Turn your rut into a groove.

am--4 Harts/Neighborhood bushes. The morning was a bit cooler than yesterday. That's a plus. Decent morning run. I've got stuff on my mind and am trying to figure out how to handle it. RHR--50. 

pm--7 Dirt Mile progressive power run. I warmed and cooled with all the girls, but hit the tempo w/ Jenessa, Alli B., Macey, Pyper, and Jada. What a crew. It was fun to see them push.

pm--5.75 SC Rugby loops. I decided to do a little callousing today and went on my run at 3:00. Hit the grass loops in my sunglasses, loving life. Ended up 7:45 average for the run. Nice week of work w/ the kiddos. RHR--50. 

am--8.5 Just over half way to the summit on Suicidal Tendencies. Nice group and fun push at the end. The light has an autumnal feel the last few days. I've been getting some longer sleep the last few days. RHR--52.

I finished another book this evening--Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. The book is a fictionalized retelling of the 300 Spartan warriors who knowingly went to fight their last fight against the massive army of Persian Empire. Without pulling any punches, Pressfield recounts the training and character of these Spartans. Dark yet inspiring.

am--3.5 DI/weights/Harts. The heel is feeling better. RHR--46.

pm--2 Some running at BHNP. I didn't get as much as I hoped.

am--4.5 DI/Bank. Caroline was feeling a bit sick today . . . so she decided to push the pace. A small group went w/ her. I couldn't resist either. In the midst of the push, I thought about reining them in but figured a little assertiveness is a good thing for this group. RHR--49. 

pm--6.5 Green Springs walkabout w/ barefoot strikers after. Nice group for a little longer. Feeling beatific. Maybe I'll listen to some Kurt Vile and pretend it's the '90s.

am--3 Harts/weights/Harts. Decent run. The iron lounge was crowded w/ ball players, so weights wasn't as smooth. RHR--51.

pm--6.5 Telegraph out-and-back w/ 4x 200 after. The run was okay. I'm tight again, so the hobble is in effect. I still hit pace on the 200s, but the girls killed me. Good sign? Yes. I'm 40.

am--7.5 Old morning route via Serenity. The weather was promising cool but delivered less warm. Felt good Han Solo. RHR--53.

am--7.5 State Course 2x w/ 1, 2, and 3-min. pick-ups. Really good run w/ some nice packing. Lots of cool things happened this weekend.

am--8.5 Sugar Loaf out-and-back w/ 8x 100m hills. What a great run. First off, it's feeling cooler in the morning. Second, the group was fantastic. Lots of girls found some new confidence over the weekend. This bodes well for the team. RHR--50. 

pm--2 Some grass loops w/ shoes. Both ball fields were unavailable. We talked about naming ponies. Goofy but fun. 

am--3.5 DI/Weights/Harts. The morning was whatever. My heel was pretty sore, and I'm trying to figure out how to make reading and writing more meaningful to students. RHR--48. 

pm--6 Telegraph w/ Sandberg'sish on the way back. We still have work to do with our group. Erged 1k after.

am--6 DI-Lutheran/Bank/Stg. Running Center. I know I won't be able to run this evening, with the meet and all, so I did some extra work this morning. The girls seem happy, and some nervous (excited?). And finally, the morning was cooler. RHR--48.

am--5 Didn't run w/ the kids at all today. It's good for them to run without the goofy old guy telling them to run faster all the time. But my neighbor texted about a run this evening, and, because I was feeling guilty, I went. Actually ended up feeling pretty good. RHR--52. 

am--5 Harts/Bank/STG Running Center Loop. It was what I would call autumnal this morning for the first time in a long time. We had summer Wednesday, rain Thursday, and fall today. RHR--54.

pm--6.5 Dirt-Mile Progressive Power Run. I ran w/ the second group of girls--Jenessa, Pyper, Jada, Alli Br., Jenna, and Macey. For 15 minutes we worked from 45 seconds above 5k pace down to 5k pace. The girls did awesome stuff. The future is bright, and the old man held up.

am--7.25 Hell's Hole w/ a good group before the car wash. It was fun to see a group operate at a quick fairly easily. Jacey is ready to do some damage. The car wash was awesome, singing, dancing, and chatting, all while we worked together. RHR--49. 

I also finished Originals by Adam Grant. It took me a little longer than it should have because I didn't devote much time to reading. (There's lots on the brain right now.) That being said, Grant always exceeds expectations. I expected to hear how innovators innovate, but the last few chapters dealt with motivational concerns that really seem pertinent. Plus, he does more than ride the coat tails of other thinkers; he actually conducts some of his own experiments, mostly soft sciences, but that's fine with me. Now on to Frankenstein and, perhaps, a Pink Floyd bio.

am--10 Parkway w/ 2x 2-mile tempo. We hovered right around 7:00 pace for the tempo sections. We have some girls starting to step up. RHR--54. 

pm--2 Grass loops. For some reason, the fields are always wet and/or in use. Go figure. 

am--3.5 DI/Watched Weights/Harts. The weight room is getting crowded w/ the girls bball team deciding they need some offseason strength training. Oh, well. The running was good. RHR--49. 

pm--6.25 Green Springs. Good run. Jess started to push after the first mile wasn't up to her liking. A bunch of us went w/ her. It was work, but it was good. This group of kids is awesome. I hope great things for them. Erged for 2k after. 

am--4 Harts/Bank. The morning run was good. We had a nice crew w/ some nice chat. 

pm--3.25 I just dragged myself around the park while the kids did a workout. Still working on the pack, but people are starting to step up and show some desire. 

am—3.5 DI/weights/Harts. Nice morning before heading off on the long trek to Bob Firman. RHR—54.

pm—5.75 Basically ran the state course front and back. Kids seem to be having fun. 

am—2.75 Trot around Murray Park before heading to Boise.

pm—3 Course walkthrough at Eagle Island. Kids seem excited. I know i’m Excited to watch them race. Looks like we had a good showing at Nebo.

am—5 A quick jaunt in Boise. It was in the 30s. RHR—52.

am--9.25 Sugar Loaf out-and-back. We turned this into a progression run today and cut off about 30-40 seconds off our normal pace. Lots of girls responded really well. Confidence is growing. I hope we can get some girls to push for great things. RHR--52. 

pm--2.25 Grass loops on the softball field. I talked about Growth or Comfort at our meeting. After, I did some errands and mowed the lawn. Productive day to start the week. 

am--3.5 DI/Weights/Harts. It was chilly this morning, but nothing running couldn't cure. The heel is feeling "better." RHR--48. 

pm--6 Target. Good pace. Good peeps. Good times. Skipped out on the 200s because I'm babying the achilles. Erged a decently hard 1000 when I got home. 

am--5.75 DI/Bank/STG. RC Loop. Beautiful autumn morning. Once I got going, my body felt good. I took a little nap yesterday evening, and it screwed up my sleep patterns, so I didn't get much sleep. Is today a nap day? RHR--49. 

pm--6.75 Dirt Mile repeats--4x 4:30 w/ 4-min. recovery. I jumped in w/ the JV girls. It's been fun running some workouts w/ them. They are getting stronger and more willing to push the pace. They did well today. Not sure how the quicker pace will affect the old body. 

A day late, I finished Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It’s a great read even with the stilted prose. Along with Moby Dick, the novel must be one of the best treatments of monomaniacal ambition. Yet, here’s a quote, from Victor himself, encouraging Walton’s mutinous crew onward: 

Did you not call this a glorious expedition? And wherefore was it glorious? Not because the way was smooth and placid as a southern sea, but because it was full of dangers and terror, because at every new incident your fortitude was to be called forth and your courage exhibited, because danger and death surrounded it, and these you were to brave and overcome. For this was it a glorious, for this was it an honourable undertaking (203).

Now, I’m looking for some time to read some Shelley, Blake, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Milton.

am--3.5 DI/Weights/Harts. I'm a little tight from yesterday's work, but the body responds. RHR--53. 

pm--6.25 Nice run into Green Springs by the brown and white churches. The pace was nice, and the striders were nicer. Light erg (2k+) for 10 minutes. 

am--5 DI/Bank/Costco. Decent morning run. J. Rog keeps it honest. Excited to see how the kids run this evening. RHR--52. 

pm--6.5 Barrel Roll w/ short extension up Sidewinder w/ Andy the Cosmic Wanderer. It was good to catch up w/ him and to get some dirt on the shoes. Nice way to top off a good week. RHR--52.