Getting back to Boston

Finished off the 70-mile week with a slow 9 at Ben Geren -- golf course loop, then three laps around the tennis courts. GC loop was very slow; legs did not want to get going, and stopped twice to stretch. After that, they were better. Stopped back at the car to towel off and get a drink, then was able to go faster on the gravel trail. I'd say the last two laps constituted a moderate progression; I was probably down around 9:00.

Fifty days to Boston. Wow. It'll be here in no time. Knock on wood, once the AT and the sciatica or whatever it was subsided, I've been healthy. Just normal soreness, like I had today. Need to stretch more regularly, I think. Haven't decided yet whether to take tomorrow off or finish out the month with a few more miles. Probably just see how the legs feel after work. I think it would probably be prudent to take more days off in between hard workout instead of just mindless recovery runs over and over, or at least shorten those recovery runs.

New brand of torture from Brad Hudson tonight. Five miles easy, then alternating miles at MP-15 and MP+60, total of 15 miles. Pretty much nailed it as planned, after giving my legs a day off Monday. Ran 4 easy to start, so I could try to get the speedwork done before it got too dark to see my watch. Goal was 7:35 for the fast miles, 8:50 for the slow ones. Averaged 7:35.2 for the fast, 8:42 for the slow. Then cooled down with an extra mile to get to the total of 15. Total time 2:09 and change.

Definitely would not have wanted to try this workout after working until 7 p.m., but had early admit duties and ER was slow, so got to leave early. Waited until almost 5 anyway, hoping it would cool down some; high was pushing 70. Wasn't too bad anyway, then it cooled pretty quickly once the sun started to set. It was probably low 50s when I finished at 7:15ish.

I think I do a similar workout in a couple of weeks, although with the fast miles a little slower (and more of them) and the slow miles a little faster. Definitely built some confidence tonight though.

Easy 6, hard 2 around the tennis courts. Whole thing was a progression, really, but put the hammer down for a lap and a third. Took about an hour-15. Legs not too bad after the tough 15 last night. Back in time to eat and watch hoops.

Workout fail tonight. Schedule called for 2K @ 10KP, immediately followed by 1K @ 5KP, times 4 (I think; I'll have to go back and look). Quickly determined that 5KP was not happening tonight with these legs, so dropped that part of it. Even 10KP was a major struggle. Then during the second rep, I started getting some twinges. Decided the possible benefits weren't worth the risk. Then jogged out three more miles to finish with 8.25, only that "jog" was at 8:30 pace and very comfortable. If MP feels that comfortable in Boston, I'll be in good shape.

Couple of developments today on the social scene. Last one first. When I got to the track tonight at 7, the stadium lights were on, a lot of cars in the lot and a lot of people leaving the stadium to get in their cars. And they were all women. A few more women were still inside, some walking laps around the track, and I saw lots of the departees carrying water bottles. I'm presuming this is some kind of a women's fitness group. If this is going to be a regular Thursday night thing, this will be an excellent place to meet fitness-minded women. Some of whom might actually be single :)

Then this morning. I'm making rounds, sitting in the work room on 6 West, and Connie's there. Connie's the nurse who asked me back in November if I were single; answer at that point was "not yet." She asked the same question today. Answer: "I am now." So she proceeds to inform me that she's going to fix me up, and there's a new nurse she wants me to meet. Liza's there, to make it even better. So she brings in the new nurse, named Kay, to meet Liza and me (Liza first, so the matchmaking is not quite incredibly obvious). Later on, she slips me Kay's phone number.

Let's just say Kay has potential. I'm not gonna call her this week, but we'll see what happens. I went back up there later to see another patient; Kay was in the work room, and I was able to determine, with the facilitation of the case manager, that she is a golfer but not a runner. So we've got that in common. Might be time to dig out the clubs this summer... 

Slow run in the rain. Not easy, but slow. Then ran eight hill sprints at the end. All I can say is I got it done.