the Rosen Loop. It was a blazing 4 degrees when I headed out the door, but triple shirts and double pants seemed to do the trick. Looped around the South Amherst common while Ian made a pit stop and then added on by Kestrel.

Legs pretty tired by the end of the run and my right peroneal was a bit tight when I woke up, definitely from slipping on the snow.

3 Town Loop

Time: 34:00
Distance: 4.5 mi.

Nice easy slow double run with Ian who is working on getting back on the horse. The snow makes running debilitatingly slow, but the effort is decent.

Tour de Amherst

Time: 92:30
Distance: 13 mi.
Map


Town of Amherst plows were hard at work this morning

Ran from 91 Woodlot north through the main part of UMass and the center of Amherst. There is snow on the road and sidewalks pretty much everywhere, so it was slow going and uneven most of the way. The Station Road mile was 6:45 downhill and on well packed snow and that was almost definitely the fastest mile that I ran... was hopping across the street and on-and-off snowy sidewalks a lot of the way, so despite the pace being slow the effort was decent and my legs were pretty well worked by the time that I got done. When I left it was 14 degrees and when I got back it was 20. Nice.

Week In Review

Time: 580:30
Distance: 85.5 mi.

Getting back on it. Was shooting for 90 miles but the travel day got me a bit. Happy to have an easier day and am not going to try to get hung up on the exact milage for the next few weeks, just try to keep it up. Glad the knee won't be hanging me up... for a few minutes there I thought I was screwed.

Despite the cold and snow, I'm looking forward to a change of pace in New England.

IF

Time: 35:30
Distance: 5 mi.

Very easy IF run in the morning before flying back to New England. Knee was a little tight from yesterday's fall but really bad. Was planning on getting in another run this evening when I got in, but the scene that greeted me at home was not conducive, which I worried about as soon as I saw the runway in Hartford...

Rub Some Dirt On It

Time: 110:30
Distance: 15.5 mi.

Ran from 0.0 with Hanley and Burnham out onto the Greenbelt. Feeling pretty stiff and a bit sore from yesterday's workout so going to the Greenbelt was nice where we could just roll along and not worry about pace. Not 30 seconds after we turned around I took a dive on some mud-slick rocks and landed HARD on my right kneecap. After a good bout of loud swearing and hobbling around we started running again and it loosened up as the adrenaline kicked in. Ran into Wetzel on the way back and finished up with Hanley and him a little loop downtown after dropping Dave off at the cars.

Knee was tight and sore afterward, but I rubbed some dirt on it (put some ice on it) and used it as a good excuse to sit on my ass all day.

Track 1ks

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 8 x 1k in 3:00 (average) with 600m (3 min) or 400m (2 min) jogging rest
Workout: 3:04, 3:02, 2:59, 3:00, 3:01, 2:58, 2:57, 2:56 (avg. 2:59.5); 400m rest (except for the 1st)

Back on track. Worked out with Joe and Birdsong (who thought he was doing 4x800m going in... hah!). Legs felt stiff and heavy pretty much the whole way, but not too surprised by that. Had a hard time feeling the pace, too. These are both the result of tapering, a few mediocre weeks and not working out in a while. Calves sore immediately afterward and both hamstrings tight (particularly the right one). The cold misty rain and wind probably didn't help with all of these things, but then again, it's apparently dumping snow in New England, so I'll take what I can get.

Only a few hours until I'm done with the semester... no more procrastinating.

Warmup Loop, Track

Time: 46:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Accompanied Hanley on another Team Terrible evening workout. He was doing a 20 minute tempo at with a target of 5:25 pace. We did the standard warmup loop and then I ran around the track easy while he was doing the workout. I tried to help him on the first mile but was way slow... didn't have the pace in my head. He took care of it though, dropping down under 5:15 pace most of the way. I did one of his two 400s afterwards in 66.

Possum Trot

Time: 67:00
Distance: 10 mi.

Morning run from the track out on Town Lake and up Possum Trot... mixed it up a little bit as I came out on 29th and then ran down to 24th to go back to campus, but that was fine as I didn't have to add on. Hamstrings are both feeling tight and maybe weak, but no specific pain.

Tajikistan

In my procrastination from studying for my final exam of the semester I have been investigating the possibility of getting off the grid for about a month on a trip. For the moment, I have my mind set on a bike trip on the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan. I don't know when or how this might end up happening... but if I get a month free in the next year, I think this would be amazing. I'd have to take the time off from running, but biking hours per day at 4,000m couldn't hurt.

IF, Random Loop, IF

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Easy morning run with Joe and Stanley... started with Stan on IF until Joe showed up, did a loop that included part of Shoal Creek and some roads on the west side of town, then back to IF to finish up with Joe when Stan turned off. Nice to be running with these guys and good to be building up volume with some soft and relatively easy running.

Met with Vig today who advised that I "get used to racing as much as possible... even twice a weekend." Uhm... okay? Maybe I'll try to do both of the BU meets, though it seems that both will just have 3ks. Maybe I can coerce someone into running with me.

15th, Shoal Creek, IF

Time: 75:30
Distance: 11 mi.
Map

Evening run with Brian, which turned out to be pretty nice. He finished up at about an hour and I did a loop on IF, where I was notified over the loud speaker that the field was closed. Because, you know, running around the outside of a field in the evening when nothing else is going on there can really, um, be bad.

Piriformis remains sore on the right side.

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 86:05
Distance: 13 mi.


Misty morning on the path near the Capitol

Relatively easy morning run. Unreal to think that it was 85+ yesterday, as it was about 40 deg. this morning and misting by the end of the run. Both hamstrings still stiff, but nothing too bad. Went out to Town Lake by Trinity and onto the Greenbelt and back on Congress past the state capitol.

Week In Review

Time: 515:00
Distance: 70.5 mi.

Overall a good week of training to start to get the volume back up. I only ran 6 days, but doubled twice, for 8 total runs. It has been fun running with Hanley more, and I'm really glad that he is starting to take running more seriously again. Body hasn't felt sharp, but feeling less beat up as the week went along and there were no hard efforts.

I'm starting to think about the future somewhat for training and racing. In the four weeks I would like to run somewhere in the ballpark of 90, 100+, 110, 110 miles. The intensity will be pretty low, and as school finishes up it will be a good time to bump it up. Travel, bad weather in New England and whatever else could mess this up, but it's a plan. I'll try to get some workouts from Vig for the break before I take off next weekend.

I've also started looking at the races I want to focus on for 2008. This is very tentative, but I want to start to think big picture a little bit. I think it should be something like this depending on ability to get in, funding, and how things are going:

Winter
Date	Event	Location	Race?
12/22 or 12/29	BU Mini Meet #2 or #3	Boston, MA	3k/5k (just to get one race under my belt)
1/6	OC Half Marathon	The OC, CA	1/2 M  (if Jordan runs it)
2/8	BU Valentine Invitational	Boston, MA	5k
2/15	Tyson Invitational	Fayetteville, AR	5k (only if I am serious about USAs)
2/23	USA Indoor	Boston, MA	3k (last year's qualifying times: 8:03 3k or 14:07 5k)

Spring
Date	Event	Location	Race?
3/22	UT Invitational	Austin, TX	1500/3k
4/5	Texas Relays	Austin, TX	(if I need a race and can't travel)
4/5	Stanford Invitational	Palo Alto, CA	5k/10k
4/19	Texas Twilight	Austin, TX	1500/3k
4/26	Penn Relays	Philadelphia, PA	10k
5/4	Payton Jordan Cardinal Invit.	Palo Alto, CA	5k/10k

Also, I have about 225 miles on my current shoes. It would be good to grab a pair before I take off for winter break.

Town Lake Loop, Trail of Lights

Time: 100:00
Distance: 15 mi.

An OBTC (Old Balls Track Club) run... Hanley and I met Joe down at Town Lake to get some soft surfaces for both of our first long runs in a while (weeks for me, many months for him). Did the 10+ mile loop around and then Brian and I added on up to Zilker where the Trail of Lights holiday display is up. It is one of those kids things that while trying to be cute actually looks creepy to me.


The Trail of Lights in Zilker Park at night

Didn't feel fantastic on the run; my legs were a bit tired and dead feeling by about half way. Hip flexors and both hammys were tight as well. We started nice and easy, got down to 6:15s or so as Joe was finishing at 70 min. and the relaxed a little bit as we were adding on the last half hour.

West Austin Hills

Time: 74:30
Distance: 11 mi.
Map

Glad that Erik got me going this morning, as I otherwise would have put this off until the afternoon. It was hot enough (mid-70s) in the morning... I wouldn't have wanted to do it in the mid-80s of the afternoon. Just checked the calendar... it is in fact December. A bit tired from staying up late last night, but not feeling terrible.

Map is very approximate as we looped around a little bit on some small trails and were trying to explore a little bit.

There is a surprisingly well-written piece in the New York Times about the physical-mental connection in endurance athletics. Nothing most serious runners don't know or haven't experienced, but a good reminder and a good story for the average NYT reader.

Campus Loop, Lights on Hancock

Time: 43:34
Distance: 6 mi.
Map

Evening run with Hanley after he got out of work. Made a decent (repeatable?) loop through campus out on speedway to MLK and then back past Hancock. Decided to start my practice of drinking more during runs with a peppermint mocha sample at a Starbucks booth on MLK. Yummm. There was a cool display for something Christmas-y on Hancock where paths were lighted up with candles in paper bags all over the golf course, so we ran across the golf course a bit.

Warmup Loop, Infield

Time: 61:00
Distance: 9 mi.

Easy morning run with the guys from the track. Did their warmup loop with a bit of an add-on (30 mins) and then finished up to an hour barefoot on the infield of the track to keep it easy and work the lower legs a bit. Did 6 x diagonal strides as part of it. Overall feeling pretty good, and it was fun to see a bunch of the younger boys that I haven't seen since before NCAAs.

Got into the training room to try to work out some imbalanced leg stiffness, as well. Right hamstring is feeling much better, but my glute/piriformis is still tight.

Northern Loop, IF

Time: 50:00
Distance: 7 mi.

Feeling pretty beat from last night, but had to get out with Hanley before he went to work. Legs starting to feel decent again. Some random loopy-ness and lacrosse ball tossing.

25th, Shoal Creek, Groovy Lube

Time: 65:00
Distance: 9.5 mi.

Easy morning run with Han an' Stan. Legs tired and stiff, but it was good to run with them. Looped through campus up to Shoal Creek and then back up to Groovy Lube for Hanley to get his car. Finished up on IF.

Team Terrible Cheerleading

Time: 50:00
Distance: 7 mi.


The view from the track over the Austin skyline at night

After a long day of class and work was looking forward to running with and cheering along Hanley in his "Team Terrible" (composed of him, Mark Brissette, and McArdle) workout for the week: 3 x 1k under 3 min with 3 min rest (including some complicated time bonus/handicap scheme). We ran down to the track, I ran around on the grass while he ran the workout (which he aced) and then headed back.

This was the perfect day of running for right now... getting the volume back up with very easy running. Right hamstring still very tight and sore, but somewhat looser.

Handcock, IF

Time: 41:00
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy early morning run with Erik. Feet are pretty much fine and legs (both calves and right hamstring) are tight and sore as I expected, but they warmed up nicely. The weather here is finally cool again (34 this morning), though no indication that it will stay that way (it was 85 on Sunday). Hoping to run again this evening with Hanley and Burnham to watch their workout.

Day Off

While ideally I would've liked to have run today, after the beating that my body (particularly the bottoms of my feet) took yesterday, I never even really considered it. Both the legs and the feet were somewhat better than I expected, so I will shoot to run (maybe double?) tomorrow. Hopefully this will be the last day off for a while... time to get back to the trial of miles...

[I]t had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles, Miles of Trials.

Week In Review

Time: 284:25
Distance: 43.5 mi.

Got through sickness. Didn't run a lot. Still have right hamstring issues. Got in my first long distance race. Recovering will mean that I don't ramp up my training next week. Ready to just start putting in the miles again, hopefully soon.

Decker Challenge 20k

Time: 83:00
Distance: 14.5

Goal: run conservatively, shoot for 5:30s, get long distance racing experience
Race: 68:41 (?) for 5th

Mile splits: 5:25, 5:23, 5:16, 5:20, 5:36, 5:29, 5:21, 5:35, 5:18, 5:51 (54:38 10 mi.), 5:43, 5:39
5k splits: 16:36, 16:58, 16:46, 17:48 (not exact, calculated from pace)

Overall a good experience, but at the expense of the bottoms of my feet (parental discretion advised) and my digestive system. Felt physically aerobically good running the entire way. The splits aren't representative of my effort because of the hills (PDF), but the effort was pretty consistent through 15k, at which point I was somewhat bogged down by the massive hill and blisters on both feet. Started out just off the leading group of Derek Yorek, Bernard Manirakiza and Lance Parker and ran with Gilbert Tuhabonye for about the first four miles. At that point I went after and caught Mark Farris (who looked like he was running pretty easy) who I ran with until I got dropped heading towards the 10 mile hill. I caught Parker with a mile to go, but as he sensed I was on him, finished quite a bit harder than I was able to. I really had to avoid getting on my toes whatsoever for the last 5k.

Had the worst workout stomach I've possibly ever had for a few hours after the race. This was probably a combined result of not having gotten in this many miles in a single day in over a month and just having gotten over being sick.

Place  Name                Age   TIme        Pace
=====  ==================  ===   =========   ======
1      Bernard Manirabiza  28    1:06:06.5   5:20/M
2      Derek Yorek         23    1:06:30.4   5:22/M
3      Mark Farris         23    1:07:49.0   5:28/M
4      Lance Parker        26    1:08:28.3   5:31/M
5      Owen Washburn       24    1:08:41.8   5:32/M
6      Gilbert Tuhabonye   33    1:09:17.7   5:35/M

More: Wish has a write-up at RunTex.com, there should be photos online sometime, and full results are up on the race site.

24th, Shoal Creek

Time: 50:00
Distance: 7 mi.

Easy morning run with Hanley. Headed down to campus and over to Shoal Creek on 24th. Right hamstring and glute are very very tight, which is annoying... I really can't seem to get it to loosen up. I should probably start doing some strength work on it. This stupid cold is lingering too, and has now lasted a full week.