The tragic folly of the Richmond athletic department

I started out the day reeling from the pain of sleeping off the painkillers prescribed after my wisdom tooth extraction yesterday. I was staying at Nadir's in Falls Church to watch his cat while he was out of town. I did an easy 13 miles on the New Virginia Manor loop, one of my favorites, and headed off to work, feeling pretty good. Shortly after noon, that changed, when I heard that the Richmond athletic department was planning to cut men's indoor and outdoor track. Soccer, too. I waited a few hours to hear that it was confirmed, and lost my afternoon in a combination of anger, grief and frustration.

It would be less painful if they cut a pound of my flesh. 

Times-Dispatch story
Collegian story

I loved my experience at the University of Richmond, I thought the faculty and the overall quality of life at the school were great on their own merits. The journalism department helped me figure out my calling in a  fundamental way. But what made my Richmond experience -- what motivates me to tell anyone about the school who will listen -- was my involvement with the track team. I'm written before about how important it was to me to make the team, but I'll put it even more bluntly: were it not for the Richmond track team, I would likely not care enough about the school to come back every few months, to speak of it as highly as I do, or to go to the lengths I do to communicate the regard I hold the school.  I wouldn't try to recruit every promising young person I meet, regardless of their interest in running.

On a macro level, without its track team, Richmond will have likely never enjoyed the presence of some wonderful contributors to the student body who are excelling outside of athletics- Garret Graham, Seann Mulcahy, Tim Caramore, Jon Lauder, Dan Petty, Dave Blanchard, many others. Men who made their mark on the track but made the school a better place. They would have chosen another school to continue their education.

This is to say nothing of runners like Andrew Benford and Matt Llano, both recent All Americans, who are pursuing professional running careers. Sos Bitok and Hillary Tuwei, who ran in the Olympics (No emphasis is necessary). Jon Molz and Pete Jennings, who are active and involved track coaches...



So many of these guys had the best grades among not just athletes, but the entire school. Track and field attracts introspective, cerebral students who not only act rationally, but their very discipline lends itself to thought and reflection. They are personable and engaging. Track men represent the university well in every sphere in which they are involved, and they are a credit to the entire student body. It's a short-sighted decision, and I don't think the board of trustees thought through its impact on general student recruitment.
I can't not touch on the notoriety of other schools' lacrosse teams in the region, but I will leave it with that allusion.

Now, the University of Richmond will no longer have this attractive option to offer to high school students. They'll go elsewhere, and who can blame them? An athletic department that doesn't offer basic athletics, and track and field is as basic as you can get, is laughable. It's shameful. How can I cheer for the 3-8 football team? Are those roster spots going to make the difference and stop the football team from being so terrible? Will we become a lacrosse powerhouse now?

At risk of sound like a conspiracy theorist, it also smacks of a disregard for women.. Cutting two men's sports for the sake of another might be what the state teachers college does, but Richmond is incredibly secure, financially. Why not create another women's sport? Rowing? Softball? Volleyball? Water polo? We already have a successful crew club.I also see a bit of class division. Running and soccer are about the cheapest sports to fund and play. Lacrosse isn't exactly hockey or crew, but there are more barriers to entry for youth participation.

We've been through this before, in 2000. The programs survived and improved drastically with the hiring of Steve and Lori Taylor, coaches who mean everything to me athletically and personally -- they're like an aunt and uncle -- and I know I'm not the only Spider to feel this way. I want to look at this crisis as an opportunity, if the alumni can express themselves in a constructive way that illustrates the collective character of the men who have run those laps with the name Richmond on their chests.

It may accomplish nothing, for all of track's qualities, it remains undervalued for all but two weeks every four years by the general public. Then again, people said the cross country team (which was thankfully left untouched this time) would never win anything without scholarships. We know how that turned out.

Back to self-absorption:

Sept. 11 - After days of 18, 15 and 20 miles, I took it easy on Tuesday before my meeting and ran with Dolla Billzzz from Clarendon. I was dragging for a while, but woke up about halfway through. I bid Billzzz adieu after six miles then did a few more on some flat neighborhood streets.

Sept 12 - BCC's track was in use, so practice was at American, so I jogged over with Dix, Diddy and a slew of others to use that track, which now featured a pothole and cone in lane one, 75 meters in. I got a 2:36 warmup 800, then joined Dix and Fridge for the half marathon workout- 2:34 and 2:32. Most of everyone else joined in for 2:30, 2:28, 2;24, 2:24, 2:22 and 2:18. I felt great throughout, despite some uneven pacing resulting from the wind on the stretches. We headed back to the house and Stefan and I got a few more miles in on our cooldown for 13 total.

Sept 13- I ran to work, coming down the CCT from Kenwood and then along the mall. I was a little tired after sleeping poorly, and was not really into running 13 miles that early. My five-mile afternoon run around AU Park was a drag. My nips hurt, thanks to running my whole workout in the GRC t-shirts from 2010. I think they're made of sandpaper.

Sept 14- I pretty much never feel like waking up early to run on Fridays, certainly not after running 18 the day before, so I slept in and delayed my workout to the evening. I ran a long warmup to the 11 mile mark for the Marine Corps Marathon and planned to do 5-6 miles starting at 5:50 and getting 10 seconds faster each mile. I was using the Nike+ thing I bought during my short stint at the Chevy Chase Running Company, with hopes of getting a somewhat accurate evaluation of my pace. It was a bit off, though, I came throuhg a mile in 5:45, the second in 5:40, third in 5:35 and fourth in 5:30. After that, I was wiped out, and my gastrointestinal ills were too much to ignore. I struggled back to my office, took a shower, went upstairs to get my stuff, but ended up just sitting at my desk for at least a half hour before dragging myself home.

Sept 15- After an early morning trip down to Hains Point to watch the GRC debut new uniforms and hit some great times at the Run, Geek, Run 8k and a trip to Elyse's pool to sit in the sun, I drove down to Lake Accotink to check the route I had planned for the Running Report's Nov/Dec edition, and to get away from the city. I dropped off some gatorade at the 4/16 mile mark and headed back to route 50 to start my run. I was cruising a little too fast, come through 6 miles in 38 minutes. The temperature dropped when I got to the lake and I looked around for a good photo for the article, but noticed my favorite view was obstructed by the lush vegetation. Lots of talkative people were taking walks that afternoon and plenty of friendly, passive dogs. Two laps were over in a hurry and I was headed back to the car. As usual, I felt pretty wrecked on the way back, which happens at the same place, whether I'm running 16 or 20 miles. I made it back in 2:11 for 20 miles, and was rather pleased with that. On the way back, I got to listen to the CSPAN broadcast of Arnold Palmer's Congressional Gold Medal ceremony.

Sunday morning I watched the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon and took a nap before some football. The Steelers played the late game, so I waited until that was done for my 13 mile run. I did a Nellie Custis that went quite well. Almost all of it was at dusk or darker, but it felt great. The weather was perfect and I was relaxed. I saw Texas Paul driving in Georgetown and chased him for a block. Using the wedding weekend mileage accrual system, I switched Saturday and Sunday's runs, so even though I had run 107 miles the week before, I counted it as 100 and gave Sunday credit for my long run.

Since I finished running at 9 pm Sunday, I took Monday morning off and set out that evening for American's track to do some 400s. While running along Nebraska with Witty, who was out for his own run, I heard some mocking from a young fellow in a car. Unfortunately for him, he was about to hit a long red light, giving me plenty of time to catch up, ask him to repeat what he said, then decry his lack of courage to be able to say to my face what he yelled so easily a minute before. I had been feeling a little flat before that, but the adrenaline pumped me up for my quarters. I changed into my flats and hit some 400s- four in 68. After that, though, the adrenaline wore off and I was tired again. I jogged home and called it a day at five miles.

Tuesday morning I woke up and sleepwalked through 8.25 miles on the CT-MA route, apparently waving to Drea without noticing who she was. I fell asleep on the metro on my ride home and woke up not looking forward to the 10 miles I had waiting for me. Witty joined me for six miles or so. I was not eager to climb Albemarle. I was delighted, however, to learn I will be able to return to Albemarle County in October for the Charlottesville Fall Classic Half. I had a really good feeling about the timing and location of this race, and I'm excited to take my shot at the half marathon there this fall.

Wednesday morning saw little interest in a morning run, but I made up for it with a solid workout. a 2:30 800 to warm up, then a 6:15 2k, 3:02, 3:01, 2:58 and 2:54 1ks.

Thursday (Sept. 20) morning I did an eight mile loop down Nebraska and back up Western to 47th and Van Ness. Then I had my wisdom teeth pulled. Yeesh.

Another sweaty summer

I neglected the hell out of writing for the last three months, here I go:

After a spring where I ran whatever pace I wanted with little resistance, once June weather began in earnest, I eventually had to relent to the elements. Try as I might, I can't change how my body dissipates heat, which is to say not well at all. I find the limit to mind over matter. I think about the late Sammy Wanjiru, who was able to hold a pace others thought to be a stunt in the 2008 Olympic Marathon's hot and humid weather, yet he came out on top in a huge Olympic record time. Why can't I do that? We had divergent experiences at the 2010 Chicago Marathon, the only time I raced him (I gave him a few seconds of a head start by starting several rows back), but I always wonder if I can push myself harder. I can't, but it was not for lack of trying.

Aside from a few days in March and the regrettable warm weather in Cleveland, I was lucky to not have to deal with too many hot days this spring. That's coming to an end, though to be fair it's actually Summer now.I took two days off after I couldn't manage one Sunday, but found much nicer temperatures Wednesday night (June 13) I set out for what would be my last New Virginia Manor loop. To say I was aggressive would be fair, I was out close to 6:00 pace for the first two miles to get to the loop, then let loose and ran fast enough for the two loops to average 5:50 for 10 miles. It felt like that was my natural state. I knew it might be the last good run I have in the summer and in northern Virginia for a long time. I absolutely relished all 12.5 miles of it. I took the next day off, then ran a strained three miles Friday (June 15) evening down to the W&OD and back up through the metrobus road. My mom was in town for a wedding, so I took her to Lake Accotink for some running Saturday (June 16), and I tried the place out for the first time without running the six miles from Vienna. I liked it, though it was pretty warm and I insisted on running with some mountain bikers as long as I could. I went clockwise then counterclockwise plus a little extra for 8.5 miles. The next morning (June 17), after a day of shuttling stuff to my new house, I went out to Arlington to run the Little Falls loop that I didn't do nearly enough. It was unremarkable, though it was a worthwhile option to have.

Monday (June 18) evening, I continued my farewell tour with a Steelers loop at 6:30 pace. It was cool and pleasant. I took Tuesday off, then Wednesday (June 20) fought the evening heat to run a Westmoreland one last time. By five miles, I was in trouble, and I bailed out on Haycock and finished up with 6.5. With the temperature pushing 95, I didn't need to make myself hate running.

The next night (June 21) I finished my move with a van full of furniture and ends (no odds). Another hot, but dry, day- 98 at one point. When I took the van back to the West Falls Church, I decided to get my last run in and make it functional- I'd run the nine miles between my homes. I started out well- clutching a squeeze bottle of gatorade I would earn the right to drink. I slightly altered a Williamsburg and made it four miles at 6:30 pace, then cruised along Glebe feeling like a million bucks. The steep downhill to the Chain Bridge pushed my average to 6:21 for the first 5.5 miles, and I gulped the Gatorade when I crossed the Potomac and bid farewell to Virginia. I ran along Canal, with little traffic to hassle me, and turned up Arizona, about to tackle the 2.3-mile climb to Tenleytown. As I shot up the hill, though, everything crashed. I couldn't see, my heart started racing but feeling weak, my lungs began to hurt, and I had no recourse but to sit the hell down. I'm not sure how long I was there, but when I summoned the strength to resume, I jogged gingerly. After a few minutes climbed Arizona, it became apparent I would have been unwise to continue. So, I walked, still light headed. I kept walking until I reached Rockwood- a flat mile from the house. I jogged slowly but surely and finished the job, collapsing into the first-floor bathtub to rinse myself cool. I downed two quarts of gatorade and went about trying -- and failing -- to carry my stuff upstairs. I gave up soon and went to bed, waking up four hours later, falsely panicked that I had overslept.  The next day at work, my head felt like it was cement, and my arms could barely function. I think I am pretty much ran myself to exhaustion the night before. I think it was the most miserable I have been while running, and I probably pushed myself harder than I ever had before, though it was a bad idea to do so. I took the Friday off, smartly.

June 23- I slept in and ran a little too late to beat the rising temperatures. I headed off on what I'm calling my bad ending loop- around to Connecticut, down to Dupont and back up Massachusetts and Wisconsin. I made it halfway up Massachusetts before I overheated and decided to play it safe, in case I had done myself grievous harm Thursday night, and walked the rest of the way after running 5.75 miles.

June 24- Sunday morning I slept in a little bit too much again and resigned myself to an easy 5 miles on my Fordham loop that I adapted from my AU workout warmup.

July 4 I headed up to BCC to run around the track while some of the guys worked out. Ran around with Wiggy a lot and had a total of eight miles. In the afternoon, Witty and I went out and did a Hannay's Gate and I had to stop several times in the fifth mile to let me heart rate slow down.

July 5-6 Thursday and Friday I ran the same Partial Stefan loop, up Wisconsin to Somerset, then to the CCT and down to Albemarle, and back home. Thursday I was on my own and Friday I finally had a run with both Sam and Ryan.

July 7- I was up early Saturday to avoid the 106-degree heat, starting at 6:30, and even then I felt like I had slept in too much. Luckily I had only 9 miles to meet my 60 mile goal for the week, so I simply did a Rockland, stayed on Western to Chevy Chase Circle, came back on Nebraska then headed down Wisconsin to the Hearst field, did a few laps then came back.

July 8- Sunday afternoon, I wanted until the rains were supposed to come in the late afternoon. I set out around 5, with the temperatures still in the 90s, and journeyed down Porter to the Western Ridge Trail and eventually Beach Drive. When I hit Beach, the wind picked up as a thunderstorm brewed, and my first crossing of Rock Creek was greeted with a dramatic thunderclap. The temperature was more bearable and I braced for rain that didn't come. I turned up Bingham and then a long climb up Nebraska home.

July 9- Monday was dramatically better, and it showed in my pace. I ran up Nebraska to Connecticut, to the CCT. I started taking splits at the two-mile mark and marveled as I went 6:10, 6:00, 5:30 for the three miles before I eased up for a mile then was back up those dang Albemarle hills and off for home on Butterworth, a slightly better alternative to Albemarle. I ended up hitting 10.1 miles at 6:30 pace, my fastest in a while.

July 10- Tuesday morning's run to work was a pain. It was humid, I was tired and my knees hurt. Military Road has no sidewalk to speak of, and that made crossing Rock Creek Park a lot less pleasant than I had anticipated. By the time I got to Fort Totten Park, I was feeling beaten up, so I ran to the Brookland Metro and took that the rest of the way. I still got 6.5 miles at 6:55 pace. In the evening, I set off for a run in Somerset and hit a rainstorm less than a mile in, which was fantastic. It felt refreshing to have the water all over the place, blinding me at times, cooling me off constantly, providing entertainment. I ran some turns that had calf-deep torrents running down the hill. After my shoes were completely soaked, the knowledge that it couldn't get any worse released me to enjoy it more. I ended up getting 6.25 miles at a little under 7:00 pace for 13.75 total.

The next morning I headed out on my own to run a 10 mile loop in Somerset. It was incredibly humid and I was soaked within 20 minutes. It was a decent neighborhood for running, with little traffic, and I can easily see a road race working in there, assuming cooperation from the residents. I ended up averaging 7:30s, which

Friday morning I was in Pittsburgh and running eight miles around Chatham Village before taking a nap and heading down to my hotel for a conference. The weather was cool and dry and it looked like I'd have a good stint of training while I was home.

NOPE The next morning, I was up at 5:30 to warm up for my organization's fitness 5k. It was humid as all get out. I got down to the Convention Center and we were off. I burst out into the lead and passed by my department director, who was directing participants, and pointed out that that's why they hired me- to win the fitness 5k. I cruised over the Allegheny to the North Shore and ran alone out to the casino- 8:30 out. I turned and crossed paths with a variety of delegates and staff members and waved to them. I chose one of the bridges, bounded up the steps and back over the river and back to the convention center. I saw the organizer. Oh hello! Surprised to see me here? Yes, she was, because apparently the run finished on the lower level. I ran even splits for 17:00 on what I believe to have been 5k+, because there was no indication of when to turn around. I went out on the jail trail to finish up 12 miles.

I slept in the next morning and ran in the afternoon. It was pretty damned hot. I took Second Avenue out to Hazlewood Avenue and climbed one of the more miserable hills in recently memory. I must have been out of practice running in Pittsburgh. By the time I got to Schenley Park, I opted out of my golf course loop and headed back down the Panther Hollow Trail and back on the Jail Trail. I was pretty beaten up and ready to be done after 12 miles.

I took Monday off. Tuesday evening I headed out from the William Penn to Penn Avenue, then Butler until One Wild Place, then wound up the hill to Negley, then Penn until Children's Hospital, then Liberty. I had a life-sustaining drink of water near the Church Brew Works and continued my cruise down Liberty, totaling 12.

Wednesday morning I did five miles around Chatham Village in the morning, then eight around Fox Chapel in the evening. Climbing Guyasuta from Squaw Run was no joke. Thursday morning I did an easy five around Squaw Valley Park, and eight in the evening in Mt. Lebanon. Both were really tough, weatherwise.

Friday morning I struggled through wretched humidity in Frick Park and was lucky to get about seven miles in. I supplemented that with five around Chatham Village that evening. I took Saturday off to get more rest, because I clearly needed it. Sunday, I headed back to Frick and actually got a solid 10 miles in.

I finally got some new shoes, I realized only after looking up my old order confirmation e-mails that I had been wearing the same two pairs, aside from workouts and some long runs, since early January, almost 2,100 miles.

I'm not quite sure what I did for a while, and I won't delay in finishing this up just to figure that out. There was a lot of doubling and I steadily increased my mileage: 80, 85, 90, 96, and 100 the week ending when I went out to Steve's cabin. I do remember a lot of struggle against the heat and humidity and dissatisfaction with running in northwest DC. It's not to say that it's bad. It's the best part of the city in which to live to be a long distance runner, but in comparison, it's terrible compared to what I had in McLean. The traffic relegates me to the sidewalks, which are crowded with people. Though I have mapped and explored extensively, I have yet to find anything that compares to even my middling loops before. The climbs uphill at the end of every run might be making me stronger, but I don't need them every day. I'm a few miles from Rock Creek Park, but in the summer, it's so muggy and bereft of wind, it's miserable. When it cools down, it will get dark too early to be able to safely run there. And every time we have a heavy rain, trees come down and block trails. Despite all of this, however, I've been able to run decent mileage.

Possibly adding to my frustration is the savagery with which the summer beat me. I don't want to belabor the point, but I'm going to. I should just stop trying to run fast during the summer. Nothing good comes from it. I'll be fine when the weather cools, but for two months, I'm useless faster than 7:00 pace. So, as long as I live here, I won't even plan on racing in the summer.

Friday night, Sam, Beth, Drea and I drove out to Pembroke to Steve and Lori's cabin for an abbreviated training camp. We drove out to Pandapas Park Saturday morning and ran about 10.5 miles on the Poverty Creek Trail, out and back. The climatic change from DC was remarkable, we were running at 10:30 am and feeling great. That afternoon we ran to the War Spur overlook, gingerly, thanks to all of the rocks on the trail. The view was magnificent, as (almost) always. We tried to eat three dishes at Kal Bee among the four of us, but my resistance to pork was our weak spot, and we yielded.

That night, we got to bed significantly earlier than the night before, but woke much earlier after a sudden rain shower hammered the tin roof like thousands of gunshots. Earplugs fixed that. Later that morning, we headed up to the Mountain Lake hotel to meet the Richmond team for its preseason camp long run. At noon, it was still 59 degrees, with a wet chill. It was absolutely ideal. I caught up with a bunch of the guys and met the freshmen as we headed up the gravel road past the lake. We took a detour to see the overlook but the group split up later on. Sam and I continued on the road, climbing like crazy, then turned. On the way back, Sam wanted to let the thing be pressed and I went with him for a while, until my knee started to get sore. he was going less than I was anyway, and I decided to explore the dirt (mud) trails for a while. I ended up getting 2:12, which I equated to 20 miles.

The next evening, Witty and I went out for a run through Rock Creek Park via Calvert. It began pouring and we just relished it.

Thursday evening I went to Falls Church to see my barber and get a decent run. I ended up doing a Slate Run and reveling in the empty suburban streets and I had all to myself.

Saturday I went out to Bull Run Park for a potential long run. The humidity and my fatigue from a long week of not sleeping well doomed me, and I ended up only getting in a little more than 90 minutes for 13 and another 100 mile week.

Sunday morning, I slept in and ran down to Rock Creek Park and around the Western Ridge trail until I got to the field off of Military where I planned to do a fartlek. Only, I didn't want to anymore. I ran some lame laps around the field and headed home for a total of eight. That afternoon, I did the Connecticut loop until I hit the Massachusetts Bridge, and instead took the trail down to Rock Creek Park and ran to the Melvin Hazen Trail for 12.

Monday morning I did the Van Ness Street loop Scott and I did a few weeks ago for eight, then in the afternoon ran to the Donaldsons Run Trail with Billzzz for another eight. It was a little too warm and the park had no water fountain.

Tuesday I did a partial Stefan in the morning in wretched humidity, which drained me down to my lowest weight in years. It was about 90 degrees after work when I did a Potomac loop, extended around the Capitol, and I was really feeling parched by five miles. 13 total.

Wednesday  (Aug. 29) I did a Hannay's Gate five miles easy in the morning, then went to BCC for a workout. I was feeling great after a 2:32 800 warmup. I stuck in the middle of the pack first the first mile and went through in 4:59, then 4:55 for the second, feeling like it was natural. Then, on the 400 jog after the second, I started feeling like I couldn't get a deep breath in. I didn't make it 100 meters in. I came back and started the 5:04 mile with the B group, but was a second slow at the 400 and wasn't feeling up to the rest, so I got off the track and cooled down.

Thursday (Aug 30) I did another Hanny's Gate in the morning, then a Nellie Custis in the evening for 18 total.
Friday morning I woke up without any interest in running, so I didn't. It was my first day off all month, but after 413 miles, I figured why not.

Saturday morning I woke up to hear Molz, Guy and Andy talking about how humid it was. It couldn't be anything worse than what I've felt this summer, I thought. YES, IT COULD. It was awful. It wasn't just uncomfortable, it was hard to breathe. Lauder and Dana picked Hunter and me up a little while later and took us to Pole Green Park. I hadn't been there since 2005, while working for the Herald-Progress. I took off on my warmup around the course and started to feel a stabbing sensation under my shoulder. I joined Watson for a bit and wore my 10-year-old spikes, at which Rhue continues to amaze that they are still in one piece.

I lined up on the far end of a field of 70-some and judged my chances for success. Earlier in the week, I wanted to run as close to 5:00 pace as possible. With the humidity as bad as it was, that was unfeasible. I decided I might as well see how long I could hang on and just have the race kick me into action. I wouldn't be in the same shape as last year, given that I'm a month behind in my training, so I didn't want to set even moderate goals without extremely favorable conditions, lest I lose the results in a cloud of frustration.

Instead, I was lost in a cloud of runners as we ran across the field at Pole Green Park. The last time I was here, it was covered in booths during the Hanover Tomato Festival. I was shocked I was able to run across the grass as fast as I was- during my warmup I could barely jog. It must be the adrenaline of my first race since May. I just kind of sat back in the lead group for a while and followed Kyle and Adam. I realized after most of a lap that I had been running pretty fast for a while, but had no idea how long of how far we were on the course. We came back into the open field and soon enough I found out how fast we were going- 4:51 for the mile. Lauder reportedly said "he's going to pay for that." I kept pushing, but I was starting to feel the combination of thick air and the fastest mile I had run in months. I hung on for a while, but started to fall out of the pack and then was on my own. After what I guess to have been eight minutes, my breathing was a wreck, and I was just pushing for the heck of it, to finish the race. I went through the second mile in 10:10 and just couldn't wait for it to be over. People kept passing me and I had no motivation to stop them. I hoped some animal would come out of the woods and tear me to pieces so I didn't have to finish the race. Not soon enough, I got to the last stretch, and Lauder yelled to "use your weight on the downhill." I tried to kick, but two chaps caught me at the end as we crossed the line and ran right into the finishers waiting to have their numbers recorded. I ended up running 16:05, surprising, given how dead I was at the end. Looking back, I could have pushed more, if I was ready for that kind of pain. I paid lip service to cooling down, but not very much. I was going to enjoy the rest of my day off.

Until I woke up from my nap when Benford showed up to run with Molz. he had my shoes with him, and I figured I might as well go for another run to clear out my legs, after wearing spikes. The first 10 minutes were a rough sequence of belches and back cracks as I dealt with my only-recently-digested lunch, then  an ankle turn. I shook it all off, though. We ran through Byrd Park's Northbank trail, new to me, and over the Lee pedestrian Bridge for a loop of Belle Isle before heading back over the Nickel Bridge and back to Molz's. I hit 10 miles in  61:50, for 6:11 pace, most of that made up in the second half. I found out later that the temperature was in the 90s, but I felt a lot better than I had in the morning. And I ended up getting my 100 miles in for the week, to boot.

The next morning I went off on my own over the Nickel Bridge again to Forest Hill Avenue, then pretty much went backwards on the marathon course. I passed Kyle and Conor heading the other way, but wanted to stick with my route rather than go with them. I was cruising along uncomfortably fast for the humid morning when I got to Stratford Hills and chased a guy down five miles in before heading up Rockfalls. The trip down was bereft of the normal breeze I enjoy so. I followed the detour from Riverside Drive up to Hugenot, then down the hill and over the new bridge to Panorama and through campus. I stopped at the track for water, 10 miles in, and headed up Towana and along Tree Chopt to Grove. I stopped at the mercifully-placed cooler and had a few drinks and gave myself an absolutely necessary splash of ice water in the face. The rest was just miserable. I was hitting the limit for the heat my body could handle and get rid of. When I got to the Boulevard, I stopped and walked back to Molz's. I got 14.25 and later that day decided against doubling.

I checked out the Google streetview of the Hugenot Bridge and saw this dude running

Labor Day morning, I ran from the line with Dickson, Murph, Fox, Tex, Outlaw and Seamus. It was again muggy, and my plans for 13 miles were quickly quashed by my general misery. I ended up getting 11. That evening, I headed down CT to Rock Creek, via Calvert, and headed up the trail toward Ridge Road. As I passed the zoo, though, I saw someone I thought I knew and for the rest of the run was unsure if I was going crazy or not.

Tuesday night I ran a Partial Stefan, but was having a rough time and barely finished seven miles. Wednesday I ran up Nebraska to Oregon and took Western back. That was difficult too, the humidity was killing me. The track workout was over quickly. I led the B group through 3/4 mile and felt the stabbing sensation in my lung, so I dropped out.

Thursday, I struggled through something in the morning, but then joined Witty for an hour out and back on the CCT via Somerset. I felt much better after that. I took Friday off.

Saturday I did an easy 63 minutes from the line with Jake and Sam, without a doubt the most enjoyable run from the line for me, ever. In the evening I did a CT-CCT with Bitz after a storm and relished the cool air. I had been waiting months for that. The run in the mountains was a tease, because I'd have to come back to DC weather. Now, it's getting reasonable to expect this weather.

Sunday morning I woke early to run up to BCC and warm up around the normal loop so I could see the guys finishing the Parks Half. I missed them, though, but got back to the track and was right on schedule for my 2x20 workout. I started slow, 83, but quickly got ahead of pace and averaged 5:26s, feeling really relaxed. I had to take a break during my recovery jog to attend to my intestines, but was right on time to start the second set. Through the mile alone in 5:19, Dickson and Fridge joined me for their three miles at 5:20. Dickson led superbly and I was through 3.75 in 19:53, with no major distress. Given the problem I had digestively, I was even happier with what was on paper my best 2x20 workout ever. Ahead of pace and relaxed. The cool weather does wonders, even though it was still incredibly humid. I didn't have a long cooldown in me.

Monday I met up with Scott for a morning run, then went off into RCP on my own in the evenings, down the Soapstone Valley Trail, along the Western Ridge to the line and the Valley Trail, then the trail between Beach and Ross drives, and up the Melvin Hazen Trail for a total of 20 for the day.

Lonely on Hains Point

Two days before the Cherry Blossom race, I took a last look at Hains Point, running 10 miles from my office in the afternoon. Saturday morning I ran an easy Park++.
Then came the race.

Never before has a PR felt so miserable. It certainly didn't feel like my best 10 mile. Every other PR I set, I do so with ease, but this one was a struggle.
I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. The ride to the race was uneventful and easy. I felt fit and ready to go during the warmup, and figured out Evan, Wertz and Luke all wanted to run 5:20s. That seemed pretty ideal to me.

The first mile was a mess. Dudes with gray hair, idiots in costumes who started fast and were fading halfway down Independence Avenue. Evan and I cruised along, but I had a feeling the pace had to be too easy to be right. A shame, because I could have seen myself keeping that with no problem for 10 miles. I hoped there was a chance I was on pace and was in better shape than I thought, but as we made the turn to the Lincoln Memorial, the clock was passing 5:15 and we split 5:31.When we reached that point, Evan was ready to go, and I knew that staying behind would be a good way to lose my pacing help. We surged, launching around a pack getting onto the bridge and tracked down Dickson, moving closer on the cemetery circle and catching up on the way back to DC, splitting 5:14 for the second mile in the process.

We cruised up Rock Creek Parkway to the Kennedy Center and one of the unnecessary 180 turns that plague the course. We came through in 15:12 and hit the 5k in 16:30. I was hitting my goal splits of 5:20s, but we were obviously going a little faster, and I decided that running 5:15s with a group of people, which now included Wertz, Rich Saunders and Luke, would be a better move than trying to stick to 5:20s on my own.

We scooted down Ohio Drive and hit another 5:15. I tried to watch the race develop in the front with the Pacers. I couldn't account for everyone, but my attention was focused mainly on the pack we had going. Dickson had dropped us in the fourth mile, but I was now leading the group and still feeling pretty relaxed.

When we turned onto Independence, I pushed it a little bit and think I shook the pack up.I felt the slight uphill, but kept pushing, feeling like as soon as I stopped pushing, I'd start falling back. We hit the fifth mile in 5:27, but made it halfway in 26:40- dead solid perfect. I made up for the first mile's malaise and was in position to just pass the next five miles with this tremendous pack. Then the doubt crept in.

We actually started heading downhill a bit as we headed over to Hains Point. I remember my right arm suddenly flailing and nearly whacking one of the fences between us and Tom Jefferson. I fell a step behind. I heard Evan bid me continue, but I wasn't home to answer. I trailed by a few steps as we started toward the point, and even though I was close enough to lunge at one of the guys in the pack and tackle him, I was running a different race. My next mile was solid- 5:22, but the rest of the pack was 5:20, and the gap only grew from there. 10k in 33:10, mile seven in 5:34. I hit that awful turnaround at the edge of the peninsula that seems so excessive, when the old Marine Corps Marathon course turned through the parking lot prior. I don't really hate Hains Point, just the tip. I saw a runner pull over to the side shortly after. I tried to yell to him to finish, to help me, but I was wheezing and gasping and wouldn't have made much noise. I was going to be on my own. Mile eight in 5:35. I caught a few fading advance start women, and tried to reel in a guy who had fallen off the pack badly, but it wasn't happening. Mile nine in 5:35. At least I'm consistent when I'm dying. A crowd of GRCers waited near the turn toward 15th street, as encouraging as ever. Then, they started encouraging Matias. Oh man, I had no idea he was anywhere close to me. If there was any motivation left for my race, it was to avoid being outkicked, but this was going to be an effort. He was charging like hell, the bull that he is. The cheers got closer in comparison for him and me, like radar speeding up when the target gets closer. He charged up the hill near the Holocaust Museum and I climbed it like I was afraid of offending the ground by stepping on it too hard. He caught me and said it was time to go. I tried to pick my legs up but they wouldn't go. He told me again. I rejected his offer, with an  unspeakable oath for emphasis. He pulled away and we crested the hill and somehow I had a charge left to kick it in down the hill. That incline is a ball buster, but the slope is a hell of a gift. I somehow summoned the strength to finish in 5:31 for a 54:19 total, five seconds faster than 2010. As the public address system broadcast that I was from Falls Church, it only put an exclamation point on my fury and disappointment.

Yeah, I was having a rough time (pictured above)

I saw Nora standing near the chute waiting for Geoff and I unleashed my disappointment when she asked how I did. The whole thing had shades of Philly for me--I was ready to blow my old time out of the water and watched it fade away in the last miles. Sure, I PRed by five seconds, but that previous best was from two years ago, when I was just getting used to this training regimen. I am immeasurably stronger, but evidently in this sport, when you have a definite measure, it was only worth a five second improvement. Is that all I could improve in two years? I wound up 35th, it was a weak year. Two years ago I was 49th with practically the same time. How can I spend so much effort on something silly like running and not have more to show for it? Well, first of all, photos from Dustin Whitlow, Michelle Miller, Cheryl Young and Jimmy Daly, respectively.

With more time, I felt better. I realized that was the end of the fourth week since I started running again, a little more than two weeks after I came out from under the pall of my allergy problems. The first week back I was just trying to readjust to the impact and how it beat up my legs, the second I was constantly on the edge of feeling human. I had a solid 91 mile week two weeks ago, but in that whole month, I had one solid hard workout and one solid long run. Most importantly, my 27:39 second half was still faster than the 27:47 for which I got credit at Van Metre (when in reality I ran 28:17). So, I was able to run much faster for 10 miles than I was for 5 miles three weeks before.

Several people remarked that I looked solid whenthey saw me (they obviously saw me in the first half). I ran an easy five that afternoon to get the crud out of my legs.

Monday night I worked late and got home after dark, setting the stage for a Slade Run. I averaged 6:30s and did so with no regard for how fast I was running in the middle. I love that loop in the dark.

Tuesday night was the same situation, and I went out to the New Virginia Manor Loop, where I unwittingly ran 5:20s for the two four-mile loops sandwiched in the 13 miles.

Wednesday night, I felt bushed, and ended up just running six easy miles around BCC during the workout.

Thursday, I met up with Karl in Vienna and we took the W&OD west to the cross county trail. We stopped along the way to check out a parallel trail to the north, then caught the other trail. It was nothing short of marvelous. Soft, scenic and restorative. We eventually turned back and grabbed some greek food for dinner and ran back to his car for a total of about 13.5.

The office closed early Friday, so I had a little more sunlight for my workout- 2ks at McLean High School. It was a bit windy, though, and I misjudged my effort to fight the wind, coming through the first lap in 72, then calming down to a 4:55 mile and a 6:17 2k. Then I was a little more on track with a 6:19 second 2k. I hit the 1k in 3:06 for the third, right on, but couldn't breathe, so I gave up and took a long cooldown home for 12.5.

Out of the pool and onto the roads

Thursday morning, (March 1) I PRed for aqua jogging with 2:30. I did about an hour of biking in the afternoon, then set off on a path that evening that left me too tired to even think about waking up early on Friday to get to the pool.

When Saturday came along, I thought about the smell of an indoor swimming pool and figured I would take my chances running, rather than risking having the smell of chlorine torment me. It felt like it had been months, rather than 12 days. That said, it had been 18 days since I had run from home, the longest I had gone since living here. I went off on an extended Idylwood and felt great, going a little too fast in the beginning (11:45 for the first two miles) and tried to balance my excitement that I was running again with some restraint. I ended up averaging 5:58s for 6 miles.

I took and nap and went right back at it- a reverse extended Westmoreland, ended up averaging 6:30s or so. That first run was a little traumatic, though my quads felt like I had run a marathon earlier in the day. Afterward, I had trouble walking down steps and off curbs.

I had to work at our legislative conference the next day, which meant lots of standing around and little relief for my sore legs. When I got home, I started on an Irvin, switched onto Cottage from Gallows and came back from Vienna on the W&OD, my quads basically numb. It was pretty soon to do a long run, but I got in 14 miles at 6:27 pace.

Monday I ran from the Chevy Chase store but got lost on the route I planned and ended up heading to the Line, then the Western Ridge Trail and back to the store for 9 miles. The quads felt better.

I felt pretty miserable Tuesday, so I took the day off.

I had no idea what I would be able to do when I got to the track Wednesday. I decided to just give the workout a shot and see how it went. The goal times for 8x800 meters were 2:32, 2:30, 2:28 and 2:26. I started in the back of the pack for most of them, and frequently moved up throughout, so I ended up fast for all of them- 2:30, 2:29, 2:27, 2:27, 2:26, 2:26, 2:24, 2:23. I would have liked to have done two more, because Saturday's Van Metre race was a last-minute adventure to give me the feeling of racing I didn't get when I scratched the RRCA 10 mile, but I wasn't feeling like those additional 800s would be successful. As soon as I was done, though, my whole body started feeling awful, and my quads, fine during the track work, were now in terrible shape. Things didn't get any better during a long meeting afterward, and I soon felt pretty cruddy.

Thursday I knew something was going wrong, but I was always just able to keep going. Karl and Mike wanted to run in Vienna,and I wanted to give it a shot, so I went out there to meet them. We kept about 7:00 pace out to Hunters Mill and headed back, but then stopped for gyros on Maple. We walked back to the cars while eating, and when we returned I was pretty cold, despite the sweat drying. I changed into long clothes and went to the Metro, then started shivering violently. I got home and took a hot shower, hoping to stabilize my temperature, but it delayed for a while before shooting way up. I went to bed hoping I could somehow just get a few hours of rest for this all to calm down. I felt like I was on the brink of death until I got about two straight hours of sleep. From then on, it was on and off, but the fever was gone. I realized I was no longer in danger of dying, so I started thinking about my next priority- the Van Metre race, where my participation could affect our team prospects.

When I woke up, I decided to see how running would go. I started with a lap around my complex, but 1:15 in, I was walking and heading back in. I started thinking about when I had felt that bad before. I recalled 2010, right before the Monument Ave 10k, when I had to take a day off, and I realized I wasn't suffering from a cold I had caught from one of the county officials visiting for the legislative conference, I was getting hell from the pollen that was hitting the air earlier this year, thanks to the unseasonably warm weather. I then got a lot more confident that 24 more hours of recovery was all I needed and that I would be able to race Van Metre after all. I went to work and took it easy, then came home and rested some more.

When Liz Elk-oh-yeah and I headed out to Ashburn in the morning, I felt dramatically better. I still had no assurances I would perform the way I wanted, or even be able to run more than 75 seconds, but it was a beautiful sunny day and I was going to a road race, so that was enough for me. Breezy would be able to pick up the slack if I died or something. Then I got a call from Karl- he was headed out to run after all.

The three GRC men went out for the warmup and I was thrilled to be able to go much more than 75 seconds. I wasn't feeling great, but hopefully I could grind out a decent five miles.

I managed to hit the bathroom once more and get to the line, where the crowd looked a lot smaller this year. Also, the start was moved back about a block, which was odd. We got started, slowly. I was in the lead, despite taking it pretty easy. Two Thopians were hanging around. I stuck next to Karl for about two more minutes, then realized how quickly the pace could escalate, so I dropped back. The wind, which was so bad during the warmup, was calm as we wound up a lot hill during the first mile. They went through in 5:15, me in 5:24, and I was pleased with that. I figured I would crank it up in the last three miles. I was in no-man's land pretty soon. I hit the second mile in 5:32. I was hoping to be a little faster, just because I wasn't going uphill anymore. I hit the long out-and-back hill and tried to push, but felt my quad aching return and disable me to a point. I had a little trouble making the turn, I tried to follow some barrels that went the wrong direction. I tried to hammer down the hill, but my legs weren't responding and my lungs weren't helping. After what seemed like forever, I hit mile 3 in 5:44, and I wasn't happy with that. I was starting conservatively and getting slower. It was worse after 4- 6:01. Jesus...  and I was smelling lobster, so I was going all out for that.. So much for not losing much fitness. I cranked it a bit in the last mile and finished with a 5:34, but it took a lot more than it should have to run that fast. 28:17, pretty bad. Very bad. I tried cooling down my my quads weren't having it, so I headed back and stretched. The results were all fast- they said I ran 27:47, but my watch would seem to be the right source for the duration of my race. It was disappointing, but again I was glad to be able to run. Breezy, Maura, Susan and I all won $50 gift certificates to the Glory Days Grill, so we went there for breakfast. It was generally low-grade dog food, but it was free. I did six miles on the Seaton loop that afternoon, which went decently well, though not thrillingly.

I figured the best way for my quads to recover on a run was somewhere soft, so I went out to the Pimmit Run Trail. I was determined to finally get to the downstream portion. I tried to get there once last summer, and wound up just running a few laps around a nature preserve before heading back. I skipped it this time and went right to the street from which I could apparently find the trail -- Maddux Lane -- and took a chance on a sidewalk-like path that lead me to a stream. With a few jumps over some rocks, I was on the other side and finally exploring the downstream portion. It was a lot softer and I was thrilled to see where it went. It eventually dumped me off on a private drive off of Kirby with some ridiculously nice houses, then led me back to a trail when eventually ran parallel to the northern portion of George Washington Parkway, which I have always thought would be just the greatest place for a trail. Unfortunately, I had to turn back and head home because of time constraints, but that also means I get to explore more, later. I planned to do a second run that evening, but instead, I didn't.

Monday evening was the second day of extra light in the evening, and I headed out for an extended Oak loop with a few fast miles in the middle. The first came a little more than two miles, once I hit Shreve Road. I started off pretty smoothly, but evidently came through the half in 2:32, much faster than I expected, and finished the first mile in 5:09. After looping around 29 and Gallows, I got to Cottage and let loose, splitting 2:32 again, but facing a long uphill afterward. I managed only 5:23. The next mile was going to be much worse- a long stretch on Oak, but then turns and a steep uphill. I stopped when I hit the beltway for a half mil in 2:40something. By the time I got to Idylwood Park, I had to go to the bathroom, which rendered my last mile useless, and I stopped after a minute and jogged home.

Tuesday after work I ran around Hains Point. The pollen was a little rough, and I was struggling for most of it, averaging 6:47s and not feeling like I was moving that fast. There was some isolated rain when I was on the east side.

Wednesday night didn't promise much. I felt wrecked and was coughing up most of what was in my lungs during the warmup, and I felt beaten before I started. I joined the weekend racing group for nothing too taxing- miles, however many we wanted to do. The first was 5:30, and it was pretty rough. We went 2:50- 2:40, but the 2:40 actually didn't feel so bad. 5:25 for the next one,and that got better. Then I led through 5:20 and 5:15, before Miler offered to take us though 800 at 78 pace. We almost hit 79 for the first, then 79.99 for the second, with me passing in the last 50 to take the lead. Then I went 70 and finished in 72 flat for 5:01, and suddenly I was feeling a lot more optimistic about my Cherry Blossom chances. Back in early Feburary, I was looking at sub 52. That might be out of the question now, but I can still run a fast 10 miles if I am under control early on. Now almost two weeks after coming back from my time off, I realize it haven't lost too much, but I'm nagged by my allergies. If I follow my pattern, though, I should be adjusted very soon. The next 13 days will be big for me- I need to nail my long workouts, get plenty of rest and recover well.

I met up with Jarrin Thursday morning for some time on TRI, my first trip there since 2010. It was good to catch up with him and hear what's new, the most notable thing being the impending first birthday for Iris. I got about 12.5 miles in, and given the quick turnaround from the workout the night before, I was pretty happy with that.

Friday night I headed out to McLean High School for the Spider workout, but grew worried when I saw the packed parking lot. When I got around to the track, I saw a crowd watching a lacrosse game and headed home. I was a little light headed by the time I got a mile away, and I declined to make an attempt at doing the workout on the road.

In the morning, I got up and headed to my office, the last place I'd want to spend Saturday morning. Luckily, it's in the right place that I was able to drop off dry clothes and head out to the National Marathon course. I ran out to the Ellipse and waited for people to come by- Marco, with Burnham in tow, Murph, then Breezy and Lavar. Then I headed up to mile 10 near Capitol and M and waited for them to all come by. I was heading back to my office to fill in the rest of my time when Lisa Sikora popped up out of nowhere- her dad, Joe was running and we were evidently right on time to see him. I ran a few blocks with him then finished up about eight miles before I headed over to see Murph, Breeze, Panther and Beth as they started their St. Patrick's Day celebrations. I went home for a nap, then did a Park++, though on my way back, a driver forced me into a car's sideview mirror and my forearm started swelling like a mother. I ended up getting 80 miles for the week.

Sunday morning, Dickson and Emily picked me up to go up to BCC for a long workout. We met up with Dickson's friend Stefan and headed off on a 16.5 mile run through Chevy chase, Northwest, Rock Creek Park and Bethesda. From the very start I was feeling like I was hanging on, because Stefan definitely liked to push the pace, but as the run progressed, I found myself up there with him, somewhat consciously trying to take the pressure off of Dickson, whose real work would begin when we got back to the track.I enjoyed the loop, which gave me a chance to see some of the neighborhoods where I will be running once I move (I liked them) and once we entered Rock Creek Park, I truly enjoyed Ross Drive for the first time, perhaps because it was the first time I was running it without a banana-toting chap in tow. I eased off a bit when we hit the trails near the Line, but got back into it shortly after. We got back to the track in 1:45, changed shoes and started a 10k. Dave O'Hara was there to help, and I'm glad he was, because I could be of much help to Dickson at that point. I hung on the back of our little pack as we went through the mile in a little under 5:35, but on that fifth lap I just fell apart and stopped. Considering my longest run in more than a month had been the 14 miles I did on my second day back after my layoff, getting to 17.5 was enough of a stretch.

I was disappointed to not be able to do the meat of the workout, and hung my head a bit while trying to watch Dickson run a solid 33 minute 10k. It seems to me like he'll be ready for Boston. I ran a while longer to get 20, then had a few burgers and a chocolate milkshake to prepare me for the mild consequences of what I had done to myself. I was pleased to feel none of the soreness in my quads that had been plaguing me. I hope this would be a big step toward eliminating that pain which I feel could affect me in long races; it certainly did at Van Metre. That evening I did an easy three miles.

Figuring I was already on pace for some significant mileage this week, I stripped down my Monday evening run to a progression and cooldown for a little more than seven miles. I did my usual loop, designed for 10 minutes at 6:00 pace, 10 at 5:45 pace and 10 of up to 5:00 pace, though I was planning for more like 5:10-5:15. It was warm and a little humid, but far less oppressive than my alarmist protege had warned. My right hamstring felt a little odd on my way home on the metro  but once I was dressed to run and ready to go, it didn't hassle me. I came through the half mile in 2:40- 20 seconds fast, the mile in 5:25- 35 seconds fast, and reached the end of my first segment a minute early, so I ran in circles until my 10 minutes were up. The 5:45 segment was 8 seconds fast at the half, 15 fast at the mile and not sure about the next intermediate point, but I was 30 seconds fast for the whole segment. The uphills on Virginia and Barbour helped temper me a bit, but I was definitely faster than I needed to be. On the fast segment, I hit the half+ in 2:32 pace, then the mile+ in 5:05. I think I slowed a bit when I had to start crossing streets in Falls Church, but I finished up feeling great (and likely hitting two miles in 10:10-15) and took a nice slow jog to get home, completely soaked with sweat but not minding too much. I have some solid miles coming up Wednesday, hopefully a good moderate run or Spider workout Saturday and some cruise miles Tuesday, then it's time to rest and get ready for Cherry Blossom.

Where my season will go after that, I'm not exactly sure. As long as I run something decent, I'll send it off to the Pittsburgh Half people to see if I can get a comp. I have a feeling I likely won't, so then the options spread out:
A.Convince the Pittsburgh people to let me pay to run, despite the race being sold out
B. The Frederick Half
C. The LEAD Strong Half in Maryland, on a trail
D. The Maryland Half Marathon, all May 6, or
E. Try to get into the St. Luke's/Runner's World/Lehigh Valley Half in late April.

or, I could do two halves, a few weeks apart, starting with the
Park to Park Half in Waynesboro, then
A. the Historic Half in Fredericksburg (May 20),
B. the Run to Dream Half in Williamsburg (May 20),
C. the MAC Half Marathon in Maryland, or
D.the Alexandria Distance Festival Half. (May 27)
or....Cleveland (May 20)

Those late May races could be pretty warm. The Alexandria course looks awful, but it's so convenient. I'll probably go with either the Frederick or LEAD Strong. Or maybe I'll give up on running.

Hey there, race...

I set out Friday afternoon to meet Witty at Galaudet when I saw this guy running toward me wearing a familiar navy blue long-sleeved shirt. It was nondescript, until I looked back and saw a big spider design on the back. It was one of the Richmond track shirts we got in 2002. I rushed back down 2nd Street NE to figure out who it was. I caught up and said "Scott? Colin?" Nope. I introduced myself, thinking I had met this fellow before and forgotten him. Maybe he was a freshman who didn't make it. As it turned out, it was a friend of a runner, whose name I won't mention in case it would somehow get him in trouble with Steve, so I'm just going to say it was Rhue.

I got to the track and wasn't feeling particularly great. Witty rolled up on a fancy bike and we got going with our 400s. We did a few in the mid 70s, then went down to 72 for a set, then low 70s and high 60s for four laps. I bowed out after 12, wanting to go out on top, and he kept going, so I paced him through a few 200s, going as fast as 30.

The weekend was incredibly stressful, in significant part due to the metro people replaced by a shuttle bus between Courthouse and Foggy Bottom, a huge delay. Ciccone was visiting from Pittsburgh, and he expressed an interest in running with me, so I put off my run on Saturday until the afternoon as to join him. The problem with arranging a schedule around visitors who don't prioritize running is that, for lack of a better explanation, they don't prioritize running. Eventually he said we should scrap the run, so I went out to get 12 on my own. It was dry but cool when I left, so I wore shorts and a long-sleeved shirt. I headed up Great Falls to Dolley Madison, and about three miles in, the cold rain started. It picked up as I rattled of 6:20 miles down Old Dominion until I hit Marymount and turned onto Yorktown. By the time I got back to my place, I was worried that the chill I suffered might damage my reproductive health. I warmed up by eating french toast sticks and cowering in a pile of towels. Aside from the chilly run, I was trying to figure out how to time a long run the next day to maximize the number of people to come out to Burke Lake.

I stayed at Regina and Clay's Saturday night in Bloomingdale on a surprisingly comfortable couch, with a plan to grab shoes and extra running clothes from my office before going to Alexandria to get a ride from the O'Haras. Matt brought up training questions before I left, though, and I wanted to answer them. Upon leaving, I hoped to get a bagel from McDonald's on the way. I then passed a blind woman who asked me to walk her to a bus stop five blocks away. I obliged her, but worried how long it would take. Upon seeing the bus leave before we got there, she then bid me walk her another six blocks, then find a cab for her. All of which I was pleased to do, but I was also hungry, thirsty and short on time. I bought a train to Gallery Place, and walked as fast as my loafers would take me to my office, grabbed my clothes and started running back. All of a sudden, Tender and Matias popped out of the metro station, it seemed. I was confused. I saw I had seven minutes until the yellow line came, so I ran back out and over to City Sports to get some body glide and sport beans to give me some sustenance. I got back in time for the train and made it to Alexandria with a minute to spare. We went to the lake and met up with Dolla Billzzz, Tex and Witty. Billzzz was content to run a little easier than the other three, and after we hit the dam on the first lap, I headed back and finished the 14+ miles with him. The weather was perfect- a little chilly, but clear, the light wind hassling us none. I then had some fried chicken at Safeway.

Monday night, I ran out from the Vienna metro to meet Karl and Mike, who interpreted our plans to mean Tuesday. After waiting for him, we started off for Sunrise Valley, and Karl noticed we got to our normal cruising pace faster than normal. I had been exhausted on the ride over and somehow kept my shit together for 13.25 miles, with an extra loop around the Vienna Metro afterward.

Tuesday night I extended a Thomas loop out to Upland for 13.25 again, averaging 6:27s. I somehow ran 5:40 for my fourth mile, which puzzled me, but I didn't stop my watch at any point.

Wednesday had some potential for disaster. I felt miserable during the warmup and was rushed a lot of the time. I also didn't really get into the groove during the first few 800s, which we hit in 2:31, 2:30, 2:27 and 2:27. I led the fifth, in 2:25, and sat back a little for 2:25, 2:22 and 2:22. I did feel a little tight around my tailbone, I'm not sure what the deal there was. With a long cooldown, I had 12.25. That night, I felt a little off in my lower body. During the workout, my tailbone felt stressed, which was really bizarre. I had a cramp in my right calf while stretching out in bed, and when I woke up, felt some odd tightness in my lower back.

I met up with Dave Burnham Thursday afternoon,. He was running home from work,. but he accompanied me to West Potomac Park and halfway to Hains Point before he turned back. Using the 2011 Marine Corps mile markers, I cruised some 6:15s, the eased up for my run back. Some chaunce tried to race me along the mall, it actually made me feel uneasy. I didn't feel any of those lower body muscular-skeletal issues.

Friday I woke up with no desire to run, and realized there were worse things in the world than taking a day off when you could physically and mentally really need one.By the time half of my work day was over, I knew it was the right move. I wondered how I'd even get the energy to get up and walk to the metro. Surprisingly, when I got home and went to bed, I had a difficult time falling asleep.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 6:30 to the sound of water pouring through the downspout near my window. I knew it was cold, and it was going to take a lot to get me out there. I went back to sleep until 7 to let that clear up, and when I stuck my head outside the porch, I saw it wasn't raining too much, but it was cold. I thought about bagging the Have a Heart for Hoffman-Boston Elementary School 5k, but then I thought about the last time I hung Dave out to dry (or soak) because I was afraid of adverse weather, the workout before Halloween, and I didn't want to do that to him again. I headed to the metro station to catch the shuttle bus to East Falls Church and walked two miles to the starting line. I warmed up with Dave, who, like me, had no real race plan. I wasn't feeling great, but considering the inertia that comes with mornings like that, I wasn't shocked. When the race started, we bolted out fast enough that within a few seconds, I couldn't hear anyone on our tails. I started to feel off when we dipped under Wilson Boulevard, but I kept going. My form didn't feel right, and I had no idea how fast we were going. We passed the mile in 4:57, and while I was surprised that we were going that fast, I also wasn't, because I was definitely working. I eased up a little bit, but at the same time, both my calves and shins started to tighten dramatically and I didn't have a good feel for them. Dave got farther and farther away and I gave up hope of catching back up with him -- we'd be on our own. I hit the turnaround at 8:06 and realized just how much I had slowed. The one nice thing about an out-and-back course is being able to see the other people in the race, so I got to bid good luck to our women's team (who finished 1-7) and others, including John Kendra and Mike Naff. I also got into a better groove with my form right before the turn, which made the second half more pleasant, even though I was running slower.I hit the second mile with a 5:29 split, and I can credit most of that to the downhill portion after the turn. I was paying for that first mile. I stopped even trying to catch back up with Dave and just kind of ran comfortably in. A few people shout to me that I should go get Dave, but I politely declined. I hit three miles in 5:17, much better, considering my effort, and finished up at 16:17 for second.

We sported a seven-woman team in the race, which attracted a serious crowd from non-racing GRC athletes. Breezy and Murph came by during their long run, Michelle took these wonderful photos, and a soccer mom who I later determined to be Dart showed up, too, along with Jerry, Avril's fiancee, Dave O'Hara and Rich Saunders. That kind of support, for a little 5k, was fantastic, and it demonstrated a major ancillary benefit to the GRC Racing Team. I had planned to do 2xmile on the W&OD after the race, but about two minutes into the first one, I just wanted to quit. One my way back, I bumped into the women's team and joined them for their cooldown, which helped me a lot. I ended up getting in 12 miles total. I considered doubling to get 85, but after a nap and seeing the trees bending to the wind's will, I was fine with 78. I needed a little break from the mileage.

On the surface, it was a better rust-buster than last year's By George 5k- 39 seconds better, though that race involved 1.5 miles into a heinous headwind, though a flatter course. This time, though, I'm not recovering from throat surgery. I was upset with my lack of feel for the pace, which took me out in the same split as my delightful Richmond 8k and disastrous Philly Half. I'm disappointed I didn't push through the discomfort in the second mile, I fell back from Dave like a hypothermia or carbon monoxide victim accepting his fate, even though it would have behooved me, and him, for me to stay with him. I couldn't help but wonder if some company for the last almost-two miles would have helped him break 16:00. I blame my leg issues on insufficient stretching, and I can fix that... easily. The positive, which Michelle pointed out, was that I maintained solid form at the end, which I hope will bode well for my ventures into the longer distances this spring.

My sleeping follies last week motivated me to force myself to wake up early, despite another late night that was largely such due to delays with the metro. I thought about delaying my long run for a day, but had little desire to run it in the dark after work, so I figured I'd just go out and face the wind, which evidently was supposed to make it feel like eight degrees. The whole damned loop is hilly. The bridges spanning the beltway were ridiculously windy, and for most of Georgetown Pike and Haycock, I seemed to be running right into the wind. Just like the last time I ran this loop, in October, I hit 11.1 miles in 1:11, which was pretty cool. The undulating hills on Georgetown Pike east of the beltway always beat the crud out of me. Lorraine, at 17, was awful, but not as long or steep as I always fear. I ended up hitting 19.1 miles at 6:30 pace, with only a little discomfort in my hips when I was coming down Orland at mile 17.75. 

Rough few days

I slept in Wednesday morning and spent most of the day watching heavy rain fall. The workout that night, 6xmile, was exactly what I had wanted to do for several weeks, but the weather was not looking good. On top of that, I had been having trouble breathing for the past week and a half. I noticed the previous Monday night, while reading in bed, that I didn't feel as though I was getting enough air when I breathed, despite deep breaths. The air didn't have the same fulfilling effect, like when I was struggling in at the end of the towpath long run a few weeks ago. I wondered if I would stop breathing while I was asleep and suffocate, which just mad me more anxious. I somehow survived the next eight days, running workouts and races with no ill effects. But I was still worried.

The workout started well. The rain stopped in advance and I felt okay in the warmup, and the first few miles were delightful- 5:08, 5:03, 5:00. I led the second almost perfectly, just a little fast for the last lap, and feeling like I could go at 5:04 pace all day. Within 200 meters of the 4:56 mile, though, I felt myself unable to get a satisfying breath. I once again did not suffocate to death, but I felt like I was on the brink. I also had a good amount of gastrointestinal distress before the first one, after the second one and when I was cooling down.

I did a Marymount loop Thursday morning, recalling the last time I did it, I listened to Very Tough Love, one of the better This American Life episodes I've heard recently. I was struggling in the humidity again, stopping at the top of the trail and a few times in the 11th mile. It was rough, I tell you. Then, on the way to work, I got up from my seat on the metro and rushed up the escalator at Metro Center. I just missed the red line train, and I had five minutes to wait until the next train. It was incredibly stuffy in there, and I started feeling weak. I looked over and saw I still had five minutes to wait and wondered if I could make it. Then I heard very loud noises and saw nothing. I opened my eyes and saw people everywhere looking down at me. I had evidently passed out, and realized I was soaked with sweat. I took off my windbreaker and instantly felt better, drank some water and felt better still. Chalked it up to my low heart rate and heat exhaustion, with which my cardiologist concurred, and felt better pretty quickly, back to normal by lunch.

I got home in time to run in a gnarly storm- 6 miles on the Seaton loop, sometimes going through ankle-deep water, averaging 6:29s. It eased up toward the end, but the most memorable scene from that run was water rushing across the W&OD trail between Grove and West.

Friday morning I did an easy Scott's Run for 11 miles, stopping a few times in the last mile. Still ridiculously humid. I saw my pulmonologist, and I had forgotten how at ease he was. He said it was hyperventilation syndrome. I'm getting plenty of oxygen, I just need to stop worrying about it.

Saturday morning was a big improvement- sun and a slight breeze to move around the damp air. Witty, Breezy and a dude named Rod joined me at the store for a Dalecarlia loop. Breezy left us for the trails before he could enjoy the fruits of our uphill running, and I think I pushed a little hard on the parkway hills, but it was all good. We ended up averaging 6:40s and I discovered Rod was a Hampden-Sydney alumnus, so we had some good laughs about times The Hill.

That afternoon, I wound around the corridor between Great Falls and Westmoreland for 4.5 miles to total 100 for the week.

Sunday morning, I did a punctuated Westmoreland for 6.5 miles, then in the afternoon biked to McLean High School for a workout. I planned to do 20 minutes at 5:30 pace, eight minutes easy and 20 more minutes at 5:20 pace. I was a little fast for the first segment-5:25, 5:29, 5:25 and change, and was pretty darned thirsty. An asian family was all over the place, including a guy I call YF2k55, and his grandson kept cheering from the stands as I ran by, which was kind of nice. The second segment was not so smooth- I hit my first mile in 5:23 and was done- lightheaded and thirsty. My cooldown involved a jog to a 7-11 on Chain Bridge Road where I purchased a pair of Gatorades and drained one before getting back to the track. Yep, I was pretty thirsty. It was a rough workout to try on my own, but I think having the constant feedback from the track made up for that.

Oh, this was amusing.

A bit of rest

I made the gut-wrenching decision to forgo the Cherry Blossom race this year in favor of a few additional days of training to tackle the 5k. Sticking with Cherry Blossom would have added 10 miles and another race to create a five-week block of races, which, while fun, would not have been great for my training in the long run. The GMU invite for CB was an entirely rational decision and will be better for me in the end.

But it didn't feel that way when our 15 men and three women ran by in their GRC singlets. Every one of the guys had a fantastic race. Even in the rare instance when their time was not faster than before, running those times under those circumstances was an achievement. To not have run among my teammates in a race that we dominated was torture.

Instead I planned on an early morning fartlek that pretty much didn't happen. I slept a little more than three hours to wake up at 5 and head to the city with Nate and Luke. Those two slept in the car while I tried to do 3x(8 min hard, 2 easy, 2 hard, 4 easy) on Hains Point and the Mall, but it was a disaster from the start. I was using my heart rate monitor, and it suggested I was north of 180 during my warmup. Given my lack of sleep, that might have had shred of truth to it. After my 15 minute warmup, I had at it, but 44 seconds in, I knew I was asking too much of myself. I cruised along for another 45 seconds then decided to take it easy from then on.

In the afternoon I ran around Wiggy's hood of Twinbrook, down the Trolley Trail to North Bethesda with Danielle. After running with her for a while, I turned back and headed to Karl's and did some drills.

I had to have some dental work done to fix the unfortunate effects of the mouthpiece I briefly wore to try to ameliorate my sleep apnea. I had never worn a retainer before, and had not developed the half-conscious awareness of warming the retainer with water before removing it. Unable to sleep one night, I tore it out, severely damaging a molar, which eventually had to be removed. So, Monday was the day, and when I slept until 7:30, a likely outcome after being out of the house for 15 hours on Sunday, I ended up skipping my run and taking a day off.

Tuesday night I went out and ran a Thomas, focusing on staying relaxed. That, evidently, meant going pretty fast, because I averaged around 6:00 for my first four miles until I slowed down, realized how fast I was going.

Wednesday was ripe for a good workout- I was feeling good, the weather was great, the workout got shorter (6,5,4,3,2,1) and I was confident I could hit the A group's target times: 75s,74s,73s,72s,71s and a 68. Some of the later ones were ambitious, but I felt I could handle them.

I felt sluggish on the warmup, but managed to do a 2:30 800 at the end to get my legs ready to go. I followed the dudes through the 2400 in 7:25, so a little fast, but I felt totally comfortable, though my intestines were giving me some trouble. About 500m into the 2k, I started to feel them again, and realized it would be untenable. I cut off at 800 in 2:28-perfectly on pace- and headed up to the bathroom. When I got back, the group was doing a recovery lap and I was relaxed and ready to go for the mile. I was at 3:40 through 1200, but had a rough fourth lap and finished in 4:56, four seconds slow. The other guys, having run about 4:50, were already well ahead of me on the recovery, which they were doing much faster than I was used to. I caught them, and we started the 3:36-goal 1200, but I was out of it by the 200m. I was still beaten from the recovery that didn't take place. I ran with everyone for the last 400m, which I did in 70.

I did another 400 in 71 by myself, then prepared to run the 68-target 400 with everyone else. I told myself to stay loose, no matter what, and if running that fast would mean I would lose my loose form, I would stop. I made it 200m in 33 low before I tightened up. Good enough for a workout that was already over.

It was disheartening to see that even if I had been able to match their interval times, the amount of recovery I needed still separated me from the A group. I wonder if I will ever get there. What are reasonable goals, anyway? Then I lost my wallet, which made me feel even worse.

Thursday afternoon I did a 30 minute "p word" run, planning for 10 minutes at 6:00, 10 at 5:45 and 10 between 5:00 and 5:15. I got very lucky with the traffic at each crossing and never had to wait to cross. I was a little fast, though. I hit 5:30 for the first mile (way too fast!) and by the 1.6 mile mark, where I was supposed to hit 10 minutes, I was only at 9:00, meaning I had run 5:37 pace to get there. I ran in a big circle for a minute to start the next 10 minutes on the right mark. I ran more evenly there, hitting the half mile in 2:52 (though it was uphill) and the mile in 5:38. I ended up averaging 5:42 for the next 10. The last went pretty well, though I surely would have run faster had I controlled myself more early on. I ran 1.9 miles, averaging 5:15 pace. I was happy with it as a whole, though I really needed to correctly estimate my first mile pace. That kept me from dipping under 5:05-5:10 at the end.

I'll then have an easy day Friday before running the GMU Invite's 5k Saturday evening. I hope that I can run a better race on top of fixing what went wrong in my pre-race routine at Richmond.

Unbridled enthusiasm

I was tired throughout the day Friday and thought about cutting my recovery run completely, then I remembered the next three days' plans and figured I needed some buffer, so I went out for a Fineview Park loop and ended up feeling great, running 12.5 at 6:35 pace without feeling any effort.

The "p word" run Saturday didn't go well, mainly because it went too well early on. I ran 5.5 miles out on the CCT and headed back to Georgetown. My plan was to run 10 minutes moderate (5:40 pace), 10 medium (5:25-5:30) and 10 hard (5:10-5:15). Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for the workout bled right through and soaked me, because I missed the half mile marker and by the time I saw the second half marker,I had run a 5:10 mile. I slowed down, or so I thought, and came through the next half in 2:45, still fast. The first measurable mile of the second 10 minutes was 5:20, so again, too fast. By the time I got to the third 10 minutes I had only 90 seconds left in the tank. My calves were still tight from Wednesday and I had no spring in my step. That said, 30 minutes of pretty hard running, on top of the two five-mile medium runs, was a lot. After an easy 3.25 Fisherman's loop, I had my fifth straight 90 mile week.

To hell with George

I fell far short of two goals- running under 16:30 and getting an assessment of my racing fitness at the By George 5k.

The metro was about five minutes late, so I was already looking at less than the 25 minutes I budgeted between arriving in Foggy Bottom and the race starting. I started my warmup/run to the start confident that everything would work out. I wasn't feeling fresh while running, but I was careful not to run too fast to get there. I did notice a breeze...

The route ended up being 2.5 miles, and I got there with two minutes to spare. I tore my trainers off and tied my flats as fast as I could, wiggled into my singlet and sprinted to the start. Murphy was waiting with my bib, thankfully already adorned with safety pins, and I threw it on, took a few high-knee steps and got back to the line just in time for the start.

Some dude bolted to the front and I tried to keep my cool, not wanting to turn my frantic surge for the starting line to become a reckless sub-five minute first mile. Given how my pace had only slowed slightly in the second miles of my recent exciting conclusion runs, my capacity for high-quality running in the latter staged of the race seemed to be boosted. I did feel like I was going pretty slowly, but that might have been the odd sense of relaxation I was feeling, despite my panic minutes before. I figured I was running around 5:20 pace, so I was shocked to come through in 5:07. Maybe I will run well after all! The guy ahead of me wasn't insurmountably far ahead.

Those thoughts lasted for about 20 seconds, until the wind from the west slammed into me, pushing me to the left. Whatever wind I felt running down Virginia Ave, it was nothing compared to this. Rounding Hains Point, I felt like I was running in a driving snow. The bare tree branches squirmed wildly, but the guy in front was not pulling away. The course was out and back, so there was physically no way for the windy portion to be more than .55 miles, but it broke the hell out of me. I hit the turnaround in 8:20- 3:13 after the mile- 5:50 pace. I hoped turning would help, but it did little. I was firmly ensconced in second place, and would try to salvage something from the race, but my drive was broken. I tried to pick it up, remembering how I could still hit my splits on the windy stretch of the track, but that was nothing like this... I just waited for it to be over...

I tried to run with Karl, Wiggy and Outlaw, but my legs were Jello(tm) and I dropped after 1:40. I ran to try to block the wind for Murphy, Hughes and Angry Kate, with varying degrees of success.

Afterward, I did a cooldown with the guys to visit the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, then had a delicious egg sandwich at the East Potomac Park Golf Course shack.

I did 3.5 miles in the afternoon to round out 80 miles for the week. I still have no idea what I can do for 5k right now, though. I am toying with a time trial Monday or Friday.

Time to race again

Over the last two months, I've run 564 miles, done a dozen workouts, though several were slower than last year's marathon pace. I've ended up hammering some long runs, and when I total it all, still I'm left with a very abstract concept of my fitness. The By George 5k is not going to be a masterpiece, but at the very least I will have an assessment of what I can do for a 3.1 miles of running. From there I will be able to calibrate the rest of my training and my expectations of what I will be able to do this year. It is also the earliest I have raced in my post-collegiate running, given my revulsion to indoor track.

16:30?

The course is a nice change on the typical Hains Point configuration. It's a counter-clockwise loop of the golf course. No out-and-back, and I hardly ever run that direction, so it will be a fresh route.

Wednesday was beautiful, so I took a long lunch break to run to Rock Creek Park, admittedly not my favorite place to run in DC. I'm not sure exactly why, but I just don't like it much. The trails, though numerous, are nothing special, and I never seem to run well when I am there. I much prefer Frick, Schenley or Pocohontas. I ended up following a trail that took me into Glover Park and ended up extending the route a little, to 14 miles.

Thursday night I headed back to George Marshall for 12x400. The youth soccer players and their parents were much more cooperative than the lacrosse hellions of the prior week. The 400s went well: 70,71,72,71,71,71,72,71,71,70,70, 70.

Friday I did an easy five miles around Capitol Hill.

The wind, OH, the WIND!

My slight illness continued Saturday, so I just turned off my alarm and slept until I woke up on my own. Oops, now it's 12:30.

It's long run week, and I ended up pushing pretty hard last time, so I tried to keep things slow, perhaps around 6:40, but that just didn't happen. Despite trying noticeably to slow down on the uphills, I came through seven miles at close to six minute pace, and didn't slow much. As I came to 57 minutes, I decided to keep it up until I hit Irvin, the loop's eponymous road marking the 10 mile point. I made it in 1:01:39- just under 6:10 per mile. It was kind of silly to keep that up, because I clearly wasn't as healthy as I could have been. I jogged a mile and went back to regular running for five more miles and finished averaging 6:35 pace. It was overcast in the low-to-mid 50s, and some of the nicest weather I had seen in a while.

Monday was even warmer, 67 by the time I ran around 2, but incredibly windy. I extended the Catholic loop once again, to 11 miles, and averaged 6:44, but was blown around the entire time. On the way back, coming down H street past Union Station, the wind was so brutal it pushed me off of the sidewalk. I was kind of stunned for the next hour after I finished.