the slower you go, the longer the run

Ran 10 with Hooley. Was a little hungry when I went to bed. Woke up about 15 minutes before Haas showed up. Had a quick and nourishing breakfast of Christmas cookies and a mug of water. Somehow the body was feeling low on fuel by about the 3rd block. Should have had some coffee.

It rains in December now

Ran for about an hour and 15 min. Went out to the monuments on Victoria Memorial. Ran fast out to them from the river. Stopped and stretched my quad and read the plaques. Ran fast back to the river, then just coasted back over the Big Blue Bridge, along Lowery and past the closed down Polish bakery. When I got back I was really wet from all the rain that I had been running in. I didn't hang anybody though. Nor did I mount the captured pistols of my fallen enemy on the wall in my private study off the oval office. Because I'm a grown-up.

It Ain't Safe To Leave The House...

December 28

10.5mi, 1:16:05 (yeah): Northeast and back. Came back on the backstreets. It's hard to say whether we were racing in them. Phil was using his elbows a lot. Way more than Biz, Gehring and Morgan. Phil probably won. As for me, I can't run up to no'theast 'less/I run with a vest.

December 27

8mi, 52:36 (snoop): Skyline Derbreviated. Lovely run with Biz and Phil past one line of sky and then six or seven laps around the Quarry for old time's sake. I felt desperate.

December 26

10mi, 1:14:44 (doggy dogg): Main-Taine Point Oh. I think that's how it's spelled. Evidently spelling is the most important thing ever. Nice easy run with the Biz and the Phil and the Nick Masc.

Black Sweet Licorice, Black Sweet Licorice! (Have Some)

December 25

4mi, 28:52 (7:12 or whatever): Salt Block abbreviated and extended. Spent 3.5mi being observed by Daniel, which was exhausting and also his Christmas present. Then walked the last half mile of the run to rest his knee, which was his birthday present. Then added on to make it four. For those wondering if this qualifies as completing the Salt Block in over 28:00, it clearly does not. Happy Xmas.

December 24

Day Off. Had to buy your present.

Week: 24mi. I mean, the race is still basically 6 months away.

She Asked What Happened to Charlemagne...

December 23

10mi, 1:08:30 (res/mi): Boondocks + Steeplechase. Beautiful. My first real training run in the Resevoir in over a year. Mud luscious and puddle wonderful as Coach T would say. Very overdressed to start but stripped to shorts after the first mile or so. Dense fog the whole way. Like Avalon...I've heard.

Shuffle Your Feet

December 22

4mi, 27:47 (6:57/mi): Shortcut. Ended the run at the appropriate corner this time. Felt dehydrated and legs are a little bit sore, but not as sore as my assorted upper body. More lifting today because it turns out I'm rarely active enough for atrophy to work to my advantage. Incidentally, it's something like 40 degrees outside and what passed for snow yesterday is having a difficult time making the same case for itself today. Obviously, more research is needed, but the working hypothesis should be that I've gotten a lot colder so everything else feels warmer by comparison and has decided to act accordingly. Occam's Razor and all that.

December 21

6mi, 42:13 (7:02/mi): West Side Five + xtra. Nice run over snowy (finally) roads. Kinda fun, and remembered at the end that slogging and slipping would get real old real fast. At least winter is here. Sort of...Happy Solstice!

And When I'm Returning...

December 20

4+, 29:37 (7:10ish/mi): Shortcut+ w/Biz. Didn't tell Biz that, really, Shortcut ends at the corner of Cecil and Franklin. Otherwise it's kind of a long run. Felt good, refreshed, and much healthier than my companion sounded. Lifted post-run. Because it's about time more of that was happening.

Heather May is all but a Doctor

I suppose the least I can do is be in shape to go for some runs with her in January. Getting out regularly again. Might even get a watch again, last one crapped out back in Nicaragua. 10 yesterday, 12ish today, something like 6 before that I think. If only I had someplace to write all this down.

People in Motion...

December 10

2mi jog to shake out the plane ride and race and anything else. Turned out there was unexpected "else." Also it was beautiful outside and Biz really wanted me to get 30mi on the week.

Week: 30mi. Most of the fatigue I'm feeling right now is from travel, but I've been looking forward to some time off for the last couple of weeks. I'll be taking this week to recharge after a fantastic year of running.

December 9

11mi, USATF Club XC Nationals 10K (35:15): Golden Gate Park. Whatever. Haven't checked my place. Team was 37th of 42. A terrible race, but I hadn't put myself in a position physically or mentally to have a good race, so I'm not particularly surprised or upset. The course was very cool and for the first 6K it was fun to splash through the horse track and slog through the mud with Ben Merchant. After that I gave up mentally, and everything else followed. Fun, but exhausting trip.

December 8

3mi, 20mi or so: Riley Run. Quick run before fleeing the state for obvious reasons. 1x Sprint Drills at SFO waiting for a ride.

How Can You Look At Me Like I Was Just Another One Of Your Deals?

December 7

7mi, 50:27 (7+/mi): Lake St. w/LSCC. Lovely run discussing the finer points of computer repair and basketball strategy.

December 6

7mi, 43:41 (6:14/mi): LS8. 4x(3min on/1min off). Easy fartlek to wake-up the legs. 10 degrees and windy didn't even feel that bad. Ran past a "Your Speed Is" radar on the first accel and was cruising between 11 and 12mph. So that was fun.

December 5

Day Off. Allow me to introduce a new unit of measurement: The Schrader. Used to quantify a level of fretting about the big, bad world, suffice to say that a single Schrader is an awful lot. So:

Schrader x the Meredith case. Basically, if the school district loses then our country is to race relations as this guy is to his girlfriend. I've got at least a Schrader's worth to say about all this, but for purposes of the training blog I'll keep it brief. Justices, Petitioners, et al, the phrase "seperate but equal is inherently unequal" does not describe a theory, it describes a condition. It is a condition fairly described as "inherently" unequal because of the long history of legally, socially, and economically enforced aparthied in the United States. It should scarcely be open for debate whether the same Constitution that contains the three-fifths clause still mandates affirmative measures to remedy past discrimination. To hold that voluntary efforts to such ends are unconstitutional would rest on tenuous legal theory, as well as upon a damning academic ignorance of the lived society shaped by our laws.

December 4

Day Off. The USSC heard oral arguments in Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education and is likely to rule against the school district

Do Rich People Know What To Do With Their Gold?

December 3

5mi, 31:17 (right): West Side Five. Threw in some accells and what-not. Cold again.

Week: 24mi. Pseudo-maintaining for Club Nats. Should probably run again today or something. And maybe run threshold at some point.

December 2

4mi, 27:27 (again): Shortcut. Cold. But not as cold as it was at Lake Harriet this morning, where Biz and Merchant squashed Team USA MN. Nowhere near as hott as it was down in Bloomington, IL, where Schrades and Jill threw down a certain trail marathon. Far from desperate.

December 1

5mi, 33:35 (no math at bizyah's place): West Side Five. Easy. Accells post run.

November 30

5mi, 35+ (LSCC): Dark again.

I've sucked the milk out of a thousand cows...

November 29

5mi, 34:17 (6:whatever/mi): Default w/Nick. Darker than a black steer's tuckus on a moonless prairie night.

November 28

Day Off.

November 27

Day Off.

November 26

Day Off. Happy Birthday, Schrades.

Week: 28.5mi. I'd be taking a week or more off if it weren't for Club Nats on 12/9. Instead it'll be a few days and then some maintainin' before collecting myself for '07.

November 25

9mi, Conard HS Alumni Race (5k): 16:41 (aprx), 1st. Decent run over a tough course. Led the first mile in 5:15 to test legs. Legs failed test, so I tucked in behind Schuyler Schuster (Alumni Race Champ '04) and Ryan Rodd (Alumni Race Champ '05) and we ran the soggy, rocky, hilly second mile in 5:35. Sky moved to the front with a mile to go and started throwing surges, but I sat on his shoulder while we dropped Ryan. Moved past Sky with 150 or 200 to go to nab my first victory after a pair of runner-up finishes and several third-place showings. Course PR.

November 24

4mi, 25:52 (6:28/mi): Salt Block. Easy recovery. Nice weather, a day late.

Shovels, Rakes, Implements of Destruction...

November 23

Manchester Road Race: 4.748mi, 25:01 (5:17/mi, 30th Overall): Well, OK. Not what I wanted, but a boatload of silver linings. Course PR by 29s, best place at Manchester by 9 and converts to an 8K PR. And, of course, The Church Bros swept Neal Hannan. Also, congrats to Chaypaw for his 2+ minute Manchester PR! This was the first time I'd ever focused on racing at Manchester. It's tough. The only normal mile is the first mile, the second is entirely uphill (not just half as I'd remembered) and the third is an almost-too-steep downhill so regaining any sense of rythym or pace is a huge mental effort over the final 1.748mi. Add cold wind and rain and the resulting leg-lock and...yeah. It's amazing anyone ever races well at Manchester. Splits: 4:53, 5:53, 5:08, 5:18, 3:49. Seeing 5:53 on my watch was very jarring mentally and I never really recovered. Next year...

November 22

4mi, 27:28, (6:52/mi): Salt Block. Ok pre-meet but legs felt pretty heavy, hopefully just from the flight. 4xaccel after.

November 21

Day Off.

Take Lyndale to the horizon/Take Nicollet out to the ocean

November 20

4mi, 27:07 (6:47/mi): Shortcut. Rushed run, squeezed between a late exit from the office and a swapped teaching night, but this will let me take tomorrow off as planned. Legs felt great, not sore at all. Only had time for a few short accells before class, but felt decent on those as well. Now, to travel roughly from Nicollet out to the ocean...

When they kiss they spit white noise

November 19

8mi, Wkout. Turkey Run (5k) around Como Lake. 1.5up, 5k@T, 3+ down. 16:42 (5:15, 5:35, 5:52 for the last 1.1). Felt very easy, controlled and smooth. Legs were colder than I expected, probably because it was low 30s, not low 40s as I'd thought. Was trying to run 5:20s-5:25s so I backed off the leaders (Amy Lyons and some HS kid) after a mile, forgetting that their next mile would probably be right on for my goal pace. And it was. Caught them with a short accel (<60m) during the third mile and pressed a little to 5:20 pace so I wouldn't have to decide whether or not to kick against Amy to the finish. Overall effort was definately threshold or easier and, per Hooley's design, felt better at the finish than I did at the start. Good final prep for Manchester, where hopefully the temperature will be slightly warmer.

Week: 31mi. And a grand total of 10mi left before the gun goes off on Thanksgiving Day!

November 18

4mi, 29:32 (7:22/mi): Shortcut. Easy, a little chilly, legs lively. A couple accells after.

November 17

Day Off. Only sort of planned, but it's the taper taper.

November 16

5mi, 38:55 (who knows?): Abbreviated Lake St. w/LSCC. Could tell that the 400s were lingering in the legs a little bit, but run was slow, easy and unaffected.

I hear them all, I hear them all, I hear them all...

November 15

7mi, Wkout. 2.5up, 8x400m w/2:00R, 2.5down. Timed selectively: #1 - 73, #5 - 68. Guessing most were 67-70. Good workout in flats aiming for the ambiguous 85% mark perscribed by a post-positive real consumer of all the food. Legs were heavy on the last two, but none of that hardcore lactic acid stuff. Recovered well on the cool down and finished the workout feeling like I had a few more in me. Also completed the first full set of sprint drills that I can remember in a long time...almost fell over.

November 14

7mi, 48:08 (6:53/mi): Default + xtra w/Nick. Legs felt surprisingly good on one of those crispairmornings.

November 13

Day Off.

Did they bang the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly?

November 12

9mi, 1:02:59 (7:00/mi): Ford-Franklin. Good easy run working the hills and the spectating out of my legs. In the taper and figure out the last couple of honing workouts. And rest.

Week: 50mi. Fine. Hadn't realized until Thursday that the race was only two weeks away. Made me feel better about not getting in mileage...

November 11

8mi, Wkout. 4xCemetary Miles, 3min R. Actually more like 4x5min segment, since this was all unmeasured. 5:10, 4:53, 4:57, 4:57. Pretty close, I suspect. Biz was also there doing some kind of downhill 400s workout (approximate splits: 65/85 down and up). But it give me someone to chase on the ups. Felt ok and fairly strong on the uphills. Downhills were tough and definately where each interval hurt the most.

November 10

7mi, 49:48 (7:07/mi): LS8. Eh, ok. 200s took more out of the legs than I'd thought, but good stretching after.

Hey, Hey There You Go Now, Baby, Dancing All Alone In Your Room

November 9

10mi, wkout. 16x400m @ T, 45s R. 4x200m, 200m walk/jog R. 72, 73, 77, 74, 78, 76, 76, 75, 75, 76, 75, 74, 73, 73, 75, 74, 30-hi, 31-lo, 31-lo, 31-hi. Well, OK. Had been aiming for 78s on the 400s, averaged around 75-hi/76-lo, but obviously things were kind of all over the place. Wind contributed I'm sure. None of it felt harder than threshold, and 45s was plenty of recovery. The 200s were into the wind but I'm still pretty frustrated that I wasn't under 30 for any of them given how hard (I thought) I was running for those.

You Were Light Revelation

November 8

11mi, 1:12:10 (6:34/mi): Ford-Franklin+xtra. Felt great running shirtless in, um, November. Fantastic, and legs felt nice and rested after these last couple of days.

November 7

5mi, 33:24 (6:41/mi): Shortcut+xtra. Rushed. Sacrificed something like 2 or 3 miles for representative democracy. It's an investment, though, since I'm sure those wacky left-wingers will socialize enough stuff to give me time for an extra 2-3mi every day. I mean, unless Michele Bachmann and God have other plans.

November 6

Day Off.

Sometimes when I run alone, I hum and pray and/sometimes. I close my eyes/to see what happens.

November 5

13mi, 1:27:51 (6:45/mi): NE and back + xtra. First half with Phil, which was Phantastic. Felt great in absolutely beautiful weather, and it was nice to have some time to consider my racing record against Biz since Grandma's: 4-3 in races where both of us have been registered. Just interesting is all...

Week: 70.5. Decent. Also, congrats to Jill and Schrades on their MARS domination. Pending...

November 4

9mi, Wkout. 4x1600m (3@T, 1@Race Pace, 60s R) 5:21, 5:20, 5:19, 4:58. Ugh. Was hoping to do two more sub-5 but legs just didn't have it today. Even Threshold felt easy aerobically but legs were tightening. Add intestinal requirements during #4 and you get a shorter workout. Oh well.

November 3

8mi, 55:18 (6:55/mi): LS8+xtra. Nice run. Overdressed. Legs a little heavy. Typical.

What?

Drop off run from Tom's house. I should probably contact Scholi about some new shoes.

Everybody's Your Best Friend When You're Doing Well, I Mean Good

November 2

9mi, 1:04:57 (7:13/mi): LSCC etc. Good easy run. Need to locate winter apparel. Right hammy tight after yesterday. I think I'll be alright but I don't know for sure/like every other unindicted co-conspirator.

Out Of The Sidehatch

November 1

10.5mi, UMN Track. 3up, 20x200m w/200m jog rec, 2.5down. Good workout on a cold, windy day. Timed selectively. #1 - 35mid, #5 - 32mid, #16 - 33low, #20 - 30high. Guessing I averaged around 33s. Felt decent running faster, but need to start doing some drills and strides so that I stop falling back on my heels.

Trick, Etc.

October 31

All Hallows Morn: 9mi, 1:01:35 (6:51/mi): Default. A spooky run with Nick "Massacre" Mascioli. Legs stiff, like ancient corpses. Cold, like bloodless flesh. Windy, like spirit droves. Early, like 6:30am. Easy, like Sunday morning.

All Hallows Afternoon: 4mi, 26:55 (6:44): Shortcut. Quick run before the Witching Hour, which turned out to be the substantially more benign Whiching Hour because of daylight savings. Really hoping someone ran Crucifix Six today...

October 30

8mi, 53:06 (6:38/mi): LS8+xtra. Nice run on a beautiful day before some collective action. Caught leaves 2, 3, 4 and 5 on the season during a particularly blustery mile on the west bank. Had planned on letting Dan walk away with his 7th or 8th straight title, but now I might be back in the game if I can focus a little bit over the next few weeks. At last count the tallies were: Dan - 10, Tom - 5, Rest of SCRC - 0, Team XO - sucks.

Incidents and Accidents, Hints and Allegations

October 29

13mi, 1:25:35 (6:35/mi): NE+Back w/Phil and Biz. More Incidents than Accidents this time.

Week: 54mi. Hints, Allegations, Things Left Unsaid.

October 28

Day Off, basically. Hints and Allegations.

October 27

5mi, 33:08 (compute): Incidents and Accidents.

October 26

7.5mi w/ LSCC. Hints and Allegations.

Physically Forgotten

October 25

13.5mi, Hill Workout. 10xHill on WRR (same as always). 2:44, :38, :39, :34, :32, :27, :28, :23, :21, :18. Great workout after some motivation trouble. Legs felt good but had trouble maintaining turnover. Glad to see that the week+ of no workouts has my legs feeling fairly chipper...uppper body could use some work. Did note on one towards the end that it felt much faster than TC-10mi, which I suppose is good.

October 24

AM: 5mi, 35:40 (7:08/mi): Default. Easy w/Nick. Babbling about the Constitution and Chrissy Lee. Not in that order.

PM: 5mi, 32:08 (6:26/mi): West Side Five. Rushed before what I'll call my best ESL class yet...

October 23

5mi, 32:20 (6:28/mi): arb w/groose & corey. (he wouldn't shut up about his race!)

Stat for Schrades: After this run I was at 2198.5mi for the year. Total Milage in 2005 = 2198.5.

So Be Easy And Free/When You're Drinkin' With Me

October 22

16mi, 1:47:44 (6:44/mi): Fishouse Ext. Beautiful run. Very glad to get out the door and to stay out the door for so long. Even felt pretty good. I should do more of this running. Congratulations, Stelljes!

Week: 50mi. Right.

October 21

8mi, 50:48 (6:21/mi): LS8 + xtra. Yeah, I know.

October 20

8mi, 52:20 (6:32/mi): LS8 + xtra. Good easy run...although not a workokut...

October 19

8mi, 1:00:12 (7:30ish): Lake St with LSCC. Slar and easy before a thrilling game seven of the AAAA-LCS.

The New Get-Right-For-The-Winter Workout Plan

October 18

10mi, 1:07:49 (6:47/mi): Ford-Franklin + xtra. Very good to get out the door. Took it slow and easy. Felt like the rest days did more good than I'd expected and I have a decent game plan for Manchester: Eat your salad, no dessert.

October 17

Day Off. Again, but this time recieved advice from Alison: "Stop stressing out about running...It won't ruin your life." Good point.

October 16

Day Off. Not planned, not happy.

Upon the Lordly Hudson...

October 15

Day Off. Driving. Flying. Etc.

Week: 54mi. Busy week, but pretty annoyed with myself re: mileage. Need to turn it around. I hope you all enjoyed Phil's return as lead blogger over the past five days.

October 14

10mi, 1:08ish: Mohawk and Hudson river bike trail. Decent run pre-wedding. Legs not great. Congrats to Schuyler Schuster on a 6th place finish at the Hartford 1/2 Marathon in 1:11:43.

October 13

12mi, 1:20:04 (6:40/mi): Mohawk and Hudson river bike trail. Ok but windy run. Kid on a bike high-fived me during the first mile. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Alison Traffanstedt. We chatted briefly in the morning, as I recall...hope whatever kept her from calling that evening as promised was very fun...

October 12

4mi, 24:22 (6:05/mi): Salt Block. Ahhhh, the Salt Block. A perfect 4mi loop in WH, but physically impossible to run it slower than 28:00. This would have been a more reasonable pace if I hadn't raced a bike over the last half-mile from Conard to home. Best racing strategy I've employed so far this season, biding my time over the first quarter and then hammering up the hill on Foxridge. Biker never saw it coming and was not prepared for all the shifting the hill required.

October 11

8mi, 53:54 (6:44/mi): LS8. Just missed the snow "storm", but got some flurries.

Waltzing Matilda

October 10

AM: 5mi, 35:52 (7:10/mi): Default with Nick and Jessica. Chhhhhiiiillllllyyyy.

October 9

15mi, 1:31:04 (6:04/mi): Ford-Washington + xtra. 60min @ tempo (aprx. 5:45s). Decent workout in the dark. Briefly paused the tempo section about 5min in to chat with a runner so dedicated that he was out there putting in the miles only a week after his debut marathon. Nice work, Sherman. Also saw Betsy.

Tigers are Noble

October 8

8mi, 54:04 (6:46/mi): LS8+xtra. Ok run with a full stomach.

Week: 60mi. Decent week recovering from the race with a great Friday workout.

October 7

12mi, 1:23:25 (6:57/mi): Fishouse. Easy run with Dan before some hiking down south, not in the land of the pines.

A Travelling Band of Misfits and Outcasts...

October 6

11mi, wkout. 6x1600@T. 5:23, :21, :18, :16, :15, :10. Rest Intervals: 58s, 58, 56, 53, 54. Great workout on windy day at UMN track. Felt smooth and under control the whole way, perfect threshold effort. First time taking less than 90s R on a 1600m T wkout.

Active Atrophy

October 5

4mi, 28:50 (7:12/mi): Shortcut. Slower because of a pause to do pullups on the pedestrian bridge over 94. Then Bruce pushups. Matt Hooley is a sweetheart.

Torii Hunter Has 5 Gold-Gloves

October 5

10mi, 1:09:10 (6:55/mi): 2xDefault. Easy run, with Nick and Jessica for about half of it. Legs felt stiff and not altogether thrilled with Jessica's choice of pace over the first two miles.

October 4

10mi, 1:05:27 (6:33/mi): Ford-Franklin + xtra. Beautiful run and legs felt much better, especially through about 8mi. Ran with a plesantly meandering mind until I picked up the marathon course and checked my watch at the mile markers. Nothing ruins a run like knowing how fast you're running. Fortunately the fall colors helped to counteract some of that. I think in the Twin Cities it might be the marathon that inspires the leaves and not vice-versa as the organizers would have you believe. As I told Biz, they're two of the most beautiful rites of death we get to witness. And yes, all these sorts of thoughts came before I hit those mile markers...

This Train/Carries Fools and Kings

October 3

5mi, 34:27 (6:53/mi): West Side Five. A shorter trolley ride. Legs felt very beat-up, but hopefully this run helped shake off most of that. Aiming for easy miles this week with a long run and a threshold workout towards the end. Oh, and abs. And perhaps some Masciolis-Inspired Bruce Lifting a la winter of 2004. This train...

October 2

Day Off. Slept through alarm, missed trolley. Sore legs would have appreciated it.

October 1

20mi, Race: TC10-Mile in 53:35 (5:14, :16, :23(uphill), :14, :27, :35, :36, :21, :21, :05). Happy with the time, but still don't feel like I'm competing very well when I'm racing. Miles 1-4 were perfect, but I talked myself out of 5:15s and let Katie McGregor et al. drop me during an unnecessarily slow fifth mile. And that set me up for two solo miles up Summit that were slower than they probably would have been otherwise. Had plenty left for the downhill finish, just not enough to catch Arneson who ran a spectacular race. Congrats to SCRC and LSCC marathoners. And, a more reserved congrats to WRRT 10-Milers who were basically the cause of the 7+ mile cool down.

Week: 50.5mi. Good taper week. Time to get back on the trolley for Manchester.

Kickin' the new Ka-nowledge

September 30

6.5, 45:15 (6:58/mi): Shortcut+xtra. Well, the "xtra" made it less of a shortcut. Pre-meet with Senner and Hools, the latter of whom required the xtra. I'm whipped. Not like Alison, who describes her run as follows:_____________________. At least there's not a race tomorrow.

You Want That Realness?

September 29

5mi, 35:26 (7:04/mi): Loring/Kenwood/Isles with Nick + accells. Way better than when I ran with Matt.

September 28

Day Off. Switched with Friday.

E is for Erik

September 27

8mi, wkout. 2.5up, 4x800m (90s R), 4x200m (200m jog), 2.5down. 2:37, :42, :40, :41, 33, 33, 33, 31. Windy, but felt very smooth and easy breaking in new flats (Supernova Comp.) Be sure to check out the second-to-last comment on yesterday's thread if you haven't already. It's not about Biz. E is also for Edmonson, Zach, who joined me for 800 #2 and #4 and cooled down with me and Gehring. Watch for him in the 5K this Saturday...

Shout A "Hip Ho-Ray!"

September 26

8mi, 56:19 (7:03/mi): Stone Arch Seven + xtra. Easy (!) with Senner. We can only assume that Birdman's increased strength during his taper is also the reason why teams like the Blue Jays have leaped into positions like second place. But the A's lost and the Twins clinched, so (some) things are starting to come together this week. There is a chill in the air and all things in this world are possible.

Whopping Good Time

September 25

4+, Untimed. Lake Calhoun with M. Scholi. Good easy run to start a taper week. Hey Scholi, ever notice how there are all these people working out, getting in shape, but they're never getting in shape for anything. So really, it's all this effort so that we can be in shape...the next time we work out.

Workingman's Blues

September 24

8mi, 48:09 (6:01/mi): LS8+xtra. Not Senner's fault.

Week: 63mi. Pretty good week, especially Wednesday's workout.

September 23

12mi, 1:21ish (wkout): 4up, 4+@Senner's MP (5:30), 4down. Decent workout with Senner between aprx mile 15 and 19 on the course. Felt ok, a little dehydrated. We picked it up for 22min...I'll let Senner evaluate whether or not we achieved the pacing objective...

Rainy Day Women

September 22

8mi, 53:20 (6:40/mi): Mac & Back. Decent run with Senner covering miles 19.5-23.5 of the course. Or, if you're a reasonable person, miles 3-7. Felt fine in cold morning rain. Plus Senner stoned me while I was trying to look so good.

September 21

11mi, 1:17:36 (7:03/mi): Stone Arch Loop + Lake St-Annie's. First 4.5ish with LSCC before adding on with Dan for another 45min of wind and rain. Earning the malt. Felt ok, not great towards the end.

Apocrypha - Corinth Writes Back

September 20

16mi, 1:42:32 (6:25/mi): 3+up, aprx 8mi @ tempo (5:37s), 4.5 down. Started tempo portion on the east bank side of the Stone Arch Bridge, crossed and followed the TC10M course to a block past Lexington.

An Open Letter to St. Paul,
c/o Summit Ave.

When last I sailed your boulevards t'was with poisonous affection. I knew you then, but without respect, and you knew me as you know thousands. It is not a lonely thing to suffer your corridors, only painful. So I am writing today without remorse or sentiment or forgiveness, only respect. Ten days from now I will arrive prepared to give you the attention and energy you demand and that so many waste on your Western Sister. She is fanciful and uncomplicated. You are simply, relentlessly subtle.

I understand. I ask only the same.

s/The Church

September 19

Day Off. Legs fine. Body fine. Am contributing this day off to the Chris Lundberg Relief Program.

Puts His Jacket 'Round His Girl As The Autumn Wind Sends A Chill...

September 18

8mi, 53:34 (6:42/mi): LS8+xtra. Excellent easy run, exactly as planned. Chilly, but down on the west bank, probably about the two mile mark of the TC10M, there are two trees with brilliant yellow leaves like street lamps against deep evergreens and paler Wait For Octobers and a sky flirting with winter because it's just remembering how to be fall. So am I.

(Haven't shaved in a week...)

Sharks on a Roller Coaster

September 17

16mi, 1:48:06 (6:45/mi): Fishouse Extended. That might not actually be the name of this run, but it's something like that. Beautiful run in perfect weather. And, finally, I felt great. Easily the best run of the week.

Week: 73mi. Obviously less than I'd planned, but I finished the week feeling strong and rested instead of burnt-out so I'm not that upset about the mileage drop. More disappointed in my poor focus for the workouts this week, but still got in some quality running. Re-focus this week before a TC10M taper week...


September 16

9mi, Wkout. 7x800m, 90s R. 2:34, :34, :33, :32, :33, :34, :34. Cut from ten. Legs felt good and aerobic effort was entirely reasonable. But frustrated with myself for basically letting poor planning compromise the workout. Ran with Dan in the afternoon, but hadn't scheduled the workout time until late, so hadn't eaten very much and was not hydrated enough for the heat. Felt dizzy and weak from the time I stepped onto the track, and when the maintenence guy couldn't open the doors for bathrooms and water after #7 I had to call it quits. Just stupid. On the plus side, 1xPeanut-Butter/Ice-Cream Pie in the evening. Schrades, I added a layer of sliced bananas underneath the hot fudge. Ryan Hall and Jorge Torres had been so impressed and complimentary after watching Dan and me on the track that I invited them over to try some pie. They said the bananas were a great addition. Then they gave me their phone numbers.

Bringing Sexy Back

September 15

6, 40:22 (6:44/mi): Up to NE House. Short run, but body, legs and everything felt normal. So I've got that going for me...

Everything's Just Wonderful

September 14

9mi, 1:07:01 (7:35ish/mi): LS8 modified/extended. Ran most of the way with the already-mentioned good LSCC company. Body felt much better than yesterday but the legs needed the easy effort. Recovery makes you faster...

Three Days Down The Highway, Looking Like I Feel

September 13

7mi, 54:07 (7:43/mi): LS8. Miserable run with trashed legs, punctuated with acid reflux. Not tired, of course, but only because there is an asymptote* at Tired. I was probably somewhere around Tuckered on the T-word curve...Ugh. Moving on.

*Would you believe that Biz remembered this word? Mind blowing.

...Just Come Back Home

September 12

PM: 11mi, 1:10:13 (6:23/mi): 3up, 2x2mi @ Threshold, 1mi jog recovery, 3down. On river road. 11:01, 10:44. First one up the Franklin Hill, second one back down. Distance is approximate but effort felt about like threshold. Good workout close to 10mi race pace on part of the TC10mi course. Could feel yesterday's ambitious 7-miler in my legs but not too bad. Ran into Biz over the last half mile of the second interval and had the pleasure of his company for the cool-down. YAY!

AM: 3mi, 20:43: Island Hopping - Boom and Nicollet. Easy shakeout run.

Now With These Hands...

September 11

PM: 7mi, 41:02 (5:51/mi): LS8. Pace only partially intentional, but it felt smooth and controlled and I should recover ok. Had planned on doing an easy 10, but rushed things in order to get to Phil's hippie class on time. The weather was cool and I felt good, but the best part of the run was the massive high school team out doing repeats on the river's Franklin Hill. They were in full-fledged High Schoolers Supporting Everyone mode. One kid announced "I see you on Wednesday nights!" and for the next 3/4 of a mile at least one kid in each pack of runners gave me a very earnest "Keep it up!" or "You got this!" More or less made my day. Schof, what is the problem with high school running?

AM: 5mi, 32ish: Down the West Bank. Pace was a little quicker than normal in the mornings but felt ok. Some fairly acute soreness in my left quad seemed to go away by the end.

(Booyah.)

September 10

9mi, 1:02:48 (6:59/mi): Ford-Franklin. Easy run on chilly, misty day. Legs felt worse than I would have expected, but that's ok. Took it easy to prepare for a couple big weeks leading up to TC 10-mi. A fantastic lazy Sunday, more or less on the Calvin and Hobbes model.

Week: 60mi. Decent, considering the off-day and the pre-meet day. Figured I'd concede lower mileage rather than scramble myself into a pile of fatigue and render the next week's workouts useless...

September 9

10mi, Winning. The Opener. The Booyah. The Alumsyah. 33-35. I was 5th overall in 26:47 and would be much more frustrated with the day if it hadn't been bouyed by some fantastic races across the board. Physically, legs weren't great but the overall effort was pretty easy. Mentally I really need to start racing instead of just running. Never felt like I was pushing myself, and afterwards felt like the race had no effect on me. Should have followed the fat man. BUT! Still my third fastest XC 8K. BD is looking ready for some marathon throw-downaj. And huge congratulations are in order for Andrew Schroeder on an outright PR, as well as for my brother for a course-best only about 25s away from an outright PR that came on a rocketship course with the wind at his back...This was also probably the best ever Church Brothers combined performance in a single race. Booyah.

We wasn't supposed to make it past 25, joke's on you, we still alive

September 8

5mi, 34:13 (probably slower than that, actually): Down the West Bank. Easy pre-meet run in new shoes. Legs were grateful for the cushioning and the pace. Decent stretching afterwards has legs starting to think about approaching chipperness.

September 7

4mi, Untimed. Easy shakeout run with Gehring. Legs felt horrible. So naturally, we went to Masa in search of a cure. Instead there were forbidden enchiladas and sangria and a fellah's table that places a distant third behind the Original Sevy Tea Room and Annie's. Most of all, there was a grumbling Chaypaw, which is all a brother can really ask for on his birthday.

So Here I Lay In Me 25th Year...

September 7

10mi, 1:07:57 (4:10/mi): Star Trib Ten. Nice loop in NE with Biz, watching a beautiful sun rise over the Mississippi. Possibly a little long. My body felt smashed like a bowl of eggs, and Bizyah carried off both me legs.

September 6

14+ 1:33:26 (wkout): 3mi WU, Hooley's Fartlek Workout, 3mi CD. 3x(meheme)(3min each interval). Tried to keep "m" close to threshold, "h" close to Como last week, and "e" an honest 6:30-:40. Got hard towards the end, but I'm sure that had absolutely nothing to do with my fitness. This is a great workout that I need to do more often because it forces me to really focus the whole way. It's a tougher mental effort than it appears, especially if you're trying to avoid a typical recovery slog on the easy intervals. Legs felt pretty unresponsive, actually. Need to stretch/ice/break out new shoes...

September 5

Day Off. Last week was 81.5mi, not 82.5mi as previously reported. Still, two long travelling weekends and the most consecutive miles (193.5) since college helped me justify a nap. Plus, Tegenkamp took a day off the week before his 3:35.96.

September 4

8mi, 54:27 (6:whatever/mi): 10K Loop + xtra with Schrades. Good easy miles, including a tour of the Madison Zoo, shrieking at the monkeys. Thanks to Schrades also for his dynamite peanut-butter ice-cream pie recipe, which I've now made public so that I'm forced to make it sometime soon.

You're Gonna Fly High, You're Never Gonna Die, They're Gonna Love You!

September 3

17mi, 1:53:icantbeexpectedtoremembereverylittlethingplusmywatchisoverthere (we're so happy we can hardly count): Evidently, Jill McKiernan feels that every name Andrew Schroeder and Tom Church think of is "offensive", which seems entirely unlikely given how Totally Classy those Two Kings is. Are. Whatever. We ran a long way this morning. Over a bunch of trails, up a bunch of hills, through a bunch of backyards covering roughly 17mi of Madison, Crestwood, Shorewood, Wherever. Jill now requests that she be given phones so that no calls are made to "Workroom Jim." Workroom Jim knows, as do all wise men, that it is important to consider approximations to be exact when it comes to Sunday long runs. Collective Soul knows that it is important to eat fried chicken if you are to be well liked by Biggie Smalls (The Smalls). And Dan, (Schroeder), knows that is important to be chill during paddle and portage. Dan (Church), knows that is important to be chill enough to fall asleep at any moment.

Week: 82.5 I think. It's around there, anyway, Whooooo, daddy, that's a lotta miles. Stats For Schrades: 1) Current Distance Between Schrades And Tom = Not. 2) 308mi in August is the most since August 2004 (343). 3) Jill is right. My run name suggestions tonight are offensive. 4) Jill loves to steal her computer from the rightful Computer Usurpers.

Ok, I'm gonna stop posting now.

I Was Just A Skinny Lad...

September 2

11mi, wkout: Cow Chip Classic 10K in 34:46. Felt like a very easy threshold effort, working the itch out of my legs - exactly what I needed after Como. 5:42, 6:09 (uphill), 5:35 (catching local jokers), 5:17 (downhill), 5:42, 5:08 (skeptical about that...), 1:11. Went 1-2 with Schrades - Syttende Mai, Woods to Water, Cow Chip...we own this state, baybeee!

"We Caught 3 Butterflies and 2 Bees!"

September 1

8mi, 51:31 (that's math): LS8 + xtra. Legs felt better but run was a little rushed before leaving for Madtowne.

August 31

PM: 7mi, 48:19 (????): LS8. Fine run. Tired legs from workout and then wearing dress shoes all day.

AM: 3mi, Untimed: Riley Run. Easy shakeout run. Legs very stiff from workout...

You're An Explosion (You're Dynamite)

August 30

10mi, Como Relays: 5xMile in 5:04, 4:57, 4:59, 5:07, 5:05. Good, tough workout. Teamed with Biz for 2nd overall against Lindahl and Weltham (sp? Biz?). Lots of one-on-one racing with Weltham made for a good mental workout. Lactic acid in forearms after second interval - I was happier with no mind set. Sidecars are for bitches.

Gold Teeth And A Curse For This Town

August 30

3, Untimed: Isles with Jessica, dancing like the king of the eyesores. God speed all the bakers at dawn/may they all cut their thumbs. Hmmmm...

August 29

11, 1:15:25 (6:51/mi): The Vanishing Fat Man. Up the west bank, most of the way with Arneson. Looking for Biz, who made it undetected down the west bank. SCRC reunion, way better than WRRT reunion. Then some more running and some Annie's once Biz got back from my place.

And The Seagulls They'll Be Smiling

August 28

11.5mi, 1:17:27 (6:44/mi): OOOOUUU-LUUUUU! Or at least that's what this run should be called. Senner, Buce and BD can weigh-in. Ran on Pre's Trails before adding on over to Hayward for a mile on the track. Evidently we ran past or close to some osprey nests without any mention being made. But it's hard to know what to expect from a man who allows the word "seagull" to be sung at his wedding...

August 27

PM: 4mi, 26:36 (6:39/mi): Where's Macarthur Court (Or Hayward Field...)? Yeah. Shakeout run in Eugene after the drive from Seattle. Lost, but giddy, and in typical fashion failed to find the enormous, legendary track located directly across the street from our hotel a quarter-mile away. Problem seems to be that I turned left.

AM: 10mi, 1:07:28 (6:45/mi): Greenlake. Ran the first mile with Paul before he decided it was a waste of his time to train with someone as slow as me and wisely climbed back into bed with Katie.


Week: 74mi. More or less as planned, with two solid workouts but without a real long run. Instead, not only did I watch Senner get married, I watched Lande christen a new Eugene monument with his car not 200m from Pre's Rock.

August 26

8mi, 55:25 (6:56/mi): The Tops. Good easy run with PDA around Greenlake, over some trails and through the UW campus fueled by late night burgers and shakes. Name is pending final approval from PDA himself.

La-de-da, de-da, de-da

August 25

8mi, 53:43 (6:43/mi): LS8. Easy run but legs heavy. Now begins whirlwind tour of Pacific Northwest, for Pauls, weddings and runing...

On a Night Like This

August 24

10mi, 1:07:08 (6:43/mi): Run Rabbit. Good run on a rainy, tornadoey night. Nondescript until the downpour.

Rainy Day

August 23

PM: 9mi, Como Relays: 4xMile. 5:30, 5:26, 5:21, 5:14. Perfect threshold workout. Felt smooth and controlled the whole way and was never close to pushing into lactate. Makes it tempting to go for It next week...which is a dangerous thought...

AM: 4mi, Untimed: Shortcut. More easy recovery. Very, very slow but good to get out the door and shake some of the crap out of my legs and stomach...

August 22

7mi, 49:08 (7:01/mi): LS8. Stumbling around, but at least I could move, which is more than was possible in the morning. Legs very stiff post workout. Wonder if this is what the Red Sox feel like...

So Kiss Me Goodbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeee!

August 21

13.5mi, 1:30ish (wkout): 10xHill. 2:39, :36, :38, :41, :32, :42, :36, :31, :30, :23. Felt awful and unfocused the whole way. After the fourth I was planning to cut the workout to six, but I foolishly raced a bike on the fifth and got myself feeling worse than I already did. So my punishment from Coach Myself was partially re-extending the workout to eight. Then on the sixth I felt the effects of foolishly racing the bike, and Coach Myself made me do the full workout. Very frustrated with the absence of focus and consistency during the first half of the workout, but also very happy with the way I finished. One of my best "feeling bad" workouts since college, and since those are more important than the "feeling good" workouts, I'll come away from this feeling positive.

August 20

12mi, 1:20:40 (6:43/mi): Ford-Washington. Easy run with Hools and Biz. Not 13mi. Legs felt remarkably good, possibly because of the six mile cool-down yesterday, but more likely because of Samuel L. Jackson.

Week: 54mi. Mileage took a hit this week because I wanted to recover for the race, so I'm glad it paid off. Volume will go up this week, maybe to eleven. And I'll be doing one million quality miles, but I don't talk about those on the blog for reasons that I can't talk about on the blog. First rule of quality miles...

Enter the Wu

August 19

14.5mi, bedar, (BEDAR!): Guidant 10K in 32:19. PR!!!! Ya know what, I'll go ahead and say it: This was a great race. Fantastic weather and rocketship course. Went out more aggressively than I'd planned, but it got me into a solid pack so I didn't end up in no-man's land. 5:06, 5:11, 5:12, 5:06, 5:19, 5:20. A little frustrated for letting myself lose contact with the group after 4mi, but no complaints about a PR. Also a great way to cap the team circuit, with PRs from BD and Schrades as well. Time to turn my attention towards November. Now, about those SNAKES...

This Time, Baby, I Won't Turn Around

August 18

3mi, 20:05, (whatever that comes to): Riley Run. Easy pre-meet. Also did some accells. Legs feel ok but sort of ominous. I'll need to do some more stretching later today, but mostly I'll be doing as much sitting as possible in preparation for Guidant. Mis-stated the Stats For Schrades, because I ignored the 87mi week I had with HDLN back in May. That was a little like being at camp, however, and I wasn't racing so much etc etc etc. So, yet another exception. And for those wondering (nobody), I didn't physically run yesterday, but I did speak with Schof for a while, which counts under the Speaking To Schofer exception. We'll call it an easy 8mi chatting with Schof online: "I heard you're using galvanized nails for that deck." "Yeah, it's pretty legit."

Weenie.

August 17

Day Off. Stats For Schrades: 50mi in 4 days to close last week is my highest four-day total since 7/26/05-7/29/05 (52.5mi). Last summer I had a day off (in Madison, no less) right after that stretch and temporarily quit running the following week.

August 16

6.5mi, time. 3x1600 at Como w/Jessica. 5:08, 5:18, 5:28. The good news is that I think I could have continued this pattern for a long while. Ran the first one leading with Williamson. Purposely slowed down on the second, but wasn't feeling great and was running all alone. Dead legs on the third and I shut things down over the second half. Frustrating, but it'll pass. Mostly I'm just a weenie. I even shivered my way through an ice bath after...

I Just Wanted To Borrow Your Dustbuster

August 15

7mi, 46:10 (6:38/mi): LS8. I think it's safe to say that if your legs feel good during a training run in August you must be doing something wrong. Listen to the bell, Grossbard, it tolls for thee!

"Is 'Masterstroke' One Word?"

August 14

AM: 4mi, 29:14 (7:17/mi): Shortcut. Legs felt absolutely useless, but the run was slow enough that it didn't matter. And it was completed around 7:40am.

PM: 7mi, 49:43 (7:06/mi): Isles and Calhoun. Legs still felt terrible, but had the pleasure of running with a certain Christoph Ibele so it was easy to forget about the fact that my legs don't work. Learned, among other things, the virtues of running counter-clockwise around Calhoun so as to ensure a smooth finish back to Isles. Also got Christoph to accept roughly half of the blame for the whole Senner-Kate debacle...

Either Way...

August 13

14mi, "race": MN Masters 15K in 53:09. Very poor race, but I a) wasn't nearly recovered for racing and b) was about due for something like this. Went out slow with the goods and...well I beat Coffey. Another good showing for SCRC, however, on the strength of solid races from Bizyah and BD. Time to recover for Guidant...brarkfast is a good start.

Week: 66mi. Of course, only 14 of them count under the rules I made-up for running early. So, we'll say that Monday and Tuesday count under the Running Up North exception, Thursday counts under the August Track Workout* exception, Friday counts under the Day After a Track Workout exception and Saturday counts under the Running With BD exception. Damn it.

*The theory being that if you're doing a track workout in August, you can do it whenever you want since later in the day should be hotter and more miserable. Thursday was windy, but otherwise plesant. Just shutup all of you.

It Takes More Than A Magazine To Kill My Vibe

August 12

10mi, hmmm. Como Loop with BD plus 2ish with Boulder Followed by Bryan's Fantastic Waffles. Legs feel very heavy, which is odd since according to my new nothing-after-9:30am-counts system, I've run zero miles this week...maybe time for a new system. Or new legs.

August 11

12mi, 1:20:18 (6:42/mi): Hennepin-Lake + xtra. I knew it was 12mi because it took me 80min. When I finished the initial loop I was at something like 78min, so I knew it couldn't be 12mi. Because 12mi takes 80min.

So Easy I Forgot To Laugh

August 10

14mi, 1:32:32 (something like that): 2x3200m@T, 1mi recovery on UofM track. 10:44 (:26/:18), 10:43(:25/:18). Very windy and Hennepin-Lake still in my legs, so decided against a third in favor of a longer cool down. Felt smooth despite the wind. Effort was probably just greater than threshold, but pretty close. Need to keep upper body from deteriorating at some point...

August 9

Day Off. SCRC was fourth at HLC on Sunday, ahead of both Gear and Collegeville. With two races to go we are fifth overall, three points behind fourth-place Gear and three points ahead of sixth-place Collegeville. And since the top two places are basically never going to be contested, we're basically third and challenging for second. Lundgren Ford, we'll get you next year.

Where I Get My Killing Done

August 8

6+, 43:23, (7ish/mi): Jay Cooke State Park. Breathtaking run. Life is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Leapt over roots and rocks and dangled me footsies in the river. Wrote bad poetry and developed an inexplicably stubborn craving for Culver's...which was worth it despite the fact that the closest location turned out to be Forest Lake instead of Hinckley or something further north.

August 7

10mi, 1:06:31 (6:33/mi): Out 'n' Back along Lake Superior. Legs fatigued from racing and standing all day for work, but picked it up on the way back and felt good running fast in Duluth for the first time ever.

This, That and This and uh

August 6

14.5mi, Hennepin-Lake Doubleheader: 10K - 33:14 (10th place), 5K - 16:15 (14th place) Doubleheader - 49:29 (4th place). Pretty good racing, especially given the humidity during the 10K. Thanks to Hools for pulling me around Calhoun for 6mi, for trading rhymes with me and Biz after 2mi, and for making me kick. Would not have felt as good about the 10K if I hadn't been able to come back with a negative split 5K (5:22, 5:15, 5:10, 33s). Waiting for results, but should be another good team day for SCRC.

Week: 68.5mi. Viva August!

THIS IS NOT A RACE!

August 5

10mi, 1:06:20 (6:38/mi): Run Rabbit. Um, yeah.

Church: So, Biz was sorta chastizing me for treating today's run as a pre-meet...

Hooley: Yeah, I was sorta chastizing you in my head a little bit.

Church: ...

Wish I Was The Moon...

August 4

AM: 3mi, 21:22, (7:07/mi): Neighborhood. Slow. Pre-T shake-out.

PM: 7mi, 48:51, (6:59/mi): LS8. This falls under the "I had a test" exception. Felt like crap. Maybe it shouldn't count...

Where'd You Go?

August 3

0mi, 51:54 (0:00/mi): LS8 + xtra. Finished just before 7pm. Time to get back on the horse. Someone remind me to register for HLC...

Happy Birthday and Godspeed!

August 2

AM: 5mi, 32:33 (6:31/mi): Ok, maybe not quite 5, but close enough...and almost 50 degrees cooler than Monday's high...

PM: 7mi, Como Relays. 4x1000m. 3:15, 3:14, 3:14, 3:12. Felt decent running hope-this-can-be-10K-pace over soft, uneven, not-River-Road, terrain. Happy Birthday and safe travels to founding partner, Phil Schrader, as he heads out of the country for the next three weeks.

C'mon Now Who Do You. Who Do You Who Do You Who Do You Think You Are?

August 1

PM: 4mi, 27:56 (6:59/mi): Blockbuster + xtra. Rented V for Vendetta and got all confused. Was that a mask?

AM: 10mi, 1:06:48 (6:41/mi): Lakes Run with impromptu workout around Calhoun and Harriet. 6x(3min on/3min off). Not real difficult but good to get some life in the legs. Cooler but still humid...

July 31

Day Off. Il fait tres chaud.

Earlier Than Is Preferable

July 30

13mi, Untimed. Fishouse. Was planning to go 14, ended up closer to 12, but it was untimed and I was gone for over 90min and done by 7:35am, so we're calling it 13 and feeling good about it. Watch was in use by a slumbering Joel Brody and Taylor Page, both of whom proved much wiser than myself by the choices they made this morning. Am currently debating whether to make the nearby Head & Neck clinic my Sunday newspaper source, a la Dick Hessler and the MO footballers. Should probably just figure out where the MN footballers live...

Week: 59mi. I'm not worried about the missing mile.

Alchemy

July 29

8mi, 53:06 (6:38/mi): LS8. Completed on time. Felt good in new Mizzuno Wave Alchemy reccomended by a certain Mark Rapacz. Jury is still out, but a good first run.

Once...

So, yeah, I been running every now and then and more so this past week. Starting to really enjoy it again actually. Heather's heard my broken record about "feeling good about running again" too many times, though. Sure has been hard for me to find a post Carleton running rhythm. I don't have the enthusiasm to chase down any college prs, and that makes it hard to feel like the bad ass runner I was, which in turn makes it nearly impossible to take my running seriously or to prioritize it with the discipline I used to. Need the running to stay sane though. Did some short runs this week and a nice hour with Adam and a nice solo hour yesterday. Today it was to damn hot. Heading to Central America on Thursday and not planning on running there so that'll put a damper on this little comeback.

Goodness.

July 28

10mi, Workout: UofM Track. 3ish warm-up, 1x800@T, 16x200m w/200m jog recovery, 2+ cool down. Felt very, very sluggish, especially to start and was moderately concerned that I would go into lactate on the warm-up. Did the threshold 800 (2:43)to try and wake-up a little bit but I'm not sure it did much. First three 200s were 34-mid, 36-mid, 36-low, the next 12 were untimed because a) the watch was stressing me out, b) effort and form were all that mattered and c) it's time to start practicing what I preach from time to time. Timed the last one and ran harder for 30.48. Comparing effort I'd guess that I settled in around 34s for the untimed reps, but I obviously don't know. Great workout to break the monotony of pounding pavement and even wore spikes for the 200s. Heat was getting to me a little bit despite the fact that all miles were completed before 9:30 as required. Recovered pretty easily. I am nominating whoever decided to use the Super Powerful Air Conditioner in the fieldhouse bathroom for sainthood. And whoever decided to lock the door before #14 is nominated for damnation, unless I accidently did it myself. Hools, you may have another 200s convert...

Robbing The Juarez Liquor Store

July 27

11.5mi, 1:17:21 (6:44/mi): Filmore with Phil and More. Good run with the fellahs, added on with Da Biz. Schrades, I like your running rules, and I've been thinking of some of my own. I've been attempting to run in the morning for about the past year, with little to no success. So I'm toying with the following set of rules for tracking mileage:

Generally: Any miles completed after 9:30 AM do not count in the weekly total. The following exceptions apply:
First: Miles completed while warming-up for, competing-in, or cooling down from a race.
Second: Miles completed at the end of a long run over 14mi.
Third: Miles completed as part of a second daily run, provided it is shorter than the morning run.

So I'll try abiding by these rules for a little while...also, at some point there will be a training analysis post wherein I examine my 2006 trainaj thus far.

July 26

6.5mi, 40:00 (6:09/mi): Minnehaha 8K Fun Run in 29:20. In no mood to go play with Biz after the test, so ran with Dan most of the way on his BIRTHDAY!!!! Followed with a short cool down and some BIRTHDAY grilling and watermelon seed spitting...Senner, I have 99 problems, but at least that's down from 299.

I Ain't Passed The Bar But I Know A Little Bit

July 25

10mi, 1:07:31 (6:45/mi): Faegre&Thensome. Easy run after Day 1. Legs fluctuated between feeling sluggish from the race and jittery from the days off and the sitting. So let's see if I've got this right: Senner started his slow 16-miler at 7 or 8am on 7/24 and finished just before 10pm, giving him something like 14hrs for the total time on 16mi. Wow. That's slow, but what if I told you I'd started thinking about this 10-miler on Sunday? What then, Senner?

Slabbaj Shout-Out: To Jill McKiernan for her 3rd-place finish at the Capitol Mile in Madison, WI this weekend!

July 24

Day Off. Unintentional, but not negligent.

July 23

Day Off. Intentional.

Week: 55mi.

Lumber Jacked 'Er

July 22

14mi, 1:26ish (rizace): Lumberjack Days 10mi in 54:52. Pay careful attention because this phrase doesn't crop-up very often, least of all in writing: Hooley was right. By the time the downhill came, the legs were too spent to do much of anything. So that coupled with some still-emerging fitness, the other workouts this week and an ominous stomach made the last four miles less fast than they are on paper. I sort of suspect that all but Jake Watson have this problem but don't like to admit that Hooley is right, so it remains taboo. I say, give credit where credit is due. Ran with Biz for 4mi, then stared at him 10s ahead of me but unable to do anything about it for the last 6mi. Basically, this is about where I expected to be, and it's nice to justify that TC 10-Miler entry. Also, great job to my brother, "Chapel", whose nickname I have never understood but who turned in a very impressive performance to anchor a nice comeback race for Slab City after Grandma's.

Shit Be Fazin'

July 21

4mi+, 30:58 (slar): Shortcut. Easy pre-meet stumble, lumber, etc.

July 20

7mi, 48:27 (6:55/mi): LS8. Sometimes the line between Too Much Coffee and Not Enough Coffee is one you shouldn't try to draw.

I always remind people of...who is she?

July 19

10mi, 1:02ish (Fun Run): Minnehaha 8K Fun Run in 26:39. Noah Billig is my good luck charm. Felt great in humid but cooler weather. Threshold effort despite excess burrito. Thanks to all the loyal readers who observed that I was not in Madison yesterday, and certainly not running "arb. w/groose and corey." This may be a recurring game -- Figure Out If Tom Is Where He Says He Ran (FOITIWHSHR) and most often it will coincide with a lackluster or lousy run about which I have nothing to say. Yesterday was actually Stone Arch Seven + xtra. Schrades, when I am in Madison you will know.

I will pawn you my stopwatch and shoes, love...

July 18

8mi, 55:11 (6:54/mi)

arb. w/groose and corey.

Johnny's Everybody's Man!

July 17

12mi, 1:18:46 (6:34/mi): 8xHill (West River Road) in 2:41, :38, :37, :37, :38, :36, :31, :22. Felt great in perfect evening weather. Had only been planning to run six but felt fantastic, so ran two extra with the second half harder on number seven and number eight at something like 5K tempo, not all-out. Recovered very easily. It should go without saying that I do not think my 5K tempo is 4:44/mi and that this hill is short of 800m.

HOT or NOT

July 16

12mi, 1:22:41 (6:53/mi): Hennepin-Lake (the streets not the race...) + xtra. Ok run at earlier than is preferable o'clock. Benefitted from the fringes of a thunderstorm, but didn't get the downpour that lucky folks about 5mi further south recieved. Should have run the other direction. Collapsed on the futon (it's cool...) immediately upon return...

Week: 50mi. Lumberjack Days 10mi coming up this Saturday...need to do some accells or other fast-making activities...

July 15

8mi, 54:08 (6:46/mi): LS8. Best run in two weeks, amazingly. Turned off the alarm again and started out with the goods just after 7pm. Ninety-five all day, but there was enough shade and breeze on the river road to keep things from getting outrageous.

Salut et Fraternite

July 14

4mi, 28:01 (7:00/mi): Shortcut. Always a bad decision to ignore the 6am alarm during a heat wave, especially in mid-July. Because in mid-July the odds are greatly increased that the heat wave will correspond with a bunch of wobblies storming your city, chanting "One Big Union!" and "Take That Prison!" while demanding that cold press and coffee makers be re-distributed to everyone in the Estates General. Am planning to spend the rest of the day wondering, "What is the Third Estate?" and "If the ox dies, can she pull the plow?"

Restraints on Alienation

July 13

8mi, 58:59 (7:22/mi): Isles and Calhoun. First 4ish with Jessica, second 4ish throwing down Sean Brenkman. At least I think it was Sean Brenkman. Definately one of those Ubiquitous Tommies wearing Ubiquitous Tommie Shorts...and running with a Ubiquitous Tommie Girlfriend...

July 12

10mi, 1:05:00 (6:30/mi): Minnehaha 8K Fun Run in 28:34. Legs felt very flat despite the day off. Ran the first mile in 5:30 with Biz and let him take-off when he started doing the yo-yo thing. I dutifully slowed down as my body temperature increased and at no point pushed myself beyond a Lakes Run level of effort. Long cool down with Sherman followed by Chipotle for the masses!

July 11

Day Off.

Mood To Burn Bridges/Mood to Dig Ditches

July 10

8, 50:10 (6:19/mi): LS8. Legs felt real flat but ran hard...though maybe not 6:19/mi hard. Whatever. Let's get a few things clear about the river road. First of all, it's mine. Second, if you have wheels strapped to your feet and are "blading", you should not be going slower than I am. Third, if you are biking - and in particular if you are biking and are not attired consistent with the Hooley Biking Attire Doctrine - you should not be completing a shorter loop than I am. Pretty much, if you were on the river road between 5:40 and 6:30 this evening, you annoyed me. Anyone want to meet me at Suzie's Rendezvous? Hools?

Cognac and Patsy Cline

July 9

7.75mi, 54:11 (Precision Miles): Sherman's World. Easy run on the River Road following the mistaken assumption that Paplebon would be coming in for the 11th. Wrooooonnnnnnnnngggggg. Also besandled soccer...

Week: 42mi. Feeling decent...

I Won't Say Which Night...

July 8

7mi, 49:00 (7:00/mi): Iron Bridge + xtra. Legs much better, surprisingly. Unsurprisingly, a very nice break from pavement. CLIENTS TO SEE: Johnny Depp, Richard Conviser, Lorrie Moore...

July 7

4mi, 27:14 (6:48/mi): Shortcut. Felt sluggish for no good reason. Then watched Friends, again for no good reason. Add "Brownsville Girl" at the top of Best Kneading Songs...except that that's not really fair...

July 6

Day Off.

You Were Pretty As Can Be...

July 5

8mi, 47:45 (Bedar): Minnehaha 8K Fun Run in 27:43. Mostly easy effort for the legs. Lungs hurt a little bit and upper body cramped-up a lot from the tennis and swimming, but generally an encouraging run. Probably even could have gone a little faster if some of the things that hurt didn't hurt.

July 4

4mi, 29:19 (7:20/mi): Shortcut. Easy AM run. Legs felt ok once they got warmed up, but it's still a challenge getting out of bed and then running. Alone. With the morning burning red. Like a candle in my head. Painting a picture of you...and me. Also lifted and played tennis and swam in the St. Croix, just to make sure my body was as wrecked as possible from leisure activities.

1,369 Light Bulbs

July 3

11.25mi, 1:18:04 (6:56/mi): Invisible Run. Down to Ford St avec HDLN, including an orienteering adventure and a search for meaningful direction around Minnehaha. Felt great, like I was running the first 11.25 miles of the marathon. I am presently declining to adopt the Country Miles recording system as I believe that pinpoint accuracy is of paramount importance. Probably closer to 12 today...

Now I Hope You Don't Get Mad At Me, But I Told Nate You Was A Freak....

July 2

8mi, 54:19 (6:47/mi): LS8. Excellent run with Sherm, Schrades and Hools. Legs much better with company. Pancakes, Cold Press, Grind...Punck Me!

Week: 28mi. Next up, next week.

July 1

4mi, 26:01 (6:30/mi): Shortcut. Much better. Miles 8-9ish...evidently the key to marathon recovery is hundreds of unanswerable multiple choice questions. Minnehaha 8K post Bar Exam should be about 24:00 at this rate.

Built A Fire On Main Street

June 30

4mi, 27:32 (6:53/mi): Shortcut. Best legs have felt, this was more like mile 12-ish. Also made some dynamite focaccia tonight, discovering en route that while Schrader may swear by "The Wreck of the Ed. Fitz." or "November Rain", "Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" is a strong candidate for Best Kneading Song.

In The Summertime, When The Weather Is Fine...

June 29

4mi, 28:01 (7:00/mi): Shortcut. Again, more effort than it should have been, but whereas Monday's 4mi felt like I was running miles 18-19 of the marathon, Wednesday's and Thursday's felt more like miles 15-16. So we're moving in the right direction.

Back in the Saddle?

Most of you have probably been assuming that since I sometimes hang out with Biz I must have a strict "No Days Off, Ever" rule. Wrong. Legs are recovering much more quickly than they did after Twin Cities, but I did zero running and only one or two short bike rides last week. On Sunday I made the unfortunate decision to play Frisbee with some of the other jokers who post on this thing, and I woke up Monday morning feeling more or less crippled...The plan now is to train for the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving, and then maybe to parlay that training into a winter or spring marathon. Circuit races on the way, and maybe a brief taper for the TC 10miler. Mostly, though, I want to do some patient as opposed to head-exploding training over the next several months.

June 26

4mi, 27:31 (6:53/mi): Shortcut (is this what I named this run? I can't remember...). Felt horrible. Dehydrated and stiff from the Frisbee, and scared for the second half that I was missing a meeting at work so I couldn't stop to stretch...

June 27

Day Off. Hoss Day (observed).

June 28

4mi, 26:04 (6:31): Down Franklin to LP Apt. Legs much better but the marathon or the Frisbee is still banging around in the muscles. Fortunately, slow and low is the tempo.

"Why Couldn't Phidippides Have Died Here?"

June 17

27mi, Grandma's Marathon, 2:58:28 chip time. Well, the thing about second marathons is that you have to run them in order to get to the third, fourth or fifth marathon. This isn't one of those "I-just-won't-write-a-9th-symphony" deals. So my second marathon is completed, and as second marathons go, it was pretty much what should be expected unless you happen to be Paul Anderson. And if you are Paul Anderson you've spent your whole life being the exception that proves the rule, so why should anything change just because you're competing in an event that has the audacity to describe itself as a race?

All things considered, even the running was pretty fun. No problems getting right up front and finding Schrades and Biz at the start. Schrades and I (and Mark Rapacz) ran about 6min pace together for the first 13mi, but slowly and surely the legs had started to feel not as legs should. Heat and humidity caught up with me by mile 19 and it was clear I would not PR...so there were substantial walking breaks from 19 on in. Ran with Schrades from 19-22. Had a brief reunion with that bridesmaid around mile 22.5. Almost collapsed at 26 when Hools yelled "Rejoice! I am Victorious!" Was sort of hoping to cross the line in Solidarity with Phil, but we missed eachother by about a minute. Congrats to Gehring on a 5min PR in some poor conditions. And kudos to Jill McKiernan on finishing her first marathon despite having to listen to "Honkey-Tonk Badonkadonk" during her last 200m. Most of all, thanks to Andrew Schroeder for keeping me motivated to train as much as I did and then for pulling me through some tough miles towards the end. CC Slab, baby. CC Slab.

June 16

3ish. Slowish. Pre-Meet. Legs felt good, not even normal-taper-stale...

Do You Wanna Roll?

June 14

3ish. Didn't take very long 'cause I didn't run very far. Didn't go very fast 'cause it's getting close to marathon-o-clock. Iced after. And sat around.

Bum, Ba-Bum Bum Ba Bummmm, Bummmm...

June 13

4+, 26:58 (6:35/mi): Shortcut. Easy run with 1.6 (according to gmaps...) at MP. Ran the first 1.5 or so with a certain John Shaw before he declined my invitation for a faster jaunt down the west side of the river. Weak, Shaw, weak. But not as weak as Julian Tavarez's 12th inning. Dude probably didn't even run today...Taper feels like it's starting to take effect, but some of that may have been the coffee injection this morning. It's also nice that my race distances have increased proportionate to the length of my classes, from 5K/10K and 50-70minute classes to the Marathon and 3hr classes...26.2 miles of notebook splits...

Yup, blog is more or less accurate on my running as of late

10 with Biz. Base 10 in fact. Evidently there is a race up in Duluth next weekend.

Nachos, Tacos, Burritos, Who Knows?

June 10

3mi, 19:30 (6:30/mi): Modified Riley Run. Ran in the morning, but not early enough. Legs felt stiff and itchy, I suspect mostly because of the morning running but also because of the days off. So I'll get out for another shake-out tomorrow and see if that helps. Loosened up and felt decent by the end, and learned that I almost certainly can't break 70 for the quarter during some accels afterwards. I saw no antelopers, just inerlopers. Lots and lots of interlopers, as far as the eye can see...

June 9

For some reason a run didn't happen today. I'm tapering...

I Thought Muggy Was Going To Be Here...

June 8

7mi, 43+ (wkout): 1up, 4.7mi@MP(27:51, 5:55/mi), 1+down. Good easy effort but legs still heavy. Some of the added effort came from the pre-run Doritos and cookies, the rest came from those 18mi on Sunday. It would also be a good idea to start running before 5pm at some point...like tomorrow...

University of Illinois

June 6

5.5mi, 39:14 (taper pace): Stone Arch Loop from LPDB avec los Fellahs. Then 2 for 1 Margaritas over at some Asian restaurant that Collin insisted was open but actually doesn't exist.

Mientiewicz & Pierzynski Make Mielswetski!

June 5

1hr Bike (Bike/hr): To the sandwich place, then to the Rumpus, then back. I'm afraid that nothing will ever convince me that Lake Calhoun is not Lake Harriet. Also, Guacamole is as easy to make as Josh Beckett is to hit.

On Payday We Tear The Place Down

June 4

18mi, 2:02:46 (6:49/mi): Northern Industrial 12. Sometimes, the place tears us down. Phil was there. He was the one talking about how it was Belfast. I agreed. Then we kept on running because that's what you do when you're running forever and ever and forever again. Don't wake me til the 17th. Unless it's to drink coffee (!!!!!) and work for the state (!!!!!!).

Week: 47mi. And I still need to recover.

Don't Call It A Comeback

June 3

5mi, 33:36 (6:43/mi): West Side Five. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Minneapolis.

And They Were Siiizzzzzzzzlin'

June 2

9.5mi, 1:03:12 (6:38/mi): Base 10 w/Biz. Virtually no shin pain, which is nice. T'was hot, but manageable. Wasn't like I was cooking on the outdoor grill or anything. Then to Shermdawg's on a mission from God before helping Biz wait for that brother character...pending...

Aerobic Animal Tribute

June 1

Made it about two miles with fairly acute shin pain, so cut it. Not particularly happy, and still moving for some reason...

Slabbaj Shout Out: To who else but the Aerobic Animal, Andrew Schroeder. Biked 147.5mi today from Lacrosse, WI to Madison, WI (142mi to the city limits, another 5.5 to his parent's house). Total time on the bike: 7h 50min. Total trip time: 9h 5min. Average speed: 18.8mph. 50mi Split: 2:37:30. 100mi Split: 5:11:45. Bananas Eaten: 7. Chocolate Malt Consumed: 1 liter. Total Beverage Consumed: 10 liters.

May 31

No running. Moving.

Selling Out, Creepily

May 30

8mi, 55:49 (6:59/mi): Isles etc from LPDB. Ok run but legs sore, and left shin very tight. Felt like I was limping the whole way but Biz said it didn't look too bad. Which could be a kiss of death...

There was a lot of Woods to Water, a lot of Phil Schrader...

May 29

4.5mi (Brian Kraft 5K): 16:43. Still hot, but much better than yesterday. Basically no warm up since Lake Nokominotgonnaworkhere is impossible to find. Wasn't at top-end, but legs were obviously a tad on the fatigued side. SCRC owns Collegeville from here on out...

May 28

13mi, Woods to Water (Leg 7): 3.6 in 19:18ish (5:30s), 3.1 in 16:54ish (5:27s), 3.7 in 21:20ish (5:55s). Fun, as always, for Slab City's first W2W victory (7:26:48). Many have explained that it was "hot", and some have employed "hell" as a measuring stick. I think that the best illustration of the conditions is the fact that Hooley and Jaime were able to have a sincere and literal discussion ascertaining precisely which level of Dante's Inferno included the 2006 Woods to Water Relay. Lake Superior felt wonderful.

Week: 57. Hooley - did Biz have to run less than me to earn your pizza or just hit "in the 70s"? And may I lay claim to any unclaimed pizzas that may now be floating about?

May 27

3mi, 21:53 (7:18/mi): Pre-Meet Loop. Ugh. Shin much better but legs still empty...

May 26

No Running. Lots of Ice. Meager assist with Weissenborn's Beer Release.

W2W

3 x hot as hell. 2 x new coffee mug. (Thanks Schrades!) Little sore today. Need to get a long run in this week. Not going to happen today though.

Flat Broke And Busted...

May 25

9mi, 1:04:21 (who knows. there were a ton of stretching/crying breaks.): Limpy-Loop. Running is horrible. Curse you, Hooley of the Nights!!!!! Stat For Schrades: The 4,000,000 ibuprofen perscribed for tomorrow will be the most I've taken in one day by approximately 3,000,084. I think. That's more math. 1 x Jamba Juice post-run.

Damn, Dude

May 24

15mi, 1:39:33 (6:38/mi): Murphy. Great run over extremely hilly trails, running most of the hills hard and thus doing little else. Possibly logged the first ever 0, 0, 0, 6,000,000 in Arb-Scoring, only this wasn't in the arb. Still have most of a bug in the left eye, and ate 4 or 5 more. But there was plenty of room left for picnicking.

Sorry sorry sorry

Not like I've been busy. Just lazy about posting.

I was on the Biz train last night. The day before I ran Isles with Chapel. Tonight I've got a big date with Tom to run some trails until at least our heads expand dangerously and the words perhaps are only slant rhymes.

Easy-Peasy, Japanesey

May 23

9mi, 1:05:47 (7:19/mi): Wherever Biz Took Us. Fun run from LPDB, finishing by sliding through the sculpture garden fountain. Then most of the food and all of the ice cream. Phil was there, running and the like. Oh, and that site that used to happen all the time but then stopped happening for a while for reasons that should probably be explained in a corner of some kind...that got updated today and will continue to be updated until I start to panic about the Bar Exam. So there.

Too Much Rock For Just One Hand

May 22

8mi, 55:26 (6:56/mi): Washington-Lake. Was going to go 10, but what would that prove? Legs felt tender but strong. Only three things in this world worth a solitary dime: old dogs, children and watermelon wine. I'd add that ice baths and Sox wins are worth at least a nickle each. And I'd shell out a penny or so for that new Sunset Wheat from Leinies. So far, BarBri classes certainly not worth $2500...let's hope that tomorrow they start serving beer and watermelon wine, showing baseball and offering ice baths. Stats for Schrades: Six Days Until Woods to Water Throw-Downaj!

May 21

4mi, 29:39 (7:25/mi): Morning Loop. Easy stumble with Schrades. Legs sore, but infinately better than after the marathon. Evidently the key to effective recovery is playing lots of washers the night after the race. Pending...

Week: 87mi. Boo. Yah. Bedar.

Slab City Sweeeeeepaj

May 20

23mi, 2:15ish (raceaj): Syttende Mai 20mi Race. Madison to Stoughton. 1:55:42 - felt grrrrreat for 2nd place in the Slab City 1-2-3 sweep. Ran first 11mi with Schrades then caught Hools for miles 12-17 before he decided it was time to run fast. 5:38, 11:41, 6:01, 5:56, 6:01, 11:40, 6:01, 11:47 (59:10 for 10mi), 5:51, 5:16 (catching Hooley, but I'm still an idiot), 5:44, 5:45, 5:37, 5:37, 5:42, 5:39, 5:37, 5:39. Schrades threw down for 1:58:33 and 3rd place. Tortamasi was hitting 6:15s/6:00s until "all of a sudden" a 7:30 cropped up. Strange how that happens. Very encouraging race on a beautiful day...then Mickey's, Slab City Brew and venison.


May 19

PM: 4.5mi, 30:18 (whatever): Morning Loop in Madison. Somehow Hools convinced me to run 4+, instead of the much more reasonable 1-2mi that had been planned after the drive from Columbia. Followed by waitress flirting.

AM: 5mi, 36:56 (slooooow): Nuke Loop. Hardly running. Legs broken. Recover fast.

Legs feel Dunn

Ug. Standing all day is not conducive to running. Managed to drag muh ass around Isles after work.
Ran on Tuesday too. Should run more. No question about that. Easier to run during school.

Hooley/Church - 1, St. Louis - 0

May 18

10mi, 1:07ish (wkout): 3up, 4x1600m @ Thractate, 90s R, 3down. 5:19, 5:18, 5:17, 5:13. Good workout, especially considering mileage over the last few days. Just harder than threshold, but a good consistent effort in the heat and the wind on the WashU track. Strangely inspiring to be the fat kid on the track with H-town...don't think about Saturday, don't think about Saturday, don't think about Saturday...

She'll Do The Trick, Ya Know

May 17

PM: 12mi, 1:19:01 (6:35/mi): Rockbridge. Good run with Hooley's and Shakespeare's company. Pre-emptive excuses for tomorrow's workout: 1) Rolled Ankle, 2) Falafel, 3) Involves Running. Now, about that town-painting...

Froggie Goes A-Courtin'

May 17

AM: 4.5mi, 30:25 (6:46/mi): Campus Loop. Barefoot running on soccer fields. Somehow, despite the fact that this run definately happened and certainly qualifies as a "run", there is still another, longer, "run" planned for the afternoon.

May 16

16mi, 1:39:54 (6:15/mi): MKT into Land's End. Aborted workout with Hools. 3up, 4mi in 22:03...then some slower running. Legs felt very heavy and stiff, but the NYT assures me that it's not because of lactic acid. Good to know...

Magical Mystery Tour NE

North East Minneapolis Magical Mystery Tour. No idea how far or where exactly we went. Not terribly far though. Good to, ya know, run again.

Goin' Down South, Goin' Down South

May 15

8mi, 48:08 (6:01/mi): Zipper. Ok, back on track a bit here. Some food in the stomach, but there was coffee too so things felt normal. EST in 5:09 without much effort. Time to be Hooley's whipping boy for the next week...

It's Been A Good Week For...

May 14

5.25, 35:44 (6:48/mi): Franklin-Lake. Body felt like it was still recovering from the week's coffee-infusion and general dearth of sleepaj. Obviously not a good week for running, but it has been a good week for Collin Lawrence.

Week: 41mi

May 13

6.5mi, 43:38 (6:43/mi): Half-Zip. Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

May 12

No running. Felt like I'd been in school for twenty years.

Full-Tank of Gas, Half-Pack of Cigarettes, Dark, Wearing Sunglasses

May 11

5.25, 34:06 (6:30/mi): Franklin-Lake. Exams Done. Papers Remain. Hit It.

The Road of Excess Leads to The Palace of Wisdom

May 10

Tom's Exam Prep: Pop-Tarts, Bananas, 1/3 Box Cereal, 4-5 cups of coffee, 4-5 sticks orange gum, half-box of Cheez-Its, 2 Sierra Mist's, Cooookies, etc...

BUT

John Daly's Tournament Prep: 4-5 Diet Cokes, 6-7 Cigarettes

Not sure what my point is. Didn't run today. Not sure I found the aforementioned palace, either. Hoping to fall back on sometimes managing to be clever and having a nice smile...

Meeting With The Bobs

May 9

14.5mi, 1:45:18 (7:16/mi): To LPDB + Base 10. Real easy run but good to get in some miles that I really don't have time to be getting in. Plus we talked about how funny it is that Team XO is anemic, so at least it was time well spent. Then later - after the Red Sox smoked the Yankees 14-3 - I went to...wait for it...Target. So now I'm smoking a cigarette like I was Josh Beckett in the Bronx and contemplating the Met Council like I was Peter Gibbons over at Initech.

but instead...

I just ran around isles and came home. Nice day-dreamy run.

Delayed After-Effects...

May 8

9mi, 1:01:10 (6:48/mi): Gehring's and Back. Ugh. Legs felt totally drained. Up here, I'm already gone...

and he may be a lazy man...

Haven't really done jack in the way of running since Tuesday's long run. Pissed around at LSCC. Ran Iron Bridge the next day. Spent the weekend visiting Jill, Coach T, etc and didn't do the thing where I make sure to squeeze a run in here or there. Tonight's looking good for a 10 miler or so, though. Mostly just typing this so that I feel more compelled to run later.

Midnight Train to Georgia

May 7

5.25mi, 35:52 (6:50/mi): Franklin-Lake. Back to the cities, rolling on the river, only much different from related river rolling the night before. Good easy run to cap the week. Legs felt a little stiff from Friday's slip and the grooving. Self felt vaguely as if there had been a garter on its head the previous night.

Week: 60mi

SLABBAJ SHOUT OUT: To Andrew Schroeder, Lake Monona 20K Champion in 1:11:26. Started out at 5:50s, (18:06 at 5K), dropped some local pretenders and negative split the whole shebang!

May 6

8mi, 50:41 (6:20/mi): Stone Mountain Park outer loop with Bucy and Senner. Hotter day and a very hilly loop, but the two Slab City members were able to handle it easily. Unsurprisingly, Team XO made repeated requests that the pace be slackened despite the fact that they had wanted to complete a tempo run on this particular morning. Team XO claims to have added on for 13mi after Slab City grew weary of their complaining, but that seems unlikely given the difficulty they had in completing the inital 8. Either way, Team XO left an awful lot to be desired on the dance floor that night. Slab City, on the other hand, were collectively desired somethings. At least one bridesmaid may need stitches...

(Congratulations to Bryan and Katie!)

May 5

12mi, 1:23:44 (6:59/mi): Stone Mountain Park trail loop + inner loop. Beautiful run with Bryan and Graham on the trails for most of it. Slipped badly during a stream crossing and wrenched most of my upper right leg...but fortunately Paul offered plenty of medicaton that night.

May 4

No running. 1xHousing Policy Final. 1xFlight to Atlanta. 1xAbysmal Fooseball Performance. 1xBBQ at the Lord's place.

sort of starting to piss me off

Done with classes for the semester. Thought about going for a run. Am falling back on the excuse that I cannot currently get into the apartment.

Chapter Two!!!!!!!!!

May 3

12.5, 1:17:53(workout): 2mi WU, 3x1600m @ T, 90s R (5:29, 5:26, 5:23), 6.5mi @ 6:00 pace, 1+ CD. Solid workout, especially considering windy conditions. Had planned another couple tempo miles and two more threshold miles but hamstring seized a bit down on river road. Too bad, because I was on ab-so-lute cruise control. Feeling stronger of late, which is a nice change from weak and stupid. CAQ: "I don't offer happiness?!? I offer happiness! James Caan doesn't offer happiness!"

Get a Haircut and Get a Real Job...

May 2

12.5mi, 1:25:40 (6:51/mi): Ran to LPDB then around Isles. Easy run but strangely distracted on the way over. CAQ: Scalp massage.

Be like the Squirrel

May 2

"Take all your problems and tear 'em apart..."

Back on the job today. Great run this afternoon. Simple plan: run away from the apartment for one hour. Turn around. Run back. And that's what I did (Greyhound Bus Driver voice). Reasons that the run was good. 1) weather was great 2) had a good chuck of food in the tummy, one might say too much at first. 3) great focus. I was able to keep my brain thinking about the first hour without getting horribly depressed thinking about having to run all the way back. Plus, about 40 minutes in, I started thinking about trying to run the next hour (:40 - 1:40) really smooth, smooth. So I had these nice overlapping 1 hour segments. Pissed around on the trails on the west side of the river on the way out and back. Wound up over by the Ford plant. 200 layoffs this summer with the plant rumored to close in '09. There are two liquor stores across the street from it.

Got hissed at by two militant geese. Separate incidents. Senner, WTF?

This One's For You, Tracy!

May 1

9.5mi, 58:18 (6:08/mi): Base 10. Ummm, it's short. Felt quick but not hard with easy conversation the whole time. Or, as easy as conversation with donkeys can be. Good to get it in after two late study nights and early morning exam. Training this week will be directed towards maximizing attractiveness before heading to BD's wedding. Current Attractiveness Quotient: Not.

PC Load Letter?

April 30

6.5mi, 41:01 (6:19/mi): Franklin-Summit. Legs fine. Brain not. A tribute run to the great Hooley/Church runs completed during finals in March of 2002. Stat for Schrades: Finished April about 35min shy of the 30-Hour-Month.

Week: 60.5

cereal update

April 26
DNGoRunning. Wednesdays take the whole day. Soon, though...

April 27
>>--LSCC-->> Then, milkshakes.

April 28
Iron Bridge. FMCS

April 29
Didn't start watch. It was sort of an upper/lower arb magical mystery tour and it was probably about 8ish. Shot the shit with Jackson afterwards.

Hmmm... this blog is getting more about what I did for running and less about me making wisecracks. I hope to remedy this disturbing trend shortly. But first, work.

River Road, Youuu-ooooooo Send Me

April 29

12mi, 1:16ish: Get In Gear 10K, 32:52, 21st Overall. Lots to be happy about with this race: 2nd fastest 10K (pathetic, but true); Even 5Ks (16:26/16:26), both faster than Race For Justice; 26:30 for 5mi (though mile splits were all over the place...) on a tougher course than Human Race; All done in rainy and windy conditions. Wish I had the month of March back, but all in all very happy with this race. Sometimes me and the river road, we fuss and fight/and the river road leaves home, cause things ain't right/ohh, but I get to feeling so all alone, and I call the river road on the telephone/finally get somebody on the telephone, and I say 'who is this?'/somebody says 'this is the operator'/i say 'i don't want you, operator, i want the riiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvver roooooaaaaaaaaaaaad!"

Misbranded and Adulterated. Or Something.

April 28

4mi, 28:17 (7:04/mi): Pre-meet+xtra to libe and store. Rainy and chilly. Decent pre-race shake-out. Time to get some work on like I was Ben Broussard...

Pharaoh's Army Got Drownd-ed

April 27

8mi, 57:37 (7:12/mi): Lake St. with LSCC. Good easy run capped with one of the finest malts in weeks and some ladying advice from a gay man. Night got chilly, but fortunately I was wearing what I'll begin ambiguously and enticingly refering to as my lucky-but-unproductive jacket, which isn't even mine...all things in common?

You can stuff your sorrys in a sack!

April 26

10mi, 1:09:30 (6:57/mi): River Road+WU/CD with Rube and Scholi at Mac meet. Beautiful evening, exquisite burrito, thrilling athletics, and breathtaking scenery...

Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

April 25
Ran Isles, met Biz, Tom and Handler for a romp though Theodore Wirth. About 15 in all. Came home, began to feel steadily worse and worse upon returning home. Went to bed. At least I wasn't wearing sandals. Wearing sandals is another way of saying "screw you."

Here's to you old skinny Dennis...

April 25

9mi, 59:46 (6:38/mi): Theodore Wirth Park. Good hilly run with Handler running circles around us. Nice break from pavement. Legs felt good but rest of me was on the tired side. I need a drink...I need a bed...I need a stronger resolve...

Paper Whirlwind

April 24

AM - 3mi, 20:44 (6:55/mi): Pre-meet loop. Easy shake-out run after not enough stretching yesterday...

PM - 8mi, 44:58 (5:37/mi): Zipper. So, evidently, shake-out runs are something of a cure-all. Maybe now I'll be able to talk to the flock of beautiful women following me around. I wonder if this is how things started for Biz. EST in 5:01. HeymanIgottagobutlemmetellyaonething...

falling into a rut

Did the thing where I run around Isles and vary the pace. Did the same thing last week and it made the legs feel good. Falling into a bit of a training rut, though. Starting to run in weekly patterns with gradually increasing mileaj. Ugnh. At this rate, I'll start running fairly predictable and overall beneficial cycles of mileaj and times. If it ain't one thing it's a goddamned'nother.

nothing to do with running

I, Phil Schrader, do affirm that I first met Thomas Church when I was beating up homeless people in Ladysmith, WI. Mr. Church was rowing down the Flambeau in a wooden bathtub, reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I hailed him from shore and he gladly rowed over and we shared some boiled sturgeon and Full City Guatemala. He asked if I "was from these parts" and I just laughed. "No, seriously," he said, "are you from these parts?" -- but I just laughed again.
He told me he was seeking the legendary city of El Dorado which he believed could be found "by one who was pure of heart, sailing up the Thornapple with Sansone's blessing."
Between bites of sturgeon, I noted that he was currently 'sailing' the Flambeau and not the Thornapple, which flows past Bruce, not Ladysmith.
Now it was his turn to laugh. "The Thornapple," he said, "is here *tapping his breast* and here *tapping somewhere near his kidneys*."
"It's odd," I reflected, "for someone who is so close to the actual Thornapple to speak so cryptically."
"It is no matter, my new friend," said he, producing a wax tablet from his gown and replacing "Ladysmith" with "Bruce."
Years later we would meet again, both scouring a stone wall up near Buckton. I asked him what had become of his travels on the Flambeau. He said that after wandering for several months he had managed to locate "some beaver" but no lost cities-- unless you count Bruce and Wyergore. Since then, he told me, he had been attending the Walter Mondale school of law, a fact which I knew because we often run together and I see him there several times a week. Today, I think back to what he said, so cryptically, about the Thornapple and I think to myself, with a smile, that my old friend did find the lost city after all-- only his El Dorado was not made of gold and gold, but rather of legal knowledge.

Your honor, I rest my case.

Dodger can't schedule his way out of a wet paper bag

and after spending just over 8 hours fighting my way out of his short-sighted attempt to save a couple bucks, I ran something like 8 miles with Biz, Collin, and Sherman.

Then we barbequed like young gods.

Can't turn the river road into a housewife...

April 23

14mi, 1:23:47 (5:59/mi): 8th Ave to Summit. Same route as last week. Great run, especially considering legs felt about average the whole way. Ran fast for about 12mi, then jogged mile 13 and escaped from St. Thomas in 5:21. River Road, bring yo' ass. (Okay, hold on...)

Week: 60mi (decent, considering)

One hand on the Bible...

April 22

10mi, 1:07:58 (impossible to calculate pace because of the infinite greenway): Light Rail Extended. Excellent run with some dudes, who in this town are a dime a dozen. Also, chutney. Schrader was there to verify the infinite length of the greenway. He once ran the steeplechase.

April 21

5.25mi, 31:33 (6:01/mi): Franklin-Lake. Crisis of motivation, but got out dee door. Incidentally, I think it's a pr for the course, but absolutely nothing is coming around or feeling normal. There was a lot of big pimping, caddilacs and women...

oh, right

So I like ran iron bridge on Thursday when I got into Northfield.

But... the next day I like totally ran dead snake which is like the best run.

Now, Tom's a-sitting in the living room, speculating on who in the Voice has hooked up with Paul. There'll probably be running involved because Biz also drank like 15 cups of coffee down at the shop. Chapel loves Masa but hates Gordan Lightfoot.

Tom: Fucking Voice

I was in the house when the house burned down

April 20

10.5mi, 1:15:17 (7:10/mi): Lake Street with LSCC + xtra with Biz. Felt easy and legs felt good running in the rain and learning Betsy's plans for 7/24. It's cool. You ain't nothin' but a girl to me.

Biz Said Ain't No Limit To This...

April 19

10mi, 1:06:56 (6:42/mi): Hill workout cut-short. Yuck. 2:33, 2:37, 2:38. Into the wind, but felt much more difficult than it should. Legs and soul still drained...but cooled down respectably - all things being relative - with Biz. If it weren't for bad luck I wouldn't have no luck at all.

Feed Me Love and Whiskey

April 18

10mi, 1:11:47 (7:10/mi): Base 10. Great run on a haunting evening with Handler and Schrader vying for dominance in the trash can steeple. Oh. No. Big Snoop Dogg. Back up in the heezy, baby. Phil and I were real close for a long time, running stride for stride and sharing of ourselves. Then he grabbed about thirty pieces of silver and kissed me. But it's not about winning the workout.

~Churchie

April 18. Stone Arch Bridge (5) + Base 10. Dropped Tom in the last block. Feeling pretty good about myself.

~Schrader

April 17

Scheduled Rest. 1 x Ice Bath, overcoming Sherman-syndrome. Legs much better after...

funny title goes here

Over to Isles and around, sorta varing the pace.

Caddy smelled like trees

April 16

7mi, 47:33 (6:48/mi): Half-Zip+xtra. Nice easy run on an overcast Easter sunday. Windy, but refreshing rain on the air smelled honest; sun peeking out as I turned down my street to finish felt redemptive. Or maybe I should have been running with Schrader. Stats for Schrades (even though he's in Budapest):145mi in 16 consecutive days is the most since 12/22/05-1/7/06 (154.5mi in 17 days).

Week: 70mi (14 day total for Lundberg: 130)

Happy Easter

Yesterday Light rail extended with Biz.

Today 4 x poop; took about 3 min rest between the first 3 but didn't think I had any more in me for the fourth and had to take a little over a 6 mile break. Really cut loose on the last one, though.

Mama Told Me There'd Be Days Like This

April 15

14mi, 1:34:23 (6:44/mi): 8th Street to Summit. Stupid run. Tried to pick things up over the second half and discovered a pile of lactic acid and strong wind. Plus I need to work on the ol' pacing bidnez. No fountains turned on down on the river road, so it wasn't very refreshing. I thought about stabbing.