It's just that simple

A.M. - Polecat Gulch - 53:24

Ran easy with Mat. This is a great trail and the rain had made it nice and packed but not muddy. It was a great morning and the views were really nice.

P.M. - Neighborhoods - 26:40

Easy shakeout run at 7:35-7:40 pace. Went out at 9 p.m. because my legs were a little stiff and I thought it might help out. I felt better after the run.

Weights, core and stretching - 30 minutes. Good session at Gold's.

Nike Triax - 313 Nike Zoom - 283.5 Brooks -185.5

Cassia Park - NT

Ran to the park and back and did 2 laps of Indian running. On the run home, we ran the last 1/4 mile hard back to the school. Nice little workout for the team during the last week of the season.

Nike Triax - 316 Nike Zoom - 283.5 Brooks -185.5

PMI: XC Practice

We did a short warmup, some stretching, drills & strides, and then a timed mile. Our top guy and I did 5:36. I told everybody to keep it at 90% effort. Within a minute or two, everyone was recovered. Some people who started the year at 10 or 11 minutes for the timed mile are down to 7 or 8 minutes. Amazing how much progress you can make in a few weeks when your baseline is zero. It's been fun though.

PMII: Treadmill - 27:56

Ran a couple of extra miles at Gold's this evening. The achilles was sore and it was a boring run, but better than nothing.

A.M. - 15 minutes of easy weights, core and stretching

P.M. - Canals + neighborhoods - 45:55

Got out late tonight (9:15 p.m.) and it was chilly. Wore tights, long sleeves and a headband. Easy 13 minutes with Leo, then did 8 x 1:00 pickups with about 2:00 jogs between. Started at 5:40 pace and dropped to about 5:10 on the last few, for an average of 5:22. Felt pretty good.

Nike Triax - 322 Nike Zoom - 289.5 Brooks -185.5

Canal banks + Rosehill cemetery - 1:05

Didn't feel great today. Had a long day and was in the cold for a few hours at the city cross country meet. Nevertheless, I coaxed myself out for a longer, moderate paced run. Didn't feel particularily good on the run and the achilles was sore, but I got through it.

Greenbelt - 43:14

Steady pace with Jeremy Wallace. Basically did 2 laps of tomorrow's race course to figure out where it goes. I guess tomorrow's race is a small deal, but it's for a good cause and the organizers were kind of desperate to get runners, so I'll give it a shot. The windy, rainy conditions turned into a full blown snowstorm by the end of the run. Where did fall go?

Nike Triax - 322 Nike Zoom - 289.5 Brooks -200.5

Garden City Community Fun Run - 17:17 - 2nd place

Ran in a low key fun run this morning to benefit the Boys & Girls Club. We heard from one of the race organizers that not many people had signed up so we thought it would be nice to help them out. In the end, there was a better turnout than they expected, so they were happy.

It was a cold, but beautiful morning. Since my last race in May (Newport Marathon) I've averaged under 30 mpw and haven't hit many workouts. But my injury is coming around so the last few weeks have been getting better and better. Needless to say, I wasn't sure what I could do today. The plan was to be conservative and not blow up.

The pace felt kind of fast initially, but the first mile was only 5:38. The eventual race winner had led from the gun and already had a good 8-10 seconds on me. The second mile was 5:39 and I didn't feel like I was pressing enough, so I tried to pick it up a little the last mile. I ended up with a 5:28 third mile and a decent kick for about a 17:17 (don't know officially - could be faster. I forgot to stop my watch right at the line, I think). The winner was probably around 16:50ish.

All in all, I'll give myself a B+ for the day. My body held up well and I ran good splits, but I didn't race. That's ok for the first one out, though. I have 5ks the next two weeks that are a lot bigger and I'm looking forward to those. If I can get through the next few weeks without getting injured, I'll try to make a push for a January or February marathon.

40 minute cooldown to get some miles for the day.

Nike Triax - 322 Nike Zoom - 289.5 Brooks -207.5