My Best Effort

JFK 50 Mile

2010-11-25T21:36:00.000-05:00

The Last Few Weeks
So I got a little lax with with posting leading up to JFK, but if you care you check out how things went the last few weeks HERE. In short, the taper went about as well as I could have hoped for. I ended up at the starting line feeling pretty fresh. The only blemish was a intestinal bug that knocked me out the penultimate week. It only lasted 24 hours (Monday-Tuesday), but it took me until the weekend to get my legs back. The snow held off until the Thursday of race week which was an unexpected bonus. I was sure I would spend some portion of the taper running on the treadmill.

Goals
My feeling pre-race was that I wasn't in the best shape I'd ever been in, but I was in the just about the best shape I could be in given the abbreviated training cycle. I ran a 10 mile race Halloween weekend in 54:38, which was considerably slower than I regularly ran 10 miles when I was in my best ultra shape. So in retrospect I should have been more conservative in my top goals, but I thought I was in better "ultra" shape than 10 mile race shape and I hoped for a bump on race day.

Pre-race goals:
1a. Finish (I'd dropped out of 3 of my past 4 ultra attempts, and the one finish was a 50k.)
1b. Have a good time with Andy.
2. Top 10
3. Sub-6:10
4. Top 3

Travel
We timed our trip with Charlotte's appointments in Milwaukee. Katie took her for the weekend and I flew out from MKE with Andy. Andy was the best man in my wedding and my best friend. He is very calming to be around so who better to crew during an ultra? Given that we both had 1-year-olds at home it was a sort of break - a chance to sleep in some and recharge the batteries.

The lone "incident" on the way out was the TSA fondling we received. We both got pulled out, probably because we were two men with beards traveling together. The pat-down is a violation for sure, but I was aware that was part of the new search procedures. What got me was that they went through my wallet, took everything out of my bag and did the whole business in front of everybody. We've become accustomed to our civil liberties being eroded inch-by-inch, but this felt like 3-feet.

We stayed in Frederick, MD, about 25 minutes from the race start. Both of us commented that we were not aware that western Maryland was this beautiful. Obviously with the Appalachian
Trail it would make sense, but until we saw the topography and the forested hills with near-full fall colors it never really occurred to us.

We got in about 11:45pm and since we were both starving we went to IHOP for some pancakes. They had scrapple on the menu. Andy put his Iphone to good use since neither of us had heard of scrapple before. "Pork" and "mush" and that's about all we had to read.

Friday we luxuriously slept in until 8:30 a.m. After getting some coffee we drove down to Weverton along the Potomac River. This is the point on the course where AT meets the CO Towpath. We ran out and back along the towpath, throwing in a couple 800m surges on the way back. It was weird to see fall colors and leaves on the ground. We made it as far as the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers at Harper's Ferry. I failed to bring a camera along for this trip but here is an googled image from above:

Race Day

I'd been having some stomach issues in the mornings leading up to the race, but I was hopeful it would work itself out on race day. It wasn't the worst it's been Saturday morning, but I did walk up to the starting line with a bit of pain going on. I don't know exactly what heartburn is supposed to feel like, but it is around the general area the Pepto Bismol commercials show. As usual, however by the time the running started it eased up and I was running smoothly.

It's quite an experience starting out a 50 mile race with 1000 other people. Within the first 1/2 mile I came up to Afton 50k Director John Storkamp and we ran together up the first hill. Andy and I had driven the first couple of road miles the day before on our way back from packet pick-up so I wasn't so surprised by the grade and length of the climb, but it was challenging by road standards. All those hilly loop runs in training served me well and I eased up it running 7:10-7:30/mile pace. This put me in 11th going onto the AT. And then this happened:

The Appalachian Trail can only be describe in explicatives. I knew it was going to be rough, but it far exceeded my expectations. But I was still having fun. The trail is beautiful as well difficult and while you spend most of your time staring at the ground hoping you don't bite it, it's hard not to smile while doing it.

I backed up a little place wise along the trail and twisted both ankles multiple times, but I did manage to avoid falling. I did underestimate the effort of running on the trail and did not adjust my fueling accordingly. Andy had electrolyte drink and a gel for me at 9 miles (Gathland Gap), but as I could tell on the way to Weverton that it wasn't enough for how hard I was running. My thinking before the race was to keep my stomach issues to a minimum by avoiding carb drinks until I got off the AT (~2 hours into the race). I took electrolytes and gels up until that point. But I still had a heavy stomach at coming off the trail and going onto the towpath.

I got onto the towpath and slipped into my approximate long run pace of 6:40s. I got the sense right away that it wasn't sustainable and I slowly backed off. I couldn't get my gel out of the water bottle holder and had to walk for a bit as I wrestled with it. All in all from about 18-23 miles I thought my race would end soon. I was stumbling, bumbling, but not rumbling down the trail. I came into one of the race aid stations and immediately grabbed a handfull of M&Ms and sandwich cookies. I handed my bottle to a volunteer and asked for Gatorade. It wasn't until I was further down the trail that I realized he gave me straight water. Oy vey, when it rains it pours.

The cookies and M&Ms had helped however and I started to get into a rhythm, albeit slower than the one I hoped I would be in. I finally got to the next aid station about 20 minutes later and went for the flat Coke. That was the ticket.

I saw Andy at 27 miles and it was good thing because I was in a bit of a low point again. He gave good encouragement and Coke (I think). I set off again with the thought that I didn't have 23 miles to go - I had 11 (the next time I would see Andy). I stopped at every aid station along the way (~3-4 miles in between). Grab Coke and pretzel sticks and on my way.

At 38 I told Andy I was taking a mulligan for this race due to the gnarly trail, but if Mad City 100k next April went badly I was officially retiring from ultras. I was still moving well, but I was frustrated that I was running slower than I wanted and how far back in the race I was. I was running mostly by myself along the towpath, passing the occasional 5 a.m. starter. But Andy kept things positive and I had been on an upswing coming into the aid station. I left 38 miles with a renewed vigor and started off down the towpath for the last 4 miles and then the 8 mile road section.

Coming off the towpath and onto the road I was in 11th place with no one in sight either direction. I thought I would just slip into a steady pace and get to the finish. However a couple miles later I came over a small rise and saw two figures bobbing up and down 1/4 to 1/2mile ahead. I stepped on it a little bit and coming out of the 46 mile aid station I caught them.

From there on I was running particularly strong. I "threw down" a 6:24 for mile 50 and kicked it in the last .2 to cross the line in 6:26:24 and 9th place.

I felt good about my race even if I failed to reach my top goals. I finished first of all and finished strong so I think that will be a big psychological boost in future ultras. I also generally enjoyed the race. JFK is such an "experience." And finally I feel fairly certain that I'm largely going to stay away from a big complicated fueling strategy in my next race. I'll do the VESPA pre-race again because I do feel it works on some level. I'll also use a few gels and Cytomax early on in the race, but after that I'm just going to go with Coke, aid station food and the occasional salt cap. It definitely kept me in the race this past weekend.

On Sunday Andy and I took our time checking out of the hotel and then headed up to Gettysburg before driving back to Baltimore to fly home. Both of us found Gettysburg to be pretty cool. It's hard not to get caught up in the history and we left planning on picking up some civil war books when we got back.

And TSA left us alone going home!

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

2010-10-11T15:24:00.001-04:00

Monday, October 4 - Recovery Run
6.01M, 42:48
Garmin Data

Tuesday, October 5- Easy Run/Easy Run+ Hill Sprints
am: 7.02M, 50:35
Garmin Data
pm: 6.20M, 43:17 (6x Hill Sprints)
Garmin Data

Wednesday, October 6 - Easy Run/Tempo 400s

am: 5.01M, 35:19
Garmin Data
pm: 13.02M, 1:23:57 (16x400, 30sec jog R, 72.5avg)
Garmin Data

Thursday, September 30 - Recovery Run
5.51M, 40:00
Garmin Data

Friday, October 1 - Easy Run/Trails+Tempo
am: 5.26M, 38:11
Garmin Data
pm: 15.20M, 1:44:17 (60min Trail + ~40min Tempo/Marathon pace)
Garmin Data

Saturday, October 2 - Recovery Run

6.32M, 45:02
Garmin Data

Sunday, October 3 - Long Run
37.01M, 4:06:25
Garmin Data

Total Week Miles:106.56
Total Week Time: 12hr 09min 56sec

A much quieter and much harder training week. I got pretty close to the edge in every workout. In my mind that is both good and bad.

It's a good sign because I was so relatively unfit and out of practice with regards to speedwork when I started training that I wasn't able to dig very deep in workouts. I wasn't strong enough to push very hard. Now, with increased volume and little bit of speedwork I did in September (365 miles), I'm able to go harder for longer.

The bad side is that I have to be careful not to do too much of that. Friday's workout left me pretty worn out. I bounced back after an easy day Saturday to do my longest training run ever Sunday, but emptied the tank pretty far to do it.

The purpose of Friday's workout was specificity. The course layout for JFK breaks down roughly to 15+ miles on the Appalachian Trail, 26+ on the flat Potomac towpath, and 8+ miles of undulating country roads. For me the mix of trails and roads is always a bit uncomfortable. I liken it to the bike-run transition of a triathlon. There is just a different rhythm to running on the trail. So I went out and ran a little over 60 minutes on the Tech/Nara trails, finishing up near the flat recreational trail that runs along the Portage canal, and then ran a little over six miles at a tempo/marathon pace effort. The trail section was successful in sapping some of the get-up from my legs, so the tempo portion of the run turned out to be harder than I expected. Part of me wonders if this workout is a little too hard. I had originally planned to do this workout three times, adding 10 minutes to the tempo portion each time. Now I think I'll just keep it in the 40-45 minute range and try to make it feel easier.

The long run this week was very tough, but that helped to shine a light on what I need to work on for JFK. The legs felt surprisingly good through out. I was a little sore starting out, but it never really got worse the whole run. I never felt like I was breaking down in that respect. But I had another tough go of it from a fueling standpoint. My stomach just didn't like the gels and Cytomax after about 25 miles. I took a few extra Thermolyte caps and that helped some, but my head started getting very woozy as the run progressed. I need to figure out some sort of fueling strategy that will work late in the race, whether that is more solid food or perhaps holding off on gels for later in the race. Pretzels and bananas have worked in the past so I may go back to them as well. I may give VESPA a try during my next long run in a couple weeks.

The positive side is that even though I didn't feel the greatest, my splits didn't really fall off at all. Mentally, however, I was discouraged by the thought of running 13 more miles. That's what the next six weeks are for I guess.

Backing Off

2010-10-05T16:46:00.000-04:00

Monday, September 27 - Recovery Run
4.05M, 30:01
Garmin Data

Tuesday, September 28 - Easy Run + Hill Sprints
6.83M, 48:13
Garmin Data

Wednesday, September 29 - Tempo Run
8.82M, 53:46 (5M@ 28:13)
Garmin Data

Thursday, September 30 - Off/Unplanned

Friday, October 1 - Easy Run/Intervals
am: 5.01M, 35:01
Garmin Data
pm: 8.10M 54:17 (8x300m, 300m R, 47.5 avg)
Garmin Data

Saturday, October 2 - Recovery Run Trails
8.30M, 1:07:26
Garmin Data

Sunday, October 3 - Hilly Loops (5)
22.0M, 2:19:19
Garmin Data

Total Week Miles: 63.10
Total Week Time: 7hrs 7min 6sec

This had to be just about the strangest, stressful, easiest, hardest cut-back week I can remember. It was a very good example of how my life has changed over the years, pushing running to the backburner at times. And yet, I would say it was a very good week of running.

After a relaxed recovery run Monday morning (following a great long run Sunday), I entered my normal morning routine. Wake up Charlotte. Change Charlotte. Play with Charlotte. Then I made a sort-of new parent mistake of underestimating Charlotte's desire to crawl. I placed her down with her blocks and other toys to play while I went back to her room to pull the sheets off her bed and gather up other laundry. It sounds cliche, but I was gone a total of about 30 seconds. By the time I walked back out to the living room Charlotte had crawled as far as the bathroom, dragging her feeding tube/bag the whole way. Unfortunately the weight of the bag and pulled her tube out pretty far. Since the jejunal portion of her tube goes all the way into her intestines, it needs to be placed under a special x-ray machine by an interventional radiologist. And that means a trip to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Mondays.

With everything we've gone through with Charlotte, things proceeded relatively calmly from there. I called Katie, started packing a suitcase for the three of us, and we were on the road in under an hour. At least we could eat dinner at Chipotle we told ourselves.

We finished up at CHW around 5:00 and made it back to Green Bay that night, getting up Tuesday morning to drive the rest of the way to Houghton and arriving about noon. I dropped of Katie so she could change for work, then Charlotte to daycare, and to work myself.

Sometime after 3:00, Katie called me distressed. Daycare had called to tell her that another child had pulled Charlotte's feeding tube completely out. I had a lot of thought/feelings in that moment, but mostly I just felt helpless. I hadn't even been home yet. We collected Charlotte from daycare and made a plan of action. This is an example of an instance when running is theraputic. We decided to drive as far as Green Bay again. So while Katie took care of Charlotte I went out for a run with some hill sprints at the end before we hit the road again.

So Houghton to Green Bay Tuesday night. Green Bay to Milwaukee Wednesday morning. Back to Interventional Radiology by 9:30 a.m. Since we had time to make plans the night before we decided to make appointments with her GI specialist and Speech/Feeding therapist if they were available. This saved us from making a trip in October (so some good came out of it). Since those appointments were after 1:00 we had a few hours to kill after her GJ tube was placed.

It has been my explicit goal to remain as consistent as possible leading up to JFK, making every effort to avoid missing workouts or big chunks of training. My amazing wife took a very tired and cranky Charlotte for a walk around the hospital campus while I went to the parking garage, changed into my running duds and headed out for a make-shift tempo run (replacing the planned 300s which I pushed back to Friday). Luckily (?) I am intimately familiar with running routes around CHW after the 2+ months we spent there last fall. And for whatever reason, when this should have been a really crappy run where I felt tired and worn out, it wasn't. I felt relatively good and ran consistent splits over a rolling course through Wauwatosa. Go figure.

After 1400 miles of driving in a little over two days we arrived back in Houghton around 11:00pm Wednesday night. With the extra effort put in the first three days of the week, I woke up Thursday at 5:00a.m., changed Charlotte's feed as usual and then went back to bed. I used the rationale that it was a rest week and it made no sense to go out for an easy run when I was dragging.

It turned out to be a very good decision, because I had an awesome 8x300 workout Friday night. Sure, I would do 300s in 42-43 in college as opposed to 46-48 now. But hey, I'll take it. It felt good to run relatively fast. Followed that up on Sunday with a great 22 miler on the hilly loop course, running a full five minutes faster than two weeks ago.

So I held my own this week despite the drama. I don't know how much of a rest week it was though. I feel good, but my fear is the real stress will manifest two, three weeks down the road, so I'm tempted to take it easy the first part this week, maybe just doing one workout and a long run. We'll see.

Backtracking Part II: Sept 20 - 26

2010-10-02T13:02:00.000-04:00

Monday, September 20 - Recovery Run
6.01M, 45:28
Garmin Data

Tuesday, September 21 - Easy Run/Turnover
am: 8.26M, 58:39
Garmin Data
pm: 6.88M, 53:02, (8x200 fast, relaxed)
Garmin Data

Wednesday, September 22 - Easy Run/Tempo 400s
am: 4.74M, 33:21
Garmin Data
pm: 13.53M, 1:25:37 (16x400, 30sec R, 72.9 avg)
Garmin Data

Thursday, September 23 -Recovery Run
5.10, 36:49
Garmin Data

Friday, September 24 - Easy Run/Hilly Loops (3)
am: 5.0M, 35:26
Garmin Data
pm: 15.13, 1:39:23
Garmin Data

Saturday, September 25 - Recovery Run
6.01M, 44:28
Garmin Data

Sunday, September 26 - Long Run
33.86M, 3:46:44
Garmin Data

Total Week Miles: 104.43
Total Week Time:11hr, 59min, 03sec

Another solid week capped with perhaps my best long, long training run ever. Tempo 400s on Wednesday started off a little rough, but I got more comfortable throughout and ended up finishing it solidly. I intended to do four hilly loops on Friday evening, but the conditions turned out to be pretty epic (rain and 30mph+ winds) and in order to avoid frostbite on top of Quincy Hill I headed home after three.

As I said before, Sunday's long run was historically great for me. It wasn't the fastest or the easiest, but for where I'm at and how I handled it both mentally and physically, it tops my list of all-time great workouts.

Five loops of a really beautiful loop around Point Mills with the fall colors near their peak. It doesn't get much better. I found the first 2+ loops to be so-so; not hard, not easy. As it usually is with long runs on multiple loop courses, it's difficult to avoid getting caught up in how much running there is to go. The reason I was so happy with this run is that I had a couple of definite bad patches in the 20-30 mile range, but I was really able to keep my wits about me and manage the effort. Loop 5 was difficult, but in a weird way thinking about JFK and the fact that when I reached the end of the loop I would still have 16 miles to go made it easier. I relaxed, focused on drinking as much as my stomach would let me and generally tried to let my mind wander.

I have two more long, long runs planned in October and I'm confident that they will go as well as this one. I think the key has been to stop expecting/hoping that they go perfectly or feel easy and instead accept the fact they are going to be hard and feel rough at times, but so will JFK. Running 50 miles is primarily mental and that is what I'm working on the most during the long, long runs. Training specifically I guess.

Backtracking, Part I: Sept 13 - 19

2010-10-01T15:53:00.001-04:00

Monday, September 13 -Recovery Run
6.12M, 44:20
Garmin Data

Tuesday, September 14 - Easy Run/Turnover
am: 6.09M, 43:17
Garmin Data
pm: 7.15M, 46:39 (8x200 fast, relaxed)
Garmin Data

Wednesday, September 15 - Easy/Track workout
am: 5.19M, 37:03
Garmin Data
pm: 12.12M, 1:20:09
(8x400, 25sec rec 74.9 avg interrupted by soccer scrimmage)
(6x300, 300m rec, 48.9 avg)

Garmin Data

Thursday, September 16 - Off/Sick

Friday, September 17 - Easy/Hilly Loops (4)
am: 5.02M, 34:54
Garmin Data
pm: 18.52M, 2:00:44
Garmin Data

Saturday, September 18 - Recovery Run
8.51, 1:03:32
Garmin Data

Sunday, September 19 - Long Run/Hilly Loops
22.01M, 2:24:16
Garmin Data

Total Week Miles: 90.73
Total Week Time: 10hr 14min 58sec

I'm playing catch-up on the last few weeks of training here. My fitness is progressing well, although I do notice that my turnover and general comfort level at faster speeds is lagging more than in my younger days. Also the lack of consistent speedwork across training cycles since 2007 means I've lost a lot and it's not going to comeback just like that.

That is why I'm comfortable taking the longer view right now. I'm taking it slow and crossing my fingers that over the next couple years I'll get back to and surpass my past fitness. Believe it or not, I think I still have a 5k PR in me (14:37), but it's not going to happen this year and probably not next.

I feel confident that I have my optimal mix of training right now or at least a cycle of training that I'm confident will keep me healthy and improving.

As far as this week specifically, the hilly loops continue to give me strength and I'm able to attack the 1.4 mile climb now, instead of just surviving it. Five loops is a record for me.

The workout on Wednesday was supposed to be my tried and true 16x400 with 25-30sec job recovery. However, the newly formed MTU women's soccer team had a scrimmage and the "homestretch" of the blacktop oval was occupied. I switched to hard (~mile race pace) 300s instead. It pays to be flexible.

90 miles in six days and I didn't feel like I was pressing. I like it.

I Am the Autumnal Sun

2010-09-13T15:16:00.001-04:00

Monday, August 30 - Easy Run
6.15M, 44:19
Garmin Data

Tuesday, August 31 Easy Run/Turnover
a.m. 4.16M, 30:03
Garmin Data
p.m. 6.35M, 42:52 (6x200 fast relaxed)
Garmin Data

Wednesday, September 1 - Easy/Tempo 400s
a.m. 4.17M, 30:31
Garmin Data
p.m.10.0M, 1:04:39 (12x400, 30sec R, 73.7 avg)
Garmin Data

Thursday, September 2 - Recovery Run
7.5M, 55:31
Garmin Data

Friday, September 3 - Hilly Loops (3)
15.01M, 1:43:28
Garmin Data

Saturday, September 4 - Recovery Run
5.35M, 38:47
Garmin Data

Sunday, September 5 - Hilly Loops (4)
18.39M, 2:02:19
Garmin Data

Total Week Miles: 77.06M
Total Week Time: 8hr 52min 32sec

Monday, September 6 - Recovery Run
6.07M, 44:06
Garmin Data

Tuesday, September 7 - Easy/Turnover
a.m. 5.07M, 37:31
Garmin Data
p.m. 8.08M, 54:29 (8x200 fast relaxed)
Garmin Data

Wednesday, September 8 - Easy/Tempo Run
a.m. 4.21M, 31:01
Garmin Data
p.m. 10.14M 1:05:47 (incl 4M@5:40 avg on road+trail)
Garmin Data

Thursday, September 9 - Recovery Run
8.04M, 57:30
Garmin Data

Friday, September 10 - Hilly Loops (3)
15.01M, 1:39:37
Garmin Data

Saturday, September 11 - Tempo 5k Race
6.07M, 38:29 (incl 5k@ 17:13, gravel/rain)
Garmin Data

Sunday, September 12 - Long Run
27.17M, 3:00:02
Garmin Data

Total Week Miles: 89.86M (ed. - sooooo close)

Total Week Time: 10hr 8min 37sec

I don't know that I could have asked much more from the first two weeks of "real" training for JFK. With the exception of yesterday's long run, I haven't felt spectacular, but I haven't suffered either. Every effort has been manageable and I've recovered well day-to-day. With my overriding goal/interest being consistency, that is a good sign.

My long run yesterday was a pleasant surprise. I finished feeling relatively fresh, but managed an average pace that is much faster than most of my recent runs. I believe credit is due to the hilly loops I'm focusing on this month. 1500-2000ft of climbing in 15-18miles is a drop in the bucket compared to the mountain/trail folks, but I'm climbing it at a faster rate and I'm not going to be climbing much more than that at JFK (where it will all be in the first 15 or so miles). But regular running of these loops is building an ever deepening reservoir of strength that will serve me well in the coming weeks as I add a little more volume and intensity.

For the first time in a long time I'm feeling relaxed and rested and it is starting to show up in my training.

Survival of the Fitness

2010-08-30T16:36:00.000-04:00

Monday, August 16 - Easy Run
7.78M
54:33
Garmin Data

Tuesday, August 17 - Rest
Unplanned

Wednesday, August 18 - Negative Run
10.02M
1:03:36
Garmin Data

Thursday, August 19 - Easy Run
7.0M
50:18
Garmin Data

Friday, August 20 - Hill Repeats
7.02M
50:37
5x~320m hill, jog back recovery
Garmin Data

Saturday, August 21 - Easy Run
4.15M
30:12
Garmin Data

Sunday, August 22 Res
Sort of planned

Total Week Miles: 35.98
Total Week Time: 4:09:18

Monday, August 23 - Easy Run
3.32M
23:50
Garmin Data

Tuesday, August 24 - Hilly Run
9.62M
1:02:28
Garmin Data

Wednesday, August 25
7.77M
52:16
Garmin Data

Thursday, August 26 - Easy Run
5.30M
35:55
Garmin Data

Friday, August 27 - Rest
Sick

Saturday, August 28 - Rest
Sick

Sunday, August 29
5.30M
35:55
Garmin Data

Total Week Miles: 30.73
Total Week Time:3:26:03

All along I knew the two-week period that just passed would be crazy and difficult to train through - and that was without considering Charlotte getting sick and passing it on. So to have run five days both weeks and mix in some quality to offset the low volume feels pretty good. I don't know that I could have done much more.

So now it is now 12 weeks until the JFK 50 mile (November 20) - or in training terms: 24 workouts, four 3+hour runs, and maybe a race or two. It helps that fall is my favorite time of year to train. And after the up and down nature of the past couple months, I'm relishing "routine" again.

Treading Water

2010-08-19T16:02:00.000-04:00

Monday, August 9 - Recovery Run
6.07M
45:02
Garmin Data

Tuesday, August 10 - Short Intervals
7.44M
48:49
3x(200-200-400)
Garmin Data

Wednesday, August 11 - Rest
Bad overnight, too tired

Thursday, August 12 - Hill Repeats
7.04M
50:28
Garmin Data

Friday, August 13 - Easy Run
6.48M
46:06
Garmin Data

Saturday, August 14 - Long Run
22.10M
2:31:19
Garmin Data

Sunday, August 15 - Rest
Planned

Total Week Miles: 49.11M
Total Week Time: 5:41:46

Grinding and grinding and grinding my way to the end of the month, just trying to keep my fitness intact through this crazy period where Katie is working 100+ hour weeks and Charlotte is teething and adjusting to daycare germs.

In the back of my mind I think it is probably overall a good thing and I shouldn't try to press too hard. Once the calendar hits September I still have twelve weeks until JFK, more than enough time to get in four long, long runs and plenty of workouts. It just the Type-A, competitive runner part of me that wants to start hitting it right now!

One issue that has presented itself and I hadn't considered until recently, is morning running in the dark. For archaic, nonsensical reasons, where we are at in the UP is in the eastern time zone. So when I head out to run at 5:30a.m. right now, it is pitch black. For you central time zoners imagine running at 4:30a.m. The Daylight Savings change later in the fall won't have much effect either. So that makes doing speedwork a little extra challenging. The "track" at Michigan Tech isn't lit and doesn't get very good ambient light. Same for Houghton High School. That means I'll probably do a lot of it on the road wherever I can find enough light that I'm not going to step off a curb or run into a deer - no easy task up here.

Along with that, does anyone else notice how hard it is to run hard in the dark? It seems that I gauge so much of my effort visually - how fast is stuff going by. Also I can't see my watch. I suppose this could be a good thing because it will truly be running by feel, but it is disorienting.

August 30th, August 30th, August 30th, (clicks heels). Nothing.

Marking the Time

2010-08-10T11:22:00.000-04:00

So I'll avoid recapping our life for the past year in detail and just refer anyone interested to head over to Charlotte's blog where it's all laid out in detail.

Suffice it to say running consistently has been a challenge. Fatigue, injury, and simply a lack of opportunity have all drained much of the fitness I recouped over Spring/Summer 2009.

I'm not necessarily starting from scratch, but I'm very far removed from real speedwork and volume and it's going to be a struggle to get it back, especially in light of my advancing age. I saw my 2:44 "long run" at Grandma's as a good starting point. And strangely enough, my dropout at Afton as well. Never been one for the heat, but to be able handle the hills the way I did for one lap at least was encouraging and makes me feel as though there is some muscle memory there to build on.

So instead of focusing on the next race, I'm focusing on the next year and basing my goals around consistency and steady improvement. It's a three-race year for me:

Fall 2010: JFK 50mile
Spring 2011: US 100k Championships (likely Mad City again)
Fall 2011: World Cup 100k (pending making the team, of course)

I don't have any aspirations beyond getting to the starting line of those races healthy and ready to compete.

The last week of training:

Monday, August 2 - Easy Run
4.25M
30:01
Garmin Data

Tuesday, August 3 - Hilly Run
7.64M
55:42
Garmin Data

Wednesday, August 4 - Easy Trail +Diagonals
7.29M
54:45
Garmin Data

Thursday, August 5 - Easy Run
10.01M
1:09:40
Garmin Data

Friday, August 6 - Easy Trail Run
4.63M
38:15
Garmin Data

Saturday, August 7 - Two Hour Run
17.73M
2:02:17
Garmin Data

Sunday, August 8 - Two Hour Run
17.68M
2:00:01
Garmin Data

Total Week Miles: 69.24
Total Week Time: 8:10:44

Getting the 2hr-run double in on the weekend was a major step forward. It provided a nice symmetry to the same weekend last year where I got a 3hr/2hr back-to-back in (albeit at a much faster pace). It shows I'm working in the right direction.

The "diagonals" are just something I've been doing the past month or so to get in some speedwork that doesn't feel like speedwork. I am to replace them with something a little more formal this coming week, either hills or 2s and 4s.

August is a crazy month for us family wise. Katie begins working 18hour days starting this weekend through the end of the month (new student orientation begins) so I'll try to fit runs around her schedule. Charlotte starts day care this Thursday (half-time) so there will be an adjustment period there as well. And with that, I'll be going back to work in the afternoons.

So the whole month is going to be a balancing act, but I feel like I've given myself permission to do what I can and not stress over shortened or missed runs. I've set up a babysitter the next two Saturdays so I can get in a couple 2.5-3 hour runs and if I can sprinkle in the occasional fartlek or short-speed/turnover workout or hill repeat session I should be able "start" training for JFK September 1. That's the plan.

The New Normal

2010-08-03T08:09:00.001-04:00

Hola, amigos. I know it's been awhile since I rapped at ya.

It's almost been a year since I last posted and oh, what a year. With everything that is going on I considered myself retired from run-blogging, especially since I've had a difficult time training consistently. Also it seemed a little gratuitous in light of Charlotte's blog.

But recently some of the fire has returned and I've had a couple people inquire if I planned on resuming the blog.

So I make my triumphant return. I'll put a couple "catch-up" posts later this week, but in the meantime I've redesigned the blog for a fresh start. First, a new title to reflect my current state of mind. Second, I've used one of the neater features of my Garmin 405 to post my day-to-day training along the right.

As far as a goal/purpose for this blog, I guess it's just a way to track my training and racing and make the occasional running/life related observation while avoid too many stale posts. No greater ambition for now. My best effort.

2009 Season = Over

2009-08-13T20:08:00.000-04:00

Lots of options for how to title this post, but since I mostly talk about running 'round these parts I thought I would relate the events of this week to the effect on my training. To be honest, I have never cared about running so little as I have the past three days.

The story is long and involved so I'll just sum it up here: Katie had the baby Monday night, August 10, 12 weeks premature. Her name is Charlotte Kathleen Russell and she weighed 1lb 7oz. For the full story, pictures and updates you can look at the page we set up for Charlotte here: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/charlotterussell

Right now Katie and I plan on being in Marquette until at least early November, possibly December. Given the circumstances I really could care less that I'm not going to run a race this fall.

I had been getting back into decent shape after Grandma's. I ran two 10 mile races on back to back weekends and ran about the same time (although with very different race strategies) low-53's. This past weekend I got in two long runs, 3hrs/27.5M Saturday and 2hrs/18.5M Sunday. I was looking to travel out to South Dakota with Wynn and do Lean Horse Half Hundred later in August.

Right now I plan to take the next week or two off from running. I'll do my exerciese like the excellent general strength videos by Jay Johnson for Running Times. Then I'll work on my base and strength with long runs through the fall. I'm gunning for the US 50k/100k double in March/April of next year if all goes well.

The one item I still have to work out is whether or not to have knee surgery this fall. For approximately the last ten years I have had a cyst of varying size on the back of my left knee. After some research and a confirmation from the PT it was determined it is a Baker's Cyst - a pocket of excess synovial fluid caused by some dysfunction in my knee. I had an MRI set for this coming Monday and was looking at having the outpatient surgery sometime this fall after I ran some races, but now I'm not sure its a good idea. It doesn't effect my running much, if at all, and there is virtually no risk to doing nothing for now. The recovery time is only about four weeks. Too much to think about at the moment anyways.

So as you can see, when I come back from a blogging layoff, I make it count. Thanks to everyone that has sent along prayers and positive thoughts. The first day was the hardest for me because my mind would focus on the possibility of losing both ladies. Now, with Katie on the mend and Charlotte showing some progress, I'm settling into a routine, albeit a much different one. I know I'm not eating or sleeping as much as I should, but the days just seem to fly by around here and before you know it I haven't showered and the last meal I ate was a Nature Valley granola bar.

But it helps to have the support network of family and friends. With Katie in Marquette now, we have our little family together to face the challenges of the days ahead.

Beat the Heat

2009-06-22T10:43:00.001-04:00

Saturday, June 20
a.m. RACE: Grandmas Marathon, 21st place

time:	2:35:56
pace:	5:57
10k:	35:08
13.1:	1:14:22
20 mile:	1:54:37
25 mile:	2:27:05
last 10k:	41:19
chip time:	2:35:55

Well, in absolute terms the race didn't go very well, but in relative terms I fared better than most and came away pleased that I gutted it out Saturday. Sometimes that is all you can do.

On the starting line I knew 2:25-2:26 was not a reasonable go. Warm temperature and high humidity made me feel sticky even at 7:00 a.m. Looking at the cloudless sky indicated that it would probably get worse, not better as we got closer to Duluth. I adjusted my goal to hit halfway in 1:15 and I came in just a under that.

I had some rough patches from 13M to 16.5M and if Katie had been at 16M like she planned I probably would have stepped off the course. I was getting that woozy feeling that precedes a big crash. I was worried that if I went to much further down the course I might do some real damage and have to carted off.

But I rallied going into mile 17 and had a resurgence until 19 miles. On the gradual climbs to miles 20 and 21 I slipped to 6:00 miles and Lemondrop hill put the final nail in the coffin. From there I struggled with 6:30 pace, then 7:00 pace, and so on. The death march was on by mile 23. On the bright side - no walking. Small victory.

I finished up in 21st place, which is more a testament to the effect of the heat on the elite field than anything. The sub-2:30 on Grandma's course still eludes me.

I would like to be back again next year. It will require coming back after the US 100k champs April 10 - a 10 week stretch. Not impossible, but difficult.

As for this year, I still feel fresh mentally and I think my legs will bounce back quickly. There wasn't a whole lot of high-quality work in this training cycle, so I think I have more improvement to come.

This week will be a zero for sure and then I'll ease back into it over the next 2-3 weeks. I think I'll be gunning for a marathon/ultra double this fall. The other option is to run the US 50 mile champs October 3. I have to see what I feel like when I get back into organized running.

Avoiding Disaster

2009-06-11T23:11:00.000-04:00

Monday, June 8
a.m. 68 min Road
10.0M (10.0)

Tuesday, June 9
a.m. 30 min Road
4.5M (14.5)

p.m. 3x2M, 430m recovery, 2M wu/cd
5:10.8, 5:08.2
5:11.5, 5:14.0
5:11.5, 4:54.3
10M (24.5)

Wednesday, June 10
a.m. 44:30 Road
6.5M (31.0)

Thursday, June 11
a.m. 31 min Road
4.5M (35.5)

p.m. 5x1k, 2min rec, 3M wu/2M cd
2:59.02, 2:58.0, 2:55.7, 2:54.3, 2:49.9 (2:55.2 avg)
8M (43.5)

Friday, June 12
a.m. 44 min Road
6.5M (50.0)

Saturday, June 13
a.m. 1:37, 8M @MP +60, 6M@ MP, 2M @MP+60
8M: 51:31
6M: 32:47 - 5:32.0, 5:34.5, 5:16.2, 5:28.2, 5:29.6, 5:27.3 (5:28.0 avg)
2M: 12:52
16.0 (66.0)

Sunday, June 14
Off

Total Miles Week: 66.0
Total Miles Year: 1883.3

The week was pretty standard taper for the most part. I was a little sluggish for the first couple days after back-to-back hard days on the weekend. I finished strong on the tempo runs Tuesday, but I didn't feel that great throughout the workout. I had intended on doing four repeats, but I back out using the excuse that my taper had started and when in doubt I should drop the volume.

Thursday I went to the track to run some speedwork and I it seems now that I narrowly averted disaster. I decided to do some strides on the football field before undertaking the planned 5x1k. I don't know what I did, but on the last stride my left knee/lower IT band got aggravated somehow. It didn't bother me too much at the time so OF COURSE I went ahead and did the workout, which OF COURSE went well and had me feeling confident, and OF COURSE heading out for an easy run on Friday I had a stabbing pain in my knee that made running painful.

It looks like the story has a happy ending however. I stretched, iced, and all that jazz Friday. Being in the middle of a taper helped as well since I didn't have a p.m. run to do Friday. Saturday I went ahead with the MP workout even though I was still somewhat sore, knowing I could always take Sunday off, which I was probably going to do anyways. I got through Saturday's workout without too much trouble and the rest on Sunday seems to have alleviated some of the pain. Heading out the door today felt better and its gotten better throughout the day. It only really hurts when I have a high knee lift - like sprinting, for instance - so it shouldn't be too hard to avoid that this week. Fingers crossed it clears up even more by Saturday.

As far as the race pace goes, I'm leaving it open, but I might go out more conservatively than previously planned. I had intended to go out on PR pace (~1:12:30), but something about the last few workouts has me feeling like that might be too aggressive. I know its probably lack of confidence at this point and I just need to get in the race and see how I feel, but I've never had a good race at Grandma's and I feel like this year I just want to get into town around 19-20 and feel like I'm picking up steam instead of fading. I'd settle for holding steady even. So now I think 1:14 might be better at halfway. Of course, if by some chance there is a pack that is running right at that 5:30-5:35/mile pace I might stick my nose in there, but that is usually a very lonely range at Grandma's and probably even more so this year since it looks like everybody is running the 1/2 marathon. But my number is 49 so that means there could be a good chunk of guys ahead of me. Or not. Seed numbers never really the whole story.

Weather looks fair at the moment, but as always, it will change many times between now and 7:30 a.m. Saturday. As long as we avoid SW winds (2006?) it should be alright. Even rain doesn't scare me at this point.

Making Due

2009-06-07T15:41:00.000-04:00

Monday, June 1
p.m. 70 min Road
10.7M (10.7)

Tuesday, June 2
a.m. 1:22 Road
12.1M (22.8)

Wednesday, June 3
Off

Thursday, June 4
a.m. 42:30 Road
6.2M (29.0)

p.m. 10x1k, 60 sec rec, 3M wu/2M cd (windy)
3:06.9, 3:09.6, 3:09.2, 3:08.3, 3:08.7, 3:10.3, 3:10.2, 3:08.0, 3:07.3, 3:07.7 (3:08.7 avg)
11.0M (40.0)

Friday, June 5
a.m. 42:30 Road
6.0M (46.0)

p.m. 68 min Road
10.0M (56.0)

Saturday, June 6
a.m. Breakers to Bay 5M (Oskar, MI), 25:53, 1st, 4.5M wu/5.5M cd
5:24.8, 5:26.2, 4:55.7, 5:00.3, 5:07.0
15.0M (71.0)

Sunday, June 7
a.m. 2:07 Road
last 3 miles (5:31.5, 5:14.3, 4:59.1)
20.0M (91.0)

Total Miles Week: 91.0
Total Miles Year: 1817.3

I spent the first three days of this week in Petoskey, MI at a library conference so it became challenging to stay on schedule with training. Actually the running was great in Petoskey, which is situated on the shores of Lake Michigan. Monday I ran the bike trail from Petoskey to Bay City and Tuesday I had a great run out on the country roads. It was of those mornings where the fog lingered close to the road, but it was kind of sunny out. But after sitting in a conference room from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. for a couple days, I wasn't exactly eager to go out and do the planned workout Wednesday morning. In fact I just pulled the covers up and went back to bed. Live to fight another day.

I pushed the workout back to Thursday, and with the exception of ridiculous wind (the theme for this spring) it went very well. I actually felt stronger as the workout progressed and I managed to keep a fairly even pace despite the weather.

Saturday I hopped in a small 5M race that runs from the Lake Superior breakers into the town of Oskar. I had originally thought I would do a 5M tempo before the race and then do the race at about the same pace, but with all the logisitics of doing that with a point to point course and what not, I just decided to run out to the start and add on a bit to the cooldown. For a first year race they did a really good job with organization and the course was fun. As one could surmise from the splits, the first two miles are kind of brutal due to a pretty significant climb, but almost immediately after passing the two mile mark the course drops hard for the next mile. I felt really good during the run - relaxed and smooth. On the cooldown I hardly felt fatigued so I figure I hit this workout just right.

Today was my last long run and really built on the Saturday's race/workout. I ran a particularly hilly course, but I pushed up them with ease it seemed like. When I switched to the faster pace the last three miles, it felt very natural. Of course, I'd say the last 2.5 miles were downhill so that certainly helped!

So with two weeks to go until race day I would say I feeling better than ever. Not necessarily faster, but strong and relaxed. I plan to do tempo runs/intervals Tuesday and Thursday this week and a shorter marathon pace workout Saturday. Then the last workout of 2x2M tempo on the Tuesday before the race. Everything else will be 5-10 miles easy and no doubles except for the workout days.

Building Momentum

2009-06-01T09:28:00.000-04:00

Monday, May 25
Race: Brian Kraft 5k, 15:17, 7th?, 3Mwu, 2.5cd
(4:47.2, 4:48.7, 5:05.6, 35.4)
8.0M (8.0)

Tuesday, May 26
a.m. 48 min Road
7.0M (15.0)

p.m. 70 min Trail
9.2M (24.2)

Wednesday, May 27
a.m. 42:30 Road
6.1M (30.3)

p.m. 4x1 mile, 3min rec, 3M wu/cd
4:46.1, 4:47.8, 4:46.8, 4:43.1 (4:45.9 avg)
10.0M (40.3)

Thursday, May 28
a.m. 47:30 Road
7.0M (47.3)

p.m. 43:30 Trail
5.6M (52.9)

Friday, May 29
a.m. 35:30 Road
5.1M (58.0)

p.m. 3x3M, 800 rec, 2M wu/1M cd
5:13.2, 5:14.8, 5:13.5 (15:41.5)
5:15.1, 5:11.0, 5:11.2 (15:37.3)
5:13.4, 5:13.8, 1:34.7 (11:51.9) *2.3M
11.3M (69.3)

Saturday, May 30
a.m. 67min Road
10.0M (79.3)

Sunday, May 31
a.m. 2:21:20, 10M@ MP+60 sec, 10M@ MP, 4M@ MP+60 sec
10M: 63:59
10M: 53:52.1 (5:28.5, 5:27.9, 5:27.5, 5:18.7, 5:22.3, 5:25.6, 5:23.3, 5:20.7, 5:18.0, 5:19.4) 5:23.2 avg
4M: 23:26.6 (6:02.8, 5:48.0, 5:49.4, 5:46.4)
24.0M (103.3)

Total Miles Week: 103.3
Total Miles Year: 1726.3

After reviewing my results from previous years at Brian Kraft I realized that maybe this years result wasn't so far off. 15:15, 14:36, 15:25, 15:02 - up and down. I still don't quite know what happened the last mile. It just seems like I should be strong, but not necessarily fast. Did I overextend myself the first two miles? It didn't feel like it, but time to move on.

I did manage to come back with a pretty solid week of workouts and volume. The mile repeats were uncomfortable, but I still managed to finish strong. I cut the workout short on Friday because I was going over the edge a bit. Also I kind of did a stupid thing the week before. Katie is on a softball team and I jumped in to play, realizing I needed to be careful that I didn't hurt myself. I was managing pretty well, but I stepped funny while rounding a base and my foot came up sore. Its right in the arch/ball area, but its starting to get better - no harm done. But it was still bothering a bit during the 3x3 so I figured I had enough work in.

Sunday I turned in a really strong marathon pace workout - actually a bit faster than marathon pace. We finally had a day up here that wasn't gale force winds so the effort felt more even. The most surprising part of the workout was how comfortable I felt during the 4 mile "cooldown". I was really easing up, but still running ~5:50/mile. A great way to end the week.

This was the easiest feeling 100 mile week I've done yet so I'm hopeful that I've timed my fitness right for Grandmas. 3 weeks to go.

Like Reading Tea Leaves

2009-05-25T17:42:00.000-04:00

Monday, May 18
Off

Tuesday, May 19
a.m. 45 min Road
6.5M (6.5)

p.m. 69 min Road + 6xHill Sprints
10.3M (16.8)

Wednesday, May 20
a.m. 34:30 Road
5.0M (23.8)

p.m. 2x1M, 3 min rec, 3M wu/2M cd
4:51.2, 4:58.9
7.0M (30.8)

Thursday, May 21
a.m. 49 min Road
7.3M (38.1)

p.m. 69 min Trail
9.0M (47.1)

Friday, May 22
a.m. 45 min Road
6.5M (53.6)

p.m. 16x400, 30 sec rec, 3M wu/cd
70.6 avg, 62.7 last
10.0M (63.6)

Saturday, May 23
a.m. 62 min Road
10.0M (73.6)

Sunday, May 24
a.m. 36 min Road + 6xstrides
5.5M (79.1)

Total Miles Week: 79.1
Total Miles Year: 1623.0

The week turned out to be rough "psyche" wise culminating with a sub par race this past Monday. On Wednesday I experienced pretty much what every runner in the upper midwest did - heat and wind. I did my morning run in 37 degrees wearing pants, a long sleeve and a winter hat. When I went out to do 5x1 mile in the afternoon it was 90 degrees and 20-30mph winds out of the south. Then I compounded my mistake by overcompensating and running 2:19 for the first 800m of the first interval - pretty much putting me in the hurt locker for good. Fail.

I came back Friday and had a solid, if unspectacular workout. I had a hard time finding a good rhythm as the pace jumped around a bit - 73 one interval, 70 the next. It felt good to finish in 62 though.

Of course I thought with that fast finish and a couple easy days of running in Minneapolis I would come into Monday's Brian Kraft 5k ready for a solid race. I thought 14:50-15:00 was reasonable given my recent workouts and just generally how I've been feeling. I even felt, given the right conditions and competition (i.e. some people to suck off of) I could go faster. What I got was a very disappointing 15:17 that saw me split 4:46:XX, 4:48:XX, 5:10:ughhhhhhhhh.....

I've always been the "long guy" dropping down to the 5k and have had some reasonable success (14:36 PR). Over the years most of my 5ks have played out the same - 1st mile = shock, 2nd mile = slightly less shock, 3rd mile = get in the groove and pass people. This time around it played out very differently. I led most of the first 1.5 miles feeling very strong and smooth. Then, as we crossed Cedar Ave the second time, things started to get a little rough. No worries I thought, I'll just hang on to the back of this lead pack (running 8 strong at that point, very fast this year) and get pulled in. Maybe I won't pass anyone, but I'll hang around. Well, that plan went up in smoke as the pack steadily pulled away over the last mile and I found myself floundering. Once I lost contact, I have to admit the mental struggle overtook me and I became focused on "just finishing". Weak sauce as Andy would say.

I'm oscillating between frustration, worry and indifference about my race. Initially I was embarrassed because I got absolutely routed over the last mile after leading early on. Then my thoughts turned to Grandmas and what this "meant", but quickly realized that I have run some fast shorter races just before running slow Grandmas. Obviously the 5k as a predictor of marathon success doesn't work in general. In the end I think the situation came down to a lack of race-readiness. I've only one really balls-out race (Human Race in March) since taking most of last year off. Workouts have been going well, but the mental aspect of racing is impossible to tap into in a workout. So in the end I'm going to put the 2009 Brian Kraft 5k behind me, get back to my marathon workouts and hope for the best (and a NE tailwind) at Grandmas. I feel like I've set the bar pretty low for myself at Grandmas so there is no need to push the envelope at this point.

I also want to put in a plug for Eric's new website: 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon It is a much needed information/networking resource for those of us weekend warriors reaching for glory. Pass the word.

Also - we're pregnant (due November 9). And I got into Grad school. So life will be changing drastically this fall. Of course one of my first thoughts was how will this affecting training (much to the chagrin of my very loving, patient, and supportive wife) and I've come to the conclusion that not much will change. Doubles will mostly become singles, but since I've run 90-100+ miles a week for the past decade, I'm probably pretty peaked out on mileage anyway. I figure if I can get in one long run, one long workout and another shorter workout each week I'll be fine doing 45-75 minutes the other days. Honestly, I could probably benefit from the rest. We'll see how that pans out when sleep deprivation sets in.

The Next Level?

2009-05-11T07:42:00.000-04:00

Monday, May 11
a.m. 44 min Road
6.5M (6.5)

p.m. 65 min Road + 6xHill Sprints
10.1M (16.6)

Tuesday, May 12
a.m. 33:30 Road
5.0M (21.6)

p.m. 8x1k, 2 min rec, 3mi wu/3mi cd
3:00.2, 3:02.7, 3:01.9, 3:00.3,
3:01.6, 3:01.1, 2:56.9, 2:50.7 (2:59.4 avg)
11.0M (32.6)

Wednesday, May 13
a.m. 45 min Road
6.5M (39.1)

p.m. 67 min Road + 6xstrides
10.0M (49.1)

Thursday, May 14
a.m. 42 min Road
6.1M (55.2)

p.m. 66:30 Road
10.0M (65.2)

Friday, May 15
a.m. 3x3M, 800m rec, 2.5 wu/cd
15:32.9 (5:09.4, 5:13.0, 5:10.5)
15:29.4 (5:11.0, 5:10.4, 5:08.0)
15:17.2 (5:07.0, 5:07.4, 5:02.8)
14.0 (79.2)

Saturday, May 16
a.m. 70 min Road
10.3M (89.5)

Sunday, May 17
a.m. 2:25, 10M @MP +60sec, 10M @MP, 4M @MP +60 sec
10M: 64:00
10M: 55:47, 5:34.7 avg (5:38.5, 5:30.7, 5:34.5, 5:36.6, 5:35.0, 5:34.7, 5:38.7, 5:34.0, 5:27.8, 5:36.5)
4M: 25:19
24M (113.5)

Total Miles Week: 113.5
Total Miles Year: 1543.9

I'm still scratching my head about Sunday's workout. I averaged 2 seconds per mile slower than I did a couple weeks ago and felt a little worse. I was a little surprised, although maybe I shouldn't have been, after the way the two mid-week workouts went, that 5:30 pace didn't feel easier (or possible for that matter).

The extenuating circumstances would be the wind, as I did this workout from the start line on Grandmas Marathon course and ran into what I thought was a substantial headwind for the whole workout. Weather.com reports said it was only 7-10mph, but it felt stronger to me. So was it my legs or the wind or both, I don't know. I wish I would have been able to gain a little more confidence from this workout, but I'll have to settle with a hard effort.

In retrospect, 5:32-5:34 pace for a marathon puts me right around my PR, so it seems naive to expect more, but once I start to feel good in training I get greedy. Energy levels fluctuate from workout to workout, week to week, so finishing Tuesday's workout with a 2:50 1k doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. One repeat. One workout. One day. The good news is that I'm remaining consistent and things are trending faster. If I come back with a strong workout this week and race well at Brian Kraft a week from today, Sunday's workout will blend in with it all.

After Further Review

2009-05-04T10:31:00.000-04:00

Monday, May 4
a.m. 38 min Trail
5.0M (5.0)

p.m. 60 min Trail
8.1M (13.1)

Tuesday, May 5
a.m. 49 min Road
7M (20.1)

p.m. 70 min Road + 5xstrides
10.2M (30.3)

Wednesday, May 6
a.m. 33 min Road
5.0M (35.3)

p.m. 6x1k, 2:00 min rec, 3 mi wu/cd
3:00.3, 3:02.6, 3:03.1, 3:02.0, 3:02.7, 2:57.2 (3:01.3 avg)
10M (45.3)

Thursday, May 7
a.m. 48 min Road
7.0M (52.3)

p.m. 64 min Road + 6xHill Sprints
10.0M (62.3)

Friday, May 8
a.m. 35 min Road
5.1M (67.4)

p.m. 2x3M, 800m rec, 2M wu/2M cd + 4xstrides
15:35.6 (5:11.7, 5:13.7, 5:10.1)
15:20.5 (5:12.1, 5:05.2, 5:03.2)
10.0M (77.4)

Saturday, May 9
a.m. 2:08 Road
20.0M (97.4)

Sunday, May 10
a.m. 66:30 Road
10.0M (107.4)

Total Miles Week: 107.4
Total Miles Year: 1430.4

Monday I got out on trails for the first time this spring. I took it pretty easy for a day after a marathon, but I forgot how tough an hour on trails can be. I'm sure it will just take some time to adjust, but I won't really get after that until post-Grandmas. For now it serves as a nice break here and there.

The legs were a little heavy post-marathon Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday I would say I was back and ready to hit the hard stuff again. I intended to do 8x1k, but after getting out at 3:00 for the first repeat, I could not find the correct pace (3:03-3:04). After #5, I had a feeling that attempting 8 repeats would be too much. Still this was an improvement over the workout I did three weeks ago (3:01 avg versus 3:03 avg). Try again next week I suppose.

I was initially happy with Friday's workout, but after reconsidering I came to the conclusion that I felt TOO good and should have backed off a bit on #2 and added a #3. I didn't feel like I was pushing it though, my legs just seemed to slip into the pace. Again, try again next week.

Hometown Run

2009-05-03T15:53:00.000-04:00

Monday, April 27
a.m. 47 min Road + 5xstrides
6.6M (6.6)

p.m. 74 min Road + 6xhill sprints
11.0M (17.6)

Tuesday, April 28
a.m. 48:30 Road
7M (24.6)

p.m. 4x1 Mile, 3:15 rec, 3M wu/cd
4:53.5, 4:53.7, 4:50.7, 4:45.0
10M (34.6)

Wednesday, April 29
p.m. 2:12 Road
20.7 (55.3)

Thursday, April 30
a.m. 37:30 Road
5.2M (60.5)

p.m. 69 min Road + 5xstrides
10.3 (70.8)

Friday, May 1
a.m. 35:30 Road
5.1 (75.9)

p.m. 3x2M, 430m Rec, 2M wu/2M cd+4 strides
10:27.6, 10:24.6, 10:22.5 (10:24.9 avg) windy
10M (85.9)

Saturday, May 2
a.m. 39 min Road
5.7M (91.6)

Sunday, May 3
a.m. 2:34:03 marathon/workout, 1st
Eau Claire Marathon
1:19:16/1:14:47
26.2 (117.8)

Total Week Miles: 117.8
Total Year Miles: 1323.0

Another solid week that showed a lot of progress. The mile repeats on Tuesday were hard, but manageable. Its been a year and a half since I've run that kind of pace in workouts. Wednesday was not intended to be that long of a day, but I zigged when I should have zagged out on the country roads so 16 miles turned into 20. And Friday's workout was really encouraging because I remained relaxed during the intervals and recovered very well during the short rests. The pace and effort were just right despite the gale force crosswind I was bucking.

After the workout Friday, Katie and I hopped in the car and drove down to Eau Claire for the weekend. Sunday was the Eau Claire Marathon, the first marathon in EC since the mid-80's. I had originally signed up in November with the intention of peaking for this race after a shorter buildup. At that time I was a little more pessimistic about what kind of shape I could get into by the spring. I thought Eau Claire would be lower key with lower expectations.

As the spring progressed, my workouts revealed that I'm stronger than I anticipated, so in March I decided to go for broke at Grandmas where there would be a faster field - but also more in the way of goals/expectations. However, being from Eau Claire originally, I still wanted to be a part of the marathon this weekend, so I decided to run it as a long run/workout, with pace depending on how I felt. I figured at the Mad City 50k I ran through 26.2 miles right around 2:38 and that had felt pretty easy. Friend, former roommate and coworker, Tony was running as well with approximately the same plan so it felt kind of like a Sunday long run, with water stops.

Of course Tony has never been good at conservative pacing and I acted as enabler for much of the race. The agreed upon 6:10-6:15 pace never materialized as we ran mostly 6:00s, give or take for the first half of the race (1:19:16). The course was set up very well. There were some roads closed to traffic and it was fairly light on the rest. Temps were perfect for about 2 hours, but the last stretch the temps got a little toasty....along with the pace.

Around mile 17 we met back up with the half-marathoners and Tony got a little carried away with the pace. I believe there was a progression from 17-20 of 5:51, 5:42, 5:35, 5:30...and that was just me. By that point Tony was a good 50 meters ahead of me. I wasn't in severe distress, but I was a little wary of going below 5:30/mile as that is what I'm considering the outer fringe of my goal marathon pace. Tony stayed out front until mile 24 when the heavy pace started to take a toll. He hung on much better than I expected given how hard he had been running the last hour. I managed to stay strong until the final hill back into Carson Park, which is just ridiculous for that point in a marathon. Still I managed approximately 6:00 pace up and over and then enjoyed the last ~.2 miles into the finish line.

So many positives came out of the race. I ran a controlled effort, but still managed my goal marathon pace for much of the last 10 miles. I wasn't sore or beat up at all. I think I actually felt a little worse after last Saturday's workout. Even so, I might consider pushing this coming Tuesday's intervals to Wednesday and cut out Thursdays workout. I'll wait and see how I feel. There is still a ways to go until Grandmas.

Down With the Sickness

2009-04-26T09:11:00.000-04:00

Monday, April 20
p.m. 66:30 Road
10.1M (10.1)

Tuesday, April 21
a.m. 45 min Treadmill
6.4M (16.5)

Wednesday, April 22
OFF/Sick

Thursday, April 23
a.m. 45 min Road
6.5M (23)

p.m. 16x400 w/ 25 sec rec 3M wu/cd
73.37 avg, 71.9 last (wind)
10M (33)

Friday, April 24
a.m. 46 min Road
6.6M (39.6)

p.m. 68 min Road
10.0M (49.6)

Saturday, April 25
a.m. 10M@ MP+60 sec, 8M@ MP, 4M@ MP+60 sec
10M: 64:39
8M: 5:37, 5:33, 5:34, 5:33, 5:31, 5:30, 5:26, 5:34 (avg 5:32)
4M: 25:48
22.0M (71.6)

Sunday, April 26
a.m. 70 min Road
10M (81.6)

Total Miles: 81.6

The head cold stayed with me most of the week, but I was still able to manage a couple solid workouts. Katie crewed for me during the MP run, handing me water bottles. The pace felt relatively comfortable, I was just hoping it would be few clicks per mile faster. However, it was right in line with the level of fitness I've been showing.

Going Back To Cali, Cali, Cali

2009-04-20T17:30:00.000-04:00

Monday, April 13
a.m. 45 min Road
6.7M (6.7)

p.m. 62 min Road incl 6xHill Sprints
9.5M (16.2)

Tuesday, April 14
a.m. 46 min Road
6.7M (22.9)

p.m. 6x1k w/ 2 min rec 3mi wu/3mi cd+4xstrides

3:04, 3:06, 3:07, 3:04, 3:01, 2:57 (3:03.2 avg)

10M (32.9)

Wednesday, April 15
a.m. 1:57 Road

18.5 (51.4)

Thursday, April 16
a.m. 68 min Road

10M (61.4)

Friday, April 17
a.m. 65 min Road + strides

10M (71.4)

Saturday, April 18
a.m. 10M race/workout 53:07, 1st Place

(Santa Barbara Chardonnay 10M, CA)

30min wu/30 min cd

18.8M (90.2)

Sunday, April 19

OFF/Travel

Total Miles: 90.2

Our time in California was a pleasant respite from "spring" in the UP. Now we've been in the midst of a snow/wind storm since Sunday.

Tuesday was my first interval workout in a long, long time. I would have to say that it went about as well as it could have. I was never in severe distress and I felt like I could have gone a couple more at the same pace (3:04-3:07).

Thursday and Friday I had good runs along the ocean in Oxnard, CA. It was surprisingly cool in the morning and I ended up wearing the one long sleeve I packed both days.

Saturday we headed up to Santa Barbara to go to the farmer's market and sight-see. When we were planning the trip I knew it would be hard to find a track (that I would be allowed on) or a safe road route to do a workout on, so I searched around for a road race nearby. The Santa Barbara Chardonnay 10M worked out perfectly as a marathon/tempo pace workout and the course was beautiful. We ran out and back along the ocean with a few hills in the middle miles. I ended up running most of the race with another runner, averaging around 5:22-5:24 for most of the miles - a little faster than the 5:30's I had planned on. But I felt really good and was able to run 5:11-5:20 over the last three miles. I ended up finishing first and winning a $100 gift certificate to Outfooters, a local running store, which I used to buy a new pair of trail running shoes (Adidas Adistar Trail), although I wonder when I'll actually be able wear them up here.

The only downside to the vacation was that I woke up with a sore throat Sunday morning as we were leaving. Its got progressively worse through Monday evening, but I seem to be on the downside now.

Interlude

2009-04-12T17:12:00.000-04:00

Monday, April 6
Off

Tuesday, April 7
p.m. 36:30 Road
5M (5)

Wednesday, April 8
a.m. 45 min Treadmill
6.3M (11.3)

p.m. 30 min Pool Running

Thursday, April 9
a.m. 45 min Treadmill
6.4M (17.7)

p.m. 47 min Road + 6xHill Sprints
7M (24.7)

Friday, April 10
a.m. 35 min Road
5M (29.7)

p.m. 70 min Road + 8xstrides
10.5M (40.2)

Saturday, April 11
a.m. 1:43 Road incl 3 x 1.4M Hill Climb
16.2M (56.4)

Sunday, April 12
OFF

Total Miles: 56.4

Even with the relative ease with which I ran the 50k, I had a little soreness the first couple days this week. Being a planned rest week, I had no problem taking a couple days off and a couple shorter days. By the end of the week I was feeling like new and well prepared going into the last 10 weeks of workouts for Grandmas.

The weather around here is changing just in time. We still have a good deal of snow, but the roads are clear which will allow for quality workouts. Katie and I are headed to Oxnard, CA Wednesday, so by the time we get back things should really be cleared out. While in CA I'm going to squeeze in a marathon-pace workout by running a 10M race up in Santa Barbara.

When Things Go Well

2009-04-05T18:39:00.000-04:00

Monday, March 30
a.m. 45 min Treadmill
6.5M (6.5)

p.m. 68 min Road
10.3M (16.8)

Tuesday, March 31
a.m. 45 min Treadmill
6.5M (23.3)

p.m. 50 min Road + 6xHill Sprints
7.5M (30.8)

Wednesday, April 1
a.m. 35 min Treadmill
5.2M (36.0)

p.m. 1 hr 46 min Road incl 3 x 1.4M Hill Climb
16M (52.0)

Thursday, April 2
a.m. 37 min Treadmill
5M (57.0)

p.m. 69 min Road
10M (67.0)

Friday, April 3
a.m. 35 min Treadmill
5.1M (72.1)

Saturday, April 4
a.m. 50k race/workout 3:08:28 (PR), 1st
Lap 1 - 39:02
Lap 2 - 38:32
Lap 3 - 37:34
Lap 4 - 36:51
Lap 5 - 36:27
31M (103.1)

Sunday, April 5
p.m. 20 min Road
2.4M (105.5)

Total Miles 105.5

And that concludes the "base/pre-season/learn to run again" phase of my training and I'd be hard-pressed to find anything negative about how I've progressed the last three months, considering that this was the first week I logged on the blog for 2009.

Now I'm going to take a rest week and then its 10 weeks of workouts and a couple races until Grandmas.

As for this past weekend, it was one of those I'm going to tuck away to relive in the future. I had a pleasant drive back to civilization - which I consider anywhere with a Noodles and Co., Chipotle, Best Buy, and/or Target. Also four-lane highways.

My original plan for the race was to treat this as a long run, shooting for 3:20 - 3:30. It may seem a long ways to go for a long run, but the weather was beautiful, I didn't have to carry any aid, and Katie was in Evansville, IN for a conference this weekend, so I was flying solo anyway.

Race morning was amazing weather, completely opposite from the 2007 100k debacle. It was right around 30 degrees at the start, but the sun was shining and very little wind. By the end of the race temps were in the upper 40s. Race director Tim Yanachek only went with a 50k this year because the World Cup is in June, making a spring 100k US champs impossible. Turnout was good - 30+ solo runners and 40+ relay teams.

Right from the start I knew I was feeling not just good, but phenomenal. I had put in some good miles earlier in the week, but went very easy on Thursday and short on Friday so as to feel rested. When I saw that was running 6:20s with ease early on (thanks Garmin 405) I decided to test the waters a little bit and see what I was capable of comfortably. I felt it was a safe situation because I had a scheduled easy week coming up so as long as I didn't go to the well I would be fine coming back to the marathon-specific training the following week.

My aid was working out great as well. I made a race-day decision not to carry a water bottle the whole way. Instead I bought a bunch of 20 oz bottled waters and mixed my Cytomax in. I picked up a bottle and a gel each lap starting with #2, carried it for about 1.5 miles and then dumped it.

All in all it was one of those days where everything is clicking and you just have to roll with it. I ran very relaxed through 4 laps, pressed a little bit the first half of lap #5 and then, after grabbing one last cup of water at the mid-lap aid station, I kicked it in comfortably hard over the last 4k.

But the best part of the weekend was getting to hang with Andy the rest of the weekend. Our first stop was Chipotle were I enjoyed the sweet ambrosia that is the steak burrito with black beans. Then, after cleaning up and watching some golf, we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Final Four and eat chicken wings. I tried Guinness for the first time (I know, I know). And then we topped the night off with some bowling where I managed to bowl 2 really good games (for me) out of three.

It might just be that this weekend was some sort of karma payback for all the crap I've been dealing with at work. If thats the case, then I need a few more of them.

Plugging Away

2009-03-29T07:44:00.000-04:00

Monday
OFF

Tuesday
p.m. 67 min Road
10.1M (10.1)

Wednesday
a.m. 45 min Treadmill
6.5M (16.6)

p.m. 1hr 44 min Road (incl 4M@ 5:44)
16M (32.6)

Thursday
a.m. 45 min Treadmill
6.5M (39.1)

p.m. 68 min Road
10.1M (49.2)

Friday
a.m. 30 min Treadmill
4.25M (53.5)

p.m. 60 min + 6xHill Sprints
9M (62.5)

Saturday
a.m. Progression Run (6:00, 5:50, 5:40, 5:30, 5:20, 5:10)
12M (74.5)

Sunday
a.m. 2hr 11 min Road incl 8M@5:53/mile
20.5M (95)

Total Miles: 95

I've been turning in solid, but not spectacular weeks so far. As long a I'm feeling healthy and improving I'll take it. Hopefully those spectacular weeks will be happening in June this time around.

Monday was an unplanned day off, but Sunday, with the Human Race a 1:20 p.m. start time I didn't get out of the Cities until 4:45. A seven hour drive plus losing an hour crossing the time zone put me back in Houghton just before 1 a.m. In the old days of my youth I would have had very little problem getting a run in the next day, but Monday I chose to sleep-in and I was dragging most of the rest of the day. I rationalized that it was better to take a day off in March rather than closer to the race. Today I turned a year older, so its only going to get worse.

This coming week I'm headed back to Madison for the Mad City 50k. Tim is going with a 50k this year because with the WC 100k in June there won't be a US 100k championship in the spring and a 50k is just easier logistically. My original plan was to go down there to get in a long run in warmer weather and hang out with Andy, but now it looks like I'm going to get weather only slightly better than here. Oh well, it will be good to have a positive experience on that course since next year WILL be the 100k champs (April 10). Positive mental imagery will be the name of the game.

Meeting Expecations

2009-03-22T08:08:00.000-04:00

Monday, March 16
p.m. 40 min Pool

Tuesday, March 17
a.m. 70min Road
10.1M (map)

p.m. 30min Road + Hill Sprints
4.5M (14.6)

Wednesday, March 18
p.m. 1hr 45min Treadmill
16.3M (30.9)

Thursday, March 19
p.m. 64 min Road
10.1M (41) (map)

Friday, March 20
p.m. 39 min Treadmill
6M (47)

Saturday, March 21
a.m. 30 min Treadmill
4+M (51)

Sunday, March 22
a.m. 21 min Road
3M (54)

p.m. 8k Race 25:25 14th place + 20min Warmup, 60 min Cooldown
16M (70)

Total Miles: 70

Quite an up and down week. I felt pretty good the first part of the week, especially considering the 3 hour run last Sunday. But Friday a 60-75 min run turned into a rough 45 mins. Then I struggled through a 30 min run Saturday before heading back to Eau Claire/Twin Cities for the Human Race. My legs felt pretty good, but my heart rate was higher than normal and I was sweating profusely on the treadmill (more than usual). I briefly considered not traveling for the race, but I had been looking forward to it and I hoped that seeing bare/snow free ground and warmer temps would give me a boost.

Sunday, race-day, I felt so-so, but just warming up with Kurt, Paul and Sonya and doing a long cooldown with Pete, Jason, and Josh made the trip worth it, regardless of the race result.

As for the race itself, I don't know if I've ever had a day where I ran the exact time I though I would and felt exactly how I thought I would feel, no better, no worse. That was the story Sunday. Considering prior to the race I had not run a single 5:07 mile, and then to go out and run five of them, helped me feel pretty good about my training thus far. The conditions worked in my favor as we had a pretty stiff headwind on the way out. That meant I got to spend a little more time in the lead pack then I would have normally - going through the mile in 5:12-5:13. Mile 2 has quite a bit of downhill and the pack started to string out. I came through in 10:11 and somewhere around 10th place. Coming around William Mitchell and picking up the wind at our back (mostly) I was feeling alright, but knew the pace I was running was all I was going to be able to muster through the finish. No kick today. I could run about 5:05 but any faster and I started to rig up a bit. Fast-paced workouts needed. I pretty much held my position getting passed by 1 or 2 people into the finish, but overall I can't complain.

According to Daniels 25:25 puts me in about 1:10 half/2:28 full marathon shape with essentially no workouts under my belt. I hope once I start the marathon cycle in April I'll be able to bring that down a few minutes.

First Marathon Of 2009

2009-03-15T12:53:00.000-04:00

Monday, March 9
p.m. 60 min Treadmill
8.5M (8.5)

Tuesday, March 10
a.m. 60 min Treadmill
8.8M (17.3)

p.m. 30 min Treadmill + 8x200m 32-34 sec (200m jog)
5.5M (22.8)

Wednesday, March 11
a.m. 2 hrs Treadmill incl 4x10min @ 7% incline 6:40/mi pace (5 min easy pace recovery)
18.05 (40.85)

Thursday, March 12
a.m. 45 min Treadmill
6.5M (47.35)

p.m. 60 min Treadmill
9.35 (56.7)

Friday, March 13
p.m. 50 min Treadmill + 8x200 31-33sec (200m jog)
8.5M (64.7)

Saturday, March 14
a.m. Progression Run (6:00, 5:50, 5:40, 5:30, 5:20, .5M@5:10)
12M (76.7)

Sunday, March 15
a.m. 3 hr Treadmill (26.2M in 2:51)
27.7M (104.5)

Total Miles: 104.5M

The change in weather presented somewhat of a conundrum for my weekend runs. Temps in the high 30s - mid 40s made it seem like running outside was a no brainer. However I've done less outside running this winter than in years past so to jump in with a workout and a 3 hr run would probably be a little aggressive. Runnersworld online just had an article up on this very topic. While I don't think its necessary to be as conservative as they advise, it is probably a good idea if I ease into it over the next couple weeks - 60 min here and there, some hill workouts, etc before I get too crazy.

That said, it seemed pretty insane to do a 3 hour run on the treadmill today while it was 46 degrees outside. And while last week I felt like I was gaining strength as I approached 2:40, this week the 2:40-3:00 segment was getting pretty rough. I was pushing 5:56-6:03 pace so it could have more to do with the aggressive pace than the run time. Nevertheless, I had a good look at what my top end of time and pace is right now. I will probably only do one more run longer than today during this training cycle, so for the most part I should be staying well in my comfort zone from here on out.

So with my first "real" race in almost 20 months coming up a week from today I'm starting to feel like a runner again. As for goals, I'm breaking it down thusly:

< 25:00 = Wow, where the hell did that come from?
25:00-26:00 = Very pleased, right where I want to be.
26:00-27:00 = Not bad, but got some work to do
27:00+ = Uh-oh, time to re-evaluate goals for the spring.

I got to catch some of the NCAA championships on the internet this weekend and I have to say its got very exciting lately. Being one of those "slow" distance runners in college I never got to compete on a DMR and after watching the excitement of those races at this years meet I have to say I feel like I missed out.

Gel-lin'

2009-03-08T21:36:00.000-04:00

The past six weeks I've seen some great progress. For the most part I'm feeling like my old self again. Unlike most of the 2008 where I felt broken down as my mileage/intensity got higher, I now feeling like I'm getting stronger. Of course I'm following the more traditional and safer method of building a strong base before getting into any interval or marathon pace workouts. Amazing how conventional wisdom can be so......wise? The weekdays have progressed to 60-90 min most days plus a couple 2xdays a week. I've done a couple sessions of hill sprints, but I've had to be cautious as there is very little clear pavement around here and my knee came up sore after the last session, probably due to the slipping. The weekends have been where the real work has been getting done. I plan to continue the same pattern for a few more weeks and then move into a marathon cycle (Grandmas) once the calendar hits April.

Human Race is coming up in a couple weeks. I'm curious to see where I'll end up. I've fluctuated in my confidence with my turnover the past few weeks, but there are so many people running so fast there is a good chance I'll get sucked into a faster time than I would normally expect. I'm a far cry from the shape I was in when I've actually won this race in the past, but then again those two years I flamed out at Grandmas one year and came up lame in a 100k the other year. So if that is any indication I'll gladly take a slower time if it means I'm hitting my stride June 20.

Jan 26 - Feb 1
Sat: 60 min
Sun: 2 hr (16.6M)
Mileage for the week: 56M

Feb 2 - Feb 8
Sat: 80 min
Sun: 2 hr (16.8M)
Mileage for the week: 65M

Feb 9 - Feb 15
Sat: 1 hr 40 min
Sun: 2 hr (17.3M)
Mileage for the week: 78M

Feb 16 - Feb 22
Sat: 2 hr (17.5M)
Sun: 2 hr (18M)
Mileage for the week: 93M

Feb 23 - Mar 1
Sat: Progression Run (6:00, 5:50, 5:40 5:30) 10M total
Sun: 2 hr 20 min (21M)
Mileage for the week: 60M

Mar 2 - Mar 8
Sat: Progression Run (6:00, 5:50, 5:40, 5:30, .5M@5:20, .5M easy, .5M@5:10-5:15) 11M Total
Sun: 2 hr 4o min (24.5M)
Mileage for the week: 98M

Step One.

2009-01-25T15:36:00.001-05:00

Week of Jan 19 - 25

Mon: 30:00, 4M

Tue: 60:00, 8M

Wed: 30:00, 4M

Thu: 60:00, 8M

Fri: 30:00, 4M + weights

Sat: 45:00, 6.5M

Sun: 2:00:00, 16.4M + strides and leg drills

Total: 50M

After so many years of running and (unfortunately) so many comeback attempts, I have some established landmarks for monitoring how things are going. The first 2 hr run is one of them. Normally my goal would be to increase that run all the way up to 3 hrs over the next couple months, but this time around, given how the last year went, I'm going to be content with 2 hrs for awhile. Instead I'm going to work on increasing the run the day before up to 2:00 as well and work on overall mileage. Besides I'm sure I'll be confined to the treadmill for the most part and while I have done 3 hours on the treadmill before, it is not exactly something I would like to do on a regular basis.

Another blizzard today. Not a lot of snow, but a lot of wind. A lot of snow makes winter more enjoyable, but it does make running a bit more challenging.

Over the Hump for the New Year

2009-01-20T18:58:00.000-05:00

Training for 1/12/09 - 1/18/09

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 45 min, 5.5M+

Wednesday: 30+min, 4M

Thursday: 45 min, 5.5M+

Friday: 30+min, 4M + weight circuit

Saturday: 45 minutes, incl 1-2-3-2-1 fartlek @5:52 pace with equal rest

Sunday: 90 minutes, 12M + 5xstrides and leg drills

Total: 37M

So I've been delinquent in regards to posting lately, but I'm back on track now. Running through the holidays was alright, but really for the last month of 2008 I floundered quite at bit. It wasn't necessarily a lack of motivation, but perhaps direction? So when the calendar turned over to 2009 I got serious about laying out some goals for the coming year and that has done the trick so far. Just being consistent (6-7 days per week) for that short of time has helped.

Of course there is a ways to go. Right now I'm working in the 7:30 - 8:00/mile pace for most runs on the treadmill, but at least I'm feeling better doing it. Small steps.

As far as goals for the year, I think its going to be a marathon year, but don't hold me to it. I lower key May marathon run off base mileage and a few workouts, a full build-up October marathon, and then a November ultra (JFK?).

All that sounds great, but I really would settle for a healthy, consistent year of training.

Oh and we're at 150" of snow in Houghton so far this season. Welcome to the UP!

Sincerely, Waterlogged In Michigan

2008-10-21T12:38:00.000-04:00

Hoo-boy - a two month absence from blogging means there is a lot to catch up on:

1. When Last We Spoke...or How A 100k qualifier turned into a 50k and a break from running

I never went over how my solo 100k attempt played out, so here is the condensed version. The weather at the start on August 2 wasn't so bad, considering the forecast. Of course it was 5 a.m. and pitch black out. In other words, it was too early to tell for sure what daylight would bring. We had 6 starters: Myself, Keith, Mark, Paul, Sonya, and Wynn. There to support us were Katie, Paul's wife Amy, my parents, and race-director Kurt.

We took off a little after 5:00 and right away I was feeling pretty heavy. A lot of that could be attributed to running at 5:00, but in general I didn't feel comfortable until around lap 3 or 4. Luckily for us starting so early meant the traffic around Lake Calhoun was light. I was doing pretty well with aid and what not, but as the laps wore on I started feeling really beat up in my quads and hamstrings. Now I didn't expect to feel smooth as silk for 100k, but the soreness and fatigue I was feeling around 40k was more than I should be feeling that early in a 100k race. Between 40 and 50k the pace started slip to 7:15, but it wasn't by choice. I wasn't conserving energy, I was putting in more and more effort and slowing down considerably.

To make the 100k team I was going to have to run somewhere in the 7hr-7:15 range. When I hit 50k at 3:31 and felt as wrecked as I did, I knew that I would not be able keep my loses to a minute/lap the next 50k. I was spent, not so much energy-wise, but muscularly. Everything was cramped despite drinking profusely. So 50k was all I was capable of for the day and I pulled up a chair to watch others finish. Sonya, who also had hopes of covering 100k, was talked into stopping at 50k as well since she was suffering the same fate as I. As we marked the laps for the rest of the competitors the temps kept rising and by the time Mark called it a day 1 lap short of 50k, it was sticky hot and I was reassured that my decision to stop was the right one.

Looking back, I don't think there was anything I could have done differently (besides not trying to run 100k). I feel like my aerobic system was ready for the requisite pace, but with the surgeries and injuries of the last year, I just didn't have the miles on my legs to handle to beating for 7 hours and that proved to be my undoing. I took a few days off to relieve the soreness and started some easy jogging by the end of the week. Time to refocus.

2. The Wife Leaves and I Stay.

The day after 100k Katie and I packed up the Subaru with as much stuff as we could and she made the move to Houghton, MI to start her new job, Coordinator of COMPASS (first year student orientation and programs) at Michigan Tech. Because we signed a year-long lease for our new apartment in June (grrr..) and August/Sept are easily the craziest time in Payroll at the UofM, I stayed behind to help my office transition and hopefully rent our apartment. I'm no Dr. Phil, but I would not recommend this living arrangement for married couples.

3. Wherin I Join the Wife and (hopefully) Start Down A New Career Path

Due to said difficulties with the long-distance marriage I put in my official notice at the UofM about 2 months earlier than planned. My last day was Sept 12. Initially I was moving to Houghton with no job plans. Seeing as we hadn't rented our apartment yet, I was a little stressed about continuing to pay rent on one income for a place we no longer living in. But on the flipside I was looking at a nice long vacation and since Katie's job allowed us to live on-campus for free, the financial loss would be bearable for a little while.

Luckily (I suppose) a job opened up at the Portage Lake District Library in Houghton . When Katie initially got the job at Michigan Tech, I considered what I wanted to do career wise: stick with the Human Resources/Accounting field or go a new direction. For a long time, being a librarian has interested me. I know that sounds boring, but I think its a pretty cool job that offers a lot of variety. Career-wise there is working in a library, which pretty much anyone can do, and then there is obtaining a Masters Of Library and Information Science, which allows one to claim the title of Librarian with a capital "L". The job at the PLDL is part-time which will make it easier to complete graduate work provided I choose to do that and (more of an issue) get accepted into graduate school. If anyone out there who has any advice on librarianship I'm all ears.

4. Hills Help...and Hurt

What an absolutely crappy year its been running wise. After the 100k I struggled on and off with running. I would have a good week running 5-6 days and then a bad week where I might not run at all. Some of it was due to the fact that I was working around 60 hr/week in August trying to train my co-workers on my job duties while handling the large volume of work coming in (I still feel bad about leaving them at the absolutely worst time of year). But my body has just seemed out of whack since the 100k attempt. Specifically my left side has been sore and weak. Hip, hamstring, foot, you name it. The last straw was an excruciating foot injury that popped up a couple weeks after getting to Houghton. I did some research on the inter-webs and found that a sudden increase in hill running can cause some problems in the foot/ankle region that was similar to what I was experiencing. Houghton is pretty hilly, compared to Minneapolis/St Paul so that caused me to take another week off. I tried running a couple days after it felt better, but my left hip was just not working right. That was three weeks ago and since then I have put the running shoes away. I'm running in the pool, swimming, and doing strength work. I'm also working with another PT up here so I'm still hopeful that I'll come out of this winter healthy and running (even if its only a little bit).

We'll if you managed to read this far you get a gold star for the day. I'll be more regular about posting going forward. I haven't touched on how distressed I am about the current state of America (hint: very).

PS- Since I'm working only part-time at the moment, I thought I would take the opportunity to learn a little Web programming. Any recommendations on self-teaching resources/software?

Michael Who?

2008-08-17T13:39:00.001-04:00

Best races/performances I've ever seen, before Bolt toyed with the best sprinters in the world:
Haile vs Tergat (Sydney)
MJ's 200 (Atlanta)

By the way, Bolt's 100m gold > Phelps's 8

A Nice Day For A 50k

2008-08-04T14:55:00.000-04:00

1st Annual Twin Cities Ultra Festival

100k
No Finishers :(

50k
Patrick Russell 3:30:49
Sonya Anderson-Decker 4:10:58
Keith Krone 5:08:58

45.27k
Mark Hanson 4:37:25

20.4K
Paul Beeman 2:46:55

The Anti-Dean

2008-07-31T16:21:00.000-04:00

http://www.avclub.com/content/words/what_i_talk_about_when_i_talk

Olympic Viewing Schedule

2008-07-31T14:20:00.000-04:00

I think this pretty much covers the broadcast schedule NBC network tv (KARE-11 in the metro) for track and field. There will probably be additional coverage online as well.

Friday	8/15	7p-11p	Shot-M
		11:30p-1a	10000m-W
Saturday	8/16	9a-5p	Track
		6:30p-11p	Marathon-W, 100m-M
		11:30p-1a	800m-W (semi)
Sunday	8/17	6p-11p	100m-W, Steeple-W
		11:30p-1a	10000m-M, Triathalon-W
Monday	8/18	7p-11p	800m-W
		11:30p-1a	Triathalon-M
Tuesday	8/19	10a-1p	Track
		7p-11p	1500m-M
Wednesday	8/20	7p-11p	200m-M
Thursday	8/21	7p-11p	400m-M
Friday	8/22	7p-11p	Deca-M
Saturday	8/23	6:30p-11p	Marathon-M
Sunday	8/24	6-10:30p	Closing Ceremony

Olympics A Trap?

2008-07-31T10:40:00.001-04:00

The Onion uncovers the nefarious plans of the Chinese.

The Beijing Olympics: Are They A Trap?

Before Dawn

2008-07-30T22:51:00.000-04:00

In planning to run 100km in Minnesota August 2, I realized there was a good chance it was going to be hot and humid. I had, however, allowed myself to forget that fact as I trained in ideal weather for the last month. Well the heatwave is hitting Minnesota just in time and with the deadline to qualify for the 2008 US 100km team fast approaching I have no chance but to go ahead this weekend as planned. Almost.

Instead of starting at 6:00 I will be toeing the line at 5:00 a.m. with at least 3 other people crazy enough to help a guy out by running on what will probably be the hottest day of the year.

So if you were thinking of showing up to run on a whim, first of all: what were you thinking. Second, we're going at 5:00 so get to bed early. Or sleep in. I know what I would do. If you would like to be a spectator and cheer on not just me, but Mark, Keith, Paul, Sonya, and maybe Wynn, feel free to come on down.

I will draw some inspiration from Meghan who managed to accomplish the task under similar circumstances a month ago. In preparation, I have been wearing two long sleeves and a sweatshirt the past couple days while driving around with the heater on. Katie is not amused.

Weather

2008-07-28T10:12:00.001-04:00

Please go down. Please go down. Please go down...

From the Star Tribune:

While actual air temperatures will be in the upper 80s to low 90s Thursday through Sunday, it will feel five to 10 degrees warmer as heat indexes -- summer's version of winter's wind chill -- will reach into the upper 90s by Saturday, Hultquist said.

Fantastic.

UPDATE: It keeps getting better....

From the Star Tribune again:

An air pollution health advisory is in effect for the southern two-thirds of the state.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) said that the advisory covers the Twin Cities, Rochester, St. Cloud, Duluth and the Brainerd lakes area and will remain in effect until Saturday.

People with respiratory or cardiovascular problems, young children, the elderly, and individuals whom are physically active are considered especially sensitive to elevated levels of air pollution.

Sharper

2008-07-21T12:42:00.000-04:00

July 14 - July 20 (2008)

Monday, 7/14
Day Off

Tuesday, 7/15
am: Run - 1:12:01
pm: Run - 44:48

Wednesday, 7/16
am: Run - 20 min tempo run 5:16 (151) , 5:17 (164), 5:19 (164), +4:01 (164)
pm: Run - 2x200-200-400, 1X200-200 (33.2, 32.3, 65.4, 32.8, 32.0, 64.8, 31.0, 30.1)

Thursday, 7/17
am: Run - 1:19:32

Friday, 7/18
am: Run - 12x400 w/ 100m jog rec
1:14.9 (138) 1:13.2 (151) 1:13.3 (154) 1:13.5 (157)
1:14.2 (160) 1:13.0 (161) 1:13.5 (161) 1:13.2 (162)
1:12.6 (164) 1:11.3 (166) 1:09.8 (168) 1:06.2 (169)

Saturday, 7/19
am: Run - 1:00:00

Sunday, 7/13
am: Run - 10M (65:00), 5k (16:02, 166 bpm), 7+M

Total miles for the week: 83

Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show

2008-07-21T09:55:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the weekend is busier than the work week. Starting at 4:00 on Friday it felt as if we never stopped moving. First up was a trip to Eau Claire Friday evening for Country Jam. A fun atmosphere, but I must say that Big and Rich embodied just about every negative stereotype of country music culture, not to mention the fact that they weren't entertaining in the least. We drove back after the show, getting back into the Cities at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning I got up early and ran with Wynn at Lake Calhoun so we could work out logistics for the 100k race on August 2. After that was Highland Fest, the local community gathering in our new neighborhood, where I purchased the longest bratwurst ever and Katie was accosted by a woman who was fascinated that they had the same hair color. Then we were off to a wedding reception for one of Katie's coworkers, after which we drove to Coon Rapids for a going away bonfire for Katie, getting to bed around 12:30 a.m.

Now we're starting to get tired, but WAIT! There is more! Sunday I rose early to put in 10 miles before running the Highland Fest 5k, which I ran in a relaxed 16:02 followed by another 7 miles. Shower. Katie's uncle's birthday party. Pazzaluna with my family to celebrate my sister's birthday. And then....the man who is forever in blue jeans...Neil Diamond at the Xcel. Even though we were dragging a bit, the show was fantastic. It was his second show of the weekend, but we heard that he didn't play many of the old standards at the first show. Not so last night. Cherry, Cherry. Cracklin Rosie. Thank The Lord For the Night Time. Love on the Rocks. Play Me. Solitary Man. I'm A Believer. And of course, Sweet Caroline. The greatest thing about Neil Diamond is how committed he is to the performance. For You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore, he started the song slouched at a white-clothed lounge table with a bottle of wine. The man looked in pain when he sang I Am, I Said. And he was wistful as he talked his way through Brooklyn Roads. I know I'm being greedy, especially when he played two hours without an intermission, but Shilo, Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon, The Boat That I Row, and Kentucky Woman didn't make in on the set list last night. I guess he did need to make some room for the songs of his new album. Oh well, his voice is still so powerful, I don't see him hanging it up anytime soon.

I will say that he didn't tell any stories like this:

And Here We Go....

2008-07-14T03:00:00.000-04:00

And now for reality...

Improvements

2008-07-13T17:11:00.000-04:00

July 7 - July 13 (2008)

Monday, 7/7
am: Run - 1:20:01
pm: Run - 43:35

Tuesday, 7/8
am: Run - 8x1k on 5 minutes (avg. 3:12.2, avg HR 154)
pm: Run - 47:12
I was not all that chipper on the warm-up today, but once the workout started I managed to find a rhythm.

03:14.7 148
03:13.7 153
03:14.6 154
03:14.0 155
03:13.8 155
03:12.9 155
03:10.2 157
03:04.1 157

Wednesday, 7/9
am: Run - 2:04:28 (avg HR 137)
Ran the same course as two weeks ago (2:10:35).

Thursday, 7/10
am: Run - 1:07:38 (avg HR 123)
pm: Run - 45:22
Feeling a little rough after the past two hard days I made a promise to myself to go as easy as possible. I managed to keep the pace over 7:00 and was rewarded with a good run in the afternoon.

Friday, 7/11
am: Run - 2M warmup, 6.5M progression run, 1.5M cooldown (avg 5:31.2, HR 158)
05:51.8 146
05:46.5 150
05:36.0 153
05:38.5 159
05:18.3 165
05:09.9 169
02:31.9 162

I was supposed to start out at 6:00, but as usual, I got out too fast. I corrected it a little bit over the next two miles, but mile 4 I just lost focus. I wasn't able to smoothly drop the pace. I got back on pace for miles 5 and 6, but going into mile 7 I started to feel a little nauseous. After running for about 30 seconds I had to stop and dry heave a little bit. I don't know what caused it, but since my last mile was supposed to be 5:00 and there was no chance I was going to hit that, I didn't feel too bad about pulling the plug. After jogging for a few minutes I decided to close it out with a faster half-mile and managed to hit the approximate pace.

Saturday, 7/12
am: Run - 1:00:32
Got up early for a Saturday so I could get my run in and Katie and I could go watch the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon.

Sunday, 7/13
am: Run - 3:16:53 (50k, avg HR 146)
Same run as two weeks ago, with a little extra added on to make an official 50k. In contrast to the first two long runs I did out here, I tried to push the pace this time around in order to get some fatigue in my legs and force myself to push through it. I managed that with pretty good results.

No I just have to manage to run that 10-15 minutes slower and repeat.
http://www.4shared.com/dir/8246983/ecd0dcce/sharing.html

If anyone wants more information or to help out feel free to email me.

Total miles for the week: 120

We Are (Not) Going To Be Friends

2008-07-08T12:27:00.000-04:00

The Yoopers

2008-07-06T19:33:00.000-04:00

June 30 - July 6 (2008)

Monday, 6/30
am: Elliptical - 45 min
Easy day following the long run on yesterday. Stomach is getting worse and since "abdominal pain" is a symptom for everything, I bit the bullet and made a doctor appt. for what is just a case of being "backed up".

Today Katie and I drove to Houghton, MI for her interview at Michigan Tech. We're both excited, not only for the interview, to visit Houghton. It seems very similar to Duluth, where we spent our college years (and I a few years more than that). Since I won't be the one interviewing I should have plenty of free time to explore the area.

Tuesday, 7/1
am: Run - 1:12:30
pm: Run - 48:00

Houghton is pretty great. Small town, beautiful views. Pretty active downtown, free of chain stores. Country roads and cross country ski trails. As good as advertised.

Katie began her all-day, 12-hour interview with breakfast. I headed out early so I would be back to see her off. Looking at the map prior to our trip I had highlighted a general road route that I wanted to traverse that included Paradise Rd. How could I not run on Paradise Rd., especially when the terrain profile showed a good size hill that looked about the same length as my favorite hill in Duluth, 40th Ave W.

I misjudged where I needed to go starting out so I ended up adding some distance running around Tech's upper campus. I ran for a short time on the cross-country ski trails/snowshoe/mtn bike trails. No surprise that these were first rate given that Tech has a first class nordic ski team. Of course good snow sport teams means you get a lot of snow, so I may have to add snowshoeing to my winter training regimen if we end up here.

Paradise Rd was beautiful, but had a bit more traffic than I figured it would. It reminded me a bit of Jean Duluth, only narrower so traffic traveled a little slower. The direction I ran had me descending the big hill initially, but at the bottom I took a hard left and headed up Pilgrim Rd. Now this was more like it, a nice long climb on a quiet road with wide open views of the hill country. It was quite a run.

At 9:00 I took a tour of the campus that the selection committee had signed me up for. It was little weird to be touring with prospective students, but I got to see the tallest building on the UP and eat in the dining center (pretty good food). After lunch I met up with Katie and some of the Tech staff to take a tour of the place we would be living on-campus and then a driving tour of the Houghton/Hancock metropolis. We did make it the drive out to Lake Superior which kind of felt like a homecoming. It still looks big.

After that Katie went on her merry way to more interviews and finally dinner to conclude her long day. I ran a roundabout, out-and-back along the bike/running path along Portage Lake. I felt a little warm and my HR was little high, but I also think I was cranking the pace a little bit. Running in a strange land can sort throw off my perception of how fast I'm running.

For dinner I picked up a little Chinese food and then made a stop by Jims Foodmart for some treats for Katie. While there I saw for the first time, actual aluminum and plastic recycling machines. I couldn't help but think of the Seinfeld where Kramer and Newman had the scheme to load up a USPS truck with bottles and cans and truck them to Michigan because they got 10 cents per. That ended with JFK's golf clubs stuck in the truck's grill and Newman running from the shotgun toting farmer. Ah, good times.

Wednesday, 7/2
am: Run - 10M incl 8x 3on/2off fartlek.
pm: Run - 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 fast ladder (6M)
The morning run went well as I felt strong and smooth the whole way. The nice thing about fartleks is that I don't obsess about pace. I just focus on running as fast as I can comfortably and with good form. I squeezed this workout in before we sadly departed Houghton and made the long trek back to Minnesota. When we got back I went directly to my doctor appointment where it was confirmed that my issues were pretty simple (that was quite an x-ray). He recommended some over the counter stuff that I should take with prune juice. Should be a fun 4th!
The p.m. session was short and sweet.
100-17.2
200-34.4
300-49.7
400-65.6
300-50.5
200-32.4
100-15.4

It wasn't too hard, but I sure am rusty.

Thursday, 7/3
am: Run - 1:48:35
Back to work for one day. I'm going to be spoiled on this vacation thing. Would have liked to go a little longer today, but it felt more cautious to cut back the mid-week long run this time around. It will be back up there again next week.

Friday, 7/4
am: Run - 61:35
Just an easy run today and some good grilling.

Saturday, 7/5
am: Run - 10M+(65:27), 8M MP (avg: 5:34), 2M+ cooldown
A big improvement on the last time I did this workout. I felt much more in control and averaged a faster pace for two extra miles.
5:31.1 (155)
5:35.9 (157)
5:36.9 (158)
5:37.6 (158)
5:34.1 (160)
5:32.1 (162)
5:35.4 (164)
5:32.3 (164)

Sunday, 7/6
am: Run - 60:45
Things are starting to heat up around here. I didn't get out to run until about 10:00 and the temp was already in the mid-80's. Thats pretty steamy for around here, considering we've had idyllic weather for the last month. I felt good starting out, but as the run went on I went a little flat. Back to work for good tomorrow. Aye *wince*

Total miles for the week: 90

Happy 4th.

2008-07-03T15:22:00.000-04:00

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Racing Sensations and Stomach Problems

2008-07-01T14:12:00.001-04:00

June 23 - June 29 (2008)

Monday, 6/23
am: Run - 1:19
pm: Run - 36:00
Felt average. Nothing to report.

Tuesday, 6/24
am: Run - 12x400 w/ 100m recovery (avg 74.9)
pm: Run - 27:30

75.1 (143), 76.0 (156), 75.2 (161), 76.2 (161)

75.7 (164), 76.0 (164), 75.0 (165), 76.5 (165)

75.1 (167), 74.8 (167), 74.4 (168), 69.1 (169)

I went with the workout in the morning for a couple different reasons. First, it made more sense to do the hard workout prior to spending the day cleaning, lifting and what-not. Second, the temps are always a little better in the a.m. And finally, I figured I might be a little more conservative with pace since I don't usually feel as "springy" in the morning. The workout went about how I expected it to. The pace felt good, not strained. I recovered during between intervals. It was slower than I usually start out with this workout (avg 72-74 typically), but I'm obviously not sharp right now (nor should I be) and this was an a.m. workout when I usually do it in the p.m.

Wednesday, 6/25
am: Run - 2:10:45 (HR Avg 137)
Trying to work the back-to-back days this time around. I really didn't feel too bad today, which is good because the volumed of hard work yesterday was low. I did make the mistake of not bringing a water bottle along, so I suffered a bit the last couple miles. Closed out the run with some 6:00 miles which felt absolutely relaxed from a turnover standpoint. Progress.

Thursday, 6/26
am: Run - 62:08
pm: Run - 34:24
Took it easy today. Nothing much else to say about that. Back to work (actual job) today. Thus ends my tenure as a mover, for now. Good riddance.

Friday, 6/27
am: Run - 61:01
Another easy day. Since we'll be in Eau Claire tomorrow to return Dad's truck I am replacing my scheduled MP workout today with the RCU Charity Classic 10k tomorrow. Time to find out where I'm at. Day 1 of stomach problems. Constant cramping and sharp pains.

Saturday, 6/28
am: Run - RCU Charity Classic 10k (33:26)
Mile 1 - 5:08
Mile 2 - 5:14 (HR Avg for 1&2 172bpm)
Mile 3 - 5:22.1 (172)
Mile 4 - 5:26.2 (170)
Mile 5 - 5:26.2 (170)
Mile 6 - 5:26.6 (171)

Felt good warming up. Not necessarily fast, but no soreness anywhere and my legs had a bit of that springy feeling that is nice to have prior to a race. I didn't know who would show up as far as competition. This race can be won in anywhere from 31:00 to 35:00 depending on the year. Goals for the race where to not go over the edge and hopefully run close t0 33:00. Off the starting line a young buck in a UW Oshkosh jersey shot out along with Rich Maleniak, a former UWEC runner. Vaguely recalling some results from earlier in the year, I guessed Rich was in pretty good shape and would be out front. I tucked in with those two and pulled through the first mile in 5:08. I was surprised to find that pace didn't feel all that bad. Of course mile 1 ends right at the base of the Carson Park hill. I chased Rich up and then watched his heels kick away from me over the top. See you at the finish (31:45). I worked on recovering to an acceptable comfort level over mile #2 and came through the first 5k loop hoping I could avoid letting the pace lag to much on the out and back second 5k. I could hold the pace I was running pretty well, but an attempt to surge was met with heaving breathing and rigging arms. I thought I could make a good run at 33:00 once I hit the turnaround, but it was not to be. I am not able to tap those other gears yet. In a few weeks I hope that will be a different story, but for now I'll have to be content with where I'm at.

Day 2 of stomach problems. Curiously absent during the warm-up and race, but excruciating the rest of the day. In short, and I apologize for the details, I can't go #2. I don't know if that is related to the stomach problems, but the only relief I seem to find is if I lie down on my side. If anyone has any experience with this sort of issue please pass along your wisdom.

Sunday, 6/29
am: Run - 3:23:58, 10XLake Calhoun Loop ~50k (HR Avg 142)
How frustrating. I woke up with two distinct sensations: agonizing pain in my stomach and absolute loosey-goosey, lets-get-out-the-door-and-hammer in my legs. Long-long run on the schedule today and it took me over an hour to decide if starting the run was the right decision. Since I planned on loops at Lake Calhoun again I figured it would be easy enough to pull the plug if things went south during the run.

I started out feeling pretty average. The first couple laps as I warmed up I had those divergent feelings again. My legs felt better and better. My stomach felt worse and worse. Coming through 25k (5 laps) I was suffering, but I decided to give it one more lap. I figured 30k would be 2:00 and I could live with that.

I couldn't tell you when it happened, but sometime during laps 6 or 7 all symptoms disappeared and I ran on feeling great and churning out 6:30-6:40 pace with ease. (note: the pain came back with a vengeance post run and is still bothering me, but maybe getting better. Can't tell yet.)

With the pain gone I focused on running sensible 100k pace for the rest of the run. My plan as I laid out my schedule was to have two long-long runs where I ran the same pace as I would for the first 50k of a 100k race. Nothing faster than 6:40/mile (just under 7 hr 100k pace). Today that fell apart a little bit, but I did manage to keep it somewhat in check and when I did an assessment at the end of the run I think I could have done 1.5-2 more laps at that pace and effort. My goal is to get to 80k with something approaching that pace/feeling. I've got some work to do.

Total miles for the week: 116

Italian Spiderman Demands Respect of Women, Hits Woman, Demands She Make Him A Macchiato

2008-06-26T17:15:00.000-04:00

Lost Emoticons

2008-06-26T15:33:00.000-04:00

I've been passing the time lately following this website:

http://www.lostinemoticons.com/

Its basically IMs between a girl and her Chinese mother who doesn't speak very good english.

Vacation Is Hard/New Routes

2008-06-22T22:49:00.001-04:00

June 16 - June 22 (2008)

Monday, 6/16
am: Run - 36:16
My first day of pseudo-vacation. I won't be going out of town, just moving our belongings from Minneapolis to St Paul. Its a whole whopping 1.5 miles away. That said I went into work with the intention of leaving by 10:00, but finally gave up and shoved off at noon to pick up our apartment keys and then drive to Eau Claire in order to exchange the Subaru for my parents Mazda truck. Some vacation.

I showed up at Lifetime planning on doing my usual 60 min on the elliptical, but decided to join the a.m. crew going for an easy 4-5 miles. It felt good for my legs after yesterdays 3+ hour run.

Oh yeah, its my wife's birthday. We celebrated by moving a dining room table and living room furniture. Feliz cumpleanos.

Tuesday, 6/17
am: Run - 1:20:17
pm: Run - 36:21
Run. Move. Run. Move some more. Collapse

Wednesday, 6/18
am: Run - 57:37 (20 min tempo run, 5:32, 5:31, 5:30)
pm: moving
Absolutely worn out from yesterday and the foolish notion that I could do 2xdays and move heavy furniture and boxes. I was a little sluggish going into the tempo run, but actually felt really good. I forgot to wear my HRM so I don't have that data to compare, but the cooldown felt pretty relaxed so I don't think I redlined it. Decided against an easy 5 miles in the p.m. because I just needed to accept that the move needs to get done first.

Thursday, 6/19
am: Run - 1:20:14 (HR avg 136)
pm: Still moving.
One of the nice things about moving, but also moving to someplace nearby is that I get to run familiar routes and explore new twists. Today I tracked a new route over roads that I didn't run as much when I lived across the river. I ran the paved trail from Hidden Falls Regional Park to Crosby Farm Park and then up Montreal Ave to Edgcumbe. From there I made my way north through Highland Park to Summit Ave, down to the River Road and back to Ford Parkway. I felt amazing today. The last mile of the run was 6:22 at an average HR of 141. That is starting to get back into the "fit" range for myself.

Friday, 6/20
am: Run - 1:19:21 (HR avg 139)
pm: Still moving?
I liked the route from yesterday so much that I decided to go for it again today.

Saturday, 6/21
am: Run - 1:54 (10M moderate +5M marathon pace +3M easy)
10M in 65:07 - HR avg 139
5M -5:42 (156), 5:40 (159), 5:45 (160), 5:38 (160), 5:35 (162)
The whole run went well. The first three miles were into the wind and the last two were with hit, hence the faster splits. I still felt in control however. Ran into Fargo Marathon runner-up Brian Anderson during my cooldown and had a nice chat.

Sunday, 6/15
am: Run - 69 min
Just a relaxed recovery run. I was feeling some of the effects from yesterdays workout + more moving. Hopefully we'll be done Monday. Then it will just be some cleaning left to do and I'll finally have some quality vacation time (i.e. run, eat, nap, Wii, nap, run, eat...) for a couple days.

Total miles for the week: 82

I'm On Vacation

2008-06-16T10:57:00.001-04:00

Float On

2008-06-16T10:27:00.001-04:00

June 9 - June 15 (2008)

Monday, 6/9
After just an awful night of sleep (hot and humid) I decided against going for a run this morning. Afternoon didn't work either since I had a massage therapy appointment. Oh well.

Tuesday, 6/10
am: Run - 37:30
pm: Run - 5x1000m on 5 minutes (avg 3:18)
I had a range of intervals I hoped to finish (5-8) so long as I recovered to 120 bpm between reps. In fact I was basically at 120 after #5, but I decided to be conservative this go around. My stride felt really good and I started each interval strong, but I wasn't able to carry that strength through the whole interval. That will come with time I'm sure.

Wednesday, 6/11
am: Run - 37min
pm: Run - 1:31
Felt really loose this morning after last nights workout. I didn't notice very much sluggishness, just the usual morning stiffness that I seem to have no matter what. I almost had to run through another downpour during the evening run, but it held off and I stayed dry for the most part. I ended up keeping a pretty good pace.

Thursday, 6/12
am: Run - 37:30
pm: Run - 61 min + strides and leg drills
Since I've gone back to running twice per day this week I've been feeling a little better. My body seems to like the rhythm of two-a-days, within reason of course. That said, I was pretty sluggish today. It may be catching up with me. But at the same time there is a certain sensation that tells me I just need to go easy today and I'll feel better tomorrow.

Friday, 6/13
am: Run - 36 min
pm: Run - 11 mi w/ 7mi @ "marathon pace" (5:38-5:51, avg 162 bpm)
This workout went about as well as I could have expected given my lack of sharpness. It was a little windy today, but it didn't have too much of an effect on the run. Overall I felt pretty strong until the last mile which I ran relaxed, but slowed down to 5:51. I'm going to have to check my ego the first few weeks of this speed stuff, because its plainly obvious that I've got a long ways to go to get back where I was last year.

Saturday, 6/14
am: Run - 69 min
With a long, long run tomorrow I kept it short and relaxed today. Hard to tell how I felt today because it was hot and windy by the time I got out the door. Taking the conditions out of the equation I still feel like I was a little on the tired side after last nights tempo run and the easy day did me some good.

Sunday, 6/15
am: Run - 3:07 (28 miles, 9xLake Calhoun loop)
I got through 8 laps feeling good, but then started to wear down a little bit the last lap while maintaining the same pace (6:40/mi). I also was starting to have a little trouble absorbing the fluids I was drinking. I was thirsty and needed the sugar, but everything seemed to sit in my stomach - ala my first Ed Fitz where I threw up at 30k. I will definitely have to work that out because its impossible to run a good 100k without adequate fluid and calorie intake, no matter what kind of shape you're in.

Total miles for the week: 101 miles

Treadmill For Sale

2008-06-10T07:42:00.000-04:00

June 15 Katie and I will be moving to a new, smaller apartment over in Highland Park. A small enough apartment that we have to downsize our "stuff", including our treadmill. If anyone is interested in getting a quality treadmill at a low low price feel free to contact me. Here are the details:

Pacemaster Gold Elite
purchased from 2nd Wind Fitness in 2006
website: http://www.2ndwindexercise.com/catalog/pm-gold.html
bought it for $2100, selling for $950 obo
Max speed: 12 mph (5:00/mile)
Max incline: 15%

Ow, My Balls!

2008-06-09T11:05:00.000-04:00

http://view.break.com/516659 - Watch more free videos

If we bury a time capsule containing Youtube videos representative of our time, I contend this video should represent "The Nutshot".

Thats More Like It

2008-06-08T16:27:00.000-04:00

June 2 - June 8 (2008)

Monday, 6/2
am: Run - 63 min
I had to get out and at least see how my foot was feeling. Starting out it was tenuous, but as the run went along it felt better and better. It didn't inhibit my stride at all and there was just some faint stiffness towards the end. Maybe I dodged a bullet.

Tuesday, 6/3
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 1:52
Sore foot starting out in the afternoon, but once again it was completely gone for the majority of the run. Only as I was running the last 1/2 mile at a little faster pace did I start to feel it again. Something to keep an eye on and continue to ice, even if it feels better. Overall my stride felt fantastic. It feels as though its changed somehow. My knee lift is more relaxed and I feel it coming from my hip/core area. We'll see how it translates once I'm doing more uptempo running, but for now its a sweet feeling.

Wednesday, 6/4
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 62 min incl 2 mile evaluation run (11:00, avg 160 bpm)
I'm definitely in a rhythm now. I'm past the period where every run is a battle and have settled into a comfortable schedule that I feel is allowing adequate recovery. Even so, I did have to concentrate a bit more during the evaluation run tonight. Everything still felt good and I actually ran more evenly than last week.

Thursday, 6/5
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 1:50 (return to 110 bpm in :27)

Quite a soaker out there tonight. At times the rain was pretty heavy and the thunder seemed to be on top of me, but eventually it let up. Everything was there tonight: stride, breathing, etc. I have no idea what I could run for a 5k right now, but training-wise I'm getting back to normal.

Friday, 6/6
am: Run - 42 min
With dinner plans after work and feeling a little tired I decided to forgo the usual hour on the elliptical and get my run in early. Even feeling tired my pace was easier and faster than the past few weeks.

Saturday, 6/7
am: Run - 1:54 (25k at Afton)
Met up with Wynn at Afton for another round of masochism. Definitely didn't feel as beat up after the run today, but it was a pretty hard effort. Those hills are beasts. I was a little more spritely on the downhills this go around.

Sunday, 6/8
am: Run - 2:41 (~24M, return to 110 bpm in 1:10)
Good capper to the week and the longest run I have done in a long, long time. Considering the effort I put in at Afton yesterday I was surprised how good I felt through most of the run. Only started to feel a little heavy the last 20 minutes, but I also ran 6:10's the last two miles.

Total miles for the week: 96

Setback

2008-06-04T15:17:00.000-04:00

May 26 - June 1 (2008)

Monday, 5/26
am: Run - 2:20
Great run, all things considered. Ran over to Lake Nokomis and then numerous laps while I cheered for runners in the Brian Kraft 5k. It was a little bittersweet watching the race since I've run it almost every year since 2000, but it is what it is. Didn't really ever have a "down" spot during the run. And most importantly I left the lake loop to run home still eager for more (as opposed to counting the minutes until I was done).

Tuesday, 5/27
pm: Run - 45 min
Felt okay. Good filler/recovery run.

Wednesday, 5/28
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 1:01 incl 2 mile Evaluation Run (11:01, avg 162 bpm)
Another good day. I figured I can't go on just building volume forever. I need some sort of marker of improvement (or staleness). I plan to repeat the run each of the next four weeks and hope I see a lower HR at the same pace.

Thursday, 5/29
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 1:53
A small step towards improvement. The legs felt a little perkier than usual due to the evaluation run last night. I forgot my HR monitor strap so I went more by feel, however I did end up pushing a little more than normal. The last two miles were 6:18 and 6:03, both comfortably hard and didn't involve picking up the pace a whole lot. I would estimate I was in the 6:30/mile range most of the run, which is quite a drop in pace over the past few weeks.

Friday, 5/30
pm: Run - 45 min
Bad Day. For some reason my left foot/ankle bothered me. No real reason. I suppose the preceding two days were a little more intense than I'm used to, but I never felt anything before today. It was hard to walk on most of the day. After escaping the Convention, I decided to go for a short run to test it out. Hurt worse at the beginning of the run, but then warmed up a little bit. Still it never felt quite right. And I was having such a good week of running.

Saturday, 5/31
Out with a foot.

Sunday, 6/1
Again...out with a foot. I tried to go, but it just wasn't right. To describe the pain it feels like some instances where I tie my shoe laces too tight and bruise the top. The only difference is I seem to a bit swollen just above the ankle (tibialis anterior, or there abouts). By the end of the day, after some icing and elevation it was feeling somewhat better.

Total miles for the week: 58 (5 days)

What Part Of "Share The Road"...

2008-06-03T10:18:00.000-04:00

Fear And Loathing In Rochester, MN

2008-06-02T10:13:00.000-04:00

Friday evening I made the pronouncement to my wife that the events of the day had made it one of the worst of my life. After this weekend I can say that I could go my entire life without hearing the following phrases again:

1. "Presumptive nominee"
2. "Point of order"
3. "DIVISION!!"
4a. "I move to suspend the rules of the convention."
4b. "Second"
4c. "All those in favor of suspending the rules of the convention?"
4d. "Those opposed?
4e. "Motion fails"
5a. "Conservative Coalition"
5b. "Conservative Conscience Coalition"

If you can't tell, I spent the better part of a beautiful Friday in Rochester, MN at the State GOP Convention. I was planning on staying through Saturday's session, but about 4:00 p.m., listening to Norm Coleman spew his special brand of snake oil ("I bring people together to get things done" *gag*) I had to walk out on my delegation. My heart was racing with anger and disappointment, not at the results of the day to that point, but at the atmosphere and the way in which "real" Republicans responded to newcomers (Ron Paul Republicans).

I went there somewhat optimistically, hoping that this would be a positive experience and I would learn a lot about the process. While I was successful in accomplishing the latter, I didn't like what I saw. I should have seen it coming when Dr. Paul was barred from speaking at the convention. He showed up anyway and gave a very moving speech in a park near the convention site just before the call to order. I can't speak for my fellow delegates, but I went in very motivated and ready to engage the establishment. We didn't want to be disruptive, but rather, as Dr. Paul put it, disturb them a little bit.

Well walking into the convention hall I was quickly overwhelmed with what we were up against. Party regulars/traditional Republican, whatever you want to call them, had learned from the gains we had made at the caucuses and district conventions. Now they had there own slate of delegates to vote for to the national convention and they had it posted on big red banners hanging on each side of the stage (Conservative Coalition)- the implication: vote for these real Republicans. It wasn't illegal, but I wonder if the Paul delegates had attempted the same trick, would it have been allowed?

Unfortunately it was downhill from there. Bickering on both sides for the next few hours. We tried to change the rules to allow nominations from the floor and lost. That meant that the only nominees for delegates to the RNC would come from the Nominating Committee and in a move that surprised no one, all 14 of the Conservative Coalition were on the ballot and only five Paul-sympathetic delegates appeared. It was a blow, but it wasn't unexpected.

Then it got petty. Mccain supporters complained that there was delegate campaign literature being distributed that did not have the proper wording at the bottom ("Paid for by" or "Message approved by"). Of course some of those flyers were for Ron Paul delegates. McCains supporters demanded that the Sergeant-At-Arms collect every piece of literature that did not conform and destroy them (at the last call there were 1700 delegates seated - good luck with that). Also they demanded that anyone distributing "illegal" flyers be removed from the convention. This was seriously a 45-60 min debate that had nothing to do with convention business. Then others fought back (maybe Paul supporters, maybe not) bringing attention to the fact that Mccain supporters were walking down the aisles holding up a green "Yes" or red "No" card during votes. This led to a physical confrontation behind me as someone "turned-in" a Mccain-hat wearing supporter carrying the damning evidence in his pocket.

By 4:00 I was stressed, I was tired, and I didn't want to be there anymore. So I walked out. I'm a bit ashamed because it gives the appearance that I'm protesting that we lost. But going in we knew it would a tough road and we probably wouldn't come out with more that one or two delegates. What bothered me was the atmosphere. I naively thought that the debate would be interesting, but in actuality it was a lot bickering over parliamentary rules. I also didn't like the fact that there was so much bad-mouthing of Ron Paul supporters. The GOP wants the appearance of a big tent, but the real culture is one of "tow the party line or else".

I left Friday disillusioned. I feel like there is nowhere to go. Either Democrat candidate will bankrupt the country. The Republican candidate will bankrupt the country. The Green Party will REALLY bankrupt the country. Nobody is addressing the real issues facing America - the devaluation of our dollar, massive debt obligations, and a foreign policy that only exacerbates the problem. Basically we're screwed no matter who gets elected. What to do, what to do.

Go for a run?

Sly Dog

2008-06-01T09:04:00.000-04:00

His wife must have said something.

How To Make A Chemistry Exam Fun

2008-05-28T20:49:00.000-04:00

Hey, he got 100 out of 100. Can't argue with results.

Coming Together

2008-05-27T11:59:00.000-04:00

May 19 - May 25 (2008)

Monday, 5/19
am: Elliptical - 60 min
Keeping my Mondays light for the time being.

Tuesday, 5/20
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 1:33
Felt really good coming off Monday.

Wednesday, 5/21
am: Run - 37:34
pm: Run - 36:55
First day with two runs. Didn't feel so hot during the day (tight), but once I started the p.m. run everything felt great.

Thursday, 5/22
am: REST
pm: Run - 1:36
Took the morning off. Ran home from work and met up with Katie who biked with me on the Ford Parkway/Lake St loop.

Friday, 5/23
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 60 min (incl 5xhill sprints)
Another good day. Pace felt more comfortable, dare I say "easy" for once.

Saturday, 5/24
am: Run - 1:56:35 (15.5 miles on trails)
My first foray at Afton this year. I was hoping to run under two hours for one loop of the race course. The hills were brutal steep, but somehow didn't see as long as before. The calves paid for it though. It actually got quite warm by the end of the run, so I truly got a taste of what the race would be like. Now I just need to manage another loop.

Sunday, 5/25
am: Run - 46 min
Recovery run as I aim to get my first 20mi run on Memorial Day.

Total miles for the week: 67

Screw "Deal Or No Deal"

2008-05-21T11:07:00.000-04:00

This is the most exciting news I've heard in awhile. Any regular peruser of the interwebs has undoubtedly witnessed the splendor of Japanese game shows. Finally, an American network has wised up - and you just knew it had to be FOX.

NOW CASTING HOLE IN THE WALL

The TV phenomenon sweeping the globe is finally making its way to American television! Hole In The Wall (a.k.a. HUMAN TETRIS) is the most downloaded Japanese game show ever on the net. Now FremantleMedia, the company behind American Idol, is looking for trios (friends, co-workers, spouses, etc) to take part in one of the most outrageous, funny, and challenging game shows ever seen on television!

http://www.fox.com/hitw.htm

Here is a clip of Hole In The Wall along with a couple other shows that I hope make it over here (especially the last one).

If only this one were real:

Chris Farley on a Japanese game show

I Thought He Only Rapped About Butts and Buttermilk Biscuits

2008-05-19T15:37:00.000-04:00

In honor of Iron Man reaching $200 Million - $30 of which came from the Russell household over two viewings.

Up And Down

2008-05-19T13:53:00.000-04:00

Monday, 5/12
am: Elliptical - 60 min
Planned cross-training day after the "long" run the previous day

Tuesday, 5/13
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 60 min
Pace was relatively quick and everything felt relatively good, so....relatively good run, I guess.

Wednesday, 5/14
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 60 min
A little sluggish as the past two days were a) my first back-to-back 60 min runs and b) first two-a-day workouts. Hamstring is fluctuating between really good and so-so.

Thursday, 5/15
Katie had to be at the airport by 7:30 to fly to Pullman, WA for a job interview. Also, I had a PT appointment in the afternoon, so I took a zero for the day. The zeros have been fewer and fewer as I felt better, so I don't stress about them as much.

Friday, 5/16
am: Elliptical - 60 min
pm: Run - 50 min
Hamstring is about the same, but I'll take it for now. The most encouraging sign is how I feel after my runs. Prior to taking the break I had lingering pain and stiffness after every run. Now I have very little stiffness and no real pain.

Saturday, 5/17
am: Run - 35 min + 5xhill sprints
Busy day. Katie's plane from Washington was to arrive at 5:45 a.m., but was delayed until 7:00. We then had to get showered, eat breakfast and hustle to her graduation ceremony at 10:00. She is now a Master. After that we had family over to grill out and celebrate.

Sunday, 5/18
am: Run - 1:45 (~15M)
No real weak spots in this run. Hamstring was about the same, maybe a little better than last week. Last mile was right around 6:00 with HR at 159 bpm. Hopefully in a couple weeks the HR will be somewhere in the 140's at that pace. Recovered to 110 bpm in :45 which is much improved over last week.

Total miles for the week: ~45

The Routine

2008-05-16T10:46:00.001-04:00

love2run asked about what kind of exercises I have been doing to mend my injury. Here is the circuit I do with a little explanation:

1. Standing One Leg Stretch w/ Rotation:

Standing, extend one leg onto the seat of a chair or any raised surface and bend forward into a nice stretch. Then start rotating the leg outwards and inwards. 20-30 repetitions. My main issue has been with the piriformis muscle in my butt and the sciatic nerve. By doing this stretch with the rotation the nerve is stretched as well.

2. Side to side monster walk:

A pretty tight ankle resistance band is need for this one. Step into the band so that it is looped around the ankles. Stand with legs shoulder width apart and squat, keeping the back as upright as possible without losing balance. Now step side to side, while keeping the squat. This works the gluteus muscles. My hips are really weak, especially the left (problem side), so I have excessive hip rotation contributing to the hamstring/gluteus issue.

3. One legged squat:

Self-explanatory really, but focus on pushing up through the heel of the foot and using the hamstring/gluteus and not so much the quad.

4. One-legged bridging:

From the standard "bridge" position, alternate extending one leg and holding for 5 seconds. I sucked at this one initially, but have seen some improvement each week. The key is to not use your hamstring on the support leg, but to "push" up with your butt and hold it there. Bread and butter core exercise.

5. Pretzel stretch:

Start with both legs bent and bring the ankle of one foot to rest on the knee of the other. Lift the bent leg towards the chest. Should feel the stretch in the hip and the groin. Hold for 30 seconds.

6. Side Plank

Pretty standard core exercise. Hold for 10-60 seconds on each side.

7. Leg extension

Lying on your stomach, use the glute and glute only to lift your leg off the floor and hold for 5 seconds. 5-10 repetitions, both legs.

8. Downward Facing Dog

Yoga pose that stretches the lower back, butt, hamstring calf.

So thats the circuit. I'm doing it through two times after I run, but I'll probably add another circuit this week. The one prescribed exercise I haven't been able to work in yet, but I think I might be ready, is bridging one-legged curls on the fit ball. The pain was too much initially, but like I said, I'm close. I'd also think adding in walking lunges would be beneficial.

Housing Crisis Explained

2008-05-15T15:15:00.000-04:00

Last week's This American Life is must listen radio.
The Giant Pool Of Money

David Millar Is Displeased With His Ride

2008-05-15T11:24:00.000-04:00

Actual Running Content

2008-05-12T11:19:00.001-04:00

Hola amigos. Its been awhile since I rapped at ya, but I been putting out fires left and right...

And now I'm done channeling my inner-Jim Anchower.

I am running again and it seems like its going to stick this time. Consequently I feel more motivated to blog about running. Believe me, the past couple months of "activity" would not have been compelling blogging.

When I last visited the topic of running I was dealing with a pesky hamstring injury. It was a sciatic nerve/piriformis deal that didn't respond to stretching, strengthening, or rest. I finally found the right mix of deep-tissue therapy (very painful) and core/gluteus exercises that seemsto have me on the road to pain-free running. And that has resulted in my first "full" week of consecutive running days. I'm out of shape, for sure, and racing is a ways off yet, but getting back aerobic fitness will be much easier now that I'm close to healthy.

So with almost full confidence in my legs, I'm ramping up my per-day mileage and adding on cross-training (elliptical) six days per week. I'm going to restart by building on the Lydiard 100-mile/week platform, albeit with shorter runs for now. I had an up and down 90 minutes on Sunday, but it gave me encouragement because my hamstring felt best towards the end of the run.

So, to summarize, things are looking up running-wise. Its been so long since I've been fit I'm eager to get back to the grind, albeit with a little better sense of how my body is responding to the workload. Ahead of any time/race goals for the near future, I just want to stay healthy.

Thats How You Emfasize You're Point

2008-05-09T17:17:00.000-04:00

I'm convinced.

This Person Exists

2008-04-18T15:50:00.000-04:00

"I hate so much about the things you choose to be..."

Bad Grammar Makes Good Music

2008-03-22T10:40:00.000-04:00

http://www.myspace.com/sheandhim

http://www.mergerecords.com/band.php?band_id=140&

Bathing John Malkovich

2008-03-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

Not a whole lot of running going on lately. I've moved from primarily working out on the elliptical machines to the spin bike. The change has been nice and it has been surprisingly easy to get my heart rate up and keep it up on the bike. I've also been doing some jump rope which has also surprised me with the level of intensity.

I've had two appointments with Toni Dauwalter at Accelerated Sports as well as three massage therapy appointments. The massage has really loosened up some chronically tight areas. The lingering pain in my hamstring is almost gone. It is looking like the hamstring isn't really the issue, but rather my gluteus/piriformis/sciatic nerve that is causing the referred pain. I'm on a regimen of core and gluteus focused exercises. Maybe I'll be able to run a few steps in a couple weeks, but for now I'll have to be happy with the bike/elliptical.

Patience is a virtue I continue to repeat to myself. I'm at the point where I'd rather be running pain-free down the road than managing the pain right now.

Forget Madden

2008-03-09T16:09:00.000-04:00

NFL Crunch Time = Happy Fun Time

Its Aaron Rodgers Time!

2008-03-04T15:06:00.000-05:00

I AM....

2008-02-29T17:39:00.000-05:00

Try finding blog comments regarding this trailer on the internet that don't include the phrase "I have a big f-ing boner". I saw at least three.

Regardless...I have a big f-ing boner.

White Like Me

2008-02-27T16:45:00.000-05:00

"Stuff White People Like" is my new favorite blog. Its my daily Starbucks. While a little cliche at times - I picture the Tracy Jordan stand-up act from 30 Rock, "White people dial a phone like this, Black people dial a phone like THIS - most of the time its hilariously self-deprecating, usually because they're indeed things I like.

Three of my recent favorites:
"#62 Knowing Whats Best For Poor People"
"#69 Mos Def"
"#44 Public Radio"

Katie and I saw "Spirit of the Marathon" last Thursday. I thought it was very well done, as it served to highlight the struggles of both the back-of-the-packer and elite. Flocast, Youtube, etc are great for videos, but there is just something about seeing a feature film on the big screen. Of course it was really big for us because we got there just before the show started and were relegated to the second row. Those seats should be outlawed.

Could it possibly be in theaters a third time? If so, make sure you show up early. If not, I would guess it would be out on DVD (or should we be buying Blu-Ray now?) soon.

"Spirit of the Marathon" sparked some inner dialogue as I contemplated what my long term goals are and how this year fits with them. The first thing I realized was that I really, really love running. The simple act of running brings me a lot of joy. When things are going good, the ratio of positive energy created:energy expended is quite high. That brings me to my second thought/realization: this hamstring injury is taking a little bit of that joy away. I thought if I could continue to run at a moderate level while stretching, lifting weights, and getting therapy, I could heal thyself. But the fact is I'm approaching a year of dealing with this particular hamstring issue and I've had hamstring issues dating all the way back to high school. I have a bunch of theories that I won't detail at this time, but suffice it to say, I need to focus on the healing and less on the running right now.

That may seem obvious to an objective observer (Katie?), but I think I, like a lot of running addicts (and thats what we are), have a hard time being objective.

When pouring over what I would like to accomplish running-wise over the next 3-4 years and what it will take to do it, I kept coming back to the fact that step 1 is get healthy. So I've stopped running for the moment. I've been doing the elliptical machine most days and I've been piecing a good routine of weights, core work and stretching. I've also made a slew of PT appointments with people recommended by some of the Team USA Minnesota members (many thanks to Jason and Kristen).

Too tell the truth I would say with the exception of my left hamstring and gluteus, I feel great. Aerobically I was really starting to come around. I'll almost certainly lose some of that by cross-training, but in my mind my efficiency was compromised by the hamstring anyway, so why not remove that obstacle?

So it seems like this is the 100th time I've written "I'm taking a break from running" in this blog, but it is what it is. We'll see where this one goes. I hope everyone else is hitting the ground running as spring approaches.

Every Mile Is Two In Winter

2008-02-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

Mon 2/11: 9M 66:00
Tue 2/12: 17.5M 2:01
Wed 2/13: 9M 65:00
Thu 2/14: 16.5M 1:57
Fri 2/15: 8M - 59:00
Sat 2/16: 13M 1:33
Sun 2/17: 20M 2:19

Total Miles: 93M

A good week of running, but the 20M on Sunday emphasized that I'm not quite healthy yet. The surgical recovery is almost complete I would say. My groin was sore after the run, but I believe that had more to do with the mushy footing on the ground. The hamstring remains the "thing" at this point. I'm contemplating taking a few consecutive days off from running in the next week or so coinciding with some massage or physical therapy. I can feel the knot of muscle tissue right in the middle of my left hamstring. I just need find someone that can undo it. After that I think it will just be a matter of strengthening and stretching.

The options for spring races are getting pushed further and further out. I can all but guarantee I will not run Mad City. 20M at 7:00 pace was tough enough. I don't think in the next six-plus weeks I will be able to do 62M at the same pace. Ice Age 50M is still a possibility if things come together reasonably soon. I did come across a 100k race in July in Quebec. It has the IAU "Bronze" label so it is eligible for world ranking purposes and it falls within the USATF selection deadline for the 100k World Cup team. Normally doing a 100k in July would be unwise, but Quebec is pretty far north. The average high for Quebec City in July is around 70 degrees.

First things first: get healthy.

Congratulations to Kurt on his move to TC Running Company. It sounds like most of the old Runners Edge guys will follow him there. Three teams in three years isn't really ideal, but Kurt is the one that got us all together initially so we go where he goes, so to speak.

A Caucusing We Go

2008-02-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

Week of Jan 28 - Feb 3

Mon: 9M
Tue: 16.5M 1:58
Wed: 9M
Thu: 16.5M 1:58
Fri: Off
Sat: 12M 1:30
Sun: 20M 2:27
Total Miles: 83

While I haven't gotten much faster, I do feel more comfortable at the paces I'm running. I had good recovery from every run with the exception of Sunday. Of course that was my first 20 mile run in 6-7 months. Even then, I was mainly just tired, not sore. The day off on Friday wasn't really necessary, but I had done the math and realized I would be topping 90 miles (after a previous high around 70) unless I took a day off or adjusted my weekend. I figured it was more important to get the longer runs in and skip the the 60 min run.

Last night Katie and I attended our first caucus. It involved some hectic planning to make it there on time, but we did it and boy was it packed. Based on the emails I received from the Ron Paul campaign regarding our precinct I didn't expect too many Paulites to be in the crowd. However, upon arriving it was readily apparent that we probably had the largest contingent of all the candidates.

Funny aside: I've been following the campaigns very closely and even I found myself surprised to see Alan Keyes on the ballot. He was/is in the race?

After some prepared statements read on behalf of the candidates we adjourned to our precinct rooms and began the process. I won't go into the details of the process, but I was elected a delegate to the district convention in March. From there I think it will be hard to convince the other non-Paul delegates that he is the only true Republican in the field, but at least I'm involved in the process.

I'm torn on what to do when Dr. Paul eventually bids adeiu to his presidential campaign. How I vote in the general election will probably depend on who the Democratic nominee is. At this point I feel as though I will vote for the Democrats because given that there is no difference between Mr. McCain, Ms. Clinton, and Mr. Obama, I'd rather have a Democrat in the White House when the shit hits the fan during the next term. Any of those three candidates is going to continue with the war and increase domestic spending (all in the name of the "common good" according to Hillary) further bankrupting our country leaving a nation of haves and have-nots.

In my mind it might as well be on the Democrats heads. That will give the Republican party four years to re-evaluate where it stands with regard to a platform. Is it still the party that represents small goverment, fiscal responsiblity, protection of personal liberties and property rights, and projects a foreign policy that eschews entagling alliances in favor of diplomacy? Well the current administration that had control of Congress for 4 years and a "mandate" in 2004 has doubled the size of the Department of Education, thrown money down the toilet with a purely pork presciption drug bill, failed to use its veto power to curb legislative largesse, invaded two countries without following the rule of law (congresstional approval), done very little to cut back goverment regulation of the economy and had zero follow-through on the campaign promise of moving towards privatization of social security. Oh yeah and the Patriot Act. Not exactly what we were looking for.

Attending the Ron Paul rally at Northrup on Monday night was encouraging though. How often do you get a crowd of 4500 made of mostly of college students and 30-somethings to show up and listen to a 72 year old gynecologist talk about monetary policy and the proper role of goverment? I guess that shows just how dire the situation is. Its so obvious now that even college students realize their grandparents and, soon their parents, are selling them down the river for instant gratification. Thanks Mom and Dad. They'll get theirs and we'll pay for it. Plus interest. Lots and lots of interest. There a lot of zeros in $2.7 trillion.

So that is the last political statement I will make on this blog this election unless somehow I get to the the Republican Convention in St Paul, in which case I might do a live-blog or something. From here on out it is running and inane b.s. Just like its always been.

Memorable Runs

2008-01-30T15:02:00.001-05:00

Well, last night's run might go down as coldest, nearest to frostbite run I have done in 20 some years of running. This will be one of those runs I tell stories about years from now in Seinfeld fashion "The wind was angry that day my friend...like an old man trying to return soup in a deli."I ran home from work the long way in order to get in a 2 hour run. Heading out of downtown on the Cedar Lake paths I was running right into the wind. At the time I thought, "This isn't so bad". I was cold and any exposed skin stung a little bit, but it didn't last long once I turned southwest toward the Lake of Isles area. I thought I had weathered the worst as the rest of this point-to-point run would have the northwest wind at my back or side. Ahem, wrong.

It is easy to forget how much protection buildings and trees and the like provide because I made the ill-advised decision of running down the east side of Lake Calhoun with the exposed lake to my right. That was bad. It got worse however as I rounded the south end of the lake and headed towards William Berry Dr. It burned so bad. I became more and more alarmed that I wasn't wearing enough for this barrage. It was stand-you-up strength wind and it was more bitter than anything I experienced in 10 years in Duluth, including the day George Hanson, Andy Hopkins and I proved our manhood by running 5 miles outside on a -50 day. That day we had the sense to run snowmobile trails. Today, I eventually resorted to an all out sprint to the stop light, all the while alternating shielding my face with my hands and running with my upperbody turned sideways.

It was the same story on Lake Harriet, but I was spared the southern end torture as I hopped on Minnehaha Pkwy to run home. The rest of the run was uneventful thankfully. I arrived home in one piece and my face only stung for the ten minutes or so once I was inside. A hot shower never felt so good.

On the upside, the lakes sure weren't crowded. In fact I didn't not see a single other runner, biker, or walker until I was almost to Lake Nokomis. I guess I'll try to remember the trade-off when I'm dodging baby-joggers in July.

Bold Promises That May (or May Not) Be Kept

2008-01-29T17:23:00.000-05:00

Sickened is the only way I can describe how I felt after reading THIS article that Deadspin linked today. I've heard of stories similar to this of course; its not as if it is breaking news that star athletes (and stars in general) get a pass. There was a little academic hubbub here at the UofM a few years ago that some may vaguely remember. But the violence of this case and how personal the reporter made it by documenting the affects on the victim are especially profound.

At least in the short term, this really turns me off to big time college athletics and to some extent pro sports. Dare I say I won't watch sports ever again? No I don't think I can make that promise. But I'm keeping a link to this article in my bookmarks to offer some perspective in the future. Today I feel like I'll be watching sports a lot less.

Last Week (1/14/08 - 1/20/08)

2008-01-24T12:49:00.000-05:00

M: 55:00 - 7.5M
T: 1:44 - 14M
W: 55:00 - 7.5M
Th: OFF
Fri: 1:06 - 9M
Sat: 1:30 - 12M
Sun: 2:10 - 16.5M

Total Miles - 66.5M

A good all around week. At the outset I had hoped to run all seven days, but Thursday I was feeling a little off and, when I did the math, realized if I ran the planned 1:45-2:00 I would jump up to 80+ miles for the week (after a previous high of 60). I've been outside for the most part, but Saturday I decided to take to the treadmill to avoid the really frigid temps. It felt good to run free of all the layers, at least for a day. Sunday I ran outside with Kurt, Nick and Paul. -14 below wasn't too bad with the exception of the stretches into the breeze. I used the little hand warmer packets for the first time. FYI: they also work well at protecting your junk.

Shit.

2008-01-15T17:42:00.000-05:00

40 Days and Nights

2008-01-14T09:57:00.000-05:00

Geez, a guy takes a little 40 day break from blogging and his wife won't let him hear the end of it. Apparenty the only way Katie knows what is going on with my running is this blog.

So its been more of the same on the non-running front since I last posted. A co-worker with a crucial job (especially during Year End) decided to leave December 10 to go into business with her husband. The original plan was to split her job up among three different people, but the best laid plans... Basically I took on the brunt of what she did and, considering that prior to her leaving I had no idea how to do what she did it proved to be a challange. I sat with her for a week and absorbed as much as I could. That helped, but the workload has been heavy and I've gone in a few Sundays to keep up. I even showed up at 6 a.m. one day last week.

Couple that with the holidays (travel and all the trimmings) and there was a period of a couple weeks at the end of December where I was in "run when I can" mode. I did pretty well anyways and somehow avoided the self-inflicted guilt of taking three days in a row off at one point.

Since then the consistency has been slowly getting better. I had my last post-surgery check-up and it looks like I'm on track. I'm still tight and have some pain at the end of my longer runs, but it has gotten better. The issue of the moment is still my left hamstring. It will not heal. Not with rest. Not with stretching. I'm getting some physical therapy for it this week and I made my first foray to yoga class last Tuesday. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a challanging workout. When I ran that night I felt the best I've felt in months.

The pace on my runs is progressively getting faster, although that has not been my goal. Going into the New Year I was more interested in lowering my heart rate at the same pace. I've had more bad days than good, but the trend seems to going the other direction.

I don't have my log in front of me, but I would say I've been in the 40-60M range per week with at least one, usually two runs of 1.5 - 2 hours.

I promise to post a more detailed log this week. I was telling Pete the other day that my goal is to run those Lydiard 100M weeks for the next 6-8 weeks, only replacing miles with time. So I believe the traditional week was:

Mon: 10M, Tue: 17M, Wed: 10M, Thu: 18M, Fri: 10M, Sat: 15M, Sun: 20M = 100mpw

I'll adjust it to something resembling this:

Mon: 1hr, Tue: 1:45, Wed: 1:00, Thu: 2:00, Fri: 1:00, Sat: 1:30, Sun: 2:15-2:30 = 11 hrs

Not quite equivalent, but I have to start somewhere. At 8min/mi that is 80-85 mpw.

I'm also going to do the elliptical maching for 1hr M-W-F and do the yoga Tu-Th. All together I'm hoping that adds up to some substantial fitness come March. Then I'll start to think about racing again - something I haven't missed until recently.

Don't Say We Didn't Warn You

2007-12-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

Week of Nov 26 - Dec 2

2007-12-02T18:05:00.000-05:00

Mon: (am) 30 min
(pm) 25 min + 30 min Elliptical + Weights
Tue: 40 min
Wed: 18 min
Thu: 45 min
Fri: *sniffle, sniffle* x sore throat
Sat: 65 min
Sun: 13 min + 45 min ellipitical + weights

Total Miles: 27
Long: 65 min/8M

For various reasons, I've decided to go with a little different format for the next few weeks. Posting has been sporadic at best recently. I've been busy and it will only get worse through January. Year-end work stuff coupled with a co-worker leaving December 10. Also there is that pesky Tax final on December 20. Secondably - my running hasn't been all that interesting.

But things are starting to turn around. The pace of my runs has increased ever so slightly at the same HR. 8:20's are now closer to 8:00's. I even did a stride-out mile during my "long" run on Saturday (7:28 with HR around 140). I did have HR data for all my runs, but I forgot to record them before clearing my watch. From memory I would say the avg for all my runs this week was 130-135 bpm.

Re: long run - it didn't start out that great. The HR was a little higher (due to cold recovery probably) and my surgical repairs were a little more sore than usual; albeit in a different spot. Since the surgery the pain has gradually subsided in that area, but I'm far from pain-free.

But, I can track some progress when sneezing. I'm at the point now where I have virtually no pain, at most "tightness". That is a real improvement from where I was pre-surgery. No more bracing myself. My groin was gradually getting more tight during the first couple weeks of running, but I've noticed quite a difference there as well.

For now I'm just focusing week-to-week until March. My general plan is to work up to 3-4 "long" runs per week with just an easy 30 min/5M or cross-training on the off days. As I was telling Andy, a long run right now is 6-8 miles, but by February I'm hoping it will be in the 18-22M range. So while this upcoming week looks like 3-6-3-8-3-10-CT, the goal is to reach a week like: 18-5-18-5-18-CT-22. Thats just a rough sketch, however, and a lot of it will depend on how my body holds up to an ever increasing workload. I think I've been very cautious so far though.

Somebody quick! Get This To Jay Leno

2007-11-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

Actual headline in the Star Tribune Tuesday:

Owner of stuffed bobcat is victim of a cat burglar

Re-start

2007-11-12T14:53:00.000-05:00

I made my triumphant return to running this weekend with mixed results. Saturday I jumped on the treadmill for 10 minutes after my pool workout. 10min/mile pace was plenty fast enough for me. Sunday I ran 15 min over to the Highland Park Lifetime Fitness. It was slow going, I was more concerned with keeping the pace very relaxed. Even then I averaged around 8:30 mile/pace. The fact that I'm scolding myself for going that "fast" shows the relative change in perspective my injury and subsequent surgery has produced. I supplemented my run with 15 min on the elliptical machine and some weight training to ensure 30+ min of activity.

Overall my body felt pretty good. Of course I was sore pretty much everywhere, but the injured/repaired area held up about as well as I expected. It would be naive to think that four weeks out from surgery I would be completely pain-free. I'm sure it will be a few months before I fully realize the benefits of the surgery. Until then I aim to remain patient.

Re: slower running. I've always been on the fence about how slow is too slow in training, but in doing some lit review over the last few weeks I've been reframing my training paradigm. I think the notion of LSD has been misrepresented by the critics. Lydiard et al never advocated running super-slow day in, day out as a method of reaching peak performance. LSD is about listening to your body, recovering on the recovery days, and running hard on the hard days. People always draw this distinction between the hard-easy theory of training and Lydiard, when in reality they are the same thing.

I think that is something that I have failed to realize/practice over the course of my running career, especially and ironically when I started running ultras. I figured if I wanted to run 62 miles at 6:xx pace then I shouldn't be doing miles slower than 7:00 pace, ignoring my own mantra that the training for ultras isn't any different than 10k-marathon training. Recovering from my surgery is giving me a chance to start over in a sense.

In the meantime, I've been working on strengthing my injured hamstring, but no amount of stretching/yoga/activity seems to loosen it up. The next step will be deep tissue massage to open that area up so that, hopefully, stretching/weight training has more of an effect.

I feel like I'm rebuilding my body right now. All this work should make a difference next spring. Whether I race or get back into intense training that soon is yet to be decided, but I'm doing everything I can to get back there.

Do You Realize Someone Stole From You Today?

2007-11-09T16:27:00.001-05:00

For explanation on what the hell is being talked about here and why it is so important look here.

Francisco's speech about money in "Atlas Shrugged":

"So you think that money is the root of all evil?" said Francisco d'Anconia. "Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?

"When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor�your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money, Is this what you consider evil?

"Have you ever looked for the root of production? Take a look at an electric generator and dare tell yourself that it was created by the muscular effort of unthinking brutes. Try to grow a seed of wheat without the knowledge left to you by men who had to discover it for the first time. Try to obtain your food by means of nothing but physical motions�and you'll learn that man's mind is the root of all the goods produced and of all the wealth that has ever existed on earth.

"But you say that money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak? What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expense of those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is made�before it can be looted or mooched�made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can't consume more than he has produced.'

"To trade by means of money is the code of the men of good will. Money rests on the axiom that every man is the owner of his mind and his effort. Money allows no power to prescribe the value of your effort except the voluntary choice of the man who is willing to trade you his effort in return. Money permits you to obtain for your goods and your labor that which they are worth to the men who buy them, but no more. Money permits no deals except those to mutual benefit by the unforced judgment of the traders. Money demands of you the recognition that men must work for their own benefit, not for their own injury, for their gain, not their loss�the recognition that they are not beasts of burden, born to carry the weight of your misery�that you must offer them values, not wounds�that the common bond among men is not the exchange of suffering, but the exchange of goods. Money demands that you sell, not your weakness to men's stupidity, but your talent to their reason; it demands that you buy, not the shoddiest they offer, but the best that your money can find. And when men live by trade�with reason, not force, as their final arbiter�it is the best product that wins, the best performance, the man of best judgment and highest ability�and the degree of a man's productiveness is the degree of his reward. This is the code of existence whose tool and symbol is money. Is this what you consider evil?

"But money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. It will give you the means for the satisfaction of your desires, but it will not provide you with desires. Money is the scourge of the men who attempt to reverse the law of causality�the men who seek to replace the mind by seizing the products of the mind.

"Money will not purchase happiness for the man who has no concept of what he wants: money will not give him a code of values, if he's evaded the knowledge of what to value, and it will not provide him with a purpose, if he's evaded the choice of what to seek. Money will not buy intelligence for the fool, or admiration for the coward, or respect for the incompetent. The man who attempts to purchase the brains of his superiors to serve him, with his money replacing his judgment, ends up by becoming the victim of his inferiors. The men of intelligence desert him, but the cheats and the frauds come flocking to him, drawn by a law which he has not discovered: that no man may be smaller than his money. Is this the reason why you call it evil?

"Only the man who does not need it, is fit to inherit wealth�the man who would make his own fortune no matter where he started. If an heir is equal to his money, it serves him; if not, it destroys him. But you look on and you cry that money corrupted him. Did it? Or did he corrupt his money? Do not envy a worthless heir; his wealth is not yours and you would have done no better with it. Do not think that it should have been distributed among you; loading the world with fifty parasites instead of one, would not bring back the dead virtue which was the fortune. Money is a living power that dies without its root. Money will not serve the mind that cannot match it. Is this the reason why you call it evil?

"Money is your means of survival. The verdict you pronounce upon the source of your livelihood is the verdict you pronounce upon your life. If the source is corrupt, you have damned your own existence. Did you get your money by fraud? By pandering to men's vices or men's stupidity? By catering to fools, in the hope of getting more than your ability deserves? By lowering your standards? By doing work you despise for purchasers you scorn? If so, then your money will not give you a moment's or a penny's worth of joy. Then all the things you buy will become, not a tribute to you, but a reproach; not an achievement, but a reminder of shame. Then you'll scream that money is evil. Evil, because it would not pinch-hit for your self-respect? Evil, because it would not let you enjoy your depravity? Is this the root of your hatred of money?

"Money will always remain an effect and refuse to replace you as the cause. Money is the product of virtue, but it will not give you virtue and it will not redeem your vices. Money will not give you the unearned, neither in matter nor in spirit. Is this the root of your hatred of money?

"Or did you say it's the love of money that's the root of all evil? To love a thing is to know and love its nature. To love money is to know and love the fact that money is the creation of the best power within you, and your passkey to trade your effort for the effort of the best among men. It's the person who would sell his soul for a nickel, who is loudest in proclaiming his hatred of money�and he has good reason to hate it. The lovers of money are willing to work for it. They know they are able to deserve it.

"Let me give you a tip on a clue to men's characters: the man who damns money has obtained it dishonorably; the man who respects it has earned it.

"Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper's bell of an approaching looter. So long as men live together on earth and need means to deal with one another�their only substitute, if they abandon money, is the muzzle of a gun.

"But money demands of you the highest virtues, if you wish to make it or to keep it. Men who have no courage, pride or self-esteem, men who have no moral sense of their right to their money and are not willing to defend it as they defend their life, men who apologize for being rich�will not remain rich for long. They are the natural bait for the swarms of looters that stay under rocks for centuries, but come crawling out at the first smell of a man who begs to be forgiven for the guilt of owning wealth. They will hasten to relieve him of the guilt�and of his life, as he deserves.

"Then you will see the rise of the men of the double standard�the men who live by force, yet count on those who live by trade to create the value of their looted money�the men who are the hitchhikers of virtue. In a moral society, these are the criminals, and the statutes are written to protect you against them. But when a society establishes criminals-by-right and looters-by-law�men who use force to seize the wealth of disarmed victims�then money becomes its creators' avenger. Such looters believe it safe to rob defenseless men, once they've passed a law to disarm them. But their loot becomes the magnet for other looters, who get it from them as they got it. Then the race goes, not to the ablest at production, but to those most ruthless at brutality. When force is the standard, the murderer wins over the pickpocket. And then that society vanishes, in a spread of ruins and slaughter.

"Do you wish to know whether that day is coming? Watch money. Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion�when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing�when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors�when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you�when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice�you may know that your society is doomed. Money is so noble a medium that is does not compete with guns and it does not make terms with brutality. It will not permit a country to survive as half-property, half-loot.

"Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave to its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective standards and delivers men into the arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter of values. Gold was an objective value, an equivalent of wealth produced. Paper is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it. Paper is a check drawn by legal looters upon an account which is not theirs: upon the virtue of the victims. Watch for the day when it bounces, marked, 'Account overdrawn.'

"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, 'Who is destroying the world? You are.

"You stand in the midst of the greatest achievements of the greatest productive civilization and you wonder why it's crumbling around you, while you're damning its life-blood�money. You look upon money as the savages did before you, and you wonder why the jungle is creeping back to the edge of your cities. Throughout men's history, money was always seized by looters of one brand or another, whose names changed, but whose method remained the same: to seize wealth by force and to keep the producers bound, demeaned, defamed, deprived of honor. That phrase about the evil of money, which you mouth with such righteous recklessness, comes from a time when wealth was produced by the labor of slaves�slaves who repeated the motions once discovered by somebody's mind and left unimproved for centuries. So long as production was ruled by force, and wealth was obtained by conquest, there was little to conquer, Yet through all the centuries of stagnation and starvation, men exalted the looters, as aristocrats of the sword, as aristocrats of birth, as aristocrats of the bureau, and despised the producers, as slaves, as traders, as shopkeepers�as industrialists.

"To the glory of mankind, there was, for the first and only time in history, a country of money�and I have no higher, more reverent tribute to pay to America, for this means: a country of reason, justice, freedom, production, achievement. For the first time, man's mind and money were set free, and there were no fortunes-by-conquest, but only fortunes-by-work, and instead of swordsmen and slaves, there appeared the real maker of wealth, the greatest worker, the highest type of human being�the self-made man�the American industrialist.

"If you ask me to name the proudest distinction of Americans, I would choose�because it contains all the others�the fact that they were the people who created the phrase 'to make money.' No other language or nation had ever used these words before; men had always thought of wealth as a static quantity�to be seized, begged, inherited, shared, looted of obtained as a favor. Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created. The words 'to make money' hold the essence of human morality.

"Yet these were the words for which Americans were denounced by the rotted cultures of the looters' continents. Now the looters' credo has brought you to regard your proudest achievements as a hallmark of shame, your prosperity as guilt, your greatest men, the industrialists, as blackguards, and your magnificent factories as the product and property of muscular labor, the labor of whip-driven slaves, like the pyramids of Egypt. The rotter who simpers that he sees no difference between the power of the dollar and the power of the whip, ought to learn the difference on his own hide� as, I think, he will.

"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to be the tool by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of men. Blood, whips and guns�or dollars. Take your choice�there is no other�and your time is running out."

High Highs and Low Lows

2007-11-05T11:46:00.000-05:00

He was spared a DNF in the official results. A small act of mercy from the USATF and race officials on what could-have, should-have been one of the best days of Ryan Shay's life. I can't say I was a close personal friend of Ryan. I met him briefly at the 2003 US 25-k championships. I shared a van ride with him, spoke with him a little at the post-race bowling party and that was about it. Given that brief crossing of paths, I found it surprising how much I was affected by the report of his death Saturday afternoon. Perhaps it was because, in life, he had a reached the level of success I have only dreamed about. He had made it to the starting line of the Olympic Trials and as he stood on that starting line Saturday morning, as many of us have done albeit with less on the line, the last thing on his mind was his own mortality. He was focused on putting forth an effort over the next 2+ hours that 99% of population would be incapable of reproducing for a fraction of that time. He had gone to the mountains to train like an animal so that he could be standing in that very spot, just 26.2 more miles from his ultimate goal. And a little over 30 minutes later he was dead.

I don't aim to make sense of it here, even if I could. After stewing over it the past couple of days I'm still unable to really put into words how it makes me feel. I had just watched one of the greatest marathons run by an American. I was pumped. Watching Brian Sell fly onto the Olympic team over the last couple of miles, especially the way he did it, was inspiring. Jason Lemkuhle's run outstanding. Yet, it all feels a little empty after Shay's death. It seems cliche to say it gives some perspective, but sometimes life is cliche.

Pete ended up 82nd or so in 2:28. No race report yet, but given his place in respect to the field it looks like he ran a solid race.

As for my own (non-) running: I'm starting to come around. I got in the pool four times this week. By yesterday I was almost completely free of soreness. Of course, there was the soreness from lifting weights, but thats to be expected when I did absolutely nothing for almost three weeks. As it stands, I look to make my triumphant return to running this weekend. Of course it will probably be about a 15 minute shuffle, but a jouney of 1000-miles, yada yada...

Recovery Zone

2007-10-31T12:49:00.000-04:00

I apologize for not updating the readers of this blog (all three of you) with details of my surgical recovery. The fact is it has been a rather uneventful recovery so far.

I had my first post-surgical follow-up with Dr. Pierce last Monday. All is well he says. He gave me the go ahead to start running, but after a very informative conversation with Kristin Nicoline-Lemkuhle regarding her sports hernia surgeries, it seems wise to wait a couple more weeks. There is no rush to get back to running/racing seriously at this point so why take any chances.

I have been running alternate days in the pool at LTF for the past week. Two-plus weeks of almost complete inactivity must have take its toll because I was actually a little sore after Monday's bout. I'm surprised at how much of a "core" workout running in the pool is. Its a nice side benefit to getting the aerobic work in.

I'm not completely pain free yet. I'm still pretty tender in the surgical area, but I'm able to walk with a normal gait. I wouldn't even describe what I'm feeling as pain necessarily - more like extreme tightness. I've been pretty diligent about stretching my groin/hip area, but I could be doing more.

Three weeks in and it appears I'm right where I should be.

Good luck to all the Minnesota and Minnesota-related runners at this weekend's Olympic Marathon Trials - that would be Pete, Jason, Chris, Mike, Matt, Ryan, Chad, and Zach. That would be a nice list to be on, but que sera, sera.

Mice? Rats? No, We've Got Slash

2007-10-16T16:08:00.000-04:00

I continue to heal, albeit it slowly. But I'm not complaining, the pain has gotten much better the past couple days, mostly due to the fact that I've been more active. I won't be running anytime soon, but hopefully next week I can start doing something formal.

This guys should do every interview, no matter what the sport.
Simmons makes it into NBA 2008

Coming To You Live! With Ice On My Crotch

2007-10-14T22:30:00.000-04:00

A mixed bag today. I started off by walking over the the Highland Park Lifetime Fitness and stretching while Katie finished her workout. It may have proved to be a little too much too soon. I just haven't seen as much improvement today. As with yesterday, the general, all-around pain is way down, but the tenderness and, at times, downright excruciating pain around the incisions/hernias is holding out. But the biggest factor is my frustration with the pain. It is beginning to wear on me a little bit. I'm tired of being in pain also a little sick of lying in bed.

I have also found that I can't watch anything funny. I got blindsided by America's Funniest Home Videos tonight. Laughing hurts. What can I say, when some kid gets nailed in the junk with a water balloon its high comedy. Then I tried watching Arrested Development, but how can I survive exchanges like:

Tobias: I'll contact the Hot Cops. Maybe they can come up with something more "nautically" themed. Maybe the "Hot Sailors". Or better yet, "Hot Sea....
Michael: Hot Sailors is good! I like Hot Sailors.
Tobias: (sigh) Me too.

That's gold, Jerry.

Katie has been a regular Florence Nightingale this past week. I have never been left wanting. Also I don't have to tie my own shoes anymore.

I had planned on going back to work tomorrow, but that may be on hold. I do have to go in and take the mid-term for Intro to Fed Income Tax from last Thursday. That's at 8 a.m. and I may just walk over to work and see how things go. I have a feeling I will be coming home by lunch if I don't feel better than today.

Did You Know?

2007-10-12T08:16:00.000-04:00

...that about 99% of all body movements involve using your abdominal muscles. Thats just a rough estimate based on my anecdotal observations over the past two days.

Katie and I went for a "walk" around the block last night. It took about a half hour but I made it. I feel marginally better today, but still in a lot of pain. It seems more localized however. I still haven't pooped, which is troubling. Hopefully eating a lot of oatmeal and fruit will get things rolling.

LINK

RP will be on the News Hour tonight (PBS, 6pm)
Mike Vick's reaction to the news he has to pay back $19+ million
Mr. Riches' Opus
Are you left brained or right brained?

The Pills! Zey Do Nahthing!

2007-10-11T07:16:00.000-04:00

So, no surprise that I am in quite a bit of pain post-surgery. Its kind of scary because every step I take it feels like I'm going to tear my body in half. I was prescribed Vicodin, but it isn't doing much for me besides causing lightheadedness and nausea. The pain is supposed to "gradually subside" over the next few days, but that is little consolation now.

As far as how the surgery went, ask Katie. I was on the operating table talking to the anesthesiologist and then I was waking up in the recovery area. I guess it went alright. I'll meet with the surgeon again in about ten days for a post-op check-up. Here is hoping I'm repaired. Howard is going to see the Philly guy (Meyers) soon to get his fixed as well. Hopefully we'll be comparing scars at next year's World Cup.

On the plus side, I'm lying in bed, surrounded by food, dvds, books, etc, etc. I supposed to stretch today, but I don't see how that is going to be possible since every single movement hurts. I'll do my best I guess.

Building Steam With A Grain A Salt

2007-10-04T09:58:00.001-04:00

One week out from surgery things are looking okay, although the nerves are beginning to build. I had my pre-op physical yesterday and it made the whole thing very real. I've never had surgery before, and while I'm not freaking out, I am uneasy. Luckily I'll be under the whole time.

Started doing a little exercise the past week. I've been pool running and swimming most days. Today I got on an elliptical trainer for probably the second time in my life. It was awkward trying to get the timing and rhythm down, but I was able to get my heart rate up into the 130's and even 150 for a stretch, although that was more arm work than legs. Given the motion of the machine I was concerned that it may aggravate my hernia pain, but that was never really an issue. Next I hopped on the arm-cycle thingy for ten minutes and then lifted weights, mostly lower body. Improving my strength, especially in the hip and hamstring area (pathetic according to the PT), is my number one priority over the coming weeks (minus surgery recovery period). Aerobic work will be in the routine, but mostly just maintenance for now.

At the moment, not running is both refreshning and frustrating. My body is enjoying the break, as well as working some under-utilized areas. And mentally its been a good break as well, but for the first time in awhile I've be getting "itchy". TCM is in the news and the buildup for the Oly Trials seems to be starting further out this time around. Its hard not to get the adreneline pumping watching a Pete Gilmore workout on Flocasts or reading about the the other Trials contenders. I've just got to bottle it and use it next year.

Life has been busy otherwise. I'm trying to get things settled at work ahead of my surgery. Classes this semester are more involved, not to mention I'm taking two of them. That probably wasn't wise, but not running seriously helps with time management.

Its been so busy that I totally missed that Underworld has a new album coming out Oct 16. That is music (ha ha) to my ears. Its been almost four years since they put out their last album. They have a video for the first single here. Also music related, I've always liked LCD Soundsystem, but I've been dragging my feet on buying Sounds of Silver. I realized I had some Itunes gift card money left yesterday and finally took the plunge. Amazing from start to finish, with a highlight on "Get Innocuous". Some links for those who may be interested:

NPR performance and interview (On principle, I'm against public, read: government, funding for NPR, but its content like this that softens my protest).

Listen to a bit of Sounds of Silver (I also recommend clicking on "No I want to listen to: LCD Soundsystem" and take in a bit of "Daft Punk is Playing at my House".

Am I kicking myself for not realizing they were in St Paul this past weekend with Arcade Fire? Yes. Yes I am.

One more thing: 30 Rock tonight! Tax class damn!

Also: Yay!

Smorgas-bored

2007-09-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

Been a bit of a "freaky Friday". I can already tell our proximity to the 35W Bridge collapse site is going to be a treat over the next year and whatever it takes to rebuild. A few weeks ago it was a power line trimmed that cut off our building, which also happens to store the main server for the UofM. Today, we lost phone lines and there was a gas smell. That has since been resolved, but now the server is on the fritz again. And considering that all of my work that doesn't involve reorganizing my desk or insipid blogging relies on server access, things are a bit on the slow side for me today.

I'm still on the no aerobic activity kick and there hasn't really been too much rebellion from my body thus far. I did bike to work yesterday and it felt good. I'll try to work some more activity into the daily routine leading up to surgery. The sports hernia portion of my ailments has felt somewhat better with rest, but sneezing still causes a bit of pain. The upper abdominal hernia has become worrisome over the past couple of days however. There have been long stretches of unabated pain. It isn't localized either. I can't wait for this to be over. I took steps to contact Howard Nippert regarding some coaching direction next year. As I told him, if my goal is to run a fast 100k who better to look to for guidance than the best US 100km runner. We discussed training philosophy, etc and it sounds like it would be a good fit. Nothing for sure yet, but that is the direction I am leaning. Of course I need to get back to actually running before I reach that point.

In the meantime, I've been hard at work shoveling as much fat-filled, deep-fried, heavy cream, refined sugar containing foods down my gullet. Today's lunch consisted of a burger from Bobby and Steve's, chips, cookie, and Milky Way Dark washed down with a Coke. Last weekend I ate so much beef that I (seriously) was not feeling well by Sunday night. Two trips to Culver's in a weekend can do that (hey, its Wisconsin. What do you expect?) I think it was Thursday last week that my lunch consisted of a container of Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough. In short, its been wonderful, indigestion causing journey.

The AFSCME strike has passed (for now). There is still the issue of voting on the University's "new" contract offer, but it sounds like the strikers are pretty much resigned to accepting it. I'll believe it when I see it. I don't know how you consider going from a demand of 8% to accepting 2.25% with a $300 lump sum each year a "victory" for the strike, but then again, I didn't understand the strike in the first place. I was contacted by a writer for the MN Daily to get my opinion, as a person who chose to cross the picket lines. He asked some good questions and I'm interested to see how the piece turns out. He also interviewed President Bruinicks along with some pro-union supporters. Look for it on October 8 or thereabouts (if you actually read the MN Daily that is).

I hope all the souls that are in the final throes of their taper are staying sharp. I'm looking forward to seeing some unfamiliar, yet familiar faces at TCM. Also, good vibes to Andy as he conquers 3:00 (and possibly 2:50) at Lakefront and to Jeremy Polson and his OT attempt at Chicago. One week to go fellas.

LINK
The definitive breakdown of last night's "The Office"
The Onion continually succeeds at highlighting the absurdity of some situations
Coming October 21

Can Stand It

2007-09-25T15:05:00.000-04:00

Austin City Limits 2007 schedule:

10-06 Norah Jones
10-13 The Decemberists/Explosions in the Sky
10-20 Femi Kuti
10-27 Jimmy Reed Highway: Jimmie Vaughan and Friends
11-03 Wilco
11-10 Arcade Fire
11-17 Brad Paisley/Dierks Bentley
11-24 Van Morrison (Encore)
12-01 Gretchen Wilson/Miranda Lambert (Encore)
12-08 Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Encore)
12-15 John Mayer
12-22 Lucinda Williams/Old Crow Medicine Show
12-29 Bloc Party/Ghostland Observatory
01-05 Crowded House/Grupo Fantasma
01-12 Regina Spektor /Paolo Nutini
01-19 Roky Erickson/Kings of Leon
01-26 ACL PRESENTS: The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

Thats pretty solid top to bottom.

Tony Joe White on ACL (I highly recommend this live album, which is on Itunes)
Son Volt
Beck (I've seen this episode at least two times)

The Tale Of The Log (Blog)

2007-09-18T17:03:00.000-04:00

I apologize for the cryptic nature of yesterday's post, but I just didn't feel that loquacious. There was no real drama to my decision to call it a season. I got up around 5:30 as per usual and headed out the door to the River Rd. I was a little fatigued/sore from the hill work I did on Sunday, but nothing unusual. I just kept it easy. As I approached Minnehaha Park and 46th Ave I considered the fact that I could stop right there and walk straight back home. There was no real reason for the thought, it just materialized. From there it snowballed:

I can't remember what it was like to run without pain. My sore hamstring is back. Even Ed Fitz is still three weeks away. How can I run 7:20 there? How can I finish? I don't have to do it this way. I could move my surgery up. Etc, etc...

So I slowed at the stop sign, took a right, and walked straight home. It was the right decision. I've been too "unconventional" this year. Training and racing hurt among other unwise choices. I experimented, tested my body, pushed through to see where my limits were. In the end - in retrospect - um, duh?! What an idiot! If I had had the surgery in August I would be back running (easy) by now. I could have worked something out at my job with respect to time off. I took the short-term view of what was a long-term problem. Last night I compared the general tone of my posts from January/February with the most recent ones. Its like two different people writing.

So have I learned my lesson? Time will tell. Whether I get back to my current/recent level of fitness is not the question. I'm certain I will. But when presented with the same chain of events in the future, as I most likely will at some point, will I make different/better choices?

Conferring with Kurt today it was decided that sometimes a forced break is the best in the long run. And a long break this will be. I plan to do nothing - no crosstraining, stretching, what have you - for the next 23 days. If the hernia and hamstring pain subside I may choose to do my PT exercises after a couple weeks, but I'm not committing to anything. My surgery, thanks to the very patient scheduling staff at Fairview Southdale, is now on October 10. I plan to follow that with another 2-3 weeks of zero running, only rehab exercises and pool work. In total that should provide me with a six week break.

That is a scary, but necessary situation. I consider myself a pretty typcial runner, so I'm very attached to feeling fit. A six week sabbatical means I will be starting from a relatively detrained state. Like I said, I know I will get back to and surpass where I have been, but it will take time and patience. If this past season showed anything, it showed I'm not good with time and patience.

I've already begun to collect information for "Patrick's Rehab Encyclopedia". Included will be a crapload of core exercises, pool running schedules, stretch/yoga exercises, as well as collected training info from the likes of Mystery Coach, John Kellogg, Lydiard, Daniels, et al.

As far as next year? Less racing will be the order of the day. I'm putting that out there right now. I know the temptation will return once I'm healed and returning to fitness, but at this point I'm resolved to sticking to it. Although I had hoped to avoid running an ultra Spring 08, it is my only hope of qualifying for the US 100k team at this point. Here's hoping my recovery is quick.

The blogging will be sporadic up until my surgery, but after that I should be able to blog about the recovery rehab process, if for nothing other than a guide for people returning from the same injury. Sports Hernia is fast becoming a more common diagnosis as more general practitioners become familiar with the condition. There is a reason that the Letsrun post reached 900+.

That is all.

This Is How It Ends, Not With A Bang But A Whimper

2007-09-17T07:35:00.000-04:00

AM: 7:36 :: 1M

Its time to be done for awhile. Lets hope I take what I learned in 2007 into 2008.

I Want My....

2007-09-14T22:13:00.000-04:00

R.I.P.

1981 - 2007

In the beginning

It was good

And more interesting

The best of the best: Alternative Nation, Beavis and Butthead, Yo! MTV Raps, Remote Control, actual music videos.

What the hell happened?

(Not) On Strike

2007-09-11T10:50:00.001-04:00

Another zero in the virtual running log today. No reason really I just wanted a break to let my body heal and reevaluate how I'm feeling. My surgery has been moved up to October 24. Between now and then I will continue running and cross-training. If I can secure an entry into the Ed Fitz I'm going to give it go. There is nothing to lose at this point. I have no expectations and if I have to drop due to injury so be it. Regardless Katie and I get to go to Duluth for the weekend so we win no matter what the outcome of the race is.

I don't know if anyone has been following the AFSCME strike at the UofM, but as an AFSCME "represented" employee I have been treated to a good deal of propaganda from both sides over the past few weeks. After following the reporting/letters to editor in the MN Daily I finally decided to provide my viewpoint (at odds with the union). The Daily published it Monday (article here) and it has been interesting to see the response, both in the comments section (positive and negative) and the personal responses I've gotten at work and by email (all positive).

I was hesitant to submit it at first, but now that it is out there I feel a great deal of pride in publicly stating what I believe. A note on the situation though: some comments suggested that I am cowardly for taking the benefits of being in the union with out making the sacrifice. The truth is the position I hold at University is mandated as an AFSCME represented position. I did not voluntary choose to join the union. Membership in AFSCME Unit 6 is a condition of employment. It provides a further example of the tyranny of the union: not only do they assert that they can determine what I'm willing to work for, but now they can also determine what job I can have so they make claim to $17 of my paycheck each pay period.

I did elect to pay the additional dues in order to gain voting rights because if I am forced to be part of the union I want every opportunity to make my voice heard (lot of good that did; I voted to accept the offer).

So, as I said, the consequences of my article have limited to a few criticisms in the student newspaper, but it may be a different story when the few people in my area who chose to strike eventually return.

We live in interesting times.

So Long And Thanks For All The Fish (City Of Lakes 25k)

2007-09-09T21:44:00.000-04:00

AM: 3M wm; 25k race (1:25:??, last two miles 5:40, 6:00); cd? yeah right.

Well at least it provided a definitive answer. Not any of this middling, "I don't know what to take from this race" crap. When I do it, I do it in style.

Between the head cold in the earlier part of the week and the sometimes dead legs over the past two days I had begun to question whether my plan for this fall is unraveling. Yesterday I was wondering "How do I keep it together until November?" So I pegged today's race as a race for answers. Stick with the plan and run TCM and JFK? Move my surgery up and get things fixed and healed now? Some third option involving moving the surgery earlier and running the Ed Fitz 100k Oct 13 with the goal of running 7:20 (probably good enough to get named to the the team next year)?

I've been such an lost soul the past few months, constantly battling against what I could plainly see: I'm injured and my mind isn't right. My head is writing checks my body can't cash. I go to bed at night with this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I've wasted the this season, hoping that I'll wake up in the morning and be pain free, able to go out and run forever. I'm probably over-trained to some extent. I have all the symptoms.

Part of the problem is that once I had injury diagnosed I had a faint light at the end of the tunnel. I started looking ahead. How was I going to rehab? Take it slow I told myself. I started looking ahead and began to lose focus (and a bit of interest) in the racing I had left this fall.

But about today's race. The legs felt pretty good waking up. The air was crisp and I thought all was well. Then I went for my warm-up. About five steps into it my upper back spasmed so hard it took my breathe away. It just came out of nowhere. I tried to stretch it out, but it was too late, the damage was done. It was bearable during the remainder of the warm-up, but my mental mood was already soured. At this point I was sure that some limb was going fall off by mile 3.

The race started off slow. I felt "okay". A pack of us went through in about 5:30 and then the race began as Chris Lundstrom started to stride out. Others followed and I found myself settling in with teammate Jeremy Essler. We were both looking to run about the same pace so we ended up working together for much of the race. We ran alone until about mile 10 when Eric Pierce worked his way up to us and kept going. Jeremy and I latched on for a couple miles, but as we hit mile 11 with a 5:19 split (we had been running about 5:25) I began to sense trouble. Eric dropped us pretty quickly. I held it together, but Jeremy started to gap me for a little bit. I managed to get back on his wheel as we climbed the hill back to Lake Harriet for the last time, but as we hit the half marathon point (1:11:30?) I struggled. It was everything and nothing at once. My breathing was about the same, but both of my injuries were causing some major pain and I was losing a lot of power in my stride. Jeremy put more and more time on me as I split 5:40 at mile 14. Now the mental side was becoming an issue. I did not want to run anymore. I knew Todd was behind me and gaining, but I did not care. I backed off into a slightly more earnest easy run pace and split 6:00 at mile 15. Todd had passed by this time and I was left to contemplate how things have turned out so differently than I had hoped this year. I don't know what my official time was (does it matter?), but I hurt more than any race I've finished in awhile.

So I don't know where I go from here. The US men got the bronze medal at the World Cup yesterday adding to my woes-me attitude. I'm happy for them for sure, especially Howard, but I can't help it with the "what-ifs".

Part of me realizes that I probably need a coach of some sort. I kind of envy Eric and Mike's situation with "Mystery Coach" because there is a certain comfort in being told what to do. Minimal thinking and an objective observer. But then I also feel that I've learned a lot this year and once I'm healed I will make better decisions, be more proactive. I want to be on that 100k team next year! I should have been this year and my own foolishness coupled with a few bad breaks just mucked it up.

Next year I will be training with one race in mind. Build more strength. Fix my form. Race less, recover more. Fewer and more carefully planned high mileage weeks. A return to the heart rate monitor. Supplemental pool running. Some sports psychology work. But that will come soon enough. I still need to figure out the transition.

I drowned my sorrows in the Lodge Burger at the Nook in Highland Park. Following a little study time, Katie and I went to Borders so I could pick up Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin Remasters. I needed a little Living Loving Maid and Good Times Bad Times.

Katie and I got a membership to Lifetime Fitness last week. The Highland Park location is right across the bridge, which is convienent but since it doesn't have a pool I'll probably end up going to the downtown St Paul location or going to the Rec Center at the UofM. The more and more I read about pool running it sounds like the perfect injury/CT modality for runners. Also the LTF has yoga classes. I also think the treadmills might go 15 mph, which would be awesome if I ever wanted to break the world record for the treadmill mile (take that Brandon!). Downside of Lifetime Fitness? Jackasses. They'll be the ones wearing Under Armour and grunting. Oh yeah? Watch me curl this 20 lb weight...10 times! Face!

I want to thank everyone that takes time to read this blog and those of you who comment. I do read them, I just haven't been in the state of mind to respond lately. Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share.