November 11

AM: 10 miles easy

I met Liam for a run on the ATT in the cold, windy rain (cue the violins). This rain supposedly came from a tropical storm, but there wasn't much about it that felt "tropical." My butt was a little sore from biking yesterday, but other than that I felt strong.

November 10

AM: 7 miles easy

PM: 1:00:00 stationary bike

Today was perhaps the best I've felt since the marathon. I really had to hold myself back during a run on the AB trail this morning.

After classes, I got in a session on the bike stand. The only downside to this was walking in a deluge from the Nic School to the gym. The bike was unfortunately not as cool as the one featured above.

November 9

AM: 9 miles easy/moderate

I met Liam for our first morning run in a few weeks. My legs didn't have any sore feelings, but there were still some weird feelings there. I gradually felt better as we went along the ATT, but I can tell that I'm still getting my legs back under me.

As an amendment to what I wrote yesterday, I'm almost certainly running the Shamrock Half Marathon in March for a shot at a PR. Valerie, her sister, her sister's boyfriend, her parents, and two of my good friends from college are in the marathon, so it should be a solid weekend all together when that time rolls around. I have some time before then and will be tempering my post-marathon enthusiasm accordingly.

November 8 (12 miles/week)

AM: 25 miles easy bike

I headed out to enjoy the amazing weather, picking up a buddy from Duke for an out-and-back on the American Tobacco Trail. The trail was fairly congested, but we had a relaxed ride, and I hammered a little on the way there and on the way back. After a week of rest and some cross training, my legs officially feel "underneath" me again. This recovery strategy worked well for me last year after MCM, so I tried to repeat it as much as possible (though I may have another day of cross training in there next week...or a cross training double if my school work load isn't too crazy, which I suspect it might be at this point).

Real running starts again tomorrow. I'm feeling revved up to get started again and need to get some races on the calendar for 2010. One definite will be attempts at a fast track 5k and 10k in March or April. Depending on what my spring exam schedule looks like, the Broad Street Run may be on there as well, and I want to find a fast half-marathon, perhaps the National HM in DC.

Sub-15...sub-31:30...sub-52...and sub-1:10. Those are the targets I'll be shooting for. If I can, I may even try to find an indoor track to seek some more personal redemption at an area that's burned me in the past. I raced only one season of indoor, and it didn't go well, so I'd love to take a stab at a faster effort there if I can.

Those are some thoughts to kick around for the time being. I obviously have some time to map out a training and racing plan. In the mean time, there's Club XC's, which means that when I do start working out again, I'll be on grass.

November 7

AM: 8 miles easy

I went out for a conservative run around the Al Buehler trail from my place. I didn't have as much lingering soreness as Thursday, but I still felt just OK.

I had to go deal with my bike and my car today. The seat on my bike broke last night. Because I like riding my bike and commute on it regularly to school, I threw it in my car, only to find that my car battery was dead. Suddenly feeling paralyzed and transportation-less, I sulked, finished off half a bottle of Louis Jadot, and went to bed to fight another day.

November 6

AM: 50:00 ergometer

The return of the erg. This is a common go-to cross training method for me because there aren't many other forms that give you the same bang for the buck. I was completely exhausted after this...the erg wins again.

November 5

AM: 4 miles easy

I went out for a test run in the morning. I'm actually still feeling some lingering soreness in my calves. That's a little more than I want, so I'll probably cross-train again tomorrow and try to run again this weekend. I'll still keep in some cross training over the next couple of weeks. Other than biking and swimming, I'm looking for ideas.

Hmm...perhaps the Shake Weight?