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.

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.

Laps on a dark track

The visually-pleasing snow Monday afternoon did not last until I got home and ran because by the time I got out there, a mild freezing rain was falling. I headed out to do an Albemarle, but the wet road reflected a lot of the light on the dark stretch, and it wasn't nearly as eerie as usual. I was pretty tired, too, my cough is back.

I had to work late Tuesday, so I didn't get home to start my run until 8, but when I arrived I saw my new shoes, which were long overdue. They were a little rigid, as was to be expected for the first run in them. I went out and did an Oak, and did a pretty good job of keeping it slow on Oak. When I got to the W&OD, I started hammering, and ended up running 5:05 for mile that I ran in 5:42 the week before

Wednesday was downright miserable, and it started long before I got to the track. The metro trip alone took more than an hour, making me late. Dickson, Shredder, Bogart and Raekwan and I warmed up on the track, but that's rarely a good idea for me, mentally, especially when I have a long track workout ahead of me, I just don't want to see those stupid lane lines more than I have to. My whole body felt like my basic balance wasn't there.

I led the 2ks- 78s and 77s, and generally kept things pretty even, though I was two seconds slow in the second 400 of the first, though I made up for it, and was a second fast for each lap of the second. I did well enough with the first two 1ks, hitting 75s for both, thanks in large part to Dave's superb pacing during the second, but I couldn't stay faster than 5:00 pace on the 2x1k that were supposed to be 73s. In fact, in the fourth, I was struggling to keep my legs cranking within the second 100m, and I dropped at 400, running 75. It reminded me I badly need to get turnover work in, after missing it Monday.

Thursday night's weather was fantastic. I was exhausted when I woke up, so I forgot running to work, but came home eager to run a New Virginia Manor in 50-degree weather. I got out to a pretty fast start- 6:07s for the 2.1 miles to the start of the loop, then I got moving. I honestly didn't feel like I was going that fast until I got to the two-mile mark and I was well under 12:00. I came through 5k in 18:03, then finished my first four-mile loop in 23:36. I took it a little harder in the second loop, was 20 seconds faster through two miles and 5k, but I was starting to feel some intestinal distress. The last mile was pretty rough, the flat parts moreso than the uphills, but I finished loop two in 23:24. I'm lucky McLean residents never realized there was a recession and also didn't stop doing home renovations, because there were plenty of portable toilets all over the place. After taking care of business, I was pretty dizzy, but managed to run home for 13.5 miles.

I felt pretty rough Friday morning when I set out to do a reverse Westmoreland++, and by the time I got to the bottom of Grove, I decided to just do a Fisherman's and just double with a five-mile loop in the afternoon. I felt no better after work, so I took the afternoon off. Instead, I doubled Saturday, with an Idylwood+ in the morning and some moderate miles in the evening, after the Olympic Trials broadcast. I ran out to McLean High School and did 5xmile, three in 5:12, two in 5:11. I kicked a bit on the last 100 of the last two, but otherwise, I was consistent with my pacing, and I was pretty pleased with it all and the 80 miles I tallied for the week.

Sunday morning, Raekwon picked me up and we met at Difficult Run with LTO and Dave, Tex and Shredder, Murph, Dangerous Dave and Yukon Jack. We started out heading out to Leesburg Pike and back, on the way back, I managed to twist both ankles pretty badly. My right ankle was so uncomfortable for a while that I wasn't sure if I could keep going, but within a few minutes I stopped limping and was back at it. We crossed over the washed-out portion and the terrain almost immediately improved. Much like my last trip to Difficult Run, the sky was completely clear and the view from the ridge was magnificent. The falls were raging, thanks to days of snow and rain. We ended up with 14.5 miles, and headed back to my place for brunch. I had a few mimosas while cooking pancakes and omlettes before having my own meal, and by the time I sat down, I was pretty much useless. I took a nap and got an easy Fisherman's loop out of the way before dark.

The next morning, Outlaw came to get me to go back to Difficult Run. We met up with Karl and Hanson, but this time stuck to the Great Falls side. We wandered into Riverbend Park and came back on the Bootlegger Trail and got in 11 and change. The falls were once again fantastic, Outlaw got a kick out of the pole marking the river's high water points. Two days in a row running there was pretty fantastic.

Thursday night was wonderfully warm, close to 60, and I felt loose when I headed to McLean High School for another workout in the dark. Since the Spiders were coming up to GW the next night, I moved the GRC workout up a day- 8x800. Given the trouble I had sustaining high speeds with a group last week, I took it easy to start off- 2x2:34, but I was eager to get going, because the next two, 2:30, 2:31, just kind of happened. The next, 2:30, was problematic because I felt my efficient digestive system once again get the best of me, and McLean's bathrooms were inside the school, there entrance to which was a quarter mile away. After that resolution, I hit 2:29, then resolved things, again. Then 2:27, 2:26. The 2:29 went particularly well, because I was at 77 at the quarter, and kicked like crazy. That workout was the first time I noticed any troublesome wind in 2012, but I typically pushed through it pretty well. I finished my last lap with a 71, which pleased me. I knew, however, that some remedial turnover work was going to be necessary, because I didn't trust myself to run under 5:00 pace consistently for the whole workout, though I knew after my third 800 I could do so.

The next morning I ran to work, something that seems to always promise a good time, but ends up being miserable. I got going pretty fast, clocking myself at 6:10s for a few of the half miles on the W&OD. I eased up when I got to the Custis Trail. The cyclists weren't too bad, though they were pretty constant, toward the end. When I passed the Kennedy Center, more than 10 miles in, I felt like I had been running forever. I ended up getting to work after 1:26, for the 13 mile trip.

Thursday morning, I got up at 6 to meet Hulk Logan at Galaudet for my badly-needed turnover work. It was about 20 degrees when I woke up, which usually isn't too bad, except that I encountered it after about 6.5 hours of being almost completely still. The metro had not yet warmed, so the trip into the city was rough. So, too, was the reception at Metro Center- a delay on the red line that put the next trail 13 minutes away. I wanted to get a long warmup before turning it over, so I walked to the office, suffered through a quarter mile on the treadmill, then headed out to the track at the quietest football stadium around. Hulk showed up and we got to work on some 400s, four, then six 300s and seven 200s. None were extraordinarily fast, we got down to 31 for two of the 200s, but it did the job- got me used to moving my legs that fast again. I subtly moved from moving a little faster than I thought I could sustain to cranking it in the middle 100 of a few of the 2s. It's a foundation from which I can build some speed and resistance to self-doubt and weakness.

With my Friday run planned for the morning, I will get four of my five weekday runs done in the morning, not a bad record for a chilly week in January.

Damned foot

The intermediate week between Philly Half recovery and club nationals preparation was tense. A few weeks ago, a shaky-legged woman on the metro lost her balance and stepped on my right foot and bruised it pretty badly. She never apologized, just said "there's nothing I could have done!" That bruising has continued for a few weeks and pierced my confidence. It hadn't hurt while running until my track work the week before Philly, and I thought it was just because I tied my spikes too tight. Initially, I thought it was a stress fracture, and I often do when things start hurting despite having only had one in my life, but having dealt with this before in 2007, I relaxed a bit.

That assuredness did little to restore my confidence when my footsteps started hurting during my runs. I met up with Karl at the Vienna metro and we ran out to the W&OD, though throngs of families on Church Street. With a warmup beforehand, I got a total of 11.

Tuesday night I planned to do the New Virginia Manor loop, but I wasn't feeling great after one loop so I headed home and just got eight miles in.

Besides that 5:30s I had run the previous Saturday, I hadn't really tested my hamstring on anything actually fast since Philly, so Wendesday's track workout was bound to be either pleasantly surprising or a sober reminder that Philly could have lasting physical effects to go along with the mild psychological scarring. I led the first two miles, 5:15 (despite being way too fast on the first 400) and 5:02, stayed in the pack for 4:55, then dropped out less than 200 m into the 4:45 when my left calf got tight. The foot definitely hurt there.

Thursday Karl and I did another 10, out to Hunters Mill on the W&OD from Vienna. A little foot pain.

I was so tired at the end of the day Friday that I just took the day off, in hopes that I would be better off for the cross country workout Saturday. Well, if that was the case, I would have hated to have run the workout after running Friday. It was a pretty simple fartlek, but I fell apart fast. I stuck with Diddy, Witty and Karl for the five minute interval, and dropped in the four after a little more than three minutes, but the three minute drill was awful. We switched into spikes for the last two, and that aggravated my foot bruise. The two-minute drill was a waste for me, but I managed to pull my shit together for a minute of hard running. I definitely need new replacement spikes for my eight-year-old Zoom Fats.

Several people asked if I was interested in the Hot Chocolate races at the National Harbor, and after hearing about the fiasco that ensued there, I felt vindicated in my decision to stay away, though what I saw about the race beforehand couldn't have imagined the magnitude of what happened. Since I wasn't there to witness it, I can't comment on that, but judging from the things I saw in the days and weeks before the race, this is why I expected it to be a poor experience.

First off, since I don't regularly drive, the lack of metro proximity was a huge detractor. I had run out around the National Harbor last fall and it was pretty miserable, I'm not sure why anyone would want to run there, to be honest. After hearing from Dickson, Michelle and Dave how lackluster the last few miles of Wilson Bridge Half was More basic to the entire endeavor, the race seemed to be driven more by the marketers than anyone accomplished in road racing. Most tellingly, the tagline, "the sweetest race" referred to the promise of hot chocolate and fondue afterward. The website lauded the "awesome race jacket." If these are the draws, those giveaways, I can't imagine anyone could have confidence in the race's competence. Then again, if people need things like that to get them to a race, they probably wouldn't know the difference from a poorly-executed race. Perks like that should come on top of basic competences, like a decent course and aid stations. Maybe it was the out-of-town race manager, maybe it was everything else I detailed, but it definitely looked like a race I was not disappointed to miss. That something near 30,000 people showed up is a shock to me, but I guess I give people too much credit.

Here is a hilarious and comprehensive post mortem.

I took a nap and went out and did a Seaton six and actually felt a lot better. No foot pain, and a lot more energy.

Looking ahead, I will want to keep up my high mileage, so I need to keep my loops fresh. Running with Karl from Vienna helps because I can focus on conversation rather than where I'm going. With the weather as nice as it was on Sunday, I felt like there was no better way to spend the time than to get a zip car and drove out to Difficult Run. I went 21 minutes out on the CCT almost to Leesburg Pike, then 19 back; then 25 out around the Ridge Trail and back. Once I hit Old Carriage Road, I just started punching it and kept it up for about 10 minutes.

I know Jerry wants to keep us fresh for nationals, but I needed something to reinvigorate my love of running--without that, all the freshness in the world couldn't help. Running along the Ridge Trail, I felt like there was nothing better I could possibly be doing with my time. It made me miss the Mon Ridge trail of which I am so fond in Swisshelm Park. The foot felt fine, and I felt ready to take on this last race of the year.

Go 'head, chase waterfalls

In Oregon...

Monday

I gave myself plenty of time to recover from my long run by taking Monday morning off, then

planning to do an easy 10 in the afternoon, mainly on the Wildwood Trail in Forest and Wash

ington parks. I had covered a bit of it on Saturday morning, but I wanted to see a little more, so I ran up Cornell Drive to about five miles into the trail, then started climbing. As the Fox can attest, they are some long climbs, though heading south I had some steep ones near the Pittock Mansion. I retraced my steps from Satur

day morning and kept going, well over an hour at this point. Then the trail just kind of stopped at the edge of a parking lot. I ran around it trying to figure out where I was, and the only major road I could find heading anywhere was a highway, so I backtracked until I found Kingston Road. I pretty much let loose down 2.5 miles of hill, running 6:00 pace as it turned out for a relatively relaxed run, which gives you an idea how gentle but constant the hill was. I ended up running 1:53, which I gave myself credit for 16 miles, definitely more than I wanted. (Photo by Jennifer Wallace)

Tuesday

I wanted to reverse most of the trail that I had done, so I climbed Kingston until I hit the Wildwood Trail again, then headed out to Cornell Road. I wanted to keep going, but a nagging sense of prudence convinced me to stop.

Wednesday

Given my 2 pm flight home Friday, I could maximize my use of a rental car by picking it up at noon Wednesday, so I ran a short track workout at Lincoln High School, alma mater of renowned miler Jim Grelle. I was a bit dehydrated, and the sun was direct for the first time I had been in Oregon, but it was still much cooler than it would have been in Virginia. I initially planned to do 12-16x400, but after the first, in 75, I knew that would be a tall order, given how thirsty I already was. I ended up doing eight, running a second faster on each subsequent 400, with 200 recovery. I then turned my attention to the row of hurdles that was just waiting for me to use for HMDs.

I picked up my rental car and headed south to Cottage Grove, past Eugene. My plan was to stop in Eugene to get a photo of the balcony at the University of Oregon's McArthur Court for Craig, since he loves Without Limits so much, particularly when the girls invite Pre to a Three Dog Night concert. Then I would head to the trail Steve, Molz and Benford chronicled here, then out to the coast to drive back north as the sun set. Brilliant plan. I came across a set of outlet stores on the way, and was pumped to find a pair of size 12 supernovas for $50 at the Adidas store and a $20 pair of tights at the Nike store, along with several pairs of socks to replace those I had decimated over the prior few days.

When Steve said this trail, in the Umpqua National Forest, was remote, he wasn't joking.
It was mostly single track trails, except when you come around a corner so fast you can fall down the slope if you lean the wrong way, then the trails are about a foot wide. I pretty much echo what everyone else says about running in Oregon forests- it's just so green!


Reaching the Lower Trestle Falls was my first order of business. I climbed and climbed and climbed until I got there. In between gasps for air, I looked around and realized how lucky I was that my office had flown me to Oregon and all I had to do in exchange for this kind of running was work eight hours a day. A pretty nice arrangement, if you ask me. The falls were great. Turns out "umpqua" means "thundering waters." Pretty apt, if you ask me.
I went back down to the primary trail, then decided to head out and back. I didn't look at my watch to figure out when to turn back, the opportunity to run out here was too valuable to leave up to arbitrary numbers like time.
Just a knockout. I didn't see anybody else for the 1:50 I was out there. As far as I was concerned, it was my forest. My plan did backfire, twice, though. While climbing over a tree trunk that had fallen across the path--and someone had cut a helpful chunk out of it to help people climb over, I slipped on the trunk, which was a little slimey, and fell chest first, my shoulders taking the brunt of the blow. I got back up and kept going, and a few minutes later, my trail leg caught a rock sticking out of the trail and I went down and slid, landing a few inches from a stake-like branch coming out of the ground. So, I was a little tired, and really beaten up. I then though I took a wrong turn and backtracked three times until I realized I was on the right path.

My favorite part of this run was when the trail ran along the side of a cliff above Brice Creek. I went back to Portland that night, too late to get out to the coast in time to see the sun set. I stopped for dinner at Track Town Pizza in Eugene, but was underwhelmed. The pesto, chicken and artichoke pizza was so-so, and the various photos and memorabilia around the place didn't really do it for me. While Steve Prefontaine's personality, charisma and racing style makes him a great personality, even 36 years after his death, maybe I'm just too jaded to really appreciate him. Moreso than Prefontaine, I was drawn, as a teenager learning about the mythology of Oregon track and cross country, to Matt Davis, who struggled with injury throughout his Duck years but through guts, determination and such and such, still popped off a few great races. He was not featured on the pizza shop's walls.

Thursday

I left from Portland on Thursday to do three things- run the trail Steve said I had to do, see a fish ladder, and go to Hood River. I got out to Multnomah Falls around 10 and drove along the highway until I reached Horsetail Falls. It was chilly and raining, though not as hard as Sunday's long run. My shoulders were so sore from my fall the day before that I took a few minutes to lift my arms to change my shirt. Steve and Matt Llano ran out here before NCAAs last year, and I count myself lucky to have great advice on where to find an outstanding trail, and to have a photo preview to serve as an appetizer, which, according to Cartman on South Park, is what you eat before you eat to make you hungrier, if my memory serves. Well, I was hungry as heck for these trails.

These trails pretty much just travel alongside the face of the Columbia River Gorge. Again, I didn't see anybody for the majority of my run.

I had traveled along the Columbia River in 2000 with my mom, but we only took a cursory look at the waterfalls, and didn't bother hiking. Our destination at the time was the fish ladder at the Bonneville Dam. My mom loved taking my sister and me to see fish ladders when we visited the northwest. I'd see the dam, and the ladder, and with it, the fish, later. For now, I had my second amazing run in two days ahead of me.

When I saw the photos from Molz and company's run in Umpqua, I told Steve that's where I was headed. He suggested I get to the gorge instead. I got greedy and did both, even though they were far away from each other- I made it work, and every few minutes a feeling would wash over me and I would audibly say, to nobody at all, "I'm so glad I did this." For the most part, the trails were a little wider than yesterday, but they were wet, so slipping was a threat. This bridge was kind of cool. It spans the Oneonta Gorge.
Yep, more climbing. You can run under Ponytail Falls, the upper portion of Horsetail Falls.

It was pretty foggy, though east of Multnomah Falls, visability was a little better.
Every now and then it's great to get out from the canopy of trees and see just how high you and climbed.

Then I hit a paved path and started seeing people. There was a hill in front of me, so I instinctively started climbing it. I dodged walkers and saw a sign "Switchback 3/11," which gave me an idea how close I was to the top. Then I saw a break in the trees, and had a really, really great look at Multnomah Falls, all 542 feet of it. Framed through the trees at a distance, it was an awe-inspiring sight. Shrouded in fog, the top was just out of clarity, adding more mystery and majesty to the sight. I am not exaggerating to say it struck me more than most natural features I have come across. Again, part of it was the climate that day, but I couldn't wait to see more. The trail got steeper as I climbed, and it seemed like there was an awful lot of distance between the "official" switchbacks that were counted on the signs. Breathing got kind of hard, and when

I came across some walkers heading down, I shouted out "Is it worth it?" when they laughed about me running up the gorge. They said yes, and I was glad, because it would be a shame to go all the way up there and have it suck. I did get to the top, where I saw a Chesapeake resident on vacation, and got to the viewing deck at the top of the falls. The fog was pretty thick, so I didn't have a clear view, but I saw enough to give me the full scope of everything, eerily enough it was more majestic than if everything was laid out in front of me. I went back down the paved trail to the bottom of the falls, looked right up at them and instantly knew I preferred my first vantage point. I ran a few miles along the Historic Highway back to my car, and took a quick dip near Horsetail Falls. I would have stayed in longer for a quick ice bath, but given the temperatures in the upper 50s, it didn't seem prudent.

I drove to Hood River, where I decided to forgo the pizza I so enjoyed 11 years ago for a chicken burrito that was seasoned to perfection.

Friday
There was no telling how the weather would end up being in Crystal City Saturday night, so there was still a chance I would race, so I decided to only run 10 miles on Leif Erickson.

I thought that without the rain that drove throughout my entire run on the trail Sunday, that I would enjoy the Leif Erickson Trail more. Oddly enough, I didn't.
Maybe I was tired. From Saturday to Friday, I ran 106.5 miles, 101.5 of which were up and down long and/or steep hills. Even my recovery runs were a little taxing.
What was taxing was my trip home. My flight to Chicago was smooth enough but my flight from Chicago to Washington was delayed three hours, leaving at midnight central time. I got to Dulles, not Reagan, at 2:45, and by the time the cab got me home, it was 3:30. It took me an hour to get to sleep, then I got up at 7:15 to run 3.25 miles with Slosky, who was in town for a wedding. It was a sweaty jaunt, and Virginia told me that after a week of being spoiled, I was entering a world of pain.