Motivation

Why is it that when my schedule is disrupted, I seem to lose all motivation to run? Take for instance Tuesday, when I was at work for an extra hour trying to finish up a job before I left (which didn't happen). When I left, all I wanted to do was go to sleep. Even my wife telling me to run if I wanted to when I called to tell her I'd be home a little late didn't get me out the door. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to make myself get out the door on days like that. There's no other way for me to reach my potential.

My lower back has been acting up the past couple days. I'm not sure what happened, but it's sore, especially when I bend over. I ran yesterday, but only three miles. My lower back was tight, especially going uphill. I did some internet research today and found some things to try. I'm going to take today off and try some of the stretches and exercises and then try running tomorrow. I'll run and do the stretches and exercises and see if that helps.

Merry Christmas!

I had a pretty good Christmas. My wife, Puff, and I spent the day at her family's. Her grandmother, grandfather, and great aunt are in town for the holidays. Their Christmas celebration is a little different than my family's. We would go to Mass Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas we would open present in the morning and then basically lounge around the rest of the day. My wife's family goes to Mass Christmas day, has brunch, and then spends the rest of the day opening presents. I would have liked some time by myself to just relax and possibly take a nap. I did get up early to run. It was also a long day because we had to make sure Puff wasn't getting into things he wasn't supposed to be getting into. Where we can more or less let him roam around our house, the same can't be said about my in-laws' house.

As far as running-related gifts go, I got a fuel belt, a training log, Gu, a water bottle, a light for running in the dark, a Metro Run & Walk calendar and pen, and a copy of the latest issue of Track and Field News.

After sleeping in and running around lunchtime Christmas eve, I got up early Christmas day and the day after. I ran 6 miles Christmas Eve, 10 Christmas day, and then 15 the day after. I has a good finish to last week as well as a good beginning to this one.

Update

Despite the fact that I'm pretty tired right now, this week's gone well. Work's slow due to the holidays; it's nice not to have the phone ringing every few minutes but a little lonely with quite a few people gone. I don't go back home for Christmas or else I'd probably be gone too. My family got Thanksgiving and my wife's family got Christmas, although my family is coming for New Year's.

My wife and I got some exciting news this week: the doctor called and confirmed she's pregnant. Every indication pointed to her being pregnant, but the doctor called back with the results of the blood work to confirm it. The baby's due date is July 25.

I ran 14 miles Sunday and 8 Monday, but then didn't run Tuesday. My wife wasn't feeling well and she wanted me to stay with Puff. Yesterday I did 10, so at least when I run I'm putting in some good mileage. I'm really trying to make sure I put in the miles because I do want have a couple weeks of at least 70 miles before I start the 20k training.

Bitter

I'm not very happy today. I'm tired, and I really don't want to be at work. Thankfully, there's less than an hour left. My commute this morning was terrible. Traffic was backed up from the HOV lanes all the way into the lot. We inched along, and then all of a sudden traffic started to move. I think it took just about as long to get out to the HOV lanes as it did to get into DC. I didn't see anything that would have caused the backup either.

I was planning on running 10 or 11 miles tonight, but now I just don't know. I later for work than I wanted to be, so I'll have to see how much time I have. My wife is running with some of her friends tonight; they're running in the dark so they can check out all the Christmas decorations. I'll be home with the Puff.

Jingle Bell Jog

This past Sunday I ran the Jingle Bell Jog 8k, the last race of the year in my club's Championship Series. This is the first race I've run in a while that really felt like a race.

I ran just under the first three miles of the race with the chase pack. Right before the three-mile mark, we went up a hill, turned left, and then down a hill. I had tried to make a break a little earlier in the race, but wasn't successful. Going down the hill before the three-mile mark, I made my break. I opened up a gap and held it until the end. I even caught the guy who had been out of sight in front of me for some of the race about a quarter mile from the finish to finish fifth overall in 30:20.

My splits were 6:09, 6:03, 6:10, 5:58, 6:00. I started to tie up a little near the finish, but was still able to finish strong. I'm not sure exactly what to credit for my performance, but I ran 10 miles the day before and maybe that helped hold me back a bit at the beginning.

Training Partner

I've wanted to find someone to run with for a while now. I'm not looking for an everyday training partner, although that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but someone to run with maybe 2-3 times a week. I think it would help most when my motivation is waning and I'm having a little trouble getting myself out the door. I managed to contact someone through of all places the letsrun.com message board.

My possible training partner works at one of the local running stores, so I dropped by to see if he was working Saturday. It turns out he's the guy I see fairly often running in my neighborhood. He's built like me, tall and skinny, and has short hair, so my wife refers to him as my running twin. He's a nice guy, but he's running a marathon in a few weeks, so our schedules don't really match up right now. After his marathon, he's considering retiring and getting a real job. It figures, I find someone to possibly trtain with and his "career" might be almost over.

All by Myself

Due to the rest of my plans for Sunday, I got up at 5:30 to run. I was planning on at least 12 miles, with possibly at little more. I ran the first six miles on the roads under the streetlights, waiting for the sun to come up enough so I could finish my run on the trails without fear of running into a tree.

The solitude during my run was amazing. Only three or four cars passed me, and I didn't see any other people. It was a welcome change from running at home that early in the morning. I've never run quite that early at home on a weekend, but during the week it's as if rush hour starts at about 5 am with so many people already on their way to work trying to beat the traffic.

Lydiard

pjm has a nice summary of a lecture from world-renowned coach Arthur Lydiard that he attended at Flashes of Panic . I highly recommend reading it.

Thanksgiving

Prologue: I'm still around, and hopefully will be blogging more regularly.

Thanksgiving has always been the bigger of the two end-of-the-year holidays for my family. Almost all of my family members from out of town (a group which now includes me) come to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving wasn't going to be quite as big this year since some of my relatives who usually attend weren't this year, but Thanksgiving morning the holiday got even smaller. My grandmother, along with most of the members of my aunt's family had come down with the stomach flu. Thanksgiving was scheduled for my grandmother's but was hastily rescheduled for the healthy members of my family at my parent's. We lost more relatives when another of my aunts decided not to bring her family, due to her fear of getting sick, despite the fact that everyone attending was well.

I ran my traditional race Thanksgiving morning. I finished 35th in the five mile race in a time of 31:07. Given the windy conditions, I'm pleased with the race.

One of the things I like about visiting home is the opportunity to run on some trails. There's one a half-mile away from my house and another about two miles away. It's a nice change of pace from all the running on the roads I do at home.

Training Update

It's been a little while since I've updated, but I've still been running. I'm working on getting my mileage up to build a good base over the winter. My last two weeks have been 37 and 50 miles, and I should be around 60 miles this week.

This past Saturday I attended the ACC XC Championships at the University of Maryland. It was fun to watch, and I ran into a friend of mine from high school who now runs for Duke. She's a grad student there in her last year of eligibility for cross. She didn't run Saturday, though, because she was injured. She's had a few injury problems over the last year or two.

I did vote today, and luckily it didn't take as long as it did for some of my friends. I was in line a few minutes before the polls opened at six this morning. It took 20 minutes for me to go through the line and vote, but some of my friends (who vote at other locations) waited up to two hours.

Mediocre

That's about how I'd describe my race Saturday morning. On a basically pancake flat course I managed an 18:51 5k.

My work week didn't come to a good end, which didn't help things with the race. I tried to leave early Thursday so I could get my run in before I went out to dinner, but I was held up half an hour taking care of a job that had to deliver the next day. Apparently planning ahead is not one of the National Park Services strengths; they didn't realize until Thursday that for a White House grounds tour on Sunday it might be helpful to put up a few signs.

I stayed an hour late on Friday waiting for tracking numbers that I couldn't even get until Monday morning because the person I usually deal with had left and no one else could help me. I did ask someone else for help, but he couldn't get me the information. And I know I told the agency the job would ship Friday, not that it would arrive Friday.

Desperately Seeking

Wanted: training partner. Must be willing to run every day. Indifference to the elements mandatory. Desire to be the best runner possible required. Following the sport at elite levels a plus. If interested, leave a message here.

Ah, Fall

The gorgeous fall weather is here. It was sunny and about 60 degrees for my run yesterday. I ran another 4 miles, still getting back into the swing of things again with my running. My knee pain is still lingering, so I did some quad exercises after my run. Hopefully the pain will subside soon.

My wife has started to run again. She ran some when we were in college, before we got married. When she started teaching, she was so busy and stressed out that she didn't exercise very much. She stays at home with Puff now, and gets together with other moms to run a few times a week. She found the group through the web site See Mommy Run. The group has been featured on the local news and supposedly will be featured in the upcoming edition of the Washington Running Report.

Back to It

After the pain in my knee came up, I took most of last week off to see if it would heal. I iced and took some drugs, and my knee felt better, but not completely healed. Saturday and Sunday I ran with Puff, and while there was still pain in my knee, it felt better as I loosened up. The same thing happened yesterday when I ran by myself, and even running some laps around the soccer field to run on grass didn't seem to make a difference. I think strenghtening my quads will help my knee, so I'm going to do some quad exercises a few times a week.

The cross country season is now in full swing, and I'm anxious to check out what happened over the weekend when I get into work Monday morning. Wisconsin and Stanford look good on the men's and women's side respectively, and I've been very impressed with Josh McDougal. There's a question at Trackshark about how he'll do at the NCAA championships in November. While I think he has a good chance of placing high, I wonder if he's racing too much right now and will be burnt out by November.

Work's been frustrating lately. It's amazing how hard it seems to be for some people to follow simple procedures, such as faxing a copy of an order they placed to me because we handle the billing.

Getting Back Into It

I ran yesterday for the first time since the half-marathon. I did 4 miles, along the bike path out and back. I felt some pain just below my right knee, which was rather surprising after two weeks off. I can't think of anything I did in those two weeks that would have caused it to hurt like it did. I iced it and took some ibuprofen, and today I'm going to run on the soccer fields in order to stay on soft surfaces.

Saturday I went to College Park because Maryland was hosting the Pre-ACC XC meet. There weren't many ACC teams there; besides Maryland the Clemson women and Miami men ran. Maryland won both the women's and men's race, but I'll be shocked if they do the same at the ACC Championships.

Half Marathon Report

The half-marathon did not quite go as planned, despite the fact that I ran a PR (of course I ran a PR, it was my first half-marathon). As is typical with my races, I went out too fast. I ran the first mile in 5:44, just about my 5k race pace. I slowed down for the next four miles or so and ran each of them at about 6:05 pace. That was still a bit fast, and I ended up running the last 8 miles or so of the race at more or less 6:45 pace. My watch did say I ran one mile in just over 7 minutes and the next mile in 5:51, but I think those mile markers were a bit off. I finished in 1:24:28, certainly a respectable time but not what I was hoping for.

I'm taking the next two weeks or so off, and then base building over the fall and winter. I hoping for a prolonged period of at least 80 miles a week, which should be a good start for the half-marathon and marathon I plan on next year.

Tapering

I've been tapering for just under the past two weeks now for my half this Sunday. I'm anxious to run it and see how I do. It will be my longest race to date, and hopefully it will bode well for the marathon I plan to run next year. Originally, the plan was to run Pittsburgh, but that's out the window now that the marathon is dead. The new plan is to run a 20k (I can't remember the name of the race) Memorial Day weekend, and then run the Richmond Marathon in November.

I've begun to run in the afternoon now instead of the morning. If I go into work early, I can beat some of the traffic, and I'm more loose in the afternoon. I can actually sleep a little longer and get to work earlier. Plus, I can take Puff in the stroller and give my wife a break.

Cross Country Season

Fall is my favorite season, not only for the cooler temperatures and multi-colored leaves, but for cross country. Cross country has always been my favorite of the three running disciplines I participate in, evidenced by the fact that I participate in multiple cross country races each year. I'm especially looking forward to this fall because the Pre-ACC and ACC cross country meet are at the University of Maryland in College Park. I'll cheer for my alma mater, despite the fact that they're likely going to be finishing toward the bottom of the standings.

While I'm on the subject of races I'll be attending, hopefully next weekend I'll have a chance to meet Carrie Tollefson. She's the "guest speaker" (I'm not sure exactly what they're calling it) at a race in Maryland. Meeting an Olympic athlete will be a treat.

18:08

So I didn't run a PR. It was still a good effort. I was only 9 seconds off my track best, and 13 off my road best. As usual, I slowed a bit after the opening mile, but not as much this time as I have in the past. The weather cooperated, with the cloudiness keeping it cooler than it would have been with blue skies. It was still humid, though.

Given my tendency to go out a little fast, I know I'm going to have to make a very conscious effort to go out at the right pace in the half. I'm not quite planning to copy Deena's race plan, but I don't want the second half of the race to be a death march, either.

Fans

I now know what it must feel like to run in one of the Golden League meets. Well, not exactly, but there were some people in the stands for my workout yesterday.

I ran 8x400 with 30 seconds rest at the high school track yesterday. As I arrived, the football team was leaving the field, so I thought Good, I got here just at the right time. I started my workout, and people began to walk down into the stadium and sit in the bleachers. More and more people continued to arrive as I ran each interval. The band was practicing on a field adjacent to the track, and were apparently going to perform for the "fans" in the bleachers, who I assume were their parents and siblings. I kept expecting to be told to leave, but no one ever even said anything to me. I had finished my workout and was just leaving the track as the band marched down to the field.

The workout went very well. I ran most of the 400s in 78 seconds, with two in 77 and one in 76 seconds. This workout gives me some confidence going into my race Saturday, where hopefully I'll break my PR, which I set at this race last year but have since broken.

I wonder what the people in the bleachers were thinking as they watched me run. I'm also shocked that no one even mentioned that I should leave, given some of the stories I've read about getting kicked off the local track.

Congrats Meb!

Meb's performance in the Olympic yesterday was incredible! It was inspiring to watch him get the silver medal. I was hoping he could catch Baldini and win the gold, but the Italian was just too much. It must have been great for him to be up on the medal stand during the closing ceremonies with all those people in the stands. I feel bad for Lima, but I think he would have been caught anyway, and he seemed very excited to get the bronze.

I had a halfhearted weekend of running. I was pretty tired Friday and only managed 6 miles at a slow pace. I slept in Saturday, but had another one of those days where I feel lethargic and tired all day so I didn't run. Sunday I got up early and ran 9 miles before Mass the Olympic and the Olympic Marathon. This morning I did 7 miles and some strides. I thought I was moving pretty good at the end of my run, but I must have started pretty slowly because my time didn't really show it.

I feel good about my half-marathon. The 5000 this weekend should be a good test of my fitness and let me know what to expect for the half.

Running with the Geese

You've heard of Running with the Buffaloes, now I bring you Running with the Geese. I went to the track for a workout yesterday. I was planning on going to the track at the middle school that I've run at recently, but it turned out that the track at the high school was actually open, so I ran there instead. There were a whole gaggle of geese on the infield at the track, surely there to watch me work out. The high school is across the street from the middle school, and since I had to wait to cross the road, I decided to run around the high school to extend my warmup a bit. I went by the track and the gate was open, so I decided to do my workout there. It's an actual rubberized track, as opposed to the asphalt track at the middle school.

My workout was 6x800 meters, with a lap recovery. I'm trying to sharpen for my half-marathon, which is in a little more than two weeks. My goal was to run the 800s in 2:50 to 2:55, which apparently was much easier than I thought. I ran the first in 2:40 and slowed down on the second one in 2:50. The last four were 2:42, 2:39, 2:42, and 2:39. It was nice for a change to run faster than I was planning on.

This morning I went out four a slow 4 miles. I was kind of stiff from the workout last night. I'm planning on another 7 or 8 this afternoon.

Regular Updates

Anyone who reads this blog will realize that it's been a little while since it's been updated. I don't think it's worth it to have a blog that's rarely updated, so I'm going to try and be more diligent about keeping it current. Now if I only did the same with my training log...

I took three days off last week after I got the blister during the race. I wanted to make sure that it had healed enough that running on it wasn't going to make it worse. I ran 9 miles last Thursday, and while I thought I was feeling the blister at times, it looked exactly the same when I returned from my run as it had when I left. I think it was more of a mental thing, e.g. I thought I was feeling the blister because I expected to.

Friday I did 7 miles and during the course of the run managed to get caught in a thunderstorm and get soaked. Coming inside to a cool air-conditioned house when you're dripping wet is not really a good feeling.

Saturday I felt sluggish and ran 6 miles easily, but I had a good workout Sunday. I ran 14 miles, with about 4 miles at half-marathon race pace. I ran the race pace portion on the track, so it's just shy of 4 miles (6400 meters to be exact), and I finished it in 24:59.

I ran Sunday evening, so I was pretty sore for my run Monday morning. I did a very easy 7 miles. I would have run Monday afternoon, but my dad was in town and was coming over after his meeting in the afternoon. Tuesday I did an easy 8 miles.

I've been watching some of the track and field action from the Olympics. The 10,000 meter and women's marathon coverage were excellent, and hopefully the men's marathon will be covered in the same fashion. I taped the steeple and women's 1500 heats last night. I also have tapes of the NCAA meet and Prefontaine Classic to watch when I get the chance.

Hurricane? What Hurricane?

Originally, we were supposed to get a couple inches of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Charley. So when it started to rain Saturday afternoon, I was expecting the deluge to come at any time. However, it rained lightly for a few hours and that was it. Charley must have been further east than originally forecast.

Since the rain was less than expected, the course for Sunday's race was not wet, except for a few muddy spots in the wooded areas. I ran 19:55 to finish in 10th place. I'm happy that I ran 24 seconds faster than last year, but I didn't feel like I had any wheels yesterday. I picked up the pace a bit at the end and passed someone about a half mile from the finish, but overall I felt kind of lethargic. Maybe it's a function of the longer runs and less intervals I've been doing to get ready for the half marathon. I'm going to do some shorter, speedier running over the days I have left before Sept. 12.

I learned an important lesson during the race Sunday--don't run in my new spikes without socks. I have a quarter sized blister on the ball of my foot. It was more painful yesterday during my cool down than it has been today, but I'm still taking at least a day or two off to let it heal before I run again. I want it to heal as soon as possible and I certainly don't want to make it any worse.

I'm anxious for track and field to begin at the Olympics. I'm particularly interested in seeing Geb try to defend his 10,000 meter title--and it doesn't look good for him if the reports that he's injured are true--and Deena try to take the marathon gold from Paula Radcliffe. I think the heat will be a big factor in the marathon and keep Paula with the rest of the field for most of the race.

Olympics

I watched a bit of the opening ceremonies last night, and one word pretty much sums up my feelings: "Blah." I'm sure they're exciting if you're participating, but watching them on TV was kind of boring. I would much rather watch the events themselves. And speaking of the events, why were there soccer games being played before the opening ceremonies take place?

Yesterday I ran 12 miles, 4 before and 8 after work. I was expecting rain, but Bonnie moved out and took the rain with her. It actually turned out to be a fairly nice day, partly cloudy and cool. Today I ran 9, with a few strides at the end.

I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow. It will certainly be wet, but the race is not until 5 in the afternoon so I don't have to get up early and I should be nice and warmed up.

My Week

This week's been pretty good. I'm a bachelor for most of it, what with my wife and son in New York Tuesday through Sunday. It's nice to get some time alone.

Sunday I didn't run. I didn't feel up to getting up early and running before church and in the afternoon I got sucked into Mystic River, so I took the day off. I was kind of sore from the race Saturday, but not enough to take the day off just because of it.

Monday I did 8 miles on the trail by my house in Pittsburgh. I still refer to it as "my house," despite the fact that I don't live there any more. It was very nice, cool morning.

Tuesday I was back in VA and ran 7 miles on the bike path. I ran after work and it was warm, but not sweltering.

Wednesday I doubled and finally got around to doing a real tempo run. I ran 4 miles in the morning before work, and then did the tempo run at the track after work. I ran 5000 meters in 18:55. It wasn't too warm, but the humidity was terrible since it rained earlier in the afternoon. My shorts were soaked when I was done.

This morning I did 8 easy. I knew it would be slow, but it took even longer than I thought. One thing I've noticed is that when I run in the morning I always think I'm going faster than I actually am. I think it's because I'm not as warmed up and it takes more effort than I think to maintain a certain pace, but if anyone has any other ideas feel free to let me know.

I'm running another XC race this weekend, a 5k this time. It's supposed to rain pretty heavily through Saturday, so who knows what the course will be like.

Race Report

I'm in Pittsburgh for the weekend, and this morning I ran an 8k XC race in Frick Park. Frick Park is a good-sized park with miles of trails. I ran this race three years ago and ran something like 32:30. This year I wanted to beat that time, but also get close to or below 30:00. The course is rolling, going both up and down. If you run the 8k race (there is also a 2k and 4k), you have to go up a 3/4 mile long hill, but then you get to come back down. I ran 31:32 and finished 5th. I'm pleased with my performance, especially since I caught the guy who had been ahead of me for about 6k of the race with 200 or so meters to go, but the hill just killed me. I'm not a strong hill runner, and that wil be something I work on before I run the Pittsburgh Marathon in the spring, since it is a hilly course.

I cooled down with some people after the race and was able to talk a little track. There's not many people I know who can hold a conversation about elite US or world distance running.

Attempted Tempo Run

My new shoes did arrive yesterday, but I didn't run when I got home. I was lazy and played with Puff. I wanted to do the tempo run this morning, and I tried. I just didn't get close to the pace I should have been running.

I ran out the bike path to warm up, and started the tempo part of my run when I got to the 11k mark. I ran to the 8k mark, turned around, and ran back to 11k. I was hoping to run it in about 24-25 minutes, but it took me over 28 minutes. It is a rolling loop, most of each k is either up or down (down, up, down on the way out and the opposite on the way back), but I just didn't have it this morning. I didn't feel all that great either; something I ate last night upset my stomach. I thought it would be gone when I got up this morning, but it was with me until about lunchtime.

On the plus side of things, I did read something inspiring on the message board at LetsRun.com. There's a thread about working full time and running high mileage, and when asked if it was worth it, one of the posters replied "Yes! It absolutely was worth it, even though I was never more than a passably decent local road runner. The thing was, I wanted to know what would happen if I did what guys like Clarke and Lindgren did." That pretty much sums up the way I feel. Now I just need to get out there and do it.

New Shoes, New Shoes

I was planning on doubling today, but decided not to run this morning. I was tired and I heard the rain falling on the roof, so I just stayed in bed. I'll run when I get home from work. I think I'm going to do a tempo run on the bike path.

Hopefully my new shoes will be there when I get home. I had been running in a pair Saucony Grid Azuras because I had read about the benefits of training in lightweight shoes/flats and wanted to give it a try. I've been running in them for about three months and probably have around 700 miles on them. Thursday, my knees were pretty sore for most of my run, and that coupled with the outsole being really worn made me decide I need to get a new pair of shoes. I'm going back to the Saucony Grid Trigon Light. I've been training in one version or another of the Trigons for two years now, and haven't had any complaints.

Work, Work, Work

I have been so busy this week. I was supposed to get a new partner this week, and she's sitting in the desk next to me, but she's still doing her old job. The second phase of our reorg started Monday, and her old job was supposed to be eliminated. However, the new procedures have not begun yet, and she still has to do her old job. Add that to the fact that I was out of the office most of Thursday morning, and I had a busy week.

My running's gone well. I did 70.5 miles last week, my highest week this year. I skipped my second run Friday because I was exhausted, but otherwise it was a good week. This week I'll probably end up at a little over or under 60 miles, depending on today's run.

I'm looking forward to the half-marathon, especially with the good workouts I've had recently. My next race is next weekend when my wife, Puff, and I go back to see my family in Pittsburgh. It's an 8k XC race, and I'm anxious to see how I do.

A Little Fartlek

I did 10 miles on the bike path today, with 10 x 2 min. on, 2 min. off. It was warmer and more humid this morning, so I was thoroughly soaked by the time I made it home. The workout went pretty well; I didn't go too fast on the first few "on" sections, but the last six or seven were run at a good clip.

I learned this morning that it's hard to set my watch in the dark. I thought the timer was already set for two minutes, but it was actually still set at five minutes from the last time I used it. I hardly ever set anything on my watch, so I'm not completely familiar with the buttons I need to push. Add that to the fact that it was still dark while I was trying to set my watch, and maybe you'll understand why it took me about five minutes to do that should take 30 seconds.

Yesterday I did an easy nine miles. I was pretty tired, and I ran about 9 minute pace.

So far this week I've run 55.5 miles. Assuming I run what I'm planning on for the next two days, I'll end up with 76.5 miles for the week, my highest week for the year.

Today's Workout

This morning I went to the track to run intervals. The workout was 4x1200 meters, with one lap recovery. Based on my tempo run last week, I was hoping to run the intervals in 4:45 apiece. It was cool and not too humid; overall, a nice morning for a workout. Plus, I actually got a decent amount of sleep last night.

I warmed up for half an hour and then began my workout. I ran the first 1200 in 4:38 and was pleasantly surprised. My effort felt approximately the same as my tempo run even though I was running a couple seconds per lap faster.

I ran the next two 1200s in 4:29 and 4:28 respectively. On the last one, I decided to run hard and aim for 4:20. To pleasantly surprise myself even more, I ran the last 1200 in 4:11. Going into this workout I was prepared for it to go badly, since I ran 16.5 miles Sunday and 10 yesterday, but what happened was exactly the opposite. I cooled down and finished the morning with 10 miles.

Catching Up, Again

I know I haven't posted much lately, I've been very busy at work and then just relaxed when I wasn't running this weekend.

I'll start with Wednesday. My run was uneventful. I had a late night Tuesday and kind of slogged through 7 tired miles. It didn't feel too slow while I was running, but I was surprised to have been running about 9 minute pace when I got home.

Thursday I did a tempo run. I found a track that I don't have to climb over a fence to get too. I warmed up with a little under 4 miles, and then ran 5000 meters on the track at approximately tempo pace. It was a little slower than I would have liked, but I don't expect too much at 5:30 in the morning. I finished the 5000 in 20:26 nad then cooled down 2 miles or so home.

I had another late night Thursday (we got kicked off our first softball field, so we had to find another field and the game got started late). I did 5 miles in the morning before work and was planning on a few more in the afternoon, but when I got home I was so exhausted I called it a day.

Saturday morning I was planning on doing 10 miles. It was not a pleasant experience. My stomach bothered me the entire way, and I walked the last two and a half miles home. I made it to the halfway point and turned around and only made it a little more than a mile until I had to stop and walk. I ran again in a few minutes, but only made it a few minutes before I said "Screw it" and walked the rest of the way home.

I felt better Sunday and had a great long run. I ended up running 16.5 miles. I picked up the pace for portions of the run and near the end (about 13.5 miles in) I ran a 1600 on the track in 6:26. I've read about KK finishing his long runs with a hard mile or two on the track and though it would be good to try.

This morning I did 6 easy miles. I'm going to run a few more when I get home.

My Pgh. Trip

I had a very good time on my trip back home. It was nice to be able to relax for a few days. I only have two complaints: the sofa bed and brothers who stay up all night. The sofa bed, while new, was still a sofa bed and therefore uncomfortable. And it didn't help that my brothers were up and about making noise while I was trying to sleep.

My running went very well while I was in Pgh. I did the vast majority of it on a trail that's about a half mile from my house. Part of the trail is a crushed limestone (I think) and the rest is asphalt. Saturday I did 10 miles, picking up the pace at the end.

Sunday I "ran into" a friend from high school while I was running. He's a year younger than me and is entering his fifth year of college. He redshirted his freshman year of cross and he has one more season left this fall. He's out of eligibility for track. I was about three miles into my run when I saw him and we ran the next two and half miles together before he went on and I turned around. It was nice to have a running partner for a little while.

Monday I ran 16 in the rain. Thankfully it wasn't raining the whole time, just for the last three miles or so. Anyway, I was already soaked to begin with since it had rained earlier and was very humid, so the rain didn't feel too bad. The 16 miles took just over two hours. I finished with my fastest mile of the run, 7:03 I believe. I was trying to run sub-7, but couldn't quite do it.

Tuesday I took it very easy and ran 6 miles at around 9 minute pace. I was pretty stiff when I started but loosened up as I went on and felt like I could have run a bit more. I did want to be home in enough time to get ready to leave though; my wife had a lacrosse game in the evening back in VA.

Another Long Weekend

I'm going "home" this weekend. My former home, that is. I'm going to visit my parents and brothers in Pittsburgh. I'm staying until Tuesday, so that makes two long weekends in a row. I'm looking forward to seeing the house--my parents had some remodeling done--and getting some rest.

I had another good week of training. I got my long run in Sunday with a good race/workout in the middle. Monday I ran 8 easy miles in the sweltering heat and humidity. I don't think 10 or 11 am is the best time to go for a run in July. Normally I'd run a workout Tuesday, but I was still feeling a little sore, so I pushed the workout back to Wednesday. Tuesday I just did an easy 10 miles.

My workout Wednesday went well. I warmed up to the soccer fields and then ran 4x5 min. around the middle field. I did a little more than three and a half laps per repeat, and I was pleased that on each repeat I ran a little further than the last. The only downside to the workout was the grass was soaking wet and my shoes and socks got wet.

Thursday I ran an easy 8 miles. Normally I'd double today but after softball last night I was up late packing and I decided to sleep in so I wouldn't be falling asleep on the drive this afternoon. I may run when I get to Pittsburgh, but I doubt it.

My 4th of July Race

I ran the Go Fourth 8k race this 4th of July, for the third year in a row. I was running it as part of my long run. I left a little later in the morning than I wanted, but I still arrived with ample time before the race. I ran the course to warm up and was drenched. It was very humid this year. The race itself went pretty well. Only the first (and last, the course is out and back) mile is marked, and I went out in 6:11, with two women right next to me. Over the next 1.5 miles to the turnaround I pulled away from the women and hit halfway in 15:37. The second half of the race is slightly easier than the first, because all the small uphills are now downhills. I ran a slight negative split on the way back, also running the last mile in 6:11 to finish in 31:09. Overall I'm pleased with the outcome even though I ran 20 seconds slower this year than I did last year. I know I didn't run my highest mileage of the year the week before the race last year, and this year's race was more of a workout. I was pretty tired after the race, but managed a four mile cool down to give me 14 miles for the day.

Tired

I don't know exactly what the cause is, but I'm having another Saturday where I woke up and just felt like I hadn't slept at all. I went to be about 11 last night and woke up just after 7, so I got a decent amount of sleep. Maybe it does have something to do with my body's rhythms and not getting up about 5 AM like I do during the week.

I was going to run 8-10 miles this morning, but since I felt so tired I only did 6. That gives me 68 for the week, which I think is my highest week so far this year.

It's going to be hot for my race tomorrow. Today's high is 90, tomorrow's is "only" 86, and then up to 94 Monday. The humidity is also back in full force, as usual for Virginia in July.

Running and Painting

Our softball game last night did not go as planned. We lost 20-4. Oh well, it is just for fun.

My running has been much better though. I did 8 miles after work Wednesday, and 10 miles before work Thursday. This morning I did 5, and I'm planning on another 6 or 7 after work. I'm going to do my best to continue this schedule until two weeks out from the half-marathon, taper, and run sub 1:18.

I'm running an 8k race Sunday the 4th. Since I typically do my long run Sunday, I'm going to fit the race in there. I figure I can do either a long warmup or long cool down, but I think I'd be more likely to cut the long cool down short, so I'm leaning toward the long warmup.

When I'm not running this weekend I'll most likely be painting. My wife's aunt "The Decorator" is visiting this week and whenever she visits she has some kind of project to work on. Right now she's helping my in-laws redo their family room, but my wife also asked her some questions about our house. I told my wife that I wanted to be involved, so she said, "Fine. You can paint."

My Parking Pass Saga

I don't usually drive into work. I'd rather be able to relax on my way in. I get to work by slugging, a makeshift form of carpooling. Slugging begins at a commuter parking lot. Slugs (people looking for a ride) and drivers meet there. Slugs wait in line as drivers pull up and announce where in DC they're going. Different commuter lots serve different areas of the city. This process benefits the slugs because they get a free ride into work and benefits the drivers because with three people in their car they are able to use the HOV lanes, which gets everyone to the city much more quickly than the regular lanes.

Normally I am a slug, but yesterday I drove because I was staying after work for a softball game. I arrived at work at abut 8:10. My wife would come watch the game and pick me up, but she had a lacrosse game. You have to have a parking pass to park in one of the lots, so I had to see one of the security guards to get one. He started to put my information into his computer, but then got a message saying he couldn't give me a pass and I had to see the parking office. I went upstairs to do so, but the woman I needed to see wasn't in yet. In the meantime, I had to move my car, so I parked at a meter, which took some of my coins without giving me any time. I went into the building but only had a few minutes on the meter, so I tried to change a dollar in a vending machine to get some more change. The first machine just gave me back the dollar and the second one wouldn't give me change until I bought something. Luckily, I ran into a coworker who had change for my second dollar. By this time it was almost 9, and I was supposed to have a conference call at 9. I went quickly back out to my car and put the change in the meter, which again only gave me time for some of the coins. I had the conference call and thankfully it only lasted a few minutes. Afterwards, I went to see the parking office about getting a pass. The woman in charge was there, but was walking out the door as I arrived. I told her I needed a pass, and she asked someone else to get it for me. He got the same message on the computer, but they also have handwritten passes, so he just gave me one of those and I went to move my car.

I got back to my desk and sat down to check my voicemail. I had two messages from the parking lady, one asking me to come see her right away and another one asking me to give her a call. I called her and she told me I needed to come see her. When I went down to see her, she told me I had been locked out of the system and that was why the computer wouldn't give me a parking pass. Apparently I had driven in too much in the past few months. Because it costs money to park where I work (the lots are leased from the city) you can only get a certain number of free temporary parking passes per year, I guess, and I had reached my allotment. I thought the limit was three per month, and I hadn't driven in at all in June, but that is not the case.

So I can't drive in to work and park in the lots for a few months now. On one hand, I understand there needs to be a limit on the free parking passes because people who drive every day pay to park. On the other hand, though, I'm a little upset because I only drive into work if I have a valid reason, so this is at least a little inconveniencing.

A Good Week

I'm having a good running week, at least. Sunday I did a good long run, and then an easy eight miles Monday morning. This morning, I did a hill workout. The workout was simple, 10 times up the hill, recover going back down. I ran it at the soccer fields. It was a beautiful morning; I wish I would have had my camera to take a picture of the sun coming up over the trees.

I have a softball game this afternoon and I didn't even bother to bring my running clothes. I drove in because my wife has a lacrosse game tonight (getting a parking pass today was a total debacle, I'll explain later) and I'm driving over to the game so I don't have to come back to work to get my car. Besides, my workout this morning totaled 10 miles and the last two times I've brought my running clothes I didn't run anyway.

The Weekend

I had a nice, relatively uneventful weekend. Friday I went for a run with Puff and he seemed to have a good time. We ran out along the bike path and seemed enthralled watching all of the cars go by. I couldn't get him to look at me when we had to wait to cross a street. He just wanted to watch the cars.

Saturday my wife and I walked to Starbucks in the morning and then I ran in the afternoon. Despite sleeping in until 8 or so, I felt sluggish all day. It's not the first time I've felt like this. I'd feel better if I got up at 6 instead of getting two more hours of sleep. It was a beautiful day to run, sunny, breezy, and not too humid at all.

Sunday my wife, Puff, and I went to the pool. He had a good time; I was cold the whole time I was in the water. The temperature was around 80, but it was still breezy. I did my long run after I got back from the pool; 15 miles in a little under two hours. I felt stiff when I started, but loosened up as I went along.

Box Score

I didn't run again before my softball game last night. We were going to play at the high school next to where I work, but then the football team showed up and started practicing on the field. I waited around to see if we'd have to move our game, but it turned out they would be done before our game was going to start. Also, I was tired.

We won our game 7-3. That gives us a 3 game winning streak, the longest in the brief history of our team. The brand new college graduates (I'm only two years out myself) have really helped our team. I volunteered to write a recap of our games for the website a teammate is putting together, so I took care of that this morning. The website should be up in a few days. I'll post the address once I find out what it is.

Work

I probably have too much work to do to be writing this, but here goes. My wife and I have decided that we're not going to Charleston, but instead I'll run a half-marathon in Fredericksburg a week later. Longer range, I'm strongly considering running the Pittsburgh Marathon in May.

My training is going much better this week than it did last week. I did 8 miles Monday, a good workout Tuesday where I ran 3 x 10 min. (more or less) near tempo pace, and then 10 miles Wednesday. I didn't have such a great run this morning but I'm planning on getting a second run in before my softball game.

Work is hectic. It doesn't help matters that my partner is now working on a "special project" and is now my former partner.

Catching Up

It's been a few days since I've written, so I do have some catching up to do. The trip to South Carolina was fun. It was nice to see some friends I hadn't seen for a while. The wedding was very nice, but why anyone thinks an outdoor reception in South Carolina in June is a good idea is beyond me. I didn't run at all while in South Carolina.

Our office move went pretty smoothly. All of my stuff made it safely over to my new office. The one big problem is that my desk is not finished. It should form an L, but the second piece of the L is not here yet. All the Ls that were ordered were left hand Ls, but my desk needs a right hand L. At least I'm not the only one with this problem.

I ran 8 miles yesterday after work. My stomach bothered me again. I think I know what the problem is, though. I was thirsty yesterday while running and I think I was dehydrated. I don't think I drank enough over the weekend, and I was running around the building yesterday from office to office and didn't drink enough. I'm going to drink more the rest of this week and hopefully I'll feel better.

I may not be heading to Charleston in September after all. Our financial situation is probably not what it would need to be to make the trip. I'm going to look for a race of a similar distance closer to northern VA or Pittsburgh, where I grew up and my parents still live.

Packing Up

My office is moving, which is a good thing as well as a bad thing. We're getting some new furniture, which is good, but we have to move from our current location, which is bad. Right now, I work in a smallish room with three other people. I like the feeling of seclusion. I'm moving to a much larger room, which will have about 10 times the amount of people once everyone moves in.

I didn't run again today. I was hoping to run before our softball game, but between working and packing I didn't have time. Plus, it started thunderstorming, so I think our game is cancelled. As of this writing, I don't have any official word. Since I'm still at work at 6, I'd really just like to go home.

???????

Will I run today or not? That is the question. Had my week gone according to plan, I would have run 10 miles or so this morning. However, when developing my plan, I forgot that my wife had a get-together with some friends last night. She went over with her sister and was going to call me when things were wrapping up so I could bring the baby and come get her. Of course evryone couldn't just say "Hi, baby!" and leave, so we hung around for a little while. I got to bed about 11 and was going to get up at 5 and run a little less than planned. Sleeping in, running, and coming in late to work was not an option because I had a meeting at 9:30 and had to prepare some materials beforehand. If you haven't figured it out already, I didn't run this morning. I was tired and just tried to sleep a little more.

My wife occasionally tells me to sleep in, run, and go to work late. She tells me just to take some sick leave, of which I have plenty to be able to take an hour or two here and there. I haven't done this yet, but the more late nights I have the more tempting it becomes. However, I worry about saying I'm sick when I'm really not. I guess I could say I don't "feel well," which while technically true because I'm tired doesn't seem to be the same as being sick. I should just try it one day and see what happens.

Puff's First Ride

Puff went for his first real run in the baby jogger with me yesterday and did not have a good time. He was tired and hungry, and he didn't enjoy all of the bumps. We started on the path right by my house, but it goes up and down as it crosses the streets. We followed that up to the fitness center that has the soccer fields; I found out recently there's a trail behind the soccer fields. We had to go through a gravelly parking lot to get there, though and Puff did not like all that bouncing around. Part of the trail is dirt and part is paved. Puff fussed until we were on the paved part for a few minutes and then I think he fell asleep. He woke up once we got back to the fitness center and it got bumpy again. He'd probably be better off going for a run after he ate.

Catching Up

It's been a little while since I've written, but I've been busy. My day off Friday was not bad, except for the weather. It started raining about noon and didn't quit until well into the night. I finished 9th in the XC race Friday night, but I was only about 10 seconds out of 5th. There was a group of four runners that finished just in front of me. If the race were a little longer I think I would have caught them. I ran 19:05, about 20 seconds slower than last year. I'm not surprised with the time, though, given the conditions. When I picked up my spikes Saturday morning they felt like bricks.

Saturday was nice. My dad came to visit for some of Saturday before he left to see his brother in Maryland. He didn't get in until late Friday night and I decided to sleep a little more instead of run Saturday morning. The lacrosse fields were fine. It didn't rain to heavily Friday; it just rained steadily for a long time.

Sunday I got up early and ran 10 miles. I woke up as the run went on. We went back to the lacrosse fields for the final game of the season in the afternoon.

This is another short week for me. I'm leaving Friday for South Carolina to attend a friend's wedding. It'll be a good chance to catch up with some people I haven't seen for about 2 years now. I also get to try out the jogging stroller this week. I think Puff will like it as long as he's not too hungry when we go out.

Softball

I'm almost of to my softball game. As soon as I finish writing this, anyway. I did 7 miles this morning, still feeling the effects of the 7 I ran last evening. It was about 90 degrees when I ran yesterday, and the heat didn't bother me as much as my stomach. I think it had something to do with the blood flow being closer to my skin to cool me off, and therefore less blood getting to my stomach. It was obviously cooler this morning, but my stomach still felt funny.

The forecast is not looking good for my race tomorrow, but it is cross country. It's supposed to start raining any time now and continue through tomorrow night. Who knows what's going to happen with the lacrosse games this weekend too?

What's Up?

I had another sub-par run this morning. My legs felt OK, but my stomach was still acting up. I didn't know what the cause is. I haven't changed my diet or anything like that. Oh well. Here's hoping it'll just go away.

I've got another race Friday night. It's the next race in the cross country series the club I belong to runs. Last year it stormed shortly before the start and the start had to be delayed. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of that this year. Friday's supposed to be partly cloudy with a high of around 75. This race should go pretty well, especially since I don't have to go to work Friday. All federal employees have the day of due to President Reagan's funeral.

I'm still leading my age group in the series, and I think tied for 5th or so overall. Last year I won my age group and won a $50 gift certificate to a local running store. It was quite a bit more than I expected.

5k PR

I had sort of an up and down weekend. I did almost nothing Saturday. It was raining, I was tired, so I just laid around. I did find the time to go to Target and pick up some things I needed, as well as a wedding present for my friend who's getting married in about 2 weeks. The wedding should be a good time. It will be the first time I've been back near Clemson since I graduated 2 years ago. I've been back to South Carolina for two other weddings, but both were on the other side of the state. Plus, I'll get to show off Puff to some friends who haven't seen him yet.

Sunday was a much better day. I ran a 5k race and set a new PR. I ran 17:55 to finish 13th. My splits could have been better though. I ran miles of 5:25, 5:50, and 6:00, and then closed in 40 seconds. I was tying up at the end. The race was out and back along a local trail. Before the race, the announcer mentioned that the trail was slightly downhill on the way out and then slightly uphill on the way back, which my splits seem to indicate. I didn't notice it warming up, but I felt it during the race.

On a related note, in races I run that are sponsored by my club why are my times in the results always a second more that what I see on my watch? I think it must be because their timing rounds up to the next second. So even though the results say 17:56, I'm going with the 17:55 I got from my watch as my PR.

Work, Work Go Away

Is it time to go home yet? I wish it was. It's a Friday afternoon, I'm tired, and don't really feel like doing work.

I did not have a very good run this morning. After softball last night I got to bed late, but was going to run this morning because I have plans tonight. My legs actually felt good and the temperature was nice. But then about halfway through the 8 miles I was going to do, my stomach acted up and the rest of the run was fairly miserable. I ended up walking part of the run. I ran 7 of the 8 miles, so 7 miles is going in my log for today.

Tonight my wife, Puff, and I are going to the graduation ceremonies at the school where she used to teach. It's a pre-K through 8th grade school, and the 7th grade students she taught last year are graduating from 8th grade. I'm sure everyone will be glad to see her.

My Workout

Despite my halfhearted efforts to convince myself not to, I did my workout this morning. I warmed up by running over to the soccer fields. My workout was 5 repeats of 2 laps around the lowest soccer field, and then up the hill to the sign near the top of the parking lot. Then it was back down the hill to recover and start the next repeat. Each repeat was probably a little less than 3/4 of a mile, based on my time. Before each of them my legs felt heavy and stiff, but once I started running they felt fine. Including the warm up and cool down, I ended up with about 9 miles total.

I'm not running over to the field for the softball game tonight. My wife has a meeting tonight and won't be able to make it to the game, so I had to drive into work to have a ride home. I'll just drive over to the game so I don't have to come back to work to get my car.

What's up with the weather these past two mornings? Both today and yesterday I was rained on, even though only half the sky was cloudy. If I looked in one direction, it looked like rain. But if I looked in the other direction, I could see the sun coming up and blue sky. What the heck?

Time to Go Home

Another workday is ending. This one was largely uneventful. For the most part, I like uneventful work days where I can get some work done and also peruse the Internet, mainly looking at running sites. Hopefully tomorrow will be more of the same.

I don't have to go visit the agency who's testing our new online ordering system tomorrow, but my partner does. She was out of town when I went last week. I don't think she looking forward to it. I'd be going, except I'm conducting a training session tomorrow morning and by the time that's over it won't be worth my time to visit.

I ran 10 miles this morning. Like my workday, it was largely uneventful. I'm planning on a workout tomorrow morning.

I "won" a jogging stroller on eBay last night. I'm looking forward to getting it and taking Puff with me when I run. I think he'll really enjoy it. My wife also wants to use it; she's playing lacrosse this summer and wants to do some running to get in shape.

I had a pretty nice end to my Memorial Day weekend. The trip to Charlottesville was largely uneventful, and really was just about unnecessary. Originally, we were going to try to plan some activities for my in-laws, we scrapped that idea just picked up some of the brochures in the visitor's center. The one good thing that came out of the trip was finding a hotel that is pretty close to everything.

My run Sunday morning before I left was terrible. I was very tired and ended up cutting my run short to 4 miles. I just wanted to crawl back into my bed.

My run Monday was much better, however. I got a good night's rest and did 16+ miles in a little over two hours. Days like this make me feel like I have a good chance of meeting my goal at the Distance Run.

Ahhh...

What a difference a day can make. Yesterday it was warm and sticky; today it's cool and breezy, not to mention less humid. I did 10 miles on the bike path around noon. It took me a while to warm up, but overall I had a good run.

Since I'm going to Charlottesville tomorrow, I'm switching my long run to Monday. That will be nice. I'll sleep in, have a bite to eat, and run 15 or 16 miles.

The Long Weekend

I'm looking forward to having a nice, relaxing three-day weekend. I'm going to get some rest, go on a little trip, cook out, and of course, run.

Yesterday's running went well. I ran 7 miles before work, and then another 3 over to the softball field after work with some co-workers. Running in DC, with all the stopping and starting we had to do yesterday, is not my favorite thing to do, but it was nice to run with some other people instead of by myself.

Softball, on the other hand, did not go so well. We lost. I'm not sure exactly what the final score was, but I know it was worse than last week. I think it was something like 18-8. We just didn't play the way we did last week.

I was up late last night, so I didn't run in the morning. I'll get my run in when I get home from work.

I'm taking a trip Sunday to Charlottesville, VA. I've been there before to visit some of my wife's friends who went to UVA. My mother-in-law wants to surprise my father-in-law with a trip there this summer, so my wife, sisters-in-law, and I are going to scout things out. It should be fun.

Untitled

I ran 8 miles after work last night, plus some strides. It was cloudy and looked like rain, but it held off until after my run. The clouds actually kept the temperature down, so it wasn't quite as hot as it has been. I'm looking forward to this weekend, when it's only supposed to be in the 70s.

My wife coaches lacrosse and then tutors on Wednesday night, so we end up having a late dinner. We were going to have chicken, rice, and broccoli, but that didn't work out. She wanted to prepare what she could in advance, but she had to pick her sister up from school because she was sick and she didn't get a chance. She was so stressed because she didn't get stuff done that she didn't want to cook after tutoring, so we just ordered pizza. At that point, I really didn't care what we ate for dinner I was so hungry.

I did 7 miles this morning before work, and I may get in a few more after work with some coworkers. We also have a softball game tonight, but there's some time between when I get off work and game time. My coworkers ran before the game last week and I'm assuming they're going to run this week as well. This is all dependent on us actually having the game, of course, which is kind of up in the air. There's still a chance of rain this afternoon, and we play on the mall, which a lot of is taken up by preparation for the dedication of the WWII memorial this weekend.

I'm not looking forward to the rest of work today. We're in the pilot phase of testing a system for ordering printing online, and I have to go visit the agency that's testing the system today. The system's non-user-friendliness and the inability of the agency to write correct specifications in the first place does not make for much fun.

Rain Rain Go Away

I really wish this weather would improve. I tried to get a workout in yesterday afternoon when I got home from work, but I only made it a little less than halfway before the storm came. The plan was to warm up and then do 10x2 min on, 2 min off at the soccer fields near my house. I did four before I stopped due to the lightning and thunder and then pouring rain. What I did get done went pretty well, but I was a little tired. I could have tried to do this workout before instead of after work, but I'm more warmed up after work and so I run faster.

It didn't help that I got home from work about 45 minutes later than I wanted to. There was an accident in the HOV lanes that backed traffic up for a few miles. The HOV lanes work well for the most part, but when there's an accident traffic backs up quickly.

I got up to run before work this morning, but once again it was thunderstorming. I'm going to try to run after work today. Hopefully the results will be better than yesterday.

Poor Little Puff

Puff had to get 4 shots this morning at his 6-month visit to the doctor. Of course he cried, but he calmed down pretty quickly afterwards. For some reason, he didn't get any band-aids this time; they just gave Jenny some gauze to press down on the "little wounds" until they stopped bleeding. Puff's next doctor's visit is at 9 months, thankfully he doesn't get any shots then. His next shots aren't until he's a year old.

I ran 14 miles yesterday morning and then 8 this morning. It's still warm and now more humid, at least for the next day or two. I hope my stomach (and by my stomach I mean my digestive system in general) adjusts to this weather. I never had any problems in the cold this winter, but ever since I did that tempo run in the heat a week ago it hasn't felt quite right. It's certainly nothing that will keep me from running, but it's just kind of annoying.

Hot Hot Heat

Today I ran 10 miles. There's a bike path I run on fairly often that starts not too far from my house, and that's where I ran today. The one drawback of it is (at least when you're running from 11 am to a little after noon) the fact that there's no shade. We've basically bypassed spring this year in VA, and gone right into the middle of summer. The high temperature for today is 87, and the highs for the next two days are 90 and 92.

When companies claim that their apparel "wicks moisture away from the body," I often wonder just whose body they're talking about. I ran in my Coolmax Hanson's shirt today, (which if you're planning to purchase they run big) and it wasn't much drier if at all than a cotton t-shirt. And if I run without a shirt in the summer, my shorts are as wet as a bathing suit after you get out of the pool. It's not that I mind getting sweaty, I'm skeptical about people who tout running in clothes made from these synthetic materials as being so much better for you.

Not Today

Well, I didn't run yesterday. I was still exhausted when I got home and just couldn't bring myself to get out there. Today will be different. I got a good night's rest and will be ready to go soon.

I know the race will be here before I know it. I can't afford to just take days off because I'm tired. I need to work hard to make sure I'm getting enough rest.

The Plan

The plan for tonight is to run when I get home. I didn't get to bead early enough last night to feel like I could double today. It's also my son's first half-birthday today, and we're going to my in-laws to celebrate.

Softball went well last night, even though we lost 8-7 in extra innings. I went 3 for 4 if you keep score in the normal baseball fashion, 4 for 4 if you keep score the way we do in softball. The other team scored the winning run tagging up from second base. The ball was thrown to third but got by the third baseman and the winning run scored.

I'm hoping to get in a fartlek workout tonight, something like 10x2 min on, 2 min off. I'll probably do it on the soccer fields at Chinn, as long as they're not all taken.

Speaking of getting to bed, I wonder if there's anything I can do to improve my sleep. I haven't been sleeping as well as I'd like for a while now. It's very rare for me to go the whole night without waking up at least once. I've turned the clock away from me so I can't see it if I wake up in the middle of the night and that's helped me go back to sleep more easily if I do wake up, but it certainly hasn't help solve the problem of my waking up in the middle of the night in the first place. Quality/amount of sleep does directly affect my running, and I'd really like to increase both.

We're talkin' softball...

No running today. I was exhausted yesterday after getting up early, running, not eating as much as I should have, and travelling. Plus, this morning I went to mass. Today is the Asencion. It used to be a holy day of obligation, but not any more.

If not for softball this evening, I could run when I got home, but that probably won't be until 9 or so. But after all the baseball I played as a kid, I don't think I could give up softball just yet.

Out of Town

I was in Allentown, PA yesterday on a business trip. I ran 10 miles in the morning, before I had to be ready to visit the RR Donnelly and Moore Wallace plants. Although I didn't think so at first, the area around the hotel really wasn't too bad for running. I started by running out to Airport Rd. and back, and then decided to try going the other way from the hotel. There was a nice little neighborhood there to run through.

The rest of the day I was just tired and hungry. Our hotel didn't have a free breakfast, but we had a breakfast scheduled at RR Donnelly. We were a few minutes late getting there because we missed a turn, and once we did get there the pressentation was ready to start. I managed to eat a little, but not enough. And when we're leaving, one of the people I was travelling with tells me I need to eat and I'm skinny because my metabolism is fast and just wait until I get older and it slows down. No, no, I'm sure the fact that I'm rail-thin has nothing to do with the fact that I run...

#1

Ran 8 miles this AM. I went pretty slowly, recovering from yesterday's workout. My stomach still didn't feel quite right, and I think that had to do with why I didn't sleep too well last night. At least the AC is working and the hall light isn't on all night so the ceiling fan can run.

The weather is still warm and this morning was pretty humid. Of course I wish it was cooler, but hopefully this early onset of warm/humid weather will help me to race better in Charleston September 4.

Preparations are going well for the Distance Run. I just need to stay on top of things and make sure I get my workouts in and keep the mileage up.