November 29

PM: 11 miles easy/moderate

I procrastinated all day before finally heading out after the UGA/GA Tech game. Felt OK despite I stomach full of Thanksgiving leftovers. The soreness seems to be gone from my legs from Tuesday and Thursday, but I'm pretty sure that my elbow in f***ed for the time being.  Swinging a golf club makes Tommy John surgery seem like a realistic option right now.

Early morning tomorrow with a long day of driving. 

November 28

AM/PM: 16 miles easy

Tired and sore all around today. I ran from my family's house through Ansley Park and Virginia Highlands to Druid Hills. I feel tired all around today, but since it's supposed to rain all day on Saturday (read: I'm a pansy), I decided to knock out the long run today. Eating a dumptruck-load worth of food yesterday may also have been motivation.

Once I got to Druid Hills, I went to the driving range, only to find out that I'm injured. No, seriously: I have no idea how this happened, but I suddenly have a nasty case of golfer's elbow. I couldn't hit anything off the ground without a sharp, agonizing pain in my arm. This doesn't affect my running at all, but it's annoying nonetheless.

November 27

AM: Gobble Jog 5k, 16:03, 2nd place, 10 miles

I woke up this morning with my back and hamstrings still unbelievably sore. In retrospect, I may have been a little too enthusiastic with both a workout and a crazy gym session on Tuesday. Oh well...there wasn't anything I could do about it at this point. I wasn't too worked up about it: I came here with Josh and Valerie hoping more than anything to dip my toe back into racing. Though my time wasn't all that hot and only slightly better than last year, I did compete well.

The weather was perfect, however, with temperatures in the upper 40s. At the start, I recognized one guy, Ryan Emery, who won this race last year. I planned to hang onto him as long as I possibly could, but given that he ran 15-flat here last year on a course that's relatively slow, I knew I had my work cut out for me.

When the gun went off, I fell behind Emery and two other younger guys (who I'm assuming weren't wearing chips since they weren't in the results). They started moving away from me after the first hill, but I used the downhills to maintain the gap. I came through the mile in 4:55, which may have been a little slow, and I was about 5 seconds back from second. Emery was cruising, and by the time I figured out where he was up ahead, he was long gone.

The second, toughest mile had a series of hills. I started putting in surges to try to close the gap. At one hill, the guy in second started coming back, and I moved along with the third guy to pass him. I drove up the longest hill in the race right around 2 miles, jumping into second. In the straight, last mile, I just tried to hold off the guys behind me.

I still need more speedwork, because my second and third miles were the same (5:15). Even with the hills, that's too much of a discrepancy from my first. I have plenty of work to do, but it's nice to be back nonetheless.

November 26

PM: 10 miles very easy

Really slow toda up Peachtree Battle with two laps around the Westminster trails. My back feels like it was trampled by elephants after lifting yesterday; this should make trying to race tomorrow interesting.

My mom and I started cooking today for Thanksgiving. Who knew brussel sprouts grew like this? I always assumed they came from the ground, outer space, etc. I found this while grocery shopping. It looks like a medieval weapon, or as my 13 year-old brother said, "like a dildo." (Editors note: photo evidence suggests that the stalk looks nothing like a dildo, and that the aforementioned 13 year-old was probably just wanted to say "dildo.")

November 25

AM: 20 x 1'on/1'off, 10 miles, gym

PM: 5 miles easy

I ran a workout around Memorial Park, and then went to the gym immediately afterward with my mom and brother (a first for me...but the workout was tough). After working on more grad school stuff all day, I got in a shakeout run around the same area as the morning.

This column at ESPN.com talks covers the impending disbanding of Delaware track and field, who I regularly competed against in college. The story resonates with me, particularly because the writer's story was similar to my own college running experience. Really sad to lose a program like this that's been around for so long.

Novermber 24

AM: 11 miles easy

Cross Creek and Bobby Jones loop in Atlanta. Worked on grad school applications most of the day.

November 23 (82 miles/week)

AM: 15 miles moderate

Before a round of golf with family, I ran from my mom's house to Druid Hills, where I met them to play. I played horribly, but I had a great run. I entire run was at a bit of a faster clip. I'm excited to race on Thursday, just to see what kind of fitness I have. My mom told me today that I "look skinny," so that's a good sign since I only see her every few months or so. This wrapped up a good week; I'm feeling fresh and hungry to race.

November 22

AM: 11 miles easy

Rock Creek Park run before I got on a plane to Atlanta where I'll be for the next week or so. Normally, I wouldn't come home for so long for Thanksgiving, but this evening was a big wedding: Chris and Kathryn Fellows.

Fellows (I had to refer to him as "Chris" at the wedding to avoid confusion with the entire Fellows clan) and I ran together in high school at Westminster, but we actually became better friends in college. We ran together a ton during the summers and winters home from school, training for three different marathons. This includes the 2004 Chicago Marathon (see the photo, with snowman)...Fellows was in great spirits afterward, making the usual deadpan jokes and deep belly laughs, while I wept buckets afterward because of the pain of the last 5 miles (this was my worst marathon collapse ever). He went on to pick up cycling and knock out an Ironman.

Anyway, the wedding was a big deal, since Fellows is a good friend of mine, and it's my first wedding featuring two friends from high school (or any friends from high school, for that matter). The coolest part? Classic Fellows: he had single strips of bacon on the buffet at the reception, which were deliciously cooked in maple syrup, AND he had a groom's cake featuring the Asics Cumulus. I was in total awe. Whenever I get married, Fellows has set the bar for the reception, and that bar is high.

Me, with a plate full of bacon and in awe of the Cumulus Cake

November 21

AM: 30:00 moderate, 10 x 1:00 hill repeats (Farmingham Drive), 8+ miles

After a longer, brisk warmup, I ran some hill repeats on the steep hill across from the produce stand. My legs felt like mashed parsnips about halfway through, but I decided to buckle down and finish.

Valerie is taking me out for a birthday dinner after work at this cozy place in Chevy Chase (La Ferme), and I have to pack to go to Atlanta tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I will be able to get in a second run or trip to the gym today. (Editor's note: I did eventually drag my ass to the gym before dinner).

November 20

AM: 10 miles easy

Easy in Rock Creek Park in the morning with some core work in the evening. 

A rough day at work. I didn't sleep much last night as a result...lots of tossing and turning.

November 19

AM: 5 miles easy

PM: 4-mile tempo (track), 4x200m strides, 9 miles

Depending on what happens tomorrow, this may go down as one of the shittiest birthday's ever. I will update more on this later, but rest assured it's only work stuff and nothing personal, so I'm at least grateful for that. Birthday #24 could even be worse than my freshman year of college, which I thought was officially the worst (ask me some time if you're dying to know).

At least Bain and I both had good workouts when we met at B-CC. I could tell I managed by recovery from MCM much better this time around (compared to post-Boston last spring). My intention was to start at 5:30 pace, but I could tell pretty early I was feeling a little better than that. I ended up comfortably shaving off a about second/lap every mile. Splits: 5:23, 5:20, 5:16, 5:13.

November 18

AM: 10 miles easy, 6 x :10 hill sprints

Yikes, did it ever turn cold this morning, at least compared to this weekend. Rock Creek Park with hill sprints at the trailhead hill at the end. I am loving the way these make my legs feel afterward; it gives them a little extra spunk, which I desperately need right now.

I planned to go to the gym after work, but I had to go to a grad school visit in the city, so that nixed idea for today.

November 17

AM: 9 miles easy

PM: 5 miles easy, treadmill

Rock Creek Park in the morning. My groin and hip were still a little tight, much like the end of the long run yesterday. I could very well also be feeling the effects of yoga.

It feels like I haven't run a double in ages, which is definitely a good sign that I'm feeling both mentally and physically refreshed.

After work, I ran indoors with Valerie at the gym, and tried like hell to get to bed early. I was exhausted all day for some reason.

November 16 (69 miles/week)

AM: 15 miles moderate, strides

PM: 60 min. Yoga

I met Billy, Klim and Bain at Buddy Attick lake for a run through the Beltsville USDA roads. We picked up the pace in the last 20-30 minutes, fighting both hills and a ridiculous headwind. At one point climbing a shorter, steeper incline, the a gust of wind picked up so suddenly that I unexpectedly found myself going absolutely all-out for about 10 seconds without consciously increasing my speed, but I had to drive that hard just to get up the hill and fight through it, or I might have literally started running backwards.

Later on, I went back to yoga with Valerie, though the session wasn't quite as intense as last week.

November 15

AM: 10 miles easy

Got in an easy run while watching the GRC compete at the USATF preview XC race. The course reminds me a lot of the UVA course: rolling hills, farmland, and turning to slop in the rain. It looked brutal today, and I can't help but think that the conditions in February will be worse...not that it would necessarily be a bad thing. I just have some hills and strength work to do between now and then; that's for sure.

November 14

AM: 8 miles moderate/hard

I ran some of the usual trails in Rock Creek Park, except that I tried to really hammer the hills, both long and short. I definitely saw some stars at the top of a few of them.

I wore my HR monitor, and got well into the mid-180s on the hills, staying relaxed and easy on the downhills and flat sections.

This was a workout, albeit a pretty organic one. Not helped by back-to-back marathon cycles, my speed has always been lacking; it's just one of those things that some people are born with, and some people aren't. The hope is that more hill work in the next few months should help maximize what little speed I do have. I felt strong this morning, so I see some promise.

The weather was otherwise cool and misty. I saw a huge red-tail hawk flying with something that I'm assuming was its breakfast.

I also scared the daylights out of a couple of women running past them, eliciting a terrified shriek that made me also jump out of my skin. I felt pretty bad about that: nearly delivering a heart attack to a strangers innocently enjoying their morning walk through the woods.

During an easier run, it's not a problem to exercise more courtesy: "Pardon me, but I'd very much like to pass you on your left. Hey, what breed of dog is that? Isn't this weather fantastic?Thanks and have a great day!" (Perhaps slightly exaggerated, but you get the idea.)

But, when you're running hard, your lungs burn, your head fogs, and your legs flush with lactic acid, sometimes the best you can manage is: "*gasp**pant* "Excuse me! "*gasp**huff**puff**wince*

That's what I said this morning, given the workout. There are two catagories of "people who are crowding the trail, who you're trying not to run over." Some walkers/hikers are either 1.) insubordinate and rude or 2.) off in their own worlds/conversations and don't hear you. Either way, they don't move, and you have no choice to come thundering by.

I thought these two this morning were in catagory #1, but they were unfortunately in the latter catagory. (Whoops). My mistake, but I guess it was somewhat unavoidable.

November 13

AM: 9 miles easy

Easy run in Rock Creek Park. After work, I just did some core work at home, rather than go to the gym.

November 12

AM: 30 min. yoga

PM: 8 x 400m @ goal 5k pace (:73-:74) w/ 200 jog recovery, 7 miles

I did another yoga video this morning, appropriately titled "AM Yoga for Your Week." Definitely not as rigorous as the actual class, but beneficial nonetheless.

In the evening, I met Christiam, Bain, and Patrick at B-CC to dip my toe back into speedwork. This was a very conservative workout, with ample rest, and everyone seemed to feel pretty sharp. I can tell I'm still not 100% yet, and thus not race-ready this weekend. My stride felt long and strong, though, so I suspect I will be ready to roll again by Thanksgiving.

November 11

AM: 7 miles easy

PM: gym

My morning run was unexpectedly quiet. Heading down the Rock Creek Park trails, I noticed frustrated commuters turning around at the Line. I remembered that not only was today a federal holiday (Veteran's Day), but that Beach Drive was also closed, as it is on all federal holidays. I had the roads to myself, save for a few cyclists. I also wore tights and gloves for the second morning in a row; I am loving the cold weather right now.

My legs are starting to feel looser, which is a good thing given that I may be getting roped into an XC race on Saturday. We'll see about that: if I were in the NFL, my status would be "questionable," upgraded from "doubtful." If I do race, I have nothing to really lose, except possibly setting back my marathon recovery more. I guess the real question is, Am I recovered? I don't really know at this point, and I haven't run hard since Marine Corps. Thus, I am day-to-day, and may not make a decision on the race until after I warm up for it (since I was planning to at least watch the race and see the course, which will be the same course as USAXC in February). I am doing a light workout on Wednesday, and that should give me a better idea. I have no idea what to expect: I could be totally rested and fresh from the time off, ready to roll, or I could be absolutely stale and put the "ass" in embarrassment. My guess at this point is somewhere in the middle. I have a love/hate relationship with cross country, which will also come into play.

After work, I got in more work with my retooled gym routine. Something is clearly working here, because I was f***ing tired by the end of it. One thing I've quickly figured out is that I'm still just as awful at bounding splits as I was in college. What's a bounding split? It's kind of hard to explain, but basically you start from a squatting position, jump into the air in an exaggerated running form (front knee high, and back foot butt-kicking), going back and forth. I tried to find a video of this on YouTube, but no such luck. So, if you really want to know, ask me some time, and I'll show you what a really s***ty bounding split looks like.

The past few months have left me desperate for new stimulus, so between the gym, the yoga, and the planned speedwork in the months to come, I should have plenty to keep me busy.

The rib-eyes that I had marinating back in my kitchen made it worth the effort, however. I'm going to make a monthly effort to eat a great steak at some point, both for the iron and for the tasty indulgence in a slab of marbled red meat. I will now wipe the drool from my mouth and chin with my shirtsleeve...thanks.

November 10

AM: 8 miles easy

PM: 4 miles easy

My legs felt sluggish in the morning, worsened by the acute soreness in my hips. The theme of yesterday's yoga class was pelvis, so my battered hips felt like I [insert sophomoric dirty joke here].

After work, I jumped in with Valerie on her run. The legs felt a great deal better by then, though my hips are still a bit tender.

November 9 (51 miles/week)

AM: 12 miles easy/moderate, 6 x :10 hill sprints

PM: yoga

Rather than do a "real" long run this week, I opted to keep my Sunday run at conservative 12, heading out around 11:00. Hill sprints afterward. My legs loosened up about halfway through the run, which went south on the Rock Creek Park trails, then back north on Ross Dr. and Beach Dr.

I also wore the heartrate monitor again to keep enthusiasm in check. One interesting observation: whenever my mind wanders into thinking about racing, my heartrate jumps a solid 10 bpm from unconsciously picking up the pace.

In the evening, I did my first yoga class, "beginners yoga," with Valerie. Suffice to say I won't be a danseur at any point in the near future, and we won't be doing the pas de deux in the near future.** That being said, I loved the class and could really feel the strengthening in my hips. We plan to make this a weekly event, and it fits in well because normally we (and that's the royal we), are just sitting around watching football on Sunday evenings, anyway.






**Confession, not that you needed one from me to guess this: my ballet knowledge is straight Wikipedia....I know absolutely nothing about any form of dancing whatsoever.

November 8

AM: 9 miles easy/moderate

Went to the store for a large group run. We started to pick up the pace at about the same time we started talking about politics. The large hill leading up to Massachusetts Ave from the reservoir pretty much killed all conversation for a few minutes. I am feeling better by the day, which is an encouraging sign for recovery.

November 7

AM: 7 miles easy

PM: core, stretching

Easy run on the Capital Crescent.

November 6

AM: 55:00 stationary bike

PM: gym

Tempering my enthusiasm a little, I just cross-trained today. My quads were a little more tight than I wanted last night. Back on the horse tomorrow.

At the gym, I again decided to just do body weight stuff (push-ups, dips, pull-ups, mirror runs), core, and introduced some plyometrics, which I plan to integrate back into my schedule: split jumps, burpies, toe hops, etc.

November 5

PM: 9 miles easy

No morning workout for me after a late night with the election. Patrick and I got in a night run in the Chevy Chase neighborhoods, recalling the previous evening's events.

Overall, the most surprising part for me last night was the reaction I saw. People poured out of their homes and into the streets. Strangers hugged strangers, cars everywhere blew their horns, and fist pounds and pumps all around. The spontaneous joy of it all blew me away more than anything. This video was from the corner of U and 14th Street in DC -- the same site of some of the worst of the 1968 DC race riots, and now arguably the epicenter of youthful liberalism in the middle of a city that voted 93% for Obama. I'm not sure anywhere in the country could have beaten DC for most jubilant outpouring of emotion, save perhaps in Chicago:



Better than any celebration I've ever seen, it was sort of like Philly winning the World Series, the defeat of the Evil Empire, or the University of Maryland winning, well, just about any major sporting event...except that no one was burning anything.

Like a lot of other people in this country, my eyes welled a little listening to President Obama give his acceptance speech. But when I hear my congressman, John Lewis, talk about what it means to him, I am unbelievably moved. Lewis literally took the first hit on the 1965 march in Selma, Alabama. Compare these two videos; it's moving to see how far our country has come in the last 43 years:





Yesterday, for at least a few hours, our country silenced the cynics. And that feels pretty damn good.

November 4 - An Important Day

AM: 55:oo, elliptical

PM: 4 miles easy

There will be some more cross training this week, with the hope of sparing my legs the pounding while building back some fitness. There is a cross country race in a week and a half at the USA XC course, which I'm contemplating entering as a "rust buster." We'll see. I haven't made up my mind yet.

UPDATE:

Before we gathered to watch the election, P. Murphy talked me into running a pre-election shake-out from Columbia Heights to the White House in the rain, giving our parting thanks to George W. Bush. When we got back, the election results were just starting to come in...just in time.

I will write an post-election reaction at some point. Right now, I am riding a wave of both overwhelming joy and Schadenfreude for all the haters, cynics, and charred remains of the Rush Limbaugh/Karl Rove gospel.




Fired up. Ready to go.

November 3

AM: 10 miles easy

PM: 30 min. yoga

The bonus I got today was from daylight savings this past weekend. Thanks to setting the clock back, I get to run in the daylight again in the morning, at least for the time being. This was my longest run since the marathon, and I feel great. I'm having to hold myself back right now.

I heard someone call this period of training the "patience period." I couldn't sum it up any better. I always seem to harvest big gains in fitness over the winter...it's sort of a comfort zone for me that lasts for a few months.

Yoga!

This evening, I tried yoga for the first time, albeit in the comfort of my own living room. There are a bunch of yoga "classes" available On Demand, so I did this with Valerie. Conclusion: I am not very limber. Namaste.

By coincidence, other GRC members also picked today to venture into yoga. They were a bit more aggressive than I was, jumping into a full 90-minute, "hot yoga" session. I'm taking baby steps by comparison, and I do like that I can just knock out a video session on my living room carpet. My plan now is to start with the bunny slopes, looking at a "beginners yoga" class this Sunday evening. That's probably more my speed for now.

Another thing, I also sweat perfusely. If I went to hot yoga, I would need to bring a mop with me. It reminds me of cutting weight in high school for wrestling. The coaches would turn up the heat in our practice room, and it was never an issue for me to lose water weight: I would lose an absurd amount of weight, anywhere from 5-10 lbs. As anyone who has run with me in the middle of the summer can tell you, if sweating were an Olympic event, I could be the next Michael Phelps.

Is this more information than you needed? Probably. But hey, it's my running blog.

There's an Election Tomorrow?

Also, go vote tomorrow. I could say the politically correct line, "Go vote...no matter who you vote for," but you all obviously know that's NOT what I genuinely think you should do. Therefore, I'll just subtly imply how I really feel.

So go vote, and make good decisions.

November 2 (12 miles/week)

PM: 50:00 erg, core, stretching

Concept2 Rower: 1

Patrick: 0

The picture above is both an ergometer (the Concept2 Rower) and brutal taskmaster. I have used this in the past for cross training, and every time I come back to it I forget how good of a workout it is. I always approach it thinking, "I'm sort of built naturally like a rower: sturdy back, big quads. This should be a piece of cake!" Thus, I attack with vigor, trying to rip the chain out with every stroke.

Inevitably, about 20 minutes in, my eyes start rolling back into my head as my entire body flushes with lactic acid. So I'm humbled. Again. 

I backed off my early furious pace and got in 12k in just under 50 minutes, which was quite enough for the day. I did some core work beforehand and stretched afterward.

Real running starts again next week. No workouts yet, but I'm planning to incorporate some new things as I start back up again this week, including short hill sprints and...yoga? 

November 1

AM: 8 miles easy

My first "real" run back. I felt fine, just a little bit stiff. I started a practice that I intend to continue in the months to come: wearing a heart-rate monitor on my recovery days (and probably a few workouts). I have officially come to the point where I have to babysit myself to make sure I stay in control. 

I slept in after a long night in Baltimore. For some reason, whenever I go out in Baltimore, I always see something that can't be unseen. Halloween, a holiday not traditionally known for its conservative values, was no exception in Fells Point. I didn't exactly "overindulge," but we were out until the wee hours of the morning.