Finally done with the track

I got home late after the Maryland meet, and I just wasn't up to running in the morning, so after work I did an easy 12 on the McLean trail I am continuing to explore. It started to storm toward the end of my third trip to the park in a week, and the rapidly-growing vegetation made the path a little difficult, but it was generally a nice run.

Saturday morning I planned to do a p-word, but when I started, the combination of the heat, humidity and my fatigue ganged up on me and I stopped less than a mile into it. I did an easy three around my neighborhood. Later that day, while at the Canaan Valley resort, I got another eight in while everyone else went on a hike. The trails I hit for the first half were alright, but a little rockier than I would have preferred.

The next morning, Klim, Bain and Murph and I went out for some more, finding some grass trails that could only have been mowed for a cross country course, in my estimation.

Monday afternoon I went out to McLean for a workout. I planned on 8x1000, and got right to work- 3:01, 3:01, 3:01. Intestinal distress interrupted the rest.

On Tuesday I got back to what I enjoy- running along Williamsburg and Military roads. I dealt with a gigantic pack of bicyclists for the first eight miles of my 13. I averaged 5:51s for the first half, and really had fun running.

Wednesday we did 400s at practice, I went 67, 69, 68, 68, 66, 66, 64, then, to preserve the rhyme scheme, could do no more.

Thursday I can't really remember for the life of me where I ran, but I am pretty sure I doubled and run Westmoreland in the afternoon.

Friday I just did an easy six up and back on the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

Saturday morning I did three miles around the Greenwich Mile as a pre-race, then rode in a van up to Swarthmore for my last track meet of the season. My early season goal was to be in sub-15 shape by then, and have run at least sub-15:20, but I had not gotten to that point. In fact, I had only run 15:42, 15:48, 16:00 and 15:43. Pair that lack of confidence with how awful I felt, and sub 16 alone was going to be a challenge. It was raining when we got there and the meet was already behind schedule. The men's 5k had nearly 80 entrants, so we were divided among three heats. That actually ended out working well, because I could watch Michelle run the women's 5 before and warm up while cheering for Karl, Wiggy and Sloane. Dangerous Dave was in the second heat, and I missed a few of his laps. Murph and I lined up for the third heat around 10 pm, and I was seeded behind some old dude dressed in some ridiculous green getup and a doo rag. Good god...

When the gun went off, I settled in quickly in lane one and saw pretty much the entire field ahead of me, even though we came through 200 in 37. I wanted to take the race in chunks of 800, so I sat behind a pack for a while. We came through the first lap in 76, then 78. That wasn't going to fly with Chaz...I moved ahead and came through the next lap in 72, then 74 for an even 5:00. Rather than make those discrete and arbitrary moves, I decided to just keep running the same pace and pass people whenever I pleased. I caught up with Murph around the two mile, which I hit in 10:00, and kept going, my eyes on a LaSalle guy. Before I knew it, the race was over, I had run 15:36 and nobody had passed me. It was a pretty boring race, and I never really felt I was racing, per se. After a protracted cooldown, we headed back and I stayed over at the Wigloo. I ran a pretty easy but humid 10.5 miles with Sloane and Wiggy in the morning, then did another 6.5 in the evening.

Monday I did 12 miles in the mud and rain-saturated trails around Pimmit Run Creek, slipping once, bruising my knee and whacking the heck out of my right shoulder.

Tuesday I averaged 6:28 pace for 12+ miles around Fairview Park.

Wednesday I did the warmup for the workout, didn't feel like running fast, jogged around for a while and stopped. I haven't run since. I've had a nagging cold and I guess I will just take some loose running time before I start planning for running the half this fall.

Perfect 10! Other than that, disappointment

Last Wednesday's workout was extremely muggy and after two 1200s, I was working way too hard to keep the effort up.

Thursday I ran 3.25 in the morning, then 11 in the afternoon around Catholic.

After a sleep study Thursday night, I got to my office early and went out to TRI anc back through Foggy Bottom for 11, then ran with Melissa around the Mall in the afternoon for five more.

I slept in Saturday and did a morning Westmoreland loop, then a Pinecastle four in the afternoon.

Sunday morning did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. The race was a madhouse, and we got there too late to put my plan into action. I hoped to run 10 miles moderately then run the 5k at whatever pace Jake desired. Online registration was closed, so I had to stand in line stretched over a block.

The gun went off and I saw the fox dashing ahead, a little too fast for his own good. I caught up to him and I gently corrected his pace and we got into a consistent rhythm. He sped up when we turned onto 3rd street and he ignored my protests. We came through the mile in 5:04 and I reminded him again that we needed to slow it down a touch. He started to mellow shortly thereafter and I took control, wanting him to just chill and do what he must to hit his time. I led through a second mile in 5:10, more what we needed. The fox started slowing a bit, so I bid him follow as I picked it up significantly near the Capitol, because we came through 2.5 miles in 12:29, a little bit under 5:00 pace. A few seconds later, I let him go on his own and jogged down the sidewalk to meet him. He ran 15:57, so he managed alright on his own.

My dad called and got me out of bed Sunday night to watch the important national security news which ended up being nothing, but since I was awake, I stayed up and watched Llano run 28:43 at Stanford. I went o bed at 2 a.m.

Monday I wandered around by McLean High School, which I think may have my favorite track in the area. I ran a short trail near the school where I came across some teens rolling and subsequently smoking doobies. I meandered through Kent Gardens Park for a while and came home for 11.5 miles.

Tuesday I expanded my Pimmit Stream trail running through Kent Gardens to Pimmit Run Stream Valley Park, getting in 10.5.

Wednesday I just ran around American for a while then did 2x400 and 4x200.

The meet was quite small, and somehow wound up 20 minute behind schedule before we knew it. According to the schedule, I had 40 minutes from the 1,500 to the 5k, so I would be able to watch Wiggy and Hanson run the 1,500 and have about 35 minutes to warm up for my race. Then, to catch up, they merged the 1500 heats and cut the men's 4x4 and suddenly, I had 15 minutes to warm up and change into my shoes. I barely got to the line in time. I started off in the middle of the pack, and ran exactly the way I wanted to- 73 mid. The field broke quickly, a Maryland kid Danielle said was eying 15 flat shot off quickly. I stuck behind a dude and planned to stay there until 6 laps. We were great through 800- another 73 mid. Then we slowed a bit- 76, 76 for 4:59. I tolerated the guy for a 77 and 76 before I shot ahead with a 72 mid and a 74 mid to come through two miles in exactly 10:00.00. That was pretty much the high point. I went 74, 77 high to come through 2.5 in 12:32- slower than on the roads on Sunday, and I came home in 77, 76 high, 37 to finish in 15:43.61, less than a second slower than my Richmond time.

I'm disappointed. I would like to feel, and Sunday's pacing exercise reinforced, that I should be able to go out and run even 5s most days. I ran very conservatively so I would have a strong third mile. I might have blown myself up with that 72, but it wasn't that bad. Without anyone to keep me aware of my pace changing, I kept running a little slower than I thought. I had no turnover at the end- I ran two seconds faster for my last 200 the other two track races I ran. I definitely have fallen out of practice with my weekly turnover workouts, I'm not sure if doing any now will help, with just one track race left.

My hope is that if nothing else, being out there conditioned me for exercising patience. I didn't get much else out of it.

One-day rebound

The Tuesday afternoon following the Boston trip, I did an easy 12 miles out and back to Vienna on the W&OD, averaging 6:50s.

Wednesday night's track workout did not go well. It was warm and I didn't come prepared with enough to drink. I was exhausted from the weekend's lack of sleep and I was getting a little sick, and running did not help this time. I did the first two miles fine- 5:14 and 5:08. After a few steps of the 5:05, I stopped running. I tried a few other times to start up again, but my will to go on really wasn't there. I jogged a few cooldown laps with Beth and Dart.

I stayed in Bethesda Wednesday night in hopes of getting a good night's sleep and dispensing with the hour-long trip home, but I ended up being unable to fall asleep until after 1. I got up at 6 to go meet Jake, Luffy and Karl to run, but felt fine. The weather was superb. We did a little more than 7 and I continued to feel fine, then got totally manic at work before crashing at 3. I ran five more miles when I got home, but was pretty wiped out, despite continuing awesome weather.

I planned to run around Crystal City during the evening 5k and watch the race, but the cold rain made me reconsider, in hope of keeping myself healthy for my workout the next morning.

That night in Princeton, Luffy ran 14:15 and Tim Quinn hit 14:08. I know I say it a lot, but I remember when guys on the Richmond team were impressed with Hannay ran 15:07. Now we have three guys under 14:09 (Benford- 13:55, Llano-14:00 and Quinn). The best part has been Tim's consistent improvement. To paraphrase my high school coach, you can train Benford and Llano by having them drink beer and lift weights...Quinn's improvement, along with the rest of the Spiders' depth, is testament to Steve's coaching acumen.

I was a little bummed nobody was interested in running the four mile special Saturday morning, but no matter, I would achieve on my own! I did a good warmup, put on my old Nike Milers from 2004, which only come out for the cross country alumni race, and had at it. Great pacing in the first mile- 75.04, 2:30 on the nose, 3:45.17, 5:00.09. My recovery 400 was not good, though- 94 seconds, and I rushed to get it that fast. I did a few 400s and 800s, but never really felt up to continuing to run. I couldn't put together a decent workout. Surely my choice of hobbies needed some reexamination... I sat around with my friend's bird I'm minding, pissed off.

I went home and lied around for a while. After drifting in and out of a nap for 45 minutes, I checked to see if Alex would be up for keeping me company on his bike while I did a 10/10/10 p-word. None such luck, he was going out to dinner. I'd be on my own again.

It was 70 degrees and humid when I got going. I felt light and energetic, better than I expected. I got going too fast- 2:40 at the half mile mark, so I made a conscious effort to slow down- it worked moderately- 5:30 at the mile. Ugh, fast again, I always take this workout out too fast. Then I had to wait on the median on Route 7 to cross, the first time traffic interrupted one of these. I stayed loose into the Pinecastle neighborhood, but still came through 45 seconds soon, so I jogged around until I hit 10 minutes. I kept things more under control in the second 10 minutes- 2:52 at the half (right on), but 5:38 at the mile. I switched the second 10 minutes to follow Virginia and do and out-and-back on Hurst and Center, which is a lot flatter than going down Nottingham and coming back up the trail by Idylwood Park right before starting the third 10 minute interval. I started my last interval hoping to run close to five minute pace, though the last two times I have done this workout I have faded in the fourth quarter of the first mile and averaged 5:15 and 5:17. The entire stretch is on the W&OD Trail, which has markers every half mile, though they don't line up exactly with where I start, but I have a few landmarks that are easy enough to see when I am trying to keep my eyes up. I hit Virginia Lane at 75 for a little more than a quarter, which is a little fast, but downhill, though narrow. The next half mile rolls, and I managed to keep a consistent rhythm, coming through that measured half in 2:30 and getting a passing compliment from a biker. This is where these workouts usually falter, and I felt like the heat was going to give me trouble, but when I hit the second marker I was at 4:59. With less than four minutes to go, I found no reason not to just keep going. The trail crosses a few small streets, but there was only traffic at one, and I got through the intersection faster as a result. Time was counting up to 30 minutes, and I just wanted to get close to the telephone pole near the Great Falls intersection that marked a little more than two miles from my starting point. I made it.

In the end, I had what was probably my best workout of the season, not 12 hours after what I thought was the end of my competitive season, because I couldn't imagine trying to race after having run like I did in the morning. I have run under 10 minutes for two miles twice this year- 9:55 and 9:56, both in track races, in spikes, pulled along by other runners, after a dead start. This time, after running decently hard for 20 minutes, with nothing really pulling me along, I ran pretty much the same pace. I also felt great doing it. When I have raced lately, I haven't felt the same drive I had from 2004-2009, when I would just go out and lead road races and still be pushing at the end with nobody to chase, including races where I didn't have anyone contend with me at all. There are a lot of workouts when I wonder where that drive has gone, then I have workouts like these, where I know I've found it. In the end, that is going to be necessary for me to run a good time at Maryland next Thursday. I'm not going to have a huge pack to stick in and run with, even if I have someone else, a good portion of my race will require the same drive that this workout took.

Sunday morning, I ran with Jake, JARRIN and Tex on the trails behind JARRIN Manor. It was warm, humid, muddy and hilly and I was pretty tired. I did about seven miles and called it a day. I decided against running in the afternoon.

Monday morning, I got up to do 400s at the George Marshall track. It was muggy and I was tired, but I got up there and started off with 70,69,70,69, with a large goose watching me from the long jump runway. When I started number five, though, that same ambivalence and malaise hit me, and I was done. I did some 200s, but I felt empty and once again lacking the drive to keep going. Suffice to say, 400s are hard on your own.

Breezy in Boston

I went to Boston to watch my mom run the city's marathon for the first time, so I decided to take in a 5k road race. Buoyed by a recharging 75 minute run Thursday in Falls Church with no set route and a pretty successful p-word run on Friday (10/10/10 at 6:00 (with a 5:45 first mile)/ 5:45/ 5:10), a long easy run with Melissa around the Mall Friday night and a short pre-race Saturday morning in a downpour, I was ready to go. My wallet was lighter after shelling out the $45.

I left my apartment at 9:50 to catch the metro to Greenbelt, where I took a bus to BWI, at which point I flew to Boston, where I took another bus to the subway. Almost six hours later, I shoved my way through a mob of people at the expo to get my bib, then I took a trip to Roxbury to have dinner with Pharaoh Hound Moira Davenport. I then went to Cambridge to crash at Dan Mazzocco's.

Dan was excited to show me the t-shirt I traded to him back in 2000 during high school. Our teams, Baldwin and Mt. Lebanon, were bitter rivals at the time, and it didn't help that my team was fairly insulated from others. Part of this came from the size of the team, and others in the area were smaller. Mt. Lebanon was also the strongest program in the south hills, and had been for years. Baldwin came together with a WPIAL-winning team very quickly and we had a full-scale struggle on our hands my senior year, in which we defended our unbeaten dual meet record but lost the championship to the Highlanders.

Plus, the close proximity of Brentwood, Baldwin, Bethel Park and South Park and their relatively smaller teams were conditions for those teams to have a much closer relationship. We mainly related to each other antagonistically, which I saw manifested in the Charlie VanGombos-Larry Quinn rivalry. Charlie took things pretty seriously, and Larry was a bit of a clown and, we thought, and ass. At the Tri-State Track Coaches' Association meet in the spring, I started talking with Bobby Toth and Dan on a whim, and found them to be agreeable fellas. Ryan Sheehan was also sociable, and the three of us traded our team's t-shirts. Scary Larry and Jeff "Hoag" Conroy were tougher to get to know, but now, I am more in touch with Quinn(who was running on Monday) than Charlie.

I ended up throwing one of the Baldwin shirts into a campfire and giving a photo of the engulfed shirt to Shawn Cavanaugh, who put it on his wall during his 2000 season racing Mazzocco for Pennsylvania cross country dominance.

The shirt is now threadbare, having been worn and washed for 11 years, but it still looks good. That classic gold on blue just seems right to me.

I got up at 6 and went to the race. It was raining and very windy. I felt alright during my warmup, but hardly sharp. I definitely felt like I had tried to pack too much into the previous afternoon. I started exactly the way I wanted to, coming through the first, uphill, mile in 5:05. The clock at the mark was five seconds fast, so I was worried, until I checked my watch. Then I slowed down in the second mile, which was stupid, because it was downhill. I just haven't been good at running downhills for several years. I came through the second mile in 5:10, and I realized the wind had been in our faces the entire race. I kept my eye on a Saucony rep named Dan I had met earlier, but I couldn't close the gap. I couldn't seem to will myself to run faster.

In the third mile, a Kenyan woman pulled up to me and I felt I could run faster with her, and we made up ground. She was exactly what I needed and it seemed like I was back on track. When we turned back onto Boylston, the wind no longer plagued us, and I was ready to just kick in like crazy. When I did, however, I started to see black spots on the bottoms of my eyes. I eased off until the disappeared, then I pushed again until they came back. I passed a group of five guys, but a few caught me again. I tried to stick with an NB Boston dude named Jeff, but he got away from me, as did the Kenyan woman, in the the last .1. Despite the clock edging up to the top of the 15s, I didn't push enough, and just kind of skipped across the line at 16:00, right behind three guys who re-passed me. I felt fine when the race was over, but couldn't understand why I couldn't push harder in mile two. I totally failed to take advantage of a downhill once again, and it boggled my mind that I ran slower for the second mile.

Less than an hour later, the wind was gone, the sky was clear, and I was wondering if the conditions I felt during the race were just my imagination. They weren't, but it didn't make me feel better. I didn't compete.

I had hoped to break into the top 10, but given that the top 10 guys all ran faster than 14:26, that hope was fleeting. The 5ks I have run in the last two weeks have each been the fastest and deepest fields of my life, and I have failed to capitalized on them.

I ran another three miles that afternoon in Sommerville, then my mom and cousin Lisa and I joined Watson, Hannay and the Sikoras for the BAA pasta dinner.

Watson, Hannay and Sherry, pictured here

Meanwhile, the Spiders ripped up the track at Mt. SAC on Thursday and Friday, with Benford running 13:55, Llano just barely missing breaking 14 with 14:00.01, Ryan Lee running an amazing 14:34 in his first collegiate 5k, York running 30:11, Amy and Nicol running 16:09 and 16:10 with Jill hitting 16:39. Really outstanding.

I stayed with Bain that night, and as he left for the race, he mentioned that Pilar's water had broken and JARRIN had left for DC after arriving less than eight hours before.

"At least he'll have some excitement today," I mumbled before falling back asleep.

A few hours later, I dropped off my bags at Shara's in Brookline near mile 24 and ran about eight miles of the course backwards. The wind, combined with the steep uphill for the first two miles, made me feel beaten down, but I still averaged 6:15s. I kept that up for almost eight miles, then turned around at the 16 mile mark and headed back, averaging easy 5:45s until the course closed to everyone at mile 21 when the wheelchair competitors came through. I got 15.5 in, total. After a delicious breakfast with Shara, I watched as the athletes I was there to see came through.

First up was Levi Grandt's sister Clara, running 2:29:54. Next was my Richmond teammate Seann Mulcahy, flying by on his way to a 2:33:24. Bain's 2:37:30 was next, Watson's 2:46:59, then Scott Koonce's in 2:53:09. Brian Quinn came through in 2:55:20, and I missed Hanny, who came through on his way to just over three hours. I was heading up the hill to a better spot when I saw Larry, slowing down and heading for the curb.

"Call Liz," he said. "Tell her I'm alright, but I hurt my calf."

Unfortunately, my phone had died, so calling his wife would take some doing. I ran into the Seven Eleven to get some change so I could use a pay phone, all the while repeating her number to myself to commit it to memory. Someone offered to let me use his cell phone, but when I dialed the number, I got some dude. Somewhere along the line I messed it up.

Mark Courtney came by, then Will and Elyse. I waited around for a while, and suddenly Joe came along with Lisa in tow.

Yep, that says "Joe's 26th Boston." I was getting weary from looking through the crowd for hours, and kept looking for the green top my mom was supposed to be wearing. All of a sudden I heard, "Charlie! Over here!" and there was my mom. Not wearing green.

I jogged a bit with her, but didn't want to leave my backpack with the relative strangers, with whom I had been sitting, with for too long.

After a crowded and slow trolley ride back downtown, I met mom and we traveled to the airport together. She ran 4:22:53, slower than her 4:16:16 debut in Pittsburgh two years before, but faster than last year' 4:30, also in Pittsburgh, despite training the least for this one. Most importantly, she had a really good time. She met another Pennsylvanian on the trip out to the start, and really had nothing bad to say about the race.

I've done this spectating trip for three years now and think I have had enough for a while. The race is too hard to watch, perchance I miss someone, and tourist is everywhere. The 5k is too expensive and I never put myself in a position to run well, with all that I do to make the trip worthwhile. I promised Pokey I would run Boston with him when he qualifies, but I hope that's a few years off. In spite of my reservations, however, I had a good time.

Chilly again

After a few false starts (the By George 5k and Van Metre Five Mile), I feel like I had an honest effort at the Spider Relays, even though I wasn't thrilled with the result. And, unlike the other two races, I want to get back at it to fix what I did wrong and train in a way commensurate with my goals.

Also, I decided to stop being scared. Friday night, as Molz and I were leaving the track, long after everyone had cleared out, we heard an engine and breaks squealing down Boatwright Drive. A car came speeding down the middle of the road, out of control, rolled over the curb, missing trees and fire hydrants by narrow margins and pulling into the Robins Center parking lot. If we had been a few yards ahead and in the middle of the street, we'd be dead. If anyone else was on the road, they'd be dead. If that driver had been a few feet to the left, he'd be dead. It was without a doubt the most frightening thing I have ever witnessed, but quite simply, I'm not afraid of something trivial like the pain of running fast anymore.

Monday, I got back to the point where running fast felt normal. I had a longish workout planned- five moderate miles, two easy, then hills on Highland. No real warmup, just speed up after a moderate first mile. I started off around 5:55 and got faster from there. On the Pimmit Hills loop, I hit two miles in 11:00, three in 16:25, four in 21:50 and five in 27:07. I lucked out in that I had the traffic light at Idylwood on my side, but I was delighted I ran just 12 seconds slower than my racing time for five miles, despite a slow first mile. I did 4x400m hills and 6x200m hill sprints and kept myself well under control, compared to two weeks prior. I never ran out of gas, and in addition to building some more speed, I think it will get me ready quite well for the first mile in Boston.

Tuesday I did a Marymount at 6:30 pace for 12.75 miles with rolling hills. The bike trail I picked up was nice and soft for a while, paved later, and steep toward the end, but it got me up to Glebe and Old Dominion, so I guess it had to be steep.

Wednesday night could have gone better. It was raining and in the low 40s, perhaps the high 30s, when I trudged from the metro to American's track. The darned B-CC students needed to use their track and we were displaced for the second week, though I missed last week's practice. I was soaked by the time I arrived and nobody was there. I did a nice warmup loop I put together and changed into my flats. Dickson was there and ready for our 5xmile, but Matt Logan was nowhere to be seen. We went ahead without him and opened with a 5:15, a second fast, then a 5:10, two seconds fast. We both noticed needing a lap or two to warm up, and the lap jog in between was seizing our legs more than we would have liked. I did a few drills during the second recovery to keep myself loose, and took us through in 5:08 high. Despite running much faster in other workouts, my legs didn't have the spring in my calves, thanks to the cold rain. Even when the drizzle cleared up, the first lane was mostly under water. With no drainage system, the track was a mess, and my feet were soaked. We ran the fourth mile a second slow, 5:05, and I can't remember where we faltered. I made a quick bathroom trip before the fifth, then foolishly hurried back to the line, giving me about 150m of recovery. I took us through 400m in 74, but I stopped, knowing my calves couldn't take much more. My lungs were fine, and I was aching to keep going, but it didn't seem like a good idea. I ran another 74 to lead Dickson through his last lap, and then I changed into dry clothes and stretched like crazy.

Thursday afternoon I headed out to Hains Point for a 5-6 mile moderate run using the MCM mile markers. After dealing with a little traffic on Ohio Drive in mile 12, I clocked a 5:33 and was pretty happy, then 5:34, and 5:35 at the turnaround, before going 5:27, 5:29. Unfortunately, in the last mile, my right shoelace started to get pretty loose, and I worried I would lose the shoe, so I stopped after five. I felt very comfortable running around 5:30s. It was chilly, but not rainy, so I felt better than the night before. I was pretty depleted by the time I got back to my office, and that lead to me really enjoying the Gatorade I had waiting for me.

"P word" runs = "exciting conclusion" runs

Thursday night I tried out the new Lewinsville loop, getting a little lost, but ending up running the same distance by cutting off an extra loop. It was 11 miles at 6:45 pace.

Friday after work, I ran an 6.5 miles around the Mall and Hains Point at 6:15 pace, then hit two miles hard on the Mall, taking quarter-mile splits but not looking, so I would focus more on maintaining a hard effort regardless of the splits and keeping it from becoming a time trial. I was hurting the first half mile, but got into a groove after that. I finished in 10:18- 5:07/5:11. About the same dropoff from mile one to two as last week(I used Henry Park again, so the second "half" was a little longer to make up for the slightly short loop), but that doesn't worry me too much. It's a 15-second improvement from last week, which, again, I a trying to avoid putting too much credence in, but I have to feel great. I ran 15 seconds per mile faster for 1.5 more miles before starting, and it was a good bit colder than the week before.

That's three workouts this week that went exceedingly well. I improved markedly in each, and am pretty confident a week before my first test- the By George 5k. It won't be a hard race, it's certainly getting the least focus, but it will be telling to see where I am and will help me calibrate my workout paces. I am shooting for breaking 16:30, then after a 10 minute recovery, I'll run a hard mile back on the course, jog around while I wait for the 10k guys to come back, and finish a hard mile with them. I'll do a medium interval workout on Tuesday, miles or 1ks, then do more turnover on Thursday.

Saturday I was feeling a little sick, so I slept in, skipped the store run again and did 5.5 in some substantial wind, and wrapped up the week at 75 miles. Given three hard workouts and my cough, it didn't seem prudent to push the mileage this week to 80. It seems better to do that as I increase long run distance, anyway.

The "P" word

Nothing pisses me off quite as much as the fact that the George Mason High School track, less than a half mile from my front door, is not open to the public. Before, it didn't confront me none, because compared to 13.1 and 26.2 miles, 400 meters seemed trivially short. Now that I have at least two track meets on the horizon, and I generally want to be faster, it's time I used a track.

I have that great Greenwich mile a half mile from my apartment the other direction, but it's on the road and these days I like to have more frequent feedback on splits.

Without the use of GMHS's track, I can use Bethesda-Chevy Chase (Wednesdays only for God's sake), Washington-Lee (convenient to the metro and well-lit, though crowded and I never seem to run well or consistently there), or George Marshall High School in McLean, about 1.8 miles away from home. It looks like it will be George Marshall for a lot of these workouts...

Friday I did a workout that I am loathe to call by its common name, thanks to a creepy ATP-less coach in Pittsburgh who loved to use it. Steve suggested I try them again, and I am trying to figure out some alternative terminology to describe it. "Finishing hard" seems appropriate, but describes most of my distance runs, these "p-word" runs involve a significantly harder effort at the end. Anyway, I started out with a five-mile loop from my office around the Lincoln Memorial and back to the mall near the Capitol, where I did the second thing I didn't care much for- running on the mall. It's usually too crowded with walkers to try to accomplish a workout, but the area between 4th and 7th streets, dubbed Henry Park, is just a little bit short of a half mile. I got there and launched into two hard miles, which I hit in 5:15 and 5:18, the second mile being exactly on pace with the first but necessitating maneuvering around two NPS police cars. The gravel path was pretty sloppy after a few days of melting snow and ice, so my footing wasn't great, but I was really happy with the work I did. 10:33 doesn't seem like much in comparison, but it was better than running equivalents of 5:09 and 5:14 on solid ground two days before with about four minutes rest.

Saturday I slept in through the freezing drizzle and eventually went out for an easy 9+ miles, out and back on the W&OD toward Vienna. It was mindless.

Sunday I tried my first long distance double, to give me a mental and physical break from long runs every weekend. I started out with a five mile run in the morning, an extended Idylwood Filler, for 6:15 pace. After a nap, I tried to alter my Scott's Run loop, and did 11.5 miles at 6:40 pace. I enjoy that loop a lot.

Monday I headed to the one nearby open track for some 400s, after a five mile warmup. George Marshall's lit track was home to youth lacrosse practice, with parents littering the track. All of those with whom I spoke complied gladly when I asked then to clear the first lane. I started out fast- 72 low, and tried to remind myself to keep it under control. two 74s later, I felt like I had a handle on it. I did another 72 and four 73s then made a quick bathroom break, but noticed little kids starting to meander into lane one. By the time I was 3/4 around a 72, four adults decided to stand in both lane one and two, frustrating me to to no end. Near the finish line, another couple just stood there, but on the outside of lane one, so I squeezed in front of them, hoping they'd get the picture. I just wanted to hold it for one more 400, and I managed to, despite another detour around the idiots in lanes one and two. I finished up with two 35 second 200s, thanked the people who moved for me and stayed out of my way, and headed back. I did the 400s in trainers with 200 m rest, and it was pretty hard. As I have written a lot, it has been a long time, about two years, since I have focused on my turnover, and it's going to take a while to make this second nature to me. Knowing that I have to run my fastest 400 12.5 times to even match my PR is sobering, but I just have to keep my focus on regaining this basic speed and comfort. The nice long warmup spared my calves any stress, though my 200 m jog might have been too little, at least toward the end of the workout. I also ran it in trainers, which I think was the right move- I didn't want to carry flats or even spikes five miles to the track and two miles home.

Hard work...

Chills and sweats

We had a stretch of three cold days that shook my resolve and, to some extent, my dedication. Friday was pretty rough, but running in the morning in January means getting a bit chilly now and then. Saturday morning I woke up to 16 degrees and a metro delay between me and Georgetown, so I opted to skip the store run, sleep in, and head out on my own in the afternoon. It was 25 by the time I left, around 3:30, so I headed off on a loop I hadn't done much since the summer. At some point, however, I lost my way, and ended up off my course, about two miles in, which isn't that great because the first mile is a straight line. I was feeling pretty chilly, and decided to go home, so I got a little more than four miles for 70 that week.

Sunday, I again waited for an early afternoon long run, and went off on an altered Presidents' loop (lengthened to make it 15 miles). The loop added little bits all over to a loop I knew pretty well, but not enough to know the mileage markers. I didn't feel like the run was going well, and by 60 minutes I was really cold, despite a temperature near 32, so I headed back. When I mapped my splits, though, I found that at 9.25 (which I thought to be less than 9 miles in) I was averaging 6:28s, so I was better off than I thought. I ended up doing a little less than 12. After the prior week's successful long run, this was disappointing, though I was clearly doing well when I looked back. I realized as much as I like long (15+) runs, perhaps will like them (and run them) more consistently if I do them less frequently. This was a huge issue in the summer, when the humidity usually got me and wore me out psychologically. I kept doing them, and usually started pretty well before crashing after 13. Plus, I'm mainly running 5ks this spring, I doubt I will need weekly long runs.

Plus, what is a seven-day cycle to the human body, anyway? I mean, it's just an organizational ploy and weekends are just considered long run days because there's more free time. This country was founded, it was founded by people who were into aliens, man. George Washington, man, George Washington was in a cult, and that cult was into aliens, man. Did you ever look at a dollar bill? There's a lot of spooky stuff going on on that dollar bill, man...

That brings me to my next subject- for someone who's not into drinking beer, smoking grass or living (or being) in Texas, I really love Dazed and Confused. It is, perhaps, the greatest cultural one-hit wonder I have come across. Career high performances from Jason Landon, Sasha Jensen, Matthew McConaughey, Joey Lauren Adams and Ben Affleck. Parker Posey might have been the only actor to sustain a career I appreciated after this film. Adam Goldberg certainly

didn't, an opinion that my college girlfriend's emotional disaster of a friend could not handle when I voiced it while watching a movie I am too embarrassed

to admit seeing. Back to running...

Late weekend nights in high school usually led to my friend Lindsay's mom's house, which was usually the place to go to party, where someone was invariably watching this movie.

The next day, it was warmer and I tried out a new loop in Pimmit Hills. I missed a turn and ended up taking stabs at the streets trying to find Wilson, and after about a mile of experimentation I found it, and was rewarded with wide, long streets in an office park, largely empty of cars. I loved it. It's prime moderate run real estate. In the end, I added and extra mile to the run for 11, which I did in 6:45 pace, but I revised the loop for the future.

I moved my workout ahead to Tuesday to avoid what the forecast said would be freezing rain on Wednesday night. With George Mason's track both painfully close to my home and ridiculously scheduled, I gave Washington-Lee a shot. I put on some racing flats and started on 4x mile, but it did not go well. Despite checking my splits regularly, I ran very unevenly, 5:13 for the first mile, 5:16 for the second, and feeling my shoes not do the job for me. After a 2:40 first half, I cut the third. The traction was gone on my shoes. They felt like I was wearing slippers, and my stride was suffering from the unreliability. I realized I had owned the shoes since April 2007, and raced in them more frequently than not for three years, only occasionally breaking the races up with other pairs. Despite those shoes carrying me under 15 and on the best race of my life a few weeks later, it was time for them to go. I tossed them in the trash and headed for a long cool down and HMDs.

Impending snow sent people home early on Wednesday, and while I was inside changing and stretching in my apartment, it had snowed three inches. I headed out to run to Vienna, but it became apparent within two miles that I would not make it there. The snow was driving violently, and cars were driving slowly, if at all. It made the roads my playground, but I could barely keep my left eye open. I tried to consider the stinging snow to be a challenge to keep my head up and into the pain, but I soon acquiesced and looked ahead where I could. After a half hour, I figured I could keep it up as long as I needed. By the time my wanderings ended, I was soaking wet, half from melted snow, half from my profuse sweat. I averaged 7:20s through the driving snow, which wasn't too bad.

Thursday night I thought about doing a fartlek on a Presidents' loop, but I was wary of changing my pace too much on the inconsistently-icy ground. I was fine running on it, I think my form is efficient enough that it's easy to run consistently on slippery surfaces because my feet don't break my movement before pushing off. I was a little under 7:00 pace through seven miles, then I slowed down toward the end to average 7:05 for 10.

I planned to run to work on Friday morning, but slept in, and didn't really want to run that much after work, so I figured now would be a good day off.

Scheduling, distracted film criticism

I'm more than two months away from my first race, which is great, because I certainly don't have the speed endurance to run an actual race any time soon. Aerobically, I'm doing pretty well. I went out Monday night and did a 10 mile Presidents' loop and kept a consistent 6:28 pace at 4.5, 8.25 and 10 miles.

In terms of racing, I don't see that happening anytime soon. That said, it's never too early to spend time hypothetically looking at a racing schedule. I have a few races nailed down- the Fred Hardy Invitational 5k, Cherry Blossom and the BAA 5k and the Pittsburgh Half Marathon before finishing up the spring at the Laywers Have Heart 10k. I started to think about where I really want to go this year, and doing a bunch of 5ks then a half marathon seems a little unwise now. So I cut Pittsburgh, first to the relay and now possibly entirely, so I can justify traveling back instead on Memorial Day weekend and running the Kevin Gatons 5k instead. Cherry Blossom even seems a little out of place, but at least I have two weeks before the BAA 5k. So, I will still do Cherry Blossom, but as a 5k runner trying something longer, not a half marathoner running something shorter.

The Pikes Peek 10k ended up to be the same day as the BAA 5k, but I don't have a problem with that. Racing in suburban Maryland doesn't strike me as gangs of fun, anyway.

Then the Pittsburgh Marathon published its new course and I'm finding it hard to stay away for one silly reason. Although my suggestions were afterthoughts in 2009 when changing the course meant little, I still tossed out a loop through the West End, and that is what happened. Unless there's some other interest in a Pittsburgh relay, I'll probably skip this year's race. It never was kind to me, anyway.

The Swathmore Last Chance meet seems like a great opportunity for a fast 5k, after a few races to get me back into "short" distances this spring.

Though Jake and Ernst have promoted the Falmouth Road Race, Towpath tells me it can be brutally hot, and my thoughts wander to Jonny Wilson's encouragement to run the Beach to Beacon 10k in Maine a week earlier. I am open to that, if for no other reason to run a cool race and visit Maine.

I did a bit of a fartlek on Tuesday afternoon on a shortened (7.5 miles) Hains Point loop. It was windy.

I saw the Hood to Coast documentary Tuesday night and though I enjoyed the cinematography and the fact that there was the option to see a running movie in the theater, I wasn't exactly floored. It was entertaining if you kept your expectations within the event's parameters.

Many people were disappointed elite teams didn't get much attention, but the truth is it really isn't an elite race. You get three or four highly-competitive teams to show up, but after that it's an orgy of age-group competitive teams. What do you expect when Google is among the top teams? Personally, I would have liked to have seen the Bucknell Alumni team featured, probably at the expense of the Dead Jocks in a Box, but that is more of a matter of personal preference having heard their legends from Scott Sehon over the years. the Ryan Bowe team hit some of the college cross country team marks by bringing in a few Washington and Lee guys, some of whom I raced my freshman year.

I actually enjoyed the group of non-runners, a the dude's obnoxious pink hair got old immediately, but his insight was refreshing, and his effort-laced kick to the finish was inspiring, insofar as it makes me want to follow a decent diet.

Although the older woman who had the heart attack the year before was pretty narcissistic and grating, I guess including her and her gang was representative of the mid-pack teams in the race.

Ultimately, the interest in elite runners would not have supported the majority of people who would have paid to see the movie in a one-night engagement. It took forever to get home from Chevy Chase, but I guess I am glad I saw the movie in the theater, rather than wait for it to come out on Netflix -- which currently is streaming the Spirit of the Marathon (good enough, I guess) and Run for Your Life (great enough that it made me want to run the New York Marathon, and I hate New York, and marathons).

But again, the cinematography, wow... Good God, I can't wait until I get to spend nine days in Oregon this summer.

I ran at lunch Wednesday again, adding to my Catholic University loop. It's now 10 miles. I averaged 6:49 for it.

Thursday night, I eventually got going for my road workout, one which I had planned for a while and ended up coinciding with what Jerry's kids were doing- 5x mile. Unfortunately, some work got in the way Wednesday, so I did it alone after all, on the Greenwich mile loop. I tried out a new three-mile warmup loop that turned out to be perfect, then got to work. I was initially planning to average 5:30, running somewhere within five seconds. I ended up outperforming that comfortably. Though I love the Greenwich mile because it's not a track, it's exactly a mile and it has varying topography, it's hard to gauge your effort, because the first quarter is the only flat stretch, but I somehow managed to run very evenly- 5:21, 5:23, 5:21, 5:21. I hit the same splits throughout, with a slight slowdown in the second quarter of number two when a car forced me onto some ice. I didn't feel the cumulative loss of breath that had had recently at the end of longer intervals, either a result of better rest or easier breathing, but I think that had a lot to do with my consistent running. After my first mile, I thought I would plummet back down and run 5:3x, but I just ran a hard effort and came up with the same splits. I'd like to keep that going...

I started the last mile over-my-head fast, though, hoping to blow away what I had done in my previous miles. I disregarded my rationality telling me to save it for the uphills in the second half, especially the turn at the end, and instead went out in 72 seconds for the first quarter, I eased up, possibly taking myself out of it, but finished the half at 2:30, which was slow, given the downhill in the second quarter, then jogged a quarter and finished up in 76. It was a good workout and has me ready to start speeding up my work once I get back on a track with people.

Drawing a line, for now

Having run a little more than 50 miles last week, with two 10-mile runs, I felt it was time to try a "long" run. I'm shooting for 60 miles this week, so as short as it seems, relative to the long runs I did last year, 12 miles would suffice this week. I put together a new loop, the Sleepy Hollow, and gave it a shot Sunday around noon.

It turned out to be a pretty good loop, especially the Sleepy Hollow section- nice hills there. Crossing Route 50 was a pain,though what lies south of it is ripe for exploration. The section on Columbia Pike was harrowing, but I can work on that. I stopped when I hit 84 minutes, and I was just at 12 miles, so I managed to average 7:00 pace. I will have enough time where I will be running for a while, I should appreciate the discipline of running lighter weeks for now.

Next weekend I will shoot for 14 miles, but will run slower.

Running again

Things are going much better. I returned to work on Thursday and saw my doctors, who said things were healing pretty well and everything I felt was normal. The overwhelming social atmosphere at the office was delightful, though it later proved to be too much of a jump for me. Also, the aromas of everybody's lunches were too much for me, after sequestering myself from all but Alex's stray cooking fumes. I needed something, and sorbet wasn't doing it anymore. On the way to my appointment I grabbed a cup of Eyetalian wedding soup at Au Bon Pain in Union Station, opened my throat and just poured it in, meatballs and all. It was glorious.

My official weight loss from my pre-op visit was 17 pounds, I'm now down to a more efficient 164. The doctors did want me to drink Ensure and other such nutrition drinks, so I am doing so for a few days to get some protein. I spent the rest of the day planning to try running when I got home, but when I fell asleep on the metro ride, I figured going to work and the doctor's office was pushing myself enough for one day.

When I got home, I scrambled four eggs, on the advice of Dan Ruef, and managed to get most of it down. The smaller pieces got lost in the jumble of my numb mouth, but the big ones were great. If that isn't a better source of protein than Ensure, then I don't want to talk to you.

I woke up Friday morning feeling like someone hit me in the head with a bat. I stayed in bed most of the day.

Saturday I woke up and tried to run. I planned to go about a half hour, and as I ran around my apartment parking lot, I felt pretty good- the extra air making it into my lungs was a nice bonus. I decided on a Fisherman++ with potential add-ons around the metro loop. I hit my first (downhill) mile in 6:45, then around 1.75 started to feel like I was in over my head. The second mile was 7;15, and as I climbed up Fisher, I was definitely struggling, my lungs crying like I hadn't felt in a while. Clearly 12 days off with barely any exercise was deleterious. I had just enough strength to make it back to my apartment, for a 3.5-mile run in 26:10- a 7:30 average. I hadn't run that slowly since the ridiculous late July temperatures abated.

The next morning I tried to push the distance and start out slower. I ran to the Greenwhich mile loop and ran it three times and finished with a loop around the parking lot for 4.4 miles in 31:00- 7:03 per mile pace, and I ran it pretty evenly.

I took Monday off of running, but I noticed big gains in my throat recovery. The pain has been reduced to the feeling of a bummer of a sore throat, in that it bothers just a small area. I had my lip stitches removed, so eating is a lot easier and less painful. I had my first serious solid food -- chicken quesadillas and a smattering of fries, incredible tater tots and chicken wings that were a little too spicy at Churchkey. Hung out with Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Murphy, Snow and Nips Murray.

Tuesday I realized just how sensitive my throat remains to seasoning when I tried to eat a steak sandwich from Quiznos for lunch. It was too much. I came home and ran a Giant-Park, it ended up 6.1 miles and I ran 41:00, 6:43 pace. Longer and faster than my last run. I like the way this is going.

Tonight I will run along with the warmup and some easy miles on the track while the GRC dudes run a workout. I feel like I at least won't die during the WPIAL alumni run on Friday, though it will be hillier than anything I'm ready for. I doubt we'll be running under 7:00 pace. A week of training in Pittsburgh in the cold will toughen me up really quickly.

Just like that, wham, apathy

I ran the Albemarle loop on Monday evening, hoping for the same dark, spooky experience as I had a few weeks ago, but a few cars ruined it with bright headlights. I ended up averaging 6:40s for 10.6 miles.

The next day, I planned for an easy 10 miles, out and back heading west on the W&OD. I wanted to average 7:00 or slower, and I thought having half-mile makers would help me hold back. What followed was instead a frustrating series of splits that were too fast. I was usually about 10 second fast per half mile, which really adds up. When I would see my split I would try to slow down, but I would inevitably speed back up, until I finished 10.1 miles averaging 6:47.

I went to BCC Wednesday planning to do 20x400, after the warmup, the workout evidently changed to 6x1200. I ran the first one in 4:02 and felt ok, the second one felt better, but the third one started with a 77 second quarter, and as we were coming down the last 50 meters of that lap, I decided I didn't want to run fast anymore. I did a 32 second 200 and then just stopped.

Then I took the next two days off. Without the USATF cross country meet about a month away, it's hard to rationalize pushing hard in a workout when I should be recovering from the marathons.

It's been eight years since the Mt. Lebanon cross country teams lost Amy Fehr. I can't think of what else to say that would be appropriate here.

Enjoying November

Friday night I came home and went out for a Westmoreland and realized two miles in that I was running 6:10 pace. I knocked that off after another mile and noticed how much I was sweating and how cold it was. Since the Marine Corps Marathon I have been unnaturally cold, and about five miles in I really started to feel the chill, so I cut the run short and went back on Haycock to run 6.5.

Saturday morning I waited for 17 hours for Wiggy to show up at the store to run. Eventually he and Ryan joined Outlaw and me for a run around Hains Point so those DC racing neophytes could check out the Veterans' Day 10k course. It was windy, of course, but I sufficed with shorts and short sleeves, though I brought a long-sleeved shirt as backup, which I used on the way back.

Sunday morning I ran with a big group at the Line, heading off for another trip through Rock Creek Park's trails. My left foot landed oddly a few times and I sprained it a bit the last time, this being my most serious running injury since I messed up my back on the Lauder/Molz floor-sleeping incident before the alumni race. Much like burning your tongue on hot chocolate, the resulting pain is constant and lingering. It hasn't affected my form, but I decided to cut the run short because my ankles were getting tired of navigating the rough trail covered in leaves. I did about 6.5 miles with Jakes Marren and Klim, Dickson and YF/Anonymous. Later in the day I went out and ran another four miles on the Idylwood north loop, but it didn't feel great.

Monday I had to get up and out the door by 5 to get to a conference in Baltimore that turned out to be useless, yet I still worked until 5:45. On my commute home, I expected to take the day off and just relax until the Steelers game started, but when I felt how excellent the mid 50s temperature felt in Falls Church, I couldn't resist. I set out on a Presidents' Loop-- Allan (Chester Arthur), Quincy, Harrison, Roosevelt, Johnson, Tyler, Jefferson, Grove(r Cleveland) starting pretty easily, 6:50 through the first mile, but before I knew it, I was moving. Checking later, I found I hit three and six miles at 6:20 pace and kept it consistent through 10.25. Not bad. That loop is great in the dark, a situation I will certainly be getting used to thanks to winter's approach.

I went to Washington and Lee's (the Fighting Pat Fishers) track Tuesday evening to do my first fast workout since September, and suffice to say it didn't go well. I was planning on 4x2k at 5:12 pace. The first one went splendidly, though my second lap was three seconds fast. After 1200 of the second, I started feeling some GI pressure, which hasn't really been a problem since April. After dealing with it, I went out for a cooldown and came back for some HMDs.

On Saturday I will likely race the Candy Cane City 5k in Chevy Chase, my first race last year after I moved. This time will likely be more successful- I am in remarkably better shape, will get to the front of the pack and will likely have my shoes on and tied when the race starts.

Hopefully after a trip to Terra Haute, I will run the five mile YMCA Turkey Trot in Pittsburgh, which is making its return after two years of road-construction-caused hysteria. I was really worried the booming participation numbers for the 5k, which served as the alternative, would keep the Y from resuming the race. They are compromising by holding both a 5k and a 5 mile. I expect that they will jut have the 5 milers take a different turn after the end of the 5k. The course isn't great- starting at PNC park and consisting of a few out-and-back stretches. It won't rival the pleasantness of the 2003-2004 course, but what will anyway?

I hope to double that morning and run the Gutbuster again, this time the four mile race. I found out, almost a year later, that I, as Gary Kline, won the four mile last year. How about that?

I wasn't sure Sunday, because I was generally feeling crummy, but I probably will do the USATF Cross Country meet in December. I will struggle to break 33, but it's not and experience I want to pass up.

I run when I want to run

I am getting a better feel for the tapering process now. I am sleeping more, which is nice. I am starting to relish the freedom that comes with lower mileage. It's bittersweet in that it's right when the weather is starting to turn for the better in my eyes- I love October and fall in general.

Friday I started a run with Alex, and he said we were somewhere under 6:30 for a while. We parted ways after almost four miles and I ran the rest of a Presidents' loop

alone, picking it up to average 6:15, with a half mile at 5:40 pace thrown in.

Saturday morning I did an Earnst loop with Murphy, it was sunny with a slight chill. I picked up a pair of Adizero Adios. Everybody says to not wear new equipment to a marathon, but after trying those shoes on I knew I had to make them happen. I wore them around the house and when I did errands on Saturday (after a three-hour nap) and broke them out for my last longish run Sunday.

The last time I wore shoes in the Adizero line for the first time, I ran 14:57 for 5k. I don't want to say such a race will happen again based just on the coincidence that I have new shoes, but I do have great affection for adidas racing flats.

Sunday, I added onto a Fineview Park with the second part of a Westmoreland for 13 miles at 6:28 pace,

with the first seven miles at 6:15 pace. It felt ridiculously easy. At this point running will just serve to maintain my metabolism and keep my weight down. I am looking forward to sleeping a lot in the next few days.

Until then, I will take two tips from Randy Moss- make some smoothies and run when I want to run, just as he plays when he wants to play.

Relief

Wednesday morning I woke up more excited than I had been in a while- the temperature was in the 60s and the humidity was imperceptible. I ran an easy 6.8 extended Park in the morning and a 6.3 Pimmit Hills in the evening, neither of which were taxing.
I still slept in on Thursday and only got a 4.25 morning run, but reversing the Fisherman's loop made me realize just how hilly Fisher Road is. I complemented that with a 5.75 afternoon run around Capitol Hill.
I will take it very easy for my morning run Friday before the road race at George Mason.
The reprieve from the heat and humidity came at just the right time to refresh my enthusiasm for running high (to me) mileage. I'm on pace to hit 90 this week, and though it isn't the best course of action before a 5k, the fact that it won't be sweltering makes it a good chance for a hard effort.
It's going to get hot and humid again early next week, and I am not sure if I will opt to move my long run to Saturday to dodge it, or at least hit it on the early side. I would like to double on Saturday, because I would like to stay home that evening and relax.

The Wrong Kind of Rebound

I was miserably hot on the way to work Monday morning. It was 85 by 8 a.m., and so humid I sweated on a three minute walk to the metro. The temperature only escalated, until about 1, when the temperature topped out at 95, with a 100 degree heat index. Between 2:45 and 3:25, it poured, and dropped the temperature 20 degrees, to 73 from 93. Even if it was humid, I'd still have a good run!
I got home, and things were not going as I had planned. The temperature was back up at 85, and the humidity was stifling. I waited an hour, and the temperature rose even more to 87. I couldn't wait much longer, so I decided to head off and try out a new loop in McLean I found, a series of long residential streets without much traffic.
It was so humid that I felt like I hadn't since 1998, when I last ran while vacationing in Hilton Head. There was no relief.
After my first segment of the loop, I found myself on a trail among some back yards. This didn't seem right, but I decided to go with it. I followed one trail to a park and a schoolyard, and found myself on Kirby. Luckily I was close to Old Dominion, which I thought connected me to another road I needed, so I took it, though it didn't connect me where I expected it. I eventually found my way back to the loop and realized what a great resource these loops were- a hillier Virginia Manor (in Pittsburgh) without all the walkers and kids on bikes, or traffic. As it got dark, I couldn't quite find my way back, so I took the long way and wound up doing 12.5.

Delay

My plans to run early fell by the wayside when I made a calculated move to ensure my safety.
I woke up at 6:30 to run early and have the rest of the day free to lie around and see Bain's new house. When I went into the dining room, however, I freaked out. It looked like someone was on my couch. I had a reason to be worried:http://kdka.com/video/?id=70325@kdka.dayport.com
I called out a few times for the intruder to identify him or herself. Nothing. I grabbed the vacuum cleaner and swung it at the form on the couch. Nothing again. Did I kill it? Oh my god, I was freaking out. I reached down and felt a cool, oxford shirt. What a well-dressed intruder... I pushed on the shirt, and it gave way.with both hands, I groped. more shirt. I turned around and did what i should have earlier- turned the lights on. A pile of my unironed shirts was piled on the couch- I had started ironing earlier in the day and left most of it for later. I realized then that my judgment and coordination were ill-suited for running at this point. I went back to bed and slept until 9:30, at that point too hot to start running.
I lazed around most of the day, and wrote off being able to get to Bain's.
I thought about trying for 18, but that was just ridiculous, so I decided to take my 18 mile loop, run the first 6, turn around and come back. I thought I hit six miles in 42:12, but upon remapping the loop, it turns out I was actually averaging 6:47 pace. Not exactly how I wanted to start my run, and that explains why I once again stopped wanting to live toward the end of my run. It was somewhere in the mid 90s when I started, though it cooled down to 88 by the time I had finished.

Double Pimmit

I went to see Bela Fleck and Chick Corea at Wolftrap last night with Ben Semmes, who's interning down here for the summer. The weather was perfect- just 30 minutes after I ran in 94 degrees, a sudden storm came through, relieving so much of the heat. I wish I had been able to wait to run. Regardless, I felt like I had reached a point where I was able to stand the heat.

I woke up at 3 am Wednesday after having an absolutely ridiculous dream about a hostage situation involving my friends in Yemen, and while I was up I checked the temperature at it was 70 degrees with 97 percent (!) humidity. There was no way this was going to be better at 6, so I slept in and planned to run when it was hot in the evening.

About 16 hours later, it was 94 degrees and I headed out with a bottle of ice. I got moving pretty quickly, about 7:00 pace, and dropped the bottle off a little more than a mile into the loop, a new one I called the Double Pimmit, because it covers two parts of Pimmit Road, bisected by Route 7. I managed to get down to the 5:50s for the next seven miles so by the time I got back to the bottle and carried it and its now-cold water to mile 8, I had averaged 6:00 pace for the first eight. I took some time to refill and recover and just pour some chilled water on my neck, then back at it. Six minute pace for a little more than four miles to finish in 1:22 for 13.1, astoundingly faster than my Pittsburgh half marathon time that I could have run another mile and still been faster. That's all irrelevant because I jogged so much of Pittsburgh, but it still a nice benchmark.

Elyse suggested running a 5k next Friday night in Alexandria, so I figured why not. Now I know I can handle running in the heat better than ever before. The big tests will be tomorrow's 3x2 mile workout and Saturday's 20 miler.

Throughout the run I had Kenny Loggins' Mr. Night in my head, and the corresponding scene from Caddyshack. It helped. Who needs a music player?

Enjoying Falls Church

As the title of this post reveals, I really like running in Falls Church.
I also think I have started to adapt, albeit slowly, to the climactic situation here in northern Virginia.
I left at 7 am for a morning run- 6.8 miles on what is now becoming the standard Park loop. It as 70 degrees with 76 percent humidity, but I managed to run 6:59 pace.
In the afternoon, at 6:20, I ran a new loop- the Freedom Lane 5.5, to the north. I started slow, but decided at some point to start pushing the pace. It was 95 degrees, with 40 percent humidity. I think I was about two miles in when I started to push. It wasn't an outright hammering, but I was oriented forward a lot more than I have been for my runs in the heat. I eased up a little bit on Williamsburg after passing Westmoreland, but I drove it home and averaged 6:30 for the 5.5 miles.

Pretty good week, 6/7 through...

I'm closing in on 85 for the week, my highest total in memory, perhaps ever. It started horribly- running myself into the ground Sunday morning with mess less hydration than I needed,and gradually cooled off Thursday and Friday.

Friday morning I got up and did an amended Park loop to get seven before work, then a new loop going west on Idylwood, Virginia to Fairwood and back on Buckelew and the W&OD. Cool but very humid in the morning and pretty sunny in the evening.

I'm going to do my long run tomorrow morning, early, because I am staying in tonight to get a good night's sleep- I've been dragging the past few days. If I can get going by 6, I can get 18 in before it gets too hot.