Chaire Herodikos Selymbriaios!

Elliptical for 60m, calf was sore enough that I gave it a break today. I think it's fine, but be good to knock the inflammation out so as not to risk anything dire. So goal is 30 mi again this week.

Out to Fresh Pond and Concord Ave. Beautiful morning!

Travel day, heading out to Miriam's. Was hoping for a run in the pm but we didn't get there until 7:00 and ended up being too late. So looks like I'll have to run Saturday to finish out the week at 30.

Ran out to the corner of Fairmount Park via Merion Road and Upland. Got lost at the very end (went too far and found myself on Montgomery, not Bowman) which cut the run short by about .25 mi, but that was fine. More hill than I've been used too, which is all to the good. 

The Kinvaras (Kinvarae?) fit my feet nicely and the light feeling was great. At first they seemed blocky, but maybe they just needed a few miles to get broken in (or my feet broken in to them). 

Noticed something that I'd seen before - my left arch is noticeably lower than my right. I wonder if this is related to the fact that the fasciitis was always worse in my left foot.

Out for an evening run with Rob under Merion Station, through the botanical park, past the Catholic seminary across from St Joseph's University, then I dropped him off and ran 4x the football field by Narberth Station. Legs feeling pretty good.

It was really striking to see how few lights were on in the dormitory at the seminary. This is where all the priests on the eastern seaboard are trained, and the whole second floor was completely dark. There has clearly been a catastrophic decline as a result of the abuse scandals in this most Catholic of U.S. cities - many of the local bishops and the archbishop were implicated in the coverup. I felt sad to see this. 

Got in to Gal's parents house on Long Island later than expected, hung out for a while then got in 4 before dinner. LI is very flat in the dark! Not a memorable run.

This run dominated by a bathroom emergency at mi 5 or so. Otherwise, kept looking to stretch my legs out a bit, but ended up at a marina, then on a strip, then on a road with no sidewalk. Not much traffic is about the best I can say for Long Island. Out to DC tomorrow.

Train to DC in the early am, fully exhausted by the time I got back to the hotel at 9pm. Ate dinner and collapsed in bed. Frustrating.

Another 18 hour day and another goose egg.

1 hour in the early am on the TM.

Train back to LI. Slept for 12 hours and no running.

Back on Long Island for a day before going home, and a nice start to the week - 8 good miles on an unsuccessful journey in search of the only hill in Merrick! A pond, a shoreline drive, a golf course, a half-flooded ballfield or two and a driving range later, I was fully sweated. Back home to Boston this afternoon.

Home at last and out along the river trail to the community garden. Lovely morning, sun peeping through - then stronger as the run went on. The snow that we had left on the ground disappeared during our absence, and most of the meltwater drained into the river, leaving it muddy and swirling with unusual eddies.

The right calf is still sore, despite my layoff last week. Nothing to do but stretch conscientiously before during and after. It finally let up after about 3.5 mi but even then it was still tight.

Broke in the ASICS. The cushion was a nice change of pace, almost too much after running in the Kinvaras for 10 days. Extra weight is noticeable, but nothing like the Nimbus. I think it's a good compromise, they'll be good on very long runs. I did notice the heel however, and it took a while to adjust my mechanics for that. Not sure why it was so much more obvious in these.

The low miles last week had me meditating on how to make sure that I get to run even when working flat out on the DC trips. I think part of the trick is being satisfied with shorter time/distance so I can just go out quickly in the morning. So that will mean more miles on the days I'm in Boston.

On the river path out to the Eliot Bridge in the PM. Calf is better, good stretching yesterday. Legs felt a bit dead, guessing because the daily average is going up. No special complaints though. Coldish warmish evening. Started with hat and gloves but finished without them.

The Excels handle pretty well in snow I discovered this morning. Sloshy in spots and slow going but a decent run.

Out to Eliot Bridge. Nice morning, though lots of ice on the pavement. That is 30mi in five days - legs definitely a bit dead, which seems about right at this stage.  Will go for 5 or 6 tomorrow, then maintain at 36 for another week.

Flew to DC on short notice in the early AM, back in the late PM, so no time at all. But I think I will experiment with a Friday layoff leading to a Saturday long run and Sunday recovery.

Seven in the pm out to the Northeastern boathouse. Great sunset, mild weather. Running in the Excels is challenging, perhaps because less flexible, possibly because my muscular fitness still leaves something to be desired -- at any rate avoiding the dreaded Newbie Heel Slap required a mechanical adjustment on pavement. When I could hit the dirt it seemed fine. In general they are comfortable, but the hard shank is a challenge.

I felt relatively good this evening - good enough to challenge some stronger runners, though I let them drop me after .5 miles or so realizing that I'm still not fit enough yet to keep up for long. On the basis of this experiment CV fitness is now the main bottleneck, the muscles are getting closer. Calves are noticeably less sore, although some minor cramping around mile 5. I will stretch well tonight.

The plan for this week is to increase daily average to 7 miles and break 40. Then I think maintain at that level for a while and work on building endurance. But I am pleased: after slightly less than two months I can for the first time imagine running at speed. There has been steady, if not spectacular weight loss, and I will be boxing with Martin at least once a week starting Tuesday pm. Onward!

Postcript: found this very helpful video using the elites at Boston 2008 as a model of mid-striking form -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5r3_sKkHnTU

Just a stunning mid-winter morning, temp in the high 40s. The river path was thick with runners. Wore the Kinvaras and felt very good. Headwind up and tailwind back. The latter was nice!

An essay in 21st century political economy.

 Ran the river path in the early am out to the Arsenal St bridge. About 10 degrees, a thin, cracked film of ice almost shore to shore.  At Christian Henler Park had a bathroom emergency. Headed for the public men's room at one of the most well-used parklands in Boston. Locked! In bright daylight. Nowhere to hide. Panic in the streets - on a wing and a prayer headed over to the Northeastern University boathouse, expecting to find no-one there since the shells aren't going anywhere until April or so. Luckily someone working out on the ergs had unlocked the front door. I slipped in and hit the WC.

My bathroom emergency nearly went critical because the public restrooms were closed. The reason they were closed is municipal  budget cuts. The reason for the municipal budget cuts is state budget cuts. The reason for the state budget cuts is federal budget cuts. The reason for the federal budget cuts is people in the midwest and south who are hostile to public services. So I ended up freeloading on some private services and complaining on a group blog to people in the southwest! 

Gotta love it.