Turn your rut into a groove.

am--5.5 Telegraph out-and-back. Decent run. The leg held up. 
 

I also finished Ender's Game again. It's the perfect book for the business end of a season.

am--2.5 Bank and back. Felt okay and then a bit frisky.

pm--5 Some running while the kids did their hill circuits.

I finished an interesting rock bio, Hard to Handle: the Life and Death of The Black Crowes by Steve Gorman and Steven Haden. The Crowes are one of my fav bands. In fact 2 of their shows are top-5 for me. But, man, the ego involved. For a glimpse of the greatness, YouTube Black Crowes Koln. You won't be sorry.

pm--5.75 Middleton Trail from the school. Felt pretty good. I'm finding tightness in my upper hamstring and quad and trying to loosen them up to release the pressure on my PES anserine. Slow but sure. 

am--4.75 DI/Bank/Parking Lot. I ran a bit extra this morning because I knew I wouldn't run this afternoon. We have parent-teacher conferences. 

pm--7 on the 7th. Warmed and cooled w/ the girls. Did some grass during the workout.

am--2.5 Bank and back w/ some discussion about the Mary Cain vid.

pm--6.5 Green Springs. Jenessa and I had a nice chat. 

am--6 Green Valley. I had no reason not to wake up and run, so I ran. My leg felt okay. I can definitely tell there is some work to do as far as fitness goes.

am--2.5 Nice, easy run to the bank and back.

pm--7 Into the fields for a run w/ a progressive build. The effort was there even if the pace doesn't show it. After, we ordered state rings. I've been blessed to be a part of something so awesome.

pm--5.5 Sugar Loaf. Running feels kind of hard for me right now. Oh well. We'll keep it up. 

am--2.5 Just a short morning run. I contemplated something this afternoon, but a nap took higher priority.

am--1.5 Good run w/ Jess and the turtle swag crew after weights. 

pm--5.5 I got to run into Washinton w/ Kyanne, Addie, and Sadie. What a great crew. They've all grown this season. It's fun to run w/ them. 

am--5.5 Funky route past the Lutheran church to the sign w/ the bank-and-back added. Decent morning. Not many kids showed up. What's the difference between being driven by fear or excellence? 

pm--6 Checked some things off my list: went to a historic football stadium--Memorial Stadium, watched Wisconsin beat a conference rival, ran in Tony K's home state, and got lost in Tony K's home state. 'Twas a full Saturday. 

am--2.5 Bank and back. We went a bit later this morning. I'm grateful.

pm--6 Hospital run w/ some race-pace fartlek work. On top of that, tonight was my final xc banquet. I will miss the xc crew. So much love and character in those people.

Over the last few days, I've finished The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark by Shakespeare and Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. Both good books, one full of timeless quotes, one full of native wisdom.

am--1.5 Easy run, trying to squeeze in as much as I can w/ the kids.

pm--5 Telegraph our-and-back. I had some good conversations w/ the girls.

am--1.5 Short run after a night's rain, the first in a long while.

pm--2 Warm-up w/ the girls and nothing else. I got talking to Holt, and the kids took off.

am--4 Serendipity out-and-back. I felt good. 
 

pm--3.5 Route 66 in Flagstaff. Chilly but fun w/ some residual snow.

am--3.5 Another nice run in Flagstaff. We had a good time this weekend in AZ.

am--7.5 I went early to get in some miles this morning. It was basically Sunrise Tire via Telegraph w/ the bank-and-back added. I felt pretty good. I'm not sure what's up w/ the knee, but it hasn't bugged much for the last few days. 

am--5.5 A little extra like yesterday. The hamstring tightened up.

am--2.5 Anasazi Trail. It was a great day on the home trails, but I had to abort because of a tight hammy. Bummer.

I finished a great book about the rise of women distance runners from the middle to the late 20th Century, The Silence of Great Distance by Frank Murphy. It was fun to read about Peter Tegen and his Wisconsin teams.