August 3 (88 miles/week)

AM: 20 miles easy/moderate

Valerie and I met a group of GRC folks in Greenbelt Park for a three-plus-lapper, refreshingly all done in the shady confines of the park. We stopped at each loop, though since we were running fairly easy and relaxed, I just took water. The first two laps were steady 6:40-6:50, though we pick up the pace a little on the last lap (reversing to run clockwise) to hit 6:10-6:20.

By the end of the run, we did have one minor casualty after Robert "F*** this...I'm running 20" Jarrin took a fall, but no cougars were involved, fortunately. After three laps, Jarrin, Peter and I tagged on a little bit to make it 20 even in 2:12:30. This is the first long run in weeks where I haven't felt totally trashed afterward, most likely on account of the cooler weather and the recovery week.

I pitched this run as a "cougar hunt" after someone supposedly spotted a cougar on the UMD campus. In the end, the elusive predator only turned out to be a large housecat.

That night, Valerie and I went with some college friends to see Coldplay at the Verizon Center, who completely blew us away (probably the second- or third-best concert I've ever been to). For being a sometimes-melancholy band, they have a ton of energy in concert. Chris Martin was also surprisingly funny and off-the-cuff.