Thousand Miles to Salamanca

Moments of Clarity

2008-07-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

LOG ENTRY

Ever have a true moment of clarity? When there's multiple issues all jumbled up. When things you've been thinking about for months, perhaps years. Tying you up in knots. Getting you pissed off beyond belief? Then, a thought passes, and you just see it. Right there in front of your eyes. It's there. And that's all you need.

I had one today. And I'm cool with things.

I don't know if it was the moment of clarity that lifted the 100 pounds of monkeys off my back, or the three-taco combo I had at Chipotle today for lunch, but I had one hell of a run tonight.

Avoiding the 97 degree heat at 8:00PM I went to the gym hoping to put in an hour on the treadmill at an easy pace. Just logging miles, really. As I was starting to run, I got to thinking and that's when it set in. I realized some things I'd been discussing in my head earlier in the day was right and that I was on the right path.

Then it was time to get on with it. I started out at a 10min mile pace, and dropped it down from there. I'm not going to go into the details now, but I got my run in. I also learned that there's a certain speed that the treadmills can't go. It was that kind of a run.

It's been a long time since I've logged in this damn thing. So much has happened. I've been running. Logging about 6 weeks averaging above 40 miles a week. Not bad for the excruciatingly torturous heat. More importantly, I'm shooting for 8 runs per week. Haven't hit it yet, but am shooting for that number. The number of runs is important -- especially in this heat.

Did almost 16 miles last Saturday, 13 on the treadmill at around 11PM and 2.5+ or so at night on the roads. The thirteen were surprisingly good. The first 6 miles slow, the last seven miles at a gradual pickup. I could have added three more. Slowly getting the endurance back.

I had quite the interesting run in Pennsylvania. I stayed at my brother's place, and jogged a little bit in the neighborhood two Sundays ago. Started a bit slow, having done almost 13 the day before. As I was about 1.5 miles into the run, I saw a bunch of the Amish playing volleyball. And as I ran by them, I heard two kids running behind me: "wait up, we wanna run with ya."

Unfortunately, I sped up! WTF! Instinct I guess. It is something that I will always regret. When will I ever get a chance to go for a run with the Amish? Probably never again. I so regretted it shortly after.

So a few days before this run, my brother Greg told me where the mile-to-go marker was. Not having run much with a watch this season, I figured I'd see what sort of shape I was in. So with a mile to go, I split my watch and figured I'd see what I could do. I had no intention to go all out, but to have a good smooth comfortable pickup. Again, no kicking, no heavy breathing, but a 'where am I at' run. Was a bit surprised at the finishing time: 6:20 mile. Quite the boost, considering the year I've had.

Speaking of Greg. He dropped a 5:03 at the Harrisburg Mile last night! Way to go Greg! He was a bit sick going into it, but laid it on the line. Funny thing was that he puked his guts out afterwards. It's ok Greg, here was my first road mile! We're going to do one together one of these days. And I'm going to beat you!

Sometimes I like to wear short shorts when I run, because when I see my shadow at night, it makes me look faster.

I'm not ready to run with the Gazelles in workouts just yet. Not sure why. Probably because it hurts. Maybe I'll go do some 800's one of these days.

Had an incredible night watching the finals night of the Olympic Trials. So. Incredibly. Inspiring. The 1500m final was so stacked. What professionals. I caught a few nights of the trials. Freaking Awesome. I'm debating getting cable just so I can watch every second of the Olympics (Track only of course).

Now that I got all charged up from watching Track, I think I want to run a two-mile again soon.

Resurrection

2008-05-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

LOG ENTRY

I'm writing in here tonight in a bit of motivational desperation. As we page through our various phases and cycles we tend to forget the difficulties of the routes we took to get where we are. As someone who's trying to get back into shape, I'm reminded again of just how difficult a task the first attempts were.

But I'm recognizing and thinking about it again. Temporarily distracted by other, important goals, I think I'm finding my way back. Every morning is a struggle, and thankfully I have my evenings. Tonight I ran to Zilker Park, found the grass and ran in circles -- slowly. Sore all over from overdoing it yesterday (two workouts) I had a good time out there by myself, stepping into a few holes and watching lightning bugs. It's a great place to run and I'm glad I'm rediscovering it. I basically had the place to myself. Imagine that. A gigantic park in the middle of one of the world's great cities -- to myself.

I've strung together a few 30 mile weeks in a row and hit 40+ last week for the first time since early Feb. I've gained a few pounds, and haven't done much core in the meantime and am feeling the effects. I'm not in bad shape, but am not sharp either. My proudest accomplishment was running six days last week -- and running tonight when I didn't feel like it.

I'm going to try taking this thing seriously again, and I'm posting here to try and get some accountability. Primarily from myself, but if others will help that'd be good too.

So long for now. Hopefully I'll be back soon. If I am, I'm doing something right.

Do I Still Run?

2008-04-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

So it may seem like my zest for putting one foot in front of the other quickly and writing about it has died. Certainly the writing about it part has significantly decreased. To be honest it isn't quite, or hasn't been quite, as magical as it once was. But I do still run and I intend to run more, but life seems to've been getting in the way.

Between work and remodeling a house, there's not much room for running, or writing. In fact, getting things dry-cleaned, grocery shopping, cleaning, and just keeping up with the tedium seem to be a luxury. How do people do this? How do people do this with children? They must not waste a millisecond.

Although I'm not quite where I should be on the running scene, I'm happy with what I've been doing with my time. But after stepping on a scale, and after the last few runs, I believe it's high time to start getting back in shape. I didn't get way off. I felt very good in December of this year. I got sick in January due to some Cluster Headaches.

The headaches finally stopped with about three weeks to go before the Austin Marathon. So I said what the hell and signed up for it. Then I pounded out a 59 and 55 mile week respectively, and hit something like 16 the week of the marathon. I didn't end up being in December shape, but I did have a relatively enjoyable marathon of 3:32 or something like that. I didn't wear my watch and liked it. Heck, even finished it saying to myself: "I'll probably do another one."

I guess I'd like to be in shape for some fast races, but I'm not going to make any promises anytime soon. Right now I'm just trying to string together some six run weeks. Matter of fact, tonight, I ran for about 20 minutes with my cell phone in hand. My sister was coming over and I knew I wouldn't have time to get a run in. So I just ran around the neighborhood, weaving through streets, and when she called I came home. That way I was able to put together a string of four days in a row with a run. It may've been only two miles or less, but a run nonetheless. Four days, one week. It's been a while.

Who knows, I may do this sort of thing again. Maybe I need to start a new thousand miles. Would be pretty cool if I did it in 20 weeks. That'd be 20 fifty mile weeks in a row. I might be in good shape then. Maybe.

Miles and Miles Since My Last Post

2008-04-06T02:32:00.000-07:00

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We're approaching four years (June).

As you can see, my training has been quite inconsistent over the years. I guess the only thing consistent I see in it at first glance is that my low months tend to be marathon months. See any trends? If so, please leave a post.

Motivation

2008-01-25T20:54:00.001-08:00

Tell me this doesn't bring tears... A 46 second 10k PR by a guy nobody had ever heard of, 2nd at the American Olympic Trials.

McDonald's: The Rap

2007-12-25T20:32:00.001-08:00

Ok, so sometimes I have cravings.

narcissistic

2007-12-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

LOG ENTRY

I've been thinking lately of shutting down this page. Although the original intent was to hold myself accountable, after reading some other fitness type blogs I wonder if the idea of blogging and running should be filed under narcissism. It's a fair question and probably explains why I don't really do it that often anymore.

But as I was flipping through this thing tonight, it seems it's been more therapeutic than anything. And, lately, I've only been doing it when I feel the urge. It gets me writing again, if only for a couple minutes now and then.

I feel as if I'm as accountable as I want to be at this stage, so the accountability need has been met. However, sometimes, it's good to put goals out there. And if I truly had some right now, I would write them down. But for the first time in a long time, I don't really have any short-term goals. I wonder if I've become fulfilled with this aspect of my life?

Probably not. I still haven't figured out how to negative-split a marathon. Although I'm telling myself I've "retired" from that distance, I still want a piece of it. Especially after watching friends figure it out. The shorter distance goals are still on the agenda I guess, but that'd be down the road.

Ok. So even though I still have some goals, they're not on the forefront of my mind anymore. In fact, in all honesty, I don't care too much about them. What I seem to enjoy most lately are days like yesterday where I actually *got up* in time to meet the group, finished a 21-miler (and enjoyed it) and went to coffee with cool, interesting people.

To update my vast following of readers (Dad, Greg, this means you), the training seems to be going well. Have been consistently building the mileage and topped off close to 60 this last week. Hope to have two to three at around this mileage before I drop back down. The weather here in Texas has been bi-polar, but perfect for running nonetheless. After hearing from you Yankees out there, I can't complain a bit.

Anyway, things are good these days. I can't really complain. I'm looking forward to more days on a schedule. Speaking of, better get to bed. And if I don't post before Tuesday, Merry Christmas!!

Gotta Love Those Gazelles

2007-11-18T20:53:00.001-08:00

What can I say? What a privilege to be involved with such a fascinating group of people.

onBeing

2007-11-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

Thoughts

People like Edward Fahbulleh remind me how insignificant the things I fuss over can be. For a bit of inspiration, check out this week's onBeing.

Check out his organization while you're at it.

Music and Running

2007-11-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

LOG ENTRY

Distance: 9+ miles or so

I've mentioned I started running with an iPod this year. I've listened to quite an array of things: e-books (big mistake), U2's Greatest Hits, Craig Armstrong, The National and lately, Explosions in the Sky.

I don't know if it's instrumental music, or just Explosions. But it's as if during my lap around Town Lake someone is reading to me my life story. The ups, the downs, the accomplishments, failures. And it's as if they're reading it to me with such intensity that it makes me want to throw my fist in the air with excitement at any given moment or, just give up and cry. With just the right step to just the right beat, I truck along though. Sometimes I truck along harder just to spite the feeling of failure, or flat not caring if I don't save energy for the net mile.

But anyway, when the highs come, my form gets better, stride is just a little more perfect. And when the song slows down, I gut through it, as if I know my story continues to be written and that shortly after this lull, perhaps in the song, perhaps in my story, is going to be followed by another one of those oh so great highs. And it keeps me going. Perhaps just a few beats. Perhaps a few more minutes. Hopefully a few more years. Fortunately I'm still not wearing a watch and am not keeping track.

After tonight's run I did three strides outside of my house. I came in and had a glass of chocolate soy milk. I'm sitting on the couch blogging about it. Been a long time. This part, the writing, is part of my story I've too easily forgotten about.

An Unexpected PR

2007-11-04T17:51:00.001-08:00

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Distance: 13.1 miles + 2 mile warmup

After a colossal of errors, and not wanting to do a long run alone, on a whim I decided to run the Dallas half. So I drove up to the big D yesterday, registered and grabbed a hotel room. With just my hastily packed gym bag, I was ready.

I had no idea what the course was and really didn't care. The result? Well, there were quite a bit of rolling hills and it was a tad warm. But a very well organized, laid-back race. I had no strategy going in and this was probably the first test of my fitness that didn't result in getting lost (in a non-well-organized-race by the way).

All in all, a PR! 1:28:55.

Splits: 6:54, 6:52, 6:53, 6:47, 6:43, 6:51, 6:32, 6:41, 6:48, 6:43, 6:50, 6:55, 6:50, 38 seconds for the last .1.

All in all, pretty satisfied considering the rollers and the weather.

On the training front, nothing spectacular. Mileage ranging from 45 - 20 miles per week with one quality workout and one long run. I'd like to up the easy miles as it's starting to get fun again, but it's difficult to find the time. Two mantras this time around: no watch (except for track work) and get comfortable listening to music. Much more relaxed way to train.

The Blog Thing

2007-09-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

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The fans have been getting restless so I figured I'd throw you all an update. I'm still running. No crazy miles. Not crazily fast. But still going. Got up to 50 two weeks ago, then 47 and then a down week followed by this week which should be somewhere around 35.

I haven't been feeling on top of my running but I've felt like I'm getting closer to being in shape. I've thoroughly enjoyed my track work and had a bit of a breakthrough workout last week with some sets of 1000's. I've been trying to relax into the speed work and when I remember to do it, I've been seeing some good results. For example, last week I finished a set of six 1000 meter repeats in 3:18 (5:18 pace).

This week I did some 1200's at a consistent six minute pace and felt I could do a couple more if forced.

I've been struggling a bit finding the motivation to go running alone at night and the first mile is usually a struggle. But like clockwork I to turn a planned easy day to something fast. I need to save my hard efforts for the track, the occasional tempo run anord race. But I usually resist the urge, amazingly enough. Mostly. There's something about that hill on S. 5th Street that's making me bring it on home at a good clip. I feel so alive on that stretch. One block at a time until I whip around that corner on Johanna.

On the subject of racing, I'm focusing on the IBM 10K right now. This is going to be my first legitimate attempt to break 40 minutes since High School. I feel I can do it but really need to focus on some key workouts -- tempo. Perhaps a 7-miler with a two-mile warmup and 5 miles at goal pace. I'll probably do that two to three weeks out.

Lastly I had the good fortune of spending a good 20 minutes with Gilbert after practice Thursday night. Over the past two years he has busted out the camera. And for the past two years I've never watched myself run. I finally broke down and watched and what I saw was a shock. I looked so slow! I was moving at under a six-minute pace, but I looked so slow. No pickup in my legs in the slightest.

We spoke and he said I needed to work on drills. Specifically some bounding drills like skips, exaggerated strides and hurdles. We went through them in detail and I proceeded to do them wrong. After several corrections I think I'm ready to try a couple of these sessions on my own per week.

All in all, I think the training is going well and I'm finding some balance with the rest of my life. That being said, I'd like to step up the intensity a bit and really dig in this month. Would leave nothing behind at IBM.

Six Years

2007-09-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

THOUGHTS

It's hard to believe that it's been six years since I found myself on 5th Avenue in New York City watching the world change on my way to the office. In previous years I suppose I'd say that it seems like it hasn't quite been that long. But this year, it seems like it was forever ago. I rarely think about it these days. I barely remember the details it seems. I suppose that's good.

Every year I try to do an inventory. Six years ago I was 26 years old. I was in my first job out of college working as a programmer writing code for an insurance company, my client at the time. I weighed about 185 - 190 pounds. I was in a relationship. I was living in Austin, TX. And, at the time, on paper, I was doing pretty well for someone who worked his way through school by delivering pizza and selling books during the summers.

I remember waking up at the Roosevelt Hotel, late, because I was still on Texas time and I was tired and I just got in bed the night before around two am. I justified staying in bed and tried to wake myself up by turning the TV on. Of course, I woke up to what the world woke up to. It was literally minutes before the second plane hit the second tower. I stood up, in my boxers and watched in awe for about five minutes before the thought occurred to me: where am I?

I grabbed the phone book out of the drawer and looked for a map. I had no idea where the hotel was relative to Lower Manhattan. When I found my hotel and saw it was a safe distance I had a bit of relief. For a small-town kid, it was a legitimate fear, for the moment. And even though the world had changed I was worried about being late to the office for my first day of a new project -- one where I got to travel to New York City. So I took a shower.

And I came back, dried off, and watched both towers burn before one of them tumbled right before my eyes. Then I realized I needed to call Amanda. But my cell phone didn't work. And I didn't want to use the hotel phone because hotels screw you on phone calls. So I didn't call.

Finally, I was dressed, and I loaded my bag. I failed to secure the room for more than one night and then I realized that there might be problems getting hotel rooms, you know, considering the world changed and all so I called to the front desk and reserved the room for the rest of the week. They doubled the price. No joke. I asked why. They said something like: because things are crazy. I was happy to have a place to stay.

So I began walking toward the lobby. And I saw silence. Lots of people but silence. I saw a wife sitting on a bench with her head in her hand and a husband dialing and re-dialing his cell phone -- in vain. I made it out to the road and found my way to Fifth Avenue and noticed there wasn't a car in the street. Fifth Avenue and not a car in the street. And as I swung around and headed south down Fifth Avenue, I noticed a bunch of people standing in the middle of Fifth Avenue, looking, pointing: "there it goes." And I saw a girl who looked like my little sister turn around and look, and she welled up in tears, and looked away and continued walking north. Scared.

And I watched the North Tower fall with thousands of New Yorkers and I thought to myself: This must be the place beyond fear -- a realization that I don't have control and there's nothing one can do. I wasn't scared or confused or anything. I just was there. These big buildings everywhere and I'm just me. As simple as it sounds those thoughts were running through my head.

And I walked to my building and my office was on something like the 14th floor. I wanted to take the stairs and I started up them but the stairs only went to the second floor. So I walked back down and took the elevator. I walked into the office and introduced myself and they said: you're here. You're the last one. I hadn't told them I was flying in last night and they were worried.

I found a place to hook up my laptop. The phones weren't working. But the internet was. And I got on AOL Instant Messenger and pinged Amanda to tell her I was okay and I asked her to call my sister and tell her I was okay. Meanwhile, my dad was worrying because I had left him a message the day before but he had no way of getting a hold of me. But Becky called him and told him I was okay. Thank you AOL Instant Messenger.

We didn't do much that day. We read the news. I ate at a deli that was several blocks away because even the Burger King across the street was closed. And I got back to the Roosevelt that night and I was so tired, but afraid to go to sleep so I slept with the TV on at a high volume so that I could hear if the world changed again. It didn't. And I eventually fell asleep around 3 am for a good few hours. I got up again, went to work, didn't do much, and went for walks at night. There was little traffic and it was a magical time to be in New York. It was a life-changing time. I was there for the next month. I saw the missing people fliers. I saw the hand-written notes of thoughts, prayers. I saw the vigils, the general niceness of one hell of a city full of the toughest, most interesting people in the world.

This has been overplayed and overhyped and over-cliched but being there changed me, hopefully for the better. Six years. I've changed. I changed careers. I changed homes, a couple times. I've changed jobs. I've changed my views of the world. I've calmed down a bit. I've tried to be a better son, brother, friend, person. And, at least once every year, I think about it. I remember the feeling of helplessness I felt on Fifth Avenue only on this day. I hope I never forget it. The world's a big place and no matter how we are, how important we are, how loved we are, how special we think we are, I hope I remember the world's a big place and my role is small. But in that smallness is where the difference will be made, if I was meant to be a difference.

I no longer help insurance companies save a penny or two. I help people who need it and I'm proud of that. I think a little bit more. I read more. I watch less TV. I exercise more. I slow down more. I got to know my Mom. I'm more interested in the world, in policy. I sometimes forget the goals I set for myself after that year, but at least once a year, I remember them. In a weird way, I'd like to thank New York for my experience that month. You'll always be a special place and you've changed me forever. I still love New York as much as I ever did.

Long Time

2007-08-24T19:24:00.001-07:00

UPDATE

It's been quite a long time since my last post. I know many of you are on the edge of your seats wondering what I've been up to. Did he fall off the wagon? Maybe he's reverted back to Mountain Dew and Taco Bell? Gained 20 pounds? Maybe picking up cycling instead? Never!

My injury turned out to be not that bad after all. After the miracleness of Pieter I was fine and I've even been doing some running. In fact, I've quite enjoyed it lately and have found somewhat of a balance. I've basically been running how I feel and when schedule permits. And it's been fun.

Tonight was especially nice. Even though I feel like I'm getting a head-cold, my legs felt fresh. I did have a day off yesterday. But, I also had my maiden voyage in my new shoes I bought on tax-free day. It's my second pair and I love them.

So glad I ditched those stability combat boots. My form is getting much better as a result. It has to be.

Lots has been going on, outside of running, but I'm slowly getting back in shape. And I'm slowly thinking about my next goal. I'm thinking about a 10K this fall, perhaps a half-marathon and culminating with the 3M half-marathon.

Oh yeah, I did a track meet this summer. Ran a 12:01 in the two-mile at one of the "Moon-Pie" meets put on by Three Stories Racing. I tell you what, a 12:01 never felt so hard. I honestly thought it'd be easier, but it felt good to do it. The two-mile is an uncomfortable beast. First mile went out in 5:56. Lost a good 5 seconds in laps six and seven and made up a little on the last lap.

Anyway, that's all I got for now. I can say I'm confident I have no interest in a marathon for at least a year. No desire. But I'd like to get faster.

It Was Bound To Happen

2007-07-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

INJURED

I need to get checked out for sure, but my ankle feels pretty sore. I'd been seeing a PT the last couple of weeks for it, but something happened the other night where it just got sore. Tried some strength exercises. Tried using 'the stick.' Tried painkillers, massaging it. Tried running Saturday morning and this evening. It's still sore.

Guess this is going to force me to recover fully from the marathon. Guess it'll force some core work. Have an appointment Wednesday to check it out, so stay tuned.

2007-07-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

"Is jogging right wing?...Jogging is of course about performance and individualism, values that are traditionally ascribed to the Right,"

-article in a French newspaper criticizing France's new President Sarkozy for being a runner

Hmmm.

Goosebumps

2007-07-07T18:15:00.001-07:00

I love this sport.

2007-07-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

LOG ENTRY

The much awaited post. It has been three weeks since Grandma's Marathon. For those who haven't found out yet, my final time was 3:38 and change. It was not my best marathon, not even close to my goal, not that close to my heat-adjusted goal (more on that later), but somehow ended up being my second best out of the six.

It was like deja-vu-all-over-again this year. Again, I slept in a room with the window open and again I was woken around 1:00AM with, you guessed it, thunder. I knew what was going to happen.

Race morning, on the bus on time almost to the starting line and, lo and behold, windows start opening. It's getting hot on the bus.

Knowing we were in for a hot day, I stood close to the 3:20 pace group. Figured I'd run the first mile with them and figure out just what kind of day it was going to be. Sweat started flying around the 1-mile marker. Ouch.

Splits: 7:22, 7:37, 7:44, 7:36, 7:27, 7:35, 7:36, 7:35, 7:38, 7:31, 7:46, 7:34, 15:22 (missed one), 7:37. The pacers were right on the money. If the splits I just listed weren't, it's because I stopped it after the mile marker.

Felt as if it was too much work for 7:30's, but was doing okay considering the heat. Stuck very close to my pre-race plans. Food at 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23. Salt pills at 5, 9, 17. Quite a lot to think about, really. But I had it all written on the arm-band I made out of a turned around pace band. For a little motivation, I wrote "Don't Think, Just Work."

Mile 16: 7:46. I think I got a little behind the pace group at that point due to a water stop or something. But was still in the game.

Mile 17: 8:11. Going down this mile, around the 3/4 mile marker I felt my quads screaming. It had been a couple of miles of downhills and they just were hurting. However, I knew the course had rolling hills and they'd get a break. It was starting to sizzle at this point and everyone was pouring water on their head. Saw some "elites" walking at this point.

Knew I lost the pace group by a bit but felt I could catch them "if I wanted."

Mile 18: 8:15, Mile 19: 8:22, Mile 20: 8:53

The hottest part of the course is the two miles between Mile 17 and Mile 19. It also seemed the longest because nobody's out there. I needed water in a bad way at this point.

And of course, just like clockwork, left hamstring cramped. However, it didn't go full-blown hafta-stop because it hurts like a mofo tight. Shortened my stride and knew it'd be hard to recover. Wanted to walk in a bad way, but remembered I told some people that no matter what, I wasn't going to give up on my race. And I didn't. Wanted to walk, but kept plugging away and trying to take in the day. Duluth is a hell of a town.

Mile 21: 9:11

At around 21.75 is Lemon Drop Hill. I remember seeing a bunch of college kids with their arms out for high fives. And I ran right up to 'em, threw my right arm out there and smacked everyone of 'em. Saw a kid on her dad's shoulder and reached up and high-fived her too!

Went another quarter mile with a big smile on my face, despite the pain. A runner next to me asked if I was "a local celebrity." I said no, but I may've been. Any readers from Duluth? :)

Mile 22: 9:55. In a lot of pain now and it's hotter than hell.

Mile 23: 10:43, Mile 24: 10:58, Mile 25: 10:25

Mile 26: 10:02, Mile 26.2: 1:43

No matter what happens, each marathon, at some point I get choked up. And it happened as I rounded the curve that leads to the main stretch. Last year at this time, I cramped up and had to have a race official steer people around me. This time, I had a huge smile and started picking it up while waving my arms around at the crowd.

I later found out that it was about 80 degrees the last hour of the race.

And, without a doubt in my mind after I crossed the finish, I decided this was my last marathon for a while. And I'm completely okay with it. Seriously.

After the Congress Mile, I decided it's time to get back to the goals I originally set out to do and that's to beat some of these PR's (<-- see the left side of this page). My rationale for pursuing the marathon was that I needed the endurance and the mental toughness as a "base" for the speedy stuff. I may not have that yet, but I have enough to try.

The future of the blog: It will no longer be a training log. I'll probably add some interesting topics or thoughts I have from time to time, but I started using this site: www.nikerunning.com and it fits my needs pretty well.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the next phase of my running. Let's have some fun.

Pace Comfort Levelness

2007-06-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

LOG ENTRY

Distance: 2.75 miles

Three-quarters of a mile warmup. Then two miles on the track.

3:33, 3:40, 3:41, 3:28

The purpose of the first half-mile was to hit goal pace no matter what (a little quick on the first 100 meters). Then, I wanted to measure what level of effort it took. The purpose of the last three half miles was to run how I felt without looking at my watch (7:20, 7:22, 6:56). Got a little carried away the last lap.

Get Loose

2007-06-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

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Distance: 1 mile

Started out the day with a session at Yoga Yoga. Then, after doing some errands around the house, went to Barton Springs for some loosening up. One mile warm-up followed by a set of drills. Added some leg swings to the end and felt pretty loose.

Capped it of with a 15-20 minute soak in Barton Springs.

30 Degrees of Effort

2007-06-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

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Distance: 6 miles

What a difference 30 degrees makes. Weather.com says it feels like 92 degrees right now. That's about right. Set out for a 9-mile run because I missed the workout this morning. Was just too tired from a mentally exhausting week. Ran easy and the first two miles weren't bad until I got to the trail where it was sweltering. After some water and a Power Gel at the mopac bridge I had another good mile or two until I made it to Dawson. At that point my quads were sore, it was hot and I had no reason in my mind to push it so I took a nice walk the last mile home. So much for a long run, but hey, it feels like 92 degrees!

Recovery Road

2007-06-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

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Distance: 6.29 miles

Still have some soreness and tiredness from Monday's pace run. It was tougher than it should have been. That and I haven't had much energy lately and have been a little preoccupied with other things. Add 1000 degree heat and you have a ~~nice and easy~~ run. Oh well. Nothing real exciting today.

Brisk Austin

2007-06-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

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Distance: 4 miles

Back in the ATX and recovering. My quads were sore today. Last night's run was quite the effort. But it was a good sore and tonight's recovery was a good recovery. I thought about stretching the distance, because I really was feeling good out there, but then I remembered. It's a recovery day. Save it for later.

Ran nice and comfortable the last mile and had a brisk finish. Not fast, brisk.

40 Laps

2007-06-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

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Distance: 10 miles

Fate's a crazy thing. I go back and forth when thinking about the difference between fate and coincidence. I mainly attribute things to the latter. But as I was flying to Midland, I thought about what workout I wanted to do tonight. Being that I hadn't done any pace work since 4/14 and 4/28, I'd almost forgotten what goal pace was. What, with all these Congress Avenue Mile distractions?

Anyway, so back to fate and coincidence. I thought about doing a 10-mile pace run but remembered that I forgot to pack my Garmin--which I had charged up just for the occasion. Then I thought: If I look in my work bag and find my Ironman watch, I'm doing the pace run. So I dig through the pocket and lo and behold I see the velcro band. Decision made.

Ran at my favorite place in Midland, the Hightower Track. Below is not the best picture, but it's the only one I could find.

Anyway, there was a summer track program going on. Nothing like the threat of getting passed by a 7-year old for motivation.

So with fate on my side, my Ironman watch, a track full of kids and a warm Midland evening I was off. Ten mile pace run from the get-go. No warmup.

7:03, 7:07, 7:12, 7:14, 7:19, 7:15, 7:15, 7:20, 7:24 and 7:21

"Shouldn't feel this bad for a pace run of only 10 miles," I thought at mile 3. Then I realized it was because I ran 21 MILES ON SATURDAY. How we tend to forget these little things. On the track, pacing was easy to do. 1:48 laps is what I was shooting for. It was very difficult to maintain pace the last four. But I ended up turning this into a proxy run in my mind. Anybody who's ever trained hard for something understands that. And although the pace slowed a bit the last three miles, the last lap was on pace and finishing the workout was a victory.

Black Jack

2007-06-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

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Distance: 21 miles

After three failed attempts at 20 milers, I finally got one in today.

The intent was a nice and slow, and it was. I surged for what I believed was goal pace at about 15 miles through about 18.5. Wouldn't know for sure if I hit pace, since I forgot my watch but it felt like pace. When I crossed the 0 mile marker on the trail with still 2.5 miles to go before the run was over, I took a break and had some mojo where the GZLs were stretching. After a few minutes of walking I jogged it back in to the car.

Had a nice stretching session tonight and don't feel too bad. The taper begins.