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.