Turn your rut into a groove.

pm--11 Long run w/ pick-ups (1-, 1-, 2-, 1-, 2-min. @ 6:50-7:00). I didn't get to run w/ the kiddos today because of department meetings--we solve all the world's problems in these meetings--so I ran when I got home. The run was nice. It left the legs sufficiently spent. RHR--52. 

am--Lutheran sign/Weights/Harts +. Chilly morning, but it was probably good for the lungs. I did some squats and dead lifts w/ the bar today, trying to ease back into things. RHR--49. 

pm--4.75 Dino Tracks. I felt beat today. Don't know what gives. Maybe it's the sickness that is knocking on my door. 

pm--7 Timed Fartlek Pace and Form work. I wasn't sure how I would do today w/ the approaching gamboo. But, as is usually the case, I jumped in and felt good. We're starting to get a handle on the feel of the different paces. RHR--52. 

am--4 Same as usual w/ squats and dead lifts, using the bar, getting back into it. Felt, if not better, the same as I have been this morning. RHR--54. 

pm--6.25 Green Springs hilly run w/ 6x striders on the track after. Good run w/ good pace and good people. 

pm--7.25 Track Tempo (28 min.) Another nice tempo w/ a good group. I love seeing kids keep fighting when the running becomes more difficult. Lots are answering the call. RHR--56. 

pm--7.25 Negative-split run. Nothing fancy. Felt good the whole run. A bit tight in the calves after. 

I finished another book--The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. My buddy gifted me the book for Christmas. It's award-winning fiction, meant to rattle the reader and make him "uncomfortable in a good way," according to the author. The book read slower than I would've thought but provided perspective of the conflict in Vietnam and events in the aftermath. Here's a quote from the book:

"We remain that most hopeful of creatures, a revolutionary in search of a revoution, although we will not dispute being called a dreamer doped by an illusion" (382).